𝒜𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝒶𝓃𝑔𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝒾𝒸𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒🔝
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The room was dimly lit, the only light coming from a few scattered candles flickering against the stone walls. The air felt thick with tension and anticipation. It was an unspoken agreement between Y/N and her Slytherin friends—Evan Rosier, Barty Crouch Jr., Pandora Rosier, and Regulus Black—to meet in the Slytherin common room for their late-night games. Tonight, they were playing truth or dare, though the game had taken on a serious tone as Y/N posed a question that no one had expected.
Evan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding Y/N's gaze as her question hung in the air. "Do you 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 to join the Dark Lord?" Y/N's voice was calm, but her eyes searched his face for any flicker of emotion.
Evan hesitated for a long moment before he answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "No..."
The single word was like a stone dropping into still water, sending ripples through the group. Barty's eyes widened slightly, and Pandora looked down at her hands, which were tightly clasped in her lap. Regulus, who had been sitting quietly beside Y/N, tensed, though he said nothing.
Y/N leaned forward, her eyes still locked on Evan. "Then why do you go along with it?" she asked gently.
Evan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's not that simple, Y/N. You know how it is. My family... they expect it. It's what they've been preparing me for my whole life. But..." He trailed off, his voice heavy with regret. "If I had a choice, a real choice, I wouldn't."
Y/N nodded slowly, understanding the weight of the expectations placed on him. "You always have a choice, Evan."
He didn't respond, his eyes fixed on the floor. Y/N glanced at Barty, who had been unusually quiet during the game. "What about you, Barty? Truth or dare?"
Barty shifted in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "Truth," he muttered, though he didn't sound as confident as usual.
Y/N took a breath, her voice steady as she asked, "Do you want to join him?"
Barty frowned, his brow furrowed in thought. "I... actually don't know," he admitted, surprising everyone. "My father, he's obsessed with the Ministry. He thinks the only way to gain power is by keeping your head down and playing by the rules. But me? I don't know if I want to follow him... or if I want to rebel. The Dark Lord—he's powerful, and there's something appealing about that. But do I *want* to join him? I don't know yet."
Y/N's heart ached as she listened to him. Barty was caught in a battle between the expectations of his father and the lure of a darker path. "You don't have to make that choice right now," she said softly. "But when you do, make sure it's your choice. Not someone else's."
Barty met her eyes for a brief moment before looking away, nodding slightly.
Y/N turned to Pandora, who had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the conversation. "Pandora?" she asked gently. "Truth or dare?"
Pandora hesitated, her usual playfulness absent. "Truth."
"Do you want to join him?" Y/N asked, her voice almost a whisper, afraid of the answer she might receive.
Pandora's eyes flicked to Evan, then back to Y/N. "I was only going to join him for Evan," she admitted quietly. "I've never wanted power or destruction. But if Evan was going to follow that path... I couldn't leave him alone in it."
Y/N's heart tightened at her words. Pandora's loyalty to Evan was clear, but the idea of her sacrificing her own values for someone else weighed heavily. "Pandora," Y/N said softly, "you deserve to make your own choices too. Don't let love blind you to what you really want."
Pandora nodded, her expression conflicted. She glanced at Evan, who gave her a soft, apologetic look. There was an unspoken understanding between them, a shared burden of expectations that neither of them had wanted.
Regulus, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke up. His voice was calm, but there was a tension in his words. "What about you, Y/N?" he asked, his gaze intense. "Truth or dare?"
Y/N wasn't expecting the question to be turned on her, but she met Regulus's eyes and answered without hesitation. "Truth."
"Why do you stay with us?" Regulus asked, his tone quiet but serious. "With everything you know about what's going on... why are you still here?"
The room fell into an uneasy silence as the weight of the question settled on them all. Y/N looked around at her friends—the Slytherin Skittles, as they liked to call themselves—and felt a surge of affection for each of them, despite their dark affiliations and the dangerous world they were tied to.
"Because I care about you," Y/N replied honestly, her voice unwavering. "All of you. I see the good in each of you, even if you can't see it yourselves. And I don't want to lose any of you to a war that will only bring pain and destruction. I believe there's another way."
Regulus stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Y/N had always been different, always seen the world through a different lens than the rest of them. She wasn't bound by the same expectations or pressures. And yet, she had chosen to stay—chosen to care, even when the future seemed dark.
Barty cleared his throat, breaking the tension. "Well," he said with a forced grin, "this got a lot more serious than I expected."
Pandora chuckled softly, though there was still a heaviness in her eyes. "It did, didn't it?"
Evan smiled weakly, looking at Y/N. "Thanks for not giving up on us."
Y/N smiled back, her heart heavy with the knowledge of what might come. "I'll never give up on you," she said quietly.
But even as the words left her mouth, a cold knot of fear twisted in her stomach. She knew the choices they would all have to make soon, and she wasn't sure if love and loyalty would be enough to save them from the darkness that was closing in.
And Regulus, sitting beside her in the flickering candlelight, couldn't help but wonder if he had the strength to make the right choice when the time came—or if the shadows of his family and the Dark Lord would pull him under, no matter how much he tried to escape.
