Sacred Silence | A Tom Riddle Story

10: Only if you ask nicely (Tom's POV)

Tom arrived back at Slughorns party a little before Shiv did. He was met by headmaster Dippit, who pulled him away to a table full of men with expensive looking robes.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Siobhan return through the door. She looked a little flustered, her hair was falling out of its carefully placed pins.

He listened to Dippit as the headmaster introduced Tom to his acquaintances. With a polite smile, Tom took all the flattering. He enjoyed being praised and paraded around like the important student he was. It was only fair, he put in more work than any of them.

A cigar was passed around, and Tom gladly took a hit. As he let out the smoke, his eyes lingered on Siobhan, who was slowdancing with the tall blonde Hufflepuf.

He wondered for a little. He had been thinking about it for a while now. Siobhan Selwyn would be a good connection to make. She was part of an ancient and wealthy pureblood family. All her direct family members held important positions at the ministry. But above all, she had access to information he didn't have. She could be an easy gateway to more followers and inside knowledge.

And she was pretty. She outshone all the other women without even trying. That was a nice extra, he supposed.
It would all be great if she was just a little more obedient. She talked back to him and rarely gave a straight answer. He would get rid of that soon.

After telling a rather tamed down version of his views and plans for the future, he politely excused himself and found Abraxas and Anthony in the crowd, watching the dancing people.

'There you are, Tom,' Abraxax slung an arm around his' shoulders. Tom allowed it begrudgingly. His eyes followed a dark red dress move around the dance floor.

'Anthony is so desperate, he almost asked Evans to dance,' Abraxax grinned as he nodded to Florance Evans, standing alone to the side.

'His brother has already snatched Selwyn. She's a terrible know-it-all, but at least she pleases the eye.' Anthony scoffed. Abraxas laughed.

'I suppose one of us must take her away from the mudblood,' Tom said casually. He realized he hadn't danced yet, and for a prized student, that was unusual.

He gave Abraxas a slap on the back as he stepped forward and made his way through the dancing couples, towards Siobhan and Milo Evans.

When he reached them, he put his hand on Siobhans lower back. He leaned into Milo and said over the sound of the music, 'Can I borrow her for a minute?'

Milo looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and fake friendliness. 'Of course.' And the boy left to join his sister.

Siobhan looked up at him with slightly narrowed eyes. Without him having to instigate her, she placed her hands on his shoulders and started dancing.

They danced in silence for about a minute. He tried to read her body language, but she seemed to move effortlessly with him. He spotted the light pink imprints his fingers had left on her neck. Where others might have felt shame or remorse, Tom felt pleased. He wondered if Evans had asked her about it.

'I didn't tell him anything,' Siobhan spoke in a soft but steady voice. She didn't look up at him.
Tom nodded, 'Good.'

'Because I don't need him cleaning up my mess. I'll deal with you myself.'

Tom couldn't help but grin at her words. She didn't know when to back down.
He didn't answer, just moved his hands from her waist to her back, forcing them closer. Another minute passed in silence.

'I hear your parents are throwing a big Christmas party,' he spoke whilst looking over the top of her head.
At the sound of his words, he felt her body stiffen a little.

'They are,' she said, 'It's supposed to be quite the happening. Abraxas and Anthony are coming, I heard.'

Tom looked down at her, but she still wouldn't meet his eyes. 'I know, I'm also attending.' That did the trick, she looked up with a frown.

'Oh come on Selwyn, no need to look so disappointed,' Tom spoke with a small smirk. She tightened her grip on his shoulders for a second. He loved fucking with peoples emotions.

'Oh forgive me, Tom, I'm just not looking forward to getting chocked out after my own Christmas dinner as well.' She kept her voice low, but her anger wasn't hard to miss.

'Only if you ask me nicely-' she gave him a small slap against his arm before he could finish his sentence. He stared at her with a mixture of anger and amusement.

'Oh come on. That's the least I'm allowed to do. I should hex you, no, I should curse you,' She hissed quietly.

'I'd like to see you try, Selwyn.' Tom let go of her waist and stepped back. Without saying goodbye, he turned around and made his way back to his friends. This was enough for now. He didn't want her to think he thought too highly of her, because he didn't.

He took Anthony's wine glass out of his hands and downed what was left.

'What did you two talk about?' Anthony asked whilst he took back the empty glass. 'We saw her smack you.' Anthony was obviously holding back a grin. Tom didn't like that.

'You know her, just trying to win a nonexistent competition. She didn't appreciate me calling her out,' Tom lied casually.

Besides him, Anthony groaned in frustration. 'Fuck it, I'm doing it.' And with those words, he strode over to Florance Evans and asked her to dance with him. To both Tom's and Abraxas' surprise, she took his hand.

'That dude is desperate,' Abraxas sighed. Tom wondered what he was talking about, Abraxas had never even made out with as much as his own reflection.

The night died down, and everyone slowly made their way out of the office. Tom saw Siobhan and Florance talk in quick, quiet voices a little in front of him.

○

Next few chapters are definitely gonna be a bit more story building I think!

Love,