all i wanted was you. // t.r

-13-

October 1945, Hogwarts

He watched her go as tears began to sting his eyes. All he wanted was to make her happy—to love her and give her a good life. But fate saw things differently.

Even after what seemed like an eternity, he was still staring at the spot where she had been standing, lost in thought, when a cold hand touched his shoulder, startling him out of his trance.

When he turned around, a cold shiver ran down his spine.

It was Riddle.

"Come with me."

On the way back to the castle, a thousand questions shot through Theo's mind at the same time.

Primarily:
How long had he been there?
What did he hear?
What will he do to me?

To be quite honest, he was scared. It wasn't the first time he had sensed this fear with Tom, but now that it was about Rebecca, it was more prominent than ever.

He knew, like everyone else, that Tom had a special way with Rebecca.

And he knew, like everyone else, that anyone who tried to get in the way would regret it.

Tom Riddle was the type of person who would explain how he was going to stab you in the heart before he actually shoved the knife in.

And you would let him. Of course.

Sometimes he would probably even pass you the knife so you could shove it into your own chest. And you would.

So with all these thoughts in mind, he followed Tom through the halls of the castle, down into the basement.

And even further down into an unknown part beneath Hogwarts where they practiced the Dark Arts.

It was actually the perfect place. Nobody knew about it. Nobody would find it. And nobody from outside would notice anything.

Because no matter what you did there, you couldn't hear or see anything from the outside.

What might sound ideal when it comes to practicing the Dark Arts was, for Theo, a thought that didn't sit well with him at that moment.

When Tom opened the door to the room, he let Theo go in first and closed the door behind him. He whispered a few spells to ensure no one heard them. And then he turned to Theo.

His gaze was cold and emotionless as always, almost unimpressed.

But the atmosphere in the room was so tense that you could almost cut it with a knife.

"Do you love her? ...Rebecca," he asked suddenly, folding his hands in front of his body.

"Why do you care?" Theo shot back, still able to keep up his act of being unimpressed. But the nervousness was slowly shining through.

And Tom felt it.

It made his skin tingle. He loved the feeling of fear. He could almost smell it.

He raised an eyebrow knowingly. "No need to beat around the bush. I heard you. All of it."

Theo gulped hard. Now he knew for sure that he wasn't going to get away with it.

"So? What do you want me to tell you then? I won't lie to you. You heard it. What do you want to know?"

The corner of Tom's mouth twitched upwards. "Nothing. I don't want to know anything about it. I want to make sure that you never come up with such absurd ideas again. You say you're loyal to me? Being loyal to me means being loyal to her. And you can't be in love with your leader. Let alone be married to her."

As he spoke, he pulled his wand from his cloak and began to slide it along his hand. "I'm sure you understand what I mean." It was not a question. It never was.

Theo was definitely getting scared now. The tone in which Tom spoke was dangerous. Deadly. And he knew it. He felt the color drain from his face and his knees become increasingly wobbly.

"Yes. You are right. I must apologize for that mistake. And I will do my best to get away from these absurd ideas as soon as possible, my lord." He spoke with an unsteady voice.

Tom nodded with a joyful grin. But it was not happy. It was sadistic.

"Very well. I think we can start right away working on that. Crucio!"

The red beam hit Theo right in the chest, and within a second he was on the floor, screaming and writhing.

The pain of the Cruciatus Curse was unbearable, even for a short time. No matter who it was.

But Tom had no mercy. He sent Theo further and further to the floor until his voice gave out from screaming.

At some point, his body gave in, and it stopped moving too.

When Tom stopped, all you could hear was Theo's heavy, rapid breathing and a whimper as tears streamed down his face. "So? Will it be quiet now?" he asked weakly in a hoarse voice while sobs escaped his throat.

"You shall hope so, my friend. You. Shall. Hope so," said Tom, clapping Theo on the shoulder, who had now pulled himself into a half-sitting position.

And then he went away. And left Theo downstairs alone in his misery.

He had now taught him a lesson, and Theo now knew what was coming if he ever had such an idea again of getting even one step too close to Rebecca.