Liz has always refused to become like her family. Even though the blood of the Black family flows in her veins. Adopted by Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange after the death of her father Regulus - in hopes of "setting her on the right path" , she st...
The Riddle from the diary was not Mattheo, but the dark lord himself. She had let him trick her into opening the Chamber of Secrets, and now there was something out there prowling the school, preying on students.
And then there was Mattheo.
Liz buried her face under her pillow.
She had braced herself for his hatred when she had stood up to him, but instead.... She threw the pillow down beside her. And immediately froze in motion, listening to see if any of the other girls woke up. Had they really almost kissed? Mattheo had said it under the influence of the truth serum. But he had also somehow managed to lie, despite the potion, when Snape had asked him if he knew who had opened the chamber.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Liz. Was Mattheo trying to blackmail her with this? If anyone found out what she had done, she would be expelled!
*
When the sun finally came up, Liz felt drained and miserable. She had to do something. But she didn't have the slightest idea what.
First, she had to find Mattheo.
Even before Luna's alarm clock rang, Liz had dressed and gone to breakfast. As she had expected, word had spread that she had been involved in the attack. The students, who were starting to get used to her again, were dodging her like she had the plague.
Mattheo was not sitting at the Syltherin's table, but Draco Malfoy seemed to be just waiting for her arrival. As soon as he spotted her, he jumped up and pushed her back out of the great hall.
"What happened yesterday?" he hissed as he scowled, shooing away the curious few. It wasn't until they reached an abandoned classroom that they stopped. With the wave of his wand, Draco magically locked the door so no one could disturb them.
"I need to know where Mattheo is," Liz insisted.
"No one has seen him since the attack yesterday," Malfoy grumbled, arms crossed. "If he really did open the chamber, I don't think even his name can save him from a reprimand."
"He didn't do it!" blurted Liz, immediately feeling her stomach tighten. Draco would help her. He couldn't risk sullying his family's reputation. "I did it."
Blinking slowly, Draco came over to her. You could clearly see how long it took him to process the information. "You did what? But how?"
"Remember that notebook you asked me about?"
Neatly trimmed eyebrows drew together over steel-gray eyes. "You said you didn't know about it."
"I didn't mean to lie to you. I just didn't understand it in the moment."
Draco was still struggling to sort through all the information. "And then you just gave the book back to Riddle? Because I know he has it now."
"Sort of," Liz muttered unintelligibly, stepping from one foot to the other. "But that's not the point right now, either. We need to find Riddle. He knows it was me. If he tells on me, that's it!"
But Draco only laughed mockingly before patting Liz's shoulder like a child. "Why would he do that? He's the last Heir of Slytherin. If anything, he should be grateful to you for doing the job for him." He was still grinning contentedly as he walked back to the door. "Don't you worry about a thing. It's all going according to plan."
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Liz stayed behind, caught off guard.
Of course. What had she thought? For the Malfoys, this was a dream. Dumbledore would be in mighty trouble as principal, and Muggle-borns would live in terror.
Involuntarily, Liz's fingers found their way up her sleeve to the warm, soft skin that had been maltreated by the candle's fire the night before. Her fingernails dug deep into her flesh until she finally felt the redeeming pain. She would have to find a way on her own to make amends for what she had done. Even if that meant she could never go back to her family afterwards. Luckily, winter break was coming soon.
*
Liz had stayed behind after Professor Flitwick's magic class and was now the last to step up to the teacher's desk. She had managed to avoid both Luna's and Ginny's questions so far, but she wouldn't be able to get away with it for long.
"Yes, Miss Black?" the older wizard asked even before she could say anything.
"Professor," Liz began, clearing her throat. "I've heard from other students that their houses already have the lists out for winter break. I mean, who wants to stay here and who doesn't."
The professor stopped digging through his papers. "Yes, yes. I didn't think it was necessary. You wouldn't want to stay, would you, Miss Black?! With everything that's going on?" The excitement was visibly bad for the man, as he huffed and gasped for air.
Immediately Liz raised her arms reassuringly. "Please, Professor, hear me out. I just want - you know - my family." Slowly, the man calmed down and nodded hesitantly. "I'll get a room in Hogsmead, if that calms you? Please."
The two stood facing each other in silence for a moment. Professor Flitwick had confronted Liz a year ago about the fact that not only did she spend all of her vacations at Hogwarts, she was always trying to find new ways to fill even summer vacations with internships or extracurricular activities.
Since Liz had guessed that the professor must have overheard the rumors, she had finally confessed to him that she was not welcome in her family.
"I'll find a solution. Don't worry," he finally agreed, dismissing the relieved student.
"So it's true."
Liz winced so hard that she dropped her books. Right next to the door stood Gregory Finley, grinning from ear to ear.
"I almost didn't believe it when I heard about it. Whitey, all your posturing lately," he leaned over to Liz and grabbed her tie. "You're nothing but a liar. Your own family doesn't want to see you." He laughed victoriously. All his accusations against the witch had finally found a foundation. A foundation on which he could build his tyranny. "Well, that can only mean that you really had nothing to do with the attacks."
"Buzz off, Finley!" Liz tried to tear her tie loose, but the young Ravenclaw had it wrapped around his hand.
"Or what?"
"Or you'll be the next one my monster comes for." Mattheo had come up behind Gregory and was leaning over him with a creepy laugh.
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Liz could literally see the blood leaving Gregory's face. His hand shakily released the tie before he put distance between himself and the dark lord's son with mechanical steps.
Mattheo was still laughing when Gregory disappeared into the hallways. "Let's see when he finally learns."
"You didn't have to do that," Liz muttered, suddenly feeling more insecure than ever in Mattheo's presence. She frantically picked up her books, only to nearly collide with Mattheo, who had also knelt down.
