Chapter 10 – Unexpected Losses and Gains

The next few weeks went by quickly Anna had homework, Quidditch practice and defense lessons with her dad. She found she didn't have any spare time to just hangout and talk to her new and only friends. Anna quickly found she liked having friends I took the loneliness out of life, she had been living with for 16 years. Even though she had hardly any time to spend with her friends she found out what kind of groups they fitted into in the school. Lupin was the leader of the group of the boys, every girl fancied him and they had good reason to Anna thought not only was on the Quidditch team but he was nice and a good guy. Sirius, everyone said was just like his father, Remus Lupin. James was very cheeky and knew how to talk his way out of trouble. Remus everyone said was rather odd, he had his father's looks but grew his hair long and didn't seem interested in girls he was more into sports, so it made sense he was captain of the Quidditch team.

The first Hogsmeade weekend came Anna was looking forward to getting away from homework, Quidditch practice and self defense lesson for a while. The day of the weekend Anna, Remus and Sirius entered went down the stairs to the entrance hall they saw a bunch of people circled around something. As they got closer the saw what everyone was staring at? Eric from Ravenclaw who Anna had almost forgotten about was standing in the middle while Alison was standing to one side looking scared out of her mind. Eric was holding a bunch of roses and reading very bad poetry, he was bright red.

Ally, Ally my love,
Who is graceful as a dove.
Why do you push me,
Away from what is meant to be.

He maybe handsomer than me,
But I can make you happier you see.
This summer you made me feel,
So, so alive and real.

He finished to a round of applause. Alison was looking horrified, Lupin was looking on with a mixture of concealed amusement and confusion. He looked between them then a look of understanding passed over his face.

"This summer?" Lupin said looking from Alison to Eric again. "Ah right… I see… well nice being with you Ally I don't want to see you around." He said and walked off towards the Gryffindor tower. Eric stood still staring at Alison not noticing the people around him. After a few minutes Alison shook her head and said, "Eric you great prat," and stormed off. People wandered off to breakfast leaving Anna, Remus and Sirius in the entrance Hall with Eric. Anna went up to him.

"I'm sorry," she said. But Eric shook his head.

"Don't worry at least it's out in the open now," he said sadly and walked of towards the Ravenclaw common room.

"What in Merlin's name was that about?" Sirius exclaimed.

"We really shouldn't discuss it here," Remus said looking around. "Come on let's get some breakfast then go find James and Lupin." They went to the great hall and found James eating with Lily. Remus told Lily everything that had happened. She couldn't have been happier.

"You should have seen the look on Alison's face, it was priceless," Remus said gleefully.

"Where's Lupin now?" Lily asked.

"Don't know we think he went back to the common room but were not sure," Remus said. "I have a feeling we are going to have to cheer him up today. Wanna help?" He asked Lily.

"Sorry I can't," she said suddenly blushing.

"Why not?" Remus, Sirius and James asked at the same time.

"Because I have a date," Lily said blushing even more.

"Who," demanded James.

"Michael, but why do you care," she shot at James.

"I was just wondering, that's all," said James defensively.

"Michael Rush in my year who has as much common sense as James," Jason said from behind them sitting down.

"Yes him and he has more common sense than James," Lily said while James spluttered on about how he had common sense.

"But that's not that hard though."

"Nah guess it's not really." After they finished breakfast they took some toast back to the common room, wishing Lily good luck on the way. They looked for Lupin in the common room but he wasn't there. They then went to the boy's dormitory. Anna hung back as they all went back.

"Come on we don't bite," James and Remus said dragging her in. There were four beds around the room, one had the hangings closed.

"Lupin, come on mate we bought you some food," James said.

"Not hungry," came the muffled reply from behind the curtains.

"Ok you're not hungry at least open the curtains," Sirius said sitting down on the bed next to Lupin's.

"No go away," he said.

"You're going to be late to Hogsmeade," Remus tried.

"I don't want to go," he replied. The three boys were looking at Anna as though expecting her
to do something. What? she mouthed at them. James motioned for her to talk to him. Anna rolled her eyes. Men, she thought can't even cheer their own friend up without help from a girl.

"Lupin, look we know what Alison did was wrong and horrible and unforgivable, but that was her not us so spend the day with us letting us cheer you up. We don't have to go to Hogsmeade we can spend the day doing what girls do." At this the others made faces but Anna gave them a look. Slowly the curtains opened Lupin had his hair all over the place and his blue eyes were red.

"I am NOT doing girly things," Lupin said grinning despite himself.

"OK," Anna said throwing her hands up, "no girly things, show me how guys spend days hanging out."

"Ok, you lot don't mind?" He asked James, Sirius and Remus.

"No mate, course not," they all replied. "We've been to Hogsmeade before and we can go anytime!"

"But Anna has never been—"

"I can go next time," she said quickly. So they spent the morning with Lupin telling them all Alison's bad points. Which Remus, James and Sirius gladly joined in with. Lupin sat on his bed James lay across the bottom and Remus and Sirius sat on Sirius' bed Anna sat on the floor in the middle. When Lupin started getting upset again Remus changed the subject.

"You know Anna you know all about us but we know hardly anything about you," Anna looked down, great what should she do now tell them or answer vaguely and brush them off. She thought the best option would be to brush them off but something inside her didn't want to. She wanted to tell these people about her life.

"What do you want to know?" She replied looking up and smiling. "But before I tell you anything I need to sit on the bed." She said getting up and sitting next to Remus and Sirius.

"Where have you been, you said you traveled around where in particular have you been?" Anna grinned she thought this might be the first one, she could answer this.

"Well I was born in Australia and lived there for 6 years."

"Wow, that's cool." Lupin exclaimed sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"I've never even been outside Britain!" complained James.

"Yeah well neither have I," said Remus.

"Anyway after that it was Athens f—"

"Greece!" James said. Anna nodded.

"For 3 years," she continued. "We stayed for a month in Romania,

"Romania, cool, Lily's uncle works there," James said.

"Do you want me to tell you or do you want to interrupt me?" She asked James grinning.

"Sorry not another word," he said. "Anyway then it was Sweden for 7 months it was bloody cold there! Milan for 4 months, Malaga for 9 months that's when I learned Spanish. Then Rome for 7 months, then Berlin for a year, Denmark after that for 10 months, Madrid for 8 months, then Frankfurt for a year, then Bulgaria for another year, Venice for 5 months, Bordeaux for a year, then finally Marseille for 9 months then here." After Anna stated all this there was a stunned silence. She looked around at Lupin, Remus, James and Sirius; they were all staring at her with open mouths.

"What?" she asked thinking she might have said something wrong, Harry had told her he had said he had been in America there is no way they could know could they?

"That's a lot of countries," Sirius said weakly.

"Oh yeah," Anna said slightly relieved, "it is I guess."

"How many languages can you speak?" asked James.

"Greek, Spanish, Italian, French, German and Bulgarian oh and English obviously," she said. They spent up until lunch asking Anna what each place was like, what there was to do and where she liked best and making her speak all the different languages. They went down to lunch and were just walking back to the common room and the boy's dormitory when the conversation turned to Alison again. At this Lupin got rather quiet and it was only when James said that Mary had broken up with him as well that Lupin announce that they were all going to find good decent girlfriends (boyfriend in Anna case.)

"So we are all single now?" Remus asked.

"Looks like it," James said dejectedly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Anna said and they all gave her a look that plainly said she was crazy. "I mean come on when you don't have a significant other you can do what you want, go where you want, flirt with who you want. And this means no more threats for me!"

"What do you mean threats?" Sirius asked.

"I mean I had both Alison and Mary telling me how I had to stay away from Lupin and James or I would suffer the consequences from their friends who were apparently in high places!" Remus and Sirius started laughing.

"That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," Remus exclaimed through chocked laughs.

"Sorry about that," said Lupin. Anna shrugged.

"Don't worry about it she really can't do much to scare me I mean if she knew—" Anna broke off not looking at any of the others, she had almost let herself slip.

"If she knew what?" asked Lupin.

"Um…" said Anna stalling for time thinking, "if she knew what I did when I went to Durmstrang." Anna said thinking about the episode there and knew it wouldn't reveal anything.

"What happened?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"Well I was walking back from class one day and this guy Boris who always made fun of me for some reason came up to me and started saying all this stuff to me about how my family hated because they sent me away. I had had a really bad day as it was and I lost my patience and cursed him. He can't eat chocolate now." Anna finished and received awed looks from Lupin, Remus, James and Sirius.

"So why do you go by your last name?" she asked Lupin voicing something that had she had been wondering for a while.

"Oh come on, what would you do if your parents named you Romulus?"

"Err…"

"With a father and best friend called Remus," Lupin said seeing Anna's blank face elaborated, "have you never heard of the founding's of Rome?"

"No, should I,"

"You lived in Italy and you never heard it?"

"No I kind of blocked out everything that happened there," she said and a closed expression came over her face.

"Why what happened?" James asked.

"Nothing… nothing come on tell me about Romulus then," Lupin looked at her for a second then realized she wasn't going to tell them.

"Ok well very briefly Romulus and Remus were brothers and Romulus killed his Remus because he stepped over a boundary and that's why it's called Roma not Rema. So I don't really like my first name that much it might mean I end up killing my father and best friend. Don't realllly want to do that." He said grinning at her as he did Anna felt her stomach flip flop. What was that about?

Harry had seen his daughter the morning of the Hogsmeade day in the great hall with Sirius, James and Remus but then she had disappeared with them and had not been seen for the rest of the day until lunch. He didn't like her hanging out with 4 boys, didn't like it at all. He himself had been preparing for their future defensive lessons, that was until Hermione and Ron dragged him into Hogsmeade with them. Harry saw Ginny and Sean there as well but hid from them. Harry felt like he was back in school again hanging out with them before he went away. He didn't realize how much he had missed that feeling until now. He wondered what would have happened if he hadn't left. I wouldn't have my daughter.