Lionheart ~ Harry Potter (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Thirty-Eight | Mates

Ariana, Harry and Hermione raced through the humongous trees of the Forbidden Forest, Buckbeak easily looping behind them.

The sun had just set, the sky now dark. This meant it shouldn't be too long until they arrived at the Whomping Willow.

"Now what?" Harry questioned, dropping Buckbeak's chain by a tree.

"Now we save Sirius," Hermione replied, taking off in another direction.

"And we do that... how?"

"No idea."

Harry and Ariana shrugged at each other and ran after Hermione, quickstepping to avoid falling over the long, thick roots of the trees that crossed the floor like an intricate spider's web.

When they finally halted, the trio had reached the outer edge of the forest. A cool breeze had set in and the stars were clouded over with a mist that would room reveal a full moon.

"There we are," said Ariana, pointing at the darkened Whomping Willow.

A yelling Hermione had just disappeared down into the hole in the tree's trunk and, two minutes later, a soaking Ariana had turned up and charmed the tree, rendering it unable to move. She, too, slid down into the gap.

Five minutes later, another shadowy figure approached the tree.

"Look. It's Lupin," Hermione pointed out.

Even as a small dot in the distance, Ariana's heart thronged at the sight of him. She fought the smile that turned the corners of her lip, biting it. She felt ridiculous, she was not one for off displays of emotion, and she wasn't about to start now.

Hermione nodded towards the tree. "Here comes Snape."

Ariana looked ahead. Surely enough, Snape was making his way down the slope, heading straight towards the immobilised tree.

"And now we wait," Harry said, sinking down to sit in the forest floor.

"Now we wait," Both Ariana and Hermione sighed, lowering themselves beside Harry.

For ten peaceful minutes, the trio remained silent, each one caught up in their thoughts. The wind ruffled Ariana's hair, but it was hardly powerful, just a pleasant breeze.

The tops of the forest's trees were etched against the darkening sky, their shadows lengthening. The squeak of bats sounded behind them.

Many of the black creatures flew over the trio's heads, causing them to duck. Ariana looked behind her and saw Buckbeak happily leaping about like an excited puppy, trying to catch the bats in midair.

"'Least someone's enjoying themselves," Hermione commented, her eyes drifting towards Buckbeak.

"Hermione. Ariana..."

"Yes?" Hermione asked.

"Mm-hmm?" Ariana hummed, looking away from Buckbeak.

"Before. Down by the lake. When I
was with Sirius..."

"Sorry," Ariana interjected, holding up a hand. "You were down by the lake?"

"Ah, yeah. After Snape took you back to the castle, I followed Sirius," Harry explained. "The Dementors performed a Kiss, but someone conjured a Patronus and stopped them."

Ariana nodded, allowing Harry to continue with his original story.

"Well, I saw something, someone... that someone made the Dementors go away..."

"I heard Snape telling Dumbledore when we were taken to the hospital. According to him, only a really powerful wizard could have conjured the Patronus," Hermione said.