The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 28: Training Wheels

The preposterous explanation given to her by her father woke Ana fully out of her sleep. In a frenzy of sweaters and thick long skirts, Ana got dressed within seconds time, not caring about anything other than getting a better answer out of her father. Her bed was left in a crumpled mess, the duvet half laying on the floor from when she jumped out of its warmth. She wished to crawl back in, but she feared whatever reaction she'd receive from her father if she left him waiting. Her bare feet skidded on the cold floor, slipping as she rushed to put on her socks and heeled leather boots. They were horribly inappropriate for the amount of the snow that plagued Wiltshire in the middle of the night; but it was all she had.

When she caught up to her father, he had his cane sturdy in his hand, gripping it tighter as she rounded the corner towards him. His face was stern and serious, not in a gaming mood. Not in a mood for questions. In his other gloved hand was her trunk, the gold hardware on the luggage was dinged from him haphazardly flinging it about, but Ana wasn't going to mention it.

With a huff, her father pushed open the large doors of the manor, the piercing cold wind hit her in the face like she had been slapped. It became harder to breathe the longer she was outside; but all she could do was hold her sleeve up to her mouth to try and shield herself from the raging storm. Ana's heart felt heavy at the thought of leaving Draco behind, especially after what happened the night before. But as she began her travel with her father in utter silence across the frozen countryside, she found that even if she did want to say goodbye to her little brother, she ultimately had no time to do so.

After apparating partially to Diagon Alley, her solitary trip on the Hogwarts Express, and her tedious walk from the Hogsmeade Station across the long wooden bridge that connected the two pieces of land, Ana was exhausted. The hood on her thin yet lux coat kept flying back from walking against the wind, and her boots left her feet cold and wet.

When Ana arrived to the castle, her fingers were nearly burnt blue as the frigid air relentlessly attacked her. It was infinitely colder, traversing all the way to Scotland in the early hours of Christmas Day by herself. She never found a good time to ask her father why she was being sent back to the school in the middle of her break; no time was a good time when it came to him. Ana was left with more questions than anything, but one question she didn't want answered was how Draco would look when he realized she was missing. The thought alone was enough to prick the inner corner of her eyes with tears, but they never fell as she sniffled her running nose.

However, when she got to the gates of the school, she was met with a surprising face.

"Professor Snape?"

The potions master was waiting for her, looking like a gargoyle all stiff in the snow as it settled on his cloaked shoulders and swoopy hair. His nose was still highly visible as the morning sun peaked above the forest trees, the glow silhouetted his nose over any other feature. She shuffled faster towards him, the snow piling around her ankles with every step.

As soon as the second year grew close to him, he twirled on his heels and began gliding back into the castle without a word. She followed close behind, shuddering loudly at the way the warmth from the school halls immediately brought her icy skin some relief. Her mediocre boots left a trail of snow behind her, marking her journey from the entrance down into the dungeons as she dragged her trunk behind her.

The professor ended up bringing her to his office where he started the fireplace in the dingy room with a wave of his wand. Ana took it upon herself to collapse in one of his chairs, leaning towards the glowing flames of the fire, wishing to jump inside it just to kill the ache in her bones even for a second.