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

A/N: Thanks to EVERYONE for the reviews!

Chapter 29

I heard Johnny say something to me, but I was too busy staring at Riddle with wide eyes to hear him. Riddle was smirking at my sharp intake of breath – which, by the way, I was still holding from at least a minute previously.

"Hello? Nicole?" Johnny asked, waving his hand in front of my face. I finally let out my breath and jumped slightly, turning to face him, my eyes still wide. He looked confused, shocked, and I could see Riddle still smirking at me out of the corner of my eyes.

"What?" I asked him sharply and rather rudely. Johnny looked taken aback.

"Nick, this is Marcus, Marcus Gaunt," he said slowly and quietly, looking slightly nervous at my reaction. "Marcus, this is Ni –"

"Yeah, we've…we've met," I said simply, narrowing my eyes at Riddle, who still smirked. Johnny looked confused, but didn't bother asking – I suppose he was used to me doing things he just didn't understand.

"Nice to see you again," Riddle said, his smirk finally disappearing to a "friendly" smile, but I could still see the sneering in his eyes.

"Are you guys…friends?" I asked, hoping that the answer wouldn't be what I expected.

"Oh, yeah, Mark's cool," Johnny said. Oh shit…he's calling him Mark…this isn't going to be good… "Even though he's in Slytherin, he's pretty awesome. He's smart and funny and pretty popular, even if he did just move here."

"Why did you move here again?" I asked, finally no longer shocked and just annoyed that Riddle always turned up wherever I went. "Dumbledore said, but I can't remember. You…you were expelled for harming innocent students, right?" I asked maliciously. Riddle's eyes flashed dangerously, and I knew I was close to crossing the line – or maybe I had already crossed it.

"No," he said through gritted teeth. "I was homeschooled and my teacher died."

"Oh," I said sarcastically, holding out the word for a few seconds. "I must be getting you confused with somebody else." Riddle smiled slightly, waving it away as though it was nothing, but I could see the anger in his eyes. I swallowed, but I wasn't going to apologize, not even sarcastically.

"What're you doing here?" Johnny asked. I sighed, refusing to look at Riddle no matter what.

"I…I came to talk to Sev," I replied.

"Snape?" Johnny asked, making a disgusted face. "I don't understand how you can stand him, he's a jackass." I couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"Yeah, maybe," I replied quietly. "But I don't know, I guess depending on the other to survive for quite a while gives you some sort of connection you can't just ignore."

"If that's why you came here," Riddle asked suddenly, raising his eyebrows,"then why are you going upstairs?" I turned to him, glaring slightly.

"First off, I don't think that's your business, Mark," I snarled.

"Nick!" Johnny exclaimed, shocked at my harshness. He shook his head suddenly. "Mark, could I have a moment alone with Nick?" Riddle nodded, turning to go up the stairs. When he had turned, Johnny asked, "Why are you being so rude? You don't even know Mark!"

"Oh, but I do!" I exclaimed. "More than you know!" I looked around, noticed a few students a little away watching us awkwardly. "Can we talk somewhere more…private?" Johnny shrugged, looking pissed at me.

"I don't care. Where?"

"Come on, I have just the place."

I headed up the stairs and led him straight to the Room of Requirement, simply asking it for a place where we could talk in private. When the door appeared and I opened it, I found myself in a small cozy room that looked considerably like a much smaller version of the Grffyndor Common Room. I didn't even sit down before I turned to Johnny and said quickly,

"You have to stop talking to him."

"What've you got against Mark? You don't even know him!"

I knew I shouldn't just going around blurting things like this out, but it slipped before I could stop it:

"But I do know him and a whole lot better than you do!" Johnny stared at me, his eyebrows narrowed.

"What are you talking about?" he asked suspiciously. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and sitting down on one of the red, plush armchairs around the fire. I saw Johnny sit down slowly across from me.

I wanted to tell him. I wanted him to stay away from Riddle. All Riddle was doing was getting on his good side so he could either get him to join his ranks or somehow force him to join his ranks. I wanted to tell Johnny this, I wanted to tell him it all, but I knew Riddle would use Legilimency on him and, as far as I know, he didn't know Occlumency.

"I can't tell you," I said quietly. I looked back up at him. "I just…I can't tell you!" I exclaimed, now getting angry. "I want to, I want to so bad, but I can't."

"Why can't you?"

"Well, first off, I physically can't," I said. If Riddle was going to use Legilimency on him, I needed to make sure all of my lies were spot on so he wouldn't suspect anything. "And second off, you don't know Occlumency and if I did tell you he would find out and I wouldn't be in a very good situation."

As a matter of fact, he would probably get mad even at telling Johnny this much, and I probably already shoved myself into a sticky situation right here. Well, too late now.

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"If I tell you and he finds out, I'll be in deep shit," I replied simply. "Because I know him, Johnny, I know him a whole lot better than you do. I've known him a long time. He has a temper, and he hates me. And if I tell you…well, there's a good chance you'll never see me again."

What was I doing? This was way too far. I had practically just told Johnny that "Mark" was a murderer. And when Riddle finds out, he'll be pissed. But it's not like he never told me not to tell anybody anything like this…

"Just…just trust me, okay?" I asked Johnny. "You need to stop talking to him."

Johnny hesitated for a long time. So long I was considering just getting up and leaving. He was staring into the fire, a contemplating look on his face, before he finally turned to me and said in a voice so soft I could barely hear him,

"I don't know if I can trust you, though."

I know my face was blank. I just stared at him for what felt like hours while this processed in my brain.

One of my best friends didn't trust me.

He didn't trust me.

He didn't trust me.

It would've been less painful to be hit with the Cruciatus Curse.

And it's not like he just didn't trust me about the answer to homework or who I was dating or some stupid schoolgirl drama like that. It was something that could cause him to survive or, Merlin forbid, get killed. I couldn't have him not trusting me on something this important, I had to prove my honesty to him somehow. Even if it meant telling him the truth, at least it would save his life, though it would probably end mine.

"Look, it's not just you," he said quickly after a few moments of me staring at him blankly. "It's everybody. I don't think I can trust anybody anymore."

"No." I said it so quickly and so sternly that I surprised even myself. But I knew where I was going with it. "You have to have somebody you can trust."

"I just –"

"No," I repeated, less harshly. "Even in the darkest of times, there's one person you can always trust." Johnny narrowed his eyes at me.

"If you're going to say you –"

"No, I'm talking about your brother. Because believe it or not, I know him very well. I've known him in two lifetimes. He is honestly one of the bravest people I've ever met, and I can guarantee that he'll always be there for you and never do anything to hurt you or your parents or your sister."

"Neville?" Johnny asked, raising his eyebrows. "Are you sure you've got the right person? He's kind of a coward." I know my face turned into a glare almost instantly.

"When the time comes, he'll come through, I've seen him stand up to Voldemort himself in my other life, remember?" I pointed out. Johnny stared at me.

"I still don't think I can trust you though."

"I don't blame you. It's hard to trust anybody at a time like this."

"That's not exactly why I don't trust you," he said softly. I blinked. "I mean that's partially why, but not completely."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused, thinking over everything I had ever said or done to him that could make him not trust me anymore.

"I think it's just that…you were there for me, you were my best friend, for years, and then it just suddenly stopped. Everything changed. I trusted you, you had earned that trust, and then you went and threw it away when you just stopped talking to me."

I hesitated.

"Look, Johnny, I'm sorry, I've just had a lot of stuff going on lately," I said.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't know because you don't tell me anything!"

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.

"I'm sorry, Johnny, I really am," I said quietly. "But if you're ever going to trust me, now is the time. Simple things like this could be a matter of life and death; not only for yourself, but for those you love as well." Johnny stared at me. I knew he didn't want to trust me but he was scared; scared that I might actually be right and if he didn't trust me he could cause the death of his family.

"Fine," he said after a minute. He sounded angry, and I understood. He didn't want to admit defeat, but he didn't want to cause harm to his family if I really was right. "But I still don't trust you."

After a few seconds he made for the door, he didn't even say goodbye, and I didn't blame him. I wouldn't want to talk to me either if I was in his situation.

"Hey Johnny," I said suddenly when I was sure he was almost to the door. When I looked over my shoulder I saw him stop to look at me when his hand was on the doorknob. "I miss you too, and I'm sorry, I really am." His lips twitched up slightly and he nodded.

"I know, Nick."

And he left.

I sat there for a few minutes mulling things over. While the obvious fact that Johnny didn't trust me made me feel like he had stabbed me, I couldn't bring myself to be mad or even upset with him. I understood what he was saying though; it was hard to trust somebody, specifically somebody who had simply become somebody that he used to know.

After about ten minutes, I stood up and headed for the door. I still hadn't spoken to Dumbledore and I could see by looking out the window the sun was almost halfway set. Regulus would start to wonder what was taking me so long and would start to worry a little too much if I didn't get home soon.

As soon as I had opened the door, however, a familiar voice drawled,

"Hello, Nicole. Nice to see you again."

Damn it, I thought. What the hell was I thinking? I should've realized Riddle wouldn't let me get away that easily.

I clenched my teeth and forced myself to turn to face the direction his voice had come from and found him leaning against the wall in a provocative pose, smirking at me. I glared at him, and he nodded to the wall I had just appeared through.

"Are you going to get the hint that I want you to go back in, or am I going to have to force you?" I sighed, spun on my heels, and marched back to the wall, thinking the same thing as before, and stormed inside. I knew Riddle was right on my heels.

I was tired of him showing up every where I went. Was he following me or were they all just coincidences? I didn't know what to think. All I know was that he annoyed the fuck out of me and I would give almost anything to just kill him right now and get it over with.

I actually paused to consider it before he came in the door behind me and I realized that if I did, all hell would break loose.

I refused to look at him. Instead I stared at the fire in the fireplace. Maybe that's what he wanted; maybe he thought that if I refused to look at him it meant I was afraid of him. But I only didn't look at him because I was very irritated.

"I really need to go talk to Dumbledore," I said, looking for some way to get out of this situation. I didn't want to deal with him after…after what had happened last time I had seen him.

"He can wait," Riddle said simply and patiently. I heard one of the red plush sofas sink under his weight. I still stared at the fire, refusing to look even in his direction. "What did you need to talk to him about anyways? Anything important?"

"No," I lied simply. I could just imagine Riddle's sly smirk behind me.

"Come, sit down," he said smoothly. I didn't move. "Now!" he barked. I sighed, turned around, still looking directly at anything but him, and sat down across from him, still staring at the fire.

Riddle was quiet for a few minutes before he asked, "What did you tell the Longbottom kid?"

"I told him to stay away from you," I answered honestly. He would find out if I was lying or not when he used Legilimency on Johnny anyways, so I might as well be truthful.

"And did you tell him why?" Riddle asked interestedly.

"I told him that I couldn't tell him why, even though I wanted to, but that I knew 'Marcus' better than he did and I knew that being friends with him could harm not only Johnny but his family as well."

Riddle was silent, but out of the corner of my eyes I could see him watching me through narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"What would ever possess you to say such a thing?" he asked. I stared at him.

"He's one of my best friends," I said. "I couldn't let him getting mixed up with you and the Death Eaters. He's better than that."

"Well you haven't been a very good friend to him lately."

How did Riddle always seem to know exactly what to say to make me feel worse in any and every situation? I didn't understand. Maybe he knew me better than I even knew me. Which was possible, as I felt like I didn't really know me at all anymore.

I didn't respond.

"Besides," he continued, obviously not having expected me to answer. "It's too late to save him anyways." I blinked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, almost terrified to hear the answer.

"Just like the tons of other students who've decided to get even just close enough to me to tell me their first names, he's practically signed up to be one of my Death Eaters."

"What do you mean?" I repeated.

"Either they will agree to join me, or I will force them," he said simply.

"How will you…how will you force them?"

"Threaten them, or their families, most likely," he answered. I saw him shrug. "It should be simple enough. Some might join without a fuss, some might have to be tortured or threatened or put under the Imperious. Some might even have to be kidnapped and killed, since they will probably figure out my plan and still refuse –"

"You can't do that!" I exclaimed, suddenly cutting him off. "Somebody will figure it out, you'll be caught."

"Really? I think I'm smarter than that, and I think you know I am too." Yeah, he was right, I did. He was smarter than anybody I had ever met, and I knew he would figure out how to do it without getting caught.

"Well then…I'll tell somebody!" I exclaimed.

"No, you won't, because I forbid it." I huffed, crossing my arms and glaring at the fire as if it had caused me some sort of harm.

"Heard Bellatrix nearly killed you the other day."

"Really?" I asked sarcastically. "I was unaware," I added in a dead tone. I could see Riddle glaring at me, as if contemplating whether or not to slap me for that remark.

"Trust me, I made her pay for the pain she inflicted upon you," he replied, still debating if he should or not.

"Good, now I don't have to."

"I told her, you know," he said after a moment of silence, finally having decided not to slap the shit out of me. "About your little…issue."

Oh! So that's the secret she was talking about! She wasn't just making shit up. Then again…she had, in a way, implied that it was a secret I was keeping from Riddle, but obviously he knew about it.

"She seems to think you were…ah, making it up so you could have an excuse to get away," Riddle continued.

"What?" I asked. Why would I make up something like that? "Do you…do you believe her?" Riddle shrugged.

"I don't know."

We were both silent for a moment. I didn't know if I should try to convince him I really was pregnant or just to let it drop. He seemed to be trying to decide if he thought I was or not.

After a moment out of the corner of my eyes I saw him lean forward, on the edge of his seat, and hesitated before he reached his hand out towards my stomach. I cringed but didn't move out of his reach – instead, I allowed him to lift my shirt just slightly and set his hand against my abdomen area. After a few seconds, during which he seemed to be pondering something, he leaned back again.

"Yep," he said. "You're definitely pregnant."

"Thanks, I didn't know," I said dryly. He glowered at me. "I should go or Dumbledore will be worried."

That was a lie. Dumbledore didn't even know I was coming. But if I could get away from Riddle, it'd be worth it.

"Fine," he muttered. "I will be calling for you to come to the Manor soon, though, trust me."

Oh, I do, I thought as I hurried out of the room and toward Dumbledore's office, trying to get as far away from Riddle as fast as I could.