Disclaimer: Please see previous chapters. Not mine. No copyright infringement intended. No profit made.
A/N: And we've made it to December, folks—at Hogwarts, that is. Thanks so much to my faithful readers and reviewers! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you and cannot wait to bring all this together. Wrote the final chapter the other day to this, and I have to say, I'm excited. And do please take second to leave a review-IT'S MY BRITHDAY!
Chapter 9: Finals
"Professor?" A pretty, dark headed Ravenclaw, one of the top in her year, raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Worhold?" The transfiguration teacher inquired.
Sophie Worhold continued, "I'm curious, professor. Since our practical examinations are a few days away, well," She hesitated, uncomfortable under the weight of questions.
"Yes?" Minerva pushed.
"Well, I just I don't think it's fair." She admitted. "Anna doesn't answer questions, and she only turns in the written assignments. It's not fair she gets the same marks as everyone else without having even do the hard part of the exam." She bit her lip, but did not withdraw the question even under professor McGonagall's stern eye.
"I see. Well, Miss Green I think you will find does in fact answer questions."
"But only yes or no ones." Another Ravenclaw boy added, then quickly shut up as narrowed eyes snapped his way.
"It's not as if she ever has to explain like the rest of us." Sophie expanded.
"I understand." Professor McGonagall glanced at Anna. For the first time, the child looked afraid. "Miss Green will be taking the practical examination along with everyone else, so you need not worry, Miss Worhold, and can focus all your energies on preparing for your own exam."
"Yes ma'am." Her professor was quick enough to catch the smirk sent in Green's direction even if they didn't think she still could.
She sighed, worrying over what to do about the exam administration. She liked to test the first years in a group, found it took the edge off a bit. She asked Albus if she might tutor Miss Green beforehand or if that would be unfair.
"Professor Flitwick is her house leader; he has been working with her on wand magic. She will do her best, I'm sure. Treat her no differently than you would anyone else." The headmaster had repeated.
"But if she doesn't speak Albus…and she hasn't practiced … let alone in front of a room of students who have been teasing her." She whispered at the staff table.
"Who? Who has been teasing her?" His voice changed. Professor McGonagall noticed his change in attitude, but did not remark.
"Remus told me he found her locked in a cupboard." Dumbledore frowned, thoughtful in silence.
"We had better take care not to let that happen." He said. A moment later, he seemed to snap out of it. "Treat her as you would anyone else."
Minerva McGonagall pressed her lips together tightly, but said nothing further.
-00-
"Miss Green," Professor McGonagall began her exam. "Would you care to go first?"
Students shifted in their seats, all eyes on Anna Green. Their teacher ignored the ripple of murmurs. Anna hesitated. For a moment, Minerva was afraid she might not move at all. "Please come to the front." She instructed plainly.
As if trying very hard to make her stiff limbs move, Anna came to the table. "Now, do try to relax, dear." McGonagall said softly. "Take out your wand."
"First," She said so everyone could hear. "I would like you to transfigure this toad into a stone. This is very difficult, though not as difficult as the opposite, so I'm not going to fail you if you can't do it. I'll mostly be grading annunciation, posture, wand movement, and effort."
"Well, I can think of one of those she'll miss." Someone sneered quietly.
"Silence, please! Go on, Miss Green."
The child held both ends of her wand in her hands, pressed against her. She leaned forwards as if to ask if she must.
"Professor Dumbledore said to just to your best."
At this, she seemed surprised, but took out her wand, holding it at the ready. "Good form." McGonagall complimented, much at a loss of what else to do or say. Never in all her years of teaching had she been in such a situation.
Miss Green she seemed to be concentrating very hard for a long breathless moment, then she dropped her gaze and wand.
McGonagall found herself a little disappointed. She hadn't realized she'd been hoping maybe the silence would finally break. "Just give it a try, my dear." She pushed, her tone a little thwarted. Behind Anna's back, several of her classmates shook their heads.
McGonagall pursed her lips and stood, rounding the table to the student's side. Anna bent down, eye level with the object. It was only then Minerva noticed. She had tried.
The tiny stone toad was such an exact tiny statute of its model, the professor had not actually realized it had been turned to stone. She floundered for a moment. "Well done." She managed with a curt nod.
"She helped her." A student behind them somewhere whispered.
"Ten points from Ravenclaw!" She was not going to have students accuse her of cheating. "Now," She cleared her voice for everyone to hear as she again rounded the desk. On a platter sat a square biscuit. "Transfigure this into a pillow." She leaned forward a little in her seat to whisper to Miss Green. "Try hard."
Changing size could be tricky. Anna collected herself for a moment, wrinkling her nose, and then gracefully flickered her wand.
"Oh!" Minerva leapt from her seat just in time. The table wasn't big enough for the armchair appearing on it, and it nearly toppled over onto her teacher. She clutched her chest shrinking it back down to size almost before anyone could get a word out. "Well!" She caught her breath. "No showing off. Take a seat."
The rest had their chance, some panicked and were all but unable to perform. In the end, it totaled a handful of proper cushions, half a dozen messy pin cushions, one stone biscuit, and Sophie Worhold's silk pillow.
For the final part of the test, Minerva took around to each of them a silver bucket. Over the bucket was suspended a single, large leaf. On the green leaf sat a drop of water. They were to turn the drop of water, a liquid, into a solid pebble without effecting the leaf. This was what she really wanted to see. Transfiguration skill varied in changing animated things to stone, objects into other useful objects, but there was need to know if witch or wizard could control their focused energy on a single item without destroying or altering the substance anything else. It was usually simple, especially having warmed up in front of the others.
Though one person managed to make a dollop of mud that fell into the bucket and another turned the leaf into water once, most students managed it, and the bottom of the pail was covered with little pebbles when she finally reached Anna Green's desk.
"Concentrate." The professor said quietly. Anna's warm eyes— like tea, Minerva thought— met her own, and the girl nodded. Those eyes reminded Minerva of someone, but she quickly forgot, much more concerned with the bucket in hand.
There were no words, of course, just the faint tinkle of the pebble falling amongst the others. The class gave a collective sigh of relief that the exam was over, and she dismissed them.
Before she waved her wand over the contents of the bucket, turning it back to water, she happened to glance down as something caught her eye, a glint in the light. She lifted from the top a teardrop-shaped gem. It was deep blue and perfectly clear.
She examined it in the light as the class exited. She admired the thing a moment, but then hid it. Showing off was one thing, but could Miss Worhold actually create something of this…no. It wasn't her.
"Miss Green?" Anna Green appeared at her instructor's desk again, her face wiped clean of any indication she knew what she had done. The transfiguration professor gave her the most curious look, then held out a closed hand. Anna opened her own expectantly and outstretched it.
"I thought you might like to keep this." Minerva dropped the gem into the small, white palm.
Anna looked up quickly, uncertain if she was in trouble. Minerva offered her a tight smile to reassure her, then went back to her grading. When she looked back up from her notes, Anna's long hair was following her out the door. The light hit the gem again now sitting on her desk.
-00—
"It's Anna Green." Professor McGonagall dropped the blue gem into Professor Dumbledore's hand. He would understand the simple exercise, she knew. She'd done it before, as had many transfiguration professors before her. Albus had even once discussed how much he liked that method. "Her toad turned to a stone was an identical stone toad." McGonagall did not bother to keep the concern out of her voice, though to be honest it was shock bordering on alarm. "She lost control of the pillow completely." Here she threw up her hands.
The teacher went on, holding on hand to her body. "She made an entire armchair, Albus." She finished worriedly.
He stared at the stone, holding it up to the light.
"It's flawless." He said after a minute.
"Yes. I examined."
"Beautiful. Sapphire?"
She shook her head, annoyed. That was beside the point. "Diamond. Blue diamond. And the chair…I didn't say but, it was my armchair, Albus. The one in my private quarters." He looked at her over his spectacles. "I'm certain she's never seen it before." She almost whispered though they were alone.
Dumbledore sat back in his chair, handing the stone over. "Yes." He seemed unsurprised. She tried not to let that bother her. "Filius said she levitated a room full of feathers and chairs accidentally. It can be rather alarming."
"This has happened before?" Students often had accidents such as this under stress or when discovering a particular strength in a subject, but it was accidental magic; it wasn't this specific or consistent. Certainly there were gifted students and students whose magic seemed to be stronger than others, but Miss Green had seemed so, well, surprised as well. Perhaps that was what was unnerving McGonagall. She did not seem to have control.
"Now you see the particular challenge with Anna." The headmaster pressed his fingertips together. "Most children we see," He looked at her but also far away. "Have some magical ability. We help them flesh it out, amplify it, channel it productively, control it. Anna could easily do, I would hazard a guess, anything you asked her taught in the first three years or so. Her challenge, why it's so important for her you be here, is she needs our help,"
"To control it." She finished for him.
"Indeed."
"Then, I can't treat her as I would any other student! She's not like any other student."
"As you must." His back was to her, his voice low as he fed Fawkes.
She was turning to go, but she hesitated, clutching the blue stone tightly. "Is her name even Anna Green?"
"Her name is Anna."
-00—
Sirius took a bite of his apple. He'd already scarfed down the sandwiches the kid had nicked for him. Having had his fill of water from the stream—fresher than the lake and more private—he was more than happy to have his delivery of long needed nourishment.
"How is it you're not afraid of me?" He asked. He wished she'd speak. It had been ages since anyone had said a word to him. Well, the other inmates sometimes screamed. And a few people had spoken to his dog form—'go away' or 'who's a good boy?', that type of thing—but he so longed to hear a human voice. She wouldn't say a word.
"You have a death wish?" He crunched on the fruit again.
She shook her head.
"I just can't figure out how you knew I wasn't just a dog." He thought aloud. "You don't talk at all or should I be personally affronted?"
She shook her head again, pressing her lips together as if to indicate her silence. "Really?" He laughed, beaming at the company, regardless. "Why not?"
It took a moment She reached into her pocket and handed him a news clipping. He took it, thinking he knew what it was about him, but it was not.
"Family slaughtered. Muggle Thomas Green took his family of four on a camping trip Thursday, July 31st, and ended it by killing his wife, son, and then himself at Green Leaf Ridge. His step daughter survived the attack. Her name is not being released at this time. She is recovering. No motive has been discovered at this time and friends of Thomas are astounded. Some reports that Thomas had been treated for alcoholism have surfaced, but it is unknown if he had been drinking at the time."
"That's you?" He asked. She nodded, taking it back. She folded it with care and put it back in her pocket. He blew out a long breath of air. "I'm sorry." She nodded in acceptance, eyes on the ground as it were interesting.
"I'm innocent, you know?" He said after a while. He knew his protests, his twelve year mantra, fell on deaf ears. He said it only to say something, knowing she'd leave soon. To his surprise, she nodded. "You do?" He almost fell forward. "How?"
She thought for a minute, then bent down over a patch of undisturbed powder. In the snow, she began scribbling. He was craning his neck when she withdrew another paper and tossed it at him. She pointed to the word "Peter" then her symbols in the dirt.
She had drawn a square, next to it a compass of north, south, east and west. On his knees, he studied it. "A map!" He nearly shouted. "The map?" She nodded, smiling as he took her shoulders. "You have it?"
No. Damn. They were both disappointed. "Harry! Harry or Remus have to get the map, Dumbledore or someone. If they see Peter, they'll know! Can you try to get that to happen, my clever friend?" Perhaps he had not lost his charm after all.
She nodded again, smiling tentatively. "Haha!" He gave her a loud smacking kiss on the cheek. Maybe he could get though to to them before they could hex him after all. She reached into her deep pockets and pulled out another gift. Soap and toothbrush. He shook with laughter, getting only an urgent finger pressed to her lips in return.
The noise attracted them, the burst of happiness. They swarmed like angry hornets. He had not felt the approach at first because it was already so cold. Swooping down, greedily. She couldn't outrun them, and he knew she wouldn't know a patronus charm yet. Knowing it was a betrayal of trust, he grabbed her wand.
Concentrating very hard on the smiling faces of James and Remus, he shouted, "Expecto patronum!"
The charm allowed them some cover. He told her to run, transforming back into a dog. She grabbed the wand, looking back at him with some unreadable expression, then raced off into the forest back towards the castle. He drew them away, running deeper into the forest. He'd follow her tracks later and make sure she made it back, he told himself, whoever she was. Anna, he recalled, her name was Anna.
-00-
A/N: Who would you like to see more of next? It's Christmas, after all. Your wish is my command. Now, click, click. you can do it. happy birthday to me.