𝑆𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔， 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 || 𝑇𝑜𝑚 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑋 𝑂𝑐

fourteen.

It was October twelfth, 1942, which was eight days following the girls' argument. Vivian had studied, completed her homework, and attended classes. All of her typical activities without talking to her friends. Vivian did everything in her power to keep herself occupied.

Today was her first official day at the Slugclub. It seemed strange to have the slug club on a Tuesday every week, but who was Vivian to question Professor Slughorn's schedule. It was just before six p.m, so Vivian decided to make her way out of her dorm and towards Slughorn's office.

With her homework in front of her, Mildred Warren sat at her desk. She appeared to be having trouble. Vivian pondered whether or not to help the girl. She had good knowledge in several subjects. Vivian looked at the question over Mildred's shoulder. "The lycanthrope." With a clear throat, she spoke. "Thanks." The girl with black hair spoke awkwardly.

With a nod, Vivian started to walk away. "Vivian." With a regretful expression on her face, Mildred murmured. "Um?" Vivian murmured. "I'm not against you. You must understand why we are freezing you out." As she talked, Mildred had a guilty look on her face. Vivian understood completely. "Thanks, Millie." She went to Slughorn's office after leaving the dorm room.

She noticed a shadowy figure hiding outside Slughorn's office as she got closer. It was Tom. He was waiting in anticipation, pacing back and forth. "Tom?" Raising an eyebrow, Vivian stepped forward. "Why haven't you entered yet?" She asked. "I was holding out for you. I wanted to confirm that you would show." He checked his timepiece. "Come in, Caledonia."

"You didn't think I was going to show, did you?" It was rather sweet. If she failed to arrive, would Tom be disappointed? After giving him a small smile, Vivian went to Slughorn's office. "Tom, my boy! Early as usual!" Professor Slughorn gave a little laugh. "Vivian, it's good to have you here!" Slughorn shook her hand.

"Professor, it's nice to see you." Vivian gave a nod and moved to follow Tom. Tom guided her to a seat and pulled it out. Tom then pushes it in as Vivian settles in. "Thank you." She whispers softly. It was a whole other atmosphere, and she felt uncomfortable and shy.

And the fact that Tom and she had pervously kissed made her feel even more scared. What did it mean? Did he think about it too? Is it going to happen again? She hadn't had much time to think about the kiss, but when she did, it made her feel sick.

Tom moved to the chair opposite Vivian and sat down. Vivian occasionally spoke, but only if she had anything to say. Tom and Professor Slughorn were the main conversationalists. "Professor, have you happened to come across the book that I requested?" Tom asked. A little smirk appeared on his face. He seemed to be trying to project kindness, but instead he came across as sinister.

"The book." Slughorn repeated it various times as if to jog his memory. "Oh! Right! The book." He then made his way over to his desk and began to rummage through it. "There it is!" He pulled out an old book that looked very used. It was green with a brown spine. The spine was almost hanging off. Professor Slughorn handed it to him.

Vivian was about to question this, but the others had begun to enter. "Welcome! Welcome!" Slughorn celebrated, raising his arms in excitement. Abraxas Malfoy, Stephen McLaggen, Alex Avery, Minerva McGonagall, Lyle Lestrange, and Walburga Black. It was a pretty full club compared to what it used to be in the beginning.

Everyone took their seats. "As you see, we have some new additions." He looked at Vivian and Minerva. "McGonagall's a Gryffindor." Lestrange lightly chuckled as he looked at the brunette. "McLaggen's a Gryffindor also." Vivian spoke up. They were probably mad at the fact that a girl other than Walburga was getting included.

Lestrange just hummed, not sure what he could say. There was food in front of everyone. It looked quite nice, and it was probably going to be the reason Vivian kept coming back. There was some small talk between people. Vivian didn't like any of these people except Avery. Although, she had always admired Minerva McGonagall's determination in her studies.

The moment Professor Slughorn spoke Vivian's name, she snapped out of her reverie. "What? Sorry?" Finally coming to her senses, she apologised. "Your life's aspirations. When you grow up, what do you want to be?" He asked the girl after that. "Astronomer? Auror? An activist, maybe? Slughorn listed numerous jobs in the wizarding world.

"I want to write books and hopefully attend a university in the muggle world." Vivian grinned. Many people's faces became sour the moment she uttered this. Was a muggle's job really that bad? She pondered in her head. People were staring at her with disgust, and she started to feel ashamed. "I find that to be intriguing. Muggle books include a lot of great content. I enjoy reading mysteries." Minerva raised her voice. Vivian gave the girls' attempt at helping her a small smile.

"That is really fascinating. The muggle world is not a place where many people want to work." Slughorn entered. "Caledonia is half-breed after all, so I'm not surprised." Lestrange laughed a little at Walburga's remark. Vivian tensed up her face. She wasn't quite sure how to respond to this. Was she merely meant to walk away without advocating for herself? Tom remained silent when Vivian turned to face him to see if he would say anything.

"Alright now, Black. Blood purity is not a big deal." Slughorn waved it off rather than reprimanding Walburga. This would likely offend anyone, as it did Vivian. "Pardon me." After clearing her throat, Vivian stood up and left Slughorn's office. She was flushed and hot. Though her eyes were starting to well up with tears, she wasn't disturbed about it. She felt enraged. Furious at what she said.

"Vivian, you can't just leave like that. Do you realise how disrespectful that is?" Tom closed the office door and grabbed her wrist, drawing her back to him. "Pardon me?" Vivian looked over at him. At last, her eyes were overflowing with tears. She swiftly cleaned them, because she didn't want Tom to see which he clearly did. "Are you crying? Why are you in tears? His face was in confusion as he asked.

"Why do you think, Tom? You realise how embarrassing that is, don't you? to be seated in a room and subjected to public judgement over your career goals, college preferences, and status as a half-blood? It is degrading! How you can even call those people your friends is beyond me!" She shouted. At this point, Vivian was in tears. She yelled at Tom, her heart thumping.

He stood there in silence. He didn't have any expressions on his face. No sadness. No happiness. No fear. No guilt. Nothing. It was like no one had ever yelled at him like this. Not in a long time, at least. "Just stay away from me." Vivian began to leave him. "No." He grabbed her yet again. Tom's mind was rushing with thoughts too.

He recalled what Avery had said. to gain Vivian's trust. that she would be capable of helping him in his future endeavours. She was unique. Astute. He was unable to let her go. Everything could go wrong if she left. He needed her. He believed he needed
her. "They're. They don't understand you like I do. You're special. They're incompetent." He defended her to herself.

This made her finally feel good. She had come to terms with the fact that she liked Tom, but she wasn't sure how he felt. Now she knew. She wasn't sure what to say. She only looked up at him. "You didn't defend me, Tom." Vivian wiped a tear, looking away from his face. "I'd go back in there and kill them all for you right now." He dropped her wrist and grabbed his wand. "Don't be silly, Tom." Vivian took a hold of Tom's hand, which had the wand in it.

"If you ask me to, I'll do it." He had a dead serious look on his face. Vivian believed him. He really would. "I just want to go to my bed." It was still early, but she was shattered. "I'll walk you." He began to walk with the blonde up to the Slytherin common room. "Um, thank you, Tom." She left without saying
another word.