A/N: Hey people! I was going to wait until Wednesday to update, but I just couldn't wait that long XD
Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, especially TheCrzyinglyInsne1
Unrelated to the story but it's my 17th birthday on Thursday and I have an exam : ( is annoyed
Anyway, here is chapter two! Hope you enjoy reading It as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Sam x
Chapter 2
Mr Riddle walked until day-light. It was tedious beyond belief that he couldn't apparate to his destination, but, alas, he had not seen his wand for 15 years.
What a relief then when he finally found himself nearing the dark, murky alleyway he had been seeking.
He cast a wary eye at the shops with a faint paranoia that he might be recognized. He needed to remain inconspicuous.
Everything around him seemed ghostly familiar; as if no time had elapsed since he had last set foot there.
He stopped suddenly outside the one building he had been most anxious to see: Mrs Lestrange's Meat Pies.
He stared at the top floor window for a while and gulped before gripping the door handle and letting himself into the shop. The cheerful tinkle of the bell contrasted jarringly with the over-cast weather and eerie atmosphere of the place.
There was a woman with unkempt hair and a dirty dress standing behind the counter stabbing at a paltry piece of meat with a knife. It took her a moment to realise he was there but then she looked up and gasped, flung the knife onto the counter and hurried towards him.
"A customer!" she breathed, beckoning him to a chair. "You gave me such a fright!" she tittered, taking his cloak and hanging it onto a rusty nail on the door.
Mr Riddle looked at her confusedly and she flushed. "All I meant is that I haven't had a customer for weeks. Did you come here for a pie, sir?" she asked hopefully.
He shrugged which she seemed to take as an encouraging sign and proceeded to clatter about the shop, seizing a dusty rolling pin and rolling flat a ball of pastry.
"What is that?" she winced, as she spotted a cockroach on the floor and stamped on it forcefully.
"I bet you think we've got the plague from the way that people keep avoiding the place. Heaven knows, I try sir. Would you like a drop of Butterbeer?" she enquired, already pouring a generous amount into a dirty looking glass.
"Mind you, I can hardly blame them. These are probably the worst pies in Hogsmeade." she sighed dejectedly. "If you doubt it, try some!"
She thrust a plate under his nose and folded her arms. Mr Riddle scrutinised the mouldy looking lump of pastry in front of him before taking a tentative bite. He allowed a moment for the foul taste to spread over his tongue and then shuddered and spat it out.
"Isn't that just disgusting?" said Bellatrix as she wandered around the filthy shop, half-heartedly starting to prepare a second batch of pies. "Mrs McGonagall has a pie shop. Something funny going on there, I can tell you!" she leaned over the counter conspiratorially, clearly eager to share some gossip with her rare customer. "Lately all the neighbour's owls have disappeared! Can you imagine? Popping people's owls in pies! Never happen in my shop! And those owls are quick…" she added darkly.
"Times are hard, sir." she sighed as Mr Riddle tried to wash down the lingering flavour of the pie with his Butterbeer.
Bellatrix peered at him curiously as recognition dawned upon her.
Her heart leapt; he'd come home.
Another A/N: I am aware that Knockturn Alley isn't in Hogsmeade but I wanted it to sound more Harry Potter-ish so for the sake of this story, it is lol.
Thanks for reading. Please leave a review if you have the time xx