Always || Tom Riddle

Leaving Cornwall

  "Malfoy?" A nasty smirk curled the corners of Tom's mouth, having confirmed who we both suspected to be a traitor "That, my dear, is precisely whom I am talking about"  Just as Tom finished speaking, loud voices and the sound of witches and wizards apparating in the woods echoed towards us. With my mind reeling, I began to feel faint, yet again Tom was right, the Aurors had sent for backup, this was not just a visit to the houses, we were being hunted. The rain receded and the moment seemed to drag, as a sense of dread filled me.

"Daddy! Mummy!" Amber emerged from the woods, gasping for breath as she stopped directly in front of us, fear in her little eyes. Relief washed over me as she appeared to be safe and uninjured. 

"I don't know who they are, but there are people coming here!" Tom's eyes met mine, and for the first time since before he made his Horcruxes, a look of pure horror, no matter how many Death eaters he had, they weren't going to be here in time to save us. 

"They are here for me, Clara, take Amber into the house, grab your things and leave"Not believing that he was saying this, I did not move, my feet not wanting to obey me. 

"What?" 

"You heard me, go! I want you two out of here and safe before the Aurors appear!"

"Tom, this is stupid, there is enough time for us all to leave. I am not leaving without you!" Snapping, Tom grabbed my hand and avoided all eye contact with me, pulling me and Amber behind him back into the cottage and slamming the door shut, putting out the fire, and turning off the lights, using a spell to turn the place upside down. Wrapping my arms around myself for warmth, I could only watch as he quickly left to dispose of the dead Aurors bodies, soon re-emerging and leaning against the door for support.

"There is not much time, we need to leave now" Taking mine and Amber's hand, we prepared to apparate, only to find that we were unable to, the Aurors must have placed a spell on the area to prevent us from escaping. 

"What do we do?" 

"Go up to the bedroom, lock the door behind you. Do not question me, go" After a moment of sending him a 'you better know what you are doing' look, I did as he said, taking Amber with me, and making sure the door was securely locked behind us. Not a moment later, and the front door downstairs was blown off of its hinges. Feeling too exposed even here, I looked around the room for any decent hiding places, somewhere we could be hidden and be able to escape from quickly if needed. Adbruptly, I pulled Amber behind me into the wardrobe and shut the door, peeking through the gap in the doors as footsteps sounded on the stairs. 

 While Amber struggled to get comfortable among the many coats and shoes that were kept within the wardrobe I felt what seemed to be a spiky rock in my coat pocket, where Peruvian instant darkness powder had been stuffed after Fred and George Weasley had given me a sample of something they hoped to sell in a store of their own. Having an idea of how we could escape, I looked to Amber hopefully who had started to shake, her breath coming out in short wheezes as the footsteps slowed the nearer to the bedroom door. Squeezing her hand, she looked to me, tears welling up in her eyes. 

"Are we going to die?" 

"No, sweetie, I would never let anyone hurt you, ok?" Nodding, and looking slightly comforted, but still afraid, she went back to looking through the gap in the wardrobe doors. Suddenly, the silence was filled with the sound of a spell hitting someone, and the body falling to the floor, chaos began outside of the room, and the door was unlocked, as Aurors filled the room in an attempt to get away from Tom. Now in a room full of Aurors, they seemed to catch onto why Tom had been trying to protect the room. Pushing Amber away from the doors, I took out the instant darkness powder, getting ready for when the door was opened. Sure enough the wardrobe doors swung open, giving me the chance to now use the instant darkness powder. The room filled with darkness, and I reached for Ambers hand as the chaos stopped, as everyone became disorienteted. Running out of the room, with Amber close behind, I made for the stairs.