In Horace Slughorn's defence, he couldn't have known that all this would happen. All he had wanted to do was play match-maker between his two favourite students, Tom Riddle and Artemis Potter.
...
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---------------------> TOM RIDDLE BLINKED. "What?"
"Be my muse," Artemis repeated, slower this time as if she was speaking to a child.
Tom raised a perfect pointed eyebrow, both at her statement and the tone with which she spoke it. "And what does being your muse exactly entitle?"
"I want to paint your portrait," Artemis told him. "So, you need to sit still as I paint you."
"That's it?"
"I want to paint many portraits and some take days to finish," Artemis continued, ignoring his input. "So, all you need to do is sit still for about an hour a day for the rest of the school year after classes and then you'll be free to go. And in return, I will answer any questions and clear any doubts you have. Not just in genealogy, but anything in general. As long as you are my muse every day, I will answer the questions. If you stop, so will I." She held out her hand for him to shake. "Deal?"
Tom Riddle's face morphed into a thoughtful one for a few seconds before he slowly nodded, clasping her warm hand into his cold ones. "Deal." He echoed.
Artemis' face lit up. "Great. We'll start when we return to Hogwarts after Yule break. And don't worry, I'll help you out with the riddles since ironically to your name, you are horrid at them." She smirked, making him frown and roll his eyes.
"Very funny." He said dryly, causing Artemis to throw him a wink.
"I know," she replied, before beginning to walk in the direction back to the Ravenclaw tower. "Oh, and by the way, you may want to wash your hands. Charcoal stains and tends to transfer easily through touch." She called out, disappearing from view as she took a turn from the corridor.
Tom looked at his hand where indeed, smudges of charcoal tainted his hand black and cracked a smile on his face.
She was filled with surprises and streaked with all the colours of the rainbow, Tom mused in the safety of his mind, before heading to the nearest washroom to scrub his hand free of the stain.
After all, one couldn't be a perfect student if they weren't tidy.
------> 0o0 <------
Four days later, the students who were heading back home for Yule Break could be seen exchanging presents and greetings with their friends and teachers. When there was an hour left for the Hogwarts Express to take off, Professor Slughorn sent his two favourite students (who sadly still hadn't gotten together despite his best efforts) to check if there were any students on the grounds outside and if so, to call them back in.
Tom was scowling throughout as they walked in the snow, making Artemis shoot him an amused look.
"Don't tell me the snow bothers you now."
"I don't have to tell you considering you already guessed," Tom said, "And while it bothers me, it doesn't nearly frustrate me as much as you do."
"Thank you."
"Your welcome."
Artemis giggled suddenly at the holier-than-tao expression that enlightened his features. "You're adorable, Tom Riddle." She declared, before pausing, noticing something. "Oh my Merlin," Artemis laughed again, pointing a finger at his face. "Are you blushing?"
Tom scoffed. "What? No. Never."
Artemis ignored his protests and cooed, pinching his red cheeks. "Did I get the ever-stoic, hardcore, complete statue Tom Riddle to blush?"
"It's the cold," Tom informed her through gritted teeth.
Artemis raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Huh, sure. It's the cold, not because I just told you that your face is adorable."
Tom's cheeks reddened even more if that was possible and he averted his gaze to the snow on the ground, looking at it as if it was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. "Of course not. It's just really cold now which is causing the blood to rush to my cheeks." He cleared his throat and met her eyes once more, saying boldly, "As far as I am concerned, I do not blush." Tom declared. "Never have and never will."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" She said, moving closer to him and smiling prettily. "What if I do this?" She asked, kissing him on his cheek.
"No," Tom said clearly, with an almost smug expression.
Artemis' eyebrows knitted into a furrow upon spotting no more colour appearing on his cheek. Taking it as a challenge, and because Artemis rarely ever lost one and did not plan to do so in the future, she kissed his other cheek softly and looked at him pointedly.
"Still nothing," Tom said, almost bored.
Artemis frowned and hugged him warmly, her arms wrapped around him in an embrace as he stood stoically, arms limp at his side.
"Absolutely nothing," Tom announced, the tickle of his breath touching her shoulders, causing her pull away and the competitive glint in her eyes to brighten.
"You're going to regret saying that," Artemis vowed. "I happen to love winning." She cupped her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face down, meeting his cold lips with her warm ones and kissing him hard. Tom's eyes widened in surprise, but Artemis' was closed shut as she kissed him for who knows how long, slowly breaking apart in a lingering touch when the need to breathe became too great to ignore.
She looked at him pointedly with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an answer to her silent question. The only evidence of her action was her bitten lips and flushed cheeks that she would also say was due to the cold if asked.
"Still nothing," Tom dutifully replied, prompting Artemis to scowl.
"Well," Artemis began with a sigh, "I guess I got nothing too." She said, turning around and waving a hand. "See you after Yule, Riddle-Who-Can't-Solve-A-Riddle. I've got to go so I don't miss the Express, so give the Professor Slughorn the report for me, would you? Happy Yuletide and don't forget our deal!" Artemis called out nonchalantly, calmly walking inside the school after which she headed to the Hogwarts Express where her friends were waiting for her.
"I'm dead." Artemis would declare to Roman later with wide eyes as soon as she sat down on one of the compartments of the Hogwarts Express. "I'm actually, really dead. When I die, I want you to have all my books."
"That's the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me," Roman confessed before pausing. "Don't die though." He added.
He could tell that she wanted to tell him something, but he didn't push her. When she was ready and if she wanted him to know, she would tell it to him herself. So, he changed the topic to who was better, Puddlemere United or the Holyhead Harpies which soon turned into a full-blown argumentative debate between the two.
However, since Artemis had unfortunately gone home for the holidays and had sadly not stuck around, she didn't know that it was only when Tom was sure that Artemis had gone inside and was confident that she couldn't see him any longer, did Tom let out the breath that he had been carefully holding, his cheeks turning redder than a tomato as he blushed all the way from the tip of his ears to the length of his neck due to the cloud nine experience he had just had.
