Serendipity [Book 1]

And Then Came the Attacks

"Are we sure its blood?" Gilderoy asked apprehensively as he eyed Snape, who stood stoically between him and Ariella Cross.

"Of course we're sure." Ariella growled as she folded her slender arms across her chest. Dumbledore and McGonagall studied the message as Filch rambled in the background about seeking revenge for his precious Mrs. Norris.

"Harry couldn't have done this." Ariella defended as she watched the young boy flinch under Severus' hard, examining eyes.

"We have no doubt about that, Ariella." Minerva remarked. Snape scoffed as he lifted the hem of his robes to examine their wetness. Ariella frowned as she shook the water off of her boots.

"Where's this water coming from?" She asked aloud as Harry looked down.

"Moaning Myrtle." He answered softly as Ariella looked quizzical.

"Moaning Myrtle? Oh, yes, I remember now. I'll go have a talk with her. Maybe she saw the culprit." She announced as everyone nodded. Gilderoy stepped forward but a curt glance from Snape stopped him.

"I'll be right back." She reassured the frightened twelve year old before disappearing into the girls' bathroom.

"Myrtle? Myrtle, are you in here?" A sudden wail answered Ariella as she smiled. However her smile left her as a sudden wave of despair and pain swept through her body. She groaned when she hit the ground. Her head pounded and her entire body throbbed with widespread pain. It wasn't a burning pain, but she had definitely felt that pain before. It was more of a dull ache. She oftentimes felt it when... Her eyes widened with realization. She rushed from the bathroom and pulled Snape aside from the group. He stared her first with surprise then with concern.

"Cross, what is it?" He asked as she pulled his left arm toward her. His eyes narrowed as she started to raise the sleeve of his robe.

"I felt something. I just...I need to make sure." She explained as she exposed the hideous tattoo that marred her colleague's wrist. She sighed in relief when she felt nothing more than a slight pulse of the dull ache she had grown accustomed to. Severus quickly replaced his sleeve before turning back to the group.

"Albus, your office, please." Ariella looked troubled and Snape nor Dumbledore liked the sight of it.

______________________________________________________________________

"I felt it, Albus. That sensation that...Voldemort stirred." Ariella whispered as Snape's face crumpled. Albus looked concerned as he drew his brow together in thought.

"Can you pinpoint it?" Ariella shook her head as Albus sighed.

"We will do all that we can to protect the students but for now, we must wait it out." Albus announced as Ariella and Severus nodded. The two younger professors left the headmaster to his duties as they walked down the empty corridors.

"You look curious, Severus." Ariella remarked as they paused in a deserted hallway, far from any prying eyes or ears. There wasn't a single portrait on the stone walls.

"What did you mean by feeling a sensation?"

"I can sense...Dark wizards." Ariella answered cryptically. Snape tensed and unconsciously clutched his marred wrist.

"How?" He asked as Ariella shrugged.

"I don't know. I've just learned through experience that whenever there's a dark wizard around, I just...get this pain here." She pointed toward the middle of her chest.

"The more powerful the dark wizard, the more it hurts. Voldemort...I was never able to be near him. I couldn't stand it. It did however make me an excellent Auror." Ariella explained before sighing.