ENTWINED / the viper and the thorn

Chapter 1

"Have you ever heard the fable of the viper and the thorn?"

The voices cut through the white noise of the train, startling Airen from her haze. The Hogwarts Express swayed gently, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the rapidly-cooling coffee in her hands.

"No. Sounds like a children's book." Came the reply, a different male voice from outside the carriage.

There was a muffled scraping as the door slid open, hinges rattling as the two boys set their bags down- one clipping Airen's ankle as it was unceremoniously dropped to the floor.

"It's not," the shorter of the two continued, his voice suddenly louder in the confined space. "My parents never read it to me."

"I wasn't aware your parents could read, Goyle."

Airen shifted, irritated- she'd been hoping for a quiet ride, choosing a cabin at the end of the train in the hopes the other students would choose to sit with their friends. The blonde boy's voice was laced with contempt- she glanced up at his pale face, the Slytherin robes, how he slouched so casually on the seat as though the space was his alone.

The boy he'd called Goyle gave a nervous laugh. "I saw it carved into one of the chests in the Room of Requirement before summer break, so I did some research."

The blonde stiffened, almost imperceptibly, but Airen saw his jaw twitch. Room of Requirement?

"The story tells of a viper- a beautiful green snake, full of pride. The forest is afraid of it, the animals shy away when it passes by, and one day the viper sees a thorn bush in its way. At first the snake is confused- the thorns don't fear it's fangs or venom, they don't move aside to let it through. The snake tries striking at it, the sharpness of the thorns cutting into its mouth. Blinded by the pain, the viper begins to admire the thorn's strength, for it had never been bested in a fight before. So it coils tightly around the biggest, sharpest stem, begging the thorns to tell it the secret of true strength. But the viper never finishes its sentence, as the thorn it had wrapped itself around pierced through scale and skin, tearing into the snake's heart. The thorns have no time to mourn the viper, as blood as deadly as poison begins to drip from the snake, burning the bush and its roots- killing it as swiftly as it had killed the viper."

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" The blonde boy muttered. "Just a childish story."

Goyle shrugged. "I hoped you'd know."

"I don't have time for this," his voice had turned icy. "There's much more important things happening at Hogwarts this year-"

An abrupt silence descended on the cabin, and Airen was suddenly aware of eyes on her. She lifted her gaze, a cold chill flickering down her spine as she met an ice grey stare.

"And you are?"

"Airen," she replied, her fingers reaching for the solid comfort of her wand. "I would have introduced myself earlier, but I didn't want to interrupt your little bedtime story."

She thought she saw him smirk for a second, but his face had returned to the same tight lipped glare. Perhaps not.

"I haven't seen you before."

"I'm transferring." Airen gestured at the badge on her robe. "Slytherin."

The blonde crossed his legs, shooting a bemused glance at Goyle, who nodded pleasantly at her. "I'm Goyle- Gregory. This is Draco."

"Malfoy?" The name escaped Airen's lips before she could stop it, and she felt her cheeks flush.

"It's always nice to know my reputation precedes me," Draco said smoothly, adjusting the collar of his robe with one slender finger. "Your family must know mine, I suppose?"

Her mother's face framed with a flash of green, the scream dying on her twisted lips, the heady scent of singed hair and blood.

"They used to."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, but whatever he said next was drowned out by a shrill whistle, the train grinding to a stop as they pulled into the station. Hogwarts loomed in the distance- an imposing silhouette against the half moon, the windows filled with a warm glow that seemed to glitter in the night.

Standing up abruptly, Airen met his quizzical gaze for a moment, swinging her bag over her shoulder. She swallowed the rising nausea that burned in her throat, and instead forced a sweet smile.

"Time to go," she murmured. "I'm sure I'll see you in class."