The Pretender | Tom Riddle

19| hepzibah smith

19| hepzibah smith

     They were in the store again. This time around, Mr. Burke didn't bother approaching them as they roamed around. Seren took a small breath as Tom placed his hand on her lower back as they looked up at the shelves. She let her eyes roam around the store, eyes catching on a large and round figure in the corner. Her stare trailed upward to the elaborate ginger wig place atop of the large lady's head. She shifted her eyes down, taking in another deep breath debating if she should speak up or not. With a small nod in her head, she pushed Tom's arm off and let herself walk away on her own.

Slowly, she made her away around the shelves and large artifacts. Her eyes stayed away from the lady, hand sticking out. The silver 'Lestrange' emblem bracelet on her wrist, the black crow poking at her wrist slightly. She reached for an old mirror above, looking at it blankly. She sensed eyes on her, too scared to look away as she put the mirror back and let her finger run along some of the items. The clearing of a throat softly, caught her attention easily. Seren turned slightly to face the old fat lady who gave her a smug smile.

"Hello," she said firmly, "I couldn't help but notice your bracelet, it is rather lovely, where did you get it?" She asked Seren eyeing the piece of jewelry closely. Seren looked back down at her wrist, absentmindedly, as she held her thought in. The lady smiled once more, "I am a collect of some sort, and I don't think I've seen many bracelets such as that." Seren nodded her head, biting her lip for a second as she looked up to the lady.

"It's my family's emblem," she answered quickly, "Seren Lestrange, nice to meet you." The lady's eyes widened at the sound of the name, grinning from ear to ear as she stood taller, large chest puffing out slightly. "Hepzibah Smith, and it is very lovely to meet you Miss Lestrange." They shook hands quickly, the lady touching the bracelet softly, "It really is a beauty, but you don't seem like a collector to me, what brings you to the store today?" Seren swallowed the lump in her throat as she turned around. Tom strategically stood to the side, somewhere in their eyesight.

"Well, my friend is a big fan of antiques, and since we are on break for the Holidays, we decided to take a trip down here," Seren told her. Hepzibah nodded her head, "Ah, so you must be students at Hogwarts then, I presume? And you are staying...?"

"At my home, Lestrange Manor," Seeen answered with a polite smile. Hepzibah smiled, "Well, I would love to get together for some tea if you're free? Your friend could tag along."

"Of course! We'd love to," Seren told her. Hepzibah nodded once again, "Alright, well if you want to stop later after lunch, we could have some tea and pastries. My elf will write a letter to the manor and have it delivered. But I must get going, I am late to an appointment. Please, stop by later for a chat."

Tom watched as the lady made her way out the door. He looked to Seren expectantly who cautiously made her way back to him. He raised an eyebrow to her, she only nodded her head, walking toward the door. "So, what is going to happen?" Tom asked following after her as they walked off into the snow. "We can meet with her after lunch," Seren told him. A smile came to his place. His hands came forward, grabbing her waist harshly and pulling her back until her back was flush against his chest.

He traced his hand up her side as he turned her around in his arms. Their faces were mere inches away from each other. He smiled proudly, finger gently running down her cheek, "I always knew I could count on you." He placed a kiss on the tip of her cold nose softly, "But I'm not done with you yet, let's have lunch, and get ready to meet up with her, yes?"

She hadn't had time in the morning to look for Abraxas. Tom had woken her up early for their walk to Diagon Alley, in hopes that today they would be more fortunate and find the old lady. She had disappeared upstairs hoping he'd be in his room. She found him, sitting facing the fireplace with his wand in his hand staring off into space. He heard her knock, even when she opened the door, but he didn't bother turning around. She took small steps toward him, ready to turn around and leave if he asked her to do so.