Annabelle sat on the very edge of the couch, her leg bouncing anxiously. She was still wearing her dress from the wedding, but she'd taken off her shoes. A steaming cup of tea sat on the coffee table in front of her, but it remained untouched. Another cup sat next to it, her mum sitting next to her on the couch. Aslan was curled up in Wren's arms, half-asleep. Both witches had been trying to convince Aslan to sleep, but he refused, continuously asking for 'Daddy' and 'Moony'.
It'd been almost two hours since Anna had arrived home after the attack on Bill and Fleur's wedding, but it felt like ages with still no word. She had no idea what was happening, if anyone had been hurt or killed, if the attack was even still happening. And not knowing was driving her mental.
"Maybe I should go back to check." Anna mumbled quietly, more to herself.
"You don't know what's happening." Wren whispered, gently rocking Aslan in her arms to try and get him to sleep. "You may be Apparating right into the middle of a situation that you could make worse. If we don't hear word by morning, we'll do something."
Anna groaned, raking her hands through her messy, dark hair; she'd long-since pulled out her mini ponytail, leaving her hair in loose curls.
"I just-"
The backdoor swung open, cutting Anna off and making both witches snap their heads around to stare expectantly.
Sirius walked into the house, followed closely by Fred.
Anna jumped to her feet and hurried over to them.
"What happened? Is everyone okay?" she demanded, hugging her dad tightly before stepping aside and hugging Fred. Her fiancé held her close, kissing the top of her head before releasing her.
"As okay as to be expected." Sirius answered, approaching his wife, who'd stood up. Aslan, wide awake at the noise, immediately held his hands out for his dad. Sirius took him and held him close before using one arm to hug his wife.
"So, what happened?" Anna demanded, looking impatiently between the two men. "Details, please."
"Well, luckily most of the guests had Disapparated before too many Death Eaters showed up." Fred told her. "It was mostly just family and close friends, like Sirius and Remus. We fought with the Death Eaters for a while before they gathered us together to interrogate us. It sounds like they didn't know Harry had been there, they were just covering their bases. They searched the place from top to bottom, not letting any of us leave until they gave us permission."
"But everyone knows Ron's best friends with Harry. What did they say when Ron wasn't there?" Wren asked worriedly, pulling back just enough to look between Fred and Sirius.
Fred smirked tiredly while Sirius let out a barklike laugh.
"As far as they could tell, Ron was, and is, still at the Burrow." Fred stated confidently.
"How?" Anna asked incredulously. "Wouldn't they have needed proof?"
"They got their proof. As far as they know, Ron is ill at home with Spattergroit."
"How'd you pull that off?" Wren asked curiously while Sirius hid his laughter in her hair.
"We made the family ghoul look like him. Gave him red hair, pajamas, and boils. Looks just like Ron."
Anna laughed, swatting Fred's chest. "And whose bright idea was this?" she asked teasingly, not admitting out loud that it really was a genius idea.
"Ron's. Me, George, and Dad helped him." Fred admitted. "Anyway, that's pretty much all that happened. They interrogated us and searched the place, but we'll need to be careful. They'll be watching all of us. Dad sent a message to Harry and the others, letting them know we're all okay and not to contact anyone."
"Let's just hope they're okay." Wren whispered.
XXX
Anna entered her home by the front door one evening a few days later, pausing when she saw who was sitting on the couch with her dad.
Sitting side-by-side on the couch in front of the fireplace, both leaning forward with their elbows on their knees, were Sirius and Remus.
Eyes narrowed, Anna tossed down her bag and stormed across the living room as both men glanced up at her.
"Anna." Sirius warned.
"You stupid git!" Anna snapped, stopping in front of Remus and glaring down at him. "I can't believe you-"
"Anna, I'm not in the mood." Remus told her tensely.
"Well, that's just too bad, Lupin. I don't care about your mood, not after the day I've just had." Anna told him, the roots of her dark hair slowly fading into a dark crimson. "I was just at the Tonks house, consoling my cousin. My cousin who's never cried over a man, my cousin who's a kick-arse Auror who doesn't take crap from anyone. Do you know how broken she is right now?" Anna demanded rhetorically. "She tried to hold it together, she knows why you did it, but abandoning your pregnant wife in the middle of a war? What the bloody hell is wrong with you?!" she exclaimed.
"I don't need to hear it, Annabelle; I already heard it from Harry." Remus growled.
Anna faltered, her anger diminishing out of pure shock.
"You spoke to Harry?" she stuttered.
"Yes, and he called me a coward and said I should've stayed with my wife and child. I don't need you telling me things I already know." Remus snapped. "My child would be ashamed to have me for a father. You know how people view werewolves. Dora and our child are better off without me."
"And you call yourself a Gryffindor." Anna whispered, shaking her head at him. "Your child wouldn't be ashamed of you. You are a better man than most people in the world. You're an amazing godfather to Aslan. I see you as a second father. Any child would be lucky to have you."
"And if the baby turns out like me?" Remus muttered, his eyes fixed on his hands.
"If it turns out to be a werewolf, or a part werewolf, it'll be lucky to have you to guide him or her, and it will be loved and cared for by all of us." Anna answered easily.
"She's right, Moony." Sirius told his best friend, resting a hand on Remus's shoulder. "This kid'll be lucky to have you for a dad. I mean, you got enough practice being a dad when we were kids, didn't you?" he added, partially joking. "Keeping me and James in line in school? You were practically a dad already."
Remus snorted, a very slight twitch of his lips showing he was coming around.
No longer feeling enraged, Anna sat on the couch on Remus's other side.
"If you go home now, there'll be nothing to be ashamed of." Anna told him quietly. "Andromeda and Ted don't care about you being a werewolf, but they're not too thrilled that you walked out on their pregnant daughter. But if you go back now, and be there for Tonks, all of this will be forgotten. Prove to Dora that you love her, because I know that you do. Prove to her parents that you'll protect her and their grandchild. And be there for your child, no matter what may come. He or she will never know you walked out on them; your baby will only know that his or her parents love them and will always protect them."
They sat in silence for a while, letting Remus absorb what Anna had said. They were all emotionally and physically exhausted. In the four days since the wedding, things had been crazy.
While Death Eaters attacked the wedding, they were also invading multiple Order-related homes. They burned down Dedalus Diggle's house, but luckily he hadn't been there. They also tortured Andromeda and Ted Tonks with the Cruciatus Curse, trying to get information on Harry. They were shaken, but not seriously hurt.
The Daily Prophet had clearly been taken over by Death Eaters. They'd released a front page story with Harry's picture and the headline 'Wanted for Questioning About the Death of Albus Dumbledore'. They announced a Muggle-born Register the same day.
They'd also put out the story that Scrimgeour had resigned and was replaced with Pius Thicknesse. It was obvious to anyone affiliated with the Order that Thicknesse was under the Imperius Curse and was merely Voldemort's puppet. Voldemort was just making the transition as smooth and low-key as possible to avoid suspicion, even though most people could surely guess what was happening. They were all too scared to voice their fears, however, which was exactly what Voldemort wanted.
After several moments of silence, Remus sighed heavily, running a hand through his graying hair.
"Well, I reckon I should go back, then. And grovel for forgiveness." Remus decided, slowly rising to his feet. Anna and Sirius stood up as well. "Know of any florists that are still open at this hour?" he added, partially joking.
"Not any that haven't been driven out of business by Death Eaters." Sirius joked grimly. "You'd be better off stopping by a Muggle park."
"And don't forget to get her some chocolate." Anna added, mildly teasing.
A tiny smile twitched on Remus's lips. "Might have to go the extra mile and get her a whole chocolate cake."
"That's the spirit!" Anna beamed, giving him a hug. Remus chuckled quietly, giving her a tight squeeze before he stepped back. Sirius gave him a sort of hug as well before seeing him out.
XXX
Anna shakily set her quill down on her desk, her hand trembling. She pushed the parchment away and set her elbows on the desk, her hands moving to cover her face.
She couldn't keep this up. She couldn't continue to do this.
She'd known the Muggle-born Register would be awful from the start, but she didn't realize how hard it would be on her.
Since the announcement of the Muggle-born Register, several Muggle-borns were called into the Ministry a day, interrogated relentlessly. Many of them tried to claim they weren't really Muggle-borns, because that was now a crime of sorts. The purebloods and Death Eaters running the Ministry were convinced Muggle-borns could only exist by stealing the magic of 'real' witches and wizards. This meant, if you were found guilty of being a Muggle-born you'd have your wand snapped and were sent to Azkaban.
Most Muggle-borns were going into hiding, but the Prophet was releasing lists of Muggle-borns who didn't present themselves for questioning.
And how did this all affect Anna? Well, as she worked in the Investigation Department, it was her job to research and make cases for or against accused individuals. That now meant it was her job to make cases against Muggle-borns.
She knew realistically that if she tried making cases to help the accused Muggle-borns it would paint a target on her back and possibly land her in Azkaban, or worse. She'd managed to subtly help a couple Muggle-borns whose cases landed on her desk by finding a way to link them to known witches and wizards, but those opportunities were few and far between.
Even though she knew there wasn't much she could do, the guilt of playing a part in ruining these peoples' lives was killing her. It was sickening, and it was slowly eating her up from the inside out.
Deciding she couldn't work for another minute for the day, Anna shoved her personal belongings into her bag, stood up, and hurried from her cubical.
She hurried out of the room and toward the nearest lift. She rode the lift to the Atrium on Level 8, and she stepped out as soon as the lift doors opened.
Unfortunately, she walked right into someone else.
Anna's body practically bounced off a taller, skinny body, sending folders and sheets of parchment fluttering to the ground around their feet.
"I'm so sorry!" Anna exclaimed.
"You should be more careful where you're walking!" a familiar, pompous voice snapped.
Anna's eyes flew up to stare at Percy Weasley. He gave her an annoyed glance before kneeling down to start gathering his things together. Anna quickly did the same, helping him pick up his work.
"Sorry again." Anna told him, handing him all she collected when the parchment and folders no longer littered the ground.
Percy sighed. "I suppose I should've been watching, as well. Thank you." he added tiredly, taking the parchment from her. They both stood up and Percy looked at her again, his blue eyes narrowing curiously. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked after a moment.
"Um, well, yeah." Anna admitted uncertainly. "We went to school together. I'm Anna. Annabelle Black?"
Percy's eyes widened slightly, and he looked a bit uncomfortable. "Oh…I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you."
"Yeah, it's been a few years." Anna agreed quietly.
"You…work in the Ministry?" Percy asked uncertainly, looking over her work robes. "I would've thought…I mean, I heard the twins opened a shop."
Anna nodded. "Yeah, I help there on the weekends, but I work in the Investigation Department."
Percy nodded, still looking awkward and uncomfortable. "Ah. Good for you. So,…I take it you're still close with…my brothers?" he guessed.
Anna nodded, also mildly uncomfortable. "Yeah, we're still close." she admitted, not mentioning being Fred's fiancé. She wasn't even sure Percy knew they'd dated. She assumed Molly would've told him, since her and Fred started dating before Percy disowned the family, but she wasn't sure.
Percy swallowed and glanced around uncomfortably for a moment. "Did you go to the wedding?" he finally asked quietly.
"Yeah." Anna answered quietly. "It was lovely. But I think Bill would've preferred you standing with him and Charlie."
Percy winced and looked down at his feet. Anna felt bad for the comment, seeing how much it hurt him, but before she could apologize, he looked at her again with a worried expression.
"Do you know if anyone was…Well, it's just that, I heard there was an attack…"
"No one was killed or seriously hurt." Anna assured him. "They were mostly just interrogated, and now pretty much everyone's under surveillance."
Percy nodded tensely, suddenly looking around as if he expected someone to be listening in on their conversation.
"Well,…I better get going. I have a lot of important paperwork to finish for Minister Thicknesse before the day's done. It was nice to see you, Annabelle." Percy announced in his brisk, dignified voice.
"Nice to see you, too." Anna agreed with a smile before heading toward the fireplaces to Floo home.
XXX
August proved to be long, hot, and horrible.
Kingsley Shacklebolt was now on the run and had sent a warning to any Order member he could that Voldemort's name was now a Tabboo, which meant if 'Voldemort' was spoken, any protective spells around the person who spoke it would break and the Death Eaters could find them. This was how Kingsley was cornered by several Death Eaters before he managed to fight his way out. Hence, why he was now on the run.
September wasn't off to a great start, either. On September first the Daily Prophet announced several staffing changes. The worst was that Snape would be the Hogwarts Headmaster. The Muggle Studies professor supposedly 'resigned' and was replaced by Alecto Carrow. Amycus Carrow was now the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. From what Anna had heard, the Carrow siblings were known Death Eaters. She seriously wondered how Ginny convinced Molly to let her go back to school. Then again, attending Hogwarts was no longer a choice, as it used to be. Voldemort had made it required for all wizarding children from ages 11 to 17. So, Ginny went back to school as she did every year, this time without any of her brothers.
Anna looked up in surprise when someone knocked on her cubicle at work. Tonks smiled slightly at her in greeting before entering the cubicle and sitting on the edge of Anna's desk.
"Morning."
"Good morning." Anna returned with a smile. "How's it going?"
"Pretty good. Though morning sickness is a pain in the arse." Dora stated bluntly.
"So I've heard." Anna agreed with a grin. Her dad had told her a few times how miserable her mum had been during both pregnancies when it came to morning sickness.
"But Mum told me peppermint tea helps with morning sickness, so Remus has been brewing that for me every morning, and it's honestly been helping a lot."
"That's sweet."
Remus had done as he said he would. He'd gone back to Tonks and was making up for not being there at first. And it seemed he was actually starting to like the idea of being a dad.
"Yeah, it is." Dora sighed, smiling softly. "Anyway, I came over here to ask if you've heard from Ginny."
"She only went to school yesterday. Do you really think she's had time to write a letter?" Anna asked.
"Given how bad it probably is over there? Maybe."
Anna grimaced. "Well,…you're right."
"Really?" Dora's eyes widened. "What'd she say?"
Anna pulled out the letter she'd received that morning, passing it to Dora to read. She'd read it enough she knew what Ginny had said in it.
There wasn't much info in it. Mostly it was Ginny confirming that Snape was Headmaster and the Carrows were professors. Oh, and she mentioned Dean Thomas hadn't gone back to school. Seamus Finnigan confirmed quietly that, as a Muggle-born, Dean had gone into hiding.
"Wow." Dora breathed, handing the letter back to Anna. "Things are getting worse."
"And they'll keep getting worse." Anna guessed, putting the letter back in her bag. "Anyway,-"
"Intruder! There are intruders in the Ministry! All exits will be sealed!"
Anna and Dora met eyes wide in shock. Around them, panicked and curious voices sounded across the room, varying in volume. Anna instinctively stood up and looked around the room above her cubicle walls, and noticed several others doing the same.
"Do you know what's going on?" she asked the wizard sitting in neighboring cubicle, a young man named Zack.
"I heard someone a few cubicles down said someone broke into the Ministry, even stunned a couple important people. They even stunned Yaxley!" he added with wide eyes. "So they're sealing off all the exits to keep the person from leaving."
XXX
"Hi Anna." George greeted Anna when she entered the backroom.
"Morning George." Anna returned the greeting tiredly, passing him a to-go cup of coffee.
"Well, don't you sound cheerful." George joked with a smirk, taking a sip of his coffee even though his eyes remained fixed on her expression as she sat next to him. "Long week at work?"
"Don't even ask." Anna sighed, flipping through the book of products to find the recipe for the first product she needed to make for the day.
They worked in silence for about ten minutes before George left his potion brewing and made his way to the main part of the shop. It was empty apart from a few customers. With most of their regulars in school or on the run, most of their orders were by owl.
He approached Fred, who was at the till. His elbow was propped up on the countertop, his cheek in his palm as he stared tiredly around the shop.
"Bored?" George guessed, coming up behind the register. He stood next to his twin, resting his elbows on the counter next to Fred's.
"Just a bit." Fred admitted with a grin. "How's work going back there?"
"Pretty good. I just finished a batch of Fever Fudge, so if you wanna switch, I can watch the front for a while." George told him. "Just a heads up. Anna seems a bit down. Think work's bugging her."
Fred frowned worriedly over at him. "Work's been bothering her a lot lately." he pointed out. He wasn't belittling his fiancé's feelings. He and George both knew how work had been bothering Anna lately, so George would only bring it up if she seemed worse than usual.
"Yeah. But she seemed more down than last week. Just saying." George shrugged before crossing the store to help a young wizard who was browsing the fireworks.
Fred sighed before heading into the backroom behind the counter. Anna was bent over the worktable, cutting up what looked like Venomous Tentacula seeds while a small fire brewed under a cauldron in front of her. Crossing the room quietly, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and pulled her into his chest.
"How are you doing?" he asked, kissing the back of her head.
"Fine. I've already finished a batch of Bruise Removal paste. Now I'm-"
"I wasn't asking what you were making." Fred interrupted her gently. "Did you have a hard week at work?"
"George rat me out?" Anna asked tensely.
"Didn't really need to." Fred answered. "You're kinda giving yourself away. But George is worried about you, too, you know. We both are."
Anna relaxed, placing her knife on the table and leaning back against his chest. "I know." she whispered. "It was just a long week. A long month, really."
"Wanna talk about it?" Fred offered, gently squeezing his arms around her.
"How about you tell me about your week first." Anna suggested, turning and sitting on one of the chairs. Fred pulled the other one around to face her, sitting in it with a small smile.
"Alright. We'll take turns. Um,…" Fred thought for a moment about where to start. "Oh. Lee started a radio show of sorts."
"Really?" Anna asked in shock.
"Yep. But it's top secret." Fred told her. "You have to get passwords to actually get on it. He calls it Potterwatch. Basically just fills people in on what's really going on out there. But don't tell too many people, and don't tell anyone it's Lee. Everyone on there has to have nicknames so they won't get in trouble if the wrong person hears it."
Anna nodded in understanding. "That makes sense." She took a deep breath, knowing it was her turn to share. "Well,…You know Tonks' dad, Ted, had to go into hiding because he's a Muggleborn." Fred nodded. "People are still looking for him. I hear his name being brought up in the office at least once a day. Dora's been getting some problems at work because of it. People giving her a hard time. She can handle it, I mean, she's tough, but it's still her dad. She's already worried about him being caught without people giving her a hard time. But don't tell Remus. She doesn't want him or her mother to worry."
Fred nodded in understanding. "I won't." When Anna didn't start speaking again, Fred took that as it being his turn to speak. "Mum got a letter from Hogwarts earlier this week. Apparently Ginny, Neville, and Luna got detention."
Anna narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if she should be worried or not. Then, she decided she was very worried. "Were the Carrows in charge of it?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Fred quickly assured her, taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently. "Apparently, they broke into Snape's office to try and steal the Sword of Gryffindor. Snape punished them by sending them into the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid."
Anna relaxed. "Well, that's not so bad. If anything, that might've been fun for them. At least it wasn't the Carrows."
"Yeah, I know." Fred agreed with a small smile. "I mean, we used to sneak into the Forest for fun, right?" he teased.
"Ha! That might've been fun for you and George, but it was bloody terrifying for me." Anna laughed, some of the weight leaving her shoulders as she reached forward to shove at his chest. Fred just laughed in return, rocking back with her push before easily returning to his upright position.
"Anyway, is there anything else bugging you?" Fred asked curiously.
Anna's smile faltered slightly.
"Have you heard of the Snatchers?" she asked quietly.
Fred hummed thoughtfully. "No, I don't think so. Who are they?"
Anna looked down, running her thumb over his knuckles.
"They're these groups of witches and wizards being formed. They're not really official law enforcement or anything…Basically they're out there hunting anyone who's on the run, particularly muggleborns and blood traitors, so they can collect on the rewards the Ministry's offering."
"And have they been succeeding in capturing people?" Fred asked worriedly.
Anna nodded. "A few, yeah. From what I've seen, most of them are pretty stupid. But there are a few groups that are really dangerous. Some of the people who're brought in are really roughed up. And the worst part, for me, is I have to look a lot of those people in the eye before or after writing up a case against them."
Fred reached forward and cradled her cheek in his hand, his thumb stroking her cheekbone. "You have to do what you have to do, Anna." he told her gently. "If you want, you could still quit your job there. You could work here full time. You know you've got a place here. Especially since Verity had to leave."
Verity had left a month back to go into hiding with her family, since her mum and sister-in-law were muggleborns.
"I know." Anna whispered, giving him a small smile. "But working where I am, I have a small chance of helping people where I can. It's just…"
Fred leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her, gently pulling her onto his lap and holding her close. "I know." he breathed, his lips pressed against her hairline.