"I mean, it's sort of exciting isn't it? Breaking the rules."
_Hermione, Order of the Phoenix_
Only a few mere hours later, Tom's euphoria dissipated. He was left trembling, uneasy for the first time in his life. An unhappy Dumbledore was an immensely scary one, Tom would have to admit. He returned to his dormitory and sat on his bed, head in his hands. It was in this position that Abraxas found him after dinner; Tom having managed to forget entirely about it, despite hearing the bell.
"Tom?" Abraxas approached, not exactly wary of the boy, but knowing something was off. "Was it... Dumbledore?"
The very mention of his enemy's name caused him to explode.
"Dumbledore!" He jumped up, crazed with fury. "That interfering old codger! That..." He began ranting, spouting the foulest of names; some of which Abraxas had never heard before. He supposed it was a Muggle thing.
"What did he do?" Abraxas asked gently, sitting on his own bed and watching his leader with an emotion akin to concern.
"He..." Tom shook his head, unable to say. "Come here, Abraxas."
Abraxas obeyed, kneeling before his Lord.
"Perform Legilimency on me," Tom ordered.
Abraxas shook his head.
"Do it," Tom growled.
His fellow Slytherin took his wand and pointed it at Tom.
"Legilimens," he whispered and found himself falling into Tom's memories.
Moments later he emerged, visibly shaken.
"Are you alright, Tom?" Abraxas questioned. "Really alright?"
Tom began nodding then shook his head. "I'm more confused. He told me that I murdered my mother. She died giving birth to me – how is that my fault?"
"It isn't," Abraxas said quietly. "And the world won't be ruined by you. How can Dumbledore say that, when he's allowed his friend, Gellert Grindelwald, to run rampant in Europe for the past fifty or so years?"
"I don't know." Tom wrinkled his forehead, deep in thought.
"And, remember Tom, I'll always be here to keep you on the straight and narrow," Abraxas promised.
Abraxas only kept his serious expression for about ten seconds before dissolving into laughter at the irony of his statement. Tom wore his trademark glare for an extra minute before finally grinning slightly.
"Very funny, Abraxas, very funny."
*
Tom sought out Ginevra in the library, barely ten minutes before curfew.
"Granger," he spoke quietly, startling the Ravenclaw out of her reverie.
"Yes, Tom?" She asked wonderingly. She hoped he'd forgotten about earlier.
"Are you up for a trip to the kitchens?"
"What?" Ginevra was shocked by the Slytherin's out-of-character question. And he wasn't usually the sort to ask; he would just order.
"You will come to the kitchens with me." So Tom hadn't completely grown another head, then.
"Fine," Ginevra huffed, stuffing her books back into her bag.
"It's not like you were doing anything," Tom said pointedly, glancing at the scribbled to-do list she had out on the table. No tasks had been ticked.
Ginevra glared at him but went with him nonetheless.
*
Ginevra noted Tom's obvious lack of humanity towards the house-elves as they scurried to his every need. It appeared that Tom had missed dinner, and so had Ginevra, by odd coincidence. She'd been busy worrying about what Tom would do, considering that he knew she knew intricate details about his life that no-one else had been told.
"How did you miss dinner?" She asked warily. The two sat facing each other at a replica of the Slytherin table, eating sparsely from the huge array of foods they'd been given. She picked at the savoury pie she'd taken, while her companion ate a few measly mouthfuls of stew.
He frowned. "Dumbledore," he said finally.
Ginevra blinked. "What did he do?"
"Well, after Transfiguration, he threatened me," Tom began slowly. She was shocked. "He told me to leave you alone, to stop including you in my nefarious plans."
"Which are?" Ginevra asked. Tom gave her a suspicious look. "I mean," she joked, "if it's just because I did that project instead of us working together..."
"You are meant to be smart, Granger," Tom stared at her. "Sometimes I feel you're holding things back."
Ginevra stared back unblinkingly. "Sometimes I think the same about you, Riddle."
"How did you know my middle name?" Tom questioned suddenly.
"It was in a record of Prefects," Ginevra lied. "In the library."
*
"Well, which one is it?"
"How am I supposed to know? It's the middle of the night, I can't remember the name of the title, and it could be in the Restricted Section!"
"Keep your voice down!"
Tom paraded the isles of the library, his face illuminated by the light of a dim Lumos. As she watched, he magically unlocked the Restricted Section and strode into the encroaching darkness. Then he spun on his heel and glared at her.
"So?" He demanded. "Where is it?"
"I d-don't know," Ginevra stuttered. "Are we all expected to have perfect memories?"
"A Ravenclaw should," he muttered.
All of a sudden a light emerged round the corner.
"Students out of bed! Students in the Restricted Section!"
Tom seized Ginevra's arm.
"How effective is your Disillusionment Charm?" He asked.
"Good enough."
"Let's go, then."
And they ran.
*****
A.N. A nice, long chapter to make up for the wait. There's the fluffy Abraxas-Tom chat that I promised and Tom interrogating Ginevra/Hermione.
Next up: will they escape punishment?
Thank you for reading and please comment!