Riddle's Heir

Katie Bell

Draco stood next to Athena, staring at the cabinet. This was their last test run, and they were both sure that it would work.

Maybe they didn't want it to, because the darkness that would loom over them would be unbearable if it truly did succeed.

Slowly, Draco grabbed the bird in the cage next to them. Athena opened the vanishing cabinet's door, which they had fixed at the end of October.

It was now November 8, and they were making good progress on the structured wardrobe.

Placing the white bird inside the cabinet, Draco backed away and let Athena close the door. When it was finally shut, the birds chirping was still prominently heard in the air.

Athena inhaled strongly, calming when she felt Draco's cologne infiltrate her lungs. She closed her eyes and muttered the spell, "Harmonia Nectere Passus."

She said it once and the chirping stopped. Athena and Draco's blood ran cold in their veins, both of them freezing when no noise was heard for another minute.

After another minute, Athena spoke again, "Harmonia Nectere Passus," and when she opened the door, the bird was fully gone.

Draco's breath hitched in his throat, "It— it worked." The saliva he didn't know was in his throat was swallowed in one shaky gulp.

"We don't—," Athena breathed deeply, "We don't know that yet."

Please don't work. Please don't work.

The wishes and prayers were echoing in both of the Slytherin's brains.

Please don't work—

And when Athena muttered the incantation once more, opened the Vanishing Cabinet, and saw the bird alive and chirping, she dropped to the floor in sobs.

Draco himself let his eyes widen in fear as the bird took off into it's cage.

"Oh— oh my Gods," Athena sobbed, her lungs retracting air with shuddering breaths.

Draco ran towards her and wrapped her in his arms. He let a couple tears fall, and Athena sobbed.

Together, they cried for their future. They cried for Hogwarts, for the life they were born into, for how all of the weight was put on them because Lucius was in Azkaban and Athena was a Riddle.

It was 2 am when Draco finally released Athena, who suggested they should think of ways to curse Dumbledore.

"We can curse something. My father taught me a curse over the summer," Athena suggested.

"I have a necklace from Borgin and Burke's. My aunt gave it to me as a welcoming gift to the Death Eaters." Draco shivered at the memory.

"We will use that then." Athena said and left the room after kissing Draco — which turned into a snog.

~~

"And are you sure this is going to work?" Athena asked as Draco placed the necklace on Katie Bell and her friend's booth. They were both in the bathroom, and it was a perfect time.

"Yes, she knows not to touch it and it will work. It has to." Draco concluded, adjusting the note on the package where the necklace was in.

To Dumbledore.

That's all it wrote, and the two hoped it would be good enough.

They watched from behind the stairs of The Three Broomsticks as Katie picked the case up, examined it, and told her friend that they would give it to Dumbledore after they returned to the castle.