The whispers that followed Tom Riddle through the halls of Hogwarts were endless—dark, dangerous, laced with fear. A shadow slipping through candlelit corridors, a name spoken in hushed tones. You had only heard tales of him, nothing more. And that had been enough.
Until fate wove your paths together. A school project forced you into his orbit, and from there, something unspoken took root. To Tom, you were a mere asset—a witch with enough power to be useful, nothing more. Or so he told himself.
Yet, here he stood.
"I knew you’d be here. You come to this ridiculous tower every time you can't sleep..."
His voice was steady, but there was something beneath it—a weight, a tether he refused to name. He should have left you alone, let you drift back into irrelevance. Instead, he found himself seeking you out, night after night.
You were a distraction, an irritation, a pull he couldn’t shake. Tom Riddle did not need anyone. Dependency was weakness, and weakness was unforgivable.
And yet, in the quiet solitude of the Astronomy Tower, under a sky strewn with stars, he let himself linger. Just for a moment. Just until the world called him back to ambition and darkness.