Blood Traitor

5.

Finding out what the boy who can completely control you wants from you is easier said than done. Mattheo seems to smell trouble from a distance and the last thing Ana wants is to come into contact with the somewhat scary boy again. "Ask him straight out - What do you want from me?" Lily looks proudly at Ana who looks back with wide eyes. "I don't think Riddle would appreciate that Lily..." Lily shrugs her shoulders and tries to catch the chocolate frog that tries to jump away but is just not fast enough and ends up in Lily's mouth. The Gryffindor common room is not a strange place for Ana and perhaps feels more like home than her own, maybe the hat was wrong after all and she should be in the red house. No Ana is a Hufflepuff through and through and on the other hand she is proud of it, the most underestimated house by many with more layers than anyone can imagine.

Ana's eyes occasionally wander to the clock that seems to be ticking faster than usual now that she knows that she really should go back to school soon. Once again, Slughorn's class was cancelled but Snape's seem to continue even in times of need, the man with his long cape and greasy black hair seems so happy with his position as Professor of the Deathly Arts that nothing can stop him. Lily doesn't seem to worry that much and rightly so, Snape has a soft spot for her and his class is the only subject that Lily gets a pass for. Some say that this is because she resembles her grandmother, Harry's mother who sacrificed herself for the then small baby.

Ana reluctantly gets up and looks at Lily who is leisurely gathering her things, Ana is used to this by now and knows that when she walks with Lily she always has to leave five minutes earlier, ten minutes is ideal.

Lily follows her trudging through the crowded hallways of the castle, when there is a change of classes the hallways look like an anthill, the students all squeeze through each other to be on time for the next class. Her father always talks about his great time at Hogwarts and when Ana looks through the crowded hallways with all the wizards and witches of her age she understands his words, it is a home for so many people. "HEY SEBASTIAN." Lily shouts behind Ana and Ana turns her head as she walks through and watches how Sebastian presses Lily a kiss on her mouth and takes her hand to follow Ana. Lily is lucky with him and Ana also hopes that this childhood love will last despite the looks from Scorpius who sometimes seems to be a bit jealous. Not that Scorpius is less, far from it but Lily is so happy now that Ana cannot imagine that Lily will be so happy with someone again.

"Watch out stupid bitch." Ana turns her head and looks straight into Patty's eyes as her books thud onto the stone floor. "Pick them up!" Patty crosses her arms and looks at Ana as her eyes seem to spit fire at any moment. "It was an accident." The crowd seems to smell a sensation from a distance and watches the scene, Ana would like nothing more than to pick up the books and forget that this has happened but she knows that she will then be seen as the pathetic Hufflepuff who doesn't dare to stand up for herself. Ana wants to say something back to Patty but all that happens is that her face gets redder and redder. "Go get them yourself, spoiled brat, shouldn't you be stealing potions?" Lily joins in the conversation without any effort and despite the fact that someone else is now resolving her argument, Ana is very grateful.

"Don't get involved Potter, I see the same hero syndrome as your father." Patty laughs and looks for support at her two faithful dogs Crabbe and Goyle who laugh along. "Pick them up Longbottom before I help you." Ana looks around the hall and her eyes fall on Lily who shakes her head wildly -No-. "No I'm not picking them up." Ana shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other, trying to sound confident even though she knows she isn't. "What did you just say to me, Longbottom??"

"I think she said -No- , I didn't know you had hearing problems besides reading." There is a soft chuckle in the hallways as Patty's head slowly turns the same color as Ana's. Dark curls cover the face of the boy who bends down and picks up the books from the floor. With a push he pushes them into Patty's hands who takes her loss and turns and walks away. "A thank you is in order now....." Ana looks at the face of the grinning boy across from her. "Thank you Riddle." He nods his head and walks away through the crowd who take turns stepping aside for the boy. He looks back once with a grin before he walks around the corner and disappears.

The crowd in the hallway starts to smirk and whisper in each other's ears as they take turns staring at Ana who stands in the middle of the hallway in surprise. Sebastian and Lily come to stand next to her and with an arm in Ana's back Lily pushes her to walk on. "They think you have something with Riddle now." Sebastian says softly, Ana stops again and turns her head. "That's not true.... really not." Ana turns to the crowd and clears her throat. "I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MATTHEO RIDDLE." Everyone looks at her confused after which Ana laughs and turns around. "So now everyone knows." Lily starts laughing and Ana looks at her "What?"

"Nothing Nothing, they will believe it." Says Lily who tries to hold back her laughter. "Come on let's go to class quickly because unlike me you are not spared by Snape, I'll see you later Sebastian!"