my riddle to solve (tom riddle)

twenty-two

The opera house was absolutely breath-taking. The interior walls seemed to have been painted with pure-gold, the crystal chandeliers dripping with diamonds. Every hallway displayed magnificent paintings, although they were all still.

I estimated that there were about two-thousand people present; the vast-majority of them Muggles. Nonetheless, Riddle charmed everyone that he spoke to. I had many envious glances sent my way by the young ladies whose attention he caught. Although I didn't speak the language, I had been around it enough to catch a few words of Riddle's conversations.

As we waited to be led to our seats, a glimpse of white-blonde locks caught my eye. A boy who looked remarkably like Abraxas was standing in the midst of the crowd. I tugged on Riddle's arm, wanting to point that out. But a second glance at the boy drew me to the conclusion that he was Abraxas.

"Yes, darling?"

"For the love of Merlin, why is Abraxas here?"

"Ah, yes. Didn't I tell you that my Knights would be present? It really doesn't concern you much, so don't worry" I dug my fingernails into his arm angrily, causing him to flinch. He flashed me a threatening look, but I stood my ground.

"Tell me why, he is here."

"Alright, alright! Caractacus Burke, one of the owners of Borgin and Burkes attends this particular ballet every year. As one of the owners of Borgin and Burkes, he possesses Slytherin's locket." Riddle was speaking in a hushed tone, hoping to conceal his words from any eavesdroppers.

"Well, why don't you just buy it from him? Surely your grandfather would give you the money for something like that."

"If my grandfather knew that the locket was no longer missing, he would most certainly not let me have it. And I have tried to negotiate a deal with Borgin, but he refuses to sell it to me. Burke carries a key to the store with him wherever he goes. One of my Knights will take the key, and then another will go to the shop and retrieve my locket," he explained.

"That sounds like it involves the use of lots of magic. Don't most of your followers still have the Trace on them?"

"No, none of us do. If you know people from the right departments, it is very easy to have it removed." He was right about that, anyone with a good amount of money or connections could have the Trace lifted before they came of age.

"Why do you want the locket so badly? This seems like an awful amount of trouble just for a silly piece of jewelry."

"I already told you, it belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself. It is most likely incredibly powerful, and must have some sort of hidden magical properties." Before I could voice my opinion on that idea, we were approached by a young waiter.

"Bonjour, Monsieur. Puis-je te montrer à tes places?" I immediately recognized the boy as Nathaniel Rowle, a fifth-year Slytherin. It was quite a mystery as to why he was in Slytherin, seeing as he was one of the most intelligent students to ever pass through Hogwarts. I would've thought him smart enough to avoid Riddle at all costs.

"Ce serait génial," Riddle told him. I pursed my lips together and followed Rowle, who led us up a narrow staircase to a luxurious viewing box.

"Always a pleasure to see you, Ophelia." Rowle switched to English once we were out of the ear-shot of everyone else.

"Hello, Nathaniel. I didn't know you worked part-time for the French ballet." He chuckled as he adjusted his name-tag. His sandy-blonde hair and sly eyes helped him pass as someone who truly belonged here.

"Yes, well I suppose my name is Alberto tonight. The poor bloke is currently unconscious in the basement. The other one put up a bit more of a struggle, I had to stop Selwyn from giving him a knife to the stomach. Anyways, I'll leave you two for now," he decided. He sent a wink in my direction before hopping down from the platform and disappearing.