Captured In The Night || Tom Riddle

04 - An Unexpected Trip

Edited on 5/30/20.

Five-year-old Sophia looked up at her older brother as tears escaped noisily. The hideous tragedy that was her lunch threatened to tip over. Her brother laughed heartily.

"All right, just eat one more bite and you're done," Newt said.

Sofia instantly stopped crying. She looked at her bowl of cold peas considering her brother's offer. She took a bite and happily tossed the rest aside. She gave her brother a toothy grin and threw her arms around him.

Newt made a face, peeling the girl off of him, making a face at his sister. "Cut it out or I'll give you a smack."

"Where's dad? He's supposed to be home this Christmas. He promised." Sofia frowned.

Newt got up, washing Sofia's dish in the sink. "He's working at the ministry, like usual."

Sofia felt something dropped on her head. She smiled at the straw hat with a white ribbon around it. "Merry Christmas."

"I have something for you too." Sofia rushed over to the chest of drawers and ran back with a thick, balled-up newspaper.

Newt cocked an eyebrow at the poor wrapping but smiled and unwrapped a knitted present.

"It's my first time knitting." Sofia pointed to herself proudly.

Newt smirked, holding up a long blue scarf with several holes. "I can tell. Thank you."

Sofia's face fell, deep in thought. "What am I going to do when you go to Hogwarts next year?"

Sofia's eyes bolted open from her bed, sucking in her breath at the old memory of her brother as she awoke from the dream. She glanced outside, it was still snowing just as it had been in her old memory. His answer was still fresh in her mind.

"Well, you'll just have to survive without me won't you?" Newt's faded voice echoed in her mind.

Sofia sat up, wiping at her face, and scolded herself. "Stop it."

Snape came bursting through her door, startling Sofia. "You better hurry up and start packing unless you're staying here."

She turned and stared at him. "Where?"

"What are you doing still in bed?" He demanded.

Sofia pulled up the covers, realizing she was still in her nightgown. "Where would we possibly be going?"

"Hogwarts." He answered.

Sofia stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "Why?"

Now it was his turn to look confused. "Because Christmas break is over and we don't want to miss the train."

"I already graduated from Hogwarts," Sofia argued.

"Very funny, now hurry up and get dressed or you can explain to Riddle why you slept in and didn't pack his things."

"Wait, Riddle hasn't graduated from school yet?" Sofia asked.

Severus rolled his eyes and closed the door.

"Doesn't anyone around here give straight answers?" She muttered, getting out of bed. She hurried out of her nightgown and slipped into some clothes and a black robe Riddle had given her.

It had been a week since she tried to escape. She wondered why Riddle hadn't done anything to punish her for running away.

Sofia opened Riddle's door to check on him but he was already up and gone. She packed what she could find and set it by the door. Her stomach growled so she went to the kitchen to make an early breakfast. She stopped, her mouth open as a house-elf was making eggs. He didn't have the usual battered clothing of a normal house elf. He wore a pair of khaki shorts, no shirt, and a white kitchen apron with roses tied around his waist.