Team Effort

"You can't wear that, Anna. It's dowdy." Ginny wrinkled her nose. She was on her stomach on my bed watching Hermione pull potential outfits from my closet. If you know Hermione, you know how unlikely that seems. But the facts are these: the twins were having a party to marry me off that night, I was already a wreck, and Hermione no longer had the flu. Hermione had called in Ginny for support and had started the fashion parade just as soon as the workday ended. And here we were. I punched at the pillow between my lower back and the headboard.

"It's not dowdy, Ginny." Hermione huffed. "It's tasteful."

"She doesn't need tasteful." Ginny protested. The puppy wandered to the side of the bed near me and looked up at me hopefully. I'd named him Byron for his curly black hair. Severus sneered every time he heard it.

"What d'ya say, Byron?" I asked, gently lifting him onto the coverlet beside me. "Should we just walk in naked? Truth in advertising?" Byron licked at my nose.

"Anna. This would be a lot easier if you had a better attitude." Hermione scolded. I winced.

"I know." I admitted. "I'm sorry, guys." Ginny reached over and patted my ankle.

"My brothers won't let anything terrible happen," she assured me. "They're jokers, but they're Weasleys."

"Ginny's right, Anna." Hermione nodded. "It's just a party, really." I nodded uncertainly, still wiggling my fingers in front of Byron, who licked at them.

"All right." I sighed. "Maybe the brown slacks with the white button-down?"

"Too muggle." Ginny declared. "And you need a skirt with those legs."

"Ginny!" Hermione admonished. "Well," she paused, looking at me critically. "You should show your arms, Anna."

"They're tattooed!" I blustered. "You know how people get about tattooed women."

"You have tattoos?" Ginny rolled to her side and sat up to look at me more directly. "Can I see?"

"Okay." I shrugged. I stood and slipped off my robes, revealing my sleeveless shirt and short skirt. I lifted my hair and twirled slowly. Ginny stood to inspect my eagle.

"I didn't know you had tattoos on your legs as well." Hermione mused.

"Just high up," I clarified. I hiked my skirt on the left side, showing the phoenix on my outer thigh, rising toward my hip. The bird's brilliant eye blinked as we watched it.

"Does Harry know about that one, too?" Hermione asked, her eyes crinkling with mirth.

"Harry knows about your tattoos!" Ginny squealed. "Tell me everything."

"It's not…I didn't…we…" I sputtered. I took a deep breath and tried again. "When he and Hagrid brought Byron I was already dressed for bed, so he saw the tattoos on my arms."

"And then he told me about them." Hermione disclosed in a sing-song voice. Ginny crowed.

"Listen to you!" I blurted. "We're not teenagers, you guys!"

"I think you like him baaa-aaack…" Ginny crowed, rolling back onto her stomach. They dissolved into giggles.

"Bah! Shut up!" I pulled the pillow from behind me and smacked Ginny on the back with it. They forced their faces into mock seriousness. "So…" I paused dramatically. "What did he say about my tattoos, Hermione?" Ginny grabbed the pillow back and slammed it against my legs. Byron barked happily.

"You do-ooo, you do-ooo," Ginny crowed. "You like him baaa-aack." Hermione leaned against the closet door, laughing happily. Byron's tail wagged forcefully enough to shake his legs back and forth.

"He said," Hermione paused, raising her eyebrows, "that he enjoyed talking to you about them." Ginny giggled. "And he said he thought you were a skilled healer." Ginny crowed. I felt my insides twitch with suppressed glee. He talked to Hermione about me! Immediately on having that thought I scolded myself, but there it was: he had done it.

A knock on the door to my rooms disturbed our girl talk. I shrugged into my robes, leaving them open, and moved to get the door. Tonks, Remus, Draco and Sirius stood on the other side. Actually, Tonks stood as Sirius lazily changed the color of Remus' hair. Remus grimaced, but didn't bother protesting. Draco stood away from the others, his face unreadable.

"Wotcher, Anna." Tonks chirped. "Like the nail polish." Until she said something I hadn't remembered the black nail polish still on my toenails. Well. At least it wasn't anyone who'd care.

"Hi all." I greeted, opening the door wide. "Come on in."

"I'm just after Ginny, actually." Draco said, stepping to the threshold.

"Okay," I nodded. "I'll get her. Hang on." I hollered for Ginny as the party stepped into my study. Draco had a point; it was crowded with all of us in the small room. The two left shortly afterward, though Ginny made me promise to update her after the party.

"Were you having a party in here?" Remus asked, smiling.

"No professor," I smiled back. "Ginny and Hermione decided they needed to help me get dressed for the twins' party."

"What'd you choose?" Tonks asked excitedly. "Let me see."

"She didn't choose," Hermione sighed, walking into the study. She lengthened a chair into a couch while Sirius was still sitting there.

"Show off," he muttered. I chuckled.

"As I was saying," Hermione continued, training her attention on Tonks, "Anna hasn't chosen anything. She's going to attend in the nude."

"I'm…I am not…" I sputtered. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"That's one way to manage it." He teased. I threw my hands up.

"Thanks, people. This isn't awkward enough already." I shook my head.

"I'll help, Anna." Tonks offered, striding into my bedroom. Byron gave out an excited yip when she entered the room.

"I left him stranded on the bed." I muttered, going to retrieve him. By the time I walked in, Tonks had pulled out a pair of fairly respectable jeans and a top I don't remember acquiring. She raised her eyebrows at me, holding up the outfit. "It's not too muggle?"

"It's the twins, Anna. None of their friends think like that." She reassured.

"Looks good to me, then." I scooped my hands under Byron's uninjured chest and back legs. Another knock sounded as I walked back to the study. Sirius had opened the door by the time I had set Byron down on the hearth rug. Harry walked in looking puzzled.

"Hello everyone, Anna." He nodded to me. Hermione turned to hide a grin. Sirius had transformed into Snuffles, and had joined Byron on the hearth rug. "Did you want me to look after Byron while you're with the twins?"

"No you don't, Harry," Tonks butted in. "We're taking him for the night. The twins will love him." Harry held his hands up in a placating gesture. Snuffles snorted at him.

"In fact, we should be on our way." Remus added with an unreadable glance in my direction. I nodded. "Shall we?" He asked Tonks and Snuffles.

"Let's." Tonks confirmed, scooping up the puppy. The four made their way to the door, which Snuffles' wagging tail batted closed.

"Anna, you should get ready for the party." Hermione bossed. "Come on, Harry." Harry looked at his watch, a dubious look crossing his face. Apparently he knew better than to comment. He nodded, and followed Hermione to the door.

"Good night, Anna." He tossed over his shoulder as they reached the door frame. I indulged myself in watching his back until he was completely out of sight.

"Anna." A low hiss carried my name to me. I tried to look around while keeping the look of polite interest on my face. It might not have been necessary. Bret or Brad or Barry or whatever-his-name-was just kept on talking about his successes in the banking world. I probably could've walked off, and there he'd be. "Anna!" The hiss increased to a whisper. Yes, it was coming from my right. "Anna…" it continued, "the cabinet." I cast my eyes around. "To your left," the voice continued. "Hurry it up!" The voice ordered. Taking a last look at Barry-Brad-Boring, I murmured something that wasn't quite an apology and slid away to the cabinet in the corner.

An arm darted out and tugged me into the dark. Almost simultaneously a hand latched over my face. A big hand, I thought idly, sure hope it doesn't belong to someone who wants to rough me up. Well. Not much to be done about it now.

"Anna, it's me, Ron." The voice hissed. "Stay quiet." I nodded, and the hand on my face retracted.

"Ron?" I breathed. "What the hell are you doing in the cabinet?"

"It's a passage. Come on."

"I can't just leave."

"Course you can. The twins sent me to get you." He countered. I mulled. The alternative to following Ron wherever he was taking me was returning to the hellish conversation with Commander Dullness over there. I scowled in the boring man's direction.

"All right. I'm game." Ron's hand descended on my shoulder, and he tugged me gently toward the back of the cabinet.

"Once we're through here it gets easier to walk." He muttered. We passed a low door in the back of the cabinet and walked into a narrow hall. The air changed.

"Does this lead outside?" I whispered.

"To a garden, yeah." Ron said. "Sorry about the cabinet, by the way."

"That's all right." I shrugged under his hand. "I was about to die of boredom."

"Looked like it." He snickered. He pushed open a door to reveal a high-walled courtyard with no other discernable entrances. The interior was overgrown in a kind of pleasing, chaotic way. The twins were looking expectantly toward the door when we walked through.

"Ah, Anna," George said.

"Thank you for joining us," Fred continued, "though we suppose ickle Ronniekins didn't give you much choice."

"We asked him not to." George clarified. Ron shifted uncomfortably. I laughed.

"Ron saved me from a conversation about banking. I probably owe him my life." I teased. "How are you two going to top that?"

"Oh we will," George cooed.

"Never you mind how." Fred winked.

"But you see," George mused, "We begin to think…"

"That you haven't been telling us everything." They said together. The effect was a little intimidating. I shifted my weight, and the gravel beneath my feet crunched.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"We mean we can't help you find a fiancée if you don't tell us certain things." Fred clarified.

"Or if we have to learn those things from our dear sister." George continued, looking intently at me. Ron perked up beside me. I began to wonder what on earth Ginny'd done.

"I don't get it." I confessed.

"We think we don't need to spend this month introducing you to wizards," Fred continued as though I hadn't spoken.

"We think you've already met one." George finished. I wrinkled my brow at them. I pondered. I thought back. Then it hit me: Ginny and the tattoos.

"Oh. Oh no. No, Ginny doesn't have the right idea." I blathered.

"Doesn't have the right idea about a particular person?" Ron pried.

"Augh! Okay." I huffed, turning to Ron. "Ginny thinks Harry's interested in me. I really don't know why."

"We do." The twins intoned.

"You do?" I blinked.

"He has mentioned you;" Ron mused, "He said something about tattoos." The twins grinned. I tugged at the hem of my top.

"And he's at Hogwarts—" Fred continued.

"Where he's got no real reason to be—" George elaborated.

"For an entire week." Ron concluded.

"All right, all right." I put my hands up. "Stop." I sighed again, peering above the twins' heads. "It's not even worth thinking about, okay?"

"Why's that?" Ron demanded.

"Because he's Harry Potter, and I'm Anna Arthur." They looked at me blankly. "Get it? He's the savior of the wizarding world. I'm a girl from Idaho."

"So?" Ron said rudely.

"So you've got to box your own weight class!" I blurted, annoyed.

"You've got to what?" Fred asked.

"It's a muggle saying—there's a sport called boxing. Oh. Never mind." I shook my hair behind my shoulders. "The point's easy: Harry has no reason to pay attention to a girl like me. I'm nobody. I'm a muggleborn nobody who has to get married. What could possibly be in it for him?"

"You could give him a chance," Ron said, his tone truculent.

"You're assuming he wants a chance!" I tossed my hands to my sides, exasperated. "He doesn't!" The twins looked intently at one another for a moment, then turned their gaze on me.

"We don't know how we can help you," Fred began.

"If you think that way." George concluded. I pressed my palms to my forehead for a moment, then dropped them to my sides again.

"I see your point." I said. And I did. This marriage had to get started if it was going to get done at all, and I wasn't doing myself any favors being a foolish girl about it. Time to be mercenary, Arthur. Time to attack. I didn't really know how to do that, but damned if I wasn't going to try. I squared my shoulders. "Let me at 'em, I guess."

"I'll just lead you back to the banker, then?" Ron raised an eyebrow. I winced.

"Please don't." I muttered. The twins laughed. After a moment, I did too.