Harry Potter fanfiction
THE DARK SECRET

Dedicated to BrutieBoots, because she's been waiting long for the continuation of this story (even though this is the rewrite). (:

CHAPTER NINE
AISLINN

Even though Aislinn had suggested the extra studying in the library during lunch, she was still nervous. After all, her partner was a mysterious and disturbing boy. After all of the rumors she'd heard from the Marauders in the Three Broomsticks, her comfort level with him decreased. But she wanted to get a good grade on her exam. She had to pass with an Outstanding if she wanted to apply for a position in the Ministry of Magic, she had to receive at least Exceeds Expectations in all of her classes. But, of course, Aislinn thought it wiser to exceed past that limit. If she received straight O's on her scores, she'd have no problem achieving a high position in the ministry.

During lunch, Aislinn made a quick stop at the Great Hall to grab a bite to eat, perhaps just a croissant sandwich to fill her stomach so she wouldn't skip a meal. She also didn't want to keep Linketh waiting. What if he had a short temper and was very impatient? The last thing she wanted was him angry at her for a misunderstanding. As she contemplated this, she hadn't realized that Remus Lupin was walking her way, and not paying attention where he was going either. The two collided and fell to the ground.

"Oh my goodness. I'm dreadfully sorry! Why—oh, Remus. Oh goodness, how clumsy of me. This is incredibly embarrassing," Aislinn rambled, shaking her blonde hair and clutching her half-eaten sandwich. Remus smiled and shook his head.

"Oh Aislinn. I take full responsibility. Please don't trouble yourself with apologizing," he said.

"Remus," she sighed.

"Where are you headed, might I ask? Perhaps I can escort you there," he offered. Aislinn smiled shyly.

"I suppose I couldn't expect anything less from a former Prefect," she said. He grinned.

"Most certainly not."

"Well, to answer your question, I was headed towards the library to meet with my Potions partner. I would most appreciate it if you could escort me."

"My pleasure." The two continued their way towards the library, Remus stuffing his hands in the pockets of his slacks, shaking loose brown hairs out of his face, and Aislinn tightly holding a couple of books to her chest, her croissant in one hand. "And who might this lucky partner be? He'll be sure to get an easy O on the assignment with a partner like you." Aislinn blushed.

"My partner is—you'll be quite surprised—is Linketh Kelgasus." Remus choked on his saliva.

"I beg your pardon? Kelgasus?" Aislinn nodded. "And how's that turning out for you?"

"Well, I won't say I wouldn't have preferred a different partner, because I most certainly would have, but I'm making do. He's very quiet. Hardly ever talks. He doesn't seem to get along with anybody," she mentioned.

"Can't say that's surprising," admitted Remus. "After what we discussed in the Three Broomsticks that day … you haven't heard him speaking Parseltongue, have you?"

"I don't see why he would speak Parseltongue in a full classroom, let alone without any snakes nearby," mentioned Aislinn. Remus nodded.

"Right. Sorry. How foolish of me to assume so."

"It's alright," she said with a smile. They were quiet for a while longer until Aislinn broke the silence.

"Well, Remus, Hogsmeade is open to us this weekend, and the weather is supposed to be much nicer than last week. Would you fancy a trip together?" she asked shyly. Remus beamed, but it quickly vanished as he realized something unknown to Aislinn.

"Oh Linn, you've got no idea how much I'd love to, but I'm afraid I've … well, got something … planned that weekend. Perhaps next weekend we could," he suggested. Aislinn's face fell and she felt embarrassed by the rejection. It was so unlike her to suggest a trip as she just did, and she regretted doing it.

"Right. It's perfectly fine. Yes, next weekend sounds marvelous," she said quickly. "Oh, here's my stop. Thank you for walking with me, and I'm sorry for running into you." Before Remus could even reply to her, she hurried into the library, anxious to escape from him.

Aislinn struggled to fight back the tears that were pooling at the edges of her eyes. She knew Remus didn't mean any harm by his decline, but she couldn't help but feel heartbroken. After all, she felt so warm and ecstatic around him. She'd never fallen in love before she met Remus Lupin.

She made sure she looked decent before she approached Linketh sitting at a table near the back of the library. She found him in between the potions textbooks, which was very appropriate for what they were there for.

Linketh was sitting with a thick dusty textbook in front of him, absentmindedly burning circles with his wand into the table. When she approached him, he looked up from the book and quit burning circles.

"What are you reading?" she asked. Linketh narrowed his eyes.

"You were about to cry. What happened?" he asked, shifting the subject. Aislinn was taken aback.

"What? I wasn't—"

"Don't lie to me, Blair. Your eyes are near bloodshot," Linketh snapped.

"But—"

"Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to help me choose a potion to create. After all, this meeting was your idea," he retorted. Aislinn's eyebrows narrowed and knitted together. She slowly walked towards the table and pulled a chair out for herself.

"You never did answer my question. What is it that you're reading?"

"While you were taking your time, I thought it wise to search for potion possibilities. Perhaps we should look up the Draught of Living Death. Difficult and powerful, and, when done correctly, will earn us an O," Linketh said. Aislinn slid off her book bag and folded her hands together.

"Oh. Well, I was thinking we should do something that is less dangerous, to prevent disasters. Why don't we brew an Amortentia potion?"

"A love potion?" asked Linketh with disgust. Aislinn frowned.

"What's wrong with a love potion? I think they're quite romantic and fun," she said. Linketh's eyes narrowed and sighed heavily. Aislinn noticed the frustration etching across his pallid face.

"If you really want to brew the Drought of Living Death potion, then we can," said Aislinn timidly.

"No," Linketh disagreed immediately. "We'll do the Amortentia. We'll just have to make it especially perfect, in case others choose it. It can be difficult, depending on how strong it is, so we'll just make it exceptionally strong."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's what you want." Aislinn could barely hear this part of his comment, as if he hadn't wanted her to hear it, but she caught it anyway. Hearing this truly surprised her. He was choosing this potion because Aislinn wanted it? Could she be sensing something stirring inside him that others couldn't identify? Aislinn grew warm inside and she softly smiled, reaching for a potions book and gently opening it.

"We could still search for another potion that the both of us want to do. After all, this is a group project, not individual."

Linketh grunted a reply and Aislinn's soft smile slowly grew. Perhaps aside from the morbid and macabre façade lay a soft and gentle side to Linketh Kelgasus. This, she knew, would be impossible for anyone to believe, even his Housemates. How well did they know him? Even though Aislinn had believed many of the things the Marauders had told her about Linketh Kelgasus while at the Three Broomsticks, she was beginning to believe that there was also a soft heart in everyone, even someone like him. Instead of reading her book, she watched him concentrate hard on his own reading material, his pale mismatching eyes scanning the page, eyebrows narrowed and whitish-blonde curls falling over his visage. Despite his odd appearance, there was a nice, peaceful look about him in this concentrated state he was in. It was long until Linketh looked up and curiously gazed at her that she figured out she was staring at him, and she tore from his gaze immediately, looking back down at her book with red cheeks.

"Found anything?" he asked, noticing her book only turned to the title page. Aislinn, embarrassed, hastily turned many pages to reach the first one that began discussing potions and their ingredients. She began to stammer for an excuse as to why she wasn't reading.

"Never mind," he grumbled and averted his gaze back to his book. "I think we should just stick with the Amortentia potion anyway." He shrugged and sighed, absentmindedly turning pages now. Aislinn nodded and flipped through many thin pages, just to appear busy, but really she couldn't help but let her mind wander about the miniscule affection Linketh seemingly possessed, or if he possessed any at all. Why was he the way he was? Perhaps Slughorn had been right about him choosing their partners. Aislinn was now, surprisingly, excited to learn more about the mysterious nature of Linketh Kelgasus.