The Snake in the Waters [Tom Riddle]

Chapter 20 - [Full Moon and Antidotes]

Scotland, Hogwarts: June 1944

The days flew by. And soon, the twenty-eight days and another fourteen had passed. 

A full moon would be visible on the sky tonight. 

His companions now invited Maélys to sit with them during every meal and in the common room, they moved when she needed a place.

They did not know why but Tom was pleased to see that they followed his instructions. Of course, the girl did not often join them. It seemed that she liked to stay with Louisa Travers more often than not.

This confirmed his resolve that the brown-haired girl had to be removed. But that was easier said than done. He knew that he couldn't be the one to do the actual deed. Dumbledore and his ever-watchful eyes never seemed to leave his back. And his followers, loyal as they may be, didn't have the stomach to kill someone, at least not yet.

Tom had thought about it long and hard until he came to a decision. But it was still too early to carry out his plan. But he was patient. 

After twenty-eight days, on the day of the new moon, they had seen that their Veritaserum had matured correctly. The boy had walked beside the blonde girl on their way to the classroom they'd used as a potions lab. 

He had watched as the girl had lifted the barrier spell around the cabinet where they've had stored their potions. 

Carefully, he had taken the bottles, sat all five of them down on the work counter and looked at them. Satisfied, he had noted that the potion had been colorless and almost indistinguishable from water. 

No, another two weeks had passed and it was full moon. 

"Let's go," he said, watching to the blonde girl beside him. Since their potion had matured correctly, they didn't need to store them in complete darkness anymore, but they still stashed it away there. 

With a simple levitation charm, the bottels flew after the pair as they walkedd through the school. It was already after curfew, but they had a special permission from Professor Slughorn to walk around the grounds at shortly before midnight.

Tom cursed as they stepped through the entrance gate of the school, looking to the sky.

He remembered the last paragraph in the textbook: 

"On the night of the full moon, place bottle in the moonlight to absorb the light. If this last step cannot be performed due to weather conditions, the potency will suffer to a degree."

In the afternoon, it had been sunny but now it looked like a summer storm was brewing above their heads. 

There weren't many weather spells, especially none that could stop a tempest.

But Maélys lifted her hand to the sky, her fingers pointing to where the moon should be.

"Ventus," she said quietly. 

Tom felt a surge of wind blowing in his hair and stunned, he watched as a torrent dispersed the clouds until they weren't even visible anymore in the distance. 

"Come, the spell won't keep them back for long," Maélys took him by the arm and tugged him to the big meadow before the lake. 

From the corner of his eye, he saw that the clouds slowly came back. 

She carefully directed the bottles until the moonl shone from all sides into it. Tom watched fascinated as the potions absorbed the light and the liquid shimmered faint.

Just a few moments after the last bottle had absorbed the light, the clouds covered the moon up again. 

"Finished," Maélys grinned at him.