Disclaimer: This chapter is also explicit. If you want to skip it, go to a little bit less than halfway through the chapter.
Albania
(1947-1957)
August 29, 1951, cont.
After searching the entire third floor and subsequently almost the entire second, Eva Smith finally found Tom Riddle. She walked through the doorway of a large bedroom and saw his clothes thrown onto the bed. Furniture in the room was sparse with only a bed, a nightstand, a small sofa, and a large armoire nestled in the corner. It did have the luxury of being connected to a private bathroom. The room was partially humid from the steam of the shower that turned off as Eva entered, and the smell of the soap wafted around the room
The fresh smell of the room reminded her of how unclean she felt. She was desperate for a shower. After a while of being left on the roof in her half-naked state, the filthiness of the day crept over her even though it was barely noon. She wasn't at all pleased at how Tom had left her. As she wandered around the unfamiliar house, feelings of soreness and hunger began to add their complaints.
The door to the bathroom was closed as she stood next to the bed, attempting to retrieve her wand from her dress pocket. In an effort to keep busy while she restlessly waited for her turn for the shower, Eva mended Tom's shirt with a couple of well-placed spells. Though she was bothered by Tom's lack of proper affection, she couldn't help but take care of him. Next, she lifted his khaki trousers in the air, trying to practice her telekinetic skills, and sent a purple-sparkling charm that instantly ironed the fabric. She ironed the black robes too, making sure to remove his wand first. Lastly, she spun her wand in the air and yellow sparks showered all the articles of clothing, instantly washing them. The old copies of Witch Weekly Druella and Norma sent her through the years let her develop fairly reliable housewife skills. A door cracked open as soon as she finished the spell to fold the clothes.
With a large towel wrapped around his waist, Tom emerged from the bathroom scrubbing his black hair dry with a smaller towel. All of the frustration she had for him melted away as soon as Eva caught sight of him. She'd seen him half naked plenty of times, but her yearning for his body never faded.
He was the perfect height: tall enough to tower over you yet close enough to kiss. He had the perfect body too. Tom was average build, neither gangly or stocky, and strong without being too muscular. His chest and stomach were well defined, and she wanted so badly to touch him. Looking at his face, she observed that he must have removed his disguise charm since they had last seen each other. Never in her life had she seen a man as handsome as Tom Riddle. Though she was soiled from head to toe, Eva no longer wanted to shower right away. She wanted him to compensate her for what he had done earlier.
Tom was combing through his hair with his fingers when he noticed Eva standing next to the bed, staring at him. "The shower's ready for you," he stated, his face blank of emotion. From his tone, he wasn't as eager to have Eva in her state. Her hair was now limp and she smelled of dragon smoke, not to mention her ripped shirt. Realizing a shower would be for the best, slowly and silently she passed him to enter the foggy bathroom while her lower half tingled with soreness from earlier.
Before she turned to close the door, Tom blurted out, "Wait." Eva turned back to see him, now sitting on the bed with his towel still wrapped around his waist and thighs disregarding the clothes she had laid out for him. His face was serious as he continued. "Undress out here."
Eva glanced at the floor and tried to keep her face still, half-nervous about what he was planning. "Yes, my lord," she answered back, willing to follow his commands. Before any clothes were removed, she handed him her wand, knowing he would keep it safe. Although they were experienced lovers, Eva felt a thrill whenever she undressed in front of him. It wasn't natural to her, and very rarely would she find enough courage to do it for him without being asked.
Her shirt and skirt came off easily. Next, she unhooked her bra and dropped it to the floor. Eva's eyes looked to Tom's for any sense of approval, but he sat unmoving on the bed, observing her with a still face. Lastly, the final piece of her clothing was removed, and she couldn't help but partially cover herself.
"Arms to your side, and spin around," Tom's deep voice instructed her. Nervous from her complete exposure, Eva looked up to the ceiling and blushed at the sound of his command. She hesitantly pulled her arms to her sides and turned all the way around. She stopped facing Tom again, who was like a statue. "Again, but slower this time," he instructed once more, with a slight edge to his voice.
Eva wasn't sure how to feel about this out-of-the-ordinary physical examination, but she enjoyed being the center of his attention. Eva's lips curled into a small smile as she obeyed. Her back was turned to him when he said forcefully, "Stop." She froze, staring at the open bathroom door. Eva was overwhelmingly curious about what Tom would do next, hoping he would at least caress her bare skin and not leave her standing untouched. Her insides were beginning to boil, wanting to be covered by his body and feel the warmth of him.
Tom's serious voice told her, "Bend over." Her grin grew a little larger. She hoped he would soon find her irresistible and satisfy the growing ache between her legs. She took a deep breath and slowly reached her fingertips to touch her toes. Her blond hair fell to the floor, and she saw his up-side down figure through her legs.
He stared at her exposure intensely, unable to stop himself from growing hard. Tom so badly wanted to stand up and touch her, tease her, make her gasp, fill her every desire, But she would taste even better once she was clean. He could wait a few more minutes, and Tom kept himself seated on the edge of the bed. "Stand up, and go take a shower," he said to her as calmly as he could manage.
Eva quickly pulled herself into an upright position, flashed Tom a flirty smile, and went inside the bathroom. Soon after she shut the door, Tom fell back into the bed and sighed. Barely seconds went by before he wanted her back in the bedroom with him. He stroked himself recalling their escapade on the roof. Her skin and her scent was a memory away in his mind's eye. Eva indeed kept her promise to him, and she had been exactly what he craved. During that time, he heard her cries of pain, but it only drove him further wild. Now with a sober mind, he thought perhaps it had been too painful for her. Tom determined he would make it up to Eva.
But, he conceded, he couldn't just have her like that once in a blue moon. Tom would have to find a way to give Eva pleasure rather than only pain, so she would be more willing to try such things in the future. Yet, he wanted it to be a little uncomfortable for her; he wanted to watch her squirm.
Eva's shower regrettably continued, and Tom sat up, unwilling to lie around and wait for her. He stood at the foot of the bed and noted his fixed and folded clothes. His lips formed a small smirk realizing her gesture. She was everything he didn't even realize he wanted: a perfect assistant in a perfect package. As much as he would love to take credit for her, he knew it was luck that brought Eva to him.
It was her who pursued him relentlessly, despite his very clear desire of wanting to be left alone. Finally he conceded and, by chance, found her valuable. As soon as he quit working for Borgin, he knew Eva would be waiting for him. At the beginning of their stay in Albania, he foolishly thought they could remain in their formal, working relationship. Yet eventually she crawled under his skin - or did he invite her?
Tom decided to put on his trousers despite knowing they would come off in a little while. He left his shirt off as the air was still moist from the shower's steam. In curiosity, Tom began to search through the draws and cabinets of the foreign house. He already determined it was a Muggle's house, but there could still be valuable things lying around. He might as well take what he wanted.
Eva exited the bathroom to see Tom browsing through the hanging clothes inside the armoire in the corner. Her hair was damp and slowly drying in the air. She wrapped her towel tight around her and searched the floor for her clothes. They were no where to be found. She slowly approached Tom, who acted as if he hadn't heard her.
"Where did my clothes go?" Eva asked innocently, though she knew Tom had something to do with their disappearance. He casually turned to look at her and removed his hands from sorting through the clothing. Tom's eyes scanned her, and his face became suddenly determined. Eva watched as he brushed past her to grab his wand on the corner of the bed. He pointed it to her face and said the spell to remove her disguise.
She put her hands up to her cheeks and said happily, "Ah, that's better, right?" Tom nodded back to her with a small curve on his lips. Then he pointed his wand at her wrapped towel and said "Take it off."
She gave a small giggle and held the towel tight to her body. The shower had made her no less wanting of him, but the time apart made her want to see how far she could push him. He deserved a little suffering after what he put her through. It could be risky - there were times in the past where she teased him so much that he found her not worth his trouble. But she doubted that would be the case this time.
Eva, ignoring Tom, looked into the armoire and focused her attention the woman's clothing. Immediately, she spotted a light, summery button-up dress. Leaving it hanging, she pulled part of the fabric out and examined the pastel-colored dress. It was decorated with little flowers on a light-blue background. The only problem that it appeared a size too large for her, but with a little bit of magic that could be solved. Tom stood by her side, watching her silently and twirling his wand through his fingers.
She might take a dress, but she wasn't keen on taking someone else undergarments. She let go of the dress, and her eyes locked onto Tom's grey ones. Eva quizzed him, asking, "Can you at least give me my underwear?"
"Why? You don't need it," he said cheekily.
She playfully huffed at him and happily frowned. "Yes I do. I want to explore this little town this afternoon, and I will do it fully clothed."
Right away, Tom muttered a spell under his breath and Eva's towel began to pull away from her. She gleefully yelped in surprise, but clenched her fingers to keep the towel from flying away. It was not much use when Tom's hand reached out and yanked it down to the floor. Eva threw him a shocked smile and went to pick up her only covering, only to be prevented by Tom's light grip on her neck. She breathed easily but felt the tension on her throat from his fingers as he pushed her into an upright position. Eva remained still as he said intensely, "I told you earlier to take it off."
"But, my lord, I want to be dressed to see the sights. We're on a holiday, right?" Eva smiled sweetly as his fingertips drummed against her milky neck. His palm pressed further into her throat causing her to swallow hard. Tom gave a half-grin, listening to her thoughts about the thrill of being choked. He first began to hold her this way not long after they had began to sleep together. One day, Tom stumbled upon her imaging him choking her while pinning her down, and since then he had grown to adore the feeling of her helplessness under his fingers. Her skin was soft and firm, and he could almost fit her whole neck in his hand. His thumb caressed her skin gently. He wondered how long she would keep up the fight; nevertheless he enjoyed the chase.
Her arms uncovered herself, and she placed her fingers against the hand at her throat. She tried to peel him away, while saying, "No, please. I want to go out. I'm terribly hungry." Her thoughts revealed to him that her words rung hollow and she truly wanted to stay here with him. However she didn't lie when she admitted her hunger. Tom would make sure she was fed - later.
Her hand strength was no match for his, and he tightened his grip to give her a little trouble breathing. She gasped, happily he noted, and the look in her eyes of longing pulled him into a trance. His lips reached out to her as he released her throat and slid his hand around her jaw and into her golden hair. As he kissed and tasted her, Tom threw his wand onto the bed then slowly placed his fingers on the slit between her legs. She was completely ready for him, dripping with desire. He kissed her harder as he slid his fingers deeper, searching for her entrance.
Eva, with her eyes closed, moaned softly into his lips. Her fingers traced his muscled arms up to his shoulders. Her nails gently pressed into his skin as he found her crevasse and entered one finger inside of her. Tom's thumb flicked over her sensitive spot, and she broke off their kiss to groan in delight.
"Oh, Tom!" she whispered breathily. "Oh, please - let's stop. Let's stop and go see the village - ah!"
She still wanted to toy with him? His grin returned as he slid another finger inside of her to shut her up. His plan worked, and she could only form sounds of pleasure as he pushed his fingers in and out of her wet center. Over her shoulder, he glanced at the small sofa. Tom pulled his fingers out of her, sliding over her sensitive nub, and squeezed the protective flesh of her womanhood.
He turned her jaw to look at the sofa behind her. "Go kneel over there," he commanded her, wondering if she would argue again. But she had little fight left in her, and he was satisfied knowing he won. Eva complied wordlessly and kneeled on the sofa with her rear facing out and her body to the wall. She turned her head around to see, almost desperately, if Tom had followed her.
Her whole aura was begging for him, but he wasn't going to give her what she wanted so easily. He could taunt her as well. Tom stood behind her, and she sighed as he lightly grazed his fingers along her back and her bottom. Her spine shivered as his fingers tickled her sensitive skin on the back of her legs. From his view, the area between her legs glistened in anticipation. "Oh please, put it in my lord!" she whispered harshly. "I can't bear it any longer." A low growl came from her throat. "It hurts - I need you."
Tom saw in her thoughts that it did almost hurt her, but only in the way that too much sugar caused a toothache. He undid his pants and kicked them away. She hadn't removed her towel when he told her to, so he wasn't quite ready to satisfy her. Instead he rubbed himself on the outer part of her folds and rested on her most sensitive area. She was so exceedingly wet that it was easy to slide himself against her and tease her thoroughly. He relished the feeling of her trembling body against his. He grabbed her hair, yanking her head back to bring her ear to his mouth. "Are you sorry for resisting me?" he hissed.
"Yes! Yes I'm terribly sorry, my lord," Eva whimpered, her eyes pleadingly glanced to Tom Riddle.
"Then you'll be my good girl from now on, won't you?" he murmured and inhaled the smell of her clean hair.
"Yes, I'll be good now, I promise. Just please..." Eva's voice trailed away into breathy sighs as Tom pressed his hardness against her overflowing, heated center.
Neither of them could wait any longer. Tom maintained his grasp on her hair while he placed his face against her cheek to feel her supple skin. As Tom pressed himself slowly inside of her, hearing her begin to moan with satisfaction, he whispered, "This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Eva cried out in response, overwhelmed with the exquisite sensation of being filled. The warmth of his body made contact with her soft skin. She didn't need to reply with words as Tom could hear the answer screaming in her mind: "Yes, yes, yes!"
He pushed in and out of her slowly, not wanting to give in completely. It was too much fun to drive her wild. He released her hair and let his hand slide down around to her stomach. He placed his fingers in her most sensitive area to give her extra pleasure. His other hand lied her waist to guide her body to his. Her head slowly began to drop as she moaned with his metered thrusts. "You were such a good girl today, up on the roof," he said in a low, lustful voice. He swirled his fingers around her flesh as he drove himself into her in a slightly faster pace. "I'll make sure you get your reward."
As he finished his words, she surprised him by rocking her own hips against his. He placed both of his hand onto her hips as she quickly ricocheted against him. Tom let out an aroused sigh, satisfied from the feeling she created and how snug she fit around him. His body begged for him to let his composure fall and consume her, but he wasn't going to finish until she reached her ecstasy.
He skimmed through her mind. It was filled with carnal instincts and deeper desires for pleasure. In the next moment, Tom saw a thought flash by, "Hands on my neck - I want his hands on my neck." He happily granted her wish by placing his fingers around her throat, keeping his other hand on her hips. Eva gave a sound of wicked delight. Tom pulled her neck back slightly, pressing into the pliable muscle, and he leaned forward onto her. He continued driving into her as he mumbled into her ear, "You're such a naughty princess, aren't you. Always finding pleasure in pain."
Her small sighs raised in pitch as she tried to answer him. "Y-y-yes..y-yes." He squeezed her neck tighter, and she could no longer choke out her words. He bit into the flesh of her back, thinking to himself how much he loved this. Tom let go of her neck and grabbed her hips as his strokes became faster.
Their bodies continued moving in a fast rhythm throughout the following minutes of hedonic satisfaction - until she shifted her legs, and he slipped out. Her disappointed cry sounded right away, and afterwards she muttered an apology. Tom slapped her backend hard, wishing to leave a red mark. Eva yelped and turned her head to give him a mischievous look. She couldn't tell if he had done it as punishment or reward.
Tom backed away from her and admired her body. He wasn't done with her yet. His head indicated to the bed while he told her, "Come here."
She did as she was told. Eva lied down in the center of the bed in an alluring manner, hoping he would climb on top of her - but Tom had other ideas. He climbed onto the bed with her and spread her legs apart. He kneeled below her but only stared and never touched.
Eva impatiently began to lightly caress her body, waiting for his next move. She had been so close to exploding on the sofa and was mildly disappointed to have to start again. She raised her hips up to him, desperately wanting his touch. Eva watched as his lips pulled into a half-smile at the sight of her anguish. "Touch yourself," he whispered, his eyes growing wide with desire.
Again, Eva complied and grazed her fingers down her stomach to her throbbing, swollen center. Even her own touch calmed her, and she closed her eyes, still wishing Tom would be inside her again. Soon enough, Tom pressed a finger into her as she stroked her most sensitive part. His knuckles hit her outer skin hard, and Eva cried out from the depth of his insertion. He twisted his finger around, feeling her from inside.
She watched him as he pulsed his finger inside of her, causing her sigh and cry out. Tom's beautiful face was intensely gazing at her lower half. His biceps and forearms enlarged as he worked for her pleasure. Tom Riddle was what she always desired, and although there were time she despaired her dream would never come true, seeing him before her now sent a thrill throughout her body. Yet, as wonderful of a feeling he gave her, it wasn't enough. Eva craved the firmness of his body on top of her - to melt into him, skin to skin. She had to be connected to him.
However, he was masterful in his technique, and soon Eva felt a warmth run through her body. Every touch against her was electrifying and building her up. Although her mouth couldn't form the words properly, her mind raced, thinking, "I'm so close, so close." Tom heard her and stopped his hand inside of her. Eva growled in frustration and threw him a dangerous look. His handsome face only smirked back at her. He lied down next to her, staying his hand between her legs.
He brought his fingers up to slowly circle her sensitive area, and Eva pulled her hand away to allow him full control. His mouth then enclosed her pink, delicate nipple. As he sucked and tasted her, Eva cried out and grabbed his dark, thick hair. From the top of her head to her toes, intense bliss raced through her nerves. She glanced down to her chest to see him lick and flick the peak of her breast in his mouth, and her hips rose to push into his hand. How could he make her feel so unbelievably good? How could she deserve such luxury? Tom's eyes caught hers and a smile grew across his mouth.
"Are you ready for your reward?" he whispered, rubbing her center with more pressure. Eva answered with only sighs. As soon as she felt a slight rush, he pulled his hand away from her and trailed up to her free breast. She squeaked out, "Tom!" followed by a groan of bitterness. He was teasing her too much, and she felt like she would cry real tears if she couldn't reach the ecstasy that tempted her. Her head turned away from him and stared at the nightstand, sensing the throbbing of her body.
Tom nestled himself even closer to her, almost lying on top of her, and placed his hands on her soft, full breasts. He twisted and pinched her nipples to get her attention back to him. She turned around to glare at him, hating how much he built her up only to leave her hanging. But he received great pleasure in her agony and couldn't help but smile more. "Don't be so angry - I only want to make this last as long as possible," he told her. He placed a kiss on her collarbone and slowly kissed her skin up to her neck under her ear. Her anger evaporated from the warmth of his kiss, and she placed her hands on top of his head again.
He lightly bit the lobe of her ear and whispered, "Now I'm going to take you to the stars, princess." He pushed himself upright and examined her. Tom was amazed how Eva could smile with such innocence. She was too good for him - yet she craved to be defiled by him daily.
For certain, he'd had enough fun. Now was the time to make her scream.
Tom scrambled off the bed. He grabbed Eva's waist and dragged her down towards the edge of the bed towards him. She laughed at his aggressiveness but loved how strong he was to throw her about. He spread her legs as far back as they could go and shoved himself into her without warning.
After a few seconds of warming up, he found the best angle for her pleasure. Eva had been so built up earlier that she easily melted into his thrusts. They were deeper than they had been, and Eva found herself unable to keep from crying out, louder than before. Tom's hands gripped her hips as he drove into her with increasing speed. She couldn't think anymore as the wave of pressure towered larger and stronger. Over and over, Tom hit the right spot inside of her, and her cries increased in pitch.
Tom breathed heavily, giving himself up to her wonderful sensations and the sounds she made. He built her up for the last time, and Eva gasped for air as his strokes evolved into an all-encompassing blissfulness. He never changed his pace or depth as she froze silently, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as her mind and body were transported. Eva came back to life, almost screaming out from the pleasure he erupted inside of her. Tom continued to drive himself into her. She couldn't believe it, but somehow he was building her up again.
After a few moments, her body exploded again with ecstasy. She was no longer screaming out but rather uttering throaty grunts. Her insides throbbed and squeezed intensely against him. Finally, he could hold back no more. Tom shuddered and groaned against her, squeezing her flesh and releasing inside of her. Eva continued to moan and moan, and Tom fleetingly saw in her mind that she was still reeling from the effects of climax. He made one final thrust and sighed as he fell onto her.
Her moans devolved into chuckling as he allowed his full weight to crush her. Eva swatted his arms gently. "Ah, you're too heavy!" she laughed through breaths.
Tom propped up his upper half and lifted his head so it was hovering over hers. His face was thoughtful as she smiled hazily up at him. Her body still pulsated weakly from her prior eruptions, and she felt him still inside of her. She snuck her arms out from under him to wrap around his neck and let her fingers curl around the hair at the nape. Eva sighed happily while Tom studied her face.
"I know you don't want to hear it, but I love you," Eva said softly to him.
He didn't react to her comment but continued to search her face. Eva stared back into his grey eyes, losing herself to him again. After minutes of embracing, in a quick motion he pecked her on the lips. The next moment, he was slowly peeling himself away from her. As he stood at the edge of the bed, he admired her body. Eva closed her eyes and began to drift away from exhaustion. Her eyelids flew open at the sound and pain of Tom's hand slapping against her thigh.
He grinned at her while she frowned sleepily back at him. For the second time that day, Tom retrieved his trousers and put them back on. When he turned back to Eva, nothing stopped him from lying back down in the bed with her body in his arms. She smiled with her eyes closed and nestled into his warm chest, listening to his heartbeat. He played with her blond hair and ran his fingers across her soft skin while they lied silently together, content in the afterglow.
After some time had passed, Tom shook Eva's body gently and stated, "We should go home now."
She made a questioning sound, not fully awake and understanding. "Home?" She thought they were home, but the smell and the feeling of the sheets on the bed were not the same. That was right - they were on a Grecian island in some stranger's house. Her blue eyes flew open and stared at Tom above her.
"No," she began to argue, "I wanted to play holiday today. Please, we're already here. Let's go explore the village."
It was easy for anyone, especially Tom, to see how much she wanted this experience. He, on the other hand, felt they had wasted plenty of time. Today was a weekday, and there was still enough sunlight to take advantage of. Tom had calculated, based on the ground he and Eva covered throughout the years, that almost forty percent of the Albanian forest, where the ghost swore she threw the cursed diadem, had been inspected. It was bound to show up eventually - unless Fate was toying with him and left it in the last tree searched.
"No. We'll go home and you'll make us dinner," he said in a final manner.
This time she ignored his orders. She put one hand up to the arm he had wrapped around her and traced the definition of his muscles, while her other arm stayed pinned between their bodies. "We should try the local food, I'm sure it would be delicious. And see here," she complained, "you've made me too tired to cook." She feigned exhaustion and dropped her hand from his arm.
Tom shook her limp body in jest. "It appears you have no energy left to tour about so I must take you home to rest."
"No! I have the energy to walk my lord," she said as she began to push herself upright. "Just not cook." She immediately felt the cool air against her bare skin and remembered she was naked. Tom, she noted, was partially clothed. Like a flood, her emotions ran through her chest recalling their recent passions. Thought it couldn't be said for every moment that transpired today, the whole ordeal had been extremely gratifying. Tom and Eva made love quiet often, but it wasn't usually this intense and under such circumstances. Eva wished every day could be like this, but Tom's reality of world domination was always more pressing. Privately, Eva thought Tom must want it to be this way too - he was the one who tricked her here in the first place.
"I wonder, my lord: did you agree to see Macnair for the dragons or was it all an excuse to get me out of Albania?"
He stared at her chest and continued to lightly graze the skin of her thighs. It tickled and made her shiver, but she wouldn't lose focus. She continued, "You fooled me to go with you so you could make me keep my ridiculous promise."
His face turned up to catch her eye, and upon it grew a devilish smile. "You liked it - you loved it, in fact."
"Not every moment!" She protested as she dragged her fingers through his dark hair.
Tom didn't look away from her and replied, "A little pain makes the pleasure more worthwhile, don't you agree?" Her eyebrows furrowed but her lips curled up, allured by the manner he spoke in. Was that some sort of apology?
After a short pause, she said wretchedly, "Some pain is too much," in an attempt to garner some pity from him. Eva pulled her eyes away from him and added, "I don't want to try again."
"I recall it wasn't so terrible for you at the end," Tom continued teasingly while he slowly moved his hand across her legs to her other side.
Her eyes turned back to his, remembering upon the roof when the agony had finally faded. "I think my brain gave up registering pain in the end, if you must know."
"Maybe we can try to get there again." As he finished speaking, his reached his hand to grab the flesh on her rear. She yelped a small cry of pain and glared. "But," he began in a more measured tone, "we should find a way to make it more tolerable for you."
Eva threw him a look saying, "Of course!" At least his spirits were improved from earlier - although he signed up to see the dragons days ago, they almost didn't leave this morning to attend.
As soon as the sun rose over the mountain tops in the east, Romule's owl came to the shack on the cliffside to deliver a copy of The Daily Prophet. Silently, both of them knew what it could mean: the death of Victor Snakebone had been published. Tom instructed Eva to read it aloud at the table as they ate breakfast. Eva scanned the front page, but found nothing related to the gruesome murder of the old Auror. She licked her fingertips and brushed through the inner folds of the paper. She didn't dare look to see Tom's reaction as she dug further through the pages to find the story.
Romule had kindly encircled the paragraph regarding the arrival of Lord Voldemort - only to find he was not mentioned once. Eva, with slight worry in her voice, read aloud. Rather than the bloodbath that Tom Riddle had desired to see written into print, the Ministry somehow obtained testimony and eye witnesses to corroborate that "old Victor Snakebone had become senile and fragile in his old days, with any disturbance sending him towards a 'downward spiral of emotion' claimed a close family friend." The article summed up his suicide to shell shock after his years being an Auror and living through the "terror that was Grindlewald."
Before Eva could finish reading the last sentence, Tom snatched the whole newspaper and slammed it to the ground, with the pages flying gently in every direction. Eva was unwilling to look Tom in the face. She already felt his fiery aura. "Trying to hide behind lies?" he yelled out to no one. Eva glanced to him and saw his eyes glow red. "I know what this is! It's Dumbledore's doing! He got to the Ministry and to the Prophet – he's still got it out for me."
Perhaps he had, Eva thought, though she wasn't certain. Tom claimed again and again that people existed to thwart his efforts and mainly accused their old professor Albus Dumbledore. Eva sensed that they didn't get along, even during Hogwarts, but Tom's claim always seemed far fetched. How would Dumbledore know the true nature of Tom Riddle? Eva only knew after years of close companionship, whereas Tom and Dumbledore barely saw one another outside of the classroom during their time at Hogwarts. Perhaps Tom just wanted someone he could focus blame onto.
Eva was not as upset at the news article, and instead optimistically declared Lord Voldemort made a major step forward. Though the press had covered it up, the rumors carried the truth. Voldemort's followers realized how serious and deadly he was. Since this last spring, Eva had received letters from Pavo Yaxley, Zilya Dolohov, and the Travers brothers, who helped the Selwyns' track down the werewolf clan. They all wanted to join Lord Voldemort's side against the "tyranny" of the Ministry. Tom, however, instructed Eva to write back formally that, "Lord Voldemort required no further assistance but would make contact in the future, if circumstances changed." Tom couldn't be bothered with enlisting more Death Eaters; the vampires had grown to more pressing problem.
Tom wasn't phased by Eva's pep talk. His eyes continued to glow, and he paced around the room with his arms behind his back. Eva wished he didn't take the news so sourly - could he have really expected the wizarding press to spark panic when the threat of war was so narrowly avoided only years ago? Then again, Eva reasoned that Tom could be too absorbed in his own grandeur plans to acknowledge other people's typical response to horror.
"Aren't we supposed to see Macnair this morning?" Eva commented, hoping to derail his mind from his daydreams of torturing the publishers. "About the dragons? I -"
Tom spun around to look at her, no less angry than he had been. She hesitantly continued, "I was looking forward to the trip. I've never seen a dragon up close before." His eyes faded in their fierceness, though the color of his irises never changed back to grey. Tom turned away from Eva and continued to pace around the shack.
"We should go and take our minds off this trouble. Who knows, maybe we'll come back with a pet dragon!" she laughed, trying her best to brighten the mood. He threw a grimace at her, not at all amused.
Eva decided to attack the source directly. "My lord. Pacing around and having a huff is letting your enemies win. There is no way the Prophet would have printed every ghastly detail you had the Selwyns perform, you obviously know this. Like Druella said to me before, the Ministry is trying to keep everyone calm after the scare of Grindelwald. They don't know who Lord Voldemort is. At least they don't understand how deep his powers lie and what a threat he will be. They might think it's some sort of terrible prank gone wrong or a Grindelwald-want-to-be."
Tom took a deep breath, agitatedly listening to Eva's soothing voice. As much as it irritated him to listen to her act as if she knew better, he had to admit she was correct. He breathed heavily and continued to pace the floor as he heard Eva rise out of her chair. He paused and watched her come close to him with her hands on her hips. They were a foot away when she continued her speech. "For you to win this fight, you need to keep moving forward. Don't let such silly thing as an article wind you up so much. I don't need it published in the papers that Lord Voldemort is all-mighty and powerful. I can see it with my own eyes." Eva reached her arms out to gently touch him. "And so can others."
Tom instinctively wanted to pull away from her, but their closeness throughout the years allowed him to relax to her touch. He sighed frustratedly, unable to shake his anger completely. Tom couldn't, or wouldn't, form the words, "You're right," though he felt its truth in his heart. His frown relaxed slightly, but Eva saw that his emotions hand't fully resolved. She slid her hands along his shoulders and upper arms, savoring the feeling of him and hoping to at least distract him.
Her plan had mildly worked, and he undid his hands behind his back to wrap around Eva's waist. Before they had completed their embrace, Eva winced for a moment at the burn of her Dark Mark. Macnair was calling.
Right after the both of them had seen her accentuated Mark, Eva encouraged him once again to attend the rendezvous as a means of distraction. Looking back, she wondered when exactly he planted the seeds of his deception that ended with her on the roof of a stranger's home. It surely hadn't been this morning. He must have been pleasantly surprised to go from the news of Snakebone to knowing he trapped Eva into his ambush. It was a well-hidden emotion - Eva certainly didn't notice any reaction this morning.
As she lied in Tom's arms in the bed of a stranger, she considered silently the whole circumstance leading to the present moment. Though Tom might not have explicitly planned their excursion earlier today, there had definitely been some sort of forethought. He brought her someplace familiar to him but a surprise to Eva. Then he happened to know where their final destination would be. And why a roof, of all places, Eva thought.
While Eva had been lost in her thoughts, she stared at the white ceiling. Her mind had finally solidified and became determined stay on this island longer. It didn't matter whether she deserved the respite from their daily living or not: she wanted it. Her confidence was high, considering all she had been put through today. Tom would not sway her.
"You chose this place for a reason," Eva said after some time of silence had passed. She turned her head to face him. He surprised her by staring right back - he had been observing her the whole time. A smile grew on her face, happy to see her handsome lover. "You brought me here, and I'm not ready to leave. We will stay, have lunch, and sightsee," Eva said with conviction.
Tom raised an eyebrow, impressed by her persistence. "Fine," he said cooly. "We can stay. But we're making up our lost time this Sunday."
Eva smiled widely and pulled herself closer to him. "Thank you," she whispered as she brought her lips closer to his. The two kissed, and, without breaking apart, Tom heaved her body onto his, holding her smooth back and keeping it close. Eva, though tired from earlier, felt her heart alight. No matter the length of time they spent together or apart, her love and desire for Tom Riddle never diminished. And now, unlike in years past, she knew and had proof that he strongly cared for her, if not outright loved her. He would never admit it, she knew - yet she couldn't understand why.
Perhaps the distrust of of falling in love was such a main pillar in his life that to question it would cause his foundations to crumble. Tom surely had the potential to be that dramatic, Eva thought. If that was so, how could he reconcile his actions to his beliefs? He may believe love is a fairytale or the biggest con inflicted upon the human race, but how he kissed her, touched her, held her close, made her explode, and everything in between was evidence enough that she was in his heart. And as a final concluding fact, when they made love, even if it was rough - no, especially when it was rough - he repeatedly called her his "good girl" and "princess."
That must mean something, Eva concluded. He could call her anything he liked, but time and time again, she was his princess. No doubt, Eva adored the pet name, and she would melt hearing him say it. But it was odd, especially since she didn't appear very royal at all. Too many times to count, Eva had wanted to question why Tom chose that title, but she was far too fearful that she might deter him from ever saying it again.
Eva, falling in love again with him, began to kiss his jaw and slowly trail her lips down his neck. His breath grew quicker. Eva slowly kissed his chest and made her way down to his belt. Right before she was about to take it off, her stomach rumbled so loudly, they both could hear it.
Eva burst out laughing, embarrassed at how the mood drastically changed. "I think we should go eat, my lord," she chuckled.
His head was raised up to look at her. Tom gave a sigh, rolled his eyes, and dropped his head back in silent, unhappy agreement.
The two of them dressed quickly. Eva stole the summer dress and magically tailored it to her size. To finish her ensemble, she took a woman's straw hat that lied on the top of the armoire. Before they left Eva waved her wand about, casting all the cleaning and organizing spells that she knew. Tom ran up to the third floor to ensure there was no trace of them left.
As they were exiting near the front door, Tom was about to cast disguise charms upon them. Eva quickly held up her hand, creating the spell-blocking barrier. "Please! No more disguises, my lord. I want to be with you, not a stranger."
Tom was surprised yet irritated. "You are not with a stranger - you're with me."
"But you're unrecognizable. I want to look up and see Tom Riddle, not some other man."
"No, you want to look up and see something appealing."
She groaned exasperatedly, "Why can't it be one in the same? I know!" she added hastily. "Why don't you wear something, like..." Eva automatically thought of his mask, but knew that wouldn't be right. It had to be like a mask - and then she knew. "Sunglasses." Quick enough to prevent him from arguing, she flicked her wand, "Accio sunglasses." There was a pair upstairs in one of the rooms she had entered in search of Tom earlier. Less than seconds later, it flew into her hands. "Here, please."
He snatched them from her hand. Why on earth, Tom thought, was he allowing Eva to get what she wanted? Why were they not back in Albania already? This was not how the rest of the day was planned - and yet his desire to observe Eva happily lead the way outweighed his arguments in opposition. While he was unfolding the frames and putting it on, he grumbled, "You should consider yourself lucky in that I'm letting you have your way."
"You know I do, my lord," she replied with a hint of jest.
By Eva's persistence, she and Tom walked with linked arms down the sloping streets of the small, island village. Tom admitted that he didn't know much of the Muggle part of the city. The wizarding district was hidden inside of the mountain through a cave on the western side of the village. However, he remarked, the Muggles had some understanding that magic was strong here and thus protected its secrets. Eva was delighted to know Tom had no advantage here and that she would be taking them into the unknown.
They wandered around empty streets until they finally came upon a promising pedestrian street. There were signs hung on the buildings and next to open market stalls. Immediately, Eva saw a store front with two small tables and chairs with a coffee cup sign hanging in the window. They had to serve food inside, she reasoned.
Once inside the cafe, they were greeted with a rich, rotisserie smell and two customers huddled int he corner. It was not the brightest or most comforting cafe the two had been in, but they were hungry enough that decor didn't matter.
A Muggle waitress eyed them, waited for them to pick a seat, and then dropped menus in front of them. The menus were no use as everything was in Greek. Eva tried her best to guess what it said, but it was far too different from the English alphabet she was familiar with. Eva stared at what the other customers were ordering, and suggested to Tom they just point to order the same thing. Tom, still wearing his sunglasses, was unwilling to hide his discontent about their situation. If he had his way, they would be eating Eva's food in their comfortable home and not in some foreign, Muggle cafe betting that whatever arrived would be edible.
Eva's plan worked well, however. When the waitress came back, Eva pointed at the other two customers and did her best to motion that they wanted the same thing. Without any expression, the waitress nodded, went back into the kitchen, and yelled something in Greek to the cook. Eva tried to make small talk with Tom, but he was too hungry and distraught to play along. Their food arrived, and they were greeted with a fresh Greek salad and lamb kebabs. Eva ate heartily, enjoying a meal she didn't have to slave for. She believed it was one of the best meals she ate, perhaps because she had worked up a large appetite from earlier.
Tom ate well too, though unwilling to discuss the taste of the food. He tapped his water glass with his wand and it transformed into three gold coins. "Are they real?" Eva whispered after they finished their meal.
Tom creased his brows and stated, "No, I wouldn't waste a real gold spell on the likes of this place. But it will keep them quiet when we leave."
With her arm wrapped tightly around Tom's, they meandered down the shopping district of the village. A middle-aged man pushed an ice-cream cart while a few older gentlemen played games of chess on the outside of a butcher's shop. Other stalls sold glassware, pottery, fruits and vegetables, and the like. A store that had colorful dresses hanging in the front attracted Eva right away.
"More clothing?" Tom muttered to her as she dragged the two inside.
"I simply want to see what they have," she whispered back.
The store was filled from top to bottom with what Eva immediately recognized as junk. Yet there was bound to be some treasure, she thought. An older woman with a head shawl wrapped around her stared at them in an unfriendly manner. There was colored glass vases in the corner, which she admired. Next to that was a few pieces of lightly used jewelry, but it was the gloves lied out on velvet pillows that attracted her the most. She tried on the lace gloves that ended at her wrists. They were so pretty and made her hands appear like delicate flowers. These she would take.
Her eyes caught another set of white, silk gloves. The didn't fit as well as the lace, but she could fix that with a spell or too. What Eva liked the most about the silk gloves is that they were long enough to cover her Dark Mark. She was proud of it, no doubt, but the tattoo had the tendency of appearing very intimidating. She needed something to cover it up every once in a while.
Tom stood beside her the entire time, twirling his wand about, careless about the fact they were in the Muggle side of town. If the old woman had a problem with him, she could say it to his face. He would gladly show her what his wand could do. "Are we done yet?" he asked Eva cooly, wishing this part of the tour to be over.
"Yes, I want these gloves."
Tom glanced at them, unimpressed. "Fine. Let's go."
Eva followed Tom out, wondering what would happen as they weren't paying properly. As they exited the door, the old lady began to bark at them in Greek. Tom tapped his wand against a trinket on a table near the door to transfigure it into a replica of Eva's gloves. He waved the magicked gloves in his hands, to make it appear to the storeowner that they did not steal them, and threw inside the store to the ground.
Eva continued to hear the Muggle lady's yelling after the door closed behind them, but the guitar music from down the street enticed her mind away. Eva put her new lace gloves on and pocketed the others. She followed the sound of the music, and eventually they snuck upon a smaller alleyway that branched off from the main road. It was filled with local Muggles, some standing and some busy with chores. The women all wore long dresses with short sleeves, and the men all wore pleated pants with collared shirts. Two men, one older and one younger, played Greek guitars, while a few of the children and older couples danced around.
Eva was observing this all from around the corner of the building, while Tom couldn't have cared less. He stood, with arms crossed, staring at the Muggles who were haggling over the items in the market stalls. He assumed her goal was the beach, not Muggle-observing: so why were they still here? Rather than listen to the music, Tom began to slip into his favorite mental diversion.
If he shot a killing curse at the old man closest to him, he could successfully get the next two without any mass panic. But after those three collapse, the crowd would start to frenzy. Most could be contained if he ordered the market stalls to surround them. Then the wooden stalls could either explode or fall onto the bystanders. If he had a bottle of poisoned-gas potion within his robes, he could throw it at the remaining survivors. Mass destruction would be imminent.
A mechanical whirl and click startled the two of them, and Eva swiveled to see a sandy-haired man holding a Muggle camera on the other side of the alleyway. The photographer was also interested in the liveliness of the Greeks and decided to capture it on film. Eva quickly thought of an idea.
"Let's have him take our picture," she said quietly yet eagerly to Tom.
His face couldn't have been more incredulous. "What?" he spat.
"Yes! Let's have our picture taken, oh please! We don't have any photos together." Tom groaned and rolled his eyes, remembering how dear photographs were to Eva. She had a whole book full of them, with hundreds and hundreds of pages.
"Excuse me sir, do you speak English," Eva inquired of the photographer, without full permission from Tom.
The other man stopped cleaning the lens of his camera to look up at the young woman who called to him. "Yes, I do," he replied in a tenor voice with a hint of a French accent.
"Would you mind taking our photograph?" Eva asked as sweetly as possible.
The photographer's expression became less than agreeable. "I am sorry, but -"
Tom heard the man's thoughts before he could finish them and desired to hear no further. He wouldn't allow Eva to be rejected. "Imperio," Tom said, pointing his wand to the man holding the camera.
"Take our photograph like she asked you," Tom commanded icily. The other man's face went slack, and Eva glanced around to see if anyone noticed the magic, which they had not.
The photographer pulled the camera up to his face and positioned it, ready to capture the couple. "Oh, tell him to make sure we look proper," Eva added.
"Make the photograph proper," Tom directed.
Eva adjusted her hair and hat quickly. Then, very naturally, she wrapped one arm around Tom's waist and held the other to his chest. The only position now available to Tom was to wrap the arm she had snuck under around her waist. He left his other hand in his pants pocket. He refused to remove his sunglasses and stared into the camera with a straight face. Eva, on the other hand, beamed with elation.
The shutter clicked once. Eva quickly muttered to Tom, "Have him take a few more, please."
"Take three more," Tom said without emotion. The camera clicked and wound three additional times, and Eva was satisfied.
"Oh thank you so much," she said staring at the camera. Her gratitude was first directed to the photographer, and then she realized she should be thanking Tom instead. Eva turned her head up to Tom and said, "Thank you, my lord."
He looked down to her, and a ghost of a smile flashed on his lips. He turned his attention back to the photographer who stood with his camera in hand, slack-faced, waiting for his next order. Tom marched over to him and held out his empty hand. "Give me your camera. Good, now go find the tallest cliff around and jump off it."
Eva yelled in surprise, overhearing Tom's orders. "My lord! No, don't have him do that. Oh dear, there he goes! No - stop him, please."
Tom rolled his neck around and grinned back at Eva. He watched her face grow more worried as the photographer walked further and further away. Eva was next to Tom, gently shaking his arm in frustration. "Oh, stop, please. I'll start to have nightmares about him too."
"You're so sensitive," Tom complained as he placed the camera in her hands. He turned towards the photographer, who was almost out of hearing distance, and bellowed, "Stop!"
A large portion of pedestrians turned their attention to Tom and Eva. He paid no mind, while she couldn't help but want to hide herself into Tom. The photographer heard and stopped dead in his tracks ten yards ahead. Tom grabbed Eva's arm as they walked to him. "What would you have me do with him instead, Eva?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe - tell him to go back where he came from and that he gave his camera to us because we paid for it."
"That requires a memory modification spell."
"Well, you can't kill him," she protested.
"Fine."
They reached the sandy-haired man, and Tom put a friendly hand on his shoulder. Eva was surprised how naturally Tom pretended to be the other man's companion. Tom pointed his wand into the back of his head and whispered the incantation. He continued to whisper to the man in a chummy manner, squeezing his shoulder once and patting him. Tom's expression was like an old association and looked to be happily reunited through happenstance.
Their exchange took less than a minute. When he was done, Tom spun the sandy-haired man around to shake his hand. Tom then pointed up the street, guiding the direction on which the photographer should take.
Eva and Tom watched until the photographer turn the bend down the street. Tom turned around to walk with Eva in the opposite direction. She was thoroughly impressed how he was able to portray his memory-modification spell as a reunion of past acquaintances. No one on the street would have thought it to be anything else.
When they were well enough away from the market street and headed towards the sounds and smells of the ocean, Eva asked Tom what he had instructed the photographer to do.
"I told him what you told me to say," Tom casually replied with a smirk that indicated strong doubt in his words.
She creased her eyebrows and, after restating her wish of not wanting him to be killed, hesitantly approved. "I hope he was at least decent in his hobby," she concluded, turning the camera around in her hand. She was happy with this unexpected, new present. Now she could take photographs herself - though developing the film will be a hurdle to cross.
At long last, they arrived at the beach. It was nothing overly impressive, but the sight was grand enough. The craggy rocks jutted through the water like a dragon swimming in the turquoise-colored water. The sand was course and brown but warmed by the summer sun. The larger cliffsides hugging the small bay framed the scene perfectly. In the distance, the ocean horizon sat like a fine, blue line. The clouds drifted slowly along in the sky, pushed weakly by the sea breeze. The sun's rays shone from high above in the middle of the summer sky. After drinking in the scenery, Eva couldn't help but spin around with joy.
Tom and Eva had the beach to themselves. Tom held out his wand and waved it in a pattern. Before her eyes, two chaise lounge chairs appeared. They lied l conveniently out of the sun dur to a large beach umbrella, which was currently digging itself into the sand. Eva smiled at Tom, always impressed by his transfiguration skills.
The Muggle movies always made magic seem so easy, like it was a mental thought turned into reality. Little did they know the complexity and instruction that went along with every spell. To transfigure one chair, it takes one spell. Then, to duplicate the item is an another charm. There was also the creation of the umbrella to consider, which was also applied with the enchantment of installing itself into the ground. All of this would have taken Eva at least a few minutes, including the time it took to remember the right incantations. But for Tom Riddle, it was simply a wave of his wand and everything was so.
She sat comfortably in the chaise lounge, staring into the distant waves and watching them come closer to shore. Tom sat down next to her but only looked to the ocean for a moment. He was examining the camera in Eva's hands and inquired what she planned on doing with it.
She replied that her first step was to find someone to develop the film for her. After that, "I suppose I'll just practice taking photos." She held it up threateningly to him, though she hadn't calibrated it and wasn't really going to take the shot.
Tom, who obviously didn't know much about cameras, pointed his wand at Eva and threatened, "If you take that photo, I'll burn the film up. Then what was the point?"
Eva scoffed and put the camera back in her lap. "You're so dramatic! I wasn't even ready to take a real photo." Eva thought, he wouldn't even know if she did. Eva had snuck a few photos of him during Hogwarts when she had her first camera. Sometime before she graduated, it had disappeared, but she was so distracted with the real Tom Riddle at that time, the camera's absence hadn't bothered her.
This time Tom scoffed back at her. "You act as if I didn't know you followed me around during Hogwarts. I've told you this before, you were absolutely noticeable."
"I don't believe you!" she said playfully. "If you hear a noise, the normal reaction is to turn to find the source. When I would take your picture, you never once flinched, ergo you didn't hear me."
Tom smiled at her, ready to tear apart her assumption. "I didn't need to hear anything to know you were behind me or hiding in some hallway ahead of me. I knew where you were before you even saw me. You're thoughts were so amazingly obsessed with me, I almost couldn't escape you."
Eva smiled, embarrassed and defeated. "I can't deny that, unfortunately. But that means you were listening for me before we ever met. I would consider that a might bit creepy."
"You don't know how a Legillimins operates," Tom argued back. "When I was younger, I couldn't simply pick a person and focus on them. I heard what filled my head."
"Is that so?" Eva inquired. He nodded and turned back to the ocean, finished with the conversation. Tom rarely explained such things to her, and Eva thought a while upon what he said.
After some time, Tom cleared his throat and in a relaxed voice said, "You should take the asphodel potion when we arrive at the house." The 'asphodel potion,' as Tom had decided upon naming it, was the same purple potion Eva now kept on regular hand. It's purpose was to prevent any unnecessary production of children. Powdered root of the asphodel lily was the first ingredient listed, and the potion had become Eva's very regularly taken medicine. She nodded silently that she would do so. However, her almost perfect day had been penetrated yet again by unwanted feelings.
If they could live in some alternate world where she and Tom were a normal couple, Eva imagined what their child would be. She already had detailed images of how they would look or act, but the children were always easy to envisage. It was Tom's reactions that confused Eva. Would he spoil his children and let them have their way, as he had with Eva this afternoon? Or would he be strict with them and punish any deviations from his commands? But all of these thoughts were for fools and Eva knew she should banish them from her mind completely. Thus grew the unwanted feelings.
The truth is there was no alternative world. She was in the only world she ever knew, and in this world Tom will never grant Eva her wish of having a proper family. But that was a painless sacrifice, she told herself. Tom was everything. Children were indeed a trouble and a burden. She saw it firsthand with her friends. She only wanted Tom and no one else. She should put an end to these ridiculous fantasies to ensure nothing would deter her from him.
Eva turned to see Tom's handsome face hidden behind the sunglasses she had gave him earlier. Even though his eyes were covered, she smiled with content to see his natural face. "I'm very happy my lord. Thank you for allowing us this excursion."
"It's not too bad here, is it?" he noted casually, staring out into the bay. "Not quite the same as Albania, but a pleasant view nonetheless." He turned to Eva. His eyes were hidden, and she couldn't be sure whether he was really looking at her. "If you like this place enough, when I have the world in my hands, I'll give it to you."
She laughed incredulously. "Really?"
He turned away, irritated that she questioned him. "Of course! You can have whatever you want - you are my most trusted Death Eater."
"I am your most trusted servant, that's true," Eva repeated, "But could I get a more... exact title? Something more like..." But Eva couldn't imagine what she would call herself. Partner? No. Wife? Definitely not! Girlfriend? That wasn't quite correct either. "Well, I'm not sure - but I'm more than just your most trusted Death Eater, aren't I?"
Tom was sitting to the right of her, and he easily reached out to wrap his fingers around her forearm. He twisted it up so that her Dark Mark was showing. It glittered green and black, even in the shade of the umbrella. Her bone prickled from his touch, causing a strange pain that went from her arm to her stomach. Yet at the same time, she felt a warmth growing inside of her that was pure and pleasant. Though he never answered he question, Eva knew somewhere in Tom's heart lied the answer.
A/N Please review! :)