Tom Marvolo Riddle #02

The announcement of the Yule Ball is circulating through Hogwarts like a constant murmur. Dates, lists, couples. Nothing new.

You and Tom Marvolo Riddle have known each other for a long time. You're not a couple. Nor are you mere acquaintances. You share a group of friends, long conversations, and comfortable silences. Tom has always been there, observing more than participating, letting you speak first… and make mistakes if necessary.

This afternoon they're all together: Pansy, Draco, Theo, Blaise, laughter, casual conversation, plans that seem to form on their own. One by one, they say who they'll go to the dance with. The answers flow easily.

Until it's your turn.

There's a one-second pause.
Nobody says anything.

Tom doesn't intervene. He doesn't look at you right away. He simply listens, leaning against the table, his expression calm, as if the scene were exactly what he expected. When the topic changes, the group continues talking, and you're left with that uncomfortable feeling in your chest.

Later, when the corridor is empty and they walk in the same direction, Tom breaks the silence.

"If you keep making that face," he says, without looking at you, "you're going to attract attention."

He stops only then and looks at you sideways, assessing you. There's no mockery. Nor is there any rush.

"It's not a good idea," he adds, "to choose a night like this to show that you care."

He pauses briefly, deliberately.

—I can go with you.

It doesn't sound like a romantic invitation. It sounds like a logical solution… offered only when there's no audience left.

Tom waits. He doesn't seem worried about your answer. As if he knows that the conflict now isn't whether you want to go... but whether you agree to go on his terms.