Part Five: Shrouded in Secrets
If you were a king up there on your throne,
would you be wise enough to let me go?
For this queen you think you own
wants to be a hunter again,
wants to see the world alone again
Christmas time filled the halls of Hogwarts once again, and there was a buzzing of excitement. This excitement was very different from years past, however. Lord Voldemort, the terror in the darkness, was rising and everyone wanted to go home to their parents. Elliana, however, would be staying at Hogwarts once again. Remarkably, she was a Prefect this year- her sixth at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After the incident with the Dark Magic, Elliana would have thought her chances to be Head Girl or even a Prefect were completely destroyed. It was possible that Dumbledore had believed Conlon Baggert after all.
The train left in two hours to take the students home. Elliana was one of three Slytherins staying for the holidays. Wynton Ashwinder was staying, as usual, and Kaden Baggert was staying. Over the summer, Elliana and Kaden had grown closer. Elliana had come to accept that they had an unspoken relationship of being boyfriend and girlfriend. This was fine with her- she had actually come to appreciate and enjoy his company. She felt guilty, however, because she suspected that his staying at Hogwarts had a lot to do with her.
"Elliana," Brooke started, closing her trunk. "You know you could always come stay with me. I know you don't like to take handouts and stuff, but it really isn't charity if we're friends. You know that, right? My mother loves you- she'd be happy to have you stay at our house. Granted my father's cooking is awful-"
"That's okay, Brooke." Elliana said, smiling.
"Okay, if you say so. I just wanted you to know that the invitation is there. It isn't too late to change your mind, you know. I just-" Brooke grinned as Elliana pulled a box out of her trunk.
"Don't open it until Christmas." Elliana told Brooke, handing her the box. Brooke tucked it away happily and gathered the last of her things.
"I'd better be going. The carriages will be leaving for Hogsmeade any time now. Bye, Elliana." Brooke hugged Elliana and dragged her trunk out of the dorm. Elliana listened as the trunk bounced down the stairs. Every year, Elliana had reflected on how alone she had always been at Christmas. That was one good thing about having Kaden stay- she wouldn't be alone.
"Hello?" Elliana glanced up and saw Kaden standing in the doorway. He looked as though he had come from being outside. His cheeks were pink from the cold. Elliana smiled and set her book down.
"Helping your fan club with their trunks?" Elliana asked slyly. Kaden laughed and closed the door, sitting on Natalie's bed.
"They're a bunch of giggling girls, but they whine when something involves any sort of labor." Kaden winked at Elliana and she laughed. "How goes the studying?"
"I'm not studying." Elliana said, looking at her book.
"That's a first."
"It's Shakespeare." Elliana showed him the leather-bound volume. Her bookmark was a quarter of the way through Much Ado About Nothing.
"Then it's studying. How many plays do you have left?" Kaden asked, motioning to the book.
"Nine." Elliana put the book on her shelf. "But I'm done reading for today." She stretched and sat up. Her hair was falling out of its braid and she was still in her pajamas. She hadn't done a thing all day besides read, and it was already eleven in the morning. Elliana looked at Kaden expectedly. "What are we doing?"
"We could go for a walk." Kaden suggested, standing up. "It's a nice day outside. It would require you to get dressed, though." He smirked. Elliana groaned and fell back onto her pillow.
"Okay, I guess. No snowball fights!" Elliana said quickly. Kaden laughed and feigned a look of innocence.
"Would I do that?"
"And then the Faerie King switches it all back to normal and everyone lives happily ever after. Except the Faerie Queen, of course, who gets teased eternally for loving a donkey." Elliana said, finishing explaining the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream. "Brooke says it was based on a true story."
"I suppose it was. Shakespeare was rather bitter about things." Kaden said as they neared the lake. He slipped his arm around her waist and pointed with his free hand towards a tree. "Clabbert."
"Oh!" Elliana exclaimed excitedly at the sight of the small, frog-monkey creature. It had a large bulge in its head that would turn red when it sensed danger. Of course, it was sleeping now. All of the most interesting sorts of creatures were asleep when you saw them.
Elliana looked away from the lake as they approached it. She hated water, still. Kaden hadn't pestered her about it after the duel, but it was always in the back of his mind. She could tell. He would always hold her a little more tightly when they neared the water- as if to protect her from an evil that he could not see.
"Elliana?" Kaden asked softly. He had begun to call her by her first name. Elliana figured that after a summer of letter writing and almost a year of a very odd relationship, it was about time. "Do you want to go back?" Elliana shook her head, and Kaden looked a bit relieved. Elliana knew that he didn't want to be in the castle anymore than he had to. He hated the new curfews, but he could tell she suffered more. No longer could she sneak out to dance. And she wouldn't practice where people might walk in on her.
"Mr. Darley says that there are Aurors dying." Elliana said after a long silence. "Lots of Aurors. Voldemort wants power, and he's getting it through destruction." Kaden nodded and sighed.
"You aren't affected, Elliana."
"I am." She protested. "I see it every day. I read the newspaper articles and I see the owls that people get. Always black. Everyone in the hall holds their breath, hoping that the owl isn't for them. Hoping that their family is still okay. It seems we don't have to worry. It seems we aren't affected. But we are." Elliana took a deep breath and closed her eyes, pushing away the visions of the green light and fires.
"People are fighting. They're fighting a battle that they can't win." Kaden said calmly. "Voldemort is powerful- already more powerful than anyone. And it's only just beginning. Power is rising across the world. People are dying because they fight. Only because they fight." Kaden stopped and looked at her. "You don't have to worry." He hugged her tightly and then smiled to cheer her up.
"I have to worry."
"No."
"Yes, I do. I don't deserve not to have to worry." Elliana bit her lip.
"Malfoy wants a favor." Kaden said, changing the subject.
"Yes?"
"He wants you to develop a potion." Kaden said, beginning to walk again. Elliana nodded and walked with him. "It needs to protect against wards. Like, let people pass undetected." Kaden looked at her as she processed the information and began to develop the potion in her mind. "Please, don't ask questions."
Late Christmas Eve, Elliana was sitting in the Common Room finishing the plans for the potion. She had most of the properties figured out- she just had to determine which ingredients would give the best results. Elliana had her Potions book opened to the master list of ingredients, and her kit was opened on the other side of her. In front of her, vials and beakers bubbled at their own will on the table.
"Kaden?" Elliana called across the empty Common Room. Kaden, who had been reading silently in a chair in the corner, sat up and listened. "Do you have Affrat in your kit? I'm out."
"Affrat is used in Sleeping Draughts." Kaden answered. Elliana nodded. She leaned forward and checked the master list.
"I know. I figured I can use it to counter drowsiness if I combine it with Redweed. It's a common side effect of using magic in warded areas. I've heard about wizards falling asleep right in the middle of an incantation." Elliana smirked. "Affrat?"
"Right." Kaden said, without questioning her further. It was almost midnight, and being a Prefect he had been up since very early that morning. He was in no state of mind to question her judgment. Elliana smiled to herself and walked up the stairs to his room.
"Affrat…" Elliana muttered to herself as she looked through his Potions kit. She found it fairly quickly and turned to leave. Then, something caught her eye. It was a scorched piece of parchment with emerald ink. By the looks of it, it had been enchanted not to burn. Apparently, someone had thought this a bad idea. Elliana picked it up and looked at it. On the sheet of parchment were sketchings- a skull, a serpent, and finally the converging of the two. Under these, in a slanted script, was the word Morsmordre. Elliana put the paper back where she found it and gripped the vial of Affrat tightly. She hurried back downstairs.
"Found it?" Kaden asked, nodding the answer to his question when he spotted the vial. Elliana sat down to work again and said nothing for at least an hour. She pushed the images out of her mind and tried to concentrate on her work. Always on her work. A little past one in the morning, Kaden walked over and sat on the arm of the couch. "Happy Christmas, then."
Elliana looked up, startled that the time had passed so quickly. She smiled, though, and put her book aside. Elliana closed up the potions and sighed. Kaden nodded in agreement.
"I have a gift for you." Elliana said, getting up from the couch. She retrieved the package from her room and handed it to him. The package was wrapped in gold paper and tied with a silver ribbon. It seemed to be the sort of wrapping something special was wrapped in. Kaden thought he'd be lucky enough to get socks from Elliana.
Kaden opened the paper slowly, careful not to tear it. If the gift was wrapped in a wizarding shop, the paper tended to get whiny if it was torn. He opened the lid of the box and looked at her in confusion. It was a silver ring, but it was far too thick to go on a finger.
"Put it on your wand." Elliana explained. "It's enchanted against Priori Incantatem." She said this very pointedly, but if it reached Kaden it was masked. "It wipes the memory of your wand- even if it's removed, the spell won't work on it. I hope you find it useful." Elliana added. Kaden lifted his eyes and looked at her with some sort of emotion- amusement? Wonder? She couldn't tell. Elliana smirked slightly.
"It should be very useful." Kaden said darkly. Elliana feared him in that moment- the intensity behind his words. Of course, she had known exactly what he would be getting away with now. It was only confirmed by the drawings. Elliana had wanted to protect Kaden, though, and it seemed that keeping him out of trouble was the way to do that. Elliana had studied the trials- Priori Incantatem was often the only evidence they had. Aside from the Living Memory Probe. Elliana was currently working on a charm to protect him from that as well. "I have a present for you as well." Kaden said, brightening up. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small box. It was not wrapped, but tied with a gold ribbon. Elliana slid off the ribbon with ease.
"Kaden…this is beautiful." Elliana breathed after lifting the lid. Inside the box was a silver bracelet, seemingly engraved with runes. She couldn't imagine what it did, but she could feel the magic radiating from it. Elliana looked up as Kaden smiled. "Dare I ask what it is?"
"It's protective, like your present was. It protects against this and that." Kaden smirked playfully and pulled out his wand. He slipped the ring on at the base, and watched as the ring shrank and fitted itself to the wand. Elliana silently prayed that it would work.
"Well, I'll feel better about facing this and that." Elliana muttered. Kaden laughed softly and made her Potions book levitate. After he was finished, Elliana pulled out her wand and took his in her hand.
"Priori Incantatem." She said clearly, watching as a blue light swirled around his wand. Aside from that, nothing happened. She removed the ring and repeated the spell. Again, the light brought forth no images of past spells. Kaden nodded approvingly and slipped the ring back on his wand.
Elliana took her bracelet and Potions things up to her dorm. She changed into her pajamas and brushed her hair. As she turned to leave, Kaden was standing in the doorway. He looked a bit regal, and she pondered how she must look in her boring blue tee shirt and green pants.
Kaden stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked over to her bookshelf, looking through the titles. Elliana watched him carefully and decided that he meant no harm. Kaden pulled out her volume of Shakespeare and looked it over slowly. She basked in silent amusement. Elliana sat on her bed and closed her eyes. It was peaceful in an eerie sort of way.
Time was frozen. A cloaked figure stood in a dungeon, looking down at meager bodies at his feet. They weren't dead, maybe. It was hard to tell. They looked to be in pain. Their faces were so familiar…like an old song in the night. So familiar. The woman had flaming red hair, although it looked rather limp and withered in the dungeon. The man's hair was going gray…thinning a bit.
Elliana's eyes opened and she grasped onto the vision. She looked at Kaden, who was staring at her with vacant worry. Elliana got up and strode over to him with a look of pure fury on her face. Kaden seemed unfazed and she slapped him hard across the face.
"Don't touch them! Don't you dare touch them or I swear I'll-" Elliana was abruptly cut off as she hit the wall. Kaden pinned her wrists to her sides and looked into her eyes. There was no gentleness in his stare, the lack of which she had seen only a few times before, but rather hatred and disbelief.
"Don't ever threaten me, Stormborne," Kaden growled. Elliana was pulled out of her reverie by the tone of his voice. He seemed venomous. "I don't take kindly to threats. I don't expect it from you or anyone else."
"You can't hurt them." Elliana said flatly.
"Whom?"
"My family." Elliana jerked away from his grip and started massaging her wrists. She backed up, attempting to put distance between them. Kaden didn't even look at her. He was staring at the wall. "You said it wouldn't affect me. That I wouldn't be touched."
"Then you have to get Conner to step down from his office." Kaden turned toward Elliana and shook his head. His eyes were still fiery. "Get him to step down and I'll get it stopped."
"I…You are doing it." Elliana's eyes widened. Kaden said nothing. He turned away again and walked toward the door. "Kaden, please."
"I'm trusting you, Elliana. I have to trust you. You've known for a long time, I know. It's my secret. You have your own, you see. The world is full of secrets." Kaden walked up to her. He put his hand on her cheek and smiled as she nodded. "Happy Christmas."
Elliana and Kaden stood outside in the cold, shivering. They were on the road leading to the village outside of Hogsmeade, and Elliana had a bad feeling about what they were about to do. Her potion was ready, and they were going to test it. Elliana cast the ward and watched as Kaden swallowed the potion. He stepped inside the boundaries of her ward and performed the Cruciatus Curse on a small mouse from the dungeons. The alarm didn't go off, and all was well. He stepped out of the boundaries and let the mouse go as Elliana dropped the ward.
"How long will it last?" Kaden asked. Elliana thought for a moment and picked up the vial. "I mean, it is indefinite?"
"No…of course not. It will last up to three hours, needing to be renewed after that." Elliana tucked the vial in her robes and turned to him. "So, what happens now?"
"You can take the potion to Lucius. I'll come with you, of course." Kaden took her hand as they began to walk back towards the castle. "Lucius will test it, just as we have just done, and we hope he finds it satisfactory. Once he does, you'll be rewarded and things will be well." Kaden looked up at the full moon. It was always an odd sensation working magic under the full moon- it was usually three times stronger than any other time of the month.
"And I'll be finished?" Elliana asked.
"For the time being. You are doing great things."
"Thank you."
"Any remorse?"
"Not really. I'm not hurting people." Elliana glanced at the castle looming in the distance. "Kaden…I put a Limitation Spell on it." Kaden stopped and turned to her, taking hold of her arms.
"You did what?"
"It can't be used against Hogwarts' wards. That's all." Elliana sighed in relief as Kaden nodded slowly. He wasn't mad.
"I see. Well, there should be no need to attack Hogwarts anyway. We'd be too easily identified." Kaden thought aloud as they began to walk again. Elliana nodded and looked at the moon looming in the distance. For a moment, the clouds parted and the full orb was visible. It screamed to her of power and control and things of that nature. Elliana was merely playing the hand Fate dealt.
"Malfoy." Kaden stepped out of the shadows as Lucius entered the room. He seemed like a king in that moment- much as he had at Hogwarts. Elliana stood next to Kaden and watched as Lucius extended his hand. Kaden shook it firmly and motioned to Elliana. Lucius kissed her hand and bowed his head.
"Miss Stormborne. I am honored to see you once again. Your talents will be much appreciated. I trust you found the potion easily created?" Lucius smirked. Elliana tilted her head in a partial shrug. She stepped forward and withdrew a scroll from her robes.
"Instructions for the brewing." Elliana said without emotion. "And the potion is here." She handed him a vial, much like the one Kaden had carried when the potion was tested. Lucius nodded to one of his associates, and Elliana noted that the other four or five looked very smug indeed. The chosen spell caster pulled out his wand and created a ward. The ward extended past Elliana and she wondered for a moment if he was going to curse her again. Lucius drained the vial and stepped into the ward, waving his wand and muttering under his breath. A green light shot from his wand and Elliana feared for a part of a moment that the spell would hit her. However, it was aimed for a snake that had appeared by her feet. The ward alarms did not go off, and the snake lay still. The potion had succeeded.
"Excellent work." Lucius said with an evil glint in his eye. He strode over to Elliana and smirked. "The potion will be put to good use." Elliana supposed that it would be, and a nagging guilt stepped out of the shadows. She ignored it, however. Guilt would do her no good at all.
"She's put a Limitation Spell on it, Malfoy." Kaden spoke up. Elliana saw a fury in Lucius' eyes as he looked from Kaden back to her. "It won't work in the Hogwarts' wards." Lucius sneered and looked to Elliana.
"Hogwarts? You silly girl." Lucius turned on his heel and walked to his associates; robes swishing. Elliana bit her lip and felt stupid. Of course. The only reason they'd want to attack Hogwarts would be to get to Dumbledore, and they'd never want to fight him on his own turf. That'd be like fighting a fox in its den. Elliana shivered. Kaden squeezed her hand lightly and kept his gaze on Lucius' back. "The potion works for…"
"Three hours." Elliana said icily. Lucius nodded and turned his back on them again. Kaden motioned her towards the door and she started walking. She wanted out of the room anyhow. It was painted and decorated in black, except for the gold light from the torches on the wall. It made her feel caged. Caged beasts lost their wits and would strike out at the first passing hand.
The letter was tattered and torn. A girl with odd violet eyes looked over the envelope and opened it with care. She removed the parchment and opened the letter cautiously. The handwriting was shaky, as if written after a prolonged sickness or depression. Like someone couldn't quite gather the words.
My darling daughter,
I wish you the best, my princess. I wish you all the happiness in life. I am beginning to realize I shall never go home. My darling, please love your grandmother. She's an old woman, and is lost to the love of the world. Obey her, and honor her wishes. My dear, I won't be able to see you grow up. I wanted very badly to see you get your letter to Hogwarts, and meet new people. I wish you the best in that.
I love you, dear. I will always love you, no matter where I am. You are beautiful, and I wish I could see you grow into that beauty. It's getting cold, darling. So very cold. My dear, I love you. I cannot tell you enough. You're the only child I have, and I'd hate to lose you. I have a gift for you, darling. I made it long ago, and I only hope it shall get to you safely. My daughter, always remember who you are.
The letter seemed endless as the last word floated in the mind of the girl. She tucked the letter back into the dusty old drawer as if to preserve the memory. She couldn't destroy this…The girl came to a realization that would haunt her forever. She could never truly kill the man without separating herself from her mother forever. As she left the house, her eyes glanced one last time at the nameplate on the door. Baggert.
Elliana opened her eyes and sighed. She couldn't continue to zone out in History of Magic class. Sooner or later, Binns would get suspicious. She doubted this strongly, but it seemed as though her visions only came in this class and Transfiguration. She looked over and noticed that Brooke was asleep beside her. Elliana found this amusing. Twas true- even though you could see right through Binns, he was extremely dense.
Elliana jotted down notes as the ghost rambled on about various wizards and witches founding cities. She wasn't at all interested in this sort of history- wars and things excited her. Aside from the fact that goblins had rebelled at least one hundred times, she found the studies entertaining. Elliana had to be the only one, judging from the snores around her.
"Wizarding cities popped up all over Europe in the late eighteen hundreds. Before that, it seemed that magical communities were confined to areas around the Mediterranean. England grew the most quickly, followed by Ireland and Norway. The wizarding world in Ireland could never agree on laws and such in the early years. The Norwegian wizards and witches were constantly fighting with the tribal powers- the old ways. England was the most successful at peace.
The biggest Irish wizarding community was founded by the great-grandfather of the current Irish Minister of Magic- Kent Warwood. Peter Warwood saw this great vision of an empire. He was a rather dark wizard." Professor Binns rambled on and on, and Elliana felt herself slipping away again. She didn't know what was wrong with her today. Then, a sentence caught her ear.
"Wesley Evenua created the wards and charms for wizards to gather unnoticed in Bergen. This brought a new change to Norway- magic. Soon, the Norwegian wizards became powerful. This caught the eye of the tribal leaders, who had an eye for such things. The leaders were threatened." Professor Binns moved on to compare this to England as Elliana was thrown violently into a vision.
"You cannot marry him. You are throwing away all that we have worked for. You are stupid, girl." An old hag scolded, glaring at a young girl with fiery red curls. The girl had to be about sixteen, and it was apparent her ideas were not appreciated. The old hag pushed her. "We have worked so hard."
"For war?" The girl sneered. "You have worked so hard to see our people killed constantly by a force that we cannot control. You have worked so hard because you feel threatened. You no longer have the power, grandmother. It's been taken from you." The girl walked out of the small cottage and ran to the docks. She held her skirts and climbed onto a boat. All onboard gave her a watchful stare. The girl shivered.
"What did she say?" A young man asked, scooping her up and kissing her on the cheek. The girl frowned. She sighed.
"We'll have to do this in secret."
"And then she cursed Alison in front of everyone and Alison fell down the stairs. I think she broke something. Madam Pomfrey says it doesn't look good at all. Of course she can fix it, but Alison's got a few broken bones and blue skin. All of this over a silly boy. Can you imagine?" Brooke sighed, sitting on the couch in the Slytherin Common Room. Elliana had heard rumors about someone cursing Alison in the Entry Hall, but she hadn't known what to believe. "Do you think we should go give her flowers or something? She might need a hug. After this ordeal-" Elliana laughed softly.
"Slytherins don't give flowers. We teach people hexes to use against their opponents the next time someone threatens to turn them blue. All of this would have been fixed with a simple Empathy Spell." Elliana rolled up her parchment and tied it to the leg of Brooke's owl. She had been writing home to check on Mr. Darley. Apparently, there had been some attacks on the Irish Ministry. Almost immediately Elliana panicked and ran to Kaden for reassurance. He said that the attacks had not been from Lord Voldemort. Probably only an uprising of poor, Irish wizards. Elliana noted that the Daily Prophet had not clarified.
"It would not have been fixed. Alison still would have been hurt- but someone else would have known exactly how she felt. I don't get you, Elliana. Sometimes your idea of revenge is completely twisted. By the way, did you ever finish Othello?" Brooke moved smoothly into her second subject.
"Quite a while ago." Elliana said absentmindedly, opening the high window for the owl. She let the cold air of the night dance on her face. Although the attacks in the village had calmed, the students of Hogwarts were not let outside past the established curfew.
"That's good." Brooke said, beginning to brush her hair. April had brought rain to the school, and Brooke's hair did not appreciate that a bit. Elliana hated the rain with a passion, but she always made it a point to tell Brooke just how frizzy her hair got during Herbology. "So, have you started studying for exams yet? You usually start a couple months before anyone else. I haven't seen you studying, so I was thinking you have a secret plot this year."
"I'm studying a bit. I'm not too worried." Elliana didn't feel worried, and this was a first for her. She had a better focus on things, it seemed, as of late. She had gathered herself together and absorbed information better than ever before. This made most of the school rather annoyed, but Brooke found it entertaining.
"Of course you aren't. Just think about all of the extra exams we have to take next year- N.E.W.T.s and things like that. But we'll get our licenses and that will be happy. I can't decide whether I want to do something completely normal like being a secretary or something completely off the wall like hunting for Demiguises." Brooke looked forlorn as if those were two very plausible choices. Elliana laughed.
"Go for the Demiguises. You'll make a fortune from Invisibility Cloaks." Elliana pulled her Care of Magical Creatures book into her lap and opened it to the Demiguise description. She pushed it over to Brooke. The brunette read it silently; eyes widened in surprise.
"Can you really get that much for one Demiguise?" Brooke asked in disbelief. "I mean, it's just a small animal, right?"
"Right. And yes, you can."
"I've found my Calling."
The night was warm, and the moon was lost behind clouds. The castle loomed over her as if scolding her for something that she shouldn't be doing. The forest looked foreboding as she approached it. She would have to go in…and that scared her. The girl pulled her hood up on her cloak and bit her lip. Into the dark, Forbidden Forest.
The girl found no path to guide her, no moon to light her way, and no courage to keep her company. She was alone. After about fifteen minutes of a Searching Spell, she found what she was looking for. A small, ivory colored flower. The girl picked five, and tucked them into a small basket. She turned to leave. As she did, she looked up at the moon coming from beneath the clouds. The swirling of the skies disoriented her, and she was lost. Lost.
The girl walked in a direction she believed would lead her out of the forest and gasped as something stepped in her path. She looked up at the shining eyes of the creature before her and blinked. The creature was a woman, clad in a dress of leaves and matted twigs. A dryad.
"Help me." The girl spoke. The dryad seemed to laugh silently. The dryad's hair was a dull green, tangled and blowing in the rising breeze. The girl was afraid. This creature wasn't helping her.
"Child, you have set foot on my land. You have marred my tree. Why should I let you find direction?" The dryad spoke in a floaty, high pitched voice. A look of confusion passed over the girl's face. "Child, the flowers."
"I didn't know." The girl said softly. "I need them."
"Then you cannot leave!" The dryad screamed, shattering the blanket of night and lunging towards the girl, knocking her to the ground. The girl saw nothing…all was black.
Elliana stared at Brooke in disbelief.
"Our housemates are dropping like Diricawl feathers." Elliana said, still shocked. She just got news from Brooke that Natalie was in the Hospital Wing alongside Alison. Apparently, Natalie had been pulled out of the Forbidden Forest, severely unconscious. Elliana didn't know what Natalie could have been doing in the forest, and it didn't really occur to her to ask. When Brooke dragged her to the Hospital Wing to visit their dormmates, Elliana stood there silently.
"Alison, the bones will be healed soon." Brooke reassured the whining girl. Alison moaned about seeing her life flashing before her eyes when she glanced over at the still-dead-to-the-world Natalie and yelped. "Alison, we tripped Kate yesterday while she was walking to Herbology. She rolled all the way down the hill and fell into the lake. I think a few of the boys got detention for orchestrating the situation. We got even, Alison, and you'll be better soon. Then you can push her into the lake yourself." Brooke patted Alison on the arm.
"Damn it, Brooke. I have a hundred bones shattered in my arm and you feel the need to pat me reassuringly. Are you insane?" Alison screamed, causing Madam Pomfrey to glare at her. Brooke looked at Alison with pity for a minute and then punched her in the arm. Alison screamed and Brooke walked over to Natalie smugly.
"Brooke." Elliana hissed. "I cannot believe you. Assaulting injured people."
"She has her wand- she could have used it." Brooke said nonchalantly. She looked at Natalie and blinked. The girl had been unconscious for the whole day, it seemed. Brooke leaned forward and picked a leaf out of Natalie's hair. "Dryad." Brooke said easily, as if naming the capitol of England.
"What?"
"A dryad knocked her unconscious."
"How can you tell?"
"I'm the best in our class at Herbology, remember? This kind of leaf is very poisonous to any animal but the dryad. It's not found on trees. It's only found as the garment of the creature. I wonder what Natalie did to piss it off." Brooke finished this astute theory and laughed softly. "Natalie the Quidditch star…in the Forbidden Forest. She won't be able to play for the final two or three games- they won't let her. What could Natalie have wanted so badly to sacrifice Quidditch?" Brooke turned this over in her head. "We should find out."
"No, Brooke. We are not Aurors. We are not Gryffindors. We are not stupid. We are not going in that forest. Not happening." Elliana took the leaf from Brooke and pulled out her wand. With a single word, the leaf disintegrated and the ashes fell to the floor. Brooke stared at Elliana in disbelief.
"That was our only proof!"
"Exactly."
Elliana hated the room. It was still as dark as ever, and Lucius was still as smug as he had been in March. Kaden stood beside her and Elliana watched carefully as Lucius approached them. He looked fiercely proud tonight, and that scared Elliana. She didn't know what he had up his sleeve, but she was about to find out.
"Baggert." Lucius said, shaking Kaden's hand. Elliana wanted to be quick about this. "Miss Stormborne." He took her hand and kissed it regally, meeting her eyes. He could see her discomfort, she knew, and he basked in it. Always make your enemies weak. "I have something that will benefit you both. Behold, the mark of the Dark Lord." Lucius pulled up his left sleeve and showed them the sketch Elliana had seen in Kaden's room- a skull with a serpent tongue. "There is power rising, Baggert. Take it now. Soon, the world will see a war that few have ever known. The ranks are growing strong. Join us now. We will welcome you into the circle."
"I will help you, Malfoy, but not under a brand." Kaden clenched his fists. Lucius' eyes flared and Elliana's wand was out before his was. He glared at her and put down his wand.
"You do nothing to protect yourself." Lucius said, sneering at Kaden. "To protect the ones you care about." His eyes drifted to Elliana. "She is so vulnerable." Lucius touched her cheek we his wand.
"She got him out of the office, Malfoy. He stepped down." Kaden said defensively. Lucius laughed. He put up a gloved hand for Kaden to stop talking.
"We have control of the Irish Ministry. That is not the issue." Lucius pushed Kaden backwards. Lucius seemed to loom in the torchlight like a fallen angel; so surreal. Elliana prayed silently that Mr. Darley was safe. She never knew anymore. She got letters from Kristin, but hardly any from Mr. Darley.
"Malfoy, stop." Elliana spoke up. Lucius turned and looked at her expectedly. "You don't know what you're saying. My magic is valuable- nothing more." Lucius laughed coldly.
"You do not know what you say, girl. You are the most valuable possession I have control of right now. That's right. I have control. Don't look shocked. You are valuable to me and valuable to him." Lucius motioned at Baggert. "You are valuable to the Dark Lord, even though he knows not of your existence. He could know, if he chose. But I do not choose to tell him just yet. There's the control- I tell him, and he has you for a servant. I can keep my mouth shut and you have your freedom. Do not tell me what I do not know." Lucius turned his back on her and gave the signal for one of his associates to lead them out.
"Be back here on the first Saturday of May. Malfoy wants plans for a new Stunning Spell- a more permanent one." The associate told Kaden and Elliana. Elliana nodded at the instructions and walked with Kaden to the fireplace in the home's living room from where they could Floo. Elliana sighed as she glanced at the pictures on the mantle- pictures of the people that had died under a green sky.
The violet-eyed girl sighed softly. She glanced over at him. Taking a daring chance, she moved closer to him and put a hand against each of his shoulders, looking out at the lake.
"You talk in riddles, as do I. Your words are as plain as the moon in the sky, and yet, you fear them. You fear that you could ever be like the stars, that fail to hold differences against their neighbors. And yet, you fear nothing."
The girl looked into his stormy gray eyes. He had won, she knew.
"You've taught me much in one night, but yet, you remain naïve to what you yourself should have learned. I know you…you've built up a brick wall around yourself. A safe place that no one can penetrate. And yet, a tiny part of you cries out in the darkness. Far away behind your walls, only the stars can hear you." The girl bit her lip, and stepped back for a moment. She couldn't tell how he'd taken her words. If you've already stepped to the ledge, you might as well jump.
After much debate with herself, the violet-eyed girl kissed him on the cheek, and turned toward the castle, starting to walk away.
"It isn't safe what they desire,
Star-crossed lovers fighting fire."
Destiny smiled, "Although their strength I do admire."
"Rhiannon, wait." The boy called, running after her. "We are so different, and we break the boundaries that our families have set." The violet-eyed girl, Rhiannon, stopped and turned to face him. The boy continued, "You are the fire, and I am ice. We are clashing forces, as our families would have us be."
"Your knowledge deceives you." Rhiannon answers quietly.
"As my eyes are deceived, let the stars follow suit, as they are the eyes of the world for say." The boy smiled slightly, touching her arm. She stepped closer. "The forces of the world can combine to do surprising things- ice storms in the desert, fires in the snow. Let us be together and show the world our force- the power that we draw from within ourselves to conquer."
"Alas, it is true. But the sky claims powers of both. The stars burn bright in the night, and yet the beautiful moon controls the waters of the earth. And who shall hear them sing, if both are conquered? Let both fire and ice live, and both of their strengths survive. They must exist as two separate forces. The world would crumble if either bowed to the other." Rhiannon smirked slightly and ended the poetic exchange- metaphors for the words both feared to speak.
Elliana regretted coming to the Hall for dinner- there were too many voices and not enough peace. She wasn't eating. She couldn't eat. Tonight was her meeting with Lucius Malfoy, and Elliana had a very bad feeling that her world was going to spin. Maybe it was nerves- Lucius scared her. Elliana couldn't help but feel it was something else.
Halfway through the meal, time froze as a black owl entered the Hall. Everyone watched it carefully, dreading the news it held in its talons. A general sigh could be heard as it passed over the Hufflepuffs, then the Ravenclaws. The Gryffindors sighed collectively as well. Everyone in Slytherin held their breath as the owl swooped past them.
Except Elliana. The owl dropped its letter in front of her and she could feel three hundred sets of eyes on her as she picked up the envelope. Instead of opening it in front of everyone, she stood up and walked out of the hall. Kaden followed her and shut the doors behind him. In the Entry Hall, Elliana looked at him cautiously. The envelope in her hand was still unopened, but Kaden could feel the blame radiating from her.
Elliana sighed and opened the envelope, unfolding the letter slowly. She read it silently through three times before the message hit her.
Miss Elliana Stormborne,
We regret to inform you that the Killing Curse was used at your household at 5:46 this evening. Although your house was sealed with wards, the curse went through unnoticed until a member of your family found the deceased. Mr. Conner Darley is dead. We mourn your loss.
With regrets,
Kent Warwood
