How I Met The Marauders

Breaking Apart

Ari, Lily and James had planned everything. A surprise birthday party for Sirius. Some fun after so many months of boredom, danger and fear.

James surprised Ari by declaring her as Harry's godmother. "I know it's kinda too late to say this." He said but she was too ecstatic to complain. All she did was hug the three of them in turn.

Ari went home to Sirius after that. "You know," She said. "I think I should go and check on my house."

"It's 8. It's already dark. Are you sure you'll be safe?" He asked.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

She was pretty confident so he let her go. Luckily, she came home safely. She checked on everything. All was fine... when why was she feeling so weird?

She checked on Remus after that. All was fine. She visited the Longbottoms, Emmeline and Mary. Everyone was well and safe. No problems. Ari went to Peter. His house was empty, though he was supposed to be home according to Dumbledore's orders. There was no sign of struggle.

It felt as if something was wrong. So Ariana apparated to Godric's Hollow.

It was there in front of her. The wreckage. And that's when she knew what had happened. The Potters were dead. Crying, she ran into the house where she met Sirius.

"Harry's Hagrid took him away." He told her, his voice low. "I have something to do."

"Wait... You're not leaving."

"I have to go, Ari." And without even listening to her, he left her at the doorway.

That's when she realised. The Fidelius Charm had broken. The Secret Keeper had given away the secret. Sirius was the Secret Keeper. Sirius had betrayed them. It all came to her as a blow on her heart.

And she was breaking. She was dying inside. Her best friends were dead. Her beloved fiancee had betrayed and left her.

She ran into the house and laid the bodies neatly in the lobby. Tears streaming down her face, singing to herself, she placed concealment charms on various items. Making sure that none of their belongings would go into the wrong hands.

She sat down beside the two dead bodies and rocked back and forth. Clutching her knees, she cried. Voldemort had fallen. She didn't care. The war was over. She didn't care.

All she cared about was that Lily and James were dead. Sirius was gone.

As the Aurors started coming, she had to leave. But she couldn't move or anything. She was numb with pain and hurt. Frank took her home where she stayed for the next day.

Then, she lost all emotion. She was too nimble. She had a funeral to plan and eulogies to write.

She went to Petunia who said, "You can do what you want. I can't attend it. I have two babies to take care of." But it was obvious that Petunia was sad.

On November 3rd, they were buried in Godric's Hollow. Ari didn't say anything as she broke down and cried bitterly. Remus brought her home early. He made a mental note to check on her that night.

Ari had been told of Sirius Black's arrest on November 1st when he had killed Peter. Her fiancee was a murderer. But for some reason, she didn't remove the ring from her finger.

The grief, disappointment, shock, disbelief and hurt was all swirling inside her. It was tearing her apart.

"Why, Sirius, why!? Why did you do this? You were the traitor all along so you pretended that you loved me. The love was an act. And I was just a toy. Why did you do this to me?!" She cried.

She sobbed into her hands and then, she sang, "Happy... birthday...Sirius." Her voice cracked. "Happy birthday... to you... may you have... many... more-" She stopped. "May you have none more!" She screamed, bitterly. "Rot in Azkaban, I hate you!"

She wouldn't live like this. She wanted to forget it all. To end the pain. She placed her wand at her forehead.

"Obliviate."

And she was plunged into darkness.

She woke up in a white room. "Hello, miss Flames." Said a woman. "I am your Healer. You have cast a spell on yourself. But something has gone wrong and you will forget some things. However, some memories are still there and they will remain unless something goes wrong. You are mentally unstable. The only way to cure you is therapy. We need your determination so we can either have or not have memories. While memories are stuck in between, you are unfit for anything. We'll cure you. All you need to do is cooperate. Make yourself at home."

But she had no wish of getting better. It was better this way, living in St Mungos where she was a harmless, broken creature. She wasn't allowed to do magic because she might not control it. But she didn't wish to do it. She didn't want anything.

It had been Remus who brought her here and she was thankful. Remus visited her almost twice in every 6 months. Other girls only came once or twice.

Ari lived in St.Mungos. After her first year, she was actually getting better but the arrival of the insane Longbottoms ruined everything. She was back to 0.

When the Longbottoms came, Ari found out that Alice was still sensible but she was losing it.

"Ari, make sure my son lives a good free life. Tell him I love him. I'm losing my senses and memories. I'll forget Neville-" and with that, Alice blanked out forever, her last word being the name of her son.

Ari lived in St.Mungos for 10 years. She never tried to improve till when she heard that Harry was going to Hogwarts. After one year of determination and hard work, she improved and was discharged from St.Mungos. Finally declared a free sane witch.

It felt good to be alive again. But she was dead inside.

A/N. Because it's the 25th chapter, I wrote more than 1000 words in this. Here, I'll pause the story and I'll only be posting on Sundays. Please be patient and stick with Ari. I love you! Vote and comment please. Thank you :*
- Love
~ Crystal xxx