Motivation ? Tom Riddle ?

47

Her nose still hurt a little bit, and she gave it a small pinch.

"Here," the nurse said as though a beeper had gone off to signal that Abigail was awake and her nose was hurting. She was holding a small white cup with liquid in it. "Drink this; it'll help with the aching."

"Thanks," Abigail whispered, as her voice had somehow ended up weird that morning, and downed the orange liquid. It didn't taste bad - if anything, it tasted a lot, and looked a lot, like butterbeer.

"You're welcome. You can get going, or sleep some more if you'd like. It's only seven." And then the nurse waddled away.

She decided to just lay there for a minute or so, blinking to test if she were tired or not. Her eyes may have not been very tired anymore, but her legs definitely were. The head of Ravenclaw made sure that the Headmaster made them stand whilst listening and explaining what had happened for an entire hour.

"Abby?" a voice croaked from beside her, and she lolled her head to the right, where the bed was once curtained, and sat up, smiling.

"Avery," she breathed out, her eyes moving down to his leg where a cast was wrapped around it. Frowning, she asked, "what happened to your leg."

"Thought I heard you talking last night. Don't worry about me, though," Avery replied, using his arms to push himself up into a sitting position and carefully moving his leg, lifting it with his hand under his thigh. "Doesn't hurt much after whatever I had to drink. Remember how we did that thing yesterday with the rain? Yes, well, turns out rain and running isn't a great combination. I slipped when I was running away from Professor Slughorn. I thought he would turn me in to the Headmaster for playing with rain. He was pretty calm about it, though, and told me not to worry about it. Hey, what is the big deal about that, huh? Playing with rain isn't a crime!"

"Tell me about it," Abigail rolled her eyes. "What about Tom? Is he OK?"

"Well, he'd be here if he weren't, wouldn't he?"

"I suppose."

"And speaking of big deals, what's the big deal between you two?" Avery suddenly blurted out, making Abigail look at him quickly.

"Big deal? Between Tom and I?" Avery nodded, arching an eyebrow. "Wish I knew."

"I sense some chemistry," Avery laughed, groaning and clutching his leg after a moment or so.

"Are you all right, love doctor?" Abigail half joked, concerned nonetheless.

"I think it's worn off. The potion was given to me around the time you came in - ugh, it hurts. How do the Muggles do it?" Avery continued to sob dryly, clutching his leg even tighter, wincing loudly.

"It's called medicine, dearest Avery."

"Ugh - ow - hey, lady, can you come back here! My leg hurts again!"

The nurse came wheeling around the corner. "That's Madam Dansin to you, young man," she scolded, carrying a large brown bottle in her hand and a cup in the other, pouring the liquid the same time she walked and talked, and then handed it to Avery to scoff.

"Whoo," Avery breathed, wiping his mouth with his forearm. "Thanks."

Madam Dansin gave him a pointed look, raising an eyebrow.

"Madam Dansin," Avery rolled his eyes slightly, watching her scuffle away to the opposite side of the room where a girl lay, her arms bent awkwardly. Abigail stared in horror and Avery followed her eyes, and said, "Quidditch accident."

"Oh," Abigail nodded, cringing at the girls deformed body.

"If your leg hurts, Avery, then that means it is almost healed, fool," the doors burst open, and in walked Tom. It seemed as though he'd expected Avery to be sulking like a baby. Tom stopped shortly after spotting Abigail in the bed beside him, and then continued making his way over to Avery.

Madam Dansin looked up to see who had entered, and Tom sent her a soft smile, making Abigail's insides lurch even though it wasn't her he was smiling at. It was just very rare to see him smiling like that. "Madam Dansin, how wonderful to see you. You're looking lovely as usual."

"Oh," Madam Dansin giggled slightly. "How sweet of you, Tom. Stay as long as you'd like," she smiled, almost flirtatiously, and then turned back to the Quidditch player.

Tom dropped the act and sat on the foot of Avery's hospital bed, not bothering to watch out for his broken leg. He stared at Avery with an annoyed but blank look on his face, Avery grinning in return, somehow shifting his leg away as though Tom would crush it.

"Well?" Tom demanded.

"I'll be out tonight, she said. The bones will have healed by then."

Tom nodded stiffly, and then turned to look at Abigail. "And you?"

"And me what?" Abigail scrunched her face up in confusion.

"What happened to your nose? It looks horrid."

Abigail forced a smile. "Ah, what every girl wants to hear first thing in the morning, Tom, you really are a ray of sunshine, aren't you?"

Tom shrugged, completely forgetting about his perfect Head Boy posture, and a smirk lit up his face. Abigail fell disappointed when he didn't send her a soft smile like he had with the nurse, but she pushed it aside. It wasn't like she could force him to smile, especially not at her.

"I tried breaking up a fight, got elbowed in the nose," Abigail explained bluntly, shrugging it off.

She felt Tom grab her face with his hand and turn it toward him, his face leaning closer to hers and his eyes examining the bruise left on her nose. "Who was fighting? Who bruised your nose?"

Abigail huffed, pulling away from his grasp. "If I tell you do you promise not to go burning them and dumping them in the lake?" It hadn't meant to come out like that, and Abigail's humorous mood had deflated as images of Olly's dead body flittered into her mind again, making her swallow hard and push herself back against the top of the bed, her knees automatically reaching her chest as she hugged them, sadness filling her up.

"What?" Avery demanded loudly, earning a smack on the back of the head by Tom. "That was you, Tom? Are you mad? I thought you stopped kill-"

"It wasn't him, it was me," Abigail sniffed. "He was just covering it up for me."

Avery blinked, confused, and then exhaled loudly. "I'm not even going to ask."

But he did anyway, and Abigail made sure she'd explained everything because she knew Tom would possibly dash in an insult here and there. After she'd finished explaining, the three of them were plunged into an awkward silence, before Abigail remembered Tom's question.

"Alison and Caitlyn were fighting. No, don't ask why, Avery, because I don't know, they just - they've never gotten along, those two. I went to break them up and Caitlyn jabbed me in the nose."

"Hey, Abby," Avery smirked, "how about us three leg it out of here and nose about in other people's business?"