Chapter Forty-Four

37.3K 1.1K 7.8K
                                    

"You have to thank them, you know," Avalon said to Tom the next morning as they exited his bedroom and began making their way to get breakfast.

    "For what? Barging in unannounced?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "For trying to be good friends. They made you a cake," she pointed out.

    "The cake you ate?" he said, his lips turned into an amused smirk as she frowned.

    "I wasn't going to let it go to waste," she shrugged as they strode down the stairs. They passed by several others on their way, though there were few familiar faces. It appeared as though Mulciber's attempt to fill the estate with as many people as possible had resulted in quite a few strangers finding their way into the Nott residence. 

    She was glad to see Tom in relatively good spirits-- after the group had burst into his room the night prior, he had been angry for quite some time after they left. It took a bit of gentle conversation and a delicate touch to get him to calm down, but she had just made sure to remind him that there had been no ill-intent on their friends' parts.

    He hadn't taken that very well, but she pulled him back into bed and spoke to him until he had lost his edge once more, and they fell asleep not too long after.

    As they made it toward the dining room, she heard the indistinct sound of chattering before they even entered. Though, the moment they walked in, the entire room went silent and turned to stare at them, conversations immediately dying down when their eyes landed on Avalon and Tom.

    Axel and Demitri rose from their chairs, clapping enthusiastically. "Atta boy!" cheered Nott. The entire room began clapping shortly after-- aside from Xavier, Kyra, and a few girls that were glaring at Avalon.

    "Hendrix give you your birthday present yet, Riddle?" Demitri asked, a wide grin on his lips.

    Orion, who was closest to the door, looked up at the confused Avalon and sighed. "Someone," he said, pointing to Mulciber, "doesn't know how to keep his massive mouth shut. I'm so sorry."

    Avalon snatched a roll off Orion's plate, winding her arm back and aiming it straight at Mulciber's head. But, before she could launch it at him, Tom grabbed a hold of her wrist, stopping her movements and gently prying the roll out of her hand and tossing it back onto Orion's plate, who let out a dejected huff of defeat.

    Tom put a hand on her shoulder and leaned in to her ear, trying to hold back his laughter when he asked, "Do you still think I should thank them?"

    "Sod off," she grumbled, taking the seat next to Orion with a roll of her eyes.

    Tom was about to take the seat beside her when he saw Xavier stand up and catch his eye, briefly motioning for Tom to follow him out of the room as he made his way out. Tom sent him a confused look, but Lestrange just kept walking, leaving the dining room.

Avalon appeared to already be busy yelling at Demitri from across the table, her attention already diverted away from Tom. So, reluctantly, he followed after Lestrange.

But, as the two of them began to walk away, Avalon whipped her head around and watched Tom follow after the one person she despised the most. She narrowed her eyes on them, but before she could say anything, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.

"Can we talk?" Kyra said softly, standing behind Avalon.

Avalon glanced at Orion for a moment, who shrugged, before she turned back to Kyra and slowly nodded, standing up and following after the girl as she led them out the dining room. They walked in silence as Kyra strode through the estate, clearly familiar with the layout, until they reached an empty sitting room far from the others.

Catharsis [Tom Riddle]Where stories live. Discover now