Dark Magic

Tom Riddle

The Great Hall was silent, that evening, as I decided to join the rest of the students for the feast. I took a seat towards the back of the room, away from the other Slytherin children. Dumbledore's eyes glimmered as they glanced towards me from across the room. He rose from his seat, thankfully, taking the rest of the student's attention away from myself.

Dumbledore let out a fun enchantment, before the food appeared in front of us all; magic never ceased to amaze me, no matter how many times it was demonstrated. Two figures appeared on either side of me and as I glanced up from my plate, my eyes met those of none other than Harry and Ron's, filled with concern.

"You're out? I mean, you're here?" Harry corrected himself, to which I nodded, taking another mouthful of my chicken. "I'm here." I smiled, to their surprise. His eyes widened, "And talking- that's good!" He cheered excitedly, pulling me into a hug as I forced my food down my throat, patting his back lightly.

But as he pulled away, his happiness soon drifted to concern once more. I looked across to Ron, whose eyes shared the same look. "What's happened?"

Ron looked as though he was about to burst, "Well-Harry said he didn't want to tell you but-" He cut himself short, my brother shaking his head in protest. I shot around to meet his green eyes, "-But what?" I spat impatiently. Harry looked infuriated at his best friend, his eyes softening once more as they found mine. 

He sighed, "Do you remember the diary I found in the girl's lavatory..." He trailed away, my stomach churning at the thought of either of them going back into that bathroom. It was unsafe. Finally, I nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, I started writing in it the other night...and it...wrote back. It belonged to a student here named Tom Riddle. He showed me a memory of Hagrid releasing a creature fifty years ago and I think he wanted me to believe Hagrid was the one behind the attacks. But, when I went back to the common room yesterday, it was gone and my things were trashed."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Well, it wasn't Hagrid. And who would want to steal a useless diary? It doesn't make sense..." I sighed, taking a small sip of my pumpkin juice as I concocted a theory in my head.

"The student that took the diary must have been Gryffindor. And they must have known the diary was important, otherwise they wouldn't have wrecked the dormitory for it." Ron and Harry nodded in agreement with my statement.

"What are you three up to?" I followed the voice, my eyes meeting those of Hermione Granger, back to her normal self in the weeks that had passed. Harry and Ron fumbled with their words "Oh, um...Nothing." Ron stammered.

Hermione scoffed ignorantly, her brown eyes meeting my own as they turned to that of sympathy, "How are you feeling, Emerald?" I smiled at her concern. "Better now, thank you, Hermione." She nodded, looking between the two boys before deciding to let their unusual behaviour go. 

"Yes, well- I am going to the library to do some research on the creature petrifying the students. Goodnight." She smiled, her books in hand as she left the hallway. My eyes met those of my brother's, "You didn't tell her, did you?" I questioned, to which they both shook their head and pouted. 

I let out a sigh of relief, before the dessert buffet appeared in front of us. Ron's eyes lit up as he made his way back over to the Gryffindor table, wishing me a goodnight. Harry stood up from the table too, placing his hand comfortingly onto my shoulder, "It's the Gryffindor Vs Hufflepuff match tomorrow. I'd love it if you came and watched me?" He smiled, to which I nodded enthusiastically.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."

He chuckled, running back over to the Gryffindor table and digging in to some ice cream sorbet. I turned back to face the food, grabbing some profiteroles. But as I glanced down towards my house table, I found the Slytherin students sending me death glares. I tried to ignore them, washing my fear down with some well-needed sweets. If The Black Lake couldn't kill me, a bunch of Slytherins definitely wouldn't.

***

Deciding to be a little reckless the following morning, I donned a red ribbon in my hair, not caring that it clashed with Slytherin's green and silver colour scheme. Making my way towards the field, I decided to sneak into the stands to wish my brother good luck for the match. 

It took a little while for the Gryffindor team to emerge, as Hufflepuff were already out on the field warming up for the day's game. Hiding around the corner, I watched as my brother and the rest of the team made their way towards the pitch.

Professor McGonagall emitted, cutting them off from entering. Oliver Wood, the head of Gryffindor team, addressed his teacher. She held her hands up in dismissal, "This match has been cancelled." She announced grimly. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, watching as Wood protested. "They can't cancel Quidditch."

"Silence Wood! You and your team mates will go to Gryffindor tower now." They dispersed, making their way from the field. "Potter. You and I will find Mr Weasley. There's something the both of you have to see." She paused for a moment, before turning towards the flag I had been hiding behind. "You too, Miss Potter." She instructed as I emitted shyly, her worried eyes finding my own. "Come along."

The head of Gryffindor house walked us all the way back to the school after finding Ron waiting for the match to start. We found ourselves in the hospital wing, McGonagall leading the way. "This may be a wee bit of a shock." She warned, allowing a moment for us to prepare ourselves for whatever lied ahead.

I gasped, as my eyes laid on Hermione Granger, frozen like that of a statue in place. Ron looked as though he was about to cry, "Hermione." He whispered in disbelief. Harry took my hand in his own, tightly, as I found myself unable to take my eyes from the poor girl.

"We found her in the library..." Professor McGonagall paused, reaching towards an object that laid on the table beside her hospital bed. "With this." Holding up a mirror, my eyes widened once more. She knew. She knew about the Basilisk. Hermione Granger was clearly a far more observant witch that I had initially believed. She must have been following Harry, Ron and myself from the beginning...