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Visiting the Heartslabyul dormitory without Ace or Deuce felt unnerving. Of course, the prefect had befriended other students there as well, with it being rather uncommon for Yuu to arrive sans company. In fact, they tried to avoid it as much as possible, worried they might have to make conversation with the dorm leader without a buffer. He had apologized and seemed to be changing his ways, but Yuu simply couldn't bring themself to forgive the entire overblot incident. Everyone else seemed oddly relaxed about the whole ordeal in the prefect's eyes. Perhaps it came with the territory of living in a world of magic, but Yuu certainly couldn't say they were used to such a thing. The prefect had managed to play nice during his recovery since it would be a bit rude to kick him while he was down, but now…
Speed walking past the hedge maze, Yuu's head remained on a swivel, prepared to bolt at the first sign of trouble. If they could help it, they wouldn't have been here at all. Unfortunately, in their rush to leave the dorm the previous day, Yuu had left behind a small box of sweets Trey had prepared for Grim and the prefect. As much as Yuu desperately wanted to cut their losses, Grim's whining had won out in the end.
Yuu paused at the kitchen, relieved to find the box seemingly untouched. Lifting the parcel, a small, previously unnoticed, glass bottle clattered back onto the table. Upon closer inspection, the prefect noted a hand-written note attached to the neck of the glass, only reading “Drink Me”. They let out a soft laugh under their breath, assuming it to be a sort of glaze to go along with the sweets. They must have not been paying much attention before, they thought. Uncorking the bottle, a sweet scent wafted through the air. Their assumption that the bottle must have been some kind of topping was tarnished as Yuu took their first swig.
The prefect wet their lips in an attempt to pick apart the taste. A mixture of cherry tart, custard, pineapple, toffee, roast turkey, and buttered toast. Far from the flavor profile they had expected. Their mind reeled as they felt their body shutting in on itself. Their vision blurred, reaching out for a physical support as they grew dizzy.
By the time Yuu came to, their surroundings had become rather odd. They took in the semi-familiar sight of the kitchen: the tiles, the bar stools at the counter, the dishes scattered about. Everything seemed to be in its proper order, it being the prefect themself that had changed. Lacking any way to measure, it was unclear exactly how tall they now were, though they were certainly much smaller than they should have been. After drinking merely a sip from the bottle, Yuu, from what they could tell, was now no more than five inches tall. A belated sense of panic wriggled down their spine as they spun their head back and forth.
Yuu shoved a hand into their back pocket, smacking themself in the forehead as they remembered how useless their cellphone was in this world. Hoisting themself against the wood, Yuu made a valiant attempt to climb the table leg, a feat made impossible by the material's curvature. They groaned, failing to resist the urge to stomp their foot in a rather childish display of frustration. The mounting anger in their chest froze over as the signature echo of clicking heels caught the prefect's ear.
They cursed whatever sick powers had allowed for this to happen, ducking behind the leg of the table. It was a poor hiding spot, Yuu had to admit. All it would take was the figure entering the room a bit further to reveal them. Should they even try hiding? The thought occurred to them. They were unsure as to whether the concoction would wear off on its own, after all. It could prove useful to have some experienced assistance. Yuu dared to peek out from their hiding spot, retreating as soon as they caught sight of a familiar pair of heeled boots, unable to look upward at the disgruntled face they knew would greet them if they were to gaze higher.
They should just go out and ask for help. What would the alternative be? Waiting here until someone else came along? It wasn't as if they knew everyone in the dorm well enough to ask for assistance with such a thing. Though, perhaps the effects would wear off on their own and they wouldn't need anyone's help at all. Though, that wasn't exactly a reliable-
“Great seven” Riddle's breath hitched. “Prefect?”
The decision was made for them as the very house warden they had been trying to avoid stood at the counter, eyes locked onto the prefect. Yuu couldn't help but jump backwards as he approached, a pair of shadowed eyes narrowing slightly at the movement.
“Yep, it's me!” Yuu cursed the crack in their voice. “I drank this potion- it should still be on the table I think- and it did, well, this.” They gestured to themself.
“A potion?” Riddle rose to examine the table and, oh, that was so much worse. Yuu felt as if they were playing a losing game, fighting against every instinct to run and hide in the face of something looming so terribly. Riddle tutted, returning to a sitting position with the vial in hand. “I'm afraid this is a rather common tradition. It's meant to be a practical joke of sorts, based on the story of the Queen of Hearts. No student would drink it of course, they all know of the legend, but you…” Riddle trailed off for a short moment before his expression shifted to something more stern. “I'll have to be more strict with them regarding this. To think such an accident would happen in Heartslabyul, it's unacceptable.”
“Oh, no, there's no need for any of that!” Yuu didn't want him getting riled up, even if it was on their behalf, given the circumstances. “It's not like I'm hurt or anything. It was a simple mistake.”
“Hm, even so…”
“Look, I'll be fine. It's not like this'll last too long now that I've got a resident potions expert with me.”
A light flush painted Riddle's cheeks. “I'm not sure I would use the word ‘expert’, but yes, I am rather well versed.”
He paused, almost appearing to be considering the prefect's words before gently placing a hand flat on the tile in front of them.
“Very well then, come along.” He continued, noting Yuu's hesitancy. “I care for the hedgehogs rather frequently. I can assure you that I am very adept at handling small creatures.”
“Yeah, yeah, just give me a second.”
Yuu approached, only pausing a moment before stepping right onto Riddle's palm. They figured it would be best to rip off the band-aid, so to speak, hoping to wrap the entire ordeal up as soon as possible. They quickly gave up on standing, falling backward as the surface below them ascended. A second hand cupped above Yuu, intent to hide the prefect from any would-be observers. They couldn't help but feel a hint of relief at the view of the ground below being obscured. This peace was short-lived, Yuu's pulse speeding up once again as Riddle appeared to make a wrong turn.
“Hey, wait!” Yuu shoved at one of the fingers encasing them.“Shouldn't we be heading to the mirror chamber?”
“We'll have to stop by my room first.” Riddle gently adjusted his hold. “Though I'm rather sure of the solution, I would like to pick up my potions textbook first.”
“Oh, right.” Yuu crouched back down, slightly embarrassed.
‘Of course’, they thought, chastising. He was trying to help them, not kidnap them.
The thought occurred that they had never seen Riddle's room. It was rather out of the way from the first year dorm rooms, so they had never had a reason to go near it. They would bet on the room practically looking like a library, with rule books lining each wall. Yuu found that they weren't entirely wrong as Riddle paused at an ornate wooden door. While the room may not have been lined with books, every flat surface was covered with the things. The house warden cleared his throat.
“Though, now that we're both here, there is something I have been meaning to discuss with you.”
Yuu turned to face him, nervous at the serious tone he had now taken.
“You have been avoiding me.”
He didn't bother phrasing it as a question. The prefect averted their gaze, shifting uncomfortably.
‘He wants to talk about this now?’
“I'm not sure exactly what you mean? I've just been busy is all.”
“No, you haven't.” The hand beneath Yuu tensed. “You seem to have the time to goof off with those card soldiers near daily.”
‘Why does he even care?!’ Yuu struggled to keep their polite smile even, sighing. “You can set me down on the desk.”
“Not before you tell me what I did wrong, or what made you act this way.” Riddle brought the prefect closer to his eye level. “Is it because you're scared of me? You certainly didn't act afraid before, even after my, um, rather unfortunate outburst.”
‘If that's what he wants to call overblotting and trying to kill everyone.’ Yuu rolled their eyes as subtly as they could manage.
“But, I apologized! I tried to make it right and you behaved as if all was forgiven until-” Riddle let out a breath. “Well, until you didn't.” He leaned against the wall, lowering dejectedly until he sat on the floor. “I just want to know what changed.”
Yuu found it difficult not to feel a bit sorry for him like this. Swallowing any personal feelings they had towards him, they crawled to the edge of his palm, reaching out to lightly stroke his cheek.
“Hey, it's going to be okay.” They spoke in a soft tone. “I'm just-” pausing to find the right words, “I'm not really used to the ‘evil magic’ thing. It's not something that happens where I'm from, so this whole situation is less easy for me to just get over.”
Riddle's head snapped back up, eyes wet and desperate.
“So that's it then? I can't fix…” He trailed off.
“Maybe not right now, but we can work on it, y'know, once all this-” Yuu gestured to themself, “is dealt with. Then we can maybe start again and see if we can get along.”
“And if we don't?” His voice was quiet.
“I mean, yeah, we can try, but sometimes people just drift apart and that's fine too.”
“No, nonono I don't want to do that!”
‘Maybe not the right thing to say right now.’ Yuu wrung their hands, shifting away from Riddle the best they could. “Look, we can't force any sort of relationship. It's never going to be a guarantee, but if you really want to, we can hang out more. These things just take time.”
“Quit backing away!” He tilted his hand diagonally, forcing Yuu to slide back down his palm. “Even when you're quite literally in my grasp, you still try to avoid me! Oh sevens, nothing's going to change is it? You'll just leave again and-”
“Riddle-”
“No, no, stop! Stop saying such awful things.”
Riddle wiped away a lone tear that had escaped in his outburst. He took a few deep breaths. The hand that had been acting as a platform curled around Yuu, gripping them in a gentle, yet firm, hold.
“Um, Riddle-”
“These things take time.” Riddle echoed. “These things take time. Well, we have time now, do we not?”
“Riddle!” Yuu couldn't stop a note of frustration from slipping into their voice. “We can hang out as much as you want later, but would you please just fix-”
“No, I won't.” Riddle rose, apparently recovered from his previous ravings. “And the queen's word is final.”
He placed Yuu down on the desk, shifting stray books to create a make-shift barrier, caging the prefect in.
“Now, we can start over, just like you said.” He held out a finger in a gesture mocking a handshake. “It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Riddle Rosehearts, esteemed house warden of Heartslabyul dormitory. And you?”