The weeks went by and before they knew it, the snow was falling from the sky. Holiday was approaching quickly and it was the last meeting for the DA until after Christmas.
The clock chimed six times and Harry spoke up.
"Okay everyone, good job today. Have a good holiday!" He said with a smile, and almost everyone started filing out after Nigel made sure the coast was clear.
"Hey Harry, can I talk to you for a second?" Cho Chang asked as Harry was getting ready to leave.
"Um, sure-"
"Harry, are you coming?" Anna came over to ask Harry, ignoring Cho's presence. He bit his lip.
"Erm...I'm staying behind for a bit-"
"Why? Do you want me to also-"
"No, just leave," Harry said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Anna frowned and nodded.
"Sorry for asking...I'll see you later I guess..." She said with a sad smile and left. Harry had been pushing her away as much as possible for the past few weeks and Ron and Hermione hung out more, leaving her to be the odd one out. She couldn't help to be a bit sad and annoyed by this, but she just used her time to study for OWL's and hang out with Hagrid more. Oddly enough, they found out they had similar interests and she started learning more about magical creatures.
Anna closed the door behind her after the last few people filed out, leaving just Cho and Harry in an awkward silence. She took a step closer to him and frowned.
"You know, I miss Cedric a lot... Do you...do you think he would know all of this?" She asked, making sure she said it really quietly. Forcing her eyes to water, she gleamed up at Harry. He gave a pained sympathetic expression. She didn't truly understand what it felt like to lose him... She didn't see him murdered by Voldemort like him and Anna did.
"Of course he would have," Harry forced a smile. Cho stepped even closer to him, their faces inches apart.
"Look up," she whispered. His heartbeat quickened as her breath brushed his face. He glanced up and saw a plant. "Mistletoe Harry." She closed the small gap between them and pressed her lips to his. He wasn't a good boyfriend to Anna by pulling away immediately. Instead, he went with it and kissed her back.
What they didn't know was that Anna was watching in horror in the shadows by the door. Her hand scrambled for the door handle and she darted out of the room. Hot tears threatened to escape from her eyes as she walked quickly to the girls dorm. She took a deep breath and say in the edge of her four-poster bed. Why did Harry just do that? She wondered. Has he been cheating on me before this? Was I too dumb to notice? She put her head in her hands and let out a sob. It might seem like she was being dramatic, but her heart was shattered. She really trusted him and loved him. Was it bad that she didn't hate him at all? That she lost no feelings for him?
"Anna?" Hermione asked, opening the door and interrupting Anna's burst of sadness. She quickly wiped her eyes and looked up, plastering a fake smile on her face. "Yes Hermione?"
"I was wondering if you had seen... Were you crying?" She asked, concern spreading across her face.
"No, of course not...why would I be crying?" Anna asked, faking a confused tone.
"I don't know... Anyways, have you seen Harry?" Hermione asked and Anna swallowed a sob.
"Yeah, I actually just saw him snogging Cho, you can find them in the Room of Requirement," she said bitterly, a tear or two escaping her eyes and rolling slowly down her face. Hermione gasped.
"What?... Oh Merlin...I'm so sorry Anna..."
"Save it, I...I don't even care..."
"Anna, we all know that you care-"
"He wishes," Anna laughed bitterly. Hermione shook her head and sat next to her on the bed.
"Listen, Anna, I know you're trying to be strong, but-"
"Forget it, I'm fine," she said quickly, finding it harder and harder to keep back tears. After a few seconds of silence, the sobs that Hermione expected to come were present. Anna couldn't stop crying and Hermione pulled her into a side hug, trying to console her with kind words.
Meanwhile, Harry snogged Cho. They finally broke apart and Cho giggled.
"You're a really good kisser."
"Erm...thanks?" He said awkwardly, something felt off. Suddenly, a pain shot through his head and he blinked hard. "Oh no..." he said, realizing what be just did.
"What's wrong? Did you not like it?"
"I...I cheated on my girlfriend... This can't be happening..." he said, running a hand through his hair. Everything felt surreal. He didn't do this. Voldemort had influenced him to. Another way of pushing everyone away.
"So? Now you can have me. And I promise you I am a lot better than her," she said bitterly.
"No...you're not... I'm in love with her... Why did you do this?!"
"Me? Well, I initiated it but you were the one to go along with it-"
"I have to go," Harry said quickly, running out of the room. He didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do, but he had to do something. He had to make sure Anna didn't find out. And if she did... He shuddered at the thought, he knew his life would be a living hell because she loved revenge.
As he was running aimlessly around the school, he ran right into someone and knocked them over.
"I'm so sorry!" He exclaimed, ready to reach down. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Anna, clutching her forehead. She blindly took his hand and he pulled her up. "are you okay Anna?"
"Yeah, I'm..." she opened her eyes and couldn't help but glare when she saw him. "Freaking fantastic."
"What's wrong-"
"You cheating bastard you know exactly what's wrong!" She yelled, gathering the attention of nearby students.
"Anna, I swear-"
"That you snogged Cho? Yeah, I saw you!"
"Wait a second...why were you in the room of requirement in the first place? Were you spying on me?"
"What? No, don't be so full of yourself. I had forgotten my bag and went back to get it," she said through gritted teeth. He shook his head.
"I'm so sorry, but Voldemort-"
"Ha, don't even blame this on him! I've noticed lately how you've used Voldemort as an excuse to be mean to me, to ignore me, to just be a complete douche. And I'm an idiot for actually sympathizing with you... How long have you been cheating on me anyways?"
"It was just this one time-"
"Why did I even bother asking? You've probably done it before. How can I even believe you?!" She exclaimed. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but she just shook her head. "I'm sorry I wasn't good enough... I hope you do find someone that can deal with you," the words hit Harry hard, he couldn't even form any words to fall out to Anna as she walked away.
***************
"Anna, are you okay?" Luna asked as Anna walked down the corridor, her head down. She stopped when she heard Luna's sweet voice.
"Um yeah...I'm fine..." she said quietly with a forced smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"No, you're not. What's wrong?" Anna brought her chocolate brown eyes up to Luna's big blue ones, but quickly looked at the ground again.
"It's really not a big deal. Harry just cheated on me..."
"What?! Are you sure it was him?! When-"
"Yes, it was him. And I caught him yesterday. He was snogging Cho in the room if requirement."
"I'm so sorry..." Luna trailed off, giving Anna a big hug. Her heart did a flip.
***************
Two days passed and Harry had suffered more than Anna. No one talked to him anymore besides Cho, who clung to him like a leech. Surprisingly, Anna had not done anything bad to get revenge and didn't spread the word about him cheating, it was Ron who had made his life a living hell instead.
He told everyone in the school what happened and encouraged Cho to cling to him. Harry hated Ron for turning on him but knew that he deserved it.
He tossed and turned, the regret preventing him from sleeping. Glancing at the clock, he groaned when he saw how late it was. After a while, he finally forced himself to sleep. The world morphed around him until he was in a dark hallway with greenish-black shiny bricks making up the walls and floor.
"Someone, please..." Harry turned around and saw Arthur Weasley. He tried to speak, but could only stare at Arthur, who was tied in a chair, blood trickling down his forehead. For some sick, twisted reason, Harry had a longing desire to kill Arthur, or to just maim him. Either way, he couldn't help himself as he...slid closer? He looked down and saw a scaly, thin snake body. He was losing control quicker by the second. His desire gotten the best of him, and he struck.
"HEY!" someone yelled, diverting the snake's attention. Anna's eyes widened when the snake slid closer.
"Anna, what are you doing here? How-"
"Not a good time for conversation!" she squeaked as the snake snapped, but she dodged it. She scrambled over to Arthur in an attempt to untie him, but there was no way she could do it quick enough. The snake snapped again, and she gasped. "H...Harry?" she asked quietly, not being able to stop staring into the emerald eyes she had known for so many years. She recognized the snake as Nagini, Voldemort's vicious pet, but she originally had red eyes.
Anna yelped when she moved a second too late. A burning sensation shot up her arm from the snake bite. But she had to keep going. "Stupefy!" That just seemed to aggravate the snake more. "Expelliarmus?" Nothing. "Ugh, you're even stubborn when you're a snake." She resorted to using fire. Bringing her hands up, a wall of fire separated her and Arthur from the snake. She secretly hoped Harry was okay and didn't get burned as she quickly untied the knots that bound the ginger to the chair.
"Anna, answer me, why are you here?!"
"Listen, you need to leave right now. I don't know how I got here, but you have to run and stay safe."
"But you-"
"I'm not going to argue with you! Leave me be, I can hold my own, I defeated Voldemort, a little snake won't be a problem. Now go, I can't hold this for much longer!" she said through gritted teeth as she grew more tired by the second. Arthur kept protesting, but Anna was desperate. She took a deep breath and concentrated. How could she do two spells at once? "Imperio," she whispered, and commanded Arthur to leave. He did so with a glee expression and she collapsed, but spells wearing off. Anna had no energy left and couldn't even sit up.
"Prepare to die," Nagini/Harry hissed.
"Please...don't do this..." she whimpered, but the snake struck, and that was it.
***********************
"AAAARRRGGHHHHH STOP!" Anna screamed, breathing heavily while she was sprawled on the floor. "PLEASE, OH GOD WHY?!?!" her voice crack and she started sobbing. The Gryffindor girls circled around her and turned on the light. They gasped when they saw their friend covered in crimson blood, along with the floor. Lavender kneeled down next to her before Hermione could.
"Oh...what even happened to you?" she asked softly, trying to inspect her wounds.
"MERLIN, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE STOP, WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!"
"Lavender, she isn't awake, she's probably in a vision."
"Where she's bleeding to death?!" she exclaimed with a horrified expression. The Patil twins clutched each other and Lavender along with Hermione stayed near her convulsing figure. The door burst open, and the Ron, Harry, Seamus, and Neville came in.
"What's...oh merlin, what's wrong with her?" Neville asked, his eyes wide.
"Okay, how did you get up here? Isn't the staircase enchanted-"
"NO, GET AWAY FROM ME!" Anna yelled and let out another scream as she bled more.
"It wasn't easy-"
"Hey, can we remember our priorities please?" Ron growled, shoving everyone away and picking up Anna even though she was thrashing. "I'll take her."
"Ron, I-"
"Shut up and go to Dumbledore," Ron snarled. But before leaving, Anna was still and screamed, "I HATE YOU, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS!" No one else but Harry knew this was directed at him, and he felt an insane amount of guilt as he ran to Dumbledore's office.
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Hey, my lovelies! I want to thank you for reading and all of the nice demands for me to update. Ha, but really, I'm happy that you guys like my story. I have a little surprise for you, and I can't wait to reveal it, but I have to wait, and you'll see why. I love you and thank you for being so supportive :)