my riddle to solve (tom riddle)

fifteen

(song for this chapter is Greek God by Conan Gray)

When I awoke the next morning, the sunlight hadn't even reached my window yet. My palms were clammy and my breath was racing; I had been gifted a night of awful nightmares. I had first watched Adeladie bleed out on the ground, then Sage, then Aspen, and finally Raymond. My feet had been stuck to the floor, and I was unable to help them. I had heard people laughing at me as I struggled to reach for my wand, which was mere inches away.

I forced myself out of bed and into clean clothes. Seeing as it was a weekend, I didn't need to wear my uniform. I donned a grey sweater and a plaid skirt before quickly washing my face and slipping on my shoes. I checked the time, and saw that I had an hour before I needed to be at the Room of Requirement again. I desperately wanted to talk to Raymond, but I figured that he would most likely still be sleeping. I decided on heading down to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast.

Seeing as it was quite early, there were very few students seated at the tables. The only other Ravenclaws looked to all be first-years, and I knew that none of them would be eager to have a conversation with me.

Lucky for me, Riddle was sitting at the Slytherin table. He was scribbling on a piece of parchment as he sipped from a mug of steaming liquid. A group of girls seemed to be trying to make conversation with him, although he seemed very disinterested. I smiled and made my way over to him. I ignored the looks from the girls across the table as I took a seat next to him.

"Hello, darling. I was just about to go fetch you, but it looks like I no longer need to do so," he said with a smile. "Did you sleep well?"

"I suppose so. Any news regarding Abraxas?" I asked nervously.

"I was told by Lestrange that he's doing fine. What about you? Does your arm still hurt?"

"Not really. The bruise is still there, but it's not that big of a deal," I assured him. He reached out to examine my arm, rolling up my sleeve to do so. His hands were cold against my skin, yet it still felt nice.

"Alright. You should eat something, darling. We have a long day ahead of us."

I served myself a few pieces of toast, as well as a buttery croissant and a large cup of coffee. Riddle watched me carefully, quite amused when he realized just how much sugar I put into my coffee. He was most definitely the type to drink his black.

Neither of us spoke to each other as I quickly ate, which I suppose was partially because of the group of girls seated nearby.

By the time that we had arrived at the Room of Requirement, more students were awake and wandering around the castle. The fact that most younger students were scared of Riddle made it quite easy for the hallway to clear so we could summon the room.

I immediately rushed over to the cot that Abraxas was lying on. Someone had dressed his upper-half in a Hufflepuff sweater, which would've been a bit funny if it wasn't for the gravity of his situation.

"Has he woken up at all?" I asked Rosier, who was sitting nearby.

"Nope. But he stirred a little bit earlier, and I think he might've even smiled for a moment." I let out a disappointed sigh as I gently stroked Abraxas' hair off of his face. Riddle had a quick conversation with Rosier and Black before sending them off, leaving the two of us alone with the corpse-like state of Abraxas.

Seeing as Riddle wasn't too eager to do it, I changed the IV out and casted a few simple Healing Charms over my friend. Riddle had taken a seat on the couch, lit a cigarette, and pulled out a book.

"Darling, could you come here a moment?" he called out suddenly. I placed down the water-tube that I had been cleaning out and made my way over to him. He patted the cushion on his right, gesturing for me to sit down. Once I did, he tilted his book so that I could see.