The Raven and The Snake

Ariadne didn't pay much attention to who Birdie was inviting on this little outing. She wasn't interested in who she was going to start dating, it was just something to keep Umbridge off her back.

The twins informed her a couple of days before the first Hogsmeade visit that Harry's little gang were planning some sort of meeting in regards to Defense Against the Dark Arts practice sessions at the Hog's Head. They wanted to her to join, she being the only Slytherin they trusted.

She gave them a weary sort of smile and said she would see if there was any time after her date. They shared a look between each other that seemed weird.

"You're going to date again?"

She frowned. "Is there something wrong with that?"

George shifted nervously, looking around. "Did you tell anyone... besides us?"

"Birdie knows... why?"

Fred blanched slightly. "Does your um... head of house know?"

She eyed them curiously, trying to hear something in their thoughts but was coming up empty. There was definitely an issue here, but they were doing shockingly well at blocking her. "No, is there a reason I should tell him?" George looked a little panicked, he ruffled his hair in stress. "Isn't that one of the new decree's Umbridge made up or something?"

Ariadne was really concerned now. Since when had they ever listened to rules? That wasn't one of the rules anyway. "No, that's stupid. Of course she can't enforce that and Snape wouldn't seriously ask people to divulge their private lives to him. He hates unnecessary chatter."

"Er... right." George started backing off.

She made a grab for their robes, but they ducked away from her. What on earth was making them so weird? She chased them around the courtyard until the start of her next lessons. They never answered her questions.

She talked to Birdie about it later, but she had no insight on this one either. She wasn't really friends with the twins and didn't know them very well. Ariadne was half tempted to consult Lee Jorden, the twins' best friend in Gryffindor, but as lessons continued, she forgot about it.

If there was a serious issue, surely the twins would say something to warn her.

During the Hogsmeade trip, Ariadne and Birdie met two boys that shared some of Ariadne's classes at the local teashop. It was a disgustingly sweet place that Ariadne wouldn't have picked. Birdie loved the cozy atmosphere for dates. The boy that was introduced to Ariadne was some rich, snobby upstart that came from a decent lineage, but wasn't one of the prime wizarding households. His name was Anthony Moffat, Tony for short.

Tony was very flirtatious and sexually aggressive. He had a very polished look, his hair slicked back similar to Draco's only brunette and his eyes were nearly black, but not as beautiful as Snape's. He couldn't have been more interesting if he spontaneously grew a second head. Ariadne was so bored with him that she almost fell asleep right there in the tea shop.

It didn't matter. By the end of the date, they were an item. She allowed him to kiss her and walked back to the castle with him, tucked under his arm. He was just an accessory for appearances sake so she couldn't be too fussy. Birdie thought Ariadne was being too casual. She didn't want to get right into another relationship, she wanted to date around more. Ariadne just wanted arm candy that would look decent next to her when Umbridge poked around. Tony didn't seem to pick up at all on her complete disinterest in him. He pawed at her constantly, not even minding that she worked on her studies most of the time. He was so aggressive, kissing her hair and neck, reaching under her robes while she read, and pulling her onto his lap any chance he got.

This wasn't unusual behavior to her. Her last boyfriend, the Star-Nosed Badger had been like this with her as well. He hadn't been as handsy, but he had liked to display her to others like she was a prize he'd won.

Umbridge noticed, giving her girlish giggle whenever she separated them when he got too handsy in public. That was all Ariadne really cared about.

"Aria, it's getting gross." Birdie complained. "You completely ignore him and he treats you like an object. Why are you just letting this happen?"

Ariadne shrugged. "Umbridge was up my arse about my stupid crush on Snape and I didn't want her to put him on probation or something because of weird rumors about me. He and I aren't a thing, I don't want to trash his reputation." Birdie pouted. "It's still creepy. How can you stand the way he gropes you?"

Honestly, she barely noticed. She was so used to the way Voldemort handled her like a pet that Tony's gropes didn't register. He could have his hands in her pants and she felt nothing. He couldn't even make her get wet with his aggressively probing fingers. The only time she spared him notice was when she was tired or Umbridge was around. She rested her head on his shoulder or gave him tiny pecks when he greeted her.

He was ever present during their lessons together. He held her hand during Defense Against the Dark Arts where they didn't need both hands for lessons anyway. Delores's ban on practical study meant that all they did was read and write in her class.

In every other class, they sat together, his hands straying to her whenever there was a pause in lessons. She hadn't been paying much attention, but he got particularly gropey in Snape's classes.

She was still sharing Snape's bed regularly, but they didn't talk or do anything besides sleep near each other. He didn't call on her very often or show much interest in her. All of their practiced closely taking a pause while school continued. It wasn't until a particularly boring lesson that Ariadne became aware of just how aggressive Tony was getting.