Tobias paced the courtyard, muttering under his breath. The first classes of the day were coming to an end, and he was facing a moral quandary. On the one hand, what he was thinking about doing went directly against the Head Girl’s wishes. On the other hand, he considered it important enough to be up and going early in the morning, before he actually had to be.

In point of fact, he hadn’t really slept at all because he had been so worried. The Hogwarts rumor mill typically reached the Head Boy last, especially when the rumors concerned others in power, which the whole school likely knew his…the Head Girl was practicing the Dark Arts.

He tried to remind himself that she wasn’t really his anything, would never let herself be that vulnerable, but the words rang hollow in his head. He tried to distract himself most of the night, but nothing held his attention. He wanted to go to her immediately, figure out what was going on and how he could help her, but that simply wasn’t an option. She would never allow him to be seen near the Snake Pit when he so carefully avoided it all other times, and she would definitely never answer a direct summons from him to meet somewhere else.

So he had chosen the next best thing, rising for once with his dorm mates and mentally preparing himself. Apparently nerves made him actually pay attention to detail, because he was somehow dressed neater and crisper than he ever remember being and his tie was actually knotted for once. Now he was just waiting for Laurette to walk by on her way into the castle after her first class of the day.

When she finally did, he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her behind a pillar so that they were mostly out of sight. Hopefully anyone who saw them would assume they were having a heated discussion of something related to their Head duties, but the fewer people that saw them, the better off they would be. The rumor mill had already done quite enough damage in this case.

“Please, for the love of Merlin tell me that the rumors aren’t true,” he whispered at her violently. “Tell me you’re not using Dark magic, on a Prefect, out in public where anyone could see you. Because if you are, Granger would have every right to get your pretty ass thrown out of here.” And I don’t want to think about what I would do in this school without you, he added in his head.

It had been about a week since the dueling incident with the mudblood and Laurette had heard the rumors circulating the school. Apparently once the little Riddle had mentioned ‘dark arts’ the term had stuck. The Head Girl had taken to glaring at anyone who dared mention it where she could hear, and had thus been working through her classes without much trouble. This was apparently going to come to an end as she felt a hand on her arm just after morning Herbology and felt her back press against one of the stone pillars in the courtyard.

She glared into the eyes of her secret Hufflepuff lover, ready to hex him out onto the lawns for daring to touch her in public like that. Didn’t he realize how intimate of a position they were in right now? He even pressed his face close to hers and it was all she could do to resist the urge to kiss those stupid lips until they were swollen from her assault. Instead, she shook her head and kept glaring at him while he demanded answers for the same rumors she’d been trying to avoid.

“No, Vincent, I didn’t use dark magic. Technically,” she hissed, trying to ignore his comment about her ass being pretty. “They were Fletch’s spells, and they aren’t yet classified since he’s the only one using them. Well, I guess now I am too, but…” She knew he wouldn’t like her answer, but it was all she could give him. Why did he have to get involved anyway? She wasn’t going to get expelled. She was too good at excuses and loopholes for that to happen.

“You have to trust me. I won’t be kicked out. You’re being a bloody idiot. I didn’t even think you were capable of getting out of bed this early…” she mused, reaching out a hand and running it through his too-neat hair, messing it up just enough to look more natural on him. She was forgetting herself, perhaps, but she couldn’t help it. His concern was touching and it was melting her icy heart. She tilted her head at him, still leaning back against the pillar.

Her hands moved, the one in his hair snaking down to his tie while the other tugged at his neatly tucked shirt. “What on earth did you do to yourself, Tobi? You look like some stuffy Ravenclaw or something. Or dare I say it, a proper Head Boy!” Her giggle floated on the air as she loosened the tie and untucked half his shirt, righting him to the image that played in her mind. “There. Now that’s more you. Merlin, where are those annoying bloody headphones? And are you wearing real shoes? You aren’t even in class for another few hours! Tobi, are you broken?”

Laurette had completely let her guard down and found herself leaning forward, her lips mere inches away from his as she looked into his eyes as if checking for illness. Her hands were still on his body as her lips brushed his, only for her eyes to flash open in shock when a throat cleared beside them. Oh, hell. Everything they’d worked so hard to keep secret was out just because she couldn’t keep her damned hands to herself.

So Skyler had inadvertently started her first rumor at Hogwarts, and she didn't know whether to be proud of herself or to duck in the corridors from possible hexes. But of course, the brunette was much too proud and much too stubborn to allow any kind of fear, no matter how big or small, rule her in such a way. It was probably going to be her downfall eventually.

It wasn't necessarily her fault. Atleast, that's what she told herself. How was she supposed to know there would be that many people waiting outside the dueling chambers that day? Bunch of eavesdroppers. Besides, if the idiot Head Girl hadn't been using those spells in the first place none of this would be an issue. It was entirely the older girl's fault.

Skyler sighed as she left one class to head to another. Herbology. Lovely. The teen couldn't stand the class, and had no idea how she was even passing it. She barely paid any attention in it. The girl was clearly not having a good day, and her rising temper showed how much it was effecting her mood. She was annoyed and irritated with the masses, who whispered constantly when she passed, and looked away immediately when she caught them staring.

The teen was almost past her limits with the amount of stupidity she could put up with, and to top things off, she hadn't felt this alone at Hogwarts since her first night in the castle. One of these days the brunette was going to spontaneously combust, and it wasn't going to be pretty. Brushing past a few of her housemates on the way, a bit of movement in her peripheral caught her attention. Doing a double take, Skyler wasn't sure whether this was good or bad.

Biting her bottom lip, her natural curiosity won out, and the teen inched forward, telling herself it was only to verify what she saw. Turned out, it was. There, hiding in plain sight, were the Head Boy and Girl, and unless Sky was mistaken, which she knew she wasn't, it was quite the compromising position considering the older Slytherin claimed to hate anything less than pureblood, and the Head Boy was very much not pure. From the rumors, Tobi wasn't pure in any sense of the word, except his friendly and easy going nature.

When it looked like they were about to kiss, Sky stepped completely out so they could see her, and cleared her throat. "Hem, hem." She cocked her head to the side, observing the two older students with those bright violet eyes that seemed to dance in their amusement, her smirk unfurling on her lips as she took a casual stance, though she held a good grip on her wand. Just in case, of course. "Do thine eyes deceive me, or did I just interrupt an intimate moment between the most unlikely of couples?" She was seriously very doubtful she was mistaken, but hey, it might be fun to hear what stories they might come up with. Skyler arched a brow at them, clearly amused by this piece of intelligence.

Tobias was immediately fuming silently, wanting to yell at the French girl and unable to do so. How in the hell did she think the fact that she was using spells invented by her crazy and dangerous brother made it better? Sure it made it harder to throw it out for them, but it also made it more likely that she was going to do something that caused even her to feel guilt. She might permanently maim someone or even kill them.

His angry thoughts were slowed considerably as she went about the business of setting his look right. He had no idea that she could show caring in a small way like this. Maybe if he had really considered the little treats she built into their nights he would, but he was usually too busy to consider at those times. The feeling of her playing with his shirt and tie to make them more him was one he could get used to. There would be time to get angry once she stopped being shockingly cute. “Not broken, just worried about you.”

He stopped talking as he lips brushed his. It was so shocking that he didn’t even have time to kiss back before he heard the throat clearing to show they weren’t alone. Instinctively he turned, placing himself between Laurette and the mystery person, finding out that it was the Slytherin Prefect Riddle. His move had two reasons. The first was a desire to protect the Head Girl from anything that might hurt her. The second, bigger, one, was to keep Laurie from killing anyone that threatened to break the fragile little life she had set up for herself at the top of the food chain.

“Um,” he stammered at the question, “what you think you interrupted probably depends on exactly what you think you saw.” Tobias was generally very smooth, but this situation had him flustered to no end. He was just trying to help, and now if he made the wrong move or said the wrong thing, he ran the risk of losing his Laurie forever.

The Hufflepuff turned his head as far as he could towards the Head Girl while keeping one eye on Riddle. “LeBeau, why don’t you tell your housemate exactly what she’s seeing and why there’s no need to tell anyone about it.” Tobi was the smooth one, but Laurie was the one with all the plans already in place, the one who felt she always needed an escape hatch. If they were gonna squirm out of this spot, it was gonna be her tongue that got it done.

The sinking sensation in her stomach was uncomfortable and Laurette didn’t really want to think about what it might mean. She knew the Riddle girl was headstrong and determined as hell when she got her mind set on something, having seen her in action the day she’d dueled Granger. It was probably this girl’s fault that she was even being called on her curses, and that had her bristling. It was going to be difficult to come up with any excuse, and quite frankly, Laurette was growing tired of excuses anyway.

She looked into Tobi’s eyes and all she could do was melt. He’d put himself in between her and the offending girl. He’d vehemently deny whatever the younger thing implied no matter how true it was, just because he valued her enough to let her have whatever foolish reputation she desired. The only thing stopping her from coming clean right in that moment was the fear that Fletch would do something to hurt the Hufflepuff, and that was enough to make her blood run cold.

Standing on her tiptoes, Laurette stared at the girl with a gold fury in her eyes. “What you’ve seen is of no concern to you, and if you speak of it to anyone I will hunt you down and show you exactly what ‘dark magic’ really is,” she threatened, voice hollow and cold. No one threatened her Tobi. Because he was her Tobi, and no one else’s. Sure, they might have screwed other people, but they never meant anything. They were each other’s and that was that. And if this stupid little girl thought she could do anything to hurt the Head Girl’s badger, well… the French girl was not known to back down from any fight.

Laurette was about to turn on her heel and leave when she thought again. Sure, she could threaten the girl as much as she wanted, but the thing was, even if she did beat her to a pulp for telling someone, it wouldn’t undo the telling. And that was the thing that mattered. She couldn’t save Tobias from her brother’s wrath if the truth had leaked. She scowled and let out a pitiful whimper as she studied the boy she so cared for. This wasn’t the way she wanted this to come to light!

“Dammit, Tobi,” she muttered, wiping at her eye in an attempt to hide the stray tear that thinking about Fletcher hurting the Hufflepuff had caused to fall. “I can’t pretend anymore, but I have to. You know I do. But… but…” She looked at the boy with pleading eyes, begging him to be the one to beg the girl not to say anything. Laurette simply couldn’t beg. She just couldn’t. It went against everything within her to plead with another person, especially a younger Snake. “I can’t let him hurt you.”

Tobias flinched as the Head Girl began to threaten the younger Slytherin, but he let it happen. It was his job to let the French girl live her life whatever screwed up way she wanted to, and it looked like she was going to be just fine taking care of this. He would just have to wait until the Head Girl stomped off and then soothe the younger girl a little so that some kind of terrifying rivalry didn’t develop.

Then Laurie shifted suddenly and completely and everything changed. He had heard that whimper only once before, when he had been watching Laurie dance without her knowing and she had landed wrong and just about destroyed her ankle. He had hoped he would never hear it again, and now she was apparently making it due to some sort of anguish that was entirely mental.

Apparently the source of her mental anguish was more him than Riddle. He turned far enough to watch the Head Girl speak, nodding to her when she was finished. He felt a kind of warm buzzing that he generally didn’t associate with the lights being on, along with the familiar confidence of exactly what to do next. “Then we don’t pretend anymore and we don’t hide anymore. Your brother can’t hurt me here, so that gives us months to figure out our next move.”

With that he leaned in, kissing her gently on the lips, and then turned back to the young Prefect. “That’s what you saw, Riddle,” he said calmly, “and it’s very real. This is…the Laurette LeBeau that only I know, I guess?” He looked at the younger witch with honest pleading in his eyes. “I’d be forever in your debt if you would keep this version of the Head Girl between the three of us.”

He paused, considering his next words very carefully. “Her brother is a very dangerous wizard, and a very temperamental one. If he were to find out that his little sister is not the same person in her heart that he sees, he would be very angry. And if he found out it was my fault, people would get hurt. Myself, if he could get to me, and my loved ones, if he could not. My loved ones are all muggles and cannot protect themselves from a man like Fletcher. So I really need you to make sure this doesn’t get out.”

Skyler might have been a bit more impressed by the cold fury the Head Girl aimed her way if it hadn't been for the facts that she had already been on the receiving end of the older Slytherin's fury before and that she had faced the Dark Lord himself a few times in the recent past. There wasn't much that scare the fifth year anymore these days, and that was actually worrying. While the brunette knew the older girl could potentially cause her serious harm, Sky was too stubborn to allow any fear of injury to grip her.

Which was why she simply arched a brow, an amused smirk tilting her lips while she met the older girl's glare with laughing eyes. If Lebeau thought she was intimidating, she was playing to the wrong crowd. The teen thought the other Slytherin would have learned that by now. "You're not the only one who likes to dabble in things they shouldn't LeBeau. You should choose your battles wisely. I already told you to learn your place once." The child-like grin on her lips mixed with the dark gleam in her purple eyes was enough to show anyone that Skyler Riddle was not one to underestimate. The brunette was a fierce competitor in a duel, and rarely did she actually lose. While her happy-go-lucky demeanor gave off the impression of a friendly and open person, hidden underneath was a wickedly dark current that could turn dangerous in a split second.

Skyler didn't need to glare to get her message across. The dark tone that laced her words should have been enough. But her eyes soon turned almost curious as she watched the interaction between the two, and her face was almost blank during the exchange. It really was the most unlikely of couples, and the teen found herself wondering how the two even managed to not strangle each other. Well, how Vincent managed to not get strangled anyways. So at least they weren't going with the denial story then. The Prefect had to give it to them. At least they weren't trying to convince her she hadn't seen what she did like she was some idiot. At least they weren't making that mistake.

Violet eyes flitted between the two for a moment, studying their faces, before finally settling on the Hufflepuff who addressed her. Her face carried the look of someone who was bored, as if she were barely interested in whatever he had to say. Behind the scenes though, the wheels in her mind were working overtime. By the time he finished talking, the pieces had fallen together perfectly in her mind. The older Slytherin's brother was a death eater. A follower of her uncle's. And unless Sky was mistaken, he was the one who had picked her up in Hogsmeade. The obliviator who her uncle had threatened her with should she remain with Draco.

The brunette's own heart ached, because she knew what it was like to have to hide your love for fear of that person getting hurt or worse. So while she borderline hated the Head Girl, it was the Head Boy's pleading gaze that had her nodding in agreement to keep it between them. It struck a chord with the teen, because she knew that look. It was the one that said there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep the older Slytherin safe. Draco had that look. Sky had seen it enough to recognize it. And she could understand LeBeau's hostility at the moment. Skyler herself would have lashed out angrily if the shoe were on the other foot and it was Draco's life on the line.

There were so many similarities, too many parallels. It wasn't fair to have to hide like that. She hated it, but she knew there wasn't much she could do just yet about her and Draco. The plan was in motion, but a few things needed to be done before he was safe. And before her mind was too. It was only moments that it all started to come together in her head, a plan hatching from nowhere in particular. Sky wasn't even sure why exactly she was going to do it. Maybe it was because of the way the Head Boy pleaded with his eyes. Or maybe it was just that she couldn't bear the thought of anyone else suffering the way she did, especially when she could help and give them a way out.

Thinking that there was probably a good chance she would be turned down anyways, the teen bit her bottom lip, brows furrowing together as she tilted her head, looking unsure as she spoke. "I wasn't planning on telling anyone. But..." Sky hesitated, not exactly sure why she was about to offer help to a girl who hated her and who she hated just as equally. She huffed with a frustrated sigh, forcing it out. "I think I can help you." The teen finally blurted out, albeit softly. "You know, stay safe. From certain dark wizards." She explained quietly, willing the two with her gaze to put two and two together and not ask a billion questions. She was probably hoping uselessly. LeBeau was a snake, after all. She wouldn't agree to anything without knowing all of the details. Sky wasn't quite sure she was prepared to let the older girl know that much though. Her mind was searching for contingency plans, racing to find any and all loopholes she would need for this spur of the moment idea of hers. Once again she found herself wondering how the hell she got herself into things like this.

Tobias ignored the comment that Skyler shot at Laurette. He got the feeling that he would be ignoring a lot of those in the future anyway. Either that or he would need to deal with Skyler mostly on his own so that the two Slytherin witches didn’t have to have anything to do with each other. That was probably the safest plan for everyone involved anyway.

He watched the younger girl as he talked, and though he showed no outward sign of it, his heart was sinking. She seemed like she was more likely to fall asleep from boredom than actually do anything to help. Then he finished speaking and her face shifted almost completely. Apparently she really did feel bad for them.

Tobias glanced at Laurette, who looked more than a little bit doubtful. “We don’t have any better options, Laurie, so we might as well give Riddle’s idea a chance, if you really want to stop lying and be together.” The Head Girl still looked more than a little bit upset, but she gave a petulant nod, which the Head Boy took to mean that he could continue handling this however he thought was best.

“I’m guessing from the way you said it, you don’t want much input from us, or even want to tell us exactly what’s going on,” he said quietly, “but any help that you need from me, for this or anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.” He thought maybe he was done, and both storms had passed, so that he could go deal with everything else that he had to deal with today. Then he realized that there was one more thing that had to be squared away before he felt okay with this. “We have one condition for accepting whatever help you want to offer us.” His face was mostly blank, revealing nothing of what he wanted to ask.

Watching the Head Boy handle LeBeau was...interesting, to say the least. Skyler found herself kind of stumped for a moment. Huh. Who know the older girl could be almost human and agreeable? Shaking her head slightly, the brunette filed this away for later perusal. There was bad blood between herself and the older snake, so the teen was sure making this work was going to be difficult. She just needed to come with some sort of way to make it work.

The brunette sighed, running a hand through her dark, wavy locks in an almost frustrated way. No, she didn't want to tell them anything. But they had to know certain things. A plan had unfolded within her mind while everything had been pieced together, but she didn't want to overstep her boundaries here. Her and the older girl were both snakes, and Skyler knew most snakes never did anything without expecting something in return. But the brunette didn't, which would make it hard for the older witch to accept. She would consider it charity, and someone as spoiled a brat as Laurette LeBeau wouldn't like it.

"Look, let's not pretend the obvious isn't..well..obvious." Sky started off, eyes staring off to the side as she tried to find the right words. "My name isn't a coincidence, but I can offer you protection because of it atleast until Christmas." She offered the pair an apologetic look. She wished she could offer more, a longer timeframe or something, but that was what she had been given to work with for the time being.

"I can't really say what might happen after that, unfortunately. For now the most important thing is for you," the brunette looks LeBeau straight in the eye, "to let your brother know you've aligned yourself with me. He has his orders, so he'll know what it means. I don't expect anything on your part. In fact, I don't rightly care if we never speak again. But it will keep you both safe, for the time being, and out of the shadows if you prefer."

Sky's attention turned back to the Hufflepuff, looking unsure of herself as she shuffled on her feet absently. "Your mother is a different story. I have no control over that. But I have something in mind if you really do think she's in danger.." The teen trailed off, letting him decide that. A frustrated hiss left her lips when he spoke of some condition. She just wanted to be done with this. Helping people who hated her on a daily basis left a bad taste in her mouth, but there she was, being a damn idiot, and there he was, testing her nonexistent patience. Her purple eyes narrowed on the Puff. "Condition?" She bit out through gritted teeth, arching a brow at him. What the hell was this puffball playing at?

The Head Girl had been in a stunned silence since the younger Slytherin had mentioned keeping their secret and keeping them safe. She was utterly confused as to just what was making this girl offer such services to her and Tobias, especially when she was so new to the school and had so little connections there. She didn’t owe anyone anything. She was a clean slate at this school, so why was she doing something so… selfless?

The younger snake and the Head Boy kept talking while Laurette tried to keep up. She was getting confused. Tobi had just admitted that they needed to give this girl a chance, and then he’d offered their help! She was about to say something about how she hadn’t agreed to help anyone when she was quieted by Tobi’s touch and the revelation that the younger girl was actually admitting her relation to the other known Riddle. Why would she so easily put it out there and not even pretend to hide it? That seemed… borderline insane, really.

The girl listened as Riddle promised they would be safe until Christmas, but Laurette needed to tell her brother that they were aligned. Well, that could be interesting. Maybe she could also demand that he set her mind right again. Would there be a way that whatever this alignment meant could include her memories being hers again? Perhaps that was something she could talk to Tobi about bringing up in the future.

For now, she simply nodded her agreement, then turned to Tobias, gaping at the boy for actually demanding some kind of condition. Was he insane? He must be, because he was standing between two snakes and didn’t seem the least bit worried. In fact, he seemed rather comfortable. Oh, her strong badger. She really did love him.

“Tobi, darling, you couldn’t possibly actually be suggesting that we should get to demand something of her. Not after all she’s given us,” she hissed. Her eyes were wide with slight panic now. This whole thing seemed too good to be true. What if his pushing made the girl take it all back? Laurette was desperate for some way out of whatever life had thrown at her! He just couldn’t mess this up! She’d cry. She really would. “Protection all the way to Christmas… We could spend the holiday wrapped in each other’s arms…” She sighed wistfully, enjoying the mental picture, praying the boy she loved wouldn’t mess it all up.

Tobias wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about only being protected until Christmas. On the one hand, it meant that he didn’t really need to worry about Fletcher, at least not until the plan after this one was in place. On the other hand, this wasn’t exactly buying him much time to figure anything out. Still, he filed away the fact that she might have a plan to help his mother for another time and another meeting. He didn’t really want to add his mother to the list of new things that Laurie had to worry about if he didn’t have to.

He also didn’t really like that the younger Slytherin was going around him to deal with Laurie directly finally, but he couldn’t really expect to protect her from everything. Besides, the Head Girl had been fighting battles far worse than any that he wanted to know about for longer than he cared to think about. Wasn’t that how they had gotten here in the first place?

Then she spoke, and his face softened noticeably. “You two mistake my condition for something worse than it is,” he said with his first real grin of the morning. “I’m actually just trying to make it easier on all of us.” He tried to decide if he should even name the condition now, considering how the girls had reacted, but the Head Boy was not one to back down from anything actually worth fighting for. “I just wanted to ask you to deal with me in the future and leave Laurie out of it anytime that you can. I think we’ll all be happier that way.”

With that, he turned to Laurie, giving her a soft, brief kiss. “Of course we can spend the holidays wrapped in each other’s arms. Any other time you want to spend that way too. I’ll even help you deal with your brother if you need me to.”

Skyler couldn't help it. She really couldn't. The teen snorted. And rolled her eyes in annoyance. Seriously? Was it necessary to kiss in front of her? Part of her wanted to gag, and she shuddered in disgust. The brunette honestly had no idea how anyone could actually want to kiss or touch the older Slytherin. She was still getting over the shock that LeBeau could even love someone else. She could understand someone falling for the Head Boy, of course. Atleast he was charming. His entire persona was inviting.

Until he listed his condition. Then he was simply irritating. Sure. His idea would probably work best for all parties involved, but at the same time Skyler's recent goal of dominating the snake pit didn't leave room for avoiding the Head Girl simply because she was an annoying, whiny, spoiled twit who dealing with was like pulling teeth. Painful and unnecessary.

In hindsight, the brunette realized her offer to help the couple actually worked towards her goal. She wouldn't go back on her word of not expecting anything in return from them. While Sky did need actual allies, she very much doubted the older witch would make a good one. Atleast at the moment. There was too much bad blood between them for all that. But the simple fact that Sky had the pull to even offer than some time of sanctuary was a good show of the sort of power the smaller teen held in her hands.

It was also why she didn't think twice of letting them know her connection to one Tom Riddle. That alone put a certain amount of power in her hands, but while she eventually would use it to her advantage, the brunette had no want to use it to gain false respect and allegiance. She was a witch who earned what she wanted, even if sometimes it was in a very cunning way. But she couldn't very well expect the other two to trust her with their safety without admitting, at the very least, how she would manage it. The rest of the details of her deal with the current Dark Lord didn't need to be shared. Besides, was there any use in even denying it at this point? The entire castle already deemed her related to him.

All in all, this chance meeting had turned out to be quite a win for the fifth year, no matter how one sliced it. But to agree to his condition didn't sit well with her for the simple fact it made it seem like she was in some way afraid of the older girl. In truth, Sky wasn't the least bit afraid of Laurette. The girl seemed like a chihuahua to her. A lot of bark and very little bite. But the teen knew that bite could sting painfully. She had seen the older Slytherin in action. She wasn't going to underestimate her, but neither would she avoid her. That smelled of fear. And that more than anything was a weakness she couldn't afford.

It took only moments from the time the Hufflepuff spoke for her to come to her decision, and in that time, while her brain worked, her face became impassive, and one dark brow arched upward and her trademark smirk curled her lips. "Well you asked. And my answer is no. I have very little time to go out of my way to hunt you down instead of speaking to Laurette when she's more easily accessible. Now you have one of two choices. You can accept my offer as is, or you can figure it out on your own. Which will it be?"

The Head Boy’s face fell for just a moment when the younger witch rendered her verdict and it was not the one that he had been hoping for. Part of him wanted to argue with her, to point out how much easier it was to deal with a friendly face than an unfriendly one, and to make sure she understood that he wasn’t that hard to track down and any extra effort she had to expend would be worth it in saved headaches.

The bigger part of him knew that that would do no good, because the reason Riddle gave was not the reason for what she was doing. The girls were both Slytherins, and everything was both a competition and a war among snakes. Laurette might not exactly be friends with anyone, but if she wasn’t the most powerful female snake, she was pretty close. For Riddle to be seen talking to her a lot this year, he own stock next year when the pecking order shifted could only improve. If she could make it look like she had the Head Girl under her heel, which was technically true, it might shift things that much sooner. It might also destroy Laurie’s place and her pride. Hopefully she could live with that for love.

Tobias gave a defeated shrug, and then flashed his normal, dazzling grin. “I’m in,” he said, extending a hand to shake. “I can’t really speak for Laurette, since I think you’re talking about some kind of snake dominance thing, so I’ll let you handle that amongst yourselves. Just let me know what you need from me. Remember, anything you need.”

With that he took his hand back and turned to the Head Girl, his lover, Laurie, whatever he was supposed to call her now. “It’s our patrol again tonight, babe,” he said, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. “Fill me in on what you decide then.” With that he strode away, confident that he had done all he could for this situation and hopeful that it would turn out for the good. This could still easily be the best day of the last several years or the worst day of his life, and it all hinged on fickle and unpredictable pride.

Tobi would help her deal with Fletch? That was probably a good way for him to get his ass kicked, but it was still a very kind offer. She blushed a bit at the simple idea that they would spend as much time as they wanted with each other if they were under this girl’s protection, but then her brows furrowed. Tobias didn’t want her talking to the girl about their little deal? Did he think her completely incapable of putting their love and happiness ahead of her own ego?

She sighed, but smiled a bit too sweetly at the younger girl when she told Tobias how foolish his idea was. At least he agreed and walked off then. Now she could have a proper conversation with the Riddle girl. “Not afraid of me? Well, I can definitely respect that. As long as we are on the same page with this whole situation, I don’t see any reason we can’t… join forces so to speak.”

Laurette grinned darkly at the girl. “I’ve heard you’ve been having some trouble with the Slytherins. I can use a bit of my… influence to make sure they know exactly who they are messing with and why it’s a terrible idea. If you’d like me to.” She let out a small sigh as she thought of the upcoming rounds tonight. Oh, she had some great ideas for their inevitable adventure… this time she didn’t plan on passing out so thoroughly that she couldn’t wake up early in the morning though.

“Anyway, I accept the offer of help, and I accept your terms. I am more than capable of communicating professionally to keep my love safe. He might not realize it, but I haven’t lost every ounce of my humanity to that sadistic fuck of a brother. I love Tobias. I’d do anything for him. So if you need something, you just tell me. You don’t even have to ask.”

She looked in the girl’s eyes and gave her a meaningful stare before turning and heading toward the castle. She was sure the younger girl could find her when she needed to. Laurette wasn’t exactly hard to track down.