"Deception and perfection are wonderful traits." – Homewrecker – Marina and the Diamonds

Chapter Nine - Disturbing Dreams

Ankaa was glaring. She had paused in the middle of the hallway during one of her nighttime escapades and stood glaring at the small, sickly looking rat in front of her. The rat, as if sensing her anger, scrunched its nose up and took a few swift sniffs of its surroundings. Ankaa watched silently as the rat moved closer to her. She held out her wand, the tip glowing bright so she could see in the night. She knew that getting out of bed and heading to the kitchens was a bad idea. If the rat took one more step towards her, she would set it on fire.

Raising an eyebrow, she gave the rat a blank stare. "I haven't any food. If that's what you're looking for you might as well—hey!"

Ankaa jumped back and glared furiously at the rat that was scurrying away. It had taken one end of her shoelace and pulled at it, causing it to unite. Angered, Ankaa chased after the rat with her wand drawn out. Whoever owned this stupid rat was going to get it from her (as well as the rat itself). She watched as the rat rounded a corner and scurried along the wall.

"Oh, it's you." She spoke when she saw the figure standing in the middle of the hallway. Potter's wand was drawn out as well. "Did you see a rat run by here?"

Potter didn't answer. In fact, he didn't seem to have heard her. Raising a skeptical brow, she stepped in front of him. She glanced at the parchment in his hand, noticing that it was the Marauders Map. She rolled her eyes.

"They gave it to you, did they?" She murmured, "Can't imagine why. You hardly seem to have a need for it." When Potter didn't answer she took a step back. He seemed to glance at the map in shock before looking back at the hallway she had just come from. Then back to the map, and then back to the hallway. It was as if he was waiting for somebody to jump out and claw him to death (probably that ruddy Hippogriff he loved so much).

With a sigh, Ankaa drew her attention away from the maniac that was Potter and pointed her wand at the end of the hallway.

"Lumos Maxima."

That stupid rat was still waiting by the corner of the hallway. It scrunched up its nose and swished its tail. With a scowl, Ankaa followed behind it quickly when it rounded the corner. She was going to be so happy when she turned that blasted rat to ash.

But then, everything changed.

The Hogwarts hallways melted away. It was no longer dark. She could no longer hear the snoring portraits. Ankaa was blinded by the sun as she rounded the corner and found herself in Muggle London. With a start, she waved her wand and placed it back inside her robes to hide it. All around her, the Muggles seemed to be oblivious to her presence. Ankaa looked around for an explanation as to why she was there.

The moment she turned around, she spotted the rat in the middle of the alley. With a frown, she took a step forward. As soon as she did, however, she noticed the rat's features started to change. She watched in fascination as it became bigger, its face morphing to adopt more human-like qualities. Finally, after the transformation was complete, Ankaa stood in front of a small and pudgy looking man as he cowered by the wall. She watched with a frown as he bent over and placed his hands on his knees and took deep breaths. Unable to calm himself, the man broke down into sobs that wracked his body, leaning on the floor on his hands and knees.

As if alerted to another presence, the man took a look behind Ankaa and his eyes widened. As Ankaa turned around to see what was so interesting, he bolted further into the alley. Ankaa watched as another man, this one more recognizable, took a step into the alley before running towards her and catching the rat-turned-man by the neck.

"Sirius," The rat-man breathed, his voice wavering slightly as tears streamed down his face. He was cowering against the wall. Sirius Black now stood before him, pointing his wand at his neck with a fierce scowl. Ankaa fought to control her breathing, as to not alert Black of her presence. She hid behind the wall of the alley, tilting her head ever so slightly so she could see the events that were coming to pass.

"Why did you do it, Wormtail?" Black growled, taking Wormtail by the collar and shoving him into the wall with such a great amount of force. Wormtail's head bounced from the hit. Wormtail blinked and swallowed as if trying to collect himself.

"I didn't mean to," Wormtail cried, tears leaking from his eyes, "He—he tortured me. I-I tried, Sirius, I really did."

Black sneered, "It would have better if you were dead at the hands of Voldemort, Peter because now I'm going to kill you. I'm going to make this as painful, if not more, than what James and Lily had to go through."

With a start, Ankaa realized that the man who had begun to sob pitifully was the deceased Peter Pettigrew.

Ankaa watched as Black let go of his collar, stepping back to give himself an adequate amount of room. He now stood a few feet away, aiming his wand at Pettigrew. A look of absolute determination had set upon his face.

Ankaa was aware of the fact that something was wrong. She couldn't have just gone from Hogwarts to the middle of Muggle London by just turning in the hallway. She wondered whether Peeves had played a trick on her, and she was hallucinating, but even that seemed far too advanced for the poltergeist. Of course, the twins would never try something like this on her either. They had enough sense to know where to stop.

Looking at the scene before her Ankaa wondered whether this was how it had ended. Maybe this was what happened to land Black in prison. Had she used her Time-Turner to go back in time? She didn't remember using her Time-Turner for anything other than her classes though. And why would she return to this moment? She had wanted to return to Hogwarts, during 1978. How would she even have known to come here?

"You'll go to Azkaban for killing me," Pettigrew tried to deter Black once again. Ankaa took a few steps away when she noticed some Muggles had started to gather by the end of the alleyway, interested in all the commotion. Stupid Muggles.

"Someone needs to avenge them."

"But—your wife, your children, they'll be so alone," Pettigrew began, holding his hands up in surrender. "I-Y-You wouldn't do that to them."

"They'll understand."

Before Black could utter the incantation that would end Pettigrew's life, the little cretin smiled. Ankaa frowned at his change in attitude. Black lowered his wand for a fraction of a second, and that's when everything around them blew up. The brick wall at the end of the alley where Ankaa was standing exploded, showering the scene with dust. Ankaa had just enough time to register the pain in her side when the scene changed once again.

She was back in the dormitory. Ankaa was lying on the floor of the Slytherin dormitory, wrapped up in her green and blankets. Groaning slightly, she rolled over and sat up on the floor. Reaching over to her nightstand, she saw that it was only five in the morning.

Ankaa tried to sleep after her unceremonious fall from her bed. She had even gone as far as casting a silencing charm on Pansy's bed to ignore her light snores. No matter how much she tossed or turned, she could not find sleep. Eventually, she gave up.

Throwing back her covers, she got out of her bed and grabbed her copy of the Marauders Map. She had been looking around the halls for a few minutes now. Ceph was on duty, but he seemed more interested in Florence Lacomb than making rounds. Rolling her eyes in disgust, she flipped another section of the map. No one else worth of interest was around.

With a sigh, she closed up the map.

"Mischief—"

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

The hand clutching her wand tightened. How could she not have noticed this before? She prided herself on being observant. She leaped out of bed, careful to not make noise in case Greengrass or Pansy was awake.

Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Wormtail.

Wormtail.

The pudgy man that Sirius Black had killed, Peter Pettigrew, was called Wormtail. Peter Pettigrew was an animagus. He had been named Wormtail due to his ability to shift into a rat. Ankaa rolled her eyes despite the severity of the revelation and congratulated the genius who had come up with such a common nickname.

It was a dream, Ankaa told herself. It was a coincidence. If Pettigrew was an animagus, the Ministry would know. Her Father would have talked about it. She would have known. She was just tired. She was just dreaming.

There was no way it was real.

Yes, Ankaa told herself, "It's only a dream."

The Monday following Gryffindor's defeat in the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff saw Draco Malfoy look as if Christmas had come early. He had wasted no time to in removing the sling from his arm and impersonating Dementors in front of Potter. Even Ankaa had to admit that his dedication to annoy Potter was commendable.

"You're getting good at this," She commented as they were heading to DADA after lunch. "If your hair wasn't like snow and if you weren't as pale as a ghost and if I was deaf and blind, I would be convinced, without a shadow of doubt, that you were a Dementor."

Malfoy shoved her in the shoulder lightly. He was about to respond when the duo walked into their classroom and saw Lupin sitting on his desk. The Professor looked as if he had indeed been ill. Ankaa noted that his robes were hanging loosely off his shoulders, and his eyes had bags under them. Her dream about Pettigrew and Black had made her forget that her DADA teacher was actually a werewolf.

Either way, she didn't say anything when Lupin smiled at the class, as if he hadn't just turned into a werewolf and mauled some unfortunate thing to death.

"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay." Lupin was saying when Ankaa finally settled down beside Malfoy.

That day their lesson consisted of learning of Hinkypunks. It was a one-legged creatures, rather frail and harmless looking. There was a lantern dangling from his hand, which the Hinkypunk used to lure unsuspecting travellers into the woods.

Ankaa did not bother paying attention to the class. For a fleeting second, she felt guilty. But then she remembered everything she had been through in the past few days; her fight with Ceph, her newfound 'friendship' with the Weasley twins, the revelation about Lupin, and last and certainly most troublesome, her dream about Black and Pettigrew.

She could talk to him. She would talk to Lupin and let him know. She would let him know that someone else knew his secret. Or maybe just talk to him about Black and Pettigrew?

But was that worth it?

No, Ankaa told herself. Keep your distance. He's a werewolf after all; he would kill his best friend.

Perhaps he knows of the Marauders? He had to have been around at the same time as Black and Pettigrew, if he knew her mother. After all, the Malfoys and the Rhythers definitely had been. And Lupin had been a Gryffindor, which means (at least statistically), there was a higher chance of him knowing Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.

Ankaa supposed she could ask her parents. Asking her parents would be a suicide mission though. There would be too many questions on their part. Especially now that she had already written to her mother about Lupin. They would no doubt get suspicious about what she was up to.

No.

She would wait. She would wait until her Mother replied to her letter. If the response was worth it, then Ankaa would travel back to 1978 and find out for herself. About Lupin, about Black and about Pettigrew. The ever growing list of why she should go to 1978 in the first place was working marvellously well to convince her that she should. She would, Ankaa mused, without a doubt.

All she had to do was wait for the right time.

That night, sleep did not come to her easily. After hours of struggling, Ankaa gave up and made her way out of the Slytherin dormitories. With the copy of the map in her hand, she walked around the castle, carefully avoiding any hallways with Prefects and patrolling teachers.

With a small smirk, she noticed Fred and George Weasley were trying to leave the kitchens as inconspicuously as possible while carrying large amounts of food between their hands. Raising an eyebrow, Ankaa stood behind them as they cautiously glanced around a corner.

"DETENTION WEASLEY!"

Ankaa watched in amusement as the redhead pranksters jumped into the air and clutched the food to their chests tightly. Unfortunately for Fred, he happened to be holding some pudding which was now smeared all over his sweater. The twins' fearful expression melted away and were replaced with one of great annoyance as they glanced down at her. George shot her an apprehensive look, and Fred just stared at her blankly.

"Is something the matter?" Ankaa raised an eyebrow.

Fred opened his mouth to say something, but a sort of garbled squeak was all that came out. Fred's ears went red. He closed his mouth and frowned down at her.

Leaning against the wall, Ankaa nodded nonchalantly, "It's alright. Take your time. I seem to have that affect on a lot of people."

Fred glared, "I'll say. Trying to give people heart attacks on a daily basis seems to be a Slytherin thing."

Ankaa gave an unladylike snort, "I would say it was more of a Weasley thing, considering you and your other half live to prank."

George gave her a half smile with a snort and said, "It's a good thing, really. It keeps the blood flowing better."

Fred nodded absentmindedly as he tried to rub the pudding off his sweater. Ankaa ignored George and turned to Fred with a blank look.

"Weasley?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you a wizard?"

Fred paused in his attempt at scrubbing away the pudding. He looked at her with a confused frown and then turned to his twin. Both of them seemed to have a mental conversation. After a moment of debating whether the Slytherin girl's mental condition was sound, Fred said, "Yes."

"Then why don't you just use a spell to clean it up?"

Weasley's ears went pink. George raised a brow and nodded, as if the idea had only just occurred to him too. For a moment, Ankaa debated telling Fred that turning into the rainbow would not help his cause.

"I'm a little preoccupied," Weasley gave her a smug smile and used his head to gesture that his arms were full, "and my wand is in my pocket."

Ankaa rolled her eyes and gestured to George, "You've got an identical twin standing right next to you." Regardless, she pulled out her wand and vanished away the pudding. "But I'm feeling generous, so I shall help."

George snorted. "Feeling generous—"

"t was your fault in the first place!" Fred exclaimed. "Besides, I don't trust you with a wand, to be completely honest." Weasley muttered, narrowing his eyes at her, "We may be acquaintances, but you're still a Slytherin. You could curse me at any second."

Ankaa frowned, glancing between Fred and George. "What is it with you Gryffindors and blaming us Slytherins? Need I remind you that your house has produced Dark wizards as well?"

George seemed hesitant about where the conversation was headed. Ankaa had noticed that out of the two, he seemed to be the more level headed one. Well, they both were to an extent. Fred just liked to be more verbal about his thoughts. It was a good trait, Ankaa mused. Fred would probably get himself killed one day because he couldn't control his stupidity.

"Oh yeah?" Fred began haughtily, as he raised one of his brows, "Name—"

"Black." Ankaa watched with a satisfied smirk as Weasley's expression faltered. "Was it not Sirius Black, the godfather of Harry Potter, who betrayed his best friends to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Was it not a Gryffindor that lead to his friend's demise?"

Weasley glared at her, "Ok, one. But Slytherin's produced the most."

"Doesn't mean we're all bad." Ankaa crossed her arms over her chest. She wanted to tell him how wrong he was, that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had both produced witches and wizards that had followed Voldemort willingly. But Ankaa was sure he wouldn't understand. The concept of power corrupting innocence was something Fred Weasley, or his entire family, could not understand.

"What's with all this food then anyway?" Ankaa asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Oh, we're trying to cheer Oliver up." George said, shrugging his shoulders.

"He's been a bit down with this whole Quidditch thing."

Ankaa nodded. With a tired sigh, she began walking ahead of the Weasley twins. Turning back when she noticed they weren't walking with her, she asked, "Aren't you coming?"

Fred furrowed his brows, "Uh, you're going the wrong way. That's towards Gryffindor tower."

Ankaa gave him a smile and rolled her eyes good naturedly. Pulling out her copy of the Marauders Map, she waved it in his face. "I just think it would be faster if you went with me. I mean, I've got a copy of the Map and I'll keep you out of trouble."

"You made a copy?" Both twins' jaw dropped to the floor in astonishment. Ankaa bristled at their comment. It was almost as if they assumed she wasn't magically talented enough to do the simplest of tasks.

Ankaa turned around and kept walking. "You can follow me Weasleys, or you can serve detention with Filch. It's up to you."

With great reluctance, the Weasley twins followed after her. Ankaa turned back for a moment, noticing how they stood in the middle of the hallway and did their entire telepathic connection routine. After a moment, when they caught up to her, Fred muttered, "I thought we could handle a trip to the kitchens alone. But it turns out you're sneakier than we gave you credit for."

George snorted, "I'm surprised Filch didn't hear you screaming."

Ankaa laughed, "Filch would only come running if I screamed that Mrs. Norris was dying. Besides, the Map's made me sneakier than before."

"The Map did that to you?" Fred raised a brow, "I thought it was a Sly—" He paused, shooting her a guarded look. Ankaa rolled her eyes and continued walking ahead of the two. She wouldn't say it to his face, but she was annoyed that he still thought of her as 'that Slytherin girl'.

"A Slytherin thing?" She turned and offered him a sly smile. Nodding, she added, "I suppose it is. The Map only enhanced it, I suppose."

"Why didn't you keep it?" George asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah," Fred nodded, raising a brow like his twin. "If you made a copy you could have given us a fake."

"We probably wouldn't even have caught it."

Ankaa shrugged, looking around at the portraits. She offered one of the portraits a smile before turning to the Weasley twins, "You're selling yourself short. I may not like you, but even I know you're better at magic than people give you credit for. You would have found out and I would have become a target. Besides," Ankaa gave them a cheeky smile, "You two would put it to better use than I would."

"Good use?" Fred raised an incredulous brow, "Do you even know who you're talking to?"

"One half of the infamous Weasley twins?" Ankaa raised a brow in return, "Gred, I believe you proclaimed yourself to be."

Fred gasped in mock offense, "It's a family name, mind you! When I'm famous, there'll be children named after me."

Ankaa nodded along, pretending to be serious, "Or dogs."

Fred sighed and looked off into the distance. "I suppose it's better than nothing," He whispered, "Somewhere, someone will own a majestic dog named Gred."

"The legacy shall pass on." George nodded solemnly, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder in mock comfort. They both looked off into the distance as if they could see the future, and there was indeed a majestic dog running around with a collar labelled 'Gred'.

Ankaa scoffed, rolling her eyes at their antics. How could this moron be so popular? He was amusing, she conceded. He was nice maybe, considering he was still talking to her despite their house rivalries. He was still an absolute idiot though.

Ankaa noticed they had reached the stairs heading to the portrait of Sir Cadogan. The knight in question was waving his sword about and warning Ankaa to not come any closer. Raising a brow, she turned to face the twins.

"He's the only one who volunteered." George mumbled, giving an irritated sigh.

"Come up here and fight, you mangy cur!" Sir Cadogan was screaming when Ankaa turned her back on him to face the two.

Ankaa gave the red heads a weary look, "Good luck with that. Let me know if you need a real knight to walk you from the kitchens to your dormitory again, Gred, Forge."

Fred shook his head solemnly, "Sadly, Sir Cadogan has already replaced you."

George nodded, "You snooze, you loose, Rhyther."

"You wound me," Ankaa placed a hand over her heart, "I thought we had something special, Gred and Forge Weasley. After all, I cleaned your clothes for you. Well, Gred's anyway."

"You're welcome to do it again."

"Our Quidditch uniforms need to be washed anyway."

"Oh yeah," Fred nodded, turning to his twin with a wide smile, "Yeah I haven't washed those in months."

Ankaa scrunched up her nose in distaste. She rolled her eyes with a smile as she walked away, "See you around, idiots." Spinning around quickly, she fixed him with a curious stare. "Can I ask you something?"

Both twins narrowed their eyes at her. Ankaa was ninety percent sure the idiots would say something along the lines of 'you already have' and she would be forced to hex them. But they seemed to have caught themselves at the last moment, and nodded.

"When you Gryffindors go to sleep," She paused and raised a brow, "Do you Gryffinsnore?"

George laughed and Fred shook his head in amazement, as if he couldn't believe someone could tell a joke that bad. Ankaa watched as a genuine smile took over their features later, in comparison to the fake smiling they had been doing since the three had met. Ankaa gave the two a cheeky smile before turning around and walking away.

As she walked away from him, she never turned back. She could hear Sir Cadogan screaming at her to 'turn and fight' but she kept walking. She was also aware that Fred Weasley was not bounding up the stairs like behind his brother, and instead stood there staring at her back in utter amazement.

Of course, with Christmas just around the corner, everyone had begun to show their festive spirits. Professor Flitwick had already decorated his classroom, two weeks before the end of the term, with dazzling lights that turned out to be real fairies.

"Can't imagine how he does it," Ankaa commented to Cepheus as they were heading out to Hogsmeade. It was the last trip before the end of the term, and since it was right before Christmas, Ankaa planned to do most of her shopping there.

Ceph shrugged, ruffling some snow out of his hair. Behind him, his giggling group of fangirls sighed. Ceph did not bother turning to them. He had told Ankaa that acknowledging their presence in any way would only encourage them. Besides, Ankaa knew he wouldn't be looking for anyone but Florence Lacomb today. Blaise had told her that Lacomb and her brother were getting serious.

She doubted it though.

Ceph was anything but serious.

"Hey, Ceph?"

Ceph hummed, turning to his sister with a raised brow. "Yeah?"

"Do you really think I need other friends?"

Ceph's eyes narrowed. His grey eyes remained trained on her, and she offered him a blank stare in return. But then, his face broke out in a smirk, "Why? Finally decided to take my advice, have you?"

"No." Ankaa rolled her eyes with a scowl, "I'm just wondering."

Ceph regarded her for a few seconds before shrugging. "I suppose," He said after a moment. "Look, I understand it wasn't my place to tell you that—actually no, I'm your brother it's my right. I just meant you should try to have true friends, not that you need more of them, necessarily. And for that, you need to open up and talk to people."

"How do I make friends then? What methods are there?"

Ceph laughed, shaking his head in amazement. "This isn't a Quidditch play we're devising, Ankaa. Friendship is different for everyone. Just be yourself."

"Yes, because that's worked marvellously well so far." Ankaa glared at him. She was getting increasingly frustrated by his answers. First, he told her to change and make friends, to be more emotional (which was going against the very fibre of her being) but she still had to be herself.

Ceph sighed. "It's hard to explain. Just… be more patient, I guess. You're unrelenting and unforgiving. Tone it down a bit. People aren't perfect, they make mistakes. And try to see everyone as an individual and not a part of a house."

Ankaa raised a questioning brow.

"You do this thing where you get insanely defensive about being a Slytherin, as if you're trying to prove your worth to the rest of the school." Ceph spoke softly. His cool grey gaze was trained on her, an almost soft expression on his face as he said, "You don't have to defend being a Slytherin. But at the same time, don't be so cruel towards the other houses, or other people."

Ankaa scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. Looking away from him, she muttered, "But why? They're not nice to us. Don't you remember how they boo at every single Quidditch game?"

Ceph sighed and placed his arm around her shoulder. "Of course I remember. I'm a Prefect Ankaa, in case you've forgotten. It's my job to console the crying eleven year olds who think they've been placed in the 'evil' house because everyone hates them." Ceph's fingers tightened on her shoulder and he turned to her once again, "I've seen what this hatred can do to people, Ankaa. Don't think I haven't noticed you turning into a cold and emotionless girl because you're trying to protect yourself."

"I'm not—"

Ceph shook his head, "You are, and it's not your fault. This happens to most of the Slytherin kids. We haven't got anyone else to fall back on. We have no other choice but to act like jerks to the people who've already assumed we're evil because we wear green. What I'm trying to say is… You have a choice. Everyone does. You can choose who you want to be friends with, who you want to let in."

"I can choose, but what if they don't choose me?"

"I—" Florence Lacomb had decided to call his name at that point. Ankaa noted with amusement that Ceph's demeanour changed rather quickly. Before turning to Lacomb, her brother brushed a hand through his hair, trying to straighten it. Ceph never did that; he was known for his messy curls. Ankaa watched with narrowed eyes as her brother turned to the girl with a wide smile.

The Ravenclaw girl came to stand by the siblings. Ankaa had no problem with Lacomb. They had never had lengthy conversations, but Lacomb always made it a point to greet her in the halls should they ever cross ways. She was tall, her head reaching just under Ceph's nose. She was also thin, something Ceph constantly told her; she never ate. Or at least, Ankaa had never seen her eat.

"How are you, Ankaa?" Lacomb smiled at her.

"Wonderful, and you?" Ankaa asked politely. She noticed Ceph was frowning at Lacomb, for what she could not yet tell.

"Excited for Christmas," She was bouncing on her heels with excitement. "I won't be staying back at the castle this year though, Mum and Dad want Rose and her boyfriend to spend the day with us so we can all bond."

"Sounds exhausting," Ceph commented. The trio started walking through Hogsmeade then. Ankaa noticed Lacomb and Ceph had drifted off into their own conversation, hardly paying attention to her. Well, at least Ceph wasn't bothered. Lacomb glanced at her every minute, to see if she was still there.

"You go on ahead," Ankaa told them as she stopped outside of Honeydukes, "I'll see you around, Lacomb." Ceph glared at her after noticing how Lacomb's smile had faltered slightly at Ankaa's formal goodbye. So Ankaa shot Ceph an irritated smile before turning to the girl with a much less vicious smile, "I mean, Florence. I'll see you two later."

"Bye!"

When she had turned away from the duo, Ankaa rolled her eyes and entered Honeydukes. As usual, the shop was bustling with students. Neville Longbottom stood by the door as he licked a giant red lolly. He choked on his spit when Ankaa walked past him. With an irritated sigh, she continued on.

Ceph had been absolutely useless in helping her. The moment Lacomb had come around he had all but forgotten he had a sister. Lacomb seemed more worried about her than Ceph did.

"Whenever I see you," Blaise commented from beside her, "You're always frowning."

"I think Ceph's going mad." Ankaa turned to him with a raised brow. "I think Lacomb may have used a love potion on him or something."

Blaise raised an uninterested brow, "Or he's actually in love?"

Ankaa scoffed, "Don't be stupid, Zabini. He can't fall in love. He's Cepheus Rhyther."

"I don't know, Rhyther." Blaise smirked, "Girls make guys do weird things. Lacomb has him wrapped around her finger and she doesn't even know it—what a waste."

Ankaa shrugged and glanced around the shop. She wondered if she should ask Blaise about the whole friendship thing. She trusted him more than the other people she was acquainted with. Obviously, there was Draco, but Ankaa doubted he would give her a serious answer.

"Oi, Zabini—"

"Uh-oh." Blaise turned to her with an amused smile, "You're serious. You hardly ever call me Zabini."

"I literally called you Zabini like, thirty seconds ago." Ankaa rolled her eyes. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards. She noticed Blaise shift under her intense grey gaze and she asked, "What constitutes friendship?"

Blaise looked her up and down slowly, as if he was almost apprehensive of where the conversation was heading. But still, he bit his lip before answering hesitantly, "I suppose it's when you feel comfortable enough with another person to talk to them freely. There's jokes and stories. Something like that—I don't know, why're you asking me this?"

Ankaa shook her head. "Just wondering."

As she bought chocolate and candies from Honeydukes, Ankaa came to a realization (a rather depressing realization). She had no one she could talk to freely. She was suspicious of almost everyone she was 'friends' with. Her brother was no help.

Once again, she was alone.

Notes:

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