Ink and Parchment ~ blood and bone

10

Eliza went through the next couple of days in a sort of daze. For the past month she had been conversing, quite amicably, with the teenage dark lord. She knew things about Voldemort that she doubted anyone else knew. And she was sure there was something morally dubious about chatting to her parent's murderer, the man who had even tried to kill her at the end of last year.

But that was perhaps what was bothering her the most, that she wasn't bothered at all.

After the revelation had sunken in Eliza found that it didn't actually change her feelings about the boy. She still found Riddle entertaining and intelligent, she might even go as far as to call him friend. But the thing was, if she were to hold Riddle in that regard, wasn't she also holding Voldemort in the same light? The two were indistinguishable, everything Riddle is and was is also everything Voldemort is or would be. Except, that wasn't strictly true was it?

Riddle was amazingly intelligent, disarmingly charming, even just as ink on parchment without the natural charisma she was sure he would exude in real life. Her last interaction with Voldemort, even the stories she had heard of the man near the latter end of the war didn't match up with Riddle. The sadistic tendencies? The hunger for power? They were already present but the lack of impulse control? The borderline insanity Voldemort had shown in their last encounter?

She had no idea where that had come from.

But if she was going to pin it on anything she would think it had something to do with the very diary that was in her possession.

After questioning herself she had concluded that no, at this point in time it truly didn't bother her that Riddle was the teenage version of the dark lord. And with Yule upon them and the common rooms empty Eliza had the perfect opportunity to question Riddle and find out just when his views had started changing so dramatically. She was nothing if not an opportunist.

Hello Riddle.

Ah Little Star. I had thought you had conceded defeat when you stopped talking to me.

There was a question in there but Eliza chose to ignore the subtle probing.

You wish Riddle, there's still a few days left before Yule, I might find out yet.

I would wish you luck but I would hate to lie to you Little Star. I didn't know you observed the Olde Ways.

It was the closest they had tread to any form of political talk since they had first started talking.

Most of them are banned now, it's hard to find information on them but I try to observe them where I can. People these days treat magic as a tool but I think we need to give thanks back to Lady Magic- the most powerful wizards came from a time where the olde ways were observed.

I couldn't agree more. Although the rituals were being lobbied against when I was created they weren't illegal, would you be willing to tell me how that happened?

Dangerous territory that was. Eliza could just say no. She could do that. But she wouldn't.

After the dark lord it became easier to demonise the dark and traditional views, everyone lost something in that war – victors and losers both.

The dark lord? Riddle asked with undisguised curiosity.

Voldemort, stupid name if you ask me Eliza added because she couldn't help herself and really, it was a stupid name. It reminded her of those ridiculous comic book villains the children at the orphanage used to speak about and this was probably the only chance she'd ever get to call him out on it.