Lionheart ~ Harry Potter (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Fourteen | Nightmare

By the time everyone was ready to sleep, the Great Hall was no longer filled with the house tables, but was covered with make-shift beds.

Dementors patrolled the grounds with even more vigor, and the humongous gates at the entry to Hogwarts' grounds had been magically sealed shut in an attempt to protect everyone inside.

Hundreds of mattresses lay side-by-side on the ground, each one fitted with a duvet and pillow. They were now filled with many sleeping Gryffindors, including Ron and Hermione.

Ariana and Harry lay next to each other, both wide awake. They were have a quiet discussion until the Hall's doors quietly opened, so they immediately looked over. They saw Snape slide through the doors, then converge with Dumbledore, who had been watching over the Gryffindors.

"I've done the dungeons, Headmaster. No sign of Black. Nor anywhere else in the castle," Snape announced, his voice not wavering from his usual monotone.

"I didn't really expect him to
linger."

"Remarkable feat, don't you think? To enter Hogwarts castle on one's own, completely undetected..." Snape drawled. Ariana knew his sentence had a hidden meaning, but Dumbledore never took the bait. "You may recall, prior to the start of term, I did express my concerns when you appointed Professor -"

"I do not believe a single professor inside this castle would have helped Sirius Black enter it, Severus," Dumbledore stated, completely shutting Snape down. "No... I feel quite confident the castle is safe. And I'm more than willing to let the students return to their Houses. But tomorrow."

"What about Potter, should he be warned? And O'Connor," Snape questioned.

Ariana ignored the compulsion to open her now closed eyes, since two pairs of footsteps came to a standstill right beside her head.

"Perhaps. But for now let them sleep. For in dreams, we enter a world that's entirely our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud," Dumbledore continued, his voice soft as he peered down at Harry and Ariana.

Once the two Professors eventually moved away from Harry and Ariana, they opened their eyes. Their gazes met, both pairs of eyes sharing a mutual concern and question: What was Ariana to be told?

Ariana knew fine well why Harry was involved with Sirius, but where did she fit into the puzzle?

She lay awake pondering the question for hours until sleep eventually swallowed her like a Dragon would its prey.

~~~~~

"Aariana, y- you little bitch, get in here!" Sarah shouted, slurring her words as alcohol ran through her veins.

Ariana felt terror flow over her body, but she put on an emotionless mask, determined to not give in to them.

She walked down the dingy hallway and stepped into the living room. Her mother (as she was ordered to call her) was sprawled over the couch, an empty bottle of Pina Colada in her hands.

A gasp escaped her mouth as the bottle was thrown at her head. Ariana ducked before it made contact with her head, listening to the glass smash as it hit the wall behind her.

"Here. Now," Sarah growled.

Ariana stepped forwards, focusing on her breathing as her heart hammered against her rib cage. A searing pain shot through her scalp as a hand became tangled in her hair, holding it with a iron grip.

"Yes?" Ariana said, keeping her voice steady.

"Get me my fags," Sarah ordered lowly, her eyes misty as she struggled to stay awake. Ariana tried to straighten up, but she was pulled back down by the hair. Her face was level with Sarah's, the smell of tropical alcohol on her breath. "What do you say?!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Ariana said monotonously, standing up.

The white-haired girl moved over the the coffee table, pulling a packet of cigarettes from the drawer. She carefully pulled one from the box and handed it to Sarah, who retrieved a lighter from her pocket.

The woman lit the cigarette with a shaking hand, taking a long draw as she did. "Come here," Sarah commanded.

Ariana did so, bracing herself for whatever came next. She soon felt the burning pain of the cigarette being pressed into her upper arm five times.

Tears welled in her closed eyes, but Ariana refused to let then fall, her teeth gritted tightly together. She steadied her breathing and straightened her back, sticking out her chin. "Is that all?"

"Get out of my slight," Sarah hissed, confusing the word 'sight' for 'slight' in her drunken state.

Ariana strode out of the room, not allowing her heartless facade do fall until she shut her bedroom door. Tears fell from her reddened eyes as she slid down the door, slumped against it, praying that her misery would soon be over.

~~~~~

Ariana awoke with a gasp, sitting bolt upright. She blinked her eyes and panted, then felt a hand on her back. She whipped around to see Harry, his eyes clouded with pure concern and sleep.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his hair all over the place.

"Yeah, I'm alright, thanks," Ariana smiled, lying through her teeth. "I think I'm going to go and get a shower."

"Alright," Harry smiled, lying back down.

Ariana quietly slid her flat black pumps on and a short, black silk dressing down on, padding out of the hall, trying to avoid awakening any of her fellow Gryffindors. She managed to shimmy out of a small gap in the Great Hall's double doors.

Once on the outside, she stretched her arms over her head, feeling her wand move inside her dressing gown pocket. She set off towards the first floor bathroom, running a hand through her loose white hair.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice asked from behind her.

Ariana turned around at a leisurely pace, her face blank. "To the bathroom," she stated.

Snape looked completely unamused. "Are you aware of the time?"

"Not to the second. Five a.m. would be a reasonable guess, I suppose," Ariana deadpanned.

"Not quite, Miss. O'Connor. It is twenty-two minutes past five," Snape smirked.

"Will that be all, Professor Snape?" Ariana questioned, tucking her hands into the pockets on her dressing gown.

"I suppose," Snape replied, then swept away, his cloak billowing behind him.

Ariana rolled her eyes and continued her journey, hoping that a shower would wash away the pain of her past.

~~~~~

Question:
In the Half Blood Prince novel, which character was attacked by werewolf Fenrir Greyback?

A: Bill Weasley

B: Remus Lupin

C: Luna Lovegood

Congratulations to Blackstars36 for answering the previous question correctly.