The Ice Queen [s.b.]

The Super-Not-First Date - 48

November 2nd.

The morning is fresh, but Anna has hundreds, if not thousands, of thoughts swirling around her head. It's not even 10 o'clock.

Nonetheless, that small smile is still painted on her face, even though she now knows that Tom will kill her. Well, there's nothing like a death threat to jumpstart your day!

An owl pecks at the window to her dorm.

Ginger groans. "I hate your fucking owl, Annalee Fawley."

"Whatever," Anna mutters. "I have a date today and I sort of need fashion advice."

In the three seconds between when she says that and looks over at her dormmate, Ginger has already sprung up and is rifling through her closet, babbling to herself about how underappreciated her genius is (plus one or five curse words, of course).

The letter the owl had delivered appears to be from a Black, as it has that seal.

Dear Lee,

First of all, it was so nice to see you this Summer. I'm so sorry I haven't followed up. Ted and I have been very busy settling into our new house and jobs. Second of all, I'm writing specifically to tell you two things. Actually, three things. I'm lying here. Four things, in all seriousness.

Number one: Ted and I are getting married! Finally, I know. I'll tell you at the proposal next time I see you.

Next, as weird as it may sound, I'm hoping you could be my maid of honor? I know, I know, I have other friends. But you're family. And I'm keeping it small. We're not sure who to trust anymore. So please, please, please, please, please be my maid of honor? Ted wants Sirius to be his Best Man. All of his best mates are muggles, so he doesn't want to get them involved. As I said, we're keeping it to just family.

Thirdly, I'm pregnant! I'm due a week after the wedding. Sorry for not telling you sooner, but Ted and I are trying to keep it quiet what with family drama.

Finally, I fully expect to hear all the juicy details about you and Sirius. Gossip travels fast in the pureblood world.

Miss you and love you,
Andy

Annalee smiles to herself.

"What're you so happy about? Last time I saw you with a letter at an extreme time, you burned it," Ginger points out, then throws a dress at her. "Try that on."

"That was from an enemy. Thankfully, we are no longer communicating in aggressive letter form. We've resorted to cursing," Anna mentions offhandedly. "But this is from a good friend. Andromeda Black. Disowned, of course. She's basically the other sister I never had. And she's getting married!"

"Good for Andy!" Ginger cheers, looking up. "I met her once at a Malfoy Ball. Before my mom was disowned, of course. Who is this enemy we were talking about?"

Had Annalee not been quite so shaken, she might've not told the truth. And maybe, just maybe, Ginger wouldn't have had to keep a secret that would nearly upend her life.

"Riddle," Anna murmurs in disdain. "Bellatrix cursed me about two weeks ago. He hasn't sent a letter since."

Ginger climbs over to Anna's bed, her neatly-plucked eyebrows furrowed. "And what else has happened since then?"

"You can't tell anyone," Anna warns. "There are lives at risk. My life. Are you sure you want to know?" She waits for the brunette to nod. "He came to me in a dream last night. I'm an occlumens, so he didn't find anything out. But I've basically been on his safe list since the Summer before last. Dunno why, but he immediately took a liking to me. Mentored me, even. It was a trade, really. An exchange. I asked him a question and he would try to persuade me to join his side. Long story short, he'll try to kill me now. I can either make myself disappear, lie down and wait for death, or join the Death Eaters."

Ginger betrays no notion of surprise, skipping to anger. "That's not good. Are you going to tell the others?"

"Of course not. If I have to leave, you and Dumbledore will be the only ones who know. Might even stage my death," Anna jokes, though it comes out more serious and somber than intended. Her eyes are shrouded in dark shadows that Ginger could only describe as vengeful as Anna says, "My life has succumbed to large betrayals, huge secrets, and even bigger mysteries. But if there's one thing I know, it's that I'm never letting another person get hurt because of my choices."

The other Slytherin says exactly the right thing:

"I trust you, Annalee. Whatever you do, I'll keep your secret. Whatever you need, I'm here. If I need to make a bet in this war, I'll bet on you. Not Dumbledore, not you-know-who, not the Death Eaters, or the Order of the Phoenix, but you. Every time."

Annalee hugs her new best friend tightly. After a moment, she pulls away, no sign of the sullenness that had made its appearance just moments before.

"No time for seriousness," Anna clicks her tongue, bracing herself for the terrible joke about to emerge. "I have a date with Sirius. Get it? Get it?"

"Unfortunately. Try on the goddamn dress, Annie."

The dress fits like a glove, but the girls eventually land on a warm pink jumpsuit over a white t-shirt.

At exactly 10:15 a.m., Anna emerges from the castle with the chariots where Sirius is waiting, his hair artfully mussed and his eyes twinkling with the light of a thousand stars.

"You look effervescent, Princess," Sirius croons, pressing a soft kiss to her temple that, like pictures, is worth a thousand words.

They walk in a comfortable silence for a while. Once they reach Hogsmeade, they explode with conversation. New music, favorite art pieces, the pluses of using quills versus pencils, whether or not muggle cars are safe for the Modern Magical Creature.

Words just flow, as they always do.

"It's like there was never even a stop," Anna eventually says as the sun begins to set. "It's like we're picking up right where we left off."

"There's no place I'd rather be, Princess. But can I ask you something?" Sirius implores.

Anna nods, "Of course."

"Do you have a time-turner?"

Her eyes go wide, "I just wanted to take eight classes. I suck at some, but I want to be an auror!"

"Anna!" Sirius scolds, wagging a finger teasingly. "Have you used it yet? To do something fun, I mean."

"No!" she exclaims indignantly. "I'm not James!"

He hmphs!

"We had better be getting back," Sirius murmurs dejectedly. "You have quidditch practice and I've been assigned with corporate espionage. This is the end of our first date, unfortunately."

"Not-first date," Anna corrects, her eyes skeptical.

"Super-not-first date," Sirius finishes, the joking gleam in his eye.

She rolls her eyes, but together, hand-in-hand, they walk back to the castle.

A/N So this is sort of a short chapter. Sorry to drop the time-turner thing, but I forgot to add it in earlier and it's relevant to the next chapter (which I might've written, like, two months ago).

I hope you enjoyed!

As always, please remember to vote and comment!

R_F