Without further ado.
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The two weeks before winter holiday flew by faster than a hippogriff on steroids. And methamphetamines. They came so quickly Ariadne hardly noticed she was packing her trunk until she spilled a bottle of ink all over her white eyelet blouse. And that was when she noticed she wasn't packing her trunk at all, but stuffing her belongings beneath her covers.
"Uh, Ariadne? Are you all right?" Wyvern asked. Her silver hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and her green eyes narrowed with worry. "You're definitely distracted."
"I don't know what's gotten into me, Wy. I've just been zoning out these past weeks."
"Ever since that night you flipped off Parkinson, you mean." the taller Slytherin gave her friend a knowing look. She shrugged out of her Hogwarts robes and folded them neatly. Her silver and green trunk was organized by item type and color, all arranged in compact piles. Ariadne's things looked like a tornado had hit them. Her clothes were strewn about the dormitory, and her school supplies were scattered in random places as well. Zeus, Ari's white cat, was curled up in a brassiere and a single left shoe.
"No! That's not it at all! It has nothing to do with that hateful cow." Ariadne huffed, indignant of such a statement. Wyvern shrugged, unable to contain her smile.
"Well, you do know what this means then. If ol' Drakie thinks he can get away with insulting me, my brothers, you, and, uh, everyone else…then he's wrong! We have to show him who rules Slytherin house!" the silver-haired girl dove into a compartment she had built beneath her four-poster bed. Inside were loads of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. In Slytherin, their products were usually taboo, but in the cases of pranks or wrongdoings exceptions were always made.
"They are of quality!" Wyvern always insisted. With slender fingers she pulled out a tiny bottle of pink liquid. It had a cork stopper and a label with a small skull on it.
"I don't want to poison the idiot!" Ariadne scolded her and snatched the bottle from her grip. A quick scan of the label told her it was hair dye. Semi-permanent hair dye that would last around two to three weeks.
"Poison? Have you gone thick in the head? We're just gonna change his hair color, you loony. " Wyvern slipped the vial into her pocket and gave it a loving pat. She cooed, "Soon, my precious. Soon."
With a roll of slate eyes, Ariadne finally started to pack her trunk the correct way.
XXX
The two girls quickly ventured out of the dormitory and into the Slytherin common room. The light was bright and green down in the dungeons—it must have meant it was sunny topside. Not many students were left inside, most made their way to breakfast before they had to catch the train in Hogsmeade.
Wyvern and Ariadne sunk into plush green armchairs and warmed their feet by the fire. It got terribly cold in the dungeons normally, with the December snow on the ground, the stone of the rooms chilled the place even more.
"It's got to be less than forty degrees in here!" Wyvern's teeth chattered noisily as she flexed her toes in the heat of the hearth. It seemed even the roaring fire couldn't vanquish the frigid feeling.
"Well, if we're going to do this before holiday, I suggest we get going." Ariadne stood and adjusted her outfit. Today, since they were leaving Hogwarts grounds, students weren't required to wear the school uniforms. The blonde Slytherin donned dark, grey-blue skinny jeans and a forest green sweater. The top alternated between dark green and black stripes. On her head was a black knit beanie, and out of the bottom flowed her white-blonde tresses. She had styled it so it would stay wavy even in the coming snowstorms. On her small feet were charcoal grey snow boots.
Wyvern was dressed similarly. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she wore fluffy white earmuffs like a headband. She had a purple and white scarf twisted around her pale neck, a sweatshirt with argyle print, and snow pants. She enjoyed the swishing noise they made as she walked.
"I'm not even hungry." Ariadne commented. Wyvern scrambled from the portrait hole and nearly fell on her face in the process. Ariadne failed to avoid Wyvern's flight patterns and was dragged down with her. She fell flat on her back, wheezing as the air rushed from her lungs.
As the fates would have it, Draco Malfoy was walking down the corridor at that exact moment. Having witnessed their tangled tumble, he waited until they composed themselves before speaking.
"Not you two as well! Everyone seems to be falling for me these days!" Draco smirked like this was a serious dig.
"Yes, we were falling for you, if falling meant we would be farther from that smug, git-like face—then yes, I'm falling for you hard." Ariadne quipped. Draco blew a piece of hair out of his eyes and pushed past them to enter the common room.
"Meet me by the Three Broomsticks, Nocturne. You know how our Fathers don't like to be kept waiting." Instead of acting like the mature adult that she was, Ariadne stuck her tongue out at him.
Although this got her nowhere, it at least made her feel better.
The two Slytherin girls made their way to the Great Hall (without any more "accidents") and sat down to a light breakfast. Ellie was seated next to them, along with Jericho, the new Chaser.
"Arnold is coming over to my family's house for Christmas." Ellie squeaked. In front of her was an untouched omelet and a comically large hunk of melon. She nervously stabbed the fruit with her fork and nibbled idly on a corner.
"Don't worry, Ellie. Arnold, if he's a good friend, will act like nothing has changed." Jericho said comfortingly. Wyvern hastily agreed and her focus drifted back to the notepad in her hands. A quill skipped furiously across the page, formulating the perfect plan to dye Draco Malfoy's hair hot pink.
The first year was dressed in a bright orange coat with large white buttons. She looked over at her friend in Gryffindor, who locked eyes with the girl and looked away just as quickly. She sighed audibly.
"Oh, Ellie. Don't be sad." Ariadne began.
"Yes! You could be spending three weeks with a git like Malfoy!" Wyvern spat. She drew lightning bolts striking a poorly drawn caricature of Draco.
"You have to do that? That doesn't sound so bad," Ellie looked off into the distance dreamily. "He's so handsome." The three girls, with an exception of Jericho, looked at the first year with mouths agape.
"Shame on you! Looks aren't everything!" Wyvern gasped. Ariadne nodded firmly.
"He'll catch you in a trap with that steely, icy gaze. Then, once he has you captured, he'll tear you apart. Like a baby sparrow caught in a cobra's glare." Now it was Ellie's turn to stare at Ariadne.
"So, you've been trapped by this cobra before, then?" she asked slyly.
"No!" she refuted immediately. "I'm the cobra here, not him!" It was too late. Her defensive tone gave it all away. "Shut it, all of you. I'm not anyone's fool, especially ferret boy's." A bell chimed somewhere, signaling eleven o'clock in the morning. Ariadne rose swiftly and left the Great Hall, eager to get to Malfoy Manor and see her parents.
XXX
The two blonde Slytherins shared a compartment on the Hogwarts express. Ariadne laid out flat on one bench while Draco sat upright in the other. The boy's left hand was rested on his cheek while the other's fingers drummed against his thigh steadily. Ariadne's mass of hair pooled from her cap and almost brushed the floor.
"So, other than my comment to you this morning, why haven't we spoken since that night out on the grounds?" Draco asked suddenly. The abrupt break of silence caused Ariadne to open one eye, study Draco warily, and shut it again.
"Maybe I didn't want to believe what you said back there," she began. "There are some things that are very difficult to trust completely. You're one of them." Ariadne rolled over onto her stomach and looked Draco full in the face.
"Believe me? Ariadne, please. Don't give me that rubbish. Your wide doe eyes told me all I needed to know. There wasn't a word I said that you didn't hang onto for dear life." his proud remark slowly raised Ariadne's blood pressure.
"Don't feel so smug, wanker. You said those things so I wouldn't murder your little tramp." Ariadne sat up in a flurry of wavy hair and crossed her arms tightly.
"And why would you feel the need to murder her? What could possibly compel you to harm Parkinson, who is as harmless and pathetic as a newborn Muggle? Jealousy, perhaps?" he couldn't control his trademark smirk any longer. The left corner of his mouth curled slightly, bringing his lips into the half-grin, half-grimace shape that so many girls melted over. Ariadne, however, remained steely.
"No comment."
"No comment?" he repeated incredulously. "No comment because there is no sane reason! You're jealous that Parkinson's slobbery lips were all over mine! There's no doubt you wished to be in her position, just as I leaned in and—"
"STUPEFY!" Ariadne shouted. Her wand emitted a jet of red light that knocked Draco back into the wooden wall of the compartment. He slammed into the carpeted floor with a sickening thud.
"You troublesome woman." he mumbled maliciously. Ariadne was the one who smirked now. She nudged his writhing body with the toe of her right boot.
"Poor Drakie. What will Mummy say when she sees you all bwuised and bwoken?" she cooed.
"She'll say she's sorry I did this to you." he said.
"Did what?"
"This!" Draco sprung from his spot on the carpet to tackle Ariadne. He pinned her to the bench and loomed over her, mere centimeters from her face. Her slate eyes were wide in fear.
"W-what are you d-doing?" Ariadne stuttered. Draco ran his nose along her jaw line, inhaling deeply. He pulled away and stared into her eyes.
"Just enjoying how you squirm. You're very touchy, Nocturne. Good for future reference." With a wink that was far too casual, he freed her from his grasp and sauntered back to his side of the compartment. Thoroughly ruffled, Ariadne worriedly checked that the compartment blinds were closed and no one had witnessed their little encounter. She returned to the bench, fully aware that Draco was watching her the entire time, and sank back into her reclining position on the padded bench. Ariadne narrowed her eyes into slits and rolled over, turning her back to the blond pervert.
"Brilliant. Now I've got a better view of your ass." Ariadne could almost hear the smirk in the lecher's voice.
"Draco dearest, if you don't shut up, I'm going to shove my wand so far up your arse you'll be tasting the unicorn heartstring at its core." Ariadne yanked a blanket from beneath the bench and draped it over her body, squeezing her eyes closed and counting down the minutes until they arrived.
XXX
Snow fell heavily at the Malfoy Manor. The large hedges that ringed the estate were blanketed in sheets of snow, and the famed white peacocks were nowhere to be found. A group of house elves and Wormtail escorted Draco and Ariadne through the heavily enchanted wrought-iron gates and up the path toward the Manor itself.
It was an enormous building, with large, sweeping eaves and a white exterior. Three main towers faced the group of people, each tapering to a sharp point at the top. A wide balcony doubled as a deck over the porch, which was lined with white columns. The lines of the mansion were angular and perfectly aligned. Although Ariadne had visited the manor countless times as a child, its beauty and intricacy never failed to amaze her.
"Miss Ariadne!" a familiar voice squeaked. The Slytherin girl looked down to her feet to see Rosie tugging at the seam of her pant leg.
"Rosie! What are you doing here?" she asked quietly. Rosie's large eyes welled with tears and she shook her head quickly.
"You will see, miss."
Ariadne swallowed the ball of worry in her throat and walked inside the manor. The temperature change was staggering. Ariadne instantly felt uncomfortable and peeled off her wet boots.
"Ariadne! Draco!" Narcissa beamed widely and pulled both of them into a spine-crushing hug. For such a delicate and poised woman, she sure had arm strength. "You two have a meeting tonight with the Dark Lord. Go freshen up and meet in the drawing room please." She turned on the heel of an expensive boot and clicked away out of sight. Ariadne relished the feeling of the Malfoy's stone floors beneath her feet. Although she didn't like Malfoy that much, she adored his home.
The couple looked at each other awkwardly before turning towards the grand staircase. They exited the foyer in silence and began their trek to the second floor. The walls lining the staircase were filled with portraits of the Malfoy and Black family trees, starting with ancient wizards Ariadne couldn't recognize and ending with Draco's face.
"Where am I staying, Rosie?" the House-elf wrung her hands nervously and began crying again.
"Miss Ariadne, you must forgive Rosie! There are no more rooms left in the Manor, with so many Dark witches and wizards staying here! Someone suggested you sleep on the floor, but Rosie would never make Miss Ariadne sleep on the floor! So the only room left is…is…" her enormous eyes darted around.
"Whose room, Rosie?"
"Mr. Draco's, Miss! Please don't hurt Rosie!" she cringed away out of actual fear. Her withdrawal was enough to distract the girl from the unfortunate sleeping arrangements and onto Rosie. She wondered how poorly they were treating her here.
"No, Rosie. You know I would never, ever hurt you. It's all right. I can just sleep with my parents." she looked down the hallway hesitantly.
"Where are they?" A high voice behind her chuckled. Ariadne turned to face a veil of billowing black curls and heavily lidded eyes. Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Oh, darling. You mustn't worry too much about them anymore." Bellatrix approached Ariadne with an outstretched hand. The girl couldn't help but see an image of a snake coiled to strike in her mind.
"Why not?"
"They died in the line of duty. Such a pity, too, seeing as they didn't even finish the mission." Ariadne dropped the glass of water Rosie had hastily shoved in her hands. The glass shattered and the sound reverberated ten times over, no thanks to the silence that followed Bellatrix's statement. As the tears burned Ariadne's eyes, Bellatrix's cackling laugh replaced the sound of exploding glass in the hallway.
Ariadne sprinted down the stairs and burst into the meeting room.
"Where are they?" she demanded. Her pain and suffering must have been evident, because instead of cursing the girl on the spot, the Dark Lord raised a white, corpse-like hand to stop them. Her slate eyes met his red ones and her heart fluttered in sheer terror.
"Your parents were unable to complete their mission, Miss Nocturne." Lord Voldemort's expression was impossible to read. Was he feeling smug about their demise? Remorse? "They were loyal Death Eaters, were they not?" A round of laughs circled the long table of Death Eaters.
"I believe their only interests lied with you, Ariadne." Voldemort rose from his silver seat. His cloak billowed about him silently, like a large shadow. He moved noiselessly until he was two chairs away.
"The members of the Order of the Phoenix murdered them. Don't you wish to seek revenge?" Voldemort reached out and cupped Ariadne's cheek with a freezing hand. Ariadne, completely terrified, nodded slightly.
"Such beauty. A perfect mix of your mother and father." he said calmly. Ariadne tried to calm her heart, but she found the task to be impossible. The silencve of the room was deafening, Ariadne was sure that the pounding of her heart was enough to shatter the windows. She was positive Voldemort could feel her heart race beneath his touch.
"Do not fear me, Ariadne. Obey me. Respect me. And you will find that being a Death Eater isn't so bad after all." The Dark Lord chuckled darkly and the others joined in. Voldemort dissolved into a dark cloud and dissipated, appearing in his silver chair once more.
"If you must see them, they're in the Eastern wing. Try not to vomit, young one." Voldemort smiled, or whatever facial expression came closest to the latter, and shooed her from the drawing room. Ariadne left with shaking hands, following the House-elf that guided her to the glass caskets where her parents rested.
A preservative charm must have been placed upon the two bodies. The glass coffins were on display, and the two people inside looked as if they could have been sleeping. Their bodies were pristine and preserved, with elegant dress and peaceful expressions. She touched the surface of each one and offered her goodbye.
"Mum, I know I never got to tell you this enough…but…I love you. I always appreciated the beautiful dresses and pretty things you would bring for me. You taught me to be strong, to be independent, to be my own woman. No one could get in my way because of how you raised me." she kissed the coffin, leaving her lip prints on its cold plane.
Next she turned to her father, who was handsome even in death.
"Daddy, I'll miss you terribly. You know I love you and Mum, and although you guys were away a lot, I knew you both loved me…now you're with Crete and I know you'll be happy again." She planted a second kiss on her father's coffin and left the Eastern wing. She begged the House-elf to bury them at sea, by the Nocturne Estate. The tiny elf touched the two coffins and disapparated at once.
Ariadne looked up from her silent reverie to see Draco, who had been watching her speak to her dead parents the entire time.
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