kneel | Tom Riddle

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32| a curious girl, a wanderer

"Promise to owl me when you arrive," Seraphina pleaded when Leo pulled away from her hug at the entrance of her house.

Leo kissed her cheek, making her smile, "Of course I will. Thank you again for this lovely week and I can't wait to see you again in Hogwarts."

"Thank you for coming, Leo. I'm sorry for everything, again," he shrugged with a weak smile.

"We're going to be alright, I know we will. I have to go."

She nodded her head, not expecting to be so sad about seeing Leo leaving, "Goodbye," she waved and he waved back with a small smile, "Merry Christmas to you and your family!"

"Bye! Merry Christmas!" He started to walk way from the front door and glanced at Tom, who was sitting on an outdoor bench, reading a book, "Goodbye, Riddle! Have a happy Christmas!" Seraphina smiled at the boy's kindness, only he could be kind enough to wish Tom a good Christmas after what happened the day before.

Tom raised his eyes from the book and simply raised his hand in a goodbye gesture, focusing his attention on the book again and making Seraphina roll her eyes. Sending a last smile to Seraphina, Leo left. She stood there, on her front porch, watching him walk away until she could no longer see him.

Sighing, she walked towards Tom and crossed her arms in front of her chest when she was standing right in front of his crossed legs, "Why must you be so rude?" He didn't look at her, keeping his attention on the old book.

"I don't have time for your childishnesses right now."

"Why do you treat him like vermin? After what happened you should apologize."

Tom resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her words, "I wasn't the one who practically cheated on him," he closed his book and looked up at her, "Besides, it's not like I'm sorry about last night."

She chose to ignore his words, knowing there was no way Tom Riddle would go back with his word, "Why are you even outside? It's so cold here," the witch said looking at the thick layer of snow on the ground.

"What's with the questions, Seraphina? It's not my fault you're bored, so I would appreciate it if you were kind enough to stay silent."

Seraphina huffed, not wanting to admit she was actually bored, but she was still mad at him, so she couldn't exactly beg for his attention, "As you wish, Tom."

She walked inside her house, half expecting Tom to follow her, but he didn't. What could she do one day before Christmas? She already got some gifts for her friends and she even got one for Leo when they were together. She wondered if it would be weird to give the gift to him, but she still decided to send it anyway. The rest of the gifts she would deliver at the Malfoy's Christmas party.

Seraphina walked towards the living room on the second floor, which was mostly used by her and Tom, for her parents chose to use other rooms away from her. A few days before, she decorated a big Christmas tree with Leo in the corner of the room, right next to a big bookshelf. The witch smiled remembering the way the two of them had fun while decorating it without magic and decided to light the fireplace.

"Incendio," she whispered, performing wandless magic to start the fire and her face was instantly illuminated by the flames. With a sigh, she decided she should work on some work from school since she had absolutely nothing to do.

After she collected her materials to work, she sat on the dark couch in the living room, brought a fluffy cover to cover her legs, and placed her book on top of her crossed legs. For an hour or two, she was so engaged in her homework that she forgot about her personal problems, but her peaceful moment was interrupted when she heard the door to the living room opening.