Sacrificial Serpent {Tom Riddle}

seven

Lyla bolted through the dimly lit corridors of Hogwarts, her heart pounding in her chest. Her breath came in ragged gasps, and she barely noticed the way her mascara ran in black streaks down her pale cheeks. She didn't care about her appearance right now. All she could think of was reaching the Slytherin common room, of telling her friends the miraculous news that Tom was alive.

As she rounded a corner, nearly slipping on the polished stone floor, her thoughts were consumed by the image of Tom's face, his eyes open and alive. She had to tell them—she had to tell them all. They'd been mourning him, just like she had, and now... now everything had changed.

Reaching the entrance to the Slytherin common room, she gasped out the password, her voice breathless and choked with emotion. The stone wall slid open, revealing the familiar, low-lit space beyond. The greenish light cast by the underwater windows bathed the room in an eerie glow, making the atmosphere even more sombre.

Inside, her friends sat scattered across the room, each one of them lost in their own grief. Blaise was slumped in an armchair by the fireplace, staring into the flickering flames. Draco and Mattheo were huddled together on one of the sofas, their expressions drawn and haunted. Lorenzo, Theodore, and Pansy were grouped near the far wall, their voices low as they whispered amongst themselves, no doubt trying to comfort one another. They all looked so broken, so lost without Tom. The sight of them like this broke Lyla's heart all over again.

She didn't bother to wipe away her tears as she burst into the room, her voice cracking with the force of her words. "He's alive!"

The words came out in a desperate shout, echoing off the cold stone walls of the common room. For a moment, there was nothing but stunned silence. All eyes turned to her, wide with shock and disbelief. They stared at her as if she'd lost her mind, as if the grief had finally driven her to madness.

"What... what did you say?" Blaise was the first to find his voice, though it was barely more than a whisper. His dark eyes were wide, filled with a mixture of hope and fear.

Lyla's breath hitched as she nodded furiously, her tears flowing even more freely now. "Tom... he's alive! He's back!"

"Lyla," Draco began, his voice slow and careful, as if he were afraid she might break at any moment. "Are you sure? I mean... are you really sure?"

"Yes!" she cried, her voice trembling with a mixture of relief and desperation. "I saw him! He's in the hospital wing—he's alive, Draco!"

Mattheo shot up from the sofa, his expression a mixture of disbelief and desperate hope that his brother really was alive. "Tom? Our Tom? How... how is that possible?"

"I don't know," Lyla admitted, her hands shaking as she wiped away her tears, though they were quickly replaced by fresh ones. "He... he drank a potion, something to protect him from Harry. It kept him alive—he survived the curse!"

Theodore, who had been silently processing her words, let out a shaky breath. "Merlin's beard... he really made it?"

Pansy took a step forward, her eyes brimming with tears that mirrored Lyla's. "Where is he? We have to see him—we have to make sure!"

Lyla could only nod, her voice too choked with emotion to speak again. But that was all it took. In an instant, the room was alive with motion. Her friends sprang to their feet, their grief momentarily forgotten in the rush of hope and joy that Lyla's words had brought.

"Come on!" Blaise urged, already heading for the entrance. "We have to get to the hospital wing—now!"

The others didn't need any more prompting. They all bolted for the exit, the door sliding open just in time for them to rush through. Lyla led the way, her heart pounding with a mix of excitement and fear as they tore through the corridors of Hogwarts.