The Tale of Azure - Book I: Shades of Green and Blue

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Perfect Prefect's True Colours

A/N: At the end of this chapter, there's a reference to the Gemini coven, which is a witch-thing from "The Vampire Diaries". In the series, the Gemini had lots of powerful grimoires filled with spells and it would not be very surprising if certain magical families knew about them.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Harry Potter", only my OC's.

Warnings: torture (Cruciatus and aggressive Legilimency).

She attempted to move her wrists, biting her lip when she felt a burning sensation on her fingers that forced her to stop. Despite only 20 minutes had passed since waking up, it was as if she had been inside the office for hours; tied up to a chair with wrists restrained by magic and whose bonds would only disappear on his command, which wouldn't happen at any time soon, she had to admit this was quite the predicament.

Her eyes slightly widened as the word "Legilimens" left Riddle's lips for the fourth time.

He was scanning through her memories again. To her, it was like crashing into a wall followed by suffocating due to intense heat, showed by her transpiration and too accelerated heartbeats. As usual, she refused to answer his questions, which made his "sorting of memories" more painful. Then, she felt him lingering on a memory: herself exploring the secret library and finding an old book with a black cover. A second later, the scene was replaced by Azure opening the chest and finding a familiar cup.

"Where is the Hufflepuff Cup?" He ordered, grabbing tightly her forehead. "Answer me honestly."

"Gone...stolen," she replied, struggling to say the words, voice and eyes showing signs of fatigue.

"You lie. Crucio!"

She felt her body going into spasms, a violent shock passing through her entire being as she gasped for air, grey and gold eyes adopting a fearful look. Riddle's facial muscles remained the same but his eyes told a different story: he was enjoying making her suffer.

"It's the truth; the Cup has disappeared from the Ashlane Manor since this Christmas!"

She felt him inside of her memories again, now hearing her thoughts on the thief named Fletcher.

"Who is this Fletcher?"

She shook her head and grimaced when the grip on her mind became stronger.

"Answer me, Ashlane."

"Why do you care about the Cup, Riddle?" She demanded furiously, finally pushing him out of her head. "It's my family's to keep, not yours! The Hufflepuff Cup belongs to my Ancestress Hildagarde!"

"The one who was in love with Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the Four Hogwarts Founders?" He scoffed, not hiding the disgust at the word "love". "The Parseltongue Master who rightfully believed that only Pure-bloods could be accepted as students?" His low voice resonated in her mind once more, making her shut her eyes.

Come on, you stupid shields! Don't let him in!

"Occlumency? Did you really think you could use it against me? The cold laugh that followed made her very uneasy; in practical terms, what she knew of the difficult Art of occluding one's mind amounted to nothing when compared to a wizard who had been polishing these skills since he placed a foot inside this school. "A weakling like you?"

Or...was it even before that?

"If I say it myself, Ashlane, Legilimency has always been one of my...personal tastes."

Azure's suspicions were true; the twit – she instantly felt the impact of a strong backhand on her cheek – had been using her as a "lab rat" for five years.