Broken Wings / tom riddle

Chapter 24 - Returning

The trip back to Hogwarts was quiet. Briar rode in a carriage with Casper and Abraxas. Tom, Aleks and Lestrange rode together in the other. Not many words were spoken. The group dynamic was strange after their reckless night of drinking and muggle games.

After Tom and Briar's shared kiss, the room was silent and Briar went upstairs to her room. Nothing was said about it and her and Tom had not spoken since. It made the days remaining at the Avery's before they returned extremely painful.

Abraxas pushed his icy hair back with his fingers as he gazed out the window of the carriage. Something had changed within the boy, he had a look of longing in his eyes, Briar wanted to ask him about it but the two were not close enough for such personal questions. "Alright there mate?" Casper asked.

"I'm fine, just nervous for the return to school," he replied.

"The final stretch," Casper sighed. "What we do these next few months count."

"Exactly," Abraxas replied. "You're sorted though Rosier. You're a more qualified mediwizard at this age than some of the ones at St. Mungo's that have been there for years." Casper smiled at his words. "What about you Emeralds? Plans when you graduate?"

"I wish I knew," Briar said. "You?"

"Ministry work. Father's orders," Abraxas replied glumly.

"If i'm being honest, with Tom's quest to power, I don't think we'll be able to have careers," said Casper. "Sometimes I wonder if the rest of you guys have considered what's really to come from his manic beliefs."

"Isn't that the whole point? None of us want the futures that have been laid out for us," he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette. He lit it and inhaled the smoke.

"Want one?" he offered to Casper who declined with a face of pure disgust. "Emeralds?" he asked. Briar took a moment before shaking her head. "Have you ever tried a cigarette Briar?"

"No," she replied.

"Have a drag of mine," he said passing it to the faerie. Reluctantly, Briar took it and inhaled from the end. She coughed loudly and handed it back to the boy shaking her head, he laughed. "You came from nothing Emeralds, no expectations for you, so why join Tom?" he asked.

"That's a conversation for another time Malfoy." Briar crossed her arms and relaxed back into the carriage.

_____

When they arrived back at Hogwarts it was getting dark. Students rolled in from the train and other carriages. They went back to their dormitories to unpack from the break before dinner. Briar greeted Genevieve and they talked about their holidays. Genevieve had spent them in Rome with her parents, Briar didn't reveal much about where she had been. They made their way down the the great hall for dinner.

Briar sat next to Aleks, it was the only seat available because Genevieve had taken the one next to Abraxas. Things were still tense between them, Genevieve looked at them awkwardly, you could probably see the tension between them.

Dippet began to give a welcome back speech to the students, but no one was really listening. "Riddle, have you prepared what you're going to talk about at the prefect meeting after this?" Genevieve asked.

"Yes Black, I prepared what needed to be discussed before break but it appears we're going to be one prefect short," he said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" she asked confused. Tom lifted his finger and pointed to the Gryffindor table, the seat which was normally filled by Cordelia Nott next to Julien appeared to be empty.