Chương 21: Chapter Twenty: What's Your Motive?
Tom Riddle was acting differently.
Everyone could see it. It started small, simple gestures and polite conversations in the corridor, things that could be charted off as chivalry by the oblivious ravens, badgers and lions. The first prominent change was when he offered to carry her books to Potions, obviously getting turned down as Cordelia furrowed her eyebrows and continued down the corridor.
One prominent change happened to be his compliance, the way he simply nodded along while they were paired in Potions, always doing as she asked except for when he had a suggestion. During Transfiguration he would always sit beside her, sending Dumbledore dirty looks if the professor even thought of approaching their desk. While his gaze did nothing to deter the professor, Riddle's weird behaviour spurred up a storm of rumours.
Phyllis and Aurora had frequently questioned whether or not she was secretly dating him, yet Druella's strictness as she shut down the rumours ensured no one approached Cordelia with their questions.
They must've thought she was blind if they presumed she didn't notice.
To top things off, he had chosen to address her with an awfully suggestive nickname during Potions, his sickly-sweet voice making her cringe as she mulled over his words.
"Of course, darling."
Abarax and his girlfriend had paused behind them, halting their conversation as Tom smirked at Lia and walked off towards the ingredient's cupboard. While the blonde Malfoy heir wasn't keen on spreading any rumours, his girlfriend lit up like a Christmas tree as she hurried off towards the mortar and pestle, subtly conveying the piece of gossip to the trio of Slytherin girls over there.
Gossip travelled through Hogwarts faster than a Niffler chasing gold, and by lunch that day everyone was aware of Tom Riddle's affiliation with Cordelia. Various girls glared her way as she and Druella entered the Great Hall, some looking envious while others simply were dejected. Ella swore she saw a few guys glare at Riddle, the blue-eyed brunette chose to ignore such claims, her mind stuck on what was wrong with Tom.
Why would he, an aspiring dark lord who previously wanted nothing to do with her except for their school rivalry, want to spread such rumours?
What was Tom Riddle planning?
"-Miss Black?"
Druella nudged Cordelia at Dippet's words, making the blue-eyed brunette plaster a fake smile onto her face as she turned towards their headmaster.
"Yes, professor?"
The balding man simply sighed as he turned away from the Slytherins, instead facing the twenty-six chosen students in general.
"As I was saying, the train is due to leave two days later, only pack what is absolutely essential, but ensure you don't forget anything. We cannot floo in from France simply because some of you forgot to bring your family ring."
Usually, such a statement would have been targetted towards the snakes due to their heritage, yet the lions, badgers and ravens too happened to have reputed families. Well, at least most of them did. Cordelia was content to notice there were only four mudbloods amongst them, each easily avoidable due to their stature and house.
"That is it, you may all leave."
It was quizzical how while Slughorn and Dumbledore were present, they hadn't spoken a word as Dippet smoothly commanded the meeting, only addressing them once as he mentioned how the professors would be present during the Tournament as chaperons.
Cordelia presumed as much and thus chose to tune out from the meeting while she contemplated Tom Riddle and his obscene behaviour. She hadn't missed the smirk Slughorn sent their way as Riddle pulled out her chair for her, neither had she overlooked her brother's furrow of eyebrows.
Things were getting too far, and she had to stop it before word reached outside of Hogwarts or God forbid, her parents' ears.
Tom Riddle might be intimidating, but Arcturus Black was terrifyingly powerful, like a snake willing to bite anyone who stood in his way. Some random group of pureblood Slytherin boys wouldn't stop her father from skinning Riddle alive as a penalty for such derogatory rumours. Arcturus might have not shown it very often, but he was protective of and loved his children as much as any other father, and thus wouldn't stand for such a thing.
She would be surprised if Tom wouldn't be expelled. As much as Cordelia hated to admit it, she liked their stupid rivalry enough to not want him gone. After all, who else would rival her and make her school life the closest thing it could be to chaotic.
Druella seemed to catch onto her cousin's distress as the gold-eyed girl pulled her out of the headmaster's office, lightly muttering farewell as they raced downstairs and past the goblin statues.
"If you're going to confront him, you might as well do it now."
Her cousin's words made her gulp as Cordelia glanced towards Tom, spotting Abarax, Rodolphus and Theodore with him.
"Theo and 'Olphus won't fight it, if Abarax does anything then threaten to ruin his hair, he'll run faster than Hippogriff hunting."
This time it was Orion who spoke as he approached his sisters, subtly lowering his voice and leaning against the wall behind them as if he didn't want to risk being spotted by Riddle or his companions.
Regardless of her brother and cousin's support, Cordelia couldn't help but hesitate as she lightly nibbled on her lip, pondering whether she should wait until they were at the common room.
"Do you want him to continue, or do something worse?"
In the end, it was Orion's words that strengthened her resolve as she waited for the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs to turn the corner, the Ravenclaws babbling behind them.
"I'll need you to distract the group, tell them I'm talking to Dumbledore."
While they seemed worried, the duo simply nodded towards Lia as they wished her good luck and wandered off, leading the rest of the Slytherins towards the departing crowd while Riddle and his friends lingered.
Come on Lia, you can do this!
She confidently nodded at herself as the brunette walked towards the males, ignoring Theodore's worried gaze as she halted in front of Tom and crossed her arms stubbornly.
"I need to speak with you."
Riddle took his time replying, scanning her frame from head to toe before finally meeting her sky-blue eyes.
"Talk."
At that moment the Black-McMillan heir considered abandoning her resolve and hexing Tom until he got the message, yet something told her that was exactly what he craved, thus she sighed and turned away from him, looking at her friends.
"Leave."
Rodolphus didn't put up a fight, nodding towards her as he tugged on Theodore's sleeve. It was the Nott heir who hesitated, looking at Cordelia warily before he gave in and walked off. Next, her steel-blue gaze switched to Abarax, connecting with his grey eyes.
"Do you want me to shave your head, Malfoy?"
The threat worked as promised as the blonde scuttled away, briefly muttering an apology to Riddle as he too turned away and walked down the corridor.
Tom seemed disappointed at their compliance, but the brunette girl didn't care as she turned back towards him. Something felt off as Cordelia began to speak, thus her blue gaze lurked around the corridor, finally spotting the problem. They were in hearing range of the headmaster's office, and could easily be heard and seen by Dumbledore or Slughorn.
Unwilling to wait for his acceptance, the witch simply sighed yet again and tugged on his right palm, silently pulling Riddle away from the pillar he was leaning against. At first, he gave a bit of resistance as she dragged him away from the office, but he eventually gave in with an annoyed huff. Cordelia wasn't fooled by his fraudulent behaviour, she knew that Tom was intrigued by her purpose.
After a short walk, the brunette found what she was looking for, pausing outside a classroom to ensure it was abandoned. A loud bang echoed around them as she slammed the door open, dragging Riddle behind her while wandlessly closing the door and casting a spell to have any passerby remember a chore and turn away.
"If you wanted privacy, you could have just asked, darling."
This time she didn't hold back her shriek of annoyance as Cordelia pushed him up against the wall, withdrawing her wand to jab its tip right above his heart.
"You've got some nerve, Riddle."
It irked her that he seemed to be enjoying himself, a lazy smirk overcoming his features as he leaned into the wall and gave her an expectant gaze.
"I don't know what you mean, doll."
A stinging jinx was fired before she could stop herself, the hex prominently decreasing his smirk as he realized she was serious.
"If my parents find out what you're doing, father will murder you, or get you expelled."
For a moment it seemed like she was getting through to him, but then his smirk returned as he suggestively raised his eyebrows, resting his left palm into the bend of her waist as he cockily twirled with the tips of her hair.
"How cute, you care for me."
Rather than turning back to her aggressive ways, Cordelia paused for a second, mulling over his words.
Did she actually care for Tom more than simply pitying the possible outcome? The thought itself made a shiver roll down her back as she diverted her gaze, focusing on his head boy badge rather than the tantalizing chestnut gaze.
"Stop changing the topic."
He hummed at her weak response, tightening his hold on her as he too took a moment to consider his words. In the end, his reply wasn't what she expected.
"What if I want them to know?"
The reply shook her to her core as she yet again met his gaze, sending him a dirty look as her unsure frown turned into a sneer.
Regardless of her front, Cordelia knew he could see the fear in her eyes, and that strengthened her anxiety. She had tried denying it, but the blue-eyed witch knew exactly what Arcturus would do if he found out about the rumours. He would ask for a betrothal contract.
After her and Aldrich's very public break-up, her parents had been unsure of whether Lia would find a guy during her Hogwarts year, and thus had begun looking at the options by themselves. Thankfully, there weren't many people who were aware of this change, and fewer were present in Hogwarts. Yet that didn't quell the stroke of fear in her heart as she mulled over whether her parents would truly make a contract with Riddle.
The Riddle family wasn't reputed, in fact, she had never heard of such a family even though her knowledge of French pureblood families was quite good. Moreover, he never spoke of his family and until a few months ago hadn't worn any family rings.
That and her constant doubt of him being a half-blood should be enough to swaddle her parents, yet she was unsure if Arcturus would be convinced.
It was one thing to have people presume they were together, but it was another to have speculation turn into facts as her parents possibly contemplated making her Mrs Riddle.
"What do you want?"
Tom took his time to reply, ensuring he caught her gaze while speaking.
"You."
His words made her breath stutter. Cordelia wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh at his false seriousness, gasp as her fear possibly turned into reality, or do nothing at all. She settled on indifference as the pureblood witch tilted her head back, facing him head-on.
"That's never going to happen, it's impossible for you to win me over."
Riddle sighed as he twirled a strand of her hair, moving his palm from her waist to instead curl a strand of her bangs.
"Well, it's a good thing I have a tendency to achieve the impossible."
He didn't wait for a response as the brunette wizard walked away, leaving Cordelia in a conflicting storm of emotions.
It seemed every negative emotion existing crashed onto her as she walked away from the wall, leaning against a desk as she heard his footsteps recede, subconsciously saying her thoughts out loud.
"What are you playing at?"
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
thatfanficwriter
thatfanficwriter I bet the Tom x Cordelia shippers died and came back to life at 'you'. I just realized this, but we need a ship name for them! Comment a ship name and if I like it, I'll give you a shoutout in the next chapter and make the name official.
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