The Era of Aria Snape

114

Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen

ARIA DIDN'T HAVE time to take in the array of dead bodies before her as Harry took her to the Great Hall and handed her to Madam Pomfrey.

The back pain continued, contraction after contraction hit her as she begged to see Draco. She didn't know where he was. If he was dead as well... Aria didn't want to consider the possibility.

Aria sat not far from the Weasleys. They were crying, George the loudest. As her eyes trailed downward, she saw his twin lying on the floor, all bloody. Aria gulped and looked away in fear of crying. She felt guilty, Fred was dead because of her. Her father was dead because of her. If not for the baby that kept reminding her she was alive, Aria may have gone crazy.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Ginny stormed towards her, wand out. "You have some nerve!" She raised her wand, but Harry stepped in between them.

"Ginny, leave her." He said. "Snape's just died." He spoke barely above a whisper.

"Fred has just died! Lupin and Tonks, they've just died. A lot of people have just died," Ginny spat. "And it's because of you." She pointed at Aria. "You should be dead."

"Believe me," Aria breathed out, groaning in pain. "I wish I was."

Madam Pomfrey came to her side after a while and spoke softly to Aria, kindly. "Is there anything you need?"

There was a lot that Aria needed. She needed to get out of Hogwarts and back to her remaining family. She needed an adequate bed and Narcissa to be present, holding her hand. "I need to know where Draco is." She demanded. "Please, I'll do anything."

"I don't know where he is, nobody does." She said, leaving Aria's side to tend to another witch.

Aria sat in silence, the crying and shouting sounds faded into the background as she assumed the worst. Draco was dead, her father was dead, Narcissa was probably dead as was Lucius, and Bellatrix as well. She had nobody. She would be left to raise this child by herself knowing that she could have prevented the deaths of all those who she loved if she had only tried harder to get to them.

The last thing she ever did with her father was fight.

And now he was gone.

The thought was hard to grasp, but when she did, it stuck to the front of her mind, never leaving, not even the pains from her baby were enough to block out the death of her father.

ϟ

The morning sun glinted across the hall and hit Aria right in the eye. She squinted to avoid being hurt and instead focused on the precious child she had been cradling in her arms for the past hour.

His hair was so blond atop his head that it came out white as the sun gently kissed it. Skin so pale that it nearly matched that of the white pillow that she had been resting on. And brown eyes, just like her father's. His face was so soft, his little arms and little body, Aria had felt nothing but love at the sight of her baby boy, the previous thoughts of anguish vanishing as she held him for the first time.

Beside her sat Draco, one arm around her, the other around their son. He had been in the same room all that time but only when she started screaming did he find her.

He had helped her through the whole night, holding her hand, crouching at her side. He was the first to hold their child and the look in his eyes... Aria had never seen it before. It was nothing but pure, unconditional love.

People had begun to walk out of the hall, she felt Voldemort approaching, she felt something else too that she didn't quite understand. She couldn't tell if she felt dread or relief. Either way, she deemed it appropriate to follow everybody outside. Regardless of how little energy she had remaining in her body, her baby needed fresh hair and to be away from all the death in what was once the Great Hall.

Draco helped Aria to her feet, one arm around her as the three headed outside. They remained towards the back, they didn't want to be seen.

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort exclaimed as he approached.

Aria gulped, holding her son tighter.

"And now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us... or die."

Aria looked to Draco. He said nothing, he barely moved. Across from them stood his parents. They had been so kind and offered her their home. Around Aria were her enemies. She loathed every single person that she stood with aside from Draco. But he made no move to step forward.

"Draco," Lucius called. "Aria, Draco."

He still stayed frozen, it wasn't until Narcissa called did he squeeze Aria's hand and moved forward with her, towards the Death Eaters.

Silence as they walked forward, the Dark Lord congratulating them. Aria did her best to hide her son in her cloak, but Voldemort saw him nonetheless. "It seems, we have a new addition as well." He spoke once he was finished with Draco. "What is the name of your child."

"We haven't decided on one." She whispered.

"Ah, well, another Malfoy." He grinned. "Always useful."

Aria hated that thought, the thought of her baby being born to only be used. It made her blood boil, but she stepped to the side next to Draco still and followed Narcissa to the back. She couldn't tell who the blonde woman was more happy to see, her son, or her grandson.

Something surprised Aria in the next few moments when a Gryffindor stepped forward and gave a speech and what shocked her, even more, was when her half-brother rolled from Hagrid's arms, took a fighting stance, and shot at the Dark Lords snake.

Cheers came from her enemies, and personally, Aria didn't know what to feel. The thought to grab Draco and his parents and apparate to some other place crossed her mind, but none of them made a move to leave.

Death Eaters started disappearing around her, Bella was screaming wildly for them to stay and fight. Aria hugged her baby to her chest tighter, shielding his eyes.

"We have to go!" Draco grabbed Aria and pulled her along after Narcissa. Lucius trailed behind, looking back as if to make sure they weren't being followed before running to catch up.

Aria glanced back one time, seeing who exactly the victors were going to be and she didn't mind. No, she was in fact happy that Hogwarts seemed to be winning.

She would finally be free, she and Draco, and their family would be free. With a smile, she looked down at her son and then at the three blonde heads that walked at a fast pace in front of her, and for the first time in a while, despite all that she had lost, Aria felt truly happy.