Chapter One:
They both stand there, contemplating the other.
The light from both their wands casting long shadows down the hall. Wands that are both pointed at the other in a stalemate. The atmosphere surrounding them is tense; the portraits that hang on the walls either side of them could feel it too and had long since stopped complaining of the light and noise from their argument and now watched them with keen interest - spectators in front row seats to this battle.
Neither of the two nor their respective shadows budged an inch - blocking the other's path of an escape from this confrontation.
She looks at his face, bright blue eyes so determined, his upturned nose looking as annoyingly stubborn as ever, surrounded by a dusting of freckles, like the stars outside the window down this hall and his red hair flaming with that characteristic defiance she'd first recognised years ago.
She could easily hurt him - she knew curses that should not be known by anyone, especially at her age, ones that he would not be able to defend himself against, for he was too good to even have any experience with such dark evil. But she could never be the one to expose him to such ugliness - she couldn't bear it if he saw her for the monster she really was.
And of course he would know she would never hurt him, and he couldn't hurt her even if he tried - hence the stalemate.
How many months, maybe even years had this dance being going on, how long has she tried to avoid him, to avoid this?
But he was too curious, too stubborn to realise the danger of what he was getting into.
She had been trying for the past year to deter him, to hide him from the others, she'd even fed him some red herrings to keep him busy, and away from them - from her.
But there he is now, in her way. Damn it! She didn't have time for this, the clock had already struck midnight a while ago and she was late.
She finally breaks the silence with an exasperated sigh; "has it ever occurred to you that some mysteries are better left unsolved?".
"Mysteries are meant to be solved, period", he counters without missing a beat.
She feels like ripping her hair out and run screaming towards the Whomping Willow at this point.
She takes a deep breath - he really is testing her patience, she might just be capable of hurting him at this rate.
"Don't rush in where the angels fear to tread, Weasley" she recites slowly and heavily; the quote suddenly coming to her from the deep recesses of her mind.
He seems surprised by her use of a Muggle quote, a twinkle appearing in his eyes, he asks; "do you know something?"
"You just won't stop will you?" she sighs again.
"Not until I get to the bottom of this"
The anger is back inside her ten-fold, her fierce dark eyes seemingly became darker, black hair catching the white light, juxtaposing her pale skin which glowed eerily, making her shine like the Moon outside above the stars. She walks towards him, wand at the ready. To everyone watching, she looked like a warrior on a warpath.
"When you get to the bottom of this, you'll be scrambling to get back out. But you won't be able to - you'll be stuck. Just like the ones before you". She gets every word out through clenched teeth.
He visibly pales and for the first time she actually sees a bit of terror in his eyes.
Finally! She thinks with satisfaction, although the victory is bittersweet for she doesn't think she ever wants to see him look at her like that again.
"You know angels have wings right? They don't need to tread". He suddenly quips with forced bravado.
She stares at him incredulously, is he actually being serious right now?
"Exactly!" she huffs back at him with as much spite as she can muster - which isn't hard at this particular moment - idiot Gryffindor boy!
Even more to her amazement; he laughs - a deep throaty laugh that echoes down the hallway and has the portraits on the walls gasping with shock.
"An angel in the skies, an angel in disguise - what's the difference?". He asks with a stupid smile on his face.
"What the hell are you talking about?" She whispers, suddenly aware of the noise they are making. The last thing she needs is the addition of a three dimensional audience member to this spectacle.
While lowering his wand and voice, taking a step toward her, he says in a matter of fact tone; "I'm just saying that maybe there are a few angels here that need help - because they are, as you say, stuck". Now they are close enough to reach out to one another. His voice now down to a soft whisper; "I can help you - if you just let me, Cedrella", his bright blue eyes locked on her own black ones and it felt as if he were looking into her very soul, knocking the breath right out of her lungs.
She takes a moment to recover - she cannot let him win this.
She puts on her best sly smile, leans forward and raises her dark eyebrows in a taunting manner; "Are you calling me an angel?". She is aware the irony of this statement.
The portraits on both walls go into an excited uproar of hushed whispers and exclamations at the turn of this tide.
This has the effect she had been hoping for, his face goes as red as a tomato on fire and she is finally given a break from his penetrating gaze as he looks away from her, then away from the tittering portraits down to his feet, shrugging his shoulders.
Now, this is her chance, she needs to end this. "I don't need your help" she states firmly.
He looks up at her grim face, his own a picture of surprise from her abrupt statement, shifting to one of irritation.
She knows how he feels - after all two can play at this game.
She steps past him and continues walking down the hall, knowing she has him beat - at least for now anyway.
As the light cast from her wand moves away from his, she decides to say one last thing, like the Slytherin she is - a nail in the coffin of this battle; "only Gods can help the angels after all".
A/N:
Hello guys! Thanks so much for reading! I read that Cedrella Black and Septimus Weasley got married on Pottermore (yes more Pottermore research even out of lockdown haha)and that Cedrella was removed from the Black family tree. And ever since I have had this golden nugget of information, I have been playing out scenarios of these two in my head. I hope you all like how I characterised them! Let me know what you think by reviewing, and favouriting 3