Sorry for the wait! I had a distinct lack of motivation for this, and I really didn't know where to start it or where to end it... It was a mess, but hopefully the chapter turned out alright?
Last time I didn't get any reviews, which I must admit was rather hurtful. I would really appreciate it if anyone would say anything. Otherwise it really feels like I'm doing all this work and getting zero appreciation for it...
"Thank you for coming, goodnight!"
Pansy's voice could be heard down the hall, exchanging final pleasantries and rounding up conversations as most of the guests took their leave. It took a while, of course, since not all the guests could apparate and thus had to wait in line to leave via the fireplace. It was a necessary evil, though, as she had to keep up appearances of things being perfectly in order. Her birthday was a cause for celebration and while some of her acquaintances had seemed hesitant of attending at first -her parents had been suspected Death Eaters in the last war- eventually everyone had relaxed. It also had helped that no adults had been in the house during the party.
Anna, for her part, had kept to the sidelines. She'd talked with her friends, caught up with some people she pretended she hadn't seen since they'd left Hogwarts -to be perfectly honest with most ex-alumni she knew she had only talked about the war until now so it was a welcome change- and drank. Quite a bit. That was fine though, since Theo had stuck to her side all night and had drank only slightly less than her. They'd had fun for the first time in a while.
"There. Finally!" Pansy came back into the drawing room, tiredly letting herself fall on a couch and leaned on Draco. "I thought they'd never leave. Parties are fun and all, but eventually I stop caring about what dear Angelica did in Monte Carlo last weekend and how many people Isaac gets to snog in one evening."
"For the record, it was five." Draco supplied, covering a yawn with one hand and running the other through his now messy hair. "But I get what you mean. Social circles are important and all, but we all have more important things to worry about."
"Speaking of that… Anna!" Pansy shot up, startling everyone into attention.
Said girl blinked a few times, stilling the caresses she'd been running over Theo's hair and chest as he dozed and looking up at her friend with an alarmed expression. "Yes, Pansy?"
"I haven't had a chance to tell you- I wanted to do it in person and somewhere no Death Eaters could overhear- I'm sorry it took so long-" Pansy was babbling, a side effect of the alcohol she'd had that night. "But you got here late so I also couldn't do it during the party-"
"Pansy!" Anna halted the monologue with a held up hand. "You're starting to worry me. So take a deep breath, gather your wits, and tell me what happened."
The other girl nodded, hurriedly straightening up as she breathed in an out. Draco, beside her, ran a hand soothingly up and down her back, not in the least fazed by the bare skin he touched through her dress' open back. In the mean time the others came to settle down around them. Theo sat up again, wrapping an arm around Anna's shoulders as he made space for Blaise and Daphne to sit. At the other end of the room, Vince pulled Greg to his feet and they both slowly made their way closer. Eventually they were all ready for Pansy to continue talking.
"Well, the night Madam Bones left, I arranged for Fred to meet me out in the back of the house. Just so he could report in person-" She started.
"Was that necessary? A letter would have been enough." Theo frowned. "Just a note, even."
Anna laid a hand on his thighs to quiet him. "If Pansy thought it was necessary then we shouldn't comment. This is her job. Go on."
Pansy grimaced. "I was just worried about their mental state, thought I might gouge it better in person… Anyway, this isn't about the twins- or it is, but not- I mean…" She took another deep breath. "They've been let into the Order, they're attending meetings. Their eldest brother got Dumbledore to let them join, they said they've been working on him for a few weeks."
"Well, that's good." Draco drawled. "We know we have Snape in the Order, but he doesn't know about us. This way we have direct insight."
"Exactly." Pansy nodded adamantly. "Fred told me- right off the bat he told me to tell you- Snape told Dumbledore that the Dark Lord has tasked him to keep an eye on you at school. Both safety and… surveillance wise. They think he might have a reason to suspect disloyalty."
As if on queue, they all turned to look at Anna, who was staring at Pansy impassively. They waited for her reaction, expecting maybe fear or anxiety, even anger, though they knew for sure she'd be worried. However, Anna had no reaction other than pursing her lips and nodding, as if she'd expected such a thing to happen. She got to her feet, moving to pour herself another glass, and waved them off with a hand.
"I see. Thank you for telling me, also thank the twins for their worries, but I assure all of you that there's nothing for you to be concerned about." She took a sip.
"Nothing to…?!" Daphne exclaimed, looking at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Lord Voldemort suspects you of treason and you tell us not to worry?"
"Really, Daphne, I'd expected something like this. We had a talk and-"
"You'd expected it? You expected him to become suspicious of you and you didn't tell us?!" Daphne interrupted her shrilly, surprising them all with her lack of control. "You're putting us all at risk! If he finds out-"
"Daphne." Anna snapped, her eyes hardening until the blonde was quiet. "Do not for one second think that I am taking your cooperation or your safety lightly. Do not. The reason I did not tell you about his suspicions is because he doesn't suspect fucking squat. And if he did, he'd question me himself instead of sending Severus to do it, quite unpleasantly, might I add. No, this all has to do with something else that I really cannot tell you about."
"Anna, what are you talking about?" Theo reasoned. "You know we're here to help you."
"Yes, yes, love. I know." Anna rolled her eyes. "But really, it's best if you don't know about this. I mean it. All the other plans and things, fine, but this is different. It's something he's assigned to me, and as you know that can't be good. It's in all of our best interests to just let him and me be."
"So you're telling us that Snape will be watching all of us and you won't tell us why?" Draco scowled.
"It's a confirmation of my loyalty, not a suspicion of betrayal. There's a difference, Draco." Anna drained her glass. "But besides that, yes, you are correct. I will not be saying anything unless I deem it necessary."
"But-"
"I won't hear another word on the matter." She finished sternly, daring them to refuse.
Although they all seemed far from happy, silence fell.
Sure, they all worked together and made plans together and all that, but Anna was in charge. She'd let them push her around often enough, some times with good reason, but not on this. Anna was not fourteen years old anymore, irrationally thinking that she had to take on the world by herself. In this case, she'd been given an assignment which would be devastating for the light and thus very punishable after the war, even considering what they would achieve to end it, something she didn't want her friends unnecessarily punished for. Also, the effects that successfully completing it would have was not a discussion she wanted to have while inebriated. Or at all, really. It was a delicate question which she'd already made her mind on and she didn't feel like discussing.
It may have been unfair, yes, but in sometimes they forgot about a very important fact of their collaboration. That was that this was not a democracy, and if she made up her mind they should, could, and would not contradict her.
Harry followed Dumbledore towards the back door of the Burrow, a displeased frown on his face. His mentor had refused to give him any information on Anna, or Annabelle as he knew her to be called now. Not who she was or how she'd become that way, not what she was planning or how long he'd known about it, not even what he planned on doing about her.
Every time he thought about the girl, various feelings bubbled up inside him. First was anger at being betrayed, at being used, at being taken for a fool, at the fact that she'd contributed to Sirius' death and mr Weasley's attack, that she knew everything that had been going on and only helped it get worse. Then there was shame at having been tricked so easily, at having possibly believed that a girl like her -a Slytherin capable of handling Malfoy, very smart- would go against the flow of her own house without an ulterior motive. And then there was hope and disbelief. It hadn't seemed like a lie, not her smiles or her friendship, somehow he wanted to be wrong. He wanted Dumbledore to tell him he was mistaken so he could still have that friendship, that companionship that had proven to him that not all members of that house were like Malfoy.
He knew he wasn't wrong, of course, which made him even angrier at himself.
Dumbledore knocked on the door three times and Harry caught movement behind the curtains of the kitchen window. The lights were on so clearly someone must have been up.
"Who's there?" Harry recognised the nervous voice of mrs Weasley. "Declare yourself!"
"It is I, Albus Dumbledore, bringing Harry." The old professor supplied.
The door was swung open in a hurry, bathing the pair outside in sudden light. Mrs Weasley stood at the opening, alert and smiling in a dressing gown as she stowed her wand away in a pocket.
"Harry, dear!" She exclaimed, holding out both hands towards him. Then she turned back to the professor as she embraced the boy. "Gracious, Albus, you gave us a fright! You said not to expect you until morning."
"We were lucky." Albus chuckled, stepping inside as mrs Weasley kept fussing over Harry. "Horace proved much more persuadable than I had expected; Harry's doing, of course. Ah, hello Nymphadora, boys."
Harry turned around as soon as he was able, only to come face to face with the other three inhabitants of the kitchen. Tonks was sitting at the end of the table, hands wrapped around a mug of tea, looking much less colourful than he'd ever seen her. On either side of her sat one of the twins, the colour of their coats as identical as their faces. They seemed startled at seeing him, almost uncomfortable.
That was something too. Seeing how they'd behaved around Anna last year, they must have known something, but they never told him. In the end, they'd even stopped interrupting their interactions altogether. They had to have a reason to not be hostile towards her anymore, and he dreaded what that reason might be. Harry trusted them, he knew they would never side with a Death Eater. They were good.
He'd thought that about her too, though.
"Hello, Professor. Wotcher, Harry." Tonks greeted half-heartedly and made no move to get up.
The twins, on the other hand, did get to their feet, giving Harry hugs and shaking the professor's hand enthusiastically. But as soon as they were done they went back to their seats, both patting Tonks on the back as they did so. George even muttered something to her under his breath. While Tonks made no sign to show she'd heard him, he didn't repeat himself.
The young auror looked ill and faded, and her whole behaviour was more lacklustre than he'd ever seen it. In fact, she seemed to get worse over the few seconds that he'd been there and no sooner had the twins relaxed again in their seats than she was shooting out of her own.
"I'd better be off." She swung the cloak from the back of her chair to her shoulders. "Thanks for the tea and sympathy, Molly." Then she paused. "And I'll get back to you on that, boys."
"Please don't leave on my account." Dumbledore remarked. "I cannot stay, I have urgent matters to discuss with Rufus Scrimgour."
"No, no, I need to get going." Tonks avoided his gaze. "Night-"
"Dear, why not come to dinner this weekend? Remus and Mad-Eye are coming…?" Molly began but Tonks shook her head.
"No, really, Molly. Thanks anyway. Goodnight everyone." She spoke in a hurry as she left the kitchen, taking only a few steps out of the door before apparating away.
Harry looked around the room curiously, noticing that mrs Weasley looked troubled and that the twins were already muttering amongst themselves, their eyes fixed on the spot the young auror had just vacated.
"Well, I shall see you at Hogwarts, Harry." Dumbledore concluded, mock-cheerfully, or at least Harry hoped it was mocked. "Boys, good luck with the shop. Molly, ever your servant."
He bowed courteously and turned without waiting for the others' goodbyes. At seeing him vanish on the same spot as the woman before him, mrs Weasley moved forwards and closed the door to the empty yard. Then she turned and grabbed Harry by the shoulders to study him. Strongly but carefully she steered him closer to the lit lamp so she could see him more clearly. Behind him, the twins were still discussing something.
"You're like Ron." Mrs Weasley sighed. Both of you look like you've had stretching jinxes put on you. I swear Ron's grown four inches since I last bought him school robes. Are you hungry, dear?"
"Yes, I am." Harry answered, blushing a bit.
"Well, then you sit down while I knock something up." She gave him a small push towards the table and turned to the kitchen, already grabbing her wand to start cooking.
As he sat down a cat jumped up beside him, pressing its head to his arm so he would scratch behind its ears. Harry complied, smiling gently at Crookshanks, before looking back up at the three Weasleys.
"So Hermione's here?" He asked.
"Oh, yes. She arrived the day before yesterday." Mrs Weasley told him, from where she was still busy with pots and pans. "Everyone's in bed, of course, we didn't expect you for hours." Then she turned back to him and put down a plate in front of him. "There you are."
Thick steam floated up from the onion soup she set before him, making his stomach growl in anticipation. A loaf of bread was placed in a small basket by his elbow as she took a seat again.
"So what are you two doing up, then?" Harry asked, dipping a chunk of bread into the soup.
"Oh, we came over after closing the shop, thinking we'd talk to Bill for a while. We were about to leave when Tonks showed up so we stayed a while longer." George shrugged.
"Time got away from us a bit." Fred rubbed the back of his head. "But it's alright since Lee gets to open up tomorrow. We're not in too much trouble."
"What was that Tonks said, boys? About thinking something over?" Their mother questioned curiously, pouring four cups of tea.
"Nothing much." Fred shook his head, before stopping his mother from pouring them tea. "While you were busy we had a proposition for her."
"Just a few products we've been developing." George added. "We thought she might have some insight on why they keep blowing up in our faces."
"Really boys! Tonks is busy enough without you two giving her more work!" Molly scolded them. "And you know she's not up for- for doing such things!"
"All right, mum, calm down!" Fred held up his hands placatingly as he stood up.
"We won't bother her again, if you think we shouldn't." George agreed.
As they both got ready to leave they suddenly stopped and stared at each other. That was only for a second though, because soon after they both snapped their fingers and pointed at each other. Fred reached into one of his pockets and pulled out an old piece of parchment, handing it over to Harry with a flourish.
"I believe this is yours. Sorry we forgot to return it before."
Harry looked down at the Marauders' Map, still chewing on a mouthful of soupy bread. As he hurried to swallow he watched the twins land a kiss on their mother's cheeks and head towards the door. By the time he'd cleared his mouth enough to talk they'd stepped out of the door with a winked salute.
He couldn't shake the feeling that they were avoiding him and, more importantly, hiding something. And he was going to find out what, starting by Tonks.
Before everything started going to shit, Anna's birthday parties had been fun but private affairs with just a few dozen people, maybe forty. Nowadays almost the whole pureblood society ended up attending. 'Their' side of pureblood society at least. Death Eaters -known and unknown- and other purist individuals showed up, whole families at a time. Really, she would have preferred to invite only the people she knew but there were multiple good reasons as to why that was not a good idea.
First of all, it was rude. She was known to be the Lestrange heir, as such appearances needed to be upheld, and so did alliances. If she invited the Carrow twins but not their parents, that would be rude. If she invited Sullivan Fawley -a former Slytherin from a minor family who'd tutored her after her lapse of health in her first year- but not Graham's parents -very politically important, at least for now, and old alliances of her parents- that would be completely unacceptable. She wasn't like Pansy who had her parents to tend to the more important people, these things she had to deal with herself.
Secondly, it was risky. If somehow she was found out then it would only be a matter of finding out who were closest -or even moderately close- to her. The people who attended a private affair such as her birthday would be the first to be checked, particularly if the attendance was so limited.
Thus, she was stuck with all sorts of people that she either didn't know or didn't like. The good part was that it was so crowded and filled with people to greet and make smalltalk with that no one would suspect her of discussing anything serious right now.
Anna smiled as Marcus tapped Theo's shoulder, quietly requesting for a turn to dance with her. Her boyfriend pursed his lips but stood to the side without a word, holding out her hand for Marcus to take. Before going she pecked him on the cheek, but before he could return the kiss she'd already been led away by the impatient Flint.
"Oh, hasty, Marcus." Anna chuckled.
"Well, we can't let Nott have all the fun." He winked. "Happy birthday by the way. Sixteen?"
"Yes, the last of my house-year." She sighed, letting him dip her down for a second before guiding her amongst the other pairs again.
"You'll have to be careful then, Anna. Just another year and you'll be of age. Of age but under your parents' thumb." He told her, raising an eyebrow. "I think you and Nott might want to be careful."
"What do you mean?" She scowled.
"I mean that you're the heiress to the Lestrange family name, and very well connected if one wants to be part of the growing regime. Exceedingly well connected, in fact. A very valuable person." Marcus cleared his throat. "Everyone around you knows that you and Theodore are quite inseparable at this point, all of our generation at least. There are parents, however, who know your parents and so are aware of the fact that even with Theodore's new mark Bellatrix isn't too fond of him. Rudolphus wouldn't dare arrange a marriage for you but he's not here and Narcissa never stands up to her sister. Lucius might, but he's with your father. The people who happen to know about your mother's… dislike are also the ones she sees as most acceptable and thus have eligible sons, or are just eligible bachelors."
"So you're saying that…"
"That if you don't do something about it, you'll find yourself of age and in an engagement you don't have the authority to cancel." He grimaced uncomfortably.
"The authority?" Anna frowned. "A magically binding contract that can only be cancelled with the agreement of both signing parties, I suppose. An old-fashioned engagement. And since she would be signing for me, as my mother by blood, I wouldn't be able to get out of it. "
"Quite." Marcus nodded. "Adrian and I were discussing it the other day. I believe your mother might have mentioned something in passing to my father, but I made it quite clear to him that I was not interested. Not that you're not pretty and all, Annie, but you're too young for my tastes. However, if push comes to shove, my reservations about it will not hinder him."
She laughed bitterly, dismissing his later comment casually. "Oh, discussing my engagement was she? I'll talk with Theo about it, thank you. Was that all the serious business you wanted to talk about, or must I have another headache this birthday?"
"Just one more." He smiled and leaned a bit closer so he could whisper. "Madam Bones has been most helpful in pointing out useful light allies. We've made quite some progress over the last three weeks, thanks to her, but she's refusing to help us get into the muggleborn register. Unless we agree to her terms, that is. Her hesitation is understandable, since it's quite a bit more valuable than mere allies, but extremely troublesome. It'll take us months, maybe even a year, to find it and get to it without her help."
"None of our other allies know how to get to it?" She frowned. "I thought we were already working on it?"
"Lucius was. He was working on a few high ranking ministry employees that could get it easily so that he could reach it before them, but it's too risky to attempt to manipulate them in his stead. I wouldn't know where to start or which buttons to press, they're not mine, Anna. And it's too risky. I'm under enough scrutiny because of my family right now, I can't be seen doing anything suspicious. Me getting caught would put our entire ministry branch at risk, and then we'd have to start from scratch again. Still, we need the register." He bit his lip. "It's a race, as you are aware. We need to make a copy of it so we can start tracking them down before the Dark Lord does. If not we won't get to them in time or without being suspicious."
"I know, I know." Anna interrupted him. "What does she want?"
"She wants to meet you."
The birthday girl groaned and answered in hushed whispers. "Fantastic. The whole idea of hiding them in Theo's house was so that they wouldn't run the risk of me having to have contact with them. Otherwise I could have hid them in the Lestrange Manor, just as risky. Godfather keeps an eye on me constantly, and if not him then my mother isn't too far away. You know it's practically suicide."
"I do, but it's either this or not getting to the register on time or at all." Marcus muttered. "But it's your decision. I will do as you ask, just give me enough time to arrange everything."
Anna hummed, eyes scanning the crowd to find the next situation she had to take care of. "I know, Marcus, thank you. I'll think about it and get back to you tomorrow."
He dipped his head before leading the dance towards the sidelines. Once they'd gotten to the bar he kissed her knuckles respectfully and handed her a glass of something, presumably without alcohol since she still had business to attend to. Loose lips wouldn't be the best idea, considering the people who were in attendance.
Once Marcus had left, Anna weaved her way through the crowd -greeting people every step of the way- until she came face to face with Pansy. The girl was still slightly bitter about being left out, but she understood now that some things were best kept secret. Anna didn't want to be like her godfather, who demanded respect and obedience or punished people with torture and death if they didn't. She respected and valued those who worked with and for her, but she was not about to let them push her into anything. Not even her friends.
Pansy smiled when Anna reached her, embracing her and wishing her a happy birthday once more. Then she let Anna link their arms and lead her over to one of the balconies. On their way there they spoke loudly about what courses they wanted to take next school year, so as to shoo away any eavesdroppers. When they reached the balcony, however, Anna locked the glass doors behind them and stood watching the dark expanse of gardens before them.
"Something you wanted to discuss?" Pansy smirked, leaning against the stone railing and crossing her arms, her posture a perfect picture of nonchalance.
"However did you guess?" Anna jested. "I wanted to know if you'd heard anything from the twins."
The other girl rolled her eyes. "Honestly, why you're making such an effort for this is beyond me. Bellatrix has better things to do than-"
"Not if she's taunted into it, though. Besides, one can never be too careful." Anna insisted. "So?"
"They had words, all right, didn't explain the complete situation but did mention that she and her parents might want to start looking over their shoulders. They told her they had a solution, but she didn't ask for an explanation. They think that she either doesn't believe them or she's not in the right state of mind to consider everything. Their money is on the latter." Pansy reported.
"Why?" She frowned.
"They wouldn't say, but they did tell me that they'd try to fix it and if that failed they'd just go around her."
"Well they can't just leave her out of everything. She's important too-"
"But she's not the one that's most at risk." Pansy put a hand on Anna's shoulder. "You've got a lot on your plate, Anna. I'll handle this for you, even if it's not exactly in my job description."
At that moment there was a knock on the glass and they turned to see Theo and Draco waiting for them to open the doors. When Anna waved her wand at them, the thick panes swung open, letting more light and the sounds of music and conversation stream out to them. The two boys walked over to them, Theo coming to stand by Anna's side and Draco extending a hand to Pansy.
"Want to dance?" Her cousin asked.
Pansy smiled. "Sure."
With a few 'see you later's, the couple was left alone on the balcony. Theo watched the other two disappear into the crowd, expression pensive, and Anna watched him. She knew every detail of his face, every curve and dip, every angle movement. He wasn't easy to read, he wasn't easy to get along with. Theo was stubborn and hardheaded and intelligent, he had wit and charm and cutting sarcasm. He was proud and cunning and he wanted the world, he wanted it with every fibre of his being, even if he didn't know it yet, and he was more than capable of getting it. Eventually. He might pretend that he was contented with her happiness, he might even believe it himself, but as soon as this was all over he would have other plans and wishes. And she would have other ambitions too. Wether this relationship would last after the war was anyone's guess, but until then she wanted to keep it. She needed to keep it.
The solution to the conundrum Marcus had alerted her to was clear, yet she didn't want to address it just yet. She'd talk to him about it soon enough, if Marcus didn't do it himself first. A wry smile spread on her face. That man took quite some liberties, but he knew what had to be done. A day would come in which she's order him to stop, but that day hadn't arrived just yet.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked him, cupping his face.
Theo turned to look at her. He laughed, dismissing whatever had been on his mind before and shook his head. "Not something I've fleshed out enough to speak up about. I'll tell you soon, though."
"All right." She agreed good-naturedly.
With gentle movements he took her by the waist, driving her backwards until she bumped into the stone railing and they were standing chest to chest. She looked over her shoulder for a second before placing her hands on the stone behind her, pushing off to sit on it. This left her chin at the height of his collarbone.
Theo moved forwards a bit, coming to stand between her legs and moving so that the skirt of her dress wouldn't tangle his own appendages. One hand was still on her waist but the other had moved up to caress her face. He was blocking the light and she couldn't clearly see him, but that didn't matter. After a few seconds she moved forwards a bit, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her head into his chest. He held her, hands clenching a bit on her back, and rested his cheek on her head.
Hermione huffed as she divided the boys' piles of clothes depending on the owner. It wasn't hard, mrs Weasley had sown labels into the hems of every article, but they were too busy discussing everything to bother making the distinction. She sighed as she placed another two of Ginny's shirts on a pile between Hermione's own and Fleur's. Then she divided the balled socks, most were Ron's anyways.
"So what are you going to do about Lestrange, mate?" Ron suddenly asked.
For a few seconds they were all quiet and Hermione and Ron ceased their working as they watched Harry. He had a constipated look on his face, partially angry and partially confused, as he folded another pair of pants and dropped it unceremoniously on yet another pile of undivided clothing. Hermione knew it had to be hard. Harry valued friendship above all, losing someone he'd considered a friend -if not incredibly close still closer than, say, Ernie or Susan- after what he'd been through was horrible. Let alone finding out that that friend had betrayed him? It was finding out the truth about Peter Pettigrew all over again.
"I want to find out what she's up to. She's done enough over the last few years like- like bringing him back and being a Death Eater and-" He balled up the shirt in his hands only to smooth it over again and start folding it. "I can't let her get away with anything else."
"Well, yes." Hermione tentatively started. "But don't you think it's be important to find out… why she did what she did? Find out the truth behind all of it? I mean, before you knew it was Connors you told us that Sirius had said that Dumbledore stole her. He said she wasn't good but also not bad… There has to be a reason for her to do all this, right? If we find that out then-"
"Then what, Hermione? Then I find out why she killed Sirius? Then I find out why she used me and- and because I know the reason I'll forgive her?" Harry snapped. "How does knowing her reasoning fix anything?"
"Mate." Ron held up a hand to calm him down, casting Hermione a worried look.
At Harry's apologetic look Hermione forced a calm smile and continued. "No, Harry. It won't fix anything, it won't bring Sirius back. But she didn't kill Sirius. We don't know how much control she has over anything that happens, she might not even have known what was going to happen! Yes, she's a Death Eater, but she's still our age. She's not an adult. I'm not asking you to forgive her but- but she's important, you know. Nobody can pretend as well as she did. I think that some of her friendship with you must have been genuine and if it was then- then we can get her to come over to our side. Think about it, the daughter of Voldemort's most loyal follower on our side. It'd be a big advantage."
"Strategically speaking, Harry, it's the best choice. Way better than just antagonising her and losing a possible informant. Because Snape can only find out so much." Ron nodded. "Never mind forgiving her for anything, she's important to them, which makes her useful to us."
The boy glared at them before looking away out of the window. His fists were clenched around the wood of the table, but eventually his grip started to loosen up slightly.
Hermione had never trusted Anna, had always known that there was more to her than she let on. Every part of her had told her to beware, to watch her carefully. Now that they knew who she was, that feeling had not dissipated. There was more to her that the Slytherin muggleborn then and there was more to the pureblood Death Eater now. She could feel it in her gut, starting by the fact that Sirius never vouched for anyone without a reason. He had known who she was all along, starting in third year when he'd greeted her enthusiastically as Snuffles -he'd taken the name she'd given him!- and he had never thought to warn Harry about her. There had to be a reason.
"Fine." Harry finally allowed. "I'll- we'll talk to her when we get back to school."
"Do you really think asking outright would be wise?" Hermione grimaced.
"No, but she can't do anything to us at school, not with Dumbledore there. We can pressure her into talking eventually." Then he scowled. "Besides, she's kept things a secret this long, what makes you think we'll spy it out now?"
The ballroom echoed with the thumping of bare feet over hardwood floors and harsh breaths erupting from their mouths. Every once in a while a correction or a suggestion or a reprimand would be called out to her, but otherwise they were silent.
The windows were open, letting a cool breeze pass through, though it did little to cool them down. Anna had sweat coating the skin of her arms and trailing down from her hairline. Even though she was barefoot and wearing a singlet and shorts, her body temperature kept rising and rising. Obviously it had a lot to do with the fact that she'd been duelling her mother for the best part of two hours, though they'd taken breaks in between. Bellatrix was looking better than her, though not by overly much. Clearly, so much time in Azkaban had taken its toll. The older witch wasn't wearing shoes but her many layers of black fabric were not absent, even if they were sweat-stained by now. Anna didn't know how she did it.
Suddenly Anna had to jump out of the way, almost falling to her knees in the hurry. Bellatrix had shot a severing jinx at her legs and she hadn't been able to avoid it completely. It'd nicked the skin on the side of her left shin and she could feel a slight trail of blood running down, her cut flesh aching from the salt in her sweat. It'd been the first time her mother had managed to physically harm her that day, though other hexes and such had had an effect at some point.
"Mind your feet!" Bella scolded. "If you can't keep your footwork decent long enough to defeat your opponent then don't fight them in the first place."
Anna grit her teeth and nodded, whirling her own curses at the woman, who deftly blocked them. Some were merely deflected and left scorch marks on the walls, which aunt Narcissa would throw a fit about, but others were either absorbed into Bellatrix's shield or forcefully stomped out. Really, even if her technique improved over the hours -it was do or die with her mother- her casting became sloppier as she got more tired. That was very unfortunate seeing as getting sloppy got increasingly more painful as her mother saw her skills improving.
So it went on for almost an hour longer, memorably resulting in Anna being thrown into the air and landing painfully on her front. With her limbs covered in bruises and something she thought might resemble a cracked rib, she decided to stay on the ground, groaning. Her mother ceased her casting and walked forwards, waiting with pursed lips until Anna rolled around to look at her.
"I don't think I can do any more today, mother." Anna told her, rubbing a hand over an aching shoulder with a wince.
"Well, you didn't do terribly at least." Bellatrix huffed. "At the end I was even duelling at my normal capacity."
"I still lost. Miserably."
"I've got the rest of the summer to bring you up to scratch. If you don't match me for at least fifteen minutes all out by the end of your holidays I will be severely disappointed."
"We wouldn't want that now, would we?" Anna muttered as she tried to sit up.
"Don't bother, your cousin will come fuss over you soon enough." Her mother waved a hand. "I'll see you at dinner. We'll be doing this again tomorrow."
"Can't wait!" She called after the woman as she strode out of the ballroom. Her sarcasm went either unnoticed or ignored. It was just as well really.
With another groan she let herself fall back onto the ground and gave up trying to move for at least a while. What was the point of finishing her training for the day if she couldn't lay about and feel sorry for her bruised self? At least for a few moments.
Really, between the gruelling sessions with her mother, late night meetings with the Inner Circle, early mornings to check how her own business was going, and all the studying she was doing, she'd be happy if she survived until the new school year. The studying wasn't just any normal studying either.
First, she'd rounded up any and all information she'd found on horcruxes and compiled it and her own theories and conclusions into another small notebook, or book, whatever. In another book she'd started getting together all the facts and details about her own condition and her hypotheses about what exactly would happen to her if she made a horcrux and or destroyed the one already inside her. So far she wasn't optimistic.
Besides all that she was also researching and forming multiple plans on how to kill the most powerful wizard on the planet. Without him becoming any more suspicious of her than he already was. In an environment which he controlled completely. And hopefully without leaving a trace, or making it so that nobody could prove she'd done it. Because knowing was one thing, proving was another.
And of course nobody should forget the fact that it all had to be coordinated with her ministry take over. Why? Because as soon as Dumbledore died there would be nobody to stop Voldemort from taking over everything. The Ministry itself would fall in a matter of weeks, even if Scrimgour did an admirable attempt to stop it. When that happened, all her pieces had to be in place, otherwise the movement would leave them all scattered and far from where they should be. Thus, something she wanted to avoid.
Marcus had said that he needed at least until February or so to have everything in perfect place. So she had to wait until then to start attempting. However, if the Headmaster dropped dead in the middle of the school year a Ministry investigation would obviously ensue and she knew very well that her cover wouldn't last very long. Particularly because the Deputy Headmistress knew exactly who she was. Anna didn't want to have to leave in the middle of the school year, there was no way she was missing so much of her education. Therefor, she would have to do it at the end of the year. Marcus would have a field day with all the extra time he was getting.
Another thing he wanted… Anna really didn't want to talk to Madam Bones, or even think about her. She really really didn't. In fact she didn't want to do it so badly that even though she'd agreed to it she'd put off the meeting for as long as reasonably possible. Of course, since she was entering the second week since she'd agreed to the meeting, rational excuses were no longer possible.
"There you are. Are you going to lie around all day?" Draco appeared by her side, crouching down beside her.
Anna cracked open an eye to look at him. "Oh, you know me. That's all I ever do."
Her cousin grimaced and drew his wand. In silence he started checking the bruises and the cut on her leg, though with a few charms he'd managed to make them go away. The pain would remain for a few hours, but that was about it.
"Anything else?"
"Beside the exhaustion, magical depletion, hunger and the overwhelming feeling of drowning in responsibilities?" She sat up. "I think I cracked a rib."
Draco glared at her and forcefully pushed her back down to the ground, making her wince at the impact. "Then just tell me about that first of all! And don't move around until I fix it."
"You know, if you want to be a Healer you should really improve your bedside manner. No matter how smart you are or how young you were when you started healing flesh-wounds, for which I entirely take the blame, if people don't like you, you won't get the job." She hissed harshly as he prodded the painful rib.
"Pot, kettle." He countered.
"I don't know what you mean, I'm a delight."
"Oh, definitely. Except, you know, when you haven't slept, when you're stressed, when you're hungry, when you're anxious, when you're angry or afraid… so pretty much all the time." He clicked his tongue and flicked her forehead with a finger. "Absolutely charming.
"Beats being a butthead like you."
"Very mature." Draco rolled his eyes. Then he cast a spell on her that had her heaving for breath. "Sorry, I forgot to warm you. It might hurt a bit."
"Liar." She wheezed. "You go on and get back to whatever you were doing."
"Right, yes, I'll bugger off. You go take a bath, you reek."
"So kind, cousin! Your affectionate words and bearing leave me reeling with the feeling of being loved!" Anna called after him, hearing Draco cough out a laugh before he closed the door.
She was left lying on the floor, trying to gather the strength to get up once again. Eventually it'd have to be done. She had things to do.
Uncertainty still gnawed at the edges of Harry's mind. There were several people who he knew for sure he could trust, like Hermione and Ron and Dumbledore, but there were a few people with whom he just couldn't be sure. Like the twins.
It wasn't an unfounded suspicion, no sir. There had been quite a few… irregularities in their behaviour last year. They'd done and been able to do many things that they shouldn't have, without offering an explanation. It wasn't even that he wanted one, but usually they would just supply the information themselves. Now that they weren't telling him about them, things seemed all that more questionable.
He looked down at the dozens of skiving snack boxes he had in his arms and back up at the mass of teenagers in the twins' shop. There was about forty students and their parents packed into the large showroom, crowding around the almost empty shelves and tables, staring up at the flying objects and toys. The air was already hot from the boiling summer sun, but the sweating bodies, the breaths, the shouts, they were all making the shop too stifling. All of a sudden he needed fresh air, immediately.
With only slight shoving, he made his way to the nearest window, dropping the boxes onto the ledge before swinging it open. He took a few deep breaths, wiping the sweat off his forehead with a grimace. Harry had no idea where the unexpected difficulty to breathe had come from, but he knew it had nothing to do with the heat. After all, the heat hadn't bothered him in the hour and a half he'd been there.
"Hey there, Harry. How're you liking the shop?" Lee came up behind him, clapping a hand on his back.
"Lee! You work here too?" Harry asked, grinning at him. "I thought you were doing a journalism internship?"
"I am, but I help out in the shop sometimes. You know, sales or sorting out the shop when the twins can't. Verity needs help every once in a while."
"Ah." Harry nodded. "And yeah, it's… amazing. I always knew they were creative and smart but this is… wow."
Lee grinned and put a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, lots of good things happen here. Fred and George are doing a great job."
Again, Harry nodded, but this time he didn't meet Lee's eyes. Could he trust Lee? He was the twins' best friend, it stood to reason that they'd involve him. He knew about everything they did, he was always there. And if they hadn't involved him? Then he'd see something was off about them, he spent enough time in the shop to notice anything. It was obvious that he would.
Didn't it stand to reason that they wouldn't allow him to get this close if he could see something he wasn't supposed to? The twins were that smart, the shop was definitive proof of that.
He turned back around to look out of the window and felt Lee do the same. But Harry kept silent, preferring to watch the shoppers bustling in the Alley beneath them than trying to make smalltalk. It was entertaining to see all the students doing their list shopping and filling the space so much that casual shoppers had to keep to the sides to avoid being hit by a stray parcel. Some of the smaller students had to stick to the sides of their accompanying adults so as not to be swept off.
The people seemed to be in more of a hurry than usual, but not afraid. Definitely not willing to go home without everything they needed in order to have to come back in a few days. With all the shopping going on, you wouldn't think there was a mass murderer on the loose. It almost angered Harry. Everything was confirmed and yet they still weren't taking things as seriously as they should.
Abruptly, his attention was pulled to the edge of the Alley, where three figures were making their way through the crowd. It was An- Lestrange with Malfoy and Nott, a small huddle of black making its way towards the entrance of Knockturn Alley. With a frown he noticed that all three of them wore long sleeves, even in the sweltering heat.
Whatever they were up to could not be good. What should he do? Tell mr Weasley? Mr Weasley couldn't do anything, just alert Dumbledore in the best of cases. Those three had a purpose for so clearly entering a place publicly labeled as dark and whatever it was could not be benign. He had to find out what, so it was a good thing he'd taken Dumbledore's advice to heart and kept the Cloak with him at all times.
"Hey, Lee? Mind if I use the bathroom?" He tore his eyes away from Lestrange just in time to see the young man follow his line of sight.
Lee turned back to him, eyes guarded but smile still bright. "Sure. Up the stairs to the left, last door down the hall. Want me to show you?"
"No, no I'll be fine. Thanks though." Harry waved him off before melding back into the crowd. He'd go to the bathroom first, if only to put on the cloak there.
When he was halfway up the stairs he looked over his shoulder to find Lee. It took a few seconds of frantic searching but eventually he found him… striding straight to one of the twins.