The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 83 Halloween Eve

"Tomorrow...tomorrow?"

Sitting in her office, Loila pursed her lips and looked at the diary in front of her.

She was talking to Mr. Riddle about the secret room.

"It's tomorrow," Riddle's handwriting appeared. "Headmaster Dumbledore is hosting a masquerade ball tomorrow, isn't he?"

"Yes," Loila wrote, somewhat confused, "but I also have to participate."

"Being a little late won't hurt," Riddle said enticingly. "Or do you prefer attending the ball?"

Ah... never mind then... Loila shook her head to herself.

She was already afraid of dances, and now... she still hadn't found a dance partner.

She had intended to ask Hagrid, but a few days ago she heard that Hagrid seemed to have a dance partner... This was the last straw that broke her in her quest to ask.

She certainly didn't want to go to the ball without a dance partner, but Dumbledore had said he hoped all the professors would attend... and she had been resting for so long.

It seemed inappropriate not to attend... so she prepared herself to sit there awkwardly and be gossiped about by the students.

If you can't hear it, then it's not scary... right?

You've probably heard things like, "Is Professor Hamilton unpopular? Is he being ostracized?"

It's just going through it again...

"Hey! Are you watching?"

"Ah! Sorry! I got distracted again." Loila quickly wrote in her diary, "But why does it have to be tomorrow?"

"Can't we do it today?"

"..."

Riddle remained silent for a long time before slowly writing: "Because this secret room is something I only want you to see."

Me...I'm all alone?

Loila paused for a moment, then looked at Mr. Riddle as he continued writing: "Whether it's Dumbledore or any other professor, I don't want to share it with them."

Is that so...?

Loila instinctively wrote, "Why?"

"The reason is simple," Mr. Riddle replied quickly: "because we are friends."

Ah...we're actually friends?

Loila immediately felt a little happy. Although Mr. Riddle was just a memory in a diary, he was actually willing to be her friend.

I never expected to have so many friends in just a few months.

Mr. Lupin, Miss Lovegood, Hagrid, and now Mr. Riddle.

This is...this is wonderful!

"I understand," Loila wrote happily.

Reading Mr. Riddle's reply felt like she had eaten a hundred honey candies.

Now that I've made so many friends... why not try pushing my limits?

For example...calling them by their names?

Hagrid shouldn't count, right?

Because Royla didn't even know whether Hagrid's name was his surname or his given name.

But aside from Hagrid, the thought of calling Mr. Lupin, Miss Lovegood… made Loila's cheeks burn.

But perhaps Mr. Riddle could give it a try?

After all, we communicate through writing, which is much better than speaking...

And so, almost as if by magic, while Mr. Riddle was earnestly discussing the secret chamber, Loila slowly picked up a quill and wrote: "Since we're friends, may I call you Tom?"

"..."

"..."

"........."

"?"

Upon seeing the huge question mark, Loila quickly said, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Riddle! I..."

"Ah, it should be written with a pen."

Loila hurriedly grabbed a quill and wrote, "I'm sorry, Mr. Riddle!" She also drew a little kneeling figure: "orz"

"Miss Hamilton, aren't we discussing serious matters?"

But aren't friends also a serious matter?

Seeing Mr. Riddle's reply, Loira pursed her lips and wrote, "I understand."

I'll repeat it again.

"Tomorrow afternoon, before the ball begins, bring your diary to the girls' restroom on the second floor," Mr. Riddle wrote slowly. "Don't tell anyone."

"Don't bring anyone with you."

"This secret room is open only for you, my friend."

My friend!

When Loila saw those four words, she was incredibly excited. Sometimes, the words in a letter can be just as impactful as spoken words!

"Well... that won't waste too much time, right?" Loila thought for a moment and wrote, "I still have to go to the ball."

"You really are..." Mr. Riddle paused, "Silly girl."

"You clearly don't want to go, but you still go."

No... there's no other way... Loila knew this seemed a bit strange, but she had promised Dumbledore she would participate, so she had to go.

And... and Luna is going to dance too, Loila is quite curious about who Luna's dance partner will be.

Could it be Mr. Potter? Loira suddenly thought of the Quidditch match from a few days ago… If it really was Mr. Potter…

It's alright... it just feels like someone else has used my magic circle.

Wait, hasn't this already happened?

Ah, anyway, I'm going to attend the ball no matter what... But Dumbledore didn't say what time the professor was going, so if he's delayed for a while...

It shouldn't have any impact, right?

I just hope Luna doesn't finish her dance before I get there...

Shaking her head, Loila closed her diary and stretched.

Perhaps it was because of the rest she had been taking these past few days, but she felt much better and no longer had a cough or felt tired. However, the price she paid was that she hadn't been able to study new magic arrays for a long time.

But Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall also said that their rest would end after Halloween, and they would naturally be able to continue their research on magic circles.

Ah, it seems I still have to go to class... Well, even though the classes go smoothly even if I don't go.

I heard that Mr. Lockhart was very happy to teach the lower grades, which seems to be related to Mr. Potter? Apparently, they even took some group photos of the class.

Thinking about it this way, resting doesn't seem so bad. She went fishing with Miss Lovegood, went to the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid, and even rode a unicorn... To be honest, Royla is now itching to ride a unicorn again...

It would be great if we could also study magic arrays at the same time.

I was so greedy.

Shaking her head, Loila lay down on her bed.

Tomorrow will be a day of mixed feelings... I can go to the secret room that Mr. Riddle mentioned to study the magic circle, but I will also be forced to attend a lonely ball.

After that, I had to prepare for my students' classes... Professor McGonagall's classes were a bit too old-fashioned...

I hope I can get through this. After all, I've encountered even worse situations in Durmstrang... Back then, there wasn't even the kind of good thing like going to the secret room to see the magic circle.

And I've made a new friend today, haven't I?

Thank you, Mr. Riddle.

Thinking this, she slowly closed her eyes.