The Ice Queen [s.b.]

Too Much Noise - 67, pt. 2

A/N Aight so the next part is kinda weird. It's a compilation of news articles starting from the last chapter to the end of the school year. After each article, I'll show Sirius or Anna reading it.

PREVIEW:

Dumbledore sighs. "It appears that she has finally accepted Tom's offer. Annalee Fawley has joined the Death Eaters."

April 15th.

ANNALEE FAWLEY HAS GRADUATED EARLY. WHY NOW?

Annalee Fawley first rose to fame in the Wizarding World when she was born. When her brother, Jeremy, ran away, her name was written in the spotlights again. When he and her parents died she was watched, as well. Upon her 'death', too. (See Burken Birkenmeir's Who Is Annalee Fawley? for more information on her.) Now, Hogwarts has just announced that Fawley has graduated three months early, having completed all her NEWTS. Where she is now is unknown.

We were confused by this. After all, it's only three more months. Where else would she go when school is where her family is?

We at Witch's Weekly have reached out to her former dormmate, Bellatrix Black (though she will be Bellatrix Lestrange on June 24th) who gave us some startling insights.

"Anna has finally lived up to her birthright," Bellatrix says in her reply, "it's a shame she didn't stick around at Hogwarts. She would finally have fit in with her people."

This brings up a lot more questions than it answers. Who are her people? What is her birthright?

We'll get back to you next week at Witch's Weekly.

***

It's the first article about Anna since her... disappearance.

Instead of dealing with it sensibly (who likes dealing with their emotions anyway?), Sirius mutters, "Incendio," and it dissolves into ash moments later.

The others in the common room stare.

He doesn't care. Sirius takes out the small ring she had left and toys with it between the fingers of his left hand.

He feels someone sit down next to him.

"It's hard to let go," Lily says, her voice shaking. "It's hard to let go because it's just five days ago that we were in a muggle town. And only six years ago—even if it feels like much less—that she actually apologized to me, a mudblood. Who she apparently hates now. This isn't like when I thought she was dead because that wasn't a betrayal. This time, she's ripped my heart out and stomped on it with that stupid Ice Queen look in her eyes. I just keep thing: How many times has she lied to me? How many times did she regret being with me? But I can't answer that. And when the time comes, I do know that we'll have to stop her. That'll be no easy feat."

"I hate her," is Sirius's mournful reply.

"You don't. You love her. That's why it hurts so much. I love her, too."

"No! I hate her because she left. I hate her because she didn't have the bloody guts to stay. I hate her because she didn't tell me she was drowning in the rain I always felt was a light drizzle. And most of all, I hate her because she made me promise I wouldn't. The woman has made me a goddamned liar."

People are looking now. Everyone at Hogwarts knows where Annalee Fawley is. If she's graduated early without her friends and Bellatrix is talking about her in a good way, then she's joined the Death Eaters. It's not a hard conclusion to come to.