Word Count: 3,411.
Warnings: None.
Christmas morning felt like any other day of the week. Pansy and the rest of our dormmates had left the castle for the holidays. As did Draco, Blaise and Theo. This left me at Hogwarts with Mattheo.
Things had been odd since he had revealed his Dark Mark to me. In the moment, I hadn't really thought about what it meant, but now that it had been a week since being taught how to dance, my mind hadn't stopped thinking about it.
Mattheo had become a Death Eater over the Summer. Although this was an answer to why he had been ignoring me and pushing me away and this showed that he did care for me, what else did this mean?
BCJ,
Thank you for that hint regarding Mattheo Riddle. I think you only confirmed a suspicion I had about the man. So I thank you for that.
But I'm afraid this is the last time I will be writing to you, and I would appreciate if you stopped too. I don't need another Death Eater on my speed dial. The one I have is enough.
Sincerely,
None of your business.
Folding the letter, I placed it in the beak of my owl, letting the animal fly off into the sky. I settled back into the chair by my desk.
My mind was blank. Although there were a handful things that should be worrying me, I couldn't think straight at all. It was Christmas Day, but it certainly didn't feel like it.
A peck at the window caught my attention, my head shooting to find an owl at the window. It wasn't my owl, nor was it Barty Crouch Jr's. It was an owl from Grimmauld Place.
Rushing to the window, I took the letter from the bird, quickly tearing the seal open and reading it.
Merry Christmas Lyra,
We are missing you something terrible this Christmas and would like nothing more than to apparate over to you and spend the day as a family.
As we haven't had the time to go out of the Manor in the past couple weeks, we couldn't get out to buy you a Christmas present so enclosed with this letter is a small amount of money so that you can buy yourself something from us. It's hard to tell what you like these days.
I know this isn't the Christmas you expected or wanted, but just know that next year will be different. We love you.
Moony and Dad.
My eyes widened at the coins that were hidden within the letter. "A small amount?" I muttered. There was 30 galleons there. Moony would never give me that much money.
I looked back to the letter, finding that there was another note on the back of the piece of parchment.
Lyra, this is your father. Your uncle decided that you only needed 5 galleons for Christmas but I disagreed and threw some extra in there.
Love, Dad.
I laughed lightly, looking back to the coins. "What am I to do with you?"
ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ
The streets of Hogsmeade were empty besides the occasional shopper. The entire village was decked out in Christmas decorations, floating candles above the stores and walking snowmen in the street.
The ground was covered in snow, and I trudged my way through it towards The Three Broomsticks. I had planned to journey through the village to Honeydukes but it was too cold to make it to the shop in one journey. I needed a pitstop.
A glint of silver caught my eyes before I could make it to the tavern and my head turned to a pathway on my left, moving down the backstreets of Hogsmeade. Being drawn to this glinting metal like a moth drawn to a flame, I moved through the stone street, coming up on a large shop, its window on display. 'Borgin and Burkes' the sign read.
On a small shelf near the front of the store was a golden pendant. The stone in the centre was green and it was a diamond shape. There was no border of gold around the stone, but it was held together by small hand-like pieces in each corner.
I pressed my hand against the glass, trying to get a closer look at the odd necklace. My breath fogged the window as I moved up against it.
Inaudible whispers seemed to emit from the necklace, pulling me into the green stone. The glass began to crack, the flame rising higher and stronger. I didn't stop it. I didn't want to stop it. Not when I had the chance to get this trinket. It seemed as though it was calling my name.
My trance was broken by the sound of shattering glass. I jumped, finding that the window had broken, its shards covering the shelves on the inside. Upon looking closer, I found that the glass hadn't broken at all. It had completely shattered.
A strange looking man exited the shop, his eyes moving from the broken glass to my face. His expression was furious and the man looked ready to kill. When his eyes landed on me, they suddenly grew scared and the man didn't seem so deadly anymore.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I don't know what happened."
His eyes moved back to the shelves. I followed his gaze, my eyes fixing back onto the pendant. It was just the glass that had smashed. Everything had. Every gemstone or diamond in the window. The porcelain jars had shattered, and the wooden chairs looked as though it had almost burst, but the green stone pendant hadn't been marked at all. It rest on its stand, completely unharmed. Completely untouched.
"It's alright Ms. Black. Happens all the time," the man told me, moving back towards his store.
I looked at the door, surprised "I highly doubt that," I muttered, pulling my gaze away from the store and beginning to push through the snow.
"Wait, how did you know my –" I began to ask the man, but when I turned around, the door was closed and the owner had retreated back into his shop, "name," I finished.
I scanned my surroundings, thankful that no one had seen me. Deciding not to hang around any longer, I rushed out of the alleyway and into The Three Broomsticks.
Everyone looked up at my frazzled state as I entered the tavern. Madame Rosmerta quickly made her way towards me. "Lyra. You look freezing. Take a seat, I'll get you a drink," she told me.
I nodded, not trusting my voice and moving towards my usual booth. I jumped when I spotted my DADA teacher already sitting there.
"Ms. Black," he greeted.
"I'm sorry. I'll get another seat." I began to move away.
"Oh, there's no need. Join me."
I gulped, fidgeting with my hands nervously as I sat across from him. Rosmerta brought me over a white cup. I shoved my hand into my pocket to pull out a galleon.
"I'll pay for it," Moody told her, handing her some change.
"Thank you Professor." I sat rigidly in my seat.
"You look nervous Ms. Black," Moody commented, his glass eye running its gaze over me quickly.
"It's been a weird day," I put simply, taking a sip of the drink Rosie had given me. It was a hot chocolate.
"We've all had those."
I nodded, my fingers beginning to pick at the skin around my fingers. My eyes moved around the room, trying not to focus on Moody's stare. What was I supposed to say to the man?
"You are the spitting imagine of your mother. Has anyone ever told you that?" Moody started.
I nodded. "Constantly."
"Well then, you must be sick of it. I assume your quite like her in your personality then as well."
"I've been told I'm more of my father on that front."
Moody nodded. "You don't get into a lot of trouble," he commented.
"I'm only troublesome when it comes to teachers I dislike. Snape is a prime example."
Moody laughed. "I quite dislike that fella myself. Too uptight for my liking."
I nodded, agreeing with him. a question came to mind. "If you don't mind me asking Professor, why did you decide that the Unforgivable Curses was the best first lesson to teach?"
"I did notice that you enjoyed that class." Moody took a large gulp of his drink before planting it back onto the table.
"I was intrigued."
"By what exactly?"
I hesitated. "Well, I noticed that you held your wand differently for each of the spells you performed. Does that have an effect on anything?"
"Majority of the time, it is just a personal choice. The witch or wizards decision, but in the case of Unforgivable Curses, the height of your wand determines the strength of the spell."
"Does the strength of the caster not determine that?"
"In a way. Only the strongest caster will want to have the most powerful spell."
"Are you trying to say that dark wizards are the strongest there are? I can't imagine anyone else wanting to inflict that much control, pain or... death."
"Funny how your mind jumps straight to the dark." The Professor relaxed back into his chair. "As I believe you would be surprised Ms. Black by the amount of normal wizards that use methods such as these." He took a breath. "I used the Unforgivable Curses as the first lesson because I wanted to pick out the strong and the weak were in your class. Those who refused to answer or flinched away, they are weak. Unable to take much more than a Quidditch injury."
"And the strong ones?"
"The strong are the ones who watched me intently. Who learned from the lesson and weren't afraid no matter how horrible it was. They're the people that if put under the spell themselves, would survive."
"That is unlikely for most. I can pick maybe three people in that class that would wish to be an Auror of some kind."
"Just because someone is an Auror doesn't mean that they are more likely to be put under these curses."
I sighed, swallowing. "I wouldn't wish those spells on anyone. Auror or normal folk alike."
He nodded. "You might think differently someday. I'm sure there is someone who you hate, but not enough to kill."
I nodded, a certain rat I knew coming to mind. "There's one. A man that I hate, but I don't think I have it in me to actually kill him. I know I don't have it in me."
"But if you were given the chance to stop them from causing anymore pain and all you would have to do is mutter a few simple words, would you do it? Would you kill them for the pain they caused you? Would you give yourself the strength to enact justice?"
"I –"
The door of the tavern opened again, and I sat back in my seat. I hadn't realized that I had begun to lean forward. Feeling the breeze of the open door, I shivered slightly.
"Professor Moody?" the voice asked.
"Yes boy," The teacher replied, carefully standing from his position.
"I have a letter for you."
Moody took the letter aggressively, looking at the name written on the front of it before shoving it into his coat. His eyes turned to me.
"I will see you in class Ms. Black."
I gave him a small smile. "Yes, of course. Merry Christmas." He left the building abruptly.
Looking at the hot chocolate in front of me, I sighed heavily. What was I going to say? I slouched forward, placing my hands on my face as I watched the steam rise off the top of the cup.
My mind moved back to Borgin and Burkes. I had shattered that glass. It had to be me. that pendant seemed to just pull me in, encompassing me into a trance I couldn't escape. I had not control over the flame in my mind. None.
It was clearly dangerous. Capable of making me do things that I didn't even want to think about. But then why, in Merlin's name, did I want to go back and get it?
ᵜᵜᵜᵜᵜ
It was a mistake. Coming up to the Astronomy Tower. It was always quite cold at night, but Christmas night was the coldest I had ever been.
I had wrapped myself up in a blanket and curled myself into a ball, but it only helped it slightly. I had thought about leaving, returning to my bed, but I didn't want to. Not yet.
"We have to stop picking the same place to brood," a voice spoke from behind me.
I smiled. "It was mine first."
Mattheo sat down beside me, hanging his legs off the edge of the tower. He let out a long sigh, his breath turning the air white.
I pushed upwards, moving myself back against one of the columns to face him. I cuddled into the blanket further.
"I'm sorry," I told him. His head turned.
"What are you sorry for?"
"Ignoring you this past week. I couldn't think straight about anything. It took some time for what you told me to sink in."
"And now that it has?"
"I want you to tell me everything."
He shook his head, laughing. "I don't think you do."
"Don't tell me what I do and don't want to hear. I thought you should know by now that no one tells me what to do."
He chuckled, matching my position on the opposite column. "It started when I got home from Hogwarts," he began. "My mother was over the moon about something. Somebody was here and they were going to make everything better. Of course, I was the happiest I had ever been leaving Hogwarts last year, and when a man dressed in black stepped out of my kitchen, it all just faded away."
"Who was it?"
"I never got his name. The next thing I knew, I was being pushed onto the table and he was taking his wand out. He muttered some words and then." He pointed to his collarbone. "It hurt like hell. It was like nothing I had ever felt before. I didn't have a choice in it Lyra."
"I know."
"Then he was telling me that my father was to return and that I must be there for it and by his side. That I must be on his side. I went to write to you. I had no idea what was going on and the only person I could think of to figure it out, was you."
"I didn't get a letter."
He shook his head. "I heard the man speak downstairs as he talked to my mother. I heard your name. Clear as day. So I listened, and when I tell you that my heart broke, it doesn't even begin to explain it."
"What did he say?" I asked nervously.
"That you're part of a prophecy. That you are to be my father's greatest weapon. That you will join him and plunder the world by his side." His gaze turned to mine.
I sighed. "I've heard something similar."
He nodded, continuing. "Then he asked my mother about our relationship. She claimed that we didn't have one. He wasn't happy about that. Said that he needed someone to darken you this year."
"Darken me?"
"He didn't explain, but then he... he said that he would need to implant someone in the school to keep on eye on you. To interfere when needed."
"So, what does that mean?"
"There's a dark wizard in Hogwarts. A spy."
I took a deep breath. "It could be anyone."
"I thought about telling them that I would do it. That I would keep an eye on you and claim to be doing as they said, but I was so scared Lyra. I was terrified getting on that train, and then we came back to Hogwarts –"
"And you didn't know who the dark wizard was but you knew that your mother claimed we weren't close, so you kept away."
He nodded. "It hurt, but I had to stop you from falling victim to whatever they wanted to do. So yes, I kept away but I was never far. I had to keep any eye out for this bastard. I wasn't going to let him hurt you."
I let out a sigh. "Everything just keeps getting worse. First, you start ignoring me, then Harry got picked for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, then I started acting like a dark wizard. I blew up a store in Hogsmeade and now there's a spy in the castle."
"Hold on, what was that? Circle back."
"There's a spy in the castle?"
"No, the two things before that."
I sighed. "Yeah."
"The shop?"
"Borgin and Burkes. There was a necklace in the window, and it just drew me into a trance. The flame got out and shattered the glass and anything near it to pieces. Everything but the trinket itself."
"The flame?" Mattheo asked.
"Right. I forgot I haven't been talking to you. I –" Sighing, I changed my sentence. "It's better if I show you."
Standing up, I felt the cold air prick against my skin. Mattheo rose with me. Shrugging the blanket off, I handed it to Riddle who hugged it against himself.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. Picturing the flame in my head, I loosened my grip on it's cage, taking the lid off.
Gasping, I felt the power surge through me, my mind free from thoughts. The more I felt like this, the more I never wanted the sensation to end.
When I opened my eyes, Mattheo was staring at me with a shocked expression. "Merlin," he muttered.
I looked to either side of me, finding the black tendrils curling around my arms and reaching my neck. I didn't want to put it back. I didn't want to throw it away.
I shook my head of its now consuming thoughts, closing my eyes tightly and pushing the power back into its glass cage, sealing it with a firm hand. I was panting.
Holding my hand to my nose, I found that it had begun bleeding again. "So this is an every time thing then," I told myself.
"He was right," Mattheo muttered when I looked back up to him. "The man was right."
I shook my head. "What?" I spoke breathlessly.
"He said that you would become more powerful than anyone could imagine. Lyra, you looked like you could take the whole world down with the snap of your fingers."
My heart clenched. "Like I said. Everything is going to shit." I was still dabbing at the underneath of my nose. The bleeding hadn't stopped.
"Here," Mattheo approached me, placing a hand on my arm. He handed me a handkerchief.
"Fancy." I held it to my nose. "So, do you want to run away yet?"
He laughed lightly, shaking his head. "I think I might stick around a little longer."
I smiled. "What about not knowing me?"
"If the spy doesn't know that that was a lie by now, he is a terrible spy."
"But are you willing to risk your mother's safety? If they find out that you do know me, they could go after her. I know you don't have the best relationship, but I don't want to be the cause of her pain. So we do it like this. We be careful. Try not to be seen together too much."
He gave me an unconvinced look. "We're in the same house Lyra, its not like its easy to avoid each other. I learned that the hard way."
I sighed, nodding, finding truth in his words. "Yeah, and what about us?" I asked him. "I can't hide the fact that I still have feelings for you. That hasn't changed and..." I paused, shaking my head. "Kenneth. Poor Kenneth. He's so sweet Riddle and I'm just pulling him along like a toy."
I closed my eyes, shaking my head gently. He chose the wrong girl to talk to. The wrong fucking girl.
Riddle sighed, moving my attention back to him. "As far as everyone knows, we have no relationship and if by the time I figure this out and you figure out whatever the hell is going on and you still want me, then we go from there."
"What if you don't want me anymore when I figure it out?"
He smiled. "Impossible."
I nodded, smiling back. "Well then, I like that idea."
"Acquaintances?" he asked me.
Mattheo held his hand out for me to shake. I laughed lightly, taking it. Mattheo pulled my hand forward and engulfed me in a side hug.
"Smooth," I told him.
"Now, what was this about you breaking a shop window?" he asked. I turned to look at him, smiling.
"You're going to want to get the blanket for this."
Authors Note: I am aware that Borgin and Burkes is not in Hogsmeade and is indeed part of Diagon Alley, but for the purpose of this chapter could you please look past this small fact? The location of the store at this time had no real consequence on the story.
Thanks, Katie xx