Lionheart ~ Harry Potter (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Eleven | The Lion

After leaving Harry and Lupin behind, Ariana had made her way upstairs to the Library. She had taken a minute or two to recover from the sudden depressive sorrow that had fallen over her at the mention of Arron, having forced the tears they welled in her eyes away. She had never told anyone about him before, and while it had been a little beneficial, her decision to reveal the information made her worry.

After the attack on the train, she had become determined to learn all about Dementors, in order to protect herself should she encounter them again, especially since they were floating about just outside the ground like ghosts.

She managed to locate a book on Dark Creatures and began reading the chapter on Dementors so fast that her eyes were a blur. Ariana sat alone at a table towards the back of the grand library, reading using the light that poured in through the massive windows. Bookshelves towered above her head as students sat with their noses in books, having quiet conversations.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they grow like fungus where it is decay, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them... Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself... soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.

One Charm exists that repels Dementors: the Patrons charm. This ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring it."

Ariana smiled when she read about the Patronus Charm, so, pushing aside the disgust of reading about the Dementors' abilities, she located a book about Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts. With a flick of her wand, the book floated down from a top shelf as if it was a feather, and landed in Ariana's hands.

She hastily signed it out of the library and made her way to Gryffindor Tower. She muttered the password on the way in, causing the Fat Lady to allow her access to the large Common Room. Ariana noticed that it was completely void of life, except herself and Hermione's cat Crookshanks, who was curled up on the armchair in front of the burning fire.

The witch sat down on the deep red sofa and curled her legs up, opening the hardback book up at the page she was most interested in.

"The primary purpose of the Patronus, as mentioned, is as defence against Dementors. The Patronus is a positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon - hope, happiness, the desire to survive - but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so Dementors cannot destory it. The Dementor, finding that the being confronting it does not suffer as a human would, retreats in confusion.

It is a powerful charm that many wizards and witches struggle to produce as adults, with many not being able to conjure one at all."

The last paragraph made Ariana's heart sink, but that wasn't going to make her give up, if anything it made her more determined. Having read further, therefore learning how to conjure a Patronus, she got to her feet. Ariana retrieved her wand and aimed it straight ahead of her.

Apparently the Charm is preformed by focusing on a happy memory, something Ariana distinctly lacked. She eventually settled for the day she met Ron, Harry and Hermione, which was one of the happiest days of her life. She pushed a other thoughts from her head and allowed the joy to fill every fibre of her being.

With determination coursing through her, Ariana said, "Expecto Patronum."

Ariana wasn't shocked when nothing happened; when did anything ever happen successfully first time? Not giving in, she took a deep, cleansing breath. Once again, she focused on the memory. She remembered the laughs, smiles and the warm feeling she got in the pit if her stomach when she sat down in the compartment with the three students.

"Expecto Patronum!" She exclaimed, gripping her wand tightly.

A triumphant laugh escaped her mouth as white mist flowed from the tip of her wand. She expected a shield to form, but the mist morphed into a magnificent Lion. It stood before her, a thick, silver mane surrounding its large feline face. It was the epitome of everything Ariana herself was: loyal, courageous, intelligent and majestic. It bowed its silver head at her and roared mightily, scaring Crookshanks in the process.

Ariana couldn't wipe the grin off off her face of she tried. After only two attempts, she managed to produce a Corporeal Patronus, something which full-fledged, adult wizards struggled greatly to do. She watched with keen blue eyes as the Lion sat by her side, its own eyes wide and alert, as if watching for dangers to protect Ariana from.

With a wave of her wand, the silver animal dispersed into a fine mist. Still smiling, Ariana tucked her wand away and went to fetch her homework. She leaped up the stairs to her dormitory two at a time, a burst of pride coming over her.

That's when the exhaustion set in. Her energy had been drained by the amount of power required to cast the spell, so the witch's dropped down onto the comfy sofa until her legs no longer shook underneath her. It didn't take her too long to recover and, once the world had stopped spinning around her, Ariana set off to do her homework, as Harry would probably ask of she had managed to complete it.

It took her an hour for her to compile an essay on properties of Bubotuber Pus. By the time she was finished, the Common Room had a few first-years milling around in it. None of them bothered Ariana, probably solely because she was two years older than them. Crookshanks had recovered from the shock of Ariana's Patronus and had long fallen asleep on her lap, occasionally shuffling into a comfier position on her thighs.

Ariana let out a hearty sigh and closed her ink well. Herbology had never been her favourite subject, and she was glad that the essay was over and done with. The white-haired witch carefully moved the fluffy brown cat from her lap and set her down on the armchair she once resided on, listening to her mews of complaint. Although they didn't seem to concern the cat for long, since she fell straight back into a deep sleep.

Ariana returned her parchment to her bag, along with her black quill, inkwell and Herbology textbook. She did wonder where Harry had gone off to, but something else probably caught his attention, and Ariana was at peace with that. It wouldn't be long before he questioned her about Arron, so the longer he was preoccupied the better.

With a sigh, Ariana settled on the sofa with her notebook. She had a tendency for creating spells, which is what aforementioned notebook was dedicated to. She was currently working on Internum Ignis, a curse which burned the internal organs with magical fire and worked its way from the inside out. So far, she was about three quarters of the way there, it just had a few bumps that needed to be smoothed out.

~~~~~

Question:
Ariana O'Connor and Lord Voldemort are both descendants and heirs of two of the four Hogwarts founders, which ones?

A: Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin

B: Godric Gryffindor and Helena Hufflepuff

C: Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin

Congratulations to Blackstars36 for answering the previous question correctly.