Ariadne's Thread ⭒ h. potter

A Grimy Old Sock

Harry told them about finding Ariadne and Ginny down there, about Fawkes and the sword and the basilisk. When it became impossible to avoid speaking about Riddle and the diary, however, Harry paused. He didn't want Ginny to get into trouble, and neither did Ariadne. Ginny was awaiting her fate in silence, head resting against her mother's shoulder.

Here, Dumbledore cut in with a gentle smile. "What interests me is how exactly Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me that he is currently hiding in Albania."

Lucius, who had been begrudgingly silent throughout Harry's entire story, had evidently had too much. "You old fool!" He shouted. "How dare you speak the name. The Dark Lord had nothing to do with this. He's been... gone for ten years, after all." He sneaked a glance at Harry, who pretended not to notice.

"It was him," Ariadne spoke softly, and Lucius turned furious eyes onto her. Narcissa placed a gentle hand onto her shoulder in warning, but Ariadne continued anyway. "He made Ginny take me, and then he came out of the diary himself. He said things to me. It was only him at sixteen, but he said odd things to me– about Walburga and Orion," she paused, and Narcissa paled. Ariadne met Lucius's eyes head on. "About his friend Abraxas. It's an anagram. Tom Marvolo Riddle– I am Lord Voldemort. He wanted me to join him. And then he wanted to kill me." Narcissa's grip on her shoulder tightened as she spoke, but Lucius had only grown silent. He shot Ariadne a hard look, and then sent a matching one to Arthur Weasley.

"If it's the girl who kidnapped and attempted to murder my niece, then she should be put into Azkaban," Lucius said coolly. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gasped, and Ginny's cries reached deafening heights. Ariadne raised her eyebrows slightly – Lucius had never really referred to her as such, even though now it was solely for deflection. If he could not counter Ariadne's claims, he could at least try and push the blame onto the Weasleys.

"It wasn't her, didn't you hear me?" Ariadne defended. "It was Voldemort!"

"Don't say the name!" Lucius hissed at her. "The Weasley girl has obviously addled Ariadne's mind in some way – I have no choice but to tell the Minister about this. What would the Prophet have to say, Dumbledore, about the kind of education you're bestowing upon our youth? The Dark Lord, back?" Lucius laughed, but it was forced. "It's clear that the girl's done this at the instruction of her father. Revenge against a member of the Malfoy family. I'll have her jailed, I promise you that."

Mr. Weasley began to protest, but Ariadne spoke once more, quietly so that only Narcissa, Lucius, and Harry could hear. "If you do, I'll tell them about the diary. That you're the one that gave it to her."

Narcissa gasped, but Lucius only narrowed his eyes at her. "You have no idea what you're talking about, girl."

Ariadne was emboldened at the name, the reminder of Tom Riddle. "Mr. Malfoy, please. There were witnesses that day, at the Flourish and Blotts. Even Draco noticed." Harry nodded, and Narcissa's beautiful face took on a slight frown at the thought that her son could have been involved. "If we could figure it out so easily, who knows who else could?" Ariadne very carefully did not glance at Dobby as she made her threats, but she could see the small elf put his head down in shame from the corner of her eye.

"Now," Ariadne continued, raising her voice for the room to hear. "I'm sure all of us can put our differences, and just be happy that we all got out alive. And, this lovely shared experience will ensure that none of us shall bother one another again. Does that work with everyone?"

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded, confused, while Lucius and Narcissa remained silent. Ariadne took the lack of active threats to mean acquiescence.

"Good. Now, Harry was bitten by a basilisk tonight and I accidentally poisoned myself with one, which I can admit was quite a mistake, so if we could have a lie down that would be rather fantastic." Ariadne thought that Professor McGonagall was going to have a heart attack, she clutched her chest so suddenly. Even the normally infallible Narcissa was allowed concern to breach her face, and she led Ariadne gently out of the room. Lucius followed begrudgingly, but before Ariadne was quite out the door, she found herself locked into Mrs. Weasley's comforting embrace.