Captured In The Night || Tom Riddle

19 - Back Home

Edit Note: Fixed Skull's name. - 7/4/21

Sofia got on the train, pausing in the hallway when she saw Remus, Sirius, and James sitting together. She was about to keep walking when James nodded to the empty seat next to him.

Sofia smiled at everyone and sat down.

"Sorry for all the distrust Sofia," Sirius said.

"Thanks," Sofia said.

Severus grunted as he passed everyone. He found his own private compartment and slammed the door closed.

James shook his head. "Why did that greasy-haired idiot have to come along?"

"Well, Snivelus better think twice if he gets in our way or tries to mess with us," Sirius said.

Sofia gazed out the window as the train finally pulled out. Not only did she have to worry about possibly sleepwalking again, but she also had to worry that it would get her new friends expelled.

Lupin seemed to pick up on her troubled thoughts. "Hey. If there's a mystery about where you keep going, we'll all help you solve it. It will be okay."

"Why is Riddle so concerned about you sleepwalking anyway?" Sirius asked.

"Once when I was sleepwalking, I almost walked into the Veil at the Department of Mysteries," Sofia said.

"You're kidding?" James said.

"There's more that I haven't told Riddle," Sofia said.

"Like what?"  James asked.

"It was Albus Dumbledore that appeared in my dream and warned me. Otherwise, I would have walked right into the veil that day." Sofia said.

"Albus Dumbledore? There's a lot of speculation about his disappearance." Lupin said.

"What can you tell me about Dumbledore?" Sofia asked.

Sirius leaned forward. "He was once co-rulers with Grindelwald. As far as the story goes, Dumbledore and Grindelwald got into a disagreement after Grindelwald created the Pit. Prisoners were given an option to stay in prison or work out hard labor for a shorter sentence if they chose the Pit. It wasn't as bad a place back then. Then one day two people went missing from the Pit. It was the first time anyone escaped. Dumbledore suspected foul play. Finally, he went to check it out himself. Dumbledore never arrived and no one has seen him since."

"What about his sister, Ariana? Has she said anything?" Sofia asked.

"She doesn't say much. She doesn't like to talk about it. She did say that her brother always had an interest in working as a teacher at Hogwarts. That's why she works there, in honor of her brother's memories." James said.

"Grindelwald and Ariana Dumbledore secretly suspect each other, though no one will say it out loud. They never did get along much." Lupin added.

Sofia thought about what they said. "Do you know anything about a wizard named Merrick?"

They all shook their heads.

"Never heard of him," James said.

"Why? Who is he?" Sirius asked.

"He showed up when I was visiting the Pit with Riddle. When Riddle stepped out of the room, he appeared and tried to get me to kill Riddle. When I refused, he killed everyone in the room... Including Peter." Sofia said.

They remained quiet. Peter's betrayal was still a sore spot for them. If they didn't know about Peter's death before, they did now.

No one spoke for the rest of the trip.

The London station was nearly empty. It was strange riding a train with no students besides them on it.

Severus Snape already had his luggage, "Hurry up! Follow me."

Sofia and the others followed behind Snape as he led them out of the station.

"Where are we going? How are we getting to Riddle's house?" Sofia asked.

"Portkey," Snape said over his shoulder.

They walked a bit and entered an abandoned alley between two buildings. An old broken pipe stuck out of the ground.

"That's it." Snape pointed at the pipe.

They all gathered around and touched the pipe. When they reappeared they were in front of an old mansion. It was well kept and much larger than Sofia expected it to be.

They all walked into the house and looked around.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." Skull said. The house-elf had a cigarette in his mouth and was leaning against the wall.

"Hi, Skull." Sofia greeted.

"Hey toots." Skull greeted back.

James, Sirius, and Remus stared at the little creature in amazement. Snape vanished down one of the hallways without a word and disappeared into a bedroom somewhere, slamming the door.

"Um, Skull. If Riddle owns a mansion this big, why does he live in that run-down house?" Sofia asked.

Skull looked down, his eyes looked sad for a moment. "Too many memories honey. He hasn't been back here since his childhood. Okay, you three can stay in the other three bedrooms down the hallway your friend just went down. Sofia, your bedroom is upstairs at the end of the hall."

"Who gets the master bedroom?" James asked.

"I do," Skull said with a smile. He turned and shouted up the stairwell, "Oh, that reminds me. Hey, Pookey! Get down here! We have guests!"

A female house-elf came down carrying a small figure wrapped in her arms.

"So what's your name?" Sofia asked the female house-elf.

"What? Didn't I just say her name was Pookey?" Skull asked.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were being cute." Sofia said.

Sirius walked over, wrinkling his nose at the small package. "Is that thing a baby? What a wrinkly little..."

Skull apparated and appeared in front of Sirius. He glared up at him. "Go ahead. Finish that sentence young man."

Sirius looked amused and disappeared down the hall looking for a bedroom to pick out.

"Well, I think he's adorable. What's his name?" Sofia asked.

Pookey smiled shyly. "Thanks." She held out the small baby. The baby blinked, looking around, and tried to kick himself in the head.

"This is my goofy son, Dobby," Skull said.

"It's nice to meet you Dobby." Sofia smiled, holding his small hand.

The baby giggled and tried to kick himself in the head again.

"Anyway. I'll let you kids get settled in. Dinner is at 7 pm." Skull waved them away.

Sofia walked up the stairs and found her room. There was a large bed with a dresser and a desk. She walked over to the bed, a floorboard squeaked when she walked on it. The dresser drawers had clothes in them for a child. Was this Riddle's old bedroom?

In the bottom drawer was a photo of two adults and a small dark-haired, pale child. The mother looked happy and had her arm around her son. The father looked proud but stiff next to the boy. This must be Riddle's parents. She gently put it back and closed the drawer.

Riddle hadn't stepped foot in here since his childhood. Sofia wondered what happened to them. Did some tragedy befall them?