D I L E M M A x Mattheo Riddle

sincerely mum

                  Vivienne Leclair
I doodle pictures of constellations in my notebook during Potions class to pass the time. Today is just a lecture day, so we're not doing anything fun.

Usually, I'd pass the time by staring at Mattheo from across the classroom, but he's not in class at the moment.

I wonder where he is, but he is Mattheo Riddle after all. Mysterious is
practically his middle name.

Briar is also not in class. It's been a couple days and he's still not back from wherever the hell he went. He left a note before his departure saying he'd be gone, but he didn't say for how long. That's the only reason the Dumonts haven't sent out a search party yet.

"Polyjuice potion can last anywhere from ten minutes to twelve hours," Professor Slughorn rambles on.

Ali leans over and whispers to me, "Do you think we're going to have time to do our assignment or is he just going to talk all class?"

"My bets on the latter." I groan. I think Professor Slughorn just likes the sound of his own voice, that's why he never shuts up. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and a pretty good teacher, but man does he love to talk.

Just as I pick my pen back up, the door to the classroom creaks open painfully slow.

I lift my head up and see Mattheo standing in the doorway. I immediately perk up and a soft smile forms on my lips.

His tie is disorderly, and his hair looks unkempt. As he walks towards his seat, I notice his eyes look extremely irritated.

Scratch that, they're not just irritated, they're practically glowing red!

He's high.

Oh Mattheo. How many times do I have to tell him to not come to class under the influence of drugs or alcohol?

"Mr. Riddle, care to explain why you're late?" Professor Slughorn asks, clearing his throat.

"Lost track of time." Mattheo says lowly. Then he looks over at me, and I blush and retreat my eyes back to my paper.

"Hm. Five house points deducted from Slytherin." Professor Slughorn announces. A few Slytherins in the class groan, but Mattheo just shrugs.

"Looks like your boyfriend's in trouble," Ali teases.

I shove her arm. "He's not my boyfriend. And he's high right now!"

She rolls her eyes, "How responsible."

-

When I get back to my dorm at the end of the day, I let out at an exhausted sigh when I see my mother has sent me another letter.

"Who's it from?" Ali asks as she sets her books down on her desk.

"My mum." I groan.

"Yikes..." Ali says, her eyes widening with a 'good luck' expression on her face.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before opening it.

Vivienne,

I hope this letter finds you well.
Mrs. Dumont has informed me that Briar has been missing for a couple days.