RAY OF SUNSHINE ━━ pansy parkinson

xix. there is no hope

CHAPTER NINETEEN

[ there is no hope ]

ARIELLE WATCHED HARRY'S crumbling expression as he ran towards her after hastily answering the riddle in the middle of the common room. The forest eyed boy engulfed her in the tightest hug possible, his eyes red and weary, breaths becoming slower and slower.

"Shsh..." Elle muttered as her fingertips lightly brushed his hair, "It's okay, it's going to be okay, Harry."

"I - I, He's... He's gone," Harry whispered, as if his heart was slowly falling apart, unable to breathe. Elle recognised the symptoms immediately, pulling apart from the hug and helping him onto a small yet comfortable velvet blue chair.

Harry was having a panic attack.

"Harry... you know what to do right? But in case you don't, I'm going to guide you through this." Elle explained, "First, I need you to focus on breathing and tell me what happened later. Your health is the priority right now, okay? Tell me three objects here that are pink or purple."

Harry nodded, looking around the room frantically, "The top of Padma's Bi flag, the - that mug over there, and uh, that - that br - bright pink coat."

"You're doing so good Harry. So very good. Now can you name two things here that you can eat?" Elle continued as Harry's breaths started steadying, his hands' trembling slowly growing less shakier.

"Those - those cookies and... that leftover tr - treacle tart." Harry muttered as he felt his breath returning to his lungs, however his hands were still shaking thunderously, prompting Elle to put a hand on his and squeeze it.

"Can you tell me what happened now, Har?" Elle asked empathetically, her blue eyes swirling with worry. Harry paused, "Give me a m-minute, please."

"Of course."

After a few long minutes of silence, except for the monotonous ticking of the grandfather clock and the faint chatter of young students up at night, Harry regained his composure slowly, "I just watched Headmaster Du - Dumbledore's death."

Elle blinked.

"No you didn't, Harry. He's alive and well, probably munching on one of those lemon drops right now." Elle chuckled, unable to process the information that was ringing in her brain, her mind feeling blank and unsteady.

"Snape killed him with the killing curse. The death eaters are in the castle and – "

"Don't be silly, he's alive."

"And Draco was ordered to kill him."

Elle blinked.

It suddenly clicked in her brain, an array of emotions pounding onto her brain like a hammer, feeling distraught – her mouth going entirely dry.

"What? Draco? But - but why did Snape step in and... oh my goodness I'm so sorry! I just – I couldn't process it and I'm so sorry that you had to witness that and are they still in the castle and what's going on and where's the body and where's the – "

"Arielle." said Harry calmly, "Slow down."

Elle felt a year trickle down her cheek as her eyes swelled up with all of her doubts and worries, hugging Harry gently, the sounds of both their muffled sobs echoing in the empty common room.

"He's really gone?" Arielle whimpered softly, still holding on to Harry.

"He's really gone." The boy confirmed, the words tumbling from his mouth choked with sobs and tears.

"When my mother died, I screamed in pillows." Elle moved away from the bespectacled boy and tossed him a soft blue pillow, "Try it, it helps."

The Gryffindor simply nodded, angling himself in such a way that his screams would be muffled by the pillow, his frustrations getting swept up in the silent howls that escaped from his mouth.

"Elle?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I stay the night, please?" Harry exhaled as the blonde wrapped her arms around him once more, "Of course. You can tell Herms and Ron and myself the entire story tomorrow – once you feel better. Okay?"

"Okay." Harry mumbled, "Thank you."

"Always." Elle mustered a warm enough smile that made Harry's insides light up, the boy couldn't help but smile back.

He was convinced that if he had a sister, it would've been Arielle Athena Lovegood.

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HOWEVER, THOSE PLANS were interrupted as Arielle watched a number of students rush to the bottom of the sight from the windows, shaking Harry beside her in the common room, "Harry, look."

The next they knew, Arielle and Harry were at the grounds of Hogwarts, the girl shivering due to the cold floor and the dark aura surrounding the castle – making her feel as she were plunging into the freezing oceans of the Atlantic, unable to swim or breathe. The clouds were a dark grey hue, twisted into the shape of the dark mark, the plethora of students gathered around her gasping.

She felt warm arms wrap around her from behind, melting into the soft touch of Pansy Parkinson. The brunette sighed, her breaths shaky, and none of the two could speak any words, as if their mouths were zipped shut.

Arielle looked at Harry running towards the deceased Headmaster's body, and Ginny wrapping her arms around him slowly as the two sobbed, the entire school tearing up. Arielle viewed Hermione and Ron softly crying, Rohan and Luna hugging each other tenderly while swallowing choked sobs. Cho was on her knees, her head buried in her hands, and all the blonde wanted to do was hug all of them.

Luna.

Her sister needed her.

"Excuse me." Elle whispered to Pansy as she glided out of her hands and walked towards Luna, hugging her as tightly as possible.

"I love you, Luna." The blonde whispered, Luna only tightening the hug as she whispered, "I love you too, Elle."

The sisters stayed in comfortable embrace for the longest time, only letting go when the students all raised their wands in memory of the jovial headmaster, their wands acting like stars in the night sky – giving them hope that one day, things might just get better.

Arielle stared ahead at the mournful faces of the students, and noticed that every single one of them was present.

Not one student was missing.

With the war, the dark and light sides always separate and plotting, it was quite ironic that the death of one of the school's most beloved headmasters was the thing that brought them together.

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▎ARIA SPEAKS ⋆ . ☆ ⋆ 🕯°
yes i'm aware harry wouldn't
have had the time to run all
the way to the ravenclaw tower
after dumbles died but oh well