Save the girl ... Save Tom Riddle

Chapter 9

He's so tall and handsome as hell
He's so bad but he does it so well
I can see the end as it begins

_____

"Time up! Well done! You both now go to the infirmary" professor Merrythought ordered.

Someone helped Susan to stand up but she was still staring at her rival. At least Selwyn look more scratched than she was.

"Why couldn't you let me win?" He asked exasperated.

He tried to befriend her since the first day at school, but never succeded.

She just walked past him mumbling "I never give up".

She wished she could see the other duels, but she was tired and going to the infirmary helped her to calm down.

Anyway Tom already duelled that day and won as usual. The two of them duelled against each other few times but she hated that he seemed he was going easy with her and never took the victory, even if she provoked him.

Duelling lessons were a blessing after the hellish summer break, back to the old jail, even if they weren't enough.

Once she risked detention after hanging an annoying boy in the air by his leg. Professor Slughorn tried to make her understand that it was bad, but that made her hate rules just much more.

The only one who understood her was Tom. He was the only one she kept in touch with during the  summer, even if it was hard for him who was forced to stay into a muggle orphanage.

And when they were back to Hogwarts he became more obsessed with finding his origins, even if the results were disappointing. He had to accept that his father was a muggle as his name was. From his second name it emerged that her mother was a witch, even if it resulted that she never attended the school.

"You're luckier than you think. It's better than having relatives everywhere, trust me" Susan's cousin Dorea graduated the year before, but she was soon replaced by new Blacks.

Tom was still upset and Susan just avoided to irritate him, sitting silently at the same table in the library, but without talking to each other.

One afternoon he was so nervous and lost into his thoughts that his fingers started a small fire that soon ate the old book he was pretending to read. But he didn't even  noticed the fire.

"Tom?" She called but he seemed unable to listen to her.

So she stood up and with no fear put a hand on the fire to reach his one.

"Tom!".

He jolted widening his eyes at the sight of what he unwillingly did, but the fire stopped as soon as he woke up from his daydreaming.

The girl took her wand and recovered all the damaged "It's alright. Nothing happened".

She went back to sit in front of him and went on with her essay.

After some minutes he seemed recoverered.

"Thank you".

She looked up, giving him a small smile "You're welcome".

"I know you dislike your own name" she said while they were walking down a staicase together to their next class.

He slightly nodded "You're good at noticing small things".

"I'm just used to. How can I call you then?".

He thought for a while, then replied "You can keep calling me Tom. It's okay if it's you to say that. At least you don't keep repeating it all the  time".