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It was another morning at Night Raven College. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the hedgehogs were... being hedgehogs.
Riddle Rosehearts, the Housewarden of Heartslabyul woke up, rubbed his dry, heavy eyes, and stretched.
"The History of Magic exam is today. At least I'm prepared for it..." Riddle groaned. He got up, went to the bathroom, and paused at the mirror. There was a glittery, pink crown on his head.
"What the—"
He tried to take it off. All it did was pull his red hair.
"OWWWWWW! WHAT IN THE WORLD!? WHO DID THIS!?" Riddle yelled in rage. He stormed out the bathroom and called a Heartslabyul meeting.
"ALRIGHT." Riddle said loudly "WHO PUT THIS ON ME!?" he said while gesturing wildly at the pink crown.
Ace Trappola, a freshman in Heartslabyul, started guffawing.
"OH MY SEVENS! HE LOOKS SO SILLY!" He snorted while slapping his own leg.
"It's not funny! We're all going to get in trouble for this!" Deuce Spade, another freshman said. Cater Diamond, a junior, smirked.
"OMG, I've totes seen one of these on Magicam! Rumor is, you can only remove it if you genuinely have fun!"
"Sevens help me..."
As Riddle was walking to class, Floyd Leech yelled at him from behind.
"Woah, Goldfishie! You rockin' a new crown today!? Never took ya for a pink guy, Your Royal Sparkles!" Riddle was not amused.
"Ahem. Floyd, my name is NOT Goldfishie, nor is it Your Royal Sparkles! It's RIDDLE. R I D D L E." Right as Riddle got finished spelling out his name, Trey popped around the corner.
".... I'm not even going to ask...." Trey said, deadpan, then walked back to the classroom he came from.
During class, Riddle had to endure teasing from EVERYONE. Even Professor Mozus Trein. Yes. His teacher.
How can I have fun? Riddle thought. Then, an idea came to his mind, try watching a stupid cat video on Magicam.
He logged on, and started browsing through videos. Big mistake. He found himself being annoyed, or angry at the videos.
"Dear Sevens, why are they so ANNOYING!?" He logged off of Magicam, and decided to sit in the courtyard and think.
Why me? What did I do? How do I have fun?
Then, Silver Vanrouge, a second year from Diasomnia approached him, and sat down with him.
"What's wrong? You look.... distraught." Silver asked softly.
"It's just, I woke up with this cursed crown stuck to my head, and it won't come off unless I have FUN. I don't even know what fun is anymore." Riddle's voice cracked.
Silver looked at him. Not judging, not pressing. Just... there. Slowly, he put his hand on Riddle's shoulder.
"Riddle, it's ok that you don't know what fun is. I'm not judging. If you want, I'll help you." Silver said consolingly. Riddle nodded.
"Okay. What is fun for you?" Riddle asked nervously. The only memories of fun Riddle had was when he would sneak out and play with Trey Clover and Che'nya when he was eight years old.
Silver clicked his tongue.
"Well, fun is different for everyone. We just have to find what works for you!" He said with a soft smile. Riddle was genuinely glad that Silver didn't judge him. In fact, he was grateful that Silver was going to help him.
"Thank you." Riddle said, genuinely grateful.
The pair set off trying different things for fun. Games, art, music, and reading. Nothing was working. It had been hours, and no progress was made.
"This is hopeless. I'm never going to get this crown off." Riddle sighed, looking up at the clouds. Silver sat down next to him.
"Then how about we just exist? Watch the clouds?" Silver suggested. "Maybe... relaxing and not worrying about anyone or anything could be fun."
"Relax? I have no idea how to do that." Riddle confessed, watching the clouds.
Slowly, but surely, Riddle found himself starting to relax, watching the white fluffy clouds drift by.
"That one looks a little bit like Grim." Riddle stated as he pointed at a vaguely cat shaped cloud. Silver smiled.
"That one looks like a bat." Silver pointed a a small, bat-shaped cloud. Riddle smiled. He didn't notice the fact that he had smiled.
"Look!" Riddle pointed at a cloud. "That one looks like a butterfly." Riddle beamed. He was starting to genuinely enjoy himself. Silver had noticed. He chose not to say anything, just in case it ruined the moment.
"You know, I think you were right, Silver. This is kind of relaxing." Riddle said serenely. Silver smiled at him.
"Maybe you should find some time to relax every once in a while then. It can have good benefits for your mental health."
Riddle nodded. "Maybe I should."
Silver reached over, and gently tried to take the cursed hot pink crown off of Riddle's head. To Silver's surprise, the crown came off very easily.
"Riddle, look!" Silver beamed as he held up the bright pink crown. Riddle was shocked.
"But... I didn't do anything adventurous or bold. How can this be?" Riddle was confused.
"Maybe... this was exactly what you needed. Relaxation." Silver theorized. It made sense, after all. Riddle took the crown from Silver.
"I'm locking this in a box, hiding the key, and never looking at it again." Riddle stated. Silver laughed.
Later that night, Riddle locked the crown in a wooden box, and placed it under his bed.
"Good riddance" Riddle muttered.
