[008] not your fault

                                                            Camille felt more conflicted than ever before.

                                                            She knew that Theodore had tried to harm her in the worst way possible and yet, Camille still felt grief over his death. She had wanted to see him get punished for what he had done to her but she had never wished death upon him or anyone else. Camille had been absolutely devastated by the loss, so much so that she'd stay in her bed all the time. When she wasn't forced to go to classes, she'd find a way to escape in bed where she'd tune out the entire world.

                                                            Most of everyone was worried for Camille, but no one was more worried than Victoire. She was determined to try and bring the old Camille back, and that's exactly what Victoire was going to do. After classes, Victoire followed her sister back to the dorms and instead of letting Camille sob in her bed, she was going to talk to her.

                                                            Even if that was the very last thing Camille wanted to do.

                                                          "I know you mean well, Victoire. But I just want to be left alone at this very moment," Camille groans, glancing up at her sister from where she lied on the bed.

                                                           Victoire sighs as she reaches out to hold onto her sister's hand. "You've been like this for a week now. And while I am trying to be sympathetic here, I can't help but feel as though this has gone on long enough. You can't keep going on like this all the time. It just isn't healthy. Your friends and I are worried about you and... well... I don't think someone like Theodore deserves your grief."

                                                          "That's easy for you to say," Camille scoffed. "You never liked him to begin with."

                                                          "And I was right not to. Eleanor told me all about what happened between you and him before he died. If he hadn't done... that to himself, I probably would've killed him myself," Victoire explains with a frown.

                                                          "She did?" Camille faltered. She had specifically told Eleanor not to say anything. But how could she truly keep something like that a secret forever?

                                                          "Did you really think you could keep something like that a secret from me? Why are you even mourning for him?" Victoire questioned.

                                                          "Because it's all my fault!" Camille sobbed, hiding her face in her hands afterwards.

                                                            Victoire frowned. "What?"

                                                          "He was in love with me and I rejected him time and time again. It drove him crazy and as a result...," Camille trails off. 

                                                           She couldn't help but blame herself, given all of the events that had transpired before it happened. Camille figured that even though she didn't directly kill Theodore, she had basically pushed him to it. Her final rejection had been his last straw and that was something Camille would always feel guilty for.

                                                          "Camille, I can't believe you'd even think such a thing. Theodore was a twisted bastard who couldn't take no for an answer. He needed help, yes, but that doesn't mean that what he did to you was acceptable by any means. This was never your fault, Camille. You have to know that," Victoire insisted.

                                                             Camille sniffles but just then, knocks on the door caused the sisters to look over and see who it was. Camille perks up when she sees Tom, all while Victoire's scowl deepens. Tom wore a sympathetic look on his face, carrying what seemed to be flowers in his hands.

                                                           "I'm sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to see if everything was alright with you, Camille. These past couple of days, I haven't been able to talk to you and I was so worried," Tom says, walking further into the room. "I even got these for you, in an effort to cheer you up."

                                                           Camille gingerly takes the flowers from Tom, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "Thank you so much."

                                                          "If you don't mind, Camille and I were still talking," Victoire interjected, glaring at Tom.

                                                            But he doesn't back down, still smiling as though to further irritate Victoire. "I see. I was hoping to talk to Camille for a moment but if you two are still talking..."

                                                          "Is it okay if I see what Tom has to say first, Vic? I promise to come right back to you after," Camille looks at her sister, giving her an almost pleading look now.

                                                            Victoire sighs, knowing she couldn't argue with Camille. Not when she was in this state. "Fine. I'll be here and waiting for you when you get back."

                                                           Camille sets the flowers down before she follows Tom out of the dorm, the two of them walking out of the Slytherin dungeons entirely. She sticks close by Tom, unsure as to where they were going. But at this point, Camille was more than willing to follow Tom anywhere. Camille almost winces when they go outside the school, however, making her realize just long it had been since she had gone outside - letting the cool breeze run through her golden locks and the sun hit her pale skin. The sunlight had made her eyes hurt for a while before she was eventually able to adjust to the light, now wrapping her arm around Tom's.

                                                          "Sorry for the long walk but I wanted to make sure we were alone to talk," Tom stated. "Hearing about what you've been going through, I wanted to talk privately and make sure you were alright. I know you and Theodore had a thing going on in the past."

                                                           Camille nods. "We did but... not anymore. It's just so shocking and horrible to comprehend. I had never known Theodore to be suicidal but I can't stop myself from thinking that it's my fault. I had rejected him, basically pushing him over the edge."

                                                         "Oh, Milly, it wasn't your fault. Theodore had his own demons and unfortunately, they won. There's nothing you could've done. You shouldn't punish yourself this way, not when you have people here who care for you and want to see you happy," Tom responded. "Including me. Honestly, Milly, it breaks my heart to see you this way. I just want the same girl who could brighten my day with a smile back."

                                                          A small smile creeps onto Camille's lips. "You're so sweet and compassionate, Tom. I'm sure your parents must be very proud of the wonderful son they've raised."

                                                           Tom frowns, causing Camille to do the same. Had she said something wrong?

                                                          "Tom? What happened?" Camille questioned.

                                                          "I guess... it's only fair that I tell you the truth about me, now that we are together," Tom sighed.

                                                          "The truth? What do you mean?" Camille asks, feeling even more confused than before. What truth could Tom possibly be talking about?

                                                            Tom holds onto her hand, bringing her knuckles close to his lips. "If I tell you this, you have to promise me that you won't tell another soul. I need to know that I can trust you."

                                                           "Of course you can trust me. You can trust me with anything, Tom," Camille's quick to assure him.

                                                           "Good," Tom says, kissing Camille's knuckles gently which made her chest feel all warm and fluttery. "My mother was Merope Gaunt. You've heard of the Gaunts, haven't you?"

                                                          "A bit. I heard that they were an ancient Wizarding family - one of the sacred Twenty Eight families - but they died out. No one's heard from them in a long time," Camille answers. She was so busy looking at Tom, not realizing that he was leading her further away from the school and to the wooded area which surrounded the enchanted castle.

                                                         "Indeed they were. They were a very wealthy and prominent family, descended from Salazar Slytherin himself. They had a habit of marrying their cousins just to maintain blood purity and Salazar's very own trains. Particularly the ability to speak parseltongue," Tom responds, "Although they were powerful, they were also incredibly violent and mentally unstable. Couple that with a love for the finer things in life, you can only imagine how quickly they spent their money and gold until the money dried up. A powerful and wealthy family reduced to nothing in such little time."

                                                     "Who's your father?" Camille inquired.

                                                     "Patience, Milly. I'm getting there," Tom replied. "My mother was one of the very last descendants. By the time she was an adult, the money was gone. There was absolutely nothing left. She grew up in a squalor ridden shack in Little Hangleton with my grandfather and uncle. They were absolutely abusive towards her."

                                                   "I'm sorry," Camille immediately apologized.

                                                   "In a lot of ways, she deserved it. She wasn't exactly a saint. Of course, the abuse probably made her even more mad in the end. She was just as corrupted as the rest of them by the time she met my father, Tom Riddle," Tom responded, a frown breaking out onto his lips the moment he mentioned his father's name.

                                                   The same name Tom had.

                                                 "Oh, you're named after him?" Camille quickly realized with a small smile.

                                                   Tom nods, although he didn't look too pleased about it.

                                                  "How did they meet?" Camille asks. She was so used to hearing how her parents met, she was eager to hear how Tom's parents met. Maybe it was love at first sight too. Maybe that was just Camille's naivety talking, hoping for the best even despite the already bleak odds Tom had painted out for her the moment he first spoke of his family lineage.

                                                "My mother stalked my father. It was hardly romantic. She was obsessed with him, determined to make him hers. He was a muggle-born but that didn't stop her. He was handsome and he was wealthy, finding him as her way out. She made a love potion just for him and after he drank it, he fell in love with her and they got married," Tom recalled, immediately shattering Camille's hopes. "My mother did all of this after my grandfather and uncle got arrested and sent to Azkaban for a while. I'm not too sure how long it took before the effects of the love potion wore off but they did while she got pregnant with me. My father found out and fled. She did rape him after all, no matter what way you look at it."

                                                Camille went silent. That was the opposite of romance. It truly sounded like something out of a horror story.

                                              "My mother was alone in London, pregnant and disowned from her family. She had nowhere to go and she ended up at Wool's Orphanage, giving birth to me before dying. I don't miss her. I don't even love her. My mother was a rapist, and my father was a coward. Not to mention, a muggle-born. My parents sound lovely, don't they?" Tom remarked, his tone taking on a bitterness that Camille had never heard before.

                                              "What was it like at the orphanage?" Camille reluctantly asked. She had a feeling that she didn't want to know, but her curiosity wouldn't be satisfied until she got answers.

                                             "Terrible. I hated every single day that I was there. The other kids picked on me and called me all sorts of names. None of the other kids liked me very much. I was different. I knew it from a young age that I was different from the rest of them. Better than them. And that fact was only proven when Professor Dumbledore showed up to the orphanage and told me about Hogwarts and magic. Hogwarts was my escape from the terrible world around me," Tom replied.

                                           "Not only was I born into a life of poverty, but muggles seem to really love war. You can't imagine the terror of going home from Hogwarts and not knowing when you were going to die from a bomb at any moment. I wanted to stay even during school breaks. Eventually, I decided to stay with friends of mine. Abraxas mostly. Living him showed me what my life could be like. What my life is going to be in the future," Tom continued.

                                         "You know, you can stay with me if you need to. My parents won't mind. I won't tell them about your situation. They won't have to know a thing," Camille immediately offered.

                                          They definitely wouldn't have approved of Tom if they found out that he was a half blood. Come to think of it, none of his friends would have either. They were incredibly strict about blood purity. Anyone who wasn't a pureblood was practically beneath them. Tom hadn't told any of them. Tom hadn't told a single soul except for Camille. She truly felt special.

                                      "I appreciate that, Milly. I feel so much better now that I told you the truth. I have a feeling that you and I are going to be together for a very long time. We should be able to tell each other everything. And also keep secrets for each other if the situation calls for it, right?" Tom replied, smiling at her once again.

                                   "Right. I'm very happy that you told me. I can only imagine how difficult it was for you to tell me all of this," Camille replied, giving Tom's hand a small, assuring squeeze. "How did you find all of this out if your mother was dead and your father had left? Did... your father come back into your life or something?"

                                   "Oh, no. I've never met the man," Tom shook his head.

                                   "So how did you learn the truth?" Camille inquired.

                                   "I wanted to learn more about my family. At the time, I had been convinced that my father was the one who was a wizard. I was so sure of it. I tried to find any sign of him at school but there was none. Obviously, it was because he was a muggle. My mother was the one with power. And when I finally learned her identity, I tracked down her side of the family several years back. It... wasn't a very pleasant conversation," Tom answered.

                                  "I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. You don't have to worry about it anymore after this year is over. When Hogwarts is over, you'll officially be free and then...," Camille trails off.

                                  "Then I'll finally be able to leave and begin the life I was destined to have," Tom finished for her.

                                   "And what life is that?" Camille asked.

                                     Before Tom could answer, the desperate sounds of a bird's cries could be heard a distance away. She looked around, trying to find where it was coming from. Tom let go of her hand, following the direction of the noises until they grew louder and louder. Not wanting to be alone, Camille quickly joined Tom and found him standing over a wounded bird. Its wing had managed to get broken but it still tried to fly away, even while lying on the ground. Camille's heart instantly broke at the sight of it, and she closed her eyes, hiding her face in Tom's arm.

                                    "Oh, how horrible. Someone needs to help this poor bird," Camille cried. "Do you think we could take it back to the school or -?"

                                      Tom suddenly pulled away from Camille, forcing the blonde to open her eyes now. She watched as Tom grabbed a large rock and bent down to get even closer to the bird. Camille had a bad feeling, her heart sinking all the way to the pit of her stomach. But Camille couldn't move. All she could do was watch what was about to happen.

                                     Camille flinched as Tom slammed the rock down onto the bird's head, ending its desperate pleas for help. A brief yet uncomfortable, tense silence had followed, and Camille couldn't tear her eyes away from the gruesome sight. The bird's head was unrecognizable, a mangled and bloody mess, and Tom quickly tossed the bloodstained rock onto the snow-covered ground. Camille took a step back while Tom stood up, turning to look at Camille with an expressionless face. He had just ended a life and he looked completely normal about it. Camille was more upset, and she hadn't even done anything.

                                    "There, I put it out of its misery," Tom explained calmly.

                                      Camille sniffles, blinking away her tears. "I'd like to go now. We should be heading back to Hogwarts pretty soon."

                                     "As you wish," Tom assures her, holding onto Camille's hand as he led her back to school. All the while, Camille couldn't quite get the image of that dead bird out of her mind.

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word count: 2840
notes: now the tone's only going to get darker from here, folks! as always, vote and comment your thoughts to let me know what you thought!