His Saving Grace

Chapter 19 - Suppressed Feelings & Explanations

I continued trying to suppress my thoughts and feelings on Riddle and I's almost kiss as we resumed our walking, but I was unsuccessful. The 'situation' consumed my mind, became the only prevalent thought to present itself and would probably remain that way for the entire night. It was only hatred induced tension, I was a teen with needs after all. This I kept telling myself, maybe as a way to cope or as a way to escape potential truths.

Trying to pay more attention to my surroundings instead of my thoughts, I catch sight of the same wall that had led me to the mysterious room. In a few seconds, the same large door had revealed itself to us. Riddle warily looked around and when the coast was clear he led us inside.

"Riddle, we've been here before and knowing you this is not your second time here. If I am going to help you with only God knows what, you have some explaining to do.", I said suspiciously.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Oh Alastair, you have never been one for patience."

I mockingly rolled my eyes right back and retorted, "You're not one to talk Riddle."

I was right, Riddle was a very impatient person who pushed people around, spoke to them rudely, always seemed to be hiding something from the world and simply had no appropriate temperament. All classified as chaotic behavior that I ingrained into my mind as valid reasons to hate him. Completely disregarding my comment, he continues walking inside the room and grabs a book with his name written on it.

He turns around to face me and says, "We are in what is commonly called the Room of Requirement. This room will only appear to someone in great need of it, such as ourselves. Now that we got that out of the way, do you know what a horcrux is?"

The Room of Requirement sounded familiar, had I read about this before? I couldn't have because I would have known where I was the first time. At least that's one mystery out of the way.

In concerns to his question, I dumbly exposed myself by replying, "I heard you speak to Professor Slughorn about horcruxes, but I do not know much."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I slapped my mouth with my hand and waited for his outrage, but it never came.

"I knew you were eavesdropping, it is so incredibly like you.", Riddle replied with an unreadable expression written on his face.

Well, that's embarrassing. So much effort in trying to hide from him, yet he was always one step ahead.

"Well, a horcrux is simply an object used by a wizard in order to achieve immortality by splitting their soul into various pieces. I, Tom Riddle, intend to create a horcrux with your help.", he continued.

I stood there dumbfounded, why would he need my help to dabble in such powerful magic and why does he want immortality? The questions circulating my mind were too many to count or narrow down.

"I will store a piece of my soul in a specific object and I want you to help me achieve this. I want power and nothing will stop me from getting it, not even life itself.", he added before I could reply.

He was sounding psychotic; I knew he was insensitive, but I did not think he was psychotic until this precise moment.

"Riddle, let's start with the fact that you sound like you have lost your mind. Second, why do you need my help? And third, this soul splitting must come with a price, what is it?", I questioned.

He was definitely skipping important details on his 'taking over the world' plan and I will not blindly join him on a random quest for power. I knew he always had high ambitions, which is typical of a Slytherin, but he is taking it too far and he knew that.

"Always one for questions Alastair, I like that. But there are some questions that I cannot answer until I have your most absolute loyalty and other questions which answers are simply not your business.", he replied with ease.

Among the witches at Hogwarts, I was definitely one of, if not the, most powerful and inquisitive; yet I did not see myself as a necessary asset in Riddle's plans. Whatever Riddle was planning did not concern me and I wanted to back out, but then I remembered why I agreed to meet with him in the first place. I needed to gather all the information necessary to expose him and end his reign at Hogwarts. Despite what he may think of me with his daily mood swings and changes of heart, I still thought of him as the only person in the way of my goals.

Sometimes, I believe my ambition should have landed me in Slytherin. I would not stop until I could guarantee myself the perfect end to my run at Hogwarts and I would not care even in the slightest if it meant misfortunes for Riddle.

Further questioning him I asked, "What's that black book in your hand and what is it for?".

His face said he was scared to answer the question, but his voice said differently.

"Again, certain questions cannot be answered until I know where your loyalties lie."

Now I needed to up my acting game, I needed his complete trust if I was going to get any answers.

"The fact that I am here proves that my loyalties lie with you, Riddle. Whatever you ask of me, I will do solely as a repayment for your tutoring expertise and lack of pushing down the stairs this year, nothing more.", I said with a small smirk while sending a confident glance his way.

He quickly nodded his head in understanding and prancing around like a predator ready to pounce on his prey he said, "Alright, I will tell you one thing. The long term goal is to eradicate anyone and anything that is impure. The wizarding world needs to be cleansed and I have faith that someone with a surname like yours could understand where I am coming from."

I could not put into words how distraught, scared and trapped I felt in this precise moment. I truly did not know what I was getting myself into. I did not bother to test the surface water and still dived into deep raging ocean waters. I wanted to learn the functions of Riddle's inner psyche, find his weaknesses and even get him expelled for something that went against the rules, but this was completely different from what I had envisioned; he was plotting mass genocide.

I did not know what to say next, was there even a possibility I could stop this? Should I tell Dumbledore or should I keep this to myself? Was I the only one that knew what his intentions were? Plus, wasn't he a half blood wizard? I was trying not to faint, maybe what I had seen in his eyes was best not admitting.

Riddle was still waiting for a reaction, "Riddle, are you listening to yourself?" was all I could manage to say.

He calculated his next words carefully, took out his wand and replied, "I never say anything I do not mean to say. Will you be joining me or will I have to obliviate you? I want you to be my right hand man. A powerful witch such as yourself is only destined for greatness, but you are in dire need of some redirection."

Of course, this is why he wanted to be 'civil' and form a sort of alliance between us, he was preparing me so that his proposition would not catch me off guard. He must have been planning this for months, probably since before the beginning of the school year. It definitely explains his out of character commentary and behavior.

I simply nodded and replied, "I'm in."