Ter Circum Iliacos

                                    

                                          
** TW: The following chapter contains extremely graphic descriptions of physical violence, body mutilation, torture, horrific MCD. DO NOT READ if you are not prepared to encounter such content. **
I knew something was terribly wrong the moment Tom threw open the door to the bedroom. Rubbing at my eyes, I sighed defeatedly, "What now?"
"Time to leave."
"Wait, seriously?"
And though he kept his agitation carefully hidden just beneath the surface, I picked up on it all the same.
Not that it's a difficult thing to discern -
He's practically vibrating frantic energy
"Come. Now."
Something about his tone - the urgency buried within it, led me to sit up and truly take notice, "And where are we going?"
Losing his already limited patience, Tom pulled me out of bed and into his arms, wand emerging from his pocket.
"Where, Tom -?"
Shaking his head and ignoring me, he brought my arm around his waist and flicked his wand, "There. Not leaving anything to chance."
"What do you mean, there?"
But when I tried to pull my arm off and away, I discovered exactly what he'd done.
Gasping, my eyes flew up to his, "You glued us together?!"
"Only temporarily, and only to ensure you don't let go."
"Does that mean -"
It did -
... A wave of his wand, and we popped out of existence as I knew it.
When we reappeared, it was as a nightmare fully realised. 
Tom and I, standing together in the middle of his study, my arm still forcibly affixed to his waist.
"No! No!!!!!"
Sighing with what I took to be a mixture of relief and annoyance, Tom flicked his wand lazily. And just like that, my arm was free again. But that was a cold comfort compared to how I felt at present:
As though all the wind's just been knocked out of me
Because ...
We can't be back here -
Not here -
Anywhere but here -
Shaking my head in complete disbelief, I flew back from him and repeated my earlier protest, "NO!"
Apparently being back in the security of his fortress did wonders for his confidence, because Tom seemed completely nonplussed, "Oh, yes."
"But you just said - just days ago we discussed staying in the 1920's!"
"Hmmm..."
"You can't just change your mind!"
"Clearly I can. I did."
"But you said he'll find us here! It makes no sense why you'd -"
Striding forward, Tom backed me up and into his desk, "If Slytherin thinks he can waltz in here and challenge me, he's welcome to try! I'd just LOVE that."
The sound of my panicked breathing as he continued to hover over me.
I'm going to hyperventilate
Going to completely lose my mind
I can't handle being back here
Especially not so abruptly -