The Burning of the White Wisteria

MINICHAPTER: ABRAXAS

I felt a wave of relief when I finally got back to my dorm. For once, my sister decided not to be difficult and just accept my request without making a scene.

If she hadn't, she would have...

I looked around in my dorm, strewn with clothes all over the floor and empty bottles, to find everyone asleep in their beds already. Thank Merlin. If they knew I'd snuck out, they'd never let me hear the end of it, saying I was meeting up with some girl-- something partially true, but just not tonight.

It's a shame we couldn't meet up tonight.

"Welcome back, Abraxas."

Shit.

I turned around to see Tom Riddle sitting on the leather chair in our room, legs crossed and leaning back as he casually read through another one of those dreadful history books. Like always, he refused to even give me the courtesy of his full attention.

Bastard, I thought spitefully, always thinking he's above everyone.

"Have a nice time out?" He asked with seemingly no motive in mind.

"Yeah," I said, sauntering over to where he was sitting, "I was just meeting up with a girl from my transfiguration class."

Tom raised an eyebrow as he turned a page. "Oh really? Funny, it didn't seem that way to me."

My heart sank. He'd seen me. I could instantly feel sweat begin to form in my hands and on my forehead. "W-Why's that?"

Tom finally looked up at me for the first time, face painfully devoid of any emotion to portray how he was feeling-- if he felt at all. "Well, I just had a first-year drop this book off for me," he gestured to the book, "he was pretty adamant that he saw you with Alexa."

"Well," I stammered, shuffling awkwardly, "she'd just caught me on the way out. She was pretty pissed at me."

"Is your sister always caught up in your... romantic affairs then?" He questioned, putting his book down and intertwining his fingers.

"Y-Yeah... She's pretty nosey when it comes to that kind of stuff. She's always scared I'll try to date one of her friends or something."

"And you?" He questioned, his eyebrow arching wickedly on his face.

"Pardon?"

"Are you caught up in her romantic affairs too then?"

My mouth fell open, wordless.

His ring-adorned hand closed the thick book, eyes snapping to mine. "Abraxas. I have absolutely zero interest in courting your sister if that's what you think," he stood up from his seat and began to slowly circle me before his hand hardly landed on my shoulder. I nearly buckled under the impact. Tom Riddle wasn't stronger than me, no. He didn't have to be. His presence alone was enough to make you crumble. Wickedly, Tom seemed to notice my reaction before asking: "You don't doubt my intentions, do you?"

"N-No," I shook my head, swallowing my fear. "Of course not."

"You do though," Tom leaned closer to my ear, "I have eyes everywhere, Malfoy."

My heart thundered in my chest. He had seen me. There's no doubting it now.

"They've been telling me that all day today you've been mumbling to yourself about this morning." He walked in front of me, towering over me with a livid expression on his face. "If you must know, I'll tell you," he crossed his arms behind his back, "I invited your sister to join us this morning because I'm interested in convincing her to join our cause. Nothing more, nothing less"

"Alexa?" I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of it. "No, she has no interest in something like that."

"She will," Tom stated, sitting back down on his chair and picking his book back up, "in due time. What I want always comes to me in the end, even if fate resists it. Until then, please stop any more pathetic attempts to ruin my plans, Abraxas. I would hate to have to put you in your place again."