Chapter 11: Sorely Missnaken
Selected Listening: Precious Things- Tori Amos
Author's Note: Haha, see what I did there? Anyway, please read and review my story, not my puns.
Anastasia watched Harry sulk in the corner of the common room all afternoon as students walked by, looked at him, and then whispered to each other as they passed.
"Try to ignore them. It's not right what they're doing," she tried to encourage.
"I'm trying very hard…doesn't mean they stop," he said pointedly. Ron and Hermione had gone up to fetch their study materials.
She knew something of how he felt. She remembered when Snape cornered her in the potions final the previous year and still ensured she failed the test in front of all the other students. To have your secrets on display when you're vulnerable, and you don't even know what all has happened in your past to make sense of it. It seemed like Professor Snape was particularly good at that.
"I can't take this anymore," Harry stood just as Hermione and Ron came down with their books, "I'm going to find Justin and tell him what really happened."
"I'll go with you as backup," Anastasia offered. Hermione's eyes flitted to the corner in an accusatory fashion.
"Are you feeling well enough?" she asked critically, which really meant you better not be going to steal from Justin again.
"I feel well enough to help a friend who needs me. Besides, maybe a walk will help," she thought the last part softly to herself.
"Thanks," Harry said, and they ventured into the castle corridors. Anastasia suggested checking the Hufflepuffs' library spot first.
Harry nodded determinedly and walked forward without saying anything. Anastasia followed, holding one arm around her still-panging abdomen.
"That was a killer knockback jinx," she said thoughtfully.
"Did Pansy use one on you?" Harry asked. She shook her head.
"I'm talking about the one you used on Draco. You really hit him hard," she said.
Harry stopped and stared at her funny. "Draco?" he asked. She flushed bright pink.
"I mean Malfoy," she corrected. Harry frowned but brushed it off.
"Well, he really makes me mad. All that stuff he says about muggleborn students. What gives him the right to be so cruel?"
"Nothing," she said resolutely, "but he must think he has a good reason."
They turned into the moderately full library and walked down the aisles of wooden bookshelves filled with rich leather volumes. Anastasia led Harry to the Hufflepuff table, but before she turned the last corner, he caught her shoulder.
The Hufflepuffs murmured awful things about Harry, including a plot to kill Justin. Anastasia watched Harry and his despondent gaze. She remembered it so full of hope when she first went with Hagrid to the tiny island shack, and she and Harry lay together on the floor, looking up at the ceiling as if they could see through it to their futures. He never imagined being hated for things outside his control.
Harry grabbed Anastasia's robe sleeve and dragged her around the corner.
"Do you know where Justin is?" he demanded of the Hufflepuffs. Anastasia looked at Harry, startled. It wasn't the best line to start out with in this situation.
"Going to set a monster on him?" Zacharias Smith accused. "He's left to hide from you in the common room."
"Harry's not the heir of Slytherin!" Anastasia defended.
"And I didn't set that snake on him. I was trying to stop it!" Harry yelled.
"Sure. Likely story," Hannah Abbot spoke up. "Better watch your back, Anastasia."
"She's getting on his good side now, so he won't pull anything, but watch her be next," Zacharias commented.
Anastasia drew back. For being reportedly friendly, these Hufflepuffs were not much the type.
"Harry's my friend and I believe him," she stressed. "He's a good person. He would never hurt anyone."
"Don't waste your breath," Harry murmured and pulled her away by the shirt sleeve again. They walked silently through the halls. Anastasia felt her face turn red with rage.
"They're awful!" she asserted. "How could they be so awful! It's not even your fault."
Harry didn't say anything as they walked.
"I think we should split up," Anastasia said. "We may still be able to catch Justin if he's on the way to the common room. You take the front staircase. I'll take the back. We'll meet in the middle on the second floor.
"Okay," Harry said softly. "But be quick. You shouldn't be alone right now."
Anastasia nodded. She wasn't worried. If she ran into something nasty, she knew all the secrets of the castle and could easily duck into one the secret passages she used to navigate as a child.
She ran down the back staircase and exited on the first floor where the kitchens were, running into someone on the way.
"Ow!" she yelled. The other person and her hit heads and spilled to the floor. Anastasia looked up. "Oh, Ginny. It's you."
Ginny didn't say a word to her. She rose without a sound and walked up the stairs determinedly.
Her hands were covered in dark red blood.
"Ginny, wait!" Anastasia called and ran after her, "You're hurt!" but Ginny ran faster. Anastasia reached the second floor, running all the way down the hall to the bathroom, but she didn't find Ginny.
What she found was horrific.
Justin, lay paralyzed on the ground. Anastasia's hand flew to her mouth. Above him, Nearly Headless Nick shone a dark gray, steam pouring out of him like a robot on the fritz.
On the other side of the scene, Harry stood frozen as well.
"It wasn't me! I swear," he said, holding his hands in surrender. Anastasia nodded.
"Okay," she tried to sound convincing, like she still believed him, but her voice cracked. She knelt on the floor beside Justin's frozen form, his eyes wide with fear at whatever he saw.
"I'm going to investigate," Harry scrambled. He searched the area, walking this way and that, and all the way up to the castle window, where he watched something intently on the ground.
Remembering her promise to Draco, she thought a silent I'm sorry, and dug through Justin's right pocket to find his inhaler. A petrified person wouldn't be breathing anytime soon.
"The spiders! They're back again!" Harry turned just as Anastasia finished stowing the medication in her pocket. It was full this time, much heavier than the last.
"Spiders?" she asked. But they didn't have time to talk any more. The head professors were on the scene, gathering around them.
"We found them like this, we promise!" Anastasia vouched for Harry, who looked as if he might soil himself for fear of expulsion.
"This is out of my hands, dear." Minerva murmured. "Come this way."
While the other professors cleaned up the body and the specter, Minerva lead them all the way to the front entrance of the headmaster's suite, which Anastasia admittedly never used. The statue of an Eagle with its wing's spread greeted them as Minnie said the password, and they were enveloped in the staircase of the statue's wingspan.
This was not how Anastasia intended to arrive in her dwelling.
Minnie left them in the office while she went to fetch Albus in the headmaster's suite. Harry stared in amazement at all the wonderful baubles in the room.
"This is incredible," he said nervously.
"Isn't it?" Anastasia asked, her expression just as frightened. Harry's eyes fell upon the sorting hat on the shelf. Hewalked towards it.
"This thing almost put me in Slytherin…" he said sadly. "I wonder if it still would."
"You should ask it," Anastasia suggested, "it almost put me in Hufflepuff."
"Hufflepuff?" Harry asked with an ill expression. "Why would you be with them? They're awful."
"My mum was—I mean, my mum was very friendly. I'm sure if she was magic, she would have been in Hufflepuff."
"Was? Is she not—"
"Here, try it on!" Anastasia exclaimed and shoved the hat on Harry's head before he could ask any more questions.
Harry stood for a moment pondering with the hat, brow furrowed angrily. Resolutely, he placed the hat back on the shelf.
"The hat and I don't agree on some things."
Anastasia nodded. She had wandered over to Fawkes's perch where the old bird sat ruffled and aged.
"Look, Harry," she said. The bird cooed in familiarity and placed its head in her hand, nuzzling her gently. "Good boy."
"I don't think you should touch it—"
Fawkes burst into flames. Anastasia snatched her hand back. Harry screamed. Albus ran down the stairs from the suite.
"Sir—sir we couldn't do anything," Harry rambled like a lunatic, "it was there, and it was old, and then it was on fire."
Anastasia doubled over laughing. Albus's stern countenance softened.
Albus concluded their meeting by saying he believed that neither Harry nor Anastasia was the heir of Slytherin, but they should let him know if they saw anything strange.
Anastasia thought briefly of Ginny and swallowed.
That couldn't have really been blood on her hands, could it? Anastasia thought to herself as she and Harry walked back to the common room. There were shadows in the stairwell, it was probably a trick of the light.
She found Ginny in the windowsill of the common room, scribbling in her journal again.
"Ginny…Ginny," Anastasia asked. No response. "GINNY!" she yelled, grabbing the journal. The Weasley girl jumped and panicked, scrambling to retrieve her book. Anastasia gave it back without a fight, but suddenly she felt very ill.
"Ginny, are you alright?" Anastasia asked. "I thought I saw you earlier…but you had something on your hands. Did you hurt yourself?" She took Ginny's hand and stared at it. There were no cuts or scrapes.
"I-I'm fine. Really fine. Thank you for asking. I'm going to write somewhere else now…"
Ginny, wide-eyed and flustered, sprinted upstairs.
Great work, Sherlock, now you've scared her. Anastasia thought to herself.
She journeyed upstairs to the second-year girls' dorm, wrapped the inhaler of Justin's in some parchment paper and tied a string around it, giving it to Crenshaw to deliver to Draco. With Hermione on her case, she couldn't risk delivering it in person.
Anastasia tried not to think of Justin's cold, lifeless stare.
The days passed without much else happening. Hagrid brought the Christmas decorations in, but somehow, they seemed less festive than normal. They entire student body walked around like zombies. Most of them were going home for break. Luckily for the Polyjuice plan, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were not.
Unluckily, Hermione woke Anastasia with a violent shake on Christmas morning.
"It's ready! It's ready! You need to go steal a hair from Parkinson or Greengrass or someone, right now. We can go tonight."
Anastasia broke away from Hermione's grasp and stared her dead in the eyes.
"I can't. I have dinner with grandad tonight. He's expecting me."
"What?" Hermione asked. "You can't bail now! We've already prepared it."
Anastasia climbed out of bed and folded her arms, sinking into her hip.
"Sure! Let me go with you on this crazy escapade and leave grandad alone on Christmas. I'm sure he won't be confused or sad or angry that his only daughter decided to skip out on Christmas dinner. And I'm even further certain he won't come looking for me when I don't show up on time, considering there's a paralysis monster running through the halls."
Hermione's face fell.
"Oh, you're right. I'm sorry," she sighed, "I was hoping you'd be with us, because you're so good at questioning Malfoy. I was certain if you looked like one of the Slytherin girls and batted your eyes a little, he'd tell you just about anything."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Anastasia asked. She wasn't sure whether to be insulted—because she wasn't as likeable as a Slytherin girl or insulted—because Hermione insinuated Draco liked her.
"I'm saying there's something about you that makes him tick, Anastasia…he hasn't been able to stop staring at you in classes lately."
"Oh…" She hadn't noticed. In fact, he'd been quiet and distant ever since she'd sent the medication. She assumed he'd got what he wanted and wouldn't be talking to her until he needed something else. "Look, Hermione, I know you're a bit jealous that I talk to Draco sometimes…but really that's not out of necessity, not preference. I don't want to be his best friend. I do still think he's a Slytherin twat."
A sympathetic Slytherin twat, but that was beside the point.
To excuse her absence in the plan from Ron and Harry, Anastasia played sick in Gryffindor tower all day, which was a horrible way to spend Christmas, but she supposed that was going to have to work. Hermione did bring her presents up from the boys, and she was able to enjoy the small pile of candy from Harry and Ron, a sweater from Mrs. Weasley, and Zonko's goods from the twins. Once the others had left to put their plan into motion, she slipped out of bed, took the invisibility cloak from her trunk, and wandered down the corridors to the back entrance of her suite. She had nearly reached the suit of armor when she saw a flash of red hair speed around the corner ahead.
Anastasia took her invisibility cloak off, leaving it at the entrance, then ran to catch the youngest Weasley.
"Ginny?" she called. "Ginny, you shouldn't be out alone right now."
Anastasia searched around the hallway, but there was no sign of anyone. A twinge of dread in her chest, Anastasia ran back to the knight, grabbed her cloak, and disappeared behind the hidden door before she could run into anyone or anything else.
In the Slytherin Common Room…
"What's eating you two?" Malfoy asked, staring at his lackeys. They always looked overweight and a bit ill, but now they seemed about to bust at the seams.
"Stomachache." Goyle said and slapped Crabbe on the shoulder. Draco rolled his eyes, the usual nonsense.
"I'm really curious to see if Green gets petrified," he wondered out loud, "At least then, I would know for sure."
"Know what for sure?" Goyle asked.
"I've explained this before, Goyle. To know if she really is the Heir of Slytherin."
"Why would she be?" echoed Crabbe, scratching his head. "She's in Gryffindor."
"And she's a mugg—" Goyle said "—I mean mudblood."
"No one said the heir of Slytherin has to be in Slytherin! And she's been on the scene of a petrification twice already. And she's not a mudblood—she told me that much—but she won't tell me who her parents are. What pureblood isn't proud of their own lineage unless they're hiding something?!" he reasoned.
"I agree!" Goyle encouraged. "What else makes you think she's the heir?"
"Well, you remember that necklace I stole from her in herbology?" he asked with a sly smile, "It looked exactly like one my mother's had for years…mum told me it's a Slytherin family heirloom. Now how would the gryffindork have something like that?"
Crabbe and Goyle shared a look of intensity, too intellectual for their usual cognitive abilities. Draco proved too far lost in his own ponderings to notice.
"I swear I met her in Diagon Alley two years ago, before we were even in school. We hung out together a couple of times, but I never saw her parents. Then she shows up on day one and acts as if she's never met me before! It's total looney bins." He looked down at his new ball and threw it a couple of times, catching it in one hand.
"We don't know her family. She vanishes constantly. Honestly, I think she would have to be the heir of Slytherin!"
The two lackeys gave each other a surprised look. Then, they ran towards the common room exit.
"Hey, where are you going?" Malfoy shouted after them.
"The hospital wing!" one called in a cracked voice. Malfoy rolled his eyes again and dropped down on the leather chaise. He thought to himself. If Crabbe and Goyle were going to abandon him that holiday evening, he might as well do some investigating of his own…
In the headmaster's suite…
Anastasia sat across from Dumbledore and poked at her Christmas dinner of rotisserie turkey and peas.
"Aren't you the least bit worried about who the heir of Slytherin is?" She asked. Dumbledore wiped his beard and put his napkin down.
"Of course, I'm worried, but I am sure that all will reveal itself in time, and we will decide what to do at that point."
"But Grandad, I am posing as a muggle-born student. What if they come after me? Have you even thought about that? If I make the heir mad by accident, who knows? It may come after me next!" This statement didn't seem to throw him, although he did seem more perturbed than before.
"My dear, you are a very strong and capable young witch. You are the last person I am worried about in all this. And I expect more from you. It is not like you to be scared."
Anastasia looked fiercely at Albus.
"I am not scared, Grandad! I'm tired of hiding. And I think now would be the most appropriate time to come out about all this." She placed her napkin down forcefully.
"It is not the most appropriate time if we are only doing it to save your life and sacrifice those of the other students," Albus said with a tone of finality. Anastasia looked down at her near-empty plate. The house elves always gave her more than she could fit into her body.
"Fine. But I still don't understand what you are hiding me from. If Voldemort comes back, I don't want to be hiding from him. I'll face him with everything I've got, including my real name!"
Dumbledore nodded repeatedly, raising his hands in surrender.
"Enough, enough. I understand. Once we wrap up this Chamber of Secrets business…we will find a way to come out to the press," he concluded, although he frowned doubtfully.
"Do you mean it? Do you really mean it, grandad?" Anastasia stood from the table, her smile grew wide.
Albus nodded solemnly.
"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she ran around to his side of the table and threw her arms around him in a great hug.
"Alright, alright, don't be so excited so soon, little one. It's a delicate manner, and it must be handled as such. It might take a while."
Anastasia nodded, too pleased to argue with timing, and they finished eating. Albus gifted her the most beautiful golden heart locket. On the inside, a picture of her mother, Holly, and her husband, Francis.
"I thought it would be a more subtle reminder than your amulet…at least this, no one will recognize from the outside."
"It's beautiful, Grandad," she said. After another embrace and a forehead kiss goodnight, she left the Dumbledore quarters with a sense of warmth and accomplishment. She would finally have her own name.
When Anastasia exited the suit of armor, she looked down and realized she'd forgotten her invisibility cloak in her room. She would have to go back.
But a voice sounded behind her.
"I've caught you this time, Green," Malfoy called. Anastasia turned to him and smiled pleasantly.
"Hello, Draco. Whatever could you mean?" she asked, wondering what made him decide to use her surname.
"I saw you coming out of the armor over there. Now tell me just what you're playing at, or I'll tell everyone you've been sneaking around the castle and setting the monster on muggleborns." He raised his wand at her, ready to strike. Unsure of what to do, she simply stood there, hands folded nicely in front of her.
"I already told you, I'm not the heir. You're seeing things," she stalled. Draco kept his wand pointed at her. He walked to where the armor stood guard and tried to pry it away from the wall.
"You stole that inhaler from the Hufflepuff…right after he was petrified…are you hiding your monster in here?" he asked directly. Now she understood. He was frightened of her. That's why he'd been distant.
"I didn't petrify Justin! You look silly. There's nothing there."
Draco snapped around.
"Quit playing daft. I've been following you. I've seen you come out of here loads of times," he said. Anastasia blushed. She really hadn't been careful that year. What could she do? Hex him? That would only look worse for Grandad. Before she could decide, she heard the distinct sound of slithering and knew there was only one thing she could do.
"Draco, get down!" Anastasia barreled him to the floor.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" he shouted in her ear as she looked up.
Reflected in the armor, appeared the gleaming amber eyes of a giant snake.
Anastasia turned rigid in Draco's arms.