Hogwarts: a school of Witchcraft and Love (Tom Marvolo Riddle x F!reader)

Chapter 2-09

The Hogwarts infirmary was a place of magical mending and welcomed you with its blindingly white walls and rows of hospital beds. Anyone who had to stay here for an undetermined amount of time would be greeted by a scent of medical potions-a quiet assurance that
everything was going to be okay.

An assurance for you, as well.

You felt tired when you wrenched open your eyes. The world around you came into focus, and you were lying in one of the infirmary's comfortable beds, cocooned in a bunch of warm blankets. Your groggy thoughts only just subsided for a few seconds when the door to the infirmary pushed open, and in walked the tall figure of Dumbledore, to check up on how you were feeling.

Your eyes being open with awareness got him to to talk. "Good afternoon, my dear. "How are you feeling? I trust the healers have been tending to your injuries?"

You were still a little weak from the potions given to ease the pain in your leg. "The healers are looking after me. I fell off my broom... During the match but the rest is all, um, fuzzy..."

"Ah, the infamous Quidditch match. Do you recall anything else? Anything about how you ended up in the Forbidden Forest, perhaps?"

You scrunched up your face, trying to squeeze out some useful memories.
Images came in and out of your vision like fragments of a shattered mirror, refusing to be put together. "I... I think my broom went all wonky... And then everything got blurry. I must have fallen because my leg hurt a lot when I woke up..."

Your account aligned with Tom's version of events, backing up his claim that he had found you unconscious and injured at the scene. The professor's instincts, sharp as ever, told him that there may be more, but he didn't push, knowing you were still fragile.

"Thank you for sharing what you remember." Dumbledore patted your head gently, which was surprisingly soft for a head that had just survived a broomstick crash. "Rest assured, we will do everything we can to investigate this incident thoroughly and ensure your safety. If any more memories or details come to you, please inform me immediately." As Dumbledore departed, you watched him go. Something important was hiding in the jumbled memories that slipped through your fingers, and it was frustrating.

Left with nothing else to do but fighting with fragments of memory, sleep pulled at your eyelids even though you had just woken up. But when a bundle of red-haired chipperness bolted inside not even a minute after the professor was gone, all thoughts of sleep disappeared.

It was your roomie who was nothing short of relieved to see you safe and sound. "OMG, (Y/N)! Oh, thank Merlin you're okay! The whole school is talking about what happened during the Quidditch match!"

You mustered a smile, thankful for Alyssa's visit. She was a great friend and no doubt came to hear all about the juicy details of what happened.

She better prepare herself for disappointment then. You couldn't tell her much.

She pulled up a chair next to your bed and plonked down on it, her Gryffindor scarf askew around her neck as she bombarded you with questions. "So, what exactly happened out there? Did your broom go all wonky? What did you see in the forest? And guess what? Rumor has it that Tom Riddle found you!"

You tried so hard to remember anything, but it was like chasing mist in your head.

Wait. Replay that.

"Tom? Found me?" Hearing his name you got that fuzzy feeling in your belly again. It felt almost instinctual-the connection between him and you that couldn't be denied or explained and you felt like you could trust him completely. "I don't... I can't remember much. It's all a jumble..."