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Chapter 51



This changes everything





"Albus!" Moody head was swimming in the flames, again.



"Alastor, what's happened."



"Well, it wasn't a false alarm. Someone was here; blasted open the front door." Anna gasped. "And left a letter. I fixed the door, Anna, not to worry." Anna nodded.



"What did the letter say?"



"Just a warning: to 'Anna Twigg-Jones', to not come to this house ever again if she doesn't want to share Lucius Malfoy's fate. Ends with 'My faithful servant will be avenged'. I don't think it's an idle threat, Albus."



"Nor do I. Seal the house, Alastor and I'll be in contact with you later."



"Wait! Mad-Eye," said Anna rose and walked over to the fireplace. "Albus, I refuse to be forced out of my own home by a bunch of overdramatic threats."



"Anna, we have no choice, I'm afraid. Briarwood is too isolated. We must make other arrangements."



Dumbledore could see the stubborn argument brewing in Anna's eyes, but then she sighed and her shoulders drooped.



"Oh, very well. Alastor, could you be a dear and take Christopher's painting from the parlor with you? I'll have Remus pick it up later."



"No problem. Anna, take care." And the old Auror disappeared once more.



X # X # X



"Well, round one to Voldemort, for screwing up my summer plans." Anna plopped down in her chair.



"Anna, we had no choice, and this, I'm afraid, changes everything. By keeping you away from Briarwood, he forces you into the one location where they can trap you."



"The townhouse."



"Precisely."



"He wouldn't try attacking the townhouse, with extra people around, would he?"



"He would and will."



"So, I spend my summer vacation at Hogwarts, after all."



"No, I'm afraid you'll have to go into hiding."



Anna blanched.



"This sounds vaguely familiar."



"Indeed."



"There's no other way?"



"I'm afraid not. Voldemort will expect us to just increase the security in London, tying our people up and giving them a chance to attack somewhere else and have us outnumbered or shorthanded, with no reserves. If we pull people away from you, you're vulnerable. It's a win-win situation for him. And if he finds out about your pregnancy, it could be dangerous for Severus as well. The 'Fidelius' charm is your only hope.



"I'll have to take Narcissa with me; just in case they start searching around Briarwood too closely, looking for me." Anna sat up, thinking. "Or Gwen, she's in danger, too. I'll have to talk her into coming with us."



"I think that wise. Plus you can keep each other company."



"How long do I have to think of a hiding place?"



"One week, no more, I'm afraid. You'll need some time to move your things and get Narcissa moved, and give Gwen enough time to get her affairs in order. But all very much in secret."



"I'll talk it over with Christopher. He might know of a good hiding place or two. Perhaps in the Muggle world."



"Another thing: considering no-one will know your whereabouts, I don't think you should tell Severus about the pregnancy. It will only worry him more."



"No, Albus, he has a right to know and if I'm in hiding I'll be safe and he won't have to worry about me. I just need the perfect Secret Keeper."



"Very well, Severus can be told, but he'll not like not knowing where you are."



"He'll just have to understand, I'm protecting two lives here. I'll take Winky with me, of course."



"Of course, but let us keep news of your going into hiding to ourselves, just now. Maybe at the end of term, on a need to know basis and that includes Severus."



"Agreed. Well, I'm off to bed, then."



Walking over to Dumbledore, she gives him a big hug and kiss.



"If it's a boy, one of his names will be Albus."



"Splendid, but not his first name, please."



"No, I think Christopher will get that honor."



"I agree wholeheartedly. Goodnight, my dear."



He kissed her cheek and walked her to the door. Returning to his desk, he sat and leaned back, with his fingertips together, staring into the fire, thinking.



X # X # X



As Anna emerged from the staircase to Dumbledore's office, she met Madam Pomfrey, who was carrying two small bottles.



"Well, that was good timing. I was loath to interrupt you two," Poppy said, smiling, offering the bottles to Anna.



"Oh, my Sleeping draught. I forgot all about it."



"Just two drops in a glass of water. It works in about five minutes. You should sleep soundly, but not so deeply you can't respond if someone wants to wake you; just a good, restful sleep."



"Oh, thank you, Poppy. I'm looking forward to that."



"I also fixed a small bottle containing vitamins and a bit of strengthening potion. Couldn't hurt, might help. One for morning, one for night."



"Right...Christopher knows, does he?"



"How did you..."



"Vitamins? That's Muggle medicine."



"Oh, right, well he was listening and I ...well."



"It's ok, he sent me up to see you and so I half expected him to eavesdrop. I wonder what else he heard tonight?"



"Why, did something else happen?"



"No, just decisions and planning. Well, I'm off to bed. Thanks again."



"You're welcome, my dear."



X # X # X



Ring! Ring!



"Hello?"



"It's Gwen."



"How are you?"



"Well, I'm fine, but something's come up. I'm on my way, be there in twenty minutes."



"What's wrong?"



"I'll tell you when I get there; can't say over the phone. Everyone is ok, though."



"Oh...good. See you in a few minutes."



"Right. Bye."



Narcissa hung up the phone and turned to Dobby.



"Dobby, I get the feeling we're going to be leaving this house. We'd better be ready."



"Yes, Missy Narcissa."



X # X # X



Gwen arrived at the 'Little Lodge' and backed the car up to the front walk. The door opened and Narcissa greeted her with a hug, ushering her into the front hall.



"What's happened?"



"Nothing.../yet/, but Anna is now in the same boat as you, Narcissa. Voldemort is after her and she's going into hiding."



"/No/. That doesn't sound like Anna. She'd thumb her nose at him and refuse to run and hide. There's something else. What is it?"



"Well, she wants to make sure no-one is left unprotected to be snatched by the Death Eaters, as you feared, so I'm going with her and so are you."



"But... where will we all go? Aren't we safe here?"



"No. If they start looking for me, they'll look here first, well, second, my houseboat would be the first place. Anyhow, we are all going to a place that would never be considered as a possibility. It's perfect. Needs a little fixing up but what else do we have to do, except start brewing the 'Felix' potion and have babies?"



"Babies? BABIES? You're pregnant?"



"No...maybe, someday..."



"ANNA?"



Gwen nodded.



"But who.../oh/! my stars and comets...don't tell me...it isn't.../Severus/?"



"Yes," Gwen nodded, surprised. "But why would you suspect it was him?"



"Because it's about BLOODY time!" Narcissa clapped her hands and giggled.



Now it was Gwen's turn to be totally perplexed.



"/What/?"



"Oh, Gwen, Severus has always loved Anna, since our school days. He was too shy to tell her and she just thought of him as a friend. I saw it, even if she didn't. But they drifted apart after they both lost their mothers in sixth year and then we graduated and the last war started. Oh, this is /wonderful/....and awful. Does he know?"



"Not yet; she'll tell him before she joins us, but we're moving /now/, today."



"I had a feeling we would be, so Dobby and I have already started getting things organized."



"Great. Let's get this show on the road."



X # X # X



On the afternoon of the last day of term, Professor Dumbledore called a staff meeting. Professor Twigg-Jones was conspicuous by her absence.



"Anna's late /again/! Honestly, you'd think she'd try, /just once/, to be on time." Professor McGonagall fussed, checking her watch and rolling her eyes.



Professor Dumbledore faced the assembled staff members.



"Professor Twigg-Jones is conducting her own meeting with the leaders of the D.A. and will not be attending." Dumbledore explained. "However, she is central to this meeting. As you know, she defended herself against a vicious attack over our last holiday. Since then she has withstood much verbal abuse from certain students, which was not unexpected. However, now her life has been threatened by Voldemort, himself."



"No!" "Oh, Dear!" "What will she do?" "That's horrible!"



"Albus, she must stay here, then." Professor McGonagall suggested.



"No, Minerva, she's determined not to put Hogwarts in jeopardy, but just ignoring this threat or taking some elemental precautions at her London residence would prove, I'm afraid, insufficient. She is going into hiding."



There were gasps around the room, and it became very quiet.



"Must she go into hiding?" asked Madam Pomfrey. "What about..."



"It's the only course of action open to us, I'm afraid." Dumbledore cut her off, with a meaningful look over the top of his glasses. She nodded.



"I must ask all of you to act as if nothing has changed," he continued. "As far as everyone knows, she's leaving tomorrow in the same manner that she arrived, on her motorcycle. However, by the time it becomes apparent that she has already left Hogwarts; she will be safe and sound in her place of hiding.



"She sends her love to you all and thanks you in advance for your well wishes. And Anna absolutely refused to send her goodbyes, insisting she will return as soon as possible. Her exact words were 'just tell them to expect me when they see me, late as usual'." Dumbledore smiled and then concluded the meeting.



"So, remember, you know nothing of these developments and the closing feast will proceed as usual. That is all, thank you."



X # X # X



The Headmaster moved towards Snape, who had been standing against the back wall, his face drained of all color, his eyes unfocused, until Dumbledore called his name.



"Severus, a word, if you please?"



"Certainly, Headmaster."



Moving a little away from the wall and turning his back to the other teachers, Severus looked directly into Dumbledore's eyes.



"When did this happen? Why wasn't I told?"



"The night she went to see Madam Pomfrey about a Sleeping draught. Telling you would not have changed the circumstance and she needed time, alone, to plan."



"And when was she planning on telling me? The Closing Feast is about an hour from now." His temper was getting the better of him.



"Severus, before you go storming up there to confront Anna, you must have a reason - an explanation - for such a confrontation. I suggest the fact that, as we speak, she and the leadership of the D.A. are planning the continuation of that group's training, in her absence, and the possibility of meeting informally this summer, would be sufficient. You could be protesting those plans, but know that you, going to her classroom, will look suspicious, regardless."



"At this point, I'm almost beyond caring."



"I realize that, but we thought it best to keep everyone in the dark about this until the last minute. Try to see this from her position; for two weeks we've acted as though she would be taking up residence at her London home, to make Voldemort believe she, and the Order, were falling into his trap. It's taken a lot of planning and tough decision making on her part. Go easy on her, Severus; she's doing this to protect a lot of people, not just herself."



Snape nodded, then turned and stalked from the room.



X # X # X



"I'm going into hiding. Voldemort has put me on the top of his hit list."



"WHAT! The 'Fidelius' charm, like my folks used?" Harry asked.



"Yes, Harry, but I picked my own Secret Keeper. Even Dumbledore won't know where I am."



"But...how will we know if you're alright? Will anyone know how to get messages to you?" Neville had gone pale.



"That's where I some in," Doctor Jones chimed in. "Anna is taking one of my portraits with her so I can relay messages if need be."



"Oh, thank goodness. At least we'll know how you're doing, Anna." Hermione looked shaken, but tried to sound positive.



"Neville, I 'm afraid I'll have to suspend my therapy sessions with your parents for the time being. And, unfortunately, you will see them regressing, without my interaction with them. Sorry."



"That's ok, Aunt Anna, I understand. You'll get back on their case as soon as you can manage."



"I want you all to continue with the D.A. Try to meet once or twice over the Summer Holiday, with as many of the original members as you can. Informally, of course, but you must keep in touch and keep your skills sharp.



"I've also taken the precaution of getting one of these for all of the original D.A." She handed out some envelopes. "Give them out to the others and explain what they are for."



Ron had peeked into his envelope. "What's a BritRail Pass?"



"Those are for you to use in case the war really gets bad and you need to get back here to Hogwarts. There's no guarantee the Hogwarts Express will be available. The Pass will let you take any Muggle train coming north. Get off at the Muggle station just past Hogsmeade, and then hike back to Hogwarts. I marked the station on the map and schedule. Watch out for Death Eaters in Hogsmeade; you may have to use the 'Disillusionment Charm' to get to the gates. I know that sounds a bit overly cautious, but it's a way for you to escape, if it becomes necessary. And don't try cutting through the edge of the Forbidden Forest, it's just too dangerous."



"You think it's going to become that bad?" Ginny whispered.



Anna looked at their young, worried faces and told them the truth. "Worse. You may be running for your lives. Just get out, any way you can and get back here. Anyway you can. Keep your slingshots, glasses and these Passes with you at all times, in a knapsack, along with a change of clothes and some money, Muggle and our currency, too. Enough to buy food for a couple of days. And if..."



X # X # X



BANG!



The door to the classroom flew back and Snape stormed into the room.



"I will have a word with you, Professor. Now!"



"Professor Snape, I'm conducting an important meeting, couldn't this wait..."



"NO! NOW!" Looking around at the students, he pointed to the door. "You lot, OUT!"



"Who do you think you are, ordering my students around like that? It's /their /meeting and /they /can stay."



"/I see/," Severus growled in a deep menacing tone. "Well, they saw our /first /meeting this school year, why deprive them of witnessing our LAST!"



She looked up at him for a moment, and then turned to the group.



"Will you excuse us? This shouldn't take long."



X # X # X



Turning on her heel, she stormed up the steps to her chamber, pushed open the door, entered and turned to face the door, hands on her hips. Severus took the steps two at a time and entered her room, slamming the door behind him.



The kids just looked at each other, stunned, then at Christopher, who shrugged, and motioned for them to get closer and eavesdrop. They edged over to the stairs, straining their ears. They needn't have bothered, as Anna and Severus could be heard, quite clearly, shouting. Then it got quiet, very quiet.