So I recently got back into reading fanfics and I gotta say, I have a different perspective when it comes to Tom's character. I realized that I do not like the super dark/violent version. But I also don't like the really soft/dulled version either 😕 it's just a weird thing I have. I know he hasn't been "in character" which is why you guys have been seeing some..changes. I don't know. I would love to have conversations about this with you guys.
Side note: dreams ARE important to the story
✌🏻
Listen: the book by Nicholas Hooper
24| classes begin
After the feast ended, Tom walked along with Ava and her friends as they went to the Slytherin common room. They also had the pleasure of having one of the Slytherin prefects following along with them. He was instructed to show Tom to his separate room. They knew about this ahead of time, as the Headmistress believed it would be better for everyone. Apparently, other students would be uncomfortable with him sharing their room.
Tom walked silently next to Liam as they listened to Ava and Mia talk animatedly. He was relieved that not many students from Slytherin gave much attention to him, unlike the ones from other houses. He would, at least, not have to deal with the constant scrutiny from Potter and his friends. Tom was pulled from his thoughts when a new person joined their group.
"Oi, Merin." The boy that began to walk along next to Ava was stocky with dark hair and a light Scottish accent. "Got the team figured out yet?"
Ava smirked, "I won't know until try-outs." She shared a look with Liam, knowing they had already discussed ideas. "Which means you and the others will have to wait quite some time."
"That means get lost Gillan," Liam said with a laugh.
Gillan rolled his eyes, "oh shut it Carsen." He sighed dramatically at Ava. "Fine, I'll have to make sure I get on the team then."
"You do that," Ava said sarcastically. She laughed when he made a face and left them. Before he got too far, Ava yelled out, "and you'll do it fairly. No cheating!"
She was met with a laugh, "of course. Whatever you say captain." Gillan turned back around and disappeared with his friends in the crowd of students.
Mia shook her head in amusement. "Even if he was horrible at quidditch, you'd let him on the team."
"But that's the thing," Ava said equally amused, "he's not half bad as a beater." She bumped shoulders with Mia, "besides, I just keep him around so you can see him more often."
A red tint took over Mia's freckled face at hearing that. "I've no idea what you mean by that," she said indignantly.
"Oh please." Ava wrapped her arm around Mia's shoulders and hugged her. "You can't hide it from me. I've seen the way you drool over him like the other girls."
"I'm nothing like them!" Mia tried to be offended by Ava's statement, but couldn't hide her embarrassment. "I just find him to be..decent looking. That's all."
Ava hummed, "sure."
Tom grimaced to himself at their conversation. Everything revolved around who liked who, that hadn't changed one bit from when he was first a student. There are far more important matters to focus on than pointless crushes. But he did take interest in Liam's reaction to the turn the girls' conversation took. He had a sour expression on his face as though he smelled something bad. That was interesting to Tom. It seemed, to him, that Liam didn't enjoy the idea that Mia was attracted to someone else.
As they arrived to the Slytherin common room, most students veered off to their separate dormitories while a few lingered in the main area. Tom stood off to the side as Mia and Liam finished talking to Ava for the night. She then went back to Tom as he waited for the prefect to show him to his room.
"Having your own room will be nice I think," Ava started as she pulled her hair over her shoulder to run a hand through it. "I'm actually a little jealous."
Tom raised an eyebrow, "you would prefer being isolated than being with your friends?"
Ava paused. "Technically they're not all my friends." She crossed her arms, "and I wouldn't say it's isolation."
"Really? Let's see how far away I'm placed, at the comfort of the students." There was clear disdain in Tom's voice when he spoke.
Ava didn't have a chance to respond as the prefects approached them. They were quick to introduce themselves before dismissing Ava and taking Tom to his private room. He barely had a chance to receive her 'goodnight' as they whisked him away. He decided to just go along with them since he'll see Ava the next day anyways. He was pleasantly surprised to see his room was only down the hall from the boys dorms. They placed him closer than expected.
Once they told him the password to his room, they left to finish their duties for the night. Tom took a moment to study the room. It was small, but bigger than what was truly needed. It was as dark as the rest of the dungeons and decorated in green. There was a full bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and wardrobe. There was more than enough in the room for him considering he wouldn't spend much time there. Even more surprising was the attached quaint bathroom to his left.
After taking it all in, Tom went to his trunk that was sitting at the end of the bed. There wasn't much for him to unpack considering he didn't have much to his name. It took only a few minutes to set out his books and other various items. Knowing it was late, he grabbed a random book to read before he attempted to sleep. But that wouldn't be until much later.
...
Early the next morning, Tom was taking his time getting dressed. He was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom studying his uniform. Everything was on and in place except for the robes. He had taken extra care in putting it on and leaving his appearance in pristine condition. Perhaps that would help him give a good first impression.
As he straightened the green striped tie, Tom thought over all the differences. The ties weren't changed much from the 40s and the school robes were still the same billowing black. The most noticeable difference between his old uniform and the new one was the change from grey to black. The grey uniforms were very fitting for the 40s when Tom thought back to it. Plain and dull just like the era. Because of this, Tom immediately took to the new uniforms made with crisp black.
Overall, the uniforms of this time were much more appealing in Tom's opinion. It was more comfortable without the added blazer underneath the robes. He also, though he wouldn't admit it out loud, enjoyed the addition of House colors to the hood of the robe. Students from each house were more distinct that way.
Tom gave one last check over the vest and trousers before grabbing his robe and slipping it on. He made sure to secure his wand as he left his room to wait in the common room. He realized it was still quite early for most students to be awake, but that worked just fine for him. Once he reached the main area with the fireplace and couches, Tom went over to the window to look out at the black lake.
He was surprised to see that like the common room, the lake was still the same. Due to it being so early yet it was quieter. Peaceful. It was always relaxing for him to just watch out the window and lose himself in the lake's murky depths. Tom closed his eyes for a second to take a deep breath, feeling like he was where he belonged again. No matter how much things have changed, Hogwarts meant a lot to him. But that same feeling of belonging and acceptance wasn't as strong anymore.
Tom was fully aware that he was the outcast now. Charm and fake politeness wouldn't get him far with anyone anymore. Unfortunately those were his ways of dealing with scrutiny from other people. He would have to learn how to go on without either of them eventually. But at least he could continue playing the lost boy.
"I'm not surprised to see you up already."
Tom's eyes snapped open in shock from hearing the sudden voice behind him. He turned to face Ava who was standing next to the large black sofa. "I wanted a few moments to prepare myself for the day."
Ava nodded in response. She sat on the armrest of the sofa and fidgeted with the hem of her vest. "That's understandable." She stopped playing with her vest once she noticed Tom's focus shift to that. "Are you nervous?"
"Wouldn't you be?" He raised an eyebrow at her, pointing out how ridiculous her question was. "But yes, I admit I'm a little unsettled."
Ava cracked a small smile at his choice of words. "I'm sure everything will go well, all things considered that is." She paused to look at the clock on the wall when it chimed. "It will be breakfast soon. We could head down early if you wanted to?"
Tom thought for a moment before nodding. As he and Ava made their way out of the common room, they could hear it coming to life as students began moving around. They found multiple other students from other houses wandering the halls as well on their way to the Great Hall. Ava seemed to ignore the odd looks they were given while Tom scowled in annoyance at their blatant criticizing.
To get his mind off of the pestering students they passed, Tom decided to bring up his previous question. "Ava, last night made me wonder something about your friends."
Ava looked confused, "what was that?"
"Well," Tom began with an air of innocence. "You briefly mentioned you could see the thestrals. Your friends didn't seem to react at all so I wondered, can they see them?"
"Oh, right." Ava's voice held an odd hint of apprehension. "I could see them since I was about twelve and after the war, I believe most of the older students see them now."
Tom paused in his step. That's right. "I guess that would make sense." He cleared his throat awkwardly then, "that is a bit young to witness death isn't it?"
Ava bit her lip and nodded. "I don't remember much of what happened that day or why, but I was unfortunate enough to see one of my father's coworkers die." At Tom's questioning look, Ava elaborated. "It was an unexpected confrontation and I was hidden."
"Who killed him?"
"A man suspected of being a Death Eater," Ava said monotonously.
That was enough for Tom to stop their conversation there. He didn't need to hear more to understand what happened. And he was glad that Ava could sense he wanted to stop talking about it after that. They remained quiet from then on as they entered the Great Hall and sat at the Slytherin table. There were various students scattered across the room reading or talking to friends. Ava was quick to grab a copy of the paper to bide the time while Tom was left to study his surroundings.
They had been sitting there for nearly fifteen minutes when students slowly began to filter in. Tom recoiled slightly when he received multiple glances from others. He was grateful to have a distraction from them when Ava offered the paper once she was done with it. So instead of paying attention to those glances, he scoured the paper for anything interesting.
"You two are here early," came Liam's voice as he sat across from Ava.
"So are you for once," Ava said back while leaning against the table. "Usually you get here just as breakfast begins."
Liam shrugged. "I'm a busy man."
Ava let out an unlady-like snort when he said that. "Busy with what? Staring at girls and avoiding homework?" She laughed when he glared at her, "you must struggle to keep up with all of it."
"Alright you can stop now." Liam rolled his eyes at her and picked at his tie.
Mia joined them then, sitting next to Liam, and gave them all a confused look. "What's going on?"
"Nothing," Liam and Ava said simultaneously.
Mia raised an eyebrow and met Tom's eyes over the paper. He was as unimpressed by them as she was. Instead of commenting further, Mia just shook her head and pulled out a small notebook. It was another few minutes before food appeared on the table and breakfast began. There wasn't a lot of noise in the Great Hall considering it was early morning and students were unaccustomed to it yet.
The four of them exchanged few words while they ate. They nearly forgot Tom was there because he didn't talk at all. Mia and Liam didn't mind his silence, but Ava spared him a concerned glance or two. She wasn't able to get a word out of him until they received their class schedules at the end of breakfast.
Ava passed Tom his once they got them. "There's not much of a point to getting this since you have the same classes I do."
Liam looked over Mia's time table and frowned. "I'm guessing you three all have ancient runes? Figures I'd be on my own in Care of Magical Creatures."
Mia didn't look up from writing in her notebook as she said, "take your studies more seriously then."
Liam scoffed. "I do." When Mia gave him a disbelieving look, he made a face. "I do, for the most part."
"Exactly," Mia said in finality.
Liam just sighed and looked at Ava. "What you've got then?"
"The basic classes like DADA and transfiguration. We do have N.E.W.T. Potions though." She skimmed over charms and herbology on the list. "There's also astronomy, which you have too right?"
Liam nodded, "yeah I guess so. It was a better option than divination that's for sure."
"I still can't believe you and Allison got into advanced potions and I didn't," Mia said in irritation. "I thought I did well."
Ava smirked, "and who helped you do well?" She took a drink of orange juice and kept an amused expression. "I think you're just upset that Snape always liked me more than you."
Mia grumbled to herself, "I'm not upset."
"Sure you aren't." Ava folded her schedule and put it away in her pocket. "Anyways, we all have double transfiguration right away and then Defense."
Liam groaned, "starting the year out strong it seems."
"Not to mention we share Defense with the Gryffindors." Mia received a cringe from Liam when she said that. "Because of course they would put our houses together still."
"I doubt they'll ever change it," Liam said in the middle of taking a bite from his toast.
Ava and Mia both scowled at him in disgust. Noticing Tom's show of approval to Liam's dislike of the Gryffindors, Ava just sighed. "I don't understand why you have such a problem with them. Rivalry between our two houses shouldn't just be inherited the way it is." She then shrugged as she leaned against the table. "But now both of my siblings are in Gryffindor, so what do I know."
Tom paused as he grabbed his cup. He shouldn't have been so obvious in his dislike for that house. Half of his 'foster home' was made up of Gryffindors. He was rather fond of Lizzie, well as much as he could be anyways.
Tom placed his cup down and looked at Ava, putting on an apologetic expression. "You're right. We should be a little more objective."
Ava slowly nodded, clearly taken off guard by Tom being the one to say that. Liam also seemed to be disbelieving of Tom. He raised an eyebrow at Ava as Tom went back to his food. Ava just shook her head, not wanting to comment further. The conversation died out there as they finished eating and waited for breakfast to be over.
Conversations between the four of them remained minimal for the rest of the morning as they attended their first classes. Transfiguration was an interesting time for the seventh year Slytherins and Ravenclaws. They had a new professor since McGonagall became Headmistress. He was quite younger than all the other professors, having been graduated only a few years. Some of the other students had heard he was a favorite of McGonagalls.
It didn't take long into the class to learn that Professor Leighton was exceptionally talented at transfiguration. Even the most studious Ravenclaw struggled with one of the spells. Ava and Mia had had a silent competition with Allison, who was sitting across the isle from them. She, of course, beat them at performing the spell perfectly. Ava was quick to follow before Mia had the chance to try again.
Tom was leaning back in his desk chair with his wand laying on the desk in front of him. He was unsurprisingly one of the first to do the spell. They had already gone through it in his time. Once he completed the spell, he watched the other students. He soon became bored of Ava and her friends' game and Liam's continued struggle. It was all very mundane.
In his silent musings, Tom noticed that the difficulty level of the spell wasn't the only challenge for the class. The girls were obviously distracted with their clear appreciation for their new professor. He couldn't imagine the discomfort Professor Leighton felt from their stares.
The rest of the day went on uneventfully as they settled back into a routine of classes. And then it was time for them to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Other Slytherin students could be heard grumbling about being with the Gryffindors again, which in turn caused shared glares between the two houses. Tom found this to be amusing, especially when Ava rolled her eyes at their behavior.
"Good afternoon students," Professor Lupin said as they all took their seats and quieted down. "It has been quite a few years since I've last saw you all. Hard to believe you'll be graduating already!" Some students smiled when he said that. "Even so, I am happy to be back again teaching you. There won't be too much excitement in today's class as I feel we've experienced a lot of it recently." He placed his hands in his jacket pockets and leaned against his desk. "I would like to begin by going over defense spells you've mastered."
The students looked around at each other, not wanting to be the first to answer. They sat silently and watched Professor Lupin as he paced over to the Gryffindor side. He stood in front of someone in the front, indicating for her to answer.
The girl stuttered before blurting, "protego?"
"Excellent," Lupin said as he went to the Slytherins. "How about you Mister Carsen?"
Liam sat up straight at being called on. "Uh, I'm not half bad at langlock."
Lupin ignored the few chuckles. "Not bad, not bad. Unusual but still useful." He folded his hands in front of himself and looked to Ava. "And you Miss Merin?"
Ava wiped her smile from her face and thought for a moment. "I've become rather decent with petrificus totalus."
"Good!"
The rest of class continued like that as Professor Lupin called on students to give an example of defensive spells they can do. There were a variety of answers, some funny and some serious. Tom had given an unusually simple answer with stupify, which captured the attention of Harry Potter. Sitting across the room, Harry had shared a look with Hermione and Ron. Tom was anything but simple. Against the knowledge of the group of Slytherins, Harry watched them closely.
There was something off about the way Tom was acting. Harry never expected him to stay silent in class and pass on showing off his skills. He also didn't like how he seemed to be so close and comfortable with Ava. But as he pondered on these observations, the rest of the class went by in a flash. As students began to leave the room, Harry realized he was being paranoid. Tom was just adjusting, that's all.
"Well, look who it is."
Ava started at the voice that came from behind her. She was turned towards Mia talking while Tom and Liam were on either side. She made eye contact with Mia, sharing a cringe with her. Ava ignored the questioning look from Tom and turned around.
"It's been a while since we've spoke, Ava." The boy talking to her was tall with dark brown hair. He had his hands casually in his pockets and gave her a charming smile. "I've come to think you're avoiding me."
Ava crossed her arms, "I wonder what gave you that idea."
The boy smirked and briefly glanced at Mia, only to chuckle when he saw her glare. "Considering we're in the same house, it's very noticeable." He sighed and gave a fake pout when neither of the girls budged. "Oh come on, things didn't end that badly, did it?"
"What do you think Rowan? You're a prick, always have been." Liam didn't even hide his anger at the boy. He quickly made his way next to Ava to flank her against Rowan. "Why don't you just move along with your fellow pricks and get lost."
Rowan scowled at Liam. "This has nothing to do with you." He looked at Ava again, "let's just have a chat some time. I promise I'll be on my best behavior."
Ava rolled her eyes and scoffed. She didn't answer as Rowan laughed and went back to his friends. He sent her one last smirk before they disappeared out the door. She took a deep breath before gathering up her things, ignoring her friends' looks as she did.
"Ava.."
"Don't worry about it," Ava said interrupting Mia. She turned her attention back to them to see all three staring. "It's nothing, forget about it. He's not worth it." She turned around then and walked out of the classroom.
Mia and Liam shared a look and followed Ava. Tom lagged behind a bit as he took in what happened. He didn't believe it was possible for anyone to dislike Ava, and that boy clearly disliked her despite his act. As he trailed behind the others, Tom wondered what the story was with the boy and Ava.
...
A few days had gone by and everyone had settled into their new routines. Ava hadn't had any trouble with Rowan since that first day, but they knew it wouldn't last. With him off her mind, Ava had a different person to worry about. A person that was currently following her now.
"What do you want Potter?"
Ava stopped walking once she turned down a side hallway. Not only was Harry standing behind her, but so was Hermione Granger. Ava found that to be even stranger. She waited as they walked up to her, Harry looked determined while Hermione seemed to be hesitant on approaching.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck in a show of nervousness. "Listen, I just wanted to check in with you. I haven't gotten the chance since.."
"Since Tom's trial," Ava finished for him.
"Right." Harry avoided looking at Hermione when she became aware of why they were confronting Ava. "I didn't know how to bring this up, but I've noticed he seemed oddly close to you now."
Ava raised an eyebrow, "and?"
"Well, it's just that," Harry paused not being able to word it correctly. "I just don't want to see you let your guard down so soon with him."
Ava took a sharp breath, not believing what she was hearing. She looked at Hermione to see she was equally as shocked. "Why are you concerned over that?"
Harry shrugged, "because I know how he is. This is what he does, he charms people." Before Ava could argue, he quickly continued. "He was being way too cozy with you!"
"Why is that any of your business?" She crossed her arms, "you don't know anything about our situation."
Harry sighed exasperated, "true." He took a step closer to her. "Ava, you're such a nice person and I'd hate to see him take advantage of you."
Hermione chimed in then. "Harry, I really don't think you should tell her what to do."
"No, it's fine. I like knowing how he really feels about this." Ava shook her head sadly, "he won't Harry, trust me."
"He can't lo.." Harry stopped himself before correcting himself. "You know he can't care about you right?"
"Don't start that with me. He can still experience emotions." Ava couldn't believe he was saying that to her. "He's not able to process them normally like everyone else, I understand that, but he can feel."
Harry groaned in frustration, "just be careful Ava. Don't get caught up in the idea that he'll just change."
That was enough for Ava at that point. "How dare you. I'm not caught up in anything, I know how he is." She had officially lost her patience with him. "I'm the one who's been with him all summer."
"Ava.."
"You haven't seen him when he's let his guard down, when he's nervous." She threw her hands out in anger, "I've seen him from a different perspective no one else will ever give him. Do you have any idea how that feels?"
"Obviously I do," Harry said rolling his eyes with a hint of anger in his voice. "I'm the only one who had before, that doesn't make you special."
Hermione grabbed Harry's arm. "Harry! That's too far."
"No, it's fine Granger." Ava gave Harry a bitter smile, "if you really feel like this, why did you bother defending him in his trial? You could have easily sent him to prison."
Harry shook his head not being able to answer. He's gone over how he feels about it multiple times. Sometimes he believed he did the right thing, but other times he wished he hadn't spoken at all. Especially seeing how easily Riddle wormed his way back.
Ava took a step back after watching his expression change. "You regret it. Don't you?"
None of them could say anything else before they heard someone clear their throat. They turned to see Professor Ravenwood standing a few feet from them. She was looking at them inquisitively due to their current body language. As much as Ava liked her, she wished she could've gotten an answer first.
Professor Ravenwood studied the three before asking, "is everything alright?"
As Hermione went to answer, Ava stepped away from them. "Everything's fine." She glanced at the two Gryffindors and said, "we were just finishing our conversation in fact." She gave her favorite teacher a, hopefully, convincing smile before walking past her to leave.
Ava couldn't hear what was said after that as she left the corridor they were in. She could hear their voices, but decided to just tune them out. The anger began to drain out the further she walked and left nothing but the hollow feeling of disappointment. She stopped once she was in the hallway leading to the dungeons and leaned against the wall. Closing her eyes, she took a moment to steady her breathing.
She thought things would move forward after Tom's trial. But no, there goes Harry bloody Potter and his damned confused morals. Perhaps he should have his left things alone in the first place if he felt so guilty. The last thing they needed was The Chosen One regretting speaking on Tom's behalf. As Ava made her way to the Slytherin common room, she thought that was a brilliantly horrible way to end their first week back. And when she found Tom waiting for her by the fireplace, she could only think one thing.
This wasn't the same Tom that Harry knew. They would prove that to him in time, which will make him realize how ridiculous he sounded. It only took one look into his eyes for Ava to know Harry was wrong. Tom can change, and he already has.
AN: I posted a new one shot for Tom and Ava recently if you guys didn't see it. It's titled 'wife' 😬
FYI: Professor Ravenwood is my oc in my Snape story. She teaches Ancient Runes.