AN: Hey all. Hope everyone is doing well and have had a good summer. There's a trigger warning at the bottom of the page so maybe take a look if you're not in a good headspace today.

Chapter 16: In another life, I would be

Nariyah hadn't been invited to the Malfoy ball and she was incredibly bitter about it. There was no shame in acknowledging the feelings that plagued you.

It may have had something to do with the fact that the Daughers - though enormously wealthy - were not of the opinion that blood was the be-all/end-all of power. Sure, blood contributed to a large part of it; magic was genetic, so it was better to have a kid with a witch or wizard than a No-Maj. But that didn't mean No-Maj's were the scum of the earth. They were just disadvantaged.

Her family actually employed No-Maj's and squibs at a fairly reasonable rate. They were pretty good at filing, nannying etc. There wasn't a vendetta against them.

The Daughers were too busy trying to infiltrate the world by creating influential policies and funding experiments. And apparently, despite having their well-manicured claws hooked into British politics, the Malfoy's didn't appreciate how her family operated.

Her bitterness also - most definitely - had something to do with the fact that Blue was going and she was not.

Nariyah loved a good party, and the House of Malfoy threw the best ones in the UK. But Blue was the biggest bore she'd ever met. And here she was, with a killer outfit all planned, but nowhere to wear it. And not even a date to rip it off her. So why did he get to go, all miserably faced and sullenly dressed? He didn't even like music!

So yeah. She was bitter.

Still, she used that time to call her darling brother on their two-way mirror. He answered, but Ilyas was apparently busy with a client, a monumentally stupid fucktard, who had gone and told his wife that he had, indeed, murdered her lover. So Ilyas would have to call back later.

That was fine. Blue would be back soon enough and she would be able to play around with him. In the meantime, she had a thriller to read.

The novel was a standard one, nothing too special about it. But it was an entertaining read. Nariyah had just gotten to the part in the novel where the Auror was falling into the criminal's poorly executed, but very plot convenient trap when she heard someone knock on her door.

Not expecting anyone, Nariyah yelped. But she quickly gathered herself enough to let out a loud "come in," and waited.

Theo opened the door. He looked bleary, glass-eyed, and apparently ready to fall asleep where he was standing if he didn't get to bed soon.

"What's up, kid?" she asked, putting her book on the side of the bed where the unimportant, and sometimes important, things lay.

"Grandfather wants you," he said drowsily, covering his mouth with a hand to stifle a yawn. Poor kid. It was a testament to how tired he must have been that he was even letting himself yawn. There was something cult-like about how hard those kids tried to keep up their school House images. How stupid was it that you couldn't even show tiredness in your own home? Where else would you show it?

"Alrighty then. Night."

He replied with slurred words that she struggled to make out, and Nariyah had to wonder if little Theo had drunk something he wasn't supposed to at the party. The boy was fourteen after all.

Nariyah snickered to herself. Tomorrow she'd let off a few loud bangs at breakfast to test that theory.

Stretching out, she rolled off her bed and took her time getting to the study. The manor was showy and impressive. She loved how hard everyone tried to show off how much money they had.

When she reached the study, she pushed on the already slightly open door expecting to see the old man fiddling about with some paperwork or pouring himself a drink. But Lysander wasn't there. Confused now, Nariyah called for a house Elf. The little thing told her that Blue and Lysander were waiting in the training room for her.

Nariyah frowned. She'd never been in there before. Honestly, the room gave off very 'off-limits' vibes, and Lysander had explicitly told her not to go inside, so she didn't. But she was nothing if not curious. When else would she get an opportunity like this again?

She knew roughly where the room was; follow the marble stone all the way to the creepy dungeon-esque basement and open the third door on the left, hopefully not warded to incinerate her.

She wouldn't put it past Blue at all. He reeked of possessiveness and expensive cologne.

When she got to the third door on the left, she gently pushed at it with her slipper. When nothing happened, Nariyah opened it.

Blue was standing with his back to the door tracing some sort of pattern with his wand. The wand was leaving behind silvery-gold shimmers that would dissipate after a few moments. Lysander was nowhere in sight.

Interesting.

"You called, oh mighty one?" she asked, watching his shoulders tense ever so slightly. "Or Lysander did at least."

"Where have you gotten with Flamel?" he asked.

Nariyah stepped into the room. The second she passed the door's threshold she felt something prickling at her skin; the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood to attention. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Nariyah had felt this feeling many a time, and it had taken Blue far longer to begin to use this tactic than she'd expected. She almost thought he didn't know how, and that would have been a real shame.

"So the party didn't go well, I take it?" The room became thicker and more charged.

"I won't ask again," Blue said with an eerie calm.

Nariyah paused long enough to hear the crackles of energy faintly gather around her. She wasn't stupid; Blue was dangerously powerful for someone his age, and he was prone to violence. She needed to tread cautiously enough that she could get her way without him killing her.

The familiar pulse of adrenaline washed through her, making her focus sharply, and feel giddy at the same time. The thrill of danger had always been too much for her to ignore.

"I'm working on it. It's taking longer than expected with the transcripts. All's good though."

"Is it?" he asked.

Nariyah hummed. "Totally."

"And why is it all good?" he asked, mocking her choice of words.

The air became so thick that it was almost a struggle to breathe. The tingles increased from pinpricks to pinches of magic, so sharp it was like they were trying to get under her skin. Into her blood.

Nariyah grinned and got her wand out, ready for what she was sure would be the breaking point. "Because I'm still going to win the bet."

"What bet?"

"The one where I figure out what you need the stone for. Could your memory really be so bad, Blue?" She waited, breath baited. But his next action confused her.

Blue laughed. He didn't even turn around to look at her as he dismissed her. "Leave."

"Really?" she asked.

He said nothing, still tracing something in the air with his wand. Circles and lines and patterns that looked suspiciously rune-like.

She was disappointed. "Fine." Nariyah turned to leave and as she did so she felt a shift in the energy in the room. It surged, swelling like it needed to burst. She ducked. A yellow light shot over her head. He'd attacked her when her back was turned. The little shit!

Nariyah laughed. "That was sneaky, Blue. I approve."

"I don't need your approval." He threw out another spell that Nariyah blocked with protego.

"Do you make a habit of killing people with their backs turned?" She didn't need her gift to know the answer to that but she ignored the flashes that came with his typically evasive answer for another time. "Killing me won't solve very much, you know," she said.

"Who said anything about killing you?" he grinned, and his eyes lit up with a manic kind of power. Lightning behind the crystalline blue.

Nariyah shivered, aroused, and suddenly she had a new objective. Well, it wasn't new. She'd wanted to sleep with Blue from the moment she'd laid eyes on his pretty eyes, and felt the power that was itching to explode from his long fingers. But it was now a more pressing objective than annoying him.

"Oh, honey. We've been here before" she reminded him. "How long would I have to scream before you broke me? Should we find out?"

Her voice became husky and she saw his Adam's apple bobble as he swallowed. He wanted her. She knew he did. People like Blue were all the same. They wanted the unconquerable. They wanted the best. And they wanted to be challenged just enough to be reminded that they had the power. People like that were all the same, and Blue was nothing different.

Nariyah took a step forward.

The movement was what broke him out of it. She took a second step and he glared.

"I think not," he spat.

"Why?" she asked innocently.

"I said no!"

Oh. That was interesting. He didn't like that she was making him aroused and he certainly didn't want to tell her that he'd only done it once. No...were there more times? She couldn't get the clearest read on that situation.

But still, she smiled. Nariyah could feel the prickles of power at her skin, kissing at the exposed flesh of her body.

She wanted a taste of that power. It was vibrant and deadly; like the lightning just behind his eyes. And he wanted her.

Screaming in pain, maybe, but he wanted her nonetheless. And she could teach him how pain could make way for so much pleasure.

She stepped forward again and was now directly in front of Blue and his wand. One wrong move and she would probably be dead, Flamel be damned. But she was good at this.

Nariyah reached out a hand and slowly moved it towards his dress robes. Blue caught it even before she could touch the clothing, his hand gripping her wrist tightly.

"Don't you want to make me scream?" she asked just above a whisper.

"Stop!"

"I think you do. I think you want me writhing in pain. But shall I tell you a secret?" She leaned in closer, pulling him oh-so-gently towards her by the lapels of his robes. They were silky and cool to the touch, but more importantly, this time he let her. "Pain can be even better with a little bit of pleasure."

They were so close to each other that Nariyah didn't know who kissed first, but they were battling for dominance that she would willingly hand over if he just took it. So she caught his lip between her teeth and bit it hard enough to draw blood.

Blue yelped and pulled back. He took his thumb and wiped it against his too-pretty lip and blood came away. "You little bitch!" he spat.

Nariyah smirked. "Aren't you going to make me scream?" she asked again. He was still hesitating though so she said the one thing that people like him couldn't stand to hear: "Unless you can't."

Blue had looked angry until that moment, and maybe even a little bit confused, but as she said those words the confusion cleared and all that was left was a blaze of lust and fury; the combination screamed naughty things to her, and she knew she would get what she wanted.

Blue chuckled a low and slow chuckle that echoed danger. "You want to tell me how I should fuck you?" He laughed again and then his hand shot out, curling around her neck and somehow spinning her around so her back was flush with his chest.

Nariyah could feel his arousal pressed into her ass. Her breath quickened as his hand slowly gripped her throat. It was just tight enough that the thrill of his control increased her arousal.

He moved his mouth to her ear. "I don't think so little Daugher."

Her breath hitched and Blue bit the shell of her ear just enough for it to sting. She felt her underwear get damp.

"What are you -"

She didn't have time to finish her taunting because Blue pushed her down against the singular table that she was sure hadn't been in the room earlier. But it wasn't important.

The sound of ripping nylon filled the air and Nariyah felt the pinpricks against her legs until the cold of Blue's hands replaced them. His hands were soft and bruising simultaneously as he cut into her skin with his fingernails.

She breathed harder, trying to squirm her way around to see him but a whispered spell sent a shock through her body. And then another. And another until the tingles turned into pain that was just at the point of being too much. Nariyah yelped, trying to catch her breath. She'd known he could do wandless magic, but it was impressive to see nonetheless.

One hand threaded through her curls and for a second, shivers wracked her body at the feel, but then he gripped them and slammed her head down on the table. She grunted with pain, and a moment later tasted blood on her tongue.

The other hand moved from her hip down to the lace of her panties and started tracing around her clit with just enough pressure to make her whine out for more.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" he said.

His fingers slid from the lace to underneath it and Nariyah felt his cold fingers directly on her clit. She tried to push herself up against his finger to increase the pressure but he was firmly holding her down. She whined again. "Please!"

"I love that sound," he said. "Say it again."

"Please!"

Blue pushed a finger into her dripping cunt and Nariayh let out a groan, hoping he would do more. But he moved slowly. Torturously. "I'm going to fuck you. And I'm going to hurt you. And what's better is that you'll beg for it."

There was another shock to her clit, not too strong, but she bucked hard against the table, clipping her hip bone against the table corner. It was sharp and stung but she didn't not like it. But Blue distracted her from the possibilities that could come with tiny bolts of energy against her clit by adding a second finger.

And then he was thrusting them in and out of her. His fingers were long and cool and he found that spot in her that always made her moan a disgustingly needy moan. And then he was rhythmically hitting it and Nariyah felt herself clench around him, winding tighter and tighter, moaning out "yes, yes, there! Harder!" until -

He stopped.

"Fuck! Don't stop," she moaned, sounding petulant even to her own ears.

Blue pulled out his wand and pointed it at her. Suddenly she felt pain like she had never before. Nariyah spasmed and fell to the floor trying to catch her breath. It had only been a second but it had felt like her nerves were on fire!

She couldn't think. All she could feel was the pain and hot and pain and burning. Then, somehow, the pain increased, and she couldn't even categorise where it was coming from anymore. Something was trying to push its way past a barrier into her mind – her body – her mind – she didn't know. She couldn't tell. Everything hurt.

Then the feeling stopped. But the pain didn't.

It kept pulsing aggressively through her body. An eternity passed before it dulled enough for her to feel rawness in her throat – had she been screaming? – the cramping tension in her muscles, and the jackhammer pounding in her brain.

She didn't notice him bend down until he was crouching right in front of her. He threaded his long fingers through her hair and moved her head so that she was looking him in the eye. She tried to recoil, but she had no strength left to do anything but tremble. Fear had lodged itself into her chest that she hadn't experienced before, and she didn't know what to do with it.

"Fortunate for you, your gift seems to protect you from Legilimency."

He let her head drop and it hit the floor with a thud that echoed in her mind. But it was nothing compared to what she'd felt.

"You are here because Lysander trusts you, and you have some use. I'm fond of Lysander but make no mistake. If you ever try to manipulate me again, I will kill you."

He left her there and Nariyah struggled to get back on her feet. Her muscles had no strength to hold her weight up and she couldn't move without shaking.

"Fila!" she gasped. Her voice was so weak that it was difficult to pick up to her own ears.

The Elf apparated with a loud crack, and then she squealed at the sight before her. "Miss is hurt. Miss is hurt!"

"T-ta-take me to my room."

Fila never touched her, but Nariyah still felt pain as her body shifted and contorted through space to reach her bed. Fila placed her down gently, her large eyes trained on Nariyah's body and on the way her pants were around her around her ankles. Her panties were just slightly ripped.

"Miss has been hurt," she said again so sadly that Nariyah couldn't bear to concentrate on it.

"P-put on the fire and change my clothes. Do-don't tell Lys-Lys-Lys- don't tell your master what happened."

Fila didn't look like she wanted to obey that order, but she nodded and did all that Nariyah had asked her to. And then she stood there, wringing her long, bony fingers together into a spindly knot.

"Does Miss need anything more?"

"No."

"The Dark Times be approaching again, Miss. You should be keeping away from Master's friend."

Nariyah looked at Fila. The Elf's eyes were swimming with concern and tears. And Nariyah had to wonder how something could care so much for someone not even their own species.

"He can't win so easily, Fila. I will not disrespect my family that way."

The Elf's ears flopped down until they hung at the base of her neck and she nodded. Then, with a pop, she was away, and Nariyah was alone in her room.

She focused on the things around her. The feel of the soft blanket cocooning her body, keeping her warm. The sound of the fire crackling to her left. The feel of the hard mattress underneath her. The smell of burning wood; oaky and smoky, and just enough to be comforting.

Tom Riddle had tried to force his way into her mind. He had used pain to distract her, and he had tried to learn her secrets.

He was right; her gift kept her mind hidden from Legilimency and people didn't try to find any other way to unlock its secrets. But the pain had been – she shuddered at the memory. Her muscles began shaking again and it was difficult to hold onto her surroundings.

But Nariyah fought for it the way her parents had taught her.

Pain was nothing she couldn't handle. Pain was only pain until you locked it away. When you did that, it couldn't hurt. It could be viewed upon through a lens, and that was what she would do.

She didn't close her eyes. That would make his blue eyes too easy to see. Instead, she looked at the fire. Watched it flicker and burn and dance and lick and swirl and flicker again.

She watched it until she could almost predict the pattern. Until her mind was lulled by its movements.

Then she blinked.

When she blinked, Nariyah was in a room with a single chest in front of her with the name Riddle curled in cursive, and the photographs of his actions were flipped upside down, surrounding the chest. Nariyah kneeled and one by one, turned them around.

Most were of the pain. Those were tinged black – some just the edges and some swallowed by the colour. Those ones burned to pick up, but she did.

In the box they went.

Some were of his eyes. Of the glee in them as he tried to rip his way into her mind. Those were tinged a dark blue, and they felt icy cold to the touch.

In the box they went.

After a certain point some were drenched in fear. Those were saturated with a sticky bile-yellow, and they made her want to throw up when she touched them.

Those she threw into the box.

A few were of pleasure. Those tingled with electricity. Those she picked up and put in her pocket.

The rest of the memories she collected and placed in the chest. She turned the key and placed a chain around it that was as red and orange as the flames before her.

Then she blinked.

When she blinked, the room was dark and the fire was out. Nariyah's legs felt numb but she ignored that for thinking back over the evening. The memories were there, but the associated feelings were locked behind that lens.

And what was interesting was that the lens let her see things clearly. It was so funny what came through when people let their guard down in the heat of passion. She knew just who Tom Riddle was now.

She smiled.

Blue wouldn't win so easily. She wouldn't provoke him again, not quite like that, but she wouldn't allow him to get away with what he'd done. No-one attacked the Daughers and got away with it.

Not even a boy with two souls.

TW: Forceful sex, dubious consent, language evocative of r*pe (because doesn't let you use the word apparently :/)

I thought I would add it just in case. I hope everyone is good. This chapter was a little challenging to write because I'm not well practised at writing smut but I tried my best. Just so you all know, I'm on holiday next week so I won't post till the week after.