Magic and Mistrust ~ Mattheo Riddle

2

I make my way to my first lesson, as I turn the corner, I bump into someone. It was one of the boys from the library. Mattheo Riddle.

"You know who I am. Madison? Is it?" He asks,

Everyone knew who he was, and everyone who had an ounce of intelligence knew that they had to stay away.

"It's Madelyn." I roll my eyes. Of course, he assumes that everyone knows him but doesn't make any effort to know anyone else's name.

"We need to talk," He says, and leans a bit closer, "In private,"

I roll my eyes and he leads the way to an empty corridor.

"What is this about?" I ask,

"I know you saw something last night," he says, his eyes darting around, making sure no one was listening. "You have to keep quiet about it."

I look around and drop my voice. "You and your friend are death eaters. What about it?"

"Just don't tell anyone. It's not what you think,"

"It's exactly what I think, Riddle."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch. Coins clink inside. "Take this," he said, handing it to me. "Just keep your mouth shut."

I look at the pouch in my hand and then at him. "Wow," I say, "You're an even bigger prick than I thought you were," I take the bag, pushing it into his chest, trying to give it back and leave.

"Wait, we're not done here." He grabs my hand. "I know you could use the money; maybe get some new study materials." He lowers his voice, "Purchase books that aren't in the library."

I rolled my eyes; I couldn't let him see that his offer was tempting. "I've got enough and more things to learn at Hogwarts, so maybe take that money and buy some foundation to cover those marks before anyone else finds out," I spit and then leave, rushing to class.

Annie sits at my table, chatting with Dash, and James' head is down, his hood up.

"Hey Madelyn," Annie notices me, "why are you so late?"

She seemed genuinely curious, not saying it in a teasing way. Annie always found a way to start a conversation at the beginning of class or even at the end. I've been giving her one-word, vague answers.

At a school like this one, she was going to get hurt sooner or later. That attitude is rare, and people love to take advantage of it.

"Oh, you know..." I trail off, expecting her to just leave it alone, but she waits patiently for me to finish. "Late night. I slept in."

She smiles, "I can't wait until lessons are over." She waits for me to ask why; I don't. "You know why?"

I shake my head.

"We're going to have a picnic at the black lake!" She squeals, giddy with excitement.

I press my lips together, not giving her a real answer. I wasn't a fan of small talk.

"I know, right? It's going to be so fun." She bounces in her seat and says, "You should come!"

I raised my eyebrows at the invitation.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Dash joins in.

"Oh, I don't know," I try to decline the offer politely, "I might be busy."

"Well, it's just going to be me, Dash, and James if you change your mind." She tells me as James's head lifts at the mention of his name. He looks at me and rubs his eyes.