a n c h o r

e i g h t e e n

"We've got to go!" Ginny yelled, running inside. Fred and George began to follow, Alexandra standing firm in her spot. Fred noticed, and stayed behind.

"You can stay," he told her, not thinking a visit to Hogwarts would do any harm.

"No," Alexandra argued. "If something happens, I want to be there with you."

Fred held his hand out and Alexandra took it. She took a deep breath before walking with him into the house where Ginny and George were waiting. Together, the four of them apparated to the Hog's Head where they were met with Aberforth Dumbledore. Alexandra had no time to a ask questions before he showed them to the passageway leading to the Room of Requirement, and Alexandra stepped into Hogwarts for the first time in almost a year.

Alexandra looked around the room, overwhelmed by how cluttered and full of people it was. Everybody was coming up to her, hugging her and welcoming her home. Some even started asking questions about what her time with You-Know-Who was like.

"Leave her alone, will you?" Fred argued defensively, quickly noticing how uncomfortable she had gotten. "She's no different than she was before, no need to treat her like she is."

"We're looking for something here at Hogwarts," Harry chimed, getting everyone's attention. "It may have belonged to Ravenclaw."

"Ravenclaw's diadem, perhaps?" Luna asked. Many images swirled through Alexandra's head, but nothing caught her attention. She could've sworn she'd seen a diadem before.

Ginny stayed silent. She was under strict orders to hide the location of the diadem unless Alexandra told her otherwise, and she respected her friend's wishes.

"It's lost, Luna. Been lost for decades," another student pointed out.

"What does it look like?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I can show you. She wears it on her statue, Rowena Ravenclaw," Luna offered.

"What's the matter?" Fred asked, noticing the look of confusion on Alexandra's face once Harry and Luna left.

"I feel like I've seen it before, that's all," Alexandra explained. Ginny overheard the girl, and ran towards her.

"You don't remember?" Ginny asked in a panic. If the diadem was important to defeating Voldemort, Alexandra would have mentioned that in the event that she remembered it. Ginny had to take the chance, and only hope Alexandra would forgive her if she was wrong.

"Remember what?"

"The diadem. Tom left it for you to find," Ginny explained. Alexandra shook her head, not being able to remember finding it. "Before you were taken you made me swear to hide it in case he came looking for it. To be one step ahead, remember?"

"I don't know," Alexandra frowned, becoming greatly frustrated.

"Blimey," Fred mumbled, sharing a concerned look with his sister. What else did she not remember?

"The Room of Prophecies," Ginny stated, trying to jog her memory.

"You mean that room in the Ministry?"

"Bloody hell," Ginny sighed, about to run after Harry but being held back by Ron.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"The diadem. I know where it is," she admitted, trying and failing to escape Ron's grip. They were interrupted once again when more people entered the room. Members of the Order as well as a few past students piled into the room, making it much more crowded. Immediately upon their entrance, Harry and Luna returned.

"Harry, what's happening?" Lupin asked, rushing towards him.

"He's coming," Alexandra guessed, retreating backwards out of fear. She thought she was ready to face him, but she was wrong. The familiar images of death and destruction filled her mind, and now she was beginning to notice the scenery more so than the people. Everything she's seen, everything she's been trying to avoid for so long took place here at Hogwarts, and it was happening now.

"This is it. This is what you saw, isn't it?" Ginny whispered.

"You and Ginny need to return home. It's much too dangerous for you both here," Molly yelled, taking Alexandra by the arm and dragging both her and Ginny towards the passage.

"I'm not leaving," Alexandra argued, ripping her arm from Molly's grip.

"Nor am I," Ginny stated, doing the same.

"You're only sixteen!"

"That doesn't matter! I'm not going to leave my friends and family to sit at home and only wonder what could be happening!"

"Why don't you let her stay in the room?" A rather unfamiliar voice asked, walking through the passage and entering the room. Everybody fell silent. Percy Weasley stood before his family for the first time in a long time, shocking everyone. Alexandra looked over at Fred, and he looked reasonably angry. She knew he was particularly bothered by Percy's recent decisions.

"What makes you think-"

"I was a fool!" Percy yelled. "A-"

"Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron!" Fred interrupted.

"Yes," Percy agreed, dropping his head. "I was."

"As long as you've accepted it," Fred nodded, sticking his hand out but being pushed away by Molly.

Suddenly, Alexandra turned on her heel and began walking swiftly towards the staircase that led into the castle. Fred, George, and Ginny all noticed, following her.

"Where are you going?" Fred asked.

"To change fate," she stated simply, continuing her walk.

"Well, we're coming with you, then," George told her.

"Ginny!" Molly yelled, noticing Ginny attempting to sneak up the stairs with them. "You stay in this room, understand?"

"We'll run into her soon," Alexandra assured, watching as Ginny reluctantly walked back towards her mother with tears in her eyes. "She'd blow the bloody castle up before she hid away in here."

Ginny, realizing she was the only one who knew the true location of the diadem, panicked when she watched Harry and Alexandra disappear up the stairs. She hoped that if she couldn't escape the constraints of the room in time that Alexandra would remember or Harry would find it on his own.

Together, Alexandra and the twins made their way out of the Room of Requirement and towards the Great Hall where they would be reunited with their professors and classmates once again. Professor McGonagall couldn't help but smile when she saw Alexandra enter the room with her head held high. That was until she watched the girl fall to the floor with her hands covering her ears. Students turned the moment they heard her yelp in pain, understanding what had happen when they felt a similar pain seconds later.

"Give my Harry Potter," Voldemort's voice rang through their ears. "And no one shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. You have until midnight."

"He didn't ask for you. I reckon that's a good sign," Fred said to Alexandra once the noise died down. She glared at him, and he muttered an apology. "Just trying to ease the tension."