His Mark
[Knowledge is Power]

3rd October 2016
Monday

Cordelia

It was only one move.
One shift and I found myself tumbling to the ground and hitting the stone floor in a rude awakening, my blanket being my only cushioning.

"Ow! What the?!" I cursed after coming out from my daze while rubbing my sore sides.
"Jeez it's cold."

I bunched the blankets around me to form a protective barrier against the bitter cold, constantly tasting my burning mouth, feeling like someone had feed me gasoline.

Pepper up, I groaned, recalling the terrible taste.

I shuffled back to bed, only to be stopped by a shock of curly red hair leaning over the opposite side of the bed, the flames of the nearby candle giving it a mysterious glow.
Aileen sat there soundly asleep head buried in his arm.

For second I stared dumbstruck at him, wondering how in the world he managed to sneak into the girls dorms when I recalled being rocked to sleep by Aileen's footsteps as he carried me through the many corridors.

I sat on the side of the bed, careful not to disturb him, with my back facing Aileen as I scrunched my hand in my hair, trying to remember any coherent thoughts.
The story that he just carried me didn't feel complete at all. I'm sure there was something significant that I said or he said..

I'm your loyal servant carrying you towards the paths of victory.

Now, what was that all about?
That was so out of the blue and so un-Aileen that I dismissed it as a dream brought on by the fever.
Though the idea of Aileen's undying loyalty didn't seem too bad.

As I searched deeper into my memory banks, I had a sensation of apprehending doom that in my feverish ravings, I may or may not have reference Lily in some way....damn it what did I say?

Oh Merlin, please don't let it be something mortifying and revealing of that night, but what in the blazes did I say?
Darn it!

I fervently searched for my exact wording and came across one sentence, so torn and wearied that trying to remember it was like grasping water.

'I'm bad for you.'

Well, damn straight you are.

I turned around to glance at Aileen and noticed that his right hand was outstretched, positioned as if something or someone was ripped from its grasp. I could feel my face heating up as I came up with an explanation for this.

By Merlin's beard...he wasn't holding my hand was he?

Well, that so wasn't creepy at all.
Was he watching me sleep?
Good grief- I look like a troll when I sleep!

In contrast to my feeling of awkward intimacy, there was something warm growing inside me, a sense of relief that I was the one that he'll go through great lengths for.

Now you're sounding like a lovestruck teenager I scolded myself.
You and him, if you're lucky, you are acquaintances, or friends at the most.

My eyes caught on the clock which marked the evening as nine thirty.

I missed dinner! And it was fish and chips too, I lamented, with the fact that I missed the Astronomy period where we were going to get the results of our first assessment.

No matter how awful I'm feeling, I'm going to Astronomy tonight. Even if an army of Frenchmen stands in my way, I will mow them down like a grass mower.

I glanced at Aileen.
He probably missed dinner and the Astronomy period too.

By Merlin's beard!
Aileen missed two classes today!
Woah.
I hovered my hand to his forehead-no, no fever.

Huh.
How strange.

"Aileen,wake up," I hissed at him.
When that didn't work, I added,
"Don't make me shove Skele-Gro down your throat."

Aileen however made no signs of waking up, he merely moved his head to the side, and mumbled something incoherent in his sleep.

"Ok, you asked for it" I warned ,waiting for a response that never came. I pulled one of the large pillows and slapped him upon the head with it with as much strength as possible.

Aileen woke up with a start that sent him-plus the chair flying backwards, making him hit the ground with full force.
He lay there, motionlessly for a few seconds- probably trying to wrap his throbbing head around what just happened and seemingly having lost his orientation.

Heh. Hehe. Whoops?

"I didn't do it." I automatically claimed, dropping the pillow to kick it under the bed.
Aileen however, got up without a word, pulling the chair up with him with one hand, and rubbing the back of his head with the other- his face bearing the perfect picture of pain and confusion on it.

"You're awake." He stated as he finally noticed my- in blankets wrapped figure on the bed.
"Yeah." I replied,not really knowing what to say now that he's awake.
"Are you feeling alright? The nurse wasn't here so I had to brew the potion myself- and then you wouldn't drink it..." He muttered in a distressed voice, his eyes scanning my face for some sort of sign that he may have poisoned me.
"I'm fine...thank you. Oh, if I said or did anything weird...that was probably just the fever talking. So sorry for that."

Aileen's expression seemed to falter for a second, his mismatched eyes wavered with a hint of sadness- or was it disappointment?

"Well," he started, a hint of insecurity could be heard in his- normally so disinterest and sometimes slightly arrogant voice.
"You did try to put up a fight when I carried you here- and you mentioned something about Frenchmen." He responded without looking me in the eyes.
"Anything else?" I asked, slightly afraid of the answer.
"I might, or might not have said something embarrassing to stop you from struggling..."
He trailed off scratching the back of his head, his cheeks turning a light pink colour.

Oh. So he really did pledge his undying loyalty to me.

"Er...anything else?" I asked.
"Well, there was something about headless chickens?" Aileen answered, or rather asked in return. There was a long pause after that, in which he ran his hand through his messy red curls.
"Cordelia...," he started in an almost whisper.
"Are we- are we still...friends?"

Well. That was not expected.

What took me by surprise was the fact he valued our friendship, or relationship- whatever it was that much that he would risk his pride to directly ask me to confirm it.
I suddenly felt strangely honoured that I was the only one that he considered to be a friend and to show his vulnerable side.
Silently, I made an oath to always listen to Juliet-if it wasn't for her advice Merlin only knows what crazy things I would've done or said that could wreck our friendship.

"Yeah. That is, if you don't mind putting up with my awkward qualities." I replied,feeling bashful all of a sudden.
"Well, how about telling me all about your awkward qualities on our way to the kitchens?" He asked while straightening his robes out.
"I heard that today was fish and chips night."
"Oh, you'll find more about my awkward abilities once you get to know me better ." I stepped out of my blanket cocoon and hissed like a cat that had been sprayed with water.
"Oh my god, it's so cold." I squeaked as I reached for my cloak.

Just as I finished that sentence, I was suddenly enveloped by the most wonderful, and calming warmth I had ever felt.

"How did you-" I stared wide eyed at a- now standing Aileen.
He simply proceeded to pull the sleeve of his cloak up- revealing his wand.
"Oh my god, you've got to teach me that! Where has it been in my entire short eleven lifespan?" I asked excitedly, feeling slightly cheated that no one had told me about this spell.

"Well," Aileen started, and motioned for me to follow him to the door- where he held it open for me, and the two of us slipped out into the deserted, candle litten corridors.

"It's a combination of a nonverbal heating, and cheering charm- the cheering charm is in the third year curriculum, but I'm not sure about the heating charm." He answered sheepishly, as we made our way down the stairs- past the Great Hall, and took the staircase down towards the Hufflepuff basement, which is situated on the opposite side of the corridor to the kitchens.

Aileen

We reached a painting with a giant bowl of fruit on it, and I proceeded to tickle the pair- which in turn squirmed, laughed and then transformed into a green door knob thus revealing the entrance to the kitchens.

I held the door open for Cordelia- who mumbled something inaudible under her breath, and the two of us entered the gigantic high-ceiling room littered with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stone walls, five tables identical to the ones in the Great Hall above situated in the exact same position, and great brick fireplace at the other end of the room.

"I've got a question,"she suddenly said as we sat down at the table that would most certainly belong to Gryffindor if we were in the Great Hall.

The five tables in the kitchen are magically linked to the tables in the Great Hall, and dishes placed upon the tables are transported through the ceiling to their counterparts upstairs during meals.

At least that's what I've read in Hogwarts A History.

"A question about?" I asked feigning interest, and continued watching the house-elves go about their work.

There must be over a hundred of them in here, I thought, let a deep sigh escape my lips, and turned around to face Cordelia.

"Since you were raised by muggles....why do you know such advanced magic? Like, the only reason why I'm, well, doing well in class is because my mother taught me the year one curriculum since I was seven, but you...?"

"Well," I started carefully, trying to figure out if I should tell her the truth or not.

"I've always been able to do magic..."
I continued, watching every little change in her facial expression and body language.

"It's like magic has been all around me since I was born- for example, I can still exactly remember the day that I was found by a matron at the steps of the Orphanage."
"It was a bitter cold, and stormy day- I had spent all night and most of the early morning hours outside until someone finally noticed me." I told her- recalling that very day years ago as I was just a mere baby.

The only thing I can remember from before that time, is a soft female voice singing me to sleep, and a curtain of fiery red locks all around me.

"I've heard the workers at the Orphanage whisper behind my back- talking about the strange things that happened around me ever since I was barely three months old, objects vanished into thin air before their very eyes, animals followed me back to the Orphanage, if I got ill and touched another child, my illness would transfer over to them."

"And then when Professor Dreely came to give me my Hogwarts letter, I finally had a name to call my- to me at that time strange ability, magic.
I finally understood that what I could do wasn't something that I had to hide- something that I had to be punished for, it was the purest and realest form of magic that exists on this planet wandless magic."

"So I had to learn more, there were so many things that I didn't know- things that I didn't understand, so I went on a search for anything that I could find on my parents, legally changed my name, and bought the books that were required for the seven years of Hogwarts and then some- and read them all."

"Don't get me wrong," I started after noticing Cordelia's awestruck face, and the slightly uncomfortable shuffling of her feet.

"I can only perform simple spells without my wand- like the warming and cheering spell that I used on you earlier, levitate things,but that's about it- Oh and I have somewhat of a photographic memory."
"I've never told this to anybody else..." I finished with an awkward laugh, and looked intently at her, waiting for some kind of reaction.

"I understand. But you know, forfeiting your health for the pursuit of knowledge isn't going to do you good you know," she replied with a strange sense of wisdom uncommon for her age.
"That's what potions are here for- to heal you when you're sick. I'm fine really."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Not all wounds have antidotes," Cordelia replied simply.
"And what types of wounds would be inflicted upon me by studding?" I asked whilst poking at a strawberry muffin that had suddenly appeared before me.

Cordelia shrugged enigmatically and began playing with the hem of her shirt, her composure suggesting that this topic was closed.

"Is there anything that you wanted to do, or talk about, before I entrust you to the watchful eyes of your friends? They must think that I've set a spell on you of some sort, seeing as you're spending so much time with me lately."
"A spell besides the warming spell..." I added quickly, taking notice of her slightly perplexed expression.
"Actually, now that you mentioned it, yes." Cordelia sighed and looked downwards before looking directly into my eyes.
"Aileen, because I don't want to see you being carted away to Azkaban, I will tell you now that going as your uncle to the Halloween Ball is a really, really, really, really bad idea." She finished her sentence with an uneasy laugh.
"Like, an idea close to a suicidal plan."

"Why would that get me locked away in Azkaban?" I asked with as much fake confusion I could muster.

After all, not many people know that Tom Marvolo Riddle- once one of Hogwarts most brilliants students, and the one who supposedly helped chase away the beast that slumbered within the Chamber of Secrets, became Lord Voldemort- one of the most powerful, evil, and most feared dark wizards of all time.

His true identity isn't even mentioned in any of the history books- even Tom Riddle's diary is only mentioned as-
he-who-must-not-be-named's diary.

So really, the only ones who would recognize Tom Riddle, as Voldemort would be: Slughorn- who isn't at Hogwarts, Harry and Ginny Potter- who won't be here either, Hermione and Ronald Weasley, and Dumbledore's painting, but he hardly ever leaves the Headmasters office.

And of course former Death Eaters....

"Er...I don't really know how to break it to you...but do you know anything about... Lord V-Voldemort? Or Death Eaters?" She asked meekly.

"He was some sort of evil wizard...right? And he had these followers who murdered innocent people, Muggle borns and anyone who was against their cause."
I rattled down all the information that could be found in any of the old, and new history books.

Having a photographic memory really pays off at times like these.

"Right." Cordelia nodded as though I had listed out her crimes.

"So....Lord Voldemort wasn't called Lord Voldemort at birth....I mean, who would call their child flight of death in French, anyway, so he was born as...Tom Marvolo Riddle,which coincidentally matches with your uncle's name, but it can't be a coincidence because the names are too unusual, so this may come as a shock, but turning up as the most feared wizard in his prime may come as a shock to society, especially a supposedly dead one, so you know people would want to...take you to Azkaban? Society's weird like that." Cordelia took a deep breath after her little speech and waited for my reaction like she was anticipating for a bomb.

"But," I started and gave her a questioning look.
"I've read all the history books starting from the eighteenth century and- don't look at me like that, I've told you that I have a photographic memory." I said annoyed and prompted her to stop rolling her eyes at me like some lunatic.

"Anyway, none of the history books mentioned that Voldemort person's true identity, so I'd presume that only the former headmaster Dumbledore, former Potions Professor Slughorn and... Harry Potter...the Auror, his wife and closest friends would know him by name and appearance." I stated, while counting people off with my fingers.

"The only other people, who would recognize him would be former Death Eaters and their Children."
"So, how do you know that? I wasn't able to figure out Voldemort's identity." I said and took a bite off my now cold strawberry muffin.

"H-Hey! Watch what you are trying to imply here! My-my mother was a Gringotts manager and my father...he was...he was... a politician before he...retired and I knew this because...because I listened to private interview with Harry Potter about the Dark Lord and he mentioned it. My family-"

"Cordelia....you're rambling again, you only do that when you're nervous or lying. And quite frankly I know for a fact that both things are the case right now." I cut her nervous rambling off.

Cordelia's face became at least two shades whiter, and she cast her eyes downward as if she were expecting some sort of punishment or at least a nasty remark towards her family name.

I sat there for a while, simply looking at her- trying to figure out the best way to deal with the situation.

I haven't even mentioned the 'Your father was a Death Eater' part yet, and she's behaving as if she's just been sentenced to ten years in Azkaban.

"It's true though! My mother was a Gringotts manager, and my father...technically he was a politician at the Ministry. I have absolutely no idea what you are trying to say." Cordelia was saying this as though she was denying a murder at court, lowering her eyes and she sat as stiff as a board.

"Cordelia," I started in a calm voice, trying my best not to make her panic even more.
"I know- one of the books that I've read had a list of everyone who had been accused of being a Death Eater, and your father's trial records were there, among others...Now they didn't put all of the information in a book, that anyone with a decent amount of brain matter can find, but it did mention that your father never denied to being a Death Eater- he believed in Voldemort's cause, but-" I stopped talking for a moment, and took Cordelia's shivering form in.

"Stop." She started through gritted teeth.
"You don't have proof that he is my father. Just because we share the same surname doesn't mean we share blood." The sentence seemed to be physically ripped from her soul, and I could see a different kind of guilt in her swirling in her eyes.

"Cordelia, I know that Anthony Yaxley was your father, Voldemort placed him as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement..." I trailed off, and waited for any kind of reaction from her part.
However when none came, I proceeded to talk.
"What I'm trying to say is... it's that I know, I know and I don't care. People shouldn't be judged by the mistakes of their ancestors. I won't judge you for something that's beyond your control, and I won't tolerate anyone bringing you down because of it- so by Merlins beard, please stop looking at me that way it's making me uncomfortable!" I exclaimed a tad louder than I had wanted to, and downed my pumpkin juice in one go.

I've never talked this much in one go...

"At least I know your weakness now," Cordelia replied, the ghost of a smile playing at her lips.
"Don't you dare..." I responded with a tone of defeat in my voice.

Damn my chivalrous qualities.
I can't stand it when a girl is about to burst into tears, or in some sort of distress, it makes me want to either stop whatever is upsetting them or turn around and leave...

"Let's just make our way to Astronomy...we have thirty minutes before class starts." I tried to change the subject, stood up and grabbed both our school bags.

"Thank you...for not judging I mean" I heard her say quietly.
"I just found out that I'm related to the epitome of pure evil, and you're still talking to me. That's the least I could do." I replied as we left the kitchens behind.
"You're taking this awfully calmly,"She noted.
"I grew up with Muggles, all I know about the wizarding wars is what I've read from books...
It makes no difference to me if I'm related to Grindewald himself or Merlin for that matter, well at least as long as nobody finds out about it.
I mean, who would want to be related to someone who kills for a sport and calls his followers Death Eaters?" I said with played nervousness, and ran my hand through my hair.
"Who does, but someone must fill that role," she said quietly.

Suddenly I felt myself being bowled over as a whirl of bags and clothing knocked me over and latched itself on an unsuspecting Cordelia.

"Cordelia! You're alive!" Rosaline squealed.
I swore I heard a rib crack as Cordelia gestured frantically for help at my direction.

"Rose...I love you too...but I'd love you more if I could actually breath..." Cordelia gasped as she struggled for breath.

I resisted the urge to intervene, and simply stood there watching Rosaline and Juliet almost squeeze poor Cordelia to death.

Who needs enemies when they have friends like that... I thought silently to myself, glad that none of my friends where inclined to this sort of affectional display.

"I think my chest is considerably smaller now..." Cordelia complained,though there was a bemused smile on her face.
"Quit your exaggeration, your chest couldn't get smaller than it already is. For God's sake you almost died!" Juliet boomed.
"Coach was such a git today..." Rosaline began.
"So we might of-"
"Gave him a taste of his own medicine."
"With a little help from the Weasleys."
"You idiots." Cordelia face palmed, and I had a feeling that this was a common habit of hers.
"You could've been expelled!"
They both shrugged nonchalantly at the same time. Juliet suddenly took noticed of me and her expression became slightly harder than before.

"Cordelia, let's go, the Professor might give you your test back if you hurry."
"Oh my god, what did you get? Was question twenty-seven hydrogen gas?" Cordelia started to fret before glancing apologetically at me while Juliet dragged her away, jabbering information about the test.

"Ouch, that was ice cold." The unmistakable voice of Aberforth- one of my roommates echoed throughout the corridors.
"It looks like Romeo here needs a sidekick-" He was suddenly cut off by a loud meowing sound from Momo who sashayed from around the corner.
"A human sidekick." He added after throwing a glance at Momo who was now following behind us.
"I don't understand girls." I said, and sighed exasperated.
"None of us do mate..." said Aberforth and patted me on the shoulder.
"None of us do."