Ok, it took a while for me to update. Various reasons for that. One, I had writer's block for this story. Two, the lack of response I got for the last chapter, which I'd put a lot of effort into, didn't really help my enthusiasm for this. I really need people to tell me what they think otherwise it feels like I'm working for nothing, you know?
Even if it's to say something simple like 'I liked it' or whatever, please just comment.
"I think he's going to hate me for the rest of his life." Anna sighed regretfully as she watched Harry glare at Umbridge's head.
Nobody had taken Hagrid being on probation very well, not even the Slytherins who were far from being the half-giant's biggest fans. The man was, if nothing else, very enthusiastic about his job and that helped with the reluctance many felt about the dangerous creatures he picked. In fact, his glee at his job made it very difficult for any student to really want him to get fired, no matter how singed their robes got, so Umbridge's presence was perceived as even more unpleasant than it normally would.
"Well, if it weren't for you the 'rest of his life' wouldn't be very long so I think he'll get over it." Daphne glanced at the scarred boy and concealed a wince at his heated glare, even if it wasn't directed at her. "Eventually."
"Well, if it weren't for me the 'rest of his life' wouldn't have been in danger in the first place. So-" Anna began but Draco hushed her.
"Honestly, Annabelle." He scowled. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself with regards to what could have been if you hadn't existed. Boo hoo, deal with it."
"I am dealing with it." His cousin pouted slightly but turned away from him to listen to Hagrid's -admittedly nervous- rambling. She wasn't feeling sorry for herself. Definitely not, decidedly not. Nope, never.
Theo's arm wrapped itself around her hip and pulled her closer. With an air of satisfaction he leaned closer and started laying soft pecks on her neck under her scarf, trying to distract her. She ignored him to the best of her abilities, even when he started nibbling on her earlobe softly. His breath on her skin almost made her squirm but she kept her eyes stubbornly fixated on the huge man even if she wasn't actually listening anymore. They don't get to just accuse her of stuff and then try to distract her from class.
It took a few more minutes for her moody fit to escalate but when it did she pulled out of her boyfriend's grip, glaring at him over her shoulder. The smirk he threw back at her made her narrow her eyes at him and she moved over to where Vincent and Gregory were standing, watching the teacher silently. She smiled up at them for a second before taking their arms and planting herself between her with a huff.
She was the one getting things done, thank you very much, she didn't need to feel sorry for herself. There was nothing to feel sorry about. Anna's life was-
There was a sudden heat in one of her pockets and she bit her lip in frustration. What could possibly be important enough for her uncle to contact her during the day? During the time he knew she had classes?
"Excuse me, professor?" She put up her hand, halting his speech on Kneazles and making both him and the rest of the class turn to her. "I'm very sorry to interrupt your class, but I'm not feeling very well. Could I go see Madam Pomfrey to see if everything's alright?"
"Yeh, of course Connors!" He looked at her worriedly but Umbridge had a frown on her face.
Wether it was that Anna never showed her a comparable amount of respect -so she read other books in her class or outright didn't show up- or that she didn't believe the whole 'sick' excuse she didn't care. Anna knew for a fact -according to Snape- that Dumbledore had told the teachers to let her be when she felt badly. Maybe it was a bit of guilt for doing this to her, she supposed. Most of the teachers never made a big deal out of it; since her grades didn't suffer from missing out none of them really minded even when she 'felt too bad to get out of bed' in the mornings when in reality she spent her hours in the library. Less children in the classroom meant more attention for those who need it.
"D'you need someone to take you? Nott maybe?" Hagrid added.
Of course it was common knowledge that she relied on him, what with their relationship and everything, but she was not in the mood for his company at the moment.
"Oh, no. It's just some nausea, no dizziness so I can walk fine on my own. I don't need help." She smiled kindly at the teacher and turned around, lifting her chin at the questioning looks of her friends which swiftly turned indignant at being left behind. Who said she couldn't be petty?
It didn't take very long for her to get to the infirmary. There she asked Madam Pomfrey for something against stomach acid and them moved on. Obviously, she needed a cover in case Hagrid checked to see if she had indeed gone to the matron. Most probably, he wouldn't, but one could never be too careful. Dumbledore knew she was up to something, as long as he couldn't prove it she was fine, but if one of his lackeys even got the faintest suspicion something was wrong then... Better not to test her luck, she supposed.
The woman looked at her face carefully before giving her the potion and sending her on her way. Seeing as Anna's health had always been a questionable matter before the second ceremony, Anna supposed that it was a reasonable reaction. Still, better not attract too much of Pomfrey's attention, otherwise she might notice that the whole core-potion-death-problem thing was resolved and go to the Headmaster about it. Again, that was all the proof he'd need to go to the Minister and 'ruin' everything by having actual proof that the Dark Lord was back.
It had been a short while since the heat of the mirror had vanished by the time she sat down in her desk chair and pulled the small silver trinket out. It was pretty, she supposed. It had all these carved flowers and runes that held the spell in place. There were a few runes that were outdated, could be replaced with more modern ones that used less magic and had the same effect, but she supposed that's what you get with old family heirlooms.
"Yes, uncle?" Anna sighed into the image of herself.
It was a few seconds before it shifted to look like Lucius Malfoy. He was pale, as he usually was lately, and he looked more tired that when she'd last seen him.
"Anna." He looked relieved to see her. "I'm sorry about this, having to talk to you so suddenly must have made you jump through a quite a few hoops-"
"Nothing I can't manage, Uncle." She dismissed it, her annoyance vanishing before his apparent anxiety. "What is it?"
"Two things. Firstly;" He licked his lips. "Our Lord requested that I tell you that he'll be speaking to Rookwood and Avery to iron out the details and finish preparations on the whole Department of Mysteries situation. So, to clarify, he wants you to keep an eye on Potter since he'll be getting into his head despite Snape's occlumency classes and-"
"Breaking into his head while defenses are being created can leave behind visible traces such as but not limited to paranoia, hallucinations, memory loss, delusions, and sudden loss of consciousness." Anna nodded. "All of which would attract Dumbledore's attention and he'd put a definite stop to it by shielding Harry's mind artificially himself. I understand."
"Good." Her uncle offered her a tight smile. "Now for the reason as to why I called you so urgently... I just got back from Gringotts."
"Gringotts?" She raised her eyebrows. "Alright, I guess. What's so special about that?"
"I went on his orders." Lucius took a deep breath. "To check on his diary."
Anna paled, her mouth falling open in a horrified expression. "Shit."
"Indeed." He nodded, looking down and shutting his eyes. "I told him everything was fine- he believed me, I have no reason to lie as far as he's concerned and I'm sure he thinks that he would have felt if something were really wrong anyway. But the problem now is that-" The man took a deep breath before looking back up at her with regret in his eyes. "I told him nothing was wrong because we had chosen not to mention anything to him when he came back... you didn't want him to know and now- now, in order for him to take it in a manner in which he wouldn't kill us all you would have had to be the one to tell him."
"But now that you told him it was fine I will never be able to tell him, he'd kill us all for lying twice and for so long." She groaned. "Now we have no choice but to keep it a secret for who knows how long. If he gets even the tiniest bit suspicious he could ask you to take it to him and then we'd definitely be screwed."
"To put it mildly." He nodded. "I thought you ought to know so you could adapt your plans accordingly. I apologize for not telling you before I went."
"Fantastic." Anna groaned, rubbing the side of her face with a hand. "It's fine, though, Uncle. It's the best possible outcome for us at the moment anyway."
"Alright, Anna." Lucius attempted a smile. "What class are you missing now?"
She shrugged. "I left in the middle of Care of Magical creatures. I suppose Herbology must have started already."
"Planning on rejoining?" He smirked.
"Oh, no. I'm planning on reshaping my plans and then taking a nap." Anna sighed. "Draco and the others may become worried but it serves them right."
"I won't ask." He told her dryly. "I will take my leave now. Your father and uncle send you their love, your mother sends her greetings."
"Lovely. Return the sentiments, please Uncle, and tell aunt Narcissa I send my love as well." She stood, blowing him a kiss, and put the mirror away once the connection was cut off.
How about that nap?
"So what do you think?" George murmured, walking with his twin away from the crowd that was heading back to the dormitories after dinner.
His brother shrugged, casting a silent glance over his shoulder before stepping into a secret passageway like a shadow. Both of them knew these places by heart, and this was the best for secret discussions. The mirror on the fourth floor hid a passageway wide enough to be a classroom and it lit up as soon as somebody stepped inside. The light was safe though, the mirror by the entrance covered the whole enough that it wasn't seen outside.
The twins plopped down on a couple of armchairs. At the beginning of their entrepreneurship they hadn't wanted to spend any of the money Harry had given them on anything unnecessary; they could just as easily sit on the floor after a few cleaning charms. When Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes took off, though, they and Lee felt that it was time to invest in their potions lab. They'd sent for a few desks for them to brew and experiment on, a few bookcases they could use as storage, and a couple of armchairs for them to lounge on as they waited. It wasn't hard, all they had to do was send a letter to Wiseacre's with the money and he took care of it all for him, trustworthy chap he was.
The place came in handy in moments like this one, where they had to discuss things that were better unheard by others. The common room was too crowded, anyone could overhear. Empty classrooms, the dormitories, the grounds, all those places were ones in which they could either easily be interrupted or where they would look suspicious sitting by themselves and whispering. This was better.
"I don't know, Georgie." Fred sighed, slipping his robe off and casting a heating charm on the 'room'. "She's... unnerving. It's like she's powerful, we could feel it back then, and she doesn't just have control over it, she likes flaunting it. How can we trust someone like that?"
"Why would she lie though?" George argued. "She had every opportunity to get rid of us and our suspicions, and yet instead of doing that she tells us something that could get her killed if the wrong people found out and makes us... a -frankly- very tempting offer."
"What if she's lying though?" His twin shook his head. "She's lied to Harry this whole time. She knows that something's wrong with him and yet she lets it continue because... why was it?"
"Something about it doing more good than harm for the time being." The younger shrugged. "If it's a lie though- I think it's too big and risky of a lie to tell. Don't you think? If she wanted to fool us into helping her she could have claimed that she was doing everything against her will, that she was a good person really... anything to make her seem more sympathetic. Yet she tells us that she's not doing any of it to be a good person but rather for revenge and that she wants to minimize the damage while she's at it."
"Talking about hunted and murdered muggleborns as if they were just irksome occurrences which would bite her in the ass later, not as if they were horrible things that shouldn't happen." Fred scowled. "Is she that heartless or-?"
"Maybe, maybe not. At the time we did sort of ambush her." George squinted at his hands. "And she was using the whole I'm not doing this to be good pitch so maybe she thought that seeming like she actually cared might make us more suspicious. I don't know!" He threw his arms up in the air.
"What I do know is that you're right." Fred nodded. "It's too big and too dangerous a lie for her to tell. She seems too smart for that. If she's indeed not lying then this is a way for us to help people in a much bigger way than the Order. From what we've overheard all they have for hiding muggleborns are a few houses of people in the order, people they'll be looking for anyway. We can help more by-"
"By doing as she says? Serving her?" George scoffed. "We won't do that and you know it. She may be... but no."
"Working with her, I was going to say." His brother frowned at what his brother failed to say. He was right, though. The magic she'd let loose the last time they'd been with her had been dangerous and yet they'd felt drawn to it. She was captivatingly powerful and that was dangerous. That was how they'd been told Voldemort had roped in his first followers. "We'll make it clear to her that we're not going to be her lap dogs like the rest of them."
"Speaking of lap dogs; best we go find one and tell them to set up a meeting with her, then." George stood up. "If we've made up our minds that is."
"I suppose we have." His brother sighed.
Together they carefully left the hidden chamber, making sure the lights were off, the heating charms were disabled and that nobody was outside when they stepped out. The corridor was empty, as it was after dinner and curfew had probably already passed. Some of the paintings looked down at them with disapproving eyes but didn't talk to them and didn't make to leave their frames to inform anyone of their presence.
One of the twins lit up his wand slightly to where the other pulled out the Marauders' Map. After it was activated their eyes roamed over the dungeons as they knew that Lestrange had the prefects in her pockets and that all the prefects had to make sure nobody was out of bed after curfew so they'd be out patrolling the corridors.
"There." Fred muttered, pointing at a tiny black dot on the outskirts of the potions hallway.
After a nod from his twin, both boys started moving, keeping to the walls and away from windows. They were used to walking around the castle at night, but somehow this felt different. Their silent footsteps made the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end and their hearts were at their throats. This was different than moving about to set up a prank, this was sneaking in a castle controlled by a psychopath to meet up with a lackey of a sociopath to plot about bringing down another psychopath behind their family's and friends' backs. It was different.
Some time later they were pressed up into a dark corner, looking into a hallway that was barely lit by the torches on the walls. Identical blue eyes looked out from the shadows, barely reflecting any light. Footsteps approached, causing them to hold their breath lest they be noticed.
In the dark they could see a girl, Slytherin crest on her chest reflecting candlelight and black hair cut into a neat bob. Parkinson of course; she was more approachable than Malfoy if only by a tiny margin.
Fred and George glanced at each other. That was it. If they called out to her, they were involved, no way out. The younger clenched his brother's hand tightly before letting it go and clearing his throat.
"Parkinson." He called out.
The girl jumped, whirling around with her wand drawn and eyes narrowed. They'd never actually seen her react to a threat, or act in any way different to the prissy, spoiled brat she normally was. She was different now, though, as she stepped forwards with her wand drawn and her center of gravity lowered. Parkinson looked more mature, more threatening, and definitely not like the little girl they'd always thought she was.
"Who's there?" She demanded, voice colder and more serious than they'd ever heard.
"It's us, alright? Didn't Lestrange tell you we might drop by?" Fred stepped out of the corner, hands held up in front of him. "She told us to approach one of you."
A second passed before she nodded, face less hostile and more neutral. "She mentioned that, yes." The hand with the wand lowered but she didn't stash it away and with the other she motioned for them all to step into one of the potions labs, waving the wand to open the door.
"Woah, how can you open these?" One of them groaned.
"Yeah, because we tried once and Snape-"
"Anna told Snape to give us access to all the rooms he controls in case there's an emergency." Pansy told them. "We know Snape is part of the order too and as of now his loyalties to either side are questionable so don't tell him of this cooperation. This is only on a need to know basis."
"And you're on that basis, huh?" Fred prodded, standing maybe a bit closer than necessary. Never let it be said that he didn't like intimidating snakes with which he'd had arguments for the last five years.
To her credit, Parkinson only looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and made no move to step back, even when she barely reached his nose.
"The ones who need to know are the ones that are either unquestionably on her side or working with her for their own trustworthy purposes like you." She smirked. "You're only going to be working with us on the muggleborn thing though, you don't need to know anything else."
George snickered from his spot on a table. "Wow, she's got you calling them muggleborns? You must really like her."
"She has reasonable points against offensive terminology such as 'mudblood' but don't think that we won't use it in front of other Death Eaters. Calling them muggleborns is practically suicide if you're in the wrong crowd." Pansy huffed.
"Wouldn't she protect you from that, though?" Fred frowned. "I mean, you're her friend and a seemingly important piece in the puzzle."
"If I made the stupid mistake of revealing myself I wouldn't have been worth being an important piece in the first place. I would have been a liability and if she doesn't get rid of those personally Draco does it for her." Pansy studied them carefully before waving the conversation off dismissively. "But we're not here to talk about me. You want a meeting with Anna." She sat down on a desk and crossed her legs. "Valentine's day in the private room at the Three Broomsticks. She's having a date with Theo there so you'd do best to show up... somewhere around four."
"On Valentine's? Isn't that a private day? I don't think she'd want to do business-"
"What Anna wants to do in her free time is irrelevant." Pansy cut him off. "That day everyone will be occupied having their romantic day out, it's perfect to come and go unnoticed. There won't be a better opportunity and if she has a problem with it she'll swallow it because this is more important."
The strict tone in which she talked of Lestrange surprised them. They'd thought they were her followers like the Death Eaters were Voldemort's, not people who actually spoke their minds and told her what to do every so often. Not equals.
"Alright." They chorussed and got up to leave. The door was open and they'd almost left it when Fred turned to look at her again. He could barely make out the hazel of her eyes through the dark but they were clear and looking directly at him, lacking the disgust he usually saw when she and her peers looked at them.
"You've been surprisingly civil, Parkinson." He noted, ignoring the relief he remembered feeling when she hadn't insulted them the second she saw them. As much as anyone might ignore others and not care bout what they say, words still sting sometimes.
The girl sniffed delicately. "As long as you're working with Anna I have no reason to be hostile, Frederick. Your social status is dismissed by your allegiance and the whole blood traitor thing... what we're doing isn't exactly promoting the purification of magical society, now is it?" Then she shrugged. "Mostly it's that you're providing a solution for a problem, nothing more and nothing less."
The twins glanced at each other in surprise before watching her walk away, down the hall to where they guessed the Slytherin Common Room was. As they listened to the tapping of fancy shoes on the stones they realized that she hadn't just recognized which one was talking, but she also knew his full name. The name he only used on official registers and had never been called in public by anyone, not even during his sorting. Someone had clearly done their homework on them.
Anna smirked as she felt Theo gasp, her teeth lightly scraping over the skin of his neck. Clearly, he'd forgotten that two people could play that game. The teasing game. Her hand clenched on the locks of his hair she was holding and gently pulled his head further back. His eyes were wide and blank as he looked at the ceiling without really seeing it, biting his lip as he held on to her. One hand was on her waist with fingers rubbing circles under her shirt and the other hand was on her thigh where she was straddling him, also slightly under the fabric of her skirt where he felt the smooth pantyhose under his fingertips.
She pulled back from his neck and straightened up, hips resting against his chest and hands on his shoulders, slightly tugging at the collar of his dress shirt. He was flushed, looking at her in a daze as if she'd hung the moon.
The heat of the fireplace behind her urged her on, but she kept her wits about her. They were still young, they had time after today, but they didn't actually have much more time today.
Theo's mouth on the joint between her neck and shoulder was a good way of persuading her, though, she pondered as her hands moved to unbutton his shirt. He bit her, making her eyes snap open as she scratched at his bare shoulders. She could feel the smirk on his lips as he moved along her collarbone with his mouth and his hands started moving further up her stomach under her shirt. One of his hands -larger than her own- rested on the small of her back and with the other he passed his fingers over the lace on the bottom of her bra.
A loud knocking suddenly sounded on the door and Theo froze, lips still parted against her skin.
"Yes?" Anna called.
"We're here, open up before Rosmerta sees us." The voice of one of the Weasleys sounded on the other side. "She was already eyeing this place as if she thought you were doing the nasty."
Anna rolled her eyes and stood up, motioning for Theo to go open the door. He, in turn, rolled his eyes at her but walked away. As she sat down on one of the single armchairs, crossing her legs and fixing her clothes slightly, she watched bemusedly as the twins paused before entering. They probably hadn't been expecting Theo to open the door without closing his shirt, she most certainly hadn't.
"Well, let them in, love." She called over, popping one of the bonbons from the pretty box on the table in her mouth. White chocolate and mouse, delicious.
A second later both of the redheads had taken a seat on the couch and Theo was leaning against the side of her chair. While her boyfriend seemed unperturbed by their presence, she knew that wasn't so. And while it also seemed like the other two were completely calm and collected, she knew that they were forcing their eyes to stay away from her and Theo's rumpled clothing and reddened necks. She almost smirked. Boys.
"Tea, coffee, cocoa?" She offered, taking her wand from the table and pointing it at a tray on the other side of the room. It floated over gently, coming back down on the smaller coffee table.
"Just-" Fred cleared his throat. "Just tea's fine, for both of us."
Once the cups were in their hands Anna cleared her throat. "Pansy told me you seemed quite... convinced about your decision."
"We are, for the most part." Fred nodded. "It's just... we want to help people. Eventually we're going to join the Order, but if this works out with the muggleborns don't you think we could help with more?"
"More? We've got more than enough to do with just this. It'll be a constant job." Anna raised her eyebrows. "Theo, how far are we with the preparations for the muggleborn hiding?"
"Our friends in the Ministry have located the muggleborn register and are busy trying to find access to it, but our friend in the school board already has a list of all the current students of muggle descent and the future students of the next four years... since as you know we start taking note of them after they start doing accidental magic at the age of seven." Theo started off, drawling in a bored tone which he used when talking in a situation he wanted to escape. "Daphne has arranged the supply lines for food and other such necessities with her family's foreign business contacts, mostly from the Baltic area. All of them have been sworn to secrecy with an Unbreakable Vow stating their silence on the matter until Voldemort's death. It's all being funded by various magical companies that want to improve their public image.
All we need is a few smaller temporary locations and a bigger one to keep them in. Then if push comes to shove we'll have to use the Greengrass', Zabini's, the Parkinsons', the Malfoys', the Crabbes', the Goyles', and my own foreign houses, but I doubt it'll get to the point in which we have to use all of them. Since each can house about three hundred if all rooms including living, dining, drawing and ballrooms are used."
"How many people are we looking at?" She questioned.
"About three hundred students currently." He told them. "You need to take their families into consideration... the muggleborn ministry workers will be 'convicted' first along with the students and all of their families... We have time to finish preparations until he takes over the Ministry at the latest. Let's say that we should start hiding them through next year, the ones that don't get out of the country by themselves that is, which would be the generations that weren't hunted in the last war..."
"So we need to start hiding and moving out muggleborns as soon as possible." Anna told the twins. "There's a lot of them and we need to start setting up exit points."
"We're going to have a shop in Diagon Alley." George piped up. "Lots of people go there every day, it wouldn't attract any attention if a bunch of people came in. We've got an eye on one place which has a storage basement which is pretty large; they can stay there until someone shows up to take them to the larger places."
Anna nodded. "That's good. And if one of us is unavailable I suppose you could take them after closing time. Agatha's is in Knockturn Alley, they'd attract too much attention by going in there. We'll look for a few more houses to get them out of. All we need now is a place."
It was silent for a while before Fred shrugged, putting down his cup. "Alright. While you're figuring that out, let's clarify a few things."
"One: you're going to keep out whole family out of trouble no matter what. Particularly the ones working at the Ministry. Even Percy, as much of a prick as he might be." George started.
"Two: you keep us out of trouble and you keep us in the loop. We want to know what's going on and we want to help." Fred continued, holding two fingers up.
"Keep you in the loop?" Anna chuckled. "What do you mean by that?"
Truly, she was glad to see they weren't as hostile or catatonic as last time. This was going much more smoothly than she'd expected, even if Theo was still standing stiffly and looking away from them stubbornly. What was up with him?
"Well, for one, how are you planning on killing him?" Fred demanded.
Anna paused, weighing her answer. These two would be valuable, if she lied she could loose them but the truth was a bit much. She was having a hard time accepting it herself.
"There are some objects keeping him alive, tying him to life. I have to destroy them but first I have to find out what and where they are." She admitted. "I need to gain his trust so he'll tell me. I only know of two at the moment but I know there must be more."
"What are those two?" George looked at her earnestly, eagerly.
Beside her she saw Theo stiffen completely, his jaw clenching and his hands becoming fists. If she told them they might react badly, and he definitely would too. Was that preferable to lying? Was that preferable to them knowing the truth?
"A diary and a family heirloom of his." She partially lied, swallowing the guilt. She didn't like lying to her allies, even if it was for a good reason. "And they're very difficult to destroy because of the dark magic around them."
"But you can, right?" Fred prodded. "You know how to?"
"Most I do have to wait until I have all of them because otherwise he might become aware of what's going on." Anna nodded.
"Okay... then what about Harry?"
"What about him?"
"What are you going to do to him?" They asked in unison.
"Me? Nothing." She shrugged. "He is going to get into his head this year to try to get something from the Ministry. My uncle will be among the ones to pick it and he'll make sure that Harry survives and that the object does not."
"The one he keeps dreaming of? The one the snake almost killed dad to get to?"
"Yes." Anna nodded. "He needs it to be able to kill Harry so we'll get rid of it."
"And you'll just let him get into Harry's head? No problem?" George scowled. "You call yourself his friend?"
"Haven't you heard anything of what she just said?" Theo growled. "She needs the Dark Lord to trust her, she can't just go around doing something so problematic so openly. Besides, Potter'll be fine. Once he gets the hang of occlumency it'll be more detrimental for Voldemort to keep the barrier open since Potter will be able to reverse it and look into his mind so that'll all stop."
There was a tense silence in which the twins kept their eyes down and away from her. Of course, she didn't let that stop her from standing up and walking to the other side of the fireplace, where she picked up Theo's discarded tie. She rubbed the soft silk between her fingers as she walked over to her boyfriend.
Ignoring the way the three boys stared, she closed his shirt button by button and pulled the collar upwards. Then she smoothed out the fabric across his chest and wrapped the tie around his neck, tying it swiftly and refolding the collar. She straightened the tie slightly, pecking him softly on the cheek, and moved to the table where his dress coat was hanging. Anna helped him get it on, pulling slightly on the lapels before closing the buttons and turning around to the only mirror in the room. She looked presentable, only a few strands of hair out of place which she fixed quickly enough.
With just a few steps she was standing in front of both of the redheaded boys, looking down at them. Anna smiled gently and cupped their faces, slightly tracing their lips with her thumbs, feeling Theo's eyes burn a hole in the back of her head.
"While you're here at Hogwarts, you'll be under my protection. As long as Dumbledore doesn't realize you're working with me, anything goes. Just tell me so I can be prepared and I can make sure the Inquisitorial Squad doesn't accidentally hinder your plans." Her eyes crinkled with smile lines. "Once you're out, do try to not test your luck or my abilities. The less eyes watching our interactions the better. Help me with the muggleborns and I'll not just keep you and your loved ones safe, I'll probably trust you with more jobs and information. Alright?"
The boys looked at each other from the corner of their eyes before nodding. "We can do that."
"Good." Her lips stretched into a predatory smile as she let go of their faces.
She extended a hand and suddenly Theodore was there, offering his arm and leading her away. His face was stern. It was quite difficult to suppress the smirk of contentment that was threatening to emerge on her face. So what if she liked making him jealous? It was only a tiny bit.
"Do stay in here as long as you like." She called over her shoulder. "We payed for the room until six!"
They hadn't finished coming down the steps when she felt her boyfriend's lips get really close to her ear.
"What the hell was that?"
She batted her eyelashes at him cheekily. "What was what?"
Harry frowned in puzzlement, looking over Skeeter's shoulder to where Fred and George walked down the stairs. Hadn't Anna and Nott just come down from there fifteen minutes ago? He didn't remember seeing the twins go up after the other two left and there was only one room. They couldn't have been in the same room, could they? Maybe he's just missed them going up...
Flashes of the angry glares the twins had been sending Anna's way all year suddenly came to mind. Right, absolutely impossible... but then... it'd been a while since he'd seen them glower at her. Harry had talked to her and everything without them showing up to chase her away like at the beginning of the year. Could there maybe-?
"Harry?" Hermione cut off his train of thought. "Rita asked you a question. I know you're upset about your argument with Cho but could you please try to pay attention?"