The Riddle Never Ends

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓻: 𝓜𝔂𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓕𝓸𝓵𝓭𝓮𝓭 𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓬𝓱𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽

The walk to the dungeons was quiet until a loud cackle came from the end of the hall. My head jolted up and found a group of girls by a painting.

One made eye contact with me. "Oh, there she is!" She had hair like Draco, pure white. As the girl made her way over to me I noticed the glasses placed upon her nose and the freckles that were scattered over her nose. "I'm Penny-Lynn."

Her hand reached before her, requesting mine. I gladly shook her small, pale hand while sending a shy smile her way.

"I'm Mercury," I released her hand before looking towards the other girls. They all looked similar with the same Slytherin robes. The three girls shared a short height while Penny-Lynn was a few inches taller.

"Well, let's go check out our dorm! I think you'll love it," Penny exclaims with a wide smile before taking my hand in hers once again and pulling me behind her. She speaks the common room password to the painting that held a very ignorant Irish man. He scowled at the group of us before the painting slowly began to move, granting us access.

The common room was filled with old stone pillars, satin curtains, and velvet couches. Two fireplaces sat in the two outside corners of the room, while a stone staircase was set in the middle. Snake carvings were placed on walls and furniture throughout the room.

"Amazing, isn't it?" one of the girls from Penny-Lynn's group says. They were few people in the common room, making this experience more magical. It wasn't amazing, it was astonishing.

"Amazing doesn't even begin to describe the pride I have to be a Slytherin," my voice says just above a whisper, my fingers grazing some old books placed on a shelf beside me. The girls giggle before walking past me. I follow shortly behind them.

We make our way up the stairwell before entering a door on the right. Penny guides me down a hallway before stopping just shy of another door.

"You ready?" she asks with a smirk on her face. I nod nervously, both anxious and excited to see what's beyond the door. With a twist of the knob and a light shove the door begins to open.

Inside was two single beds - much like the ones in the hospital wing, two wardrobes, a bay window with the same grey satin curtains that hung downstairs, and various paintings hung on the walls. This was my new home, and I was happy.

"You like it?" Penny-Lynn asks, breaking me away from my trance.

I nod, "Yes, it's perfect."

. . .

Penny and I were quick to finish unpacking our things and get dressed into sleepwear. We had spent the last few hours talking about school. I mentioned to her my interaction with Draco which only made her snicker.

"That Malfoy," she started, while folding a pair of trousers and setting them in her drawer. "The only thing that boy is good for is comic relief!"

My eyebrows furrowed at her statement, "but, aren't the Malfoy's supposed to be really powerful?"

Penny's body stiffens as she adverts her gaze towards me. "I can't believe you'd feed his ego like that," she takes a seat at the end of her bed, running her hands over the wrinkles in her skirt. "Lucius is nothing more than a coward. Besides, you shouldn't be quick to label them powerful, you're the offspring of the most feared wizard of all time!"

Her words sent shivers down my spine. Was that really all I was going to be known for? Being Voldemort's long-lost daughter?

"Yea I guess," was all I responded with. I didn't want to feed into a conversation about my father. No one would ever be able to understand my opinion on him anyways, not anyone in Slytherin at least.

I finished folding all my clothing and set it in my wardrobe. It was a couple of hours past sunset and my body was beginning to feel the lack of life outside. I settled down on my bed with a book in my hand. Penny-Lynn was quick to follow my actions herself and it was less than an hour before we both drifted off into our dream worlds.

. . .

Morning came fast as the sun began to creep in through our window. As I woke up my body felt refreshed for the first time in what felt like centuries. I stretched my arms out wide before slipping out of my bed and grabbing a change of clothes. Just as I opened my wardrobe the dorm door opened.

"Good morning," Penny-Lynn's voice greeted as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. Her hair was damp and she held her pajamas in her arms.

"Morning," I replied as I shoveled my toiletries into my arms.

"You might wanna get to the showers fast, I swear every girl decided that they stunk today," Penny let out a light giggle while she laid herself down on her bed.

"I guess I'll have to wash my hair in the sink," I joke before exiting the dorm.

I understood what Penny was saying immediately after entering the bathroom. It was difficult to even get to a mirror. I had a few girls stare at me as I waited for a shower stall to open up. I fiddled with a few loose strings on my flannel bottoms to pass time. It wasn't long until I heard the click of a stall open. Nobody seemed to be rushing towards it so I moved from my spot against the wall and entered the stall, locking the door behind me.

The tap squealed as I turned on the hot water. I was expecting to have a decent shower, not high end with a rain shower, but instead, I got neither. The shower was clean but old. The tile definitely needed replacing, along with the drain.

I undressed quickly, not wanting to waste any time I could be using to eat. The water felt nice on my body. The hot steam embraced my body into a cocoon. All my problems floated away as I let the water cleanse me.

. . .

The Great Hall was filled with students chatting with each other. It was nice to see everyone making friends so quickly. I made my way over to the Slytherin table and saw Penny next to some guy who seemed to be irritating her.

"Can I help you?" I questioned as I stood between the two. Both Penny and the boy look up at me. Penny shows a surprised look on her face while the boy simply rolls his eyes.

"Good job Pen, you made friends with the devil," the boy laughed before getting up from his seat. "I'll talk to you later."

Penny looked back down at her books while I took a seat beside her.

"Who was that?" I asked while looking at her notes.

"My brother," she shrugged her shoulders lightly before flipping the page in her book.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought he was just some kid bugging you,"

"He is just some kid bugging me," she says, letting out a giggle. I smile lightly before looking around the table. Many students were joking with each other or talking to their group of friends, but one person stood out to me. As our eyes locked on each other it felt as if I couldn't move or look away. Everything froze.

As if he knew the effect his gaze had on me, he begins to bite his lip before winking and turning back to his friends.

"Uh, Penny, who is that?" she lifts her eyes from her book to see who I'm talking about. She follows my gaze to where the boy sat now laughing with his friends.

Penny let out a small sigh before saying, "That's Zeke ElfThorne, the most mysterious fifth year in Hufflepuff. Save the feelings, he won't even acknowledge your existence."

Almost as if he heard her words, Zeke looks over to us with a smirk plastered on his face. I advert my gaze quickly, taking interest in Penny's notes.

The table falls quiet and I feel like there's a spotlight shining on me. I look up once again from Penny's notes and find everyone whispering to each other or looking at me.

"Riddle, this is for you," a girl who was sat in front of me says, displaying a piece of folded parchment in her hand. I could feel the tension in the air as I grabbed the paper. I was a shaking mess from anticipation. When I finally got the note to open I looked at Penny-Lynn.

"I think he just acknowledged my existence,"