"He was jealous of her future, and she of his past." Anaïs Nin, Delta of Venus

Chapter Thirty-Two - Return to Hogwarts

The next morning, Ankaa was up at an ungodly hour. Groaning slightly, she pulled herself out of the warmth of her blanket and started to get ready to head out. Ginny and Hermione were sound asleep, not even stirring as the Slytherin girl walked around them. With a swish of her wand, her trunk levitated in front of her as she walked downstairs to the kitchen.

Ankaa could hear some people muttering in the kitchen, but the voices were not distinct enough for her to distinguish who it was. The moment she set her trunk down with a slight thud, the murmurs stopped. Her dad was the one to step through first.

Upon spotting her, Henry gave her a wide smile before giving her a brief hug. He patted the top of her head before stepping back, smiling down at her. He was happy to see her, but he was more concerned about how she had been holding up with what had happened a few months ago. He could not begin to imagine what she must have been going through, but he had hoped that by staying with the Order had helped her.

"Ready to go?" He asked her quietly. "Good. Go ahead and say your goodbyes, I'll be outside… Can't tolerate your father too much."

Without waiting for a reply, Ankaa watched as her father made his way over to the door. With a flick of his wrist, Ankaa's things were following after him dutifully, and piling up neatly a few paces away. Turning away form him, Ankaa made her way into the kitchen.

"We're leaving," She announced to Sirius and Maya, who were both standing on the other side of the table.

Her mother came forward first, giving her a tight hug. It was a ritual for them at the start of every term. Ankaa, Ceph, and Maya would stand at Platform 9 ¾ and bid their farewells. Maya would hug Ceph first, giving his back a pat to assure him that school would be ok. Maya would then turn to Ankaa, who would frown in distaste before glancing at her brother. Ceph would always give her an encouraging smile. And so, for her brother, Ankaa would let her mother hug her for a few seconds before she departed for the school year.

But now, as her mother stood in the middle of the kitchen, with her arms tightly wrapped around Ankaa's shoulder, the girl could not understand why she had shied away from hugs for so long. The warmth exuding from her mother was very comforting, especially against the fact that Ankaa did not want to return to school this year at all.

"You'll be alright," Maya told her, smoothing down some of her wayward curls.

Ankaa only sighed. "Let's hope so."

Sirius cleared his throat behind the duo. Ankaa watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar silver locket. He dangled the rectangle in front of Ankaa, giving her a small smile. Ankaa reached it for it gingerly, slowly wrapping her fingers around the warm metal. She opened it carefully, taking note that the three pictures she had put in it were still there.

"I saved it from Kreacher for you, he was trying to make off with it," He informed her.

In the center, in the biggest rectangle, was Ceph's picture. He was staring at her, giving her a wide smile and a thumbs up. On his right, in one of the smaller rectangles was Maya, giving her a serene smile, gracefully brushing back her hair. Sirius was on the left side of the locket, smirking at the camera.

"Thank you," Ankaa breathed, looking up at Sirius. He stood before her now, his hands stuffed into his pockets awkwardly.

"S'no problem," Sirius mumbled. "Good luck this year. OWLs will definitely be fun."

Ankaa nodded. There was a moment of hesitance between the father and daughter before Ankaa snapped the locket shut and clutched it tightly in her hand. Nodding at Sirius, she gave him a sincere smile.

"Thanks… Sirius," She mumbled, "I'll write to you. Both of you."

She figured it was the least she could do. They might have had each other, but Maya was used to receiving letters from Ceph, and Ankaa knew her mother would be missing him. She knew it was not the goodbye either of them was expecting (they probably wanted her to hug Sirius and make sure everything was patched up with him), but it was the best she could possibly give them. The anxiety and dread of returning to school, without Ceph, was crippling. And Ankaa wanted to get out of the claustrophobic Grimmauld Place as fast as possible.

Henry knocked on the frame of the door and stuck his head into the room. "We should get going, Ankaa."

Ankaa nodded and followed him to the main door. Turning one last time, she waved a goodbye to her parents. But before she reached for her father's hand, there was a pressing weight on her chest that made her pause. In two quick strides, she crossed over to them and pulled the two in a brief but tight hug. Before her parents had time to react, Ankaa had pulled away and traversed back to Henry. Without delay, her hand found her father's, and she gave it a light squeeze. Henry smiled down at her, before the duo Disapparated from Grimmauld Place.

Rhyther Manor, from what Ankaa remembered, was a welcoming sight. The lush gardens were carefully tended to by her mother and the various house elves the Rhyther family employed. Maya had carefully landscaped the flowerbeds on either side of the porch and showcased a variety of different coloured flowers (both magical and not). The house itself was always full of light and laughter, never once seeming intimidating or desolate.

But now, as Ankaa walked into it, she was painfully made aware of the fact that things were vastly different. The starry sky behind the looming Manor was no longer a welcome sight and served only to drive a chill up her spine. No lights were on, and yet Ankaa was sure there was someone in the house.

"Tipsy?"

No one answered her. Placing her trunk by the door, Ankaa drew out her wand and took a few cautious steps into the house.

"Homenum Revelio."

Nothing happened. On high alert, Ankaa neared the grand staircase. She was glad of the marble floors throughout the house; there was no chance that she would be caught by a creaking floorboard. Taking two stairs at a time, Ankaa made her way to the second floor where a gentle murmur of voices reached her ears.

It was her father's study.

The door to the study was slightly ajar, but not enough for Ankaa to be able to glance inside. If she dared to open it, it was quite likely that she would be caught. And so, Ankaa leaned against the wall and listened closely to the conversation inside.

"—quite like to meet her," said a raspy voice, "I'm sure she takes after her mother."

"I'm afraid not," answered her father. "My Lord, I assure you she does not display any of the signs as Maya. I do not think she will be of any help to our cause."

"I shall be the judge of that, Henry." There was a slight pause before the first person continued in a seemingly regretful tone, "I am quite saddened to hear of what happened to Cepheus. I am sure, however, that you understand the circumstances under which he died."

Henry was quite. Then, following a deep breath, he answered, "Of course, My Lord. I understand. It had to be done."

"He would have made a wonderful addition."

"Yes, My Lord."

"I am sure your daughter will do just as well."

Ankaa leaned over slightly, trying to see as far into the room as her line of sight would allow. Just then, she felt another presence around her. Further down the hall, from the darkness, emerged a pair of eyes that sat low on the ground. Ankaa watched as the larger than life snake slithered towards her, bearing its forked tongue into the air as if to taste her.

Ankaa readied her wand to attack, but the snake passed right by her as if she did not exist. Frowning in confusion, Ankaa watched as the Snake slithered through the doorway, causing the door to open enough for Ankaa to be able to glance inside.

"Ah, Nagini," A deathly pale hand reached for the snake and stroked the scales on her head softly. Ankaa followed the black cloaked arm all the way to the back of Voldemort's head.

Instant rage filled her. The sight of the man that had brutally murdered her brother, standing in her own house, acting as if he owned the place was far too much for her to handle. Ankaa waited for her father to say something, to call the Order, to call Dumbledore even—do anything. But he did not. Instead, he cast a distasteful eye towards the snake, Nagini, before turning away and looking to Voldemort.

"I will speak to her once she returns, Henry," Voldemort said as Nagini turned away from him slightly, coiling herself around the chair closest to her. Ankaa's hands tightened as she watched her father nod at Voldemort's orders. She knew they were talking about her, that Voldemort would want to see for himself if she was a Seer or not.

"Of course, My Lord."

"Come, Nagini."

Voldemort held out his hand towards the snake. Instead of moving towards him, Nagini's head swivelled around to face Ankaa.

The Slytherin girl barely had time to react as Nagini bared her fangs and lunged towards her—

"Oi!"

Ankaa woke with a jolt, her heart beating wildly in her chest. Blaise was in front of her, eyeing her critically as she moved away from the window of their carriage. Beside her, Draco was holding onto her arm, his fingers gripping her forearm tightly. He was eyeing her in confusion. But Ankaa noticed he looked genuinely worried for her.

"Sorry," She mumbled, moving her arm out of his grasp. "Nightmare."

The two nodded in sympathy. Beside Blaise, Pansy averted her eyes immediately. Ankaa knew she did not know how to react to this. From the moment she had emerged at Platform 9 ¾, everyone had been giving her wide berth. Blaise and Draco had taken it upon themselves to be around her as much as possible, as to deter anyone brave (or stupid) enough to question her about what had happened last summer.

"Come on then," Draco stood, offering her a hand, "We've got to get to the Great Hall."

Ankaa was none too subtly placed between Blaise and Draco as they walked into the castle and up the Grand Staircase. Behind them, Pansy was chatting animatedly with Daphne Greengrass. Crabbe and Goyle were behind the two girls, observing their surroundings with vacant expressions.

Under any other circumstances, Ankaa would have thrived under the attention the people in the halls were giving her. However, in the past five years, she had been accustomed to being stared at in a certain way. People were always apprehensive of her, and this apprehension coupled with the air of mysteriousness about her was what kept everyone enthralled with her presence; its what made her exciting. But now, amidst everyone's stares of pity, Ankaa could not help but feel irritated. Even her scowling demeanour did nothing to keep people from staring (they usually turned away from her when she glared).

With an irritated growl, Ankaa sat at the Slytherin table. Beside her, Blaise sat down with an amused quirk of his brow. Draco, who was busy showing off his new Prefect badge to Warrington, was not bothered.

"Everyone's talking about you," Blaise smiled, "I would have thought you would enjoy that."

"I do," Ankaa rolled her eyes, "Except when it involves pity."

"I don't think you have to worry about that…" Blaise's voice sounded far away and distracted. Ankaa followed his line of sight to a new addition to the staff table.

"That's an alarming amount of pink," Pansy commented from across the table. "She's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, is she?"

"Is that… Umbridge?" Draco muttered from beside Ankaa. "Doesn't she work at the Ministry?"

The four students shared a look. They did not doubt that Umbridge had been instated as their new DADA teacher. The fact that she worked for Fudge, however, was slightly more… unsettling, to say the least. No one was naïve enough to assume that everyone would go back to normal following last year's events. And though they had had their share of incompetent and downright evil teachers, the Slytherin students knew how to traverse through uncharted territory.

Umbridge however, presented a peculiar problem. Ankaa could guess why she was here. If it was anything to do with what Remus had told her, Fudge was trying to keep an eye on Harry. By extension, that meant that Umbridge would be reporting the comings and goings of the whole school to Fudge.

"Maybe she'll be good for us?" Pansy, ever the optimist, suggested weakly. Beside her, Greengrass snorted.

The buzz of talk in the Great Hall faded away. The first years all lined up in front of the staff table, facing the rest of the students. Ankaa watched in mild interest (her attention rested largely on the toad-like woman in pink) as McGonagall placed the stool carefully in front of the first years, and set the Sorting Hat upon it.

In times of old when I was new

And Hogwarts barely started

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted:

…

And never did they dream that they

Might someday be divided,

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

As if by instinct, Ankaa's eyes turned towards where Fred was seated at the Gryffindor table. He was sitting beside Angelina, and the both of them were paying attention to the Sorting Hat's song. Occasionally though, Ankaa would see Fred glance at Angelina from the corner of his eyes before looking away. Ankaa was past the point of feeling jealous. She had reached a point of resignation, it seemed like it. Though she knew there was nothing she could do about it, that Fred would continue to like Angelina, Ankaa could not help but be slightly envious of the history the two shared... It was something she could never be able to have with him.

But then discord crept among us

Feed on our faults and fears.

The houses that, like pillars four,

Had once held up our school,

Now turned upon each other and,

Divided, sought to rule.

Ankaa felt Blaise's hand rest upon her own at the table. When she turned towards him, he gave her a gentle smile. Ankaa gave him a curious look, to which he just shook his head. Beside her, Draco watched the entire interaction critically. Blaise moved his hand away as his eyes met Draco's over Ankaa's head. Subtly, he gestured over to the Gryffindor table, where one of the twins was watching.

Though condemned I Am to split you

Still, I worry that its wrong,

…

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within.

I have told you, I have warned you…

Let the Sorting now begin.

Though the rest of the hall broke out into applause, albeit slightly hesitant and filled with whispers and murmurs, Draco and Ankaa did not even move. Ankaa had suspected all along that Draco knew of Voldemort's return, given the fact that his father was a prominent Death Eater.

After all, Voldemort needed someplace to stay, and Ankaa supposed he had either stayed at his old hideout (wherever that may be) or with the Malfoy family (given that they were highly protected). But even if that wasn't the case, if Draco had not come in contact with Voldemort, Ankaa did not doubt that he was smart enough to figure out what had been happening.

They both knew that everything was about to get worse. External, deadly foes… Voldemort was back, and deadlier than ever.

"How does it know we're in danger?" Greengrass muttered from across the table as applause rang out at the Gryffindor table as their newest addition joined them.

"It stays in Dumbledore's office doesn't it?" Pansy guessed, "It probably picks things up from there."

"And he wants us to be friends?" Greengrass turned around and cast a distasteful look at the other houses behind her. "Fat chance."

"I don't think they'd want to be your friends either, Daphne," Blaise grinned, "We can barely handle you."

Daphne just rolled her eyes, more interested in the food that had appeared before her instead of starting a war with Blaise. Ankaa piled food onto her plate as well, even though she wasn't going to eat it all, but it was to appease Blaise and Draco, who had been hounding her the moment they saw her.

"He was staring you know," Blaise whispered to her as she pushed a forkful of mashed potatoes around. "He keeps looking this way."

Ankaa smirked, looking at Blaise from the corner of her eye before turning her gaze towards Fred. She quirked her eyebrow in greeting before turning to Blaise.

"Good," Blaise smiled widely, "Pay as little attention to him as possible. Just enough to make it seem like you two are friends; he needs to know that other people find you interesting as well."

"I don't think he ever doubted that," Ankaa rolled her eyes with a smile, "But I think the point you were going for was that I should make him jealous?"

"I suppose that's how the mundane mind would put it." Blaise leaned over to her slightly and whispered, "We'll put on quite a little show, Miss Rhyther."

Without breaking her charade, Ankaa answered with a sickeningly sweet smile, "If you're still this close to me by the time I finish this sentence, I will castrate you."

Blaise moved away with an exaggerated laugh. Ankaa rolled her eyes with a fond smile. Though the smallest part of her felt bad for doing this, it was clearly overshadowed by the devious side of her that loved to play with Fred this way. She justified it to herself by saying that it was nothing different than what Fred had with Angelina. Yes, yes, of course, it was worse for her if she was doing it on purpose—but the point was that it was no harm. If anything, this would (hopefully) spur Fred into action. Action of what sort, she was unsure, but Ankaa wanted some change in their entirely platonic relationship.

A short while later, Dumbledore finally began his before term addresses. Ankaa listened to his usual spiel about the students being forbidden from the forbidden forest. Mr. Filch had to remind him (for the four hundred and sixty-second time) that magic is not permitted between classes.

"We have two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite and rather unenthusiastic applause. Everyone was lethargic after the feast and were itching to get back to their dormitories where they could cozy up and catch up with their friends.

"Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the—"

Dumbledore broke off. Ankaa saw him turn towards Professor Umbridge. The woman was hardly any taller standing up than she had been while her plush behind was resting on the chair a few moments before. With an annoying sound, Professor Umbridge moved away from her spot and towards Dumbledore. The old Professor looked taken aback for a minuscule moment before she schooled his expression into the same interested stare Ankaa was used to seeing on him.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

"Which part did she think was kind—?"

Ankaa snorted, "Which part did she think was welcoming?"

With another throat-clearing cough ("Hem, hem"), Umbridge continued: "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

Ankaa had stood before the student body before, and she was one hundred and twenty-seven percent sure that neither of them was smiling. Perhaps it was the fact that the entire scenario with Umbridge was so out of the ordinary, everyone (including the teachers) were so taken aback that they had no time to react. Of course, it could also be that they were annoyed (and slightly surprised) that Umbridge was speaking to them as if they were three-year-olds.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"That's likely."

Ankaa, along with some of the other people who had heard the Weasley twins, smiled slightly. She was proud of how undeterred the two were, even while Umbridge gave them an admonishing look.

"… Progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering… Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what out to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that out to be prohibited."

Slowly, she made her way back to her seat, all the while smiling joyously at the crowd. Finally, a few seconds after she had sat down, Dumbledore clapped. The staff followed his lead, even though they looked quite hesitant.

"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating," he said, bowing to her. "Now—as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held…"

"She's not serious is she?" Greengrass turned to the other Slytherin students.

"Looks like it," muttered Blaise, looking away from the woman before turning to the others as well. "I wonder why Dumbledore's hired her though—He must have known she'd be trouble."

"I don't think he knew exactly how much trouble she'd be," commented Draco, "There's no denying that she's an able witch… But even he couldn't have predicted that she'd be so bent on pleasing Fudge…"

"Or maybe it's his idea?" Ankaa suggested softly, "Maybe he wants to keep an eye on Dumbledore? You saw all the rubbish he had printed in the Daily Prophet, all that propaganda."

"Maybe," Shrugged Draco. With a careless sweep of his leg, he stood up when Dumbledore had dismissed them and said, "Come on, we're supposed to take the shrimps down to the dormitory."

Draco gathered all the first years. Ankaa noticed Harry was looking at her as she got up. She also noticed the hoards of people around him who were staring at him, whispering and pointing as they passed. Before she could deter him, however, he came towards her table.

"Hey—"

"We're not supposed to be talking," Ankaa reminded him quickly, keeping her voice hushed and her face in a neutral expression so that onlookers could not discern her emotions. "Remember, we barely know each other."

"I could just be coming to talk to you about class."

"Really?" Ankaa raised a haughty brow, "On the first day of term? When we haven't even got our schedules?"

Harry flushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, I didn't think that through."

"You hardly ever do." Ankaa rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You left really early…" Harry trailed off, his fingers twitching slightly in an uncharacteristic show of nervousness. "I had thought you'd come to the station with us."

"Not bloody likely," Ankaa snorted. "I'd been away for far too long—Blaise already suspects something. And you hanging around here, and making it painfully obvious that you're nervous is not helping."

"…Right," Harry muttered. He glanced behind him at Ron and Hermione, who were gathering all the first years and talking to them. He noticed the others pointing at him, looking as if they wanted to come and talk to him.

"—Cho Chang."

Harry's attention snapped back to a smirking Ankaa.

"Nothing. You were zoning out, and I just said her name. Now that you're back if you wouldn't mind, I have prefect duties to do. See you around, Potter."

She gave his shoulder a playful nudge as she walked past him to a glaring Draco. Harry watched as he said something to her, glaring at him over Ankaa's shoulder before narrowing his eyes. With a light laugh, Ankaa reached for his arm and pulled him along. Soon, the group of Slytherins disappeared from the Great Hall. Deciding he had had enough of the whispers and stares, Harry decided to turn in for the night as well.

Notes:

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