saoirse ronan, gryffindor, muggleborn. — that’s GLORIANNA ‘ANNIE' POTTER, who is in the INTERMEDIATE CLASS. She is TWENTY FOUR YEARS OLD and supposedly they are very COMPASSIONATE & BRAVE, though they can also be very STUBBORN & RASH.
In tumultuous times, everyone has a place to stand. Where is yours?
The year is 2005. It has been seven years since Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort at the battle of Hogwarts, and for most people the war is over. However, tension is still brewing. There is no more Dark Lord, but small cells of Death Eaters remain ready to attack wizards, witches, and muggles alike, their division making them that much harder to track and spreading uncertainty and fear.
Meanwhile, Hermione Granger is running for Minister of Magic, and her campaign is causing a stir among supporters and enemies alike as she calls for sweeping changes. As the election draws closer, alliances will be called into question and tensions will continue to rise.
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“Ah, with those subjects, it is the practice that makes the difference. That, and your wand. Although it might be a bit biased of me to say that, considering my family’s venture.” She made a note on the page she was in before she put her book down. “Let me see what you are reading on. Is it any spell in particular?”
“That makes sense,” Annie chuckled, “I haven’t really been practicing recently.” She’d had other things going on, not that that was something she wanted to talk about. “Honestly, I’m just trying to catch up. I was...sick for a few days, and I missed some classes.”
“A twin brother? That must be so much fun! Any sibling must be good, but a twin?” she had dreamed of having a twin as a child, another girl, identical to herself, and they would do everything she wanted all day long. “Do the two of you look alike?”
“No, we look quite different actually.” Sometimes she looked at him and wished they had been identical, that she could have the same form, and hadn’t been confined to her own gender. “His hair is darker.” She smiled a little, “You were an only child then? I had a big family, but only my brother and I were close. Believe me, having a lot of kids is a lot of mouths to feed.”
“You are sweet, thank you.” looking down at Elizabeth, Vasilisa sends a silent prayer that nothing ever happens to her or Sebastian’s siblings, so that she can be raised by people who love her. “It must be difficult, entering a new world like that.”
Annie smiled, ducking her head a little. “It might have been, but I’ve a twin brother. It was actually harder coming here without him.” She had never said it aloud before, but when she did she realized how profoundly true it was. “I think a lot of what got me through was having him around.”
“Thank you.” She took a seat and opened the book. A few pages in, and she heard the girl groan. Tatiana looked up from her book with a smile. “Unless you’ve met everyone on this planet, I do not think you could; and I’ve met a lot of people.” Some of her siblings could be picky on the subjects they liked to learn too. “What are you reading on?”
“Well, I can’t say everyone.” Annie said with an embarrassed smile. Normally she studied alone and had forgotten the other woman almost as soon as she sat down. Though now she realized how rude she was being. “Sorry, it’s transfiguration. I just feel like the more I read the less I learn.”
Annie skips her chores and meets an unexpected friend in the forest.
“Glorianna!” A familiar voice called behind her. “You can’t just hide! You’ve work to do!”
“There’s always work to do.” She muttered, wishing her twin hadn’t had to go with their father to the market. He would have found that funny, or at least empathized.
“If I have to go out there and find you, you’ll get the switch, mark me!” Her mother said, shouting again, “Glorianna!” God that name was a curse.
Annie ran back into the woods, knowing if she stayed out long enough her mother would probably not do more than smack her when she got home. The forest was more her home anyway, she knew it better than her own little house.
She ran her fingers through her hair and tied it back with a leather band. It was a short walk to the clearing she and her brother usually hid out in. Behind the bush was still the bow and quiver they had stashed. It had been a lucky find, probably abandoned by an unlucky poacher.
Stringing the bow she took in a deep breath. There wasn’t much that compared to that feeling. She aimed for the tiny white spot on a tree, worn down by years of target practice. By the time she exhaled, her arrow was flying straight into the tree. She’d hit her mark.
Annie continued to practice for a few more minutes, but quickly became bored without her brother. She went into the forest and picked some wild black berries, chewing on them as she wandered the field.
The sun was more or less in the same place from what she could tell, and she hadn’t really done much. The bow was still in her hands but she had very little desire to use it. Not to mention, the cost was a hand if someone found her hunting in the King’s woods.
Unable to go home without receiving a beating, she continued to wander until she was a little lost. She was sure she could find her way back, but she was also sure she hadn’t been to this part of the woods yet. She was surprised to find a nearly perfect climbing tree. A sturdy oak with long, firm branches.
She climbed up, not to the top but enough to be hidden in the leaves of the tree. The sun filtered through the leaves and warmed her through her thin cotton dress. If she had a rope she’d tie herself up and take a nap up in the tree. Instead she took a moment to just breathe in the moment, take in the golden sun.
When she opened her eyes, she thought she was dreaming. What she saw first was the silvery glint of the horn. But then the rest of the being came into her vision. An animal like a white horse stood before her, with a beautiful white horn coming out of its forehead like a wand. A unicorn.
When the vision didn’t go away, Annie was forced to realize it was not a dream. Perhaps it was a mark of her innocence that she did not even reach for her bow. A unicorn horn would have been worth more money than she could count, but she could only take in the beautiful sight. No one would believe her if she told them. And should they? Was this story not too fantastic even for her?
The unicorn looked up and saw her. It started, as though realizing that she could be a threat. Annie reached out and shushed it slightly, as if trying to say that she had nothing against it. The creature was intelligent, that much was true. Annie was so enthralled, she lost her grip and fell out of the tree.
There was a crunch and she realized that she had definitely broken something, her leg, possibly. The pain was one thing, but the realization that she was lost in the woods was much worse. What dark shadows would come for her? Her brother was the only one that would look for her and he wouldn’t be back for days. Until then there were wolves and bandits and all sorts of unsavory prospects.
When she looked up, she saw the Unicorn had not left, but instead approached her. It’s eyes seemed gentle, and it trotted over to her. Annie reached out, touching it’s soft nose. Her family had a horse, and she had always loved touching his fuzzy nose and patting his smooth fur. This Unicorn was infinitely soft, and as she looked closer she saw that there was not a single spot or blemish on its smooth hide.
The horn began to glow and the unicorn put its head down and touched her leg. Annie let out a scream as an intense but not exactly painful feeling filled her leg. When the feeling passed and the horn began to darken again, she found the pain was gone and her leg was fully healed. The unicorn had saved her.
“Th-thank you.” She said quietly. It nodded and turned, trotting away back into the forest. Annie sighed, no one, not even her brother was going to believe this.
Tatiana was in the library, browsing at a few books on arithmancy. Though her specialty was in a different field, numbers were always easy with her, and she decided to read up on it. She looked around and saw a table with just one person sitting by it. She figured it was easier to sit closer to the bookshelf, in case she needed something else. Grabbing two of the books, she walked towards the table and smiled at the girl. “Excuse me, is this seat taken? May I?”
“Of course.” Annie said, looking up at her book on Transfiguration. Despite it being taught by Master Gryffindor, she wasn’t a huge fan. She rubbed her temples and sighed loudly as she stared intensely at the page, unable to thread the letters into words. How many times had she read the same sentence? Was studying always this boring? She groaned and leaned back, “Do you ever feel like you’re the dumbest person on the planet?”
“I had a marvelous Christmas, I went back home with Bella my cousin, dodged my father for most of the winter, healed some winter illness on the way back. It was nice. Relaxing even.” she had also dodged around the letters from her ardent fiance, much to her chargin, she hadn’t wanted to deal with him at all. But she wasn’t about to tell Annie that. “What did you want to chat about?”
“I’m glad you had fun.” Annie forced a smile. She looked down at her hands for a long time, trying to think of where to start. “I thought...I thought we should talk about everything...” She said finally. She played with the hem of her skirt. “I know I’ve said some things...honestly, I just don’t know what I’m doing.”
“You are not strange! You are a very pretty girl!” she quickly assured Annie, afraid her words had saddened her. “Did he? How wonderful.” she can understand that, the Malfoys, with the exception of Louis, were a million times kinder to her then her own parents were, “What sort of magic store?”
“Thank you.” Annie blushed, “But you’re much prettier than I am.” Annie thought of herself as sort of plain. “Yes, we were lucky to have someone to take care of us.” She looked down. “Not everyone is so lucky.”
The holidays were nice, her time spent with Bella and her father’s side of the family was well received. Telling stories about her travels, her healing, they took an interest in the girl that was often dropped at their doorstep for months at a time. Phoebe couldn’t be happier, nor felt as safe as she did.
She had managed to avoid her father the whole of winter break, though she learned that he knew that she was residing at Hogwarts. Which simply meant that he was lurking and waiting for the chance. Which meant her fiance was still lurking about and she did not want to deal with him, with his waxing poetic about the life they would lead, and their children. Maybe in another life, she’d be charmed. So she kept away from the estate and hopefully out of his reach.
Thus, Phoebe was out in the courtyard, idly turning snow into charmed moving animal sculptures, trying to enjoy the last wisps of holiday gentleness before being thrown into the medley of Healer training and coursework.
“Hmm?” she flicked her eyes up, and mouth quirked into a smile, “Hey, when did you get back, of course, we can talk,” she flicked her wand to deposit the snow on the ground.
“Yesterday.” Annie answered, sitting down next to her friend...girlfriend...or maybe something else. She sat cross legged, her dress draped over her knees. She didn’t know where to begin. Would it be better to just launch into everything? But what was everything? “What about you?” She asked, finally, “Did you have a good Christmas?” Not exactly the hitting questions she wanted to ask. But Annie was sure about one thing: That she was sure about nothing.
Vasilisa waited for Annie to continue, not really understand what was wrong with what her parents expected of her, but after half a minute she realized Annie meant what she was saying. “Oh, I understand. Well, your parents most likely wanted what was best for you.”
“I guess I’ve just always been strange.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. It hadn’t been a long time since she’d thought about her family in more than a cursory sense. There were wounds there that still hadn’t healed. “My brother and I were adopted by a man named William who owns a magic store in London. He has always been a better family to me than the one I was born into.”
Annie felt different. She had gone home for the holiday, just for a few days. She had seen her brother and guardian. But she hadn’t told them about Phoebe or the attack she’d suffered in the woods. It was the first time in her life that her brother didn’t know exactly what she was thinking. She wondered if he had not lived his own life that he hadn’t told her about while they were separated. The result was that she felt entirely alone.
And she still had to talk to Phoebe. Her feelings on that matter were not better. Still they had to do it. Who could she be honest with? Was Phoebe the person to trust with her weakness? She’d never felt so vulnerable. She saw Phoebe across the courtyard and crossed it. She couldn’t avoid her any longer.
“Phoebe?” She said quietly, “Are you busy? Do you mind if we talk?”
[The gift is laid at the end of Annie’s bed, it a long box, when opened Annie would find a dark forest green tunic, with white zig-zag embroidery along the edges, there are runes for protection, health, and joy on the sleeves. There is also a dragonskin leather belt and bronze metal fastenings.]
Annie,
Happy Christmas sweetheart, a small token. I hope this season goes well, and I will see you when we all return to the castle.
[ lissa wildly misinterpreting things is my bread and butter ]
“They’re not gone,” Annie laughed, “I was born into a muggle family, we–er, my brother and I, were the only ones with magical powers.” She shrugged, “We couldn’t stay, so we had to go.” She looked down at Elizabeth measuring her comprehension.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, a dark blush staining her cheeks at her mistake, “I see, I am so very sorry! I had no idea, I understood they had passed away. I am glad they are alive.”
“No it’s alright, your concern is touching honestly.” Annie smiled, running her fingers through her hair. “I never really felt like I was part of my family, only my brother really understood me. I guess that’s just part of being a woman, my parents wanted me to be nice and do as I was told. But none of my brothers were punished for being rebellious.”
“It’s quite simple, we are going to win.” chin raised proudly, Bella surveyed the field. Covered in a thick blanket of white, fluffy mounts peeked out every few meters, perfect for creating barriers and snow balls. “We are going to destroy Os and make him pay.” and of course, eventually, just before the whole thing starts, she will have a plan. So far, all of her plans have been too complicated or you would need an army and all of the snow in england to do that, people here don’t appreciate her imagination.
“Are you sure that’s necessary.” Annie said, already building a small pile of snowballs. Finally there was some action in this place. “I mean, Os is perfectly nice....” She smiled as she began to build a fort. “But I suppose, a little friendly competition is just fine.” She paused, “What exactly did he do to warrant our attack?”
It was early in the morning when Annie received her gift, delivered by a school owl just before they were to head down for breakfast. It was a salamander carved from wood, its back having a scorched appearance, enchanted so it can be used as a light source.
“Like the last one, she is capable of burning the bookshelf down. UNLIKE the last one, you can put her out with a snap. Merry Christmas!”
