Marked • Tom Riddle

His Housepet

   

Dear Karina,

   My deepest apologies for coming to you like this, in the form of words. Merlin, you must think of me a coward for the inability to show my face or even my voice. However, my identity will remain an enigma to you for some time, for, you see, my ability to share it with anyone has been stripped away from me... along with most of my life. However, with the key I have tucked away amidst this note, I know you will find out the truth soon enough. Please, Karina, I implore you to find the truth about me before your wedding, before what happened to me happens to you. I am not an enemy, but a friend, a friend who is gravely afraid of what Tom might do if he were to find out about this. So, for the safety of us both, erase this from your memory and store it someplace safe for when you are ready to look for the truth. I will watch out for you where I can and I will reach out when the time is right. Until then, my deepest regards.

                                                                                                                                                                   - M   

   I stared at the note, at the words, at the iron key in my hand while my stomach sunk to the ground in an uneasy sense of fear. What was this? A test of some sort to see if I would hide this from the Dark Lord? Who was M? Judging by her writing, she seemed to be a girl, but that brought me no sense of comfort. She had referred to the Dark Lord as Tom, a name he'd told me to address him as. She must have been close to him, but there was no way of telling. I had no idea whom he asked or how many he asked to refer to him as Tom. I couldn't be sure of anything, not even the possibility that M's name even began with an M. 

   Overwhelmed by thought, I took a seat on the bed that had lost all feeling of comfiness. She had been here, she had pulled back the covers and placed the note. How did she get in? When would she be back? The thoughts made me sick and chilled me to the bone. She had said she was a friend, but could I really risk the possibility of breaking whatever trust I had with the Dark Lord over the notion of having a hidden friend in this estate. This had to have been a test, why else would she have told me to erase my memory. She must have known he could penetrate my mind. How could she have possibly known that? Still... what if she'd gone through the same thing? What if her mind too had been compromised? 

   I read the note over and over until I had practically memorized each and every word. Every possibility, every outcome of every decision I could make invaded and clouded my mind. I was so caught up in it all that the sound of someone knocking on my door almost caused me to scream. 

   "Miss, I've brought your things. Is it alright if I come in?" said the soft voice of a woman. 

   Hurriedly, I tucked the note and key underneath the duvet where I had found it and stepped away from the bed. "Yes, you may come in."

   The doors were carefully pushed open by a young woman who, with the help of her wand, directed my bags into the room and neatly placed them against a wall. With a huff, she placed her wand into her tightly tied apron and patted down her cherry hair in an attempt to make a good first impression. "My name's Lucinda and I've been assigned to you during your stay. If there's anything you need, anything at all, just ring the bell and I'll come running. And please, don't hesitate to ring, all my duties have been postponed and directed to keeping you, our guest of honor, happy."