Pure

Riddles and Perplexities

I sat alone at breakfast. That was how every meal went for the past week. Thana waved at me wildly from her seat, as she did every day, which was all the way on the other side of the table, and every day, I flinched. Even if I could talk to her, I wouldn't. Not now. I rested my head against my hands and tried to forget my life for a moment.

It wasn't my first time back at the Gryffindor table. I couldn't sit with Abraxas anymore, so I decided that being at the Slytherin table, with all of Riddle's 'Knights' or Riddle himself would be too much to bear. Even so, I never felt so different from a Gryffindor before.

My life continued, stagnant in this world that I found myself in, a world that looked so much like my own. But I was alone. My eyes caught Abraxas' but I looked away before I could show the pain in my eyes. I truly wasn't mad at him for betraying me. I was just confused. I didn't know whether he could be trusted or not. He seemed so unlike a Death Eater, but if he was already a member of Riddle's Knights, he could have been fooling me for the whole time.

I shrugged and got out of my seat at the Gryffindor table. I decided to go to class early today. My workload was the only thing that remained constant between my two worlds that I was stuck between.

I had potions again this morning, and I found that while I could avoid Riddle in almost every class that we shared, this was not one of them. In complete honesty, Riddle scared me. He was already a murderer, that I knew. I could tell that he didn't care what he could do as long as no one found out. There was no remorse in his gaze or in anything he did. I had never dealt with such a demon, except perhaps, Voldemort from my time.

I never let him see it but I was always afraid, of him, and of me. How had I gotten him to feed into my lies so easily if he was known for his sharp wit? And even more so, why was this act that I created so easy for me to uphold?

I could tell everyone else was afraid of Riddle as well, even if they didn't know it. People flocked away from him as if a primal instinct in them knew he was capable of death.

I was still standing outside of the potions room when the object of my thoughts walked past the door and sat at our shared table. He didn't glance at me as he walked past which confused me. After the night in the Room of Requirement, he had acknowledged me every time we passed. Generally he just nodded or said a simple, "Granger," in my direction, probably just to spite me when I had to reply to him with a quiet "My Lord," but today, it was like I wasn't even by the doorway. I walked into the room, still confused, and sat at Riddle's side at our shared desk. There was no one else in the room yet, so I spoke freely.

"Is there something wrong, My Lord?" I asked innocently. Riddle turned towards me with his eyebrows somewhat furrowed, glancing up and down at me.

"How is your task coming along?" He asked, completely smoothing his features in a second.

I mentally flinched. I didn't have a plan for my so called task. Of course, I wasn't planning to lead Riddle to the sword. I expected to find a way out of 1943 by the time I was supposed to complete my task. I just couldn't let him know that I had no intention to help him.

"I'm working on it, My Lord," I said lowly.

"Granger, I am concerned about your apathy towards the Knights and your task," he muttered quietly.

I leaned a little closer so that we would not be overheard by anyone passing the door to the potions room. Any bystander would think we had moved closer, as lovers would who wanted to feel the draw of their connection, but the seething tension in both of us repelled the other. The closer we were, the farther apart I wanted to be from him. We were like the same side of a magnet that got too close, but neither of us budged.