Whispers in the Dark

Adrian slid the book out of his reach and onto the edge of his bed. Its pages flickered quickly, moving from cover to cover like a whirlwind. It snapped shut, spine creaking loudly.

"What is it doing?" Lutain asked curiously, he hadn't ever seen a book act like that before, "Is it angry for being read?"

"No, he doesn't like how my father looks like a plant." Adrian responded calmly, waiting for the diary to end its temper tantrum, "Apparently it's a sensitive subject."

The book swung open to an empty page, quickly spreading black ink across its page.

'A lavatory. Speak in the tongue under the sinks. A girl was killed there.'

Adrian's eyes widened- the ghost he had been talking to earlier? The one that screamed at him?

Of course, she would scream because he was similar in appearance to her killer.

'What is the monster?' Adrian wrote back calmly.

A single word filled the page.

'Basilisk.'

....

Adrian was forced as the days continued, to pick his classes for the next year. Some people chose classes that were sure to be very simple to learn, Divination mostly. Adrian felt compelled to take Care for Magical Creatures, something about the course seeming highly interesting to him although he would likely be caring for slugs.

Ancient Runes also seemed important, as well as Arithmancy

In the end, he chose to take Ancient Runes and Care, leaving his schedule free to fill with his other required core classes.

Now that Adrian had talked to Tom Riddle over the more darker materials, he often took the diary with him to have conversations about everything he could whenever he could.

He found out, that his father was actually an amazing teacher.

With Tom Riddle's written instruction, Adrian actually had confidence in his Occlumency. It was almost like holding the diary and focusing on his shields, somehow gave him a boost- like the diary itself was assisting him with making them stronger. It was entirely plausible considering the book had the suspicious capability for possession.

Then he ran into Hermione.

He scowled, glaring at her cold enough for the girl to freeze. Hermione managed to look guilty, and walked over before tugging on Adrian's arm to pull him away from his chair and his books.

She dragged him around a bookshelf where they were a bit more secluded.

"Adrian, I'm really sorry-" She started, voice jumbling and jumping to explain, "You probably know that we had the Polyjuice potion... but we just wanted to ask Malfoy!"

"You used a deal against me." He growled out angrily, "You snuck into my dorm to spy on me!"

Hermione chewed her lip uncertainly, and nodded.

"I have nothing left to say to you." Adrian bit out, and Hermione grabbed his arm once more.

"I need your help!" She blurted, looking embarrassed, "I- I know you know a lot about magical creatures and I can't find the right book so I was actually looking for you and..."

"Hermione!" Adrian hissed out, nearing the end of his patience.

"Basilisk!" She blurted, seeming unsettled but looking at him hopefully, "I think the monster is a basilisk!"

"Impossible." Adrian ground out, "Basilisk's can't survive in this climate. Not to mention that if it was, Potter would have heard it-"

"He's not a Parseltongue!" She exclaimed angrily.

"And the monster isn't a basilisk!" Adrian hissed back, "Why don't you busy yourself with course selections, or go read something useful."

He turned and dismissed her, not feeling a shred of guilt when she looked very much like she was about to cry.

He returned to his spot, pausing and noticing at once something was askew.

He sorted through his books, mouthing the titles as he went.

It took him until he had placed them all back in his bag that he realized the diary was gone.

The next week, he heard the Basilisk travel through the pipes again.

He had rushed to the washroom in question, peering at all of the sinks but he hadn't found any symbol for a snake. He still hadn't managed to get to the chamber.

It was Hermione who was found petrified.

With how annoying she had been getting, a part of Adrian wished the basilisk had killed her.

....

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