All around platform 9 3/4 teenagers were hugging each other goodbye, bursting into a fresh round of tears. Abigail had to pinch herself to keep from doing so herself, and hugged all her friends. Alison, Chris, Billy, Brianna, and even Caitlyn and Stephen. Plenty of them exchanged home addresses and such, and moved on to get off the platform. Very few teenagers lingered around the train station, none of which Abigail knew or liked.

"Wait, don't go just yet," Brianna pulled her back by the arm to stop her leaving with Tom and Avery. Abigail gave her a questioning look. "There's someone who wants to speak with you," Brianna then eyed Tom and Avery, and said loudly, "In private."

Abigail didn't know what to do other than look back at Tom and Avery, as though she were asking for permission since she was so used to doing it - if she miscounted those times she'd snuck away. But, Tom didn't seem to think it was a very good idea, and he shook his head.

"No. Absolutely not," he said. "Avery or I must be with her."

"Look, Riddle," Brianna said loudly, making Abigail look at her in shock. Brianna had always been scared of Tom and his friends; she even remembered the time Brianna ran out of the Great Hall simply because Tom had stood behind her. "I understand what is going on. I get why you want to be with her right now. But do you really think I'd let something happen to her? Emily wouldn't either."

"Wait, Emily?"

"You're telling me McKinnon knew all along, told you, who told Abigail, who didn't bother telling me?" Tom growled, suddenly narrowing his eyes at Abigail who smiled sheepishly.

"I didn't think it was important that they knew. What was the harm?"

"Nothing just..." Tom trailed off, looking very reluctant. "You've got five minutes. Hurry up. We'll be here."

Brianna dashed off while keeping a hold of Abigail, kind of like she was shielding her from any danger. Abigail felt as though all these people were cloaking her like she'd jump in front of the next train or something.

They walked over to one of the brick walls and turned around it where Abigail spotted the dark blonde hair immediately with her back to her, just leaning against the bricks. Emily turned around at the sound of Brianna clearing her throat, and watched Abigail carefully for a moment, before letting out a low sigh before stepping in for a hug. Abigail was shocked that Emily had done so, but didn't stop herself from hugging her back.

"I'm going to miss our little trio," Emily choked out in a mused voice, making Abigail laugh slightly. They parted and Emily stepped back a little, not bothering to acknowledge Brianna's presence. "I've something to tell you."

"I have something to tell you, too," Abigail said honestly. "You go first."

Emily nodded, finally throwing a glance Brianna's way who solemnly stepped beside Abigail. "I feel you already know what I'm going to talk about."

Abigail nodded slowly. It was all anybody seemed to talk to her about now. But she finally left Hogwarts. She could move away and change her name to keep herself hidden and safe.

"She's gaining power quickly," Emily said quietly, loud enough for both girls to hear. "She's got more followers. At first she wanted Tom Riddle dead because she thought he let his guard down on his own will, but now she wants you dead -"

"Wait, she wanted Tom dead?" Abigail said in horror, her mouth dropped open. How had she not known this? Was her memory messed up? Had she been told before but forgotten?

"Listen, that's not the importance anymore. She wants you dead, Abby. The muggleborns are next. She believes you're holding Riddle back. If him and her work together like some creepy, masochistic couple, it'd make her stronger and they'd be absolutely unstoppable. Isn't it obvious? She's jealous of you. She's had her eye on Riddle for years."

Abigail frowned. "I didn't think jealousy could go so far."

"You'd think a lot of things, but Bellatrix Black takes everything too far," Emily uttered in disgust, her eyes distant as she spoke.

It was hard for Abigail to let it all sink in; it just didn't seem believable. It was always someone else dying or targeted for death, nobody ever thought it was them. There was something lingering in the back of her mind, something she'd wanted an answer to for a while now.

"Why did you end up joining her in the first place?" she frowned, Emily mirroring her expression. "You knew what kind of terror she was capable of, but you did it anyway."

"You made me angry that day. I just...I - Brianna and I had been friends since first-year and you always, always seemed to brush her off. You yelled at her and I just snapped and ended up disliking you very much. I thought maybe if Brianna and I got new friends, a whole group of them, it'd make you jealous. Not only that but I thought maybe she'd stop being such a bitch to us if we were her friends. I know I wasn't thinking clearly. I know it was stupid. But what's done is done. Look, I shouldn't be telling you any of what I'd just told you. She threatened me, Abby. If she knows I told you, she'll kill me as well."

"You should go to the Ministry," Brianna piped up, her expression a frown as well. She looked awfully frightened for her friend, and her eyes flickered between Abigail and Emily as she spoke. "You know, instead of hiding in fear. Someone has to say something - this is unacceptable. If somebody doesn't say anything, a lot of people are going to die and it'll all be because we're too coward to say anything! If that were to happen...I...I don't think I could go on living knowing I had the information at the tip of my tongue but never said a thing. One of us has to do something; she can't just get away with this."

"She's right," Abigail said.

"It's not that simple," Emily said in a grim tone. "Trust me. The Ministry can't protect you forever, and you can't just go there because she's threatened us. They'd need time to gather proof, witnesses and such. And in that time she could very well come after you, or get someone else to do it."

"Why don't we just steal her memory?" Brianna's voice wavered. "From behind her back, we could do it. No one would know, and no one would have to kill her or anything."

"Oh, really? Do you know where she is right now? Do you know where she lives, or what she could be doing?" Emily said sarcastically. "Neither do we."

"I meant if we ever see her out in the open."

Emily sighed and shook her head in disappointment, and looked as though she was frowning at her thoughts.

"Anyway," Emily said, looking directly at Abigail. "What is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, right. You and Malfoy-"

"Times up," a voice said from behind her, making her jump and whirl around in surprise. She'd almost forgotten she had a time limit and had Tom not have come and retrieved her she might have been there for hours. "We need to go."

Abigail nodded and hugged Brianna one last time, and then hugged Emily, who whispered, "be careful around that Avery."

Abigail's eyes widened and she pulled back slowly, her eyebrow which she could feel creasing. She definitely didn't know what to feel about that. Avery wasn't the bad guy here; he'd been helping her and Tom for weeks, tipping them off of whatever Bellatrix had to say. Abigail nodded anyway, and followed Tom off the platform, who glanced at her every so often on the way.

"Don't ask," Abigail said grimly, her arms crossed. "You already know what she was talking about."

"I wasn't going to ask," he responded smoothly. "I was waiting for you to tell me what she said."

Abigail shook her head, Avery coming into view with a big smile on his face. "Why didn't you tell me she wanted you dead?"

Tom frowned, and as they were nearing Avery, he whispered, "I'm sure I did."

"No, you said overthrow."

"So," Avery said as they ran through the brick wall onto the other side, where they emerged into King's Cross, the muggle train station. "Where are you guys off to now? I'm off home, maybe you could show me this Phelly-tone sometime."

Abigail arched a brow. "How exactly are you getting home?"

"I've got a portkey waiting for me," he responded. "Anyway, I'm not going to hug either of you because I know this isn't the last I'll be seeing either of you. I'll owl you two soon."

"Bye," Abigail smiled, watching Avery drag his trunk away, constantly glancing over his shoulder.

-

The Knight Bus rolled around in view, and Abigail sighed in relief. It was hard walking around the streets with Tom. They'd pass muggles and he'd walk right into her, or lean into her, just to avoid being accidentally touched by one of them. Or muggles who'd pass them in vehicles - Tom wouldn't stop glaring at them. Or when Abigail had bumped into a couple of people from her muggle school, a group of boys and girls, Tom glared at them which expectedly resulted in them saying a quick goodbye.

Abigail told the conductor where they'd like to go while Tom made his way down the aisle of seats, which he was aware of them being beds by night. Abigail met him by the fifth row and sat down beside him, behind an old couple who glanced back at them a few times.

"What are you two bags looking at?" Tom sneered at them when they turned around for what felt like the sixth time.

Abigail dropped her jaw and elbowed him in the ribs, glad to see that the old man and woman had terrible hearing as they were smiling. "Play nicely."

Tom stared at her for a moment before his eyes flicked up and a confused expression formed on his face. Abigail was expecting it. "Hang on. We've just passed the heart of London. Where are we going?"

"Little Hangleton, silly."

"What? But, I thought -" Tom cut himself off with a sigh. "Never mind."

It was obvious that Tom hadn't wanted to visit his father's grave first, Abigail knew he wanted to avoid it as much as possible. She could barely even grasp the fact that he'd actually agreed to come along with her. She thought once they'd finished Hogwarts he'd leave her alone. Now that she thought about it, when would he leave her alone? He couldn't just stick to her side like a shadow and pretend that she was okay with it.

"You know how at Hogwarts you wanted me to be within your vision?" she said quietly, earning a nod from Tom. "What about now?"

He looked at her. "Now I want you next to me."

"Look, Bernard," an old, feminine voice said from the two seats in front of Abigail and Tom. "Young love, oh, it's just like when we were young."

Abigail heard Tom inhale deeply and she quickly grasped his hand and squeezed it as tight as she could. The old couple still smiled at them and Abigail grinned back before they turned around. She felt Tom pull his hand out of hers and she looked over in confusion to see him standing.

"Let's go to the back," Tom said in disgust, throwing a sickening glance at the two elderly people. "It's far more quiet and empty."

He didn't give her a chance to reply as he had already walked off. With the speed of the bus, Abigail worried for the two older people; if the driver had just slammed on those breaks they'd most likely go flying as they probably didn't have much of a grip. Sighing anyway, Abigail left her seat and followed Tom all the way to the back where it was empty.

"How long do you think it'll take us to get there?" she asked, frowning as she stared out the window. "Shouldn't we be there in a few minutes, even though it's far away?" she frowned again. "We're going really fast."

"How should I know?" Tom scoffed. "I haven't traveled there by the Knight Bus before."

Abigail threw her head back and raised her eyebrows at him, surprisingly having not expected the sudden change of tone in his voice. "Jeez, sorry for asking."

The driver slammed on the breaks and had Tom not put his arm out in front of Abigail she'd have gone face first into the chairs in front of her. The two old people left the bus, and then it started moving at it's crazy speed once more.

"Can I ask why you even want to go there?" Tom asked her after putting his arm back down. "I simply can't understand why anyone would want to visit a piece of stone. It's bizarre."

"It's not the stone they visit, stupid, it's...the person that was buried obviously."

Abigail glanced at Tom and noticed he still looked puzzled. "Doesn't matter. I still think it's pathetic. You're just supposed to forget about the dead and move on."

"It's not that simple," Abigail frowned. "It may be for you because you didn't know your parents, or never cared about anyone that's died. My mum doesn't visit my dad, you know? She follows something similar to your statement and it's killed her. She may be alive on the outside but on the inside she's dead."

She bit her lip, not really knowing why she'd told him that. He seemed to understand since he had stared at her for a moment, even when she looked away and looked back at him again. Slowly he frowned and turned away from her, managing to lean his head against the window despite the speed of the bus and watched everything fizz by. Abigail figured they'd be on the bus for a while, and leaned her head on his shoulder and shut her eyes, not really worrying if Tom had shut his eyes either because if they'd reached their destination and were both fast asleep, the driver would slam on the breaks again and they'd fly into the seats in front and wake up.

But Tom didn't appear to be wanting to fall asleep, as his arm had slowly crept around and stopped itself on Abigail's right arm, letting her know that he was OK with it.

The sun had set a little bit by the time they'd arrived in Little Hangleton, and when they stood from their seats, every seat in the bus had flopped out into a bed instead, making Abigail jump in surprise. She wasn't expecting that.

"Thank you," the conductor said loud and monotonously as they got off the bus.

It was a creepy little area, a pub up the street and a few houses with their lights already out; as though creatures of the night really existed around here. Abigail hugged herself when the wind travelled down the street - despite it almost being summer, it seemed like it was always winter here, and she didn't like this place at all.

She glanced around, not seeing the place they'd arrived for in the first place.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Tom said in an unconvincing voice that almost sounded exactly like the conductor's voice, only a lot more quieter. "Brilliant sights all around."

"Where is the graveyard?"

Tom's shoulders dropped, kind of like he'd wanted to go somewhere else with her instead. He cleared his throat and turned to walk further up the street. "Follow me."

Abigail did as she was told, lingering behind him slightly which concluded in Tom glancing behind his shoulder often. She continued to gaze around the place and saw that it must have lost quite a lot of population over the years. It must have been quite crowded and full at some point but it must have died out. Reaching past the pub and noticing a few men sitting outside by a small, brown, circular table with drinks in their hands, she ran a little to stand next to Tom when she'd noticed that they were all watching her, and ended up laughing when she wrapped one of her arms around Tom's, watching them closely. One man who had a bit of a grey beard laughed the loudest, his broken teeth coming into view.

"The people are lovely," Tom spoke quietly, not looking at Abigail. He then looked up at a house that had been vandalised. "So are the houses. Beautiful neighbourhood."

"It's so creepy here, I don't like it," Abigail whispered in a strange tone, something she had not intended to sound like.

She was still staring back at the men who were laughing for whatever reason.

"I told you, didn't I?"

"Well, if telling me you don't want to visit your father also translates to creepy people, creepy place, then of course," Abigail shot back, still clinging onto him in fear of being snatched by somebody.

The ventured up what looked like a fairly steep hill, and when they got to the top, Abigail spotted a manky building far out in the distance. The graveyard came into view and there was a small, brown gate surrounding it as well as a large fielded area. There were about twelve gravestones and one of them was bigger than she'd ever seen before, like a giant scarecrow made out of stone, only it didn't look like a scarecrow. It was a hooded man without a face, but a skull, that was holding what looked like a spear. She shuddered slightly when the sun dropped completely, causing the darkness to shadow all over her, a few ravens crowing here and there.

Her and Tom lit their wands, and he pushed her arm off and walked quickly around the place, searching for his father's grave. She shuddered again when he disappeared, holding up her wand to read the names on the gravestones though she was frightened a face would pop up right in front of her.

"Over here," Tom said, and Abigail saw him from the light that the moon was shining, even in a place so...ghostly and mysterious.

He was standing in front of the skeleton tombstone, the one that creeped her out the most. She walked over next to him, not able to tear her eyes away from the skull that was staring down at her, hoping that the skull didn't belong to Tom's father and was firmly buried six feet under where she was standing.

Her eyes flickered down to the name.

'Tom Riddle

1880 - 1943'

It was odd seeing Tom's name scrawled on a tombstone.

Abigail took advantage of the moment and sneaked a look at Tom's face and she nearly squeaked when she saw that he was staring at the ground, his eyes closed and his nostrils flared. Somehow, seeing this look on him, made her regret forcing him to do this. Her hand reached out and intertwined with his, and he let her head rest on his shoulder for comfort.

"I'm all right," he mumbled, coughing slightly. "It just stinks of dead people."

"Well it is a cemetery," she reminded him. "Do you want to say anything?"

"Can we leave now?" were his choice of words, and it made Abigail stifle a small laugh that was begging to be released at how he'd handled the situation, even though it wasn't what she'd wanted.

"I meant for your dad, do you want to say anything to him? A sweet goodbye? Because I know you'll never come back unless I ask."

"Abigail," he said sternly, making her leave his shoulder to look up at him. "I never wanted to come here in the first place nor do I plan on returning. I don't have anything to say to a man who abandoned me before I was even born, not to mention that he was a disgusting muggle."

He did have a better point than she. Abigail was certain she'd react the same if her father had left her before she was born and hadn't even bothered to show up for her birth or even see how she was doing as she got older. It would probably make her feel very unwanted and useless and she imagined Tom would have felt the same prior to finding out he was a wizard. She tried to see it from his angle, and figured he'd forgotten all about it after he'd found out what he was and what he could do.

"Well, well, who do we have here?"