𝕬 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖎𝖘 𝕭𝖔𝖗𝖓 | 𝑇𝑜𝑚 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 |

Chapter 49- Old Friends

Frankie and Tom found themselves stuck in a paralyzed silence and had only barely just managed to move themselves out of the way of the other students stepping out of the platform pillar. Although, their muggle orphanage headmistress had obviously seen them come hurdling through solid stone, she wasn't having a panic attack or calling the nearest guard to save her from the demonic teenagers. Their powers werent as easy to write off this time. She was staring straight at them with a horribly vacant smile. Being the woman who taught Tom how to smile, it was naturally a terrifying sight to behold. However, they were not afraid of Mrs. Cole. No matter how much she terrorized them, they would never be afraid of her. Her sudden appearance was unsettling and odd more than anything. They honestly thought they would never have to see her again and there she was, just standing at the border of the magical. Waiting.

"My—you two got back later than I expected. I hope I'll still be able to make supper in time." she smiled, in a terrifyingly chipper voice. The two unconsciously took two steps backwards, almost stepping right back onto Platform 9 ¾. Tom put a protective arm over Frankie.

"You came here to fetch us?" Tom questioned, even though it was quite obvious that's why she was there.

"Of course, I did, dear! Why else would I be at the station?" Mrs. Cole answered, cheerily.

"I'm afraid you're confused. We never used to come back for the winter holiday." Tom tried arguing. It proved to be very ineffective, considering her expression didn't falter even the slightest. "Also, we don't live at the orphanage anymore. We left a few months ago, after we turned seventeen and went back to school—"

"—Nonsense! You two always come home this time of year. Don't you remember, last year, I let you have a bit of wine. You went a bit tipsy and started singing carols."

"I did no such thing!" Tom shouted. Frankie was holding her hand over her mouth, looking at first like she was about to be sick. However, she couldn't restrain a hysterical fit of laughter at the image of a drunken Tom prancing around, singing Christmas songs.

"Come on, Tom! Don't you remember?" Frankie laughed jokingly, tugging on his sleeve.

"Oi, stop it!—There's obviously something mentally wrong with her." Tom hissed, in hopes changing the subject would forever erase the image from her mind. He looked back at Mrs. Cole, who was still staring at them uneasily cheery. Tom knew that if she were in her right mind, she would've given him hell for calling her mental. They needed to get away from her. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Mrs. Cole? I think I left one of my books on the train..."

"Of course, dear. Just don't take too long now." she chimed. She didn't seem to question why he needed to take Frankie and all their luggage just to retrieve one missing book.

"We'll be right back." Tom mused, charmingly smooth. They pretended to be walking towards a platform they hadn't actually come from and a train they hadn't been riding. He turned to Frankie, once he was completely sure they were out of earshot. "She's either been incredibly confunded or someone is using Polyjuice potion to try and trick us."

"I could tell that much. What do you reckon we should do?—Take her out?" Frankie added. Tom couldn't help but smile at her. He loved despite how sweet she appeared, somehow she could still make threats sound at least half-convincing.

"I don't know. Dumbledore told us to act like we were going back to the orphanage. He never said we'd actually have to go back there." Tom whispered, still looking over at Mrs. Cole with suspicion. She seemed too dazed to have remembered their exit. Perhaps, she'd just leave if they disappeared. He sighed. Although, Tom certainly was not one to shy away from an opportunity of independence, even he needed guidance when the situation required it. Dumbledore explained nothing to anyone and still assumed everything would go exactly to plan.