"Have a seat, all four of you," commanded Mrs. Cole. Glancing at each of the children seated in her office she could see the clear division between Tom and the other three. She knows that it's always been there but, something just feels - off. There's a definite change in the air between the trio and the quiet black haired boy. He seems less…..resigned? As if this situation isn't a surprise. But, surely - No. That's preposterous. Thought Mrs. Cole. Mrs. Cole shook herself to clear her head and focus on the task at hand - which is dealing with the entire ordeal that seems to center around the four children seated in front of her.
"Now, what's going on here? There's obviously something, so don't you dare lie to me," said Mrs. Cole, her voice cutting sharply. She refrained from rubbing her temples, and instead just stared down each child in turn. Her gaze was firm and unrelenting.
"Yes, Ma'am," Tom replied quietly and clearly. He was refusing to look at the other children, Mrs. Cole noticed - no surprise there - she thought, he always was the quietest one of the lot, even when he was a babe. "They weren't pleased about the visit by Mr. Dumbledore. It appears that they took it onto themselves to teach me a lesson, as they put it, said that I couldn't leave for school in the fall without knowing my place."
Mrs. Cole was only slightly shocked by what she had just heard. She knew that the other children didn't necessarily get along with Tom. In comparison to the other children, Tom was a bit odd. He always held himself so well. Rarely ever letting emotions filter through. She'd never seen a child, let alone a babe, that never cries. The level of control of his emotions was something she had never come across in all her years as the matron of this orphanage. Tom was definitely an enigma.
Whilst Mrs. Cole was contemplating everything that had just happened and what each of the children had to say for themselves, the children thought that she had missed the furtive glasses and quirking of eyebrows that were taking place only feet away from her. Oh, do they honestly believe that I do not see what they are doing? Children! She thought. "Enough of this," she finally said out loud, her voice cutting and harsh in the small room. "Whilst I understand that you three will never see eye to eye with Tom and that you, Tom, will never see eye to eye with them. We need to move past this. You four aren't young children anymore. It's time to grow up!" It's not even 9 am, and it's already been an exhausting day, thought Mrs. Cole.
"Tom, do you know anything about how Billy's rabbit ended up in the rafter?" She leaned forward towards Tom, her gaze firm. He began to cut her off, but she held up a hand to forestall him. "I'm not saying that you did it, but it needs to be said."
Tom nodded once and smiled at the Matron. "Of course, ma'am. I'd be glad to inform you of what I know." Tom looked down after his initial sentence, quickly hiding the smirk that threatened to come across his face. "After the incident last night I was able to break from of the hall cupboard. I suppose….that perhaps they didn't tie the ropes as tight as they thought or shut the door completely. Because I was able to wiggle out and tip-toe back to my room not long after they left me there." At this, Tom heaved a small sign and swallowed before continuing his tale. "Once I got back to my room I changed into my night clothes and climbed into bed. I didn't see anybody else until I came down the stairs this morning for breakfast. Honest, ma'am!" cried Tom as he finally looked Mrs. Cole in the eyes. Inwardly he was smirking. That was one of his best performances to date.
"Thank you for your honesty, Tom," declared Mrs. Cole in her swift all-business manner. "Now, you three," she said turning her head towards the other three children sitting in her office. "Amy, what can you tell me about the circumstances leading up to the incident this morning?"
Amy glanced around the room quickly before taking a breath and beginning her tale. Making sure that the events of the night before didn't place either of them, aside from Tom obviously, in a bad light. "We didn't do nothing - " But, Mrs. Cole cut in "Anything, Amy. You didn't do anything." Amy swallowed and took a breath "Right, we didn't do anything to Tom. But, you know how weird he is and how odd things always happen around him. So, wouldn't it be logical to assume think that Tom was the one that strung up Billy's rabbit last night? I mean, who else would do that to the poor dear?" Amy looked back at with big round doe-like eyes and batted her eyelashes once, twice, just to make the innocent look settle in. Mrs. Cole wasn't deaf, dumb nor stupid. She knew that neither of these children were telling the complete truth. Each of them had to be leaving something out, it just didn't sit right with her. However, she had no real way to prove it.
Turning around and walking back to stand behind her large desk, Mrs. Cole eyed each of the four children in her office, "Alright, you four. There is nothing I can do as of yet about this incident." Her gaze found it's way to poor Billy. "It's unfortunate about your rabbit Billy. But, honestly, I haven't a clue how to explain away how it found itself caught up in the rafters before the dining room door." At this, she held a hand up to forestall Billy's exclamation of doubt. Eyeing Billy, she continued. "Needless to say, you four need to stop acting out like this towards each other." After a glance at Tom to forestall the imminent interruption she continued on. "You are on the cusps of leaving Primary school, and it's time to put these schoolyard - although, you've been disagreeing since well before either of you started school-" At this she pinched the bridge of her nose and continued on in her spiel. "Now, this is the last I want to hear about this. All of you are to report to kitchen duty this evening in helping the staff set up for the evening meal. It is obvious you four know more than you're letting on. Shaking her head she looked back at Billy. "Perhaps, boy, we can look into eventually procuring you a new pet. However, that day is not today. Dismissed. All of you."
"Yes, ." All of the children said sullenly and filed out of the room quickly - probably glad to just make it out of her office without having been met with the cane! - Tom, bringing up the rear of the group. Deep down, she had an odd feeling about that Boy. It's why she said what she did to that Professor Dumbledore when he came on the boys 11th birthday. But, she decided that they only needed to make it to September 1st. After that, hopefully, the disruptions between the children in the orphanage will calm down some. Drawing a deep breath stood up and walked to the cabinet behind and to the right of her large desk and pulled out a glass decanter filled with Whiskey and poured herself a dram of the brown colored liquid. Knocking back the shot of whiskey seemed to relax , she then turned and put it back into her locked cabinet and turned to leave her office. It was, only 9 am, God knows what those kids could've gotten into in the short time since they vacated her office not less than a quarter of an hour ago.
"GAH! I know that little berk did it! How could NOT see through his lies?!" Billy yelled on the way down the hallway to their rooms directly after leaving 's office. "What do you think, Dennis? Amy?" Amy looked at Dennis and nudge his shoulder in a way that told him he better respond because she sure wasn't going to be the first to say anything.
Dennis scowled at Amy for nudging him and trying to divert Billy's attention away from herself. "Well, seeing how it happened obviously sometime after we left Tom in the cupboard last night it had to be him." Dennis started slowly "However, what I don't understand is HOW he was able to come into get out of the cupboard, come into your room, get your rabbit AND then make it down stairs and string him up in the rafters. That's got to be at least 10 feet of the ground! Tom isn't anywhere even near half that height!" Dennis' voice became more excited and heated as he went on. But, suddenly, it just lacked it's previous conviction. "Something doesn't feel right. Do you know what i mean?" Dennis finished looking between his two friends. Both of whom were nodding their heads in agreement.
For the first time since leaving 's office, Amy spoke up. "I think we should get him back. I mean, who else could it have been? Nobody else dislikes us. Plus, he's a Freak! Maybe he can do freaky things that none of us can see or understand?" Just then, Amy stopped speaking. The boys turned the heads to look at her but they understood a moment later, Tom was just coming onto the landing to their floor from the stairwell and neither of them wanted to talk about this in front of him. They needed to stay quiet and out of the lime-light for the foreseeable future. Reaching her room, she opened the door and motioned for the boys to follow her in so that they could speak in a more private setting. As she was closing the door Tom walked past, and cold chill seemed to overwhelm her and she shivered as she closed the door and turned to Dennis and Billy. Meanwhile, Tom continued down the hallway with his ever-knowing smirk residing on his face for just the barest of moments before being wiped clean, his blank mask up once again.