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HOGWARTS' Welcome Back Feast was truly a sight to see. Candles lit the four House tables. Meanwhile, the long table at the front, reserved for the professors, was adorned with elegant silverware and gleaming goblets that shimmered in the candlelight.

Different types of food stretched across the tables, with platters piled high with roast meats, steaming vegetables, and golden-brown pastries. Bowls of fragrant soups bubbled in the center, while a variety of freshly baked bread loaves awaited being sliced. There were trays overflowing with desserts—rich chocolate cakes, delicate pastries, and an array of colorful puddings—each more tempting than the last.

Goblets filled with pumpkin juice, butterbeer, and a selection of enchanted drinks sparkled under the candlelight, inviting students to indulge in their favorites.

The atmosphere was electric with anticipation, laughter, and the clinking of utensils, as old friends reunited and new students experienced the wonder of Hogwarts for the first time.

As the feast began, the Great Hall filled with the sounds of joy.

Lucinda Avery was enjoying every bite of the food. Biting into another piece of chocolate cake, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of disbelief. "I have to know what cookbook those house-elves use here." She closed her eyes and savored the next bite, her fork still in her mouth as she did so.

"You would think you're not getting fed enough at home," teased Edmund Avery—who was sitting right next to his sister with his friends.

"Speak for yourself. I, for one, am fascinated by the food and the desserts." Dorian Nott sauntered over to their table, a charming smile gracing his lips as he approached Lucinda. With an air of mock formality, he extended his hand toward her. "Please, darling?"

Athena raised an eyebrow at her friend, who merely rolled her eyes and gave him a plate. With a swift motion, she sliced a generous piece of rich chocolate cake, its glossy icing glimmering in the candlelight. She placed the decadent slice onto Dorian's outstretched plate, the corners of her mouth lifting in amusement at his eager expression.

"Watch that tongue, Nott." Edmund half-heartedly glared at the friend who was only a year below him.

Dorian Nott was not a man to be taken seriously in the dating scene. Known for his flirtatious personality, he was often found by prefects in broom closets snogging different girls each week.

Of course, that was not very pureblood-heir of him, but purebloods had different ways of letting out their emotions and stress. This was his way.

Dorian Nott merely grinned and gave him a salute before leaving, the plate of chocolate cake being eaten by him immediately after he sat back down with his other friends at the end of the table.

"Darling?" Athena finally joined in, trying not to look at the boy next to Edmund whose eyes she felt on her. The rejection she had given to the betrothal had stung, and she saw it in his eyes.

It also stung to not know his plans about it. To have to hear from her mother and almost being forced into it.

She knew it was not his fault she was almost forced into it—it was her mother's fault, of course—but it hurt just the same.

Lucinda shrugged, an air of nonchalance. "We danced at the ball in your manor. He's actually a really wonderful person, but not my type at all. I would have told you, but you were too busy with—" she glanced at Lestrange and pursed her lips when Athena gave her a look. Her friend had told her about the almost-betrothal incident on the train ride. She quickly tried fixing herself by saying, "—with Riddle—oh, shit—"

"Stop talking," advised her brother in a quiet voice, noting the deathly expression Athena's face wore.

Lucinda cringed at the fact she made mistake after mistake with one sentence. "Oops?"

"How do you know Riddle was there?" Titus Lestrange frowned and leaned forward, looking at his friend's younger sister. Yet again, he looked as proper and neat as possible.

"I told her," replied Athena, her gaze narrowing when he turned to her. Ignoring Druella's continued silence, she asked, "How do you know Riddle was there?"

"I saw him dancing with you when our partners got switched," the Lestrange heir pointed out, a frown on his face.

Athena accepted that answer and did not reply. Her gaze went to the professors' table, landing on Professor Dumbledore, who was seated right next to Headmaster Dippet, and the other Transfiguration professor, who taught his classes when he was away from Hogwarts, was on the other side.

"I would keep an eye on the company you keep, Ms. Malfoy."

Remembering those words, Athena's eyes landed on Titus.

Titus, who was too busy pushing the food around his plate with his fork, lost in thought. A frown was still on his face, and Athena felt a twinge of guilt over it.

It did not make sense.

No, it did not.

Titus could not be the Heir of Slytherin, nor a parselmouth, nor a Gaunt.

He was the Heir of the Lestranges, Merlin!

Athena shook her head and looked at the end of the Slytherin table, occupied by her brother and his friends. The seat to his left—which was usually Riddle's spot—was empty. Yet, Abraxas seemed unfazed and was talking to Dolohov, Nott, and Black about something.

"You danced with Riddle?" Druella whispered to her friend in shock, finally joining in the conversation as well after the others stopped focusing on Athena.

Athena rolled her eyes at the mention of Riddle, but nodded. "In the dance when we had to switch partners midway, I landed in his arms. If I stopped and left, I would've been shamed by the Pureblood community."

"It would've been rather impolite," agreed Druella.

Athena nodded and opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted when the Great Hall's doors burst open with a deafening crash.

A student staggered in, her face ashen and her eyes wide with terror, silencing the room in an instant.

She stood there, gasping, her mouth opening and closing as if the words had been stolen from her.

Concern flickered across the faces of Headmaster Dippet and Professor Dumbledore, who rose from their seats, fixated on the girl at the entrance.

"Ms. Olive Hornby," Headmaster Dippet said softly, his gaze steady yet full of concern. "What happened?"

"Dead," was all Olive managed to stammer, locking eyes with the shocked Headmaster. "Myrtle Warren is dead... in the girls' bathroom!"

Chaos was an understatement to what happened in the Great Hall right after.

Prefects were tasked immediately with ushering the students to their common rooms, even though they all were terrified themselves but were trying to keep it together for the crying and screaming first-years, and the second years who were trembling.

Athena herself had been in shock the whole time it took for her legs to carry her into the common room, up the staircase that led to the dormitories of the Slytherin girls, and into her own dorm room.

Lucinda and Druella hadn't uttered a word, either. But Athena saw the terrified look in Lucinda's eyes as she stared into nothing, laying on her side on her own bed.

Druella, meanwhile, was rather more composed. Athena wondered if Druella had learned to keep her emotions in check so perfectly from the private Pureblood lessons she had probably gotten as a child.

Her brows furrowed when she realized something.

Abraxas.

"Where are you going?" Druella's eyes filled with concern after Athena had stopped pacing and rushed to the door. She was sitting on her bed as well, her fingers drumming the blanket beneath her in anxiety. "You ought to stay here, Athena!"

"Abraxas," replied Athena with no further explanation.

Druella opened her mouth—probably to argue and make Athena stay—but Athena walked out quickly and closed the door behind her.

She rushed down the stairs, then up the stairs that led to the boys' dormitories and quickly found her brother's.

'Tom Riddle
Abraxas Malfoy
Dorian Nott
Antonin Dolohov
Cygnus Black'

The names were etched onto the sign on the door. The sign that was on every dorm's door and had the names of the roommates on it.

She tried to open the door but found it locked. Not giving it a second thought, Athena slammed her body onto the door and it flew right open.

"Abra—" The word died on her lips as soon as she took in the empty dorm room that had neither Abraxas nor any of his friends in it.

The beds were all neatly made, surprisingly, and everything was cleaned. Athena would've thought they had ran away if not for the trunks and books that were still there.

Her brows knitted as she took a few steps forward and looked around, thoughts spiraling in her mind. Everything was organized and clean—everything.

Even the books were neatly stacked together on some of their nightstands.

Walking over to one of the said nightstands, she peered at the books and was not shocked to find each and every one of them to be about Purebloods.

They were all Pureblood heirs, after all—

Her gaze shot to the one bed that had not a pureblood book, but a book about Ancient Runes on its nightstand. Athena immediately knew who it belonged to—the one person who was not a pureblood in Abraxas's friend group.

She walked to the nightstand, frowning even further when she noticed the fact that the "Ancient Runes" book was a cover of the Ancient Runes textbook, but the words "Ancient Runes" itself were not on it.

With a wave of her hand, the glamor on the book was gone and replaced by a familiar book.

Athena froze.

Pureblood Families and Its Origins.

The fact that it was a book about purebloods in the dorm that had only pureblood books and pureblood heirs did not make it seem out of place.

But the fact that Athena had gotten that book from the library and checked it weeks ago to learn something about the Gaunts and found the page ripped out—

She glanced at the wide-open door one last time before grabbing the book and flipping through the ancient, brittle pages.

A brittle paper fell right onto her shoe.

She froze.

Then, snapping out of her shock and looking down, Athena crouched and outstretched a hand to gently take the paper. She put the book back down on the nightstand and closed it, then opened the folded brittle paper.

A wave of absolute shock engulfed her, wrapping around her like a heavy cloak. She was oblivious to the hair standing on the back of her neck or the goosebumps that erupted across her skin. The only thought piercing through her stunned state was the information about the Gaunt family she had searched for weeks in the Hogwarts library, now in her hands.

Athena shook her head in disbelief as she continued reading the names of the Gaunts—all leading to the last descendant.

'Merope Gaunt x Tom Riddle Sr.
Tom Marvolo Riddle'

Hearing footsteps down the hallway, she immediately put the paper back into the book. She was about to turn around, but her eyes stopped on a leather black journal that was right next to the book. Athena felt chills run up her spine the moment she reached out a finger to it.

Yet, she snapped out of it and rushed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"What are you doing?" Edmund Avery's brows furrowed at the empty dorm she had just gotten out from. He raised his eyebrows when she was merely staring at him in shock to reply.

"I was looking for Abraxas," replied Athena, looking right into his eyes. She was not lying, after all. She had been looking for Abraxas—but found way more than what she had been looking for. "Do you know where he is?"

It was Edmund's turn to wear a mask of confusion as he opened his mouth to respond, only to shake his head. "I don't know," he lied, questioning whether the knowing look in her eyes was merely a figment of his imagination.

Athena simply nodded before walking down the stairs, leaving him standing there.

Once she reached the common room, she hurried up the stairs to the girls' dormitories, pushing open the door to her room with a forceful slam.

Lucinda and Druella both jumped from their own respective beds.

The simple look of outrage on Athena's face when she turned to Druella was enough for the young Rosier girl to know what she had found out. "Athena—"

"You knew," Athena gritted out before slamming the door behind her closed, leaving the three friends in the dorm they shared with privacy. "You knew this whole time."

Lucinda slowly stood from her bed and walked to her angry friend, giving Druella a look of confusion. "Knew what?" she asked genuinely, obviously not having any idea what was going on at all.

"You," Athena gritted out again as she took a step closer to Druella, "knew."

Druella did not deny it. Instead, she lifted her chin and swallowed. But the angry look on the friend who seemed to look betrayed made her suppress a flinch.

Athena pointed a finger at Druella. "How dare you?" she simply asked, but the question held every hint of emotion in it: anger, hurt, and most of all, betrayal.

Lucinda, noticing Druella's stubborn silence, then looked at Athena. Athena, who was too busy glaring at their friend to notice her. "Knew what?" She repeated for the second time. She turned to Druella again, who was staring back right into Athena's cold eyes. "Knew what, Druella?"

"Get out of this dorm," Athena snapped, her nostrils flaring as she glared at Druella. Her jaw was set tight, and her eyes glinted like ice, radiating a fury that chilled the air around them.

"She can't!" argued Lucinda immediately, grabbing Athena's shoulders and making her look at her. "Someone just died, Athena! It's not safe out there—"

"It is for us, actually." Athena smiled coldly, a hint of mocking in that curve of her lips as she motioned to Druella. Lucinda merely frowned in confusion. "Druella will tell us why, won't you?"

Druella finally stood from where she sat on the bed and crossed her arms, her chin raised in a stubborn manner.

But Athena's anger, Lucinda's confusion—Druella felt a pang in her chest.

"I do not know what you are talking about," replied Druella simply. When Athena scoffed coldly, she finally let out the flinch she had suppressed.

"Well, since she won't be telling us." Athena turned back to Lucinda, who now let go of her shoulders. Noticing the confusion and wariness in the brown eyes, Athena almost hesitated, but her anger got the better of her. "Riddle is the Heir of Slytherin."

Because if Riddle was the Heir of Slytherin, then his friends had to have known. One of those friends would be Cygnus Black—Druella's betrothed.

And if Druella knew, but did not tell Athena about her brother's involvement in it... then was she as trustworthy as Athena thought she was?

The tense silence engulfed the trio. If a pin dropped at that moment, they would hear it.

Lucinda's mouth dropped in shock. "How—"

"His mother was Merope Gaunt," explained Athena before looking at the tense Druella yet again. "And you know what's more shocking, Lucinda?" continued the girl, tilting her head as her eyes bore into Druella's.

"Athena, don't—"

"Black, Nott, Dolohov, and Abraxas all know." Athena ignored Druella, crossed her own arms, and took another step forward. "You knew the whole time. Abraxas is my brother and you hid this from me—"

"I had no choice—!"

"Bullshit!" exclaimed Athena in anger, her eyes wide with rage.

Lucinda shook her head in disappointment, staring at the friend she had made back in first year. "Does Edmund know?" she asked breathlessly, the air rushing out of her lungs at the information that had just been revealed to her. When Druella merely clenched her jaw as a reply, Lucinda frowned even further. "Druella, are you really going to keep more from us than this?"

"She will." Athena nodded. "Just like how she will keep the fact that we know to herself. Right, Druella?"

"You cannot threaten me, Athena Malfoy."

"It is not a threat," replied Athena, tilting her head again. "It is what you owe us after all this time. Hiding this information from us, making me look like a fool running around and trying to figure out who the Heir of Slytherin is while you knew all this time—"

"That is not my fault!" Druella argued, her cheeks tinted pink at the anger she was feeling herself. Looking between both her friends that looked at her with betrayal, she said, "I might have known, but I always warned you to stay away from Riddle for this very reason, Athena. I always cared for both of your safeties."

Lucinda looked away, the feeling of her heart being squeezed right out of her chest too hard to handle. "We're your best friends, Druella. You should have told us."

"I could not." Druella shook her head, a hint of regret passing her face. "It was in mine and Cygnus's betrothal agreement to have my silence."

"You knew before you got betrothed," argued Athena, clenching her jaw when Druella became quiet.

She was right, obviously. She had taken a guess and it had been right, the silence was the answer to that.

Even Lucinda noticed. She shook her head in disappointment. Her gaze snapped to Athena, who was swiftly packing her book into her bag and a bunch of parchments. "Where are you going?"

Athena rolled her eyes, her posture tense as she packed her studying supplies. "She can stay, I do not care. I will be in the common room studying tonight."

And with that, she slung her bag over her shoulder and slammed open the door before walking out.