Belladonna

Gillyweed

Belladonna 42

Gillyweed

In the new term laughter was often heard from the Gryffindor table where Ana sat with Fred and George and their friends...her friends now too. Meanwhile, cold silence still persisted in her dorm, but Ana no longer expected it to lift. She knew Flora was as stubborn as they come and would likely never let up. Sadie, as much as Ana hated it, would follow whomever she feared most and currently that was Flora. And Ana could only hope that Hestia, for her own sake, would stay loyal to Flora until she was strong enough to come out on her own and Ana would be there for her when she did.

Things weren't all bad for Ana though. She and Fred were doing great! She could safely admit to herself that she did indeed love him, but she didn't yet have to courage to tell him; it still seemed too early in her opinion. She, Katie, Angelina, and Alicia were fast on their way to becoming very good friends with their own inside jokes. (Unfortunately, things didn't pan out between George and Sarah, but the girls remained on friendly terms.) Ana's study sessions with the girls had been replaced by new sessions with Katie and other fifth year students feeling the pressure of their looming OWL exams.

The biggest change though, and perhaps the most relieving one for Ana, was George. He'd forgone his initial hostilities towards Ana and he was now slowly coming around. Ana wouldn't call them mates yet, but he was definitely more willing to participate in conversations that involved her, and even, once or twice, had engaged her in a one-on-one conversation. They never spoke of their past hostilities, however.

23 February 1995

Harry rushed into the Great Hall flanked by Ron and Hermione. He was nearly out of breath, having run all the way from the library. He'd exhausted all his resources there and had no other option. Fortunately, it was rather late in the evening so most of the Great Hall had been cleared, but Ana still sat with the twins at their table. Harry rushed to her.

"I need your help," he blurted out to her rather surprised look.

"Harry, you don't..." Ron tried once more to dissuade Harry of this particular course of action, but Harry cut across him.

"Have you got a better solution?" he asked. "Have either of you got one?" He looked between Ron and Hermione; they both shook their heads no. "Then yeah, Ron, I do." Harry looked back to Ana.

"Wha—What can I do that they can't?" she asked, slowly covering her surprise with a coy smile. "Apart from the obvious things like..."

"Ana!" Harry cut across her too. He didn't have time to wade through her Slytherin arrogance. The second task was tomorrow and he had no way to survive underwater for an hour. If Ana couldn't help him, then he had absolutely no idea what to do next.

"Right. Sorry. Go on."

"The second task is taking place in the Black Lake."

"In the lake?"

Harry nodded.

"It's the middle of February! Parts of the lake are still frozen. Are they completely mental?"

"I need a way to breathe underwater for an hour. Any ideas?" he asked.

"Not just breathe, Harry. Your body will go into shock from the cold in minutes if you don't regulate your body temperature too," she said.

"Brilliant. So is there a potion for that as well?"

Ana looked surprised again; clearly, she didn't quite gather his sense of urgency in the matter.