Chapter 15
It was not only was it the year that Ariana joined the school but it was also the year of the Triwizard tournament. That had been what her brother meant she thought to herself when they had been talking about there being no Quidditch. Walking up to the dorm rooms with the rest of the house she could feel many people watching her. They were curious. Now she knew she was a Gryffindor though she felt calmer than she had when she had first walked in to the hall. She felt as if she belonged somewhere. She had a place in the school.
It seemed Harry, Ron and Hermione were going to take her under their wing from the moment she had sat down next to them. Though they knew she was hardly the sort of person who would be able to handle any of the things they had done in there time in school, they couldn't just leave her to be by herself. It wasn't fair.
When they had seen her at the party they had thought she was weird. But it was obvious to the other too Harry felt some sort of duty to her for some reason. She was already his friend. They decided to go along with it any way. She was sweet enough.
To look at the four of them however the height difference was huge, and they looked like a group of waifs and strays, which Harry supposed they always had been. The poor boy, the muggle born, the boy who lived and the time traveller.
Why not?
"Come on Ariana, I'll show you our room," said Hermione as they got to the common room and the two of them wondered up the girls stair case together.
Walking in to their room, Hermione saw Lavender and Parvati were already there. They hadn't failed to hear she had joined their year in at the feast and when they had got to the dorm room they had been unable to miss the new four post bed which had been put in for Ariana.
"Hey. Your the Dumbledore girl, aren't you?" asked lavender.
Just what she didn't need thought Hermione to herself. She had been through a hell of a summer and she didn't need the questions, every one pointing at her. She needed to be left alone.
"Yes I am." she said to them but before Lavender could reply, Ari had turned to Hermione. "You don't know which bed is mine do you."
"That one," her bushy haired new friend replied, as she pointed to the one nearest the window which looked out to the lake.
"Thank you," said Ariana as she walked over.
By the end of the bed was the truck that she and Aberforth had packed for her so carefully the night before. On her bed lay her toy goat. She had forgotten it in all the commotion of going to the sorting. Picking it up when she got to the bed she squeezed it happily. It was at least eight thirty she thought to herself, it had to be and she was tired.
Deciding to go to bed she got out her night gown.
On noticing how out of style it was Lavender and Parvati exchanged glances. This new girl was seriously weird.
"You must be excited, joining your granddad," said Parvati to her.
"No. I haven't." she said to her.
If she had time travelled over a hundred years and her mother and her father had died, then her grandpa was a long time dead.
"Hermione, can you show me where the toilets are…"
"Of course I can." she said as she led her out of the dorm room. Already Ariana had the feeling this was going to be a long term.
--
"You had no right to keep that from me Albus, no right at all." said Aberforth as they got back to his office.
"I had too; there are rules about the tournament." His brother defended his actions.
"No you didn't tell me because you thought if I knew then I wouldn't agree to her going to starting school."
"And was I right?" he asked.
"As it happens you were. This is going to be stressful enough for all three of us - Albus how are you going to care for her when I am not here?"
"I am going to look after her." he said calmly.
"No." Aberforth looked in to his eyes. He wasn't going to accept that. "You got me to agree to her coming here under false pretensions. She should be at home with me." he said to her. He had sworn when they had found her she wasn't going to be neglected again. "I am not going to let history repeat its self."
"Neither am I. But she is a Hogwarts student now. We have made our decisions, we have to see them through." he said to him gently.
Albus looked in to Aberforth eyes. He saw the anger and the passion; that was where they differed. Where he was calm and cool, Aberforth let himself get passionate about the things he cared about. That had been how he had been able to tell him he was neglecting Ari the last time. He could still see a flicker of hatred in Aberforth's eye for him he was sure of it. When he had been meant to be protecting the two of them he had been dreaming of greater things only for himself. He should have focused on the family. They were what he should have prioritized.
"I never meant to let you down. Abe, I never forgave myself. And I never will. I was fool hardy."
"You still are…" Aberforth reposed. And so was he. What if they let their mother and father down again. "We both are." he said to him. "I have to get back to the pub." he sighed. He had too get out of there. He would come back and see his sister tomorrow.
-
Ariana, after one night in there, could say she didn't like the dorm room. Despite the fact she was friendly with Hermione she didn't feel as if she knew her yet. And no one had tucked her in as she had been so lovingly done all summer. She had missed Aberforth as well as Albus.
"Come on Ari," said Hermione to her. "We have to get ready for breakfast and met the boys." she said to her.
Ariana nodded and got out of bed. She was starting classes today for the first time in her life.
Getting up she got her uniform on quickly, too quickly in fact because she had put her blouse on buttoned up wrong. She had to undo it all and put it on right. Taking her time, she was careful to place the right button in the right button in the right hole. Putting it down to nerves she went to the common room with Hermione.
"Typical." she muttered as they got there to Ariana. "There not up yet, I bet." she said knowing Harry and Ron well.
Ariana looked around her new common room. She hadn't had much of a chance the night before, it had been too crowded. And then she had gone to bed early. She thought now it looked quite cozy with the big arm chairs and the warm fire which was crackling away nicely in the corner. Decorated in there house colour, the red gave the room extra warmth. She was very glad she was a Gryffindor.
And then it hit her. A long time ago, over one hundred years before had, her father had stood where she was standing. He had been in the common room for the first time when he had just been sorted. And as she thought like that it was as if the spirit of Percival was lingering there. She tried to image the teenage Percival Dumbledore lounging on one of the chairs, for they looked so old it was plausible that he had sat in one of them. Having just come in from class, he was exhausted and ready for bed. But she couldn't picture her teenage father. Remembering the one she had known was hard enough.
"Come on Ari," she heard a voice in her ear.She had been day dreaming so long she had not even heard Ron and Harry come down to met her and Hermione.
Reluctantly, she left the common room behind her and went down to the Great Hall where she had been sorted the night before. She saw Sirius up already at the table and he gave his god son a wink as they walked in. Hagrid upon seeing the kids waved at the four of them.
Along with Harry, Ron and Hermione, Ariana had her breakfast with Weasley twins and their sister Ginny who was she discovered in the year below her, while the twins were embarking on there last year there. They had three elder brothers who had already left the school and had jobs.
"You're lucky," joked Fred, "arriving the year that our Percy left."
"Why?"
"Because he is a book worm. He's a goody two shoes and a know it all." George explained.
"Sounds like some one I know." she said to them as her eyes went up to the head table where her eldest brother was now seated.
"Dumbledore?" asked Fred. He couldn't image some one less like Percy.
She had been about to reply when McGonagall came down the table with the timetables for them all.
"Hey Hermione, have you still got the timetur -"
"No I have not Ronald." after the previous year she had decided it was going to be a much better idea to drop some subjects and focus on the important ones.
When she had her time table, Ariana studied it. Predictably it was very different to every one else's.
Monday. First lesson: reading and writing with Professor Albus Dumbledore. She had nothing second or third, but she had transfiguration with McGonagall last.
Tuesday. First lesson: Herbology with the fourth years (Gryffindor and Hufflepuff). Second she had free and then she had care of magical creatures third with the fourth years, this time with Gryffindor and Slytherin. Fourth she had free.
Wednesday. It was a full day. Again she had transfiguration with McGonagall. Then she had her second care of magical creature for the week (taken by Professor Rubeus Hagrid) before she had another period of reading and writing with her brother. She finished Potions with Snape and the first year Hufflepuff and Gryffindors.
Thursday she had three lessons. She began with Herbology again, before having a study period second. Transfiguration was third and on Thursdays she finished Herbology
Friday. She also had potions to begin with then care of magical creatures. Reading and writing was third. Flying was the last lesson of the week with Professor Sirius Black.
Harry looked at her time table. Reading and writing. It hadn't hit him till that moment that she was illiterate.
"Come on then, it's a Tuesday. We've got Herbology."
Going down in to the green houses she braced herself. She wished it was a Monday so she had begun with Albus's lessons. It would have been easier to start with someone who was familiar.
The plant that they were dealing with that morning was ugly. They were Butuotubers. They had to collect the pus out of them. Pulling out the dragon hide gloves she had got with her brother when she had been in Diagon alley that day.
"Well done Ariana." said Sprout as she came about the green house. "Come and talk to me at the end of class won't you. We need to talk about you catching up the work you have missed." she said to her.
"Three years worth," Ron muttered to Hermione. "How is she going to do that?"
"With a lot of help I suppose."
When she got of the hour long lesson after class she released just how much she was going to have to do if she were to make her education work. It wasn't going to be easy.
Coming out of the green houses she realized Harry, Hermione and Ron had gone off to there next lesson. She didn't know her way back to the castle.
"Ariana," she heard a voice called to her, saving her from panic… as always.
"Aberforth." she said as she run up to him and through her arms about him. They had been apart all of one night. But she knew he had no idea how glad she was to see him there.
"Alright kid?" he asked her as they embraced.
"Yeah I think so."
"Come on you," he said. He had been desperate to see her.
"Where are we going?"
"Down to the lake, so you can tell me about your first night as a student."
She told him every thing, from how Lavender and Parvati had spoken to her, to the thought she had had about their papa, to the time table, how she had got on in her first lesson and how much she had missed him when she had got in to bed and had to tuck her self in. it had made her feel lonely.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I think stuff like that you are just going to have to get used to when you are in the dorm room." he said to her gently as they sat down.
"I know it is doesn't make it easier." she shrugged. Looking out she sighed. "No one else has to have reading and writing lesson." she said to him bitterly. She felt as if she stood out already. And she was going to stand out in potions class.
"No. I know they don't but you need to learn." he said to her reaching out to hold her hand and comfort her. "Nothing else for it." he smiled gently.
"Everyone's looking at me. I think it's because I am Albus's sister. They thought he was my granddad how weird is that. Though I think I can see there logic." she thought out loud, unburdening herself on to him. "This term is going to be harder than we thought."
"You keep at it and you are going to get there."