[victoria's pov]

Last night I dreamt of Riddle.

I laid on the ground, back in the Riddle manor, helplessly. The room was more closed in, the fireplace blazing green instead of red and oranges. The only shadow in the room was the one approaching me. My body was petrified, but my heart raced faster than you could hear and his figure approached me. My eyes examined the room in panic, looking for a way out as he got on his knees and stroked my cheek with a grin.

Then in a blink, I woke up in my dormitory. Alone.

Christmas break ended and the halls began to fill again. Some students struggled to adjust to their new classes and for some, it was the same old. Nothing about Druella was new, unless you counted her closer relationship with Cygnus–Not that I noticed, but more like I was being forced to hear about it.

I didn't show up to class on the first day and had to lie about getting food poisoning. I couldn't bear to be in class and cover up Serenity's disappearance to Druella or anyone on the Slytherin quidditch team.

On the second day of the holiday's end, I attended class. I had stopped showing up to Riddle's tutoring lessons with Theo. Day by day went slowly and painfully without Serenity.

"Are you alright?" Druella asked me as we made our way to class. I nodded and she paused, pulling me aside of the corridor. I couldn't lie to her, it'd be too painful to watch her struggle with the right words to say...

"You're not gaining feelings towards someone else, are you?" she questioned me. "Because Nott is a-"

"No!" I exclaimed right away. "Never, what makes you think that?"

She looked over my shoulder. "I just don't want you hanging out with the wrong crowd."

I turned my back and saw Riddle's shadow disappear.

Then later that night, just as I predicted, every student was pulled away from their beds in the middle of the night. Just like last year when Myrtle Warren was murdered. We were summoned to the great hall. Not a second was given for us to change so Druella and I showed up in robes and slippers. All of the students were crowded, slowly forcing ourselves into the great hall.  I could hear whispers and rumours boiling already.

"D'you think someone else has been murdered?"

"It's Warren all over again."

"It's as if this school is cursed or something!"

There were many agreements on that one.

I felt a familiar touch on my arm and saw Theo. I knew he had noticed my behaviour lately. His hand slid down my arms, past the compass-watch, and gripped my hand in his. His silence said more than anything else in the room; It will be okay.

In that moment, in the middle of my mourning, I knew I had fallen in love. It wasn't the feeling everyone described in tales. It wasn't an overwhelming sensation of being caught off guard and realising how much you were grateful for them.

Of all the galaxies and universes, Theo and I woke up under the same moon and walked on the same earth. Knowing this made my heart heavy and my distress grow. It meant I could lose my everything.

I wanted to cry in his arms and confess everything to him. Confess my guilt and regret of accidentally killing my closest friend. And everything about my connection with Riddle. How dangerous he was- How dangerous I was. But the only thing stopping me was the thought of how much danger I'd put him in.

The three of us entered the hall, Theo never letting go of my hand, and stood beside a huddle of Hufflepuffs. No one was reserved for a seat, and voices of theories, curiosity echoed loudly. Most of all, confusion.

It had to have been five minutes later when I felt a familiar feeling rise in my chest, the feeling of being watched. I turned over my shoulder and standing under the tall windows, was Riddle. He and I locked eyes and I quickly turned away, giving my attention to Headmaster Dippet, who eventually quieted down the hall after a moment.

I looked around to read the expressions of my professors. They all looked confused, even Slughorn–who was typically "in-the-know." Beside Dippet was Dumbledore, who had an unreadable expression on his face. He neither looked confused or grim. And he surely was not happy either. Though like the rest of us, we all knew it wasn't going to be good news.

Dippet inhaled deeply before tapping his wand over his throat, like a microphone.

"I am not sorry to interrupt your night," he started with a grim tone. It was the most serious he's ever sounded. "It is urgent that I alert you all about a missing student."

As soon as those words left his mouth, the room began to fill up with whispers and wonder. Theo and Druella shared the same look, eyeing each other.

"Silence!" Dippet commanded and the room went quiet, eager for more information.

"I regret to inform you that our friend, Serenity Viridian, a Slytherin, has been reported missing for the past two weeks now."

The room exploded.

I felt something crawl up my throat. Druella's face paled and Theo couldn't do anything but wrap me from the back. I dared not look Druella in the eye.

"Two weeks!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

I knew she felt guilty for not noticing, but it was nothing compared to the guilt inside me. She cried into my shoulder, but all I could do was caress her back with my mouth agape, at loss for words. I didn't know how to comfort her. I didn't know how to pretend to be shocked.

Dippet didn't bother silencing the room this time and spoke over us until it quieted. We all faced him.

"Though we all may not know her, she is a student of Hogwarts and is as important as each and every single one of you. She was last seen getting off the train. Therefore, the ministry has raised security surveillance and there is currently an open investigation. No one is allowed off school grounds unless permitted to. That means no further Hogsmeade visits and nearing the Forbidden Forest under any circumstances."

The castle caretaker, Mister Pringle, watched with a sly expression of glee as he watched some of the younger students' faces drop–who didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. Despite that, no one protested.

"We will try our best to bring Serenity Viridian home," Dippet said and dismissed us. We all turned for the doors and he stopped us with one more announcement.

"Though we hope it is not one of our own who has any role in Miss Viridian's disappearance... take no surprise if you are pulled out of class for questioning."

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After that note, I wasn't surprised to be pulled out of class the next school day. I hadn't even stepped into Defence Against the Dark Arts when Riddle stopped me from entering the class. His sudden appearance made me bump into his chest and I quickly took a step backward.

He didn't seem fazed by my touch. His arms were behind his back and he stepped out the doorway to explain the situation to me.

"I'm to escort you to Headmaster Dippet's office."

I almost scoffed. "I suppose you volunteered," I said. "I thought I told you to stay away from me as well, Riddle. Or is it Volde-"

He took a step forward to stop me from finishing my sentence. He lowered his head and glared at me almost angrily. There was a fire in his eyes that told me to heed his warning.

"I wouldn't say it if I were you," he whispered. "We don't want the events from weeks ago surfacing, do we?"

I clenched my jaw, remembering my nightmares. Of all the nightmares in my life, none of them had haunted me for so long. None of them made me relive a walking nightmare. And because of that, I hated Riddle.

"You don't need to make me relive it again," I said sternly, turning away from him. I headed towards Dippet's office, which unfortunately meant I'd have to take the long stairways. I stormed off, but I could feel his presence closely behind me.

He followed silently then quickly found his way ahead of me. He was the one escorting me afterall. He turned his head slightly to make sure I was following then turned away. A split second later, he turned his head, almost startled.

"Where is it?" he demanded, examining my chest.

I knew what he wanted.

"Don't play games with me, Locke," he warned with arched brows. "Where. Is. The. Ring." With every word, he stepped closer.

"You'll get your ring back," I said, walking past him. He whipped me around by the shoulder harshly, to my surprise.

"It's more than a ring!" he exclaimed. "It's a hor- an heirloom!" He scowled at me as I raised my brow.

"You stuttered, Tom," I said questioningly. "You never stutter."

His face rested as I took a step toward him.

"What is it that's so special about that ring?" I questioned him, pointing my finger into his chest.

His teeth grinded harshly as he looked down at my finger. I then put the pieces together. His conversation from Slughorn. He wanted to split his soul.

"It's a-"

"Horcrux?" I finished for him quite loudly.

He quickly grabbed me by my collar with both hands and banged me against the stone wall.

"I could kill you," he said, his breath against my face. "You keep your nose where it belongs, Locke."

My breath quivered, but I watched with pride at his reaction. I had woken the monster in the gentleman.

"What is it that amuses you?" he asked me with a low tone.

My grin dropped. I hadn't noticed the plastered look on my face.

"You play the part of Jekyll very well," I said. "But not well enough."

He must've understood what I meant because he let go of my collar and sucked his teeth. His face rested once again and he forcingly fixed my uniform for me. I pushed his hands off me.

"Don't touch me."

His eyebrow twitched and his Adam's apple sharpened. He turned away as I followed him to the Headmaster's office. As we approached the gargoyle, he spoke the password and the gargoyle hopped off, stepping away from the small podium. As I stepped toward the stairs, Riddle leaned behind my ear..

"Don't forget to play dumb."

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I was awakened by the unusual commotion going on in the common room. I was exhausted, not from last night's interruption, but from lack of peaceful sleep. My under eyes weren't looking any better. My magic was still gone and I could barely participate in class.

"Maybe I should have taken Riddle's tonic," I mumbled to myself, but remembered I wanted nothing more to do with him. As long as he was in my life, I'd be under his control. I rethought our last conversation. I could hardly remember what I even ate for breakfast now. I felt my bare neck, realising how empty it felt. I got out of bed, in search of it. I leaned my ears against the ground, looking under the bed. I could hear students being louder than usual from below.

"What's all of that commotion?" I asked Druella, who laid beside me on bed without a single movement. She still felt guilty for not realising Serenity's disappearance and had needed me there for her. She hadn't slept since.

"Snow day apparently," she said. "So everyone's going out and about."

"But we're not allowed to leave school grounds-?"

"It's been a few weeks so they've bent the new policies," she responded blankly.

Weeks. Already.

There was a long and painfully awkward pause, which only fed my temptation to admit the truth to Druella but I couldn't let her fall under Riddle's manipulation too. I had to play dumb. And I hated it. Him.

I waved my arms under my dresser. My finger entwined with the loop and I quickly grasped it in my palms with a sigh of relief. I stood up in my turtleneck nightgown and saw Druella sitting up in her bed.

"She'd be miserable seeing you like this," I said, realising how defeated she looked. She was as pale as a ghost with circles darker than mine under her eyes. Her curved lips were now flat with a faint purple. "I have a feeling she wouldn't want this for you."

"You make it sound like she's not coming back," Druella said. "Like something horrid's happened to her."

As much as I loved Druella, I couldn't give her false hope. I faced her and sighed. "Druella, it's been weeks... weeks since she's been missing and hasn't been found."

I could feel a lump in my throat as I said those words. She sat straight up and looked at me with arched brows.

"It's as if you're hoping she doesn't come back, Victoria," she said with a warning tone.

I felt my chest rise and said, "You know I would never wish that. It's not like hope is going to bring Serenity back, Druella." I got up and headed out the door, wearing my silk robes over my nightgown. Druella quickly followed after me and grabbed my arm in the Slytherin hallway.

"Don't touch me, Druella!" I cried, pulling away.

"Why're you behaving like this?" she exclaimed. "Serenity's coming back, you and I know it!"

I thought of Serenity's body and how her blood stained the field of snow. How the soil would forever know the taste of her blood and how Serenity's empty eyes would be burned into my own. I remembered the tear over her chest, the piercing slit through her skin and snowflakes melting as soon as they landed on her chest.

I felt my anger rise and I shouted at her. "Hope isn't going to bring Serenity back! Hope does more damage than anything else."

I tried to walk away as Druella tried to tug at my arm.

"But, Victoria-"

"For Salazar's sake, she's gone, Druella!" I screamed, shoving her away. "She's never coming back! In a few years, she'll just become another case file stuck in the Ministry's magical law enforcement's office." She stumbled back and I saw Theo and Riddle behind her. Cygnus followed shortly behind. Theo looked at me with his big concerned eyes and took small steps towards me.

Druella burst into tears and screamed at me. "You're a real friend, you know that?" Her voice cracked with sarcasm and she backed away from me, her back meeting Cygnus' chest. "She would have never given up on either of us if we were missing!"

"I know," I said. "But she never would have led us with hope either." If she knew what I knew.

I made my way out the common room, followed by Theo. Out of the dungeons, he blocked my way out of the stairs and pulled me in a longing hug. Not a hug that felt like love, but more of a hug that felt like grief.

I cried and didn't care about how pathetic I must have looked. His arms wrapped around me so tight, the truth almost slipped out of me. I wanted to beg him to leave Hogwarts and never come back. I wanted to keep him away from the same fate Serenity faced. He caressed my head, speechless but his actions said more than what could ever be spoken.

I realised how much good Theo had in him. How much good he had to keep my dark magic maintained for so long. But the dark can snuff out the light. Just as I'd done to Serenity. And that was what I feared most. He wasn't safe around me.

For as long as I attended Hogwarts, I knew I'd be a prisoner of Riddle. That I'd be under his control as long as I was in his grasp... Theo would never be safe. He wasn't safe near me. And it aches my heart to realise.

I couldn't let him love me.

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I need my own Theo so badly.

Your author, riddlefiqs.

December 11th, 2023