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𝖙𝖆𝖑𝖐 𝖙𝖔 𝖒𝖊
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30 January 1943
It was almost a month into the second semester, but Elena wasn't herself. She had trouble sleeping, she couldn't risk seeing Grindelwald again. She had started avoiding Transfiguration all together. She didn't talk to anyone, she couldn't ask anyone for help, she couldn't explain what was happening. Orion asked so many questions, all of them stayed unanswered. Where was Rin, what had happened between them? Why wasn't she sleeping? Why was the only person she was comfortable hanging out with was Tom Riddle?
During the past month Tom had made sure their group assignments were turned it. She wasn't talking to him either, but he sat with her in the library and in the common room, didn't ask any questions, didn't make conversation. Elena would occasionally nap with him around, as if he could defend her mind from others. He had questions too, but keeping Elena on his side was more important.
That day, the girl had been missing. She didn't attend any of the classes and nobody saw her during the meals. He didn't care, right? That was why he was searching the whole castle, looking into every classroom and corridor. That is why he had sent Abraxas into the Forbidden Forest and had asked Orion to check the girls dormitory. He didn't care.
At least that is what he told himself until she saw the girl sleeping in one of the empty classrooms that were no longer used. He sighed in relief, quietly opening the door and entering. He shook her gently arm to wake her up. The girl opened her eyes and immediately drew her wand. Upon realising it was Tom she lowered it and sighed.
"Elena you have to tell me what's going on." He knelt down to meet her eyes. "I told you I would help you." The girl shook her head and stood up, trying to walk past Tom. He grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him. Her eyes were glued to the ground still. He sighed in frustration and raised her head, making her face him. "Please, Elena. Talk to me." The girl started tearing up, but nothing was going to make her speak. At that moment, as a last resort, he did something he never thought he would do.
The boy pulled her into a hug, allowing her to cry into his chest. She was weeping, all the words she had kept to herself rolled down her cheeks as tears. The words left her lips as cries, "I can't."
"Tell me what you saw back there, in the forest." Tom sighed, "What did he do to you?"
Elena shook her head, "It's not him..."
"What? Then what happened? Is it about Grindelwald?"
Elena pulled out of the hug, looking at the boy eyes wide open with terror glimmering in them.
"Did you see him in your dream again? Is this why you aren't sleeping?"
"It wasn't a dream." The girl whispered.
"What?"
"It wasn't a dream Tom." The girl looked around almost paranoidly, "You're you, right?"
"Elena, what are you talking about?" Tom was confused.
"I went to Dumbledore... It wasn't him- He... He turned into Grindelwald... I woke up on the floor."
"Is that even possible?"
"I don't know. I can't do this." Elena knew she was weak, but she hadn't thought she'd be crying in the arms of the Tom Riddle. She didn't even know if trusting him was the right call. She had trusted Rin, and where had it gotten her?
"But you can," Tom said. "You have me."
"How do I trust you?"
"We have a deal. I will help you with this, you'll return the favour."
"I'm tired." Elena closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. "I need to sleep."
"Promise you'll sleep?" Tom asked, the girl nodded. "Go. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Alright."
As Elena was about to leave, Tom spoke again. "I want my rival back. It's boring always being the best."
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13 February 1943
"How could you do this! How could you lie to me?"
Orion's voice echoed in the common room. The girl's face had gotten red and tears were rolling down her cheeks. Timothy Nott stood before her, eyes glued to the ground, looking like a little kid who had caused trouble.
"And you have the guts to tell me you cheated on me! And what? You're sorry?" Nott stayed silent, which made the girl even more angry. "Say something!"
"I'm sorry."
"Oh! You're sorry!" Orion threw her hands in the air, taking deep long breaths. Suddenly she launched herself at him, grabbing his collars and dragging him to a wall. "You don't get to be sorry! I am sorry I wasted my time with you!"
"Orion! What's happening!" Elena dropped her bag on the floor, rushing to the girl. She pulled her off of him, trying to calm the girl.
"The bastard cheated on me with Penelope Parkinson!"
"Are you sure?" Elena glared at Nott, he seemed sad, like he was almost going to cry.
"He fucking told me!" Orion got herself out of Elena's grip and slapped Nott in an instant.
Elena got her back into her grip and tried to move her away from the boy. Orion was now taking shallow breaths, crying uncontrollably. Elena held her until they got to the dormitory. It didn't make sense. Just a day before the two were in Hogsmeade and Orion was talking about how much she loved him. Elena found her some water and after a while of crying finally calmed down.
"Are you alright?" Elena didn't know what else to say.
"How could he do this Elena?" Orion said between shaky breaths, "He said he loved me yesterday. How could he?"
"I don't know." Something seemed off. "But I'm going to find out."
Elena waited until Orion fell asleep on her bed to leave the dormitory. She had never really liked Nott, but if something was going on Orion would've caught it. And why tell Orion in the first place?
She found him talking to Tom and Yaxley in the corner of the common room. "You and I need to have a chat."
"Can't you see we're doing something?" Yaxley spat.
"You never learn do you, Yaxley?" Elena grabbed Nott's arm, "You are coming with me."
Nott looked at Tom as if to ask for permission, but Elena had already dragged him away before he could get an answer. The boy was as startled as Orion, it seemed. He did not protest until they were in a dark corner of the dungeons.
"Why did you lie to her?"
"Can't you just read my mind to find out? Save me the trouble?"
"I don't do it out of respect to my friend." Elena was getting angry. She did not want to see the moments the two had spent together, it was private and it should stay private. "Why did you tell her you cheated?"
"I'm not telling you shit."
Elena's patience had run out. "Incarcerous!" With the flick of her wand ropes wrapped around Nott's hands and feet, causing the boy to fall to the ground. Every second that passed, Elena got angrier, and the angrier she got, the ropes tightened even more. The boy was trying hard not to cry out in pain. "Answer me!"
"I lied!" He exclaimed.
Elena loosened the ropes a little, "Why?"
"Why don't you ask Malfoy?"
"She is at the dormitory crying because of you!"
"Not that one!" Nott tried to struggle out of the ropes, but it didn't work. "He forced me to break up with her! He is the one who you should be questioning! Not me! They threatened me! Riddle and him!"
Elena let go of the ropes upon hearing Tom's name. Why hadn't he said anything to her? Without saying another word she left to go find Abraxas. She knew she couldn't pressure Tom into telling her so Abraxas was her best bet. She searched the common room, but he wasn't there.
She didn't understand what was happening. After everything that had gone down with Rin, she was only now coming back to her sense and trying to go back to normal, but it was getting harder to do so. She searched the whole castle, only to find Abraxas in the library by himself.
"We need to talk," she whispered, taking him out into the garden. "Why did you force Nott to lie to Orion?"
"I did no such thing," Abraxas tried to stand his ground, but Elena stared blankly at him, still waiting for an answer. The girl would help herself into his mind anyways if she got impatient, it was best to tell her now. "He's been bringing her to the meetings."
"What?" Elena was surprised to say the least. She had thought that it was established that Orion would not be attending them. "Where were you?"
"They chose the days I wouldn't be there, but Riddle informed me of one they would attend."
"Why did he just admit to cheating on him then? She is in shambles!" Elena's voice echoed in the night, this didn't make sense.
"You don't know the things Nott has done."
"Like what?"
Abraxas looked away. "I can't tell you."
"I can find out-"
"Why Elena? If you cared about her so much where were you when she was sneaking out to go to the meetings? Where were you when she was working on potions that could kill a man at an instance?"
"Don't act like you don't do those things!"
"But it's different, isn't it? I do it to protect her, she is doing it as a date." Abraxas was fuming, "You said you would protect her! We had a deal!"
"You don't know what I've been through these past months Rax!" Elena shouted. "I refuse to be blamed for something that you have caused! If you never hung out with Tom-"
"Me? You're with him more than any of us these days!"
Elena took a deep breath, the conversation had lost its plot. "Why do you want them to break up? Nott was involved in your business already, when they started dating?"
"You're not going to let go of it, are you?" Abraxas sighed, "If you are so concerned about Nott and his wrongdoings... Where do you think Rin's gone, huh? Have you given it a thought?"
"What does this have to do with Rin?" Elena's voice was almost shaking.
Abraxas answered before leaving. "Do whatever you will, with Riddle or someone else. But leave my sister out of it."
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A/N
Hey, thank you all sm for reading <3 I hope you're enjoying how this story is going! If you have any suggestions or opinions, feel free to leave them here! Ily, take care <3