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| Chapter 18 | Book 1 • Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 |
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Heartslabyul Dorm - Lounge
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The Queen of Hearts's rule 249: "Flamingo caretakers are to don pink attire." It was supposed to be your turn to feed the flamingos today. Why aren't you wearing pink? |
Heartslabyul Student |
I'm sorry, Housewarden. My pink clothes were in the laundry... Please, sir, not the collar! |
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This is your second rule violation. I cannot forgive a repeated offense. Off With Your Head! |
Heartslabyul Student |
Gaaaaaaah! |
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Write me a 5,000-word apology and weed the garden for one week, and I'll remove it. |
Heartslabyul Student |
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Do you think I enjoy having to do this?! You're the one who broke the rules! As much as I would like to, I cannot ignore these infractions. It's for your own sake. Understood? Trey? Cater? Remove him from the premises. |
| ...Yes, Housewarden. |
Library
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...... |
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Hello, Trey. |
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You four! |
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We figured that if we waited at the library, you'd show up to return your tart cookbook eventually. |
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We still got a problem with the way Housewarden Riddle is handling all of this. |
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Yeah, I thought you might say that. |
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Come clean with us. What's your take on Riddle? Is it true you've been pandering to him since the two of you were kids? |
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What?! Who told you that? |
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A guy who called himself Chenya. |
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Chenya... Huh. That explains it. |
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What I don't get is, aren't you older than Riddle? Why haven't ya told him off already? |
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I do when I need to. I don't think the situation calls for it. |
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Why not? |
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These sorts of strict rules... They're what created Riddle. |
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Huh? |
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His parents were famous magical healers. Everyone where we're from knew their names. His mom was especially talented, and she really wanted Riddle to live up to her legacy. So, from the moment Riddle woke up to when his head hit the pillow at the end of the night... Every aspect of his life was planned, down to the minute, by the education program she made for him. |
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Sounds pretty lame. |
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What he ate, what he wore, what soap he used, who his friends were - every last detail had been predetermined for him. And to please his parents, Riddle obediently completed every task they'd laid out for him. He mastered his signature spell by age ten. He's been the top student in all of his classes. I can't even imagine how hard he must have had it. |
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| So it's his parents' fault he's like that? | That sounds horrible... |
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Riddle sees the enforcement of strict rules as a service to his dorm members. In his eyes, being bound by rigid guidelines - by fear - is a fast-track to personal growth. Because that's how it worked for him. And on the flip side, he sees the violation of those rules as an inexcusable offense. |
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I guess that makes sense, since rules made him who he is. |
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Look, I totally get why you see Riddle as a tyrant, and why you disapprove of his methods. But for me... I can't hold that against him, you know? |
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Myah... |
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So that's why he's like that. |
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...... All right, now I get it. It's YOUR fault Riddle's like this. |
| What?! |
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Riddle didn't get to choose his parents. But you know what his parents did to him, and you know it was wrong, right? |
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I mean, yeah... |
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Well, now Riddle's making the exact same mistake that his parents did. You're going easy on him because he had it rough as a kid? Don't you see where that's leading? You're letting him make a pariah out of himself! |
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...... |
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Ace, man, come on... |
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So why don't you say something? Are you just afraid you'll "lose your head" too? That's pathetic! You guys are supposed to be childhood friends?! Then act like it. |
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You there! Be quiet! You are in a library! |
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You're yellin' louder 'n any of us, though! |
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Oh! *Ahem* Yes, my apologies. But let us strive to maintain the library as a quiet place for reading. |
| I'm sorry, Headmage. | What are you doing here, Headmage? |
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Well, since you asked... |
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| Chapter 18 | Book 1 • Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 |
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