Lionheart ~ Harry Potter (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Nineteen | Slytherins and Snowballs

The One-Eyed Witch passageway was dark, dingy and was covered in cobwebs (thankfully Ron wasn't there).

A spiral staircase lead up to a trapdoor. Harry and Ariana pushed it open a little, their eyes peering out of the small gap.

A door slammed open above their heads, dense chatter pouring through. The two students quietly lowered the trapdoor, only leaving a miniscule gap for them to squint through.

A man's feet appeared, walking down the wooden stairs across the room.

"A box of Jelly Slugs as well, Horace. We're nearly cleared out," a woman called from upstairs.

Horace grunted, moving wooden crates in order to retrieve the sweets he was there for.

Ariana and Harry quietly snuck out of the passageway, covering themselves with the cloak before Horace turned back around and they were sent straight back to Hogwarts.

They tiptoed up the stairs into the main shop of Honeyduke's. It was like a sweet-tooths dream. Everywhere you looked, many colours of sweets fell from display stands like waterfalls, attracting a shop full of customers.

The pair of students managed to weave through everyone inside, finally reaching the door. Neville was sitting by the door, about to bite into a scarlet lollipop, but Harry's cloaked hand swiped it up before he could.

"Harry!" Ariana hissed as they exited the shop, looking back at the confused Neville, who watched his lollipop float away.

Harry shrugged and brought the sweet inside the cloak, licking it with a smirk. Ariana gave a breathy laugh and smiled, shaking her head.

Hogsmeade Village was dusted in white, but it was no longer smooth, but covered in footprints. Since they were not in school grounds anymore, Ariana could not charm their footprints, since she was under the legal age to perform magic outside of school (17).

"Where do you think Room and Hermione are?" Harry asked.

"Well, Hermione did want to visit the Shrieking Shack. Perhaps they went there," Ariana suggested.

Harry nodded and they left the village, making their way to the outskirts.

Mist was overhanging and the air was crisp, reducing all who were not dressed properly to icicles.

Right enough, Ron and Hermione were both there. Their stances were still and still, and Ariana could tell that they were terrified.

They were standing at the fence that acted as the Shack's boundary, staring it at the old building. The wood it consisted of appeared to be rotting and the entire building swayed from side to side, looking as it was going to fall over.

"It's meant to be the most haunted building in Britain. Did I mention that?" Hermione asked.

"Twice," Ron replied, bored to be hearing the factoid for a third time.

"Should we move a bit closer?"

"Huh? Oh... All right..." Ron agreed hesitantly.

Ariana had expected them to go much further than the one step they took, but it was enough to make Harry and herself chuckle quietly when they stopped dead after one footstep.

"Actually, it's fine from here," Ron said, scared still.

"Perfect," Hermione agreed.

Harry and Ariana's laughs faded away when three voices pierced the atmosphere. The figures from which the voices came emerged from the mist like phantoms, and Ariana recognised them immediately: Draco, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well, well. Look who's here. You two shopping for your dream home?Seems a bit grand for you, Weasel-

Bee. Don't your family all sleep in one room?" Draco questioned, a patronising smirk on his thin lips.

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy," Ron hissed defensively.

Draco clucked his tongue. "Now that's not very friendly. Boys, I think we're going to have to teach Weasel-Bee to respect his superiors."

Hermione chuckled harshly. "I hope you don't mean yourself."

Draco's eyes shifted, regarding Hermione with pure disgust and hatred. "How dare you speak to me, you filthy, little mud -"

Knowing that Draco was going to call their bestfriend a 'mudblood' (a derogatory name for someone born to Muggles), Harry and Ariana pelted him in the face with two snowballs.

"Who did that!" Draco spluttered, glancing about in confusion, when - SPLAT - another two snowballs to the face.

Harry and Ariana had laughter bubbling in their throats, but they couldn't release them in order to remain unseen.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Draco yelled, looking furious with his minions.

Crabbe and Goyle made a run for Ron and Hermione, but Ariana and Harry intercepted. They kicked the backs of both of the thugs' knees, causing then to unceremoniously tumble to the ground, landing headfirst in the snow.

Ariana pinched her nose to prevent herself from laughing as Malfoy began to retreat, his eyes scouring the mist for the unknown entity pelting snowballs at him.

"Wait a minute, there's something out here - Aaaaaaahhhh!!!" Draco shouted as Ariana pulled his ski mask down over his eyes and Harry gave him a rough kick in the ass.

Draco was sent stumbling over a rise and out of sight, and his cronies attempted to chase after him, having pulled their heads from the snow.

Ariana and Harry shared a look, both of them thinking the same thing. They stood back-to-back, each with a leg out. Crabbe and Goyle ran straight into them and landed on their arses, shrieking with fear and cold.

As the goons sat up, Harry and Ariana couldn't hold the laughter back. The white-haired one of the two noticed Hermione's eyes narrow as she realised what happened.

"Harry? Ariana...?" she said, looking around suspiciously.

Harry and Ariana dropped the cloak, huge grins on their faces. Ariana chuckled quietly to herself as she replayed the memory of Draco's terrified face.

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, his face pale from fear. "That was not funny!"

"I beg to differ," Ariana laughed. "I think it was hilarious."

Ron and Hermione smirked as they pelted their friends with snowballs, enjoying the shirt time they had outside school while they could.

Little did they know, their adventure was only beginning...

~~~~~

Question:
What do Ron and Hermione name their children?

A: Albus and Severus

B: Scorpius and Kate

C: Rose and Hugo

Congratulations to Adler021 for answering the previous question correctly.