Chapter 12: Harsh Reality.
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…Her slight small child's footsteps echoed round the passage as she galloped down the steps, as she reached the bottom she bowled over by her the momentum and fell the last couple of steps. Landing in a heap at the bottom, she stood up quickly, dizzily tottering and then resumed the original pace. Coarse stone enclosed the corridor, torches blazed aggressively in their brackets, she passed large, heavy doors complete with equally large and foreboding iron bolts and keyholes, her surroundings were warped as if from a memory long ago. She neared the end of the passage she saw a vaguely familiar shape.
A creamy blonde, chilly and dignified woman stood clutching a small bundle hard to her chest. She appeared to be trying to be calm the hysterical bundle almost feebly, she was struggling under the weight of her emotions and task. Anna wandered closer, her heart clamoring, her fear abandoned for sheer curiosity. All that was visible from the bundle was a small shock of black hair, it seemed bizarre that she stood outside the door cloaked by a solemn, heavy atmosphere. The young woman of around thirty shifted her weight,the bawling face of a child over a year old appeared, she wandered closer almost mesmerized reaching out to touch her,only tojerk away violently, her heart in her throatas a man's panic-stricken scream erupted from inside the door...
Thwack! She started, consciously registering that something had made contact with her head. Thickly, still half asleep she mumbled, "Leave alone, sleeping."
"So you sleep in the common room do you?" a voice to her left enquired, laughing.
"Come on Anna, I know you like potions but isn't using the homework as a pillow taking it a bit far?" another voice to her right quipped.
"What?" she said groggily, actually opening her eyes this time and raising her head slowly to look around still heady with sleep. She found that she was indeed in the common; with her quill discarded on the floor and creases in her parchment and robes from where she had slept on her half finished homework. The writing on the parchment towards the end looked as though it had been written by somebody who had forgottenhow to write.The fire in the grate had long since burnt out into ashes, she looked around once more and saw that it had been a rolled up piece of parchment that had been lobbed at her; in an attempt to wake her up.
"What time is it?" she asked yawning as she did so.
"Its 8 o'clock." Said the person whoshe sleepily identified as Pansy to her right.
"In the morning." Blaise Zabini added smugly, both appeared disgustingly cheerful.
"How come I'm in here?" she pondered lazily.
"Well you were here last night talking and doing your homework after dinner and then you fell asleep, simple." Pansy explained slowly as if speaking to someone very stupid, which for her was ironic.
"Get up Anna! Everyone is up in the great hall having breakfast, now! You don't want to keep everyone waiting for you, do you?" he said chuckling fiendishly. She got up sloth like, grumbling, collected her things and walked begrudgingly into her dormitory. Armed with her hairbrush and all manner of magic beauty/cleansing products which Anna considered life saving and necessary to use in the morning she began to get ready.
Anna finally skipped out half an hour later refreshed to find herself faced with two impatient, tapping people.Theywere rapidly decreasing in tolerance, she could almost see an angrily throbbing temple on a beetroot Blaise. She watched them warily as they quickly turned tail and departed. Anna waited for a while before she began the short upward journey to the great hall,to makesure that she increased the distance between them and her. As she stumbled slowly along behind them, she looked around her; she couldn't believe she had been at Hogwarts for five months, so much had happened in what had felt like such a short space of time. Everything felt slightly surreal, like she was looking into somebody else's life.
They entered the great hall to find a strangely subdued atmosphere, everywhere else except the Slytherin table where Malfoy was deep in conversation with Nott. He looked up as they approached and smiled felinely, "What are you so happy about?" Pansy who sat precariously close to Malfoy asked suspiciously as Anna walked in and slipped in the space beside her, grabbing a piece of already buttered toast from her plate.
"Hey get your own!" Pansy shrieked at Anna, who frowned; she was sure her ears were bleeding.
Anna screwed her face up, trying to satisfy an itch before saying,
"I'm so hungry I've only just come in, I deserve it," innocently almost as if she required pity.
She moved up and along the bench sharpish desperate to get away out of her reach,trying to urgently eat the toast. Pansy swelled with annoyance, her face reddened and grimaced with antagonism before raising her hand as if to swipe her. Realising Anna was too far away she lazily turned back to persistently interrogate Malfoy.
"Anyway you haven't answered my question, what are you so happy about?" Anna watched distantly, her face fixed with uncertainty and shrewd suspicion.
"Oh, nothing so unimportant that it concerns you." He answered pompously, intent upon sadistically irritating Pansy as a smug leer played across his lips. She needn't have asked as just then the morning post arrived.
A large handsome screech owl landed just beside Pansy, carrying a copy of the daily prophet as Malfoy inadequately fumbled around looking for spare change, Anna audaciously grasped the paper and took it from the owl just as he and Pansy in unison lunged out trying to grab it but she was too quick for them.
Pictures of people stared back at her looking scary, her eyes flicked over each image taking in the information and name below each; Dolohov, Nott, Lestrange, Rookwood, Jugson, Macnair, Avery, Crabbe, Rabastan, Mulciber and Malfoy. The headline shouted out AZKABAN BREAKOUT! And underneath the small article read; Yesterday evening the Azkaban prison played host to a large breakout of eleven of it's most dangerous occupants who are he who must not be named' s most loyal supporters; the deatheaters who are infamously known to commit heinous and evil crimes for you know who. Upon asking the ministry they answered "Be warned these wizards are extremely dangerous and are not under any circumstances to be approached, if you know the whereabouts of any of these wizards it is of the utmost importance that you contact the ministry straightaway. If you have any concerns please consult your guide to elementary home and personal defence." The minister for magic herself was unavailable for comment.
For more information concerning these wizards and the crimes they have committed turn to page 3.
For details on how to contact the ministry turn to page 5.
Anna put the paper down slowly and looked up first at Pansy then at pathetic Malfoy menacingly and said coldly, "So were you all going to keep me in the dark about him…" she gestured towards him almost disgusted, she turned to him and spat sarcastically, "I suppose it's no coincidence that you're arrogantly smug on the day after someone who has the same surname as you and looks very much like an older version of you happens to breakout of a prison."
