vulnerable ~ tom riddle

+ three +

(a/n rosie finally meets tom in this chapter!)

               rosie giggled, her arm interlaced with elise's as they skipped through the hogwarts halls. "no, i swear, he was staring at you!" elise exclaimed. of course, she wasn't speaking of tom riddle, as he had managed to stay inconspicuous about his obsession with rosie. "he wasn't!" rosie protested, a bright blush fanning her cheeks. she could barely comprehend boys paying attention to her, let alone finding her attractive.

              "abraxas wouldn't take his eyes off you, i'm not lying" elise teased, nudging the other girls shoulder playfully. rosie rolled her eyes, trying to pretend she didn't care, however her flustered face told a different story. elise continued to guide rosie through the peculiar halls, though they had to stop every few minutes so the small girl could talk to the paintings.

"whatever, let's just go to potions already. where was it again?" she questioned, examining the classrooms with confused eyes. she was pitiful at taking directions, so the hogwarts castle was a challenge for her to navigate. "we're almost there - it's with the slytherins, and abraxas just so happens to take potions with us" she said suggestively, quirking her eyebrows a bit as she laughed.

rosie's cheeks remained painted pink as they walked into the potions classroom, her eyes fixated on the ground. professor slughorn's eyes snapped towards the unfamiliar girl, a smile coming across his face. "ms. blythe!" he boomed, causing her to squirm uncomfortably, not liking to be the center of attention.

"i've been told all about you. your cousin, catherine, was one of my best students. i hope you take after her, and not, you know, her brother" he said, trying to carefully choose his words. bentley never was the most favoured student, he was notorious for causing trouble, and most ignored his more positive traits due to the constant recklessness he showed.

             rosie smiled politely, deciding not to comment on the small jab to her cousin. "you can go sit next to mr. malfoy" slughorn instructed, pointing towards a silver haired boy adorned in slytherin robes and what seemed to be a very expensive ring.

rosie paled, the last person she would've wanted to sit next to after elise's consistent teasing. she nodded shyly, and began to walk towards the empty seat, one of her hands reaching up to clutch her frail collarbone. it gave her a sense of security, something that she most certainly needed at the moment. the girl sat down, shakily placing her books on the table.

abraxas smirked, he finally had the chance to talk to the new girl. she had caught his eye as soon as she stepped into the great hall, however, his interest couldn't even compare to that of tom riddles. he turned towards her, rubbing a slender hand through his platinum locks as he gaze a dazzling smile. "and what might your name be darling?" he questioned smoothly.

she looked down, suddenly finding her hands very interesting "you can call me rosie" she responded timidly, turning towards the wealthy male beside her. "abraxas malfoy" he introduced, semi expecting his last name to be 'impressive' to the girl, however she had no reaction. in fact, she didn't even know who the malfoys were, so his last name was insignificant.

"nice to meet you abraxas" she smiled, before being interrupted by slughorn giving instructions. she listened carefully, flipping to the pages they were reviewing, as she didn't want to fall behind. after all, this was her first year in hogwarts, and although she was naturally gifted, she didn't have as much knowledge as the other students.

her and abraxas made polite conversation for the rest of the class, and by the end, rosie almost considered him a friend, or at least an acquaintance. the whole time, tom riddle sat watching the two interact form the back of the class. although on the outside, the brunette appeared composed, he had already broke of a piece of the desk with his own physical strength. he was ready to use unspeakable curses on every single person in the room if abraxas even touched her.