Darkest Desire - English

04

Liz had tried every spell she knew. She had even searched the library for spells that helped track down other spells. Nothing. After all, the blank notebook was probably just that. A notebook.

Exhausted, she dropped down at her desk. Disappointing. Not much of a mystery. A small laugh made its way. Well, at least there seemed to be a bit of Ravenclaw in her. She couldn't resist a good secret.

In blue ink, Liz began to write her first entry in the new diary.
"Dear Diary, Today has been another busy day. I'm this close to turning Gregory into a slug."

But as soon as she finished the sentences, the ink simply dissolved. Confused, Liz turned the page, just to be sure the ink didn't slip through. Like a joke book.

When she opened the book back up to the correct page, her ink came back. Only the words were different.

"Who is Gregory? If he deserves it, why not?"

Minutes passed, during which Liz just watched the words. Would they change again? What exactly was this spell?

"Who are you? What's going on?" As soon as the pen touched the paper, the stranger's words disappeared.

"They call me Riddle. And who are you?"

"Liz. Lysandra Black."

"Oooh, a Black. What a happy coincidence. I guess my name means something to you then."

Liz looked around the empty dorm room. Was she hallucinating? Could this be true? If this was Mattheo's notebook.... Did he have a connection to that book? He had never asked her for her name. So it only made sense that he would only recognize the last name. After all, the Blacks had been followers of Lord Voldemort from the earliest times.

"Yes, I know who you are."

Liz expelled the air sharply. Was Mattheo angry that she had found and kept his book, even though she knew who it belonged to?

"I'm glad to hear that. Really. Just tell me this, Lysandra. Don't you want to be friends? It's kind of lonely this way without anyone I can trust. Write to me like you just did. But don't call me Diary. You can call me Riddle."

Immediately Liz slammed the book shut. There was absolutely no way that was possible! Was he playing with her? Had he overheard her name after all? Maybe he had heard her outside the greenhouse that day? Surely he was just making fun of her.
But then...

Mattheo Riddle was never out with others. He talked to a few Slytherins here and there, but never for long. Couldn't it be that he really wanted friends, but just didn't know how to go about it? Everyone saw him as the dark lord's son. Most approached him with clear intentions - to place themselves in the Dark Side's favor. That had to be lonely in the long run.

Liz opened the book again.

"All right, but I have one condition. Don't call me Lysandra. My name is Liz."

" That' s a deal, Liz."
*
After this discovery, Liz spent far too much time with the enchanted book. Even Luna had noticed that her friend was acting strangely.

"Aren't you going to bed soon?" she asked sleepily from her mountain of pillows.

Liz hadn't noticed that it was already past midnight. She'd just been talking about how Gregory was apparently actually afraid of her since she'd threatened to really act like a Black, and she couldn't wait to hear what her new friend had to say about it.

"I'll be right there. Just a minute."

"What's been stopping you so far? I think you should allow yourself to be yourself."