Hello! I'm back and with some good news - I've officially finished my summer course, which means I will now be updating every Sunday. I've written quite a few chapters ahead, so the regular updates shouldn't be a problem. As always, I would be more than happy to read and respond to any reviews. There's a lot that's going to happen in this chapter and the next, so please feel free to write up a review and speculate about it. I shall be waiting!

I'm going to start responding to reviews again, because I really enjoy talking to you guys!

Thanks!

"The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must, therefore, be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves." - Niccolo Machiavelli

Chapter Forty-Seven – The Inquisitorial Squad

"We think it was murder," Harry said as he settled into the spot next to Ankaa in the Room of Requirement. Their latest DA meeting had just ended, and while the DA members slipped out Ankaa had come into her usual room and settled on the floor. She had been pouring over the same week-old copy of the Daily Prophet when Harry came by.

"You think Bode was murdered?" When Harry nodded, Ankaa folded the paper and let it rest in her lap. Ankaa watched as Harry waved another group of DA members through. "I think I agree," she finally mumbled. At Harry's look of surprise, she frowned at him, "Don't look so shocked. You're smarter than you look."

"That truly is a compliment coming from you," he smiled. After waving through another group of second years, he turned to her and asked, "What makes you think that?"

"I'm sure you've pieced it together," she answered. "Devil's Snare doesn't just happen to wind up on a sick person's bedside, especially if it was disguised to look like any potted plant."

"Hermione said the same thing."

"What concerns me more, however, is Bode's job as an Unspeakable."

Harry raised a brow. "I thought you told me to keep my nose out of this business, and now you're getting involved?"

"Not per se," Ankaa mumbled easily. She got up and reached for one of the books on the shelves lining the wall and expertly flipped it open to a page. Hermione and Ronald, who had been waiting by the last few stragglers finally came over to join the duo.

"Look at this," Ankaa handed the book to Hermione. To the boys, she explained, "There's been a great deal of speculation about what exactly is in the Department of Mysteries. Unspeakables, quite obviously, aren't allowed to talk about it, but there are some old maps that have been studied to try and guess about what's happening inside?"

"What kind of maps?" asked Ronald as he leaned over to look at the page Hermione was intently reading through.

"Old blueprints," answered the Slytherin girl. "When the Department of Mysteries was established in the seventeenth century, it had a very in depth plan for its construction. These plans are old, but they mention some possible—"

"Hall of Thoughts… Hall of Time… Hall of Love?" Hermione read through the list of possible chambers outlined on the blueprints in the book. "These are just speculations, we can't depend on these."

"I know, but my point is—look at how obscure those things are. Hall of Love? Of Thoughts?" Turning back to Harry, she said, "Maybe we were wrong about this. Maybe Voldemort—why are you shivering, Ronald?—wasn't looking for a weapon. In that case, I think it's best to just leave him be."

The three Gryffindors exchanged glances. Hermione, still holding the book in her hands glanced back at it and flipped the page.

"You want us to just let him get his hands on it?"

"I don't think he can get his hands on it," Ankaa answered Ronald. "Think about it! If Broderick Bode, someone who works in the Department of Mysteries, wasn't able to get his hands on it, what is Voldemort going to do?"

Hermione frowned. "Maybe Bode got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time? Maybe he had tried to stop a Death Eater from getting at whatever Voldemort wanted—oh, stop it Ron! It's only a name!"

Ankaa rolled her eyes in frustration. "Okay, maybe he did. But then why not just end him there, and grab whatever it is the Death Eaters were after? Why let him get to St. Mungo's and then find a clever way to murder him?"

Hermione pursed her lips, and Ankaa knew that even she had to admit something was fishy.

"Look, whatever it is that Voldemort is after, he obviously can't get his hands on it just yet." Ankaa turned to look down at Harry then, who was sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped around his legs as he twirled his wand in his hands. "This means you," she gave him a pointed look, "need to work your Occlumency lessons with Snape. You need to keep him out of your head, so that whatever it is stays out of his reach."

"I am working on it," Harry snapped. He was irritated that both Hermione and Ankaa kept mentioning that to him. "Besides, that's the least of our concerns. We've got ten Death Eaters on the loose! Don't you think Voldemort would use them to try to get whatever it is in the Department of Mysteries?"

Ankaa gave him an incredulous look. "Really? Because ten highly wanted criminals can walk into the Ministry with no problem whatsoever."

"Why not?" asked Ron. "The dementors obviously let them out in the first place, they probably don't even care enough to try and catch them."

"It wasn't the dementors that let them out," Ankaa sighed. "I think Voldemort put my dad up to it."

"Sirius?"

"Henry," Ankaa glared at Ronald. "Do you even use your brain? How could Voldemort put Sirius up to it?"

Ronald had the decency to look sheepish. "Well, why did your father do it then?"

"I don't think he had another choice." Ankaa recalled her father mentioning that Voldemort had given him some work concerning Azkaban when she had spent Christmas at Malfoy Manor as a prisoner. "It was probably either do that or watch his daughter be murdered."

Ankaa and Hermione shared a look. With a slight nod that Harry caught on to, Hermione gently closed the book and cradled it in her arms. Harry had a feeling she would pour over it in the common room sometime.

"So what do we do now?"

"There's nothing you can do," Ankaa told him. "Every time you try, it ends up getting you in trouble. My suggestion is that you sight tight and wait for events to unravel. Concentrate on your O. and the DA, and keep Umbridge off your back. I have a feeling she's up to something."

"What do you mean?"

"She's been eyeing a few Slytherins during class."

"Do you think she knows about your training sessions?"

Ankaa shrugged. "Even if she did, there's nothing she can do about it. There's no rule against people just practicing magic where other people can see them. Besides, I have a feeling she's up to something else. A few days ago, she asked Draco and I for a list of all Slytherin Prefects."

Harry frowned. With everything that had been happening, he had quite forgotten about Umbridge. Despite the fact that the toad-woman made it hard for her presence to be missed, Harry had become rapidly obsessed with recent developments that had left him completely unconcerned about her. With Death Eaters on the loose, who was really concerned about a psychotic teacher anyway?

"I wonder what she's up to," Harry mumbled, trailing off as he looked at the Marauders Map and spotted Umbridge in her office.

Ankaa only shrugged.

Over the next few days, it seemed that Umbridge really had stepped up and intensified whatever sadistic game she was playing with the students and staff at Hogwarts. Ankaa and Draco had tried their best to stay out of her way, dutifully providing her with all the information that she asked for. Prefect names, schedules, and attendance sheets. The information that was requested of them did not seem odd in the slightest. It made sense for someone to be keeping track of all the prefect schedules to ensure that they were doing their jobs, but when Draco informed her otherwise, Ankaa was stumped.

"What do you mean?" Ankaa whispered quietly, shooting a look towards the woman dressed in pink who sat in the corner of their Divination class. Recently, Umbridge had taken it upon herself to sit through Trelawney's lessons and harrumph occasionally at some distasteful piece of teaching while she jotted it down on her clipboard.

"I mean that she hasn't asked any of the other houses for their prefect schedules," mumbled Draco as he gazed into the crystal ball, pretending to scribble down whatever he had seen. "Zara told me she hasn't asked any of the others. It's just us."

Ankaa wondered why. "Maybe she doesn't trust the other houses," Ankaa speculated. "But why does she need prefect schedules."

"Maybe she doesn't trust us."

"Have you done anything to—"

"Not just me," Draco raised a brow. "Need I remind you that you're dating a Gryffindor. My friendship with Zara is just that."

"Neither of those things are public knowledge," Ankaa mumbled, glancing around to make sure no one around them had heard. "Umbridge can't possibly know about that."

Draco pursed his lips, glancing over at the Defense Professor before looking back at Ankaa. "Whatever it is, I think we're going to be involved. You'd better hope she doesn't know anything about it."

But it seemed their worrying was in vain. After class ended, Professor Umbridge called out to the two of them as they were exiting the classroom.

"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Rhyther, if I could have a moment of your time, please." The sickly sweet voice made them stop at just outside the classroom. Professor Trelawney was only too glad to shut the door behind Umbridge as she exited the classroom and came to stand before the two Slytherin students.

"We have Potions class next, Professor."

"That's alright, Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure Professor Snape will understand." Umbridge smiled at them over her clipboard, turning a page and jotting something down. "I would like to speak to the two of you about a rather concerning matter."

Ankaa and Draco exchanged a glance. "Is something the matter, Professor? Can we help in any way?" It was Ankaa who spoke, trying to seem as innocent as possible. Her mind was racing with all the possible things Umbridge could possibly have found out. And of all, the DA was the most concerning.

"I'm glad to say that you can, Ms. Rhyther." Umbridge gestured the two of them to follow as she led the way to her office. As the students followed her in silence, both of them were speculating about what could have gone wrong in the past few weeks. The list was extensive, and that worried them.

"You see, I have been trying to restore order to this school for the last few months. Cornelius has been quite impressed by my methods, seeing as we have seen some general improvements. But I am afraid that there is only so much I can do as an outsider."

"An outsider, ma'am?"

Umbridge gestured for the two of them to sit. When they denied her offer of tea, Umbridge prepared a cup for herself, taking all the time in the world before she finally settled herself into her seat and answered Draco's question.

"I believe that Harry Potter and his friends are lying to me," she said finally. "As their teacher, there is only so much information I can gather by myself. However, I believe that having students report directly to me would be a far more… efficient way of gathering information on Mr. Potter—or anyone's—suspected illegal activities at Hogwarts."

"You would like the Prefects to report to you?"

"Oh, no, no," Umbridge said in her sickly sweet voice. "The duties of the Prefect remain to their heads of house. I am, however, forming a committee to help with these efforts. And, as I am sure you have guessed," she gave them both a smile, "I would like the two of you to head the committee."

There was silence in the office, and all Ankaa could hear was the meows of the various kittens that decorated the atrocious pink walls.

"Of course, Professor Umbridge," answered Draco after a momentary pause. "We would be delighted, won't we Ankaa?"

"Certainly," Ankaa smiled genuinely at Draco, before turning to Professor Umbridge. "We agree with you completely, Professor, and we would love nothing more than to help you restore order to our school once more."

Umbridge seemed happy, giddy even. "That is good news indeed," she reached into her desk and pulled out two gleaming silver 'I's, and passed one to each student. "Welcome to the Inquisitorial Squad."

Umbridge had thoughtfully and carefully handpicked her team of spies. However, unlucky for her, she had forgotten that it was in the nature of a spy to be deceiving. In being so close to Umbridge, Draco and Ankaa now felt secure enough that they could easily lead her off their respective friends' trails. Ankaa knew Draco, whatever his relationship with Zara Holloway truly was, would indeed be looking out for her. And she could not fault him because Ankaa knew that she would do the same for her friends.

"We need to get more people to join," said Draco as the two made their way towards Snape's classroom with a note from Umbridge in their hands to excuse their tardiness. Neither of them had opted to wear the silver badge just yet, as Umbridge had told them to wait until the Educational decree went up later that evening.

"Of course," Ankaa nodded. "The more people we have, the easier it will be to lead her astray." If it was just the two of them, and they continued to supply her with false news and activities, Umbtich would no doubt get suspicious. But a large group of people reporting inactivity and the lack of results would never be suspicious.

Ankaa was almost disappointed at how easy it was to deceive the witch, but she was glad of the silver badge that rested in her pocket. She had been one step ahead of Umbridge this entire time, and Umbridge had now unknowingly granted her all the power of deception she would ever need.

"So, Valentine's day is tomorrow."

Ankaa turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Upon spotting Fred, she raised a brow before nodding and getting back to pulling the various books off the library shelf. "Good to know you've got a functioning calendar."

Fred reached forward and took some of the books she was carrying, helping her to her spot near the back in one of the single cubicles. He seemed completely oblivious to her intent of having chosen the single cubicle, and instead settled himself into the empty cubicle next to her and turned to face her.

"There's a trip to Hogsmeade."

"Have fun then."

"I was thinking that you and I could go have a cute little date. Our first official date?"

"For your information, I've resigned myself to counting the date in the Room of Requirement. The idea of having our first date on Valentine's Day is far too cheesy for me."

"Oh? No Madam Pudifoot's then?"

"I would rather gouge my eyes out with a spoon," Ankaa gave him a sarcastic smile. "Now, if you're done, I'd like to get back to work."

Fred nodded. "Of course, of course," he mumbled. Reaching forward he pulled the quill out of Ankaa's hand, holding it away from the girl and leaning so far away that he accidentally smacked the first year Hufflepuff student sitting in the cubicle next door. After mumbling a quick and careless apology to the girl, Fred turned back to Ankaa. "No Madam Pudifoot's then, but I still want a date."

"You know I'm still mad at you right."

"You're always mad at me." Fred gave her a cheeky smile, "Which is why I'd like to make it up to you."

"Boys and girls aren't permitted to be within eight inches of each other," Ankaa smirked. "As a member of the inquisitorial squad, I could report you for that."

"Go ahead," Fred shrugged. "If anything, I'll probably get in trouble for basically punching that little Hufflepuff girl in the face with your quill." When Ankaa snorted, Fred smiled widely, "Just spend an hour with me tomorrow. I miss you."

Ankaa felt the same. She felt it had been quite some time since she had seen her friends. While her pride had kept her at bay, she had rather missed them the last few weeks. She had interacted with them here and there, mainly while they were at DA practices, but it was hardly a proper visit.

"I miss you too," Ankaa returned. Gently taking the quill from his hands, Ankaa gave Fred's hand a little squeeze. "Where should I meet you tomorrow?"

Fred smiled. "Astronomy Tower," he answered immediately, gently rubbing the pad of his thumb over her knuckles. "At seven? Great! I'll see you then." Fred glanced around, and quickly moved forward to give her a light peck before getting up and striding out of the library, but not before turning once to shoot her a charming smile.

Fred waited anxiously, strumming his fingers against the railing as he glanced out over the vast grounds at Hogwarts. Ankaa was running late, not by a lot but it was uncharacteristic of her to show up late to anything. Fred knew that Umbridge had started to use her as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad, and he only hoped that the crazed witch had not given Ankaa a task today, of all days.

There was a flurry of steps, and Fred glanced at the steps as Ankaa emerged. The girl paused, glancing at the picnic basket that was set up by one of the open posts. Ankaa gave the spread a once over before she headed towards Fred.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she got closer, still trying to catch her breath. "I ran into Blaise and… anyway. Sorry."

Fred waved his hand in dismissal. "That's alright," he said honestly. "Though, for a moment I was worried you wouldn't show up."

"Why not?" Ankaa seemed genuinely confused by his statement.

Fred reached forward and soothed the furrow of her brows, carefully tracing his fingertips down the side of her face and cheek. "Thought you got a better offer," he mumbled.

"Don't be an idiot," Ankaa hit him lightly in the stomach. After a moment of hesitation, she admitted, "There's no one I'd rather spend my Valentine's day with."

"Just Valentine's Day?" Fred raised a brow. "Does that mean you've got someone else for the other three hundred and sixty-four days of the year?"

"Of course not," smiled Ankaa. "One man for the whole three hundred and sixty-four days would become quite tiresome, don't you think? I've got a whole harem."

Fred shook his head. "I don't appreciate you joking about my fellow men like that," he said. "We stand in solidarity."

Ankaa laughed, winding her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry," she chuckled. "You know I can't tolerate anyone else for long enough."

Fred returned her hug, not bothering with a retort. It was nice to be able to hold her like this. It felt to him that they had always run out of time. Their tumultuous lives left no time for the two of them to spend time together. Fred had hoped Christmas would have been a time of respite, even with what had happened with his father, Fred had hoped Ankaa would at least be at Grimmauld Place.

Finally, he pulled away. When he noticed Ankaa looking down at the picnic basket and blanket, Fred scratched the back of his neck in nervousness. "So," he took a deep breath, looking at her once before looking away, "I know we did the picnic thing last time, but I had planned this out before you said you counted that as a first date. I just thought we could recreate it but elevate it?"

"Fred," Ankaa placed a hand on his arm, "It's perfect. I'm starving, let's eat."

The boy gave her a wide smile. The two settled on the picnic blanket, and Ankaa helped Fred unpack all the food.

"Merlin's beard, Fred!" She exclaimed as she pulled out yet another bottle of firewhiskey, "How many people did you think you were feeding?"

"You can never have too much food," Fred wagged his finger at her before taking the bottle of firewhiskey from her and quickly pouring some into a glass to pass to her. "Besides, they say—and don't ask me who they are, cause I don't know—but they say that the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach."

Ankaa smiled in amusement. "You should know that your woman doesn't eat enough for three people."

"My woman, eh?" Fred retorted, raising his brows. With a laugh he shrugged, pouring himself a glass of firewhiskey as well. "I just thought I'd be safe and get a little bit of everything. That and the fact that Dobby was the one helping me put together this basket, and he's rather fond of you."

"Who can blame him, I mean, look at me."

"I am," said Fred quietly. He saw Ankaa blush slightly under his gaze, and she turned away from him to sip her firewhiskey and pretend to look over the grounds at Hogwarts. "I can't believe I got so lucky. If someone had told me two years ago that we'd both be together, I would have laughed myself into an early grave."

Ankaa mused over the thought. "I have to agree with that," she said, her eyes still gazing into the distance. "I can't even remember the kind of person I was two years ago. I've changed a lot."

"You have. I think we all have."

Ankaa was still gazing out on the grounds, but her stare was so far away, Fred knew she was thinking of something else entirely. Cautiously, he reached forward and took her hand in his own.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Ceph," she answered immediately. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she spoke steadily. "I'm just trying to think of what he would do if he were here right now. I… I just can't help but think if I had trained harder and tried to see his death, I could have maybe stopped it."

"Or you would've taken his place." When she looked to him, Fred shrugged. "It's true, isn't it? Someone would have had to take his place. And it would have been either you or Harry." Ankaa was staring at their intertwined hands. "Ankaa," Fred gave her hand a little squeeze, "There's nothing we can do now. As much as we don't like it, Ceph is gone. And with the way things are looking, he probably won't be the last one. All we can do is keep his memory alive, and honour him like the true hero he was."

Fred thought she would say something, retort about how keeping his memory alive was not the same as having her brother by her side. And Fred could understand the sentiment. If he was in her place, and he lost one of his siblings, Fred was not even sure he would be as composed as Ankaa was. She had gone from one tragedy to the next, and her visions as a Seer did nothing to help, but simply served to launch more and more distress at her. But nothing good could come of dwelling in the past.

"Did you know that my mom lost both her brothers in the war?" Fred said.

"What? I didn't know she had brothers," Ankaa frowned. "I'm so sorry Fred, that must have been really hard for her."

Fred nodded. "She hardly ever spoke of them while we were growing up. It was only the three of them, you see. Fabian, Gideon, and my mom. And when they were both killed at the hands of Antonin Dolohov, my mom took it really hard. She stopped talking about them, and Bill said that she would cry a lot." He gave a deep sigh. "But then there was news that Voldemort had been killed, and I think that's when it got a little better for her."

"How old were you at the time?"

"About two, I think. They died just before the war ended. I think she always wondered if she had kept them home for just one more day, if they would have both survived." Fred gave her a meaningful stare then, "I think it took her time to understand that there's nothing she could have done about it. The same way it will take you time to understand the same. You're just unfortunate enough to see the future, glimpse a possibility, but that doesn't mean you have to shoulder the burden to change it. At least not all by yourself."

"If your mother could have foreseen her brothers' death, don't you think she would have tried to stop it?"

Fred could sense the slight undertone of rage, so he did his best to placate her. "If she could have, I'm sure she would have. But the fact is that neither of you did. So, if you're to blame for your brother's death, then I suppose my mother is to blame for the death of hers. And I know you don't agree with that."

"… you're right, I don't."

Fred smiled, reaching forward to brush her hair back. "I know you wish you could have done things differently, but I know your brother wouldn't want to see you suffering every time you think of him. He made sure to give you beautiful and happy memories. I think you should cherish that, and reflect on the time you had together, not the time you could have had."

Ankaa looked at him, and Fred shifted under the intensity of her gaze. Fred hoped that she did not think it rude for him to speak about Ceph, given that it really was not his place to do so. But Fred wanted her to know that while she had many a burden to carry, he found it unfair to add the death of her brother to that list. But her steady grey gaze gave nothing away, until finally after a few moments she spoke.

"You're growing up, Fred Weasley."

And then, it was as if her mood had been exponentially lifted. There was no more talk of serious topics, but pleasant banter and discussions about their hopes for the future. It was light and airy and beautiful, everything that Fred had hoped for their date to be. Fred had tried, momentarily, to unpack what her statement had meant, and she had simple given him a placating smile when he had asked (he didn't take that easily, mind you, tickling Ankaa until she would relent but the girl was just as, if not more, stubborn than him and kept quiet) so he had decided to just let it be. Whatever it was, it had made her happy. And Fred was not going to question that.

As Ankaa lay pressed against his side, her head resting on his shoulder and her fingers ghosting over his own, Fred was quite glad of Valentine's Day well spent.

Almost a week had elapsed since their date on Valentine's day, and Ankaa could not help but think of Fred Weasley again. There was a newfound sense of fondness that overcame her whenever she thought of him, and every time she looked at him (whether it was a glimpse in the hall or a lingering look as they passed each other for classes), there was a new and profound feeling of joy that filled her.

When they had begun dating, Ankaa had been quite sure that of the twins, Fred was the more rambunctious, boisterous, and generally oblivious one. It had always been George who provided her with little pearls of wisdom following Ceph's death. But it seemed war and violence forced everyone to grow up. Whether Fred had recently come into this new way of thinking, or he was only starting to speak on what had already existed, remained a mystery to Ankaa. All she knew was that something in the way in which she looked at Fred had changed immensely.

"If you keep making love eyes at the man," Blaise spoke from beside her suddenly, "it won't be a secret anymore."

"Love eyes?" Ankaa startled. She turned her head to him so quickly that she gave herself whiplash. Massaging her neck, she asked the boy in a hushed whisper, "Is that what it looks like?"

Blaise raised an unamused brow. "You look like you want to swaddle him in a blanket and hug him to death."

Ankaa's lips quirked slightly at the corners. "Is that what you would do to someone you loved? Swaddle them to death?"

"Why not? It seems like a good way to go."

"Of course," Ankaa smiled. She cast a furtive glance at Fred, who was pouring over a notebook with George and Lee, no doubt concerning their plans for the joke shop.

Things between Ankaa and Blaise had mended, especially after they had run into each other on Valentine's day.

Ankaa had been rushing to get out of the Common Room, throwing aside every outfit that she had deemed unworthy. Her bed was a mess, but it was still better than the condition Pansy had left her side of the room, so Ankaa supposed a small victory would have to count. She had been rushing down the stairs, and past the chairs in the common room when a shout of her name had caused her to double-take.

Blaise, who had been patiently waiting for her to come down, now stood from the couch and made his way over to her. Ankaa turned to him uncertainly, momentarily forgetting the rush she had been in. Blaise had not talked to her in a while, and she had gone through a tremendous effort to keep herself out of his sight. So for him to search her out was definitely odd.

"Is everything alright?"

Blaise glanced around the mostly empty Common Room. Many of the upper years had taken advantage of the trip to Hogsmeade and made themselves scarce, enjoying the only time they had away from Umbridge. The younger children were mulling about, half-heartedly practicing their spells and trying to replicate what they had learned in lessons.

"Yes," Blaise answered, "I was just wondering if I could speak to you about something."

"Of course. What is it?"

Blaise gently took her by the elbow and starting leading her outside of the Common Room. The two walked for a while until Blaise had led them to the empty courtyard and gestured for her to sit on the bench. With slight trepidation, Ankaa deposited herself on the bench and waited.

In a move that was very uncharacteristic of the usually poised and relaxed Blaise Zabini, the boy shuffled from foot to foot and wrenched his hands together. Then, after drawing a deep breath, he spoke, "I want to apologize to you."

"Apologize?"

Blaise nodded. "I haven't been the greatest of friends to you, and for that I'm sorry. It wasn't fair of me to turn on you after you had rejected me. I was petty and insecure, and I'm really sorry about that."

"Blaise—"

"No, I'm serious. Look, whatever happened between us, the fights and the tension and whatever… I want to apologize for my part in it. You would have never had to do anything to me if I had just been a true friend and kept your secrets to myself. It was shitty of me to turn on you like that, and to threaten to tell your secrets." A moment of silence passed between the two, and Blaise came to sit beside Ankaa and gently took her hand in his own. "The time away from everyone has given me a lot to think about, and I've realized that I want you in my life—in whatever capacity it may be. But I want you there."

"Is that why you brought me back to the same bench where I decided to give you time away?"

Blaise laughed. "Sentimentality only works to an extent," he said. "I know you're not stupid enough to base your decisions on sentimentality, but in case you are… Well, anyway, I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry and that I want to be friends again."

Ankaa regarded him for a moment. It was no lie that her trust in him was shaken, she could never truly trust him as strongly as she had before. In the last few weeks, it had become crystal clear to her who was meant to stay and who wasn't. Blaise, while formerly one of her close friends, had left her wary. Ankaa supposed she had done the same to him as well, but broken trust is never completely repaired, is it?

"Okay," she finally said. "We'll be friends again. I've missed having you around too."

And that had been the extent of it. There was no deep discussion or any hashing out of old feelings. The both of them felt that to be rather unnecessary, there was nothing they could do about the past anyway. Still, Ankaa was glad to see that the two of them had picked up somewhat where they had left off. There was still a sense of restraint, where Ankaa could tell Blaise wasn't telling her everything, and vice versa, but neither of them commented on it.

"So, you're in love then?"

Ankaa glanced at Blaise from the corner of her eye, flipping a page in her notebook as she looked over her paper for Potions.

"None of your business, is it?"

Blaise only smiled slightly. "I suppose it isn't. But I can tell you're feeling some type of way about him."

"You should stop talking while you're ahead." Ankaa have him a teasing smile. "Besides, I've got rounds now anyway, I'll catch up with you later."

"Does catching up involve answering my questions?"

Ankaa shrugged. "If I'm in the mood, maybe. But something tells me I won't be, so don't get your hopes up."

As Ankaa walked out of the Great Hall, she wondered whether or not what Blaise had said was actually true. The rational part of her brain said that it definitely was not. The two had only been dating for about six months—was that even enough time to fall in love with a person? While the rational part of her continued to provide evidence against, a fluttering feeling in her stomach told her that perhaps she was in love after all.

"What the HELL is this?"

Ankaa was startled out of her thoughts as Draco rounded the corner one night and passed Ankaa a copy of the Quibbler. Ankaa grabbed the copy, but she was more preoccupied with the presence of a certain dark-haired Ravenclaw standing beside Draco to glance at the headline.

Noticing her attention was diverted, Draco snapped his finger in front of her face. "Hello? Read the headline and look at what your idiotic friend has done."

Ankka's eyes caught the bold headline printed on the front cover, along with a sheepishly grinning Harry Potter. Printed in red across his picture were the words:

HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:

THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED

AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN

"What the hell," Ankaa mumbled as flipped to the article. In it, Harry Potter had named every Death Eater who had been present in the graveyard, as well as outlining what exactly had happened. Ankaa frowned when Lucius Malfoy was named and scanned the rest of the article until her eyes landed on her father's, naming as the perpetrator who had broken everyone out of Azkaban recently.

"What has he done?" Ankaa whispered as she urgently scanned the rest of the article.

"He's gotten us in shit, that's what he's done." Draco ran a hand through his hair. "He's named everyone in the article."

Ankaa looked away from the article, far too enraged to try and read any more of it. Zara had placed a hand on Draco's shoulder in an effort to calm him down.

"I don't think the Ministry will consider it as proof," she said. It was the first time Ankaa had ever heard the girl speak, and while under any other circumstances Ankaa would not have wasted this opportunity to tease Draco, she was far too concerned with the Quibbler article to even bother.

Ankaa noticed Zara shoot her a sympathetic look. Carefully, the Ravenclaw elaborated, "The Ministry has spent months trying to invalidate any source that suggests an account other than their own and if they try to go after the people in this article it would be like accepting what they had been denying all along."

"She's right," Ankaa looked to Draco. "If they decide to take action, it won't be something motivated by words of someone they had painted a liar all along."

"But he listed everyone that was there! Now the Ministry will suspect that my father is involved," Draco paused, "And yours as well. He's directly named Henry as being the person who broke everyone out of Azkaban."

"Draco, some day or another your father's allegiance would have come to light," Zara's quiet voice interrupted the two Slytherins. "If not today then tomorrow, when Voldemort would have asked him to do something else."

Ankaa pursed her lips. It was not lost on her that someday her father's association, whether it was true or not, would be brought to everyone's attention. Ankaa could not do anything about it, given that her father was actually a spy for the Order. It was in her best interest, as well as everyone else's, if they really did think that her father was a Death Eater.

"If you're worried about your father getting in trouble with the Ministry, don't be," Ankaa sat back against the window she had previously been reading under. "The Ministry doesn't have substantial proof, and they're certainly not going to cite the Quibbler as a credible source."

Zara nodded. Draco only glared at her before wrenching his hand out of her grip and walking away. Zara watched him go with a frown but made no move to go after him. Only after the boy had disappeared down the hallway did Zara let her shoulders drop with a great sigh and turn back to the other girl.

"I suppose you're used to his temper tantrums then," Zara mumbled as she came to lean against the wall beside Ankaa.

Ankaa hummed in acknowledgement, distractedly flipping through the article and scanning it for more details. "Yeah," she finally answered the girl, "I've had years of training. And as cute as his temper tantrums were when he was a child, they're a little bit outdated now."

Zara smiled. "I'm still trying to learn."

"It'll take a while."

Zara took a deep breath, looking from the girl to down the hall where Draco had disappeared. She had half a mind to go after him, but if she had learned one thing in the months that she had known Draco Malfoy, was that no one could force him to talk if he did not want to.

"Don't worry," Ankaa's melodic voice broke the girl out of her thoughts, "He'll come around when he's had time to speculate. He'll realize you were right."

"I just wonder how long it'll be."

"Days, maybe." Ankaa closed the copy of the Quibbler, bringing her wand to it and lighting it on fire. At Zara's incredulous look, Ankaa blinked, "Oh sorry, did you want to keep it? I can get you another copy if you want?"

"No, it's alright," Zara shook her head. "I just didn't think you'd set it on fire. Everyone's just been hiding it—my friends charmed the pages to look like textbook pages if Umbridge ever asked to have a look."

Ankaa shrugged. "I don't see the point in that," she said, "If you've read it once you've read it a thousand times. No point in keeping trash around." She stood up then and stretched her hands above her head, frowning when she realized there was a tension in her shoulders. Most likely brought on by sitting against the stone wall for hours on end and flipping through Ceph's books.

"You're friends with Harry Potter aren't you?" When Zara noticed Ankaa's eyes narrowing suspiciously in her direction, she quickly added, "Draco's told me. He said that you were seeing Fred Weasley? I assumed that if you were close with him you'd no doubt be friends with Harry."

Ankaa raised a brow. "You're seeing Draco, but tell me, have you ever spoken to any other friend of his? Other than me of course, and keep in mind before today we had never really acknowledged one another, much less spoken to one another."

"Well, no, but—"

"Then there you go. I'm not friends with Harry Potter just because I'm seeing Fred."

"But I'm not dating Draco."

"No?" Ankaa smirked at the girl, "You don't want to either? Tell me, are you just friends with him?"

"Yes," Zara trailed off in confusion. "Look, I know what it is you're thinking. You think it's hard for someone to be around him because of his history, or how he acts—and I understand that, I do. But I stay with him because I care about him, in the same way that you do. He's my friend."

Ankaa regarded the girl carefully. There was a strange resolve in the girl's eyes, a stubbornness that Ankaa knew was reflected in her and Draco's characters as well. Maybe it was good that Draco had someone like Zara around, no matter the specifics of their relationship. After all, if Fred and she hadn't started dating, or if she hadn't developed feelings towards him, Ankaa was sure she would have remained their friend.

"I hope you know what it is you're getting into," Ankaa said after a moment. "It isn't easy being our friend."

Zara did not hesitate, "It isn't easy being anyone's friends. But he needs us, you and me. I've seen what can happen to people when you leave them alone at a time where they need help."

Ankaa waited for her to elaborate, but perhaps it was not her place to want a reply anyway. It seemed to her that Zara was a genuine enough acquaintance to have around, and if she was adamant in her need to stay beside Draco, especially at times like these, Ankaa was in no place to deny him a friend.

"Well," she finally spoke with a sigh, "It was nice to meet you, Zara. I think Draco's had enough time to cool off, don't you think? Maybe you could convince him that there's nothing to worry about after all."

Ankaa walked in the opposite direction, heading as far away from the duo as she could. She wanted to give them space, but she also needed time to consider what had happened for herself. While she knew that the Ministry could not act upon the article printed in The Quibbler, public opinion was easily swayed. Naming Death Eaters, who happened to be predominantly Slytherin, was not good. Ankaa wondered if the next time she was in the Great Hall, people would skirt away from her following the news that her father had perpetrated the breakout from Azkaban. What about the DA? What about the rest of the teachers?

But of one thing she was absolutely certain—Harry Potter was an absolute idiot.

To those who have reviewed:

Monkeybaby: Thank you so much for your review! I really hoped you enjoyed it!

Immortal ninjaaa: I really loved reading your reviews and reactions as you got farther along the story. It was really refreshing to see people reflecting on older chapters. I was a little concerned that you wouldn't like the story as you progressed, but I'm glad that Ankaa's character has lived up to your expectations (and I hope that she continues to). And I do completely agree that Ankaa has been starting to behave more like a Gryffindor, and I think partly that's been because for a while they had become the only people she was around, especially after losing Ceph. But now, especially with the escalating tension, I think she's going to have to depend more on her Slytherin side to survive the war. And don't you worry, her Granny will get what she deserves. I've got some great stuff planned for her!

K9Train: Thank you for blessing me with a review, you have no idea how much it means to me! I'm sorry I made you wait so long for the next update, but rest assured that I've got everything planned now and updates shall be a lot quicker. Hopefully you like this chapter! I'll be waiting to hear what you think of it!

Miku TQm: I'm glad you got around to reading the story! I loved reading your reviews, and I have to say I agree with you. I'd love nothing more than for Ankaa to give a giant F U to death and just throw her grandmother and dear old Bellatrix under the bus. Alas, we shall have to wait and see. I hope you like this chapter, I'll be waiting to hear what you think of it!

jigglyhuff: First of all, I love your name. It made me smile the first time I read it. And second, thank you so much for reading my story. And you're completely right, the dynamic between Harry and Ankaa is strangely gripping. I agree that they play off one another in quite interesting ways. I do wonder sometimes if they can make something more of their relationship and how that would work entirely, cause they give each other a kind of balance in my opinion. Hmmm... But anyway, thanks so much for your review! I'll be waiting to hear what you think of this chapter!

As always, a big thank you for those of you who have reviewed and followed the story. I appreciate it and I hope that this chapter lives up to your expectations! Don't hesitate to review if you want!