Shadows

Chapter 2

"Expecto Patronum." Ana whispered into the dark. She still remembered the first time Grant had shown her that spell. It was one of the few spells that he had ever gotten to show her. After he passed, Ana spent years practising until she had perfected her Patronus.

A beautiful white light emerged from her wand taking the shape of a creature which was her closest connection to her adoptive father. A wolf. As fierce as fire and as calm as the sea. Just like Grant had been. Just like she hoped to be.

Soft tears rolled down her eyes before Ana could stop them. She quickly wiped them off. She sighed softly before placing her wand back under her pillow, another habit she had picked up from Grant.

Ana lay back in bed and dreamt of his kind brown eyes, his warm smile and his love for adventure.

******

"Bad first week?" Penelope asked, looking at Ana's disheveled robes and dark circles under her eyes.

Ana sighed sitting at the table beside her in the Great Hall. Penelope Longbottom was a nice girl but being from a wealthy pureblood family made her oblivious to the prejudices others faced. Ana didn't know why they were friends, she wasn't even sure they could be considered 'friends'. The Hufflepuff had simply taken it upon herself to always approach Ana in the morning and, having no other friends, Ana couldn't refuse the company.

"Just trying to catch up with my studies." Ana said with a shrug. Truth to be told, she was far ahead of the fourth-year students in most subjects, but last night she had been feeling unusually sentimental and before she knew it she was going over every single spell she had ever learned, trying desperately to recall anything Grant might have told her about them.

"Well don't stress too much. You're doing great! We can't all be as good as Merida."

Ana bit her lip to hold back a remark. It wasn't that Merida Crouch was untalented, it was just that she wasn't as good as quite a few of the Gryffindors in her year. Yet, with blond hair, blue eyes and a powerful family name, she was regarded of as the star pupil and the queen bee, as if being a Muggle-born automatically made others weak. And Penelope, despite being otherwise sensible, seemed to be her biggest supporter.

Ana smiled kindly but, before she could respond, another voice spoke up. "Are you really comparing her with me?"

Penelope's eyes widened. "Not at all, Merida. I was just telling her that she shouldn't feel bad just because she isn't as good as you. No one is!"

Merida's eyes narrowed, "I knew you were foolish Ana, never thought you were delusional though." Merida smirked. "Guess that's what happens when you're parents abandon you and your stepfather is a blood traitor."

Ana's eyes shot up. She was not the sort to lash out even when provoked, but the topic of her step-father was a sore spot for her. "I'd hold your tongue if I were you, Merida." She said drawing the attention of the girls around.

"What did you say to me?" the girl in question shrieked.

Ana tilted her head as if having a casual conversation before giving her a slight smile. The look sent a shiver down Merida's spine. "We wouldn't want people to find out about what you've been doing every night for the past two weeks, now would we?"

The blonde beauty paled instantly.

"H-how did y-you find out about that?"

Ana simply smiled, before going back to her lunch.

******

"Did you hear about the new girl?"

"The illiterate one right? I heard she's failing every class!"

"I heard she's been showing up to class drunk! Apparently she almost killed Professor Merrythought trying to tackle a Boggart!"

Ana sighed as she walked by an empty classroom where a few second-years had gathered, apparently with the sole purpose of gossiping about her.

She quickened her steps heading to the dungeons for her Potions class. Professor Slughorn may be biased towards certain students but at least he didn't mistreat the others.

"Learnt your lesson yet, Mudblood?" A voice said as she entered the dungeons.

For a second, Ana thought it was directed at her causing her to draw her wand. She quickly dismissed the thought, however; the source of the voice seemed to be further down the hall.

Gripping her wand in her hand, Ana walked ahead. Her eyes narrowed as she heard the sound of soft crying followed by multiple voices laughing. Turning a corner, her eyes fell on a sight she had unfortunately grown accustomed to.

Five Slytherin boys surrounding a Gryffindor first-year. The poor boy could barely speak out of fear. Tears rolled down his eyes as Mulciber, the most violent of the boys laughed. Nott and the younger Lestrange joined him. Rudolphus, the elder Lestrange smirked.

"Cat got your tongue, Mudblood?

The boy's cries grew louder as Rosier flicked his wand, pressing the kid harder against the wall.

Ana sighed. Did they never get tired? Her eyes noted Tom standing a little farther away, looking at the scene with disinterest. As if feeling her gaze on him, his eyes looked up at her. He seemed to think for a second, then spoke softly.

"That's enough."

Mulciber froze, then looked up in surprise, "But we haven't even gotten to the best part!"

Ana's eyes narrowed. "You've gone far enough. Leave the kid."

The boys all jumped. Ana almost burst out laughing. Tom rolled his eyes.

"What are you doing here alone, Ms. Brooks?"

Ana raised a brow at him. "Going to class, Mr. Riddle. If I'm not mistaken, we have Potions now. And we're all late."

Mulciber's eyes widened. "Shit! Professor Slughorn said he'll fail me if I'm late again." He quickly gathered his books which had been discarded on the floor and rushed away, the others following behind.

Tom stayed back, looking annoyed at the childish behaviour.

Ana laughed. "I don't think the first-years would be so terrified if they got to see that."

Tom's smile was almost unnoticeable. "Walk with me, Ms. Brooks."

"Want an interview, Mr. Riddle? I hear I'm quite the sensation." Ana winked, seemingly unbothered by the rumours surrounding her.

Tom's lips twitched as the she fell into step with him. They walked in silence.

"I'll never understand the joy you seem to find in tormenting the weak." Ana said after a while.

Tom halted causing Ana to look back at him. "It's not so much about tormenting, as about showing him who's in-charge. These first-years need to learn that they're not on top of the world, simply pawns in a game of chess far beyond their understanding." His eyes grew distant at the last words as if he spoke from experience.

Ana observed him closely. His gaze was unfocused, his jaw clenched, his posture stiff. He seemed to be reliving a horrible memory. She cleared her throat softly.

"Shall we head to class, Mr. Riddle?"

Her words seemed to confuse him for a second, before he regained his senses, coming back to reality.

"Yes, I suppose so."

They quickly headed to class. Thankfully, Tom's presence saved Ana from what would've otherwise been a harsh punishment from Professor Slughorn. Ignoring the whispers of their classmates, they both continued with their work. It was much later in the day that Ana caught up with Tom again, only to whisper in his ear,

"I don't know about you, Mr. Riddle, but I've come to realise that in a game of chess, every piece counts. Especially the simple pawns; they have a tendency of turning into queens when the opportunity strikes."

******