The Girl in Blue

"Do you ever think about your parents, Tom?" a little Aurora asked, as the two of them sat outside in the dead grass behind the orphanage.

"No."

She looked at him. The subject of parents was always touchy with him–even her own, which she always asked questions about.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to," he snapped. Aurora quieted herself and she pulled the grass out of its roots. She didn't like it when Tom got angry at her, but it was usually only for a second. The only people that he got angry at easily were the other kids at the orphanage.

He never got angry at her.

"Tom?" Aurora whispered. "Do you like me?"

"What?"

"Do you like me? As a friend, I mean," she added to his disgusted look. "You're my only friend and I'm your only friend..."

"Sure," he answered with a roll of his eyes.

Aurora launched herself at him, wrapped her tiny arms around his bigger frame. Tom tried to push her off but she only tightened her grip.

"You're my best friend, Tom Riddle!"

Aurora stared at the necklace in her hands. The blue necklace that she had ever since she was born. She didn't really know the story behind it, like how her mother even got it in the first place, but it was the one thing that Aurora never left without.

It was her most prized possession.

Harvey Leland, an obnoxious boy from the orphanage, once pulled it from her neck and threw it into the pond, claiming that it was ugly and it made her look ugly. She went to Tom, crying, and he 'sorted' it out and got the necklace back by making Harvey jump into the pond and getting it.

Harvey never bothered her again.

Tom Riddle really was her best friend. No other person did things for her like he did.

So why didn't he love her back? It was the question that had been eating away Aurora's brain since the night in Honeydukes. What could possibly be wrong? Her cousin, Renee, read so many muggle literature books and Aurora even took a peek at a couple of them. Some of the ones that read had two best friends fall in love with each other–as if they were destined to be together.

Why wasn't she and Tom destined to be together?

Aurora sat in her dormitory for days thinking about this. She had a piece of parchment and a quill sitting beside her because she needed to give her parents an answer fast. The moving day was quickly approaching.

The only factor that determined her decision–Tom.

He blatantly told her he didn't love her back and it broke her heart into a thousand pieces. But the thing is is that she knew that it wasn't completely true. Tom was too proud and she knew that if she stayed, she could possibly break his hard exterior.

But did she want to risk that? What if he never changes?

Tom still wanted her though. He said she was his best lieutenant and that he wanted her by his side during the 'inevitable war'. That clearly meant that he had something for her–but what if all he wanted was that kind of partnership? Aurora was stay in love with him and then they would never get married and have kids.

Aurora groaned out loud. No one was in the dormitory and she felt like crying and screaming at the same time. She never had to make such a big decision before in her life and she honestly couldn't choose which she wanted more–Hogwarts or Durmstrang?

She'd gone over the pros and cons list numerous times and it wasn't helping. She was still stuck.

"Aurora," Georgia walked in. "Riddle is looking for you."

Aurora sighed.

"Did he say what he wanted?"

"No, but isn't it obvious?" Georgia winked.

"What?"

"He wants to snog you!" she exclaimed, "And don't you deny me, Jenkins. I've seen you two around..."

Aurora clenched her jaw shut. She went down into the common room and found Tom sitting by the fireplace, alone. He had the black book he always wrote in with him.

"What?" Aurora asked, when she approached him.

Tom looked up at her and stood up. Their eyes locked and Aurora could practically hear her heart beat speed up. She closed her eyes–she didn't want to love him anymore if that was how bad she had it in for him.

"Are you going to ignore me for forever?" he asked.

"How else can I deal with this?" Aurora looked down. "I just want to run away from my problems and hope they just solve themselves."

"Aurora, you're taking this too seriously."

She glared at him. "I gave you my heart and you thew it into the English Channel."

"Now you're just being dramatic..." Tom rolled his eyes.

"No, I'm not," she shook her head, feeling all the emotions build up. "Tom, you're my best friend and I'm in love with you. If you don't love me back, then what do I have here? Durmstrang sounds very lovely right now."

"You're running away just because I don't return the same feelings?" Tom sounded angry.

She sighed. It sounded so pathetic.

"Durmstrang has more for me than Hogwarts does," Aurora said. "You're all that's holding me back and you don't even love me."

A muscle in his jaw twitched and all Aurora wanted to do was pull him into a kiss and never let him go.

"Aurora, this irrational. You said so yourself that this year is going better for you," Tom said, sounding nervous all of a sudden. "Give it a chance."

"I have Hogwarts a chance last year and look where it got me," Aurora rolled her eyes. "Tom, I–I just don't know."

Aurora closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she suddenly asked, "Were you being serious when you said you wanted to 'rule the world'?"

Tom looked around, making sure nobody heard, but no one was near them to even hear.

"Why do you ask?" he asked.

"Because if so, why?"

"Why not?"

"And what for? Why would you want to live forever?"

"There's so much to be done, Aurora," Tom smirked. "You have to wait and see."

"But I need to know now, Tom," Aurora said, exasperated. "You keep dropping hints and it isn't helping my situation at all. Why can't you be straight with me?"

"Because you need to learn," Tom snapped. He was aggravated by her stubbornness but Aurora had to make the biggest decision of her life and she couldn't do that if Tom wasn't being clear with her.

That was their entire relationship. Her just assuming things were going on and him in a mind of his own. Tom always did things by himself, he just had people to fall back on–like her. Aurora didn't like that at all, why couldn't she be apart of mind? Why couldn't she help him?

"You know," Aurora was smiling, remembering. "You were my best friend. I loved you so much growing up, I thought that I needed to gain your approval. You always fended off all the bullies that picked on me. You were there for me."

"Aurora–" Tom started, feeling uncomfortable.

"Look at you now, Tom," she looked at him. "You're a liar, you're deceitful, you're always hiding something from me. I don't know if I can take that anymore."

"What are you saying?"

Aurora looked up at him, finally making her decision. A single tear streamed down her cheek and she said,

"I'm going to Durmstrang."

~

Aurora Jenkins lost her best friend.

She said her goodbyes to everybody except for him, and she knew that if she did, she would burst into tears and hit him over and over again for letting her go to Durmstrang. Again.

"You're supposed to fight for me!" she once shrieked, hitting him.

But Tom never fought.

Aurora would be leaving by train very early in the morning, so to not disturb the rest of the school. She suddenly remembered walking in that very first day at Hogwarts and being awestruck by the beauty of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And now, she was leaving it and never come back.

"It was splendid knowing you, Miss Jenkins," Professor Dumbledore smiled.

"You too, professor," Aurora smiled back. She was really going to miss him.

"Say a grand hello to your parents, would you now?" Slughorn said. Aurora nodded her head and Dumbledore flicked his wand so her trunk levitated and followed her everywhere she went, so she didn't have to carry it around with her.

At the top of the stairs, Aurora did a double take. She felt a smile on her face and she walked over to him, as he descended.

"No goodbye for me?" Remington asked, a sad smile on his face.

"I didn't think you wanted to see me," Aurora mumbled.

Remington pulled her into a bone crushing hug, burying his face into her hair.

"I'm gonna miss you, Aurora," he murmured.

"I'll write you," she suggested.

Remington smiled that award-winning smile and he said, "You better."

"If you don't write back, I'll come back here and hex you," she pointed and glared. Remington laughed and exclaimed,

"Never!"

The two laughed and Aurora honestly hadn't laughed like that in a long time. Students were starting to get up and have some breakfast as she saw some of them come from their common rooms and lead the way to the Great Hall. Some people waved goodbye to her.

"I really can't believe you're leaving," Remington muttered.

"I know," she said. "I move around too much."

Suddenly, her eye caught James Hastings'. He stopped for a second, looking her up and down. Aurora didn't really know what to do so she gave him a small wave which he returned. James was once a good friend to her to.

It was Tom who initiated the fall of their friendship. With the basilisk and everything. He put her through so much.

Slughorn cleared his throat behind her, indicating that it was time to leave. Aurora felt the tears fall and Remington wiped them away with his thumb and muttered a goodbye.

She looked around, more students were coming down and she waved goodbye to the ones she had spoken to. She was hoping that his familiar face would appear in the crowd but she couldn't find him.

She cried even harder.

Just as she reached the giant oak front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she didn't even have to hear her name being called, she already knew. She turned around and there he stood, staring after her with an unreadable expression on his face.

Aurora let out a sob and she couldn't help herself–she ran towards him with all her might. Slughorn called out her name but Dumbledore put a hand on his arm, an indication that they should wait.

She flung her arms around him and even though she knew that it was probably Tom's worst nightmare to be seen hugging a girl. She cried into his robes, blubbering like a baby. Memories of their time together, from the beginning to the end, were soaring through her mind.

Meeting him for the first time in the room across from his. Eating lunch together while the other kids threw things at them. Him threatening Harvey Leland. Him threatening every single person who ever wronged her. The day she broke it to him that she was leaving. All the letters that she wrote to him. Her first day at Hogwarts. Their first class together. Their first kiss. Everything.

It was a sad, cold and lonely day at the orphanage–Aurora was no more than six years old. One of the kids died from a snake attack and they had just buried him in a cemetery nearby. Aurora didn't know him that well, but he did make throw food at her in the cafeteria once.

It was midnight and Aurora couldn't sleep. She got up and tiptoed to her door, opening it just slightly. She poked her head out and looked around–the coast was clear.

She tiptoed again to the door across from hers and opened it before slipping in and closing it again.

"Who's there?!" Tom's body shot up from the bed.

"It's me!" Aurora exclaimed. "It's Aurora."

Tom turned the light on but Aurora quickly turned it back off.

"We'll get caught!"

Aurora climbed into the bed and Tom scooted over, sighing.

"What is it, Aurora?"

"I'm just...lonely," she said. "And sad. I'm sad that that boy died. That seems to happen a lot, doesn't it? Especially with kids like us–like orphans."

She turned her body to look at him. He was staring up at the ceiling.

"Tom, you're not gonna die, are you?" Aurora asked. He furrowed his eyebrows and then turned his head to look at her.

"What makes you think that?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "You can light your dresser on fire just by blinking. You could possibly do it to this whole building if you could!"

Tom rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna die, Aurora."

"Good," she said, happily.

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "You're my friend, Tom. I don't want to see you die. Or leave."

"I'm not leaving either, Aurora."

Aurora smiled. "Good."

They were silent for the rest of the night. Aurora didn't even bother to leave Tom's room. Mrs. Cole wouldn't do anything because it wasn't the first time she did that–and Mrs. Cole was used to it by now. They were two six year old orphans who needed each other.

"Tom?" Aurora whispered, dead into the night.

"Hm?" Tom mumbled, half-asleep.

"Just making sure." Aurora reached down and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers together. They fell asleep like that, their hands held and her head pressed against his chest and Mrs. Cole found them like that in the morning too.

Aurora kissed his lips for the last time. It was long, passionate, and sweet. Just like it always it only this time, it was laced with longing. They broke apart and Tom's eyes were still unreadable. Aurora was heartbroken and tears were streaming down her face.

She looked up into his eyes and whispered her last words to him, before Slughorn dragged her away,

"I'll always love you, Tom Riddle."