the dawn of darkness | t riddle [incomplete]

Chapter 36: The Whispers of War

Chapter 36: The Whispers of War

Estela Markorp was in a difficult situation. She gazed at the two men before her: Albus Dumbledore and Anthony Goodwin and assessed the situation. One had blatantly lied to her in a failed attempt to use her for his own gain, and the other had spat at her feet, belittled her and looked as though he wanted to rip the skin from her bones. How charming, she thought. And how so much had changed.

She thought about her friends from Hogwarts. Cayra. Eve. Meredith. All settled, engaged or married. She didn't have that. She didn't think she'd ever have that. That sense of home, stability and belonging. Since her teenage years, her life had been mapped out before her by the manipulative man that everyone admired. The man that was so wise, so kind, so wonderful to those who had never been a playing piece in Dumbeldore's cruel, twisted game.

She thought about Cayra. Poor Cayra. Married to a man who was slowly condemning himself to a life of insanity due to his obsession with Tom Marvolo Riddle and, perhaps, even with Estela herself. Cayra deserved a man who listened to her, appreciated her, loved her. Not one who was constantly looking for a fight with a power who could slice him in half without even raising a hand if he wanted to. How sad, Estela thought, to be obsessively tied to a path that held no hope nor light - but rather doom and destruction.

Estela was done with trying to keep the peace between both sides. It would seem that the people she deemed to be 'good' were the ones who had caused her the most pain and anguish thus far. The so called 'good guys' had used and manipulated her more than those deemed to be evil, so how did that make them good? How could Estela trust the people who constantly lied to her for their own gain? How could she work with these people knowing that, at some point, they could swing her about like a piece of meat to lure Tom to the slaughter?

What was she to do? Was she supposed to pledge her loyalty to Tom and the Death Eaters and fight for their cause? Was she to forget about all she believed in which would mean giving up her friends, family, and being constantly hunted by the Order and eventually the Ministry, no doubt? She would be giving up on humanity, in a sense, and all the morals she'd ever held dear. All because of the man she loved who just happened to be turning into what would seem to be the biggest, most powerful threat the Wizarding World had ever seen. A danger to Wizarding Kind and Human Kind alike.

But she couldn't completely turn her back on the Order, either. Anthony had dragged her father, William, into the fight knowing all too well that Estela would be forced to remain on the side of her family. After all, how could she sleep knowing that she would be working with the opposing side to her father? Fighting against him and living under the same roof as someone who, one day, may cast the curse that would bring about his final breath.

Estela felt her chest constrict at the thought of seeing William on the opposite side of the battlefield - standing against her with a type of grief and dismay written on his face that made her want to curl up and disappear.

And yet, it was those deemed to be heroes who had played this cruel, tormenting card against Estela. The very people she was meant to look to as idols.

She thought about what would happen if she sided with her father and the Order - betraying Tom and the Death Eaters and opening up the Wizarding World to mass destruction and murder like they had never witnessed in history. Putting her friends, family and all she'd ever known and loved at risk of harm as a result of betraying the most dangerous man you could think of. Doing so would not only break the Wizarding World, it would shatter her heart and soul into a million pieces. She would have to give up her mission of changing Tom Riddle and face the fact she'd wasted her life for nothing.

Estela continued to smile up at Anthony Goodwin as her thoughts and despairs slowly faded. She imagined she looked quite frightening at that moment - her dark hair tangled and stuck to her skin, her face and body a detailed map of cuts and bruises from the battle, her eyes dark from the pain and lack of sleep.