Trigger warning:
This chapter contains an attempted sexual assault. Please do not read if this is a topic that may trigger or upset you.
I gaze out the window as the car turns smoothly up a hill, navigating its way up higher and higher through the glen that we're in. I loved that Hogwarts was surrounded by such a magical setting as the Scottish Highlands, every part of it was beautiful. We headed north past Hogsmeade and the North Ford Bog area, into the highlands. The winding road climbs higher and higher through the glen, and I gaze down at the green fields and forest below us. The sat nav says we'll be there soon and I can tell Tom is using every opportunity to go above the speed limit to get there faster.
Tom's hand twitches as he drives and I see him grip the wheel a little tighter and his jaw locking tighter, grinding his teeth together every time one of the girls in the back squeal too loudly or excitedly. His face is tight with the pure grimace of a man counting the moments until his passengers vacate his car and I keep tucking my lips in as I watch him out the corner of my eye, trying not to laugh. He hasn't engaged in conversation the whole drive so far, and I pretend that he's solely concentrating on the road.
In all honesty when the girls had suggested asking Tom to drive us, I had expected him to say no. Even in front of them all, I had seen that flicker of annoyance in his eyes before he'd calmly and suavely said that he'd take us. I knew he didn't want to of course, he wanted us to be alone for three weeks but I was excited about spending tonight with my friends. A good party was needed after the shit Umbridge had put us all through as well as all this pressure from talking about careers and the future so much.
"Ah this is gonna be so much fun! Draco said there's a lake not far, a pool and a games room, there's also meant to be like a movie room!" Pansy squeals excitedly and I grin at her. It sounded an awesome house and the exact type of place where the boys would spend the holidays.
I turn in my seat, crossing my legs a little and then moving them back down a little as I see Tom's eyes dart down at my foot slightly touching the seat with a disapproving look, so I move just my upper body and stick my feet back on the floor.
"Are you all staying up here for the whole of easter then?" I ask. In all honesty, as excited as I was for my three weeks with Tom, three weeks partying and hanging out with my friends sounded good too and I try not to sound too invested in the answer.
"Oh we're just staying for the weekend, our mother wants us home next week for Easter for at least a week or so. But Astoria is going to meet up with Draco later in the holidays." Daphne says in a slightly huffy tone and I can tell she'd rather spend all her time with her friends than go home. I nod and look at Daphne who also had a similar expression of being a little bummed about travelling home whilst her friends were having fun.
"I'm surprised that Draco and Mattheo aren't going home though? They're staying up here for the whole of Easter?" I say turning to Tom. I know he'd said that Narcissa had asked him to come home for Easter weekend but he had declined and chosen other days to come back.
"No. They're going home for Easter weekend." Tom says sharply.
"Oh, and you're not?" Pansy asks curiously and I turn my head to look at him as he intakes breath. He turns his head, looking slightly at Pansy in the mirror and then at me and his smile is small but he shakes his head.
"No, I'm only popping home for a couple of days but not for Easter."
After he answers, Pansy nods and a slightly awkward silence follows for a few seconds before I turn my head around to look at her.
"What about you Pans?"
"Yeah I'm only staying up here for a few days although Theo's going to come to mine for a day or two and then we're gonna head back to Hogwarts together." She says and a small smile appears on her face and her voice has an adorable lilt of someone excited about what they're imagining.
"Aww is Pansy going to have a fun time with her little Teddy bear..." Millie coos in a teasing tone, for once in a playful boisterous mood.
The other girls and I ooh and Pansy shoves Millie hard and tells her to shut up as she calls Theo Teddy and Tom does his absolutely best to not smirk at the slight bullying of Pansy. The nickname was adorable and she only called Theo 'Teddy' when she was trying to be cute or was drunk.
It isn't long before the hills start to turn into a forest again and we don't have much longer left to go.
"Are we nearly there?" Pansy pipes up and Toms dark eyes flashes at her in the rearview mirror and as I see the slight hint of annoyance across his face I lean forward and look at the sat nav and turn back.
"Ten minutes." I smile back at her and she excitedly starts tapping away at her phone, most likely texting Theo that we were close.
"So who else is invited to this party?" I ask.
"Oh, Dray invited only Slytherin but you know what the others are like. Some of the people in your year are coming Tom." Pansy says nodding at him, and he looks at her in the mirror and chucks his head upwards.
"The seventh years? Oh... like who?" I say quietly. I knew Pucey had driven Mattheo and the others up here.
"Oh you know Pucey's friends, Tom's friends, I think even the seventh year girls like Sera and Annie and their friends." Daphne says as she scrolls on her phone and at her words, a slightly tense moment of eye contact happen between Tom and I. Daphne lifts her head and catches it before carrying on. "I think there's people coming from other houses too though, like fifth through seventh year."
I nod and try not to feel a little uncomfortable about it, I didn't want to let my uncomfortable feelings about Sera take over what was going to be a fun night.
When the car turns up the drive, it takes a good few moments driving up the hill through the trees before the cabin reveals itself to us. In true Draco fashion, he had hired a cabin that was bigger than two or three normal sized houses. I stare at it in awe, the large glass walled balcony, the multiple car garage, the large space of private forest. It was like a private getaway, perfect for an out of control teen party. Tom leans forward and looks up at the house as he cuts the engine.
The car barely stops before Pansy opens the door and rushes out into the waiting arms of Theo whilst Draco heads straight to the boot with Enzo.
"I've got a few things to sort out over where we're staying. I'll come back in a bit." He says to me quietly and I turn my head to watch as my friends drag their bags inside the large cabin, and I turn back to Tom and smile and nod. He turns his attention to both of his brothers standing not far away on the steps.
"You two... keep it quiet and relaxed. If it gets out of hand I am not defending you to Lucius and Narcissa." Tom says in a firm warning and Draco rolls his eyes and slinks his arm around Astoria's waist as he guides her back into the cabin. Mattheo turns away and heads up the first few steps, casually chatting to Enzo. I turn back to look at Tom and he tilts his head down to me and smiles.
"Have fun trouble, I'll be back in an hour or two once I've sorted everything up at our place." He says quietly, keeping his tone soft so no one else can hear him.
Our place... I could get used to him saying that.
"Okay, don't worry though, I can always sleep here and get someone to drop me off in the morning, if you don't want to come back, or you can come get me in the morning?"
Tom smiles a little and his hand cups my cheek and he kisses me quickly and I feel my cheeks get a little hotter that he'd done that in front of others.
"No, I'll come back and get you later."
He goes to get in the car and stops as he sees my lips move sideways in a way that showed I wanted to say something but chose not to, he turns back, raising a perfectly arched brow.
"What is it?"
"Is there any chance I could stay here this weekend?" I say with a slightly nervous shy tone as I ask politely and I turn and look at the house and my friends. I turn back to Tom, making my eyes as puppy-dog as possible, playing with my hands together in front of me, trying to be as cute as possible and he slowly smirks.
"You want to spend the weekend with your friends?" He says with a smirk and his hand brushes my cheek and I look up and nod. I see his eyes looking around my face and I decide to continue more to try and convince him.
"We've not been able to have any real fun thanks to Umbridge and I won't see them all for a couple of weeks... there's a lake and a games room and they want to go swimming and stuff..."
Tom smirks and nods and his fingers trace down the bit of hair hanging down.
"Fine, we'll stay here this weekend. Although I do need to go up and collect the keys for where we're staying and sort a few things. I'll come back later and hide my car in the garage where it'll be safe and we can spend the weekend here. Okay?"
I smile widely at him, almost a little shocked of how easy it was to convince him and I hug him tight and he laughs.
"Okay well have fun whilst I'm gone. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He whispers in a mockingly strict tone as he heads back to the car, opening the door.
"You mean don't have fun at all?" I say teasingly and he smirks and raises his eyebrows playfully before he points at me and his face and voice grows a little more stern.
"Just don't drink too much." He says as he climbs back into the drivers seat and I step back as he turns the car and heads off down the road. I wave him away and turn and rush back into the house and straight up the stairs to the room I can hear Pansy's music blasting from.
I enter it to see the other girls laying out their clothes, their suitcases a mess on the floor already, Daphne pouring out cups of pre-drinks for us all on the dresser, whilst Astoria tries to decide between two dresses and Millie and Pansy already sat on the floor doing their makeup.
I settle myself down on the floor after I lay my dress down on the bed and my trainers on the floor. I'd learned my lesson, especially at a house party, no heels. It wasn't worth stumbling around for or the pain.
"Oh by the way, I'm staying the weekend." I say with a smile at the girls as I stand in the doorway and they all turn and stare at me.
"What?!" Pansy says with a massive grin and I nod and they all grin back and squeal excitedly.
"Just you... or is Tom?" Daphne asks raising a brow as she starts rummaging in her case.
"Oh no, both of us. I've convinced him to stay."
They turn and look at me in surprise but then smile when they realise I'm definitely staying.
I know they all think Tom is cold and boring but they don't know him the way I do so I just ignore the way they all look surprised. It was surprising really,
"Why don't you take that room at the end of the hall?" Daphne says to me and I nod.
"Oh sure." I say with a smile as I start applying moisturiser across my face, ready to start my makeup again and I see their faces in the mirror.
"What?"
I see the awkward, judgemental way they all open their eyes and raise their brows and none of them answer me.
"What?" I say with a little laugh as I pump my foundation out onto my makeup sponge.
"Nothing." Millie says and shrugs, turning back to focusing on her own makeup and I look at Daphne who looks away awkwardly before an annoyed eye roll from Astoria as she steps forwards and puts the palm of her hand out as she talks, draping her dress over her arm and she walks closer to the bathroom as she talks.
"It's just...surprising that's all. He doesn't like parties... I'm surprised he wants to come to it and stay over. And... stay here the weekend with all of us. He's not really... that friendly with us all." Astoria says.
I stare at her and I swallow a little as she speaks for them all.
"Well yeah he's a little introverted, likes his own stuff. It's not that he... dislikes any of you, he just likes his own company. He's not a sociable person, there's nothing wrong with that." I say with a shrug.
"Yeah but you spend so much of your free time with him, we don't see you as often now. It's like you're always choosing Tom over us."
I stare at her.
Oh come on that's not true! Anyway, we've all picked our boyfriends over spending time with our friends at least a couple of times. Anyway, I'm here now and I'm staying all weekend!" I say in an exasperated tone and Pansy looks down but my words make Astoria glare at me harder and her voice raises.
"Yeah but not as much as you! I've stopped knocking on your dorm door cos I know you're not going to be there. And about being here for the party? You had to ask him, that's kind of our point. You like have to ask permission to do stuff. It's like he's like... your dad or something. I've seen you at school before, like asking him if it's okay to come come hang out in our dorms instead of his?" She says and I stare at her in shock.
"What? No I don't!"
"Yeah you do. You had to ask him to stay here with us all too? That's weird."
"I only asked because he's paid for us to stay in a cottage together for the whole holidays! I didn't want to be rude or selfish! It will have cost him a lot and he planned stuff for us to do."
"Yeah right but it's so obvious he watches you like a hawk. Like not even just him, his friends. I've seen Rosier and even Pucey watching you around school. Even if Tom didn't come tonight, his friends would keep an eye on you at this party. I bet they report in on you. He's like... so possessive of you."
I stare at Astoria and then at Daphne and she ducks her head and looks away, not wanting to get involved.
"He's... protective of me... that's all. That's just the way he is."
"Yeah protective... sure. That's why you rarely ever talk to us about him."
"Asty? You're dating Draco of all people and you want to talk about Tom? Like Draco is so perfect! He's a bully."
"Draco is not a bully! And besides he's a Malfoy. He's perfect."
"Right... sure he is. Anyway, Tom is pretty much a Malfoy too!"
She scoffs and crosses her arms.
"What? No... say it Astoria." I say gritting my teeth, wanting her to be truthful. If she wanted to be nasty, to live up to her nickname, to 'Nasty Asty', she could say it to my face. She usually had no problem telling us all her opinions.
"I don't like you dating him. I don't think he's good for you."
I swallow and stare at Astoria as her admission silences the room and the other two girls look down.
"Asty!" Daphne scolds her sister loudly.
"What? You agree too!" Astoria snaps at her twin and she turns back to me. "All I'm saying is... Tom? He makes me uncomfortable. He always has. Some of the stories Dray has about Tom growing up. I don't know how you can date him. Yes he's hot, but he's... scary. I don't like how possessive he is over you. He gives me bad, weird vibes and...I'm worried...of how you're... going to cope when he's gone."
I try to calm my temper as I see that she's just worried about me.
"He's really not that bad. I promise. He's just... his own person. He doesn't... like to party or be around lots of people. He likes to do things alone, that's all. He really is a different person when it's just us." I say and I can tell that it doesn't matter what I say, Astoria isn't going to change her opinion.
"Fine whatever. Stay delusional. I'm going to get ready." She says with a tone that tells me she's done with the conversation and she stomps away into the bathroom and shuts the door.
The silence that follows is awkward and I turn back to look at Daphne and Pansy who both busy themselves with getting ready.
I sigh and continue my makeup and Daphne speaks up.
"She's not great at expressing herself sometimes... she's just worried about you that's all."
I screw my face up.
"But why though? She's never really said anything before."
Daphne glances at Pansy and then down at me and she sighs.
"I think just... his history, whatever Draco talks about, all this stuff in the news about his..." She lowers her voice. "His birth parents... the Death Eaters... she's worried about Draco and you... and she's stressed about exams. It's not all about this, she's just... not looking forward to going home either."
I nod understanding that Astoria's outburst wasn't just about Tom, he was merely the tip of the iceberg.
"Fair enough. I don't blame her. I'm not going home at all. I feel bad but I told my parents I needed to stay at school for exam prep."
"They're not bothered you didn't want to come back at all? Like not even for Easter weekend?"
I shrug.
"My mum's pretty cool, she gets it. They travel a lot for work anyway so they're not actually at home at the moment. She knows I'll be home during the summer. Anyway enough of this, let's get ready and get down there before the party starts without us!" I say with a convincing smile and drink more of my drink and turn back to my makeup.
When I finish it, Astoria finally emerges from the bathroom and when I get up to go into it, I pass her and stop and we awkwardly look at each other and then just give each other a small gentle hug and she laughs a little as we squeeze each other and smile.
Soon, we're all ready and making our way downstairs with the slight buzz of pre-drinks in our systems. The music downstairs is louder than before and I can see so many people from fifth through to seventh year from school.
It doesn't take long before more and more people pile into the house until I can barely move downstairs and have to breathe in and put my hands up in the air to squeeze through the room to get to the next one. This is way more people than I thought there would be.
"Who are they?"
I watch as Pucey jumps up from a sofa and claps hands with some other tall boys, boys I didn't recognise. They all had accents that made me assume they weren't from the U.K and then my eyes widen as I realise these older boys were from Durmstrang.
"What? How are they here?" I ask in astonishment. Their school was in another country, a long flight away.
"Oh they finish earlier than we do. They have weekend schooling on Saturdays. Can you imagine?! Gross! They've come over here on holiday." Astoria says and we all turn and look over our shoulders at them all.
I take in the appearance of every boy, out of curiosity more than anything. Most of them looked older, seventh years and some even looked like adults. I smile into my cup as I see the scathing side-eyed looks these new boys were getting from the various Hogwarts boys around because all of the girls were looking at them, eyeing them up and evaluating them. I couldn't lie, some of them were very handsome.
Soon, more and more people arrive and the party breaks outside, people spilling out onto the lawns and into the forest and even some of the boys screaming and running off down towards the lake as the night starts to get darker. I smile politely as Sera and her friends come through the door and as usual her and her friends part their way through the crowd, all of the boys staring at them.
I check my phone to see if Tom is on his way yet but still nothing and I lift my cup up to my lips and as I do, I make eye contact with a boy stood with the other new boys that were standing in the corner of the living room. He smiles at me and I awkwardly smile back but I turn my attention back to listening to Pansy. I grin as Theo appears behind her, lacing his arms around her waist and turning her around to make her go away and dance with him.
I turn round and as the song changes Daphne grabs my hand and we start dancing. A moment later, Astoria and Pansy come rushing over to us and we dance and drink for what feels like ages.
It felt so good. The sound of the music, the dancing, laughing and smiling with my friends. It was entirely worth waiting for after everything that happened during term time. We dance and dance until I desperately need to pee. I look down through the crowded room, stretching up on my tiptoes to try and see if the downstairs loo is free and I groan when I see a queue of people waiting outside it.
I turn to climb the stairs heading up to one of the upstairs toilets, I stop still and stare up at a sight in front of me that makes me freeze. On the landing, pinned against the wall was Cho Chang. Clearly enjoying getting over her breakup with Harry by sticking her tongue down Mattheo's throat. Not that he was minding, his hands gripping her waist hard, as her arms wrap around his neck. I smirk a little at them, somewhat impressed really. How she wasn't in Slytherin with a cruel, manipulative move like that, I didn't know. I wrinkle my nose in disgust as they start to get really grabby with each other and an uneasy feeling fills my stomach and I scoot past them quickly up the stairs. It wasn't exactly jealousy, but I still wasn't thrilled at the idea.
As I sit on the loo, I can feel my head pounding and swaying from the drink, and I lean against the wall a little. I feel a sense of relief that Mattheo seemed to have fully gotten me being with his brother and his crush on me. I still didn't like seeing the way he kissed Cho. When I leave the toilet, I see them, moving a little further up onto the hallway, both of them still making out. I shake my head as I see other girls taking out their phones and snapping photos of them. Potter would see that by the end of the night, I was sure of it.
I walk away and back down the hallway, heading to somewhere to get a next drink from. The other girls were here somewhere, although where I didn't know. I'd seen Astoria drag Draco into their room and I'd smirked when I'd seen his surprised but eager face as the door slammed shut behind them.
I reach for a fresh cup, not knowing where my last one went and I grimace in disgust as I see they're all used. I stretch over the table looking for a fresh one and I can't see any. smile awkwardly as the tall, blonde boy with blue eyes and tanned skin approaches me, his energy a little nervous and I can tell exactly why he's approaching me. I'd seen him in the group that arrived earlier and noticed he wasn't... completely unattractive. I think that's why he'd been watching me dance. I realise what he might have thought and I prepare myself to politely decline him.
"Hey."
"Oh hi." I say as I continue looking around the table and bar area for a fresh cup.
"Here let me help." He says politely and I can just about hear him over the music. He bends down to the cupboard behind the drinks table and pulls out more cups, laying them down on the table and he looks at me as I nod towards the vodka and coke. I really didn't want him to make it for me but I also couldn't refuse his help. He pours out way more vodka than I wanted and tops it up with coke and I smile at him and thank him, I take a sip from it and smile at him in thanks.
"The name's Soren... I go to Durmstrang. What about you?"
"Oh... Hogwarts."
"Ha no, I can tell... the accent... I meant what's your name." He asks with a slight slur.
"Oh right... Y/N."
"Y/N?" He almost shouts in my ear so he can be heard over the music.
As I lift my eyes, I catch a glaring look from Evan Rosier and Adrian in a corner and I smile at them. I know exactly what they're thinking and Astoria's words ring in my ear and I feel myself bite my lip as a few seconds later I see Evan pull out his phone. In a nonchalant way, I mentally shrug.
Let him text Tom. I'd done nothing wrong and I was only politely chatting to a boy. If he tried to properly flirt I'd just decline and move away. Besides it was better than standing by myself or wandering through this party alone seeing as I couldn't find my friends. Even the boys seemed to be elsewhere. I'd last seen Enzo and Theo But if they really thought I'd let this boy chat me up, they had drunk too many fire whiskies. His smell alone was revolting and he was slurring his words and I was replying out of pure politeness as I edge my way a little further away from his loud shouting. His voice was vibrating the hairs around my ear and I felt uncomfortable with him being so close to me like that, my arms automatically crossing over my chest as I pull away awkwardly from him.
"Who picked this music by the way? It's shit." He yells loudly but because of the volume of the noise of the party, I can barely hear him.
"Oh... go ask Blaise, the DJ, he'll change it." I nod and shout back in his ear and point through the room to where Blaise was standing with his laptop and other bits of kit. I hope that by pointing him in that direction he'll go away and I look around anxiously for a sign of Daphne or Pansy or even Astoria so I could flash them a look that said 'rescue me', but no such luck.
"Do you wanna dance? Maybe that will make it less shit." He grins at me and I feel that flush of awkward embarrassment as I realise he really isn't giving up his uncomfortable drunk flirting.
"Oh uh... no. no thanks, I'm good."
"Oh come on... just dance with me."
"Oh uh.. no sorry...I... I need a break." I say quietly and try to stay polite.
"Just one. Come on, don't make me beg."
"Sorry.. no... I... don't want to dance with you."
"Ooh ouch. Not your type?" He says with a playfully wounded tone, putting his hand over his chest.
"Uh no, I...I have a boyfriend." I mumble as I try to squeeze away from him, backing up further down the hallway, and I see as Adrian and Evan watch me walk away, making my way for the stairs when I feel a hand grab my wrist and I turn back to Soren, about to shout at him to let go of me. A second later a firm grip grasps ahold of his shoulder and yanks him back so violently that he lets go of my wrist and he glares into the face of my drunk but pissed off friend.
"She said no mate. Back off." Mattheo growls at him and his protective arm swings over my shoulder and he turns me about and straight up the stairs, through an upstairs lounge and out onto the large balcony, finding us a gap in the people standing by the glass overlooking the gardens.
He releases his hold on me and I step back and smile, grateful for his help.
"Thanks for that..." I say to Mattheo and he grins at me and wags his finger.
"Ooh you're after trouble tonight. Flirting with other boys... trying to get my brother put in jail? Tut tut." Mattheo says teasingly.
"No I wasn't! I was not flirting with him, he made me a drink and wouldn't... back off. I was trying to be nice about it. But uh... thanks for that."
"No problem about that Durmstrang guy, he's been slobbering over every pretty girl here."
"I don't know whether that's a compliment or not." I say with a playful smirk as I watch Mattheo shield his cigarette from the wind as he lights it and he raises his eyebrows in a playful way but he doesn't answer.
"Well where is your bodyguard then? Didn't expect him to leave his precious behind for so long?" He says cheekily and I roll my eyes. He might be being annoying but it's better than the jealous tone he'd used before whenever we'd discussed Tom. It felt like he was finally making his peace with it or ignoring it or perhaps he had enough alcohol in his system to not care.
"He's gone up to the place he's rented for us. He'll be back in a bit."
Mattheo turns his head back and looks down over the balcony at the people partying by the pool, his eyes watching Sera and her friends as they dance.
I hold my breath a little as I beg him mentally to not bring up what I think he's about to. I watch her too and I try to ignore the thoughts building in my head about her. I'd drunk enough that my worries were resurfacing from where I'd been squashing them down.
She was radiant, every boy in the party watching her as usual and I bite my tongue as I try to tell myself that Tom loves me not her. It doesn't matter how pretty or perfect she is. I'm his girlfriend, that's all that matters. I was the person about to spend the Easter holidays with him, not her.
"So uh... any plans for the summer then?" Mattheo's voice breaks through my thoughts.
I open my eyes fully, not realising I'd shut my eyes and looked away from looking down at the girls by the pool and look at him.
"Oh... maybe a work placement if I'm lucky, waiting on the response from the place now, maybe-"
"Yeah the magical creatures park, I remember. Only you would want to shovel shit in August instead of being at the beach or travelling like everyone else." He says, interrupting me with a smirk that makes me roll my eyes. "You and your obsession with hippogriffs."
I stop smiling as Mattheo says this. The fact he remembered that sort of thing about me always made me feel bad that I couldn't return the depth of feeling he'd had for me. Not even the girls remembered that I wanted to work at the magical creatures park, I'd had to remind them a couple of times when we'd talked about holiday plans for the summer.
"Yeah well it'll be good for getting a job. I'm hopefully going to do some sort of travelling. Or at least a holiday. The girls and I have been talking about maybe going to Greece or Italy for a week." I say and he nods a few times with an impressed look.
"Not bad... sure you'll have fun."
I smile at him as he takes another puff on his cigarette and I watch as he grins as he sees Pansy and Theo below us. I lean over the balcony and call to her and she lifts her head and waves up to us and we both wave at them before I grin as the pair of them both run and jump into the pool, holding hands together. Mattheo and I both burst out laughing and clap, Mattheo whistling loudly as Theo erupts out of the water after his cannonball and I watch as he swims to Pansy and scoops her up and as soon as they both start making out I look away and turn my head back to Mattheo.
"Uhh... so what about you? Any plans for the summer?"
"Probably gonna go to the house in France for a bit with the boys or Theo's families place in Italy. Anything to escape the boredom of home." Mattheo says rolling his eyes as he blows his smoke up into the air, waving it away from us both.
I look at him closely and I wonder why none of them seemed that keen on going back to Malfoy manor. Yes the three of them would probably get bored in that mansion alone but I can't imagine it was truly that awful. But then again, they had all the money and freedom in the world, I don't really blame them for wanting to go to their holiday home abroad or one of their friends and spend weeks partying and having fun.
"Not going to go enjoy a cosy wee trip around Scotland with Cho?" I tease as I knock myself into his shoulder and he leans back and looks at the floor, shaking his head whilst letting out a little chuckle.
"Err...no..." He says and laughs more.
"Hmmm...such a shame, you two really seemed...happy together." I tease as I see his cheeks go the slightest bit pinker and he shakes his head again.
"Come on it's a party. Lighten up. You're spending too much time with my prude of a brother. I was only snogging her jeez. She's only doing it so that someone will have taken a picture and it gets back to Potter. She's still pissed he embarrassed her on Valentines day."
I smirk as I realise my previous assumption about Cho was probably right. She really could be in the wrong house. She was a typically smart and academic Ravenclaw but that was a smart, cunning manipulative move to be seen publicly making out with Mattheo. It's exactly what a Slytherin would do to get back at an ex. Making out with someone your ex despised so. There were three people who would get to Harry the most, The Riddle brothers because of their father or Draco because of their long-standing hatred of each other. But seeing as Tom and Draco were in relationships, that left Mattheo and in all honesty, the easiest choice to convince to make out with you at a party. In fact, I know Mattheo would have enjoyed it even more, being in the depths of the drama and winding up Potter.
"So you're being her saviour are you? Helping a woman out?" I giggle and grin at him and he smirks.
"Always willing to help a damsel in distress." He says with his cheeky grin and I can't help but laugh and shake my head at him and as I do I turn and smile as I see a slightly tipsy Enzo making his way towards us. He looks slightly awkward but smiles back, wondering if he was stepping into a moment.
"You two good?"
"Hey Enz. Yeah we're good."
"Ah cool. I'll be honest, I don't want to be the cleaning muggles coming in after we leave this place. There's some absolute states downstairs. I've seen three people being sick in bushes already. Also be careful if you head down the stairs to the outside by the pool, there's sick everywhere and shattered glass by the sliding doors out of the kitchen." He grins and I nod, taking in his advice. He stands next to us both and we watch Theo and Pansy and the other people playing chicken in the pool as we chat. A few minutes later, we hear shouting and screaming as a large bonfire is started far out on the lawn by the older boys and I can see Mattheo's massive grin as he sees it and we see them all dancing and shouting and drinking around it.
As we chat about exams and funny things we'd seen tonight, I text Tom, wondering where he is. I can't help but grin when I feel my phone vibrate and begin texting him back and then it vibrates for a final time and I grin down at it as I see him telling me he's on his way.
I decide to excuse myself to go fix my appearance before Tom gets here and I tap Enzo on the arm politely and nod my head as I excuse myself back inside, nodding at Mattheo who watches me go too and I dodge people as I make my way down the long hallway to the bedroom I'd chosen.
I pull my wand out and unlock the door of the bedroom I'd locked for later so that if Tom and I did choose to stay we had somewhere to sleep. I can feel the bass of the music thumping through the floor. I grab my makeup bag and head into the en-suite bathroom, dropping my wand into my weekend bag that I'd left in here earlier. I start fixing my lips and preening my hair so it looked good. I wipe my hands over my dress, smoothing it out more and make sure it looks good when I hear the door to the bedroom click open.
I grin widely as I come out the bathroom, hoping to see Tom, that he'd gotten here already and had just been looking for me and seen me heading down the hallway to the room and followed. My smile drops instantly when I see the boy from before, Soren, barge his way in. When he sees me, his drunk eyes take a second to focus and then he gives me a half smile.
"Hey, are you alright?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine thanks. I... just wanted to be alone for a bit. Get myself ready now my boyfriends on his way."
"Look if you don't like me, just say that, you don't need to make up a boyfriend. I just wanted to check you were okay, you hurried down here a little quick, I was worried you were about to be sick or something." He says with just enough concern it could be convincing but I still raise an eyebrow and stay back from him.
"Oh no, no I wasn't going to be sick. And I'm not making it up, I do have a boyfriend, so uh..."
He stares at me and comes closer and I swallow as he crosses the room.
"I just find it interesting that he's not... here... if I had a pretty girlfriend in... that dress... I would't leave her alone at a party." He says slowly and his head lowers and he looks up at me through his eyebrows in a look that is trying to be persuasive but it just looks predatory and I feel my throat start drying up. His tone makes me feel a nervous cold shiver run down my neck. I feel myself getting annoyed by his tone and I grit my teeth.
"Look, just stop it okay? Go back to the party."
"Come on. Just one little kiss. You look so pretty in your dress." He drunkenly whispers to me as he gets even closer, his hand touching my waist and I flinch back from him.
"I said no. Now get out! My boyfriend... he will hurt you just for doing this." I say thickening my voice to make it sound as scary as possible and he just scoffs.
He stares down at me and when I try to move past him, he sidesteps with me, blocking me and he smirks harder.
"Aw come on, he doesn't need to know."
"I said no-" and before I can start to raise my voice more at him or dodge past him, his lips crash onto mine. My eyes widen as his large hands grab my face hard. I immediately freeze in shock as fear fills me as I feel how strong his grip is. Even drunk I can tell he is stronger than me. I try to kick him away from me as shoving at his chest does nothing at all and he responds by pushing me further back until I smash up against a wall. I scratch my nails into his arms but he doesn't seem to feel the pain and he barely pulls away for breath and as I go to shout he covers my mouth again with his. I dig my nails in deeper and he shoves his legs into mine, pinning me harder into the wall, finding the more I fight, the more he fights to keep control. I see the place where my nails dig into him and I see small pricks of blood appearing on the surface of his tanned skin.
TOM! TOM HELP!... I think loudly forcing my mind to scream his name out loudly over and over, a loud drunken crying out in my mind as I go to try and shove Soren's face away from mine, he grabs ahold of my arms so tightly I can't move them. I can hear myself praying that somehow Tom can hear my terrified screaming in my mind as tears start to stream down my face as I feel fear flood me entirely.
TOM!...PLEASE! HELP! I yell out even louder in my mind as Soren's hands get tighter on me and his left hand reaches down moving to the bottom of my dress, his sweaty hand touching my thigh as he tries to push my dress up, shoving one of my arms behind my own body so it's squashed behind me against the wall. His eyes look me over as he takes a quick breath and as he goes to grab me harder, I feel his hand trying to slip higher and faster up my dress, lifting it up to near my hip and I know my pants are on show now.
In that split second, I realise Tom's not coming.
No one is coming to rescue me. The only way someone will know this happens is if a horny couple of teenagers bust that door open looking for a room to shag in.
The fear that this... this could get even worse for me makes me start to panic and the fear hits me like a train. I dart my eyes to the side and I see my wand sticking out the pocket of my bag where I'd dropped it into my bag on my way into the bathroom. I turn my eyes back and I bite down hard as his tongue moves back into my mouth, his hot breath making me want to heave. He screeches, not too drunk to not feel that pain and he lets go of me and steps back. It's a vital couple of seconds I needed and as his hand comes up to cover his mouth as he screws his face up in pain, I shove my hand out I yell the spell Accio and a second later, I feel my wand in my hand and I fling it round to face him and yell.
"Stupefy."
Soren flies backwards, smashing loudly into the wall at the other end of the room with a groan that leaves his lips as he passes out.
I stare at his crumpled heap of a body and thank Merlin I'm a witch. That could have gone very differently if I hadn't been. I can feel my heartbeat in my ears as I breathe and gasp loudly. His hot breathy alcohol taste still in my mouth and I feel myself nearly sway with the wanting to be sick. I stow my wand in my sleeve and grab my bag of stuff, hurriedly shoving my makeup and hair tools into it to get out of here quickly before he moves, hastily checking over my shoulder every couple of seconds to make sure he's still not moving. He was a lumbering great unit, even with no wand on him, one punch from him would deck me.
Suddenly the door slams open, nearly coming off its hinges and my brain can't be grateful enough to see Tom standing there, his wand out. He He looks from me to the boy who is struggling to get up off the floor, his head swaying as he leans forward, his eyes drunk. He rushes over to me, hitting me so hard with the force he grabs me with into his arms.
"Baby... are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?" He pulls me into him and just as he does I break into tears. Full relief at being in his arms. I see Evan, Adrian and Cassius standing in doorway to the hallway, watching nervously, all of them had followed Tom, prepared to back him up.
Tom kisses my forehead and holds me tight and I feel like he's trying to squeeze me inside him to protect me but the adrenaline is still running in me, the shock. I feel... nothing. Almost like I'm paralysed. I can't believe what just happened but at the same time, I feel every single second of it again. As he strokes my hair back out of my face and pulls me back into him, his large hand cradling the back of my head to him, there's a slight groan behind him. Tom whirls round and seeing Soren on his hands and knees, stumbling to get up. Tom lets me go and picks him up by the scruff of the neck of his shirt and slams him against the wall.
"You're dead. I'm going to kill you and not even with a fucking wand!" Tom yells in his face as he starts to drag him towards the door to the hallway. His eyes are black and ablaze with a terrifying rage that I fully believe he's going to do what he says.
"Tom no! Mate! Calm down!" Evan and the others rush forward and try to grab Tom, trying to wrestle him back and I stand there rooted to the spot, hearing everything and nothing at the same time. The only thing I can do is utter one word.
"T-Tommy..." I stutter out between tears as I cry. I feel stupid, embarrassed, like a child as I start to crumble and cry more and the fear and pain in my voice makes Tom relent. His dark eyes flash back over to me and with a deep swallow and an aggressive shove against Soren, he lets him go, gritting his teeth hard as he realises I need him right now.
He grabs ahold of me and pulls me into his side.
"Please... like you were actually gonna fight me over her... She's an easy little slut. She wanted me... she's been teasing me all night." Soren says with a goading grin and raises his brows and makes a disgusting kiss face at me, raising his eyebrows and .
I stumble a little as Tom lets go of me so suddenly and Pucey pulls me back out of the way, pulling me into him to shield me as Tom and Soren tumble past me in a grappling fight. Tom smacks Soren so hard in the face he smashes into the wall behind him and Tom starts pummelling his stomach hard. The noise of his fists smacking his stomach and the loud groans of pain from him hit my ears and Pucey turns my head in tighter to him but I can't help but glance out the corner of my eyes. I watch with wide-eyes as Tom's curls fall from his perfectly neat hair, bouncing hard on his forehead as his furious locked jaw grits as he smacks into Soren's stomach again and again. None of the other boys get involved, all staying back and pushing people back out of the way as Soren stumbles away and tries to run but Tom grabs him and as Soren grabs Tom back and tries to push him, the pair start scrapping again. Tom rushes him and the wooden banister breaks and I scream as I watch them both tumble off the edge onto the floor below and people scream as the pair of them land downstairs.
Evan, Adrian and the rest of us race down the stairs and I can't run fast enough to get to Tom as he lies there motionless for a moment. I shout out his name and his eyes blink open and immediately harden as he gets to his feet, almost as if nothing has happened.
The music stops almost immediately and everyone stares at the boy passed out on the floor, blood gushing from his nose. Tom stands up from him and wipes his own slightly bleeding lip and grabs my hand but my legs are stumbling, locked solid with lactic acid from all the adrenaline. He pulls me from the room and everyone in our way parts and stares at the blonde boy who can barely get up.
Tom stops and turns and he picks me up, his face grim and raging silently as he scoops me up and carries me to the car. The couple of boys standing around it chatting about the car scatter as he wrenches open the passenger seat and drops me in it. His breath is angry too, the way I see his nostrils flare as he slams the door shut and crosses round to the drivers side. He starts the car without a word to me and accelerates down the drive.
I keep hyperventilating as the shock starts to wear off and I realise everything that's just happened and as we come to the end of the drive my tears are so thick I can't stop crying, they just stream and I cry out and Tom.
Tom's raging face sees me completely break down, and he slows his speed and pulls the car over near the end of the long drive. He turns the engine off and he breathes heavily for a moment, his knuckles red and I can see the vein in his forehead and neck bulging out. He swallows and a moment later he reaches across and grabs ahold of me and pulls me into his lap.
"Shh baby... you're okay... you're okay..." He whisper to me and strokes my hair, pulling me tight into him and he tries to calm my breathing with a tighter hug.
"I didn't-" I try to say but my voice is cracking and croaky and he wipes my tears and shushes me with a soothing sound. I need him to know it's not what Soren said happened.
"I know baby. You didn't do anything wrong. Are you okay?" I want to nod and I can't lie. I'm not okay. I'm hyperventilating still from the shock and the fear I'd felt and I shake my head and he pulls me into him, tucking my head into his neck. His familiar smell of cologne and warmth makes me feel better instantly and his large hands rubbing my back and holding me tight to him makes me feel so safe.
"Did he...touch you? There?" He asks and all I can see is his dark eyes filled with a storm of rage.
I shake my head and I feel the deep breath Tom was holding in come out of his chest but he still holds me tight and he feels my leg tremble. It reignites his rage a little.
"He's dead. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to go back there and kill him." He growls and I can see it in his face that he wants to, his voice is terrifyingly honest.
I try to stop sobbing but I can't, but I feel so safe in Tom's arms. I don't even care what people might be saying back at the party about what they saw.
"No... no... please... it's over... let's just get out of here..." I plead with him and he hugs me, using the hug to calm his own rage as he closes his eyes tight and he opens them when he feels me trembling and he strokes my arms and my hair.
"You're safe baby. You're fine. You're safe. I've got you." He whisper to me and he rocks me, cuddling me tight into my chest.
It takes nearly another five minutes of being cuddled and rocked for my breathing to relax and he wipes my tears and I know I've got mascara streaming down my cheeks, I probably look an absolute mess but he doesn't care. He puts his finger and thumb to my chin and holds it gently, examining my face. He'd already run his eyes over my whole body checking for any injuries or sign of anything else.
"I love you Tom."
"I love you too baby, and that is the only fucking reason I'm not going back to rip his lungs out. I can't go to Azkaban... I can't be away from you for the length of a murder sentence." He whispers in a sort of half-joking, half-serious tone that hints at his desperation and gratefulness that I'm okay.
His sweet joke makes me choke a little as I laugh and he smiles softly as he sees me smile and laugh and his hands cradle my face again and he kisses my forehead.
"Come on, let's get you out of here. Get you a bath or something, something to eat."
I nod and kiss him gently on the lips, a small thanks for coming to to help me when he did. I was proud of myself of being able to get out of the situation myself but having Tom come and defend and protect me like that made me feel so loved and appreciative of him.
In that moment I was so grateful I was dating Tom Riddle.
He starts the engine and I go to climb out of his lap and he shakes his head.
"No baby, you can stay there, it's a short drive."
He unclips his seatbelt and puts it around me too and he holds me tight with one arm as he starts to drive out onto the main road, cutting up through the dark highlands towards the cottage. I snuggle into his neck, inhaling his scent and relaxing myself. I know sitting like this isn't safe but I don't care. I needed to be in Tom's lap right now, in his safe embrace and he knew it. His hand gently stroking me as he drives carefully, lower than the speed limit. It's the middle of the night in the highlands and I turn my head and look up at the moon and let out a deep breath, grateful that tonight hadn't ended the way I feared it was going to.