She Saved Me | Tom Riddle

Second Inspection

Well...hi there. Where have I been? Haha I don't know. So much has been going on lately, but I won't bore you guys! 😁

So it was requested to have Ava and Tom get a little closer in this chapter. We cool with that? Yeah? K great! As far as the timeline goes, we're in the middle of June.

Listen: Romeo & Juliet by Alexandre Desplat

14| second inspection

The following days were filled with unease as the Merins prepared for the next visit from the aurors. They haven't experienced many difficulties since the last inspection, however, questions were expected about Tom leaving the house. It may have been authorized, but his trip away was spontaneous and unplanned.

Ava was sifting through one of the drawers in her fathers desk in his office. That's how she found out. Her father had received a letter detailing the next visit, which was left lying open on top of his desk. It stated there would be questions and a serious discussion about taking Tom out of the house. This means Tom had lost a bit of favor in the ministry's eyes. She paused her search to look at the letter again. She couldn't believe it. They truly did nothing wrong, even if unorthodox. It seemed the ministry, or those who knew about Tom, weren't going to let anything slide past them.

Sighing, Ava returned back to looking. Not finding what she wanted, she moved into the next drawer. While she was going through it, she came across something odd. Studying the object and trying to understand what it is, she didn't hear someone approach the door.

"What are you doing?"

Ava jumped, snapping her head up to look at the door. Tom was standing there casually with his hands in his pockets. He was studying her and then trailed his eyes down to her hand, which was still holding the object. He met her eyes again and she hoped he couldn't see it.

Ava hesitated before leaning back, subtly hiding the object by holding it in her palm and placing her closed hand against the drawer. "I was just looking for something." She closed the drawer and stood there awkwardly. "Did you need something?"

Tom raised an eyebrow at her questionably, not fully believing her. "No." He looked around the room, taking in everything it held. Bookshelves full of leather bound books, artifacts littering the various open spaces, and the grand fireplace. He moved his focus back to Ava and Carmine's desk, which was exceptionally organized and clean. "So this is your father's study. Vastly different from the rest of the house."

"Oh, uh, yes." Ava avoided eye contact and shifted uncomfortably. "I suppose he prefers darker color schemes compared to my mum."

"Hm." Tom continued to stare her down. "What were you looking for, may I ask?"

"Oh nothing important," Ava shrugged, "something my mum needed."

"I see." Tom titled his head to the side, his eyes never leaving her. "Did you find it?"

Ava shrugged again, "no. I guess my dad misplaced it."

"Unfortunate." Tom's gaze finally relented when he realized she wouldn't reveal anything else to him. "Your mother wants us downstairs to help her prepare for today."

Ava looked at him then, watching as he leaned against the doorframe. "Oh that's right. I guess I lost track of time up here." She laughed slightly, but stopped when he didn't react. He smirked when she stopped, knowing he made her feel uncomfortable. Ava rolled her eyes, "We should go down now."