Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 28
Tom was bored.
Aidan had disappeared mysteriously without a word to any one once again and the rest of the Court was split in various parts of the castle and grounds doing their own things.
He had finished the last book he had borrowed from the library mere minutes ago and did not feel like going to the library at that moment. The library would undoubtedly be filled with most of the Ravenclaw House student population and a couple of fifth years or seventh years that were either trying to finish their homework or had caught the OWL and NEWT fever. There would be many more of the latter category soon enough.
He sighed as he left the Slytherin Common Room. He was going to explore the castle today. There really wasn't anything else to do besides, there were many forgotten passages within Hogwarts which were said to be hidden by Hogwarts herself until the right person came along and passed that particular part of the castle.
He hoped he would find something interesting today and not walk around in circles as many of the other Slytherins had claimed happened while they walked around the dungeons. There were a few of the other house members that occasionally wandered the dungeons but the larger part of the student population preferred to be on the higher areas of the castle or in the warmer part of the dungeon where it was rumoured that both the Hufflepuff Common Room as well as the kitchens were hidden.
He followed the corridors. One led to the next and almost every corridor looked the same as the last and the one before it. This would have alarmed Tom had he not known that he would not get lost within the dungeons. He had his wand and knew sufficient spells to guide him back to the Slytherin Common Room.
At some point he ended up in a dead end. A single door stood at the end of the corridor. The door was slightly ajar.
Curiosity got the better of him, something he definitely blamed on Aidan. His curiosity had always been controllable before he had met the other boy but Tom preferred to know Aidan that not knowing him. He pushed the door open slowly, making sure there was nothing in the room that would attack him then he stepped into the room.
A single wardrobe was the only thing in the room at first glance. A sweep across the room confirmed it. The wardrobe shook wildly almost as if there was a person trapped inside it but he had not heard of a student getting lost within the dungeons for some time.
Tom drew his wand and carefully moved forward.
The wardrobe suddenly stilled then the door swung open with an ominous creak. Two very ruffled figures staggered out of the cupboard. They clung to each other tightly, the touch looked intimate. His heart nearly stopped when he recognized who it was.
Aidan and Sebastian.
Tom then sighed in resignation. He had promised Aidan and he was not going to break that promise no matter what. Even if it meant losing Aidan to Sebastian as long as Aidan was happy and they could at least remain as friends after all this was over. That would be good enough.
He sighed and was about to leave when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the figures of Aidan and Sebastian spin, distort and change. He turned back to face the newly formed figure.
This time his heart stopped and his mouth went absolutely dry at the horrible sight.
It was still Aidan but he was an unhealthy pale shade and had many cuts and bruises all over the visible parts of his body. His robes had numerous rips in them that were stained a deep crimson. He looked like he had been in a fight with a werewolf.
Tom knew in some part of his mind that this was not really Aidan. It could not be. It was probably a shapeshifter of some sort but that knowledge did not stop him from shooting out the meager amount of healing spells in his repertoire.
None of them had any effect whatsoever, not even the smallest cut healed. He had always thought healing spells were unnecessary to learn and here he was being proven wrong in the most painful way possible.
He could only watch Aidan bleed out slowly.
Aidan had finished early for once. Jeremy had only been able to spare the morning to train him before rushing off for a family emergency of some sort. Dumbledore had picked him up and told him that he had the rest of the day to himself. In Aidan's opinion Dumbledore had sounded slightly regretful but Aidan was relieved for the break nonetheless.
Not knowing where the rest of the Court was or what they were doing, he ended up wandering the passageways of Hogwarts most of which he recognized from either the future or more recent explorations. He almost wished he had forgotten to finish a piece of homework like he had a few times before. He noticed a door that was open down one of the passages he passed. Curiosity encouraged him to move closer and he did.
His eyebrows knitted in confusion as he took in the sight of Tom's crumpled form and a truly horrific imitation of his own body that lay on the floor bleeding heavily. He caught sight of the open cupboard on the other end of the room.
Of course Tom would have found a boggart! Aidan thought in amusement.
Tom's fear was apparently him dying. It was ironic really, once you consider the future.
Aidan sighed when Tom had yet to move even one inch after a few minutes. The other boy did not look like he could have done anything if he tried anyway. Aidan did not know if boggarts had even been found yet in this time.
"Riddikulus," Aidan said firmly banishing the boggart back into the cupboard before it changed into a dementor as if often did for him. He locked the cupboard too for a good measure.
"Aidan!" Tom exclaimed looking around surprised.
Aidan noticed Tom carefully looking him over for the cuts, bruises and blood the boggart Aidan had been covered with. Aidan did not think it would be a good time for him to mention if just yet.
Suddenly Aidan found himself with an armful of Tom. Aidan wasn't sure whether he should have been surprised or amused at the other boy's actions.
"Promise me that will never happen in reality," Tom all but begged.
"You should know better than most that I cannot promise that Tom. You know what a powerful danger magnet I am after all," Aidan said playfully.
"I suppose that I will have to be your knight in shining armour then," Tom said in return with a long suffering sigh.
"Perhaps you shall," Aidan replied with a smirk, "as long as I don't need to save you in the end."
The walk back to the Common Room was silent, Tom not needing his wand to find his way back. He simply followed Aidan who seemed to know where he was going which was surprising considering the fact that Aidan had not even been there for an entire year yet. That was simply another one of those mysterious things about Aidan.
"What was that … thing back there?" Tom asked as they were approaching the disguised door to their Common Room.
"That was a boggart. It is a shapeshifter and takes the form of your greatest fear," Aidan said simply.
Tom was grateful that Aidan did not comment on what he had seen. Tom needed time to figure out the entire boggart scenario himself. The boggart had changed, so had his fear also changed?
The Tom realized something. It was a Saturday and Aidan was here.
"What are you doing here?" Tom blurted out.
"Walking. I was sure you had notice that before," Aidan deadpanned.
Tom gave him a look that told him exactly how unamused he was with Aidan's answer.
"I mean what are you doing in the castle? You usually disappear on Saturdays and you don't reappear until the next day," Tom said.
"Yeah, I finished early today," Aidan stated not offering any more information on the subject.
Tom sighed.
Aidan would tell him when he was ready.
Hopefully.
