Chapter 34: Taken
The figure laughed at the response, and the other adults who had heard them chuckled slightly. Tom tensed at their reaction while Harry looked around, a bit worried yet a bit indignant at their response.
"Pray, do tell, what are your sources." The stranger inquired.
"I have no obligations to tell you." Tom replied icily.
"Oh but you do." The temperature became several degrees colder as the figure stood up abruptly, leering over the two students. "Mere first years would not know of our existence much less our arrival. You want information, I can see it in your eyes." The face was a bit more visible now that the figure was standing in front of them. It was a gaunt, pale face with aged lines creeping in at the edges. Black eyes pinned themselves sharply into Tom's mind, and he felt as if a thousand needles were piercing his skull. Giving out a pained cry, Tom fell to the floor, Harry at his sides in an instant, asking if he was alright. Too pained to respond, Tom only clutched at his head as he waited for the pain to recede.
Whirling around in fury, Harry glared at the tall man.
"What did you do to him?" she seethed.
The man's gaze flickered to her own and he gave her a leveled stare. The two pair of eyes bore into each other and after a few minutes of just staring, the man blinked, and uncharacteristically thoughtful expression crossing his face.
"Interesting, quite interesting indeed." He muttered to himself.
Glancing at Tom on the floor, the man chuckled darkly.
"Your friend is quite the enigma." He rasped out. "You have potential, but you need to grow. Perhaps, this may even be the trigger. Struggle, and see if you can overcome your limits." A maniacal gleam appeared in his eyes.
"I shall … borrow your friend in the meantime. Find us if you can." He laughed breathlessly.
Without warning, he delivered a swift kick to Tom who was regaining his senses. Then before Harry realized what happened, he grabbed her by the arm and disappeared, followed by the resounding cracks of multiple other apparitions.
All that was left behind was a pair of glasses that had fallen down in the sudden movement. It was this that Tom saw last before he blacked out.