A/N: Hello there! I'm so, so sorry that I haven't gotten round to replying to the last chapter's reviews yet—but I promise that I'm on it! :) Honestly, I don't really have a whole lot else to add to the Author's Note today, except of course that I hope you enjoy this new chapter immensely. :) And, as always, a huge thanks goes out to all of the lovely people who leave me the incredible reviews that motivate me to write so much: slytherin-principessa, lola, kiwipineapple43, riddlefan, weirdunusualchick, grahamcracker-xx, A crystal tear, RoryAceHayden147, moonstargazer, ALXandRA, xcrescentxmoonx, BellaCullen2312, Alina Devine, kayellis, RIOTAGAINSTAPUSHISTORY, LadyShinkukaze, and licious461.
And also, because a lot of people have asked me about what Audrey said to Tom in the last chapter, I just thought I'd mention that G.B.H. is actually an abbreviated term for 'grievous bodily harm'—basically meaning to beat the absolute crap into someone. I'm really sorry, I didn't realise that it was only a British term when I wrote it. Haha—light, huh?
Music: "Hang You from the Heavens" by The Dead Weather.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; I do, however, own all original characters and storyline.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
A Carriage Ride from Hell
***
Saturday, November 8th 1944
10:55 A.M.
With the arrival of November came a rush of freezing winds from the Arctic. Audrey braved the blistering cold with Stella, Braxton and Reuben by her side—along with all the other Hogwarts students who were in third year or above—to idly await their turn to board the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade for the first trip of the new school year. Fortunately enough for Audrey, Snape had been kind enough to forge her a parental permission slip for the trip to the small wizarding village, inventing a new name for himself and posing as her uncle.
"This is boring," groaned Braxton, rubbing his gloved palms together for an extra bout of warmth as the wind roared past them like a tumultuous animal. "I thought the carriages were supposed to be here by eleven?"
"They are," said Audrey very matter-of-factly. She then grabbed Stella's wrist, shoved up the sleeve of her best friend's heavy jacket, and read her golden analogue watch. "It's only five to, you baby—don't cry."
Braxton huffed childishly next to her, throwing her a mock dirty look as he did so. "There's no need for insults, Audrey. You've already proven on many occasions that you're tougher than the guys."
"Damn straight," she replied shortly.
Just as quickly as the words had left her mouth, the Thestral-drawn carriages suddenly came into view along the dark horizon, moving smoothly along the rough ground.
"Finally!" cried Braxton melodramatically, flinging his arms in the air for effect. "I thought I was going to freeze to death out here for sure."
Audrey snorted. "Shut up, you drama queen," she shot at him.
He ruffled her hair playfully as the line for the carriages began to move forward.
Finally, after what seemed like an age to Audrey, she was clambering aboard one of the carriages and settling comfortably into one of the window seats, and soon after Braxton scooted in just beside her. Across from her, Stella and Reuben took residence beside one and other, gloved-fingers intertwined.
Audrey glared at the loving gesture, for some reason finding herself annoyed by her best friends obvious feelings for each other.
Braxton cleared his throat to get the attention everyone around him. "So what do you all feel like doing today?" he asked conversationally as the carriage eventually began to move.
"Audrey and I are heading to Honeydukes," said Stella pointedly, finally looking away from Reuben long enough to speak. She narrowed her gaze in on Audrey, frowning playfully. "She owes me big time."
Audrey grinned sheepishly at the blonde witch across from her. "Hey, if you didn't want anyone to eat those Chocoballs, you shouldn't have left them just lying around."
Stella gaped at Audrey disbelievingly. "They were under my bed—in a locked trunk!" she squealed indignantly.
Audrey shrugged, fighting a grin. "I was hungry."
"And I still haven't figured out how you managed to unlock that trunk, actually," Stella continued mock-suspiciously. "I had some serious Charms cast on that thing… Are you ever going to tell me how you managed it?"
"Probably not," replied Audrey disinterestedly. Her gaze had wandered from her friends to the open window of the carriage, where just beyond the small town of Hogsmeade was finally coming into view.
"Well," said Braxton after a moment, "while you two head off to Honeydukes, myself and Reuben are going to go to Zonko's. I've exhausted my extensive collection of Dungbombs on the entrance of the Slytherin common room."
Audrey chuckled, turning back to the boy beside her. "Orion Black's face after that attack before Halloween was golden. He was so angry—I've never seen someone turn that shade of purple before."
Braxton roared with laughed for the next ten minutes straight, retelling the story to Reuben and Stella in great detail. When the quartet stepped off the carriage after arriving in Hogsmeade soon after, they decided to go their separate ways and split just outside The Hog's Head.
"We'll meet back with you two at The Three Broomsticks at about one, okay?" called Reuben as he was dragged away by Braxton toward Zonko's.
Audrey and Stella nodded in confirmation before hooking their arms together and making their way toward Honeydukes. The wind whipped past the pair as they walked, icy cold and terribly violent. Many times Audrey had to grab her scarf in fear of it escaping her.
Eventually the pair arrived outside the colourful sweet shop, windswept yet thankfully still in one piece. Audrey pushed the heavy door open and made her way inside, with Stella not far behind. The warmth that greeted them was almost heavenly. Having practically lived in this shop in 1998, Audrey knew her way around the place like the back of her hand. She instantly made her way over to a shelf near the back of the shop that held the Chocoballs and grabbed two packets—one for herself and the other so she could pay back Stella without having to endure a constant string of complaints. Next she grabbed a Chocolate Frog and a small bag of Ice Mice for fun, and finally a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
"Will that be all, dear?" asked the kindly old lady behind the counter when Audrey shoved all her items onto the table.
Audrey nodded, smiling at the elderly woman. "Yeah, thanks."
The two girls left the store shortly after their purchases and headed straight for The Three Broomsticks. The wind outside, it seemed, was fiercer than ever, and almost blew Audrey and Stella away as they made their way down the cobbled and narrow street, despite the fact that their arms were hooked together for safety.
"This is ridiculous," moaned Audrey, grabbing onto her grey knitted scarf as it threatened to blow away once again. "Where is all this wind coming from?"
"The arctic," replied Stella pointedly. "Professor Marina said there's a really big storm coming soon."
"Professor Marina?" echoed Audrey questioningly.
Stella nodded. "She's the Divination teacher. She told us last lesson that there's a huge rainstorm coming mid-week."
Despite having achieved an 'Outstanding' for Divination in her O.W.L., Audrey had never really put much faith in the subject—she found it interesting; not substantial. "And how does she know that?" she asked sceptically.
"Something about the tea leaves she read in her afternoon Irish coffee," she said disinterestedly, absently playing with the end of her jacket. "And then she did mention that Saturn was in the Third House…but, to be honest, I'm not really sure what she was banging on about."
Audrey did not respond with the scathing comment she had prepared as the pair had finally arrived outside their intended destination—the small and rustic tavern aptly named The Three Broomsticks. Audrey pushed open the heavy wooden door and her nose was instantly assaulted by the odious stench of stale Butterbeer and tobacco. Putting her best efforts into ignoring the smell of smoke because it made her sick, Audrey took a glance around the small tavern. It was very dark and small, but was oddly comfortable, with a plethora of small tables and booths scattered around the room.
As her eyes raked over the space, she noticed Camilla Clearwater and Oliver Stewart near the back, looking suspiciously comfortable in each other's presence.
Stella, it seemed, had noticed also. "Oh!" she cried, a smile lighting her face in a polarised contrast to the dreary weather. "Let's go sit by Camilla and Oliver!"
Suddenly Audrey was being violently pulled by the arm toward the back of the tavern. When the two girls reached the booth, Oliver and Camilla looked up, and smiled in welcome.
"Hey, you two!" greeted Camilla warmly. "Come sit down!"
Though Audrey would have much preferred herself in other company—Camilla had the tendency to be rather bitchy when something did not go her way—she reluctantly slid into the booth beside Stella, though still glowered to make her feelings perfectly clear.
Stella, on a polar opposite, was grinning from ear to ear. "Aw, you two look so cosy! I take it you're now officially…?" She trailed off suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows.
Audrey frowned, though nonetheless shot Stella a questioning glance. "Officially what?" she asked the blonde.
"Officially dating," piped in Camilla, just as Oliver leaned in to kiss her forehead. "And yes, we are."
"Oh." Once again, Audrey found herself oddly upset by the thought of more romance.
"Where's Reuben and Braxton?" asked Oliver after a moment. "I'm supposed to Apparate with them to Diagon Alley at twelve—we're going to go and check out the new broomsticks in Quality Quidditch Supplies."
"Isn't it against school policy to Apparate outside of Hogsmeade?" questioned Audrey suspiciously. Neither Braxton nor Reuben had mentioned that they were planning an extra trip to London today.
"It is," said Oliver with an impish grin. "But what Dippet doesn't know won't kill him."
"Right," said Audrey flatly, putting such information in her memory bank for later. "Well, they headed off to Zonko's about a half hour ago—you could probably still catch them there if you hurry…"
Oliver nodded, sneaking a glance at the watch on his wrist, before sliding out of the booth. "I'll see you all later." He then leaned down once more to kiss Camilla; Audrey had to look away.
When Oliver had left the tavern for sure, and was definately out of earshot, Stella and Camilla launched into girlish ramblings. "Oh, he's such a good kisser!" cried Camilla delightedly, grinning like a maniac. "And he's just too thoughtful—he bought me this huge bag of sweets from Honeydukes today, and then took me to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop! It was so romantic!" She sighed dreamily, then turned back to Stella and addressed her. "Is that what Reuben's like? I just can't imagine him being romantic with you—he seems so…distant."
Stella nodded enthusiastically, a strange sort of gleeful glint her eye. "I know, right? But he is romantic! Last Valentine's Day he Apparated us to London and then took me out for dinner."
Audrey shifted in her seat awkwardly. All this talk of boys and relationships was staring to make her feel rather uncomfortable—and, as much as it annoyed and infuriated her to admit it…jealous. Truthfully, Audrey did not felt envy very often in her life—she was generally happy with what she had been allotted—though hearing two of her friends talk about how great their relationships were was making her green.
"…and he's coming to my house to stay over at Christmas! I wonder what he'll get me as a present?"
Too much. "I need to go," said Audrey all of a sudden, scooting from the cosy booth as quickly as possible.
Stella looked up, perplexed by the suddenness of her friend's departure. "Why?" she asked.
"I don't feel well," she explained, and was gratified instantly when she realised that it didn't sound like too much of a lie. "I really think I better head back to the castle."
Stella looked both alarmed and sympathetic. "Do you want us to come with you?"
"No," Audrey very nearly shouted. On the contrary, that was the last thing she wanted. "I'll just tag along in someone else's carriage and go lie down in the dorm. I'll see you both later."
She then fled from The Three Broomsticks before Stella or Camilla could even try and stop her. She ventured back outside into the nipping winds and tightened her scarf around her neck, her teeth involuntarily chattering from the cold. She then made her way toward Hogsmeade Station, where the carriages would no doubt be waiting for people to return when they so wished.
Why the bloody hell am I suddenly jealous of relationships? she wondered as she trekked through Hogsmeade to the station. I never was before…
Audrey went over the many possible answers in her head, though stopped when she reached the carriages because she figured she probably wouldn't like the answer to the question. She feared it was something to do with what she had told Riddle before the Halloween dance—about being lonely when no one really knew you.
How frightening is it that Tom Riddle probably knows me the most?
She frowned at the absurd thought, but somehow managed a smile when she saw that one of the Thestrals was lingering in front of the last carriage. Despite the fact that they were deemed unlucky by most wizards, Audrey had always quite liked them—they were special to her because she was one of the few people that could see them. She looked around—just to check that no one was watching—before reaching out to pet the strange creature. Her fingertips had only just lightly brushed the leathery skin of the Thestral when she heard someone approach behind her.
"Fitch."
She spun around, alarmed and with a hand over her heart, to see that it was Riddle who had said her name. "Why are we always bumping into each other?" she asked him, slightly breathless from the fright. "And I thought you were free of me for the next month? What gives?"
Audrey hadn't really thought that he would be the one to go back on their agreement.
Riddle looked at her for a moment before his gaze flickered to the space behind her. "What were you doing?" he demanded.
Audrey did not like his tone one bit—in fact, she found it rather rude—but found herself saying anyway, "Though I doubt it's any of your business, Riddle, I was petting this Thestral." She then turned back to the creature and touched its black skin lightly again, being extra careful and gentle.
The Head Boy raised an eyebrow quizzically. "You can see Thestrals?" he asked, and Audrey did not miss the slight undertone of scepticism in his voice.
"Yes," she said. There was no point in denying it when he could no doubt see them, too. Though, just to check, she asked casually, "And I suppose you can, too?"
There was a small, but he eventually said, "No, I can't."
Audrey turned back to him very slowly, only now she was the one looking sceptical. She had read before she had come to 1944 that Riddle had murdered his father and grandparents before his seventh year, which would have meant he could see the Thestrals by now. Was he lying? "What do you mean?" she asked, not bothering to hide the blatant distrust in her voice. "How did you know I was doing something then?"
"You're always doing something," he said simply.
Audrey found herself conflicted by the boy in front of her. If he was truly telling the truth, then he hadn't murdered anyone yet, and so he hadn't begun his Horcruxes. Which was absurd.
He has to be lying.
"You really can't see them?" she pushed again.
Riddle genuinely looked perplexed by her distrust of his answer. "That's what I said, Fitch."
I think he's telling the truth. Audrey didn't know how she knew, or why she believed him in the first place, but she was absolutely positive that Riddle was being honest with her. Which meant that he hadn't killed anyone yet.
And it meant that Audrey was either a fool or an idiot.
Suddenly a pair of deep voices intruded on their civil conversation, and then Malfoy and Avery came into view, looking distinctly happy with themselves. They were grappling onto large bags of Honeydukes sweets and Zonko's joke products, and looked very accomplished with their haul—which probably had something to do with the fact that they had stolen them.
Avery stopped dead when he noticed Audrey lingering by the lone carriage, though, much to her surprise, he did not look angry—despite the fact that she had rammed a solid gold goblet into his ribs just over a week ago. "Well, well," he drawled, smirking, before letting out a low whistle. "Looks like you're stuck with us for the ride home, huh, Audrey?"
With dawning horror, Audrey realised that Avery's statement was the truth. The Thestral that she had been petting was the last one at the Station, which meant that she would either have to get on with the three Slytherins or wait another hour until some more came back from Hogwarts—and she couldn't do that because the wind was so icy and violent that it was verging on painful.
She glared at Avery for a long moment. "I guess," she said darkly. "Only I'm not suck with you, Avery; you're stuck with me." Her gaze flickered momentarily to Riddle—who she wanted very much to believe would stick up for her if Avery tried anything, thought knew it would never happen—before she climbed aboard the last carriage.
She took a window seat—just as she had done on the ride over—and was not surprised when Riddle, Avery and Malfoy climbed in behind her. Malfoy, however unusual it seemed, took the pleasure of sitting beside Audrey, whilst Avery and Riddle sat across from her.
A second later, the carriage began to move very slowly in the direction of Hogwarts.
"Don't tell me you came to Hogsmeade alone?" asked Avery with a smirk. "Your friends ditch you?"
Audrey begrudgingly dragged her eyes from the window to Avery. She could practically feel the dark glower on her face. "Avery, let me be perfectly clear here: You're scum. Talk to me on this ride back at your own risk."
"Mm," hummed Avery, stilling grinning disgustingly. "I'll take that as a definitive 'yes.'"
Audrey groaned, striving desperately to tune his voice out of the receptors in her head. She instead tried to focus on the sound of the wind rattling the carriage outside.
"So why'd they ditch ya?" he asked after a moment. "I thought Reuben had taken quite a shine to you—thought he was trying to get you to go out with him, actually."
Audrey threw him a dirty look. "He has a girlfriend, you letch. Now shut it."
"Oh, yeah," said Avery, who was suddenly not smiling anymore. His expression had turned black, like the staleness of ashes left after a fire. "That's right. Stella Roberts…the Mudblood."
Very slowly, Audrey moved her gaze from the window to Avery's smarmy face. She could feel the angry blood pounding in her ears and in her chest, like the beat of a drum before the battle began. "What did you call her?" she hissed.
"A Mudblood," shot back Avery nastily. "She's disgusting, filthy… Shouldn't be allowed to live, if you ask me."
So sudden the act was almost missed, Audrey's wand was out of her coat pocket and pointed straight at Avery's chest. "No one asked for your opinion," she growled. "And, for your information, you're the disgusting one, you waste of space. If I ever, ever catch you saying something like that about Stella again, I swear to Merlin that I will kill you."
Avery was glaring even daggers at Audrey—so fierce she would have died on the spot had looks been able to kill. Though, out of the blue, she felt a wand dig into the side of her neck…
Malfoy.
The wind was howling outside the carriage, fierce and raw, like an animal in pain.
"Put your wand down, Fitch," snarled Malfoy warningly.
Out of instinct, Audrey's eyes darted to Riddle, and she saw that he was utterly impenetrable. There was no emotion whatsoever on his face, though he was twirling his wand between his fingers, utterly as ease.
Audrey suddenly remembered with a start that Avery and Malfoy were some of his followers—his Death Eaters to be—and that he would not dare curse them, no matter how much progress she had made with him over the past two months.
"Or what?" she snapped in Malfoy's direction, her pride winning over her rationality. "What will you do?"
Malfoy seemed to deliberate for a moment—in which time his eyes darted to Avery twice—before he said, very evenly, "I'll Imperio you to out it down."
Audrey snorted. "Do it," she said solemnly. "I'll still curse Avery first, and I've had much, much worse." Which was true. The two-dozen Cruciatus curses she had endured at the Carrows hands over the past year and the scars on her back were proof enough of such a statement.
There was a small, desolate silence—though the wind howling outside the carriage was as loud as ever—before, eventually, Malfoy began, "Imper—"
"I think that is quite enough," cut in Riddle very suddenly—his voice was, as always, eerily calm and collected. "Put down your wand, Abraxas. Fitch won't be cursing anyone today."
"Won't I?" retorted Audrey as the wand cruelly digging into her neck relented. She could feel a bruise arising on her skin already. "I think I'd enjoy teaching Avery here a lesson."
Avery glared at her some more. "Fitch, I swear that when I see you alone next—"
"Fitch, put your wand down," said Riddle, "or I will put it down for you."
Audrey did not doubt that—and she had to admit, no matter how begrudgingly, that she was quite afraid of Riddle and what he was capable of. Very slowly, she removed her wand from Avery's chest and placed it back in her jacket pocket. "There. Happy?"
Riddle nodded once before averting his attention back to the window and the scene outside. From the looks of things, pounding rain had began hurtling toward the Earth.
"You're supposed to be a pureblood," snarled Avery from across the aisle. "You're a disgrace to wizard kind—a filthy blood-traitor."
Audrey laughed humourlessly. "Clearly, Avery, you and I have very different views on what a disgrace to the name of wizardry means."
The rest of the carriage ride back to Hogwarts was filled with an uncomfortable silence. When the ride finally came to an end, Audrey was the last person out of the carriage. Up ahead, she saw Avery and Malfoy running through the pouring rain back up to the castle.
Much to Audrey's surprise, though, Riddle had waited behind to speak with her. He was soaked through and through. "You can see Thestrals," he mused, drips of rainwater running off his dark hair. "Does that have anything to do with your parents?"
Audrey was surprised by the question—it almost made her forget about the fact that she was standing in the pouring rain and talking with the future Lord Voldemort. "Yes," she admitted after a moment. "I saw my mum die when I was eleven...my dad a year later."
Riddle didn't apologise as a normal person would have—he obviously wasn't the type for niceties—but Audrey was glad in that moment that he wasn't. She had heard it too many times before.
He simply nodded.
Audrey didn't particularly feel like explaining how they had died to anyone in that moment, and so instead she chose to start walking back up to the castle, slowly making her way through the downpour of rain.
Tom Riddle followed her the entire way.