Chapter 48

Anastasia was rarely seen without Tom beside her. The other followers noticed the change, but the more they tried to speak to her the more irritated she seemed to become. They were inseparable. He seemed unable to leave her alone: the cruel, all-mighty Tom Riddle was thinking of someone other than himself. Anastasia watched how the others reacted, cherishing the power she felt she held. The boys began looking at her as everyone else did, in awe and fear. She knew they were all silently asking the same question: how did she do it? People always had underestimated her, and for the first time she genuinely believed she had exceeded their expectations. Anastasia found herself conversing with less people instantly, but she hardly noticed as Tom was always there. In class she could feel his dark gaze scratching her skin, and hear the impatient tapping of his foot as his mind undressed her. Their evenings in the room of requirement became more frequent,

"I have a task for you." Tom breathed, his hand still wrapped around her throat.

"Aren't you going to at least let me get dressed first?" Anastasia smiled as Tom responded by tightening his grip for a moment. He leaned down and laid a small kiss on the tip of her nose before releasing her from his grasp. Anastasia watched him bend down and lift his trousers back up. She sat up and lifted her hands towards him. Tom grinned and began undoing the belt he had buckled around her wrists. Seeing her skin grow red as she was released from the leather made his stomach turn in delight and he watched her delicate fingers rub her wrists as he looped his belt through his trousers.

"I want you to get something for me." He turned to sit at his desk. Anastasia sighed as she removed herself from the desk's surface, picking up her items of clothing strewn over the floor.

"Of course, my Lord." She said sarcastically, making Tom flicker his eyes up to her for a moment with a stern expression.

"What do you need?" She asked, a bit more quietly than before.

"That's actually the fun part, you get to choose." Anastasia clasped her brassiere and threw her dress over her head before staring at Tom quizzically. He didn't look up from his journal, but he could almost hear her expression.

"I want you to find something that you believe would be worthy of being used as a horcrux." Anastasia nodded slowly, but her heart was racing. Tom had ignored the topic of horcruxes with her for some time, he hadn't even pre-warned her about making a second one before he had announced it to the entire group. She tried to hide her smile, but Tom picking her above the rest meant everything to her. Tom looked up for a moment to check her response so she promptly nodded, trying to act as seriously as possible.

"Good. Time for you to go to bed." Tom returned his eyes to his writing, making Anastasia feel a cold sense of unease. "And Miss Delaney," Anastasia turned back to him as she reached the door. "Don't keep me waiting, you know how impatient I can get." Tom smirked. She put her shoes on and left the room without saying a word. She always felt as if she had just stepped out of a tornado each time she crept the corridors back to her dorm. Being alone with Tom meant seeing all sides of him. He was forceful and passionate, yet gentle and caring while being cold and uninterested. Anastasia's mind was almost as tired as her body as she lay down in her bed, remembering how he'd touched her. She could still feel his fingers entangled in her hair and the noises he had made with her mouth around him. Even alone in her room she couldn't get rid of him.