HIM

Mist still enveloped the bushes of the courtyard when I met up with my followers.

Hands entwined behind my back and gazing towards the horizon as Malfoy and Rosier told me about the life of Anima Littelton.

A Welsh family, pureblood. Her relatives were blurred figures in a picture in which she was the absolute protagonist. Several hospitalisations in various institutions for Muggle disorders. Poor anger management, lack of empathy and no hint of remorse.

The Muggles called it Sociopathy. I liked the way it sounded, the slight hiss of the s gently heralding the meeting of the lips on the p followed by the tongue and its stopping on the palate -th- y. More like a blessing than a disease.

But her life was not limited to that. Oh no, not at all. Her record of existence was overflowing with red ink. Too many incidents, too many coincidences and no answers.

Despite evidence everywhere she remained, legally, clean. Curious and useful.

I contemplated the possibility of using her, an inconvenient dirty job that I had no intention of leaving in the hands of fools. Unfortunately, her lack of control made her more prone to failure than success.

He saw potential in her but wasn't sure it was enough for what he had in mind. Too much madness was coursing through her veins to ensure his victory.

"Lestrange you are strangely quiet this morning."

Rabastan straightened his back at my call. -His lord's call, as it should be- "Forgive me, my lord. I am just... curious."

Curiosity was running wild these days, an innocent but annoying sin. Curiosity leads to trouble if not dosed carefully. Too much curiosity leads you where you shouldn't be, leads you to ask questions that you don't deserve the answer to.

I tilted my head as I turned to look at his face. I waved him on, what harm could it do to delude them into thinking they had some important role in my ranks? To deceive them that I was listening.

"I thought the plan had already been tested, why the sudden change?"

"Do you doubt my choices, Rabastan?

"absolutely not my lord, forgive me. I didn't mean it," the boy's trembling figure stiffened as my firm grip wrapped around his shoulder. Devastating pleasure enveloped my mind, -tremble before me pathetic mortal, it's the only thing you're allowed to do in my presence-.

"'I have my reasons for wanting to change my plan Lestrange. Unless you want to volunteer" I smiled broadly at him. A smile that never reached my eyes.

He shook his head lustily -painfully- and took a step back when I released him. He kept his head bowed until the end of the meeting and when I dismissed them he was the first to head to breakfast.

"Malfoy get me her schedule."

"Yes, sir."

I stood in the courtyard watching the clouds chase each other. Anima Littelton had nothing to lose. She was alone and feared, sometimes hated. It would have been extremely easy to convince her to do some dirty work for me.

If I saw a chance, I'd grab it without a second thought. I exploited it to the limit and came out on top.

Always.

I smiled at the image of her blood-soaked figure. I thought it looked good on her.

*

In the afternoon, after class, I walked across the garden straight to the Quidditch pitch.

I rarely made my way to the pitch. I wasn't the sort to indulge in silly social activities. I had better things to do than waste time following balls and bamboozles on brooms unhorsing each other.

That's probably why there were intimidated and surprised looks in the changing rooms. Nobody had expected to find me there. My figure, elegant and composed, clashed terribly with the equipment and uniforms.

But somehow its mere presence made the surroundings more pleasant than they actually were, it appeared less brutal and crude. It was Tom's most impressive ability. He elevated the level of everyone around him, while still remaining, the centre of attention and the only subject worthy of attention.

"I'm looking for Anima Littelton '' Flint pointed to a side door without making any noise, still surprised by my presence perhaps? Without further delay I made my way to the door and opened it without bothering to knock.

I entered and was greeted by a not particularly disdainful image.

"Do you need anything or are you just a voyeur?" Anima stood in front of me, with no shirt covering her torso. Perhaps I stayed staring longer than necessary because the girl snapped her fingers in front of my eyes with some impatience. "So?"

I brought my eyes back to hers, not hiding my disapproval at her choice to get dressed. "I need to talk to you."

"and I have to go to practice, you'll wait." She made to pass me, -silly girl- I blocked her way. "I'm afraid you don't understand. I need to talk to you, you will listen. Practice will wait."

Anima couldn't believe her ears. How dare that filthy- unladylike thoughts didn't have time to turn into words, the boy had already heard them.

"keep your anger in check, you don't want to find out what happens when I lose my patience"

Anima snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes "I don't care, whoever you are, you will wait" she pushed me aside -a terrible choice-.

Anima was many things, including a terrible listener. I think she realised this when, before she even grabbed the door knob, I grabbed the back of her head to pull her back. When I turned her back her pale eyes narrowed for a brief moment, had the push against the door been too strong? I didn't care. My hands, each on her shoulders, pressed her painfully against the wood. The door knob stuck in her back. I could have drunk in her pain-twisted expression, if only she had been there.

I had to admit, it was terrifying (in an exciting way) to be confronted with such an expression. It was neutral. No trace of pain or impotence. "I was hoping that being a girl would differentiate you from those yahoos out there but I see that being stubborn and disrespectful is a trait shared by every Quidditch player."

"how dare you" she tried to wriggle out of my grasp and I intensified it forcing her to stay still "it would be so much easier if you stopped moving" -but don't do that, easy things are boring-.

"It would be so much easier if you just let me go," I grinned, the first real expression Anima had seen on my face, "where's the fun in that?"

Anima mirrored my grin before replying with a calmness that I was sure did not belong to her "wouldn't it be funny if I kicked you where the sun don't shine? I'd find it hilarious."

I curled my lips in disgust. I much preferred her when she was silent. "I'm afraid you'd be the only one" She wrapped her hands around my wrists, without squeezing them, she just grabbed them. it was a new situation, intriguing and exciting "I say let's test it" I almost dared her

"I say you need to keep your mouth shut before I permanently lose my patience" '-I'm lying, I could do this all day.-

The tension grew between the two. Anima traced the protruding bones of Tom's wrists with her fingers with extreme delicacy. The touch was no heavier than a feather brushing against skin but Tom felt it like an electric shock.

I didn't show her the same delicacy that she gave me, I didn't lie. Her wrists, fragile and bony, I could encompass in one hand. As soon as I heard her hold her breath, I pressed her own hands against her chest. She had had so much fun blocking Elias's air... why not now?

I realized with a certain ecstasy that the shivers that sprang up on her neck were my doing. Perhaps... I leaned towards her -hot breath on sensitive skin- I could have been lost in the haze of discomfort in the room. But once again, with disappointment, I noticed that the girl was neutral.

Anima hated feeling powerless, blinded by anger she acted on impulse and raised her knee ready to hit him with all her strength. With a sudden gesture, Tom removed his hand from her shoulder and blocked her knee before she made that grave mistake.

"You're disappointing, I thought you'd be smarter but you've turned out to be a waste of time" I accompanied my words with a slow, violent caress on her thigh.

Anima's skin burned with the shame and humiliation that the boy in front of her was throwing at her. She was almost grateful that his face was still in the crook of her neck, so she had time to compose herself and remember who she was.

"Who the hell do you think you are to talk to me like that? And for the record, you're the one who's wasting my time here" when I pulled back to get a better look at her I couldn't help but identify disappointment in my mood. She looked promising and instead....

I stopped supporting her and detached myself completely. If she couldn't remain disciplined when I asked nicely, I would have to use more subtle manners. I adjusted the collar of my jacket and didn't give her a second glance as I pushed her away from the door. I opened it and stepped over the threshold, before it closed completely however I looked over my shoulder at her with a smile -the mean, arrogant smile you deserve for your pathetic show.-

"'you know very well who I am, everyone knows that dear Littelton.'

I walked away, with the burning certainty that she would come after me, one way or another.

Curiosity was the sin that had doomed humankind. Pandora was too weak and naive, Anima was no different. Her need to know what he had to tell her would condemn her. Eaten from the inside out, her tendons and muscles frayed. She'd be left a pile of cracked bones and on the verge of breaking, dragging herself to him in search of something to glue the pieces together.

She was a superb girl who didn't know she wanted the attention of others. Tom had lit the fuse on the bomb of narcissism that she treasured. Concealed so well that even she was unaware of it.

He'd done his research; sociopaths obsessively craved what they couldn't have. And that would be the end of her.

It was only a matter of time, and he had plenty of it.

And after all, he was right.

Anima was good at hiding her emotions. She didn't possess Riddle's ability to hide his thoughts under a thick curtain of composure and charm but she was able to turn feelings into anger. And anger was so easy to hide, it put her at ease and her face stopped transmitting her real thoughts.

But underneath all that anger was curiosity...why did Tom Riddle -the Golden Boy of Hogwarts- see potential in her?

NOTE

If you're reading this i love you