Chapter 4
The very next night Anya found herself woken in the middle of the night by a tap on her window.
“Huh… wuzzat?” She asked, rubbing her eyes. She was still a little bit too young for Prince Charming to be trying to sneak around her parents. The knock came again, and she yawned, got up, and opened the window.
She had expected to see Harry, or perhaps Hedwig. She was not expecting to see a flying car.
“Ah-!”
She fell backward onto her bed as Harry laughed at her.
“I’m here to say goodbye!” He told her, his voice only just loud enough to hear over the purr of the engine. “I didn’t want to leave without saying anything to you…”
Anya couldn’t believe it. She simply stared.
“Are you sure she knows about magic, Harry?” The boy in the driver’s seat asked. “She looks a little lost for words.”
Anya recovered herself seriously.
“Yes, I do!” She said. “I was just surprised, is all. I am a muggle, after all.”
She slid forward and leaned out the window. “Uh, who are you?”
“Fred Weasley.” Fred said, promptly. “My brother George….”
“How do you do?” His twin said politely.
“And our annoying little brother, Ron.”
“Come off it, you.” Ron said, annoyed.
“Oh, Harry’s told me all about you in his letters.” Anya said, beaming. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.’
“Harry didn’t mention she was this cute.”
Anya had to stop herself from smiling too widely.
“Are you taking Harry back home with you?”
“Yeah.” Fred said. “He hasn’t been answering our letters, so we thought we’d come take him home with us.”
“We see now that he just wanted to spend more time with his little girlfriend.” George snickered.
“Hey, that’s not true.” Harry said, crossly. “It was you that wasn’t writing to me!”
“Must you go so soon?” Anya asked, anxiously. “I don’t want to spend the rest of the summer with Dudley.”
Harry’s face fell, and Anya instantly regretted having spoken. She didn’t need to read his mind to know that he was very much torn between going off with his wizarding friends and staying here with her.
“No, I didn’t mean that.” She said quickly. “Honestly, you should live at Hogwarts if it’s half as nice as you say…”
Harry laughed.
“We better go.” Fred said, checking the dashboard. “The sun will be up before we get back if we don’t hurry.”
“Be sure to write, Harry.” Anya whispered, as she shut the window panel.
…
She wasn’t sure how to feel about Harry being gone sooner than expected. When her Mother asked what she and Harry wanted to do today she had to break the news to her that Harry had gone to spend the rest of the summer with one of his school friends.
Loid looked up from his paper and frowned as she said this. “His Uncle allowed that?” He was extremely skeptical.
“I don’t think he was allowed to.” Anya said. “He just…. Did it.”
‘Hm.” Loid said, as he returned to his paper. “I take it that he’s happier with them?”
“He is.”
“I see.”
I’m happy for him.
Anya smiled to herself. Her father wasn’t as open about his emotions as the women in the family were, but he still cared deeply about Harry all the same.
She received her first letter from Hedwig that very night. Harry had arrived safely at the burrow and warned her not to mention that she had seen him leave to anyone. Anya was quick to agree, knowing how much of a risk they had taken in stopping to chat with her, and asked him whether or not he had seen Dobby again or not.
They wrote back and forth in this way for weeks. It was not until Halloween, however, that Anya was informed of what had happened to Mrs. Norris. The Chamber of Secrets had been opened.
She was surprised that Harry himself seemed to think that Malfoy might be behind it. She was quick to agree with him that Malfoy sounded the most suspicious, as she had read Dobby’s mind, but privately she found herself feeling a little left out. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were having these crazy adventures in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry while she was attending a boring English Private School.
She had to fight to remind herself that the period of time when she thought her Father would throw her out at a moment’s notice if she failed Operation Strix was one of the worst periods in her life. She never wanted to go through anything like that again. But then again, she thought, as her eyes ran over the letters she had collected. Perhaps she wanted to prevent Harry from feeling as lonely and isolated as she did.
A part of her was growing increasingly concerned that Harry was in great danger. Students were being petrified left and right, and no one had any idea what to do. She felt a strong sense of duty to these people to try and help him, in any way she was able.
But there was nothing she could do. All she could do was receive letters about theories and ideas the group had. Malfoy was a suspect, and then he wasn’t. Hagrid was a suspect, and then he wasn’t. And then Harry discovered Tom Riddle’s diary.
Anya sat at her desk reading about what Tom Riddle had shown Harry in his memory. She had met Hagrid. She tried to remember just what had been going through his mind that day when he had come to drop Harry off at Privet Drive, but it had been nothing but thoughts about how Harry was going to love it at Hogwarts.
She sent back a reply asking for Harry to send her Tom Riddle’s diary, but she received a response saying the diary had been stolen. Anya sat back in her chair, thinking deeply.
She was going to have to use her head for this one. Hermione was right, it had to have been a Gryffindor. Which meant… the heir of Slytherin was in Gryffindor.
By the time she received the final reply, it had all been over. Harry sent her a gargantuan note that ran on for pages of pages of parchment. About how they had gone into the Chamber of Secrets, how Voldemort had been controlling Ron’s little sister Ginny. And how they had discovered the monster was a Basillisk. Harry ended his letter with a promise that he would tell her all about it when he got back home.
She felt empty as she read the letter, and clutched it tightly in her grip. She was angry: Harry was out having these wild adventures, and she was sitting at Privet Drive accomplishing absolutely nothing with her life.
Some signs of her distress must have shown on her face, as her Father stopped her at dinner and asked her what was wrong.
“Nothing’s wrong.” She said immediately.
He gave her a knowing glance, and she folded.
‘Harry’s having so much fun at his school.” She said. “I wish… I was I was there.”
He folded his newspaper and sighed.
“Anya.” He said. “You shouldn’t envy him. You need to live your own life. Being depressed over what he has, and what you don’t… it’s not healthy.”
He was right, she knew. But when Harry returned that Summer a part of her couldn’t let go of that feeling. That she had been missing out, and had been for a long time.
“I can’t wait to go back.” He told her, smiling widely. His Aunt Marge was staying over for a visit at Number Four, and so it was decided that he would be spending the week sleeping over at Anya’s house. Anya, although thrilled at the chance to spend time with him, was becoming disgruntled at just how often he brought up his new friends, his new school, and his new life. A part of her wondered whether she even mattered anymore.
The two of them were talking an evening walk around the street, as always avoiding walking past Number Four, when a strange thought entered her head.
“He looks just like his father.”
She turned her head, startled, to see a large black dog, seemingly a stray, sitting in the shadows by one of the house, eyeing them beadily. If it were an ordinary dog, she very well might have been frightened. But it wasn’t. It was, she could tell, a wizard. A wizard that knew Harry by sight, but did not want to make his presence known.
“Can wizards turn into animals?” She asked without thinking. IN a flash the dog had gotten to its feet, turned, and bounded away. Harry turned to look at her, quizzically.
“Yes.” He said, surprised. “My Transfiguration professor can turn into a cat.”
Anya nodded absentmindedly, as she tried to scan the surrounding area for the dog’s thoughts. They weren’t hard to find. The thoughts of the dog were rapid and panicked. She had called him out seemingly despite being a muggle.
“Just who is this girl?”
He didn’t seem to wish her harm. If anything, he was more concerned for his own safety. Anya found herself wondering just what his deal was.
“Have you learned anything new about your parents?”
The question was casual, aimed directly at Harry. But his was not the answer she was seeking. The dog was listening to their idle conversation as well, and she hoped that this line of questioning would bring certain thoughts forward that would answer her questions.
“Not really.” Harry said, his voice gloomy. “I mean… Hagrid gave me a photo collection that he managed to put together, but I don’t know… I will never know them.”
He seemed to be rather upset. Concerned, she took his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. Inwardly, however, her mind was sharp.
“I miss James every day, Harry.” The dog was thinking. “I swear to you I will find the one responsible for this.”
Was this dog after Voldemort, then? But wasn’t he already defeated? The questions ran wild through her mind.
“If only.” Anya said, her voice loud and clear. “There was someone you could talk to who knew them. Really knew them. Like a close friend.”
“If only I could go to him now.” The dog lamented. “I could… tell him everything.”
Then why don’t you? Anya thought to herself, frustrated. What was keeping you? She had no choice.
“Oh no, I dropped something.” She told Harry, with a start, as she looked down at her dress. “Go on ahead, I’ll-“
“We can look together-“
“No, no, you’ll just get in my way.” Anya told him. “Go back without me, alright?”
Harry shot her a quizzical look, but she pushed him away and hurried down the street. She made a sharp turn, and once she was out of sight she jumped a fence and made her way to where the dog sat, hiding.
It turned to look at her in surprise, and seemed ready to bolt when she shook her head.
“No, don’t.” She said. She sat down and leaned against the fence, staring at her rigidly. “You’re not a dog, are you?”
The dog simply stared at her.
“I’ve known Harry for a long time.” Anya said. “And I’ve tried being there for him as much as I possibly could. But I’m not…. I’m not family to him.” She swallowed. “You are, aren’t you?”
The dog stared at her.
“Who is this girl?”
“My name is Anya Forger.” Anya said. “I’m Harry Potter’s best….’ She hesitated. “Well, I used to be his best friend.” She said. “What’s your name?”
He was so taken aback by her actions that his name didn’t even come to mind.
“I don’t know what your reasons are for staying in hiding.” Anya said. “But Harry needs you. He needs you more than he needs revenge for his parent’s murder.”
The dog stared at her, and in a fluid movement it turned into a man.
She had to stop herself from screaming. Standing there was the man they had seen on the TV earlier that day, Sirius Black.
She swallowed, feeling a strong sense of apprehension. Perhaps she had misread the situation and had put herself in a very poor situation.
“Can you get me to Hogwarts?” Sirius Black rasped. “When I go there… I will solve everything.”
His mind was running so wild with the possibilities that Anya had problems keeping up.
“You can stay with me.” Anya said. “We already own a dog, it shouldn’t be too much trouble. And you can figure out a way to get to Hogwarts and find… whatever it is you’re looking for.”