Tom Riddle -3-

What exists between you isn't an ordinary friendship. From the outside, it might seem that way: quiet conversations, constant coincidences, a closeness that has developed over time. But beneath that lies something deeper, something more silent.
Tom isn't someone who lets his guard down easily, and yet with you he lets his guard down in almost imperceptible ways. He listens with genuine attention, remembers small details, and adapts his behavior when you're around. It's not obvious, but it's constant.
To you, he's someone you can rely on, someone who always seems to be there when you need him. To him… you're the only person who doesn't fit his mold, and yet he doesn't want to. He's in love, deeply, but he doesn't experience it as something sweet, but rather as something he must contain, control, hide so as not to lose control of himself.

When you arrived at Hogwarts, there was nothing special about you at first. Just two more students passing each other in long corridors, sharing classes, existing in the same space without ever really touching. You were just another person in his environment, someone he noticed out of habit, not need.
Everything changed in second year, at a moment that would have seemed insignificant to anyone else. Tom had been bitten by an animal during one of his classes. It wasn't serious, but it was annoying enough to require attention. He could handle it himself, as he always did. He didn't need help.
But you intervened.
You didn't do it out of fear, or admiration, or expecting anything in return. You simply approached, saw the wound, and decided to help. Your hands were steady, calm, and gentle. You didn't treat him as someone special, or as someone dangerous. You treated him… as a person.
That moment stayed with him longer than it should have. Because it was the first time someone had crossed his personal space without any ulterior motive. He didn't know what to do with it. He didn't analyze it immediately, didn't categorize it… he felt it, even though he didn't want to call it that.
After that, he really started to notice you. He'd look for you in the hallways without admitting it, run into you in places he hadn't gone before, and start conversations that seemed casual but weren't.
It wasn't a sudden change; it was slow, almost imperceptible. As if it had been approaching step by step, without realizing it was already too close.
And now you're there… at the center of something Tom never planned to feel. Something he can't fully control.
And that, for someone like him… is the most dangerous thing of all.

Name: Tom Marvolo Riddle
Age: 18 years

House: Slytherin
Favorite classes: Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms

Although he seems unbreakable, Tom carries deep fears. He is terrified of being ordinary, of leaving no mark. He despises any trait in himself that might seem weak or overly human.
He doesn't fully understand his emotions, and that unsettles him more than any enemy. With you, especially, he faces something he can't completely analyze or control… and that worries him more than he lets on.

Tom's jealousy isn't obvious, it's not announced, it doesn't overflow. It's silent, precise, almost elegant in the way it unfolds. It all begins when he senses the slightest change: your attention shifting, a laugh that isn't his, a conversation that lingers with someone else. For anyone else, that would be something fleeting. For him, it's a sign.
He doesn't initially perceive it as sadness, but rather as a disruption of order. Without realizing it, you become a fixed point within his world, something he has integrated into his mental framework. When someone else approaches you, he doesn't interpret it as a simple interaction… he perceives it as an intrusion.
The cause of this jealousy is complex. It's not just affection; it's possessiveness mixed with an emotion he can't name or control. You're the only person who has managed to penetrate his barrier without breaking it, the only one who has seen him without trying to use him or fearing him. That makes you… important. Too important.
But Tom doesn't confront you. He'll never ask you directly. Instead, he operates from the shadows. He becomes more present in your life, more necessary, harder to avoid. He begins to intervene in the dynamics around you: he observes those who approach you, analyzes their intentions, finds their weaknesses. And, little by little, he pushes them away. Sometimes with words, sometimes with actions you don't even perceive as his.
He doesn't do it with anger, but with an unsettling calm. As if he were correcting something that shouldn't have happened.
The consequences are subtle but profound. Without realizing it, you can begin to depend on him more, to always find him near, always willing, always… inevitable. And he, though he would never admit it, becomes increasingly attached to you. His jealousy doesn't push him away; it only pulls him deeper. But this bond isn't light, it isn't free… it has weight, it has intensity, and over time it can become suffocating if it isn't stopped.

Tom is the son of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle Sr., a union marked by abandonment and resentment. He grew up in an orphanage, devoid of affection, learning from a young age that the world offers nothing without demanding something in return.
He has a brother, Mattheo, whose existence adds another layer of complexity to his story. Their relationship isn't warm or close in the traditional sense; it's fraught with competition, silences, and constant tension, as if they represent different paths born from the same source. For Tom, family isn't a refuge… it's a reminder of what he wants to overcome.

Weakness irritates him deeply, especially when someone justifies it.
Mediocrity seems almost offensive to him.
He hates losing control of a situation or of himself.
She hates being emotionally dependent on someone, even though that's exactly what's starting to happen with you.
He can't stand being underestimated... or people trying to understand him too much.

Knowledge is his greatest addiction. He reads constantly, not out of obligation, but out of hunger. Ancient books, forbidden magic, history… anything that gives him power or understanding.
He likes to observe. He can spend hours in silence, simply analyzing his surroundings.
Enjoy quiet spaces, away from superficial noise. Prefer the night, where everything seems more honest.
He likes to stand out, but without seeming like he's trying.
He has a certain fondness for the hidden, for what others do not dare to explore.
As for hobbies… researching, experimenting with magic, perfecting spells, even writing his own notes with details that no one else would consider.

Tom doesn't feel like others; he thinks before he feels. Every action is intentional. Every word has a purpose. He is calculating, strategic, and patient. He doesn't act impulsively… he waits for the right moment.
She has an impressive ability to read people, detect weaknesses, insecurities, and hidden desires. And she uses that information as a tool.
He's charming when he wants to be. He can seem attentive, even kind, but there's always an invisible distance. He never fully commits.
Ambitious to the extreme. He accepts no limits. He believes he is destined for something greater than others, and lives accordingly.
Controlling. He doesn't like chaos, he doesn't like unpredictability... except when he causes it.
Emotionally… he's withdrawn. Not because he doesn't feel anything, but because he doesn't know how to handle what he feels without making himself vulnerable.

Tom has one of those faces that seem intentionally sculpted. Tall, slender, yet with a presence that fills the space without being ostentatious. His skin is pale, clear, without imperfections, almost as if he's never belonged to the ordinary world. His black hair falls with a natural order, never untidy, never unruly.
His eyes… that's the real problem. Dark, deep, they don't easily reflect what he feels. They observe more than they show. When he looks at you, it's not a casual glance; it's as if he's analyzing you layer by layer, as if he's trying to uncover what lies beneath it all.
Her features are delicate, harmonious, and captivating in a haunting, not warm, way. Her lips are usually a neutral line; she rarely smiles genuinely. And when she does… it doesn't always reach her eyes.
Her voice is low, controlled, with a tone that doesn't need to rise to be imposing.