Deal with the Devil

Chapter 16

Nott Manor was not the largest ancestral home, from what he understood, but it had plenty enough room for the family and guests. Tom had a room down the hall from Elena's, across from Nott's own. It had a large, comfortable bed with wrought iron framework, There was a musty hint to the black and silver bedding, and the velvety black drapes at the windows, but a wave of his wand dispelled it almost completely. He opened his trunk with a flick and set his belongings to sorting themselves out, wardrobe obediently opening to welcome his robes.

There was a small washroom between his own room and the empty guest room beside his, and he took the liberty of cleaning up before heading down the hall, three sharp knocks delivered to the other guest room.

"Just a moment!" came the soft call, which he ignored, instead cracking the door open to see the girl swirling a long, navy over robe on top of her dress. "I said—" She fell silent as she saw him, instead focusing on buttoning the three bronze buttons at her chest, securing the robes so that they showed a hint of the bodice of her clothes, falling open to reveal the skirts.

"I thought you might appreciate an escort to dinner," he said.

Elena suppressed the irritation that bubbled in her expression. "You could have waited outside."

"I wanted to see your accommodations," he responded, taking in the room as he did.

It was much more recently tended to than his own. There were three windows rather than the one in his—two on one wall, and a larger one on the perpendicular wall. The walls were cream, with delicate ivory scrollwork and violets and peonies blooming all around. The bed, which was white-painted (or charmed) metal, was similarly fanciful in its scrollwork, and the bedding was deep purples and maroons and emeralds, a riot of flowers. There was even a matching cream and pink carpet on the floor, white wardrobe, oval mirror, ivy curtains. On the vanity beside the door was a white teddy bear with a pink satin bow askew between the ears.

Nott hadn't been lying when he said his mother would dote on Elena.

He smiled and held out his arm. "Such a lovely room." Elena's jaw clenched, but she took his arm all the same and allowed him to lead them downstairs to the dining room.

Lady Nott was at one end of the table, while the other was empty (no doubt the place of Lord Nott). Theodorus was seated to the left of his mother, with a woman he didn't recognize beside him. The seats to Lady Nott's right were set, and Tom pulled out a chair for Elena to sit, then slid in between the two of them.

"Now that we're all here," began their hostess, "I'll introduce everyone. Leticia, my son's friends, Mr. Tom Riddle and Miss Elena Vablatsky. Mr. Riddle, Miss Vablatsky, my cousin Leticia Carrow."

The Carrow family was one of the so-called Sacred Twenty-Eight, as they'd been deemed in The Pureblood Directory (rumored to have been written by his host, now that he thought of it). He knew little about them, and less about this specific woman. She was middle-aged, older than Lady Nott, and darker overall in more than just coloring. There was something about her Tom found himself inexplicably drawn to, an aura that said she'd done things.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, madam," he said. She nodded and returned his sentiment.

"And now we can eat." Lady Nott clapped her hands together once and food appeared on their plates.

The courses served in the Nott household were far less plebian than that served at Hogwarts, though similarly rich. While the Muggles were still on rations from the war, the magical community (still fighting the forces of Grindewald) had no such issues. Thus, there was butter for bread and cream for their dessert, everything one could desire for a sumptuous meal.