The Flower and the Badger

Chapter 8

Anna woke up as class ended. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Well....it would seem like she was about to help another ghost. Or, ghosts in this case. She remembered what her mother said about using discretion, and that not all ghosts deserved to move on. But surely these ones did. They were kids, for crying out loud. She packed up her things and left the room to see Fred waiting for her. "Uh oh." Fred chuckled softly. "You have that, 'someone asked for my help and I couldn't tell them no' look on your face."
"Oh it's nothing much. I only fell asleep in the middle of History of Magic and found out that there was a fire like, fourty years ago in Gryffindor Tower and now all the people that died in the fire want me to find out who caused it."
"Woah." Fred's eyes widened a bit. "I was only joking about the whole 'someone asked for you help bit'. You're saying that someone deliberately started a fire in Gryffindor Tower?"
"Yeah, in like 1957. I'll explain in a bit. I want to find Harry and tell him about it too."
After they found Harry studying in the library, Anna led them all out to the courtyard. It was quite warm, for being near the middle of October. She explained all about her dream to them.
"Ghosts just can't seem to stay away from you." Harry chuckled as he shook his head.  "It's like you're holding up some invisible sign that only ghosts can see: FREE HELP FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO MOVE ON."
Anna rolled her eyes. "Oh shush. But....that's not all. When I fainted on the train after the whole thing with that Dementor....I saw Mum and Dad."
"You what?" Harry gasped. "And you're just now telling me about this? What was it like? What did they say?"
"Well, they told me to use discretion when dealing with ghosts, and that not all of them deserve to move on to the afterlife."
Fred nodded slowly. "That makes sense. I'm sure that there's quite a few ghosts who haven't moved on because they committed some dastardly deed. However, I think that with these kids you're safe."
Harry nodded in agreement. "And we'll help you, as much as we can. I'm sure that Hermione and Ron will help too."
"Hermione can hopefully help me find some information on the fire." Anna mused. "Harry, do you know where she is now?"
"I think that she's studying over by the Black Lake."
"Thanks." Anna ran off to find her, and she plopped down next to her. "Hermione, I need....hold on, are you crying?"
Hermione's eyes were red and puffy, and she had tear stains on her cheeks. "It's nothing." She said as she wiped at her eyes. "I'm fine."
"You obviously aren't. Tell me what happened. Who hurt you?" Anna was positive that she would be hexing somebody today, perhaps multiple people.
"It's really nothing." Hermione tried to insist. "Really Anna it's fine." She didn't want Anna to get into any trouble.
"Damn it Mione, no it's not!" Anna snapped. "Someone obviously hurt you, and they need to pay. Now who bloody was it?"
Hermione sighed. "It was some sixth year Slytherins. They were mocking me, calling me a Mudblood."
Anna growled under her breath. It looked like there were some Slytherins that would have hell to pay.

And pay they did. When Anna found the Slytherins that had bullied Hermione, she hexed them so badly that they wouldn't be able to show their faces around the school for a few days. She mad boils appear on their skin, as well as turn their hair blue.
"That was bloody brilliant!" George praised her.
"A prank that's worthy of a Weasley!" Fred said, beaming with pride as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist."Bet that they'll think twice before they decide to mess with you or Granger again."
"They better." Anna mumbled. She hated that people bullied Hermione just because of her blood status. "I'm gonna head back and check on her."
She quickly pecked Fred's lips before scurrying off to the common room. Hermione was, in fact, doing much better than she had been earlier, and the girls chatted until late. Hermione yawned. "I think that I'm going to go to bed."
"Alright." Anna replied. "Night Mione."  Anna wasn't feeling tired just yet, so she snuck outside to get some fresh air. A full moon glowed brilliantly in the night sky, and she hummed softly as she wandered the grounds. Suddenly a howl pierced the air, making Anna freeze in her tracks. She wasn't anywhere near the Forbidden Forest, there shouldn't be any animals out besides the occasional squirrel or rabbit. Anna decided that it might be in her best interest to head back inside the castle, and she turned when she heard a growling behind her. Breathing heavily, Anna turned back around to face....a werewolf. The werewolf growled at her, slowly advancing upon her.
"Shit..." Anna mumbled, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. This wasn't good, this wasn't good at all. The werewolf pounced on her, and Anna's scream pierced the still night air as the werewolf's fangs sank into her shoulder. She kicked at the werewolf, and he fell off of her. Anna got up and she took off running but she didn't get very far. The werewolf pounced on her back, its claws sinking into the flesh between her shoulder blades. There was a growl and an angry bark, and the werewolf was tackled by a big black dog. Anna didn't stay to watch the fight. She got up and stumbled back towards the castle. She could feel the blood dripping down her back, her shirt was probably soaked through. What remained of her shirt anyway. The back of it was probably torn to shreds. She walked into the castle, having to lean against one of the walls for support. She felt so weak, she had lost a lot of blood by this point.
"Miss Potter!" Snape snarled. "What are you-" He stopped when he saw her condition.
"P-Professor..." Anna fell to the ground, and the last thing that she heard was for Snape yelling at Filch to get Madame Pomfrey.