The Other Aunt (A Harry Potter fanfiction)

Journals and Jerks

AN: So the Remus and Anna couple name is now Rena! And I've decide that Roony will be used for their animal forms!

Anna was disappointed when the students finally returned to Hogwarts from holiday. With the Gryffindor common room empty except for Harry and the Weasley's, it had been fun. They played loud games of exploding snap and had duels and even set up a few pranks for some of the students and teachers for when they returned (Anna couldn't wait to see Lockhart's reaction).

It had been easy to forget that the entire school thought Harry was evil. Many noticed that Hermione was not with her friends like usual and started a nasty rumor that Harry had petrified, much to the redheaded professor's disgust. The rumor led to a lot of students going up to the hospital wing to see her. Poor Hermione was still a cat and was completely humiliated. Poppy took pity and drew back the curtain on her bed so no one would see her. The nurse even forbid students from coming in without a good reason, she had given a proper scolding to Draco Malfoy which had cheered up the young Gryffindor witch.

Some of the kids who believed the rumors saying Hermione had been petrified had warned Anna in fear that she should be careful around Harry. Honestly, she appreciated their concern but she was none to happy with people telling her her nephew was "an evil heir to Slytherin" and that she should stay away from him at all cost.

The one good thing about that week was seeing how attached Severus was becoming with his new kitten. She had stopped by his classroom to find him making a potion with Loki sitting next to the cauldron, watching him work. Every once and a while he would scratch the cat's head and it would purr softly. She had decided not to disturb them. When the Slytherin wasn't working, the kitten would usually follow him around like a shadow. Anna could've sworn she'd seen Filch send a few jealous looks in his direction.

After finding out Harry, Ron, and Hermione were investigating the petrifications, Anna decided to some detective work of her own. And she knew that the best people to go to about these sort of things were ghosts. Ghosts don't sleep too much and they always have ways of overhearing certain things. Usually, she would go to Sir Nicholas but since he had already fallen victim to the heir, she only had one option. Moaning Myrtle.

The fox honestly had nothing against the young ghost. She actually felt kind of bad for the poor girl who died at such a tender age. As a young Hogwarts girl, she had actually kept her company from time to time. Maybe now was the time for another visit.

So she left dinner early and snuck her way to the girls bathroom and called out, "Myrtle! I haven't seen you since seventh year and decided to drop by and say hello." She waited a few seconds, afraid that the poltergeist wouldn't appear but then a head peeked from behind a stall and Myrtle grinned, "Annie dearest! I haven't seen you since that know-it-all Gryffindor girl got a hairball!" Anna returned her smile, "Hello, Myrtle. I heard you've met my nephew, Harry."

The ghost girl, if possible, blushed, "Yes, he's quite handsome too!" Anna smirked, "Well, if he dies, you have my permission to go after him." Myrtle shot the witch a sly smile, "I knew there was a reason I liked you." Anna nodded and sat on a dry spot on the floor, "Now, Myrtle, I've been a bit behind on gossip. What's happened?" The former Ravenclaw thought for a moment, "Hmmm...Let's see. Nothing much has happened over the holidays....Except that handsome Potter boy came in again a day or two ago. I had been crying at the time because some bully threw a book at me. I didn't see who it was but Harry took the book (I think it may have been a journal of some sort). His ginger friend warned him against it but he dismissed it. Oh! And I've seen that Weasley girl in here a couple times crying. I ignored her most of the time. I know when a girl needs her privacy. That's all that I know that's recent."

Anna thanked the girl and bid her farewell. She decided she would have to keep an eye out for this journal.

The heir had been very quiet lately which put her on edge because she knew this ordeal was far from over. She had heard many different theories. Some thought he or she was a afraid of getting caught with more teachers taking watch. Ernie still talked loudly abut how it was probably because Harry had already been "found out" at the dueling club. Gilderoy Lockhart had bragged to her that the Slytheirn was afraid of him. She smirked, knowing that when he woke up the next morning he would have bright green hair (she had a feeling that he would actually enjoy pink hair). Then, maybe he would be a little more humble from embarrassment. One could only hope.

*Time Skip*

By February fourteenth, not only had she not found the book but she had a bigger problem. In an attempt to get the school into good spirits, the idiot had arranged a Valentines Day feast with several pink and red decorations. He wore bright pink robes and had some how managed to get the dye out of his hair after a couple days. His brilliant idea was to have a bunch a dwarves deliver musical 'love-a-grams. Anna and Severus rolled their eyes.

That wasn't the end of her Valentines Day curse though. At the lunch feast, her Slytheirn friend had snatched her goblet out of her hand. It had turned out that Lockhart had dared to put a love potion in her drink. There was no proof that it was him but the disappointed look he had on his face gave it away. She let it go, deciding she should get the Weasley twins to take care of it, but her dark haired best friend was hearing none of it. He dragged her all the way to Dumbledore's office after lunch, demanding that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher be fired. Albus had reluctantly replied that he could not fire or even suspend the Professor without clear proof. She had simply shrugged but her friend had stalked off into his potions classroom.

Later she found that she wasn't the only one who had a curse. Turned out someone sent Harry one of Lockhart's dwarves. It had been one gigantic mess. Percy Weasley had been furious. Malfoy had tried to take a book from Harry but it was in her hand with a flick of her wand. It got worse when Draco revealed that it was Ginny who had sent the dwarf. Ginny ran into the classroom covering her face. Ron angrily took out his wand but Harry pulled him away. She went to Ginny and wrote her a pass to save her from embarrassment. The redhead hugged her and went to the bathroom to calm down.

Dinner was the highlight of her day. When she sat down in her usual seat next to Severus, she saw her mischievous twinkle in his eye and didn't even bother asking what he was up to. When Gilderoy first took a sip from his goblet, nothing happened. Then a large belch game from his lips. In a addition, his skin turned dark green and his hair bright red, which didn't match his pink robes at all. Another belch exploded from his mouth and he excused himself to the restroom. Anna couldn't help it. She laughed. She laughed and laughed until she couldn't breathe. If it had been anyone else, she should've felt bad but Lockhart had deserved it.

The next day, Anna decided to spend a day in the library and see what she could find out about the Chamber. She was a teacher, so she had access to the restricted section. The library was almost completely empty. Even the librarian, Madam Pince, was nowhere to be seen.

She was just about to settle into one of the chairs and start researching when she heard something strange. There was a low rusting of movement and a sharp hissing sound. The professor followed the noise. A shot of fear echoed throughout her bones and she clutched her gold fox locket, glancing down at the smooth, shiny surface. But instead of seeing her own reflection in the gold, she saw a pair of glowing yellow snake eyes. She screamed and felt her limbs lock and her muscles go numb. She dropped to the floor and didn't even have the ability to yelp in pain from the impact. Her eyes began to droop and she felt cold. Just before her vision went dark, she heard another scream. Hermione.

She'd failed to protect her.

AN: *Evil laughter* How's that for a plot twist?