Nott started calling him 'boss.'
He wouldn't talk to Hannah about it. There was a curious sense of betrayal there- he'd been the one person she could count on to be stable. All Nott ever seemed to do was despise Riddle, and worry about her, so the stark difference to his behaviour felt like a slap in the face.
"So, what? You two are friends now?" Hannah asked one rainy evening, glaring at him over her journal.
Nott looked a little startled at the venom in her tone. Started to say something like, if you can't beat them, join them, but trailed off into an uncomfortable silence at the expression on Hannah's face. Eventually he shrugged, dipping his quill back into the ink pot, looking for a distraction.
"I wouldn't call it friends," he muttered, "we don't have magic journals or anything. Just got sick of hearing him plough you every night and wanted to see what all the fuss was about."
He's mine, she wanted to say. And so are you.
The thought of them discussing the chamber together made her skin crawl, though she was fairly confident Tom wouldn't indulge Nott with such secrets. He'd have to earn those, like she did.
"You're doing this to get back at me." A statement, not a question.
It was only then that she noticed how tired Nott looked. Utterly defeated as he sat there, a sigh slipping from his lips. "You don't own Tom Riddle, Hannah-"
I damn well do.
"- he's a fucking strong wizard, and quite frankly I could use that, with O.W.Ls coming up."
She leaned forwards, exposing the faintest hint of what lay beneath her collar bone. "You're a fucking hypocrite, Nott."
It was enough- she heard his breath hitch as he fought to tear his eyes away, dragging them back to meet hers.
"What's going on?"
Tom's voice was cool, collected, as he stalked through the entrance to the common room.
Hannah had just enough time to flash Nott a wink, before Riddle seated himself beside her.
He was flustered, that much was painfully obvious. Tom sat, smiling pleasantly at him. That sickly, self-assured look on his face never meant anything good.
"Nothing, mate-" Nott started to say, but Tom interrupted, turning to Hannah.
"I've been thinking we let Nott in on our secret, Grey."
Backpedal.
"That's not a good idea," she hoped the pleading in her voice wasn't as obvious as it sounded to her. "He's not trustworthy."
There was a flash of hurt in his face, but she ignored it, appealing directly to Riddle.
"We- we have that Hufflepuff, remember? She's going to come see it first. It'll be better if we take her first."
"A fucking Hufflepuff?"
She cast a wordless silencing charm over Nott, who gaped at her, outraged and mute.
You'll thank me for it when you know what we've got down there.
Tom raised a quizzical eyebrow. "The more, the merrier," he said in a measured tone, "it's growing by the day."
He wants to kill him.
She understood now. It was there in his eyes- that wordless rage that not even she could quell. He knew.
YOU ARE READING
HUNGER.
Hayran Kurgu"I'm not scared of you." "Is that a challenge?" ---- Tom Riddle was bored. Luckily for him, the last thing Hannah Grey could be called is boring. They find cat and mouse is just as entertaining for them both- though they aren't quite sure who is who...
