Motivation ⌁ Tom Riddle ✔

45

After escorting Abigail back to her common room, her sobbing into her hands, Tom walked himself back to his own common room, feeling stupid; he didn't know how to comfort anyone; he'd never had the need to do so. Tom never found Avery on the way back, and assumed he was already there, in the boys dormitory. The assumption was proven to be correct when Tom spotted Avery's light brown locks springing out from beneath his blanket, loud yet muffled snores audible from beneath the blanket.

Digging through to the very bottom of his trunk, Tom retrieved the diary he was determined to hide quite soon. It didn't feel like before, when he had picked it up that one afternoon after turning the object into a horcrux, and he wondered...no...that couldn't be possible. Absolutely not. He prodded the cover of the diary, as though it'd pinch his very own skin in return, or an explosive pain would erupt in his stomach. Nothing happened, like he'd expected. Horcruxes didn't work like that, anyway. He'd figure out somehow whether or not his diary was actually a Horcrux...

But, at this moment he was seriously doubting it.

Yet there was no way two Horcruxes could be contained into one object. It was impossible, wasn't it? At the moment it was still certain he had individual Horcruxes. The way Abigail behaved tonight, the anger that she'd felt toward Bellatrix, was all based on Tom's feelings. He'd never let his anger toward Bellatrix show, he kept it bottled up, but that anger seemed to bottle up inside Abigail as well, and she couldn't handle it. Though, the first time Abigail had acted strangely was not based on Tom's feelings; they were her own. The anger toward Olly because of what he did. The Horcrux seemed as though it had interfered with her usual anger, and it took control. Things were different for her now; she wouldn't be 'normal' angry, anymore. In fact, she'd get so angry she wouldn't even remember half the things she'd done or said. It was like she admitted - she felt like she fell asleep, and woke up somewhere else. Large gaps would be left if she didn't learn to control her feelings, or mix her own with Tom's feelings.

This bothered Tom greatly. He didn't want his feelings shared with someone else, let alone someone so vulnerable. Tom might've told her he couldn't stand the idea of her being a Horcrux, but that was barely the reason he wanted the Horcrux out of her. It didn't really matter, though. The only way possible of getting rid of a Horcrux would be to destroy it...

The weekend finally showed up and it was quite a relief to all those who'd just finished their exams. It wasn't long now until the end of term and pretty soon all the seventh years were finishing their schooling for good. Tom wasn't prepared for that day. He didn't want to leave Hogwarts. It was the only place he'd felt comfortable and in control. Endlessly, Tom remained in the library, whom Avery sometimes accompanied, though Tom preferred to be alone, as he always had. He didn't need the Knights.

"I suppose the only information in here is destroying one," Avery bit his lip. It wasn't easy for Tom explaining to Avery what Abigail was. But, surprisingly, Avery took it easily. Like he'd known all along. Avery flipped through the pages of a book. "This is Hogwarts, of course there is going to be very little detail on Horcruxes. After all, you had to go to Slughorn."

And then it hit him.

"Wait..." Avery trailed off. "That's right. Slughorn! Go talk to him!"

Tom scoffed lightly under his breath. "Are you mad or just incredibly stupid? If I go further my questions about Horcruxes, he'll know I've done it. I'll be locked up - maybe even executed, somehow. Slughorn is already onto me."

"Right..." Avery mumbled, sounding ashamed. He let his bottom lip slip through his teeth. "Never mind."

Shutting the book he'd been reading and opening another, Tom huffed slightly. "Well, it's like you said. This is the Hogwarts library. There are plenty of other libraries out there, and when we finish the term I'll take Abigail with me and do my research. Once I get it out of her, then...I'll try and apply for the position of a Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, here."