Chapter 6
The next weeks went on and Tom was urgently thinking of a way to finally create the horcrux. He and Bellatrix didn't talk about the vow anymore after with her firmly showing an intention to hide any more information from him. After that episode, she seemed to avoid him and only appeared when he needed help. Tom became almost tempted to run into Dumbledore just to see her come out of nowhere to defend him. He could almost feel the nerves on her whenever he got close to the old coot. It was almost funny. Almost. One thing Tom didn't like is how she seemed to treat him like a kid. He didn't know where he got the feeling from and she was indeed older than him. But despite already knowing of his intentions and of what he wants to do with the horcruxes, she still seemed to treat him like a harmless child who may get himself into danger. It was very bizarre and not quite a normal reaction. Not like anything about Bellatrix Lestrange was normal, not even the name she used. She didn't even seem to take the horcrux ordeal seriously.
He finally managed to find the chamber at last.
Tom turned in cicles in his prefect chambers, another bonus of being prefect. He looked at his diary, his first horcrux. He looked around and decided to hide it in an inconspicuous corner under a mountain of wards and curses until he found a better place. Nervousness was running through his veins. He killed a student at Hogwarts. He had to think everything through to avoid any consequences. Thankfully, he did it through the basilisk, nobody would be able to get a clue. Not even Dumbledore. However, he had to urgently think and keep his cool, in a few hours they would find her. He had to think of a scapegoat if things went dire. It hasn't been premidated and the mudblood just happened to be there, so he was worried about loose ends.
The news sent an uproar through the school, Dippet was under immense pressure from the board and the public. Prefects were called to the headmaster's office to get more instructions and Dumbledore was there, he was looking at him with grave eyes throughout it all. Of course the old coot susprected him. He always did. What Tom didn't like was that there were threats about the school being shut down for the rest of the year. He didn't want that. Not at all.
Slytherin though seemed to have an idea as to who opened it, Tom can't say that he didn't enjoy that result.
He finally went to Dippet about that half-giant who idiotically got an acromentula in school. He ended up getting a special award for services to the school, Tom simply couldn't have had it better. If only Dumbledore would let him go. He actually called him to his office and after a long staring session and dancing around words, Dumbledore's eyes stopped twinkling and he said very clearly that if such a thing were to happen again, he wouldn't let it slide. Tom was not foolish as to understand this as anything other than the threat it was. It was really a bad time in that office. He finally managed to get out of it when he met Bellatrix. She seemed so utterly scared out of her mind seeing him coming from Dumbledore's office that she dragged him by the arm away from there towards her office. It was the first time she took the initiative to interact with him since the vow.
"What were you doing there? Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?" She spoke harshly, her face colored with fear . It was the first time that Tom heard her use that tone against him. He has the impression that she started to clearly dissociate him from whoever she has in mind. He didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. They finally arrived at her office where she shut the door and used heavy warding and anti-spying on it. Tom decided to answer her question
"He was the one to call me to his office" This seemed to stop her in her tracks, worry on her face
"Does he suspect something?" Tom decided to play dumb
"Suspect what?"
"The mudblood" Tom didn't know what to think anymore. This woman knew he killed a student and very clearly called one of her own students, a mudblood, yet all she worried about was Dumbledore suspecting him. She treated it very frivolously. He was right to think that she was not normal, she may indeed have escaped from jail as Walburga put it. Or at least participated in criminal activities. Eccleshall's situation, the true Eccleshall and possibly Merrythought is now very clear to him. Since they already did the vow, there was no need for him to lie anyway
"He didn't, he just said that if such thing were to happen again, he wouldn't let it slide" This seemed to relax her a bit.
"Good. Very good. "
"Are you not going to ask me how I did it?" She looked at him.
"It doesn't matter, Tom. " Tom was left strangely frustrated with her not wishing to know and treating this so lightly. She looked at him for a bit as if sensing his frustration before approaching and putting a hand on his shoulder
"But good job, you did well" She probably thought that this was what he wanted to hear, a well done. Tom didn't feel incredulous anymore with her strange thought process. He just disliked that she seemed to just say whatever she thought he wanted to hear. He has the feeling that she was not really that impressed, as if what he did was not that great or out of the ordinary in her eyes. He knew it was not because she disapproved of the action itself and that's what irritated him and pricked at his ego. As if thinking he needed more desingenuus praise, she followed with
"Blaming it on the half-breed was also very clever on your part" She tried to use a soft tone probably trying to emulate some type of maternal voice only for it to get hard when she said half-breed. He has to say, she was failing miserably and it was only embarrassing to Tom that she felt the need to try so hard to praise him or really he has to say, coddle him.
"That's enough. I don't need you to keep praising me" He said, his eyes flashing red with irritation
"Alright" She said while suddenly looking at him nostalgically at his eyes "I apologize Tom, I shouldn't have been harsh on you earlier" She wasn't really that harsh and he was aware it was because of her fear for him. However, Tom decided to still accept the apology. Although, he is seriously starting to dislike that she was thinking of someone else while looking at him.
He looked around her office and decided to stay in it for a little bit. She seemed to sense his desire to stay in the room and she let him while going back to her work in the desk, it seemed to be grading. She seemed to trust him quite a bit as she let him roam in her office. The office is usually linked to the chambers of the professors. He ventured inside her chambers. It was somewhat gloomy, a little bit like the typical pureblood decorations of somewhat ancient dark families, in fact very similar in style to the ones he has seen on the pictures Walburga has been showing off of the birthday party her parents hosted her. Curious indeed.
He looked at her night table where a small pile of books was sitting. They all seemed old and used, he took one and decided to look at the title, it was about prophecies. He raised an eyebrow, was she really a seer? He sat down unceremoniously on the bed and made himself comfortable. He decided to take a look inside.