Winter came like nightfall, dark and inevitable. Frigid winds whipped across the castle grounds, blanketing everything in a thick layer of snow as the sun sank behind the trees one evening. The cold crept into the halls of Hogwarts itself, fogging up the panes of ancient glass windows, freezing glasses of water left on bedside tables, and leaving students travelling from class to class in huddles to keep warm. Not even the fire of a thousand dragons could have banished the frozen spell that had claimed northern Scotland that January.
But with the harsh reality of Mother Nature came beauty: the young witches and wizards were able to catch glimpses of the northern lights on some nights, a rare delight. Despite the bitter cold, they'd often gather on the Astronomy Tower to observe the enthralling ribbons of teal and green dance across the night sky, performing magic that not even the most powerful of wands could ever hope to produce.
The reflection of the aurora borealis was always painted across the mostly frozen solid surface of Black Lake, rippling like gentle waves of summer seas, ebbing and flowing like running water; even the dark mystery that was the Forbidden Forest allowed the aerial masterpiece to colour its crooked branches in vibrant hues of blue and violet, casting an enchanted glow across all the wilderness that surrounded and fortified Hogwarts. It was, purely, magic beyond magic.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Arabella gushed one night, leaning against the balustrade cautiously.
Will and Halia exchanged small smiles, holding their breath as they silently counted the seconds that passed on their fingers.
"Not nearly as beautiful as you," Abraxas replied softly, pulling Arabella closer to his side -- he'd later claim that it was to keep her from falling, just in case, but his two witnesses would say otherwise.
Halia and Will high fived as quietly as they could manage behind their best friend's back, sporting triumphant grins.
"That was the most cliché thing I have ever heard you say," Arabella murmured abstractly, nevertheless snuggling in to his embrace, grateful that he could keep her mind off the fact that they stood on a tower so tall that Ogg's hut appeared to be the size of an ant.
She shivered slightly, despite wearing a thick, fur-lined coat with a warm jumper underneath -- not to mention wool mittens and a crimson- and gold-banded scarf. Yet her fingers and toes still felt oddly numb.
"But you liked it," Malfoy smirked, earning himself a light smack to the chest. "Now, you best be careful around there, love. Wouldn't want my heart breaking because of you, would we?"
She smiled up at him, just as smugly. "I think you'd rather let me break it than anyone else."
He let out a sigh of defeat which did not match his bright grey eyes, which twinkled not unlike the cold pinpricks of light scattered in the ink black sky above, but with a tender warmness all their own. "Then you'd be right, Ara."
Just before she could manage a reply, loud hooting sounded behind them. Glancing out of the corners of her eyes, she could spot her teammates celebrating amongst themselves as if they had just won themselves the House Cup.
"Well," Evelyn Prosecco gloated, grinning devilishly.
"What?" Arabella snapped, in no mood for the usual banter that came from her friends.
"This definitely isn't you and your not-boyfriend, is it?" Evelyn giggled.
Callan McGregor's lopsided grin widened as he spoke up in his lilting accent. "You two are happy out with each other -- now that's a fret!"
Everyone's brows furrowed, eyeing the Irish boy with confusion. He shuffled awkwardly. "Sayings from back home, sure look it."
Another uncomfortable silenced followed, filled by his fidgeting and the muted murmurs of other students in the background. "All right, I'm gunna head on."
"You do that," Thomas Blackladder said amusedly, shaking his head at his best friend. "Anyways, Bells, we're here to crash your date."
Cahill shot him a warning look, to which he shrugged casually. "This bloke here put us up to it," Thomas went on, to his captain's futile protests. "Said he wanted to make sure you're not getting distracted before our next match. . . . We have to win it, y'know, or we'll have no chance for the Cup."
Arabella closed her eyes, drawing deep breaths. "First of all," she began sharply, "this is certainly not a date. Secondly, he is not my boyfriend. And third, our match is in March, so I believe that three months' time -- with or without Abraxas -- will not see me lose my concentration for quidditch. I seek other endeavours in life than finding love, you know."
"That's because you've already found it," said Blackladder in a sing-song voice, grinning. "Bells and Brax -- sounds rather nice, doesn't it?"
She seethed, squeezing so tightly onto Malfoy's hand (which she was still holding, subconsciously) that he grimaced. "I think not!" she imploded. "And do not call me Bells! You know I detest it, Thomas."
Abraxas carefully placed his gloved hand on her slender shoulder, attempting to calm her back down. "Easy, easy now."
"I'm not a horse," she said irritably, but in a far less severe tone than she had used with the other boy. "Please, all of you. . . . just leave."
After much grumbling and complaining, six members of Gryffindor's quidditch team and two Hufflepuffs skulked away, finally leaving the couple alone.
Abraxas tried to intertwine his fingers with hers, forgetting that she wore mittens. "Why aren't you letting me hold your hand?" he asked, his face falling.
She laughed, already forgetting about their interruption. "I would let you," she breathed out, "but I can't."
His eyes crinkled at the corners, a slight smirk tugging his lips upwards. "What's stopping you?"
Her smile widened -- but before she could reply, a dark shadow loomed over them.
"Hello," Tom Riddle greeted them coldly. "Fascinating, isn't it? The northern lights, I mean."
Malfoy's hand tightened around her arm, and she could feel his entire body stiffen as if he had turned to stone. "My Lord," he said in a low tone, "may I ask what you require of me?"
"It's not you I have a job for today, Abraxas," Tom responded almost jovially, the ghost of a smile playing across his lips. "Arabella, if you would join me for but a moment."
She swallowed, finding her throat dry. "W-why?"
"I must speak with you," Riddle said urgently, his friendly façade crumbling quickly. "Now."
She turned back to Malfoy with a pleading glance, but he urged her to join the other boy. "It's just for a little bit, Ara. He won't nip your nose off."
Reluctantly, she took a step toward the tall, slim Prefect who stood expectantly, his face devoid of emotion, cold eyes scrutinising her. As soon as she was near him, he turned swiftly on his heel and headed for the staircase that wound downwards to a hallway.
She followed him, trying to ignore the nervous clenching and unclenching of her stomach. His footsteps echoed off the stone floor and walls as they descended, his shadow grew longer and longer until it masked half her face in darkness.
Suddenly, he spun around to face Arabella, causing her to nearly collide into him. His face was illuminated by the faintly flickering torches mounted on the walls, accentuating the hollows of his high cheekbones.
"What on earth is wrong with your brother?" he demanded.
She furrowed her brow. "You brought me all the way down here to ask such an obvious question?"
"If it was obvious, I wouldn't be asking," Tom retorted.
Arabella laughed derisively, her high spirits from earlier having fled into the shadows that enveloped them like midnight. "He's grieving, Riddle."
His dark eyebrows lifted in silent realisation. "I thought for sure that he'd be over that by now."
"Over it!" she cried indignantly. "Our mother killed herself, Tom, not even a month ago. How do you expect either of us to be 'over that,' as you so eloquently put it?"
"My mother died the day I was born," he said, his eyes darkening, "and my father had abandoned us long before. I was brought up in that miserable Muggle orphanage. So forgive me if I do not understand, Arabella, but I have never had anyone in my life that I would grieve if they left."
Despite her initial repugnant disgust, her face softened. "There's got to be someone you'd miss, Tom."
Riddle cast his eyes at the floor, biting his lip. "I'm afraid not."
He could practically feel her empathy rolling towards him in bright, warm waves that melted away the penetrating cold within the castle walls. He bit down on his lip harder, drawing blood, as to prevent a smile of satisfaction from creeping across his lips.
"Oh, Tom," Arabella said gently. "I can't even imagine. . . . It must be so awful there."
"I haven't got a single friend there," he admitted truthfully, injecting as much sorrow as he possibly could into his voice. "My summers are seldom spent outside my plain little room."
She, too, bit her lip, but to keep it from trembling. "Have . . . . have you thought about spending the summers here at Hogwarts?"
It was nearly impossible to resist a smirk, but he somehow managed to keep his facial features impassive. "I wouldn't be allowed to, would I?"
"I think Professor Dippet is very understanding," she murmured, seeing beyond the manipulative, charismatic young prodigy before her for the first time to behold a vulnerable, lost and misguided boy who had never known love in his life.
Regret instantly flooded her senses, coursing through her veins like a raging river. She never should have disregarded him as arrogant, cruel, and shrewd. He merely didn't know any better, she reasoned with herself. He'd had no one to show him what it meant to be alive.
Tom gritted his teeth, repulsed by the pity directed at him from the girl who stood one step above him. But it was exactly what he wanted.
"Perhaps he is," Tom mused, purposefully brushing against her as he returned to the Astronomy Tower.
He frowned at himself as he climbed the steep staircase, despising the foreign feeling that constricted his chest.
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A Tombella encounter, plus some Abraxella fluff :-) Hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the long wait! I'll try really hard to update tomorrow to make it up. The weather has been crazy. Stay safe if you're on the east coast!
And thank you very much for all your kind messages in the last chapter, I really cannot thank you enough. You are all so lovely.
Today's Question: It's a hard one, even for me. . . . Abraxella or Tombella?
Thanks for reading! Vote and comment!
Oh, and one last thing! I've been listening to a lot of 5SOS lately, to cope with things, and it's really been making me want to write a fic on them. What do you guys think?
Until next time,
-o