Dark Paradise

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.