The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Thirty-One | Step-Sister

Around ten o'clock the quartet took a leisurely walk down to Hagrid's cabin. The air was quite mild, nipping at all exposed skin. The sun was hidden behind many clouds, not allowing any heat to beam down.

Ariana was beginning to get ill again, since the full moon was days away. It seemed like only yesterday she had been inside the Shrieking Shack, trying her best to avoid injuring herself during horrific nightmares.

At least she and Harry didn't have to participate in the end-of-year exams, due to the "demanding and time-consuming nature" of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Although, in this case, Ariana would much rather be studying for her exams than participating in this tournament.

After they made it down the slope, the trio spotted movement inside the cabin, and there was only really one person Ariana knew with such a unruly, bushy head of hair... and that was Hagrid.

Harry knocked on the door. "Hagrid, it's us."

Heavy footsteps could be heard, then the door was pulled open, revealing Hagrid. "Oh, 'ello. What're you four doing down 'ere?"

"We came to see you," said Hermione, smiling.

"Come in, come in," Hagrid said, ushering then inside.

The cabin consisted of one large room, which was decorated with... unorthodox furnishings. Small, dead animals were hanging up on the wall, presumably drying out. Perhaps the most conventionally normal thing inside was a bed, four times the side of Ariana's.

"Jus' made some Beef Casserole. Yeh want some?" Hagrid asked.

All of the students had eaten Hagrid's food before and immediately regretted it. But, in the interest of not hurting his feelings, they all agreed to have a serving each.

Fang, Hagrid's large Boarhound, stood from his bed in the corner of the room. He wagged his tail and sat beside Harry, drooling all over his lap.

Ariana was used to Fang drooling on her, and she knew Harry was too. It was something as a signature move for the dog, but it showed affection nonetheless.

All five sat at the circular table, the youngest four only picking at their food, conversing about the day. Ariana thought the casserole wasn't too awful until Hermione unearthed a talon in hers, making them all loose their appetites all of a sudden.

"How're yeh gettin' on with yer eggs," Hagrid asked, tucking into a second serving of casserole (if you can call it that).

"Well, I thought it sounded rather like a Banshee, but I'm not convinced," said Ariana, who hadn't done too much studying into the egg.

Harry didn't say anything; Ariana knew he had not thought about at all, just procrastinating.

Hagrid noticed his silence. "Harry?"

"Oh, I haven't really gotten around to it yet," Harry said quietly, visibly bracing himself for the outburst from Hermione.

"Harry," she gasped, "you have to figure out the next clue! You too, Ariana."

"Hermione, we have over two months until the next task," Harry reasoned, sounding exasperated, since this wasn't the first time Hermione had scalded him.

"I want to figure the clue out, but I'm waiting until the next moon wanes. I have a permanent headache until then, and the thought of listening to that wail is torturous," Ariana groaned, giving a great defense.

Apparently this excuse was good enough for Hermione. "Oh, alright," she relented, "but after that you have no excuse."

"Actually, I have a few days after the full moon where I -"

"Okay, okay," Hermione sighed.

Ariana laughed and nudged the girl with her elbow, prompting everyone else in the room to laugh with her.

The four pupils remained with Hagrid for another hour and a half, talking about the tournament, Moody performing an illegal curse on the class and various other things.

As they left, Ariana hung back for a moment. She told her friends that she had a few questions the dragons in the first task and that she would catch up with them in a moment.

"Hagrid, I'm not here to ask you about dragons."

"Are yeh alrigh', Ariana?" Hagrid enquired, his thick brows knitted together in concern.

"Oh, Yes," she lied. "You knew my mother when she was a student, is that correct?"

"Oh, Jessica. 'Course I remember her. Why do yeh ask?"

"How close were she and Professor Snape?" Ariana asked, both dreading the answer and looking forward to it.

Hagrid frowned, but answered her nonetheless, "they were really close. Wha' did you e'spect? Knew each other for years before Hogwarts."

Ariana raised her eyebrows. "They did?"

"Yeah... Jessica was Snape's step-sister."

"What?!" Ariana exclaimed, then regained her calm exterior. "Step-sister?"

"Yea, close as brother an' sister can be, I s'pose. Looked nothin' like each other, Gryffindor and Slytherin, but close all the same," said Hagrid. "Why do yeh ask?"

"I just want to know all I can about my parents, including their families, and in extension, my own," said Ariana, forcing a convincing, yet false, smile upon her lips. "Thank you, Hagrid. I'll see you later."

"Oh... Uh, goodbye."

Ariana scurried out of the hut and moved to catch up with her friends, who were waiting for her at the top of the frosty slope.

Her head was spinning with the new information. Snape and her mother were siblings? Maybe not related by blood, but through one of Ariana's grandparents. It was a mind-boggling thought.

Not only was the Potions Master her Godfather, but he was also her step-uncle... How the hell did she get pulled into this?

Ariana didn't plan on telling her friends, not right now. She wanted to discuss the situation with Snape but the chances of that happening were slim; if he had wished to talk about it, surely he would of mentioned it at some point. Or, even better, actually played his role as godfather.

If he had done so, Ariana wouldn't of been abused and her brother might still be alive. It was difficult for the witch to avoid blaming him completely, since she was just clinging to rationality by a thread. Surely there was a reason for his distance, right?