Ron and Hermione sprinted the length of the hall and came to a messy halt right outside the compartment they shared with their friends. The very same compartment they heard a scream coming from just seconds before.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Ron said as he slid open the door. He stopped dead at the strange sight that met his and Hermione's eyes.
Harry was standing up, pointing his wand at a masked figure who looked almost as confused as Ginny did. And the weirdest thing of all…Anna was laughing her knickers off still seated on the bench completely unfazed by the obvious ruckus Harry and Ginny had made, and looking completely unaware of the masked figure in the compartment.
"What the hell…" Hermione began as she stepped in. "Who are you?" she said to the masked man. It definitely wasn't a Death Eater, and for that she was grateful. As grateful as she was, though, she was puzzled. 'What is this? Some kind of prank?'
"Oh, Hermione, Ron, it's you. Harry, you can put your wand away, he's not looking for you. He's looking for me." Anna turned to the body and said, "Mr. Evil Wizard, sir, how can I be of assistance?" She was clearly taunting him, for he looked angered at her statement.
"It is I, Zorkroff, the-"
"Yeah, yeah I know that. I was asking why you were here, you know, with me…do you have a death wish or something? And don't ask me, I won't make it painless," Anna cut him off.
"Um, excuse me, Ron here…I was just wondering when the hell someone was gonna fill me in on what's happening here? I know I'm Harry's best mate, but characters like him don't usually follow Harry around." He said pointing at the strange … 'wizard'.
"Don't look at me," Harry said the same time Ginny said,
"I have no idea."
Ron turned to Hermione, who to everyone's surprise, was trying her best to suppress laughter. "Hermione? Hellooo? You with us?" Ron asked in annoyance of the unanswered question.
"Oh, Ron, I'm sorry, what was your question?"
"What is this?" He gestured in the general direction of the cloaked figure but stopped suddenly when he realized that no one was there. "What the…"
"What is what Ronald?" Hermione asked in a sweet mocking tone. Anna had returned to her seat as if nothing happened. Ginny and Harry still looked just as confused as Ron.
"What? Something was standing there just a second ago! I'd bet my life on it!"
"Even if there was something there, there's not anymore, so can we get on with it please?" Anna said from her seat.
"Yeah, whatever. But I don't trust you, you know."
Anna answered, "Of course I know that, I'm an empath."
Ron, Ginny, and Harry looked even more confused at Anna's statement, but didn't ask questions…not that there was time for questions…Hermione and Anna burst out laughing again.
"That chick's creeping me out," Ron said in annoyance.
Harry agreed, "Ditto, mate."
"Still here!" Anna said.
But Ginny countered, "Anna, are we missing something?"
"All in good time, Ginny. All in good time." Anna replied.
Hermione broke the silence that came after Anna's last assurance by saying, "Anna, why don't you and I finish up prefects' duties together. I think Ron needs to lie down."
Anna and Hermione left the compartment before anyone could stop them. Once they were outside, Hermione began, "Anna! Can you imagine what would have happened if the demon actually hurt someone? I can't even believe that it followed you here, I thought that-"
Anna cut her off, "Hermione, spare me the lecture, okay? I know it was a close call, but the plan was to get Ron not to trust me at first. Besides, I killed it easily, lower level, definitely."
"I know, I know the plan…but still…will you be followed all year?"
"Probably, I mean, I'm not hard to find." When Hermione shot her a concerned look, she assured her friend, "Nothing can hurt me, trust me. I'm a very powerful witch. I was chosen to save The Boy Who Lived, after all."
"Yes, I suppose. Just be careful, okay? We don't want Harry and Ron to come after you, I mean come on Anna, 'I'm an empath?' Discretion, okay? Discretion."
"Why do I get the feeling that I'll be hearing that word the whole year long?"
"Because you have a chip on your shoulder. And I call it a 'don't-mess-with-me-or-I'll-kick-your-ass.'"
The girls laughed and continued to patrol the corridors, occasionally meeting up with some of Hermione's friends, and repeating introductions.
While they were gone…
"That's one weird witch," Ron said to Harry after reliving the event two or three times in his mind.
"I dunno…there's definitely something odd about her." Harry said.
Ginny snorted, "Odd? Okay, odd is that Ron had a blankey until he was 8."
Ron blushed, "No need to tell everyone we meet that story okay?"
Ginny looked unembarrassed. "What? It's a good story."
Harry smiled, but held in his laughter, loyalty to a friend came first.
"Well, the train ride isn't even over yet, and already something fishy happened. Anna's one special person." Ginny stated.
"I suppose," Harry agreed.
"Well, there's nothing to do but wait to see what happens," said Ron, very wisely.
"Wow, Ron, I'm impressed. That's the smartest thing I think you've ever said in your life!" Ginny said laughing.
Now Ron looked really embarrassed, so Harry said playfully slapping her arm, "Shut it, you." He ignored the goose bumps he got from touching her, and the conversation moved on. It certainly will be an interesting year.
