It had been an amazing couple of months at Hogwarts. Orion had only one complaint though, and that complaint was one Hayden Potter. The "Boy-Who-Lived" set fit to make his life a living hell at Hogwarts. Of course, he didn't really care all that much. The Slytherin's protected him whenever they saw a Gryffindor coming his way. Severus also seemed set fit to protect him and he felt grateful to the man. Arabella and Draco always stayed beside him, but despite the Gryffindor and Slytherin feud rising to a new peak. Orion couldn't help but love his time he spent at the ancient castle. His favorite classes were of course Potions and Transfiguration. He loved Professor McGonagall because she was a no nonsense type of person, and wasn't biased. He loved Severus but it was clear he hated the Gryffindor's deeply.
He had seen Neville around, and tried to corner him to talk to him, but a Gryffindor always appeared at the last moment. Draco and Arabella helped as well, but they as well could never get to him. Hermione was a valuable friend that Orion was glad he made. He cared for her deeply, and was helping her learn that books were not everything. He was making progress which was something.
The only other problem for Orion was that Arabella was getting mistreated. Now, Orion knew not everyone knew the Dark Lords last name. But, the ones who did made it seem like Arabella was the next Dark Lady. Which might have been true, but not in the way they were saying. The teachers the ones that were to light to see anything but. Turned a blind eye whenever someone either knocked over Arabella's things or shoved her a little to hard. Orion had nearly been sent to Dumbledore's office because he had "accidentally" sent a stinging jinx to someone who had just knocked Arabella's things to the ground. Now, Orion knew Arabella could take care of herself, but her Pureblood training made her seem aloof. Even though Orion knew she wouldn't mind knocking them down a peg or two. He knew she didn't want to tarnish her family name by something so trivial. Orion felt the same way, but when he saw Arabella getting mistreated he was angry.
But, other than that he had a happy time at Hogwarts. He was currently in the Library reading up on his Charms. Luckily it was Saturday so he didn't have to worry about for awhile. Draco and Arabella had left a couple of minutes ago, saying they were going to get some lunch before returning. He had decided to stay because he wasn't really that hungry. He glanced at Madam Pince the librarian who usually had a sour look on her face. Orion glanced at the clock and saw that it was a little passed lunch. He decided that he would study more tonight in the common room. He quickly put his things in his satchel and left the Library. He walked through the halls quickly, and reached the Entrance Hall in a relatively short amount of time. He walked down the stairs that led to the dungeons. He had memorized all the twists and turns to get to the Slytherin Common Room, he had to or else he would be lost. He reached the wall and whispered the password, and entered.
He walked through the Common Room towards the boys dormitories. He walked towards the end of the Hall, and entered his room. He smiled when he saw Apophis curled up on his bed.
"Hello Apophis." He hissed and smiled when the snake raised his head.
"Hello Master." Apophis hissed back, before laying his head back on the bed. Orion chuckled softly before laying his satchel beside his bed, and exiting the room. He made quick work of getting to the Entrance Hall knowing that Draco and Arabella were probably done now. And, luckily luck was on his side because just as he walked into the Hall, Arabella and Draco exited. He saw Arabella roll her eyes, and he grinned.
"Want to go play some Quidditch?" He asked when he got close enough to them. Draco seemed to like the idea, but Arabella shook her head. He frowned at her slightly. "Why don't you want to play Belle?" He asked confused.
"I just don't want to play today. Maybe tomorrow, but I heard that the Forbidden Forest is cool." She said with a grin on her face.
"But isn't that off limits?" Draco asked with a frown. Which caused Arabella to grin wider.
"Of course, that's what makes it fun." She said laughter sparkling in her blue eyes. Orion immediately adopted the same grin on his face. Draco seeing the looks went slightly pale.
"Oh come on dear brother it'll be fun." Orion said with a grin. He saw Draco shift uneasily from foot to foot. But, Orion knew he was close to breaking. Orion learned long ago if two of them wanted to do something the other would follow.
"Fine I'll go, but if we get lost it's on you." Draco said with a sigh, and a pointed glare.
"We won't get lost." Orion said with a chuckle. Already heading towards the main doors that led out to the grounds.
"I can't believe we got lost." Orion heard Draco moan for what seemed like the millionth time. He sighed and kept trudging through the thick underbrush of the forest. The whole trip had started out alright, until they completely lost the trail. Orion was sure they had been wondering for a couple of hours at least. He glanced up towards the sky trying to discern what time it was. He knew for a fact that they didn't want to be out here during nightfall. But, he couldn't see through the thick foliage.
"Be quiet Dray we know we're lost." Arabella snapped looking around the thick foliage. Orion again sighed and looked for any sign of the trail on the ground.
"Well it's your fault we're out here in the first place." Draco snapped back.
"Did I force you to come? No.. So stop blaming it on me." Arabella snapped back.
"But, you're the one that came up with this adventure." Draco said annoyance clear in his tone.
"Again did I force you to come? No!" Arabella said annoyance in her tone as well. Orion not wanting to hear them argue any more decided to interject.
"Belle, Dray shut up. It's all our faults for coming out here okay." He snapped as continued to look at the ground. He heard the other two mumble something from behind, and rolled his eyes. He made a sound of triumph when he found the trail finally. The other two hearing the noise appeared at his side, and sighed in relief. They headed down the trail, and Orion quickly recognized some of the land marks. He had to admit the Forbidden Forest was beautiful in its own way. But, he would very much like to be in the safe confines of Hogwarts. He glanced behind him when he heard a snap of a twig, and saw nothing. Worry slowly filling him he sped up with Arabella and Draco.
He was glad he had his wand with him at least. He knew if he didn't have his wand then he would feel complete helpless. He saw an opening a couple yards in front of them, and soon they were in an all out run. Orion thought he heard another twig break this time closer than before. Which caused him to speed up his progress. He glanced upwards when the trees started to thin, and saw twinkling stars. He knew they were lucky to have gotten out when they did. They broke through the trees and onto the grounds of Hogwarts. Orion sighed in relief seeing the castle. He slowed down his pace Arabella and Draco following. When they got closer to the main doors, Orion heard Draco chuckle.
"I can't believe we got out." He said relief evident in his voice. Orion and Arabella nodded in agreement. They reached the Main Doors and opened them to step into the Entrance Hall.
"And, you know what the best past is? We didn't get caught." He whispered as they walked into it. Arabella and Draco chuckled slightly.
"ORION SALAZAR-ABRAXAS MALFOY, DRACONIS CIBUS MALFOY!" A female voice shouted from in front of them. Orion felt his face drain of all color when he turned to look at his furious mother and father. He heard Arabella shaking with suppressed laughter and he wanted slap the back of her head. Just then another set of footsteps were heard approaching, and Orion saw Arabella's face drain of all color. He wondered why until he heard her voice.
"ARABELLA CARINA ODETTE BLACK-RIDDLE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!" Orion heard his Aunt Bella yell. He saw anger sparkling in her eyes, and immediately felt bad for Arabella. Before, he turned to look at his own mother and decided he felt bad for them all. He knew that they were in bigger trouble than they were that Horse Back Riding incident.
"Spoke to soon." He muttered as his Mother, Father, and Aunt advanced on them with anger sparkling in their eyes.
A/N; And there you go the new Chapter for Embraced By Darkness. This was sort of rushed so sorry if it's bad. The overall story from this Chapter though will help in later chapters. And, I also thought it would be funny if they got in trouble with their parents.
And, how their parents found out was simple Dumbledore and Snape. Snape noticed they were missing and went to Dumbledore. Dumbledore then proceeded to send people to search for the lost students. When they came up empty handed Dumbledore decided the call the parents. And the reason when Bellatrix yelled Arabella's full name and she didn't use Slytherin at the end, was because she didn't want Arabella to get into more hot waters. Since Riddle is a bad enough last name and then adding Slytherin when the Dark Lord is the only known direct descendant, yeah I don't think that would end well.
Anyway I hoped you liked the Chapter.