The World is Yours | Tom Riddle

chapter xxvi.

my dear,

we are slow dancing in

a burning room.

-unknown

Atarah.

I feel nothing as everything goes black and I hit the ground. I am unsure how long I was out but when I wake up I feel a bruise starting to form from where I hit the ground. I begin to move my hand to check my side but realize my movement is restricted. Now I am fully conscious as I try to pull myself out of the binds I was put in.

"Don't waste your energy love, they won't budge." A voice speaks from the room.. letting me know that I am not alone. I stop moving as I search for the person who spoke. Suddenly five figures step out from the dark, Tom Riddle in front of them.

Tom continues walking forward until he is standing right in front of me, while the others stand a few feet behind him. I refuse to meet Tom in the eye and after a few moments Tom squats down in front of me so we are at eye level, forcing me to look at him.

"Now Atarah, I do not want to hurt you so let's save ourselves the trouble and just tell me where they are." I lift my head up straighter before replying. "What will you do to them when you find them?" Tom is silent after my question which gives me the answer I already knew.

"Then no." Tom's eyes flare at my words and I watch as he clenches his jaw. He then stands up abruptly and steps back several inches. "You have used up all my patience, and trust me when I say that this will hurt." I am not given time to process his words when a blinding pain courses through me. I open my mouth to begin to scream from the pressure when a hand clams over my mouth- muffling any noise.

I watch Tom through the tears that are starting to cloud my vision. I can only watch for a few moments before another wave of pain crashes through me and I fall back into the figure that is holding me. Tom searches my mind for what feels like hours but what I am sure is only minutes. He must find what he is looking for because the pain subsides until only a pulsing is the only reminder of what had happened. The hand unclasps from my mouth and I let out a choked gasp as I struggle to breathe.

"Take her away." My vision is dotted with black spots and I have a slight ringing in my ears but I am able to make out enough to know that Tom is the one who spoke. I then feel my binds loosen and someone picks me up in their arms. I close my eyes at the sudden movement and keep them shut for most of the walk. "We are here, can you walk?" The words startle me and I open my eyes to see that Cyrus is the one carrying me. I nod and Cyrus lets me down slowly making sure that he has a hold of me in case I fall.

It takes me a few tries to stand on my own and once I am able to I then push myself away from Cyrus. I feel him hesitate as I walk towards the barrels outside of the Hufflepuff common room. "I'm so sorry." I swear I hear his voice crack and as I turn around I see that he is already gone.

...

After that I made it back into my dorm room and tried to fall asleep but I was too scared of what I would see in my dreams. My mind isn't my own anymore. So I was up and ready long before the others woke up, but I just stayed curled up in my bed.

Annalie eventually wakes up and we both head down to the great hall for breakfast. I stay silent as she talks about classes and Francis but luckily she doesn't pay attention to my reluctance to talk. Although she begins to notice after she asks why I wasn't eating- and I admit I don't have much of an appetite.