Chapter 9: The Heavier Things in Life

Draco woke up the following morning to find Aiden rolled up in front of the common room fireplace. Her skin was pale and her lips were blue. Fearful that Aiden may have hurt herself, Draco reached out to shake her. Aiden stirred and Draco let out a relieved sigh.

"Oy, Aiden. Classes start in less than half an hour. What are you doing sleeping in front of the fireplace?"

Half tired and half still musing over last night's revelations like it were some nightmare, Aiden didn't even acknowledge Draco's presence. She just wandered past him up to the dorms, where she put on some socks and shoes. Then she pulled her bag over her shoulder and wandered back into the common room without even changing out of her pajamas.

Draco wanted to wait for Aiden because he was worried, but he had a reputation to keep. So he got up and left. No sooner had he stepped out of the common room that Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped him.

"Malfoy. Where's Aiden?"

In a slow, uncaring drawl, Draco pointed his thumb towards the common room entrance.

"She's coming."

He walked away without another word and in a matter of moments, Aiden stepped out into the hallway. Ron burst out laughing.

"Oy, McGonagall will have a fit if she sees you go to class in your pajamas. She already hates your guts for wearing the boy's uniform."

Aiden did not show the dimmest sign of a smile. Her daze continued as she faintly uttered a good morning and meandered down the corridor. Harry looked at the two.

"What do you think is wrong with her?"

The entire day was hazy to Aiden. Every class she went to was exactly the same. She would arrive ten minutes late and the class would laugh at her attire. The teacher would look up, prepared to upbraid the tardy student. But then they'd see that it was Aiden and would just go back to their lesson. Even Professor McGonagall said nothing when she turned up late, looking particularly disheveled. They all seemed to know what had happened to her.

The hours passed by indiscriminately and all Aiden thought about was why she was condemned to this. She had always been a fairly good kid with good karma. So why this? Why her? It didn't matter that she didn't pay attention in any of her classes, she was going to be dead anyways. Despite the extremely thorough description of her past she had been given, Aiden had never felt emptier. It was like the more she learned about herself, the more holes formed in her already blank life.

Draco and the trio were all worried. Particularly, Harry. He had seen this happen before. In fact, it was all too familiar to him. Harry had done the same thing in the months following Sirius' death. Never paid any attention to anyone; always off somewhere else… If Ron and Hermione were not there, he didn't know where he would be now. So, after missing Aiden at dinner, Harry tried to talk to her. He caught her sitting alone in the empty Potions dungeon; staring at the cold, stonewall in front of her. Harry sat down next to her and laid a tender hand on her shoulder.

"Fascinating stuff, stonewalls…"

As expected, Aiden said nothing. Harry continued to talk.

"Look Aiden. It's clear something is wrong and I want you to tell me."

Still looking at the wall, Aiden said, "I don't need your pity."

"And you certainly don't need self-pity. You were fine last night… what's going on??"

"If I told you, you'd hate me forever. So will Ron and Hermione."

"Then I guess you will just have to take that risk."

"This issue is bigger than the both of us…"

She slid off her stool and began to walk away, but Harry wasn't going to let her get away so easily. He reached out and tried to grab her arm, but instead grabbed her sleeve. Her shirt slipped off her shoulder, revealing the Dark Mark. Shocked, Harry recoiled immediately and Aiden tried desperately to cover up the mark. And then Harry gave her the look she was all too familiar with… the look of hate, like she was a freak. Tears filled her eyes as she ran out of the room.

"Aiden!!!!" Harry yelled after her.

Following suit, Harry ran after her.

"Aiden!! No!! I-I want to help!!! I don't hate you!!! I just want to understand!!!"

Hermione and Ron were exiting the Great Hall as Aiden ran by and Harry ran after her.

"OY!! Harry!!! What's going on??? What happened to Aiden???!!!"

Hermione instinctively ran off to catch Aiden, but Harry stopped her. Panting, Harry tried his best to fill them in.

"Y-You guys—have to help!"

Several Ravenclaw second years walked by staring at Harry.

"Look, we need to go to the common room. Somewhere where no one will walk in on us…"

Harry led Ron and Hermione into a dark corner of the library.

"You guys might want to sit down for this…"

Ron seemed frightened and Hermione gave Harry a suspicious look as they sat down warily. Harry wrung his hands nervously.

"Well, you see—Aiden. She, uh—"

"Just say it Harry."

"Umm, well. (deep breath) Aiden has the Dark Mark burned into her shoulder."

Ron jumped up.

"WHAT??????!!!!"

"Shh!!!!! Shut up Ron!"

"I'm sorry Harry, but this is a little more than a shock!"

Hermione was contemplating.

"So, Harry. Do you think that Aiden was sent by Voldemort?"

"Of course!!! She has the Dark Mark!!!!" Ron cried.

But Harry shook his head, face filled with sympathy.

"You forget, Ron. I'm a Parseltongue. Remember how the entire school thought I was killing off students? But I didn't. And Aiden having the Dark Mark is no different. I know. I feel a bond with her. A connection—"

"But Harry! Parseltongue was an unfortunate transfer of power. The Dark Mark is completely different! The Mark is given on free will!"

"Not necessarily, Ron. If the inflictor's will is strong enough, the Dark Mark can appear on its own. Or there are circumstances where the free will was there, but maybe the person was under the Imperius Curse or something," Hermione countered.

Harry looked at Hermione and Ron.

"So what are we gonna do?"

"The only thing we can do. Give her our support. I'm afraid that's all we are able to do."

Midnight had fallen over the Hogwarts castle. Aiden sat on the stone perch at the very top of the North Tower, arms wrapped around her knees. With dry eyes, she gazed at the stars that blazed in all their glory. She had never looked to the "cosmic souls" for guidance before. In California, the smog was so thick; she'd be lucky to see the streetlight, much less the sky. But tonight, Aiden searched for her place in the universe; somewhere she belonged. She even tried to look beyond the stars straight into the heavens. Seeking for guidance from her grandfather, who seemed so willing to die for the dark side. Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted by an arrogant, but slightly concerned voice.

"What are you doing up here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Draco."

"Well, I have a good reason. I need to finish my Astronomy homework. It's due day after tomorrow. You on the other hand, are sitting dangerously close to the edge of the North Tower in November, barefoot in your pajamas. You'll freeze to death. I'm not about to lose the best keeper Slytherin's ever had, not so close to a game anyways."

Draco's face softened a bit at Aiden sorrow-filled face.

"The wind is biting. Aren't you cold?"

Aiden looked away from the night sky and smiled kindly at him. Then she looked back at the glittering stars.

"Yeah, well some things hurt more than others—there are heavier things in life…"

Out of the blue, Aiden felt unexpected warmth fill her body. Draco had draped his robe over her shoulders. She tried to give it back, but Draco wouldn't accept.

"Come on. We can't lose our seeker."

"I've gotten used to the cold. I'm very familiar with it. I don't know how long you're going to be out here, so keep it."

After that, the two didn't talk for an hour. Draco did his homework and Aiden continued to philosophize. But when Draco got up to leave, she spoke up.

"Draco. Can I ask you something sort of personal?"

"You may. Whether I answer or not is a different story."

"Has anyone ever made you feel like you didn't belong? That you were some sort of outcast? But at the same time, they wanted you to follow their dream so that they could make someone else happy?"

For a moment, Aiden saw a display of misery on his face. But it was so brief that she figured it was just her imagination. Draco smirked.

"Don't make a habit of this. First, I find you in front of a dead fireplace. Then I find you at the top of North Tower. You're asking to die, you really are… Good night, Aiden."

He turned around swiftly and made his way down the spiraling stone steps. The misery returned. When he was out of earshot, he murmured:

"Yes, he has…I've felt like an outcast since the day I was born…"

Draco disappeared into the shadows. At the same time, Aiden pulled the robes tighter around her and watched the stars disappear from the sky…

End.