The Flower and the Badger

Chapter 21

Warning: scene of animal abuse (involving Cody so prepare to be angry/ possibly cry like I did when writing it)

As it turned out, Anna and Fred had fallen asleep on the astronomy tower. George found them the next morning.
"Aw, look at the little lovebirds." He cooed, causing Fred to wake up.
"Be quiet, you'll wake her up." He looked down at Anna, who was still sleeping soundly in his arms.
"I'm really wishing that I had a camera to capture this moment." George sniggered, and Fred glared at him. "I swear, if you wake her up-"
"Relax, I'm not going to wake the sleeping beauty. You're going to have to be the one to do that because we have classes remember?"
Fred groaned. "That's right. Unfortunately it was only Thursday, meaning that they had another two days worth of classes until the weekend came.
"Anna...." Fred gently shook her, and she groaned. "Five more minutes Remus."
"Anna it's not Remus, it's Freddie."
Anna peeked one eye open to look at him. "There better be a good reason as to why you're waking me up."
"We have classes."
She groaned loudly. "Damn weekdays." She grumbled as she sat up. She glanced at George. "How long has he been here for?"
"Only a few minutes. He was just leaving." Fred sent a small glare George's way, and he rolled his eyes before leaving the tower.
Anna yawned as she stretched. "Crap, I have to get changed."
"Me too." He used his wand to clean up their mess from the night before, then he took her hand and walked to the common room with her. She dashed up to her dorm, glad that she had work flats the day before and not high heels like Lavender had suggested. Thankfully the girls had all gone down to breakfast so she was able to dress in peace. She threw on her clothes, slipped her robes on, and ran a brush through her hair before dashing down to the common room.
Fred chuckled softly when he looked at her. "Calm down, there's plenty of time for breakfast before classes start."
"Well how was I supposed to know what time it was? It's not like I carry a pocketwatch around with me."
Fred raised an eyebrow as he smirked at her. "Someone's fiesty this morning."
Anna smirked as well. "Please. Don't act like you don't like it when I'm fiesty."
"You're right, I love it." He wrapped his arms around her as they walked to the Great Hall.

Anna was absolutely starving and she loaded her plate with eggs and sausage.
"You're acting as though I didn't provide you with a feast last night." Fred laughed as he watched her.
"Blame your brother." She pointed her fork at Ron. "He's been a bad influence on my stomach."
"Lies!" Ron scoffed. "Since when is it a bad thing to have a large appetite?"
"Large appetite? Weasley you don't have a large appetite, you have a bottomless pit for a stomach."
Anna and Ron continued to bicker back and forth until Hermione threatened to turn them both into slugs if they didn't shut up.
Anna stuck her tongue out at Hermione before turning back to her food.
"Um....Anna..." Harry pointed at Draco, who had a smirk on his face as he made his way over.
"Oh for God's sake..." She stormed over to him, meeting him halfway. Silence fell upon the Great Hall, all eyes on the two. Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Anna beat him to it.
"Now you listen to me, Draco Malfoy. I don't give a damn about anything that you want to say to me or my brother. You're just a foul, loathsome little git who has nothing better to do than to bring others down just to raise up your own self confidence, as if your ego wasn't big enough! I am not scared of you Draco, and if you or your little friends ever come near me or my Crup again, I'm going to hex the lot of you!" She turned on her heel and walked back to the Gryffindor table, Draco staring at her retreating back with a scowl on his face. As she sat down, the Gryffindor table burst into cheers and applause.
"That was bloody brilliant!" Dean praised Anna, causing her blush a bit.
"Thanks, it's about time that someone put him in his place anyways."
"You shouldn't have done that." Hermione scolded her. "God knows what kind of trouble the Slytherins are going to give you now."
Anna shrugged. "I honestly don't care, it was well worth it."
Cody, who had been on Harry's lap, stood up and walked across the table towards Anna, not caring about what food or drink was spilled in his wake. Anna giggled as she placed him in her lap. "You silly pup."
He wagged his tail, looking at her as if to say 'what did I do?'

He trotted along behind her as she walked to Transfiguration, sitting in between her and Nancy. When McGonagall posed a question to the class, he yipped as though stating his opinion. The stern look on the Professor's face softened. "Two points to Gryffindor for Cody's interesting take on the subject."
Anna and Nancy both giggled quietly, and McGonagall sent them a wink before turning to the rest of the class.
"McGonagall isn't so bad." Nancy said as they walked through the crowded hallway after class. "Malfoy and his gang made her seem so terrible. Snape's far worse."
Anna laughed. "And this is coming from someone in his own house."
"Well it's true! I hate how he bullies anyone who isn't a Slytherin."
"You really shouldn't be talking I'll about your Head of House." Millicent walked up to them, making Anna roll her eyes. "Piss off Bulstrode."
Millicent clicked her tongue. "Disrespecting Professor Snape and consorting with a blood traitor?"
"Just go Millicent." Anna snapped, and Cody growled at Millicent, sensing danger.
"Oh shut up you stupid mutt!" Millicent snarled.
"Don't talk about Cody like that!" Anna had her wand out in a flash.
"No?" Millicent sneered. "Fine, then I'll just do this." She swiftly kicked her foot, sending Cody flying. He hit the ground with a whimper, and Anna screamed as she dashed over to him. He tried to get up but couldn't, and he whimpered in pain.
"Cody..." Anna scooped him gently into her arms, carefully cradling him.

She ran to Hagrid's hut, and the Gamekeeper immediately started tending to Cody. Like most of the other teachers, he had fallen in love with the young Crup.
"He should be alright." He told Anna, and she started to cry in relief, Nancy hugging her gently.
"He'll have a couple broken bones that will take a bit to heal, but after that, he'll be back ter normal." Hagrid continued. "What even 'appened?"
"Bulstrode is what happened." Nancy said bitterly. "She kicked Cody clear across the room."
"He's lucky that his Injuries aren't any worse." Hagrid said. "As fer Bulstrode, you can beat believe that I'll be talkin' ter Dumbledore about her behavior. Anna, I suggest carrying Cody except fer when you take him ter do his business. He shouldn't be on his feet too much."
"Okay Hagrid." Anna held Cody in her arms. "Thank you."

News of what Millicent had done to Cody quickly spread, and she soon became the most disliked person in the school. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws would glare at her whenever she passed, and a few Gryffindors (namely Ron, Harry and the twins) would send hexes her way whenever they saw her, and there were a few Slytherins that wouldn't even talk to her. Blaise Zabini wouldn't even look her way, and had apologized to Anna multiple times for her behavior. The only ones who were remotely friendly to Millicent were Pansy and her little group. But none of that mattered to Anna. All that mattered was that Cody was safe. She followed Hagrid's advice and carried Cody everywhere. Cody didn't seem to mind it too much. Now he was the center of attention even more than he had previously been. Anna became like an overprotective helicopter parent, always making sure that he had enough to eat and drink, and making sure that he didn't do anything to cause any more damage to his already frail body. And Cody didn't seem to be bothered by this in the least bit. He would frequently lick her face to express his thanks. Anna couldn't bear the thought of losing Cody. She didn't know what she would do if she were to lose him. She would do whatever it took to keep him safe, even if it meant her losing her life in the process.