HELLO! This is my very first one shot, but if enough people want, I might turn into a proper fic. You know what to do…

She sat there, next to the bed, waiting. It was inevitable, but it had not happened yet. It might only be a few more minutes, or it could take another week. Nobody really knew. She could only wait.

Suddenly the figure on the bed opened her eyes. Ariadne Simmons caught her breath. "Mother?" she whispered.

Anyone watching the pair would have been surprised at this, for the two could not have been less like each other. Ariadne had long dark hair, was tallish and skinny, and her face was thin and beautifully pale. The figure on the bed, however, was blonde-haired, medium-skinned and plump, though thinner than usual, because of the sickness that plagued her. The only thing the two of them shared was their blue eyes, but even these were different. Roberta Simmons eyes were brilliantly light, Ariadne's hauntingly dark.

"Aria," croaked the woman, then swallowed and continued, a little stronger. "I fear I have not been a very good parent to you. Do forgive me."

"Of course," murmured Ariadne, tears creeping into the corners of her eyes.

"Aria," continued her mother, "I know I will soon leave this place. So, before I go, I give you the house, and all my possessions. I will not need them."

"Yes," Aria said, "but, Mother, what will I do without you?" The tears were now falling down her cheeks. "I won't be safe anymore, now that the war has started!" she gestured around the room, as if to prove her point.

All around the hospital ward they were in were signs of it. Next to Roberta's bed was a woman bitten by a werewolf, and across from them was a boy of about nine, who had been the victim of a poorly performed Imperius Curse.

Roberta sighed and closed her eyes. Aria watched her fearfully for a moment, terrified. The bed-ridden woman slowly opened her eyes and looked at her daughter.

"Aria," she said softly. The girl leaned in a little closer to her. "I've kept a secret from you ever since you were born … about … your father."

Aria froze. "You said you didn't know who my father was," she whispered.

"I said that to keep you safe," her mother hissed. "But I must tell you now, before I leave you."

"Keep me safe from what?" questioned Aria. But her mother shook her head.

"I cannot tell you. You will know. But listen to me," she was barely speaking now, "you have to know who he was…"

"Who, Mother?"

"Him." was her answer. Aria was confused. Him who?

"Mother?" she asked.

Roberta Simmons took her last breath and after 18 years revealed her secret.

"You-Know-Who."

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