Year 6 Part 1
The summer was less carefree than usual, mostly owing to the events of the past year. Since Harry Potter and his friends had broken into the Ministry things had gotten a lot more serious. Now the whole Wizarding world knew that you-know-who was back, which of course, Castor and Draco already knew, but it made time more valuable. Mostly Castor spent the summer listening to the adults make plans, and trying to cheer Draco up. His father had been sent to Azkaban when it was revealed he was a Death Eater, and Draco had been despondent ever since he found out.
It was not a very fun time to be a wizard, and Castor was unusually excited to go back to school and just be an oblivious student again. Alas, before she could, she had to get through the rest of the summer and the confusion it entailed. One day she walked into Draco's room to see him sitting on the edge of his bed, pale and rather sick looking. Concerned, she sat down next to him. "So..." She started, unsure what was so wrong with him and more than a little worried. "You doing alright..." her inquiry drifted off as she spotted his arm.
Twined around his left forearm was a black snake figure, standing out against his pale skin and tensed veins. "Ah," she said simply, putting an arm around his shoulders and staying quiet. It was not entirely unexpected, but it did make things seem like they were getting more serious. It must have been very painful, as Draco didn't talk for a long time and just sat there tensed and greenish colored. "He has something he wants us to do," He sprung suddenly, making Castor jump slightly and her roots turn white.
She instinctively knew who he was talking about without asking, and took it in stride. "What is it?" She pulled away, turning to look straight at him as he spoke. She listened quietly as he spoke, nodding and raising her eyebrows but not interrupting as he put forward some ideas.
Blaise and Lia arrived a week before they were to leave for Hogwarts, and Blaise went through the same process as Draco, emerging from the library one day with a tattoo, looking a little greenish and not speaking. Castor and Lia were spared the pain of the Dark Mark, which they were confused but not mad about. The boys had told them how painful it was. And Narcissa didn't have one either. Maybe seeing how crazy Bellatrix was had made Riddle apprehensive about branding the other Malfoy women.
All four travelled to Kings Cross together, occupying an empty compartment and closing the door and blinds. Castor let Draco explain what Riddle had ordered them to do, as it was technically his mission anyway. It only took a few minutes, and they sat in silence, without questions, for a second. It was pretty straightforward, and they figured they would figure out problems on the way.
They were talking cheerfully about their good O.W.L. results when Pansy Parkinson shoved into the compartment. She practically fell across Castor onto Draco's lap, looking adoringly at him as she spoke. "Slughorn's invited Blaise and Castor to lunch in his compartment," she said flirtatiously, as if that were an attractive pickup line. "So it looks like we'll be alone," she finished, this time speaking directly to Draco. He looked around awkwardly, obviously wanting someone to bail him out, but they were all hiding grins.
"We better go to Slughorns, Castor said, and Blaise nodded agreement, following out of the compartment and into the aisle. "Yeah, and I need to talk to Daphne and Theo", Lia said urgently, hurrying out and leaving Draco to his personal torture. He started to call after them, but Pansy put a finger on his lips, effectively stopping him as Castor and Blaise sniggered. They followed some Gryffindor down the aisle, looking in open compartments until they found Slughorns.
"Ah! Come in come in," he said cheerfully, and they filed in warily, taking a seat by themselves against the wall, starting to wish they had stayed with Draco and his paparazzi. "You must be Blaise Zabini and Castor Kellan!" He couldn't seem to lower his voice. They nodded silently, Blaise assuming a bored expression and Castor picking her nails arrogantly. They didn't know what was going on and, hey, fake it till you make it. In this case, make it out of the compartment.
It appeared that everyone else was already there, and they introduced themselves, or rather, Slughorn did it for them. "And this is Blaise Zabini, who has a very rich and beautiful mother, and Castor Kellan, whose father is quite important at the ministry!" Castor smiled a little acidly, wishing people would stop mentioning her father, and Blaise did nothing, completely ignoring what was going on. They suffered through a large lunch with mostly Gryffindors, gladly hurrying back to their compartment when it was over.
They slid in the door to see Draco sitting in a corner, Pansy next to him, practically drooling, her bare legs draped over his. Castor cleared her throat and Pansy jumped, whining about being interrupted. Draco looked at them thankfully, if a little ruefully, and Blaise pushed Pansy out of the compartment. Castor sat down next to Draco, smoothing his shirt and putting an arm around his shoulders. "Are you all right pretty boy?" He humphed, and Castor smiled, glancing over as Lia entered the room. She thought she saw something else, but shook it off as a guilty conscious.
"I don't even know if I'll go to school next year," Draco drawled, and Castor squinted, wondering what was going on. But she played along, knowing there must be something bigger happening that she couldn't see. He continued on about weird things that they all already knew, but Blaise and Lia seemed to get the gist and went along too. Eventually they arrived at Hogsmeade, and Draco said he would stay behind, gesturing at them to go on. Castor kissed him on the cheek, whispering to not get carried away as she smiled and followed Lia to the carriages.
That year was definitely not the best, but they still managed to have some fun. One thing they couldn't figure out however, was how Potter had gotten so good potions over the summer. He won the bottle of Felix Felicis, which would have come in very handy, and Slughorn sung his praises every class. They had more important things to worry about though, especially after the cursed necklace didn't work. They spent most of their time repairing the Vanishing Cabinet that Montague had gotten stuck in, but it was not going well either.
Castor could definitely tell that Potter was more suspicious than usual, and knew he suspected Draco. He couldn't prove anything though, and no one would believe him anyway. Soon after school started Slughorn found out Castor was better friends with Tom Riddle than her father, so she stopped being invited to his little gatherings. Blaise was still stuck going though, so he was around less to help with their little project.
One fateful day, however, it worked. They put a little bird in the Cabinet, and soon it came back. Alive and well. They decided to test it further after Christmas, and headed to Malfoy manner in better moods than they had left it earlier that year. At least half of their assignment was going well, and if the other half failed...well, they could always fall back on Avada Kedavra. They might've stayed over Christmas to keep working, but Riddle wanted them back to report in person. And they weren't about to disobey him.
They were in for a happy surprise when they arrived back, for there had been a mass escape from Azkaban, and Lucius and, sadly, Bellatrix, were back. Draco was in a much improved mood, and so was Castor for a while. They told Riddle how their mission was going and he didn't kill them, which was a good sign, and it was a pretty easy break. One day though, Castor was in for a shock. And a less pleasant one than Lucius coming home.
One evening they sat at dinner when a knock sounded on the door, reverberating through the house. Narcissa went and answered it, but came back without the knocker. "Is it..." Riddle started, and she said yes immediately. He tapped the table with his long fingers, looking at the ceiling. "Perhaps Miss Kellan could answer the door for us." Castor looked a little confused, but stood up and went to get the door. They sat in silence for a minute before they heard a yell and a snarl. The other three teenagers jumped, wondering who could possibly be at the door, and why Castor would react like that.
They heard running footsteps and the door opening and closing, and Draco saw Castor chasing someone outside. She didn't come back for a few minutes, and when she did her hair kept changing from black to white, making her look rather like an indecisive raccoon. It was only when she sat down that Draco realized her eyes had also changed. They were a bright angry yellow, and he could definitely see the resemblance between her and a large predatory cat, especially since her teeth were bared. She slumped down in the chair, leg draped over the arm, and glared out the window, looking extremely wild and not safe to be around. She kind of resembled a prettier, more dangerous Bellatrix.
Draco didn't dare speak, but Riddle had no such qualms, voicing what Draco had thought. "You look rather like a deranged raccoon cat," he said, and Castor growled at him. He just laughed. Draco sat rigid in his seat, trying to decide whether he was more concerned about Castor because she looked crazy, or because she was threatening the Dark Lord. His voice turned mock serious and Riddle spoke again. "I do still need to talk to Jaxus," he said, and Castor glared at him. "Okay," She said fiercely. "Go find what's left of him." Riddle laughed again, and Draco scanned his brain, trying to find Jaxus in their somewhere.
Finally it came to him. Castors brother. Jaxus Kellan. Now he knew why she was acting so strangely. He probably would have done the same, just without changing color. Now he was more concerned for the older Kellan than his friend. He hadn't known Jax was a Death Eater, but he knew firsthand how vengeful Cas could be.