Chapter nine:

Ghostly Information

It was now the last day of 1943 and also had been Tom's 17th birthday. Elizabeth wanted to get something for Tom but wasn't sure what he would like or if he would even want it. New Years eve was spent at Hogsmeade by herself, bundled up in her black trench coat and Ravenclaw scarf. She thought about two shops; either Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop where she always got her ink and parchment paper or Gladrags Wizardwear to find a nice cloak, something for warmth while they did Tom's endeavors. A part of her felt motherly but she was nothing but a death eater recruit and perhaps sex slave. She figured the worst thing that would happen would be Tom not liking her gift and tossing it aside. Sighing, she decided to enter Gladrags Wizardwear and went inside into the warm shop. Looking through the cloaks and men's clothing, one of the saleswizard walked over to her. "May i help you, miss?" he asked. Elizabeth glanced her blue eyes at the red haired saleswizard. "Actually, im just looking for a birthday present for my boyfriend. He's rather hard to shop for." she explained. It was true, Tom was hard to shop for because she didn't exactly know what he liked besides power. She had went back and forth on just bottling up some of her blood to make him happy, though he would most likely get that anyway.

The saleswizard paused for a moment before responding. "What does he like? I know the trend for most male wizards these days is a nice scarf or perhaps a flashy cloak." he explained. Elizabeth frowned a bit, knowing this was definitely not what Tom would be into. "He likes to feel powerful and normally likes dark clothing. He's a Slytherin." she explained hesitantly. "Then you're in the right section. A dark cloak would suit him perfectly im assuming." he pointed out. Elizabeth picked out a long, black cloak and bought it, leaving the shop with it gift wrapped in a bag and headed back to the castle. Upon entering the school, Elizabeth walked down the hallway towards her Ravenclaw common room, passing the Great Hall and as she turned the corner, she didn't know Tom had followed her once he left the Great Hall. Flashing a light smug, Tom had caught up to her and pulled her towards him, gently pushing her against the wall.

Elizabeth clutched the gift bag as she eyed Tom. "Where have you been?" Tom spoke harshly, demanding an answer to her absence all morning and afternoon. Elizabeth was caught off guard but bit her cheek. "I was in Hogsmeade, getting this for you." she explained, adding "Happy birthday." Elizabeth stated in a hostile tone, pressed the bag to his chest, having him grip the bag and she got from his grip, walking off. She was irritated on how he questioned her every move even knowing she was under the unbreakable vow. Tom watched her walk off before opening the bag, to find the quality black cloak inside. Tom wasn't used to ever having his birthday recognized, growing up in the orphanage, they never celebrated birthdays. A slim part of Tom felt guilty on his action towards Elizabeth but being Tom, he wouldn't admit it. Elizabeth made it to the seventh floor, deciding to hide away in the room of requirement before that being one of the first places Tom would look.

"The cloak fits. Quite useful." Tom admitted. Elizabeth, standing feet from the wall had supposed it was Tom's way of thanking her without the exact words. She looked over at Tom while he approached her. "I don't exactly celebrate my birthday but rather pleased you remembered." Tom explained. Elizabeth smiled briefly, nodded before pulling him into the room of requirement - after all it was his birthday. It wasn't until later that night they left the room to have dinner at the Great Hall then to their common rooms.

Months had passed and it was now passed the year anniversary of Myrtle's death. Tom, who was now head boy, had been dabbling more and more into the dark arts as time to leave Hogwarts approached closer. This meant she also would need to bring him to speak with Helena Ravenclaw very soon. It was June 1944, Elizabeth was seventeen as well as Tom and Elizabeth was in the library, studying for the end of the year exam. She knew that Helena Ravenclaw has never spoken about the whereabouts of the lost diadem to anyone and was unsure exactly how they were going to convince the ghost of Ravenclaw house. Entering the library, Tom approached the table Elizabeth had been sitting and took a seat across from her. "I need to speak to Helena Ravenclaw. Tonight." he demanded. Elizabeth nodded as she closed her Defense Against the Dark Arts book. "I do need to warn you, she's a little sensitive. For a ghost." she explained, saying that lightly, knowing her house ghost was touchy.

Tom kept his piercing eyes on Elizabeth for a mere moment. "That is why you will be going with me. To reassure her trust." he informed. Elizabeth nodded. They both left the library and planned to meet up near the Ravenclaw house that evening. Once evening came, Elizabeth walked down the spiral staircase and exited the common room, spotting Tom waiting. "She ought to be by the corridor." Elizabeth directed as both she and Tom walked towards the corridor that Helena was normally haunting. Once there, Elizabeth recognized the grey ghost floating about the corridor and figured she would address the ghost first. "Helena?" she addressed. Helena Ravenclaw halted before curiously turning around, spotting Tom Riddle nearby. "Why is there a Slytherin, here?" Helena speculated, she was getting skeptical. Elizabeth looked over to Tom before turning her focus back to the Ravenclaw ghost. "He has a question, particularly about our house...well, really about you. He likes Hogwarts history. If you don't mind?" Elizabeth asked. Helena floated around Elizabeth and came to a stop in front of Tom. Elizabeth decided to step away from the two, remaining close by but feet behind Tom. "What is it you wish to ask me...Slytherin..." Helena hesitantly asked in a curious tone.

Tom was confident and parted his lips to speak to the ghost. "I was quite wondering, more so, about you." he started, working his charm on the ghost. Elizabeth overheard his charming tone and had to admit, she was a little jealous but knows Tom was just getting information. Helena was quite interested and found herself impressed that the Slytherin wanted to know about her. "I was the daughter of the prestigious Rowena Ravenclaw, a pureblooded family and as you may know, i was sorted into Ravenclaw house. Constantly had gotten compared to my mother. I wanted to be my own being." she explained. Tom pretended to care, but his mind was set on the diadem. "That's awful to be compared to a parent whom has such a reputation among Hogwarts. Everyone deserves individuality." he acted in empathy, before parting his lips once more as Helena fell right into his trap, floating to the end of the corridor. "I heard from Elizabeth , whom is in Ravenclaw about the lost diadem. Curiosity entices me." he pressed charmingly for information. Helena smiled at his words, as she floated back." Funny you ask about that. You see, I stole the diadem. I sought to make myself cleverer, more important than my mother. I ran away with it. My mother, they say, never admitted that the diadem was gone, but pretended that she had it still. Silly of her." she explained.

Tom took in the information, tilted his head slightly. "Where did your cleverness bring you with the diadem? And how exactly did you die?" he asked. Tom added the bit asking about her death in order to clear any suspicion. "I left to Albania, to a deep forest that resided in Albania. A lonely place I thought was far beyond my mother's reach. Placing such diadem in a hollow tree so she would not find it." she explained, floating passed Tom, looking at Elizabeth before turning back to the Slytherin head boy. "Apparently my mother sent the baron to fetch me but i refused to go. Therefore he stabbed me with his sword, killing me. Then killed himself." she added. Once Tom gathered the information he indeed needed, he would excuse himself. "That's terrible, Helena. I'm glad that i got to know you and your background." he stated, gesturing he needed to leave. Helena then floated off and disappeared. Both Tom and Elizabeth exited the corridor, he was rather pleased by the answers he had gotten and was already planning a trip to Albania during the summer after Hogwarts.

"I assume you got what you wanted?" Elizabeth asked curiously. Tom then pressed her up against the wall in the empty hallway, looking smug. "Yes, i did. Therefore i am rather pleased." he flirted, tracing her jawline with his index finger. Elizabeth kept her blue gaze onto his as he leaned in to press his lips onto hers, kissing her softly. Elizabeth had always gave into Tom's charm, he most definitely had succeeded in having her wrapped around his finger. Elizabeth gave in and kissed Tom passionately, even though she knew she was just a simple, useful, lifetime puppet in his hand. Instead of going straight to their dormitories, they made their way to the seventh floor and entered the room of requirement. This would be the last time for a private intimate get together before they graduate Hogwarts and move onto Tom's quest for power - at least to Elizabeth's knowledge. Stepping into the room of requirement and as soon as the bed appeared, they clasped together like magnets. Undressing each other, they made it onto the bed and slept together once more but making it last just a little longer. Tom, in his own mind, was rewarding Elizabeth for her accomplished help. Something was different this time but Elizabeth couldn't put her finger on it.

Once they finished, making love on her part but only sex on his end,they had gotten dressed and fixed back up to normal. Then it set on Elizabeth...this time Tom didn't use the Sterilization Charm. He normally did the charm in silence but she would notice its presence but this time perhaps they forgot. Elizabeth was frozen at the mirror, at the thought of a possible chance she could be pregnant with Tom Riddle's child. She knew she couldn't tell him about tonight, the fact they forgot about the charm because of her fear of his anger. If it happens to be true that she's pregnant, she would have to explain. Tom noticed her frozen disposition and decided to walk up behind her. "Is there a problem?" he asked attentively. Elizabeth bit her bottom lip before giving a gentle smile. "No, no problem. I suppose I'm slightly nervous after graduation." she stated, it wasn't a lie, she was nervous about the upcoming endeavors but she just replaced that issue with the current one. Tom placed his hands on her shoulder in order to turn her around to face him. "There's nothing to be nervous about. It will go just as planned, we will succeed and i will become the greatest sorcerer in the world." he explained, getting a tad caught up at the end.

Elizabeth nodded, flashing a grin on her face. "That's better." Tom pointed out before gathering his uniform robe and they both left the room of requirement to their dormitories. As Elizabeth lifted the bronze knocker on her house door, waiting for the riddle to be given, she felt odd about the possibility of carrying a part of Tom inside her. She knew if she were to have a child, she wouldn't put it into an orphanage. It was the last thing she'd do.

A voice then broke her thoughts with a riddle. 'The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?'

Elizabeth knew it was a new riddle from the day before about a Phoenix. Elizabeth knew it right away though. "Footsteps." she answered.

The voice replied, 'Granted.' and the door opened, letting Elizabeth enter in through the door and up the stairs to the common room.

Elizabeth noticed that the common room was empty as she supposed that her house mates had went to bed. She sat on the dark blue sofa near the window and just dove into her thoughts. She wasn't sure if she was to have a child if it would be part vampire too or it would just be a normal witch or wizard. It would be terrible if it had ended up a squib, if so it definitely wouldn't be raised in the magical world. She had also thought about Tom's reaction if she was pregnant. Would be thrilled or would he be furious, possibly attempting to have her lose the child? Elizabeth knew his focus and desire was power, so a child would interrupt those goals. If she could, she would more than likely be happy to have her mother raise it as she keeps working for Tom, what she had promised in the unbreakable vow. Nonetheless, she will find out in the months to come; for now, she will have to keep quiet about it. Hearing footsteps, she noticed the Ravenclaw head boy walk down the steps from the boys dormitory. "Get to bed, you're not to be put of bed after hours, Winters!" he exclaimed before yawning, "Just because your boyfriend is head boy of Slytherin doesn't mean you're allowed out late." he added. Elizabeth sighed before getting up and heading to the girls dormitory, though she highly doubted she would be in trouble from being with the Slytherin head boy all night but she wasn't in the mood to argue.

The next day, she went to the library after classes had ended and curiously went looking to see how long it took for a woman to notice if she's pregnant. She had taken Muggles studies years ago but needed to double check. Sitting at a table with a book about pregnancy and another book under it being her potions book incase she needed to hide it, she read through the book.

'If the woman happens to be a muggle, pregnancy usually is noticed within 6 weeks. For a witch, it can be within 4 weeks. For a completely different creature such as an elf or vampire, most likely 2-3 weeks upon notice. Symptoms include: nausea, enlarged breasts, fatigue...'

That was when Elizabeth closed the book, pausing for a moment to take it in before shuffling the books, setting the pregnancy book on the chair beside her in order to hide it when someone walked into the library. To her relief, it wasn't Tom but it happened to be a Hufflepuff student walking passed. Graduation was just weeks away and Elizabeth was more so worried if any staff at the school noticing and being expelled before graduation.After finding her answers, she decided to grab her potions book and she left the library. For now, she just had to focus on her exams, try not to stress over the possibility until she gets the symptoms.