Son Of Riddle

Chapter Eighteen- The note

  James ran forwards, panicked. He picked Charlotte up and cradled her in his arms, hoping she was alright. He gingerly set her down upright on the floor and picked up the note that had fallen off her stomach when he picked her up. He carefully opened it, sensing it wasn't cursed, and read it.   It read-
        Riddle,
     This is a warning. Do not mess with dark magic. Everyone knows you mean to continue your father's business and we aren't going to let that happen, no matter the cost. We will stop you by any means necessary.

There was no signature, but there was a tiny sentence hastily scribbled at the bottom of the note that looked like it was written after all the rest, and in different handwriting.
   Ps. The spider's just paralyzed.

That last sentence didn't make any sense, if this person really thought James was continuing his father's legacy, he would have just killed Charlotte, but since not only was that message in different handwriting than the rest, but they left Charlotte alive, this meant that the note was sent by not one lone person, but multiple people, an organization perhaps, and one if them didn't believe he was doing his father's work. He suspected the students, but how could they get down here? Maybe one of the older students got a hold of a book that somehow said how to open the chamber?
  He dropped the note, remembering more pressing matters, and tenderly touched Charlotte with his index finger, which began to glow as he whispered the counter curse.
  Charlotte twitched, then sprung up, seemingly unaware that anything had happened to her. She jumped on top of James's head, making him laugh. It was good to know she was still alive. He picked up the note from the ground, now knowing that Charlotte was safe, and read and re-read it a thousand times over, trying to deduce who could have sent it. The last thing he noticed was the note, and the air around him smelled strongly of Jasmine...why Jasmine?
  He sat the note down again, rubbing his temples. He laid down in his pile of snakeskin, tired from thinking too much, and draped his arm over his eyes. He thought about Slughorn and the promise he had made. He just hoped he wouldn't worm his way out of it somehow, that man was more slippery than a snake.
  As he thought, the events of the day passed through his mind. The day was quite interesting to say the least. He had made three aquaintences, and he might even go so far as to call them friends. They didn't seem manipulative, or at all evil for that matter...
  His lips formed a smile as he thought about his friends. He actually had fun with them. He couldn't remember the last time he had actual fun.
  He felt Charlotte climb up onto his chest and nestle there. He stroked her as he thought. Maybe...being here wouldn't be as bad as the thought....

  He woke up the next morning having barely slept at all with the thought of the note he found on Charlotte still plaguing his mind. He had come to a dead end when he realized no one else could speak parseltoungue...at least it was a dead end when he realized that Harry Potter could speak parseltongue. And if he could, why couldn't it have been passed down to his offspring...Adam.
  The previous night had been sleepless because he suspected his new friend of only befriending him to get inside his mind. Of trying to kill him. He had the brains for it, and he most certainly had the skill.
Now, he just needed concrete proof that it was, in fact, Adam who had given him the note, so as not to ruin a friendship unnecessarily.
  He walked over to where he had left the note and picked it up. He examined the handwriting closely. He hadn't seen Adam's handwriting before so he had no idea whether or not it matched. However, that might not even matter. Adam was extremely clever, he would most likely have changed his handwriting. However, on the off-chance that that he had used his real handwriting, it wouldn't hurt to see for himself.
  He held his hands out to Charlotte, who happily climbed in them. She seemed clingier than usual...where was the bassilisk? It was too early in it's life for it to be shedding it's skin and it was too early in the year for it to be hibernating. He decided it best not to go looking for it, at least not until he had her mask made.
  He grabbed his books and reached behind his head to put Charlotte in his hood. He climbed the steps into the bathroom and walked out of it, looking for the closest passageway to his next class, Transfiguration, also shared with Hufflepuff.
  He exited the passageway undetected, but as he headed towards the classroom, he could feel the other students' eyes on him, hiding smiles, stifling laughs. He glared at all of them, confused.
  When he got to the classroom, he saw Lucy sitting in the very back, but when he caught her eye, she started to smile, but then her eyes widened and she briskly walked over to him, grabbed his robes sleeve and pulled him to the back.
  "Did you bring Charlotte again?" She asked.
  James nodded slowly, even more confused. Charlotte should have been completely hidden inside his robes hood.
  "Did you know she was moving around in your hood, making it look like you had been cursed or something?"
  James could have facepalmed. She was at least four days, if not a week old, of course she would start moving around more.
  He reached behind him, picked Charlotte up, and put her on the desk.