The Serpent's Eye (A Tom Riddle fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Astronomy Tower

"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next best adventure." -Albus Dumbledore

The young witch found it very peculiar when she woke up in the middle of the night. She was use to having traumatic nightmares that jolted her awake in the middle of the night, but she find this dream was more disturbing than any of her nightmares.

Azalea was glancing down at the expansive view of the grounds of Hogwarts, granted to her by the Astronomy Tower that loomed above almost everything. She saw the still water in The Black Lake ripple occasionally when the aquatic life swam too close to the surface. She saw owls do soaring laps around the vast castle. These occurrences were all normal and brought Azalea no discomfort. What did bring the young witch discomfort was when she heard Riddle's voice from behind.

"Extraordinarily scenic, isn't it?" His voice soft as he approached her. Azalea agreed and he took a spot beside her, also admiring the view.

The atmosphere between her and Riddle wasn't as tense as it usually was. Azalea found that she actually felt comfortable in his presence. In her dream state, the enjoyment she got from seeing him wasn't suspicious.

"Would you care for dinner?" As soon as the question came out of his mouth, a small rounded table set with a white cloth materialized. The centre piece was a large wax candle with two smaller candles on each side.

On the table laid two sliver plate with some cutlery. Non-verbally and wandless, Riddle made food appear. The plates were now filled with grilled salmon that had lightly drizzled syrup on it, paired with a side of cooked carrots.

This was one of Azalea's favourite meals and still in her dream state she found nothing to be odd. It was almost as if Riddle knowing her favourite meal was most natural.

Riddle led her to the table, pulling a seat out for her before he went to sit.

Both were content in each other's presence. They spent their dinner laughing and joking with each other. And still, nothing seemed out of place to the young witch.

It was only when she went back to looking at the view did Azalea understand how uncanny the situation was. This was what caused the young witch to jolt awake.

Azalea could remember the part of the dream that disturbed her the most. After the dinner, music started to play and Riddle convinced her to join him in dancing to the melody. Just like during Slughorn's party, Riddle took immediate control of the dance.

It felt as though they were dancing for hours before Riddle stepped away, brushing his lips on her hand as he did so. He held her at arms distance before bringing her in closer once more. Azalea expected that he pulled her in for one last dance before they retired for the night, but she was rather surprised when instead moving to a melody, he pressed his lips against her's. Instantly she found herself responding positively to the kiss.

Azalea remembered liking the kiss she shared with Riddle during the dream which is what disturbed her most.

The young witch's heart was beating way too quickly for her to fall asleep again. Instead, she laid looking at the window, hoping to see any sign of the sun. She knew this was all for naught as the sun wouldn't make it over the horizon for another three hours.

Azalea was internally pondering how to waste those three hours until she heard tapping at the window. A sharp gasp left her mouth in fright as she looked to the window to see who or what was causing the disturbance.