Chapter Thirty-Nine: Insidious and Unsuspecting

It seemed like it had been a lifetime since Cordelia was at Hogwarts.

A lifetime since she smelled the quaint aroma of wood and salty water as the Slytherins lounged under scattered trees on the Quidditch pitch. Since the fleeting black robes of other students and familiar leather couches of the common room as they sipped on spiced pumpkin juice stolen from the kitchen. The shiny knights and boisterous paintings scattered across dusty hallways.

Memories, old and new, and friends, fake and trustworthy all felt like things of the past at Beauxbaton.

Cordelia never thought she would miss Hogwarts throughout her stay at the shiny palace with the Triwizard Tournament and its terrors taking up her time.

She was evidently mistaken.

For while Hogwarts really did seem like a lifetime ago, that lifetime came rushing back as the train's whistle blew for the third time.

"They're here!"

Phyllis's excited cry made the Black sisters giggle as they walked further through the snow, waiting for the Hogwarts Express to soar through a final set of clouds.

Smoke and dust filled the air as the train finally approached the cluster of Hogwarts students, but that didn't stop Cordelia and the girls from rushing towards Ignatius, Aurora and Nix the second they stepped onto the snowy mountain.

While Druella and Phyllis gushed over Aurora's appearance, Cordelia rushed towards her beloved cat and cooed as the black furball rubbed itself against her arms. She had never spent such a long time away from her familiar, and it pained her to see how happy Nix was at finally being by her side.

Unfortunately, the cat would have been a terrible distraction during the tasks and couldn't come with her.

While Nix was allowed to roam as she pleased at Hogwarts, Beauxbaton was uncharted territory filled to the brim with people who despised Cordelia, and she couldn't risk her cat getting hurt over petty jealousy. The justification didn't stop her from letting out a bittersweet sigh as her digits shuffled through soft black fur.

Cordelia had all the friends she needed at Beauxbaton, but sometimes it was pleasant to vent to Nix without receiving any judgement or praise.

In a way, over the past week, Tom had become that person for her.

After he unceremoniously forced her into accepting his courtship, Riddle had taken to accompanying Cordelia whenever he saw fit.

This resulted in several hours of silence as the two studied in the library or roamed through the palace. While Tom was used to the silence, Cordelia craved conversation to fill the awkward void between them.

It didn't help matters that all the people she could invite to join her would reject Cordelia out of fear, hatred or jealousy for her acquaintance.

Eventually, the talkative bibliophile caved and struck up conversations with the Dark Lord. It started with curious questions of his endeavours or mockingly taunting him when she saw fit, but ultimately, they began speaking to one another more than they had in the past six years, and in doing so developed a peculiar relation of sorts.

Cordelia certainly couldn't consider him her friend, much less partner, but she couldn't deny the tyrant was an amazing listener and always knew exactly what to say.

When she was with him it felt like Tom had the solution to any of her problems and all she had to do was ask.

It was bizarre to think that someone she so dearly despised would be the very thing Cordelia looked forward to during days of solitude, but in a way, Tom was the only person who could remotely understand what she was going through.

After the second task, Cordelia had taken to sulking and avoiding confrontations with her friends and family. The boys were easy to avoid, after all, Tom kept his knights busy with Merlin knew what, but it was tricky to escape the girls.

As much as she wanted to talk to them, Cordelia feared once she started, she wouldn't stop talking until Phyllis and Druella knew everything going on in her life. Including the letters from Grindlewald and her confrontations with Dumbledore.

But it was different with Tom.

With Tom, Cordelia could speak as she pleased without letting her guard down or worrying about saying too much. She didn't trust him, that was for certain, and even though her hostility was diminishing, it was still enough for Cordelia to consciously lock away any thoughts or worries regarding her family and future.

That certainly didn't leave a lot to talk about, but it also meant the topics they discussed were common ground.

She would never admit it, but both of them had come to realise they enjoyed each other's company. And Cordelia despised the fact that she didn't quite despise the revelation.

"Lia!"

Her thoughts ebbed away as the brunette set her gaze on her beloved blonde friend.

It had been a while since her sapphire gaze met Aurora's silver pools, but the cheerful creature lover looked just as she did when Cordelia left her.

Bittersweet, excited, but above all happy for her friends.

"Where's Ignatius?"

Pinewood and strawberries wafted through her nose as Cordelia launched herself on Aurora, muttering the question into her blonde strands.

"The boys have a meeting with Riddle, they said they'll shop by themselves right after."

It was Druella who filled Cordelia in as Aurora was too busy muttering sweet praises to her.

When the duo finally pulled away, the four girls couldn't help the giddy smiles strewn across their face as they held hands and revelled at having their group together again.

The girls immediately began discussing the day ahead of them as they walked farther away from the palace. Cordelia briefly broke away from her friends to put several charms on Nix's collar to ensure the adventurous cat didn't sneak more than a meter away before turning back to her friends with a question.

"So, where do we start?"

Phyllis giggled at her question, wrapping her arm around the tall brunette's waist as she led the group towards the French market situated at the bottom of the mountain.

"It's the Yule, Lia, if you think we'll settle for anything but the best then you've lost it."

The girls nodded at each other with approval as they finally reached the small path leading towards the market. They took a moment to gather their robes and flatten their hair as the group thought of shops to visit, the group was certain they wouldn't be visiting the little French town before them, which left a handful of shops they could go to.

They were limited to In the end, they decided to rely on the trustworthy, mud-blood hating women of Couturière.

"We should drop by the Lestranges if we visit Le Couturière."

"It's been a month since I met you lot-" Aurora flipped her hair over her shoulder with a twinkle in her eyes as she spoke, "I'm not wasting this time to visit annoying adults telling us what to do."

Her statement made Cordelia remember exactly why Aurora was such a close friend of theirs, the thought itself bringing a fond smile to her face as Druella fetched a Portkey from her purse.

"Good to have you back, Rora."

The blonde winked at the gold-eyed witch as she clutched onto the old shoe.

"Good to be back, Ella."

It had been an hour since the posse of witches had left Beauxbaton yet each of them turned to one another empty-handed even after trying on and discarding several outfits.

"Who would think dress shopping would be so hard?"

Phyllis's groan was echoed by her friends as they settled onto a couch in the shop.

"Not to mention finding the right partner!"

Cordelia looked at Aurora in confusion at her outburst. The girls had presumed Aurora would be attending the Yule with Ignatius, after all, they had been courting for quite some time, but the blonde seemed to think otherwise.

"He hasn't asked you yet?"

Aurora shook her head dismissively as she leaned back against the peach couch and let out a sigh.

"Even Rodolphus got to it before he did."

Phyllis frowned at Druella's statement, turning towards her left to face Cordelia with a pout.

"I guess we're the only ones left. At least Aurora knows she'll end up with Ignatius."

Cordelia didn't understand how to respond to Phyllis. On one hand, she technically was attending the ball with Riddle, but on the other, she was left with no other option.

While her friends got to play around and pick a wizard of their choice, Cordelia was stuck running in circles with Tom. She had no choice when it came to him and was ultimately left to choose between the safety of her loved ones and the opportunity to attend an important ball with someone of her choice.

Phyllis and Aurora seemed blissfully unaware of her thoughts as they once again walked towards the series of dresses hung in front of them, but Cordelia couldn't escape her cousin's keen eye.

"It's Tom, isn't it?"

If she wanted to the sly snake could have lied her way through the situation, but Cordelia knew there was no fooling Druella. After all, the gold-eyed artist was one of the few people who understood her predicament.

Cordelia didn't do much except nod and let out a sigh, but that was enough for Druella as she got up from the couch and pulled her sister with her.

"How about we try finding something that suits us and our partner rather than focusing on our taste?"

Somehow the keen Black witch always knew exactly how to divert the conversation while also providing Cordelia with reassurance, a quality that laid the foundation of their friendship.

Druella's advice helped Cordelia get her mind off of things as she wandered further into the aisles of robes and gowns.

Unlike their previous visit, Anastasia Couturière chose to busy herself with another group of witches and allowed the Hogwarts students to do as they pleased near the back of the shop. They didn't complain, after all the back was known for having the newer dresses, but Cordelia couldn't help but wonder whether her selection would be easier with assistance.

She thought back to the last time she visited the store, at the start of the year when things seemed so much simpler. Back then all Cordelia cared about was getting to Beauxbaton, she never really thought of what would happen once the Goblet selected her.

It was wise to take things one step at a time, but she couldn't help but wonder if things would be easier had she prepared more. If the tasks wouldn't be as scary and seemingly impossible as they were.

A part of her wished they had been easier, but another part revelled in the fact that Cordelia had aced two of the tasks, giving her an advantage for the final one. Even though they had worked for the second task, Tom had placed third in the first one.

With Beauxbaton's disqualification and Dumstrang placing last during the first task, Cordelia was winning the Tournament. All she had to was get through the Yule and third task.

Ironically enough it was the ball that scared her more than the Triwizard Tournament, after all, the tournament was meant to push and test its competitors. The ball, on the other hand, was something Cordelia was meant to enjoy, a night that she would remember.

But that night, just like the previous ball at Hogwarts, was snatched away by the Dark Lord.

"That one looks great, Lia, go try it on!"

Aurora's excited exclamation made her snap out of her thoughts as Cordelia looked around the shop, her blue gaze finally settling on the smooth fabric between her fingers.

Cordelia was too lost in her thought to realise that she had stopped skimming through the clothes and settled on a black gown.

The polymath hummed as she whipped out her wand and levitated the dress between her and Aurora for them to admire. It was quite similar to the costume Riddle had picked out for her, with cape sleeves and a long skirt, but the sleeves were part of a cloak draped over the dress.

Unlike her previous outfit, the new dress had short sleeves and a tight bodice with a long loose skirt. The silver patterns and ruby jewellery of her costume were swapped out for intricate gold designs and gold jewellery.

"Isn't it a little Gryffindor?"

Aurora shrugged at Cordelia's question, reaching out to play with the skirt as she replied.

"We can't stick to the same three colours our entire life just because we're Slytherins."

It was surprising to hear Aurora being so bold, but her words were exactly what Cordelia needed to hear. Adult purebloods loved dressing up in ruby gowns and blue robes, yet Hogwarts students were expected to stick to Slytherin colours throughout their school life.

The discrimination between the houses was so prominent that even pureblood children were forbidden from wearing red and golden. Yet gold jewellery was a fan favourite amongst unruly pureblood women.

People were supposed to be burdened with things the older they got, but in the wizarding world a pureblood's childhood was full of trauma and adulthood was set aside for them to turn into monsters, just like their parents.

"I'll try it on."

As the sun set over Beauxbaton's palace the Slytherin witch made her way through the marble corridors, her shoes emitting a loud click as they briefly settled onto each tile.

After a long day of shopping and reconnecting with her friends all Cordelia wanted to do was lie in bed with Nix and recollect her energy for the Yule, but Riddle had other ideas.

Over the past week, the Dark Lord had taken to asking Cordelia to join him at the library whenever he saw fit. Sometimes Tom would be sitting on a table at the back of the library waiting for her, but most of the time he would lean against the library's door and lead her further into the palace as they explored Beuaxbaton.

That day seemed to be the former as Cordelia took a final turn down the candle-lit passages, spotting the library's familiar gold gates.

A sigh left her lips as she pulled the door open, but something stopped her just before she could walk inside.

Light thumps of a mop bucket being pulled down a corridor echoed towards her left. The bucket itself meant nothing to her, but the insinuation that the bucket's owner decided to drag it rather than levitating it did.

The helpers in Beauxbaton are mostly magic folk, the worst of them being squibs, but there remains one man who degrades this pure institute.

Peter Wilder.

Learn the name and face, and when the time is right, finish him. I trust you to do well, Miss Cordelia. We all have high expectations for you, do not let us down.

The words haunted her as Cordelia walked past the library, a grim frown overcoming her features as she muttered excuses for her actions. She stopped herself before she could take a turn to the next corridor as Cordelia tried to reason with her mind, but it was too late as her sapphire gaze landed on the old brunette mudblood mopping up spilt potions.

As she walked forward, her breath stalled in her chest and her gaze lingered towards the library's gates closing behind her.

Cordelia had never felt more anxious, but the familiar ridges of her wand helped quell her nerves and strengthen her resolve as she walked closer to the man. He seemed so unsuspecting with his head bent over a bucket of water and wand tucked away in his cloak.

She almost pitied the man more than herself as Cordelia raised her wand, pointing it at his back and muttering a simple curse, one that would ensure a senile, old mudblood like him fell into a dreamless sleep.

Forever.