AN: Written for round ten of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition.

Prompt: Ariana Dumbledore (Portrait)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Hope you like it.

She hadn't had the best life as a child. In fact, she didn't even really have much of a life at all. But at least it was hers, and then it was over. Arianna Dumbledore had long since passed on, leaving nothing to remember her by but a portrait of her that hung in her brother's rooms.

Ariana wished she could still see the world. Unfortunately, she could only listen to the stories Aberforth told her. Nevertheless, she knew a great deal for a portrait; her brother had told her everything he deemed important. She knew when Albus became a professor, and later headmaster, of Hogwarts. She knew when there was a war going on. She knew when there had been attacks and when there had been victories.

Ariana very rarely spoke, maybe because that's how it had been while she was living, or maybe because she never felt the need. When she did speak, she spoke only to Aberforth in a soft tone that carried throughout the room. Aberforth, she knew, did not mind; he enjoyed the quiet company she provided.

It was shortly after Christmas when he came through the passageway for the first time, and she certain that Aberforth was ready to curse him. The boy handed over his wand and explained the desperate situation that the Hogwarts students found themselves in. When he asked for help, he did not beg - perhaps , she thought, he was too proud to do so. Ariana took another look at his face and threw away that idea. He did not want to beg, but to help his classmates, he was preparing to.

Before he could, Aberforth agreed to help him. Ariana smiled despite the horrible situation. For the first time in a long time, her brother was standing up for something he truly believed in. She and Aberforth both knew what would happen if he was caught, but as he started to make plans with the boy, she knew he had decided that it was worth the risk.

Since now they both knew that there was a passageway hidden behind her frame, the second time he showed up was not as much of a shock. The boy, she decided, couldn't really be called that. He was at least seventeen by the looks of him and he had already seen too much for his age. The young man gathered what Aberforth had for him, thanked him and started to leave. Before he left, Aberforth asked him for his name. The young man smiled slightly. "Longbottom," he said, then he disappeared.

For months he came in, sometimes bringing another student with him, always looking worse than the last time she had seen him. They had almost made it through April without any out of the ordinary problems when he came in again. When she saw him, Ariana couldn't help but gasp. Along the side of his face appeared as if it had been sliced open. The still bleeding wound was ignored as he explained that they were running low on supplies again. Arianna saw her brother take a breath before asking what had happened to him. The man was hesitant at first but then quickly explained the horrors that were the Carrows. She hadn't seen her brother that angry in a long time, but he quickly closed the wound and cleaned the blood away. The man said nothing but his gratitude was conveyed through the look in his eyes. He quietly took the supplies Aberforth gave him and slipped back into the passageway.

It was a little over a week later when the Hogsmeade alarms started to pierce the air with their screeching. She watched as her brother carefully snuck out of his pub to find whoever had set them off. Aberforth returned moments later, three teenagers following him. One of them she knew must be Harry Potter, he had been described to her before, the mess of black hair, the vivid green eyes, the glasses. That meant that the other two must be his friends who were listed with him on the wanted posters. She watched the exchange carefully and when Aberforth sent her away, she knew exactly where she was going.

Although she had never tried to follow the Longbottom man, she somehow still managed to successfully appear in the right room on her first try. The room was full of students and makeshift beds were laying around everywhere. She glanced around, none of these children had any light or innocence left in their eyes. They were holding on by a thread, none of them had much hope left. The man she was looking for noticed her almost immediately. She motioned for him to follow her and turned back around, her last sight being him excusing himself from his friends. She reappeared in her frame in her brother's rooms only seconds before it was pushed out to allow the student entrance. His arrival was met with shock from the other three teenagers. In any other situation, Ariana believed that the reunion between them would have been met with lots of smiles and laughs. Now though, although the relief of seeing each other alive was evident, there was no laughter, and very few smiles. The four of them said their goodbyes, and started the trek back towards the castle. Ariana prayed that they would win. When she glanced at Aberforth, she knew that he was doing the same thing.

Later, after the battle had been won, Aberforth would tell her everything he had tried to do to help Potter. She already knew all these things of course, since her brother seemed to forget that he often spoke in his sleep. But she would still listen to everything her brother had to say, fully aware that not everyone had that privilege anymore.

AN: Hope you liked it.

Reviews are always nice :)