Bound By Blood.

ch.9~I'll make it three.

"Brookie and her warnings... I guess I'll see you there."

Recovered translated correspondents between Death Eater Mattheo Riddle, to Order Member Alexandra Brooks, 2004.

Hogwarts, 1997.

Alexandra.

I spent all night starring at my dorm wall. I couldn't seem to get my brain to shut up, not even for sleep.

From the way he looked at me... the way his hand almost fit on my waist, the way he held me... to the way he then THREW me on the floor.

It was... confusing to say the least.

I knew it was an accident, that he pulled away too quickly, while I was still leaning into his hold...

Why was I leaning into him at all?

Why had I let myself get swept up in that moment?

In his eyes?

Confusion turned to frustration as I tugged the blanket over my head, willing the memories away. But they wouldn't budge; they clung to me like a weight.

Why was I even thinking about him like this?

Why had I found myself so frequently having to remind myself who he is. What he is capable of. The role he has in my life opposed to this fantasy i'm working up in my mind...

But it was all so... ugh.

One thing I knew for sure, since my ass hit that cold, damp, floor.

He is exactly the asshole I knew him to be.

And thats the way he would stay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I trailed my way to breakfast the following morning.

Head shoved into the book I had nicked from the library on the Horcuxus. I picked it up hours ago, when sleep became something I knew I wouldn't get.

So I put all my aggravation into research.

I pushed through the crowded corridors, too in my book to fully absorb the morning chatter around me.

It felt comforting, the world fading into the background as I got lost in my new obsession.

My fingers traced the edges of the worn pages, and I dipped in and out of the knowledge presented... information about curses, dark magic, and the lengths one could go to in hopes of preserving existence.

I just needed to find how to destroy one.

As I scanned the text, I barely noticed when I reached the entrance to the Great hall, where the smell of bacon wafted through the air, mingling with the chatter of my classmates.

It wasn't until I completely collided with a hard chest that I looked up.

"Shit I'm sorry-" But when I looked up to see Lorenzo Berkshire standing over me, I automatically took back my apologies, "That your too blind to see when someone is right in front of you!"

Lorenzo Berkshire, with his tousled hair and that infuriating smirk, stared down at me as if I had just stepped on his toe...only that I was pretty sure he had barreled into my space without a care in the world.

Great.

Just what I needed this morning.

"If it isn't miss entitled herself," he said, his tone dripping with condescension.