A Christmas Carol
Chapter 03 - The Ghost of Christmas Present
It was obvious that Tom Riddle wouldn't be able to sleep after what had happened. The boy was lying down on his bed, looking at the ceiling with his widened, blue eyes, trying to cope with everything that had happened that night… First, Myrtle's ghost and, then, that girl called Hermione. All that madness had to be true, or else he was going mad. The Slytherin was pulled from his thoughts as he heard a small giggle coming from somewhere near. Taking a deep breath, he got up and looked around, seeing that there was no one in the dormitory with him. Tom heard it again, a soft laugh that seemed to be coming from the common room, and decided to go after the noise, trying to figure out what the next "ghost" would be like.
When he finally reached the common room, Tom couldn't help but stare at it in wonder. The whole room was beautifully decorated, much different from the usual Christmas decoration that the Slytherins put up in their dungeon.
"Oh, hello," a dreamy voice spoke, making Riddle stop staring at the decoration and start to look for who had spoken to him, "I was waiting for you, Mr Riddle."
He turned around to see a girl standing behind him. She had big blue eyes, long blond hair that reached her waist and, unlike the ghost of Christmas past, wasn't wearing Hogwarts' uniform, but a silver dress that resembled a Christmas tree.
"I think you already know, but…" she smiled, "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present."
"Yes, the other spirit said you would come," the boy whispered, watching as the girl looked around the room.
"Pretty, isn't it? I could stay here all night, just looking…"
"What? No. You have to show me something that I don't know what it is, so do it quickly, alright?" Tom ordered, approaching the girl who was staring at him with a curious expression on her face.
She smiled and looked around one last time before extending her hand to the Slytherin. Riddle muttered something under his breath and held her hand, seeing everything around them vanish and waited for the uncomfortable flight he had experienced with Hermione, but, instead, they simply seemed to apparate into another Hogwarts' room. The place was also decorated, but it's decoration was nothing in comparison to what he had seen in his common room, and there were some people in it. He could see professor Slughorn standing by the door, greeting some students that had just arrived to his Christmas party.
"Merry Christmas, Albus! Merry Christma, headmaster," the Potion's Master smiled happily at the two other teachers that had arrived, "It's good to see you could come…"
"We wouldn't ignore one of your parties, Horace," Dippet laughed, "It seems that everyone is in here, am I right?"
"Yes, yes… Well, except for Mr Riddle."
"He didn't come down to dinner yesterday," said Dumbledor.
"He told me he wasn't feeling very well. The poor boy must be stressed with all his studies," Slughorn shook his head, "With the OWLs coming up, Mr Riddle must be studying more than ever."
"Come on, Horace, the OWLs are still far away!"
"I know, Albus, but you know Tom Riddle. The boy is really responsible when it comes to studying, you know how he is terrified of not getting good marks at the OWLs."
"Such a responsible boy, Mr Riddle," the headmaster smiled.
"Indeed, headmaster," Horace laughed softly, "I tell you: I won't be surprised if, onde day, Tom becomes Minister of Magic."
The Trasnfiguration's teacher smiled at the other two before excusing himself to talk with two Ravenclaws that were walking by. Tom mentally cursed Dumbledore… The old wizard was always thinking that he was up to something bad and never gave him enough credit. The smile from the deputy headmaster was as fake as the so well known fake smiles from Tom Riddle himself.
"Come here," the ghost took his hand and leaded him across the room, "Do you know them?"
Riddle looked at the two Gryffindors the girl was pointing at. Minerva McGonagall and Charlus Potter. They were both at the Quidditch team, both chasers, and had been friends since their first year… and, as every good Gryffindor, they were extremely annoying.
"It's good that he isn't here," the Gryffindor boy spoke, "At least we don't have to look at his stupid 'I'm-better-than-you' face."
"Yes, but… I feel bad for Slughorn, you know how happy he was because all the students and teachers were going to come to his party."
"How much do you bet Riddle's indisposition is his own invention?"
"I know he made it up, Charlus," Minerva sighed, "Riddle is an expert when it comes to lying and looking like the most innocent person in the world… That's why I prefer to stay away from that creature."
The Slytherin laughed sarcastically before turning around and staring at the ghost.
"Why did you show me that? I know they aren't fond of me."
"Don't you see?" the girl asked, raising one of her eyebrows, "There are a lot of people who like you," she pointed at Dippet and Slughorn, who were still talking to each other, "But there are also those who hate you due to the way you're…ahm…"
"The way I am…?"
"Arrogant, fake and annoying," the girl smiled as if it were the most normal thing on Earth to say that to someone, "Shall we go?"
Without waiting for a answer, the spirit took his hand and, suddenly, they were in a completely different room. This one was much richer than Slughorn's room. There were three boys sitting in a dark couch by a fireplace.
"Malfoy, Avery and Lestrange!" Riddle approached them, "I didn't know they spent the holidays together! Why don't they stay at Hogwarts?"
The ghost shrugged and watched as the room's door was opened and a tall, blond woman entered.
"Abraxas, dear? Your father and I are going to the Black's now, alright?" the witch, Mrs Malfoy, bent down to kiss her son's forehead, "See you later."
"See you later, mom."
The three teenagers stayed in silence until the woman left.
"So, what do you think Riddle is doing by now?" Canopus Lestrange asked as a malicious smile appeared on his lips.
"He's probably at one of Sughorn's parties," Malfoy answered, "You know how Slug likes him."
"Or he's in the dormitory, sulking and spending Christmas alone," this time it was Alphard Avery who spoke, "He must think that he is too good to show up in Slug's party… You know, the Heir of Slytherin among common students? Never!"
The three Slytherins laughed out loud. Tom could swear that he was blushing and promised to himself that, once his classmates were back at Hogwarts, he would take good care of them.
"If he finds out you speak of him like that," Abraxas laughed, "You're dead, Alphard."
"If he finds out you invited us to spend the holidays here and didn't asked him to come, you're also dead, my friend!" Avery smiled.
"I thought about inviting him, but then we would have to endure him talking about OWLs and his crazy plans during all the break," the blond boy sighed and took a sip of butterbeer from the glass he had in his hand.
"You did the right thing, Abraxas," Lestrange nodded, "Avery and I also didn't want Riddle here."
"I love how Riddle's friends are all faker than him," Alphard laughed, "No one really likes him… Even we, his 'death eaters', don't like him! I mean, I don't… Annoying half-blood."
"So why are you always around him?"
"Because, Malfoy, he has good ideas, good marks and is influent… We can't deny that," the boy answered, "His friendship may be of use in the future."
Riddle couldn't believe in what he had just heard. They were his friends! At Hogwarts, they admired him, feared him! How was that possible that those boys despised him so much?
"I can't believe that…"
"That they talk about you like that?" the spirit asked, approaching him, "As I told you, there are people that adore you and people that hate you."
"But they do admire me! At school…"
"They may admire you, but they dislike your company," the girl smiled sadly, "Tell, Mr Riddle, what's so good about being admired and not being loved by your friends?"
The boy didn't answer, instead, he simply watched as his housemates continued talking and laughing by the fireplace. That weird sensation of loneliness that he hadn't felt in years seemed to come back to him. Shaking his head and looking back at the spirit, Tom could see that she was looking at the Christmas tree that decorated the Malfoy's room, poking at one of the tiny crystal pendants that were hanging from the tree.
"This one looks like a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, I think."
"What is a Crumple-Horned Snorkack?," Riddle asked, looking at the girl as If she was some kind of lunatic.
"It's an animal. They are very difficult to be spotted… I think they are shy."
"When you say 'very difficult to be spotted', you mean that they doesn't exist, am I right, spirit?"
"No, Mr Riddle… Oh, may I call you 'Tom'?," the girl whispered, "By the way, my name is Luna."
"Looney Luna," the Slytherin thought and tried to restrain himself from laughing.
"Yes, Looney Luna," she smiled and took him by the hand again.
They were now standing in the middle of a dark corridor Tom couldn't recognize. The place was beautifully decorated, but It was possible to tell that it wasn't a wizard's or a witch's house, everything looked so… muggle-ish.
"Do you know this place?"
"No."
"Come."
Lune leaded him across the corridor until they reached a door. The girl looked at him before opening it and entering a cozy and pretty room where three unknown figures were sitting by the fireplace, much like how Abraxas, Canopus and Alphard had been back at the Malfoy's.
"Do you know them?"
The boy approached the fireplace and gasped when the people's face became visible.
"How…?"
One of them was an old lady with graying dark hair and dark blue eyes. She was holding hands with an old man with gray hair, light blue eyes and with a face marked with wrinkles. But it wasn't the old couple who caught his attention the most… It was the third person, a handsome man with perfectly combed dark hair, pale skin and, like the old man, icy blue eyes. It wasn't necessary to think too much to understand who that man was.
"We are in a muggle village called Little Hangleton and they are the most influent family around here," Luna approached them, "Years ago, the Riddles' son, Tom, ran away with a girl who lived across the river behind this house. They went missing for months, until the boy came back. Alone."
"He left her because she was a witch," the Slytherin whispered, feeling anger build up inside himself and his eyes welling up with tears, "It's his fault that she's dead."
"Don't be so harsh, Tom."
"Don't call me 'Tom'! Don't call by this muggle name!"
"It's your name, Tom," the girl smiled, "But, back to subject, don't take sides too early… You don't know his version of the story."
"His version? There is no such a thing as 'his version of the story'!"
"I can't talk too much about this, Tom," Luna whispered and looked around, smiling softly, "Did you know that Amortentia is a really strong and dangerous potion?"
"What does Amortentia have to do with this whole situation?"
"I don't know, why don't you find out for me?" she laughed quietly, "But, Tom, tell me… Isn't this what you wanted? Tell me the truth! You've always dreamed about being here, no? With your family."
"No."
"Look at them, Tom," the spirit pulled the sleeve of his pyjamas, making him approach his father, "You wanted to be here with them… You wanted to belong in this family."
The boy shook his head, trying to ignore all the emotions that he was feeling at the moment. He felt the girl taking his hand and leading it until his fingertips touched the face of the older Tom Riddle. He could feel the other man's skin beneath his fingers but apparently the other couldn't feel him, as he didn't flinch at the touch.
"Now you know where your family lives, Tom."
Luna smiled at him and let go of his hand. The Slytherin kept staring at his father, trying to understand what the girl wanted him to learn from this unexpected visit.
"Damn it," he whispered, raising his hand to wip away some tears that had escaped from his eyes. It was the second time he had cried that night. How embarrassing.
Riddle felt the spirit hand in his and, before he could notice, he wasn't in Little Hangleton anymore, but inside his dormitory, and there was no Luna by his side.
N/A: Third chapter! Luna is the second ghost because... I've always wanted to know how Tom would react if he met Luna Lovegood :D He is all serious and 'stick-to-the-facts' like Hermione and Luna is all dreamy, believing in crazy stuff and all, I thought it would be fun to put these two characters together in a story (: . Tom's muggle family appeared in this chapter... I must say I love the Riddles, all of them ._. I have a thing for Tom Riddle Sr, I mean, I love his character and absolutely love to write him! As this fanfiction takes place during the year of 1942, Tom Jr hadn't killed them yet (: I think he kills them during the summer of 1943 if I'm not mistaken...
Well, that's it (: Thank you, givetherabbitthefreakintrix, EllyUchiha and Dracarot , for reviewing last chapter (: And Merry Christmas for everyone who is reading this :D
Hope you enjoyed it (:
Ari.