Tom Riddle had a secret - he had murdered his family. Arabella Chambers knew his secret - she had witnessed it.
After Tom Riddle kills Arabella Chambers, he steals her wand for safekeeping. But, unexpectedly, Arabella shows up at Hogwarts, very much...
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Arabella's manor smelt like secrets.
It was not the kind of scent one could name — nothing as simple as old parchment or burning wood. No, it was heavier. Older. The walls held it like a whisper, the floors creaked beneath the weight of it. It was the scent of something hidden, something waiting,
Tom had spent weeks searching for it.
His conversation with Dumbledore had seemed useless at first, but the more Tom went over it, the more he analysed it, he discovered that Dumbledore was trying to push him. Arabella had a secret far bigger.
And he intended to rip it out of her, piece by piece.
It had been — what? Three weeks? Four? Time stretched strangely in this house. The days bled together.
It had taken Tom less than a week to map out the manor's structure. It was a big place, and he scoured each wing, each level to gain a sense of his surroundings.
Arabella suspected nothing.
She knew Tom had been wandering the libraries, the halls, the endless rooms this manor seemed to spawn. She had caught him many times, reading, or just staring out the windows. She would join him, they would talk, and she would leave.
Arabella assumed Tom was merely exploring.
She believed, foolishly, that he would wait. That she would tell him how she survived the Killing Curse when she was ready.
But Tom had never been patient.
•••
Arabella had been shaken after murdering Simon.
Tom had watched her for the first few days. Glassy eyes, clenched fists. One evening, in a candlelit study, Arabella had been staring at the fire too long. Tom had settled into the seat across from her.
"You're dwelling," he observed.
Arabella did not look at him. "Am I?"
"You think too much about things that cannot be undone." He paused, letting his words sink in. "It's a waste of time. Blackmore is not worth your thoughts."
Arabella's eyes found his.
Tom smiled. Slow. Calculated. "You made the right decision. Now move forward."
Arabella just stared into his eyes. Minutes passed. She unclenched her fists and something in her eyes shifted.
And that's when Tom knew he had won.
It had continued like this for days.
Moments where he spoke and she listened. Moments where she let him closer. Let him whisper things that twisted their way into her mind.
He watched the way she absorbed his words, the way her sharp edges softened under his influence.
