Surviving Fate // Mattheo Riddle ♣️

Chapter Twenty-Three - Partners

Word Count: 

Warnings: None. 

I sat at the table in the back room of The Hogs Head, a bowl of Aberforth's stew in front of me.

It had been four days since I had left Malfoy Manor. After Voldemort had told me that he wanted to make me stronger. I hadn't left the Inn. I hadn't even stepped a foot outside of the comfort of the building.

I hadn't eaten much of the food in front of me, moving my spoon back and forth through the thick broth.

"Lyra," a voice greeted. I didn't turn.

"Where were you?" I asked him.

"I'm sorry," he apologised.

I turned to look at Credence. "I didn't ask you for an apology. I asked where you were. One minute, you're right by my side, and the next... you're gone."

"She locked me away," he tried to explain. "I didn't have the power to get back to you."

I faced forward again. "She's such a bitch."

Credence sighed, taking out the seat beside me and sitting down. "I thought you would be mad at me."

Shaking my head, I looked back to the man. "I'm sure you tried your best to get free."

"I didn't try hard enough. You still suffered."

"Abe has healed the wounds," I told him.

"And yet," he paused, eyes flickering to my forehead. Where one of the wounds had sat. "There are still scars."

"Magical wounds," I explained. "Not easy to heal."

There was a hesitation in his next question. "What are you going to do?"

"I have to go back."

Credence firmly shook his head. "You can't," he told me. "He'll only hurt you again."

"I can't be afraid of him Credence," I replied sternly. "Showing him that I am scared is the worst thing that I could do. I need to face him and not falter."

"If you're going to do that," he started. "You're going to have to be a lot more than just not scared. You need to be in charge."

I shook my head. "I just need to appease him."

"No," – Credence took my hand – "you need to tell him that you're not just another one of his pawns. You're Lyra... fucking... Black. Not his puppet."

"It would be easier –"

"Screw what's easier," Credence cut me off. "If you really want him to trust you and believe that your intentions are to be his partner in destroying the world, you need to play it well. You need to act as though you are that person."

"I have to lie?"

"Yes."

"Credence, I'm shit at lying."

He laughed lightly. "I know, but you can't act weak and afraid. He'll see right through you and then he'll know the truth. That you aren't evil like he wants you to be."

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment. "I've got this."

"Yes, you do."

When I opened my eyes again, Credence was gone and I was left alone at the table again, stew in front of me. Not having taken a bite of it, I stood up, rushing out of the room and into Hogsmeade. I apparated.