Snake Charmer

37

Asteria glared at Theo as she stepped out of her dorm. He had been glued to her since she returned.

"Do you not think that your friends will find this subspinous?" She asked clearly annoyed. Theo shrugged and dropped an arm around her shoulders as they made their way to the common room.

"Would It make you feel better if I said we were dating?" He replied in a playful manner, and she nearly hit him. Maximus had suggested the very thing, but she wasn't surprised, Men were that way. They couldn't handle seeing just a woman in power. It did something to their pride.

"I will hit you if you say something as outrageous as that to anyone!" She snapped and elbowed him in the ribs. But Theo just chuckled and leaned down toward her ear.

"Then how to you except Tom to stay away from you?" Her heart squeezed at the mention of the younger Riddle. He had done what she asked and stayed away from her. She was glad for it. She didn't have it in her to make him hate her.... she didn't want that.

Strangely he had been kind to her. In his own strange way. Asteria yelped as a hand wrapped around her wrist yanking her away from Theo. She swung around wand drawn but stopped short when she looked up into Mattheo's worried brown eyes.

"We need to talk little viper!" Asteria fought a smile at the reference.

"About what?" Mattheo growled and rubbed his face roughly.

"My brother the idiot that he is. He refused a task from our father and now-" Her breath hitched as she dropped her book bag and made a mad dash for the boys' dorms.

It wasn't hard to find the dorm she was looking for when Blaise and Draco stood outside of it like guards. Draco visibly relaxed when he saw her and even opened the door for her. She stepped inside slowly and found Enzo bandaging Tom's back.

He chest tightened at the lashes that looked red and swollen. Enzo and Tom both turned to look at her and Tom growled out a scoff angry that his brother had went to her anyway.

Enzo smiled at her politely before he stepped away from Tom and walked toward her. Handing her the wrap. Her eyebrows drew together as she looked at him. But he just patted her arm as he passed her.

She stood there staring at Tom's back. A slight burn to her eyes and nose. She approached him cautiously.

"Are you in pain? I can numb it..." Her voice trailed off as he looked up at her with a cold expression.

"It's fine Dumbledore. You shouldn't even be here." Well, I deserved that. She cleared her throat and began wrapping the bandages as carefully as she could. Tom remained silent and refused to look at her.

"What was the task?" She knelt in front of him and looked into his eyes. Tom searched her face. Perhaps he was looking for the pity that was normally there with everyone but there wasn't in her eyes,

All that was there was concern. Which surprised him. He didn't understand her in the slightest. She was worried and yet she wanted him to remain away from her because he was a Riddle.

"He wanted information about you. He doesn't believe that it is actually you. I told him that I didn't know anything and when he caught onto the lie, he tried to look into my mind. I refused." Asteria's expression softened as she took Tom's hand without thinking.

"I am sorry. I do not know how to-" Tom huffed a laugh and shook his head.

"Neither do I. Comforting someone wasn't something that I grew up knowing." She chuckled softly.

"Something that we have in common. Who would have thought." Tom cracked a smile and shook his head.

"I'm fine really." She nodded slowly and stood to her feet.

Weeks had gone by, and the boys seemed to be stuck to her like glue. She could even sense that Tom was keeping a closer eye on her and it was bothering her.

She marched into Severus's office without knocking. But he had grown accustomed to her random visits.

"How are things going with Harry?" She asked sitting down in the chair across from his desk. The dark-haired man arched an eyebrow at her.

"Fine. He is too much like his father." Snape nearly spat and she glared at him.

"I asked you to do this because he was Lily's son. Not Jamie's." Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I am aware. It does not change the fact that he does not listen." Asteria huffed she had been afraid of that.

"Very well. I will send my patronus to James and make sure that he gets Harry in line." Snape snorted.

"I never did quite understand how you had those fools wrapped around your finger." Asteria smirked and shook her head lightly.

"Neither do I honestly. I pushed them away every chance that I got and now here I am, rangling another band of Roudy teenagers." Severus fought a smile and shook his head.

"You do seem to have a knack for attracting them...Do not forget that you, yourself are barely an adult. Regardless of how old that soul of yours is." Asteria huffed and wanted to roll her eyes. But she knew that he wasn't wrong.

"You know Snivellous you really aren't that bad once you get to know you. It was such a shame that you were glued to Malfoy and others back then. We could have been friends." Snape rolled his eyes at the girl and looked extremely bored of the conversation.

"Are we finished?" Am upside down grin appeared on her face. She shrugged standing to her feet she turned toward the door to leave. "Oh, Happy Birthday by the way. You finally managed to make it to eighteen."