Serendipity [Book 2]

Keeping It Together

Two days into Ariella’s bed rest (and by bed rest, Ariella was locked in her room with little to do), a series of curt knocks interrupted Ariella’s attempts to stand on her hands. She groaned as she fell backwards, distracted by the noise. She rubbed her now throbbing posterior and lower back as she climbed to her feet and walked to her door.  She stopped when she opened it half-way. Severus had his back turned to the door (with the intent to run away, Ariella assumed).

“Yes?” She remarked and she smirked at the quick tensing of his shoulders. It meant she caught him off guard.  She leaned on her doorway as Severus slowly turned to face her. She felt he almost expected her to be a ghost.

“You look well, Cross,” Severus spoke seriously and Ariella knew instantly he had thought she’d look far worse than she did. She smirked at him.

“What? Do I not look worn out enough for you?” She questioned as Severus frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. You’re acting like I’m supposed to be recovering from a deadly illness, lying in my bed, pleading with people to help me.” Ariella replied as she folded her arms across her chest. Severus’s frown deepened at the idea.

“I am not acting as such.” He argued. His dark eyes narrowed as he studied Ariella. She was wearing a burgundy dress that clung to her body and flared out at her elbows and thighs. He could see her infernal “lucky” boots. Her curls hung haphazardly on her shoulders and looked unkempt. She was right.  It irked him how normal she looked so soon after the worst night of Severus’s recent history.

“Sure you’re not. I was wondering how long you’d avoid me,”  Ariella remarked. Severus’s eyes met hers and Ariella smiled softly.

“Only having Remus to talk to gets boring after a while.”

“I thought you ‘adored’ the werewolf?” Severus asked as Ariella shrugged with a smile still spread across her features.

“I do, but I think you’ve made a mark on me. I need to argue or I get bored,” Ariella answered as her words earned a shadow of a smirk to cross the Potion Master’s face.

“We do not agree on many things Cross. I hardly think that’s my fault,” Severus rebutted as Ariella stood straight and opened her door, motioning for him to join her in the room. Her eyes darted to the corner of the hallway where she could hear students mumbling to themselves. Severus followed her line of sight and was silent as he listened to hear what she could. He frowned when he heard them. Almost as the students were turning the corner, Severus crossed the threshold and Ariella closed the door behind him.

Once they were sure the students had passed by, Ariella returned to her previous attempts of standing on her hands. Severus rolled his eyes before something caught his attention on the opposite wall. It was filled with photos, each moving and each included a smiling blonde. It only took him a few steps to cross the room and avoid a face-kick. He shot Ariella an annoyed look as she grinned sheepishly and returned her concentration on staying balanced.

Severus stood in front of the wall of photos, studying each one. Most of them were group photos of Ariella and the Marauders. There were a few of Ariella and James alone. Some of them stretched back to when Ariella was barely to Severus’s knees. In dead center of the photos there was what appeared to be a family portrait.  A younger Ariella stood next to a boy half her size with brown curls. Two adults stood on either side of the children. The woman was pretty with soft blonde curls and green eyes. The man had hazel eyes and his brown hair was pulled back away from his face.

“I was almost 13 when my mother insisted we take a family portrait,” Ariella remarked from her place on the floor. Severus frowned.

“You look like your mother,” Severus remarked dully.