Author's Note: The final chapter of Aiden and the Beast is here! FINALLY. I had a good time writing this, though, and I want to thank all of you who kept with the story through my long delays. Special thanks to BrutieBoots for creating Duncan Bell, Kira Pucey, Rowena Vane, Braxton Zabini, and Tatiana Higgs, and for especially letting me use Aiden for a different story (since I had created him for a story of hers). Anyway, leave your final comments and enjoy the chapter. Thank you, again, for your supporting reviews and for favoriting/alerting. (: -Michele
PS: For more Aiden, visit BrutieBoots' page and read Aiden in Wonderland. It's a lemon one-shot taken place after this story. She'll appreciate your reviews just as much as I do. ^u^ Ciao! (:
CHAPTER 29
Today is Saturday, and while everyone is in Hogsmeade, I'm heading towards Headmistress McGonagall's office with Professor Lingley. I'm not sure why I'm headed towards her office, but Professor Lingley says it's highly important that I'm there. I'm guessing it has something to with the questions I have about my heritage.
We approach the gargoyle that stands in front of McGonagall's office. After Lingley announces the password, the gargoyle steps aside, revealing the winding staircase that lead up to the headmistress' office. We don't talk the entire way, but I've come to learn that Professor Lingley isn't necessarily the talking type. She can be more reclusive than even me, and I wonder if she'll ever get married—which is a shame since she is so beautiful.
Lingley opens the door and leads me inside. I immediately see a group of people, my mother and grandmother included in this gathering.
"Mum? Grandmother?" I ask, puzzled. Draco steps forward and smiles, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Okay, what's going on?"
"Aiden, sweetie," Mum says, reaching out for me. "We heard all about your adventure to this Chamber of Secrets."
"And about how you fought against Merida Maverill," Draco adds.
"Come sit, Mr. Cooper, and everything will be explained," Professor McGonagall says as she waves her hand to the empty chair next to my mother. Curious, I sit down with them, waiting to hear exactly what everything is.
Mum places a hand on my knee and squeezes it, smiling at me. Looking at her face, I realize I can't be mad at her anymore for the whole Draco thing. Well, I guess I do have every right to, but it wouldn't make me happy, and it would make her feel inconsolably worse. Mum doesn't deserve that. With her beautiful face and kind personality, my mother does have a right to be happy, and I needed to forgive her for hiding my father from me.
I place a hand over hers and smile back at her. Her face brightens.
"Aiden, we are here today to set things straight. Your grandmother had come to us with some shocking news," McGonagall begins. Even Mum looks at her curiously. Apparently she doesn't know about this either. McGonagall nods her head at my grandmother. "Madam Cooper? Would you care to tell your grandson what you have told us?"
Grandmother Eracebeth turns to me. Mum resembles her very much. Grandmother has the same eyes and the same face structure. Her long white hair is braided and twisted into a bun with an ancient clip to keep it in place. Her face is withered with wrinkles.
"Aiden, my dear, and Celeste, darling, I have kept something horrible from the two of you. In no way have I meant to hurt you, but I did not have the heart to tell you of this story." She's stammering a lot, and her hands keep rubbing over each other.
"What is it, Mum?" asks my mother.
"When I became pregnant with you, Celeste, your grandmother, Pamela-Rose, told me the story about how she became pregnant with me," Grandmother begins. "One night, in the summer of 1942, she had taken a shortcut through a grove that was once commonly used by carriages to go in and out of town. The road wasn't used as commonly by then, for streets were being made for cars.
"My mother had just got finished shopping in Little Hangleton. She didn't have a vehicle, but she was comfortable walking alone anyway, the silly girl. It was that particular night that she thought she heard heavy footsteps following her, but whenever she turned around, no one was there.
"Suddenly, a great man with long wild hair and missing teeth jumped in front of her. He'd pulled out a stick and suddenly she was frozen, yet still conscious. He pulled her into a shack, slammed her on a table and began to tear all of her clothes."
Grandmother Eracebeth shivers and I can see her blue eyes are beginning to shine over with tears.
"My mother was raped by this man. He was such a horrid man, eyes looking in opposite directions and that stringy hair. Raped and beaten and raped and beaten. It was a miracle that she got away."
"How did she get away?" Draco asks, and I suddenly remember that he's been with us the entire time.
"She was able to knock him out with a kick to the head. She broke his fingers so he couldn't wield his wand and managed to run away. She ran to the police, but when they searched the woods for this man, they couldn't find him.
"Mother believed she was going mad until she became pregnant with me. But I remember Mother trying her hardest to love me, and even though I resembled nothing like this man, I felt she could never love me like any other child.
"And then, she found out I was different," Grandmother sighs heavily, her voice shaking. "That I was his daughter. I possessed the same qualities."
"W-what do you mean?" asks my mother.
"The man, Mother told me, he didn't speak English, but rather a strange hissing language. He was a Parselmouth." Grandmother looks at me and my eyebrows arch.
"An heir of Slytherin," I whisper.
"And then she caught me speaking that language. And she caught me doing strange things with objects. Levitating them, making them disappear …"
Mum stands up and backs away. "Mum, what are you saying?" she asks fearfully. "Magic has never been in our family until Aiden." Grandmother bursts into tears.
"I'm so sorry, Celeste. I should have told you. I should have told both of you," she weeps.
"Mum, if you're … a …" Mum stammers.
"Witch," I whisper for her.
"Then … then …" My mother places her hands over her heart. "I'm …?"
"Yes, sweetheart. You are a witch too," Grandmother finishes for her.
My mother is in shock. I'm actually afraid she's going to have a heart attack. Professor Lingley and Draco rush to her and steady her.
"I … I don't understand," she says as tears stroll down her eyes.
"Aiden would have been born a wizard whether you had met Draco or not," Grandmother says. "My mother was a Muggle woman, and she met a wizard man of Dark magic. Morfin Gaunt, was his name. She promised me to hide my magic powers from you, for she thought maybe we could get rid of this abnormality. So I did, but when you were born, I noticed you possessed no magic powers, so I thought my mother was right. But Aiden was born, and it was obvious he would have magic abilities because he has two magic parents."
No one isn't saying much now. My grandmother's story has pretty much answered all the questions I've ever had. I wasn't from a Muggle family at all, and, as it turned out, my Parseltongue abilities did come from my mother.
"Morfin Gaunt," I finally say. "He is related to Slytherin?" McGonagall nods.
"The Gaunts were one of Slytherin's strongest descendants. To keep their pureblood heritage, it was common of them to inbreed. Slytherin believed the same," she explains.
"The woman you met in the Chamber," Professor Lingley says, "Merida Maverill? Wasn't it odd that she was the wife of Slytherin, yet a Parselmouth as well?"
"She was related to him in some way too?" I ask.
"Yes. Merida and Slytherin were cousins."
I shudder. Well, that's disturbing.
McGonagall stands and takes my mother from the arms of Lingley and Draco. "Miss Cooper, perhaps a conversation of understanding is in order. You've gone through quite an ordeal with the uncovering of your family's history."
"I'm so sorry, Celeste," Grandmother says to her once more.
"Madam Cooper, if you would like to join us, that would be exceptional, as well as you, Mr. Cooper," McGonagall suggests. Grandmother stands up and joins them, taking Mum's hands into her own. Mum is saying anything to her. She's more in shock than anyone here, even me. Mum just found out she's a witch—a Squib, at that—after thirty-eight years of being held in the dark. That is loads worse than my situation. I would have rather waited sixteen rather than almost forty years.
I shake my head in refusal at McGonagall's offer.
"I think I'll pass," I say. She nods.
"Very well. Professor Lingley, would you escort Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Cooper outside, please, then?"
We walk out and Draco and I part from Professor Lingley, who returns to McGonagall's office to help my mother cope with this news. Draco and I are left alone once more and I can feel the awkward tension between us.
"That was certainly unexpected," Draco sighs, scratching his head. I stuff my hands in my pockets.
"Bet you didn't realize you were hooking up with a witch rather than a Muggle woman," I retort. Draco's face falls.
"After everything you've been through, I will never be able to stop saying how sorry I truly am for staying out of your life. It was so cowardly and irresponsible of me to do such a thing."
I shake my head. "Yeah, it was. But how about I forgive and you stop saying you're sorry, because, quite frankly, it's getting a bit annoying."
Draco looks at me strangely. "A-are you serious?" he asks, baffled.
"Yeah."
Draco looks like he wants to either pull me into a giant hug and do nothing at the same time. I guess he's not much of an affection guy, which doesn't bother me. But he does pull me into a one-armed hug to his side, which surprisingly feels kind of good.
Suddenly, a voice interrupts our moment.
"Father?" asks Scorpius from the end of the hall.
"Oh bugger," I mutter.
Scorpius is storming towards us, completely in shock about his father hugging me.
"Father, do you know him?" he snaps. He glares at me. "What are you doing with my father, Cooper?"
"Son, there's something we really need to talk about," Draco says as he lets go of me.
"What's going on?" demands Scorpius. He's terribly confused and lost. I always imagined this day to be the greatest day of my life, laughing manically at Malfoy finding out that his father has another son and that he isn't the only one, that his family isn't so perfect after all. But when I see his face, I can't bring myself to be even remotely happy. I'm scared for him, sad for him, and I pity him. No kid deserves to have their parents keep large secrets from them, and I'm learning that a lot today.
Draco excuses himself from me and he leads Scorpius away, Scorpius shouting the entire way about what he's doing with me. A rock falls on my stomach. He isn't going to like the outcome, and neither is his mother. I'm also scared for Draco himself. I guess, if anything, he's welcome at my house. Well, maybe.
I pass my luggage case and broom to the people loading the train and hold Bursty's cage close to my chest. Albus, Duncan, Rose, and Rowena are walking a few feet in front of me, chatting animatedly. Duncan notices I'm behind and slows so I can catch up with him.
"Why so quiet?" he asks. "Thinking about how ridiculously pathetic your first year at Hogwarts was?" He chuckles and nudges me. I arch an eyebrow and roll my eyes.
"Pathetic is an understatement," I reply. And then the both of us laugh. We know fully well my first year was anything but pathetic. Chaotic and agonizing, maybe, but not pathetic.
Duncan slings an arm around my shoulder. "You cope well, Cooper. After the entire mess you went through, I'd say you're alright." I roll my eyes and shake his arm off.
"Gee, thanks," I say sarcastically with a hint of a grin.
Suddenly, I feel a presence on my other side and notice Kira has just appeared next to me. Her sparkling hazel eyes glare up at me.
"Thanks for waiting," she sneers.
"I would have saved you a seat," I say nonchalantly. She rolls her eyes.
"Considering your family issues, maybe you'd like to spend summer at my house. We can concentrate on strictly Quidditch. No drama, no nothing," she says.
"Of course Quidditch … Her father's only a professional Quidditch player," Duncan says. "You mind inviting me too? After all, James did appoint me the new Gryffindor captain for next term."
"You're the new captain?" asks Kira skeptically. "Oh good. Slytherin will win the Cup for sure."
"That's what you think, Pucey," scoffs Duncan.
"Well, as long as I'm captain for Slytherin, we're not losing a single match."
"Malfoy appointed you captain? Bloody hell. Aiden, your loyalty lies with your team, so this relationship you have, it's got to end," Duncan says, pointing at the two of us.
I look at Kira and shrug. "He's right. I can't date Slytherin's Quidditch captain," I say. She gives me a hard stare. "Or … maybe I can," I add quickly.
We make it onto the train, combing through compartments to see what's empty. I notice Tatiana and Giselle sitting together, along with Braxton Zabini. Giselle is practically in Braxton's lap, while Tatiana has another Slytherin boy on her arm, rubbing her hand down his chest.
She looks up at notices Kira and me holding hands. Her look tells us that she's better than us anyway, but I know the truth to those seductive eyes. It's pathetic.
Scorpius is absent from that group, but I guess he's spending the entire ride home by himself, coping with his father's news. Finally I see him, and, just as I predicted, he's sitting alone. He catches my gaze, and he glares momentarily before lifting it. I know his look, and he knows mine. We both exchange expressions of pity before I drag Kira away.
Finally settling into a compartment, I set Bursty on the seat next to the window, and Kira sits beside me. Duncan and Albus join us, and I guess we've lost Rowena and Rose along the way.
"They'll be back," Albus waves them off.
"So, what're your plans, for summer, Al?" ask Duncan.
"Well, not training for Quidditch captain, that's for sure," he mutters. Duncan smirks. "I can't believe James didn't give the position to me! His own brother!"
"The practice will be good anyway," Duncan says. "Pucey here has been promoted to Slytherin's captain." Kira grins.
"Blimey! What are you doing here, then?" exclaims Albus. "We need to discuss Quidditch strategies right away. Can't be talking about this in front of Slytherin."
"Oh please. Whatever petty strategies you come up with, Slytherin will defeat them easily."
"Kira is brilliant, you know," I mention. Kira grins at me.
"And this is why you're my boyfriend," she states proudly. I smile and hold her close to me, kissing the top of her head.
"Oh come on. Let's leave the romance out of this," groans Albus. The four of us burst into laughter as the train takes off sending me home with the best friends I could ever ask for.
