Secrets, Secrets

"Ariana Groomes, get up! Get down here, hurry!!"

Ari sighed and sat up, yawning. When her mother yelled like that, she knew to just do what she was being told. She got up and got dressed rapidly, then pulled a brush roughly through her long, thick, tangled sheet of almost-black hair before going downstairs. It wasn't until she stopped in the kitchen that she realized how dark it was outside--still the middle of the night.

"Mom, what's going on?" the 16-year-old asked, frowning.

"Ari, Death Eaters."

She blanched. Her mother had told her the stories, warning her in case they ever came to America for any reason at all. "H-here?"

"Yes, here!" her mother her mother hissed, starting to say something. She was cut off by a loud blast. "Ari, pack everything you own, shrink it and hide it in your bag. GO!"

Ari went, not daring to look behind her. Just as she had everything in her bag, the entire house shook. There was the sound of a lot of shattering glass, and Ari crept back downstairs, wand held steady in her left hand.

When Ari got down to the hall, time seemed to freeze. One of the Death Eaters nudged another, pointing at Ari. "That's her."

Bellatrix Lestrange looked up, and couldn't look away. Standing in the hall was a girl who couldn't be older than 18--but even though Bellatrix had never seen this girl, she knew instantly who she was. 'Ariana,' she thought, hardly daring to believe it.

Bellatrix nudged the hooded figure next to her. "Cissy!" Narcissa Malfoy gasped. "Cissy, that's Ariana, it has to be," Bellatrix hissed to her sister. They nodded.

"Sirius' kid," Narcissa hissed; Ari froze where she stood on broken glass, not able to move if she had wanted to.

"ENOUGH!" Bellatrix screamed. "WE FOUND HER!" The fighting ceased immediately, and Ari was left alone with Narcissa and Bellatrix, wondering where on Earth her mother had gone. Bellatrix pulled off her hood, and Ari finally reacted. She growled; she knew exactly who this was. Her mother hated this woman.

"Ariana Cassandra Black." Ari recoiled. No one ever used her real full name; she didn't think anyone else even KNEW. Coming from Bellatrix's mouth, it sounded like she was uttering a filthy swear word. "I think we've been denied the pleasure of meeting. Cissy?"

The second woman also lowered her hood, and stood in stark contrast to her taller, darker sister; pale blonde hair and grey eyes belonged to Narcissa, and dark hair and dark eyes to Bellatrix. "I think we need to go back now. The Dark Lord will be wanting to see her."

"Yes, of course," Bellatrix agreed. "And she is pureblood, Cissy, and not directly related to a young man of good breeding. Maybe, if the Dark Lord approves, Draco-?"

"Maybe," Narcissa replied, carelessly binding and Stunning Ari.

The next thing Ari was aware of was the pain. The bindings had left deep cuts on her wrists and ankles, and she was bruised as if she had been dropped onto the stone floor. The cold concrete only intensified her pain.

"Get up," said a cold male voice. When Ari rolled over and slowly began to climb to her feet, she received a sharp kick in her side. "Faster."

Ari scrambled to her feet, then followed Narcissa, the male, and Bellatrix to another dark, cold room. The other three fell to their knees to kiss the hem of the robes Ari couldn't see, and waited. An even colder male voice reached her ears, one that sent shivers down her spine.

"Narcissa. Lucius. Bella. What brings you here at such a strange hour?"

"We have her, My Lord. The Black girl--Ariana." Bellatrix was the one speaking.

The chair turned, and Ari's cry of terror stuck in her throat. "Yes. It is indeed Ariana, and I can smell her fear. She'll be able to make the talisman."

Narcissa, Lucius, and Bellatrix bowed before shoving Ariana back to the other room.

Two weeks later, Ariana had been lucky to get a couple hours of sleep at night. She was so exhausted she could barely breathe, and eating was unbelievably painful. One night, as Ari stared blankly at the wall opposite her, a hand covered her mouth. She wanted to cry out, but knew better, and didn't have the energy to do so.

"Shh. I'm Arthur Weasley, and I have a few others with me to help. We're getting you out of here. Just grab your bag and come quietly." Ari did so, and someone outside immediately steadied her.

"We're Side-Along Apparating you, Ari, you're too tired to do it even if you knew where you were going." Then the woman, who couldn't be much older than Ari herself, winked. "I'm an Auror, you can trust me." Ari nodded at the shock of bright-pink hair, and a few minutes later was being ushered into an old house.

Two girls about her age appeared, and turned to her. "Come on, we're supposed to talk to you," one said, and Ari followed them upstairs. One of the girls had long, flaming red hair, freckles, and brown eyes; the other had curly brown hair and brown eyes. Both girls were small, not unlike Ari.

They turned on the second-floor landing, and a door opened. Two boys looked out. "Well, come on," the redhead said, and the three girls walked in. One of the boys was redheaded; Ari figured he was the red-haired girl's brother. The other had messy black hair, green eyes, and glasses.

The curly-haired girl introduced everyone. "Ron Weasley," she indicated the red-haired boy, "his sister Ginny," the girl grinned, "Harry Potter," the dark-haired boy cocked an eyebrow, "and I'm Hermione Granger."

The boys grinned at Ari. Harry's flickered briefly; there was something familiar about this girl that he just couldn't place. She looked awful, bearing the unmistakable signs of overexhaustion and undereating. Her dark hair hung dirty and lank; her blue eyes were dull; her tan skin was paled. Hermione was talking again, and Ari blinked weakly at her.

"...Order of the Phoenix, and everyone else is downstairs in a meeting right now--"

Ginny cut her off. "Ron!" she cried, pulling both her brother and Hermione out of the way, "She's gonna-!!"

Ari dry-heaved spectacularly, tears rolling down her face. Harry caught her as Ron Vanished the sick, staggering under the tiny girl's dead weight. Ginny pressed a cool, damp cloth to her forehead as footsteps thundered upstairs. Another male steadied her, seeming more braced than Harry had been.

"Thanks, Sirius," Harry panted, "she was getting heavy."

Then something clicked in Ari's brain--just before she blacked out.