The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Prologue | Summer Holidays

The summer holidays went by quite quickly. The Weasley family had offered to give Ariana a home during the summer, but she had politely declined their offer on the grounds that she wasn't their burden.

Molly hadn't taken that well. She immediately scolded Ariana for thinking so lowly of herself, telling her that she was not a burden, but a privileged house guest. After half an hour, the debate had been settled by Molly putting her foot down, telling Ariana that she was being ridiculous and that they would love to have her.

When the time came to say goodbye to Hermione and Harry, her heart sank even further down. As per usual, Hermione made them all promise to write to her, which they all agreed to.

They all hugged and then parted ways for a couple of long months. They send and received letters from Harry and Hermione once a week, which was one of the highlights of Ariana's like.

It was the best holiday she had ever had. Some people would consider an amazing holiday to be a trip to a foreign land, but Ariana was more than pleased with being with people who genuinely cared for her. Usually, she would of been abused silly by now, but instead, she was actually enjoying life. Which was a rare thing.

On the 23rd of July, Ariana celebrated her 14th birthday. She never usually celebrated, but the Weasleys were quite eager to. Eight days later, Ariana made sure Harry received the card and gift she had bought him.

Before the first full moon, after Ariana had been bitten, two familiar owls arrived with letters from Harry and Hermione. They were wishing her luck, telling her that they missed their friends and a few other sentiments.

The night before, a tawny owl scratched on her window. Ariana had opened it up and the bird obediently held out its leg, allowing her to remove the scroll attached to it.

To her joy, it was from Lupin. He let her know that she would be alright, hoped she was well, assured that he and Sirius were alright and gave a run-down of the transformation. Her anxiety levels dropped a little, she was just ecstatic to hear from him. He also wrote a sentence at the end hoping she still had her necklace.
The owl had waited on her writing a response, then it flew off into the night, eventually disappearing into the darkness.

Her letter consisted of a thank you, a message that she was well, how glad she was to hear about her and Sirius, as well as a reassurance that the lion had remained around her neck since she received it.

The week before the full moon was due to rise, Ariana drank a goblet full of Wolfsbane Potion. To put it bluntly: it was repulsive. The liquid was both bitter and sour, but it was definitely worth it.

The night of the full moon, Ariana had, upon her insistence, walked a mile into the long grass that surrounded the Weasley residence. Ron had offered to sit with her all night, and as much as Ariana loved his offer, she had to say no. Even though she would have her human mindset, she wouldn't of been able to live with herself if something had happened to her friend.

When the time came, her breathing had picked up, fear racking her body. When her body began to morph, screams of agonising pain ripped from her throat. Bones cracked and snapped, transforming into that of a different creature.

The pain of your body being contorted, twisted into something else was too severe to put into words. Thankfully it had only lasted a few minutes, though it felt like hours.

Afterwards, Ariana looked down at her new body, inspecting it. It was just like a slightly smaller version of Lupin when he transformed, and the sight repulsed her.

For the remaining hours, the Wolf had milled around, getting used to her new body. She had expected to be like Bambi on the ice, but it was incredibly naturally as if it fitted her like a glove.

She was amazed by her senses. Her sight had improved tenfold, as had her sense of smell, which was heightened as a human anyway.

Once she had finished the exploration section of her evening, Ariana decided to sleep the rest of the transformation off. The witch was just thankful she had taken the potion and was able to retain her human mindset, then go to sleep.

Come the next morning, Ariana underwent the white-hot pain of turning back into her human self.

She peered into a small mirror she had brought with her. What she saw made her grimace. Her skin wasn't the beautiful ivory it usually was, but a sickly grey. Underneath her icy eyes were two dark bags, making her look even more ill.

She looked how she felt. Her head pounded with a blinding migraine, nausea stirred in the pit of her stomach and her entire body ached with every breath she took.

Ron had been the one to come out in the morning. He tried to conceal hid shock, but Ariana laughed and acknowledged that she looked awful.

The twins had done their usual and spike honestly about her appearance.

"Woah, Ariana. You look awful," Fred said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"What did you expect, Freddie? She's been howling at the moon all night," George countered, then both of them mock howled.

Ariana recoiled, the noise being too much for her head. "If you two want to know how this feels, I will bite you both," she grumbled, managing to look up and raise a serious eyebrow at them.

They laughed and howled again, but Molly slapped both of their shoulders. "That's enough! Stop mocking the poor girl's situation!"

After she had recovered, she had a sarcastic laugh with Fred and George, which Percy completely disapproved of.

During the latter end of the holidays, Harry and Hermione joined the Weasley family. Ron and Ariana were overjoyed, thankful that they were all together once again.