Black Rose [Regulus Black]

26 - scary revelations & intriguing shops

Tom Riddle.

Tom Riddle.

Her father was Tom Riddle.

But Voldemort was Tom Riddle?

Or Tom Riddle was Voldemort, and Tom Riddle was her father?

No matter how she phrased the words, she still came to the same mind-blowing conclusion.

Beside her, Regulus appeared undeterred. She wasn't sure if it was because it hadn't clicked in his mind or because he was trying his best to hide his real emotions or because he simply didn't care.

"I'm sorry," she let out a high-pitched laugh which sounded absolutely nothing like her own. "Tom Riddle?"

She schooled her expression into one of mild curiosity when Dumbledore's analytical gaze slid over to her. She didn't want to let on more than she had to, because she did not trust the man. She felt a slight intrusion into her head and tried to push any and every bit of random information to the forefront of her mind to stop him from accessing that one little bit of knowledge that could condemn her.

She wasn't sure if it was the lighting or her perception, but the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes seemed to fade when he realised that he couldn't properly enter her mind. He merely sighed (again) and raised his wand to write:

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

With a wave of Dumbledore's wand, the fiery letters rearranged themselves to say:

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE

If she even had a sprinkle of hope left in her, it had evaporated from her body, leaving a cold, clammy, unpleasant sensation to churn in the cockles of her soul.

"Fantastic," Regulus nodded.

Her body was wracked with vertigo, her vision tilting repeatedly as though the world couldn't decide what orientation it wanted to be.

"We'll be off now..."

Voices were bouncing around but she couldn't understand what they were saying. It may have been a small bit of information, insignificant considering she'd never met the man in her entire life, but she still felt like ice shrapnel had entered her bloodstream and was making its way to her heart.

She felt someone shake her shoulder and looked up to see concerned grey eyes.

"Alessandra? It's time to go."

Fear rose up in her. She didn't feel safe. What if Dumbledore would find out and was going to dangle her as bait? What if Regulus hated her because of her father and was going to kill her for vengeance?

She blankly followed Regulus out the door nevertheless, soul feeling like it had been ripped from her body.

Discomfort crawled up her skin as she felt his hand settle itself on her back. Her brain was swimming with all sorts of horrific possibilities pertaining to her fate in that moment, and her paranoia was only amplified by that one small action that she subconsciously knew was supposed to be comforting, so she shrugged his arm off. She was trying to speed up a little but his strides were longer than hers so he easily caught up to her, albeit a little breathless.

"Are you alright?"

Regulus wanted to smack himself when he asked that question, because anyone with two eyes could see she wasn't.

"Perfectly fine," she replied, her voice high-pitched, a sure sign that she wasn't going to hold it together for that long. "Never been better. Lovely. Fantastic. Splendid."

He didn't look very convinced. He also didn't know what to do because he felt helpless; he had no idea on what to do, whether to comfort her or just leave her be.