Emergency Chocolate Supply
“We’ve got the stuff!” Harry told Irwin and Anne during Charms a few days later.
They had decided to brew the potion in Myrtle’s Bathroom because it was hardly ever used.
“No one ever goes in here!” said Hermione as she helped Irwin set up her cauldron that afternoon after the end of lessons.
“These are some really complicated ingredients!” murmured Irwin looking at them all, “how did you get this lot?”
“We had to nick it from Snape!” said Ron.
“Well I hope this works because we can only afford one try!” said Irwin.
“Harry, I’ve been thinking,” said Anne.
“Do you ever stop thinking sis?” Harry chuckled.
Anne merely blushed. “It would be impractical for us all to take Polyjuice, the more of us transform the more obvious it is, why don’t me and Irwin follow you under the invisibility cloak instead of taking the potion?”
“That might work you know!” said Hermione
“Yeah, the more of us transform into Slytherins the more extra work there’s going to be, finding the hairs, getting rid of the Slytherins you know,” agreed Ron.
“When should it be finished?” asked Harry
“About a week before the Christmas holidays start,” Irwin told him.
The Polyjuice potion was a very difficult potion to make but seeing as Anne Irwin and Hermione were all good at potion making it wasn’t as difficult as it could have been, but it did take a whole month to brew.
They did find themselves spending a lot of time in Myrtle's bathroom but Myrtle did not seem to mind as she enjoyed all the company.
“Hello again!” called Myrtle a few days after they started brewing.
“Hi Myrtle!” greeted Irwin and Anne before going to join Ron and Hermione by the cauldron.
Anne added a few more ingredients and then stirred it a few times and then turned the heat down.
“Ok, we need to let it simmer for an hour now,” Anne told them.
“No training tonight Harry?” asked Irwin as he got out his textbooks to start doing his homework on the bathroom floor whilst the potion simmered.
“Nah, we’ve got the match tomorrow,” said Harry, “Wood’s given us the night off.”
“Good you could use one!” muttered Hermione.
“You’re all going to come tomorrow right?” asked Harry
“Yeah sure!” replied Ron and Hermione.
Harry looked over at Anne and Irwin who had started their homework. “Um, guys you are coming tomorrow?”
“Harry you know what Anne gets like when you’re flying!” said Irwin, “we would love to come to watch you but Anne freaked out completely last time”
“Anne,” said Harry trying to reassure his sister, “I get it sis, you worry about me, let's face it you worry about bloody everything!”
Anne was pulling at her plaits as her brother tried to talk to her.
“Look, that one match you saw Quirrell was jinxing my broom, most matches aren’t like that! If you take some calming draught before the match that would make it easier as well!”
Anne thought for a moment, the last match she went to Harry had nearly died. Quidditch always seemed to be dangerous in her opinion flying so high in the air!! The last time she had watched him play she had fainted she was scared! But it meant so much to Harry.
“Please sis?” he asked nervously.
“Ok,” Anne said quietly.
“What’s everyone doing for Christmas, this will be finished with by then,” Hermione said gesturing towards the Polyjuice potion.
Harry and Anne looked at each other nervously.
“Um well, the full moons on the 24th of December, Remus and Sirius don’t want us to come home...” Harry admitted.
“How is Remus?” asked Ron.
“He’s fine,” said Harry, “he just doesn’t want to ruin our Christmas he feels like he already ruined our birthday”
“That’s not true, he would never ruin anything!” cried Anne.
“I know that sis! But if Remus wants us to stay away this holiday then that’s fine, we can him over the summer!” said Harry.
Anne pulled at her plaits, as she always did when she was nervous. “He’s not fine…” she stuttered “he’s worried about Greyback.”
“Anne don’t worry sis Remus is fine, Sirius is looking after him! If you want to see them you can call them on the mirror anytime!”
“I know,” she struggled “its just not the same.” Anne said with tears running down her cheeks, “I miss him, I’m worried about him!”
“Come here,” said Irwin giving Anne a hug and passing her a handkerchief.
“I know its not the same sis, but we can still have a great Christmas at Hogwarts!”
Irwin thought about this for a moment. Anne had spent last Christmas alone in the Ravenclaw tower and even though she hadn’t admitted it Irwin knew that Anne had been lonely.
“Um Anne,” Irwin said gently, “do you want to come to mine for Christmas? I know my family would love to see you.”
“Christmas is a time for family Irwin I’ll be fine”
“Anne, my family love you and they’d love to see you!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah of course!”
Anne dried her eyes and then checked the potion. “It needs stirring again and then we need to add the boomslang skin,” said Anne who began stirring the potion whilst Hermione prepared the boomslang.
Once they had finished with the potion for the night they packed up their bags and went back to their common rooms. Luna was sitting on the sofa with Mandy and Lisa reading the Quibbler whilst the others discussed Witch Weekly. Anthony and Michael were playing a chess match whilst Terry watched.
“Um Irwin, I think I want to call Remus…” Anne stammered.
“But not in front of everyone else?” he offered.
Anne nodded and they took the mirror up to Irwin’s dorm.
As they reached the dorm Irwin reached under his bed and fumbled for a box.
“Emergency chocolate rations!” he announced reappearing from under the bed.
Irwin had a box full of Honeydukes milk chocolate bars.
“Thanks, Irwin!” said Anne taking a small square.
Irwin looked at her as if he expected her to take more but he didn’t say anything.
“Sirius!” called Anne into the mirror, “Sirius!”
“Hi Di Hi Anne!” called Sirius, “where’s your entourage?” he asked realizing that he was only talking to Anne and Irwin.
“I just wanted to talk to you,” she muttered, “I wanted a bit more privacy than normal!”
“Fair enough kid,” he chuckled, “Remus! Remus! Anne’s on the mirror!!” Sirius called up the stairs.
Remus appeared in the mirror next to Sirius. Anne noticed that his hair was starting to grey even though he was only 33, and he was getting shadows under his eyes.
“Hello, sweetheart! Hi Irwin!”
“Hi Remus, I just wanted to check that you were ok?”
“What are you talking about?” asked Remus evasively.
“I’m worried about you!”
“You worry about everything!” butted in Sirius but Remus put his hand up.
“Why darling?” asked Remus gently.
“I know you’re worried about Greyback,” she started, “and I know you don’t want to ruin our Christmas’ but you wouldn’t ruin it I miss you!!”
“I miss you too darling!” said Remus with tears in his eyes, “but you’ll enjoy yourself more at school!”
“Um actually Remus, I was going to invite Anne to ours this Christmas,” Irwin admitted.
“So, it’s all sorted then!” announced Sirius, “you’ll have a wonderful time at the Scamanders!”
Anne shrugged, “are you sure you’re ok, I mean you’re always going on about Greyback!”
Remus went white, he had not realized he had been talking about Greyback that much! “I’m fine darling! I only get so upset about Greyback because he attacked me when I was a child. I didn’t mean to worry you” Remus muttered.
“I love you!” Anne cried. Both her and Remus had tears running down their cheeks.
“If I could give you a hug through this mirror I would,” Remus chuckled lightly.
“That’s alright, I’ll give her one for you!” laughed Irwin as he pulled Anne into a hug.
“Thanks, Irwin!” laughed Remus, “I love you too sweetheart!”
“See you later guys” called Irwin.
“Bye!” called Remus and Sirius waving.
“Right!” said Irwin when the mirror turned off, “emergency chocolate!” he said handing Anne a large slab.
Anne took a small bite, but Irwin coaxed her into eating the whole piece before he let her go.
The next morning Anne got up early so that she could get some reading done before the Quidditch match afternoon.
“Morning Anne!” yawned Irwin at around half past seven when he came down to the Common Room with wet and tousled hair.
Anne nodded to Irwin in greeting, they read for another half an hour or so before going down to breakfast. They still had nearly three hours before the start of the match so they dint have to hurry.
“Morning kids!” called Rolf as he joined him at their table.
Irwin was just starting a large plate of sausages and eggs whilst Anne was slicing an apple with her knife.
“Hello Rolf”
“Heya Rolf, how goes the NEWTS?” asked Irwin.
“As nastily exhausting as on the label!” groaned Rolf.
“They can’t be that bad!” laughed Anne and Irwin.
“Just because you two could probably do your NEWTS now doesn’t mean they are easy,” laughed Rolf.
“You two going to the match?”
“Yeah, the first match of the season!”
“Anne as well?”
“Um, she’s going to try to.”
“If it gets a bit much for you,” Rolf said looking at Anne, “you can always go back to the castle,” he told her gently.
Anne nodded.
“Well if you two are going can I sit with you then?”
“Yeah, sure!”
“Good, I don’t get to see enough of my little brother!”
Before the match, Irwin and Anne ran up to their dormitories to fetch their cloaks and Ravenclaw hats scarves and gloves.
Rolf, Irwin, and Anne went to go sit with the other second-year Ravenclaws and waited for the match to begin.
The match began fairly well. Anne was still sat on the edge of her seat in a state of nervousness like last time but at least Harry wasn’t falling off his broom!
But then after a while, Anne noticed that one of the bludgers was following Harry a bit too closely.
“Rolf?” Anne asked with a quiver in her voice. “Aren’t the bludgers meant to focus on everyone?”
Rolf nodded absentmindedly as he was watching one the Gryffindor chasers with the quaffle.
“Then why,” she stammered, “is that one focusing on Harry?” Anne asked pointing at Harry who had just dodged the quaffle again.
Anne was rocking back and forth in her seat again as she watched the quaffle try to knock her brother off his broom. Why is it she wondered that she always thinks that Harry won’t come back down in one piece?
Anne somehow managed not to faint during the match this time but she did work herself up into a frenzy of a panic attack.
When Harry caught the snitch Anne and Irwin went rushing towards Harry who was clutching his arm in agony. They arrived just in time for Lockhart to cast a spell at Harry’s arm.
Anne had already been panicking beforehand but when she saw her brother’s arm deboned, she screamed and then promptly fainted.
When Anne came to, she was lying on a bed in the Hospital Wing.
“Harry!!” she screamed.
“Calm down dear,” said Madam Pomfrey gently, “your brother is only in the next bed, you’re both fine!”
“That bloody fool, deboning a student’s arm like that, he should have been brought straight to me!” Pomfrey ranted as she got out a bottle of Skelegrow.
Once Pomfrey had given Harry his Skelegrow, she came over to Anne with a large amount of chocolate.
“I want you to eat that dear,” she said before rushing off to shoo away a storm of Gryffindor’s who had come to visit Harry.
“Go on,” Irwin prompted as he helped himself to a small piece. Once Anne had had a few pieces of chocolate he pulled out a book on Greek mythology to read to her.
“Miss Potter, you can go back to your dormitory if you wish but I would prefer to monitor your stress levels tonight, that match must have been very stressful for you to watch,” said Madam Pomfrey after dinner.
“Can I stay with Harry?” Anne asked quietly.
“Of course, dear, Mr. Scamander,” she said turning to Irwin, “you’d best go back to your dormitory Irwin, Harry, and Anne both need their rest.”
“Ok,” said Irwin getting up grudgingly putting away his book, “see you tomorrow Anne!”
Anne settled back into her covers and fell asleep almost instantly.
“Ahhh!!!” screamed Harry startling Anne out of her sleep.
“Wha?” called Anne groggily.
“Somethings just apparated onto me!” he groaned.
“Dobby is sorry sir, he did not mean to wake sir and miss” called a squeaky voice from near Harry.
“Dobby?” asked Anne.
“What are you doing here?” asked Harry.
“I is here to tell sir and miss to go home, it is not safe for Harry and Anne Potter here!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Dobby’s bludger didn’t work!” Dobby moaned
“Your bludger!” shouted Harry.
“Shhhh! You’ll wake Pomfrey!” whispered Anne.
“Sorry,” whispered Harry, “what are you talking about your bludger!” he continued glaring at Dobby.
“Dobby tampered with the bludger”
“You nearly killed me!”
“Dobby did not mean to kill Harry Potter! He only meant to maim or injure Harry Potter enough to have him sent home!”
“Gee thanks!” muttered Harry sarcastically.
“Why did you want to send Harry home?” asked Anne gently.
“Dobby can’t say!”
“Please Dobby, I can tell it’s important!”
“There is a plot, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened once more!”
“Once more?” stammered Harry “it’s been opened before?”
Dobby nodded.
“Can you tell us who opened it” asked Anne quietly
“Dobby can’t speak the name?”
“Voldemort?” whispered Anne
Harry looked at Anne in shock hoping that Anne’s suspicions weren’t even slightly true!
At that moment they heard movement in the corridor and Dobby disapparated with a loud CRACK before he could say anything.
“Shhh!” called Harry as he settled back into his sheets.
Anne and Harry both got back into bed and closed their eyes pretending to be asleep but listening to the conversation from the adults.
“Who is it Albus?” whispered McGonagall
“Colin Creevey he appears to have been trying to bring a bunch of grapes to Mr. Potter. He has been petrified!” Dumbledore sighed.
“What does this mean?” asked Madam Pomfrey.
“It means that the Chamber of Secrets truly has been opened again.”
Once Colin had been placed in bed Madam Pomfrey came around to check on Anne and Harry, Anne could tell from Harry’s light breathing he was already back asleep.
Anne squirmed in her bed trying to get comfortable again.
“Get some sleep dear, you look exhausted,” called Madam Pomfrey softly to Anne. Anne noticed that Pomfrey had tears in her eyes.
Anne did try and sleep that night, but it was impossible. She was restless at the best of times but tonight she was too busy thinking about what Dobby had said and Colin’s petrification.