Belladonna 46

The Burrow

28 June 1995

The school year ended on a somber note. The traditional end-of-year feast, in which the Great Hall was usually decked out in banners displaying the colors and crest of the Inter-House Champion, was more of a memorial in which all the banners were black and displayed only the school crest. Instead of his lively end-of-year speech, Dumbledore instead told everyone the circumstances surrounding Cedric's death, most notably, that he was murdered by You-Know-Who. Then, after the feast, addresses were exchanged with the promise to keep in touch, and the students all boarded their ship, or their carriage, or the Hogwarts Express to return home.

Except, Ana wasn't going home.

Shortly after Cedric's death, Dumbledore had established a group to counter-act You-Know-Who's rise to power. Sev, being in the unique position that he was, was sent back into the fray to gain You-Know-Who's trust. He took on the precarious mantle of spy once more. Mrs. Weasley didn't seem to think it was a good idea for Ana to remain home alone at Spinner's End while Sev was doing who-knows-what with his fellow Death Eaters; Sev agreed despite Ana's protests. So, Ana was sent to spend the entire summer at Fred's House under the ever-present and persistent gaze of his mother.

"Think about it this way," Fred said, noticing Ana's glum mood as they walked the train aisle looking for a compartment. "Now you get to spend the whole summer with me."

"And your brothers," Ana countered. "I don't think Percy will want to read Witch Weekly with me and braid my hair."

"I'll braid your hair," George said, reaching for it. Ana pulled back.

"You will not touch my hair."

"Your mistrust wounds me."

"It won't be the only thing to wound you if you ever so much as think of touching my hair again."

George laughed.

Ana returned her attention to Fred. "Look, Red, the prospect of seeing you all day every day is the sole redemption in this whole convoluted plan. I just worry about him, you know."

"I know," Fred replied, rubbing her back affectionately and kissing her forehead.

"Good Godric! I hope they don't act like that all summer. How do you live with it?" Ginny asked.

"With lots of numbing spells and vomit reducing tonic," George replied. "I hate to say it, Little Sister, but our dearest brother has changed."

"Your dearest brother, perhaps."

"What do you mean?" Fred asked.

"I've always preferred Charlie." Ginny smirked.

"Huh! Traitor!"

Ginny dodged Fred's attempted blow by ducking into a compartment with her friends.

"Hey, what's the little ferret doing down at that compartment?" George asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is it can't be good," Ana replied.

The three of them approached the compartment Draco and his two dunder head companions were standing outside of. It quickly became clear that Harry was on the inside with Ron and Hermione.

"Speaking of filth, here comes some more now," Draco said with a pinched sneer seeing their approach.

Ana rolled her eyes. "Your originality astounds me, Draco."

"And your stupidity astounds me. Tell me, how does it feel to be Slytherin's most tragic story?"

"Tragic?"

"You know, Mother once toyed with the idea of a match between you and me? Thankfully, Father saw that for the mistake it would have been. Not that it matters, now that you've tangled with filth."

"That's no bother to me. I'd prefer my guy to not have been down the trousers of another bloke." Ana smirked while Draco's face turned red and Goyle cracked his knuckles.

"You think you're so clever," Draco sneered. "But that won't be enough to save you or your precious Sev when the Dark Lord comes for him. Mudbloods," he looked in the compartment towards Hermione before looking back at Ana, "and blood-filth like you will be the first to go. Well, second. Cedric was fir…"

His words were cut off as several jets of light hit him and his compatriots. Fred, George, and everyone in the compartment had their wands directed at the trio that now lay sprawled on the floor. Ana was the only one who had not attacked; his comment about Sev left her reeling.

"Huh, interesting combination," George said as he stepped over the bodies and into the compartment. Fred and Ana followed him.

"I don't know how you were ever friends with that git," Fred said, taking a seat and pulling Ana down next to him.

"He was different when we were younger," Ana replied. "We were both lonely children with no other friends and we were forced to endure the rigorous lessons of the most vicious tutor in Britain." She saw the skeptical looks on their faces and sighed. "I don't know. Maybe we never really were friends; maybe it was all just a matter of convenience."

Ana wanted to shake off Draco's words and not let them get under her skin, but she knew there was truth behind them. As long as Sev remained her guardian, then his loyalty to You-Know-Who would always be in question. She didn't want anything to happen to him because of her.

Ana remained down for much of the train ride until something caught her attention in the aisle outside. Hestia had been walking by when she stopped suddenly. She looked down at the ground before looking in through the compartment window. She met Ana's gaze and cocked an eyebrow; Ana casually shrugged a single shoulder in response. The corner of Hestia's mouth lifted in a smirk and she nodded before carrying on. The exchange all happened so quickly that no-one else noticed, but it was enough to give Ana a tiny glimmer of hope for the future.

XXX

Ana arrived outside Fred's home clutching his arm tightly. Mrs. Weasley and Bill had met them on the platform and it was decided that apparition was the best way to travel. Mrs. Weasley didn't really want Ana to do a side along with Fred since he was so new to apparating, but Ana insisted that she trusted him (and she wasn't about to be left to wait for Bill or Mrs. Weasley to return.) All-in-all, the side along was rougher than she was used to, but a success nonetheless.

Now, Ana stood starring up at this structurally unsound building that the Weasley's called home. It looked as though it had once been a single story house but over the years additional floors had been added. Its crooked additions could only have been held up by magic and would surely drive any Muggle to madness trying to figure out how it was stable enough for living. Put simply, it was unlike any house Ana had ever seen before.

"Welcome to the Burrow," Fred said jovially. Then, seeing her wide eyes and slightly agape mouth, his demeanor dropped. "I know it's not much, but it's…"

"Wonderful," Ana said breathlessly.

Fred looked at her curiously.

"You've never seen Spinner's End. Where there's row upon row of identical charcoal gray houses, darkened by the ash of the old mill, and it's quite impossible to tell one apart from the other. But this… I doubt there's any other house like this in the world."

Fred smiled. "Well, wait 'til you see the inside."

The Burrow was as eclectic and unique on the inside as it was on the outside. They walked into a small sitting room; the kitchen was off to their right with a door leading out to the garden. A long stretch of wooden stairs that branched off to several landings stretched out before them. And everywhere Ana looked there were photographs and trinkets scattered over every surface. In the corner sat a large clock, but instead of having two hands to display the time there were nine hands each with the face of a family member on it. Six of those hands were in a shaded area labeled home, two were at work, and the third was out of the country.

Ana turned to Fred with a smile. "Sev would never approve of this. At Spinner's End, everything has a place and everything better stay in its place. There are two bookshelves full of manuscripts and potions texts, a couch and a seat for sitting and little else. There are no photographs; though, Sev does have his Masters displayed on the wall with pride."

"It sounds so dull. What do you do for fun?"

"Read potions texts and brew potions."

Fred's face turned sour.

"In more recent years, I've gone to spend a few days with Sadie or Hestia; I spent all of last summer with Sadie actually, at the beach. We…" Ana trailed off. "Well, it doesn't really matter. That was last year."

"Well, we have something better than the beach," he said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, a paddock out back where we play Quidditch."

Ana smiled. "You just said the magic word. When can we start?"

Fred grinned and walked to the foot of the stairs where he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. "Oi! Who's up for some Quidditch?"

There was a short pause before a door opened and Ginny poked her head out. "I'm in!"

George appeared beside them with a pop, startling Ana. "What are we waiting for?" he asked.

Then on the top landing, Ron stepped out. "Did someone say Quidditch?"

"Yeah! We're putting a game together!" George called back.

"Cool! I'll be right down!"

"Not now you're not," Mrs. Weasley said coming in from the kitchen. "First you're going to get your things up to your room and unpack. Your brother and Father will be home soon, and dinner will be ready within the hour."

"When can we play then?" Fred asked.

"Tomorrow. Perhaps. Now, go on, move. Ana, dear, you'll be rooming with Ginny."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Ana said as Mrs. Weasley walked away.

"Well, I'll see you a bit," Fred said.

"What do you mean? Isn't your room up there somewhere?"

"Sure it is, but I'm not climbing all those stairs. It's mad." Then he disapperated on the spot, leaving Ana to carry her trunk up alone.

"Git," she muttered before making her way up. Fortunately, she put a feather light charm on her trunk earlier making it quite easy to carry. When Ana reached the landing where Ginny had appeared, she found the door open.

"Did he make you lug that up here alone?" Ginny asked, eyeing Ana's large trunk.

"Yeah."

"Git."

Ana cocked a smile.

"Come on; you can take that bed. Hermione usually sleeps in it, but I guess we'll figure something out when she arrives."

"Granger is coming?"

"She usually does. Is that a problem?"

"No. Why would it be?"

Ginny shrugged and went back to her unpacking. Ana did the same while taking in her surroundings. The room as a tad too small for two beds, but Ginny didn't seem to mind. The walls were spattered with various Quidditch posters.

"Are you are Harpies fan?" Ana asked.

"I'm more of a Gewnog Jones fan," Ginny replied. "She's really brought the Harpies around in the last few years."

"That she has, but I still don't see that the thrill of being on a winning all girl team can surpass the thrill of beating all the boys."

"I don't give two bollocks what the boys think. Their feeble opinions have no effect on my skill."

Ana nearly choked on her surprise. From the way Fred talked about his little sister, Ana had not been expecting a reaction like that out of her.

"True," she said, "but you can't deny the pleasure you feel when you see that devastating look on their face when they're surpassed by a girl."

"Also true," Ginny conceded. "I'm taking some clothes down to Mum for washing; do you have anything you'd like me to take?"

"Oh! Um, sure. You can take these; thanks"

"Don't mention it. Seriously, don't tell anyone. I'm not running a maid service."

Ana vowed her silence before Ginny left. Ana didn't really have anywhere to unpack her things to, so she only took out some of her essentials. Ginny hadn't returned by the time she was done, so Ana stepped out on to the landing. She was just wondering which room belonged to Fred when he stepped out as well. He met her eyes almost immediately and waved her down with a smile. Ana was happy to oblige.

Fred's room wasn't much different from Ginny's, size wise. There were two beds in there too, one was quite clearly George's. There were black marks on the walls and various surfaces that Ana suspected were charred marks. The two desks had been pushed together facing each other and were cluttered with designs, product notes, scraps of paper, and what appeared to human ears. And the room itself played host to a lingering smell of smoldering ash.

"Do I even want to know what those are?" Ana asked, pointing to the ears.

"A work in progress that I'm sure you'll find quite beneficial too." He picked one up and handed it to Ana. "Extendable ears, used for listening in on distant conversations. Trouble is though…"

Ana ripped the ear away from her, wincing in pain and rubbing her own ear.

"…they only have one volume of loud."

"Loud?"

"Really loud?" he suggested instead.

"Still a bit of an understatement."

"Forget the ears for now," Fred said ginning. He tossed the ear back on the desk and pulled Ana flush against his body.

"Whoa. Well, hullo."

Fred's grin turned a little more suggestive. "You know, there is one thing, I've never done that I've always wanted to do."

"Oh? What's that?"

His grin turned cheeky.

Nearly an hour later they were still in the midst of a gobstones tournament.

"Bugger! Best of seven?" Fred asked as Ana captured his last gobstone and obtained the victory.

"Suits me; you're still going to lose, Red."

Ana divvied up the gobstones and they prepared for another match. They were fairly evenly matched truth be told. Anytime one took a stone, so did the other. Ana was just about to take her final shot. She had her gobstone positioned, she knew what force it would take to knock Fred's stone out; she was ready. She took a deep breath, and just as she went to take her shot… George appeared without warning and with a loud pop causing Ana to misfire and her stone went wildly off course. Fred whooped with delight.

"That doesn't count! Outside interference!" Ana claimed.

Fred didn't buy it though. "Nope. If you can't take the pressure then perhaps this isn't the game for you. You've got to remain focused against outside forces."

Fred began lining up his next shot. "A superb beater, such as myself, knows all about that. We've got to contend with the wind, the velocity of the other player, even the magic embedded within each bludger. It takes aim, precision of force, and perfect ti…"

CLAP!

Ana clapped loudly just as Fred made his shot, causing his gobstone to go as off course as Ana's had.

"Timing?" she asked.

"That's cheating!" he accused.

"No, that's leveling the playing field. If you can't take the pressure, then perhaps this isn't the game for you."

"I…"

"Gobstones?" George interrupted Fred. He was sitting on his bed, arms folded over his chest, and eyebrows raised. "You had a girl alone in your room for an hour and you were playing gobstones?"

"We'd never played against each other before," Ana replied.

"Yeah, someone was always too busy studying to play," Fred added.

"Aw, Freddie, you have so much to learn, Mate," George said.

Ana scoffed. "Like you're the one to teach him?"

"What would you know of it?" George asked.

"I'm friends with Sarah; girls talk to their friends."

George's eyes went wide and his smile faded.

"Wait! Are you saying you've talked to Katie and Angelina about me?" Fred asked. Ana smirked. "What did you say?"

"Aw, Red, you're adorably naïve if you think I'm telling you."

"Naïve? I'll show you naïve."

Fred launched himself at Ana, scattering their gobstones everywhere, and pinning Ana to the floor. He crawled on top of her until his face was inches from hers.

Meanwhile, George rolled his eyes. "You're don't have time for that now. Dad and Perc are home and Mum says supper is ready. She wants us all downstairs."

Fred sighed before reluctantly getting up and helping Ana to her feet. Even then though, he pulled her flush against him and wrapped one arm around her waist.

Gorge stood up. "I came as a favor to you; Mum will be up soon if you don't come quickly. You don't want her catching you like that with the door closed."

"Why? I'm not ashamed of loving your brother," Ana said.

Ana had never heard silence quite as deafening as the silence that followed her slip. She'd been thinking the words for weeks, but this was not how they were supposed to be said for the first time.

George's eyes went wide as he stared between Ana and his brother. "Come on, Freddie; don't be an idiot," he thought.

Fred stared unblinkingly back at Ana; momentarily at a complete loss. Then a slow easy grin began to spread across his face.

Ana tried back-tracking but once the words had been said they couldn't be unsaid, and she hesitated a moment too long to make any contradiction believable.

"It's ok, Little Snake. I love George's brother too," Fred said at last.

George sighed. "Idiot," he said before disapperating.

Ana stared in disbelief at Fred. Having him take the mickey on her was almost worse than him not saying the words back.

"I agree with, George," she said. "You are an idiot."

She tried to walk by him but he was still holding her hand and he spun her back in.

"Wait," he said softly.

Ana couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes, so she stared at his chest as she fought to keep her emotions in check. The silence seemed to stretch on for hours. Then he slowly tilted her head up to meet her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I love you too," he said sincerely. Then he kissed her gently, shortly, before disapperating with a loud pop.

Ana was once more left alone. "Bloody git."