Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JKR, anything you don't is mine.

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER COINTAINS MENTIONS OF RAPE AND SOME MATURE THEMES! I am changing the rating of this story to "M" because of this and some more possible scenes later…and because I'm just paranoid. I hope this doesn't bother you too much! If I go into too much I'll warn you ahead of time in case you don't want to read it.

A/N: Thanks to sheeiilaa, Blizzen, Rosiline, PenNameless1994, and BigSisRD for the reviews!

Sorry it's a little late, but, as I said, school started, so I'm kinda busier than I used to be. Updates might be more like every 10 days or so instead of every week for a while, maybe even every two weeks. Sorry!

Chapter 22

I had almost forgotten.

I had almost forgotten that I had to go to Malfoy Manor at midnight that night. Riddle would never forgive me if I just didn't show up; not to mention, it would blow my cover, something I couldn't risk doing.

So there I was, at midnight, sitting in the same chair, with the same chains around my wrists, in the same room, with the same person.

At least there was no making out.

Yet, I thought bitterly.

It was completely silent in the room. I didn't dare break the silence, while Riddle paced. And paced. And paced. Around and around the table I sat at, around and around the room. Until finally, after what felt like hours of staring at the wall, he stopped right in front of me. He leaned his palms on the table, leaning toward me until our nose were almost touching.

"What happened to the ring?" he asked quietly but dangerously. "It says, even right now, that it's in Dumbledore's office."

"Because you nearly killed me with that fucking ring," I snapped suddenly. He frowned, and what could only be described as fear flicked through his eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked angrily.

"You put Dark Magic on the stupid ring!" I exclaimed.

"What? No I didn't!" he exclaimed. "It was a charm!"

"No it wasn't!" I said. "It was Dark Magic! There's a charm and a Dark Magic spell that do the same thing, and you thought you used the charm, but you didn't!"

"Well why does it matter? That shouldn't have almost killed you! You made that up!"

"No, I didn't! Long periods of exposure to something with that kind of Dark Magic on it will slowly drain the life of somebody! It will make you suddenly nauseous, then you'll pass out, and if nobody's around to take it off of you, then you'll die! I got all the way to the passed out stage before Severus yanked the ring off me!"

"Well, I must say, I'm very glad that it didn't kill you," Riddle said quietly. "That would be…counter-productive." …Huh? I thought.

"Of what?" I asked suspiciously after a moment.

"Well, I can't tell you that now can I?"

"Why not?" I asked apprehensively. He shrugged, lifting his eyebrows slightly.

"You'll find out eventually," he said before leaning back away from me and turning to look out the large windows. "Now, I need to talk to you about your honest opinions on the best tactics to try and take the Ministry on the 31st."

"To be honest," I said slowly. "I don't think it's such a good idea." Riddle narrowed his eyes at me distrustfully. I sighed. "Alright, fine. I do think it's a good idea, to take the ministry; eventually. But it's best to do that when you have the right amount of people and resources and planning, and I frankly don't think you'll be able to get all that you need to take it in less than a month."

"Well, I suppose you will be of no help to me then," he muttered. "But you'll see, on the 31st, when the Ministry is in my control."

It was silent again, but only for a few minutes.

"Who would you pick?" he asked suddenly. I was confused. What the hell was he talking about?

"Huh?" was all I could get out.

"Who would you pick if you could only pick one? Regulus; or me?" He paused and turned back to me, his eyebrows rose. "Pick the right answer."

"Regulus," I answered without thinking about the last thing he had added. "Of course I'd pick Reg –"

But I couldn't finish, because suddenly pain seared through my veins. It felt like the Cruciatus, though I knew it couldn't be, because Riddle hadn't even taken his hands out of his pockets, and I knew he couldn't perform wandless magic. I also knew it wasn't because, to be honest, it actually felt quite a bit more painful than the Cruciatus.

I involuntarily arched my back, squeezing my eyes shut tightly and screaming. My wrists were uncontrollably trying to yank free of their restraints and my ankles, which had since been tied to the legs of the chair, were doing the same.

After a few minutes of the white hot blades – or maybe the flames – stopped, and I found myself panting.

"I'm going to ask you again," Riddle said after a minute. "Who would you pick?"

"Regulus," I said through clenched teeth, refusing to give into his little "game." The pain came again, stronger and longer this time. I tried to clench my teeth, to keep from screaming, but it was impossible. When it was finished this time, I was actually on the verge of tears.

"Who would you pick?"

"Regulus!" I screamed. I don't really know if I was answering his question, or if I was screaming for Regulus. All I know was that by the time the torture ended – it was again harder and longer than before – I was fighting back tears and my bottom lip was quivering.

"I can do this all night," Riddle said calmly. "You, on the other hand, cannot."

"Wh…what do you…m-mean?" I panted, clenching my teeth and forcing myself to hold back tears.

"After a few hours of this, it will slowly drain your life from you."

"You won't k-kill me," I muttered.

"Won't I?" he asked, turning back to look out the window again.

"No," I said. "Y-you care too…too much about me," I said. "You love me too much."

I hadn't meant to say it. It just slipped out. I knew he wouldn't take me knowing his little secret too well. I knew he was bound to use more torture. Maybe even kill me, rather than admit that he actually had a weakness.

It was silent in the room. I was staring at the ceiling rather than Riddle, waiting for the pain, or the green light that would end it all. The tears that had previously threatened to pour over finally did. At first, it was just one. Then a few more. And then it was a steady stream, and I couldn't stop it.

Finally, Riddle sighed deeply and, to my surprise, no more torture, no death that I had expected came.

"I have given a fair bit of thought on that topic," he said quietly. "And have come to the conclusion that yes; you are right."

Even though I had already known it to be true, no matter what he would've said trying to deny it, it still came as a huge shock to me. I found my eyes widening and I had to force myself to hold back the gasp that came up my throat.

It was silent for a few minutes. The tears falling down my face finally started to slow down, though they didn't completely stop. I didn't particularly like having the darkest wizard alive in love with me. Obviously.

In fact, the only reason I had stopped crying was because of how angry I suddenly was. I wanted nothing more than to scream at him, but I knew it would get me nowhere. On the bright side, at least I could use the fact that he loved me to my advantage. Not too horribly, of course, I could never do that to anybody, but at least use it a little.

"But…but if that's true, then…then why do you insist on always hurting me?" I asked after several moments. Riddle looked over his shoulder at me, went to turn back to the window, but did a double-take. He must've just realized that I had been crying because he looked shocked and confused, maybe even a little upset.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked, staring at me. I refused to meet his eyes – I wasn't afraid of him, by no means, but I was ashamed of having cried.

"Because you're not supposed to hurt people you care about," I replied, not sure how he didn't know that. "I mean, just the thought of Reg –" I cut myself off just before saying his name and changed direction quickly. "– of anybody I love being hurt upsets me." Riddle's eyes flashed anger, probably at the fact that I had almost mentioned Regulus again, but he didn't do or say anything.

"Why, though?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I don't really know," I replied. "But when you truly and honestly care about somebody, you want them to be happy. And torturing somebody clearly doesn't make them happy. It puts them in pain, which should cause you pain, as well."

"I still don't get why."

"Then I don't believe that you honestly and truly care for me," I said. He stared at me blankly, actually looking a little hurt. "If you did, then you would know exactly what I mean."

Riddle stared at me for a moment before he walked swiftly over to me. At the same time, the chains around my wrists unraveled themselves. By the time they were gone, he was standing directly in front of me, glaring down at me.

"Stand up," he muttered. I stood up slowly. "Now kiss me. And like you mean it."

Reluctantly, I leaned forward and pressed my lips gently against his. Unlike before, when they tasted so foreign, his lips now tasted quite familiar, which disgusted me – it meant that I had been kissing him enough to recognize it. The only person I should be kissing that much was Regulus.

I tried to keep my body as far away from him as possible, but Riddle wrapped his arms around my lower back and pulled me against him until our bodies were pressed tightly against one another, closer than I wanted to be.

I really don't know how it happened, but I suddenly found my back forced up against the wall. Riddle had, somehow without me noticing, held my wrists together with one hand and spun me to where he could slam me up against it none to gently – it was violent enough to cause my head to bang painfully against the wall.

"Ouch," I muttered before his lips could meet mine again. I could see him smile slightly before kissing me forcefully again. What a creep…Who gets pleasure out of other people's pain? I thought, not only because it was true, but so that maybe I could keep my mind off of the fact that I felt horrible because I felt like I was cheating on Regulus.

Riddle let go of my hands and placed his on either side of my head, leaning even closer to me. I had nowhere to put my hands and arms, so I had to rest them between my breast and his chest. As a bonus, it kept me at least a little further away from him. I finally closed my eyes as an impulse, trying desperately, yet again, to pretend it was Regulus I was kissing. Even when I wasn't looking, though, I could tell that it wasn't.

His tongue slipped out of his lips and pressed against my lips, as if asking for permission to enter, but I kept them firmly shut. Irritated with my refusal, Riddle forced his tongue into my mouth and started stroking my upper mouth with it, sending shivers down my spine.

For a minute, I considered biting his tongue, but I thought that it would be a bad idea and possibly blow my cover. But then I realized that he never actually forbade it, and it really was something I would do, so I brought my teeth down hard – not as hard as I could have, but still hard – onto his tongue.

I could taste the blood before he could even realize what had happened. But as soon as he had, he pulled back, cursing.

"Fuck!" he screamed. "You – little – whore!"

"Actually, I wouldn't call myself a whore," I said. "I only sleep with my fiancé." Riddle glared at me angrily, pinching his tongue.

"Well, maybe we'll have to change that tonight, then." I felt myself shudder and grow cold. It was terrified of that happening. It was several moments before Riddle said something else. "Fuck you, you little bitch." Taken to verbally abusing me now, too? Don't worry, I don't mind, I thought. I can take it.

"No, I'd rather you didn't," I replied rudely after I had cleared my mind of the fact that Riddle had basically just threatened to rape me. His eyes narrowed dangerously and anger flashed deep in his eyes before he suddenly grabbed my jaw roughly, forcing me to look him right in the eyes. I started to get worried, and knew it showed in my eyes because Riddle's eyes showed, if anything, glee.

"After my tongue stops bleeding and I resume kissing you," he muttered, "not only are you to kiss me back, you aren't to hurt me – or yourself, if you decide to go crazy – in any way."

"Does that include kicking you in the crotch?" I asked sarcastically. He glared at me.

"Yes, that does include kicking me in the balls," he answered.

"What balls?"

"You're not funny."

"I think I'm hilarious."

Fed up with me, Riddle gave up on waiting for his tongue to stop bleeding and, after fixing it with a flick of his wand, pushed himself up against me again, pushing me against the wall with just as much, if not more, force than before, causing me to wince.

His hands rested on either side of my head, leaning toward me. He was pressed so close to me that I could feel his hard and obvious erection pushing against me. I could just imagine the dirty thoughts running through his mind. I could also see where this was headed in a few minutes, even without his previous comment, and I really didn't want that to happen.

It came as quite a surprise to me when Riddle leaned back slightly. I kept my eyes shut, but knew he had moved hardly any, if at all, because I could still feel him pressed against me. I jumped slightly as he grabbed my jaw again and forced my head up. I didn't understand at first, but then I felt his soft, cold lips against my neck. There was no way I was going to enjoy this.

I shivered slightly, both because it was so unexpected and, to be quite honest, it felt good. But I refused to let myself think that, because it was such a horrible thought.

I was silent as he continued to molest my neck, staring up at the ceiling helplessly. Finally, while I was sure he was leaving a hickey on the right side of my neck, I said quietly,

"Please." It was all I could get out for the moment, and Riddle, his lips still touching my neck so I could feel his breath, asked,

"What?"

"Please…" I muttered again as his tongue slipped out of his mouth and against my neck. I shuddered. "…Stop. Please."

Riddle didn't respond. Instead, he continued to kiss and lick my neck for several minutes before I felt his teeth sink into it. Not far enough to draw blood, but enough to warrant a gasp of shock from me. Riddle took it to be a sexual moan, though, and laughed lightly against my throat.

"But why would I do that?" he finally replied. "I'm just having so…much…fun." His lips returned to mine and his tongue slipped back into my mouth. After a minute of him moving his mouth against mine, he retreated slightly for breath.

Now I was actually getting worried. I didn't want to do this. I know I had told Regulus that I probably would do it to keep from blowing my cover, and I had honestly thought I would, but now that I was actually in this situation, I didn't want to. I wanted anything but this. My bottom lip started quivering slightly, and my voice shook as I spoke.

"Please…please, stop. I'm sorry!" I said, desperate. "Please!"

"Sorry isn't enough," Riddle whispered, his lips still brushing mine, his cold, dark, blood-shot eyes staring straight into mine. I know he could feel my bottom lip trembling now, and he smiled slightly at it.

"Please…" I whispered again. "Don't make me do this." Riddle ignored me, pressing his lips against mine yet again. But this time, he didn't stop there. His hands started lowering down my back until they rested on my hips and squeezed them so tight I was sure it was going to bruise.

After a moment, though, that wasn't enough either. He started playing with the top of my pants, a few fingers slinking beneath them and fiddling with my panties, but I couldn't take it and instinctively grabbed each of his hands with mine, trying to force them away. Riddle laughed.

"Not ready for the pants yet?" he asked lightly. "Okay, that's fine; we'll start with your top and work our way down." No, that's worse, I thought. But I didn't say anything, because his lips were preventing it.

I suppose he wanted to work his way up slowly, though, because I let out a slight gasp again as his hands suddenly came out of nowhere and squeezed my arse tightly. He laughed lightly, breathing into my mouth, before he slid his hand down my thigh to the back of my knee and hitched it up so it was wrapped around his waist. I dropped it back down, but he pulled it right back up, and this time I kept it there as he did the same to my other knee.

His hands slid down so he was holding me up, but I was still terrified that he was going to drop me, so I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold myself up, just in case. Riddle carried me over to the table, which he set me down on, still kissing me.

I half expected him to lay me back and then crawl on top of me, but he didn't. Instead, he slunk his cold hands up under my shirt and started rubbing my bare back right below my bra gently. My bottom lip continued to quiver, and my eyes started to fill with tears slowly.

It was when I heard a tiny "snap" and felt my bra slip down my shirt that the tears finally spilled over. He had unhooked it, and, since it was strapless, it had fallen right down. Riddle, smirking against my lips, slipped his hands down and pulled it out.

"You must have some money," he muttered once he saw it. "This is quite a fancy bra. And a push-up, huh? Trying to impress somebody?"

"Not you," I whispered, trying, and failing, to keep my voice steady as the tears continued to fall. Riddle looked up at me, throwing the bra to the floor, and said,

"Don't cry. It'll be well worth it, baby." I flinched slightly as he wiped the tears off of my face. But they were just replaced seconds later.

"You have no right to call me 'baby'," I snapped angrily. Riddle's lip twitched, annoyed, before he slammed his lips against mine again and reached his hands up my shirt, this time in the front.

I couldn't take it. No matter what kind of consequences I could be causing, I couldn't do this. I set my hands up against his chest and shoved him away just before his hands reached my breasts.

He stumbled backwards slightly, shocked, and stared at me blankly for a few minutes. But when he opened his mouth to say something, my ears seemed to stop working. The room started to spin, and I felt nauseous.

Not again, I thought, as pain shot through my head. I had to shut my eyes to block out the spinning room, but it didn't help. I felt on the verge of retching.

"Well?" I heard Riddle say, much closer than it seemed he had been before. I had no idea what he had asked, but I shook my head slowly.

"I…I think I'm going to throw up," I muttered.

"What?" Riddle asked, confused. I took several deep breaths, trying to keep from throwing up or passing out.

"It's happening again," I said slowly. "The dizziness…the…the…everything."

"What are you talking about?" I could feel his breath on my face, which made me feel even worse.

"The last time…when it was from the Dark Magic…'member? I told…told you earlier…If I don't go see Madam Pomfrey, it…it could kill me."

"Don't lie," Riddle muttered dangerously.

"I…I'm not." I opened my eyes and found him inches from me staring right into my face. "Do I look like I'm lying?"

"Well…you suddenly got all pale, and looked as though you were going to throw up…so I'd say no," he said. He leaned back. "Fine. Go. But believe me, you'll be coming back here to finish this by the end of the week."

I grabbed my bra and threw it on quickly on the way out. Stumbling down the hallway wasn't fun, especially since I felt like I could just pass out and die at any second, and when I can't see where I'm going at all. I had to keep my hands on the wall and try to remember how to get out.

I turned the corner and ran straight into somebody coming toward me. I wouldn't have thought that I hit them hard enough to knock me down, but I was already unsteady, so I was knocked right off of my feet.

I had no idea who I had run into. I just hoped to Merlin that it wasn't Bellatrix.

"Nicki? What are you doing here?"

"Harry?" I asked, skeptical that my luck could be that good.

"Nick, what's wrong? You look horrible."

"I…I…I feel horrible too," I muttered. I felt him help me stand up, but my vision was so blurred that I had no idea where he was. "I need…to get…to Madam…Madam Pomfrey. Please…can you do that?"

My ears seemed to shut off again, and my vision went black. However, I was still aware of Harry picking me up and carrying me out of the Manor, I was aware of him Apparating me to Hogsmeade, and I was aware of him lying me gently on a soft bed in the Hospital Wing, where I finally lost my consciousness once more.

A/N: Like it? Love it? Hate it? Leave me a review to tell me your opinions! Constructive criticism is appreciated! You can even tell me what you'd like to see happen later in the story if you want.