The Price of Gold | tom riddle

Chapter 33 - Ash Lingers

Ostara felt dreadful. Her head pounded more than it had ever, even more than the morning she woke in the woods. At least this time, there were no sticks in her hair. However, there were screams of the innocents in her head.

Tom sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes. He let out a hard, morning groan. The rasp in his voice lingered in Ostara's ears. "Time?" he asked.

She looked toward the clock on their shared bedside table. "Eight-thirty."

"Fuck," he rasped, "Diagon Alley will be swarming already." He pushed the sheets off of him, standing to grab his smoke-stained clothes, then heading into the bathroom. "Get dressed we have a long list of things to do." The door shut.

She dressed, having the smell of smoke glue to her skin again. She stared at her reflection in a small mirror. She looked a mess, and worse, there was nothing she could do about it. As she pulled and tugged at her ragged clothes, Tom emerged from the bathroom, dressed. He joined her by the mirror analysing their reflection. "Stiltskin?" he asked.

"Yes?" she replied, both still looking in the mirror.

He pushed his flat hair back. "When I'm famous, do not mention this moment to anyone."

"You're really making jokes at a time like this?"

"When did I joke?" he asked, dumbfounded, breaking his gaze from the mirror and staring at her head.

Star exhaled through her nose and shook her head. "Ready?"

They made their way through the bar, and into the streets of Diagon Alley, receiving the strangest of looks from those who passed them. One witch had the nerve to pinch her nose in disgust as the pair trailed their smokey scent behind them. "I'd love to see her face if she found out she was snubbing a princess,' Ostara scoffed.

"Would you shut it?" Tom hissed. "You can't just scream that information, Ostara. Have you not learnt? Do you need to burn down another pub before it finally sinks in?" His almost playful remark about her actions made them seem so much worse. "Okay, Gringotts first," he said, cheerily snapping out of his previous venom-like state.

The stares and whispers continued as they walked. People seemed to make way for them as they marched through the alley. In an odd, it was sort of ironic Ostara thought to herself.

"Who the Salazar are you lot and what have you done with Tom and Ostara?" A voice called from side of the street, out-front of a bookstore.

"Edison!" Ostara huffed a sigh of relief, running toward the boy.

She extended her arms for a hug but was harshly rejected by Avery as his nose scrunched up. "Oh in you're wildest dreams if you think I'm getting this artisan silk shirt all ashy."

She nodded her head. "Fair."

"What happened to you lot anyway?" His eyes would not stray from their grey clothing.

"I'll explain later, we're on a tight schedule Avery so forgive me but we must be going," Tom said, placing a hand on Ostara's shoulder as if to guide her away and back toward the route of Gringotts.

"Well, I'm waiting on Isidore, he's collecting his potion from Knockturn Alley, or trying to, and naturally, I don't want to be hanging around that sketchy place. Maybe I can come with you guys," Edison said. "Where are you off to anyway?"

"Gringotts, so we can buy new everything," Star said.

"Well Tom can go, it's an awful trip down to the vaults, no place for a lady like Star." Ed smiled.

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Really? Look at her Avery," he spoke bluntly.

"He does have a point," Ostara said with a shoulder shrug.