His Mark
[Knowledge is Power]

4th October 2016
Tuesday

Aileen

"I should probably apologise to Simon..." I muttered under my breath- shaking the past events from my mind.
"Don't do it now...when you woke me up, I wanted to murder you at first. He'll probably be the same." Cordelia replied with a tired smile.

"I guess, I could give him some time..." I answered and stared off into the distance.

I shouldn't have reacted in that manner...

"Meh, he'll probably be relieved that you're not looking like you're going to murder anything for breathing. I-" Her sentence was cut off by a loud yawn followed by a crack from a stretched spine.

"I should probably take you back to your dorm... your friends are surely wondering where you ran off to." I spoke in a calm voice, silently praying that Cordelia would take the hint and threat this day like any other.

I don't do birthdays...

"Both of them would probably be snoring their heads off-but yeah I should go. Oh,what was that potion? I have an odd feeling it was what made the...incident happen," Cordelia said carefully as she stood up.

"It wasn't a potion, that's all you have to know. Let's go." I replied avoiding eye contact and made my way towards the end of the room, and holding the door open- patiently waiting for Cordelia to do or say something.

Cordelia stood there for a few seconds, as if deep in thoughts.

She shouldn't have seen this room...nobody is supposed to see this room. I'll have to take drastic measures so that nobody besides me sees this version of the room of requirements.

"Just to keep your peace of mind...anything that happened tonight stays between us. This I swear on my life." She promised as she made her way towards me.

"Nothing happened." I murmured just loud enough for Cordelia to hear, as she walked out the door.

The two of us- three if you count Momo, silently made our way down the stairs, with Cordelia stealing glances at me every few seconds.

She wasn't supposed to see that memory.
'Maybe you should just make her for-'
'No.' I thought firmly back at Momo, clenching my hands into tight fists.
'I promised myself that I wouldn't do that to her any-'

"I can find my way from here," Cordelia said quietly as we reached the staircase to the ground floor.
"I know you can." I replied, still accompanying her towards the staircase that leads to the dungeons.
"No, really," she protested, pulling up in front of me,"I've intruded on your privacy long enough. Besides..." She added with a wince,"the last time you brought me up to the common room at night didn't end so well."
"Julius?" I asked with a sigh, looking her in the eyes for the first time after leaving the room of requirements.
I can only imagine the hell she went through after what I did- sometimes I ask myself why she hasn't run off yet...anyone in their right state of mind would avoid me.

I'm related to a mass murderer- if I were her, I wouldn't want to be around me.
And yet she stood here before me- looking at me with a searching look.
She had the audacity to challenge me during classes and tried to comfort me when she thought I needed it.

It's like she's looking for trouble.

"Yeah, Julius. So, goodnight I guess."
She finished with a small smile before turning her back towards me to descend down the stairs.

"Thank you." I called out to her, just before turning around and walking the opposite way.

****
"You've got to stop listening into other people's conversations." I called out to two figures hiding behind a slightly ajar door.

A deeply annoyed Aberforth stepped out of an abandoned classroom, closely followed by a sheepishly grinning Simon holding two heavy looking baskets.

"We come in peace," Simon started tentatively, and looked between me, and a now sighing Aberforth.
"And erm...I got you strawberry muffins and Butterbeer!" He finish the sentence with a little more enthusiasm.
"You had me at strawberry muffins." I replied with a small smile.

It's so easy to fool this guy...

I shook my head at Simon's foolish grin, as he walked backwards- basket and flasks in hand, and talked about some Quidditch team that I didn't care for.

"You told him about the muffins didn't you?"
I asked Aberforth who was walking next to me.
"He was going to get you a chocolate p- Oi Trent! There will be hell to pay if you let dose flasks fall!"

Aberforth's low growl seemed to have brought some sense into Simon, who quickly straightened his posture and handed me the Butterbeer.
"Where did you even get these from? Last time I checked they didn't serve Butterbeer here..."
I muttered the last part as I started reading the ingredients of the Butterbeer.
"They don't. I had to call in a favor." Aberforth retorted in an suspicious voice.

"What did this person owe you, that he or she gave you Rum spiked Butterbeer?"
I asked looking over at Aberforth with a raised eyebrow.

I didn't even know that they made this... and how would an eleven year old get his hands on this anyway?

"That's a story for another time my friend." Aberforth retorted with a smug smile.

"You'll never tell me will you?"
"Nope, well maye-"
"Guys!" The whispering voice of Simon shook us out off our little conversation.
"Did you hear that? It sounded like Mrs. Norris!" He whispered lowly, his knuckles turning white from the strength he was holding the basket with.

"Damn it Simon! We'll be in deep trouble if we get caught out here at this time!"
"Be quiet and follow me!" I muttered, pulling a pale Simon trough a portrait where Salazar Slytherin had suddenly appeared.

Cordelia

At half past three at night, I found myself rummaging through my belongings for something suitable to give for a present by wand light.
Even though he obviously expressed his repulsion for birthdays...I can't just not give him a present on his birthday. Especially now that we were officially friends.

Though after my unintended adventure into his mind, I could understand Aileen's avoidance with his birthday. I wonder if the lady in Aileen's memory really did mean to adopt him?
Or was she prohibited by her cold-hearted husband?
Or maybe she forgot all about it?

Though how could anyone forget the trust in five year old Aileen's eyes, like glass, fragile and delicate.
No wonder he's so cold and mistrusting of others.
His ability to love and trust was crushed at such a young age. All he could do was build a protective wall made from the ashes and dust from his broken trust.

So how did I get in? I must have...to some degree.

"I'm really philosophical at night,"
I mused to myself and ordered myself to focus on the task at hand.

I don't think he'll appreciate lip balm.
Or a broken quill.
My uneaten sherbet strawberries from an assorted pack of lollies could hold some potential-I hate sherbet and strawberries so this was originally for Juliet and Rosaline.

Hmm...Knowing him, he'll want something beneficial to him, academically preferably.
So obviously a book of some sort.

I switched focus to the bookcase in our room, which the majority of the books shelved there were mine. Quickly dismissing my fiction books and manga, I scanned the various spell and potion books.
Now, what could be considered useful to Aileen Geirant Gaunt? Probably not the 'Cosmetics Charms for Young Girls' for a start.

A slow smile crept up my face as I recalled a particular incident in Herbology where Aileen was having trouble with a Venomous Tentacular that somehow managed to sneak up on him and tried to choke the living daylights out of him.
My fingers played on the spine of 'Dealing with Death's Garden' by Andrew Jones and pulled it out. At the same time I caught a glance of 'The Tales Of Beedle the Bard' and after a moment of deliberation I pulled that out too.

Every witch and wizard should know the Tale of the Three Brothers and the Warlock and his Hairy Heart, I thought, recalling the rare tender moment where my mother would read from this book to my brother and I when we were small.

I wrapped the sweets and the books in brown wrapping paper, feeling pleased with my hoard. Pulling out my writing set, I started on the letter, and after half an hour worth of crossing out and careful deliberation, I finally came up with this,

Dear (crossed out, may seem too personal to him)
To Aileen (crossed out, too formal and impersonal)

Aileen,
Happy Birthday, ok fine, I know you hate (crossed out),dislike people acknowledging your birthday, but it goes against my code of honour of being a friend not giving friends birthday gifts. So...yeah. You have to accept it.

But if you really don't like it, think of it as an
I-see-you-are-being-attacked-by-organic-appendages-so-I'm-trying-to-help-you-here gift with a You-have-to-read-this-book-or-you're-not-a-real-wizard book and an I-hate-sherbet-and-strawberries-so-I'm-dumping-them-on-you sort of thing that coincidently came on the twelfth anniversary of your birth. Definitely not a gift to celebrate your birth.

Love (crossed out to an indistinguishable blot)
Yours truly (crossed out)
C.

I surveyed my handiwork, feeling like I should rewrite this, given the many scribbled out words and ink blots on the parchment but before I could do so, my eyelids fell shut on my own accord and fell asleep.