ᑭETᖇIᑕᕼOᖇ

Chapter 9

"Well?"

She didn't know how to respond. She couldn't. There was absolutely no way she'd ever tell him what her pendent meant. That was something she'd never allow herself to do.

"Perhaps a different question?" She attempted, but it was obvious how rattled he had made her. 

Her fidgety eyes and the sharp, rhythmic tapping on her glass was enough of a sign.

Artemisia Lennox? Nervous? Tom thought he'd never see the day. "Of course you'd want the easy way out, wouldn't you?" His eyebrow quirked as another cigarette flew between his lips, the end instantly lighting as he took a long draw in contemplation. Mesia obviously wasn't budging. "Ugh," He huffed. "Just so you're aware, this topic is nowhere near over. But I suppose one chicken-out card is acceptable."

She just narrowed her eyes at his nerve. What an imbecile. "A chicken? Really? Merlin, what are you, five?" 

"I will quite literally sew your mouth shut painfully slowly now shut up and let me think of something else you maddening witch." Mesia finished her cigarette, the glass of Firewhisky following soon after. She poured herself another, watching Tom carefully as he thoughtfully gazed into the fireplace.

He met her eyes with a look just as intense. "Actually it's a bit obvious, isn't it? I'd like to know.. Who is your godfather, Artemisia?"

Now this was something she could work with.

There was no way she'd ever tell a soul just whom she was raised by, however she could easily tell him who he was as a person.  Loopholes darling, loopholes.

"That's all you could come up with? Seriously.. I'm baffled you're considered top of the class. Aren't you supposed to be patrolling the corridors right now anyways, Mr. Studious?"

"I could say the same for you, Lennox. Now get back to the topic at hand." His hand came up to his face as he pinched the bridge of his nose, completely agitated already with her games. 

Mesia basked in the way he could get so riled up with just a few simple words. It was an adrenaline rush she didn't know she craved. Being so volatile with Tom - hell, even being near him was like a near death experience in the best way possible. He was dangerous.. but so was she. "Well played, Riddle. I applaud your common sense."

His glare could kill a dementor. 

"Alright! Alright! I swear you don't know the definition of fun. Anyhow, where were we? Oh, yes, my godfather. How lovely!" 

She clapped her hands together, an almost apprehensive look in her eye that told him so much more than words ever could. 

"My godfather is a selfish, conniving bastard with almost no fears in this realm. In muggle terms, you could compare him to the likes of Jack the Ripper. Well, minus all the blood and gore. Oh no, he prefers to do it clean and quick with no sympathy for the life being taken. I know what you must be thinking, 'What a terrible childhood she must of had. He sounds like a sociopath.' And you'd be right - partially. But, he was never the one to make it bad. Even if I felt scorned by his touch, that man never hurt me more than I could handle. And although he has never been able to feel much, I've always been the one person in his life that he'd die for. Kill for. And that... well, you can't get any better than that now, can you?"

The wizard listened intently to every word. He noticed early on she was purposely avoiding naming the man, so any clues as to who he could be would have to be sought out specifically.