As soon as Potions was over, Arielle headed to her next class. She received a note from Professor McGonagall during her transfiguration lesson. The note was from Dumbledore requesting her presence in his office that evening after dinner. A knot formed in Arielle's stomach, so it began tonight. From this moment on she would begin deceiving her family, lying to her classmates about where she was, and learning a craft that many condemned as savage wizardry. Arielle successfully turned her tea cup into a dove with a single flick of her wand. The object of today's transfiguration lesson was to transform ordinary objects into animals. It was meant to be an introductory lesson, however; Arielle managed to perform what would take other students' the rest of the month to perform, if they ever managed it, in a single moment. Professor McGonagall applauded in amazement and awarded Gryffindor ten house points.
"Dear Merlin, only two students before Ms. Malfoy have managed to transform their objects into animals their fourth year and it took them a few weeks to accomplish it! Bravo, Arielle, and ten points to Gryffindor."
Arielle knew McGonagall was talking about Sirius Black and James Potter. Both the Gryffindor boys were rather skilled in transfiguration. Arielle remembered a Hogsmeade trip her third year, where Sirius, James, and Peter begged her to come along with them to the Shrieking Shack. Arielle had always been skilled at Charms, and her expertise was needed in case something went wrong. The three boys managed to successfully turn themselves into animals, making them unregistered Animagus. They then spent the next hour convincing Arielle not tell anyone. She had kept their secret til this day.
"Arielle, would you mind going around and helping some of the more troubled students?" Professor McGonagall asked looking disapprovingly at a Hufflepuff who had managed to turn his dish into a steaming pile of owl dung.
"Certainly Professor." Arielle said with equal distaste.
The rest of the day went by excruciatingly slow. Arielle barely touched her food at dinner, which Lily decided was a behavior that required a vigarious investigation. After numerous questions, Lily finally decided to leave Arielle alone, determining that Potions with the Slytherins was the cause of her friend's apparent anxiety. She then went on to discuss the effects sleeping draught could have on an unknowing victim who had been slipped the potion in their morning tea. To make matters worse, Evan Rosier had been staring at Arielle from across the hall for the entire meal. When she got up to leave, Evan followed suit. Arielle walked as fast as she could but before she rounded the corner, Evan stopped her in corridor.
"Is something wrong, Arielle?" Evan asked suspiciously. Arielle did not want anyone, especially the Slytherins to know that she was meeting the headmaster. She remembered how much the lot hated Dumbledore.
"It's nothing. I am just feeling exhausted this evening Evan." Arielle said in the sweetest voice she could muster. This seemed to satisfy the Slytherin and he revealed his true reason for following her.
"Look Arielle, I wondered if we could talk about the night of Christmas Ball, and that list I gave you…"
Arielle groaned inwardly. This was the last thing she wanted to do right now. She looked at Evan who took her silence as sign to continue.
"I just wanted to tell you...what they did...was completely out of line Arielle, disgusting even. You deserve so much better. I want you to know that Regulus and I, our friendship...it's completely over." Evan said.
"Well, thank you Evan, I appreciate your sentiments." Arielle said with a fake smile before turning around.
"Wait!" Evan shouted grabbing Arielle's arm. She sighed and turned around to face her ex-boyfriend.
"That's it? That's all you have to say?" Evan asked looking shocked.
"What do you want me to say? I'm glad you showed me the list Evan, you really did save me from making a horrible mistake and I am forever grateful that you did. You finally stood up to Regulus and made your own decision, and I thank you for it." Arielle said before turning around to leave but Evan hadn't released her arm from his grasp.
"What does this mean for us?" Evan asked his eyes searching Arielle's for any glimmer of affection.
"Evan, after what happened...I really just need to be alone right now. I hope you can understand. I trusted Regulus...over you, and that turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life. I just need to step back and reevaluate things for a while and then we can talk about this again, okay?" Arielle said earnestly.
Evan seemed satisfied with this answer and let go of Arielle's arm. She retreated around the corridor, frequently looking back to make sure she was not followed. Once she arrived at Dumbledore's office she muttered the password that was scribbled at the bottom of the headmaster's note.
"Ah, Ms. Malfoy." Dumbledore said with a smile as she entered his office.
"Please, Professor, Ms. Malfoy reminds me so much of my mother, I much prefer Arielle." She said glancing around the room nervously before taking a seat.
"Of course Arielle, and have you given thought to my proposal?" He asked looking up at her through his half-moon spectacles.
"Yes, um...I've decided to take you up on your offer." Arielle said.
"Excellant! I knew you would." The headmaster practically beamed.
Arielle managed to feign a smile.
"I know what's at stake for you Arielle. I am quite aware of your family, and their situation."
"Situation?" Arielle questioned a little unnerved at her professor's candidness.
"I suspect you read the papers Arielle. There has been a lot of press recently about a certain dark wizard and his recruiting efforts." Dumbledore continued ambiguously.
Arielle did not like where this was going and she never read the papers.
"And what are you implying professor?" Arielle asked a bit coldly.
Dumbledore could sense Arielle's ignorance on the subject and decided to steer the conversation in a different direction.
"I merely implying Arielle, that by practicing wandless magic, and mastering it, you will put yourself at risk. Many fear what they don't understand. And dark wizards like Lord Voldemort, won't tolerate anyone who is a threat to their power."
Arielle cringed as Dumbledore said his name. She heard whispers mostly fleeting in her own house about this infamous Dark Lord. Arielle had refused to believe it, pretended in vain that her family had nothing to do with such matters. As the years passed by, the truth slowly began to reveal itself to her. She remembered the first night she had come face to face with the truth, Sirius's words began ringing in her head, "Your brother, Rosier, Cissy, Bella, they are all death eaters. They kill people based upon blood status and they love every second of it. And soon so will you."
She shuddered at the memory of it. Her thoughts then drifted to the astronomy tower, to Regulus, the warm comfort of his embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around her, the steady beat of his heart…
"Arielle?" Dumbledore asked looking more intensely at her through his moon-shaped glasses.
Arielle shook herself out of her memories.
"I understand the gravity of what I am about to do Professor. I know that I have to conceal this from my family, my friends, everyone...but I am here because if I don't do something, if I don't learn to control these abilities…" Arielle said looking down at her hands, "I can't hide behind a wand forever."
Dumbledore smiled at Arielle's ending statement.
"Good. Then the first step will be to master the art of occlumency." Dumbledore spoke.
"Occlumency, sir?" Arielle asked a bit confused.
"That's right. Are you familiar with the practice?"
"I mean... I know what it is if that's what you're asking." Arielle replied.
"Tonight I have seen that you understand the dangers of the journey you are about to embark on Arielle. However, what good would it do to sneak around, to conceal all of this information if one could simply read your mind and find out your secret?" Dumbledore questioned.
Arielle opened her mouth to speak but words escaped her. He was right. She needed to learn how to shield her mind from those who wished to enter it.
"Okay, how do we start?" Arielle asked.
"Well the first step is to clear your mind. Image you're an artist and your thoughts are the canvas. Every time you have a thought, a feeling, a memory, the canvas becomes stained with color. The goal is to keep the canvas white." Dumbledore explained.
"You mean my head has to empty...filled with nothing?" Arielle asked uneasily.
"Exactly." Dumbledore said enthusiastically.
"Oh boy…" Arielle said shifting nervously in her seat. She had always had a bit of wandering mind. "Any suggestions on how to do this?"
"Meditation." Dumbledore said.
"Meditation?" Arielle questioned.
"This week I want you to sit for one hour each day and meditate. Keep your mind free from all thought and feeling. If a feeling or thought comes, let it slip away from you; don't give it time to fester. It will be hard at first, but will come easier to you in time. You may find that mediation will help you relinquish some of your current dilemmas." Dumbledore said with a pointed look.
Arielle immediately felt self-conscious as if the old man was reading her mind this very minute.
"I will see you next Tuesday and we will assess your progress."
"Of course. Thank you Professor." Arielle stumbled.
Dumbledore nodded in return.
The walk back to the Gryffindor common room seemed longer than usual. Arielle wondered if Dumbledore knew she had revealed to Severus her plans to train in wandless magic. She had this disturbing feeling the old man could read every thought that popped into her head. The faster she learned to shield her mind, the better.
Arielle reached the fat lady.
"Password?" She croaked.
"Snifflebroom." Arielle said.
The portrait swung open. The common room was filled with Gryffindors tonight, and Lily Evans seemed to be addressing the lot of them.
"Perfect timing, Arielle!" Lily shouted from across the room. "Come here and please tell our housemates what McGonagall said to us at our second term prefects meeting."
Arielle rolled her eyes and stood up on top of the table. "Our head of house is squeezing our balls on contraband this term. So please wait until I leave the room before you light up. If I catch you smoking doobies in the common room or the bathrooms, I will confiscate it and finish it myself in the privacy of my prefect's dorm."
The Gryffindors burst into conversation after Arielle's speech. Lily shot Arielle a disapproving look before trying and failing to regain the attention of the students.
"Groovy speech little lady." Sirius said blocking Arielle's path to the stairs of the girls dormitory.
Arielle looked up at Sirius, his eyes were as red as the ferret's blood she used in today's potion. He was clearly high off his ass, and suddenly Lily's pathetic attempt to address the issue of contraband became clear as James knocked into Sirius with a laugh only an incredible high could bring about.
"Practice tomorrow, after dinner." Sirius said lazily. "You ready?"
"Of course I am. Are you?" She said shoving the shaggy haired boy out of the way. Arielle rolled her eyes as James burst into laughter as if what she had just said was the funniest thing in the world. She walked up two stairs and then turned around with her hands on her hips.
"I will be." Sirius said with a wicked smirk. Arielle couldn't help but smile, his was just too damn contagious.
"James!" Came a loud shrill from across the room.
James and Sirius exchanged wayward glances.
"We better go." James yelped as Lily began making her way towards the boys.
"The good thing about having two female prefects...you can always take the after-party to the dormitory." Sirius cooed.
Arielle snorted in amusement and the boys took off to their own dorms.
"Where did they go?" Lily asked with a huff.
Arielle nodded at the staircase to the boys dormitory.
Lily sighed.
"Thanks for having my back." The redhead said sarcastically.
"Relax Lily. It's just to blow off steam, you know, you should try it some time." Arielle said before going up to her own dormitory. That night Arielle started her regime of meditation. She lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. She breathed deeply in and out. Every time a thought came to Arielle's mind, she let it slip away as Dumbledore suggested. It was hard at first, but as the time passed it became easier. She thought of Evan and their conversation in corridor, she thought of Regulus and his clenched fists on the desk, she heard James's laughter echo in her brain and she turned it off. When her alarm clock sounded, Arielle nearly jumped out of her skin. She sighed turning it off and slipping into her nightgown. Binx curled up next to her and Arielle drifted easily off to sleep.
Arielle was the first one to arrive at the quidditch pitch after supper. She decided to use this time to sit in the grass and practice meditation. Sirius, James, and the rest of the team approached the field about twenty minutes into her session. Sirius gave James a 'what the hell' expression when he noticed Arielle sitting in the field alone. James shrugged his shoulders and tossed a scarlet bag to Sirius.
"We will get started on warm ups." James stated.
Sirius walked to the middle of the field, the scarlet bag in hand. He sat down on the wet grass across from the black haired witch without saying a word. Her eyes were still closed and it looked as if she were asleep sitting up.
"What's in the bag?" Arielle suddenly spoke eyeing the bag on the ground next to Sirius.
"It's your uniform." Sirius said opening the bag, revealing the crimson and gold fabric.
Arielle smiled.
"What are you doing anyway?" Sirius asked curious as to why she was acting so odd.
"Nothing, just mediating."
"How zen of you." Sirius said with a haughty smirk.
Arielle rolled her eyes and stood up clutching the bag in her hand.
"Sirius, can we really do this?" She asked more seriously as they walked to join the rest of the team at the other end of the field.
"Do what?" He asked.
"Pretend like nothing ever happened? Forget all of those nasty things we have said and done to each other over the last two years?" Arielle said, her big blue eyes sparkling.
Sirius was transfixed by Arielle's gaze for a few moments and contemplated what she said before a small smile swept across his face.
"Arielle, you couldn't do anything to get me to stop loving you." Sirius said sweetly.
Arielle raised an eyebrow suggestively at the boy.
"Like an annoying little sister, you daft dimbo." Sirius laughed and Arielle followed suit.
Quidditch practice was a success. Arielle quickly picked up the strategies of the team, and they ran the different plays over and over again to absolute perfection. James was convinced that there was no way the Slytherins stood a chance with their new substitute chaser, and suggested one more practice before the game on Saturday.
Arielle headed to the library after to practice to study for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Ancient Runes. She saw Severus and Lily writing intensely in the far corner of the room and decided not to interrupt them. Walking through the lines of large bookcases, Arielle searched for a quiet place to study when she saw him. Regulus was sitting by himself with a stack of books. Arielle quickly hid in the next aisle and peered through the shelves at the Slytherin boy. She had never seen Regulus without his friends or in the library. His brows were furrowed as he read the fourth year DADA textbook. Arielle continued to watch the boy intently, she wondered why he was alone and not with his slimy git friends.
"Arielle what are you doing?" A familiar voice bellowed.
Arielle's cheeks flushed red as she saw Regulus lift his head up from his textbook and search the perimeter for her presence. Arielle practically jumped back in surprise when he turned around to face the shelves.
"Are you spying on someone?" Severus asked walking towards her innocently.
"No! I was just searching for a textbook." She said defensively, her cheeks reddening further.
Severus looked at the shelf that Arielle was supposedly browsing.
"On.. Rare Skin Funguses and How to Cure Them?" Severus asked with a raised brow.
Arielle glanced over the books at Regulus who was now smiling flagrantly into his DADA textbook. She let out a huff of annoyance.
"What are you doing here anyway? I saw you studying with Lily." Arielle said quickly trying to change the subject.
Severus held up a book that read A History on the Uses of Polyjuice Potion. "Needed this to finish our Potions essay. Care to join us, when you're done doing... whatever it is your doing?"
Arielle sighed in frustration and pushed past Severus, not daring to look down the aisle Regulus was sitting at as she rounded the corner.
Severus followed suit but paused when he saw Regulus out of the corner of his eye. Regulus was sporting a wicked smirk and Severus provided a weak smile and nodded in his direction before chasing after Arielle.
This was a bit of a long chapter. I love the Sirius/Arielle relationship, or is it just me? Leave your comments below. Cloudedstargazer, your reviews make me smile and I'm glad you are enjoying the story!
xoxo