Secrets, Secrets

When Ari was awoken on Thursday morning, it was to find her breakfast on the bedside table, along with a note. Stomach growling, Ari grabbed the note and scanned it. "Eat quickly; Diagon Alley trip is today-- the Hogwarts letters just arrived early this morning." It was scrawled in her father's familiar handwriting, so Ari put it aside and turned to her food.

Just as Ari was finishing, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came bursting in. "C'mon! They're saying it's time to go, Ari!" Ginny said, practically bouncing up and down. Ari laughed at the younger girl's antics.

"Let me get dressed, you guys!" Ari laughed. As soon as the door closed, she pulled out her favorite pair of faded jeans and a white tank top, then pulled them on quickly before brushing her hair and pulling it into a ponytail. She stowed her wand in her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and opened the door after sliding on her prized tennis shoes, a pair of Nikes, and struck a very fake pose for the other four.

Laughing, they all made their way downstairs. Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Tonks, and Remus greeted them; Ari hugged Sirius, who looked over her head.

"Okay... let's go, then," Sirius said, pulling open the door. The five teenagers walked past, talking animatedly. Tonks and Mrs. Weasley quickly got to the front of the group, with Sirius and Remus at the back. It was a surprisingly short walk to the Leaky Cauldron (Sirius said something about sneaking off frequently with his brother when they were still friendly), and soon Ari found herself gazing at the storefronts in Diagon Alley.

"We have GOT to take Ari to Fred & George's shop, before anything else," Ginny said, almost begging her mother. Ari looked at Sirius, who nodded; he looked almost as entranced by the alley as his daughter. Ginny dragged Ari through the crowds, both girls laughing; the crowd seemed to get closer to one another rather than them as they moved along. Ginny stopped, and pointed. "There!"

Ari found herself looking at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Huge, glittering posters were covering the entirety of the windows, saying things like "Why are you worried about You-Know-Who? You should be worrying about U-No-Poo!" and "Daydreams that are 100% realistic! See inside for more." and "Ever wondered how to get that mean girl at school back? Come ask us how!"

Grinning, both girls walked into the crowded store. Fred greeted them with a wide smile. "Ari! Ginny! Might I guess that we have more visitors on the way?"

"Ron, Hermione, Harry, Tonks, Mum, Sirius, and Remus," Ginny replied; Fred got a rather mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I bet Sirius will love this place."

"Yeah," Ginny replied, "and I think he passed his trouble-making on to Ari, look!"

Ari had wandered away, and was looking at the trick makeup stacked right beside the WonderWitch products and the Pygmy Puffs, which seemed to be very popular. Fred grinned, then called out to his sister's friend.

"Hey, Ari? If you, Ginny, and Hermione will use that stuff on that COW Malfoy totes around, you can have a couple of those for free."

With a malicious grin, Ari turned to look more carefully at the makeup as Sirius, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Tonks came in. Sirius snuck up behind his daughter. "Do I detect some troublemaking in my daughter?"

Ari didn't even flinch. "Absolutely," she replied. "Didn't Dumbledore tell you how much time I was spending in detention in Hawai'i?"

"Hmm... I think he mentioned it," Sirius said, backing off to let her turn around. "Who's that going to be used on?"

"Pansy Parkinson," Ginny piped up, "that complete WHORE Malfoy totes around everywhere. It's bad enough that I almost feel sorry for her, but she stays with him for some reason."

"Ew," Ari replied, handing the makeup to Ginny. "Sorry, guys, but I'd rather make trouble with my wand and a roll of parchment."

Sirius and Tonks exchanged Looks. "Oh, boy," Harry said, looking at Ron over Ginny's head. "This could be an interesting year."

As they walked out, Ari stopped for only a moment to let someone pass by, meaning she was straggling slightly. When she turned to catch up, someone grabbed her wrist. She shrieked as loudly as she could, and saw a fleeting glimpse of Remus' and Sirius' faces before she was Apparated away with a crack.

Ari fell to her knees when she got where she was being taken, earning her a swift kick in the side. "Get up!" snarled a voice that she recognized now as Bellatrix Lestrange's. Lucius Malfoy walked around her, clearly appraisingly.

"Well, well, well. The rumors were right, you are more attractive than we originally thought! But first, we have to dirty you up a bit, for running away the first time." A whip sliced repeatedly into Ari's back, and she bit her bottom lip so hard she tasted blood. It finally ended, and Ari staggered, barely managing to stand up straight. "Draco, you can have her now."

Two weeks slowly passed, with Draco raping Ari three more times. One night as Ari sat (stomach growling ferociously as she was left without a meal for the second time that day) against the wall, there was a sudden crash. Although her throat protested, Ari banged on the magically-enforced door and yelled with everything she had. The door slammed open, and Ari collapsed into Tonks' arms.

"It's okay, Ari, c'mon!" Tonks said gently, guiding the teenager along.

"NO, it's NOT!" Ari sobbed. "He-he-he--"

Tonks stopped and pushed her away to look more closely at her cousin. "Ari, he who? He what?"

"Draco... he-- he-- beat me."

Tonks' face went white, and her voice dropped dangerously low. "He raped you, didn't he?"

Ari nodded, and fell into Tonks' arms again as Tonks helped her outside. She felt her cousin's heavy breathing, and was immensely glad that she was related to an Auror. Tonks pulled aside another female Auror. "Have Draco brought up on assault, rape, and battery charges. If we can get Ari to talk, there may be more than one incident to speak of." The other Auror nodded.

"And don't tell Sirius, right?"

"Absolutely not. He'll BECOME a murderer if we tell him, so just leave it with the females."

When Ari was safely back at Grimmauld Place and had eaten all the soup and crackers her empty stomach could handle, Tonks came into her room. "Sirius... can I talk to her alone?"

Sirius nodded. "Maybe you can get more out of her, she won't come out from under the covers."

Tonks cast a Silencing Charm on the room and locked the door carefully, then sat down in the chair Sirius had just vacated. "Ari. It's me, cuz, talk to me. I need to know what happened, we may be able to get Draco locked up for awhile, and restraining orders set up."

Ari rolled over. Her eyes were red, her cheeks tear-stained. "It's not that, really. He only beat me once, but a restraining order would be nice. Tonks... one thing I wanted for my birthday was to see the person I gave it to again."

Tonks watched Ari closely. "Gave it to, Ari?"

Ari nodded, and sat up, though she hugged her knees through the covers. "I was so in love, Tonks! Or thought I was. I don't even know what happened to him. He had to run that night when I left Hawai'i, too."

Tonks brushed Ari's lank hair off her face. "What's his name?" she asked softly.

"Taylor Kahne... he said he was born British, but he had to leave for family reasons. He never said what they were. I think... I may have been the only one to know his real name. Everyone called him Rip-- he was a good surfer-- or Evan."

Tonks nodded, the wheels in her head turning rapidly. If he was born British, was it possible he had fled back when Ari did? "What was the last name of the people he was staying with?"

"Umm... Lynsali. His brother was with him, they called him Len." She paused. "I thought I'd be getting a lecture on waiting till I was married, or at least engaged, or something."

Tonks laughed. "Not from me! Especially not to you, as long as you're careful, and I happen to know that your parents can't say much to you, either. You need to sleep, Ari, okay? Thanks for talking."

Ari nodded, and lay down on her side, wincing a little as she did. Tonks couldn't help but wonder if Ari had told her the whole truth as she shut the door behind her.

The next morning, Ari lay in bed on her stomach, face buried in her pillows. She was vaguely aware of someone entering the room and closing the door, but was completely taken by surprise when the covers were yanked back. "Either show me your back, Ari, or I'll use my wand," came Tonks' voice. Swallowing, Ari got out of bed and pulled off her t-shirt she had worn to sleep in.

Tonks closed her eyes. Deep cuts crisscrossed across Ari's back and along her sides. "Ari, what did this?"

"It was some whip they used," Ari replied. "I didn't even see it, I just felt it."

"Who's 'they,' Ari?"

"Umm... Bellatrix, and uhh-"

"Lucius. Oh for heaven's SAKE, why don't they lay OFF?! They know who you come back to, who you go yelling to!" Ari didn't reply, and Tonks sighed. "Eat your breakfast, then come downstairs. We've got some unfinished business in Diagon Alley!" Ari swallowed, and Tonks sensed the nervousness. "It'll be okay, Ari, just believe it! Oh... here, I can help a little with those cuts..." With a wave of her wand, the stinging ceased, and Ari smiled her thanks.

Ari bolted her breakfast, then dressed quickly. She knew that if they waited long to leave, she would lose her nerve and refuse to go. Luckily, she was the last one downstairs, and the same group as before left quickly. Tonks leaned in and whispered, "If you look closely later... you may have a surprise waiting."

Completely wrongfooted, Ari pondered this the entire time. Sirius turned to her suddenly as the group finished off ice creams. "How's your wand doing?"

With a frown, Ari pulled it out-- and gasped. It was worn, dull, and almost cracked completely down one side. Sirius shook his head, and Ginny stood up. "I'll take her to Ollivander's. We'll be okay-- I promise. It's like right there!"

Ignoring any kind of protests, Ginny grabbed Ari by the arm and told her what she knew of Ollivander before they walked into the small shop.

"Ahh, Miss Weasley! Your wand is doing well, I presume?" said the old, pale man.

"Of course, Mr. Ollivander," Ginny replied, beaming. "But hers... well..."

Ari held out her wand, and the old wandmaker took it in his hands. "A fine American creation, but it's been through a lot..." He set the wand down, talking to himself as he pulled out wandboxes. The first one he handed to her, he almost backed away. "Two cores, cedar wood, excellent for Defense, Miss Black."

This wand was the one. Ari knew it; she could feel the power surging through it. Ginny looked sideways at Ari, who shrugged and handed over the money Sirius had given her. Slightly shaken, Ari wondered how the old man had known her name, and felt slightly creeped out.

"Ari," Ginny said, throwing out an arm as they started back along the alley. "When you were kidnapped, Sirius and Tonks put out all kinds of information about you-- pictures, age, height, weight, hair color, eye color, everything. Mr. Ollivander happens to know the name of everyone I've ever been in his shop in the company of before, so he's not such a surprise. But I wanted to warn you before we got to Hogwarts."

Ari nodded; she should have expected this. Wasn't this the norm, to put out all kinds of publicity on a kidnapped child? Shaking herself mentally, she followed Ginny and the rest of the group back to Grimmauld Place.

When the group got to Grimmauld Place, Ari immediately went to put her things away. On her bed was a note, and a dozen pink roses. Holding her breath, Ari carefully opened the note, and had to work not to cry out in disbelief.