"Hime-sama, won't you regret this later?"
She doesn't respond, she busied herself to make sure the hadajuban is centered on her torso and pull it down on the back hem to expose the back of her neck.
"Hime-sama..."
"No. I will not regret it. This is my decision, if you do not like it, do not follow me." She replied firmly.
Without glancing at her maidservant, she can tell her maidservant is sulking. She couldn't help but sigh as seeing her maidservant helping her to dressing the kimono.
"I will always follow you, Hime-sama. But I just want... what if-" the maidservant cut herself off. But she knew what her maidservant was thinking.
Something bad happened to you.
"I understand, Aya-chan. I won't let anything happened to me. We knew each other since we are toddlers, you know me more than anyone else. You believe in me right? I can defend myself."
"Of course I believe in you! I just worried about you..." her maidservant, Aya, replied it with her usual worried tone.
She smiled grimly in front of mirror. When she saw Aya turn around to take the obi for her kimono, she let her hands shaking.
She is afraid.
She recalled her mother's harsh words in her head like a spell that always stuck in her memory.
"Don't show your weakness, even if you're just going to be an ornamental flower." Her mother sneered. "You have to show your grace, make them want you, be useful."
'Thank you for your words mother, but I won't be just an ornamental flower, I will-'
She clenched her fists tightly. Her hands stopped shaking.
Ashika woke up, straightened her appearance and hair. Her bangs are getting longer, when she arrives at the orphanage she will ask the matron to help to cut her bangs neatly.
"Oh Ashika, you're awake." Augustus Rookwood commented, glancing at her lazily, he wave his hand at the wizard's chess in front of him and Damien.
"Want to join after this?"
Ashika rubbing her eyes slowly. And replied, "nah, no thanks. How long we will be arrives anyway?"
"56 minutes." The brunette, Catreus Wilkes sitting beside her replied softly. Watching Augustus and Damien playing.
Ashika blinked and nodded. Staring at the scenery outside their compartment window.
They continue to play, making small talk, discussing or gossiping about the slytherins, hogwarts students, and the proffesors.
Three days after Murton's incident and Rookwood followed Ashika and Damien into the kitchen, Rookwood and his friend Catreus Wilkes started to following and joined Ashika and Damien.
It was awkward at first but after knowing more about them, Ashika didn't mind their company. Although sometimes she's wary with their status as future death eaters, they're pretty fun and nice kids. Damien still wary around them for a whole month, he doesn't talk a lot when they're hanging around. But weeks after weeks, he opened up himself.
Even they are on first names basis now.
"So, you will go to Japan for summer?" Augustus asked curiously. Ashika can feel Damien and Catreus eyed her curiously.
"Maybe."
"Hmm... I want to go there, I've never been to Asia country before..."
"He want to see your home and play with you on the summer holidays." Catreus said bluntly with calm manner. Augustus kick Catreus leg which placed in front of him. Damien snorted when Catreus give the black hair boy deadpan stare.
Yes, that is the quiet Wilkes personality. Ashika regretted she had been thinking that brunette is just shy boy. Once we knew him and he got comfortable, his mouth became sharp as knife, he likes to give blank or deadpan stare into his victim's soul like right now. He is not as snarky's as Damien nor has foul's mouth as Ashika. But he has his own sharpness.
"Seriously! Don't say something like that! She will start-"
Ashika smirked.
"Awww my baby sweetie Auggie! Want to play with pwetty Ashika for summer holidays? Hm hm hm?" She says mockingly with annoying cute voice. She bet she can rival Bellatrix's annoying baby voice.
Augustus actually flinched when he heard that. Damien grimaced and sent her a glare. She can see Catreus enjoyed Augustus's and Damien's expression, and sent a smirk to Ashika.
Ashika snickered and opened her mouth to torment them again but the compartment door opened.
A pretty girl with thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders, and almond-shaped, bright green eyes, stood in front of them and looking at them nervously.
"Um hello, I'm sorry for bothering you. I'm Lily Evans, first year from Gryffindor. I'm Severus Snape's friend. Um... do you guys see him around? He left our compartment 40 minutes ago and did not comeback-"
"Why would we knew where he went?" Damien cut the girl sharply. Lily Evans blushed in embarrassment or in anger when the slytherins staring at her blankly. Ashika can see in corner her eyes, Catreus stiffened and Augustus become wary.
"Because you guys are Snape's housemate obviously." A girl with chestnut hair behind Evans answered haughtily, did not bother to hide her disdain towards the slytherins.
Ashika only remember her last name is McKinnon or something like that.
"Marlene! Don't be rude!"
Ah yes, Marlene McKinnon.
McKinnon just rolled her eyes at Evans and shrugged, did not care about her attitude towards the slytherins.
Ashika sighed, she can feel the tense situation between her slytherins friends and the gryffindors. She stand up, step forward to face the duo gryffindors.
"Have you already checked the place that he went?" She asked calmly.
Evans turn around quickly when Ashika began talking. She nodded awkwardly. "Yes, we have already checked that but we didn't found him."
"Have you asked around if some people saw him?"
"That's why we came to you guys, we thought Severus will be with his Slytherin housemates."
Ashika sighed, swapped her long bangs steadily. And then stared at kid version of protagonist's mother without any expression.
"Let me tell you something, Evans. First, do not asked Slytherins around carelessly like you did a while ago, you are lucky you asked my group first. Who knows other Slytherins do to you when you ask them randomly." She said calmly, ignoring how Evans blushing, this one clearly in embarrassment, and ignoring McKinnon's narrowed eyes.
"Second, have you ever seen we talked to Snape before? If you don't, then we do not know anything about him. Just because we are his housemate doesn't mean we are in friendly terms with each other."
Evans should have known about that. Evans is famous for her blatant dislike towards Potter after all. Or maybe even when the Gryffindors happened to dislike each other, they are still care and keeping tab on their own? Hm...
"Third, you should asked for help to the prefects. I would suggest your house prefects. Let them help you and if you found any trouble, let them handle it." Ashika explained, "you understand so far?"
Evans nodded hesitantly seems want to asked something but then she smiled awkwardly at Ashika instead, McKinnon just stared at her blankly.
"Now why don't you ask the prefects to help you? Good luck." Ashika drawled, give them a mocking salute, and then closed the compartment door before the duo gryffindors said anything.
She sighed when she heard Evans said thanks loudly. And back to her seat.
"That was... unexpected." Damien says and peered at her curiously.
"You think I will curse the hell out of her?" She asked, tones heavy with sarcasm.
"Yes." Augustus answered without hesitation.
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms to her chest. It seems her disdain towards the muggleborns makes its fame. She did not find they are annoying because of their blood, Ashika herself was muggleborn after all, but she dislike their constant racist towards her and their ignorant towards the magical culture.
Beside, if she got the main character's attention, it means more trouble. She had dodge Dumbledore's attention easily, makes him to think she is just ordinary slytherin student. She even let the fricking marauders prank her easily once and fake cried so they think she is just boring slytherin that not worth to be pranked by them. And all of that had been successful.
She hopes she makes right decisions with Lily Evans this times. Typical main characters are the less you annoys them the less their attention towards you.
Surely the girl think she's just another ordinary Slytherin right?
The train slowly started to stop right at London King's Cross Station Platform 9 which filled with families waiting for their children to return from Hogwarts.
A few minutes later, students began to scatter out of the train. Walking happily to their waiting family.
Ashika holds her trunk that had been casted with feather-light charm, walking slowly behind her friends towards the exit.
"Ashika!" A familiar voice shouted as she step outside. Ashika tensed and glanced to her left side, walked away from the train to avoid another students. She saw a familiar man with short messy black hair, sharp dark eyes, black cloak hanging around his solid and tall body. He give her a wave and sharp grin then walking towards her. His features clearly different with people around him, despite any of that he has pretty face.
She can see some woman staring at him shyly and curiously.
Ashika narrowed her eyes as the man comes in front of her, and then she speaks with her mother-tongue language. "Old man. What the hell are you doing here?"
The man just grinned widely and reached his hand toward her head and ruffled her hair. "I'm not old, brat. I'm still in my forties!"
"48 years old is damn old." Ashika hissed, but actually didn't meant it, she just want to irritated the man saying he is old but it did not success. The man is obviously in a good mood. "Don't messed up my hair, old man!"
"Ashika-chan why you're so cute. And look at that, already have your minions followed you," he says cheerfully, still didn't stop messing her hair. She tried to slap his hand away but he quickly withdrawn it.
"Ashika? Who is this?" Damien asked. Ashika sighed, just realized her friends still standing beside her and some people glancing curiously at them. Ashika straighten her posture ignores the man who snorted mockingly at her.
Damn. Why her friends didn't go straight to their families? She clearly saw Asterion talking to a slightly long dark brown hair man and blonde woman a while ago, clearly it's the Parkinson's parents.
Augustus and Catreus also peered at her and the man in front of her curiously. The man just grinning sharply at them, didn't bother to introduce himself.
Ashika snorted and says. "This is my... uncle, Isamu Reizei."