Chapter 13

Echos of The Past

(Opening song. Danger Danger by FZMZ feat. icy.)

(Thursday night)

"You-You bastards!" Arianna cried out in tears standing in the middle of a great hall. "You said this marriage was one for peace!"

"And now peace and order have been restored. Now that they're all dead, magic can now be controlled properly." a robbed figure said, standing next to a large shadowy figure sitting on a throne.

"Just because…they were more powerful than you!? More well attuned to the mana than humans!? THAT'S WHY YOU SLAUGHTERED THEM!? THAT'S WHAT THIS WAS ALL ABOUT!?" Arianna yelled out, her face twisting into a snarl as tears ran down her face.

"You will be silent, Arianna! You've played your part in service to the kingdom; now know your place!" the large shadowy figure barked at her as it stood up from its looming throne, casting a shadow over the young girl.

"She was right about both of you! You only live to take and control what you fear!" Arianna spat, her anger growing uncontrollably as green lightning radiated off her which made the robbed figure step back in a defensive position.

"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE, THE BOTH OF YOU! I'M GOING TO DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU HAVE BUILT DO YOU HEAR ME!?" she yelled in fury as she drew a black sword annotated with green emerald jewels.

She lunged at the two figures with blind hatred in her eyes slashing at them with fury as she yelled-

Arianna gasped as she shot straight up from the nightmare. She breathed heavily as she tried to catch her breath. Her forehead was drenched in sweat and a tear rolled down her face. She looked around and saw that all the girls in the Gryffindor common room were asleep.

"Damn it, that nightmare again" she sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. She looked over in the mirror on the opposite side of the wall to look at herself. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the lightning bolt-shaped scar on her cheek

"I will bring you all back. I swear it. The magic thieves will pay for their betrayal." Arianna thought with a hard expression on her face. She looked up and met her reflection set of emerald eyes pierced the darkness like a green flame. " and then maybe...I'll be able to atone for my sins" she thought as her look softened and turned into a frown. Her disgust and disappointment in herself clawed in her mind as she played back the nightmarish memory.

She sighed and went back to bed, her head hitting the comforting cool pillow as she fell asleep.

(Friday Afternoon)

Arianna walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts class after Divinations. She decided to start up a conversation with the Golden Trio, who have been keeping to themselves lately, along with a few other students in Gryffindor.

"Hey guys, so you excited about the Quidditch game tomorrow? I hear were playing Slytherin" Arianna said cheerfully,

"Yeah, should be a good game," Harry said quickly.

"Just a good game? Isn't Slytherin and Gryffindor supposed to be the biggest rivalry game of the semester?" she asked a bit perplexed by the short answer.

"Sure is, We'll talk to you later," Ron said as quickly.

"Oh, ok..well see ya," she said as they walked off past her. She took her seat a few seats away from Harry, as Umbridge walked into the class.

"Wands down! Quills out!" she said in a fake sweet tone.

The class was boring as usual, and this was the fourth class that Arianna had noticed that Harry wasn't sneering or giving dirty looks to Umbridge. In fact, he seemed rather smug throughout the whole lesson. Arianna doodled in her notebook trying to think what they were up to. She couldn't exactly go up to Yuno for suggestions, since that would draw suspicion from the trio. What could she have done to make them so on edge around her, it didn't make any sense.

As Dinner ended she tried to talk to some other students such as Dean Thomas or Lavander Brown, but she got the same standoffish attitude from them despite them acting friendly days prior. It was a similar reaction that Harry and Ron. She leaned against the wall and sighed, she twirled her hair trying to think things over.

She noticed that they were acting the same way to a couple of other students as well, even the Gryffindors. It was like they were excluding certain students for what reason that reason was, she wasn't sure. She gritted her teeth as the answer was lost on her.

As she twirled her hair deep in thought, she looked back as she felt the presence of someone behind her, and sure enough, it was Draco Malfoy. He held his usual smug attitude, delighted to see Arianna frustrated at something for once rather than confident.

"What's the matter, princess? not feeling quite as popular as you thought you were?" he drawled with false sympathy.

Arianna gave him an unbothered glance and continued to twirl her hair lost in thought without saying a word. The silence didn't deter Draco's amusement. He smirked and strobe in front of Arianna, blocking her view

"Are you quiet for once or is your confidence finally failing you?" he sneered each word laced with the same false sympathy.

Arianna wasn't fazed but merely sidestepped him "Why are they acting so standoffish? I've only talked to them a couple of times, and now they're treating me like I'm almost invisible." she muttered more to herself.

"And now you're so confused that you're just talking to yourself, what a surprise" he chuckled and moved in front of her again. "You've lost your spark, how tragic"

Arianna didn't answer but simply sidestepped him again so she was standing next to him. She grabbed Draco's necktie and began to fidget with it in her fingers, still deep in thought.

It took all Draco's willpower to not gasp at her hand that was toying with his necktie. He forced a small glare on his face. "Are you gonna explain what you're doing with my tie - again?"

"Oh shush, it's helping me concentrate," Arianna said not letting go.

Draco's face reddened as he tried to regain control of the situation, "Stop fiddling with it! you could concentrate on keeping your hands to yourself y'know"," he grabbed her wrist to stop her fingers from tracing the silver tie, "Why are you so deep in thought, anyway?"

Arianna didn't respond and continued to stare off into space, thinking which caused him to tighten his grip "Are you even listening to me!?"

"They've been acting happy lately, and yet they're distancing themselves from particular students, why?" she pondered more to herself

Draco rolled his eyes at her still talking to herself, "Who's distancing themselves?" he questioned

"Potter and his little band of sidekicks. They've been selective of who they interact with, but it just seems random to me" she answered finally glancing up, and making eye contact with Draco.

"You're upset that the golden boy isn't giving you attention?" he scoffed with an eyebrow raised.

"Have you ever seen Gryffindors ignore their housemates?" she countered as she leaned the side of her head into his chest, still staring off down the hallway lost in her thoughts.

Draco immediately felt his face and neck burn, the sudden closest caused his heart to audibly pound, and he silently hoped she wouldn't notice. He looked away from her and cleared his throat, "You're not exactly a normal Gryffindor... Can you please explain why you're practically laying on me!?"

"Just answer the question dragon"

"Would you stop calling me that " he grumbled. "And secondly, no I haven't"

"Then you see my point. Why the sudden change in attitude? There has to be something in common between all the students they've snubbed over the past few days?"

Draco sighed and started to think about the situation more, he was trying to make sure he had his head focused and not on Arianna being so close to him.

"Fine, I'll humor you. If what you say is true, it is rather odd that Potter's group of friends are ignoring their housemates," he said.

"Exactly," Arianna said, still twirling Draco's tie between her fingers. "Why though is the question."

"The real question is why does it matter? I don't see how them snubbing people is such a big deal." he was still trying to concentrate on the conversation despite her fidgeting with his uniform's tie.

"Because it's something you do when you have something to hide," she answered.

"You think he's started a secret class or something?" he asked his eyebrows raised a bit

"And they're pushing away potential recruits at random"

Draco furrowed his brow at her words, "If you think that's the case then...yeah-That doesn't make sense."

Arianna looked over at the girl Lavander and Dean had blown off earlier. "Tell me about her, She's one of the students they've given the cold shoulder to recently. The last name is "Quick," I think.

Draco followed her gaze at the girl she was staring at. "What do you I look like, a Gryffindor to you!? Why would I care about some mudblood transfer from Beauxbaton," he snorted.

Her eyes widened as she straightened up and let go of Draco's tie "What did you just say!?" she asked a bit surprised

"What, did you expect me to call her something nice? Have you not heard how I talk about those who aren't born from pureblood parents? Or-"

"No not the 'mudblood' comment" she dismissively waved off "The other thing"

Draco's smirk faded. "The Beauxbaton comment?" he asked confused. "Yeah, she transferred from that prissy French school of theirs. What of it?"

Arianna stroked her chin her eyes darting back and forth fitting the pieces together. "Transfer," she muttered. "She's a transfer student just like I am. Damn, why didn't I see it sooner!"

"So what are you getting at exactly?" he asked, his arms crossed across his chest and narrowing his eyes.

"They've been snubbing the transfers that have come in during the year," she said

"Because?"

"Because they probably think Umbridge would send in a Ministry official kid as a spy. One that wasn't sorted into Slytherin" she said with her brow furrowed.

"And the fact they knew me and Galin were coming in as transfers. So Potter and his friends do have an invisibility cloak from our era. That's a problem" she thought to herself

Draco's eyes widened a bit "That...makes sense. I didn't give it much thought, but it kind of fits"

"And I have you to thank for helping me see that, dragon," she said turning back to him with a sly smirk. "Looks like you just earned the Slytherin Quidditch team their first Gryffindor supporter"

"First of all, don't call me 'dragon'. Secondly, I don't need your misguided support. Slytherin is going to win either way,"

"You never know, Potter seeing me in the stand with the other Slytherins might throw him off just enough for you to swipe the snitch under his nose," Arianna giggled with a mischievous look.

Draco snickered at her comment, a genuine smirk appearing on his sharp features. "Might be enough for him to faceplant onto the field"

That got her giggling along with him."What's this?" she said between laughs "Draco Malfoy, the prince of Slytherin laughing along with a Gryffindor? Must be a sign of the apocalypse."

He immediately stopped and the smirk on his face went into a mock glare. "I'm just humoring you, don't be so full of yourself," he said, mentally cursing himself for letting her see him being amused.

Arianna gave a satisfied half-smirk. "Well either way I'll be singing along to "Weasley is our King" in the game tomorrow. I'll see you soon, dragon" As she was about to leave, she gave him a peck on his cheek, only this time Draco was unfazed and rolled his eyes. "What? not flustered this time?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You've lost your touch princess." he said while crossing his arms and mocking grin, "That's the third time you've done that. It's getting old"

"Suppose your right" she mused. "Guess I'll have to up my game" As she walked by her hand flew back and smacked his rear.

Draco leaped forward on the impact, his cheeks immediately turned red as the smack echoed slightly in the hallway, and a bubble formed in his mouth to stop the yelp in his throat. He scanned around mortified at the possibility of onlookers. "SHE DID NOT JUST-" he thought barely containing his outrage

"You!-You!" he stammered, resulting in a giggle as Arianna looked back with a wink. Draco shook his head from the shock and turned towards her with a glare.

"Darkwood!" he barked suddenly "That's six-no seventy-five points from Gryffindor, do you hear me!?"

"Worth every point" she shouted gleefully as she rounded the corner.

"Unbelievable, arrogant, insufferable woman!" he growled under his breath exasperated. He turned away and strode towards the Slytherin common rooms.

A couple minutes passed as Arianna walked down the halls still deep in thought about the revelation about Potter and his friends not trusting transfer students. It threw a wrench in her plans to infiltrate the group, but maybe there was a way to salvage the new development. She walked along the staircase leading to the Gryffindor common room.

"Stand and fight, you mangy cur!" said Sir Cadogan's voice from the painting. Arianna stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening at his voice, her brow furrowing. She slowly turned to look at the moving portrait.

"YOU!" Arianna hissed at the portrait, her eyes filled with blind rage

The knight in the painting turned his attention to her and a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Ah! A new opponent! How delightful!" He swung his sword dramatically through the air, the motion exaggerated enough to make the frame creak with the effort.

Arianna's expression tightened, her eyes narrowing into slits. "You have no right to speak you pathetic excuse of a knight," she spat venomously

Sir Cadogan was confused by her reaction, he had expected some playful banter. Instead, she was staring at him, anger rolling off of her in waves and it made him pause.

"What's with that look, girl?" he asked tilting his head.

Arianna let out a dry chuckle. "Right...you're not actually him are you? Still...seeing that coward's face does nothing but piss me off"

"Coward?" he said a bit annoyed at that, "Are you offended, lass? I'm but a humble defender of the realm, I-

Arianna didn't wait for him to finish. Her eyes flicked around the corridor, ensuring no one was in sight. With a sudden, sharp motion of her wrist, her hand burst into flames, blazing with the vibrant intensity of a Phoenix's tail.

The knight froze, eyes widening as he watched her hand ignite, his mouth falling open in shock. "What—? Wait! What are you doing?!" he stammered, suddenly taking a few steps back.

"You may not be him," Arianna said as she touched the portrait with her flaming hand. "but this will be worth it to see his smug face in agony," The knight's face twisted in fear when he saw the flames on her hand starting to burn the canvas, he tried to back up all the way but eventually hit the wall in his painting with a thump.

"Please!" Sir Cadogan begged, his voice high-pitched and frantic as the flames spread swiftly, turning the bright colors of his armor into a mass of smoldering ash "I didn't mean—please! I'm not who you think I am!"

"How does it feel to be in the same position as all those innocents you helped the Round slaughter? Cadogan," she said coldly, her face still holding a venomous glare.

When she spoke those words, it felt like cold water was dumped on top of him. Sir Cadogan's eyes widened his brain finally registered Arianna's face.

He started to become more frantic and worried. "Wait no- I didn't-" he stuttered.

The knight could feel his body slowly burn and the pain that was searing through his body. But he didn't scream or cry out in pain, he was still in too much shock to fully realize the pain. Instead, he looked straight into Arianna's eyes and spoke to her in a pain-filled voice.

"Forgive me, your Hi-" his voice cut off as the fire enveloped his face.

Arianna's expression remained vengeful as the embers from the canvas burned away. She let out a subtle sigh as her face relaxed. She pulled her hand back, and the moment her hand was away from the burning portrait, the fire immediately extinguished, and the remnants of the canvas started to crumble to ash. She looked at the charred remains on the ground, her rage now replaced with exhaustion.

"Weakling," she muttered as she looked at the charred canvas. She then turned towards the Gryffindor common rooms.

(Saturday morning)

"Bloody hell!" Ron exploded, his freckled face blanching as he gawked at the remains of Sir Cadogan's portrait. The once-spirited knight was nothing but a heap of smoldering blackened canvas and scorched wood now. Harry, Ron, and the twins had been heading toward the Quidditch pitch when they noticed the commotion. The crowd gathered around the wreckage of the painting looked just as stunned as they were.

"Fred, George... did you two do this?" Ron's voice wavered somewhere between horror and disbelief.

"Us?" George raised an eyebrow. "We might stir up a bit of trouble from time to time George said, crossing his arms over his chest, but this" he looked up at the blackened canvas. "Not our style"

"Poor bastard" Fred muttered, as he looked like he was going to tear up a bit.

"I know Fred," George said, his face somber as he looked at the blackened portrait. He reached over and placed a hand on Fred's shoulder, giving it a subtle squeeze as he felt bad for the portrait as well. "I know we caused him a lot of trouble, but he didn't deserve this."

Harry sighed as he ran his hand along his face, trying to relieve some stress. He hadn't given Sir Cadogan much thought, but someone killing him wasn't something he could just ignore.

"Malfoy," Ron said flatly, his tone full of venom. "This has Malfoy written all over it."

Fred spat onto the floor, the mere mention of the name making his lip curl in disgust."That little ferret's probably standing over there, having a good laugh about it. We should track the little ferret down and—"

"Save it for the match, you two" Harry interjected quickly, shooting a glance as the Slytherin team made their way into the Great Hall.

Fred and George shot him looks of frustration, both clearly itching to do something about Malfoy's involvement. But, after a moment of grumbling, they reluctantly agreed.

"Fine, but I'm getting my hands on that git after the match," Fred said, practically seething with rage

The Great Hall was filling up fast when they arrived, the talk louder and the mood more exuberant than usual. As they passed the Slytherin table there was an upsurge of noise. Harry looked round and saw that, in addition to the usual green and silver scarves and hats, every one of them was wearing a silver badge in the shape of what seemed to be a crown. For some reason many of them waved at Ron, laughing uproariously. Harry tried to see what was written on the badges as he walked by, but he was too concerned to get Ron past their table quickly to linger long enough to read them.

"What the hell is on those bloody things?" Fred muttered in annoyance, a scowl on his face.

Harry cast a curious glance at the crown-shaped badges as they passed the Slytherin table, and this time he made out the words etched onto them: Weasley is our King.

Ron also saw the badge and then let out a moan. "Shite, they're already mocking me" Ron complained, as he put his forehead on the table.

"I'm mental for joining the team," he said in a croaky whisper. "Mental."

"Don't be thick," said Harry firmly, passing him a choice of cereals, "you're going to be fine. It's normal to be nervous."

"I'm rubbish," croaked Ron. "I'm lousy. I can't play to save my life. What was I thinking?"

"Get a grip," said Harry sternly. "Look at that save you made with your foot the other day, even Fred and George said it was brilliant."

Fred and George sat on either side of Ron, looking at him with faces of concern and worry. The twins loved making fun of their younger brother, but they were just as concerned about his performance.

"Harry's right," George began, "That damn save was amazing," He said, lightly punching Ron on the shoulder.

Fred nodded in agreement, "You're going to be great, mate. You just need to calm down and relax," he told his younger brother, placing a hand on his back.

"I didn't mean to do it - I slipped off my broom when none of you were looking and when I was trying to get back on I kicked the Quaffle by accident," Ron said as he banged a fist onto the table.

"Well," said Harry, recovering quickly from this unpleasant surprise, "a few more accidents like that and the game's in the bag, isn't it?"

The twins exchanged glances with one another before their lips twitched up into grins.

"That's the attitude, mate," Fred began, nudging Ron's shoulder once more.

"You just need to accidentally stop those damn quaffles and accidentally knock the Slytherins off their brooms," George teased, a smirk on his face.

Hermione and Ginny sat down opposite them wearing red and gold scarves, gloves, and rosettes.

"How're you feeling?" Ginny asked Ron, who was now staring into the dregs of milk at the bottom of his empty cereal bowl as though seriously considering attempting to drown himself in them.

"He's just nervous," said Harry.

"Well, that's a good sign, I never feel you perform as well in exams if you're not a bit nervous," said Hermione heartily.

"Hello," said a vague and dreamy voice from behind them. Harry looked up: Luna Lovegood had drifted over from the Ravenclaw table. Many people were staring at her and a few were openly laughing and pointing; she had managed to procure a hat shaped like a life-size lion's head, which was perched precariously on her head.

"I'm supporting Gryffindor," said Luna, pointing unnecessarily at her hat. "Look what it does…"

She reached up and tapped the hat with her wand. It opened its mouth wide and gave an extremely realistic roar that made everyone in the vicinity jump.

"It's good, isn't it?" said Luna happily. "I wanted to have it chewing up a serpent to represent Slytherin, you know, but there wasn't time. Anyway… good luck, Ronald!"

Ron gave Luna a small, almost pained, smile, "Thanks, Luna," He said weakly, feeling a pit in his stomach at the thought of the match.

She drifted away. They had not quite recovered from the shock of Luna's hat before Angelina came hurrying towards them, accompanied by Katie and Alicia.

"When you're ready," she said, "we're going to go straight down to the pitch, check out conditions and change."

"We'll be there in a bit," Harry assured her. "Ron's just got to have some breakfast." The two boys finished their breakfast and started to head towards the changing room.

"Good luck, Ron," said Hermione, standing on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek. "And you, Harry -"

Ron seemed to come to himself slightly as they walked back across the Great Hall. He touched the spot on his face where Hermione had kissed him, looking puzzled, as though he was not quite sure what had just happened. Harry hurried Ron across the Entrance Hall, down the stone steps, and out into the icy air. The frosty grass crunched under their feet as they hurried down the sloping lawns toward the stadium.

(In the Stands of the Quidditch Stadium)

"So… what's with the song again?" Galin asked, his voice laced with confusion as he glanced at the badge in his hand. He and Arianna were sitting in the Slytherin section, a pair of glaring oddities amid the sea of green and silver.

"Has to do with Weasley sucking at keeping being the reason Slytherin will win the game" she answered. "That's what Yuno told me anyway"

Galin raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical. "So is this song aimed at the Weasleys? or is it to get to Potter? Honestly, the Keeper's just a distraction. The Snitch's the only thing that matters," he said, shaking his head. "If you ask me, the whole game's pointless."

"I don't know, To screw with them both I guess." she said, just as baffled "Why do you even care if you think it's pointless?"

"I don't," Galin said easily, leaning back with his arms behind his head, his gaze still fixed on the pitch. "it just baffles me is all, this whole thing's complicated. Why have a Keeper and Chasers at all? It's not like those positions do anything important when all the action's about the Snitch." He sighed, a little bored, his fingers drumming against his leg. "I'd rather be in a sport where the rules make sense, like mixed martial arts."

"Why, 'cause punching people in the face is so much easier?" she said with a light scoff.

Galin shrugged," It's more fun. And fewer rules. You don't have to wonder what your opponent's thinking, 'cause you can see it in their eyes right before you knock them out."

"Touche," she said crossing her arms, her attention now on the teams soaring above the pitch. The crowd was growing louder, the excitement palpable.

"Anyway, changing the subject, his tone a bit more curious. "What was up with that name you dropped last weekend?"

"What name?" she asked looking back at him to raise her eyebrow at him

"The one you told Gellert to call us," Galin whispered, his eyes darting around the stands to make sure no one else was eavesdropping. "'The Dark Triad.' Where'd you get that from?"

Arianna didn't look too surprised by his question, but there was a spark of amusement in her eyes. "I overheard Potter and his two sidekicks that night. Weasley called us that. They still don't know about you or me, but Yuno was spot on when he said they were eavesdropping on us during that first night of the semester."

Galin let out a small sigh, his lips curling slightly in annoyance. "I hate it when he's right."

Arianna smirked. "He's the smartest one of the three of us. Deal with it." She stretched her legs out, tapping her fingers against the metal bench in front of her. "That said, we need to stop pretending like we're gonna waltz into their little club. It's not happening."

"Why's that?" he asked

"They're excluding transfer students," Arianna said matter-of-factly, her gaze sweeping over the pitch as the teams began their pre-game routines. "They're probably assuming anyone new could be one of us. Doesn't matter if we're in different houses. You can bet that it's got Potter and his groupies spooked."

"That's just paranoid," he said with a slight scoff.

"The more paranoid you are, the easier it is to keep a secret"

"So what, you think we should start being jackasses and mess with them?" he leaned back in the seat, crossing his arms behind his head

Arianna bit her lip in thought, her gaze narrowing slightly as she weighed the idea. "Maybe. But that could make us look bad, and we don't want that. We've got to maintain some influence, especially since we're not exactly 'in' with the rest of the school." She nodded toward the field, where the game was about to start. "We'll figure it out later. Tonight, after the match, we'll plan our next move."

"Fine, but it better be fun," Galin grumbled, stretching out in his seat, his hands behind his head again. "These past few days have been boring as hell."

Arianna shot him a playful smirk. "Patience, Galin," she teased, her voice light. ""For now, let's see what opportunities we can find during the biggest rivalry match of the year"