The Flower and the Badger

Chapter 4

When Anna went down to breakfast the next morning, everyone was talking about Sirius Black. She remembered what her father had told her last night. Was Sirius innocent? Had he been wrongly convicted? James had seemed pretty adamant about Sirius never doing anything that would cause him to wind up in Azkaban, but people change. Anna sighed as she poked at the eggs that were on her plate.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, and Anna shrugged. "I'm just not very hungry." She murmured, and Hermione sighed. "Anna you need to eat something, anything."
Anna shook her head. "I'm fine, really." She stood up and gathered her books. "I'll catch up with you in class." She wanted to think about things. She had about thirty minutes until her next class, and she spent that outside. Her parents had warned her that others would start to ask for her help. What did that mean? Did it mean that every ghost or supernatural being she came into contact with would then appear in her dreams? She shuddered at the thought of Peeves being in her dreams.
"Potter!"
"One day." Anna muttered. "I just want one day where I don't have to deal with Malfoy and his stupidity." Was that really too much to ask for? She turned to face the blonde, who had his trademark sneer on his face. "I heard that you and your brother fainted on the train."
"Yeah? What of it?"
"And here I was thinking that Neville was the only weak hearted one." Draco said, causing Crabbe and Goyle to laugh.
"Now you listen here Malfoy." Anna growled. "Neville is braver than you could ever be. Unlike your pathetic self, he doesn't hide behind two guys who does all his fighting for him."
"I could easily take you." Malfoy said, his face red with anger.
"Then let's go." Anna challenged. "No wands, just you, me and our fists." She put her wand in her pocket, while Draco handed his to Goyle. But before any punches could be thrown, Remus came out, and seperated the two.
"Now now, let's not have any fights."
"But-" Anna began to say, but Remus cut her off. "Miss Potter, my office please."
Remus began to walk away, and Draco gave Anna a smug look, obviously thinking that she was in trouble.
Anna sighed as she trudged after Remus. Once they were both in his office he shut the door. To Anna's surprise he began to chuckle.
"Just like your father."
"Sir?" Anna asked in surprise. Even though he was her godfather, they were in school so she had to show some respect.
"Your father was quick to get into fights too."
"Draco was making fun of Neville! I couldn't just let it slide!"
"No, but you need to deal with it in ways that don't end with someone getting a black eye or a bruised jaw. That wouldn't end well for anyone. One would end up in the hospital wing and the other would end up in detention, and I don't think that you would want to spend an entire Saturday cleaning out Professor Snape's cauldrons."
Anna quickly shook her head, causing Remus to laugh lightly. Suddenly she grinned. "Does that mean you think that I would beat Malfoy in a fight?"
"Off the record, you would pound him." Remus answered with a conspiratory smirk. "Of course, if you told anyone that I would deny it."
Anna giggled. "My lips are sealed." She said as she pretended to zip her lips. Remus shook his head. "Exactly like your father." He pulled out a small pocketwatch. "You had better get going if you don't want to be late for your next class."
Anna went to the door, stopped, and ran back to Remus, giving the surprised man a quick hug before scurrying out. Remus smiled softly before going to get his first lesson ready.

Draco seemed disappointed that Anna hadn't gotten expelled, and Hermione lectured her on almost getting into another fight with Draco. "Anna, we haven't even been back at school for twenty four hours yet!"
"I don't regret what I did." Anna replied hotly. "And I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Hermione shook her head as they walked outside for Care of Magical Creatures, which Hagrid would now be teaching. Today they were going to learn about Hippogriffs. Anna was ecstatic that Hagrid was teaching them. After showing them how they had to bow to a hippogriff, he had Harry demonstrate, which ended up with Hagrid lifting him onto the hippogriff's back and them taking off into the sky. When they returned naturally Draco had to prove that he could do it as well, which resulted in him getting scratched by the hippogriff, who Hagrid had named Buckbeak. Draco acted like he was in more pain than he was probably in, so Hagrid sent him to the hospital wing. Anna hoped that Defense Against the Dark Arts would go better.
"I cannot believe Malfoy!" Anna complained at lunch. His arm was in a sling. "He's telling everyone how he's going to tell his father about what happened with Buckbeak. Lucius is probably going to make them euthanize the poor thing or something like that."
She was filled with such hatred for Malfoy, and it definitely showed. A few people shuffled uncomfortably in their seats.
"Calm down." Harry said gently. "I'm sure that's not going to happen."
Anna nodded as she stabbed at her salad. She really hoped that Harry was right.

The weeks flew by. Anna was looking forward to Monday, because that's when they would be learning about Boggarts in DADA. But for now, it was time for a trip into Hogsmeade. Hermione was helping Anna get ready for her date with Seamus. She lent Anna a blue top, and Anna was also wearing a pair of skinny jeans, and her hair was curled. Personally Anna thought that it was a bit over the top, but she decided not to say anything. Seamus grinned when he saw her walk into the common room. "Hey...you look great."
Anna blushed a bit. "Thanks, Hermione helped me. It's not too much is it?"
Seamus quickly shook his head. "No, it's perfect." He took her hand, causing her to blush even more. As they left the common room they passed by Fred, and Anna didn't even look at him. She was still a bit pissed off.
"I thought that we could go to Honeyduke's first." Seamus explained, and Anna nodded. "Sure, Honeyduke's sounds great. I'm always in the mood for candy."
"A girl after my own heart." Seamus teased, beaming when Anna giggled. The date went splendidly, Seamus was quite fun to be around. They went to Honeyduke's, and he got her a large lollipop, and then they went to the Three Broomsticks where they were just able to sit and talk. Eventually Cedric joined them with his date, a fifth year Ravenclaw named Fiona. It was almost dinnertime by the time they made their way back to the castle.
"Thank you Seamus." Anna said as they walked into the Great Hall. "I had fun today."
"I'm glad...maybe we could do it again sometime?"
Anna quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."
Seamus hesitated a moment before kissing her cheek. "I'll see you later." He went and sat with Dean while Anna sat next to Ginny.
"So are you two a thing now?" Hermione asked, and Anna shook her head. "I...I don't know. Not yet. It was nice though, I had a great time."
Talk turned to other things, and Anna was smiling the whole evening.