It snowed overnight, and Annabelle woke up on Sunday morning to find two feet of snow on the ground. Thinking about how much this would cheer the twins up, she threw her covers off and hurriedly dressed in her winter cloak and boots, grabbing the rest of her things. She hurried down the girls' staircase, across the common room, and up the boys' staircase.
She threw the seventh year boys' door open and hurried inside.
"Wake up." she ordered, bouncing on Fred's bed. "Fred, George, wake up. It snowed last night. Let's go." she ordered, continuously prodding Fred's shoulder with her fingers.
Fred groaned, rolling onto his back and looking up at her. "What are you rambling about now?" he mumbled, rubbing his eye with a fist.
"It snowed." she told him clearly. "Let's go play in the snow."
Fred sat up quickly and looked out the nearest window. Sure enough, it was an endless expanse of white. Grabbing his pillow, Fred chucked it at George in the next bed over.
"Oi! Georgie! It snowed, let's go!"
George bolted upright, looking around excitedly. He saw the window and leapt off his bed, hurrying to his trunk to get changed.
"I'll meet you in the common room." Anna told them, hurrying out of the room to wait downstairs. They joined her in about a minute, then they all hurried to the Great Hall for a couple pieces of toast each before going outside to play.
Anna slowed when they got outside, letting the twins race past her. With their backs facing her, she bent down to scoop some snow into her mitten-covered hands. Patting it into a ball, she drew her hand back, aimed, and chucked it right into the back of Fred's head.
He jerked in surprise, looking over his shoulder in surprise. When his eyes landed on her, he smirked deviously.
"Oh, it's on." he told her, scooping snow up into his own hands. George quickly did the same, and it was soon an all-out war. There were no specific sides, they attacked each other equally. Before long, several people from a couple other Houses joined them in their snowball fight, which lasted into the afternoon.
"Oi, Georgie, Anna, come here." Fred called. Anna and George approached him, somewhat hesitantly in case he was trying to trick them. "Look up there." he ordered, pointing up at Gryffindor Tower. "That's a window into the common room." he explained, referring to one of the windows on the tower.
"What's your point?" Anna asked, looking back at him.
Fred winked at her before waving his wand over a pile of snowballs at his feet. The bewitched snowballs flew up into the air one at a time and hit the window repeatedly. George laughed, quickly waving his wand to make more snowballs and do the same. Anna shook her head at them, but couldn't help smiling at them. She'd been worried they'd still be bitter about being banned from Quidditch, and they probably were, but she was relieved they were having some fun.
After several minutes, their efforts were rewarded when someone threw the window open and Ron stuck his head out.
"OI! I am a prefect and if one more snowball hits this window-OUCH!"
Fred and George laughed, high-fiving to celebrate George's amazing throw, which had hit Ron in the face. Ron's red face, now blotched with white snow, disappeared back inside and he slammed the window shut.
Anna shook her head at them again, but got an idea. She scooped up two left over snowballs and crept up behind the twins. Then, she slammed a snowball each down on their heads.
"Hey!" they shouted, but Anna had spun around and bolted back across the courtyard. "Get back here!" one of them shouted, but Anna continued running. It was difficult with the snow, but she ran as fast as she could. She ran around a tree, only for someone to intercept her around the other side of the tree. She squealed in surprise when an arm wrapped around her stomach and lifted her off the ground.
"Fred!" she laughed, wiggling to try and get loose. He just laughed and fell backwards into the snow, taking her down with him. She tried to get loose again, but he rolled them over so that his body pressed hers into the snow. Her laughing quieted slightly, but her wide smile still stretched across her cheeks.
"Gotcha." Fred whispered, smirking deviously down at her. He had one arm under her back in the snow, his other elbow keeping him propped up as he gently rested his weight on her.
"What are you gonna do?" she asked, trying to keep her voice light and teasing.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he breathed, leaning down so that his warm breath brushed across her cheeks. She shivered, but not from the cold of the snow melting into her clothes.
He continued leaning down, his lips just brushing hers. Anna's lips quirked up slightly in a smile before her fingers suddenly attacked Fred's ribs. Fred yelped, jerking away from her, but she followed, continuing her assault on his stomach and sides.
"No! Ah, stop! George, I need backup!" Fred yelled through his laughter as Anna continued tickling him.
Anna laughed at him, continuing her torture until suddenly she was pummeled with snowballs. She screamed, scooped up more snowballs, and got up to chase after George.
XXX
The following Monday, Anna was happily surprised to see Hagrid at the staff table at breakfast. And she wasn't alone. Her, Fred, George, and Lee all cheered at the sight of him when they entered the Great Hall and sprinted past the tables to greet him. The guys shook his hands ecstatically, while Anna full on threw herself into him for a hug.
However, everything wasn't all cheerful. December arrived, bringing more snow and homework. And Anna was worried about Hagrid possibly being placed on probation after Umbridge inspected his Fifth year class, which involved thestrals. According to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, it hadn't gone very well.
But as they progressed through December, Anna reminded herself that Christmas break was coming soon. So far, the tentative plans were that her and Harry would go home with Sirius and Wren for Christmas. And from what Anna had heard, the Weasleys were spending their Christmas at the Burrow, and Hermione was going skiing with her parents.
Anna trudged down the corridor to the Fat Lady's portrait, saying the password to be let in. She stumbled inside, blowing onto her cupped hands to warm them up. Her eyes landed easily on Fred and George in the corner and she headed for them. She came up behind Fred and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Hi." she sighed.
"Hey." Fred grinned up at her, one of his hands gently grabbing her wrist.
"How was practice?" George asked in a dull voice. Him, Fred, and Harry were still miserable without being able to play Quidditch, which Anna had just returned from.
"Well, it was nothing too exciting." she admitted honestly, not moving from her position hugging Fred from behind. "I mean, with only Chasers and a Keeper, we just practiced passing and helped Ron practice protecting the goals. He's really good when people aren't booing him and singing that stupid song."
"Yeah. So when are the tryouts to get new players?" Fred asked, his voice also a bit dull.
"Couple weeks, I think. Just before Christmas break." she admitted quietly. "So, anyway, on a different note," she added, partially to change the subject, "I finished all my homework for the day, so I've got a free evening." she announced temptingly to Fred. "Wanna do something?"
"Sure. You can help us make another batch of Canary Creams." Fred suggested with a smile. Anna's faltered only slightly at the suggestion.
"Oh, um, sure, but…well, I was thinking we could do something, just the two of us." she explained uncertainly.
"Oh. Well, I'd love to, but we're in the middle of shop stuff." Fred explained, frowning apologetically up at her over his shoulder. "But maybe when we're done, or another time? You could still help us with this, if you want."
"Yeah, sure." Anna agreed with a small smile, pulling away so she could sit in the chair next to him.
"Oh!" Fred turned to her. "For the record, I haven't forgotten. I am going to plan our next date, I've just been busy."
Anna laughed softly, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "I know."
XXX
Anna followed Angelina and Katie down the corridor on the seventh floor, heading for the last D.A. meeting before Christmas holidays. She groaned, rubbing her aching shoulder with her other hand. They'd just finished their Quidditch tryouts. One of the several to try out for the Beater post had completely missed his target and hit Anna in the shoulder instead. It wasn't too serious, but it certainly left a large bruise.
Alicia met up with them just as they reached the door to the Room of Requirement, and all four girls headed inside. The three Chasers were cold and slightly out of breath from their tryouts and running to make it to the D.A. meeting.
"Well, we've replaced you." Angelina told Harry dully, taking off her cloak and tossing it into the corner.
"Replaced me?" Harry repeated blankly, clearly confused as to what Angelina was talking about. Anna walked past them all and sat on a pillow near the corner, pulling off her winter cloak.
"You and Fred and George." Angelina told him impatiently. "We've got another Seeker!"
Anna slouched down into the pillow and pulled her cloak up to cover her face, trying to warm up and trying to block out the conversation. She hated the idea of 'replacing' Harry, Fred, and George. Even if it was only the Quidditch team, she still hated the term 'replace'. It was impossible to replace them, especially Fred and George.
After a few minutes, someone plopped down on the pillow next to Anna's and an arm brushed hers.
"What are you doing?" a familiar, playful voice asked.
Anna sighed, pulling her cloak down so she could look up. Fred was reclined in the pillow next to hers, leaning on one side so he almost leaned over her. George was sitting on the pillow near her feet, turned to face her curiously. Both of them looked amused.
"Warming up." she answered dryly.
"Aw. That's not how you warm up, love." Fred teased, tossing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. Anna rolled her eyes, but snuggled into his side nonetheless.
"How were tryouts?" George asked curiously. "Get anyone good? I mean, obviously they'll never be as amazing as us, but…" he trailed off smugly.
Anna snorted, shaking her head. "No, they're not nearly as good as you two. We got Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper as Beaters. They're not great, but a hell of a lot better than the others who tried out."
"And Seeker?" Fred urged, his hand running up and down her arm.
Anna smirked slightly. "Ginny Weasley."
"What?" they both exclaimed, sitting bolt upright and staring at her in shock.
"You're joking!" George accused, pointing his finger at her.
Anna laughed. "No, I'm not. Ginny tried out as Seeker and got it. She's actually really good."
"Huh." both twins huffed, still completely baffled. Anna laughed, nudging Fred's ribs with her elbow.
Only moments after their conversation ended, the room was full of members of the D.A., and Harry called them to order.
"Okay. I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far, because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new right before a three-week break-"
"We're not doing anything new?" Zacharias Smith repeated in a disgruntled whisper that the whole room could hear. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come…"
"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then." Fred announced loudly, causing several people to snigger. Anna fought her own laughter, but was unable to smother her amused grin.
"We can practice in pairs." Harry continued when they quieted. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."
Everyone got up and divided as asked. Instead of pairing up with one of the twins, Anna paired up with Katie. They bowed slightly to each other before readying their wands.
"Impedimenta!" Anna and Katie both shouted, but Anna was just half a second faster. Katie froze for several moments before she unfroze. This continued for about ten minutes. Anna and Katie were fairly evenly matched, though Anna was only slightly more experienced considering she was a year older.
Then, they all laid out cushions on the floor and started practicing Stunning. The space was too small for everyone to work at once, so half the group watched while the other half practiced, then they'd switch.
When the hour passed, Harry told them to stop.
"You're getting really good." he told them all, beaming like a proud teacher. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff-maybe even Patronuses."
A murmur of excitement rippled through the group as they moved around to grab their things.
"Patronuses! I can't wait!" Anna whispered excitedly to Katie as they both grabbed their cloaks.
"I know!" Katie agreed, bouncing slightly. "I wonder what mine'll be?" she added more to herself.
"Won't be long before we find out." she reminded her, heading for the door. "Especially with such a great teacher." she added loud enough for Harry to hear, grinning at him. He blushed, shaking his head at her. "See you tomorrow, Harry." she told him.
"If I don't see you, then have a Merry Christmas, Harry." Katie added.
Harry returned the sentiment and both girls walked out with Fred and George.
"So," Fred threw his arm over Anna's shoulders, "you doing anything the rest of the night?"
"Hm. No. I finished all my homework. Why?" she asked, silently hoping he was going to ask her to spend time alone with him, which she'd been yearning for for a while.
"Great." Fred grinned. "'Cause we were wondering if you had any ideas for those Headless Hats you suggested a while back. We can't think of how to make both the hat and people's heads invisible." Anna had suggested the Headless Hat idea after thinking about Harry's Invisibility Cloak.
Anna sighed quietly before she could stop herself. "Yeah, sure."
Fred's grin faltered slightly and he narrowed his eyes at her. "You okay?" he asked quietly, leaning down a bit so George and Katie didn't hear.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Anna responded, her voice shaking slightly under his close scrutiny.
"You're upset about something." Fred stated, not even having to ask.
Anna looked down, shaking her head even though she knew there was no chance of her convincing him otherwise.
Fred sighed quietly. "George, we'll meet you in the common room later."
"Sure."
Anna didn't look up, just rolled her eyes slightly when Fred took her hand and pulled her in a different direction.
"Fred, really, it's not a big deal." she told him quietly.
"So you admit there is something." Fred stated simply, looking down at her as they walked.
Anna sighed. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Annabelle."
"Fredrick."
Fred sighed and pulled her into an empty classroom, closing the door behind them, locking it, and placing a Silencing Charm on it. "Now," he turned to face Anna, crossing his arms, "what's going on?"
Anna leaned back against a desk, crossing her arms, too. She didn't know why she was making a big deal out of the whole issue. It wasn't as if she was actually mad.
"Alright, fine." she consented. "I'm just a tiny bit disappointed that we don't spend any time alone." she admitted.
Fred's brows furrowed as he looked at her curiously. "That's it?"
"That's it." she admitted, nodding. "We're both always busy; me with studying, you with shop stuff. And whenever we hang out it's always with George, which I don't mind. I love George, he's my best friend, and your twin. But it almost doesn't feel like we're even…together, you know? We never spend time just the two of us." she explained quietly. "It's really not that big of a deal-"
"No, no, you're right. I'm sorry." Fred sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It just seems like, lately, whenever you have a free moment, I'm busy with shop stuff with George, and whenever I have a free moment you're busy with homework or…Quidditch." he admitted lowly. "And I still haven't got around to planning our next date. And-Merlin, we've almost been together a year and we've only had one date!"
Anna laughed quietly at the shock on his face. "Fred, I don't care about having a big date. You don't need to plan something big and extravagant. I'd settle for hot chocolate in the kitchens or the common room."
Fred tilted his head thoughtfully as he looked at her. Then, a smile appeared on his face and he stood up straight from where he'd been leaning back against the door. "Okay."
"'Okay' what?" Anna asked curiously.
"Let's go get some hot chocolate in the kitchens, and you can tell me all about the Quidditch tryouts." Fred explained, waving his wand to unlock the door and taking her hand in his free one.
Anna smiled softly, walking at his side with their hands linked. "I'd love that."
XXX
"Ms. Black. Ms. Black, wake up!"
Anna blinked her eyes open, seeing McGonagall's face several inches above hers.
"Wha-Professor, what's wrong?" she asked groggily, forcing herself to sit up. She noticed McGonagall's face was pale and she was in her dressing gown.
"I'll explain on the way, but you must hurry. Something's happened." McGonagall whispered quickly.
Anna quickly climbed out of her bed, slipping on her slippers and pulling her dressing gown on as she hurried out of the dormitory after her Head of House. When she reached the common room below, she found Ginny, Fred, and George waiting.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"We don't know." George answered, looking worriedly at McGonagall, who was now at the portrait hole.
"Quickly, all of you. I'll explain on the way." she told them hurriedly. They all hurried after her and out the portrait hole.
"So, what happened?" Fred asked as they descended the stairs.
"It seems Mr. Potter had an…a nightmare of sorts. He claims he saw…your father being attacked." she admitted, not looking at any of them.
"What?!" all four of them exclaimed in shock.
"But-but it was just a bad dream, right?" George checked.
"We're not sure. He insists it really happened. Dumbledore is having someone check on Arthur as we speak, and Harry is with your brother in the Headmaster's office."
They didn't speak again as they hurried to Dumbledore's office. They were all too worried to speak. Finally, they reached the gargoyle statue and McGonagall gave the password before gesturing them up the revolving stairs. The walked up the stairs and pushed open a door at the top. Harry was inside Dumbledore's office, sitting in front of the desk, while Dumbledore was standing in front of an empty portrait. Anna guessed whoever had been in that portrait had left to do something.
"Harry-what's going on?" Ginny asked, her voice shaking as if scared. "Professor McGonagall says you saw Dad hurt-"
"Your father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore explained quickly. "He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to 12 Grimmauld Place, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."
"How're we going?" Fred asked shakily. "Floo powder?" His scared voice finally drew Anna's attention to him around Ginny's head. He was pale and looked like his knees might give out. Anna wanted to move closer and comfort him, but now didn't seem to be the time.
"No." Dumbledore answered. "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey." he explained, gesturing to an old kettle on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back…I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you-"
A flash of flame in the middle of the office interrupted him, the flame leaving behind a golden feather that floated gently to the floor.
"It is Fawkes's warning." Dumbledore explained, catching the feather in his hand. "She must know you're out of your beds…Minerva, go and head her off-tell her any story-"
McGonagall left instantly. Anna guessed the obvious answer was that they were referring to Umbridge.
"The werewolf got hold of Sirius, and both are awaiting the children's arrival." a loud voice announced as Anna saw the wizard Phineas return to his frame. He looked like a clever wizard, wearing green and silver robes for Slytherin House, and he had black hair, dark eyes, and a pointed beard. "My great-great-grandson has always had odd taste in houseguests…"
Anna's brows rose just slightly. She'd known she was related, in some way, to Phineus Nigellus Black, given his surname and the fact his portrait was in 12 Grimmauld Place. But she'd never known she was directly descended from him. He was her great-great-great-grandfather. And he actually seemed at least somewhat decent.
"Come here, then." Dumbledore ordered, waving all the kids forward. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us…" They all gathered around Dumbledore's desk, reaching out to touch a finger to the blackened kettle. Anna took a spot between Fred and Ginny. "Now, on the count of three…one…two…three."
There was a jerk in Anna's navel and suddenly they were all airborne. Her finger stayed glued to the kettle as they all spun in their air, their bodies banging together. Anna squeezed her eyes shut against the nausea that was building in her stomach and bubbling in the back of her throat.
Anna's feet slammed into the ground and she swayed, her knees shaking under the impact.
"Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true their father's dying…?" a familiar, scratchy voice asked nearby.
"OUT!" a second familiar voice demanded.
Anna shook her head, her hand going to her forehead as her eyes adjusted to being still. They had landed in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place. It was rather dark apart from a candle on the table and a burning fire in the fireplace. A hand gently took her elbow and she looked up to see Remus looking grim. He gave her a forced smile when their eyes met.
Her eyes traveled around. Kreacher was leaving the room, muttering under his breath and glaring over his shoulder at them. Anna relaxed when she saw her father hurrying into the room, looking anxious. He was wearing his dressing gown over his pajamas, his long hair rumpled.
"What's going on?" he asked worriedly, stretching out a hand to help Ginny to her feet. "Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured-"
"Ask Harry." Fred interrupted.
"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself." George agreed.
Anna stepped up and rested a hand on Fred's back, but everyone was staring at Harry.
"It was-I had a-a kind of-vision…" he stuttered. "There was a-a snake. And it attacked Mr. Weasley…"
Harry explained his vision briefly, and after he'd finished Anna glanced at the Weasley kids. They were all very pale, and Fred, George, and Ginny continued to stare at Harry for a moment after he'd finished speaking.
"Is Mum here?" Fred finally broke the silence, turning to glance between Sirius and Remus.
"She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet." Sirius admitted. "Remus just had time to contact me about everything. The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now."
"We've got to go to St. Mungos." Ginny insisted desperately. She glanced around at the others and seemed to notice they were all still in their pajamas. "Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything-?"
"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St. Mungos!" Sirius insisted.
"'Course we can go to St. Mungos if we want," Fred argued defiantly, "he's our dad!"
"How would you explain how you knew Arthur was attacked before the hospital could tell his wife?" Remus pointed out gently. Anna could see the sense in this argument, but she could also see why the Weasley kids desperately wanted to see their father.
"What does that matter?" George retorted angrily.
"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away." Sirius pointed out, and Anna could tell he was trying to keep his voice calm. "Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?"
Anna slipped her arm through Fred's and grabbed George's hand in hers, because she could tell they wanted to argue.
Ginny spoke quietly, still very shaken, "Somebody else could have told us…We could have heard it somewhere other than Harry…"
"Like who?" Sirius asked tiredly. "Listen, your dad's been hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, you could seriously damage the Order's-"
"We don't care about the dumb Order!" Fred shouted. Anna tensed and squeezed his arm against her chest, her hand slipping down to hold his.
"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" George added in the same, angry voice. Anna bit her lip, giving George's hand a quick squeeze.
"Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order." Sirius snapped, losing his patience.
"Dad." Anna protested quietly. Remus stepped around the kids and rested his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"This is how it is-this is why you're not in the Order-you don't understand-there are things worth dying for." Sirius continued.
Anna could feel Fred's muscles tense against her chest and side, and she guessed talking about dying when their father had just been attacked hurt. Before he could lash out at her own father, she released George's hand so both her hands could be on Fred's arm, one holding his hand and the other cupping the inside of his elbow.
"Fred, calm down." she whispered gently, looking up at the side of his face. She could tell his jaw was clenched, his dark eyes fixed on Sirius. "Your dad's not going to die. Let's all just sit down and wait for your mum to get back with news."
"Anna's right." Remus agreed quietly, his hand still on Sirius' shoulder. "Let's have a seat and wait."
There was a moment of silence where nobody moved before Ginny took a couple steps and sank into the nearest chair. Then, Harry and Ron sat down, too. Anna gently squeezed Fred's hand before he moved to sit down. Fred and George sat on either side of Ginny, and Anna sat down in the seat next to Fred.
"Let's all have a drink while we're waiting." Sirius suggested before he raised his wand. "Accio Butterbeer!"
A half-dozen bottles of butterbeer came zooming out of the pantry, skidding along the tabletop until they came to a stop, one each in front of everyone. Anna kept one hand in Fred's as she drank, partially because he refused to let go of hers. The only sounds in the room were soft breaths, the crackling of the fire, and the occasional thud of a bottle being placed on the table.
Anna let her eyes travel to Harry across from her. He was paler than all the others, which was understandable if he really saw Arthur being attacked, but for some reason he also looked very guilty and sick. Part of her wanted to ask him if he was alright, but that was a stupid question and she knew enough not to ask boys those questions in front of people.
It was hard to say how long they sat in silence. But then suddenly, there was a burst of fire in the air above the table. Anna squeaked quietly in shock, but her reaction was drowned out by several cries of shock. A scroll of parchment fell with a muted thud to the tabletop, joined by a single golden feather that Anna recognized as a phoenix feather.
"Fawkes!" Sirius exclaimed, grabbing the parchment. "That's not Dumbledore's writing-it must be a message from your mother-here-"
He shoved the parchment into George's hand. George didn't hesitate in ripping it open to read aloud, "Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum." George looked up, his face paler than before as he looked around the table. "Still alive…" he repeated slowly, his eyes landing on his twin, "But that makes it sound…"
"It sounds like he's still alive." Anna finished gently yet firmly. "He was attacked by a snake, he's lucky to be alive, but that's what he is. We can't jump to negative conclusions."
Remus and Sirius nodded in agreement, but the others didn't really react. Ron was staring desperately at the back of his mother's letter. Fred reached over Ginny's head to pull the parchment from his twin's hands. He read the letter for himself, his other hand refusing to release Anna's. If anything, his grip tightened around her hand almost to the point of being painful.
When Fred finished reading the letter, he looked up and stared over at Harry and Anna followed his eyes. Harry still looked pale and ill, the hand gripping his bottle was white and trembling.
Feeling the burn of eyes on her face, Anna turned to look up at Fred, who was staring down at her. Finally able to look into his brown eyes, she saw how much fear and pain was there, reflecting back at her. On the outside he looked grown up, war-hardened, and even a little angry. But on the inside, she saw the eyes of a scared child worried for his dad's life. She didn't offer him a fake smile, she just leaned her head against his shoulder, squeezing his hand in hers in a silent promise that she was there for him.
The night dragged on and no one spoke unless they were asking for the time or reassuring each other that everything was fine. Sirius suggested one time that they go to bed, but he knew as he spoke that no one would agree. The flame of the candle slowly sunk as it burned away the stick of wax.
Anna watched the shadow of her bottle flicker with the flame's movement. Her body was exhausted, but she knew she'd never be able to fall asleep. She'd be too anxious and on edge, waiting for a letter or word on Arthur's condition. In a way, she knew how the Weasleys felt. Sure, her father hadn't really been in danger of dying, but she'd been forced to wait around, wondering what his fate was on a couple occasions.
Anna winced slightly in surprise when Fred's head slowly lowered sideways near hers. Turning, she smiled sadly. His eyes were closed and his head was tilted to one side as he dozed off. Anna carefully scooted her chair closer to his so she could lean her head on his shoulder and his head could rest atop hers. This way, his neck wouldn't hurt quite so bad when he eventually woke up.
Ginny was curled up like a cat in her chair, but Anna couldn't tell if she was asleep or not, and she couldn't see George around both Fred and Ginny. Ron had his head in his hands, so Anna couldn't tell if he was asleep or not. Harry, Sirius, and Remus continuously glanced among themselves and the others in the room.
Anna's eyes were glazed over tiredly, fixed on a clock on the far wall. It was nine minutes past five in the morning when the kitchen door suddenly swung open. Anna's head shot up, accidentally smacking Fred's head with hers. He lurched awake, as did everyone in the room at the sight of Molly entering the kitchen. She was pale and tired. Fred, Ron, and Harry started to stand, but she gave them a tired smile.
"He's going to be alright." she told them, her voice weak, cracking with exhaustion. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now, he's going to take the morning off work."
George and Ginny got up from their chairs and hurried around the table, hugging their mother tightly between them. Fred fell back into his chair, his hands covering his face. Anna wrapped her arm around his back, her other hand touching his shoulder nearest to her while she pushed her forehead into the crook of his neck. His shaky breathing echoed loudly in her ears, causing her to tighten her grip on him.
"Breakfast!" Sirius declared happily, jumping to his feet. "Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher? KREACHER!"
Anna didn't lift her head, but her eyes remained open and she was aware of the room enough to notice Kreacher didn't come when her father called.
"Oh, forget it, then." Sirius muttered. "So, it's breakfast for-let's see-nine-I should probably go get Wren and bring her and Aslan over, she was worried, so that's eleven…Bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast-"
"I'll get started on the cooking, you go get Wren and Aslan." Remus suggested, already moving toward the cupboards. Anna lifted her head from Fred's neck to see her father disappear into the fireplace with a flash of green. She kissed Fred's temple.
"I'm going to help with breakfast, okay?" she whispered near his ear. He nodded, letting his hands drop to the table so he could give her a grateful smile. She kissed his cheek quickly before standing up and hurrying to help Remus cook. She noticed Harry had the same idea, but he'd barely had time to get dishes from the cabinet before Molly hugged him. Anna ignored their private conversation, getting the eggs and bacon from the fridge.
Sirius returned a few minutes later, stepping out of the fireplace.
"Oh, Sirius," Molly released Harry and turned to Sirius, "thank you for looking after the children while I was at the hospital."
"I was glad to help, Molly, really. In fact, if it's easier, you're all welcome to stay here while Arthur's in the hospital." Sirius offered warmly.
"Oh, Sirius, I'm so grateful…They think he'll be there a little while and it would be wonderful to be nearer…Of course, that might mean we're here for Christmas…"
"The more the merrier!" Sirius told her sincerely. "I might spend a little more time here if there're more friendly faces."
Molly beamed at him before throwing on an apron and helping Remus and Anna with breakfast.
"Is Mum coming over soon?" Anna asked, noticing her dad had come back alone.
"She just needed to change Aslan and grab some things, but she'll be here in a few minutes." he assured her. Anna paused in helping cook to give her dad a tight hug, not having the time to do so when she arrived. After a few moments, she went back to helping.
"Sirius." Harry muttered. "Can I have a quick word? Er-now?"
Anna glanced up worriedly as her dad followed Harry into the pantry, closing the door behind them. Though, she forced down the worry at the thought that at least Harry had someone he could talk to.
Anna was whisking several eggs in a bowl to scramble when green flames once again erupted from the fire. She froze and stared eagerly as a familiar woman with brown hair stepped through with a baby on her hip and a bag on her shoulder.
"Mum!" Anna exclaimed excitedly, abandoning her cooking and racing around the kitchen to hug her mum tightly. Wren laughed, wrapping her free arm around Anna's back just as tightly.
"Well, it's nice to see you, too." Wren laughed, kissing the top of Anna's head. A tiny hand lightly smacked Anna in the forehead, causing her to open her eyes and look down at her baby brother.
"Hi, Aslan." she cooed, waving her fingers at him. To her delight, a big, toothless smile stretched over Aslan's cheeks, causing his chubby cheeks to bunch up and make his eyes squint.
"Yeah, you remember your big sister, don't you?" Wren cooed, looking down at her son. "Do you want to watch him?" she asked Anna. "I can help Molly and Remus cook, I'm sure your exhausted."
"Yeah, a bit." Anna laughed. "But I can watch Aslan. How's he been doing? I can see he's smiling now." she added the last sentence in a baby voice, tickling her brother to pull another smile from him.
"Well, he's been babbling a little, and he's rolled over a couple times." Wren admitted, giving Anna the shoulder bag before passing Aslan into her arms. "Everything you might need is in that bag, and obviously I'll be right in here if you need me."
"I know. Love you, Mum. I'll take him up to the drawing room."
XXX
Anna watched Aslan for about half an hour while Molly, Wren, Remus, and Sirius made breakfast. She convinced him to roll over by placing his favorite toy, a plastic key ring, next to him so he'd try to grab it. She also got him to laugh, though Fred and George arrived and made him laugh more.
After breakfast, everyone went to the rooms they'd stayed in over the summer to catch up on the hours of sleep they'd lost. Their trunks arrived from Hogwarts while they were eating lunch.
After changing in her and Ginny's room, Anna went to the twins' room. They were talking excitedly when she knocked on the door. Fred opened it and smiled at her while putting his left arm through the arm of his jumper.
"Hey." she smiled at them.
"Trying to get a free peep show?" George asked teasingly, flattening his hair with one hand.
Anna scrunched her nose up at him. "You're gross." she told him.
George just laughed at her, ruffling her hair as he walked out of the room.
"You okay?" she asked Fred quietly, running her hand through her hair to fix it.
Fred smiled. "I'm better than before. Thanks." He tucked her hair behind her ear, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Let's go."
When they got downstairs, everyone was talking excitedly over each other, some laughing at the bowler hat Mad-Eye was wearing. Him and Tonks would be escorting them across London to St. Mungos. Everyone was going except Wren, Sirius, Aslan, and Remus. Mad-Eye was wearing the bowler hat at an angle to cover his magical eye.
However, despite Mad-Eye's strange appearance, people stared more at Tonks and her pink hair when the group got on the Muggle underground. They rode the train all the way to the center of London, where they got off and followed Tonks up an escalator. The street they stepped onto was packed with people doing last-minute Christmas shopping at all the stores, pulling their coats close against the icy wind.
After walking for a little while, they reached a large, old-fashioned, red brick department store. Considering Anna had only arrived to St. Mungo's by Floo powder, she wasn't quite sure what to expect.
"Right." Tonks said, beckoning everyone to the window that was displaying nothing but a female dummy modeling a green dress and with false eyelashes hanging off. "Everybody ready?"
Everyone nodded, gathering around her. Tonks leaned in close to the glass and spoke to the dummy. "Wotcher…We're here to see Arthur Weasley." she said, her warm breath fogging the chilled window.
The dummy gave a tiny nod and beckoned to them with it's fingers. Tonks took both Ginny and Molly's elbows and lead them through the glass, vanishing from sight. Anna took both George and Fred's hands before they followed through the glass. Instead of coming out into the window display, they stepped into what appeared to be a crowded reception area. There were several people waiting to be helped, some looked normal while others had disturbing disfigurements.
"Over here!" Molly called after a few moments, leading the group over to a desk marked Inquiries. There was a bit of a line of several different people. It was at least a few minutes before their group reached the desk.
"Hello." Molly greeted the witch behind the desk. "My husband, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to be moved to a different ward this morning, could you tell us-?"
"Arthur Weasley?" the witch repeated, running her finger down a long list on the desk. "Yes, first floor, second door on the right. Dai Llewellyn ward."
"Thank you." Molly thanked her. "Come on, you lot."
"Wasn't Dai Llewellyn a famous Quidditch player?" Anna asked quietly as they passed through some double doors, heading down a corridor lined with portraits of Healers. Fred and George laughed.
They climbed up a flight of stairs and walked along another corridor.
"We'll wait outside, Molly." Tonks told her when they reached Arthur's room. "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once…It ought to be just the family first."
Mad-Eye growled in approval and leaned back against the wall. Anna released Fred's hand and moved to stand next to her cousin. Harry also moved to wait with them, but Molly reached out and pushed him through the door.
"Don't be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you…"
The door closed with a click and Anna leaned back against the wall next to Tonks.
"So, how are things going between you and Fred?" Tonks asked with a smirk after a few moments.
Anna smiled, remembering the 'date' they'd had after the last D.A. meeting. It had been fun, sweet, and simple. "Pretty good. It's been difficult to get alone time with everything, but we're managing."
"Isn't your first anniversary coming up?" Tonks checked.
Anna nodded. "Our first date was last New Years."
"Got any plans?"
"Not sure. With what happened to Arthur, though…"
"Well, yeah, that's horrible, but there's nothing you or Fred can really do about that. You might as well do something nice."
"We'll both be stuck in Grimmauld Place." Anna pointed out, scrunching up her nose. "Not exactly a great place to celebrate."
"True. But from what I heard, Fred managed to make the Astronomy Tower romantic." Tonks pointed out with a knowing smirk.
"How about we talk about your love life for once?" Anna asked loudly, wanting to change the subject.
To her surprise, her cousin's cheeks actually turned a light pink. Before she could demand an explanation, however, the door to Arthur's room swung open and all the kids were herded out of the room. Before Anna could blink, Mad-Eye and Tonks entered the room and closed the door behind them. Anna joined the other kids as Fred raised his eyebrows at the door.
"Fine," he said coolly, rifling through his pockets with both hands, "be like that. Don't tell us anything."
"What are you talking about?" Anna asked curiously.
"They won't tell us what Dad was doing when he got attacked." Fred told her, his voice frustrated as he searched his pockets.
"Looking for these?" George asked knowingly, pulling several Extendable Ears from his pocket.
"You read my mind." Fred told his twin, grinning. "Let's see if St. Mungo's puts Imperturbable Charms on its ward doors, shall we?"
Him and George untangled the fleshy strings and passed them out.
"Go on, Harry, take it!" Fred insisted when Harry hesitated to take one, "You saved Dad's life, if anyone's got the right to eavesdrop on him it's you…"
Harry couldn't seem to fight a small grin as he took the end of the string. They all stuck one end of their own Extendable Ear into their ears
"Okay, go!" Fred whispered eagerly. They all released the other ends of their Ears, watching the flesh-colored strings wiggle like worms under the door. Anna held her breath, only hearing silence for a moment. Finally, though, Tonks's whispering voice gradually reached her hearing as if she was whispering right in Anna's ear.
"…they searched the whole area but they couldn't find the snake anywhere, it just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur…But You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?"
"I reckon he sent it as a lookout," Moody guessed in his growling voice, "'cause he's not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there the beast would've had much more time to look around. So Potter says he saw it all happen?"
"Yes." Molly answered uneasily. "You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this…"
"Yeah, well, there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that." said Moody.
"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning." Molly whispered.
"'Course he's worried." Moody growled. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake…Obviously, Potter doesn't realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him-"
Harry yanked his Extendable Ear from his ear and Anna also stopped listening. Her wide eyes turned to stare at him, and she wasn't alone. All the Weasley kids had turned to stare at him, too. All of them, she guessed, were scared like she was. If Voldemort was possessing Harry, what could that mean for the future? What could he do?
XXX
"Harry's not still in bed, is he?" Anna asked, hanging another paper snowflake from the dining room ceiling.
"Don't think so." Fred answered, waving his wand to hang streamers around the room.
"No, I think Ron mentioned he was hanging out in the drawing room." George answered from across the room.
After the group had returned from St. Mungo's the day before, Harry had gone straight to bed and hadn't come down to dinner. Anna hadn't seen him since.
Meanwhile, after breakfast the following morning, everyone decided to put up Christmas decorations. Anna could hear her dad in another room singing Christmas carols, carrying Aslan around since Wren dropped him off before she headed to work.
"How're you all doing in here?" Molly asked, entering the room with a tray of sandwiches. "Ah, it looks lovely." she smiled, looking around the room as she placed the tray on the dining room table. "Here's lunch. Why don't you all take a break? I'll go let the others know lunch is ready."
"Thanks Mum."
"Thanks." the twins and Anna chorused as they took seats at the table to begin eating.
"Hey, I thought of something for the shop a couple weeks ago, but I haven't gotten around to bringing it up." Anna announced quietly as she took a sandwich off the plate.
"What?" they asked eagerly, taking huge bites of their own sandwiches.
"Well, Hagrid brought some Puffskeins to class a few weeks ago and an idea popped into my head."
"Puffskeins." Fred repeated slowly. "Yeah, Ron had one of those when we were younger."
"Didn't you use it as a practice Bludger?" George asked with a smirk. Anna instantly glared at Fred, who blushed and ducked his head even though he was still smirking.
"Anyway, what were you thinking?" he urged Anna, wanting to change the subject.
"Well, obviously, Puffskeins are popular pets among witches and wizards. However, they are a little bit on the big side. What if, as part of the WonderWitch line, we make miniature ones?"
Anna and the twins had decided to make a witch-specific section of their products, which they'd named WonderWitch. A few ideas they'd come up with included a pimple vanisher, love potion, and a daydream charm.
"Hmm." both twins hummed thoughtfully, turning to look at each other.
"That could work." Fred agreed thoughtfully.
"And we could make them a different color or something. I mean, to go with all the other WonderWitch products,…maybe pink or purple?" George continued, the familiar glint appearing in his eyes when they were onto a new idea.
"How would it work, though?" Fred asked thoughtfully, looking back to Anna thoughtfully.
"Well, we'd have to keep the Ban on Experimental Breeding in mind." Anna pointed out thoughtfully. "However, there may be a way to…breed them without having to worry about the Ban. Like maybe we could just take some Puffskeins, put Color Change and Shrinking Charms on them, maybe breed them like that. I don't know, I'll have to do some research on the specific laws of the Ban."
"Laws on what ban?" Ginny asked curiously as her and Ron entered the dining room.
"Nothing." all three answered before glancing at each other with smirks.
"Yeah, 'cause that's not suspicious." Ron muttered sarcastically, sitting down and grabbing two sandwiches.
Anna glanced at the door before looking back at the two youngest Weasleys. "Isn't Harry coming down to eat?"
They both shrugged. "Mum called him down for lunch, but I don't think he's coming down." Ron admitted.
"But he missed dinner and breakfast already." Anna pointed out worriedly. "He needs to eat."
"Well,…Hermione's coming over later today." Ginny admitted. "If anyone can talk to Harry, it's her."
Anna nodded slowly, her eyes trailing distractedly to the window across from her. The sky was covered by thick, grayish-white clouds that threatened snow later in the day. Maybe that could be a good sign. Having a white Christmas might just be a sign of hope they needed.