Chapter 14: Ana's Story

Leah's feelings were thoroughly jumbled after her trip to Hogsmeade with Harry. She still had nagging feeling towards him; he had grown on her in the days leading up to day at Hogsmeade. Now a days, Draco was gaining colour but became even more vicious towards her. Maybe I over did it with the racist comment, thought Leah but thought again, of course I didn't over do it; he even said stuff like 'mudblood'. How can he say something like that? – That racist prick.

But her confused feelings were shoved aside as Elise's birthday came up. The poor Kneazle that had been locked up for most of the day in her trunk was only allowed out while at school. But it's time for freedom finally came and was presented to Elise early in the morning. Leah got up before Elise was awake and silently opened the lid of her trunk and picked up the sleeping Kneazle. The Kneazle had fortunately befriended Krysta and hadn't ended up in any fights.

"Wha - ?" the Kneazle started to say, but was immediately shushed by Leah and pointed at the beds of sleeping people.

She crept up to Elise's bed, carrying the Kneazle that gently swished its ferret's tail and carefully placed him on Elise's stomach. She woke up with a grunt from the weight being suddenly placed on her stomach. The first thing Elise saw were two green-grey eyes staring intently at her. But before Elise could scream, the Kneazle said, "Are you my owner?"

Elise's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth to stop herself from swearing. By that time, she saw Leah in the back ground and looked at her for an explanation.

"Happy Birthday," Leah said with a smile. Elise feebly pointed at the animal still sitting on her stomach. "Oh! It's a Kneazle, er, well a Jarzle really – It's crossed between a Jarvey and a Kneazle. Oh, but don't worry, it doesn't swear. And you'd better look after it well because it's been living in my trunk for the last couple of weeks."

Elise couldn't find any words, or her voice for that matter, and lay in her bed taking-in all the information that Leah had fed her. At last, she found her voice and said, "You know, I really don't do mornings."

"Ugh, shut up!" Pansy's voice came from a four-poster bed. It's tightly shut curtains was thrashed aside as face resembling a pug, with its hair a mess and eyes puffy. It looked around the room and squinted in the sun's rays splintering through the tiny window. Pansy realised that it was the birthday of one of her fellow friends and jumped out. "Oh, sorry! I forgot it was your birthday, I didn't mean to snap at you," she pasted a smile on her face and came over to the bed to hug Elise.

The Kneazle who was still sitting on top of Elise looked at her with dislike, hissed and started swearing and spewing with insults. "Filthy inbred! Ugly dog! Did a hippogriff tread on your face, because it looks too gruesome to even look at it and realise that it's a face! Get a personal trainer, chubby!"

Pansy's face turned into a deep shade of purple and she looked at Leah accusedly. Leah looked at her innocently and shrugged her shoulders, "it takes time to get used to people," she said. The Kneazle gave one last loud insult, which caused the other girls in the next dorm to come running into, and stood up, waved its tail and turned around so it was facing away from Pansy. Elise, Leah and the rest of the girls tried very hard no to laugh, and both snickered behind their hands – that was all except Pansy.

She stiffly turned to Elise and said, "I've also got something for you." She stood up and walked over to her trunk where she started to shuffle around, trying to find something. While doing so she said, "I'm sorry this isn't wrapped; I didn't have enough time, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Leah looked at her with suspicion. She would have almost bet all the galleons in her vault in Gringott's that Pansy hadn't even got her a present. Leah unconsciously crossed her arms across her chest as Pansy came back with a stationary set – or more like a roll of parchment, three crumpled envelopes and a spare nib.

However crappy the present was, Elise was gracious and thanked her. But Leah could see her rolled her eyes as soon as Pansy turned to go back to bed. Leah fought back the urge to laugh.

By the time Leah and Elise went up to breakfast, Elsie had gathered a couple of "Happy Birthdays" and a few more gifts from her friends. Even Crabbe and Goyle grunted something as they came and sat down next to them. Of course, the two were never with out Malfoy, who stalked close behind them. But he didn't notice Elise, or her array of presents she had spread in front of her. Instead, he made a beeline to Leah and sat down between her and Crabbe.

"So, how was your date with the saint? Did you get an autograph for me?" he said mockingly although his tone was very stiff.

"Drop it, Malfoy. You're just jealous that you don't have enough morale as he does," Leah said spitefully. She gripped her spoon which was dipped in her bowl of porridge.

His cheeks tinged slightly, "At least I don't need dead parents to be famous."

"That's it!" Leah burst out and her hand, gripping her spoon tightly flung up, followed by a SPLAT! Malfoy's perfectly ironed robe was now splattered and dripping with porridge and laughter echoed along the whole table. But Leah didn't feel like joining in and left for the dorm.

Malfoy watched her leave out of the Great Hall and grabbed a napkin with a huff and started cleaning himself. He muttered under his breath but he wasn't able to contain them under his breath for long, "I mean, how's that fair? All she's done while she's been here is to muck up everything."

"Maybe you shouldn't criticise her," Elise said gently.

Malfoy didn't realise she was there. He raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you keep on provoking her. She wouldn't act so rashly around you if you'd stop insulting her like that. It's not like she did anything wrong by going out with Potter, anyway."

"Provoke her?! I'm not the one who's provoking her, she is!"

"Forget it, Malfoy. You just don't get it," Elise gave up and left the table.

But Elise wasn't going back to the dormitory. She went down a large corridor, past a row of class rooms and turned, into a large room brightly lit with many candles. It was the library.

She walked along the numerous isles and started taking out random books on potion making. A Hundred Potions and Droughts, Potions for the Passionate, Good Night and Sweet Dreams – a guide to sleeping potions… books on dream potions was what she was looking for, to be exact.

She then took the pile of books to a near by table and started flipping though the pages. She was half way though a mouldy book called The Potion Guide for Dreamers when she found the potion she was looking for. She scribbled the ingredients and method on a loose piece of parchment and left.

Down into the castle, she went and she didn't stop until she had reached an old door; the door to the Potions classroom. The dungeon was dark, as usual and nobody was there. She hurried to the back of the room and opened the cupboard door and fiddled around. She had brought her bag with her and she hastily stuffed roots, liquids and other odd objects into it. But she was stopped short by a sound of foot steps coming down the stair case, down the corridor and turn into the classroom. Elise quickly shut the cupboard door and ducked down behind a desk as the torches instantly flamed up and lit up the room.

Snape had walked in and he carried with him a huge pile of parchment rolls; obviously some essay he had set earlier. He shuffled about, but Elise couldn't see what he was doing. But his shuffling suddenly stopped and Elise froze to a point where she was afraid to even breathe. His quiet foot steps neared hers and she stiffened her body.

Snape had noticed the door of the cupboard was slightly ajar. Someone had been snooping, he thought and walked over to inspect. Fortunately, he didn't realise Elise hiding behind him, under the desk. The cupboard door creaked eerily as he opened it and he started looking about at the stash. He started muttering the ingredients that were either missing or had lessened.

Elise could feel the bag under her arm, some of the missing ingredients protruding from the top of it. She stifled a squeak when a drawling voice echoed though the dungeon.

"Professor Snape." It was Malfoy.

"Mr. Malfoy, what brings you here to my class room? A letter of threat from your father? Oh pardon me, I had quite forgotten; he is in gaol."

"Don't you dare talk about my father. Just wait until he gets out…"

'Please Mr. Malfoy," snorted Snape. "Don't tell me you think you're father will be escaping with out being caught again?"

Malfoy didn't answer, Elise was sure she could feel the heat of anger penetrate from near the door; her escape.

Malfoy cleared her throat and started anew. "Uh, I'm in need of your help."

Elise took a chance and hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and crawled out from underneath the desk. She hid behind each row as she got nearer to the door. Malfoy had moved from where he stood at the door, so the coast was clear. As she neared the door, she turned to see behind her and saw Malfoy looking at her from the corner of his eye. Elise would have stopped dead if it wasn't for his discreet wink; a signal for her to go.

She bolted to the end of the corridor, once through the door and stood around waiting for Malfoy. She didn't have to wait long. "Why did you come?" she asked.

"Curiosity," he said smoothly. "And I saw you go out of the library and then saw Snape walk in the direction that you had gone."

"Oh, right," Elise said suspiciously. "Thanks anyway."

"Don't mention it," he said and turned away. But he stopped after a few steps and turned around, "I'll give Leah a second chance," he said after a pause. "…and Happy Birthday, by the way."

Leah stood at the top of a tower, looking up at the moon. The crescent moon was only as thick as a finger nail and rapidly disappeared. Now it was near pitch black, except for the light of the infinite stars. A rush of cold came up on her and she looked down to realise her whole body was covered in goose-pimples. The thin cloth of her pyjamas wasn't enough to keep in the warmth of her body and soon she was shivering. He sat down on the cold stone floor and huddled and clung tightly to her clothing. Something was in her pocket, she could feel, and she stretched out her hand to take it out. It was a small blue bottle and inside was filled with pills. She looked at them with wonder; they looked awfully familiar but she couldn't remember where they had come from…

She took the lid off and tipped the contents into her hand. She looked at her pills with longing. In them, lay her future, her warmth, her happiness, her freedom, her death. She didn't want to live in this cruel world any more – she had had enough. All around her were dead-ends and darkness. There was no hope left, no happiness and all she could do for herself was end it there and start afresh. Start afresh with Ana beside her…

Her hand was inches away from her lips and grew closer. Suddenly a shrill scream pieced the silent night, "No!"

But Leah couldn't stop herself - it was her freedom! But that voice…

"No!"

I know that voice… the pills were her happiness!

"No!"

One pill, two pill, four pill… twelve pills… she couldn't care… fifteen… twenty…three…

"NO!"

Ana's voice… it's Ana. I'll be with you now…

The bottle lay on the ground and a few remaining pills were scattered around her. Leah lay down on the floor and looked up towards the ceiling. But the ceiling had gone. Instead, the infinite stars twinkled above her and she brought her weak hands up to trace the dots to make a picture.

A picture of me and Ana…

Darkness flooded her body – she could feel it. It spread like hunters after a fox, lions on a prowl and eagles after a mouse.

Eagles… to fly like the eagles… fly away…from here.

"No…" echoed faintly in the distance, but it was too late. She had gone…

Ana had gone…

Leah sat up, pale and sweaty in her bed. Elise sat next to her, trying to calm her down. "Ana…" Leah muttered.

"It's ok; it's just a bad dream. She's gone now," Elise said soothingly.

"No! I don't want her to go… but she's gone."

"Just a bad dream," Elise reassured her, patting her head.

Leah lay back down again but clung to her sheets. She hadn't had Ana's nightmare in about a year. And even then, it had been nearly six months before… Ana had lay down in her favourite spot of the dark castle of Durmstrang. But Leah didn't know… she didn't know that she was stuck. And by the time Leah knew, it was too late.

Leah was too afraid to sleep again and lay in her bed, still clinging to her sheets until the rays of dawn reached the tiny window of the room. The sliver of light pierced the dark room and small snores could be heard from beyond the closed bed curtains.

A/N: Please R&R!