Magical Encounters

Chapter ten: The sleepless dream potion.

Ariana spent the remainder of the weekend sitting on her four poster bed in the dormitory doing her homework and practicing her charms and transfigurations. The only times she left the room were to eat and use the restroom, and even to do that she usually waited for times where the common room would be pretty much empty. At some point on Friday night Abby had come to find her and by the time Ariana had woken up on Saturday morning a pair of big blue eyes were staring meaningfully at her. Abby stayed with her the entire weekend and when Ariana woke up on Monday morning Abby was asleep in her arms.

Ariana woke up and saw that the other girls were starting to wake as well. With this in mind Ariana dressed very quickly and drew her robes tightly against her. She gathered her books and her wand into her arms and gestured to Abby that she was leaving. She and Abby walked down to the common room and they were, as always, greeted by the low ceiling, green light, and whispered voices. Ariana paid no mind to the people who stopped talking as she walked past and she quietly made her way to the entrance and out of the common room.

As she stepped out of the hole in the wall Ariana watched it close up behind her and let out a sigh of relief. No one had followed her. She turned around and began to walk quickly through the halls, wanting to make it to the owlery and back in time to eat breakfast. Abby followed behind her faithfully occasionally meowing and expressing her boredom, but other than that their trip went unnoticed by the castle.

Ariana rounded a corner and entered the owlery. She beckoned to one of the school's owls and it flew down to meet her looking warily at Abby who was looking around with wonder while slowly licking her paw. The tawny owl that met her held out its paw and Ariana fastened a letter to it while disclosing the destination of the letter (Mary at the orphanage). She gave the owl a smile and sent it off with her blessing to come and go safely before turning back out of the owlery with Abby tight on her heels.

Ariana made it to the great hall just as everyone else was starting to file in. She walked in the midst of the crowd only to feel someone shake her shoulders gently. She turned around and her face turned into the quintessence of happiness.

"Albus," Ariana began throwing her arms around the boy. "How are you? I missed you guys this weekend. Thank God we have potions together. "

"Yeah, "Albus replied smiling as he led Ariana out of the crowd and toward the Gryffindor table. " Everyone missed you too. We looked for you on Saturday because we all hung out outside but we couldn't find you anywhere. Come on let's catch up."

At this point they had reached the Gryffindor table and Albus sat down offering an open seat to Ariana and smiling at his friends, who in turn smiled at him and Ariana. Ariana hesitated before sitting and smiled tentatively at everyone. There was a chorus of hellos before she actually focused enough to recognize all the people she had previously met. "Hey Roxie, Rose, James. Where are Lucy and Fred?"

James spoke up from Ariana's left side looking at her with some intrigue. "Lucy is with her sister Molly. They are both a fair amount of years older than the rest of us so it's understandable. Fred is over there with his friends, he sits here sometimes just like I do, but we are not first years so we already have our own groups. You know how it is."

"Uh yeah," Ariana replied. "I get you. So how does everyone like school?"

Albus replied first and most enthusiastically. "It's amazing! I love it here. The teachers are so cool too."

"Yea its nice here." Roxie agreed looking to Rose to say what she thought.

"It's ok," Rose began. "But it could be better."

James leaned closer to Ariana and whispered into her ear, "Believe she is just ticked off because she isn't the top of her class. That was always Rosie's dream."

Ariana sank into her seat to avoid talking any further about school and thankfully she was saved as plates started to fill before them. They all ate rather quickly and once they were satisfied Ariana, Roxie, Rose and Albus rose to head to the dungeons for their potions lesson. Ariana stood up and felt a slight tugging at her robes. She glanced down to see that James was looking up at her, his blue eyes nearly covered by his jet-black hair.

"Don't be a stranger, eh Ari?" He grinned at her and then lifted himself up and walked away, playfully nudging Ariana's shoulder as he passed her.

Ariana stared after him in wonder before she heard a giggle behind her and turned to see Albus, Rose, and Roxanne all staring at her and smiling. She walked over to them and smiled nervously up at them. "What are you guys giggling about?"

"Oh nothing," Rose began. "Just be careful with my cousin alright. When he likes a girl he doesn't stop until he gets her."

Ariana looked at her and saw the other two nod their agreement. She looked down at her feet and pretended that she didn't care about what they had just said, but in reality she did. At least now she knew that someone liked her and that lifted her spirits up. Before she realized it, she and her first year Gryffindor friends were walking next to the Slytherin table. Ariana continued walking as if nothing had changed but she knew people were looking at her. She and Rose, Roxie, and Albus had made it all the to the entrance hall before a voice came up behind them.

"Well now, look who made some friends." Scorpius Malfoy and his gang trotted up behind Ariana and her friends, forcing them to turn around. "And Gryffindors? Really? You can't do any better than that?"

Ariana was prepared to keep walking but apparently Roxanne was not raised to take teasing so lightly. "Yeah, she is friends with Gryffindors, and what's the matter with that?"

"Nothing I suppose." Malfoy began with false understanding. "Except that it's pathetic. Seriously Dumbledore? You are going to go running to Gryffindors when you can't handle the heat of your own house?"

Ariana opened her mouth to retort but before she had the chance Roxanne interjected. "Excuse me, but who the bloody hell are you to be spurning the help of Gryffindors. If it weren't for our parents, who were all Gryffindors I might add, your dad would have died almost twenty years ago. That coward, he couldn't even pick a side in a war out of fear that his decision would lead to his death."

Scorpius was furious but somehow he could not find the voice to speak and Roxanne took that as an ok to continue. "I mean come on; all your father ever did was play along with whoever held the upper hand just so that he could avoid his death. That wouldn't be so bad, I can understand not wanting to die but he really was a coward. All he ever did was run to his father for everything and now here you are, yet another Malfoy unwilling to stand up to his father. I'm sure that's it isn't it? You don't want to let your father know that you are actually nice to the children of his rivals. Well, suck it up. A real father would be proud of his son no matter what."

All of Scorpius' friends were looking at him in shock. Scorpius himself was shocked but he managed to pull himself together and say one final thing. "Wow, Dumbledore, you can't even fight your own battles can you? See you in potions."

Scorpius and his friends pushed in front of Ariana's group and as they did so Ariana stole a look at Scorpius, he was looking at her too. He bumped into her and sent a sneer in her direction for all to see, but unseen by the others was the gentle touch of his hand upon hers as he slipped a note inside. He and his group continued briskly on their way and as they left Ariana found herself surrounded by her own friends.

They all asked her if she was all right all the way down to the dungeons and although Ariana was polite and told them there was nothing to worry about, her answers left something to be desired. She gave them half answers or just simply nodded because no matter how hard she tried to focus on them; her thoughts were on the note folded up in her clenched hand. When they reached the dungeons everyone scattered into their previously chosen seats and Ariana dragged herself over to the two person table that she sat at with Scorpius.

Scorpius held his breath when Ariana came into the dungeons and wondered if she had read his note yet. She sat down next to him and totally avoided his eyes. Nope, she hasn't read it. Scorpius thought, if she had she wouldn't be as mad at me. I think.

Scorpius looked at her and willed her to make eye contact but she was stubbornly looking forward. He opened his mouth to whisper something to her but before he had the chance the potions master walked boisterously into the room and all conversation ended. Scorpius glanced lazily at professor Slughorn. The man was very old and seemed to be intent on using that to make his students do his bidding. Countless times in the first week alone he had turned to one of his first years and asked them to grab something or other for him. If the first year took too long or showed some form annoyance at the request Slughorn would begin a guilt trip that would convince even the coldest witch or wizard ("oh but in my old age I had hoped to be freed of such burdens by my loved ones. O course I have no loved ones and so I must rely on you, children, and I thank you most dearly for your help.")

Slughorn marched up to the center of the class and used his wand to form letters in the air in which he wrote. "The sleepless dream potion. Now who here can tell me what it does?

As he knew it would Ariana's hand rose into the air, as did Rose Weasley's. "Yes Miss Weasley."

Rose lifted herself up and spoke clearly and calmly. "The sleepless dream potion is a complicated concoction which gives the person who takes it a day dream of a very random nature."

"That is mostly correct," Slughorn began. "Take five points to Gryffindor. But Miss Dumbledore do you have something to add?"

"Yes," Ariana said quietly. "Though I agree with Rose, I wanted to add that it has been speculated that the daydreams are a reflection of the previous dream the person has experienced and since people tend to forget their dreams it is possible that the day dream they experience might actually not be random."

"Yes," Slughorn said, beaming. "That is one hundred percent correct. Take ten points to Slytherin." He paced for a second before landing in his chair and glancing at his silent class. "Alright. So you will make this potion today. It is described on page fifty three of your books and any ingredients you might need are in the classroom stores. At the end the class the person with the best potion will experience its effects first hand. Ok begin."

Scorpius sat still for a second as he class erupted into motion around him and Ariana. He knew that if he was going to say anything to her at all, it had to be now so he leaned in close to her and whispered into her ear. "Read the note, I will get your ingredients."

With that Scorpius got up and walked over to the cabinets that lined the walls of the cool dungeon. He grabbed two of everything that was necessary to make the potion and turned to face Ariana. She was reading the note. Her sandy hair was falling over her shoulders and Scorpius slowed his walk when he saw her take out her quill and write a response to his note. Once Scorpius saw that Ariana had finished he walked briskly back to their desk. He gently put down all their ingredients and he and Ariana began to work.

The end of the hour came closer and Slughorn reluctantly rose from his chair to examine everyone's potions. As Slughorn made his way across the room Scorpius pocketed the note Ariana had written him and added the finishing touch to the potion. He had to admit he was proud of himself. The book said the potion was supposed to be lavender and smell like strawberries. His was a bit darker than it was supposed to be but the smell was exactly right. Scorpius smiled to himself as he heard Slughorn tell Rose that her potion was the right color but not the right smell ("that could mean the difference between the sleepless dream potion and just a dreaming draught").

Slughorn came up to Scorpius and took a deep breath. "Very nice Mister Malfoy, the smell is perfect, but as for the color I think you needed to add in more sage. Now Miss Dumbledore."

Scorpius took a glance at Ariana's potion and his mouth dropped open, it was perfect. Slughorn seemed to think so too and he announced that Ariana's potion was the best and that she would be drinking it. The professor led Ariana to the center of the room and sat her down in the arm chair he usually sat in during class.

"Alright," Slughorn said while he indicated for Ariana to take a seat. "Now, Miss Dumbledore will take the potion and once she falls into her daydream she will describe what it is that is seeing to us and then each of you will write an essay on how Miss Dumbledore fell into the daydream and how she described it. Miss Dumbledore you are exempt from this essay, which will be due on Friday"

Slughorn produced a ladle out of thin air and scooped up a portion of Ariana's potion and brought it up to her. "Watch carefully," He began, tipping the ladle into Ariana's mouth. "You might want to take notes."

Scorpius heard the rustle of parchment around him, but he didn't bother. Scorpius watched Ariana's face carefully waiting for a change and he definitely got it. Within a minute of taking the potion Ariana gasped audibly and sighed as her icy blue eyes glazed over. She shook for a second and then shuddered as if she was cold. Scorpius felt a shiver crawl up his spine as he saw Ariana's eyes roll back and then her breathing suddenly evened out.

Ariana's body was now slumped in the chair but when she spoke her voice was clear and strong. "I see a little girl. She looks really familiar. Blond hair and blue eyes. She is alone, in a place with grass. Maybe a garden or something like that. She is really happy because she is playing and I think she is using magic because she is making things float all around her. She is laughing and- oh God, someone heard her. Two muggle boys."

At this point everyone had leaned in closer to listen; even Scorpius stopped pretending not to care and leaned in closer to hear every single word that was dripping from Ariana's mouth. Everyone in the class had stopped taking notes and all of them were staring intently at Ariana, who was now shaking vehemently.

"They are talking to the girl now. She stopped using magic when they showed themselves and now they want to see it again. She says no, and they- they are getting mad. She is so scared; I don't think she even knows how to do it again. They are so mad. One of them is pulling her up and they are telling her that she either shows them or else. She is trying so hard, but she doesn't have any idea how."

A spasm went through Ariana's body and started whimpering the rest of her words. "Oh my God they shove her onto the ground and now they are kicking her and-"Ariana couldn't finish the sentence and all of a sudden everyone was standing for a better look. Scorpius' eyes widened as he stood up to look at Ariana. Her body was jerking left and right and she shaking so badly that he could hear her teeth chattering. He glanced at Slughorn and saw that he was heading out the door calling for some more professors to take her to the Hospital wing.

Scorpius looked back to Ariana who was still jerking uncontrollably but now Albus and Roxanne were holding her down while Rose ran to help the professor. Ariana made a choking noise and her body convulsed violently throwing her friends off of her. As they struggled to get up from the floor Scorpius saw blood begin to flow out of Ariana's mouth and nostrils. He bolted toward Ariana without even thinking about what people were going to think and slammed one hand down on each of her arms.

Scorpius held her down as forcefully as possible and told her to calm down repetitively. It was futile however because her gasps of pain and the choking sounds she had been making had now escalated into screams of horror. Scorpius felt her struggling to get him to release her but he refused to let her go and he began to notice something very odd. Every time Ariana screamed Scorpius felt a wave of power radiate from her and it was steadily building as her screams grew louder and louder.

Albus and Roxanne had gotten up now and were helping Scorpius hold Ariana down but still she struggled and thrashed against them, the waves of magical power growing every time. Slughorn came into Scorpius' field of vision and said that the teachers we coming down the hall and that they only had to hold on a little longer but just as he finished saying this Ariana shrieked in an ear-splitting pitch.

"NO!" She screamed releasing a surge of magic so strong that it was all Scorpius could do to hold on. "Get away from me! I didn't do anything!"

Scorpius saw that her eyes were still rolled back and knew that she must be talking about the boys from the dream and he decided to do the only thing he could. While still holding firmly onto Ariana Scorpius leaned forward and screamed into Ariana's ears. "Ari, listen to me. You are not the girl in the dream just get out of there, this is not you."

He forced his grip even tighter and felt her hands clench around his arm and pull him closer. He didn't fight against her and he resisted crying out in pain as her nails drew blood from his skin. He swallowed loudly and muttered a curse. "Ariana, wake up. You are not that girl. It's all just a dream. You are not in a garden with two muggles. You are at Hogwarts. With me, Scorpius. Your friends are here too. You are safe Ariana-"Scorpius felt her put her head on his shoulder and her blood dripped onto his shirt. "- Stay with us Ari. We won't hurt you. Come back, we have you."

Ariana's screams lessened to little spasms and soon she was just gasping and shivering. Scorpius felt her grip on his arms lessen but she continued to hold his arms and she didn't push him away. Scorpius felt her head sink deeper into his shoulder and again he didn't pull away. He felt her body shudder and then she was crying on his shoulder and pulling him closer to her. Scorpius knew that people were watching him but he let Ariana draw him to her and before he could even think to stop himself he had let go of her arms and wrapped them around her.

Scorpius felt her friends looking at him and he simply ignored them as he slid into the chair in a small opening beside Ariana. He managed to get on and then held Ariana with one hand as he lifted her legs with the other. She didn't fight him and before too long she was sitting sideways on his lap and leaning her entire upper body against his. Her head was still tucked into the space between Scorpius' head and shoulder. Scorpius, however, had his eyes closed to avoid any stares that were being aimed his way and sat with his arms around Ariana.

Scorpius heard a shuffle in front of him and opened his eyes to see Slughorn and other concerned teachers looking down at him. He smiled awkwardly up at them. "So uh, what's going to happen now?"

One of the teachers that Scorpius knew to be named Longbottom looked like he was about to be sick but he swallowed heavily and looked Scorpius in the eyes. "We need to take her to the hospital wing but thank you for whatever it was you did."

Scorpius nodded and loosened his grip as Neville bent down to take hold of Ariana. After Scorpius saw that Ariana was safely in Neville's arms he got up and began to walk away toward his things, but the instant he turned around he heard Ariana's sobs intensify and Neville called back after him.

"Maybe you should come with us then." Neville said getting nods of agreements from the other teachers.

Scorpius grabbed his things and then he and the teachers made their way out of the room leaving even Ariana's friends in the mess that was left behind. Professor Slughorn stayed back to direct his students and Scorpius noticed that once he, Neville, and Ariana were in the hallway most of the other teachers dispersed as well. Neville lead him up to the hospital wing never letting Scorpius get too far away. They reached the hospital wing in a short amount of time and the nurse escorted them to an empty bed where Neville laid Ariana down.

"Okay," the nurse began looking from Neville to Scorpius. "Professor Longbottom, you can stay. But you, Mr. Malfoy I presume, should move along."

Scorpius was readying himself to leave when Neville quickly interjected. "Madam Pomphrey I really think he should stay. He was the one who calmed little Ariana down in the first place and every time he is away from her she starts to cry harder so I think he should stay. At least until she falls asleep."

"Alright then Neville." Madam Pomphrey said looking down at Scorpius as she spoke. "Will you be staying as well?"

"No." Neville said calmly. "I am going to go talk to the headmistress. Good bye Madam."

Scorpius watched as Madam Pomphrey lead Neville out and then scampered around the room collecting supplies before disappearing into a cabinet. Scorpius then walked over to Ariana's bed and pulled up a chair to sit beside her. She was still crying and her eyes were shut tightly as if she didn't want to face the light of the room. Scorpius pulled his chair still closer and laid a hand on her bed so that he could steady himself as he looked over her. Her body was still shaking and Scorpius was wondering what could have possibly happened to her when he felt a hand come over his.

Scorpius sat back and looked at his hand. Ariana was holding it now and he looked back to her face to find that her eyes were open and looking at him. Scorpius' body froze and he swallowed loudly. Ariana's eyes looked down at their hands and Scorpius found himself closing his hand around hers. She looked at him, dry tear marks on her cheeks and smiled directly at Scorpius. He smirked back at her and when he did he saw her body relax as he adjusted herself and began to fall asleep.

Madam Pomphrey walked back in and immediately began working. "You managed to make her sleep huh? Well, I supposed you can stay if you'd like, you aren't doing anyone any harm."

Scorpius watched as Madam Pomphrey continued to work but as he glanced at the clock he realized he needed to be off to his next lesson. He Told Madam Pomphrey that he was leaving and gave Ariana's hand a squeeze before gathering all his things and heading out of the hospital wing. Scorpius walked through the halls just as they began to fill with students. In the commotion of it all Scorpius remembered the note he had written to Ariana and on his way to his transfiguration class he pulled open the note and read Ariana's reply. Her reply was: Depends on if you give me reason to.

He had written that he was sorry and asked her if she would ever talk to him again.

That's it for this chapter. And for those of you who notice plot holes I want to let you know that Neville's appearance in the classroom despite his being the herbology professor will be explained in the next chapter so no worries. Anyway, I hoped you all liked it. Please R&R. Thanks.

Becca