"Anna! Anna, wake up! We're running late!"
Annabelle bolted up in her bed, looking around blearily. Hermione and Ginny were hurriedly pulling their clothes on.
"We all slept in!" Hermione explained, pulling her shirt over her head. "We need to get going!"
Anna looked at her clock and instantly flew off her bed, tossing her covers aside. She snatched the clothes she'd set aside the night before and quickly changed into them. She could hear people rushing about in other rooms and downstairs.
Within two minutes, Anna was changed, her hair was in a ponytail, and her pajamas were shoved into her trunk. Ginny and Hermione wrestled with their trunks, dragging them toward the door. Anna looked down at hers for a moment before pulling her wand from her pocket. She waved her wand and muttered the incantation for the Feather-light Charm, casting the spell on her trunk.
With her wand in one hand, she easily lifted her nearly-weightless trunk with her other hand and carried it out of the room. Ginny and Hermione were still on the landing, trying to carefully carry their trunks down the stairs.
"Here." she told them, casting the Feather-light Charm on both their trunks.
Ginny lifted her trunk and heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks."
"No problem." Anna grinned at her before following the younger two down the stairs.
"Look out!" someone shouted. Anna instinctively ducked and looked over her shoulder up the stairs, but it was too late. Two identical trunks flew through the air, smacking into Ginny and knocking her down the remaining two flights of stairs.
"Ginny!" Anna and Hermione shouted, hurrying down the rest of the stairs.
Molly and Wren were already at the foot of the stairs, helping Ginny to her feet. They were fussing and checking her over gently, but she appeared to be fine other than a couple bruises.
Molly's eyes then flicked over Anna's shoulder, her face turning red with fury. Anna didn't even have to look to know who she was angry at.
Molly soon began shouting, her voice mixing with Anna's grandmother's as her portrait screamed at the top of her lungs.
"YOU COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS-"
"-FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS-"
Sirius appeared at Anna's side at the foot of the stairs. He passed Aslan to her before hurrying over to the portrait to try and shut the curtains. Anna gently bounced Aslan in her arms, one hand on the back of his head as he whimpered at all the noise.
"Your mother is going to kill you someday." she told the twins as they joined her.
"We didn't want to carry our trunks down the stairs." they told her together.
"You ever hear of a little thing called a Feather-light Charm?" she asked rhetorically, demonstrating by lifting her trunk with only an index finger of one hand.
Fred and George rolled their eyes.
The next several minutes passed in a blur, and Anna felt sure they were going to be late. Hedwig returned from delivering Hermione's letter to her parents. Molly had to patch Ginny up. Mad-Eye was constantly pointing out that they couldn't leave until Sturgis Podmore arrived because their guard for Harry would be short.
"I'm going to make sure Harry and Ron are getting up." Hermione told Anna, Crookshanks curled up in the younger girl's arms as she moved up the stairs.
Molly seemed to have the same idea, as she bellowed up the stairs after Hermione, "WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!"
Walburga's portrait was screeching again, but no one was bothering to shut her curtain because all the racket would wake her up again anyway.
Everyone else rushed down the stairs, and soon everyone was jammed in the front hallway. "Harry, you're to come with me and Tonks!" Molly had to shout over everyone's heads to be heard, "Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage."
Anna moved closer to the wall, staying out of the way as Harry clambered over several trunks sitting in the hall to get to Molly.
"So, who're the rest of us going with?" Anna asked as Molly lead Harry out the front door, where Dora was probably already waiting for them.
"I'll be taking Ron and Hermione in a couple minutes," Arthur answered, "but we'll be taking a different route."
"You three are with me." Remus added, pointing out Fred, George, and Ginny.
"Lastly, Anna, you're coming with me and your mother." Sirius answered. "And Aslan, of course."
A couple minutes later, Arthur walked out the front door with Ron and Hermione. A few minutes after that, Remus left with Fred, George, and Ginny. Finally, Anna walked out the front door with her parents and little brother. The sun was shining weakly through the clouds, a light breeze brushing Anna's ponytail to the side.
"We'll be Apparating. Will you be fine to Apparate to Kings Cross on your own?" Sirius asked his daughter.
"Yeah, I think I can do that." Anna nodded once.
"We'll see you there, then." Sirius said with a smile, taking his wife's hand while she kept one hand on Aslan's head, the baby strapped to her chest with a sling.
Anna closed her eyes, focusing on the location she wanted to go to. Then, there was a familiar twist in her gut and a squeezing sensation as if she were being pulled through a small tube. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in an alley near the train station. Her parents appeared a second after her.
Together, they all walked into the station and ran, one at a time, through the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Coming out on the other side, Anna smiled when her eyes landed on the familiar, gleaming red engine. But it was a bitter sweet smile. This would be her last time taking the train to Hogwarts on September 1st. Her last year at Hogwarts. She was both ready for it, and nervous.
Anna followed her parents as they joined the others who had arrived. So far, it was just Molly, Tonks, Harry, Arthur, Ron, and Hermione.
"Ah. There's Moody." Arthur sighed in relief. They all looked to the archway to see Moody, wearing a porter's cap low over his mismatched eyes, limp through the archway pushing a cart full of their luggage. They all hurried over to him and began unloading their things. They were nearly done when Remus stepped through the archway with the twins and Ginny.
"No trouble?" Moody asked Remus in his usual growl of a voice.
"Nothing." Remus assured him.
"I'll still be reporting Sturgis to Dumbledore. That's the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus."
Anna exchanged a curious glance with the twins, but people began saying their goodbyes.
Anna said quick goodbyes to her family first. She gave Tonks a tight hug before moving to her parents. Since Aslan was strapped to Wren's chest, Anna settled for kissing the top of his head while hugging her mum. Wren hugged her gently, since the baby was sandwiched between them. Pulling away, Anna gave her father a tight hug, and he nearly lifted her off the ground, making her laugh.
"Have a good year, Belle." he told her, kissing the top of her head before pulling away.
"Study hard, too." Wren warned her. "It's your last year. Finish strong."
"I will, Mum. Promise." Anna assured her.
The train let out a warning whistle and students began hurrying toward the train.
"Quick, quick." Molly told them, hugging people at random. Anna quickly hugged Remus and Molly before hurrying after the others and onto the train. They all gathered around the nearest window and leaned out of it, waving to their family and friends, who began shrinking as the train pulled away.
"Well," Fred clapped his hands together eagerly, "can't stand around chatting all day, we've got business to discuss with Lee. See you later." he told the younger trio before him, George, and Anna headed down the corridor to the right. They only walked for about a minute before they found a compartment with their friends.
Fred opened the door and gestured his twin and girlfriend in ahead of him before entering and closing the door. Lee, Alicia, Angelina, and Katie greeted them enthusiastically.
"Hi." Anna smiled around at them all, sitting down in the middle of one of the seats next to Katie. "How was your summer?" she asked the group in general.
"Oh, you know. Pretty uneventful." Alicia answered.
"Most of mine was my parents nagging me about NEWTs and what I want to do after school." Angelina admitted with a shrug.
"Speaking of after school," Fred spoke up.
"we need to make a sign to put up in the common room." George finished.
"For what?" Katie asked curiously.
"We need test subjects for our products, to make sure everyone reacts the same." George explained.
"Oh, that's easy." Lee said, pulling a piece of parchment from his trunk. Fred pulled out his inkwell and quill.
"We're offering to pay them, so we should emphasize on that part." Fred started.
"Just remember to put a warning on there." Anna reminded them. "Just in case someone reacts badly to one of the products."
"Yes, yes, we know." George waved her off as the three boys bent over the parchment.
They finished the flier within ten minutes, and Anna insisted on reading it herself before giving them the okay. Fred passed her the parchment to read.
GALLONS OF GALLEONS!
Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings?
Like to earn a little extra gold?
Contact Fred and George Weasley,
Gryffindor common room,
for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs
(we regret that all work is undertaken at applicant's own risk)
"So, that warning is in smaller print." Anna noted slowly, nodding a couple times.
"We put emphasis on the important stuff." George answered easily.
Anna gave them both a stern look.
"Don't give us that look." Fred told her, snatching the parchment from her and putting it back in his trunk.
The train ride was filled, as always, with talking, laughing, snacking, games, and a couple pranks. The sky was dark when the train finally pulled into the Hogsmeade station.
Anna stepped off the train and onto the platform, her eyes scanning the train station with a small smile on her face. She took a deep breath in through her nose, smelling the familiar, brisk mountain air and waiting to hear the familiar, booming voice to call out for the first years.
Only…it wasn't Hagrid's voice that was calling for the first years.
Anna looked to her left toward the sound of a familiar, brisk, female voice and saw Professor Grubbly-Plank calling, "First years line up over here, please! All first years to me!"
Anna's brows furrowed worriedly, but a hand was grabbing hers and pulling her toward the carriages.
"Anna, come on. We need to get a good carriage." Katie urged her, pushing at her shoulder. Anna faced forward, looking up at Fred, who had been the one to grab her hand.
"But where's Hagrid?" she asked worriedly. "Why's Grubbly-Plank getting the first years?"
"Who knows? I'm sure it's nothing bad. Maybe…a hippogriff is giving birth." Fred suggested.
"Hippogriffs don't give birth, they lay eggs." Anna muttered. "And it's the wrong time of year for that."
"Oh, my apologies for being so ignorant." Fred teased, helping Anna step up into the carriage with a hold on her hand. "But really, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Anna. He probably just had something else to take care of."
"Yeah. Okay." Anna finally agreed, scooting over in the carriage to make enough room for the others. Fred wrapped his arm around her shoulders as the group chatted, the carriage bumping along down the lane. They soon reached the castle and everyone got out of the carriage, walking up the large front steps and into the entrance hall.
They walked about halfway down the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall before taking a seat. Anna let her eyes travel around the room, scanning the teachers' table up front. The first thing she noticed was that Hagrid wasn't at the table, or anywhere in the room.
"Hagrid's still not here." Anna murmured to Fred, who'd sat next to her.
"Anna, relax. I'm sure he's fine." Fred assured her.
"But the last I heard of him, Dumbledore was sending him on a mission. What if it went wrong? What if he's hurt? What-"
"Alright, Anna." George cut her off, sitting on Fred's other side and leaning forward to talk to Anna from around his twin. "Hagrid's a half-giant. I'm sure he'll be fine. Relax."
Anna nodded, taking a deep breath to relax. Fred's hand rubbing soothing circles over her back helped.
"So, who do you think that new witch is?" Fred asked, nodding toward the teachers' table.
Anna turned to look again, and realized she hadn't even noticed the new addition to the front table. Though, she didn't understand how she could've missed her. The squat woman with short, curly mouse-brown hair was dressed completely in pink. Her Alice band in her hair perfectly matched the fluffy pink cardigan she was wearing over her robes. She also had a pallid, toad-like face and pouchy eyes. Anna wrinkled her nose at the sight. All that pink was painful to the eyes.
"Think she's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Angelina asked, sitting across from Anna.
"No way." Anna answered surely. "There's no way Dumbledore would hire someone like her. And she doesn't look like she could defend herself against a fairy, much less a werewolf or vampire or something."
"True. But neither did Quirrell." George pointed out.
"And why else would she be here?" Fred added.
Anna grimaced. "I hate it when you two have a point."
"We know." they chorused with matching grins.
A few moments later, Professor Grubbly-Plank entered through the door behind the staff table and moved down the table to take her seat. Soon after, the front doors opened and McGonagall, carrying a stool with a familiar, worn wizard's hat, lead a line of scared-looking first years. McGonagall reached the front of the Hall and placed the stool carefully in front of the first years.
The whole school waited in anticipation for what felt like forever. Finally, though, the rip near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth as the Sorting Hat began it's new song:
'In times of old when I was new
And Hogwarts barely started
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted;
United be a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning,
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning,
"Together we will build and teach!"
The four good friends decided
And never did they dream that they
Might someday be divided,
For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendship fail?
Why, I was there and so can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry is purest."
Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest."
Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name."
Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,
And teach them just the same."
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light,
For each of the four founders had
A House in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning, just like him,
And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
And taught them all she knew;
Thus the Houses and their founders
Retained friendship firm and true.
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears.
The Houses that, like pillars four,
Had once held up our school,
Now turned upon each other and,
Divided, sought to rule.
And for a while it seemed the school
Must meet an early end,
What with dueling and with fighting
And the clash of friend on friend
And at last there came a morning
When old Slytherin departed
And though the fighting then died out
He left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
Were whittled down to three
Have the Houses been united
As they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
And you all know the score:
I sort you into Houses
Because that is what I'm for,
But this year I'll go further,
Listen closely to my song:
Though condemned I am to split you
Still I worry that it's wrong,
Though I must fulfill my duty
And must quarter every year
Still I wonder whether sorting
May not bring the end I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you…
Let the Sorting now begin.'
The hat went still and silent as the applause broke out, though whispers could be heard across the Great Hall.
Anna glanced curiously among her friends.
"Anyone else find that…odd?" Katie asked what they were all thinking.
"Huh? Oh, I spaced out after the fifth line." Lee admitted, making them laugh quietly.
Their whispering fell quiet as McGonagall began calling out the names of the first years. The only name Anna recognized was her cousin, Audra Drake. Anna smiled and applauded when she was Sorted into Ravenclaw just like their mums.
The Sorting took a long time, as it usually did, and Anna found her stomach growling louder and louder as time went on. Finally, the last name was called, a girl being sorted into Hufflepuff, and McGonagall carried the hat and stool from the room.
Dumbledore rose to his feet, causing the remaining whispers to fall silent.
"To our newcomers," Dumbledore greeted in a carrying voice, "welcome! To our old hands-welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"
People cheered, laughed appreciatively, and applauded as Dumbledore reclaimed his seat and the food magically appeared.
"Thank goodness." Anna laughed, instantly reaching for some beef.
"Hungry?" Katie guessed as she scooped some Shepherd's pie onto her plate.
"Starving." Anna admitted.
The room was almost quiet as everyone ate their fill. As they made their way through the courses, the volume of voices gradually began to grow as people nibbled on their dessert. As the voices began getting louder, Dumbledore stood from his seat, causing them to go quiet once again as they waited for him to speak.
"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices." he began. "First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students-and a few of our older students ought to know by now too."
"Gee, wonder who he's talking about." Anna whispered, making Fred and George smirk.
"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door."
Anna, Fred, and George exchanged smirks.
"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Polite applause followed Dumbledore's announcement, and Anna felt like a rock had dropped in her stomach. Grubbly-Plank was teaching Care of Magical Creatures? Then when would Hagrid be back?
"Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the-"
Dumbledore stopped speaking and looked curiously over at the woman dressed in pink, whom Anna figured was named Umbridge. No one understood why he'd stopped speaking, until they heard a very quiet, "Hem, hem." Then, they realized that Umbridge had apparently stood up, which they hadn't noticed since she was so short. And it appeared she intended to give a speech.
Dumbledore looked taken aback for half a second before he sat down and stared intently at the small woman. The rest of the teachers didn't look quite as accepting. Professor Sprout's eyebrows disappeared under her hair. McGonagall's mouth was a very thin line, showing her displeasure.
Fred snorted and whispered near Anna's ear. "She's not going to last long."
"Good." she whispered back.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge said in a sweet voice, "for those kind words of welcome."
Anna cringed at the high-pitched, girlish sound of the woman's voice. It sounded surprisingly creepy and she wasn't sure why.
The pink-clothed woman gave another "Hem, hem," before continuing, "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" she said with a smile, showing surprisingly pointy teeth. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"
"She's going blind." George hissed. "She can't see our expressions."
Anna and Fred muffled their laughter in their hands as the woman continued.
"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"
"That's likely." Fred and George both muttered, Fred resting his chin in his palm with a bored expression.
Umbridge gave another "Hem, hem", which was quickly getting on Anna's nerves. When she continued speaking, however, some of the childish tone had left her voice, and it now sounded like a dull drone of a speech that someone had memorized. "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching."
Umbridge paused here and there, giving little bows to her fellow professors, none of whom bowed back. She gave yet another "Hem, hem," and continued her speech.
"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. Then again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation…"
"Merlin, she's a longwinded old hag, isn't she?" Fred muttered, yawning behind his hand.
Anna nodded, struggling to keep her focus. She wasn't sure why she even bothered. Nothing the pink ditz said so far was right. She sounded like one of those Ministry morons who thought all control should be left up to the purebloods.
"…Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."
She finally sat down, and Dumbledore clapped. The staff followed slowly, though most only clapped maybe once or twice. A few students clapped, as well, but by the time most realized the speech was over Dumbledore had stood again.
"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating." he said, bowing to her. "Now-as I was saying,…"
Dumbledore spoke for another minute before dismissing them to their dormitories.
Anna stood up with the others, noticing Ron and Hermione gathering the first years.
"Come on, let's go." Fred urged her quickly, trying to reach the front doors of the Great Hall before the crowd. "We need to get there first so we can get our sign up."
"But-we don't have the password." Anna argued, being shoved from behind by the twins.
"Sure we do. I got it from Ron." George told her as they left the common room. They took a secret passageway and made it to the Fat Lady's portrait well before anyone else from their house.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia." George said to her. She nodded once and swung her portrait open. Anna lead the twins into the common room before they hurried past her toward the bulletin board across the room so Fred could pin the sign up. Anna approached and leaned her shoulder against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited. Slowly, people filtered into the common room, and Anna noticed Harry was among the first to enter.
He looked a bit depressed, but he'd seemed fine at the feast. Anna smiled and waved at him as he passed. He waved back, but didn't smile as he headed straight up to his dormitory.
Sighing tiredly, Anna turned back to the twins. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going up to my dormitory to sleep." she told them.
"Alright." they chorused.
"Night, Anna." George told her, messing up her hair before heading toward Lee across the room.
"Night." Fred told her, grinning.
Anna returned the grin, stepping forward to give him a hug. He returned it tightly for a moment. "Night, Freddie." she whispered teasingly before stepping back and going up to her dormitory.
XXX
"…I wish Fred and George'd hurry up and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted…"
Fred and George exchanged mischievous grins before hurrying toward the younger trio at the breakfast table the next morning.
"Do mine ears deceive me?" Fred asked with a grin, both twins squeezing onto the bench next to Harry. Their brother Ron had been the one who'd spoken. "Hogwarts prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?"
Anna sat next to George, reaching for her breakfast.
"Look what we've got today." Ron told him grumpily, waving his schedule under Fred's nose. Anna caught a glimpse of it and saw that he had History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts. She grimaced in sympathy. She'd be starting her morning with Herbology with George, and then Fred would be joining them for Charms after lunch.
"That's the worst Monday I've ever seen." Ron continued.
"Fair point, little bro." Fred agreed, his eyes scanning the column. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."
"Why's it cheap?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up." Anna informed him, looking pointedly at the twins.
"We haven't got an antidote yet." George explained, grabbing a kipper.
"Cheers," Ron mumbled moodily, shoving his schedule into his pocket, "but I think I'll take the lessons."
"And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes," Hermione cut in, eyeing the twins beadily, "you can't advertise for testers on the Gryffindor notice board."
"Says who?" George asked in surprise.
"Says me." she answered. "And Ron."
"Leave me out of it." Ron told her hurriedly.
Hermione glared at him, while the twins sniggered.
"You'll be singing a different tune soon enough, Hermione." Fred informed her, buttering a crumpet. "You're starting your fifth year, you'll be begging us for a Snackbox before long."
"And why would starting fifth year mean I want a Skiving Snackbox?" Hermione asked doubtfully.
"Fifth year's OWL year." George answered. Anna shuddered thinking about her own fifth year. Granted, hers had been worse than the average fifth year.
"So?"
"So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone they'll be rubbed raw." Fred answered smugly.
"Half our year had minor breakdowns coming up to OWLs." George answered happily. "Tears and tantrums…Patricia Stimpson kept coming over faint…"
"Kenneth Towler came out in boils, d'you remember?" Fred asked, sighing reminiscently.
"That's because you put Bulbadox Powder in his pajamas." Anna reminded him, smirking.
"Oh yeah." Fred grinned. "I'd forgotten…Hard to keep track sometimes, isn't it?"
"Anyway, it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth." George went on to the younger trio. "If you care about exam results anyway. Fred and I managed to keep our spirits up somehow."
"Yeah…you got, what was it, three OWLs each?" Ron pointed out, taking the words right out of Anna's mouth.
"Yep." Fred answered casually. "But we feel our futures lie outside the world of academic achievement."
"We seriously debated whether we were going to bother coming back for our seventh year," George admitted brightly, "now that we've got-"
Anna kicked his shin and Harry sent him a warning look. George had been about to mention Harry's Triwizard earnings.
"-now that we've got our OWLs." he corrected hastily. "I mean, do we really need NEWTs? But we didn't think Mum could take us leaving school early, not on top of Percy turning out to be the world's biggest prat."
"We're not going to waste our last year here, though." Fred continued, looking affectionately around the Great Hall. "We're going to use it to do a bit of market research, find out exactly what the average Hogwarts student requires from his joke shop, carefully evaluate the results of our research, and then produce the products to fit the demand."
"But where are you going to get the gold to start a joke shop?" Hermione asked skeptically. "You're going to need all the ingredients and materials-and premises too, I suppose…"
Anna glanced at the twins and Harry, trying not to look guilty or anxious. Harry's face was bright red, and he dropped his fork so he could dive under the table to grab it.
"Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies, Hermione." Fred told her smoothly. "C'mon, Anna, George, if we get going early we might be able to sell a few Extendable Ears before your Herbology class."
Anna grabbed her last piece of bacon and followed the twins from the Great Hall. They were each carrying a small stack of toast.
"Shoot. I forgot to tell Harry…" Anna muttered, glancing back over her shoulder.
"Tell him what?" George asked.
"Well, I'll tell him at lunch or something. Anyway, Angelina told me this morning that she wants the whole team at Quidditch tryouts on Friday at 5:00. All we need is a new Keeper."
The twins nodded, agreeing to be there.
XXX
When they arrived to dinner, the whole school was talking about it. Apparently during a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Harry got into a shouting match with Umbridge, telling everyone he saw Cedric Diggory being murdered, and that he actually dueled Voldemort. Not surprisingly, this earned Harry a detention.
"For the third time, I'm only helping to ensure these first years are safe and treated fairly." Anna firmly told the twins and Lee as they gathered in a corner of the common room. They were soon swarmed by a group of first years.
"Yes, yes, we heard you." Fred assured her, opening the large paper bag of Fainting Fancies they were going to test.
Fred handed each first year a sweet, and one by one they all slumped over in their chairs, slid to the floor, or hung over the arms of the chair with their tongues hanging out.
Anna moved from kid to kid, checking them over to make sure they were okay while ignoring the rest of the common room laughing. Fred and George each had a clipboard and were jotting down notes and observations.
"That's enough!" Hermione snapped, marching over to them. Anna, Fred, and George looked up in mild surprise.
"Yeah, you're right," George agreed with a nod, "this dosage looks strong enough, doesn't it?"
Anna bit her lip, knowing that wasn't what Hermione was referring to at all.
"I told you this morning, you can't test your rubbish on students!" Hermione ranted.
"We're paying them!" Fred told her indignantly, clearly taking offense to their products being called 'rubbish'.
"I don't care, it could be dangerous!"
"Rubbish." Fred waved her off.
"Calm down, Hermione, they're fine!" Lee told her while him and Anna moved from first year to first year, putting the purple sweets that served as antidotes into their open mouths.
"Yeah, look, they're coming around now." George pointed out, seeing a few stirring. "Feel alright?" George asked kindly to a small, dark-haired girl lying at his feet.
"I-I think so." she answered shakily.
"Excellent." Fred said happily, but Hermione snatched his clipboard and the paper bag from his hands.
"It is NOT excellent!" she snapped.
"'Course it is, they're alive, aren't they?" Fred countered angrily.
"You can't do this, what if you made one of them really ill?"
"We're not going to make them ill, we've already tested them all on ourselves, this is just to see if everyone reacts the same-"
"If you don't stop doing it, I'm going to-"
"Put us in detention?" Fred guessed in an arrogant voice, as if doubting she'd have the nerve.
"Make us write lines?" George added with an equally-arrogant smirk. Onlookers around the common room were laughing while Anna watched anxiously. She liked Hermione and considered her a friend, she didn't want to get into a fight with her considering she seemed genuinely upset by what the twins were doing. And she was only doing her job as a prefect.
The young bookworm drew herself up to her full height, which Anna rarely ever saw her do. Her brown eyes were narrowed at the twins' challenges and her bushy hair almost seemed to crackle with electricity.
"No," she said in a voice that quivered with anger, "but I will write to your mother."
Anna's mouth fell open, and then she covered it with her hand to hide her smile as her eyes moved to the twins. Their smug expressions had dropped.
"You wouldn't." George stated, horrified as he took a step away from her.
"Oh, yes, I would." Hermione answered grimly. "I can't stop you eating the stupid things yourselves, but you're not giving them to first years."
Fred and George were completely thunderstruck. To them, threatening to tell their mother was way below the belt, something they thought the young bookworm wasn't capable of. Anna, on the other hand, thought it was genius, exactly something Hermione would pull. She'd clearly seen from experience that the usual threats of lines and detentions wouldn't deter the Weasley twins; they considered those as things to brag about. But threatening to call their mother? That would, in the very least, make them hesitant.
"And you," Hermione whipped around and fixed her angry gaze on Anna, making her flinch, "you shouldn't be helping them, you should be stopping them. How can you think this is okay?"
"Whoa, Hermione, calm down. I'm only helping to make sure the first years are safe. I would never put them in danger, and despite what you think, neither would Fred and George."
"Well, it stops now." Hermione told them all firmly before thrusting the bag and clipboard back into Fred's arms and stalking back to her chair by the fire. Anna could see that Ron had sunk so low in his chair that his nose was level with his knees.
"I think that Prefects badge went to her head." Fred muttered angrily as the twins gathered closer to Anna.
"Well, she's got a point." Anna told him gently.
"No she doesn't." George snapped.
"We'll just lay low about it from now on. Do it somewhere outside the common room." Fred decided.
XXX
Anna wasn't sure what the next day would hold, as the only class she had was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Umbridge, and she wasn't sure what to expect from the short, pink-dressed woman.
When they entered the classroom, Umbridge was already seated at the teacher's desk, waiting expectantly for them. Anna sat at a table with Fred, and George sat behind them with Lee. The minutes before class started were a little hushed, everyone whispering among themselves, since they weren't sure how rowdy they could be in Umbridge's class.
When it was time for class to start, Umbridge stood up and everyone fell silent.
"Good morning, class." she said cheerfully.
A few people mumbled a 'Good morning' back, but otherwise didn't respond.
"Well, now, that just won't do. Let's try that again, shall we? I would like you to reply 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge'. Now, after me. Good morning, class."
"Good morning, Professor Umbridge." the class answered. Anna glanced at Fred, who rolled his eyes.
"Well, that's much better." she said with a cheerful voice. "Now, wands away and quills out, please."
Several people groaned and Anna herself grimaced in disappointment as she stuffed her wand into her shoulder bag, pulling her quill out and placing it on her desk. That one line usually meant a boring class.
"Now, before we start our lesson, I'd like to give a reminder of what to expect at the end of your seventh year." Umbridge started in a sickly-sweet voice, pulling out her own, surprisingly short, wand and using it to write something on the blackboard.
"Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test." she read as she wrote the same words on the board. "Also known at NEWTs. These are very important tests that you take at the end of your education. They are necessary for your future careers."
Fred rolled his eyes, groaning quietly while Anna sighed, resting her cheek on her hand. They'd already heard the same speeches in their other classes the day before, which for Anna was Herbology and Charms. She could only imagine how annoying it was going to be hearing about it all over again in her remaining four classes.
Anna noticed it was silent for a few seconds, so she looked up and realized Umbridge was staring at her with a disturbingly sweet smile. She slowly straightened her back, letting her hand lower to the desk.
"Is there a problem, dear?" Umbridge asked her in that same child-like voice.
"Oh, um, no Professor." she answered quietly.
"Really? You seem rather uninterested in this topic. Is your future not important enough to you?"
"No, that's not it." Anna argued slowly, unsure how or why this was escalating to that extent. "It's just-we've heard this same lecture with all our other teachers so far. We understand what our NEWTs are."
Professor Umbridge didn't say anything for a moment, instead slowly turning and approaching the teacher's desk, looking down at some papers.
"What's your name, dear?" she asked sweetly.
Anna swallowed nervously. "Annabelle." she answered, trying not to sound nervous.
"Ah, yes. Annabelle Black." Umbridge nodded, still looking down at what Anna guessed was the list of students in the class. "Judging by your surname, I'd wager you're the daughter of Sirius Black, the only male heir of the Black line."
"Um, well yeah. What's that got to do with anything?" Anna asked in confusion, not bothering to mention that her little brother was now another male heir.
"It just explains a lot." Umbridge answered simply, looking back up and meeting Anna's eyes. "With your father being arrested as a murderer most of your life, you were raised by your mother, who wasn't much better. It makes sense that you don't care much about your education."
Anna tensed, her back going ramrod straight. Fred and George also tensed, both glancing at her warily.
Before Anna could contemplate a retort, Umbridge swept on, "Now, seeing as Ms. Black doesn't want you all to understand the importance of your NEWTs, I suppose we'll move on to the lesson. Now, since your past teachings of this subject have been rather chaotic, we will be going back to a more basic, Ministry-approved method."
"In other words, we won't learn anything useful." Fred breathed so only Anna could hear. She nodded, her jaw clenched. She was slouched in her seat, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she struggled to suppress the rage burning inside. She started slightly when a hand brushed across her shoulder blades. She glanced to the side and saw Fred staring at her. "Calm down." he breathed soothingly.
Anna took a deep breath, giving him a small smile.
"Now, if you'll all pull out your copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard, I'd like you to open to chapter one and begin reading. There will be no need to talk." Umbridge told them all. The classroom was briefly filled with the rustling sounds of people getting their books out of their bags, placing them on their desks, and flipping open to the first chapter.
Anna turned to the first chapter, 'Basics for Beginners', trying to ignore how the toad-like teacher sat back in the teacher's desk, her pouchy eyes trained on the class.
It was quite possibly the most boring textbook Anna had ever read. By the third paragraph, her mind couldn't register what she was actually reading. She got to the third page before she realized she had no idea what she just read and forced herself to start over. It was no use, however, because she still couldn't focus. Glancing carefully around the room, she found she wasn't the only one.
A Slytherin student one row over was dozing off with his cheek in his hand. George and Lee appeared to be passing a piece of parchment back and forth, probably passing notes so they wouldn't get caught talking. She also caught sight of a dungbomb in George's pocket that he kept messing with. Fred was glancing around the room, looking bored to death. He met her eyes when she looked over at him and he smiled. 'This is so stupid,' he mouthed silently. Anna grimaced and nodded in agreement. Then, movement caught her eye and she looked past him. Another Gryffindor girl in their year, Patricia Stimpson, had raised her hand and was staring at Umbridge silently.
Anna nodded toward her and Fred followed her gaze. Soon, several people were watching her, as well. Probably because the book was so boring students had been gazing around the room instead, and found their eyes locked on Patricia.
"Did you have a question, dear?" Umbridge asked sweetly when over half the class was staring at the girl instead of reading.
"Yes, Professor. I just noticed that there's nothing in this book about using Defensive spells." Patricia answered promptly, her hand lowering to the tabletop.
"I don't see how that's a question, dear. Of course there's nothing in this book about using Defensive spells." Umbridge told her as if she were being silly. Anna's brows furrowed and she exchanged a confused glance with Fred.
"But why?" Patricia asked. "This is Defense Against the Dark Arts. Shouldn't it be dedicated to teaching us how to defend ourselves?"
"Why would you have any need to defend yourselves? Who do you expect to attack you in class?"
"What about outside of class?" Angelina cut in. "We're all of age. After this year, we're leaving Hogwarts. We don't know what's going to happen out in the real world."
"Oh, please. Who do you think's going to attack any of you out there?" Umbridge asked with a little laugh, but her eyes flashed a silent challenge, daring them to give the answer she was thinking. Anna and Fred exchanged a knowing glance, both thinking the same thing. 'Voldemort'.
"What about people who want to become Aurors?" Anna found herself asking, turning to look up at Umbridge.
"Students must raise their hands if they wish to speak in my class." Umbridge stated promptly.
Anna raised her hand. "Okay, so what about people who want to become Aurors?"
"And do you plan on becoming an Auror?" Umbridge asked in amusement, as if the thought was laughable.
"Well, no, but-"
"Then why bother asking such a question?"
"In case someone does want to be an Auror."
"Well, if anyone in this class chooses to become an Auror, they will receive proper training from their higher ups. However, it is my job to ensure you are able to get through your exams. That is, after all, what school is all about, isn't it?"
"No." Angelina answered. "School is supposed to teach us skills we can use in the real world, in our jobs."
"Well, older and wiser witches and wizards say otherwise, Miss Johnson." Umbridge stated firmly. "Now, I want you all to return to your reading. There will be no more discussion, and the next person to speak out of turn will receive a detention."
With that, Umbridge leaned back in her chair and waited expectantly for them to return to reading. Anna looked down at her book, though she had no intention of continuing to read. She had a feeling that this class was going to suck for the rest of the year.
XXX
The rest of the week passed slowly. Thursday, Anna and the twins took some first years to an unused classroom on the seventh floor to test the products without Hermione knowing. On the rainy Friday evening at 5:00 was the Quidditch tryouts.
"Is that little Prefect Ronnie?" Fred asked teasingly. Anna looked over her shoulder to see Fred and George snickering and pointing at their younger brother, who was among the half-dozen Gryffindors standing at the bottom of the goalposts, waiting for their turn to try out. Ron was wearing Quidditch robes and holding his new broom.
"Leave him alone." Anna told Fred, swatting both him and George on their shoulders. Without another word, she mounted her broom and flew up into the air. Fred and George followed a moment later. The rest of the team was already soaring around the field, except for Harry, who couldn't come because of his detention with Umbridge. Angelina wasn't happy at all about him missing tryouts.
They had the people trying out go one at a time, playing the position of Keeper at the goal posts. The first person was completely horrible. Katie managed to score on him twice within a few seconds. The second person was okay, but certainly not the best player. The third person was pretty good, she managed to block one of Anna's shots. The fourth person was terrible. He missed an easy shot, and then almost fell off his broom in the process. Fred shot a bludger at the fifth person, who dodged it very well. However, he then fumbled an easy save.
The sky was growing steadily darker as they called up the last two players. Ron was the sixth person, and he did pretty well. Anna tried not to go easy on him when she went to score. It certainly wasn't her best shot, but Ron saved it easily. The seventh person was another mediocre player, definitely not their first choice, but not terrible either.
"Alright, you all wait here, and the team will discuss the results." Angelina told the people trying out, leaving them waiting by the goalpost while the team moved away to talk.
"Okay, so what do we think?" Angelina asked the team as a whole. "I've marked down the top three. Vickey Frobisher, Geoffrey Hooper, and Ron Weasley."
"Please don't pick Hooper." Katie whispered desperately. "He's such a whiner. He's in my year, and such a big crybaby. I guarantee you, he'll start complaining about practices. 'It's too much work' 'I don't feel well, can I skip today?'." she added in a whining baby voice that made Anna, Fred, and George snicker.
"Yeah, I've heard him around the common room." Angelina agreed, wrinkling her nose. "Unfortunately, Vicky already told me that she's in a lot of clubs and things, and that if Quidditch clashed with her Charm Club, Charms would always come first. We can't risk having someone with divided loyalty, in case she drops the team the day before a match or something."
"Then that leaves Ron." Anna pointed out carefully.
Angelina nodded slowly, watching the potential Keepers from the corner of her eye. "Yeah…The other two fly better, but…Ron has potential. With some proper training, he could be a great member of the team."
Anna glanced up at Fred and George. Both were grinning slightly, as if they were secretly pleased for their brother, but didn't want to make it too obvious.
"So, are we going with Ron?" Ang checked, looking around at the others. Anna nodded, as did the others. "Alright. Let's go tell them."
With Angelina in the lead, the team returned to the Keeper wannabes.
"Alright, everyone, listen up. The whole team has talked it over, and we decided to choose our next Keeper based, not only on skill, but availability and character, as well. It was a difficult decision, but we've made our choice. The new Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team is…Ron Weasley!"
Ron's mouth fell open while the others who'd tried out either gaped as well, complained, or clapped politely. The rest of the team clapped or cheered.
"Congratulations, Ron." Anna told him, walking over and giving him a short hug.
"We need to celebrate." Katie decided. "Let's go to the common room!"
"We'll get some food and drinks and meet you guys up there as soon as we can." Fred told them all.
"Good job, little bro!" George added as the twins raced away.
Anna decided not to go along with the twins, who were undoubtedly going to Honeydukes. Instead, she followed the rest of the team up to the Gryffindor common room to start the celebrations.
XXX
"You look exhausted." Anna stated as she sat on the arm of the armchair by the fire. Hermione was sitting in the armchair, looking ready to fall asleep. Both girls were holding a mug of butterbeer, which the twins had just returned with. They were passing drinks and food around, and the common room was full of sound and excited chatter.
"Well, I've had some late nights." Hermione admitted.
"Studying? Already? Guess I shouldn't be surprised." Anna admitted, partially teasing.
Hermione scrunched her nose up at Anna sarcastically. "Not completely, for your information. I've been knitting hats for the house elves."
Anna eyed her incredulously for a moment. "But…you know they can't take clothes, right? That would set them…" Anna trailed off when an idea occurred to her. "You're trying to set them free!" she accused, pointing her finger down at the young prefect.
Hermione shrugged. "Well, of course. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
"And how many of them have actually accepted your little gifts?" Anna asked knowingly.
"I don't know." Hermione answered honestly. "I don't give the hats to them in person. I hide them around the common room."
Anna's mouth fell open. "You're tricking them into being free? Do you have any idea how cruel that is? That will traumatize them."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. Once they realize how great it is being free, they'll all soon want to be free. Like Dobby."
"Dobby was different, he was abused by the Malfoys. The elves here get treated much better than he did. Dobby's admitted that himself."
"Either way, it's for the best." Hermione stated firmly, making it clear her opinion wouldn't budge.
Anna sighed, shaking her head. "When's Harry supposed to be done with his detention?"
"It should be soon." Hermione answered, looking down at her watch worriedly. "He should've been back by now, actually."
"Hm. Maybe he stopped somewhere on the way back or something." Anna guessed, not wanting to worry. After all, Harry was just in detention. What's the worse that could happen?
"Hello ladies." Fred greeted them, sitting on the arm of the couch so he was less than a foot from Anna. "Having fun?"
"Obviously." Anna told him with a smirk.
"Good. Hope you don't mind, Hermione, but I was hoping I could borrow by lovely girlfriend for a moment."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Go right ahead."
"Thanks." Fred grinned at her before taking Anna's free hand with his and pulling her away from the fire.
They walked to the other side of the common room, so that Hermione's back was facing them. Anna wondered shyly if Fred was going to sneak her up to his dormitory so they could be alone. Instead, they approached George and Lee, who were currently surrounded by several first years. Anna refrained from sighing, seeing them handing out what looked like Nosebleed Nougats.
"Alright, can you help us supervise so I can make notes?" Fred asked her charmingly.
Anna rolled her eyes, smiling in amusement. "Yes, Fred, I'll help supervise."
"Great, thanks." Fred beamed, quickly kissing her cheek before taking a clipboard from Lee. Anna stood near them and kept a close eye on all the first years in their group as they each ate a Nosebleed Nougat. As soon as she saw the first drop of blood from a young girl, Anna waved her wand and conjured several rags, passing one to each of the kids.
They only waited a few moments before passing out the antidote sweets. Almost as soon as the kids all swallowed the second sweets, blood stopped flowing from their noses. Fred made a note of this, grinning widely, as the first years wiped the blood from their faces. George passed out a couple Galleons to each first year for their service.
Anna glanced over her shoulder when she heard the portrait swing open. Harry stumbled into the common room, looking slightly dazed. Ron, having also seen his friend arrive, hurried over to him. The redhead was beaming and accidentally slopped butterbeer down his front. Fred and George headed over to greet him and Anna followed them.
"Harry, I did it, I'm in, I'm Keeper!"
"What? Oh-brilliant!" Harry muttered. "Where's Hermione?"
"She's over there." Anna told them, pointing over to the armchair that Hermione had finally fallen asleep in, her drink tipping precariously in her hand.
"Well, she said she was pleased when I told her." Ron said, looking disappointed.
"Let her sleep." George suggested hastily, glancing over at the first years, some of whom still had some dried blood around their nostrils.
"Come here, Ron, and see if Oliver's old robes fit you." Katie called across the common room. "We can take off his name and put yours on instead…"
Ron hurried over to her while Angelina approached Harry to talk.
"I bet that's one hand-me-down Ron doesn't mind getting." Anna noted with a grin as Ron slipped the robes on over his other clothes.
"Probably not." the twins chorused in agreement.
XXX
Well, they're back at school and Anna's officially met Umbridge. Oh, the joy.
Let me know what you all thought of this chapter! I really love and appreciate reviews more than you can possibly imagine, and I probably don't say that enough!
Also note, I obviously don't own the Sorting Hat's song.