Star Crossed

Chapter Eighty Nine- Breaking away

A week had passed since the break in at the Ministry and most of the students had spoke of nothing else since. Rumors spread from a hoax straight to Grindlewald himself having been present. Personally I sat somewhere in the middle with those that believed that it was perhaps some of his low level followers that had jumped at the opportunity to cause panic and fear by entering the Ministry through the temporary open flu networks. 
  The whole incident had however caused Wiglaf to become far more focused upon our mission and had spent many evenings between his NEWT studies trying tirelessly to find further information and leads that would lead to the founders heirlooms. Lazarus however had spent his time in a haze of daydreams and hours spent practicing his dueling techniques. 
I had contributed to the research the best that I could, asking my Aunt to send me through books from our personal library at home which we did not have at Hogwarts but this was a slow process as she was hardly ever home. It was more however than Tom was doing... 
Tom seemed to be mildly disinterested. He seemed intently focused upon something of his own and instead was spending an increasing amount of time with his little gang of Slytherins. I won't pretend that this didn't cause a heaviness in my chest and a uncomfortable unease in my stomach. Was I missing him? Yes. Was I in a sense afraid? Yes. Afraid that in some strange way we were losing him. I was losing him. 

"What is your opinion Riddle?" Wiglaf perked up raising his head over the top of the book that he had been reading aloud to us all as we sat in our usual little nest within the Room of Requirement, his eyebrow was slightly raised in skepticism. 

A ghost of a smirk played upon Tom's lips as he looked up from to meet eyes with Wiglaf. He sat slouched back lazily upon his prefered black leather chester armchair, his hands laced together laying upon nonchalantly upon his lap. 
"Are you really concerned with my opinion Wiglaf? You seem to have everything underhand." Tom's voice was dripping in sarcasm as his smirk only grew, a strange dark twinkle sparked within his eyes. 

"Enough of this." Wiglaf snapped through gritted teeth as he took a deep breath clearly trying to steady his temper. Tom rose both eyebrows high towards his straight dark hairline. 
"And I hadn't even begun." He smirked shaking his head slowly before tilting his head to the side with a smirk. "Please why don't you just continue Captain." 
I looked to Lazarus catching his eye which told me that he was as confused as I was. 
"Captain?" Wiglaf repeated back to him, in an impatient and almost exasperated tone. 

"Yes Captain." Tom smiled serenely. "That is what you are isn't it? The Captain of this little group." 
"Don't be so ridiculous." Wiglaf sniped back unintentionaly slamming his fist down upon the desk in front of him.
"It's amusing really." Tom smirked. "Here you sit preaching your dreams of peace and democracy, speaking up against the tyranny of dictators like Grindlewald when there you are sat dictating." 
"Our dreams Riddle." Wiglaf corrected him. "Besides clearly you do not understand what a dictator is as if you recall I asked you for your own opinion."
Riddle laughed throwing back his head before pulling a hand through his silky dark hair. 
"The oldest trick in the book Captain. Ask your little subjects there opinions, make them feel valued as if what they have to say matters when really you are the one making all of the final decisions despite anything they have said." 
I squirmed in my seat feeling uncomfortable at Tom's words as the more he spoke the more I thought less of Wiglaf and actually more of him, him and that little gang of his but I kept my thoughts to myself. 
"You find all of this amusing do you Riddle? You were there at the Ministry you saw with your own eyes our country, our world is under threat now more than ever." Wiglaf's grey eyes sparked. 

"The ministry has always been weak Wiglaf." Tom wafted his hand through the air. 

"Exactly! That is why it rests upon others shoulders!" Lazarus suddenly blurted standing up from his seat. "Our shoulders!" 
"Sit down Lazarus you have barely just learned to walk," Tom smirked. 
"At least he has the passion." Wiglaf interrupted. "And one day he will be ready." 
"I'm right here!" Lazarus shouted his cheeks turning a rosey shade of rouge.  
"You really think reading up on some Hogwarts library textbooks and running around after heirlooms is going to be enough? You delude yourselves." Tom replied still talking as if he were merely discussing the weather. 
"What is it that you suggest Riddle?" Wiglaf questioned his jaw clenched, the veins in his temples throbbing. Tom looked down towards his hand inspecting the ornate ring upon his finger a small smile pulling at his lips. 
"Innovatory my dear Brother." he replied looking back up to meet Wiglaf's icy gaze. 

"Is it innovative what you and those employee's of yours do is it?" I asked my voice betrayed how uneasy I really felt as it carried across the now empty room besides for me and him. 
He stopped his back facing me as he stood before the closed door, slowly he turned his head towards me. 
"Why don't you find out." he smirked, I looked at him my brow furrowed in confusion. 
"You don't have to stay confined to Wiglaf's vision Grisha." he continued. "You could create your own vision." 
"It's our vision, it has always been our vision. The four of us, we are the Heirs." I replied my voice threatening to break. A soft chuckle escaped his lips before he turned his body around to fully face me. 
"We aren't children anymore Grisha. It's time that everybody learned to grow up and accept that there is so much more than just our childhood dreams." 
"But together we can make those dreams a reality!" I blurted feeling my eyes burn as I looked into the face of a young man who I was supposed to know so well.

"Come now Grisha," he shook his head. "You have seen and experienced as well as I the true reality in which we live." 
"What happened to you." I whispered, my stomach feeling as if all of the butterflies had died. 
"I learned very early on that in this world you relay no one but yourself."
"Who asked you to rely upon us?" I asked incredulously. 
"Goodnight Grisha." and with that he turned from me and left me stood in the room alone. 
"No! Don't you dare!" I blurted out unable to stop myself. "You can't run away every time you don't have an answer. Answer me!" But he did not turn back, he continued to walk away from me, from us as he always did. 

A few days passed and I didn't see Tom, not even in passing. He was the master of avoidance as I well knew. 

It was late the sun was beginning to set in the sky casting and orangey glow upon the castle, casting midnight blue shadows across the hallways and courtyards. I yawned as I made my way towards Gryffindor Tower after an unspeakably long time sat trying to catch up on essays in the library. I had been finding it increasingly hard to focus my mind the last few days, whether I cared to admit it or not my mind would not stop itself from wondering to Tom and to our most recent conversation. It was as if he was pulling further and further away from us and it hurt almost as much as if someone was to physically remove one of my limbs. I wanted to tell him this, to pour out my heart to make him understand but deep down I knew that there was no hope in it, that I only risked pushing him further away. 

I stopped as I heard hushed voices coming from the nearby corridor, allowing my curiosity to overthrow caution I turned and made my way over to the source of the voices being careful enough to ensure that I was not heard nor seen as I hid in the shadows. 
In the corner of the corridor I could just make out two silhouetted figures, I strained my ears to listen in to what they were talking about. Technically these where two students out of bed and I was a prefect, I could confront them but something told me to stay back. 
"Consider this his warning." the taller of the two silhouettes hissed quietly. 
"I've told you... I've told you... I didn't... I didn't say anything!" the second stuttered, their body slightly slouched as they cowarded away. 
"Do not bother to lie, he knows. He always knows and he does not take kindly to being lied too."
"But I... I... I'm sorry okay! Tell him I'm sorry!" he begged backing down further. 
"Oh you will do that yourself, he will take payment for your incompetence but first I have been ordered to teach you what happens to those you dare to defy us, to defy him." 
"No please, please! I understand! I've learned my lesson! I..." But the frightened mutterings were cut off by a sickening crunch I felt myself step forward involuntarily. The victim whimpered in pain as he clutched onto his arm. 
"What's going on here?" I asked my voice stronger than I felt as I stared straight at the two figures. "Step into the light." I ordered. 
The figure of Lestrange stepped out of the shadows the light of the flickering candle flames illuminating him. 
"Miss McLaggen," Lestrange smiled. "I did not realise you were on duty this evening." 
"I... I'm not." I faltered. 
"Then you are too out of bed out of hours. I understand like myself you probably lost track of time in the library studying am I right?" He grinned, I wanted nothing more than to whip it from his smug face. 
"Mr. Parkinson here was however snooping in the hallways as I was on my way back to the Slytherin common room and it would just so happen that he slipped upon trying to run from me and seems to have injured his arm. Very unfortunate, I was just about to send him to the hospital wing." 
"Is that so." I replied raising my eyebrow up at him. 
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Lestrange smirk widened as he glanced down at Parkinson who was now shakily getting to his feet. 
"It's the truth... "he muttered nodding his head eagerly. I softened my expression as I looked at him. 
"What was it you was doing down here then?" I asked him, hoping to catch him off guard. 
"I was trying to discover the rumoured Room of Requirement, I thought... I thought that if I could find it that I would be able to tell everyone that I was the first to find it..." 

I inwardly rolled my eyes at his weak excuse. 
"I panicked when I saw someone, I thought it may have been a Professor." he added hastily. 
"Off to the Hospital wing with you then," I replied, giving up on managing to get the truth out of him, Lestrange and his 'master' had him terrified... and I had a sickening feeling who this 'master' was... I just hoped that I was wrong...
"Well you better get back to your common room too Lestrange, all that studying must have made you tired." I smirked. 
"Goodnight McLaggen," He bowed slightly and departed with a wink. I bit me lip controlling my tongue.