The Love Story of Harriet Potter and Tom Riddle

Chapter 143 - Tom and Harriet

Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—————————————————————

Beth came back later that night, courtesy of Dumbledore's assistance, with a frown on her face.

The huff that she carried in her heart could not excuse Mark's actions.

She spent the hours until sunrise contemplating how to approach the issue and by the time her mother served breakfast, her mind had been made up.

The day began as any other might have for the Riddles.

At their small kitchen table, Beth ate her waffles across her parents as she glanced from her mother to her father.

"Dad?" She asked as she swallowed her last bite.

"Yeah?" Mark asked as he looked up from his muggle phone.

"I know." Beth frowned.

Beth's mother mirrored her expression as she looked at her husband.

"Sorry......what is it that you know, darling?" Mark asked.

"I know about everything." Beth answered.

"What are you talking about, honey?" Beth's mom laughed nervously.

"I know because he told me." Beth cryptically hinted.

"Dad?!" Mark shouted.

"How could your father tell her anything? He's dead!" Beth's mother exclaimed.

"No, Dumbledore." Beth said as she shook her head before her eyes widened, "But Grandpa is alive, isn't he? I knew it!"

"How did you talk to Dumbledore?!" Mark blurted out before he stopped to think.

"I'm going to Hogwarts, Dad." Beth sniffed as she stood from the table and pushed in her chair, "I love you and Mama, but you two won't stop me."

"Mark, what is she talking about?!" Beth's mother demanded as Beth grabbed her bookbag, opened the front door, and left the house to begin her walk to school.

She was grateful it had not been a weekend day.

The last thing she wanted was to be present for the chaos that would inevitably follow.

—————————————————————-

Tom prepared himself well for his journey.

With him, he carried a variety of potions, his wand, and several mementos from his previous life with Harriet at his side.

If all went well, the distance between them would finally be closed.

Without a nearby place to store his supplies, he kept them all in a small, enchanted pouch tucked discreetly into the pocket of his black suit jacket.

Once he felt he had readied himself enough, he stood in front of a large, shattered mirror while his advisor on the muggle world carefully looked him over.

The Polyjuice Potion made with his own hair once again restored his handsome face.

"........Good." The muggle advisor nodded after she walked around him in a circle to study his appearance closely, "You'll blend in well enough, just watch what you say. Like we talked about, Minister Riddle."

Tom scowled disdainfully down at the dark-washed denim pants that had been suggested for him to wear.

To him, they seemed such a terrible clash with his white t-shirt and black suit jacket he could hardly bear to show himself.

"You can trust me, Minister Riddle." The muggle advisor nodded again with a gentle smile as she saw the doubt on his face.

"Should this lead me to humiliation and failure," Tom warned as his dark eyes bore into hers, "Then you'll regret that lie for as long as I allow you to live."

As Tom stomped out of the room, the muggle advisor wisely stayed silent, although as she bent down to gather the discarded clothing items that had not been selected for the Minister's disguise, her hands trembled violently.

—————————————————————

Tom made certain to arrive half an hour early at the small coffee shop that would serve as his meeting place with Harriet.

From his short, dark curls to his chiseled cheekbones, his tall, strong physique in those modern clothes earned him more than one admiring glance from the women that came and went while he sat at the bar by the window, waiting for his love.

Tom had planned to blend in with the others, but once he noticed Harriet walking across the street, he forgot where he was and what he had been supposed to do to seem......natural.

All he wanted to see was her.

The malice left his dark eyes as they scanned over her from head to toe, drinking in her visage, admiring the soft pout on her pink lips, the subtle bounce of her breasts as she stepped on the curve of the sidewalk outside, the way her hips swayed as she went........

By the time Harriet entered the small shop, Tom gawked at her as if she were the only woman he'd ever seen.

"Tom!" Harriet exclaimed as soon as her emerald eyes fell on him.

Hearing his name on his lips was a gift in itself.

"Swe-er, Harriet, hello." Tom nodded with a smile as he stood to greet her.

During the next two hours while they sat and chatted in that small, average little place, Tom nearly forgot his hatred of muggles.

Tom also nearly forgot his name, where he was, what he wanted, Tom forgot everything.....

As Harriet spoke about mundane, ordinary happenings that would otherwise have surely bored the great wizard Tom Riddle thought himself to be, he was completely transfixed.

The light in her green gaze hypnotized him.

Her smile made him want to close the distance between them.

Harriet laughed at one point as she noticed the way he looked at her.

She stopped talking for a second as she asked, "Tom......what is it? Is something wrong? I've gone on too much, haven't I?"

"No." He said quickly with a debonair grin, "I don't think you could ever speak enough, my-um, Harriet."

Under the intensity of his dark stare, Harriet felt her cheeks flush as he lifted one of her hands to his lips and pressed a kiss right between the knuckles of her ring finger and pinky.

Harriet's heart skipped a beat as a scene flashed through her mind.

She felt as if she'd seen that exact look on Tom's handsome face before, although in her mind, it hadn't been her hand he had kissed.

".....Tom?" Harriet asked as he gently let her hand go.

"Yes?" He asked, his voice unintentionally husky.

"Do you want to go back to my place?" She whispered.

Tom's dark eyes practically sparked with intrigue

"Oh, my darling." He smirked, "That sounds like a wonderful idea."