Ariadne's Thread ⭒ h. potter

Through the Sorting

Ariadne did not sleep at all that night, too lost in her revelations about her father. She did not realize how long had passed until the sun began to peek through her curtains and shine onto her swollen eyes. It was then that Dobby popped into her room in preparation to wake her up. Rather than alerting Dobby to the fact that she was already awake, Ariadne turned to her side in order to allow herself a final few moments of wallowing.

"It is time for Miss to wake!" Dobby exclaimed happily. "Today is Hogwarts day, Miss!"

Ariadne sat up and met Dobby with the widest grin she possibly could, though she could tell that it did not her eyes.

"Thank you, Dobby. I'm very excited." Ariadne wasn't lying, but she was not excited as she perhaps might have been if she had not just been informed that her father was a notorious mass murderer.

"Good, Miss! Dobby is excited too. But Miss," Dobby's voice became very hushed. "Make sure you get to the platform very early." Dobby became excited once more. "Always good to be early, Miss!"

Ariadne laughed. "Er, thanks Dobby. It is always good to be early. I'll try my best, but its more up to the Malfoys than anything else!"

"Yes, of course, Miss! Dobby did not mean to speak against his Masters. Oh, Dobby is a bad–"

"No!" Ariadne grabbed Dobby by the shoulders before he could begin whatever punishment she was confident he had planned. "The advice was very lovely, Dobby. Thank you. You know, I'll miss you when I go to Hogwarts."

"Miss will miss Dobby? Dobby will miss Miss!" Dobby lowered his voice and leaned in close to Ariadne, who was still sitting on her bed. "Should Miss ever need Dobby, she need only call."

And at that, Ariadne pulled Dobby in for a hug, during which he began to cry. Ariadne buried her head into Dobby's shoulder, allowing her own tears to silently dampen Dobby's cloth shirt.

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Lucius, Narcissa, Draco and Ariadne arrived at King's Cross at 10 AM, one hour before the train was set to leave the station. Upon arriving at the Apparition point, Ariadne removed herself from Narcissa's arm and watched Draco with mild interest.

"I wanted breakfast! The train doesn't leave for another hour, you know." Draco whined. Ariadne thought for a moment that he might stamp his foot like she had seen children do in films. Just when she thought he might, Lucius' voice cut in.

"Do not complain, Draco." Mr. Malfoy set his cane on the ground, and Draco's mouth closed almost immediately.

"Oh, darling," Narcissa soothed. "I know you're hungry love, but you've had toast and you can eat on the train. Ariadne was right when she suggested we arrive early. It is her first time, after all. Remember last year? You hardly knew what to expect."

"That's not true," Draco mumbled. Still, his glare had lessened considerably.

"I am sorry, Draco! I've just heard so many things about King's Cross and Hogwarts and starting school and I just wanted to begin as soon as I could. I'm sure you knew loads going into it, but I am quite nervous. I thought coming early might be best."

Draco uncrossed his arms and looked over at Ariadne. "Well, I wasn't nervous at all. But it's fine, I'll just eat on the train. I wanted to catch up with my friends early anyways."

Outwardly, Ariadne shot Draco a grateful smile, while she grinned to herself on the inside. As Lucius marched Draco towards the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, Ariadne caught Narcissa looking at her with interest. As their eyes met, Narcissa schooled her expression to her usual haughty nonchalance and grabbed Ariadne's arm, ushering her towards Draco and Lucius.