Chapter 9

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Hermione groaned. It was only breakfast and she was already bored. She looked over at the Slytherin table, watching her friends.

Arielle was once again absent. She must have been having a very long shower. Blaise and Edouard were quietly chatting, with Malfoy opposite them, apparently listening in. Sensing her gaze, Blaise looked up. He grinned slyly, as Hermione rested her head on her hand, winking at her. She smirked, knowing that he was re-enforcing his previous point; she would need his good luck to get through the long day ahead.

Sighing she settled down to read one of her secretly transfigured textbooks on advanced astronomy; she might as well be prepared for tonight. As a result she didn't even notice Harry and Ron's arrival until Harry spoke.

"Why does he have his back turned?"

"Hmm?" Hermione blinked, realising she had company.

"Malfoy"

Urgh, Hermione groaned inwardly. Harry really was obsessed! Or paranoid. She wasn't sure which was worse.

"Why is Ron facing us and not the Slytherins?" Hermione asked in return, indicating to Ron who was sitting across from them.

"But this is Malfoy," Harry insisted, "not once in five years has he sat facing away from us"

Hermione realised he was right. Malfoy had never before missed the opportunity to sneer at them from across the hall.

"Well I don't know," Hermione sighed irritably, "you seem to observe him far more often than I do,"

At that Harry fell silent. Hermione glanced up at him, feeling she had struck a nerve, but Harry seemed to have merely developed a sudden interest in his breakfast. Nothing unusual; their conversations were often cut short in light of food.

Shrugging, Hermione returned to her book.

***

By the time lunch rolled around, Hermione had to admit it was not paranoia.

Harry was definitely obsessed.

He had taken to following, actually following, Malfoy around the school, and he was good at it too. Since it was her responsibility to keep an eye on him, Hermione now found herself following Harry down the currently deserted hallways. Even with all her training, she was having a hard time both keeping up with him and staying out of his sight. She had to wonder if this was a new development or if this had been going on last year too.

She saw one last flash of white blond hair up ahead of Harry before it disappeared altogether; Malfoy must have reached his destination. She watched as Harry stealthily crept up to the door Malfoy had disappeared through, it was labelled 'Boys' Bathroom'.

Frowning, Hermione waited half a minute before following.

Rather than barging into the bathroom, Hermione opted for a subtler approach. Checking the hallway was clear, she began working a complicated little piece of magic on the door to create a one-way window; it would enable her to see inside the bathroom, without anyone inside knowing they were being watched.

She smiled as she worked; she never thought she would be performing this spell on a boys' bathroom of all places. As the window formed before her eyes, however, her smile quickly disappeared.

Harry and Malfoy were shooting spells at one another. As she watched one of their spells smashed a cistern. Water poured everywhere and Harry slipped on the wet floor as he tried to dodge a spell, ending up sprawled ungracefully at Malfoy's feet. Malfoy's features contorted as he raised his wand. Hermione didn't need to be a seer to tell which spell he was going to use next. Abandoning all subtlety she pushed open the door, lifting her wand, but she was not fast enough.

Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry, "Cruci-"

"Sectumsempra!"

It took a moment for Hermione to register that it had been Harry who shouted the spell. Where on Earth had he learnt it? She watched helplessly as blood spurted from deep gashes which suddenly appeared on Malfoy's face and chest.

"Harry..." she whispered weakly

In the next moment, the door banged open and Arielle swept into the room. She seemed to process the scene faster than Hermione would have believed possible and with a quick hand gesture, Harry was levitated from his position on the floor and flung against the nearest wall.

Arielle had not bothered to withdraw her wand from her robes, using the wandless magic Hermione knew she was capable of to hold Harry against the wall as she advanced on him. Her arm was stretched out in front of her as if she was physically holding him against the wall, yet she was not touching him.

Her rage was palpable, her steely silver eyes flashing in the half-lit bathroom. "Just who do you think you are Potter?" The venomous words echoed of the dripping walls. With a final glare she left Harry hanging on the wall and rushed to Malfoy's side. Withdrawing her wand, she began running it along the deeper gashes on Malfoy's chest, whispering song-like incantations.

As she worked, the door burst open once more, to reveal a livid-faced Professor Snape. Barely glancing at either Harry or Hermione, he joined Arielle at Malfoy's side and together they finished healing the gashes, and wiping away the remaining blood.

"Potter!" Snape spat, "Get out of here!" he waved his hand, releasing Arielle's spell. Harry crumpled to the floor.

"Now!" Eyes as wide as saucers, Harry clumsily picked himself up, and, giving Hermione one last terrified look, rushed out of the bathroom.

"Stevenson, Granger, bring him to my chambers immediately" Snape ordered, sweeping out of the bathroom.

In the blink of an eye Arielle had conjured a stretcher beneath Malfoy and was now levitating him behind her as she led the way out of the room. Hermione followed behind the trailing stretcher.

While the hallways were usually fairly clear during lunch time, Snape must have done something to ensure they didn't run into any other students on their way to the dungeons.

When they arrived at Snape's chambers, the usually dark and dank room had a fire blazing and a bed had been conjured in one corner, giving it a surprisingly cosy feel.

Arielle gently levitated Malfoy off the stretcher and onto the bed and then merely stood, watching Malfoy, the shock obviously catching up with her. Snape, who had been summoning various vials swept over to the blond and began administering the various potions.

Hermione sighed and summoned two armchairs, gently pushing the still stunned Arielle into one of them, and seating herself in the other. Snape, she knew, would be occupied for a while.

"What happened?" Arielle croaked, finding her voice again after the rage and adrenalin had worn off.

"I'm not sure," Hermione admitted, "I only saw the tail end of their duel. I have no idea how it started." Arielle still had not taken her eyes off Malfoy. "How did you know?"

Arielle finally looked over at Hermione, her watery silver gaze locking with Hermione's calm, brown one. Slowly she slid back the sleeve on her forearm, revealing the twisting and writhing Dark Mark to Hermione.

"It's not only a link to the Dark Lord" she whispered.

Hermione shook her head, the puzzle pieces still didn't fit, "but there's more to your link with Malfoy." It wasn't a question. "Why were you so protective of him?"

Arielle looked away, sliding her sleeve back down.

Snape had now finished his administrations and was covering Malfoy with a blanket. He eyed, Hermione and Arielle. Hermione knew that look well; he was deciding if they were adequate for the task he had in mind. Apparently they were.

"I need you two to watch him for the afternoon. You know what to do if the need arises. I'll make sure you're excused from classes." And with that, he exited his chambers, heading off to the class he had to teach.

Hermione looked back at Arielle; she still hadn't answered her question. Hermione crossed her arms, waiting.

Arielle sighed; she knew Hermione wasn't giving up this time. "Well, let's start at the beginning then." She ran a hand through her hair, "Lysander found out who my parents were."

"He did?" Hermione couldn't quite believe it. Arielle had basically been found by Lysander on the doorstep of The Lodge sixteen years ago. The Lodge was home to the Australian Unknown League, within which both Arielle and Hermione had grown up. No one knew where she had come from or how she had got there.

"My mother was a lady called Elaena," here she paused, apparently battling to get the next words out, "My father was Lucius Malfoy"

Hermione blinked. She really shouldn't be surprised by things like this anymore. "So, Draco's your half-brother?"

Arielle nodded, "But Lucius was married to my mother before Narcissa, which makes me the true Malfoy heir."

Hermione was confused, "But how did that happen? Draco's less than a year younger than you."

"My mother was an Unknowable. She and Lucius met in Scotland, where she was living at the time. When Lucius met her, he fell for her and assumed she was a pureblood because she was so talented with magic. From what Lysander found out, Lucius was already engaged to Narcissa at the time, but that didn't stop him for secretly marrying my mother. They were married for about half a year before my mother fell pregnant with me.

As soon as my mother found out, she knew she'd have to tell Lucius about The Unknown. I'm not sure about the specifics, but somewhere in the story he found out that she wasn't a pureblood and immediately divorced her, threatening to kill her if she ever came near him again."

Hermione frowned, "That's a bit of an over-reaction isn't it?"

"That's Lucius's style," Arielle replied dryly, "Anyway, Lucius returned to England and married Narcissa about a month after Elaena found out she was pregnant, and Elaena went into hiding until I was born. Draco was born merely four months after me."

"Does Draco know?" Hermione whispered

"No," Arielle shuddered at the thought of him finding out.

"But he'll realise," Hermione insisted, "When he turns seventeen he'll realise he's not the Malfoy heir"

Arielle laughed an empty and bitter laugh, "We needn't worry about that," Hermione was about to ask her what she meant, but Arielle cut her off, "My mother was known among the Unknowables as the Dark Lady."

"The Dark Lady?" Hermione asked disbelievingly. She'd heard rumours about the Dark Lady, a lady so silent and invisible you couldn't tell if she was right beside you unless she chose to reveal herself to you. A lady so shrouded in darkness that she rivalled the Dark Lord when it came to the Dark Arts. No wonder Lucius had fallen for her.

"Yes," Arielle confirmed, "But that's not the half of it," she sighed, taking a moment before continuing. "You remember Merope Gaunt and her infatuation with Tom Riddle?"

"Of course," Hermione had been told the complete sordid story of the Dark Lord's past before coming to Hogwarts in order to better protect Harry.

"Then you remember she was completely obsessed with him, naming her only son after him." Arielle ran her fingers through her hair. "What almost nobody knows, is that Tom Riddle had a twin sister."

"Merlin," Hermione whispered in shock.

"Nobody knows, because Merope abandoned her daughter in favour of her son. The girl was found by some muggles in an empty work shed and taken in by them, but much like her brother, she was unusually talented at magic, a fact which wouldn't have gone unnoticed by the muggles had she stayed with them. So, the Unknown stepped in, and she was taken to Scotland and brought up as an Unknowable.

"Elaena," Hermione whispered, "Eleana was Tom Riddle's twin. Your mother..." She trailed off as Arielle abruptly stood and walked to stand in front of the fire. Hugging herself, she stared blankly into the flames.

"Yes," She confirmed, "and that makes me Lord Voldemort's niece"

***