Chapter 15

When she woke up in the following morning she felt good.The burdens on her heart were gone. Her change in her life didn't go bad as she feared and she couldn't ask for anything more.She stepped out of the tower earlier than usual and her heart leaped recognizing a familiar figure standing by a window."Good morning" Tom said with a smile that warmed his handsome features."Good morning" she repeated "What are you doing here?"."Walking you to breakfast. What else?".Evelyn blushed, but she was glad that nobody was around, except for some annoying portraits.

The Great Hall was almost empty when they stepped in there.Without a word, they took different directions to join their opposite tables.Evelyn couldn't help but being rigid like she committed a crime and was waiting for the world crush on her. Her friends agreed to keep the secret, but Tom started to do anything to ruin it. Although she didn't dislike his attentions.She wasn't hungry but she forced to swallow something, focusing on the food, but she had the feeling that Riddle was staring at her all the time, even if it wasn't true.

When they were separated she always had the suspect that he revealed it to everyone and she would be the last one to know about it.She sat in the empty classroom, glad to have avoided the crowds. But someone else had her same idea."Are you used to come here so early?" His lovely voice echoed in the room, making her startle."No, not this early" she replied rigidly.He sat next to her, his leg brushing hers.She stiffened while he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer."We can make it official, you know" he whispered to her ear, making her shiver."What do you mean?".He moved his brow as it was obvious "There's no need to keep our relationship secret anymore. We already have too much else to keep secret"."How? Like snogging in the middle of a crowd?".She blushed violently, incredulous that she let out such word.He laughed softly, his breath tickling her skin."We can do that too. Otherwise there are simplier ways to show that you're mine".She gaped, but forgot what she wanted to tell. His lips were hovering on hers. She couldn't move back for his hand was holding the back of her head."But first you have to get used to it".His lips touched hers softly, without any emotion. Like he was just experimenting and playing with her opposite feelings.Evelyn forgot how to breath properly. The whole world seemed vanished, leaving just her and Riddle.And she liked it.A loud thud broke the magic. Professor Dumbledore was readying his desk "Good morning guys. You're so impatient to follow my lesson, aren't you?"."Sure, sir" Riddle replied with a smile while Evelyn blushed violently and hoped to hide under her desk.

Days passed since her world had turned upside down and she didn't know how to get used to it.She kept doing all her duties, but she had to remember that she was with Tom, not with Vincent anymore. That she moved from the light to the dark."Evelyn!".She was hurrying alone to her next lesson when she heard another familiar voice calling her. She turned and saw Neal running towards her."I need to talk to you" he forcefully pulled her by her arm until they stopped in a corner."What did you do?" He asked bewildered."What I thought was right" she stammered."Listen, if it's because of that stupid bet, I'm sorry. I never meant for you two to break up. But I heard rumours about you and Riddle? Is that real? Oh, come on, someone dangerous like Riddle?".The idea that also Vincent came to know about it made her stressed. But one of her new duties was also defending Tom "Just because he's a Slytherin doesn't mean he's dangerous".He scoffed at that "He had been wooing you since you're both prefect, hadn't he? He was always around, I had to realize he wanted to steal you from Vincent"."That's false. But that's not the matter. I broke with Vincent because I didn't feel what he felt for me and it was senseless to keep trying. That was the reason I couldn't even share a kiss with him. He's such a good boy, but if there's not that deep attraction, why should I pretend? I did what was the best for both of us".Neal was speechless. She was surprised too for her words, but most of eas she felt broken hearted. She hated losing him Neal as a friend.

Professor Slughorn planned another party just before the Christmas holidays, that she would have spent in the castle with Tom.The two of them were invited, but she knew that also Vincent was. And she could only imagine how embarrassing it could all be. She didn't say straight to Vincent that she broke with him because of Riddle. And now everyone knew they were dating."I guess... I shouldn't go to the party tonight" she said shyly when Tom asked her what dress she wanted to wear."You must instead" he said calmly."Is this your plan? Humiliating me to death?" She complained.He touched her face gently to calm her down "I'll deal with anyone who will dare to annoy you. I said that I'll take care of you, remember? So relax, we'll just show everyone that we're together"."It will be terrific"."No, it won't. You won't be alone. I'll be there next to you for all the time" he assured her "So do you want to wear something simpler than the last time? We don't have to dance this time. Although I miss your dress".She couldn't wear her old dresses that she used for her dates with Vincent, but Riddle persuaded her to try a simple but elegant dark blue dress.He wore his usual black suit and combed his soft hair in a way that made him look so damn irresistible.As she feared, joining the party and resting her arm into Tom's made its effect. They gained the whole attention of the people but Vincent was the one who didn't show surprise nor admiration, but just pure sorrow.Slughorn welcomed them warmly, flattering with his sweet words and invited them to sit next to him.The tension was palpable for the whole dinner. Also the professor was used to glance between Fawley and Riddle with a clear uneasiness.And when he asked Vincent some updates, the boy couldn't hide his disappointment. He didn't openly attack Evelyn, but she felt it clearly as he did. He blamed her as she betrayed him.She said nothing, but to her surprise Tom took her defence. He stood up and looked straight into Vincent's stunned eyes "Listen, if you have to blame someone, blame me. She doesn't deserve any rancor. I just want her to be happy, otherwise I would have never taken her away from you. If she will get tired of me, I'll let her go, because I deeply respect her will. But as long as she needs me, I want to be at her side. And I can't stand to see her sad because she's worried you're mad at us. We could have kept it secret, but we can't hide the smoke of the fire forever".Silence fell into the room. Evelyn was torn between the need to hide under the table and the need to stand up and kiss Tom for his fearless speech."Merlin's beard, that's what love is" professor Slughorn had been hanging from his pupil's lips for the whole speech and looked mesmerized.Vincent looked clearly troubled. Evelyn felt a bit bad for him, for that public humiliation. Just few words and Riddle crushed him like an insect under his shoes. Surely the Ravenclaw boy would have never looked at them again.After what seemed ages, Vincent forced a fake smile and said "I'm not angry. I want her happiness too. I'm just trying to accept the idea that I hadn't been able to make her happy as I wanted to"."I want to believe you" Tom pretended a smile and sat down again, grabbing Evelyn's cold sweating hand.She wanted to believe Tom, but she had a soft bad feeling that he was acting for some dark purpose. What at first was gratefulness, it gradually turned into suspect and fear that she was being cheated just as Tom was so good at cheating on others.

"Tell me that you meant at least half of the words you said" she begged when they finally walked away from the party."You don't trust my feelings?" Tom scoffed at her."I don't know if I can trust you. How can I know about your real feelings? I know you're so persuasive, you can manipulate everyone with your charm and sweet words. And since I know it, I can't know when I can trust you and when you are just lying".He stopped making her turn towards him and placed his hands on her shoulders "What do you want me to do to make you stop worrying?"."I want some sincerity. I want the truth, as bitter as it is. But don't act with me. I beg you".He stared into her eyes, then whispered "Sometimes I can't divide the truth from lies myself. But I'll try to be earnest with you as much as possible. And I know this can't satisfy you".His hand lowered to her side and pushed her tightly against his body while his other hand rested on the back of her head. His lips pressed hard on hers, forcing her into a fierce kiss. She tried to struggle and move away but he kept her firmly trapped against him and her attempts of protesting made the kiss appear more passionate than it really was.When he let her free, she realized that Vincent saw them. She recognized his feature while he was walking away fast on the opposite direction.So the show was still going on.She caught Riddle's satisfied smirk, not for the kiss itself but for how he humiliated the ex minister's nephew again.Evelyn sighed in despair and tried to walk away, but Riddle promptly grabbed her arm and walked with her, leading her towards a deserted corridor.She recognized the place and struggled "I can't walk in there"."You can. Stop worrying"."Seriously, I want to go back to my dorm now. We can't... Just let me go" she insisted trying to struggle away from him, but he was just stronger than her."I'm not in such a hurry to mate with you, as you are thinking. I just want to stay with you a little longer tonight".She blushed more violently, his harsh way of speaking making her weaker "I never... You're so evil, Riddle. If you don't let me go now, I'm gonna scream".He cursed stopping in front of a wall "Well, do it. Scream. Ask for help. Don't let me stop you from doing that".She stared at him shocked, feeling tears tickling her eyes "I should have never made any deal with you. I regret everything"."Stop lying. I know you enough to know how much you fancy me. Otherwise you wouldn't have fallen so easily to my requests. And you should rejoy that you're interesting enough to have caught my attentions when I can afford any other girl into this castle. Now stop rattling. I'm tired too. And if you don't stop struggling and provocating me I'll lose control and seriously make you regret everything... or I can end up realizing your dirtiest desires".She gasped at his words, but her attention was caught by a passage that opened into the stony wall. The boy led her into the Slytherin common room, that luckily was deserted."Why that face? You don't like it?" He asked scanning her gaping at the new place she found herself in."Actually I prefer mine. Our common room is a library" she said defiantly.He just rolled his eyes, then pulled her into the boys dormitory, ignoring her complains.He let her go and brought his hands to his neck and loosened his tie.She stopped watching him alarmed."What? Ties can be really uncomfortable, you know? Can't I even breath freely?".He undid the first button of his shirt and she looked away. He was so handsome it was hurting her."Am I so disgusting?" He kept teasing her."Which is your door?" Some soft noises made her more nervous and she just wanted to hide.He hesitated, then walked passed her and opened a door, slightly bowing at her with a cocky smile.She expected to meet his roomates and make Tom a fool in front of them as a revenge, but she got disappointed.She startled when Tom locked the door behind her."Do you have a room for your own?".He moved confidently around the room "No. I just told the others to sleep somewhere else. There are many empty beds in this dorm" he sat on the most tidy bed motioning to her to come closer "Sit here. I have no bad intentions".She hesitated, then grabbed the hand he extended to her and sat next to him.He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. She kept her head low, feeling embarrassed under his insolent gaze.He caressed her cheek, making her blush even more."I wanted you for so long. And now you're here at last" he lifted her chin forcing her to look into his eyes "You are ambitious. You learned to disguise your feelings, you learned occlumency by yourself to stop me from reading your interesting mind. You know things that nobody else knows. You're special, Evelyn. That's why I chose you and I fought to win you".She didn't like his words "Is this why you want me? Because I'm useful to you?"."Because I became obsessed with you. I can't allow anyone else to have you. I'm selfish, I'm possessive, but I take care of what I want and gained. I'll take care of you, just don't play with my jealousy"."You speak like you want me to run away from you" she said with despair."I'm just earnest. I told you my point of view. I'm not good with lovely words, unless I have to flatter someone. And I guess that's not what you want".He was right, she had to admit. She asked him to be honest and she couldn't hope for some silly declaration of love. Riddle and romanticism didn't get along.He took her hand and pressed it on his cheek, then moved it to his neck and his chest "You can have it all. You and only you. I've never desired any other female and I'll never will, but you have to be completely faithful to me"."And your heart?" Her voice was trembling."It's included" he said simply."Really?" She feared he didn't understand what she meant."Really" he confirmed confidently.

As he promised, nothing bad happened. He walked her back to her tower as a real gentleman. And into her room she was free to reconsider everything that had happened.Tom was incredibly attractive just as he could be cruel. Vincent would have never dared to make her feel so uncomfortable and wanted in just few minutes. He had never been violent. He always respected her wishes, although it kept a certain distance between them.Tom was the opposite. But he seemed to know her wishes more than she did herself. And she wasn't really scared of his violence, it intrigued her instead. She couldn't help but love his possessiveness.

He knew more than anyone else. He was able to perform Legilimency without being noticed. He warned her that also Dumbledore was a good legilimens, but she had nothing to fear. She was the only brilliant occlumens in the school and that's one of the reasons Tom chose her, since he couldn't rely on his few followers, he needed someone like her to keep his misbehaviours secret and to share then without needing memory charms and manipulations. She could stare right into Dumbledore's penetrating eyes and her secrets were safe. She could sneak out of the castle with Tom in the middle of the night and nobody could find out about it.

Evelyn started to worry for her grades. In that year they turned low and she was also unable to be concentrated during the lessons.Since she broke with Vincent she tried to work hard but with little results. Riddle too had some troubles with his grades when she had revealed about his past, but he soon recovered and his grades reached easily the top."Why are you so upset?" Tom asked catching her while she was comparing her latest grades."I'm not satisfied for these"."You have been through a lot of things. Don't blame yourself".She scowled at him "If you had this in mind, then you brilliantly succeeded"."I distract you so much, don't I?" His fingers brushed on her hand "Don't worry, we'll fix this too together. I'll help you studying".Her eyes widened at him "This is humiliating, Riddle. I don't need you as a tutor".He raised a finger "First lesson. Don't be formal and don't call me by my last name"."But you don't want me to call you Tommy.."."Tom" he hissed sharply "Just Tom. And in private I wouldn't mind 'my lord' or 'master'"."You must be kidding" she snapped at his insolent smirk."You're smart enough to know when I'm kidding".She rolled her eyes, then took out a small book wrapped in a green paper "I have this for you. Consider it as an early Christmas present".He eyed her with surprise and curiosity and impatiently unwrapped it, revealing the old book she stole from the Restricted Section ages before."This is not yours" he noticed."Who cares? It's the thought that matters".He smiled gratefully at her "I almost forgot about it".Tom opened the book, going straight to something that interested him. She recognized what was it about."You had already read it. Why were you so interested to have it back?" She asked."Because of this" he showed her a page."Are you interested in these...horcruxes? You want to create one?"."Will you ever learn not to snoop into my business?" He teased her."That's what you always do to me. Don't worry, Riddle, your secrets don't make you weak. You know they're save with me"."Better for you".She snorted."Of course I am. I will make one".Evelyn gaped at his words. He wasn't joking. And she knew the price to pay. And a terrible doubt started to haunt her mind.He guessed her worry and closed the book, making it disappear under his robes "You will witness something incredible. We will push magic far beyond its limits. But you have to trust me. I won't hurt you, because you're special to me"."So special that you want to kill me to become important? You're a bad liar, Riddle" she slipped away from his hands and rushed out of the library."Evelyn! Stop! Now!".She ignored his orders and kept running, hearing the sound of his steps chasing her.When she reached the seventh floor, she stopped letting him reach her."What the hell?" He snapped, his face red.She smiled to calm him down "I'm not afraid to die, Tom. But if you want this to work, you must be honest and tell me about your plans without lying, agreed?"."Evelyn, I never wanted you dead, I swear. I wasn't lying. But we can't talk openly about this. It's too dangerous. You surely realize it".She pondered his stare. He had those beautiful dark eyes, but his heart was dark as well. He was ready to kill to be immortal. But he was right. They couldn't talk openly about it.She turned to look at the wall next to her. She had decided to give it a try to their relationship. She wanted to trust hum so she had to share her secrets with him, just as he confessed that he wanted to create a horcrux.She started to walk back and forth in front of the wall."Evelyn?" Tom called trying to stop her, but he gasped with surprise when he was a large door appearing in the wall.She opened it and invited him in."The Chamber of Secrets" she let him step in grinning."Is it?" He exclaimed shocked.She couldn't stifle a laugh "Of course not. It's the Room of Requirement".His face turned a bit disappointed, then was filled with wonder "How do you make it appear? I tried to imitate you since you ran away from me"."It appears just when you really need it. As for hiding or just a place to stay alone for a while"."How did you find it?"."It surprised me. I was looking for a place to hide during one of Vincent's... games. And it appeared".She frowned at the memory. She never shared her discovery with Vincent. When she needed to stay alone, she used that secret room. She needed a safe haven just for herself."I'm really impressed. This Room is full of powerful magic. I'm grateful you showed it to me"."Really?".He nodded and pulled her closer, surprising her by pressing his lips on hers.Nobody could find them there so she enjoyed it better.He deepened the kiss and she replied hungrily, but winced when his hand slipped under her shirt, touching her bare back.He broke the kiss scanning her face "Is it too much? If I go too far just tell me"."It's fine. It's just new" she caressed his perfect cheek and kissed him again.He pulled her closer, his hands roaming around her back, while his other hand gathered her hair and uncovered her neck, where his lips moved to kiss her hotly."Do you like it?" He asked into her ear.She shivered at his hot breath "Yes".She felt him smiling on her skin and she closed her eyes enjoying those sensations. Her skin was burning against his, her soul felt free to flying to some lovely place.He definitely knew how to make her feel good. So good. No matter if he was becoming a dark wizard.

"How can you be so confident all the time?" She asked him while they were studying together "During the lessons and the exams you never fail, you never look troubled. It's like everything is so easier for you"."Nothing is easier. I just give the best each and every time, without letting anything to stop me" his arm wrapped around her pulling her closer "And you should stop letting doubts overwhelm you. I know you can do better, but lately you are just too distracted by your own mind. You fear to fail and so in fact you started to fail"."It was easier when I had less to think about"."When you didn't have me? When we were just in competition and you wanted to get good grades as mines? No, it's not just that. You keep feeling guilty towards that blond loser, you feel like you have something to blame to yourself, so you ended up punishing yourself. And I can't accept it. That's why I'm trying to help you studying"."Loser" she repeated with anger "You can read me like an open book, but can't you see that you are betraying yourself too? You keep playing this game to show you are better than Vincent, again and again. Maybe you also spend time with me just to prank him. Nothing can stop me from breaking from you right now and letting you play this silly game alone"."It's not just between me and him" he hissed "You are fully involved too. You keep blaming me, when you should be thankful I've saved you from a disaster of a relationship you were trapped in. You betrayed Fawley, did you forget it? You betrayed him when you stole his keys and stole those documents for me. When I never asked you to do that! And I am so grateful to you for that because I desperately needed to know and I couldn't find a way to get those information. And you did that for me. It was like the best love declaration I could ever get. I knew you liked me more than you ever liked him. I noticed how much attracted you were from me. You never lived intense adventures with him as you did with me. Your relationship was just a mask, but deep inside you felt nothing for him. You took it as another boring duty. While with me, you feel free to be yourself".She raised a hand against him, but he stopped it."See? You wouldn't ever do this to him. And let me use this to teach you how to be confident again. Don't let anything nor anyone to stoo you from what you want. Silly Fawley failed because he wanted you but he wasn't brave enough to fight for you. He wanted to kiss you but he never dared to do that"."That's what I wanted. What should he have done? Rape me?"."No, darling. Making you willing to kiss him as I did with you. I didn't steal any kiss from you, I didn't force you against your will, because I knew you wanted it and I was right. I took the risk and fought. And I won. So do the same. You are a princess, Evelyn. So show the confidence of a princess and don't let anything beat you. You don't have to cheat to yourself, you have to believe it. You are a princess and nothing can harm you. You can freely use your skills, you can get the highest scores that you want, you can walk in a crowd keeping your head high and without feeling ashamed. Be free as you are free with me. Astonish us all".She gaped at his words. There was a strength in his words that affected her. His tone wasn't rude, it was pushing her to do as he said, it was persuading her to find the strength in herself."If I am a princess, are you my prince?" She asked in a whisper, raising her hand this time to caress his handsome face."Yes, I am" he said confidently.She leaned closer and kissed him. She wanted to believe he was right.

To her surprise, her grades grew higher again. Tom was an excellent and patient teacher and studying together was enjoyable, not just fruitful.They spent a lot of time in the library and shared their books and ownings.Evelyn loved reading his notes in his elegant handwriting while he preferred studying on her books than on his second hand books."Can I borrow this? I'm too lazy to walk up to my tower".He nodded casually, lost into his reading, while she was trying to solve some Arithmancy homeworks by herself to train for the next exams.She flicked through the old pages until a piece of paper fell.She thought it was one of his notes so she started reading, getting more and more stunned.

I can hardly understand myself.I see her in some classes we share, at meals, in the corridors. I want her close, but she seems so far away, wasting her time with people who don't deserve her time.When I'm alone my mind still sees her. At night she's still haunting me.I just know how much I need her.She has to be mine.I want the whole world to know she's mine.I'd kill anyone who'd dare to come between us.

The note was in the first pages, that they had to study months before. So it could be not recent.It was his handwriting, she had no doubt on it. But she wondered if he just quoted some other works or he was the real author of it.She remembered when he deliberately used a note of him to turn Vincent against her. She wondered if that note had a similar purpose. But she couldn't understand if those words were referred to her. The idea that Tom Riddle might have had another secret love affair made her boil with the most destructive jealousy.She had to ruin her relationship and friendships for him, but sometimes he acted so selfishly and arrogantly to her that she had doubts on his real feelings.If he was just using her for some love triangle, she was going to kill him with her bare hands.A sound made her startle and she met Riddle's perplexed stare.With few long paces, he approached her and noticed the note. His note.His face hardened when he recognized the piece of paper.He abruptly took it away from her and crushed it into his fist."What was that?"."None of your business. I forgot I left it there" he replied coldly."You want to know everything of my businesses. Why do want to keep me away from yours? We are together, but you are so fond of your secrets. We barely talk about it when I wish you would open your mind to me and share the bad and the good things with me. Instead you're just a mystery, almost a stranger to me".She sighed painfully and stepped away from him. "Where are you going? What are you thinking?" His fingers tightened around her wrist, making her impossible to escape."Never mind. Let me go"."Why are you so upset? Those words were about you, if you didn't realize it. I didn't want you to read them. I know they're silly".She stared at him in disbelief "And was it so hard to tell them to me? Those words were nice, but you're always so mean to me with your words. You blame me for everything. When you act like this, I don't feel good with you, Tom"."Mean? Can't I be myself? Do you want me to become your servant? Like an house elf? Singing to you that you're brilliant, beautiful and all that stuff?"."That's not what I meant"."Then what? Tell me because I don't understand. I don't know much about relationships but I don't want to be someone else just to please you. I want to be enough for you. And I don't want that when I make a mistake you immediately run away from me and don't give me the chance to fix it. I'm not perfect, you should know that, but I'm a fast learner. I can't read your mind, so you need to tell me what you want, how you feel, everything, but it doesn't mean that I have to be how you want me to be".Evelyn felt the goosebumps on her skin. Hearing his words made her felt guilty but she liked how he said them. With passion."I can't read your mind as well, so you too have to tell me what you feel and everything. You have to tell me those words you've written to my face if they truly were meant for me and not for someone else. And you don't have to be shy, you have no reason for being ashamed of yourself".He pondered her words and didn't reply. She didn't want a reply anyway.Evelyn left his book and his note into his hands and walked away, hoping that it could help them both to clear up their minds.

It wasn't her plan to avoid him forever, so hours later she looked for him in the dungeons.And she found him with the last person she wanted him to be.She gasped hiding behind a corner before they could spot her. Her mind immediately doubted that they could be involved in something meant to destroy her. Milly was a Slytherin so they had plenty of time to plan something in the common room.But when Evelyn tried to catch their words, she understood they were discussing."Why she? With all the girls that are swooning for you" Milly was complaining."I don't have to tell you any reason. You're warned. Since she's with me now, you must not dare to annoy her with your childish wars" Tom's voice was cold as ice."She's evil and she doesn't worth as she might appear. You're really wasting your time with her, Riddle"."You're a waste. If you don't stop talking and thinking in that way...well, you won't like the consequences".He looked so menacing that even Milly had the good idea of lowering her head.She nodded slightly and sneaked away.Evelyn craved for a long time to get such a reaction from her evil cousin and she sinisterly enjoyed seeing Tom succeeding so easily."What are you doing there?" He winced when she came out from her hiding corner, but he walked to meet her "I've been looking for you for the whole day"."I needed to be alone with myself for a while" she justified.He nodded thoughtfully, then asked "You watched?"."Yes" she confessed."She will never be a problem anymore" he assured.Evelyn stepped closer to grab his hands and whispered heartfelt "Thank you"."You're safe with me".She nodded and carefully moved closer, pressing her lips on his.