The Burning of the White Wisteria

MINICHAPTER: TOM

I arrived at Professor Slughorn's room ten minutes earlier than I was supposed to. It was a purposeful act, the fat bastard liked it when I showed my devotion to him. I knocked on the door, hearing him call me inside.

Slughorn was sitting in his casual attire in his room-- his ridiculously lavish room at that. It was covered in all sorts of pointless yet expensive items. One day, he had taken the liberty of explaining each of his 'treasures' and their monetary value to me. I was there for hours. However, I'd always known he'd loved to spoil himself on jewels, silks, and other luxuries. He was always trying to social climb, no matter the time of day nor the circumstance. He was a pig amongst men-- but a pig I, nevertheless, needed.

"Oh, Tom, my boy!"

He got up to greet me, belly fat giggling in his clothes. I tried not to cringe at it as I forced a smile on my face. Bloody hell, my cheeks hurt from smiling all day.

"Good evening, professor. Do you have those ingredients I requested?"

Slughorn thought for a moment to himself before he came to a realization, going into a trunk of ingredients on his table. I tried my best to patiently wait, somewhat annoyed that he didn't have it ready for me despite knowing I was coming for it. I watched as he rummaged through the items, tossing some of them onto the floor without a second thought. Finally, he pulled the fairy wing out of his trunk and handed it to me. "What exactly do you plan on doing with that, Tom? If you don't mind my asking."

I took it from his hand, indeed minding his asking. "Just a personal project of mine. Nothing noteworthy."

"Alright," Slughorn patted my back, unknowingly knocking some of the air out of me. "Alright."

"Thank you again, Professor." I began to make my way out of his room when he called my name yet again. I could feel my eyebrow twitch as I turned back towards him, forcing my polite facade back onto my face. "Yes, professor?"

"I wanted to thank you again for your suggestion," he said whilst taking a sip of his wine from a ridiculously lavish gold goblet, "for the dragonbreath flower assignment."

"Of course."

"It didn't even cross my mind to introduce difficult ingredient harvesting to the curriculum! You're such a bright boy, Tom."

"Yes." I nodded. "Well, thank you."

"I expect great things from you, Mr. Riddle," Slughorn warned, wagging his finger in front of my face., "So you best exceed my expectations."

My lips curled into a knowing smile. "I will."

Slughorn patted my shoulder with a large grin on his face. I excused myself from the room after that. I couldn't help but think about what Slughorn had just said. He thought he was encouraging me. He thought of himself as my mentor, trying to guide me with useless knowledge I had already learned on my own. That man meant nothing to me. In fact, I would delight in his suffering after all the hours I've wasted with him. The only time he'd truly been valuable was when he agreed to do the dragonbreath project.

Ah yes, the dragonbreath project.

I needed valuable alone time with Alexa but that night in the library hadn't gone how I'd planned. I'd expected Alexa to reject me. She's strong-willed, taught to hold herself higher than others by her parents. But I hadn't expected her to reject me twice. I'd figured she'd give in to me the second time when I begged her to. Her will to remain indifferent was stronger than I thought. Now, I'd have to find another way to spend alone time with the Malfoy.

Speaking of which, I found Abraxas standing where I'd asked him to meet me. He stood rather nervously at the end of the hall, hair in a ridiculous man bun.

"Evening, Abraxas."

He jumped.

"Evening, Tom," the platinum blonde responded, voice full of apprehension. He was so easy to read. Every thought he was having was shown so clearly on his face, an open book. "What did you want to ask me about?"

"Right." I nodded, almost appreciative that he got to the point right away. People are so tiresome with their affinity for small talk. Life would be simpler if everyone just said what they felt, like Abraxas. I gestured for him to walk with me down the quiet hall. "What are your winter break plans, Malfoy?"

"My plans? I'll be going back to Wiltshire to be with my parents. Why do you ask?"

"Just curiosity really." I put my hand on his shoulder, gripping it tightly. "I've always had to go back to the orphanage for breaks. I can't imagine what a real winter break feels like. I'm jealous of you, Abraxas."

"Oh," Abraxas fumbled, trembling a bit, "y-you're not missing out on much. It's just me and my family--"

"Ah, yes," I began to grin, "I do suppose Alexa would come home with you."

Abraxas' breath hitched at the mention of his sister. I eyed him cautiously. I knew he was protective of his sister, a trait I ever so hated. "Y-Yeah."

"I have a favour to ask you, Abraxas," I pulled him to a stop, now meeting him in the eyes. I was taller than him. It was easy to make him feel inferior. "I'd like to come home with you this winter break."

His blue eyes, the same eyes Alexa has, widened. He had not expected that. His mouth flopped open like a pathetic fish as he stared up at me, at a loss for words. Pathetic. "W-Why would you--"

"Like I said," I stated calmly, "I've never experienced a real winter break. I'm curious what I've missed out on for 15 years."

"But surely you could go to someone else's house-- like Avery's--"

"You don't want me there?" I questioned, voice painfully hurt. "How upsetting. I thought we were friends, Malfoy." I walked a bit back from him. "I didn't want to use this but I'm afraid I must."

"W-What?"

"You will let me stay at your house, Abraxas, your reputation depends on it," I smirked at him, already knowing I would be victorious over him, "I know just about every wicked thing you've done. Must I remind you of the third years in... What was it? Hufflepuff house?"

Abraxas flinched, getting slightly angry. "You told me to--"

"Sure," I agreed, "but you did it." I allowed him to sit in his anguish, a feeling of rare enjoyment bubbling in my chest as I stared at his hopeless features. He was reliving it, I'm sure. "It's your choice, Malfoy. I hope you make the right one. Oh! I'd almost forgotten," I looked him in the eyes, "cut that hair of yours. You look ridiculous."