【 one tells the truth, and the other's lying.
and they're both calling my name 】

— Madalen Duke, How Villains Are Made

『𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍: 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐁𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐒』

     "𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 to you yet?" Sander asked as the two of them walked side by side on their way to Potions. The nosy Hufflepuff had been asking the same question for the past week after learning from his best friend about his argument with the eldest Dragonne—which also involved Sander jumping off his bed, clapping his hands in the air, and telling Cedric 'I knew it.'

"No." Cedric answered, clutching his Advanced Potions Making textbook in his hand at the constant reminder that his communication with Solar—which he had been slowly developing since they were a couple of first-years—decreased drastically into absolutely nothing. She hadn't even given him a mere glance, despite sitting next to him in Transfiguration.

"Pity." Sander commented, running his hand through his carefully fixed hair. "It would've been wicked seeing you two bicker."

Cedric furrowed his eyebrows.

"We don't bicker." They bicker. A lot.

A laughing scoff escaped Sander before shaking his head and tapping the back of his best friend. "You're not fooling anyone, mate."

They simultaneously turned and entered into Snape's classroom, quickly finding their seats as did the rest of the students in the room—including Solar. With Cedric's eyes fixated on her, he continued to rant to Sander.

"I didn't get to apologise to her." He pointed out. "She wouldn't look at me during Transfiguration. She's too far during Potions. A lot is going on during Professor Lupin's teachings in Defence Against the Dark Arts. And when I go to her other classes waiting for her to finish up, she vanishes. Even when we had detention together, she wouldn't acknowledge my presence."

Cedric ripped his gaze away from the sandy-blonde Slytherin and returned them to meet Sander's frustrated rolling eyes.

"Merlin, you're acting like her boyfriend." Sander remarked.

"Sander—"

"Yes, I know. You have been in love with her since the first year, you've been trying to make a move on her since then blah blah blah. I get it." The younger Hufflepuff noted. He looked away from Cedric and adjusted his dress robe while he shifted in his seat, trying to find comfort on the flat wooden surface of his chair. "But sometimes, actions like yours can be a little overwhelming."

Cedric tilted his head in a mocking manner as he narrowed his eyes at him. "So I suppose I should hide in the shadows, stalk her, but never actually talk to her like you do Pansy?"

This earned Cedric a glare from his best friend with his mouth clamped shut, his lips pushed into a thin line as he took the offence quite terribly—knowing that Cedric's comeback was a solid one.

"I am waiting for the right time!" Sander said through gritted teeth before rolling his eyes and slumping further back into his seat. "Besides, you two are different. Solar is different. She has a dragon, for Helga's sake. Piss her off more, and you'll find yourself barbecued in time to be a Hippogriff snack."

Sander might be a sarcastic prick most of the time, but he did make valid points. He wouldn't be his best friend if he was just a typical sarcastic prick. Cedric's patience might be long but it runs low quickly with those kinds of people.

"What would you have me do then?" Cedric asked, partially in disbelief as he didn't quite believe that he was asking Sander for advice. Sander, who can't form words for the life of him once he's standing in front of Pansy Parkinson.

"Leave her alone for now. Just, give her some space." Sander broke eye contact with Cedric for a while at the sound of Professor Severus Snape finally entering the room, about to start the class. Then he looked back at the love-troubled Hufflepuff. "You're only digging your own grave forcing yourself into her presence."

With one more look at Solar, he forced himself to divert his undivided attention in listening to Snape's class and every class after that.

.・゜゜・

September 10, 1993

Dearest Fucker,

     I could feel it. His eyes on me. And it makes my fucking skin crawl with disgust and fury.

And no, nothing's changed. I'm still me, un-fucking-fortunately, and it's been days. This is not making me feel any better, Headmaster. Diaries are for underappreciated, good-for-nothing wankers hoping to be acknowledged and get some sodding sympathy from people just so they could distract themselves from the fact that their lives are literally fucking worthless. I refuse to be a part of that pathetic, pompous population.

The lot of them already think I'm self-important, what, with the so-called 'privileged' circumstances I'm living in right now in this bloody school. I will definitely not give them the satisfaction of being right.

Solaria Avril Dragonne

Her last class for the last day of the week was an elective, Care for Magical Creatures. It was a no-brainer for her to pick that class as one of her electives. She knew it would serve her well to know how to care for her dragon. At the risk of being predictable, Solar aspires to be a Dragonologist. No one other than her family is more fit to specialise in that field. After all, dragons did start with their bloodline.

However, after yesterday's incident with Hagrid's Hippogriff, Buckbeak, supposedly attacking the Malfoy boy, classes in that particular elective are temporarily cancelled until further notice. Though, from the looks of things, it would be a while before it continues seeing as she'd been hearing things about Lucius Malfoy taking action against Hagrid and Buckbeak.

Solar dreaded running into Lucius. The Malfoys and the Blacks aren't really on good terms with the Dragonnes. After finding out that a few of the family members in the House of Black were Death Eaters back in the day and was basically involved with nearly wiping out the Dragonnes' bloodline, the latter cut ties with them and the rest of the families in the Sacred 28, holding a grudge that to this day is still as strong as ever.

Pushing the thought aside, Solar basically forced some of her dinner down her throat. Her appetite wasn't the best today, she barely had anything to eat since this morning. But she knew she had to get some food in her system...especially if she plans on drinking again later tonight.

The Great Hall was buzzing with students telling each other about their days, asking what their plans are for the weekend, and seeking assistance for their homeworks and projects they needed to get finished. Solar even heard that the Gryffindor House might even have a secret party going on later tonight. She was in the mood for a bit of mischief that moment and began sorting her devilishly active mind through the different ways she could crash the party through the use of good old fashioned pranks.

A smirk curled on the girl's lip at the idea her mind created. She made a move to leave the Slytherin table, pushing herself up from her seat with a grin on her face for her impending victorious prank. But that same smile shattered into pieces when she felt something slice her chest open.

Her gasp ended with a cry as she slammed a flat palm on the table to keep herself from collapsing and another on her chest, feeling where her wound was. But there was nothing there.

Her pained gasp and the loud smack of her hand against the wooden table cut through the noise in the Great Hall, causing all of them to whip their startled gazes toward the sandy-blonde Dragonne. They witnessed a dangerous storm brewing in her scared, glossy blue eyes.

The firsts to leave their seats were Aris—immediately running to her sister's side—, and Legend who went to stabilise his cousin's stance, only a blind person wouldn't see her shaking limbs. Legacy was already on her feet but took a moment, processing the entire thing, observing. When she snapped back to reality, she approached the three Dragonnes with fast, long strides until she reached them.

"What's wrong?" Aris questioned.

Solar tried to blink her tears away from the agonising pain that she felt—the pain that vanished almost as soon as she had felt it.

"I-I don't know." Solar stammered, struggling to inhale air. "I thought something sliced me open."

Legend studied his cousin, his hands on either side of her, gently grasping her arms. For someone who was 3 years younger than her, he towered over her like he was the older one. But then again, she wasn't surprised. Anyone towers over her at her height.

"You're fine. You don't have a scratch on you." Legend concluded, settling his gaze back to her eyes.

"Solar." Dumbledore finally reached them. The four Dragonnes whipped their heads toward the headmaster, meeting his suspicious and concerned gaze. "Has something happened?"

Solar wasn't sure how to answer the question. She could feel everyone's eyes on her—even the professors were waiting for an answer. Then there was this chill running down her spine and sent goosebumps throughout her skin like vicious ice eating up her skin. She knew that feeling. The feeling of someone's eyes making her skin crawl. She looked over to the Hufflepuff table and saw the only boy standing there.

Cedric Diggory.

His eyes were slightly wide with worry and protectiveness. If she wasn't trembling right now, she would have scoffed at the boy. Her gaze shifted toward the person sitting next to him, tugging at his left arm as if to force him to sit back down. Lysander Bardwell. Of course she knew him. She was only pretending not to. He has this insane crush on Pansy. It was so obvious she could see it from a mile away.

Her gaze went back to Cedric, his expression faltered a little. To someone who wasn't paying attention, they wouldn't notice the change in his stance. To Solar, she witnessed how the tension in his shoulders lessened, as well as the way his gaze softened.

"I-I don't know." She answered Dumbledore without breaking eye contact with the caramel-haired Hufflepuff. "I—"

Before she could get another word out, a rumbling roar of a creature that resembled a disgruntled cry erupted from the front of the school. The steady warm gold of the candlelights hovering above their heads flickered. The sound frightened the students, most of which are first-years. But Solar wasn't just frightened. Her heart was sinking in realisation.

She wasn't feeling her own pain. She was feeling his.

"Kairus." She choked his name, not getting enough air in her lungs but she didn't care. She freed herself from the comforting caresses of her sister and cousins and sprinted out of the Great Hall toward the gigantic double doors of Hogwarts. She ignored the shouts of her name flying out of Dumbledore's mouth, as well as the authoritative yells of the rest of the professors trying to contain the chaos that had erupted in the Great Hall like firecrackers, following her out of the school.

The adrenaline pumping in her blood that gave her the means to sprint had already run out, her knees almost giving up completely at the sight of the male dragon whaling in pain in front of them, the muddy yellow scales in his chest unseen from all the alarming and horrific shade of black that covered it, and the flesh-creeping gash that was at the centre of it all.

With a desperate and distressed bellow from the injured dragon, Solar was snapped out of the dreadful trance and pushed herself to take a couple more strides toward Kairus. Every step she took as she neared him brought her closer to collapsing, and she did once she could feel his hot, shuddering breaths stroke her skin.

"Get Madam Pomfrey here now!" Solar heard Legend order someone.

The rough surface of the ground dug hurtful and unwanted patterns on the girl's knees as she dropped next to the wounded dragon. Carefully, she cradled Kairus's head and placed it on her lap after sitting completely down on the ground.

"Dyr sien guis tu vaun?" Solar spelled out with gritted teeth, rage dripping from her venomous Dragonstongue tone. Who did this to you? She asked the poor thing. She didn't realise she was already crying if she hadn't heard her own voice and her sniffling right after.

His glistening golden eyes stared right into her watery pools of blue eyes, a deep murmur that resembled a mix of a growl and a whimper.

She got the answer just in time for Madam Pomfrey to arrive, quite uncertain on how to approach the girl and the injured creature. When Madam Pomfrey took another step toward them, the dragon moved, as if to warn the witch to stay away from them. This caused Pomfrey to stagger backwards while Solar lulled him into calmness.

"Versi con tu ferel." She told him as she caressed the dragon's head. "Versi errin."

She's here to help. She's good. She whispered. When she felt him relax against her touch, she looked up at Pomfrey with teary eyes and nodded at her. The witch neared them and kneeled on the other side of the dragon, taking out her wand to cast a Healing Spell on the creature.

"Vulnera Sanentur." Pomfrey spelled.

Solar watched as the nasty gash on Kairus's chest slowly closed. But even with that, she could still see how fragile his skin was, as if prone ripping again in the slightest movement.

"He's going to need time to recover." Madam Pomfrey told the now apathetic Dragonne cradling her dragon in her arms as if the damp marks on her cheeks were mere decorations. "We have room in the Hospital wing. We'll keep him there for the meantime."

"Absolutely not."

"I'll make sure to cast a Shield Charm on him." The older witch insisted. "No one's getting near him apart from me and you."

This was the first time in the last ten minutes that she was able to gather her thoughts. She responded with a simple nod. She heard the professors usher the students back inside as Solar allowed Madam Pomfrey to levitate the wounded creature back into the castle.

The only people left outside were the four Dragonnes and the Headmaster.

"Come with me." He told them, already turning around and walking away, not bothering to hear the protests they were all ready to utter.

.・゜゜・

Since the students were escorted back to their respective dorms that night, Cedric had been restless. Yes, it had only been three minutes since they arrived at their rooms, but the caramel-haired wizard had his knee bouncing up and down as he sat in his bed since then, the subtle and constant sound of the sole of his feet brushing against the floor driving Sander crazy.

"Mate, you're killing me here. Let it go." Sander said, the volume of his voice muffled as he spoke against his two palms flat against his face. He was lying flat on his back on top of his fixed bed, elbows in the air as he pressed his palm flatter on his face, resisting the urge to scream.

"That was the first time I ever saw her cry. So no, I don't think I can just 'Let it go' as you so eloquently termed it." Cedric responded, his anxious knee just increasing its speed.

Running down his hands off his face, the sarcastic Hufflepuff dropped his hands to his sides and turned an exhausted head in his best friend's direction. There was not a change in Cedric's expression from when they reached the front of the school to the minute they stepped foot back into their rooms. Sander hadn't seen him that bothered at all before. But then again, they never saw a dragon covered in its own blood on school grounds before.

With his remaining strength, Sander pulled himself up and swivelled his legs to the side of his bed, his feet landing gracefully on the ground before he propped his elbows on his knees.

"Listen to me." Sander said, his rare serious tone immediately catching Cedric's undivided attention and finally stopping his knee from bouncing. "A lot is changing. Hogwarts is not as safe as it used to be. Merlin, a bloody dragon was attacked."

Looking back at what happened earlier that night, Sander could feel the remnants of what he felt as he stood before that scene. Uneasiness, bordering on fear.

"I've been postponing this discussion for a while now. You most definitely don't want to hear this." The younger wizard said, taking a deep breath before proceeding. "But if you still have a shred of self-preservation left in that thick skull of yours, you know it'd be best to stay as far away from the Dragonnes as possible."

Cedric gave a mild shake of his head, all while not breaking eye contact with his best friend. "You know I can't do that."

"I know." He smiled. He already knew the answer of his best friend before he even uttered a word about the topic. That's how well he knew Cedric. He just needed to say those words out loud. But his smile slightly faltered before speaking again, his hands now clasped. "Which is why I'm going to say be careful. With a situation as complicated and unpredictable as this, someone's bound to get hurt."

The caramel-haired Hufflepuff dove into his thoughts. Sander can have really valid points when he decides to take things seriously, which Cedric would like to point out is extremely rare. There was a reason why Sander and Cedric work. They keep each other balanced. When one is tipping closer over to the edge, the other would pull the other back.

Right now, Cedric is creeping closer to the edge of the cliff, and Sander is afraid his best friend won't take his hand when he needs it the most.

"Now at the risk of sounding biassed," Sander straightened his upper body, the flesh of his knees recovering from the red marks left by his elbows. "I hope it won't be you."

I'd rather it be me than her. Merlin, he really has gone insane, hasn't he? Cedric was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the subtle chuckle that rumbled in Sander's chest.

"I hope I will never be so crazy lovestruck that I would risk my life for a girl." Sander said. Cedric froze for a while, wondering if he had read his mind, then went to return Sander's smile.

"So, you're saying you wouldn't risk your life for Pansy?" Cedric arched an eyebrow at him.

"Nope." Sander didn't even hesitate. "She can handle herself. It's not like she'd do the same for me anyway."

The older Hufflepuff narrowed his eyes at him, his eyebrows pushing toward the middle. "And Solar would for me?"

Sander's smile widened as he shook his head. "No. So like I said, crazy lovestruck."

.・゜゜・

Solar felt the ambiance of the room weigh on her chest. She could barely stand still as she stood side by side with her sister and cousins in front of the Headmaster and his desk. She kept her eyes open, unwilling to let herself blink, let alone close them for longer. The scene of Kairus bleeding on the grounds of Hogwarts was tattooed in the back of her eyelids, causing her to relive it every blink of her watery eyes.

"I know what you are feeling—"

"Do you?" Solar snapped. She didn't want to be cooped up inside the Headmaster's office. She wanted to be by Kairus's side. She needed to be there as he recovered. No one understands the bond between them and their dragons apart from the Dragonnes themselves. Which was why Legend, Legacy, and Aris didn't say a word as Solar talked back to Dumbledore.

"Last time I checked, you haven't the faintest idea what we went through." Solar pointed out. She felt like there was a bile that lodged itself in Solar's throat, making it harder for her to breathe and speak clearly. The more she tried to, the more it hurt, and it was showing through her glossy, melancholic blue eyes.

"He could've died. And if he had, what I did—" the thought sickened Solar, making her lower lip tremble. "What I did would have been for nothing."

She swallowed the hard bile that contained all her self-control and rationality. And Dumbledore witnessed the change of emotion in the girl's blue eyes.

"I believe this discussion has reached its end. May we retire to our dorms?" Solar asked, so politely that even Legend, Legacy, and Aris looked at her with such suspicion. It was how she spoke to her parents, so polite and innocent to mask the devilry of her intentions. And the three could not unhear it as soon as they had caught on.

The headmaster's eyebrows slightly furrowed as he focused his observant gaze on her. He knew something was up with her. But he could not exactly keep her in this office until he felt like releasing her.

"Very well. You all deserve to get a good night's rest." Dumbledore said, dismissing the four Dragonnes.

Without hesitation, Solar took long strides down the few steps in the office and out the door, taking the completely wrong direction toward the Slytherin dorms.

"Solar, where are you going?" Legacy questioned, her nervousness sheer in the tone of her voice and the wrinkles in between her brows.

"I don't care. I'm getting a front row seat to whatever the hell she'll do." Legend remarked, the utter opposite of his twin as he plastered a maniacal and excited grin across his face and began following the hot trails of the fuming eldest Dragonne.

"Don't you think we should stop her?" Aris asked the twins as she kept up with the fast steps they were taking to stay on Solar's radar.

"By all means, dear cousin." Legend answered, giving her the opportunity to do what she asked. "But you know better than anyone that once Solar sets her mind on something, only an unforgivable curse will stop her."

She did know. Aris knew the temper her sister had, in spite of how much of it she had hidden from the rest of the world—especially from their mother and father. And a temper like that paired with nefarious determination, a lot could go wrong. Take this one for example.

Before any of them knew it, the four of them were marching up the moving stairs with loud, heavy steps until they reached the moving portrait of the Fat Lady guarding one of the dorms of the Gryffindor House. How Solar came to know where their dorms were, the other three had no idea. But it most definitely has to do with the fact that she was studying in Hogwarts a lot longer than they have.

"What in Merlin's name are you creeping snakes doing here?!" The shock and fear was evident in the voice of the Fat Lady.

Solar ignored the portrait and rolled her eyes, fixating her gaze on ahead as if she could see a glimpse past through the almost unnoticeable crack in the wall.

"Ronald Weasley!" Solar shouted at the top of her lungs, the walls of her throat scratching and her anger emitting growls from her chest.

Aris widened her eyes and immediately walked up to her sister, grabbing her arm and turning her around. "What are you doing?!"

Her older sister's breathing was uneven and barely effective. Aris could see how she still craved for more air the deeper she inhaled.

"Paying him back for hurting Kairus." She said, not bothering to hide the truth from them.

Shock littered across their faces as they exchanged wide glances. "It was Ron that did it?" Legacy asked, hesitating dancing in her eyes as he contemplated if the second youngest Weasley even had the guts to do what Solar was accusing him of.

Meanwhile, Legend was almost as furious as his cousin. "I knew that ginger prat had a death wish but I didn't know he'd be so bloody suicidal to do such a thing." A lopsided grin stretched on the wizard's lips, his rascality beaming in anticipation. "I think I'd be onboard to share the honour of torturing the tosser."

The raven-haired Dragonne furrowed her eyebrows as she roamed her gaze between the three before settling it on her sister. "What? No! Ron would never do that! He's our friend!"

Solar yanked her arm away to slide off her sister's grip, her eyes not faltering from watching her blue eyes—that are almost identical to hers—panic and become conflicted.

"He's your friend, and obviously a very fake one if he and his sodding, filthy rat hurt our family!" She exclaimed before turning back to the hidden door of the Gryffindor dorm and began shouting for the Weasley boy once more. "Ronald Fucking Weasley, if you don't come out of here right now, I will tear down this wall myself!"

"You must be mistaken—" Aris once again tried to talk Solar out of whatever she was planning on doing to her friend until she cut her off.

"Are you implying that Kairus lied?" She said.

"N-No—"

"Well that settles it then."

"Perhaps there is just a misunderstanding!"

Perhaps there was still a shred of self-control left in the girl, but only toward her sister. Because if she didn't have any left, she would have snapped at the younger Dragonne a lot harder. And Aris could see that, how much Solar was holding back to not drive her sister too far away.

"A misunderstanding doesn't usually end up with a bleeding dragon! That was a product of a clearly calculated and premeditated plan to—Salazar knows what!" Solar said before whipping her head back to settle her gaze on the frightened Fat Lady on the portrait. "Open the door, now!"

"What is going on here?" Percy's voice echoed through the hall as he made his way down the stairs that headed towards the Dragonnes' direction. "What are you lot doing—"

The Head Boy of the Gryffindor House did not get a chance to finish his sentence, let alone receive an answer as Sola immediately whirled her wand in his direction, her grip firm and commanding as she recited a spell.

"Expelliarmus!" Spelled Solar. The effect was instantaneous, throwing the Gryffindor wizard back up the stairs and slamming against the other portraits that decorated the wall before landing with a thud face down on the floor.

The Fat Lady shrunk back in her seat the moment she was met with Solar's enraged, reddened gaze. It was clear that her patience had run out, especially when the whole castle had most definitely been alerted about her behaviour.

"Incen—" she flicked her wand toward the painting but her wand was immediately tossed away from her grip just in time for her wrists to be magically bound together by an Incarcerous spell. She looked down on her wrist with irritation before turning around to see Dumbledore emerging from behind the three Dragonnes.

"Professor—" Solar attempted to talk the headmaster into letting her go.

Dumbledore raised a hand in front of the exasperated, sandy blonde witch. "I think you've done enough, don't you think?"

Her eyes slightly twitched when she clamped her mouth shut and exhaled deeply to suppress the urge to lash out at him, remembering the sight of her dragon companion who did nothing but kept her safe and accompanied.

"Not even close." She answered.

The white-haired headmaster raised his chin a little, his pinning gaze not wavering from the troubled girl. "Mr. Filch. Please escort Ms. Solar Dragonne to the Dungeons and keep her there for the night and the following nights until she learns to control her temper."

Her eyes widened at the headmaster's order. The Slytherin dorms might be in the Dungeons, but the way Dumbledore had said that implied that she was not going to spend the night in her own bed. "What?"

"Now, Argus." He ignored Solar and turned to Filch, who looked like he had a permanent scowl on his face every time he looked at any Slytherin student...or any student for that matter. They think the only time his face softens is when he looks at his cat, Mrs. Norris.

As the school's caretaker accompanied the eldest Dragonne down the moving stairs, she refused to return the lurking gazes that burned through her skull and back that she knew came from the Gryffindors that had finally felt safe to open the door just in time to see her get escorted out.

.・゜゜・

Double update <3