A pounding, throbbing pain was what eventually woke Annabelle from her slumber. She scrunched up her face, her eyes were stinging and everything was sore. She could hear whispering voices from nearby and eventually forced herself to open her eyes.
There was a white curtain around her bed, light shining mildly through the fabric, though most of it was blocked. The only part of her bed that wasn't blocked by the curtain was the right side, so she could see the two people sitting on the edge of the bed to her right.
Harry and Hermione stopped talking and smiled at her when they saw she was awake.
"Hi. How're you feeling?" Hermione asked in a whisper.
Anna groaned, putting a hand to her head. "Like I got hit by a Bludger." Then, she remembered what happened and sat up slowly, leaning back against her pillow. "What happened?" she whispered worriedly.
"Well, Lupin hit you in the head and you crashed into a tree. You were knocked out. But do you remember hearing those howls before you got knocked out?" Hermione asked.
Anna nodded slowly. "I…vaguely remember. I heard a howl, that's why I got distracted. It wasn't another werewolf, was it?" she asked, worried and wondering how the other two managed to escape relatively unharmed.
They both shook their heads with smiles on their faces. "No. It was a pack of wolves. Real, actual wolves, not werewolves. They came and attacked Lupin, leading him away from us."
Anna stared at Harry, who had spoke, with wide eyes. She vaguely remembered a pack of wolves from her second year when the twins made her follow them into the forest.
"A pack of them? How-how many were there? What did they look like?" she asked quietly.
Hermione thought for a moment. "I think there were four or five of them. They were different colors; a couple gray, there was definitely a white one, and there were a couple more, I think, but it all happened so fast they were kind of blurry. But there was something so…different about them." she admitted.
"Different how?" Anna asked.
"They seemed…intelligent. More than a normal wolf." Hermione admitted. "One of them looked me in the eyes while the others forced Lupin away from us, and it's eyes just seemed…almost human."
Anna nodded slowly. "I knew it."
"How?" Harry asked in bewilderment, "You were unconscious."
"The twins dragged me into the forest our second year, and I was…rescued by a pack of wolves that sound exactly like the ones you just described." she admitted.
Harry and Hermione stared at her with wide eyes.
"But anyway, forget about that. I can tell you more details later. Did…did we succeed?" she asked in a whisper, almost too terrified to hope. "Is my dad…?"
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance with small smiles.
"Just remember, what we did stays between us." Hermione reminded her as Harry stood up to grab the curtain around Anna's bed. With it in his hand, he walked around her bed to reveal the rest of the hospital wing.
Ron was in the bed across the ward, his broken leg wrapped up, but he was conscious and grinned at her in greeting.
Anna's eyes moved to the bed next to her, opposite the one Hermione was sitting on, and she saw her father. He was sitting up in his bed and smiled when their eyes met.
"You're here." she whispered, staring at him. "You're really here? We did it? Did we really prove you innocent?"
Sirius chuckled lightly. "Yes, you did."
"Dumbledore was in here about half an hour ago." Harry told her, sitting in a chair between her bed and Sirius's. "He said the Minister was on his way to Hogwarts and they'd be interrogating Pettigrew using some Truth Potion. We don't know much other than that, but he said he was hopeful. Everything should work out."
Anna sighed in relief, slouching back against her pillow and letting her head fall back.
"What a relief." she muttered.
"Dumbledore also mentioned he wrote to your mom." Hermione added to Anna. "She's been informed of what's happened and will probably be on her way here sometime today."
Anna nodded, looking over at her father to gauge his reaction to that. He appeared mildly nervous, but mostly excited at the thought of seeing his wife again.
Madam Pomfrey came over and gave Anna a couple potions to help with her headache and other pains. Afterwards, everyone mostly talked among themselves about multiple topics for a few minutes. Anna guessed it was very early still, since the sun appeared to just be rising.
Their conversation only stopped when the hospital wing doors opened and Dumbledore entered, followed by the Minister. Anna could've sworn she saw a crowd of people and heard several voices as the two slipped in, but it was silent once more when the door closed.
"Ah, Ms. Black, nice to see you awake this time." Dumbledore smiled kindly at her.
"Thank you, Professor." Anna smiled in return, giving him a nod.
"Did you get the answers you needed?" Sirius asked, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore and completely ignoring Fudge.
"That's what we came here for. Cornelius, if you will?" Dumbledore turned to the Minister and looked at him with expectant, piercing blue eyes.
Fudge was spinning his usual bowler hat between his hands, looking around the room anxiously. Finally, he cleared his throat and glanced at Sirius.
"Well,…we interviewed Peter Pettigrew under the influence of Veritaserum. He told us everything we needed to know…About him being the Potters' Secret-Keeper, and betraying them to You-Know-Who, and framing you, Mr. Black, by shouting that you'd betrayed the Potters and blowing apart the street. He also admitted to faking his own death by cutting off his finger and transforming into a rat, apparently he was an Unregistered Animagus."
"So what does that all mean, Cornelius?" Dumbledore urged when Fudge fell silent. Anna fought a smirk, watching the Minister squirm.
"It means that you, Sirius Black, have been cleared of all charges. And, on behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I offer you my deepest apologies for the injustice you were served."
"Thank you." Sirius said, though his eyes were focused more on Dumbledore, showing who he was really thanking.
"And now, unfortunately, we have some bad news to add, as well." Dumbledore admitted, causing most of the people in the room to stiffen.
"What could've possibly happened now?" Ron demanded.
"After we got the answers we needed from Pettigrew, the Minister sent for a couple dementors to take him to Azkaban. When we returned to get him, it was just in time to see him transform into a rat and slip out of the room through a crack in the wall. We've searched, but it seems he's escaped the castle."
Anna groaned, her head falling back against the wall.
"After everything we did, he still gets away." Harry complained, only Hermione and Anna understanding the full meaning of his words.
"But look on the bright side." Hermione told them, causing the whole room to look at her. "We captured Pettigrew and brought him to the castle so Sirius could be proven innocent. And he has been. Pettigrew escaping now shouldn't change that. Right?" she suddenly looked nervous, turning to look back at Dumbledore and Fudge.
Dumbledore, also, turned to look at Fudge, as if daring him to contradict his earlier statement.
"No, of course not. Black has been proven innocent, I've already sent word to the Ministry." Fudge assured them all. "I expect the Daily Prophet will announce it on the front page this morning. I won't go back on my word."
Anna instantly relaxed. Even though a guilty man escaped, all she really cared about was her dad coming home, as selfish as that sounded.
"There you go." she poked at Harry's arm from where he was still sitting on his chair next to her bed. "You should still be able to come live with us, now."
Harry smiled at her, relaxing a bit at the reminder.
"Well, we shall leave you all to rest." Dumbledore told them all with a smile as he and Fudge headed toward the door. "Oh," he turned back to them, "There are a few things you all may want to be aware of before I go.
"It seems someone let slip to some Slytherin students what transpired last night; mainly focusing on Professor Lupin's condition."
"Gee, wonder who let that slip." Ron commented sardonically.
"Also, as always seems to be the case in Hogwarts, it seems most of the school already knows most of the details of what happened last night. Including Sirius Black being proven innocent, and several students being injured and treated in here. Due to this, there is currently a crowd of students camped outside the hospital wing doors, wanting to see if the rumors are true. It is due to a silencing charm and some specific locking charms that they are being kept at bay. There are two particular students, however," at this Dumbledore's eyes began twinkling, "that are quite persistent about getting in here. Their argument is that their brother is in here." at this, he looked over at Ron, whose brows furrowed, "And I may or may not have overheard them plotting to set off dungbombs as a distraction so they could slip in here."
Anna sighed heavily, unable to help chuckling as her head fell back against the wall. Harry was also smirking a little bit.
"Ha!" Ron burst out from across the ward. "As if they want to see me! They clearly want to see her." he added, waving his hand toward Anna's bed.
Dumbledore smiled, his eyes fixed on Anna.
"Could…would it be alright if they came in?" she asked him.
"It would probably cause less damage." Dumbledore admitted, "Of course, if they cause too much trouble in here, Poppy may throw them out."
Anna laughed. "Okay, could you let them in?"
"Of course." Dumbledore nodded with a smile before following Fudge from the room. A few minutes later, the doors opened again and two gingers entered.
"ANNA!" Instantly, they bolted down the ward toward Anna's bed and tackled her. Anna laughed, wrapped tightly by two pairs of arms and squished under both of them.
"Guys! I can't breathe!" she laughed, trying to shove them off her.
"If you two are going to be roughhousing with my patients, I'll throw you out!" Madam Pomfrey shouted, popping her head out of her office. "They've all been through enough without you two cracking their ribs."
Fred and George quickly scrambled off Anna and sat down, Fred on the edge of her bed near her leg while George sat next to Hermione on the next bed over. It was actually comical watching George's eyes grow wide as he stared straight ahead at her father. Fred, having seen his twin's expression, looked over his shoulder and his eyes also went wide.
Anna loudly cleared her throat, making the two turn and look at her.
"Staring is rude, so how about some formal introductions?" she offered sarcastically, "Fred, George, this is my father: Sirius Black." she announced, waving her hand between them, "Dad, these are my idiot best friends, also Ron's older brothers, Fred and George." she added, pointing at each twin as she said his name even though she knew that was probably pointless. "And may I also add," she continued to the twins, "Ha! I told you so! I was right, you were wrong! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Fred and George rolled their eyes while Harry, Ron, and Hermione sniggered around the ward. "Oh, come on, can you blame us for being a bit dubious?" Fred asked her, "You have to admit, it was a pretty farfetched theory."
"They're not wrong." Sirius told her with a smirk.
"But still," Anna smirked, "I was right. I'm not crazy."
"Wouldn't go that far." Fred muttered with a smirk. Anna mock glared at him, using her knee to kick him in the hip. "Ow!"
"Anyway, would any of you like to give us the actual story?" George asked, looking around the room.
So, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Anna took turns telling parts of the story, with Sirius cutting in here and there. Of course, Harry, Hermione, and Anna left out their little time travel adventure.
By the time they had finished, the twins' jaws were hanging open.
"Bloody hell." they muttered together before Fred turned to look over his shoulder at Ron, "And you let that guy sleep in your bed!"
The others chuckled while Ron scrunched up his nose. "Don't remind me!"
"So, now that we told you two what actually happened last night, how about you tell us what all's happening in the castle. What're people saying?" Anna asked.
"Well, everyone knows the basics, that Sirius Black was proven innocent and is being treated in the hospital wing and that Pettigrew guy was actually alive. And Snape let slip at breakfast that Lupin's a werewolf and was loose on the grounds. Oh, and I heard a lot of students have owled their parents about it." Fred told them.
"We reckon Lupin isn't going to be here much longer." George admitted, sounding as disappointed about it as the others.
"But Professor Dumbledore wouldn't fire Professor Lupin over it." Hermione argued, "He already knew about it when he hired him."
"Yes, but now the students have written to their parents." Sirius pointed out, "Lot's of witches and wizards look down on werewolves, think they're dangerous. Mind you, there're a lot of werewolves that don't help that image, but either way, I reckon lots of parents are going to be sending in Howlers by evening."
Anna shook her head sadly. "It's not fair. He's one of the best teachers we've ever had. He doesn't deserve to be driven out."
Their conversation was interrupted at that moment by the hospital wing door opening a crack. They all turned to watch as Wren Black slipped inside, shutting the door behind her. Her eyes landed on Anna and she slowly approached her daughter, her eyes not leaving hers. Anna thought her mother looked nervous, and she seemed to be making a point of not looking over at her husband.
"Are you okay, darling?" Wren asked quietly, her eyes scanning her daughter's body for any sign of injury.
"I'm fine, mum. Promise." Anna assured her with a smile.
Wren nodded once. Then, she hesitated before her eyes moved to the next bed over. Anna watched as her parents made eye contact for the first time in about two years.
Not breaking their eye contact, Wren moved around her daughter's bed toward her husband. Slowly, she lowered herself to sit on the edge of his bed next to his knee.
"Hi." she whispered, tears starting to blur her eyes.
Sirius gave her a sad smile. "Hello, love."
Wren's lip trembled and she quickly leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck. Sirius wrapped his own arms around her tightly, hiding his tears in her chin-length hair.
Anna averted her eyes to give her parents some privacy, and she noticed the others did the same. She looked over to where Harry had moved to sit next to George and Hermione. When their eyes met, they smiled.
Finally, things were looking up.
XXX
Madam Pomfrey released everyone from the hospital wing around noon the next day, and the castle was very empty. Anna and Harry wished Wren and Sirius goodbye, wishing them well until they saw each other again. Wren swore to Harry that she would be going into the Ministry to get started on the process of getting custody of him, while also working on getting Sirius back to full health. Wren also, on Anna's request, wrote to Remus to invite him to live with them. Apparently, he'd lived with them from the time they graduated Hogwarts to the night James and Lily died. His room in the basement had special spells cast on it during the full moon so he couldn't hurt anyone.
Also, Anna got permission from her parents to keep Buckbeak and her dad agreed to help her build a pen in the woods behind their house. Anna just needed to get Buckbeak home.
The castle was rather empty, considering everyone was taking advantage of the warm day and Hogsmeade trip. Anna could've made the trip and met up with her friends, but she didn't feel up to it, instead asking them to get her a bottle of butterbeer.
She made the trip to the forest where Buckbeak was still tethered to a tree. She was carrying Ariel on her shoulder and a dead ferret in her hand. Ariel gave her a disgruntled look at what she asked.
"Please, Ariel. Just take this ferret to my mum and dad back home, and make sure Buckbeak follows you. Please?"
Ariel clipped her beak and grabbed the dead animal in one clawed foot.
"Now, Buckbeak, I want you to follow Ariel." Anna told him sternly, pointing at Ariel. Buckbeak looked from her to the small owl, but was mainly focused on the ferret. "She's going to take you to your new home. Okay?"
So, she untied Buckbeak's rope and let Ariel fly away, Buckbeak flying at a gradual pace behind her. Now, she just had to hope for the best.
Anna wandered the castle a bit after that. She was passing Lupin's office when she heard voices. Pausing, she backtracked and looked inside.
Lupin and Harry were talking to each other. Anna stepped into the doorway and knocked lightly on the door. They both looked up and smiled at her.
"Ah, Anna, I was wondering if I'd see you again before I left."
"You're leaving?" she asked. She figured he would, but it was still disappointing to hear.
"Unfortunately. I'm sure parents will be writing soon and insisting I leave the school. No one wants a monster teaching their children."
"You're not a monster." Anna told him firmly. "A monster is someone who enjoys hurting people. You can't control what happens when you're a werewolf."
Lupin smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, but it's for the best either way. Anyway, I was just about to give this back to Harry." he announced, lifting up a familiar worn piece of parchment. "As I'm no longer a teacher, I feel no guilt giving it to you." he added as he handed it over.
Harry smiled at it for a moment before it faltered and he turned to look up at Anna.
"Actually, I think you should have it." he told her, holding it out to her. "You've got as much right to it as I do, your dad helped make it."
"Obviously, but so did yours. And if we're basing it off that, then we've got equal rights, since both our dads and godfathers made it." she pointed out. "You get into way more trouble than I do, which is saying something given my choice in friends. You keep it."
Harry smiled. "Alright, but our agreement still stands. You can use it whenever you need to."
"Deal." she grinned at him before turning back to Lupin, who was watching them with a smile. "Hey,…could I ask you a random question? It's been bugging me for a couple days now."
"Sure. What is it?" Lupin asked curiously.
"Well,…when we were in the forest…" she started slowly, glancing at Harry, "there was a pack of wolves. Real wolves, not werewolves. And they helped us, and I remember they'd saved me my second year. I was just wondering if you knew anything about them? They just seemed too intelligent to be normal wolves."
Lupin nodded slowly, smiling down at her. "Ah, yes. Dumbledore and I have studied them a little bit. They are indeed normal wolves, technically, but that pack was actually the result of two werewolves mating on the full moon. Not me, I can assure you!" he added quickly when Anna and Harry's mouths fell open. "No, but it was actually a very rare occurrence, only the second recorded in history. Dumbledore allowed them to live in the forest when they were a young litter, and they eventually grew into a pack. They're no more dangerous than normal wolves, and they aren't even really savage. But the staff allows the students to believe the rumors that there are vicious werewolves in the forest in the hopes it will keep curious students out of the forest." he added with a knowing smirk at the two students.
Anna and Harry grinned sheepishly.
"Thanks, that's really cool." Anna told him. "Anyway, did you get a letter from my mum or dad?" she asked him curiously.
"As a matter-of-fact I did, just before Harry got here." Lupin nodded.
"And?" she urged hopefully.
Lupin smiled, shaking his head in amusement. "I will admit, Wren made some good arguments. And she knows how to strong-arm a person if I try saying no. So I'll probably be heading that way when I leave here. But I'll also need to be looking for a job to help in some way. I don't expect to live with your family and not help out in any way I can, as your mother should expect."
Anna smiled, instantly looking forward to the coming summer.
XXX
The End-of-Term feast passed wonderfully, the Great Hall covered in Gryffindor colors as they celebrated Gryffindor winning both the Quidditch and House Cups. Anna was even able to look Flint in the eyes from across the Hall and have no feelings of fear or panic, which she felt was a huge accomplishment. Considering everything else she'd witnessed this year, fearing Flint seemed small. There was the added benefit that she was certain he wouldn't come back the next year. McGonagall would never allow him to come back for a ninth year.
"Hey, Anna are you doing anything this summer?" Fred asked as they entered an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express.
"Um, apart from spending time with my parents, and possibly Remus, setting up Harry's room, and hopefully moving Harry in at some point; no." she answered.
"Well, none of those should present a problem." George commented as he shoved his luggage overhead and helping Anna with hers.
"Dad wrote us earlier telling us to invite you to come with us to the Quidditch World Cup this summer." Fred told her as they all sat down again. "Dad can usually get tickets from work, and you, Harry, and Hermione are all invited."
"Really?" Anna asked excitedly.
"Of course." the twins chorused before Fred added by himself, "And Charlie and Bill are planning on coming home for the summer so they can come, too."
"In other words," George added teasingly, "Charlie's coming."
Anna scrunched her nose up at him, but she couldn't make her smile go away.
"I'll ask my parents about it as soon as I see them on the platform." she told them.
Their other friends soon joined them, and they all started talking about their plans for the summer. A few minutes after the train started moving, the door to their compartment slid open. They all looked up to see Marcus Flint smirking at Anna.
She instantly stood up, pulling her wand from her pocket. "What do you want?" she demanded, feeling the twins stand up behind her.
"What's the matter, Black? I just came to say goodbye. Aren't you going to miss me?" he taunted.
Anna took the three steps to bring herself face-to-face with him, the tip of her wand pressed into the center of his chest. The smugness in Flint's expression barely flickered, his eyes glancing down at the wand.
"I've put up with a lot of crap this year. Between my dad, the dementors, and facing a werewolf in the Dark Forest…If you think I'm going to continue being scared of you after everything else that's happened…think again." she told him darkly.
Flint was no longer smirking. He was glaring slightly down at her, though he looked more angry at the fact that he could no longer intimidate her the way he liked.
Something pressed into the back of Anna's shoulder and Fred's voice spoke just behind her ear. "I suggest you beat it, Flint. I think every person in this compartment would love to hex you."
Flint glared around at all of them before turning and walking back down the corridor.
Anna sighed, her shoulders relaxing as if a weight had been lifted from her person. Fred laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Let's sit down and enjoy the rest of this train ride." he suggested, leading her back to their seat.
They spent the rest of the ride pranking a couple Slytherins, eating food off the trolley, and playing a few rounds of Exploding Snap.
Anna was laughing at a joke Lee told as the train pulled into the station. A few people stood up and started trying to pull their trunks down. Anna stood and barely started tugging on her trunk handle when Alicia accidentally bumped into her from behind.
Stumbling forward, Anna managed to catch herself with her hands braced on the edge of the overhead. She shook her head to get her hair out of her face and paused.
Fred's face was inches from hers, her arms on either side of him, and his hands were holding her waist to keep her from falling. His cheeks were slightly pink, and Anna knew her face was red.
Clearing her throat, Anna shoved herself upright and stepped away from him, subtly glancing around to make sure no one saw that. The only sign she saw was George smirking to himself as he pulled his own trunk down from the overhead.
Someone else cleared their throat and Anna turned to face forward again. Fred grinned at her, holding her trunk up for a second before placing it on the ground at her feet. "Here."
Anna smiled shyly. "Thanks." she whispered, taking her trunk and dragging it out of the compartment after the others.
Anna and the twins crossed the barrier and found their families standing together on the platform. Anna almost didn't recognize her father. He was clean with some color to his younger-looking face, and he had clearly filled out a bit under Wren's cooking, even though the nice clothes he was wearing still hung a bit loosely on him. His long hair was sleek, but cut to his shoulders now instead of matted to his elbows. Over all, he just looked happier and healthier.
People stared at Sirius and whispered as they passed, a few looking nervous but most just curious since he'd been announced innocent to the whole world. But he didn't seem to notice any of them. He had his arm wrapped around Wren's waist while she talked with Molly, his eyes scanning the crowd, probably for Anna and Harry.
Sure enough, when Anna met his eyes, his smile widened. Pushing her trolley even faster, Anna hurried toward her parents. She let go of her trolley several feet from her parents, ran past it, and leapt on her dad, wrapping her arms around his neck. He laughed loudly in her ear, hugging her back tightly as her feet left the ground. He hugged her for several seconds before putting her back on the ground so she could hug her mother.
"I bet you're happy to have your father home." Molly mentioned to Anna after hugging the twins one at a time. She seemed a bit nervous around Sirius, but otherwise warm.
Anna nodded with a huge smile.
"Now, before the crowd gets too thick," Sirius spoke up, his eyes fixed on the people who were coming from the barrier of platform 9 ¾, "could someone kindly point out that bastard Flint that hurt my daughter? I'd like to…have a word with him." he added darkly.
"Uuuuhhh no." Anna stated, her eyes going wide as she pushed her hands into his chest. "You don't need to do that. I already handled him on the train. It's been handled."
"What do you mean?" Wren asked worriedly, slipping her hand around Sirius's arm to keep him in place. "Did Flint attack you again?"
"Ha!" Fred burst out a laugh, dropping his arm around Anna's shoulders. "He tried starting something in our compartment, but Anna wasn't having any of it. She scared him off like the little coward he is."
Anna blushed but met her dad's eyes proudly, her chin raised. He grinned down at her.
"I better be hearing some details when we get home." he told her.
"It's really not that thrilling, but okay." she answered with a shrug as Fred removed his arm from her shoulders.
Harry arrived just then with Ron and Hermione. He was looking between Sirius and Wren hopefully.
Wren gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Harry. I don't have any new news for you, I'm afraid. I've really been trying, I swear. There weren't supposed to be this many…challenges. It seems like everything's trying to get in the way. We've been doing everything we can."
Harry nodded in understanding, though he clearly looked disappointed. Anna narrowed her eyes at her mother.
"You're almost making it sound," she started slowly, "like something…or someone is trying to stop you from getting custody of Harry."
Wren looked anxiously up at her husband before fixing Anna with a small smile. "I'm sure it's not like that, Anna. We're doing our best."
"Didn't say you weren't." Anna shrugged, before glancing around at everyone in their little group. "Um, the twins mentioned the Quidditch World Cup…" she started uncertainly.
Arthur's face lit up. "Ah, yes. You, Harry, and Hermione are invited if you'd like to come. I can get tickets at work."
Anna smiled hopefully up at her parents. "Could I go? Pretty please?"
Wren smiled and looked up at her husband, her arm going loosely around his waist.
"You know, someone at work offered to get me a couple tickets to the Cup, but I'm not much of a Quidditch person. What about you, Sirius? How does that sound?"
Sirius looked from his wife to Arthur.
"You're more than welcome to join us, Sirius. It'd be nice to have another adult, I'm sure. You could also invite Remus if he'd like to come. Completely up to you, of course."
Sirius smiled. "Well, it'd be nice to get out, and the Quidditch World Cup would certainly be a great time. If Anna and Harry wouldn't be too embarrassed having me around, I'd love to come." he answered, looking between Anna and Harry.
"I'd be fine with it." Anna answered, followed by Harry voicing his own agreement.
"And who knows?" Wren spoke up, "Maybe by then Harry will be living with us, but if not, he could come stay with us for the rest of the summer after the Cup. Does that sound alright, Harry?"
"Yeah!" Harry's face lit up and Anna noticed he bounced a bit in place.
"We can write a bit over the summer to figure out the details. Wren, if you aren't going, we could go to Diagon Alley that day to buy the kids' school things. Make a day of it." Molly suggested.
Wren quickly agreed, while Sirius turned to Ron.
"Oh, Ron, before I forget I've got something for you."
Ron, as well as the other kids, watched with curious interest as Sirius lifted something off the ground that had been sitting by his feet. It was covered in a cloth, which Anna now noticed was muffling some rather loud squawking.
"I figured I owed you, considering it's partially my fault you no longer have a rat." Sirius grinned a bit at him as he passed the object over. Ron took it and held it with one arm so his free hand could pull the fabric off.
Zooming around inside the cage was a small, gray owl just bigger than a fist with little tufts of feathers on his head.
"Really? This is mine?" Ron asked, looking at Sirius in shock.
"If you want him, yeah. He's rather hyper, but very eager to be put to work. Anna's owl Ariel finds him a bit annoying." Sirius added with a small smirk.
"Well, yeah, Ariel finds lots of friendly, hyper owls annoying. And people." Anna explained with a small smirk.
Ron was eyeing the owl uncertainly for a moment. Then, to everyone's shock, he carried the cage a few feet over and held it up to Crookshanks, who was in a cage on Hermione's trolley.
"What d'you reckon?" he asked the cat. "Definitely an owl?"
Crookshanks sniffed at the bird cage through the bars of his own cage before giving a loud purr over the noise of the station.
"That's good enough for me." Ron beamed, turning back to the others. "Thanks, Sirius."
"No problem." Sirius grinned back.
Unfortunately, they all had to go their separate ways soon after. Anna felt awful watching Harry slump away after his grumpy-looking uncle, but she hoped it wouldn't be for long. Worst case scenario, he'll be stuck there for a couple months before they pick him up for the Quidditch World Cup.