The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 32: The Hideaway

"It was for the twins?" Alex and Calista hollered loudly, making Ana stand up to shush them frantically as the bustling students returned to the Great Hall.

The box that Calista got for Ana was sent to their appropriate people, that being the twins to practically everyone's dismay. From across the room during breakfast one day, the owls had swarmed in overhead to bring everyone their post Between the talons of two barns owls, was the package, nearly knocking out Oliver Wood as the birds dropped it mid-flight.

"What was for the twins?" Aeron asked not as loudly as the girls but loud enough for Ana to survey if anyone around them could be listening to their conversation, panic rushing through her at the idea of being heard.

"Shhhh! Shut up, absolutely everyone shut up."

Ana sat up higher on the bench as the twins opened up the box, but not before finding a small bit of parchment, holding it close to each other so no one else could look at it. Ron tried his hardest, but Fred was able to hold back the younger boy by holding him out at arm's length. After a few unsuccessful swings, Ron gave up, rolling his eyes as Fred shoved the paper into his robe pocket wile George ripped open the makeshift packaging.

Their brown eyes grew twice their size in surprise, holding up two t-shirts with designs they didn't recognize. In the first born's hands was a shirt that said "Nirvana" on it with a smiley face while George held one with three boys on it with the words "Hanson".

By this point all of Ana's friends had their eyes glued to the two boys with expressions of both amusement and confusion, wondering why in the world Ana would get the twins muggle t-shirts of all things. Meanwhile, the young blonde watched with a hazy smile as her favorite duo admired the t-shirts before shoving them on over their robes. The shirts squeezed them, given there was already too many layers beneath them, but the sight made Ana chuckle quietly.

"Since when have you been talking to them again?" Lucian whispered, noticing that Ana was making an effort to be on the more hushed side.

Aeron took particular interest in Lucian's question, his mind reverting back to the year prior when he asked the older boy to take her back to the Slytherin common room. The prank that left her broken and shivering left the boy simmering with a quiet anger as he waited for her response.

"It's been- Look, I'm not entirely sure how to explain it, but the twins aren't that bad."

Alex rolled her eyes exaggeratedly while Calista studied her with her big brown eyes. Ana didn't think about how her friends would react at her gift for the boys, she was too caught up in the excitement of doing something kind for them. Yet her foot tapped quickly beneath her robes, fighting off the nerves she felt at them judging her relationship with the lions.

"They're not bad, Lex! Seriou-"

"You've gotta be kidding me! The gits who nearly drowned you? You're chummy with them now?"

"I'm with Alex on this one," Aeron grumbled as he gulped down a bit of juice, his hooded lids gazing up at her with a stern expression.

Feeling overwhelmed by her friends' disappointment, Ana dropped her head, rolling around the donut that Lucian had given her. She felt her heart sink; for the whole year, the twins had been nothing but kind to her. Sure their childish behavior and annoying snide comments were worthy of an eye roll at best, but they didn't deserve this criticism.

When she needed it, they fed her, they clothed her. They provided her protection, albeit from their own pranks, but they never questioned helping her when it came to getting Flint off Aeron's back with their quirky antics. She assumed they'd be more annoyed by her fighting with the twins, not making peace with them.