Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Professor Dumbledore had decided that he would talk to Emma Johnson. The whole faculty at Hogwarts was aware of her relationship with Tom Riddle, and although most of the other teachers seemed to welcome its development and even encourage it, Dumbledore was concerned.

He had seen a difference in Emma's personality since the affair began. The otherwise confident and self-assured student had become more quiet and demure, and in sharp contrast to her usual dominant personality she appeared to be inherently submissive in her interactions with Riddle. In addition, he had noticed that she was always one of the last ones to enter his class, and one of the first ones out, almost as if she wanted to avoid any kind of contact with him. And if he were to address her, she would persistently divert her gaze.

Having been suspicious of Riddle's activities almost since he started attending Hogwarts, Dumbledore resolved to find out more about Emma's peculiar behavior.

So one day while teaching the Ravenclaw 7th years, Dumbledore spoke to Emma. "Miss Johnson," he began. "I should like to speak with you after class today."

Emma looked up with a shock, a sudden fear and anxiety evident in her expression. "Oh but Professor, I have Potions afterwards, and I really cannot be late for that class!"

Dumbledore stared at her, and in doing so noticed her eyes were shiftily moving from side to side, as if trying to avoid capture by his own. There was a slight tremble in her hands.

"I must insist, Miss Johnson," he said. "But do not worry, I shall provide you with a note for Professor Slughorn. I will see to it that you will not get into trouble." Not waiting for any possible retort to his reply, he walked away from her.

Emma swallowed hard and looked down at her Transfiguration paper. No note he would give her, could possibly divert the trouble she would be in for talking to him, she thought, as she was feverishly racking her brains for a way out.

Close to the end of the class, Dumbledore noticed a hand up in the air. It was Emma. "Professor," she pleaded when he called on her. "I am not feeling very well. Can I please have permission to visit the infirmary?"

Dumbledore frowned as he let her go. His suspicions were confirmed, the girl was clearly avoiding him.

The next time he tried, Emma disappeared with the other students, explaining later she had forgotten he wanted to see her. Another time she had suddenly been afflicted with a nosebleed just as he was about to talk to her, and after that she just failed to turn up for his class.

He was coming to the conclusion that maybe he needed to take a different approach, and so he asked Tom Riddle to stay behind after class instead.

"Tom," he began. "I am a little concerned about your relationship with Miss Johnson."

Tom gave him a surprised look.

"Your girlfriend appears to be avoiding me, Tom, and I am curious to find out why that would be. I have a feeling you would be able to enlighten me as to her reasons for doing so."

"I am sure I do not know, sir. Why would you think that this has anything to do with me?"

Dumbledore gave him a penetrating stare. Tom knew he was performing Legilimency on him, which didn't faze him as he was an exceptionally gifted Occlumens, so he stared right back, while closing his mind to anything that could possibly implicate him.

"I know you're hiding something from me, Tom. Emma has…changed, since the onset of your…affair, and not for the better. I believe you instructed her to avoid me so I would not find out about the cruelties you are undoubtedly subjecting her to."

"Cruelties?" Tom said, feigning outrage at such a preposterous suggestion. "I would never! I care deeply about Emma!"

"Do you now," said Dumbledore, with a skeptical look. "But just so you know, Riddle, you cannot keep her away from me forever. So you better make sure you treat her well, because I promise you that if I find that you do not, you will be held responsible."

"Well, in that case, I shall have nothing to fear," Tom replied defiantly.

"I hope so, Tom," said Dumbledore. "I certainly hope so. For her sake…and yours."

----------

That night Tom got together with Emma, and they had a talk. The next day Emma resumed her Transfiguration classes, and when Dumbledore asked to have a word with her after class, she put up no resistance.

Emma sat at her desk, nervously scribbling little pictures on a piece of parchment, when Dumbledore addressed her.

"Emma," Dumbledore started. "You seem nervous. I mean you no harm, Emma. In fact, I wish to help you. May I ask you a few questions?"

Emma nodded, keeping her eyes glued to the parchment in front of her.

"Emma?" Dumbledore said.

Emma didn't respond, and waited patiently.

"Emma…could you please look at me while I am talking to you?"

Emma shook her head. "No, sir, I can't."

"Why not, Emma?"

"Tom warned me you would try to look inside my mind, and I can't let you, sir."

"Why not, Emma? Do you have anything to hide from me?"

Emma nodded. "Yes, sir," she replied. "What goes on between Tom and me is private. We are intimate, and I do not wish for anyone to be a witness to that."

There was silence for a moment. Then Dumbledore spoke again.

"Alright, Emma," he said softly. "I understand. I promise I will not try to look inside your mind."

Emma looked up shiftily, not sure whether to trust him or not.

"But I still would like to talk to you, as I am concerned about your well-being. Are you happy, Emma?"

"Yes, sir," she replied stiffly.

"Is it all you ever wished for, to be intimately involved with Tom Riddle?"

Emma gave a short and mirthless laugh at this, but then quickly recovered, and replied curtly, "Yes, sir."

There was another pause.

"Emma, are you afraid of him?"

Emma looked up briefly, and for a moment he imagined he saw an almost desperate expression on her face. But then it was gone, and she once again fixed her eyes on the parchment in front of her. "No, sir," she replied.

Once again, there was silence.

"If you are afraid of him, Emma," Dumbledore continued. "I can help. I can protect you. There is nothing he can do to you, that I cannot protect you from. There is no need for you to be in an abusive relationship. All you need to do is let me know, and it will all be over."

There was no reply. Emma continued doodling, her hands trembling now. Dumbledore walked over to her side and gently put a hand on her arm. "Would you like my assistance, Emma?" he asked softly.

He watched intently, as Emma appeared to be fighting some kind of internal struggle. Then, finally, she gritted her teeth and snapped at him, "No sir, I do not require assistance. I am perfectly happy in my relationship. I care about Tom and he cares about me. He is not abusive."

Dumbledore quickly removed his hand, and gave her a disappointed look. He was sure she had been at the brink of disclosure there! Trying to salvage whatever he could, he said, "Are you sure, Emma?"

Emma nodded vigorously. Then she added, "Now, sir, if you have finished interrogating me about my relationship, I would like to be excused. I have another class to attend."

Dumbledore sighed as he took a step back. "Alright, Miss Johnson," he conceded. "You may go. But know, that if you ever change your mind, or even if you just need to talk, my door will always be open for you."

Emma got up and gathered her books together. "Thank you, sir," she said. "But that won't be necessary." And with that, she left.

Dumbledore stared after her as she left the room. He sighed. He was sure now that his suspicions were correct. But unless Emma was willing to cooperate, there was little he could do about it.

The minute Emma set foot outside Dumbledore's classroom, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay, Emma?" she heard the oh-so-familiar voice speak. She turned around. Tom immediately grabbed her face and stared into her eyes. It didn't take him long to figure out what had been said. He gulped. He prevailed, but it had been a close call! Too close. He would have to speak with her about that. Maybe he needed to be a little more persuasive…

He put an arm around her shoulders. "Come," he said. "I'll walk you to your class."

As they were walking along, he heard a door open behind them. He looked back and saw Dumbledore stand in the door opening, observing the couple with a grave look on his face. Tom smirked at him, as he pulled Emma just a little closer.

The message Tom Riddle was conveying was only too clear to Dumbledore. He dejectedly shook his head as he went back inside his room.

----------

That evening Tom met up with Emma again in his potions lab. After the usual greetings, he stood with his arms folded, and addressed her with a grim smile. "Emma," he said menacingly. "I believe you are in trouble!"

She gave him a shocked look, and her eyes opened wide. "But…but…I did everything you told me to!" she stammered.

Unperturbed, he studied her frail form as she stood shivering before him. "Hmmm, yeah," he said. "Except that I told you to immediately dispel any doubts Dumbledore could possibly have about our relationship. I am quite certain that you failed in that!"

"I…I tried!" she exclaimed anxiously.

He shook his head. "Not hard enough. You could have done so much better!"

He took a step forward, grabbed her shirt and aggressively pulled her towards him. "Make no mistake, Emma," he spoke in an icy cold tone, his face inches from hers. "If you betray me, no one will be able to protect you, least of all Dumbledore! I shall hunt you down wherever you are. You, and your family! And I will find you. And if you think that what I have done to you so far has been unpleasant…well, let me tell you. It will be nothing to what will happen to you then!"

He laughed softly. "You will beg for me to kill you, Emma. And I shall be merciful enough to grant you that wish…" Here he waited for a moment, before he continued, "…eventually."

Then he pushed her away from him, onto the floor, where she curled up into herself, shivering and crying.

"And now for your punishment." He crouched before her and gave her a sadistic grin. "Let me divulge to you a little fantasy I have had for a while now, Emma. Something I have been yearning to try out."

He stopped talking for a moment, and the only sound that was heard, was from Emma's quiet sobs. Then he continued, in an ominous voice, "I have been wondering what it would be like to fuck a girl who was under the Cruciatus Curse."

Emma gasped. Her eyes opened so wide they seemed in danger of rolling out of their sockets. She sprang up from the floor and scurried backwards in a sitting position. "NO!" she yelled. "NO! No, Tom, PLEASE! Not…not that!"

He folded his arms, the grin still plastered on his face. "What did you just call me, Emma?" He spoke in a soft, but most threatening tone.

Emma started hyperventilating. "My Lord! My Lord! Master! I'm sorry! I made a mistake, I didn't mean to call you that!" She started crying. "Please, my Lord! Please don't do that to me, I'm begging you!"

He shook his head. "I am afraid you need to be taught a lesson, Emma." And with a wave of his wand, her clothes disappeared. His own were next, and a moment later he was on top of her, pinning her down.

And whereas normally she would let him do to her whatever he wanted, this time she was fighting. She screamed, kicked and cried, shaking her head from side to side, doing everything in her power in an attempt to throw him off.

"My, aren't we a little wildcat today!" he exclaimed, grinning still.

She really was no match for him. He could even more easily have overpowered her using magic, but he decided not to. He dug his nails into her arms as he pulled them over her head, holding them down by the wrists using only one hand. Then he pushed his legs in between hers, leaning his body on one, using his other hand to roughly push up the other leg. Then, without further ado, he invaded her, hurting her in doing so as she was, naturally, quite dry. She arched her back and took a shaky breath. She closed her eyes tight, no longer willing or prepared to look at him, all the while continuing her fruitless resistance.

"The way you are going, with all the thrashing about, I may not even need to use the Cruciatus Curse," he sniggered, clearly amused. "You seem like you are already under it!"

Her eyes flew open, and she stared at him hopefully, but he was already holding his wand, and with an evil smile, he said, "Crucio."

The pain was unreal. She screamed at the top of her lungs, as she felt like hot metal bars were prodding her on every inch of her skin. Her head seemed to be swelling up and ready to explode at any moment. A thousand knives appeared to be cutting up her insides, then tearing them apart. Had she been thrashing before, it was nothing to what she was doing now! He actually seemed to have some trouble holding on to her. But the grin on his face did not fade, and he cruelly kept pumping himself into her body as she felt her world had come to an end.

Fortunately, he reached his climax in a relatively short time, and as he did, he took off the Curse. All her movements stopped immediately and she seemed to deflate. She felt torn and wiped out, as the after pains of the Curse were still coursing through her body. Her eyes were open, but they were staring unseeingly into space. She thought her life surely had come to an end; it just couldn't be possible to suffer so much pain and still be alive.

He rolled off of her and dressed with a wave of his wand. Then he knelt down beside her, cast a few spells to heal the scratches and bruises on her body, and gave her a fleeting kiss, only lightly touching her lips. "Well, Emma," he spoke to her. "I hate to leave you so soon, but I really must go. "You will find your way out, won't you?" And with that, he left, leaving her naked and alone in the dirt, still reeling from the ravaging effects the Curse had had on her body.