September – air thick with fog and the sky with an unmistakable colour of fading blue.

Somehow the leaves had already started to change colours, from bright green to a vibrant red and yellow. It was a remarkable sight as she stood in the court yard, taking in the yet so evergreen grass, the sculptures and the students which still resided outdoors with their homework.

The wind was playfully moving her hair in front of her face; messy, loose curls waving in front of vibrant, green eyes.

Her eyes were slightly blushing in the almost cold wind and her lips were slightly separated. She was holding her arms around herself, clutching onto her dark, thick woollen jacket. Her skirt was gently flowing around her knees; it looked rather chilly too be honest. Though she didn't even notice it, she seemed all too taken by the sudden change in the air; the change in the nature. It was beautiful, she was beautiful.

Severus watched her from a slight distance as he leaned onto the pillars supporting the stone walls that separated this area from everything else outside. He was standing with his bag clutched in his hand, just watching tiny Mina with the flowing air of golden ice. He could've sworn that she had painted her lips faintly red today, but he didn't think she even cared for such things.

Mina Ophelia was the girl that didn't lay on a lot of makeup, he knew that. She was a proper pureblood; she was a good girl – too good.

It wasn't like he was falling in love with her; he just appreciated something beautiful – something that wasn't Lily. He'd lost his hopes with her last year, the year which he called her a mudblood.

He regretted it so much, mostly because he thought that he loved Lily. Though she was the past, now he had to focus on things that didn't scramble your brains; Mina didn't. She kept him on some path that he needed; she was a woman that made you use your brain, she unintentionally made you protect her.

No – he didn't think that she wasn't capable of defending herself, no, she truly was. It was just the fact that he needed something else to protect; he wasn't capable of protecting himself, so why not her instead?

She turned her head, as if she had scented him; which she probably hadn't. He smelled awfully sterile, like the potions lab after they were done cleaning it.

He could see a smile on her face; didn't he see some teeth too? Without noticing all the others that were staring at her in wonder and amazement, she walked down the few stairs to the grass and made her way over to him.

She should've worn gloves, her fingers where slightly pink.

It amazed him that she never noticed how many that kept their eyes on her, how many that just stopped whatever they were doing to watch the petite woman. She was so radiant, like a sunbeam.

"Are you lurking around in the shadows, Severus?" Her voice was mild, so unaffected by her upbringing. He'd seen her holding Lucius' arm with her chin raised and eyes distant; but he knew that the girl in front of him now was the true Mina.

"Could you really envision me in the sun?" He was mildly sarcastic, though he knew she wouldn't be offended by it. She rarely got offended; the only thing he had seen that she didn't really handle was when men were hitting on her.

"No, but you remind me of a shadow warrior." She shrugged as if she wasn't sure about her own answer, but nevertheless she walked on with him lazily following her. She decided that she wanted to walk under the stone roof, peeping out on the open grass from stone pillars.

"A... What?" Severus seemed rather puzzled as he caught up with her, sending her wondering glances. She just shrugged again, unleashing a bright smile as she casually fished a book up from his bag. She started to turn the pages, reading as she walked – it would've been too good if she hit something now, like the wall for instance.

"A shadow hunter, Severus! A shadow hunter! " She shook her head, as if she was disappointed of him. Severus just kept his mouth closed, almost afraid that she had lost it. Maybe she had fallen and hit her head earlier this morning?

"Stop speculating if I'm bonkers, Sev – I just read something about it in one of Rodolphus' smuggled books." She saw surprise in his eyes as she gently tilted her head to watch him, she laughed gently.

"Will you hurry up, woman?" The man with the impatient voice was tapping his foot impatiently at the floor while he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Will you answer me? Ohh – Will you please hurry up?" Something in his voice showed how he gave up being a man and going over to being a gentleman.

As Mina came walking out of the hallway she just shrugged with the hint of a malicious smile, though she couldn't manage a full-on evil smile.

"You're beginning to get the hang of this." She said as she held onto her thick jacket, ready for getting away from Hogwarts for a few hours. They were standing in main hallway that led to the main entrance, waiting to walk to Hogsmeade.

As they made their way out she just thought what a little group they were. Severus was – of course – avoiding this little trip, but it was the light haired Mina with emerald green eyes, dark haired Rodolphus with amazingly good looks and black eyes, and Lucius who were... Well, Lucius.

There were already many that had ran off way before them, but Mina had been strolling around the courtyard for so long that they had to delay it; and they couldn't leave before Lucius said so, they had to remember that – a charming trio, really.

For the thirtieth time this month Mina tried to walk on the side and not be surrounded by the boys, but as soon as she had placed her beside Rodolphus and not Lucius, Rodolphus moved so that she would be surrounded by them.

She felt like one of them protected girls who had soldiers to do it – not almost seventeen year old boys.

"Really, guys... I'm not running away or getting kidnapped." She wanted to slap them most, though mostly Rodolphus. He just shrugged, patting her shoulder two times before he made his two comrades walk a little faster so that they got away from the school area.

"He just wants what's best for you, Mina." Lucius gently said, as if he was trying to calm her down. Lately he had this gentle voice around her, something that was starting to really freak her out. Her response was to cross her arms and look rather displeased.

She didn't agree with this babysitting routine, but she knew that she just had to suck it up and live with it. She knew very well that Roman had told Rodolphus to look after her, and that thoroughly –and what good son would oppose his father? Not Rodolphus.

"Cheer up, princess. You have the whole castle and the peasants at your feet." As Lucius said this he patted her between her shoulder blades, something that made her jump forward a few steps, earning laughter from both of the boys.

She shot them dirty looks as she untwined her arms and kept her pace a few steps ahead of the boys.

"I don't know who you're referring to as peasants, Lucius; but remember that we aren't living in the Dark Ages anymore."

"I beg you differ, fair maiden." He cooed gently as she could envision how he probably strutted like a peacock behind her. She ignored him though; she wasn't too willing to give him the attention he constantly seemed to crave for.

It wasn't that he didn't get any attention, with his looks and his charm he got too much to be honest. He couldn't walk across the Great Hall without having some feeble girl almost dropping to her knees. Yes, he was Lucius Malfoy, and he was used to the attention.

The only thing that truly bothered him was when he didn't get it – and he didn't get it from Mina. She was the image of pristine nobility. She was something untouched and right. When he thought of her he always envisioned her as something holy. He didn't know why, really, but there was something particular about her that had made her so innocent and good, yet a Slytherin. She was what that could be considered a wolf in sheep clothing. Yet he didn't envision her to have anything really evilinside her. Yes, he didn't doubt that even little Mina Ophelia could have some darkness hidden away, but there was nothing evil about her.

And she didn't give him the attention he wanted. He seemed to hunger for it, hunting it like a crow after a baby swan. If she had given him the attention he was seeking for earlier on he would've probably just gotten tired after a little while. He was used to getting his way, but some women just succumbed without any hesitation; and that was plainly boring.

One of these women was Narcissa Black. Narcissa had blankly demanded his attention, savoring him in hers. It was so boring that he couldn't be bothered to stay for more than two minutes. He had been supposed to marry her one day, but now it seemed like there was better beef on the marked.

Narcissa had also been very vain and self-absorbed, she'd rather stay in her dormitory to watch her own reflection for hours without ruining her hair rather than taking a walk, sitting outside by the lake; watching the sunset. He actually liked all those things she wouldn't do, he enjoyed every minute of Minas' little trips.

He enjoyed sitting by the lake with her, watching how the sinking sun reflected its fiery flames in her pale hair. He loved to watch how her mouth opened ever so slightly when she was amazed by it, how her emerald green eyes took in every last bit of the scenery around her; innocent eyes. He wanted to learn everything about her.

He truly wanted to hunt her down, win her heart and watch her stroll in his future parlor. He deserved her and she deserved something else than living without truly experiencing all the things he wanted her to experience.

Deep down in his wicked little heart he knew that the future couldn't be as good as he had envisioned; he knew that things would be rather hard. He and Rodolphus weren't exactly comfortable with each other yet, not after their little discussion.

There was no secret that they were facing a life of basically slavery. They would be outstanding, still rich and noble, yet slaves.

He doubted that Mina would be as involved in the darkness as him and Rodolphus, but one never knew. He'd learned that she was an absolutely brilliant witch with gifts that truly surprised even the professors. She was magnificent, that might trap her in hell.

"Come on, boys!" Mina hastily paced towards The Three Broomsticks. It was getting rather chilly outside and the pale haired girl couldn't wait to get some warm Butterbeer.

Rodolphus made his way in front of her to open the door; not lacking his manners just because his baby cousin had to sprint all the way to Hogsmeade.

The fresh roses in her cheeks witnessed on her good health, lighting up her emerald green eyes even more than usual. As she walked inside the building

Lucius came quickly after, trying to control his breath. It seemed like most of the students were busy buying sweets, something that didn't bother them a bit; more free tables. Mina quickly found a table in the back of the shop, sitting down on a dark leather couch with a rather large table. The couch was covering two sided of the table, making more than enough room for the three of them.

"It's a pity that Severus didn't join us." The slight pout in her mouth was easily recognized of Rodolphus who was more than a little used to his baby cousins' fondness of the younger lad. He couldn't complain, she could've befriended a slug like Potter instead. She was rather good natured; if Potter hadn't hit on her she would've probably liked him too.

"You know him, he was eager to write his potions homework at least three times before he thought it was good enough." He shrugged, envisioning how the younger lad probably was sitting in the library, perfecting his words that couldn't get better than they were.

Mina didn't lose her pout as her cousin sat down next to her and Lucius kept standing as he looked around himself, slightly disapproving of the little shop. It was truly neat in here, homely with all its tables everywhere, surrounded by wooden chairs or couches.

The chandeliers were shining bright high up in the roof, reflecting the perfect image of a proper English cabin – dark wooden beams upon white walls. She didn't answer him; instead she just looked at the slightly annoyed Lucius. He seemed to disapprove of anything that wasn't of Slytherin enough for him.

"I guess I'll get some Butterbeer for the three of us?"It wasn't really a question, just him trying to figure out what would work best. Rodolphus eagerly sent him away to the lady who ran the shop, the one behind the great wooden desk.

There were only a few more people in here, at least ten. None of them stood out too much, none that would bother them. As Lucius came back with three rather large glasses of warm Butterbeer with foam on the top Mina lit up again. She hadn't tasted this stuff before, of course. She couldn't really envision Roman coming home with Butterbeer, telling the kids to drink it and enjoy themselves.

Oh no, the man had been awfully fond of his strong, sugarless tea with biscotti. He would've probably said that Butterbeer was juvenile, something for teens that were uneducated; nothing for little aristocrats. Neatly he placed the rather full glasses in front of her and Rodolphus before he sat down with his own glass.

"I think we should toast for this." Rodolphus announced as he rather hungrily eyeballed his glass. Lucius shrugged as all of them heard the door open and felt the rather chilly air breeze into the room, sending small shivers down the spines of those who were already used to the warm air inside the shop.

Before he got to say anything else he froze. It wasn't that noticeable, it was rather the fact that his blue-grey eyes lost their pleased look and got replaced by something rather harsh. She didn't have to wonder for too long what was going on as she looked up to see the very thing he was avoiding to look at – or rather who he was avoiding to look at.

Narcissa Black.

She had been rather pleased when she didn't have to face the ghastly woman for a while; it seemed like Narcissa just slithered away from the public and kept to herself, something that made living a whole lot easier. With her was Bellatrix, something that she knew would bring up Rodolphus mood, at least a little.

She couldn't understand how those two could be siblings, one of them with pin straight white hair and terrible manners, the other one with wild, curly, black hair, coal black eyes and something wild about her. She preferred Bellatrix any day, anything was better than Narcissa.

It seemed like Narcissa had known that they would be there, her eyes fixed on Lucius like a cat locking in on a mouse. Mina pitied him, this couldn't be good. Bellatrix on the other hand seemed like she was rather uncomfortable with what her sister was up to, it seemed like she wanted to be anywhere else than here, yet Mina caught her throwing a wondering gaze at her cousin. As Narcissa made her way towards their table, with a rather displeased Bellatrix at her tail, Lucius seemed to look more and more at the wall ornaments.

"Lucius Malfoy, fancy seeing you here." She crossed her arms, not even trying to seem nice. Maybe it just wasn't her style acting like a nice person; it would be amusing to see how far that got her in life. Lucius threw a distant glare at her and his facial features seemed to grow more and more superior, more arrogant than usual.

It seemed like it hit Narcissa hard, though she struggled to keep it hidden.

Perhaps she wasn't used to him acting like this towards her, but hey; that's what you get for stalking an up-stuck aristocrat that happens to be her ex-boyfriend.

"Fancy seeing you following me, Narcissa." His tone was completely monotone, but she swore she could hear some sarcasm as he pronounced her name. A small frown appeared between the eyebrows of Narcissa, her grip around her upper arms seemed to grown tense as she knew this wasn't going to work out as she probably had planned out. Mina knew that the woman was trying to get Lucius back to her, and she probably thought that acting like this would get him to chase after her; falling headless in love with her.

Though Mina couldn't understand how anyone could fall in love by being insulted, at least almost insulted. Lucius freed his arrogant eyes from Narcissa as he rather looked at Mina and Rodolphus, sending them a smirk that none else could impersonate.

"It's cute to hear that you think such highly of me, Lucius. You of all should know that I don't follow anyone." She loosened her arms from her death grip and placed one hand at her hip.

This statement seemed to almost make Lucius laugh, though Mina kept monotone, not really keen on mixing into this little feud.

"Oh, I know that you don't follow. Yet I know that you're a spoiled brat that can't understand that you can't have everything you want." Now he looked at the woman again, she seemed to be able to burst any moment now.

Mina knew very well that Narcissa didn't accept being spoken to like this, hell, she wouldn't have accepted being talked to like that, yet she knew that Lucius had a very good point.

"This isn't over Malfoy; you've messed with the wrong woman." As she turned on her heel Bellatrix stood still for a moment, staring from her leaving sister to her fiance. She didn't want to leave, yet she knew that Narcissa would probably throw a fit if she didn't follow her.

Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned.

"Well, what about that toast?" With a rather large grin on his face Lucius lifted his glass, hearing the door shutting rather violently. Mina took a deep breath as she lifted her glass, not knowing if it was good or bad that Lucius' mood shifted so quickly. All she knew was that she hoped that this evening would now stay peaceful, she couldn't take ranting women.

Hesitantly she smiled to the boys who sat on each side of her, taking a big sip of her Butterbeer. It was delicious, better than anything she ever had tasted. It was like honey in her mouth, buttery and marvellous. As she took her second sip Lucius gently poked her ribs with his elbow, making her look up at his smiling face.

"Welcome to school life, princess."