Chapter 46
Three o'clock in the morning.
Harry James Potter had retired to bed but he was not asleep. He could not be further from it. Where was she? He thought Ariana would be asleep in his arms by now. But no. He didn't even know where she was.
An hour earlier he had got so sick of waiting for her he had gone down to Umbridge's room to check if she was still there. She wasn't.
The only place he thought she would have gone was to her brother. But then if she had gone to him something would be wrong, and he felt he couldn't just go up there. If she was with Albus though he had to admit he felt sore. He wished whenever she was in trouble it was him who she run too.
But it wasn't. And so he lay there in the darkness, anxiety taking him further in to his worry as he hoped at any moment she would walk through his door and come to bed.
-
Ariana stirred fitfully in her brothers arms. She was running a temperature and moaning out pathetically in her sleep, and he held her tighter all the time. He hadn't felt as if she was going to disappear in so long. Neither of them had. But the fact was Albus's expression matched what was in his heart.
The two of them had carried her through to Albus's sitting room when she had fallen asleep. Albus had then sent to Poppy to get some Murtlap Essence to heal her hand. He had an idea of who had done this to her. Anger pulsated through him, as he tied a banded around her hand to stop the wound becoming infected. Tucking it in to the blanket, he let a tear drop onto his cheek before he wiped it away. Aberforth could see the physically pain his brother was in at their sister being in the state she was. There were to be no quarrels. All they could do was think and wait for her to awake.
"My sweetheart..." mumbled Aberforth after a while. He could not stand the silence. "I never wanted to see her thusly again brother."
"I though we'd cracked it. I honestly thought she was alright, better – cured."
Aberforth merely shock his head. They had hoped for this but they had asked too much of her.
"Do you remember what I said to you when we first spoke about her coming to Hogwarts?"
"That you would only agree to it if she was safe, comfortable, happy and protected." Albus recalled. He should have seen this coming. But what was harder to admit to himself was he agreed with what his brother said next.
"She is none of those things." Said Aberforth. "I let her down. Let my guard down. Look at her hand." He said taken the bandaged one careful into his own. "No more."
"You want to take her home?"
"Will you stop me?"
Albus shook his head. Any other time he would have fought to keep her there. But she had not been talking to them and so they could not take care of her. He had to look after the Order, and he was sufficiently concerned to agree she needed twenty four hour care right now. When Umbridge left as she undoubtedly would at the end of the year, they could start talking about her education again. The times were so dangerous and he would under no circumstances lose her again. No one would take her from them, or her innocence from her.
Selfish of him? Yes. He had always known he was a selfish being. But his love for her was so great now.
"No more pain." He shook his head sadly. "We'll find a new way to control her magic. But for now, she needs you."
Aberforth nodded. He didn't know for sure what he could do for her but he could make her safe. That was essential to both of their happiness now.
As she moaned out he begun to rock her in his arms the way their mother once had.
"Come now little one," she had whispered to her daughter. "Sleep peacefully."
Pressing his lips to her forehead he tried to make sense of what had happened to her, but until she woke there was little chance of him doing that. So he held her and prayed that he could be a better brother from her from now on. He had to listen to his heart where it came to her. Not his head.
He would always be there, and never again would she have to face a storm alone.
He shut his eyes and prayed the night passed quickly.
--
As soon as the hour was reasonable Harry was sent for by Professor Dumbledore to his immense relief. It had to be something to do with her and if she was with the headmaster then surely she was ok?
Knocking to go into his office, he turned the door handle and the first person he saw was not Ariana as he had hoped it would be but Sirius who had been sent a message to come to the office before his godson. But now he knew what was going to happen, he had felt a duty to stay while Albus told Harry. He was not sure how he was going to react to the news.
"Harry thank you so much for coming." Said the Headmaster. Albus had come out side door to his office and had swiftly shut it behind him as if he had a secret in there. Harry's instincts told him, that was where she was, where his Ariana was.
"Is it Ariana, is she alright?" he asked quickly.
"She had an attack last night. She did magic without meaning too."
"Well is she ok?"
"She was distress, as you can imagine," Albus replied. Sirius nodded. Harry remanded quiet. "As you can imagine it distress myself and our brother considerably as well. That is why we have come to the decision that it would be well if she were to return to Aberforth's care, just for a while perhaps."
"Return to – she's leaving school." Harry realised and a devestated look took hold of his face.
"We have asked too much of her."
"She's coping..."
"Harry."Sirius muttered warningly. "I am sure that Aberforth and Albus know what is best for her."
"But she is not going to want this," he told them.
Albus had been denying this fact to himself all night and he had refused to think it till Harry had said it. He was right of course. Ariana was not the girl she had been a year ago and even then she had refused to leave. But this time she was not going to have a choice. Her guardians had made it for her.
"I love my sister dearly. Please trust mine and Aberforth's judgement."
Harry sat back and considered what he was saying. There had been moments that term when she had been in trouble and no one had been there when she had been so in need.
At least at the Hogshead she would be out of harm's way and Umbridge could not get to her. He saw the advantages of her going to safety.
Now he thought about it... he did trust Professor Dumbledore. Nearly above everyone else.
"Ok," he said to them. He could see the logic. "This might be the best thing...but will I still see her?" he thought out loud. And what about night time?
"Yes." Dumbledore promised. "I'll make sure you see one another regularly."
"Ok." He nodded. If she was away from Umbridge then that could only be a good thing. They were strong enough to get through separation that was a fact. It wouldn't be for so long.
"How bad was the attack?" asked Sirius.
"We did not have to take her to the hospital wing – but she hasn't let go of Aberforth all night. And her sleep was interrupted by bad dreams I think."
Harry felt a way of annoyance towards Aberforth. If anyone should have cradled her all night it should have been him.
-
Ariana opened her eyes. Her night had been filled with dreams she could not comprehend. They were not vivid but maybe that was what had made her fear what had been happening in them. Flashing of light. Heaps on the ground.
She knew what the bangs and flashing were. Uncontrolled magic.
Shaking her head she held on to Aberforth. As much as she had disliked her dreams she did not want to wake up.
She knew what she had done and she hated that fact.
"Come now my sweetheart, it is not so bad." A voice murmured to her. He knew she was awake.
Opening her eyes he saw the sorrow in them and the misery. But they had to talk and they had to brake it to her that by the end of the day she would have left Hogwarts.
Sitting up but staying close enough so that her brother could still cuddle her, she sighed. The blanket remained tightly about her as well.
"All will be well."
She nodded but it was quiet clear she had little faith in that. She felt defeated. She had never wished to do something like she had the previous night again. And now.
Turning into him again she buried her faced. It was times like these that she was so grateful for his kind loving nature when it came to her. He was a fabulous brother. She only wished she could be a better sister.
He and Albus were both getting old now. They shouldn't have cause to worry for her as they did.
A knock on the door alerted her to the fact they were not alone as she was sure both of they would have liked to have been in that moment.
"May we come in? Sirius and Harry are with me," they heard Albus asked tentatively.
Aberforth looked at her and she nodded. She wanted to see them both.
When they walked in Ariana did not get up and rush to meet him as Harry had hoped she would but she stayed quite quiet at her brothers side as she might of in the days when they had only just met. Last night had shaken her and it was written all over her face. Her fingers were curled round her brothers arm and she had her head on his shoulder and she looked alert in a tense way. It was as if she was waiting for something to come and take her away.
She looked small.
"Hey Ariana how are you?" asked Sirius with his usual cheer. "We heard you had a little trouble last night."
"I did." She nodded.
"No matter, pet. It's over now."
She shot him what could only be described as a dark look. She was unsettle they all knew it. Her happy life had come crumbling down around her. Her peace...
"Maybe it will never be over."
"Don't say that," begged Harry.
"It might be the truth." She said mournfully.
She moved quiet suddenly away from her brother and got off the sofa and went over to the window to stare out of it. She wished she had said no to them coming in. She couldn't handle seeing Harry when she was in such a state .
And it was so hard to be near him and not be intimate together now. It was as if when they were within touching distance of one another they were meant to be touching. And now.
Well she was not going to be like that with him when they were with her brothers. She could not be.
"Why are you being like this?" he said frustrated, his eyes scanned the faces of the adults. He was sure they all knew what was going on between the two of them and so he through caution to the wind and went to her side where he was needed. More now than he had ever been before.
"Please sweetheart." He muttered in her ear.
Turning to face him she looked so desolate and so hopeless. But somehow he had remained hopeful.
"I am so afraid."
"I know you are. But we all love you. And you will pull through this," he said reaching for her. They embraced but she did not hold him as intensely as usual. Whether that was because of the others or the attack he did not know.
When they drew apart she gave him a small smile but how shaken she remained was visible in her eyes.
"Your coming home sweetheart." Aberforth said as he caught her eye. Every stiff thought through action she had made since she had woken up convinced him that he was right to remove her from Hogwarts.
"What?" her voice was lower than before and the shock entered her eyes,
"You need rest and peace and I am going to see that you get it. I am not taking no for an answer Ariana. You are going home. No arguments."
Her eyes turned to Harry's her face scanning his for his opinion on what her brother had just said to them both but what could he do but shrug he thought to himself. He had seen how she was and he agreed she was not herself.
"I'd pick your safety over your happiness any day of the week," he shrugged though she could see that it pained him to admit that.
Her mind was racing in a way she was not used to any more. She was trying to find some order and pattern to her thoughts. But it wasn't there.
Peace was going to be a good thing. When she felt better she could tell them what she thought – and it was a guarantee she would.
If Harry wasn't going to protest with her then she couldn't do it. Not on her own on that day. She felt mentally, physically and emotionally drained.
"I want to sleep," she admitted to them all.
"And you can darling but we have to know what happened to you first." said Aberforth. He needed to know who had done this to her.
Her eyes turned pleadingly to Harry. He nodded and as she went back to the sofa to sit down. He launched into the story of the last week and how Umbridge had been abusing the position of power that had been given to her. He recalled how Ariana had come back from the first detention but how the thought of a second one had agitated her all of the previous day.
Ariana had her head in her hands for the time he was telling the tale. She didn't want to hear what had happened to her again. It was bad enough that it had happened.
-
The fire at the Hogshead warmed the small living room as Aberforth lay his sister on the chair. She had washed and changed into her night gown. It had not hit her that she had left Hogwarts yet he thought to himself. When she did she was never going to forgive them. But it was for her own good. She hadn't said a lot since they had been back.
He sat by her for a while. She was lost in trying to think and she certainty wasn't sleeping, but it didn't look as if she had the energy for much else.
When ten o'clock rolled round he lifted her again and carried her to her room unaware they were being followed.
When they reached her room he laid her on the bed, kissed her good night and bid her sweet dreams.
"I don't want to be alone tonight." She admitted to the air when he was gone. That was when there was a rustling of material, and a beloved face appeared.
"Then you won't be." Harry told her.