The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 6: Ammunition

Fred was confusing. After their talk in the hospital wing, Fred and Ana didn't come to an agreement. Neither of them had apologized for anything they had done. There was shouting, and pouting, and pounding adrenaline racing through them both as they aired out their grievances. And yet, there was no reconciliation. All of this left Ana confused, because she was no longer feeling angry at the boys. Sure, they were a pain to her and endlessly annoying, but perhaps she could have a bit of fun. If they were going to prank her and the Slytherin house, she might as well beat them at their own game.

            And it didn't take long for the twins to prank the group. A week or so from their "fight" the twins had bribed a house elf to serve Ana and her friends some tea during dinner. That would have been a nice gesture had it not been for the nose-biting teacups that snapped at them.

            "I've seen these before," Lucian jumped to sit next to Ana on the benches. "It's a Zonko product. The twins got me good last year with one of these." He picked up the tea cup which began snapping furiously at him, trying so hard to nip at the boy.

            "Well, then it's game on," Ana smirked. She took a glance over at the Gryffindor table where the twins waved at her in mock innocence. They looked so smug and Ana wanted nothing then to wipe those dumb grins off their faces.

            "What are you talking about, Ana?" Calista was dabbing a napkin on Alex's cheek; the teacup had bit her hard enough to break the skin. Alex was holding perfectly still, allowing the girl to mend her small wound which Ana found adorable.

            While Ana's attention was on the girls, Lucian began taking notice at the way Aeron was watching the group. Every meal, Aeron would sit close enough to the group to overhear everything, but far enough to seem uninvolved. He was shoveling food into his mouth, but would constantly peer over periodically. When the boy looked up from his food and caught Lucian's suspicious expression, he smirked and returned to his meal.

            "Look, the twins keep messing with people because no one fights back," Ana explained excitedly, taking a stab at her strawberry and plopping it in her mouth. "Maybe instead of being sitting ducks we could do a bit of pranking ourselves."

            All of them stared at her in disbelief.

            "Ana, what happened to just ignoring them," Alex reminded her with a chuckle, "Have you eaten anything weird lately?"

            Lucian rolled his eyes at his sister's accusation, "There's a reason no one pranks them. They'll go even harder on you. Besides, you're not one to retaliate. What do you- so you want to prank them back?"

            Ana studied her friends, both the girls staring at her in confusion. Lucian was analyzing her, anticipating her next out-of-character statement. All their expressions made her a little uncomfortable, but she couldn't ignore just how exhilarated she felt. Her heart was beating hard and she didn't know if this was nerves or excitement, but the idea of beating the twins at their own game felt like something she couldn't pass up.

            "Seriously? None of you have thought about pranking them back? Maybe sprinkle a little Alihotsy leaves into their tea?" Ana was buzzing with ideas.

            "That's a childish move."

            The four of them turned to Aeron, finally deciding to join in on their conversation after eavesdropping the whole meal. He finally put down his fork and shuffled closer to the group, sitting beside Alex and Calista. He folded his boney fingers together and leaned forward, bringing his long thin face mere inches away from Ana's.