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"Leona!"
"GAH!"
Leo looked around in a daze. She was steps away from tumbling down to her death. Who in the right mind would make moving stairs in a school full of magical kids? Hogwarts really did have a twisted sense of humour.
"Are you alright?" Tayden, who was still holding her hand to keep her from falling to her death, asked with concern written all over her face.
Leo waved her hand dismissively, "I'm fine. I have died before. There's nothing to worry about."
"What?" Tayden asked while letting go of her hand.
"What?" Leo asked back dumbly, avoiding the boy's questioning gaze.
Tayden shook his head while laughing quietly. Leo stood in front of the stairs awkwardly. She wasn't sure if the boy was there just to save her Fromm falling or he wanted to ask something. Leo didn't even want to ask about it. Ever since she woke up inside the infirmary, she felt quite lost.
She couldn't remember a single thing she did in the past week or so. Random people approached her throughout the day and asked her if she was still up for the plans they had made. She had already escaped three times through the windows and even had to climb a tree to avoid conversations with complete strangers.
Just yesterday a kid had approached her from nowhere and asked for the box of poisonous snakes that she had borrowed. Leo could only give him a horrified look and run away.
Whoever had taken over her body had some serious social skills.
"I assume that you are free at the moment as the classes are over," Tayden guessed.
Leo nodded her head hesitantly.
Tayden shot her one of his blinding smiles which made his eyes turn into two crescents, "Good. Shall we go now? Everyone is waiting for you at the treehouse."
Everyone sounded like a whole lot of people to Leo. She was not ready or nor she was willing to meet those people. Although, she was glad that she still remembered the little club that Taeyden had formed before the winter breaks. Despite her confused state, she knew she had to address those students who were looking forward to meeting her.
Leo almost had the urge to jump down to her death again. Who was everyone and why on earth were they waiting for her? Did she unconsciously start a cult because that would be absolutely terrifying?
However, she silently followed Tayden as the boy calmly lead her towards the back of the school. The walk was silent for a while but Tayden decided to spark up some conversation.
"You seem a bit lost, Leona. Is everything alright?"
Leo glanced at Tayden shortly before averting her gaze. She didn't know how to answer him. Would he even believe her if she would explain what had happened? What was she supposed to say anyway?
Hey, Tayden, I was supposedly possessed by some evil spirit for the past week or so that I have been here and have no memory of those few days. So, if I had promised to share that last bar of chocolate with you, I have already eaten it.
Instead of voicing her thoughts, she only shrugged, "Well, you know. We all have those days."
Tayden nodded and let the topic slide. They reached the huge treehouse that was perfectly camouflaged behind the thick snow and dried tree branches. Leo still remembered it as it was. She could hear the students conversing among themselves in hushed voices from where she stood. The smell of freshly baked cake and warm tea wafted in her nose and all of a sudden she couldn't wait to climb the ladder that lead to the treehouse.
Like the gentleman he was, Tayden climbed the ladder first and then ushered Leo to follow behind. she struggled a bit and realised that she really needed to work out. When she finally entered through the wide-open door, she was attacked with such bright and hopeful smiles that she had to cover her face.
All the students cheered for her as quietly as they could to the point where it sounded like a group of ghosts were haunting her. The curly-haired girl, Hazel, offered her some caked and a cup of tea. Leo decided that she was her favourite.
Leo awkwardly waved to address the crowd while Tayden looked at everyone like a proud father. Everyone looked much brighter than they had looked the first time Leo had met them. Tayden placed a hand on Leo's shoulder to grab her attention.
"We have been voicing our opinions ever since you encouraged us and although the road was not as easy, we pushed through and managed to face our problems."
All of them nodded enthusiastically making Leo nod as well.
"It's all because of you," Hazel continued, "So, we decided to join you to your path of righteousness, just like you had mentioned in the previous gathering."
at that, Leo's smile dropped. She had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. No matter how crazy she was, she would never promise to lead people to her path of righteousness. that was not her view. Everyone was allowed to pave their own way to their idea of success.
"Yo-you guys don't have to that. You solved your own problems and there is absolutely no need to wa-walk on my path- or whatever that is-" Leo was cut off in midsentence by Tayden.
"What are talking about, Leona? You convinced my father to let me pursue my dreams," Tayden claimed with a frown of confusion on his face
Leo pointed to herself as if she didn't quite decipher Tayden's words. The boy only nodded to confirm her fears.
"You send money to my address saying that it was for me to travel the places I want to," Hazel added.
Leo snapped her head towards Hazel so fast that she nearly snapped her neck, "I did?"
Slowly, everyone started explaining how she helped everyone by either convincing their parents or helping them financially to pursue what they wanted to do. As each one spoke, Leo looked paler and paler. She found it hard to swallow. No one seemed to notice how she was going to have a panic attack very soon. Well, all except Tayden.
He stepped forward, pushing Leo behind him, "Everyone, let us focus on the upcoming event that we had thought of earlier."
That shifted everyone's attention. They all turned to each other and started discussing something once again which Leo couldn't quite understand. Once Tayden was sure no one was paying attention to them, He pulled Leo to one corner and urged her to talk.
Leo, however, was way too nervous to form words. Her eyes looked restless and she felt like she would have a mental breakdown very soon. When Tayden realised that the girl wouldn't speak, he decided to change the topic to at least distract her.
"We have planned to do something for everyone at Hogwarts. There are far too many who are too scared to even voice out their opinions. We have decided to give out fliers and maybe cookies?" Tayden's statement sounded more like a question.
Leo nodded gingerly, " You- you do that and I need to leave."
She turned away to leave while almost tripping on her shoelace. Tayden steadied her. He had a worried look on his face that made Leo feel guilty. She wanted to assure him that everything was okay but she wasn't even sure herself.
"Leona," Tayden sighed, " If you are having troubles, know that you don't have to face it alone."
Leo waved her hand dismissively, "I'm fine."
Tayden didn't look convinced but let her go, "Tom Riddle is not your only friend."
Leo stopped in her tracks.
He is.
A small voice at the back of her head but she pushed it away. Her eyes swept over the students who were still planning the design of their fliers and arguing over whether the cakes should be vanilla or red velvet. She knew that these people would help her in doing anything because she helped them when they were at their weakest.
They were easy to manipulate, so easy to exploit. She would rather have Tom as her only friend who can make the hard decision, who can see the greater good and be way more logical than anyone in the room. She didn't want to hurt the people who were weaker than her. She needed to protect them, from herself.
With one last look at the students, she climbed down the shaky ladder and dropped on the soft snow with a slight stumble. She wrapped her hand around herself and tried to keep at thoughts at bay. She could not handle another panic attack all alone in the forbidden forest. But she had the crazy thought of just lying down on the snow.
So, after walking further into the forest, she did.
She dropped on the snow and brought her knees closer to herself. The cold ground felt quite good against her flushed face. She sighed in frustration. She wished the snow would just freeze her brain, no, her entire body do that she would stay a Leo-sicle for the rest of her life.
The sun was going down. The soft orange light fell on her face making her squint her eyes. She was so consumed by her dark thoughts, she completely lost the will to get up and go back to Hogwarts. She felt like a flower thriving to bloom in the middle of winter. Her metals were growing pale and roots struggled to keep her upright.
She was losing the essence of herself and something evil was taking over her. Soon, she might only remain as a memory.
We are one now.
You were sacrificed to me. There is no way around it.
Leo shivered at her own thoughts. Her own thoughts were not hers. She was slowly becoming a host for something very dangerous. How long did she have until she would be gone forever?
Her fingers curled around the snow, making the tips of her fingers turn numb. She had never felt so crestfallen in her entire life. She would rather stay alone than have people who believed in her. She didn't know if she could actually protect them.
Her eyes grew heavier as she felt her body getting number by the second. Her mind clouded with horrifying images of Tom laying dead on the ground with her grinning face looking down at him. She closed her eyes and willed to just fall asleep.
"Of course, out of all places to sleep, you would sleep here."
Leo flinched at the familiar voice. She stared up to see Tom looming above her with an unamused look. No matter how much she wanted to push him away, she was relieved to see him alive and well. Although he did look a bit angry.
"You are here," Leo breathed out.
"Unfortunately, I am," Tom grumbled and offered her his hand.
Leo grabbed it and hoisted herself up. Apparently, she had trusted her legs a bit too much. As soon as she stood up, her legs gave out and she tumbled on the ground like a rag doll. Leo raised a finger in the air, " Just give a minute."
Her voice sounded a bit muffled. Tom rolled his eyes and before she could manage to stand up, tom picked her up bridal style.
"Oh- or this could- work too," Leo pursed her lips.
No matter how awkward she felt, she was glad that one gesture from Tom cleared the dark thoughts that were clouding her mind. She secured her hands around Tom's neck sheepishly. To say that she felt flustered would be an understatement.
The walk felt too silent. Leo tried to look anywhere but Tom's face which was quite hard. Every passing second, she found herself staring at his side profile. His jaw was set like he was keeping himself from lecturing Leo. His lips were parted as she breathed in short gasps while carrying Leo. After all those cakes and sugar cookies, she was sure she wasn't the lightest girl in the world.
"You are not heavy, Leo," Tom muttered.
Leo looked away. The Hogwarts castle was nearby. The last thing she wanted was people witnessing Tom and her being close. These little moments were only for her and Tom to remember. Call her selfish but that was how she felt.
"Can you walk?" Tom wanted to sound like he was annoyed but Leo could see right through his facade. She nodded and patted his chest, right above his heart which was beating calmly. Her feet landed on the snow and she started following Tom inside the school.
Instead of going towards the Ravenclaw dorms, Tom started walking somewhere else.
"where are we going?"
"The room of requirements," he answered curtly, "apparently, a few of my friends are quite bothered by your presence these days."
Leo could only gulp and look forward to the nerve-racking encounter.
A/N: I know this is a short chapter but if I don't break the story here, it would be too long. Also, I have to do the dishes 😅 and have like- thirty minutes before my mom comes home.
Anyways, I hope you lovely people will enjoy the chapter.
byeeeee.