Chapter 12
The weeks and months went by in a daze. A part of Anya had honestly believed that Yor genuinely had no idea where babies came, and due to their peculiar family situation she had honestly assumed that her parents had never even seriously thought about having children of their own. But out of nowhere, suddenly, they were preparing a room for the baby, discussing potential names, and wondering whether it would be a boy or a girl.
Anya wasn’t sure what to feel about this. On one hand, her parents seemed to be getting along better than she had ever thought they would. Ever since they had all met, she felt the only thing keeping them together was a wide range of circumstances that had nothing to do with being in love with each other.
But now that they were having a baby, Anya had to face the cold hard truth. They were in love each other. And soon enough, they would have a child of their own. A child that would, in all likelihood, completely replace her.
The thought was extremely depressing, though she told no one. She found herself more and more discussing the wizarding world with Harry in their letter to one another, and very little did she talk about her own life at all. He told her about how Barty Crouch had been stripped of his position at the Ministry after he had been exposed as having broken his son out of Azkaban years before.
“He’s not happy with you.” Harry had said. “You were the one who exposed the entire thing.”
She was also told about the Triwizard Tournament, and how the three champions had been selected. He had initially been unhappy that a Hufflepuff had been selected, but over time he began to really admire and like Cedric Diggory.
It made her feel worried. His life was so interesting it was only a matter of time until another girl caught his eye. She already knew Ginny Weasley was gunning for him, and she knew he was attracted to that pretty Asian girl Cho Chang… it was only a matter of time until he decided he would much rather be with a witch than with her.
These thoughts were why it came as such a surprise when Hedwig came flying in her window, carrying a bouquet of flowers. Anya was touched, but became downright ecstatic when she saw the message.
“Will you come to the Yule Ball with me?”
She accepted immediately, and then sent Hedwig away with a box of chocolates. She quickly ran downstairs to inform her parents that she would be going to see Harry for Christmas.
“A ball?” Yor said. “Oh, how romantic!”
“How will you get there?” Loid asked her, staring deeply at her.
“Harry said he would send for me if I accepted.” Anya said, pleased with herself. “They’ll be escorting me onto the premises.”
“I see.”
He was already making plans on following her. She rolled her eyes as played with Bond. Despite his advanced age, they were as close as ever.
It wasn’t long before she received another letter, this time from the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. She was a little surprised at this: She had not expected to be contacted directly. Dumbledore wanted her to come with him to Hogwarts, so that he could better educate her on what to expect at the school. And of course, he politely requested that she not mention any details about the magical world to her parents.
He arrived at their doorstep later that same evening, smiling pleasantly. He introduced himself to her parents and they had tea together.
Anya decided to leave them alone for this period. She would have her time alone with the headmaster soon enough. Doubtless he was trying to convince her father that she would be in good hands at Hogwarts. A couple of hours later, however, she was called into the room and sat down.
“It is decided.” Dumbledore said, smiling down at her pleasantly. “You will be spending the holidays at Hogwarts.”
“The… entire break?” Anya said, hardly daring to believe it. “Alone with my boyfriend?”
Dumbledore chuckled. “Well, we’ll be keeping an eye on you, certainly. I will not allow you into his dormitory, but you will be given a room to stay in.”
“And this is okay?” Anya asked, casting a look at her father.
She half expected him to say no, but he shook his head.
“You’ve always wanted to see this school.” He said. “It would be a shame to pass up on this opportunity. Just promise me you’ll behave yourself.”
“Yes… of course!” Anya said immediately. “I will!”
She spent the next month preparing. She packed her things and went out to get a dress for the Yule Ball. She loved it so much that she wished she could wear it during the journey, but wisely decided to save it for the dance. A week before the dance at the Yule Ball, Dumbledore once again came for her. She was surprised to see that he had come in a horse drawn carriage.
“I thought you would appreciate it.” Dumbledore said, as she let out a girlish squee. He helped her pack her things into the back and opened the door for her. She stepped inside gracefully and sat down. Dumbeldore sat down across from her, and the carriage began to move. There was no driver: The horses simply seemed to know where they were headed.
“My apologies.” Dumbledore said. “Normally I would have taken you straight to my office, but because your parents are unaware of the magical world I had to improvise.”
“This is much more fun than simply going there.” Anya said enthusiastically. Dumbledore smiled at her.
“The journey is half the fun, as they say.” He said. “I daresay Harry has told you all about Hogwarts.”
“As much as he was allowed to.” Anya said, quickly catching on to the fact that it was very likely that Dumbledore assumed that Harry had told her. “I didn’t figure it out until last year.”
“Ah yes. Sirius has told me all about that.” Dumbledore said, his voice pleasant. Anya narrowed her eyes. She strained her mind, trying to get a read on his thoughts, but was completely taken aback when she hit an impenetrable wall.
“That won’t work.” Dumbledore said gently, causing her to give a small start.
“What won’t work?” Anya asked stupidly.
“Your strange power.” Dumbledore said. “I am a master of Occlumency… A skill that prevents my mind from thoughts being observed by others.”
Anya tried to keep the shock off her face. The best she could manage was a kind of twisted neutral expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You are no ordinary muggle.” Dumbledore said. “Your Father is the notorious international Agent Twilight who is currently involved in dissolving world terrorist rings. Your Mother is the legendary assassin, Thorn Princess. And you… are the glue that holds the entire family together.”
Anya clutched her leg with her hand, trying to stop her trembling.
“Do not be afraid.” Dumbledore said. “I do not want there to be any secrets between us. I thought it would be best to be open with you about what I know.”
Anya’s first instinct was to trust him. He seemed so kind, so pleasant, and had charmed her parents. He had Harry’s absolute trust, and no one she had ever met had ever spoken badly about Albus Dumbeldore.
But she was Anya Forger. Lying about who she was came more naturally to her than breathing.
“Headmaster, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She said. “My Father is a psychiatrist. I think you must be mistaken.”
“There is no mistake.” Dumbledore said, his voice still pleasant. “Let us not keep secrets, Anya.”
He was trying to bait her into overreacting. It wasn’t going to work.
“I used to wish my Father was a spy.” Anya said, getting her bearings. “I’m a big fan of that manga… Spy Wars. Have you ever heard of it?”
“Heard of it? I own every volume.”
“Well I used to pretend that Father was secretly a spy.” Anya said. “It was just a funny daydream from a stupid kid. It wasn’t actually real.”
She tried probing his mind again to gauge his reaction, but was aghast to find that she once again hit the wall. It had always been hard to lie about topics this sensitive whenever her mind reading wouldn’t be effective, and she was beginning to fear that she was up against someone she couldn’t possibly handle.
“Maybe that’s why you think Father is a spy.” Anya said. “Because I thought he could be.”
Dumbledore’s piercing blue eyes were staring right at her. She had no idea what he was thinking, and it unnerved her.
“I can see why Harry likes you so much.” Dumbledore said at last. “You have an unbreakable sense of loyalty to your family’s secrecy.”
“I don’t know about that.” Anya said, trying to keep herself preening from the compliment.
“Oh, we’re here.” Dumbledore said. Anya gave a small start and jerked her head out of the window. As if by magic (And considering current company, it probably was) the streets of Surrey had given way to a pathway that led up to a majestic castle.
“This.” Dumbeldore said, smiling pleasantly. “Is Hogwarts.”
The carriage rolled up to the front of the castle and came to a stop. Dumbledore was first to step out, and politely offered her his hand. She took it, and stepped down onto the ground in front of the castle.
It was even more beautiful than Harry had said it would be. The entire castle seemed to have been decked out in beautiful moving lights that flickered in between the towers. Dumbledore led her to the door and opened it.
An older woman with a stern looking expression was busy examining one of the Christmas trees that had been brought in when they walked in. The woman turned up to look at them, and then greeted Albus.
“Is this Anya Forger?” The woman asked, peering down at her.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Anya said politely, doing her best attempt at a curtsy. The woman smiled.
“I am Professor Minerva McGonagall.” She said. “I teach Transfiguration here. I am the head of Gryffindor House.”
“Oh, Harry’s told me all about you.” Anya said excitedly. McGonagall smiled.
They bid their good-bye and Dumbledore led Anya to her room. They dropped off her things, and then made their way to the Great Hall for dinner. She had barely stepped through the door before she saw him.
“Harry!”
She left Dumbledore and threw her arms around him. He let out a gag as knocked his plate of food to the floor, and the entire table laughed uproariously at them. It wasn’t long before she was sitting amongst the Gryffindors, laughing uproariously about some story or other, and eagerly discussing plans for the Yule Ball.
Despite her demeanor, however, her thoughts never really strayed very far from her conversation with Dumbledore. He had revealed that he knew her deepest secrets. Why? What had he been trying to accomplish? Had he been trying to intimidate her? Or was he true to his word and simply wanted there to be no secrets between them?
She was almost certain that there was more to the Headmaster than met the eye, and was determined to get the bottom of this during her stay here.
There were, however, other fish to fry. Draco Malfoy, who she had beaten up and left unconscious in the woods just a few months prior, was glaring at her from the Slytherin table. Barty Crouch Sr, who had been removed from his position at the Ministry following her actions at the Quidditch World Cup, was staring darkly at her as well. (His role as Triwizard Judge had not been compromised following the scandal, although Anya had been told that many people were not happy about it)
And to top it all off, Ginny Weasley was glaring at her from just down the table. She had barely been in the wizarding world for a full year and had already made a whole lot of enemies. She hoped that Dumbledore wouldn’t soon be added to that list.