Lillian 'Anna' Potter || Goblet of Fire

Chapter Seventeen: The Announcement

“So you guys just promised to find some way to say goodbye after you die?” Ginny deadpanned.

The two sat at their usual place at the Feast, and Anna had just finished retelling her everything that happened with Cedric.

“It was just a gag, Gin.” Anna reminded her as she began to nibble the flaky end of a croissant. “I was still tired after our trip to Hogwarts and began sputtering out nonsense. And you know how Cedric is - he doesn’t want to make me feel stupid, so he tries to be stupid along with me.”

“But that’s still really...dark.” Ginny chewed her lip nervously. “Just promise me that you’re okay, and that you aren’t planning to do anything drastic.”

Anna’s mind immediately flashed back to her daily runs in the woods in her Animagus form. Sure, she knew that what she was doing was probably wrong - trying to drown out her human emotions in her animalistic ones, but being an Animagus was still a part of her, and she needed to learn how to embrace it.

At least that's what she told herself.

She grinned, nudging Ginny’s shoulder with her own. “Nope - unless you’re counting on me eating all of these sweets. Three plates of pastries seriously cannot be healthy.” Anna remarked on a lighter note.

Ginny smiled, swiping one of Anna’s guava strudels, taking a bite before chuckling slightly. “What? I’m your best friend - if you do something stupid, I have to go right along with you.”

“That would’ve been a sweet sentiment if it didn’t involve you eating my food!” Anna snapped, but they laughed together nonetheless.

Finally, when every stomach was full and every plate empty, Albus Dumbledore stood at his feet, smiling down at the faces of all the students in the Great Hall, who quieted almost immediately at his standing.

“So, now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices.” He began. “As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year.”

“What?”

Anna winced at Ginny’s deafening cry of disappointment as shocked gasps and disgruntled murmurs ran throughout the hall. But Dumbledore continued on.

“This is due to an event that will be starting in October , and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teacher’s time and energy - but I am certain you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts-”

A large bang interrupted his next words, and every head turned towards the stranger who stood in the doorway. A large slash of lightning suddenly crashed through the atmosphere, illuminating and highlighting his features - especially the electric blue eye that eerily whirled around in his socket.

The man walked forward, his wooden leg thumping on the castle floors as he reached Dumbledore, who gave the man a nod before the stranger wordlessly sat down, his artificial eye continuing to spin around wildly, giving him the appearance of a mad scientist.

“May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher - Professor Moody!”

There was a small moment of silence before everyone hesitantly began to applaud, but Anna couldn’t help but sense something...off about this man. True, she had only just seen him, and she knew you weren’t supposed to ‘judge a book by its cover’, but there was also something about him that set off red flags inside Anna’s mind - just pure instinct.