The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Five | Hogwarts

After returning to the Burrow, Molly went ballistic after learning of the events of the Quidditch World Cup. She ranted about the Ministry of Magic and their failure to protect everyone there, then gave Arthur a brief apology because she didn't mean it was his fault.

She also fussed over the children, checking them all over for injuries. She insisted that she use a healing spell to restore Ariana's lip to its former, full self. The witch saw no point in protesting, so she allowed the kind woman to heal her small wound, then thanked her.

The next morning, all of the students were due to return to Hogwarts for another year. When they were preparing to board the magnificent Hogwarts Express, Ariana thanked Mr. and Mrs. Weasley excessively. She knew having an extra house guest, who also happened to be a werewolf, could not of been easy.

As predicted, they had assured her that it was a pleasure to have her, then wished her good luck in her new year.

The four friends managed to get a compartment to themselves once they boarded, thankful to finally be on the way to the grand Hogwarts castle.

Being in the compartment reminded Ariana of the first time she met Remus. Now, she was a year older. She had grown to be the same height as Ron, roughly an inch or two taller than Harry, maybe four take tab Hermione.

Her body had also developed even further. Her chest was now a whopping D cup and she had been blessed with a small waist and lovely hips, making her look as if she was 17, instead of the 14 she actually was.

Ariana and Harry sat in one side of the compartment, Hedwig and Nova perched on the arm rests between them. Their friends were seated across from them, with Crookshanks lurking beside Hermione.

The brunette was reading the Daily Prophet. Its front page was dedicated to the terror at the World Cup, displaying s photograph of the Dark Mark that had floated ominously in the sky.

Ariana had a roll of parchment on her lap, finally getting the opportunity to craft a reply to the letter she had received from Remus. The problem was: she had never been given a return address, so she wouldn't be able to send Nova to carry the response.

"Anything from the trolley dears?" an elderly witch asked, popping her head in through the open door.

Ron and Harry stood up to get some food off of the stacks cart. It had everything from chocolate frogs to pumpkin pasties in it, none of which Ariana fancied right now. If she could have anything, she would of chosen a brilliantly rare steak.

As the boys got their food, Ariana allowed her quill to dance over the thick parchment.

Dear Remus,

Please accept my apologies for the tardiness of this letter. By now, I'm sure you have heard of what happened at the World Cup, so I suppose I need not explain why I'm only writing this now.

The Dark Mark was cast into the sky by an unknown person, presumably a Death Eater. Barty Crouch actually accused us of casting it! Although, I can see why he is being so cautious, I would be doing the same thing if I was in his situation.

I hope you are well. Especially since the full moon is just over twenty-four hours away. How depressing!

The Shrieking Shack will be my new home during the school year. I presume you have already figured that out. Hopefully I don't get thrown into the Black Lake again; the Grindylows weren't best pleased by my sudden arrival last year.

Thank you for your last letter, I do appreciate the effort you put into them. I would send Nova to deliver mine, but I don't have a return address. I suppose there is a reason for that, which I'm quite happy with.

Right now, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I are on our way to Hogwarts. I dread to think who our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor will be... As long as they aren't trying to kill us, that's enough for me.

Please give Sirius our regards. I hope he and Buckbeak are enjoying their deserved freedom.

Best wishes, Ariana O'Connor.

The witch gave the letter a quick proof read before folding it neatly and placing it inside her bag. Once she had, Hermione lowered her paper.

"This is horrible," she sighed. "How can the ministry not know who conjured it. Isn't there any security or?"

Ron spoke through the Drewbals in his mouth. "Loads according to Dad, that's what worried them so much. Happened right under their noses."

"It's hurting again isn't it, your scar," Hermione stated.

Ariana turned to her left to see Harry rubbing his scar; a tell-tale sign that it was stinging. After all of these years, the quartet knew that happened when something awful was coming, usually for Harry and Ariana, which, in turn, meant Ron and Hermione.

"I'm fine," Harry replied dismissively.

"You know Sirius will want to hear about this. What you saw at the world cup, and the dream," Hermione responded, making very logical points, as of she done anything else.

Harry had described his dream to them. It consisted of Wormtail (Pettigrew), Lord Voldemort and an unknown man all conversing in a darkened room. Voldemort was insisting upon how important 'the boy' (presumably Harry) was for whatever he was planning. He also killed the "old Muggle caretaker" with the killing curse.

His three friends knew this was no good sign. Ariana suggested that it might be a form of Legilimency (the act of magically navigating through the many layers of a person's mind and correctly interpreting one's findings) and, after explaining what that is, she and Hermione discussed the possibility.

The thing is, Voldemort is a known Legilimens and Occulmens (the opposite of Legilimens, meaning he can protect his mind from penetration). They had reached the conclusion that it was possible, but only slightly.

Harry conceded to Hermione's idea and penned a letter to Sirius. As he did, Ariana was really beginning to feel the effects of the moon.

No longer did she even want to look in a mirror, but did in order to apply make-up to cover the worst of the pallor and dark circles.

The motion of the train was quite soothing, however, since walking would of been painful. She ran her hands through her hair and closed her eyes briefly.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked, popping another Drewbal in his mouth.

Ariana reopened her eyes, looking at the slouched boy sitting across from her. "Hm? Oh, yes. Full moon tomorrow night."

A thick silence fell over them. Whenever her Lycanthropy was mentioned, her friends walked on eggshells. Ariana, however, told them to talk freely; she didn't mind them knowing.

For the third time in the past two months, Ariana could sense the other three minds in the compartment. It had started to concern her. Surely she shouldn't be able to do that if she didn't have a touch of Legilimency herself...