The One with the Badger

''I have decided to switch up seats,'' Professor Slughorn beams happily, earning several groans from the Slytherin students, ''to improve some students their knowledge.'' His gaze directed to you and you knew you were a disaster at potions. Slughorn hands out the papers with the new seats. You surveyed the paper and gasped. No way that I have to sit next to him.
     ''Come on! Switch up,'' Slughorn encourages. You grab your bag and walk to the very front of the class. You looked at your partner and didn't feel much to say anything. Your partner didn't feel much of it either.

''Tom m'boy,'' Slughorn beams, causing Tom to cringe and roll his eyes, ''I want you to ask to tutor this student, Y/N L/N.'' You surveyed your notes and felt two pairs of eyes burning on you. Tom fakes a smile, ''of course, Professor.'' Slughorn replies happily and walks away.
     ''I'm sorry,'' you mumble. ''What?'' Tom frowns and tilts his head to the Hufflepuff student. You tilt your head to look at the dark-haired, Slytherin prefect. ''My apologies that you are stuck with me.'' You gaze into his cold brown eyes, which seem to examine your face. He took in your features and noticed the scars around your eye.

''Six o'clock, library. Don't be late.'' His voice was smooth, yet as cold as ice. You nod and remain silent. Tom noticed your discomfort and smirked satisfied. The corner of his mouth twitched up a little.
     Professor Slughorn dismissed his class and you quickly made your way out of class. Only to be pulled into a cupboard. A hand covered your mouth and the person hissed, ''don't even think of having a chance with Riddle.'' ''W-what, no! I don't even want to!'' The next thing you know, are you being thrown to the back. Your back hit the shelves and groan in pain as you hit the floor.

You felt a sharp pain in your face and stomach. It felt like someone has been poking in your eye, many times. You tried to cover your face, but it didn't help. What felt like an eternity, the kicking suddenly stopped.
     The door opened and closed, leaving you there lying alone - in pain. You forced yourself to get up and hurried to the Hufflepuff common room. You walked up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, only to see the cuts and bruises on your face. Your salty tears stung in your wounds as they slid down.

You hid in the common room for the rest of the day, waiting for the clock to point half-past five. You put the hood of your hoodie over your head to hide your face as you make your way to the library. You didn't make any eye-contact and continued to walk.
     You examine the library in a second and spot the Slytherin prefect. You took a seat on the opposite of him and drew his attention. He examines you quickly, ''hood off.'' You sigh as you carefully, but slowly take off your hood. You denied eye-contact and fiddled with your fingers.
     ''Look at me.'' Tom's demanding voice sends a shivering feeling down your spine. Your eyes shifted to his and you lifted your head in the slightest movement. ''Not a word,'' you grumble and pull out your books. Tom feels a strange feeling in his stomach as he looks at you. He feels angry at the person who has done this, but when he looks beyond the bruises...
     ''Riddle?" you ask anxiously when you see him balding his first and clenching his jaw. It makes him more handsome, though. I beg your pardon?! Tom's gaze was still on you and you pull him out of his train of thoughts. He blinks a few times to come back to reality, his jaw relaxes. ''L-let's start with the tutoring.'' He regains his cold posture, yet he is less cold than during potions.

Days later, during dinner, you felt Tom's gaze upon you as you entered the Great Hall. A blush crept up your face, ''someone's flustered.'' You look aside to see your friend, Hugh Alexander. ''I'm not.'' You shot him a glare and sat next to him for dinner.
     ''Someone's staring at you,'' Hugh whispers near your ear and looks over to the Slytherin table. You follow Hugh's gaze, ending up to see the Slytherin prefect. His cold gaze bore into your eyes. He felt incredibly jealous of the Badger next to you and was unaware of his clenched jaw.
     ''Staring at me or you?'' you question because you are able to tell he is jealous. Hugh shot a confused look, ''why would he be staring at me?'' You shrug, ''maybe he is jealous?'' Hugh knitted his eyebrows together, ''jealous? Why would he be jealous? He's the most arrogant student that has ever walked the school.''

After dinner, you had another tutor session with Tom. He did his job and you paid attention to what he had to say. You also noticed his features and how handsome he was. You've fallen for the snake.
     ''Who did it?'' Tom asked out of the blue, which caught you off guard. ''W-what?'' you asked, maybe you misunderstood him. ''Who did it? The bruises and the cuts.'' Tom shifts his eyes from the book to your eyes. You sat there, petrified.
     ''I-I... I-it's nothing. D-don't worry about it,'' you stutter. ''It clearly is, you have bruises all over your face and I bet that's isn't the only place.'' You bury your head in your hands in embarrassment. ''You know I can figure out who it is in a second,'' Tom purrs. You close your eyes, causing the tears falling down.

''Look at me,'' he comments softly. You glance up, which is a bad idea. ''Legilimency!'' You feel like sucked out of your body as you relive the memories. The ones with your bully and the ones of your father, dying. You now understand what he is doing and try to fight it.
     Back to reality, your back hurt. You must have fallen off your seat. You pop up your head above the table, to see an empty seat in front of you. Shit.

Tom stormed through the corridor, looking for the Slytherin who has been bullying you. He had found her in the Slytherin common room and asked if he could have a word with her. She happily obeys and follows him. Regina walks around the corner and is immediately pinned to the wall by Tom.
     She giggles playfully and stares into his eyes. Yet, Tom's eyes were as cold as ice. ''I am warning you only this time,'' he hisses, ''hurt her one more time and I will hunt you down.'' Regina freezes as his words penetrate in her mind and she nods fearfully. Tom glares into her eyes before taking off.
     After minutes, she dares to move again. She clenches her fist in anger and wants to take revenge on the Hufflepuff.

It was weekend and Tom wanted to continue the tutoring. He had told you to be in the library at eight because he would continue with his patrol after. You agreed but didn't want to. You obviously knew Tom had threatened one of his fellow Slytherin and you felt angry for him doing that. You didn't want any more trouble, because you knew what was going to happen. Regina was going to take her revenge, you were certain.
     ''Miss L/N, pay attention to what I'm saying.'' Tom's smooth voice pulls you out of your train of thoughts. You blink a few times, ''I'm sorry.'' Tom watches you in suspicion. ''Are you alright?'' ''I'm perfectly fine. You stormed off to Regina, threatening her. However, that's not going to stop her and it will be worse,'' you ramble, your voice dripping with anxiety.

"She'll not bully you anymore, because if she does. I will hunt her down," he hisses, starting to get angry. His expression softens as he sees you terrified. He usually feels satisfied if someone is terrified of him, but he doesn't want you to be terrified of him.
     "Let's see," you mumble. A silence followed and you didn't dare to look him in the eyes. "Thank you," you say in a small voice. "What did you say?" Tom asks surprised. "Thank you," you say a little louder, "for standing up for me." The corner of Tom's mouth curled up into a small smile.

Tom went on his patrolling and had told you to go straight to the common room. You promised to go straight to the common room. You did go, but someone had thrown her fist in your face, knocking you out.
     "What did I tell you?!" Regina hisses and grabs your collar. She threw you back to the floor and walked away. She draws her wand and points it at you - laughing evilly. ''Sectrumsempra!'' The curse hit you causing you to screech in pain.
     Blood spurted from your face and chest as though you had been slashed with an invisible sword. Regina watched you, whose face was now shining scarlet. You grasp your blood-soaked chest. ''That will learn your lesson.''

Tom strolls through the corridors, but he stops in his tracks as he hears soft sobbing. He walks towards the sound and he feels his heart sink. He hurries to your side and you open your eyes. ''Hi,'' you say, coughing blood.
     ''Don't worry, I've got you,'' he whispers. His hand roams above your body, muttering ''Vulnera Sanentur.'' The flow of blood seemed to ease. Tom wiped the residue from your face and repeated his spell. Now the wounds seemed to be knitting.

The blood had disappeared and you slowly opened your eyes. Tom has knelt next to you, his hand stroking your hair. ''Did Regina do this to you?'' You can hear a hint of anger in his voice. You nod slightly, ''I'm sorry.''
     ''For what?'' Tom scowled. ''For involving you into this mess.'' The Slytherin prefect lets out a sigh, following by a low chuckle. ''Then I wouldn't have met a Badger who sucks at potions.'' You had closed your eyes again, but you chuckled. Tom scoops you up and walks to the Hufflepuff common room.

''C-can I ask you something?'' Tom asks cautiously. You have never heard him nervous before, so you decided to get back to him. ''You just did.'' You open one of your eyes, only to see Tom rolling his eyes.
     ''I was going to anyways,'' he looks down at you, ''but, do you w-want to be m-my e-escort to the S-slug party?'' You keep your eyes shut and let his words sink in. ''If you want me to,'' you answer. ''Why would I else ask you?'' His annoying voice caused you to giggle, ''I would love too.''
     It made Tom smile, an actual smile. ''Next month on Saturday, I'll pick you up at six,'' he smoothly says. ''I'll be ready and thank for carrying me here.''

Extended Scene

Tom waits nearby the Hufflepuff common room, his hands resting on his back. One of the barrels shoved aside, to reveal a path towards the Hufflepuff common room. Tom eyes the student, who walks out of the common room. Tom's heart skips a beat and for a second he forgets how to breathe.
     ''How do I look?'' you ask cautiously, turning 360 degrees. Tom's face flushed by the sight of the Badger. You were wearing a forest green dress. The torso was velvet and from the waist all silk. The sleeves are off your shoulder. Your hair tied in a low bun with strands in front of your face (photo below).
     ''You look stunning,'' he breathes, ''especially now you are dressed in my House colours.'' A smirk played across his flushed face, it caused you to blush. ''Thank you,'' you said in a small voice.

''Tom m'boy!'' Slughorn beams happily and takes him in an embrace. He was obviously happy to see him. ''Y/N!'' he beams and also takes you in an embrace, catching you off guard.
     They all sat around the table, eating. After that, it was talking. Tom was found by your side with his arm around your waist. He didn't trust all these eyes on you, even though they are his friends. He isn't quite fond of the term, sharing.

One moment, he basically drags you out of the room. ''Tom, wait,'' you say, struggling to keep up his pace. ''Tom!'' He finally heard you and stopped. He turns to you and takes a step closer. You instinctively took one backwards. You did that two more times before feeling a wall in your back.
     The Slytherin prefect towers over you and puts his right hand on the wall. He took one step, closing the distance. You didn't know where to look, from his eyes to his chest. Tom's eyes shifts from your eyes to your lips and back. ''So, why did you bring us here?'' you ask, staring in his eyes.

He leans in closer to your ear, whispering  ''I was not amused by the number of eyes that lingered on you. Not now when you belong to me.'' You swallow harshly. Tom saw the goosebumps on your skin where his breath had fanned. He smirks satisfied, knowing what kind of effect he has on you.
     You look in his eyes, noticing these have darkened. Without a word, Tom swiftly leans in and captures your lips with his. His free hand was found on your back and your hand was found in his neck. You play with his curls, earning a low groan from him.

His lips left yours, but not your skin. He trails along your jaw, directing to your neck. Tom gave your neck little kisses and knew when he reached your sweet spot. You had released a soft moan when he started kissing and sucking.
     He pulls back to see what he has created, ''quite a masterpiece if I say so.'' You realised you had closed your eyes, now you had opened them. ''Don't try to hide, everyone must know you belong me.'' His voice was huskily attractive.

You lean in closer to his neck, ''then why am I the only who is getting marked?'' You smirk satisfied when you see that you have also effect on him. Goosebumps where you breath had fanned. ''Then what are you waiting for?'' he asks, his voice is still husky.
     This is the moment you are happy about wearing heels. You explored his neck, leaving a trail of kisses. He growls lowly, noting you that you've reached his sweet spot. You've created a hickey, finishing it with a kiss.
     ''All done,'' you say in a sweet smile. Tom grows in response and attaches his lips with yours once again. You smile against his lips, playing with his hair again.

''You are mine,'' he grows huskily.