She could here the sounds of excited students as they made there way to the Great Hall, their footsteps echoed through the common room, distracting Anna from the book Snape had assigned her to read. She knew she was expected to attend the beginning of term banquet, but the mountains of homework Snape had assigned to her took priority; not to mention she did not want to deal with the glares of students, whispering behind their hands… She glared at the roof as someone shrieked above her, causing her to smear her ink across her homework. She cursed under her breath, storming off to her room and grabbing a cloth. She stepped back into the common room and stopped. She saw a familiar gold head bent over her work as he examined it. Regaining her composure, Anna strode over to the sheet, throwing the towel overtop of it. The boy's blue eyes snapped up, following her towards him.

"What are you doing here Draco?" She murmured, dabbing at the ink with more force then necessary.

"Headmaster Snape sent me." He said, leaning down beside her and helping her blot the sheet.

Anna gave up on the ruined sheet, flopping down into a chair with a sigh of frustration.

" I can't go to the banquet Draco…. I have too much work to do." She said, putting her head in her hands.

She felt him sit down beside her.

"Are you sure that's why Anna?" He asked quietly.

She raised her head out of her hands, looking into his blue eyes. He wasn't accusing her; she could see the concern from the way his brow scrunched.

"I'm worried… about them too if it helps. After last… June." He gulped; she could see the fear in his eyes now. She knew exactly how he felt, she had spent the entire month dreading facing her old friends.. and her new dorm-mates.

She nodded, a bitter laugh coming from her throat.

"Don't we make quite the couple? Two death eaters afraid of a bunch of students…" She said. Draco smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

She got up, reaching her hand out to Draco.

"Screw homework, term hasn't even started yet."

He chuckled this time, taking her hand, he pulled himself up, standing close to her. Anna felt her breath catch slightly as they stood together.

Their eyes met, and she saw the same look reflected in Draco's.

"Your uniform suits you…" He murmured. Anna nodded, pulling her gaze away from him as she took a step forward, realizing their hands were still entwined.

She looked back at him, nodding towards the exit.

"Come on, it's gotten pretty quiet up there… they're probably already settled." Draco blinked, clearing his head and nodded, letting her drag him up the stairs.

They clambered into the Great Hall where students were thankfully still getting seated. Anna paused as she entered the room, her feet failing her. It was only Draco's gentle pulling that made her start forward again. She followed close behind him, keeping her head up.

She saw several people look at her, whispering behind their hands, mostly from Gryffindor. She saw Ginny… Neville… Luna… but she looked away quickly, focusing on the back of Draco's head. He came to stand by the Slytherin table. she recognized several faces; Crabbe and Goyle from the manor, as well as two girls, although their names eluded her. Malfoy sat down in an empty seat next to a girl, who squeezed over to give him room. She looked at Draco with adoration before throwing a scorching look at Anna.

"Sorry, there's no room for you here, why don't you try down by the first years?" She said coldly, laughing as she placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. No one laughed. A few gazed between Anna and the girl with slightly terrified expressions, afraid that she would kill the girl no doubt… or possibly break her nose in like she had with their headmaster. Draco glared at the girl, shrugging her hand off his shoulder with a disgusted look.

"You're right, there isn't enough room here Pansy, thank you for volunteering your seat." He said. A few people around them snickered. She saw the girl pale, and shoot a look at her.

"Its fine Draco…" Anna said, aware of how many stares she was drawing.

"No it's not. Pansy, move or I will move you." He said harshly to the girl.

"D-Draco?" the girl said in a high-pitched voice, her lower lip trembling, there were tears in her eyes. Draco's own narrowed in anger, and he gestured for her to move. The girl got up with a sound of indignation, stomping off down the table. The chuckling from the Slytherins quieted down once Anna had slid into the now vacant seat. She looked at Draco, and gave a nod of appreciation he gave her a nod back, turning to face the table.

"You've met Greg and Vince, this is Blaise, Theo, and Harper. " He said, not bothering with her name as he pointed to the individuals. They nodded towards her with looks ranging from respect to confusion, although the ones who did not know who she was knew better than to question Draco as to why she was so important.

"Welcome to Slytherin." Blaise said, a knowing smile plastered his smug face.

She gave a nod, shaking her hand through her tangled hair.

"How long have you been here?" Theo asked, receiving glares from Draco, Crabbe and Goyle.

She smiled at him, trying to make him feel comfortable despite the angry looks.

"Its ok guys… I've been here a month Theo, just getting settled into my new house and such." She said, dismissing it with a wave of her hand as she skimmed over the details. She had spent much of her last month locked up with Snape in Dumbledore's old office, pouring over old books as he breathed down her neck. The thought made her agitated, but she shook it off, realizing everyone was now staring at the front of the room. The sorting had started, and Anna watched the young, frightened faces as they approached the hat, and the overjoyed expressions as their house was decided. She couldn't help but notice that the cheering of the houses was much more subdued than in previous years, that is except for the Slytherin house. Anna clapped politely every time someone was initiated into her house, but she was lost in thought, thinking of when she had been sorted…

Her knees knocked together as Professor McGonagall called her name.

"Weasly, Jamie."

She started forward, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other as her feet threatened to give out. She looked up with wide, terrified eyes towards the teacher's, noticing Albus Dumbledore staring at her with a kind expression; a tender smile creased the corners of his eyes as he silently encouraged her. She sat down in the chair, facing out towards the crowd of people as the hat lowered over her head.

"Hmmm, interesting…. Another Weasly. Gryffindor could serve you well…" She felt her heart leap in her chest.

"Yes!" Her mind cried out.

"Please let it be Gryffindor."

"But…"

She felt her heart sink.

"I sense another side of you, one which has lay dormant for quite some time… yes, there is something here… it craves power, leadership. Slytherin may be your path…"

She felt as though she would choke.

"Please… no.. please…" She whispered desperately.

"No? Slytherin would save you much grief… and trouble. I fear your life will be far from easy."

"Anything but them… please."

"Well, if you will not go into Slytherin, you will need all the courage you can get. Then it must be… GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat deafened the yelling and screaming from the table as he spoke quickly.

"Remember Jamie, Family is where your heart is… it does not matter what blood it holds if you are faithful to you heart… remember that… remember."

The hall came into focus once again. Anna stared gravely forward; the sounds around her seemed to be underwater, moving slowly.

She had forgotten what the hat had told her that night so long ago… with the excitement of being in Gryffindor, not to mention the stress of finding her classes and dorm without getting lost she dismissed it as the rambling of an old, confused hat. But now… now she understood. It was a warning, of things to come. She gazed at the hat now, wondering how it knew so much…

The hall grew silent around her, and she looked up. The hat was gone, and now a podium stood in its place. The headmaster stood behind it, looking out over the crowd.

"Students of Hogwarts." Snape's voice boomed out over the hall, echoing in the silence.

He gazed out over the crowd as he continued.

"Your time at Hogwarts is short, and it grows even shorter as I stand in front of you. In your time here, there will be a great movement, both in the Ministry, and in life, as we know it. We must stand under one unanimous idea: Magic is might."

A ripple went out through the crowd as students talked in hushed voices. The Headmaster waited until they had stopped before he continued.

"As this idea becomes more solidified, we will enter into a new era of the Wizarding world, with you all as the embassadors of this great ideal. Although you are still students of this school I see a wealth of opportunity sitting before me. Will you embrace it? Or squander this gift? That, is your decision. I suggest you choose wisely." He said, his eyes resting on the Gryffindor house, where several noises of upset could be heard.

"I would like to introduce our new staff to you: Professors Amycus and Alecto Carrow. They will be taking over for myself and Professor Burbage, who is unavailable for lessons." Anna ignored the turning feeling she got in her gut at the mention of Burbage, frowning at the pair of leering, squat Professors. She made a noise of disgust, but disguised it as a cough when several heads turned towards her.

"In closing, I wish to convey my deepest regrets in Albus Dumbledore's untimely death… but in this time of grief, we must see the light of a bright shining future, the way Albus would have wanted it."

The hall was silent as he ended, turning away from them and walking back to the teacher's table. It took a moment before the Slytherin table burst into applause, hooting and hollering loud enough to cover up the fact that the other three tables were silent. Anna clapped, her eyes surveying the teachers. The majority wore thinly veiled masks of contempt, sitting very still in their chairs. Slughorn clapped nervously, shifting in his seat as his eyes surveyed the room, only Alecto and Amycus clapped whole-heartedly, yelling and cheering with the best of the Slytherins. Food appeared on the tables moments after the headmaster had sat down. Anna stared at the food, she was no longer hungry. It had been nearly three weeks since her last flashback, and the reminder of Burbage's fate left a stale taste in her mouth. She pushed her plate away, making a move to get up. Draco grabbed her arm.

"Sit down." He hissed to her. She looked down at him with narrowed eyes, but the pleading look he gave her made her think twice, and she sat down.

He released her arm, reaching forward and grabbing a spoon he pushed some mashed potatoes onto her empty plate.

"Eat something." He whispered.

"Draco-." She said, shooting him a look of annoyance.

"Anna listen to me, how would it look if you left right after Snape's speech? I'm pretty sure your… father" He whispered the word to her.

"Would have a few things to… say about it." She froze. He was right… god she had been so foolish… She dished food onto her plate, sneaking a peak at the head table. Snape, as well as Amycus and Alecto were staring right at her… she looked back down at her plate, forcing the panic that came up in her throat down as she took a bite of the food, not paying attention to it.

"Thanks…" She whispered to Draco.

He shrugged, chewing on a piece of food.

The rest of the dinner passed easily, there was banter among the Slytherins, and although she was included in the conversation, she couldn't help but feel like an outsider. They had grown up with each other… spending the last six years in classes with one another, sharing notes… much like she had with the Gryffindors. It made her feel lonely.

By the time the plates of desert had cleared, she was more than ready to retreat to her bed, her stomach still in knots, although she had managed to swallow a few morsels of food. The students began to move sluggishly towards the door, and Draco rose from his seat, putting a hand on her shoulder as he brushed past her, calling out to the first years. She glanced at the boys across from her, they shifted uncomfortably, and Anna smiled and stepped forward, mingling in with the steady stream of students headed towards the exit. She couldn't tell if they feared her, or were ready to kiss her feet, but they were starting to get on her nerves. She hoped they would calm down at the term progressed. She pushed her way through the maze of people heading upstairs, routing off to the dungeons. She climbed past the gargoyle and into the now crowded space. A few faces turned towards her, and she saw a couple nod in respect, she gave a stiff nod back and headed to the dorm room, walking quickly into the room before anyone had time to strike up a conversation. The hushed whispers she heard through the door stopped as she walked in. There were several girls huddled together, she saw the girl from earlier… Pansy, she was standing in the middle, her face streaked with tears. The girls around her glared at Anna. She smiled back at them, walking over to her things.

"Don't mind me." She said lightly, opening her trunk. She heard the sniffling stop, and the girl came over to her, placing her hand on her trunk and slamming the lid shut.

Anna looked at her, torn between amusement and annoyance.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are, but Draco is mine." She said, her eyes glittering like hard stones.

It occurred to Anna, that she was trying to intimidate her. She let out a laugh at the pathetic attempt, much to the girls horror. She wiped a tear away as she stopped, looking at the girl with sparkling eyes.

"You are going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to intimidate me." She said, a cold, thin smile on her face. The girl's eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms.

"You have no idea who you are messing with… girl."

Anna snorted, rolling her eyes as she opened her trunk again as she ignored the girl.

She glared at Anna with ferocity that Anna would compare to a kitten after what her father had put her through, storming off to her bed and pulling the curtains shut. Anna looked at the closed curtains.

"You certainly don't.." She murmured under her breath, climbing into her own bed.