OF SERPENT AND ANGEL ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎➝ tom riddle ¹ | ✓ |

THIRTY-FOUR

Eliza ran her fingers over the spines of the books, ancient and new, small and large on the shelves. Her skin was so pale, and her body so thin that the arm reaching through the loose sleeve of her robe looked much more like that of a skeleton than a living human.

She was desperate for a book that would call to her, a title that would light a spark of interest, a story that would allow her to escape. But books had lost their magic. She was no longer able to engulf herself within the pages, she was no longer able to free her mind, to be someone else, to forget.

She had once loved the order of the library they had at home. Eliza had always been one for order and routine. She knew each book and she knew exactly where they were.

But now all she wanted was chaos. She despised the ordering, she despised the titles, the shelves. She wanted it all different so that she wouldn't be able to trick herself it was the same.

And so Eliza gave up. Continuing to walk through the shelves, she called out, her voice cracked and quiet, "Why do you follow him, Thaddeus?"

It had been a month since Tom had left on his journey to accomplish whatever it was he wanted doing. In that month, Eliza had done her best to find out all she could about his plans from Thaddeus. The first week had passed with him giving her a very clear robotic answer that he wasn't allowed to speak of it, but as time passed be began to crack. Whilst they had never been friends, per se, they still knew each other well and Eliza had managed to persuade some information regarding the activities of Death Eaters.

Still, he never spoke a word of Tom's plans and what he was doing. In the end, she had to accept that he knew no more than she did and stopped asking questions regarding it. But that didn't mean she would stop asking questions altogether.

"He's promised to put us in our rightful place once the world suits his vision for it," Thaddeus's voice spoke, trying his best to keep it monotonous. "If we help him restore the rightful hierarchy, wizards at their full prosperity, he says he'll award us for it, he says it'll all pay off in the end."

Eliza walked out from between the bookshelves to properly. She watched the man, who turned his eyes away and picked up a family photo of Eliza with her sisters that Tom had replicated and placed there as a part of his twisted mind game.

"He's lying," she said bluntly. "He's just using you for his own game. He doesn't care about you, any of you. You'll be lucky if you make it out alive."

"You wouldn't understand?" Thaddeus resisted, placing the frame back onto the chest of drawers from where he had taken it. "He hasn't included you, you don't know."

"He hasn't included me and that's exactly why I know."

"You can't tell me you believe him sane. After all he's done."

"At least he's ready to take action ... unlike Dumbledore who just tells everyone to strengthen their ties to Muggles but has taken no initiative."