Catharsis [Tom Riddle]

Chapter Sixty-Four

"I must admit, I thought we had already killed you," chuckled Xavier, earning a look of confusion from Avalon. "Reckon we killed the other version of you. No matter, I'm more than happy to do the job twice."

She didn't even bother to answer him, pointing her wand with no hesitation and blasting a red flash toward him. But, he easily deflected it, an amused grin on his lips when he said, "Someone isn't happy to see me. Was it something I did?"

"You fucking-"

"You always did have a swearing problem," he lamented, cutting her off as he shook his head. "I always hoped your filthy mouth extended beyond just words," he said, ducking down and laughing when she shot another red spell at him. "You did, unfortunately, disappoint on that front, though."

Her hands were trembling as she grasped onto her wand, wanting more than anything to wipe that disgusting smile off his twisted lips.

But, he only kept speaking, shrugging nonchalantly as he said, "Honestly, Hendrix. Truth be told, you were a bloody awful girlfriend." He could see her growing angrier and angrier, but it only fueled him to keep going. Getting a rise out of her had always been awfully entertaining to him. And so, so easy.

She couldn't stand him. He was everything awful that existed in humanity wrapped into one horrific excuse of a person. His arrogance, his lack of empathy, his empty heart... he was in every sense of the word, a complete monster.

And she wanted him dead. Once and for all, she wanted him out of her life.

Because she had enough of his deceit, his scheming, his darkness... she had enough of him.

She had her wand drawn to him, mirroring his own stance as she snarled, "You're pathetic, Lestrange. You never could do anything on your own, could you? You always needed Tom. For power, for respect-- you couldn't get any of it on your own."

"I'm not a fool, darling. I knew I needed Riddle on my side if I were to win-- and I always win," he sneered, biting his lip to hold back his deranged glee. "And I think you came to the same conclusion, did you not? You realized he's your best chance at winning all of this. So, now, we've each got our own," he winked, twirling his wand in his fingers. "Mine's immortal. What about yours?"

She muttered a spell under her breath, quiet enough so he wouldn't hear it. Slowly, the shattered glass around them that littered the ground from the plethora of broken windows began to rise into the air before darting toward Lestrange. Though, he easily put his hand up, halting their motion with little effort, watching boredly as they fell back onto the ground. "It appears as though I've struck a nerve," he said, rolling his emerald eyes. "You're a smart girl. I'm sure you're aware he's going to die, correct? I mean, that's what happens to all the people around you, isn't it? They all die. One by one."

This time, the spell that left her wand was a dark purple. Though, once again, he deflected it with ease. The years had made him more powerful than she remembered. Evidently, there was a reason he was one of the Dark Lord's favorite lieutenants.

He was, however, growing tired of her attempts to hurt him. So, without wasting another moment, he raised his hand and clenched his fist, watching as she let out a pained yelp and felt the veins in her arm threaten to burst.

It felt as though her bones were shattering in her hand. She tried, desperately, to hold on to her wand, but the pain grew intolerable until she was forced to drop it to the ground. The pain subsided the moment he grasped her wand, but in her moment of disarray, he pointed his own wand at her and thick, black ropes bound around her until their restraints immobilized her. As he watched her struggle against the bindings, he grinned to himself, but her anger only grew. "I forgot, this must be such a touchy subject for you, darling," he said, trying not to laugh. "If I recall correctly, you only recently lost Avery and his mudblood girlfriend, right?"