Unraveling Riddle

5. The Snakes

Saturday, September 15th, 1945

Saturday morning, Annie jolted awake, consumed by vertigo. She clutched the nearest oak bedpost, and kicked the blankets off her ankles to reveal sweat-stained sheets. As soon as the room had stopped spinning, she turned to find early-bird Lucy had already left for breakfast.

It had not been the first time Annie had awoken in the past eight hours. In fact, most of the night was spent rolling around on her feathered bedding, attempting to find solace in thoughts of the upcoming slug club party. It was as if the clock ticking down each hour was the hand of death itself, dealing its fated cards and smirking ruefully at Annie.

She had no desire to leave her bed. So, she remained watching her vacant dungeon wall for a few moments, contemplating excuses she could use to ditch the party. Attending such a gathering on the arm of Nott would surely take a toll on her well-being. Because, he would no doubt make his moves on her, as he had in the past. And, Annie had simply never seen Nott as anything more than a classmate with a very superb sense of time.

And, knowing Slughorn, the evening would likely consist of many meal courses and discussions of academics and social standings. Things a mudblood from two squib-breeding bloodlines hadn't much to speak about.

As well, she had promised Lucy they could make a trip down to Hogsmeade and procure two reasonable dresses for the occasion. The thought of going anywhere appeared awfully treacherous at the moment. But, with finality, Annie deemed it mandatory. This would be one of those rare occasions in which she couldn't snake her way out of her anxiety. She also couldn't find it in her to leave Lucy to the wolves in such a way; throwing her into the slug club on Tom's arm after the week's curious events was no better than locking her friend in a cage with the head boy and throwing away the key. Who knew what would happen there.

Only one thing was certain; Annie needed to leave her bed and pull herself through the day gallantly, no matter the cost.

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By the time Annie had put on her robes and arrived at the dining hall for breakfast, much of the room was full. Hufflepuffs huddled closely and laughed in reminiscence. Ravenclaws were heartily discussing politics and sciences. Gryffindors were jesting loudly and reaching over each other for seconds and thirds.

The slytherins were closely-gathered, speaking in cutting whispers.

But, most importantly, neither Lucy nor Riddle were in sight. Instead, at their usual spots, sat Lestrange, Nott, and Fionnula on one side. Directly across from them sat, oddly, Marcus Milenus, who was sandwiched by Rosier and Mulciber. It seemed they had cornered him into this precarious position, where he sat hunched over his scotch eggs, making himself as small as possible for such a broad-shouldered lad.

When Fionnula beckoned her over, Annie moused her way around the long table and seated herself on the far side, adjacent to her friend. She observed Milenus closely, and then Riddle's two cronies who had him cornered.

It felt odd that a mere few days ago, the prospect of sitting with all of the head boy's friends would have been a far off constellation. Now, it seemed Annie, Lucy, and Finny had integrated themselves into the group. Perhaps it was Lucy's fantastic social skills last night at the chess match, which drew the boys in. Or Finny's knack for gossip and willingness to torment Milenus. Or perhaps it was their all-encompassing desire to watch Annie suffer after she had challenged Riddle.

"I'm glad you're here," Finny said cheerfully. "You've only just missed the start of this discussion. We all arrived not long ago and found Milenus here. So, naturally, we struck up a conversation about that little duel you had with Riddle, and suggested that Milenus take you up on your offer for a match."