My One and Only

Chapter 20 - Year 2

ONE OF THE MOST COMFORTING FEELINGS IN THE WORLD WAS HAVING SOMEONE PLAY WITH YOUR HAIR, so why then did Maia feel so uneasy when she awoke to someone's fingers gently combing through her hair?

She drew in a deep breath and dissolved into a fit of coughs as she inhaled the musty scent of the room. The air was damp, and thick with rot and burned Maia's nose and made her head swam.

"Don't worry."

Maia opened her eyes and blinked, squinting around the dim light of the unfamiliar room. Her head was rested in someone's lap, the two of them curled up on the damp, stone floor. She turned slowly, afraid of who she'd find looming above her, and felt the air leave her legs.

"Riddle?"

Tom Riddle smiled softly down at her, and she winced as he brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes.

"Hello, Maia. I was hoping you'd wake soon."

Maia sat up and inched away slightly, her heart pounding in her ears as she stared into the eyes of a teenager that lived fifty years ago. A teenager that was still a teenager despite the passing of time.

"How-" she couldn't find the words. Her head was pounding and the sickening pressure of dread was gathering in her stomach. She squinted at he boy before her, her eyes raking his form. He was definitely there, and definitely real, but there was something strange about him. The outline of his body was blurred, as if she was seeing him through a foggy window. She blinked and looked up at his face, her heart dropping as their gazes locked.

She hadn't been able to see his eyes clearly before, as every glance she'd gotten of him he was half turned away from her. But now, staring directly into his cold, dark brown eyes, she was hit with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu that left her with a sour taste in her mouth.

She'd seen those eyes before, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember where. It was like looking through the lens of a camera that wouldn't focus. The longer you stared, the worse your head hurt. That sort of dull ache that formed behind your eyes and spread out to the rest of your skull until all you could focus on was the throbbing of your temples.

"All will be revealed in due time." Riddle said, and Maia struggled to swallow around a dry mouth.

"Where's Ginny?" she asked, suddenly remembering the youngest Weasley and her strange murmurings. Riddle turned towards a massive stone stature that stretched all the way to the ceiling. It was of a wizard, his face ancient and cold, with a long thin beard that fell almost to the end of his robes. At the bottom, between his enormous stone feet, laid a figure, facedown and unmoving.

"Ginny." Maia cried, scrambling to her feet and sprinting to the younger girl, falling to her knees and pulling her into her lap. She was ice cold, and her skin was stripped of all color. "What have you done?"

"She's not dead." Riddle was standing now, his back pressed to the nearest pillar and his arms crossed over his body causally. "Not yet, anyway."

"She's done nothing." Maia said, gripping the younger girl closer. "She's innocent."

"Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good." Riddle responded smoothly, not flinching as Maia gaped at him in horror.

"Sacrifices?" she hissed, a soft glow beginning to emit from her skin. "How can you say that?"

"There is still much for you to learn, my dear." Riddle said calmly. Maia shook her head in disbelief, her blood a raging fire in her veins.

"You-"

The ground rumbled and Maia gasped, clutching Ginny protectively. When the floor didn't open up beneath them, Maia relaxed her grip, looking to Riddle who was staring at the other end of the chamber.