Promised And Kept - Tom Riddle x reader

Part 7 - A Waltz and a Quest

On November 9th, the night of Malfoy's ball, the plan was set and ready to be executed. Tom and you were going to attend, play nice and try to obtain information about Morfin by talking to as many suspicious pureblood families as possible. Which would probably be... many, if not all of the guests. The ball had in fact been announced as a meet up for Ministry employees but, mysteriously and oh so unforeseeably, only those colleagues that were of pure-blooded descent had gotten an invitation from Malfoy Sr.

Tom's upbringing, the fact that he was carrying the Gaunt's legacy, as well as his blood relation to Salazar Slytherin was what got him a ticket, despite his half-blood status. That's what he assumed at least.

The flowy dress you were wearing almost got caught on one of the bricks when you stepped into the fireplace after Tom had already departed via the Floo. Malfoy had announced that his Floo would be opened at 8 pm, so there you were, right on time, holding a handful of powder and ready to go.

As quick as the green flames had erupted around you, sucked you in and transported you to Malfoy Manor, they were gone and you looked up from the ground to see Tom standing in front of you, offering his hand for you to step out of the fireplace.

Malfoy's house, or rather his mansion, was bigger and bolder than any home you had ever seen before. Although growing up in wealthy circumstances for a wizard family had prepared you for a lot, you had never seen such an overly opulent yet contemporarily stylish interior, not to mention the enormous marble grand staircase and ivory columns. Neither Tom and yours, your parent's, nor the Gaunt's old house could compete with the absolute boast this residence was. House-elves, you had lost count of how many there were, presumably a dozen, were roaming around the halls, attending to guests and leading them to another part of the mansion. Not one of them was wearing proper clothes, they all had wrapped old, dirty cloths of fabric around their tiny bodies, taking away from the noble facade this event was holding.

"Mr and Mrs Riddle." One of the elves had stopped in front of you and took a deep bow. "Welcome to Mr Malfoy's Ministry Ball. Please follow me."

He escorted you through the broad hallway and into a large hall that was perfectly arranged for a ball. Tables with finger food and bowls of punch on each side with a few high tables next to them, leaving a lot of space for the dance floor in the middle.

"Please, Madame, Sir," the elf said. "Enjoy your stay."

Tom walked by him and you nodded with a smile, holding yourself back from thanking him. The hall was filling up quickly with a lot of familiar faces, two of them locking eyes with you as soon as you saw them. Emlyn Avery and Tiernan Lestrange, the two Slytherin boys from your year in Hogwarts said something to each other right after spotting you and walked right up to Tom and you.

"Good evening," Avery said and Lestrange nodded.

"To you too," Tom answered while another elf came up with a tray of champagne in his hand. Tom took two flutes and offered you one, which you gladly took - you could really need a drink this evening.

"How have you been? You and your wife," Lestrange asked, looked at you curtly and granted you an awkward smile.

"Good, thank you." Tom raised his glass to the three of you before taking a sip. "And how about you?"

"I've been good," Lestrange said.

"Me too," Avery continued. "Listen, we wanted to address the Polyjuice thing from Hogwarts. We never really talked about it after and... Well, we're seeing now that we were wrong, mistrusting you." He looked at you directly while he spoke, only averting your gaze ever so often to check if Tom was about to murder him for gawking at you for too long. "I am sorry for what we've done. We never should have. I hope you can forgive us."