Marked • Tom Riddle

His Happiness

   The recovery process had been a slow and brutal one. The first couple of days had without a doubt been some of the worst of my life. I had felt like death, my body weak and unable to move. My muscles had ached as my body worked to metabolize the poison out of my system, and if it were not for Slughorn's miracle potions, I would have been in agonizing pain throughout the entirety of my recovery. Now, a few days later, I had regained much of my strength but still had a long way to go before I was back to normal.  

   The sun shone brightly through the grand, stained-glass window, the sunbeams refracting off the different shapes and casting beautiful patterns against the many walls of the room. It was comforting to finally see the sun out as the first signs of spring announced their arrival. It had been a long winter, but the season had now transitioned into one of beauty as the snow melted away and flower buds teased a glimpse of the color they dared to bloom. 

   Beneath a plush blanket, I lay in bed resting against Tom's chest, in between his arms, admiring the sunshine as he sat reading some paperwork. Blue was cuddled up on the corner of the bed, unwanting to be touched despite my ever-present need to snuggle her. She sat chewing on one of Tom's pencils that he had reluctantly given up when she'd barked at him. It was clear who had become the true master of this house. 

   Throughout my recovery, Tom had been an angel. He had practically moved his entire office into the bedroom with the promise of not leaving my side until I was entirely well. From the moment I had woken up, he had been more loving than he had ever been, attending to my every need and making sure I did not go a single moment without everything I desired. I did not know what my brush with death had done to him, or what had transpired while I had been asleep, but he was not the same man I had known before this. I could not deny I loved this new man, who was openly in love with me, but his new behavior could not distract me from the ever-invasive thoughts of Grandmother's locket. 

   All this time spent in bedrest had given me plenty of time to think and I had come to the simple yet frustrating conclusion that something was not quite right here. Father had said Grandfather had given me Grandmother's locket and that is not something I could simply just forget. If my memory had been tampered with, I could only trace it back to one instance; the night Betsy had allowed the intruders into my home; the same ones who had stolen my memories. However, it did not make sense to me as to why they would want to erase memories of my Grandmother's locket. Perhaps it was an accident made in a rushed attempt to clear my mind of the instance. Or perhaps they wanted to steal the valuable piece of jewelry for themselves and did not want me to remember what I had lost so that I would not come searching for it. I could only guess their true intentions. What I did know, however, was that I had to speak with Sebastian and inquire what he had discovered about Betsy. Perhaps one of them could shed more light on this. 

   Pulling me from my thoughts was a gentle kiss on the top of my head. 

   "Are you awake?" Tom said, placing his paperwork down on the bed.

   "I have been for quite some time," I admitted. "Is the sun not beautiful today? I think I might take Blue out for a walk in the gardens."

   "Are you sure you are well enough?" he said. "You must take Dellara with you."

   "I will be fine, Tom," I said. Using much more strength than I would normally require, I turned over to face him. "You could always come with me."

   "Hmm," he turned his head towards the bright window and squinted his eyes at the sun. "Perhaps I will join you."