A Matter of force.

Part 36

Rolling on...

OooOOooOO

Anna Potter smiled as she looked into a video camera with the rest of her band. They were smiling and waving as they held up a small statue between them. It was the middle of February, and it was the second time they'd been called together to do what they were doing that year. They were standing in front of a wall with a sheet hung for background in a small room at Hogwarts. A video crew was filming them as they thanked their fans, producers, and crews again.

Earlier that month they'd won quite a few Grammy Awards. The Musicares award, Record of the year, Album of the year, Best New Artist, Best Alternative Album, Best Pop Album, Best Vocal Arrangement for two or more voices, Best Short Form Video, Best Long Form Video, Best Performance Video, Video of the Year, Best Pop album, they'd completely swept every rock category, and Anna and Harry had won several individual awards for vocal performance. Anna had a few of her own for songwriter and composer, and they'd gotten several more for technical things related to their albums. To put it in simple terms, they'd broken several records after winning a grand total of 42 awards as a group in their first year of nominations at the Grammy awards. Every single thing they'd been nominated for they'd won.

Now, they were doing it again for the Brits. Once again they were sweeping the categories they'd been nominated in, international, and British acts.

The children were all looking at a table full of awards again. They'd just finished up, and were all looking quite dazed as they looked at them all as the video crew started to pack up. They'd all signed a few autographs for some of the crew involved, and were about to return to their classes again.

Pansy turned towards the redhead. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Anna! I never even dreamed! We're not even fourteen yet!"

Margaret was running her finger down the side of one of the statues. "I'm not dreaming am I?"

"It's something, isn't it, Harry?" Melvin was grinning at his friend.

The Boy Who Lived nodded. "Yeah. I'll say." He turned towards his still dazed and silent sister. She was staring at the ones she'd won for vocals and songwriting. "Can we not make ten albums this year? It won't take so long next time. We've been here for at least two hours now."

The girl gave a small grunt. "I suppose not. Wyld Stallyns are going to kick our asses every year once they show up. So we'd best get them now."

The group around her hung their heads as she gave them a sidelong glance and smirked.

"Slave driver." Melvin's tone was light, and he was only joking.

Pansy gave a small sigh. "It's too bad we can't go."

Margaret chuckled. "We'll get the chance. We won't be attending Hogwarts forever you know."

Anna nodded and smiled at the raven haired girl. "Lots of time to pick out what to wear I guess. Still, I didn't even know there were this many categories for music awards."

Harry nodded in silence as he looked at his own award for vocals. "I can't believe this. It's so weird just looking at them all. I figured we might get one or two, maybe."

Melvin had a huge grin. "Well, if we were up for one, we won it it seems. The awards aren't until tonight though."

"We'll be able to watch it in the dorms. Classes will be over by then." Harry seemed pleased as he looked at his friends.

Melvin seemed pleased and nodded. "Yeah. Like we did with the Grammy awards."

Dumbledore moved past the video crew as they left. It was a wizarding crew, and he gave them all a friendly smile as they walked away. Rufus was standing in the back of the room talking on a cell phone. The Headmaster moved up to the children and smiled down at them. "Actually, I was planning on opening up the Great Hall for the show this evening so the students can attend if they wish." He seemed very cheerful and warm. "I'm sure you'd all like to see it together?"

Pansy and Margaret squealed together. "Thank you, Professor!"

Melvin was pleased as well. "Excellent!"

Anna nodded in agreement and grinned at her brother. The Grammy Awards were a very big deal, but the Brits were a bigger deal on their side of the pond. The group had already won several World Music Awards and had delivered a similar acceptance in November the year before.

Harry was also pleased. "That would be great, Professor!"

Anna gave a small sigh. "Where are we going to put all these? We've got no more room on the walls."

Rufus moved up to the group and smiled. "Well. I suppose we'll be needing bigger walls at the office as well. Congratulations on your success my young friends. Excellent work." He looked quite pleased with them all. "I'm afraid I'll have to be going. I've got to meet with the crew to accept some of your awards with them later this evening. You've made me quite busy these days, and I'm very grateful."

Anna was looking very pleased. "Thanks. We're looking forward to giving you more work. I've almost finished composing a couple of symphonies, and I'm thinking of hiring an orchestra or something this summer after we've finished touring." She was referring to music that had been composed by John Williams, Danny Elfman, Hanz Zimmer, Nobuo Uematsu, and Klause Beldt, and a few other modern notable composers in her last life.

The man blinked and looked a bit surprised. He gave a serious nod and his lips turned up. "I'll look into that for you if you'd like."

The girl nodded and seemed pleased. She'd spent the time to learn to write music for that sort of composition over the past few years as well. Her friends all looked shocked, but didn't say anything to her as they all gave the man a polite but brief parting.

After he'd left, they went back to their respective dorms. Pansy rushed up to her side. "An orchestra?"

The redhead nodded. "Yes. There's a bit of piano work involved. I was going to ask you about it later this year. No hurry though."

Margaret reached her hand around Anna's neck while she was distracted. "What's this? You never wear jewelry unless wardrobe makes you." She pulled a thin golden chain up around her neck.

Pansy blinked and looked at the golden half heart that the black haired girl had pulled from her friend's shirt. "Hey. She's right."

Anna gave a small sigh. "Cedric gave it to me yesterday. I had a box of candies delivered to him. I wasn't expecting him to get me anything." She was flushed, but seemed cheerful. It was a simple and cheap charm, not even real gold from the look of it.

Margaret frowned. "Ugh. I wouldn't wear it."

Pansy squealed and seemed to get excited. "It's so cute!"

Anna frowned at the dark haired girl's reaction. "If I wanted something expensive, I'd have bought it myself. He's not in an award winning band you know. You're not marrying some rich guy."

The dark haired girl blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

The redhead tossed her ponytail. "You heard me. One day, you'll treasure something that's even cheaper than this. I promise."

Margaret worked her jaw. "Are you joking? You are, aren't you?"

Pansy was snickering. Melvin was behind them, and had decided it was best to hang back and not say anything.

Melvin rolled his eyes and put his hands behind his head. He was quite pleased with his day. Now he was a multiple award winning musician, he had been before, but no one really paid attention to the World Music Awards. Now, he really had something to brag about.

OooOOooOO

"Wow! You won so many!" Hermione was jumping about Harry as they moved back to the dorms again. They had just come back from watching the Brits on a large screen set up in the great hall.

Even most of Slytherin had shown up, just as many students as the first meeting of the Dueling Club. Attendance for the club had dropped since the first meeting, now a little under half the school showed up. It was a little less with each meeting, but it seemed to be leveling off. Most everyone came back now.

Harry was a bit pink. Ron seemed pleased with him as well, and his dorm mates were hooting and hollering cheers as he went back to the dorms among them.

The Weasley brothers moved by, ruffling his hair and slapping his back, Percy had congratulated him, Oliver wood and the Quidditch team had made a point of praising him as well. Collin Creevy took lots of pictures as usual, more than normal that night. The whole school was alive with chatter and cheer over the affair. Even Slytherin seemed a bit more upbeat than normal, but it showed as little more than a few weak smiles.

He found himself sitting with Ron, Hermione, Neville, Parvati, and Collin in the dorms. They sat about chatting and being cheerful in general.

Hermione gave him a wide grin. "It's really something."

Neville was pleased to be sitting anywhere near them, much less among them. "I'll say. I never imagined I'd be hanging around someone like you."

Collin nodded his head in an almost violent manner. "None of my friends from home really believe it. I've sent them all photos and everything. My dad told me to thank you for sending those autographs. He's a big fan."

Harry seemed rather quiet and reserved about the whole mess. "I've got to admit, it's a bit odd. I'm still not used to it. I got mobbed when we went shopping over the holiday."

Parvati giggled as she leaned on Ron. He didn't seem as uncomfortable as he'd been before. He was getting used to having her on his arm. "It must be nice."

The boy nodded. "I guess. It has it's downside though."

Hermione frowned a bit. "Like what? You're rich, everyone loves you, and you've met all sorts of famous people."

Harry gave a small sigh. "I've got to wear disguise glasses to go grocery shopping. I'm on all sorts of magazine covers and rags. Did you know I saw one in the grocery story that says I have orgy parties with alcohol and drugs after every concert? I saw another one that said I'm some sort of devil worshiper. Another one said I'm dating Brittney, and that my sister is in some sort of war with her because of it."

Ron gave a rough snort. "No one takes those things seriously. There was one that said I dropped out of school to become some sort of monster hunter. I'm supposed to be in America hunting sasquatch right now. It's silly."

Parvati nodded. "He's right. Still, I guess that could be a bit irritating."

Harry gave a small shrug. "You're right. Still. It's bad enough with those silly teen beat articles, and that 'boy who lived' stuff already. There's always people sulking about the neighborhood with cameras where we live now."

Hermione flushed. "You've got it pretty good as far as paparazzi goes. The whole band is pretty notorious for being hard to photograph."

The Potter boy nodded. "Yes. Well, it only makes them try harder. You wouldn't believe some of the stunts they've pulled while we were touring." He flushed a bit. "People will pick up my trash and keep it. Once, someone stole some of my shorts from my dressing room. It's a bit strange."

Percy moved up to the group. "Sorry to break it up. It's almost lights out. Time for bed." He ushered the group towards the dorms with a half smile on his face.

OooOOooOO

Lily Potter was looking at the book she'd just pulled from a box that had been delivered to her home. It was nearing the end of the month, and there were four large boxes, each containing four large books. They were stacked in front of her on the table in the living room.

James walked by and noticed her looking at the collection of books. "What's this?" He noticed the rather blank expression on her face and sat down beside her with a cup of tea in his hand. Her husband put his arm across her shoulder and smiled.

She didn't look up, and flipped through a few pages of the one in her lap. "Hmmm?" It was hard to pull her eyes away from what she was reading.

He shook her shoulder and rolled his eyes. "What is all this? Some sort of encyclopedia?"

The woman didn't look up from her reading. "No. Just Anna doing the impossible again."

He seemed confused and peered down at the pages. "Anna? Did she send you these? Looks like some sort of Potions book."

The woman nodded. "She's better at Potions than I am." She flipped the page and continued to stare at what she was looking at.

James chuckled. "Don't be silly."

His wife shook her head. "No. Really. I'm holding the proof right here."

The man set down his teacup and lifted one of the books off the table. "The Complete Potions Index, by Anna Potter." It was heavy, with small print, and there looked to be about sixteen volumes worth on the table next to the unpacked boxes. "Potion's Index?"

The woman nodded without taking her eyes off the pages. "Hmmm. Yes."

The mirror flashed. James stood up and waved his hand. A familiar and pudgy man became visible as the reflection vanished. He seemed to cheer up. "Professor Slughorn! Hello."

The man's jowls were quivering, his eyes were wide, and he was holding one of the books in his shaking hands. "Lily!"

The woman looked up and smiled at him. "Hello, Professor. It's good to see you! You've been well?"

The man was red faced and wide eyed. "Y-yes. Lily...Oh! I see you've gotten..."

The redhead nodded and gave him a cheerful smile. "Yes. She told me she was working on it a while ago." She closed it and smiled at him. "It's still a bit strange seeing it now. I can barely believe it."

His jaw dropped. "Barely believe it?" He was almost hopping up and down in excitement. "I must meet her! This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen!"

James was confused. "Really? What is it? It's just a potion's book. Impressive for her age, but..."

The man looked shocked. "You slacker! You always did poorly in my class!" He chuckled as James's face fell. "This isn't just a collection of Potions books. It's the impossible! With these books, any potion it's possible to make can be...Oh! It's wonderful! You must be so proud, Lily dear!"

Mrs. Potter was smiling and gave him a nod. "Yes. I don't know what to say. It's amazing! I didn't think it was really possible!"

Slughorn was beaming. "No one really did. We'd given up on the real thing centuries ago. It was considered nothing more than something to keep skills sharp to even make an attempt! The wizarding world at large considered the Index as nothing more than a mental exercise!" There were several cauldrons going behind him at once.

James was confused. "So, this is some sort of big deal?" He peered down at the book he'd picked up.

Lily kissed him on the cheek. "The biggest one in the history of alchemy and potions."

He seemed even more confused. "R-really?"

Slughorn was laughing at the man's reaction in a good natured way. "I'm afraid so my boy. This is the second most important discovery in wizarding in our lifetimes. Certainly the largest in Alchemy and Potions. If Miss Granger hadn't discovered the Ultimate Question it would be the greatest of all discoveries in wizarding thus far!"

James gave a sort of dazed nod. "Well, I guess. You know, I'm not as surprised to hear that as I should be."

Lily seemed to agree and put her hand on her belly. She was showing, and had a dazed look in her eyes. "Yes. It's a bit much. I hate to say it, but I hope this one isn't such a genius. The two we've got now are almost more than I can take. It still feels like some sort of odd dream sometimes."

Her husband chuckled. "We'll be fine."

OooOOooOO

Snape was looking out the window of Dumbledore's office. He had a frown on his face and a rather far off stare.

The old man had let him enter, but he'd yet to say anything to him. The Headmaster had sixteen very large books on his desk. Snape had come to his office and interrupted his reading, walked up to the window, and just started staring out over the grounds with his arms crossed. "I take it she sent you a copy as well?"

Snape gave a silent nod and didn't turn to face him.

Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. "I see." He'd spent the past few hours reading, and imagined the Potions Master had done the same before showing up.

Severus was at a loss for words. He couldn't think of anything to say, and didn't want to face the Headmaster.

The old man gave a small chuckle. "I suppose I'll be having a talk with her."

Snape looked over his shoulder. "She's not my apprentice anymore."

Dumbledore gave a nod. "I suppose she couldn't be."

The man leaned over the window, putting his hand on the wall next to it to hold his weight. "I've been teaching her for a year and a half...and..."

"She's already surpassed the both of us in matters of Potions and Alchemy." The Headmaster gave another nod.

The Head of Slytherin was still looking out on the world with dazed eyes. "This is impossible. She's better than me. She's..."

Dumbledore stood up and walked around his desk, putting his rear on the front end and crossed his arms. "The Greatest Potions Genius in the Universe?"

Snape turned his head around and gave him a glare for a moment. His eyes lowered a little, and he gave a nod. "I'm afraid she is. I've got nothing left to teach her. She's more qualified to teach my class than I am if she even wrote half of..." He turned his eyes back towards the grounds outside the window again, unable to finish.

"So, what do we do with her then?" The old man gave a heavy sigh. "It's a bit unprecedented."

"She'll be given her license. She's an accredited Potion's Master, no one will be able to contest it with...those...books." His voice was almost angry, but there was something else in it as well. "I don't believe this. Am I dreaming?"

Dumbledore had a reserved smile on his face. "I wondered that for a moment myself. I'm afraid that isn't the case." He ran his fingers across one of the bindings. "It will need to be tested and verified."

Snape shook his head. "I know enough to realize it's real. It's impossible, but it's real. I've spent most of the day searching for an error, some mistake, some miscalculation, some sort of..." Classes had ended, and the students were getting ready for the evening meal. It had already started, but Dumbledore and Snape weren't very concerned with missing a meal at that point.

The Headmaster shook his head and gave a sigh. "Impossible?"

"I can't keep her as my apprentice. We'll be using these books to teach the course next year. I'm sure of it. There's just no way..." Snape seated himself on one of the chairs nearby and hung his head. "I can't get my head around this. She's better than I am. I don't believe this...this is real...I could be her apprentice. It's...that much of a difference."

Dumbledore gave a serious nod. "Yes. A very odd girl. Still, she's not excelling like this in any of her other courses. She's struggling a little in Charms and Transfiguration. Divination, well, she excels there as well. That's a different matter though. She won't be graduating Hogwarts any time soon at any rate. I expect she'll attend for the full seven years. Still, I suppose there's no point in trying to deny her license as a Potions Master."

Snape frowned a little. "She'll be able to use magic outside of Hogwarts."

The old man nodded. "Yes. Not with her wand though. It still won't grant her a basic wizarding license. It's not completely unprecedented, she'll be able to brew potions, and market them if she wishes. I'm afraid there is little more we can do to aside from perhaps delay it until the Department of Alchemy grants it to her. I'm sure I'll be receiving a letter from them soon regarding this. I'm afraid there's no denying it to her at this point. I see no reason why we should anyway." Dumbledore went back to his seat and opened the first volume again. "I'll be speaking with her when it arrives. I'm certain it will contain her license. It's been granted for far less than this before. Very rare, but..."

Severus gave a short nod. "Yes. I understand." He turned and left the room.

Dumbledore hid a smile behind his hand as the door to his office closed. The very first page of the book thanked several people. Severus Snape's name was just below her mother's, and above Slughorn's, and his own. He was thanked as a teacher, and for taking her as an apprentice. His Potions Master had just become a part of a very big moment in Wizarding history. The mention of his name in the book in his hand alone guaranteed him a teaching post at any school he might ever wish to teach at for the rest of his life.

Albus knew Snape would realize it, but wondered if it had sunk in quite yet. "Greatest Potions Genius in the Universe indeed." He chuckled and closed the book for the time being. He had plenty of time to read over it, and wondered just how long it would take for the letter to arrive from the Department of Alchemy.

OooOOooOO

Anna Potter sat in Dumbledore's office a week later. It was evening, and she looked up at the man with a calm and cheerless expression on her face. "Yes, Professor?"

The man smiled at her and handed her a rolled up parchment and a letter. "I have been asked to deliver this to you."

She accepted it and looked confused for a moment. "This is..." She stopped speaking and opened the scroll to look it over. "A license for Potions?"

The Headmaster nodded. "Yes. You're no longer required to take instruction at Hogwarts for Potions or Alchemy. You are also free to brew Potions outside of school. I'm afraid I must stress, that your use of your wand and magic is strictly limited to Potions and Alchemy. You're not seventeen yet I'm afraid." He seemed pleased with her. "Congratulations Miss Potter. It is an honor that few before you have received. You've also been nominated for another Award for Outstanding Contribution to Potions. I've little doubt you'll be awarded again. What you've done will be near impossible to top."

"License? I'm a Potions Master?" Her eyes grew a little wide. She knew she'd be praised for her work, but it was a bit more than she'd been expecting.

The old man nodded. "Yes. Your apprenticeship with Professor Snape has been completed."

The young redhead looked a bit dazed. "I...heh." She got a somewhat evil looking smirk on her face. "Bwahahahahahahaaa! I told you! I'm the Greatest Potions Genius in the Universe!" Her two puppets appeared on her shoulders, praising her as she pointed her finger in the air. "Ha! Now I can prove it!"

Dumbledore shook his head and gave a small sigh. "I suppose I'm in no position to argue."

The girl gave him a grin and nodded. "Heh."

The old man stood up. "Well, that's all I have for you tonight. You may return to your common area for the evening."

The little redhead smiled and nodded. "Thank you Professor."

OooOOooOO

Harry Potter frowned as he looked at yet another headline involving his sister. "Great. She's gone and done it again."

Hermione was reading the article in her own copy of the Prophet. "It's insane. Really, though. This one isn't bad. I guess." She cleared her throat. "Anna Potter's Potion's Index has been repeatedly tested by the Ministry of Magic, and the Department of Alchemy, and there appears to be no instances of error contained within them. Once again, the young Potter girl has proven that the impossible is possible..."

Harry felt like he was getting a headache. "Oh. Look at them. Sitting over at that table. Everyone looks at her like..." He paused and looked at the table.

Anna was sitting surrounded by people he considered friends. Ginny was a nice girl, he knew Marci from home, and then there was the band. There was something else about the table as well. It seemed different than it had seemed, even after the start of their second year.

Marcus Flint was grinning and chatting with Melvin, as well as most of the Quidditch Team. Draco was sitting with his two lackeys, he was ignoring her and sitting as far away as he could. There was a definite split in the table that hadn't been so prominent before. Almost as if it held two houses, and one of them was smaller than the other.

"What is it?" Ron seemed to notice he'd not finished his thought first. Hermione was engrossed in her reading and looked over at him.

"Yeah. What are you staring at Slytherin for?" Parvati giggled as she noticed his gaze.

"Rotten, the lot of them." Neville gave a nod and frowned.

Harry looked over at him with an odd look on his face. "Not really. It's nothing like what I've heard. Look."

The children around him did. Collin Creevy shrugged. "What is it?"

Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan both looked confused as they leaned in. Dean seemed a little annoyed. "Yeah? Looks like the same ruddy jerks as always."

Harry looked at his friends. "That's not it at all. All the other houses, people in the same year all sit together. Slytherin is different now. Look. It's like there's two houses sitting at that table. My sister's side is...bigger."

Ron blinked. "Hey. He's right. I guess there's no rules about where you sit aside from the first years in the sorting. I wonder what's up?"

Dean leaned in. "She's the Heir of Slytherin."

Hermione frowned. "That again? Really."

Seamus shook his head. "No, that's what it's about." He lowered his voice. "Look, I heard a few of them arguing in the halls. Ask around, it's true."

Harry scrunched his eyebrows together. "Yes. I know about that, but..."

Neville was a bit pale. "Harry. It's not really true, right?"

The boy nodded. "Yes. She opened that secret chamber or whatever. I know it's true."

Everyone around him got a bit wide eyed.

"What's the big deal? It's not like she's really evil or anything. That guy Salazar might have been a bit of a jerk, but from what I've heard, he wasn't really an evil person." Harry looked a little confused.

Percy was standing behind the group. "That's a matter of opinion."

Ron looked up at him. "Hey. What's up?"

The older boy looked at his brother. "Nothing. I just heard you talking. Harry, are you sure about that?"

He nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. I'm positive. It's true, she really is this Heir or whatever. Even Dumbledore and Snape know."

Percy looked over at her. "He was a powerful and dangerous man. I've heard rumors about as well, there's almost been a few fights among Slytherin students. All of the Prefects have been asked to keep a close eye on them."

Hermione glanced over her shoulder. "What for?"

The prefect gave a small sigh and squeezed in between Harry and Ron. "I guess I can say something. It won't hurt I suppose." He looked about with a very serious manner about him. "The word is, that 'You Know Who' claims he was Salazar's heir. A lot of Slytherin has family who were former Death Eaters."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. She said something like that. She's the real thing though. I saw that Chamber for myself."

Percy looked over at him. "Are you sure it was real?"

The mouse haired boy nodded. "Yes. It's not just Slytherin you know, Ravenclaw has a few former Death Eaters children as well. Even our house and Hufflepuff has a few you know. Just not as many."

Percy nodded. "Yes. You've got to understand something though. That claim, is how he formed the Death Eaters. It was his claim to power, a lot of the people who became Death Eaters did it because they though it was true. They believed he really was the Heir."

Ron nodded. "I get it. If he was lying, and she's telling the truth..."

Percy looked over at him. "Yes. They'll start trying to get her favor now."

Harry didn't seem worried. "That's bad how? She's a better person than him. None of that Mudblood crap."

The Prefect gave a small sigh. "The ones who don't believe her are dangerous. They'll do anything they can to prove her wrong. You shouldn't get involved."

The Boy Who Lived nodded. "I don't plan on it. Besides, you saw what she did to the House Elves. What have I got to worry about?"

The older boy got a blank look on his face. "I suppose you're right. Still, she's in a more dangerous position than she realizes."

Harry shook his head. "No, she knows exactly what she's doing. That's what worries me." He looked over at the table. "She's doing it on purpose. She wants everyone to know that she's Salazar's Heir. She wants to take that Voldemort head on." He hung his head. "I don't like it either, but...I've come to realize that she probably can. I can't really do anything to stop her either. She's stirring up trouble, and taking control of Slytherin a bit at a time. The one's who aren't with her, are afraid of her. With good reason."

Percy gave a nod and stood up. "Well, I'm glad to hear you've at least got something of a head about it. Careful, Harry." He glanced down at the boy as he passed.

Ron shook his head. "What's with him?"

Harry glanced at him. "He's worried about you."

The boy tipped his hat and looked annoyed. "I can take care of myself."

Hermione rolled her eyes as Parvati squeezed herself against his arm. "I don't want to get dragged into that mess myself."

Harry gave a nod. "Neither do I. Still, she's my sister."

Ron looked over at Slytherin, and Ginny. "Yeah. I get what you mean."

The Potter boy glanced at his friend. "He's worried about her too."

The redhead didn't say anything and started eating.

OooOOooOO

Anna frowned as she looked over her shoulder. There was a round fuzzy looking blue mouse like creature that resembled a chinchilla with a ball of fuzz on it's tail. "Lovegood."

She'd been running into the girl in the halls quite a bit that year. She could tell when she was near, because strange creatures became visible. Wandering about in the bushes, moving through the legs of students in the halls, sitting in corners and shadows.

"It's a puff tailed marzel turf." The blond girl was grinning at her as she noticed what she was looking at.

The redhead gave a small smirk. It had been a little annoying, but she was a nice girl, and it was hard to get mad at her. "Yes. I suppose..."

Luna gave a small sigh. "I tried to catch that Narfel, the sloth toed one. If I can just catch one I can progress my research. It kept evaporating through my net though."

Anna nodded. "Yes. I keep telling you they don't exist in this dimension. You're pretty much wasting your time doing things that way." She fumbled about in her pocket for a moment and produced a small red plastic rectangle with a camera lens on the outside. She knew it was a little mean, but she couldn't help herself. "I've decided to help you with your research. I mean, it's kind of hard watching you chasing these things about."

Luna brightened up. "Really?" She pulled a notebook from her robes. "Look! This is all the data I've collected so far!"

Anna's face fell as she took the notebook and flipped through it. It was full of crude, but somehow cute drawings. Each drawing had a long winded name, and a brief description. "Eh? You've been categorizing them?"

The blond girl nodded. "Of course! I've created a detailed log!" She hopped up and down, the radishes in her earrings bounced against her cheeks.

Anna frowned, reconsidering what she was doing for a moment. "Hmmm. Well..." She looked at the girl and her face fell again. "I suppose."

"What did you have in mind? Will you help me publish this?"

The redhead grinned. It was still too much to pass up. "No. I think you're mistaken. Here, I want you to take this!" She shoved the red plastic rectangle into her arms. She'd had Carrot rig something up to help her with this. It would keep her out of her hair for sure. She showed up at irritating times and started talking about whatever was wandering about. It got odd looks from the students who were around at the times, and people were talking about it behind her back. It didn't bother her that much, but it was a bit irritating when it happened. It happened a lot that year in the halls between classes.

Luna looked at it. "What is it?"

Anna took a belt from one of her Bunnies and put it on the girl's arm. "Well, I'm afraid there's been other work on these species before you. Still, capturing specimens is difficult to do because of their interdimensional nature. So, I've rigged up a few things with the help of a friend of mine." The last thing she took from her bunny was a red hat with a white front, and a small green symbol on the front of it. She put it onto the girl's skull.

Luna looked confused. "Huh?" She flipped open the red plastic thing. "What is this? It looks like something a muggle might use, one of those compactors or something."

Anna nodded. "Yes. It's called a 'Pokedex'. These creatures are called 'Pokemon'." She pulled one of the red and white balls off the belt and held it up for the blond girl to inspect. "This is called a 'Pokeball'. You can use it to capture them. However, you need to weaken the stronger ones by weakening them first by using the one's you've collected to battle them and wear them out. Whenever you see a new one, you use the camera on the Pokedex to categorize it, and collect a specimen with the Pokeball." The redhead put her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Your goal is to catch em all! You should do your best to use the Pokedex to categorize every different type you can find."

Luna flushed and her grin became huge. "Really? Great!"

Anna's smile faded a little. She was feeling a bit bad about it again. "Well, yes. I'm not entirely sure it will work yet. It's not been tes..."

Luna shoved her aside, turned her hat around, and threw one of the balls into the hall. "Pokeball! Go!"

Anna looked on with wide eyes as the ball opened up, and a beam of light zapped something behind a nearby bench and it became sucked inside.

Everyone in the hall was looking on with wide eyes as this happened. It was obvious that the other students had been able to see what had happened. That confused Anna.

"What the hell was that?!" cried one of the nearby students.

Luna was grinning as she looked into the screen on the inside of the now talking 'Pokedex'. "Pikachu, an electric type Pokemon."

The redhead was a little pale. "Y-you're kidding me..." She looked over the blond girl's shoulder at the image of a fat foot long yellow mouse like creature with brown stripes and a zig-zagging tail.

Luna was hopping up and down with excitement. "It works! Thank you! This is so wonderful! I've never caught one before! It's amazing! Thank you, you're my new research partner! I'll share the credit for all my work! You're the best!" She grabbed the wide eyed and rather shocked looking redhead in a hug and jumped while kicking her feet and squealing.

Anna nodded. "Um, yes. There's lots of information about how Pokemon can be used. If you find someone else who collects them, you can challenge them to a battle. You can train them, and after a while we'll form special gyms to help with that." She looked very dazed and was talking almost on auto pilot.

Luna frowned. "This is a yellow zag tailed milurk though."

The redhead looked annoyed. "No. It's a Pikachu. It's a Pokemon. There are several different types and classes. Some are elemental, others are based on other types, like Fighting, or Plant types. If you train with them enough, they'll evolve into new types. I um...I...are you sure that...worked? I mean, I never tested..."

Luna was beaming. "Look!" She held up the ball she'd used and pointed it at the floor. "Wow! I had no idea your research was so advanced! This is great! We should have collaborated sooner!"

There was a crowd of students watching the scene in confusion and standing about as the blond sent a beam of light onto the open floor. There was a collection of gasps and screams as a Pikachu appeared in the middle of the hall.

"Chuuuu!"

Anna screamed and jumped back in shock, disgust, and horror. The crowd of students around them seemed just as surprised and jumped away from the creature.

"What the hell is that thing?!" screamed one of the girls.

"No way!" cried another boy.

A fourth year leaned in to stare at the thing and looked at the blond girl. "Y-you mean...Lovegood isn't crazy?"

Luna seemed to think she was just excited. "I know! This is great! I knew I wasn't crazy! No one ever believed me! This is so great! Thank you!" She burst into tears and grabbed the surprised redhead in joy.

Anna was frozen and a bit pale as she looked on as the blond girl collected the animal in the ball again. "N...no way! Wh-what have I done?"

Lovegood turned her hat back around and pointed at the sky. "Progress at last! Bwahahahahahaaa!"

The redhead just stared as she skipped away down the hall. "Oh god. I..." She hung her head and walked away. After a moment she belted the side of her head with her palm. "Did I just really see that? This is crazy! No way!"

She looked over her shoulder. The stuff she had her owl build was supposed to be 'almost' functional. It was intended as a way to keep her distracted. This was, totally unexpected. She was a little afraid of what she might have just done.

OooOOooOO

Ashoka Tano grinned as she looked at what was in front of her. "What?"

Anakin Skywalker gave a small chuckle. "Yes. That's right."

The red skinned Padawan was staring at a wedge shaped starfighter that was sitting in a dock in front of her. "I get...to fly this?"

The Jedi nodded. "That's right."

Ashoka cocked her head. "Well, I'm not complaining, but...what good will knowing how to do this do me?"

"Well, you've been on a speeder bike before." Anakin shrugged. "Tactically speaking, his is actually a bit closer to riding a broom than that is. You've got altitude limitations on a speeder."

The red skinned girl had her jaw hanging. "I can't even drive."

Anakin chuckled at the reaction. "Yeah. Well, this is a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away."

Harry nodded. "Awesome."

The Jedi grinned at him. "Don't get cocky. I'm the best Starfighter pilot in the Galaxy you know. That's why I kicked your butt in that Quidditch match." He poked his finger between her breasts. "You're just lucky our brooms don't have laser blasters, mines, or missiles on them."

Ashoka narrowed his eyes a bit. "You know, for a Jedi, you sure brag a lot."

Obi-Wan walked up to the scene with a grin on his face. "Yes. That's a very astute observation, Padawan. However, he does have room to brag. Even Master Yoda will admit he's the best pilot in the fleet."

Anakin blushed a bit. "Well, she'll do all right. She's piloted a freighter and a couple of shuttles in the past. This will be her first time in a fighter."

The older Jedi smiled and nodded. "Personally, I'd rather have a droid fly for me. I hate it."

Ashoka grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."

OooOOooOO

Harry had a grin on his face as he sat at breakfast the next day. Flying a space fighter was definitely one of the top ten dreams he'd ever had. They hadn't gotten into a battle yet with it, but Anna had promised as such. He would be seeing combat in the Jedi Fighter during his nights in the future.

Hermione grinned at him. "You seem to be in a good mood today."

Ron nodded. "Right. You routed Hufflepuff yesterday."

The boy pushed his glasses up his nose. "It wasn't just me. I'm on a team you know."

Fred slapped him on the shoulder. "No need to be modest."

George grinned as he shook his other shoulder. "Right. It's almost too easy winning with you. We don't really have to worry about keeping the Bludgers off you at all."

Oliver leaned in between them. "Don't get to cocky. You've still got to work for us to win even with him."

George smirked at him. "Barely."

Harry looked up at them. "Well, don't forget what might happen if I get injured and miss another match if you're not practicing. Even if it is true, we won't win if you're being too lazy now then."

Fred frowned, but not in a serious way. "Spoilsport."

Angelina walked by behind them with a smirk on her face. "Yes, well. You've still got to keep them away from us you know. If you're being lazy, I'll kick both your butts."

Oliver grinned at her and nodded. "Yes. That's the spirit. Good show, Harry. Keep it up."

The second year nodded and smiled. "Yeah." He tended to use the Bludgers to his advantage when they were after him. He could fly rings around them, and used them to keep the opposing Seeker off balance.

Hermione gave a small sigh. "Well, everyone knows you're the best player on the team, Harry."

He glanced at her and shook his team. "Well, it won't matter how good I am if everyone else isn't trying. Not even I can win a game on my own. I wish people would quit talking like I'm doing everything. The whole team is great, not just me."

Parvati sat down next to Ron. "Hey." Oliver and the twins wandered off.

Hermione looked up at her. "Hey. What's up?"

The girl grinned at her. "It's the weirdest thing. Luna Lovegood has some kind of electric rat! It's so cute! She's showing it off and feeding it fruits at the Ravenclaw table."

Collin Creevy walked up with Neville Longbottom next to him. The first year was grinning and fiddling with his camera. "Yeah. It's true. I've never seen anything like it."

Longbottom was a little pink and holding his hand. "It shocked me. Strangest thing I've ever seen."

Harry cocked his eyebrow. "An electric rat?"

Collin smiled. "Yeah. Seems your sister had something to do with it."

The mouse haired boy gave a small sigh. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

Neville was shaking his hand. It was a little red, but not injured. "I've never seen anything like that. It's like some sort of summoning spell or something. She keeps it in a little red and white ball."

Ron seemed a little confused. "What happened to your hand?"

The pudgy boy shrugged. "She tried to let me pet it, but it shocked me. Doesn't look like a rat to me. It's yellow, about a foot long, and it's fat."

Collin nodded and tried to hide his chuckles. "Yeah. She said something about trying to catch a couple more later. Something called a Butterfree, and a Charmander or something. She said she saw something called a Squirtle by the lake, but it got away."

Parvati leaned against Ron. "I thought she was crazy. It's a little weird, but it seems she's really not."

Harry nodded. "Well, I hope it's not dangerous or anything. Oh well. Anna had something to do with it?"

Collin nodded. "Yeah. That's what she says. Something about her being a research partner or something."

The mouse haired boy glanced at him. "My sister is weird. I give up."

Ron looked at him. "I heard a rumor she's got her Potion's license, and she can do magic outside of school now."

Hermione frowned at him. "Don't be silly. She's just a second year like us."

Harry glanced at her. "No. That's true. She can only brew potions though. She can't use her wand or anything."

The frazzle haired girl looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

The Potter boy shrugged. "It's true. Trelawney got her a fortune teller's license as well. She says she might start doing a Horoscope column in the Prophet. They've offered her a space next to Madam Trovina's in the Wizarding Life section."

Hermione's face twisted. "Oh. That girl bugs me."

Harry smiled. "You think she's annoying? She's my sister, it's even worse for me."

Ron shook his head. "It must be a little hard putting up with that. I used to have it hearing about how great Percy is all the time." He seemed to think on it. "It's not so bad anymore."

Parvati smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Well, you are Ron Weasley."

Harry arched his eyebrow. "Not really. I get plenty of attention. I'm not jealous or anything. I don't think I could take being in the spotlight like her all the time. It would drive me nuts."

Hermione frowned. "She seems to enjoy it."

The mouse haired boy grinned at her. "Not as much as you think. It annoys her sometimes. Though, she does like it more than I would."

Neville glanced back at Slytherin's table. "She's an odd bird. She's nice though."

The frazzle haired girl glowered at him. "Anna Potter is nice?"

Collin looked at her in confusion. "Sure. She's a bit strange, but I don't think she's mean."

Neville nodded. "She's never made fun of me. Everyone makes fun of Luna all the time, but she's friends with her too. She was talking about her while we were over there. They're research partners or something."

Harry looked over at him in confusion. "Research partners?"

Collin smiled at him. "Yeah. Something about Pokemon or something. That's what she called that electric rat of hers. She says it's a Pikachu. Anna gave her something so she could catch them. Seems to have worked."

Ron nodded. "Yeah. She made that whip of mine. She's good at that sort of stuff I guess."

Harry seemed to think on it and nodded. "Yeah. She built our first wands. I built one of my own since then, but she made the first one I had." It made a little sense to him. He recalled something about her building that droid Padme had following her around in his dreams. "I do get a bit sick of hearing about her causing all sorts of trouble though."

Ron chuckled. "It's not all bad. She turned Fred and George's hands and feet into putty last week."

The Boy Who Lived grinned and nodded. "That was because they gave her those horns the week before. I almost think she liked them. She seemed a little disappointed when she had to get rid of them. I think she got a copy of the spell from them. Something about using it for a concert one of these days or some such."

Collin nodded and grinned. "You guys are having a show next week?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Yeah. We're doing another open practice at the end of the month. Anna isn't Professor Snape's apprentice anymore. She's got more free time now it seems."

Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. "What? Why not?"

The boy looked at her and shrugged. "Huh? She's a licensed Potions Master now. She could teach the class if she wasn't a student here."

Ron looked up from a half eaten sandwich and grunted before swallowing and speaking. "What?"

Harry leaned in to the group. "We're going to have to pick up those books she wrote. They're the course books for Potions classes for the rest of our time in Hogwarts." He sat back and shoved a fried potato wedge in his mouth and dusted off his hands. "We don't have to get them all at once or anything, but we won't be using the same course books as this year anymore."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How do you put up with it?"

The boy grinned at her. "I rock too you know."

Ron smiled. "He's right. It's not been as bad this year as last year. Things have been pretty quiet so far."

Harry gave a snort but didn't speak out loud. "Yeah, for you maybe." He'd fought a giant snake. Still, it was peaceful since. He knew Anna was getting into trouble. Kate Delane was trying to kill her, but she'd not bothered him at all. That didn't mean he could let his guard down, he needed to keep an eye on the girl and watch his back. Draco Malfoy was still about as well, and that wasn't any better.

"Maybe we can get in a couple matches of Chess later? There are no tests to study for, we're done with that for the week." Ron looked at his friend and smiled.

"Yeah. Good idea." Harry agreed and seemed to cheer up a little more.

Hermione glowered at them both. They did have another week before their next test. She could bug them both about studying later. She looked at Ron and her features softened a bit. "I guess. Don't slack off too much."

Harry put his hand on her shoulder and shook it. "Like you would let us." He gave her a wink and went back to his food. He didn't notice how red her cheeks became.

"R-right..." She blushed a little more as Parvati smirked at her and found her plate very interesting.

OooOOooOO

TBC...

Next Time: Wrapping things up...