A/N: Okay, Please don't kill me, I know I haven't updated in a while but there are two good reasons why! 1. I don't want to spend my entire holidays writing fan fiction, and 2. I only got two reviews for last chapter! You want faster updates, then review! Okay, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own HP

Chapter 7- A new world

Arianna grumbled to herself as she took one last look around her now empty room, before storming out and slamming the door behind her.

'Stupid mother… Stupid friends… Stupid Dumbledore.'

She had barely spoken to anyone since the incident in the hospital wing yesterday afternoon. Anna-May was confused at her daughter's behaviour. She had though that she would be thrilled to go to England and meet her father, but Arianna was acting like she didn't want the chance to be part of a proper family again. She was acting just plain ungrateful!

Paige and Kayla had both called to apologise for storming out, but the conversation had been stiff, forced and unfriendly; nothing like their usual happy, joking conversations. Kayla especially had talked in a manner that made Arianna think her mother had forced her to call. Despite this, both Paige and Kayla had agreed to come to the ministry to see them off this morning.

Arianna stormed into the living room and sat herself down on her suitcase. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at her mother, who was standing patiently by the fireplace, holding a small sack of floo powder.

'Ready to go, Ari?' She said in a falsely bright and cheery voice, blatantly ignoring the murderous stare she was receiving from her daughter.

'Yes.' Replied Ari stiffly, never turning off her glare. She slowly got up and dragged her suitcase towards the fireplace. She reluctantly accepted the floo powder from her mother and threw it into the fireplace. She stepped forward into the crackling green flames.

'The ministry of magic.' She said bitterly and was instantly engulfed in emerald green flames.

She emerged moments later from one of the arrival fireplaces at the Australian ministry for magic. She landed gracefully but was thrown to the ground when her suitcase came tumbling after her. Arianna scowled. She was one of the few people her age who were blessed with the ability to travel by floo powder with a certain level of style and poise. She'd always had good balance, but it was impossible to stay standing when a heavy suitcase came slamming into you. She jumped to her feet and winced as a sharp pain shot through the back of her neck. She still hadn't completely recovered from her meeting with the death eaters three days ago. She didn't know much about the curse she was hit with, but she did know it packed one hell of a punch.

She rubbed her neck angrily, her bad mood increasing, as she dragged her suitcase away from the fireplace. A few seconds later, she spotted her mother hurrying over from the apparation area.

'Arianna! Come one! I'm over here!' Arianna stared determinedly in the other direction.

'I've found your friends!' Arianna's head shot up. However horribly her friends had treated her, she still wanted to see them before she left. She quickly hurried over to where her mother and friends were standing. She was immediately enveloped in a hug from Kayla.

'Oh God, Ari, I've been a bitch. It's not your fault you have to move! I'm so sorry! Forgive me?' She looked up at Arianna, her hazel eyes wide and swimming with tears. Arianna almost burst out laughing. She had seen that I'm-so-innocent-it-wasn't-my-fault look on Kayla so many times before. Her best friend obviously didn't give her much credit.

'Cut the crap, Kay, I've seen that look on you too many times before for it to actually fool me.' Then she smiled. 'Of course I forgive you.'

Kayla grinned, the tears instantly gone from her eyes.

'Of course you do! You love me!' Arianna rolled her eyes and hugged her friend.

'Hey! Forgetting about someone?' Ari looked up to see her other best friend standing behind her.

'Paige!' She squealed and immediately pulled her into the hug. The hug lasted for about 30 seconds before Arianna's mother pulled her away.

'Ari, we have to go soon! Out portkey leaves in fifteen minutes and we still have to go pick it up.' Arianna scowled. Leave it to her mother to ruin the perfect moment. She stepped back from her friends awkwardly.

'Well… Bye... I guess…' She trailed off.

'We'll write every day.' Paige promised.

'Yeah and… good luck, I spose, with meeting your dad and everything…I'll miss you.'

'Don't.' Arianna replied firmly, 'I'll be home before you know it.' She shot a nervous glance at her mother, but she was far enough away not to hear them, 'I'm going to be an absolute nightmare so they'll have no choice but to send me back.' Kayla's and Paige's mouths dropped open, but their surprised looks were quickly replaced by grins.

'That's my girl!' said Kayla.

'Should have known…' muttered Paige, but suddenly her expression was replaced by a slightly worried one.

'Ari, maybe… for your mum's sake you should at least TRY to bond with your dad before you get yourself sent home.' Arianna scowled.

'Why should I do that?'

'Because she obviously still loves him and if you don't even try to like him, you'll break her heart!' Arianna looked slightly guilty. She appeared to be having an argument with herself before she answered.

'Well… I suppose I could be nice to him… but at the same time I'm gonna be doing my best to get expelled from Hogwarts.' She said grudgingly.

'As long as you do it.' Paige said with a grin.

'Ari! Ten minutes! We have to leave now!' came Anna's urgent cry from a few meters away. Arianna reluctantly pulled away from her friends.

'Well… I guess I better go… I'll owl you as soon as I get there. See ya.'

'Bye.' Replied Paige and Kayla in unison. Arianna took one last look at her friends before grabbing her suitcase and hurrying over to her mother.

'Ready to go, mum?' She asked brightly. Anna looked at her daughter in surprise. Arianna had been blatantly ignoring her since yesterday, and here she was acting… almost excited about moving to England. Anna shook her head. She could never understand her daughter. She was so unpredictable, so wild, so troublesome, so like her father… Anna's stomach gave a joyful lurch. She was going to see Sirius again soon! And on that happy thought, Anna lead her daughter up to the Department of Magical Transportation to collect their portkey.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The cut along the back of Arianna's neck gave a painful twinge as her feet slammed to the ground in the ministry of magic, England. She was vaguely aware of her mother on the ground at her feet. Arianna smirked. Her mother didn't have the good balance that her daughter had. Just as Anna was struggling to her feet, a tired looking customs-wizard hurried over to them.

'Name?' He snapped.

'Anna-May and Arianna Black.' Anna replied smoothly. The wizard's head snapped up at them and he surveyed them suspiciously.

'Any relation to the escaped convict Sirius Black?'

'Not that I'm aware of.' Anna lied smoothly. He gave them one last suspicious look before replying.

'I just need to scan your trunks before I let you through.' Anna nodded and gestured to their suitcases which were piled in a heap just to the left of them.

He hurried over to them and aimed his wand at Arianna's suitcase. He muttered a spell and a green puff of smoke appeared from the end of his wand. He repeated the process with Anna's trunk and then waved them on.

'You're luggage is acceptable. Go on through the barrier.' They nodded at him and then proceeded out of the customs building. Arianna was amazed to realize it was dark outside.

'Geez! How long did that portkey ride take?' She muttered.

'Time difference, honey. It's about midnight here.' She glanced around anxiously. 'Dumbledore said he'd send us an escort to show us to headquarters.'

'Headquarters?' Arianna questioned her.

'Not now. I'll explain later.' She hissed back, still anxiously glancing around. Arianna felt someone tap her on the shoulder and whirled around. Standing there was a young witch who looked to be somewhere in her early twenties. She had dark eyes and short, spiky, bubblegum-pink hair. She was dressed in baggy jeans, and a weird sisters t-shirt with a plain black robe hanging undone over the top. She looked Arianna up and down, a faint glint of recognition in her eyes.

'Are you Arianna and Anna Black? Of course you are, you look just like Si- him. I really hope you are them because If you aren't I've really made an idiot of myself.' Anna laughed.

'I'm Anna and this is Arianna. I'm guessing you're Dumbledore's escort?' The stranger went into a sweeping bow.

'Tonks, at your service!' Anna gasped and looked Tonks up and down.

'To- You wouldn't be little Nymphadora would you?' Tonks scowled and nodded.

'Everybody calls me Tonks now. I hate my name.' Anna laughed again.

'The last time I saw you, you were only a toddler!' Anna exclaimed, and then she turned excitedly to Arianna.

'Ari! This is your cousin!'

'Cousin? What the-'

'Well… sort of.' Tonks cut in, ' My mother was your dad's cousin, so we're like, second or third cousins.' She frowned, 'Well… I think it's something like that…'

Arianna was just about to greet her newly discovered cousin warmly, but then she remembered that she was trying to get her mother to send her back.

'Aren't you supposed to be taking us to headquarters, or something?' She asked Tonks coldly. Tonks looked slightly taken aback.

'Uh… Yeah sure…Umm… I have a portkey here somewhere…' She stuffed her hand into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a slightly squashed quill.

'Uh… yeah.. just put a finger on that…' She tapped it with her wand.

'Activito' she muttered. For the second time in the last fifteen minutes, Arianna felt the familiar sensation of a hook being jerked behind her navel as the portkey took off.

A/N: So… What did you think? Remember: The more reviews I get, the faster I update! So REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!