The Key to a Riddle's Heart (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 34 - The Secret

It had been two months since that one night in the astronomy tower. Christmas break had passed and no we were stuck with the cold late January brought. Scotland was always the worst in January, which meant that everywhere in Hogwarts was freezing.

The past two months have been a bit of a struggle. For some odd reason, Tom was almost never around. Abraxas, Sebastian, and Arcturus either acted like they didn't know where he was, or they genuinely didn't know. The amount of times I had gone into the Slytherin common room looking for Tom was crazy. Both of the Carrows thought it was humorous that I was so obsessed with looking for him. But it wasn't because I was being clingy, it was because I was angry with him.

Ever since the astronomy tower, he had spent less and less time with me. At first, I didn't mind. I thought he just had been getting too much homework. 'Maybe he was trying to study for his NEWT's' was my first thought. It seemed as if everyone at Hogwarts sensed the drift in our relationship, which bothered me immensely.

"I heard he's screwing Meredith Bouchelin, the French transfer from Hufflepuff." My anger radiated off of my body as I heard Ravenclaws gossiping about Tom and I.

"Poor Dahlia, she must be heartbroken." Another girl said, my fists clenching.

"Someone said that she tried killing herself when she found out about Tom's affair." That was it.

I stormed into the Great Hall, livid. My seething self caught the attention of many once I entered the hall. Instead of caring about their stares, I furiously walked towards the Slytherin table. Tom sat there, reading a book. He was accompanied by Abraxas and Rodolphus Lestrange, a new follower of Tom's.

My anger got the best of me so I snatched the book from his grasps and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a loud snap and Tom looked up at me curiously.

"Hello, Dahlia." His calm voice invaded my thoughts as I stared at him. After a moment of staring back at me, he looked over to where the book hit the wall and sighed.

"Hello, Tom." A scowl graced my lips as he glanced back up at me.

"What is it?"

Instead of answering, I stomped out of the Great Hall. The doors were about to slam behind me but Tom slipped through them with ease, allowing them to close once he was successfully in the corridor. The doors shutting were the only sounds that could be heard. The dimly lit corridor added to the dramatic effects of what was about to become a full blown fight.

"Dahlia, what is it?" He spoke, causing me to swirl around. My robes flittered behind me and swept across the floor as I strode closer to him.

"I am so sick and tired of getting sympathy stares, hearing my name being whispered every where I go, and I'm sick of you avoiding me like I'm the plague!" The shout left my mouth, not surprising Tom. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"I don't have time to deal with-" I cut him off, even more angry than I was before.

"You don't have time for anything anymore!"

This time he stayed silent, allowing me to continue. "You've been distant for months. Whether it be disappearing for hours, or being silent for days, I don't know. When I walk down the halls, students gossip about how you are cheating on me with some Hufflepuff slut! I fell in love with the boy who first caught me when I fell into his arms on the train, the boy that went out of his way to show me to my first day of classes and the boy who went all out for my birthday. Falling in love with him was the best thing I've had going for me in a while, and for the past two months I haven't heard from him. What happened to the boy I spent the entire summer with? Did that even mean anything to you? Because it sure as hell did to me! You've changed, Tom. And it's not for the better. I'm exhausted of waiting in the Slytherin common room with YOUR friends for you to come back from whoever you always run off to! This isn't fair to me. It's either you drop this act and actually pretend to at least enjoy this relationship or we are done. For good this time. Because I will not be treated like someone that doesn't matter because I sure as hell can find someone else that would be pleased to be in the same company as me."