Chapter Three
The next morning, Ariana woke up to the chatter of 16-year-old girls critiquing each other's outfits and makeup. She rolled her eyes, tugged on her school robes, pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, and ran, leaving the other girls to fuss over lipstick and mascara.
The little time Ariana had spent dressing didn't seem to deter the boys, who came up to her in droves, inviting her to sit with them during breakfast. Not all of them were Slytherins, and a number of them were quite a few years younger than she was. She finally managed to escape by telling everyone she had already eaten, and retreated to the library, a place she had been meaning to visit, but hadn't had time for the previous day.
Ariana walked up one aisle and down another, trailing her fingers along the dusty, worn spines of old books, breathing in the musty smell of thousands of volumes waiting to be read. She plucked a random book off the shelf and headed towards the nearest table and chairs. One of the chairs was already occupied by one of the girls Ariana had talked to the previous day, her nose buried in a thick book. Ariana cleared her throat and the girl looked up, her curly brown hair filled with particles of dust from wherever she had been.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Ariana asked politely. The girl shook her head and replied, "Not at all."
Ariana sat gratefully and opened her gratefully and opened her book.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one who reads before breakfast," the girl said jokingly.
Ariana laughed and replied, "Not just before breakfast. Every spare second of every other time of day, too!"
The girl smiled and introduced herself as Hermione Granger and asked what Ariana was reading. Unsure herself, Ariana lifted the book from the table to display the cover. "Oh!" the girl exclaimed. "I loved Hogwarts: A History. It was quite interesting; I think you'll enjoy it. Plus, it's always a good idea to get a feel for the area where you live, don't you think?"
The two girls alternately read and chatted about books they had enjoyed until about five minutes before breakfast. Then the pair picked up their books, checked them out of the library (Ariana received an approving look from Madam Pince because she had used a bookmark instead of dog-earing a page), and walked up to the Great Hall. A few halls away from the library, however, there was an obstacle.
Two fifth-year Slytherins were pushing around a small second-year Hufflepuff. Before Hermione could impose the full power of her prefect's badge on the two older boys, Ariana dropped her bag on the floor and stormed toward them, pushing the bullies away from the third boy. With a rapid torrent of angry French and a few expressive hand gestures, she sent the Slytherins rapidly down the hall. Hermione rushed forward to help Ariana and the Hufflepuff pick up his books and put them in his newly-magically-repaired bag. With a muttered "thanks," the boy took his bag and continued down the hall.
"That was very nice of you, you know," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.
Ariana looked over at her companion. "What?"
"Stopping those bullies and helping the boy. Most people would ignore it. Certainly all the Sly… Um…" She trailed off uncertainly.
Ariana nodded understandingly. "I get it. It's okay. There were girls like that at Beauxbatons."
Hermione smiled in relief and informed Ariana, "I'm not entirely sure you're in the right house. You don't seem like a Slytherin to me." Ariana smiled and replied mysteriously that "there were reasons."
The pair moved off down the hall again and Hermione made the observation that Ariana didn't "look very French." Ariana laughed and replied. "Oh, I'm not. My mum moved there because of her job. She was British, but I didn't know my dad."
Hermione bit her lip and apologized, but Ariana told her that it was all right. "I didn't know him, so I can't miss him."
By that time, the two girls had reached the Great Hall, so they separated and went to their respective house tables. As she approached the Slytherin table, Ariana looked for Draco. Not seeing him, she went over to one of the girls she had seen Draco with the previous day. She went over to the pug-faced girl and asked her if she knew where Draco was. In answer she received a curt "no idea" and a dirty look. Sighing, Ariana sat and ate breakfast.
Ariana did not see Draco for the rest of the day, in class or at meals. When she collapsed in the common room at the end of a long day, Ariana devoted her attention to a Potions paper on the various potion-making properties of crushed moonstones. When she had finished the rest of her homework, she took out Hogwarts: A History, and read late into the night. When the fire burned low, she closed the book and trudged up to bed.
Ariana woke up at sunrise, panting as if she had just finished a long run. She pulled her hair away from her sweaty face and leaned back against her pillow. "Just a dream," she sighed, and closed her eyes.
She had been in the Great Hall, but the house tables weren't there. Instead, small white tables ringed the edge of the room, leaving a large open space in the center. She looked down at herself and saw a long ballgown the exact shade of her eyes. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and down her back in large loose curls. Catching sight of herself in a tall mirror, she gasped. Rhinestones dotted the skirt of the dress and emerald pins kept her hair out of her face. Soft music began playing behind her and she whirled around…
And she was dancing, spinning gracefully from one partner to another. Suddenly, she was in the arms of a slightly younger Draco who smiled sadly. "You can't help me. No one can." He pulled away from her, and she ran after him…
Into a maze. Great bushes towered on either side of her, leaving a slice of starry sky above and a narrow walkway to either side of her. Someone ran past her and she followed him, still in her gown. She entered a clearing with a pedestal in the center, a silver trophy sitting on top of it. Two boys reached toward the cup and all three disappeared…
And reappeared in a graveyard. A jet of green light hit the taller boy, who was thrown to the ground. A huge cauldron bubbled and seethed at the foot of a gravestone as a man rose out of it, a high cold voice hissing from his hooded face. Other figures, shadowy and indistinct, formed a ring around the man. One came forward and knelt before the center figure.
"And will you succeed in the duty so many others have failed?"
The hood slipped off the kneeling figure's as Draco bowed his head, pale and shaking, and replied, "I will."
The black figure hissed and whispered, "Good."
A great noise sounded in Ariana's ears and drowned out the figure's next words.
"Draco!" she cried. "Draco, no!" Ariana reached toward him, battling air that became thick and solid…
… And woke up.
Ariana got up and began her morning routine, taking her time with her shower. She dressed and went down to breakfast as the other girls began to wake up. She took a seat at the Slytherin table, flicking her damp hair to the side so she wouldn't sit on it. She kept an eye on the entrance and when Draco arrived, she got up to meet him. As she drew closer, she was surprised by how tired he looked.
"Didn't you get any sleep?" Ariana asked him worriedly.
Draco looked up at her and smiled wanly. "Not really. I had some… stuff to do." He then distracted her with a question about Transfiguration homework and didn't give her a chance to dig further into the events of the previous day.
