Secrets, Secrets

Tehlia Ryus---*---Wilson Potter

________----_______|----------------|

Sirius Black---*---Abby=======James---*---Lily Evans

|--------------------------------------------|

Ariana=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Harry

Ari shivered involuntarily. Though she had already known, knowing was different that seeing the undeniable truth. She and Harry were both in a lot of danger, if not equal danger. Taylor tightened his grip around her waist, and she buried her face in his t-shirt as tears slid uncontrollably down her cheeks.

"Shh, Ari," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "We'll get through this, okay? We will."

She managed to stop crying, and gripped the back of his shirt in her small fists. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she moaned softly. "I couldn't."

"I know," he replied, rubbing her back.

Sirius had been watching them, and much to Remus' surprise, there was no air of disapproval. No, Sirius' response to his daughter and her boyfriend was a look of distinct sadness. His eyes flicked back down to the page Hermione had found and he absently leafed through it. He had never been down here before and Abby hadn't either, at least that she had told him. It was only when Harry spoke to Ari that the silence was broken.

"Ari, why?"

No explanations were needed. Sirius' posture visibly broke as he slumped over, elbows on knees, and his hands covering his face. "She can't say, Harry, because she doesn't remember," he said quietly. "I do but I can't talk about it. Remus knows, he can't speak of it either."

Ari looked up, startled, and her eyes locked with his. "So--so I just have to remember?"

Sirius nodded, looking slightly sick. "There's a lot at stake here, and some of it... well, could possibly change what we all think is true."

Ari sat bolt upright. "What about--?"

"Your mother. I swear to you we're working on it. What happened that night, Ari? Do you remember?"

Ari took a deep breath. "She woke me up in the middle of the night. I remember... when I went in the kitchen I was sliding on glass." She shuddered as the memories flooded back, lit in a sickly green glow, and the words tumbled from her mouth. "She told me to pack everything, then shrink whatever I could turn my wand on and put it in my bag. When I went back down..." Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "She was gone. I don't know where she went but I know they didn't get her, I would've known."

"So would I," Sirius replied quietly. He held up his left hand, which still bore his wedding ring. "They were spelled to only come off if one of us was ever murdered."

Hermione's eyes were round with awe. "That's some spell," she breathed.

Remus grinned a bit. "Sirius and James came up with that one. They were pretty brilliant when they weren't screwing around," he added, lightly hitting Sirius' head with his knuckles. Sirius chuckled a little.

"Thanks for inflating my ego. I'm sure James would be offended by that."

"He'd also be offended by the fact that your daughter has more power in her emotions than Harry does," Remus quipped.

Ari and Harry exchanged shocked looks, then replied as one. "Huh?"

"You're sort of figuring out part of it, Ari," Sirius said quietly, "but there's so much more to be unleashed from your emotions. You, too, Harry, but Ari's seem to be more like Abby's were. In fear, desperation, anger, and hurt, Ari, you have unbelievable power at your command. Holding back that power and not using it is why those headaches happen around an emotion rush."

"But I've been in life-threatening situations a lot since June!" Ari argued. "Why haven't I been able to get away?"

"You've been too paralyzed by shock or fear to use the power, Ariana." Dumbledore had at last come for them. "The Death Eaters are gone, and I'm sure you six have homework to finish at the last moment."

Remus left Dumbledore's office with the students, but Sirius fell rather heavily into a chair facing the headmaster's desk. Exhaustion and a grief of sorts were truly taking their firm hold on him, and anger as well. Dumbledore watched him serenely, waiting for the other to speak first. It took awhile, but Sirius finally had his thoughts gathered cohesively.

"Why?" he said finally in a hoarse voice. "Why is it all on teenagers' shoulders? Why can't we find Abby? Why can't it just be easier?"

"Why, indeed?" Dumbledore said calmly. "Did anything come to light down in the Chamber? I've found it is a rather good place to have enlightening ideas."

"No," Sirius replied, absently looking at his hands. He looked up suddenly. "Yes. The rings, you remember the spell James and I came up with?"

Dumbledore nodded. "You came up with many effective spells, but yes, I know the one of which you speak."

Mutely, Sirius held up his left hand. "She's alive," he breathed, still hoarse with emotion. "Ari thinks she was hiding in their house. She's alive." He paused a moment. "What about Ari? She's being gripped by something I can't even describe, and I don't mean those premonitions or whatever they were that Abby had. There's this weight on her shoulders that is visibly dragging her down."

"And what a thought to hold on to, Sirius. As for Ari, you have to remember she has strength inside her like Harry, like Abby. She wants a place in your heart, Sirius; make sure she knows she has it. Anything else bothering you?"

Sirius hesitated. "Malfoy and Snape are really laying it on thick on Ari. Remus says it's worse than it ever was with Harry and that comparatively, Harry would be old buddies with them."

"Remus mentioned it. I'll see what I can do. Goodnight, Sirius."

Sirius stood, startled by his sudden dismissal. Dumbledore had never been so short, so distant, with him. "Goodnight, sir."

Ari collapsed into bed in tears. Nightmare after nightmare plagued her, but try as she might, she could not remember details. Restless sleep became the norm, and her already-shrunken appetite was nearly nonexistent. Due in large part to this lack of sleep, her senses and reflexes were more on edge than ever. The term continued to slowly drag by.

In the middle of November, Ari was walking to the Great Hall with Taylor. She froze as they stepped off the marble staircase, then pulled Taylor back onto the bottom step as the doors to the castle slammed open. Snape swept by in a towering rage, one that left Ari short of breath as she caught the edges of it.

Sirius appeared at the doors to the Great Hall, then smiled wearily at Taylor and Ari. "Ari, I need to talk to you," he said, looking grave but somewhat hopeful. She nodded and followed him to his office; he opened the door and let her in first. He set the same charms on the door and room that Remus had, and Ari sank into a chair. Remus was there as well and handed Ari a cup of tea.

"Professor Snape," Remus said with a rather sharp glance at Sirius, "told the Order something very interesting."

Sirius shook himself mentally. "They found her, Ari. And according to him, you have something that Voldemort is after obsessively. I can't tell you but I know what it is. Ari, can you remember anything? The nightmares--yes, I've been told about them--are one way of the memories breaking through."

Ari leaned back, closed her eyes, and relaxed. Blurred images became sharper but still unfocused. She suddenly gasped. "I know!" she cried out, her head pounding.

"Ari?" Sirius prompted.

"Th-the spells you used, that you invented, they worked. I think. I just remembered the night you put them on me and Harry."

Sirius held up a hand, barely daring to breathe. "Come on," he said sharply, removing the charms from his quarters. "I think Dumbledore is expecting a visit from us."

Ari silently walked beside Sirius and behind Remus all the way to Dumbledore's office. She wasn't sure what was going on, but the others seemed to be relatively relaxed. Dumbledore met them at the entrance to his office. "Remus, I think you should go find Harry. Tell him what you can, but don't worry him. Give us a few minutes, then bring him up." When Remus left on his job, Dumbledore led Ari and Sirius up to his office.

Ari sat on the edge of her chair as Dumbledore and Sirius talked quietly. She couldn't hear a word they were saying, but Sirius' face relaxed as they discussed whatever they were discussing. The staircase outside the office moved again, and Ari twisted around to look as the door opened.

Her breath caught in her throat. "MOM!" she cried, hurtling herself into Abby's arms.

"Ari," Abby sighed, holding her daughter tightly. Finally, she held her daughter at arm's length and looked seriously into her eyes. "You know why I never told you, right?"

Ari nodded. "I hate it, but I understand." She looked over her shoulder, then slid back to her seat. Abby and Sirius finally locked gazes.

"Abby," Sirius breathed, his heart in his throat.

"Sirius," she replied, hardly able to believe it. They had walked to each other without realizing it, and embraced tightly. "God, I thought... I mean... hi."

Sirius managed to smile a bit. "Hi."

The staircase was moving again, and Sirius and Abby sat down side-by-side as Harry and Remus walked in. "What's going on?" Harry asked curiously, his gaze lingering on Abby.

Dumbledore explained what had happened in the couple of hours Ari had spent with Sirius and Remus, as well as the time spent in the headmaster's office. Harry was intrigued, and watched Ari with interest as emotions chased each other across her face. She seemed to be struggling with something, and when Dumbledore finished speaking, he voiced what was bothering him most.

"Ari, do you remember anything?"

Sirius frowned, then reached out toward his daughter. "Let me see your right arm," he said quietly. When she held out her hand, he gently flipped it over and passed his wand over her wrist, a long incantation tumbling from his lips. After a few moments, a small but intricate golden design weaved around her wrist. Sirius sat back, his eyes questioning. "Ari?"

Ari put her face in her hands, desperately trying to relax her body and her mind. Suddenly, images that were blurry became sharp and focused, and she slipped into the memories.

Sirius was standing next to James, his wand loosely held in his left hand. Ari and Harry were curled up on the floor on a blanket, babbling quietly to each other in baby-talk. Abby and Lily were sitting across from each other, and Abby finally tore her eyes from her daughter to look at Sirius.

"Now," she said hoarsely, tears streaming down her face.

20-year-old Sirius raised his wand, took a deep breath, and let the incantation come to his lips. "Defendo veritas dies sese concitator parricida."

There was a blinding flash of white light, then Sirius turned the wand on James and Lily. "You ready?" he asked quietly. When they nodded, he closed his eyes. "Protectus enemres cal."

James nodded as Sirius opened his eyes, then turned his wand on his best mate and twin sister. "Protectus enemres cal."

"The last thing we have to do," Sirius said quietly, "is seal the secret in either Ari or Harry."

"Ari," James said. Lily nodded, and Abby looked up at Sirius after a moment. Trust was shining in her eyes through the tears, and it somehow strengthened him.

"Ari," he said hoarsely. He was extremely reluctant, but he picked up his sleeping daughter anyway and closed his eyes. The secrets they were trying to hide rushed through his head as James spoke.

"This runs deeper than any other Fidelius Charm. This is in Ari's blood, in her heart and not her head. This way she can't betray us."

Sirius swallowed, steadied his wand, and whispered the charm. "Fidelius."

Ari gasped again, her face still in her hands. "I just remembered," she whispered. "I know what I was supposed to hide."

"Write it down," Dumbledore encouraged her. She carefully wrote what she remembered, all of it. Suddenly, she lay down the quill and pushed away from the desk.

"I know what I have to do now," she said quietly. "I'm going to go write a letter. I'll let you know what I get back." She hugged both of her parents, then turned to Harry and whispered, "You are the stronger of the two." After that, she was gone.

Two weeks had passed quietly since Ari wrote her letter. The castle was drafty and snow was piling up outside. Only a day before Christmas break began, late at night, Ari was sitting on her bed reading. Her hair was falling over her shoulders, and when she flicked it out of the way in annoyance, a movement at the window caught her eye.

Ari's gorgeous gold-and-white owl, Tawny, tapped gently on the window, and Ari opened it quickly. Tawny perched on Ari's trunk and held her leg out importantly. With shaking hands, Ari pulled the letter off, gave the owl a treat, and let her back out so she could fly up to the owlry. She carefully unrolled the neat parchment, and nearly dropped it in shock.