The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Fourteen | Colin Versus Snape

The next week had been terrible, some of Ariana's worst at Hogwarts.

The Hufflepuffs, who were usually on fantastic terms with the Gryffindors, had shunned the entire house. Ariana didn't like it, but she understood how they felt. As an overshadowed house who never got any publicity, they were overjoyed to have a Champion of their own, but they felt as if the two famous Gryffindors were desperate for the glory.

Gryffindor house treated them like heroes, not that they wanted that. Both Ariana and Harry made a conscious effort to avoid being the centre of attention, which was damn near impossible.

Ariana had thought that Ravenclaw might of sided with her house, but even they worshipped Cedric. Apparently they were under the impression that she and Harry were desperate for more fame.

She had fully expected the vicious insults from Slytherin - she and Harry were wildly unpopular among them, always had been. This was due to the fact that they helped Gryffindor beat them so often, both at Quidditch and in the Inter-House Championship.

Even worse than the entire school mocking them, was the fact that Ron no longer supported them. He was under the impression that they had fooled the goblet and submitted their own names, which was completely untrue.

Hermione had accepted their side of the story, much to their relief. She had pointed out that Ron was jealous of the attention they received, then clarified that she knew it wasn't their faults.

She made an ironclad point: Ron has many siblings to compete with at home, and he's always shunted to the side whenever people see Harry and Ariana. He never said anything until now.

Ariana agreed with her point, but she was also infuriated with her recent treatment. The girl managed to contain it as the red cloud grew, but it would soon burst.

Hagrid made sure to let the two new champions know that he and Dumbledore believe their story. It came as a huge relief to Ariana, thankful to know some people had her back.

During the week, Ariana seemed to have gained the ability of Legilimency. She was able to focus on someone's mind if she made eye contact, an action which was crucial to Legilimency.

She was only able to focus on vague emotions, since it was an incredibly difficult feat. It wasn't as simple as 'mind-reading', no. She had to delve into a person's mind layer by layer, nevermind interpreting her findings.

Also, she had not received word from Remus, nor had his owl arrived at all. That had made her heart sink even further, leading her to isolate herself even further.

All in all, it had been a truly awful week.

~~~~~

"Antidotes!" said Snape, looking around at them all, his cold black eyes glittering. "You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one..."

Ariana followed her teacher's line of vision until they landed upon Harry.

'Great,' she thought. 'He's going to poison Harry.'

Double Potions was the class they were sitting in. An hour and a half of studying potions would usually of been a brilliant experience, but Ariana's patience with the Slytherins that she shared her class with had grown warily thin.

Nearly every single student in houses except Gryffindor wore yellow badges celebrating Cedric, but whenever either Harry or Ariana passed, they turned green reading: O'Connor Stinks or Potter Stinks. Draco was flashing his badge every time Snape turned his back.

Ron had sat at a separate table, and Hermione had been hit by a spell that made her teeth grow uncontrollably when a duel broke out between Harry and Draco, so she had headed to the Hospital wing, leaving Harry and Ariana alone.

Before Harry could be poisoned, a knock resounded from the door. Colin Creevey, a third-year photographer who was a massive fan of Harry and Ariana, edged into the room.

He beamed at the two Champions as he crept up to Snape's desk, clearly intimidated.

"Yes?" Snape asked curtly, staring down his nose at the blonde Gryffindor.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter and Ariana O'Connor upstairs," said Colin, the eager smile completely erased from his face.

"They have another hour of Potions to complete," Snape retorted coldly. "They will come upstairs when this class is finished."

Ariana watched Colin turn as pink as some of the potions on the shelves behind her. She pitied the boy, although didn't agree with his fear; she was bold (although others might call it arrogance) enough to not care what others thought of her, Snape included.

Her wand wood reflected that trait, since it paired itself with unique, non-conformist wizards whose opinions were not easy to sway, nearly impossible.

"Sir - sir, Mr. Crouch wants them," Colin responded nervously. "All the champions have got to go, I think they want to take photographs."

Ariana grimaced, wishing that Colin had not said those final words. She glanced over at Harry, who was clearly thinking the same thing. Ron just refused to look at them; apparently the ceiling was much more interesting.

"Very well, very well," Snape snapped. "Potter, O'Connor, leave your things here, I want you both back down here later to test your antidote."

"Please, sir - he's got to take his things with him," squeaked Cohn. "All the champions..."

"Very well!" said Snape, cutting the boy off. "O'Connor, Potter - take your bags and get out of my sight!"

Ariana immediately gathered her textbook up and placed it inside her bag, swinging over her shoulder as she and Harry headed for the door.

"It's amazing, isn't it, Harry, Ariana?" Colin asked, starting to speak the moment Harry had closed the dungeon door behind him. "Isn't it, though? You two being champions?"

"Yes, fantastic," Ariana replied heavily, the trio walking down the long corridor.

"What do they want photos for, Colin?" Harry enquired.

"The Daily Prophet, I think!"

"Great," said Harry dully. "Exactly what we need. More publicity."

"Good luck!" Colin grinned when they had reached the right room.

Ariana sighed when she reached the door, sharing a look of exhaustion with Harry. Little did she know, her spirits would soon be lifted by the arrival of none other than Remus Lupin.