Trapped in the Past (Tom Riddle x Reader)

3 - A Snake's Game

You didn't expect that effect at all.
Avery collapses on the floor, as multiple wounds opens on his flesh.
Shocked, you glance up at Riddle, who is petrified by the door and stares at the blood starting to pool on the floor.
You kneel by the victim, saying conterspells to try to stop the bleeding.
Nothing works and you start sobbing.
You never meant to hurt like that.
What if you killed him?
Thinking of the consequences makes you panic.
Riddle kneels by your side and murmurs many spells, until finally the wounds close.
Avery remains unconscious.

"What spell did you use?" he asks in a whisper.
"I don't know" you mean it. You heard Harry Potter mention it once and you just guessed it was useful in a duel "I reacted by instinct".
He doesn't believe you, repeating mockingly "Instinct".
"Yeah, I wanted to fight back, to impress. But I never expected it to go this way. I swear" tears pool in your eyes and you just hate that Riddle sees you crying.
But he lowers his eyes to his housemate and focuses on him, murmuring sinister spells.
"What are you doing?" you ask alarmed.
He ignores you until he seems finished, then replies.
"Manipulating his memory so he won't remember this unpleasant accident".
That seems a great plan. Too great to be real.
"Can you really do that?" you exclaim with gratitude, then, recalling who he is, you realize that maybe it's the wrong question "Why would you do it?".
"You almost killed him" he says harshly "If I didn't intervene, he'd have bled to death. You'd be expelled".
You feel like the truth just slapped you.
You almost wish that Riddle slapped you.
You're not supposed to be evil like a Death Eater. You just wanted to be a rebel, to be independent and to be left alone.
How did you come so close to kill someone?
But he tried to use the Cruciatus on you. And yet, that doesn't seem enough to justify the result of that duel.
"Maybe that's what I deserve. I don't belong here" you confess, surrendering to the truth.
"And where would you go? To Durmstrang?" Riddle teases you "What if you've already done it and the reason you're here is because you've been expelled from Beauxbatons?".
You hold your tears and turn to stare at him, at his beautiful eyes that are inspecting you.
"I've never been expelled" you say with pride. And he has to believe it because he doesn't scoff. He just stays silent.
He stands up and offers you a hand.
You look at it.
Seriously he's offering you a hand?
Before he can change his mind, you grab it and let him pull you up.
He's so strong that you almost lose your balance and fall against him.
You feel the ring he's wearing dig in your flesh for a moment, but he quickly lets your hand and stares sternly at you.
"It's detention" he sentences.
And you know that this time you're not going to escape it.

Riddle orders you to follow him and you can only obey, growing nervous as he leads you downstairs.
You recall how Filch used to describe old methods and you pray he was wrong.
"Is it true that you can get punished by hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons?" you ask when you can't hold that question anymore.
Riddle just smirks "Don't worry about that".