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1905 SEPTEMBER HOGWARTS
Ariadne raced along the empty halls of Hogwarts, judging by her bedside clock; she was late. She quickly hooked her green tie over her neck, her books in the other arm. The quietness of the hallways was ruined as her shoes clicked against the concrete floor. The smell of wet grass wavered through the corridor and the autumn scenery was hard to miss even when her hair was flying backwards. As she reached her classroom, her chest rose and fell before she opened the large oak doors.
With all eyes upon her, she awkwardly shuffled in. Some turned away as she made eye contact with them. Most of them rolled their eyes, at her untidy ebony hair, her poor grip on her books, her mismatched socks. Ariadne quickly took a seat as she caught the professor's stern glare, taking the last free seat next to a Hufflepuff boy. His eyes were trained on the board and his books were in a neat pile in front of him. He quickly glanced at her when she sat down.
Ariadne pulled out her History of Magic book, peering at the boy next to her. She found the page he was on and started skimming over the text. An inflow of writing about the trials of the Pendle witches was displayed neatly in the book.
"Can anyone tell me why the 14th-century witch burnings were pointless?" Lacewood asked, attempting to coax information he already knew out of his students. Knowing the answer from a distant night, one where she was cramped up next to a candle and book, Ariadne put her hand up and Lacewood pointed towards her direction.
"Flame-Freezing Charm."
"Flame-Repellent Cloak," Ariadne stared at the boy next to her. They had spoken simultaneously, thinking that Lacewood had permitted them to answer. He looked just as surprised as she did, however his brashness allowed no hint of embarrassment to flood his system.
Narrowing her eyes, Ariadne argued: the need to be correct, fueling her words, "Flame-Freezing Charm would reveal their wand."
"That's why wandless magic exists," he replied calmly, his certainty irritated Ariadne even more.
"What if they're a child?" she protested, "A cloak is more accessible to all."
"Well, what if they don't have a cloak? A spell is easier."
"They could just perform a summoning charm," Ariadne insisted, losing her grip. He was right, she knew that but stubbornness was second nature to her.
"Wouldn't that reveal their wand?" he mocked. He smiled at her smugly while she pursed her lips. It had been less than five minutes into their first conversation and he had already managed to provoke Ariadne, she would hate to think what would happen if she spent more time with him.
"Accio is easier to perform wandless than the flame-freezing charm," she muttered bitterly, turning away from the boy and back to the professor. This was her admitting defeat. Her cunningness had outweighed her intellect.
"Okay okay. As much as this conversation entertains me, you are both right. However, this question refers to the 14th century and the cloaks were very expensive. Hence, Mr Scamander wins this time," Professor Lacewood nodded towards the boy on Ariadne's right, "10 points to Hufflepuff," Ariadne huffed, slightly slumping back in her seat. She couldn't bare to watch the pompous smile that graced the boy's face. No one paid heed to her annoyance as the class' attention was on the new assignment Lacewood had placed fourth, groaning at the workload given on the first day back.
"You will be working with the partners that I have assigned."
Even better!
"Your assignment is to present a historic moment from both muggle and magic perspectives. You and your partner will need to compare the two events from different viewpoints." He began to read out names, partners to be exact. Ariadne rolled her eyes at the sound of her dormmates loudly complaining about their Hufflepuff partners.
"Nott and Scamander," Ariadne narrowed her eyes at Lacewood's suppressed amusement. She was convinced he had made them partners for his own enjoyment. She wouldn't be surprised that this professor's only source of drama was from his students. After listening to Lacewood explain the assignment with more details, the bell rang. Chairs scraping the ground filled the room as everyone rushed out, hoping to grasp freedom from boredom.
"Where should we start?" Scamander asked as they gathered their things. He stayed back, wanting to organise a study time before the opportunity to do so escaped.
"Maybe with introductions," she stuck out her hand firmly to shake, "Hi, I'm Ariadne Nott." There was no amity in her words, they came out nonchalantly and apathetically. Nonetheless, Theseus took no heed to her tone.
"Theseus Scamander," he steadily shook her hand. His hands were warm, she noted.
"I have quidditch practice today so we could work on the assignment tomorrow after school, in the library?" Right to the point but what else would she do? Small talk? Nope.
"Okay," Ariadne gave a tight smile to him, before picking her books up and leaving.
☆
Soon, tomorrow came around, Ariadne found herself walking up the stairs toward the library. Her eyes scanned for Scamander, who sat in one of the corners, closest to the window overlooking the castle grounds. She wanted to get this assignment over and done with. Partner work was not her preference and the faster they got it done, the faster she could be relieved of this assignment.
"Hi."
"Hello," she placed her bag on the side of her chair and pulled out a book. He watched her with peering eyes.
"I was thinking we could do our presentation on Jehanne d'Arc," she said, flipping through the pages of her book until she found what she was looking for, "You know, the great heroine of France?" She showed Theseus the book. A drawing of Jehanne caught his eyes before skimming over the text.
"I was thinking we'd do the Legend of King Arthur," Theseus said after quickly reading over the page. Ariadne blinked twice before her mind could fully process what he had said.
"That's like the opposite of Jehanne," she pointed out.
"He's cool."
"Not as cool as Jehanne d'Arc," she stated, rolling her eyes, "Convince me he's cooler."
"King Arthur's nickname was The One, True King of the Britons," he said, reading off the book he had in his hand.
"Jehanne was a heroine of France," she recited. He glanced up at her before going back to his book.
"King Arthur was one of the Nine Worthies."
"She began having visions when she was 13," they continued spewing facts about their chosen individual until dinner was ready. They were both surprised by how determined the other was. As the sun set, Ariadne's plan of quickly working through the assignment was no longer in motion. They packed up their stuff and headed down to the Great Hall.
"His sword was called Excalibur."
"Her arrival would mark a turning point in a 100-year war."
"He met Merli-" Theseus was cut off as two Slytherin boys knocked his shoulder.
"Watch where you're going," they snickered at each other muttering names at Theseus.
"Hey!" She snapped, "What the hell?" The boys stopped in their tracks. Caelum Malfoy was the first to turn, his eyes narrowing at Ariadne. They had an ongoing feud that everyone knew about. She wasn't one to shy away from a fight.
He walked up to her, standing too close for comfort, "Ariadne, you're hanging out with him?" He looked Theseus up and down, internally scrutinising him. Ariadne rolled her eyes at his words. One thing she hated was Malfoy's self entitlement, knowing that his family name could raise him above everyone else.
"I can hang out with whoever I want," she countered, crossing her arms around her chest. "I don't need some lousy boy to tell me that I can't," at this point they had attracted the eyes of bystanders. The corridor was silent, waiting for Malfoy to retort. Theseus played with the hem of his jumper as he noticed all the stares. Unlike Ariadne, confrontation was something that he tried to avoid. He didn't seek it out like she did. If there was nothing to gain he would let it go. In the back of his mind, he didn't understand why Ariadne would defend him. Not after all the cold words she threw his way.
"What an attitude," he came closer to her as he lowered his voice, "I know someone who wouldn't be happy to hear about it," he taunted and Ariadne glared at him.
"What's going on here?" Professor Wattle walked around the corner, his eyes darted between Ariadne and Malfoy.
"Nothing professor," Malfoy stared at Ariadne for another second before walking away. His goons followed him as they scowled at Ariadne. She rolled her eyes and started walking towards the Great Hall. Theseus followed behind her, keeping quiet as he let her anger fade. They wandered awkwardly in silence until Theseus broke it.
"We can pick Jehanne," Theseus puffed out, "Maybe she is cooler," and for the first time, Theseus saw a genuine smile break out on her face.
[1529 words]
edited: 03.03.24