The Daily Prophet revealed that Tom Riddle and his cult of death eaters had taken control over The Monarchy. They were holding employees captive and forcing them to work under their jurisdiction. They had completely infiltrated the organization and several death eaters were apparently among them the whole time. The Daily Prophet claimed that The Monarchy had been a front for the death eaters to control the Wizarding World from behind the scenes, at the moment of its rise to power. Their obvious next target - the Ministry. They wanted full control over the Wizarding World.
It would be almost impossible to defeat Tom Riddle now. His power and his beliefs were no longer a secret. It would no longer be taboo to be on his side. People would be even more enticed to join him without being ashamed of their prejudice against muggle-borns and half-bloods.
Loki was silent and seemed relatively unaffected. He was reading the newspaper article in The Daily Prophet while Jane and Thor discussed the images they were showing on the television.
"What are you going to do, Loki? Are you going to quit?" Jane asked him. Everyone's eyes turned towards him except yours. You had a bad feeling about this. You had already suspected something was off about him, but you never wanted those suspicions to be confirmed. The less you knew the better. But did Jane and Thor really not suspect him of anything? How could they be so blind? Why didn't they ask him who's side he was on?
"No. I can't quit. Someone has to stand up to those people," Loki said, nonchalantly, turning a newspaper page.
"You and who else, brother? We don't know how many people are on Tom Riddle's side. You could get killed," said Thor, worried.
"Don't worry about me. I have gained the favor of a lot of people there. I'm in a high position. They can't force me to do or say anything I don't want to," said Loki.
"So you're really going to continue to go to work? That's insane," Jane told him.
He shrugged. "There's not much of a chance that the death eaters will hold power for that long. There's a lot of people who are willing to fight back. People who are stronger than them," Loki reassured everyone. He nodded and smiled at you.
"I'm going home," you told everyone. You didn't want to hear anything else from Loki. There was no way this would end well for you two. He was going to get you involved in matters you didn't care for at all. Your life had always been centered around avoiding trouble and you preferred to keep it that way. But could you really stay away from Loki? What would be the final straw that would keep you away from him forever?
Loki looked at you worried but didn't say anything.
Jane said her goodbyes to Thor. You were going to say bye to Loki, but he disappeared.
On the way back home, you and Jane discussed what you should do at work. You had no choice but to return. If The Ministry failed now, Tom Riddle and the death eaters would win. The stakes were high.
The next day at work, Mr. Jugson gathered everyone together. He was careful with his words. For once. He said that we couldn't be sure about who we could or couldn't trust. We should stick to our roles in The Ministry and report anything that seemed suspicious. The Ministry needed to prevail.
As Mr. Jugson's assistant, you were contacting media outlets daily to find out what was going on and how to ensure the general public's safety. The aurors were beginning to recruit more and more people to fight back. They were planning something, and only a few people were entitled to those plans. One of them was you. So inevitably, you joined them.
A couple weeks passed by and you heard nothing from Loki. Absolutely nothing. Thor told Jane who told you that he had been busy as well. And gone often. They didn't know what he was doing, but they continued to put their trust in him. You couldn't.
That's when you had an unexpected visitor. Loki came strolling into your office like it was just another normal day, wearing the same black suit he always wore. You thought you were dreaming.
"What the hell are you doing here, Loki?" You were shaking your head. How could he disappear at such an important time? Was he a coward or was he a menace?
"To see you," he said, smiling. He walked over to the roses by the window, which were dried up and crumbling. He frowned at them. "Oh, what's this? Is this a representation of how little you care for me?"
"Care? Loki, I haven't heard a single thing from you in weeks. You don't care about me, so why should I care about you?" You asked him.
"Please don't be angry at me, darling. I had very important business to attend do," Loki said.
"Don't call me that. What were you doing this entire time?"
"I can't tell you," he said.
"Then I can't trust you. I'm sorry I can't blindly trust you like Thor and Jane. I don't want to see you again, Loki," you said looking into his eyes this time. You stood up from behind your desk. It hurt. But it had to be done. There was no way he actually cared about you.
"I know you don't really mean that, Y/N. But I'll respect your wishes," Loki told you. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but instead he turned around and headed out the door.
You ran after him, but it was already too late. He was gone. How did he even get in here in the first place? It was impossible to apparate in and out of The Ministry.
The aurors were planning a raid tonight. You were assigned the role of a lookout, stationed behind a small hill and some boulders. At your call, the aurors would come to attack. Supposedly, the death eaters were looking for something. A special locket that could be used as a horcrux for Tom Riddle. He was collecting them in order to split his soul into pieces and become immortal. There were rumors the locket that could be used for this was buried along with a wizard at a small cemetery on a hill in Birmingham.
You sat behind the boulders for almost two hours, but it was so quiet. Eerily quiet. You couldn't even hear the wind. No sign of any death eaters whatsoever. You were using binoculars to keep your eye on the graves.
"Y/N. Why are you here? You can't be here right now. It's extremely dangerous," someone told you from behind. "Also, you're not doing a very splendid job as a lookout. You didn't even see me coming," You looked to see Loki standing behind you, crossing his arms.
"Loki?" You were both surprised and not surprised that he was here.
"Yes Y/N?"
You stood up to face him, shaking your head.
"I have nothing to say to you. I'm done with you," you told him.
"Are you quite sure about that?" He held up the locket the aurors were looking for. Your eyes widened.
"Give that to me right now," you told him. He held it up above your head and you tried your best to snatch it away.
"Loki, it could save lives, please give it to me," you said. How did he even get that?
"Oh how virtuous of you. Always thinking of what's right and putting people first," he said, arrogantly.
"Loki, if you don't give that to me right now, you'll become my real enemy," you told him.
"We won't be enemies, Y/N. I can guarantee you'll be joining me soon," Loki told you.
You laughed. "There's no way I'd ever join you. I don't know who you think I am, but we're nothing alike. If you are what I think you are, it's really never going to happen."
"You're very clever, you know. You were the only one who figured it out. Or that wanted to accept it," Loki smiled at you menacingly. Your heart rate began to increase again. Why did you still have feelings for him? "When did you figure it out?"
"I've always known. From the very first moment I met you. The way you dress, the way you talk, what you value, and where you work. The black roses. It was the most obvious thing in the world. I also knew that the death eaters were in charge of The Monarchy. It's the only thing that made sense. It's the reason why The Ministry could never stop dark forces from growing. Because The Monarchy was helping them."
"I'm impressed," Loki said to you.
"I don't care if you are. Why are you doing this?"
"I've been ignored my whole life. I've been living under Thor's shadow for as long as I can remember. My parents aren't my real parents. Odin couldn't seem to care less for me. He always favored Thor. He could never love me. I was too different from all of them. So now I'm here. Carving out my own destiny. It's time for me to reign. I am burdened with glorious purpose."
"Loki, I'm sorry you've been treated that way. But that's no excuse for doing whatever you're trying to do now." Glorious purpose? Bullshit.
"Don't feel sorry for me. In the end, everyone will kneel. They will all kneel for me," he told you, his eyes were gleaming.
You shook your head.
"You're completely insane and chaotic and deranged. I know that you've just been using me to try and find out about The Ministry's secrets," you said angrily.
Loki didn't say anything. Was he really using you? Was he that heartless? Was there a small chance that he began to feel something too? You felt as though you'd never figure out what he really thought about you.
"I can't believe I ever liked you," you mumbled. Shoot. You shouldn't have said that.
"So you do like me then?" Loki asked you. "Even after everything I said? Even after you suspected me?"
"Not anymore. That's why I said it in past tense," you shook your head.
"I don't believe you. You liked me even though you knew what I was. You'll join me soon enough. You'll see," Loki told you.
He put the locket in the pocket of his pants. He then began to slowly slide up his sleeve but you grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"The moment you show me that, we become enemies. Please don't do this. We'll never be able to go back to how we were before," you pleaded.
"I'm willing to bargain that you won't be able to stay away from me, even if we are enemies. I don't want to go back. It's time I show you what I am," He threw your hand off him and revealed his dark mark tattoo.
Swiftly, you drew your wand out and pointed it at him.
"Put that down, Y/N."
"I can't let you get away," you told him.
"I can't let you capture me," Loki drew his wand out too.
You couldn't believe that this was happening. You expected he was a death eater this entire time, but having him finally confirm your suspicions wasn't a great feeling. You almost wanted to cry.
You circled around each other for a minute with your wands out when plumes of black smoke began flying around the cemetery and landing in its center.
Loki looked at you sad. Like he didn't want to leave. Even though one of you were probably about to kill the other.
All of a sudden, he rushed towards you and grabbed your face. He kissed you softly on the forehead.
In another split second, he was gone in a cloud of black smoke.