At breakfast that Friday morning, both Harry and Ana got a letter when the school owls made their rounds in the Mess Hall. Ana read her letter from Daphne with gusto, while Harry finally got his long-awaited reply from Surrey:

"23 September 1991

Dear Harry,

I can't believe your first month at Ilvermorny is almost finished! I hope you're enjoying your classes so far, and are minding your professors. I'm sure you're spending plenty of quality time with your friend Anastasia, and I'm glad to hear that you've got a couple of new friends in your year. Othniel and Tallulah sound like delightful children too.

As far as the actual purpose of this letter goes, I'll try to be as concise as possible. I know I owe you an explanation, Harry, and I promise we'll sit down during the holiday and have a heart-to-heart discussion - you certainly deserve that much. I know a lot of your revelations at Ilvermorny could only be described as a rude awakening, and for that I am truly sorry.

That being said, I'm glad that you and Nova have formed a positive relationship. She's not just your friend - she's your foster sister. Your aunt and I have been waiting many years to see our daughter again; truthfully we were afraid it would never come. My heart sings with joy knowing that our family will feel complete for the first time since well, ever.

As you probably know by now, your Defense professor, Remus Lupin, will also be joining us for Thanksgiving. You don't need me to tell you this, but you truly are in capable hands with Remus as your teacher. I'm glad he's been given a chance to do something meaningful for the first time since the war… that man has been through more hardship than most men go through in five lifetimes.

Your Aunt Rhonda and godfather Sirius also love and miss you very much. None of us can wait to see you again. Until then, study hard and try not to get in too much trouble (after all, you're a Potter, so a little bit is almost to be expected!)

Love,

Uncle Roger"

"Who's that from, I wonder?" asked Othniel, pointing a fork at Harry's letter.

"My family back in Surrey," replied Harry. "Thanksgiving plans."

"Ahh," replied Othniel. "That's less than two months from now, isn't it?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it'll be good to be back home for the week. What about yourself?"

"I'unno, dude," replied Othniel with a small shrug. "I'm kinda undecided. I know I'm going back for Christmas, but part of me is thinking about staying at the castle for Thanksgiving. I'm sure I won't be the only one staying put if I decide to stay. We often go to my grandparents' place in Montana for Thanksgiving. It's a long enough ride on the train – I don't feel like spending another eight-plus hours in the car!"

"I feel ya," agreed Harry. "Just when you've stopped to catch your breath, it's like you gotta go back! A week off from school is nice and all, but practically half the time off is spent in the subway system!" He turned to Tallulah. "What about you? D'you have any plans?"

Tallulah giggled. "I'm definitely going back home. I reckon we'll go to my grandparents, but it's not a big deal since they live less than an hour away from us."

Harry forced a thin smile. "I wish I had grandparents to visit… I'm just glad to have the family that I do have." He was about to ask Ana about her plans, but decided against it as she looked deep in thought as she was writing her reply to her friend Daphne at Hogwarts. She had just finished her letter in the nick of time, as the school owls were already beginning to depart when she had just signed her letter. Even Hedwig gave her a hoot that probably could have been best-translated as hurry up! "Sorry, Hedwig," she murmured as she stuffed the letter in the envelope and hastily addressed it to Daphne.

The following Monday was the last day of September. The mornings had gotten a little nippier, and many of the deciduous trees had begun to shed their leaves. After their morning exercises concluded, Harry mustered the courage to ask Ana something on their way back to the castle.

He looked at her with a rather nervous expression on his face. "Erm, Ana? May I ask you something?"

Ana smiled at Harry. "Of course, Harry. What's up?"

Harry couldn't help but stutter slightly. "It looks, erm… it looks like it's going to be really nice today. We have a shared free period this afternoon. Would you… d'you think you'd like to go on a walk with me…"

"I'd be delighted, Harry," Ana replied softly, denying Harry the chance to finish. "Now, I have some studying to do, not to mention I have to devote some extra time prepping for the term's first Quiz Bowl, which is just a couple of weeks away, but I can spare a few minutes." She looked eastward and smiled at the sunrise. "And you're right. It's going to be a beautiful day."

"Great," replied Harry. "Thank you… I don't do a lot of things, y'know, with just you."

"Of course," giggled Ana. "Just look for me in the library when you get out of Defense."

After Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts class wrapped up, he quickly excused himself from Othniel and Tallulah, and bolted toward the school library as fast as he could. Just like last time, he found the familiar visage of a petite brunette girl near the very back of the library. Ana was so dedicated with her studies that she hardly noticed an even smaller boy approaching her table.

Harry tapped Ana on the shoulder, causing her to practically jump from her seat. "Oh Merlin," she yelped. "You scared me a bit, Harry!"

"Sorry," Harry breathed. "You looked really busy with your studies… I feel kinda bad for interrupting you…"

Ana smiled sweetly at her friend. "You're fine, Harry. I'm nearly finished anyway. Five more minutes, and we can head out?" Harry returned the smile and nodded.

As promised, Ana packed up her books, parchment and quills just a few minutes later, and followed Harry outside the castle. The weather was absolutely perfect – neither too warm nor too cool, with the gentlest of breezes blowing, and the sounds of various songbirds creating a most magnificent symphony.

"I don't think either of us could have asked for a more perfect day," sighed Ana. "There probably aren't too many of these left before winter comes."

"That's exactly why I wanted to go on a walk with you outside while we still could," Harry replied. He cleared his throat. "So, when exactly is the first Quiz Bowl again?"

"It's two weeks from Friday," Ana said. "It's held in the Mess Hall and it'll be right after dinner."

Harry nodded. "So you'll be competing in front of the whole school then?"

"Yeah," murmured Ana. "I'm not going to lie, it has me a little nervous."

Harry looked into Ana's hazel eyes. "You're the smartest girl I know, Ana. I'm glad you're taking this Quiz Bowl business as seriously as you are, but you also need to relax some… overpreparation can be just as bad as not being prepared enough."

Ana sighed. "I know… one of my biggest fears is letting my house down… letting the people I care about like you down. I'm aware that I have a reputation for being a bookworm or a teacher's pet, but if I muck things up, you're going to laugh at me…"

"Anastasia," Harry snapped in a somewhat sharp tone. "You can get every single one of those questions wrong and it's not going to change the way I see you. When I met you at Nessel Road two months ago, I could already tell that you're, well, special. My godfather Sirius and my aunt and uncle agree… and Professor Lupin says that you're probably the closest thing to my mother that he's ever met." Again, his green eyes met Ana's hazel ones. "I never truly knew my mother, but the way he said it… it was a very kind and genuine compliment."

Ana blinked away a tear. "Thank you Harry," she whispered. "I'm not gonna lie… I'm not really used to being complimented… sincerely complimented. I've only had a handful of friends before Ilvermorny; most of my old no-maj classmates thought I was a stuck-up know-it-all that thought I was better than everyone else. I never truly meant to come across like that… even here at Ilvermorny some of my classmates resent me because I often prefer to study over socializing. It's not that I don't want to make time for friends; far from it. I just want to make something of myself someday is all, though I will do what I can to help others along the way."

"Loads of people think you're helpful," confirmed Harry. "Othniel, Tallulah and I all do. Samantha Goldfarb does… most of your professors do; I'm sure there are others." He shook his head. "If anyone has a problem with you, then they really have a problem with themselves because you're doing things they can't, or won't." He flashed a friendly smile. "I have no doubt you're going to do some amazing things someday, but you're already a great witch."

Ana returned the smile. "And you're already a great wizard."

"Sooooo," Harry said, trying to change the subject, "what are your plans for Thanksgiving, if any?"

Ana shrugged. "Probably the same as last year – go home to my family in South Bend. That said, the temptation is there to stay at the castle and just study…"

"You probably need to go spend time with your family," suggested Harry. "I know how you roll – you can bring a couple of textbooks along with you, but even smart girls like you need some time to unwind." He stopped in his tracks for a brief moment. "Oh, did I tell you that Professor Lupin will be joining my family for Thanksgiving? My family invited him… I actually think it's really cool – I'm sure he's got lots of awesome stories that he'll probably share with me that he might not necessarily share in class."

"I don't think so," replied Ana. "He must really be dear to your uncle and godfather for them to invite him…"

"They definitely go way back," confirmed Harry. "They were very close friends during their time at Hogwarts, so I'm sure getting back together is going to do all of them a lot of good." He glanced down at the dusty path before him. "Erm, Professor Lupin confirmed that he's a werewolf, by the way."

Ana arched an eyebrow. "Did you ask him yourself?" she asked in a somewhat stern tone.

"Uhhh, yeah," Harry whispered, his cheeks a deep pink.

"I thought I told you to keep that to yourself," Ana grumbled.

"But it's Professor Lupin himself," argued Harry. "I wasn't going to bring it up with anyone but him. He was surprised for sure, but he said that you're incredibly clever for figuring it out, as a lot of fully-trained witches and wizards wouldn't have deduced that so quickly. He really, really thinks highly of you."

Ana blushed. "I would have thought it to be rather rude to ask him like that, point-blank, but thanks for confirming my findings." She smiled sweetly at her friend. "And maybe next year, we could spend Thanksgiving at the castle? It'd be nice and quiet for sure…"

"It'd be an opportunity to explore for sure," agreed Harry. "I might be down for that."

Ana shoved Harry playfully. "I knew you were gonna say that. Now, there's a lot of hidden rooms and passages in the castle that most students aren't aware of, including myself. I'm not going to lie, I do have a bit of an itch to see what secrets Ilvermorny hides… though I'd have to imagine some of them are not meant to be discovered."

"Well look at you," chuckled Harry. "Miss Goody Two-Shoes has a bit of an adventurous streak in her."

Ana threw Harry a devilish grin. "There's quite a bit you don't know about me yet, Mister Potter."