Don't Save Me

Chapter 21: Just a Pawn

The last few months passed pretty uneventfully. The Malfoys and Bellatrix proved loyal enough to keep my secret. Though I dreaded the upcoming summer months, I knew what would happen if I tried to run. I was still a minor and, legally, I had to remain with my legal guardian until I turned 18, at which point I would be able to make my own decisions about where to live.

We had arrived at our final week of school when an owl swooped into the Great Hall, dropping an envelope into my hands. James looked over at me, curiously, as I turned the letter over in my hands. The stationary was unmistakable and I recognized it instantly... the Malfoys. I felt fear grom in the pit of my stomach as I turned the letter over and tore open the flap. I felt James's eyes on me and I turned to him.

"Can I help you?" I asked, jokingly.

"What do they want with you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Malfoy stationary is unmistakable, Y/n... what do they want with you?" I quickly placed the letter in my pocket, deciding I would read it later, in the comfort of my own dorm. James gave me a curious look, knowing I was hiding something.

"James... they probably just want to thank me for coming to the wedding. I'm sure that's all it is," I laughed, hoping he would drop the subject.

"You went to their wedding?" Sirius chimed in, confused.

"Yes... why wouldn't I?"

"Because they are Slytherins, Y/N! They associate with people you don't want to be associated with."

"Sirius, what are you talking about?"

"My parents are really into this whole... blood supremacy thing... and I've heard rumors of my cousin's dealings with people who want to uphold that tradition... people who are willing to kill to insure purebloods remain superior." All eyes fell on me as Sirius finished speaking. I felt a lump rise in my throat as I thought back to my meeting with Tom Riddle. Lucius seemed to highly respect him and he called him... My eyes widened as the memory replayed in my mind. My Lord... Lucius had said.

"Tell me more," I replied, needing more information. Sirius sat forward, eager to tell me what he knew... eager for me to turn my back on my Slytherin friends. Though I knew I could never turn my back on them... I had to know what Sirius knew... what he meant.

"Apparently my aunt and uncle have opened their home to a dark wizard... one so powerful that many fear to speak his name and simply call him the Dark Lord. They believe he will greatly reward them for aiding him."

What is his name?" I asked.

"These days he goes by Lord Voldemort."

"These days...?"

"That was not his original name... his original name was-." I cut him off before he could finish, already knowing the name... not needing to hear it repeated.

"Tom Riddle." All eyes turned to me as his name left my lips.

"Y/n?" James whispered, fear in his eyes as he turned toward me. "How did you know that?"

"Because I've met him."

James, Remus, Lily, Peter, and Sirius all turned to look at me, their eyes wide as my words sunk in.

"You've met him? How?" Sirius hissed, concern lacing his voice as he inched closer to me.

"He was at the wedding," I replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"This is exactly what I was worried about! I knew this was going to happen! They were too interested in her!" Sirius hissed in James's ear. My ears perked up at his words and I quickly turned my head toward him.

"What are you talking about? Who was interested in who?" Sirius's mouth clamped shut immediately and fear flashed in his eyes.

"N-nothing," he stammered.

"Sirius..." I warned. "You better start talking."

"Not here! Meet me in the Gryffindor common room. Wait until everyone has left and then we can talk... We can't talk about this here."

"You better not be lying, Sirius."

"I'll be there, Y/n. I promise." I nodded before standing and walking out of the Great Hall.

A few hours later, the Gryffindor common room was emptying and I sat by the fireplace, reading a book Severus had lent me. I heard shuffling next to me and I looked up to see James, Sirius, Lily, Remus, and Peter walking toward me. They took a seat next to me and I closed the cover of the book. The eye on the cover of George Orwell's 1984 stared up at me as I ran my thumb over the cover. Sirius cleared his throat and I quickly looked up, meeting his sad eyes as they searched mine.

"I guess I have some explaining to do," he began, playing with his fingers in his lap. I nodded, waiting with bated breath for him to continue.

"When you were sorted... news quickly spread about how long it had taken the hat to sort you. That summer... when I went home... my parents bombarded me with questions about you. I didn't have many answers... you were never much of an open book," Sirius said, laughing. I looked down, knowing I could never be an open book, knowing if I told the truth, they would be in danger. "They spoke of my cousin, Bellatrix... how she and the Dark Lord were highly interested in you. Know one has ever taken ten minutes to be sorted and they wondered what secrets you were hiding... The Malfoys grew interested in you, especially after finding out just how interested the Dark Lord was in you. They want you, Y/n... they want your talents... your magic... they want you to join them." I froze as his words sank in, a chill rising in my bones as I thought of what they stood for... what I was being told they stood for. I had never heard this from their lips... they had never once told me they hated those who weren't purebloods. I didn't even know my own blood status and, yet... they accepted me. I quickly stood up from the couch, knocking over a book that was sitting on a stool near the couch. I didn't care. I quickly made my way up to my room, still holding 1984 as the eye stared up at me, daring me to join the Slytherins... daring me to become evil. I placed the book on my night table, the eye still staring up at me. I turned it over so the cover was face down and climbed into bed. How could people who seemed so kind... be so manipulative? Did they care about me at all... or was I simply a pawn in their game?