Of Monsters and Men- Tom Riddle x OC

33

Animo flounced back on the sofa with a grunt of frustration, setting down the textbook as angrily as she could without bending any of the pages. She had been researching horcruxes for ages, hoping that the Malfoy Manor would at least have some sort of description. After all, what dark magic weren't the Malfoys connected to? However, if there was a section on horcruxes, it was tucked away behind some secret panel. The enormous library was filled with every record of genecology imaginable and Animo was growing rather tired of sifting through article after article boasting of the Malfoy's "superior" blood.

Fiddling with the ends of her hair, Animo reached back to braid her pale tresses tightly. There had to be some way to get rid of a horcrux. She patted the inside pocket of her robes as she stood, making sure her map was securely hidden. It had grown to be a bit of a paranoia of hers and Animo was flung into instant panic the moment its familiar weight was absent.

She took a sharp glance over her shoulder, but the corridor beyond the library was as empty as it had been all day. Tom had seemed determined to avoid her since their latest encounter, blatantly ignoring Animo's calls after him in the manor. Or perhaps he was preoccupied with whatever plot he was currently building. Abraxas had told her that the Slytherin rarely spent the night at the manor during his travels.

Creeping towards the window, Animo was for once thankful for the ridiculously patterned rug, which swirled in various hues of green that chased after each other beneath the shelves. The expensive threads muffled her footsteps while she leaned forward, unclasping the iron hinges that secured the glass pane to its frame. Whispering a quick silencing charm, Animo slid open the window with a shove. A rush of freezing air sprouted a row of goosebumps on her skin.

She ducked her head outside and winced at the torrent of snowflakes that assaulted her cheeks, her breath billowing out in the air in a bright cloud. The gardens behind the manor were covered beneath a blanket of ice, the array of strange plants sending an unfriendly air even from Animo's great height. She tested her weight on the frame, pressing down on the wood before sliding both feet out the window.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you."

Animo slammed her forehead against the top of the frame, cringing in pain as she reached up to clutch her skull. "Merlin, Abraxas—"

"You were the one trying to sneak out of my house," Abraxas leaned against the doorway, looking rather amused in a silk suitcoat, the white of the material washing out his skin tone. "Don't blame me."

Climbing awkwardly out of her precarious position, Animo sent a last regretful look towards the outside. There went her chance at going to Nurmengard. "I suppose you'll tell Tom about this."

There was a long enough pause that Animo looked up uncertainly, her hair falling in pieces in front of her eyes. Abraxas's lips were pressed into a thin line while he crossed his arms over his chest, seeming lost in thought.

"When I want to escape my father's rebuttal, I like to take a walk among the apple groves."

Animo glanced towards the boy sharply, but he had disappeared, the only sign of his presence the retreating footsteps down the corridor. Fastening her cloak tightly to her throat, Animo scurried down the hall at a rapid pace, kicking her short heels off into a corner.

Waving her hand, she summoned her more practical pair of boots from her bedroom, shoving them on her feet as she stumbled outside. Even the blistering wind couldn't somber her hopeful mood while Animo trudged across the snow, leaving behind a series of deep tracks that she was sure to cover.

Avoiding a clump of greenery that looking disturbingly akin to a Mimbulus Mimbletonia, Animo headed towards the back of the gardens. The marbled walkway was slick beneath the ice, making her steps awkward as she approached a cluster of dead-looking trees. Their straggly branches jutted towards the sky at painful angles and chunks of bark peeled back from the trunk in large clumps, exposing the tender wood beneath.