The Girl from Azkaban ~ Tom Riddle (18+)

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕱𝖎𝖋𝖙𝖞-𝕺𝖓𝖊

~✧~

"Did you see the looks on her face while she was making those know-it-all comments?" asked Tara, upset.

Tom sighed, "Of course I saw them."

"And why didn't you do something about it?"

"What was I supposed to do about it?"

"What do I know you're Tom fucking Riddle, could have thought of something."

Tom stopped and turned to Taraphina. He tried to stay calm and untie the knot on her chest from her cloak. Then he took it off her. The cold instantly drew body heat from her.

"Ready?" asked Tom.

"Fuck yes."

"Expression," he remarked, but by then Taraphina had taken the transformation into her own hands, letting her body fall forward and transform into her panther form.

Tom could only watch as his little witch dashed through the forest, finally dissipating all the energy that had built up. "This could be something," he said to himself and slowly followed the black shadow into the forest.

Taraphina was running wild, slaloming around the trees and jumping over fallen logs at a record pace. Tom had quickly realised that he could not keep up with her pace, so he decided to make use of a dark magic locomotion spell that enabled him to glide quickly through the air, cloaked by smoke. From there he watched the panther and followed their tracks. Every now and then he made it his business to destroy a few tracks she had left behind. Slughorn had told him in confidence about Dumbledore's role in the fight against Ivikalks before they had left the dinner. Under no circumstances was he allowed to suspect that Taraphina now had the same gift as Mira. Because no one knew about her pregnancy, no one of those who knew at all assumed that this gift would continue, but nevertheless they should not draw any attention to themselves.

It took quite a while before Taraphina came to a halt again. With her head hanging to the ground, she sniffed along the ground like a dog. Tom turned back.

"Are you done?" he asked, but by then the panther was already rampaging past him again and deeper into the forest. If he had wanted to, he could have called her back to him with the help of the potion, but for now he decided to give her space.

Taraphina ran and ran. She continued to follow the scent trail she had just noticed on the ground with her head down. Tom watched her and kept low as he saw her move into a sneaking position. She crept through the dense thorny bushes on silent pads.

He was unsure what she was up to, because at first glance he could make out nothing and no one in the undergrowth of the forest.

He squinted his eyes to get a better view of the distance, followed the panther as quietly as possible and then saw a patch of shimmering white fur.

Taraphina wanted to leap and pounce on the creature the moment Tom had made his realisation.

"Are you mad?" he shouted as he used the potion to bring her back. The white creature leapt forward, startled, and blew loudly. Only fleetingly could Tom make out the shape of the unicorn and see it disappear into the darkness.

With clenched teeth and thus also a tense Jawline, he looked down at the panther. She was glaring at him at least as stubbornly and angrily as he was at her. It was a matter of time who would buckle under the other's gaze first and it turned out to be Taraphina. She began to relax her mine and look submissively at the floor in front of her.

"Come," Tom all but growled, encouraging her to follow him.

~✧~