Years studying in Hogwarts, Tom understands that this castle honestly has ears, and rumors spread as fast as the wind. He showed no care for whatever rumors he hears, no matter how bizarre and odd they were. It was a waste of time caring for this thing when there are far much better things he should think about. Like what courting gifts Harry wants
Until he heard something interesting.
“Have you heard? A Slytherin was dating a Hufflepuff! Poor badger, this snake truly will break anyone’s heart.”
A couple of students below his year said. He paid no attention to it, things like that were not new to their house. Now and then, Tom understands the need for snakes to leave the dent and explore other houses.
Like any other day, he went to his classes and act the perfect student every professor crave for. He participated, acting as if he was interested in whatever they were saying but Tom was just killing time.
His day gets no better, everything seems dull. None of his close companions had the same class as him, silently cursing the conflict in their schedule. Tom thought his day will be duller near lunch until he heard a funny thing.
“A Malfoy dating a Hufflepuff?! A Malfoy?!”
“Well, he is the only one in the school with blonde hair like I saw!”
They have piqued Tom’s curiosity with that. Before he was so close to throwing hexes at the Ravenclaw in front of him for walking so slowly, yet he find himself walking near them so he could hear more.
Is Abraxas dating a Hufflepuff? Not that Tom has any against it, but it will be hypocritical for him to say something against it when Abraxas well-known his interest in the other prefect of Hufflepuff, Harry.
Though being not aware of this information offends him. His most trusted friend would be dating a badger without telling him? He was not expecting that worst, he heard it on the tongue of two girls who were not even close to them.
Rumors, nothing but rumors. Tom said to himself, not believing any of the things he heard. Yet he could not stop thinking about it… who would have caught Abraxas’ attention? Tom thought he was pursuing Ursula Nott. Not long ago, Tom saw Abraxas writing a letter to their fellow Slytherin about courting the lovely lady, and yet… he was quickly to jump on courtship with another student? How strange of him…
He sat in the great hall, and his dear friends greeted him.
“Were all of you aware that Malfoy was dating a Hufflepuff?” Tom asked quickly. Lestrange and Avery choked on their pumpkin juice, and Nott (the male Nott) paled.
“Malfoy dating a Hufflepuff? Since when did become my dear cousin sorted into a Hufflepuff?” Nott said, a hint of angry tone hides in his voice yet he remain respectful to what Tom asked. Perhaps he was right, perhaps it was nothing but a cheap rumor spread by gullible students.
“Hmm” he hummed “I must have heard them wrong.”
Thankfully, Ursula was not yet in the Great Hall… Tom could not imagine the war Lady Nott would declare on the poor badger.
The lunch almost ends, yet Abraxas failed to show up. Tom had no appetite to eat either and he remain silent to where he was sitting. Even when Lestrange and Black tried to talk to him, his answers were too short to bridge a new conversation. He keeps on glancing at the yellow table and when he failed to see his Harry, he does not have the appetite to eat anymore.
=
When all the classes ends, Tom and his friends stayed in their common room. Some of them were reading and finishing the essays, while Tom sat on the fireplace, debating with himself if he should leave the common room and find Abraxas.
It was not that he will think lesser of him, it is just he never expect Abraxas to toy with Ursula. Tom himself would admit that Ursula may be only in her 4th year, but she was powerful enough that some houses feared her, even the ones who were older than her. Both of them were good for each other, and the amount of political power both of them will gain through their marriage is unbelievable. Tom doubts Abraxas will throw it that way, besides his friend has been telling him how much he wants this courtship… from what Tom understands, he wants nothing but Ursula.
It was near evening when Abraxas return to their common room. No one dared to ask him about the rumors, Tom tried but Abraxas quickly excused himself, saying he was tired he could not last another conversation. Tom let it slide, tomorrow he can ask Abraxas.
“Am I the only one who notices it? Is Abraxas holding a yellow scarf?” Black asked.
“No, you’re not the only one,” Tom replied.
Things just got interesting.
=
When Tom woke up the next day, Abraxas was already gone from his bed. He quickly dressed himself to catch him in the great hall, but when he arrived Nott informed him that he left a few moments ago.
Breakfast was another dull day. He looked at the badger table, and no sight of Harry again. He was thinking of volunteering to change the rounds with another prefect so he could see Harry and corner him somewhere, he was losing his patience. He barely see Harry this week and he could not tell anyone about it since Abraxas was also missing.
He leaves the great hall with a frown, tempted to not attend any of his classes. Missing one day will not affect his grades, yet he was doubting his decision if he should do it or not. DADA class was boring, only the duel part Tom enjoys.
“Abraxas was dating the Hufflepuff boy prefect! A Hufflepuff Gladys! Someone saw them near the lake talking and giggling!” a 2nd-year Gryffindor said to her friend, a Ravenclaw.
Hufflepuff prefect Hufflepuff prefect Hufflepuff prefect….
This is- this is wrong. This cannot happen, Abraxas would never do this to him, he would never betray Tom like this, and he would not dare to betray Tom like this.
Tom paused in the middle of the hall, thinking of the days when he could not see a sight of Harry, and at the same time… Abraxas was missing. He tried to calm down, but Tom could feel the magic in him trembling.
He only calmed down when Nott saw him in the hall, and Tom was clenching his knuckles.
“Riddle? Are you alright?” Nott asked him with a worried face, looking at Tom’s knuckles.
“Fine, just tired.” Tom walked away, leaving Nott on the hall alone.
Despite what he decided a while ago, Tom went to his DADA classes, angry and trembling with magic fueled by rage. As expected, Abraxas was there yet he did not greet Luke like he always does. The other Slytherin could feel the tension between the two, they were not used to Tom and Abraxas being separated or standing so far from each other.
While on the other side, they have classes with the Badger who remain oblivious to what happening on the side of the Slytherin. Tom saw Harry, and Harry smiled at him yet Tom ignore him.
The lesson went hazy with Tom, barely remembering anything important until the professor said something.
“How about we try a duel with the new spell? One for Slytherin and one for” The professor paused, looking at the Hufflepuff who avoid the professor’s eyes, clearly saying they were not interested to have a duel with the snakes. “Another Slytherin! My two favorite students, Malfoy Riddle come here!”
Both of them were in the middle of the classroom, Malfoy shake hands with Tom first, but Abraxas feel something is wrong, Tom looked at him coldly, not even smiling when he greeted him. They prepared for the Duel, and throw a few spells at each other.
Both of them were good at dueling, but sadly Tom was motivated by rage. He was not aware that the spell he cast is harmful, he only realize it when he saw Abraxas fly across the room and hit his back to the wall.
“Abraxas!” Tom yelled when he quickly realize what he did. He put his hand away, and even the professor was shocked at what he just witnessed. He forbid Tom to touch or even come close to his fellow injured Slytherin, but he did not listen.
“Abraxas?” Tom called, slapping Abraxas’ face slightly, to wake him up yet he remain unconscious. Against what their professor wants, Tom carried Abraxas himself to Hospital Wing. He rarely worried his knights, and he rarely regrets what he do, yet when he holds his dear friend unconscious, it disturbs something inside of him.
=
The Hospital Wing tried to force Riddle to leave the bed, but he was adamant to stay and guard Abraxas, others were with Tom, not living the two boys alone. Even when Slughorn intervene, Tom showed no sign of willingness to cooperate until the Healer sighed, and gave them a night to stay and watched for their friend.
Others tried to bring Tom his dinner but said he got no appetite but Nott leave the food near them, just in case he changed his mind.
Being alone in the Hospital Wing with Abraxas was odd to him. He feels the hours were slower than usual as if they were stuck. The dinner in the great hall must have been finished, he could hear students marching back to their dorm room yet Tom does not want to leave.
“Tom?” He turned his head to see who it was, and it was of course the badger he yearns for.
“I- I was afraid to visit earlier, the room was filled with Slytherins.” Harry, the sweetest person he is, brought Abraxas a flower, a chocolate frog, and a lot of treats from Hogsmeade.
“Of course, here to visit your… significant other?” It angers Tom the very thing he says, yet he feels so guilty looking at the injured Abraxas in the bed.
“Wh-what?” Tom was blushing, dropping the flower near the table “Significant other?”
“I heard Abraxas you for a courtship.”
“Oh..” Harry laughs lightly. “Did Abraxas tell you that?”
“No.”
“A rumor then?”
Tom stayed silent, embarrassed to admit that he fell from a stupid rumor.
“You stupid- you throw me half across the room because you thought I was courting Harry? Fool!” Abraxas suddenly jolted awake and threw the whole flower at Tom’s head, and Harry was shocked to see Abraxas as if he was not injured. “I was helping him… because he wanted to court you!”
“You were awake the whole time?!” Tom shouted, angrily.
“I was waiting for a proper apology from a proper wizard like you!”
“You made our whole house worried and you were conscious the whole time? How heartless can you be Abraxas! We were worried about you… Ursula cried when she saw you!”
“And whose fault is that?! Who throws his friend across the room causing him to be slightly injured?!” Abaraxas unwrapped his shoulder, finally done with his pretend that his bones were broken. He took the sweats and boxes of chocolate frogs on his table, as well as the letters Ursula wrote for him. “And you! This will be the last time I will help you Peverell! Merlin! If not for our family being good allies for decades I will not help you!” Abraxas struggles to walk because his hip still hurts when he moves, but he wants to leave as soon as possible. Staying with the two of them brings nothing but trouble to him.
It was Harry’s turn to laugh, even with matters like this he make Tom feel things he thought he could not.
“I save some for you.” Harry took out the golden chocolate snitch in his pockets, all for Tom. “Abraxas stopped me from buying the whole shop, he said it is not so proper to buy all the sweets and leave nothing for the lower years but uhm-” Harry looked down at his feet, his cheeks getting hot from embarrassment. “I- I want to spoil you. As soon as Abraxas left, I bought bags of your favorites- well I’m not sure if they are, but Abraxas said he often sees you eat this-” Harry did not finish what he was saying when he felt Tom pulled him closer, hugging him.
“I- I hope you like them, Tom. Of course! This is not my courting gift, I prepared a few-”
“Knowing you feel the same way as me is enough gift for me.” Tom held him tightly.
“Really? But I promise! You would like the other gift-” The healer entered the wing, and when she saw that the Malfoy was gone, he pushed Harry and Tom away from the Hospital Wing, scolding them that this place was for students to receive their healing, not for the students who were flirting.
Tom gave a scowl on the Healer who push Harry so roughly, Thank Merlin Harry was here, calming Tom.
Since that day, his days at Hogwarts were no longer dull.
=
“My family is hosting another Yule Ball and as always, Peverell accepted their invitation. Now, I want you to come to the Yule Ball and bring Harry as your date. It is about time that Peverell stop pestering me about who the Riddle boy their only heir is dating-”
“Harry and I decided to spend the holiday hear in our Dormitory. My beloved is not interested in another boring party-”
“How dare you say that- Remember when you almost killed the only Malfoy heir?”
“You are still breathing, do you want me to stop it?”
“You hurt me, scared me for life, Tom-”
“I will go if that will make you stop speaking another word.” Tom threw himself to the sofa near the fireplace. Before he would never say no to this kind of social event, yet he finds himself declining as soon as he found out that Harry is not fond of these holidays.
He was looking forward to having some fun- bonding moments with Harry, perhaps they could do that before the holiday ends.