Chapter 20: Another Turn
Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans - John Lennon
"So it is indeed you," said Sylus Farley, glancing at Joelle. She was standing in the distance, no sound coming from her at first.
"How..." Joelle then asked, pressing herself against the wall. Sylus said nothing but he tilted his head to the side as if to make sure that he was seeing right.
"I knew I heard a female voice. I was sure I saw you when he transformed you into a cat. We have met before at-"
"King's Cross. Of course I remember," said Joelle. Sylus shook his head at her.
"I can't believe it," he lowered his wand and stood in front of her, searching for her eyes because Joelle kept trying to break the contact.
"Don't be scared," said Sylus. "I won't hurt you. In fact, I had hoped to meet you again ever since that day..." He spoke in a low murmur. Joelle merely looked at him, then turned her face away.
"I'm at your mercy. Don't tell a soul. Please," she said. The silence did not last for long, Sylus carefully walked closer, taking Joelle's hands and moved backwards; sitting down on the bed with her.
"A brilliant, yet effective idea. Forgive my curiousness, Miss Cole. That's your name, right?"
Joelle nodded, wondering how he knew her last name, but remembered that she had introduced herself that day. She looked up to him when Sylus spoke.
"I must ask about your intentions...of coming to Hogwarts."
Joelle chuckled. "Consider me a threat? Don't worry. It's a long story. I haven't come here to cause chaos, I can assure you this."
"You must understand my position. The responsibility. I cannot rest until it is clear."
Joelle sighed and looked away. "Please don't ask more than I can answer. And please don't let Mar- Tom know that you found out. He will be most upset."
Sylus considered her for a moment, then nodded. "I shall do so. Under one condition." Joelle looked up.
"We will spend some time together when he's not here. I'm sure the both of us would like some change of perspective every so often."
Joelle thought about it, then nodded with a smile. Why not?
"Okay. But he mustn't know. We have to be careful," she said.
"It will happen just as you please. Well then, farewell for the while, we will meet again, milady," said Sylys with a charming smile before he got up and transformed Joelle back. She meowed at him, closing her eyes when he patted her head, then walked off.
Joelle did not quite know how to feel about it, but she knew that this could've gone wrong a lot more than it actually did.
"Hey, I'm back." Said Tom a while later. Joelle stretched and yawned, purring once she noticed him again and instantly cuddled down in his lap. Tom chuckled a little when he saw it; she has been so distant for some time after all.
"Seems like you've finally come around," he said, then yawned. After he came back from his shower, Tom thought about a couple of things. He could not suppress the feeling of threat that seemed to be present again, but he shrugged it off. Who could take her away? Nobody.
Time passed within the blink of an eye, a circumstance Tom was not so sure whether to like or not. The days started to feel less cold as winter was officially over and spring greeted them every morning in the Great Hall. Chirping birds and the scent of fresh flowers enchanted everybody's noses. Tom did not necessarily like the scent, not because he disliked flowers (he just didn't care about them), but because the last time he smelled them was when he received a dozen of love letters on Valentine's Day in February; most of them were drenched in perfume. He had read the worst one from Amanda Houser, the blonde trying to catch his attention ever since he arrived. In her letter she was overly poetic about Tom's eyes and his pale complexion that 'made her feel cold and warm at the same time'. Tom remembers Joelle crying tears laughing so hard about some of the lines the girls wrote, then pinched Tom's cheek and complimented him for his heartbreaking qualities and said that he will find them to be useful in the future. Tom was sure she just meant to be cynical - and was angered to realize that she must have encountered a lot of men in order to get that kind of picture.
"Miss Cole," said Sylus Farley later that evening, kissing Joelle's hand. "I enjoyed our last conversations here in the common room, but I would love to take you to Hogsmeade this evening. I know a place where we can be unseen."
"Is it nice there? Hogsmeade?" Joelle asked.
"It's stunning. Not nearly as stunning as you, of course," said Sylus charmingly and Joelle tried to ignore the compliment - but she smiled nonetheless. "Where is Hogsmeade anyway?"
"It's a village not far away from here. First and second years aren't allowed to go there, you see it has some advantages to know me," said Sylus proudly.
"Is this supposed to be a date, Farley?" Joelle asked in a casual tone. Sylus grinned and looked to the ground before he brought his pale eyes back to her, scooting a little closer in an attempt to make her feel more comfortable - only Joelle hesitated with closeness.
"I would surely want it to be..." Sylus purred. Joelle considered him for a few seconds, but shrugged. "Alright then."
Once Sylus transformed Joelle back into a cat, he picked her up and walked off. Joelle observed everything curiously, looking to the left and right, then clawed sharply on Sylus's arm when she thought to have seen Avery and Lestrange on their way up to the seventh floor - but Joelle wasn't sure if they saw her, too.
Hogsmeade was beautiful and indescribably charismatic. It's off-shaped houses and the strange but nice scent of freshly baked almonds framed the village's atmosphere perfectly. Sylus brought Joelle to a pub that was dark and almost empty - what a contrast.
"People here care about their own business. That's why it will be safe to transform you," said Sylus, aiming his wand at her and after a second, Joelle sat in front of him, her back turned to the three or four other people in the pub.
"It's quite exciting to be here," she then said as Sylus ordered two butter beers; Joelle inwardly gulped at this - she remembered her last encounter with this beverage.
"It's funny how life plays, don't you think?" Sylus asked. How right he was. Joelle chuckled a little, nodding.
"Indeed."
"Why do you let him force you to be here?" Sylus suddenly asked. Joelle looked up from her glass, frowning a slight bit.
"He's not forcing me. We agreed. I cannot be forced. I would find chances to leave if I wanted to, or do you see him here now?" Joelle asked with a raised eyebrow and a faint grin that Sylus returned smoothly.
"I'm just saying that a beautiful lady like you should not be forced to do anything against her will. I have seen the newspaper article after all and-"
"Excuse me?" Joelle asked with a frown. "You have seen what?"
Sylus frowned, but clearly couldn't help suppressing a smirk.
"Are you sure you and Riddle are on the same level of information sharing, Miss Cole? He must have forgotten to mention it...but yes. Your face was all over the muggle newspapers. People are looking for you."
"So that's why he wanted me to write to Bryan..." Joelle whispered absentmindedly. Sylus raised an eyebrow.
"They undoubtedly refused too much effort with all the current trouble in the muggle world. I suppose there are people missing everyday," he sipped on his butter beer before adding, "an unusual one, that Riddle boy is. Very capable. I think I have to keep a close watch on him, don't I?" He asked but Joelle shook her head.
"Don't. It's not advisable. He's got a nasty temper."
"My dear," Sylus leaned closer. "You must tell me why you let him terrorize you and dictate your very actions."
Joelle stared at him for a while, glancing to the side.
"I know...that Mar- Tom is a very unstable person. Nobody had the time that he so very much needed. When I gave that to him, just that, time, he showed me his true potential."
"And you think you are that kind of person for him, Miss-"
"Please call me Joelle."
"Joelle, be careful with the illusion you build up for him. Do you think you are the person that can show him where to go?"
Joelle smiled at this question. "I am merely here, Sylus. I'm not showing him anything."
Their time passed by all too easily. Joelle almost pitied that it did - she hadn't enjoyed her existence for a while, but ever since she and Sylus started talking, she actually liked being here. She missed the good conversations with somebody around her age, and for some strange reason she was reminded of Bryan every time she talked to Sylus, who let her down once they were back in the empty common room.
"Good night. Sleep well," Sylus said gently. He smiled to himself once she jumped onto the door handle and disappeared; little did they know. Little did anyone know.
As soon as Joelle had gotten in, the door of the dormitory locked on an instant. The light was dim and a dark green color, she saw Tom sitting on his bed with his back facing her. He turned around with painful slowness, eyes glowing red for the split of a second, his lips were pressed together firmly, fists clenched, his hand clutched tightly around his wand. This confirmed Joelle's earlier assumption that she had been seen by the other boys, who were silently sitting on their beds and watched as Tom got up. Joelle's ears perked back and she curled down, her tail wrapped around her form. The next thing she saw was Tom aiming his wand at her and she was back in her human form.
"Ex-plain." Tom shivered in rage, towering above her as she still sat on the floor. Joelle did not know what to say.
"How long?" He asked her. "For how long does he know?!"
"Couple of weeks," shrugged Joelle.
"You know how much I despise him!" Tom yelled, his loud voice caused the others to flinch. "Explain, explain yourself! Why did you not fight back when he picked you up?! Why did you not bite and scratch him like you did to me when I brought you here to Hogwarts!" He hissed, kneeling down to her level. "Why."
"He did not take me with him against my will." Joelle said simply, looking into his face. That cheeky tone. When did she pick it up? Where was the caring girl that she once was? Tom's eyes widened, his nostrils flared, his cheeks turned paler than usual.
"You...wanted it..." His voice was tiny, almost croaky. He had trouble gulping, that's how dry his throat was, that's how lumpy it felt, his heart was beating rapidly against his chest, his brain could not cope with the wrath burning in the pit of his stomach - inciting his whole body, letting it wander up to his lungs. It felt like Tom could spit fire any moment. Without further hesitation, his hand laced in Joelle's hair, he pulled her to his face, staring into her shocked eyes.
"The both of you will pay for this," he said with utmost seriousness, the promising tone could not be avoided. He let go of her harshly once he got up - Joelle fell back and tried to follow, but Tom had already ordered the others to keep her down.
And then Tom vanished out of the door.
"LET ME GO!" Yelled Joelle, but Lestrange and Black held her in place while Avery had his wand aimed at her.
"Be quiet! Be quiet!" Avery hissed.
"Please..." Black whispered, frantically looking to the left and right.
"Don't make it so hard on us," said Lestrange. Joelle shook her head, unbelieving of the fact that a couple of eleven or twelve year old kids could have so much power over her. She tried to get up again but they used all their might to keep her down; resulting in Avery sending an electrifying feeling through her body with an incantation he muttered. Joelle winced in pain, her head fell back against the floor, causing Black to frown up to Avery in shock.
"Stop it!" Lestrange yelped. "He will kill us if we hurt her too much!"
"Then keep her down! Make her stop screaming!" Avery groaned and Black waved his wand at Joelle. "Silencio!"
Joelle was heard no more. All she had left was trying to wiggle free until Avery had an idea.
"I'll transform her back into a cat, Tom taught us in case we-"
Though a loud scream caused all of them to turn their attention towards the door. It wasn't Tom's voice, Joelle knew it. The three boys looked at each other in shock, and Joelle used this opportunity to rip her arms away from Lestrange and Black, pushing them against Avery, who fell down on an instant.
Joelle ripped the door open and dashed along the endless corridor towards the rest of the dormitories - she heard students behind other doors trying to get out, but it seemed like they couldn't. Tom must have locked all of the doors before going to Farley.
Joelle gulped when she saw the dim light flickering from a room, she hesitated as she wandered ahead, but when she carefully shoved the door open, she saw Tom with his back facing her, around him guys that did not move. With a bloody knife, Tom was standing in front of a body spread on the cold floor - Sylus Farley in a puddle of red liquid. A loud gasp caused Tom to turn around, his eyes alight with something that Joelle had trouble to recognize. He looked insane.
"'Marvolo...what have you done?!" She shrieked. Tom smirked, eyes narrowing again. He spoke with a hypnotized, possessed voice.
"...You will go back to our dormitory now. You will- STOP!" He yelled when Joelle ran in panic. Tom quickly put the knife next to Sylus, then ran after Joelle as fast as he could, but she was faster.
"JOELLE! STOP! STOP! STOP!" Tom kept on yelling, he shot spells at her over and over again - none of them hit her.
"Joelle! Don't be a coward like the other mudbloods! Don't leave!" Yelled Avery when Joelle ran into the common room. Black gasped, he tried to catch Joelle while Lestrange sent spells at her as well, but to no use. Even though having received so much training, when it came down to it, all the boys could do was watching how Tom hurried after Joelle.
"JOELLE! YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME!" Tom kept on yelling as they ran upstairs; he used this opportunity to shoot more spells at her - nothing. Joelle was upstairs now, Tom on her heels, but she was still faster and he knew at once were she was going. Tom felt no more, thought no more, his whole being worked on sheer instinct, the instinct to catch his prey before it ran into another predator's arms.
"JOELLE!" Tom shouted out again, scowling when ahead of him Peeves appeared.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" Tom yelled and threw his elbows to the side to shove past the poltergeist, but Peeves caught onto it at once - the torches lit up with them passing by.
"Oh how good to know
That the cute little cat
was Joelle Cole!" Peeves sang happily around the two of them, then gasped when the Bloody Baron flew along his way, chasing him like Tom chased Joelle.
"Joelle! Please! Stop!" Tom now yelped desperately - then smirked when she came to a halt in front of a wall that would lead to nowhere.
"You don't have anywhere to go..." He muttered and shot the spell at her now; watching how she transformed back into a cat, picking her up before she could flee. There was no time to evaluate the situation now or to comment it in his head, no time to think clearly with his heart pondering rapidly against his chest, sure at last that he had won as he walked off.
"Riddle..." Said a firm voice. No. Tom stopped, he turned around only to look up into the old eyes of Albus Dumbledore.
