Death's Daughter || Tom Riddle

Journey to the Manor | 29

She heard commotion around her, yet she was the only one lying still.

Her eyelids flickered, sleep catching up on her.

When she finally gave in and her eyes were about to shut, she felt her bed sink, meaning someone was sitting on her bed, causing her to open her eyes again and glare at the person who dared to come close. Once her eyes landed on a smiling Abigail, her body eased, and her glare disappeared. Abigail inched closer, "Aren't you going to get ready?" She questioned, motioning to their roommates busying themselves with packing their belongings into their luggage.

She sighed, and got out of bed, throwing some of the things she needed into her luggage carelessly until she got everything she needed then, did she cast an organizing spell on her belongings, making them rearrange their positions.

She smiled at her work, then sat back down on her bed, waiting for her friend to finish packing before they headed down to the carriages.

It didn't take long for Abigail to finish, so they went on their way to the carriages. Along the way, they met Caelum and Zayn sitting in the common room waiting for them.

Obviously, boys tended to pack their stuff quicker than girls.

The group exchanged greetings and continued up the cold dungeon's stone stairs, and into a buzzing corridor filled with students fighting their way to the exit. Nyx spotted Mirage, Evergreen, Black, and Evergreen's boyfriend huddled in a corner, discussing something in low voices. While they walked past the group, she felt eyes glued onto her back, causing her to quickly turn around, only to spot nothing. Although, she could've sworn she saw Mirage staring right at her, but it could have just been the trick of the light.

When the cool air finally brushed upon her skin, did she see a friendly and familiar figure she hadn't seen in a long time edging towards her group. Hunter. A bright smile flashed across her face, making Hunter smile widely at her. His pace quickened and soon enough, the pair reunited and shook hands, since she wasn't the kind of person to hug.

After Hunter awkwardly introduced himself to Abigail and Zayn, he settled his pace beside her, walking along with a smile.

When the group of five finally got a carriage for themselves, they got on and squeezed in together. She took a seat beside Caelum, and Hunter across from her, whilst Zayn sat beside Caelum and Abigail sat with Hunter.

When the carriage pulled by thestrals finally moved, the five of them sat in a comfortable silence, everyone minding their own business. Nyx stared out of the carriage, looking out into the woods just like the start of term where she spotted the Black Cat; the sign of Death. And just like that day, she saw two yellow orbs looking out from a dim part of the woods, where the sunlight couldn't reach the floor. And like the start of term when she saw it, she smiled, knowing Death was with her wherever she went.

~———————————————————~

When they finally reached Hogsmeade station, they jumped out of the carriage and filed into the train. Luckily for them, they got an empty compartment to themselves. Caelum quickly went over to the window seat, Nyx settled beside her best friend, Abigail sat across from her, whilst Zayn and Hunter went their separate ways. She guessed that Hunter went to sit with his new friends, he told her he recently made friends with a Hufflepuff. But for Zayn, she wasn't sure where he went, perhaps he had friends in his year that he was closer to than Caelum.

Caelum sat in silence, his head leaning against the window whilst watching tree by tree pass. Abigail busied herself with playing with her cat, whilst Nyx continued her read on Death Omens.

The room's silence was only filled with the sound of Nyx flipping page after page and the occasional whistling of the train.

"Are you sure you've packed everything?" Caelum suddenly asked, finally facing away from the view, (a large open landscape of a green field,) and faced her instead.

"Yes, I've got everything packed." She replied, not looking away from her book.

"Good."

"Who else is staying? I mean, staying at Malfoy Manor?" She asked curiously, hoping it was just the two of them.

"Oh, you, me, Riddle, Riddle's gang, and obviously the host, Abraxas Malfoy. But you don't have to worry about his parents, they're away, but they'll be back on the day the event's hosted."

Nyx's heart sank.

She had to live under the same roof as Riddle without a teacher's supervision. That, is scary.

She pushed the idea out of her head and gave a small smile, "Excellent."

~———————————————————~

When they finally pulled to a stop at King's Cross Station on platform 9 ¾, the trio rose from their seats and headed out of the train. Many students were reunited with their families and hugged them tightly, but this time, her foster mother wasn't here to pick her up, for she had told her about the Christmas 'reunion' event hosted by the Malfoys.

She beckoned goodbye to Abigail and quickly went over to Caelum who was now by Malfoy, who was quickly accompanied by his friends. When their eyes landed on her figure, they each exchanged nervous glances to one another, causing her to suddenly sense something suspicious about what Riddle might have told them about her. But she brushed it off and gave them the coldest smile she could muster and stuck her hand out for a handshake. Each of the boys uncertainly shook her hand.

"Well," Malfoy started, after harshly taking her hand in his and not so much registering the glare he received from her, "We'd better be off at once, but where is Riddle?" The boys started to turn around aimlessly in search of Riddle, making her lips tilt upward a bit. But not so long after Malfoy asked where their leader was, Riddle appeared. When her onyx eyes landed on his face, she could sense his irritation, causing her to wonder what could have bothered him. But the answer to that question came as quickly as she questioned it, for behind him, she could see a faint figure of a female, looking longly at Riddle, as if they were tempted to run after him. With closer examination, she saw the figure's black locks hanging loosely around their face, unmistakably Rosaline Black.

Nyx rolled her eyes, and to her dismay, Riddle caught sight of her in the action and smirked. For she knew, he was going to bring up that topic later on and accuse her of feeling 'jealous' or something.

"What held you back?" Malfoy asked, unaware of the tone of his voice coming out harshly. Riddle appeared calm, taking no notice of this, and responded, "I had something to clear with earlier. Nevertheless, let us be on our way."

The large group of boys and one girl made their way out of platform 9 ¾ to where the muggles roamed. Some of them spared a glance at the large group, and quickly brushed past. Nyx could sense all of the boy's disgust, excluding Caelum, for the muggles.

The bustling crown soon faded when they were out of the station and out in the open.

Wondering how they were going to get to Malfoy Manor without apparating, Malfoy stood looking around the road, trying to spot someone or something. Soon enough, a black expensive-looking car steered towards the group, halting right before them. She heard Malfoy mutter, "The only muggle technology that I'm not ashamed to use," under his breath, but she was quite certain everyone heard him.

They all got in and surprisingly, they all fitted into the car. But to her horror, she saw no one in the driver's seat, meaning the car was me changed to drive on its own. Not that she didn't trust in magic, but she preferably wanted a driver she could see driving.

The Knights of  Walpurgis chatted loudly, whilst Caelum, Riddle, and her sat silently, watching the ongoing playing of the other boys.

And so that, was how her entire journey went, and how she was very much glad to finally reach Malfoy Manor.