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Welcome Speeches, Parchment Squares and Good Decisions
Summary: She barely even knew him. Draco Malfoy was just one of those kids she passed in the halls between classes or asked to borrow a piece of parchment from when she had none. Thanks to the Dark Lord, however, Aurelia Finn and Draco Malfoy will soon find out they have a little more than just age and house in common. And maybe a little bit greater of a task than just "that Charms essay due next period" underway.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my made up character and plot. J.K Rowling owns all else.
Warnings: Sexual Situations, Violence, Character Death, Substance Use/ Abuse, Adult Language, Book 7 Disregarded, Book 6 Events Slightly Altered
It looked just the same from the outside. It hadn't, of course, given her that same feeling it did seven years ago because she was used to seeing the great castle. However, Aurelia had that feeling in the pit of her stomach that everything would be different now. After the death of Albus Dumbledore the previous school year Aurelia had no doubt in her mind that while the outside of the school looked as grand and desolate as before, the inside hallways and classrooms were going to be a whole different world.
Taking a deep sigh from her thoughts, she stepped carefully out of the Thestral-drawn carriage and followed the rest of the students up through the front doors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Great Hall quickly flooded with students, teachers and ghosts. Aurelia looked up at the High Table to the chair in which Dumbledore usually sat and saw Professor McGonagall taking his place. She stood up and the Hall slowly fell silent. A moment later Professor Flitwick appeared in the Great Hall followed closely by a large group of first years. Many of whom were of the same height as--or taller than--him. They assembled themselves in a line at the front of the Great Hall as the Sorting Hat was brought out. Aurelia paid no real attention to the Sorting Hat's song, she had been too focused thinking about very important details of her life she still needed to sort out and very important decisions that needed to be made.
"SLYTHERIN!"
She had snapped out of her thoughts to see a small boy with curly light brown hair stepping away from the sorting hat and sitting at the far end of her house table as her fellow classmates erupted with applause. She looked at the line of students in front of the Great Hall, each eleven-year-old quivering nervously. The Sorting had begun.
"Bradley, Harold!" squeaked Professor Flitwick and a boy with unusually pale skin and dark hair that contrasted his face oddly stepped to the Sorting Hat.
After a moment's pause the Sorting Hat screamed,
"Hufflepuff!"
"Dunstan, Emily" Flitwick cried.
She was sorted into Hufflepuff as well and took a seat next to the pale boy with the brown hair. The rest of the children were sorted into their houses (with twelve new additions to Slytherin, including the first boy with the curly hair) and McGonagall stood up to address the school.
"I'd just like to say 'Welcome' to all our new students and 'Welcome Back' to our returning ones. While last year was ended with some very sorrowful events," she bowed her head for a moment and was mimicked by the teachers and a majority of the student body then continued, "I hope, however, that we can start this school year off fresh and with happy beginnings. It is even now, in times like this that we all must remember to keep our loved ones close and make friends with our enemy because the only thing that holds us together is ourselves."
At this, several people exchanged loving glances with their friends around them and shot dirty looks at those they disliked. McGonagall's tone changed suddenly as she continued.
"As per usual, our caretaker, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes and the use of any Weasley & Weasley products is prohibited indoors or during learning hours. I would also like to take a moment to welcome Professor Nymphadora Tonks who will kindly be replacing my previous post at Transfiguration," McGonagall had a look on her face that seemed to suggest she wasn't at all keen on giving up her old teaching job, "And to welcome back Professor Remus Lupin to his old job of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Good luck, Professors!"
The Hall exploded with applause, most thunderous from the Gryffindor table. Without another word, McGonagall gave everyone a great smile, sat down in her seat and mounds of food appeared in the gold plates on all the House tables. Everyone around her ate, drank and chatted away about their holidays and the school year ahead of them. Aurelia had no desire to discuss anything with her friends at all. She ate her supper and listened to their heated conversations. Everyone seemed so excited and carefree, Aurelia almost envied them. She wished that it would be as simple as sitting and talking about nothing interesting in particular, not having to care or worry about anything other than class the next morning.
Aurelia didn't have any particular interest in spending the rest of the night in the Slytherin Common Room with her chattering house mates so she proceeded straight through the passageway in the Common Room that led to the Girl's Dormitories. Once she reached the seventh door to her left, she opened the door to find a Dormitory that looked nearly identical to the one she had lived in the previous year. She scanned the beds for her belongings and finally found a trunk that had the initials ALF--Aurelia Leandra Finn--on it at the foot of the bed to the immediate right of the door. She took out her wand, pointed it at the candle sitting dormant on her nightstand and said clearly,
"Incendio."
A flame appeared and danced merrily upon the candle's wick. She sat on her bed, rolled up her left sleeve and examined the smooth, bare skin on her wrist and inner forearm. She ran her fingers up and down her arm and let out a deep sigh. Pulling her sleeve back down she took out a piece of parchment, a quill and a bottle a dark green ink. She dipped her quill into the ink and hovered it over the parchment for a long moment. Thinking of how to best word the letter she was getting ready to write, she began thinking about how much her life could change. It will probably be for the better. She knew she wanted this. She knew she deserved this. She knew she was destined for this. What she didn't know was if she would be changed by this. Would doing this completely consume her? Change her into someone she's not? She wasn't sure how these things happened or how it affected people. She had remembered what she had been told.
"Your choice is final. Once you choose there will be absolutely no turning back. I don't want you to feel like you've made a mistake later on," had been the words of her father.
Aurelia held those words in her memory, held them there tightly. She knew that his words were the things helping her make this decision. Though this confrontation happened just a few days ago, it felt like it had been ages since she first went to her father, who was sitting quietly in his study, asking him about it all. Asking him if she could be a part of it. Listening to his cautions but all the same, seeing a glint of pride in his eyes. She knew this was what her father wanted for her and this was what she wanted for herself. All the same, it was still a difficult decision to make.
After a long while, Aurelia dipped her quill in the ink bottle again, for the ink on the tip of her quill had long since dried up, and pressed it to the parchment. She began moving her hand and delicately wrote, "OK." She folded the bit of parchment into an origami square, tucked it into her pocket and left the Dormitory. She walked through the passageway, passing the doors of the other Girl's Dormitories and stepped out into the Common Room. It was overcrowded with people talking loudly over the already loud music that was playing. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, everyone except Aurelia.
"Aurelia! There you are! We'd wondered where you'd gone. Come and have a butterbeer with us," called her friend Issac from across the room.
Aurelia simply shook her head, waved her hand feverishly in his direction and continued out of the Common Room. She walked the grounds out to the Owlery. It was a bit chilly out so she walked a brisk pace. Once at the Owlery, she selected an owl at random and tied her square letter to its leg. She watched as the owl flew out of sight through the glassless window, its wing nearly colliding with the side of it. Just then, suddenly, a feeling of what she had done came over her. She felt happy, she was sure she did. Maybe even a little relieved that she had finally gotten it over with. Smiling to herself, she went back to Slytherin Dungeons at almost a merry skip. The Common Room was still crowded when she got there and being in the delightful mood that she was in, she stayed around to join the back-to-school festivities. She sat in the Common Room with her friends for a few hours, drinking butterbeer, telling pointless stories and laughing at every random joke. Damn, it felt good to be back at Hogwarts, she thought.
At nearly three-thirty in the morning Professor Slughorn (currently the new Head of Slytherin house) barged in and ordered everyone to bed. Singing a Weird Sisters' song at a semi-whisper she wobbled into her Dormitory with her friends. Nobody was in the slightest condition to shower or anything. Most of the girls in her dorm didn't even bother changing, they just flopped onto their beds and went straight to sleep. Aurelia who hadn't had half as much to drink as them, because she had been at the party for only half the time, changed into her pajamas, brushed her hair and climbed into bed. The last thought she had before falling asleep was the hell she would have to go through trying to wake up for classes the next morning.
Some eighty miles away, in a poorly lit room stood four cloaked figures. One stood nobly in front of them with a second cringing worshipfully to his side, listening to the last two talking to him slowly and in low voices. Just then, an owl swooped in and dropped a neatly folded letter onto the floor of one of the last two wizards. He picked up the letter, read it and smiled pleasantly. The other two, realizing what he was smiling about (because they had just been on the topic) mimicked him.
A/N- Thanks for reading : Reviews are super nice and get awarded cookies! (OK, not really.) But they are pretty swell. Chapter two should be out momentarily and I promise it will be longer. It's more of a writing style of mine to make my first chapter fairly short. Thanks and see you next time!