𝐵𝑒̂𝑡𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑟𝑒 ; ᴛᴏᴍ ᴍᴀʀᴠᴏʟᴏ ʀɪᴅᴅʟᴇ

18

He fell right after her.

Tom detected Lilith falling backwards, her hair flying in every direction and the night gown she was wearing was defying the wind.

He looked right into Lilith's seemingly dead like eyes and reality hit him in the chest.

He didn't have enough time to take out his wand. He couldn't prevent them from falling to their death.

Tom fell faster, reaching for Lilith and pulling her into his chest.

15 feet from the ground.

Tom clutched onto Lilith, her head buried in his neck.

He didn't have time to take his wand out.

Tom clenched his jaw and darkened his eyes, seemingly not fearful. He couldn't die.

But Lilith could.

The cold wind cuffed against them, leaving icy marks all over them. Tom's fingerprints left red marks on Lilith's arm.

Falling.

They hit the ground suddenly. Tom had landed perfectly on his feet. But it wasn't exactly graceful.

What seemed like the ground shaking abruptly occurred. Everything began to crumble slightly.   It was like a deadly earthquake was happening. From them. And Tom still stood straight on his feet.

Everything around them began to brandish. The wind picked up strength and it felt like the world was cracking in half.

Tom looked up at the air and saw black and white smoke.

The smoke took over the sky. The black smoke inching towards the white smoke before completely taking over it and turning in a black beast.

The beast only expanded in size and Tom looked at it with a tinge of fear.

Tom looked down at the unconscious girl in his arms and back at the beast, he shielded her and held her head close to him and his body turned away from the beast.

The beast shaped smoke was moving towards Tom at rapid speed and just when it was about to reach Tom, it let out a horrific scream before deteriorating to pieces.

The scream was like the scream they heard at the party. Eerie, shrilly, and horrific. It rang through Tom's ears. Then it vanished.

Tom was sure everyone heard and felt it because he saw lights flicker on from the castle quickly, gates and doors opening loudly.

Soon enough, teachers began rushing out of their corridors, telling students to take cover under beds. The professors rushed outside with their wands steady.

Tom looked around the astronomy tower, seeing light traveling towards them.

Lilith remained unconscious in his arms. He looked at her with a pondering manner before picking her up bridal style and retreating behind a wall.

The "earthquake" had settled down and the professors could now stand up on their feet without any dilemma.

"Students out of bed! Students out of bed!" Apollyon Pringle, the caretaker, exclaimed, running towards the group of teachers.

Headmaster Dippet, who had just returned from Romania, turned abruptly, shining his wand at Apollyon in defense.

"That's the least of our problems right now, Pringle." A female teacher said as Apollyon made a realized sound and looked at Dippet.

"Who? Do you have records?" Dippet asked in a demanding and fearful way. He put both his hands on Apollyon's shoulders and shook him.

"Yes Professor. Lilith Rosenyx and Tom Riddle are gone. I checked every corridor, their dorms, and everywhere. They're gone." Apollyon's voice was shakier than usual as students began to pool out of their dorms and out to the exterior corridors.

"Merlin's beard." Slughorn muttered. His voice was scared and he tensed. His grip on his wand slowly slipping from his sweat.

"Lock the castle. Secure everything. They must be somewhere in the castle and we must keep them in. Merlin knows that they'll do." Dippet whispered to Apollyon, not wanting to be loud enough for the students to hear.

Students voices began to echo as Apollyon went back in the castle to secure all entrances.

"What happened?"

"Blimey, I thought Grindlewald was attacking."

"It was an earthquake, you dimwit."

"An earthquake? It didn't feel like one."

"Maybe it was an attack."

"Silence! All students must go to the Great Hall and stay there until further notice. Get some sleep for classes tomorrow. There's no need to meddle yourselves into trouble." Dippet said loudly which stunned the students too silence. House by house, the students began piling back into the school.

Dippet waited for every student to be out of sight and he turned to the other professors. He gave them a nod and retreated back into the castle as the other professors remained in place.

"You all will have to take extra precautions in your classes. Lock all the doors and don't let a student out of sight. I acknowledge that Hogwarts is no longer safe but is now raising a beast in the dark. Slowly, that beast will take over who we rely on most." Dumbledore explained to the teachers, careful not to say anything more.

"What could you possibly mean by that?" Professor Merrythought said with a quivering lip.

"In a matter of time, they'll become the one you fear most. There will be no light in the dark after they take everything in their hands and absorb it with vengeance. The bête noire. I will not reveal the identity merely because it is unreliable and irrelevant." Dumbledore continued as he looked at the other teachers who nodded.

"Not long from now, we all will suffer a fate we dread. All of our fears and phobias in a human being form. Don't rely on your intuition. Rely on the knowledge you preach about." Dumbledore said wisely. For his age, his words seemed older than him.

The professors said nothing more as they went back into the castle to supervise the students. Dumbledore stayed in one place, looking around. He looked at where Tom was and his eyes lingered before he turned away and walked with the teachers.

Tom clenched his jaw, still holding Lilith.

He didn't have an answer to what had happened or how. The earthquake or whatever it was, was abnormal.

Tom took out his wand, holding it in his hand, hoping it wouldn't slip as he held Lilith.

No doubt that anyone could find them in the wide open. Tom had to be one step ahead and prepared.

Tom looked around the area, seeing if anyone was around. He ducked back behind a wall, his back pressed against it as he peeked to watch any sudden movements.

"Forgetting something, Riddle?"