A Game of Cat and Mouse

T W E N T Y T W O

James Riddle considered himself to be a reasonable man. Perhaps he wasn't a likable man but in his mind, he was at least reasonable.

He did well in school, earning top grades and taking Slytherin House to the top spot as Keeper. He was an ideal son to his parents—now spending his adult life learning the ins and outs of his father's position. When Tom Riddle was ready to retire, James Riddle would be more than ready to step in. Annie would have been ready, too, if she showed an interest in it. Tom had offered to teach both of his children—because he may be a psychopathic murderer but at least he wasn't sexist—but Annie declined several times and, to be honest, James couldn't imagine his sister doing even a fraction of the work he was doing, at least not without tears in her eyes.

He was a good brother to his baby sister, always keeping an eye on her and watching out for her, even when she didn't know it. A timid, quiet girl with no way to stand up for herself could have been a bully's dream but with James around, everyone knew to leave Annalise Riddle alone. He adored his sister more than anything. She was the reason he hadn't moved to his own apartment—because being away from her sounded horrible. He loved her. More than anything.

Yes, James Riddle considered himself to be more than reasonable.

Until he realized that the boy Annie was enamored with was that fucker, Elio Nott.

James's mind immediately flashed back to the Malfoy ball, where he saw Nott acting like an asshole (as usual) with his cousin. A sister, you say? Why have I never met the lovely creature? Thank you, James. I look forward to making her acquaintance. I look forward to making her acquaintance several times.

Was this some kind of petty revenge for their years of butting heads? Leading on poor, sweet Annie and then breaking her heart?

Well, James wouldn't stand for it. He wouldn't stand for it one damn bit.

He didn't give a fuck about whatever promise he'd made to Annie. That was a promise made when he thought the boy was anyone but Elio Nott.

This was how it all went down. James was speaking with his cousin, Scorpius, about Quidditch—as young wizards do, of course—when Annie came up to him and tugged on his suit jacket. He'd looked down at her and instantly melted—because who wouldn't melt at his sister's sweet face? Her soft features, from her heart-shaped face to the slight pinkness of her cheeks, were the things of angels.

"Jamesy, are you ready to meet him?" She'd said in a nervous voice. He didn't want to meet whatever prick she liked but when she looked at him like that—dark eyes full of wonder and hope—he couldn't even imagine saying no.

"Fine," he sighed, knowing that he would regret this later.

He was right.

"He's just over there by the window!" Her voice was excited as she grabbed onto his hand. He mentally groaned but followed anyway.

And that was when his eyes locked onto Elio fucking Nott.

Elio seemed to realize as quickly as James did, his scared eyes flashing back and forth between James and Annie. He'd felt his anger rise within him tenfold. All he could think about was years of Elio Nott getting wasted out of his mind while fucking practically any girl that was breathing. Any girl but Annie.

Was this some sort of sick conquest of his—his way of finally bedding every decent girl? Or was this part of their rivalry?

Either way, James knew that Elio's feelings weren't even close to genuine. He'd taken sweet Annie and preyed on her naivety.

"No," he seethed in a deadly voice. James could feel his jaw clench tightly from the curses he was avoiding saying. His sister didn't need to hear words like that."No, no, NO!"