Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter.

Chapter 17

James tentatively peeked through the small gap, raising his wand to cast a charm would reveal human presences in the immediate surroundings.

"Homenum Revelio," he whispered softly.

After feeling the spell return empty-handed, he gave a frustrated grunt and shut the door, backing away quickly as it quickly vanished from existence, leaving only bare wall where it once stood.

James cursed internally as he had outright forgotten that the Room of Requirement housed a multitude of hidden rooms that were only accessible by certain key phrases or desires, marking this journey akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Why would she come out this late at night for? He wondered to himself, crossing his arms as his eyes glazed over in deep thought.

Solitude? Bereavement? Sanctuary?

His eyes lit up as he tried out a new phrase in his mind, walking past the entrance three times. After repeating the aforementioned action as another door appeared, he drew away in disappointment as the spell informed him in a negative.

After a few more tries, James was ready to give up. Fatigued in the lateness of the hour, he reassured himself that he would try just one more time, half-convinced that the footsteps he saw on the map were probably a hallucination brought on by his tiredness.

Making sure his invisibility cloak was still covering his body, he lethargically paced back and forth in front of the hidden entrance for the last time that night, his mind hazily remembering that Ariana was a first-year and could be learning extracurricular magic in secret, like almost all Pure-blood children did.

I need a place to hold a mastery over magic.

A door suddenly shimmered into existence, its surface causing him to initially jump with a small amount of shock at the sight. It was a glossy black door that seemed even darker that the encompassing night itself, with two massive sculptures of snakes that were entwined and in battle with each other; one of them pale white whilst the other was sanguine red.

"How curious," James muttered to himself, extending one arm to caresses the intricately detailed figures lightly, noticing oddly that the red snake's fangs were buried deep into the other snake.

Dismissing the unusual decorations on the door, he peeked into the room and cast the same spell once more. This time however, his face lit up as his spell bounced around the dark room and back to him, alerting him to the presence of a single person.

Shaking his hand in pain from casting so many spells over a short period of time using his disloyal wand, he entered silently into the murky room under his prized piece of fabric that concealed his physical existence.

A grand room greeted him, the walls coloured with an almost poisonous black as candles gently waltzed in the air, bestowing dim light upon scores of decrepit wooden bookshelves that stretched almost to the ceiling, making one wonder how one could get books from its highest shelves.

His feet softly padded in near total silence as he approached the middle of the room, where an empty table with open books strewn across its surface lay visible thanks to a lit lamp that lay adjacent to them. It looked like the table was once in use and was abandoned quickly, the signs of freshly spilled ink and hastily crumpled paper alerting him to it.

Still under his invisibility cloak, he felt something shift in the air, something powerful. It was only because of his Quidditch reflexes that he was able to spot a growing orb of light in the corner of the room.

James' eyes widened and immediately ducked with a yell, dropping heavily to the floor as the beam of red passed harmlessly over his head from out of the darkness.

"Ariana, is that you?" he shouted, still in a prone position as he drew his own wand, forgetting that the person in this room could be virtually anyone since his previous spell couldn't explicitly reveal who it was.

His next sentence died in his throat as a another spell sped out of the darkness from the opposite side of the room, causing him to roll instinctively to his side, adrenaline surging through his body as the streak of magic hit the ground where his body lay previously a second ago.

He stood up quickly and quietly, backing away behind a decaying bookshelf that was close to him as he thought to himself in slight panic.

How is this possible? I'm still under my invisibility cloak.

His musing was cut short as the bookshelf behind him suddenly imploded, the entire piece of timber and its contents vanishing into thin air. The small particles from the wood and books showered the immediate area, covering his cloak in a thin layer of dust and giving away his position immediately.

James growled in anger as he recognized the advanced spell.

No, this couldn't possibly be her.

Galvanized by the new thought, he tore off his cloak and cast it aside as he leapt into the middle of the room with renewed energy, all traces of sleepiness lost as he pointed his wand skyward.

"LUMOS MAXIMA!" he bellowed, his wand motions causing an extremely large sphere of light to erupt from his wand and accelerate to the top of the suffocating room, capable of illuminating the room for a few minutes.

James then leapt to the side as he sensed a burst of magic approach from his left, a bright blue spell humming with power which narrowly missed him.

A plan started to form in his mind, his brilliant mind scanning over his environment quickly and assessing what viable resources he could use to his advantage.

He then patiently waited in the open, the room much more visible now as only certain parts of the room lay shrouded in the shadows thanks to his previous spell. True to what he had been speculating, a forceful burst of vermillion from the same location forced him to dive to the right, once again missing him by a hairsbreadth.

James took a deep breath as he stood back up and readied himself, his heart rate to rapidly decelerating as his eyes grew calm. His arm made an elegant sweeping motion his wand in an arc at the direction where the spell came, muttering an incantation under his breath.

First, drive bird from its nest.

A second later, a plume of fire spewed out from the end of his wand, a shrieking ray of what looked like molten slag, slamming into the wooden objects on the other side of the room and causing them to immediately burst into hot and leathery flames.

Over the roar of the fire, he heard the feeble attempt to magically conjure water to stifle and extinguish the specially designed spell. It was just what he wanted. Where the water initially hit the flames, great plumes of black smoke immediately billowed, signalling to James his opponents' exact location as a hazy silhouette appeared, stumbling and coughing from the smoke.

Second, clip wings.

"Everte Statum," he barked, gripping his wand tight in concentration.

The blurred figure had no time to react as the spell rammed into its gut through the smoke, pushing it backwards and causing it to fall to its knees, the moderately powerful spell winding it.

Now, pluck feathers.

He yelled as he pointed his wand in various locations around the fallen figure, not giving it any chance to recover.

"BOMBARDRA!"

A multitude of explosions rocked the room, the deafening shockwaves reverberating around the high room and causing the figure to initially clap its hands to its ears in pain. A shower of flaming detritus showered the room as all surrounding objects around the figure were blasted away, leaving only the figure exposed on the floor in the open.

Lastly, neutralize.

He put his precious seconds that he bought to use, quickly raising his wand once more for the final stroke at the temporarily disoriented and deaf target.

"Stupefy."

His calm voice loudly resonated through the room, a growing globule of red light discharging from his wand and heading straight towards the seeming helpless outline.

Time seemed to slow down as the spell flew across the room and collided into the figure, the interaction emitting a weird noise that echoed around the room.

"What the-" James muttered in confusion, the bright light from the fire fully showing the face of his opponent as it came into view for the first time.

It was a face that soullessly stared into his with not a trace of emotion or movement, a face that looked like it had been carved from stone… literally. His breath quickened as he realized what he actually fighting against.

Stone..?! But that means-

His thoughts progressed no further as he was suddenly wrenched to the floor by an invisible force, his wand torn away from his hand as a small person jumped onto his chest, pinning him down with a glowing wand that pointed directly at his face.

He immediately tried to use wandless magic, a feat that he could only rarely accomplish in times of desperation. However, the continuous usage of magic with his current wand caused his body to wrack with pain as he attempted any magic of the sort.

The last thing he saw before his vision turned to black, were painfully familiar green eyes… oddly tinted with red.


Ariana was taking absolutely no chances.

She levitated James' unconscious body onto a relatively undamaged couch near the entrance to the room, one of the only pieces of furniture that wasn't consumed in the inferno that James' had so brashly started.

Soot blackened her tired face as she flopped down onto a chair after completing the task, the falling ashes still softly descending around the room stemming from her laborious effort to fully extinguish the unnatural fire.

"You almost got me, you crafty wizard," she murmured in fatigue as she leaned over and poked the face of the sleeping figure, an almost innocent face that seemed only worried about the next prank or the next Quidditch match, one with no experience of the horrors of war.

I really wanted to talk to him properly but… not like this.

She got up and started pacing around the couch as she debated internally, bringing up one hand to her mouth and biting her nails unconsciously, her feet squelching loudly on the soggy remnants of what were once lovingly hand-written pages.

She paused midstep, her curious mind once more overriding her current desires as she tapped her chin in thought.

I have to confirm something first.

Making sure that James' wand was in her robes just in case something went horribly wrong, she stood over him and raised her own wand, steeling her will as she casted the counter-charm for the stunning spell.

"Rennervate."

James gave a pained gasp as he jerked himself into an upright position, the rude revival back to the realm of consciousness causing his chest to heave heavily as he opened his eyes and quickly scanned over his surroundings, over blackened shelves, dripping water, fragments of furniture, and finally to a glowing wand that pointed directly at his face.

"Ariana, what are-"

"James Potter, where did we first meet?" she intoned with a voice that was absent of emotion.

"You can tal-"

"Answer the question, now," her wand ominously growing brighter from her command.

James put his head in his hands and wracked his brain, his thoughts still slightly disorganized from the abrupt awakening. He then looked up as his mind finally produced the memory that he wanted.

"K-Knockturn Alley… just outside The Spiny Serpent," he hesitatingly recalled.

His reply caused Ariana to give a noisy sigh of relief, causing her to flop down on the couch next to him as one of her hands disappeared into her burnt robes.

"I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely as she handed him back his wand, "I didn't know that it took so much to take you down."

"Take me down?" James echoed in confusion as he took the proffered item, still unsure if he was dreaming at this point in time.

Ariana nodded but did not elaborate any further, keeping silent and patiently waiting for something that was unknown to James.

So he did what any sane person would do in this particular situation. He pinched himself.

Hard.

He gave a small yelp from the nip, the physical pain causing the pervading fog on his mind to finally dissipate before glancing in the direction of the young witch.

"Finally decided that you would start speaking to me, eh?" James drawled loudly as he languidly stretched on the couch, leaning back into it as he crossed one leg over another in a relaxed fashion.

Ariana gave a noise of surprise, "You knew?" she asked breathlessly.

All-knowing glint then appeared in James' eye as he gave a hearty laugh, "I noticed that you would sometimes try to start a sentence but stop at the last second. Always figured it was more of a mental block rather a physical issue," he replied, giving a nonchalant shrug as he tapped the side of his head.

Ariana broke into a full grin as she looked delightedly upon her father, not in the least ashamed that she was caught out, nor even angry that her manipulations had failed. All she felt was only an immense proudness within her heart that her schemes had no effect on the sharp-witted individual.

She then waited with bated breath for the onslaught of questions that James surely had for her.

After he kept silent for a short moment, she fidgeted slightly on the couch.

"Don't… Don't you have more questions?" she asked quizzically after a pause, scratching her head at the relaxing wizard.

"After being with the Marauders for over five years, I've learnt to just go with the flow of things," he chuckled, just content with sitting there and collecting his thoughts at the moment.

Seeing her face fall slightly from his response, he realized with a start that this should indeed be the time to ask questions, the synapses in his mind finally connecting and registering the situation he was in.

"By Merlin's left saggy-" he yelled in surprise, cutting himself off at the end as he abruptly sat upright at faced her, "What that you I was fighting against?"

Ariana's face lit up as she nodded, the left side of her red lips tugging upwards to create a satisfied smirk, "You were brilliant, but it was unlucky for you that I had intimate knowledge of the objects in this room."

Seeing that James gave a look that urged her to elaborate further, she continued.

"Well, there is the stone golem in the back of the room that was relatively easy to animate. Then… there is that magical trinket that could set a time-delay on spells," she rambled, counting the objects off with her fingers, "Oh, there is also a pair of vanishing cabinets – that's why I could get behind you."

James scrunched his face up as he looked off to the side in thought from the inadequate answer, realizing there were a countless number of things that he needed to ask her to elucidate… everything really. He quickly turned back to her.

"How did you know that I entered? Why did you attack if you knew it was me? How could you see me? Why do you know so much advanced magic?" James interrogated as he rapidly fired off one question after another with no pause in-between, the intense profusion of words overwhelming the exhausted girl initially.

Ariana physically rocked backwards from the verbal barrage, but steadied herself a second later after it was over.

"Well, to sum most of it up, I can sense magic for some weird reason," she began steadily, successfully fighting against the magical and physical exhaustion that threatened to take her to the land of dreams, "To answer your second question, I couldn't take any chances… you could've been under the Imperius Curse – or worse."

She decided on her next words carefully, not wanting to rope James into the madness that was the fight against Voldemort, but also wanting someone whom she could share some things that she had kept bottled up within her.

If it is just as Albus had once said, we will end the war even before it begins, so nothing changes from this.

"Also, Headmaster Dumbledore has been training me in the magical arts to fight against Voldemort," she slowly spoke, deliberately enunciating each word as her eyes scanned his face carefully.

James' face immediately adopted an extremely worried look from her statement.

"This sort of magic is well beyond your years," he muttered, his strained tone evincing his distress, "Why is Professor Dumbledore doing this to you?"

Ariana frowned slightly at his odd demeanour and the strange wording of his question, "What do you mean?"

"You should be careful; casting such powerful spells at your age could permanently damage your growing magical core," James warned, "There is a reason why they only teach you the powerful spells at an older age."

Ariana gave a carefree smile as she shuffled closer to him on the couch, "Don't worry about that – Albus said that I have a large magical core."

While noting down that the young witch was on a first name basis with one of the most powerful men in the Wizarding world, James suddenly widened his eyes as he played back her previous proclamation in his mind.

"Hold on – Voldemort?" he exclaimed in urgency, "Isn't that the new Dark Lord?"

She darkly nodded, a grim mask rapidly replacing her cheerful countenance, "Yes, his inexorable rise to power has only just begun," she muttered, a haunted look flashing over her face for split second.

"Only through the combined effort of Albus and I, can we utterly annihilate this monster," she continued, her voice twisting into a savage snarl at the last word.

James backed up slightly in surprise from the bitter venom in her tone, totally catching him off guard as he had never seen her bear the cruel expression that accompanied it.

This was the only other time Ariana was openly talking of such secretive things to another person besides Albus. She wanted her father to understand her, down to every last bone if that was possible – within the constraints that fate had set her.

"Close your eyes," she instructed suddenly, her mind dead set on what she wanted to do.

After noticing that James hesitated slightly from the peculiar command, she persisted unwaveringly.

"Please?" she implored, her beseeching eyes melting away any remnants of resistance residing in him.

James acquiesced in her odd request and shut his eyes in uncertainty, a couple of seconds passing as he heard the faint rustling of fabric and the muted tearing of linen. He then heard Ariana's voice after a second of thick silence.

"You… you can look now."

James slowly peered under his eyelids, unsure what to expect from the enigmatic girl. What greeted him, however, was nothing he could have possibly anticipated.

"GALLOPING GARGOYLES," James yelled in shock, his eyes growing to the size of dinner plates before averting his face away quickly, "Ariana, what are doing?" he continued in a desperate yelp.

Ariana was stark naked down to her waist, save for her necklace and the silver band which adorned her left wrist in a seemingly innocuously manner. Trembling slightly from a strange feeling of vulnerability, something which she had never felt before, she spoke out in a small voice.

"James, look at me," she quavered.

He violently shook his head as his eyes remained glued to the ceiling, "Ariana, I'm not sure what you want from me, but please put your clothes back-"

"Look at me," Ariana angrily interrupted, her pale chest heaving heavily from her paroxysm.

James jumped slightly from the forceful command, his eyes straying towards her against his will as he attempted to protest.

"Stop this at-"

For what seemed like the hundredth time that night, he shut his mouth with an audible click, cutting himself off. His eyes roved over her body, faintly spotting long, grey scars marring what was once pristine skin under the flickering candles that softly illuminated the room.

Morbid fascination drew him closer to her, leaning forwards hypnotically as his eyes traced each cursed scar that striated her delicate body, his face morphing into a look of growing horror as he realized what he was gazing upon.

"Who did this?" he whispered, barely audible even through the thick silence of the night.

She tilted her head as the obvious question and kept her mouth shut.

James then narrowed his eyes in thought as he connecting the dots in his mind.

"The recent rumours… you are the child of the slain Pure-bloods, are you not?" he asked slowly, even though he knew the answer himself.

Her constant silence then caused his face to become rigid, his jaw clamping tight as he ground out his next words through gritted teeth, recalling rumors of other crimes the Death Eaters performed.

"Did they do… other stuff to you?"

"They did many a great many things," Ariana finally responded, not fully understanding what James was implying, a shudder running through her body as she recalled the torturous moments vividly with her newfound eidetic memory.

"No… I mean, d-did they…"

"There was nothing left they could take from me," she softy replied, causing James to pale in horror as he misconstrued her words.

Blood thundered in James' ears, burning rage sweeping though his body in ferocious waves like an erupting volcano as he clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white in his effort to remain composed. He turned his face away from her, wondering what sort of animal could go through such an unspeakable act.

"Why are you showing me this?" James asked with an emotionless and distant voice, physically gripping onto his hand that held with wand with his other to control himself.

Ariana lightly traced over her faint scar on her head, the outline of a lightning bolt guiding her finger along its crease and filling her with a sense of purpose.

"So that you know who I really am… and can understand why I must do this."

James let out a scoff, "What possibly can you do?" he said emotionlessly, his eyes flickering back to her. "You're too young to do anything of significance."

Ariana bit her lip in hesitation, "I have knowledge of a... weakness that Voldemort possesses," she replied after a short pause.

"There were others which knew about it as well, but they… didn't make it. I am the only one left," she continued with downcast eyes, her mind flashing through her memories of her past life.

"No, this isn't right," James croaked, falling into an extreme state of depression from what he was hearing, "This shouldn't have happened to you. You aren't meant to go through this, you're supposed to be out there doing… you know, girl stuff, not this."

Ariana's eyes hardened from the statement, "My parents died so I could live," she started in an unnaturally loud voice, as if daring him to challenge her, "I will not squander the precious gift of life they had given me in return for their own."

James hung his head in shame from her statement, realizing that he was unable to fully empathize with the emotive girl. After making a mental note to hug his parents the second he saw them again, he shifted closer over to her on the couch.

"You're very brave," he said solemnly as he gingerly took one of her hands and held it comfortingly in his, "If it was me in your shoes, I would have lost hope so quickly," he confessed in slight shame.

"No," Ariana disagreed instantly as she shook her head, her hair undulating like waves of flowing obsidian as she spoke with unnerving familiarly, "You would never give up."

James gave a half smile at her confident proclamation and patted her hand in admiration.

"Wherever your parents are, I'm sure they would be proud of you."

Ariana suddenly stilled, her muscles freezing up and locking in place for a brief second. She then sighed softly, so gentle that it rivalled a slight spring breeze, its existence almost lost in the stillness of the night. She tightly gripped the large hand that was clutching hers, a callous and rough hand that had one too many years of holding a broomstick, and raised it flat against her naked chest in one swift motion.

A protest immediately rose to tip of James' lips, but died at the last second as he felt the beginnings of the rhythmic beat of Ariana's heart under his palm. It first felt like a faint echo, but then gradually strengthened, beating with such energy and life that he felt like a tiny rock in the middle of a raging ocean, battered by the great waves that rose up from its churning depths.

"My parents are always with me," Ariana murmured as she looked up into the face of her young father, a tender and loving smile gracing her face.

There was nothing sexual about the contact of skin upon skin, only the mere whisper of an everlasting bond in its nascent stages, beginning to form with an unyielding strength, annealing and reshaping from the crucible of her revelations.

After a couple of seconds, James pulled his hand away with an awkward cough and a strange look on his face. It was awhile before either of them spoke.

"This might sound silly, but for a brief moment I felt something. Like some sort of…," James started as he broke the silence, struggling to find the right word.

"Ah forget it – it must because I'm tired," he answered himself with an embarrassed laugh, his fatigue finally catching up to him.

He then looked towards the silent young witch next to him. After noticing that her half lidded eyes betrayed her tiredness, he decided that this discussion would be best continued after a good night's sleep.

"Come on, let's get you dressed," he said firmly, gathering up the top half of her robes and placing it over her head, pushing her hands through the sleeves.

As he was in the middle of the process, a shiny object fell out of one of her pockets and onto the couch. James spotted it out of the corner of his eyes and grabbed it when he had finished clothing her.

"You dropped this," James said as he proffered the item back to her.

Ariana gave a noise of surprise as she lethargically reached out and grabbed it, turning it over and inspecting it after. It was a curious looking object, an intricate piece of silver that was shaped in the spread wings of a Hippogriff with a large blue sapphire shaped like an oval in the centre.

"I almost forgot about this," she yawned, "One of your spells created a hole in the wall, which led to another room. While I was extinguishing the flames, a couple of trinkets and artifacts spilt through. I just thought this one looked interesting."

"May I see it?" James suddenly requested, feeling strangely disturbed about this seemingly innocuous piece of jewellery.

With a nod, she passed it back to him. He scrutinized it, making out small words that were elegantly engraved onto its surface in cursive.

"Wit belong measure is man's greatest treasure," he quoted, looking back up at her with slight interest, "Hey, isn't that that the common saying from Rowena Ravenclaw?"

Ariana was too tired to care at the moment and shrugged in indifference, unable to properly process his words.

James nodded in understanding at her unspoken desire and slipped the diadem back into her robes and put one arm on her shoulder as they stood up and made their way out of the Room of Requirement, his invisibility cloak safely tucked his robes.

Just before they exited the room, James suddenly remembered something important which he had forgotten to say. Recalling the lack of shame Ariana had in her eyes from being half naked around another person, a male teenager to be precise, he took a gulp as he thought of the best way to say what was on his mind before they headed off.

"Ariana, it is uh… not okay to take your clothes off in front other boys, you got that?" he lectured sternly.

"Oh – okay, only you then," Ariana sleepily replied, snuggling deeper into James' side.

"No, I didn't mean that," he groaned as he smacked his head.

The young witch never caught his reply as her eyes were already closed, serenity plastering across her face as her mind slowly drifted off into a higher plane, a place where wonder and delight were mere commonplace, waning and waxing as the subconscious pleased.

James gave a sigh and lifted up her small frame with both hands, carrying her back to her dorm as he wondered how in Merlin's name was he was going to deal with a daughter – if he had one – in the future.

Moonlight splashed on them ever so often as they passed by the high windows in the dark, empty corridors of the ancient castle. The intermittent beams shone down upon Ariana's face, a face which displayed an unbending unification of compassion and strength, a unique fusion that was infinitely more powerful than their separate counterparts.

James felt his heart strings pull at the sight, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards in fondness.

Whatever trials the morrow may bring, this girl will surely conquer them.

This now, I know.


"Class dismissed."

The delicious words floated across the classroom and carried themselves into the ears of a young girl that was on the very verge of nodding off from boredom.

Ariana jerked her head up at the magic phrase, animation infusing back into her once wooden eyes as she stood up quickly and made for the door, all traces of drowsiness now absent. She desperately wanted to go back into the Forbidden Forest to test out a couple of new spells in her break, a trip to the Room of Requirement too risky to execute in the middle of the day.

Eager to get out of the History of Magic class, she beat all the other students the first to open the doors and exit, but jumped in shock as a large hand snaked out and reached for her arm. Before any sort of protest could be made, a familiar voice calmed her heart down.

"Ariana, are you free now?" James asked casually as he pulled her to the side, both of them avoiding the deluge of first-years that poured out through the doorway. He seemed nonchalant and relaxed at first glance, but the thin layer of worried that coating his eyes told another story, one that was left unstated in the annals of history.

Ariana rolled her eyes in amusement at the tall teenager as she crossed her arms, realizing that ever since she revealed herself to the said boy, he would make sure that she was always accompanied by someone at any given time.

I guess I'll be selfish for just one more day.

It won't hurt… right?

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" she replied with a sweet smile, shaking off a disturbing feeling that hidden eyes were watching her.

"Want to meet the gang? They're a harmless bunch… well, mostly," James chuckled fondly, his laughter slow and warm enough to oddly remind her of honey.

Ariana's eyes lit up in delight as she nodded in acceptance at his proposal.

They languidly walked side by side amongst the unending flow of the students, past the hustle and bustle of wizards and witches that bumped into each other and trod on each other's toes, past young girls that were chattering excitedly about the latest vogues, past the older teenagers, ones which stayed quiet as they moved, knowing the inevitable was about to occur.

Voldemort has been relatively silent of late, so an almost hidden atmosphere of elation had perfused throughout the castle, infecting even some of the more radical Slytherins. Not just one, but many rumours had started spreading that the Dark Lord himself had been harming those which were pure of blood.

Whoever our unknown benefactor is, they are sure is doing something which I would have never anticipated.

Ariana smirked in victory as she mused, vividly recalling the moment when Albus told her that a handful of Pure-blood families had retracted their pledge of loyalty to Voldemort, solely due to these rumours.

To destroy a plant fully, you must first dig up its roots.

As she mulled over her thoughts, a figure – out of the corner of her eye – recognised her and hurried towards her in a semblance of panic down the corridor.

The individual did not even register anyone else as it placed itself firmly before her, looking down in what seemed like extreme agitation.

"Was it something I said the other day? Did I do something wrong?" Lily Evans asked in a single breath as she interposed herself between the two travelling students, the flurry of words causing the other witch to blink twice.

Ariana warily eyed the agitated teenager in front of her in confusion for a brief moment, but soon realised what event she was referring to.

"Oh – don't worry about that. It was not your fault at all," she replied in total sincerity, taking one of Lily's hands and patting it as she assuaged the older girl's concerns.

Lily breathed a large sigh of relief from the utterance, the light in her eyes restoring to its fullness as she lightly squeezed the small hand in hers before letting go, "So, where are you off to now?" she brightly inquired.

Ariana tilted her head as she temporarily ignored her question, mirth filling her as she spotted James' apprehensive face over Lily's shoulder.

"James was just accompanying me to the Gryffindor dorms," she started with an innocent face, the flickering traces of a grin skilfully suppressed at all corners of her mouth.

"James?" Lily muttered in slight bewilderment, "Surely you don't mean-"

Her face then slowly turned around, inch by inch, until she gazed upon the one thorn in her side that did not seem to go away.

"Uhh… hey," James greeted as he smiled weakly, characteristically running one hand through his unmanageable mop of hair.

"James," Lily acknowledged icily, "What is your business with this girl?" she continued, shooting a withering look at him. She instantly noticed that something was different about James, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

James's face flushed in annoyance at the overbearing attitude, "I'll have you know, it's none of your-"

He was cut off as an earnest voice piped up behind Lily.

"Mister Potter said he'll give me one Galleon for every prank I pull on a schoolmate," Ariana interrupted as she tugged on Lily's sleeve, causing her to turn around and gaze into wide angelic eyes, their intensity causing the older witch to falter slightly.

Lily's visage then turned predatory as she turned back to the teenager that was adorning a look of abject horror on his face, "James Potter…you have ten seconds to explain yourself," she began calmly as she ignored his spluttering protests, her composed tone layered dangerously with hints of what lay beyond.

Ariana gave a mischievous smirk as she slowly crept away from the arguing duo and leaned her back against the cold stone of the corridor wall. She had seen her parents interact like this many times before. Little did people know, they utterly thrived on it, enjoying every last second of the blustering and caterwauling that insonified every nook and cranny in the castle.

So amused was she of the scene, that she failed to notice a group of Gryffindors slide up beside her and lean casually against the wall she was propped up on.

"A most brilliant move kiddo, if I do say so myself," a voice emphatically declared.

Ariana jumped slightly from the sound, turning her head in curiosity at the new arrivals.

"What say you, Remus?" Sirius continued in a mock-baritone voice, swirling his hand around in the air in a poised manner.

"Indubitably so, my dear fellow" Remus replied in kind, his hands on his hips while his chin jutted outwards in a parody of dignification.

Sirius let out a big groan as he broke character, "Please, no more big words until after lunch," he whined as he clutched his head dramatically.

Ariana simply could not contain herself at the playful interaction and burst into peals of laughter, her frame shaking uncontrollably as she let herself loose for the first time in a long time.

The mellow laughter was not all amusement as a deep seated tone of melancholy lay buried ever so lightly beneath its surface. It was strangely haunting, as a feeling of intense longing filled its melodic tone, filled with sorrow for friendships that were once lost, and strengthened with hope for the ones gained.

Perhaps, in hindsight, one could say that the Marauders were not the genesis of her laughter, but rather the trigger.

Ariana's full-blown laughter finally devolved into lilting giggling after a moment, the mirth that filled her electrifying eyes never leaving as she struggled to regain her composure.

Remus raised an eye in interest at the vivacious girl, feeling a strange tug of familiarity inside him.

James and Lily's argument quieted down from the sound of rich laughter, looking up and around in wonder as to where it originated from. They found themselves strangely drawn towards the tuneful noise, their senses heightened as every step felt like treading dewy grass, cool and welcoming akin to a midnight breeze.

They finally found themselves before a congregation that that only one of the two felt pleased to join.

"Perfect timing, lads," James nodded a spirited greeting as his flushed face slowly returned to its normal colour, his previous squabble all but forgotten, "You all remember me telling you about Ariana, I hope."

He pivoted towards the first-year, "Now then, young Ariana, this is Remus," he continued as he gestured with his hand, causing a polite exchange in greetings.

"…and this is Sirius-"

"Snuffles," Ariana loudly broke in without thinking, her mind acting faster than her body.

Four pairs of eyes eyed her in interest from her interruption, causing her widen her eyes in alarm as she realized what she had said, furiously thinking of some way to explain the bizarre remark.

Ariana felt her face flush red from embarrassment, "S-Sirius doesn't suit him…. I like Snuffles more," she mumbled as she looked down at the ground, one foot shuffling behind the other.

Lily gave a squeal as her heart melted from the precious sight, "Aren't you just the cutest," she almost cooed, perceiving the moniker to be born out of pure innocence.

Cute? Ariana thought to herself in bewilderment, wondering what would have caused the older girl to say that.

Certainly the first time I've ever been called that…

James gave a roaring laugh as he slapped Sirius on the shoulder, "What do you think it… Snuffles?" he sniggered as he goaded the grumbling teenager, skilfully dodging out of the reaches of his playful punches.

Ariana then ignored the others as they chattered amongst themselves, and turned the last member in the group that hadn't been introduced formally to her. A blinding pain temporarily seared through her brain for a brief second as she looked upon the figure, the intense feeling causing her to feel as if her head was split open from the inside.

Of all the stories she had heard from her parents in the afterlife and in her life before that, she could not deduce who this particular person was. The more she tried to wrack her brain for ideas, the more the twinge returned in severity.

"H-Have we met before?" she asked with a pained gasp.

"Well surely," the mysterious person replied with a worried look at her distressed face, "We would have passed by each other at least once or twice since school started, since we are both in Gryffindor."

Clenching her fist tightly in an attempt to dull the throbbing pain, Ariana shook her head violently from his answer.

"No, I mean have we met before?" she echoed, her strange enunciation causing the other student to adopt a highly confused countenance.

"No, I'm sure about that," the student said in a frown.

Ariana looked over her shoulder at James for assistance, but found him engrossed in what seemed to be a very lively and hot debate, long gone and deviated from his original intentions. Her headache seemed to slowly dissipate and as she continued to stare at him, a sense of calm numbness flooded through her brain, almost as if a part of her memories were missing.

She turned back to her housemate and shrugged, sticking out a hand soon after in a polite greeting, "Anyway, I'm Ariana Peverell."

A bright smile appeared on the student's face as the action was returned in kind, shaking her hand gently.

"I'm Peter… Peter Pettigrew."


A/N: Developments all round! Also, as someone who had only met their real parents recently as well, this chapter personally struck a chord in me.

P.S. Sickness relapsed so updates might be a little slow. I'll try my hardest to keep going, don't worry!

Thanks for all the support!