Before He Was Voldemort (A Tom Riddle Fanfiction)

Chapter 24: Comfort Me

December, 1943

After an overly thorough search of the Carrow vault, Tom reluctantly had to face the facts.

Salazar Slytherin's locket was not there.

Despite his confidence that he would find it, deep down he knew it was a long shot from the start. After all, it was merely a highly regarded rumor that the locket was in Cornelius Carrow's possession. But now that Tom had a new viewpoint of the kind of businessman Corinne's father was, it was decidedly unlikely that he owned an object of the locket's caliber. Even if he somehow did, there was the possibility that it was not inside the vault along with such inferior artifacts. Surely Cornelius Carrow was aware of the locket's worth.

Tom had to continue searching. He had the rest of the holidays to scour the entire three-story mansion. If there were more hidden compartments such as the vault, he would find them. Tom's yearning for the object that was rightfully his by blood fueled him like the magic that flowed through his veins. The locket would play a role in obtaining immortality.

Setting aside that very thought, which sent pings of excitement through him, Tom surveyed the strewn about artifacts within the vault, which he'd tampered with in the midst of his foraging. With a silent wave of his wand, he returned everything to its rightful place. As he turned to leave, something crunched underneath his shoe. He expected to find a broken trinket of some kind when he looked down to examine the damage. Instead, he'd stepped on a silver necklace with a strange triangular pendant.

Before Tom could get a look at it, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching the library. Without thinking, he quickly stuffed the necklace into his front pocket, then slipped out of the vault and shut the door just as Cyrus and Corinne entered. He moved to step away from the tapestry, acting natural, but froze as the two siblings approached him. Both appeared visibly distraught and shaken.

"Tom! There you are..." Cyrus's voice trailed off as he began to eye Tom suspiciously, glancing from him to the tapestry behind him.

But that wasn't what Tom was focused on.

"Corinne," he said, looking past Cyrus and staring at Corinne's bloodied mouth with pinched brows. "What happened to your face?"

Her lips wobbled as she tried to speak before she brought her hand up to her mouth self-consciously. She was clearly fighting back tears.

"Our father hit her," Cyrus said tightly, bringing Tom's attention away from Corinne.

Tom felt his hands clench into fists. "What?"

"Our father hit her," Cyrus repeated, running a hand through his hair in agitation. "Which is why you two need to get the hell out of here and go back to Hogwarts."

Tom's eyes widened slightly, partly taken aback by the boy's irritability, a large contrast to his usual personality. He forced himself to nod in agreement, then looked back to Corinne. Her gaze was fixated out the window, her expression stony as though all the life had been sucked out of her. Tom felt compelled to ask if she was alright, but knew the question was pointless. Part of him also wanted to offer her comfort.

If only he knew how to do such a thing.

"When do we leave?" he then asked Cyrus.

"Now."

Now? Tom felt a heavy weight of disappointment settle in the pit of his stomach. If he left, there was no way he could continue his search for the locket. What if there was a slim chance that it was somewhere in the mansion? But if Cyrus really believed Corinne was in danger if they remained there...