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Aquila swallowed. Oh, this was not good.

"I've heard of your rather fantastic abilities, too, Mr. Riddle," Aquila said, clutching the armrest with trembling hands.

Riddle smiled as if he noticed that. "There's no need to be afraid, Miss Black. You'll find in me a very amiable person, provided I'm in the right company, of course."

"And am I?" Aquila asked.

"Of course. I only demand personal audiences with those who I know are the right company," he said, sitting down in the chair across her and crossing his ankle over his knee.

Aquila shrugged. She won't be able to defend herself anyway, so it was better to talk unafraid. "Right company, or beneficial people."

Riddle laughed, tipping his head back. "Indeed. You think like a true Slytherin."

"So I would not be talking to you right now were I not a Slytherin?" Aquila raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair.

He drew in a breath. "It's not a matter of belonging to certain houses, Miss Black. Houses end the moment we're out of Hogwarts."

"You're telling me if I were in Gryffindor, you would still give me the same regard as you are now?"

"I would give your brother the same regard, who, if I'm not wrong, is a Gryffindor," he said, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes, but he's a Black," she replied off-handedly.

He ran a hand down his face. "Titles hardly matter to me. That is a misinterpretation of my beliefs. I believe the skill makes the man, Miss Black. You cannot imagine that with a muggle name like Riddle I truly seek powerful names."

"But you can't deny they certainly do have power in our world, Mr. Riddle."

"Indeed, I cannot deny. But as powerful as they may be, you will find that some of the people in this Sacred Twenty-Eight thing lack certain-" he waved his hand, as if searching for a word.

"Skill? Charm?" Aquila supplied.

Riddle laughed. "Exactly, Miss Black. May I call you Aquila, please?"

Try as she may, Aquila could certainly not deny that Riddle was charming. There was certainly no wonder why Bellatrix followed this man blindly.

"Sure,"Aquila said, waiting for him to talk about the real reason they were here.

"Would you fancy a cup of tea?" He asked in all the voice of a host, which was weird considering this was her house.

Aquila tilted her head. "Kreacher!" She called out and smiled in Riddle's direction. Take that for host, bitch.

Riddle gave out a huff of a laugh as Kreacher appeared with a tea tray in his hands. "Mistress Aquila, it is most wonderful to see you," he bowed to her and then bowed to Riddle. "My Lord, if you need anything."

Riddle waved a hand. "Nothing at all, Kreacher, thank you."

A clear dismissal, Kreacher left, leaving Riddle to pour out the tea for her. "Sugar?" he asked.

"None, thank you."

He tapped the spoon against the rim of his own cup and waved a hand to levitate Aquila's cup to her. "So, Mr. Riddle, are you going to approach the topic or are we going to do small talk?" she asked, taking her cup from mid air and taking a small sip.

His eyes sparkled in amusement. "I take it you don't like beating around the bush, then."

"I take it you do."

He laughed, setting his untouched tea down. "No, but I was thinking of easing into it. Ah, perhaps it's better this way. I do hate wasting time. Miss Black, I would like for you to join my cause."

Aquila set her tea down as well, feeling nauseous. Smart-arse talk was all well and good until it wasn't just talk anymore. This was some serious business and Aquila painfully felt the absence of her twin just then. She couldn't say no, but she couldn't very well say yes.

"I see," Aquila said. Oh Merlin's sake, Aquila, that's the best you can come up with?

Riddle raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by her non-answer. "You're conflicted. I understand why, Miss Black, this is all very sudden to you, I'm assuming."

She chewed the inside of her lip. "Not sudden, no. But yes, it is something that I am currently undecided on."

"Perhaps I can convince you, then," he said, smiling charmingly as he reached for his cup again. "I know of your rather powerful abilities, Miss Black, and I cannot put in words how much a person of your skill, mindset and thinking would thrive on our side. We can do so many wonderful things together, Aquila," he said, his voice soft as he leaned forward to gaze into Aquila's eyes.

Oh hell, he's trying to charm me. Isn't he older by like, a millenia?

Aquila almost expected Regulus to respond, but the distance had been putting strain on both their minds.

"I don't doubt what we could achieve, Mr. Riddle, but I'm rather afraid that my moral compass has a different north than yours. I may have these abilities, as you call them, but what I do not possess is a bloodthirst, like Bellatrix," Aquila said, trying not to cringe away from the man.

He sighed and leaned back again. "You needn't have a bloodthirst, Aquila. To be honest with you, I don't have a taste for such things either. But for the better of our world, for the greater good, some actions are quite necessary, you will find."

Aquila swallowed. "I apologise, but I'm afraid you'll have to try your luck elsewhere."

She made to move toward the door, but a flick of his wrist and the door was locked. A spark of annoyance had entered his eyes. "I'm not used to hearing the word 'no', Miss Black, mostly because I tend to get very angry if I do."

Aquila stood silently, waiting for his villain monologue to end and for him to kill her, possibly.

He tugged his sleeves and took out a wand from his sleeve. This struck Aquila as odd, considering most people kept their wands inside of their robes.

"Fortunately for you," he said, taking a step towards her, "you are underage, and therefore, under the command of your parents. If their word were kept against yours, you'll find the scales tipping in their favour."

Aquila took a step back, trying to evade him. Oh no, oh no, breathing was getting hard now. Her throat was closing in. Please, no, kill me instead.

But fate wasn't that kind to her. And Aquila Black could do nothing but scream as The Dark Lord brought his wand to her arm and said with a lover's purr.

"Morsmordre." 

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balalala

please welcome benjamin wadsworth as tim fiddle!

oh no, tam giggle!

doesn't sound right

yes, you are correct *drumroll* TOM RIDDLE!

please excuse my horrible humour im trYING MY BEST OKAY

little early update (okay very) but I wanted to thank adorerapp for making THE ABSOLUTE WONDEROUS COVER I AM IN LOVE YALL

FOLLOW HER PLISSS

༻hy༺