APPLESEED, Snow Celeste

Snow Celeste Appleseed

HISTORY

Mother: Not important, pureblood, deceased
Father: Irrelevant, pureblood, deceased
Siblings: Two brothers, older than me, names not relative., deceased
Partners: Cade Cross, former boyfriend, currently residing in Azkaban and completely crazy I hear, half-blood.
Lord Voldemort ... only apparently we weren't dating, although looking back with clarity, the son of a bitch certainly let me believe we were.
Others: Two sister in laws, one nephew, two nieces, names not relevant, all pureblood, deceased
Boggart: Voldemort finding me, and annoyingly, part of me still loves him. I don't know if I fear him killing me or coaxing me beck to his ranks.
Mirror of Erised: Myself with my family, totally forgiveness.
Patronus: I cannot produce a patronus. My happiest memories are all corrupt.

---

As you may or may not have guessed, my original name, the one that my parents gave to me, was not Snow Celeste Appleseed. This is just a name I use for my own protection, and why do I need to take such precautions? Well you’ll find out.

I was born to a wealthy pureblood couple who was known far and wide through the Wizarding World. My parents were like royalty, they had status, gold, respect. Everything one would need to rule a Kingdom, should they have chosen to. My father was a stately man, wise beyond his years, charming, giving. I have so many incredibly fond memories of him, but naturally I had to kill him. My mother was stunning. She was graceful and elegant, kind and thoughtful. When mother smiled it was sheer radiance. Even now the memory of her smile makes me warm inside, it comforts me. She had to die, too, although not by my hand.

I had two brothers. They were handsome men. My older brother was more handsome than my younger, but they were both incredibly good looking in their own ways. They were generous like father, eloquent like mother. Then there was me. I was a Princess. I was the baby of the family and everyone doted on me. I was cared for, looked out for. Everything I could ever wish for became mine. Mother taught me what it was to be rich, that with such a position in life it was necessary not to take it for granted. She taught me the value of kindness and my father taught me the value of a hards day work. I may have been my parent’s little darling, but nothing was beneath us as a family.

My brothers attended Hogwarts and I followed a few years after the younger one. I was sorted into Slytherin, a different house to my brothers, but I was happy there. I found it a little hard to make friends, pureblood that I had grown up with sunned me, they called me names and would mock me for being wealthier than them. I knew it all came from a place of jealousy, but it hurt nonetheless. Still, I held my head high and carried on. I was courteous, modest and humble, still it was not enough for me to find any friends. It was almost a whole school year before anyone showed me any morsel of kindness. I remember the day with perfect clarity, Prunella Quiggles and her gang of unloved misfits tore the bows out of my hair and pushed me down the flight of stairs they’d confronted me on. I was mostly unharmed, only coming away with a few bruises, but my soul was crushed. Tears ran down my face and I ran from the castle, trying to hide from my humiliation.

Outside of the castle there was a storm raging on and rain poured down my face. It was that awful combination of heavy rain and frigid cold. As the rain hit my cheeks it stung and after a while I ran to a tree to take cover. I leant against the trunk of the tree and cried harder than I ever had in my life. I was a good person, I knew that I was. I sobbed for a friend, anyone that would be kind to me, that wouldn’t act so cruelly, and lightning struck the lake. The sight took my breath away. I wasn’t close enough for it to reach me but I was close enough that I had been startled. I felt my gut twist into a knot, knowing that it wasn’t wise to be outside, and I was right. Another bolt of lightning came down, striking the three I was under. I screamed and tried to get away but one of the branches caught me, knocking me to the ground and trapping me underneath it. I heard a boy shout out but I couldn’t hear what he’d said, nut he used his magic to left the tree off of me and he reached out a hand. I took his hand, somewhat expecting for him to drop the tree on me, but he didn’t. I remember looking him up and down and thinking how handsome he was. I knew him, I knew his name, and he’d helped me. Something inside of me started to glow, it was filling me with a type of warmth that I just can’t describe. I knew then and there that it was the start of a friendship, that someone, or something out there, had heard my should call out for a friend, and that someone had sent me an angel name Tom Riddle.

Tom Riddle was the friend I had so desperately wanted. He was kind, funny and he never once treated me like I was less than a human. He was my first friend at Hogwarts.

Over the years my fondness for Tom only grew. I wrote to him over the holidays and told him everything that happened. I would invite him to stay with me over the holidays, but he couldn’t. The first day of every new school year was always my favourite because I was able to embrace him. Those summer months felt like the longest of my life.

School didn’t really get any easier, but I was able to brush it off when I could talk to Tom. He was charismatic and liked by just about everyone. He gave me confidence in myself and at the beginning of my fourth year I stood up to the girls that would taunt me relentlessly. They say if you stand up to your bullies then they back down, well, these ones wouldn’t. I came crying back to Tom who embraced me and after he comforted me, he gave me ideas of what I could do to make sure they never bothered me again, so they would know that I wasn’t some coward they could just push around.

It was easy. Too easy, really, because once I got started, I really enjoyed what I was doing.

I shared a dorm with two of the girls that would tease me relentlessly and so I put a charm around it, silencing and before bed one night I spiked the drinks of everyone in my dorm, apart from one. The ringleader, Prunella Quiggles, was my target, the one Tom said I should stand up to, and so I did. At first I wasn't sure, but I gripped my wand tightly in my hand and then I slashed it through the air. Pru woke up, screaming the most terrifying scream I'd ever heard in all of my life. For a moment I panicked. I remember the fear that washed over me, the worry that someone was going to wake up or that someone would burst into the dorm, despite the precautions I had taken, but I couldn't look away from Pru, the blood spilled down her arm even as she grasped at it and screamed at me. I came too, realising that no one would be coming in. Pru got out of bed and I slashed my wand again, her face had a nice little slit across it and, for some strange reason, I remember feeling a slight tingle of joy. Our dormmates slept deeply, no one could hear us, the only thing I had forgotten to do was lock the door. My heart sunk at that realisation, one I didn't reach until after a third slice of my wand cut the top of her chest and Pru started heading to the dorm door when she realised no one in the dorm was waking up. I did what Tom had taught me. I used a spell that made her do what I wanted. The fear of getting caught and the pure hate I held for her was enough to get her to drink the potions I had set on my bedside table. The first healed her body, the second put her to sleep. I didn't really think it through, she collapsed on the floor and I had the task of moving her to her bed. I cleared up any blood with a simple scrogify and I went back to bed. For the first time ever, I went to sleep at Hogwarts grinning like a clown.

As you can imagine, the next morning was ripe with accusations. Pru woke up and got out of bed, screaming at me, pulling off my blankets, ranting like a lunatic, then something happened that I never thought possible, the other girls in my dorm stood up for me, they told Pru they hadn't heard a thing, they told her it was probably a bad dream. Pru looked at her arm and felt across her cheek and chest, those places I'd cut her. It was so hard but I somehow managed to hold back the cruelest of smirks. Eventually in Pru's one lucky, who had stayed silent for a long while, told her to just let it go. I'm not saying I had no problems from Prunella and the Skanks ever again, but it was greatly reduced and it was exciting to see Pru avoid me whenever she could.

After that, Hogwarts got much better. I regaled Tom with the story and I felt as though he was almost as excited as me, and that was when I first kissed him. I don't know why I did it, but I had feelings that bubbled up inside of me and just came out as a kiss. It was my first kiss and it was memorable. Tom had meant so much to me and I knew that I was falling in love with him. He, to me, was the most incredible and thoughtful human being to ever exist. Looking back I now know that he manipulated me, that he took me at my most vulnerable and tested just how much he could get me to do. As it turns out, it was a lot.

Tom and I stayed friends. It wasn't that I didn't want more, just that I couldn't bring myself to ask him if he wanted to make our relationship anything more official. There were a few people around us that started pairing up, but I just couldn't bring up the subject with Tom, and he never brought it up either, so we stayed close friends. In our fifth year we were prefects alongside one another. I was ecstatic, we were the power couple of the fifth year Slytherins. Admittedly that wasn't a whole lot of power, but Tom liked it and I liked being able to spend time with him. We patrolled with one another and we grew closer. I was definitely falling in love.

Our fifth year also happened to be our first Yule Ball. About a month before the event I heard the rumour that Elspeth Batts was going to ask Tom to the ball. I have no idea how I heard this rumour as I didn't really talk to many people, but it made me feel al little queasy. I was definitely jealous. I liked Tom, I didn't want anyone else asking him to the Yule Ball and so I plucked up the courage and asked him. He said yes and I couldn't believe it. I had the cutest and most popular guy in school agreeing to go to the Yule Ball with me. I was nervous and excited while also being completely smug. Especially smug. The first time I saw Elspeth Batts after Tom had agreed to go with me, I couldn't help but smirk. I didn't say anything, I didn't want to rub it in her face that he wanted to go with me and not her, but I certainly felt an extreme sense of superiority. I made sure to have the best dress and my parents sent an outfit for Tom, too so that we wouldn't be mismatched. Then it was time for the ball. I was so worried that Elspeth or Prunella would ruin my dress, but nothing happened. The night was magical and I had never enjoyed myself more. I had been raised going to balls, I knew how to dance, and Tom picked up the footwork quickly. He was a dream.

School was amazing, Tom and I still weren't dating but I had so much more confidence and I even made a few more friends, girls that would actually want to spend time with me and ask me about how I was. As Prefect I found myself quite forgiving and I think Tom's reputation helped to bolster my own, after all he was a hero after all the heir of Slytherin business and that girl getting killed. Come our sixth year I asked him to the Yule Ball again and once more, he said yes. We danced all night, laughed and had fun. It was easily the best night of my life and for more reasons than just the dance. That was the night that Tom and I first made love. It was my first time with anyone and he made it special. The next day I told myself to ask him to be my boyfriend. We had a moment alone and the words just would not come out of me. Tom was effortlessly charming and I adored him, I know I did, but I couldn't bring myself to ask him if we could be something official because I was so scared of possible rejection. I said nothing, he said nothing.

February fast rolled around and we discovered a littler something called Lupercalia. I was excited and looking forward to finding my perfect match for the event. In my mind I just knew it was Tom, but when the sorting hat was placed on my head and called out Cade Cross, I was heartbroken. The night wasn't bad, but it wasn't ideal. I saw Tom paired with Essie Hornette and I remember wanting to gut the witch. I made sure to enjoy myself with Cade, notorious man-whore that he was, but all I could see was Tom the entire time.

After Lupercalia, I kept a close eye on Essie. She barely looked at Tom and I couldn't imagine why. Still, I was glad for it. I didn't want her snooping around Tom, or any other girl sniffing about for that matter. I just so happened to see Tom coming out of the library one day and instead of overthinking it, I asked if he wanted to go on a date some time, like actual boyfriend and girlfriend. He seemed surprised, like he hadn't seen this coming, but he agreed and we had a date a few evenings later on the grounds.

Dating Tom was amazing, he had his own group of friends that I didn't like too much, and I had my group of friends, by the time our seventh year came around I was actually becoming popular. I had confidence and I wasn't afraid to stand up to people that would try to put me down, although not many people tried any more. Together Tom and I were Head Boy and Girl and everything seemed sunny. Our lives were perfect.

It was a like a fairy tale, Head boy and Head girl, together, in love. I admit that I hadn't heard much from Tom over the summer holidays between our sixth and seventh years, and it was on the train to Hogwarts when I found out he'd been made Head Boy but when we were back at school I assumed we were dating, that we'd always been dating. It turns out that we were not and I didn't find out until the beginning of December when I saw him snogging Pru in the Dungeons. I was misunderstood. We had one date, on the grounds, and that was it. We snogged for fun, we hooked up for fun, but we weren't a couple, not in Tom's eyes, and as he made me aware of it all, I realised that he was right, we'd never made anything official, but we were still friends, and that was important to me because I couldn't imagine my life without Tom in it. Thankfully, I thought at the time, Tom was so charming and I wasn't mad or too badly humiliated. I wanted to slice Pru up again, but I felt that a lot every time I saw her face anyway.

So, not dating Tom was also nice. Life didn't feel as sunny or perfect but it was amazing having him in it. I went to our seventh year yule ball with Cade Cross and had an incredible night after, although I was thinking about Tom the entire time, just like I had at Lupercalia. Another Lupercalia came around and I didn't go. I was tempted, but I couldn't bring myself to see Tom paired up with someone else, so I avoided it all together. Cade, too, had decided not to go and we spent all night talking and laughing, all cumulating in a rather tender kiss. We'd done so much more than that before, but that kiss was something special, for once, while I was with Cade, my mind wasn't on Tom.

Cade and I started dating, and I made sure it was official, not wanting to make a fool of myself again, and it was fun. I spent less time with Tom although I found myself thinking of him often. We wouldn't talk much about Cade, but Tom seemed as though he was happy for me. I was so happy with Cade but come exam time I really needed to revise. Cade never gave much time to his own revision, said he had everything all figured out, and he tried and tried to get me to ease up on my schedule, but I just couldn't, I wanted the best possible grades. In his attempt to get me to take a break from my studying, and as part of a prank, or perhaps something much sinister, Cade ruined the library. Bookshelf after bookshelf came tumbling down. The library was full of people, many of whom got hurt, but thankfully nothing life threatening. A bookshelf came down on me but before it could land on me, Tom stopped it. Many students, and even the librarian, had seen Cade push the initial bookshelf with a blast from his wand, and that set off a chain reaction. Cade was kicked out of Hogwarts. Too many people had been injured and expulsion seemed the only thing that would satisfy some of the more influential parents. After the incident, Tom took me out to the lake. We sat and talked for hours and he reminded me of what people were like, that they only ever wanted to see me fall. I had thought Cade was different, but it was painfully obvious that he was just another person that didn't care what happened to me. I had built up so much confidence only to be reminded that Tom was the only one I could truly trust.

From then on I became more callous. Tom was the only one that I trusted. Cade had ruined friendships for me. I became distant with my own friends. I was convinced that they all wanted to see me fall, I was certain of it. After my exams I started spending more time with Tom and once the summer holidays arrived and school was over, it was much easier to just ignore everyone I had gone to school with, apart from Tom.

As part of a graduation gift for me, my parents bought me a little cottage in the country. It was secluded and quiet and I enjoyed being alone. Well enjoyed was a bit of a stretch. I appreciated the tranquility, although I often felt lonely. I caught up with Tom from time to time, although he was busy working a lot. My parents thought it odd that after coming so far during Hogwarts, that I was left with only one friend after graduation. I saw this as an attack on Tom, they subtly accused him of monopolising all my time. It didn't matter how I presented everything, my parents tried to get me to see that Tom was bad for me, that I needed to cut ties with him and make amends with my former friends. Oh how I wish they had been able to get through to me, but alas, they could now. I was obsessed, brainwashed even, and my actions were never going to go in the favour of my parents.

SLITHER!!
About here, maybe? xD

I told Tom about what my parents thought about him, what they had said I should do. He didn't seem upset, but he also didn't really seem all that surprised. I was angry and yet he was so calm and that enraged me even more. He was the kindest, sweetest man I had ever met. He had saved my life - twice! How was he anything but an angel? My parents were a problem and soon my brothers became a problem also. Gradually I started cutting off contact with my family, but not entirely. I lied to them frequently, lying to them about what and where my job was, and I used that job as a reason for why I couldn't visit much or attend birthdays, I kept my life vague and boring sounding so they wouldn't keep poking and prodding, but it didn't matter, every time I saw them they brought up Tom.

I don't know where, when, or why, but there came a point where I'd had enough of my family. I had loved them dearly and yet they questioned things they didn't even know about, and in doing so they questioned me. Tom's words by the lake near the end of our seventh year flashed by me, they wanted to see me fall. They butted in too often and it eventually lead me to snap. I turned to two of Tom's closest friends and they helped me silence my family for good. I won't go into details but it was enough to churn the stomachs of the aurors on the scene, I'm told. My family had gathered to celebrate my nephew's fifth birthday, I had told them I had work, I even made sure that I was written down to have a shift that afternoon. I bewitched my co-workers and apparated out, leaving them to believe I had been there for the entire shift. My alibi was secure, my family were dead, and then I was straight back to work again, acting as though nothing had happened, kind of excited that I had literally got away with murder.

That night Titus visited. We weren't that close, but he had helped me kill my family, and he too had an airtight alibi. He had said at the time when he knocked on my door, that he wanted to make sure that I was okay after what we had done and then returning to work. He was thoughtful, I thought. I let him in and not long after aurors visited my home. They sat down and broke the news that my entire family, even the little ones, had been killed. I cried into Titus' arms as he held me. In front of the aurors he comforted me for the sake of appearances while the aurors jotted down whatever I said and then Titus asked if they had any leads. They had. My stomach dropped and I stopped crying. I wiped my face and looked truly horrified. Were they on to us? No, not even the slightest. Cade Cross had been arrested at the scene and had already admitted to everything. I looked to Titus and back to the aurors. They had a few questions about my relationship with Cade, but it was all pretty cut and dry. Cade had apparently killed my entire family because I had dumped him and he blamed me for his expulsion. The aurors left and I was still in shock, I couldn't believe that Cade had bene there and that he had confessed. He had nothing to do with it, I had no idea what was happening. Titus wouldn't answer my questions, he told me to just forget about it and he insisted on staying the night, to make sure it seemed as though his comforting me was genuine. I agreed to let him stay in one of the spare rooms, although he didn't step foot in there. I don't know if it was from all the excitement of the day, or if it was because I was just a woman with needs but I took him to my bedroom and neither of us got much sleep.

Representatives of my parents and siblings estates came to me over the following months and eventually everything was signed over to me. I had three homes, four holiday homes, businesses I'd never even heard of and all the gold in my families vaults at Gringotts were transferred to mine. They had to move me to a bigger vault. It was far more than I could comprehend and it grew daily. I had no idea what to do with the money. I sold my brothers' houses and I moved to my parents home. It was large, far more spacious than I needed.

Life was quiet. Tom was travelling the world and I had left my job. I didn't really fit in with the pureblood elite because I'd cut off ties with their children. I was alone with mounds of money and a house I didn't want to live in.

The next chance I got, I asked Tom where he went and what he did. He told me a little about his journeys, but not a lot. I asked to go with him next time and he agreed. I covered the costs of everything, he didn't have to pay for a thing, and I wouldn't have let him. He would leave every now and then, but he always came back. He didn't like to tell me where he had been and that was okay. Eventually he let me in and he confessed that he needed gold. He told me about a group he and his friends had and he asked if I would help finance it. I agreed, happy to contribute any way that I could. He told me of their goals and I was fascinated. The language he used sucked me in and I began believing that muggle-borns were the enemies. Before I knew it, we were back home and we'd opened him a bank account in Gringotts. I transferred three quarters of my fortune to Tom's account. I still had plenty to live my life without needing to work, but I liked working, it gave me something to do with my time and I liked supporting Tom. Life wasn't perfect, but it was good.

The years went by and things were much the same. I officially became one of Tom's followers, bearing what he called a 'dark mark' only he was no longer Tom, he went by Lord Voldemort. It made me chuckle and it made him both feared and respected by his other followers and so I played along. Our time together became even less and when we were together, we weren't as close as we used to be. We were still intimate, that never stooped, but it came to a point where he would summon me with my mark, we would spend time enjoying one another bodies, and then he would leave. I was never rushed out, but I didn't feel welcome. I was alone. I had only ever had Tom and now he was gone, he didn't care about spending time with me, he had his own world and he was on top of it. It became painfully clear that there was no room for another, no space in his world for a Lady Voldemort.

I don't know when, or how exactly, but I woke up. Not literally, I was never under an actual spell and I was never asleep and dreaming, but something clicked that told me Tom didn't love me the way I loved him, that he didn't love me at all. I thought of my family, my friends, and while Tom had saved my life, he had always kept me to himself, he'd always pushed me in the direction he wanted me to go. Rarely was anything my true decision. I felt betrayed and duped and so I faked my own death. I paid a circus in an Eastern European country to sell me their metamorphmagi. I had her travel to England with me under the guise that she would be free and live as a paid maid. I told her I needed to check her abilities and so I had her turn into various people, last of all me. Once she was turned into me, I killed her. It was, perhaps, a little heartless, but I knew there was no way that Tom would let me leave knowing what I knew, and I knew that metamorphmagi had no real life worth living beyond the poverty and squalor of the circus she performed for, whereas I could have a future, not extravagant, but something. Tom's followers were for life and I needed to escape that, and this was the only way I could think of so that he wouldn't try and track me down. His mark meant that he could call you from anywhere in the world, and the more you ignored it, the more it would burn.

I wasn't sure if a metamorphmagus stayed in their chosen form for long after their death or not, but it didn't matter, I just needed her dead long enough that Tom got news that I had passed. I reached out to the one person I believed could offer me refuge in exchange for the information I could give him. Albus Dumbledore. You've no idea how much Tom despised that man. He wouldn't let on around many, but he had a deep dislike, distrust, and somewhat fear for the ageing wizard. I struck a deal with Albus and he gave me a job at Hogwarts and I changed my name, creating a whole new name and history. There was one more problem, the dark mark on my forearm. I still feel It burn when he summons all his followers, and usually I'm able to give Albus a heads up that he's up to something, but it hurts. Poppy Pomfrey usually helps me out with a pain potion, but it only takes the edge off. Now that I'm practically part of the furniture at Hogwarts, I've become the Head of Slytherin House. I rarely leave the castle, and when I do, I only really keep to Hogsmeade. Tom would never dare set foot inside of Hogwarts again, not while Albus is there, which makes it the safest place for me right now.

OOC

Play By: Lucy Lawless
Your Alias: Coco!
Pronouns: Her/she Him/he etc.
Age: 69 *snickers*
Other Characters: Uh, Dorcas and some other ones.
Where did you find us: In a well. A deep, dark, dank well.