Harry was in a bad mood. He did understand that it was impossible for anyone to have told him what was going on, but it still made him angry that he had been left out of the loop. Around midday, while he and everyone else were being forced to help clean the drawing room, Arthur Weasley came into the Black residence. And he brought a visitor.

Ana ran into the drawing room where she was greeted warmly by everyone, but none so warmly as Harry who hugged her for a long time and kissed her cheek. Fabiana had been visiting her grandparents in Russia. They were going to come and visit in England, but after the events of the tournament arranged to have Ana visit them in the far outskirts of Moscow.

Later on, Harry and Ana spoke quietly together. He described how he had been left out of everything and how angry it made him and how Dumbledore just seemed not to trust him. He told her about the dementors in Little Winging and his upcoming hearing. As per usual, she sat and listened, letting him vent his frustrations. Harry didn't return to cleaning that afternoon. He and Ana talked about their summers thus far until dinner time. Ana's grandparents had been lovely, taking her to shows, parties and buying her all kinds of clothes from high end stores. Ana felt lucky to know them, but admitted she felt uncomfortable with their expensive gifts, like it was a slap in her aunt's face if she like them. Harry assured her that he was sure Molly didn't feel that way at all.

The following day Harry left early for his hearing, which in itself was very strange. Not only was he before the entire Wizengamot, which was apparently completely uncalled for, but Dumbledore had come and spoken for him. But the headmaster said not a word, nor did he make eye contact, with Harry after he had been cleared and dismissed. Harry returned feeling baffled and once again angry at Dumbledore. When he returned home there was a general confusion among the adults there as to why he had faced the entire counsel and a rather amusing celebration in the form of a chant and parade in the kitchen by Fred, George and Ginny, after which Harry excused himself to the room he shared with Ron. He retreated too early to hear Ron call after her or Molly say to Arthur, "Something happened while you were gone."

Harry stepped out onto the landing and was about to head for his room when he noticed the door to the one across the hall, where Hermione, Ginny and Ana slept, was open, and inside Ana was sitting on her bed, shoulders hunched and a slight shudder through her body.

"Ana?"

She turned. Her eyes were red and shining. She had been crying. Harry sat beside her and noticed a letter in her hand. It was written in Russian, that was plain, but not being able to read it himself, Harry asked, "What's wrong?"

Ana slipped a separate parchment from beneath the first one. This appeared to be the same letter, written in English. Harry accepted it and scanned the page:

To Molly and Arthur Weasley,

It is our understanding at the Ministry of Russian Magic that your niece, Fabiana Prewett, is the granddaughter of Marina Korkova and Ivan Korkov. We regret to inform you that last night, August 1, their home caught fire. There were no survivors. Please inform Miss Prewett that there were a few items left to her in their will which will be sent promptly once they have been cleared by our International Affiliations office.

Sincerest condolences on your loss.

Andrei Petrov

Harry's heart sank. She had only discovered that she had grandparents and now they were gone. Ana started signing something but Harry missed it and asked her to repeat. 'Their ministry thinks it was arson. Someone killed them.'

This was not good news. Ana explained that the letters were going to be sent to Dumbledore immediately via an Order member, to be reviewed. There was a distinct likelihood that they were old enemies of Voldemort considering their daughter's involvement with him, and that Voldemort had sent someone to finish them; one of the smaller, quieter items he could accomplish without much notice that had been described Harry's first night in Grimmauld Place.

Harry set aside the letter and pulled Ana into him. She cried silent tears. Harry understood. She had only met the old couple once, and corresponded a handful of times, but those people had been a window into her history, good and bad. They knew the part of her story that was missing, and now they were gone. Any other truths had died with them and her closest blood relatives were gone. She still had the Weasleys, of course, but it wasn't the same. She had always felt like the black sheep. She didn't fit in. With her grandparents, she had.

Harry broke from her and looked into her sad eyes. "It'll be okay," he said, hoping she believed him. She looked up into his eyes with her hazel ones. "It'll be okay," he repeated.

What happened next was not something Harry could have explained. He leaned towards Ana and pressed his lips into hers. He found them to be soft and entirely pleasurable. His stomach seemed to have flip flopped as though he were falling off a very tall building, but it was an exhilarating feeling. But before he lost himself in the feeling he broke away. Ana looked shocked and placed her fingertips to her rosy lips. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Ron shoved his head in the doorway. "Hey, Harry. Ready for a game of exploding snap?"

"Sure."

Ron fetched the deck and returned. While he shuffled, Harry signed to Ana.

'I'm really sorry. That was a mistake. I just panicked.'

'It's okay,' she signed back. 'Actually-'

"You know when you two start flailing like that everyone else is outside the loop." Ron scowled, annoyed, and dealt the cards. Ana had wanted to express how long she had been waiting for something to happen to tell her it was okay to say what she was feeling about Harry, but after her cousin interrupted she lost her nerve to say anything. And so they played Exploding Snap for the remainder of the afternoon without any mention of what had just occurred in that bedroom.