Better to tell a lie which heals than a truth which hurts

Dinner in the Great Hall had ended twenty minutes ago, yet most of the four tables in the hall were still full of students lingering after dinner, waiting to hear any news on the mysterious girl with the serious attitude that had joined them for evening.

At the Gryffindor table, half full plates were spread out around Anna, who had gotten carried away with all the home cooked food and proceeded to jump from dish to dish all the way through dinner, taking only two bites out of her spaghetti bolognaise before abandoning it for beef stew…a grave mistake on her part, according to Ron Weasley.

Both he and Harry had gotten over their anger at the two girls after hearing about their run in with McGonagall. They thought it was hilarious that after finally becoming Head Girl, Hermione managed to get in trouble with the head of house all by herself…or at least without either of the boys having anything to do with it. Ron was absolutely beaming by the end of dessert, and made no secret of it either.

"I still can't believe that you broke school rules to go shopping. You, Hermione Granger. Broke a rule...to go shopping! Although is it a bit unfair that you two don't have to do detention." Ron was pouting heavily at this, and it didn't go unnoticed by his younger sister.

"Really Ron, your worse than Fred and George." Ginny shook her head, although it wasn't clear which one of her brothers she was shaking it at, or if it was just the whole set.

"Speak of the devils." Harry raised his head as the two boys were making their way over to their table.

"Alright then, well we're off. Ginny we'll be getting in touch." Fred Weasley winked at his younger sister as he gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

"Why aren't you staying around for Sirius' get together tonight?" Ron asked his older brothers.

"No we're heading off now. Sirius decided to put it of until next week, he's a bit tired and he eh…has to get up early in the morning for…something." George answered awkwardly. Anna followed his gaze over to the table where the man sat, and seen what couldn't have been farther from the truth.

Sirius Black's steel grey eyes were still twinkling as he clapped his hand off the table, a large grin spread across his face as he threw his head back, and letting out his bark like laughter at whatever had just been said.

"Sirius? Up early on a Sunday morning? When's the last time anyone's been able to get more than a grunt from him on a Sunday until after two in the afternoon?" Ron had a knack for 'putting his foot in it' as he was constantly being informed by Hermione, and was completely oblivious to the pointed stares his older brothers were giving him, or the foot that was kicking him under the table.

"Yeah, well he's probably getting up to show Anna around or something. Besides, we need to give you time to settle in, hey Anna. Make yourself at home and all that." The twins shook their heads at their younger brother from behind Anna's back, who was still staring inquisitively over at Sirius, and Ron finally seemed to cop on to the real reason Sirius wasn't having his 'get together'.

"Oh right yeah. Now that you mention it, I'm a bit sleepy myself." He couldn't have been more obvious about the yawn he tried to fake, and Ginny finally gave up on her brother and put her face in her hands.

"If he's trying to help me 'settle in'…for the one night I'm staying here, he couldn't be heading in a more wrong direction. After the day I've had, I don't think anything but alcohol is going to help me wind down." Anna smiled accusingly at the twins, abandoning the food (no matter how good it was) at the mere thought of drink.

"Well, obviously that was what we were trying to get through to him! But old Sirius over there thinks he knows the ways of women, isn't that right George!" Fred spoke extremely theatrically as he nudged his brother in the ribs, his blue eyes taking a new shine to them as a ray of hope broke out over his face.

"Definitely, wouldn't know good reasoning if it hopped up and stuck it's wet finger in his ear!" George nodded along as Fred abruptly dropped his smile and turned to stare at him in horror. The entire table fell into an awkward silence, so Anna took it as her cue and seized an opportunity at avoiding her nightmares the only way she knew how to.

She was going to convince Sirius to have his party, so she wouldn't have to break her word to Professor McGonagall to not leave the castle, she would get absolutely hammered, keep drinking until she passed out of her own accord, and be so pissed/tired that no nightmare would be able to break through the barrier her drunken stupor would erect in her mind. It's really a win win situation for everyone? Now to set the plan in motion.

"Right…well, I'm just going to go over there and fill Sirius in on his lack of 'wet willy' reasoning." Anna got up and patted George on the shoulder, smiling at the two boys and the rest of the table before a sea of faces in the Great Hall turned to follow her as she made her way over to Sirius, Lupin and Bill Weasley.

Hermione watched as Anna kept her head held high and eyes straight ahead of her as she walked. She joined the rest of the obnoxious students in the hall, who in fairness to them, were at least trying to be sneaky about following her every move. Hermione was blatantly obvious about it though, and wondered how Anna managed to carry herself with a proud grace, how was she able to not stumble and embarrass herself, even when an entire hall full of people were staring at her? Whatever trick she was using, Hermione wanted to learn it...

A loud sigh across the table brought Hermione back from her musings.

"Smooth George. Speak to the bird, who by the way is spending just one night in the same castle as me...the same girl who's also potentially attending the same party I am, like you're a thirteen year old boy who hasn't hit puberty yet." Fred shook his head at his brother as he plonked himself down in Anna's newly vacant seat.

"You know, it's time's like this when I'm grateful that I'm the better looking twin. Otherwise, she might not have been able to tell the difference between the normal one of us" at this Fred helped himself to a spoon of ice cream, and licking it clean, turned and pointed it at his twin "…and you."

His self satisfied smile was beautifully wiped off his face as George took another spoon and used it to catapult ice cream at his face from close distance.

Sirius, Lupin and Bill lifted their heads at the sound of the roaring laughter erupting from the Gryffindor table, and were met with the smiling face of Anna walking towards their table.

Sirius watched her as she came closer, and saw her run her hand through her long, wavy, brunette locks. It was this movement that made him notice something that he hadn't yet noticed in the few hours that he'd spent with her. It was in this moment that Sirius realised just how tired Anna looked.

It wasn't just in her face, it was everything about her. Everything about her that suggested she wasn't the best cared for, that she wasn't looked after by some one...it suddenly stood out to him in that moment.

Her hair didn't shine the way he thought it should have. Instead of reflecting the light of the candle's, and the moonlight of the ceiling, it might as well have absorbed it, searching for some form of nourishment. What could have been rich coffee coloured streams cascading across her shoulders, were in fact just heavy locks of brown hair.

Her wrists were slightly boney looking, so small that he could have joined his thumb and index finger around either of them easily with room to spare. If the bracelet tattoo around her wrist had been a real one, he was sure that it would not stay on very long before falling off. Earlier, when he had seen her, he saw how strong her physique was, instead of where most people would have extra fat, she had taut and lean muscles on her biceps. He had felt toned abs when he wrapped his arm around her in the water, pulling her away from the danger of another predator's jaws.

Yet looking at her properly, he couldn't deny how weak...no, not weak. This girl was anything but weak. No, looking at her now, Sirius couldn't deny how delicate he was sure she was.

There wasn't a curve in sight on her slight frame, not one piece of her that indicated to a womanly presence. He couldn't help but think that this was one person who would definitely benefit from just a week spent with Molly Weasley. One sight of this girl, and his cousin would probably have a field day.

If Anna didn't have such a deep tan, Sirius wondered if she would look pale, and sickly. She didn't seem like some one who was naturally tanned, her skin didn't have the olive colouring he'd seen on foreign women. Most likely she just spent a lot of her time in the sun. Right now he wished she hadn't, so that he could have a clearer view of the red ink tattoo's that decorated her body. The script on the insides of her arms, the one's winding their way over each of he slender fingers, similar to his…

It was her eyes that really called Sirius' attention though. Her wide, long lashed, deep forest green eyes, despite their beauty, didn't have a healthy shine to them. There was a strange vitality in them though, a desperate streak of something Sirius couldn't quite put his finger on...some emotion that would transform them from defiant, to dangerous, to mischievous...to the manic glint he had seen in them earlier, when her face was covered in blood and she had tiny trails of tears treading down across her soft cheeks. No, her eyes didn't shine at him. They were overshadowed by deep purple rings, and it proved exactly what he had realised about her.

Anna wasn't just physically tired; she was mentally and possibly emotionally tired too. His heart went out to her as he stared, transfixed at the enchanting, albeit probably fake smile she plastered on her face as she strode confidently over to them. When he first set eyes on Anna, fighting though she was out numbered and un armed, she reminded Sirius of someone, yet he couldn't think who. Now he realised that Anna reminded him of the Goddess Athena, even though at the moment she didn't look like the physical embodiment of her, she still had the presence of a Goddess. Fierce and proud, she was a mixture of different emotions fighting for dominance, determination defiantly seeping through her right now, as she sat down on a chair at the end of the bench that he and the two others were occupying, as if it was something she did everyday. As if these were her long time friends, and she had no reason to feel shy, or insecure around them. As if she belonged there, at the head of the table.

Still smiling her beautiful smile, she turned the full force of her innocent gaze to him.

"So Sirius, what's this I hear about a party being cancelled?" Her voice had lost most of its tired husky tone and didn't sound as harsh to his ears as it did when she first woke up in the hospital wing.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a party…more like a get together of a few close friends. But after my traumatic day at the office, I've decided it can wait for a while. I daresay you wouldn't mind a bit of peace and quiet yourself tonight?" He stretched back his chair, crossing his arms behind his head as if to put across a point that it was actually him who was tired.

She clearly had a rough day, the last thing on her mind was probably sitting up with a room full of strangers who only proceeded to get increasingly intoxicated as the night wore on, occasionally telling embarrassing stories about the others.

Ok, so a night in spent with his friends and a few butter beers sounded like an ideal way to end a rough day to him, but maybe not what Anna needed right now. However, the hint of a sparkle in her eye told him differently.

"Oh interesting. And which office would this be? The one you had just escaped from after I first met you today, soaking up the sun? And please…do not talk to me about trauma. Try waking up in a bed that's not yours, with a pounding headache and absolutely no idea where on Gods earth you are…that's trauma." Sirius was waiting for the commentary that was coming. That girl really had just walked him into it, hadn't she?

"It seems we've found a new way to sum up your Sunday morning's Sirius." Bill laughed at him from behind his goblet. Sirius clenched his jaw as he smiled a sickeningly sweet smile at the eldest Weasley. He could of course destroy the younger man with abuse right now, but held his temper in check as he listened to the attempted muffled laughter coming from Remus…useless bloody werewolf.

"Lets leave this be until later Bill, shall we, when we aren't in the company of a lady?" Sirius moved his glare from Bill to Anna, who took the opposite route to Lupin and openly laughed at the joke.

"Hey Remus, maybe we should make ourselves scarce. I think these two are alluding to the fact that they want some privacy." Anna stage whispered across the table to Lupin, her winking eyes still hadn't lost their mischievous glint since she sat down. Sirius almost didn't realize that his sexual preferences were being questioned until Lupin started laughing along with her.

"I'll give you bloody trauma Remus if you-"

"Wonderful, so the parties still on for later then? I am dying for a drink, and detention or not for those two, I am going to get it." Anna cut Sirius off as she turned around to face the staff table, glaring at McGonagall while the professor wasn't looking.

She placed her hands in front of her, and tapped her fingers along the hard wood as Sirius turned to Remus with raised eyebrows, silently asking his friends opinion.

"It's up to you, but be warned that if Tonks is already on her way and arrives to find out that there's no party, I'm using you as my own personal human shield." Lupin took a long drink from the goblet in front of him, eyeing Sirius over the brim of the cup, before the soon to be host hastily stood up and called across to the group at the Gryffindor table "Change of plans, we're back on for tonight."

A cheering chorus led by Fred and George let him know the boys were still going to chance their arm's with Anna. Probably not one of their best ideas to date, but he didn't have the heart to tell them that they were probably going to be caught out of their depth.

He sat back down at the table and resumed his casual position, his ankle resting across his knee as he turned to face the raised eyebrows of the other occupants of the table.

"What? She's my younger cousin; I'm not allowed to fight with her!" Sirius had trouble keeping his face straight, yet he somehow managed to pull it off without chuckling like the rest of the group around him.

"Says who Sirius, your mother?" Bill barged into dangerous territory. Usually at the very mention Walburga Black, a dark shadow consumed the fiery man. This time though, the darkness only entered his eyes. Bill was one of the few that Sirius was able to joke with that wouldn't take whatever he said to heart, and the pair had yet to take things too far. Although Bill was barely toeing the line this time.

"No actually. Let's just say that when it comes to Nymphadora, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. But don't tell Andromeda I said that!" Sirius pointedly stared at Lupin.

His so called 'friend' had often gotten him in trouble with his cousin, occasionally for a few laughs at Sirius' expense. Of course it was all fun and games until his cousin started telling him off about his private life. Apparently, he was getting too old to be going out and having 'one night stands' every other weekend. According to Andromeda, it was time for him to 'settle down' and find a 'nice girl' for himself.

Please, he's Sirius Black...what 'nice girl' is going to want to settle down with him? And on a more important note, what was the point in settling down in life? Waking up to the same boring routine every day did not sound like Sirius' cup of tea...or glass of fire whiskey for that matter.

Of course, there was absolutely no point in arguing this with Andromeda. It was simply easier just to tell the woman to stay out of his business, which would result in a roaring match between the two of them (a fight between two Blacks is not something that anyone would want to be a part of, even without wands involved). They wouldn't speak for a while, until eventually they would kiss and make up, for the simple reason that they weren't like the rest of their family and actually understood the meaning of love and family...the true meaning of family, not the definition the Black family went by : Their way, or the highway.

Sirius' attention was drawn to Bill, who had his goblet hovering halfway between the table and his mouth, his hand clenching it tightly as his eyes stayed fixed on Anna's tapping fingers, her well manicured nails beating a steady rhythm on the hard wooden table. Sirius lifted his gaze to Anna and she smiled a rigid smile at him. Curious, he too slowly dropped his gaze to her fingers, and barely caught her steal a glance at Bill out of the corner of her eye, her body slowly but surely tensing up, crouching away from them.

The table had gotten silent very quickly, a seed of tension was sewing its way among them, and Sirius hadn't got the faintest idea why. From across the table, he heard Lupin's controlled breathing, and almost felt his friend's eyes shifting towards him, trying to catch his attention. But Sirius couldn't take his eyes off Anna and Bill, he was too afraid of what might happen if he looked away.

Finally, as the tension was mounting to an unbearable high, Bill broke it.

"Where did you get those tattoos?" Unfortunately, his calm and easy tone of voice only succeed in making Anna more suspicious, and though her face never gave her thoughts away, Sirius could almost see a dark streak hiding behind the mischievous glint in her green eyes.

"Oh these one's." She held her delicate hand out in front of her and smiled, her voice light and airy. "A friend of mine opened a new tattoo shop a few years ago; naturally I wanted to be the first customer." She smiled sweetly at them and brushed her hand through her long locks, pushing the hair off her face. When she brought it back down again, she set it resting in her lap.

"Where's your friends tattoo shop?" Sirius felt the need to push the subject; Bill's hand was still gripping the goblet too hard, a calculating look in his eyes. He wasn't the only one who found Bill's change of attitude towards Anna strange, as he watched her keep giving Bill sidelong suspicious glances.

"Prague. Where did you get yours?" She stared down at Sirius' hands, and turned the tables on him. What was he meant to say?

'Oh these old things, I got them a few years ago when I was sent to prison for a murder that I never committed...although I wish I had done it.' That would lead to an interesting conversation. Luckily Mooney was there to save his arse.

"I don't think Sirius even remembers the name of the city he was in when he got them, do you Sirius? Oh, we got a good laugh out of that one for a couple of weeks, didn't we Bill." Lupin nudged Bill in the ribs, and Bill's goblet was finally set back down on the table, as he cleared his throat nervously.

"Oh right ya those things." Apparently, the notorious lack of 'tact' was a trait of this Weasley too. After a few seconds, Anna rose out of her seat, sensing the awkwardness and hoping to avoid a prolonged course of it.

"Right. Anyway, I'm going to do a bit of exploring before your 'get together'. Ginny was telling me something about a ticklish pear, or something-"

"No!" Bill almost hopped out of his seat, his right hand trembling slightly as he looked up at Anna, eyes wide and terrified.

"Care to finish the sentence?" Anna spoke after a few seconds, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping against the floor. She took on an icy demeanor as she waited for Bill to elaborate.

'Here we go again.' Thought Sirius, as he waited for Bill to begin the boring argument they kept harping on about upstairs. Worrying about wizards finding the girl's...he'd be more worried about them running into those muggle's again. Bill surprised him though by not resuming his earlier argument with Anna.

"I…I don't think that you and Ginny should be walking around the castle alone, this late at night." Bill wasn't giving her an evil glare, or spiting answers at her. In fact, if Sirius didn't know better he would almost say that Bill was trying to be nice to her...a little too nice.

"For fuck's sake, it's not as if we're going to go gallivantin' off again! I gave my word to McGonagall to save your sister a few hours of writing stupid fuckin' lines! I'm hardly going to go and get her in more trouble am I?" Anna glared at him, her hands still on her tiny hips as the people in the great hall stared at them, wondering why Anna looked as if she wanted to pull at her hair in frustration. Sirius noticed how her voice and way of speaking changed when she was angry, still he didn't know where she was taking it from.

"It's not because of that…it's because well…" Bill's eyes were frantically roving through out the room, before they lit up for a moment and he leaned in close to the table and dropped his voice down to barely above a whisper. "I don't think Dawlish or his Ministry lot would be too welcoming if they found you…wandering around the castle. Alone." Sirius knew that Anna didn't buy this for one moment, the way she kept looking at Bill as if waiting for him to slip up.

She seemed to think it was below her to drop down so she could hear Bill's strained voice better. Instead, she just turned behind her and fixed her glare on Dawlish for a few seconds, waiting for the man to turn around and face her.

Either he was too afraid to turn around and look at her or… No, that was the only reason Sirius could think of. If somebody was looking at him the way Anna was looking at Dawlish, he knew that he would definitely feel their eyes burning into his back.

While Anna had her eyes locked onto Dawlish, Sirius turned to Bill who was using his wand as a quill to write something on a napkin. He wasn't sure what it was until Bill lifted his head and focused on Anna's hand before dropping his gaze back down. Bill was taking a copy of Anna's tattoos. Why?

When Anna sighed and turned back around to face them, Sirius wasn't sure whether or not Bill had the napkin out of sight in time for her not to notice it. If she did see it, Anna didn't let on that she had. Whatever had the Weasley interested in the tattoo, Sirius had a feeling that it wasn't something good.

"I think I can handle whatever 'genius' plan that epic failure of a man could come up with. Plus, do you honestly expect me to spend the night in an enchanted castle and not go for a look around?" Anna turned to look at Sirius and Lupin, who didn't know what to make of the situation.

"No Anna, I think Bill's right. You'll have all day tomorrow to see the castle, if it's another nice day there'll be hardly anyone inside. Better to look around during the day anyway, less chance of getting lost." Sirius knew that Lupin had said the exact wrong thing when Anna's eyes lit up at the sound of the word 'lost'.

"Wander around and possibly get lost in a magic castle, or sit in for the night?" Anna made a show of holding her hands at her sides like a scale. The look on her face seemed to him that she was asking them whether or not they'd like to a) go to the Quidditch World Cup, or b) Sit in and listen to Witching Hour with special guest: Gilderoy Lockhart.

And Sirius had to admit, Anna did make it sound fun. But rather than agree with her, he sided with the werewolf that was repeatedly kicking him under the table.

"Usually, I would side with you. But unfortunately tonight, I have prior engagements…I can't neglect my guests! And I fully intend on being there when Dawlish run's into you again... The way I see it, you have two choices. You can come and sit in with a few drinks, have a laugh and not get annoyed when you end up tired on the second floor. Without someone who knows the secret passage's around the castle." Sirius was pulling her in, he knew he had already caught her attention, he just needed to be a bit more convincing.

'Better break out the famous Sirius Black charm' he mentally sighed. It wasn't often that he needed to put effort into his charming actions.

"What's my second choice, oh wise one?" Anna considered the first option for a few moments before wrinkling up her nose at the thought of it.

"Or, you could go gallivanting around the castle, but I cannot guarantee that there will be drink left for you when you get back. And anyway, if you go exploring the castle now, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel the grand tour." He sighed dramatically as Anna stared on at him sceptically.

"What grand tour would this be?" Lupin leaned forward, interested at this point although he should have known what was coming.

"Well, usually you'd have to wait a few weeks on the waiting list to get the grand personal tour from me. There's an extremely high demand for it these days. But, not to worry! I've pulled a few strings, and managed to get you, Anna, a tour on Monday. Don't worry there's no need to thank me! Tour starts anytime after breakfast, beginning at the Great Hall and going anywhere you want from there. If you have any queries, see yours truly." With a smile and a wink, he was sure that she was sold.

"Well, Sirius, if I'm still here on Monday, I'll gladly take you up on it. But I doubt it, so I suppose that Hermione or Ginny can take me around." She sighed and started to turn away from the table.

"Well it's a one time offer. I hope you don't regret it." Sirius leaned back in his chair, convinced that after some persuading later tonight, Anna would still be here on Monday. Failing that, he was sure Dumbledore would inspire Anna to stick around for a lot longer after he spoke to her tomorrow.

"Right well, I'm going to go and tell Ginny that our visit to that ticklish fruit thing is going to be put off until tomorrow." With that, Anna smiled and left them, making her way back over to the kids over at their table. She was barely out of earshot before Bill had the napkin pulled out again and started mumbling to himself.

"Bill, what the bloody hell was that all about?" Sirius leaned across the table, trying to get a better look at the drawing. Staring at it, he didn't have a notion what the swirling image was. Staring at Bill's sketch, he could picture it more easily on Anna's hand.

Starting with two intertwining lines that reached down past the knuckle of her middle finger, almost to the center of her hand. They gracefully made their way up until they separated just below the middle of her finger, creating a v-shape as the doubled back to join in the center. Two more lines spread out to move up either side of her finger, almost like wings like wings. The intricate detail of the lines were amazing, they were so thin and beautiful as they flowed with the curve of her long fingers, Sirius could nearly picture it on her hand as if she was holding it out right in front of him.

"That tattoo on her middle finger, I'm almost positive that I've seen it before." Bill was scratching at his head now, occasionally running his finger over the drawing.

"Well, what's so big about it?" Sirius was eager to hear how mysterious this girl was going to get.

"Well, it was when I was working in Egypt a few years ago. This new treasure chamber was found in one of the old pyramids. Nothing extravagant, I'm fairly certain it was only muggle artifacts in there? Anyway, there was this sealed chest found in with all the rest of the treasure. No one is allowed to open anything until it's been checked by a curse breaker first. It was nothing fancy…well nothing fancy compared to the rest of the chests, it was gold with rubies and whatever encrusted along the sides. Most likely filled with scrolls by the look and weight of it." Bill leaned forward at this stage, and Sirius and Lupin mimicked him. Sirius' face was barely inches away from the other two, and he could feel his heart racing. He loved hearing the wild stories that Bill had about his curse breaking days abroad.

"So after a couple of days with the thing, I couldn't find anything wrong with it, but not only that, I couldn't even open it. Nobody could. I mean I even tried everything I learned from the goblins, and still no luck. So I brought it up to the local guys there, and when they saw it they went ballistic! Told me to put it back, leave it where it belonged. 'Course, I couldn't could I? It was the goblins property, and you know how they get about their gold. Even caught one Egyptian lad trying to break into the house one night to get it. When I asked him what he was gonna do with it, he just kept on pointing to the bloody pyramid." Bill was shaken at this stage, and a light sweat was breaking out across his brow, his eyes far off as if he wasn't really paying attention to where he was anymore.

"Well, at this stage I was bricking' it! Wouldn't even touch the thing, after the reactions of that lot. So I got onto the goblins about it, told them how I was trying for days and I was having no luck. Well, as was to be expected, they waved it off; thought I was just another incompetent wizard…until I told them about the local's, and then they got fairly blunt about the whole thing. Asked me what the chest looked like, so I told them about the gold and the rubies and emeralds and what not. Then they asked me was anything written on the chest, so I had a closer look to see if I could translate it, and that's when it hit me. There were markings on the chest that I'd never seen before. At the time I thought they were just forgotten ancient hieroglyphics or something, but after taking a closer look I realised they weren't. And this is where things get really weird." Bill looked Sirius deep in the eye, and Sirius noticed for the first time that he was sitting on the edge of the seat, clamping the table with his hands.

"What Bill? What got weird?" Lupin nudged Bill, trying to coax the information out of him faster.

"Well, I told the goblins about the strange markings I found on the chest. There were only about four or five, so I described them to the goblin. And well, you know how goblins are, don't get phased by much do they? But this one, he nearly had a heart attack. Told me to put the box back straight away. Just leave it where I found it, and ward and block the entrance to the tomb. So I did what I was told and brought it back, left it there and warded the tomb, thought it was all over with until I got home to England. An hour later I got a Floo call from one of the head goblins, asking me if I had it done and then told me that they had a new assignment for me."

"What happened then?" Sirius was almost breathless, waiting for the climax of the story that had yet to come.

"Well, that was it wasn't it. I was shipped off to South Africa the next day, haven't heard a word about the thing ever again." Bill leaned back in his chair, away from the eager faces of the two marauders.

'Well that was a let down.' Sirius thought to himself dejectedly.

"Did the goblins say anything to you about it?" Lupin pressed for more information.

"Well you know how they are about revealing their secrets. Didn't even think it was worth my while asking, but I did anyway. So I asked him what's wrong with the chest, was it hexed or whatever? What he said to me, the way he acted, the way he spoke to me when he said it gave me the chills boys. It was as if he was treating me like an...equal or something. Giving me, a wizard, friendly advice." Bill visibly shivered with his arms folded across his chest, staring off into space.

"Well, what did he say Bill?"

"Well, he stopped for a few seconds and turned to face me with this sad and scared look in his eyes, and said 'Bill…there are some ancient treasures in this world, that are best left alone.'" Bill leaned forward again onto the table, watching the faces of the two men.

"I don't understand?" Sirius voiced after a few seconds, he didn't know what this had to do with anything.

"Neither did I. I copied down the symbols, the markings or whatever you want to call them and I checked every book known to man kind about hieroglyphs, ancient dialects, even muggle books. There's no mention of them anywhere, not even in the oldest arithmancy books. I've never seen anything like them again…not until tonight." Bill's eyes went back to the napkin he had in his hand and he started staring at it again.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, although he already knew what was coming, and a sick feeling settled in his stomach.

"The tattoo on Anna's finger…I'm almost positive it was one of the one's on the chest. And guys, I mean this thing was old. Older than modern magic by the looks of it." The three of them fell silent for a few moments, thinking about what this could mean? Finally, Bill broke the silence again as he brought his attention back to the table, away from the kids table and his younger siblings….away from Anna.

"I don't know what she's hiding, but I don't like that she knows about something from the wizarding world. Especially something that's got the goblins spooked enough to hide away gold. The box wasn't the only thing that was sent back...everything was sent back in there." Sirius looked at Lupin, and they both shared a look that meant something serious was wrong.

"Bill, Dumbledore needs to know about this. Anna, convincing though she may be, may not be as ignorant of the magical world as we might think. I think it would be a good idea for me and you to keep a close eye on her tonight Sirius." Sirius didn't reply to Lupin, he just stared over at the group that were making their way out of the great hall, laughing and joking together as they started their climb through the castle.

Anna stood in front of the group, her height helping him easily pick her out of the crowd. As the rest of them made their way through the large open doors, Anna hung back and slowed down, turning slowly in a circle as she stood enchanted by the night sky.

Watching how amazed Anna was by the magic around them, the feelings of suspicion he was beginning to harbour for her slowly faded away. A bright twinkle shone in her eye as she caught the reflection of one of the stars, and a smile spread across his face as he watched.

At the same instant, Anna broke her gaze and stared over at him with confusion in her eyes. For a second she seemed lost, until she locked onto his eyes and with an air of confusion still about her, she smiled over at him as she walked backwards out of the Great Hall, where a group of young people were waiting for her outside.

When she looked at him at that moment, everything in the room became fuzzy to Sirius, and he felt like he was watching himself through her eyes, for the briefest moment of bliss, before he fell back into himself again.

For whatever reason the gods sent her here, Sirius knew that there was a great purpose behind it.

"Ginny, hold on for a minute..." Harry held onto his girlfriends hand, pulling her back towards him as the group ahead of them continued on through the portrait hole to Sirius' rooms. He hadn't let go of her hand since they left the Great Hall, gripping her tightly to him like he was afraid she would run away.

Spinning around to face him, Ginny smiled a wide smile at him, ready to lean in and give him a chaste kiss until she saw the serious look on his face. An immediate panic swept over her. Before she had time to ask him what was wrong, Harry wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

A kiss so filled with a desperate longing, a need to find something. A need to prove it, to prove to himself that she was there, in front of him, un hurt and undamaged. She was safe.

His lips moved against her's in an unsteady and desperate rhythm, his hand behind her neck pulling her into him. A deep fear flowed into Ginny, not for herself, but for Harry. But she had no desire to stop him, and she responded the only way she knew how to...she kissed him back with a fiercer and more determined passion than she ever had before.

As soon as he started, he stopped, and Harry pulled back to stare into Ginny's eyes, the smell of wisteria washing over him as he held her close to him, as if she would get torn away from him if he let her go. Standing still, he closed his eyes again and just leaned his fore head against her's, listening to the sounds of both their breathing slowing down, feeling her hands grip onto his shoulders as she waited anxiously for him to speak.

"Please Ginny. Please, don't ever leave like that again without telling me." His voice was so tense, his hold on her so tight that Ginny couldn't even bring herself to be mad at him for treating her like she was made of glass. She looked into his pleading eyes, eyes that were begging her to tell him that she won't, even if it was a lie.

This was a war, a war that had become all too real since their return to Hogwarts. Someday, a great deal may depend on Ginny leaving, and she would not be...she will not be Harry's downfall if that day comes. She will be strong for him, just as he will be strong for her.

With any luck, hopefully they would make it through, although luck and hope were two fickle friends that were slowly starting to desert them these days...

She searched deep into Harry's brilliant green eyes, found the trust that he held between the two of them and whispered to him.

"I won't Harry." Ginny lied.

Yes, it has been a lonnnng time. Really guys, I'm just not cut out for this studying craic, at all!

I think it's taking me so long because I have it all planned out ahead, and these first few chapters are just like struggling through the quicksand of BORING (but extremely necessary) until I reach the shore that is the rest of the story and relationship between Anna and Sirius. There are going to be a lot of fireworks there let me tell you!

This is my first ever attempt at an intense/intimate scene kissing scene. :S I don't think I crashed and burned, but if I did please do tell me. I'll learn for the next time!

Thanks for all the reviews so far, they make me smile so don't forget to review this chapter!

Oh and jk1920...Sirius is more likely to be the fuse that ignites the bomb rather than the one to diffuse it! And believe me, if he was real, we would not be platonic friends and he would have NO choice about that one!