Lionheart ~ Harry Potter (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Seventeen | Broomsticks and Injuries

Ariana groaned as she became more aware of her surroundings. She felt a soft mattress underneath her, a pillow supporting her head and a persistent ache that radiated over her entire body.

"Oh, look," a male voice said. "She's waking up."

"Well spotted," Ariana said hazily, adding her usual dose of sarcasm.

She opened her eyes to see Hermione, Ron, Neville, Seamus, Fred and George leaning over her. Hermione and Ron were sitting on either side of her on the bed, Neville and Seamus standing behind them, with the twins sitting on two chairs on her left side.

"Harry," Ariana gasped, remembering what happened. "Where's Harry?"

"I'm here," came Harry's voice. He too was still in his Quidditch robes, body armour still on, just as Ariana's.

She sighed with relief when she spotted Harry sitting on the Infirmary bed to her left, on the other side of Fred and George.

"You two gave us a right scare," George said, looking between Ariana and Harry.

Ariana sat up, groaning as she did. She saw her reflection shocked her. Her skin was even more pale than usual (an impressive feat since her skin was already like ivory), she had a nasty bruise on her right cheekbone and a red gash across her forehead and down her left eyebrow, which had been sealed by paper stitches.

"You can cast a Patronus?!" Seamus blurted out, his and Neville's faces painted red and gold.

Ariana nodded, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"That's incredible," Hermione sighed in awe. "Fully grown wizards struggle to cast a Corporeal Patronus."

"What's a Patronus?" Harry asked.

"It's a positive force that acts like a shield against Dementors. A Corporeal Patronus is a shield that takes the form of the animal you share the deepest affinity with," Ariana explained. Ron roared like Ariana's Lion. "I was intending to speak to you about it. Anyway, who won the game?

Everyone was silent for a moment, looking at each other, reeling over the rapid change of subject.

"Well, Cedric (Hufflepuff's Seeker and Captain) caught the Snitch -" Fred began.

"- When he realised what happened to you two -"

"- He offered to forfeit the win and do a rematch -"

"- But Wood told him they won fair and square -"

"- He's still in the showers. We think he's trying to drown himself."

Ariana felt terrible, but she was also relieved that she and Harry were both still alive.

"Dumbledore was furious. The most angry any of us have ever seen him. It was terrifying," Ron added. "He sent the Dementors packing."

"I'd be lying if I told you I am going to miss them," Ariana stated.

"Me too," Harry agreed, nodding his head.

Ron and his brothers looked at each other, all sharing a similar concern. Ariana furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what they were worried about. She listened intently as Ron spoke:

"There's something else you should know, Harry. Your Nimbus - when it blew away? - it sort of landed in the Whomping Willow. And well..."

Ariana's jaw dropped when Ron stood up and unwrapped a blanket he had picked up. He peeled the cover back and revealed a mass of splintered wood and twisted twigs, all having once been Harry's broom.

Harry's face grew even more sullen, picking up a bit of the wood.

"Ariana, there wasn't much we could do for yours," Fred sighed, picking up her broom from the floor.

The entire back end had been completely scorched, consequently causing the wood to turn to charcoal.

Ariana held the half broom in her hands, remembering to begin breathing again since the sight had made her rather breathless. She ran her hands, which were speckled with little red cuts, over the what was left of the wood. A sigh left her mouth, but she pit the broom aside, her face rid of all sorrow.

"Well, something like this was bound to happen, especially in this horrific weather," she stated, watching as the rain hammered against the massive window.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Both Ariana and Hermione said in unison as Ron sat on his friend's bed.

Upon hearing his name, Harry's head slowly raised to look at them. "Thanks," he replied with a small, sad smile. "I'm sorry about your broom."

"It's alright. I'm quite content with the fact that it was the brooms, rather than us," Ariana chuckled.

"Yeah, that is a good thing," Neville added, laughing along with the others.

After a while, Harry and Ariana were released from the Hospital by Madame Pomfrey. Both of them, Fred and George went back to the Gryffindor changing rooms to retrieve their clothes and change onto them.

As it was Saturday, they were wearing Muggle clothes instead of their uniforms. Ariana wore a black bardot top, dark blue skinny jeans and biker boots. She looked in the mirror. Her clothes showed her feminine body, but it wasn't inappropriate. Her face had a furious red scab across her forehead and through the middle of her left eyebrow, and a blue bruise on her right cheekbone.

Ariana knew her body was covered in all shapes and sizes of scars, each and every one of them telling a tragic tale. The only reason they were not visible was because of an enchantment she placed upon her body, one of her own design.

Snapping out of her daze, Ariana ran a stand through her hair, having taken the braid out. She let her wavy hair fall down over her shoulders, studying how she looked for a moment.

"Ariana, what are you doing in there?" George questioned, tapping on the changing room door.

"Hmm?" she hummed, the deep thought fading from her mind. She picked up her wand and emerged from the room.

"You spent quite a while in there -" Fred stated, smirking.

"- Anyone would think you -"

"- Were up to something," Fred concluded, both twins finishing each other's sentences, wearing identical smirks.

"If I was 'up to something', you two would be the last to know," she said slyly, then winked at then.

Harry, who was finding the situation completely and utterly funny, walked out with Ariana as she passed. On the way out, Madame Hooch called after them,

"Potter! O'Connor!" They turned around to see the short-haired blonde woman catching up to them. "Professor Dumbledore wants to see you both in his study."

"Yes, Madame Hooch," they responded, their voices synchronised.

Both Harry and Ariana shared a look of mutual concern, wondering how the conversation with Dumbledore was going to go.

~~~~~

Question:
Which Hogwarts ghost haunts the First Floor girls' bathroom?

A: The Grey Lady

B: The Bloody Baron

C: Moaning Myrtle

Congratulations to Blackstars36 for answering the previous question correctly.