Catharsis [Tom Riddle]

Chapter Fifty-Five

 "What is the spell for amplifying?"

"Sonorus," Zelda replied.

Avalon nodded, putting Zelda's Charms flashcard on the table before looking at the next one in the pile. "Banishing spell?"

"Depulso," answered her roommate.

"Color-changing charm?"

"Colovaria!"

"You're going to do great," Avalon said, handing Zelda the completed stack of flashcards.

Avalon had come back to their room two nights ago with tear-stained cheeks and a runny nose, but had done her best to put on a smile and pretend everything was alright. It appeared as though her acting skills were sub-par, though, as her roommate began immediately prying to figure out what Tom had done that time.

Still, Avalon thought it best to keep the details of her fight with Tom a secret. Telling Orion had already been enough of a risk-- one that she found herself nervously questioning from time to time. So, she did her best to mask her pain when around Zelda.

It was horrifically obvious that her roommate didn't buy her feigned happiness, but Zelda still chose to drop the issue and instead focused on keeping Avalon preoccupied. Whether it was by asking for help studying for her Charms quiz, or talking about the latest castle gossip, or trying-- and failing-- to teach Avalon how to knit, Zelda did everything she could to make sure her roommate had as little time to think about her sadness as possible.

And, sometimes, it worked. There were moments when Avalon's pain subsided and she found herself genuinely laughing along with her roommate. There were even times when she forgot the fight even happened.

It almost felt so surreal that a part of her wondered if she had made it all up.

But, one look at her finger-- skin still singed from the burn of the Horcrux turning against her-- and she knew that it had all been real. Not a dream, not a nightmare, not a figment of her own imagination. Just a harsh reality that was feeding off her sorrow.

She hadn't seen him since their fight.

Granted, most of her time was spent in her room. There was very little desire within her to run into him, so she made sure to avoid leaving unless absolutely necessary.

Truthfully, she had no idea what she was going to do next.

She wanted to go home. To see her friends, to be with her aunt, to forget this entire mess. But, she had started to come to terms with the reality that the 'home' she wanted to return to might never exist again.

It was impossible to know how much of the future would have changed because of her being in the past-- especially now that she had failed her mission. There was a horrible fear in her that not only had she ruined the chance of fixing the future, but she may have also lost the one she had grown up in.

And, regardless of that fact, she still also had no way of returning to the future. With no time turner and no plan, she was left at a dead-end.

A part of her entertained the thought of staying in this time. Here she had friends like Zelda, Orion, and Clara... they had turned this era into a second home and she'd be lying if she said that the thought of leaving them behind didn't hurt her spirits.

She hadn't thought that she'd find people that she would care for so deeply, but here she was. It appeared as though Tom was not the only person she had grown attached to. The thought of leaving her friends behind made her heart sink deeper into her chest-- a rather unpleasant feeling that only left her feeling more uncertain about the looming future.