With You

Chapter 3 - Sorry Ms. Jackson

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I'm looking for a place
I'm searching for a face
Is anybody here I know
Cause nothing's going right

And everything's a mess
And no one likes to be alone

Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Wont you take me by the hand
take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
but I

I'm with you

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Young Sri was enjoying a simple ice cream cone, bought from a vendor before taking the long climb up the stairs of the huge green statue. She wondered sometimes of what it stood for, before she had met her new friend and gone through the pain from her disowned older brother. He's twice my age for crying out loud! Why am I so important to him anyway? She had thought this question many times before, but the young witch had never seemed to get a hold of a good answer for it. Sri turned around to check and make sure Lelchet was following her to the top, sighing in relief as she looked down to see the woman smiling up at her.

The only problem was, she hadn't looked down since she started climbing.

"Oh my god!" Sri yelled frightfully. "I had no idea this was so high ..." she paused to give Lelchet a pleading gesture, "can't we go back down?! I don't like this anymore! I could fall to my death from here!"

There was an awkward silence. Not the kind that people usually found, that usually ended up in nervous laughter or shy gazes, but the foreboding, fatal awkward silence. It was the kind that usually hid an elaborate and malevolent plan awaiting the bystander of that gaze, particularly Sri as she looked down at the woman's flashing red eyes.

Sri was about to say something when the stairs shook without command. She tried to hang on to the slick railing, but since her ice cream had melted, the young witch's hands were sticky and slipped off the thin support she had to live. Sri felt herself nearly dangling from such a high place, gazing terrified at the Muggles looking at her from below. She eyed a man enter the great inside of the statue, and then Sri froze.

"Tom." Sri shivered immediately, which didn't help her balance at all, and she nearly slipped off the staircase again when Lelchet grabbed her.

"Watch yourself, sweetie," the woman spoke kindly, her expression changed from the earlier ominous gaze. "You don't want to fall, now, do you?" Sri nodded. "Oh, you do want to fall?" Both of the Riddles stopped at these words motionless as Lelchet's red eyes appeared again into the aged sockets. "Well, guess I can't blame you. If I were as such an annoying bitch as yourself, I'd kill myself too." And Lelchet dropped her.

Tom tried to think fast, which was sometimes a hard thing to do in situations like this. There were too many Muggles around and, at the same time, they might be a good distraction. "Imperio," he hissed over to a group of Muggles, who looked around confusedly for a few seconds, then started piling on top of each other to stop Sri's fall. One of the Muggles on top of the others caught the young witch, Tom sighing in relief.

Relief? Tom repeated. This doesn't sound like me at all. Dammit I hate it when this happens. Nonetheless he walked over to the quivering child, depositing his wand back into his robes and releasing the mob of Muggles, who were again looking around confusedly.

"Whew, that was close," Sri spoke to herself, then looking up at her brother. "Tom?" He nodded silently. "How did you find me?"

While their conversation continued, Lelchet glared angrily down at the two from her spot on the stairs. "Yugutei jisel-" She stopped suddenly, feeling a sudden gust of wind as Tom levitated next to her.

"You were saying?" The Dark Lord asked dangerously.

Lelchet growled, pointing a worn wand at him. "YUGUTEI JISELADAV-"

"HIAGE MIRABLID!" Tom countered, the old woman flying back and forth for a moment, then forcibly levitating for another moment, then flying out of the statue itself and sinking slowly into the Atlantic - before a ship moved over her.

The Dark Lord grinned. I'm going to have to thank Lucius for giving me that one. He spends a little too much time with his hair, but he sure knows how to drown someone. Again the wand slipped into his robe pocket, turning around to see his followers had already made it and erased the memories of the filthy non-magic masses and knocked them unconscious, all pointing their wands at Sri. The girl felt like she was having déjà vu as Tom approached her. Immediately the wands lowered as Tom crossed his arms with a stern look on his face.

"Tsk, tsk, girl. You should know better than talk to strangers by now." He tossed the ice cream cone over to her. "And that's bad for you anyway." He made small gestures to the Death Eaters, the group Disapparating while Tom knelt down to Sri's eye level.

Sri was still shivering, feeling like crying but not having the strength to. All she knew was that she had been caught, and Tom was probably going to kill her.

Instead of this assumption, actually, the Dark Lord leant down and hugged her softly.

The girl struggled for a few seconds, thinking he was trying to hurt her, but realized all Tom was doing was moving a hand through her hair. "It's so strange, Allura. Strange that I feel like a ... what's the word ... a parent to you." He stared at her directly, Sri looking down from his gaze. "Never make this mistake again, do you hear me?"

The younger Riddle sniffed. "I hear you fine. What I don't understand is why everyone's trying to kill me - even you, Tom."

The older Riddle stopped at this, letting go of his reincarnated sister and pondering. "I'm not too sure myself, Allura. All I know is that America is not the place for you. You'll only die out here." He paused, handing her a small envelope with her name on it. "It is in your best interest to take this. Also when we go back to Britain, a family named Jackson will meet you. Give them this and they'll know what to do."

Sri nodded confusedly as Tom Disapparated and the Muggles stood up, complaining and wondering what had just happened since their memory evaded them. Sri, bored of the strange commotion, turned the envelope over and read out loud softly,

"Dear Ms. Jesukai,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await you owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress?" Sri scratched her head, still confused. "What in the world is a Hogwar-" Then Tom Apparated again.

"Sorry, knew I forgot something. Here," he muttered a small spell and Sri fell on the floor asleep. He picked her up, Disapparated again to Britain and knocked on a door, whispering in Sri's ear, thinking of a good alibi for her erased memory. "You went to Durmstrang for one year but were expelled for a prank on all the teachers. Now you're starting Hogwarts and you know nothing of my plans." He heard someone approaching for the door, dropping Sri to the ground and disappeared.

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