A/N: So, still no internet at my house. Hopefully sometime this week or next. I ended up rewriting this chapter 3 times, I hope you are pleased with it. Enjoy!

It was two days before Arianna woke up, and in those two days, Albus rarely left her side. He wanted to be there when she woke up; he wanted to be the first one she saw. His father had spoken to Madame Pomfrey and McGonagall and they allowed him to stay with Arianna.

Albus was sitting by her, about to doze off, when he heard her mumble something. That was the first sound she had made since they brought her to the hospital wing; she hadn't even moved. Sitting up, he grabbed her hand. "Arianna? Can you hear me?" he whispered to her.

She didn't make a sound, and she didn't move, but he knew he heard something. She looked so beautiful and peaceful lying there, with her long brown hair splayed out on her pillow, her face looked relaxed, and the bruises and cuts were already healing.

"Hey Al, we brought your homework," Scor said as he and Rose walked into the hospital wing. Since Arianna was attacked, they had started talking again, but Al could tell Rose was only doing it because of Arianna. She would need all of her friends when she woke up.

"Scor, Rose, she mumbled something! I know she did!"

Running over, they stopped at her bed, looking longingly at her, waiting for her to move or say something. "Al, I don't think—"

"Rose, I know what I heard, and it was Arianna. Come on RiRi, please, say something." There was still nothing. He knew he wasn't going crazy. "RiRi, if you can hear me, can you squeeze my hand?"

They all looked at their clasped hands, waiting for a sign. Al closed his eyes, and laid his head on her bed, when he felt the slightest pressure squeeze his hand. Snapping his head up, his eyes wide, he looked at Arianna. "RiRi, you can hear me! Please wake up, we miss you. You're safe now, we won't let anyone hurt you."

"A-Al?" She whispered so quietly, and hoarsely from no use, they barely heard her.

"RiRi! Oh thank Merlin!" Scor exclaimed. Rose was so overcome with emotions, she simply stood there smiling at Arianna, with tears running down her face.

Arianna opened her eyes slowly, and when her eyes fell on Albus, she smiled softly. "Hey Al."

Albus and the others were so overcome with joy, they simply smiled at her, with tears running down all their faces.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Al?"

"Yeah RiRi?"

"Madame Pomfrey says someone wants to talk to me….about what happened to me."

Al looked at her, and saw that she was struggling with what she was wanting to say. Her eyes were beginning to water, and she wasn't looking at him. "RiRi, we just want to find out what happened to you."

"Al, I can't relive what happened to me. It was unbearable and I-I don't know if I can…I don't know if I can even talk about it." Her tears were now falling down her face.

Taking her hand in his, Al said, "RiRi, I know it must hurt to remember what happened. But we have to find out who did this to you."

"I know, I guess I just want…well, would you…would you stay with me when I tell them?" She asked looking up at him.

Al nodded and gripped her hand tighter. "I'll be here with you the entire time."

"Thanks Al."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Arianna? My name is Hermione, I am Al's aunt."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you."

Arianna was glad it was only Al's aunt who came to talk to her. She knew it would be hard enough to talk to one person about what happened to her. Hermione sat on the chair by Arianna's bed, and looked at Al, who was sitting on the bed beside Arianna.

"Hey, Aunt Hermione. RiRi asked if I could stay with her," he clarified. Nodding her head, she looked back to Arianna.

"Now Arianna, I want you to know that you can tell me anything and everything. I know that it may hurt you even more to talk about it, but in order for us to find who hurt you, we need you to tell us everything you remember. But if you start to feel overwhelmed and need to stop, please don't over exert yourself."

After a few minutes of silence, Arianna finally started talking. She told Hermione of the letter addressed to her, which was supposedly from Al, of walking into the forrest, hearing voices that sounded familiar, but she couldn't see their faces or remember where she had heard them. She told her what they had said to her and how they taunted her. At this point, Al squeezed her hand, angry at what they said to her and called her. She is anything but weak and pathetic! She then told Hermione about being stunned and then three hooded figures coming out of the trees. Then, with a wavering voice, she told her about being crucioed multiple times, being kicked and hit with other curses, and then finally blacking out. Al was beyond furious and wanted nothing more than to inflict the same pain on them as they had her.

Hermione thanked Arianna and started to walk away. "Miss Hermione? Do the nightmares and pain ever go away?" Arianna asked.

Hermione stopped and turned back to her. Sighing, she went back to the bedside. "Arianna, I'm going to tell you something that happened to me. Whether it will bring comfort to you, I don't know, but you are not alone. During the war, Al's father, my husband and I were captured and brought to some Death Eaters. They took Harry and Ron down to the cellar but kept me upstairs. One Death Eater had a particular dislike for my kind—our kind—and she tortured me also. I was crucioed multiple times, but I never broke. She then did this to me," she paused, rolling up her left sleeve, showing a scar on her forearm. MUDBLOOD. "She carved this into my skin to mark me for the rest of my life, so that everyone would know what I really was. But she never broke me. For years I have had nightmares about that day. But it brings me comfort seeing my children, my nieces and nephews, and their friends, living in a world free of the prejudices and greedy power that corrupted this world and destroyed many lives."

Arianna nodded her head, completely bewildered by what she had just said. How could someone ever do that to someone as nice as she is? Al was just as surprised as Arianna. His parents and aunts and uncles rarely told them anything about what happened during the war. It almost made him sick knowing someone had tortured his aunt and carved that word into her skin; it was something she had to live with for the rest of her life.

Hermione smiled at them and started walking away but was stopped by Arianna again. "Miss Hermione, may I ask who did that to you? Was she captured?"

After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Bellatrix Lestrange. She wasn't captured; she was killed by my mother in law, just before the war ended." She then walked out of the hospital wing, leaving two confused, curious, and bewildered children behind.

A/N: What did ya think? Did I do alright with Hermione explaining about her torture? R&R! You guys are awesome!