Catharsis [Tom Riddle]

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Tom shoved the door of the Room of Requirement open.

"Oblivia-"

Fuck.

"Avalon!"

He didn't have time to think. His wand pointed towards her and he quickly disarmed her before she could finish casting her own spell.

Her wand flew towards him and he caught it in mid-air, his eyes wide and frantic as he looked at the broken girl before him. Tears were streaming from her bloodshot eyes, her entire body trembling as she watched her wand fly out of her grasp and into his.

She shakily held her hand up and he felt the wand desperately trying to slip out of his fingers, but he gripped it even tighter, refusing to let her summon it back into her grasp.

"Give me my wand, Tom," she demanded, though her voice was frail and shaky. He hated seeing her like that.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?!" he asked.

"I said give me my fucking wand, Tom!" she yelled, storming over towards him, eyes alight with fury and pain.

He quickly shoved it into the inside pocket of his coat before she reached him. "You were trying to Obliviate yourself?!"

She didn't say anything, avoiding his eyes as she tried to grasp it back. Her hands pounded angrily against his chest but he caught her wrists before she could even attempt to reach her wand.

"Let me go!" she sobbed, thrashing violently against his hold.

"Do you even realize how dangerous that is, Avalon?! You could have wiped your entire mind clean!"

When her eyes met his, they were burning with such a fervent animosity. The weight of her hatred felt as though it could tear a knife through his heart. But, there was something else in her eyes that he hadn't seen before...

It was uncertainty... hesitation... doubt.

    The feeling of his skin scorching with an intense pain quickly drew him out of his thoughts, though.

    She channeled all of her energy into making her skin unbearably hot to touch, though he bit back the pain and held onto her. Her words were laced with venom when she snarled, "Let-"

    "Avalon-"

    "Me-"

    "Stop it-"

    "Go."

    A sharp hiss left his mouth as he bit down on his bottom lip, trying to not focus on the immense pain shooting through his skin. He felt his vision start to become hazy, his hands trembling as his flesh blazed at her touch, but slowly, he shifted his grasp so he could place her hands over his heart. "Avalon... please," he pleaded.

    She struggled against his hold for a few more moments, but when she felt his heartbeat through his sweater, he watched as the resolve in her eyes slowly broke.

    He let out a sigh of relief as he began to feel the burning of her skin die down, his breathing steadying as the pain rushed out of his system. But, the hurt he felt from the spell could never have prepared him for the way his heart sank when he saw her body crumple down before him, sobs overtaking her trembling figure as she dropped to her knees and cried.

    "Damn you," she kept repeating over and over as she buried her head in her hands, tugging at the ends of her hair. "Damn it!"

    "What is your problem?" he shouted. "You hate me so much that you want to forget what happened entirely?!" He let out an angry scoff, shaking his head. "I came here to try and apologize to you, Avalon! I came here to fucking apologize, and you do that?!"