stubborn girl//tom marvolo riddle

chapter 3// arsonists joy as she dances in the disaster

hello, beautifuls! this chapter i recommend songs by Sufjan Stephens for a better reading experience. have an amazing read! xo

-scroop

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September 21st, 1944. Slytherin Common Room, Hogwarts.

2:22 am.

Quinn and Alphard sit wrapped in each other in the Slytherin common room in the earliest hours of the morning as Quinn waited for 2:30 to roll around for her weekend night late rounds for Head Girl duties, which were devastatingly enough with Tom. 

Quinn sits in Alphard's lap with her legs hanging off his and her head resting on his shoulder. The two had decided that they could be a bit more careless about their relationship as they were becoming more comfortable with the idea of spending their lives with each other. If they got caught together, it wouldn't be too bad. They loved each other.

Quinn still hadn't told him about the kiss, in fear of a foul reaction to it. She also had not cast the Imperius curse on Wala and Lucy yet, not that she didn't think they deserved it. She was just scared that she would be in the moment and then mess it up, that would be a huge issue. Quinn needed more preparation, for absolutely everything. She just needed time, time to build just enough courage to take the leap.

For now, she found comfort in Alphards kind way of treating her as he did with hers.

"We should run away together," Alphard says in a relaxed tone, watching his finger as he traces organic shapes on her exposed thighs. Quinn chuckles and rolls her head back a bit so it hangs off Alphards shoulder, exposing her neck. Alphard sees this exposure as an opportunity to fluster Quinn and turns his head down and to the side so his lips are on her neck, he starts to pepper it with wet pecks. Quinn sighed contently with a little groan.

"Yes please." Quinn says in a sarcastically whiney voice. Alphard smiles against her neck in amusement and rubs her thigh lovingly now with his entire hand. He pulls away a bit and looks at her jaw with the intent to attack it with kisses. Before he could though, Alphard notices a small, mangled scar on her jaw, littered with the lighthearted, speckled colors of white and pink. He worriedly grazes his finger over the scar gently and furrows his brows.

"What's this scar?" He asked quietly, tutting and frowning at it. Quinn's heartbeat sped up a little as she remembered the moment when Tom dug his twisted dagger into her jaw harshly. She panicked quietly as she realized she needed to come up with an excuse. Quinn decided to go with the easiest lie.

"No idea, is it big?" Quinn put on her best clueless front as she brought a hand up to her jaw and rubbed it softly. She was hoping her questioning tone was enough to convince Alphard she genuinely didn't know where that curious scar had come from. Alphard saw right through this front, as he knew Quinn for so long, and was able to tell when she was lying. He tilts his head and looks into Quinn's eyes and frowns deeply."C'mon, don't lie. What happened?" Alphard responds in a serious tone, frowning and putting his hand on Quinn's chin, moving her head to look at him.

Quinn frowned and avoided eye contact with Alphard in shame. He becomes concerned that the scar was no accident and inhales a shaky breath. "Did- did somebody hurt you? Did you hurt yourself?" Alphard asked urgently, searching in Quinn's eyes for some kind of nonverbal response. Quinn shakes her head quickly, knowing that if she verbally said "No," Alphard would easily see that she was lying.

Luckily enough, Alphard moved on from his suspicions of foul play and assumed it was some sort of accident, but still, curiosity lingers in him. He certainly was not going to let the situation go. He had noticed the certain differences in the way she had been acting, her disappearances during dinner times ever so frequently. Alphard at that moment though was too focused on her comforting presence to accuse her of something.