The Fearsome Name of Riddle

Patching Up

The soles of Tom Riddle's shoes clicked on the cold stone floor with every step he took through the castle corridor. Leather shined against the matte of his crisply ironed trousers, his shirt neatly tucked into his belt and green tie knotted at his throat. He could hear them bickering before he reached the hospital wing. His love and his right hand. Huntley Avery had sprinted across the school in his quidditch robes to tell Tom about Victoria's injury before the news spread. They all knew how much he hated being out of the loop. Obediently, the boy with the muddy brown hair trotted after Riddle like a well trained hound as they approached the hospital wing. 

"I wasn't trying to hit you." Obsidian's voice carried through the hall as Tom rounded the corner into the long room lined with metal framed beds. "And I didn't hit you, so why are you so angry?" 

"You hit a bludger at my head." Victoria yelled as she sat on one of the beds with her back to Tom. Her pale blonde hair was still in its messy braid and he could see the trickle of blood that had dried on her neck. "You're lucky I'm as good as I am otherwise this would have ended very differently." 

"Show me." Tom's calm voice cut through their conversation like an iron blade. They both turned to look at him, Obsidian taking a step back to let Tom past him. "You did this?" 

The callousness of Tom's tone sent a shiver through Obsidian's spine. He had a cold look in his eye as he traced over the angry red line on the side of Victoria's eye. It had reopened as she caught the snitch but the Matron had rubbed some kind of ointment on it which was sealing it up. 

"It was an accident that she was hit," Obsidian told him, coughing slightly as he tried to make himself taller. "The bludger hit the Potter boy, he's over there. He has a habit of trying to distract her from the game, from you." 

"That is such bullshit," Victoria snapped, going to stand up but Tom gently pushed her back down. "Do not try and put this on me." 

"I trust you Victoria." Tom spoke softly, brushing his thumb over the cut. "I trust you to protect her when you play a game like this, if she's hurt again-" 

"It's a violent game," Obsidian argued, "she's not defenceless." 

"She will not be hurt again." Tom told him, his hand resting on the side of Victoria's face. "Am I clear?" 

"Very." 

Walburga's scoff surprised Tom as he whipped his head around to see that she was sitting on the bed opposite Victoria with another girl he had seen around but he hadn't bothered to learn her name. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked sourly, a grimace in his expression as he turned to face her. 

"Victoria has friends of her own, Riddle," Walburga spat, not bothering to stand as she spoke to him. "I was there when she was hurt, taking the time to support a friend. I didn't see you." 

"Walburga," Victoria sighed, leaning around her boyfriend to speak to her best friend. "He's busy."

"You don't need to make excuses for him." Walburga leaned closer to her but Tom refused to step out of their way. 

"It's just a stupid sports game." Tom rolled his eyes through his sigh. 

"It's important to her," Walburga restrained her shout, her jaw tight and her lips pinched. 

"It's not that big of a deal." Victoria's voice was soft as she reached out for her friend. "Please don't fight with him." 

"You don't need to give every piece of yourself to him." Walburga took Victoria's hand in both of hers, stroking her thumb over Victoria's knuckles. "I still want my friend, don't let him take that from you." 

In a reluctant retreat, Tom stepped back to look at Victoria. He had to get out of the heiress’ way to see her reaction. A wash of confusion went over her expression and then one of concern. She'd always been so strong willed. It was what he liked about her. She would never just agree with everything he said and fawn over him. She had a spine that she would defend at anyone's expense. 

"He's not." Victoria snatched her hand back and stood from the bed. "What on earth are you talking about? Just because he doesn't come to quidditch matches doesn't mean he's changing who I am. He doesn't need to be at my side every hour of the day. I am not, and will not, ever be anyone's lap dog." 

"Victoria that's not what I'm-" 

"Maybe you should start listening to what Victoria is saying." Tom cut her off, raising one hand as he offered his other to his girlfriend. "It's not polite to disregard what she's telling you." 

Walburga let out a breath of defeat as she watched Victoria take his hand and let him lead her out of the hospital wing. She had always liked how firey Victoria was, her need to comment on things and her refusal to be disrespected. But now, she was so different around Tom Riddle. She was withdrawn, quiet almost. Maybe he made Victoria feel calmer, maybe he let her be softer. If that were true maybe Walburga could accept it, but there was something different about him. The way his friends acted around him was off, they weren't friends, not anymore, they were followers. 

Tom's hand stayed tight around Victoria's as they strode from the hospital wing. He couldn't keep her on as tight a leash as he did with the boys. He had to trust her to keep her loyalty and as much as he hated it, many of the other's loyalty as well. 

“Did you win at least?” Tom asked as Lestrange, Nott, and Avery trailed behind them. 

“Does it look awful?” Victoria asked, ignoring his question as she traced a finger down the red line beside her eye. 

Tom had been imagining half her face mangled with the effort Avery had put in to fetch him. With how small the actual injury was, he didn't see why Huntley had run so quickly, or even at all. 

“You look no different,” he said evenly. 

The bombings in London had taught him just how much people could bleed. People bled from their heads a lot so privileged wizards and witches who had never had to worry about a bomb were likely to panic over the littlest of things. 

“No different?” Victoria looked appalled. “I've got an ugly great cut over my eye. My eye, Tom.”

“I can see that,” he sighed. 

“You said it was no different,” she whined, touching her hand over the sealed cut like that might hide it. Despite Tom's wishful thinking that Victoria was as apathetic as he was, when it came to her appearance Victoria was still just a girl. 

“Your eye is fine and your face does look barely any different,” Tom told her, stopping to inspect her face more for her reassurance. “You won't be able to notice it in a week.”

“A week?” 

“If that,” Obsidian said calmly, hands deep in his pockets like a scolded child. “Don't scare yourself, Tom isn't as vain as you are.”

Victoria's silence as Obsidian left tightened his hold on her face. “Don't worry about anything like that. Your face is and will be fine.”

She seemed to relax and leaned into him. Her head rested on his shoulder as her’s finally released their tenseness.