CHAPTER TWO
WHEN DIANA AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING SHE WAS THE ONLY FIGURE IN THE BED. The gentleman from the night before had left shortly after their encounter. Not out of disrespect or bad manners, just circumstance. He had somewhere important to be early the next day and couldn't be late. Sometimes that was just how those things went. Though it was important to note it wasn't a habit, or even a usual occurrence, for Diana to leave with a man or woman she had just met, but the events leading up to that night had left her more than willing to do so.
And there was something about that man. Something she couldn't resist.
They had stumbled up the stone staircase of the Inn, barely able to keep their hands off one another as they eagerly made their way to Diana's room. By the time they had made it to the bed, they were practically half undressed. Every kiss had a raw intensity, breathing fast, hearts racing even faster. Both individuals were desperate to escape reality for pleasure if only for a couple of hours.
Now, Diana looked to her suitcase that sat at the foot of her bed, it's few contents scattered over the dusty floor. The remnants of last night still lingered but soon they were just to be another memory. She was due to catch the train in a few hours and barely had any of her belongings. No school books, no robes. In order to get them she would have to go back to the one place she dreaded. Home.
After she had showered and readied for the day, doing a quick spell to pack her stuff and fix up the room, Diana stepped out of the door dragging her suitcase behind her. It was there she unexpectedly bumped into none other than Harry Potter, taking them both by surprise.
"Oh," The boy gasped, pushing his round glasses up his nose and stumbling a few steps backwards. "I, um, I sh-"
Diana rolled her eyes, huffing under her breath as she brushed past the boy. She had no interest in watching the child stutter at her in embarrassment. Contrary to what you might think, Diana did not hate Harry Potter. She certainly didn't like him, but she didn't like anyone. Like most things, she simply did not care about him or his never-ending drama.
She marched down the grand stone staircase of the Inn and for the second time in only a matter of minutes once again came face to face with a scene she had not expected. Diana had been coming to the Leaky Cauldron for years and not once had she ever seen another student there before and yet on this eventful morning she was blinded by a swarm of ginger hair.
"What the fuck." She mumbled under her breath, taking in the view of almost the entire Weasley family excitedly passing round a newspaper between the hundreds of them.
She was about to slip away unnoticed when the pompous and hugely irritating face of Percy Weasley blocked her exit. She swore the boy's existence was just to spite her. Throughout her entire life of Hogwarts she had been unable to achieve anything of any entertainment without him ruining it. He was such a self-important goody-two-shoes and she hated it.
Percy opened his mouth to speak but before he could even begin to get the words out, Diana pressed a finger against his lips. "Weasley, don't you dare attempt to talk to me outside of term time." She ordered.
"I-"
"Shh," She interrupted as he went to respond. "I'm serious. I cannot deal with you for even an hour longer than I have to."
Wide-eyed, frustrated, and a little scared, Percy nodded and Diana drew her finger away. "Good. Now shove off out of my way, I need to leave."
He did so, scuttling back to the rest of his family and Diana was finally able to grab her wand from the pocket of her coat and disapparate out of the pub.
The drawing room of the Carrow Manor was practically a whole other world compared to the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't small and dingy. It was grand and lavish. Every inch sumptuously decorated to regal perfection. It was also, however, dimly lit and dark. Every surface was dull stone or wood, the only sources of light being lanterns on the wall and an ornate chandelier hanging from the ceiling above. It was beautiful but it was so tremendously cold. You never felt welcome or at peace.
On the other side of the room stood Diana's father. Sensing his daughter's presence, he turned to face her. "So she returns." He sneered. "Forget something did you?"
Atticus Carrow looked frightening. Just one particular stare from him and all the hairs on your arms would raise and a chill would run down your spine. His skin was ghastly pale, even more so than Diana's and all his features were black. Hair, stubble, and eyes like an endless stretch of midnight sky.
Then Diana's mother glided into the room, the hem of her gown sweeping across the floor as she moved. Marion Carrow was of course half-veela and with even the quickest of looks you could undoubtedly tell. She was gorgeous. Strikingly tall with long blonde hair that appeared to emanate a faint silvery glow. It was sad that someone so beautiful could be so evil. It made you feel as if there was no hope for any good left in the world.
Diana had concluded that there was a moment in every child's life where you found out that your parents were not who you thought they were. That didn't necessarily didn't have to be bad thing. Maybe you realised they had a life other than being your caregiver, that they lied when they said the rubbish drawing you had done at six years old was the best painting they had ever seen.
But for the unfortunate few, it was not quite that simple. You came to realise that really your parents were not good people and that their love was certainly not unconditional. The worrying thing is that when you're a child you are a product of your parents. Their beliefs are your beliefs. Their interests are your interests. You do and think whatever the hell they tell you to because you know no different. And for some time that's fine, until you move on, meet other people and you realise the beliefs you have been raised on are not shared by the many. That they are prejudice and vile and dangerous.
Then you have a choice to make. Do you fight it? Leave them and it behind or do you accept it? Just go along with the tyrant current because it's so much easier and the only thing you have ever known.
Diana hadn't made her choice yet.
"I have to get the rest of my things." She said standing tall as she made her way past them. When she reached her mother's side she paused for a moment and felt the warmth of her hand rest upon her shoulder.
She longed to feel something. To be comforted by her mother's touch but she felt nothing and swiftly carried on past.
.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.
Standing on Platform 9 3/4 Diana watched the abundance of witches and wizards swarm the station. Some were running wild with excitement, others panicked or being scolded for forgetting something, but they all had someone. Other than Diana, who for a split second felt a twinge of sadness that she was all on her own before she hastily shook away the thought, ensuring it didn't settle.
She walked down the platform towards the end of the train where the Slytherins usually sat and boarded.
Diana was proud to be in Slytherin. The Sorting Hat hardly had to debate what house to put her in when it touched her head. She did share many of those traditional Slytherin traits. Cunningness, resourcefulness, determination.
As soon as she boarded the train she was bombarded with an array of voices. Despite having no real friends, despising almost everyone, and achieving a consistent presence of hostility, Diana was still adored by many of the students in Slytherin.
That was the thing with being in Slytherin. With being the daughter of an infamous Death Eater. You didn't have to be understood to be liked, you just had to be known. It didn't matter what Diana did and did not like. What her favourite class was, what her favourite colour was. Whether she was funny or not, or smart or not. She'd be adored all the same and that was why she made little effort in making friends, because how could any part of a friendship be genuine when it made no difference who you were as a person?
Not that it mattered but Diana did in fact have certain interests and passions. She was the smartest witch in her year group and would have been the top of every class if it wasn't for bloody Percy Weasley. This had always come naturally to her and she'd been extremely bright from a very early age, but her talent had strengthed with her enjoyment of studying. She was determined to be the best she could and would stop at nothing to achieve it.
And she also liked to read. Not just textbooks and research but fiction and literature too. In her room was the grandest of bookcases filled to the brim with books by magical authors and even the odd Muggle one. One day during her travels around London she had wandered into a Muggle bookstore and couldn't help herself from indulging. Though of course, this was a secret.
She ignored the swarm of students trying to talk to her and brushed passed them to be free.
Then there at the end of the aisle was someone she was rather happy to see.
It wasn't that she particularly liked Harrison Blackwood, it was more that she didn't dislike him.
If there was anyone she could even be slightly herself around it was Harrison and that had only come about because they had known each other since they were infants and had gradually progressed. Their families were close, creating an allegiance during the First Wizarding War.
Though she had to admit there were some things she did kind of like about him. She liked how he looked. He was effortlessly handsome and charming with boyish good looks. She especially liked hooking up with him, that was for sure. She liked how he admired her not just because of her beauty or her family but because of how smart she was and how determined she was. She liked how even though he shared none of the enthusiasm or interest that he at least knew she liked to read. He was the only person other than herself who knew that.
And most importantly, she liked how being with him made her feel powerful. She was strong on her own but with him she was basically untouchable. No one would dare face his wrath, especially when it was combined with her own. Together they were the most powerful of couples.
Though the label made her cringe, if she was forced to then she would have to describe Harrison as her boyfriend.
Well, at least he had been. Now she supposed she would have to use the term ex-boyfriend.
Because as much as there were things she did like about him, there were just as many thing she disliked.
For one, she wasn't sure he was a good person. Not really anyway. He fiercely upheld the Pure Blood belief that they were vastly superior to everyone else. She had lost track the number of times she had heard him use the term "mud blood" or "blood traitor." And it wasn't that Diana thought she was particularly a good person, because she knew for sure that she wasn't, but she knew that she was not a bad one either.
Oh, and there was another thing, possibly the most important of them all. She didn't love him. Not even in the slightest.
They had broken up at the end of their sixth year of Hogwarts, only three months ago. Diana had ended it just a week before school finished. She was sick of pretending. What was the point? They were destined to go nowhere. Harrison, as expected, did not take it well but Diana had prepared for that. He shouted, what were they meant to tell their parents? They'd be so angry. What was he going to tell his friends? How could she embarrass him like that?
And despite all of that, he was the one person she kind of had, and he also happened to be inviting her to sit in the one carriage that made her want to ride train rather than jump in front of it. So reluctantly, she followed him in.
Inside the carriage were the group of people Diana had chosen to spend her time with at Hogwarts. Harrison Blackwood, Cassandra Cooper, Olivia Raynott, and Marcus Flint. Again, she didn't like them. Each of them thought they were superior to everyone else. They were rude and obnoxious, insulting, and bullying other students from different houses. But sometimes you needed a potions partner or someone to sit with at dinner and there were certain standards of who you could be friends with and to make life easier, Diana went with these.
She shuffled into the carriage, moving to stand on her tiptoes to lift her bag into the compartment above when Harrison swooped in to do it for her. "Here," He said and lifted the weight out of her hands and effortlessly placed it above.
Part of her wanted to scold him for thinking that she needed assistance but instead she decided to accept his surprising kindness that she had not expected and sat down next to him.
"How was your summer?" He asked with a sheepishly smile as he ran a hand through his messy brunette hair.
Diana knew he wanted them to get back together. He had written and sent her a letter over summer saying so. However, whether that was because he genuinely missed her or because he wanted back the glory of dating her, she did not know.
"Fine," She answered to his question, she didn't really have much to say. "How was yours?"
"Good, actually." He replied while shifting eagerly in his seat. "We went on holiday to Morocco. The Wizarding World over there is so different to here, it's crazy. I think you'd like it though."
"Mm-hmm," She murmured in response utterly casual and uninterested. Thinking to herself, how could he possibly know what she'd like.
Her gaze subsequently fell on the newspaper that Marcus was reading in front of her. The page read "BLACK STILL AT LARGE" in a huge italic font. Beneath it a picture of the criminal himself sat. His hair was long and matted and he wore the infamous black and white striped suit all prisoners of Azkaban wore. He did truly look terrifying with the most insane crazed look gleaming in his sunken eyes.
She snatched the paper out of Marcus' hands, who protested with a furious "hey", but she ignored him since Marcus Flint was the most hideous of creatures she had ever seen.
Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today.
"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."
As she read the article, the voices of the others began to drift into her ears.
"You don't think he'd be able to get into Hogwarts, do you? Surely that's impossible, right?" Olivia asked her voice shaky and when Diana looked up she noticed the girl looked genuinely scared.
"Who cares if he does?" Cassandra replied. "It's not like he'd ever attack us. It's those mudbloods who need to be worried... Although, it would be reassuring to know for sure..."
Her tone changed at the end of the sentence and Diana knew she was hinting for her to say something. Cassandra, as well as many other students, probably expected Diana to know something about Sirius Black, with her father being a former Death Eater, but truly, she knew nothing.
Diana looked from the newspaper to Cassandra with a glare. "Do you have something to ask me?" She said bitterly and Cassandra smirked. "I just assumed if anyone was to know something it would be you, or do mummy and daddy keep you out of the loop nowadays?"
Whilst she had no real connection to any of them, she really really did detest Cassandra. Not just because she was bratty and vindictive but because she hated Diana in return. She seemed to think they were in some kind of competition to be the top girl in Slytherin, completely unaware that Diana couldn't care less.
She was about to reply with something equally as snide when suddenly the train came to a harsh halt, sending them all tumbling forwards.
"Surely we can't be there yet." said Olivia as she regained composure and pressed her face to the window to peer out. "I can't see a thing, the rain is too heavy." she sighed, wiping at the glass with no success.
Annoyed that their journey had come to some disruption, Diana was just about to follow the actions of everyone else on the train and poke her head out the door when the train gave another shudder that plunged the carriage into darkness. It then suddenly became very cold and not just like there was a chill from an open window, but freezing.
"What the hell... " Harrison muttered and Diana turned to see the window slowly frosting over from the inside. Cassandra raised a hand to touch the ice but pulled away with a painful hiss as she did.
Then the same began to happen to the carriage door as well. A thin layer of ice spread over the glass like a blanket and behind it a hooded figure appeared. It was dark, almost completely made up of ripped cloth other than the decomposing corpse underneath it. A feeling of dread fell upon the carriage. It was overwhelming, as if they'd never be happy again. Yet, Diana couldn't help but be drawn in and as the figure reached out with a bony skeleton hand, she edged nearer.
"Diana," Harrison ordered, grabbing her wrist and pulling her away causing her to fall out of her trance. "What are you doing? Trying to get yourself killed?" He hissed.
Then as quickly as it came, it left, taking with it the cold and the despair it had inflicted upon them all.
After a few seconds, the group calmed, all collectively sighing a breath of relief and hastily shaking themselves off. "What in the Merlin's beard is a Dementor doing here?" Marcus asked in amazement, sticking his head out the carriage door to see if he could get one final look but the figure was long gone.
"I don't know," Harrison answered, still gazing out the dark window. "But it can't be good."