Chapter Three

Ara –

Happy Birthday. I'm sorry I can't be there today, I'm glad that you had fun last weekend at the Potter's picnic. They used to have them all the time when we were younger. I'm surprised you didn't play Quidditch. With you and Draco there, I'm sure there were plenty of people for a pick-up game.

And yes, I know Tonks. We were friends at Hogwarts, got into plenty of trouble together. She's always been hilarious and her knack at changing appearance made getting out of trouble fairly easy. Although I think Dumbledore always knew and just never said anything. Don't tell her I said anything, but I'm pretty sure she has a thing for one of James' friends.

The dragons are good. I'm pretty sure Lady, the beautiful Chinese fireball you faced, would love to see you again. Kit's also mentioned you a couple of times, asked how you were doing. He's flat out told me he'd like to see you, of course not in too many words, he's pretty hard to understand. It was more like "girl come." What was it he said to you during the tournament? He seems very interested in you. Clearly you'll just need to plan a trip to come to Romania.

Sorry Bill is giving you a hard time. I swear he loves you, but he's still in denial. He'll come around and I'm sure you two will be great friends.

I hope you have an amazing birthday; I'll see you soon.

Charlie

The letter that had once been folded was nearly flat by this point from all the times Ara had read it and smoothed it out. It had only been a few weeks, but she missed him greatly. She wasn't sure how she had managed during the few months they had been separated, although thinking back, she wasn't sure she had managed all that well at all.

She looked at the clock, it was nearly noon and she hadn't left her room yet. She sighed pacing her room once more, her feet following their familiar path. If there was one thing that her aunt and uncle always cared about, it was birthdays. She supposed it was probably her aunt who influenced her uncle into throwing extravagant parties for herself and Draco. Part of her was glad to be away from that. She was glad she wouldn't have to plaster on a smile and entertain people who she really didn't care for. Although she felt bad that Draco had missed his party for the year. His usually occurred when they got back from school. She was relieved that she and some of the other Slytherins had thrown him a party at least.

She ran her hands through her wavy hair before throwing on some sweats and a t-shirt and making her way down the stairs. It was quiet in the house, she wondered if they had all left to do something. She shook her head; they wouldn't have taken Draco without telling her.

She opened the door to the kitchen, hoping Lily had made some coffee and was surprised to see that it wasn't empty.

"Hello," she said softly, making her way over to the coffee pot.

"Ara," Lupin said with a bright smile. While Ara never saw too much of him, she thought he looked haggard.

She sat across from him and stared at him intently.

"Is everything alright?" He asked with an amused look on his face.

"Yes… I just don't know you all that well… you're awfully quiet."

He snorted "Hardly… James and Sirius say I never shut up," he said with a shrug.

Ara simply smiled in response. Lupin was a mystery to her. He was one that her uncle never mentioned; she hadn't even known he existed until she'd met him.

"How are you enjoying your break so far?" he asked kindly.

Ara shrugged "it's alright I suppose… it's not really a break though, I feel like I ought to be working or something now that my school life is over."

Lupin laughed "don't rush it… you have the rest of your life to work, but this may be the last chance you get to just relax, worry free."

Ara smiled but shook her head.

"I suppose it's not exactly worry free though is it?" he asked.

Ara shook her head "how can it be? V-Voldemort is back, and Draco and I are basically in hiding." She sighed; she didn't want to think so negatively. "I suppose it is nice being here though," she said, gesturing to the house around her. "I don't have to pretend to be anything I'm not… and I don't have to act like I have a stick up my butt."

Lupin snorted "thank goodness for that."

They fell into a brief silence, Ara still staring at the man intently. He had scars, a bunch of them. She'd never really noticed them before, but she supposed he's always had them. Although there seemed to be a couple on his neck and face that looked new, fresher.

"So you're a tutor of sorts at Hogwarts right?" she asked.

Lupin nodded "When Harry was young, I used to homeschool him. Lily and James didn't want him going to a muggle school or leaving Hogwarts at all really, so I taught him and after a while there were a few other students who joined that group. When they all got into school, Dumbledore wanted to keep me on, so he created the Tutoring position for me."

"wow… So at one point Hogwarts had a sort of day care grade school type of thing?" she said with a small smile at the picture of it. She didn't think it was a bad idea at all.

Lupin nodded.

"Did you prefer that? Or your current job?"

He shrugged "probably working with the younger kids… I'm rather good with children and quite a few students don't think they need a tutor… unless they're preparing for OWLs or NEWTs of course."

Ara nodded "well I think they're both very valuable jobs… I can't tell you how many times I had an incompetent professor…" she smirked before coughing 'karkaroff' behind her hand. "I really could have used a tutor… but alas, I'll never be good at potions because of it."

Lupin laughed "well I wish you would have been at Hogwarts then… although you'd probably be decent at potions had Snape been your professor."

Ara grimaced; she hadn't talked with the man much since the incident in his classroom although he had reached out to her a handful of times. She had already told Lily about what happened, she didn't want to relive that. She was grateful Lily had kept it all to herself.

"I don't know about that," she said quietly. "I hear he fails students because they look at him the wrong way."

Lupin looked intently at her "I think he only does that with Gryffindors who he doesn't like," he said.

Ara shrugged "well he's not my biggest fan."

Lupin shrugged "his loss."

Ara smiled at the man; he really was a truly kind man. She wondered why he wasn't around more often.

"What is it that you want to do for work?" he asked her.

She sighed, her mind drifting to Charlie and his dragons. "I want to work with creatures," she said softly.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise "what kind of work?"

Ara shrugged "I don't know exactly, help them, I guess. Keep them safe."

"So, you like creatures then?"

Ara nodded "what's not to like? They're fascinating and they're all so unique and so misunderstood." She said passionately.

Lupin hesitated, he seemed to be trying to read her and Ara briefly wondered if he was a ligilimens… If he was a natural born one, she wouldn't feel him enter her mind.

"How are they misunderstood?"

Ara shrugged "people are terrified of what they don't understand, and they don't understand most creatures… Like dragons, they're giant and terrifying, sure. But they're also highly intelligent and fiercely protective. They're also truly loving creatures, much like dogs… only with scales and fire and stuff…"

Lupin laughed "yes I suppose I didn't know that about them… How about the creatures that are horrible?"

Ara sighed "I don't know that any creature is truly horrible… I mean there are Dementors and sure they dark creatures, but they've helped guard Azkaban… then there was that sea creature in the bottom of the black lake that I ran into, but we don't really know anything about it. It may have only attacked me because it felt threatened which isn't really it's fault, I was a foreign object in the water…."

Lupin nodded "how about creatures like werewolves?"

Ara snorted and shook her head "now if you want to talk about a misunderstood creature, you talk about a werewolf."

He gave her a relieved look and Ara briefly wondered what it meant. She remembered Harry saying that he knew a werewolf and wondered if perhaps Lupin knew one as well.

"Don't get me wrong, Werewolves are scary and all and they are technically dark creatures… but you've got a human who loses control once a month… the majority of werewolves wish they didn't transform, and most don't want to hurt anyone. I think that really, if wolfsbane was more readily available, it would cut down on werewolf attacks greatly. That or people could just stay in and lock their doors on the full moon," she said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "there are of course those werewolves that are evil, but it isn't the werewolf itself, it's the person. Like for example, my uncle has a 'friend,'" she said, emphasizing the air quotes for she knew her uncle saw him as nothing more than dirt on his show that could do a bit of his dirty work "he's a werewolf and a truly evil one. He intentionally places himself near others on the full moon in hopes of turning them… But he's evil as a person as well, I'm pretty sure he's a pedophile who likes young boys and I think if he didn't transform every month, he'd probably just be a normal serial killer who enjoyed using knives or something," she said with a shrug. "It's the same with vampires…"

She trailed off, she'd been talking a lot and she knew it. She was just passionate about the subject.

"sorry," she said when Lupin didn't say anything.

"don't be," he said kindly, his smile large. "I completely agree with you, I'm just surprised."

Ara scoffed "because my family is known for looking down on werewolves?" she asked.

Lupin looked guilty "they're often referred to as filthy half breeds by a lot of purebloods."

Ara nodded; she'd heard the term plenty. "I'm not like them." She said plainly.

"No, you're not… and I'm sorry I thought you could be."

Ara was surprised by the apology and the admission. She knew that a lot of people compared her to her family. Many people avoided her because of the reputation her family had. Many people expected things from her, because of her family. It was nice to hear that someone felt bad for clumping her together with them.

"No worries," she said.

The door to the kitchen swung open and Sirius walked in. he was wearing his nice dress robes and had his hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

"Morning," he said brightly. "James and Lily are on their way back… thanks for coming Moony," he said.

Ara frowned at the name… moony. "Is that some sort of a nickname?" she asked looking between the two. Lupin looked nervous. Ara frowned at the sudden change in the man. She looked back at Sirius who looked apologetic.

Ara stared at Lupin… moony…She stared once more at the fresh scars creeping up his neck. "bloody, hell," she said after a moment. She couldn't believe she didn't realize it sooner. Harry was protective of whatever werewolf he had known. Lupin cared about her opinion of werewolves and was relieved when he'd learned her views. His nickname was moony…. "You're a werewolf!" she said quietly.

Sirius's eyebrows shot up his forehead while Lupin dropped his head onto the table.

"You ought to be a detective Ara," Lupin said dryly lifting his head off the table and staring at her with a pained expression.

Ara smiled "I won't tell anyone," she said, thrilled that she had discovered his secret, rather quickly too. "but it makes sense."

"you figured it out from one nickname? Many people have heard that name and never figured it out," Sirius said plopping down next to the two of them.

Ara shrugged "it wasn't just the nickname… but we were just talking about werewolves… plus Harry and I talked about them once and he got super defensive, said he knew one. Who else would he be defensive with except for someone he was close to? Someone like an uncle? Plus there were the scars, some of them look fresh… and it explains why Dumbledore created a job for you."

Lupin nodded giving her a wry look "yes unfortunately I have trouble holding down jobs with my condition… working for Dumbledore, I can disappear once a month and no one bats an eye."

Ara smiled at the man "I'm sorry," she said kindly. "I can't imagine how rough it must be."

Lupin shrugged "I think you understand more than most how much a stereotype can affect you," he said.

Ara nodded; she did understand that.

"Since you know… the werewolf you were talking about… was it Fenrir Greyback?" he asked.

Ara looked at him surprised but nodded "yes he was in the outer ranks when Voldemort was in power the first time around… it's how they met."

Lupin nodded "he's the werewolf who bit me," he said tensely.

Ara looked at him surprised. She knew Greyback had attacked a lot of people, but she'd never actually met any of them.

"You said he was a pedophile?" Lupin asked.

Ara shrugged "I don't know for sure… If it makes you feel any better, I did attack him once," she said. Both Sirius and Lupin looked at her curiously, so she continued "he looked at Draco like he wanted something from him… it was like a mixture of lust and something else," she said, disgust filled her voice. "So, I stabbed him in the leg with a silver knife."

It was unfortunate that Sirius had chosen that moment to take a drink of his tea, for he spewed it out across the table, spraying both Ara and Lupin who jumped back.

"What?" Sirius asked with a laugh.

Ara shrugged "I had snuck this book by some muggle author and read about werewolves… well most of it was a load of rubbish, but it did say that a werewolf could only be killed by a silver bullet… I didn't know what a bullet was, but I did have a pure silver knife… so I thought I'd give it a shot."

Both of them wore similar looks of confusion riddled with appreciation.

"Bloody hell," Sirius said, "what did you aunt and uncle think?"

Ara shrugged "my aunt was embarrassed, but my uncle wasn't too upset… he just thought I didn't like werewolves." She smiled at the two of them "I didn't have a problem with werewolves, I just didn't like him… I swear had he not wanted to stay on Uncle Lucius's good side, he would have bit Draco."

Lupin grimaced and shot her a sympathetic look. "well thank you… I know it wasn't for me, but I'm glad to hear he's experienced at least some pain."

Ara shrugged "he deserved it."

The kitchen door opened once more, and James and Lily came through.

"Good morning Ara," Lily said brightly.

"Morning," she said with a small smile.

"I should probably get going," Lupin said, standing up and pushing the chair in.

"You could stay for lunch," James said.

"yeah no need to rush off," Sirius said.

Lupin shook his head "believe it or not I have lunch plans."

Sirius waggled his eyebrows "who's the lucky lady?"

"Not a lady," he said, shaking his head. Ara figured they had this conversation often.

"Oh sorry… Man" James said with a smirk, also waggling his eyebrows.

Lupin grabbed the orange that was sitting in a basket on the table and threw it at James. It traveled fast and hit him surprisingly hard in the chest. James rubbed his chest but laughed.

"He's some potions expert," Lupin said with a shrug. It was clear that that meant something and the other three knew what it meant. Ara didn't want to pry, she figured she had learned enough about Lupin for one day.

"Good luck mate," James said. "Come over tomorrow for dinner, we'll talk about it after."

Lupin nodded in agreement, slapping James on the back. He gave Lily a kiss on the cheek before waving goodbye to the others.

"So where did you lot run off to so early in the morning?" Ara asked.

"We had an order meeting," Sirius said, grabbing the Daily Prophet and flipping it open.

"Oh," Ara said remembering that she still needed to talk to Dumbledore about what she wanted to do.

"Have you seen Harry and Draco?" Lily asked.

Ara shook her head "Draco's probably sleeping."

"Harry's probably in the library… He's been spending an ungodly amount of time in there." James said.

Lily rolled her eyes "I think it's good for him."

"Love, do you even know what he's researching?" James asked.

Lily shook her head "Does it really matter? He's clearly showing passion about something."

James and Sirius shared and knowing look, one that Lily clearly missed.

Lily started making lunch, while Sirius and James talked about the paper together. It seemed that they were now spreading lies about Harry and the Tournament. Saying that he was looking for attention when he claimed that Voldemort was back. Ara was surprised it hadn't sucked her into it. There was nothing on her or her family, it seemed her uncle was trying to keep something quiet.

It wasn't long before Draco joined them at the table. He had indeed slept in late, but she knew that wasn't unusual for the summer holiday. He sat beside Ara and rested his head on his hand, clearly still barely awake.

Ara nudged him "late night?"

Draco shrugged "I got caught up watching that tv thing."

"I remember when we discovered the television," Sirius said with a fond smile.

"we sat in front of it for several days… only got up to use the restroom and get food," James said.

"Well I'm glad you had fun," Ara said.

When it was lunch time, Lily called Harry down to eat with them. He ate quickly, it seemed he wanted to get back to the library again. It was a quiet meal, everyone seemed absorbed in their own thoughts, or in Draco's case, too tired to think.

When the meal ended Ara found herself slightly frustrated. She knew she shouldn't have been; she shouldn't have expected anything. She wasn't even sure that the Potters or Sirius knewthat it was her birthday. But she had expected Draco to at least wish her a 'happy birthday.' He did know when it was, they grew up together after all.

"What?" Draco asked tiredly when he noticed Ara was staring at him.

"You really have nothing to say to me?" she asked, the corners of her mouth twitching showing she wasn't really upset.

Her comment caught the attention of the others at the table and they looked between the two curiously.

Draco frowned, it seemed he was thinking hard "Do you want to watch tv with me?" he asked hesitantly.

Ara snorted and shook her head "absolutely not... not until you figure out what you need to say to me," she said with a smirk.

Draco grumbled about crazy cousins before standing and returning to the television, Lily taking a book outside to read, Sirius going to bother Harry, and James pulling out some parchments and writing on them.

Ara sighed and made her way up to her room. She closed the door behind her and followed the mechanical movements of pulling out the box from her top drawer and opening it, letting the family tree fill the room once more. She stared at it. It was her newest obsession, something she couldn't get off her mind no matter how much she wanted to. The more she looked at it the more she wondered what the meaning was of the dead flower branching from her father's name or the floating flower that seemed like it didn't belong on the tree at all.

She pulled out a notepad that Lily had bought her and began drafting her letter to Charlie. Still glancing at the tree every so often.

Charlie,

Thank you for the birthday wishes. I wish you were here as well. I would love to come and visit Kit and Lady. But more importantly, I think I'd rather visit you. Things are going well in Potter Manor; everyone seems to be doing their own thing. Harry's doing something that's probably dangerous, his mother has no idea, but it seems James and Sirius do. Draco's become fascinated with all things muggle. It's quite shocking really. He loves the television especially. I can't say I blame him, after watching the movie with you, those moving picture stories are truly fascinating. I think I'll have to take Draco someday to see it on the big screen.

I'd rather not divulge everything Kit said in the tournament, at least not just yet. I don't think I could say it without blushing. You'd probably see my blush straight through this parchment. And yes, Tonks is funny. I love when she turns her nose into a pig's nose. She also changed her appearance to look a bit like Snape. It was very entertaining.

There's a lot I'd like to tell you... I'm obsessing a bit and feel like i'm going mad, I'm just not sure how safe it is to say over letters. I overheard James saying one of the letter's that was sent to Harry was intercepted.

I hope to see you soon,

Ara

She couldn't think of what else to say so she folded the letter and laid it on the desk in her room. She looked back at the tree, her obsession there, growing stronger by the minute. She wanted to talk to Charlie about it, ask him what he thought. She wanted his reassurance that it didn't matter what that damn dead flower and detached flower meant. But she couldn't talk to him about it over a letter and she didn't know when she'd see him again.

She sighed heavily and snapped the box shut, making up her mind. It seemed she didn't have any other plans for her birthday, so she may as well do something productive. She tucked the box into her robe and made her way downstairs.

She knocked the door to James's office, opening it when he waved her in.

"Do you mind watching Draco today?" she asked. "I'm sure he won't leave the television."

James chuckled "I don't mind… but where are you going?" he asked hesitantly.

Ara hesitated "I just have to see someone about something." She grimaced, that didn't sound good.

James looked at her intently and shrugged "I don't need to know everything you do Ara, you're an adult… just be careful… Draco may be in more danger than you, but you're hardly safe."

Ara sighed, she knew he meant well, and he probably felt somewhat responsible for her wellbeing.

"I'll be fine," she said. "I shouldn't be too long... Maybe an hour."

James nodded and gave her a small smile. "I'll see you in a bit then."

Ara waved goodbye and left through the front door, not saying goodbye to the others. She walked to the end of the wards and apparated to Diagon Alley.

She made her way up to the bank, through the large double doors. She walked over to a goblin who she didn't recognize. "Is Bill Weasley available?" she asked softly.

The goblin nodded and disappeared behind the back. She didn't have to wait long before Bill came out. He sighed and shook his head when he saw her but motioned for her to follow him.

"Are you stalking me?" he asked jokingly.

Ara rolled her eyes "not really stalking if I find out with work related stuff."

"Ah," Bill said, "so this isn't something personal?"

Ara sighed as Bill motioned for her to sit. He sat on the other side of his desk. It was a rather cramped space and she briefly wondered how he managed to work in such small quarters. They were separated from others by four cubical walls and Ara assumed that the walls must be sound proof, considering she couldn't hear anyone else around them.

"What's up?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

Ara pulled out the box from beneath her cloak and laid it on the table. "I guess it's not entirelywork related… other than that I found it in one of the vaults."

Bills eyes seemed to light up with interest at the sight of the box again. He clearly remembered what it was. Ara opened the box and let the tree fill the area completely showing each branch.

"when I first opened it, we saw that there were no women on it… Well I believe the women are represented by flowers," she said softly, touching one of the pedals on the tree. "well this is my father," she said pointing at one of the names near the bottom, showing he was one of the last living Lestranges. She pointed to the flower surrounding his, "I believe this is my mother…" she moved upwards and pointed to the dead flower "I don't know who this would be… or this," she said pointing to the lone flower, unattached from the rest of the tree.

Bill stared at it, glancing upwards every so often as though to compare. "dead flowers and disheveled faces represent family members who have died," he said simply. "that would suggest that Bellatrix and Rodolphus had a child who died…. As for this flower, I could only assume it's you?" he questioned, almost afraid himself of the answer.

"So, what does that mean?" Ara asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "why am I detached? Am I not a Lestrange?" she had desperation in her voice, and it seemed Bill picked up on it. He grabbed her arm reassuringly.

"well figure it out." He said. He stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the cubical area and into the atrium where the goblin offices were located.

He rapped on the door of one of the offices that read 'Plasar.'

"He specializes in genealogy," Bill said with his ear to the door "he'll work with the more challenging people... people who don't really know where they come from."

There was a small 'enter' heard from behind the door. Bill opened it, stepping into the entryway, Ara standing just behind him. "Sorry to bother you, I know she doesn't have an appointment, but she was looking at her family tree and had a couple of quick questions she thought you might be able to answer," he said, gesturing to Ara.

Plasar looked behind Bill "and who would this be."

Bill looked surprised "sorry sir, this is Ara Lestrange."

"Ah" Plasar began, looking unsurprised at Ara being there. "I did wonder if you would ever pay me a visit."

Ara frowned and followed Bill into the office sitting in one of the chairs across from the goblin.

"I'll leave you to it," Bill said hesitantly, stepping back towards the door.

"No," Ara said quickly grabbing his arm. "please stay."

Bill smiled "alright," he whispered as he sat beside her.

"So…. Why'd you think it was possible for me to come?" she asked the goblin.

"I was sure you'd be interested in your lineage."

Ara sighed and pulled out the box. "My family tree is unique… all the women, I believe, are represented by flowers… but my next to my father's name, there's a dead flower and a flower that isn't connected at all to the tree…"

The goblin didn't ask to look at the tree, instead he pulled out a piece of parchment and wrote Ara's name on top.

"I will require blood here," he said, pointing at a small circle on the parchment. He handed her a small knife.

Ara hesitated, but cut the tip of her finger, letting the blood flow onto the paper. With a touch of the goblin's finger names began appearing under Ara's name. Some were illegible while other stood out as clear as day.

"You want to know if you are that detached flower?" the goblin asked.

Ara nodded.

"Well I can tell you that it is likely that flower represents you and while I haven't seen the tree in question, I can tell you that you are a Lestrange through adoption."

Ara stilled. She felt her chest tighten as the air was sucked from her lungs.

"So Rodolphus isn't her biological father?" Bill asked, shock evident in his voice as well.

The goblin nodded "that is correct. You do not have Lestrange blood, however you were legally adopted and named as the Lestrange heir."

"Is Bellatrix my mother?" Ara asked quietly. She couldn't quite believe her ears. She had thought her entire life that she was a Lestrange, but to find out that she didn't have an ounce of Lestrange blood… that the only reason she inherited the title was because he adopted her.

"It would seem so," the goblin said looking at the paper. "you do have black blood in your system, specifically Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black."

Ara could feel Bill's eyes on her. "Do you know who her father is?" he asked.

The goblin shook his head "while we'd normally be able to tell through blood samples, I'm afraid your father isn't in our system."

"What does that mean?" she asked quietly.

"It means we've never had to test his blood and are therefore unable to find a match."

Ara sighed.

"Well are you able to trace back any other lineage? Other than Black?"

"I'm afraid something like that would take much more time and more tests," Plasar said.

"Thank you," Ara said jumping to her feet and giving a small bow to the goblin before leaving the office.

She walked quickly towards the Gringotts exit. She felt like she was suffocating and desperately needed some fresh air.

"Ara wait," Bill said, following closely behind her.

"Leave me alone Bill," she said.

"Not a chance," he said firmly following her out into the streets of Diagon Alley. "Ara," he said again, this time grabbing her arm and pulling her over to a more secluded area.

"What?" She asked, turning sharply.

Bill seemed unsure of what to say, as though he had spoken too soon when he told her to stop. "Everything will be fine… it's no big deal that he's not your father."

Ara scoffed and Bill grimaced, clearly realizing that wasn't the right thing to say.

"You don't get it," she said sharply. "I don't have the slightest idea who I am, I'm not really a Lestrange. I've been lied to my entire life!" she gripped her hair tightly "it's not even that Rodolphus isn't my father, it's that I don't have the slightest idea who my father is."

"You're right, I don't get it," Bill said, rubbing her arms sympathetically. "But we can make an appointment and we can try to figure out who your father is… until then, we at least know who your mother is."

Ara sighed but nodded, it really wasn't much consolation that she knew who her mother was. It didn't help her know whether her father was another Death Eater? Was he some poor unsuspecting guy who she tricked into sleeping with her?

Bill sighed and pulled Ara into a tight hug. Ara resisted initially but gave into the hug.

"Do you think my father even knows about me?" She asked with a sigh. "Do you think he knows that eighteen years ago today his daughter was born and adopted by a sociopath?"

Bill snorted "What makes you think your father isn't a bigger sociopath than Rodolphus?"

Ara rolled her eyes and pushed Bill away, but a smile had made its way onto her face.

"Wait," Bill said turning serious "Did you say eighteen years ago today?"

Ara snorted but nodded "Happy birthday to me," she said pathetically.

Bill sighed "wait here Lestrange," he said and without another word he turned and made his way back into the bank.

Ara sighed and sat on a nearby bench. She knew it probably wasn't the smartest thing, sitting out in the open for anyone to see her, but she didn't particularly care.

Bill came out a few minutes later carrying his jacket. "I'm off for the day and we are getting drinks," it wasn't a question.

"No, it's alright," she said quickly.

"It's your birthday and you've had a shitty day… let me buy you a drink."

Ara stared at him for a moment "alright then," she said.

She followed Bill through the crowd and to a small alley way. He held out his arm and Ara grasped it tightly. With a small pop the two of them were sucked through a tight tube landing in an alley way in muggle London.

She was more than a little buzzed. her brain was foggy and all she knew for certain was that she felt good. She felt that anything was possible. But, more than anything, she felt that muggle drinks were far superior to wizard drinks.

"Arrrra… did you k *cough* know that you nname sounds like a pirate," Bill said, his words slurring. "Never thought my little brother'd *hiccup* would go for a pira… priate…. Pirate."

Ara rolled her eyes "I'm sure thhere's a lot you don't know about what your brother would do," she said with a lilt in her voice, making Bill drop his head in his hands at the suggestive remark.

"I don't not need to know about that."

Ara laughed. She looked across the room, the club was busy, the music was blaring. They were sitting at a small table off the side of the dance floor.

"This is from those gentlemen over there," the waiter said, putting two shot glasses down in front of her and Bill.

She glanced over to the bar where the waiter had pointed and saw two men. They were both attractive and one was smirking at her while the other was looking dreamily at Bill. Ara offered them a small wave, before grabbing the shot before her.

"What are you doing?" Bill asked frowning.

"What?"

"Aren't you back together with Charlie?"

Ara smirked at him "I didn't realize that accepting a shot constituted as a marriage proposal," she said sarcastically. "besides, I don't know if we're back together or not…"

Bill rolled his eyes "they'll think you're interested."

Ara shook her head "Anyone who buys anyone else a drink understands they could be wasting their money if the person isn't interested."

With that she grabbed the shot glass and tossed it in her mouth, letting it hit the back of her throat. She knew she was passing the point of being simply buzzed, that she would be drunk in mere moments and that once she was drunk all bets were off of what would happen, but in that moment she didn't care. In that moment she wanted five more shots, she wanted to turn off and shut down.

Bill shrugged and grabbed his shot as well.

Ara snorted "what does that mean Billy? Is that guy your type?"

Bill took the shot, not grimacing at the taste, something Ara hadn't mastered yet. "let me just say, I've seen uglier blokes," he said with a smirk, leaving Ara to wonder if Bill was gay.

She shook her head, he couldn't be, he'd been ogling a blonde sitting a few seats away for most of the night. She supposed it was possible he swung both ways.

He was looking back at the girl and Ara rolled her eyes. She may be taken, but that didn't mean that she couldn't help Bill get a date.

"Come on," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him towards their table.

He pulled back slightly when he realized where they were going, but Ara grabbed his hand tighter and pulled him along.

"Hello," she said with a small flirty smile. "would you like to dance?" She asked the friend who the girl came with. He was tall and handsome with dark hair and blue eyes. Eyes that reminded her of Charlie.

He looked her up and down before nodding and grabbing her hand, pulling her towards the dance floor. She looked back and saw Bill holding out his hand to the pretty blonde.

The man pulled Ara into a dance; it was a slow song, so he held her close. "I would have asked you to dance sooner, but I thought you were with that guy," he said, his voice low, making Ara move back uncomfortably.

She shrugged "we're just friends… he's actually rather interested in your friends, so I figured I'd give him a little push… I'm actually dating his brother."

"You have a boyfriend?" the guy tensed and seemed upset, but his grip on her tightened.

"I do… sort of," she said with a guilty smile.

She glanced over at Bill who was twirling the blonde on the dance floor. She was smiling and laughing and seemed to be having a good time.

"you don't seem to certain about that boyfriend… can't be too serious."

Ara shook her head "It's complicated, but I'm serious about him," she thought Charlie was too, but other than telling her he wasn't going to let her go, they hadn't exactly discussed just how serious they were.

"Hm," he pulled her closer, so he was breathing on her neck. Ara pulled back, pushing on his chest uncomfortably.

"My sister seems to like your friend," he said huskily staring behind her.

Ara glanced back and saw the two of them dancing close, Bill whispering something, making her laugh.

"I'm John by the way," the guy said, burying his head in the crook of her neck. Ara grimaced and pushed him away.

"I'm taken," she said firmly.

"Well why isn't he here with you? Why's he letting you flirt with other guys?" he asked, his hand running lower on her back.

"He's working in Romania at the moment," she said trying to push him back once more, "and I'm not trying to flirt."

He grabbed her tighter and Ara felt his hand drop below her rear, groping her hard. Ara shoved him hard.

"Back off," she said and made her way off the dance floor, trying to reign in her magic before she lost control. She'd been drinking and she knew it was an easier way to lose control and the last thing she needed was to show a bunch of muggles that magic existed.

He grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her back towards him and groping her front "you know you like it."

Ara was about to react but didn't get a chance for the guy was pulled backward and thrown to the ground by a very angry red head. It happened quickly, in only a moment Bill was on top of the guy, hitting him repeatedly in the face.

It didn't take long before the guy seemed to catch on and for the shock to wear off before he threw Bill back, kicking him in the chest. Bill grunted as he landed on his back but wasted no time in jumping back up to his feet.

"Stop! Bill, stop," Ara said grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

That was clearly the wrong decision, for while Bill backed up, the other guy charged, punching Bill in the face.

Ara didn't hesitate, but grabbed the guy "enough," she said, her voice deadly quiet.

He yelled, twisting his body as pain coursed through it. He released Bill and landed hard on the floor.

"Come on," Ara said, grabbing Bill and pulling him to his feet before helping him out of the club and onto the deserted street.

They kept walking until they came to an alley way, Ara pulled Bill down it and with a small twist of her torso the two of them apparated away.

She couldn't explain the rage that was in her. It wasn't just the guy touching her, it was everything. It was finding out that Rodolphus wasn't her father, that she didn't have any Lestrange blood in her. More than that it was the fear of learning who her father truly was.

"Ara stop," Bill said, walking quickly to keep pace with her. It was clear he was still drunk, his feet sunk in the sand and he fell to his knees several times. "I'm sorry I got into a fight, but he wasn't leaving you alone," he insisted.

Ara realized his concern; it was that she was mad at him.

Ara turned around, stepping into Bill's personal space, causing him to stumble back with a look of surprise on his face.

"This isn't how my life was supposed to go!" she shouted, tears stinging the back of her eyes. "I don't even know who the fuck I am anymore!... I had a plan, I was graduating from school and getting the hell out of here, but I had to go and enter that damn tournament!"

She turned and started walking back towards the water, not bothering to wipe away the tears running down her face. She let the waves crash up around her feet. She hadn't been to the beach in ages, but it was something she had done with Connor. She left home at fourteen and they spent two worry free weeks away from her family.

"You're not alone Ara," Bill said hesitantly.

Ara laughed bitterly "My friends are all gone, back in Bulgaria, Merlin only knows what's happening to my aunt stuck in that house with a lunatic and to top it all off my maybe boyfriend is in Romania and I can only talk to him through letter and everything is surface because I can't tell him what's really going on because we don't know if the owls will get intercepted!" she shouted.

Bill was standing next to her, staring out over the ocean. "Life is bullshit," he said bitterly.

Ara wiped roughly at her face; she could feel herself losing control. She had been trying so hard to reign in her magic throughout the day, throughout the last month, she could tell it was now a losing battle.

Without control a scream ripped out of her throat and in a few moments it seemed as though the stars had disappeared. The clouds covered the moon and stars and the temperature dropped. In another few moments the rain started, but Ara couldn't stop, she held her hands in front of her clenching her fists tightly so her finger nails dug into her hands.

"FUCK!" she yelled again.

The rain was falling heavily, and the wind was flapping through the nearby trees, causing waves in the ocean.

"Shit," she heard from behind her and when she glanced around, she noticed the water moving back further and further as the tide got lower.

"Ara let's go," Bill said quickly.

She didn't respond, but instead frowned in confusion, glancing up at the dark sky. She felt as though she were in a trance, her mind was far more at ease in that moment than it had been. She unclenched her fists and raised her hands in the air and watched as the ocean came up to them once more, a ten-foot-tall wave hovering in front of them. It was then that Ara frowned, the root of the problem, the discomfort at the thought that Rodolphus wasn't her father, it was that she had a good idea of who her father really was. That thought alone terrified her.

With another tear fall down her face, Ara dropped her hands and in a moment the wind stopped blowing, the rain stopped falling and the wave came crashing down around them, sweeping Ara and Bill up pushing them back further onto the beach as the wave crashed along the shore line.

Ara gasped for breath when her head broke the surface of the water. There was nothing she could do except let the current take her. She saw a flailing of limbs and a wave of guilt rushed over her, she had caused this and had brought Bill along with her, all because she couldn't control her temper.

Ara felt the wind get knocked out of her as her back collided with a large rock. It was in another moment that the wave went rushing back to the ocean leaving her on the shore.

When she caught her breath again, she lifted her head, struggling to hold it up. While she suddenly felt much more sober, she also felt much heavier. She had lost all her energy and she wasn't sure if it was the sheer amount of magic she had used or if it was nearly drowning.

Bill laid only twenty feet away from her, he seemed to be in a similar state, only he was struggling to stand.

"Ara," she heard her name and watched as Bill stumbled walking towards her.

She made her way up to her knees, coughing slightly.

Bill dropped next to her, landing roughly on his rear. "what was that?" he asked. He also sounded much more sober.

Ara shook her head "I'm so sorry," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Has that happened before?"

Ara shook her head.

There were several pops heard in the distance and Ara tensed at the sight of many wands glowing bright.

"Aurors," Bill said, jumping to his feet and pulling Ara up with him. "we have to go."

"I can't," Ara said, and Bill stared at her for only a moment before realizing what she was saying.

"Hold on to me." She gripped his arm tightly as Bill spun on the spot and the two of them disappeared from view.