Chapter 10

"My head."

Aberforth rose to the sound of her voice. Nothing had stopped his watch of her all night. He had not slept a wink.

"Its ok my darling. I'm here, I'm going no where." he said laying a hand on her forehead. She was cool.

"What happened to me…" she said as her eyes creped open… "Aba? Is it you?" she asked him groggy.

"Of course it's me…who else was it?" he asked her tenderly.

"But Aba, you look so old…" she said to him shocked by his appearance, as she became alert. "Aba what happened, where are mama and papa, and Albus? What's going on?" she said fully awake within seconds.

He looked at her. She was asking all the old questions but there was some thing new about her. There was som thing new in her eyes. Or more as if something had left it. The madness. It was gone from her at last.

"Sweetheart, lay back," he said to her looking her dead in the eye. "You have to relax, have some breakfast and then me and Albus are going to answer all the questions you have for us." he said.

But if he had thought it was difficult for her to eat before then he had got it wrong very wrong indeed. She just plain refused to eat that morning. She was scared and he knew it. She had no understanding of what was going on.

"Ok, then lets have it out shall we." asked Albus as he arrived and sat by her bed side.

"What the hell is going on. Why do the two of you look so old?" she asked them with wide eyes. That was obviously the biggest shock for her so far.

He smiled. She had noticed, this was a good sign.

"You've time traveled sweet heart. You have come over a hundred years in to the future." Albus tried to explain gently.

"What - how?" she asked distressed.

"We did some thing very stupid when you were young. And it was our fault." Aberforth said to her. "We are so sorry." he said taking her hand.

"I still do not understand!" she said to them panicked.

"You will with in time." Albus promised her.

She sat there for a moment as if she was taking everything in, he could see the cogs of her mind working.

"If I am so far in to the future then that means mama and papa are dead doesn't it?" she asked them.

"Yes sweetheart." Aberforth told her quietly.

He sighed, partially in relief that she understood at last. And partly in despair because she understood at last.

"When, how long ago?" she asked.

"It's been years darling. They were dead before you came here." said Aberforth.

"So how come I don't remember?" she asked them desperately. Frustration was rushing over her they could see it. They had to keep her calm so she did not do accidentally magic.

"Because something happened to you when you were young…you were ill." he said to her.

Albus looked at her. Suddenly she looked a lot more grownup. She had lost the look of her childhood self. She had changed just since the day before. The potion had taken effect. But her mind was still that of a little girl. She had no real truth.

"So what's going on? Where am I?" she asked.

"At Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?" she questioned. She had gone so pale. "I can't believe I have to ask this - how old am I?" she asked.

"The party, two days ago…don't you remember?"

"Yeah…I think so…" she said as she tried to recall her situation. "Harry…my new friend?" she asked.

"Yes Harry and Sirius they have only been staying here about as long as you have. Hagrid was there too, though he has been here longer." he said to her.

She nodded as the memories can back to her. She felt so confused. Nothing seemed to make sense.

"Then I'm fifteen…How did this happen to me?" she whispered.

"I don't know darling." said Aberforth to her. He got up from where he had been sitting and took her in his arms. He almost felt he didn't know any thing either. He knew for that moment nothing but his precious sister's pain. "I love you sweetheart. It's going to be ok. I'll look after you."

-

Ariana sat by the lake. It was three in the afternoon and she had finally convinced the boys to give her some space. She was so tired and confused and she needed space.

Every thing was swirling in her head but some how it felt clear than it had in years.

But at the same time she felt so - nothing made much sense, but at the same time….she didn't know. She couldn't describe the way she was feeling. And every time she thought she knew, she felt the exact opposite.

It was then she heard footsteps behind her. Instantly she was on the alert.

Turning, she saw a man and a boy walking down towards the lake. They were laughing and joking about, clearly happy to be together..

They had been heading the other way till they saw her and then they walked over.

"Harry? Sirius?" she asked them unsure. She was pretty sure that it was them, if her memory served her (which it rarely did). It was funny how she could remember some stuff and not others.

"Hello Ariana." said Sirius to her.

She nodded. "How are you feeling?" asked Harry.

"I don't know…" she said to them.

Sirius nodded. He had been told by the headmaster the girl had gone to the hospital wing for a while.

"Do you want us to take you back up to the castle, to your brothers?" she asked.

"No thank you. I'm ok." she said to them, crossing her arms.

"Well I am glad to hear it." said Sirius to her.

"Yeah…" she sighed.

An awkward silence took hold. She shrugged her shoulders. "I think I am going to go for a walk!" she said trying to excuse herself. She'd have to go back to Albus and Aberforth, she thought to herself. She had no idea how to get any where else.

She really just wanted to be on her own.

"Ariana, you'll going to be ok you know." said Harry to her trying to follow his go fathers lead.

"Thank you." she said unable to think of any thing else to say and then she walked off.

-

"How do you feel now?" asked Aberforth.

He had been sitting nervously in his brothers quarters waiting for her to return from her walk. She had a lot to take in.

She looked pale and small as she came in, as well as on the point of exhaustion.

"Better," she said going over to where he was sitting and taking her place by his side.

"Come here," he said wrapping his arms about her.

"Aberforth I don't know what to do." she muttered in to his ear.

"I know you don't. And the world isn't a very fair place to you right now is it my darling? But it is going to get better. Me and Albus will take care of you."

"When?" she asked. "When is it going to get better, easier?"

"Soon sis. Soon I promise." he said as Albus came in to the room.

"Ariana." he said to her in greeting as her came and sat on her other side.

There the three siblings were together united. They sat in the richly furbished room, holding each other.

"What would mama and papa say if they could see us now? In this place? Never had much when we were kids did we?" she said looking about.

"No." said Albus shaking his head sadly.

"Can I confess some thing to you?" she asked suddenly looking up at him.

"Any thing."

"Al, I am so scared." she said quickly as if she was ashamed.

"You don't have to be. You know why? Because we're your brothers. We're here to protect you. And we are going to do so faultlessly from now on."