As soon as Cedric saw the headline of The Daily Prophet, he grabbed Anna's arm and ushered her out of the Ministry before apparating back to Grimmauld Place. Remus looked at them in surprise. "Cedric? Anna?"
"Did you read the Daily Prophet this morning?" Cedric asked, and Remus shook his head. "No, I haven't had the chance to read it yet." He frowned as he looked at his goddaughter. "What's going on?"
"Rita Skeeter." Anna mumbled. "She's revealed me as a Death Eater."
Remus' face paled. "This isn't good."
"Yeah, no shit."
"What's going on?" Sirius came down the stairs and the situation was explained to him. Sirius ran his hands through his hair. "Well, I suppose that you'll have to stay here, no going anywhere."
"What about when school starts back up again?" Anna asked, and Sirius shook his head. "Unless things clear up, I don't think that you should go back to school."
Anna's eyes widened. "What?! But I have to! I only have two years left and I have to graduate if I want to become a magizoologist!"
"Anna, it's too dangerous." Remus said in agreement with Sirius. "I'm sorry, but unless things die down, you aren't going to go back to Hogwarts."
Tears filled Anna's eyes as she stormed away. "Anna." Cedric grabbed her wrist. "They're just trying to look out for you."
"So you agree with them then?" Anna said with a scoff, and Cedric sighed. "I do."
"I can't believe you Cedric Diggory! I can't, I won't throw my future away!"
"At least you would have a bloody future!" Cedric snapped, and Anna blinked in surprise, her eyes growing wide. Cedric never snapped or yelled, not at her. "Would you stop being so bloody stubborn and just think for a minute?! Your life is on the bloody line!"
"Cedric." Sirius put a hand on his shoulder. "Ease up a little bit."
Anna yanked her wrist out of Cedric's grip and went to her room, slamming her door hard and causing the portrait of Walburga Black to start screaming. Anna sat on the edge of her bed, running her hands through her hair. Everything had been going so perfectly, and now it was all coming crashing down on her. Anna didn't know what she would do if she weren't able to go back to Hogwarts, she didn't want to live the rest of her life working as a waitress or a janitor or something like that. Cody whimpered as he jumped onto her bed, moving onto her lap and licking at the tears that had started to fall down her face.
"Oh Cody..." Anna whispered. "What am I going to do?"
Almost a month and a half had passed, and things weren't looking any better for Anna. Remus was trying to work with Kingsley to try and get her name cleared, but things were going slowly. Ever since their argument, Cedric and Anna barely talked, Cedric didn't even really come over anymore; Anna wondered if he had found someone else. She wouldn't really blame him if he had, she had a lot of baggage and not everyone could deal with that.
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Harry stood in her doorway, a bright grin on his face.
"Harry!" Anna squealed, jumping off of her bed and tackling him in a hug. Harry laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. "What are you even doing here?" Anna asked as she brushed his messy black hair out of his face.
"Oh come on, did you really think that I wouldn't come to see you on our birthday?"
"Birthday?" Anna asked, blinking. "Is it really our birthday already?"
"Someone's been off in space."
"I've had a lot on my plate."
Harry sighed softly. "I heard about what happened between you and Cedric. How you holding up?"
Anna bit her lip as she avoided his gaze. "Not well."
His smile slowly returned. There's something waiting for you downstairs that might make you feel a bit better."
"What?" Anna frowned in confusion before walking downstairs.
"SUPRISE!!!" Anna screamed, nearly dying of a heart attack as a bunch of people jumped out of their hiding spots. The Weasleys were there, as was Tonks, Hermione, Sirius, Remus and...Cedric. Anna and Cedric stared at each other for a long moment before Tonks nudged Cedric forward. Anna bit her lip as she looked at him.
"I'm sorry." He murmured, and Anna took his hand. "So am I."
Cedric brushed his lips against hers, and Anna wrapped her arms around his neck. Cedric placed his hands on her back, pulling her in closer as the kiss deepened.
"PDA!" Sirius shouted. "Save that for the bedroom kiddos!"
Anna laughed as she and Cedric pulled apart, and Cedric smirked at her. "That's an idea." He said, only half teasing. "Give you your 'birthday present'."
Anna blushed darkly, and she hid her face in Cedric's chest. Cedric laughed lightly as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Come on love, let's go and open your presents."
Molly sat next to Anna on the couch, probably to keep her and Cedric from sharing any more displays of affection. Before they could open presents, however, Molly asked her how she was dealing with everything.
"I-I'm alright I guess." Anna said with a sigh. "I suppose that the hardest part of all this is that I might not be able to go back to school."
"Oh, I understand dear."
But Molly didn't understand, not really. She didn't know what it was like to have everyone hate her, to think that she was something that she wasn't. Anna wasn't a traitor or a murderer. Yes, she had killed someone, but Anna hadn't been in her right mind. Not that it was any excuse. Even if she had been mind wiped, she still should have realized that what she had been doing was wrong. Tonks placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you open your presents now?" She suggested before sending a look Molly's way that said 'This is supposed to be a happy day, don't be ruining it with talk like that'. Tonks then handed Anna a small gift bag. "Happy birthday Annie." Inside of the bag was a Muggle book, The Maze Runner, along with a pack of playing cards that shuffled and dealt themselves. Remus and Sirius had gotten her a new collar for Cody, his old one was starting to get kind of frayed. Harry gave her a Weird Sisters shirt, Fred and George gave her a bunch of things from their shop, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given her a trademark Weasley sweater, Ron gave her an advanced copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Hermione gave her something to keep all of her homework in order.
"I'm confident you'll be able to come back to school." Hermione said, which raised Anna's hopes somewhat.
Lastly was Cedric's gift. He told Anna to close her eyes and hold out her hands. She reluctantly did so, slightly suspicious of him. He placed something small and furry in her hands. "Open." He said softly, and Anna opened her eyes, gasping when she saw a baby Kneazle in her hands. "Oh Cedric..." She whispered. The creature resembled Crookshanks with its ginger fur and a lion type tail, although Hermione was quick to assure her that Crookshanks had definitely not had any litters of kittens. The kitten mewed, already falling asleep in Anna's hands."
"She's beautiful." Anna murmured, beaming up at Cedric. "This is the best birthday ever."
Cedric smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad love. What are you going to name her?"
Anna looked down at the sleeping kitten. "Adriana. I'm going to call her Adriana." After all, the woman had been the start of all Anna's adventures, Anna didn't think that she would be where she was if it hadn't been for Adriana.
After everyone had left, Anna and Cedric were cleaning up, Cedric insisting that Sirius and Remus go and get some sleep. "We can handle things, it's getting late."
Remus looked ready to protest, he didn't really want to leave them alone, but Sirius took his hand and dragged him away. "There's condoms in the bathroom!" Sirius called out, which made Remus protest even more, and Anna groaned in embarrassment. "Merlin, he's so embarrassing." She muttered, causing Cedric to laugh lightly before he waved his wand, causing the mess to clean itself up.
"Show-off." Anna grumbled, obviously a bit pissed off because she couldn't use magic outside of school.
(This next part is going to have some making out and implied sex, so feel free to skip)
Cedric smiled as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You're hot when you get angry." He whispered in her ear, causing goosebumps to rise along Anna's neck.
"Cedric..." She whispered as he kissed just below her ear.
"I told you that I had another birthday present for you." His voice was low and husky, causing Anna to shudder. It was obvious what Cedric was suggesting, but was she ready for this step? She loved Cedric, he was her everything, and that answered everything. Yes, she was ready. She turned around, kissing Cedric hungrily. Cedric immediately kissed her back, pinning her to the wall. Anna jumped, wrapping her legs around his waist. He gripped her thighs firmly to keep her steady, nipping at her lower lip. She teasingly denied him entrance and Cedric growled softly, biting down harder on her lip. Anna gasped in surprise, and Cedric used this opportunity to slide his tongue in, and his hands slipped under her shirt, resting at her sides. Keeping a tight grip on her, he carried her upstairs to her bedroom, kicking the door closed and muttering a silencing spell before tossing her onto the bed, climbing on top of her and nibbling at her neck.
"You're so beautiful." He murmured, causing her to blush as she tugged at his hair. "Love..." He pulled away, looking into her eyes. "Do you trust me?"
"Always." Anna whispered. The clothes came off, and the two became one, reveling in the splendor that was the love that they had for each other.
The next morning, Anna groaned as sunlight streamed in through the windows, causing her to wake up. She heard Cedric's soft chuckle, and her eyes drifted up his bare torso. So last night had really happened. Cedric's arms were wrapped around her, their legs tangled together. "Remus is probably going to kill you." She said, causing Cedric to laugh. "I'm sure that Sirius will hold him back."
"You two lovebirds up yet?" Sirius called up the stairs. "Or are you still passed out from your night of passionate lovemaking?"
"How does Remus stand him?" Anna groaned as she rolled out of bed. After the two had dressed, they went downstairs, where Sirius was making breakfast and Remus was sitting at the kitchen table with a scowl on his face.
"What's up with him?" Anna asked, and Sirius looked at her with a boyish grin. "You should be thanking me, I kept him from barging in on you two last night and hexing Diggory."
"He better not have gotten you pregnant." Remus muttered under his breath, and Anna went over to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Don't worry, we were careful."
Anna helped Sirius with breakfast, and they had just been about to sit down to eat when they received a letter from Kingsley Shacklebolt. He said that the Aurors had managed to capture a Death Eater who admitted that Anna had not been in her right mind when she had joined the Death Eaters. The Ministry was no longer searching for her, Anna's name had been cleared, although Kingsley advised that Anna stay away from the Ministry, as Dimitri didn't have the best attitude towards her at the moment.
"Well, at least you've been cleared." Remus said. "Although you should probably wait until tomorrow before you go out and about, so that people get a chance to read The Daily Prophet , we wouldn't want people trying to hex you or anything like that."
Anna nodded, admitting that this was probably a good idea. Just one more day, one more day and then she would be free. The best part of all of this was that she would be able to return to Hogwarts.
After that, the remaining month of summer passed by quickly and before Anna knew it, it was time for her to return to school. Remus and Cedric went with her to the train station, where they met up with Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. Molly hugged them all, telling Anna to keep her eye on the boys for her.
"Of course I will." Anna said, her eyes twinkling as Ron complained that he wasn't a child that needed to be babysat. "With all the trouble that you three get yourselves into, you most definitely need a babysitter." Anna said, causing Harry to snicker. "She's got a point there mate. Although she's gotten into plenty of trouble herself."
"It runs in the Potter blood." Anna retorted, giggling as she hugged Remus goodbye and lightly pecked Cedric on the lips before walking onto the train. Hermione and Ron had to go to the prefect's carriage, so Anna sat with Ginny and Luna, chatting with them until the train reached Hogsmeade.
"So what happened after your party?" Ginny asked with a small smirk on her lips. "Did Cedric ever give you his other present?"
Anna blushed furiously. "You could say that."
Ginny squealed loudly, and Anna covered her hears. "Jesus Gin, it's not that big of a deal!"
"Not a big deal?! Anna, he was your first, of course it's a big deal! So how was it? What was he like?"
"Ginny, I love you, you're like a sister to me, but there's no way in hell that I'm sharing the intimacies of my love life with you."
"You aren't any fun." Ginny said with a pout, and Anna laughed as she stood up. "I'll be back, I'm going to pay a visit to the trolley." She ran into Draco in the hallway. His hair was all tousled, not perfect like it normally was.
"Pay Harry a little visit?" She teased him, keeping her voice low so that no one would overhear them. Color flooded his usually pale face."I don't have any idea what you're talking about, Potter."
"Uh huh, sure." She bought a couple of chocolate frogs before walking back to her cabin, freezing when she saw Ginny and Luna making out. "Guys, come on!" She whined. "You could have at least locked the door or something!"
The two jumped away, and Ginny's face turned about as red as her hair.
"So..." Anna plopped down beside Luna, handing each girl a chocolate frog. "How long has this been going on for?"
"Ever since the founding of the DA." Ginny admitted. "We met in the library to go over some offensive spells and stuff and things sort of escalated from there."
Anna was happy for her friends, they really seemed to love each other. The train pulled into Hogsmeade station and the girls filed out, ready to begin another exciting year at Hogwarts.