Turned - Tom Riddle

Chapter Twenty Two

The next day, people began arriving at Elizabeth's grandparents' house. The first were an old couple who went to Hogwarts with her grandparents. They arrived early in the morning.

The loud crack of an apparation awoke Elizabeth. As she wrapped a thin robe around her, she grabbed her wand. She stepped out into the hallway and saw the door to Tom's room open as well. Her grandparents' room was on the first floor, so she figured they were down investigating already. Tom locked eyes with her and raised his wand, using his other hand to hold Elizabeth's. She was shocked by the sudden affection, but figured it was just his silent way of apologizing for the day prior.

She held his hand tightly and they walked down the stairs together quietly. Suddenly, the kitchen light swam through the room and they were faced with her grandparents and another couple. Elizabeth's grandmother looked down at their hands and winked at her. Quickly, Elizabeth squirmed her hand out of his and put her wand in her robe pocket.

"Elizabeth, Tom, these are some of our oldest friends, Marge and William. We go all the way back to the sorting ceremony at Hogwarts," her grandmother introduced.

After the introductions had concluded, Tom and Elizabeth were dismissed again while the adults sat around the kitchen table and talked.

"Were you frightened? By the sound of their apparition?" Tom whispered as he stood, leaning on the doorway.

Elizabeth held her arm, "Honestly, a little bit." She went and sat down on her bed, Tom walking over. "At Baxtart's, they would randomly apparate to any given dormitory in the middle of the night and torture us."

It was right then and there, Tom genuinely felt something for her. He didn't see her as this object that could only produce spells for him, but instead a real human who had been through more than he could imagine. Tom felt himself deflating like a balloon, having to sit on the bed next to her.

"They... they would hurt you?" he asked, still appalled.

"Yes, although after a while I learned to sleep with my jewelry off so that the spells couldn't draw energy from the silver. It made it somewhat better," she told him quietly.

Tom didn't know what to do besides comfort her. He knew that this emotion wouldn't last long, so simply waved his hand, turning the light off. "Mind if I sleep in here tonight?" he whispered.

"No, not at all," Elizabeth replied, seeing the moonlight reflecting in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as if she were about to be taken away from him. As she rested her head against his chest, she felt his heart beating more quickly than she thought it ever would.

"Goodnight," he whispered into the hair atop her head.

"Goodnight."

-

Two days after the first arriving, the house was decorated and so many people had come through, that Elizabeth had lost count. There was to be a party held that night. Elizabeth sat at her vanity as the sun was setting, tying a light blue ribbon around her long braid. She was wearing a white dress with a thicker, matching blue ribbon around the waist, the ends trailing down to her knees, just above where the dress ended. She wore white heels which made her slightly taller than she was.

"I have to say, I really do wish I had asked you to that ball," Tom announced, making her jump. He stood, leaning against the door frame in a suit.

"Tom," she stood, smiling. "You can't keep scaring me like that. Merry Christmas Eve, by the way."

"I never thought I would be spending Christmas Eve at a party with a bunch of old folks," Tom chuckled.

She playfully hit his arm, "Oh come off it, they're not all old." Their doorbell rang. "I will go get it, one second," she slipped past him and walked down the stairs as quickly as the heels would let her. There were nearly already fifty people in their house, all happily socializing. She fixed her hair and put her shoulders back. Elizabeth opened the door and placed a broad smile on her face. Her face froze when she saw the older brother of her best friends, named Abigail, who had died at Baxtart's. His family was behind him. His name was Alexander. The students at Baxtart's called him Alexander the Great because he always knew how to cheer the younger ones up and how to heal the wounded. He was the person that everyone went to whenever something went wrong. Unfortunately, the professors weren't so pleased about it. They tortured him until he couldn't function properly anymore.