"Out so soon?" Ginny questions, peering through the vanity table at Aine while she brushes her long red locks.
Hermione placed down her book and looked at her watch, "It's still a little early isn't it, Aine? We still have about an hour before duties start!" she said to the girl who was fixing her scarlet and gold tie.
"I'll do the duties today alone, Mione. You've been covering the whole of last week and barely got time to work on your homework and revision!" Aine replied, offering to take over tonight's patrol.
Her other prefect friend gave a light scoff, "Mind you, you were with me almost every single time!" she remarked. Well, that was true too but it was because their other redhead friend was too busy with his Quidditch Practice that by the time he needed to do his night tasks, he was all bumped out and exhausted. It was also partly how Aine had wanted to sneak out to the Room of Requirement under the pretence of her doing her duties without getting any suspicious eyes. Hermione stood up and walked over to Aine, "Why don't you ask Ron to accompany you for tonight, hm?"
Aine shook her head, politely declining it. "Ronald needs to do his Defense Against the Dark Arts report. He has been complaining since dinner about not having time to do it. It's due in a couple of days' time, isn't it?"
"But—" Hermione started but Aine taps on her shoulders to stop her.
"I needed to take some time off alone too..." the raven-haired girl told her, it was both a reason that had a lie and truth in it.
Hermione pursed her lips, wanting to say something to object but she knew that Aine needed some me-time too. The year had started out rough for her and the brunette was sure that there were probably a lot of things running through Aine's mind. Thoughts that she needed to clear out and release alone to get herself together. She completely understood where Aine was coming from but even so, she didn't want the girl to be alone in this.
"I'll be fine, Mione. I promise," Aine reassures her with a smile. "Trust me."
A sigh left her friend's lips, "Promise me you'll just go do a few rounds and come back early, okay?" Hermione said, giving her a pleading look.
"Let's just hope no troublemakers keep me up late then," Aine smirks.
Ginny went up to the two girls and threw an arm around Hermione as she turns to Aine. "There are always troublemakers crawling somewhere, it's Hogwarts for goodness sake!" she states and Hermione darted a glare at her. "Come back soon!" she quickly corrected and straightens herself. She gives a timid wave to her best friend who nodded.
Aine tidied her stuff one last time before heading out of the Gryffindor Common Room. She had her prefect badge pinned onto her robes, the metal glistening when the flames on the scones had flickered when she had passed them.
The evening temperature was dropping a lot more lately since it was nearing the end of the year. Although winter had yet to come, the evening autumn breeze was crispy and cooling. The gust of wind brushed by the shell of Aine's exposed ear and the girl gathered a couple of strands of her black locks to cover it.
Although the cooler months had always made Aine even more sluggish than usual, she would often want to snuggle under her covers and go into hibernation. But it was also magical at the same time, it made her thankful for the warmness of the fires around Hogwarts. The chilly air had its perks too, whenever Aine was frustrated or annoyed, her head cooled off better and easier as well.
A little melody hummed from Aine's closed lips as she strolled around the massive castle, carrying the sweet tune to the empty corridors that echoed her song. Hogwarts was ever so peaceful at a such late hour, the tranquillity allowing Aine to find some calmness with everything going around lately
Thankfully, there wasn't much to inspect since no one was caught snooping out of curfew hours and there wasn't a single soul who was causing mischief or trouble. Something that was missing this year more prominently compared to the other previous years. The presence of Fred and George definitely affected Hogwarts after their departure.
She did, however, meet a few other prefects from other houses doing their duties. Needless to say, they exchanged mutual pleasantries and left for their own ways without speaking much. Everyone was simply doing their jobs according to their roles and no one wanted to make anything difficult for anyone. However, as Aine walked past two Hufflepuff prefects, she could hear them whispering behind her back.
It was always the same...
Either it was about how Aine had gone crazy during the last task of the Triwizard Tournament, and how lost her mind in regards to Cedric Diggory's death, even though that was a couple of years ago. Or it was news about her father being murdered, and her family being hunted down by Voldemort.
Aine tries to brush it away, not wanting to think about it when she was enjoying her time alone in the empty hallways of Hogwarts. At least for today, she just wanted to allow herself to not be weighted by the burdens of what others had thought of her. She didn't care anyways, whatever was done was already done. Two deaths that were irreversible no matter how much she had begged for them to return.
Once she was done doing her rounds, she headed for the highest tower in the castle. The moon was bright and full today, shining down right before her eyes ahead when she walked up the spiral staircase to the Astronomy Tower. There, she had seen the back view of Draco, leaning over the ledge as his robes fluttered when the wind howled by. His platinum blonde locks were neat and sleek as ever.
He turned around when he heard footsteps and his face immediately softens at the sight of Aine, small smiles creeping onto their faces when they met. He offers her a hand when she approached him.
"Have I kept you waiting long?" Aine asks him, her voice silvery. She takes his hand and he led her next to his side, looking over the dark nightscape where the stars painted the skies.
Draco shook his head, "Not at all. I've just arrived as well. It was hard to shake away Parkinson earlier that I nearly thought I'll be late." He threw his head back and huffed, "Why is she so obsessed with me?" he said with annoyance.
Aine chuckled, "Would you like me to hex her for you?" she suggested with a devilish grin and Draco glanced back at her. He took a moment to actually consider it. Under normal circumstances, he would have taken that offer without hesitation but he didn't want Aine to get into trouble for him. Aine gave a short hum when he became unusually quiet for a long time. "My my, you're really considering it with great effort," she nudges him playfully.
"Don't worry, Draco. I'll do it discreetly if you're worried about Parkinson—"
"I don't give a single ounce of concern to her, love," Draco interjected with a low growl. He even looked disgusted about the fact that Aine was worried that he'll be worried about the Slytherin girl.
Aine raises her brows at his sudden temper and Draco seethes his anger. He didn't mean to speak to her in such a manner that it seemed like he was lashing out at her. He bites down the urge to curse, today's events were hectic enough and for a second he couldn't hold in his emotions. He moves behind Aine and wraps his arms around her protectively, giving her a back hug.
Aine tilts her head to meet his silver eyes, down to his pursed lips. He seemed apologetic and regretful and the girl didn't think there was anything to be sorry for. She could tell he had a hard day and that with everything going on, he was stressed.
"There's only you— And you only," the boy added, lowering his head as he gazed into her golden eyes with love.
She turns her body so it would face him, and then she blinked slowly at him, taking in every one of the features on his face. The corner of her lips curled upwards, and she rests her forehead on his and whispered, "I know. It's okay, Draco... I know..."
The two of them remained in the Astronomy Tower for a little while before making their way to the Room of Requirement. Hand in hand as they weaved through the hallways, they soon reached the seventh-floor corridor. Turning left, they arrived in front of an empty wall. To others who do not know the secret of the hidden room, it might've looked like a plain regular stoned wall.
Aine and Draco glanced at each other before walking past the bare wall three times, and then they stopped and closed their eyes to think of what they needed. Their brows quivered as they concentrate on the room they needed, a room where things will be hidden, a room that can hide things that needed to be found and concealed. In their case, it was the place where the Vanishing Cabinet might be located.
If you know. You need only ask...
A Room of Hidden Things.
Once they had thought of the room that they needed, they fluttered open their eyes. The blank wall in front of them soon presented an ornamental metal door, it was similar to the door that had shown itself to them a year ago when they needed room to train in secret. It was a three-pointed archway encasing the entrance and had a wrought iron motif gate layered above the wooden door. Perhaps the only difference was that the gates had small stones embedded in the metal swirly gate and instead of the usual black iron, it seemed to be cast in marble.
Both Aine and Draco entered the room before anyone could catch them and the door closed behind their backs as soon as they went in. There was nothing but a dead stillness in the massive room, and unlike the previous time, Aine had used the Room of Requirement which was spacious and empty. The room they had stepped into was cluttered with objects like books, decorations, furniture and many more. It was like a room full of unwanted items that have been abandoned away or deemed useless and simultaneously, it was like a storage room.
Clearly, it was the right room they needed.
Draco's eyes lifted to the sky-high ceiling where items were piled to such height that he could barely see the end of it. He gulps nervously, imagining what happens if he accidentally bumped into the lower objects and how it would all crumble down and swallow him whole. He felt small in this gigantic room.
Even though it was an enormous space, he felt Claustrophobic with how closely packed the furniture and pieces of artefacts were. It was like a maze too.
"Seems to me to be the right room we need," he casually said, still looking around from where they were standing. Neither had taken a single step ever since they had come in.
"There must be a million things in here..." Aine replied, gawking at the monstrosity and chaos around her.
"Accio, Vanishing Cabinet," Draco cast, attempting to use the summoning charm but his voice only echoed without any results. No cabinet came flying towards them. Nothing happened.
"I doubt that works in here, Draco. We might have to search for it without any magic," Aine told him and the boy sighs loudly.
"It'll take forever," he commented, feeling impatient already. Just counting the number of items on the pillar of furniture nearest to him was already making him crazy. Just how in the world are they going to find the Vanishing Cabinet in this room? He was dreading it, to say the least. He wasn't even sure if they'll be able to find it within tonight.
"Well, I'm sure we'll be able to find it. It is a tall and sizeable cabinet. If anything, I doubt it'll be stacked at a height," Aine heartens, trying to be optimistic about it. She gives Draco an encouraging pat on the back before thinking of a plan. "Why don't we split ways here and search for it? It'll be more efficient and if we do manage to find it, we can just shoot a coloured spark and go in the direction of the other?" she suggested.
Draco took a deep breath and nodded. He runs a finger through his hair to soften the stiffness before loosening his emerald green tie to prepare himself for the long and tedious hunt for the cabinet. "Alright, let's do this!" he hypes himself, shaking all the nerves in his body as Aine giggles to herself at how passionate he became.
"Let's go! The last one to find it owes something to the winner!" she prompts and Draco smirks.
"Oh, you want to make this a game, huh?"
"It makes things fun, doesn't it?"
"You must be prepared to owe me something, M'lady. I am a very ambitious man," Draco hinted to her, his flaming competitiveness getting to him.
"And I am a very patient woman, M'lord," she winks back, spinning away to take the left aisle.
Draco moves to the right aisle, giving Aine one last grin and wave. "Let us begin this hunt for the treasure, my love."
Aine sifted her way through the pathways that had been laid out for her, despite the utterly bestrewed room, there were still walkable areas that were made. Her steps were light and bubbly, she twirled around every now and then just to admire the thousand of artefacts around her. Unbeknown to the girl, she was beaming just by staring at the objects that were abandoned and kept here, there was much to see and much that was forgotten and hidden away.
There were mostly damaged and broken furniture— tables from the Great Hall that had been scratched and clawed, desks from classrooms that were heavily vandalized, chairs that were missing a leg or two, cabinets that weren't the ones they were looking for haphazardly stacked by magic. They clearly weren't super-glued together.
There were also many books that had not made the shelf in the library, some with busted spines, torn pages and even burnt covers that were flung across the pieces of furniture. Aine was tempted to go through a mountain of books that were sitting in the corner with an empty bird cage, intrigued to see if there were any interesting tomes. She did recognize a few by their covers, probably left or thrown her by her seniors...
Her fingers trailed over a series of decorations that she had identified to be from the Christmas Yule Ball Party, the baubles that were no longer shimmery and glassy but foggy and matted with dust. Even some of the wreaths and garlands were kept here, ones that she remembered that hung over her head when she walked through the corridors during Christmas Eve. Things that held lost memories, things that she remembered even when others may have long forgotten about them.
Aine didn't know how long she had been walking around, aimless and carefree. She had to remind herself that she was looking for the Vanishing Cabinet since she had been distracted every now and then by the stuff around her. It was tempting to just choose a corner and excavate through the endless pile of things. There were even several medieval weapons jumbled in the mess— rusted swords, blunt morning stars, bloodied axe, slimy chunky clubs along with disassembled suits of armour, some that had belonged to the knight statues outside the Great Hall. Protectors of the school that had lost their purpose for they had been shattered and broken, just like life-sized chess pieces.
Fascinated and lost in the environment, Aine's legs soon grew tired and she peeled off her outer robe after feeling hot. She throws her outerwear over her shoulders and loosened her scarlet tie so her throat was free to breathe. There was still no news from Draco and no sparks had been shot yet, so she still had a chance to win.
Or... Not.
The sudden whooshing sound startled Aine and she jolted around to the empty road behind her. There wasn't a single soul that she had detected but there was no doubt some noise she had heard. Had she imagined it? Was there perhaps someone else here besides them?
Aine took her wand out instinctively and continued walking, her eyes peering around and her ears perked up as she kept her guard. Then there was it again, the rustling of papers made her turn around again.
"I swear to Godric if you're planning to scare me, Draco. You gotta try harder," she blurts out. When there was no reply, Aine felt stupid for talking to herself or to even thinking Draco could even hear her. He was probably on the other end of the room.
It was when she heard his laughter, echoing from a distance that she tried to figure out which direction she had heard it from. The acoustics in this room was great that she could even hear her breathing echoing. She relied on her sense of hearing to deduce Draco's endless laughter, it sounded like he was close but as she walked and walked, there was no sign of her ferret boy.
Her tracks halted again when she detected a sudden movement. She sighed, there was no mistake. Draco was...
"Right above you, love!" Draco calls out above. Literally.
There he was, proudly sitting on a floating broomstick. To be exact, it was the Nimbus Two-thousand, though a worn-out one it was still useable. He gave Aine a smug look before descending down to her and she crossed her arms.
"I found the cabinet!" he said with enthusiasm and Aine didn't know whether to feel bummed about it or happy with how excited he sounded. "I won!" he cheered, throwing his arms into the air like a child.
When he saw there was no reaction from Aine, he awkwardly drops his arms. "What? What is it?" he asks innocently.
"You cheated," she merely said with a frown and his lips twitched, wanting to burst out laughing again. Her shoulders drooped and she looked down at her shoes, dejected that the game was over so quickly. It had only been about like what, an hour and a half, two hours?
"Well, there was no rule about using broomsticks to go look for it, is there?" he stated.
Aine's lips parted, wanting to retaliate but he was right. They had not said anything about using tools to search for the 'treasure'. She cursed under her breath and Draco snickered, watching her wallow in defeat. She really wanted to win too. "It's clever," she commented, salty about her loss.
He placed a hand on top of her head and gave her a head pat, "You did well anyways. Being here when so many things attract you must have distracted you too, right?"
She simpered, "You have no idea."
Draco chuckles, taking the win of their little game before he and Aine flew to where he had found the Vanishing Cabinet. Surprisingly it wasn't far from the entrance they had come from. It was located near the perimeter of the room, on the aisle that Draco had chosen to go to. They flew down and Draco helped Aine off the broomstick before walking towards the monolith cabinet. It was slightly covered with a thick tapestry but there was no mistake from the familiar angular design and the inscription on the buckles and locks on it.
It was the Vanishing Cabinet, in the flesh. They found it.
Draco found it.
There wasn't much around the cabinet, the space was wide and surrounding them was only an old writing desk with a few stacks of books, a few empty frames nearby, and some boxes and chests that were positioned in a way that created a makeshift bench. Standing in a corner at the end of the purple crate, was a beautiful abandoned harp that Aine couldn't help but allow her fingers to brush through the strings of the instrument. A sweet melody emitted from the few movements made Draco smile.
They proceeded to take a look at the Vanishing Cabinet. It was identical to the one they had both seen in Borgin and Burkes but the quality was poorer. The wood on the cabinet walls was in bad condition, there were gashes across it as if someone had clawed on it. There were even patches of holes here and there and the inside was badly damaged as well, splinters of wood from the inner shelves poking out as someone had fallen into it. Both Aine and Draco could only heave a long sigh.
There was lots of mending to do.
The mood between the two had dropped when they saw the state of the Vanishing Cabinet. Will they be even able to fix it to the way it was? Will there be enough time to repair it? How long was it going to take especially since it wasn't as if they could just send it by owl post or anything?
Draco was about to start himself before Aine stops him. "Wait, Draco."
The boy turned around with sad eyes, he already looked so defeated that all signs of the proud, ecstatic boy who was happy about winning the game earlier were gone. This was the Draco she had seen this afternoon when he had finished Slughorn's class— Distressed, glum and in complete loss.
Aine pulls him back to sit with her on the makeshift chair from the boxes. "Let's take a short break today. We'll start another day."
"There's no time, love. We have to start repairing this otherwise—"
"Look at me," she muttered, cupping Draco's cheeks and diverting his attention from the cabinet to her. She stared into his eyes, "It's okay to take a small break. We've already found the cabinet, that's the first step. We have made progress and that's enough for today. You're already exhausted from today too, my love. We can always begin next time. For now... Let's just— take a small breather."
Draco wanted to protest but he knew she was right. He was fatigued from the long classes he had today, the studying, the patrolling, and the hunting for the good riddance cabinet. Not to mention how he had to oversee Quidditch trial practice for the new members of the Slytherin team since many of the team's players had graduated. He was in no condition himself to mend the stupid cabinet. He had only seen it just recently but he was already sick of it.
"For tonight, let us just take a step back and rest," Aine advises him with a small smile. He eases up and gives in to her.
Maybe that was enough for today...
Neither of them wanted to part ways to their common room. It was probably a couple of hours past their curfew, and an hour or two past midnight. However, it was going to be the weekend tomorrow so it didn't really matter if they were up late.
Draco laid down in Aine's lap, playing with the ends of her long side braid as Aine stroked his fluffy hair. She could tell he was deep in thought, considering how he kept twirling her curls over and over again. Silence fills the air, but it wasn't deafening like before. With each other by their sides, even the silence was pleasant.
Aine spoke first, her voice gentle. "What bothers you, my love?" she asks and Draco blinks away from his endless loop of thoughts to meet with the golden eyes he loved.
"Potter..." Draco mumbles, recalling the incident earlier the day. His face contorted to a lugubrious expression. He was hesitant to say any further, not wanting Aine to be upset with him for speaking badly of her friend. Right, Potter was her close friend too...
"Speak what your heart desires, Draco. Don't worry," Aine reassures. She could see how troubled he was and she wanted the weight in his chest to be lifted so he wouldn't be burdened by it anymore.
Draco swallowed his pride and began ranting to Aine about Harry during their potions class. He was annoyed at how her friend had successfully brewed a Draught of the Living Death when he never had the aptitude or interest in potions before. He was jealous and enraged, it was like he was always the one who got everything Draco ever wanted and took it for granted. At times it even looked like he had a free pass to everything he wanted in his life, but Aine had told him it came at a price.
She listened to all of his thoughts, worries and rants and offered him consolation. Just like how he was there for her, she wanted to be there for him too. There wasn't much she could do since she knew both sides of things. Harry never wanted fame and yet he was plagued with it because of what happened to his parents. And the same goes for Draco who had to adhere to the fame that his family had, even if it was tough.
The two boys were alike and yet completely different too. Two different sides to a coin.
So all Aine could do was listen, and offer her presence to Draco as comfort. Which was what Draco needed. He needed someone to hear him, he wanted someone to be by his side who understood his point of view and Aine was that person.
It wasn't also a one-sided thing, and just as Draco had vented to her, Aine had told him about her troubles too. She poured her inner thoughts with him too, about O.W.Ls, career choices, Slug Club, and even her worries for Aion who was far from her side.
Aine lifted her sleeves and her face became wry at the sight of the moving mark. Her fingers moved from Draco's hair to the Dark Mark and she touches the hideous scar. Growing bitter by the mark she had 'acquired' without her own permission, her nails begin to dig into her skin as she scratches the black ink. She detested it, it was like he was here with them. Like he was everywhere she went, eyeing her every move, seeing the parts of herself that she even concealed from her friends. Reminding her that she belonged to him, that she was his property.
Her flesh around the mark began to redden, the skin becoming irritated with her constant clawing that tiny pink and red spots emerged, threatening to bleed through.
Aine wanted to carve it out of her skin. She wanted to be rid of it.
"Aine, stop..." Draco whispered to her, stopping her hand from damaging her other hand. He could see the hurt in her eyes, mirroring his. He sat up and took her arm, stroking the mark that continued to live under her skin to calm it. He placed a small kiss on the scratch marks and brings her close to lean on his shoulders.
"How long do we have to live like this..?" she questions in a soft voice.
"I don't know..." he replies, he didn't want to live like this too. It was a path that neither of them wanted and yet was forced upon. They didn't have a choice or say. It was either they do it or they'll be killed.
"What a damned life," Aine sneers.
"At least we're together," Draco remarked and they laughed bitterly in unison.
"Always."
─── ⋆⋅☀⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☀⋅⋆ ───
Okay, this chapter was way longer than I expected. But I just wanted to write more of Aine and Draco's moments together! I hope it doesn't seem forced but anyways, this book will feature more of their time together too. I want to show how Aine is slowly drifting away from her friends, slowly changing, slowly tainting black.
What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments! ^^
- Zeneria