Burning Obsessions; Tom Riddle

29: Ache

[author's pov]

"Absolutely not, you're insane!" Victoria exclaimed as she turned her heel and walked away from him.

"I prefer ambitious," Tom commented. He watched as she walked deeper in the forest and effortlessly ran after her, hands in his pocket.

"It's dark magic, Riddle!" she exclaimed. "All dark magic comes with a price you won't be prepared to pay for."

He shook his head and watched as she struggled to find the sense in his plan.

"You speak to me as if immortality is fiction," Tom said. "Let us not forget you are the obscurial here."

Victoria froze in her tracks, not being able to reason with that. He smiled proudly at her blank stare and laughed to himself. She scoffed at his behaviour, walking away from him and towards the barrier.

She walked through the barrier and they both found themselves back in the abandoned classroom. It was still just as dark, as the night was still occurring and the room seemed bigger, now that she neared the centre of the classroom. She heard Riddle behind her and stormed off, finding no way to reason with him.

"Wait," Riddle called and she found herself pausing. Briefly, she thought he'd try to reason with her. She faced him with an impatient sigh.

"Will you at least consider what I'm offering?" he asked again. He was persistent and she could see why his charming and persuasive words were able to sway many professor's in his grasp.

"I can't find myself to understand you enough," she said. "We may be the only two who know each other, but I can't find myself to understand what you've been through to become like this. It's an evil, dark motive and I want no part of it. Especially if that kind of magic is already trying to surface in me."

Riddle felt a twinge of irritation at her rejection. Yet he saw that in her eyes, she wasn't confident in her answer. He knew she'd need him again. He believed it. A tug at the corner of his mouth indented his shallow cheek.

"Goodnight then," he said, surprising her by how well he was taking it. She had even thought he was up to something. Taking it as her chance to leave, she made her way past the barrier and snuck back to the dungeons.

[victoria's pov]

I silently make my way back to my dorm.

"She's now at peace," Riddle's voice replayed in my head. I couldn't help but reimagine his tone. It was shallow... I could get used to his gentle side. Despite all of his wrongs, there was still a chance for him to see things differently. He didn't need to feel so angered at his family or kill them... there was a small sliver of hope for him to heal.

Yet I couldn't imagine how I'd be able to convince him so. He had no reason to trust me unless he assumed I was in desperate need of help.

As soon as I made it to my dormitory door, light from inside crept from the cracks. I remembered Druella. Druella, who I had thought I could trust. The one person I thought would be with me all the way through life. My sister.

I turned the knob and walked in, expecting her to have been asleep like the rest of the castle. Instead, she sat on the foot of her bed with a sorrowful look plastered on her face. She looked sleep deprived without makeup on, making me realise I hadn't been the only sleepless person.

"Hey," Druella said, deciding to test the waters. "I've been meaning to tell you... I was just-"

"Waiting for the right time?" I assumed. "Waiting until I got over Serenity's death? You've known all along that she wasn't kidnapped. You knew! You knew and you guilt tripped me into feeling as if I was a horrible person!"