"I guess we all learned a valuable lesson, except for me, I wasn't paying attention and was asleep for most of the time." – Wolf Pupy

Chapter Five - A Pile of Ash

Later that week, Draco had finally decided that he had spent enough time in the Hospital Wing. Ankaa could not begin to guess what he had said to Pomfrey in order to stay there that long, but she had continued to wrap his arm in bandages. He sauntered into double Potions confidently, making sure to cast a baleful look to Crabbe, who did not move his bag in time for Draco to sit down at their table.

"How is it, Draco?" Pansy simpered, "Does it still hurt much?"

"Yeah," Draco grimaced but turned around to shoot Blaise and Ankaa a wink. The two just rolled their eyes and returned to their Shrinking Potions.

"Settle down, settle down," Snape commented idly before returning to his work at the front of the class.

Ankaa heard someone scoff behind them. Weasley and Potter were scowling fiercely, looking from Draco to Snape and no doubt cursing the fact that they would never be told to simply 'settle down' if they were late to class.

"Psst."

Ankaa turned to Draco with a tired sigh. "What? Pansy not giving you enough attention?"

Draco looked towards the girl in question, who was busy talking animatedly with Daphne as she carefully cut the rat spleen. "Let me get some of your Shrinking Potion."

"Absolutely not."

"Come on!" Draco ducked when Snape looked up from whatever he had been occupied with. The boy reluctantly grabbed his cauldron and set it over the flame. "You're already almost halfway through. I'll have to start all over."

"Well, yes, that's generally how it works when you come to class late."

"Besides," Blaise piped up, "I don't see why that's a problem. You can get someone else to do the work for you. You just have to stir."

Ankaa and Blaise shared a smile as Draco brightened up before casting a mischievous smirk towards an oblivious Ronald Weasley. Draco spent the rest of the lesson using his arm to exploit labour from Weasley. Snape forced the redhead to cut Malfoy's daisy roots for him, and when Weasley mutilated Draco's roots, he was forced to exchange them with his own (nicely cut, Ankaa must admit). And then, Potter was forced to skin the Shrivelfig Malfoy couldn't.

"Potter!" Malfoy passed him another Shrivelfig. "Skin this as well, won't you? Go on, then!"

"You've already got one!"

"Where?" Malfoy looked around the table pointedly, picking up various ingredients that were certainly not the peeled Shrivelfig. "I don't see it. Do it again."

Potter was enraged. "No," he growled simply before turning to his mess of a potion.

Draco winked at Ankaa, who was watching the scene with pure mirth, before raising his unbandaged hand in the air. "Professor! Potter refuses to peel my Shrivelfig for me!"

"I already did one for him!"

"Oh?" Snape stood from his desk and ventured over to them. "And you suppose that the Shrivelfig simply sprouted wings and flew away? Do it again."

"He's already got one!"

"Five points from Gryffindor." Snape continued staring at Potter until he turned away with one last loathing glare in Malfoy's direction. Snape then made his rounds around the classroom.

Once he passed their table, Draco reached over and deposited a skinned Shrivelfig on Ankaa's workstation and gave her a subtle wink. The girl took it from him and deposited it in her own potion with a smile. Potter came to their table after another minute and slammed the newly skinned Shrivelfig on Malfoy's station before returning to his desk and grumbling to the Gryffindor students around him.

Malfoy paid it all no mind, and instead continued working on his potion. He gave Ankaa a few tips ('Don't cut it like that, just dice it.' and 'Add an extra drop of that, it'll neutralize the daisy root.') on how to improve her potion to get it to exactly the right shade of acid green. A few tables away, Longbottom did not seem so lucky. His potion had turned a bright shade of—

"Orange, Longbottom," said Snape.

"Quick—" Draco whispered to her, "—why did it turn orange?"

"... Rat spleen? He probably added one too many, and the acid from the rat spleen changed the level of acidity."

Draco nodded. "And?"

Ankaa pursed her lips in thought but shrugged a moment later when nothing else came to mind. The two Slytherin students turned back to Longbottom's public humiliation session.

Professor Snape ladled some of Longbottom's potion so the class could see, and then continued, "Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I plainly say that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

"You got half of it right," Draco gave her an impressed look. "Maybe if you keep studying and practicing more, you'll be able to get your grades up."

"Not that they're abysmal now," Blaise pointed out with a frown in Draco's direction.

Ankaa's fingers ghosted over the golden chain around her neck. Normally, she would have revelled in the joy of being able to understand potions, but Longbottom's pink face and trembling form hardly seemed celebration worthy. Although Ankaa didn't particularly like the other students, it was a tragic day when anyone fell into Snape's radar. An encounter with Snape was exceptionally traumatic.

Ankaa watched Granger try to sneak some ingredients into Longbottom's potion to help it return to the right shade of acid green, but she wasn't particularly gifted at being sly. Snape caught on and was quick to reprimand her in front of the entire class. Ankaa had been busy watching Snape feed some of Longbottom's Shrinking Potion to his frog, Trevor (she recalled him from their first year) when a conversation from Draco drew her out of her trance.

"Of course, if it was me," Draco was saying quietly while stirring the potion three times clock-wise, "I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't have stayed in school, like a good boy. I'd be out there looking for him."

"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Weasley had said roughly.

"Don't you know, Potter?" breathed Draco, his eyes narrowed. Even Ankaa had turned her attention over to Scarhead.

"Know what?"

"Maybe it's best if Potter doesn't risk his neck," Ankaa gave Draco a pointed look, glancing between Potter and Malfoy slyly. "After all, Dumbledore would be quite upset at losing his favourite student. But... If I were you, I think I'd want revenge. I'd even do it myself."

There was a spark in Potter's eyes. Ankaa left Draco to discuss the extent of his knowledge with Potter, instigating him into maybe going after Black. The one thing about controlling the narrative was that you could shape it to your advantage. Ankaa listened to Draco as he told Potter about why Black was after him.

"Do you really think he'll go after Black himself?" Ankaa wondered as they left Potions later. "He's not that stupid, is he?"

Draco snorted. "You'd be surprised."

While Ankaa was off attending double Potions, another Ankaa was walking about the castle for a Transfiguration class. Granger was present there as well. She had no doubt noticed that Ankaa had a Time-Turner as well. Ankaa noticed the other girls' hesitancy to talk about it, but she wasn't bothered at all. Ankaa was entirely too happy to have Granger steer clear of her.

But the best part about this Time-Turner business was that Ankaa had been given more time to crack the code of the Weasel Twins and their blasted parchment. This meant that she spent all possible hours working on the parchment without any help from Blaise, and that's how she discovered the true secret of the Marauders Map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Ankaa whispered as her leg bounced under the table.

Oh sweet Merlin above, finally!

The ink lines begin to spread over the ragged parchment from the point where Ankaa's wand had tapped it lightly. They joined each other, curved, crisscrossed and fanned all over the parchment until finally, there was a legible design.

Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDERS MAP

"Merlin be damned." She leaned back in her seat, amazed at what was sitting on the table before her.

The Weasley twins had somehow stumbled upon an absolute gem, a map showing every detail of Hogwarts castle and the grounds. The little dots of ink showed everyone in the castle and what they were doing at any given moment. A little dot labelled Ankaa Rhyther was pacing in the common room, another dot named Ankaa Rhyther was sitting in the library, a dot labelled Draco Malfoy was strutting (as Malfoy often did) away from the hospital wing. heading toward Potions. Another dot labelled Cepheus Rhyther was sitting in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What are these... Secret passageways?" Ankaa mumbled as she flipped through the map. She took care to hide it from the students who were sitting around her in the library.

Cepheus had told Ankaa that there were several passages around Hogwarts which he had discovered while doing his Prefect rounds. He never told Ankaa where they were, claiming her knack for trouble would lead her to explore and eventually get lost somewhere. Ankaa traced every single passage going in and out of Hogwarts. No wonder the Weasley twins were so good at causing mayhem and then disappearing.

Ankaa spent an hour in the common room then. The library was far too public for a delicate situation like this. Instead of working on all the homework her extra classes had left her with, Ankaa was trying to find a way to return the parchment to its original ragged appearance.

Priorities, you know?

With a ragged sigh, Ankaa settled into one of the plush armchairs. "I'll do it later," she murmured to herself. Getting rid of the ink could come later, but first, she had to make sure she had another copy of the map for herself. Ankaa doubted the Weasley twins would let her keep it forever. But something this powerful could not be left with them. If Ankaa left the map with them, they would know where she was at all times, and that was unacceptable.

Ankaa tried and tried to copy the map so she could use it after the original had been returned to the Weasels (or they took it by force). After thirty tries all she had was a perfect copy of the map—one where the dots did not move. Ankaa supposed it was a small sort of victory, not nearly enough to please, however.

Maybe I'll find something in the Room of Requirement.

Ankaa stuffed the original, as well as the dummy copy into her bag. Ankaa visited Myrtle's bathroom once more before using the Time-Turner. There was now one of her in Potions, one in the library, and one in the Common Room. As long as she now kept clear of those areas, she would be following the laws of the Ministry.

While Ankaa headed out of the bathroom, she spotted a small piece of parchment in the middle of the hallway. Looking around, she picked it up. If it was trash, it would not be so neatly folded.

The twin you meet will be Fred. Destroy the COPY of the map you have in your bag, only the COPY. I have succeeded in creating a functioning copy of the Marauders Map. –A.C.R

A.C.R. Ankaa Carina Rhyther. It was her writing and her signature. Smirking, Ankaa placed the small piece of parchment in her bag. Her hands brushed the two copies of the Map, and she quickly folded and tucked away the real one before turning the corner and facing Fred Weasley.

"Out for a stroll, are we?"

"I suppose," Ankaa gave a charming smile, turning around to see one of the twins standing with his arms crossed. "Which one are you?"

The boy shrugged, "It's a mystery." He moved closer, his arms crossed in an attempt to appear threatening. "Say, how's the parchment working for ya?"

"Wonderful," Ankaa smirked, taking a step forward and mirroring his pose. "What can I do for you?"

Fred continued glaring at her. Ankaa contemplated telling him that she knew what the parchment was; he could help her with returning it to its original condition. Ankaa doubted that even he was stupid enough to withhold that information from her. If the map was somehow stolen from her, someone else could easily use it.

"Nothing." A muscle in his jaw jumped as he ground his teeth together.

Not particularly gifted with patience, Ankaa noted as she continued smiling mockingly at him.

"Well, it was good seeing you," Ankaa nodded and turned to walk to the end of the hall. Fred did not follow. He stood in the middle of the hall, glaring at Ankaa. Before turning the corner, Ankaa stopped and turned back to the Weasley twin. Reaching into her side bag, Ankaa took out the copy of the Map. Instantly, the red head's posture changed; his back stiffened and his shoulders tensed. His attention was riveted to the parchment in her hand.

"Tell me, Fred," Ankaa smiled. "How do I get rid of the ink?"

"You figured it out?"

"You seem surprised," Ankaa replied haughtily. The level of faith these people had in her was absolutely astounding. "I'm very resourceful. Now, tell me how I get it back to its original state."

"Why? What's in it for me?"

Ankaa raised a brow, amazed that he had the audacity to counter her when she was holding his beloved Map hostage. Regardless, Ankaa gave him a casual shrug. "I'll return the map to you and your brother once I know how to work it."

Weasley snorted. He chuckled shortly before saying, "You're a Slytherin. I don't believe a word you say."

"You're in no position to negotiate, you Weasel," Ankaa growled. Why did everybody in this blasted school think being a Slytherin was such a bad thing? It's not as if the other houses weren't as cracked up. "You either tell me what I want to know, or I set the map on fire." Ankaa pulled out her wand and held it threateningly close to the map.

Little shit's beginning to get on my nerves with his Gryffindor superiority complex, Ankaa thought.

Fred shifted from foot to foot. "You wouldn't." His eyes narrowed.

Ankaa raised her brows in amusement. Easily, she brought the tip of her wand to the copy, and muttered, "Incend—"

"Mischief managed!" Fred broke in quickly. He took a step forward, his hands held forward, but stopped when Ankaa pointed her wand at him. Ankaa was just lucky he did not have the presence of mind to pull his wand on her. She might be good at magic but he was still two years her senior, which meant there was a chance he was more advanced and by extension, dangerous, than her.

Ankaa gave him a serene smile. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Fred glared. His eye twitched in rage. Ankaa wanted to point it out to him, but she doubted he would have taken that news too nicely. His face was as red as his hair anyway, so Ankaa decided she did not need to pester him anymore.

"Here," Ankaa held out the map to him. He hesitated to reach forward as if Ankaa would try to bite his fingers off. The moment he took a step forward, Ankaa pointed her wand at the map and murmured, "Incendio."

Ankaa let the copy of the map fall to the ground as Weasley raced to it. By the time he got to it, the map was nothing more than a pile of ash. Just as she turned the corner, the bell rang, and the hallways were filled with students trying to get around. Ankaa could hear Fred shouting at her, racing around the corner trying to find her (and probably throttle her).

It was no use though because by then Ankaa had merged into the crowd and disappeared. Meanwhile, in the Slytherin common room, Ankaa leaned back with a satisfied smile. Sitting in front of her was a copy of the Marauder's Map, complete with the moving dots.

The glares Ankaa received from the Weasley twins following the incident with the Map were insufferable. Ankaa had never imagined them to be capable of conveying such hatred. She imagined Fred had gathered the ashes of what he thought was the cherished Map and taken them to his twin, and together, they would have held a funeral for their beloved.

"We have gathered here today to commemorate the loss of a dear loved one," Ankaa imagined Ronald Weasley would say as he stood before a pile of ash. Behind him, his brothers would sniffle and clutch each other. "The Marauders Map was a wonderful tool that aided us greatly in our escapades. It shall be dearly missed." The Weasley twins would sob even louder and harder, clutching onto themselves as their tears fell onto the pile of ash Ankaa had created for them.

Perhaps it was a little dramatic.

Ankaa had not told Blaise of her discovery, despite his incessant questioning. She had told him the parchment had a really old and powerful concealing spell placed on and that she could not break it. Ankaa could tell he didn't believe her, but Blaise being Blaise did not push the matter. Still, Ankaa invented some story about how she had asked Madam Pince for help (since the old bat loves Ankaa, and all) and the librarian had broken the spell only to reveal some History of Magic notes and some obscene notes about Weasley's classmates.

"And she didn't give them detention for it?" Blaise had asked, raising a skeptical brow at the raven-haired girl.

"She tried," Ankaa lied easily, "But I told her I was heading to Professor Binns' class anyway, and I could talk to him about it. She bought it. Besides, when aren't the Weasley Twins in detention, anyway?"

After lunch, Ankaa headed to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin seemed to be missing, so Ankaa took this time to talk to Draco and Blaise. Blaise seemed a little put out by Ankaa's discovery about the Map. He had been hoping that we would find some sort of treasure map. Ankaa wanted to tell him that he at least got the 'map' portion right from the treasure map. But, just as she would with a treasure map, Ankaa didn't feel like sharing.

Ankaa sat beside Draco and pulled out her books, quills and parchment. Lupin finally entered the classroom about two minutes later. Ankaa noticed he still looked as shabby as he did when she had first encountered him on the train, but he seemed to be in better health. He looked as if he was finally getting the nutrients he needed to survive.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today will be a practical lesson. You will only need your wands."

Ankaa ignored Draco's curious look and did as the Professor asked.

"We've never had a practical class before," Draco muttered to her as the class walked behind Lupin. He was leading them along the deserted corridor and sadly, right into the path of a certain Poltergeist Ankaa had come to have a love/hate relationship with. When the class turned the corner, Peeves was floating upside-down in mid-air and stuffing the keyholes of doors with chewing gum. Ankaa rolled her eyes, his tricks were getting pathetic. As much as she hated to admit it, perhaps Peeves needed a lesson from the Weasley twins.

"Loony, loopy, Lupin," Peeves sang when Lupin was a few feet from him. Draco and Ankaa cast a look at each other. Peeves may have been rude and annoying, but he was usually respectful towards teachers (or any form of authority in that case). The class seemed to be taking in Professor Lupin's reaction. How would he deal with this intolerable poltergeist?

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole, if I were you, Peeves." Lupin said pleasantly. "Mr. Filch won't be able to get into his brooms."

Who cared about Filch's brooms? Ankaa thought. The squib can't ride them anyway. And he certainly doesn't clean for shit.

Apparently, Peeves thought the same for he blew a loud wet raspberry. Lupin sighed and took out his wand. He said to the class over his shoulder, "This is a useful little spell. Please watch closely. Waddiwasi!"

His wand was pointing at Peeves, which Ankaa thought was a bit strange because the spell seemed to be aimed at the chewing gum stuck in the keyholes. A short second after Lupin uttered the spell, a wad of chewing gum shot out of its place in the keyhole and went up Peeves left nostril. That seemed to be enough to embarrass Peeves as he cursed and zoomed away.

Ankaa turned to Draco, "Remember that one, I might use it on you someday."

"Oh please," He waved a hand, "You're hardly the offensive type. To use that on me, you'd have to be close to me."

"Not necessarily. I could be sitting at the end of the table and use it on you—"

"Knowing your aim, you'd probably hit someone else," Draco smirked. It was during second year when Lockhart had started that ridiculous duelling club. Ankaa had tried to hit Draco with a disarming spell, but it ended up flying towards Longbottom who was standing about three feet to his right. Draco never let Ankaa live it down. But, as she so often pointed it out, her aim had improved greatly after that mortifying incident. Draco was just underestimating her skill, as he often did.

I wonder if the twins are conspiring to kill me. Ankaa thought as Lupin led the class into the staff room. Maybe they want to get revenge for destroying their precious map… But it's not like I actually destroyed it. I still have the original, and I'll return it as soon as I'm sure my copy of the map is fully functional.

Ankaa didn't notice Professor Snape turn in the doorframe to address Lupin. With the look on Longbottom's face, it seemed pretty obvious that he had made a remark about the student's abilities to perform magic. A little harsh, Ankaa mused, but Neville was afraid of everything so it wasn't quite a lie.

"What is a Boggart?" Lupin was saying when Draco elbowed Ankaa, muttering something about girls being easily distracted.

Ankaa raised her hand, and Lupin nodded to her with a smile. "It's a shapeshifter," Ankaa spoke confidently, "It takes the form whatever it thinks will frighten a person the most—that's why they're considered to be so terr—"

"—So terrifying, yes." Lupin nodded, "Couldn't have put it better myself." Ankaa cast a smug look to Granger, whose hand was left dangling in the air when Lupin had chosen the Slytherin girl over her. Ankaa turned her attention back to Lupin as he said, "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when it is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears.

This means," Lupin continued despite Longbottom's splutter of terror (he had been selected to help Lupin demonstrate), "that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

Potter glanced at Granger, who had raised her hand again and was bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet, and said, "Er—because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"

Granger put her hand down after Lupin agreed with Potter, looking thoroughly disappointed. Lupin continued, "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake—tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into a half-slug. Not remotely frightening.

The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires a force of mind. You see, the thing that really finished a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing."

Ankaa tuned Lupin out once she had grasped the gist of things. All she had to do was force it into a shape she found funny after shouting "Riddikulus". As the class gathered in a circle, Ankaa made sure to stand quite a few steps behind her classmates. There was no need to show her fears to the rest of the class. Instead, she could sit back and watch them battle theirs.

Longbottom was afraid of Snape (obviously), Parvati Patel was afraid of mummies, Seamus Finnigan was afraid of banshees, Dean Thomas was (for some reason) afraid of a severed hand, Ron Weasley was afraid of spiders, Harry Potter was afraid of—

"Here!" Lupin suddenly shouted, hurrying in front of Potter. The spider that Weasley had been battling vanished and was replaced by a silvery orb that hung in the middle of the room. A few wisps of dark clouds floated above and below the orb. Lupin waved his wand almost lazily, "Riddikulus!"

Crack!

The Boggart landed on the floor as a deflated balloon, and Lupin commanded Longbottom to finish it off. The Boggart turned into Snape, who Longbottom forced into a dress. One great bark of laughter finally seemed to be the Boggart's undoing, for it exploded, and burst into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke and was gone.

"Excellent!" Lupin shouted over the applause from the classroom, "Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone. Let me see… Five points to everyone who tackled the Boggart and ten for Neville because he did it twice—and five to each Ankaa and Harry."

Potter said, "But I didn't do anything."

Why did this boy need an explanation for everything? Why not just go with the flow?

"You and Ankaa answered my questions correctly at the start of the class." Lupin answered lightly, "Very well, everyone, and an excellent lesson. Kindly read the chapter on Boggarts and summarize it for me… to be handed in on Monday."

As the class left, Ankaa started to review what everyone feared (you know, in case she wanted to use it for future reference). Longbottom was afraid of Snape, Parvati Patel was afraid of mummies, Seamus Finnigan was afraid of banshees, Dean Thomas (as odd as it was) was afraid of a severed hand, Ron Weasley was afraid of spiders, Professor Lupin was afraid of—

Professor Lupin was afraid of a full moon.

Notes:

Review!

Lilly flower forever: I honestly can't tell you how happy I am to hear you say that you like the moments in between! I was a little hesitant about adding those in because I had thought that people really wanted to get into the romance as quickly as possible. But of course, it's impossible to do that unless I establish a character and their personality before. I'd also like to thank you for reviewing every chapter :) It genuinely brings a smile to my face when I get the email seeing a review. I hope you liked this chapter. Let me know what you thought about it. By the way, on a sidenote, I read some of your stories and my favorite happens to be the one about good ol' Voldy just wanting his nose. Poor man. Great job on that btw.

writingchild: Thanks so much for reviewing! I had a chance to read your story as well, and I left some reviews on. I can't wait until you update again. I'm also so glad to hear that you like Ankaa's character because I was worried about how detached I'm making her out to be. But alas, everyone has flaws and being emotional and all happens to be one of our dear Ankaa's. Let me know what you like about her character :)

Black Eclipsed Soul: YAAA! So, so, so, happy to see your review. I'm glad you're liking it so far. I'm trying to keep things as interesting as possible but I just have to keep warning people that the romance they're so desperately craving will come later. Slowly but surely is my motto. Hope you liked this chapter as well! Can't wait to hear from you :D

chaansan: Oh Merlin your review... it just... made my day, to be quite honest. I can't stop giggling and I think I've read your review about ten times already (and will most likely continue to read it again and again). I'm so glad you like Ankaa's character. And I'm also SO HAPPY THAT YOU'RE A SLYTHERIN. And Canadian. And I think we're the same age too. I'm one too (a Slytherin, I mean) and really our house needs more love. Or well, we can live without love as long as we have power. I'm also really happy that Ankara's character seems believable. One of my concerns was that I was making her cold and unrelenting but I wanted it to be within limits. Despite being all this, she is still a human being who has been shaped by her experiences. And hearing you say that you're in love with her, well it makes my heart swell. Hopefully, you liked this chapter too, lemme know :D AHHHH IM SO HAPPY

And of course, thank you to those of you that Followed/Favorited the story! I'm not sure if you want to be named, but I will either way because you've been an enormous support and I really appreciate you taking the time to do this :D

So thanks to you guys: 01blackblind, Andromeda Athena, Black Eclipsed Soul, Kuroyami-chan, Lilly Flower forever, MysteriousUnknownStranger, disnerdy, meganlovesdinos, Lissi45829, Nameless-dono, OtakuisOtacool and writing child and of course, chaansan