Aftermath

Hermione had been elected to be the new Minister of Magic shortly after the children went away to Hogwarts. Ara was the most upset about missing the announcement at home. All of the kids wanted to congratulate their mother personally, but letters had to do for now. The term was officially in full swing, and they were all busy learning so much. 

Ara was excelling in Potions and DADA, while Hyperion was liking Charms more than anything. He seemed to have a knack for everything in that class and had quickly become a favorite of Flitwick. Scorpius was doing decent in all of his classes but hadn't found something he really enjoyed. He was already looking forward to the third year when he could pick Arthimacy; he believed that would be something he would excel at. 

Mary and Hyperion had been spending a lot of time studying together in the common room after dinner, and they were becoming closer than they had ever been. Mary was just relieved that he had kept his word and not said anything to Ara about what she had let slip. She really thought of Ara as her best friend, and she didn't want to ruin her friendship. James had joined in studying a few times, but he was meeting up with Scorpius and watching quidditch practice a lot of the time. They both wanted to be on the house teams eventually and thought watching practices might be a good idea. 

Ara had finally decided that Marie wasn't that bad, and she enjoyed being around the older girl. She was actually a fourth year and had many helpful tricks that Ara used all the time. She helped her find the classrooms and which stairs to go on, and if they changed, she helped Ara remember which ones to go back down. Also, she was a true Slytherin through and through and would use any means to get what she wanted, which was helpful in certain situations. Like when they were caught out of bed after curfew coming back from the library. Marie acted as if she had gotten out of detention plenty of times before. Ara was glad to find another girl that she got along with, and with Mary always with her brother, she was glad she wasn't alone. 

It was almost Holloween, and Ara was sitting in the library studying when she looked up. Both of her brothers were staring at her with wide eyes that could only mean one thing. She knew they were about to do something that they shouldn't, but she was really never able to tell them no. Hyperion was normally the voice of reason, but only when it came to keeping them safe. Normally he would be the first one to say yes to a stupid idea. 

"So you know that map that James found in Harry's desk before the start of term?" Scorpius didn't give Ara time to answer Hyperion's question because he picked right up where his brother had left off.

"Well, he also found an invisibility cloak, and we think tonight is the perfect opportunity to see if it works. James Hyperion and I are going to see if we can get to Honeydukes."

"What!" Ara looked mortified. This was the dumbest idea the two of them had yet. If they were caught outside the castle, they would be expelled for sure. 

"We want you to cover for us. Like you can say, Scorp got sick after dinner, and I went down to the Slytherin common room to check up on him."

"Who came up with this plan, was it, James?" Ara had closed her books down and was now shoving them in her bag. There was no way she was going to let them do this. Maybe something Marie had done would come in handy. She thought about the different possibilities and decided she would have to take one for the team. 

"Of course he did; who else." Hyperion elbowed Scorpius at his comment and looked at him with a frown.

"You guys, I don't think you should do this. You're going to be expelled." 

"We aren't going to get caught. Ron Harry and Mom used to fit under it all the time when they were younger. They broke more rules than anyone combined. Remember that story Harry told us about the three-headed dog?"

"I don't think we should try and set a new record Scorp. The rules are in place to keep us safe," Ara had lowered her voice into a threatening whisper as they passed some classrooms of older students. 

"Everyone is going to be at the match tonight, and no one is going to even notice that we are gone." Hyperion really wanted some candy, and he didn't think anything would stop him, his brother, and his best mate. 

"What about Hugo? Lysander? Mary will surely notice that you are gone." Ara didn't want to execute her plan, but persuasion was not working. 

"No, Hugo already told us what he wants; I doubt Lysander will go to the game. He doesn't seem that interested in quidditch. And I told you to tell Mary I went to check on Scorp." 

She couldn't believe what she was about to do, but she was going to do it. She put her hand into her robe and clutched her wand. She really didn't know if she would be able to pull this off, but she had read a fair amount on the subject and had even spoken to Slughorn about it. She doubted even with Hyperions marks in Charms he would be able to do anything to help her, and Scorpius would be so beside himself he wouldn't even think to use magic. She was going to have to trip to make it believable. 

They were walking down the hallway when she saw a bench. This was going to be a miracle if it worked. Scorpius gasped so loud as she was falling neither boy heard her whisper the spell. It felt as if a thousand knives were shooting up her ankle, and you could literally hear the cracking in her bones. She really loved her brothers and would do anything so that they didn't get expelled. 

"Ara!" Hyperion was the first to pick his sister up. He was the same age but significantly taller than her, and picking her up was not a problem. 

"You really should watch where you are going," Scorpius was rambling on about things of that nature as the boys quickly started carrying her off to the hospital wing. The plan completely was forgotten in their mind at this moment. All they cared about was making sure that Ara was alright. 

Ara couldn't help but let the tears start to fall from her eyes. This had to be the worst pain that she had ever felt in her entire life. 

"We are almost there, Ara, don't worry." Hyperion was trying to hold back the tears in his eyes. He had never seen one of his siblings in this much pain and didn't think he would be able to bear it. 

"Ara!" Mary happened to be walking by with Lysander and Hugo when the trio rounded the corner. Ara couldn't even muster up a smile. The pain was getting worse, but at this rate, the boys were definitely not going to leave her side, so her goal was achieved. 

"Quick Mary, go find James, and tell him to bring some parchment." Scorpius was yelling instructions back at the group while they were still running to the Hospital wing. When they finally got there, Madam Pomfrey quickly put Ara on a bed and examined her. 

The boys stood back and watched. They were scared. 

"Well, now, what happened, dear?"

"I tripped over a bench and fell." Ara could barely get the words out. Her ankle was now black and blue and ballooning up. It really didn't look pretty. 

Madam Pomfrey looked at Ara with skeptical eyes. Since she was born, she had known this little girl and whether she remembered or not, had taken care of her many times before. She had ever been clumsy at all. But she knew who her mother and father were, and she figured she would tell her in her own time. 

Ara could tell that Madam Pomfrey wasn't convinced, but she looked at her pleadingly and was thankful when she took out her wand. 

"Now, dear, this is not going to feel well at all. It might hurt worse than before, but it will heal up quick, and you should be out of here before the week begins again. Now boys, if you want to come and hold onto your sister's hands."