Lillian 'Anna' Potter: Book Six

Prelude

The streets of the city were dark and cold, a light mist weaving throughout its many buildings. A young woman with long red hair walked through the fog, doc martens thudding along the concrete with each step.

  Her wand seemed grow warmer in the pocket of her jeans, where she now always kept it so that it was accessible at any moment's notice.

  Nothing was the same as it was. Though it had been her choice to leave, it hadn't been easy. Theft and deception had become second nature, and no matter where she ended up, she had only one mantra.

  Never stop moving.

  Countless wizards had followed her through her journey, though none had been slick enough to catch her. Why bother, when a teenage girl had nothing more to offer them than a small bonus at work?

  Anna tried not to imagine what her friends and family were going through. She had hoped the letters she had sent in Prague were enough, but it would be foolish of her to assume that would be the end of it. After all, Voldemort was back, meaning she had more than Ministry officials on her trail.

  Speaking of...

  Anna winced, remembering the wound she had sustained from the recent incident with a Death Eater fanatic. The wizard had never been officially inducted, though he had deluded himself into believing Anna's death would earn him a place in their ranks.

  The mallet had hurt, but she was fairly certain the spell she had used in return would hurt in more ways than one.

  Anna reached up to the back of her skull, frowning when her fingers came away crimson. "That will be annoying." She mused.

  "You were sloppy." A figure emerged from the shadows, revealing a stone-faced Boudica. "You let yourself get cocky. That was when he managed to wound you."

  "Sue me for not expecting a hammer at a wand fight." She deadpanned, wincing as she touched her head again. "Smart of him though. We rely too much on magic, nowadays. That was Voldemort's mistake, with Harry and I."

  Yet Boudica's glare didn't falter. "It wasn't an accident, Anna. You let him hit you. That's why we're discussing it."

Anna scoffed. "You act like I wanted a concussion."

"Didn't you?" Boudica asked, shaking her head. "You act like you want to be alone, but the truth is you miss them."

Anna rolled her eyes with a low chuckle. "That's stupid. You know the only reason I agreed to come back was to save Harry and destroy the horcruxes."

  Including myself. She finished on a darker note.

She supposed it didn't matter anymore. Nowadays, living seemed to be even more tiring than dying. Her only purpose now was to save her brother and be done with it all. There was no need for a happy ever-after when she could finally rest in the silken arms of death.

After she had run from Hogwarts, her first stop was to the Ministry of Magic, where she had managed to completely remove herself from the system, rendering her wand useful outside the Hogwarts school year.

Aside from traveling the world and running among other rogue wizards and criminals, she had been spending her time searching and searching for ways to seperate a horcrux and a person. So far, she had found only one lead, which lead her back to the reason she was back in Britain, roaming the streets of Diagon Alley.

  "I'll call you when I need you, Boudica. Otherwise you should return to the Burrow first, so that the others aren't too alarmed by my arrival." Anna smiled to herself at the thought of Ron's expression when he saw a much bigger Boudica prowling on the outskirts of the Burrow. "See you soon."

  "I hope you get what you came for, Anna." Boudica said, though her eyes seemed oddly mischievous as she blended back into the shadows before disappearing into the night.

  Anna couldn't help it as she closed her eyes and relaxed, breathing in the scent of butterbeer and pumpkin pasties as she stepped into the tavern. For a minute, it was like she was eleven again, and everything was right with the world.

  "Anna! You're here!"

  Suddenly, a pair of arms were wrapped tightly around her neck, causing her muscles to tense as Ginny squeezed her tightly.

  "Did you really think I wouldn't show?" Anna asked wryly, pretending not to notice as Ginny wiped the tears from her eyes.

  Not to mention the tears in her own.

  Despite her final feelings on everything, Anna had missed her best friend.

  "It's been so long, I thought you weren't going to." Ginny admitted, scratching the back of her neck as the girls slid into a booth, a plate of pastries already sitting in the middle. "You like the bakery here, right?"

  "My taste buds haven't changed." Anna reassured her, taking a bite as she nodded happily in approval.

  She sighed, meeting Ginny's eyes. "But we're not here to talk pleasantries over pastries."

  "I'd hope not." Her chocolate irises welled with hurt. "You left us, Anna. Everyone's been worried about you. We didn't know where you were, what was going on - especially now that he's returned-"

  "I know, I know." Anna groaned.

  She looked up. "But as much as I'd prefer to plead insanity, it wasn't that. After everything that happened - Draco..." Anna inhaled sharply, pain blossoming from within her chest. "I just had to get away, Gin. From everything - even if it was just for a little while. I'm sorry for not coming back sooner."

  It was a full-out lie. Truthfully, if it were up to her, she would've never come back at all. Her old life was too painful to return to. Some demons just had to stay buried.

  Yet Ginny didn't sense this, lips relaxing into a soft smile as she reached out, wrapping Anna in another tight embrace. "Mum's going to have your head, you know." She muttered into Anna's neck.

  At that, Anna smiled. It's been awhile since she's had people to come home to. "I missed you too."

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Sorry for the late return but I'm finally back! I figured winter break would give me the chance to finally start this again :'). Merry Christmas!!