Lionheart ~ Harry Potter (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Twenty-One | Crumbling Walls

Harry and Ariana had heard enough of the conversation. They stormed through the village in silence, each of them feeling furious, betrayed and full of sorrow.

Ariana's blood boiled in her veins. After all of her questions about her parents, not one of the Professors had given her an answer, despite knowing exactly who they were. Why was she denied that information? Why did she have to miss out on the names of the people who brought her into the world?

Mixed in with the anger was sorrow. She didn't know about her father, but Ariana's mother was killed by Voldemort simply for wanting to make sure Harry survived without his parents.

Harry and herself returned to the spot where themselves, Ron and Hermione had been only a couple of hours beforehand. They flopped down on a snow-covered rock, not caring if it melted into their clothes.

Harry simply crumbled. He sobbed, tears of sadness and anger welling in his eyes as he buried his face into his hands. Ariana pushed her own worries aside and wrapped her arms around her distraught friend, closing her eyes as he cried into her shoulder.

The witch tried as best she could to rid her own thoughts from her head, but it proved to be a difficult task. She focused on listening to Harry sniff and cry, allowing herself to be absorbed in the moment.

A silvery tear fell from her eye, landing on Harry's jacket with an inaudible splat. Ariana quickly wiped all reminisce of it from her face, leaving no evidence of her extreme sorrow behind.

Ron and Hermione had been hot on their heels, and appeared to have caught up with them. Despite Ron trying to hold her back, Hermione kneeled down, tenderly pulling the cloak off of the pair of students.

"What happened?" she questioned quietly.

Harry pulled away from Ariana. "He was their friend. And he betrayed them. He was their friend!" Harry bellowed, then his eyes hardened. "I hope he finds me. But when he does, I'm going to be ready. When he does, I'm going to kill him."

Ariana, Hermione and Ron, who had eventually walked over to join them, all eyed Harry warily. All three shared an extremely concerned look, but decided it best not to say anything.

"Harry, I'm sorry," Ariana said softly, pity swimming in her eyes.

The Wizard's eyes softened when he looked at his friend. "Me too."

Ariana smiled sadly, her eyes focused on the ground. For a moment, she could feel the presence of an extrs three minds in her head. It was an odd pressure, but it felt... natural.

She shook her head, trying to rid her head of the horrible sensation of air being pumped into her head. Thankfully, it worked, but she sensed the question Ron and Hermione was dying to ask: what happened? 

"Just ask," Ariana sighed, looking up from the ground, her piercing eyes seeming to look into the sound of her friends.

Ron and Hermione shared an uncomfortable look. Then Ron spoke up, "what happened, Ariana?"

"Voldemort killed my mother, whose name was Jessica O'Connor," Ariana stated, her eyes staring off into the mist. She ignored the fact that Ron and Hermione shivered when she said 'Voldemort', then they both have their condolences.

A thick blanket of silence fell over the quartet. It seemed to completely suffocate all attempt at a conversation, smothering everything in its path.

Ariana tried not to dwell on her pain. She never done so when she was in the company of... well, anyone. When the time came that her walls took too many hits and crumbled to dust, she cried alone, not wanting to inflict her pain upon those she cared about, or give anyone ammunition to use against her.

A loud bell rung out in Hogsmeade, piercing the veil of silence. Ariana snapped out of her daze and looked up in the direction of the Snowy village.

"That's Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, standing up from her seated position beside her accomplices.

"Harry, we should get back to the castle before everyone else," Ariana stated, knowing that if McGonagall returned and they weren't there, it would make her incredibly suspicious.

"Oh, yeah," Harry agreed, pulling out of a deep thought.

Both of then bid goodbye to Ron and Hermione, then set off for the One-Eyed Witch passageway, hoping to return to the grand school before their classmates did.

~~~~~

Question:
Ariana is one of the most skilled Quidditch players Hogwarts has seen in a long time, what is the top mph a Firebolt broomstick can reach?

A: 150 mph

B: 200 mph

C: 180 mph

Congratulations to Blackstars36 for answering the previous question correctly.