Now and Then [Tom Riddle]

Chapter 16

Anastasia walked into the common room to find Tom and the boys standing there. She thought everyone had already left for christmas break, but was happy to get a chance to say goodbye.

"There she is." Tom walked towards her. "Tell me, how is it you are always late?" Anastasia stared back in confusion.

"I'm not always late." She hissed back, turning he eyes to Rosier and Avery. "What am I supposedly late for?"

"Go and pack quickly. We're leaving in ten minutes." Tom turned his back to her and rejoined the circle of boys. Anastasia wanted to ask more questions, but decided it best to pack and then ask. She had heard them talking about plans for the holidays, but it never occurred to her that she'd be invited. As she rejoined the group in the common room she found them in a semicircle around the fire.

"Avery is everything set?" Tom stated rather than asked.

"Yes my Lord, unfortunately my parents insisted on inviting the Deloran twins as their parents are away, and the whole Lestrange family are joining but I've made sure we have the back house to ourselves." Avery shot a look at Marcus Lestrange who rolled his eyes.

"I had nothing to do with that your mum invited the rest of my family." Tom nodded.

"That's fine, as long as we have a place to work and you can all keep your families in check." Anastasia joined in the circle in between Rosier and Tom. One by one the boys left for the Avery Manor via floo powder, a type of transport Anastasia had never used before. Rosier noticed her unease.

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks. Just speak clearly." He whispered before heading into the fireplace, making Tom roll his eyes.

"Ladies first." Tom smiled after Rosier left, making Anastasia realise they were the only two left. She picked up her bag and stood in the fire place, holding out her hand for Tom to place the powder in. He gently poured it onto her palm and took a step back. Anastasia suddenly realised this might be the only time she would get him alone all break.

"Why didn't you tell me we were going to Avery's for Christmas?" She asked sternly, her arm still outstretched. He watched for a moment, hoping she would just drop the powder and go, but Tom was learning quickly that she was just as stubborn as he was. He wanted to tell her she was stupid for thinking they would all go without her.

"The real question is why I invited you at all; everything is a test Miss Delaney."

She landed on grass and felt Rosier helping her up. Tom followed immediately after and they all began walking away. Anastasia stumbled, feeling slightly nauseated by the experience.

"It wears off." Rosier laughed, picking up her bag. "Come on." Anastasia lifted her eyes to see a huge white mansion. It looked like she had landed in Ancient Greece with the columns and statues that stood before her. She could hear fountains, but couldn't see them as she was surrounded by perfectly sculpted hedges and trees.

"Blimey." She muttered, looking around in wonderment.

"Anastasia." Rosier whispered next to her. "Just a little warning, the Avery's are a pretty traditional pure-blood family." Anastasia turned her eyes to him. "They'll know you're not pure-blood, so you need to at least act like all of this is normal to you. They'll still give you a hard time, but as long as they think you come from money and a good background you'll be fine." Anastasia nodded, but her eyes gave away her nerves. She realised Tom really was testing her once again.

They entered the house through bright white double doors into a foyer delicately decorated in gold. A marble double winding staircase lay in front of them, and Anastasia looked to her left to see a door open to huge dining room with a long oak table with vases of blood red flowers.

"Welcome everyone!" A tall blonde woman walked down the stairs in a white tea-length dress with a red bow around the waist. Her hair was short with perfectly manicured curls and her lips painted matching her bow.

"Lovely to see you mother!" Avery ran over and gave her a polite kiss on the cheek, before leading her back to the doorway. "Mother, you know Marcus Lestrange, Lawrence Rosier and Tom Riddle." Mrs Avery smiled as all the boys said hello and gave her a formal kiss on each cheek.

"Tom, it's always lovely to see you."

"Mrs Avery you look dashing as always." Tom grinned, causing Mrs Avery to blush. Anastasia had to hold back from laughing.

"And then those you haven't met before, this is Franklin Nott... This is Cedar Mulciber..." As they all exchanged pleasantries Anastasia felt the boys open up in front of her as Avery approached her with his mother. "...and this is Anastasia Delaney." Anastasia smiled as demurely as she could and kissed Mrs Avery on each cheek.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs Avery, thank you so much for inviting me into your beautiful home." Mrs Avery looked at the girl up and down before releasing a polite smile.

"Lovely to meet you Miss Delaney, I'm always excited to have more girls around the house." Anastasia felt the woman's gaze continually falling down onto her body, assessing her.

"Abnus, why don't you show the boys to their rooms while I give young Miss Delaney a tour of the house?" Anastasia shot a glance at Rosier who gave her a small thumbs up. She turned to glare at Tom who just smiled arrogantly back at her. Mrs Avery linked her arm with Anastasia and began showing her around. She felt as if the house had more rooms than Hogwarts as they passed from one to the next, all perfectly clean and neat.

"This house really is magnificent Mrs Avery." Anastasia said as they entered another study.

"Oh please call me Gwen when it's just us girls." She smiled down at her. "Delaney is a rather odd name isn't it? What does your father do?" Anastasia continued to look around the room as they slowly walked.

"He works in jewellery." Anastasia looked up to see the woman smile.

"Oh how marvellous, you must have some lovely pieces then." Mrs Avery's voice didn't quiver.

"Oh yes, absolutely." Anastasia felt as if she was playing a game of chess. "However, sadly they are being kept in a safe until I'm eighteen." Mrs Avery nodded her head slowly. Anastasia guessed she knew she was lying, but the woman seemed content with the way she had handled the lie.

"Well then, you'll have to borrow some of mine for the holidays. I have some items that will go beautifully with your green eyes." Anastasia thanked her, feeling as if she had passed her first test.