My apologies for the wait. I've been helping with my school's musical for the past few weeks, and it's literally eaten up all my time. :/ But it's over now, and the first thing I did when my free time was returned to me was to finish this chapter. I've missed Tom and Danielle. Hopefully you have too, lol.
By the time night fell, the four of them had only managed to walk five miles. Danielle was exhausted and her energy was spent. Though Alyssa, Dylan and Alphard had been optimistic that they would find Tom at first, the hours dragged by with no sign of him. Danielle was beginning to wonder if they should just go back to the castle, no matter what fate awaited them there.
They finally stopped for the night in a small patch of trees just outside of a Muggle farm, the first sign of civilization all day. Under the secrecy of Tom's Undefinable Location Charm, Danielle managed to create a fire and the four of them huddled closely around it as they ate their dinner.
"How much food do you s'pose we have?" Dylan asked as he bit into a large chicken wing. "Enough to get us to the nearest town, at least?"
"I hope so," said Alphard, looking worried. "I stuffed as much into the bag as I could from the kitchens—the house-elves told me to take as much as I wanted."
"Where is the nearest town?" Alyssa asked sulkily; her mood seemed to be growing steadily worse as the night wore on. "Didn't you bring a map of Britain along, Clara?"
Danielle felt her cheeks turn red; she hadn't had time to plan much before their impromptu escape. "No," she said. "But we can ask the people who live on the farm."
"That'll look really natural," Alphard replied. "Four teens show up at their door asking where the nearest town is. We can say we're runaways, but we don't look nearly enough ragged and undernourished for that yet."
The yet sent a shiver down Danielle's spine. "We'll figure it out tomorrow," she said, trying to be confident. "Now all I want to do is go to sleep."
With their efforts combined, they managed to create a tent that could comfortably fit all of them. It was about twenty feet wide and twenty feet long, with a bunk bed on either side.
Alyssa, Alphard and Dylan all fell asleep right away, but even as fatigued as she was from the day's events, Danielle couldn't sleep. She lay awake for what felt like hours, listening to Alyssa snoring above her.
When it became too much to bear, she pulled on her cloak and stole quietly out of the tent, her half-finished copy of Wuthering Heights in hand.
The wild storm from earlier had given way to a silent night. The only sound was Danielle's boots crunching on the snow. She felt as if she was in a different world entirely; one that only consisted of herself and the deserted woodland.
Her hopes that she would become sleepier by reading appeared to have failed her—she only found herself more awake as she whispered "Lumos!" and opened up the book.
Danielle had only read a chapter when she had the strange feeling someone was watching her. She glanced toward the tent, but there was no one in sight.
"Alyssa? Dylan? Alphard?" she asked, her voice slightly higher-pitched than usual. "Is anyone there?"
It would be impossible for anyone to find them though…Tom's invented spell was virtually foolproof…to everybody except for—
"Tom!" Danielle gasped as soon as she had figured it out.
"How carelessly you defy me, Clara," he said, appearing out of the darkness and striding towards her. "I thought I told you to go back to Hogwarts."
"And I thought I told you that I wasn't leaving," Danielle said firmly, shutting the book and standing up. "Why did you come back?"
"I have been following you all day," Tom said. There were purple circles under his eyes and his cheeks seemed hollower than usual. When was the last time he'd eaten or slept? "Surely you must not have thought that I would just leave you to blindly follow me. If I truly wished to avoid detection, then your search would be futile."
"But that's not my question," Danielle pressed. "I asked you why you came back."
Tom paused. Little flakes of snow were burying themselves amongst his thick dark hair and melting just as quickly. He raked a hand through his hair, betraying his outer calm. "I could not leave you to starve and eventually die out here," he finally spat. "I would have done it with pleasure to your pathetic little excuses for friends—but not—"
Danielle held her breath, but he didn't finish his sentence. His eyes were glowing a brilliant blue in the dim wandlight. "So…you're taking me back to Hogwarts?" she ventured to ask.
"No," said Tom. "Hogwarts was evacuated in the afternoon after a Gryffindor was killed, shortly after you left."
Danielle's blood ran ice-cold. "Someone else…was killed?" she choked.
"The basilisk has the run of the school now, without anyone to control it," he replied tonelessly. "I daresay the professors will be forced to abandon the castle by tomorrow."
Exhaustion and shock were beginning to overcome Danielle. She sat down heavily on the nearest snow-covered log. "Where are you taking me?" she whispered.
"Back to the orphanage in London," Tom told her.
"No," Danielle gasped. "Please—let me come with you, Tom. Please."
"You cannot, Clara," he insisted. "This is something I have to do alone."
"How?" Danielle argued. "I can help you. You're dangerous on your own, Tom."
He paused, but only for a moment. "No."
Angrily, Danielle stood up, but spots were dancing in front of her eyes. She suddenly felt so tired she could barely move. Had she just followed him into the Chamber that morning? It felt like it had been years.
Tom, sensing her imbalance, moved forward to steady her. "Go to sleep," he instructed. "You are exhausted."
"And you aren't?" Danielle challenged. She leaned heavily on him for support.
"I, at least, am still coherent," Tom retorted, with an almost smug tone in his voice—or Danielle could just have been imagining it.
Her vision went black for a second, but she struggled to keep her eyes open. "Don't leave me, Tom," she heard herself mumble as if from a great distance.
He didn't reply, but she felt him lift her up into his arms, and then she was asleep.
An incessant rustling noise woke her up the next morning. Sleepily, she opened her eyes—only to come face-to-face with an enormous black adder.
"Ahhh!" Danielle cried, immediately jumping to her feet.
She was surrounded by hay. It covered the floor and was stacked up along the walls of what appeared to be a barn loft of some sort. Tom must have brought her in here when she had fallen asleep…but why?
Danielle glared at the offending snake, which was coolly appraising her. "Why aren't you in hibernation?" she asked it, not expecting a reply.
It stuck its forked tongue out at her and hissed.
"Well, if you're going to be like that…" she said, plopping onto the nearest bale of hay. Tom was nowhere in sight. Had he just left her?
Danielle surveyed her surroundings. A ladder led down from the loft to the ground, and she could see horse stalls lined up below her. Gentle nickering and whinnying could be heard. This must be the Muggle farm they had been camping near. What if someone came in and saw her?
As if her thoughts had been the trigger, Danielle heard the barn door creak open. She jumped down from the hay and crouched behind it, praying no one would come up. The adder slithered over beside her. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at the snake, but the reptile merely hissed again.
"Hiding, are we?" a coldly amused voice asked.
Danielle had never been so glad to see Tom Riddle in her life. "I thought you had left," she said, standing up and brushing straw off of her clothes. "You could have been the farmer for all I knew."
"The Muggles do not appear to be at home at the moment," Tom said, handing her what looked like a bag of food. "It would perhaps be wise not to stay for long, however."
Danielle looked at him carefully. Though his cheeks were still hollow, he appeared to be well-rested and alert. He had probably been sleeping here too last night…the very thought made her heart skip a beat.
"Where are my things?" she asked, opening the bag to find it full to the brim with fruits and vegetables.
"I took them from the tent last night," Tom replied, summoning her luggage from behind another pile of hay with a flick of his wand. "I assure you your friends had no idea whatsoever of my…intrusion."
"Where are they now?" Danielle asked, too worried to eat.
"I presume they are still there," he answered, kneeling down and offering his hand to the adder, which happily wound itself around his arm. "It is still fairly early."
"Well, I can't just leave them!" Danielle cried. "They'll be wondering where I am."
"No," said Tom. "I left them a note explaining that you had returned to London."
Her mouth fell open. "You forged a—"
"Hush, Clara," the Heir of Slytherin said, standing up with the snake still wrapped around his arm. "What would you rather I have done?"
"They'll think the worst of me now," Danielle moaned, putting her hands over her face and sinking to the ground. "I have to go find them."
Something took her hands and pried them away from her face. "You have one of two choices, Clara," Tom said, his voice soft as it always was when he was most dangerous. The adder, now on his shoulder, bobbed its head as if agreeing. "You may go back to your friends, but I will go on myself. Or you can follow me, but leave your friends."
It took Danielle several moments before she realized what he was saying. She had to choose between her friends and him. Still the same manipulative ba—
"Well, Clara?" Tom asked, keeping a firm grip on her hands and leaning closer. "What will be your decision?"
His eyes were emotionless—but there was a spark of something, deep down, that almost looked like desperation. Danielle couldn't stand to look at him for too long. "I can't choose," she said unhappily, turning her head.
But he grabbed her chin and made her face him. "I have been thinking that perhaps I should bring you along to Albania."
"What?" Danielle asked doubtfully. "Why?"
"You will be a great asset to me, Clara," Tom said persuasively. "I do need someone to keep me…in control."
Danielle blinked several times, her breath catching in her throat. She would never forgive herself if she just abandoned Dylan, Alphard and Alyssa, but Tom was dangerous and he would surely commit murder if there wasn't someone to stop him…
"I'll go with you," she finally mumbled, and instantly regretted her decision. Staying with him was putting herself at his mercy. At least with her friends there, she would have safety in numbers. Who knew what he would do to her, when they were so far removed from the rest of the world?
"You made the correct decision," Tom said smoothly, pulling her to her feet. "I feared that I would have had to take you along against your will."
"What happened to being so adamant about sending me back to London?" Danielle grumbled, ignoring his last comment.
"I realized I cannot leave you, Clara," he replied. "You know too much."
"About you?"
Tom nodded. "I considered killing you," he said, still in the same musing tone. "When I lured you down into the Chamber yesterday, I was planning on leaving you dead. It was not just the influence of the curse."
Danielle's heart dropped. "Then why didn't you?"
"I could not," Tom said bluntly, and turned away. The adder slithered down his arm and disappeared into the hay. "I am risking my life to keep you alive."
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm risking my life to keep you alive," Danielle replied, somewhat awkwardly.
"You are exceptionally unintelligent, Clara," he responded sharply. "I—"
But he never got to finish his sentence, for the adder had glided over to Danielle and squeezed itself around her ankle. Tom hissed sharply and it reluctantly loosened its grip, but continued to watch her warily.
"Why is that thing here?" Danielle asked angrily. "Can you get rid of it, please?"
"His name is Anguis," Tom said. "I woke him up from his hibernation. He knows much about the Muggles who live here and the surrounding area."
"That's all very nice, but when are you going to put him back?" Danielle inquired, glaring suspiciously at the snake.
"I am not," Tom said. "He is coming along with us."
Her mouth fell open. "No, he is not! That thing hates me!"
The ghost of a smirk lit up Tom's face. "You are correct there, Clara," he said. "But as long as I keep him under control, he will not harm you. Adder bites are not usually fatal."
"Did you hear that?" Danielle asked the serpent. "Stay away from me."
"He cannot understand you," Tom said lazily, looking almost amused. He said something to the snake, which slithered away into a bed of straw. "But he promises not to hurt you."
Too bad I can't say the same for you, Tom, Danielle thought. She glanced down at the bag of food that was still on the floor, having completely forgotten about it. "Where did you get that, anyway?"
"The Muggles have enough food to feed the entire village and then some," Tom said dismissively, levitating Danielle's luggage with a careless wave of his wand. "Shall we start on our way, then?"
But Danielle didn't move. "You can't just steal food from someone's house!" she exclaimed. "That's wrong!"
"Would you like me to leave a note explaining who we are and where we are going, along with the fact that we took two of their horses as well?" Tom asked acerbically.
"Two of their horses?"
"I am not planning to walk to Albania," he said stiffly.
Danielle groaned. "At least leave them some money."
"I assume you have hordes of Muggle money to spend?" He sent her suitcase flying over the edge of the loft, where it unceremoniously crashed to the ground.
"No, but I'm still leaving a note," Danielle said stubbornly. She looked around for a writing implement, but when she found none, she settled for scuffing a message in the dirt with her shoe: Took two horses and some food. Will leave compensation.
"What compensation?" Tom asked, who had been observing her progress.
"I dunno, think of something," Danielle snapped.
His lip curled, but he grudgingly turned several pieces of straw into shiny gold bars.
"Happy?" he asked dangerously.
"Yes, thank you," she replied, pretending not to notice the momentary flash of red in his eyes. Merlin, will it kill him to be a decent human being for once?
Then she remembered it was Voldemort she was thinking this about, and felt sick.
When Tom left her to get the horses ready, Danielle quickly changed from her Hogwarts uniform to a more comfortable traveling outfit of a blouse, skirt (she hated the fact that she couldn't wear pants of any sort in this time) and stockings. She wasn't exactly sure how she would manage to ride a horse over long distances with a skirt this short, but it was fast becoming the least of her problems.
She couldn't stop wondering whether she had made the right decision. Alyssa, Dylan and Alphard would surely have realized she was gone by now. What would they think of the note Tom had left them? Would they be angry (surely they would) or would they be scared something had happened to her?
A soft hissing jerked her out of her thoughts. Anguis was slithering up beside her, sticking his forked tongue out. He seemed to be trying to communicate something.
"Tom's not here, sorry," Danielle told him, knowing full well he could not understand a word. "You'll have to wait until he gets back."
The snake coiled himself into a ball and rested his head on the ground, seeming resigned. Danielle was sure to step cautiously over him. "Tom and his snakes," she muttered. "Why can't he prefer a nicer pet, like bunnies or puppies?"
Someone cleared their throat from below. "Everything is ready, Clara," Tom himself called. Danielle peered over the ledge to see him standing at the bottom of the ladder.
"Coming," she called. Anguis rose up again, easily sliding down the ladder and out of sight.
Unluckily for Danielle, the rungs of the ladder were unstable and creaked dangerously as she placed her weight on them. She could feel Tom watching her below. "Can you catch me if I fa—" she began, but her foot caught on a loose nail and she tumbled straight down into Tom's arms.
He held her for a split second longer than he absolutely needed to, surprise temporarily written on his face. Time seemed to have frozen for that moment. For the briefest portion of a second, Danielle could feel everything—the warmth of his body pressing against hers, the way his hands curved around her back, and the steady pounding of his heart beating slightly faster than normal.
But the moment passed, and he set her firmly on the ground next to him. "The horses are outside," he said coldly, and strode towards the doors without a second glance at her.
Confused and slightly hurt, Danielle jogged after him. Just outside the barn doors were two horses tacked up and waiting—one an enormous black stallion with a proud arch to his neck, and next to him a slightly smaller chestnut mare who looked just as regal.
Tom had already swung himself up onto the stallion. Danielle saw a saddlebag, presumably under an Undetectable Extension Charm, securely tied on the horse's back. Anguis had stuck his head out of it and appeared to be watching her.
Hoping her skirt wouldn't tear or ride up, Danielle quickly mounted the chestnut mare and took the reins, feeling relieved that she at least had some method of control unlike on the Thestrals.
Without speaking to her, Tom turned his horse around and began riding away. "You can at least wait for me," Danielle grumbled, nudging her mare forward.
They trotted at first through the knee-deep snow, having to walk in some parts. Though they rode side by side, Tom didn't give any indication that Danielle was there, nor did his head turn towards her. She wanted to speak to him, but was afraid of what he would say. Had she done something wrong? All she'd done was slip and fall. Perhaps he wished he hadn't caught her, and she'd splattered into a million pieces on the ground.
He had said he was planning to kill her…Danielle tried to suppress the nausea rising up inside her. Her hands shook and she felt tears sting at her eyes. That could be a possible explanation…
But if so, why hadn't he killed her yet?
Why couldn't he kill her?
Once they had left farmland behind and came to an open road, they really began to ride. Galloping at full speed, with the icy wind blowing into her face, Danielle found it hard to concentrate on much else other than simply staying on. Her entire body felt as if it was frozen in the saddle. Her stomach growled. Tom had never said where they would be staying at night. Perhaps there was a village nearby, somewhere they could rest.
Danielle's wish was granted several hours later when she saw buildings in the distance. Night was falling and it was getting harder to see. The horses were tiring as well; they had slowed down to a canter but even that seemed to be too fast.
"The majority of this village are wizards," Tom said, his first words in hours, as they entered the town limits. "We should be able to stay at the local inn."
Danielle didn't ask how he knew this. After five minutes of riding through the streets, they came to a cozy-looking brick building that appeared to be a lodge of some sort.
They dismounted and as Tom led the horses away, Danielle entered the inn. She knew at once that it was magical: suitcases floated aimlessly around the room and everyone was dressed in flamboyant wizarding clothes.
The desk clerk looked at her suspiciously as she came up. "We only have one room available tonight," he said. "It has a double bed—who have you come with?"
Danielle thought fast. She could say Tom was her brother, but aside from their hair color they looked nothing alike. She could also say that they were 'friends', but that probably wouldn't bode well in this time.
There appeared to be only one more idea left. Tom would certainly punish her for it, but what choice did she have?
"I've come with my fiancé, sir," Danielle said pleadingly, making her eyes as wide an innocent-looking as possible. "Our families didn't—didn't approve of us getting married, so we're running away."
The clerk didn't look convinced. "Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"
"Hogwarts closed, sir," she said earnestly. "There have been several murders at the school and the Headmaster thought it best to send all the students home."
"So you and your…fiancé are running away," the clerk repeated, sounding bored. "Where is he?"
"Outside with the horses," Danielle said, beginning to feel desperate. It was time to play the ultimate card. "We can't possibly travel any longer tonight, what with my…condition." She placed a hand on her stomach, hoping he would get the message.
This interested the clerk. He straightened up and made a disapproving noise. "Adolescents these days. They're being taught all the wrong values," he said, but handed her a key.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Danielle turned to go just as Tom entered, water running in little rivulets down his coat and onto the floor. He came over to her at once, his sharp eyes searching the room for any signs of danger.
"I wish you two all the best," the clerk told Danielle. "Have a good night."
Tom looked confused at first, but as he stared at the clerk, a look of realization and annoyance dawned on his features. He put his hand on Danielle's back and led her roughly toward a flight of stairs.
As soon as they were out of sight, he snatched his arm away from her as if she were poisonous. "Out of all the excuses you could have used, you had to say you were pregnant?" he snapped.
"I honestly couldn't think of anything else," Danielle protested as they climbed up the steps. "Besides, it worked, didn't it?"
Tom didn't answer to that, but the disgust on his face showed his true thoughts. Danielle wondered if the irritation was due to his own personality, or if it was just a sign of the times. Back in 2011, teenage pregnancy wasn't that much of a scandal. Plus, it said something that they were supposedly getting married, right?
Their tiny room was on the very top floor of the inn. The only furniture was a bed and a dressing-table, with a door adjoining to a bathroom. Danielle felt her heart beat faster imagining the two of them trying to sleep in that tiny bed.
"Perhaps you should rest, dear," Tom said as soon as the door had shut behind them. "After all, it must have been a long and tiring day for you and the child."
Danielle glared at him, but went over to sit on the bed anyway. A copy of the Daily Prophet lay folded up on the pillow.
While Tom unpacked the saddlebag, Danielle read the article on the front page;
Another Mysterious Death at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Hogwarts Headmaster Armando Dippet tells the Daily Prophet that another death has been confirmed at the school late yesterday.
The identity of the victim has been revealed to be a third-year Gryffindor boy, Charlus Potter—
The newspaper slipped out of Danielle's hands and fell to the floor. Tom looked suspiciously at her. "What is wrong?"
But she couldn't answer. All that came out was a repeat of, "Oh, Merlin. Oh, my God. No—no—"
Now Tom was beside her, grabbing her shoulders and turning her around to face him. "Clara!" he said sharply. "What is it?"
Charlus Potter was dead. Harry Potter would never be born. It couldn't be—someone was playing a joke on her—
"He's dead," Danielle choked. "That's not possible."
Tom was speaking to her, but she wasn't listening. The room spun around her.
Everything was ruined. Everything. It wasn't just some minor little thing she had messed up; it was the death of the ancestor of one of the most famous wizards in all history.
Danielle had never been so glad to faint.
