antebellum [t. riddle]

epilogue i.

a sea serpent appeared to tom twelve hours after dumbledore had left him.

her patronus. he was amazed by it, despite its dim nature.

it was her— her soul living and breathing.

it did not move, did not speak, did not beckon. it did nothing but tell tom that sicaria was alive.

he stared mesmerized and waiting for instructions that did not come. tom stood then, and reached toward it. his fingers swam through it the same way they would through smoke, and tom understood what it was urging him toward.

at that same moment, his focus was broken by a second patronus, one he did not recognize, until the voice that came from it.

'her body was not found. if you are with her,' dumbledore's voice spoke from the phoenix. 'she must either surrender, or never be found. do not let her be arrested.'

he rummaged through his pockets quickly, fingers closing on the last note sicaria had given him. her will, listing each and every one of her parents safehouses across europe. she'd left all of them to him in case she'd died, and had already added him to all of her wards.

tom apparated, again and again, across the continent to every property on her list, staying only long enough in each to ensure she was not there before apparating again.

on the sixth jump, he landed in a decrepit old room, but he took no time to catalogue it. his attention was magnetically drawn to sicaria, who lie on the ground inches from him.

he hesitated for only a second before crouching to the floor and reaching for her. toms fingers brushed her face, still warm. 

he felt her breath on his fingers.