Catharsis [Tom Riddle]

Chapter Twenty-Three

Avalon's legs felt like dragging a ton of bricks as she slowly lugged her way throughout the castle. She rubbed at her eyes, trying-- and failing-- to rid the exhaustion from her body.

Going to detention at the crack of dawn on a Saturday was not how she had hoped to spend her weekend. A drawn-out yawn dragged out of her lips as she neared the kitchen entrance.

She half-heartedly reached out and tickled the pear on the painting, revealing the doorknob and shoving her way in. The smell of freshly baked breakfast sweets hit her nose the moment she entered, and a short-lived burst of energy entered her body as she breathed in the delectable aromas.

"Miss Hendrix! Miss Hendrix!"

Her head whipped around and a bright smile lit up her face as she saw the two house-elves, Bonsey and Tossy, that she had met when she came with Avery, running towards her with outstretched arms. They each latched onto one of her legs, hugging her tightly as soon as they reached her.

"Good morning to you both!" she said, bending down and giving them each a hug.

Their feeble arms embraced her excitedly before Bonsey said, "Nobody has ever given Bonsey a hug before!"

"Tossy and Bonsey missed Miss Hendrix!" Tossy said, jumping up and down with a wide smile on his face.

They turned at the sound of the door, and in walked Riddle, his eyes landing on the two house-elves and Avalon. Bonsey and Tossy quickly took a step away from Avalon, the smiles on their faces immediately falling as Riddle approached, and they shifted their gaze sadly to the ground before them.

He looked at the elves for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing before he spat out, "Are you just going to stand there?"

They scrambled off without another word, running away as fast as they could as they went back towards the food preparation. Avalon turned towards Riddle with a deep scowl on her face, returned only by a cold stare from him. He rolled his eyes. "What?"

"There's no need to be a prick," she hissed, shaking her head.

Before he could say anything else, the two elves came scurrying back. Tossy kept his eyes on the floor as he held out a cup of black coffee to Tom. "Your usual coffee, Mr. Riddle."

Tom took the cup from the elf's hands before taking a sip. Had it not been for Avalon glaring hatefully at him, he would have left the kitchen without another word, but instead he grumbled, "What is it now?"

"Say thank you," she snarled, smacking him across the chest, making him nearly choke on his coffee. His dark eyes narrowed at her, but he refused to acknowledge her request as he continued to drink from the steaming cup. Avalon let out an irritated huff before turning to the elves and saying with a smile, "Thank you."

Bonsey looked up at her shyly before asking, "Would Miss Hendrix like anything, as well?"

"A blueberry lemon scone and a cup of coffee with cream and sugar would be splendid, if that's possible," she requested.

Bonsey nodded, her smile returning to her lips. "Yes, of course! Bonsey will get that right away," she said before darting off once more, Tossy following close behind.

"Cream and sugar?" Tom scoffed.

"Believe it or not, some of us prefer things to taste pleasant," she retorted, staring disgustedly at his half-finished cup of black coffee. Aside from the house-elves, nobody else was in the kitchen. It was far too early on a weekend for anyone else to be awake. Even Tom, himself, looked as though he were still ridden with sleep as he stretched out his arms.