Chapter 11: Verdicts Reached and Emotions Gained.

Thanks for the reviews (sniff!) it means a lot to me, well here goes nothing...

Anna collapsed into the nearest armchair exhausted, as she looked around at the keen faces she knew that a nosy interrogation was to follow and was dreading it. She put her head in her hands, hoping that this was all some terrible nightmare and would go with the coming of morning, Aunt Polly's sudden death had shocked her to her very core but she didn't feel a great sense of loss or sympathy towards her relatives and she couldn't understand why. Anna didn't feel…attached to them somehow; maybe she thought it is because I'm still in shock or because I didn't really know them. Upon this thought she shook her head she hadn't known her father and he was gone yet she felt connected to him and had privately grieved his loss.

Someone cleared their throat, Anna looked up to find them still staring at her, she realised to her dismay that Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Millicent, Zabini, Nott and with a jolt as she locked eyes with him Draco were among the people seated around her, narrowing her eyes, she massaged her face, it felt taut with stress.

"What happened?" Pansy enquired as soon as she finished, question upon question was fired at Anna.

"Who was he?"

"Who's gone?"

"Why did you have to go?"

"You're not related to him are you?"

And so it went on until Draco silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"Give her a chance to breath, will you! Now, what happened?" She looked around at them and in all her despair felt the strangest urge to laugh. Giggles erupted somewhere from deep inside her until eventually she stopped and began to hiccup.

"Whats it to you?" she asked them. They stared back at her as if she were insane, in fact she felt quite the opposite in her mind things had never been clearer.

"Well, if you really are dying to know, my aunt was murdered either today or yesterday and it was my cousin who so calmly wandered into our lesson today hence why I had to accompany him now if you don't mind I am going to sleep, good day!" and with that she rose sharply and left them. On the outside she was laughing but on the inside she was weeping.

In Anna's mind things had never been worse; just as she had settled her aunt had been killed by god knows who, there was still the tedious schoolwork to complete, there was this elusive truth which meant that at some point in her life Anna decided that she had been lied to, her mother was in hiding and uncontactable, she hadn't been able to heed her mothers advice and to top it all off the same person who had killed her aunt could come after her cousin…little did she know that the killer had other ideas.

Anna lay there inwardly sobbing not for her cousin, not for her aunt or her uncle but for life and the harshness of it and for being so weak as to wallow in it. When she finally calmed down she decided to sort through her thoughts methodically; for Anna, it was the logical solution she rarely felt such emotion and when she did, she had been in control of it. She decided that there was nothing to be done about the killer except to stay alert and look out for any signs after all, she had no idea where to begin to look. Dumbledore had obviously worried for Henrys welfare therefore she concluded that he must know something and if he did what what was it? Was he protecting them? If he was then what was he protecting them from the truth or something else? She had no energy to continue this train of thought so instead she decided to concentrate on other issues.

She felt quite isolated, throughout her life Anna had always surrounded herself with 'inferior' people; to stifle her insecurities people around her always confirmed that Anna was as others saw her not as she saw herself. She always needed to be a leader and in control although her mother had said, "Power was a state of mind." Anna disagreed, she sanctimoniously believed that power in whatever shape or form was valuable and ultimate, yet this was a stark weakness. It was that theory now which had left her here alone, if she had not been so intent on making her 'mark' her fellow slytherins would not be so interested in her and her problems.

She sat up wiping her emotions away with the black, sombre sleeve of her robes. This triggered the memory of Durmstrang with it's blood red robes and furs of winter, she smiled reminiscently. She settled back remembering the small (compared to Hogwarts) four-floored castle with it's vast sweeping grounds containing innumerable lakes and mountains all vaguely daunting but in Anna's mind they were silent, comforting memories. These thoughts made Anna feel all the most desolate, but still she would not give in to her emotions.

She was stirred from her musings by the door creaking open and the torches in the brackets flickered into life illuminating the dark room. "Anna? Anna, are you awake?" As Pansy (trying and failing to be quiet) emerged from the light corridor outside Anna inwardly groaned.

"Well I am now." She sighed sarcastically, gingerly rising up onto one elbow.

"Good, you seem fine to me I told Draco that you would be, what a waste of time coming up here I might as well stay now, have you got the answers for the charms homework? Can I copy it?"

Anna inwardly winced at the sound of charms, Pansy seemed oblivious to it. Professor Flitwick had been disappointed in her recently, or so he had kindly said "My dear, you have true potential, don't waste it!" after handing her back her latest somewhat lacking test results.

"No you can't, did he send you up here?" she asked.

"Yeah, he seemed quite concerned actually. Anyway sorry to hear about your aunt and all, feel free to tell me anytime I won't breathe a word of it." Pansy said distracted not sounding at all remorseful, Anna didn't believe that Pansy could keep her mouth shut for more then one minute.

At this point Anna decided that she was going to tell the truth not because she felt guilty or shameful but because she thought it would cause a lot more damage to her if somebody else told Pansy, she felt the callous need to shock her friend.

"Pans…um you know what Zabini was saying earlier about what happened Christmas day."

"Yeah, I didn't believe a word of it for one minute! I mean come on Draco isn't likely to kiss some sad loser staying here for Christmas is he? What, you didn't believe it did you!" She laughed; it was at times like these that Anna wanted to throttle her.

"Anyway what were you going to say? Please can I copy your work?" Pansy requested

"Well, it doesn't matter, no you can't and don't ask again. How are you and Nott getting along?" She said thinking better of it.

"Oh Anna, he's perfect! Mum even said that he might even be able to stay for Easter!" Pansy rolled onto her bed dreamily.

"Have you actually asked him whether he wants to stay or not? And what about Draco?" she smirked, knowing Pansy she probably hadn't even asked him out yet, although she was tired this conversation was cheering Anna up considerably.

Pansy sat up quickly, "Yes of course I have he said that…he'll think about it and as for Draco I'm not bothered." Pansy said shiftily. Anna laughed she didn't believe that for a second.

"What if I told you that Mal-I mean Draco did actually kiss someone but he is just covering it up, and I know who it was." Anna said.

"Really! Who was it? I knew it was true!" she leaned forward eagerly.

"What if I told you that she was a close friend of mine and had confided what had happened to me. She thinks that perhaps if he realises that she will not be forced into a…situation and she was allowed to be the one who called the shots then…she also said that it was socially unacceptable," at this she received a blank look, "well she would have not slapped him."

"What? Holy cow you really know this person don't you, I knew you were lying when I asked you if you had many any new friends! So tell me who is it?" she said with the need for gossip engraved all over her keen face.

"I'll tell you if…if you promise me that you're sure you really, really couldn't care less and won't have a hissy fit when I tell you." Anna said silently pleading that Pansy wouldn't go off into one, she watched her friend shrewdly, calculating her reaction. Pansy rolled her eyes and closed them,

"Ok, sure whatever, Just tell me." Sounding impatient she began to fidget this was putting Anna off by making her want to laugh. Just then the door caught Anna's eye, as it had seemed to have come ajar.

"Whoever's there come in, we don't like eavesdroppers." Pansy looked at her puzzled then enlightened when Millicent, Lorna (a slim, sour faced, mean, rodent featured girl) and Veronique (a broad, dark haired bullish girl. Anna sometimes wondered if Millicent and Veronique had a brain cell between them!) walked in looking to Anna's utter irritation not in the least bit ashamed. Anna looked at them each in turn,

"Why were you outside our door listening to us? Are you that desperate that you gain pleasure from eavesdropping into others peoples private conversations?" Pansy burst into fits of giggles,

Lorna tried to stare Anna down,

"Pansy can't keep her big mouth shut so she would have told us everything any way so it is not that big a deal, but obviously it is to you." She sneered. Pansy stopped gigging and gave Lorna cold stare.

"May I remind you that I wasn't the one listening in, so obviously it is a big deal to you too and you are the one who decided to inform the world and his wife about Draco and Pansy so if Pansy's mouth is big yours is effing huge!" she watched fuming desperately hanging onto her heated temper as Veronique and Millicent tried to be inconspicuous (a very hard job for them) and leave,

"where do you two think you are going? So do you want to listen or not because to be honest I've had enough of Chinese whispers and if I tell her you are all going to find out anyway." She smiled slowly and cat-like as immediately had everyone's attention,

"Well I think you all know what I was talking about don't you? What I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted was that I was the one that Draco kissed." She smirked as they all gaped at her everyone that is except Lorna.

"You expect us to believe that? That you kissed Malfoy! My god you're deluded!" she began to laugh,

"Well to be quite frank nobody gives a damn about your opinion, because you speak out of your arse."

It was Anna's turn to laugh as Lorna looked as if she had just been slapped everyone else began to laugh with her or rather at Lorna.

"Fine then I will go ask him!" Lorna exclaimed dramatically then hurried out of the room.

With that Pansy who had seemed to be in a bad state of shock leapt from her bed replying when Anna gave her a questioning look "I have to see this, Anna and you should too." Millicent and Veronique took their chance to escape with her. Anna heaved herself up and slowly followed not knowing what to expect.

She entered the dimly lit common room to find a livid Lorna confronting a delighted Draco,

"You haven't answered my question! Did you kiss her!" she yelled her voice rising steadily, Draco seemed to be coldly and thoroughly enjoying himself,

"Who?"

"ANNA!"

"Maybe, maybe not. You don't have to shout she is right behind you." Lorna span round, seething.

"She said that you did!"

"Did she?"

"YES!" Pansy stepped between them,

"Calm down, now seriously Draco did you kiss Anna you know the girl standing over there." She pointed vaguely in Anna's general direction Anna nodded and prayed to god that he wouldn't muck about as he feigned thought. It would ruin her carefully crafted reputation if he were to say no; they would believe the perfect boy who appeared flawless in their bias gaze, not some glacial, recent foreigner who they did not completely know all about yet.

"Hhmmm, now let me see…why yes I think I did. Now, Anna what happened?"