His Saving Grace

Chapter 13 - Room of Requirement & Hogsmeade

The large wooden door was definitely not there before, that I was certain of. I know I am a witch going to a magical school, but it is still quite ominous for such crazy occurrences constantly taking place without any sort of logical explanation. But the lack of logical explanation made the occurrences all the more fun! I slowly pushed the doors open wide and made my way inside the room.

The room was spacious, filled with various random objects thrown around, no windows nor curtains, and if it were not for the candles and small chandeliers surrounding the area there would only be absolute darkness. I definitely needed to explore more before leaving, despite currently feeling unsafe and uneasy inside this room. I walked slowly, careful not to step on or break anything. I wanted to touch everything, maybe even take something, but decided taking that action would go against my better judgment.

The silence was interrupted by an ear-splitting screech and a loud groan, probably coming from a male. Now, I was beginning to feel scared. I was initially looking for Riddle, but he could not possibly be here, so where did that sound come from and what nutter was responsible for the deafening sound?

I continued walking in search of the source that provoked the terrible noise, but someone grabbed me from behind and spun me around, it was Riddle.

I pushed him away and said, "Blimey, plonker you scared me!"

He did not seem like he was happy to see me nor did he want to engage in a worded duel, he looked like he was a predator about to kill his prey.

"What in the bloody hell are you doing here Alastair?", he screamed angrily.

I responded, "Calm down you git! Don't need to be so angry and dodgy all the time. I really think you-".

"How did you get in here and what did you see?", he said while interrupting my train of thought.

I blinked three times and paused, what had I actually seen or heard? Was I going crazy? Is this a dream... should I pinch myself?

"Do not be so daft, stop pinching yourself and answer me!", Riddle exclaimed.

I fixed myself, regained confidence, and told him I had seen nothing but that I had heard a screech that nearly gave me a heart attack. He looked at me questioningly before stepping back and saying I needed to leave. Obviously, I objected because this room is not his property for him to be so possessive and rude over it.

"There is nothing you could do or say that could get me to leave, I barely just got here.", I said.

He responded with saying, "You'll find I can be very... persuasive".

I scoffed at his remark, but a part of me was drawn in and I wanted to know what he meant by it. So, I decided leaving would set off a chain of events that would maybe lead me to finding out his intentions.

I walked closer to him and softly said, "I guess it is true what they say... persuasion truly is more effectual than force." winked and turned around to leave. I would be back eventually.

I heard him shout, "Don't test me Alastair!"

It was humorous how the bloke could get so rattled up in the span of one minute due to a few words I spit out recklessly.

I couldn't leave just yet, I turned back around and said, "I know you're planning something and I will find out what it is."

I wanted to have the last word, I'd leave him thinking. I exited the room and the door disappeared. I would need to find my way back in there again, but how?

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A few days had passed since I found Riddle in the mysterious room and he had made it a point to avoid me at all costs, which truly made my life much better. I was waiting for Abraxas in front of the school's main entrance. We were heading to Hogsmeade today and the boy was already five minutes late, thankfully Riddle was nowhere in sight.

When the students were getting ready to leave, Abraxas runs towards the group and comes to a full stop when he got to me. Out of breath, he apologizes and says his roommate did not wake him, but made it clear he would never stand me up. I looked at him and told him to breathe, I would not want him dying due to lack of oxygen before we'd make it to Hogsmeade.

Once he settled down, he straightened himself and we started laughing at what just happened. He wrapped his arm around my neck, ruffled my hair, and we joined the rest of the group of third to seventh years.

I am starting to like Malfoy quite a lot, but our relationship was purely platonic and I liked it that way. I enjoyed his company and how we relate to each other. Who would have thought? We both felt the happiest when learning new things, only socialized with those we deemed worthy, and had grown up neglected by our rich families that had better things to do than give us proper love and attention.

Unlike myself, he did not want to become an Auror but instead a Ministry of Magic Official, which was a very common profession among the Malfoy ranks. That was truly my only disappointment in concerns to him, he lived to please his family and their views. But I try not to give him a hard time because at least he has a family and maybe I would have done the same if I still had mine.

Arriving at Hogsmeade, we immediately headed to Honeydukes shop; my favorite shop and the main reason I was taking the trip. The both of us bought all sorts of sweets and candy, but Abraxas still made fun of my sweet tooth.

After walking together for a few hours and doing lots of window shopping, I told him I needed to buy a new quill. He took that time to go catch up with some of his friends while I went to the best quill shop around, Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. I felt someone, who I knew was not Abraxas, staring at me from afar. I did not care enough to look back, so I continued walking towards Scrivenshaft's.

Once inside, I saw all of the quills, parchment paper and envelopes lying neatly throughout the small cozy store. I inspected various quills in search for the perfect fit. Also, I needed to find some ink because I was running out and I would have to mail another letter in a few weeks. I purchased the perfect writing tool, a white feathered strong quill.

Making my way to where I had left Abraxas, I notice he was not alone, but he was no longer with his large group of friends. Instead, Riddle and Abraxas were in what seemed to be a heated conversation.

I picked up the pace and when I got to them I said, "Abraxas, everything alright? Riddle, never good to see you. Is there a problem here?".

The tension between the three of us could not be cut even with a knife. Abraxas seemed disturbed and Riddle looked like he had been caught at the scene of a crime. Abraxas simply answered my question by nodding. He looked at Riddle with a knowing look, grabbed my hand and took me far away from the young idolized Slytherin.