A/N: I'm so sorry for taking so long with this! Life, naturally got in the way. If it helps, my beta (not to toot my own horn, but...), she said it was one of my better chapters. So that should hopefully ease the pain a little. I really hope you enjoy it regardless!

Anna paced back and forth in the Hufflepuff common room, gnawing on her bottom lip and wringing her braids. She couldn't stop thinking about Kida Nedakh, and Milo Thatch, and everyone in Gryffindor, and her sister-

Her poor, poor sister! She knew that Kida was a friend of Elsa's - one of a small handful - and the pain Elsa must have been feeling when she heard... Anna could barely wrap her head around it. She wondered if it was anything like when Elsa had accidentally frozen Peeves in the middle of Charms last year, and she, along with the whole school, found out about her ice powers. Elsa pushed her away then, just as she did yesterday when Anna went to see her.

Anna started to pace harder as she relived the memory.

She had managed to convince one of the first year Ravenclaws to let her into their common room. Anna had ignored the protests of the other, much older Ravenclaws – even going so far as punching one of said students and knocking over a small bookcase - and stormed straight up to the girls' dormitory, which she had gone to before many times when she'd tried to reconnect with her sister. Anna pushed open the door and saw that it was almost entirely covered in ice. Anna couldn't help but gasp rather loudly, her hand instantly going to her mouth. She saw her sister sitting at the foot of one of the beds, her knees tight against her chest and flurries swirling all around her.

"E-Elsa?" Anna had asked hesitantly.

Elsa had looked up at the sound of her voice. Her face was stained with tear streaks and she looked even paler than usual. When she glanced down at her hands, she looked absolutely horrified.

"Anna...Anna, please stop, you're making me sick..." Kristoff tried to stop her. "ANNA!" He finally exclaimed, stepping in front of her path.

Anna ran into him - the memory temporarily forgotten - nearly falling backwards until he caught her arm. She looked up at him, tears blurred her vision.

Kristoff had opened his mouth to say something, but instead closed it and his face softened. He awkwardly patted her head, musing her hair too much.

What Anna truly wanted was a hug, but Kristoff didn't give hugs unless they were initiated. But she didn't want to embrace him first. She wanted him to just pull her into one of his unintentionally tight bear-hugs, and hope it would keep her together.

"Hey, it's okay. Elsa is going to be fine," he murmured reassuringly. "She might be made of ice, but she isn't fragile, you know."

Anna wiped the back of her hand across her eyes, wishing he was more sensitive about the situation. Kristoff could be so…harsh.

"That isn't a very nice thing to say." She commented.

"How is that not nice?" Kristoff wondered.

"Because Elsa isn't made out of ice! She's a human being, like you and me!" Anna exclaimed. "She just happens to have ice powers."

Kristoff tilted his head, giving her a very confused look. "I know that, Anna."

"Then why would you say something like that!" She started to yell.

"Because it's basically true!" He yelled back.

"But she isn't made out of ice!" Anna countered.

"That's not what I said, and you know it! I just meant that she doesn't break easily." Kristoff said defensively.

"That is what you said! You're making her out to be like she's some sort of…monster, or something!" Anna cried.

"Anna, I only meant that she has ice powers, and while ice might break, she doesn't."

"You did not say that!"

"You're not even listening to me!"

"Yes I am, you said –"

"Hey, Anna!" Tiana called out, interrupting Anna before she said anything she would regret. She walked towards them quickly, waving her hand.

Anna turned and forced a smile. "Hey, Tiana. What's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like me to whip you up something special, especially after...you know...what happened yesterday." Tiana said, giving her a knowing, sympathetic look.

Anna nodded. "I'd like that," she said. She turned back to Kristoff. "Do you want to join us?" she asked him. Even if Kristoff was absolutely clueless, she knew it wasn't his fault. Not entirely, in any event.

Kristoff shook his head fervently. "Nah, I'll see you later. I have a lot of homework I need to get through." He walked away, waving as he went.

"Oh...okay. See you later then." she said, trying to hide the disappointment she felt.

"Come on." Tiana urged gently, tugging on the other girl's arm.

Anna gave a weak smile and followed her out of the common room and into the kitchens. They were greeted by the house-elves, who quickly went back to work making dinner. Tiana led them to a table covered in flour and baking utensils.

"So, what would you like?" she asked, rolling up her sleeves.

"Um, how about those...oh, what are they called...ben-jays?" Anna replied.

Tiana laughed. "You mean beignets?" she clarified.

"Yeah! Those things." Anna smiled.

"Your wish is my command." she said, flourishing a wooden spoon and giving an over-exaggerated bow, making Anna giggle. Tiana smirked and, with a quick wave of her wand and a few muttered "accio", she gathered all the necessary ingredients for the beignets.

Anna watched Tiana work in silence, trying very hard to focus on what her friend was doing. She didn't want to think about Elsa, or Kida, or anybody. It was too confusing, and too painful.

"Tiana! I thought I might find you here!" a thickly accented voice greeted.

Anna turned just as Tiana lifted her head in the direction of the newcomer. Or rather, newcomers. Anna couldn't help but blush at the sight of Hans as he sauntered over with Naveen Maldonia. She turned away quickly to hide her reaction to him.

I am very quickly becoming the worst girlfriend ever. She chastised herself.

"Naveen, what brings you down here?" Tiana asked with a genuine smile and a slight blush. Anna could barely contain her snickering at the sight of the highly immovable Tiana becoming mush about some guy.

"Like I said, I was looking for you. And Hans wanted to tag along." Naveen replied.

He walked around the table to stand directly behind Tiana, observing her baking. Tiana blushed even redder and began to chastise him, but he merely brushed it off with his own retorts.

Hans sat down next to Anna, quietly watching the exchange before them. He gave her a sideways glance, his once smirking face dropped into a frown.

"Anna? Is everything alright?" he asked.

Anna groaned and dropped her head into her crossed arms. For a brief moment, she was able to forget about everything. However, her heart was constantly on her sleeve, even when she didn't want it to. Anna couldn't help but immediately regret going with Tiana.

"That bad, huh?" Hans observed, "Do you want to talk about it?" he inquired.

With her head still down, she managed to shake it side to side, indicating a "no". Hans fell silent, leaving her figuratively alone.

Hans was angry at both himself and Anna. He should have made his move significantly sooner, but it was too late. Anna still didn't fully trust him – which was hard to believe, considering how trusting she actually was.

Maybe she has stronger instincts than I originally thought…

"It's about Kristoff." Anna finally said, lifting her head up enough to look him in the eye.

Hans turned back to her, looking a little surprised. He nodded for her to continue. She sat up more and started playing with the ends of her braids.

"He's just so insensitive," she sighed. "I know he was raised by Rock Trolls since he was three, and they're about as emotional as a, well, a rock. Although they do know how to throw a fun party."

"What did he do that was insensitive?" Hans asked.

"Oh, he just made a stupid, thoughtless comment. I think I might have taken it the wrong way initially, but Kristoff really shouldn't've said it in the first place." She said, waving her hand in a vague gesture.

"Or maybe he said it just as you took it?" he suggested.

Anna gaped at him, "What…what do you mean?" she wondered hesitantly.

Hans lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "Maybe he didn't mean to say it out loud, but probably whatever he said was what he was actually thinking."

"No, no, I don't think so," Anna shook her head. "He might be a little slow when it comes to certain things, but he isn't that heartless or that stupid to say what was on his mind."

"I don't know Kristoff well, but I do know he's honest. Bluntly so, in fact."

Anna nibbled on her bottom lip as she considered Hans's comment. She turned away from him and returned to the same dejected position she was in earlier.

Hans tapped his chin, trying to refigure his plan. While he knew he made a few good points – he was in the same year as Kristoff Iceman, after all – it wasn't going to immediately change her mind about her boyfriend. It certainly wasn't going to be easy to get her to fully trust him, especially since Anna wasn't her usual, bubbly self. He had no idea how to handle this aspect of her personality.

Suddenly, he remembered a very important trait of hers: her distractedness.

He pulled his wand out from his inner jacket pocket, and, with a quick flick of his wrist and a mutter under his breath, conjured up bubbles. Anna looked up at the sound of his voice, and gasped audibly.

The bubbles circled around Anna, gently bouncing off her as they floated lazily about the kitchen. The bubbles changed colors and size, but kept their spherical shape. Anna giggled as a tiny pink bubble touched her nose. She lifted her hand and poked a large green one, and a blue one of equal size, causing them to float away.

Anna continued to look in awe until she heard Tiana give a counter-charm, and all the bubbles disappeared with a loud pop.

Anna turned to her friend, her mouth having dropped open in despair.

"Aww, Tiana!" Anna whined.

"No bubbles in my kitchen." Tiana said sternly, putting her wand back in her pocket.

"Technically, the kitchen isn't even yours." Naveen pointed out.

Tiana shot him a glare. Naveen lifted up his hands in defeat, but his eyes showed he wasn't going to completely relent.

Anna stuck her tongue out at Tiana before turning back to Hans. She placed her hand on his arm and smiled.

"Thanks for that, Hans." She said.

Hans reached over and lifted her hand off his arm, kissing the back of it. "It was my absolute pleasure, Anna." He smiled.

Merida stalked down the corridor towards the Gryffindor common room, muttering to herself. She had, once again, got into an argument with the other members of the Order of Black Water. They were, once again, being incredibly unreasonable.

Lyle, Helga, Hans, Merida and Gaston had gathered together in an empty classroom, meeting without Professors Jafar and Facilier at their bequest. The older of the group sat on top of desks, while Merida leaned against the wall.

"Why are we here? It smells like sawdust and death." Hans observed, brushing off some nonexistent dust.

Ugh, what a snob. Merida thought to herself.

"It was the only place that I could find that had no one, not even those nosy ghosts, in it." Lyle growled.

"I'm with South-Isles - it smells like an abandoned barn." Helga added, fanning the smell away in vain.

Lyle glared at her. Helga glared right back. Merida rolled her eyes.

Children. I'm surrounded by children. My Devil's Spawn brothers behave better than this. Merida snorted.

"Do you have something to say, Dunbroch?" Gaston asked.

Merida turned to Gaston, shaking her head slightly. Gaston gave her a dubious look, but returned his attention back to the rest of the group.

"We should just off Nedakh now." Lyle said.

"But that would look highly suspicious. Her father is supposed to come get Kida next week," Helga reminded him.

"And nobody said we were supposed to kill her." Merida added.

They all had turned to her with sharp looks. Merida felt a little intimidated by everyone glaring at her, but she pulled back her shoulders and glared right back at them anyways.

Gaston rose from his seat and slowly approached her. He stopped barely a foot away from where she sat and loomed over her. Merida raised her head and narrowed her eyes.

"Just because Jafar and Facilier didn't explicitly say so, it doesn't mean it wasn't implicitly said." Gaston said in a low voice.

Merida, with her eyes still narrowed, stared at Gaston confusedly.

"Wait, what now?" she asked.

Gaston rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You heard me. If you can't stomach it, then you can leave."

Merida stood up suddenly, taking a step closer to Gaston in a vain attempt to stand nose to nose with him.

"I can stomach anything. But I'm not going to help assassinate someone who is in a magical comatose. It's not fair." Merida said. She sidestepped him and started to walk out of the door. Before she pulled the handle, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I thought the Dark Lady had more class, even for a homicidal maniac."

She slammed the door behind her before they could retort.

Merida was thinking so hard about how insane they were, she barely fathomed knocking heads with someone. She staggered a few steps and covered her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain.

"Ow…" she moaned.

When the pain subsided enough that she could open her eyes, she saw Aladdin was rubbing his head.

"Aladdin…I-I'm so sorry." She whispered.

Aladdin looked up at her, surprise and a brief flicker of happiness graced his features.

"It's alright, I guess." he mumbled.

Merida looked away from him, afraid to meet his gaze now. They stood in awkward silence, neither willing to talk or move first.

"Merida-" Aladdin started to say.

"I have to go." Merida interrupted.

She sidestepped him and started to walk away, when she felt him grab her wrist.

"Merida, wait!" he said desperately.

Merida closed her eyes and sighed. Hesitantly, she slowly turned to face Aladdin. He looked as desperate as he sounded. His eyes pleaded with her.

"What?" she said dejectedly, turning back to look at him. As they stared at each other, Merida felt a rush of memories crowd in her mind.

The day they first met; the moment they knew they were always going to be best friends; the day they joined the Quidditch team together; those few months back in their fourth year where they thought there was something more between them, but it turned out to be the most awkward time of their lives and reverted back to being close friends.

"I just- Merida, what happened over Christmas break? Why aren't we hanging out anymore?" he asked.

Merida felt her eyes water, but she shook her head to get rid of the tears. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then make me understand! Merida, I want to help, in any way I can. You're my best friend, and I miss you. I know your mom made you quit the Quidditch team. It sucks. But that can't be the only reason why you're avoiding me," Aladdin demanded, holding her hands tightly in his own, "Is it because of Jasmine?"

Merida shook her head once more. She was actually happy for those two. "No, it's not her. I…I just…I can't tell you." She gently pried his fingers off of her wrist and slowly walked backwards. "I'm really sorry, Aladdin." She croaked.

She turned around and sprinted away, leaving Aladdin confused and in her proverbial dust.

She couldn't tell him. No matter how much she wanted to, no matter how much she missed her best friend, she just couldn't.

And nothing, not even quitting the Quidditch team, broke her heart more.

Lucinda Powers found herself staring out the window overlooking her students, much as she did before Christmas break. Unlike Christmas, where she felt as strong as ever, she instead felt the weight of the world land heavily on her shoulders. It was an unpleasant feeling, one she felt before many years ago, and had since worked to never feel that way again. It made her feel as old as she actually was.

I guess my age is finally catching up to me. She chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"Professor Powers?" a soft voice asked.

Lucinda turned and saw the group of four students she called to her office. She attempted a reassuring smile as she ushered them into the room.

"Miss Arendelle, Miss Germaine, Mr. Burroughs and Mr. de la Bête." Lucinda greeted, nodding at them in turn.

"Why are we here?" Adam demanded, crossing his arms and staring at the Headmistress suspiciously. The others gave curt nods of agreement.

Lucinda chuckled again. "Cutting straight to the point as always, my dear Adam," she said. "I suppose we don't have time to waste. The reason you're all here is because of your…special talents."

The students looked at each other and her quizzically.

"The four of you have powers that most witches and wizards don't have," Lucinda continued. "Now I won't disclose who has what; although I suppose we all know about Miss Arendelle, and subsequently, Miss Nedakh. I'll leave it up to the rest of you to determine whether you want to tell the others in this room or not."

Elsa blushed as everyone turned to look at her at the mention of her name and the incident her fourth year. Tarzan and Adam were there when it happened, while Rapunzel had only heard about it from some of the older students.

Lucinda cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention back to her.

"Anyways, back to the reason why you're all here," she said. "As I said before, because of your individual talents, you all now have a very large target set on you."

"You mean…you mean the Sea Witch is…she wants…us?" Rapunzel stuttered.

Lucinda nodded gravely.

Rapunzel and Elsa gasped as Tarzan stared stony face in the distance and Adam started to pace.

"Now calm down, calm down," Lucinda urged them. "I happen to have a plan, if you'd like to know."

"What do you have in mind, Headmistress?" Adam asked.

Lucinda smiled. "I'm so glad you asked."