Harriet Potter: Tom Riddle's Obsession

Chapter 6 - What about you?

Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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Harriet Potter considered herself fortunate as she graduated from Hogwarts with her friends at her side.

Tom begrudged his own failings as he and Harriet talked in the fond way old friends often did.

"So then, still heading into the Auror Training Programme?" He asked.

"Oh, absolutely, Tom!" Harriet laughed, "I wouldn't dream of anything else!"

The large graduation party held on the castle's lawn for the leaving alumni droned on behind them as a pitiful frown crossed Tom's handsome features.

"..........Tom?" Harriet pouted, "What's the matter? You have your apprenticeship at the Ministry already secured. Your mother must be proud of you, I know I am."

"That's very kind of you, Harriet." Tom said with a charming smile, "But my aspirations extend beyond the simple work assigned to an office. Haven't you noticed how many other couples in our year have already mated? Several will be married by the end of the month. What a sublime peace that must be."

"Oh, Tom." Harriet smiled, "You're going to work in the Ministry. You'll meet dozens of omegas every week. You'll have plenty of time to find the right mate."

"Perhaps." Tom sighed as he took a sip of his punch before he glanced at Harriet and asked, ".........And you?"

"What about me?" Harriet chuckled.

"My invitation remains open." Tom taunted in his smooth voice.

Harriet's heart fluttered but she turned her friend's romantic advance down in hopes of establishing professional success for herself.

"You're very sweet, Tom." She nodded.

"Most people disagree." He scowled.

"But," Harriet continued, "I have to make a life for myself first, before I could possibly consider.....you know......being with someone."

"I can take care of you, Harriet Potter." Tom solemnly vowed.

"I'm not your burden to bear, Tom Riddle." Harriet chuckled.

Tom's dark eyes glimmered as he gave more of his thoughts away than he would have liked, "If I was your alpha, Harriet, you wouldn't have to worry about anything. Anything! I would protect you, I would provide for you, I would-"

"-I know you would, Tom." Harriet interrupted with a nod. She laughed as she asked, "You still don't understand, do you?"

Tom frowned as Harriet gave him a bittersweet grin before she walked off into the crowd.

He sighed agaisnt the heavy weight that pressed on his soul.

From his position, he couldn't see the mask of anguish on Harriet's fair face.

With hormones raging and Tom's musky scent surrounding her, it had taken every ounce of her courage to refuse her good friend's suggestion.

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It pained Harriet even more as she began her training and realized the rigorous programme left her no time to see Tom or anyone else.

Months passed without a single opportunity to meet Hermione for tea or chat with Ron at The Burrow.

As a Quidditch veteran and a Hogwarts alumni, Harriet was not unaccustomed to being challenged physically and intellectually, yet she still found auror training to be particularly difficult.