Chapter Two: Anna
I took my usual seat in transfiguration class in front of Land at the front of the room. She was buried deep in her books, no doubt cramming in a few more seconds of studying before the test. Typical Lane. She was very studious, always having to make the highest grade like such a nerd. I was allowed to say this for two reasons. The first reason was because she was one of my best friends. The second reason was I was the exact same way. Lane and I had been friends since our first day at Hogwarts. We were in a constant battle to be top in our year. This made our friendship a little rough but we always found a way past it.
I pulled her away from her studies and forced her into a conversation with me. It didn't last very long though because soon after the professor called the class to start. She passed out the test and I went straight to work. My quill moved like lightning. I knew this. I could do this. It was just another perfect score in the bag.
I was on the second to last question when it happened. The doors swung open and hit the wall. Like the rest of my class, I turned to investigate. In walked a girl with blood on her shirt and that was the only colorful thing about her both physically and emotionally. She was pale, her hair black and her eyes a dark grey. She kept a straight face as if she was not amused with any of us. She was a little smaller than average. It was hard to believe she could have used that much force. She was still bigger than me though. Within two seconds the comments started.
"Whoa! What the-"
"A sixth year, what is she doing here?"
"Wait that's the girl from this morning!"
"The monster that attacked the prince."
"She looks like she was hit by a truck."
"Poor truck."
With each row she passed a new comment surfaced. She had to hear the whispers; they were too loud for her not to. Nevertheless her face stayed straight. She took a seat in a desk by McGonagall's. She faced the crowd and gave them a glare. The whispers stopped and everyone went back to their papers. Small but powerful. This really was the girl from this morning.
The fight had been all everyone had been talking about since breakfast. It was between the 'Prince of Gryffindor' and some no name Slytherin. The fact she had beaten him to the ground was both surprising and a death wish. She was now everyone's worst enemy because they all loved the prince. I honestly didn't care. I was talking to Nathan when all of this was going down. We had been really close since the beginning of the school and I kept hoping he would ask me out. So far no such luck.
I forced myself to focus on the test. I would not allow this stranger to cost me my perfect score. Once I was done I looked over at her. Her hair was short, tucked behind her ear but it threatened to fall any second. Her eyes were dark but they seemed bright in a way. They stared off into the distance, not focusing on anything particular. A deep cut with tiny pieces of string holding it together raced across her cheek. It was evident that Cantabious hadn't given up easily. Neither had she which was made obvious by the blood stained band aid around her knuckles.
"Times up. Quills down. Xion please collect the papers and begin grading them,"
So she had a name. Xion, it was familiar but if I had met her before I would have remembered. Soon, she was in front of me. She reached out her hand for my paper. As I handed it to her, I offered a smile but she only met it with confusion. Oh well, I had tried. She moved on but as she placed my paper at the top of the stack I noticed something. The beginning, or maybe end, of what looked like a nasty burn mark on her arm. This was peculiar, very peculiar.
The professor began the lecture. It was quite hard to concentrate with that girl right in front of me. I always enjoyed a new subject and Xion was the most interesting one in the room. She sat at her desk, looking at papers and making marks where they were needed. A boring and mundane task to most people but she seemed to not mind it and it told me a lot about her. She was smart, not needing any outside references to check our papers. Also, Professor McGonagall must trust her knowledge if she was allowed to do this.
When she was done, she handed them to the professor, who flipped through them then nodded and handed them back, all without breaking from her lecture. Now that Xion was moving around I could focus on the lesion. It was on Animagus. These Animagus were witches and wizards who could turn into the creature of their Patronus. She made us clear of the many months it took of constant studying and failure before one could prefect it. She would know, she was one herself. Xion broke my concentration by handing me my paper back. It was a perfect score. I don't know why I had been worried it wouldn't be.
Now, with Xion back in her seat, she listened to the professor as intensely as I imagined Lane was. This must be her best subject but if she was already good at it, why bore herself with the lesson again? I guess anything was better than staring at a wall.
The rest of the class was uneventful and soon it was over. As I headed for the door, the professor spoke.
"Anna, come here for a moment."
I turned to Lane who shrugged, "I'll meet you outside."
I nodded and walked back. Xion was in front of the desk and she looked mad. She didn't acknowledge me as I stood beside her.
"Anna, do you still have free time after supper?" I nodded slowly, "Miss Romania has access to the restricted section and information that can help you with your studies. She will be joining you in the library from now on." I nodded again, not daring to argue. Xion stayed in front of her desk while I left.
What use could she be to me? She seemed smart, yes, but what information could she have that wasn't in a book? But if McGonagall though she could help me she probably could. I had to trust this.
Lane was waiting for me
"So?"
I shrugged, "That sixth year is going to be joining me in the library from now on,"
Lane stopped in her tracks and grabbed my sleeve, "You and Xion alone? Anna, why did you let McGonagall do this? One wrong move and you could end up in the infirmary for weeks. I've seen that girl before; I'm in the same house as her for god sakes. Trust me when I say she isn't stable."
I pulled away from Lane, "She seems fine to me. She is just quiet. I will be fine."
"You heard about Cantabious from this morning. And this wasn't just a onetime thing, remember Robert from last year?"
"The professor trusts her and she has information. Those are good enough reasons for me to chance an hour in the library with her."
I knew Lane was just trying to look out for me but she was letting gossip get to her head. So Xion punched a kid, that didn't completely define her character. No one at this school even knew her name, much less her back story. I was going to give her a chance before I made a decision on her. It was only fair. Besides, it could be interesting.
