The Ice Queen [s.b.]

↠double double, toil and trouble, 1.32

January 29th.

The day has finally come. The potion is ready and Anna can barely wait for that evening. She's found herself with a lot more time on her hands without the added consumer of hours of meeting up with Sirius every night in the Astronomy tower.

Ripping her out of her somewhat regretful thoughts, Remus' voice sounds behind her as she stares over the tower's balcony. 

"Annie? You alright?" Remus asks. "You know what today is, right?"

Annalee turns around to face him.

She nods her head slowly. She pastes on a smile. "Of course. To both. I'm always alright."

Remus nods, then shakes his head. "I don't believe you. You're fake-smiling and lying to me, Annalee Fawley."

Anna turns away and back towards the lake, her eyes shining.

"That's alright, Reemes," she says in a small voice. "I'm just working through a little."

"I know," he reassures her as he moves to stand next to her. She leans her head onto his shoulder.

"I just have no idea how to manage all of... this. I know it's for the best with Sirius-"

"-Why would it be for the best? You two are perfect together."

Annalee monologues in a murmur, "Maybe. But I'm just not really made for all of this. I'm conniving, I'm ambitious, I'm powerful, I'm smart, and I'm cunning. I know it. But I won't pretend like I don't have flaws for days. I'm selfish, I'm easy to anger, I use people, I'm too good at lying to the point it's unsettling, and I keep my feelings in. I know that, too. And I won't pretend like I don't know that I'm good at stuff, as well. Which is why it's for the best that I stay away from Sirius. If this month has proved anything, it's that I'm dangerous. And I'm selfish. And I use people. It's not in my Fawley blood to chase after him. He walked away, and it's not my job to get him back. It's my job to make sure he stays away."

"That's a bad bloody attitude," Remus chuckles humorlessly. 

"I'm not wrong, though," Anna argues. "You see it, too. You can't pretend like you don't."

"And I won't pretend like I don't, but you're forgetting some really crucial things: We're all flawed, too. Sirius more than others. He's arrogant, he can be utterly cruel, he's flippant, and he only cares about a couple of things. But when he cares about those things, he cares a lot. He cares about you. But it's your choice, I guess," Remus announces. 

"How is it my choice?"

"Well, Annie, you know very well that you're beautiful, smart, and funny," Remus says, moving to look into her eyes.

"Thanks," Anna mumbles. "But it's still not my choice. And if it is, it's an impossible one. Plus, you're smarter, funnier, and everyone's a lot better looking than me. Especially you."

Remus' heart pangs with an unfamiliar feeling. 

Anna leans closer, lips brushing against his cheek.

"I'm not sure that's true. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met," Remus whispers, combing a piece of hair behind her ear. 

"Thank you," Anna says again, this time lips inches from his.

"Sirius sure is a lucky guy," Remus murmurs.

Anna pulls away at that, brushing away a tear that had slipped down her face.

She smiles sadly at Remus, who was trying to work through what had just happened and, more importantly, what had almost just happened.

Anna sniffs, "Right. Sirius."

Then, Remus does something he'd regret for many years in the future.

He smashes his lips to hers, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

Then, Annalee does something she'd regret for many years in the future.

She reciprocates the warm kiss. It's nothing like Sirius, but it's so warm and passionate, it makes her forget her troubles.

Until, of course, she pulls away and realizes the gravity of the situation. 

"This was a..." Remus begins.

"A mistake," Annalee finishes. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we should just stall on the potion. We both need some time to think."

"No," he declines immediately. "You've waited too long for this. You should just do it alone. The effects begin thirty minutes after you drink it, so just go to your dorm. I'll get Andromeda to check in on you."

"Okay," she says quietly. "Let's never talk about this again, yeah? We won't tell anyone. Not James, Lily, Marlene, Peter, and definitely not Sirius."

"Definitely. We should probably spend some time apart, anyways."

"I agree. I'm going to go now."

"Bye, Annie."

"Bye, Reemes."

Annalee walks out of the tower.

Sirius walks up the tower seconds later, thankfully not coinciding with Anna's visit.

"Remus? You alright?" Sirius calls upon seeing his best friend with his head in his hands and looking upset.

Remus' head snaps up. "Yes! Yes, I'm alright. What brings you here?"

"Um, this is sort of my place?" the oldest Black boy says cautiously.

"Right," Remus mutters. "Well, I guess I'll leave you be, then."

"Wait!" Sirius exclaims suddenly. "Can you just stay here? Talk to me?"

"Sure, if you want," the werewolf says reluctantly. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"Anna," Sirius sighs, making Remus cringe. "I just wonder if I did the right thing."

"Honestly, Pads, she knew what she was doing. She knew the risks, and everybody she talked to warned her, including me. Not to mention, Annie knew the risks with the two of you better than anyone. I don't know if you did the right thing, but I know that when it comes down to it, the two of you will always be there for each other. But trust is one of the most important things. To you and in general. It's acceptable to need some time. You just need to acknowledge that Anna might need some time when you're finally ready to be around her," Remus flubs, doing his best to not reveal the fact that he just kissed the girl in question.

Sirius nods firmly. "You're right. I know it."

"Good," Remus says nervously. "I'm feeling a little weird, I'm going to go for a walk."

Before Sirius can say anything else, Remus runs out of the tower, making sure to avoid where he knows Filch will be at that time.

Meanwhile, Anna's in the empty classroom. She takes the potion, then sprints back to her dorm.

Once there, she feels the potion come into effect and promptly falls asleep.

But these dreams are unlike anything else.

A/N Very short chapter, but it's a necessary part between this one and the next. The next one will pick up right afterwards, in her dreams. The idea is that she's watching all of the memories as they happen. The memories will all be in italics and there will be a couple of parts interspersed throughout in normal font to show what people are doing in the Land of the Living, for lack of a better term. Also, I'm going to be trying harder to include music in each one. 

Next, I just wanted that Remus' monologue with Sirius at the end is supposed to be mostly nonsense. He's panicked, and trying to figure his feelings out. Remember this happened, it will be mentioned in the future.

The next chapter will be posted tomorrow, as always!

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Thanks,
R_F