COFFEE
They found a booth at the back, and Tom eyed the technology in the room with extreme caution as he slid into the worn leather couch.
A waiter with dark under eyes came to take their orders quickly. Lucia ordered a latte and a sandwich, and Tom ordered a black coffee.
"So why do you want to know so much about the wizarding world if you're a wizard?" Lucia questioned once the waiter had left to process their orders, she wasn't even sure if her question made sense.
"I thought the deal was that I got to ask the questions."
"Far out, sorry." She replied, not fond of his unfriendly demeanour, "Can we at least wait until the coffee comes, my head is spinning."
"What are you doing out on the streets dressed like that at this time of night anyway?" He demanded.
"Obviously I was at a club. My God, when are you from? The 50s?" She joked.
She was close, only off by a couple of years.
He sighed in annoyance. He was rather embarrassed to be sitting with the girl, but he knew no one here anyway, and he needed her for information.
The waiter brought over two steaming mugs of coffee, and Lucia pulled hers toward her gratefully and thanked him. A sandwich was also placed in front of her, which she eagerly bit into.
"What has happened since the Battle of Hogwarts?" Tom inquired.
"Voldemort died, the world just kind of recovered and moved on... What would you expect? So many people lost loved ones, everyone just had to adjust and keep living." She explained, and paused to sip her coffee and take another bite of her sandwich. Having something in her stomach other than hard liquor was beginning to make her senses become clearer. "I wasn't even born when it happened anyway, I'm not the best person to ask."
He pondered her words for a while.
"And Harry Potter?"
"I don't even know the man, I go to school with his sons though. He just married Ginny Weasley and moved on. Where have you even been? How do you not know this? It's literally common knowledge, I don't get why I'm explaining this to you." She huffed. Upon sitting down, the lateness of the night was catching up on her and she felt fatigued.
"And what is the general feeling about Lord Voldemort himself? Surely people are impressed at the power he held." He commented carefully.
"Are you serious? He literally almost destroyed the wizarding world. No one thinks he was good. He was freak wizard who got caught up in immortality and killing a teenage boy." She scoffed, "I mean sure he was pretty good at magic, but he was still no match for Albus Dumbledore."
Tom tensed his jaw. A few minutes of silence passed while he thought about what she said.
"Listen I'm really tired. I think I'm just going to get a room at the hotel next door." Lucia revealed, pushing her empty plate forward and taking a last sip of her coffee.
Tom didn't make any sign that he had heard her.
She got up, stumbling a bit still. But she managed to cross the café and she tapped her card on the eftpos machine, paying for his drink as well.
He slid out of the booth, walking toward the door with her. He opened the door for her and she walked dreamily out into the street.
"How chivalrous." She scoffed at his gesture.
He shook his head. He wanted to continue quizzing her, but knew from her clumsy steps that she was much too drunk to answer any of his more complex questions. He realised instantly that he didn't have any money, he'd have to use the imperious curse just to get a room at the hotel without paying. An annoying inconvenience, but he'd do it nonetheless.
The walked up to the tall hotel. Lucia was surprised he was still walking with her, but didn't want to give him the wrong idea.
"You know we're not getting a hotel together right... I'm not going to sleep with you." She said as they approached the entrance. The flashing light that read vacancy illuminated her pale features a glowing red colour as she looked back at him.
"I was getting my own room thank you very much." He said coldly, "I won't be hiring you."
"Do you think I'm a prostitute?" She laughed, not really offended.
"Well considering the attire..." He dragged his eyes up and down her, taking in the amount of skin she had on show.
"Have you ever even been to a club before?" She questioned, still finding his innocence comedic, "Darling, I don't look any different to anyone else in there."
He was confused. Tom Riddle was rarely confused. Admittedly, people had gradually become less conservative in their clothing choices throughout his life. Was this where it was headed? Mini skirts and tube tops just to enjoy a night out?
Again, he didn't say anything.
They walked inside the warm reception of the hotel, and Lucia walked up to the desk and rung the bell. A receptionist stifled a yawn as she came from behind a curtain and sat down at the desk.
"Can we just get two rooms, please?" She asked, her speech was much clearer than when they had met. She leaned up against the counter, her back facing Tom as he pointlessly stood a couple of metres back.
Tom took in her appearance again. He could scarcely believe she was wearing the ensemble in public, but found it rather alluring. Despite the dark and harsh appearance of her outfit, she held a certain softness to her that created a compelling irony.
"Sorry, but we only have one room left vacant. It does have two beds in it though. Would that work?" The receptionist explained regretfully, eyeing Lucia's appearance rather judgmentally despite her sweet tone.
Lucia turned to give Tom a questioning glance, and he gestured that it was fine.
Lucia didn't make a habit with getting a hotel room with random guys she'd met, particularly one as strange as Tom who'd appeared in a deserted park in the middle of the night. But her judgement was clouded by alcohol, her feet were aching, and she desperately wanted the warmth of a bed. If she had to hex him in the night, she'd do it.
She tapped her card to pay for the room, the hotel was cheap, and they could work out the costs in the morning.
For now, she just needed to go to sleep.
The receptionist handed her a card for her room, and she began to walk towards the elevator. Tom followed cautiously, slightly confused when she pressed the flashing light of the elevator. The Ministry of Magic had these, but he didn't realise how advanced muggles had developed them.
The silver doors slid open and they stepped inside. Lucia pressed the level 4 button, and the doors closed as the elevator began to rise.
They stood in silence. If Lucia was sober, she may have found it awkward. But her fatigue meant she found it rather reassuring that she didn't have to muster the energy to respond to another one of Tom's strange questions.
The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. They stepped out into the hall and walked until they found the room matching their key card.
Lucia slid the card through the slot by the handle of the room and pushed the door open.
They both stepped into the room, still silent as Tom mulled over his thoughts and Lucia tried not to trip over her own feet. Two beds were next to each other, separated by a bedside table. There was an entrance to a small bathroom to the side of the room.
Lucia was too exhausted to shower, so she simply reached deep into her pocket to retrieve a packet of makeup wipes. An undetectable extension charm was one of the most useful things Lucia had learnt, considering women's clothing never seemed to have big enough pockets.
She kicked off her boots and went into the bathroom to remove her makeup.
She gripped the sink as she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked deranged.
Her hair was all over the place, her mascara crumbling like charcoal below her eyes, and what was left of her red lipstick was hardly even on her lips anymore.
She took it all off with the wipe and splashed cold water from the tap onto her face, then patted it dry with one of the white, fluffy towels by the sink. She then tied her messy hair back into a low ponytail to get it out of her face.
When Lucia came back out to the main part of the room, Tom had sat down on an armchair and was reading through a 'Things to do in London' pamphlet.
"Can I have my wand back?" She asked tiredly, as she stood now barefoot and barefaced in front of him.
He took in her new appearance. She looked much less crazy now her eyes were lighter and light freckles visible across her nose.
With a sigh he pulled her wand out of his pocket where it sat with his and handed it to her. He knew if he didn't, she wouldn't trust him. He needed her to trust him if he was going to get much more information out of her.
She lazily walked over to the bed and placed her wand on the bedside table.
Of course, Lucia didn't have any other clothes, so she just slid under the clean and cool white sheets of the bed fully dressed still and lay her head back on the overly puffy pillow.
"Can you just go to bed too so we can turn off the light, I'm getting a headache already." She muttered.
Tom placed down the pamphlet on the bedside table. He shed his robe, leaving him in just dark pants and a white button-up shirt. Carefully taking off his shoes, he slid into his own bed and turned off the lamp.
A sudden darkness engulfed the room.
"Goodnight Tom." Lucia mumbled as she nuzzled into her pillow.
She didn't know if he even replied, probably not. But she almost immediately drifted calmly into a deep slumber.
She hadn't even realised that her intrusive thoughts hadn't bothered her since they met in the park.