Bound By Blood.

ch.89~Truth has a bitter taste.

"I'm not telling you what I believe is good for you,

I'm telling you my decision.

Do not make it harder than it already is.

It's done."

Recovered Translated Correspondents between Order Member Alexandra Brooks, to Death Eater Mattheo Riddle, 2004.

The Order Safehouse, 2004.

Alexandra.

I felt as if I couldn't apparate fast enough. As if my legs, my magic were working against me. As if they were pulling me back to him.

Him, standing there as he let me walk away with a piece of his fathers soul, as he stood there unarmed, as he stood there searching my eyes for any sign of recognition.

And I couldn't run fast enough.

I couldn't escape it.

Escape him.

The air was thick with tension as I finally stumbled into the safehouse, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest.

I could still feel the weight of Mattheo's gaze on me, that stormy mixture of longing and anger.

It felt like I was pulling in two different directions.

My body ached to turn back, to bridge the distance between us, but I knew that bond was severed. The rope tethering us had frayed, leaving behind a painful reminder of what was lost.

"Alex!" Harry's voice echoed in the narrow confines of the room, raw with emotion and laced with urgency. "Don't you walk away from me! Stop!"

But I didn't stop. I couldn't. Not truly.

My mind was a chaotic swirl of thoughts, none of those thoughts containing a single lie that would or could cover up what the fuck had just happened.

I raced up the stairs, each footfall echoing my frantic heartbeat, desperate to escape.

I reached my door and slammed it behind me, but before the latch could even catch, Harry's hand shot out, slamming it back open with a ferocity that startled me.

"Alex! Start fucking talking!" he shouted, his voice harsh, radiating a desperate energy that made me recoil.

I raised my wand instinctively, casting a Silencing Charm, creating a bubble that trapped our voices within.

Harry stepped into the room, his rage manifesting in the way he stormed towards me, his brow furrowed with disbelief.

"You're the fucking traitor?!" His voice rose again, punctuated by disbelief and anger. "What the fuck is 'right now'?! What does it mean? Is it a code?!"

I opened my mouth to respond, to conjure up some excuse or half-truth, but nothing came.

My lips parted, but my voice failed me.

How could I explain the bond I had shared with Mattheo, the moments that had encapsulated us both in a world that felt so much bigger than this one, that I never once betrayed the order directly?

"Why did he let you walk away with the Diadem?!" Harry demanded, advancing, relentless in his pursuit of answers.

"Alex, ANSWER ME NOW!"

I stumbled back, my body hitting the edge of my bed as a wave of confusion crashed over me.

I couldn't process his words, couldn't think fast enough to form a coherent response.