Magic and Mistrust ~ Mattheo Riddle

5

I make my way to 12 Grimmauld Place. The first order meeting of the school year.

Dumbledore speaks about the usual stuff: missions, the Dark Lord's plans, and other stuff, but this time he adds another category. Voldemort's son.

"We all know he has the same intentions as his father. I wanted to give him a chance when he came to this school, but he has proven to be loyal to the evil side." He pauses for dramatic effect and to clear his throat. "However, he is just a boy, and he is likely to accidentally give out plans when one of our spies snoops enough and pushes enough."

I see Hermione's eyes light up from across the room. There was no way she was volunteering. Not after everything she said to me.

"Madelyn can do it," she suggests. "He has taken a liking to her."

"Is this true?" He asks.

I hold back a sigh. "He talked to me like twice."

Dumbledore barely let me get the sentence out before announcing that I would be the spy. "You are to get close to him and find out his secrets. Be careful,"

Did he even listen to what I said?

I nod because there's nothing else I can do. There was no stopping this plan.

~

"As we read babies' palms, the parents want many things," Professor Trelawney starts the class. "What is the most desired thing for how someone will turn out?"

"You would want them to be a good person with moral values; without that, you can't be anything in life. You would also need to be a hard worker." I say.

"What if you were born with wealth? You don't need to work for anything." Another student interjects on my previous statement.

I turn around and glance at Mattheo, knowing that he doesn't need to work as hard as the rest of us.

He makes eye contact with me and says, "It's all about logical choices. They need to follow their brain, not their emotions, looking at things from a logical perspective."

I roll my eyes. "It depends on the circumstances. You should be able to make good choices, not just logical ones."

"If you follow your heart, you'll lose everything—all your wealth—just for something small." He spits.

Screw my mission. Frustration takes over me. "Not everyone is motivated by wealth," I argue, remembering yesterday and how good it felt to have some friends. Something small like that wouldn't ruin your whole life unless you let it.

"Okay, no personal attacks," Profesor reminds us as the discussion goes on.

"You don't know what motivates me. If you have no wealth, no one will be interested in you."

I shoot back, "If you're a decent person, you'll have many people who can help you."

"But you can't control them. Try controlling people without money."

I think about how he tried to bribe me with money, and it didn't work. Why does he want to control everyone so badly? He thinks he can have control over everything and that he's the only one that matters in this world.

"Everything you do, you think your money can fix, but that shows how empty you are. You're nothing without money, and people will never be interested in you, only in your money."

His eyes widen, and without a word, he gets up and storms out of the classroom.

I turn around to face the front of the class, my heart pounding with regret. I didn't mean to hurt anyone; I just wanted him to understand my point.

My face turned red and I felt hot. I can't believe I did that.

The class falls silent, except for a few snickers from some of the other students.

Professor Trelawney continued class, like nothing happened, but I could feel her gaze linger on me as she taught.

~

As soon as class was finished, I rushed out. I couldn't look anyone in the eyes; I felt embarrassed and ashamed.

My legs took me somewhere unexpected.

The Hufflepuff common room.

I walked in, thankful there was no password.

Annie is sitting at a far table, doing homework, I presume.

I sit down without saying a word. She acknowledges my presence with a smile but doesn't say anything, continuing on with her work.

"Have you ever hurt someone so badly that they left the room?" I ask, out of nowhere.

"Well, only with my siblings," she half laughs.

"I know it's different, but what would you do in that situation?"

"I usually get them some chocolate and apologise. Our fights are over pointless things."

"Thanks," I was glad I had someone to ask for advice.

I'm not sure if he'll accept my apology, but I'll try. I really shouldn't have said that. I know better, yet my emotions got the best of me. I have lost control like that since—

Annie snaps me out of my thoughts and says, "Go on. You'll do fine, and maybe you guys will become friends." She smiles, going back to her work.

I smile back, going out to find him.

I find him in the quidditch field, doing pushups. He sees me and rolls his eyes.

"I'm suspended from the Quidditch team, but I can still be on the pitch." He spits and continues working out.

"I'm sorry," I say. "I shouldn't have said that. You're right; I don't know you, and I had no right."

He stands up and says, "Of course I was right."

I roll my eyes and turn around.

"I'm sorry too." He says to my back, "We should get started on that project soon."

"Yeah, tomorrow?" I ask, and he agrees.

I'm so relieved that he isn't holding a grudge against me. Maybe working on the project won't be so bad.