*I don't own InuYasha, Harry Potter, or any of their characters
NOTE- Please read the A/N at the end of the chapter BEFORE you review!
The babe cried as she fell in the darkness. It hurt so much! Where was milk-giver mother? Where was Alpha-pack father? Where was litter-mate brother? Somebody, make the pain STOP!
Suddenly, something strange happened. As she abruptly stopped falling, the little one felt a hand on her forehead. It felt so good! It made some of the pain go away! Hurriedly, she leaned into the touch to get more of the pain taken away. She couldn't help but whimper as well, letting the one who was helping her know that she appreciated the release of pain as well as pleading for more of that touch that just felt so good.
"Hush, little pup," someone soothed. Hearing the sheer amount of power in that voice, the babe shook slightly with fear. She didn't know this voice, this being had power, this person could kill her!
The hand that was on her forehead rubbed back and forth in a way that felt so good as the voice once again said gently, "Shh…" Inexplicably feeling safer, the little one calmed. She didn't know why, but she began to feel that she was and would always be safe with this person.
Who was this being? Curious about this fact, the babe tried to open her eyes to see who this kind person was.
"No, no, no, we can't have you going blind little one," the being chided amusingly as the hand that was on the babe's forehead immediately moved down to cover her eyes.
Suddenly, another being chuckled as a male voice added, "She's even more curious than we originally thought, sister!" Upon this, more beings began to laugh good-naturedly.
"Hush now, you're scaring her," the original being reprimanded as the babe once again tensed with fear. There were more of these powerful beings? Were they like the one who had taken away the pain, or were they like that person who had said those scary words that caused the pain?
Another hand was soon placed on her head, and resumed the rubbing that had been interrupted when she had tried to see what was happening. Soon enough, the little one settled down once more.
"Now, little pup, We need to adjust the spell that was placed on you," said the owner of those wonderful hands. "This will feel strange, but the feeling shall pass momentarily."
Confused, the babe whined questioningly. What was going to happen?
Suddenly, the part of her that walked around on four legs instead of two, the part that had been with the babe for as long as she could remember, the part that had been whining in pain along with her, was suddenly growing quieter and quieter. NO! Why was it doing that?! It needed to be with her!
"I know, I know," the being once again soothed as the little girl began to thrash around in complaint. "Your inner beast needs to be put to sleep temporarily so that she doesn't kill you during her attempts to break the seal before you are ready, little pup. When you are older and need her strength, she'll wake up again."
Even though she didn't fully understand what the being meant, the babe calmed when she sensed from the being that her four leg part wouldn't be harmed.
"Good girl," the being praised. "Now, for the tasks that We have saved you for, We give you magic willingly given by a girl from the country We shall soon send you to."
Marveling at the strange feeling that was now coursing through her, the babe couldn't help but giggle with delight. It felt so strangely good!
Laughing with her, the owner of the hands that were still covering her eyes and rubbing her head then stated, "And now, to change your appearance in order to help you blend in until you grow into who you are meant to be."
Although the babe couldn't see or feel this, her white hair began to darken to a more silvery-blond while her beautiful golden eyes changed into an equally beautiful golden hazel. Meanwhile, her tiny claws were changed into tiny fingernails, her pointed ears rounded out, and the canine teeth still hiding within her gums shortened to an acceptable human length. As these changes took place, the little girl shrank as her body was de-aged to better adapt to everything that was now different from what she had been before she had fallen.
When the being was finished, the babe appeared to be nothing more than a three month-old human.
"There, little one," the being said when she was finished. The hand that had been rubbing her head suddenly cupped her cheek as the being sadly finished, "You will be beaten, you will be degraded, you will go through several identity struggles, you will suffer through many other hardships, but you will survive. You shall gain a new family, and you shall help your new family survive what is to come. But most of all, little Kie, even if you do not remember any of this, know that you have and will always be loved."
The babe's brows furrowed at this. What did the being mean by that?
Suddenly, she felt herself falling again. As she did so, the hands that had provided such comfort began to disappear from her skin. No, no, no, NO! She liked this being, she wanted to know more about her, she wanted to STAY!
"Until you are needed, little Princess," the being promised, her voice fading away.
As she whimpered to go back, suddenly the babe felt herself cradled in a pair of arms.
Hearing a gentle female voice speak a language she didn't know, her curious nature took over. Opening her eyes, the babe looked up and saw the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen in her short life.
As the morning dawned nice and bright, the two lumps that had been snuggled together underneath the down comforter began to stir. The larger of the two eventually sat up to reveal a man with unruly black hair and sleep-filled hazel eyes. Stretching his arms over his head for a moment, his left one came crashing down onto the nearby nightstand. After several failures, eventually a pair of circular-framed glasses were grasped.
Placing them on his face, the man absently ran a hand through his hair as he looked towards the other lump on the bed. With a fond smile, he gently pulled back the cover as he softly greeted, "Morning, Lily love."
The newly revealed red-haired woman moaned in protest at the light that was now piercing through her closed lids. Eventually, green eyes appeared from behind them. Focusing on the man, Lily replied with a sleepy tone, "Good morning, James."
Leaning down, James kissed his wife's brow as he murmured, "Happy Birthday."
Beaming at this, Lily reached up and kissed her husband's lips gently. When they finally separated, she whispered, "Thank you, darling."
"And how's our little surprise?" James then inquired as he placed a hand over Lily's stomach.
"It seems that the baby wants to give me a birthday present by allowing me to not have to rush to the loo," Lily stated after several moments of glancing down towards her unborn child. Placing her hand over her husband's, she looked up as she asked, "Are you excited to break the news?"
James grinned as he admitted, "Am I ever! I just can't wait to see the looks on Padfoot's and Moony's faces when they find out that there's going to be a Prongslet."
"James, for all we know the baby could be a girl," Lily responded flatly.
Sheepishly rubbing his hand through his hair, James tried to placate his wife. "You're right, dear- the baby could be either a Prongslet or a little, um… what was the name of that muggle movie you showed me? The one about the deer?"
"Bambi?" Lily offered.
Snapping his fingers then pointing them at her, James exclaimed, "That's it! The baby could be either a Prongslet or a Bambi!"
"James."
"What?"
"…Bambi was a male deer."
"…Oh, yeah."
The expectant mother then did what any sane person would've done in that situation- she slapped a palm to her face.
The party was turning out to be a success, Lily mused as she observed all of the guests.
While some people of the Order couldn't make it, like Aberforth and several of the older members, the rest were now scattered throughout the first floor. Professor Dumbledore (or Albus, as he kept trying to get the younger members to call him) was seated on the couch talking to Alastor Moody, who took a swig out of his iconic hip-flask every so often. James, meanwhile, was once again hanging out with the rest of the Marauders. Even Peter, who normally didn't come to anything except official Order meetings anymore, was there. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but Lily figured that it was due to him not being used to this sort of thing. Minerva McGonagall was speaking with several other older members, while the Longbottoms were having an animated conversation with the McKinnons. Lily stifled a giggle as once again Molly (who had come alone, since she and Arthur couldn't find a baby-sitter they felt would be able to handle the already mischievous Fred and George in time) prevented her brothers from spiking the non-alcoholic punch-bowl, still looking intimidating even though she was incredibly pregnant with her and Arthur's sixth child.
She felt a brief stab of regret that not all of her friends could be here, but she knew that should the one person that couldn't make it actually be here it would cause all sorts of problems… and not just from the Order. After all, the marriage contract her friend had agreed to was iron-clad- they were lucky that she would be able to come over tomorrow for a private celebration between the two of them.
Discreetly checking her watch, she noticed that it was finally time to announce the big news. Grabbing a nearby spoon, she gently tapped her water goblet.
"Attention, everyone! May I have your attention, please?" she called out. When everyone looked her way, she stopped tapping and set the spoon back down. James, after discreetly checking his own watch, began to make his way towards her.
In order to buy him a little time, Lily began to speak. "First of all, I want to thank everyone for being here today. You don't know how much it means to me for all of you to make it here to my birthday party." As several people good-naturedly interrupted with a chorus of various well-wishes (with the loudest belonging to Sirius), she couldn't help but laugh a little. Feeling James finally standing next to her, she continued, "However, that is not the only reason I have called for your attention. I have called your attention because James and I have some great news to share with all of you." Sharing an excited glance with James, she announced, "I have recently visited St. Mungo's to verify a suspicion I had, and it was confirmed- we're having a baby!"
A veritable chorus of cheers, whoops, and clapping erupted after she spoke those words. James burst out in laughter when he noticed the happily stunned looks on his fellow Marauders' faces.
Before anyone could get close to the happy couple to give them hugs and handshakes, however, suddenly a great light bloomed in between them and the rest of the guests. As several cries of alarm rang out, Lily had the strangest urge overtake her. Holding her arms out as if to cradle one of Molly's children, she gasped as she felt a weight suddenly and gently establish itself. Once she had a firm grasp on it, the light disappeared as quickly as it came.
Lily was stunned to see what the light revealed. There, cradled in her arms, was a naked silvery-blonde baby girl.
As the stunned silence of the party-goers reigned supreme, the expecting mother heard the little one in her arms whimpering softly as her eyes were squeezed shut. The sound breaking her heart, she cradled the baby closer as she soothed, "Shush baby girl, it's okay, you're safe now."
At the sound of her voice, the little one stopped whimpering. Opening her closed eyes, the girl curiously met Lily's eyes with beautiful hazel ones.
Lily Potter fell in love.
"Lily…?" breathed James, finally finding his voice.
As she glanced up at her husband, Lily pled with her eyes as she held up the little girl for him. "James, look at her," she responded softly, affection filling her voice.
As the expectant father looked upon her, the baby also looked towards him. Suddenly she cooed and smiled. As James at first looked startled then fondly smiled back, Lily knew that like her, James had become attached to this beautiful girl.
Suddenly, they were reminded of their guests as Sirius burst out, "Bloody hell, Lily, when you said you were having a baby you weren't kidding!"
Albus Percvial Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had stared in shock along with the rest of the guests when the strange light had seemingly dropped off a baby, but his mind began to function once more when Lily showed James what was apparently a little girl.
Everyone else, meanwhile, shook out of their own shocked silences at Sirius' outburst.
"Oh, look at the precious little one!" cooed Molly, tears beginning to form in her eyes. As many of the women in the room agreed with her, the vast majority of the men were beginning to wonder as to who the baby was and where it came from.
The next several minutes might've gone the same way if Alastor hadn't suddenly doused a bucket of cold reality on them.
"Don't get attached to the baby, Potter!" he growled out, "For all we know, this is a transfigured Dark artifact that came from You-Know-Who himself!"
Several incredulous looks were leveled towards the veteran Auror at that.
"Er… somehow, Moody, I just don't think that using a baby is You-Know-Who's style," commented Fabian.
Gideon added, "Yeah, if it was an animal then I'd be more suspicious, but a baby?"
"And that's just what he'd want you to think!" Moody all but roared, "That's why we must always use constant vigilance!"
Upon hearing Moody's shout, the object of discussion began to fuss. As Lily once again soothed the baby, Molly glared over at the offender. "Even if it is a trap, that gives you no reason to shout," she reprimanded, "After all, what if causing the little one to cry was the very thing to set it off?"
Before a full scale argument could break out, Albus decided to take matters into hand. Standing up, he waited until everyone's eyes were on him before he continued, "Lily, would you mind handing me the babe?"
Looking extremely reluctant to do so, Lily nonetheless handed the little one over. As he cradled her in one arm, Albus studied the new arrival.
She really was a cute one, he couldn't help but notice as she stared curiously up at him. However, that didn't last long as she discovered a marvelous new toy.
"Oof!" he exclaimed quietly as she tugged on a bit of his beard. Upon hearing that, the baby started laughing with delight. As he and several others chuckled along with her, Albus could feel deep in his bones that this wasn't a trick of Tom's. For one thing, he couldn't feel any trace of Tom's magic on her. Nor could he, with his mastery of Transfiguration, feel any telltale sign of the distinct magic that more often than not is attached to a Transfigured item.
That left the question, however, of who this child was and where she came from.
Knowing that the power of the Elder Wand would be able to break through most enchantments obscuring identity, he pulled it out of his sleeve and silently cast the necessary spells that would reveal the baby's name, parentage, and medical history.
He stared in shock at the results.
While the basic result of the family-revealing spell was what one would expect, where there would ordinarily be names were instead various characters that seemed to hint towards Japanese origin. However, they were so archaic that even he couldn't translate them. The medical history, meanwhile, came up entirely positive except for a mention that a part of the babe seemed to be sealed away. Albus suspected that if any other wand was used that note would not even be mentioned, nor would the strange characters have appeared.
Which meant that whoever sent the babe here was so strong that even the Elder Wand, which was supposedly created by Death himself, couldn't completely break through their enchantments.
Reeling at the possibilities, Dumbledore realized that the little girl in his arms was sent to Lily for a reason. What that reason was, he didn't know… however, he was reasonably sure that for the most part the babe was as she appeared to be.
Putting the wand away, he announced, "She is definitely not a trap from Voldemort." Ignoring the flinch of several party goers with ease, he continued, "However, I wasn't able to determine who she is or where she came from. For all intents and purposes, it seems this child is all alone."
Gently untangling the little girl's hands from his beard, he then handed her over to Lily as he finished, "It is of my opinion that she was sent to you for a reason, Lily. What that reason is, I don't know, however I feel that it's prudent that we follow the wishes of the unknown being—"
"Being?" interrupted James.
Nodding once, Albus clarified, "Yes, being. Can you think of anyone else who would not only use a transport spell that was powerful enough to go through all of our wards, but also obscure the family reveal spell enough that even I can't read it?"
As he spoke, unknown to him the little girl in question kept reaching for the bit of beard that had been taken away from her. The longer the adults talked, the more frustrated she seemed to get.
Suddenly, a pulse of magic was felt, and then a happy gurgle was heard. Everyone looked towards the source to see that the babe had somehow managed to Summon the end of Albus' beard, and was now happily playing with it once more.
While everyone else laughed at this bit of accidental magic, the owner of the beard stared with shock at the one who wielded it. It had been almost one hundred years since he had felt that distinctive magical signature… one he'd never thought he'd feel again.
"Albus? Is there something wrong?" Minerva inquired when she noticed his preoccupation. Upon hearing this, others turned towards the man who had influenced so many of them into the people they were today.
Tears threatening to appear in his eyes, Albus stared at the babe. "Ariana?" he breathed.
James was surprised to see the sheen covering his mentor's eyes. Albus Dumbledore had always seemed to be the type of person who would either be smiling with twinkling eyes at you, or fiercely protecting you from enemies that you couldn't handle alone. Never in a hundred years would the eldest living Potter have thought that he would see the powerful man staring in shock with a sheen in his eyes that hinted at actual tears.
"Sir?" he tentatively questioned, not wanting the tears that were threatening to fall to actually fulfill that threat.
Shaking his head slightly, the Leader of the Light seemingly managed to pull himself together once more. Eyes once again twinkling merrily, he answered, "I apologize… it's just that the child's magic felt similar to the magic that had belonged to someone I knew a long time ago."
"Who, Albus?" inquired Moony.
For several long moments, it looked like the wise old man would refuse to answer. Finally, however, he managed to reply, "Her name was Ariana."
"Ariana…" Lily trailed off, glancing towards the little girl (who was still playing with Dumbledore's beard, and soaking it in quite a bit of drool) in her arms.
Glancing towards his wife, James noticed that she had a speculative look in her eyes. "Lily?"
Looking back towards him, Lily's beautiful green eyes were filled with a hopeful question. Sensing that she wanted to speak somewhat privately, James quickly pulled his wand out and cast the always trusty Muffliato. Once the spell was in place, James turned back towards his wife.
"James… what do you think of all this?" Lily began.
Knowing what his wife was leading up to, James studied the little girl in question. As if sensing his scrutiny, the baby paused in her play and looked back towards him. For several seconds, hazel eyes stared into hazel eyes. Finally, it seemed that the owner of the younger pair came to a decision. Giggling, she reached out a hand towards him.
Smiling back, he offered one of his fingers. When her tiny hand clasped around it, James knew then and there that this little girl would be a welcome addition to his growing family.
"I think this little one would make a wonderful big sister to our own bundle of joy," he eventually responded, looking back towards his wife. Remembering the lessons that his mother had drilled into him about various archaic Rites, he recalled one of them that would be perfect for this. "Would you mind if I used the Adoption Rite to officially add her to the Potter line?"
Beaming, Lily shook her head then asked, "What do you think of naming her Ariana, then?"
"Ariana? Whatever happened to, 'My firstborn girl shall be called Rose'?" James couldn't help but tease, quoting what he had remembered her saying when he had (purposefully) stumbled upon her and Marlene McKinnon chatting in the Library during sixth year.
Laughing lightly at that reminder, Lily teased back, "Why, James, to think that you remembered that after all of these years!" As James unashamedly smiled back, she fondly shook her head as she answered his question. "While I still say that Rose is a good name, for some odd reason I feel like Ariana fits her much better."
"Well, why don't we use Rose as her middle name, then?" James offered.
As the two parents looked back towards the newest member of their family, Lily tested the name out. "Ariana Rose Potter… what do you think of that, sweetheart?"
Smiling her biggest smile yet, the baby finally dropped her bit of beard and reached towards Lily. When Lily mirrored her husband's actions, the little girl brought their fingers together as she looked between her new parents.
"Well, I'd say she approves," James laughed. As Lily laughed with him, he couldn't help but feel that this was the start of a wonderful adventure.
Suddenly, he realized something. "Wait, shouldn't we ask Dumbledore if we could name her after his friend?"
Blinking with surprise, Lily slowly replied, "I don't think he'll mind… but let's ask anyway. Do you want to do it, or should I?"
"I'll do it," James answered after a brief moment. Once he cancelled the Muffliato spell, together the new family faced their guests.
Glancing towards his former Headmaster, James inquired, "Sir, would you mind terribly if we named our newest daughter after your old friend?"
Blinking with surprise, it took several moments for Dumbledore to respond. "No, I don't mind at all," he agreed, his voice thickening slightly with emotion.
Smiling, James then turned towards his wife. As she held the baby up high, he began the Rite that he never thought he would ever use. "We, James Charlus Potter and Lily Iris Potter nee Evans, wish to invoke the Rite of Adoption. We hereby proclaim our desire to adopt this girl child as our own, and wish to add her to our family line. Does anyone deny our claim?"
"We see no reason to deny you, thus we accept your claim," came the ritual response from the older members as Magic filled the room. Many of the younger members were surprised by the proceedings, for it was rare nowadays for people to use ancient Rites. More often than not, the goblins would take care of any adoptions. However, the Adoption Rite had one benefit that the goblins did not have- should the Rite be successful, then the adopted child would be able to use magics normally reserved for the blood members of the Family (which, in James' case, meant that there was a significant chance that their new daughter would gain an affinity for Defensive and/or Battle Magics).
And with he and Lily having faced off against the Dark Lord himself twice now, their new little girl needed all the protection she could get.
"Magic, hear our plea!" James intoned, having gotten the correct response to continue the Rite. "Together, we, James Charlus Potter and Lily Iris Potter nee Evans, would like to induct this girl child into the Potter family, and name her Ariana Rose Potter. Will you please grant our wish?"
The magic swirled around for several moments, as if thinking upon the decision. Then, James felt a distinct tug on his magic, and watched as a strand of light emitted from his chest. Beside him, Lily gasped and then looked down as a similar strand of light emitted from her chest while unconsciously bringing the babe back down to a comfortable level. Internally, James breathed a sigh of relief, for those lights meant that the Rite was successful. He watched as the two strands met above the babe's head and intertwined until you couldn't distinguish one from the other.
Meanwhile, the babe's own magic began to illuminate from underneath her skin. Once her magic was the same level of brightness as the magic swirling above her, a small portion of it seemed to travel to the top of her head. At this point, James was curious as to how the baby's magic would welcome the family magic, for at this point in the Rite it was unique for every individual (at least, according to his mother anyway).
He never expected a hexagon containing a cherry blossom to form above her head. As Lily and he (and several other members of the party, if their ooh's and ahh's were any indication) marveled at this simple but beautiful design, the family magic rushed into the center of the blossom, as if pollinating it. When all of the family magic had done so, the flower folded into a closed position one petal at a time. Meanwhile, the hexagon surrounding it shrank until it was absorbed into the now closed bud. Once it had done so, the bud sank back into the little girl.
For several seconds, the baby continued to glow as the two magics finished combining. Finally, however, the glow diminished, signifying the end of Magic's involvement.
All that was left now was the final part of the Rite.
As he gestured for Lily to raise the baby above her head, James announced, "Witnesses, gather around! I introduce to you the newest member of the Potter family, Ariana Rose Potter!"
Cheering filled the room. When it began to die down, Padfoot barked out with a laugh, "Now, will someone please give that poor girl some clothes?"
A/N- Okay, before ANYONE gives me flak about giving lil' Ariana the original Ariana's magic, HEAR ME OUT.
In this universe, I'm using the idea that each region of the world's magical population, while able to use a variety of similar spells, will actually have different ways of casting magic. For example, the European and American witches and wizards will rely heavily on wands (with the Native Americans using their shaman spells), the Asian magical population will use seals, sutras, and other stuff relating to their culture, and so on and so forth. So, since lil' Ariana's going over to Great Britain, she's going to need European magic. However, since the gods that are interfering are not European, they can't exactly give out European magic. Hence, the donation of the original Ariana's magic. To me, it seems like something the original Ariana would do, anyway. Plus, there's always the bonus of drama with the Dumbledores!
Now yes, having baby Kie's POV was inspired by Alfie Owens aka Stormaggedon, Dark Lord of All (even though she's much nicer than he is). Kudos to those who know where that awesome baby (seriously, Voodletort ain't got nothing on this kid) comes from! And yes, Gods speak Baby.
Let's see, what else... yes, I know the Rite sucks, however I wrote that at 3 am, so please cut me a little slack. And yes, the cherry blossom in the hexagon was inspired by Sesshomaru's crest on his clothes... originally the plan was to use all three flowers, however I felt that just didn't make much sense (and it works, seeing as how technically Kie/Ariana is weaker than her brother). Any other problems you see, feel free to ask me about them! I'll try to answer why I went a certain direction or whatever, and if I can't then shame on me.