See You Again

-𝕏𝕃𝕍𝕀𝕀𝕀-

'Looking for your girlfriend?' drawled Severus. Barty ignored him and kept searching the Gryffindor table for Ara. 'She's not his girlfriend...' mumbled Lucius. Severus gave him a knowing look which Lucius pointedly ignored, 'Think Regulus will be missing classes today?' Lucius suddenly asked, trying to change the subject. Barty huffed out a sigh as he couldn't find her and tuned into his friend's conversation. 'Probably. His mother was a nightmare but... he still loved her.' Barty mumbled. Lucius and Severus both nodded in agreement. Barty suddenly swiveled his head to the entrance of the Great hall as Ara finally appeared. But his joy was short-lived for as soon as she came, she quickly left. 'Why...-' 'Maybe she went to look for the other Black.' pointed out Severus. He nodded back numbly, it did seem like something she'd go do. 'Come on, we should get to class.' he spoke as he slowly got to his feet. He'll just have to wait till he sees her later and ask her then.

Potions was extremely boring without Ara... he was so unfocused he almost blew up his cauldron three times. Then he had to go to Charms class next and was seated next to Lucius. This normally wouldn't be a problem but lately there's been some tension. The first half of class went alright, but they ended up getting in a ridiculous argument during the next half. To everyone it seemed they were fighting over the proper use of a Disillusionment charm, to themselves, they both knew it wasn't about that at all. Eventually Professor Flitwick intervened, and they both sat there fuming like little toddlers in a time out. Severus, who was so annoyed and angry at them for making a scene, quickly leaned over to harshly whisper, 'Sort it out or I'll make sure you're both bald for a month!' Barty grimaced at the mere thought and Lucius paled as he quickly put his hands on his hair, as if protecting it from any threat imaginable. Barty opened his mouth to make a sassy remark, only to immediately shut it as Severus sent him a harsh glare. The class finally came to an end and the three slowly began making their way to the Great Hall in silence for lunch.

Barty came to a stop when he spotted Ara hugging James and immediately cheered up. Ignoring his friends and the look James sent him as he quickly made his way over to her. 'Little lion.' he smiled from behind her. She jumped a little and turned around wide eyed. 'Little snake,' she smiled, seeing it was him. Remus being the ever logical one, immediately pulled James towards the Great hall before he could put his "foot in his mouth" again. 'How about, you and me... go eat in the kitchens again?' Barty asked as casually as possible despite his rapidly beating heart. 'Sounds good to me.' she beamed as bright as ever, which he couldn't help but beam back. He could feel Lucius's burning gaze at the back of his head, happily ignoring him, Barty quickly took Ara's hand and they set off for the kitchens.

Severus and a reluctant Lucius then continued to the Great hall and took their seats next to a now resurfaced Regulus. 'Where've you been?' asked Severus. 'Black Lake. Ara and I had a little chat.' Severus rolled his eyes, making Regulus raise his brow in question. Letting out a long sigh, Severus then told Regulus about the argument during Charms and how Lucius and Barty are driving him insane. Regulus then turned his gaze to Lucius, 'You haven't even talked to her Luce, why are you acting like a prat?' Lucius sent him a sharp glare, 'I'm not acting like a prat! And I can't help it, it's not like I don't want to talk to her. In fact, I've tried.' 'You have? When?' questioned an incredulous Regulus. 'Everytime we run into her since- I plan on talking to her but I just... freeze or something.' Regulus eyed him suspiciously, 'You marry my cousin in the future -' 'Not out of love. It was contracted.' Lucius said quickly, cutting off Regulus. 'How do you know? We didn't see that in her memories.' 'Because it's been in the talks since last year...' he mumbled sullenly. Severus and Regulus both looked at him in surprise.

He watched her nervously as they sat in the kitchens eating, before finally working up his nerve. 'WillyougoonadatewithmethisSaturday?' He jumbled out. She looked up at him with a puzzled expression. 'Huh? You said that a little too fast.' Clearing his throat, 'R-right. This Saturday is the first Hogsmeade visit... a-and I was wondering if you would like to, if you wanted to, um, go on a date with me?' he asked before chewing on his bottom lip anxiously waiting for her answer. 'Y-you want to go on a date with me?' she asked, shy and nervous. He nodded back eagerly. 'I- Yes. I would love that very much.' she answered blushing adorably. He let out a small breath of relief, his heart was still racing. 'You know, I do believe we were rudely interrupted... last night.' He smirked as he slid a bit closer to her, hoping his nerves weren't written all over his face. 'Oh. Yes, I believe we were.' she responded back coyly. They slowly leaned towards one another and ever so slightly their lips touched, 'Pie!?' Mimzy squeaked suddenly, causing them to rapidly jolt apart. Why Mimzy why!? Barty cried out in his head.

Peter looked on in longing from his seat at the table, gaze directed at his once friends. He missed them. He missed their friendship, pranks, stupid jokes, goofiness and their company. He missed being a fellow Marauder. Pushing the food around on his plate mindlessly, he silently pondered over many questions that bounced around in his head. Why would he betray his best friends, brothers in all but blood and... an innocent baby. Was he an evil person? Will he turn out bad no matter what he does? Could he be forgiven for something he hasn't done? Did he even deserve to be forgiven? How could he fix this? It hurt, deep inside his heart. How did he become so... revolting? The pain he had caused Adhara, even he believed it was unforgivable the things future him had done. He was ashamed. But he didn't do it and he won't! Especially since things have changed now... but, does that even matter? They'd probably never find themselves able to trust him again, and he couldn't even blame them. He didn't even trust himself anymore. He looked away from the group and stared at his plate. How was he supposed to move on from years of friendship? And even now he can't deny the bitter feeling he has towards Adhara... if she hadn't come back to the past. If she had just stayed far away from them all, he'd still be with his friends, his fellow Marauders. Maybe he was destined for vileness.

A large eagle owl flew over the heads of all the students in the Great Hall before promptly landing on Lucius's shoulder, holding out its leg that had a letter attached. 'Bit late for mail?' drawled Severus, curiously. Lucius quickly untied it before giving the owl a little scratch and piece of his steak, before reading the letter. 'It's from my father, I wrote to him this morning. I sent him a few of the sentences written in the book to see if he knew what language it was.' 'And?' chorused Severus and Regulus. 'It's a dead language known as Nesmoncryi. It was a language made by some extinct coven of Necromancers...' 'Bloody hell!' Regulus whispered, 'How are we supposed to translate a dead language of extinct Necromancers?'