It seemed that the holidays went by like a flash, students were back at Hogwarts feeling a little apathetic since most of them had enjoyed the winter break. So much so that going back to school made them crave more holidays. Aine drags her feet to the Great Hall, she could hear complaints and groans as she walks past students. Everyone was pretty dispirited ever since they had to come back to school, especially to one where a certain professor has an obsession with educational decrees and the colour pink.
"Dear Godric, please help me get through this new term," Ginny said loudly, clasping her hands together as she pray. Her brothers chuckle at her before Fred continued on, mirroring his little sister's actions.
"Dear Merlin, please help our little sister get through this new term and for Aine to get through it as well without trying to murder Umbitch!" he added, nonchalantly, showing zero signs of any shame of rudely calling out on their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Aine rolls her eyes. She follows her friends, seeing as one by one they started wishing for a peaceful term. "Well then. Dear every single god out there who is willing to hear this, please make sure that all my friends' wishes come true and if you don't mind me adding to the list of never-ending prayers— I hope we get at least one day without hearing Umbridge cringey giggles!"
The Gryffindors burst out laughing at her snarky prayer, nodding their heads as they all understood and wished the same as Aine. Just earlier they had just heard one of Umbridge's infamous high-pitched titters when she welcomed the students back to school along with a load of reminders to inform everyone about the existing rules of 'her' school. "It's honestly not that hard to fulfil it right? I mean, just one day! Just a single day!" she stresses. All it takes for someone who is bold enough to risk not getting potentially expelled to cast a charm to seal up Umbridge's mouth away. Though it would probably mean a whole lot of detentions if they didn't get kicked out of this school before breathing another air of this castle.
"I pray that Aine's wishes come true," came a voice from behind and when Aine turns to the person. The corner of her lips curled upwards when she saw Draco. "Hello, love," he greeted her, placing a little pat on her head.
"Hello, Mr Malfoy," Aine replies, smirking at him.
Ginny pretended to gag at the two of them and Fred whistled them a tease while George simply clears his throat, feeling awkward just by looking at them. "If you guys are gonna get lovey-dovey in front of us, I beseech the world to just end right here and right now," the red-headed girl told her best friend, sarcasm in her voice.
Aine gave a warning glare, "Please, Gin. It's nothing compared to how cheesy you and Michael can be!" she retaliates back.
"Oof! I have to admit, she has a point, sis," Fred remarked, shrugging when his little sister turned to him with a scowl.
"Oh, shut up."
"That's no way to talk to your older brother, Ginny," George backs his twin up and their sister scoffs at him.
"Alright. We won't do it in front of you then. Will you spare me a bit of your friend's time, Weasleys?" Draco asks politely, surprising the redheads at the table. It was the first time they heard him speak to them respectfully. Let alone a conversation that was for once, civil and not offensive. Even George was taken aback by the Malfoy boy's attitude but he didn't stop himself from narrowing at Draco, not wanting to let his guard down around the Slytherin student.
"Wow. The world really must be ending, I must be dreaming. Draco Malfoy is actually being well-mannered. What is happening?" Ginny stated with a gasp and Draco let out a light chuckle before he met Aine's eyes at him. She was smiling from ear-to-ear and it made him unknowingly smile along too. She was glad that he wasn't being discourteous for once when talking to her friends.
Baby steps, she reminded herself. Baby steps...
"Why are you asking them instead of me?" she asks him, raising a curious brow.
"Because you guys were talking earlier?" he replied with a question and Aine tilted her head at him. "It would be bad manners to just snatch you away though I would want that, your friends may beg to differ, love."
"Hm..."
"Oh for gosh sake, just go with him already, Ai!" Ginny groused, shooing her friend to leave. She couldn't afford to take another second to see her best friend and her boyfriend being all affectionate in front of them. And partly, she could see the rising disdain of her older brother who was beginning to find all of this a little overwhelming. She knew of George's crush on Aine and how they agreed to remain friends after all. The walls in the house were thin enough to hear the twins talking about it. And though George had told her that he was over Aine, accepting the fact that their enemy who was always taunting them was dating their good friend was equally as hard to accept. Not to mention, he was still a little protective of the raven-haired girl since she was like their little sister.
"Honestly, what are you two doing in front of adults!" she fusses like her mother.
Aine jokingly jerks Ginny's arm, shooting her a look before she stood up and excused herself. "Well then, I'll be back soon!" she informed her friends, winking at her best friend.
Ginny's grumpy expression immediately shifted to a chaffed smirk, taking the option of poking fun at her friend since she usually does it to her with Michael. "Actually, darling, you know what? Take your time!" she waves to her.
"See you lot later!"
"Don't do anything inappropriate, children!" Ginny shouts from behind and her brothers nearly choke on their drinks. Aine's eyes widened at her, she could feel her cheeks burning up.
Draco simpers at Aine's friends before he walked out of the Great Hall with her.
From behind, he could overhear the Weasley twins roasting their little sister. "You do know that you're still technically a child right, Ginny? The adults here are me and Georgie!"
"Not at all, Fred! Aine's the one and only precious child we should all be doting on!"
"She's literally the same age as you!"
Draco chuckles to himself once again. "Your friends sure love you a lot," he told Aine and the girl gave a small smile.
"I love them a lot too."
They made their way out, ignoring Pansy Parkinson's loud gasp from the Slytherin table as she calls out to him in disbelief. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Aine standing next to her beloved Draco. The boy cleared his throat, feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable with his obsessive housemate. He caught sight of Cyrus and Blaise both rolling their eyes at their fellow Slytherin's response. "That was dramatic," he commented under his breath, making Aine laugh.
"I thought you liked her, Drakey poo," she jabs at him, causing him to recoil at the awful nickname.
"Stop that, love," he warns.
"Or what?" she dares ask.
"Or I will retract my wish for your prayers to be heard," he said.
She gave him a petty scoff and crossed her arms, giving in to him as she stopped calling him by the hideous name Pansy had given him. "Fair enough."
Draco reaches for her hand and laced his fingers through hers, "That was fast, what made you change your mind?"
"I need all the luck I can get for my wish to be granted," she tells him. "Umbridge's giggles are enough to make my ears bleed!"
He heaved a sigh, "I have to agree with you on that."
The two of them headed to the courtyard where they sat by the stoned bench, enjoying the breeze as it flows through their locks. Draco stares at Aine who closes her eyes, feeling the slight tingles on her skin when the wind blows by. He softens slightly when he saw the bags under her eyes and the shadows. "Everything okay?" he asks her and she peeks open an eye, looking at him. She smiles a little.
"You're the second person who asked me that today," she said, the first being George who had asked her the same question earlier when he saw her. He just wanted to check on her after their little conversation about finding faith to trust the person you loved who had been lied to.
Draco strokes the back of her hand with his thumb, comforting her a little. "What's wrong?"
Aine's smile fell, ever since she found out about the little lies her father had said to her and the fragment of memory of her father when he had sent her off on the day they had taken the Hogwarts Express. She couldn't help but overthink. There seemed to be so much to her father that she didn't know and at times, he feels so distant like she knows nothing about him even though they were family and have been living together since the day she was born.
The girl hesitated. "You know, over the holidays, I found out something about my parents?"
"Yeah?" Draco responded, letting her continue.
"I overheard my dad talking to Dumbledore once. Apparently, dad has been keeping some stuff from me," she said, her nails scratching on the marble bench as she frowns. "Things that concern me and my mom."
"Your mother?" Draco questions, realizing it was probably the first time in so long that Aine spoke of her mother since she usually avoids it. All he ever knew about the girl's mother was that she was pretty much absent from Aine's life since she was a baby.
"Dad told me that mom was a powerful witch and that she once crossed paths with Volder—"
Draco flinches at the mention of the Dark Lord and Aine quickly corrects herself, sensing that using the term 'Voldermort' had made Draco rather tensed. "She once battled with the Dark Lord and that it ended," she paused, "Let's just say it didn't end well."
"He told me that was the reason she left, it was because she wanted to protect me but I... I—" her voice suddenly cracked and Aine bit her lips. She let out a bitter chuckle to mask her sorrow and Draco's eyes drooped sadly.
"You don't have to continue if you don't want to, love."
Aine shook her head, "It was a lie. It was all a lie," she mutters. "I saw his thoughts when he told me about it. He was practically screaming in his mind that it was a lie. My mother left us not because she wanted to protect us, but because she didn't need us. She— Abandoned us..! Why did she do it?" Her eyes began to well up but she refused to let the tears fall. She didn't want to cry over someone who left her, it wasn't worth it.
She sniffled, taking a deep breath to recompose herself but it didn't work. It only fuels her hatred and anger even more. "We were her family... How could she do that to dad? And to me! Was it because she didn't love m—"
"No, no." Draco quickly stops her from continuing. He makes Aine look at him before he shook his head, telling her not to finish. A tear slid down her face and he gasped, "Oh, Aine..." He wipes away her tear before throwing his arms over Aine, hugging her and his hand reaches to her head, caressing it gently. His heart had ached to see Aine like this. "Don't say that," he said firmly. "Do not dare to think for a single moment that she didn't love you, Aine."
He didn't want to believe it. How could a parent hate their child? He wanted to cling to the hope that at least for a single moment, they had loved their child. He thought about his father, sure he was frightening to him and had high standards for him to follow though he truly believed that his father had loved him. Perhaps it might not be the correct way but love, after all, is still love.
Aine clutched onto Draco's uniform, her brows contorted with pain. Her heart was aching. She lets out a shaky breath and Draco hushes her softly to calm her down. "Beneath all the abhorrence of a parent, I'm sure that there is still love somewhere, hidden deep down within them," he shed to her.
As much as Aine refused to believe that he was right, she wanted to cling to the tiniest bit of hope that her mother had once truly loved her. That she wasn't just a child she abandoned because Aris no longer loved or wanted her. The girl stayed in Draco's arms and the boy continued to stroke circles on her back, not letting go until she was alright.
Once she had calmed down, she slowly pulls away from him and takes one deep gulp of breath. Her eyes were still a little pink but she blinks away the remaining tears that pricked her eyes. "There's something else too..." she said in a timid voice.
"I had another vision of him too over the holidays. He was speaking to his subordinates about wanting something desperately that belonged to my mother," she reveals to Draco and he squinted at her, urging her to go on. "Dad once let slipped that the Dark Lord wanted my mother's power and in the vision, he said he was..." Her words got stuck in her throat and she swallows. "He was coming for me too."
"Because you are your mother's daughter? That's why he wants to get you too?" Draco inquired.
Aine shakes her head, "I don't know why but no doubt, I fear that he has a connection with my parents." There was a gut-wrenching feeling in Aine's stomach when she thought about the memory she saw of her dad looking out of the window where her mother was. Maybe it had all been linked, tied together in a string of fate, a tale that only the three of them know.
For all Aine could know, there could be a chance that the reason for the fall-out between her parents and why her mother had left in the first place was all connected to Voldemort and his desire for Aris. She ponders a little longer on the theory swirling in her mind and her fingers twitched before they start to tremble, shaking with fear.
She turned to Draco, meeting his concerned silver eyes. His lips had gone dry and his mouth had gaped a little at the revelation. He had shared Aine's worries abeit above all, just the idea of her falling into the hands of the Dark Lord made him horrified. He didn't even want to think about what the greatest dark wizard of all time would do to her. He clenched his jaw, "I won't let anyone hurt you," he promised.
Aine studies him, she couldn't help but wonder how he was going to do that. It wasn't as if she underestimate him, Draco was and if not one of Aine's friends who were equally powerful and strong. But it was Voldemort that made her uneasy, how was it possible for anyone to stand up against the Dark Lord and live to tell the tale? Yet, even so, it was nice to know that there was someone who would stand by her side for whatever was coming.
"Thank you, Draco," she smiles back at him, grateful. She squeezes his hand and he returns the action. Just like him, if anyone tries to threaten or harm Draco, or any of her friends or family, she was willing to fight whoever it was they were up against.
No matter who it was, she pledged.
"I'm always here for you, love," he reaffirms.
The skies began to grumble and the once brightly cleared skies were covered with clouds that thickened into grey puffs. Aine and Draco peered up together at the raging heavens. "Looks like there is a storm coming," he said, turning grim.
"We'd all best prepare for it when it comes," Aine replies. She loured at the sight of lightning flashing before her eyes in the distance where the mountains were.
They decided to head back into the strong walls of Hogwarts, not wanting to be drenched in the rain especially since the weather was still pretty chilly. As soon as they had returned to the Great Hall, they noticed that everyone was on edge. Waves of laughter began to die down and everyone's faces had darkened, the atmosphere had taken a drastic turn from one of enthusiasm. Students were in complete turmoil as they started to crowd together in big groups, gossiping with panic.
Draco parted ways with Aine as they each returned to their own house tables. Aine found her three friends who were not present earlier now huddling together with Ginny, the twins and the rest of their housemates. Hermione meets her as she turns to the door, her face paled up as the girl lumbers her way to her friends. "What is it?" she asks them, drawing closer to the paper on the table.
"Things just got out of hand," Ginny relayed, stealing a peek at Harry who glowers at the newspaper.
Written in capitals and bold on the paper were the headlines:
MAYHEM AT HIGH-SECURITY PRISON:
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
Aine places a hand over her mouth, covering her shock and her eyes only widened even more when she scans through the paragraph. There were ten highly-secured prisoners who had escaped from the Wizarding World prison and all were deemed as loyal followers of the one and only Dark Lord.
"How the bloody hell did they get past those Dementors?" Ron questions and their friends began murmuring amongst themselves about the possibilities.
"No clue..." Harry mumbles.
"Looks like they might have taken a day off since they weren't paid," Fred joked but no one was laughing. Not even himself nor his brothers.
This was what he had meant... Aine thought to herself, recalling the one time she looked into Voldemort's mind unwantedly. This was what his follower had forwarded to his master.
"... Soon, my lord..." the man behind him replies, "we have gathered a group preparing to break them all out..."
It was all true. Voldemort is on the move, taking steps toward conquering the Wizarding world.
As Aine reads the paragraph, she found something even more appalling. It was the last few sentences that had her jaw dropped.
'We strongly suspect that the breakout was engineered by a man with personal experience in escaping from Azkaban. The notorious mass murderer— Sirius Black, cousin of escapee Bellatrix Lestrange.'
Aine cursed under her breath and Ginny followed.
"Dumbledore warned Fudge this could happen!" Hermione whispered to Aine, Harry and Ron. She huffed through her nose, clicking her tongue at the same time, "He's gonna get us all killed just because he can't face the truth!"
"He's paranoid, I wouldn't blame him," Ron answered. A man who once almost reigned over the Wizarding realm after almost destroying everything in its way had gone into hiding for decades only to reappear, claiming that he vowed to do what he had almost accomplished. It seemed silly to him before but things were different now. Especially with all signs that point to the Dark Lord's return.
"Harry! Ai— Estoileon!" someone shouted from the side and the two Gryffindors turned their heads to Seamus who stood up from his seat, walking over to them with a cautious look on his face. Hermione and the Weasleys eyed the fidgeting boy warily, remembering the argument Seamus had with Harry and Aine at the beginning of the year when he had accused them to be a liar and a crazy-possessed lunatic.
The people around them went silent, gawking at the boy who pursed his lips. "I wanted to apologize. Now even me mum says the Prophet's version of things doesn't add up..." he trails off, finding the courage to right the wrong. He adverted his gaze away to the floor, feeling guilty again. "So, what I'm really trying to say is that... I believe you. Both of you."
A smile sneaked up on Harry and Aine's faces as they exchanged looks. It takes a great deal to stand up against friends, but even more to realize the mistake one has made and admit to it. "Thanks," Harry grinned at him, forgiving him and Seamus eases up. He turns to Aine, seeking her forgiveness as the girl remained quiet. Then she finally gave in to him.
Though conflicts were cleared up between the Gryffindors, there were still pressing matters. The Great Hall was filled with rumbles of thunders and the thousand floating candles above their heads wavered, the flames threatening to be put off.
The real storm was still coming and maybe even quicker than she realized.
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I'm shaking from excitement again! We are so very close to the end!
Upvote if you enjoyed this chapter~ Patronus classes are coming very soon! ^^
- Zeneria