The Flower and the Badger

Chapter 22

Anna screamed as she woke up the next morning. She and Harry were laying on the couch in the common room, and they were covered in some sort of pink goo. Anna glared at Fred and George, who were laughing their heads off. "I'm gonna kill you two!"
"You have to catch us first!" They ran off, and Anna grimaced as she tried to wipe some of the good off of herself. "I better go and try to wash some of this gunk off, Hermione and I are leaving right after breakfast." She went to the girls showers, and it took nearly an hour and a half of heavy scrubbing before she managed to get all of the goop, and her skin was left a bright red as a result.
Hermione gazed at Anna as she joined the others in the Great Hall. "What on Earth happened to you?"
Anna explained about the incident with the twins, and Hermione shook her head. "If those boys spent half as much time studying as they did planning those ridiculous pranks they would be getting nearly perfect marks."
Anna laughed as she spread some jam on her toast. "We both know that'll never happen." Hermione shook her head again as she took a bite of scrambled eggs.

Right after breakfast, the girls got ready to go. The entire train ride Hermione chatted about how much Anna would like her parents, and Anna nodded somewhat absentmindedly, her thoughts going back to the dream she had had the previous night. What she really wanted to know was: was Adriana really guilty of everything that Merlin had condemned her of, or had she merely been someone's scapegoat?
"Anna?" Hermione's voice made Anna snap back to reality. "Sorry, guess I spaced out."
"Are you alright?" Hermione looked slightly worried.
"Yeah, I was just thinking, that's all. I'm fine, seriously."
Hermione looked like she wanted to question her further, but decided against it.
When they got off of the train, Anna waved to a smiling couple. "Mum, Dad!"
Anna realized this must be Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Mr. Granger had brown hair and warm, almond colored eyes, and Hermione's mother had brown hair and eyes the color of emeralds.
"You must be Anna." Mrs. Granger said as she gave Anna a small hug. "Hermione's told us so much about you." Anna blushed darkly. "She has?"
"She's told us that you're one of her only friends."
"Mum." Hermione said, blushing as well. "Shouldn't we start heading home?"

The Grangers didn't live very far from King's Cross, maybe about thirty minutes or so. Mr. Granger pointed out where they worked on the way home. "That's our dentistry office."
"Oh yeah, Mione told me that you were dentists." Anna answered and Mr. Granger nodded. "It can get quite mundane but it pays well.
Their house was about the same size as the Dursley's, but it had a much more homey feeling about it. "Come on." Hermione said. "My bedroom's this way." She led Anna upstairs. They would both be sleeping in Hermione's bedroom, there was an air mattress set up for Anna, and there was also an empty drawer in Hermione's dresser where Anna could store her things.
"I know it isn't much-" Hermione started to say, but Anna shook her head. "It's wonderful." It wasn't a cupboard under the stairs, so in Anna's eyes it was perfect. "It's much better than what I have with the Dursleys."
Hermione blushed lightly. "Yeah?"
"Absolutely. I'm not sleeping in a cupboard so it's definitely a step up for me."
"I still can't believe that your aunt and uncle are so cruel to you and Harry."
Anna sighed. "I know. It's just the way that its always been."
"Still. No one should have to go through that."
"Except maybe Malfoy." Anna teased, causing Hermione to laugh lightly. "Who knows, it might knock his ego down a peg or two."
"Could you imagine how horrified Draco would be if he had to spend the summer with a Muggle family?"
"He would probably die of shock."
"Wait until my father hears about this!" Anna said, imitating Draco's voice, which causes both of the girls to squeal with laughter.
"Girls!" Mrs. Granger called up the stairs. "Wash up, dinner's almost ready!"

Dinner turned out to be lasagna, fresh salad with Ranch dressing, breadsticks, and a fruit cocktail for dessert.
"We rarely eat sweets." Mrs. Granger explained as she poured Anna a glass of milk. "Bad for your teeth, you know."
As they ate, Mr. Granger explained that they would be spending the next day in London. "Hermione told us that you don't get out much, so I thought it might be fun if we explored the city."
"That would be wonderful." Anna said as she bit into a breadstick. "I do hope that I'm not being too much of an inconvenience."
"Not at all." He assured her. "We're glad to have you. With Hermione being an only child, it can get to be quite lonely for her."
"Well I'm happy to be here. Hermione's one of my closest friends."
After dinner, Anna helped to clean up, even though Mrs. Granger insisted that she didn't have to.
"Please let me help." Anna said as she began to unload the dishwasher. "I'll feel like a slacker otherwise."
Eventually Mrs. Granger relented when she learned that Anna wouldn't take no for an answer.
"No wonder you're in Gryffindor." Hermione teased Anna when they were back up in her bedroom. "You're one of the most stubborn people that I've ever met."
"Harry and I are both like that, we must get it from our parents."
"Do you remember them at all?" Hermione asked, and Anna sighed sadly. "I wish that I did, but I don't. Neither of us do."
Hermione then tactfully changed the subject. "So what's the deal between you and Lucy?"
"Damned if I know. I think she's just jealous that Cedric is spending time with me."
"You and Cedric are friends. She can't expect you to not hang out together."
"Well apparently she does, because she and Cedric fight about it constantly. He really does love her, she shouldn't have to feel jealous or threatened by me."
"That's just how girls work." Hermione consoled her. "I mean, look at Lavender."
Anna groaned. "Oh god." Lavender seemed to grow more obsessed with Ron with each day that passed. It was quite disgusting to have to listen to each and every night. Ron, of course, oblivious as the poor thing was, had no idea that Lavender had this obsession. "Lavender's eleven for crying out loud." Anna said in exasperation. "She shouldn't be worrying about boys yet."
"Tell me about it. And Ronald doesn't realize a single thing."
"Boys are always so clueless about this sort of thing, though."
"And they think that they're the smart ones." Hermione rolled her eyes, causing Anna to laugh. "They think that they know everything." Anna said. "And yet they always seem so shocked when we prove them wrong."
The talk continued like this late into the night, and it was nearly one in the morning before they started to get ready for bed. Anna pulled on her pajamas before padding into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. She looked in the mirror and frowned. On her collarbone was a small mark. Anna couldn't tell exactly what it was, but it appeared to be in the shape of a crucifix. It was probably just a smudge of dirt or something. Wetting down a washcloth, Anna scrubbed at it until it felt like her skin was raw, but the mark refused to come off. "Odd.." She muttered to herself as she made her way back to the bedroom. "Hey Mione, come and take a look at this." She showed Hermione the mark, causing her to frown as well. "And it won't wash off?"
"No, and it most definitely wasn't there this morning when I showered all of that pink goop off."
"Hmm..." Hermione's brows furrowed in concentration. "I think that I read about this, but I just can't remember where. Tomorrow when we get home I'll look through my books."
Anna nodded and she laid down on the air mattress, occasionally rubbing at the mark. Was this another thing to do with Adriana Petrival? If so, how was it connected to her? And why had Anna been chosen, out of all people? With these thoughts coursing through her brain, Anna fell into a restless, dreamless sleep.