kneel | Tom Riddle

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7| Distance

Hours had passed, days had passed, weeks had passed, and Seraphina's life in Hogwarts couldn't have changed more.

After Seraphina's fight with Tom, he started ignoring her for days. They would still sit together in classes and next to each other in the great hall while they were having their meals, but they would only talk directly to each other about simple things such as essays.

They have distanced themselves from each other, which made everyone feel suspicious about the two of them. The Slytherins never knew what to say when they were in the same space.

Both of them found new paths and while Tom was obviously aware of everything she was doing. On the other hand, Seraphina knew nothing about Tom's new activities, which was indeed a blessing for her.

When it came to Seraphina, she was a little confused about what she was doing, but she was happy. She met new people from all the other houses and they liked her. They actually enjoyed being with her and talked about things she never did with her friends in Slytherin.

They would talk about Quidditch and other mundanities, while when she was with the Slytherins they talked about power, money, and muggle-borns. Nevertheless, she kept spending her time with both groups, despite their differences. Sometimes her fellow Slytherins would comment on her new friendships, but she chose to ignore them.

What bothered her the most was the glare Tom sent her when she was with her new friends. She knew he didn't like them, for some of them were actually muggle-borns. And it seemed that they weren't as bad as she thought.

Most of her new friends were in Ravenclaw since she could relate to them more than she did with Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. Nevertheless, she couldn't deny that being with them only told her how much she belonged in Slytherin. And somehow that feeling managed to scare her, for as much as she could try to relate to her new friends, none of them had that darkness she was so familiar with inside them.

And she was worried that she had some... problem. All her life she never bothered about her dark side, because she was always surrounded by people who understood it. But now that her new friends were truly kind, she felt like a stranger. Even if sometimes she could relate to her friends in Ravenclaw because of their desire for knowledge, but they still were nothing like her and it saddened her.

Despite everything, she still found someone really special. For the first time in her life, she found a love interest, a boy in Ravenclaw called Leo Greengrass. He didn't belong to a powerful wizard family, but he was really nice, caring, and intelligent. The two of them were inseparable, they would study together and watch Quidditch together, though Seraphina still didn't like the sport.

Currently, they were in the Astronomy Tower, looking at the stars and sitting beside each other. Seraphina didn't remember the last time she felt so peaceful and at ease.

"Alchemy focuses on the transmutation of substances into other forms, Seraphina. I can't believe you don't appreciate it, it's one of my favorites, actually. Isn't it interesting to focus on the study of nature's four basic elements?" Leo looked at her and she raised her eyebrows, still not impressed about his explanation.

When Leo talked about any subject, he seemed like he just memorized a whole book, "Do you want to be an alchemist, Leo?"

He made a small smile, "No, I just really like the subject. My dream is to be a healer, really. What about you? What's your dream?"