Smuts/One Shots

rivals. (tr)

tom riddle and tessa black had never gotten along. they were sworn enemies for as long as anyone could remember. tom knew how smart tessa was, always trying to top her and get better marks than her. tessa knew tom was always one notch above her, doing anything he possibly could to get better scores than her.

enzo and mattheo made a habit of asking which one got a higher exam score this time and that. tessa never answered until tom did. draco always thought tessa was much smarter than the older riddle but he liked his life, so he never said anything. blaise and luna were in the common room when tessa came storming in with a stack of papers in her hand.

"who was it this time?" berkshire sighed.

"who was what, berkshire? i don't have time for your games." tessa snapped.

"you have that look on your face when my brother gets a higher score than you." mattheo smirked at her attitude.

"no, he didn't score higher than me in potions or any of our other classes together. please leave me alone." her voice laced with venom as she slammed the door to her dorm.

tom came in a few minutes later with that same cold look on his face. mattheo and enzo knew better than to say anything but they couldn't help themselves. enzo was shocked to see tom's reaction to being told tessa was upset. the older riddle immediately went to her dorm.

she was curled up in ball on the floor, her back against the bed. tom didn't even knock. he just took the seat next to her. tessa knew who it was, as he was the only one who never knocked. tom pulled the girl into his lap and played with her hair until she calmed down a bit. he knew what happened before she got back to the common room. he watched it go down.

"thanks tommy." she whispered into his neck.

"only for you. i'm sorry professor slughorn called you out like that and handed you those papers." riddle kissed the top of her head.

"it's fine. just gives me more work to. guess i'll always be on his bad side." black chuckled.

"you know it's not you, right? it's your name. he taught the whole noble house of black. that man thinks they're all the same." he explained.

tessa nodded. she was used to it. everybody judged her for her last name. she never told anyone who her father was, only tom knew and he swore to keep it a secret. mattheo and enzo always asked which brother is it, but she never answered. draco didn't really care as he knew she was nothing like the house of black. tessa was better than them. 

"i just wish i knew if he liked my father, yknow? maybe he'd respect me a little more if he knew." her voice cracked.

"i'll tell you this; slughorn loved him. he was the professor's favorite student." tom reassured her.

the pair stayed like that until tessa fell asleep in his arms. tom knew he shouldn't let her get that close to him, but he couldn't help it. sure, they were academic rivals, but she was also the only one who understood him. knew what he wanted, what he needed, why he did what he did, accepted him for who he is. right then was when he realized that he loved her. tom knew then that he'd do anything to keep her safe, keep her protected.

tom was in the common room early that next morning. blaise was studying some potion with him when mattheo ran in with worry etched on his face. tom asked what the hell was wrong. his brother told him that tessa wasn't in her room and there had been a note addressed to everyone. tom took it first.

"she's leaving hogwarts. she can't stand everyone hating her for her name. and she's revealed her father." tom read the letter aloud.

"who is it?" blaise was curious.

"regulus black." tom answered, leaving them to go find the girl he loves.