You suddenly feel yourself coming back to a conscious state, hearing thoughts flitting around your head. Your eyes slowly stir open properly and you gaze up at the ceiling of your dormitory and the top of your four poster bed. The emerald green curtains were all pulled back into place and you can feel the weight of your duvet and blanket wrapped tight around you, so tight in fact, they're almost binding you to the bed. Like you're in a hospital bed almost. You feel a familiar warmth and purring and lift your neck to look down at the familiar sight of your cat curled into your side, his eyes closed in contentment, his body curled up tight and his paws tucked in, his tail wrapped around him.
Your neck almost creaks with stiffness and it's so sore and your fingers stretch out to stroke your cats fur. Each finger feels stiff as you reach for him and you stroke his ginger fur and smile. Your face aches too as it curves into a smile.
I feel like I've been hit by a troll's club... you grumble to yourself in your mind and you turn your head and sit up a little, trying to force yourself to a more seated position. As you turn your head, your eyes fall on another familiar and comfortable sight, Tom sat at your desk working away. As soon as he hears you move, his head whips round and his face is filled with relief as he drops his quill immediately.
"Ah she finally awakens..." Tom says with a small smile as he turns around in your desk chair, leaving behind the pile of books in front of him. "Hello trouble." Tom whispers quietly to you as he leans down and kisses you softly. He lingers for a short moment, your lips pressed together and you feel his relief in his kiss. You grimace a little as your neck feels heavy and sore and you struggle to turn it. Feeling his soft lips on yours makes you realise how dry yours are. Your cat moves his way up between you both, desperate for attention and Tom pulls back from you and sits down next to you on the edge of your bed, watching as your cat cuddles up further into your arms.
"He's not left your side at all." Tom says quietly as his eyes cast down at your cat and his long fingers stroke your cats back and he then smiles up at you, his dark eyes softer than you'd seen them in awhile, as if the sight of you awake was everything his eyes needed to see right now.
"What happened? I feel... like I've been hit by a trolls' club..." Your voice croaks and the feel of it surprises you. Speaking had made your throat feel dry like sand, your lips nearly sticking to your gums with how dry your mouth felt.
Tom raises an eyebrow and takes your water bottle from your bedside table and refills it for you, passing it to you. You sip through the straw but the feeling of thirst hits you hard and you unscrew the cap and start to glug the water down. Each wave of water flowing down your throat, making you nearly gasp with how desperate you are for more. When the bottle empties, you're still thirsty and Tom refills it for you, his eyes filled with concern at how dehydrated you seem to be. When you finally gasp and lower the bottle back down for the final time, you smile at him.
"You tell me. What do you remember?" Tom asks whilst sitting next to you on your bed, his eyes scanning all over you.
"I just remember...spiders and uh... that acromantula... it was going to attack you both... I killed it... and then I passed out in the forest. How... did I get back here?" You ask with a confused look whilst you stroke your cat who had crawled up to your face demanding attention now that you were awake. He butts his head against your chin and you lift your fingers up to scratch his head, smiling down at his purring before looking up to Tom for his explanation.
"We carried you back. Met Firenze on the edge of the forest and he checked you over and I brought you up here to rest."
You feel a slight rush of embarrassment at finding out that Tom and Mattheo between them had to get you back here from the forest. You tuck your lips in as you try to hide an amused smile at the idea of the stubborn pair of brothers trying to get back through the forest. The idea of them having to work together, traversing the forest in the dark, you know they would have been arguing every step of the way. It would have been pitch black by the time they got back to the forests edge and the castle. You knew you had put yourself and them in great danger by agreeing to go foraging for Firenze. You watch Tom for a long moment and work up the courage to apologise to him.
"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have gone." You say in a low, quiet voice. His soft look hardened and he becomes more serious and his jaw tightens and his voice is clipped and annoyed, his eyes fierce when he looks at you.
"No you shouldn't have and the centaur knew that. But you're okay now, that's all that matters."
"Why am I not in the hospital wing if... something happened to me?"
"Firenze said you were fine, that all you needed was rest. That you'd overexerted yourself." Tom says flatly and you double blink at his response. "Whatever spell that was you cast, it seemed to... almost take the life out of you." Tom says and you hear the slight hint of worry at the back of his voice.
"How long have I been here?" You ask quietly, focusing on stroking your cats back.
"You've been asleep for nearly two full days."
"TWO DAYS?!" You shout out louder than you mean to in surprise and sit up further, your mind suddenly filled with worry and panic. "What about school? I'm not in trouble, am I?" You ask in a panicked flurry.
"Firenze write you a sick note that said you just needed bedrest."
You sit there as Tom refills your water bottle with fresh water using the aguamenti spell. You can't help but smile at him, whenever he uses magic and does little things to show he cares.
"What happened to me... that spell.. what was that..."
"Ah so you do remember your little feat of magic. I have no idea what it is." He turns his head and nods back at the pile of books on your desk. "I've been trying to figure it out. Whatever it was, it was something incredibly powerful, it seemed to take the life out of you."
"But I'm okay... right?" You ask and Tom makes a strange face, almost like he's trying not to say something. His dark eyes lift from where he'd been staring at your hand in his and he tucks your hair behind your ear and smiles.
"Yes you're fine. Just... we have no idea what that was that you did. I thought you were going to die. We got to you and you were completely unconscious. I couldn't find a pulse at first but then I found it. You've been asleep for so long I was wondering if you were going to wake up. The way you fell... it was like you just crumpled. We got you back and met Firenze on the outskirts of the forest-" Tom says and at the mention of your teacher's name, your eyes go wide with worry.
"Am I in trouble? Like... with Firenze? For straying from the path..." You ask with a worried tone and Tom chuckles darkly and smirks.
"Considering I threatened to turn him into minced meat for allowing you and my idiot of a brother into the forest at all, no. He knows he shouldn't have asked such a thing of two students and I threatened him with telling Dumbledore. He helped us look after you and I brought you back here to sleep it off. But no, no one knows about this but us, Mattheo and Firenze."
"Oh.. oh that's good. How is he? Mattheo? Is he okay?"
Tom looks at you uneasily and his eyes look like they're hiding something from you.
"Tom? What is it? Is he okay?" You ask again.
"He's fine, his leg was badly cut up but I managed to heal most of it." Tom says and then slowly smirks and you smile and tilt your head.
"So...what's that look for then?"
"Well you know what he's like. Always wanting to be seen as tough and cool. He made me stop healing it so he now has a 'gnarly' scar. His words, not mine. Literally grandstanding down in the common room all evening last night about it, showing the scar to everyone." Tom says with slight disdain and he rolls his eyes and you laugh a little.
"Tom? That doesn't sound like a bad thing, well not for him. What happened?" You ask with a more intense tone and Tom sighs, knowing he can't keep it from you.
"He had another... turn, the night we got you back. I don't know if it was stress that brought it on. He was... babbling and I got no sleep that night. But he is fine, I kept him in my dorm. Snape dealt with it again with more of his potions, so he's fine."
You stare at him and look down but you feel a little relief that Mattheo was okay. Whatever was going on with him seemed to only happen every now and again and you were glad he was alive and fairly well. In fact, so well he was bragging loudly in the common room about his scar and it made you smile.That sounded exactly like Mattheo. You could imagine him right now in the common room bragging to anyone that would listen that he'd been fighting spiders, wolves and an acromantula in the forest and he had the scars to prove it. He'd probably even make it sound like he'd done it alone or saved your life.
"I'm assuming he's out there bragging?" You ask Tom with a smile as you nod your head towards your dormitory door and he smirks.
"The story has been twisted a little but I told him to keep us out of it. As far as anyone else knows, he got attacked by them when he was out on his own."
"How much is he exaggerating?" You ask with an amused raised eyebrow and Tom nods his head a few times and smiles.
"I think he's up to about ten wolves and maybe two acromantulas. Caught in the middle of a fierce battle between them when they decided to turn on him." Tom says and rolls his eyes and then yawns, making your face grown concerned. He had eye bags again and he looked so sleepy.
"I haven't really slept, I've just been waiting for you to wake up." You stroke his arm and try to get him to move aside so you can get up to go to the toilet. The sooner you'd go the sooner the pair of you could curl up and at least have a nap together. You try to slide your legs up past him and he puts a commandingly heavy hand on your shoulder.
"No. Stay in bed. I'll bring you what you need." Tom orders you flatly and you tilt your head and smile at his overprotective worried tone.
"Tom. I need the toilet." You say and laugh at him and you pull your duvet back and look down, staring down at your warmest, cosiest pair of pyjamas. Your head lifts and you stare at Tom, realising he must have changed you.
"Uh..." you manage to stutter out, still a little confused but also feeling a little uncomfortable by the fact he'd done it. You knew it would be for a good reason and a part of you felt pleased and cared for that he had done it, but you had to make sure it had definitely been Tom or even Madame Pomfrey, not someone else. You look up at him and he looks down at you with a straight face.
"You had some pretty nasty scratches from sliding down that hole in the forest, they had to be healed." Tom says in a tone that makes him sound almost like a healer or a doctor and you can't help but smile at how he seemed so in control.
"No, it's okay. Thank you... for taking care of me." You say with a reassuring smile and slowly make your way to the bathroom. It's a slow, doddery walk as if you'd worked out every muscle in your body.
As you brush your teeth and wash your face, you start to feel better. As if cleaning away the rusted, tired way you felt. You move back into your bedroom after using the bathroom and you look at Tom, the way he laid on your bed in a stretched out, tired sort of way.
"Come back to bed and we'll watch that romcom you keep harping on about." Tom says quietly and you slowly smile.
"The Notebook? You are really gonna sit and watch the Notebook? Who are you and what have you done with Tom Riddle? Why are you being so cute and nice?" You ask with a grin and he smiles down at you.
"Yes I am. Because I just spent the past day watching you sleep, waiting for you to wake up with no clue how long it would take. I watched you risk your life to protect me and Mattheo. I think I can muster enough energy and false enthusiasm to sit through two hours of nauseating romantic drivel." He says opening his arms wide to you and you laugh and crawl into his arms and he tucks the duvet in around you and finds the movie for you to watch. You lie with your head on his chest, allowing yourself to relax and just rise and fall with his chest and enjoy the movie.
A short while into the movie, you lift your head up and grin at him.
"So all I have to do to get a girly movie night with you is save your life?" You say with a little teasing tone.
"Yes, a fair trade. My life for some sickly irritating film." He says rolling his eyes but he smiles at you the way he always did when he teased you about things you liked that he detested.
"So if I do it again will you wear face masks with me?" You ask with a cheeky grin and he rolls his eyes at you.
"I would have to be on the brink of death before I let you put any such thing on my face Y/N. Now come on, shush, you wanted to watch this." He pulls you in tighter and you continue watching the movie until the thought you'd had for ages overwhelms you and you have to ask.
"Do you have any idea what that spell was I used?" You ask as you cuddle into Tom and he pulls you closer so your head is on his chest.
"No love. I've never seen anything like it. I've been trying to figure it out. I've had so many books out of the restricted section and there isn't much evidence of anything similar." He says quietly as he plays with your hair and you turn your head over to your desk and see At first I thought you were about to cast... the killing curse." Tom says quietly and you lift your head and stare at him.
"I... I..." You look down and swallow and your reaction makes Tom's face grow concerned.
"I wanted to. I was...trying to but that happened instead." You say quietly and Tom stays silent as you say this and for a good long moment afterwards. He gently tilts your chin up and regards the uncomfortable look on your face after your admission.
"Do not regret the snap decision you made in that moment. Okay? You were doing the only thing you thought you could do in that moment. You made a choice that a lot of people would make."
You nod quietly but he tilts his head and surveys your face for longer and his voice is quieter.
"Do you... want to learn them? If so, I could teach you them. Show you how to cast them properly." Tom asks you quietly.
Your head snaps up in shock.
"What? No! They're unforgiveables Tom. We're not supposed to know how to cast them! They're a one way ticket to Azkaban if people know you've used them!"
Tom roll his eyes and smirks at you.
"Please. That's just the Ministry trying to stop people from killing everyone. I would only teach them to you for self defence. That's the only time you should use them." Tom says
"Oh you mean like when you imperio'd that muggle at the zoo?" You say with a teasing tone and cross your arms, making a smug face that you had an example to show him up with and Tom just chuckles a little.
"Well that was different. Just a bit of fun. No one got hurt." Tom says and shrugs.
"Yes but they are unforgivable curses Tom. You're not meant to use them at all, especially... for fun!"
Tom rolls his eyes at your dramatic tone.
"No one got hurt and we had a nice day out and oh look, no one from Azkaban knocking on the door to drag me away. It's fine." He says and you roll your eyes at his behaviour and cuddle into the side of him. "But we will be continuing your training during the holidays, so you need to get your rest and get better, okay, love?" Tom says to you and he pulls your hair off your forehead and kisses it and you snuggle in tighter to him.
You were already looking forward to the easter holidays. Tom had a surprise in store for you and you had no idea what it was. All you knew was that he had done the same thing he'd done for your birthday. He'd planned something for you both and your families thought you were both staying at school for the holidays with friends and to revise for your exams and the school thought you were going home. A big part of you hoped to be going back to Edinburgh with him but the break was nearly four weeks long. Surely you wouldn't be going on holiday together for nearly a month? You cuddle into him and finish watching the movie and slowly fall asleep in his arms.
-
That next morning, Tom brings you breakfast in bed and starts to study at your desk, using the Saturday to study quietly and to watch over you in case you need anything. He had sat there quietly when your friends had come in to see how you were and chatted with you before they left to go hang out in Hogsmeade. You did want to go but your legs were still a bit shaky and you still felt a bit grim so they promised to bring you back some sweets from Honeydukes.
An hour or so after they had left, you sit on your bed reading your book when you hear a knock at the door and you tell them to come in. You grin when you see Mattheo's shy face come through the door.
"Hey you." He says quietly, his face filled with happiness and relief to see you awake and he looks awkwardly at Tom, who almost like a guard at a sentry post, nods his head and allows Mattheo to enter.
He pushes the door open fully and comes into your room and from behind his back he produces an adorable spring bouquet with pink, white, yellow and purple flowers and it makes you smile. He hands them to you and hugs you gently and sits on your bed.
"You didn't have to get me these." You say politely and Tom's eyes narrow as soon as he sees the flowers but he turns his attention back to his writing. Mattheo casts a slightly wary look back at his brother and it's clear he is nervous around Tom. He clears his throat and then smiles at you.
"Well, I had to get you something as a thank you." He says with a smile and out the corner of his eye he sees Toms cold glare swing round and stare at him and he speaks in a hurried way. " and as an apology."
"An apology?" You ask tilting your head as you stroke the petals of the flowers before putting the bouquet down at your side.
"Yeah... I shouldn't have let you go in that forest. I shouldn't have been so stupid with the map. I... I shouldn't have tried to be clever and... do what I did. And thanks for you know... saving my life." He goes quiet and you reach out and grab his hand and smile at him and you see Tom's eyes harden as he looks over at you holding Mattheo's hands in yours.
"Well... you're welcome. But no I did say about the map." You say with a little grin and pat his hand. "But don't beat yourself up about it. We both chose to go into the forest. We've always got in trouble together and we always get out of it together. We're both fine, that's all that matters."
Mattheo smiles and you see him nod slightly as he looks down at your hands and you see Tom's quill hovering as he listens to you. You know he is listening and trying not to interject.
"Tom said you weren't well, are you... feeling better?" You ask softly, knowing Mattheo didn't like it when anyone brought up the idea he had anything wrong with him. His nose wrinkles and he scoffs.
"Yeah I'm fine. Got a pretty sick scar forming though, look." He says with a thick, eager grin and he pulls up his trouser leg and shows you the large cuts all down his calf. It looks like a shark had bitten him. It grosses you out a little but he looks super proud of it so you fake a nod of looking impressed.
"Nice. But I meant... Tom said you had a... turn?" You say and you lower your voice at the end and as Mattheo puts his leg down, he puts on his usual brave face act whenever something like that was mentioned about him.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Probably just all that...exertion, you know? Too much excitement. But I am fine. So no need to worry, my brave heroine. I won't die on you anytime soon. " Mattheo says quietly and laughs a little to try and hide his uncomfortableness. You pat his hand and move back away from him.
"Well... I'm glad to hear it. But let's not do that again. I think we should maybe stay out of the forest. You know, stick to causing trouble in the castle. Maybe prank Umbridge again." You say with a little grin and Mattheo laughs and nods.
"Oh, about quidditch practice? You'll have to tell Pucey I'm not well, I'm still not feeling well enough to fly." You say to Mattheo and he nods and he goes to speak.
"He knows." Tom cuts in and you both turn your heads round at his sudden interruption in your conversation and you smile a little at him.
"Well... I better go. Need to get ready for practice."
"Okay, I'll see you later? Yeah?" You say to Mattheo with a sweet little smile that you hope helps bridge the distance between you both. If saving his life wasn't enough to help heal your fractured friendship, you were sure nothing would help.
"Yeah course. You get some rest, warrior princess." Mattheo says with a smirk and he leans forward and for the first time in months, he pulls you in tight to him and you hug each other. It's a tight hug, filled with gratefulness. A hug that feels so comfortable due to the years of loving friendship and gratitude between you both. You smile and then it slowly drops when you realise just how much you had missed one of your best friends embraces. Tom watches you both with an almost unreadable expression but you see that flicker of annoyance and anger on his face.
-
After the weekend, you were back to your usual routine of classes, quidditch practice and studying. You felt fine and decided to use your free activity hour to go and see your new divination teacher. You had so much you wanted to ask him.
"Firenze?" You say politely as you poke your head around the door. The large centaur turns his head at his name and his face relaxes into a warm, if not slightly awkward smile at the sight of you.
"Miss Y/L/N. I am glad to see you looking well."
"Thank you sir." You say and immediately grimace as you knew the centaur didn't like being addressed in such a way. He looks past you and upon seeing the classroom door shut behind you, he speaks and his voice is quiet and full of reverence.
"I am so sorry for what happened to you, miss. I should have never asked you to go into that forest."
"Oh. Well... it would have been fine if we stuck to the path, but Mattheo..." You trail off and then smile. "I'm fine, we're all fine and you got your ingredients."
"Do you recall what happened in the forest?" Firenze asks quietly and you look awkward for a moment but decide to nod.
"Yes, I remember. I just... don't know what it was. It's not something I've ever read about, not even Tom knows what it was and he... he knows everything." You say with a little chuckle under your breath, making a lighthearted joke about your boyfriend's brains and obsession with learning.
The centaur's cerulean blue eyes bore down into yours and his face is so serene and wise looking you feel like he's trying to say or tell you something with just a look.
"I'm sure you will in time. Magic is so much more powerful than we know. There is so much of it we do not know. No matter how much study and time goes into trying to unravel its mysteries, we will never know everything about magic."
"I'm just glad it happened. It saved me from doing something... that I think would have been worse. But I still... it scared me what I did. How can I do something so powerful and not even know I can do it?" You ask up at your teacher hoping there would be some wise, omnipotent answer from the centaur. His hand reaches out and touches your arm with a firm grip and he gives you a reassuring smile.
"You saved their lives. And your own. That sort of situation pulls magic from our very souls, from the very auras and energy fields around us. You had no control over it. You must not feel guilty."
"Firenze? What if it happens again? What if this is something to do with the... problems I've had." You say quietly and look down, not really knowing how much you want to tell him. You don't want him to judge you or worse worry you, but you need to ask someone and Firenze seemed to know so much about the world.
"I doubt you will be in another life or death situation soon miss. What problems have you had?" The centaur asks tilting his head and nodding towards the large boulder not far from him in his forest themed classroom. You sit down and put your bag down on the ground.
"I... I've been seeing little... bubbles? I don't really know what else to call them. I keep seeing them just floating around the castle. Like silvery little bubbles. I thought it was a side effect of a potion or an illness but they've been showing up for the past couple of weeks and this strange electrical humming type feeling in my head."
Your words surprise the centaur but then he looks at you more closely and nods.
"Have you been up to the Hospital Wing? Perhaps Madame Pomfrey may be able to help you."
"No. I haven't gone... because I don't think it is... me. They're almost like part of the castle or the world. But I've asked friends and no one else seems to be able to see them. But when we were in the forest, when I went to cast that spell, I saw them again and this feeling filled... me... of power. I just casted without truly thinking about it and it happened."
"Miss, I'm sure they're nothing important. My advice would be to focus on your exams and your health. Focus on building your knowledge and skills and if these bubbles keep persisting, you must go to the nurse." He says to you and you look up at him.
"Firenze? Are you sure you don't know what they are?" You ask him and he double blinks at your direct bold way of addressing him.
"They may be a sign of illness or perhaps something else, I am not sure. All I know is that you are an incredibly brave and talented young witch. One who will do very great things. As you already have shown. Now, I must start my marking for this evening or I shall never get it all done." He says to you politely and you nod.
"Thank you Firenze."
"My door is always open should you need me." He says to you with a warm smile as you reach the door.
"Miss?"
You turn back to him and he looks at you for a moment.
"May I ask how old you are? Fifteen?" He says and you blink a little, confused why he would ask you your age.
"Oh no sir, sixteen. Seventeen in November." You say with a polite smile and something in his eyes change. He looks at you with a long regard, as if wanting to tell you something.
"I see. Well, I wish you luck with your revision. But miss?"
"Yes sir?"
"Please take care of yourself. You are more important than you know. Continue working on your defensive magic. I have a strong feeling you are destined for something great."
His words shock you, they are spoken with such reverance, almost like words from some holy text and the way he looks at you, scares you. Like he was looking at someone of great power. You nod and smile politely at him but there is something in his expression that tells you he knows something he hasn't told you. You exit his classroom and wander your way back to the common room and soon you're trapped in the middle of an excited Astoria and Pansy who are dragging you with them, giggling excitedly about some new gossip they'd overheard in the girls toilets. But you don't hear it, you're too busy trying to figure out what Firenze hasn't told you and why you suddenly felt this overwhelming weight on your shoulders.
-
That Wednesday evening, you turn the page in your transfiguration textbook and continue copying out notes, knowing you only have a few weeks left now to study before your O.W.L. exams. You had a test just before the easter holidays. You sit and scribble away at your desk as Tom stretches the full length of your bed, his book in hand as he reads quietly whilst you work, your cat cuddled up on his stomach. As you try to continue your revision and work you hear the snap of Tom's book shutting and soon his large hands appear on your shoulders. He leans over you and reads what you're doing and you continue working as he bends his head and kisses your neck delicately. Your lip curls up as he does it again and you feel his hands move down to touch your waist.
"If you're gonna do that, can you at least tell me the answer to question two?" You ask with a hint of a giggle in your voice, finding his actions amusing whilst you were trying to concentrate.
"Did you even try to answer it?" He says with a raised brow and you roll your eyes.
"Yes! I just can't... figure it out. It was the start of term we did this!" You say in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Hmm... you're a smart girl, I'm sure you'll figure it out." He says, and pushes your hair aside so he can kiss bit of your neck that your collar wasn't covering. You try to lean forward away from his distracting touch but he just follows you and his grasp on your shoulder gets a little firmer as if trying to hold you in place.
"Tom! What's the point of you being here if you're just going to distract me?" You grumble in a slightly stressed out way, finding his behaviour a little annoying. You knew that if you tried to distract him like this during his revision time he wouldn't like it at all. Very rarely did Tom turn his mind to you if he was as focused as you were trying to be. You had to time such things just right to get a response out of him like the one he clearly wanted from you right now.
"Relax, it's only a test. You know if you just asked me really nicely, I could give you all the answers." Tom whispers in your ear and you smile as his hot breath tickles your ear.
"No I want to try and do it myself, it's just this second question is confusing and I've been stuck on it for ages. And besides, I know you, Tom Riddle, you'll want something in return." You say to him, turning your head up to look at him with an an amused smile and he smirks back down at you, his long fingers stroking down your hair and your cheek.
"Well it's only fair that I'm fairly compensated for my efforts to aid in your education." He says with a smile that makes you roll your eyes. A moment later, you suddenly squeal as he pulls you up from your seat and takes your seat, sitting you on his lap, an arm wrapped tight around your waist, his other hand trailing up your thigh, lifting your skirt so he can stroke your skin.
"Tom!" You squeal and giggle but he ignores it, his focus on your leg, his fingers delicately tracing up your thigh, slowly shoving your skirt up. "And how exactly do you want to be compensated?" You say with a playful relish and Tom leans in and kisses your neck, slowly moving up from your collarbone to your ear.
"Oh I think you know exactly how." His velvet voice whispers in your ear and you can't help but smile immediately as you feel his arms wrap around your middle tighter, pushing you down into his lap more and he starts to kiss your ear and neck.
"As much as I love affectionate Tommy... I actually have to study. The test is tomorrow." You say swatting him and he groans a little at you and leans back, standing up straight watching over you. You can feel his annoyed disappointment in his energy and when he replies its filled with almost a whiney, grumpy, annoyed tone.
"Fine. Sometimes I loathe my taste in women. Academic and ambitious and with no time for me." He says rolling his eyes and narrowing them at you in a moody sort of way.
"You'd rather date a doormat?" You say with a smirk.
"Right now, yes. At least a bimbo wouldn't be sat studying when I'm trying to show her how much I want her."
"Oh don't lie, a girl like that would bore you. You'd be done with her inside of a week. You enjoy that I make your life a little more difficult." You say with a smirk and kiss his cheek and he sticks his tongue in his cheek and snorts out unamused air. You could tell that you'd hit the nail on the head and he sighs.
"Fine, I'll let you study." He says and he picks you up again, standing up so he can move you around. He turns you round to face your desk and sits back down with you in his lap. He runs his hand up your back, his fingers gently tracing over the shape of your bra and down your spine before gently stroking and touching your hair as he kisses your back through your shirt and up to your neck.
"Tom! How am I meant to concentrate whilst you're... doing... that?" You say leaning back a bit more, half-turning to see him and he just shrugs and smirks as he closes his eyes and leaves strong kisses on your neck.
"That really sounds like a you problem, darling. I've finished all my work, I'm taking some me time. Relaxing. Enjoying myself." He says and you hear the soft smirk in his voice as he brushes your hair aside so he can kiss your neck more. "Now be a good girl and get on with your work."
You sit there and continue writing whilst Tom strokes and kisses you, with every touch, distracting you more and more. Tom seems to sense it as you squirm more in his lap trying to concentrate and just as you feel you're going to throw your quill down in exasperation with him, he stops.
You look at him and he grins and takes the test booklet from you and starts to quiz you. He rattles off nine quick-fire questions that you end up getting all right and he nods in an impressed way at you, his grasp on your waist tight. With every question his hands had roamed your body, drawing both of his large hands up your thighs, ruffling your skirt before grasping your waist and holding you tight. His right hand comes up higher and starts to stroke up your side, reaching up to the curve of your chest and it draws a line of fire onto your skin as you feel your want for more of his touch clouding your want to study.
"So... final question for your test... what's the incantation for the target to bird transfiguration spell?" Tom whispers in your ear and you can feel your heart pounding. Of course he'd ask the question that you kept forgetting the answer to. It was like he just knew how to press your buttons, he knew everything about you it seemed.
"Um... the incantation...it's..." You suddenly gasp as you feel his fingers slide across your school blouse, undoing the one button that hid your cleavage and his hand slides under the shirt and grasps firmly at your chest. The touch sends electricity across your body and you can barely breathe or concentrate. All you wanted was more and you feel your skin burn for more of the touching that would come. "Uh... Avifors."
"Mmm...correct. Clever girl." Tom murmurs into your neck before he kisses it more, his voice groaning against your neck as his fingers slips under your bra causing you to intake breath. Feeling his fingers touch you like that always felt so good, he was always so gentle with you but in a firm way that made you want him to not stop touching you.
"You've got them all right. Now your essay, love. What's the title you've chosen?" He asks quietly as his fingers move on your chest, gently squeezing and stroking you. You swallow and nod and try to think and his grin grows even more smug as his hand trails up your thigh, inching closer to your inner thighs and his other hand gently stroking and squeezing your chest as he kisses you.
"Well go on then... tell me what you're going to write for your essay." He murmurs into your ear and you swallow and nod again trying to keep your head clear.
"Uhh.. my essay is on vanishing spells on vertebrates and invertebrates. Introduction is about why it's... more difficult to do on vertebrates...it takes more..." You swallow again as you feel his fingers gently touch the top of your hip, inching along the seam of your pants. " concentration." You struggle to say it and squirm more in his lap, backing up against him more and he grins as he knows what he's doing to you is having the right effect. You clear your throat and try to keep your voice more steady as you feel his hand grasp at your thigh tightly. "Because of the bones. History and comparison of techniques and possible issues with the transfigurations. Give examples such as the... French snail shortage of 1702 and the time that Ravi Thakkur, mistransfigured the Minister of Magic's dog as a joke and the scandal it caused in 1834."
"So well prepared. That's my girl." Tom whispers in your ear, his voice filled with impressed pride. "So final question, I want you to show me what you're doing as your transfiguration for the practical side of the test."
You blink at him and suddenly feel shy again. You didn't like being put on the spot and you suddenly feel anxious about the idea of doing such a spell in front of Tom.
"Tell you what... if you can perform your transfiguration spell for me now, I'll do your favourite thing baby." His words are like persuasive poison being dripped into your ear and you can't help but melt.
You didn't need or want to study right now. All you wanted was Tom and his touch, and the worst thing was he knew it. His smug grin as he kissed and touched you both annoyed you and turned you on. If anything was going to motivate you to study more it was the memory of Tom's gorgeous head between your legs, in the hopes he would do it again. He pushes you up off his lap with a small tap to your rear end and you look down at your open shirt and go to close it a little and Tom just smirks more at you. He liked when you got a little embarrassed or shy even if it was just the two of you in your locked dormitory.
You lean over onto your desk and grab your wand and a porcelain teacup and clear a blank space on your desk. You point your wand at it and take a breath in.
"Testudofors" You say firmly and a light green light shoots towards the teacup from your wand and it immediately changes shape. Where the teacup had stood, a small tortoise sits. You look at it, pleased that you'd done the spell well and turn with a proud grin to look at Tom. He tilts his head and his face is impressed but you can see it's not his usual look that he gives you.
"Not bad." Tom says but you can tell from his face he isn't as impressed as you think he should be.
"That's one of the hardest spells we can choose from, why are you looking at me like I did a crap spell?" You say in an annoyed way, crossing your arms. He always thought he was better than you or anyone else and you knew he was about to throw a critique at you so you prepare yourself for it.
"You did it well but... you're not going to do that for your test." Tom murmurs in your ear and you gasp at the warm sensation and shiver it sends through you. "You're going to do the most difficult one. Thimble to Thestral. You're more than capable."
"I can't do-" You start to say but Tom cuts you off.
"You can. I know you can. I watched you pull lightning out of the sky, you can turn a thimble into a thestral." Tom murmurs and you stare at him, taking in his confident but firm look.
"You really think I can do it?"
"I know you can do it. And you're going to do it right now." Tom says with a smirk and before your eyebrow can fully raise he rummages on your now messy desk and he turns to you with an amused grin. Pinched between his thumb and a finger is a small silver thimble. He walks over to the large empty space of your dorm room and places it down on the stone. He moves away to the side of your bed and he looks at you with a firm nod.
"Turn it into a thestral." Tom commands and you scoff in shocked amusement.
"Tom I can't do that. It's such a difficult spell. And there's no space in here!"
"Yes you can and you're going to. Now and for your exam."
You sigh as you realise that Tom will not let you not do this. You knew he'd make a good teacher, he just had that ability to command a room, even if it was just the two of you. You grip your wand tight and focus your eyes down at the tiny thimble on the floor. You flick your eyes over to Tom with an anxious look.
"Are you sure it's going to fit in here?" You ask with a raised brow and Tom returns your skeptical worried look with a flat tone that told you to just get on with it.
"Just do it Y/N. Stop overthinking it."
You take in a deep breath and close your eyes for a second and point your wand back down at the thimble. You allow yourself to clear your mind and all you can imagine is a thestral. It's large skeletal body and thin skinned wings, its boney face and sweet, gentle nature. You imagine the creature in front of you, as if reaching out to it and you speak.
"Thestrafors." You say confidently and a light green light jumps to the thimble and a second later you leap back as a gigantic thestral stands in front of you, it's large wings folded in against its body and it nickers and chucks its head forward to scratch at its front leg.
It's so tall, its head is nearly hitting the ceiling as it lifts its head and shakes its straggly silver mane. You step forward to touch it, mesmerised by how well it had been transfigured. It had a slight silver sheen to its dark skin which you were sure was from the thimble. You touch its muzzle gently and it presses its head into your hand and you grin as you feel the contact, the pressure from its touch. It was a very real thestral. You turn and grin at Tom and with a proud smirk he whips his wand at it and transfigures the thestral away back down to the thimble.
"Oh my god! I can't believe I did that!" You squeal in excitement and jump up into Tom's arms and he grins and laughs at how happy you are.
"Told you you could do it... you just needed... the right motivation." He says to you and lowers his voice down into a seductive whisper.
You blush as you realise why you'd even agreed to try the difficult transfiguration spell in the first place. You both look at each other, your mouths open in anticipation and within a split second, your lips crash together, your hands on either side of Tom's face as he hoists you up, wrapping your legs around his waist and he begins to kiss down your neck with a passion so strong that you really don't think you could pull him away if you tried.
His hands grasp at you with a desperate hunger, his hand slides straight up your thigh and start to pull your pants down as fast as he can, only stopping in frustration when he realises his own body is in the way. He throws you down onto the bed and with one quick tug, he removes them entirely from you and he stares down at you and swallows, his eyes black with lust. He grabs your thighs so quickly and shoves them up and apart you gasp as he throws himself down on the bed, his head between your legs. You bite your lip and gasp loudly as you feel his tongue on you and you throw your head back into the pillow, almost overwhelmed already with how good this was about to feel.
Awhile later, you're lying there under your duvet cuddled into Tom's side, both of your nude bodies pressed together, your clothes in small crumpled piles around your bed and his hand trailing down your back as you lie with your head on his chest.
"I still can't believe I did that. A thimble into a thestral!" You say in shock and laugh a little at it.
"I don't see why, you're a very skilled witch."
"I guess I'm just shocked I could see it, that's all. I've never been able to see one before. The carriages at the beginning of this year? I couldn't see them then." You say softly as your fingers trail around on Toms chest and you lie a little closer to him.
"Well... you did witness death in the forest. I mean, you did cause it but you also witnessed it." Tom says matter-of-factly and you know exactly what he's referring to. When you killed the acromantula to save their lives.
"Don't. I feel bad about that a little." You say softly.
"You feel bad about killing a whopping great acromantula that was about to eat me and my brother?" Tom says in a teasing tone and he looks down at you with a little grin.
"Well no. I didn't really want to kill it but I had no choice."
"Exactly. Sometimes you have to make the difficult choice and do what has to be done. Although I do have a question."
"Oh? what is it?" You ask him.
"Were you really trying to use the killing curse?"
You stay silent for a moment.
"Yes. I would have done that for you. I'd kill anything if it meant protecting you. Oh, and Mattheo of course." You say with a little laugh as you remember he was there too.
Suddenly Tom kisses you with so much fierce passion it makes your eyes widen before you relax into it and enjoy it, smiling into it. He pulls back from the kiss but pulls you in tighter to him and smirks down at you and a loving, almost teasing look crosses his face as he looks over your lips and eyes and strokes your cheek.
"What?" You ask, smiling up at him.
"There is something so hot about a woman that could kill me if she really wanted to." He says in a quiet lustful whisper as he bends his head and kisses the crook of your neck and licks up it as he kisses up to your ear again and gently bites it.
"Isn't that like all witches?" You say with a playful smirk as you try to ignore the aroused shiver that runs through your body at his touch and warm breath and Tom lifts his head higher and glares at you. He leans closer, his eyes locked on yours and his eyes are so deep and dark with lust. He is so turned on and you can see it clearly and it makes you bite your lip.
"Yes but not all witches are as perfect or as powerful as you." You bite your lip at the realisation that your capability and power as a witch turned Tom on a lot. He liked that you were powerful and smart and a match for him on many levels. You can't help but half-smirk at the compliment and get a small feeling of power from it.
"Well then don't piss me off Tom. You don't wanna end up on the end of my wand, I might obliterate you like I did that spider. You'd probably die a very happy man." You say teasingly and poke him in the chest hard in a playful way.
Tom feigns fear and then bites your neck and makes you squeal and push his head away whilst laughing and he looks down at you with love, his eyes soft and happy and he turns playful.
"You'd really kill little old me, my love?" Tom says with a teasing feigned innocence that is so silly he's like a child almost.
"No. I couldn't kill you, I couldn't even hurt you I don't think, not even if my life depended on it. But for you, without question." You say softly as you strokes his cheek and he kisses your hand.
"Well that's good to know. Considering you're becoming quite the little duellist, I might actually have a challenge on my hands should you decide to turn that wand on me." He smirks and strokes his hand down your thigh, pushing your blanket down so his hand can stroke the soft skin of your leg, his eyes roaming your body and a soft, dreamy smile is on his face as he does so.
He goes still and serious for a moment and he lifts his head back from where he'd been kissing between your breasts and down onto your stomach. He leans up on his arm and looks down at you with a long hard look.
"You know I would do anything for you too? To protect you. I would kill for you if I had to. I'd make some of the hardest decisions of my life if it meant your safety." Tom says in a serious way as his long fingers trace down your neck and to your chest, hovering over your heart and his fingers gently stroke the skin. "I love you more than anything. Nothing else matters to me but you." He says firmly with such a timber to his voice that shows his protective love for you and you blush and smile.
"I love you too Tom. And I think I've already shown I'd do anything to protect you too." You say up to him and your fingers gently wind his slight curl at the front of his head around your finger and stroke down his head until your hand is on the back of his neck. You run your hand even further down, slightly pressing your nails into his back, dragging them down and tickling his back a little. He makes a small groan of happiness and leans his head down into the gap of your neck and shoulder and allows you to scratch lightly across his shoulder and neck. He lies next to you for few moments and then he suddenly speaks, propping himself up on his elbow, resting his head on his hand and he looks down at you with an amused look.
"You know I don't think you needed to revise for that test at all. You got every question right." Tom says with a knowing smirk down at you, his fingers playing with your hair. "You're going to get straight O's." He says confidently and smiles down at you and you return it but then look away anxiously.
"This year anyway." You mumble and your voice betrays your anxiety about the next school year. It wasn't even summer term of your fifth year and you were worrying about the start of sixth year already. Tom, sensing your unease, sits up a little and turns your chin to him and he kisses you.
"Sixth year will be fine for you. Tell you what, when I graduate, I'll leave you all my books and notes, so you can read up over the summer if you want, that might lessen some of this horrible anxiety for you. A little present for you." Tom says with a smile.
"Oh thank you." Not only did this mean you might not need to buy books at Diagon Alley this year but you knew Tom annotated his books, filled them with extra pieces of parchments with notes and essay plans. In truth, it would be like getting your whole year of exam success early. Tom had never not had straight top grades. You smile a little at how happy you feel about his kind offer but it drops and you trace your fingers in small circles on his chest again, trying to not think about him leaving at the end of the school year or the fear of the sixth year and all of its exams.
"You still feel anxious, don't you?" Tom says with a knowing smile as he sees you chewing your lip as your brain is running off into a million different directions worrying about what the last year or two of Hogwarts held for you. You so wanted good grades and to be successful. You make a face at Tom that makes him chuckle, knowing that he was right.
"Well then clearly you need some more distracting." Tom whispers softly to you and with a cheeky look he collides his lips with yours forcing you back down onto the bed and he climbs on top of you. The moment his lips touch yours and his hands grasp your sides, your brain goes silent as you get lost in kissing him.