Braving the Past

Chapter 47: In Which Tom Wonders How Many Prisons He Must Escape

Tom was angry.

No, he wasn't just angry. He was furious, livid.

He hadn't felt this upset since he'd first met the mysterious Gryffindor girl all those months ago. It felt more like a lifetime ago - which, in a way it was.

If he could just get this blasted wand to work, he could be out of that room in an instant.

Tom had actually been quite surprised when that nasty Professor had dropped him in the room without confiscating his wand, but he supposed he'd better make it count as it wasn't likely to happen again.

He only waited a very long minute after the door was shut and locked to begin whacking the borrowed wand around in an attempt to make it behave. It spit out a spark here, a puff of smoke there.

"Relashio," he whispered.

Multiple rips were made through the thin sheets of the creaky old twin sized bed that furnished the otherwise empty bedroom.

Tom growled and smacked the wand against the bed frame. Then he tried again.

"Relashio!"

The tight ropes finally loosened and fell to the floor with a heavy thwack.

"It's about time," he muttered, hurrying to the door.

It was locked, but upon swishing his wand at the handle, a soft click sounded and it opened right up.

Tom couldn't help but wonder how on earth these people were still alive if their poor imprisoning skills were anything to go by. Glancing one way and then the other, there was no one to be found. Tom slowly drifted back the way he had been brought.

He still wasn't sure what his plan was. Did he want to tell off Harry Potter for being a selfish prick or was it in everyone's best interest that he sneak away and get Hermione back himself?

As he neared a set of stairs, passing another closed door, Tom could hear hushed voices drifting up from below. He could make out a couple familiar ones, the Weasley woman, Luna, and Severus Snape to name a few.

"...he could have killed me when we met but he didn't," Luna was saying in her light voice.

"Unless he wanted you to show him where we were hiding," Snape said condescendingly.

"Then he could have killed me once we had arrived," Luna retorted. "Instead he let Harry beat him up."

"I'm sorry dear," came Molly Weasley's kind voice, "but Harry's right. This boy could be anybody, and we can't take the risk."

"I don't understand how you could think that-"

"Tom Riddle is You-Know-Who," Harry's voice rang out.

Everyone went dead silent. Tom gulped.

Laying aside the fact that Harry knew exactly who he was - and Tom certainly wasn't going to try to guess how he knew that - with his secret out, he wouldn't even have Luna on his side. He had to find a way out before he was caught. It was clear these people had no intention of helping him.

In a way, Tom realized the good guys tended to be more prejudiced than the bad ones. He never was able to get a Gryffindor to trust him.

He wasn't even positive that Hermione did.

In the thick silence that followed Harry's revelation, Tom heard the floorboards creak behind him.

He whirled around wide-eyed to see an open door that he could have sworn had been closed. It was blocked by a stocky man with bright red hair and a face covered in freckles. Even more to Tom's surprise, the man didn't seem particularly bothered to see Tom sneaking around their hideout.