Hiraeth

"Guys wake up! " Ginny shouted barging into the room the trio were sleeping happily in. 

"Go away" Ron mumbled, using Hermione's hand to cover his eyes. 

"No way. If I had to wake up at 4 am because of those damn roosters you guys aren't allowed to sleep happily under silencing charms. If I suffer you guys also have to suffer too solidarity and all and I am pretty sure you guys are somehow involved."

"Fuck off Ginny. Not our fault you didn't have silencing charms in your room. Oh, I forgot you aren't allowed to use magic yet." Aria said, looking smug at the fact that she is no longer restricted in performing magic. 

Ginny looked annoyed and threw a pillow towards Aria's direction. Aria dodged the pillow causing it to land on Hermione. 

"Enough with the racket, go away Ginny" Hermione shouted, taking out her wand from under the pillow and banishing Ginny from the bedroom and locking the doors. 

"God she is scary" Ron said giving Hermione moon eyes. 

"Just go back to sleep Ron" Aria said, not yet having the energy to deal with a pining Ron. "

The trio finally woke up at 6:00 am when Mrs Weasley removed the charms present on the door. 

"Wake up! Wake up! You are going to be late. " Molly shouted at the trio. 

"Mum it's 6 in the morning. The wedding is at night. It will hardly take half an hour to get ready. " Complained Ron. 

"It will take only half an hour if you want to look like you just rolled out of a bed or pigsty. " Mrs Weasley said, yanking out the duvet using her wand and magically folding the duvet. 

Aria felt a bit called out at Mrs Weasley's statement. Her infamous Potter hair always looked like a birds nest even if she spent an hour in front of the mirror the only way it would get tamed was if she used dozens of hairpins which would eventually give her a headache which would rival the pain she feels when Lord Voldemort was going through a temper tantrum or if his plans get foiled as they usually do. 

The trio followed Mrs Weasley down to the kitchen all the while Ron was grumbling about how he wished he had slept enough last night and not stayed awake all night. 

Fred passed them the coffee pot while Ginny was glaring at the trio as if the three had caused all the problems in the world. 

"Aria dear! Mademoiselle Delacour said she will help you with your hair and makeup. Why don't you join her and Fleur in the room Fleur is staying in. "

"Hermione dear, I placed your dress in Ginny's room. Ginny, why aren't you dressed yet? Fred, stop playing with your brother's tie. Charlie, what did I say about you growing your hair again? " Molly screamed running around the house screaming orders at everyone. 

"Mum has finally got barmy" Ron said looking worried at the direction his mum went. 

Aria spent the next few hours getting her hair dyed a silvery blonde and after getting her infamous scar covered up using a concealer and having her makeup done she looked barely like Aria Potter. 

"All done dear, why don't you go down and spend time with your friends. "

Aria went down to the kitchen just to see Fred and George looking at the marquee as if it personally offended them. 

"Everything alright? " Aria asked. 

"Glad you could join us little lion, we were just discussing how if I get married all this nonsense is not going to happen. I am pretty sure mum doesn't even know who half of the guests are and most of the guests are Weasleys. "

"Our wedding would definitely only have family and close friends invited. Mum's definitely getting tied down to the chair. "

"I am glad you guys are at least planning to get married unlike me. I decided to stay single and be that cool, rich famous aunt to Ron and Hermione's kids. "

"I thought you always wanted to have a large family?" George looked confused. 

Aria shrugged. "Maybe I'll adopt a kid then I don't have to deal with men. "

"What are you guys talking about? " Ron asked, holding a glass of butterbeer. 

"Aria's single status" Fred replied. 

"Aria is not allowed to date men. She has terrible taste in men. " Said Ron. 

Aria scowled at Ron folding her hands under her chest. "Why don't you shout from the rooftop about my apparent terrible taste in men?"

"What did I do now? You really do have terrible taste in men. Remember, in our second year you had a crush on Tom Riddle." Aria covered Ron's mouth with her hands before he revealed all the gory details about her unfortunate childhood crush on a young dark Lord. 

Fred and George looked completely gobsmacked. 

"It's nothing, it was just a tiny crush" Aria tried to explain. 

"Please! It was nothing? You even wrote your name as Aria Potter Riddle on your assignment once. If I hadn't pointed it out you would have submitted it to snape. "

Aria scowled at that remembering the incident and how Ron made fun of her for having a crush on a diary that too of an old person. 

"My taste in guys have developed a lot" 

Ron scoffed at that statement. "You developed feelings for someone who is the complete opposite of Tom Riddle. only for him to say that you are like the sister he always wanted to have"

Fred and George burst out laughing, falling onto the floor struggling to breathe. 

"This is hilarious. Who was that guy? " Fred asked, trying to get up from the floor. 

"Cedric Diggory," Said Ron. 

"Boys are overrated anyway. It's not like I am the only one who had a crush on Riddle. Even Ginny had a crush on him."

"Well, Ginny is currently interested in Luna, I guess she is over her bad boy phase and now is into sunshine girl. "

"What do you mean she is into luna? I thought they were just friends? " Asked Ron, hearing this for the first time. 

"They are friends but Ginny wants to be more than friends and Luna is clueless about Ginny's romantic interest in her. " Aria explained the situation to Ron. 

"You knew this and never told me?" Ron said feeling utterly betrayed. 

"You were the one who said you didn't want to hear about the gory details of your sister's romantic life. "

"That doesn't mean I don't want to be kept informed so I can know who to punch if Ginny gets hurt."

"As if you'll ever get a chance to do the punching. Ginny will probably destroy his life. She can protect herself; she doesn't need you to fight her battles. "

"True, that doesn't change the fact that she is still my little sister. Anyway I totally approve of Ginny dating Luna. Ginny will protect Luna from all those bullies. While Luna lives in her own world she is a good girl." 

"I am sure anyone is better than Tom Riddle, right Fred? " Said George, finding it hilarious that the wizarding world's golden child used to have a crush on the big bad dark Lord. 

"Hey! It's not my fault he is so hot. I am sure you guys also would have had a crush on him. You should have seen his jawline and his hair. It's so distracting" Aria said with a dreamy look trying to defend her childhood crush on the dark Lord. 

"Enough, we don't ever want to see you mooning over Riddle's jawline," Ron said, looking pained to even say the sentence. 

"You guys are being mean I'll go help Hermione get ready. " Aria said, leaving the boys. 

Aria went up to the room Fleur and Hermione were in. 

Just as she was about to knock on the door. The door swung open revealing a rather old woman who she thought might be Ron's great aunt Muriel he was always complaining about. 

"And who might you be? " Muriel asked, looking a bit curious. 

"Valerie Delacour, I'm Fleur's cousin" Aria explained using her French accent. Glad to have attended those French classes during her primary school just to avoid spending time at the Dursleys. 

Muriel turned her nose up at the mention of her being a Delacour. 

"Anyway, I have to go now. Please do be careful with the tiara dear. It has been in the family for centuries. "said Muriel leaving the room. 

"That woman is absolutely ridiculous, " Fleur said, looking slightly annoyed. 

"Rude too" Hermione chimed in. 

"You look breathtaking Fleur, Bill might forget how to breathe when he sees you. " Aria said while trying to help Hermione do her makeup. 

"Thanks you look pretty good too. Blonde hair suits you. " Said Fleur looking at Aria. 

"Aria are those sneakers you are wearing?" Fleur asked. 

"Yeah, I always wear sneakers. Why? " Aria asked. 

Fleur looked horrified; she looked as if her wedding got canceled. 

"No, no, no, that will not do, you are not allowed to wear sneakers to my wedding especially when you are my bridesmaid, " Fleur said, her French accent thicker than normal. 

Fleur started rummaging through her suitcases before taking out a pair of 6 inch stilettos. 

"Here, wear these, they will match your dress, " Fleur said, trying to hand them over to Aria. 

"No, no, no, I don't ever remember mentioning to you that I am secretly a masochist. What made you think I will ever wear those? My feet started aching just by looking at them. I love my feet. They are very important to me. They are very important for my continued survival. Besides, I'll definitely trip and fall down if I wear those heels. You don't want your wedding ruined because I can't walk properly in those heels, do you? " Aria said dramatically, trying to make her point clear. 

"Don't be so dramatic. Your feet are not going to hurt. There are some runes etched on them. You'll not feel anything, it will feel as if your feet are on pillows." Fleur said, trying to convince her. 

"No, no, I don't want my center of gravity changed and that doesn't change the fact I am still going to trip and fall down. "

"There are many charms placed on them so you need not worry about tripping. "

"Still a no"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"Enough" Hermione shouted, getting tired of them. 

"Come on ari, don't you want to look tall? " Hermione asked. 

"I'll look tall? " Aria asked in wonder. 

"Yeah, you'll look taller." Hermione said. 

"Alright then!" Said Aria, taking the heels from Fleur. 

Fleur looked impressed with Hermione's convincing skills. 

Aria stood up after wearing the stilettos happy that she is looking taller for once in her life. "Hermione! Look, I am taller than you. Let me go show them to Ron. "

Hermione looked fondly at her retreating friend. 

"Ron! Ron! Do you see anything different from the last time you saw me? " Aria asked, twirling in her floor length dress. 

"Not much other than the fact that I have to bend my head a little bit less than usual. "

Aria punched Ron in his arms. 

"Ouch! Stop punching me whenever I tell you the truth" Ron complained.

"You should have been nice towards me and should have said Aria I am glad you look taller than usual. "said Aria, pouting cursing the Dursleys in her mind for causing her to have stunted growth. 

" I am glad you are happy " Ron finally said hugging Aria knowing how sad she feels about her short height. 

"So are you going to start wearing heels from now on? " Ron asked. 

"Nah, I don't know why wearing them makes me feel anxious. They feel very fragile and delicate. They are not my type. Maybe if there are combat boots with heels I'll wear them. " Said Aria looking at her heels. 

"Anyway I gotta go, I'll see you later. " Aria said, rushing back into the burrow. 

An hour later Mrs Weasley gave  them signal that it's time for the wedding to start. 

Ginny finally joined them after spending the morning helping with the floral decorations. 

"Looking hot Ginny, " Said Aria. 

"Flattered, but not the blonde I'm interested in" Said Ginny looking into the mirror making sure she looked perfect. 

Aria stood to the left and Gabrielle was in the center while Ginny stood to the right as they followed Fleur and Monsieur Delacour as some kind of wizarding music played. 

As she expected, Bill looked ready to faint as he started forgetting that he needs to breathe to survive. 

She saw the guy who presided over Dumbledore's funeral standing before Bill and Fleur. 

Aria thought it was a wonderful ceremony and that they needed happy moments like these before war started looming over their shoulders. 

After the ceremony was over they transformed the marquee so that Bill and Fleur could have their first dance. 

She went back to stand with her best friends. 

On her way to Ron and Hermione she saw Charlie glowering at someone. Curious she went towards him. 

"Is everything alright Charlie? " Aria asked. 

"No, everything is not alright. He is still breathing and who the hell invited him to my brother's wedding? " Charlie replied pointing in Viktor Krum's direction. Aria could understand where Ron's hatred for krum comes from; she doesn't understand why Charlie looks like he is ready to pounce on krum and pluck his eyeballs out. 

"Fleur invited him. I heard you say he was pretty alright bloke during the World Cup. What changed? " Aria asked. 

"I thought the same too, that was before he blinded the dragon during the tournament causing the dragon to accidentally stomp on its own eggs. Do you know how depressed the poor dragon became when it lost half of its egg. Do you know how hard it is for Chinese fireballs to lay eggs? They are very picky about who to mate with and its last mate has died. It has been depressed ever since. Also willow (dragon's name) still didn't heal completely from the conjunctivitis curse. I am going to hex him with the conjunctivitis curse and I'll see how he will react, " Said Charlie ready to go fight with krum. 

Aria tried her best to stop. "Don't do that Bill and Fleur and even your mum will kill you if you disrupt the wedding. " Trying to convince him how bad of an idea it was. 

"Fine, I don't want to ruin my brother's wedding. He's not worth my mum's scolding. He should have used his flying skills instead of his terrible defense skills. You were awesome, you made the dragon fly away from its nest. None of the babies were hurt. " Charlie said, smiling at her. 

Aria was internally glad that she didn't listen to Sirius' advice about using the conjunctivitis curse and instead used her flying skills. She was pretty sure that Charlie would have smothered her in her sleep if one of his precious babies were harmed because of her. 

Aria finally joined Ron and Hermione who were standing near the food section. 

"I am hungry, let's eat something, " Aria said, grabbing a sandwich from the silver trays. 

"I was saying the same, but mione wants to wish Bill and Fleur first" Ron complained, grabbing her hand along with Hermione's and dragging them to the opposite side of the marquee as she saw krum trying to approach towards them. 

They finally sat with Ginny and luna.

"Hi Aria! Our hair matches today, " Luna said looking excited. 

Aria smiled at the younger blonde not wanting to know how she knew her identity. 

They saw Bill and Fleur dance their first dance as a married couple who were soon followed by Mr and Mrs Weasley joining them along with the Delacours. 

Luna and Ginny soon joined the rest of the couples on the dance floor. 

Victor joined them at the table. "Do you know who that guy is? " He asked. 

"Yeah, he is a family friend of ours who lives nearby," Ron replied. 

"Hermione, will you dance with me? " Ron asked though he didn't wait for her response, just took her hand and led her onto the dance floor leaving her alone with Viktor Krum. 

"Hi!" Aria greeted feeling a bit awkward. 

"Hi! You are? "

"Valerie Delacour, Fleur's cousin. "

"You look beautiful, " Said Viktor Krum, giving her one of his charming smiles. 

"Thanks for the compliment, if you are going to try to flirt with me please don't. I stopped being interested in boys since my fourth year, too many horrifying memories." Aria said remembering her fourth year when she gathered all the famed Gryffindor courage and asked Cedric for the ball only for him to say that he considered her as his sister. If the guy you were crushing on for more than one year calling her his sister wasn't enough Draco Malfoy, her school yard rival hearing it and trying to torment her with it nearly ruined her already disastrous fourth year. Although she did hex that obnoxious ferret so that every time he'll start speaking in limericks about his undying love towards pansy. It was fun watching Malfoy getting chased by pansy. 

Krum shrugged his shoulders. Still sending glares towards Xenophilius Lovegood. 

"What's your problem with the guy? " Aria asked curiously. 

"I want to duel him but I don't want to spoil Fleur's wedding. "

Aria wondered if it was common for people to have murderous thoughts during weddings. This is the second time someone had proclaimed their intention to kill another guy and look like they meant it. 

"He must have offended you a lot. " Said aria sipping her wine. 

"That man was wearing Grindelwald's symbol around his neck. " Krum explained. 

It took a lot of her control not to spit out her wine at that statement. 

She turned her head to look at Xenophilius Lovegood thoroughly wondering if she missed something during her initial observation. 

She still found that her initial observation to be true. The man looked like a mix of a mad scientist and a conspiracy theorist. She wondered why a person like him would be wearing Grindelwald's mark. She could only think of a few reasons. He genuinely didn't know that it was Grindelwald's symbol which she highly doubted. It must have symbolized one of the animals the Lovegoods have always been talking about or the symbol must have more than one meaning. She remembered from her time spent in her primary school library trying to avoid Dudley. She read how Adolf Hitler used the Buddhist and hindu symbol of swastika as his symbol making everyone remember it as his symbol and how most of them forgot the real meaning of the symbol. She wondered if a similar thing happened here. Aria started getting bored with the conversation. "Do you want to dance? " Aria asked. 

"I would love to, " Said Krum, taking her hand and leading her towards the dance floor. 

"Do you think Ron and Hermione are together? " Krum asked, pointing in the couple's direction. 

"Yeah, they are together, " Aria simply replied, not having the energy to reply that they are not official and both knew they had feelings towards the other and are still not doing anything about it. 

"Have you seen Aria? " He asked, looking for a glimpse of the infamous Aria Potter. 

"Aria didn't come to the wedding, " She replied feeling guilty about lying about her identity. 

He looked surprised by her answer. 

"Really? I didn't expect that I never thought she would be missing a Weasley wedding. She, Ron and Hermione are always attached to the hip. I never thought I would see one without the other two nearby. " 

"She didn't come because of security concerns. " Aria tried to explain. 

"I guess that would explain it. She wouldn't want Fleur's wedding attracting wrong sort of crowd. She is very thoughtful sometimes. " Viktor replied.

"Do you know her very well? " Aria asked, wondering what his opinion on her was. 

"Yeah, not as well as Hermione and ron. She is awesome at quidditch. I wish she would go pro. She is very kind and protective of the people she cares about. She reminds me of my sister. "

"You have a sister? " Aria asked. 

"I used to have. Her name's Sofia. She died in an accident when she was 14. Some of Grindelwald's still fanatic followers tried to start a rebellion and attacked some villages; she went out shopping with friends and got caught in the Crossfire. It is the reason why I am very annoyed with that man," Viktor replied. 

"I am so sorry for your loss. " Aria said. 

The song was finally finished. Aria soon joined Fred and George. 

"I am bored, I want to hex you both for saying that weddings are going to be real fun. The only people who are having fun are people in relationships. " Aria said, pouting. 

Fred handed her a glass of champagne. "If you are so miserable go spend some time with those miserable old bats sitting over there. They are a bunch of gossiping old biddies. " Pointing in the direction Muriel and some old order members are sitting. 

"Fine! It's not like I have anything better to do. " Aria said, placing her empty champagne glass on the table and going towards the direction she saw Elphias doge was sitting. She remembered him from one of Sirius' talks. 

"Are you Monsieur Elphias Doge? " Aria asked in a slight French accent. 

"I am. Who are you? "

"Valerie delacour, I read your eulogy for headmaster Dumbledore. Are you very close to him? The eulogy felt very personal. Are you very close to him? " She asked, giving him a small smile. 

"I certainly know him the longest barring Aberforth of course, " He replied. 

Aria tried to remember who Aberforth is. "Aberforth as in hogs head owner Aberforth? "

"Yes dear, he is the one. Not many know that Albus and Aberforth are brothers. They don't speak with each other much. Ever heard of him? "

"Once, during the tournament I might have heard him mention something about his brother, charms and goats. I don't know all the details though. " Aria said, trying to pass herself as one of the beauxbaton's students. 

Doge gave an awkward laugh at the mention of goats. "Sometimes it's hard even for me to believe that they are brothers. " 

Aria didn't find it that hard. Just because they are family doesn't mean they are similar to each other. Out of the 7 Weasley kids except for the twins each one of them has a different personality and different interests. Parvati and padma twin sisters  present in her class couldn't be more different. Aria wondered how hard Aberforth's life must be always shadowed in his brother's legacy. She remembered Ron resenting all the time he was compared to his brothers during their first year. 

"Have you seen Rita Skeeter's article about Dumbledore, Mr. Doge? " Aria asked, wondering if he knew anything about it and thinking about how she should have gone directly towards Muriel for the gossip about Rita Skeeter's article. 

Elphias doge's face turned an angry red. 

"Oh I saw the article that the vulture skeeter wrote. She even tried to pester me into talking about albus. I called her all sorts of names and she wrote an article about my sanity. 

" Well in that interview skeeter mentioned that Dumbledore was involved in dark arts. Is it true? " Aria asked even though she was very sure that Dumbledore was involved in the dark arts. From what she had heard so far Dumbledore was a very brilliant prodigy in most of the magical fields. She was sure he experimented in dark arts if not he must have learnt so that he could fight properly against Grindelwald. Aria wanted to know which one was right. 

"Don't believe a word that comes out of her and don't let her tarnish his reputation. " Doge said, looking so earnest and pained. 

Aria wanted to scream at him in frustration. Her opinion is not going to change just because Dumbledore went through a dark arts phase. If anything she is impressed that he didn't go way too deep into the dark arts. Understanding that doge was one of Dumbledore's mindless followers who thought the sun raised out of Dumbledore's arse. Aria was about to leave when they were joined by Muriel when Doge started talking about skeeter. 

"Oh! I love Skeeter. She is very entertaining to read, " Muriel said, looking excited to share some gossip. 

"I heard she is writing a book about Dumbledore. I can't wait to read it. " She said, sounding excited. 

Aria wanted to add that she too is excited to read the book. Just because she thinks skeeter is very good at twisting the truth and making believable stories. Skeeter's stories are entertaining to read if you aren't the victim. Luckily for Aria she is best friends with a blackmailing witch who made skeeter sign a magical contract dictating how skeeter is not allowed to write about the three of them without Hermione's permission or risk losing her magic. 

"Hello again, Valerie was it? " Muriel asked, sitting at the table. 

Aria nodded her head. 

“There’s no need to look like a pair of stuffed frogs! Before he became so respected and respectable and all that tosh, there were some mighty funny rumors about Albus!” Muriel said, looking at Doge's stiff and solemn look. 

Glad that she might be getting the real gossip she came for and not the Dumbledore is saint speech from doge aria grabbed another glass of champagne from the waiter and tried not to look eager. 

“Ill-informed sniping,” said Doge, turning radish-colored again.

“You would say that, Elphias,” cackled Auntie Muriel. “I noticed how you skated over the sticky patches in that Obituary of yours. 

“I’m sorry you think so,” said Doge, more coldly still. “I assure you I was writing from the heart.”

“Oh, we all know you worshipped Dumbledore; I daresay you’ll still think he was a saint even if it does turn out that he did away with his Squib sister!”

“Muriel!” exclaimed Doge.

“What do you mean?” she asked Muriel. “Who said his sister was a Squib? I thought she was ill?” Aria asked, wanting to know more. 

“Thought wrong, then, didn’t you,” said Auntie Muriel, looking delighted at the effect she had produced. “Anyway, how could you expect to know anything about it? It all happened years and years before you were even thought of, my dear, and the truth is that those of us who were alive then never knew what really happened. That’s why I can’t wait to find out what Skeeter’s unearthed! Dumbledore kept that sister of his quiet for a long time!”

“Untrue!” wheezed Doge. “Absolutely untrue!”

“The reason Albus never spoke about Ariana,” began Elphias in a voice stiff with emotion, “is, I should have thought, quite clear. He was so devastated by her death —”

Aria stood there sipping her champagne waiting to see how this would go down. 

“Why did nobody ever see her, Elphias?” squawked Muriel. “Why did half of us never even know she existed, until they carried the coffin out of the house and held a funeral for her? Where was saintly Albus while Ariana was locked in the cellar? Off being brilliant at Hogwarts, and nevermind what was going on in his own house!”

“What d’you mean, locked in the cellar?” asked Aria.

Doge looked wretched. Auntie Muriel cackled again and answered Aria.

“Dumbledore’s mother was a terrifying woman, simply terrifying. Muggle-born, though I heard she pretended otherwise —”

“She never pretended anything of the sort! Kendra was a fine woman,” whispered Doge miserably, but Auntie Muriel ignored him.

“— proud and very domineering, the sort of witch who would have been mortified to produce a Squib —”

“Ariana was not a Squib!” wheezed Doge.

“So you say, Elphias, but explain, then, why she never attended Hogwarts!” said Auntie Muriel. She turned back to Aria. “In our day, Squibs were often hushed up, though to take it to the extreme of actually imprisoning a little girl in the house and pretending she didn’t exist —”

“I tell you, that’s not what happened!” said Doge, but Auntie Muriel steamrollered on, still addressing Aria.

“Squibs were usually shipped off to Muggle schools and encouraged to integrate into the Muggle community  . . . much kinder than trying to find them a place in the Wizarding world, where they must always be second class; but naturally Kendra Dumbledore wouldn’t have dreamed of letting her daughter go to a Muggle school —”

“Ariana was delicate!” said Doge desperately. “Her health was always too poor to permit her —”

“— to permit her to leave the house?” cackled Muriel. “And yet she was never taken to St. Mungo’s and no Healer was ever summoned to see her!”

“Really, Muriel, how you can possibly know whether —”

“For your information,Elphias, my cousin Lancelot, was a Healer at St. Mungo’s at the time, and he told my family in strictest confidence that Ariana had never been seen there. Almost suspicious, Lancelot thought!”

Aria wondered if it is legal for Lancelot to speak about a patient to others without getting fired. Aria thought it must have been a loophole as Ariana was never admitted there for there to be a breach of patient confidentiality contract. 

Doge looked to be on the verge of tears. Auntie Muriel, who seemed to be enjoying herself hugely, snapped her fingers for more champagne. 

Hearing them talk about locking Ariana up in the cellar for some reason didn't add up in her mind. She remembered Dumbledore using Mrs figg to monitor her and she was even part of the order. She remembered Mrs figg explaining during her summer break before sixth year how she was sent away so that she didn't bring shame to the family similar to the story Sirius said about his great uncle marius black. Most of them from what she heard are sent away so that the families are not constantly reminded of their lack of magic. 

Ariana situation reminded her strongly of her own situation at the Dursleys where she was locked in the cupboard under the stairs for weeks if she was unable to control her magic. Locking Ariana up in the cellar would do nothing unless they were trying to trigger the magic similar to what Neville's relatives have tried. Aria wondered how much of the information is accurate 

“Now, if Kendra hadn’t died first,” Muriel resumed, “I’d have said that it was she who finished off Ariana —”

“How can you, Muriel?” groaned Doge. “A mother kill her own daughter? Think what you are saying!”

“If the mother in question was capable of imprisoning her daughter for years on end, why not?” shrugged Auntie Muriel. “But as I say, it doesn’t fit, because Kendra died before Ariana — of what, nobody ever seemed sure —”

“Oh, no doubt Ariana murdered her,” said Doge with a brave attempt at scorn. “Why not?”

“Yes, Ariana might have made a desperate bid for freedom and killed Kendra in the struggle,” said Auntie Muriel thoughtfully. “Shake your head all you like, Elphias! You were at Ariana’s funeral, were you not?”

“Yes I was,” said Doge, through trembling lips. “And a more desperately sad occasion I cannot remember. Albus was heartbroken —”

“His heart wasn’t the only thing. Didn’t Aberforth break Albus’s nose halfway through the service?”

Aria looked wide eyed at that surprised that it was his brother who broke Dumbledore's nose. She wondered if Dumbledore was feeling guilty or wanting to remember his past actions were the reasons why he never got lis nose straightened. 

If Doge had looked horrified before this, it was nothing to how he looked now. Muriel might have stabbed him. She cackled loudly and took another swig of champagne. 

“How do you — ?” croaked Doge.

“My mother was friendly with old Bathilda Bagshot,” said Auntie Muriel happily.

“Bathilda described the whole thing to Mother while I was listening at the door. A coffin-side brawl! The way Bathilda told it, Aberforth shouted that it was all Albus’s fault that Ariana was dead and then punched him in the face. According to Bathilda, Albus did not even defend himself, and that’s odd enough in itself, Albus could have destroyed Aberforth in a duel with both hands tied behind his back.”

Muriel swigged yet more champagne. The recitation of these old scandals seemed to elate her as much as they horrified Doge. 

Aria still felt like she was missing something important in the story. 

“And I’ll tell you something else,” Muriel said, hiccuping slightly as she lowered her goblet. “I think Bathilda has spilled the beans to Rita Skeeter. All those hints in Skeeter’s interview about an important source close to the Dumbledores — goodness knows she was there all through the Ariana business, and it would fit!”

“Bathilda would never talk to Rita Skeeter!” whispered Doge.

“Bathilda Bagshot?” Aria said. “The author of A History of Magic?” 

Aria remembered reading it along with Hermione once. The writing was a bit dry than aria preferred. While Hermione was the book addict of their little group. Aria preferred reading story books and history books with amazing story telling. She gets easily distracted reading the dull and boring books Hermione preferred whereas ron preferred reading quidditch journals, chess strategies, doing strategy puzzles, and preferred listening to the books as he finds it hard to focus on the letters on the pages. 

“Yes,” said Doge, clutching at aria's question like a drowning man at a life belt. “A most gifted magical historian and an old friend of Albus’s.”

“Quite gaga these days, I’ve heard,” said Auntie Muriel cheerfully.

“If that is so, it is even more dishonorable for Skeeter to have taken advantage of her,” said Doge, “and no reliance can be placed on anything Bathilda may have said!”

Aria rolled her eyes at the way doge was quick to discredit bagshot's reliability on the topic. 

“Oh, there are ways of bringing back memories, and I’m sure Rita Skeeter knows them all,” said Auntie Muriel. “But even if Bathilda’s completely cuckoo, I’m sure she’d still have old photographs, maybe even letters. She knew the Dumbledores for years. . . . Well worth a trip to Godric’s Hollow, I’d have thought.”

Aria wondered about the techniques skeeter might have used the only thing that came straight to her mind was Veritaserum. It can be virtually undetectable can be slipped easily into someone's tea when they are not looking. 

 Aria asked,“Bathilda Bagshot lives in Godric’s Hollow?”

“Oh yes, she’s been there forever! The Dumbledores moved there after Percival was imprisoned, and she was their neighbor.”

Aria wondered why Dumbledore's father was imprisoned? Aria saw Fred and George trying to do a hand signal asking if they needed to rescue her from their aunt Muriel. 

Aria declined her head. Fred signaled if she found any interesting gossip. Aria nodded her head and signaled that she would inform them later. 

Aria wondered if she had passed the Dumbledore family graves when she went to visit her parents' graves with Sirius so that Sirius could ask their permission before he blood adopted her. They didn't stay there for much time due to Sirius' status as a wanted fugitive. 

Ron and Hermione finally joined her. Ron brought a bottle of wine so that they could share. Aria was about to share everything she learnt with them. She was interrupted by Kingsley Shacklebolt's lynx patronus which gave the message that the ministry had fallen and that Rufus Scrimgeour is dead and that they are coming