Ariana emerged from the seventh-floor corridor into a castle buzzing with the energy of the second task. Students were running back from the lake, their voices a chaotic chorus of excited chatter, debating who had finished first and what magical creatures had been seen. The air was thick with the scent of damp cloaks and lake water.
She made her way calmly through the throngs, her mind still resonating with the profound, silent battle she had just won. The chatter about spells used to breathe underwater seemed trivial, almost childish, compared to the soul-surgery she had just performed.
She found Daphne and Tracey, surrounded by a crowd of Gryffindors and Slytherins who were all talking at once.
"Ariana, you missed it!" Daphne said, her eyes bright with excitement. "It was incredible! Fleur was attacked by Grindylows and had to pull out. Cedric used a perfect Bubble-Head Charm. Krum actually transfigured himself—partially, anyway—into a shark!"
"And Harry!" Tracey chimed in. "He used Gillyweed! He finished last because he was trying to save all the other hostages, not just his own! The judges awarded him extra points for 'moral fibre'!"
It was then that Hermione and Harry arrived, wrapped in thick, fluffy towels provided by Madam Pomfrey, their hair still damp. Harry was shivering but grinning, a hero once more. Hermione, however, looked slightly flustered and was avoiding Ariana's gaze.
"A sound strategy," Ariana commented, nodding to Harry. "Using an existing magical plant is more efficient than a complex transfiguration. Your display of moral concern was illogical from a competitive standpoint, but admirable from a character standpoint."
Harry beamed at the praise.
Ariana then turned her calm, analytical gaze to Hermione. "And who was your hostage, Harry?" she asked, though she already suspected the answer.
"Er, well…" Harry began, looking awkwardly at Hermione.
"It was me," Hermione mumbled, finally looking up, her cheeks slightly pink.
Ariana's eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. This was an unexpected variable. "Indeed. That is… not at all surprising. I was under the impression that the hostages were meant to be the person the champion would miss the most."
Krum's hostage was a school friend of his from Durmstrang. Cedric's was Cho Chang. Fleur's was her younger sister. "And yours," Ariana looked at Harry, "was Hermione."
The implication was clear.
Hermione rushed to explain, her words tumbling out. "Professor McGonagall was looking for you everywhere, Ariana! She said you were Harry's obvious choice, but no one could find you. They checked the library, the Owlery, everywhere. When they couldn't locate you, they said they needed the next closest person, the one he spent the most time with and valued as a friend. So… they chose me."
"I see," Ariana said, her mind immediately processing the information. The Room of Requirement had rendered her completely invisible, completely inaccessible. The organizers, in their need for a hostage, had been forced to move to the next logical candidate. It was a minor, unforeseen consequence of her secret work, but a revealing one nonetheless. It publicly codified Hermione as Harry's closest confidante in her absence.
"Where were you, anyway?" Harry asked. "We were all looking for you before the task."
"I was engaged in a time-sensitive, independent research project," Ariana replied, her voice smooth and offering no further details. She then shifted the topic, her mind already moving to the next, more important phase of her plan. "The results of the task are satisfactory. However, recent developments in another of my projects necessitate an immediate consultation with the Headmaster."
She turned to leave, her purpose clear.
"Now?" Hermione asked, surprised. "But the celebration is just starting!"
"The data I have acquired is too significant to be delayed by social gatherings," Ariana stated. "The security of the wizarding world may depend on it. I will see you all later."
She left the group, leaving her friends in a state of bewildered awe. They had just faced down Merpeople and magical beasts at the bottom of a freezing lake, and Ariana was calmly talking about a research project that was apparently more important.
She made her way directly to Dumbledore's office, the gargoyle springing aside at her approach, a permanent password having been keyed to her presence. She found the Headmaster examining something, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Ariana," he said, his eyes twinkling. "A successful day for our Hogwarts champions, would you not agree?"
"A successful day for the tournament, perhaps," she countered calmly. "I have had a successful day on a much more significant front."
She walked to his desk and placed two objects upon its polished surface. The first was the beautiful, ornate, and now magically inert locket of Salazar Slytherin. The second was the small, black, and utterly dead obsidian sphere.
Dumbledore stared at the two objects, his usual twinkle vanishing, replaced by a look of profound, staggering disbelief. He slowly reached out a hand, his long fingers hovering over the locket. He could feel it. The oppressive, soul-deep coldness was gone. The dark, cancerous magic had vanished. It was clean.
He then looked at the obsidian sphere. He could feel the wisp of Tom Riddle's soul trapped within, screaming silently in its eternal, lightless prison.
"How?" he breathed, his voice a hoarse whisper. He looked up at her, his ancient eyes full of a wonder that bordered on fear. "How did you do this? To separate a soul-fragment from its vessel without destroying the vessel… it is a feat of magic thought to be impossible."
"Nothing is impossible, Professor," Ariana replied, her voice calm and steady. "It is merely a problem that has not yet had the correct logical framework applied to it."
She stood before him, a fourteen-year-old girl who had just single-handedly accomplished what he, the most powerful wizard in the world, had believed could not be done. She had not just followed the path he had set; she had forged an entirely new one, a path of healing instead of destruction, of precision instead of brute force. The game had changed once again, and Ariana Dumbledore had just proven that she was no longer just a player. She was becoming its master.