Anna Black, The Girl Who Lived, Book 1 (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

11: A New Home

e d i t e d

Anna and Harry were sat in the common room that evening. It was almost midnight, but Anna couldn't stop crying. Her heart was broken and her normalcy was destroyed.

All because of one simple letter. A hurtful one, at that.

The girl had no clue what to do next. Did Hogwarts have summer stay options? Maybe she could sneak in with the Dursley's...that cupboard had enough room for two, right?

Many thoughts swirled through her head as Harry held her. He was at a loss for words too. He felt bad after complaining about the Dursley's all of these years. Were they awful? Yes, but he knew they would never go as far to kick him out...at least at 11 years old.

"I'm so sorry, Anna, I can't believe they would do this to you," said Harry softly, causing her to cry even more.

She shook her head. "This is so awful. I'm never going to see them again. Why do they hate me so much? I didn't do anything wrong, I can't help that I'm different!"

Leah, who sat on the table near the fire, scampered up to Anna. She nudged her cheek, wiping the tears away. Anna gave a soft laugh, hugging the cat and Harry as she said, "At least I have you guys."

"Of course, you'll always have us," said Harry and Leah purred in agreement. "Well, you may have more family too, right? Didn't you say that Mafloy is your cousin?"

"I don't want to live with him-"

"No, I mean maybe you don't know...you could have cousins? Or extended family?"

Anna's eyes widened for a second. "Actually, Hagrid said my dad was still alive."

"W-what?" Harry asked, shocked. He felt a small pang of jealousy but immediately pushed it aside.

She shook her head, "I don't know anything else though. He may be wrong. All I know is that Hagrid said he didn't die. But if he hasn't done anything all of these years he's either dead by now or doesn't love me."

Harry was at a loss for words. All he could say was, "I know this is hard, but at least you have a few months to figure it out, right? You should just try to enjoy your time here. I'm sure someone will help out. Maybe you could talk to Hagrid or even Dumbledore."

"Thank you," said Anna, hugging him tighter.

They all stayed silent for a few minutes, just enjoying the company. Anna was so grateful for Harry and even Leah. She made a mental note to thoroughly thank Hagrid for her new feline companion.

She felt as if that Siamese kitten understood her perfectly. Even though it had only been a few days, she loved that cat almost as much as Harry. She had never had a pet since her uncle was so against animals. He claimed to have allergies, but she had a feeling it was something deeper than that.

He especially hated cats.

She smiled, enjoying the indirect defiance of having something her uncle hated. Not only that, but he probably wouldn't have let her bring the cat home anyway.

"Hey, why are you guys still up? It's almost the bloody morning!" hissed a voice behind them. They turned to see Ron Weasley, hair messy and plaid pajamas nearly too small.

"I could ask the same for you," muttered Anna, her usual sass coming back.

"I woke up because I was hungry. Then I saw Harry hadn't gone to bed yet. Now what's going on?"

Harry spoke up against Anna's silent pleas. "Anna's family wrote her a letter saying that she's never allowed to go back."

"You got kicked out?! Bloody hell! What did you do to get in that much trouble?!" exclaimed Ron.