Consuming

"Those cunning folk use any means,
To achieve their ends."
- The Sorting Hat talking about Slytherin, Harry Potter.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Everywhere she turned, people were talking about love.

Lauren always wished she could say that she knew what they were talking about, that she could experience the supposed thrill that came with it.

But unfortunately, she was in a one sided relationship with none other than The Heir of Slytherin; Tom Marvolo Riddle.

To others, love was a gift, a way of expressing how deeply they felt for another person.

To Lauren, love was a cage and there was no escape route. She now believed that love was only a trap meant to reel you in and turn your life upside down, ruining everything you once knew.

She never meant to fall for him. She never wanted to be like all the other girls who swooned and fell at his feet whenever he walked by or flashed a charming smile their way. She could never forget the way he spoke to her, the way his voice grew deeper when he leaned towards her, clearly wanting something or how his cool breath would dance across her skin, making her lose all sense of right and wrong and make her agree to whatever he asked of her.

Tom always used this to his advantage, using her weakness against her. And that was all it was, a weakness, a way of Tom controlling her every move.

Lauren loved Tom with everything she had and everybody knew it. But she also hated him. She hated him for making her feel the way she did. She hated him for controlling her and treating her like a prisoner.

"Lauren," His smooth voice drifted over her, enveloping each of her senses and rendering her powerless.

"Tom."

His smooth, slender fingers trailed over the skin of her neck in the familiar, gentle caress that she received only occasionally. She sighed, a cool puff of air dancing in front of her and brushing against the window.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" She asked, voice a mere whisper.

"I think you know what I require."

"I will not help you," Lauren returned with a submissive lowering of her head. "I will not be responsible for the destruction of the wizarding world."

"You will not be responsible," He assured her, his stormy grey eyes taking on a dark glint as his pale lips stretched into a thin line. "I merely require information."

"I told you. I will not help you," She turned away in an act of defiance that had Tom stiffening in obvious frustration.

"You will. I have ways of making you talk," Tom breathed in her ear and pressed his lips against the pulse point on her neck.

Lauren flinched, her heart clenching tightly in her chest as she desperately tried to ignore the goosebumps that erupted across her skin and made her shiver lightly.

Tom was right. He was always right. All it took was one look and one soft kiss to get her to crack, to spill all of her knowledge concerning a prophecy that spoke of the end of the Dark Lord and the boy who would bring about his downfall.

That was all it took, because Lauren was weak, and she always would be.