As soon as they arrived at the dining hall, Fanny rushed over to Anne and launched into a barrage of questions.
"Anne, where were you? I thought you were still asleep this morning, but when I came back at ten, I realized you hadn't come back all night! Professor Dumbledore is back, and the front page of The Daily Prophet changed today, too. Did you know, "
"I'm starving," Anne said. "Can I eat first?"
"…Fine," Fanny gave in, walking with her to the table. "I saved you tons of food. I knew you wouldn't miss lunch."
"Mmm, perfect." Anne sat down, eyes lighting up at the sight of the food.
"Ah, satisfaction." Anne patted her stomach. "Nothing like being full."
"Okay, you've eaten. Now talk," Fanny leaned in eagerly.
Anne smiled, calm and composed. "I'm going to confess to Hermione."
"What?!" Fanny yelped, so loud the few students left in the hall turned to look. But for the first time, she didn't care one bit about appearances. She was practically glowing with surprise and excitement. "Merlin's beard, Anne! You finally came around?"
"What happened? This is so sudden, " she gushed.
"Calm down, Fanny." Anne glanced around the hall. "Sit down. I'll explain."
"Ahem, " Fanny plopped into the seat across from her. "Alright. But details."
"Actually, not today. I need a shower, and I'm meeting Dumbledore at three," Anne said, then added when Fanny pouted, "Don't give me that look. I'll tell you where I was last night first…"
"…and that's why I just got back," Anne concluded. "I think the front page of The Daily Prophet this morning has something to do with what Harry and the others did last night."
"I see," Fanny nodded. "But you still haven't said what made you suddenly decide to confess?"
Anne flushed a little. "Because if I keep running away, I might miss someone really important. And I'd regret that forever."
She paused. Her tone softened. "I've realized something lately, whether I like it or not, I'm now part of the magical world. There's no separating myself from it anymore."
Anne looked around the Great Hall. "Hogwarts is an incredible place. If someone wanted to destroy it, I don't think I could just stand by and watch."
She gave a small smile. "Even though I still struggle with fear and doubt, something warm has filled this space here, " she touched her chest ", a voice I've ignored for years. It's grown louder, and it's been telling me things."
"It's telling me I should try. In my own way."
Fanny stared at her for a moment before smiling. "Anne, you've changed."
"Maybe I have," Anne said. "Yesterday was a birthday I'll never forget. I've never heard 'happy birthday' that many times in one day."
Fanny laughed. "So? Have you thought about when and where you'll confess? Timing and setting are crucial, you know."
Anne froze. "Uh…" She decided not to admit that she'd planned to confess the moment Hermione woke up, but had overslept. "Not yet."
"I think the sooner the better," Fanny said teasingly. "Gryffindor's top student has probably been waiting a long time for this."
"She has," Anne said with a smile. She glanced at her watch. "Time to head back to the dorm."
After changing into clean clothes, Anne let out a long breath. But she didn't feel relaxed. She had a meeting with Dumbledore that afternoon, and she needed to be fully alert.
This was her choice. A major decision. If there was anyone in the magical world both capable and willing to fight Voldemort, it was Dumbledore.
In the past, Anne had avoided him out of fear, afraid he might uncover her secrets. But now, she was choosing a different path.
"Stay true to what's been decided." The fifth family code of the Roland family.
"Lemon honey water," Anne said to the stone gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. It jumped aside, and the wall behind it split open to reveal a spiraling staircase. She stepped on, rising higher and higher.
At last, she reached the door with the brass knocker. Taking a deep breath, she opened it and entered.
Dumbledore's office hadn't changed much since her last visit. Portraits of past headmasters still lined the walls.
"A Slytherin student? Now that's rare," commented one portrait.
Dumbledore was behind his desk, writing. He looked up, half-moon glasses resting low on his nose. "Miss Reeve? Please, have a seat."
Anne glanced at the perch by the door, where a small, bald, featherless bird rested. She recognized it, Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix.
"Thank you." She sat across from him.
Dumbledore put his quill down, pushing some papers aside, and looked at her with those piercing blue eyes.
"Professor," Anne began, "you're probably wondering why I came here today, and why I said not in any official capacity."
"I must admit, I am curious," Dumbledore said.
"You've probably noticed that in the past five years, I've gone out of my way to avoid you and Professor Snape. Sometimes, even outright rejection."
Dumbledore nodded.
"There's a reason for that," Anne continued. "You're both exceptionally skilled at Legilimency. So, I've never lied in front of either of you, but I've also avoided close contact."
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed slightly.
Anne glanced around the room. "You have a Pensieve here, right? Ah, there it is."
She stood up calmly. "Professor, what I'm about to say might sound unbelievable, even to you. And I don't know how to explain it properly in words. So, I'd like to show you… my memories."
"These memories are of the past, the present, and, most importantly, what could shape the future."
Dumbledore stood.
Anne drew her wand, touched it to her temple, and pulled out a thread of glowing silver memory. She dropped it into the Pensieve. The silvery substance swirled, shimmered, and expanded.
"This is a movie theater," Anne said. "To be exact, a theater from 2007." She looked around. "Incredible. I didn't realize memories could be so vivid."
Then she saw her past self, laughing, sitting in the sixth row with a friend. She looked away quickly, her nose stinging.
"Professor Dumbledore, I don't know if you understand Mandarin…" she said as the Warner Bros. logo appeared.
"2007?" Dumbledore frowned.
"Yes. You can tell I'm not lying. And I'm not crazy either." Anne smiled. "The film is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. You might be shocked, and I don't remember every detail. But even now, I'm amazed by how magical this all is."
"Come on, Professor," she patted the steps, "let's just sit and watch."
Dumbledore sat beside her, eyes on the screen as the title appeared.
"I never thought I'd be in a theater watching Harry Potter 5 with Dumbledore himself," Anne murmured wistfully.
The movie played in fragmented flashes, some scenes clear, others in jarring black and white, with even clips from unrelated films mixed in.
When it ended, the lights came on, and the scene dissolved. They were back in the office.
"I forgot a lot, but I'm surprised how much stayed," Anne mumbled. "Maybe my subconscious held onto it."
Dumbledore had a look of solemnity Anne had never seen before.
"Don't be so serious, Professor," she said. "You can keep that memory. There are two more."
Dumbledore's sharp gaze met hers.
Anne stored the first memory in a glass vial, then pulled another from her temple.
"This next one is the most vivid, I think you'll find it useful."
Another theater. Another film.
When it finished, Dumbledore seemed more relaxed.
"You can keep this one, too," Anne said, placing the memory in a second vial.
"There's one more, but it's incomplete."
This one was more disjointed than the others, nearly impossible to follow.
Afterward, she stored it in a third vial.
"Are there others? Like the fourth film?" Dumbledore asked.
"There are, but the memories are even worse." Anne said. "You want to see them?"
He nodded.
After she lined up seven memory vials on his desk, Anne took out a gold Galleon and twirled it in her fingers.
"To me, this world was always just fiction. The movies were based on a series of seven books called Harry Potter. But they made eight films, the last book was split into two parts. I never saw the final one."
Dumbledore picked up on one word. "Based?"
"Yes, based on," Anne nodded. "The plot stays mostly the same."
"And the ending?"
Anne smiled. "Harry defeats Voldemort. The wizarding world enters a time of peace."
"But I noticed," Dumbledore said, "there's no mention of the Roland family. Or of you."
"Nope," Anne spun the coin. "Because I wasn't supposed to exist. Or maybe… this world wasn't supposed to be real."
"But here I am," she continued, "talking to you. I've lived through so much here. And I'll be here for many years to come. It's a magical place. A place of miracles."
She looked Dumbledore in the eye and smiled. "Even if this is a dream, like The Matrix or Inception, then it's a dream I don't want to wake up from."
"This moment, this place, is what matters most. Don't you think so?"
"And since there are ghosts here, and souls exist, I actually believe in reincarnation now."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled faintly. "Until today, you never planned to tell me all this."
Anne nodded honestly. "That's true. I didn't trust you. I've met so many people, not flat characters from a story, but real people. People who changed me."
Dumbledore smiled. "Miss Granger will be glad to hear that."
Anne blushed. "It's not just Hermione, Aaron, Diana, Fanny, Jill… so many. If someone did want to destroy this world, I'd stand against them."
"That's why I'm here," Anne said. "To tell you everything. And also… I want to learn Occlumency from you."
Dumbledore nodded. "Very well. I'm glad you trust me. I do have a few questions."
"Of course. I'll tell you everything I know."
"Then we should sit down. This will take a while," Dumbledore said.
"Great. Some tea or iced lemon water would be even better," Anne laughed.
"Already on it," Dumbledore smiled.
As the sun set and the magical crystal lights lit up the ceiling, the two sat talking intensely. Anne even drew timelines to explain key events.
"So Voldemort split his soul seven times, creating eight fragments: six Horcruxes, one in Harry, and one in himself," Anne rubbed her temples. "The six Horcruxes are: the snake, Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, Tom Riddle's diary, and a ring…"
"Marvolo Gaunt's ring," Dumbledore said. "I know where it is."
"Be careful. The ring's curse is deadly. Don't forget how you died in the movie, " Anne added, then chuckled. "It's so surreal, isn't it?"
Dumbledore laughed too.
Anne, holding a parchment with the Horcruxes, sighed. "Problem is, I only saw part one of Deathly Hallows. I don't know where the diadem or the cup are."
"And the locket… I think it was in a cave in the sixth movie. But I don't know where that cave is. And it turned out to be a fake anyway. So who has the real one?"
Dumbledore said that was expected. Wizard memories differ vastly from Muggle ones. Anne's memory gaps were normal.
She also told him she had a photographic memory. Dumbledore wasn't surprised. "Plenty of witches and wizards have that. The Roland family has always been… unusual."
Anne set the parchment aside and sipped her milk tea. Her sleeve slipped, revealing her watch.
Ten fifty.
Her face changed instantly. "Crap!"
Dumbledore looked up from the parchment.
Anne jumped to her feet. "Sorry, Professor. I have to go! I'll come back tomorrow, same time."
"Alright," Dumbledore said, "though tomorrow is the first day of summer break?"
"I'm staying a few more days." Anne called as she dashed out.
A portrait on the wall clicked its tongue. "I can't imagine what's more important than this conversation, "
"Oh, there is," Dumbledore said with a smile, watching Anne disappear down the corridor.
⚡︎━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❖ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━⚡︎
The infirmary door was slightly ajar. Warm yellow light spilled through the crack and onto the stone floor.
Breathing heavily, Anne gently pushed it open, and locked eyes with Hermione.
Hermione sat upright in bed, holding a book. She smiled when she saw Anne.
Anne walked over, head down. "Sorry... you should've gone to sleep earlier..."
"I knew you'd come," Hermione said.
"What if I forgot?"
Hermione shook her head. "It's not midnight yet."
Anne looked up. "But it's already so late, "
"Late is still night," Hermione said simply.
Anne glanced at Madam Pomfrey's office, her light had just gone out.
"She's not going to be happy," Anne said.
Hermione shrank into her shoulders. "She was a little upset."
Anne laughed. She knew what Madam Pomfrey was like with difficult patients.
"Anne?"
"Hermione?"
They spoke at the same time. Then again,
"You go first, "
"No, you, "
Laughter.
"You go," Hermione said, putting her book aside.
"Okay…" Anne sat down. "Did Madam Pomfrey say how long until you're discharged?"
"Three days," Hermione groaned. "The potions are awful."
Anne nodded sympathetically. "She makes them taste bad on purpose, to diSkollage students from coming here. She even told me so. And tomorrow might be even worse."
"I'll bring sweets!" Anne quickly promised. "Mousse cake?"
Hermione's eyes sparkled. "Deal."
Anne looked at her, throat tightening. "Actually, what I wanted to say is…"
"Hmm?" Hermione's gaze was gentle.
"Would you… like to visit the Roland Manor this summer?"
"Yes!" Hermione said excitedly. "Ow, " She winced, having tugged at her wound.
Anne shot up. "Are you okay? Do you need, "
Hermione grabbed her hand. "I'm fine, Anne. Just really happy…"
Anne looked at her. Fanny's words echoed in her mind: "The sooner, the better. Gryffindor's top student has waited long enough."
So Anne didn't back away. She leaned forward, hands braced on the bed. Their faces were just a hand's width apart. Hermione backed up slightly, her pillow stopping her.
"Anne, you, "
"Hermione," Anne said seriously, "what I really wanted to say is… I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?"
Hermione blinked.
"You, you don't want to?" Anne asked nervously.
"No!" Hermione said quickly. "I do. I really do."
In that instant, Anne thought the infirmary might be the happiest place in the world.