"You know, tomorrow's the first Quidditch match of the season." Harry said in the girl's bathroom one day while planning their Polyjuice heist. "I'll see you lot there, yeah?"
"Oh, Harry! You know Ron and I have never missed one of your games."
"'Course we will, mate! Wouldn't miss it."
Ariadne stayed silent until Harry turned to her expectantly, which was a feat considering how cramped their shared stall was. His small smile looked decidedly out of place in the gloom of the wet space, particularly given Myrtle's sniffles from the toilet over.
"Oh." Ariadne thought for a way out but had none. "I don't know…"
"You have to go!" Ron said. "Harry's brilliant on a broom, you'll love it."
Hermione observed Ariadne before chiming in. "And you'll sit with us, of course. We can meet in the Common Room before the match while Harry's getting ready."
Ariadne smiled at her, thankful. "Yes, I'll definitely be there."
Harry nodded, satisfied, though Ariadne was not. She really was thankful to Hermione– half the reason she wouldn't have gone, like with the Halloween Feast, was that she did not want to sit alone (especially amidst a crowd of her jeering peers). The other half, however, could not be fixed by this group. Although she had not spoken to Draco since, she had not forgotten that day in the empty classroom. That he'd been hurt, thinking she'd chosen Harry over him. To actively root against him tomorrow? Perhaps she had made her choice.
Still, she went to the match in her Gryffindor red and supported Harry until her voice went hoarse. Quidditch was amazing, and Harry even more so. He was incredible, outflying a bludger that chased him around relentlessly. When Harry began to make twists and turns at random in the air, the entire crowd laughed– except herself and Hermione. It was apparent what he had set out to do to shake off the bludger. But when he stopped in the sky, distracted by something she could not see, the bludger rammed into his arm, now hanging at the elbow unnaturally.
"He's broken it!" she yelled to Hermione over the crowd's gasps. Hermione only nodded back, biting her nails in fear. When the bludger headed for him again and Harry dove for Draco, Ariadne screamed.
Harry landed into the ground with a great crash. While the Quidditch stands erupted into an odd blend of smattered applause and gasps, Ariadne was on her feet in an instant, running down to the pitch while Ron and Hermione followed closely behind.
By the time she got to Harry, a crowd of Gryffindors circled around him. Ariadne, Ron and Hermione shouldered their way closest to Harry. Though Harry was unconscious, Ariadne gasped when she saw his good hand tightly wrapped around something golden.
"He's caught the snitch!" She exclaimed turning to Ron.
"Bloody hell," he added. "He's done it again."
"Does he usually catch them like this?" Ariadne didn't wait for an answer. She shook her head clear of the win, instead focusing on Harry. She kneeled down next to him, observing his arm. "Will he be okay?" She asked the person to her right, worry seeping through her words.
"It looks quite grave, but nothing I can't fix! I've encountered a similar situation back in my days as a seeker and fixed the player up right as rain. I've always been excellent with healing charms, as you know from Magical Me." A pompous voice declared. Ariadne looked up to see Professor Lockhart next to her, glittering teeth smiling down at her.
"Oh." Ariadne frowned. "Sorry, Professor. I didn't realize who I was talking to." She turned to the captain of the team instead– Wood, Ron had called him. "Will he be okay?"
"Okay? He's brilliant. Caught the snitch even with that arm? I mean–" Wood stopped at Ariadne's glare. "He'll be fine. Needs to see Madame Pomfrey, though."
Harry began to stir on the ground and Ariadne leaned over him, her long dark hair tickling the side of his face. He scratched at his ear before opening his eyes.
"Oh, hello there." Harry smiled up at Ariadne and she smiled back. She opened her mouth to speak when she was physically pushed to the side and away from Harry. When she turned to yell at whoever'd done it, she snapped her mouth shut when she realized it was Lockhart.
While Fred and George were wrestling the rogue bludger away, Lockhart began to insist on healing Harry's arm. Even without having read Magical Me, Ariadne knew that this was a bad idea.
"Professor, I really think he should see–"
But it was too late. Before she could finish, Lockhart had tapped Harry's arm which began to deflate like a balloon until it was nothing more than a loose, arm-shaped sac of skin. Ariadne nearly gagged in disgust. Ron turned away to retch.
"Certainly no one can say that the bone is still broken, hm?" Lockhart exclaimed, never mind the fact that the bone was now gone. "Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, and oh, Miss Black? Escort him to the hospital wing, please!"
When they got there, Hermione and Ariadne waited very politely near Harry's bed while Ron drew the curtain and helped him change into pajamas. Through the curtain, Ron commended Harry's flying while Hermione defended Lockhart.
"Oh, Hermione! I didn't expect that from you." Ariadne laughed after a particularly emphatic defense, during which Hermione flushed pink.
Once a gentle rose, Hermione now turned scarlet. "Expect what?" She demanded, instantly defensive. "I can't appreciate a professor for his talent?"
"Talent?" Ron called. "The only talent today was Harry. Did you see Malfoy's face?"
"Probably mad his bludger didn't work." Harry replied with a grin.
Ariadne had seen Draco's face, and while he did look ready to kill, she doubted the bludger was the reason for that. While Malfoy had been angry when Harry caught the snitch, he was stone-cold when Ariadne rushed to Harry's side. But she certainly wasn't going to mention that.
"We'll tuck that away for when we use the Polyjuice," she said instead.
Hermione, Ron and Ariadne left Harry after the Gryffindor team came to celebrate and Madame Pomfrey kicked them all out.
"I'm starved." Ron said. "Lunch?" He turned to look at both Hermione and Ariadne, and Ariadne felt absurdly pleased to be included.
"Yes, please," she said. "I could eat a horse!" Ron looked completely taken aback.
"Why the bloody hell would you do that?"
Puzzled, Ariadne turned to a giggling Hermione for answers. "Apparently it's a muggle-only phase. Trust me, I learned to be careful with idioms the hard way. You'll learn, don't worry." Hermione patted Ariadne's head in mock condescension, and Ariadne laughed.
The next morning, Ariadne, Ron and Hermione met up in the Common Room before setting off to check on Harry. Ariadne trusted Madame Pomfrey, but she was rather curious to see if Harry had gotten his bones back. What if they grew in but really small, and he just had tiny bones floating around in his arm?
Outside the hospital wing, however, McGonagall and Flitwick blocked the entrance. The three of them paused just before the corner, staying hidden behind the bend of the wall.
"Oh, it's terrible, Filius." McGonagall was saying, in her thick Scottish brogue. "Poor little Colin Creevey– he's a lion, you know. But so small, even for a first-year. We had so hoped it would be just the cat but– well, Albus believes that the Chamber is truly open."
"Colin Creevey?" Ariadne mouthed to Ron and Hermione, who nodded. Colin was in her year, sorted right after her. He had always been very nice– one of the only people who was not only not rude to Ariadne, but actively kind. He was just a tad… enthusiastic sometimes, not that that was a bad thing. The thought of his body, Petrified like Mrs. Norris… Ariadne shivered in fear.
"Let's go." Hermione mouthed. She led Ron and Ariadne back down to the second floor and into Myrtle's bathroom. "Now that we're certain that the Chamber of Secrets has been open, we'd better get a head start on the Polyjuice. Ronald, grab a cauldron. I'll start a fire in the toilet."
It was already cramped in the stall in which they were hiding their potion with the three of them, but by the time Harry joined it was a very tight squeeze. Ariadne found herself pressed up against his side while he told them about an elf who visited him in the hospital wing.
"And then Dobby said that the Chamber's been open before, and he warned me to get out of Hogwarts. He said that I'm a target, alongside the muggleborns. And he sent the bludger after me!"
Ron began to speculate on the Malfoys role in this, but Ariadne was too caught up on Harry's words. "Sorry, did you say Dobby?" Dobby at Hogwarts? She had never seen him outside of the manor! She didn't know he could even leave without permission.
"Yeah," confirmed Harry. "He's this house-elf that visited me before school started and got me in trouble with the Ministry. Then he tried to stop me from coming to Hogwarts by closing the platform entrance. Now the bludger? He's been trying to warn me this whole time. He's got good intentions, I think. Maybe not the best execution."
Yes, that sounded like Dobby alright. Ariadne began to mutter herself, thinking out loud. "Okay. Now Dobby's involved. Okay. I think– I think you lot might be right."
"Right about what?" Hermione asked. "Do you know Dobby?" Ron and Harry both looked at Ariadne expectantly.
"Dobby is the Malfoy family's house elf. They're almost certainly involved– Dobby doesn't do anything outside of them. I don't know if Draco's the Heir, I still don't think he could be. But I do think Lucius is involved. I've got to talk to Dobby."
"Is there any way you could summon him? He just shows up to me as he pleases, so it's on his time. Or write him?" Harry asked.
"I can't summon him– not at Hogwarts, I don't think. And I can't write him. I can't let Mr. Malfoy intercept anything, and I also can't say for sure if Dobby can read, to be honest. But I do know that I can't take the Polyjuice with you guys. There goes my only chance to be Daphne Greengrass." Ariadne ended with an attempt at a joke, but she really was disappointed to not participate in the Polyjuice Heist. She was the one who had given it the name, after all. She had been excited to sleuth like she'd seen in the muggle films.
"Why not?" said Ron, even as Hermione looked on knowingly.
"I'll have to go home for Christmas," Ariadne said grimly. "I'll write to Narcissa now."
Ron groaned. "Tough luck, mate." Harry looked at her sympathetically.
Ariadne went back to her room to pen a letter, deciding it'd have to be a good one to both make up for the last few months of radio silence and to get an invitation back home for Christmas.
Dear Narcissa,
I hope that you are well. I am very sorry that I have not written these past few months. I was quite distraught after the sorting – I feared that you'd be disappointed. It certainly has been one to me. Gryffindor has not been too kind to me, and I'll admit that I have few friends. It seems people cannot see past my father's shadow. I am writing in the hopes that I'll be allowed to come home for Christmas (and my birthday), for I should not like to be alone then.
I miss you dearly,
Ariadne Effy Black
Perhaps a little too self-pitying, Ariadne thought, but it would do the job. And she certainly would not mention her new friendship with the trio. Better to be friendless and pathetic, to Narcissa, to have befriended Gryffindor's golden team if Draco's reaction was any indication. Ariadne folded the letter as neatly as she could, creasing each fold tightly. Narcissa would not appreciate a sloppy letter, Ariadne knew, and so she kept her penmanship neat.
Before Ariadne could make her way to the owlery, Ginny ran into the room. With her bloodshot eyes and swollen cheeks, it was clear to Ariadne that she had been crying. She stopped in her tracks at the sight of Ariadne, before moving towards her bed and collapsing onto it.
"Are you alright?" Ariadne asked tentatively, afraid of being rebuked again.
Ginny lifted her head and placed her bloodshot gaze onto Ariadne's face. "Di–Did you hear about C-colin?"
"I did," said Ariadne slowly. "I know you sit next to him in Charms. He'll be okay, Ginny, don't worry."
"I just feel s-so aw-awful," Ginny hiccupped out, sobs wracking her small frame. "I've b-been having these ni-nightmares."
"It's not your fault, you know. He'll be okay. And you'll be safe. Dumbledore won't let anything else happen." At that, Ginny's sobs increased tenfold. Clearly Ariadne was not good at dealing with other people's emotions, and when Ginny turned her body away from Ariadne and pressed her head into her pillow, Ariadne took that as her cue to leave.
Ariadne didn't particularly like the owlery, what with the generally pervasive bird smell and the fact that you could never leave without a feather in your hair. But she did like Athena, so Ariadne walked over to her quickly.
"Hello, Athena," Ariadne soothed, reaching out to stroke Athena's head with her index finger. Soft, downy feathers ruffled at her touch. Athena calmed, cooing back in pleasure. "I'm sorry I haven't seen you around lately. I haven't really anyone to write and, well, no one's writing me. You know that best, of course."
Athena nipped at Ariadne's finger in a gesture of comfort, and Ariadne giggled in response, tapping her on the beak. "But I've got a letter for you now! Can you send this to Narcissa, please? At Malfoy Manor." Athena stuck out her leg eagerly, and Ariadne barely had time to tie the letter around it before Athena shot out the window, excited for the chance to fly.
In the aftermath of the attack, the entire school was on edge. A black-market trade system began to boom as counterfeit protective amulets and charms began to circle the castle, attracting students and unsubtle professors alike. During the second week of December, when McGonagall began to collect the names of students who were staying at school for Christmas, the vast majority of Hogwarts had elected to return to the safety of their homes. Though Ariadne had not yet received a reply from Narcissa, she decided to press her luck and did not sign up. Harry, Ron and Hermione did, and interestingly enough, so did Draco.
"I figured Narcissa would insist that he come home," Ariadne commented. "She hates to be away from him."
"So, Malfoy's a mummy's boy?" Ron asked slyly. "Figures."
"It's suspicious, is what it is," Harry began. "We'll have to use the holidays to question him. Hermione, is the potion nearly finished?"
It was not. Hermione was missing a few key ingredients, which she declared would be best retrieved during their next potions class. When she apologized that Ariadne would miss it, Ariadne waved her off. Though she would love to see Snape be pranked by a group of twelve-year old's, she was also glad to be out of the line of fire.
"Just give him hell for me, alright?" Ariadne addressed Ron and Harry, who turned white at the thought of what they were about to do. Ariadne didn't even want to know– plausible deniability, and all that.
That Thursday, Ariadne rushed from Charms and into Myrtle's bathroom, where she waited for the three to arrive from potions. Hermione walked in looking very pleased with herself, while Harry look troubled. Ariadne knew they succeeded.
"You got it? Did he catch you?" Hermione did not respond, instead rushing into the stall with their cauldron happily. She began to stir.
"He knew it was me," Harry groaned. "He looked right at me."
"But can he prove it?"
"He can't know for sure." Ron added in. "What can he do, mate?"
"Knowing Snape? Something foul." Harry looked at the potion miserably.
Only a week later, while the four of them were making their way across the Entrance Hall, a crowd of people blocked the entrance, each looking up at a piece of parchment pinned to the wall. Seamus and his friend waved them over to see, both looking excited, though Seamus dropped his hand when he sighted Ariadne.
"They're starting a Dueling Club!" Seamus exclaimed. He looked at Ariadne shiftily. "Don't know if firsties are allowed though, so..."
Harry made a big show of reading the parchment, squinting as if looking for something small. "Hmm, doesn't say that anywhere that I can see. You should come with us, Aria."
"Thanks Harry, I definitely will. And thank you to you too, Seamus. I never would've even known about the club if it wasn't for you." She smiled sweetly and followed the rest of the group into dinner.
At eight that night, the four found themselves back in the Great Hall, now like none had ever seen it before. The dining tables had been Vanished in favor of a shiny golden stage, floating candles hanging overhead in the shape of a halo, positioned like a spotlight.
"That's an odd setup for a duel, don't you think?" Ariadne asked Harry, perplexed.
Recognition dawned over Harry. "Oh, no. It better not be–" he ended with a groan, for Lockhart had emerged, placing himself center stage. Lockhart did not leave enough room for his partner, Professor Snape, who was thus relegated to Lockhart's left and looked very much like an assistant. Snape sneered when Lockhart called him as much, looming to the side like a large, angry bat.
Snape managed to get his revenge on Lockhart only moments later, when the two began to duel. As soon as they reached the number three in their countdown, before Lockhart even opened his mouth, Snape let out an emphatic cry: "Expelliarmus!"
A blast of red light shot from Snape's wand and hit Lockhart square in the chest, smashing him into the wall with a thud. His own wand shot out of his hand, landing at Lavender Brown's feet as Lockhart slid down the wall and onto the floor. He scrambled to his feet and shot the crowd a grin; Hermione grinned back, as though it had been directed towards her, while Ron watched on in disgust.
"A successful Disarming Charm! Well done, Professor Snape. I didn't block it, of course, to allow you children to see the charm unobstructed. I could have, as I'm sure you're aware. Now, to pair you off! Professor Snape?"
Snape moved directly to the four of them, uncaring that Hermione was inching closer to Ariadne as Ron was with Harry. "Time to split up the dream team, I think. Black, you're with Vane. Weasley and Finnegan. Granger with Miss Bulstrode, and the famous Potter with… Mr. Malfoy.
Malfoy strutted over, smirking at both Harry and Ariadne. Ariadne rolled her eyes, patting Harry on the shoulder and moving towards Romilda, the only other female first-year present.
"Hello, Romilda."
"Ariadne. I haven't seen you in the dormitory nearly as much lately. Made friends with Harry Potter, hm?"
Ariadne narrowed her eyes, but before she could make any retort, Lockhart had begun to count to three. She bowed to Romilda instead, who returned it.
"1… 2…"
On two, Draco sent a spell Ariadne had never seen before at Harry, who stepped back from the force of it.
"Draco!" she admonished. A couple Gryffindors in her vicinity exchanged looks at her familiarity, but she did not notice them. Draco gave no acknowledgement of having heard her, but she swore she saw the corner of his mouth curl into a smirk. When Harry fired back, Romilda used Ariadne's distraction to disarm her. Ariadne did not care, far too caught up in the back and forth of Draco and Harry's duel to search for her wand.
"Finite Incantatem!" Snape shouted. As the curses wore off throughout the room, Ariadne looked around, disoriented. To her immediate right, she found Millicent and Hermione locked into an embrace– well, Millicent had Hermione locked in an embrace, arm around her throat while Hermione struggled in pain. Without her wand in the immediate vicinity, Ariadne launched herself at Millicent, beating at her with admittedly ineffectual fists. Though Millicent released Hermione, who clutched at her throat as she recaptured her breath, Millicent grabbed Ariadne in her place.
What a terrible way to go, she thought. To choke to death in the arms of Millicent Bulstrode.
Recovered from his duel with Malfoy, Harry locked his arms around Ariadne's waist and pulled her away from Millicent's grasp. It was an impressive feat, considering that Millicent was bested in size only by Goyle (not even Crabbe) in their year.
Ariadne thanked him as she dusted herself off. Is that fur?
"No problem," Harry replied, grinning at her. "Nearly thought you were a goner for a moment there."
"Oh, dear." Lockhart observed the crowd. "Perhaps a tad more practice should do you all some good. Let's have a volunteer pair."
"Potter, Mr. Malfoy, come up here," Professor Snape interjected with a snide smile. Harry grimaced, though Ariadne gave him a reassuring pat on the back as he made his way up. "You've got this," she encouraged.
Professor Lockhart gave Harry an entirely ineffective demonstration while Draco waited across him, nearly rubbing his hands in greedy anticipation. Snape bent over to whisper in his ear, creating a contrasting picture of greasy black and styled platinum hair. When Draco smirked, Ariadne knew that whatever happened would not be good.
"Three… two… one… DUEL!"
With a spell already prepared, Draco raised his wand on the mark and yelled loudly: "Serpensortia!"
A long black snake shot out of the tip of it, landing near Harry. Though the crowd screamed and moved away, Ariadne (who had at this point gotten ahold of her wand) moved closer, wand at the ready. Harry did not move, though he did observe the snake. Ariadne was close enough to see that he was paralyzed not in fear, but in fascination. The snake had locked its eyes onto Harry, who returned the stare curiously.
When Snape made no real move to get rid of the snake, enjoying a motionless Harry, Lockhart stepped in. Pointing his wand at the snake with an odd sort of flourish, Lockhart not only failed to Vanish the snake, but instead threw it into the air so that it was now at Ariadne's feet and very angry. Evidently, moving closer had been a mistake.
Ariadne froze, staring down at the snake and more frightened than she had ever been in her life. She thought, rather stupidly, that it looked quite a bit like Mr. Malfoy's cane. It must have been where Draco drew the image from. Behind the snake, footsteps moved determinedly towards her, though Ariadne did not dare lift her eyes to see who approached. Until a hissing noise reached her ears, but the snake had not opened its mouth.
In front of her, Harry was making strange, snakelike noises with his mouth. It would have been a rather funny sight, only it seemed that the snake was listening. It lifted its head and stared back at Harry, visibly relaxing. It also moved away from Ariadne, towards the person nearest to her – Justin Finch-Fletchley. Though its movements were much more docile than predatory, Justin screamed before glaring at Harry. Before reaching Justin, the snake turned to look back at Harry, as if asking for his permission to continue. Harry spoke in those bizarre hissing noises once more, and the snake slumped to the floor.
Harry grinned at Ariadne, who grinned right back. Snake language aside, Harry had saved both her and Justin. Her good mood was damaged, however, when Justin stomped up to them both.
"What the hell do you think you're playing at? Both of you are insane!" he shouted, before turning to run out of the Hall. A boy and a girl, both Hufflepuff, ran to follow him. Ariadne looked around to see the rest of the students begin to mutter to one another, until a hand grabbed her by the arm.
"C'mon, let's go. Come on, move– move."
It was Ron, who was now dragging her out of the Hall with one hand and Harry with the other. Hermione ran to catch up, and the crowd parted for the four of them, giving them a wide berth. Too wide, in fact.
"What's going on?" Ariadne asked, but no one answered her. They moved in silence until they reached the Gryffindor Common Room, where Ron pushed both Harry and herself onto a sofa. He and Hermione stood in front of them, waiting.
"Why didn't you tell me you're a Parselmouth?" Ron demanded.
"Oh, is that what that language is called?" Ariadne interjected.
"What language?" Harry furrowed his brows, feeling as though he was missing something.
Hermione ignored him, electing to answer Ariadne instead. "Parseltongue is the language. A Parselmouth is someone who speaks Parseltongue. Who can talk to snakes, which apparently Harry can."
"Wait a minute!" Harry yelled. "I spoke in a different language?"
"Mate," said Ron seriously. "You were talking to a snake. In the snake language. Why didn't you tell us?"
"I mean, I've only done it once before. I met a boa constructor from Brazil at the zoo and I set it free. But I thought we were speaking in English. This was before I found out I was a wizard."
"A boa constrictor? From Brazil?" Ron looked like he might be ill.
"Hold on. So what if Harry can speak to snakes? It's got to be pretty common among wizards. I mean, Mr. Malfoy carries a snake cane around, for goodness' sake." Ariadne felt oddly defensive of Harry against what seemed to be an accusatory tone from Ron. He had just saved her life, after all.
"It most certainly is not! D'you think it's good to have a skill Lucius Malfoy would want? Use your head, Ariadne! Snakes equals Slytherin equals bad!"
"Lay off of her! All I did was tell the snake not to attack Aria! And that it couldn't go for Justin either!"
"So that's what you were saying? From where we were, mate, it looked like you sent it away from Ariadne and towards Justin in her place. And then Ariadne gave you a bit of a sneaky smile, if I'm being honest. It was a little creepy, you know."
"It was not a sneaky smile!" Ariadne yelled hotly. "That's just… my face, I guess."
Harry ignored her, too frustrated by Ron's retelling of the event. "What's so bad about me stopping Malfoy's snake from killing Aria and Justin anyway? It wanted to eat them both! It told me!"
"Er– it did?" Ariadne froze.
"What's so bad," Hermione finally spoke from where she'd been observing this whole time, her voice careful and quiet, "is that the last known person who could talk to snakes was Salazar Slytherin. It's like Ron was saying– that's why the symbol of Slytherin Is a snake."
"Do you see?" Ron asked exasperatedly. "Now everyone's gonna think you're his great-great-great whatever grandson!"
Ariadne laughed. "Well, he's obviously not! The Potters are Gryffindor through-and-through."
"Well, there's no way to prove that. Slytherin lived over a thousand years ago." Hermione's voice was hushed, and she looked to Harry as if to ensure she hadn't hurt him. But Harry was too engrossed in what Ariadne had said.
"How do you know that?" Harry looked at Ariadne searchingly. Hermione and Ron fell silent, realizing that the moment was important.
"Know what?" Unfortunately, unlike Ron and Hermione, Ariadne had not.
"About my father– about the Potters."
"Oh," said Ariadne, and then she blushed. She had no choice but to reveal that she was basically raised on stories of Harry's father and his friends. But to tell him would be to tell about her father, and Ariadne didn't think she was ready for that yet. At least, not the whole story. "My mother was in school with your parents. She'd tell me stories sometimes. I can tell you them sometime, if you'd like."
Harry closed his eyes. "Yes, please."
At that, Hermione stepped in. "Not tonight, it's quite late now. Ariadne, I'll walk with you to your dorm. Ron, Harry, go to bed."
The next morning, Ariadne sat in Charms already exhausted, though it was only her first class of the day. The stares that followed her were becoming overwhelming. The muggleborn students did not dare sit next to her in class, and she had found herself humiliated and alone until Ginny joined her. That, however, had been more out of necessity than anything else– Ginny had arrived late and somewhat frazzled, though Ariadne knew she had not slept in as she'd been out of bed by the time Ariadne got up.
Ariadne cleared her throat. "You've got a feather in your hair, just so you know. When did you have time for the owlery today?"
"The owlery?" Ginny's hand darted up to pluck the white feather out of her red locks. Though she very studiously did not look at Ariadne, Ginny muttered out a quiet, "Oh, thanks."
After class ended, Ariadne returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, where she found Harry rising from his armchair testily while Ron and Hermione played a game of wizard's chess. His eyes brightened when he saw her enter.
"Aria!" he greeted. "I thought I'd try and find Justin, y'know, clear the air. Wanna come with? Now that we're snake charming partners?"
Ariadne laughed. "Yes, let's go. Thanks for taking some of the heat off me, by the way. Or at least dispersing it. Shall we check the library?"
In the back of the library, Harry and Ariadne found a group of young Hufflepuffs sitting together, heads bowed together as they whispered intently to one another. Although Justin wasn't there, the boy and girl that had followed him after the incident were. Harry pressed himself against the nearest bookshelf to listen discreetly and motioned for Ariadne to do the same.
"Even if Herbology hadn't been canceled today," the boy droned, "I would've told Justin not to bother showing up. Stay out of Potter's way now that he's the next victim. You know he actually told Potter and Black that he's a muggleborn? Said he'd be down for Eton. He thought Black was muggleborn too, tried to warn her off Potter. That's what set Potter off, I think."
"Why on Earth would he think Ariadne Black was muggleborn?" Another Hufflepuff piped in.
"Apparently, he went to muggle primary school with her, can you believe it? A Black being raised like a muggle? She was probably scouting out future kills the whole time." Ariadne looked at Harry and rolled her eyes.
"Hold on, Ernie," the blonde girl said, nervously twilling a pigtail. "You really think it's them? If Ariadne was raised like a muggle, she can't be all Black can she? And Harry's always been so nice– he defeated You-Know-Who after all."
"Come off it, Hannah! He's a Parselmouth, and everyone says that Slytherin himself could talk to snakes. He's gotta be the Heir that the message was talking about. And she's a Black, for Merlin's sake. The whole family's dark– her father killed twelve muggles himself, after all. Potter's Slytherin's Heir, but Black must do all the strategy. Probably picks the next target herself– got some advice from her father, I'll bet."
Harry looked at Ariadne but she did not look back. Ernie continued, "And about You-Know-Who… who could kill the darkest wizard alive besides an even darker wizard? Probably wanted to become a Dark Lord himself–"
Now Ariadne did look at Harry, who was growing increasingly infuriated. Ariadne felt the same, stepping out from behind the bookshelf before Harry had the chance to.
"Look. Say what you want about me and my family. At least there's some truth it. But Harry being a dark wizard? Harry Potter? Do you even hear yourself?"
Ernie looked like he was going to wet himself at having been caught out, which Ariadne relished in a bit. She turned to Hannah, who stuck the end of her pigtail in her mouth in fear of being addressed. "And I was raised like a muggle, for perfectly normal reasons. Justin can attest to that, in fact. Where is he?"
Ernie spoke up, voice shaking even as he puffed up his chest in an attempt to seem brave. "What do you want with him?"
"To make sure he knows what really happened at Dueling Club," Harry spoke, still angry.
"What happened is you got the snake away from her," Ernie replied, nudging his white face toward Ariadne. "And towards Justin." He now addressed Ariadne directly. "I'm Sacred Twenty-Eight, by the way. Just like you, in case you get any ideas."
"I don't even know what that means! Good for you?" Ariadne said, bewildered.
"Why would I want to attack muggleborns, anyway?" Harry asked, equally confused.
"I heard you hate those muggles you live with."
Harry swallowed at the mention. "I'd like to see you live with them and not feel the same. You wouldn't be able to bear it."
As Ariadne remembered what Harry said to her, that first day they met, about choosing who you live with, Harry grabbed her by the wrist and began to usher her out of the library. He seemed to be in a blind fury, and Ariadne did her best to keep up as she was dragged along the corridor. But when he bumped into a wall, Harry took Ariadne down with him.
"Hullo, Hagrid. What are you doing here?" Harry said. Okay, not a wall.
Hagrid shook off some snow from his great beard before holding up a dead rooster. "'Nother one killed this term. Seems like its foxes, an' I need Dumbledore's permission for a protective charm 'round the coop."
"Yeh all righ' Harry? Yeh're lookin' a little red."
"Yes, Hagrid. It's nothing. But we'd better going, I've got to walk Ariadne to Potions now if I don't want to be late to Transfiguration." Harry walked away and Ariadne quickly waved goodbye to Hagrid in the hopes of alleviating the concern present on his large face. She ran to catch up with Harry, who had begun to stomp up the stairs two at a time.
Harry remained a few steps ahead of Ariadne even after they turned a corner, though he was so worked up that he didn't seem to see what was right in front of him. But Ariadne did.
"Harry!" she yelled. "Watch out!"
Hary stopped in his tracks and froze, staring down at the floor. When Ariadne caught up to Harry and followed his line of sight, her stomach dropped. Lying there was Justin Finch-Fletchley, shock on his frozen face. His hands were still being held out before him, as if motioning something. If Ariadne hadn't known about the Petrifications, she would have thought him dead.
Harry grabbed her shoulder. "Aria," he murmured, before directing her towards a figure to Justin's right. "It's Nearly-Headless Nick." Ariadne didn't think it was possible for a ghost to die, but Nick was as close as one could get. Rather than white and transparent, Nick's body seemed to be composed of black smoke. He hovered, rather than floated, only slightly above the ground, and looked just as shocked as Justin had been.
"Look at those," Ariadne said, directing Harry to the end of the corridor where a line of spiders were abandoning the body. "I've never seen anything like that."
"I have. There were those spiders outside of Myrtle's bathroom where Mrs. Norris was–"
As low mutters were beginning to drift toward them from around the corner, Ariadne grabbed Harry's hand and turned to face them both towards whoever was coming. Her ears got hot, and she didn't dare to check to see if his did. It had been entirely spontaneous, to make sure that they looked like a perfectly innocent but unbreakable unit. There was no way they weren't going to get blamed for this, so Ariadne just hoped that it could be handled quietly and in an organized manner so that she could plea her innocence as soon as she could. Hopefully it would be Dumbledore walking through the door.
It wasn't. Instead, Peeves shot out with a bang.
"Why, it's potty wee Potter!" Peeves screeched, knocking around Harry's glasses. "What's Potter up to? Is wee potty Potter holding hands? With ickle Black attack?
Peeves, who had been attempting a flip over their joined hands, noticed Nick and Justin. He froze right between them and began to scream.
"ANOTHER! ANOTHER ATTACK! GHOST, MORTAL! NO ONE IS SAFE. ATTAAAACK."
Naturally, everyone in the school flooded instantly into the corridor. Order was only restored when McGonagall ran out and used her wand to send out a loud bang. After she ordered everyone back to their classes, Ernie ran out with Hannah close behind. Although Hannah did not speak, only stare down at Justin's body, Ernie yelled at Harry and Ariadne.
"You've been caught red-handed! I knew it, I knew it. Potter's the Heir but Black chooses the victims!" Ernie began to laugh manically, eyes tearing up as his gaze dropped to his frozen friend. As angry as she was with him, Ariadne felt a pang of pity in her heart. She couldn't imagine staring down at her friend when they're in that state.
"Oh Potter, you rotter, you saucy little dove! Using Black to attack, it's all just young lov–"
"Enough, Peeves." McGonagall commanded. Harry wrenched his arm away from Ariadne– she hadn't even realized they were still holding hands, and it didn't seem like Harry had either, until Peeves.
As Justin and Nick were taken up to the hospital, McGonagall marched Ariadne and Harry to a large, stone gargoyle. She said nothing as they walked, instead keeping her mouth in a tight, grim line.
"Sherbet lemon."
The gargoyle stepped aside to allow them in, revealing a tall, stone spiral staircase that lead to a gleaming oak door. Professor McGonagall told the two of them to wait and entered the room.
Ariadne leaned over to Harry's ear and whispered. "Where do you think we are, do you know?"
Harry matched her pitch and responded mutedly, "It's got to be Dumbledore's office. Look around."
The room was large and circular, and full of curious instruments that were exactly what one would expect from Professor Dumbledore. Various silver instruments lay about, some blowing out puffs of smoke. The portraits of previous headmasters hung on the wall, and while Harry moved towards something in the back, Ariadne moved closer to make out each name. Armando Dippet, she read from their golden plaques. Mordicus Egg. Vulpus. Amrose Swott. Phineas Nigellus Black.
She stopped on that last one and looked up. Though he was asleep, he looked to be a clever wizard, with black hair and an aquiline nose. His pointed beard and thin eyebrows augmented his already haughty expression, familiar to her from her years with Lucius and Narcissa. A small snake was pinned to his robes, a token of appreciation to his former house. Could this be what her father looked like? Ariadne rather hoped not. She coughed to wake him.
"Wh-who dares interrupt my slumber," he sputtered, disoriented.
"Hello, sir." Ariadne said politely. "I'm Ariadne, sir. Ariadne Black."
Phineas, who had been looking to return to sleep, looked at Ariadne with interest. "A Black, you say. In Gryffindor robes? I hoped you'd be Regulus' girl, but I can see that would be foolish."
"Regulus? No, my father's, er, Sirius. Sirius Black. Did you happen to know him?"
"Speak with pride, girl. You're from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Act like it. And know him? Sirius was my great-great-grandson. Making you my great-great-great granddaughter. So, Sirius is not the last of the Blacks? Perhaps he was not so worthless after all. I saw your father often during his years at Hogwarts. He and that Potter boy were always in trouble with Dumbledore."
Harry set the hat back down and walked over. "Did you say my name?"
Ariadne panicked. "No! No, I don't think he did." But Phineas was no help.
"Is that… boy, I thought that you were your father. Absolute spit of him, could be twins. Exce–"
"Except for the eyes, yes, thank you. Did you know my father?"
"The Potter boy? Of course, boy. The girl's father and yours were best friends. Inseparable, always getting into trouble. I didn't condone it at all, of course. Nor did I condone the friendship. The Potters were worthy in terms of their lineage and estate, but some of their ideas? I warned Sirius, but he had none of it, the wastrel."
Harry turned to Ariadne, somewhat hurt but more confused than anything else. "Did you know that our fathers were friends?"
"Harry I–" Ariadne searched for the right words. "I have a lot to explain to you. Could we–"
Dumbledore walked in, looking very somber. He looked at Ariadne and Harry and Phineas, and to all of their surprise, smiled.
"Ah, Phineas. I see you've met your great-great-great granddaughter. I'm always pleased to incidentally organize a family reunion." Just then, a bald bird caught fire in the corner of the room and Harry rushed over to save it. Dumbledore only looked on fondly.
"It's about time Fawkes had a Burning Day," he laughed, though Harry looked horrified. "He's a phoenix, an immensely powerful bird. He seems to like you." Dumbledore looked Harry directly in the eye, but before he could speak, Hagrid slammed the door open.
"It wasn' Harry, Headmaster! Yeh've got to believe me. I was talkin ter him just before the boy was found, it couldn' be Harry, sir."
Dumbledore tried to cut in, but Hagrid continued his rant. He gesticulated so aggressively that rooster feathers and snow began to fly everywhere.
"An' Ariadne, well, er, I don' know the girl tha' well, ter be honest with you. But if she's a friend of Harry's, she's a friend of mine."
That was oddly sweet, Ariadne thought. Hagrid was a good friend to his friends. And what did it say about Harry's character that his seal approval held such sway?
"Hagrid!" Dumbledore finally got a word in. "I don't think Harry or Ariadne attacked anyone. Do not worry."
"Oh," said Hagrid. "I'll jus' be outside than." He stepped out the door that he arrived from, cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"You don't think we did it, Professor?" Ariadne asked.
"No," Dumbledore replied, but he looked only at Harry. "But do either of you have anything that you'd like to tell me?" Harry broke contact with Dumbledore to look at Ariadne. She shook her head abruptly, remembering Ron's warning that hearing voices weren't even a good sign in the Wizarding World. Harry returned to Dumbledore's searching gaze and spoke firmly.
"No, Professor. Nothing I can think of."
Imperceptibly disappointed, Dumbledore allowed them to leave.
The day that the Hogwarts Express was set to leave for the holidays, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ariadne sat at the very edge of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall during breakfast. There was a good distance between them and the nearest students.
"Ariadne," Hermione leaned in conspiratorially. "What are you going to do for the holidays if Mrs. Malfoy never responded to your letter?"
"Just ask McGonagall," Harry chimed in. "She'd let you stay."
Ariadne shook her head. "I can't stay, I'm going to the Malfoys no matter what. I have to look for clues, see if I can find anything that tells us what's going on. The only question is if they're gonna know that I'm there or not."
Ariadne's determined words were punctuated by the sudden onslaught of owls in the Great Hall, doing their morning deliveries. To Ariadne's great surprise, Athena dropped one off to her. The first letter she'd ever received at Hogwarts. Recognizing Narcissa's near-calligraphy on the front, Ariadne ripped the letter open and began to read aloud.
Dearest Ariadne,
I'm very sorry that it has taken me so long to reply to you, but I have been very busy lately planning our annual Yule event and had to make special arrangements to ensure that you could come home. I expect to see you at the party, as you are now of Hogwarts age.
Please tell Draco that I am very disappointed that he will not be coming, though I understand. Give him a kiss for me as well. And don't worry about Gryffindor, Ariadne. The whole House was practically made for fools, though I'm sure you're the exception. Your fear was unfounded; you will always have a home at the manor. Do try not to bring up Gryffindor with Lucius though, and I'm sure we will all live amicably.
Cordially yours,
Narcissa
After finishing, Ariadne groaned. "I forgot about the Christmas event that they do. I didn't have to go before when I was under eleven. I'm dreading it."
Ron whistled. "She sounds like a piece of work. Are you going to give Draco a kiss for her?" he continued, teasingly.
"Do you need to be worried about Lucius?" Harry frowned, concern smattering his features.
"He's harmless to me, I think. For now, at least." But it's true that there was no guarantee, Ariadne thought to herself silently.
"It's curious that she understands why Draco isn't coming to the party. Narcissa doesn't seem the type to be all that understanding about that," Hermione wondered aloud.
"She isn't," Ariadne replied simply. "Good catch." She scrunched her face up in frustration. "I'll have to do some sleuthing at the manor, but not like you lot with the Polyjuice. Is it ready?"
"Nearly." Hermione replied. "But don't worry about us. You're entering the snake pit! Don't forget to write, please."
"I won't." Ariadne pulled Hermione, Harry, and Ron into a hug before letting go with a sigh. "I'm off!" She grabbed her luggage and began to make her way outside of the castle towards the horse-led carriages. She looked back to find Harry looking at her.
"After break," she mouthed to him, enunciating very clearly. He nodded in response before lifting his hand into a wave. Ariadne smiled back before moving forward.
Hello! Another long chapter! Please leave a review if you can! I'd been the type of reader who very rarely left a review but since I started writing I realized that it makes a world of difference in terms of motivation! So if you have anything to say (good, bad, or anything in the middle) please let me know!
Big things happening in the next chapter!