Riddle's Plea

Confusion and Admiration*

(Abraxas Malfoy. December 18th, 1943)

    Confusion doesn't even begin to explain what I was feeling currently. The room was silent, only the sound of the flames in the fireplace made sound as I sat with my pounding head in my hands. "I know it's a lot to take in." Vienna says quietly. She sits across from me, I could feel her concerned gaze upon my form and I snort at her statement. "You got that right." I say to her tiredly, running my hands down my face as I look up at her. It was nearing midnight, we had been in this room all day and I was beginning to feel suffocated. "So let me get this straight..." I say to her, eyeing her tired form warily and taking a deep breath. "You were sent back into time by the future Tom Riddle, who in that time is a feared Dark Lord, to try to be friends with him and get him to be good? Also, you are a decedent of two of the greatest magical beings of all time and are just now coming into your druid power? You also killed the basilisk? And your actually a Gryffindor?" She nods her head at my questions. "That about sums it up." She says quietly, closing her eyes and letting her head lay back into the couch. "That's one hell of a quest." I say, mimicking her movements and letting my brain rest for a moment. 

    "I can understand why you would choose to not help me Ab." She says to me, causing a small smile to form on my tired face at her silly nickname she chose for me halfway through the day. "I can always wipe your memories." My eyes shoot open and my body tenses as I give her a hard glare. "No. I told you I would help. So I'm going too." My voice was stern and she lets out a tired sigh. "Alright. I'm sorry, but I think I want to go to bed now. It's been a long day." She muffles a yawn at the end of her sentence, causing me to chuckle and nod my head in agreeance. We both stand up slowly, stretching out our aching limbs and wincing at the soreness. I follow Vienna out the door, we pause to check to make sure no one was around, before making our way down to the dungeons slowly. 

    I knew it would take some time for me to be able to process what she's told me, I could tell that there was something important she was keeping away from me and I wasn't going to ask her about it. Not yet anyway. My tired brain could barely remember the password for the Slytherin common room when we finally arrived, but we were soon walking into the dark green common room and I let out a relaxed sigh. No more red and gold. "Goodnight Ab." Vienna says quietly, walking away from me to her dorm room. "Night." I say beginning to walk the other direction before I spot a figure out of the corner of my eye. I take a glance behind me to see that Vienna had already disappeared to her room, and I tried to ignore the steady fear that was rising within me. "Where have you been all day Ab?" He asks me, his voice a growl and causing me to flinch slightly. "I was studying." Riddle stands from his chair, and walks slowly towards me. "Studying? I didn't find you in the library." He asks me, eyeing me up and down in the process. "I was most definitely there." He chuckles at my statement. "Are you calling me a liar Malfoy?" I know I need to distract him before this gets ugly. "Was there something you needed My Lord?" I ask him, inwardly rolling my eyes at him and his anger. "What were you doing with Vienna?" I look at him in shock at the dangerous levels his voice had dropped too. 

    Tom Riddle was fuming at me. "What do you mean?" I ask him, completely forgetting about addressing him the way he likes to be addressed. "Vienna. You idiot. Why were you with her?" He asks me again, gesturing to the girls dormitories in the process. "I told you. Studying." I say to him. Before I know it he has his wand pointed straight at my throat, his face curled up in an angry snarl. "I know what kind of studying you do Malfoy." He says to me. "It's not like that." I say quickly, putting up my hands in surrender. "Oh it's not? Then care to explain why people saw you and Vienna leaving the library holding hands?" It finally clicked in my brain as he said the words to me. Tom Riddle was jealous. I would have laughed out loud if it weren't for the fact he had his wand pointed at my throat. "Ab you need to stand up for yourself more. You're still brave, you just need to find your bravery again." Vienna's words flow through my mind and I find myself getting angry. My face turns cold as stone as I send Riddle a deathly glare, and watch as his eyes grow wide in shock. "Vienna is my friend. That poor girl has been through hell and back, and here you are with your wand at my throat for trying to help her." I say to him, watching as the shock that was once there be replaced with anger again. 

    As fast as lightning, I'm being pushed into the wall behind me. Riddle had one hand curled around my robes in a tight fist and the other was pushing his wand deeper into my neck causing me to wince slightly. He radiated anger and unfortunately that anger was directed towards me. "Vienna doesn't need your help." He snarls at me, his face daring me to disobey him and causing my own anger to flare. "Right. Let me guess, if I'm not allowed to help her then you will?" I ask him, not hiding the sarcasm that drips from my voice. "I'd be careful Malfoy." He says to me, his eyes becoming black and the air around him to spark. "Or what?" I threaten, knowing full well that he won't kill me. "Cruc..." He begins, causing my body to tense and fear to replace my anger. "Tom." The voice stops him in his tracks, and he spins around quickly to face it. Vienna was standing not too far away from us, her breathing heavy and face flushed. There wasn't a spark of fear in her eyes as Riddle turned to point his wand at her, in fact, she didn't even flinch. "Ab I think you should go to bed. I'd like to speak to Tom alone please." She directs her sentence to me, but her eyes never leaves Riddle's and it causes him to huff loudly. "Are you sure Vienna?" I ask her, suddenly becoming scared for the petite girl in front of us. "Yes. Are you sure Vienna?" Riddle mimics my question, and it causes Vienna to roll her eyes. "Don't be such a child Tom. Yes Ab I'm sure, go get some sleep." It didn't feel right to leave Vienna alone with Riddle, but after our conversations today, I knew that Vienna could handle herself. "Alright then." I say finally, walking quickly past Riddle and shooting Vienna a concerned gaze that she doesn't meet. A part of me wanted to stay up and listen in to the battle of wills that was about to take place, but I realized that I had Vienna's trust now, and she'd probably tell me anyway. A strong feeling of admiration consumes me as I trudge slowly up the steps to my dormitory for Vienna Marcus, and judging by what I know, I had a feeling that wouldn't go away anytime soon.