"Bonjour M. et Mme Malfoy, Draco. J'espère que vous allez bien?" Aria enquired softly when they answered the door.
"Very well, Aria. Come in." Narcissa greeted her warmly. "Where is your mother?" She asked as the four of them walked to the entrance hall in Malfoy Manor.
"She's running a bit late but should be here in a few minutes. She apologizes." Aria grinned, locking arms with Draco.
"Oh it's no problem," Narcissa waved the apology away. "Now why don't you two go with your friends from school?" She shooed the teens away, taking a sip from her wine glass.
Aria nodded and led Draco down the hall to where she knew their friends would be, her evening dress lightly trailing on the floor. Things were silent for a few moments until Aria broke it, looking at her friend in concern. "How are you?" She asked, soothingly rubbing his neck lightly with her fingers. He had closed his eyes at the contact but opened them when she spoke.
Draco considered his friend for a moment. He knew she wouldn't taunt him or humiliate him for showing his emotions because she was different from the rest of the Slytherins. She was kind; she cared, and would listen to all your problems and try to help you as much as she could to the best of her ability, never wanting anything in return – most of the time. Draco bit his lip and looked away from the pale green eyes that made him want to spill everything.
They stopped in the hall and Aria put a comforting hand on Draco's arm.
"I'm fine." Draco said but his suspiciously bright eyes told Aria he was not. She narrowed her eyes and tightened her hold on his elbow.
"No," She stated sharply. "You are not. Tell me what's bothering you." She added her voice soft and caring once more.
And he did. He mentioned how much he hated Vincent for dying on him, how much he regretted ever being eager to take the bloody dark mark. How sick he was of himself for torturing those during the war and how he just wished he could apologize to everyone – but he never would because he had too much pride. He went on and on until the weight on his shoulders disappeared and by the end of it, though he would late deny it, water tracks were flowing steadily down his cheeks.
Just the sight of Draco made tears spring to Aria's eyes and when she spoke in a whisper her voice trembled. "I – I'm so –" she choked up and just leaned her forehead on the side of his, kissing his cheek tenderly. He didn't have it the worst by far, but she was too compassionate to not feel for him.
"Let's get out of here, okay?" She said her voice fragile. "Come on, I'll lead."
So they walked through the garden looking at the beautiful albino peacocks, all the different plants and flowers and sat at the fountain in blissful silence for a few minutes. Before they entered the room where everyone else was waiting Aria finally stopped rubbing his neck and pointed her wand in his face. Instead of tensing up Draco just looked at her with his silver-blue eyes trustingly. She muttered a charm and his face was no longer pale with tear tracks, but instead back to a normal healthy glow.
Playfully she tousled his hair, laughing when he slapped her hand away, rolling his eyes with false irritation, a smile tugging at his lips. She kissed his cheek again and hooked their arms together.
"I forgot to tell you," He said casually as they entered the room. "You look beautiful." He said, looking at her appraisingly.
She glanced down at her black lace dress and smiled up at him. "Thank you, Mr. Malfoy." Aria said formally before breaking away from him to greet her year mate, Astoria. She was all too aware of his eyes on her. She glanced over her shoulder and winked, turning away before she could see his blush.
Blaise, Theodore, Daphne, and Astoria were the only ones they talked to anymore so they were the only ones who arrived.
"I'm going to change first." Aria said when they dragged out the alcohol. She decided to wear the dress to the ministry the next day so she didn't want drinks and vomit on it if they were going to get drunk.
She ran to the adult's room and popped her head in, smiling sheepishly when they all looked in her direction. "I… my bag mum?" she asked hurriedly, running to get it when she held it out. She left the room with a quick 'bye' and changed in the nearest room.
The five Slytherins were waiting in the same room, the air awkward. Aria winced; she knew it would be a boring quiet night getting drunk with everyone avoiding looking at each other.
"Want to just go out and have drinks?" she asked and they eagerly agreed.
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'
Aria whimpered at her pounding headache and rolled over on the floor, trying not to empty the contents of her stomach on the floor. She opened her eyes a fraction and saw Daphne and Astoria lying only a few feet away. The boys were nowhere in sight. After checking for their parents and where they were in the house she snuck into the bathroom, shocked when three boys turned her way, all brushing their teeth.
"Good morning," she sniffed, willing herself not to be embarrassed. It was hard when they gave her a suggestive smirk. Confused, she glanced down; mortified to see she was only in lingerie. Taking a calming breath she decided to just ignore it. Aria accio'ed her toothbrush and paste, quickly brushing her teeth and decided to skip washing her face, instead choosing to take a shower. She stepped into the shower and unbuttoned her black lace bra, throwing it over the curtain. She heard strangled noises and laughed silently, it served them right. Her matching knickers followed shortly after and she let her hair out of the bun she must have sloppily put it in the night before.
"Wha – what are you doing?" Theo asked, clearing his throat. Aria didn't respond right away, instead turning on the hot water before pulling the curtain back the slightest bit and poking her head out. She took great pleasure in watching their struggle.
"Just taking a shower," She shrugged innocently before giving them a playful smile and flirtatious wink. Blaise groaned and Draco flushed hotly. Theodore looked possessed with desire. Oh how fun it is to fuck with people's hormones. Shame on me, Aria thought.
"The things you do to us." The Italian sadly shook his head, a ghost of a smirk on his lips, unconsciously stepping forward.
"The things I could do to you." She purred seductively and trailed a finger down his naked chest slowly, scraping it with her nail ever so slightly, only to laugh when their pupils dilated. Triumphantly shutting the curtain again she got to take her shower. Once she was properly clean she shut the water off and grabbed a towel blindly. She wrapped it tightly around her and got out of the shower.
She froze though, when she saw the boys were still standing there in a daze and ogling at her, their eyes roaming.
"This is weird now." She said flatly and pinned them with a pointed stare, "Out. Now."
When they failed to leave like she ordered she opened the door and walked out herself in search for her bag. After drying her body and hair she carefully put her dress back on and got to putting on some light make-up which consisted of a thin line of eye liner and light pink lipstick.
Aria didn't do anything with her hair, she thought she looked fine with her long wavy hair pooling over her shoulders.
Feeling hungry, Aria made her way towards the dining room where she knew breakfast would be waiting for them all.
"Decided not to wait?" She asked dryly, watching the boys warily and they kept piling things on their plate. Since they weren't in a room of hundreds they could act however they wanted and it seemed like they were taking advantage of the situation.
They gave her wolfish grins while the two sisters barely lifted their heads, too tired to even blink in greeting. Rolling her eyes fondly, Aria tucked in.
Conversation was so loud and boisterous that it was a miracle their parents didn't wake.
"You know," Blaise said around a spoonful of scrambled eggs. "I've been whomping my willow over you."
Aria started in surprise, knocking her cup of tea over. Thankfully she had drunk most of it so it was only a small spill. She sneered distastefully at Blaise who couldn't stop laughing. "I don't see what was so funny." She said coolly, averting her eyes.
"Your face was priceless! It was the perfect mix of shock, surprise, disgust and mortification." He laughed helplessly.
"Well, you're one of my best friends; you're not supposed to tell me you've been 'whomping you willow'. Especially over me!" She said hotly, glaring harshly at the two sisters who were shaking with muted laughter.
"It was a compliment! And besides, I'm not the only one!" He said, dragging his two mates into it.
Aria sniffed, trying not to smile. "Boys." She rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I could live without them."
"It's your fault you know," Theo said sulkily, eyes gleaming mischievously.
"No it's not. I was only teasing. It's not my fault that you guys are constantly horny. But it's okay, I don't blame you, it's just puberty." She nodded in an understanding manner, smirking when the boys grew quiet and awkward. The sight made her want to cackle out loud but she had some reservations. Apparently the Greengrass sisters did not.
The two sisters were still cackling in an insane manner when the Greengrasses, the Malfoy's and Mrs. Willow and Mrs. Nott entered the room, watching them in amusement.
"Having fun?" Narcissa asked them amusedly, observing the way they all froze and looked on with a 'deer in headlights' expression.
"You didn't hear all of that, did you?" Daphne blurted out, and closed her eyes at her own mistake of implying that they did something wrong.
The adults raised their eye brows and looked unimpressed.
The six teens avoided looking at each other and just let the silence stretch on, unwilling to give out information until the conversation subject eventually changed.
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'
Aria and her mother left Malfoy Manor at eleven so they would have time to go shopping in Diagon Alley before the ceremony the Ministry was having for those that were lost during the Final Battle started. Since Aria had recently turned seventeen and got her Apparation license she opted to apparate alone and meet her mother there at the apparation point.
They went to Gringotts first.
When it was their turn with the teller they requested endless money pouches. The process required a few drops of blood but after that they would never have to return to Gringotts again because the pouches were connected to all Willow and Mason vaults.
"Thank you!" Aria said cheerily to the goblin who, in turn, sneered at her contemptuously. She ignored that.
"I'm going to head to WWW." Aria told her mum.
"Alright, after that though, meet me at Madame Malkins."
Aria hummed and slowly made her way towards the Weasley Twins joke shop. She stopped right outside of it though, her heart aching, her breath short and her eyes stinging. There was no more 'twins' just one half forever missing his other.
Aria sniffled and wiped her nose with a conjured tissue. She took a moment to collect herself before pushing the door open. It was thriving just like it was during her fifth year but the building somehow seemed empty. There were no red-haired twins joking around, only a weirdly dressed blonde girl at the register. Fighting down the pity she felt towards the Weasley family for their loss she collected a heaping pile of joke toys, fireworks, canary creams disguised as custard creams and a number of other things.
The cashier went wide eyed when she saw the amount of items Aria planned to buy but that didn't stop her from bagging the items. Aria shrunk the bag that had an endless bottom and put it in her cloaks pocket.
The rest of the time flew by and before she knew it the ceremony was beginning. Hundred people were gathered in the Ministry when they arrived and they were escorted to their seats somewhere in the middle.
Shortly after, Minister Shacklebolt cast a Sonorus Charm on himself and cleared his throat.
"We are gathered here today…" He said in his deep powerful voice that had the crowd entranced. "To mourn those we lost not even a month ago. To mourn those who gave their lives, to ultimately protect our own…" and so the ceremony continued on for the next few hours. A statue replaced the old 'Might is Magic' one, only this one was very plain, except for the names that were expertly carved into it elegantly.
The names of the hero's who laid down their lives.
Aria and everyone in the Ministry bowed their heads in a moment of silence.
They were only about twenty second into the full minute before an ear splitting bang erupted all around them and chaos ensued.
Janet Willow grabbed her daughters arm to hold her upright when the floor shook and the walls blasted inwards. Shields were rapidly put up by those attending the ceremony but a few were so taken by surprise they had no time to react and were lifted off their feet when the debris hit them.
Everyone was in panic mode. A fair few disapparated away, frightened, but even more stayed, determined to fight; to protect.
Aria unsheathed her wand from its invisible holster attached to her right thigh and once the fog cleared, began throwing curses so rapidly they were a blur. Her expert aim ensured she hit most of her targets.
Most people were running now but the two Willows stood back to back, protecting each other. Different arrays of colors were whizzing by every second and it would have been very beautiful if it wasn't such a serious situation and most of those lights weren't deadly, Aria thought.
"Fuck," Aria gasped when a cutting curse caught her in the stomach. She healed it slightly with a messy healing charm that would hold until she had time to get proper medical attention.
The magic cackled in the air dangerously and the shouting and screams never stopped. The sounds tore at every nerve in Aria's body.
Her Entrail-Expelling Curse collided with a solid red light and the two exploded violently, leaving a shower of sparks raining down on everybody.
Another solid red light headed in her direction and Aria began to suspect this person was singling her out on purpose. Taking a quick look around it seemed most of the fighting moved onto different levels in the Ministry, and, thinking quickly, Aria grabbed her mother's hand tightly and the two of them ran for the elevator. Once they were safely in she forcefully shut the doors manually and repeatedly pressed number nine, all the while their pursuers were gaining on them. Her mother had erected a shield charm so the multitude of curses that flew at them harmlessly deflected off and finally the elevator descended down. They held onto the safety ropes due to the jerkiness of the ride down to the Department of Mysteries.
The doors opened and they scrambled out, looking around wearily with their wands held steadily. Seeing no one Aria finally let her pain be known and let out a moan, feebly clutching at her stomach. The wound was bleeding freely again. Her mother worriedly pushed aside her tattered dress robes and carefully chanted a healing incantation.
"Vulnera Sanentur… Vulnera Sanentur… Vulnera Sanentur…"
Aria's blood was slowly being sucked back into her body and she inhaled lightly, trying to get her heart rate back to normal.
"Thanks mum –!" Aria yelped when her mother forcefully pushed her out of the way of a neon purple curse flying by and her blood grew cold when she identified what the Dark Curse effects were.
Her head swiveled around and her eyes went wide when she saw Fenrir Greyback and a couple of Death Eaters charging right at them. The werewolf let out an impressive growl that sounded real even though he was technically human at that moment and pounced. His yellow and dirt stained nails slashed at the side of her throat and he when tried to rip through her jugular with his teeth, she curled her fingers like a hook and dug them into his eyes. She gagged when one popped out of its socket and didn't even try to go for the other one.
Greyback howled in pain and pressed his hand against his empty, bloody, eye socket. He bared his yellow broken teeth and went for another bite after several moments of whining.
"Avada Kedavra!" Aria rasped in panic, and he dropped to the floor with a dull thud. Everyone stilled and looked at her in disbelief. She herself was disbelieving of her own actions but didn't have time to mull over it at that particular moment. Only after she incarcerated two Death Eaters did they snap into action. She and her mother ran through random room after random room with the Death Eaters hot on their heels shooting curses over their heads as they constantly missed. They ended up in the Time Chamber, knocking over important looking shelves and devices as they were slowly back into a wall.
Lip quivering, Aria grabbed hold of her mother's hand and held on tightly, feeling comforted when her mother squeezed her hand gently. Everything was alright because her mother was here. So long as she wasn't alone…
Aria was having a difficult time trying to breathe due to all the running and the long slashes in her neck that were starting to clot. Her whole front was caked in her own blood that was starting to dry, flaking away a bit and her neck felt numb. She was surprised she was conscious actually, but supposed it was because of the adrenaline that was starting to wear off, leaving her exhausted.
A powerful banishing charm that produced a blinding white light was sent their way at high speed and neither of them could stop it in time.
The charm sent them flying backwards and through a couple shelves and into a shelf propped up against a wall. It knocked the breath out of them and Aria was really having a hard time breathing now, only able to inhale a little bit of air every couple minutes. She was oblivious to the crashing sounds of broken glass and couldn't feel the sand sticking to their bodies and was unable to see the whirlwind of time sand rushing around them like a tornado.
"Aria!" her mother screamed in alarm. "ARIA!" Janet felt for a pulse blindly while trying to keep a wary eye on the whirling sand and didn't know whether to cry in relief or shout in panic when she felt a very faint pulse that was slowing down every minute.
The wind blew her hair wildly around her face and chunks of it kept getting caught in her mouth but she paid it no attention, too worried about her daughter to bring herself to care. She cradled Aria in her arms, whispering tearful prayers.
Hardly noticing the sand had settled Janet gathered her strength and magic, apparating to St. Mungo's.
She rushed to the fourth floor and burst into the room, startling Healer Smethwyck who was checking over a patients update list.
The healer zeroed in on the gory girl and put her on a free bed quickly, scanning over her injuries.
"What happened?" He asked, whispering a spell to get rid of the blood so he could see the actual damage done.
"She was attacked by a werewolf in his human form but this man was so savage he was practically a wolf still." Janet explained as quickly as she could. The healer looked at her, surprised. Not once had he heard of a werewolf so far gone that he acted like one while still human.
"Do you think there will be any lasting affects?" She asked, swallowing thickly, knowing that there would be lasting effects. Bill Weasley was proof of that, having had the same thing happen to him, only his face was mauled, not his neck. And all she knew was that he had a thing for rare steaks and it was a possibility he was more irritable during the full moon. She didn't know for sure though, never coming in contact with him and only hearing the speculating rumors.
"I'm not for certain but I do think there will be lasting effects. We'll have to wait and see…" He said slowly after a few minutes of silence, that time used to stable his newest patient. Healer Smethwyck had to put her into a magically induced coma so that she wouldn't feel any of the pain and thrash around while he tried to heal her. That would set them back, maybe too far.
It was a nerve wracking three hours for Aria's mum as she paced restlessly and constantly worried about her daughter condition. Her stomach flip flopped and she had a hard time not throwing up when the Healer told her to come back in. She hesitantly pulled back her curtains and was greeted with the sight of her still sleeping daughter.
"I thought it would be best for her to see a familiar face upon wakening." Smethwyck answered her questioning wake. He chanted the incantation and Aria found herself slowly waking up. While she took her time waking up the healer explained the effects he thought the girl might experience.
"I speculate that around the full moon, due to the severity of the injuries inflicted on her, she will feel violently ill like all other werewolves, only she won't transform because she wasn't bitten while the man was in his werewolf form. She will most likely be highly irritable and probably won't be able to sleep properly the day before the full moon, the day of the full moon and the day after." He sighed wearily. "If the damage wasn't as bad as it was I doubt she would have those afflictions but I'm afraid she just might… It was really unpleasant." He admitted.
Janet hung her head and rubbed at her eyes tiredly, hoping her daughter would wake up already to tell her how she was feeling. She blinked the blurriness away and finally took a good look around the hospital that didn't seem as old as before. There weren't as many patients in this ward as there used to be either. An unsettling weight planted itself in her stomach and she took a good look at the healer. The much younger healer, she noticed.
"Oh my god…" She moaned, resting her head in her hands, wondering when the unpleasant surprises were going to stop. They had been in the Time Chamber. They had an accident in the Time Chamber. Sand fell on them and around them and created a violent tornado they were encased in before it abruptly stopped.
Janet could only wonder how far back into the past they were.
She turned away from Smethwyck and hurriedly cast a charm that would tell her the date.
Her heart nearly failed her.
August 21, 1977
Just them Aria cracked her eyes open experimentally and took in her mum's frozen state, ignoring the Healer's questions as she too froze in shock.
They were in 1977? Bloody Hell…
She closed her eyes and hoped it was all just a dream.
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'
Back in 1998
`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'
"What do you mean they've dissapeared?" Blaise asked, his voice tight with anger and his arms crossed over his chest, his muscles tense.
"They were in the Time Chamber, it's a mess," The unspeakable said. "The Death Eaters confessed under Veritaserum that the sand whirled around them and then they dissapeared. Were investigating it now and will notify you as soon as we make a breakthrough."
The unspeakable spun on the spot and apparated to the Ministry, leaving ten very upset people behind.