Little Riddle | James Potter

Sixteen

       "Sirius, for the last time, we can't just Floo ourselves there!"

       "Then what are we supposed to do?!" Sirius paced frantically across the room. "Just sit here and wait to see what happens?!"

       "That's exactly what she told me to do. She said she knew what she was doing. We planned this." Remus bit his nails nervously, not doing much to soothe everyone else's nerves.

       "And why on earth did you let her do that?!" James paced alongside Sirius, not caring about the shattered glass in the slightest.

      "She said that as long as her brother was there she would be fine."

       Alexis was a capable and smart witch, but not even her above-average skills could help her fight against the approximately thirty Death Eaters that surrounded her. So she complied, allowing them to take her to a shabby room and lock her in.

       The night went on painfully slow, with Alexis tossing and turning in the uncomfortable small bed. The room's walls had an old, depressing wallpaper that was mouldy and ripped in several places. The only piece of furniture besides the bed was an equally old dresser and a broken mirror. The place could've easily belonged to a house-elf.

       She hoped her brother would be back by morning, but when her door remained locked the entire day she understood Tom had indeed set her up. No amount of Alohomoras could make the door budge that morning, or the morning after that, or the morning after that. She had been locked in for three straight days. Was this her brother's plan all along? To kidnap and starve her? What was the purpose of her punishment?

       On the fourth day, the door finally opened, but she was once again disappointed to find Bellatrix entering the room. At least Alexis could reason with her brother, but Bellatrix was a whole other story.

       "Well, well, well," Bellatrix's yellowed, crooked teeth greeted her, her maniacal laughter breaking the silence. "Have you been enjoying yourself?"

       "Terribly."

       "That's good. Because the fun's just getting started." Her sly smile unnerved Alexis, making her feel like prey being cornered by a predator. "Imperio!"

       Out of all the scenarios that she had gone over with Remus, they had been naive enough to not think about the Imperius Curse. Alexis never saw it coming, her weak condition didn't allow her to fight back or show resistance, leaving her in a trance-like state as she moved involuntarily behind Bellatrix.

       "My, what do we have here!" Nott stood behind her, so close she could feel his breath on her ear.

       "Little Riddle here is ready to join the party." Bellatrix sneered. "Now why don't you go fix us some drinks?"

       Alexis could hear their laughter as she followed Bellatrix's command. The first command of the many she had to obey during the night as they treated her like a house-elf. She went to bed that night with a buzz in the back of her head, and even though she couldn't feel the severe worry and anxiety she felt before due to the curse, she was far from having peace of mind.

       When her eyes finally closed, she dreamed about Tom teaching her Occlumency back when she was eleven.

       "Are you alright, James?"

       James jumped startled at Lily's touch, making the girl giggle.

       "You don't have to be so nervous, you know? They're gonna love you." James smiled faintly as he followed Lily to her home in Cokeworth.

       Truth be told, James could care less about meeting the Evans family as he was much more concerned about having to leave his friends when they were all in a frantic mess trying to figure out what to do after not hearing from Alexis in four days. He was absolutely terrified of the possibilities, but he knew the Malfoys weren't publicly known Death Eaters and there was nothing to suggest she was in danger, leaving them with no proof to alert Dumbledore or any other authorities. Needless to say, the four boys were going mad trying to come up with a plan. But at the end of the day, all they could do was hope for the best.

       James felt sick and somewhat guilty, thinking he could've talked her out of it if he hadn't been an absolute arse who ignored her for weeks. He'd been crying himself to sleep for the last four days, fear getting the best of him.

       "We're here!" Lily squealed excitedly. James was completely uninterested as he entered the house and was immediately greeted by a middle-aged chubby woman he could only assume was Lily's mother.

       "Come this way, darlings! We've been waiting for you two!" She guided them into a dining room where James was greeted by a hostile Mr Evans, Lily's snobby sister Petunia who refused to shake his hand, Petunia's obese boyfriend Vernon who shook his hand a little too tight, and a couple of Lily's other family members. All Muggles. James groaned internally, greeting them all with a brittle smile.

       "James and Lily met at school. Charles VII Institute." Mrs Evans informed the rest of the family, giving James a subtle nod.

       "Say, is your family religious, boy?" Lily's aunt refilled her glass with wine, her lanky figure reminding James of a lizard.

       "Eh," he turned to Lily who subtly nodded. "Yes, of course."

       "Manchester United fan?" A boy that looked no older than twelve asked him.

       "United? Yeah, United." James tried to give him his most convincing smile, trying to hide the fact he had no clue what the kid was talking about.

       "What career are you two gentlemen hoping to pursue at University?" A balding, well-suited man questioned them.

       "It will be chemical engineering for me," Vernon answered proudly, clearly pleased with the nods of approval he received.

       James was internally cursing Lily when all the attention turned to him. He didn't even know what a university was or what people did in it. "Someone kill me," he whispered, but the room was so quiet everyone heard him.

       Suddenly, having a psychopath as a brother-in-law didn't sound like a bad idea.

       A boy cried in the middle of the room, his arms and legs tied behind him as he kneeled. His face was contorted with fear as his body trembled. The dim light that illuminated the room made Alexis recognize him right away. Oliver Abbott, a pureblood wizard two years her senior.

       Alexis approached him slowly, her steps echoing across the room and startling the boy. She looked at him with disgust as she walked around him. "The Dark Lord is not happy with your work, Oliver."

       "I— I tried to convince the Selwyns, I really did." Sweat dripped down his forehead as his eyes pleaded with her.

       "You didn't try hard enough, I'm afraid. After all, we still don't have the money. And now Augustus Selwyn is asking too many questions." She moved around the room confidently, her expression cold and her voice low, making Oliver notice the resemblance between her brother and her straight away.

       "Please, tell the Dark Lord to give me one more week. I'll fix everything. I'll get the money and take care of Augustus mys—"

       "Silence!" Alexis stood in front of him, her hand clutching her wand. "Well, of course, you're going to fix this mess. I'd hate to see what will happen to you if you don't. Still, the Dark Lord doesn't tolerate incompetence, and he needs to set an example."

       "No, please no!" Oliver's cries intensified as he pleaded for her mercy.

       Alexis' hand twitched for a second before raising it hesitantly. "Crucio!"

       Dolohov watched with delight as the girl cried in pain. Her breathing was uneven as she laid sweaty on the floor. The others had left to assist Lord Voldemort on an attack, leaving him in charge of the youngest Riddle. But leaving her locked in her room was no fun, so he decided to bring her down to keep him company.

       It had been quite the chaos the previous night when she almost broke the Imperius Curse, almost refusing to torture Oliver Abbott. She had gotten her fair punishment, but now it was his time to play with her.

       "Get up." He sat on the living room's couch, watching the girl struggle to find her strength. He chuckled and patted his lap. "Come here." Alexis' eyes widened as she watched him with dread and remained on the floor. "I said come here, goddammit! Crucio!"

       Alexis' agonizing screams filled the room once again. She knew now that it was useless to fight it, and instead, had to lay down and let the pain consume her. It was easier that way. Dolohov stood up and pulled her up by the hair, gripping her waist as he stood behind her.

       "You did this to yourself, princess," he whispered in her ear as his hands wandered to places she didn't want him to touch. She stood still, petrified by fear, but her mind was racing with plans on how to escape. He kissed her neck roughly, making her whimper as he slipped his hand under her clothes, and continued groping her. Alexis didn't move a muscle, she felt violated, her gaze fixed on the chimney in front of her.

       Something in Alexis' mind clicked, after days of being in a zombie-like trance, making her regain a bit of strength and courage. She sighed in relief, making Dolohov smile triumphantly at what he believed was her enjoyment of his actions. But Alexis continued staring straight ahead, right at the chimney.

       She knew it was a matter of time before the others returned. She'd seen them return one by one, or sometimes in pairs, but never all at once for reasons unknown to her. But for now, all she needed was to get past Dolohov and into the chimney, the Floo powder was not far from it.

       She threw her head back and faked a moan to get Dolohov distracted which clearly worked as he groaned in pleasure. Her body began shaking slightly as she tried to focus on her magic, she placed her hands behind her, resting them on Dolohov who believed she was enjoying his s****l advances.

       "Diffindo!" Dolohov was caught off guard by her wandless magic, crying in pain at the sudden attack. But the spell was not strong enough and he was able to catch her before she reached the chimney, gripping her arm tightly and smacking her in the face twice.

       After newfound courage ran through her body, she kicked him where it hurts, making him lose his balance as he screamed in pain. "That's for touching me, you imbecile. Arresto Momentum!"

       Dolohov's moves were slowed down just as Bellatrix entered the room. She watched the scene unfolding with panic and anger.

       "Imperio!"

°°°°

"Tom! Tom! I think I got it!" Eleven-year-old Alexis screamed excitedly as she ran to her brother.

"You've been practicing? Doing everything I taught you?" He followed her to the empty classroom they used for practice.

"Yes, yes. I've cleared my mind, it's empty."

"Remember, suppress any emotion you're feeling, okay?" When she nodded he proceeded to stand in front of her. "You ready?"

Tom was skilled in the arts of Legilimency and Occlumency and wanted his sister to be just as talented as him. That way she would be able to protect herself in the future. So far, her Legilimency skills were already above average, but Occlumency had always been more challenging for her. He smiled proudly when he couldn't read into his little sister's mind.

"Well done, Lex. This is going to be very helpful in the future."

°°°°

       Alexis gave her a sardonic smile before laughing mirthlessly.

       Bellatrix was seething. "Stupefy!"

       "Protego!" She walked backwards, knowing better than to turn her back. "Arresto Momentum!" There weren't many spells she could do without her wand, but the few she knew were coming in handy. She hurriedly grabbed a handful of Floo powder and jumped inside the chimney. "The Potters' House!"

       Lyall and Hope Lupin had joined Fleamont and Euphemia Potter for the day, also taking the opportunity to spend some time with their son. Euphemia mentioned the boys had been acting odd lately, how they were always on edge and rarely did any of the fun activities they had planned. So after dinner, the adults called the four boys downstairs so they could all enjoy the evening together, drinking some wine in the living room.

       The Marauders indeed looked tense, but after their second glass of wine and the adults' cheerful spirit, they began to relax a little after being in a constant panic for the past week. That was until Alexis Riddle suddenly landed in their living room with ripped, dirty clothes and a bloodied face.