His Mark
[Knowledge is Power]

1st October 2016
Saturday

Aileen

Fog and rain had turned into ice and snow, the gold and gray of the last summer days had given into the frosty white of autumn- the yellow, red and brown coloured leafs peeked through the shining snow.

The sky stretched clear and almost colorless over Scotland, the autumn sun sent its pale, feeble rays onto the icy, snowy landscape surrounding Hogwarts, which has been decorated with dozens of cold icicles that shone in the milky pale sunlight and reflected all the colors of the rainbow, glittery and sparkling like precious, crystal jewels.

The cold autumn air vibrated under the jeers and laughter of the Hogwarts first years who were playing outside on this beautiful, dry autumn afternoon.

They all looked forward to this modest yet welcome change.
There was a bright cheerful laugh plastered on all of the children's faces which were reddened from the cold.
They all wore warm hats, colored scarves and knobbly gloves in the colour of their respective houses, and were busily engaged in building snowmen and throwing snowballs at each other.

All.
All but one.

Aileen stood out among the pale rays of the cold, nerveless autumn sun.
He was one of the few first years that wasn't frolicking outside with his friends.

He stood there with a bored expression and looked out from a window on the seventh floor.
Aileen watched the others playing their childish games, without feeling even the slightest desire to join them.

Sneering, he looked at the messy pile of raging figures with their ridiculous hats and silly laughter and shook his head blankly.

He would never understand what was so fun about throwing snowballs at each other, only to go back into the warmth of the castle to change into dry clothes.
He would never understand why they enjoyed to build snowmen and snow castles when they would have melted away again by the next morning with no sign of them ever being built in the first place.

He just couldn't understand how they could waste their time in such uselessness whilst laughing as if they had no care in the world.
He had never understood, and would never understand it.
Because he was different from all the others in this respect.

At the age of almost twelve he was already consumed by the desire to someday create something great, something lasting - not something that would melt within a few hours, until nothing remained.
****
Weeks had past since the last time that I had seen Cordelia.
I recognised her small figure, struggling through- the to her knee high snow, running after her friends who had snatched a rather large book away from her.

Even she was out there- seemingly not by her own free will, but she was there running around with the rest of them.
Frolocking trough the snow with no care in the world.

I should be down there.., I thought to myself whilst rubbing my temples- a rush of dizziness washing over me.
If I didn't feel, and look as dreadful as I do right now, I would be down there, at least pretending to have fun with the others.

But I had been busy- too busy to socialise with Cordelia and the ones who called themselves my 'friends'.
Too busy to leave the Room of Requirements for anything else besides classes- well I did sneak into the Potions classroom and tempered with the Polyjuice Potion, I found a way to make it last longer, the effects of the potion should now last eight hours.

Eight hours was all that I needed- if Cordelia accepted what I was going to ask from her...I could always compel her to agree against her will- make it so that she feels obligated to accept.
However I would need mental and maybe even physical strength for the later- strength which I didn't posses at the moment.

I hadn't realised just how much blood I would need for that spell to work- the spell that could make me see mother.

I have to talk to her- apologise for my behaviour towards her for the past weeks. I thought, as I pushed the double doors open, stumbled into the the snow covered landscape and got knocked back by a massive snowball.

Cordelia

"Juliet, for Merlin's sake give me back my book!" I yelled in frustration before launching a swirling twenty centimetre snowball at her from my wand.

She gave a scream and wisely threw herself on the snow covered floor, leaving Aileen, who was coming out, vulnerable for my killer ball. It hit him straight on his face, almost sending him stumbling backwards with a startled gasp.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry!"
I spluttered with a mixture of shame and worry, which shot to alarming heights as he began to turn blue and make gagging sounds.

"Juliet! He's choking!" I shrieked, unable to think straight as I ran towards him. She dropped the book and ran towards him,pushing his upper torso on the railing and started to hit him rather painfully with the heel of her palm.

"What the hell are you doing! Get off! Have you gone mad?" I attempted to hold off her blows,only to receive a snarl in return.

"I'm trying to save him! Get off Cordelia!"

Aileen was struggling against Juliet's painful slaps- trying to pry her off, whilst making indistinguishable sounds, his face turning a mixture of red and purple.

"Hold still you idiot, I'm trying to push the obstruction out!" Juliet scolds between the blows.

Aileen managed to grab Juliet's arm and proceeded to push her away from him.
"S- snow melts, damn it!" He managed utter while trying to catch his breath.
"You were choking for a good thirty seconds, jackass! What was I supposed to do, let you choke to death?" Juliet retorted, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"Yes, the next time that you see me in- what in your opinion seems like a life threatening situation, then by Merlin's name don't try to help me." Aileen answered sarcastically, his face still bright red from choking only seconds ago.
"Ok then,the next time someone tries to stick a knife in you I'll just sit back and laugh-"

"Juliet, shh!" I said in a resigned tone before turning back to Aileen.
"I'm really sorry for almost choking you,it was intended for her," I jerked my thumb at Juliet,"and Juliet only did what anyone could do in their power, so I apologise for her-er rough attempts of resuscitation."
"What! Ow!" Juliet cried out indignantly as I stamped on her foot.

"It's fine, don't worry about it..."
He trailed off as he slightly lost his balance, and held on to the railing for support.
I took in his constant shivering despite the thick cloak he was wearing and the weak way he held himself.

"You shouldn't be out here in this weather, Merlin's beard, you look like-"
"Shit" Juliet finished just as I started for him. She shrugged nonchalantly as I sent a death glare in her direction.
"I was going for the pale zombie look," He retorted sarcastically to Juliet.
"Actually," Aileen started to speak again, his gaze now set on me.
"I was looking for you, I think that- no... we need to talk." Aileen stated in an apologetic tone, as yet another wave of dizziness overtook him.
"You idiot, you shouldn't be wandering around the castle in your state! Quickly get inside!" I ignored Juliet's suggestive smirk and opened the door for him, knowing that he wouldn't appreciate me supporting him.
"You shouldn't be doing that..." Aileen muttered as we walked into the warm entrance hall.
"Doing what?" I asked.
"Opening doors for me- I should be the one doing that." He answered in an annoyed tone of voice, followed by a sneeze.
"Because of chivalry and stuff? I'm strong enough to open doors,thank you very much. Besides, you look like you're going to faint at any moment." I replied coolly as we turned into the dungeons.
"I didn't say that you were weak... and I'm fine- I just need some rest later on." He answered with his usual emotionless voice, and opened the door to the Potions classroom open for me.

"Ok then, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" I inquired while setting up the fire.
"I wanted to apologize for-" he stopped mid sentence and averted his gaze from me.
"I wanted to apologize for my behaviour towards you the last few weeks, it was uncalled for and I'm sorry..." The last part of his sentence was barely above a whisper.

"Oh." That was unexpected.

"I didn't think much of it really, so-wait don't tell me you risked your health just to apologise over something that small." I looked at him weirdly-that was not like him at all.
"I couldn't find you anywhere..." Aileen trailed off still not looking at me.
"I think you should head to the Hospital Wing and ask for a Pepperup potion, you look terrible." I said, taking notice of his diminished appearance.
"I'm fine, really." He brushed off my advice and started unpacking his school bag.
"I finished the essay..." He trailed off and handed me twenty sheets of parchment.
"I did it according to the assignment for the sixth years." Aileen added quickly after seeing the look of pure disbelief on my face.
"I can hand it in to Professor Nova later with mine. Ummm, there's not much to do really, we have four more days until the lacewings are ready, so we can't really do much now. So...is there anything else you want to discuss?"
"Well- I have been wanting to ask you something for some time now..." He started and looked me in the eyes with an intensity and emotion that I had never seen in him before. Like the ones in those teen flicks when the geeky guy was going to ask the girl out,

What?! He's not...he can't be...
What am I going to say?! Oh my god, what is Julius going to say?! I'm going to die, Aileen is going to die, and I'm going to die again when Julius murders my ghost!

"Er-don't you think it's a bit too...sudden?" I managed to croak, feeling my cheeks burn up.
"What, but we have known each other for a while now, and it's not like I'm asking you to marry me, I just-" Aileen tried to explain himself as I cut him off.

"We're eleven, Aileen and I don't think we're both ready for this." I suddenly found the ground very interesting.
"What does age even have to do with-"
"Everything! I'm sorry,but we should be concentrating on school and friends...plus my brother would murder me." I shuddered at the thought of my brother's reaction when he finds out I'm dating Aileen.
"What does your brother have to do with this?" Aileen started with an exasperated voice.
"Do you do everything that your brother says? And here I was thinking that you were your own person..."

I could feel my temper rise at his words.

"It's my choice Aileen, deal with it. I'm sorry, but I have to go." I turned on my heels and started towards the door.

"Wait! You can't just leave me here, talking to myself..." Aileen complained as I reached out for the door handle, just to hear a subtle clicking sound as I touched it.

"Alohomora" I muttered when the doorknob refuse to budge. The lock stayed stubbornly locked as I tried it again.

He locked it!

I felt a sense of dread as I turned to Aileen again.

"Let me out." My voice came out cold and eerily calm.
"I thought that you didn't need me to open doors for you." He replied weakly- bringing his hand to his head.

"Let me out. Now. Don't you think I wouldn't dare to hex you." I was starting to tremble, holding my wand in a defensive position.
"Might I ask why I'm about to get a hex thrown at me, when I've done absolutely nothing besides stand here miserably?" Aileen answered as he sat down on a nearby chair- his face getting paler with each passing minute.
"Aileen Gaunt, what the hell do you want from me?" I asked sharply.
"Well I wanted to talk, but for some reason you seem to be afraid of me..." He finished the sentence- a look of pure confusion making itself known on his pained face.

"I said no! My answer is no,no and no! Can you please respect that and not lock me in here!"
"But you don't even know what I want to ask of you!" He almost shouted in exasperation.
"And- wait... The door is locked?"
"Don't play the fool with me,Aileen,we both know that the door was unlocked when we came in."
"And it was still unlocked when I closed it- besides how was I supposed to lock the door? There's no key and-" Aileen's face turned even paler as he started rummaging through his pockets.
"Where the heck is my wand?" He cursed to himself.

"I dunno! You don't play by the norm, how can you, a first year do legilimency? How can the Dark Mark just heal you?! How can you be Slytherin's-" I abruptly cut off, horrified at my slip of my tongue.
"The Dark what did what now?" He looked at me confused.

I silently cursed my wayward tongue and turned my back on him.
"I didn't say a word."
"You said something about a Dark Mark- what is that?" He inquired interested.

I stared at the door, weighing up my choices.
"I'll tell you if you let me go." I replied.
"I'm not stopping you from leaving..." he started and ran his hand through his hair, and then continued.
"I should have gone to the Hospital Wing.." He mumbled to himself as he rested his head on the table.

I fought the urge to inquire after his health and focused on getting out of here.

"Unlock the door and I'll tell you everything about the Dark Mark." I repeated firmly.
"Cordelia, I didn't lock the damn door- heck I can barely even stand! I'm seriously regretting this whole thing... all I wanted to do was ask you something, and you go mental on me..." He trailed off and sighed deeply.

"I'm freaking out not because you've asked me something, it's because you're keeping me in here against my will! Just spit it out,what is your problem?" I said while throwing my hands up in frustration.

"First of all, I'm not keeping you here, I can barely stand and am guessing that my wand must have fallen out of my pocket when I got hit by your snowball," Aileen answered whilst rubbing his temples.
"And secondly, I wanted to ask you for a favor- regarding the Polyjuice potion..." He trailed of and beckoned me to the table. I cautiously approached him, ready to fire out a hex if the situation called for it.
Aileen took two vials- with what looked like strands of hair inside them from his school bag.

"What's in the vials?" I asked while eying the vials with suspicion.
He's not going to force feed me poison is he?

"Well...," he started and pushed one of the vials in my direction.
"Its hair, that's a few strands of my mother's hair in there- for the potion of course... I-" He broke off, and stared at the vial which was now laying in front of me with a pained expression.
"I wanted to ask, if maybe you could-"
"You...want me to change into your mother?" I finished weakly as I connected the dots.
He's not asking me out thank Merlin-oh no, I just threatened to hex him for no reason...but changing into his mother? What sort of request is that?

"Please? I never got to know her- I grew up in an Orphanage, so I thought that since we're doing this assignment together- and you don't seem to hate me like most of the other first years...that maybe you wouldn't mind..." Aileen trailed off yet again, and looked at me- with what I could only compare to an abandoned puppy, the end of his sentence turning into an almost inaudible whisper.

If I agree,this would be the most awkward thing ever. Ooo Merlin, how old was she...I really don't want to experience menopause yet...

"Er-how old was she?"
"She must have been around eighteen before she died- she left a letter with me when she left me at the door of the Orphanage..."
He answered with a slight hint of anger and sadness in his voice.

"Right" I swallowed.

Do I really want to be his mother? An actor in a fake reunion?

But I guess he never saw his mother...and even if I can't fulfil that hole in him, I could at least give him an hours worth of happiness.ju

I exhaled a surrender's breath and pinched the bridge of my nose.

I really am too soft hearted for my own good.

"Fine. I'll do it." I said with a heavy sigh.
"I understand if you don't want to do-" He started to say seemingly flustered, his brain obviously hadn't registered that I actually agreed to his request.
"I said, I'll do it. Curse my soft heart." I muttered the last sentence under my breath so he couldn't hear me.
"I mean, this is a weird request after all- maybe I should have gone at it differently..." He mumbled more to himself than to me, his dreadfully pale face gained a slight red hue from his nervous rambling, and his eyes looked anywhere but at me.

He really isn't acting like himself today- maybe I should have dragged him to the Hospital Wing.

"No, it's fine, but I'm setting some ground rules. First of all, please bear in mind that even though I'll look like her, I'm not your mother,so it would be really awkward for me. Secondly..." I glanced at his terrible state,noting that he seems to be deteriorating.
"I'm not drinking anything with your mother's hair unless you come with me to the Hospital Wing right now."
Something in his brain must have clicked, because he suddenly looked at me with a look of pure and utter disbelieve- that quickly tuned into the brightest smile I had ever seen.

"Y-you'll do it? Really?" Aileen asked me in disbelieve.

"Yeah...but not if you don't come to the Hospital Wing with me now" I replied.
"The Hospital Wing..." he mumbled under his breath. For a moment I thought that I'd seen a hint of annoyance hush on to his face- but as soon as I blinked his face turned into a tired, yet seemingly happy expression.

"Ok, sure, let's go," he said with a tired smile and hung the second vial around his neck- with a silver chain that I hadn't noticed before.
"By the way, you can keep it with you," Aileen said whilst pointing at the vial in front of me.
It had a long gold chain attached to it.
"The vial should turn red- the colour of the hair, once you put it on."
I looked at the vial attached to the chain that he was now wearing over his uniform, and noticed that it looked like some sort of black crystal.
I placed the chain over my head and tucked it under my clothes.
"So I assume that's your hair? Whose is it?" I asked, referring to his vial.

"It's my uncle's hair- well my uncle from my father's side apparently."
He answered as he yanked at the door, and held it open for me.

It was definitely locked when I tried it! The little...

"Your uncle? And his name is...?"
"I think his name was Tom something..." He trailed off, and seemed to be thinking of the rest of the name.
"Tom...or was it Tim..." Aileen kept on mumbling as we walked up the stairs, and towards the Hospital Wing.
"Oh right!" He exclaimed as he held the door to the Hospital Wing open for me.
"His name was Tom, Tom Marvolo Riddle." He finished the sentence with a happy smile as he closed the door behind us- the nurse was nowhere to be seen.