Maurelle ran up to a particular tower, where there was a balcony. It overlooked the castle, where the scenery was beautiful. When she walked up, someone else was already occupying it, Draco.
He heard someone else behind him and he quickly turned around, gripping his wand, pointing at the stranger. When he saw it was "Victoria", he lowered it.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were up here. I'll get going." she said.
Draco grabbed her by the wrist, causing Maurelle to stop her tracks and turn to him. He noticed her eyes were red from crying. He pulled her in giving her a hug, her face buried in his chest. She was surprised by his actions but accepted it with open arms. The snow fell, but their embrace kept them warm. Her touch was all too similar to Maurelle, but Draco assumed he was just vulnerable at this point and needed comfort.
"What are you doing?" she said, with a red flush on her face.
"It looks like you need a friend." he said.
"Thank you, Draco. I- I just have a lot of things going on right now." she said.
"Me too, Victoria. Me too." he said rubbing her back.
They stood there by the railings, hugging each other, by the scenery that laid before them.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you the other night. I didn't mean to. I'm sure you can tell, I just have a lot of things on my mind right now." Draco said.
"It's okay. I understand." Maurelle released herself from his grasped, "Maurelle is gone and Hogwarts just isn't the same anymore. You-know-who is getting stronger as we speak. Who knows what the future holds for us." she said.
"Thank you, Victoria." he said.
Maurelle's arm started to sting and she knew that her father was calling out to her.
"I have to go, Draco. But thank you, I really appreciate it. I'm glad I have a friend like you here." Maurelle said.
"Are you going back to the dormitory? In that case, I'll walk with you." he said.
"Oh no... I mean I am, but I kind of wanted to go alone. I just need to be with my thoughts. I'm sure you understand." she said.
"I see. Well don't get caught, you wouldn't want to be seen by Snape." he said.
"I'll keep that in mind." she smiled.
Maurelle quickly went down the tower and walked through the gate that led outside. The snow was heavy and the wind made the cold even worse. She trudged through as stealthily as she can and entered the forest. Once she was at a fair distance away from the castle and made sure no one was nearby, she created a bonfire. Voldemort took shape within the fire.
"Father." Maurelle said.
"Maurelle, how is Draco doing?" he said.
"He is obviously bothered by this job. If these students didn't have anything better to do, the whole school would have taken notice." she said.
"Then Harry Potter is aware." he said.
"Well he is suspicious, but I am quite positive he doesn't truly know our intentions."she said.
"What has Draco done so far?" he said.
"He has been working on the cabinet, and, surprisingly, there has been progress. You should expect to hear from him soon." she said.
"And with Dumbledore?" he said.
"He is using this woman in Hogsmeade to pass through some dark items. He's been trying to find ways for Dumbledore to use these items, but it's been messy." she said.
"What do you mean....messy?" he said.
"Students are being harmed from these cursed items and he has failed to get them to Dumbledore. This resulted in Harry being more wary about our situation, especially with Draco. I believe he suspects Draco is working under you." she said.
"This is troubling. Well, as long as he gets the cabinet done that is all that matters. After that, the death eaters can take care of his mess. However, if you can find a way to push him further to complete this, that would be great. He is obviously bothered that he is the only death eater aside from Snape. And he doesn't know you are one. Try to gain his trust a bit more, maybe he would be more comfortable." he said.
"Are you saying you want me to play with his feelings?" she said.
"Will that be a problem?" he said.
"No, it's just that he seems to not be over 'me', he wouldn't move on so easily with this other 'person'."she said.
"I know a vulnerable person when I see one. Trust me, Maurelle, it will work." he said.
"I assume that's how you got mum to trust you." Maurelle raised her brow.
The fire grew stronger and burned so bright, all the snow around the area melted. It was so hot, Maurelle went down to curl up and cover her face.
"Don't you dare say that, Maurelle! I can only take so much of your smart talk. Don't bring your mother into this nor what I have done to her. You don't know what happened." he said.
"Then what happened?! Why don't you tell me, father." she fixed herself up.
"You wouldn't understand!" he yelled, "No one does." he mumbled to himself, he then looked at Maurelle, back in his calm manner, "Just do what I ask of you, my child. Nothing more, nothing less." he said.
"Ok, ok. I'm sorry I brought it up, father." she said genuinely.
"I forgive you, Maurelle. I don't blame you for wanting to know more about your past. Trust me, you and I are not so different. But sometimes you are better off not knowing." he said.
"Then how do you expect me to trust you completely? How are we suppose to have a father-daughter relationship if you aren't honest with me? I truly want to have a good relationship with the only blood family I have." she said.
"Just be patient, Maurelle. When you are ready, I will tell you." he said.
"Am I not doing enough?"she said.
"You are doing plenty." he said.
Maurelle exhaled deeply, obviously annoyed that she isn't getting the answers she wanted.
"It is getting late, remember what you need to do, Maurelle." he said.
"But-" she said.
"We are done with this conversation." he said.
"Wait-" she said.
"Maurelle Slytherin Riddle. No more." he said sternly.
"Okay." she said in defeat, like a small child being scolded by their father.
The fire blew out and the conversation left her even more agitated. She silenced the area around her and paused before she screamed her frustration out.
"AAHAHAHAHAAAHAHHAHAHAH!!" she punched and kicked the air,"WHY WON'T ANYBODY TELL ME THE F*&%ING TRUTH IN THIS BLOODY WAR?!!!!"
She started breathing heavily and noticed the area around her. The trees were chopped and butchered all around her. She knew she didn't take her wand out and didn't feel any magic from her hands.
"What? D-did I do that?" She mumbled to herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was time for the Slug Club party, and Maurelle decided to go alone. She fixed herself up as she was walking to the entrance. When she entered the party, everyone was dressed in their best gowns and suits. Slughorn noticed Maurelle and came up to her.
"Maur- uh Victoria! I'm so glad you can make it, and uuhh where is your date?" Slughorn saved himself.
"Umm, he's running a bit late, but will be here soon." she lied.
"Oh okay, well food's right over there and if you need anything else, feel free to ask the servers."he said and left to go talk with another group of people.
As Maurelle was walking, she saw Hermione escape from behind the curtains and snake her way out bumping into Maurelle.
"Well, you're not very good at being sneaky." Maurelle laughed as she helped her up.
"Thanks, well it's enough to get away from Cormac. A handsy fellow, he is. This party is not really my scene." Hermione said.
"Same with me. I am only here because I felt bad for missing that party, and to make up for my mishap with Slughorn." Maurelle said.
"What happened?" Hermione said.
"You know how Harry tried asking Slughorn about what my father asked him?" Maurelle said.
Hermione nodded.
"Well, apparently I acted so much like my father that it gave him Vietnam War flashbacks." Maurelle joked.
"Funny, but also a bit too soon." Hermione said.
"True, true, but even then he did not have the information that I needed." Maurelle said.
"I'm sure we will get something sooner or later. Anyways who did you invite." Hermione said.
"Didn't really ask. I guess I was too busy I forgot to get a date." Maurelle said.
The entrance door suddenly bursts open and Filch came in with a resistant Draco.
"Get your hands off of me, you filthy Squib!" Draco said.
"Professor Slughorn, sir. I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party." Filch said.
"Oh no duty calls." Maurelle sighed to Hermione.
"Go and rescue your pet." Hermione chuckled.
"There you are, Draco!" Maurelle walked up to him," Thank you, Mr. Filch but he is right, I invited him as my date."
Harry was caught wide-eyed. Draco was confused by what was happening but ended up playing along with it. Filch released him from his grasp and Draco fixed himself up. Maurelle looked at Snape, signaling to follow them.
"Well, we made other obligations so we'll escort ourselves out, and thank you for the party Professor." Maurelle clung his arm as they walked out of the party, followed by Snape who followed them with distance.
After they were a good distance away from everyone else, Maurelle let go.
"I'll take care of this, Miss Adams." Snape and Draco were walking ahead.
Maurelle walked around the hall and eavesdropped nearby the corner just ahead of them.
"Maybe I did hex that Bell girl. Maybe I didn't. What's it to you?" Draco said.
Snape grabbed his collar, slumped against the wall in lazy insolence,"I swore to protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow."
"I don't need protection. I was chosen for this! Out of all others. Me! And I won't fail him." Draco said.
"You're afraid, Draco. You attempt to conceal it, but it's obvious. Let me assist you." Snape said.
"No! I was chosen. This is my moment!" Draco said.
Maurelle stepped out of her corner and her presence was known by the two. They looked at her, but then Snape turned back to Draco.
"We'll see how long that'll last." Snape stomps away, leaving Draco by the wall.
Snape walked over to Maurelle and they were both talking in low voice where Draco couldn't make out what they were saying. They were both looking at him and looking back at each other. When they were done, Snape walked on ahead and Murelle walked slowly towards Draco.
"What was that all about?" Draco asked her.
"To not be the hero and save you again." she chuckled.
"Okay." he said, not entirely believing it.
"I assume since I saved you back there, I think I deserve to know what you were doing lurking around." she said.
"No one asked you to save me." he said.
"Would you rather be caught up in embarrassment in front of all those people?" she said.
"I would have figured something out." he said.
"Come on, Draco. I know we only met this year, but you can trust me. It's kinda hard to ignore your behavior when it is so obvious." Maurelle chuckled.
"Then don't talk to me anymore." Draco tried to walk away.
Maurelle started getting impatient. She knew she couldn't play with his feelings. He will probably find out who she really is later on, and wouldn't want him to hate her even more. She gripped Draco's wrist. He tried to resist, but she was surprisingly strong. She lifted up his sleeve just a bit where the dark mark peeks through. Draco finally got Maurelle's grasp off of him. He started sweating nervously and became more anxious, desperately hiding his mark.
"If you would just let Snape do the job, it wouldn't be your problem. Then you wouldn't have to be so prissy and bipolar all the time." she said.
Draco was taken back.
"What? How-" Draco couldn't find the words.
"One spell, Draco and it will get the job done. No pesky little dark objects could compare. Why feel so entitled to claim your self chosen by him, if you can't even do it." she walked away.
"Wait, Victoria!" he said.
Maurelle stopped her tracks, but still faced ahead.
"Teach me." Draco said.
Maurelle slowly turned around.
"You've done it before. Help me perform it without feeling any guilt." he said.
Maurelle walked over to him.
"Castle grounds at 10:30. We mustn't be seen walking out together from the dungeons, it's too obvious. We will meet there and from then on we will go to the forest. Got it?" she said.
"Y-yeah." he nodded his head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was 10:30 and Maurelle was waiting for Draco by the castle grounds.
"Where is he?" Maurelle started to get agitated.
"Victoria?" a voice was heard from a distance.
She turned around and it was Harry.
"Harry?" she said.
"What are you doing out so late?" he said.
"I needed to get some fresh air and some quiet time. It's that time of the year where it gets quite stressful." she lied.
"You're not wrong. Hogwarts can be a bit much, but I hope you are catching on." he said.
"I am actually." she said.
"That's good." he said.
"And what about you? What are you doing here out so late?"she said.
"Uuhh you know, just walking around, same as you." he said.
"You don't sound so sure." she smirked.
Harry nervously laughed.
"Harry Potter just walking around the castle. It doesn't sound suspicious at all." she joked.
"Really, there is nothing to it." he said.
"Please, I am not that dumb. You were spying on me, weren't you? You know what, let me change that, you were about to try and spy on Draco? she smirked.
Harry was shocked, "It couldn't have been that obvious. But more importantly, why aren't you on this map. Everyone's names are on this map, except you." Harry laid out the Maurader's map and showed her where she should be.
"Give me that." she snatched the map from him, and quickly rewrote the chant to temporarily place her name,"Look, I'm right here. See that? 'Victoria Adams'" she pointed out. She thought to herself how much she appreciated Hermione being able to do most of the work in rewriting the map, otherwise, her cover would have been blown.
"What?! It wasn't there before, how?" Harry said, blinking his eyes.
"I'm not sure what you want me to say. Are you sure that the map is accurate?" Maurelle said.
"Yes, it is completely accurate," Harry said.
"It's getting late, I'm sure your eyes must be tired. Maybe you should go back to your dorm." Maurelle gently placed her hand on Harry, guiding him back to the castle.
However, Harry quickly turned around and pointed his wand to Maurelle.
"Who are you really? Are you working for him? Are you helping Draco?" Harry said.
"Harry?! Put your wand down. What do you think you are doing?" she put her hands up. Obviously, she wasn't threatened one bit, but she had to put on an act.
"Why have you really come to Hogwarts? Why now?" he said.
"Harry, I don't know what you are talking about. I'm not working under anyone. I came here to start fresh under Dumbledore's watch. I was expelled from Llvermorny from using dark arts against my father. He killed my mother and ran away during our fight. It was the only way I could protect myself. I don't have anyone, no family left." she said.
"But you're leaving out something, I know you are." he said.
"I'm not your enemy, Harry." she said.
Luckily, Hermione stopped by, "Harry!" she ran towards them.
"Thank the heavens you are here, Hermione. I don't know what's wrong with Harry." Maurelle said.
"Harry, why are you pointing your wand at Victoria?" Hermione took his hand and placed it down.
"She is not who she says she is."Harry said.
"What makes you think that?" Hermione said.
"Because I overheard her conversation with Draco after the Slugclub party." he turned to Maurelle, "You know what they are doing, don't you? You told Draco to do a spell and letting Snape do the job. You were going to meet him here and teach him."
"Look, I'll tell you." Maurelle said.
"You will?" Harry said.
"You will?" Hermione exchanged a private glance.
"Yes. All I know is that there is something going on between Snape and Draco. I don't know what it is and I'm trying to gain Draco's trust so that he can tell me. They have been hiding something and I couldn't help but take notice. I'm just as clueless as you are, Harry. I really am. As I said, I am not your enemy. I only pretended to know something that day, just so he has no choice but to resort to come for my help. If you overheard my conversation, I'm sure you must have heard his with Snape." Maurelle said.
Harry nodded.
"Do you trust me now?" she said.
"I do. I'm so sorry, Victoria." Harry said.
"It's fine. It's not your fault you are overly cautious, after all, you are the one you-know-who is after." she said.
"We should get back to our dorm, before we get caught. I don't want to lose any house points." Hermione said.
"Yeah, we should." Harry said.
"You should get going too, Maurelle." Hermione said.
"I will, goodnight. " Maurelle said.
Goodnight, and stay safe." Hermione emphasised the last part.
The clock tower rang at 11:00 PM, Draco stood her up for half an hour.
"It's not the first time he's done it." she mumbled to herself.
She stealthily made her way to the dungeons and into the common room where she sees Draco and Pansy cuddled up on the couch. When the door closes, it woke them up. Draco immediately got up from the couch, shoving Pansy away.
Before Maurelle arrived.....
Draco was in the common room waiting till it was almost 10:30. When it was about to be 10:15, he decided to head on his way, but Pansy was stopping his tracks.
"Baby, where are you going at this hour?" she said.
"None of your business, Pansy." he said.
"Why are you always like this? What is wrong?" she said.
"Just leave it." he said.
"No, I will not. For once, I finally have you again. You don't care for me like you did. When Maurelle came along, you disregard my very presence. I've done all you asked and more, and I don't get the same treatment you give her. You never look at me the way you look at her. You never touch me the way you touched her. The way you kissed her. Care for her. Love her. You broke up with me, to be with her. I was always here for you Draco. Even when your heart was broken, I mended it. Now, this Victoria comes along, and it didn't take her long to reel you in, the same way Maurelle did to you. For once I wanted to be loved. I know we were put together in an arrangement by our parents, but are you sure there wasn't something you felt?" Pansy said.
"I'm sorry, Pansy. I didn't know you felt this way." he said. He slowly walked over to her and gently hugged her as she sobbed in his chest. He gently guided her to sit down on the couch and comforted her. He watched the time fly, wondering if Victoria was still waiting for him. His eyes started to shut, and the next time he opened his eyes, Victoria was standing in front of them.
"Uh-VIctoria! I meant to-" he said but was interrupted by her.
"No it's fine, goodnight." she put up a fake smile and walked over to her dorm.
"Victoria wait!" Draco said.
"Yes, Draco." she said so innocently.
"I'm really sorry. I really did mean to meet you up, but Pansy was insistent on me staying." he said.
"You don't have to explain yourself to me. She's more important than I am. I'm not the girlfriend here, so you shouldn't feel guilty." she said.
"No, I do. You risked waiting out on the castle grounds, just for me not to show up. Please, I want to make up for it. We can go to Hogsmeade tomorrow, and I will buy you a butterbeer. Then I can take us to a secluded place nearby, you can teach me there. We can go after class, if that is alright with you?" he said.
"It sounds good, goodnight." she quickly turned around and walked to her room.
She gently closed the door and started to sob. She sat by her vanity looking at herself as her disguise fades away, showing her true self.
"Who am I kidding? I lost the two boys I loved. Harry loves Ginny, Draco really does love Pansy. I have no one. Father was right, love is for the weak. It makes us weak. Maybe we aren't so different after all." as the trail of tears was seen on her face, she smiled with a devilish grin similar to the Dark Lord himself. Like Father...like daughter.