Little Riddle | James Potter

Fifteen

               Dear Sister,

               I won't ask about our previous task, for even I want to remain oblivious about the hiding spot you chose. I simply trust that you did a good job.

               I write this letter with a much better motive, no longer expecting you to aid me in any endeavour. Instead, I'm writing to ask you to join me during the Christmas holidays. I'll be staying at the Malfoy Manor, and although I'm aware of your sheer dislike towards my acquaintances, I sincerely hope you'll be able to leave your prejudice aside and join me in what would be out first Christmas together in eleven years.

               I'm sure Malfoy will be kind enough to give you any further detail and answer all of your doubts. I hope I'll be seeing you soon. Take care.

               Tom.

       Alexis read the letter for what felt like the hundredth time. She knew Tom was playing games, noticing the letter was far too sentimental in an attempt to manipulate her. Into doing what exactly, she did not know. She pushed the letter back inside her bag and focused on the task at hand. Inspecting the piles among piles of lost objects surrounding her. She had walked around the place several times and now, even she was unaware of where the diadem was, buried deep under mountains of objects. The Room of Requirement was a truly helpful place.

       She had been extremely cautious with the execution of the plan, but not so much when she walked out of the room without waiting to see if anyone was walking in the corridor. Thankfully, it had been Remus Lupin who caught her red-handed.

       "Ah, just who I wanted to see!" She walked away, pulling him with her.

       "What were you doing in there?"

       "Needed some time alone. Now hurry up, Lupin! One would think you'd walk faster with such long legs."

       "Do you reckon this is all bullshit?" He frowned, scanning over the letter one more time.

       "Absolutely. He even tried using that 'we haven't spent Christmas together for eleven years' crap," she lowered her voice to mimic one of a man. "For dramatic purposes, you know? To make me feel nostalgic."

       "So you're obviously not going, right?" He handed her letter back and placed his hands inside his pockets.

       "Now that's where you're wrong, my dear Lupin." She absentmindedly played with the snow around her, as they both sat out on the grounds.

       Remus' eyes widened. "Lexi, please don't tell me you're actually considering doing this! It's a trap and you know it!"

       She sighed and leaned back on the tree. "Yeah, but Rem? Lily was right, you know? I'm not doing anything to try to stop him. This is my chance to do something! Merlin knows when I'll be able to see him again."

       Remus shook his head disapprovingly. "Lily doesn't know s**t, Lex. Don't even bother with anything that comes out of her mouth." 

       She placed her head on his shoulder, finding it extremely comforting to know that Remus was by her side in spite of it all. He always defended her, even if Lily had been his friend for longer. "Lex, you can't singlehandedly stop Lord Voldemort."

       "I know that. But maybe I can find out what they're up to and warn Dumbledore, or maybe even stop them from killing a person or two."

       He ran his hands through his face desperately. "That's extremely dangerous, Lex. They'll definitely find out if you're a spy! And you know what happens to those who defy them."

       She knew it was all extremely foolish and dangerous, but that could very well be the only opportunity she had to prove herself. To prove she's one of the good guys. "Remus Lupin, this is my one chance to stop living in Tom's shadow! To leave my comfort zone, to stop playing safe. There is a war out there!" She moved frantically, holding onto his hands and looking him right in the eyes. "And I want to help, Remus."

       Remus sighed defeated. "But he's still setting you up for something, and I have a feeling it's not going to be good."

       She swallowed hard but held her head a little higher. She didn't want to be scared. Not anymore. "I guess we'll find out."

       A Christmas feast was taking place the night before the students departed home for the holiday. The Great Hall was decorated accordingly, with huge Christmas trees situated around the room and snow falling from the ceiling that dissolved before it reached the students.

       Alexis and Remus had spent the last few days going over their plans and emergency drills in case anything went wrong with her mission. The Marauders would all be staying with the Potters, but Remus demanded to hear from her daily. The rest of the boys were still oblivious about her plans and she wanted to keep it that way, knowing very well they would try to stop her if they knew. Or at least Sirius and Peter would. As far as she was concerned, James Potter no longer acknowledged her existence. Word in the halls was that Lily had forgiven him for a nasty argument they had and now they were closer than ever to being an official couple.

       The students all sat at their respective tables, as low chatter resounded within the room while most students busied themselves with stuffing their mouths. Suddenly, the doors opened abruptly, catching everyone's attention. Everyone had their eyes on the redhead who ran down the aisle clutching a red box.

       "James!" Lily was seemingly oblivious to the curious glances she was receiving and stopped in front of the messy-haired boy who stood up to greet her. "I loved your gift, it was amazing! Here, it's not much but... I hope you like it."

       James looked like he was incapable of speaking as he stared at his gift and then back at Lily with a dumbfounded expression. It took everyone by surprise, James very much included, when Lily grabbed him by his sweater and pulled him down slightly, clashing her lips into his.

       That was James Potter and Lily Evans' first kiss, and the whole school was there to witness it. Except Alexis wasn't seeing anything, her vision had been blurred by anger. Josh, who sat next to her rocking a black eye, scoffed and turned his attention back to his meal. Many of the Slytherins around them had a similar reaction, as they pulled disgusted faces and focused on their plates.

       The Gryffindors were a completely different story though, creating unnecessary mayhem over the new couple. Even the Marauders were cheering and whistling, making Alexis' mood even fouler. These were supposed to be her friends but showed no pity towards her. Sure, she had kissed Josh, but the situation and circumstances were completely different. She never meant for James to see it, and hell, she even imagined she was kissing James at the time. But she was sure Potter was not thinking about her as he showered Evans with kisses. Alexis was raging, mostly about the fact she couldn't deny she was ridiculously jealous. She caught Remus' eye, who gave her a sympathetic smile. She didn't bother returning it, instead, she completely ignored him and turned to Malfoy. 

       "So where exactly is your Manor?"

       First times were always unpleasant. And now, as Alexis experienced her first time sharing a compartment with the vilest Slytherins, she had to constantly remind herself how much of a horrible place Azkaban was in order to not murder any of her fellow housemates.

       Josh, who simply approached her as a friend now, had run off with his fellow Ravenclaws while the Marauders were sharing a compartment with Lily and her friends. Alexis was certainly not welcome there. But the Death Eaters had been kind enough to suggest she sat with them, considering most of them were heading to the same destination anyway.

       The lot of them kept giving her sly smiles that made her skin crawl, but she made sure to keep her stoic expression at all times. Trying to intimidate them was useless, but she kept her assertive attitude and replied with sarcastic comments and sardonic smiles to whoever tried to pester her. She was not going to be intimidated either.

       "Moony, would you relax?" Sirius frowned at the fidgeting boy.

       "I need to go find Alexis. I haven't talked to her since yesterday, I'm pretty sure she's avoiding me."

       "I'm sure she's not avoiding you. We'll go look for her at the station, I want to say goodbye and give her the present I bought her." Sirius and Remus ignored the glares everyone, minus Peter was giving them.

       "Oh yeah, I want to give her my present as well," Peter remembered, pulling out a small box from his bag. "Where did you say she was going for the holidays?"

       "Back to the orphanage." Remus cleared his throat. "Apparently there's some event happening this year and she wanted to attend."

       "Orphanage?" Dorcas tilted her head.

       "The Riddles are orphans, everyone knows that." Sirius rolled his eyes.

       "What happened to their parents?" Mary questioned, eyeing Sirius and Remus.

       "It's none of your business," Remus growled.

       Marlene frowned, "Rude."

       "He's not lying, though." Sirius leaned in closer to the girls. "It is none of your business."

       Malfoy Manor was a Death Eater headquarters, that much she was sure of. Even though the place was reminiscent of a palace and filled with luxurious artefacts, there was overwhelming darkness immersing the place. The lack of sunlight and absence of human life around them only increased the eerie feeling she got from the Manor as she made her way to the entrance.

       Alexis knew better than to expect any hospitality, but as she walked through the empty corridors behind Malfoy, Dolohov, Avery, and Mulciber, she got the feeling she was not supposed to be there. The place looked menacing and it was clear she wasn't spending the holidays with the Malfoy family but instead, with the Death Eater organization. Alexis knew Malfoy's parents weren't home, and even if they were, she doubted they were any better than their son.

       Their steps echoed through the dimly lighted corridors. The silence and sly smiles the four Death Eaters exchanged had managed to get under her skin, making her shudder slightly. They walked into a meeting room where cloaked figures sat around a long table, but she'd been in situations like that before, surrounded by her brother's followers. But what frightened her was that Tom was nowhere in sight. She managed to see a figure moving in the shadows, but instead of seeing Tom's calm and prepotent self, she saw his most loyal servant, Bellatrix Lestrange.

       Bellatrix had always managed to perturb Alexis, even back when she was just a student at Hogwarts. Her unsteady mentality and deranged behaviour gave nightmares to even the strong-hearted.

       "Where's Tom?" Alexis crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air, not allowing fear to take over her.

       "The Dark Lord," Bellatrix approached her slowly, "had some businesses to attend to, dearie." She stopped in front of Alexis, their faces mere inches away. "But he told us to take good care of you."

       "I don't understand why you're worrying so much, Moony." James flopped down into the armchair. The boys had arrived at the Potters' house after an unsuccessful search for the Slytherin witch, and now they were treating themselves to a pint of beer as they tried to ease a frantic Remus.

       Peter shrugged. "We can always give her our gifts when we get back to school."

       "Or we can search for the orphanage's address." Sirius leaned back and took a big gulp of his drink before sighing contently.

       "She's not at the orphanage," Remus whispered with dread. "She's at the Malfoy Manor surrounded by Death Eaters."

       James' glass slipped from his hand, shattering into a thousand pieces on the floor.