Pure

Clever

I paced the hall back and forth, thinking of what I wanted the Room of Requirement to become. Riddle levitated Clive's body a few feet off the ground, his wand giving off the only light in the hallway. He had already cast the counter curse, which still took time to go into effect. Riddle stood stoically, completely still, as if he had been petrified by the basilisk itself. He merely blinked every few seconds and glanced at Clive's body. His eyes had a sinister glow to them from the shadows of his wand light. He was relishing in the sight of Clive's still, pale frame.

The sound of my heels on the stone floor reverberated off the walls every time I took a step. They sounded lonely in the black of night. I would have feared being caught if Filch and Mrs. Norris were guarding the halls in this time period. 

I halted in front of the forming door, and twisted the knob. When the door fell open, it revealed a large room with a golden glow. A warm fireplace formed in the corner, taking up quite a bit of wall space. The walls were stone, like in the hallway, but if looked at closely, tiny gold flakes could be seen in the stone, which flickered in the light that the chandelier and fireplace gave off. It was my small defiance of Riddle. It reminded me of my true colors, my Gryffindor colors.

Aside from a few armchairs that sat by the fireplace and a wardrobe against one wall, the rest of the room was bare. I made my way to one of the chairs and sat down, preparing for the wait for Clive to wake up. Riddle sat in the armchair across from me after casting a deafening charm on Clive so he couldn't hear what we said. He flicked his wand around in his hand, and I felt an uncomfortable silence approaching, so I quickly asked Riddle the first thing I could think of.

"Why did you start your meetings with the Knights?" I asked.

Riddle allowed Clive to land across the wooden floorboards. Riddle glanced into the fire in thought, relaxing his sinister expression.

"I am powerful, but for now, power isn't everything," he murmured, though I could hear him clearly in the fire flickering, echoey room, "The Knights are but a means to an end. Someday I won't need them, or anyone... I will do anything if it pleases me."

"But what will you do?" I asked.

He sneered, "End Dumbledore, first of all... and then to the others, I'll do whatever I please... make them hurt, if I want."

Riddle gripped his wand tighter, and I saw a grimace in his eyes that were reflected in the fire light. His words reminded me of what I saw when Fawkes showed me Riddle's past, when I was in that small orphanage and Riddle was just a young boy.

After another moment, Riddle smoothed his slacks with his hands and simultaneously evened his anger.

"How do you do that?" I asked after a moment.

"Do what?"

"Completely change your expression like that," I clarified. Riddle whipped his head towards me in surprise.

"You're observant..." he said. I smirked with my newfound Slytherin edge. Riddle changed the subject.

"What's in that book you had in Hogsmeade?" Riddle asked. I sighed. I knew this would come up at some point.

"I'm not sure yet. I'd just gotten it then," I told him, not revealing how, in fact, I received it in the first place.

"You should bring it next time," he said.

I frowned... Next time? I didn't voice my concern though. It reminded me that I had no idea what we were doing to Clive yet. Riddle just looked into the fire again. A peaceful silence encompassed us, and I pulled my legs up into the large chair I was sitting in, kicking off my heels.