Ariana, Harry and Hermione raced through the humongous trees of the Forbidden Forest, Buckbeak easily looping behind them.
The sun had just set, the sky now dark. This meant it shouldn't be too long until they arrived at the Whomping Willow.
"Now what?" Harry questioned, dropping Buckbeak's chain by a tree.
"Now we save Sirius," Hermione replied, taking off in another direction.
"And we do that... how?"
"No idea."
Harry and Ariana shrugged at each other and ran after Hermione, quickstepping to avoid falling over the long, thick roots of the trees that crossed the floor like an intricate spider's web.
When they finally halted, the trio had reached the outer edge of the forest. A cool breeze had set in and the stars were clouded over with a mist that would room reveal a full moon.
"There we are," said Ariana, pointing at the darkened Whomping Willow.
A yelling Hermione had just disappeared down into the hole in the tree's trunk and, two minutes later, a soaking Ariana had turned up and charmed the tree, rendering it unable to move. She, too, slid down into the gap.
Five minutes later, another shadowy figure approached the tree.
"Look. It's Lupin," Hermione pointed out.
Even as a small dot in the distance, Ariana's heart thronged at the sight of him. She fought the smile that turned the corners of her lip, biting it. She felt ridiculous, she was not one for off displays of emotion, and she wasn't about to start now.
Hermione nodded towards the tree. "Here comes Snape."
Ariana looked ahead. Surely enough, Snape was making his way down the slope, heading straight towards the immobilised tree.
"And now we wait," Harry said, sinking down to sit in the forest floor.
"Now we wait," Both Ariana and Hermione sighed, lowering themselves beside Harry.
For ten peaceful minutes, the trio remained silent, each one caught up in their thoughts. The wind ruffled Ariana's hair, but it was hardly powerful, just a pleasant breeze.
The tops of the forest's trees were etched against the darkening sky, their shadows lengthening. The squeak of bats sounded behind them.
Many of the black creatures flew over the trio's heads, causing them to duck. Ariana looked behind her and saw Buckbeak happily leaping about like an excited puppy, trying to catch the bats in midair.
"'Least someone's enjoying themselves," Hermione commented, her eyes drifting towards Buckbeak.
"Hermione. Ariana..."
"Yes?" Hermione asked.
"Mm-hmm?" Ariana hummed, looking away from Buckbeak.
"Before. Down by the lake. When I
was with Sirius..."
"Sorry," Ariana interjected, holding up a hand. "You were down by the lake?"
"Ah, yeah. After Snape took you back to the castle, I followed Sirius," Harry explained. "The Dementors performed a Kiss, but someone conjured a Patronus and stopped them."
Ariana nodded, allowing Harry to continue with his original story.
"Well, I saw something, someone... that someone made the Dementors go away..."
"I heard Snape telling Dumbledore when we were taken to the hospital. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured the Patronus," Hermione said.
"It was my Dad," Harry stated firmly. "It was my Dad who conjured the
Patronus."
Ariana and Hermione shared a confused look; James Potter died many years ago, how did he conjure a Patronus?
Hermione spoke softly, "But, Harry, your Dad's..."
"Dead. I know. I'm just telling you what I saw," Harry snapped.
The girls nodded, not wanting to press him further. Ariana pitied the poor boy. She wanted it to have, some how, of been Harry's Father. If it was, it would give Harry the glimmer of happiness that he deserved.
"Ariana..." Hermione began, caution in her voice.
"Yes...?" Ariana replied, knowing exactly which oath this conversation was going to take.
"When Lupin bit you, he hesitated. I'm not sure if you can remember but -"
Ariana nodded, her eyes staring straight ahead. "He licked the wound."
"You know what that means..."
"What does it mean?" Harry asked, looking between the two girls.
Ariana and Hermione glanced at each other, silently debating who was going to tell him. Evidently, Hermione lost the debate.
"It means they're -"
Ariana knew what she was going to say: mates. She had not wrapped her head around it herself, but instead, something else caught her eye. "There we are," Ariana interrupted, cutting Hermione off.
She had a good reason. The entire group, with the exception of Snape, emerged from the tunnel. Their bodies were almost entirely covered by shadows, but the full moon, still partially covered, glittered off of a few things.
"You see Sirius talking to me? He's asking me to come live with him," Harry asked.
Ariana spotted past Harry and Sirius standing off to the side, having a quiet conversation while the other ignored Pettigrew's pleading to be turned into a maggot instead of being handed to the Dementors.
"Really?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded wistfully, his eyes portraying the glee he felt about the idea. "When we free him, I'll never have to go back to the Dursley's. We could live someplace in the country, somewhere you can see the stars. I think he'd like that, after all those years in Azkaban."
A howl pierced the night. Upon hearing it, Ariana's head snapped towards the source of the noise. Her eyes rose to the moon. The sensation she felt when eyeing it was intense, as if it was a magnet attracting her eyes.
"Ariana," Harry called gently. No response. He shook her shoulder gently. "Ariana!"
"... Yes?" She managed to draw her eyes away with a heaving effort, blinking rapidly as her oddly dilated eyes readjusted.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay," Ariana smiled, ceasing blinking like a deranged man.
"It's happened. Lupin's transformed," Hermione informed.
"Which means Pettigrew is slipping safely into the night. While we just stand here..." Harry stated, rage and disgust growing within him.
Before Ariana could offer her comfort, the sound of a ear-splitting scream pierced her ears. She noticed herself convulsing in the ground, the werewolf tending to her wounds. It was truly a horrible sight to see herself in that state.
Hermione was holding Ron up, desperately screaming that Ariana stay awake. Snape was rapidly firing spells at Lupin, one of which hit him in the head with a painful, resounding crack, sending him flying backwards into the grass.
Her eyes drifted from herself over to Sirius and Lupin, who had been joined by Harry, who was attempting to save his Godfather.
The werewolf's fangs were hovering over the unconscious dog's neck, but Harry hurled a stone at his head, drawing its attention towards himself. His plan worked, although it was about to kill him.
Ariana watched in terror as the tall creature stalked towards Harry, maliciously licking hiss chops. In order to save her friend, Ariana raised her hands to her mouth, cupped them and howled loudly.
"HOWWWWWWWWW!"
Harry wheeled around and pulled her arms away, covering her mouth. "What are you doing?"
"Saving your life," Ariana replied.
It was working. The werewolf was frozen in the grass, looking around for the source of the noise, finding nothing but silence, he started towards Harry again.
The white-haired girl howled loudly, drawing its attention. She sighed deeply when it turned away from Harry, forgetting about his intended target. Instead, turning it's head in their direction.
~~~~~
Question:
What time did Vernon Dursley leave his house for work?
A: Half past eight
B: Seven o'clock
C: Half past seven
Congratulations to Blackstars36 for answering the previous question correctly.