(Updated 6-16-17)
October 1991
This is a bad idea. Commented Glasa as he stared at the broom in her hands. I say keep all four feet on the ground, but two-leggers have odd notions.
She ignored him, mostly because she had been getting so many odd looks when she talked to her dog. She supposed lots of people talked to animals, but none of them expected the animals to actually respond, and that was the difference.
Arri nervously rubbed her fingers over the top of the broom she had voluntarily mounted. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and everyone looked at her.
"On the count of three, everyone push off gently." Madam Hooch commanded. "One, two, thr- Neville!"
Neville had pushed off far too soon, and far too hard. He was high in the sky before Madam Hooch could finish his name. Apparently hearing his name shouted at him by a teacher was too much, and then there was a body falling too quickly to the ground for Madam Hooch to whip out her wand.
Ari paled at the crunching sound her friend made as he hit the ground. She had been reacting before she even knew what was happening, and was therefore the first to reach him. He was unconscious, and she was glad.
Bones rose in jagged edges from his skin in several places, his right leg was at an unnatural angle, and there was blood pooling underneath his head. As Sarra had taught her, she quickly knelt and searched for a pulse. There wasn't one.
"Move aside!" Students parted like the Red Sea at Hooch's voice. Ari looked up at her teacher, biting her lip. This is why she wanted to come to Hogwarts, and she hadn't learned a thing! She couldn't help her friend, she couldn't save him.
Madam Hooch knelt and waved her wand over the pale boy. Her expression said everything Ari already knew. The frustration and helplessness welled up inside her, rolling into a ball that suddenly exploded from her chest and raced through her fingertips. Copper colored light streamed out to wrap around the still body on the ground.
Suddenly, Ari could feel Neville. She raced through his veins, reaching his heart in a matter of seconds. She raised a hand to the walls of the organ, and with all the force she could muster, pushed the copper light until his heart began to slowly pump again. Knowing she wasn't done, she raced back out and up the arteries of the neck to his head.
She found carnage where his skull was supposed to be. Slowly, she gathered all the bone fragments to her by sending out strings of copper light. Knowing instinctively how they pieced together, she fused them where they belonged, copper shining in between all the cracks until there weren't any cracks left. Veins and arteries were mended with a pulse of light, and then turned her attention to the other broken bones. Slowly she proceeded from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet, fixing anything life-threatening, or any wounds that would cause him to lose too much blood. A saturated green light coated everywhere she went. Somehow, she knew that this was Neville's magic. She gently reached for it as she went, and copper and green intertwined to make Neville whole again.
And then, she was done. Not knowing how to retreat from his body, she jumped, hoping it would get her where she needed to go. With a jolt of pain, everything turned black.
Professor Snape was in a meeting with Minerva when she glanced out the window and shrieked. It was enough to startle Snape, as he'd never heard such a sound in his life. Without question, he followed the older woman as she ran down the stairs and outside. The first years were gathered out there, clearly for their first flying lesson. But they were all gathered in a circle around something. He heard Yolanda order them out of the way.
Trying to be helpful, he called out, "Gryffindor and Slytherin students, return to your dorms immediately. Professor Mcgonagall and I will be along shortly." When some Gryffindors hesitated, he barked, "Now!" They all hurried to obey, shooting looks behind them. And what a sight it was.
Neville Longbottom lay motionless on the ground, blood pooling around him. Miss Sarrasri was kneeling beside him, as well as Yolanda. He saw the health scan results as he marched over, and his heart sank. Augusta most likely would not survive this, he thought, remembering how she was barely able to take care of her grandson after her son had fallen.
He was about to command Miss Sarrasri to leave as well when her body went stiff and her eyes went white.
Incredulous, he watched as the health reading above Mr. Longbottom went from black to a dark red, and got increasingly lighter. Minutes passed, and the Professors, able to see that Miss Sarrasri was doing something, left her alone. Minerva cast her Patronus to fetch the Headmaster.
The Headmaster came by phoenix fire a few minutes later, and not even that was enough to pull the girl out of her daze. Albus clearly knew something they did not, because his harrowed expression became much lighter.
And soon they could see the evidence. Blood started to trickle back into his open wounds, skin mended, bones sank back through the skin. Mr. Longbottom's reading went from red to a mid range blue. While he wasn't doing well still, he wasn't dead either.
And then Neville's eyes snapped open, and a long moan came from his mouth. With all of their attention fixed on the boy, they didn't notice when Miss Sarrasri convulsed, then fell to the ground. However, her giant dog howling and pawing at Severus' leg certainly made him take notice of the unconscious girl.
Professor Snape immediately waved his wand and began levitating her to Pomfrey, knowing the others would take care of Neville.
Everything ached. That was the only clear thought that Ari had upon opening her eyes. Even her eyes ached. She tried sitting up, and was annoyed when she found that her body didn't obey her wishes.
You may not want to do that. Glasa's voice both calmed and irritated her. She tried to answer him, but nothing came out. Her mouth was dry and tasted like something had curled up and died in there.
"Lay still, Miss Sarrasri!" Came a stern woman's voice. Ari recognized it as the school Healer.
Neville. The thought came swiftly, and she was ashamed it hadn't been her first upon waking. She tried to say his name, and was again met with no success.
Opening her eyes was far more of a challenge than it should have been, yet she still stubbornly cracked them open. Determined to find her friend, she shoved a trembling arm behind her and yet again attempted to sit up. Madam Pomfrey turned around and glared.
"If you don't stay still, I will make you!" She barked. Ari grit her teeth, and slumped backwards.
"If you're worried about Mr. Longbottom, you can stop. He'll be fine. He just needs some rest." The Healer cast another look at her. "As do you." She bustled around the bed, a potion flask in hand. Ari took it with ill grace, and chugged it as fast as she could. It felt like she had swallowed slime from the bottom of a lake.
With pleasure, she felt the aching start to fade a bit. She handed the flask back to the stern matron.
"Headmaster Dumbledore would like to speak to you as soon as you've recovered your voice." Madam Pomfrey's tone revealed how well she thought of that plan. "It should return in about a half an hour or so."
Even with Glasa to pet, Ari found that half hour or so to be dreadfully boring. Every several minutes, she would try her hardest to talk. She was immensely pleased when a frog-like croak finally came out. After a few more tries, her voice sounded relatively human, but her throat hurt as though someone had scraped a grater up and down the inside of it a few times.. The matron shook her head, but called the Headmaster in. He was joined by Professor Mcgonagall and Professor Snape. Arri tried to sink as far into her hospital bed as she could when met by the intimidating sight of the trio.. Unfortunately, the bed was far too stiff for something like that to happen.
"How are you feeling, Miss Sarrasri?" The Headmaster asked, his bright blue eyes twinkling from behind his half moon glasses.
She tried to answer honestly.
"Terrible." Was the only word she could force out.
"I'd imagine so, given that you expended a fair amount of your magical core to bring Mr. Longbottom back to life." The Headmaster commented mildly.
Her eyes widened. She knew that she had made Neville's heart start beating again, but Muggles did that all the time.
Like he could read her thoughts, the Headmaster said, "His health scan showed quite clearly that he was dead. Even his magic was gone." Professors Snape and Mcgonagall had yet to say anything, but she could feel their stares.
She frowned. What the Headmaster said couldn't be true. Once a witch or wizard's magic left them, there was no getting it back. And she had very clearly seen Neville's magic, and even used it to help heal him. His body accepted his own magic far better than it had accepted hers.
"But he's not-" was all she could manage before a coughing fit shook her body. Madam Pomfrey hurried back into the infirmary from her office, and handed her another potion. Arri gulped it down, and was relieved to feel an icy cold slide down her throat.
While she drank, Dumbledore responded to her mostly unspoken question.
"No, Mr. Longbottom is not a Squib. But all of us are very interested to know what you did and how you made that happen." This was said with a smile on his face. But Arri clenched her fist. It did not sound like a suggestion to her.
"I-" She shook her head, a bit overwhelmed with trying to explain what happened. "I'm not sure." She finally got out. She snuck a glance at their faces. None of them seemed too happy with this answer, so she tried again.
"I've never healed before." They looked like they didn't quite believe her. "It's true!" She insisted a bit more forcefully. "My mum had me try over and over, but I never could. I wanted to so hard, but I couldn't. I don't know what happened today, only that I was really upset that I couldn't help Neville, and I wanted to help him so much." She paused as she realised she was crying. "He's my friend." She added on, sniffing.
"Be that as it may, Miss Sarrasri, that doesn't change the fact that you healed your friend." Professor Mcgonagall's voice was stern.
Hiccupping, Arri glanced up at the grey haired woman.
"It also doesn't change the fact that you have not been able to produce a single spell in the time you've been here, but you were able to bring a boy back from the dead. We'd very much like to understand what is happening." Professor Mcgonagall added.
Forcing down her tears, Arri hesitantly began telling them what she felt and saw. How she felt like she was in her magic, flying through his veins, starting his heart, mending him from the inside out, drawing his magic out and melding it with hers to make Neville better. She didn't dare look at them afterwards, smoothing her hands along the slightly rough bedspread.
Finally, she forced herself to ask the question that had been plaguing her since her first class.
"Do I actually have magic?I thought that's what I was doing with Neville." Again, she didn't dare look up, twisting the blanket around her hands, clenching them tighter and tighter. The silence above her did nothing to calm her, and she was fighting so hard against tears.
"Enough." A harsh voice cut through the quiet. "Enough already, Albus. You two are scaring her by not answering. Of course you have magic, Miss Sarrasri." Arri looked up at her Potions professor. "No squib or muggle could brew potions like you do. In addition to that, Professor Dumbledore saw your magic healing Mr. Longbottom. There's no question as to you having magic. Our question is why you seem unable to do magic."
All three Professors were nodding, and Arri let a huge whoosh of breath out that she wasn't aware she had been holding. They began to question her, asking her about how she grew up, how she was taught, how did her mum try and get her to heal? She answered every one as best she could.
Finally the Headmaster leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his slightly rounded belly. "Well, Miss Sarrasri you do pose quite the puzzle. But from what you've told us, I do believe Professor Snape has figured you out. We believe you have wild magic."
Arri blinked. "That's what the Sorting Hat said."
Now it was the Headmaster's turn to blink. "Very interesting. Do you know anything about wild magic?"
"No." Arri said, squirming. They were all looking at her so intensely.
"Most people don't." The Headmaster commented. "Those with an Animagus form have at least a little. Professor Mcgonagall and Professor Snape will teach you what they can, and I will look for a teacher in the meantime."
Professors Mcgonagall and Snape looked slightly surprised when the Headmaster said they'd be teaching her. Arri hid a grin.
"Come to my office Monday night, and we'll begin." Professor Mcgonagall told her. Arri nodded and laid back down when they left. She was still pretty tired.
Arri headed towards Professor Mcgonagall's office, wondering if Professor Snape was going to be there too. She knocked loudly, and went in when bidded. Both Professors were sitting by Professor Mcgonagall's fire drinking a cup of tea.
"Have a seat, Miss Sarrasri. We'll begin explaining what we know while we all have a cup of tea." Professor Mcgonagall said.
Arri sat down and sipped at the tea she was handed, shaking her head when offered cream and sugar.
"I know a bit more about the history of wild magic, as I did some research into a few years back. Professor Mcgonagall can help with the theory of it, and we'll see if we can help." Professor Snape said with his lecture voice. Arri nodded and pulled out some parchment and a quill. Hermione had pushed them into Arri's hands before she left the common room, her face making it very clear Arri was to come back with something.
"Some people will tell you that there are only two types of magic: Light and Dark. Still others will tell you there are three: Light, Dark, and Grey. However, there are four types of magic: Light, Dark, Grey, and Wild. Wild magic can often take the form of the other three, but the other three cannot be Wild magic. You see, magic is in everything. Trees, flowers, rocks, and air, they all have magic in them. Wizards can train themselves far enough that they can actually sense this magic. However, in general, wizarding kind cannot access that magic."
"Some historians believe wild magic was how the wizarding world originated. Some person was born a wild mage, and trained their abilities. Their offspring didn't necessarily have wild magic, but they would have been magical, even if that mage had married a Muggle."
"They believe this because of the notable Wild Mages in history. Merlin and Morgana were two at the same time. There hasn't been another full Wild Mage since Merlin. Salazar Slytherin was believed to have a bit of wild magic, that's what they attributed his ability to speak to snakes was from. Every time a Wild Mage has popped up, their bloodline has been noticeably stronger for it."
Professor Snape paused, and Arri looked up, quill paused. Professor Mcgonagall set down her tea and took up where Professor Snape left off.
"This part has been lost to history, but this is what the myths of Wild Magic say. Supposedly, a Wild Mage is one who not only has wild magic, but is able to control it. In theory, a Wild Mage can draw magic from their surroundings and communicate with magical creatures. There is not much more we know about Mages."
Professor Snape looked at Arri expectantly, but she really had no idea what to say.
"The copper magic you mentioned after healing Mr. Longbottom, have you felt it before?" Professor Mcgonagall asked gently.
Arri shook her head. "No, ma'am. Like I've said, I've never used magic before."
"The students say you talked to your dog when you first got here." Professor Snape did not mince words. He was purposefully mocking when he asked his next question.
"Does he reply?"
Arri glared at her Professor. "Of course he does." She tried to make it sound like Professor Snape was the crazy one. Arri saw Professor Mcgonagall quickly hide a smile.
"Have you ever tried talking to him silently?" Professor Snape queried.
Arri screwed up her face. "How would he hear me if I was silent?"
Professor Snape was clearly trying to be patient. "With your wild magic, you silly child."
Arri bit her lip, trying not to be hurt by his tone.
"Schedule another appointment with me once you have accomplished speaking silently with your familiar or another animal. Until then, we cannot do much."
Arri stared at her hands as she rose. "Thank you." She responded to Professor Snape softly. Perhaps this was a bad idea. She walked out of the room, Glasa trotting at her side.
"I don't want to lose myself." She spoke softly, not knowing whether she was talking to Glasa or herself. "And I don't think I can do what they want me to."
You could just try it. Glasa nosed her hand, and she giggled at the feel of it.
Professor Snape watched the slim black haired girl walk down the corridor, her huge white dog silently walking beside her.
"You could have been nicer." Professor Mcgonagall said from behind him.
"What good would that do?" He asked, crossing his arms. "If she really does have all the wild magic we think she does, she needs to learn how to control it. Better for her to lose control now than when she's older and could wipe out this castle with a temper tantrum."
He could practically hear her shake her head as she left him standing in the doorway alone. He was right, and it would also do no good for him to lose his reputation.
Two Weeks Later...
"Okay everyone! Swish and flick!" Professor Flitwick's voice was a smidge squeaky, Arri noticed, before concentrating on the levitating charm. She had practiced the movements over and over with a stick she'd found in the Forest (Professor McGonagall took her wand away when she got to Hogwarts in June, before classes started). She was sure with all her practice she'd get it right.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" She intoned, putting as much will forth as she could, just like the books said. Nothing.
Ron was trying beside her, but with no luck. However, he wasn't saying the incantation right. Hermione did the exact same thing Arri had done, but her feather started to float. Arri bit her lip. Why didn't hers work?
And it was like that in nearly all of Arri's classes. The match in Transfiguration remained obstinately match like, and she could not produce a Jelly-Legs Jinx for her life. She remained certain that Professor Quirrell had it in for her, as he always paired her with the strongest caster of the class: Malfoy. And he never hesitated to send her down.
She didn't know what was going on. Her Potions and Herbology grades were top notch, but any class that required a wand was suffering. Hermione was helping her keep her homework grades up, but Arri didn't see how she could continue to stay here if she couldn't do magic. It was like her mum all over again! All the expectation, and none of the results.
"No Ron, you're saying it wrong." Hermione said. Arri squinted at her friend and tried not to get mad. Sometimes Hermione was hard to take, especially when she did everything right. Ron frowned, but did as Hermione suggested.
When his feather floated up to the ceiling, Hermione gave him a smug smile. "See, you should listen to me more often."
Arri grabbed Ron's arm before he could do anything to their oblivious friend. He glared at her, then at Hermione.
"I know she's a bit hard to take, Ron. But she doesn't realize what she's doing. We'll talk to her after class, okay?" Arri whispered.
"Fine." Ron hissed back. "But I get to talk to her." Arri nodded, then turned and tried to do the spell again.
"I don't know what you're doing wrong, Arri." Hermione said, eyeing her friend. "You're saying it right and doing the motions perfectly."
"I know." Arri grit her teeth.
"Are you picturing your magic flowing like Professor Flitwick talked about?" Hermione asked, leaning over to look at Arri's notes.
"Yes Hermione." Arri said. "As far as I can tell." And she was. She was picturing the copper flame that had moved through Neville's body moving down and through her wand. Nothing.
"You should talk to a teacher about that, then." Hermione said earnestly. "I can do it for you, even."
"No!" Arri's refusal came out sharper than she intended. Hermione reared back, a hurt look on her face.
"Sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to say it like that. I just need to practice more, I'm sure. It'll be fine." Arri tried on a reassuring smile, not knowing if it would work or not. She hadn't had much practice at reassuring people. That had been her mother's job.
Hermione leaned back in her chair, slightly mollified. "I understand. You just need to be more careful how you talk to people." And then Hermione pulled out their Charms book and continued to read ahead.
This time it was Ron grabbing Arri's arm. "We'll talk after, remember?" Ron whispered to her. Arri nodded tightly.
It wasn't long until the end of class, and then all the students were pouring out. Once they had reached an open courtyard, Arri grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her off to the side. Hermione looked at them confused.
"Guys, I've got to go to the library and look up the-" Hermione tried pulling away.
"Hermione, we need to talk to you." Arri said, trying not to get mad.
"Can it wait? I've really got to-" Hermione kept trying to pull away.
"No!" Ron exploded. "It can't wait. Listen, we're your friends, but you need to stop! You can't just go around acting like you're better than everyone else, because you aren't! It's a wonder sometimes that you even have any friends in the first place!" Arri let go of Hermione's arm to grab Ron's. He had gone a bit too far.
She turned to her other friend just as her eyes started to water. Ron started to look ashamed.
"Look, Hermione-" Ron started, but Hermione was already ducking her head and pushing past Ron.
Ron started to go after her, but Arri held him back.
"Let her go." Arri said sternly. "You've hurt her enough."
Ron hung his head and scuffed his feet against the ground. "I didn't mean to." He mumbled.
"I know." Arri said. "You've just got to watch your temper. C'mon, we've got class in a few minutes. We can apologize to her there."
But Hermione wasn't in their next class, or the one after that. Arri was starting to get worried for her friend. The decorations for Halloween barely fazed her as she kept asking people of they'd seen Hermione. Finally, Lavendar spoke up.
"I think she's still crying in the lavatory. She's been in there since Charms." Lavender pronounced and turned back to her dinner.
Ron and Arri looked at each other, concerned. "We'll go look for her after dinner." Ron said, making it seem like a question. Arri nodded, and pushed her mashed potatoes around on her plate.
Not even a few minutes later, Professor Quirrell rushed into the room.
"Troll, in the dungeons. Thought you should know." He managed to gasp out, before collapsing on the floor. As the teachers tried to organize the frantic children, Arri grabbed a panicking Ron.
"Ron. Ron!" When the redhead finally looked at her, terror clear on his face, she said one word. "Hermione!"
His eyes widened, and the terror grew. "We have to warn her!" He said. Arri nodded, and they snuck away from the crowd.
They searched a couple lavatories before it happened. They smelled it before they heard it. A troll lumbered towards them as they ran behind a corner. After making the huge mistake of locking a troll in the bathroom with their friend, and rescuing her from that troll, and avoiding losing points for said adventure, the three of them collapsed in front of one of the fires in their common room.
"Well, that was fun." Arri said to break the silence. Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief and she stared at her friend.
"You're barking mad." Hermione pronounced. Arri looked at Ron, and they broke out into hysterical laughter. After a moment of staring at her friends, Hermione began laughing as well. And that was how three friends became best friends.
Later that night, Arri fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. If her roommates had been awake, they would have seen a white wolf slip into Arri's bed and lay beside her. Arri wrapped her arms around the creature without waking. An owl or two flew in through the window Hermione had forgotten to latch and rested on posts above Arri's head.
Other creatures came in throughout the night, but only the white wolf walked in Arri's dreams.
"There you are, cub. I've finally found you." The wolf said. Arri looked at him, oddly unsettled for a dream. "I've been looking for a while, you know."
"I'm sorry." Arri said, blinking. "I've never meant to be any trouble. Have- have we met?"
The wolf blinked. "No, cub. But I promised your mum I'd look after you, and it's taken me awhile to even find you. The magic of Hogwarts leant a helping hand."
Arri frowned. "Sarra sent you?"
The wolf almost seemed to chuckle. "No, though Sarra does say hi. Your birth mum, Lily sent me. She's a bit sad you've forgotten her, cub."
Arri felt like she should be more upset and curious at this pronouncement.
"So that I don't ever lose you again, put this on." Arri was going to ask what she was supposed to put on when he began to cough and shake his head. Soon there was a large tooth on her lap, and the wolf smiled a slightly toothless smile. Arri watched in awe as the tooth suddenly appeared again.
"Goodbye Harriet Potter." The wolf began to fade, even as Arri reached out a hand.
Arri woke with a start, looking around the dark room, completely disoriented. She looked at her lap and picked up a large silver tooth.
"Arri?" Hermione murmured sleepily. "What's wrong?" Arri's hands shook.
"Nothing, Hermione. I just had an odd dream." Arri replied.
"Okay." Hermione rolled over.
Arri stared at the tooth in her hand, trying to remember the fading details of her dream.
A/N: To be honest, I'm not completely happy with this chapter. I might renovate it later. But for now, here's an update. I've been going through quite a few things this past month. My appendix burst (still have to have the surgery), they found a tumour in my breast (I'm 22…), and there's something funky going on with my eyes. All in all, it hasn't been a great few months. Oh yeah, and I lost my job because of all of it. On the bright side, that now leaves me with more time to write, in between doctor's appointments.
I'll cut off before this gets too long, but I really wanted to say thank you to all four of my reviewers and all the people who are following this story.
Thanks to DistractedDaydreamer, Forbiddentofly, and TheLostPevensie for your beta work.