To Answer A Riddle [Tom Riddle Era / Harry Potter]

Entry #16

Elliott was standing outside Hogwarts. He looked up, only to see the building half-destroyed. What had happened? There was no sound around him, only the whistling of the wind in the empty castle. He couldn't remember what he had been doing outside. He went in.

The corridors were empty. His footsteps echoed softly in the halls. Elliott searched for someone, anyone but couldn't find anything living. Only dust and rocks.

He finally reached the entrance of the Great Hall. Elliott slowly opened one of the two large doors. He couldn't help but gasp of surprise upon seeing what had become of the immense room.

The four large tables had been pushed, rather thrown against the walls. All the dishes, plates, bowls, forks, knifes, glasses... Everything was on the ground. No sky was in the ceiling. It seemed... dead.

Elliott carefully made his way to the center of the room. On the little stage where the professor ate, he noticed that there was a large chair in the middle. It somehow seemed like a throne of some sort. It looked like someone was sitting on it, but they were hidden by shadows.

The blonde continued, though his worry only augmented at each step. What had happened here..?

Finally, he reached the small stage. He stood in front of the throne, where he could see a figure sitting.

"So you came," said the silhouette with a voice that sounded painfully too familiar to Elliott.

They rose from the throne and their face came into the light. Pale face, dark hair and greenish eyes...

"Tom...?" whispered Elliott in shock. "What are you-"

"You..." started Tom. He looked sick. Crazy. He went down the small steps and immobilized himself just in front of Elliott. The blonde did not back away.

"You are the only one left..."

Tom smiled sadly. His green eyes seemed to turn darker, redder. He brought his hand to his friend's face and passed his fingers on his cheek. Elliott did not know what to do. His friend looked broken, different, mad...

Tom gave him no time to react. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Elliott's chest.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A bright green light blinded him-

Elliott woke up.

He quickly sat up, gasping for air. His heart was beating like crazy. His breath was short and frantic. He blinked a couple of times to adjust to the darkness of his surroundings. All his roommates were sleeping peacefully.

He pushed away his blankets and buried his head in his hands.

How many times had he had the same nightmare tonight?

Three times? Four?

He took a deep breath and let his tears fall down freely. He couldn't possibly fall back asleep now. His dreams weren't dreams, they were nightmares which haunted his only moment of rest.

He didn't know what to do. Since Elliott had seen Tom's future, he hadn't been able to rest properly. It had been what, like seven hours since they've made Tom's diary in a horcrux?

Elliott's friend had been ravished by the result, but the blonde couldn't bring himself to be happy with his visions still in his mind. They had gone to bed not long after, making sure the horcrux was hidden in the Chamber of Secrets, but it had taken Elliott hours to fall asleep.

He kept being reminded of how Tom would fail and die. How their efforts were for nothing.

But that was not the worst.