Liberty- A Harry Potter Fan Fiction.

Chapter Two- Snatched.

Chapter Two-Snatched.

As soon as she was out of the house and down the road, safe from any spying Muggles, Arianna dug inside her trouser pocket and pulled out her wand. Yes, she was underage. But these were dark times, everyone knew that. Even her Mother had realized this, putting countless security charms around the house. At least, she had when she was sober. If she was in any immediate danger, the Ministry would surely let her off using magic. Besides, the girl was only just over five months away from being allowed to practise magic out of school. Surely, it wouldn’t matter in self-defence? This was what the girl told herself, anyhow, as she made her way down the many winding roads that surrounded her village.

The town of Godric’s Hollow was of course extremely famous. A mixed town of Muggles and those with magical powers-the latter living in secret, of course- it was widely known not only for being the birth place of Godric Gryffindor, but also the place where You-Know-Who was defeated. Ari had seen the relic many, many times. Her and Calista used to write messages on the monument as kids. Little did she know that one day, her closest friends would be somehow linked to Harry Potter himself, that she’d fight alongside him at the Ministry in her fourth year. Then again, the girl didn’t expect to be running away just before she started her sixth year, either.

‘Running away.’ Ari didn’t like to think of what she was doing as that. Running away sounded cowardly, like she couldn’t bare to fight. That wasn’t the case at all. The girl had spent the majority of her life fighting against her family. If she didn’t get out of there now, she never would. This was all what her school friends had told her, just a few weeks ago when term at Hogwarts had ended. When they first came up with the idea, insistent that Arianna had to get out of there. The girl herself had been in two minds...at least until the other night.

A shiver ran down Ari’s back that had nothing to do with the surprisingly cold summer morning air. Almost two weeks ago and she still couldn’t shake the images...his face, so angry in hers. She had truly though she would die like that. Of course, she’d told nobody about it, especially not Calista. It was too painful to have to relive. No doubt her friends would ask what enforced her decision, but she’d cross that bridge when-or if- it came to it.

The sun was beginning to rise as Arianna reached the outskirts of the village, breathing heavily from carrying her heavy bag. The girl sat down on a nearby wall for a second, panting. If I was at school, I could have easily done a lightweight charm she thought glumly, taking out her flask of pumpkin juice and drinking a bit. If only she could apparate. It would make things so much easier. Just a few seconds and she’d reach her destination. Every other method of transport was so controlled now, it would leave traces. Instead, her current plan was the only way.

Once her breath was regained slightly, Arianna set off again. For an hour or so she walked, waiting. Asca had said she’d know it when she saw it; the girl could only hope her friend was right. At last however, she came to the edge of a forest like Ascadelia had described. Straight in, don’t stop. Stick to the path and you can’t go wrong. The sun had almost risen properly now, an orange glow basking her. For this, Ari was grateful. Although having learnt long ago she couldn’t be afraid of the dark, she didn’t much fancy wondering into a strange forest with little light.

The walk was longer than she had first thought, the trees thickening as she advanced deeper into the strange woods. Her wand remained in her right hand, ready to use at a moment’s notice. Ari did not get scared at things easily- as with the dark, she had realized she couldn’t afford to be afraid- but something about this forest made her shiver. Perhaps it was going into a strange new place alone. What the girl didn’t realize was she had every right to be afraid.

BAM!

They came out of nowhere, four of them. Rough, rugged men, filthy dirty. This was the first image Ari saw once the world stopped spinning. “What do you think you’re-“She began indignantly, but was silenced by one of them pulling her roughly to her feet. “I’d shut it if I were you, little girl.” The tallest one growled throatily. “Get your hands off me!” The girl yelled, attempting to pull away. Searching her pockets frantically, she realized her wand was missing.  “Looking for this?” Another asked, bending down and twirling the wand in his hand. Damn it. Arianna thought. She must have dropped it when they collided, amongst the shock of it all.

“Now y’listen to me, girlie. If you play nice, answer our questions a’right, we’ll let you go. If y’don’t...well, even if y’blood turns out to be pure, it don’t mean we can’t ‘urt you.” This was greeted with deep laughter around the group. “Got o’selves a lil’ fierce one ‘ere, Scabior.” One of them called back. The one who had spoken first, the one with his hands around Ari- Scabior, evidently- tightened his grip again with a laugh. It gave the girl the creeps, a horrid, scratchy sound. “Now ‘en young’un. Wha’s your name and wha’ y’blood status?” He drawled, turning her around to face him. Blood status. That was what this was all about. Arianna should have known- wasn’t everything  about that these days? That must mean these four were Snatchers-low-lifes who caught muggle-borns for money from the Ministry. The girl had heard rumours, but never had she imagined she might run into a group.

Resisting the urge to kick Scabior where it hurt, or at least correct him on his seemingly useless grammar, Arianna stared him directly in the eye, showing she was not afraid. “Arianna Rose Davis. I’m a pureblood.” She replied. The girl heard the turning of paper from behind her and guessed the snatchers were checking the information on their lists. She had nothing to worry about-every bit of what she had just said was the truth. While the others checked, Scabior did not let her go. “Pure-blood, hmm? Funny. That s’what they’all say.” His intimidating attitude did not have an effect on Ari. Her expression remained hard as stone, barely blinking as he attempted to stare the girl down. “Well of course they do. You’re Snatchers- that’s the answer that would save them. There’s a difference with me, though. I’m actually telling the truth.”

“The list checks out. She’s a pureblood alright.” Informed a different Snatcher, one that evidently had much better grammar than the others. Arianna smiled smugly. “I told you I would never lie. Now if you don’t mind, I would really appreciate it if you let me go so I can continue on my travels.” She told them, mockingly sweet. There we go, Scabior. Is that playing nicely enough for you? Begrudgingly, the Snatcher let her go and indicated for the other to give the wand back. “You’re lucky, lil’ girlie. Don’ s’pose y’will tell us where y’going, hm?” At this, Arianna snorted. “What, so you can see if I’ve got any muggle-born friends? Not likely. It’s nothing to do with you, anyhow.” The girl retorted, feeling much more confident with her wand securely in her hand. “Now if you don’t mind, I have places to be.” With that, she walked away from the group, amazingly unscathed save a few scratches from the initial fall. Despite the situation, Arianna could not help but smirk slightly at how she had dealt with things. Sometimes, her more useful Slytherin traits certainly helped a lot.