Gryffindor won their Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, and Harry's Firebolt stole the show. Even in the library, Anne could hear the cheers echoing from the Quidditch pitch as she sucked on a Scholar's lollipop.
After the match ended, both Hermione and Fanny arrived at the library one after the other. The vast first floor of the library held only a handful of students.
Anne was flipping through an enormous book, her eyes scanning each page swiftly before turning to the next.
"Anne! Gryffindor won!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly. But since they were in the library, she leaned in close to Anne and lowered her voice, taking the seat next to her in the process.
Fanny, just as thrilled, sat across from them. "The Firebolt is truly an amazing broom! I heard the Irish team ordered the same model for the Quidditch World Cup this August!"
Anne paused her reading, not wanting to kill their enthusiasm. With a smile, she asked, "So, what was the final score?"
"230 to 30!" Both Hermione and Fanny answered in unison.
"Oh? Who was Ravenclaw's Chaser?" Anne continued her questioning.
Hermione looked over at Fanny, after all, she'd been buried in studies all semester. Fanny smiled mischievously and said, "Cho Chang. She's a fourth-year in Ravenclaw and Chinese-British."
So that was Harry's first crush? Turns out this was when they first met.
"Cho Chang? What does she look like? Uh, I mean… do you guys think she's pretty?" Anne asked curiously.
Fanny blinked in surprise, Anne usually didn't ask questions like that. Resting her chin in her palm, she thought for a moment before replying, "I think she's pretty. From a boy's perspective, probably very attractive. Loads of Ravenclaw boys are chasing after her."
"Hmm, I see. When we go to dinner, point her out to me, will you? I mean, she's Chinese… I might be able to chat with her about the magical world in China." Anne then turned to Hermione. "What about you? What do you think?"
Hermione's expression was hard to read, her voice mumbling, "She's… not bad."
With both of them giving a thumbs up, Anne grew even more curious. She hadn't paid much attention to most of the students at Hogwarts, but when it came to someone from her cultural background, she found herself wanting to know more.
Facing both of them from across the table, Fanny clearly noticed the subtle shift in Hermione's expression.
"Oh, by the way, Anne, Malfoy and his gang pulled the most vile stunt today!" Fanny looked furious when she got to the word vile.
"Let me guess, they tried to sabotage Gryffindor's match somehow? Judging by your expression, I'd say Slytherin lost a fair number of house points?"
Fanny leaned forward angrily. "Totally disgusting! Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint, he's the Slytherin team captain, dressed up as Dementors! But Harry's wand shot out a blinding white light that scared the pants off them!"
Hermione chimed in, just as angry. "It was Professor McGonagall who caught them. Took fifty points from Slytherin."
Fifty points? Anne clicked her tongue. That was a serious penalty.
Slytherin really is full of idiots, she thought.
"Alright, enough Quidditch talk. Let's get back to the real issue." Anne laid a piece of parchment in the center of the table. "This is a flowchart from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures on how magical creature trials are handled. Just in case Hagrid forgets his defense speech or something unexpected happens, we need to pinpoint useful legal loopholes."
Both Fanny and Hermione leaned in to read the diagram. Fanny had seen Anne reading magical creature law books the day before and had volunteered to help.
After some discussion, the three of them agreed to visit Hagrid's hut the following Monday evening to go over things with him. Then they headed to dinner.
But the Gryffindor table was half-empty, most of the students were attending a celebration in the Gryffindor common room to mark their win over Ravenclaw.
"Hmph. You'd think they'd already won the Quidditch Cup…" Malfoy sneered, earning nods from Crabbe and Goyle.
Anne glanced over at Malfoy without responding. Fanny leaned in and whispered, "I heard from Pansy that Malfoy and the others just came from the Head of House's office…"
Anne raised an eyebrow. "That explains it."
That night passed peacefully for Anne, but not for Gryffindor.
Whoosh! The heavy bed curtains were yanked open, light flooding in. Anne groaned and pulled the blankets over her head. "Isn't it Sunday?" she mumbled.
But Fanny wasn't letting her off the hook. She yanked the blankets back and said in a panicked voice, "Anne, something happened, Sirius Black! He broke into the Gryffindor tower last night!"
The tower? As in… the dormitory?
Anne was instantly wide awake. Her eyes widened. "He broke into the Gryffindor dorm? But… you need a password to get in!"
"Neville! You know, the Gryffindor student who always gets yelled at in Potions? He wrote down a week's worth of passwords and lost the list somehow. Black got hold of it. He broke into the tower last night and went into the boys' dormitory, Ron's room! He was standing over Ron's bed with a knife when Ron woke up! Black ran off after that!" Fanny's voice was full of panic. "No one in Gryffindor slept last night. Even after the professors searched the whole castle this morning, they didn't find him."
Fanny sat down on Anne's bed with a nervous expression. "Anne… how do you think he got in?"
Anne narrowed her eyes. Sirius Black… one of the creators of the Marauder's Map. Sneaking into Hogwarts wouldn't be a problem for him. But why go through all that trouble just to enter Gryffindor's dormitory? Ron's bed?
She got it. It was because of that.
Having figured it out, Anne lay back down. "So no one was hurt, and nothing happened. Could've ended worse."
"Could've ended worse? Anne, this is Hogwarts! A wanted criminal breaking in twice and getting away? This is a huge deal for the school and for Dumbledore! And…" Fanny hesitated. "Parents are already writing loads of letters…"
"You're right. But we're just third-year students. What can we really do? Besides, it's not like he's coming for the Slytherin dorms…" Anne's voice trailed off as she drifted back toward sleep.
Fanny yanked her up again. She looked around the empty dorm, lowering her voice like she half-expected Black to jump out from behind a curtain. "Anne… do you think Black knows about the secret passageways on the Marauder's Map? He was a student here. Smart and mischievous, just like Fred and George…"
Anne opened one sleepy eye and stared at her. "Good question. But that's something Harry and the others should worry about…"
"You mean Harry knows too?"
"Mm… probably…" Anne mumbled, pulling the covers over her head again.
Fanny stood, still uneasy. "So… should they tell someone?"
"If someone broke into Honeydukes last night, we'd have heard about it. Let's see what Harry decides. For now, the best thing we can do is wait and see. The three of them still have another big issue to resolve…"
Hearing Anne's muffled voice from under the blanket, Fanny felt slightly reassured. If Anne didn't think it was more important than mending their friendship, it couldn't be that serious. She gently closed Anne's bed curtains and tiptoed out.
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"…I was asleep, then I heard this tearing sound. I thought I was dreaming, but then there was a draft… and when I opened my eyes, one side of the bed curtain had been slashed. I rolled over, and he was standing right there, like a skeleton, with a mess of filthy hair, holding this huge knife, at least a foot long. He looked at me, I looked at him, and I screamed. Then he ran."
Standing on a stone bench in the courtyard, Ron was animatedly recounting last night's events to the crowd gathered around him.
In a quiet corner, Anne flipped a Knut between her fingers as she listened. Just as she turned to leave, she bumped into Hermione coming down the corridor.
This corridor led to the lesser-used classrooms on the second floor.
Hermione's eyes immediately found Anne, and she hurried over, she had questions.
Anne stepped behind a pillar, out of view of the courtyard crowd. Hermione didn't even glance toward them as she reached Anne and launched in, "Anne, did you hear about last night?"
"Yep. Thanks to Black, Fanny woke me up at seven this morning," Anne replied with a sleepy grumble.
Hermione couldn't help but imagine Anne being yanked from sleep by Fanny. But she quickly shook the image and asked, "Anne, what do you make of it?"
As they walked toward the Great Hall, Anne answered, "No one was hurt, and nothing happened. That's a pretty good outcome."
"Is it?" Hermione said, clearly worried. "But here's the thing… why did he run? If he came for Harry, and he got all the way into Gryffindor's dorm, even if he picked the wrong bed… there were five students there. None of them could fight back. Why would he…?" Her voice trailed off, then shifted to a trembling whisper. "He killed thirteen people…"
"That's a good question. Why did he run?" Anne replied meaningfully. Hermione noticed her eyes were a little unfocused.
Anne shrugged. "I don't know either. But I think he'll be caught soon. After this, Hogwarts will be even more guarded. The next time he shows up, Dumbledore will get him."
Yeah, right… Anne added silently.
Mentioning Dumbledore seemed to ease Hermione's nerves. "You're right. I trust Professor Dumbledore to catch him."
As they reached the Great Hall, Neville came racing out, clutching a red envelope.
A Howler.
Anne threw Hermione a look full of sympathy for Neville.
Just as they reached the Slytherin table, a booming, terrifying voice rang through the entrance hall, Neville's grandmother, amplified to the max, shrieking about the shame he had brought on the family.
While Gryffindor students squirmed in embarrassment, the rest of the hall erupted into laughter, none louder than Malfoy and the Slytherins.
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