Previously on 'The Redemption'... Dumbledore asks Cho to help change Tom's and the Wizarding world's fate.

Chapter 30- Return

"I just got an owl from Abraxas. It seems like he's returning to Hogwarts tonight after a miraculous recovery."

Tom didn't bother to turn towards Orion as he replied, "Yes, it seems that way."

Orion sighed noisily, reclining back on his chair and stretching "And our orders about the Chang girl remain the same?"

Tom's jaw tightened, his tone brokering no room for argument. "Nothing has changed Black. Feel free to inform the others who have no doubt been asking."

Orion smartly left it at that, pretending to turn his attention to the Professor who had just entered while he internally pondered their short discussion. Riddle, perceptive as he always had been, was right in his assessment about the dissension amongst his followers who had been wondering ever since the news spread across school. To Orion himself, he didn't particularly care for the girl – a blood traitor yes, but not nearly on the same level as the mudbloods that roamed the halls of the school. She was fairly low on the priority list so he was quite content to leave her alone even before Riddle issued the less than subtle warning and Abraxas' unfortunate incident.

While Riddle keeping friendly companionship (and a female one at that) was generally unheard of, Orion and the others were willing to let it pass. Everyone was curious about the new girl, and she was quite pretty though not to his personal taste, and Orion could not blame Riddle for having some fun on the sidelines while they continued their plans.

But over time, Orion began to realise that she wasn't just some passing fancy that would leave once Riddle was done with her. He protected her from his followers, punished one of his own from the inner circle and was no doubt willing to make plenty more examples of people if they were to go against his wishes. It was blindingly clear to Orion that she wasn't a part of the plan, and he wondered why their leader continued to go against their shared ideals for someone as insignificant as her, especially when they were no longer together.

That train of thought led to another more familiar one, a frequent hushed conversation amongst the gossips in Slytherin that no one dared speak out loud in close vicinity to Riddle. Why had they separated? Did Riddle grow bored of her? Discarded her like an old toy?

Orion penned a line, writing down the notes verbatim as he remained distracted in his thoughts. No, Riddle didn't tire of her. As much as he tried to hide it, Orion saw the way he would look at her when he thought no one was looking and there was never any anger in his gaze or bitterness lining his expression. He would look as he always did, composed and aloof but Orion could see the cracks that let on to the fact that perhaps he was not as in control as he pretended to be.

His swept his gaze over to the black haired girl sitting towards the front, contemplating why she hadn't told anyone if she did indeed know. He had seen her to be fairly chummy to Dumbledore, had she been a spy for him? Or did she keep it quiet out of fear of Riddle?

Orion was more inclined to believe it was the latter. If she were a spy for Dumbledore, she would not have been sitting in the classroom, diligently writing notes with a bit too much vigour to be convincing.

Orion continued to mull over those thoughts, knowing that his curiosity will most probably have harsh consequences like that inflicted on Abraxas but finding that he did not care as much as he ought to. As much as Tom was their revered leader, he was not unbeknownst to the fact that however much on a miniscule level, Orion's influence and wealth in the pureblood community was needed. As Abraxas had already been taught a lesson, it was unlikely that Tom would such harshly punish another member of the inner circle. Call it arrogance, confidence or a sneaking suspicion – Tom Riddle could not afford disloyalty.

Orion allowed himself a miniscule smirk at the thought.

Cho could not fight her own curiosity come dinner time. News was that Abraxas had mysteriously healed from whatever curse he was experiencing and was due back at Hogwarts tonight. Despite her hardest to convince herself otherwise, she felt responsible for his stay at St Mungo's. As twisted as it sounded, if she were not here, then Riddle would have never felt the need to hex Malfoy…

"Shouldn't he take some time off to rest?" asked Arlene, her forehead creasing as she spied the tell-tale platinum blond hair at the Slytherin table and effectively interrupting Cho's train of thought.

Henry shrugged, picking up a ridiculously large Cornish pastie that ended up taking up the majority of his gilded dinner plate. "I suspect he wants to graduate the same time as his friends."

"Who can care about grades when you've just been cursed into insanity?" remarked Lucinda callously, giving an eye roll for effect "That's just ridiculous."

"He's a Malfoy, of course grades matter," remarked Henry, digging into his food "Can you imagine what his parents would say if he were to be held back a year?"

The others agreed, deciding that perhaps the usual caring and nurturing role of parental figures were not all that prominent in the nature of Malfoy's family. Although Abraxas was known to be quite cold-hearted and borderline cruel, majority of the Ravenclaw house did not have any trouble with him and by the most part, seemed to pity him for whatever curse or hex had befallen him. The two houses seemed to be on neutral terms – neither friendly nor openly hostile, and most inhabitants appeared to be quite content with that.

Which was why it was troubling as in that exact moment, that Abraxas' eyes met Cho's from across the great hall, an almost murderous expression on his pale face.

Cho immediately averted her eyes, her face flushing red from an array of emotions. Surprise, embarrassment, fear and oddly enough, a hint of concern. There was no love lost between them but Cho could see the toll that his extended trip to St Mungo's had on the boy. Sunken eyes, a greyish tint to his skin, and he was thin- much thinner than a healthy 17-year-old boy should be. On top of that, she couldn't help remembering the version of Malfoy that she had discussed Quidditch with – a little confused from his condition, but happy and carefree.

Feeling a little confidence at the thought, she raised her head until she could see him again. He wasn't looking at her anymore but his posture was tense and rigid. Cho noticed that he was talking to a boy she recognised from class – tall, pale and with almost black hair that brushed the top of his collar. Orion wasn't it?

As if sensing her thoughts, he turned away from Abraxas and met her eyes. Frozen on the spot, Cho watched as he gave her a tiny smile and a nod in acknowledgement before turning back to his conversation. Cho was surprised to see no malice in his expression but she felt uneasy nonetheless.

Excusing herself from the table, Cho hurriedly left the Great Hall and decided that a quiet night at the library was in order to distract herself from her thoughts.

A/N: I have a few days off so I finally have a bit of time to write! While this chapter was a little dry, things should hopefully be picking up story wise in the next chapter ;)

In other news, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and since tomorrow is New Year's Eve - Happy New Year! :)

Special thanks to guest reviewer Sanchita. I also have the problem of forgetting to sleep when I'm busy reading :P

Love,

DecoyDream x