Chapter Twenty Five

A/N: I do not own anything with the exception of my OCs. Anything else is owned by either Disney or JK Rowling.

So Skeeter has decided to shake things up! If I'm honest, I hate her almost as much as I hate Umbridge (it's a very thin gap). Maybe it's just because I went to school to be a journalist but the sensational aspect of Skeeter's writing just rubs me the wrong way.

*ducks* whoa! So, I did not mean to be gone for so long. Unfortunately, real life has gotten rather hectic-preventing me from updating until now. I'll try to be a little better at updating but I can't make any promises right now.

Hope you all enjoy the chapter and I hope all of you are having a great 2018!

Thankfully, Harry didn't have any classes that he had to go to so Ariel was still able to spend time with him. Though to lessen any impact Skeeter's article may have had, they were also joined by Neville, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. While Harry didn't seem to mind, Ariel was a little skeptical about the whole idea.

I mean, don't get her wrong. She loved the idea of getting to know Harry's friends and being with people who didn't believe a word Skeeter wrote sounded amazing. But the more people who knew about her meant there was a higher chance of the news getting back to her father.

Ariel knew that Nina wanted to get back as soon as possible, and Ariel hated letting her down. But she had to figure out who tipped Skeeter off to her being at the castle. If anything so that she could stop worrying about it.

"Skeeter's always going after someone," Ginny said when Ariel first voiced her concerns. "I mean, she's mentioned my dad and brother in her articles and nothing happened to them."

"Yeah, but Dad and Bill weren't the subjects of the articles. They were just side mentions—Dad was never even mentioned by name," Ron pointed out.

"Tactful, Ron," Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Really tactful."

Ariel thought that having Hermione in the group might be a bad thing, if only because Harry was always worried about what she'd do if she found out. But Hermione was honestly a great edition to the group and, if Ariel was honest, it was really nice to have another girl there.

"What?" Ron asked but everyone ignored him as they moved on to other conversations.

"So Ariel, how long are you going to be visiting?" Hermione asked. After some deliberation with Harry, Ariel thought it best to provide Hermione with her real name. That way, if the lie got discovered, Harry wouldn't be in trouble with his friends. The last thing she wanted to do was make Harry's life harder than it already was.

"I dunno," Ariel shrugged. "I had planned on only being here the one night but with Skeeter on the warpath, I think I might stay here. At least that way Harry won't get any bad press."

"But you shouldn't suffer because Skeeter thought it would be appropriate to write about a couple of fourteen year olds," Hermione sighed. "Honestly, between that first article and now this, one would assume that she has a fascination with you, Harry."

"Ugh," Harry shuddered in disgust. "I'd rather not think about Skeeter any more than I have to."

Ariel chuckled at Harry's discomfort, who rolled his eyes in response. It was nice to not have to think about that article for a while. Too bad it didn't last.

Out of nowhere, a barrage of snowballs seemed to ht their group and yet, only targeted Ariel. She gasped as cold water dribbled down her sweater and shivered as her skin seemed to crawl in disgust. Now that she knew what cold was, she hated it.

"Oi!" Ron yelled and got up to confront the snowball throwers but they were already gone. Only their footprints left any trace of them.

"Ron, they're not worth it," Hermione told him, bringing him back to the ground. She looked around the group and sighed in annoyance. "Harry, honestly!"

Ariel looked over and saw Harry glaring in the direction of the castle, where two faint outlines could be seen running back inside.

"H-hermione's right, Harry," Ariel said, trying her best not to stammer too much as the cold seeped into her sweater. Her hair was now pulled out of her ponytail and half of it felt as though it was stuck there.

"I wonder who they were," Ginny said, looking back at the castle.

"I wonder how many more of them are out there," Harry told her, sighing as he looked back at the group. "Anyone for going back inside? Somehow it's just not that enjoyable anymore."

"You know, I'm sure some hot chocolate would hit the spot right now," Ron said and Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother.

"What's hot chocolate?" Ariel asked and flushed as four sets of eyes locked on to her in shock. "What? It's an honest question!"

Harry just shook his head in amusement as Ginny and Ron seemed to almost pull Ariel in the direction of the kitchens, where the usual flurry of house elves greeted them.

"Reminds me of home a little," Ariel muttered to Harry as she watched them scurry about. "The chefs were always in a hurry too."

Harry gave a small smile at the thought of the Atlantican kitchens. While he'd never seen them, for some reason it felt familiar. Like it was a place he'd visited once before. Making a mental note to file that in their sheets of parchment, Harry made his way to the front of the group.

"Yes Mr Harry Potter sir?" one of the elves broke away from the group and greeted Harry.

"Um, if you're not too busy, we'd like six mugs of hot chocolate please," Harry requested, ignoring Hermione's muttering about slave labor. Harry just hoped Hermione wouldn't launch into a S.P.E.W rant while they were in the kitchens. "My friend has never had it and we want to see her taste her first mug."

The house elf smiled and shooed them all into a nearby corner. Ariel couldn't help but be alarmed as the small creature seemed to rally a group of their fellow workers and broke off from the group. Without saying a word, the creatures worked without fail and, not long after Harry had asked, the six of them were holding mugs of a steaming hot beverage.

"Go on!" Ginny urged as Ariel looked at the drink warily. "It'll be fine."

"It won't bite," Harry chuckled as he took a long drink from his mug. "See?"

Ariel sighed but then put the steaming mug up to her lips and took a small sip. At first, the sweet nature of the beverage was more than a little distracting and Ariel had to admit that she was almost ready to stop drinking it all together. However, the heat from the beverage distracted her from the chilling cold she still felt.

"Well?" Harry asked, and Ariel could see the remaining group stare at her in earnest, as if eagerly awaiting her decision.

"It's okay," Ariel shrugged. "I like how hot it is but I'm not a big fan of the sweet nature of it."

Ariel had to shake her head in amusement as Ginny and Ron gasped in horror at the idea of someone not liking the hot chocolate.

"I'm the same way," Neville said with a chuckle and Ariel had to act fast from slopping the remaining liquid down her front. What was going on with her? Looking over at Harry, Ariel didn't know if she should be happy at his knowing look or fear it.

"So, what's the plan?" Ginny said, knocking back the remainder of her hot chocolate. "I mean, there's no way Skeeter's getting away with this."

"If she had a secret, I'm sure someone would have figured it out by now," Hermione pointed out, setting her mug down on a nearby table. "She doesn't lend herself as someone who would avoid having enemies."

"I think it would take less time trying to find someone who actually liked the woman," Ron told them, leaning back against the wall as he snuck one of the small pastries off of a nearby tray. "Though, it is weird. She wasn't even allowed on Hogwarts property, like Hermione said—and if she used Malfoy as a source, she would have mentioned it."

"That's right," Ginny nodded, who by this time had read the article at least three times to make sure they were aware of all the details. "All her sources were unnamed."

"Really?" Ariel asked, reaching for the paper to look for herself but found it was kept out of her reach.

"You really don't want to read that," Ginny told her. "It's not pretty."

Ariel sighed in frustration. How was she going to get to the bottom of Skeeter's article if they wouldn't even let her read it?

"Maybe she had us bugged?" Harry suggested, turning to Ariel. "I mean, maybe not you but she did have time to set one up with me during the interview before the first task."

"Bug?" Ron asked. "Why would she put an insect on you?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "It's a muggle thing. Muggles use electronic devices to hear what other people are saying."

"But electronics don't work around Hogwarts, Harry," Hermione told him. "They'd short out."

"Unless she had Dad work on them," Ginny suggested. "I mean, I doubt it but I'm sure you could find some altered listening equipment in our shed at home if you gave Dad time."

Hermione sighed and shook her head, as if deciding not to question her friend's father odd life choices. "Look, it's getting late. Maybe we should head out to lunch?"

"I dunno," Harry said.

"You really want to go off alone after the Skeeter article?" Ron asked him. Ariel looked over at Harry. She could see the concern in his eyes and knew it was directed at her. This was his world but the only thing he seemed to care about was protecting her from it—not even caring about how he was seen.

"Harry, we have to go," Ariel told him. "If we don't make an appearance, even if we're with a group, it only strengthens Skeeter's power."

"Took the words out of my mouth," Hermione chuckled. "You've got a wise friend there, Harry."

"I'm the youngest of seven," Ariel told her. "I learn quickly."

The group made their way up to the Great Hall, where groups of students were all ready milling about. Ginny broke off from the group to sit with her friend Luna, who was sitting at a a table under a blue banner. She was also the only only student not staring at Ariel as she walked through the doors.

"Harry, are you sure this is a good idea?" she whispered as they walked past a couple of sixth year Gryffindors who were glaring at her.

"Weren't you the one who said that if we don't make an appearance then it gives Skeeter's words more weight?" Harry asked, trying to hide a smirk as they sat down. Shaking his head at Ariel's eye roll, Harry leaned in to grab a sandwich.

"Put some of those sandwiches in my bag and we can go back up to the room," Harry muttered in Ariel's ear as he leaned back up.

"Why?" Ariel whispered as she nonchalantly grabbed a nearby sandwich and put in Harry's open bag.

"The room can't provide food," Harry said out of the corner of his mouth as he nodded at something Hermione was going on about. "I figure once Ron and Hermione get in the midst of another one of their rows, we can slink off."

"And why would we do this?

"I figured you might want to check in with Nina to let her know the change in plans," Harry said and even in an undertone, Ariel could still hear the amusement in his voice. Sure enough, about six sandwiches in, Hermione started arguing about something with Ron. Neville, it had seemed, had made his escape early on in the conversation—probably thinking that Harry would be able to calm them down.

"They'll be going on for hours," Harry muttered.

"It might not be a good idea if we leave at the same time," Ariel told him. Harry nodded and Ariel got up. "Wait five minutes or so and then we can go up."

Making her way out of the Great Hall, Ariel couldn't help but feel relief as she closed the door behind her. How did Harry do it all the time—being around people who didn't believe him and just creating a toxic atmosphere? Ariel almost wished she could get Harry his fins back. A good year or so out of Britain would be like a vacation for him.

As she waited for Harry to leave the table, she never realized that one of the professors at the head table had vacated his seat. In fact, he had left about the same time Ariel had left the Great Hall.

Had this been any other student, Snape would have been able to simply approach them to gain the eye contact needed for legilmency to see if this was the same girl he had cast the memory charm so many years ago.

But this was not any other student which meant that Snape had to resort to his years of experience as a spy in order to gain the knowledge he needed. One disillusionment charm was all that was needed to ensure no one could see him. The girl was staring at the castle in amazement, her eyes darting to and fro like the whole building would disappear if she looked at one thing for too long. All Snape needed was two seconds of eye contact. It was almost too easy…just one more dart and she would be looking straight at him.

"Sorry I'm late," Potter's voice sounded as the door to the Great Hall opened, gaining the girl's attention. "Ron tried to rope me into the row."

"It's fine," the girl giggled and brushed a piece of her vivid red hair out of her face. "Come on!"

The girl grabbed Potter's arm and the two of them ran out of view. Snape couldn't help but stare at their retreating forms in shock. This was going to be more difficult than he had imagined.