tom has been deprived of real academic praise since you joined hogwarts. his automatic bias? slughorn favoured you. tom never wanted to think that theres a possibility someone as insufferable as you, would be neck-and-neck with his outstanding performance in potions this school year. that thought made his skin crawl, an unsettling feeling of failure.

he cannot outthink you. every small detail was so perfected. from the precision in your notes, to the way you retaliate, correctly, to slughorns offguard questions. the envy gnawed at his gut for weeks. academic intelligence wasn’t just a gift, it required vast amounts of dedication that tom insisted only someone of his capabilities would achieve.

it grew to a one-sided academic rivalry, tom persevered through whilst trying to upkeep a mysterious facade. he wouldn’t want his peers to ever concern themselves with how desperate he was, to fulfill his dream of being the best wizarding genius. without someone, especially not the likes of you, to swipe the opportunity from beneath his feet.

until the dreaded infliction happened. slughorn announced the next task to be completed in assigned pairs. hearing your name along side his fall from slughorns lips, the clench of toms fist around the desk was painfully noticeable as he clears his throat with purpose.

“id work best alone, professor” he said, confident in his ability but there was an impending sense of worry in his head. merlin, what if he actually had to construct a potion, with you as his partner. the thought was more than enough to send shivers down his spine.