"What makes you think that?" Tom asked with a piqued eyebrow, Cicero grinning widely - tugging down the bottom of emerald sweater he had just pulled on, rolling up the sleeves that were a fraction to big on him up to his boney elbows.

"Well, first off. You're not one to be fond of any physical contact, Riddle - you're a very reserved when it comes to it, yet you're completely fine with carrying Five or letting him sit on your lap, you didn't even seem tense at all. You also hang around each other a fair bit, I'd almost say that you were spending more time with him during breaks than I do!" He added jokingly.

"Plus, your attitude towards him is entirely different- it's like you had been together for longer than I've known, than anyone has known. Even your goons have noticed that." The snowy haired boy turned to his cerulean eyed friend.

"And you, you were completely fine with sitting on his lap." Cicero said, gesturing to the dark haired boy with a nod of his head.
"You even fell asleep on him, and I've got to say you're like a kitten when you're not awake and threatening or sarcastic, and there's this. You invited Riddle over to the academy for the holiday, there's no other reason he'd be on the train at this time of the year-"

" - We aren't dating. Officially." Tom stated calmly, internally fazed about the fact that this boy bothered to remember all these things that had happened.
"And don't even try to deny it because- wait, not officially?"

"I think Marcus is rubbing off on you, Cicero." Five said with a light sarcastic tone, sighing as he leant back into the crimson leathery seat - the platinum haired boy grinning.
"I know, why aren't you officially dating? I don't know if you have noticed, but a lot of people are shipping you guys - and you're perfect for each other."

"It's not exactly a topic we've had, time to discuss." The brunet filled in, crossing his arms loosely.
"I see... when did you start, I guess 'un-officially dating'?" Cicero questioned the two, now retying a plain black tie that he had swapped with his emerald and silver Slytherin tie.

"A couple of weeks ago, you ask a numerous number of questions Andre." Tom replied, looking back down at the fading beige pages of the book in his hands and immediately resuming his reading - the platinum haired boy now adjusting the white collar of his shirt so that it wasn't hidden by the woollen green sweater.

Cicero realised that this was a very subtle way to ask him to stop asking questions, and so he suppressed himself from saying anything else and nodded slowly - brushing off a little bit of gathering dust on his, more suitable attire for when they enter kings cross station (wearing a large billowing school robe was certainly going to attract unnecessary attention).

As minutes trudged by, Five had noticed that his blond friend beside him was fairly tense - his posture awkward and a fraction too stiff, the brunet deciding on at least trying to make him feel like he wasn't just some third wheel of some sort.

"So, you mentioned that you used to be on the Quidditch team. Why were you removed from your position as seeker and banned from playing again?" He asked, Cicero's warm hazel eyes lighting up with a mischievous story to tell - speaking quietly as to not disturb the other reading prefect, feeling as though a lock that prevented him from speaking was removed by Five.

"Well you see, last year madame Hooch was picking on me right before a game against Gryffindor, so after we won I 'accidentally' flew into her at full speed- "
For the remainder of the train trip the blond quietly conversed with the other, sometimes asking him whether he could do certain spells and if he could teach him while they could still perform magic - eagerly listening to the answers his coffee haired friend gave.
Cicero hadn't noticed the small glances Tom and Five silently exchanged during those next eight hours that had seemed to have passed on much quicker than it felt like, brief and unobvious to anyone who wasn't paying direct attention to them.

It was not until the oily black canvas of darkness that could be seen through the large frosty windows had just began to spew out glimmering stars, and train began to loose momentum when the cerulean eyed boy spoke to the dark haired prefect - eyes capturing the other.

"I do apologise for what my sibling may do or mention, most of them are fairly...daft." Five said, the large train finally halting with a gut lurching jerk - the three swiftly standing up and removing their neatly packed luggage from the silver trunk rack.

"I'll do my best to not let that daftness effect me." The brunet gave a dimpled grin and grasped Tom's arm, Cicero holding on to Five's own - saving the three of them from having to walk through with the slow moving crowd and blinking them out onto the oak platform, a large cluster of parents and relatives anxiously waiting to greet their children - the sounds of hushed sniffling and chattering hitting them all at once like a wall.

The brunet soon bid his friend farewell, the snowy haired boy strolling over to a particularly dented sacramento lamp post where tall blond male who was dressed in an attire similar to Cicero's own was standing near - his red nosed sister soon escaping the crowd of students and joining them.

A person squirming uncomfortably could be spotted in the midst of the cluster, a female - from what Tom and Five could make out.
The woman seemed to have detected the two boys as well, because she began to quickly tread over towards them - a slight look of relief painted on her face.

"Hey Vanya." The brunet greeted his (adoptive) sister, who had numb rosy cheeks that the chilly air had given her, and a long mulberry scarf that Five recognised as an academy piece of clothing wrapped fairly loosely around her neck - just hiding the very end of her pale chin.
"Hey Five, it's good to see you again - who's your, your friend?" Vanya asked with a slightly muted and nervous voice, shaking of the pearly layer of snow off and pulling her ebony jacket tighter around her cold body.

"Tom Riddle, it's pleasure to meet you." The dark haired boy introduced himself, speaking in a calm mellow voice.
"Vanya, Hargreeves - it's nice to meet you too." The brunette replied kindly.
"We should, we should get going - we've got to go to this ministry and use the fireplace, travel by floo power or something." She said unsurely, Five nodding - giving her a small, familiar comforting smile that he used to give her all the time as kids.

"Let's go."

☂︎