TORMENT (Harry Potter Sequel)

Chapter Twelve

The months went by like a blur. It was an odd phenomenon. For Tom, everything seemed to be moving super fast but at the same time, grudgingly slow. Hours, days, weeks even; all seemed to merge together. He lost track of time almost completely, only being able to know which lessons to go to by following the herd of students. No event stuck out in particular. There was nothing really to look forward to or look back on. Days just seemed to fly by. Tom sat there in class after class after class after class, doing nothing and being ignored. Apart from occasional times, he would be called on by a teacher (where he would only respond with a quiet 'I don't know) or if he was being insulted by a student, Tom was isolated. Even surrounded by this many people, he felt more alone than he ever had. At least last year he had Aubyn to talk to. At least in the orphanage, he had had the matron to 'look forward' to. Here he had nothing. In his dorm, even with the 4 other people in it, he was alone. In the class, even with the 40 or so other people in it, he was alone. In the grounds, even with the uncountable number of people in it, he was alone. The feeling of falling even further than rock bottom is a bad one, and it's one Tom felt as he woke up every day.

Before he knew it, it was winter. Tom sat upright in his bed, awake far before the hour he should be. His body was motionless but his eyes were strapped open. Once again his body was too tired but his brain kept him awake. The only movement Tom's small body made was continuous shivering. The cold air seeped in through the ceiling and into Tom's dormitory in the dungeons.  His teeth chattered quietly, providing the only silent in the otherwise silent dormitory. No one else was here right now. Unlike last year, Tom's roommates had all gone home to their families. Not that it really affected Tom considering he had barely spoken to them and he doubted if they even knew his names. He had always wanted to speak to them; join the friendship group. But, unfortunately, he could never strike up the courage and now it was far too late. He knew he wouldn't be accepted. No one wanted a freak.

Tom stopped his teeth from chattering by clenching them shut. Even thinking the word 'freak' was enough to get him going. Over his long and ever-growing period of isolation, Tom's thoughts had gone unchecked and his opinions towards past events were drastically getting out of hand. It seemed like every second after Tom's little incident with Alistair Young, his dislike against him increased. And he didn't even want to think about Aubyn. Seeing the boy out of the corner of his eye made him angry. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he spoke to him. But he hadn't spoken to him. All year, in fact. Tom and Aubyn had not spoken or communicated to each other at all. The most that had happened were occasional and extremely brief moments of eye contact. And after that 'incident' not much had happened with Aubyn's father either. In fact, nothing much had happened in general. Tom felt the days go by while achieving nothing within them and felt a pit of darkness; sadness; emptiness grow within him.

Tom focused his eyes and looked around himself. The dorm was empty. His eyes had adjusted to the dark and he could now see every nook and cranny of the room. It was beginning to get dusty. Eventually deciding it was time to get up, Tom pulled himself out of the bed and left the dormitory to go out to the grounds.

The castle corridors were practically silent. All that could be heard was the distant winds which were, surprisingly, blowing very heavily. Tom shivered once more as he walked down them. He wore a small Slytherin cloak and his pyjamas underneath them. He didn't really know what he was doing but he just allowed his legs to walk.

Everywhere he went was empty. As he thought, he had woken up far too early. But for some reason, he didn't mind. Not really sure if he was even in control of his actions, Tom continued forward. He slowly navigated himself through the castle, down the maze of rooms and corridors, and out to the main entrance. Surprisingly, the great, grand doors were open and Tom could see why the winds outside were so loud. There was a massive snowstorm; the large flakes swirling and blowing against the castle. The floor in front of the huge doors had already become white and even so, more snow blew in. Tom walked up to the door from the side, safe from the insane drafts and paused for a minute. It was at this moment when he came back in control of his body and realised he had no idea why he was even here. He stared at the snow bursting through the open doors in front of him. Outside it was still dark and foggy, He could see a tiny bit of outside from his position and he could tell that you could not see far. At a guess, he would say that you couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of you.