Always || Tom Riddle

The second wizarding war

The fog seemed to close in around us mockingly, as me and Charlus made our way back to the cottage. Pausing at the front door, I entered first, passing the living room and spotting Penelope, asleep in her armchair, the only chair that had not been rendered unusable by the attack from the Auror's. Climbing her windy stairs to the top, I followed the sound of high pitch giggles to where a spare bedroom door was left slightly ajar, the warm glow of a lamp seeping into the dimly lit hallway. Amber laughed as she tried to catch Tom's hands in her own, only to fail and immediately demand that he put his hands back up, as to enable her to try once more. Deciding to the leave them alone and head back downstairs, being me, I managed to knock into a coffee table, and doubled over, letting out a loud groan of pain.

"Mummy?" Turning back around, I entered the spare bedroom, closing the door behind me, all the while avoiding Tom's gaze that I could feel piercing through me, afraid of what I would find there.

"Are you alright?" Why is it that children have the amazing talent of choosing very inquiring questions when you don't know the answer, or even want to answer them.

"I'm fine, Amber!" At my sudden outburst, she coiled away from me in fear, as I attempted to calm myself down.

"I have just not had the best day, is all"

"I think we can all agree on that" My head snapped over to meet Tom's challenging smirk, as he leaned on the wall, one arm crossed over the other, forming a protective barrier around himself. I wanted to say something in reply, something smart that would wipe that annoying smirk off of his lips, but when nothing came to mind, I decided a glare would suffice.

"You were gone for a little while earlier. Did you go back to Malfoy manor?"

"Where I go does not concern you, Clara" Holding his hand out expectantly at Amber, he beckoned to her to take it, and sure enough, she did, brushing herself off and joining him by the threshold of the door. Being gently led downstairs by her father, the question of whether or not Amber had grasped that her parents were arguing did not need to be asked, for the quick, confused glance that she sent to me said it all. Following shortly after, I too found myself downstairs, entering the living room to discover many bags of Charlus and Penelope's personal belongings. They stood side by side, holding each others gloved hands, both dressed in tan leather coats, with faux fur insides.

"We thought it best if we leave, you are very welcome to come with us" Penelope's outstretched arm greeted me, as I moved past Tom and Amber to take her hand, taking Amber's hand in my own as she held on tightly to Tom, most likely out of fear, she had rarely ever apparated before.

"You'll be fine" Tom smiled softly down at her, and took her hand in his, reluctantly taking Charlus's hand before we apparated. Now stood outside in the cold, I let go of Amber and Penelope's hands, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to keep the cold from getting through my long sleeved navy shirt.

"Let me check that its safe" Charlus said over his shoulder, tightly clutching his wand and hesitantly pushing the door open. Moments passed where he looked for any danger, while I took out my own wand and muttered a quick 'Lumos', searching for any threats outside, upon turning around, I found Tom doing the same thing, it seemed we were both still on high alert from earliers events. For a brief moment, our eyes met, as I tried to make out what Tom was thinking, by the look on his face, he was attempting to do the same.

"You can come in now" The sound of Charlus's voice broke our eye contact, as I quickly made my way inside, and up the dusty staircase, each stair groaning louder than the last. Finally reaching the top, I entered the first spare bedroom that my eyes landed on, and turned to shut the door behind me, my eyes catching Tom stood at the top of the staircase. Upon our eyes meeting, he clenched his jaw tightly, as I shut the door. Once the dark brown door was safely shut, I put my ear to it, listening to Tom's retreating footsteps as he looked for a room to sleep in, by the sound of it, he was trying to find one as far away from mine as possible. Tears welled up in my eyes, and my vision began to blur as I locked the door and lay down on the single bed, the room was cramped and full to the brim of old antiques, very much like the room I had stayed in at Grimmauld place. Exhausted, I turned onto my side, causing salty tears to drip onto the pillow. Facing the darkly painted walls, I climbed under the covers and shut my eyes, glad to feel safe once more.

What felt like five minutes later, I was awoken by two little feet climbing over my body and under the covers, snuggling up to me sleepily. Still half asleep myself, I peeled my eyes open, frowning down at the messy haired little girl who was now nearly asleep.

"Amber, I locked the door, what are you doing in here?"

"Daddy was having a nightmare, so I decided to come here" Huffing, I smiled at her messy bed head, using my fingers to gently comb through it.

"Your hair looks like a nest, Amber"

"Mhmm" Was the only answer I received in reply, as I reached for my wand that lay on the beside table, and locked the door once more. Turning back around to Amber, I pulled her closer to me, and attempted to fall back to sleep, my eyes opening wide as I heard footsteps downstairs, my heart now starting hammer in my chest as fear welled up within me. Managing to fight my way out of Amber's tight grip, I grabbed my wand, moving slowly and silently towards the door, unlocking it and heading down the stairs.

Trying to navigate my way around the loud wooden boards was easier when I wasn't half asleep; I had nearly made it to the hallway, and was becoming more confident with each step down, when the bottom stair creaked loudly. Whoever was downstairs however did not seem to notice, for the footsteps continued to sound. Muttering 'Lumos', I carried on my search, as I walked barefoot through the extremely neglected house. Peeking into the living room, I found no sign of the intruder, and so moved on into the dining room, where yet again, there was no sign of anyone. That was with the exception of the extremely large footsteps that had been made in the dust on the floor leading into the 1950's kitchen.

Taking deep breaths, I inched forwards, preparing myself for what I may find around the corner, only that moment never came, for I was roughly grabbed by the neck and all but thrown into the wall, sharp claws digging into my skin as I tried to make out who had attacked me. Just making out Fenrir Greyback in the darkness, I relaxed slightly, he would not do anything to me, he may be crazy but he was not stupid, he knew that if he lay a finger on me Tom would make him pay for it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying my best to keep my voice steady as he smiled nastily, revealing horribly yellow teeth, and a truly putrid body odour to match his personality.

"I have come to speak with the Dark Lord, there is an urgent matter that needs attending to"

"He is asleep, whatever you have to say can wait until morning"

"And does he share your opinion on this?" Fenrir's grip on my throat tightened painfully, as the nasty smile returned to mock me.

"Where is he?"

"Here" I had been so caught up in trying to pry the werewolves' hands off of my throat that I had not even noticed that Tom was stood a few inches away from us, his wand in hand, and hair lightly tousled.

"My Lord, I have received information of the boy's whereabouts...he is at Hogwarts" To anyone else, Tom would have looked completely calm, as if this news was nothing more than being told that he had just had a milk delivery, but to me, his sudden change of posture, told me he was ecstatic, he finally had Harry Potter in his grasp, he could finish this once and for all.

"Alert my followers, they are to be ready for tonight, it will be safer and easier for us to get to the school in the dark."

"Very well, my lord" Fenrir bowed, making to leave, only to stop as Tom continued his eyes meeting mine determinedly.

"Oh and Fenrir, tell the Malfoy's they too shall all be joining me tonight"

"Yes, of course, My Lord" Now having apparated away, Tom showed his happiness with a beaming smile, twiddling his wand in his fingers, pacing back and forth in the dining room, his smile only falling when he noticed that I was far from happy.

"Oh don't look at me like that, Clara, dont you understand what this means for us?"

"I understand what it means perfectly, it means that the second wizarding war is about to begin, and that many will lose their lives. You don't have to do this now Tom, you can get the boy away from the castle, where it will be much simpler to kill him"

"Oh I intend to, Clara" And with those words, I knew that this was going to be a long night.