The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Four | The Dark Mark

Finally, the crowd thinned out. By the time the grounds were completely empty, it was devastated. The ground was no longer covered in green grass, but scorched dirt. Smouldering rubble lay discarded in large piles, plumes of smoke rising from the small fires still burning within some of them.

Even the sky seemed to mourn the losses; it was grey and overcast, the sun completely swallowed by the gloom.

Ariana stood by the frame of a tent, the canvas having burned. She looked around, scouring the singed scenery for any sign of the people had arrived with, but no such luck.

Her eyes did, however, land on a usable broomstick. The witch couldn't believe her good fortune, blinking a few times to ensure it was actually there.

Ariana wasted no time and began digging through a pile of rubble, desperate to reach the broom. When she pulled out out, she saw that it was a recent model, quite fast.

She quickly mounted it and took off into the air, soaring against the darkening sky. The white-haired witch took advantage of her new position and searched for the heads of her companions.

She did spot a group of Death Eaters, who also clocked her. Before she coukd get away, they began firing various dark curses at her. Ariana reacted quickly and somehow managed to dodge the lethal blasts of magic that passed her body closely.

Small, strangled gasps emitted from her mouth as she ducked back and forth, utilising the skills she had gained in the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.

The girl barely managed to get away, but she was able to zoom off into the distance. As her breathing patterns went back to normal, Ariana heard the distant shouts of Hermione and Ron calling her and Harry's names.

Naturally, she bolted in that direction. A long, relieved breath escaped her mouth as she spotted her three friends. The girl plummeted towards the ground, landing on her feet beside them.

"There you are! We thought we'd lost you both," said Ron, over the moon that his two friends had not been killed in the commotion.

"You can't get rid if us that easily," Ariana smirked weakly, attempting to lighten the mood.

It did not work. All of then were still on edge from the attack, their bodies taut with adrenaline, searching the darkness to see if anyone was coming for them.

"What's that?" Harry enquired pointing towards the sky.

Ariana didn't have to ask what he was referring to. Her eyes widened like saucers when she spotted the Dark Mark sitting in the sky. A massive green skull sat high in the sky, a massive serpent slithering out of its bony mouth.

Harry let out a strained gasp as his hand flew to the scar on his forehead. Before Ariana could ask if he was alright, many figures appeared in swirls of smoke.

"Stupefy!" They all shouted in unison, many red bolts heading straight for the heads of the quartet.

Upon hearing them, all of the Gryffindor students dropped to their knees huddled together, pressed into each others' sides. Harry and Ariana were in the middle, their protective arms around the shoulders of their friends. Thankfully, the many stunning spells missed them.

"Stop! That's my son!" Mr. Weasley roared, running straight for Ron and his friends. As the four stood up again, Arthur reached them. "Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ariana. Are you alright?"

Ariana nodded. She looked around and realised the men who had mounted the attack were Ministry officials, all of them presumably on the hunt for Death Eaters.

A middle-aged man appeared, his wand thrust in the students' faces. "Which of you conjured this?" He demanded, his French accent audible.

"You can't possibly..." Arthur began, but was cut off.

"Do not lie! You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!" the man seethed, moving his wand from face to face.

Ariana resented having a wand inches from her face, but it was probably a good idea to avoid giving him any more reasons to be suspicious of her. So, she just stood there calmly.

"Barty, they're just kids," Arthur reasoned calmly

"Crime? What crime?" Harry questioned, clueless as to what he meant

Ariana explained, "Harry that's the Dark Mark. It's Voldemort's mark."

"Voldemort? Those people tonight, in the masks... they're his too aren't they? They're his followers," Harry stated, nothing slipping past him.

Arthur nodded his head vigorously, then looked over at the man who Ariana recognised as Bartimus Crouch Sr. "Death Eaters."

"Follow me," ordered Barty, his tone quite the same as it was when he had accused the quartet.

Harry caked him back. "There was a man. Before. There." He pointed over ahead of him.

"All of you, this way." With that, Crouch and his men ran off in the direction Harry had advised them to go in.

Ariana cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders, her eyes drifting up to the almost full moon. Her joints were beginning to ache as if she had Arthritis, her head feeling as if she had a head cold; filled with pressure and fuzzy.

Hermione saw her discomfort and gave her a sympathetic smile, giving her shoulder a kind squeeze. Ariana returned the smile, thankful that she had people by her side in these increasingly dark times.

"Harry, who?" Arthur asked eagerly.

"I dunno," replied Harry ruefully. "I didn't see his face."

Arthur sighed. "Alright, back to the portkey."

Ariana began the brisk walk back to the 'manky old boot' that would return them to the Burrow, the Weasley family home.

Her eyes were quite fixed on the moon ahead of them. She loathed how that now, instead of being able to loose herself in the erethral beauty of the moon, she was now scared of its effects on her.

Ariana couldn't help but allow her thoughts to drift back to Remus. On one hand, she wished to spend every moment of her life with him, but in the other, she didn't feel as if she deserved someone that brilliant.

She was a broken person, who, deep down, was terrified. Her early life hadn't done much to aid her self-confidence, but her personality was quite like that anyway, being a proud Gryffindor.

Also, she felt disgusted by her werewolf side. Having only experienced the brutal transformation twice, she had quite a lot of experience to gain. Ask she knew is that a monstrous alter-ego lay deep inside of her, its only wish to attack human beings to infect them with Lycanthropy.

After being lost in her thoughts, the small group had arrived at the portkey, where Fred and George were sitting with Ginny. She was cuddled in between them, seeking the warmth of her brothers, which they were clearly happy to give.

Once again, Ariana found her mind trickling back to Arron. She would of given her life a thousand times over if he could have his restored to him, to allow him the chance to live hus life, grow. What she wouldn't give to speak to him even one more time.