With her relationship with her father on the mend and better than ever, Annabelle actually found life in 12 Grimmauld Place tolerable. The evening they talked, they spent the whole evening curled up on the drawing room couch, Sirius telling her stories of his childhood. Though the stories were often sad, disturbing, and flat out disgusting, Anna loved it because she could feel their relationship deepening. She was reaching an understanding with her father, about how he ended up the way that he did.
The next day, Tonks actually joined them in their cleaning, though Anna had no clue why she'd willing stick around to clean. They ended up finding a murderous old ghoul hiding in the toilet.
On Wednesday evening, Anna plopped down at the table for dinner, rubbing her shoulder and neck with one hand. She was sore and achy from cleaning the bathroom floor and behind the toilet and sink. Everything ached and she was very much looking forward to a long night of sleep in a comfy bed.
George passed her a bowl after scooping some stew into it. She thanked him and sat down with her stew, bread, and mixed vegetables. She was instantly pulled into a conversation about Quidditch with the twins, Ron, Harry, and Ginny.
Suddenly, Molly turned to speak quietly to Harry from a few seats down. "I've ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Harry, and I want you to wash your hair tonight too. A good first impression can work wonders."
Silence fell over the table, Anna and the others turning to look at Harry. He nodded and seemed to struggle to speak for a moment.
"How am I getting there?" he asked casually, though Anna could tell he struggled to force the words out.
"Arthur's taking you to work with him." Molly said gently, to which Arthur smiled encouragingly at Harry. "Of course, Sirius is insisting on coming, as well, if you're okay with that." Molly added, not sounding quite as pleased with the last bit of information.
"You can both wait in my office with me until it's time for the hearing." Arthur added.
"Okay." Harry nodded with a small smile, looking relieved as he glanced at his godfather.
XXX
By the time Anna had woken up and gone downstairs for breakfast with the other kids, Harry, Sirius, and Arthur had already left for the hearing. Anna couldn't do much more than nibble on toast and scrambled eggs as she worried over the hearing. Then, a thought occurred to her.
"Dumbledore's not Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot anymore, right?" she questioned to the room at large, but mostly her mother and Molly at the counter. Her mother, who was days away from her due date, refused not to be at the house to see Harry off for his hearing.
Wren glanced at Molly before looking over her shoulder at her daughter. "No, he was demoted. Why?"
"But then…he was the Chief Warlock at my trial, right?" she pointed out hesitantly, unsure about bringing her own trial up. "Who's it going to be for Harry's trial?"
Molly looked very frustrated. "Probably the Minister." she admitted grudgingly.
Well, now Anna was really worried.
To make matters worse, a little while after 8 in the morning, a Ministry owl arrived with a letter from a man named Perkins, who Molly explained was a coworker of Arthur's.
As she read the letter, it was clear to see the worry growing in her expression.
"Molly. What is it? Is Arthur alright?" Wren asked worriedly.
"They changed Harry's hearing to 8:00 this morning." Molly announced, her eyes flying to the clock across the room even though she must've known it was past that time by now. "And they changed the location. It's in Courtroom Ten now."
"But…that courtroom's never used." Wren pointed out in confusion.
"I think it should be fairly obvious why they'd do it." Anna pointed out bitterly. "The Minister's obviously behind all this. He purposefully moved the time and place of the trial at the last minute so it would be impossible for Harry to get there on time."
Everyone glanced anxiously around at each other, knowing she was probably right.
"Well,…the Minister didn't consider Harry already being in the Ministry this early in the morning." Molly pointed out, sounding like she was trying to be optimistic. "With luck, Arthur will have gotten word about this and will have gotten Harry there on time."
Molly's hopeful words did little to calm everyone's nerves, though.
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long. Arthur, Sirius, and Harry returned to 12 Grimmauld Place a little while later, announcing loudly that Harry had been cleared of all charges.
"I knew it!" Ron shouted, punching the air while everyone else cheered. "You always get away with stuff!"
Hermione, who had been sitting anxiously at the table, covered her face with trembling hands. "They were bound to clear you. There was no case against you, none at all…"
Harry was smiling widely around at them. "Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering they all knew I'd get off."
Molly wiped her face on her apron, but Anna was distracted by someone bumping into her. Looking over her shoulder, she burst out laughing. Fred, George, and Ginny were doing a strange kind of war dance, chanting, "He got off, he got off, he got off-"
Arthur was also smiling as he shouted, "That's enough, settle down!"
Sirius moved through the kitchen to his wife's side, wrapping an arm around her waist and looking down with a surprisingly serious face. Anna was just close enough to hear him over her friends' chanting.
"We saw Lucius Malfoy at the Ministry."
"What?" Wren asked in shock, looking up at him while Anna stepped a little closer to hear better.
"We saw him talking to Fudge on level nine, and then they went up to Fudge's office together."
"We ought to tell Dumbledore next time he stops by." Arthur added, moving closer to the other adults in the room.
Anna wasn't sure if they said anything else important, because suddenly an arm was looped through hers and she was yanked into a war dance with the twins and Ginny. She laughed, unable to hear anything over the continued chanting, but she didn't care at the moment.
Lunch was served shortly after, and Anna dragged Ginny, Fred, and George to the table to sit down, but the three Weasleys were still singing very loudly.
Anna couldn't hear much of the conversation, or what Molly was saying to Ron as she set a plate of roast chicken on the table.
"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF-" they were still singing.
"SHUT UP!" Molly finally bellowed.
XXX
Anna felt herself being shaken awake, someone whispering her name. Blinking her eyes open, she found herself looking into an aged face surrounded by brown, graying hair.
"Remus?" she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eye with her fist as she glanced around the room. It was still dark, the night sky visible in the window, and Ginny and Hermione were still sleeping in their beds. "What-What's going on?"
"Your father just Flooed the house." Remus explained. Anna's father had been sleeping at home nearly every night for the past few days so Wren wasn't alone when her water eventually broke.
"What?" Anna whispered, propping herself up on her elbow. "Is Mum okay?"
Remus smiled softly. "She'll be fine, but her water broke. Sirius Flooed the house to let me know what's happening, and he's probably got her to St. Mungos by now."
"So,…should we go? Do you want me to get dressed quick?" Anna asked quickly, remembering to keep her voice down as she slowly sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
"Well, that's up to you. The baby probably won't be here for another several hours, it could even take all day. If you want, I can let you go back to sleep and we can go in the morning. You'd probably just be spending the time sitting in the waiting room, anyway." Remus explained. "I just figured you'd like the choice."
Anna sighed quietly through her nose, nodding slowly as she thought it over. On the one hand, the thought of sitting in an uncomfortable waiting room chair for several hours didn't sound appealing, but on the other hand she wasn't sure she could go back to sleep knowing her little brother was about to enter the world.
Glancing over at the big clock on the wall, she saw that it wasn't even midnight yet. She'd only gone to sleep a couple hours ago. Her baby brother would most likely be born sometime on August 15th.
Sighing heavily, she turned back to Remus. "I don't know. I doubt I'll be able to go back to sleep, but I don't want to sit in a uncomfortable chair for several hours, either. Is that rude of me?" she asked guiltily.
Remus chuckled quietly. "Not at all. We could hang out in the drawing room for a few hours, if you'd like. Maybe you'll be able to doze off a little. And if Sirius has any updates, he'll Floo us from the fireplace in there. Sound like a plan?"
Anna nodded with a smile, slipping out of her bed and pulling on her bathrobe before tiptoeing across the hall to the drawing room.
Anna and Remus curled up on a couch near the fireplace, drinking tea that Remus made, for a couple hours. Anna eventually did doze off like Remus predicted, but she woke up again around six in the morning.
"Can we go to St. Mungos now?" she asked Remus, yawning as she stretched her arms over her head.
Remus glanced up at the clock and nodded slowly. "Yeah, we could head over there if you want. I'll just let Molly and Arthur know real quick while you get dressed."
"Okay." Anna agreed, hurrying quietly across the hall to the girls' bedroom. She pulled out some quick, comfy clothes of worn jeans and her Weasley jumper.
"Anna?"
Glancing over her shoulder, Anna saw Hermione sitting up in bed, her curls crazier than normal with a bed head look.
"What are you doing? It's still early."
"My mum's going into labor soon or something. Remus and I are going to St. Mungos." Anna explained quietly so as not to wake Ginny.
Hermione's eyes widened slightly. "Oh. Okay. Well,…congratulations? I expect Molly will take us over later to visit or something."
"Probably, knowing her." Anna agreed with a small smile. "Well, you should try and get a few more hours of sleep. I'll see you later."
Anna quickly went to the bathroom and changed while in there before hurrying back to the drawing room. Remus was waiting for her there.
"I told Molly and Arthur. They said they'll probably join us with the kids sometime after breakfast or something." Remus told her as he grabbed a handful of Floo powder.
They went through the fireplace together and stepped out into a crowded St. Mungos corridor. Anna followed Remus closely as he approached the receptionist desk.
"Hello." he greeted the young witch behind the counter. She looked maybe a few years older than Anna. "We're here for Wren and Sirius Black. Wren's having her baby."
"Of course." she agreed cheerfully, looking down at some papers. "The Healers believe she'll be going into labor shortly. But it may be a couple hours before the baby's born. If you'll take a seat in the waiting room right through here, someone will come and get you when it's time." she told them, gesturing to the waiting room with her hand.
Remus nodded once with a smile. "Thank you." he said before leading Anna back to the waiting room, where they took a seat near the corner.
"More waiting." Anna sighed, slouching in her seat as Remus chuckled at her. They talked casually for about half an hour before Remus asked her if she was hungry.
Her stomach growled, making her cover it with her arms and laughed sheepishly. "Um,…maybe a little." she admitted.
Remus laughed, shaking his head at her. "Well, I'm sure I can find the cafeteria quick enough. Anything in particular you want me to pick up?"
"Mm." Anna glanced past him, her eyes landing on something. "Probably nothing better than that." she answered, nodding past him. Remus looked over his shoulder to see Molly and Harry heading toward them, Molly carrying a paper bag that smelled heavenly, even from several feet away.
"Morning, Molly, Harry. You're here rather early." Remus greeted her and Harry with a smile, which both returned.
"Of course. As soon as I fixed everyone breakfast, I hurried over. Harry, of course, wanted to come along. A few of the others wanted to come, too, but I figured a huge crowd isn't really something we need. Tonks might stop by in a while, but that's it. And I brought you two some breakfast."
Molly passed the paper bag to Remus. He reached in and pulled out something wrapped in paper before passing the bag to Anna. She pulled out a replica and unwrapped the paper to find an egg sandwich.
"Thank you, Molly." Anna told her with a grateful smile before taking her first bite. It was delicious.
Harry sat on Anna's other side while Molly sat next to Remus.
"So, has there been any news?" Molly asked curiously.
"Hmm. Nothing since we got here. The receptionist said Wren should be going into labor soon." Remus answered.
"And still no one knows what this baby is going to be named?" Molly asked in exasperation.
Remus chuckled. "Nope. They've kept pretty quiet on that one."
The next hour was pretty boring. Tonks did indeed arrive and helped entertain Harry and Anna by telling them stories of some of her Auror work.
Finally, a Healer approached them in the waiting room.
"Are you all here for Mr. and Mrs. Black?" he asked politely.
"We are." Remus answered, standing up from his chair. "Has she had the baby? Are they all alright?"
"Everyone's perfectly fine." the Healer assured them with a warm smile. "She had a healthy baby boy, 7lb 9oz. Would you all like to come see them?"
"Are they fine with all of us visiting?" Molly asked curiously.
"Mr. Black said 'the more, the merrier'. So, you're all welcome. This way, please." he told them, gesturing for them to follow as he lead the way down the corridor. Anna, Harry, and Tonks exchanged excited looks before getting up from their chairs and hurrying after the two adults.
They entered a room, and as soon as Anna got a look inside, she saw her mother propped up in a bed, her father sitting in a chair next to her head, his hands stroking her hair back from her sweaty forehead. They were both smiling down at the little bundle wrapped in blue that Wren was cradling in her arms.
They looked up and smiled at their guests as they all approached the bed.
"Oh, he's so precious!" Molly cooed when she reached the bed first. "Anna, Harry, come up here. You should meet him first." she ordered belatedly, waving the two school-aged guests ahead of her.
Anna stepped forward with Harry, coming to a stop near her mother's head. She returned Wren's smile before her eyes moved to the little baby cradled in her arms.
His skin was a creamy white, his cheeks chubby and a little rosy. He was looking around at his guests with big, green eyes, and on his head was a sprinkling of downy, black hair.
"He's so little." Anna whispered in awe.
"Mhm." Wren hummed, looking down at her son. "Anna, Harry, meet your new little brother. Aslan Alphard Black." she introduced quietly.
"Hi Aslan." Anna whispered, reaching over and tickling his cheek with her finger. His skin was like silk. "Alphard?" she repeated after a moment, glancing at her father curiously. The name was familiar.
Sirius smiled at her. "After my uncle. 'Bout the only family member I wouldn't mind naming him after. And it's the least I can do in my uncle's memory. Your mum wanted to name him Aslan Sirius, but…" He shrugged, turning his smile back to his son and gently running a hand over the baby's small head. Anna got the sense he wouldn't have minded the other name, but he more wanted to repay his uncle for showing him kindness when he'd ran away.
"Aslan. Such a perfect name." Molly cooed over Anna and Harry's shoulders.
"Means 'lion' if I remember correctly." Remus noted with a smile, moving around the bed to stand next to his best friend. "Hoping he'll be in Gryffindor?" he asked, smirking jokingly at Sirius.
Sirius returned the smirk. "Of course."
"But we'll love him no matter what House he gets in." Wren pointed out firmly, shooting her husband a look. "Besides, we have eleven years before we need to worry about that. How about we just focus on him sleeping through the night first, okay?"
Sirius chuckled, kissing his wife on top of the head. "Yes, love."
"And the other thing we talked about?" she urged, looking up at her husband.
"Ah, yes." Sirius instantly turned and looked up at his best friend, who was still standing next to his chair. "What do you say to being Aslan's Godfather, Moony?"
Remus's head snapped down to stare at Sirius in shock before he looked at Wren with the same look. Anna watched the whole exchange with a smile on her face.
"Are you sure?" Remus asked quietly, looking unable to believe it.
"Of course." Wren answered instantly. "You're family, and this little one will need your common sense to balance out Sirius' lack of common sense. This way, you're stuck with us."
Remus smiled, chuckling quietly as his eyes glistened ever-so-slightly. "I'd be honored." he finally whispered.
"Good." Sirius clapped him on the shoulder.
"Thank you, Remus." Wren told him with a warm smile. Her eyes moved to Anna, Molly, and Harry. "Would any of you like to hold Aslan?"
Anna's eyes went wide and she unconsciously stepped back. "Um, well, I'm sure Molly would like to." she mumbled.
"You don't need to be nervous, sweetie." Wren assured her. "He's your little brother. You'll need to get comfortable around him, you know."
"Yeah…I know." Anna admitted, looking at her baby brother nervously. "But what if he cries?"
Wren and Molly chuckled. "Babies cry, Anna. That doesn't mean he doesn't like you." her mother assured her.
"He might've pooped." Sirius pointed out with a small smirk.
Anna fought a smile, rolling her eyes at her dad.
Remus waved his wand, making a chair scoot across the room next to the bed. Anna carefully sat down in it while Wren passed the baby to Sirius. Anna's eyes fixed on her father's face as he carried Aslan around the bed. He was looking down at his son with a look similar to the one he had when looking at her, but different at the same time. He looked loving, awestruck, and proud as he gazed down at his son.
Finally, his eyes moved to her as he stopped in front of her. He gave her the same smile, and she returned it with her own.
Molly helped show her what to do with her arms before Sirius set Aslan in the cradle of her arms.
Anna was almost afraid to breathe at the slight weight in her arms. Aslan moved his head around, looking about until he looked up at her. He didn't cry, just stared up at her with slightly squinted eyes. His tiny fist was in his mouth, a bit of drool on his chin.
There was a flash and Anna looked up. Tonks grinned at her, a camera up near her face.
"You'll thank me later. I couldn't resist." she stated bluntly.
The others chuckled while Anna just smiled and looked back down at her brother. All the nerves and worry that she'd be replaced or jealous of him disappeared. Babies needed a lot of attention, and she was sure he'd get a lot of attention in general. But after her talk with her dad over the summer, she felt sure she wouldn't be replaced, not by Harry, and not by Aslan. Her family had enough love for all of them.
XXX
"Oh, Anna, look how big you've gotten!" Anna's grandma Ethel exclaimed as soon as Anna opened the front door the next day.
"Hi, Grandma." Anna smiled, letting the short, elderly woman squeeze the life out of her. Ethel had gray hair that was in a bun at the nape of her neck, and her sun-kissed skin was loose and wrinkled, laugh lines and crows feet lightly creasing her face.
After being nearly crushed to death, Anna released her grandma and gestured her into the house. Ethel bustled quickly into the house, and she was followed by her husband, Winthrop, and other daughter, Kendra.
"Hello, darling." Winthrop bent to hug Anna tightly, lifting her onto her tiptoes before setting her back down and looking down at her, his hands on her shoulders. "Look at how beautiful you are."
Anna blushed and looked at her feet. "Thank you, Grandpa. Mum should be down in a minute." she added to everyone.
"Ah, good, you're all here." Anna was somewhat relieved when her dad entered the room. Harry was following him.
Ethel and Kendra had decided to stop by to stay for a few days to help Wren with the baby, and it had been agreed that it would look strange if Sirius, Anna, and Harry weren't at the house at least part of the time.
"Hi, Aunt Kendra." Anna greeted her aunt, who was the last to enter the house, setting down three suitcases, which Anna guessed were charmed to be light and easy to carry. "How're Audra and Wilson?" she asked, referring to her cousins.
"They're wonderful, thank you." Kendra told her with a smile. "Audra starts Hogwarts this September."
"That's right. Is she excited?"
"Of course." Kendra rolled her eyes slightly in amusement. "Wilson's horribly jealous of her, though. He keeps saying he could do just as well as her if he went to Hogwarts this year, too."
That didn't surprise Anna in the slightest. Her cousins, Audra and Wilson, were both slightly spoiled.
"Mum! Dad! Kendra!" Wren's excited voice called as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs, carrying Aslan in her arms.
"Oh, Wren, darling!" Ethel hurried forward and hugged Wren, careful of her daughter's bundle, before pulling away and looking at the baby. "Oh, and this must be Aslan! He's so precious!"
"He's got your eyes, Wren." Winthrop added, having joined his wife in greeting his youngest daughter.
"I know, but I'm glad he looks like Sirius." Wren pointed out.
Ethel and Winthrop nodded, though Anna noticed they changed the subject and instead asked where everyone would be sleeping. Anna suspected they liked her dad well enough, but it was probably awkward given they'd thought he was a murderer for several years.
Sirius set up the living room for Anna and Harry to sleep in. Then Anna's room was set up for two of the three guests, while a bed was also placed in Aslan's bedroom, so people could take turns getting up with Aslan in the night.
XXX
The following two weeks were more of the same, for the most part. Anna's aunt and grandparents only stayed for about a week after Aslan was born and then went back to their homes and lives. However, while they were staying with the Blacks, Kendra's husband, Colton, stopped by a few times. He was nice enough, especially for a Slytherin, but it was clear that him and Kendra didn't believe that Voldemort was back, which made for some tension. Anna also suspected her grandparents sided with Kendra and Colton, but they weren't openly rude about it, and it was mostly because they didn't want Voldemort to be back.
As soon as they all went back to their homes, Anna and Harry returned to Grimmauld Place. Anna went back to helping the twins with their products, and they made dozens of sales through their mail orders. They also had plenty of spare time, since they'd finished cleaning Grimmauld Place weeks ago.
While Sirius came to the house daily, he wasn't there as often as he'd been before Aslan was born. He mostly chose to stay at home with Wren and Aslan, and he only allowed Wren to come to Grimmauld Place once in a rare while.
Anna used a very carefully aimed Severing Charm with her wand to slice the batch of Ton-Tongue Toffee they'd just made.
"School lists finally arrived." Fred announced, entering the room with three pieces of parchment. George paused in packaging the pieces Anna had already cut, reaching out a hand for his school list. Fred handed it to him before sitting next to Anna on his bed and passing hers to her.
"'Bout time. We go to school tomorrow. Can't get anymore 'last minute' than that. Bet Mum's pleased." George commented.
Anna looked hers over. As expected, she needed a new Standard Book of Spells, Grade 7. But her eyes quickly found the only other new book she would need. Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard.
"Looks like they finally found a new Defense teacher. We've got a new book." she pointed out.
"Hm. Wonder who it is." Fred noted.
"'Defensive Magical Theory'?" George read with dislike, his nose wrinkled. "Sounds boring."
"Let's go ask the others if they know anything." Fred suggested. Then, he and George disappeared with a crack. Anna sighed, rolling her eyes before Apparating to Harry and Ron's room. She ended up a few feet away from the twins, who'd landed on either side of Harry, who was looking at his book list.
"We were just wondering who assigned the Slinkhard book." Fred announced conversationally.
"Because it means Dumbledore's found a new Defense Against the Darks Arts teacher." George added.
"And about time, too." Fred finished.
"What d'you mean?" Harry asked, looking between them.
"Well, we overheard Mum and Dad talking on the Extendable Ears a few weeks back, and from what they were saying, Dumbledore was having real trouble finding anyone to do the job this year."
"Not surprising, is it, when you look at what's happened to the last four?" George pointed out.
"One sacked, one dead, one's memory removed, and one locked in a trunk for nine months." Anna listed, counting off on her fingers.
"What's up with you, Ron?" Fred asked suddenly.
Anna looked around to find the other Weasley. Ron stood frozen, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the letter he got from Hogwarts.
"What's the matter?" Fred asked impatiently, moving around Ron to read the parchment over his shoulder.
Then, Fred's mouth fell open, too.
"Prefect?" he asked, staring incredulously at the letter. "Prefect?"
George lunged forward, snatching the envelope from Ron's other hand and turning it upside down. A scarlet and gold badge fell into George's open palm. A large P was superimposed on the Gryffindor lion. Anna's mouth fell open slightly in surprise as it finally hit her.
"No way." George murmured in a hushed tone.
"There's been a mistake." Fred argued, snatching the letter from Ron and holding it up to the light, checking that it was real. "No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect…"
Fred and George turned to stare at Harry, and Anna followed their gazes after a moment.
"We thought you were a cert!" Fred told him in a shocked tone, as if Harry had tricked them.
"We thought Dumbledore was bound to pick you!" George added indignantly.
"Winning the Triwizard and everything!" said Fred.
"I suppose all the mad stuff must've counted against him." George told Fred.
"I don't think-" Anna started quietly, but they didn't hear her.
"Yeah." Fred agreed with George slowly. "Yeah, you've caused too much trouble, mate. Well, at least one of you's got their priorities right."
Fred strode over to Harry and clapped him on the back, giving his younger brother a scornful look.
"Prefect…ickle Ronnie the prefect…"
"Oh, Mum's going to be revolting." George groaned, thrusting the prefect badge at Ron as though it was contagious. Anna snorted, fighting a grin.
Ron still hadn't spoken. He stared down at the badge for a moment. Then, he held it out to Harry silently, his eyes silently begging for confirmation. Harry took the badge and stared down at it. He looked almost as shocked as Ron was.
The door suddenly banged open, making Anna jump as Hermione bolted into the room, her cheeks flushed and curls flying. An envelope was in her hand.
"Did you-did you get-?"
Her eyes landed on the badge in Harry's hand and she shrieked, making Anna and George wince.
"I knew it!" she exclaimed excitedly, showing her own letter. "Me too, Harry, me too!"
"No." Harry said quickly, pushing the badge back into Ron's hand. "It's Ron, not me."
"It-what?"
"Ron's prefect, not me." Harry repeated at Hermione's dumbstruck look. Anna tried not to snicker at the look on her face.
"Ron?" Hermione exclaimed, mouth falling open. "But…are you sure? I mean-" Her face went red as Ron turned to her with a defiant expression.
"It's my name on the letter." he told her.
"I…I…well…wow! Well done, Ron! That's really-"
"Unexpected." George finished for her, nodding. Anna swatted his shoulder, even though she silently agreed.
"No," Hermione argued, face going even darker red, "no, it's not…Ron's done loads of…he's really…"
Lucky for Hermione, the door opened a little wider and Molly backed into the room carrying a load of clean laundry.
"Ginny said the booklists had come at last." she commented, glancing around at all the envelopes in their hands. She headed over to the nearest bed and began sorting the robes into two piles. "If you give them to me I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you're packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pajamas, there are at least six inches too short. I can't believe how fast you're growing…what color would you like?"
"Get him red and gold to match his badge." George suggested, smirking.
"Match his what?" Molly asked absently, rolling up a pair of socks and placing them in Ron's pile
"His badge." Fred emphasized, wanting to get the worst over with. "His lovely shiny new prefect's badge."
It took a moment for his words to sink into Molly's preoccupied mind.
"His…but…Ron, you're not…?"
Molly turned to look at Ron, who held up his new badge.
Molly shrieked just like Hermione had, and Anna winced again.
"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"
"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?" George asked indignantly while his mother pushed him aside and threw her arms around Ron's neck. Anna patted George's shoulder and took Fred's hand in hers, giving them both a smile.
"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh Ronnie-"
Fred and George both started making loud retching sounds behind their mother's back, causing Anna to fight back her laughter. Molly didn't notice them, her arms tight around Ron's neck as she kissed him all over his face, which was now bright red.
"Mum…don't…Mum, get a grip…" he muttered, trying to push her off him.
She finally let go of him and said breathlessly, "Well, what will it be? We gave Percy an owl, but you've already got one, of course."
"W-what do you mean?" Ron asked, looking hesitantly hopeful.
"You've got to have a reward for this!" Molly told him fondly. "How about a nice new set of dress robes?"
"We've already bought him some." Fred told her sourly, looking like he regretted that decision. Anna knew he couldn't really regret it, though, because getting Ron new dress robes was the one favor Harry had asked of them in return for the money.
"Or a new cauldron, Charlie's old one's rusting through, or a new rat-" Molly continued.
"Mum," Ron interrupted her hopefully, "can I have a new broom?"
Molly's face fell slightly and Anna bit her lip. Brooms were pretty expensive, especially new ones.
"Not a really good one!" Ron added hurriedly. "Just-just a new one for a change…"
Molly hesitated, then smiled.
"Of course you can…Well, I'd better get going if I've got a broom to buy, too. I'll see you all later. Anna, your mother's here, too. She'll be coming with to help me get everything. Would you like to watch Aslan while we're gone, or Sirius could if you'd rather not." Molly turned to add to the older girl.
"I can watch him." Anna hurriedly volunteered. "I'd love to."
"Alright. Well, you can come on down to the kitchen to get him. Your mother's down there with him and Sirius." Turning back to her youngest son, she smiled fondly. "Little Ronnie, a prefect! And don't forget to pack your trunks…A prefect…Oh, I'm all of a dither!"
She kissed Ron one more time on the cheek, sniffled loudly, and hurried from the room.
Fred and George exchanged a look.
"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?" Fred asked in a falsely anxious voice.
"We could curtsy, if you like." George added.
"Oh, shut up." Ron snapped, scowling at them.
"Or what?" Fred asked with an evil grin. "Going to put us in detention?"
"I'd love to see him try." George sniggered.
Anna grinned, rolling her eyes playfully at the twins before following Molly from the room. She could hear Hermione snap at the twins, but she didn't have time to stick around and keep her best friends in line. She needed to get her little brother.
She hurried down the stairs, and she could faintly hear someone hurrying behind her. When she reached the top of the stairs that lead down into the kitchen, she glanced back to see Ron catching up to her.
"Congratulations." she told him with a smile as she started down the stairs.
"Thanks." he grinned before it faltered. "You're not going to give me problems at school, are you? I'm pretty sure the twins will."
"Yeah, they will. But don't worry. I won't be mean to you." she assured him. "You could just let Hermione handle the twins. I think she could take them on with no problems."
Ron snorted. "Probably."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the kitchen to see Molly pulling her cloak on. Wren was snuggling two week old Aslan close to her chest and kissing his head while Sirius sat at the table, watching his wife and son with a smile.
Ron approached his mum while Anna approached her family.
"Look, Aslan. There's your big sister Anna." Wren cooed to the baby, turning so Aslan's big green eyes landed on Anna. It had become apparent the first couple days after his birth that Aslan wasn't a Metamorphmagus like his big sister, but no one cared about that. He was a cute, healthy baby boy, and that was all that mattered.
"You sure you want to watch him, Belle?" her father checked. "I can watch him while you pack and hang out with your friends."
"You'll get to spend time with Aslan all year, I leave tomorrow and won't see him again until December. I don't want him to forget me." she told him, reaching her hands out. Wren carefully passed him over to Anna, who held him against her chest with one hand under his butt, her other hand on his back to keep him from falling backward.
"We'll be gone for a few hours. Of course, your father will be here if you need any help, okay?" Wren told her.
"I know. I'll watch him in the drawing room. We'll be fine." Anna assured her mother.
"Okay. Love you." Wren said, hugging her daughter, Aslan gently squished between their chests. Wren kissed both her daughter and son on their heads before shrugging on her traveling cloak. Sirius stood up and gave his wife a kiss before Molly and Wren hurried from the house.
Anna grabbed the shoulder bag her mother used for Aslan off the kitchen table, pulling it onto her shoulder with one hand before walking back up the stairs. She entered the drawing room and approached one of the couches near the fireplace, which wasn't burning since it was a warm summer.
Setting the bag on the ground, Anna sat on the floor with her back against the front of the couch. Her knees were bent up, so she gently laid Aslan back against the top of her thighs.
"Hi." she cooed at him. He wiggled a little bit, flailing his little arms around. "Do you want to lay down on the floor? Yeah? Okay, hold on." she told him, keeping one hand on him while using her other hand to fish around in the bag. She found the thick, fluffy blue blanket Molly knitted for him. She shook it out, since she only had one hand, and laid it out on the floor. She had to shift around, but eventually she got the blanket in front of her, spread her legs out on top of it, and gently laid Aslan down on the blanket, being careful of his head as she did so.
"There. Now you can wiggle and squirm all you want and I don't have to worry about dropping you." Anna told him in the familiar baby-voice people tended to use with babies. Aslan just gurgled and blew spit bubbles in response. He continued wiggling around, flailing his arms above his head, which caused his shirt to pull up.
"Look at that little belly." Anna cooed at him, tickling his chubby tummy with her fingers. "And there's your little belly button." she pointed out, gently poking at the little belly button that was now completely healed since his birth, which made him squirm again. "You're just so. Stinking. Cute." she told him, tickling his belly once more before pulling his shirt back down.
There was a loud CRACK behind her, causing Aslan to shriek. Anna quickly shushed him before he could start crying. When he was gazing curiously over her shoulder, she turned and glared at Fred and George.
"Really? Was that necessary?" she asked dryly. She wasn't really mad, but the constant Apparating got a bit annoying.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." George shrugged, grinning at her as he rounded the couch and plopped down on the floor next to her. "Hello there baby Padfoot. How are you today?" he cooed at the baby, making a goofy face that made Anna's annoyance vanish.
"You didn't scare me, I just don't want you to make Aslan cry." Anna told him as Fred sat on the couch, his legs on Anna's other side.
"So you actually like babysitting him all the time?" George asked, turning to look at her again.
"I don't watch him all the time. And as I pointed out to my dad, we leave for school tomorrow. I won't see my brother again until December. I want to get in as much time as I can."
"Fair enough." Fred agreed, his hand playing with Anna's hair.
"Does this mean you don't want to move in with me and Freddie after we leave school?" George asked teasingly.
Anna blushed but rolled her eyes at George. "A lot can change in a year, but with everything going on, and all the uncertainty, I think I'd like to stay with my parents as long as I can. You never know what's around the corner. But we'll see each other all the time. I'll have to pop in and help you guys with your shop when you eventually find a location."
"Very true. But won't you be a busy Ministry worker?" George pointed out in a lightly accusatory tone.
"I'll always make time for you guys." Anna told him as if it were obvious.
"You hear that, Freddie? She'll always make time for us." George repeated to his twin.
Before Anna could turn to see what Fred's expression looked like, she felt him kiss the top of her head, his fingers still running through her hair.
"Never doubted that for a second." Fred murmured, his breath brushing through her hair.
Anna blushed, hiding her smile by lowering her chin. Luckily, Aslan started whimpering and wiggling, looking on the verge of tears. Anna reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of milk her mum had prepared. Pulling her wand from her pocket, Anna touched the end to the bottle and warmed the milk inside before setting both back on the ground.
"Are you hungry?" she cooed at her brother, slipping one hand under his head to lift and settle him into the crook of her elbow. She then lifted the bottle and held the tip to his mouth. Aslan quickly latched onto the bottle, gulping down his milk hungrily.
She smiled gently, watching her brother drink his milk. George shifted next to her, his elbow propping up on the couch cushion behind her.
"Don't you think Anna'd make a good mum, Freddie?" George asked in a tone Anna couldn't quite place. The question, however, made her blush since it was directed at her boyfriend.
"Shut up, George." Fred told him casually.
"What? I'm just saying. It's a good thing she'd make a good mum, since Weasleys tend to be a fertile br-"
A loud SMACK made Anna look over her shoulder. Fred was glaring at George, who was rubbing the back of his head with a pained grimace. When they both saw her looking at them, they smiled innocently.
Unsure of what to say, Anna slowly turned back to face forward, her eyes fixed on her brother as he continued to feed.
"Anyway, we wanted to talk to you about something." George continued to Anna, turning to face forward again.
"Oh? What?" she asked, glancing over at him.
"We need to test our products on more people, since testing it on just us won't tell us much. We need to know if different people react differently to them." Fred explained on her other side, his hand once again playing with her hair. He'd stopped when he had to smack George a moment ago.
"I suppose that's true." Anna admitted slowly.
"So we were thinking of offering to pay people to be our test subjects." George informed her.
Anna thought about it warily. "What if someone gets hurt?"
"We'll add a warning on the flier about it being at their own risk." Fred answered.
"And we're paying them, so what do they have to complain about?" George pointed out.
"Well,…alright, but you need to be careful about it." Anna ordered them.
The three discussed the details of how they'd go about testing their products on other people. They stayed up in the drawing room for a few hours. During that time, Anna also fed, burped, and changed Aslan while they talked, finally putting him down for a nap after a while.
Around 6:00 in the evening, Sirius entered the room and told them Molly and Wren were back with their books and dinner was ready downstairs.
Sirius picked up Aslan, who'd woken up at the sound of his father's voice. Then they all headed down the stairs to the kitchen, arriving around the same time as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Anna's eyebrows rose to her hairline. The dinner table was piled high with all kinds of food, and there was a scarlet banner hanging in the air that read:
CONGRATULATIONS RON AND HERMIONE - NEW PREFECTS
"I thought we'd have a little party, not a sit-down dinner." Molly explained when she noticed the kids enter the room. "Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron, I've sent them both owls and they're thrilled." she added, beaming at her youngest son.
Fred rolled his eyes, and Anna backhanded his chest.
Wren, Remus, Tonks, and Kingsely were already there, along with the others. Moody came shortly after everyone had started eating. Arthur and Bill arrived soon after, along with Mundungus, who was wearing a long overcoat that looked suspiciously lumpy. He declined to remove it when Molly offered. Drinks were passed around and Anna leaned against the counter next to Fred, his arm around her waist.
"Well, I think a toast is in order." Arthur announced to the room, raising his own glass. "To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor prefects!"
Hermione and Ron both beamed as everyone drank to them and applauded.
"You'd think they'd just been announced co-Ministers." Fred muttered. Anna gave him a look.
"Be nice. Your brother deserves this." she told him.
"Oh, he deserves it, alright." George agreed with a devious grin on Anna's other side. "He deserves the hell we're going to give him if he tries to put us in detention."
Anna snorted, rolling her eyes as she approached her cousin, Hermione, and Ginny near the table. Tonks was wearing her hair down to her waist in a fiery red that matched the Weasleys.
"I was never a prefect myself." Tonks was saying as Anna stopped next to her. "My Head of House said I lacked certain necessary qualities."
"Like what?" Ginny asked, trying to choose a baked potato at the table.
"Like the ability to behave myself." Tonks answered with a smirk.
Anna and Ginny laughed. Hermione, on the other hand, tried not to smile and ended up choking on her butterbeer. Ginny thumped her on her back to try and help.
"What about you, Sirius?" Ginny asked. Sirius was standing near them with Wren and Remus. Aslan was in the arms of his godfather and looked perfectly at ease.
Anna grinned as her father let out a barklike laugh, reminding her of his Animagus. "No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge."
"I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends. I scarcely say that I failed dismally." Remus admitted jokingly.
"That's probably why Anna wasn't made a prefect her fifth year." Wren added, grinning playfully at her daughter. "Too much like her father."
"That, and he probably learned from Remus that there's no way I'd be able to keep Fred and George in line." Anna added, making the others laugh.
After a few minutes, Fred gestured Anna over from across the room and she excused herself to join Fred and George in the corner. She kept a frown off her face when Mundungus joined them. While she loved the twins' joke shop, she didn't agree with them buying some of their ingredients from Mundungus, considering there was a large possibility they were stolen or from the black market.
Anna partially tuned them out as they discussed the Venomous Tentacula seeds Dung had gotten the twins. She was brought out of her thoughts when Mundungus suddenly stopped talking. Glancing up, she saw him staring over her shoulder. Anna looked back the same time Fred and George did. Harry was standing there watching them curiously. Fred winked at him and waved him closer.
"It's okay, we can trust Harry." Fred assured Mundungus. "He's our financial backer."
"Look what Dung's gotten us." George added to Harry, holding his hand out to show him the shriveled, black pods. Even though they remained completely still in his hand, there was a very faint rattling sound coming from them. "Venomous Tentacula seeds. We need them for the Skiving Snackboxes, but they're a Class C Non-Tradeable Substance so we've been having a bit of trouble getting hold of them."
"Ten Galleons the lot, then, Dung?" Fred guessed.
"Wiv all the trouble I went to to get 'em?" Dung's saggy, bloodshot eyes went wide, and Anna refrained from rolling hers. Dung had a habit of trying to raise the price of everything he sold the twins. It was predictably pitiful. "I'm sorry, lads, but I'm not taking a Knut under twenty."
"Dung likes his little joke." Fred told Harry.
"Yeah, his best one so far has been six Sickles for a bag of knarl quills." George agreed. "Anna here could get us those for free." he added, jerking his thumb at Anna while she kept a blank face. She'd never pluck quills from an innocent knarl, but she didn't need Dung knowing that.
"Be careful." Harry warned them quietly.
"What? Mum's busy cooing over Prefect Ron, we're okay." Fred pointed out.
"But Moody could have his eye on you." Harry answered, referring to Moody's magical eye, which had earlier seen through the ceiling and into the drawing room to tell Molly there was a boggart inside the writing desk.
Dung glanced nervously over his shoulder at where Moody was talking with Bill. "Good point, that. Alright, lads, ten it is if you'll take 'em quick."
"Cheers, Harry!" Fred beamed delightedly as Dung emptied his pockets into the twins' hands. Once free of his load, Dung took the ten Galleons and hurried toward the food. "We'd better get these upstairs…" Fred decided.
Anna smiled gratefully at Harry before following Fred and George from the room. They hurried up the stairs and into the twins' room.
"We may as well pack them into our trunks." George decided, taking the bag of seeds and plopping them into his trunk.
"Yeah. Now that you mention it, I still need to finish packing. So, I'll see you guys in the morning." Anna decided, heading for the door.
"Sure. Hang on, I'll walk you to your room." Fred volunteered quickly, hurrying out the door after her. Anna smirked over her shoulder at him.
"Oh, really?" she teased.
"What?" he smirked back. "Just want to make sure you get there in one piece. Don't need you tripping down the stairs or something."
"Uh huh. Sure." she agreed sarcastically.
Fred held her hand lightly in his as they headed down the stairs, and they walked together in companionable silence until they reached her door. Turning to face him, Anna leaned back against the doorframe.
"Well, this is me." she announced obviously.
"I can see that." Fred agreed with an amused grin. "Have fun packing."
"Same to you."
Fred's smile softened slightly. "You gonna miss everyone when we're back in school?"
Anna returned the smile and shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah, a little. Especially my parents, Aslan, and Dora. And Bill, believe it or not." she realized suddenly.
Fred chuckled. "Yeah, same. And I'm certainly not looking forward to going back to school. But George and I aren't going to waste our last year there."
"Ah, yes. Wouldn't want to waste your last year at school going to class." Anna agreed sarcastically.
"Exactly." Fred agreed as if she'd been serious. "But I suppose there is one good thing about being back in Hogwarts."
"Oh? And what's that?" Anna asked curiously. She expected him to say Quidditch or something.
"I won't have to keep looking over my shoulder every time I want to do this." And with that, Fred leaned down and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to Anna's lips. She sighed contently, her hand moving to rest on Fred's cheek as she let him crowd her. Her back and the back of her head pressed into the wood of the doorframe, Fred's stomach lightly touching hers. One of Fred's hands pressed into the doorframe above her head, his other hand resting on her waist. His lips moved languidly against hers, and her fingers slid into his short hair.
"Love you." Fred breathed against her lips when he pulled back a little bit. "I'm gonna have to take you on another date sometime when we're back in school."
"I'd like that." Anna whispered, a smile stretching across her cheeks as she looked up at him.
Fred kissed her firmly one more time before stepping back. "I'd better go pack. Have a good night."
"Good night. And I love you, too." she whispered, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek.
Fred grinned at her before stepping back and letting her enter her room. Once the door was closed, she sighed and leaned back against it. She would still miss her family and everyone here when she returned to Hogwarts, but she was certainly looking forward to doing more of that, too.