Needlessly Antagonistic ((Aurora, Ariane))

[Jez Cuthbert]

There she was! Ah, and there was Ariane with her, yet again. It was proving rather difficult to find Aurora at any other time. For someone who knew the habitual whereabouts of Ariane at any given time of the day, Jez knew shamefully little about the whereabouts of her best friend. Her relative too, judging by the name and what he'd heard from others; what sort of relatives they were he didn't know, because that information wasn't in general supply around the year, being of no more than passing interest to anyone other than those on speaking terms with any one or more Chans. Jez was, needless to say, not one to fit into that category with the Chan in his own house.

'You should make more note of the people Annie associates with as well', Jez reminded himself mentally. 'Could come in useful.' But he wasn't looking for Aurora out of any wish to cause trouble, ahtough of course any aid that it could provide him with would always be welcome and useful. Today, Jez had a perfectly legitimate reason - definining that as a reason that anyone aside from him would also agree was valid - and his intentions were completely devoid of mischief (but of course!). Indeed, they even bordered on the virtuous. For who in the world could have suggesting that there was something strangely alluring about being entrusted with an impressionable youngster, upon whom you could impose your marols (or lack of them)? No indeed; not a single soul could have suggested that. Jez was, quite evidently, trying to do good in his life for once. It remained to be seen whether his conduct the rest of the time would preclude him from that.

Well, the fact remained that since Jez was not in the habit of memorising particular individuals' movements unless he had some dastardly motive, he was still woefully ignorant of where Aurora was to be found at any time other than the times she usually spent with Ariane. He'd used up about two days trying to find her while she was not in her friend's presence, but without success. For some reason, he was reluctant to talk to her while she was with the other Gryffindor. It wasn't that he was intimidated by Ariane - quite the contrary in fact: he rather enjoyed incurring her wrath. It couldn't be that he wasn't prepared to meddle with the friendship or make her worried that he intended to... because it was hardly as though he was concerned about being fair to her as a fellow human being. At least, so Jez told himself. The latter might have had some bearing on his actions, in truth, as he was seeking an even-handed response and so was possibly more inclined to reflect that attitude in his own actions.

But there was a limit to how timid someone like Jez Cuthbert could be. Two days had gone by, and that meant that his time was gradually running out. An even-handed response would be no use in this case if it came too late. So he would act now. Jez hastened his step to catch up with the pair as they made their way out of lunch, quickly catching up alongside them and greeting each girl:
"Aurora, Ariane." He nodded and smiled to them both, slowing down his pace now and directing his path away from the main flow of people, so that they would be able to stop and talk without getting trodden down by the group behind them. "A minute, please?" His smile to Ariane lingered for a moment longer than it had for Aurora, and for once it was open and friendly rather than the mischievous/satisfied grin or the enigmatic upwards curve of the lips that were the norm for him. If Ariane was sufficiently attued to his flavour of empathy, she should be able to tell that he wanted her to know he meant no harm. He wasn't one for performing pranks when he'd lured the victims of his jokes into the sticky situation under false pretences. He'd always warned them that he had it in for them when they really did have it coming. There just wasn't that much they could do about it when they did, considering Jez's determination.

Once they'd stopped in a safely uncirculated part of the Great Hall, Jez addressed Aurora, wondering whether this would come as a surprise to the other Chan who was so used to being antagonised by him herself. But even with his lack of malicious intent, he couldn't resist stirring things up a bit. Giving Ariane a reason to be perturbed by his requests, if she so chose. He could potentially leave her uneasy or suspicious just by being a little ambiguous. It wasn't as though she trusted him - or if she did, she only trusted him to be troublesome.
"Aurora, Kia Brightstar said that you were the person I needed to speak to. Would I be able to have a word with you in confidence, now?" He glanced momentarily at Ariane, making it perfectly clear that he would not be comfortable with having her there while he was having his confidential meeting.

[Aurora Chan]

“Tired?” Aurora asked Ari as they finished their lunch. Harmony had departed a few minutes earlier, having something she needed to attend to, much to Ari’s suspicion due to what Aurora deemed the ‘Rex Episode’. Ever since that incident, Ari had been watching Harmony’s every movement with eyes similar to that of a hawk’s; or rather, a spy’s, Aurora thought dryly. Ari was extremely protective of Harmony; in fact, overprotective. Aurora was very motherly towards Leo herself, but she always had a good balance on whether or not to interfere with his life. Then again, she and her brother had had a different upbringing to Ari and Harmony. She admitted it was natural for Ari to be the way she was; her personality was moulded a lot from her past, so it was no surprise. Ari was the only immediate family Harmony had left, and vice versa; she was the only person who could take care of such an innocent child, and Aurora had to understand her incessant worrying. Ever since Lorraine’s death, Ari had grown increasingly anxious and protective over Harmony, and since the ‘Rex Episode’, that paranoia had escalated even more. Aurora didn’t know how to stop her best friend from worrying herself to death. Ari had been so much more jumpy lately.

Ari shook her head in indication of the answer ‘no’, which Aurora took and left it at that. She couldn’t pester her cousin too much, otherwise Ari might blow up at her, which was the last thing Aurora wanted (or needed). Aurora had a niggling feeling that Ari’s recent behaviour didn’t just have to do with Harmony; perhaps, and quite likely, it was linked with Lorraine’s death. Aurora had worried about whether Ari would ever be the same again. It was true for a while during the summer she had acted quite normal, but she had retreated into the recluse she was every now and again, sometimes disappearing from the house for a whole day at a time. This had greatly vexed Aurora’s parents, and it took Aurora a while to get them to realise it wasn’t a big deal. Ari was more than capable of looking after herself, and her personality was something you could not control. Ari reminded Aurora, in a way, of nature; an unstoppable, yet innate force, seemingly susceptible and easily broken, yet always strong and powerful on the inside. Yet there was also the element of the opposite in Ari – in that her outside layers were the invincible metal shield, and the inside she protected was as vulnerable as a baby. Ari was a walking enigma; only Aurora had the honour of claiming to know her thoughts best. Even Harmony could not, her naivety and youth causing Ari to turn all her problems from her. However, even Aurora had no idea what Ari was thinking sometimes.

Once they had finished their meal, the two girls left the Hufflepuff table side by side, with Aurora chattering away and Ari remaining silent. This was their usual set up; Aurora the talker and Ari the listener. They were about to exit the Great Hall, when a familiar figure caused them to halt in their tracks. “Jez.” Aurora replied with a greeting smile at the Gryffindor in their year. However, she immediately noticed a sudden growth in hostility emanating from Ari, and turned to glance at her in confusion. To her surprise, Ari was giving Jez a long, hard look, one which Aurora had rarely seen her give to anyone but a Slytherin whom had hounded Harmony. Aurora blinked in confusion, wondering what Jez Cuthbert had ever done to her to arouse such anger. She didn’t know Jez on a too familiar level; he was a mischief maker, but a humorous one she had to admit. Aurora could understand why Ari disapproved of him, but not to this extent unless he had carried out an unforgiveable act on her. However, Aurora pondered no further as Jez asked if he could have a minute. Aurora just about managed to notice the lingering smile Jez flashed at Ari, and grew even more confused.

The trio moved to a less crowded area, and Aurora turned to him with the same smile, though her inner concerns grew. Ari had yet to speak a single word; when others approached Aurora for a talk, Ari would silently leave so that Aurora could find her later. However, Ari had stayed put, as if interested, but yet had failed to talk or explain to Aurora her reasons. Also, the aura she was emanating and that intent stare at Jez unnerved Aurora despite it not thankfully being trained on her. Trying to forget Ari’s intimidating presence, Aurora turned to Jez in question. “What’s wrong, Jez? It’s not like you to seek me out.” She asked with a little confusion and curiosity in her voice. However, his being there was quickly explained when he mentioned Kia Brightstar, a fifth year Gryffindor whom Aurora had spoken to on several occasions. She was a lovely girl, very happy-go-lucky and similar to Aurora in many ways personality-wise. “Oh! You want to ask me about BBBS?” Aurora asked with a bright, enthusiastic smile as understanding dawned on her. The new scheme at Hogwarts had Aurora on the committee team of five, and Kia must have told Jez to come to her, the person in charge of the fifth and sixth year Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and, yes, the Slytherins. Rather ironic really; Aurora wondered if this was why so many of the Slytherins on her hit list had so far said no to joining. However, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff groups looked positive. What would Jez want to know though? “Sure.” Aurora nodded, before catching Jez’s glance at Ari, whom still had yet to say a word. “Um... Ari, how about I meet you later?” Aurora suggested nervously. Judging from that looking on her best friend’s face, it was going to be a struggle. What on earth had Jez done to incur such wrath?

[Ariane Chan]

Ariane stomached the food with little enthusiasm, her eyes boring intently into the wood of the Hufflepuff dining table. Yet again she replayed the scene from a few days ago in her mind like a video tape; this was probably the millionth time Ariane had thought it over, and still she was not sick of thinking about it. However, she felt sick concerning what happened that afternoon. The thought that Harmony was associating herself with that... filth, made Ariane so angry and scared and... and so empty inside.

Ariane had always feared Harmony would one day not need her. Despite the fact Ariane felt the pressure to protect Harmony and this could surface as paranoia sometimes, the fact was Ariane couldn’t function without something to look after; something to care for, to love and cherish. Harmony wasn’t an object, but she, in a way, belonged to Ariane, and she admitted the truth that she did control and boss Harmony around unconsciously (Aurora claimed it was the trait of an older sister, and Leo had snorted in the background in agreement). However, now she felt like she was losing that control over Harmony... losing Harmony altogether to someone incompetent and unworthy of her. Ariane had been afraid of this from the very start, hence her paranoia and over-protectiveness, but it was true what Aurora had once said to her; she couldn’t tie Harmony down forever. She couldn’t stay in her shadow forever, live by Ariane’s side forever. She was her own person and technically no one should be able to control that. Ariane felt she would be happy... well, somewhat okay with letting go of Harmony, but she refused to let that person to take over her role as Harmony’s guardian be Rex Carter.

Rex Carter would change Harmony like adding a dab of black paint to white. Although the encounter the other day was just a one-off, Ariane had a feeling this was the start of something she would not be content about. In fact, she knew she had to stop anything from occurring now so nothing would happen in the future. However, Harmony had been cleverly avoiding Ariane for the last few days – even Aurora hadn’t seen her, and when Aurora had claimed to pass Harmony in the Common Room, she had brushed right past with the most fleeting of smiles. Not a word had passed between Harmony and her older family since the incident, and although Ariane was pained about this, she didn’t regret anything she said that day. Harmony’s reaction did make it worse for Ariane though; she and Harmony rarely went without speaking for less than twice a day, and this indicated to Ariane quite clearly that Harmony was serious about Rex. This made Ariane’s blood run cold with fear. Harmony wasn’t a stubborn person... not until now. Was she changing already?

Ariane was jerked rudely out of her thoughts when she realised that she had finished her meal – completely automatically. The fork in her mouth was devoid of a morsel of food, as her hand had previously thought, and she put it down on the plate carefully. She watched as Aurora finished her meal, before she was asked if she was tired, and Ariane shook her head. She was concerned... obsessed, even, about Harmony’s new ‘friend’, that she had taken to rarely thinking about Lorraine, which was a good thing in a way. There were nights Ariane found sleeping difficult from thinking about her mother, and although the Harmony predicament was disturbing, it didn’t keep Ariane up at night. However, it was taking its toll within lessons; even Aurora had noticed yesterday in Arithmancy, when Ariane had done one sum wrong and Aurora was forced to correct her. That had never happened before.

Ariane was looking forward to going to her dormitory and hiding there after separating from Aurora once out of the Great Hall, but that was before the face of Jez Cuthbert popped out of nowhere in front of them, causing Ariane to step back unconsciously, her eyes narrowing at the Gryffindor’s familiar face and her walls raised without her even forcing them to. Her eyes flickered to Aurora, who obviously recognised him and greeted him in return after he addressed them both. ”What does he want?” Ariane thought bitterly to herself, very suspicious of the fact that for once in Jez Cuthbert’s life, he had addressed her as ‘Ariane’. Shock horror! Ariane had never informed Aurora of what had occurred between her, Tristan MacCay and Jez Cuthbert. In truth, it was too embarrassing to reminisce on, and she vowed she would not tell another soul about the entire ‘problem’. Plus, Ariane had convinced herself to adamantly that there was no need to inform Aurora of her little ‘problem’, she could deal with such annoying boys… But it seemed Jez had not given up on Ariane yet; his actions day by day were beginning to seriously annoy Ariane. She could just about tolerate him after what had occurred back in Diagon Alley and getting her confused between him and Tristan, but now she just… could not stand him even more!

Ariane scraped the idea of leaving Aurora in her mind. No way was she leaving her best friend with this jerk! Moving to one side along with Jez and Aurora, Ariane fixed her attention solely and suspiciously on Jez, waiting for him to speak in reply to Aurora. BBBS? Ariane snorted inwardly when Aurora mentioned it; as if Jez Cuthbert would ever make a good big brother; the idea was insane! However, when Aurora sent Ariane a look which indicated she needed her to depart, and the same went for Jez, she felt affronted. Ariane refused to concede, however, and just sent Jez a cool, dark look. “I’m not leaving Aurora with you.” She spoke bluntly, not caring how Aurora took this; she wasn’t one to hold back. “I’ll stand here.” Ariane positioned herself two metres maximum away from them, staring at them both defiantly as she folded her arms across her chest. “Take your time.” She added sarcastically, leaning against the other wall. “I have all the time in the world.”