The first Slytherin party of the year.
Everyone had been looking forward to it. And if you weren't looking forward to it, you were just wishing you could be there.
Alessia was sat in the corner of the common room with Astoria and Pansy by her side, the three enjoying each other's company, slightly sheltered away from the madness of their fellow housemates.
"This is insane" Pansy shouted over the music. Alessia and Astoria nodded in agreement, everyone was just borderline deranged, forgetting about everything that mattered.
The three were illuminated by the colour of their house, the lights that had been attached around the common room flashing a rich green, increasing the mood, almost inducing happiness in everyone there.
"They look like idiots" Astoria said with a small laugh, referring to the select few who were up on tables, or the ones who were actually allowed to drink going crazy on the fire whiskey.
As the three scanned the room with laughter, Alessia's face dropped slightly when she saw Lorenzo, Draco and Blaise heading their way, walking through the crowd, ignoring the blatant stares from some of the girls who were dancing.
"Oh here we go" Pansy said with a sigh.
This was the last thing Alessia needed right now.
"Drink?" Enzo said, with a cheeky smile, holding out a cup to Alessia. The nerve on this guy was shocking.
"Absolutely not" Alessia said simply, not wanting to repeat what happened the last time she took a drink from Enzo.
He laughed at the girls response, the deadpan tone she carried amusing him. Enzo was a calculated character, often underestimated, but like Mattheo, he was transparent to Alessia. She could see through the innocent facade- all of Mattheos followers were bad news, and there weren't any exceptions.
"What do you want" Pansy asked the boys, having Alessia's back in the situation. Pansy hated the boys just as much as Alessia and Astoria, and she wasn't shy when it came to voicing her distaste.
"Riddle wants a word" Blaise said, staring at Alessia, which immediately caused the atmosphere around the three girls to shift into one of discomfort.
"No" Alessia told them, shutting down the thought straight away. She refused to even look in the direction of Mattheo, let alone willingly involve herself in conversation.
"Give us a break Zabini, can't we just spend one night away from you and your dodgy friends?" Astoria spoke, slightly suprising Alessia at the assertive tone she was carrying.
"Careful Greengrass, you wouldn't want Riddle knowing you are starting become defiant" Draco said with a slight smirk. Astoria cleared her throat, looking down at the floor as soon as Draco uttered those words. Pansy and Alessia glanced at each other in worry, knowing how much Astorias relationship with the dark lord meant to her parents. She definitely didn't want Mattheo finding out that she was going against his followers.
"He's over there" Enzo said, gesturing to the other side of the common room, where mattheo was leant against the wall, observing the party and everyone there, with his usual stalking gaze. Alessia scoffed, he was always acting like he had total control over his "friends" and everyone who was in that very room. It was beginning to get on Alessia's last nerve.
"Why do you keep doing his bidding? You shouldn't have to answer to him for the rest of your life"
The boys looked taken aback by Alessia's comment, giving her the impression they had never really thought about that before.
"You know why" Blaise told her, speaking on behalf of his friends. "And unless you want to end up like us, I would encourage you to go and speak to him"
"Think about Theo" Enzo said, with a new sound softness in his tone. It was clear as day to the girls that they didn't want any of this and if it weren't for everything they had done, Alessia might even feel sorry for them.
Think about Theo.
Enzo was right, Mattheo could hold the prospect of Theo's safety to his advantage now, backing Alessia into a corner exactly where he wanted her.
"Fine" Alessia said with a huff, before standing up from her once comfortable position, leaving the group, but not before shoving past the boys.
She paced towards Mattheo, fiddling with the sleeves of her dress to calm her nerves, pushing through the crowd who were only increasing the stress she was feeling. As soon as Mattheo noticed her walking over, he stood up from his position against the wall, a small smirk appearing on his face. He was loving this, and she could tell.
"What do you want?" She said plainly, not giving him the satisfaction of a friendly interaction.
"Let's go outside" he said simply, leading the way out of the common room. Alessia felt instant relief at the silence of the corridor, where she wasn't crowded by people and overwhelmed by loud noise. It was a nice feeling, until she remembered why she was there.
"I have a proposition for you" Mattheo explained, crossing his arms over his chest. She nodded hesitantly, the air around them becoming thicker, making it hard to concentrate. She was petrified of what he was capable of, but she couldn't let him know that, it would only put her at a disadvantage.
"I want to help you get back whatever memories were taken from you" he said, which made Alessia's jaw drop instantly. Why would he want to do that?
She was expecting to come away from the conversation confused as usual, but this was just utter shock.
"Why would you want to do that?" She asked him, the confusion evident on her face.
"I'm curious to see what was so special that needed to be removed. And well, I can help you find out"
It was too easy. He wouldn't just drop everything to help because of simple intrigue. Alessia knew better than to be deceived by him. There had to be another layer.
"I assume you want something in return" she said, now crossing her own arms over her chest, mirroring his authoritative demeanour. He chuckled, almost sadistically, he knew exactly what he wanted.
"Become one of my death eaters" he said, holding back a smile.
Alessia's heart dropped into her stomach, a feeling of complete nausea flooding around her body. This feeling was even worse than the torment she had been put through by Mattheo just a few days ago.
This was completely gut wrenching, but also something that she might able to manipulate to her advantage. Snape already said he would help her develop her power, and now with Mattheo helping to retrieve her memories, She could use that strength to take down the death eaters from the inside.
"If I'm correct about this, Nott, you are exactly what we need to bring Voldemort back to power, and win the war. The choice is yours"
She didn't know why she suddenly felt the urge to accept his offer, but one thing was for sure
She had an important decision to make, and it would change everything.
A/N- GUYS IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO UPLOAD!!! I keep getting logged out of my account!
Soooo here we are again. More confusion, more secrets and more plot twists that will affect this whole book.
Please let me know what you think!
I'm going to try and get better with posting chapters, honestly I just need to find time!
Love u all
Ellie
word count- 1258