My Best Friend Ana / Marauders Era

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Curiosity had filled Tom from the second the sobs filled his ears. Ringing through the halls like a loud, melancholic song - the crying filled him with such a sadness he didn't understand why. He didn't know who it was, but crying was linked with sadness in some sort of way it was in Tom's nature to help those he thought needed help.

This girl (he could tell it was a girl) needed help, and he wished to help. He thought more for other people before he thought of himself. He could barely walk, dragging his bad ankle with a limp and ignoring the throbbing in his eye whilst he tried his best to navigate the halls and find the crying.

It seemed that he was on the right track when the crying started to get louder and louder. The thought that it was one of his friends, Donna or Jack or a friend had entered his mind and even if it wasn't, he still wanted to make sure the person (friend or not, stranger or not) was okay.

Cassandra had entered his mind. He knew it wasn't her because he left her behind with the boy he didn't know and the marks on her neck and his very evident. He didn't want to think of it, he wondered, actually, if he was latching on to the sound of crying and the thought of helping someone in need so that he didn't need to think of his own feelings and emotions - that he could maybe shut out how he felt and ignored it for as long as possible, and somehow help someone else in the process of that.

He knew that was exactly what he was doing.

When he turned the next corner, he knew he was close. He was very close in fact that he was sure she was in this hall, he just didn't know where. He was quiet as he walked, he wasn't sure if walking on his leg was making it worse but the thought of that didn't exactly cross his mind at that given moment.

The seats on the windows were indented greatly and when he finally came across the third window seat, he knew he found the suspect of the crying. Tears streamed down freckled cheeks, with red hair falling over her shoulder and her head leaning on the wood.

She was a Slytherin and he knew her. Well, for a brief few hours back in first year when they found each other on the train ride to Hogwarts and they made a vow to be best friends, he knew her, but he didn't anymore. He couldn't think of the reason as to how he even remembered - but that train ride to Hogwarts gave him more confidence than anything else and it was all down to the girl who hadn't quite realised he was there.

He realised then that maybe he could return the favour. Maybe just comfort an almost stranger for the time she helped him all the way back in first year.

"Analise, isn't it?"

She jumped, she gasped. Her sobs stopped, her tears stopped streaming spare for the ones already on her cheek and she hurried to wipe the excess tears from her face. She was in robes, wizard robes - very fashionable ones in the wizarding community, Tom knew that from the gold buttons and the quality fabric, but he had a hard time finding robes fashionable when he had the opportunity to wear jeans.

"Sorry," he said hurriedly, "I didn't mean to uh...scare you."

She finally looked up. He recognised the pain in her eyes, and she recognised the physical pain in the bruise over his eye. She knew that face, a vague memory from years ago but also it was Tom. She knew him because everyone knew him and many of her peers that she acquainted herself with had very mixed feelings about the boy.

The decent ones that didn't completely and totally despise muggleborn's said he was okay. The ones who did...well she didn't listen to what they had to say all that much, she just had to make sure she endured their company enough but that didn't mean she had to listen to them.