Anna Potter and the Deathly Hollows

Chapter 18

SITTING ROOM - NIGHT
[A tray of food is set down on the table. Rose sets to, they haven’t eaten for days. Aberforth pours himself a glass of mead. Not his first.]
Rose: Do you hear much from the others? From the Order?
Aberforth: The Order is finished. You-KnowWho’s won. Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves.
Gryffindors glared at him.
[The duo exchange glances. Anna doesn’t touch the food, just stares quietly at Aberforth.]
Anna: We need to get into Hogwarts. Dumbledore gave us a job to do.
Aberforth: Did he now? Nice job? Easy? [Anna snorted.]
"Yeah, easy!" Scoffed James.
Anna: Not at all. We’ve been hunting Horcruxes. We think the last one’s in the school. But we’ll need your help getting in. If we can find it and kill it, then we kill him, and then we can end this war once and for all. We need to get into Hogwarts tonight. [Aberforth stares at her for a moment, until the silence grows.]
Aberforth: It’s not a job my brother’s given you, it’s a suicide mission. Do yourself a favor girl. Go home. Live a little longer.
Anna: You think anyone will let me live like that? Nice, peacefull life in some forest cottege? (Anna laughs) You-know-who will hunt me down and kill everyone i have ever met. Wizarding world will be destroyed. Someone has to do something and others don't want to move their lazy, coward asses so we have to do it. Dumbledore trusted that i could do it.
Everyone looked down at Anna's words.
"My sweet girl." Said Lily sadly.
Aberforth: What makes you think you can trust him?! What makes you think you can believe anything my brother told you?! In all the time you knew him, did he ever mention my name? Did he ever mention hers? [Aberforth gestures to the painting of the girl.]
Anna: Why should he...
Aberforth: Keep secrets? You tell me.
Anna: I only care about the Dumbledore I knew. I trusted him.
"She did?" Asked Lily.
"Not with her or her loved ones lives, but with war? She did." Said Barty.
Aberforth: Did you now? And why is that?
Anna: I had no reason not to --
Aberforth: That’s a girl's answer. A girl who goes chasing Horcruxes on the word of a man who won’t even tell her where to start. You’re lying. Not just to me, which doesn’t matter, but to yourself as well. That’s what a fool does.
Anna: You’re drunk.
Aberforth: You don’t strike me as a fool, Ms. Potter. So I’ll ask you again. There must be a reason. Why do you trust anything my brother ever said to you? Why? [Anna stands mute, her face at war with itself. For a moment, it’s unclear which competing emotion will win out, then -- finally -- he speaks, his voice steady.]
Anna: Because I need to! I’ve lost too many people to lie down now. I’m not interested in what happened between you and your brother, I don’t even care that you’ve given up. I don't trust he had my best interest, but i trust that he would do anthing to win war, so if he left all this to me, then he believed i could do it and i choose to believe in him, too. (pause) I need to get into the castle tonight.
"She is smart girl." Complimented Narcissa.
[Silence. Aberforth regards Anna darkly, but Anna merely stands, waiting. After several seconds, Aberforth’s gaze shifts... to the painting.]
Aberforth: You know what to do... [The girl smiles, turns, and walks away, growing slowly smaller in the painting with each step she takes.]
Anna: Where’ve you sent her?
Aberforth: You’ll see soon enough.
Rose: That’s Ariana, isn’t it? Your sister. She’s beautiful.
"She is." Agreed Lily.
Aberforth: She’ll always be beautiful.
Anna: She died very young, didn’t she? [This hangs.]
Aberforth: My brother sacrificed many things, Ms. Potter, in his journey to find power, including her. She was devoted to him -- he gave her everything, but time. [Aberforth looks to the empty frame.]
Rose: Mr. Dumbledore... thank you.
[Aberforth stares hard at Rose, nods curtly, exits. Anna looks at Rose confused.]
Rose: Did save our lives twice. Kept an
eye on us in that mirror. That doesn’t seem like someone who’s given up, does it?
Anna: She’s coming back! And she’s got
someone with her! [Just then, the painting blooms faintly and Ariana emerges from deep within the dark canvas.]
Rose: Who’s that with her? Bloody hell... [As Ariana draws closer, the limping figure beside her comes clear: Neville.]
"Neville!" Cheered Lily happily.
"Wait... What happened to him?" Asked angry Lily.
Neville: I knew you’d come! [Rose and Neville lock their eyes and Rose runs toward Neville and kisses him passionetly. Neville kisses back.]
PASSAGE - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT
[Anna looks awkward and she fake caughs. Rose and Neville pull apart and Rose looks at Neville worried.]
Rose: Neville, you look...
Neville: Like hell? I reckon. This is nothing. Seamus is worse. You’ll see.
"And that's supposed to reassure us?!" Said frustrated Lily.
[Neville embraces Anna, then turns to Aberforth.]
Neville: Hey, Ab. There might be a couple more people on the way. [The duo turns, see Aberforth standing in the doorway, watching Ariana drift back into the canvas. Neville turns to Anna and Rose. Smiles again.]
Neville: Well? Ready?
PASSAGE - NIGHT
[Neville leads the others down the passage.]
Rose: I don’t remember this being on the Marauder’s Map.
Neville: That’s because it never existed
till now. The seven secret passages were sealed off before the start of the year. This is the only way in or out now. The grounds are crawling with Death Eaters and Dementors.
"It's awful." Said Remus.
Rose: How bad is it, Nev? With Snape as Headmaster.
Neville: Hardly ever see him. It’s the Carrows you have to watch out for.
Anna: The Carrows?
Neville: Brother and sister. They’re in charge of discipline. Like punishment, the Carrows. [Neville points to a gash on his face.]
Lily shakes in rage. Others aren't any better.
Rose: Those bastards.They did that to you?
Neville: Today’s Dark Arts lesson had us practicing the Cruciatus Curse. On First Years. I refused. Hogwarts has changed. [The others look shocked. Neville grins.]
Everyone is stunned.
"That's-- that---" stustered shocked Lily.
"Inhuman. How can someo do that?!" Yelled James.
Neville: Aw, c’mon. Don’t be grim. We’re all used to it by now.
"You shouldn't be!!!" Said Lily and teared up.
Neville: And the thing is, it helps when people stand up, gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Anna. C’mon, we’re almost there. [The duo exchange glances, follow Neville.]
PASSAGE - NEW ANGLE - NIGHT
[Neville leads them up a short flight of stone steps to a door, pauses. Looks back. Whispers.]
Neville: Let’s have a bit of fun, shall we? (pushing open the door) Hey! Listen up, you lot! I’ve brought you a surprise!
Seamus: (O.S.) Not more of Aberforth’s cooking, I hope. Be a surprise if we could digest it. [Neville looks back, jerks his head toward the open door. Anna and Rose step forward, duck through and... ]
ROOM OF REQUIREMENT - CONTINUOUS ACTION - NIGHT
[... emerge into a large room that looks like a sumptuous tree house. Faces turn. Blink. Utter silence.]
"The best surprise, i am sure." Grinned Sirius.
Seamus: Blimey. [Voices explode. Madness ensues as the duo is swallowed up in a scrum of backslaps and handshakes. Many familiar faces are present. Luna. Dean Thomas.
Cho Chang. Lavender Brown. Alex. Ada. Ada runs to Anna and hugs her, Anna grins and hugs back.  [Neville leans down, whispersto Nigel.]
Neville: Get the word out to Remus and the others that Anna’s back. [Nigel nods, scrambles over to a battered wizard wireless. Anna and Ada pull apart and look over each other.]
"Their relationship is just..." said Lily.
"Yeah." Agreed James.
Ada: How are you?
Anna: Good. You?
Ada: I have been better, but i'm okay. [Anma smiled at her.]
Nigel: River, DA calling. Do you read?
We have a new weather report: Lightning has struck. I repeat, lightning has struck...
Neville: Okay, okay! Stand down! Let’s
not kill them before You-Know-Who gets the chance! (as they settle) Right then. What’s the plan, Anna? [Anna gazes out over the expectant faces in the room, noting the hollow eyes and broken bodies and the desperate, almost palpable desire for hope.]
"They are supposed to be children." Sighted Lily.
"So should we. We are same age, Regulus, Evan and Barty are even younger." Said Remus.
[For a moment she seems lost, awed by the sacrifice her friends have made, much of it for her. Finally, she speaks:]
Anna: Okay. There’s something we need
to find, something hidden here in the castle. It could help us defeat You-Know-Who.
Neville: What is it?
Anna: We don’t know.
Dean: Where is it?
Anna: Don’t know that either. [A confused murmur fills the room.]
Anna: I think it might have something to do with Ravenclaw. It would be small, easy to conceal, valuable. Any ideas? [She looks up. For a moment, there’s no response.]
Luna: Well, there’s Rowena Ravenclaw’s lost diadem. The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Hasn’t anyone ever heard of it? It’s quite famous.
"She is so smart." Said Evan proudly. Barty and Regulus smile at Luna.
Cho: Yes, but Luna, it’s lost. For centuries now. There’s not a person alive today who’s seen it. [Her fellow Ravenclaws nod.]
Anna: Excuse me. Can you tell me more about diadem?
Cho: Ravenclaw’s was rumored to have
magical properties, to enhance the wisdom of the wearer. [Parvati comes in and looks at Anna and Rose.]
Neville: What is it, Parvati?
Parvati: Snape knows. He knows that Anna was spotted in Hogsmeade.
"Of course!" Groaned Marauders.
HOGWARTS CASTLE - NIGHT
[Mist encircles the parapets of the castle itself, barely distinguishable from the dementors that drift like silent sentinels over the grounds. Lights glimmer in the
castle.]
COURTYARD - NIGHT
[A stream of Hufflepuff students move toward the Great Hall. They walk grimly, their faces blank, as if accustomed to such exercises.]
People glare at adults.
MARBLE STAIRCASE - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[The Ravenclaws walk in lockstep as well. One tiny girl (Maisy Reynolds) stands out, walking alongside Luna, her bearing more defiant than defeated. The death eater chivvying them along eyes her cruelly.]
Alecto Carrow: Put a smile on, Miss Reynolds. Wouldn’t want me to have to pay a visit to Daddy again, would you?
"Asshole." Said James.
DUNGEON CORRIDOR - SAME TIME -NIGHT
[Slytherin House walks in rigid synchronization, backs straight, in perfect rhythm. We catch sight of Blair Zabini and Goyle.]
"Blair is okay." Breathed out Narcissa.
MARBLE STAIRCASE - SAME TIME - NIGHT
[As the Grffindors walk, Anna moves in their midst, effectively shielded.]