Fear of a Name

Chapter Twenty-One: Tell Me Why

"Ivory, I have told you already, you cannot go," said Professor Lupin calmly.
"But if I don't—"
"Ivory, don't make me give you detention," he cut across me.
"But sir, please—"
"Silence, Miss Riddle," he said with a sharpness that I had never heard in his voice before.

Realising I had finally gone too far, I flinched and fell silent at once; his words hurt as though he had slapped me. I hated my last name, it reminded me of the fact that I was the daughter of the darkest wizard alive.
"Thank you. You are not allowed to go, Ivory. Professor Dumbledore agrees that it's far too dangerous."

I said nothing, dug my hand into my pocket and took out one of the letters Mother had sent me, the first one, as well as the one Father had sent, and handed them both to Lupin.
"And these are...?"
"Letters from them," I said quietly. "Two of the ones I got earlier."
"Ah, right, I see. May I read them?"
I nodded my head and stayed silent.

"Come today or I'm coming to you," he read quietly, before looking at me. "Ivory, she wouldn't be able to get into Hogwarts. It's safe here."
I shook my head and replied in a quiet voice, "I know what she's like, sir, she'd find a way."
Lupin looked a little sceptical about this, but instead of saying so, he read the other letter.
"You know what happens when you disobey me," he murmured, then he looked back up at me.
"I'm going to have to see them eventually," I said. "The longer I leave it, the worse it's going to be."
I saw him think about this for a good few minutes, waiting anxiously for his decision.

"I will speak to Professor Dumbledore about it. In the meantime, let me know if you get any more letters from your parents, please."
"Yes sir."
"You may go now."
I turned and walked out, not entirely sure if I wanted Dumbledore to let me go or not.
The decision lies with him now. There's nothing I can do.

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

"Good luck, Ivory. If you're not back in twenty minutes, I'll come and find you to make sure you're alright," Professor Lupin said, trying to hide the worry in his voice, with little success.
I nodded, not quite sure if I was going to be able to pluck up the courage to go after all.
Come on, Ivory. You don't want your mother to go to Hogwarts because you haven't showed up, do you?
This thought gave me the courage I needed.

"So, you finally decided to come," Mother snarled, pointing her wand at me from the door of the Manor as I apparated there.
"P-please, I-I-I'm s-sorry, D-Du-Dumbledore s-said-"
"Shut up, get in here and see your father," she ordered, dragging me in by my hair and throwing me to the ground in front of my father.

"Ivory Riddle," he said, in a scarily quiet voice. "I see you have finally decided to obey my orders. You have not come in over a month. Tell me why."
I stayed silent, still kneeling on the floor.
"Tell me why," he repeated, taking out his wand and pointing it at my chest, causing me to flinch.
"Pr-Professor Dumbledore a-and Professor L-L-Lupin said I-I wasn't allowed to c-c-come," I stuttered, shaking.
"And you have decided that what they say is more important than what I tell you do do?"

I shrunk back a little; his words were edged with poison, and I knew what was coming. I had known it from the moment I arrived.

"F-Father, p-p-please, I'm s-sorry..."
"Sorry isn't good enough, girl," he hissed, making me shrink back further still. "Sorry doesn't change the fact that you purposely disobeyed me. You know that your actions always have consequences, and this is going to be a big one."
"P-please," I begged, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill onto my face.
"Awww, is the lickle one begging? How cute," Mother mocked, a crazy glint in her eyes. "Itsy, bitsy baby Ivory."
"Get up," my father ordered me, and I scrambled quickly to my feet, swaying on the spot slightly as he turned to my mother. "Bella, deal with her. There are matters that I need to attend to elsewhere."
"Yes, My Lord," Mother said gleefully as my father disapparated.

She turned back to me, wand in hand, with a crazy grin on her face that made her look like she'd come from the depths of hell.
"I'm going to have a lot of fun with you, girl. Crucio!"
I fell back onto my knees, screaming, as Mother laughed maniacally and relished my pain like the psychopath she is.

After a few minutes she gave me a ten second breather, then carried on the curse. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake, my throat was becoming hoarse from screaming, my body felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand red-hot knives. I could feel myself getting weaker by the second.

Mother kicked me onto my back, still using the curse, enjoying the screams that were getting quieter and quieter as I started to slip out of consciousness. My vision was going blurry, but I could just about make out someone apparating into the room with a flash of white light. Before I could figure out who it was, however, I finally allowed myself to fall unconscious, letting the feeling wash over me, freeing me from the pain to which I had just given in.