Motivation ? Tom Riddle ?

30

"No, we were learning about it. We're not doing a play," I responded, staring at the entry of the boys bathroom.

"What did you see?" Tom was on the edge of his heels.

"I...I did see Professor Dumbledore. I saw a snake -"

"Nagini."

"What?"

"Nagini," Tom smirked. "My snake."

I blinked and swallowed hard, turning to Emily and Brianna.

"Wait here," I said quietly, moving slowly toward the entrance of the boys bathroom. The exact bathroom Avery had taken me to earlier in the term when he was looking at the bruises on my back.

"Avery!" I exclaimed. "I can't be in here!"

"Relax, love, everyone goes into the other bathroom."

Emily and Brianna stared at me as though I were insane and clutched my arm.

"We aren't letting you go in there alone," Emily rolled her eyes, adding very quietly, "remember what happened the last time I left you alone?"

"Fine," I huffed, gesturing for them to be quiet.

Slowly and hesitantly, we headed into the boys bathroom. We couldn't see anybody just yet, though I already knew who the two boys in here were. Another hissing sound broke through the eerie silence, causing me to go stiff and Emily and Brianna to gasp.

"Shh," I scolded, glaring at them from over my shoulder. They both broke into a nervous smile.

The first thing we saw were the cubicles - no boys. The wall was wide enough for Emily, Brianna and I to duck behind and take a peek.

"Are you finished with your lies?" The voice questioned quietly.

I ducked behind the cubicle and gestured for Emily and Brianna to do the same, and then I peered around it, and saw Tom's back and a boy against the wall, shivering and drenched in his own blood and sweat, and at Tom's feet was a long snake, hissing quietly.

Olly shook his head, sobbing and coughing up his own blood. "I wa-wasn't lying," he said quietly, his voice sounded defeated, as though he knew he were done for. Like they were his last words. "I am telling you the truth, I haven't done anything wrong here!"

Tom sighed and then chuckled, and his snake hissed again as though it were chuckling with him. "You claim you are innocent," Tom started, Olly nodding eagerly, "yet I heard you loud and clear this morning, chatting happily to my Knights about how fun it was. Not to mention, the way you explained it to them was...false. Have you ever heard of Legilimency, Prescott? You didn't have to say a thing for me to know what you'd done. Stop shaking your head, you know what you did! Keep doing it and Nagini will take yet another bite out of you...and I won't stop her until she is satisfied."

"Merlin's beard," Emily breathed from behind me into my ear. I could smell the fear in the breath that hit the back of my neck.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Olly cried, burying his cut face into his bloodied hands, sobbing. "I don't know what's the matter with me!"

Brianna started to whimper at the scene as the snake lunged at Olly, sinking its fangs into his shoulder. Tom waved his wand over Olly the moment he started to scream, making them quieter than they should have been, and Brianna whimpered so loud that Emily had to throw her hand over her, Brianna's, mouth.

"Let's get out of here," Emily whispered harshly. "We have to tell somebody."

"No," I almost said a little too loudly.