Whew it's been a long time! I haven't had too much free time so updates have been sparse.  Hopefully, this update tides y'all over! And since I'll have some more time these few months, I'll get to writing better chapters for everyone!  Please stay safe out there! <3

Harlow glanced between the two of them, trying hard to figure out what Noah had agreed to do with Tom.

"What is it about? This deal?" She looked accusingly at Tom, trying not to stare too much at Noah.  "He's new.  You aren't allowed to involve him in this."

"You can't tell me what to do" Tom answered back, clearly annoyed that this deal was up in the air.

"I sure can if it's about the wellbeing of this group.  I have reservations about this guy." She jerked a finger at Noah.

"Really?" Tom raised his eyebrows and smiled.  Harlow backed up almost instantly.

"Yes." She replied back, nodding her head.

"That's funny that you don't know Noah here.  Because the deal he made with me was in order to 'protect' you" Tom waggled his wand and chuckled as if what he said really was pretty funny.

"Protect me?" Harlow was too surprised to say anything else.

Noah shook his head violently and he tried to wrestle himself out of Luxe's arms.  That obviously failed.

He was giving it away.

Harlow tried to think quick but could only come up with excuses that Tom would never side with in the first place. 

"I think he might have a crush on me then." Harlow shrugged and smiled, flipping her hair.  

"A crush?" Tom raised his eyebrows and she could see the smirk lifting the corner of his lips before she heard the words that came out of his mouth next.  "I don't think it's a crush, Harlow"

Harlow raised her eyebrows back in turn, trying her hardest not to seem too affected by any of what was going on.  "That's for you to judge.  Poor boy might be in love with me." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Noah watched this exchange with wide eyes, seeming to realize before anything was said that he had messed up.  Harlow could only avert her eyes from his puppy-eyed gaze and hope that he was going to keep his mouth shut while she talked them both out of this situation.

Riddle strode over to where Luxe had Noah locked tightly in his arms and reached out a hand.  A pale white finger lifted Noah's chin and Harlow could do nothing but watch as Riddle stretched his lips in a menacing grin.

"Well...I don't think it is only a crush." Riddle let his finger fall and Harlow watched as Noah's head drooped down, lacking any support.

"So you think he's seriously in love with me? I mean...I don't blame him." Harlow watched Tom's eyes flicker.  Luxe was keeping a strong stance but she could see that even he was unsure of what was possibly going on.

"Don't you want to know the stipulations of our deal?" Riddle turned to meet her eyes.

"Isn't that between those in on the deal? I'm an outsider.  I don't have to know what goes on." Harlow smiled and made to walk away, hoping desperately that someone would stop her so she could get Noah out of this situation.

Luckily, Luxe piped up.  "Riddle, maybe this boy just has a crush on Harlow.  You already know how much your reputation precedes you.  He may have heard of you and wanted to protect his little crush here."

Harlow swore that she could've kissed Luxe at that moment.

However, Riddle only let out a loud laugh.  It was soulless, much like everything else that Riddle did.

"My reputation? I'm the perfect one here.  What's he got to be scared of? A bit of harmless fun?" 

Noah squirmed in Luxe's arms.

"What I'm really curious of here is why exactly this naïve little boy would choose to strike up a deal.  He wanted to exchange himself for you, Harlow" Riddle turned to her, faking astonishment.

"Exchange himself?" Harlow tried to keep her voice even.

"Apparently, he thinks you're contributing something to our cause here.  He wants to step in and take care of your duties instead of you." Riddle smiles, and Harlow glimpses a flash of amusement in his eyes.  He was having fun.  But more than that: He had a plan.

"Oh...I mean, I wouldn't mind if he wanted to do that. What's another thrill-seeking sadist in our midst?" Forget it.  Harlow wasn't going to save him by saying things outright.  Instead, she was going to see if her weak attempt at reverse-psychology would work on someone it would never work on: Riddle.

"You make an interesting offer, Harlow.  Though it does mean your deal is terminated..." Riddle winks at Noah.

"So?" Luxe prompts him, his grasp on Noah loosening only a bit.

"I'll think about accepting another lost puppy.  In the meantime, he'll be on a very tight leash." Riddle cocked his chin in Noah's direction as Luxe released his arms and Noah sprung free, grasping at his throat and trying to catch his breath.

He obviously wasn't suited for this game.

Harlow pasted a placated smile on her face and actually turned around to leave, passing through the heavy doors of the room and out into the corridor.  She could hear the voices of Tom and Luxe back in the room, but didn't want to stick around to find out what exactly was going on...lest Tom came back out and figured out that she had a much stronger attachment to Noah than she let on.

The torches in the hallway flickered slightly and Harlow picked up her step, hurrying back into the Slytherin common room and picking her way up the steps to her room.

She let herself fall back on her bed and gave an almighty sigh.  This was it.  She was really in dragon dung now.

Noah was and had always been an innocent, weak, plain boy and she didn't need him to mess up her plans.  What was it that he had said? That he had down all of this because he was concerned about her? Pfft. Harlow shook her head. 

Now instead of protecting only one person, she was in charge of two.  And who knows how much Noah could mess up all of her carefully constructed plans?

She was done with it all.  Noah had entered a game of evil, without a mean bone in his body.  She was thoroughly fucked.