Unraveling Riddle

1. The Duel

NOTE: The story is trash, bc I never write anymore and the quarantine has me bored. But I love some trash. So, let's goooo.

Thursday, September 13th, 1945

Seventh-year slytherin, Annie Kiggins thought whatever she could've done, it would've beat attending her Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

It was a dueling day. Usually, in the past, Annie had been paired up with her only friend, Lucinda Tanner. However, Lucy never passed sixth year DADA, so, for the first time, Annie was the odd one out in her class, and would be expected to go up against one of the others.

Annie's nerves made it difficult for her to engage in the obnoxious back-and-forth the other slytherins participated in for breakfast. She plucked idly at a large blueberry muffin, and listened in on the day's gossip. To her left, Lucy was engaged in a covert discussion with Fionnula Wood, about a fourth year student who was courting a seventh year.

"It's positively disgusting. Imagine having so little self-respect," Lucy flashed her glassy smile. That day, Lucy's red hair was combed into a tight knot above her head, and her cheeks were coated in a dusting of blush. Annie was surprised that Lucy was engaged enough with Fionnula that morning that she failed to notice when Riddle walked into the dining hall and selected a seat near Nott and Mulciber, a few feet away.

Fionnula, a tall blonde girl, slammed her fork back into her mess of scrambled eggs and declared, "Soon enough we might see a proposal. Or, imagine, a pregnancy. What a travesty it'll be." The light in her eyes indicated anything but a travesty. Finny was a notorious gossip, and had always had a knack for provoking people. She leaned forward, and adjusted her perfectly rolled hair. "What about you Annie? I've not heard any news from you since last semester. Do you have a sweetheart?"

Lucy nearly choked on her food.

When Annie rolled her eyes, Finny continued, "Or you Lucy, still pining after the same old boy?"

"My schedule is full currently," Lucy grinned, hiding her anxiety behind a delicate facade. "Tell us about yours instead."

"I'm sure you'd like to know," Finny spat. After a brief moment of silence, Lucy let out a laugh, and the other girls followed.

Each meal went something like that in slytherin. Her whole life, Annie imagined what it might be like on the other side. She shifted her attention to the Ravenclaw table, and noticed how the kids sat side-by-side, smiling honestly at each other. There was no competition between them.

Picking at her muffin, she wondered what would have been, if on her first day the hat had said "Ravenclaw!" like she had always dreamed as a child.

"So, you're not going to tell us about your potential sweethearts, Finny?" Lucy pondered, wide-eyed. "I'm awfully bored of this fourth year news."

Finny let her mask falter for a second, giving away her tentative excitement. "Well, of course I trust you both with a secret," she leaned in as if to speak in private, however, her voice was carrying. "Since last weekend, I've been convinced that Richard Stern is dead gone on me. He's been slipping me notes after class, and he said I look wonderful in that red dress I wore last Saturday. Imagine that."

Lucy squealed and took Finny's hand, "He's proper handsome."

"That he is," Annie grinned. It did bring her a certain thrill to imagine a nice boy like Richard Stern sending love letters. And Finny, despite being slytherin to the bone and a hopeless gossip, was kinder than most, and deserving of something like that. "Maybe he'll ask you to the yule ball," she suggested curtly.