1975, 10th September
Ana awoke a little past five on Monday morning, when Ana had signed up for Quidditch try-outs, they had given her the first couple of periods off due to James Potter's insistent requests, of course. Still, even with her first two morning classes off, Ana had not intended on sleeping so late. Although, if she were to ask the other girls in her dormitory, five o'clock was the exact opposite of late. Quickly but quietly, Ana tugged on a pair of cotton exercise bottoms and tight sports top, along with her Gryffindor robes on top. Ana shoved her school uniform, books and quills into her bag, before sliding on her running shoes and tiptoeing out of her room, tying up her hair as she went and tucking her broom under her arm. Ana had to be careful not to wake the rest of Gryffindor tower as she crept down the stairs that led from the girls dormitory to the Common Room. As quietly as she could, Ana slipped through the passage and pushed the back of the Fat Lady's portrait open. The seventh floor corridor was cold, and caused Ana to hug herself. Ana tugged her cloak around herself and shouldered her bag, getting a good grip on her broom, and ran down the corridor. When she got to the stairs, Ana took them two at a time, hurrying down them as quickly as she could to the ground floor. When Ana had managed to get down to the entry hall, unseen by Filtch, she stopped behind a large suit of armour, taking deep breaths. Ana glanced Lear and right, with the hopes that nobody was around, especially the old caretaker. Ana took her chance only after a few moments of rest, and ran down to the large entry hall and out the double wooden doors. The cool September air hit Ana, a welcome to the outside world.
The Quidditch pitch was empty, just as if always was this early in the morning. Ana took off her robes and lay it neatly on the ground, along with her broom and bag and began to areas have. She ignored the cool air that kissed her bare arms and began to jog. Although it was only for half an hour each morning, Ana hated jogging – it was her least favourite part of her morning routine. And today was no different, even if it was the day of try-outs. Jogging was just too slow, it did nothing to keep her warm, but she kept going for the full half hour – forcing herself to stay at a consistent pace. When she stopped, Ana rubbed her arms, the weather had gotten warmer, but not by much. Ana crouched down, as if she were about to participate in a race. The tips of her fingers touching the grass, Ana began to count down in her head.
One, she was crouching further into her position.
Two, Ana shifted her feet to make sure she was sure-footed.
Three, she measured the distance of the Qudditch field.
Go! Ana was off, her feet pounding against the hard ground at the side of the field; running the lap at full pelt, as if she were running an actual race. The freedom of running was almost better than the freedom of flying, and Ana loved it. The way her arms and legs ached as she went, the burning in her lungs, all of it. A cough from behind Ana almost caused her to fall and trip over her own two feet. Ana whirled on her heel, trying to locate the sound of the noise, nobody was usually out at this time in the morning. Right beside her belongings, Ana caught sight of the dark haired figure coming towards her, he held two brooms in his hands, one that Ana knew exactly was her own. Her eyebrows shot up in slight surprise, and Ana squinted her eyes in the hopes of recognising the figure – and she did. The untidy bed-head and rectangular glasses that framed hazel eyes were immediately distinctive.
"James?" Ana called as she jogged over towards him, he flashed his overly cocky grin that caused Ana to roll her eyes. James Potter had a slightly darker complexion compared to his friends, his black hair never seemed neat. Instead of his school robes, James was dressed as if he were about to play a game of Quidditch, the crimson robes suited him well. "What in earth are you doing out here?" Ana asked, cringing at her own tone.
"I was going to ask you the same thing, Reese. I saw your broom, but you weren't in the air." James held out Ana's broom for her to take, which she did happily. The wood was warm where James had held it, and by the glint in his eyes, he seemed to be admiring it. Ana flushed when she realised that James was staring at her, all sweaty and slightly tired out from the run. Ana flashed a grin, and cracked her neck.
"It's Ana," she pointed out. Ana didn't know how many times she had to point out that her name was, in fact, Anastasia or Ana, Ana that she didn't like being called by her surname. That didn't mean that James and his Marauders ever listened. "And I was training. You know, running, push-ups, the occasional flying." Ana shrugged, James seemed more confused than he had when he had first spotted her on the pitch.
"Yeah, but why?" James questioned, this time Ana laughed. It wasn't because the situation was funny, but because Ana had never really had small-talk with James and thought it was hilarious. James was still waiting for her to explain, so Ana quickly straightened herself up, and craned her neck up to look at him.
"Because I like to keep fit," Ana pointed out, "plus, I'm trying-out for Beater and I need to work on my strength." This time James began to laugh. Ana flushed, whether out of anger or embarrassment. She didn't think it was a funny idea, that she would even try out for the team, so Ana folded her arms over her chest. James quickly realises that Ana wasn't laughing and stopped laughing himself.
"You're serious?" James asked, and Ana nodded her head. James seemed to become instantly serious, standing up a little straighter. He was no longer James Potter the prankster, but James Potter the Quidditch captain. He pointed to Ana's broom and flashed a grin at her. "Huh, never thought it of you, you never struck me as someone who liked Quidditch, never mind wanting to be a Beater." He looked at Ana quizzically, tilting his head. "You know what, why don't you show me what you got?"
"What?" Ana gapped at James, her eyes wide. Ana could just picture herself, eyes wide as saucers and her mouth wide like she was catching flies. James smiles and mounted his own broom, taking off so he floated just above her.
"You heard me, show me what you got, Ana!" James barked, Ana, unsure of what else to do, mounted her broom and took off after James.
"So, Ana's trying out for Gryffindor?" Remus asked James, once the other boy had finished the story of his rather strange morning. Remus glanced at the blonde across the Great Hall, she had been late again for breakfast, and she appeared to have been dressed like she was in some sort of a hurry. Remus noted that Ana had her broom over her shoulder, and her bag dangling carelessly at her side. Remus watched as Lily Evans, without even glancing up from the book she was reading, plucked an apple and slice of toast from the table and he,d them above her head. Ana grabbed them quickly, before quickly jogging out of the Great Hall.
"Ever notice she's always in a hurry?" Peter asked, as his eyes followed Charlotte out of the Great Hall. Remus nodded, watching the doors close behind Ana, then back to his friends. His nose crinkled in slight disgust at James and Sirius, the two boys wolfing down their food as if they'd never eaten before. Remus turned his attention to Peter, feeling like he was the only friend that morning he could have a conversation with – without having food spat on him.
"Ana's a nice enough girl," Remus told Peter rather matter-of-fact, "smart too, she wants to be a Healer, actually." Remus said with a faint smile. "However, she's a little too dedicated when it comes to Quidditch. At some point she'll have to sit down and eat," Remus shook his head. "Maybe do her essays a little earlier, her grades are amazing but I think it's always Lily that keeps her straight." This seemed to catch James' attention, as the boy had stopped eating and was staring at Remus like he held all the secrets in the world.
"I didn't know her and Evans were close, I knew they were in the same group though." James sounded incredulous- he was still looking at Remus shocked. Remus only nodded and buttered his toast.
"Yup, thick as thieves those two. Lily keeps her in check when it comes to school and homework – especially eating, and Ana, well she keeps Lily in-tune with exercise, health and getting boyfriends. Really, the two of them are brilliant." Remus commented as he caught sight of Lily standing up, carrying a bottle of water and some more fruit with her. "See?" Remus nodded towards Lily as the red-head rushed out the doors not long after Ana.
"So what you're saying?" Peter piped up, fixing Remus with his curious little eyes, "is that Prongs should befriend Reese, get her to like him, and then Reese will finally convince Evans to say yes?" Each of the Marauders' eyes turned on Peter – all except James,, brows raised. To Remus' surprise, it was Sirius who answered as he placed down his toast and shook his head at Peter.
"No, Wormtail. Prongs wouldn't stoop that low, would you mate?" Sirius turned to James, who still looking at the doors of the Great Hall. He ten turned to Peter, Sirius and Remus, looking more confused.
"What? No, of course not!" James answered before eating more of his breakfast. Remus looked at him suspiciously before nodding his head.
"Good," Remus added finally, "she's too nice to have you using her, James. Ana doesn't hate you like Snape or shares a dislike for you like Lily, and she most certainly doesn't have too."
"Hey, 'Stasia!" Lily shouted as she waved Ana towards her and Severus, Lily moved her bag so Ana would be able to sit beside the duo on the bench. "How were try-outs?" Lily called, but as Ana drew towards them, her grin wide, Lily shot up and raced towards Ana. Severus collected their belongings and walked behind Lily at a slightly more even pace.
"I did it!" Ana all but shouted as she dropped her broom with a clatter and allowed Lily to pull her into a tight hug. "I just, oh Lily, you should have seen me! I got on my broom and I just flew and…Lily, I'm the next Gryffindor Beater!" The two girls just seemed to hug and laugh like small children. Severus stood beside them, and nodded his head at Ana.
"Well done," Severus said in way of congratulations, he held out his right arm while keeping his left stiffly to his side. Ana realised Lily and flashed Severus a quick smile, before clasping his hand tight. Although Ana was pale, Severus was more so, and his hand was cool against her own warm palm as his then fingers coiled around.
"Thanks, Sev." Ana let go of Severus' hand only to see the odd looks on their faces, masked only by the joy of Ana making the Gryffindor team. The tension itself was enough to light a fire under them both. "Okay, what's wrong with you two?" Ana asked, catching Lily nibbling her bottom lip before turning her eyes on Severus. Ana knew the look and Lily's face, it was her silently questioning whether or not she should tell Ana whatever had happened. Ana looked between both of them, carefully.
"It just," Lily looked at Severus and Ana knew that Lily was unsure of whether or not to tell Ana the truth. Lily took a deep breath, twisting a strand of hair. "It just, we were talking about Sev's friends. You know, the ones that study dark magic." Lily had always hated Sev's friends, as did anyone else who would suffer at the hands of the kids who studied dark magic. Lily watched as Ana's grin disappeared, and her lips turned into a thin line. Ana always showed signs of being unimpressed with Severus and his choice of friends when it came to his House. Ana could say she has tried to ignore it, and she managed to most of the time. Lily appreciated that, but when it came to dark magic, she knew that Ana couldn't pretend. That Ana couldn't ignore it.
"You're studying dark magic?" Ana asked, in one swift movement she was no longer in front of Lily, but toe-to-toe with Severus. There was something in the way Ana held herself then that scared even Lily. "Because, you know if you are Sev, I swear…" She wasn't holding her wand, and that seemed a lot scarier to Severus. Ana stopped, her brown eyes bearing into Severus'. Lily placed a hand on Ana's arm to stay her. Nobody knew what happened in Ana's fourth year, not even Lily, but what's we it was, it had causes Ana to stay in the Hospital Wing for at least two months. Lily remembered Madam Pomfrey had shooed everyone away, telling all of Ana's visitors she was sick with some sort of bug, but never specified what it was. Of course, there had been rumours too, that Ana was jumped by some older Slytherins and that she was recovering. The only person that had seen her that whole time had been Remus Lupin, due to his own time in the Hospital Wing, but even he didn't know what had happened. Ana had never told anyone, and Lily had never pried. But whatever it was, it has caused Ana to become a completely different person whenever dark magic had been brought up.
"Ana?" Lily asked shakily, her hand still on Ana's arm, worry clear in her eyes. After a few moments, Ana pulled back from Lily and took a step back from Severus. This didn't stop Ana from giving Severus a strange look, but then Ana smiled and once again turned to Lily.
"You know what? Never mind. I'm going to grab something from the kitchen since I missed breakfast, and just because you two are Prefects doesn't mean you get to say anything about it." Ana warned them both, giving Lily an awkward hug and a small wave to Severus. "See you guys third." Ana said in way of 'goodbye' as she picked up her broom before running odd towards the castle. Severus pulled a face at Lily, who was looking after her friend.
"What was that about?" Severus asked, Lily glanced at him and shrugged her thin shoulders. Lily had wondered too, she wasn't ever told what had triggered Ana hating black magic more than anything.
"I don't know, Sev, but I really think you should drop the whole dark magic thing." Lily advised, walking towards the castle with Severus lagging behind slightly.
