Always || Tom Riddle

James Potter

"We've been walking for ages,can't we just apparate?!"Penelope wheezed behind having to stop and lean against the nearest tree.We had been walking ages but that was because we can't apparate inside the school grounds,meaning to go undetected we would have to walk through the forbidden forest.I had never really liked this place but now that I was in here at night,in the middle of a war,the trees seemed to close in around me.

"Penelope,we have to walk because you are obviously in no fit state to run and its not like we can just apparate there!Now come on its your sons life at risk!"

"Sssh"She snapped straightening up and taking light footsteps towards me.

"What are you doing?!"Her hand went around my mouth and I was forcefully dragged into a bush.The spikes dug into my skin and I closed my eyes to keep in a groan of pain. 

"Did you hear that?I heard voices"A familiar voice broke through the tense silence and I instantly recognized it as Toms.What was he doing in the forbidden forest?Shouldn't he be up by the school?

"I heard nothing My Lord"Toms lips curled up into a smirk,he liked it when people called him 'my lord' especially his followers.

"I just thought I heard Cla-nevermind"Malfoys eyebrows went up,he was clearly thinking the same thing as me,had Tom nearly admitted that he thought he had heard me?That was bad,that meant that I had been talking loudly,but then I hadn't meant for anyone to hear me,the place looked abandoned.I managed to get a closer look through a gap in the bushes to find that Tom along with some of his followers were stood where me and Penelope had been just moments ago.I held my breath as his black fathomless eyes met mine and in the space of ten seconds Tom had broken down my shields and was speaking to me through telepathy.

'Go home,do not look back' And with that he had left,not even bothering to call his followers as he knew they would simply follow after him,a lot like lost puppies really.

"That was too close!"Penelope breathed a sigh of relief as she got up out of the bushes and brushed herself off,I simply stood looking in the direction Tom had left in wondering if he was listening in on our conversation this very moment,no,he wouldn't risk his death eaters being that close to knowing I too was here.But whether or not he had figured out why I was here remained unknown,he would most likely think I was just keeping an eye on him,at least I hope that's all he thought I was up to.

"We need to get James and get out of here"I whispered and grabbed Penelope's jacket,making sure to pull her towards the school and not where there was potentially death eaters lurking.I stopped abruptly when a masked death eater appeared out of nowhere,they hadn't seen us but it was only a matter of time until they did,I was faced with a challenge,move to safety and risk being seen or simply stay where I am and risk an attack.It was tempting to carry out the latter but I decided to stay where I was,the nearest hiding place was too far for the death eater not to notice our presence.When they had their back turned to us I raised my wand,while pointing it at the back of their head I muttered a charm to make them fall asleep so that we could pass easily.

Keeping our eyes on the death eater at all times we walked past warily in case anymore came out from the darkness,to my surprise none else emerged from the darkness meaning we would make it to the school in quicker time,just in time to get James out of there before any attacks were made,Tom always waited for the cover of darkness before making a move,that was if he wanted to be sneaky and make the attack surprise the other side.Just as I thought that we were making good time spells being shot,yells and screams could be heard from the schools courtyard making me break out into a run.

"Clara!"I ignored Penelope's pleas and continued to run down the steep hillside to the school,once on the courtyard I blended into the crowd thanks to my casual clothing and my age,I looked as though I were still at Hogwarts.I spotted a tall dark haired boy fighting off a death eater stood in front of a ginger haired girl protectively,normally I would think about how I totally ship them and wonder if they are dating but now was really not the time for that.I sent a stunning spell at the death eater causing them to fall to the floor and the boy look up at me in surprise.

"I could handle him myself!"He said cockily not caring about the war going on around him.How stupid he was,just like his father,no common sense.

"Sure you could"I replied and used my foot to check that the death eater really was taken out and had not just fallen to the floor,I didn't want any nasty surprises.

"Remus!"He yelled at the top of his lungs to another brown haired boy who was fighting and losing against none other than Lestrange.He made a run for his friend but I put my arm out and stopped him,when the boy looked back at me in shock I shook my head,wondering why none was attacking us,I mean sure they were all occupied with other things but still...we were stood right in front of them and whats worse none of them seemed to even notice I was here.I spotted Malfoy making his way through the crowd along with some other boys behind him,all wearing masks.If Malfoy was here Tom would not far behind,I had to leave and as soon as possible.

"Your James Potter right?"I had to raise my voice so that he could hear me,he must have because he nodded with a small smile appearing on his face.

"After my father"I knew exactly who he was talking about and felt a pang of sympathy for the boy,sure he knew his fathers brother and parents as well as a mother,that was more than I ever had but he looked so much like his father it was uncanny.

"I promised your mum I would get you to safety"

"But-"James furrowed his eyebrows obviously disagreeing with the plan,if he put up a fight not only would it make life more difficult but I would not hesitate to stun him,it was for his own safety.

"No buts,we are leaving now!"I didn't have much time to say anything else as a burst of light had gone through the light aimed directly at James.A stunning spell,as harmless as it may be it would make it even harder to get him home safely,It was stupid but I stepped in front of him with my arms up defensively,if this spell was going to hit anyone it was me.Before I could even think about blocking the spell it hit me right in the chest,my knees buckled beneath me and I caught sight of dark fathomless eyes which stood out from the crowd.My head hit the cobble stone floor hard making my vision blurry,I could only make out shapes gathering around me but there was three of at least each person.Something warm began to form on my forehead and with a shaky hand I reached up,got some of the liquid on my fingers and looked at it with a frown.Was that blood?I didn't know and right now I couldn't think straight.

"Cara!"