cold as you ||t. riddle||

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏

She took her bag and wandered off into the corridors, shooing away all the thoughts about what could happen. They had planned to meet outside the orphanage's gate and then hit the road. She slowly made her way out of the orphanage, she had no reason to be afraid, it was just Tom.

She found him leaned against the wall that surrounded the orphanage. "How long have you been waiting here?"

"About ten minutes. Took you long enough let's go." Tom put his arm out which earned a confused look from Elena. "You are coming, right?" he said, Elena's face made it obvious that she still didn't get what he meant. "Elena, we're going to disapparate, if you take my arm." He was growing more impatient by the second.

Elena was impressed to say the least, she had tried to learn apparition but she had decided that she would need an actual teacher to teach her that. Apparently, Tom had a different opinion, he had already learnt it. She took his arm and the infamous constant feeling of being squeezed and stretched took over her.

When that feeling finally stopped she needed a few moments to pull herself together. The urge to throw up was strong but she held it in. She slowly opened her eyes, careful not to lose her balance, and looked around. They were in a small town called Little Hangleton, it was your average town, with lively people doing their thing. It looked as though the muggle war had no effect on the little village.

"Are you okay?" Tom said, Elena nodded in response. "First time can make you a little dizzy. If you feel bad just tell me, okay?" Her response was yet again a nod.

"We should find somewhere to stay. Get to know people," she said as they entered the crowded streets. "Then we can start looking."

Coincidentally, there was a small hotel just on the corner of the street they were in. Tom murmured something to Elena and headed to the building. Elena quickly caught up to him. "You know if we get murdered in this old, creepy hotel it's your fault."

Tom just rolled his eyes, knowing very well being killed in there was a possibility. The small building looked haunted. It was darker in comparison to the rest of the buildings, it could be dirt or soot, it was hard to tell. Its three floors looked like they were stacked upon each other without anything to hold them intact. The inside smelled dirty and damp. There was one old lady hunched over the front desk. She was relatively short and her appearance went along with the eerie vibe of the hotel.

"How may I help you?" Her voice was hoarse and her tone was unsettling.

"We just want somewhere to stay for the night." Elena quickly spoke, she could see Tom's lips curling upwards. She'd rather be cautious then to get murdered in a hotel in the middle of nowhere, well technically not nowhere but still nowhere.

The old lady took one look at them both and took out an old key from one of the drawers. "Room 394. That would be £10 total." Elena dug through her bag searching for the muggle money she had stolen from one of the caretakers at the orphanage. They took the key and went upstairs.

"Room 394... there aren't even that many rooms here. Doesn't that unsettle you? Are you sure you want to stay here?" Tom being this silent made her uneasy, even more than the bizarre building they were in.

"Elena, you're worrying too much. What can that old woman do to us? We're wizards, she's a muggle."

His words didn't comfort Elena, not one bit.

They found the room in no time. Its dirty, white door was the furthest thing away from inviting. Elena was starting to get frustrated with herself, either there really was something wrong with this place or she was just being paranoid. Tom took out the old key and unlocked the room. The inside was no different to the outside, everything was extremely old, the room had one bed placed before the wall with the peeling paint and two chairs that looked as though they could break any second.