An Exquisite Pain

The Chamber Of Secrets

It was a surprisingly short, quick fall down to the bottom. Danielle screamed as she caught sight of a hard stone floor rushing up to meet them, but her cries were lost in the rush of air.

Riddle must have cast a spell to soften their landing, because she was barely jostled as they landed lightly upon the floor.

As soon as she could, Danielle forcibly wrenched herself away from him and dropped to her knees, searching for her wand.

"Looking for this?" Riddle asked politely, holding out a wand in front of her. Danielle immediately snatched it from him, vaguely surprised that he was giving it back to her so easily.

"Can I try something, Tom?" she asked, tightening her grip on her wand.

His eyes gleamed. "Certainly, dear Clara. However, you must remember that I possess a wand as well, and that I am infinitely more powerful than you."

"Oh, I know," Danielle said through gritted teeth. She saw him raise his own wand, and opening her mouth as if she were going to shout a spell, she curled her fingers into a fist and punched him in the face.

Riddle, being as Muggle-scorning as he was, did not expect Danielle to resort to fighting such a "primitive" way and so was momentarily stunned. While his hands flew to his nose and mouth, she had already taken off sprinting towards the nearest exit. The room, which appeared to be some sort of antechamber, was only dimly lit by a greenish light and so was difficult to see clearly. But Danielle had spotted an opening in the stone.

Just as she was about to jump through it, she heard a loud crack as if something had snapped and unbelievable pain shot through her leg. She shrieked and fell hard onto the ground, her leg ablaze with pain.

"Defy me one more time, Clara Ashford, and you will learn what pain really is," Riddle snarled, progressing upon her with his wand raised. His entire face was bloody and his nose was at an odd angle.

He towered above her now, his lip curling as he glared at her. All of a sudden, his foot shot out and kicked her injured leg. The pain was so intense she nearly fainted.

"It is broken," he said, satisfied. "I would not try to move if I were you."

Danielle wasn't planning to. She'd lost, everything was destroyed and it was over. Death would be a mercy now. "Just kill me quickly," she begged of him. "Please."

"Oh, I will not be killing you just yet," he told her. "I am not quite finished with you."

"Tom," she choked. "Please."

Riddle hesitated for a split second, and Danielle saw his face contort. "You don't want to hurt me," she continued quickly, grasping onto the last bit of hope she had. "Deep down—very deep down—you're not evil. It's because no one has ever cared about you enough to make you trust other people. Believe me."

She knew what she was saying was all lies, but something seemed to have struck a chord with Riddle. He froze, and then he started coughing. Danielle watched in horror as he continued rasping, bent double, and spat blood onto the floor.

...Aside from the victim's unstable mental nature, the curse has a physical effect. This typically comes into play after a particularly violent episode. Excessive bouts of vomiting, bleeding and coughing usually occur. As the curse gets stronger and stronger, the physical strength of the victim weakens until their eventual premature death.

Was he dying, even now? The curse was killing him as surely as her leg was broken. If she were to leave, right now, would he continue vomiting blood until he died?

"Shit," Danielle said, her heart pounding. She attempted to stand on one leg, but her poor balance did not allow for hopping. Sprawling back onto the floor, she grabbed her wand.