Guilty

Kismet, used to say the Grey Dames, Who Saw the Spirits' intention, was like a lash on the Sons of Danu: it may be long, it may be short, but living beings could move freely within its length.

The Grey Dames used to add that Kismet was like a journey too: the Sons of Danu knew where they come from and where they had to arrive, but they themselves chose the paths and the means to reach their destination.

And the Grey Dames also said that the path of every Son of Danu was linked to the others' one, because every choice has effect in the whole world.

It was don Alfio Maria Carmelo Trao to choice to give a mundane bike to her niece.

It was Lord Marvolo Meridiæ to choice to let his daughter keep it.

And it was Miss Herentas Maria Lucia Meridiæ to choice to have a ride in July 17^th, 1921.

.: I :.

Cicadas screeched among prickle pear bushes as the summer sun heated the still air: on one side of the country road, the Mediterranean sea sparkled like a sapphire or a blue diamond, and on the other side the lava field was dark and dotted with Mediterranean scrub. All by herself, a young girl rode her bike, a mischievous smile on her lips, and she giggled at the thought of her cousins, who she had left behind her. She lingered at the uphill road's top to get her breath back: she breathed deeply, filling her lung with the myrtle smelling hair, then she climbed back on her bike and went down the road without slowing down.

Maybe it wasn't an elegant behaviour for a young girl born in one of the most ancient and pureblood families of Wizarding England; besides such behaviour was a bit childish for she who was going to be the new Head Girl of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But that day, Herentas -that was the girl's name- felt too exuberant, as if soon or later she would explode with joy: she knew that day something would happen, and a tiny voice in her mind whispered that this something would change her life for ever. Sure, she said to herself, she wasn't a Seer like her cousins, but her intuitions were almost always right.

The honk on the horn was sudden and at the car's appearance the girl shrieked, losing control: her bike skidded and the front wheel ran up against a rock, catapulting the young witch in a prickle pear bush.

"Are you hurt, miss?" asked the driver, sounding rather worried, as he got out his car and reached her.

Herentas glanced at her almost destroyed bike with watery eyes and then winced in pain as she tried to get up.

"No, I'm not at all," she replied teary, "I feel like a pincushion and I have got my ankle dislocated!"

The young man looked at her, not knowing what to do: biting hard his lower, he took her in his arm and said, "Well, I can't leave you here and..."

"Oh, you can: my cousins were behind be, they should be here within..."

"No, miss, it would be rude and... and it is my fault if you get hurt.

"Ernie, would you move you butt and make some room for her?"

The young man named "Ernie" laughed and with a wink sat on the rear seat with another man and a young woman.

"I'm moved to tears, Tom," sniffed the other man teasingly, "you are acting like a real gentleman!"

The woman rolled her eyes and leaned to Herentas. "Don't mind them, they are just a bunch of fool."

At those words, the men at her sides booed loudly and she giggled. "I'm Amanda Ramsay and they are my brother Ernest and Dorian Tremont, and Tom Riddle," she said holding the girl's hand.

Herentas bit her lower lip, unsure of what to do: etiquette wanted her to introduce herself; still, it wasn't proper for a Pureblood witch befriend the mundane people. In the end, good manners prevailed and she said with a little smile and a nod: "Herentas Maria Lucia Meridiæ."

"What a weird name, weird but nice." Tom said and then he asked, "are you English?"

Herentas glanced at him warily, a light sense of trust toward him, nevertheless the awareness of who and what she was, told her to not reveal much about herself.

"What if I'm not?" she replied wincing as the car bumped.

That prevented any attempt to begin a conversation and they all stayed in an uncomfortable silence.

Every now and then, Herentas glanced at Tom, studying his appearance: he was a young man, not older that twenty-three, with perfectly comber dirty blond hair and ambered green eyes. He had a pale complexion that emphasized his sharp but typically English feature and was averagely handsome. Aurea mediocritas, she said to herself, finding that Horace's quote perfect to describe Tom.

And Tom had noticed the girl's fleeting glances, but oddly it didn't bother him: usually he would snap at whoever stared too much at him: perhaps it was the mysterious aura around her or her dignified and hieratic attitude to make him feel like subjugated by her silent presence. He adjusted the rear-view mirror and so to be able to give a better look at Herentas: and he had to admit that he had never seen a beauty like her. She seemed to shine, as if her olive skin and her curly jet-black hair were strewn with golden powder, and her chiselled and harmonious features reminded strongly a Renaissance Madonna. Her almond-shaped chocolate eyes, large and sparkling, looked at him from a place swarmed with fears and pleasures, as her fleshy and cerise lips grimaced with pain as the car bumped. Her lips... suddenly Tom felt the urge to seal those lips with his own in a kiss. He chased away that thought: she was still a girl, maybe she wasn't older that fifteen, it would be not even legal! But the more he tried to suppress that desire, the more it grew.

.: ° :.

The young man bit his lower lip as he led the ass through the country road.

"Uncle Marvolo is going to kill me if we come back home without our cousin," he mumbled.

"Never fear, brother," said the girl on the ass with a misty voice, "we will find Herentas sooner than what you think."

"Fede is right, she will be fine..."

"... even if we should worry about something else," said two other girls, as if they shared the same thoughts.

Sebastiano Maria Antonio Trao sighed, not entirely understanding his older sisters' words: after all, he said to himself, Seers used to speak in riddles. Fede, Speranza and Carità were an exceptional event in the Trao family: first, they were the first Seers born inside the family since 1581; second, they were identical triplets -only Fede could be recognized at once because of her growing blindness- and last, the three of them were albinos. They had the same straight, long white eyes and the same red eyes, like a white bunny's.

An unusual wind swept among the three sisters as an unpleasant shiver ran on Sebastiano's back.

"Something's has just happened," Fede, Speranza and Carità said with a misty voice.

Their brother bit his lower lip and held tighter the ass's reins. "Uncle Marvolo WILL kill me," he muttered sorrowful. "Will he poison or stab me? Maybe he will crucio me before use the killing curse.

"And it is all Father's fault! It was he to give Herentas that bike! Please, Carità, tell Nino he can take my potion jars' collection and to take care of it in loving memory of me."

Carità rolled her eyes at her younger brother's impromptu will.

After about ten minutes, they heard the noise of an approaching car and then a "Fede! Speranza! Carità! Sebastiano!" Relief appeared on Sebastiano's face as he recognized his missing cousin's voice: at once he and his sisters were near the car, questioning Herentas about where she had been and what had happened to her. With a slightly aching voice, Herentas told them about her little accident and how those kind peoples had helped her. Sebastiano thanked them politely and helped Herentas out the car.

Tom replied with a nervous smile, not liking at all the way Fede, Speranza and Carità stared at him and whispered to each other, it made him feel like an accused before a jury.

"Are you sure to be able to come back home?" asked Tom, feeling as if he couldn't part from Herentas. "You said your house isn't far from here, it would take just a couple of minutes to..."

"No, thank you," replied one of the triplets, "you don't have to trouble yourself: we can take care of Herentas quite well."

Tom bit his lower lip as he put the car into gear. "Well, I wish you to get well soon, Miss Meridiæ," he said.

Herentas nodded and then she smiled politely. "Thank you for your help, Tom Riddle," she said, "one day I'll repay my debt."

Those words caught Tom off his guard, and he shook his head blushing slightly. "You don't have to, Miss, but I would like to see you again."

"We'll meet again, Tom Riddle, if this is what Fate has in store for us," she replied enigmatic.