Hello all,
I'll try to update as frequently as I can.
I NOTICEDDD I said it was December in a previous chapter—I'll fix it. It's supposed to be Halloween right now and I said December -_- sorryyy!
Enjoy!
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As October wound down to its end, posters for the annual Halloween Ball were plastered over message boards throughout the school. The dance was reserved for those in Fifth Year and above. With the ball coming quickly, many a student were fretting over costumes and dates. A trip to Hogsmeade was set up that Wednesday, only two days before the actual ball.
Gryffindor, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins all crowded Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Honeydukes, and the Three Broomsticks.
Ariadne was seated with the Golden Trio at one of the battered wooden tables in the bar. She ran her finger along the rim of her near-empty butterbeer and was deep in thought. She glanced at her hand and saw the last of the Choleric Caesalia bruises disappearing. Maybe she had overreacted to the incident—Draco was only trying to help, right? She shook her head angrily.
Sure, that may be true. But nothing could make me apologize to the "Slytherin Prince." she seethed.
She stopped her mental rampage and listened to Hermione prattle off about suspicions and their plot to stop the Dark Lord. They always connected everything to Malfoy, which was ridiculous to Ariadne.
"That little git couldn't harm a half-blood if he tried. He only seemed to be good at pestering Pure Bloods like me." she cut in. Hermione's mouth fell open a little and her thick brows furrowed.
"A-are you sure? We've got strong leads that tie the weird incidents to him." she insisted.
"Like what?" Ariadne mused. "Trust me, Draco is up to absolutely nothing. He actually spends most of his time scheming how to get rid of Pansy Parkinson." Ariadne pointed a slender finger toward Draco's table—where Pansy clutched onto Draco like a lifeline. Her bright pink nails dug into the arm of his robe and the pain must've made Draco extremely annoyed and or uncomfortable. Blaise was at his side, pretending like he wasn't staring at Ariadne whenever he thought she wasn't looking. Ariadne rolled her eyes at him and returned to the conversation.
"Ari, how can you be sure?" Harry asked. "How often do you see what he's doing?" Ariadne gave the "Chosen One" a withered look.
"Hello, we sit next to each other in every class, eat at the same House Table, and are on the same Quidditch team. I'm practically glued to the idiot."
The Trio took this as a reliable statement and went on discussing secrets of the Order.
"Do you want me to leave? I can, y'know, if you're telling secrets and stuff." she offered. Hermione touched her hand, which would've repulsed any other pure blood, and shook her head.
"You can stay. We'd actually love to hire you as a spy." Ariadne rolled her blue-green eyes once more.
"I'll do it, but I'm telling you, you're wasting your time. Draco is innocent." she chugged the dregs of her third butterbeer and left the Three Broomsticks.
"Hell, that girl can drink!" Ron marveled. A vein in Hermione's forehead bulged and Harry decided to change the subject before things got nasty.
XXX
Ariadne walked into Honeydukes to pick up some of her favorite sweets. She loved the classic chocolate—sure, but she also loved a good bag of Bernie Bott's or Honeyduke's self-popping popcorn. Not a ton of students were in the small sweet shop, just a few ravenclaws and a pack of Gryffindors. One Ravenclaw she recognized from their Quidditch team—a fifth year by the name of Aaron Reyes. He was browsing Honeyduke's gummy candy selection, and settled on the chewy snakes to purchase. He was a bit taller than Ariadne, about 5'7", with broad shoulders and brown hair that settled on his forehead in choppy pieces. He caught her gaze—she noticed his eyes were a light blue. They were warm and inquisitive, and asked the question before his mouth opened: why are you staring at me?
Ariadne broke eye contact and continued reading the ingredients to her chocolate. Soon she felt a presence behind her and realized it was Aaron. She turned around too quickly and ran smack into the Fifth Year's chest. They stumbled back, fell on the floor, and proceeded to knock over an entire display of edible playing cards.
"This is…uh….a funny way to meet someone." Aaron mumbled. Ariadne's answering blush burned her cheeks a brilliant red.
"Sorry, you scared me!" she accused. Aaron gave her a knowing smirk and a wink.
"Not likely, Nocturne. You're one of the most alert Quidditch players on your team. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you did that on purpose. Just to be on top of me." he winked. The Slytherin's blush deepened at his remark.
"Shut up, Reyes. You're just a fifth year." she growled. Aaron shrugged and retorted: "Doesn't mean I don't know how to do things." Just what "things" this statement entailed Ariadne had no inclination to know. She helped herself up and picked up the card display with a flick of her wand. As she left the shop, she heard the bells on the door ring and turned to see Aaron stick his head out.
"Nocturne! Do you have a date to the Halloween Bash?" he asked. Ariadne thought it over for a moment and shrugged.
"No, I don't. Are you asking me to go?" she raised a brow in question. Aaron blushed slightly and nodded. To his extreme surprise, she accepted, and turned on her boot to walk away.
"And it's Ariadne, not Nocturne!"
XXX
Word eventually reached Malfoy that Ariadne wasn't available to take to the ball. He stomped and fumed around the boys' dormitory while Blaise waited quietly for his friend to finish.
"You could take Parkinson." he suggested. "You know she's always available." Draco stopped in his pacing to glare at his friend.
"It's bad enough that you're the bearer of bad news," he walked over to the window. "But now you're telling me to ask Parkinson. This is the same Pansy Parkinson who's pretending that I'm her boyfriend and that someday we'll be married!" he says, thoroughly disgusted with the thought. Blaise shrugged and tried to explain that it was only a harmless suggestion. Draco rolled his icy eyes and calmed down significantly—the sarcasm seemed to do that.
"C'mon, it's time for Divination anyways," Blaise stood and scooped up his messenger bag. "It's one of the few subjects Ariadne is terrible in. You're always excited to watch her struggle! Cheer up!" Draco mulled over this truth and also grabbed his books.
XXX
Going through Professor Trelawney's trap door was always a struggle—especially for First Years. A majority of the small legs and arms couldn't reach either distance. The Slytherins and Gryffindors followed suit—some of the taller boys had to bow their heads in order to avoid hitting the ceiling. As Malfoy opened the trapdoor, the cloying stench of incense hit him like a wall. He hated Divination with a passion. The ornate carpets that were draped over the walls—posters of strange creatures and constellations, and the worst of all, the little crystal balls that had blue mist swirling in them. He was a bit relieved to see the same expression of displeasure on Ariadne's face.
"Today we will be taking a closer look at Tarot cards." Professor Trelawney began. With a swish of a crooked-looking oak wand, deck upon deck of Tarot cards divided amongst the pairs of students. Draco and Ariadne lunged for their deck at the same time, and ended up scattering the pile all over their table and the floor surrounding them.
"Damn you, Malfoy! They're in a specific order!" she took her constellation book and smacked Draco across the head with it. He nursed the budding bruise and shoved Ariadne from her seat. She crashed into Harry Potter, seated at the table beside them, and started a miniature chain reaction in the cramped classroom.
"Who started this calamity!" Trelawney squealed. "You're disturbing the energy of the room! Our aura is no longer pink!" she snapped. Another flick of her wand reset the desks and cards and students. The remainder of the class period involved Draco and Ariadne's horrific futures, including gruesome deaths and dark purposes. Each time the pair of them was called on, they fumbled for answers.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I don't know what's likely to happen when Jupiter is in Scorpio, whatever that means." Ariade sighed. And with each incorrect response, Trelawney took five points from Slytherin.
The hour was too long to take, in their opinion.
XXX
A short while later, the lunch tables of the Great Hall were filled with sandwiches, soups, and other light snacks. Ariadne sat with Ellie, the Slytherin first year, and Wyvern. The owls with the day's post swooped in just then, dropping parcels and letters on unsuspecting students. Ariadne almost was beheaded by a large package that fell into her lap. The neat script on the attached letter told her Hiro had sent it to her.
"Hiro!" she shouted. Half of the Slytherin table looked to see what the commotion was, causing Ariadne to sink into her seat and blush.
The letter was sad and sweet.
To my Ariadne,
Well, this sucks. No thanks to Prat-co Malfoy, I'm currently attending Durmstrang Academy. The uniforms here are an ugly burgundy, and the Quidditch team is fine and all, but there's no one who could cover my back like you. The worst part is is that there aren't any girls here. Even though I've always had eyes for a particular type—now I won't even be able to be picky. We do events with Beauxbatons every once in awhile, but I'd rather have girls around all the time. The only females on campus are owls, and the females in the Care of Magical Creatures class.
One plus is that they have a better music program. With my guitar I've become one of the top in the class! That's great and all, but I'm more upset about the other subjects. They're way more strict here than at Hogwarts. Many of their students don't even get passing marks on N.E.W.T.S.
Currently, there are rumors that the three European Wizarding schools are going to be doing something near the end of the year. I hope I get to see you then, Ariadne, because I have to tell you what's been eating at me for the last seven years.
The day I met you on Platform 9 ¾, my life changed. I saw your eyes and your hair and I knew things were different. I knew my abusive parents didn't matter much. I had to become your friend, at first for your beauty but then for your heart.
I know that this is probably bad timing, since I'm already gone, but I regret never saying goodbye. All these years you've stood by me, and made me proud to be the Slytherin I was once ashamed of being. I tore out the patch from my robes and kept all of the letters and notes we used to pass in class. Call me weird, but it's these pieces that hold more value than a picture of my parents and me.
I love you, Ariadne. You're gorgeous, athletic, and smart. Not a lot of people can be all three. Sure, you can't do well in Divination, or Herbology, either. But you've got a way with people that make them understand what's bigger—what's important. Don't ever let go of that.
And don't let go of me, either.
Much love,
Hiro
Fat tears spilled from her eyes and onto the parchment in her shaking hands. This was surely out of left field, as Americans liked to put it. She accidentally dropped the letter into her French Onion soup and cursed loudly.
Wyvern, who had secretly been reading over Ariadne's shoulder, pat her on the back comfortingly. Today she had looped her silver hair into a sloppy ponytail, and instead of a checkered shirt she had on an emerald green oxford.
Ellie took the parchment from Ariadne, who was too busy crying to notice, and scanned the letter quickly.
"Oh, how romantic! A long lost love!" she sighed.
"Lost? How is it lost, Ellie?" Wyvern asked, narrowing her eyes as a signal to shut up. Ellie threw up her hands defensively and shrugged—how was she supposed to know?
"So Ellie," Wyvern quickly changed the subject. "Are you and Arnold talking again?" Ellie's face darkened as she shook her head.
"He doesn't like talking to me anymore. We used to be best friends but now he thinks I'm evil or something."
"Don't worry, Ellie. He'll come around." Wyvern assured her. The two older witches looked at the First Year sadly. It seemed as if boy troubles were plentiful that lunch period. And they were just beginning. Draco slid into the seat across from the three Slytherin girls, flanked by Blaise and Theodore Nott. They all had accusatory expressions on their faces.
"So you're going to the Halloween Bash tomorrow with a fifth year." Draco spat. It was neither a question nor a statement—just a biting remark that was a mix of the two. Ariadne's thin brows furrowed and she nodded tersely.
"Yes, and what's it to you, Malfoy?" she retorted. Draco obviously hadn't worked out the conversation in his mind past this point, so he improvised.
"Well, goodness, Nocturne, didn't know you'd stoop so low." Wyvern opened her mouth to protest but Ariadne touched her arm to calm her.
"Draco, you're not Aaron Reyes, and I understand the flaming jealousy you must harbor because of this fact. But face it, Draco. I'm not going with you and I wouldn't want to. Why else would you be sitting here, spitting in my face, unless you were jealous that you didn't get to ask me first!"
During her rant she failed to notice the countless pairs of eyes that had followed her up and out of her seat.
"What are you all gawking at?" she demanded. She grabbed her book bag and shoved the rest of her turkey sandwich into her mouth, wheeling to exit the Great Hall dramatically. Draco could only sit there with an undying blush and the feeling of being watched.
XXX
"Soon, Bellatrix. Soon. Remember, we are bringing them in over the winter holiday." Voldemort assured her. Bellatrix paced the Italian marble floors of the Malfoy home incessantly, almost obsessively. She wanted Dumbledore dead as soon as possible.
"They're just kids. I still think you should let me do it, milord." she insisted. Her veil of black curls was especially wild today, matching her disheveled mood perfectly. Voldemort closed his eyes slowly and explained the prophecy once more.
"The two children with white hair shall destroy the one with the Elder Wand." Voldemort recited. "They in turn will bow to the snake and bring the world down with them."
"The children with white hair?" Bellatrix snorted. "Ariadne and Draco are blonde." Voldemort almost killed her on the spot, but he set down his Holly-and-Phoenix-feather wand and decided to spare her. He needed evil like her, after all.
"There are rumors that the Potter boy and his two friends are dropping out once the new year starts. Dumbledore's got a 'special plan' for the three of them. Send an owl to Severus immediately to investigate." Bellatrix slapped a scowl on her face. She hated Severus, she never trusted that greasy-haired mudblood lover. But she bit her tongue and clenched her fists to obey her master.
Voldemort rose in a billow of robes and walked to the other room in the Malfoy manor. Inside, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy stood over two bodies. They laid still in glass caskets, with unblinking eyes and calm expressions. Narcissa was crying.
"Oh, Narcissa, don't be sad. Disobedience has its price." he touched her shoulder and she shrunk away from the Dark Lord's touch. She didn't understand such needless bloodshed. Her thin fingers ran the length of the first black coffin—which served home to a small woman with brown hair. Her eyes were open and the brilliant shade of jade they'd always been—but they no longer sparkled. Violeta Nocturne was forever silenced at the hand of Voldemort. Beside her, as he was in life, was her husband. The strong and proud man's blond hair was cropped short to his head, and his slate grey eyes were hard and determined. Such expression. Such waste.
"Ariadne will be devastated." Narcissa whispered. Her husband agreed and put his arms around his wife. The Nocturnes were good family friends, and always willing to watch Draco whenever they had wanted to go out for the night.
They cared too deeply for a forsaken cause. Lucius thought.
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