Chapter Fourteen: Decline
Arianwen sighed heavily as she pushed a stray onion around her leek and potato soup with her spoon. It was her first evening back at Hogwarts for the new term and she was anything but excited to be there. She'd spent the last two weeks visiting most of the nobility in North Wales, cleaning and preparing the castle, and touring Pembrokeshire.
As Pembrokeshire Castle hadn't been used by the Gwydion family in over a decade, there were no resident elves present so Arianwen had to rely on Betsy to recruit some. She'd decided that she wanted to spend more time in Pembrokeshire, at least until she could legally banish her uncle from Myddfai House, and was therefore expected to reopen the castle publicly.
By the end of the week they'd restored the castle to its former glory but irritatingly for Arianwen, there was one area that she couldn't gain access to: the formidable Great Keep that stood in the centre of the castle's grounds. She'd never been allowed to go in there as a child and something about it gave her the creeps, even now. It was as though she could hear a faint whisper echoing from the brickwork, calling to her, trying to entice her to enter.
Common sense told Arianwen not to listen to this whisper however, such was the magical history of the castle that any number of warlocks could have enchanted it.
"Arianwen?"
"Hmm?" She was pulled from her musings by a soft shake to her shoulder. "Oh sorry, Blaise. I was in-"
"Your own little world, I know." Blaise finished for her, smiling knowingly. She'd been like it for the entire train journey, gazing out of the window half way through conversations.
"Daphne was just asking you about what you did over the holidays, remember?"
"Oh yes, of course, sorry Daph."
Daphne smiled, the other Slytherin girls chuckling beside her.
"Well I spent a few days at home and then went to the Malfoy's for a week-"
"You were at the Malfoy's? Why would you be there?" Pansy said nastily, lip curling at Arianwen.
"Is she not allowed to visit her boyfriend over the holidays, Pansy? Or is this some new crime that we should be made aware of?" Draco's drawl grew louder as he neared their group. He raised an eyebrow at Kathleen coolly before she squeaked and wriggled further down the bench, allowing him space to sit down next to his girlfriend.
"Boyfriend? What-" Pansy started, looking absolutely livid.
"That's right," Arianwen interrupted coldly. She rested a hand over Draco's and spoke more softly, "you're late! Where have you been?"
He lifted her hand and kissed it, causing Pansy to squawk. "I know, I'm sorry. I had something I needed to see to."
Vague as ever. Arianwen decided not to press for more answers and simply nodded her head slowly, her thoughts returning to the previous week as she went back to stirring her soup aimlessly. There was a low buzzing in her ear of people talking, probably about the news of her relationship with Draco, but she chose not to tune in any further.
I wonder if Father ever went into the Great Keep…or maybe it was locked long before his time too.
"Ri!" Draco exclaimed impatiently.
"Hmm?" She waited for his face to come into focus as her eyes unglazed, he looked mildly annoyed. "Oh sorry, honey, what did you say?"
Draco sighed, "I said, 'are you going to eat that?'" He gestured to her soup.
"Oh! No, no probably not. I feel a little unwell, I think I'll go and lie down." Arianwen stood up quickly, ignoring the shared look of bemusement between Blaise and Draco, and started down the hall.
Draco grabbed her arm just before it swung out of reach and she turned around, smiling pleasantly at him. "Will you at least allow me to walk you to your room?"
She could hear the concern in his tone but shook her head anyway. "No that's alright, you stay and have some dinner. I could use the fresh air to clear my head!"
She continued out of the Great Hall, but not before she heard Blaise shout, "fresh air? You do know we live in the dungeons, Ri?!"
She waved a hand behind her as if to say 'that's what I meant' and continued out, striding down to the dungeons as quickly as she could. She was pleased to find the common room empty and plopped herself down on a squishy green chair in the corner. It was the shabbiest in the room but had quickly become Arianwen's favourite; far enough away from the main seating area that she could read or write in peace, but close enough that she could also watch her fellow students bustle about.
Arianwen lifted her wand and muttered, "accio history book!"
A copy of 'Great Britain: Great History' landed on her lap and she flicked it open, running a finger down the contents pages until she found 'Magical Places: Castles' and 'Pembrokeshire Castle – page 784'. She was disappointed to see that Pembrokeshire Castle only had two pages dedicated to it in this book, but proceeded to skim through them anyway.
"Pembroke Castle, commissioned by Earl Roger of Montgomery in 1093, is an historic fortress that has been home to many famous names including: William Marshal, William de Valence, King Richard II, Jasper Tewdwr, Kings Henry VII and VIII, and House Gwydion. While the castle was built by a Welshman, it's ownership fell into the hands of Englishmen for many centuries.
The famous Welsh soldier, Owain Glyndwr, attempted a siege on the castle in 1400 in an attempt to rid it of its hated English settlers. The siege was unsuccessful and remained in English occupation until the end of the reign of King Henry VIII, whom granted the land to Earl William Roger in 1545, later anointing him Duke of Pembroke. The Earl's daughter, Lady Arianwen Roger was joined in matrimony to the Duke of Carmarthenshire, Llewyn Gwydion, passing ownership of the castle back to the Welsh by the end of 1556.
House Gwydion is the presiding Duchy to this day and have been long heralded as the saviours of the County by its townspeople."
Arianwen skimmed over the next few paragraphs, she was already well-versed in her family history. Her eyes rested on the final section at the bottom of page 785, entitled 'The Great Keep':
"The Great Keep, an impressive cylindrical tower, standing at nearly 80ft tall. Harri Tudur was born within its walls in 1457 and was later crowned as Henry VII. The King never returned to the castle after his coronation but was always fond of it, reportedly due to its involvement in the Arthurian era; legend has it that the infamous witch, Nimue, imprisoned Merlin in the Keep.
Local folklore states that Merlin took Nimue as his apprentice, he taught her everything he knew about magic and she became a distinguished sorceress. Over time her powers grew, some say she stole power from Myddfai Lake or harnessed Merlin's own power to use against him. It is believed that Merlin died in the Great Keep and that his remains still lie there to this day, though such claims have not been substantiated with evidence. The Keep was sealed by the Duke of Carmarthenshire, Llewyn Gwydion, in 1556 when the Duchies of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire were merged, though his reason for doing so is not known."
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, as though electrified. So the Keep's been sealed for over 400 years! But then, why does it whisper to me? What could anything in there want with me after so much time? I don't understand why Father didn't tell me about it, he used to tell me everything… what was he hiding from me?
Arianwen jumped suddenly, startled by the rumbling sound of the Slytherins just outside the common room. She yelped and ran down the stairs to the girls dormitory, cursing as she realised she'd left her book behind.
It wasn't long before she heard the voices of her roommates descending the stairs. She pulled her bed hangings shut and faked heavy breathing so they wouldn't disturb her.
"Oh good, she's asleep!" Daphne hissed to the others.
"I still can't believe that she's going out with Draco, I mean, I guess she's not completely ugly but I thought he was in love with you, Pans." Margaret simpered.
In love with Pansy? How deluded can you get?
"Yes, well he led me to believe that he was but then he got engaged to your sister, Daph, not that that lasted long. So the Welsh whore probably won't either!" Pansy said viscously, inciting a smattering of giggles from the other girls. Arianwen felt her face grow hot. I thought we were friends?
"Doesn't it bother you that Draco chose to ask her to be his girlfriend though? It's not like he chose Astoria… Or you for that matter." Millicent said calmly. Arianwen smiled, glad that at least one person defended her.
Pansy scoffed. "Who said he asked her? I reckon his mother set it up, probably desperate to get someone to cater for his… needs. Everyone knows how tetchy the Malfoy men get when they haven't had a good shag. Apparently his father takes his mother whenever he feels an urge, no matter where they are! I even heard they did it at the opera once!"
The girls burst into fits of giggles again, all except for Millicent, who excused herself to go to the common room.
"Shh! She might wake up!" Tracey whispered loudly.
"Oh who honestly cares if we wake up the little princess?" Pansy drawled.
"You should! Because if you wake her then she'll probably go and find Draco but if you don't…"
There was a brief pause before Pansy spoke again. "Yes, very good, Margie, I like your thinking. That stupid bitch won't last long but perhaps I should speed up the process..." With that, Arianwen heard the shuffling of their footsteps from the room and the soft click of the door, signalling to her that she was alone once more.
She let out a long, hard breath. As much as she wanted to rip the hangings open and curse Pansy, she didn't want to admit that she'd been eavesdropping, Governess Mathews had always been strict on that.
And then there was Draco, she trusted him; she knew how he looked at her, how he touched her, how he held her tightly, protectively, in his arms.
If Pansy thinks she can take him from me without a fight, then she's got another thing coming.
Arianwen awoke the next morning with a pounding headache, she'd been getting them quite frequently recently; a symptom of a restless night's sleep, she presumed. She rose silently, pulled on a sports bra, leggings and long sleeved top, and made her way out onto the grounds.
She watched the sunrise as she ran, smiling at the peacefulness of her surroundings. When she had showered and changed into some casual clothes, she made her way down to breakfast, hoping to find Draco.
Blaise smiled as he saw her enter and gestured to the free seat next to him.
"Good morning, darling." Arianwen greeted, pecking him on the cheek as she slid into the space beside him. "How are you today?"
Blaise made a face, "well I was great until your dear boyfriend woke us all up at Merlin knows what hour in the morning!"
"He woke you up? Why?"
"He decided to crash into my bed on his way out, thumping idiot!" Theodore grumbled. Arianwen eyed him carefully, remembering what his father had done to Draco.
I wonder if he knows what a sick bastard his father is?
Her thoughts were broken with the familiar sound of flapping wings from above their heads as the owls swooped in with the morning's post. The atmosphere of the hall changed rapidly as the students unfurled their copies of the Daily Prophet; this wasn't unusual considering the rising number of Death Eater attacks, but Arianwen was rather surprised to find the students all looking at her.
"What the hell is everyone looking at?" Arianwen hissed to Blaise, turning to look at him just in time to catch him hiding his copy of the paper behind his back.
She tried to snatch it off him but he held it far from reach. Luckily, she was saved from any further efforts by a large dark owl landing on her toast.
The owl held out his leg patiently and Arianwen untied the copy of the Daily Prophet that he carried. The front cover read: 'Merlin's Prison Reopened By Lonely Heiress', and two large pictures were displayed underneath; one of a two year old Arianwen sitting happily on the famous bench outside Pembroke Castle with her mother, father and grandparents, and the other was a picture that was taken a few days prior. It showed Arianwen sitting alone at the centre of the large stone bench, her hands neatly folded in her lap, she was dressed all in black and had her hair pulled back in an elegant bun. While the reopening of the castle was a happy affair for the locals, Arianwen did not smile. Instead her face rested in a neutral expression, her dark red lips looking almost vampish in contrast with her pale skin and the dark circles that had been forming under her eyes since the New Year.
The caption read: 'Marchioness Arianwen Gwydion with her family in 1981 vs. The lonely Marchioness in a "desperate cry for attention", says uncle.'
Arianwen stared, expressionless, at her own picture. There was a sadness to it, especially when displayed in contrast with the joyful image of her family - it made her feel empty, so sorrowfully empty.
She didn't subscribe to the Daily Prophet but the sender hadn't made their identity a mystery. Scratched over the top of her picture was her uncle's long, loopy writing with the words, 'Rwyt ti ei ben ei hun.'
You are alone.
She felt the newspaper shaking in her hands so stood from the table, head held high, and strode quickly from the Great Hall, the newspaper tucked firmly under her arm.
"Ri?" A familiar hand squeezed her shoulder and a comforting smell of sandalwood filled her nostrils. She blinked once, twice, three times, before Draco's face became clear.
"Hello. How are you?" She asked distantly.
Draco's brow furrowed and he pulled out the chair next to her, sitting down on it and placing his hand on her knee.
"You've been crying." He whispered, noticing her smudged mascara.
Arianwen looked confused and shook her head, "have I? That doesn't sound like me."
Draco's brow furrowed still deeper, his eyes narrowing. "You've got ink all over your hands, what have you been doing?"
Arianwen looked down, thin black ink was bleeding into her skin, dispersing haphazardly along it's lines. "That's funny, I don't remember writing anything-"
"Then what's this?" Draco interrupted, holding a long piece of parchment up for her to see. The words 'Rwyt ti ei ben ei hun' were written on it in her own writing, line after line of it. She must have written it at least a hundred times.
"Ri, that's your writing. What does it say?" Draco probed quietly, looking worriedly at his girlfriend.
Arianwen frowned, worry growing on her own face now. "It says, 'you are alone'. I think my uncle sent it to me." She said, showing him the front page of the Daily Prophet that she'd balled in her fist.
Draco's eyes flashed with something unreadable that Arianwen hadn't seen before. "Come on babe, let's get out of here."
She looked around hurriedly and her stomach dropped, they were in the library but the last thing she remembered was leaving the Great Hall, she must have gone there in a trance.
When they were safely out of the library and walking along the corridor that led to the school grounds, Arianwen spoke quietly.
"Draco, I don't remember going there, to the library, I mean. I'm forgetting things but I don't know why and I've tried so many potions but I can't stop it happening! Am I-am I going mad?"
Draco sighed and wound his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer so he could kiss her hair soothingly. "No Ri, you're not going mad." He said softly, steering her over to a bench overlooking the black lake. "You've just had a lot to deal with recently. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you."
"Oh but you have! You're here now, aren't you?" Arianwen said earnestly, snuggling under Draco's winter cloak.
"I want to do more." He muttered, more to himself than to her.
"You do more than you know. Besides, you need to be focusing on your task - is that what's been keeping you so busy?"
Draco nodded, staring out onto the still water. Occasionally a ripple could be seen, then a splash, and it would go eerily still a moment later.
"Can I help at all?" Arianwen asked hopefully.
"No, definitely not." Draco said firmly. "But thank you, anyway."
He stroked circles on her arm soothingly and she rested her head upon him, breathing slowly.
"I think I found your book, by the way, about Pembrokeshire Castle?"
"Ah, yes. Just a little light reading." She lied.
He looked at her and raised his eyebrows in a way that told her that he knew she was lying, but he didn't question it any further.
"I saw the article, Ri. I hope you didn't believe what the Prophet said about you?"
She shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed that he'd found her in such odd circumstances in the library. "I suppose so. I don't know why they had to word it like that, as though I reopened Pembroke Castle in some kind of premeditated bid for attention!"
"Mmm yeah they made you sound quite tapped in the head!" He chuckled and Arianwen shoved him in the shoulder.
"It's not funny!" She insisted, smiling despite herself. There was something contagious about his laugh, it was deep and hearty, filling the air around them with its warmth.
"I'm sure it was just your uncle trying to discredit you, he probably bribed them. Just don't let him affect you, Ri, it's what he wants." Draco paused to plant another kiss on her forehead. "Now come on, I've got a present for you back at the castle."
A/N: Good evening, cherubs! I've actually written a lot more for this chapter but thought it felt a bit too long when I read over it, so I'll post the rest tomorrow :) Thanks so much to Aurora (again, you're such an angel) and MissBlack2 for your reviews - I'll discuss them in more detail with the next update.