Lost | Tom Riddle ✔

Chapter 93

Did you notice my profile pic? Apparently, I am a new ARMY and I can't choose my bias.

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Alexa stood in front of an old wooden cottage. Her shoulders straightened. Her palms wetted. Her blood boiled. She thought that she had left the building right in front of her eyes long behind her back. The place was an unfortunate part of the darkest chapters of her past. It was the place where her mother died. 

No, she corrected herself. It was the place where she was killed. In cold blood. How did her mother die? Alexa knew her mother was a brave and strong woman. She must have retaliated. Hard and quick. 

Unlike the girl, her mum was fearless. She was a woman with the spirit of a child. She had tried to pass on some of those qualities to her daughter. Yet she had failed in most parts. Alexa was a perfect reflection of her father in both - looks and persona. She was pale with sharp features. Like him. She was shy, reserved and awkward. Completely like him. The fact that she grew up in constant fear of the danger - the source of which she was not even familiar with - for a big part of her life made her extremely cautious of her surroundings. The years of learning and practising made her self reliant. The problem lied in being self-confident.

Alexa took a few steps back. She was anxious. She felt constrained. More than ever. Her eyes brimmed with tears as the last cry of her mother echoed in her ears. Again and again. She closed her eyes tightly. She struggled to keep her tears contained. This place had the worst memories for her. And she wanted not to relish them again. Not to open the deadly wound ever again.

Alexa breathed in heavily. She wanted to go away. Far away from that place. Yet she couldn't. She might not have her mother's outspokenness and boldness, but she had inherited her loyalty. And at that moment her loyalty lied with the boy who was inside that building. She had come to that place with him, and she intended to leave it with him.

*cough*

Forced cough forced her to turn in the direction of Sition. Standing leisurely under the shadows of the tree near the building, he was observing her in amusement. The twinkling in his beady eyes and twitching at the corner of his pinkish-brown lips unsettled her. He didn't change his posture despite having the full attention of the hybrid girl.

"This place reminds me of your mother," Sition mocked, "pity! You have got no fire like hers." 

She stiffened. Her violet eyes narrowed on him. They burnt when she gathered that he spoke of her mother like discussing some rotten weather. 

"You are more like your father." When she didn't react the way he expected, his smirk widened. His eyes running across her body to assess the turmoil he was about to create. The bloodsucker loved annoying people when he couldn't feed on them. "Calm, polite, immaculate, and boring. He also lacked that fire."

"You know both of them?" Alexa gritted her teeth. She cursed herself mentally when she couldn't control her tongue. 

"Why, of course!" Sition ran his hand through his dark hairs lazily. He turned in the direction slightly away from hers. His posture looked like he was dismissing her, like the topic of one's parents could be dismissed without another thought. Yet his sharp eyes looked discreetly in her direction as he didn't want to miss even a twitch around her mouth on what he was about to say. "I was present on their last day. Both of them."

Her eyes glowed. She burned with fury on this insinuation. Her hands fisted as she felt herself responding. Earlier fright was replaced with madness. Madness to kill. Madness to destroy. Her inner beast wanted to come out and devour the beast standing right in front of her. She felt her body vibrating as the guttural growl escaped her throat. Her violet orbs missed how the people around her - the other acolytes of Grindelwald - took a few steps back instinctively.

Alexa felt hot all over her body. She felt her muscles relocating. Her height started increasing. Suddenly the clothes covering her body felt constricting. She wanted to pounce. Pounce and devour. And she was about to do exactly that when she suddenly felt a cold palm on her arm. The boy she loved filled her vision when his other hand turned her face to face him.

Tom looked at her intensely. His hand shook a little as he held her in the place. It was brave, foolish and even reckless on his part. He had rushed to her side the moment he heard that growl. He knew Alexa was on the verge of shifting and he wanted to stop her. It felt like their time in the forbidden forest all over again. Only then he had his wand with him. He recalled how the vampire had overpowered her then. He recalled how afraid he was that night when the centaur had suggested that her life was in grave danger. Without a second thought, he had used his magic to push that blood-sucker off her body. How was he going to protect her now? He wasn't ready to lose her then. He definitely wasn't ready to lose her now. It was a fact that no tempting offer from any dark wizard could change.

"Hey, look at me, sweetheart," Tom hushed in the voice he himself didn't even recognize. "I am here. We are together."

Alexa's eyes flickered to his eyes. They stayed glued on his features and Tom could see them softening. He could feel her muscles relaxing. She placed her palm on his and her fingers curled around his' in a reassuring manner. Without words, she had spoken that his words were heard. They were heard, understood, and reciprocated.  

Standing around them, everyone saw this interaction in interest. It was enchanting in its own unique way. From the window of the old building, Grindelwald nodded his head in the direction of Sition who tilted his head in affirmation. The action was so discreet that everyone around them missed it. Any doubts about Tom's significance in the capture of the girl were now obliterated. He was the key to controlling her. He was as much, if not more, of an asset as she was.

Their silent conversation broke, however, when they heard a sudden pop. Grindelwald looked alert when seven wizards joined the scene. He hid in the safety of shadows when he saw the famous wizard in his electric blue robes and half-moon glasses. He wasn't exactly ready to face the man that was once his partner in crime. This wasn't the part of his plan.

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I hope you liked the chapter. I am so sorry for this delayed update, but I was truly caught up in the crisis of my own. I haven't yet recovered, but I will try to regain my schedule. 

Clarification #1: Sition is indeed Grindelwald's pawn since he provoked Alexa (on Grindelwald's order) to see the importance of Tom in her life.

Clarification #2: The style of Dumbledore in Harry Potter and that in Fantastic beasts are very different. I am going to stick to HP one.

Clarification #3: The conversation with the vampire confirms that both of Alexa's parents are dead at the hands of the said vampire.

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Thank you all!!!