"Expecto Patronum!" Annabelle exclaimed, waving her wand in a circle. A thin, silver wisp floated from the tip of her wand. She sighed in disappointment, her shoulders slouching as the wisp disappearing.
"What memory are you thinking about?" she asked Katie, who was standing next to her. The sixth year hadn't made a corporeal patronus yet, but she was making more progress than Anna.
"Um, vacation with my parents…visiting my grandpa…" Katie listed with a shrug. "You?"
Anna looked back down at her wand. "The twins and my family."
"And it's not working?" Katie guessed, sounding surprised. "What about…your dad coming home? Your first date with Fred? Um,…Favorite prank?"
Anna thought for a moment. "Well,…I haven't tried all of those yet, and maybe I need to focus harder. It's kinda hard to focus when they're doing that." she joked, jerking her thumb over her shoulder, where Fred and George were laughing and making their corporeal patronuses chase each other around the room. Fred's was a fox and George's was a polecat, which was similar to a weasel.
Turning her attention back to the task, Anna took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused. She remembered getting to go home with both her parents after her fifth year. She remembered holding Aslan in her arms just after he was born. She remembered the feeling of sitting closely between the twins, feeling the comforting presence of her two closest friends on either side of her. But most of all, she remembered her first date.
She remembered seeing the Astronomy Tower, and how Fred decorated it. She remembered cuddling on the pile of pillows. Sharing the Every Flavor Beans. But most of all, she remembered their first kiss. How he'd pushed her to instigate it, how gentle he was, and how warm and soft his lips were, as well as the warm feeling in her chest, ending with fireworks outside the Astronomy Tower window.
"Expecto Patronum." Anna stated firmly, keeping her eyes closed until after she did the wand movement.
She watched with bated breath as a silver wisp left her wand tip, languidly forming into a small, slender creature with biggish ears, short legs, and a long tail. Anna laughed as her weasel patronus bounded around her, leaving a silvery mist in it's wake.
"Weasel patronus." Katie noted with a chuckle. "Ironic."
Anna blinked before understanding what her friend meant.
Weasel. Weasley.
She blushed, her patronus fading away as she glanced around the room. She thought no one else had noticed her patronus before an arm landed heavily on her shoulders.
"Anna! You made your patronus! What was it? I didn't get to see." George asked happily, Fred appearing on Anna's other side.
"Oh, um, it was, uh…" Anna trailed off, not wanting to face the endless teasing from the twins, particularly George, when they found out.
"Yeah, Anna, what was it?" Katie asked teasingly, watching her squirm. Anna glared at her, but Katie just smirked.
"It was…a weasel." she finally admitted, looking at the ground as a dark blush spread over her cheeks.
George instantly 'oooohh'ed at her, pointing past her at his twin. Anna chanced a glance at Fred to see him narrowing his eyes at his twin, but he was smirking slightly.
"Shut up, George." Fred told him, wrapping an arm around Anna's waist and pulling her into his side.
"Do you think it's a weasel because of your connection to Fred and George?" Katie asked curiously, glancing from Anna to the twins.
Anna shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'll have to ask Remus next time I see him. He taught Harry how to perform a patronus, so he might know."
"Remus?" Katie repeated, confused by the unfamiliar name.
"Oh, Professor Lupin." Anna explained, causing Katie's face to light up.
"Oh, right, I forgot he's a family friend."
"You know, now that I think about it…isn't Dad's patronus a weasel, Fred?" George asked, looking contemplatively at his twin. Fred looked up thoughtfully.
"I think so, or something similar. We saw it a couple times over the summer." Fred explained to Katie and Anna.
"Hey, is Hermione's a weasel, too?" Katie suddenly asked, looking past Anna's shoulder. The other three turned to look in time to see Hermione's patronus floating around her.
"No…I think it's an otter." Anna told her, smiling slightly. Then, just past Hermione Anna saw the door open and then close again. However, she didn't see anyone at first. Then, she saw a wobbling stack of hats a second before Dobby the house-elf hurried between people's legs until he reached Harry, tugging on the boy's robes. The room slowly fell into silence as they tried to hear what was going on.
"Hi, Dobby!" Harry greeted the elf happily. "What are you-what's wrong?"
Dobby's eyes were wide and he was shaking from head to foot. The few patronuses still lighting the room faded away and everyone waited quietly.
"Harry Potter, sir…" Dobby squeaked, "Harry Potter, sir…Dobby has come to warn you…but the house-elves have been warned not to tell…" Dobby broke off and ran head-first into the nearest wall, but he bounced off due to his eight hats on his head. Anna still winced while several other girls squeaked in fear and sympathy.
"What's happened, Dobby?" Harry asked, grabbing Dobby's scrawny arm
"Harry Potter…she…she…" Dobby quickly punched himself on the nose with his free fist, causing Harry to grab his other arm, too.
"Who's 'she', Dobby?" Harry asked, though his tone wavered as if he knew, and feared, the answer.
Dobby stared up at him, mouthing wordlessly as if afraid to even utter the name.
"Umbridge?" Harry guessed, horrified.
When Dobby nodded, Anna felt her blood go cold. She almost didn't even notice that the little elf tried to bash his head into Harry's knees right after.
"What about her?" Harry asked as calmly as possible, keeping Dobby from injuring himself. "Dobby-she hasn't found out about this-about us-about the D.A.?"
If elves could go pale, Dobby's face did just that. He tried to kick himself, since Harry was holding his arms hostage, but he only ended up falling to the floor.
"Is she coming?" Even though Harry's question was spoken quietly, it echoed in everyone's ears as they waited tensely for an answer.
Dobby broke, letting out a loud, pained howl as he slammed his bare feet into the floor. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"
Harry stood up and looked around at everyone, who was staring at him with wide eyes, faces pale and petrified.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry shouted. "RUN!"
Everyone bolted for the door at the same time, temporarily clogging the exit before the people in the front broke out into the corridor. Anna shoved at the people in front of her, feeling people pushing at her back. It was all a blur. She couldn't tell who was who. She couldn't tell where her friends were. She just knew they all needed to run as far and as fast as they could.
Finally, Anna managed to push herself into the corridor and bolt in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. Then, she paused and looked around, wondering in a near-panic where her friends were.
A hand grabbed hers suddenly, and she gasped in shock before Fred started pulling her down a different corridor. George and Lee followed along behind them.
"We can't risk going to the common room." George panted, running on Anna's other side. "It's too far. We'll get caught."
"There's a secret passage up ahead. We'll hide out there for a bit until things calm down, then we'll use it to get to the common room." Fred answered, still pulling Anna along at his side.
A few moments later, they reached the passage and slipped inside, just out of sight so they could stop and catch their breath. Fred pushed Anna in first so that she was the farthest from the entrance. She stepped back several feet so the others would have plenty of room to hide. They stood there, catching their breath for a few moments. Then Lee, who was closest to the entrance, suddenly hissed, "Shh!"
Anna held her breath and the others went silent as they listened. There was the sound of obnoxious laughing and a couple different sets of footsteps. They all waited silently as at least three sets of feet passed by their hideout.
"Did you get any of 'em?" one voice asked.
"No, but I heard Malfoy got Potter. Probably taking him to Umbridge right now."
"About time that prat got what was coming to him."
Anna's eyes went wide, but she kept her mouth shut and breath held as the other students moved away. After a few moments, Lee peaked out from behind the tapestry and looked both ways before pulling his head back inside.
"They're gone. Let's get to the common room." Lee suggested.
Anna turned and started heading deeper into the secret passage, letting Fred step past her to take the lead.
"Do you think they're right?" she whispered after a while, glancing over her shoulder at George and Lee. "Did they catch Harry?"
She could tell by the little she could see in the dark that the others were worried, too.
"It's hard to tell. They sounded too cheerful to be completely making it up." George admitted.
"We'll find out more when we get to the common room." Fred decided with a finality in his voice.
They kept walking, coming out of the passage in a different corridor. From there, they went straight to the common room at a fast pace, panting the password when they reached the Fat Lady's portrait.
As soon as they entered, they found Angelina, Katie, Alicia, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione sitting anxiously near the fire. They all looked up when the portrait swung open.
"Was Harry with you?" Hermione demanded worriedly, standing up as the four seventh years neared her.
"No, but I think we have some bad news." Fred admitted as they all sat down with the other D.A. members. "We hid in a secret passage until the coast was clear, and we overheard some other students, probably Slytherin if we're being honest-"
"They said Malfoy'd caught Harry and taken him to Umbridge." Anna blurted worriedly.
The others looked horrified, glancing among themselves fearfully.
"How'd she find out?" Ginny whispered worriedly. "D'you think someone ratted us out? Someone from the D.A.?"
"Bet it was Smith." Ron muttered.
"Well, if someone did rat us out, we'll find out in the morning." Hermione stated simply, but she wouldn't say more than that when asked what she meant.
XXX
At breakfast, Anna listened to Harry tell the story of the night before for the tenth time, feeling slightly numb. It was all over the school already, and yet, everyone seemed to already know the details.
All they really knew was that Dumbledore took out 2 aurors, Umbridge, the Minister, and his Junior Assistant, a.k.a Percy, and managed to escape capture. The only students present were Harry and some girl named Marrietta Edgecomb, who was now in the hospital wing. Of course, many of the D.A. were now suspicious of Marrietta, which was confirmed by Harry that she was the one who ratted them out.
But the worst part of all? With Dumbledore gone and on the run, Umbridge was now the Headmistress. As if things couldn't get any worse. Umbridge had already fired Professor Trelawney back in March, but Dumbledore had been around to make sure Umbridge couldn't throw Trelawney from the grounds. And he'd been able to find a replacement: Firenze the centaur. Anna hadn't been around to witness this, but she could only imagine how pissed Umbridge was that Dumbledore had chosen the replacement before her, especially someone she saw as an inferior species.
Now, however, Umbridge had complete power. She could fire and replace anyone she wanted. The pessimistic part of Anna's mind thought Hagrid's days were numbered.
"It's only a matter of time, now." Fred stated seriously as him, Anna, and George walked down the corridor during a break. "With Dumbledore gone and the D.A. disbanded, now's a good a time as any to leave."
Anna nodded in understanding, looking between them on either side of her. "So, how do you think you'll do it? Just fly off into the night?"
Fred and George chuckled at her, as if she were a naive child. George even patted her head, making her swat his arm away. "Oh, our silly, little novice." George sighed, putting his arm around her shoulder.
"If you know anything about us, you know we like to…go out with a bang." Fred told her mischievously.
"Uh huh." Anna nodded slowly, not even bothering to shove George's arm off. "And, knowing you two, it will be an actual bang?" she guessed knowingly.
They both smirked. "Of course." the chorused.
"We owe it to Dumbledore if no one else, to give Umbridge as much trouble as we can before we fly the coop." Fred explained.
"She won't know what hit her." George added, his smirk widening deviously.
Anna laughed, wrapping an arm around both of their waists in a slight group hug as they continued walking.
"What's this? A few Gryffindors having a good time? We can't have that." a familiar, smug voice spoke from behind them.
Anna, George, and Fred pulled away from each other to look over their shoulders, seeing Montague smirking at them.
"What do you want?" George asked rudely.
"Well, I think I'm going to have to take points from you three." he stated smugly.
"How?" Anna asked. "You're not even a prefect."
"Nope. Even better." he told her, tapping his chest with a finger. On his Slytherin robes was a tiny, silver 'I'. "The new Headmistress formed the Inquisitorial Squad last night. It's our job to make sure certain students stay in line. And we have the power to take away House points."
"And by 'certain students' I take it you mean everyone who's not Slytherin." George guessed.
Montague merely smirked. "Well, you're all breaking the rule of being eight inches from each other, and your uniforms are worn and ripped."
Anna felt anger burn in her belly, the base of her hair turning a dark red. The twins' robes were 'worn and ripped' because they were hand-me-downs.
"So, I think I'll have to take-"
Fred suddenly lunged forward, shoving Montague in the chest. George opened the door to a Vanishing Cabinet behind him so Fred could shove him inside. Anna, not wanting to be left out, hurried forward and helped George shut and lock the door.
There was a silent pause as they all looked at each other, then they burst out laughing.
"Well, no time like the present to start causing mayhem." Fred laughed. The other two broke into renewed hysterics so that they had to lean against the wall for a moment.
"Well, let's start planning phase one. We've got time before lunch." George decided, gasping for breath.
A couple hours later they headed for the Great Hall. Anna noticed Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ernie Macmillan all staring at the four hourglasses that showed the House's points in the entrance hall. That morning, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had been tied for the lead, but now it seemed every House but Slytherin was much lower than before. Even as Anna and the twins approached them, some more gems flew up into the upper bulbs, decreasing the number of points.
"Noticed, have you?" Fred asked as they reached the bottom of the staircase. The fifth years turned to look at them moments before the seventh years joined them.
"Malfoy just docked us all about fifty points." Harry explained furiously. As he spoke, several more stones flew up from the Gryffindor hourglass.
"Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break." George told them.
"What do you mean 'tried'?" Ron asked quickly, probably eager to hear how the Slytherin failed.
"He never managed to get all the words out," Fred answered smugly, "due to the fact that we forced him headfirst into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor."
Hermione glanced between them, completely shocked.
"But you'll get into terrible trouble!" she exclaimed.
"Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I don't know where we sent him." Fred told her coolly. "Anyway…we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble anymore."
"Have you ever?" Hermione asked.
"'Course we have." George answered. "Never been expelled, have we?"
"We've always known where to draw the line." Fred said.
"We might have put a toe across it occasionally."
"But we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem."
"But now?" Ron asked tentatively.
"Well, now-" George started.
"-what with Dumbledore gone-"
"-we reckon a bit of mayhem-"
"-is exactly what our dear new Head deserves." Fred finished.
Anna had watched their little back-and-forth twin-speak with a smile on her face, but the others didn't quite feel the same way.
"You mustn't." Hermione whispered anxiously. "You really mustn't. She'd have a reason to expel you!"
"You don't get it, Hermione, do you?" Fred asked rhetorically, smiling fondly at her. "We don't care about staying anymore. We'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit for Dumbledore first. So anyway," he checked the watch on his wrist, "phase one is about to begin. I'd get in the Great Hall for lunch if I were you, that way the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it."
"Anything to do with what?" Hermione asked anxiously.
"You'll see." George assured her cryptically. "Run along, now."
With that, Anna turned and followed Fred and George into the crowd, going back up the stairs. They casually walked a few floors up before they came to a door hidden behind a tapestry, one of the secret passages. Fred glanced around before pushing the tapestry aside and ushering the other two inside. Anna hurried in first and crouched next to a crate full of a variety of their new fireworks products.
"We ready for this?" Fred asked, grinning mischievously.
"Absolutely." George and Anna agreed in unison.
"Great. Anna, you go on ahead and make sure the coast is clear." Fred told her as he picked up the crate. Anna nodded and slipped out ahead of them. She walked down the corridor for a few feet, glancing casually around. Luckily, the corridor was completely empty, probably because everyone was at lunch.
Glancing around one last time, Anna turned back the way she'd come and let out three sharp whistles. A second later, Fred and George appeared from behind the tapestry and hurried toward her, Fred carrying the crate in his arms.
"Alright, let's just set it out here and when people start leaving the Great Hall, we can set it off." George decided as Fred set the crate down by the wall.
They quickly returned to their little hideout behind the tapestry to wait for people to leave the Great Hall. They didn't have to wait long for people to start leaving. When about the tenth person appeared in Anna's line of sight peaking out of the tapestry, she gave the twins a thumbs-up. Fred barely peaked the tip of his wand from behind the tapestry, muttering an incantation.
Instantly, the crate erupted with a loud BOOM. The floor shook and people started screaming. Anna and the twins covered their mouths to muffle their laughter, even though there was no need. No one would hear them with people running and screaming. Anna peaked carefully out from behind the tapestry to get a quick look at their show.
Green and gold sparks formed dragons that were soaring up and down the corridors, letting out loud bangs. Bright pink, five-foot wide Catherine wheels were whizzing through the air. Rockets with long tails of silver stars were bouncing back and forth off the walls. Sparklers were writing curse words in the air. Firecrackers were exploding everywhere, making people scream and run in zigzags to avoid being hit.
Anna put her head back behind the safety of the tapestry, and the three listened to the sounds of their destruction. Soon, a couple familiar voices shouted over the commotion.
"Hurry, Filch, hurry!" Umbridge shrieked. "They'll be all over the school unless we do something-Stupify!"
Anna's smile widened, as did the twins', when there was a loud bang that shook the walls again.
"Don't Stun them, Filch!" Umbridge shouted angrily, as if he'd done it himself. Considering Filch was a Squib, he couldn't have Stunned anything even if he wanted to.
After a few more moments of chaos, the hidden door opened and Harry slipped inside, laughing to himself.
"Impressive." Harry whispered to them, grinning widely when he saw them. "Very impressive…You'll put Dr. Filibuster out of business, no problem…"
"Cheers." George whispered, wiping tears from his laughing face. "Oh, I hope she tries Vanishing them next…They multiply by ten every time you try…"
XXX
The fireworks caused all kinds of disruptions throughout the afternoon. Surprisingly, though, none of the teachers seemed to mind them as much as Anna and the twins expected. In fact, most of the professors just let Umbridge deal with the fireworks. Even if one came into a classroom, the professors would just send a student to find the new Headmistress. So Umbridge basically spent her whole first day as Hogwarts' Headmistress running all over the school handling things the teachers felt they "didn't have the authority to handle".
Later that evening, Anna took a break from homework to help the twins take advanced orders for their fireworks. Fred and George were heroes among the other Gryffindors, who were practically climbing over themselves to reach the twins in the common room that night. Even Hermione pushed through the crowd.
"They were wonderful fireworks." she told them, sounding impressed.
"Thanks." George responded, his voice surprised and pleased. "Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs. Only thing is, we used our whole stock, we're going to have to start again from scratch now…"
"It was worth it, though." Fred reminded him, writing down the orders of the Gryffindors crowding him while Anna accepted their payments. "If you want to add your name to the waiting list, Hermione, it's five Galleons for your Basic Blaze box and twenty for the Deflagration Deluxe…"
They took orders for a good couple hours before the common room slowly emptied, everyone retiring to their dormitories for the night.
Anna sat on the floor, leaning back against the couch as she counted out how much they'd earned. Fred sighed contentedly, dropping down on the couch so his legs were next to Anna's shoulder.
"So? How'd we do?" Fred asked, his hand lazily running through Anna's hair.
"Four hundred and…nineteen Galleons." Anna answered, putting the last Galleon back in the bag after counting all the money out. "Pretty good for a day's work, but we've got a lot of work ahead of us to get these orders filled."
"Yeah. You busy over Easter holidays?" Fred asked, grinning down at her. Anna looked over her shoulder at him.
"Oh, I'll just be studying for NEWTs, doing several homework assignments, and helping make a couple hundred fireworks…so no, I won't be busy at all." she answered sarcastically. Fred lightly flicked her nose in response.
"Good. 'Cause George and I were talking about switching off a couple jobs. See, we need to work on filling all those orders, like you said, but Easter holidays is also the perfect time to visit the shop and get some work done on that. Any chance you'd be willing to make a trip with me or George to the shop sometime this weekend and help us out?"
Anna's grin widened excitedly. "I'd love to."
XXX
Anna spent the next couple days going to class, working on homework, and helping the twins work on their fireworks and other products, as well as planning out some mayhem for after Easter holidays. She knew Angelina would be making them practice a lot during the week-long holidays, so she tried to help the twins as much as she could before more of her time was taken up.
Friday was the first day of Easter holidays, and Anna got up early so her, Fred, George, and Lee went down for an early breakfast. After eating, they split up. George and Lee returned to the boys' dormitory to work on the fireworks and other products while Anna and Fred went to the one-eyed witch statue. Anna glanced around, making sure the corridor was empty while Fred tapped the hump of the statue with his wand.
"Dissendium." he muttered. The hump opened and Fred waved Anna through first, Fred following closely behind her. They made the long, crouched journey to Honeydukes cellar, sneaking out of the store and into a space between two shops.
"Okay. You ready?" Fred asked her, grinning excitedly. Anna nodded and took his hand that he offered her. With a twist, they disappeared with a CRACK and reappeared in Diagon Alley.
With an excited bounce in her step, Anna followed Fred down the lane, passing shop after shop. Fred chuckled at her eagerness, but didn't say a word as they continued.
Finally, they came to a shop that had a SOLD sign in the front window. Fred stopped and let Anna look it over for a few moments. It was a rundown, three-story building made of dull, brown-gray bricks like most of the other shops and round, brown display windows.
"The third story's the flat at the top." Fred told her, pointing way up to the windows of the third story. "Come on."
He tugged her toward the front door, but instead of waving his wand to unlock the door, he stopped and looked down at her.
"Go on." he told her, nodding his head toward the door. "Unlock the door."
Anna glanced between him and the door for a moment before pulling her copy of the key from her pocket. Smiling at Fred, she let go of his hand and stepped up to the door, put the key in the lock, and turned it until she heard a quiet click. Then she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open, stepping inside.
Fred entered behind her and waved his wand, turning on all the lights so Anna could properly see the building.
It was an open floor plan. A couple flights of stairs lead to a second floor, which was more of a path leading around the walls with hand rails to keep people from falling.
"All George and I had time to do last time we were here was get rid of the dust." Fred admitted, standing next to her with his hands shoved into his jean pockets. "But we thought out a few ideas for setting the shop up."
"Oh? Like what?" Anna urged curiously.
"Well, for starters we're probably going to put the desk and register right over here," he said, gesturing to a spot a few feet away in front of a door. "That door back there is perfect for a backroom, where we can make and store our products. The door up to the flat is also back there. We were also thinking of putting shelves along most of the walls on both stories." he continued turning to look around at the rest of the room. "That would save room and be more organized. We're probably going to separate everything by category. Like the WonderWitch products, they'll probably go near that window over there."
Anna nodded slowly, imagining it in her mind's eye. "Sounds great." she told him honestly. "So," she clapped her hands once, "where do we start?"
They spent most of the morning decorating the shop. They colored the inside walls a deep purple, made the wood floor shine, and made the stairs and handrails colorful. They set some bookshelves they already had around the walls. Fred took a bag full of products he'd brought with him from Hogwarts and stored them in the backroom.
Then, they went through the backroom and up to the flat. There, Anna helped Fred clean all the rooms. They even made a quick stop at a furniture store to buy some basics of what they would need, taking them all back, and putting them in the flat. They put a bed in each of the two bedrooms, a table and chairs in the kitchen, and a couch and armchair in the living room.
"I think that's good for today." Fred decided after unshrinking the couch and using his wand to place it in the living room by the fireplace. He'd shrunk everything and put them in a bag to transfer them to the flat.
"So should we head back to the castle?" Anna suggested, glancing at the clock hanging on the living room wall. "We should get back in time to eat lunch. Unless you want to eat at the Three Broomsticks or something."
"Hmm. Sounds good. Let's go." Fred agreed, taking Anna's hand and leading her out the door.
XXX
The rest of the weekend went pretty much the same. Fred went back to the shop with Lee on Saturday while Anna went with George on Sunday. Anna spent Saturday making more joke shop stuff with George and doing homework with Angelina and Alicia.
When Monday came around, Angelina made them do an early, four hour practice before giving them the rest of the day to study or do their own thing. Anna decided to spend the rest of her Monday studying for her approaching NEWTs, trying to channel her inner 'Mum'. Her mum, being a Ravenclaw, had been naturally smart and studied as often as she could. If she channeled her father, she wouldn't be studying at all, and then her Mum would ring her neck.
"Hey, Anna?"
Looking up, Anna found Harry standing next to the couch, looking anxiously down at her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Anna asked, scooting over to make room on the couch. Harry sat slowly next to her, looking troubled by something.
"Well,…remember my first year? You said…well, you compared my dad's relationship with Snape to my relationship with Malfoy."
"Um,…yeah, I guess I did say that." Anna agreed slowly, nodding her head as she thought back to that particular conversation.
"What did you mean by that?" Harry asked, almost seeming desperate to know.
"Uh,…well, my mum never told me any details." Anna admitted. "I just know they went to school together, they all did, and Snape just really hated both our dads. I don't really know why, I just always thought it was a Slytherin-Gryffindor thing. Why do you ask? Is Snape giving you a hard time about something? Well-more of a hard time than normal?"
Harry looked really bothered by something as he glanced from her to his hands and back. "Well,…Can you keep this a secret?"
"Of course." Anna agreed instantly, honestly meaning it. She wouldn't even tell the twins if Harry didn't want her to.
"Well,…I've been taking Occlumency lessons with Snape." Harry admitted quietly.
Anna's mouth fell open. Occlumency was the ability to close your mind, making it so others can't read your thoughts. "Why?" she asked, unable to help herself.
Harry shrugged uncomfortably, his face red and screaming his discomfort. "Something about protecting me from Voldemort." he answered vaguely.
Anna nodded. "That makes sense." she agreed quietly.
"Yeah. Anyway, I…I saw one of Snape's memories…Of back when he was in school."
Anna swallowed thickly, unnerved by Harry's expression. "Oh?"
Harry looked back at her again. "I think…I think it was their fifth year. They were taking their OWLs. Afterwards, our dads, Lupin, and Pettigrew all met up and hung out under a tree by the lake. Sirius…he said he was bored, and then my dad…he saw Snape and pointed him out to the others. Then they…they started bullying him. My dad used Impedimenta on Snape. They were making fun of him in front of people."
"Did-didn't Remus try to stop them?" Anna asked, stuttering slightly over her words. Sure, it wasn't that shocking that her dad would be part of that, but surely Remus would pull his friends back in line.
Harry shook his head, seeming troubled by that, as well. "No, but my mum did. She told them to leave Snape alone, but my dad…he told her he'd leave Snape alone if she agreed to go out with him. I…I think she really hated him."
"Lily hated James?" Anna repeated in shock. "But-but they got married and had you! And it wouldn't have been that long after that memory if they were fifth years. I mean, I was born a couple years after that, and you were born a couple years after me."
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I…I don't know." he mumbled uncertainly.
Anna swallowed thickly. "Well, what did she say?"
"Well, she said no, but then Snape hexed my dad, who made Snape float upside down with his underpants showing. When my mum defended Snape, he got mad at her for some reason and called her…a Mudblood."
Anna gaped at him. Some of the disgusting pity she'd felt for Snape of all people disappeared at the fact that he insulted the one person who was defending him. "He insulted the one person who was defending him?" she repeated incredulously.
"Yeah." Harry nodded with a slight shrug.
Anna looked Harry over for a moment, noticing that this whole thing was bugging more than words could say. "It's really bothering you, huh?"
Harry swallowed thickly and nodded his head twice. "I guess I just…Everyone was always saying how great my dad was. And everyone always said I was just like him. But Snape…he was always telling me how horrible my dad was, and I never believed him. But…it seems Snape was the only person who was being honest this whole time."
Anna looked down at her lap, staring blankly at her Potions textbook as if it held all the answers.
"Well,…look on the bright side," she finally started quietly, "it wasn't your dad who tried to trick Snape into getting attacked by a werewolf."
Harry looked up and met her eyes. "I guess." he agreed quietly.
"So,…was Snape angry that you saw that memory?" Anna asked, maneuvering the discussion away from the troubling acts of their fathers. "Did he freak out?"
"Yeah. And he said we wouldn't be having anymore Occlumency lessons." Harry answered. "Which I don't mind. I hated them."
"But,…weren't the Occlumency lessons to protect your mind from Voldemort? I doubt Snape thought of that himself. I would expect it was Dumbledore or something. Is it really Snape's decision to stop the lessons?" Anna asked anxiously.
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. But I don't care. I'm certainly not going to fight to continue those stupid lessons."
Anna let the subject drop after that, and offered to help Harry study for his OWLs for a couple hours. But she couldn't stop her mind from drifting occasionally to the memory Harry had seen. And she expected Harry couldn't help it, either.
XXX
Happy Halloween!