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...
"Explain to me again why I can't just do magic?" Mattheo looked critically at the pan in his hand and back at Liz.
"Because Muggles have fun flipping pancakes by hand," Liz insisted, bracing her hands on her hips, only to immediately lose her balance from laughing. With her bandaged foot in the air, she stood next to the young man like a flamingo. "Go on! I dare you."
They had started to work down their list.
"Why do you want to learn to cook so badly?" insisted Mattheo, swinging the pan back and forth a few times to get ready.
"I have to live on something in case I never get my magic back."
"But I can still conjure up dinner for us."
Liz laughed even louder and propped herself up on the countertop. "For the rest of my life?" she asked jokingly. "Come on! Otherwise it'll burn!"
"I wouldn't mind," he remarked lightly before tossing the pancake into the air.
"What?", Liz wanted to know when the batter flew through the air , catching her attention.
With bated breath, they both watched it rotate in the air before Mattheo swung the pan again. Eyes wide, they both stared in disbelief at the perfectly flipped pancake. Immediately, they burst into exaggerated cheers.
This was their new thing. Their attempt to block out reality for a while longer. Mattheo had had Draco get them a tablet and they had been experimenting with muggle hobbies together ever since. So far they had learned muggle chess, and Liz still wasn't sure if she was really that much better than Mattheo, or if he was letting her win. Her foot was much better since Liz had finally realized that her body needed rest, but she still limped when she walked.
"My turn!" exclaimed Liz exuberantly. "You're setting the table in the meantime!"
"Are you sure you can do this without my expert guidance?" joked Mattheo, sliding the first pancake onto a plate.
Liz laughed, but there was a good reason she couldn't set the table. After her return and their scuffle in the fireplace, Mattheo had put the journal on the kitchen table so he could patch her ankle in peace.
And there it still lay now. Until now, Mattheo had always taken care of the food. He had waved his wand and two pizzas had flown in through the window or sandwiches had made themselves. Liz hadn't thought about the diary being here at all when she'd put cooking dinner on her list.
When they'd gone into the kitchen, they'd both just stood there staring at it for a breath, until Liz had decided to pretend it wasn't even there. Time and again, she had wanted to reach out and touch it when Mattheo had been distracted. Had wanted to look for her magic in the ruined pages. But then she had been overcome with fear that she wouldn't find it. What if she picked up the journal and there was nothing there but a broken old notebook?
So she had continued to ignore it, had looked up a recipe for pancakes on the Internet, and now here they were.
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Mattheo must have sensed the tension as well, because he made it disappear inconspicuously. Liz didn't even notice where he put it. Had he hidden it away? Instead, he laid out the dishes and silverware without taking his eyes off Liz.
Even though he could feel her injuries, he still treated her like a raw egg. "So how's it going?" He popped up behind her just as Liz was getting ready to swing the pan. By a hair, the pancake landed in his face.
"You have to stop doing that!" squeaked Liz, barely saving her pancake. The youngest Riddle chuckled.
It was easier to pretend everything was normal instead of facing the truth. The fact that Mattheo was still attached to that diary couldn't mean anything good, and Liz knew that better than she would let Mattheo see. She had decided to play her part and enjoy this sandcastle of dreams for a while. But she wouldn't be surprised when the wave of reality caught up with her and washed away all the pretty pretense. She would not cry when the day came for Mattheo to betray her in order to win his father's love.
With a frustrated smile on her lips, Liz tossed her pancake.
