~Six

Ariana

I slumped, smelling salty air, as Hermione called something I couldn't hear, coming down to the ground next to me, and calling my name. Light suddenly fell upon us, and I heard a gasp, then I was in someone's arms, we were moving, there was loud sound everywhere…

"Ariana, can you hear me?" I heard Hermione ask, and I forced my fluttering eyelids open. Hermione looked incredibly pale, there was a scratch on her cheek, but other than that, she looked alright. I could hear shouts outside, but I couldn't decipher them.

"We got out," I breathed hoarsely, gasping in pain as someone cast a spell, magic leaving to make room, and a French voice swearing in surprise. There was a flurry of speech between Hermione and the woman, and then she bent over me again.

"Yes, everyone is fine, how are you feeling?" Hermione looked incredibly pale and scared.

"I'm not sure," I replied, my voice rasping. It felt swollen and raw from screaming so much. Hermione's hands shot out to stop me as I made my shaking limbs move, sitting up, my head spinning. "Ariana, you were hurt, please lay back down!" Hermione said anxiously, as the other woman in the room retreated. I let her push me down to a sitting position, still trembling. My whole body felt like I had beaten and pummeled, it was aching with soreness. I closed my eyes tiredly and Hermione started to weep quietly, so I weakly snatched her hand.

"Hermione, I'm alright, please," I whispered, but she shook her head fiercely, wiping at her eyes.

"You were so brave, and strong, and-" she hiccupped and buried her face in her hands.

After a moment, I forced back the covers and staggered to my feet, leaning on the bed post. My whole body felt weak and shaky, like I had just run for miles and miles. There was dried blood cracking on the sides of my face, my arm, and my neck as I faced Hermione, who had come around to support me, her eyes still puffy. She said nothing, but helped me outside after I insisted; where there was a crowd of people surrounding a small mound of earth.

"I'm alright," I said quietly, and Hermione slowly let go, expecting me to crumple again. I wanted to, but I stayed upright as everyone who had known the elf who had died said a few words. As the people passed us, I got strange looks. Obviously, someone had told them in the basement of that manor who I was, because they were looking straight into my eyes and then whispering. Hermione gently poked me, and I smiled weakly at her, and turned to go, my feet feeling unsteady beneath me. Hermione had to catch my arm four times on the way back to the cottage, and I denied Ron's request if I needed any help after I stumbled, wobbling dangerously.

Hermione almost pushed me onto a sofa in the little living room, and then sat next to me, as if to make sure I didn't get up again. I didn't want to; my head was pounding again, almost daring me to tell them of what I had seen in that manor. The memory made me want to cry. A man with a deeply scarred face talked to Harry as he appeared in the doorway, his face pale but set. His face was no longer under the stinging hex from the last time I had seen it. He went into the kitchen as Hermione stood to talk with Ron. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, shattered of all energy. The attacks had been deeply intense, and I'm sure the pain was double that of the actual spell because of them.

"Harry, what the hell is going on?" a male voice asked, "You turn up here with a dead house elf and a half conscious goblin, that girl with you looks like she's been tortured to the brink of death, and Ron's just refused to tell me anything—" I stopped listening and slowly stood up, ignoring the look I got from Hermione, and came over.

"You alright?" Ron asked quietly as I joined them. I nodded softly, but he looked unconvinced as Harry came over and as I grasped the wall for support.

"How are you?" he asked me, some of the color back in his face, and he looked worried. "You were amazing—you didn't give anything away when she was hurting you like that--" He stopped awkwardly but I gave him a weak smile, still picturing the vision I had seen in my head. It had to be a lie, I had to be wrong. If it wasn't I was determined to change the future, no matter what it took.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I went back upstairs, following the man with many scars who I realized had to be a relative of Ron-their similarities were striking. Hermione made me sit once more, this time in the chair in the upstairs room, and I barely listened to the conversation between Harry, Ron, Hermione and the Goblin, nor the one with them and Ollivander. Finally, we strode out into the garden, my feet much more sure now, and Harry told us that Voldemort had the Elder Wand. For a moment, no one spoke.

"Ariana…I heard Bellatrix say something about you having a vision at the manor…and we heard you saying things. You said you would rather die." Hermione trailed off pathetically as I lurched, I couldn't help it. The picture's I had seen I realized had to come true. If it was from my point of view again, and if I had known about Harry dying before I saw his body…

"I did have a vision," I whispered, staring out at the sea, the borrowed dressing gown I was wearing whipping around my ankles in the salty air. "But…I can't tell you what it was. I'm sorry." I bit my lip, feeling my fingers start to tremble. If I told them now…

"Why?" Harry asked immediately, "You were screaming 'no' at the manor, what was it, what could you have possibly seen to react that way?" he pressed. He reminded me of the woman, Bellatrix, and I felt the blood run from my face. Had I really spoken out loud? I could remember doing that for any vision I had ever had. That didn't sound like a vision at all. It sounded like the beginnings of a prophecy, which were more likely to come true…and Bellatrix and Hermione had said that I had spoken out loud, said that I would rather die. How much did I actually narrate?

"I can't," I heard myself say, even though tears were starting to boil over my eyelids, and I was suddenly shaking violently. I quickly closed my eyes as my grief for things to come took over, letting the magic lose. It happened so fast, I almost didn't feel it, until I heard screams in my head and realized they were mine again. Voices shouted, vibrations passed through the ground, but I was no longer there as my insides froze again.

Goblins were shouting as a dragon roared, its eyes milky and blind, stretching its wings and taking off in a dark stone tunnel, four people holding on for dear life as the dragon rose, rocks and dust falling away. It breathed a huge plume of fire, scattering goblins everywhere, strange clanking noises being drowned out by the dragons roars. The wizards on its back were helping to blast away rocks from a small hole, some of the spells so powerful, they shook the cavern they were in as they found their mark…Then they were blasting into a white marble hall, wizards and goblins diving for cover behind elegant granite counters. The dragon seemed to sniff, then turn to mangle steel doors apart, staggering into a wide street lined with different shops and stores. Then, it raised its wings and launched into the sky. The ground rapidly fell away as the dragon climbed higher and higher-

"Ariana!" Someone bellowed in fear, and with one final bang, the magic stopped, as did the incredible pains that had been wracking my body. I could smell grass, and my whole body hurt. That attack had been so intense, so…strong. It scared me. Why were the attacks changing, getting stronger? I rested briefly, then, realizing I was on my side, I groaned in pain as I lifted my head, and then gasped in shock.

A huge circle of white hot fire surrounded me, people shouting on the other side, trying to cast water to remove it, but the water turned to steam, vaporizing as soon as it touched the flames. My whole body shaking from the vision, I slowly staggered to my feet, and drew my wand. I was the only one who had gotten their original wand back from the manor. "D-defodio!" I cried, using the spell I had seen in the vision and the fire shook, but didn't break. It's got to be dragon fire, the kind that can burn forever…what stops it, what stops it? My brain reeled frantically as my body was wracked with shaking again, and an idea snapped into my head. My fits were of magic. If I could channel the now more intense magic to make my spell stronger, considering the magic was so forceful…

"Aguamenti!" I whispered as I couldn't hold onto the magic any longer, instead, I shoved it through my hand, into the wand—A huge torrent of water came blasting out the tip, and the sizzle it made when it hit the fire made the ground tremble. All the fire was extinguished, leaving a brown circle in the grass. I swayed and dropped my wand as people came running over, shouting questions, holding me up as my knees started to bend under the pressure.

"What did they do to her?!" asked Bill, looking sickened as Hermione put an arm around my shoulders cautiously.

"Ariana, what did you see this time?" Ron asked, looking awed. "Because you started shooting fire, what was it?"

"Dragon, it had to be." Hermione said on my left, a firm hand under my elbow, supporting me.

"If-if we go to G-gringotts, we won't need G-griphook's help." I said faintly, staring across the land, exhausted. All the people I didn't know looked at us strangely. Or maybe they were just afraid of the shrieking girl who had spouted fire.

"I thought they were going on a secret mission from Dumbledore, not robbing banks!" one whispered furiously to a blond girl.

"Why won't we need him?" Harry asked patiently, but he looked scared to be so close to me. I honestly didn't blame him. If I had been shooting fire without a wand, how more dangerous could I become? And why was the fit worse this time? Were they going to get worse, was I going to have more prophecies? I shook my head weakly to clear it.

"We were all on a d-dragon." I said as clearly as possible, but it came out as a whisper.

"Sorry?" Ron asked, looking appalled. "Did you just say we leave by dragon?!"

"Yes." I said quietly, as Harry took my other elbow, and they led me gingerly back up to the cottage. "And we did it, you had the t-thing in your hand, you k-know what I mean." I said, starting to understand that the people around us weren't supposed to know. Harry's grip slackened for a second in surprise, before Hermione steered me to the couch.

"Harry, I don't know what's wrong with her, but do you honestly think she should be indoors? I think she'd be better off at St. Mungo's." Bill asked anxiously, an arm around Fleur. He glanced at me, then looked away.

"We're leaving anyway." Harry insisted, and so I stood up (making most everyone in the room back away) and gently took off the dressing gown and folded it neatly, then placed it on the coffee table. Harry, Ron and Hermione split up, scrambling around the house to get ready, leaving me alone in the room with Fleur, Bill, and the rest of the people from the manor house.

"I'm sorry f-for what I've done here, and if I f-frightened any of you." I said softly yet clearly to the group of people fidgeting nervously in my presence. I felt a huge pang of sadness. These people were afraid of me now; they thought I was a freak. Harry, Ron and Hermione came shooting down the stairs, saving them from answering, and me from my thoughts. Ron was dressed ridiculously, in a beard and thick clothing, with a huge hat, while Hermione was wearing a set of black, imposing robes that billowed around her as they came to a stop. Hermione had a glass in her hand, and it looked like Polyjuice Potion.

"Bill, Fleur, everyone…thanks." Harry said lamely, and then steered me gently out the door, and into the garden, Hermione and Ron following. Hermione had Bellatrix's wand in her hand, and I realized what they were doing.

"Brilliant." I said quietly as Hermione gulped down the potion, looking revolted as she quickly changed into the imposing Bellatrix Lestrange, making me flinch. But miraculously, the magic didn't react, but it stirred, like a restless animal. It was changing rapidly, doing different things than I was used to. Could I control it?

"Now, Ariana, you and I will be under the cloak. If you think you are going to have an attack, you have to tell us." Harry said seriously, throwing the cloak over me, then ducking underneath, having to duck to stay under. All I wanted to do was sleep for the next 7 days, but I knew that wasn't an option. We walked past the boundaries of the Shell Cottage before Harry took my hand and Disapparated. After the second of darkness, we arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, a bar I had only seen when I was very little, when I was getting my first wand and supplies for school. Hermione and Ron were already there, and Harry and I jogged for a few seconds to keep up with them, wands drawn.

As we entered Diagon Alley, I got a shock. Harry's face was glaring down at us, and the happy, bustling street I had remembered was gone, and blearily empty. I felt the magic come, but I shoved it away, and to my surprise, it went back to my core and stayed there, strengthening, like I was going to use it in a spell again. Snapping out of it, I drew up short as a voice called out to us. "Why, Madam Lestrange!" The voice called, and I recognized it as it chuckled. Whoever it was, they had been in the manor that night. I racked my mind frantically, I hadn't been able to focus that well, but I had sworn that I had heard a names…without warning, I dragged Harry forward so I could whisper to Hermione, "That's Travers, he's a D-death Eater!" as quietly as I was capable. Hermione gave no indication that she had heard but a graceful flick of her head.

As Travers accompanied us to Gringotts, I couldn't help but feel a pang of panic. How were we going to get rid of him?