The Girl Who Loved | A Tom Riddle Story

Chapter 4

She would have never admitted the real reason to Tom - that the place gave made her uneasy. It was, after all, considered to be the most haunted place in all of Britain. She crept closer to the shack and, hesitating for a moment, pulled the door open. She slipped into a dim room, lit by a single candle atop a table in the corner. She tiptoed inside, careful not to step with the force of her whole body for fear the floor boards would creek.

Suddenly, an arm slipped around her waist and a hand clasped over her mouth. For a moment she thought it was Tom playing a joke on her, undoubtedly trying to scare her. She quickly realized she had been mistaken when a husky voice sounded against her ear.

"Hello pretty." An involuntary shiver rose up her spine and goosebumps formed where the stranger's hot breath had touched the skin on her neck.

"You're not supposed to be here," the voice whispered in a sing song tone, "But what a nice surprise." Ellison threw back an elbow making contact with what she could only guess was the man's diaphragm, as a small "ooph" escaped his mouth and a low groan elicited from his throat.

Taking advantage of her attacker's brief weakened state, she bolted forward, escaping the man's grasp. She had never been inside the Shrieking Shack, but she knew enough from her and Tom's visits that there was a back entrance. She ran forward, entering an even darker hallway. There were stairs to one side and a long corridor to the other. No doors.

She turned towards the corridor only to be jerked backwards by her jumper. She hit the adjacent wall with a thud, the air that had filled her lungs just moments before, whooshing out of her all at once. As she struggled to catch her breath, a large hand clutched her throat. She opened her eyes to see the towering silhouette of a man – no not a man.

This couldn't be a man. The towering figure that stood before her had a wildly unkempt appearance and a face that resembled that of a wolf: a square jaw, sculpted cheek bones, and a long blunted nose. His facial hair was in much more abundance than that of a normal man. He had thick sideburns that ran down the entirety of his jaw line, extending down his neck. His hair was unkempt and fell in thick, dark heaps around his face. But the one thing that stood out most were the man's piercing blue eyes that were glaring down at her.

She clenched her jaw as she stared back into those blue eyes, refusing to let the fear rising within her, surface. The man, if that's what you could call him, bent down slowly, until he was within inches of her face. His thin lips twisted into a demented smile.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing wondering into a place like this?" She bucked away from him, only causing his grip to tighten around her neck. "Nuh-uh..." he said, wagging a long finger, before brushing it against her face, caressing her cheek. She turned her head, flinching away from his touch. He leaned in until his lips pressed against her ear, "Do I scare you?" Not expecting an answer he continued, "Your pulse is racing ... I can feel it."

Letting go of her neck, he brushed her long hair away and pulled back the collar of her shirt, brushing his fingers ever so lightly down the length of her collarbone. "You and I are going to have quite a bit of fun." His hand traveled down the length of her body, stopping at the hem of her shirt briefly, before slipping underneath it. She pushed against him frantically, but his hand gripped her waist, holding her stationary.

This wasn't happening, she thought, this couldn't happen. Where was Tom? Had she been mistaken in the figure she had followed? Had she been lured here all along by this – this monster? Bringing her knee up in a last ditch effort to escape, Ellison made contact with her target.

The man fell over, groaning - in more annoyance than pain. She slipped out of his grasp once again, only to fall hard to the floor as the man grasped her ankle. Before she could react he was on top of her, holding her down by her throat. His blue eyes now danced in fury as his grip tightened around her neck.

"You really shouldn't've done that." Trying desperately to breathe despite the man's tight grip around her throat, she kicked and pushed at him. He's going to kill me, she thought, her vision becoming tunneled from the lack of oxygen. Suddenly, the man's grip faltered and his body went taunt as a blood curdling scream escaped his lips. No spell had been uttered but she knew what the culprit had been – the cruciatus curse. The man fell to a heap on the floor.

Gasping for air, Ellison scrunched up her eyes to see who the caster had been. Tom Riddle stood before her at the foot of the stairs. His dark eyes were bright with rage once again, but not at her this time. No – his sights were set on the man who had attacked her. The man, who was slowly recovering from the curse that had befell him just moments ago, was on his hands and knees now, trying to stand to his feet.

Tom walked over and kicked him hard in the ribs, sending him sprawled to the floor once again. Ellison watched in horror as Tom sent another curse towards the man, causing him to arch his back and scream out in pain once again.

"You are NOT to lay a finger on her! Do you understand me?!" Tom yelled as another curse struck its target.

"Please! Please!" The man pleaded just before another curse hit him. Finally, when Tom had had enough, he withdrew his wand and the man slumped to the ground, either unconscious or dead, though Ellison wasn't sure. Tom stepped over the man's limp body and made his way towards her. He pulled her to her feet by her arms and peered into her eyes.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked, clutching her face between his hands. She shook her head, afraid if she were to speak the tears she had been biting back would flow out. Tom's face instantly lightened, but hints of rage still scarred his features. "Why did you bloody come here??" He was clutching her shoulders now, shaking her.

"I-"she paused. For the first time since she could remember, Ellison was absolutely speechless.

"You should have never followed me here! That was so stupid!" Tom continued, but his voice was more frantic than angry. She had never seen Tom in this state before. He was always calm and collected. Now, his face was scrunched up, his brows furrowed.

"I'm sorry," she said, but it came out as a hoarse whisper. A small tear fell down her cheek and she cursed herself for allowing Tom to see it. She never wanted to appear weak around him and now here she was, crying and having to be rescued.

He peered into her eyes that were now welling up with tears, and his face softened. He pulled her towards him, wrapping her in a tight embrace. She greeted this unfamiliar display of affection, melting against his body, tears falling silently down her cheeks.

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Okay, what did you think? The next few chapters are going to be a lot lengthier than the past three. I was feeling inspired when I wrote them (is writing out of order an acceptable thing to do? idk.) Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It was actually the second one I wrote.. lolz. Let me know your feedback!

- Keep it real, August