Ariana's POV
Avada Kedavra," Bellatrix uttered.
I didn't have too much chance to think, just then, Bellatrix blasts Sirius with a nasty killing curse. Sirius's face goes gray and he falls back into the veil in the archway.
"No!!" Harry I cried out in anguish. "I killed Sirius Black," Bellatrix smiles and runs away and we runs after her.
"You coming to get me?" She taunted, running. "Crucio," Harry cast, the spell hitting her as she fell to the ground, but it seemed to have no effect on her.
"You've got to mean it, Harry. She killed him. She deserves it. You know the spell, Harry. Do it" Suddenly, Voldemort appears.
He tells Harry he's weak for not being able to torture the woman who killed his godfather. It's a nice pep talk from a psychopath.
Harry turned his wand toward Voldemort but he disarmed him with a swipe of his hand
"Crucio," I uttered, pointing at Bellatrix, and she screamed in pain. "I'm sorry if my edges are a bit sharper than Harry's," I coldly remarked as her cries intensified.
"Make sure the entire room hears you. Louder, bitch," I reiterated, showing no sign of backing down.
"Yes... Yes... that's my wife," Voldemort praised as he walked behind me.
Voldemort circled around me, a sinister smile playing on his lips. "Impressive, my dear. It seems you've embraced the darkness within."
"You're giving me too much credit. Embracing your darkness is beyond my intentions." My gaze stayed strong, resisting the pull of darkness.
He moved my hair and kissed my cheek.
'I'm relieved I chose a dress that conceals my hickies. If Voldemort catches wind of it, Snape might find himself in a perilous situation. He's certainly playing with fire, laying hands on The Dark Lord's Bride.'
Just then, Dumbledore steps out of a fireplace. He says, "It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom." Take that, Voldy.
"Ariana stop it." Dumbledore lowered my hand and I stopped torturing Bellatrix.
"The Aurors are on their way." He said "By which time I shall be gone, and you shall be dead." Said Voldemort as they fought.
Bellatrix disappears in the flames of another fireplace and Dumbledore and Voldemort started fighting.
They shoot spells at each other. Voldemort sic a fire snake on Dumbledore. Dumbledore encases Voldemort in a huge orb of water.
Voldemort breaks all the windows in the Ministry of Magic and then shoots the glass at Harry and Dumbledore. Dumbledore turns it to dust.
It's quite the wizard battle royale.
Finally, Voldemort possesses Harry and shows him the worst moments of his life.
They kept fighting for a while with fire and water then Voldemort broke all the mirrors in the room and threw them towards us but Dumbledore Shields us and the glass becomes dust.
"You've lost, old man." Said Voldemort speaking through Harry I went and kneeled in front of him. Get up Harry!" I slapped him desperate to get him up.
Dumbledore encourages Harry to fight Voldemort off by reminding his student that he needs to think of the ways he's different from Voldemort, not the ways they're alike
"Fight him, Harry. Don't let him get to you. You are stronger than him, smarter than him, braver than him, not to mention more handsome," I urged, injecting a touch of encouragement.
"You are weak, vulnerable," taunted Voldemort. But then, Harry gained the upper hand.
"You're the weak one, and you'll never know love or friendship. And I feel sorry for you," Harry declared with unwavering determination.
Finally, Voldemort can't take all this love-y talk and he comes out of Harry. He stands over the boy and tells him that, in the end, he's going to lose.
"We're not so sure," I smiled at Voldemort, allowing him a glimpse into my thoughts. 'He keeps managing to beat your ass time after time, Voldy. Give him some credit for it.'
Voldemort's displeasure was evident, etched across his face.
Cornelius Fudge and a bunch of Ministry officials show up as Voldemort is talking to Harry. There's no denying it now. The big baddie is back.
"Guess this is farewell for now, wife," Voldemort declared, ready to depart. Just as he was about to leave, I intervened, casting "Immobulus" to halt his departure.
"It's been a while since I saw you. Why don't you stay a bit longer?" I suggested, a tired smile playing on my lips.
But he got free from the spell and I found myself feeling confused.
Voldemort grabs me by my hair and pulls me up before aggressively kissing me, pushing his tongue into my mouth.
"Mhmp! Hm...Uhmm...." I whimpered gripping his robes fisting it.His aggression was unexpected but I couldn't help but want more of it.
Our tongues met and this time it was more than passion that I felt as his mouth covered mine. I could barely breathe and I was shaking from head to toe.
The intensity of it all was overwhelming but he broke off our kiss after a few seconds and let me go. He simply said "Another time, wife."
And left, leaving me feeling frustrated and wanting more.
"He's back," Cornelius gasped in surprise. As he spoke, my eyes started to blacken, and I blanked out right next to Harry.
Okay, so now everyone knows the truth. Voldemort is back.
For real.
The Daily Prophet is reporting that Fudge may resign, Umbridge is suspended, and Dumbledore is headmaster of Hogwarts again.
All is well.
Time Skip~~~~
In my room, Harry was frantically packing his bag, and in a plot twist that no one saw coming, he practically set up camp for the entire year.
Dumbledore sauntered in, like he had a sixth sense for when our rooms were getting too cozy. Classic Dumbledore.
"I know how you feel, Harry. Aria," He said, and I shot him my signature 'really?' face, the one perfected through years of dealing with magical absurdities.
"It's all my fault." In the Gryffindor common room, Harry spilled his teenage angst to Dumbledore, confessing how he felt responsible for the chaos that unfolded.
"No, the fault is mine. I knew it was only a matter of time before Voldemort made the connection between you two."
No, Dumbledore tells him. It's actually all Dumbledore's fault. He knew that Voldemort would figure out that he was connected to Harry at some point and would try to use that.
"I thought by distancing myself from you, as I have done all year, he'd be less tempted, and therefore you might be more protected,"
Dumbledore explained, unveiling his grand plan to keep us safe, which seemed to involve a lot of mysterious maneuvering and not-so-effective distancing.
"What a dumb thought!" I couldn't help but comment.
"The prophecy said: "Neither one can live while the other one survives." It means one of us is gonna have to kill the other, in the end."
But Harry heard the prophecy and he knows the truth. Now he has to kill Voldemort… or else Voldemort will kill him. "Yes." Dumbledore replied
"Why didn't you tell me?" Asked Harry "For the same reason you tried to save Sirius. The same reason your friends saved you."
After all these years, after all you've suffered I didn't want to cause you any more pain. I cared too much about you." Said Dumbledore.
Why didn't Dumbledore ever tell him? Well, Dumbledore just hates giving Harry bummer news. He is only seventeen and he's had a pretty tempestuous life.
"Professor, my prophecy said: 'The Slytherin Heir's true Heiress, the Gryffindor Queen, will finally be his.' Does that mean it's my fate to be his mate, just like Salazar Slytherin and Beatrix Roscente?"
I asked, seeking confirmation from Dumbledore, who nodded in response.
"He knew it all along, didn't he? Voldemort felt the connection, just like I did the day he saw me," I pressed for more insight. "L
"Yes, Ariana, all you said is right. You were truthfully his Lifemate," Dumbledore confirmed, and I sighed.
"Well, when has my life made any sense?" I shrugged, and the three of us shared a collective laugh, finding humor in the cosmic absurdity of fate.
Time Skip~~
"How come you're not at the feast?" Me and Harry were walking through the castle, to the Great Hall for dinner, when we saw Luna putting up flyers..
"Lost all my possessions. Apparently people have been hiding them." She's looking for her lost stuff. It seems people have been hiding her things.
'That's not very nice... to pull a prank like that, right on the night before going back home.'
"That's bullying," I asserted firmly. "Oh, it's all good fun. But as it's last night, I really do need them back," Luna replied.
"Do you want any help finding them?" Harry offered, but she declined.
"I'm sorry about your godfather, Harry, Aria," She added, and we returned to our seats in the Great Hall. Suddenly, Draco approached, grabbing my collar.
"Hey! What are you--?!" Harry tried to intervene, but I signaled him to stop.
'After the death of Sirius Black, my brother took matters into his own hands, ensuring that everyone associated with Sirius's demise was arrested and sent to Azkaban. I was depressed, what else could he do?'
"What is it, Draco?" I confronted him. "My father is in jail, and it's all your brother's fault," He retorted, slapping my face.
I touched my stinging cheek, clenched my fist, and retaliated with a punch to his face.
"Well, your father is a motherfucking Death Eater who threatened to kill me my friends!" I snapped. Draco attempted to hit me again, but I thwarted his attempt.
"How could you do that?!" I twisted his hands behind his back with one hand, forcing him to kneel, and grabbed him by his hair with the other.
"Do what?!" Your aunt killed my godfather!! He's dead, you hear me? Sirius is DEAD!!!" I shouted. "Ariana, let him go." Snape intervened, holding me back physically.
"Your godfather deserved it, and your brother will pay for what he's done!" Draco sneered.
I lunged at him, and our fists clashed in a chaotic brawl. "You have no idea what my godfather meant to me!" I shouted, landing a solid punch to Draco's jaw.
"Your brother's a traitor! He's ruined everything for my family!" He retaliated with an awkward kick,
Amidst the punches and kicks, I managed to grapple Draco to the ground. "Your family brought this upon themselves, siding with Voldemort!" I seethed.
"You think your precious friends and lovely brother can protect you forever? He can't escape the consequences!" Draco spat back.
Just as I was about to strike again, Snape intervened, separating us. "Enough is enough!" He barked
Goyle and Blaise intervened, restraining Malfoy as Snape held me back.
"At least your father is alive. Be grateful that I didn't ask my brother to kill him."
"Sirius was Harry's only family! He was the guy who named me. He told me I could name his child, but I can't! Because he's DEAD." I screamed
"This is not the way to handle your grievances. Draco, Ariana, let go." Dumbledore came between us.
Breathing heavily, I released Draco. "One day, Draco, you'll understand the price of your choices," I warned, and Snape escorted us away from the brewing conflict.
"Okay, that's enough. Snape, take her back to her room," Dumbledore commanded.
"I can go by myself! I'm not a kid! I need to do something before I leave." I insisted, looking around. "No, you are not doing anything," Snape declared, pulling me back.
The room was filled with tension as emotions ran high, leaving the aftermath of the heated confrontation in the air.
I freed myself, grabbed a knife from the table, and with a swift motion, cut off my, knee-length long hair. I threw it on Malfoy's face, "I can't believe I fell in love with an asshole like you."
The weight of the words hung in the air as I walked out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a mixture of shock and tension.
As I stormed away from the Great Hall, Draco hurried after me, desperation in his eyes. "Aria, wait! I didn't mean..." he started to apologize, but I cut him off.
"I don't want to hear any more of your bullshit, Draco," I retorted, my frustration evident.
He grabbed my hands, holding them tightly. "You don't understand what I'm going through. You never gave me a proper reply to my confession. And now, you're getting too close to Potter."
I pulled my hands away, shooting back, "Harry was going through a lot. He needs a friend, Draco."
"What about me? Even though I needed you," He admitted, his voice was softer. I looked into his eyes and sighed, "Draco, I can't. With the Dark Lord back, I can't be dating you."
"Please, Aria, forgive me," He pleaded, pulling me closer. "Fuck! I love you so much! Don't ... Don't leave me now!! I'm sorry okay, fuck!"
Draco begged for my forgiveness and as our lips met, I found myself kissing him and holding his cheeks firmly under my hands.
I felt my body shaking from the heat of it all and the tension was building up inside me as I kept kissing him with all my passion.
"I love you Draco," I confessed into his mouth while our lips were still locked together.
Our passionate kiss ended with me pulling away and as I did so, I felt a rush of sadness overtake me.
"Let's break up," I whispered softly into his ear, trying to disguise my tears with a calm and emotionless attitude.
Our short-lived relationship was ending abruptly and I didn't know what to do. Feelings of sadness and grief overcoming me and I walked away.
I didn't look back or wait for his reaction. This was it, our relationship was over and I couldn't do anything but move forward even though my heart felt like it was tearing in two.
Time Skip~~~
As we made our way back, I spotted Blaise and couldn't resist hugging him, leaving a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you for letting them go," I expressed my gratitude, and he hugged me back.V"No, it's my fault. I'm sorry," he apologized, and we pulled back.
In the distance I caught Draco's gaze, and despite the circumstances, I couldn't help but think he still looked attractive.
"He's become so fucking handsome!" I mentioned this to Blaise, who chuckled.
"I heard you say 'I love you' and 'breakup' in the same sentence," he observed, and I nodded, smiling at him dryly.
"With Voldy back, I can't risk his life. Not his..." My gaze flickered toward Draco, who was walking away.
"He's too precious, the one thing I can't bear to lose," I explained with a painful sincerity, and Blaise nodded, understanding the gravity of my words.
"Enough romantic talk. Go on, your friends are glaring daggers at me." Blaise patted me, and I headed towards my friends, leaving behind a complex mix of emotions.
I strutted up, taking my place beside Harry as we gazed at the majestic Hogwarts. "I've been thinking about Dumbledore's words in my genius brain," He declared dramatically.
"Spill it, Harry!" Curiosity danced in Hermione's eyes,
He leaned in, his voice filled with seriousness, "Even though we've got a knock-down-drag-out fight ahead, we've got something Voldemort is sorely lacking."
"A nose?" Ron scratched his head. "Something more profound, Ron," I chimed in. "Something worth fighting for."
The quartet of us exchanged looks of realization, and then, in a moment of unparalleled unity, we shouted in unison, "Love and friendship!"
Cue the group hug, a heartwarming moment that would make even a Dementor reach for a tissue.
With newfound determination, we dispersed to our respective houses, ready to face whatever the wizarding world had in store for us.
The secret ingredient to defeating the dark forces? Pure, unadulterated love and friendship. Aww, isn't magic grand?