TORMENT (Harry Potter Sequel)

Chapter Twenty Five

"Was this here before?"

"Was that random piece of paper that was just thrown over from the Gryffindor table here before?" Alannah spoke dryly, "Gee. I don't know."
"No need to be rude," said Tom as he put the small piece of paper back down on the table.

"Sorry it's just sometimes you're really dense and it's annoying. Like so dense that you don't even realise that there's obviously a message on that paper that you didn't read."

"Huh?" Tom picked up the piece of paper again and read it.

'Come to the Forbidden Forest. Tonight.'

Tom's face became stony. He knew who had written this message.

"What does it say?" Alannah asked, leaning forward to try and see it. Tom pulled it away and crumpled it up.

"Nothing," he murmured.

Alannah pouted, "You never tell me anything. I thought we were meant to be friends."

"I just don't tell you things that don't matter," Tom replied.

"Like where you go every week?" Tom looked up. Alannah smirked, "Don't think I don't see you leaving the common room once a week or so. Where do you go?"

Tom looked down at the ground, "Nowhere," he lied blatantly. He wasn't allowed to tell Alannah about his sessions with the Headmaster.

Alannah sighed and leant back in her chair, "Tell me when you're ready. You're going to go tonight though as well?"

Tom didn't react. He was. Professor Potter had arranged another session with him for today. They were getting more common now although Tom didn't know why. That was what made that message on the piece of paper so concerning.

Alannah chuckled, "Well have fun, I guess."

Tom walked over the grounds, practically blending in with the dark shadows which surrounded him. It was night. Tom knew where he was supposed to be. But he wasn't there. And he didn't plan on going there. Right now, the Headmaster's office was the last place in his mind he was intending to go to. And the Forbidden Forest was the first. Tom knew that his form wasn't exactly inconspicuous so he entered the Forest as far away from Hagrid's hut as he could. He didn't know why he was being told to come here and by who but he still went nonetheless.

'Maybe I'm being lured into a trap,' Tom thought to himself as his legs took him deeper and deeper into the forest. He kept moving. The thought didn't deter him. He couldn't care less. Soon, large trees towered over him. He stood in the middle of what seemed like thousands of gigantic stumps. The trees here looked like they had been super-sized. A sound from his far left brought Tom back down to reality. He finally stopped but he did not look in the direction of the sound. He couldn't pinpoint it immediately but he soon recognised it as that of hooves. Multiple sets of hooves. Around 20 feet to his left, two centaurs stood, surveying the forest. One held a bow and arrow in their hands while the other stood behind him. Both, though, looked equally as angry. Tom steadied his breathing. He kept completely still. He felt his large fists clench and his eyes shut- as if expecting something to happen.

"Do you think that's him, brother?" whispered one Centaur to the other.

"Romulus-" the Centaur holding the bow and arrow took a small step forward. Tom tensed, "I believe that it matches the young human's description. I think it's him."

"Well then Remus we must get him-" Romulus held his arm out to stop his eager brother.

"I am still unsure whether this is the right course of action. The relationship our kind have with humans may become rockier if we injure one of their own," Remus said, his voice booming and masculine. Tom still stood perfectly still where he was, his eyes shut and his muscles tensed.