Rylin Riddle: After The War

chapter one

January 14, 2000 (Friday)

        I laid in my bed, staring at the ceiling. Another day to waste away. This week is Mattheo and I's twentieth birthday.

Yes, twenty years old.

Twenty years of this amazing life of being a fucking wizard.

        Somehow I still live with Tom in his house, Mattheo sticking around too. They don't trust me to move out. They need to be there in case something goes wrong. They won't admit it, but it's obvious. They're scared I'm going to spiral at any moment.

Guess what else?

        I have a whole manor to my name. A huge one too. But no one's actually seen it. No one's made an effort to get there. We know it's in Schiltach, Baden-Württemberg Germany and in good shape.

        The Ministry of magic had to put it into my name when my father died.

        It's crazy, even after Tom Riddle turned into Voldemort, the ministry had to keep his will in place. They had to honor it until he officially died.

        Therefore, they had to sign the Manor over to me because it was written in his will and in the forms of the manor. Even with all the death eater shit going on. The ministry worker who helped me with the papers clearly hated me and the fact that I was even able to stay free. A lot of death eaters were locked up in Azkaban. My brothers and I skipped out on the whole Azkaban thing.

        We went through countless trials for the first year after the war though. Somehow, a combination of money and veritaserum allowed us to be free. We had to get periodic check-ins for a few months after all the trials ended, but otherwise, we're free.

        Enzo paid his way out completely, and since he didn't actually fight at all during the war, he was cleared somehow.

I'm not sure what happened to Draco.

        I haven't heard from him once. I wrote to him multiple times but the letters were always just sent right back to me like Theo's were. He's not at the Malfoy Manor anymore and somehow isn't able to be found, even with owls. I'm sure he's alright, he always is. I just wish he'd reach out to me and tell me that for sure.

Theo.

My boyfriend.

Or at least he was my boyfriend.

        I haven't seen him since the war. Since Harry magically came back to life and we managed to kill Voldemort once and for all.

        Maybe he's with his family. His brother. Maybe he's dead. Maybe Theodore Nott has been dead all along. I wouldn't know. No one does. But he can't be. Theodore Nott has to be alive somewhere. I just hope he made it out of the war somehow.

        Mattheo, Tom, and I don't talk much anymore. I don't feel like I can talk to them anymore. They try to talk to me, but I can't do it. Something inside my head tells me to stay away from them. That they're keeping me from being my true self.

        I think it's the opposite. I'm keeping myself from it. The best I can at least. But I'll get to that later.

Enzo visits me at least once a week. We used to talk when he came over, but we barely do any more. I have nothing to say to him. The same thing is how it goes with my brothers, I'm tired of life.

        This fall, they're opening Hogwarts again. Everyone attended Durmstrang and Beauxbatons Academy this school year or pursued homeschooling because of the whole war and Voldemort thing.