The Grounds, Part II
Blood. For hundreds of meters all they could see was crimson against the white snow. Tom took a step forward and put a hand out to keep Minerva from following. She stood completely still.
The tainted snow melted as Tom stepped cautiously through it. Blood ran thick onto the dead grass, creating a sickening crunch with each step. Minerva took a deep breath and clutched her stomach. The air was thick with the putrid smell of death. It looked as if something big had been killed - something very big. Tom walked a bit farther and reached the gamekeeper's hut. The door was slightly ajar.
Minerva restrained herself from running forward. No one had lived in that hut for ten years. It was not only out-of-bounds, but contained several wards to keep students away. Tom walked in without a scratch. He emerged seconds later. "It's empty," he said hoarsly.
He walked around the building once. Minerva gripped her wand, waiting for someone or something to jump out of the darkness. Tom reappeared, shaking his head.
"Should I send up sparks?" Minerva asked quietly.
Tom shook his head. "Not yet. They could still be here." He pulled her off the path into the shadows. Minerva shivered and readjusted her scarf. She glanced at her watch. It was eight o'clock.
"What…who did…" she began, not knowing what to say."
Tom gripped her firmly on the shoulder. "I don't know. I didn't see a body or any sign of one having been dragged away." Minerva looked up into his eyes. He glanced at her, but switched his focus back to the snow.
"You think this…" she motioned to the sea of red "…was from a person?"
Tom ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know," he said shortly. Minerva opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she heard the sound of a stick cracking. They stood rooted beneath the cover of the trees.
They stood side-by-side with their wands extended. Minerva caught a glimpse of Tom's dauntless expression, but could only feel fear. It was too late to send up sparks now; they would be seen for sure before anyone could come to their aid. They could make out the sound of steps crunching against the snow. Whoever it was, they were getting closer.
Tom pushed Minerva further back beneath the trees as a tall figure in a dark cloak appeared. She shifted to keep from falling, but accidently snapped a branch beneath her foot. The figure stopped and turned in their direction. Minerva barely had time to realize what was happening, when Tom leapt from his hiding place and sent a stunner at the hooded stranger who flew backwards onto the ground.
Tom rushed forward and knelt beside the body with his wand out. The hood fell back revealing a mess of chocolate brown hair. "Marquette?"
"Felicia!" Minerva cried. She ran forward and leaned over the Hufflepuff prefect. "Ennervate."
Tom backed away and shot red sparks up into the air.
"What? Where am I?" Felicia mumbled. She looked around wildly and locked eyes with Minerva.
"You scared us," Minerva answered. "Tom stunned you. We thought you were -"
"How did I get here?"
Minerva paused. "You don't remember?"
She shook her head.
"Where's Applegate? You were supposed to be monitoring the Astronomy Tower."
Felicia sat up woozily and shook the snow out of her hair. "The last thing I remember is walking down to dinner."
Minerva tilted her head to the side. Felicia's eyes weren't focusing.
"Tom, I think she's been obliviated," Minerva whispered. He knelt down beside them and examined Felicia's confused expression.
"That, or a Confundus," he replied. "She seems pretty out of it."
"But Dippet said that Smelting's memory had been wiped too. It was probably done by the same person." She stood and helped Felicia to her feet.
Tom frowned. "You can't assume that."
"Tom! I rather think that it's fairly obvious that something is going on. Look at this." She motioned to the bloody mess in the snow. "Wouldn't you assume that whoever did this had something to do with two prefects being attacked?"
"Marquette wasn't attacked. She wandered out into the snow and I stunned her."
"She isn't remembering anything, Tom. She was hit by some kind of memory charm."
Felicia put her hand to her head. "You both know that I'm standing right here, don't you?" she asked.
Tom and Minerva ignored her. "What makes you so sure it's the same person?" Tom asked pointedly.
"Dippet thought that Josiah was attacked because he is a muggleborn. Felicia is too."
"That means nothing. Over half the people in this school are muggleborn or half-blood."
Minerva sighed. They argued so much about the most unimportant things. Josiah had been attacked, Felicia had experienced some sort of intrusion, and someone or something had lost a significant amount of blood. Those were the facts they knew and no amount of arguing was going to change their individual perceptions on the matter. "We'll see in time," she conceded.
Tom's tightened face relaxed. They heard footsteps approaching and the two lucid prefects pulled out their wands. Felicia held her head in her hands, trying to gather her thoughts. Dumbledore emerged from the brush, followed closely by Flitwick.
"Tom, what happened?" Dumbledore asked. He stopped short when he saw Felicia and the mass of blood a few meters beyond.
"Sweet Merlin," Flitwick muttered. The professors drew out their wands and scanned the perimeter. They walked around the hut, but like Tom returned empty-handed.
Dumbledore looked at the three prefects and took a deep breath. "Let's talk inside where we won't be overheard." Minerva glanced over her shoulder in paranoia. No one was there. Tom put a hand behind her back and steered her back up the path.
The group walked up to the castle in silence. Upon entering the entrance hall, Dumbledore sent Felicia to the hospital wing with Professor Flitwick and indicated for Minerva and Tom to follow him.
He stopped outside the entrance to Dippet's office. "Wait here."
Minerva and Tom sat down against the wall.
"How are you doing?" Tom asked quietly.
"I'm okay," she whispered. "I only hope everyone else is."
"You are such a Gryffindor," Tom laughed.
"Well, you are such a Slytherin," Minerva returned crossly. "You could care less what happens to anyone." Tom faced her in surprise.
"Is that what you think of me?" he asked.
Minerva glared at him. "Yes, it is. You barely reacted to Smelting's attack, you purposely badgered me about that kiss just to make me feel embarrassed, you didn't do anything to help Felicia - Tom, I'm beginning to think you actually are heartless." She rose to her feet to stand over him.
Tom looked stunned.
"So you do think I hurt Smelting."
"I don't really know what to think, Tom. I'm tired of you keeping secrets from me. I'm not as idiotic as you think I am. I pick up on things!"
He stood. Minerva could tell that she had hit a sore spot. His eyes glinted with anger. "I've been keeping secrets from you?" he yelled. "Tell me, Minerva. Why exactly did you decided to suddenly become friends with me? And why did Dumbledore create that stupid project for us to work on?"
He took a step forward and she backed up into the wall, attempting to maintain an expression of defiance. She couldn't answer. He continued.
"Why didn't you want me to look at that book? Why do you always have fear behind your eyes when we're alone together? Answer me Minerva!" He grabbed her arms and shook her firmly. "If you want answers, I get answers."
"I-I-" she began. He knew. He had to know. How could she have been so stupid? Of course he was going to figure out that it was a ploy to spy on him.
"Do you want to know what was going through my mind when you broke that twig and Marquette heard turned?"
Minerva was finally able to breath and regained some of her composure. "I suspect it was along the lines of 'oh good, maybe it'll kill McGonagall and I can run away'," Minerva spat angrily. She looked away from him.
Tom grabbed her by the arm and violently spun her around to face him. "My first thought was to keep you safe," he seethed into her ear. She let out a small gasp. He pushed her away. "You know how that makes me feel? Terrible! I'm an utter disgrace to Salazar Slytherin's name! I cared more about a Gryffindor than saving my own skin."
Minerva stared at the ground.
"Why are you so bent on ruining everything?" he asked. "Why do you have to be so bloody perceptive?"
A thought entered Minerva's mind. What was he saying? She looked at him. He was pacing about making wild gestures with his hands. He wasn't thinking.
"I have very little in this world, McGonagall, and I'm not going to lose it all because of you. Either you accept me the way I am, or I want absolutely nothing to do with you. You need to trust me. I am not going to ask you again."
Minerva refrained from mentioning that he hadn't really asked in the first place. She took a deep breath. What was she doing? How was she supposed to make a decision like that with no warning? What was he actually asking?
She studied him for a few moments. His eyes had dimmed slightly from their blazing state and he was breathing heavily. She wanted to believe him, she really did, but she wasn't sure what kind of commitment she was really making. He had tried to save her life by jumping out at Felicia, even though saving wasn't really needed. Still, Dumbledore wouldn't have asked her to watch Tom if he hadn't had a reason. She bit her lip.
"Do you promise to stop keeping me in the dark?" she asked quietly.
"No. I can't promise that," he said in a low voice. "There are some things I won't be able to tell you. That doesn't mean you won't find out at some point, but not right away."
"Then how can I trust you?"
"Minerva, trust is something unconditional. If you knew everything I was doing, there would be no need to trust me."
Minerva stared at Tom.
"Will you at least swear that you had nothing to do with Josiah's attack."
"I will not. You'll just have to trust that I wouldn't do anything you wouldn't approve of."
"Tom, why are you doing this?"
He folded his arms. "Minerva, the world's pretty bleak these days. I have to know who I can trust and who trusts me. I can't have you jumping all over me every two days about some terrible thing I might have done. A few months ago we had a truce, and that was fine, but I don't think it was enough. Now, you need to make a decision."
Minerva glanced at the headmaster's entrance. She was hoping that Dumbledore would appear and she would have more time to think. "Why can't you make the decision?"
"Because I have no reason to mistrust you."
"Except for all those questions you listed off a few minutes ago."
"I don't need the answers. I just wanted to show you that you have secrets too."
He held out his hand. "Your answer, Minerva."
Minerva looked at his open hand tentatively, before taking it in her own. "I trust you Tom. I won't accuse you again."
Tom's face brightened and he pulled her close. "Good."
They stood in silence for a few minutes.
"Now where were we when we were unfortunately interrupted?" Tom asked impishly. He slid his arm around Minerva's shoulders, but she pulled away and shook her head.
"I may trust you now, but that doesn't mean I can't still be mad at you." She put her hands on her hips as he tried to grab her hand. "And it most certainly doesn't mean that I'll go head-over-heels for you either. I think we're friends now - finally."
Tom smirked. "Very well, but I don't know how long you'll be able to resist me."
"Longer than you think," she said dryly.
Flitwick hustled around the corner, but slowed when he saw them. "Have you been in to see the headmaster yet?" he asked.
They both shook their heads.
"How is Josiah doing?" Minerva asked the tiny professor.
"His memory is still gone," Flitwick replied with a small quiver, " but he seems to be doing better physically. Madame DuMedici patched him up quite nicely."
Minerva nodded in grim satisfaction. She hoped she would be able to talk with Smelting, and that was going to be a lot easier if he stayed at Hogwarts over break. With two more days of exams, she was going to have no time for interviews.
Exams. Minerva let out an audible groan.
"What is it?" Tom asked.
"We still have exams tomorrow."
Tom wrinkled his nose.
"That has already been taken care of, Miss McGonagall," said Dumbledore, walking out from behind the statue of a gargoyle. "Headmaster Dippet has canceled all exams due to recent events and will be sending students home tomorrow morning."
"What?" Tom and Minerva cried in unison.
"The headmaster feels that it is best to clear this matter up while students are away at break," Dumbledore explained with a hint of disdain for the headmaster's decision. "They will return as normal after the holidays. I believe he does not wish to chance another attack, or the media may get involved."
"What about the project?" Minerva asked.
Dumbledore lowered his head. "I'm afraid it may have to be postponed, Miss McGonagall. The headmaster feels that all students should return home."
Tom's mouth fell open. "All students?"
"I'm very sorry Mr. Riddle. There is nothing I could say to disuade him. He seems quite firm on the matter."
"But I can't go - I've always stayed here for Christmas! Let me go talk to him." He started towards the door, but Minerva grabbed the back of his robes.
"Bad idea, Tom," she warned.
Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "I'll speak with him in the morning when he's less - emotional. Perhaps he'd make an exception provided you help in the investigation."
"Yes, I'll do whatever you want."
"Very well. Now I suggest you both get some rest." Dumbledore suddenly looked very old and tired. "Please be careful returning to your dormitories." He turned and began speaking quietly to Flitwick.
Minerva and Tom nodded and walked down the hall towards Gryffindor tower. Once they were out of sight, Minerva stopped. "Tom, I just want to let you know. If Dippet says no, you can stay with my mother and me." Tom looked at her in surprise and she lowered her eyes. "I think it'll be quite lonely without Dad around and it might be nice to have some company. We could work on the project there. We've got a big library."
Tom's lips slowly turned up into a smile. "Thank you, Minerva."
They continued walking until they reached the portrait of the fat lady. Tom grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry for the things I said earlier."
"Me too," she replied softly. "I don't think either of us are ourselves right now."
He leaned in and placed a light kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she whispered.
Tom walked down to the Slytherin common room with his wand out. He wasn't taking any chances. He couldn't believe the amount of things that had transpired in one day. He grinned. He had successfully worked his way into Minerva's trust in the course of a few minutes.
He would, of course, have to be more careful now; the last two days had confirmed that. Minerva was going to stay close now. He couldn't help but smile when he thought about her. She had invited him to her home! He wasn't sure if it was the fact that the plan was working or that he seemed to be developing a true friend, but he was incredibly pleased. It would, however, set him back if he wasn't able to stay over break. He needed that time. He needed to stay on schedule. He smirked again. Maybe he could borrow Minerva's watch.
It was a time turner. He could tell. He had never seen it up close, but he could see some of the workings in it. She probably had never used it except to take extra classes here and there and study more. It could definitely be useful in the near future.
He would also need to find a way to get Avalon Figg on his side. He knew her popularity with the Gryffindors would keep them from suspecting anything. He would speak to Avery after the holidays.
Now if only Dumbledore could convince Dippet that he was a daft old fool. He didn't hold out much hope. Dumbledore seemed intent on getting the headmaster's position for himself and he needed Dippet's support for that.
Tom bypassed a few third years in the common room and entered his dormitory. He lounged back on his bed confidently. Yes. Everything was falling into place.
Author's note: That last bit from Tom's side was for Cinnamon Heart. I know you like analyzing Tom. Sorry it wasn't longer. It would have given too much away if his thoughts were throughout most of the chapter. Thank you all for the great reviews once again. You guys are wonderful. So...what's going to happen next? Will Dippet decide to let them stay or will they go to Minerva's? Has Tom even done anything bad yet? What happened to Smelting and Marquette? Just some thoughts to ponder as I wrestle with the next chapter. Review!