Aria Black and the Battle for Hogwarts

Christmas Break

ARIA'S POV

Slughorn's classroom is gloomier than I remember. He himself is thinner, and never smiles. "Hello Aria. Nice of you to stop by." He says.

"I had a question sir." I say politely.

Sluggy nods, gesturing for me to continue.

"Is there an antidote for the Draught of the Living Death?"

He frowns. "Surely you know this, Aria!" Seeing my blank expression, he said, "oh, alright! There is none. Many have tried to create one, but with no such luck."

"No one?" I ask hopelessly.

"No one." He confirms.

Great.

"Oh..." I say. "I'd um... better go. I've got classes to-"

***

Christmas creeps around the corner, and Snape has spoken to me about my lack of attendance to the Feasts. So, here I am, at the Feast, listening to the students look around uncomfortably, unable to speak their mind freely.

This is the worst time for Fred, George, and Lee to not be here. Hogwarts needs cheering up. Hagrid, who isn't attending the Feasts as well, is grudgingly here. He's on my right, fake gnawing on a chicken leg.

"How's Fang?" I ask him quietly.

" 'e's a smart dog." Hagrid says. He glares across the table at Snape. "knows somethin's wrong."

I fold my hands in my lap, hiding them under the table. I change the banners to say, 'Harry Potter'.

Snape stands up angrily. "Anyone responsible for this shall be severely punished." He says, practically killing the students with his eyes. Snape lifts his hands and swipes the benches back, dumping all the students on their butts. Daphne throws out a curse.

I look for Ginny in the crowd, but she's nowhere to be found. As the students march back to their dormitories, I yank Neville out of the fray. "What the...?"

"Where's Ginny?" I ask. "Is she okay?"

His face softens. "She claimed she didn't feel good and chased off to the girls' dormitories so I couldn't follow her."

"Thanks. You'd better-"

"What is this?" The evil smirk of Amycus Carrow appears in the doorway, accompanied by his ugly face.

"I previously had Longbottom for detention." I say. "Speaking out in class, you know? So I was warning him that he'd better not do it again. New term, new start, correct Longbottom?"

He hastily nods.

"Longbottom." Amycus hisses. "Leave."

Neville scuffles out of the room hurriedly.

"I-"

"Don't think we're not watching you, Black. Snape only wants to keep you around to keep an eye on you. One more toe out of line and I'll have Greyback on your doorstep, Snape's approval or not."

"I'd better watch my blood traitor ass then." I say. "And speaking of, you can kiss mine goodbye."

***

Fred. I wonder what he's doing... Probably being stupid with George and Lee.

I apparate outside Angelina's beautiful house. Her father is a Muggle, and her mother, a witch.

"Aria!" 12 year old Allie Johnson squeals as she opens the door. Allie is Angelina's Muggle sister. She's full of color and brightness, always smiling and wearing neon. Allie is short for her age, only reaching about 4'7.

I bend down to her level and say, "Hey Allie."

She wraps her arms around my waist. "C'mon! Angie's been crabby lately. Maybe you can tell her to play chess with me!"

"Doesn't Connor play with you?" I ask.

Connor is 16, and also a Muggle. He's socially awkward, and always creepily checks me out.

Allie makes a face. "Connor? He's always in his room reading!"

I smile. "In that case I'll put in a request. Are you excited for her baby?"

"Yep! She says it's a girl named Roxanne. I'm gonna be an aunt!"

"Allie? Do you have to be so loud?" Angelina yells.

Allie gives me a, 'I told you so' look. "ARIA'S HERE!!" She yells.

I make my way up the luxurious staircase to Angelina's room. It has been a while since I've been here. I sigh. A lot happened in here... Angelina told me about her crush on George. I came clean about my parents and Remus's lycanthropy.

"Memories, huh?" Angelina says.

She has a piece of pie and a can of whipped cream in her hand. Her face is tired, and her dark circles are purple. Angelina's belly is huge, like a watermelon. She wears fuzzy pajama pants and her hair is up in a messy bun.

"Those Muggles know how to make a pregnant woman happy." She says, squirting the whipped cream into her mouth.

I laugh. "How are you?"

"I'm a pregnant teenager whose boyfriend is off risking his life in the war. C'mon Aria. Usually sarcasm is your thing." Angelina smiles.

I smirk. "Honestly, what's pregnancy like?"

"Painful. But I do like feeling Roxanne kick." Angelina says. "How's Hogwarts?"

"Dreadful. Absolutely dreadful." I tell her. "But Ginny and many others have started Dumbledore's Army back up again."

She gasps. "That's dangerous!"

"I can't stop them. But it makes Snape crazy. And..." I sigh. "I met Ariel."

"Who?"

"A friend of my mother's. She's powerful, but I don't know how. She refused to tell me unless I brought back an antidote to the Draught of the Living Death."

Angelina frowns. "There isn't one..."

"Exactly! She's deliberately leading me away so I don't go back. How my mother was ever friends with her-"

"Aria, don't you get it?" Angelina asks.

I shake my head.

"She's testing you. Your wits, your determination! If you come back to persuade her, you're determined. If you figure out a solution, you're witty. Ariel is seeing how much you really want to know the juicy details she possesses!"

Realization crosses over me. Angelina was right.

"I'll kill her!" I cry. "This isn't a time to mess around!"

"She's taking desperate measures, Aria. In her mind, this is the most important step to trusting you. People like Ariel want to know exactly what they're dealing with. She doesn't feel as if she can even speak with you unless she trusts you."

I look at her, an awestruck image planted on my face. "You're smarter than me even when you're pregnant!"

"Must be the hormones..." She says, laughing.