【 don't get too close, it's dark inside
it's where my demons hide. 】
— Imagine Dragons, Demons.

『𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑: 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐑𝐘』

     𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃 with Ravenclaws. She can play Gryffindors' games for the sake of getting it done. But she can never get along with Hufflepuffs, even if it is just to play pretend. Hufflepuffs are basically the complete opposite of Slytherins like her. And she has half a mind to crush them under her heeled boots before letting them enjoy her company.

And this day? Oh, this day was testing what very little patience Solar had. To be in the Library with Cedric Diggory as he dove head first into her personal life with papers scribbled with interview questions was bloody torture. She swore she could feel her own soul detaching herself from her body with the hopes of flying as far away from the caramel-haired sunshine as possible.

"Favourite pet?"

"Really?"

"Just answer, Solar."

"Cats."

"Not dragons?"

"They're not pets. They're our companions."

"Very well, then. Least favourite?"

"The rest."

Cedric sighed in frustration, shaking his head at the woman's answer. He can't blame her, she was losing her mind that she was spending her free time stuck with the boy. Might as well have a blast at it.

"Favourite colour?" He asked. Merlin, if he continued asking boring questions like that, Solar might as well stab herself with the Quill he's using. She'd find that a lot more invigorating.

Cedric was leaning back on his seat, his head tilted while he kept his eyes on her—making sure to catch any sign of untruthfulness in her expression as she answered his questions.

"Plum Purple." She answered, as unenthusiastically as she could. The self-writing quill scribbled down on the parchment paper, jotting down every word.

"Least favourite colour?" He proceeded.

She fought the urge to itch her arm. Her bored feet tapping against the floor abruptly stopped. Aside from that, she didn't move an inch. Not a mere blink. If it wasn't for her suspiciously steady breathing, one would think she was a statue. A beautifully traumatised one at that.

She wondered if Cedric could see flashes of images playing out through the pupils of her frozen blue eyes. If he could see a shadow or a silhouette of her child self and the man that crawled at her feet. Could he hear it, her whines to her mother, the cries of the worthless Muggle?

"Solar?" Cedric called out, not quite snapping her back to reality, but just enough to find her voice again.

"Red." She answered, perhaps even absentmindedly.

You did so good, sweetheart.

"Wine red." She added.

Now you're a true Dragonne.

"Blood red." It was more of a whisper now, like she intended to say that to none other than herself.

He noticed the way her mood changed at the question. But knowing her, she will most likely turn the situation into a full-on war if Cedric dares to point that out. So, he simply moved on to the next question.

"Favourite hobby." He asked, reluctance evident in his voice, but Solar didn't catch it.

"Throwing my head back and pouring Firewhiskey down my throat. Which I'm going to do now after this bloody torture of an interview. Let's continue after class, yeah?" Solar plastered a sarcastic smile on her pinkish-red lips as she placed her firm hands on the arms of her chair, pushing herself up to stand.

"Wait—" Cedric attempted to stop her. Keyword: attempted.

"What? What, Cedric? What more bollocks could you possibly have to say to me?" The sandy-blonde Slytherin stated, closing her eyes and throwing her head back to face the ceiling while she groaned in exasperation.

"I just...I just wanted to ask if you had anything to eat at all today. You're noticeably getting thinner." The Hufflepuff boy pointed out, worry etched on the wrinkles formed from between his eyebrows as he furrowed them.

Solar exhaled through her nose as her lips pushed into a thin line, barely forming a forced smile when she looked back at the boy. Sarcasm and bitterness masking her exhaustion and boredom.

"Thank you very much for pointing out that I look fucking awful today. You really know how to make a girl blush." She chimed.

"That's not what I meant." He tried to rearrange his words but the blonde did not give him a chance to do so.

"Goodbye, Diggory." She waved as she had her back on him, already walking away.

.・゜゜・

"Did you see the Dragonnes earlier? All four of them were called to Dumbledore's study." Cedric overheard some of the lower years gossip about the Dragonnes as they lounged in the Hufflepuff common room.

"Well, it's been like that every start of the term, hasn't it?" Another one replied. The caramel-haired boy could not help but eavesdrop further onto their conversation.

"Yeah. What do you think Dumbledore tells them every year?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, it must be serious."

Cedric furrowed his eyebrows. He had seen Solar, Aris, Legend, and Legacy go to Dumbledore's office a couple of times before, but he didn't notice it being an annual occurrence. With a run of his fingers through his hair, he left the common room and proceeded to go to the courtyard before going to the Library for the interview.

Meanwhile, Solar, her sister, and her cousins were standing in front of Dumbledore's desk, the headmaster himself standing on the other side of it as he eyed the four Dragonnes.

"I trust you are already aware of what I am about to say." The headmaster said, his hands clasped behind him.

The three were awfully quiet. Therefore, Solar took it upon herself to speak for the rest of them.

"What is it this time?" She asked.

Every year, the headmaster gives them a task that would last the entire term. One that would help them recuperate from their traumas. How did Dumbledore know? He doesn't. He doesn't know the details of how they were traumatised. He just knows they are. And he could not, in good conscience, let these four walk the halls of the school with bothered minds and hurting hearts.

At Solar's question, Dumbledore placed four stacks of notebooks on the desk, brown leather cover as the exterior containing blank, deckled pages. Solar could not help but arch an eyebrow at the sight.

"A journal?" There was a hint of disgust laced in her words.

"Indeed, Solar." Dumbledore said, addressing her with her first name. Over the years, they've already established a bond—one that they deny it exists—with the headmaster. He was the only one who cared enough to help them through their mental health. That counts for something.

"I'd advise you to write entries daily, but I'm sure you wouldn't like that. So I'll leave it to you to write whenever you'd like." He explained. "Just write whatever you want to. Put your feelings on paper instead of them being trapped in your minds."

A bitter smile stretched on the pinkish-red lips of the eldest Dragonne. "That would be so fun if it weren't for the fact that we are spelled to keep quiet."

Dumbledore expected this kind of reaction from Solar. He knew the three would simply do as they are told just as he knew Solar would try to put up a fight. 'Feelings' sure was a touchy subject for her.

"I'm not asking you to tell the journal what happened. I'm simply asking you to tell how it made you feel." He elaborated. He then pointed to the journals with his open palm, encouraging them to take one each, when they've done so before proceeding to turn around and walk away.

"Legend, if you could stay for a moment, I would like to discuss something with you. The rest of you can go." Dumbledore told them. Solar furrowed her eyebrows, watching Legend lower his head and turn toward them, flashing them a small smile before his eyes landed on Legacy.

"Go on, Ace. I'll meet you back in the common room." He told his twin sister. Hesitant for mere seconds, Legacy returned his small smile and nodded before she left with Solar and Aris.

.・゜゜・

She was already in the Library, waiting for the Hufflepuff boy to show up as she stared at the leather journal in front of her. She flipped it open and saw the blank pages, eager to be painted with black ink. So, she did the journal a favour and finally wrote.

"What is that?" Cedric had just arrived and saw the notebook the girl was writing on as he got himself settled on the chair next to her.

"Absolute poppycock, that's what it is." Solar said without sparing him a glance as she admired her first journal entry. Then she turned to look at him. "It's a journal, do you want to see my first entry?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." Cedric said, not really wanting to know what's going on inside of her mind because he was afraid of what it might contain. Because he knew, only the memories of a horrible childhood could raise such a spiteful girl.

Solar ignored Cedric's answer and turned the journal so he could see the words written on the page.

September 3, 1993

Dearest Fucker,

Fuck you.

Solaria Avril Dragonne

Cedric couldn't hold back his laugh at the girl's words nor could he rip his gaze away from her genuinely proud smile. Is this actually happening? Solar genuinely smiled and not because she watched someone trip in front of her. Nor was it the kind of smile that had a hint of mischief. It was...sweet.

The Hufflepuff boy had to collect himself before melting at her feet, quickly coming up with a comment. "You have pretty shitty handwriting, though."

"Now, that's rubbish. My handwriting is pristine..." Solar looked back at her handwriting and only then gave the effort to actually examine her writing. "...ish."

The boy merely smiled and lowered his head, peeking into the contents of his bag to take out a paper and a quill. "I've a lot more interesting questions. I hope you're in the mood."

Solar made an "ugh" sound as she slumped backwards in her seat, clearly not in the mood.

"You're not." Cedric said before pushing his lips into a thin line. The ever-so-unenthusiastic Slytherin mirrored his lips, also pushing hers into a thin line as she brought her hands up, her palms facing the ceiling.

"Well-spotted, Huff-Wit-Puff." Solar said. Cedric could only roll his eyes and shake his head after being called a half-wit by the eldest Dragonne, basically slagging him off. "I'm never in the mood. But I'm here, aren't I?"

"I guess that's good enough." The boy concluded before proceeding to reading the questions as his self-writing quill readied itself in front of the blank parchment. "Do you like music?"

"No." Solar answered almost instantaneously.

Cedric found her quick response to be something of a cover for the truth. In other words, he knew she lied. "Yes, you do."

The indifferent Dragonne crossed her arms against her chest, the sleeves of her robe getting caught in them that it slightly tugged on its collar, revealing what seemed to be a silver chain of a necklace with the pendant hidden past the inside of her blouse. Cedric's curious bluish grey eyes immediately locked on it.

"Well, I guess you should answer the bloody questions yourself then if you're so capable of answering for me." Solar remarked, electric blue eyes conflicting with her bored gaze.

"What's that necklace for?" Cedric asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

Solar stiffened in her seat, her hand flying to her collarbone where her fingertips brushed with the silver chain of her necklace, flushed against the warmth of her skin. Her tongue stilled in her mouth, her teeth seemingly glued together, preventing her from saying anything about the necklace, not that she's going to anyway. She adjusted her robe until it was once again out of sight—desperately hoping that it is also out of mind, Cedric's to be specific.

"Nothing." The girl answered.

Not wanting to pry any further to the point of utter discomfort, Cedric cleared his throat and did his best to keep the quick appearance of the mysterious necklace out of his mind.

"Who are the people that make you happy?" Cedric asked, genuinely.

"Aris." Solar didn't even hesitate, and also didn't bother to mention anyone else at all after her sister's name. He expected that much from Solar, to answer with the Ravenclaw Dragonne's name. What he didn't expect is her being the only one she mentions.

"Just Aris?" He questioned.

The apathetic Slytherin shrugs her shoulders. "Just Aris."

Cedric pushed his brows to the middle, abandoning the backrest of his seat and leaning forward to rest his elbows against his knees. "What about your parents?"

"What about them?" She asked, feigning a clueless and a could-not-care-less attitude.

"Don't they make you happy?" He asked.

Solar looked away from the boy as she searched through the memories in her brain, ones that included her mother and father. She tried. She tried so hard. But everything leads her back to that one memory that ruined everything.

You did so good, sweetheart.

"Not in the slightest." She answered, her monotone, empty voice not sitting right with Cedric. She usually speaks with a tone of either disgust, mischief, or anger. Hearing her speak with an emotionless tone was as rare as hearing her speak with a more positive tone.

"Why?" He asked before he could stop himself. And for a moment, he considered stopping. This wasn't an interview for a project anymore. It's deep curiosity. And everyone knows that one Muggle saying:

Curiosity killed the cat.

Her blue eyes once again caught his gaze and she narrowed a mild glare at him. "You keep asking the wrong questions."

"Am I?" He challenged.

If there's one thing Cedric knows is sure about Solar, it is that her interest comes with the proposition of a challenge. Anything else below that is not worth her time. She took the bait—much to Cedric's relief—and mirrored the boy's position; leaned forward, elbows propped on her knees.

"If you must know, Diggory, about 95% of my family background is confidential. And no, it's not because I don't like people knowing about my family. It's just physically impossible for me to talk about it." Solar pointed out, frustration starting to bubble inside her as she neared the end of her statement seeing the beginnings of what surely looked like confusion taking up residence on his face.

"I'm not following." He answered. Solar figured as much.

She rolled her eyes and pushed herself up from her seat to walk toward one of the many, tall bookshelves that take up the library. Cedric watched her as she stopped in front of one and looked all the way up from the top, pulling her wand out and muttering a spell under breath. With a mere wave of her wand, a book slip out of in between the others, levitating in the air until it falls down onto her hands like a feather.

She then went back to their table and placed the heavy and large book on top of it and in front of the naive Hufflepuff. Cedric eyed the book, it had the colour of a very dark green that bordering on black. On its centre, is a golden yellow eye with a vertical stripe of black in the middle, much like an eye of a crazed cat. And the texture of the cover was peculiar and fascinating. It looked like a reptilian scale, hard and thick ones at that. It was only about 20 seconds in that he realised, this was an eye and scales of a dragon.

He wasn't sure yet what this book contained, but he could wager an educated guess. That guess was confirmed when he looked at the spine of the book and his eyes trailed the elegant scribbles of the title.

The History of the Dragonne Bloodline: Second Edition

The first edition of this book was in the possession of their family, the one that contained all their dirty secrets written by a close friend of the family many generations before the present—long before the Secrets Charm was placed. Once it was placed, the book was locked into the Dragonne Manor and another edition was released, one that spared the true happenings behind the doors of every Dragonne family that ever lived.

"Do me a favour. Read that instead and leave me alone this weekend." Solar said before grabbing her things and turning on her heels to walk away and out of the Library, leaving the Hufflepuff alone with his thoughts and the gigantic book.

He narrowed his eyes on it. He doesn't know the Dragonnes at a personal level, nor does he know a lot about them other than the fact that they are quite a traditional—almost religious—family. But he knows well enough that this book does not contain all of their truth.

That doesn't mean he won't read it, though.

.・゜゜・

Hope you guys liked this chapter! <3