A/N: Next chapter up! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
The next day, Ara found herself in the same position she found herself weeks ago, lying beside Harry in his bed. She chuckled before standing up and slinking her way to the girls' dormitory to pack her things and get changed. She wore simple brown shorts and a black tee-shirt and rubber shoes to make her comfortable for the long road trip to Little Hangleton. When she finished tying her hair, she got the backpack and walked down stairs.
"Ara? Is that- whoa!" Harry apparently woke up and was in the empty common room.
"Going on a road trip to find something with the OotP." Ara said, using the code name she gave for the Order.
"Oh. Well, you look great in shorts." Harry said.
"Thank you, Harry!" Ara said smugly. "Well, I have to go, or else Moony will have a fit."
She kissed him on the cheek before stepping out the portrait hole and found Remus and Snuffles waiting for her.
"Come on, Ara. We have a long road trip up ahead!" Remus said.
Snuffles barked and wagged his tail. The three walked past the corridors and to Dumbledore's office.
"You will be using the Floo powder to the Leaky Cauldron then take the van to Little Hangleton." Dumbeldore explained.
Ara nodded and took the Floo powder. She landed in the hard wooden floor of the London wizarding pub and waited saw Tonks waiting for her outside.
"Hey, Tonks! Are you going to drive?" Ara asked, gesturing at the van Sirius gave her for Christmas.
"Oh Ara, my dear cousin," Tonks said, putting a hand on her shoulder. " I can't even walk a meter without tripping on my feet, and you expect me to drive?"
"Well, it would be fun." Ara said.
"Come on! Let's put some road behind us!" Remus said as he and Snuffles walked out of the pub.
Ara pulled the back door open and let Snuffles get in before she did herself. Tonks took the front passenger's seat and Remus took the driver's seat. Sirius transformed to human form and they were off.
"How long will it take us to get there?" Sirius asked.
"About four hours, so make yourselves comfortable." Remus said.
"Why can't we just apparate?" Tonks asked.
"Because, Dumbledore doesn't want us to look suspicious. Death Eaters could be guarding the place." Remus said.
"Do we have food in here?" Ara asked.
"No. Why?" Remus asked.
"I didn't eat breakfast." Ara said, disappointed.
"Can we go to that muggle fast food restaurant? The one with the giant 'M'?" Sirius asked excitedly.
"McDonald's?"
"Yeah! Their hamburgers are the best!" Sirius said.
Even though Ara couldn't see it, she knew Remus rolled his eyes as they drove to a drive-through of the said restaurant.
"Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order?" asked the cashier in the window.
"Yes, I'd like one Big Mac-"
"Two!" Sirius said.
"Okay then, two Big Macs." Remus looked at Tonks to know what she wanted.
"I'll just have chips." Tonks said.
"And," Remus looked at Ara.
"I'll have pancakes and a caramel sundae." Ara said.
"Ice cream in the morning?" Sirius asked.
"You're the one eating two gigantic hamburgers for breakfast!" Ara said.
Remus paid the cashier and they drove to the pick up station. The food they bought was finished in half an hour, as they were driving along the countryside.
"Honestly. Why is it taking so long?" Tonks asked.
"Yeah, Moony! My legs are getting cramped!" Sirius complained.
"If you want to stretch your legs dad, we might as well drop you off here and let you run along side the van." Ara said.
"Aren't you a nice daughter." Sirius said, ruffling her hair.
"Aren't you a nice father?" Ara said mimicking his tone.
"She really is your daughter, Sirius." Remus said.
"And proud of it!" Sirius said, ruffling her hair some more.
"The messy hair thing only works for Harry, dad." Ara said.
"Whatever you say, kiddo." Sirius said.
The minutes passed and Sirius, Tonks and Ara started to get bored. Tonks turned the radio on and a song by a muggle rock band just ended and a new one started.
"When I wake up, well I know I'm going to be, I'm going to be the man who wakes up next to you."
Tonks sang along to the song, followed by Sirius.
"When I go out, yeah I know I'm going to be, I'm going to be the man who goes along with you."
Then Remus jumped in.
"If I get drunk, well I know I'm going to be, I'm going to be the man who gets drunk next to you."
Ara looked at them, bewildered that they knew the song and were actually singing it.
"And if I haver, yeah I know I'm going to be, I'm going to be the man who's havering to you."
She gaped at them, as if all of them sprouted a second head.
"But I would walk five hundred miles, and I would walk five hundred more. Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door."
Ara sat bolt up as she felt the van stop. Sirius was shaking her awake.
"Come on, kiddo. We're here!" Sirius said.
She looked at all of them. It looked like they were bored the whole trip.
"I had a nightmare." Ara told her father.
"What happened?" Sirius asked.
"You, Moony and Tonks were singing." Ara shuddered.
"Yes. If you dreamed about Moony singing, then it is a nightmare." Sirius said.
They chuckled and stepped out the van to a warm breeze. They were on top of a hill that over looked a small village with a large house on the other side of the small valley.
"Where's the house, then?" Remus asked.
"Over here." Ara said, walking into the forest just before the slope.
The adults followed her. Ara looked around in search around for a structure and found herself, minutes later, looking at an old abandoned house that had weeds growing around it and the remains of a snake nailed to the door.
"Yup! This is it!" Ara said.
"Gah! Why's there a snake on the door?" Tonks asked.
"The Gaunts were descendents of Salazar Slytherin, and they were proud of their heritage." Ara said.
She walked closer to the door and pushed it open. The door fell to the floor and she walked in. There was no sign that there was life in the cottage. Everything had a heavy coat of dust on it. Weeds were peeping through the floorboards and the metal pots and pans were covered in rust.
"This is disgusting." Sirius said.
"Even worse than Azkaban?" Tonks asked.
"Yeah. At least there, it was clean." Sirius said.
"The ring should be under one of the floorboards." Ara said and kneeled down.
Everyone did the same and tor the floorboards apart.
"Found it!" Remus said.
Sirius, Tonks and Ara moved to him in the corner of the living room. In his hand was a gold ring with a black stone on it.
"Don't put it on." Ara said, before Sirius, who took it from Remus was about to put it on.
"Why not?" Sirius asked.
"It carries a curse. If you're lucky, you'll be dead in a year if you put that on." Ara said.
Sirius paled and swiftly handed it to Remus who pocketed it. The group left and set off for the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius transformed back into his dog form before they Flooed to the Headmaster's office.
"Ah! You're early." Dumbledore said.
"Uncle Remmy has the ring. He'll be here- oh! He's here."
Remus Lupin crawled out of the fire and took out the ring form his pocket.
"Here you go, Albus." Remus said.
"Fascinating." Dumbledore said.
Snuffles and Tonks jumped out from the fire. Tonks accidentally tripped and hit the table full of whizzing trinkets. Some of them fell. Remus helped Tonks up and Ara repaired the broken contraptions.
"Ahhhh!" The voice of Albus Dumbledore screaming in pain was something you don't usually hear.
They all ran to his aid. Ara noticed that he slipped the ring into his finger. Tears prickled her eyes. She failed her mission.
"No. Dumbles, I'm sorry! I didn't tell you that the ring had a curse!" Ara said.
"It is not your fault Ara. It is mine. I should have known that Voldemort would have placed something to guard part of his soul." Dumbledore said.
Remus slipped the ring off Dumbledore's blackened finger.
"Tonks, can you call Snape? He knows a potion for this." Ara said.
"Okay. I'll get him." She said and ran out the Headmaster's office.
"I think it's best we destroy the horcrux." Remus suggested.
"Yes. Use the sword." Dumbledore said.
Sirius, who was nearest to the gleaming Sword of Godric Gryffindor got it and handed it to Remus. He took it and looked at the ring.
"Put it on the floor." Remus said.
Ara got the ring and placed it in front of Remus. He swung it and a high-pitched scream erupted from the ring. Ara covered her ears to block of the noise, which disappeared as soon as it came.
"At least we have three down." Sirius said.
The doors burst open and Snape and Tonks walked in. Snape had a bottle in his hand.
"Here. The potion will prevent the spreading of the curse." Snape said.
"Thank you, Severus." Dumbledore said cheerily and downed the bottle.
Snape looked around the room and stopped when his eyes landed at Ara and Sirius.
"Ah! The Blacks! Isn't this a nice reunion!" Snape said.
"Shut it, Snivellus." Sirius said. "I can visit my daughter! And for your information, we just came form a mission to get something important!"
"Oh, really now? What was it? Your pride?" Snape jeered.
"That's my dad you're talking to, Snivelly." Ara said.
"Oh. Isn't this nice. Your daughter's fighting your battles for you, Black?" Snape asked.
"Enough! Severus, thank you for the potion. Sirius, Remus and Tonks, please go back to the headquarters and Ara, please stay." Dumbledore said.
Everyone did as they were told. When they left, Ara sat down across Dumbledore.
"Ara, I know you want to tell this to Ron, Hermione and Harry, but you can't. Well, not yet. I'm planning to let Harry know about the horcruxes next year." Dumbledore said.
Ara opened her mouth, wanting to say sorry that she wasn't able to save Dumbledore but the man himself cut her off.
"No need to apologize. Like what I said, it was my fault I put on the ring. I'll just make sure I have my will written already."
The will. Ara remembered in 'Deathly Hallows' about the will of Dumbledore, how he left Harry Ron and Hermione little things that lead to the finding of the horcruxes.
"If you're planning to give the sword to Harry, Dumbles, give it to him before the end of next year." Ara said.
"I'll keep that in mind." Dumbledore waved his hand, which signaled she could leave.
"What did you do?" Ron asked excitedly over dinner.
"Ron! She can't tell it here!" Hermione said in a low voice.
"I can't tell you three yet." Ara said. "I promised Dumbles."
She looked at them and smiled. "So, how was your Valentine's Day?"
"Nothing happened."
"Boring."
"The interview was horrible."
"The interview?" she looked at Harry.
"Yeah. We needed to let the public know Harry's side of the story." Hermione said.
"Really? That's nice! How was it?" Ara asked.
"It was horrible. I had to remember Voldemort coming back and Cedric….." Harry trailed off.
"Oh. Okay then let's make you happy with some fireworks!" Ara said.
She pointed her wand at the ceiling and set of fireworks that spelled 'Pink sucks' and 'Down with the bloody pink toad!'
"Detention!" yelled Umbridge from the head's table.
Ara shrugged and continued eating her mashed potatoes.
"You should really stop getting detentions." Hermione said. "I bet your hand won't be the same again."
"It's okay. At least I'll have some kickass scars." Ara said.
The day ended and the group walked up to the Gryffindor Common Room.
A/N: Hi. Hope you liked it. I don't own the song.