Chapter 9
Ariana was awake at eight the next morning.
Her eyes opened and she still had a warm happy feeling in her belly from the party before. It had been a lot of fun; she didn't remember enjoying herself so much in years. She had been outside, and when every one hadn't been crowding about her or watching her it had been a joy.
Sitting up in her bed she beamed as she saw her new dress that her brother had given for her birthday yesterday. She was going to put that on for the day.
The day before was the greatest day she remembered. She never had felt so happy as she was lately. She didn't understand why she was there really or how she had come to be so. But she was and she was glad. She was so happy to be out of that stuffy little room.
She missed her parents but she loved her new friends. Sirius and Hagrid were wonderful.
Besides, having Albus and Aberforth was just as good as having parents.
She jumped up and got changed quickly, eager for the day to get going.
Running out of her little room she was left straight in to Albus's quarters.
As usual both her brothers were waiting for her to come to begin the day. They both had a nervous look about them.
She didn't notice and they had not expected her too. It wasn't in her nature. It hadn't been for a long time.
Going over to Aberforth, she settled her self in to his lap as he drunk his tea. Albus surveyed her from behind his half moon specials. This was it, he thought to himself. The day he really got her back. The day the bulk of her pain ended. Their were going to be awkward questions but between the two of them he was sure he and his brother could handle it.
She had no idea what was going to happen. To her it was just another day.
It wasn't long till the three of them were having breakfast. She drunk her orange juice and had her porridge quickly, having the whole bowl with out protests.
"Good girl Ariana." Albus praised as she finished, setting her spoon down by the empty bowl.
She beamed back at him. "What are we going to do today?" she asked.
"Well to start with me and you are going to go and have some fresh air, have a walk." Aberforth said to her. This was the last chance she was going to get before she had her potion.
"Ok," she nodded smiling trustingly at him.
As they walked hand in hand he tried to keep the doubts he was having over what was going to go on away. He knew it was going to be ok. No harm was going to come to her; Albus wouldn't let it happen otherwise. And besides, any thing was better for her than the prison that was her own fear. That was her own mind.
Maybe to day the spell was going to be broken, maybe she would recover. She'd be a happy, sane person again.
"Ari?" he said to her.
"Yeah Aba?" she asked him.
"You know what ever happens I love you and I never want to hurt you." he asked her and she looked blankly up at him. He knew she understood what he was saying in her heart thought. "Don't worry sweet heart." he said to her, fobbing off his comments.
"Aba?"
"Yes?" he said noticing a playful glint in her eye.
"Do you think we can have a race?" she asked.
"Like what do you mean a running race?" he questioned. "Sweet heart I think that your big brother might be a bit too old for that now."
"I don't. Mama said you were only a bit older than me," she told him. "Where is mama?" she asked the dreaded question.
"Come on, darling, why don't we go up to the castle?"
-
It was not long and Ariana found herself in a part of the castle that she had been only once before.
The hospital wing.
The boys had brought her here for a reason she did not know. She remembered when she had been where when she had woken up from the forest where she had been, that night she had met Sirius.
"Why are we here?" she asked her two elder brothers
"Darling, we need to talk toy you, " said Albus. "Ariana do you remember when you were young. What happened to you?"
"No, what?" she asked him. The innocent in her eyes was unbearable.
"Well that isn't going to matter in a while." he said to her. "We are going to help you - get better sweet heart."
"But I don't need to get better." she said to him. "There is nothing wrong with me."
"No maybe not." said Aberforth. "but you know Harry?" Aberforth asked and she nodded. "Don't you see how different you both are?" he asked.
Ariana shook her head. She had not. "I think Harry might be a bit clever than me but I think that's just 'cause - I don't know."
"Sweet heart we just want to help you so can you do some thing for me? Can you drink this for me?" he asked showing her a glass of some thing that looked like water. "and it tastes like straw berry, your favorite!" he told her.
She looked at him with a clear uncertainty in her eyes. She wasn't sure at all. Looking at him though she seemed to find her courage. Taking his hand in hers and the glass in the other, she nodded.
"Ok, yes…" she said.
A moment after she had drained the glass she felt her legs go wobbly and collapsed in to Aberforth's arms. He carried her gently to a bed and lay her down, stroking the thin strands of her hair.
"This is it then, make or break." said the younger of the two brothers. "Albus if we have got it wrong then I am never going to forgive myself or you." he said to him.
"I know your not. Neither am I."
Severus who had been waiting for the girl to take her draught came in to the room. He had been waiting out side and from what her brother had said he had been expecting it to be much harder and longer process than it had been.
"Is she ready?" he asked .
"Yes." Albus said stepping aside. But Aberforth did not. He had never liked nor trusted the potions master. He didn't know why he had agreed to all this. She was his baby sister. He should have said no. Looking down on her he sighed. She looked so small.
"What if we're got it wrong."
"Aberforth we haven't." said Albus to him, positively. They had done the right thing by her. This was the right thing.
"Albus I need you to aid me. You said you wanted some memories removed from her mind." Severus recalled.
"Yes she does…" he muttered to him.
"This is the right thing for us to do is this?" Aberforth repeated again. He must should like Ari asking for her parents.
"Yes it is. So let Severus do what he has to ... Do this for her, let her recover …let her let go of the memory of mums death…you know it would destroy her."
"Yes…I do…"
After that day Severus felt haunted by the memory that little girl had had. He had been through a lot. But so had she. In that day he had had to endure a little six year old hysteric cries because she was not strong enough to throw off the bullies who were torturing her. He had had to endure the cries of a father as he realized he had failed to keep his little girl safe. He had had to watch a mother cry over the scared stiff body of her little girl. He had had to watch two concern little boys learn of their little sisters fate, to be mad for ever. Then he had watched a flash slide of the next few years. Then he watched as a child was so scared as her mother tried to touch her that she exploded and killed her.
It chilled him and he knew never would he forget the memories Ariana had had.
He and Albus let Aberforth back in the room when they had extracted the memories. He rushed back to her side, took her hand and sat by her side immediately, terrified for her.
He had no intention to leave her.
"So what now?" he asked when he had found his voice.
"We wait till morning. To see how she is…and hope for the best. It is all we can do."
Aberforth looked up at Albus and watched as a tear roiled on to his beard. Never had the greatest wizard of the age been so scared.