Chapter Text
Ariana glared up at the ceiling. She did not know what time it was, but the sun was up, breakfast was cooking, and the birds outside her window were less singing, more yodelling. She had been awake since the sun had been young, needing to use the toilet quite noticeably. Unfortunately, Beelzebub was still asleep, on her feet. She had tried to move, but he had stirred. So, rather than wake him like anyone else would, Ariana had thought it a good idea to let him wake up by himself. Hah.
“Ariana!” called Aberforth. “Breakfast is nearly ready!”
“I know!”
“Then why are you still up there?”
“Zeb’s asleep on my feet!”
“Who?”
“Zeb!”
“Ariana, who is Zeb?”
“Beelzebub! He’s asleep on my feet!” There was a yowl at the end of the bed, then a gentle thud. Ariana looked up just in time to see Zeb slink out of the doorway, looking over his shoulder reproachfully.
“Never mind!”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s awake!” Aberforth may have said more, but Ariana did not hear him as she leapt out of bed and ran towards the bathroom.
The day passed normally, nothing worth any mention happening at all, really. Not until around four in the afternoon, when Albus called Ariana to the front room. His hair still had grass in it from when he and Gellert had gone to enjoy the fields. His nose was slightly red from the pollen, but he grinned widely as Ariana stepped in.
“Why is everyone in here?” she asked.
Albus and Gellert looked at each other. They then looked at Aberforth, who stared emotionlessly back.
“Yesterday, when Gellert and I were getting all of your school equipment,” Albus said. “We were talking. We were looking at the pros and cons of getting you this because…well, you know you have to be careful with yourself.”
“I know, it’s all you ever tell me.”
“That’s hardly true! Anyway. We weighed it all up; you know, whether it’s safe, whether it’s practical, whether it’s something you’ll genuinely enjoy, and-”
“Oh just get to it already,” snapped Aberforth.
“Sorry, Merlin.” Albus nodded at Gellert, who reached behind the sofa, waiting. “So, Ariana.”
“Yeah?”
“We bought you this.”
Gellert lifted his arm upward. With it, he brought the most beautiful broomstick Ariana had ever seen. (She hadn’t actually seen many in the first place, but this was beside the point completely.)
It was very handsome, with a thick oaken handle and neatly sorted twigs at the end. Longer than Ariana had expected a broom to be, and, she realised, it was near identical to Albus’ own broom.
“It’s the same model as mine,” he said. “But, I changed the colour of mine. So it looks different. This is what it’s meant to look like.”
“Purple isn’t a good broom colour.”
“Whatever, Ariana. At the moment, it’s not gonna fly great. You know the Oakshaft, it’s kind of slow. It’s improved since 1879, but it’s still pretty basic. The good thing is, if you know the right charms, you can improve it. That’s how I made the team. That and talent.”
“Let’s not forget,” said Gellert. “There are Quidditch clubs and such at Durmstrang. One of them is Broomstick Creating and Improvement, because nothing’s ever good enough for them over there. I imagine, if you show up with your broomstick, they’ll help you with it.”
“You think?”
“Sure.”
Ariana whooped, pumping her fist to the sky. She gave Albus and Gellert a rather lengthy hug in thanks for her broom. Then, she hugged Aberforth because he was her favourite.
Not long had passed since Ariana had been given her broomstick. It didn’t feel long, at least, and yet here it was: September the first. A couple of suitcases lay at the foot of Ariana’s bed, packed with uniform, her favourite doll, kneazle things, her equipment, books for fun, normal clothes, ribbons for her hair, and a bunch of other stuff which she never used, only took everywhere with her out of fear of not having it when she needed it. Gellert had charmed them for her so that they were manageable (and a lot more spacious than they looked). Everything was set.
Everything, that was, except for Ariana. Goodness knew why, but she had only woken up at half-past eight. According to Gellert, they had to wake up at eight, eat breakfast by nine, be fully dressed by quarter-past nine, all in order to be there by quarter-to ten. Then, Ariana would be taken from there to Durmstrang on the stroke of ten. He never specified where “there” was, or how they would get there, but assured them that he knew exactly what he was talking about.
Half-past eight wouldn’t really be too awful of a time to wake. It wouldn’t dreadfully affect their schedule. The problem was that Gellert was convinced they were ruined because of it. So, with his shouting and worrying and swearing in the background, Ariana wolfed down her breakfast whilst her brothers got dressed; she shoved her clothes on haphazardly whilst her brothers made their way downstairs.
Finally, she hurtled down into the hallway, just five minutes behind schedule. Gellert visibly relaxed.
“Albus, where did you put Ariana’s Durmstrang letter?” he said, glancing at the nearby clock.
“On the mantelpiece.”
“Good. Come in here.” He beckoned them into the front room, taking the letter down, placing it on the floor. “We have about twenty seconds. Hold the letter nice and tightly.”
Realisation dawning on each of them, they grasped hold of the parchment. Nothing happened for a moment. Then, Ariana felt herself being lifted up, as though somebody was pulling a hook from the back of her belt. She saw the others rise with her, before a glow flashed across her vision. Before she knew it, she was sat on a patch of green grass, in a place she did not know.
“Aberforth?” she said. “Gellert? Albus?”
Nobody replied. Her vision was still slightly foggy, and she wasn’t sure she had ever seen a place even similar to this before. She looked upward. The sky was a perfect blue, a cloud here and a cloud there, the sun shining as brightly as a diamond in its own light. There was also a worryingly large number of people in the sky, walking down through the air, touching the ground lightly. Ariana glanced around her- she was not the only one sitting on the ground. Plenty of others were too, mostly children.
She scanned the sky for Aberforth, Gellert, and Albus. She knew that’s where they would be. And there they were indeed. The three boys strolled toward her, their pace not changing once they reached the ground. Aberforth wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“So,” Gellert grinned. “Have you seen it yet, Ariana?”
“Seen what?”
Gellert smiled. He motioned for her to turn around. She did this quite slowly, almost scared of what she might see. She needn’t have worried. Before her very own eyes, tall and proud, stood the most magnificent ship one could ever imagine.
It was at least as tall as their house stack upon itself thrice, probably larger. The length was incredible. The masts were pitch black, the wood itself near the same colour. It was quite deep too. Somehow, it looked quite skeletal, yet breath-taking all at once. Some people had already boarded the ship, and were now standing on the deck, waving to their families, leaning over the edge, messing around at the bow.
“That’s how you get to Durmstrang,” said Gellert.
“But…the lake’s so small! At least, compared to the ship. Where is Durmstrang, Gellert?”
“I wish I knew. You needn’t worry about the lake size-”
“But-”
“They know what they’re doing.”
“Now!” said Albus. “How’s Zeb doing sharing your little basket with Commie, Gellert?”
Gellert lifted the lid of the wicker basket he was carrying. Ariana reached in, gave Commie a quick rub behind the ears, then brought Zeb carefully out into her arms.
“They do get along, don’t they?” said Aberforth. He then turned to face Ariana. He barely had to look down, as she was quite tall- nearly his height. “Ariana,” he said.
“Yes?”
“We’re gonna have to say goodbye now.”
Ariana bit her lip, trying to stop it from trembling.
“It’s fine,” Aberforth said. “We’ll all see each other at Christmas. It’ll be just how it is every year.”
“I won’t see Gellert and Albus either this time,” she sniffed.
“I’ll write to you everyday, Ari. So will they. I’ll force them to.”
“Thank you.”
“We should speed this up you know. Time’s ticking.” He pulled her into a tight, warm hug. “I love you, Ari.”
“I love you too, Ab.”
He wiped a tear from her cheek and kissed her on the forehead.
“You’ll love it so much, Ariana,” said Gellert encouragingly. He hugged her as well. “We’ll see you in December. Have fun.”
“Thanks, Gellert.”
“We won’t write everyday,” said Albus, side-eyeing Aberforth. “But, we’ll do it as often as time allows.”
“I know you will. You’re good at being in charge, Albus.”
Albus’ eyes went slightly watery at this. “I- thank you. Come here.”
After one last hug, Ariana took her suitcases in one hand, Zeb resting against her chest with the help of the other.
“I love you guys,” she said. The boys smiled, blowing kisses and mouthing “good luck.”
With that, Ariana nodded. She turned, determined not to look back until she was on that ship. She strode toward it. Somebody in a uniform took her cases for her, put his hand on one of them, and drew out a bag from seemingly nowhere.
“This is your uniform and wand,” he said.
She took them, thanked the man, and ascended the ramp. As she stepped onto the deck, she suddenly felt incredibly small. So many students surrounded her, so many of them chatting, reconnecting, and laughing with each other. And Ariana didn’t know a single one.
She looked over to where she had previously stood. There were the three small figures of Aberforth, Gellert, and Albus. Aberforth waved enthusiastically. Albus gave what might have been a thumbs up- it was hard to tell at such a distance. Gellert dabbed (at least, that’s what Ariana thought it was called- she was relatively sure of it, but could not entirely remember).
“Only ten seconds!” somebody shouted from the middle of the boat.
Everyone squealed, rushing to the edge of the deck. Sudden realisation hitting, Ariana waved frantically at the boys below, forcing a smile. The ramp had begun to retract itself. Shouting started around her, and she stroked Zeb furiously as a means of comfort.
“FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ONE. NOW!”
On the last word, Ariana’s stomach was almost propelled out through her mouth. Her vision blurred aggressively as the boat shot downwards and, for a moment, she thought she might drown. There was screaming all around her and, though it sounded happy, it still worried her. Her heart was zipping all over her chest, her breathing quickening- until, quite suddenly, everything was a pleasant greeny-blue.