"I advise you two not to get too close to me now," Rose warned through gritted teeth as she saw James and Ronan approaching her in the nearly empty common room. Most of the students who were staying at Hogwarts over Christmas break indulged in a lie-in – the ball ended well past midnight the night before.
"Come on, Rosie," grinned Ronan. He was in light spirits, since his evening with Dominique Weasley went well beyond his hopes, and he had already made arrangements for them to go to Hogsmeade together the following weekend. "If you think about it, it's us who did you a favor. Being seen arm in arm with Lennox McKinnon is every girl's dream."
"Oh yes," Rose rolled her eyes. She was slumped in an armchair, too tired to throw something at him. "He couldn't get his hands off me even while we were dancing, that was really embarrassing, Ronan, you know? I only managed to shake him off by telling him I'm going to the bathroom and making it for the exit unnoticed. And to top it all off, Anna hates me now because she thinks I ruined her date…"
"And it didn't even help me get near Anna," James sighed gloomily, "I spent all evening with Molly, dancing with her and comforting her to take her mind off that cow Lavinia Malfoy…"
"Molly really appreciated it, though," noted Rose," she told me later she would have ended up crying in the loo all evening if you didn't go banging on the door and calling for her to get out."
… Fiona and Jeremy arrived in time for Christmas lunch the following day, and were met with boundless enthusiasm on the side of Celena, who pulled her daughter and her future son-in-law into a heartfelt embrace.
Anna was unsurprised to see that the upcoming nuptials did nothing to change her sister's taste in clothing. Fiona was wearing old, rather shabby robes, her hair was cut short as usual and her face was devoid of any trace of makeup. Even though, it was plain to see she glowed with happiness which was mirrored on Jeremy's face when he looked at her.
During lunch, Celena filled the young couple in all that has been going on at Hogwarts.
"I think this reform was the best decision ever," Fiona nodded approvingly, cutting her turkey into small pieces, "hopefully, the young Slytherins will be much better off if they aren't in company with people such as the Malfoys or Travers. And I think it's especially good for Anna to get away from Lavinia Malfoy and her sidekick Gertrude Nott."
Anna looked up from her plate angrily. How dares Fiona talk to her like that, as though she isn't even there!..
"Gertie isn't a sidekick," she said with frostiness worthy of Professor Snape himself, "and Lavinia and I are still best friends."
But were they really? Anna mulled it over as she lapsed into broody silence. She and Lavinia have not exchanged a word since their argument at the ball, and Anna knew it would take no small effort for Lavinia to get down from her high tower. As to herself, she certainly wasn't planning to issue an apology. She had nothing to be sorry for, she told herself with fierce righteousness. The way they were teasing Molly Weasley was dreadful, and she, as Head Girl, was entirely within her rightful obligation to put a stop to it.
"Anna, Marielle wonders if it's okay with you if you two wear silver satin at the wedding," said Jeremy, bringing Anna out of her thoughts. "She has red hair, you see, and pink would clash terribly with it. Or so she asked me to tell you," he added with a grin, "I personally don't have a clue about such things."
"Oh," said Anna, inwardly waving a little sad goodbye to her dream of a bridesmaid's dress in shocking pink. "Yeah, I suppose that would be fine."
"I'll take you girls to Diagon Alley in a few days," said Celena, looking fondly at her two daughters, "we have to get your dresses ordered, and we must also pick something up for you, Severus."
"I have at least a dozen perfectly good sets of dress robes, dear," said Severus with unusual mildness.
"But this is your daughter's wedding!" protested Celena, "No, I'll take your measurements myself and buy you new dress robes, Severus. The same goes for you, Sep. Jeremy, I expect Mrs. Hawthorn has you covered on that score?"
"Yes, Ma'am," smiled Jeremy, while Septimus scowled.
A shopping trip to Diagon Alley! This lifted Anna's spirits, which have been low ever since she got openly ditched by Lennox McKinnon during the ball. This experience was new to her, and it stung. She just couldn't explain it. Sure, Rose was a nice girl and not bad-looking, but this was quite unexpected. Anna had refused to speak to both Lennox and Rose, and dreaded the upcoming return of Quidditch training sessions. It even crossed her mind once or twice to resign from the team.
To Anna's credit, it must be said that for the very first time in her life, she put her foot down and refused to go along with Lavinia Malfoy's plan concerning the interview in "The Pureblood Visionary." In the end, however, it didn't matter much, as even her refusal to speak was incorporated into the interview in a most incriminating way, and when she was summoned to her father's office she wasn't surprised to see Severus Snape in a state of cold fury.
"So," he hissed, "I should have expected this – more moves of a guerilla war from the group of anonymous Slytherins."
"What are you talking about, Daddy?" Anna asked, doing her best to keep her face blank.
"This," said Snape, holding up a fresh copy of The Pureblood Visionary between his forefinger and thumb, as if it was something ugly and contaminated, "those arrogant wolverines have done an article about the Hogwarts reform."
"An article?" repeated Anna.
Snape held up the paper and read selected phrases aloud, pacing back and forth behind his desk.
"Purebloods at Hogwarts deprived of their natural rights…" he sneered, "the board of governors dictating wishy-washy Muggle-loving nonsense… predictable, to sum it up. But the truly interesting part is in the last paragraph."
"What is that, Daddy?" Anna asked with an ominous feeling.
"We managed to obtain some detailed comments about the suffocating regime at Hogwarts school from the students who have suffered most at its hands. Lavinia Malfoy, daughter to the well-known Mr. Draco Malfoy and heiress to one of the most prominent pure-blood families in Britain, says:
'They broke us apart and placed us randomly in houses where we do not belong. We all suffer, but we are afraid to say something about it.'
It is rumored that Head Girl Anna Snape, daughter of the Headmaster Severus Snape, whose rightful authority at Hogwarts had been grievously damaged by the interference of the school governors, attempted to bring up the students' plea when the board of governors first met at the beginning of this school year. When we contacted Anna to set a date for an interview, though, we met with refusal which, as Anna hinted, was rooted in her fear to do damage to her father's career."
Snape put down the paper and looked at Anna expectantly.
"I did not hint anything!" she said angrily, "I only said I'm not going to give them an interview, that's all!"
"I sure hope so," said Snape, his eyes glinting dangerously, "and I will pretend to believe you knew nothing about this article beforehand. But between you and me, Anna, I will tell you it's time for you to grow up and stop giving so much credit to the judgment of Lavinia Malfoy."