TW AND CW: mild cursing

The feeling of excitement Ana got whenever she boarded the Hogwarts Express didn't seem to cease.

In the last week of break, she had left James' house and gone back to her own to spend some time with her father.

"I'll write to you, of course," Ana said with a smile, clutching her trunk at her side. 

"Glad to hear it," Arnie said, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he smiled. "Be careful. You-Know-Who is still at large."

"I know," Ana said. "I will be."

The train's whistle blew and Ana turned to glance at it.

"You ought to go," Arnie said, still smiling. "Have fun!"

Ana grinned. "Bye, Dad," she said, giving him one last wave, before running off to the train.

Arnie stood in his same spot, speechless.

Had she called him 'Dad'?

Arnie shook it off, and with a crack, he disapparated back home.

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Ana grunted as she lugged her trunk behind her in the aisle of the train.

"Need some help there?" asked a familiar voice.

Ana turned around. "Good to see you, Sirius," she said with a grin. "You know where the other's compartment is?"

"They're sitting with us today," Sirius said. "Come on, I'll push the trunk from the back, you pull it from the front."

Ana nodded and gripped the handle tightly. "3...2...1... push!"

They grunted and heaved the trunk down the aisle and stopped at their compartment door.

Sirius panted. "What did you put in that thing?"

"I dunno," Ana said, also panting. "Barely anything."

"I'd hardly say that's 'barely anything'," Sirius said, sliding open the compartment door. "Scoot your legs in, people, we got a trunk coming through."

"Hi, Ana," Ivy, Sage, Marlene, Alice and Lily chorused.

"That sounded creepy," Frank noted.

"I very much agree," James piped up.

"You and Sirius do it all the time, James," Peter retorted.

Remus peeked over the edge of his book. "Hi, An," he said, putting his book down on his lap. "Er- are you and Sirius alright?"

"Physically?" Sirius asked himself. "No. Mentally? Also no."

"That wasn't very funny, Sirius," Lily chided.

"Lily, everything is funny to Sirius," Marlene said, rolling her eyes.

"And I thought you loved me," Sirius said dramatically.

"He's also a dramatic arse," Ana said loudly.

"I know," Remus continued, just as loud.

"HE'S VERY STUPID."

"VERY."

"I KNOW."

"HIS DRAMA CASTS SHADOWS ON EVEN JAMES POTTER."

"Cut it out, you two," James said, rolling his eyes.

The entire compartment fell silent.

"W-w-what?" Alice said, barely louder than a whisper.

"Was he- serious?" Marlene said, gaping.

"This can't be happening," Remus said, dropping his loud voice.

"James," Lily said gently. "You do realise you just said something- against causing trouble?"

"So?" James said, shrugging, but his ears were a light red.

Ana and Remus exchanged a smirk, noticing that Lily had just called him 'James' instead of 'stupid' or 'idiot' or toe-rag' or 'Potter'.

"SO?!" Sirius yelped. "THIS IS INTERNATIONAL HEADLINE WORTHY!"

Ana sat down next to Remus and peered over at his book as the other's tried to convince James that this was an international phenomenon.

"Is that... Fantastic Mr. Fox?" Ana asked Remus excitedly. "Goodness, I loved that book!"

"I was bored of reading stuff with Shakespearean language," Remus said with a shrug. "Went over to something modern and more of my style."

"Have you ever read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?" Ana inquired. "Still a classic."

"Always a classic," Remus corrected.

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Ana was not prone to nightmares.

Especially not nightmares that made her shake and fall off her bed, made her wake up with tears streaked on her face.

She had not been prone to nightmares for the last 14 years of her life.

But Ana was 15.

One of those years had been her very worst.

The year her mother died.

That night after the Sorting Ceremony, Ana woke up with a gasp. She turned over to look at her clock. 

3:00 AM.

Her face was covered in sweat, and she didn't think she'd be going to bed anytime soon.

Quietly, Ana grabbed her wand from her bedside table and slid on her slippers.

She tiptoed downstairs into the common room and out of the door concealed with barrels of vinegar.

Ana had to keep watch out for Filch and Mrs. Norris. If she was caught by either one of them, even the truth about why she was out wouldn't save her from a month-long detention and 60 points from Hufflepuff.

An idea came to her.

"Disillusio," she whispered, pointing her wand at herself.

Holding up her hand to look at it, Ana noticed it was now camouflaged into her surroundings.

She tiptoed all the way to the edge of the Great Lake and sat down. 

"Revelio," she whispered once more, pointing her wand in her direction again.

The Disillusionment Charm was lifted.

Ana sighed and stared out at the lake. Sometimes she wished she could just swim to the bottom and play with the giant squid.

Marine life had always fascinated her, but unfortunately, there were no classes on it in Hogwarts.

The sound of leaves crunching behind her brought her out of her reverie.

Ana gripped her wand and slowly got to her feet, careful as to not make any noises.

"Flipendo!" she said, suddenly whipping around and pointing her wand at the figure behind her.

"Agh!"

It was a person, and they were flipped over into the wet grass face first.

She recognized the voice.

"Remus?"

"Ana?" said a muffled voice from the grass.

Ana dashed towards Remus and helped him up. "Sorry," she said with a weak smile.

"That's alright," said Remus, waving it off. His Gryffindor scarf was wrapped loosely around his neck, and his brown hair was blowing in all sorts of random directions. "I would've dome the same. It's a natural reaction... especially nowadays."

A moment of silence.

"Why are you here?" Remus asked.

"Couldn't sleep," Ana said simply. "You?"

"Just didn't feel like sleeping," Remus said with a shrug. "Too excited for our sixth year. I decided to come watch the lake. I always thought it was pretty."

Ana went back to sit at the edge of the lake, and gestured for Remus to sit near her.

He sat down. 

"Why couldn't you sleep?" Remus asked gently.

Her brown hair whipped around her face.

"I had a nightmare," she said calmly, as if this was nothing to be worried about.

Remus nodded solemnly. He didn't pry.

He was a good friend, that way. Never asked why things happened in their friendship. Just went along with them.

"Do you want to talk, or just be silent?" he asked.

"Silent, if you don't mind."

"Alright," Remus said, leaning back to lay on the grass.

It wasn't completely silent. The water in the lake made gentle sloshing sounds that were unusually soothing. The crickets chirped, but that, too, sounded calm.

Mum would've loved a sight like this, Ana thought. She loved lakes.

A lump formed in Ana's throat and her hand trembled slightly.

Remus seemingly noticed this and sat up. He placed a hand on Ana's shoulder. 

"What's wrong?"

"The nightmare was about her," Ana said, barely louder than a whisper. "She loved lakes. I hate Alihotsy."

These statements might not have made much sense to an outsider, but Remus got the gist of what she was trying to say.

"Do you remember what I told you last year, An?" Remus asked her. "Crying is okay."

So she cried.

After about 20 minutes, Ana breathed in shakily. "Thank you. You really know how to make someone feel better."

Remus nodded in thanks, and then stood up suddenly. He stretched out his hand.

Ana took it and stood up. "What are you doing?" she asked, smiling weakly.

Remus didn't answer, but placed one of his hands on Ana's shoulder, while the other held her hand.

Ana laughed. "You always seem to drag me into dancing."

"Dancing is fun," Remus said with a grin. "You can't deny that."

Ana placed her hand on the back of Remus' neck, and they started to waltz, just like the time they had done so to 'Hooked on a Feeling'.

Their slow waltz continued at a moderate speed, and soon enough, the pair were waltzing in a circle, all around the edge of the lake.

Remus twirled Ana, and they were starting to go faster and faster as they continued to add more advanced steps to their waltz.

Remus gazed down into Ana's eyes, noticing the dimples on the side of her wide grin.

Ana noticed herself leaning in closer and closer to Remus- or was it him? She couldn't tell. The smell of chocolate and old books was growing stronger as the time passed.

Ana noticed Remus' eyes- only for a second- flicker down to her lips.

She was still leaning in, closer and closer, and finally, they were closer to each other than they had ever been before.

Only an inch apart...

Ana's heart was pounding out of her chest. 

Just a single inch...

I LOVE LEAVING Y'ALL ON CLIFFHANGERS LOL-

But i'm excited to see what happens next so I will be updating soon hehehehhe-

Love y'all sm! :)

-Jui Weasley