somewhere only we know | ariadne

[james sirius potter]

i felt the earth beneath my feet

sat by the river
and it made me complete

Early September 2022
@ariadne

James shook his head slightly. He’d spaced out again. It had been a week since he’d gotten on the train, but it still felt like it had happened that morning. The image of that lifeless body was imprinted into his mind. Everybody seemed to be checking on him, and he just had to do that familiar ‘James’ smile and say he was doing okay when really he could have been doing much better. His father had wanted to come by the school, but James told him not to. It didn’t bother him that people were asking how he was doing, it was nice of them, but even James Potter—the loudest Potter next to Lily, needed some quiet time.

Sitting in the courtyard, he found a place to sit flip absentmindedly through his Potions textbook. It wasn’t his favorite subject, but he needed the NEWT level. Sighing, he knew there was always Quidditch as an option if Law Enforcement didn’t work out for him—but everybody watched you when you were Harry Potter’s son. James had already talked to many of his friends that day. Even Al had found him at one point. But the first few weeks of school were always spent catching up with those he hadn’t seen over the summer. Though many were his neighbors.

He flipped another page and then looked up at the sound of giggling girls walking by. James managed to see them before they turned out of sight—but he shrugged since he wasn’t sure what that was about. Looking back, he saw he wasn’t alone, however, but it was a friendly and familiar face. ”Hey.” James greeted her, closing the book in his hand. He was sure that decades ago a Potter and a Lestrange wouldn’t even have been in the same part of the Castle—let alone be friends now, but it was those things that always gave James hope for the future.

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The nightmares had plagued Ariadne since the discovery of the body on the train to Hogwarts. Ariadne knew she had nothing to do with it, but she couldn’t seem to convince her fellow students of her innocence. Of course, nobody directly accused her of the murder, but she was not stupid; she heard the whispers following her to every class, every meal, and even in the Ravenclaw common room. All because her last name was Lestrange. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t right - hadn’t she proven that when she was sorted into Ravenclaw instead of her family's Slytherin? Sirius Black had been a Gryffindor after all, unlike the rest of his family, and he hadn’t been treated with distrust like she was. Perhaps that was more due to the infamy of her aunt, Bellatrix. She had been killed before Ariadne had been born, but she had been one of Voldemorts most trusted followers, and a lethal, if a little unhinged, duelist.

Hearing the giggles of the girls, Ariadne glanced up and sighed as she settled more into her alcove in the Courtyard. It was a warm day, and Ariadne couldn’t bear being cooped up inside any longer. At least outside, she had more places to hide in plain sight. Still, it seemed like someone had spotted her, and called out in greeting. Ariadne looked up from her book tentatively, and was surprised to see James Potter. Unlike many students in their year, James had always treated her fairly and with kindness, which she was extremely appreciative for. She wouldn’t dare call them good friends, but he didn’t seem to believe the rumors that she was responsible for the murder, and that was a relief. “Hello James,” she responded quietly, offering him a shy smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Reading anything good?” she added after a momentary lapse into silence. She didn’t know how long she could keep up the small talk for, but at least someone was talking to her.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

i felt the earth beneath my feet

sat by the river
and it made me complete

Early September 2022
@ariadne

James hadn’t been the only one to see the student on the train. He’d just been the first to come across the body. And the initial shock had frozen him in place while his friends and curious students peered over his shoulder, and he ran through the train to look for Professor or anybody. His next concern was keeping his brother and sister away from the site, knowing that Lily would be all too curious to see what the fuss was about. But, they still found out. Everyone had found out as word spread before they even arrived at the school and began the Sorting Ceremony. His final year at school hadn’t had the best beginning.

Unfortunately, it was still the talk, and rumors of all kinds could be heard as talking during class or hushed whispers in the library. James put many of them to rest, most notably one, in particular, which was a bit ridiculous. Even earlier that morning, he’d walked by a pair of giggling girls, much like the ones that had just passed, as they mentioned a name: Ariadne Lestrange. ’My father says that the Lestrange family are all criminals.’ Ariadne was in his year and while they hadn’t spoken all that often throughout their tenure at the school, they had interacted whenever Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had shared classes. They’d ended up with almost identical NEWT courseloads.

She was as quiet as James was, loud but kind and very intelligent. Yes, she had that last name, but in a way, it wasn’t any different than James’ last name and the attention he received. Though nobody would ever blame him for the dead student on the train. He couldn’t quite understand why she’d be to blame. It wasn’t as if she was the only person at the school with an unfortunate relation. He grinned that usual James Potter grin and looking down at the textbook in his hand. ”Not really.” He tilted his head to the side as he looked at the cover of his book. ”Just as I suspected, reading about Potions isn’t all that exciting.” James looked back at her. ”Do you always hang out in the courtyard?” He asked, genuinely curious.

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Ariadne chuckled softly. “Depends on the text, there are some Potions books in the library that are quite an interesting read,” she commented. She would know; she had spent plenty of time in the library since school began. She changed up her reading nooks often, as people seemed to congregate when they discovered she was there. She knew they all thought her guilty of the heinous crime of murder, but nothing she said would convince them otherwise. She was a Lestrange, that was the only crime she was truly guilty of. And nobody seemed to be able to see past it.

Except for James, it seemed. Of course, Andy let it all slide off her back, but she didn’t seem to garner the level of attention Ariadne had been these past few weeks. Perhaps it was because Ari was introverted and quiet; they’re the more suspicious ones. Still, it was nice to know there was at least one person in the castle who didn’t believe she was capable of murdering someone, especially one so young. “When it’s nice weather yes, and when there’s less people around,” Ariadne admitted with a small shrug. “Not that anyone seems eager for my company these days. I’m a suspected murderer after all,” she added, bitterness seeping into her tone of voice. She did not like feeling so helpless.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

i felt the earth beneath my feet

sat by the river
and it made me complete

Early September 2022
@ariadne

Much like his father, James took Potions merely for the requirement rather than any real interest in the topic. It was useful—yes, but interesting—no. ”I’m sure my brother has read them as well.” Al was by far the more studious of the too, and he had the time without Quidditch in his schedule. Again, adding to what made them so different. James had asked her a question for the purpose of small talk, but that took a twist quickly, and James’ grin faded a bit as he gave Ariadne a sympathetic look. The rumors were ridiculous. No wonder she was hiding in the courtyard.

James quickly put his book down next to his bag and took a step toward Ariadne. ”Those rumors are nonsense. They’ll go away soon enough.” Teenagers got bored quickly, at least from what he had seen and experienced himself. But he paused. As much as he wanted to help, he knew James was limited because he rarely found himself in that kind of spotlight. ”Those people don’t know you. I know you’d never do anything like that.” He grinned slightly, trying to be encouraging. Ariadne’s sister was in James’ house, but Ariadne herself was in Ravenclaw. Still, their overlapping schedules meant that they actually got to see each other more often now in the NEWT classes. And James liked to think that he was a decent judge of character.

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Ariadne opened her mouth in surprise, then closed it quickly. She had not exactly had defenders this year; even her dorm mates were keeping her at arms length, and her partners in class were polite but never engaged in conversation with her. She had come to expect everyone suspected her of the murder, and had not thought anyone truly thought her innocent. “I….thank you,” she finally stammered, setting her book aside to turn her attention to James. “You may be the only one,” she added with a wry smile, as another group of girls passed by them, whispering and pointing.

Ariadne sighed. “I do not believe I am like my family,” she began, keeping her eyes on James. “What they did during both Wizarding Wars, and after, I never wanted a part in it. It was a disappointment to them; as I’m sure you know, Bellatrix was held in the highest esteem by her in-laws. I think they rather hoped that I would be a reincarnation of the woman in some way.” She paused, then gave a wry chuckle. “I’m still surprised I wasn’t named after her, for the way they revered her,” she admitted. “I suppose they consider me a bigger disappointment than if I’d been born simple. At least if I’d had a simple mind, they could explain my nature away. But Hogwarts has taught me that it is not our families who make us who we are, but our choices. And I choose to align with those who want to make the world a better, more equal place. Unfortunately, because I am quiet, people have jumped to the conclusion that I am just like my family.” She finished speaking; she was pretty sure this was the first time she had said more than ten words to James at once. Certainly she didn’t talk this much before the accusations, and since then, barely a word had escaped her lips, except to answer questions in class. She flushed, then trained her gaze on a random spot behind James shoulder, not wanting to look at him anymore.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

i felt the earth beneath my feet

sat by the river
and it made me complete

Early September 2022
@ariadne

The Hogwarts rumor mill wasn’t something to be trifled with. James had seen the effects, and he’d been subject of rumors himself, though hardly bad ones. The latest one had been something about how many girlfriends he’d had simultaneously, which was untrue, but who was James to stop a little bit of false information boosting his ego? Ariadne seemed genuinely surprised by his response—he hadn’t quite expected that. James was accustomed to letting things roll off him that he supposed he assumed most were the same. The only person he ever saw carry the weight of someone else’s words was his brother Albus.

Another group of girls passed, and James instinctively looked, but he didn’t smile at them. History had taught him how cruel and how effective words could be in making somebody a target. It had happened to his father and with The Daily Prophet, no less, let alone just school rumors. ”I doubt that’s true.” James responded, giving her an encouraging grin. James had sat and listened to the stories and anecdotes his Aunt Hermione would tell him when he was young, complete with frequent interruptions from his Uncle Ron and an eye-roll from his wife before she’d correct him and continue before James’ mother would smack his Uncle upside the head. She spoke of darker times, though in terms an eleven-year-old could understand, and her own challenges and the challenges of others with specific names.

It was an important less. A person was more than their name, and his own father, Harry, had sat him down and told him that the name ‘Potter’ held power behind it and to not be a fool. James had always been an impetuous child, though not to the extent of Lily, so his father would repeat these words often to the young man. And it was why he’d brushed off these silly rumors that Ariadne Lestrange was hunting down muggle-born children at Hogwarts when James knew for a fact that she was hardly one to raise her hand in class, let alone attack another student. Ariadne continued to speak, and James listened intently. They’d spoken often, but mainly in Potions class as students did and not much otherwise. But James had always found her calm, intelligent, and kind, and also very pretty.

A slight blush crept to her face after she spoke, and James thought through the amount of information he was just given. ”My Aunt Hermione tells me that people want somebody to blame when they’re scared.” That seemed to be the case here, an easy scapegoat when other notorious last names were more redeemed. ”She also told me that people are more than their name. The good and the bad.” James could easily have turned against his family and ruined the gleaming reputation the Potter name brought. Much like the Ministry was filled with names like Zabini and Karkaroff, fighting for a better cause. The smile slowly left James’ face as he looked away a moment, the image of the student on the train so fresh in his mind still. ”I saw that boy on the train…I think it takes a complete lack of humanity to do that to someon.” James looked back at Ariadne, taking another step and a half closer as he noted more kids were walking by.

”We’ve had classes together since First Year. You aren’t anything like what I’ve been told about the Lestranges before.” The grin returned to his face. Evil was hard to hide in any form. He’d watched his classmates turn into bullies as they could not hide those deep parts of themselves and chose to torment others. Fortunately, that was the worst they did, as for who had killed this student—James didn’t know. Another group walked by, pointing and James immediately glared at them. The young Gryffindors walked away. It was the most they had ever really spoken, and he realized that these rumors were weighing on her. It didn’t feel fair. ”I can walk you to class if you like?” James offered. Maybe they weren’t close, but she needed an ally, and that’s where his chivalrous side appeared.

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Ariadne nodded seriously at James’ comment about the real murderer. How they would have to be almost inhuman to commit a crime of that nature. “What’s rather ironic is that...I believe it would have been something my Aunt Bellatrix was capable of. More than believe really, I know for a fact she would do it. She had no problem torturing parents of a one year old baby to insanity after the Dark Lord fell,” she admitted, her eyes darkening. Professor Longbottom had been nothing but kind and supportive to Ariadne since she arrived at the school, one of the few people who didn’t hold her family name against her. Which always struck Ari as strange, as if anyone deserved to hold a grudge against the Lestrange family, it was Neville Longbottom. But he did not hold her responsible for her familys’ actions against his own. Not that others didn’t hold that grudge on his behalf of course.

Even though James had been nothing but polite to her thus far, Ariadne was surprised that he offered to walk her to class. “Oh! Yes, that would be nice, thanks. I’m headed to Divination, it’s not for another thirty minutes, but we can go that way now,” she accepted, standing up slowly and putting her book back in her bag. The courtyard was starting to get crowded anyway, and more and more people kept passing them by and whispering. If she got to class early, at least she’d be alone and the Divination professor had never really been bothered by her surname. Plus, the students in NEWT level Divination were more involved in the future, not the past. “Did you ever take the subject?” Ariadne asked. She’d heard rumors about how James’ father had taken Divination when he was at school and he’d been the Grim recipient by Professor Trelawney. She wondered if his disliking of the subject had passed onto his children.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

i felt the earth beneath my feet

sat by the river
and it made me complete

Early September 2022
@ariadne

James didn’t know quite what to say. The crimes of the Lestranges and other Death Eaters were well known and documented. And personally, he’d been amazed and what a kind person Professor Longbottom was in the face of that. But James had always thought his own father brave for facing what he had and without parents of his own. It all came back to choices, just like his parents and his extended family all taught him. And just like he’d made a choice to not listen to rumors on such a sad thing. That boy he’d found on the train could have easily been his brother or one of his cousins, he dreaded the thought, but it took real evil to commit such a crime in his mind.

She seemed surprised at his offer, and James gave her a friendly grin. It wasn’t fair—the rumors. Harry had told James about a few of his years at the school when nobody would listen to him. It was a lesson for James, to teach him to try and be fair. Was he still quick to rush to judgment? Perhaps, but he’d like to think that he was working on it. But the pressure of knowing that he had a famous name, people watched him, and more importantly, his brother and sister did. ”Better to get to the staircase before it gets crowded.” Otherwise, you ended up on the wrong side of the Castle until the stairs decided to move in the other direction.

James picked up his bag and stuffed the Potions book in it, swinging it over his shoulder. That was something he couldn’t imagine—walking around and people staring not because you were a Potter but for something perceived as negative. As they began walking, he chuckled. ”I did, back in third year.” He gave a sheepish expression. ”It wasn’t my favorite subject. And…I guess I’d like to believe that our choices today can still affect things.” He admitted honestly, sticking his hands in his pockets as they entered the Castle. ”What do you enjoy about it?” He was curious, and he’d already stopped himself from calling the subject ‘dumb’ to not offend, but he wanted to hear her answer nonetheless.

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Ariadne laughed softly. “Oh yes, crowded staircases are not good. My bag always seems to rip or books fall out of my hands when there’s many people around,” she agreed, somewhat sadly. She was no fool; she knew people shot whispered spells towards her when there was a crowd so that there was no way to tell who did it. She knew what bullies looked like; hell, she’d grown up in a family of bullies after all. But Ariadne was different, she was not like her family. She wanted to help heal, not tear down. It was unfortunate that whoever started these rumors seemed hell bent on keeping the Lestrange name firmly cast in the shadows. If only people could see the real her. At least James would be walking with her; one thing she knew for sure was how respected he was, especially in comparison to her. Maybe she would have a normal climb to Divination for once.

“It is not most peoples favorite subjects,” Ariadne agreed with a wry smile. She knew Divination was an imprecise branch of magic that most people did not have time for. Truth be told, she didn’t think she was all that good either, but she had passed the OWL and decided to continue on, due to the Professor. “The professor is a kind person; they…they don’t treat me like I’m a bad person due to who my family is.” Ariadne paused, then a fond smile crossed her lips. “Actually at the beginning of term, they declared that they had a premonition on who was responsible, and that I was being falsely accused.” Nobody had really believed their professor of course, but it was a nice feeling that they didn’t think Ariadne could murder someone. “They said the real villain had dark features,” she added, not really sure why she was including this. James had dropped Divination rather quickly, so she had a feeling he didn’t trust the professors visions either. “They open the windows now in the classroom, so it’s less oppressive in there,” she finished, quickly changing the subject.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

i felt the earth beneath my feet

sat by the river
and it made me complete

Early September 2022
@ariadne

James had never figured she was clumsy, but the moving staircases could make even the most senior of students fumble at times. Even James had managed to trip at times despite being coordinated enough to play Quidditch. Unfortunately, James had witnessed older students trip the younger ones at times. Pranks were common at Hogwarts but so was bullying. It wasn’t anything James condoned, and he was glad that his Aunt and his father had shared those stories with him as a valuable lesson. As they walked, Ariadne explained her Divination class and how the Professor acted. James didn’t know the Professor well though now she had won some points with James for not perpetuating this ridiculous rumor.

”Maybe the Professor and I do agree on something after all. James hadn’t hidden his true feelings on the matter to anyone that asked. And in his mind, there was no justice in pointing fingers without evidence.

Early October 2022 – a few weeks later

The leaves began to fall on the grounds, and the temperature began to drop. The winds picked up, and the dead leaves crunched under James’ shoes that morning. And as he walked into the Library, he already missed being outside. It was unnaturally empty in here as most of the students were either in the village or at Quidditch practice or back asleep after breakfast. But he spotted the blonde head he was looking for, and casually, he walked over and dropped himself into the seat next to her. He had managed to glance over and see that the textbook she had open was a Potions one by the large drawing on the second page. ”You know that essay isn’t due for another week?”

People had asked him how he could spend time with Ariadne Lestrange, and then he took a step closer and asked them to clarify what they meant. Many Gryffindors did suddenly find their bravery to only repeat the rumor they had heard from somebody else, and James had challenged them otherwise. But it was James. Had he managed to sway some opinions? Hopefully, but he had the privilege of his name, so he was less likely to be ostracized so easily. Besides, James realized he enjoyed spending time with Ariadne, whether a short walk to class or a walk on the grounds. James could strike up a conversation with literally anybody, but he looked forward to talking to her. She was kind and intelligent, not nearly as loud as James was. Not that he believed the rumor about her, but he’d only been further convinced that it wasn’t true. ”I have a better idea—how about we head down to the Three Broomsticks instead?” James suggested.

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Ariadne had begun to spend more time than she ever expected with James Potter. At the beginning of this year, she never would have expected to exchange more than polite pleasantries in class, let alone having full on conversations with him. And they weren’t frivolous at all - last time they’d even started getting into their families, more importantly specific family members directly involved in the others' lives. Her parents would probably murder her for even considering that she may be friends with a Potter.

She knew this weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend but Ariadne had not been keen on going. She could go on her own she supposed, but the castle was blissfully quiet for once, and she could do with an afternoon of no one pointing and staring at her. There hadn’t been any more murders of students, but the rumors stubbornly refused to die down. It had barely been six weeks after all; they all thought she was biding her time to throw off suspicion. She just wished she knew who was responsible for starting this all in the first place. If people had really known her, they would know she wouldn’t hurt a fly.

So instead, Ariadne took herself to the library after the students had all set out to the village, pleased to discover her favorite table by a large window was free. She set down her bag and got out her potions book. She began to write her essay, but she had just finished the first paragraph when someone dropped into the open seat next to her and spoke.

“James?” she questioned, quite surprised to see him inside on a Hogsmeade weekend. She figured he had taken off with his friends the minute the clock struck noon. “The Three Broomsticks?” she repeated, her brain moving way too fast for her speech to keep up. So instead of heading into the village, he had come to the library in search of…her? He wanted her to accompany him to Hogsmeade? “Yes,” she blurted out before she fully realized what she had said. “I mean, okay, if you’d like to,” she said, willing her cheeks not to turn pink. She failed.


james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

i felt the earth beneath my feet

sat by the river
and it made me complete

Early October 2022
@ariadne

James never had difficulty creating conversations, and he enjoyed it. Naturally, he preferred to have conversations with his good friends and cousins as he bumped into them around the Castle or the grounds. Lately, one of those favorite people was the Ravenclaw he was currently encouraging to stop doing her homework. James saw no reason why they couldn’t be friends, and he wondered why they hadn’t really spoken at length before this. James began to lean back in his chair slightly as he waited for Ariadne to catch up to his fast speech.

As she answered quickly, James let his chair land back on the ground as he smiled. ”Wonderful—we should get going before all the seating is taken.” James was pretty sure he would not have accepted any answer that was not a ‘yes’. Standing up he stood confidently as he waited for her to join him. ”Weather’s good for a walk down.” That just added to it. James could have easily walked down with his friends and cousins, some had already left, and some had Quidditch practice, and others asked him where he was going. In any case, it wasn’t like James to leave a friend behind.

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“Oh…alright,” Ariadne said, a little breathless as she stood up after James. She quickly packed up her books and put them in her bag; it was a little heavier than she would have liked for a walk into the village, but she whispered a quick lightening charm on her bag to ease the load a little bit. Her mother had taught her that spell on the side a few years ago; she hadn’t bothered to question why exactly she’d need it outside of school, and at this point, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Tucking her scarf around her neck, Ariadne took in a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air. It was finally beginning to feel like fall, with Halloween just around the corner. She always looked forward to the Halloween Feast every year with the floating pumpkins and clouds of live bats fluttering around the ceiling. Sometimes they’d have a skeleton troupe performing as well, but she hadn’t heard anything about them this year. “Are you looking forward to the Halloween feast? Feels like the term just started and we’re already on Halloween,” she decided to ask him. Not that this year had gone by exceptionally fast, however much she willed it to. To Ariadne, time was a social construct; some days passed by in the blink of an eye, and some dragged on and on. Secretly, she hoped today would last longer, if only to spend a little more time with the eldest Potter boy. Oh, what her parents would say if they could read her mind right now.

james sirius potter

[james sirius potter]

i felt the earth beneath my feet

sat by the river
and it made me complete

Early October 2022
@ariadne

Butterbeer was the cure for…well, everything. A family favorite that they always had stocked at home in the fridge. James was a smart guy, though he wasn’t always the brightest. Still, it didn’t take a genius to know that Ariadne was hiding in the library. The rumors were still swirling, but kids needed something to talk about and then to blame in whatever way made them feel better. After he had bumped into her a second and third time and struck up a conversation, James considered writing his parents to seek their opinion—or perhaps even some kind of hidden approval. Or perhaps his Aunt Hermione, the most forgiving out of all the adults he looked up to.

But James didn’t need approval to talk to someone. But he was starting to realize how often he spotted those kind blue eyes in his thoughts. She stood up from her seat and didn’t fight his suggestion that they walk down to the village. Walking outside felt nice. The weather was cool and comfortable before the harsh cold of the winter, his least favorite season to play Quidditch in. ”I always do.” James responded. ”My cousins like to smuggle in whatever new Halloween toy or candy my Uncle has created. Or whatever needs testing.” It was one of Lily’s favorite things to do—test the items from their Uncle’s shop, and even James enjoyed it now and then.

”Halloween is always a nice distraction from…things. Gives people something else to talk about. And Quidditch has started.” Hopefully, it was all a nice enough distraction from that student’s death and rumors. James simply wanted a typical school year for his last year. ”Are you coming to the match next weekend?” James looked at her, hope in his eyes. Gryffindor was playing Slytherin, who had a strong team. But Gryffindor was simply better.

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