The Tale of Tom
Chapter Four: Setting Off
.
.
One more time, Tom thought to himself as he opened the creased envelope
bearing Hogwarts' seal.
HOGWARTS
SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Armando Dippet
(and here
was a big loopy signature Tom could barely read)
Albus Dumbledore
Deputy Headmaster
There was another sheet, a list of supplies, but Tom hadn't looked at that too
thoroughly. He figured he'd look at it when he needed to. Tom glanced over the
letter one more time when something caught his eye. We await your owl by no
later than July 31. His mind started
reeling. It was July 31st today, and, needless to say, he did not have an owl.
What would happen if he didn't contact them? Would he simply be banned from the
world of wizardry?
"No," Tom said to himself under his breath. He would not let them
show him this wonderful world yet not allow him to partake in it. Tom silently
said that he didn't care if he had to bike to Hogwart's,
he was going to let them know.
"Tom, come here." Tom silently wondered why Miss O'Flan
wanted him. It was going to be long ride if he had to ride his bicycle to
Hogwarts.
A strange sight met his eyes. Miss O'Flannery was
hunched the table with a pencil tucked behind her ear. "Er, yes?" Tom said, remembering to speak.
"Oh, Tom." She stood up and Tom could see a
piece of paper with many lines drawn on it. "Here," she said, handing
the piece of paper to a confused Tom.
"Er--what is it exactly for?" Tom trailed
off.
"It's a map."
"A map." Tom repeated. If he squinted he
could see names written across the various lines.
"You use it," she pointed to the map, "to reach the wizarding stores."
"You mean Dragon Alley."
"Diagon, Tom. Diagon."
"When you reach the place circled on the map, you ask for
Frank."
"Frank."
"Yes, Frank. You can take your bicycle." Tom resisted the urge to
repeat bicycle as she clapped her hand on his shoulder. "Good luck."
Tom left and wondered where he was going and why. Lately she hadn't been
telling Tom anything which annoyed him greatly. He looked at the map and
decided to go one block at a time. Tom went to grab the bicycle. He had learned
to ride it perfectly in only a week.
"Hi, Tom," Rose said, waving. "Where are you going?" she
asked, noticing him grabbing the bicycle.
"Er, I'm not sure," Tom said slowly, trying
to find where the map was circled.
"Like a treasure hunt?"
"Yes, Rose. Like a treasure hunt." Rose nodded,
content with that answer and went back to playing with the younger children.
He rolled the bike out of the storage room and set off to--well, wherever he
was destined to go, he supposed.
.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tom Riddle, et cetera, et
all.
A/N: To my dear reviewers: I love you all and sorry if I drag things out too
much. It's my writing style. And all of your wonderful reviews inspired me to
write this chapter. :o)
