"I can get one from Hagrid's hut, but if it gets hurt, I will end you." Annabelle told Lee seriously as they walked through the corridor, discussing their latest plan.
It'd been almost a week since Fred and George flew the coop, and it seemed people talked about nothing else. It was, as expected, the stuff of Hogwarts legend. Many people were tempted to do the same thing, but no one had the guts to act on it.
"Alright, yeah, we'll make sure it doesn't get hurt. Just let me know when you get one and we can commence phase two." Lee told her, turning to head to his next class while Anna continued on her way. With the twins gone, her and Lee had teamed up on their own to continue pranking Umbridge and her little minions. She actually felt closer to Lee without the twins around. She'd always hung out with Lee, but she was closer to the twins, which meant she never really spent any one-on-one time with Lee even though they were friends. And they both found it easy to bond over the their shared gloom in the twins' absence.
"I've got ya now! You'll all pay for this!" a familiar, wheezing voice shouted from around the corner. Anna tensed and hurried forward until she peaked around the corner, her eyes quickly assessing what was going on.
Filch was shouting at a group of four girls. There were a handful of dungbombs on the ground that appeared to have not gone off like they were supposed to, and some of the girls' hands were dirty, meaning the dungbombs were theirs. Judging by their height and school robes, they were first years, maybe second, and three were in Ravenclaw, one in Hufflepuff. The girls were all cowering into the wall as Filch advanced on them, shoving a single girl to the front of their group as if she were the leader and needed to take the brunt of the attack. Anna could see why they were so terrified. Since he got his 'Approval for Whipping', Filch had taken to carrying around a horsewhip for when he could catch students in the act of breaking a school rule. Luckily, he'd never caught a student in the act, until now, it seems.
Anna stepped around the corner, planning on intervening. When her eyes landed on the face of the girl in front, her pace only picked up. Filch had just raised his hand that was brandishing the whip when Anna appeared in front of the girls, her forearm raised to hopefully take the blow.
The whip lashed against Anna's forearm, the thick, leather tail momentarily wrapping around her arm. Her robe sleeve muffled most of the blow, but a numb tingling ran through her arm before a low burning followed. She carefully lifted her head to look up at Filch through her curtain of dark hair. His face was near purple as he glared down at her, his jowls quivering with rage.
"How dare you intervene?!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "I've caught these brats breaking school rules, and I have the right to whip them!"
"And I'm not going to let that happen." Anna retorted, sneakily reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a small, black object and threw it down on the ground directly between herself and Filch. A pitch-black darkness erupted and Anna quickly ushered the young girls away until they were all running down the corridor. Anna lead them to a familiar tapestry, which she pushed aside and waved them into the space behind it.
They all stopped and caught their breath, the only sound was their heavy breathing. Finally, Anna looked down at the young girl who she'd saved from the whipping. Familiar blue eyes and golden brown hair greeted her.
"Are you okay, Audra?" she asked quietly, looking her young cousin over for any signs of injuries. She appeared unharmed.
"Y-yeah, we're all okay." Audra answered, looking around at her friends before looking back up at Anna. "What about you? He whipped you."
Anna looked down at her arm, just noticing the pain growing as she carefully pulled her sleeve back. There was a purple line almost an inch thick and a few inches long going across her forearm, the skin around it red and irritated. She gently touched it with her finger and winced at the stinging, burning pain that erupted.
"It's nothing." she assured the young girls as she covered the mark with her sleeve. "Just be more careful in the future. You may not be so lucky next time. Filch has been looking for any excuse to use that whip on kids."
They all nodded nervously, all looking a bit guilty.
"What was that black stuff you threw on the ground?" one of the Ravenclaw girls asked curiously.
Anna smirked slightly. "It's Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. Fred and George are still working on it, so it's not on the shelves yet, but they gave me a couple to try out."
Most of the girls looked up at her with wide eyes and awed expressions.
"You're friends with the Weasley twins?" one of them finally asked in a hushed voice.
Anna chuckled slightly. "Yeah, they're my best friends, and Fred's actually my boyfriend." she admitted.
"Wow." they all breathed, making Anna fight off a blush. "You're so lucky." one of them continued before looking Audra. "How do you know each other?"
"Anna's my cousin." Audra declared proudly, as if Anna were some kind of celebrity. Anna once again fought a blush as she peaked out from behind the tapestry.
"Okay, I think the coast is clear." she decided, turning back to the girls. "Now, I'm not going to tell you guys to stop pulling pranks, because that would be hypocritical of me, but be more careful next time. Being whipped is only one thing you need to worry about. Umbridge's detentions should well be considered torturous and illegal."
They all nodded anxiously.
"Okay. Head to class or your common rooms or wherever you were heading. Just steer clear of Filch for a while in case he might recognize you."
Anna held the tapestry open and the girls hurried off down the corridor. Anna glanced around once more before heading a different direction. She made sure to stay away from the east wing, which the twins had turned into a swamp on the fifth floor. None of the teachers had been able to get rid of it, so it had been roped off.
Later in the afternoon, Anna went to Care of Magical Creatures. It wasn't too exciting, mostly a short quiz to help them prepare for NEWTs. After class ended, Anna waited for Hagrid to be distracted somewhere else before she snuck into his hut. She searched around for a moment before she found what she was looking for.
There was a small cage on a nearby shelf, a tiny niffler inside. It had a long snout and fluffy, black fur.
"Hey there, little guy." Anna whispered, reaching through the bars to tickle his side. He squeaked and rolled onto his back, letting her tickle his pudgy belly. "You wanna go on a trip with me?" she asked, opening her shoulder bag. She'd placed an Extension Charm on it before class. She carefully picked up the small cage and placed it into her bag before slipping back outside.
XXX
Anna sat at the dinner table not long after her trip to Hagrid's hut, sitting between Katie and Lee.
"I got it." she whispered to Lee. When he looked at her, she casually lifted the flap on her bag so he could glance inside and see the niffler in his cage. He smirked when he looked back at her.
"Great. Should we hurry with our dinner so we can start phase two before the toad's finished eating?"
"Absolutely." she answered, starting to fill her plate. They ate somewhat quickly and were among the first people to leave the Great Hall. They slipped into a secret passage to grab Anna's broom, then hurried outside until they were under Umbridge's office window.
"Okay, let's do this." Anna said, mounting her broom. Lee climbed on behind her and they floated up until they stopped in front of the open window. Lee kept the broom steady while Anna reached into her bag to pull out the cage.
"Okay, little guy," she said, holding the cage up to eyelevel to look at the little niffler, "I've got a treat for you. All the shiny things you can find." With that, she opened the cage, gently lifted him out, and stuck her arm through the open window to place him on the windowsill.
He sat there for less than a second, his tiny sides heaving with what Anna guessed was excitement, before he bolted into the room.
Lee laughed, moving the broom closer to the castle so they could both look into office.
The tiny creature was little more than a blur as he scurried around the room, searching desperately for all the shiny things he could find. It was almost hard to keep up with him. One minute he'd be on a shelf trying to shove one of Umbridge's kitten plates into the pouch on his belly, then he'd somehow pop out of a drawer in the desk, shoving all kinds of jewelry into his pouch.
Anna and Lee watched with grins for about ten minutes as the niffler basically tore Umbridge's office apart looking for any shiny object he could find. Then, they heard the familiar click of the office door opening. Anna and Lee ducked down so that they could barely peak into the room.
Umbridge had barely entered the room, freezing in shock, before the niffler was on her. She started screaming hysterically as the little creature attacked her fingers, trying to gnaw her many rings from the appendages.
Anna had to duck her head down, covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. Lee was doing the same, being careful to stay hidden from Umbridge's view, not that she would notice anyway with the panic she was in.
After a few moments, Anna decided Umbridge had had enough, and her little friend was probably exhausted. Reaching into the pocket of her robes, Anna pulled out a single Galleon. She wiggled it around, letting the light of the setting spring sun catch on the surface.
The niffler paused, his eyes catching the glint of the coin. Instantly, he scurried down from Umbridge's arm where he'd been trying to steal her many rings and climbed out the window, jumping into Anna's arms. The second the little creature was in Anna's possession, Lee turned the broom and sped away from the scene of the crime.
They were both laughing hysterically when they landed on the grass around the corner of the castle. Anna carefully put the niffler back in his cage, letting him keep the Galleon he'd grabbed from her fingers.
"Consider that payment, little guy. You were amazing." she cooed, tickling the niffler's belly through the bars of the cage. Lee laughed, passing Anna her broom after she returned the cage to her bag.
"That was awesome! Merlin, I can't wait to tell the twins!" Lee crowed.
"Just don't tell them over letter." Anna reminded him as they started walking toward the front doors of the castle. "You know Umbridge checks all the mail. We can tell them all about it if they come to visit or something."
XXX
The month of May continued much the same as the first week after Fred and George's departure.
While none of the staff bothered helping the new Headmistress, the Inquisitorial Squad tried helping Umbridge as much as they could, but mysterious things kept happening to their members. Warrington was taken to the hospital wing because he developed some kind of skin condition where it looked like he was coated in cornflakes. Pansy Parkinson missed a couple classes because she sprouted antlers.
Dozens of students also missed Defense Against the Dark Arts due to what had been dubbed 'Umbridge-itis'. Kids were using the ever-popular Skiving Snackboxes to faint, vomit, and get fevers and nosebleeds while in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Peeves was in rare form, as well, taking Fred's order very seriously. He soared around the school, toppling tables, bursting out of blackboards, knocking over statues, and shattering vases. He shut Mrs. Norris inside a suit of armor twice, smashed lanterns, and snuffed out candles. He juggled lit torches over students' heads, knocked neatly stacked piles of parchment into fires or out windows, flooded the second floor, dropped a bag of tarantulas in the Great Hall at breakfast,-Ron nearly fainted-and followed Umbridge for hours, blowing loud raspberries every time she tried to speak.
Montague, who no one had seen since Anna and the twins trapped him in the Vanishing Cabinet, had appeared trapped in a toilet on the fourth floor. He was confused and disoriented and was staying in the hospital wing for the foreseeable future. Angelina, and the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team, saw this as a blessing. If Montague couldn't recover in time for Slytherin's match against Hufflepuff, Gryffindor may have a shot at winning the Cup.
As they hoped, Hufflepuff barely beat Slytherin, which put Gryffindor back in the running for their match against Ravenclaw, which Anna was currently waiting for.
"You ready for this?" Ginny asked, standing next to Anna, who was looking out of the locker room at the full stands.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Anna answered, giving the young Seeker a small smile.
The day was warm and clear. A perfect last weekend for May, and a perfect day for a Quidditch match. And a perfect last Quidditch match for Anna as her Hogwarts career was slowly drawing to an end.
"Can't believe this is your last match." Katie sighed, giving Anna a sad smile.
Anna returned it, trying not to let it get to her. Especially the fact that Fred and George wouldn't be playing alongside her.
"We'll just have to make this match count." Angelina stated firmly as she joined them in the doorway, her broom slung over her shoulder. "Now, let's get out there."
Together, the team mounted their brooms and flew onto the pitch. Lee listed their names with a bit less gusto than he normally did. They formed a ragged circle with the Ravenclaw team, waiting for Madam Hooch to release the balls.
"And they're off!" Lee shouted as Davies nabbed the Quaffle from the air. Anna, Angelina, and Katie tried to intercept him, but he wove in between all of them, flying straight for the Gryffindor goals.
"Come on, Ron. Come on." Anna muttered, flying as fast as she could even though there was no way she'd get there in time to stop the Ravenclaw Captain.
"He's going to shoot-and-and-" Lee swore very loudly into the megaphone. "And he's scored."
Anna sighed sadly, seeing how disappointed Ron was. Especially when the stupid Slytherins started singing that stupid song.
Angelina caught the Quaffle after Davies's goal and started flying toward the other end of the field. The Ravenclaw Chasers tried to intercept her, so Ang passed the ball to Anna, who passed it to Katie, who passed it back to avoid a Ravenclaw Chaser. Anna caught the ball again and threw it into the Ravenclaw goal, barely making it past the Ravenclaw Keeper.
Half the crowd erupted in cheers, and Anna gave Ginny a high-five as they flew past each other.
Angelina grabbed the Quaffle and went to score another goal, but a Ravenclaw Chaser, Anna thought his name was Bradley or something, stole it from her. He flew toward Ron on the other end. Sloper tried hitting a Bludger to stop Bradley, but missed and almost hit Ginny instead.
Anna held her breath, hoping desperately that Ron could save the goal.
Bradley feinted to the right, but Ron saw it coming and miraculously managed to save the goal!
"YES!" Anna screamed, throwing a fist in the air as most of the crowd roared with applause. Katie caught the Quaffle and flew back down the pitch.
The match continued much in the same way. Gryffindor managed to get in a few more goals, but Ravenclaw didn't get in a single one for the rest of the match. Ron managed to save all of them! Ron's goal-keeping was not only boosting his own confidence, it was boosting the whole team's morale.
Finally, after less than an hour, Ginny caught the Snitch right out from under Cho's nose. The crowd roared again as the teams flew to the ground. Gryffindor met in a huge group hug, all laughing, cheering, and jumping with joy as they surrounded both Ron and Ginny. Anna barely caught sight of Cho crying angrily and chucking her broom on the ground, but she was too overjoyed to care.
The Gryffindor team approached McGonagall, who was beaming proudly at them as she held the Quidditch Cup in her hands. Ron glanced at Angelina, who shoved him to the front. He looked surprised, but his wide smile remained firmly planted on his face as he stepped forward to take the large trophy from their Head of House. Once it was in his hands, he slowly turned to look at the rest of his team, as if the cheering crowd was a dull background noise.
The team swarmed Ron again and lifted him onto their shoulders. That's when Anna realized the crowd was singing 'Weasley is our King'. She was too thrilled to be angry, but before she could think too much of it, she realized it was a different song the crowd was singing
'Weasley is our King,
Weasley is our King,
He didn't let the Quaffle in,
Weasley is our King.
Weasley can save anything,
He never leaves a single ring,
That's why Gryffindors all sing:
Weasley is our King.'
Anna didn't bother singing along. She just cheered as they carried Ron off the pitch. The team moved slowly towards the castle, the crowd behind them still cheering and singing.
"HARRY! HERMIONE!"
Anna glanced up at Ron when she heard him scream his best friends' names. Then, following his eyes, she found the other two on the edge of the crowd.
"WE DID IT! WE WON!" Ron shouted at them.
There was a bit of a hassle at the castle doors, everyone trying to get through at once. Ron's head got bumped on the lintel, but no one wanted to put him down yet. Finally, they all managed to squeeze into the entrance hall and headed for the Gryffindor common room.
Anna broke away from the team and met up with Lee so the two could head to the kitchens for food for the celebrations.
After they'd returned to the common room and handed out the food and drinks they'd grabbed, Anna sat in a chair in the corner, but didn't feel even the slightest bit left out. She watched the festivities with a wide smile, butterbeer in hand, and a warm, elated feeling in her stomach. Laughing as people danced on the tables, juggled bottles, and cheered joyously.
And even though she was completely thrilled with their victory and enjoying the party, Anna still couldn't help wishing Fred and George had been there.
XXX
Anna folded the dried letter into thirds and addressed it to 'Fred and George Weasley' on the front before heading down her dormitory steps. It was the next day, and it was warm and Anna had nothing to do. She could study, but she didn't really feel up to studying after the team's victory the day before. So, she was owling a letter to the twins to tell them all about the match. She wanted to tell them about all the pranks her and Lee had been pulling, as well as everything that had been happening since they left, but she didn't want to risk Umbridge intercepting the letter.
Just as Anna's foot touched the floor of the common room, Alicia looked up from where she was standing by the open window, an unfamiliar owl on her arm.
"Oh, Anna! This owl has a letter for you." she announced, approaching Anna and holding her arm out. The owl fluttered the remaining space and perched on Anna's shoulder, holding out a leg with a note tied to it.
Anna untied the letter, and the owl swooped right back out the window. Unrolling the piece of parchment, Anna looked down at the messy, unfamiliar handwriting.
'Meet me at the Three Broomsticks before noon.
Trust me, you'll be glad you did.'
Anna reread the note curiously a couple times, turning it over to double-check that her name was on it. "I don't recognize this writing." she said out loud, looking up at Alicia, who stepped forward to read it.
"Well, how are you supposed to get into Hogsmeade? You won't have a way to get there since it's not a Hogsmeade weekend." Alicia pointed out. "They must not know Hogwarts rules that well."
'Or they know Hogwarts really well,' Anna thought to herself, thinking of the secret passages that lead out of the castle. Maybe it was someone who knew about the map, like Remus, her father, or the twins. Of course, Pettigrew knew about the map, too, but he was a wanted fugitive. He wouldn't risk going to the Three Broomsticks.
"I'll see you later, Alicia." Anna told her friend, heading for the portrait hole. She stuffed both her letter and the note into her jean pockets. Her letter to the twins could wait until after this little mystery.
She made the long, dreary crawl through the passage into Honeydukes cellar and carefully snuck through the shop until she found herself outside on the main lane of Hogsmeade. The warm, May sun shone down on her back, warming her skin through her loose shirt and jeans. She took in a deep breath of fresh air through her nose before walking the short distance to the Three Broomsticks.
She pulled her wand out and hid it in her sleeve before she entered the pub, just in case. Stepping into the dark pub, she looked around for a moment while her eyes adjusted to the low light, looking for someone she might recognize.
Finally, as her eyes swept the booths, she caught a flash of ginger hair. Her eyes froze, recognizing the face that was already smiling smugly back at her. A shocked, excited smile spread over her lips as she hurried across the pub.
Fred stood up from the booth, already opening his arms for a hug. Anna slammed into him, her arms wrapping tightly around his midsection.
Fred chuckled into her hair, kissing the top of her head. "Careful, Anna, you'll crack my ribs." he joked. Anna laughed, leaning up and kissing him briefly.
"What are you doing here?" she asked excitedly.
Fred gestured for her to sit in the booth while he explained, scooting in next to her. "Well, I figured I should stop in and visit, since letters aren't really cutting it. I'm not getting any good information in them." he told her pointedly, his arm behind her head.
Anna grimaced. "Sorry, but-"
"-Umbridge is watching the post, yeah I know. So, tell me what's been going on. The last Quidditch match was yesterday, wasn't it?" Fred asked curiously.
Anna lit up. "Yes! I was just about to send a letter to you and George about that when I got your-wait. I know your handwriting, and that note wasn't in your handwriting."
Fred smirked smugly. "I wrote it with my left hand, and I sent it from the Post Office down the road. Wanted to make sure you were surprised."
Anna laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Well, you certainly succeeded."
"Anyway, the match." Fred urged after ordering two warm butterbeers and two orders of fish and chips from the waitress.
"We won." Anna told him smugly.
"You're joking!" he exclaimed, laughing in shock. "How?"
"I don't know." Anna laughed, shrugging. "Ron just…he just started saving goals like crazy. The only goal he actually missed was, like, the first one. And then Ginny caught the Snitch right from under Cho Chang's nose. She was pretty pissed, but it was brilliant."
Fred laughed, throwing his head against the booth. "That's…wow, that's amazing. Wish me and George had been able to play."
"Yeah," Anna agreed softly, leaning her head on his shoulder, "me, too."
The waitress returned in that moment to place their food and drinks on the table. Fred removed his arm from the back of the booth so he could eat.
"So, what else has been going on?" he asked curiously before taking a bite.
Another wide smile spread over Anna's lips. "Oh, where do I start?"
So, she started from the day the twins left the school, telling him every detail she could remember. She told him all about the swamp still being where they left it, all the pranks people had been playing, and everything she and Lee had gotten up to.
"Sounds like you've been having fun without me." Fred told her, giving a smirk before he took another swig of his butterbeer.
"Just a bit." she teased. "But it would've been so much more fun if you and George were here." she admitted, her voice a bit softer.
Fred's smile softened, too, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders again, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.
"So, did you and Harry get to talk to your dad at all?" he finally asked, taking another bite of his food.
"Yeah, we did." Anna admitted. "Remus was there, too." she answered, taking a bite.
"What did you guys talk about?" Fred asked carefully, tilting his head slightly to see her out of the corner of his eyes.
Anna chewed her food slowly before swallowing. She studied her plate for a few moments before looking up at her boyfriend. He looked back carefully, studying her expression to get a feel for what she was thinking.
"Harry…found out something about my dad." she finally admitted, looking down. "Well, about all the Marauders, really. Apparently, they weren't as…nice as we would have liked to believe."
"What do you mean?" Fred asked slowly.
Anna poked at her food for a moment. "Did I ever tell you about the bad…prank that my dad played on Snape when they were in school?" she asked, not looking up.
"No, I don't think so." Fred answered, shaking his head slowly. He would've been more excited to hear about a prank played on Snape, but Anna's expression gave him the impression it wasn't a funny story.
"Apparently,…one night on the full moon, Snape was being nosy about where Remus would go every month. My dad was sick of him sticking his nose where it didn't belong and told him how to get into the Whomping Willow after Remus. Well, Snape tried it, and if James Potter hadn't stopped him, Snape would've found Remus as a werewolf. He could've been killed because of my dad." Anna admitted softly.
Fred stared carefully at Anna's profile, his eyes tracing her eyes, nose, and cheek.
"Think that's why Snape freaked out on you our first year, when we dumped that slime on him?" Fred asked carefully.
Anna glanced up thoughtfully. "I guess. And he hated James and Sirius, so that's obviously why he hates me and Harry."
"Is that what you guys talked about? What you and Harry needed to talk to Sirius about?" Fred asked.
"No-well, not that incident. I guess…I won't get into detail, 'cause it's Harry's business, really. I guess Harry…saw a memory of Snape's and it made him question his dad's character." Anna answered slowly. "And when he told me about it,…well, it involved my dad, too, obviously. I guess,…I just thought that story about my dad luring Snape to the Willow was a…a one-off, you know?" She looked up at Fred, who scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her to pull her into his side. "It just feels like my dad was kinda…cruel when he was in school. Granted, you and George have pulled similar stunts, and I've been involved in them, so I can't get that upset. It just seemed like Snape didn't really ask for a lot of those incidents. It felt like my dad and James attacked him for no reason."
"Well, they obviously changed." Fred pointed out. "They joined the Order, and your mum and Lily Potter wouldn't have married them if they were that cruel."
Anna nodded. "True. Plus, that was when they were fifteen. They probably matured a bit within a couple years."
"And I've seen your dad with you, your mum, Harry, and Aslan." Fred pointed out. "I don't think someone who was genuinely 'cruel' could love all of you the way he does."
Anna smiled warmly up at him. "I know. Thanks. Anyway," she sat up, pulling away to continue eating, "tell me how the shop's doing."
They talked, and ate, and caught up on everything. They eventually left the Three Broomsticks and sat out on the sun-warmed grass behind the shops to continue talking and snuggling. Fred told her how the shop was flourishing. They had dozens of people coming into the shop every day, but since most of their customers were school-aged, they got most of their business from mail orders. Him and George were up to their ears in orders to fill and shelves to stock to the point they'd hired someone to help them out, a young witch named Verity. Of course, Fred assured Anna that, while Verity was great, Anna was much prettier.
Finally, as the sun started going down, Anna had to admit she should get back to the school. So, Fred walked with her to the front door of Honeydukes.
"I'll see you soon." he told her, turning her to face him. "I'll be waiting for you when you step off the Hogwarts Express, and I'll sweep you off your feet." he added with a slight smirk.
"Uh huh, just keep your greeting PG, because my dad will be there." Anna warned him playfully, leaning up to kiss him.
When they pulled away, Fred still smiled down at her. "I'll think about it."
Anna swatted his chest, shaking her head at him. "So, does that mean I won't get anymore surprise visits? I have to wait until I get out of school?"
"Not sure." Fred shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets and rocking on the balls of his feet. Then, he smirked and leaned down so his face was closer to hers. "But even if I was, I wouldn't ruin the surprise." he whispered, winking at her.
Anna chuckled, wrapping her arms around his midsection in a tight hug, burying her face in his shirt while his arms wrapped around her back.
"It won't be long." he assured her, kissing the top of her head. "You'll be spending so much time studying for your NEWTs, it'll be over before you know it."
"I know." Anna agreed, leaning up again for a kiss. "Love you. Tell George I said hi and I miss him, too."
"I will. Love you, too."
Anna smiled one more time at Fred before entering Honeydukes, sneaking into the cellar and taking the secret passage back to the school.
XXX
Anna stormed into the common room, slamming the portrait closed behind her. She saw Lee sitting and talking with Angelina, Alicia, and Katie. Stomping over to him, she smacked the back of his head. He lurched and whipped his head around, rubbing the back where she hit him.
"OW! What was that for?" he demanded.
"Tell me," she spoke through gritted teeth, "please tell me you didn't put another niffler in Umbridge's office."
Lee's eyes widened just slightly. "Um, yeah, I did. Why?"
"Why didn't you tell me about it?" she asked.
"'Cause you've been busy with NEWTs and you didn't want to pull anymore pranks for a while." Lee admitted honestly. "What's the big deal? You were all for it last time."
"Yeah, well, I overheard Umbridge talking with someone a few minutes ago about this niffler incident. She said she thinks it might have been Hagrid who put the niffler there." When Lee's eyes went wide again, Anna swept on. "The niffler tried to take a chunk out of her leg this time. She thinks, well, she's at least thinking of blaming Hagrid for it. If she can blame this on Hagrid, she can fire him. Maybe even have him thrown out, or arrested or something."
Lee scratched the back of his neck guiltily. "Jeez. I didn't think it would be that bad. It worked out great last time."
Anna sighed heavily, dropping down onto the couch between Lee and Katie. "Yeah, well,…maybe it'll blow over."
June had been spent with a lot of studying, especially among the Fifth and Seventh years. The first week of OWLs and NEWTs had just finished, and they finally had a weekend to relax and focus on their next round of tests. The NEWTs were scheduled basically the same as the OWLs, just Seventh years entered the Great Hall for their tests after the Fifth years left.
Anna's schedule had started with her Charms NEWT on Monday. Tuesday was Transfiguration, Wednesday was Herbology, and Thursday Defense Against the Dark Arts. Anna didn't have a NEWT on Friday, since she didn't take Ancient Runes. So, she spent it studying for her remaining NEWTs.
Her next week would be Potions on Monday, Care of Magical Creatures on Tuesday, nothing on Wednesday, and History of Magic on Thursday. Then, she would finally be done with Hogwarts exams for the rest of her life.
XXX
Anna sighed heavily, her head falling against the window with a dull thump. She was sitting at a table by one of the windows in the Gryffindor common room late Wednesday night. She'd been studying for a couple hours for her History of Magic NEWT on the following day, her last exam.
"Do your brains hurt?" Angelina asked from across the table, massaging her temples with her fingers as she glanced around at all her friends. Alicia was sitting next to Anna, and Katie was next to Angelina.
"Uh huh." Anna and Alicia groaned, nodding their heads. Katie glanced among her older friends, smiling grimly.
"You guys are making me dread next year." she told them seriously, making the others laugh.
Anna chuckled, once again leaning her head tiredly against the cool glass of the window. She tiredly opened her eyes, letting them sweep over the dark school grounds. She vaguely glanced at Hagrid's hut in the top corner of the window before movement on the ground caught her eye.
Turning her head but not lifting it from the window, Anna could just make out about half a dozen shapes moving across the grass. The only thing she could really see was the moonlight highlighting their heads and shoulders as they walked. Sitting up straighter, Anna squinted in an attempt to get a better look. Then, she recognized she short, waddling figure in the front of the group.
"What are you doing?" she mumbled to herself.
"What?" Katie asked, glancing over at her friend. Anna didn't bother explaining, her attention zeroed in on the people following Umbridge across the grass. Why would she be walking across the ground after midnight?
They continued walking, and Anna tried not to panic when she realized they were heading straight for Hagrid's hut. Her throat closed when the group reached Hagrid's hut. The knock must have been loud, because Anna heard the muffled sound even through the common room window. Then, she could hear Fang barking from within Hagrid's hut.
The lights flashed on in Hagrid's windows, shining upon the group. The door swung open, casting six long, people-shaped shadows across the grass. Then, the six people crossed the threshold and the door closed behind them.
Anna glanced worriedly back at her friends. They all tore their eyes from the window and returned her worried expression.
"That wasn't Umbridge,…was it?" Alicia asked worriedly.
"Yeah,…yeah, I think it was." Anna mumbled, turning back to stare expectantly at the small hut. Her eyes burned as she refused to blink, watching closely for any sign of movement. Shadows occasionally passed by the hut's windows, briefly blocking the light from inside as people moved about. But Anna couldn't get any good looks at any of them.
Then, still muffled by the glass of the common room window, Anna heard the unmistakable sound of a roar coming from the cabin. She jumped, her shoulders tensing as she stared down at the cabin with her nose touching the cool glass.
Then, with a loud BANG, Hagrid's front door swung open. Anna sucked in a sharp breath and stood up, even though there was nothing she could do.
The light flooding from Hagrid's open front door illuminated the scene quite clearly. He continued to roar, swinging his fists about at the six people who were surrounding him. All the figures appeared to have their wands out and pointed at him, shooting red lights at the half-giant in an obvious attempt to Stun him.
"No!" Anna exclaimed, and she wasn't alone. Several people who were sitting at the other windows had seen or heard the commotion and were gasping or calling for others to come down from their dormitories. Katie and Alicia also stood up to get a good look while Ang leaned closer to the window, all of them with horrified expressions.
Red lights were flying at Hagrid from every direction, but they appeared to be bouncing off him. Anna guessed his giant genetics made him tougher-skinned. Hagrid continued to fight, and Anna could vaguely hear some of the people shouting, but their voices were muffled by the glass. Hagrid roared something back at them, but it was again muffled.
Fang, who appeared so tiny from this distance, was running about and attempting to defend Hagrid from the other wizards. But then a Stunning Spell hit him and he fell limply to the ground. Anna lurched against the window, instinctively shoving her hands against it as if to push it up. Her rational mind was drowned out in a panicked fear that Fang was dead and Hagrid would soon be, too.
Hagrid roared again with raw fury when his dog fell. He lifted the wizard responsible off the ground and threw him about ten feet. When he didn't get up again, Anna worried Hagrid had killed him. He'd surely be sent back to Azkaban if that was the case.
"I've never seen Hagrid that angry before." Alicia murmured worriedly.
"He's defending himself." Anna snapped defensively before she could stop herself, her eyes not leaving the chaos outside. "They attacked him first, and they outnumber him."
"Someone else is coming!" a young girl shrieked from a couple windows over. Anna tore her eyes from the fight to see the front doors of the castle had burst open and another long shadow was hurrying across the grass. Anna instinctively reached into her robes, her fist closing around her wand even though she knew there was nothing she could do from this distance. It would take her at least ten minutes to run through the castle and out to Hagrid's hut.
But then, she thought she recognized the person running. Maybe. Hopefully.
Then, she heard the muffled voice of McGonagall shriek as she ran, "How dare you! How dare you!"
"It's McGonagall." Angelina announced to the room as a whole, the crowd growing as people came down from bed to see what the commotion was.
"Leave him alone!" McGonagall shouted again as she ran. "Alone, I say!"
Anna held her breath, feeling hopeful now that her loyal Head of House was there to help Hagrid. Surely she could convince those horrible people to leave him alone.
McGonagall was still shouting at them, and Anna was starting to relax her tense shoulders. If anyone could fix this mess, it'd be McGonagall. She could fix anything, right?
But then McGonagall's shouting was cut short when at least four Stunners were shot from the various attackers. Several people in the common room screamed and shouted, but Anna went deathly cold when she saw the four red lights hit McGonagall halfway between the hut and the castle. For a horrible moment, McGonagall seemed to glow from an inner red light, then she was lifted off her feet, landing hard on her back, and was still.
"No." Katie breathed fearfully over Anna's shoulder.
"They didn't…they couldn't have…" Anna stuttered, her eyes staring hard at the older Transfiguration teacher, pleading silently for her to move.
Hagrid's enraged voice boomed, louder than before. "COWARDS! RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT-AN THAT-"
Anna tore her eyes back to the battle and saw Hagrid swing his fists as two of the nearest attackers, knocking them out cold. Then, Hagrid bent over and lifted Fang onto his back, draping the limp dog around his shoulders.
"Get him, get him!" Umbridge screamed, but neither her nor her remaining helper seemed too keen to approach the angry half-giant.
Then, Hagrid turned and began running with his dog still on his back. Umbridge shot one last Stunning Spell after him, but she missed and Hagrid disappeared into the darkness.
There was a moment of tense silence before people began whispering among themselves. Anna remained silent, her eyes glancing between where Hagrid vanished, to McGonagall's limp body, to Umbridge and the other attackers.
"I can't believe they would do something so…disgusting." Angelina spat, her lip curled in disgust and anger.
"Four Stunners to the chest." Katie whispered, still looking out at McGonagall. "Would that…I mean, that just seems like it could cause a lot of damage."
By now, most of Gryffindor House had gathered in the common room and was discussing what had happened.
"Should-shouldn't someone go out to check on McGonagall?" Anna asked shakily, still looking down at the limp body. She didn't trust Umbridge to make sure McGonagall would be okay.
"If you go down there, Umbridge would probably have you expelled for aiding Hagrid's escape or something equally insane." Alicia pointed out.
"But we can't just leave her out there." Anna insisted worriedly. "What if she dies? She needs to be taken to Madam Pomfrey."
"Anna, someone'll come get her." Katie insisted.
"Yeah, look." Angelina pointed out, pointing at the window. Anna looked in time to see several people hurrying from the front door toward McGonagall's body. They all watched, feeling somewhat relieved, as these new people hovered McGonagall back to the castle.
About ten minutes later, the Fifth years started trickling in after finishing their Astronomy OWL. Dean and Seamus made sure that everyone knew what they'd seen of the fight from the top of the Astronomy Tower.
"But why sack Hagrid now?" Angelina asked, shaking her head in confusion. "It's not like Trelawney, he's been teaching much better than usual this year!"
"Umbridge hates part-humans." Hermione pointed out bitterly as her, Harry, and Ron finally entered the common room. They joined their fellow Gryffindors sitting around the room. "She was always going to try and get Hagrid out."
"And she thought Hagrid was putting nifflers in her office." Katie pointed out. Anna glared at the next table, right at Lee, who scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah,…that was me. But you helped the first time!" he pointed out, pointing a finger back at Anna, who blushed when everyone looked between them.
"Doing it one time was funny. Doing it again would've put Umbridge even more on the warpath." she defended herself.
"She'd have sacked Hagrid anyway." Dean Thomas pointed out. "He was too close to Dumbledore."
"That's true." Harry agreed, sinking into an armchair next to Hermione's.
"I just hope Professor McGonagall's alright." Lavender spoke up tearfully.
"They carried her back up to the castle," Colin Creevey spoke up, "we watched from the dormitory windows. She didn't look very well…"
"Madam Pomfrey will sort her out." Alicia stated firmly. "She's never failed yet."
People stayed up in the common room until nearly four in the morning talking about what happened. When Anna eventually fell into bed, she dozed into a fitful sleep, dreaming of what school would've been like without McGonagall there to back her up.
XXX
Anna, Angelina, and Alicia spent the hour before their History of Magic NEWT sitting in the entrance hall, quizzing each other on the multiple questions they were sure to face on their test.
After a restless night of sleep, Anna woke up late in the morning, which was fine since her test wasn't until late afternoon. She tried checking in on McGonagall, but Pomfrey wouldn't let anyone in to see her. So, instead, Anna picked at her food at lunch and tried to study for her last exam.
The Fifth years were currently taking their History of Magic OWL in the Great Hall, while the Seventh years waited patiently in the entrance hall for their turn.
It was nearing time for the OWLs to be finished when the large doors to the Great Hall creaked open. Everyone fell quiet and turned to stare as the Ministry official, Professor Tufty, lead a babbling Harry from the Great Hall.
Worried, Anna stood up from her seat on the floor, but she couldn't hear what Harry was mumbling with so many people in her way. Then, Tufty returned to the Great Hall while Harry took off at a run up the marble staircase.
"What was that about?" Angelina asked curiously, the three girls still staring up the staircase after Harry had already vanished.
"I don't know." Anna murmured worriedly. She was half-tempted to follow him, but she would need to go in for her exam soon. Oh well. She could just ask Hermione and Ron if they knew what was happening when they came out after their OWL.
It was another fifteen minutes or so when the Great Hall doors opened again. Ron and Hermione were the first through the door, and hurried across the entrance hall with worried expressions. Anna shoved her way through the crowd to reach them near the bottom of the stairs.
"Hey. What happened to Harry?" she asked, following them up a few steps as they continued on.
"He-Harry!" Hermione cut herself off and Anna followed her worried expression to the top of the stairs. Harry was standing up there waiting for them. "What happened? Are you alright? Are you ill?" she questioned quickly as she, Anna, and Ron stopped in front of him.
"Where have you been?" Ron demanded.
Harry looked frantically around at the three of them before looking around to check no one was around to hear him. Then, he faced them again and said something that made Anna's heart stop.
"Voldemort's got Sirius."