Dreams of Dark Obsession - Tom Riddle

part four

The days after that encounter by the lake bled into one another in a haze of anxiety and defiance. The tension that hung in the air between Y/N and Tom Riddle had become almost unbearable. Every corridor, every classroom felt like it was closing in on her, the shadows stretching longer, colder, as though the very walls of Hogwarts were conspiring with him.
Despite her best efforts, she couldn't shake the feeling that Tom was always watching, his presence like a phantom threading itself into the very fabric of their life. He never needed to speak. It was his silence that was most unsettling—the way he lingered just out of sight, his gaze heavy with a quiet promise of what was to come.
But Y/N was determined not to break. She forced herself to focus on her studies, to keep up appearances. She laughed with her friends in the Great Hall, answered questions in class, and tried to immerse herself in the normalcy of Hogwarts life. But beneath it all was the ever-present tension, the knowledge that she was constantly under his scrutiny.
The dreams, though, were the hardest to resist. They had become more vivid, more insistent—Tom's voice in her ear, his cold touch searing into her skin like a brand. In the dreams, he was always there, whispering promises of power, of immortality. But with those promises came an overwhelming sense of dread—a darkness that wrapped itself around her like a noose, tightening with each passing night.
One night, after another restless sleep, Y/N woke in a cold sweat, her body trembling with the aftershocks of yet another dream. Tom's voice still echoed in her mind, soft and seductive, promising her everything she had ever wanted—if only they'd let him in.
But she couldn't. She wouldn't.
Pushing the blankets aside, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood. The dormitory was quiet, her roommates fast asleep, unaware of the storm raging within Y/N. The air was heavy with the quiet hum of magic, the flickering candlelight casting long shadows on the walls.
She needed air. She needed space—something to clear her mind of him, if only for a moment.
Without thinking, she grabbed her cloak and slipped out of the dormitory, moving silently through the darkened halls. The castle was eerie at night, the familiar pathways distorted by the shadows, but there was something almost comforting in the quiet. It felt safer, somehow, without the constant hum of students and teachers, without the oppressive presence of Tom lurking around every corner.
The cold air of the night stung her cheeks as she stepped outside, the grounds of Hogwarts stretching out before her in a blanket of mist. The Black Lake shimmered in the distance, its surface calm and still, as if the chaos that had taken root in her mind had no place out here.
She made her way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a place where students were forbidden to go alone, but tonight the rules seemed to matter little. She just needed to breathe, to think, to escape.
The wind rustled through the trees, carrying with it the scent of pine and earth, grounding her in the present, if only for a fleeting moment. But then, like a snake slithering through the grass, the sense of being watched crept over her once again.
"You really should be more careful," a familiar voice drawled from behind them, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine. "The Forbidden Forest isn't safe at night. You never know what might be lurking in the shadows."
Y/N froze, her heart skipping a beat before she slowly turned to face him. Tom stood there, his figure barely illuminated by the moonlight, his pale skin glowing against the backdrop of the dark trees. His posture was casual, hands tucked into the pockets of his cloak, but his eyes—they glinted with something dangerous, something that made their blood run cold.
"Why do you care?" Y/N snapped, anger flaring in her chest. "You're the one I should be afraid of, aren't you?"
Tom's lips quirked into a slight smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Perhaps," he mused, taking a step closer. "But I can assure you, there are far worse things than me in that forest."
The air between them crackled with tension as he drew closer, his presence suffocating in its intensity. Y/N wanted to step back, to put distance between them, but her body refused to move, rooted to the spot by a force she couldn't explain.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice softer now, tinged with a desperation she hated. "Why me?"
Tom's expression shifted ever so slightly, his gaze softening for a brief, flickering moment. "Because you're different," he said quietly, his voice low and intense. "You see the world the way I do. You understand things that others never will."
"I'm nothing like you," Y/N shot back, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
Tom's smile faded, his eyes darkening with something more dangerous. "Not yet," he murmured, stepping even closer until there was barely any space left between them. His fingers brushed against her cheek, and the coldness of his touch sent a shock through her system. "But you will be. You'll see. You and I—we're inevitable."
Y/N flinched at the touch but didn't move away, her breath hitching in her throat. His proximity was suffocating, yet there was something magnetic about him that made it impossible to pull away.
"I don't want this," she whispered, though even as she said the words, a small part of her wondered if they were entirely true.
Tom's smile softened, but the predatory gleam in his eyes never wavered. "You will," he murmured, his breath cool as it brushed against their skin. "It's only a matter of time before you see things my way. I'm not known for my patience, but for you... for this, I will make an exception."
His voice was dangerously calm, like the quiet before a storm, and it wrapped around Y/N like a silken thread, tightening with every word. She felt trapped, caught in the pull of something far more insidious than just his words—it was his unwavering belief that her surrender was inevitable. It made her heart race, her resolve shake, even as she fought against the truth he seemed so certain of.
"I don't need your patience, Tom," Y/N whispered, her voice trembling but resolute. "Because I'll never give in."
His smile widened, but it was laced with something darker, as though her defiance amused him more than it concerned him. "You can fight it," he said softly, his voice almost tender. "But the harder you resist, the deeper you'll fall. I've already left my mark on you, whether you realize it or not. And when you finally understand that you're mine, it won't feel like defeat—it will feel like destiny."
There was an unspoken challenge in his words, a quiet promise that echoed in the air between them. He took a step back, but his gaze lingered, his eyes never leaving hers, as if daring her to deny what he so clearly believed to be true. Then, with an effortless grace, he turned and melted into the shadows, his presence fading from sight but not from her mind.
Y/N stood there, trembling in the night air, her body heavy with the weight of his words. The eerie silence of the forest settled around her, but the echo of his voice still haunted her, winding tighter around her thoughts. The fight was far from over—Tom had made that clear.
But as she stared into the darkness where he had disappeared, she couldn't help but wonder: was it possible to resist something that had already begun to consume her?