Being Different Year 6

Anne was sat on her bed reading an old History of Magic book. She was reading about the adventures of Merlin and Morgana, not as mythological as the Muggles seemed to think.

She had been having trouble sleeping for the last couple of weeks since she had been tortured for hours on end. When she did get to sleep, she would have nightmares and she didn’t want to have to keep going to Remus for dreamless sleep. Sometimes she would just drop off in the middle of the day because she was so tired such as at the dinner table last night when she had fallen asleep face first into her plate of pasta. She had been back home for four days and hadn’t slept properly once

It was for this reason why Anne was reading instead of sleeping at two o’clock in the morning. She could hear a faint crying coming from the nursery on the floor below. She pulled on her dressing gown and headed down to the nursery to check on Teddy.

“Anne,” whispered Tonks bumping into her in the corridor, “what are you doing up?”

“Checking on Teddy,” explained Anne, “you go back to sleep you’ve got work in the morning.”

“Are you sure?” asked Tonks as she passed Teddy to Anne. Teddy’s hair was sky blue tonight.

“Yeah I can’t sleep anyway,” she shrugged.

Anne changed Teddy’s nappy and then gave him a bottle of milk from the fridge.

“You want to hear a story?” she asked him.

Anne carried Teddy’s bassinet up to her room and placed it on her bed. She got out her copy of the Muggle book King Arthur and His Knights of The Round Table. Anne had been reading it alongside the magical version of the story.

Anne told Teddy about the Arthur pulling the sword out of the stone and how he was given the sword Excalibur.

Teddy eventually drifted off to sleep and Anne got her History of Magic book back out.

Anne yawned widely as she checked her watch, it was six o’clock in the morning, another night without any sleep.

She shut her eyes for a moment and had to fight off the urge to sleep, every time she went to sleep Bellatrix haunted her.

“Anne,” said Remus, “when’s the last time you slept?”

Anne opened her eyes and saw her godfather watching her and Teddy from the doorway.

“Last night,” said Anne.

“I mean properly, not just you falling asleep into your plate of pasta.”

Anne blushed as she pulled on one of her plaits.

“Five nights ago,” she mumbled.

“I’m sorry what was that?” asked Remus sitting down next to her.

“Five nights ago,” Anne admitted.

“For Merlin’s sake!” Remus sighed, “I wish you could have just learnt Occlumency like your brother, if you weren’t so emotional it might have worked.”

“I thought you all said that those lessons were a fiasco?” asked Anne.

“That was partially Harry and partially Severus’ fault,” admitted Remus.

“Want me to get you some dreamless sleep?” he asked knowingly.

Anne smiled at him from behind one of the plaits she had been trying to hide behind.

“I’ll write to Pomfrey,” he said patting her on the back and getting off the bed.

“How is my favourite boy this morning then?” asked Remus as he picked Teddy’s bassinet off of the bed.

“He’s been learning about King Arthur and The Knights of The Round Table haven’t you Teddy?”

“Ahh! Has he met the beautiful Guinevere yet?”

“Not yet no,” said Anne.

“Well even the legendary Guinevere is not as beautiful as your Mummy,” he said carrying the bassinet down to his and Tonks’ bedroom.

Anne shook her head as she finished off her book on Merlin.

Anne eventually dropped off to sleep reading the final chapter.

“Right that’s it,” said Remus with his arms folded standing at the end of her bed.

“You’re going to get some proper sleep whether you like it or not!”

Remus passed her a vial of dreamless sleep which Anne downed instantly, relieved at the possibility of some unbroken and Bellatrix free sleep.

“Something troubling you Moony,” asked Sirius at the breakfast table, “or has mini Moony been keeping you up all night?”

“No its not Teddy,” Remus sighed, “its Anne.”

“You’ve got to stop worrying about that girl,” sighed Sirius, “so she has a few nightmares.”

“A few nightmares?” shouted Remus.

“She hasn’t slept properly in five days, because she’s being haunted by your cousin!”

“She is pretty terrifying,” nodded Sirius.

“Look I’m sorry Pads,” said Remus as he sat down, “I just wish that for once she could sleep properly without having to take a potion.”

“She’ll be alright Moony,” shrugged Sirius.

“Now then whats my favourite nephew up to today?” asked Sirius pinching Teddy’s cheek.

“I thought I was your favourite nephew?” grumbled Harry with a sulky expression on his face.

“You’re my favourite godson,” assured Sirius.

“Fair enough,” said Harry as he helped himself to some eggs and toast.

“So Pronglset how goes the homework?” chuckled Sirius.

“We had homework!” Harry choked over his breakfast.

“Sirius behave,” muttered Remus, “no Harry, you don’t have any homework, you only just finished your OWLs they’re giving you a few months off.”

Harry glared at Sirius over the breakfast table.

“Hey cheer up Prongslet, if you have no homework that means you can come out for a ride with me on the bike, you’re nearly sixteen, I could teach you to drive it this summer if you want.”

“Woah, are you serious?”

“No I’m Sirius, but yes for once I wasn’t actually joking, I could teach you how to drive it this Summer if you want.”

“Wow!” exclaimed Harry getting up from the table.

“Don’t forget your leather jacket,” called Remus, “or your helmet,” he yelled up the stairs.

“Looks like it’s just you and me today little Teddy,” smiled Remus.

“Do you want to go to Granny’s? Or would you just like a day off?”

Remus decided to introduce his son to J.R.R.Tolkien that day and read him The Hobbit in the sitting room.

Towards the end of the book Anne came back downstairs.

“Hi sweetheart, you feeling any better?”

“Yeah,” Anne muttered; she had her first proper sleep in nearly a week.

She kneeled against the sofa and pulled her knees into her chest so that she could listen to the end of the book.

“You certainly look better,” said Remus, “you going around to the Scamanders tomorrow?”

“Hmmm,” she muttered redoing one of her plaits, tomorrow was Friday when she went around to the Scamanders for arts and crafts day.

“I can’t believe how old Averett and Aislynn are getting,” said Remus.

“They’ll be starting at Hogwarts in only two years.”

“Are they excited?”

“Of course they are, Rolfs been going since before they were born.”

“How is Rolf?”

“He’s good, he loves working for the Ministry, but not in an annoying Percy kind of way,” said Anne, “he just likes working with the creatures.”

“You and Irwin know what you two want to do after school yet?”

“Maybe the Ministry.”

“I thought that Irwin tried starting up a Ministry are Morons campaign last year,” chuckled Remus.

“Only the current Ministry,” said Anne, “he wants to work in the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, decorrupt the Ministry from within.”

“And what about you?”

“Department of Education, I want to make peoples education as worthwhile and enjoyable as possible.”

“So what’s the first thing on the list then?”

“Probably firing Binns,” said Anne after thinking for a moment. “I love the subject, but he bores most of my classmates, probably because he’s a ghost”

“So if there was a different teacher the others might find it more interesting?”

“Harry and Ron fell asleep last year in the middle of a lecture on bloodthirsty goblin rebellions.”

“Fair point,” said Remus bumping Teddy up and down on his knee.

“You’d make a good History of Magic teacher,” said Anne.

“I think I’m going to be a little busy with this little and any siblings he gets.”

“To be fair if I was given the choice between teaching and looking after an adorable baby, I would always choose the baby.”

“They are cute aren’t they,” said Remus as Teddy blew a little spit bubble.

“Harry’s thinking of becoming an Auror.”

“Well that’s a turn up for the books, he’s only been preparing himself for killing the most evil wizard in the world for the last five years of his life, if that doesn’t qualify him what does?”

There wasn’t an order meeting that night, so Grimmauld Place was relatively quiet.

“How was work today Dora?”

“I had to go and try and stop some deatheaters from causing havoc in the West Country.”

“What did they tell the Muggles?” asked Julian as he ate his apple pie.

“Freak hurricane.”

“Ouch,” muttered Sirius, “that must have been ugly.”

“Where there any casualties Dora?”

“A few muggles, the main damage was property damage though.”

“At least you’re ok,” said Harry.

“Fucking deatheaters,” muttered Sirius.

“Language!” scolded Remus.

“We’re not that young,” protested Harry.

“No but he is,” said Anne as Teddy grabbed hold of her hand.

After dinner Anne went up to listen to her favourite Seekers record.

She was lying on top of her bed in the middle of the opening song I’ll Never Find Another You when Julian came in.

“What is it with you and this group? I get why like Muggle music, but this lot?” he said indicating the record player.

“They make me happy,” Anne shrugged.

“Fair enough,” said Julian.

“Anne?”

“Hmmm?” she asked opening her eyes slightly. She had been stroking her kitten Diana who had just hopped onto the bed.

“You know how the deatheaters are causing mayhem?”

“How can I miss it,” she groaned.

“You know how I’ve always said that I don’t get on with my stepdad?”

“Yeah?” said Anne sitting up slightly.

“Julian, do you think your stepdad’s a deatheater?” asked Anne.

“I don’t know,” muttered Julian, “all I do know is that he always seemed a bit dodgy to me.”

“So you’ve got no proof?” asked Anne.

“Anne if I had proof, I’d be talking to the auror in the house, not you,” Julian said with his eyebrows raised.

“Fair enough,” she blushed.

“Julian!” called Anne as Julian turned to leave, “don’t do anything stupid.”

“We’ve got enough Gryffindor’s in this house without me pitching in,” he chuckled as he shut the door.