Catharsis [Tom Riddle]

Chapter Twenty-Two

 Avalon's eyes fluttered open.

It was dark, though the fireplace in the corner lit up just enough of the room to remind her of where she was. The only sounds that graced her ears were the crackling of the flames and a soft breathing coming from the other couch.

Her gaze wandered over towards Riddle. The light of the fire contoured his sculpted face, illuminating his slightly parted lips as his chest slowly rose up and down. His dark hair was ruffled across his closed eyes, though somehow the curls remained perfectly intact, as though he were nothing more than a still of a painted portrait.

In his sleep, he looked uncharacteristically peaceful. There were no defenses, no walls, no lies. No, none of that at all. He was merely an image of solace, and she couldn't look away.

The same pang of guilt rose within her as her eyes remained glued to his sleeping figure. He looked so... human.

And she hated that.

She hated that he didn't look like Voldemort. She hated that he didn't look the slightest thing like that monster. She hated that she knew what he looked like and she fucking hated that his face would haunt her for the rest of her life after she killed him.

But, she didn't hate that she would be the reason that her friends' lives would be spared.

She pried her stare away from him and instead looked at the clock-- 6:30 a.m.

Exhaustion still bore into every ounce of her being. She had only slept for just about two hours, and it wasn't nearly enough, but she mustered up every last drop of energy she had within her and forced herself to get up. She made sure to move as quietly as she could to avoid waking the Prefect, but her sluggish body made that task significantly more challenging than she had hoped.

Still, she managed to gather her things and head towards the door, exiting silently and making her way towards Ravenclaw Tower as quickly as her exhausted self could possibly move.

When she finally got back to her room, she opened her dorm door as slowly as she could. Waking up Zelda was the last thing she wanted to do-- the poor girl's slumber had been rudely interrupted by Avalon enough times.

Though, as she walked in, Zelda was already sitting at her vanity, getting ready for class. She spun around quickly, her eyes widening as they landed on Avalon.

"Where the hell have you been?" she cried out, getting to her feet. She looked her disheveled roommate up and down before adding, "I was worried sick!"

Avalon opened her mouth to speak, but only a yawn escaped her lips. She groaned, rubbing her tired eyes and throwing her wand and bag onto her bed before slumping over to her dresser. She felt like a mess. "Finishing that damn project."

"When I saw the two of you had skipped your classes... Merlin, I thought you and Riddle had finally killed one another," Zelda said, her voice frazzled. She paused for a moment, her eyes somehow growing even larger before she asked, "You didn't kill him, did you?"

Avalon let out a weak laugh, shaking her head. "Surprisingly, no."

Her roommate let out a sigh of relief. "Well, did you at least finish the project?"

"Thankfully, yes," she said, and it felt bloody good to admit that. "Not too long ago, I finally got it."

Zelda clapped her hands together excitedly, a wide grin spreading from cheek to cheek. "Ah, love, I'm so proud of you! I bet Riddle was furious at that."

"He was actually quite happy," Avalon replied. "Probably just because now he knows he will get a good grade."

"Surely," Zelda agreed. "Still, I'm glad it was you and not him," she said with a giggle. "It's nice to see him finally fail at something."