𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎. 𝙾𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢, 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

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15 September 1943

Freyja woke up from the sunlight that was peeking in from the curtains they forgot to close last night. Tom was laying next to her, also awake. He woke up before Freyja, but he did not get up. He just sat in the bed, admiring Freyja.

"You look so beautiful," Tom whispered when he realized she was awake.

"Umm, thank you. I guess?"

"You are."

"I know. It's just, you never told me anything like that."

Tom smiled. Not a smirk, not a grin, not a sarcastic or fake one. A genuine smile.

"You know, darling, I realized something," Tom mumbled and started playing with Freyja's hair. She turned and glanced at him, waiting for him to finish.

"We have been dating since February, we had sex, we call each other boyfriend and girlfriend, but we haven't actually made it official yet. So, Freyja O'Lone, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"I don't have a better proposition, so yeah."

Tom leaned and placed an elegant and soft kiss on her lips, before standing up from the bed. "Come on, my love. We have to get ready." Freyja laughed and followed her boyfriend's steps.

When Freyja and Tom walked into the great hall, all the eyes turned their way. Different comments reached Freyja's ears, and there were not very pleasant. All the eyes were filled with judgment, some even with pity toward Tom. He completely ignored every single one of them and just walked to their usual spot with Freyja by his side.

She, on the other hand, was extremely irritated with everyone's behaviour. She acted like other's opinion did not affect her at all. However, deep down she knew that one of her worst fears was the perception of others.

They sat at the table, besides their friends. None of them was talking. They were all just awkwardly staring at Freyja.

"Alright, I'm done with this bullshit. What's going on?"

All the kids eyed each other with terror. Suddenly, Tom noticed that a specific boy with green eyes wasn't with them. He looked around the table to find him, but Vance was nowhere to be seen. Maybe Brea is not that bad, after all.

Freyja grabbed the knife next to her plate and pointed it to her 'friends'.

"Okay, we can do this the peaceful way, where you quickly tell me why everybody is acting like that, or we can do this the painful way, where I cut your tongues and you never say anything again."

Brea gulped and cleared her throat.

"Well," she hesitated "Some rumours are going around about you."

"Like what?"

"That you cheated on tom multiple times, you have done some very bad things and that, umm, you have a five-year-old son in a muggle orphanage in Asia."

The knife dropped from Freyja's hand and hit the wooden table. She was not moving or even blinking. She just stared blankly into Brea's eyes.

"Darling..." Tom placed his hand on her shoulder but she didn't respond.

"Are they true?" Antonin asked quietly

"Of course not, idiot!" Freyja yelled, making everyone in the crew flinch. "Who started the gossip?"

"I have no idea. I heard some girls saying it in the hallway this morning."

Freyja got up from her seat, making her way out of the great hall rapidly. Tom followed her until they were at his room. They both sat on the bed, next to each other.

"Are you okay?"

"Ah, yes. I'm perfectly fine. It's not that the whole Hogwarts thinks I am a whore."

"I don't."

"I didn't cheat on you and I do not have a child. However, I cannot deny that I've done some bad shit."

"I believe you. You are very loyal and I know that I was your first."

"That obvious?"

"A little bit. You got better."

Freyja laughed. "How did we ended up talking about sex again?"

"I have no idea!" Tom laughed and put an arm around her shoulder, "I promise that I will find who started the rumours and wipe them up before midnight."

"Astronomy tower, midnight?"

"Of course darling."

Midnight, astronomy tower.

The day ended quite fast. Those sixteen hours were a living hell for Freyja. After the classes, she went straight up to the room of requirements. She didn't eat lunch or dinner. She didn't want to face all those kids. Not even her roommates. But that resulted in her starving to death. She hasn't eaten anything in almost thirty hours.

Currently, she was sitting at her normal spot, on the edge of the tower. Her hands on her pockets. Her fingers holding the small, plastic bag with the white powder Abraxas gave her earlier today. She already took a sniff once, instead of lunch.

"Sorry, I'm late." Tom's voice made her turn around. He was holding a plate. "I noticed you weren't in the great hall, so I got you some food. You must be starving."

He sat next to her and passed her the plate. Chicken, boiled potatoes and apple pie. Everything Freyja wanted right now. "You are amazing"

'I know... I learned who started the gossip." Tom announced as Freyja started eating. "It was Vance." Freyja choked on her food in the mention of his name.

"Don't worry. We talked. Told him a word or two."

"What did you tell him?"

"Avada kedavra." They both quietly laughed. "Also, your name will be cleaned in a couple of days. Just ignore the rumours and the stares. They will stop, eventually.'

After a while, Freyja finished her food and placed the plate behind them.

"I stopped having nightmares," Freyja admitted.

"I am so happy for you!"

"Yeah..." Freyja gave him a sly smile. "I want to cry. But I can't. I am unable to. I used to cry every single day. One day, the tears weren't leaving my eyes."

"I never cried in my entire life."

"A girl who used to cry every day and a boy who never cries. Quite a team" Freyja took the bag out of her pocket "Abraxas gave me something today."

"What is that?"

"Cocaine. He has all the good stuff."

"Are you seriously doing drugs?"

"I did it once. Honestly, I don't think I will do it again."

"I'm glad. You don't have to. I am here for you and I can help you."

"Can you, really?"

"I will try."

"Sometimes, trying is not enough."

"Yes, but I can make your heart beat faster"

"You do."

"Glad we are in an agreement. Now, give it to me." Tom held his hand open and Freyja gave him the small packet of cocaine. He quickly threw it out of the tower.

"Tom..."

"Yes, my love."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

These three words were very hard to tell, that's why it took them so long to finally admit it to each other. It was the very first time both Freyja and Tom said 'I Love you. It felt so good. Those words felt like fresh air. The way they touched Tom's heart and made it beat faster than any drug could. It was an amazing feeling. It made him feel alive. Like his life finally found a purpose. It was very hard for him to open up to someone. She was the first person he completely trusted. She made him vulnerable and it is dangerous being weak. That lady is dangerous. And keep in mind, a heart is already easy to break.

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"A boy that made a girl stop crying and a girl that made a boy cry for the first time. Quite ironic, don't you think?"