Harry Potter and the Perfect Stranger: Updated Book 3 - Page 41

Originally posted by: Periopaque

Hello 😃 I am back after ages...This is Rasika if you remember..with new username.

And what I see on my return...we were correct about estella all along..😛
but I do feel bad for Tom..😔

So was it Roy who pleaded with Estella to save Tom...He seems to be a good guy...😳

Originally posted by: guy3

You are not alone in Estella haters club...I am back...😆

The next day went as busy as anything for Tom and finally when the bell for the last unit of the day to end rang he felt at peace. He was already giving refreshers to Josh and Sylvia twice a week. Today, however, was not one of those days. So, he had a lot of time to spend with Estella before dinner. She must feel dead bored all alone at Hogs Head.

He made straight for his room to freshen up and go down to Hogsmeade. He had just come out of the bathroom when Harry's stag appeared calling him in his office to see him. Tom who hadn't heard from him since he had told him that he would leave his post was a bit taken aback by the sudden call. Nevertheless, he made to the office, thinking it might be concerning his post.

"Enter."

"Yes, Professor."

"I require your services, Tom. I hope you don't mind me calling you at this hour, it's nearly dinner time."

"No, I don't. How can I be of help?"

"Well, as you know, James Potter has a drawer full of detentions to be given to himself. Now, you know, exams aren't far away and I don't want any of my students or my teachers have their holidays taken away so I decided they could sit through their detentions after school each night. And you know, James, I can't trust him with anyone else, so I want you to take his detention daily after school, starting from tonight. I hope you can attend to this."

"Harr- Professor," Tom had forgotten for a second he wasn't very informal with Harry anymore. "I understand your concern, but it would be tiring for James and me both to get through the detentions every night. We could do it, twice or thrice weakly, as I already have refreshers scheduled for Josh and Sylvia twice a week but doing it on daily basis would tire both of us out."

Harry listened to him quietly but he knew that he shouldn't be lenient or he would ruin everything all over again. Ron was right, this was the only way. "Professor Riddle, I did not call you here, to have your opinion over this matter. I called you to inform you that you will be taking detentions every night from tonight. I've already issued the punishment circular to James. As for your refreshers, you can take the detention after the refresher ends. In fact, include your dinner time in these detentions. It'll help finish the drawer quickly. You can relieve James by midnight sharp. Am I clear?"

Tom looked like he didn't believe what he was seeing. This was hardly what he had expected from Harry. "Yes, Professor." said he. "And when do you think we'll have our dinner, Professor?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. It'll be sent down in the dungeons."

"Dungeons?"

"Yes, that's where you'll be sitting through detentions."

Tom went straight down to the Dungeons after leaving Harry's office. Now what will he do? He had do go down to Hogsmeade to see Estella, now he'll have to take detentions. He had promised her, he would see her every day, now he believed he'll have to overlook that promise of his to fulfill his responsibilities. And anyways, it was all only for a month then he would be leaving. Plus, he'll have Sundays off as well he'll be able to see her then.

As Tom strode into one of the Dungeons he saw a scowling James there already waiting for him. Poor boy, it'll be tiring for him to do detentions every night. Tom still thought Harry shouldn't be too hard on him. But what could he do about it?

He gave James the task to help him go through some of the previous school records of students who had been Head Boys and Prefects. They were going to find their certificates and renew them as well as plastic coat them. He knew lines would do no good at all to James. He wasn't exactly the writing type.

It took them more than an hour to find half the students like that, and even that did not cover the record of even half a century. Dirty and exhausted as they were Tom decided it was time for dinner. They put aside the records and brushed off the dirt off of themselves then Tom summoned sand witches and a jug of pumpkin juice from the kitchens.

After dinner James looked like a balloon. He was completely full of food and was extremely drowsy. Tom felt it cruel to have had kept him to do more work so he sent him back to his dormitory to sleep. In truth he himself felt really sleepy after dinner, so he made back to his room too. Halfway down there he realized there was still half an hour left for the clock to turn midnight. He could see Estella now. He would come back quickly.

Thinking so, he made towards the Entrance Hall, out of Hogwarts' gates, out of its grounds he entered Hogsmeade. He went to Hogshead, entered inside and found the bar completely empty except for the bar tender, who was sweeping the tables and turning in all his stuff before he closed down completely. Tom went upstairs to Estella's room and knocked. Nobody answered. He knocked again and still there was no answer. He devised she would have fallen asleep. He turned to go back but then stopped. He hadn't seen her all day, if he could even just get a glimpse of her he'll sleep peacefully tonight.

He took out his wand, "Alohomora!" The door clicked open. He pushed it a bit to see her asleep from where he stood but to his surprise she wasn't on the bed. He pushed the door wide open and entered it shutting the door behind him. He looked around. She wasn't here. But if she wasn't here then where was she? He stood in there for a whole minute hoping to see her emerge out of somewhere, perhaps the bathroom or the rickety old cupboard that stood in the corner of the room itself. He smiled to himself. He was longing to see her. He had just turned around to leave when his eyes fell on to something and he stopped.

A small piece of parchment was lying on her bed. The kind Tom knew too well. Still he thought it might just be a coincidence. He proceeded towards it, bent forwards and picked it up in his hand to read it. It said, "Meet me at midnight." When he read it, Tom realized he recognized much more about the note than the kind of parchment used in it.

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Roy entered Estella's room and found her standing by the window staring at a note in her hand, smiling to herself.

"I didn't know you could smile for real."

"What the hell are you doing up here?" asked she suddenly turning around. "And where's Tom, waiting for me downstairs?" she added impatiently.

"Nope. He's not coming tonight. Harry's held him up. I came here to tell you that."

"All right." That was all that she said to Roy as he turned around to leave but inside she felt grateful for that. If Tom wasn't coming tonight then it would be all too easy for her to go. She was thinking of something to tell Tom when she left at midnight but now she wouldn't have to prepare an explanation. The Dark Lord had called her, she was after all extraordinary and the Dark Lord didn't deserve anything less than her.

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Tom hadn't expected this at all. He stood rooted to the spot. His world flying away from him. It was a blow but this time it was quiet. He stood there for how long, he didn't know but he came back to his senses when the lock of the door clicked open again. He pocketed the parchment and disapparated on the spot. He apparated right outside Hogwarts' grounds. He had just entered the grounds when he found Harry standing there. And it seemed like to Tom that he was waiting for him only.

"Where've you been, Professor Riddle?"

"Harry...I..er...I went down to the Hogshead...to see Estella..." said Tom still thinking about the parchment. But as Harry called him Riddle he opened his mouth to say something then changed his mind and shut his mouth. He needed to be alone to think about the parchment he had seen and brought along with him.

"And..." said Harry noticing Tom's attention wavering from him. Harry couldn't believe it but after days Tom had called him by his first name.

"And she wasn't there."

"I believe I asked you to sit a student through detention?"

"Yes."

"Still, you avoided that to go to Hogshead and see...your friends."

"No, I...James, did his detention full well, then after dinner, he was feeling sleepy so I sent him to rest. Then I left."

"You let him go half an hour before his detention was to end."

"Harry, he was really drowsy, he needed to sleep. We have detentions every night, we'll finish off his drawer before term ends." Tom snapped at him trying to end this conversation as soon as possible.

"So, am I to trust you that you won't let him off his detention early each night."

"Harry, what do you want me to do?" asked Tom frustration quite visible from his face. "He's not a slave, I can't nail him down each night and ask him to get through all that work without rest."

"Tom, I just want you to understand your responsibility towards him. He needs to be taught a lesson. If you'll let him go early he'll take it easy and make himself home with you. I want him to understand that breaking rules isn't fun and ..." Harry didn't continue but he meant to say that he wanted Tom to understand how important it was for him to stay away from Estella.

Tom who was oblivious of Harry's thought nodded at his words, wished him a goodnight and went into the Castle while Harry stood there watching him go. He had talked to Harry politely. He had been informal as before. All his anger about Estella's expulsion was gone and he was kind of lost. But why? He had said that Estella wasn't at Hogshead but was he telling the truth? Was she there? Had she told him something else about Harry which had devastated Tom? But if he was telling the truth then why was he lost this way? What was going on?"

Tom went straight up to his room and locked it from inside. He took out the parchment from inside his pocket and sat down on his bed staring at it. He knew it too well to have mistaken it. It was the same kind of parchment Riddle would send him. The letters forming the words, "Meet me at midnight." could only have been written by him. He knew Riddle's handwriting all too well because it was exactly like his and if he hadn't written that note then only he could have. It was exactly the way he would call him to see him to request him to hide him. But had he called Estella? Did he know her? Calling her at a time when no one would see or know about it was strange.

Tom stood up. He could not just sit there. What if Estella was called in for a trap? What if she was in danger? But the note said nothing at all like that. And if anything would have been like that she would have mentioned it to him. That meant she had gone to him without force, but why? What's she got to with him? Is she...no. Tom suddenly stopped. What was he thinking? He was being disloyal to the woman he loved. But then, Harry had expelled her and told him quite explicitly that she was working with Riddle but he hadn't heard a word since he couldn't doubt her intentions. An then he had tested her and she had come through but this...Tom couldn't take it anymore. His head would explode if he thought anymore about any of this. And the feeling of guilt would kill him to think this way about her.

He started pacing around his room. he couldn't jump to conclusions without knowing the whole truth but something was telling him, even if he felt bad thinking like that, but something was telling him that he wouldn't get the truth if he just asked for it. He had a feeling that he would be lied to, why he didn't know, but he did. He couldn't tell anyone about it because it would make things more confusing. He was barely on speaking terms with Harry so he couldn't talk to him and it was pointless to bother Roy. What if he lets something slip? He's a bit careless. He would have to find out the truth and he would have to find it all by himself.

The rest of the weekdays went terribly busy for Tom. He didn't have any time or energy left to do anything, not even to think. Finally, when Sunday arrived he felt relieved. He slept for almost half the day because he hadn't slept properly for the past week because of the detentions he had to sit James through. Neither did he have time to go to Hogsmeade to see Estella but he knew she was fine so she hadn't been threatened or anything. Roy had told him she was fine and missing him when he had gone to see her. But finally holiday was the day for him. He would see her and would be able to tell himself what was going on.

He woke up well after afternoon, took all the time getting ready and left his room to go down to Hogsmeade when Harry's Stag appeared out of nowhere calling him in his office. This time and perhaps for the first time he felt irritated. He really needed to see Estella to know what was going on and it just wasn't possible with Harry walking all over his plans every time. But like always he couldn't avoid him.

Originally posted by: guy3

:( how cruel can Estella be? She sounds like bellatrix was in the series. How can she bring herself to hurt a soul like tom?! Whatever her reason might be. Does she feel nothing? No remorse? Hope Ron and Hermione don't walk into a trap.

Originally posted by: xxx1234

Welcome back Rasika!!! 😃😃 It's good to see you back after a looonnnggg time !!! 😃😃😃 And yeah, you were right all along 😃

Roy has his own intents...let's c how it all plays out 😛😉😃

Originally posted by: guy3

Welcome back, Rasika! It was getting boring doing Estella bashing alone. Do catch up on the chapters so we can go full swing with it;)