The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 18: The Final Days

At the sound of the verdict, Fred's head snapped to stare at Ana in astonishment; her face was stone cold once again and it sent a shiver down his spine. He couldn't believe that he had actually screwed up so badly that the girl he wanted to make smile on the train didn't trust him. But he couldn't blame her. He probably wouldn't trust someone like himself either. Neither rage nor resentment filled his chest, only disappointment. He stared at the young Slytherin girl's hands which were bandaged and sore and the sight of dried blood on her chin made him hate whoever did that to her. It made him sick to his stomach.

            Ana didn't deserve it. What he had done to her in the past had been bothering him for weeks. Every night he went to bed and stared at the map and every time he was disappointed to see that the Astronomy Tower was empty. He would've preferred to see Ana and Aeron studying right now than to know that his actions drove her away. It's too late, he thought.

            George sighed loudly and shook his head as he surrendered to her verdict. Charlie, unable to think of his little brothers' fates turned away from them all entirely and retreated to the back of the office to pace the room.

            They were going to be expelled, Fred knew this. Godric, all he could think about was how they were going to be murdered by their mother. However, he didn't have enough time to panic because Ana began speaking again.

            "I don't trust them," she repeated as if she was trying to convince herself about what she was about to say next, "but I trust my gut."

            Dumbledore stared at the girl patiently, yet intensely, this was not how he expected this meeting to go at all. To be honest, he assumed the young girl would've immediately jumped at the chance to get rid of the two boys. Despite how much she disliked them at the current moment, the idea of assuming they were to blame didn't sit well with her. The boys were annoying and reckless and incredibly confusing. She hated how Fred was so irritating and she hated how George enabled his brother. But they weren't evil.

            "My gut says that they didn't do it. Could they have? Sure. But I cannot say that they did it."

            She trusted her judgement far too much to hold her grudge. When she looked at the twins, she couldn't picture them setting off fireworks on the student body and then being stupid enough to get caught. The boys were a lot of things but dumb wasn't one of them.

            "So once again, you do not think they did it, Ms. Malfoy?"

            Against her better judgement, she gazed at the twins and their older brother who had popped his head back in. Charlie and George looked at her like she was their savior which she was depending on what Dumbledore was going to do with her input. But Fred looked at her like he was scared of her. His brown eyes were wide with worry and she had never seen him so antsy; the chairs were shaking with how hard he was bouncing his leg. She had never seen him look so nervous before; and he should be, she thought. Her showing mercy right now was as selfless as she assumed she'd ever be again.

            "I do not think they did it. The twins are outlandishly aggravating to me," she said with a light chuckle, "and yet, I would bet this wasn't them."

            Silence filled the air and Ana began to wonder what time it was. Her eyes were growing heavy even under the bright lights that Dumbledore insisted on having in his office. It had been an excruciatingly long day and all Ana wanted was to go take a shower and fall into a deep sleep. Perhaps she wouldn't even need her dreamless sleep potion with how tired she was. 

            Dumbledore dipped his head in acknowledgement and he stood up in front of the four students. "Boys, given the circumstances, I am worried I cannot let you go without some sort of punishment." Before the boys could get sadder, the headmaster continued. "For sneaking out of the Great Hall, I am afraid I will have to deduct twenty five house points from Gryffindor. Fifty since you come in a pair," he joked which seemed inappropriate given the circumstances.