Tailing Talons
Tom left Harry's office smiling to himself. James and Peter were so much like Harry and Ron. It seemed like James was as mischievous as harry was at a time but he liked the fact that both of them cherished friendship and love. The moment he appeared in the corridor jumping down from the last step as the gargoyle shut the entrance to Harry's office Tom stood facing not only Riddle covered in a disillusionment charm but also James and Peter oblivious of the fact that they could be seen quite clearly by Tom and Riddle both. Tom had remembered what Harry had asked him of. He didn't want to catch them following him with Riddle around. He looked at Riddle who stared back motioning him to do something, but Tom shook his head slightly and started walking towards his room as all three of them followed him.
His invigilation period was spent in Harry's office for today but he had promised Harry that he'd be back on invigilation from tomorrow and this time wouldn't use any spells without a wand unless he was sure he could. He had decided to stay shut up in his room with Riddle the entire day and practice with him to use magic without a wand so he would at least be able to summon things properly and wouldn't have to face the embarrassment he had to face today.
James and Peter followed Tom and Riddle all the way to Tom's room. Tom opened the door to his room wide enough for Riddle to enter quickly then followed him himself and closed the door behind him. He had escaped them today but what would happen later? Harry was so right about them. Once inside the room Riddle removed his disillusionment charm and was about to comment something on his room when Tom held up his hand to silence him. Riddle looked at him strangely, as if he had been insulted but then, he was never used to being told to be quiet, he had always said what he had wanted to and everybody had always listened to him with utmost respect.
Tom knew James carried with him stuff that he had bought from George's joke shop and he knew for sure he kept his extendable ears on him at all times. If Riddle had spoken James would have heard him knowing quite clearly that Tom had entered the room alone. He thought about the spell muffliato and Riddle read his thoughts but he had never used the spell and didn't know how it worked so he couldn't do it. Tom who saw that quite clearly on Riddle's face knew he would have to cast the spell and silently, he only wished he wouldn't make it a mess.
Tom stared at the door intently and non-verbally cast the spell. He felt power surging through him, his entire wand arm, his palm and then finally through the fingers eliminated. For a couple of minutes he couldn't tell what had happened. But they had to know what was going on. Riddle at least had the solution to that. He pointed his wand at the door and said,
"Periopaque".
The door to Tom's room which was a second ago dark brown turned transparent and they saw James and Peter trying to figure out why they couldn't pick a sound from inside of the room. Apparently the door had turned transparent for Tom and Riddle alone but for James and Peter it was still opaque. The adjusted their extendable ears but when they just didn't work both of them went away.
Tom sighed with relief. "I'm sorry, I had to stop you. James always carries his extendable ears with him." He explained to Riddle.
"I understood." Riddle replied coldly as with another swish of his wand the door turned opaque again.
Tom who felt a little hazy after he had cast the spell sat down on his bed quickly so he wouldn't collapse again. Riddle who had noticed him didn't express any concern knowing Tom wouldn't like it anyhow. He looked around the room. He had stayed here alone until Tom had awoken and in his slumber he had turned it to his own liking. When Tom had awoken Harry had returned it to its normal manner which made Riddle extremely uncomfortable but he couldn't say anything of that sort to Harry Potter because Potter would probably expel him from the castle if he did and he didn't want to find Malfoy again. But Tom's room was very irritating. It was all white. The bed sheet was white, the pillow covers were white, white candles emitting yellowish-orange light hung right below the ceiling. The entire room was glowing and a light smell of flowers lingered in the room. He knew he could dominate Tom into changing all this.
"Strange." Riddle commented on purpose.
"What?" Tom asked him confused.
"Your room. It is agitating to see so much light constantly."
Tom looked around his room himself. He had been here after days but it was exactly as he had left it except of course for the portrait of Fat Lady which was removed from his room and taken back to the Gryffindor tower. Apart from that Tom loved his room. He liked the light filling in from everywhere, the glow, and the purity of it all. Even his wardrobe was filled with almost everything white. He liked to wear it. "The light, makes me comfortable."
Riddle who felt black suited him better than anything else had hated white. He'd rather have it dark then so much light. He didn't even like candles with hot fire, he like them with blue flames, cold and black. That was why he never wore anything but his black cloak. "And it makes me very uncomfortable."
Tom looked at Riddle, he knew what he was thinking. It was weird but Riddle had suddenly dropped all his guard against Tom. He wasn't protected, he wasn't using occlumency against him. As a matter of fact he was completely relaxed with him. He knew Riddle was thinking about changing the room to what he had done in the Malfoy Manor. Tom had seen his room from the window-sill.
"Even if it does it's going to remain as it is." Tom replied firmly.
Riddle smiled. "No, it isn't." He raised his wand to turn his bed sheet and pillow covers black.
Tom who didn't want him to do that but didn't know how to stop him either without a wand shouted, "Protego!"
He wanted to shield his room against anything Riddle applied on it. He hadn't realized it but it was the biggest mistake he had made. Riddle was blown into the locked door and couldn't move a muscle. Tom's shield charm was much too strong then Riddle had anticipated. The entire room was covered with it along with himself and Riddle was slammed into the wall unable to break through it.
"T-o-m, dr-o-p it!" Riddle hardly managed to say that staring angrily at Tom.
But Tom knew it was beyond him. He stood in the middle of the room unable to drop the protective shield but he knew he had to. He put all his concentrations on it. He needed to drop it. The moment he tried to focus his head started throbbing with pain and he fell to his knees unable to stand anymore as everything around him started moving violently for him. But he kept trying. He wanted to pull down the shield. He concentrated harder as thick red blood slipped down his nose. Suddenly, in a fraction of a second every piece of ornament in Tom's room, the windows, the mirror, his glass, jug, vase, exploded with a bang like a gun shot into bits, the shield charms disappeared and Tom fell unconscious as all candles extinguished in his room and Riddle who had been blown into the door fell back to the concrete wanting to murder Tom.
Twenty minutes later Tom sat on his bed, his head aching a little, his bleeding ceased but still a lot hazy and out of focus. Riddle stood by the locked door and Harry stood in the middle of the room mending everything that had literally been obliterated. Dumbledore who has seen the chaos from his portrait had rushed to Harry the moment Riddle had blown into the door and the moment Tom had fainted Harry had arrived and tried to revive Tom to no avail. Tom had come around himself after twenty minutes and since then Harry had stood repairing the room. Finally, he mended Tom's glass and jug, filled it with water and handed the glass to Tom who drank thankfully.
"Now, tell me what happened?" asked Harry sitting down beside Tom.
"I casted a shield charm." replied Tom not looking Harry eye to eye. Harry had warned him against it but Tom just kept forgetting. He was used to avoid minor complications as eventually they got better due to his extraordinary powers but this time things were getting more complicated.
When Harry heard about the shield charm he thought Riddle had tried to harm him. He turned to Riddle but before he had so much as opened his mouth Riddle replied him yet again having read his thoughts.
"I did no such thing."
Harry closed his mouth then turned back to Tom. "Why did you cast it?"
"Harry, Riddle was going to change my bed sheet and pillow covers into black and I didn't want him to do that." Now that Tom had spoken it out loud, it even felt stupid to him. He had used a spell so profound and created a shield so strong at the cost of his own life to protect his bed sheet and pillow covers??
Harry was thinking exactly the same thing as Tom looked down at his shoes embarrassed. But this time Harry was angry not only at Tom but both of them. They were behaving like a newly married couple fighting over bed sheets and pillow covers. The last thing Harry wanted right now was Tom killing either himself or Riddle for a quarrel over the color of drapes.
Harry stood up. "You two are not children to be fighting over bed sheets and pillow covers." said Harry staring at both of them.
"But white makes me uncomfortable." said Riddle who had never been denied anything.
Tom who was too ashamed to say anything didn't. But Harry knew him too well. "And black makes you uncomfortable, right?" asked Harry nodding at Tom who was still looking down.
Harry couldn't believe how opposite the two of them were. When would they be at consensus for anything? "Fine." said Harry. "Let's settle this."
The moment Harry said it Riddle drew out his wand. Both Tom and Harry stared at him.
"Not by a duel, Riddle." Harry hissed at Riddle his nostrils flaring. Both of them would drive him mad. Riddle had always felt settling things meant finishing people off by a duel. He pocketed his wand quietly as Harry continued. "Each one of you want this room either to be black or to be white, as both of you will be living in it together, it's going to be black and white both." Harry swished his wand. half the room from ceiling to floor turned black, one side of the bed sheet turned black, the pillow cover on that side of the pillow turned black, the candles hanging on that part of the room turned black emitting blue flames, half of the drapes on the windows turned black, half the room had suddenly turned cold and it didn't have any smell of the flowers.
Tom stood up staring at his room. It looked like a combination of night and day all together, as a matter of fact it looked like a chess board. He stood there staring at his room his open mouthed as Harry finished his work. Riddle had a huge smile on his face. He admired his part of the room. It had become exactly as he had wanted to make it. He left the side of the door and lay down on his side of the bed feeling quite comfortable as Tom stood staring at his room with a fallen face. But he was glad that at least part of his room still belonged to him.
Harry who could see right through Tom didn't console him for the reason that he didn't want any more conflicts between him and Riddle. He wanted Tom to realize that Riddle was now a part of his life, he shared not only his soul but everything Tom had. Harry tapped him on the shoulder in a manner of silent condolence and turned to leave just when he heard a slight cough from behind. He turned to look at Riddle who was staring back at him. Harry heard the cough again but this time he knew that none of the three of them had coughed. A third cough and Harry turned in its direction to see Dumbledore trying to get his attention from his portrait with his eyebrows raised. Harry had accidentally turned his entire canvas black and Dumbledore didn't like it. Both Harry and Tom laughed out to see Dumbledore with raised eyebrows and his long hair and long white beard shining strikingly in front of the black canvas as Riddle stared at them not understanding what was so funny. Harry swished his wand and Dumbledore's canvas turned to white again.
Cricket
Anupamaa
71