The Wolf's Lion ~ Harry Potter (Editing)

Chapter Thirty-Five | It All Comes Out

"We really shouldn't be here," Hermione whined, looking around with paranoid eyes as if something was about to jump out on her.

Ron groaned, looking completely exasperated as they trudged up towards the mountain overhanging the Forbidden Forest. Harry had given up trying to hold them back in their corners, so remained quiet as they hashed it out.

Ariana was just wrapping up her second waltz of the night. In a final flurry, Remus's hands encircled her waist and lifted her with ease. She had enjoyed the dance with Ivan but there had been no heat.

Now, the witch was finding endless amounts if it. Wherever he came into contact with her skin, it made her feel like liquid fire was igniting on her milky flesh. It was definitely the most intense thing she had ever felt and never wanted it to end.

"Yes, exactly like that," Ariana breathed, lowering herself onto the large log she was becoming very familiar with. Remus smiled at her response, sitting beside her.

The corners of Remus' lips curved into a small smile. "Merry Christmas."

Ariana spied a suspiciously book-sized wrapped package in his hand. "Oh, you didn't have to buy me anything. It's too much," she said, knowing he wasn't exactly flush with galleons.

"Accept the gift, Ariana. It was my pleasure." He pressed the present into her hands, watching expectantly for her to open it.

Ariana gingerly peeled the red paper back. As it tore, her prediction was correct; a hardback book came into view. Once she had disposed of the paper with her wand, Ariana smiled down at the book about advanced defensive magic. The witch also used a summoning spell under her breath, so quiet it was almost inaudible even to their sensitive ears.

"Remus," Ariana began, finding it quite odd to be saying his forename for the first time, "this is brilliant, but unnecessary. Don't misunderstand me, I adore it. Thank you."

"Ariana, it truly was my pleasure. I'm pleased you like it."

Ariana flicked through the pages, then closed the book and sighed. "Maybe it will give me a chance in this tournament."

In the nick of time, the victims of Ariana's summoning spell came racing towards them, flying over the heads if her friends as they caught sight of the two werewolves. She reached up and caught them as they arrived; a small black box in one hand and a brown suit jacket in the other.

"Your jacket, freshly laundered and pressed," she said, handing the folded item over. "Also, Merry Christmas."

"You didn't have to..." Remus said, reluctantly taking the small box into his hands.

Ariana had managed to purchase the gift during the summer holidays, knowing she wouldn't of had another opportunity to do so before Christmas.

"Oh, this is - Ariana, this is too expensive," Remus stuttered in shock, looking down at the gold watch. It had a golden trim around the black face, gold Roman numerals being pointed at by gold hands, all set off with a brown leather strap.

It actually cost 160 Galleons, 11 Sickles and 13 Knuts (over £700 in Muggle money) to be exact, but who's counting? Ariana's parents, like Harry's, had left her with a considerable amount of money in vault 721 of Gringotts bank. It took two hours and thirty minutes to get there by Goblin Cart, and was protected by spells as it was a medium-high security vault.

"Please, I'll consider it a personal insult if you attempt to give it back to me," Ariana stated, smirking and raising her eyebrows. "I wouldn't of bought it if I didn't want you to have it. However, I wasn't certain if it was the best colour scheme for you, so feel free to change it if need be."

For a moment, Ariana wondered if the watch was going to be returned to her hands, but thankfully it wasn't.

"I don't think 'thank you' quite suffices," Remus said, watching as the watch's face glitter in the moonlight. He pulled Ariana into his side, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

The witch's body naturally relaxed into Lupin's, her eyes fluttering closed as she relished the warmth that seeped into her skin. For a moment, she simply remained cosied into his side, absent-mindedly fingering the hem of his tattered robes.

"Ariana," Remus began, looking her in the eyes, "what happened to your wand during the first task?"

Ariana shifted so she could look at the man, his arm still around her shoulders, running her fingers over her wand. "Unfortunately I don't know. Dumbledore recovered it and examined it overnight, but he never found any issues. Apparently someone must of summoned it and then fled the scene before they were caught."

Remus ran a hand over his face. "Someone is going to extraordinary lengths to try to harm you."

"I know," Ariana sighed. "There's nothing I can do now except attempt to survive."

Before the conversation continued, Ariana caught the scents of her friends, their breathing shallow. Hermione whisper-hissing protests and Harry goading Ron to leave was also audible, making Ariana's shoulders shake with silent laughter.

"I should probably return. I told the others I was going to the bathroom, and that was -" she glanced at Remus's watch and grimaced "- an hour and a half ago."

Remus chuckled musically. "I agree. You seem to be missed."

"Thank you. I shall have my nose in this book by one o'clock," Ariana laughed, brushing her dress off as she stood up.

"Isn't that quite early to begin reading?" Remus questioned with an amused smile, also getting to his feet.

As they approached the three Gryffindors, who were peering around a standing stone, Ariana spoke, "It doesn't bother me; I thrive well on little sleep."

Ariana and Remus arrived by the standing stone, the white-haired of the two stifled a laugh as Ron's face turned as purple as the dress robes he was wearing.

"We - uh - wondered where you were," he stuttered, embarrassed. "Hi... Professor Lupin?"

"Hello, Ron. Hello, Hermione, Harry," Remus chuckled. "Please, I'm not your Professor any longer, call me Remus or Lupin... Whichever you prefer. Harry, that was an brilliant performance during the first task, you could give your father a run for his money on a broom."

"Um, thank you," Harry said, still recovering from the shock.

"I should be on my way. Enjoy the remainder of the night. Stay safe," said Remus, shaking hands all round, aiming his last words at Harry, looking at him with kind eyes.

"Goodnight, Ariana," he smiled, placing a chaste kiss on her cheek.

The witch stood with her friends, her eyes following the retreating figure until he was swallowed by the darkness. She looked at her friends, each one having questioning looks upon their faces.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked, forehead creased.

"Let's return to the castle," Ariana said, hitching her dress up a little to walk up the slight hill to the covered bridge.

She knew this explanation was probably overdue but it had come out now, so she didn't have much of an option. Anyway, these were the three people she trusted most and they deserved an answer.