Unfortunately, the Great Firebolt Confiscation of Christmas '93 meant that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ariadne were now firmly divided into two camps: Anti-Confiscation (Harry and Ron) and Pro-Confiscation (Hermione and Ariadne).
After McGonagall left, both Ron and Hermione stormed out of the Common Room with a simultaneity that would have been funny if Harry wasn't still holding his broom polish and staring straight in shock.
"I know you're upset, Harry," Ariadne tried. "But you have to understand– the only person alive besides the Malfoys who knows my birthday is my father. The risk that your broom came from him too, it's too dangerous. He could be trying to hurt you."
Harry scoffed.
"Or us," Ariadne added on. At that, he finally turned to face her.
Harry looked down at Ariadne's hand, gaze softening as he caught sight of the note that she still held between her fingers.
"You really think it was him?"
Ariadne bit her lip before nodding. "I can't be certain," she admitted. "But it makes more sense than anything else."
"Yeah, alright," Harry said begrudgingly. "I reckon I'd have done the same, if it was just the ring. Well, maybe not tell a teacher," he tacked on bitterly, before his shoulders slumped down with a sigh. "It's just– my Nimbus was one of the first things I ever got that was really mine. That I earned. This Firebolt was supposed to be a new– I don't know." Harry cut himself off.
Ariadne walked over to him slowly, taking the polish carefully out of his hands and setting it down. She waited until she had his full attention before speaking again. "We'll get your broom back," Ariadne promised seriously. She placed a hand softly on his shoulder. "That last match wasn't the end of it, alright?"
Harry searched her face before nodding once firmly.
Ariadne's lips lifted into a small smile. "Good. Try not to be too mad at Hermione? That goes for Ron, too. Make sure he knows I'm watching," she teased.
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Though Harry agreed to talk to Ron, Ariadne resolved to stop by the boy's dormitory quickly before her final destination. She pounded on the third-year door twice.
"Don't be an arse, Ron!" Ariadne yelled from outside. "Unless you'd rather risk Harry's life for a broom!"
She did not wait to receive an answer before walking away, though Ariadne laughed lightly at the thunk that had resounded from inside the room. Ron throwing a book at the door, she was quite certain. He'd heard her, at least.
The next stop was Hermione.
The older witch had stood firm in her decision when pressed by Ron, lifting a stubborn chin and declaring that she'd done what was right. But Ariadne could see contrition flash across Hermione's face as she stormed out of the room. At the very least, it wasn't a decision that Hermione had made lightly.
Ariadne knocked on the third-year dorm, softly this time, before letting herself in.
"I suppose you've come to yell at me too," Hermione said coldly, not looking up from her book. "Look, I'm sorry about your ring, but–"
"I didn't come to yell at you," Ariadne cut in slowly. "I don't care about my ring," she half-lied. "I mean, I liked it, and I wish you had said something to me before going to McGonagall, but I'll get it back. And if I don't get it back, that means it would have killed me anyway, so I'd rather n–"
Before Ariadne could finish speaking, Hermione dropped her book and leaped out of bed, wrapping her arms around Ariadne's neck and nearly knocking her over.
"Thank you," Hermione sniffed.
Ariadne disentangled herself gently. "Just, you know, a heads-up next time might be nice. Harry was quite surprised when McGonagall arrived. He and Ron really can be oblivious sometimes, now that I think about it, but– are you alright?" Ariadne finally noticed the worry that had taken over Hermione's face while she was musing to herself.
"How angry are they?" Hermione's voice was timid. "Harry and Ron?"
Ariadne smiled. "Harry's being rather sullen, and I can't exactly speak for Ron, but they'll get over it. You know how it is, Hermione, boys and their brooms.
"Boys and their brooms," Hermione repeated with a scoff. She looked at Ariadne tentatively once more. "But Ariadne, I've been thinking about the note that came with the ring, and I'm not sure– I'm not sure if it's like the broom. Your father didn't sound like he was trying to hurt you, exactly. What if–"
Ariadne spoke before Hermione could finish her sentence, keeping her tone deliberately light. "Well, what else could it possibly be?" Her smile felt tight on her face.
Hermione observed Ariadne for a moment before nodding tactfully, pasting a hesitant smile on her own face. In return, Ariadne bid her goodbyes and walked out of the dorm. Her movements felt stiff, and as soon as she was alone she pressed her back against the door and let out one long, shuddering breath. Ariadne squeezed her eyes shut for just a second before straightening up once more. She had to meet Harry for dinner, after all.
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Harry was true to his word for the duration of the break, making a concerted effort to show Hermione that he wasn't angry with her. Hermione still spent most of her time in the library anyway, partially to get ahead on her mountains of classwork, partially to research past hippogriff trials, and partially to stay out of Ron's way.
Ron had been a harder egg to crack, though his obvious turning away when Hermione entered the room was tempered by the way Ariadne would roll her eyes in reaction. He began to soften as the term began, following Harry's lead. Things became civil enough that the four of them were able to walk back from class and take their meals together, although with a somewhat stony silence on Ron and Hermione's ends.
Sometimes silence was better than the alternative. As evidenced by the day that Ariadne left Charms to join Ron, Harry, and Hermione on their way to the Great Hall as they left Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" Ariadne joined as Ron spoke. "He might not even make it to your lessons in the state he's in, Ariadne. What d'you reckon's the matter with him?"
Ariadne wasn't quite sure who Ron was referring to, until Hermione lightly snorted from beside her.
"Something funny?" Ron asked hotly, while Harry turned around and rolled his eyes.
"No," answered Hermione, tone imperious. "It's just– it's obvious, isn't it?"
"Hermione..." Ariadne cautioned, eyes darting around the not-quite empty hallway. It wasn't that she thought Hermione should keep what she learned secret from Harry and Ron. But this certainly wasn't the place.
Hermione followed Ariadne's gaze to a group of Hufflepuffs giggling as they exited from Charms.
Ron glared at them both. "Well don't tell us, then! If you don't want us to know!"
Harry raised his hands, as if asking to be left out of the conflict. Ariadne wished she could do the same, but Hermione grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her away, huffing out a "Fine!" as she did.
"No way they actually know anything–" Ariadne heard Ron tell Harry bitterly. Harry looked like he could not care less, but the comment evidently struck Hermione anyway.
"I do know!" Hermione insisted as she pulled Ariadne into the empty Charms classroom. "I'm right! I've researched, I even figured out that potion–!"
"I know that, Hermione," Ariadne said gently, lowering her voice in the hopes Hermione would match her tone. She didn't want anyone to overhear. "The potion?" she asked, redirecting her friend's attention.
"Right, the potion. It's not a cure," Hermione murmured, catching onto Ariadne's sotto voice. "But it alleviates the symptoms. It's called Wolfsbane, but it's really new. It allows a werewolf to keep his mind. It's really complicated, actually, and rather impressive that Professor Snape–"
Ariadne tuned Hermione out, keeping her face politely impassive rather than interrupt whatever passionate academic frenzy Hermione would inevitably work herself into. She was happy Hermione was happy, but she could do without listening to someone extol Snape's virtues for five minutes straight.
So. Wolfsbane. With a name like that, how could that potion be anything but confirmation that Professor Lupin was a werewolf? Ariadne hadn't thought that Hermione was wrong– she'd never be so senseless– but she'd certainly hoped.
Narcissa had said once that werewolves shouldn't bother to attempt to integrate into Wizarding society, that they'd be caught out at once because they were so fundamentally beastly that they could never hope to blend in. Ariadne would never had suspected that Professor Lupin was a werewolf – it didn't surprise her that the Malfoys were blinded by their own prejudice. But perhaps Narcissa wasn't entirely wrong. Perhaps that was the explanation – why Lupin felt so strange to Ariadne, yet so familiar all at once. Perhaps she could sense the distance that he kept, his struggle to identify and to assimilate.
Or perhaps there was another reason altogether, brewing under the hazy fog of her addled memory. He was someone, if not something. Ariadne was sure of it.
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That night, Ariadne excused herself as Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the Great Hall after dinner, promising to catch up with them after dinner. She found herself walking to the opposite end of the Hall, single-minded in her determination. But when she arrived, she felt rather nervous.
"Hello," Ariadne said timidly, feeling strangely unnerved to approach this end of the Gryffindor table, filled only by older students. "You don't know me, really, but I'm–"
"Ariadne Black," Oliver Wood greeted genially, and Ariadne winced as he put his hands up in teasing submission. "Hard to forget. What can I do for you?"
"Sorry about that," she rubbed her neck sheepishly. Oliver waved her off, and Ariadne smiled slightly before stepping forward. "Well, as you know, McGonagall confiscated Harry's Firebolt–"
"Bloody tragedy that is," the older boy muttered, dropping his fork onto his plate in frustration. A pretty girl across from him glared at the noise before turning back to gossiping with her friends. "She should know Quidditch is more important than anything else. Even if Siriu–"
"Right. Well, he's being stubborn about ordering a new one, and I know he's going to get the Firebolt back, but this is quite an important match so..." Ariadne found herself rambling, catching herself as Oliver watched her expectantly. "Anyway, I'm hoping you can give me suggestions? I don't know much, you see."
"Suggestions?" Oliver repeated slowly.
"Oh, yes," Ariadne said hastily, realizing her mistake. "About what broom to buy him? Just in case."
Oliver's face split into a wide grin, perhaps the widest one she'd ever seen on another person. He looked utterly overjoyed, pushing over the boy next to him to make room for Ariadne. He gestured wildly for her to sit, which she did, before pulling out a copy of Which Broomstick? from his trouser pockets.
"Do you carry that around everywhere you go?" Ariadne asked with a slight laugh, but Oliver was undeterred.
"Of course!" he replied seriously. "You never know when a situation might arise. Now come on! Let's get your boy a broom."
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Athena delivered a small rectangular box to Ariadne at breakfast the next morning, which she unlatched from her bird's leg before feeding her the corner of her pumpkin pasty. Ron and Hermione hardly noticed, too busy engaging in an unspoken glaring contest to see beyond themselves. Harry, however, looked at Ariadne curiously. She smiled giddily in return.
"Go on," Harry demanded with interest when Ariadne waited to open the parcel in the Great Hall. This was the first package that Ariadne had ever received, after all. Besides Christmas, that is. "Open it!"
Ariadne shook her head, gesturing instead towards the entrance. "Not here. Follow me." She tried unsuccessfully to suppress her grin.
Harry did not hesitate to stand, looking only briefly at Ron and Hermione before electing to leave them to their silent battle. He followed Ariadne back to the empty Gryffindor Common Room, where she finally turned around and shoved the box in his hands.
"You open it!" she ordered, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. Harry eyed her suspiciously for a moment before returning his attention to the small box when Ariadne kept her face innocently placid. Lifting the lid, Harry's green eyes widened before he reached a hand in, pulling out a new Nimbus 2001.
"How did you–"
"Undetectable Extension charm," Ariadne answered before he finished speaking. "It's only a couple galleons extra– I thought the surprise would be worth it." Ariadne bit her lip nervously. "I know you didn't want the same broom as Draco, but Oliver said it really is one of the best in the market. It's not a Firebolt, but you've got a match coming up, and it won't do to practice on old Shooti–"
It was Harry who cut her off this time. "No," he reassured, finally looking up with an expression that Ariadne couldn't quite place. "It's brilliant, Aria, thank you. I– I don't know what to say."
"Well, that's easy," said Ariadne blithely, relaxed to know Harry was pleased. "Say 'I'll stop being a git about my Firebolt because my beautiful best friend Aria got me a new broom and I'll get the other one back eventually anyway."'
Harry grinned slowly, revealing a row of straight teeth. "I'll stop being a git about my Firebolt because my beautiful best friend Aria got me a new broom and I'll get the other one back eventually anyway," he parroted. "I really was being a twat, wasn't I?"
"Yes," Ariadne confirmed, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. She had received no shortage of compliments during her life, but something about hearing them from Harry made her feel warm. Even if she had put the words in his mouth. "But not as much as Ron was. And I forgive you, anyway."
"Thanks," Harry said dryly, but his eyes were soft. Ariadne fidgeted under his gaze.
"Listen," she said suddenly. "Give this one to Ginny when you do get the Firebolt back, alright? She had a knack for flying during lessons last year," Ariadne shuddered at the memory, having never gotten the hang of taking off into air. "Well, at the beginning of last year. And I know she sneaks into the broom shed at the Burrow and uses her brothers' brooms. She could be quite good."
"Yeah, alright," Harry said agreeably, stepping back from Ariadne. "But she's got to share with Ron, too. I think that might be good for him."
Ariadne nodded. "Yeah, I think it might."
Harry looked down at his new broom with a smile before looking back up at Ariadne. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking again, though his tone remained uncertain. "Listen," he said slowly, before speaking quickly enough that Ariadne struggled to catch each word. "I've got to meet Lupin this week for anti-dementor lessons. I've been thinking it might be good for you to come too. You could learn the spell, or maybe you could ask him about, y'know, the Obliviation thing. I'll probably make an arse of myself, but I just thought–"
"I'd love to."
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After dinner on Thursday night, Ariadne and Harry bid their goodbyes to Ron and Hermione before heading over to the History of Magic classroom to meet Professor Lupin for Harry's anti-dementor lesson. They waited for five minutes, Harry quite nervously, before Professor Lupin finally arrived.
Lupin heaved a large case before turning around to greet Harry, though he was surprised to find Ariadne at his side.
"Ariadne!" He exclaimed. "I didn't know you were coming." He looked at his case rather unsurely before looking back at her. "We don't have a Dementor," he explained. "Only a Boggart. You'd have to, er, avoid interacting with the Boggart directly, but–"
"It's alright, Professor," Ariadne assuaged. "I'm only here to support. I don't intend how to learn how to repel a Dementor– not yet, at least."
Harry's eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as he looked at her. "You're not?"
"No," Ariadne responded, having decided when Harry first asked her to join. It was probably quite a stupid decision, but sometimes the necessary ones were. "It's quite advanced, anyway. You'll have to teach it to me later, alright?"
Harry nodded in agreement. "I solemnly swear," he promised.
Professor Lupin, who had been looking quite relieved at Ariadne's refusal (probably at the thought of not having to see her dead mother again, not that she could blame him) suddenly made a choking noise. His eyes remained trained on Harry, rather unseeing, before he noticed Ariadne and Harry staring up curiously back at him.
He cleared his throat. "Right. Let's get started, shall we? The Boggart will turn into a Dementor when it sees you, so you'll be able to practice on it. I must warn you, however, that Ariadne was quite right to be apprehensive about how highly advanced this spell is. It's far beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. Most adult wizards, even some of the Hogwarts professors, are incapable of casting it. It is called the Patronus charm."
"What will it look like?" asked Harry.
"Each Patronus is unique to its caster," Professor Lupin explained. "And it can only be cast if you focus, with all your might, on a very happy memory. And even then, you must be highly magically skilled. The incantation is Expecto Patronum."
A happy memory? Ariadne was glad she wasn't doing the spell, suddenly. She could hardly remember the last time that she was well and truly happy. At Christmas, maybe? The day she got her Hogwarts letter? Or was it before that, even. Years ago, before the Malfoys. Before magic. When it was just her and her mum. But was she even happy then?
Well, yes, she decided. She'd been happy. She just couldn't put her finger on when, exactly. Ariadne was happy on Christmas, before the ring arrived. And she was happy during Harry's hippogriff ride, before Draco got injured. Was it possible to focus on the good without the bad?
A wisp of something silver emitting from Harry's wand knocked Ariadne out of her melodramatics. He'd done it! He'd done something, at least! She clapped as he exclaimed proudly.
"Very good," said Professor Lupin, smiling down at Harry. Harry was not looking, too mesmerized by the silver haze still in the air, but Ariadne eyed him inquisitively. He really did look quite proud of Harry, something almost paternal glazing into his eyes. She looked for any signs of anything else as he opened up the case to release the Boggart. Anything to show without a shadow of a doubt that he was indeed a werewolf. But Ariadne could find nothing, aside from some light scarring on his face and hands. He looked human, through and through. Take that, Narcissa.
The room suddenly felt several degrees cooler as the Boggart faced Harry, transforming almost immediately into a ghastly Dementor. She did her best to keep herself turned away, listening to Harry's cries of Expecto Patronum, but the sound of her mother's voice was unavoidable.
It was only very faint, now, evidently tempered by the fact that there was not a real Dementor in sight. But she strained her ears to listen anyway, desperate for anything more. For a clue, a hint. For someone to tell her what she'd heard.
But she got nothing besides the usual footsteps before the lights turned on once more. Ariadne opened her eyes to find Harry lying down on the floor. Lupin shook him awake and handed him most of a Chocolate Frog before handing Ariadne the rest. She shoved it in her mouth greedily.
"It's worse now– it was louder this time. I could hear her clearly, and him – Voldemort."
Professor Lupin paled.
"Maybe you should stop, Harry," Ariadne encouraged gently, though she knew that it was fruitless. Not when he had a match coming up. She nearly rolled her eyes when Harry said as much.
"If we lose this game," he explained, "we lose the Cup!"
"All right then," Professor Lupin agreed hesitantly. He ignored Ariadne's narrowed eyes. "You must select a different memory, then. A happier one."
Harry gripped his wand tightly before getting up, steeling his jaw. Ariadne had to admire his courage, even as she turned her back from the Boggart and covered her ears preemptively. She shivered as the room darkened once more, the tell-tale sign that the Dementor had arrived. But the darkness lasted for shorter this time, before the lights came on once more. Ariadne turned around, teasing admonition on the tip of her tongue, when she saw Harry lying on the ground with Professor Lupin standing over him. He wasn't waking up.
"Harry!" she called, before kneeling down next to him. He was breathing, she could see, but they were shallow, and his skin was covered in a cold sweat. Not sweat, she realized. Tears were trickling out of his shut eyes, disappearing over the side of his face. She wiped them away gently. What could it have been? she wondered. When he hadn't cried for his mother?
Harry stirred after a particularly hard tap from Professor Lupin. He blinked twice before sitting up, swiping at his eyes with the hem of his sleeves and taking in his surroundings.
"It was my dad," he mumbled. "It's never been him before. He tried to fight Voldemort off himself, tried to give me and my mum time to run for it."
Ariadne felt her own eyes well up, and this time it was Harry who wiped her tears away. The movement had been instinctual, and he averted his eyes when he realized what he'd done.
"James?" Professor Lupin choked out, staring down at Harry before he cleared his throat once more. "I mean– you heard James?"
"Yes," Harry confirmed, and he looked to Lupin with something like hope. Ariadne was somewhat more suspicious. "Why? Did you know my dad, Professor?"
"I–I did," Professor Lupin stumbled on his words. "Yes, we were friends at Hogwarts." He changed the subject quickly, but Ariadne noticed the too-casual note to his voice. "Listen, Harry, perhaps this is enough for today. The spell is quite advanced, after all, and–"
Harry got to his feet, prepared to argue, but it was Ariadne who spoke. "No!" she exclaimed, surprising even herself. "No, you've got to give him another shot. You can't leave it like that," she quieted, but Harry looked at her with appreciation.
"Right!" he agreed. "I'm not thinking happy enough thoughts. If I just focus..." Harry squeezed his eye shut before cracking one open, observing Ariadne one last time. He closed his eyes again before facing the case with the Boggart, gripping his wand tightly.
"This will be the last time then, Harry. Ready?" Professor Lupin asked, sounding anything but. Harry nodded.
The room became cold and dark once more, but Ariadne did not even manage to hear footsteps this time. She heard only Harry, whose Expecto Patronums were growing only louder and clearer. He sounded surer of himself, at least, and when a large and far more opaque silver shadow appeared from his wand once and for all, the lights in the room began to flicker on once more.
"Riddikulus!" yelled Lupin, vanishing the Boggart back into the case. It was a moon now, Ariadne noted with mild interest. A full one. Merlin, Hermione was good.
"Just one more go," Harry pushed, shaking from exertion. Ariadne all but stamped her foot, moon Boggart be damned.
"Absolutely not, Harry James Potter. You can try again next week, but you are done for tonight."
"Well said, Ariadne," said Professor Lupin, sounding rather amused. "But I shall see you both next week, I presume?"
Harry nodded for them both. "But Professor Lupin," he began. "If you knew my father at Hogwarts," he glanced at Ariadne from the corner of his eye before pressing forward. "Did you know Aria's parents as well?"
"Do you mean to ask about Sirius Black?" Professor Lupin said harshly, words nearly a growl. Ariadne stepped back, dragging Harry with her. She knew Harry was asking for her, prodding for answers he did not know she already had. Professor Lupin softened at her fear, something akin to regret in his eyes, but she raised her chin in obstinance.
"He did," Ariadne answered for Harry, before turning to the Gryffindor. "And Professor Lupin did know my parents at Hogwarts. He and my father, and your father too–" Ariadne's eyes widened with realization.
"Professor Lupin!" she said excitedly, forgetting her irritation from only moments earlier. "Were you a Marauder, by any chance?"
"How do you know that name?" Lupin and Harry asked her simultaneously, before turning to one another in shock.
"Well," Ariadne said decisively. "That answers that. Shall we go, Harry? I could use your help on a Transfiguration essay I've got due."
And with that, she pulled an open-mouthed Harry out of the classroom, leaving a frozen Professor Lupin behind to deal with the ghosts of his past on his own.
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hey guys!!! sorry i know its been literally so long but these past few weeks have been super super hectic. luckily my schedule has massively cleared up, so i'll be updating a lot more (next chapter in a few days!) please leave a comment and a vote just to let me know you're still reading tbh!!
comment + vote!