Chapter 7

Harry stomach grumbled, Hermione had told him about the Ball. The Monster who had taken up residence in his stomach the year before had returned with a vengeance. It seemed to growl evilly at his thoughts about the ball.

"Take Ginny, she's your girlfriend, you love her," his mind screamed at him but the monster growled in harsh protest. Harry shook his head at the breakfast table to clear his mind. Ginny was talking about the Ravenclaw quidditch trials and he had barely heard a word. "Yeah sure" he answered absent-mindedly when she gave him a questioning look.

"Awesome, so I'll meet you out back the pitch at 3 to see the trials." She said happily and kissed his cheek before leaving. Harry jolted himself back to reality when he realized what he had done. His every thought was reeling about the possibility of Arianna being there.

Arianna stretched out her arms and legs while she listened to Cho explain the trials. "I want to see good laps around the course, nothing but the instructions. I want to see corkscrews on the long sides, pure speed on the curves. When you're done with that fly to the center and get in on passing the quaffle." Cho handed out the schools old clean sweep 5's to anyone who didn't have their own broom and directed the first group up. It didn't take long for 2 girls to fall off their brooms and 1 second year boy to crash into the stands. A few younger students confessed to a fear of heights when they couldn't get their brooms off the ground. Cho grimly sent them off the field.

When Arianna kicked off in the third group most of them expected to see her fall in the first lap. But her lightning fast reactions followed her into the air where she spun and turned like an expert. Her corkscrews were impossibly smooth and tucked as she bolted across the pitch. When it was her turn to catch and pass the quaffle her transitions were smooth and accurate. She could make even the clumsiest person get a hold of the big red ball. She could snatch a golf ball inches from the ground and defended even the hardest pitch at the goal.

In the stands, Harry and Ginny were hidden behind a flag as they watched the trials. Ginny gasped as Ari spun her broom in an 1800 degree spin to smack a series of passes away from the goal. Harry was concentrated on the look of pure determination that graced Ari's refined face. Her grey eyes were glued to the quaffle being thrown at her and her legs were pulled tight against the broom. He didn't recognize the make or model of the broom but he knew it was expensive. "She can fly," Ginny said enviously and grabbed Harry's omnoculars to get a closer look. She zoomed in on the broom and slowed down the vision. "She's flying a Nimbus Platinum! You can't even get those in stores!! Ginny exclaimed and passed the omnoculars to Harry.

He zoomed into the spectacular broom. He could see the shiny platinum melted into the wood to make it solid yet springy. The straws were cut perfectly and a catch of gold and red feathers were tied to the base with a leather cord. He remembered that the international quidditch regulation board had considered banning he broom. They thought it was too powerful for safe play, but they had abandoned the idea seeing that none of the teams could afford to buy even one Nimbus platinum.

Ari handled it without fault. She was in total control and her only focus was on winning her personal match. "Enough!" Cho called out and the trials froze. "Thank you everyone for coming, I've made my choices."

The next day Ari found herself modeling her quidditch robes while dandy tailored them to fit her better. Cho had made a rule against wearing them to practice anymore. She wanted them clean and patched before the match. Ari had sent home for some warm ups before she realized there was no one there to take in her letter. Instead she was sending dandy back to fetch some things out of her bedroom. She rarely wished that she had her own room but right now was one of those times. Her previous school had allowed her a private room in the gazing tower. It had granted her enough space to bring all her belongings from home.

Luna was staying in Hagrid's hut for the night. She has discovered a rare mite migration and was attempting to track it across his garden. Arianna let dandy stitch up the rest of the robes and handed them to her for pressing. "Goodnight mistress," dandy squeaked and tucked Arianna in to bed. The little elf vanished back to Arianna's home to gather her things for keeper practice. She was happy her mistress had made the team; it would distract her from her grief.

Dandy popped into the main room of the Flobbergill residence. The home that was usually full of life and activity was now dark and quiet. The house elf staff had been sent home until holiday break and the usual hum of activity was silent. Dandy padded through the halls until she reached the stairs. The grand staircase had nearly a hundred stairs to the second level and dandy needed to make her way to the fourth floor. She snapped her fingers and jumped up to the level she needed to be at. The floor was a pale pinkish marble with gold inlayed into the cracks. It was lovely and elegant, but she had no time to admire the construction of the palace.

Arianna had the west wing of the fourth floor to herself and dandy had a long walk to go. When she finally reached the large white doors that marked the start of Arianna's territory dandy took a moment to catch her breath. When she passed through the doors the marble floors gave way to beautiful dark hardwood floors. The walls were painted a pale chocolate color and beautiful tapestries hung from the rafters. Dandy checked in on Arianna's office and playroom. Both were neat and untouched. As usual Arianna had her study room locked up tight with spells to prevent anyone from entering.

Dandy made her way quickly to the expansive bedroom at the end of the long hallway. The chocolate walls were abandoned and beautiful rose colored silk was tacked to cover the walls. Dandy remembered the day Arianna was moved from the nursery to this beautiful room. Her mother had spent 10 pounds of galleons to make the wing perfect for her oldest child. Originally there had been a bed wide enough for four of the little girl to sleep comfortably, but Arianna had replaced it with a smaller bed to give her more room to play. Dandy noted that she would probably like a larger bed when she returned as she had grown since the last time at the mansion. Over the dresser hung a magic painting that made Dandy's skin crawl.

Two young princesses were sitting in a meadow surrounded by weeping willows. The younger one was so fair and beautiful that forest animals had came out of hiding to seek her attention. Songbirds sat on her fingers and she laughed as and wild bunny began to nibble on the ends of her long golden hair. She looked no older than eight years old but was more stunning in her elaborate blue silk gown and golden tiara than any grand lady could be. The Older Princess wore a simple maroon gown and a petite silver crown. She was not nearly as fair as the little princess in face but her mane of thick dark hair was lovely in its own way. She sat on a log as tall and regal as if it were a golden throne. She watched the younger princess closely with her eyes occasionally darting along the forest line looking for danger. "Little Dandy," The blonde princess called out to her and Dandy Jumped in fright then curtsied low. "How does my sister fair at school? Is she well?" The little princess asked and bounced on her toes.

"Yes, my sweet Miss Luci, she is well despite missing you sorely." She said and watched the little princess smile and bounce away to her animals. The painting had been done when Arianna was ten. She had always been quieter than her joyous blonde siblings and the portrait reflected that. Martin and Timmy were playing on brooms in another painting and she scurried out of sight to avoid conversation with any more dead Flobbergills. Collecting her Quiditch things was simple as it was the only chest without any burning spells or complicated locks on it in the room. She cringed at the thought of opening the golden chest containing Ari's journals. Her anti- theft charms were deadly and many of her school girl friends had been burned when trying to snoop at sleepovers. Dandy gathered everything she needed and began to make her way out of the home. As soon as she had stepped back on the marble floors in the fourth floor hall she heard the door slam shut and lock behind her. At the end of the long hallway she could see Lucinda's old room. The doors were chained shut and she knew even the servants entrances where sealed. She sighed and snapped herself down to the vanishing point to return to Hogwarts. She barely noticed the fresh flowers on the mantle piece and thought nothing of them in the empty house until later.