Tom fiddled with the strange-looking picture in his hands. He had just received a letter from his father. The old man had been sending those quite often. Tom could tell that he was trying to be the father that he was supposed to be years ago.
Not that Tom appreciated being called every now and then to receive just another letter asking him he should start an owl farm to start his own message network or how much profit would percentage would he have to give Tom if he were to start an industry where Tom would duplicate things using his magic.
Tom was done explaining to him that magic was not for muggles like him. In reply, Mr Riddle would only say that it was Tom's phase to go against him and soon he would too start thinking more about profit and less about world domination.
Yes.
Tom did share his schemes about becoming the greatest wizard of all time with his father. Mr Riddle wasn't as worried as Leo though. He only called it Tom's phase yet again and waved it off. Tom was kind of glad that his father was less than interested in his works. That way Mr Riddle won't be much of an obstacle.
However, after yesterday's little confessions from him as well as Leo, he found himself frowning every now and then thinking that his father might have been right about the phase concept. But something told him that Mr Riddle didn't figure it out on his own and Leo had something to do with it.
Whatever Tom had promised to Leo, he was willing to follow through. Because unlike her, Tom was a man of words. He didn't break promises. Instead of thinking about immortality, he wanted to figure out what was going on with Leo.
Thinking about her, his eyes travelled back to the photograph he was holding. It came along with his father's obnoxious letter which was now on the floor in ashes. Tom started at it, trying to pick up every detail. The photograph was the one Leo took with him the day she was taken away by her fake parents.
It was from the world of muggles. So, it didn't move. Both of them were frozen in an awkward pose. Leo was staring at the camera with an unsettling look. But Tom was not paying attention to her still picture. Tom was rather looking at himself.
He was taller than Leo. Leo only reached to his chest making him tower over her. In the photograph, Tom was looking down at her. His eyes had a look that he couldn't quite read. But something told him that he always looked at Leo with that expression.
Was it attention? Anger? Worry? Adoration?
Tom couldn't decide. Whatever the look was, he was feeling quite embarrassed about it. He didn't know why. What was there to feel embarrassed about? It was not like he stared only at Leo with that look in his eyes.
Then again, he wouldn't imagine himself staring at anyone at all.
Tom sighed to himself.
He placed a hand on top of his heart. It was beating quite fast. The heart that he thought was completely frozen for as long as he could remember was beating unusually fast.
He nearly crumpled the fragile photograph in his palm. He shook his head and started walking out of the owlery. The photograph was now carefully tucked inside the pocket of his cloak. He had a few minutes to spare before his potions class.
He walked aimlessly through corridors, lost in his thoughts. He only glared at a few juniors every now and then just to keep up the strict prefect of Slytherin image. Other than that, he felt very distracted- A feeling that was foreign to him but peaceful nonetheless.
Who would have thought, that not having a particular goal in life could be relieving sometimes?
Although, he wondered what Avery and Malfoy would think about his sudden change of plans.
Avery wouldn't be very happy. That was certain.
Tom didn't bother to announce it. Only Malfoy picked up the hints yesterday when Tom had told him that he would not be going to Hepzibah Smith for the locket.
The boy didn't say much. Tom just told him that Malfoy was free to do whatever he decided. Tom knew that the boys weren't capable of doing much without him. Moreover, they were cowards. They didn't have the strong heart required to take someone's life.
"Tom!"
The said boy halted his steps. He swiftly turned around as soon as Leo's voice echoed through the empty corridors. His chest leapt with a strange feeling making him place his hand on top of his heart unconsciously.
What was this feeling? It made him feel suffocated but not in a threatening way.
He watched as Leo sprinted towards him with the brightest grin. She nearly tripped on her shoelaces but that didn't stop her. Her eyes looked like they were glinting even if the walls blocked the sunlight. Her wild hair flew behind her, bouncing with her steps.
How did the girl manage to look so stupid and yet make him stare at her for longer than needed?
Tom had to take a step back in order to avoid collision with her. By the time she reached him, she was panting heavily. Her hands were on her knees as she tried her very best to catch her breath.
Tom had to look around once to make sure no other students were lurking around. He preferred Leo's presence when they were alone and there were no prying eyes.
Those bright grins that made Tom feel weird in his stomach and the soft glances that she would give him were only meant for his eyes to witness. He didn't want anyone else's heart to beat in presence of Leo.
When Leo finally caught her breath, the big smile returned to her face.
"What did I tell you about running through the corridors?" Tom could help but scold.
"Something along the line of falling and cracking my head apart like a coconut?" She asked with a sheepish grin.
Tom flicked her forehead making her yelp in pain before getting down on one of his knees.
Leo gasped dramatically, "Oh Merlin! I'm not ready for marriage yet, Tom!"
"Do not be so hopeful. I am only tying your shoelaces," he muttered under his breath wondering when will she ever learn to tie them herself.
He pushed himself off the ground and towered over her, "How long do I have to tie them for you?"
Leo raised an eyebrow, "Well, why don't you ever teach me how to tie them?"
Tom stared down at her with a stoic look. In truth, he didn't know how to answer her. Did he even want her to learn?
So, he swiftly turned away from the girl and started walking ahead, "We have potions class together."
Leo started following behind with an excited skip on her step. She looked unusually happy and Tom wondered what was the reason behind that.
"Who were you running away from? Did you find trouble again?" Tom asked while giving her a side glance.
Her face lit up when she remembered the reason as well. She jumped in front of him with two steps making him nearly collide with her once again. Tom shot her a disappointed look which she ignored skillfully.
From the depths of her school robes, she produced what looked like a poorly made bouquet of wildflowers. Little flowers in the colours of white, blue and yellow all bunched together. A few were missing a petal or two and looking a bit wilted.
"I was searching for you, actually! To give you these," she replied.
Tom could only stare at the flowers and her proud smile. Her cheeks were tinted red as she pushed them towards him with both of her hands.
Tom went into a state of panic when he felt his own cheeks starting to grow warmer. The strange reaction in his body at the sight of wilted flowers left him confused. He had an urge to just shove the flowers into Leo's face and throw her outside of Hogwarts. At the same time, he wanted to hold Leo along with the flowers and keep all of them in a vase.
What a strange feeling!
The boy cleared his throat, still not attempting to receive the flowers, "Isn't this what a man should do? Offering flowers?"
Leo's smile faltered a bit and Tom had never felt so disappointed in himself. But he still hesitated to hold the flowers.
"Well, I don't know many men who would offer me flowers. I can't expect them from you either," her voice grew smaller and smaller with each word as she started lowering her hands, "So, I thought I should bring you some."
Before she could frown any more, Tom nearly snatched it from her hands a bit too aggressively, "Leo, you do not like flowers."
He held on to those poor flowers so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Leo's smile returned immediately. She jumped on her toes in happiness, glad that the boy finally accepted it.
"I would like any flowers in the world if they were from you," Leo assured with a very smug look accompanied by a wink.
Tom couldn't take it anymore. He had enough of her comments. Before his mind could even comprehend his actions, he gripped the bouquet of flowers and smacked Leo across her head with an angry look on his face.
Although the smack was not that hard, it managed to wipe that smug look that she had on her face and replace it with a look of disbelief.
"Oi, what was that for?!" She bellowed while trying to brush off the flower petals on her hair.
Tom didn't even bother to reply. He just started walking ahead making Leo shout out all kinds of insults behind him.
"Oi, you think you can run away from me, you cold bowl of soup?! I will invert your ribcage!"
Tom only walked faster. Now that Leo couldn't see his face, he allowed himself to bite his lips and close his eyes as tightly as he could. Maybe, smacking her with flowers was not the greatest idea but that was the only way to hide how warm his face felt.
Was this going to be a recurring thing?
✱ ⁕ ❋ ✻ ✽ ❃ ✿ ❊
Tom was now sitting inside his potions class beside a very distracted Leo. She was busy playing with some very weird-looking substance that she had just made using a few ingredients from the potion cupboard. She had called it slime.
Tom had warned her about using magical potions as toys but she didn't pay much heed to it.
He eventually gave up as slime didn't look very threatening.
The class was waiting for professor Slughorn. The man was late as usual. Tom was going through his textbook trying to forget about what had happened a few minutes ago. The bouquet of flowers was gone. Tom had to throw it away.
He couldn't be spotted walking with a bunch of flowers in his hand. That would surely ruin his image as the feared boy that he was.
Leo didn't mind. She had calmed down before claiming that a bunch of flowers couldn't hurt her. She did call him a piece of boiled broccoli but that was it.
Leo's anger didn't last for long. She was just a tad bit childish. Tom being the mature one balanced her out completely.
The class grew silent as soon as Slughorn entered.
Leo was so occupied with her slime, which was now hovering in the air, that she failed to notice the professor.
Tom suppressed a sigh and kicked her shin, making her jump in surprise. Unfortunately, it was a mistake from Tom's side.
Leo's magic was very unstable. It often went haywire if she failed to put enough concentration while using it.
Tom shouldn't have startled her.
Both Tom and Leo's wide eyes followed the piece of slime that zoom through the air. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second. Both of them gave each other accusing looks.
Whose fault was it?
Was it Leo's fault for making a slime that could float on air or was it Tom's fault for startling her?
At the last second, both of them came to a silent agreement. Before the slime landed on Slughorn's head, Tom pulled Leo closer to him and opened his textbook to make it look like they were discussing something very important.
As soon as Slughorn felt the wet sensation of something soft and sticky dripping down his forehead, he let out an uncharacteristically shrill scream making both the partners in crime flinch.
Why take the blame when you could just feign innocence?
Tom couldn't agree more with Leo's thoughts. Like everyone else in the class, Tom and Leo acted shocked. To take it a step further, Leo suddenly stood up with a loud gasp.
"Oh, dear Merlin! Professor, are you alright?" She cried out.
Tom could say he was quite impressed with her acting skills.
Leo quickly left her seat to stand beside the professor. She offered him a clean handkerchief which he took gladly.
"Playing a prank on my favourite professor first thing in the morning! This is outrageous!" Leo raised her voice.
Tom could help but smile a little.
Professor Slughorn could only laugh a little awkwardly, "It is alright. It was nothing harmful."
"No, professor!" Leo screamed, making the professor jump in his seat.
Tom rolled his eyes at her for being overdramatic again. But it would be a lie if he would claim that he wasn't enjoying the little show.
"This is completely unacceptable! We have Tom Riddle in our class today. He will surely find out the culprit for you, sir. I will personally make sure that the student is punished," she stated firmly.
Tom raised an eyebrow in amusement. When the professor was not watching, she showed him two thumbs with a goofy grin, signing that she had everything under control. Professor Slughorn thanked her and requested her to go back to her seat.
As soon as she settled beside Tom, he regarded her with a knowing look.
"What?" She asked while looking up at him innocently.
Tom narrowed his eyes at her but she only blinked.
He rested his cheeks against his hand while keeping his knowing eyes on her. He knew very well why she acted so righteous in front of Slughorn. No matter how innocent she looked with those big brown eyes, he knew his sneaky little Leo all too well
"If you want an invitation to his upcoming party, just answer a few questions in class and maybe try making the correct potion," Tom insisted.
Leo tilted her head with a look of amusement, "Where's the fun in that? Besides, me giving answers in class doesn't get any smiles out of you."
That one sentence was all it took to make Tom sit straight and avoid the girl's curious gazes at all costs. He was glad that Slughorn had recovered from the slime attack and was now starting his lecture. At least, it made Leo stop talking.
"Today, we are going to discuss a very dangerous potion," Slughorn announced.
He proceeded to take a small vial of shimmering silver liquid from a heavy wooden box. Tom was staring at it intently. He couldn't identify the potion as he had never seen it before.
Leo was trying to see it as well. But as soon as it was within her sight, Tom could feel her stiffen up. He shot her a worried look but she was just staring at the vial with distaste.
Her hand unconsciously found Tom's hand under their table and the boy didn't even get to pull away before Leo held his hands in a vice grip.
Professor Slughorn opened the vial carefully and scanned his class with an excited look, "Can anyone identify this potion?"
Tom gave Leo an expectant look but as usual, she didn't answer. Instead, she let go of his and started fiddling with a loose button of her blazer.
Some Ravenclaw boy from the back of the class raised his hands making Slughorn nod at him.
"That is Amortentia. It is the most powerful love potion in the world. It is distinctive for its mother-of-pearl sheen and the steam that rises from the potion in spirals. Amortentia smells different to each person, according to what attracts them."
Slughorn clapped happily, "Yes. Exactly. Five points to Ravenclaw!"
A shadow cast over Tom's face as soon as the boy from Ravenclaw finished his answer.
It was his first time witnessing the potion with his own eyes. He didn't know how to feel about it. Oddly enough, he didn't feel enraged. He merely felt uncomfortable at the sight of the shimmering liquid. Or, maybe because Leo was grilling drills into his temple with her intense gaze.
He pursed his lips and glanced at the girl who was searching his face for any sign of discomfort like a hawk. He wondered what she would do if he would tell her he didn't like being in the same room as the potion. Although Tom did have a vague idea of how protective she was of Tom, he didn't want to test it out.
Instead, he shot her a very subtle smile. That was enough to assure her that he was okay. As he watched relief wash over Leo's features he felt the tightness around his chest ease up as well.
"Tom, Maybelle, come over and give the potion a sniff. Tell me what you smell," Slughorn called them out of the blue making Leo scowl at the professor.
Well, he can smell my socks-
Tom ignore Leo's thoughts and stood up without an ounce of hesitation. In fact, the boy was simply curious. What would Amortentia smell like to him? Would it have no smell at all?
Leo quietly followed behind, still throwing threats toward Slughorn inside her head. Not knowing how to reassure Leo that Tom was absolutely fine with this, he just gave up. If Leo wanted to worry about him, she was free to do so. Tom was already worrying about her throughout the hours of the day. She could play the role sometimes as well.
Leo stepped in front of Tom and boldly offered to sniff the potion first. Slughorn was more than happy to let her as she barely participated in any activities.
She carefully approached the tiny vial and kept a safe distance away from it. With the help of her right hand, she wafted over the spiralling steam and brought it over to herself. She took a large whiff and Tom could immediately notice the shift in her expression.
Her eyes became half-lidded and she looked a bit dazed. Her cheeks formed a hint of a soft blush. Tom couldn't help but stare at her with an odd feeling stirring in the pit of his stomach.
"I can smell the forest, old library books, green tea and," she paused and sniffed again, "cheesecakes."
Slughorn clapped his hands excitedly snapping Leo out of her daze. Both of them fixed their eyes on Tom with different expressions- one eager and one worried and a little embarrassed.
Tom nodded like the perfect boy he was. With confident strides, he crossed the distance between Leo. She stepped aside to give him space but still kept close in case she needed to smack something or cause an explosion.
Tom wasn't as dramatic as Leo. He simply inhaled in the spiralling fumes and pursed his lips in thought. He could smell a couple of things unlike he had thought before.
"To me, it smells like green tea, freshly baked cookies and-" he paused.
He wasn't sure how to describe the last fragrance. He hesitantly glanced at Leo who was still looking like she was ready to tear off Slughorn's head.
As softly as he could, Tom uttered the name of the last smell to her, "I smell vanilla."
A/N: incase anyone forgot from the last book, Leo smelled like vanilla.
I mean, she surrounds herself with cake. What else would she smell like?
Anyways, I hope you lovely people enjoyed this one. I personally enjoyed writing it.
In case anyone expected Tom to be the confident one among the two, I'm sorry but I won't let that happen.
Leo is my confident queen and she'll be the one to flirt with our little Tommy boy.