Extra Ordinary (Riddle Era)

Chapter 15

As many foul things as Tom would have liked to say about Lucy Steele, he did have to admit that she was true to her word. And to the threats those words had contained.

Steele arrived back at the castle with the rest of the students on that last night of break, but, unlike the rest of the students, she did not simply depart dinner for her common room and an early night. Instead, she made her way down the line of the Slytherin table to Tom, who had been half listening to his housemates' stories of their Christmases and half wandering off on other, more useful lines of thought.

He didn't even notice her coming until she spoke from behind him, her voice light and easy and very much unwelcome.

"Tom?"

Tom pivoted in his seat with as much dignity as he could manage, all too conscious of the way Rosier's story had been completely abandoned in favor of seeing what this strange Hufflepuff girl wanted with the great Tom Riddle. Tom just raised his brows. "Lucy," he greeted with as polite a smile as he could manage. At this point, he rather suspected the effort was wasted on her, but the smile wasn't for her. It was for everyone else who was watching. Who would wonder why such a polite young man as they believed him to be wasn't being polite to this sweet, invisible, nobody Hufflepuff. "How was your Christmas?"

Her answering smile was gentle, but, Tom rather thought, edged. The expression sent a trickle of cold sliding into his stomach. She was here for something. He was sure of it. And he didn't at all think he was going to like that something.

Still, the smile didn't slip and if it was barbed, no one else seemed to notice. Or at least, no one commented before Steele said, "Oh it was lovely, thank you. I was just hoping you might have a moment."

Tom's face flickered into a frown before he had the chance to catch himself. Probably, he thought with no small measure of annoyance, because he was so busy trying to suppress an outright scowl. "Sure," he agreed. "What can I help with?" There. That at least sounded like he knew what was happening. Like he had something she needed. Like this entire thing - whatever it might actually be - was his to run. His to control.

Of course, like his smile, the effort on that front was probably also wasted on Steele, who just smiled again. "Not here," she returned, shaking her head slightly. Then, eyes slipping from him to the watching people and something seeming to tighten in her face, she added with a smile Tom wasn't sure he believed any more than he last one and perhaps far less, "I don't have my books."

Tom blinked. Well that wasn't what he'd been expecting. Her books? That made it sound like this was for classes, which didn't make sense. Why would she ask him about classes? And why now?

"Can't it wait?" he asked, his tone striking a careful balance between the polite and the incredulous. "It's the last night of break."

A crease blinked briefly into existence on Steele's brow and then, just as quickly as it had come, vanished. "I'd rather not," she admitted, her eyes now firmly on his, her gaze meaningful in that way that made Tom's skin crawl. As if it wasn't already crawling from her mere presence here.

Of course, he had known those parting words at the end of last term were as good as a threat, but he still hadn't expected this. He didn't even really know what this was. Why was she here? What couldn't wait? What did she want? Tom didn't have any of those answers and he wasn't a fan of the feeling, but, since he was both very curious and also had the nagging feeling that she wasn't going to let this drop, he just shrugged. Better that he appeared to do this out of good will and free choice before she started saying things he didn't want anyone else hearing.

"Lead the way then," he offered, standing up and making sure to cast a grimace over his shoulder as he went as though thoroughly put out by this needy Hufflepuff with her homework questions on the last night of break. As though agreeing with his housemates silent eye rolls while also reminding them that he couldn't well just tell her to bugger off.