Lionheart ~ Harry Potter (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Thirty | Whomping Willow

The sun set, dropping behind the Scottish mountains. They watched as a frenzied spray of crows stained the crimson sky, each one having shot off when the axed dropped, their shrieks rising like a curse.

Ron groaned, causing everyone to look at him. Ariana's eyes were drawn to his finger, which was adorned with a droplet of blood. It fell from his finger, splatting onto the grass like a tear.

Ron stared at his finger, watching as the red liquid trickled down it. "He bit me..."

Before Ariana said anything, Ron spotted Scabbers streaking off through the grass, and he tore off after him.

"Ron! No!" Hermione shouted after him.

"Ron!" Ariana yelled.

Without even thinking about it, Ron's friends pelted off ofter him. Ariana sprinted as fast as she possibly could, focusing on the red head of hair ahead of her. Her breathing came fast and short, her lungs burning as they ran around the massive grounds of the school.

Ron disappeared over a ridge, so Harry, Hermione and Ariana pursued him. When they reached the top, they stopped dead.

Ariana saw Ron sitting at the foot of a tree, after finally having caught the run away rat. He cradled Scabbers in his blood soaked palm, panting.

"Harry. Ariana. You do realize what tree that is?" Hermione asked, her voice portraying fear.

Ariana realised he was sitting below the Whomping Willow. "Ron! Run!" she screamed, running towards her friend.

"Ron! Run! Ron!" Harry bellowed, tearing after Ariana.

Ron's eyes widened to the size of saucers, pointing behind his friends, terrified. "Harry! Ariana! Hermione! Run! It's the Grim!"

All three Gryffindors skidded to a half, turning around. An enormous, pale-eyed, black dog stood in the clearing. It tore towards them, its huge paws bounding on the dirt ground.

Ariana gasped and hit the deck, Harry and Hermione by her sides. The 'Grim' leaped over their heads, running at Ron.

"Aaaahhh!" Ron shrieked. The dog's teeth flashed out and - SNAP - they closed on Ron's foot.

His friends got up and sprinted after Ron, yelling his name. The dog was dragging into a gap at the bottom of the Whomping Willow. Ariana was spurred on by Ron's screams of terror and pain.

Harry and Ariana jumped for the ground, scrambling to grab his outstretched hand. Unfortunately, they missed them.

They were pulled up by Hermione, all of them listening to Ron's fading calls of their names.

Before any of them had a chance to recover, Ariana felt a harsh pain in her stomach. They were all send flying backwards by the Willow, who had smacked them all with a long, leafy branch.

Ariana landed unceremoniously with an 'oomph'. A bruising pain erupted over her stomach, but she pushed the pain away. She, Harry and Hermione pulled themselves off of the ground.

The looming tree swayed maliciously, each of its many branches lashing out in a threatening manner.

"Harry! Help!" Ron exclaimed, his echoing screams coming from deep in the roots of the tree.

"Come on!" Harry said, determined. He grabbed Ariana and Hermione's hands, running towards the tree.

It put up a good fight. Three thick branches smacked down on the ground, which would of hit each of them if they had not separated and jumped clear of the things trying to kill them.

Ariana sprung to her feet, jumping over the branches that swiped at her feet. She managed to spot the one flying for her head, ducking before it took it clean off.

She wasn't fast enough to dodge all three of the branches that flew at her from different directions. The third one pulverised her legs, winding around her waist.

A scream ripped from her mouth as she was hoisted into the air, being smacked in the face with various branches. Ariana could feel the sharp bark slicing her skin, leaving weeping wounds in their wake.

The witch was vaguely aware of Hermione repeatedly screaming in the background, and Harry's yells.

Much to her horror, the tree tossed her away like a child would a broken toy. Ariana screamed as she plummeted through the air like a meteorite, heading towards the ground below. She knew the impact would kill her.

By some miracle, Ariana did not land in the forest floor, but in the deep waters of the Black Lake. She slammed her mouth shut as she sank into the dark water, trying to gain control of her movements.

Before she could, small octopus-like Water Demons called Grindylows. They lashed her with her tentacles, stinging like ten wasps.

Ariana resisted the natural urge to scream with pain, but she bit her lip instead, drawing blood since she bit it so hard. The white-haired girl managed to reach her wand, using it to stun the creatures.

The witch struggled to reach the surface, but when she did, the first thing she did was gasp for air. Ariana swam to the shore, laying on the gravel ground.

Her chest heaved, the pure oxygen soothing the agonising burn in her lungs. As soon as the dizziness subsided, she staggered to her feet.

She tore towards the Whomping Willow, weaving in and out of the trees in the forest. It didn't take her long to reach it, but Harry and Hermione had disappeared.

Thinking fast, Ariana aimed her wand at the Willow tree. "Immobulus!" she shouted, using a freezing charm in the tree.

She slipped into the gap where Ron had disappeared, finding Harry and Hermione there. Both had dirt covering areas of their clothes, their faces decorated with cuts.

"What happened to you?" Hermione gasped, eyeing Ariana's drenched, injured person.

"The Black Lake is home to Grindylows. I have evidence," Ariana laughed dryly, pointing to the fierce red tentacle lashes over her arms and collarbone. "Are you both alright?"

Harry and Hermione nodded, although neither of them were being entirely truthful.  Ariana performed a spell, drying her clothes, skin and hair. After that, she and Harry lit their wands up.

Guided by the light of their wands, the three students walked down the dirt tunnel, avoiding all of the tree roots that hung out. All of them hoping to reach Ron in time.

~~~~~

Question:
What form did Hermione's Boggart take in 1993?

Congratulations to Blackstars36 for answering the previous question correctly.