Not About Angels (A Tom Riddle Story)

Chapter 25

"You have a place in my heart no one else ever could  have."  

-The Ice Palace

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Abigail sat on her bed, a smile on her face, her heart blossoming. 

So he did care. So he did remember. 

At the same time, she was torn apart inside. He killed another human being. He had killed Myrtle, without mercy. That kind of dangerous recklessness frightened her, yet she could not back away. 

She blamed everything on the world. The sinister world, which had always wronged Tom Riddle, pushed him to his limit, broken him inside. She believed so foolishly in his natural goodness, his innate capacity for love, for change. In this time especially, she must be by his side to steer him down the right path. 

She would fix him, somehow.  

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At breakfast, she saw him standing in the hall, waiting. 

"Abigail." He said, ushering her to come closer. 

"Good Morning." She said, smiling to him. 

"Morning." He said back, his hands inside his pockets, the familiar, half-smile on his face. 

They would never speak of what happened last night.  

"Are we just going to stand here all day, or are we going to get food?" He asks. 

"Oh...Yea. Let's eat. I'm starving." Abigail said, suddenly enthusiastic, happy just to have him by her side again.   

As they walked together, people stared. The famous Tom Riddle with a first-year? Let alone a Gryffindor? 

Shirley Maple whispered something under her breath.  

Gabriel Delacrioux sees them, raising a curious eyebrow. 

"Whe-Where should we sit?" She asks, looking around. 

"At my table, of course." He says, walking towards his entourage. 

"Are you sure? Bu-but I'm a Gryffindor. I don't think your friends will like me too much." 

"Don't worry. As long as you're with me, they'll love you." He told her matter-of-factly. 

"Are you sure? I mean-I mean, I can-"

"Don't stutter, Abigail. Hold your head up, will you? They won't bite you. Not when I'm here, anyways." He said, shaking his head, a hint of a laugh on his lips.   

"Oh, okay." She said, trailing behind his robes, just like the old days at the orphanage.  

Sam waved to her, and she smiled back at him, apologetic. Cassie gasps as Abigail sits down with the Slytherins, her mouth wide open with surprise. 

"Tom, who is this?" Shirley Maple asks, her sugary voice pointed with hard malice.  

"An old friend. This is Abigail Wool, everyone." He said, his voice leaving no room for argument. This is the way it was, and they all silently accepted it. 

"Hi." Abigail said shyly. 

"Are you playing the Hufflepuffs next week? Good Luck. You've got some nice moves out there, you know." Avery asks, now suddenly all smiles, all cordial conversation. Shirley Maple rolls her eyes. 

"Maybe. If they'll let me...you know, after the injury." 

The conversation struck, and the table broke away from the silence. She was amazed still, at how Riddle remained always the center of conversation in this incredibly egocentric group of people.