An hour passed quickly, and they made their way to Flourish and Blotts. But they weren't the only ones heading there. By the time they reached the bookstore, a huge crowd had already gathered outside.
A large banner hung above the entrance:
Gilderoy Lockhart Book Signing – Today 12:30–4:30 PM – Magical Me Autobiography
"We get to meet him in person!" Hermione exclaimed. The other three turned to look at her. "I mean, nearly all the books on our list were written by him!"
"Yeah, I was shocked when I got the list, seven trashy books. I don't even want to waste my money," Anne muttered without thinking.
Harry and Ron stared at her in surprise, while Hermione looked slightly offended. "Anne, how can you, " Ron quickly cut in, "Merlin's beard, Anne, don't say that in front of my mum…"
Anne shrugged indifferently and mumbled, "I'm just telling the truth. You'll see…"
Her muttering wasn't quiet enough to escape their ears, but before they could question her, a voice called out from inside the shop.
"Ron? Harry? Are you here?"
The four of them quickly squeezed through the door. Lockhart was seated behind a table, and the entire store was plastered with huge photographs of him. In every one, he was winking and flashing his dazzling white teeth.
The Weasleys, the Grangers, and Aaron were all in line waving at them.
"Oh, good, you're here! We'll get to meet him soon!" Mrs. Weasley said nervously, smoothing down her hair.
Ron and Harry shot Anne a look that clearly said: Don't say anything outrageous.
I'm not stupid. Like I'd say anything here with so many Lockhart fanatics around, Anne thought.
She did, however, forget that someone in the group counted as a "fanatic." Much later, when Anne jokingly recalled this moment and her thoughts on the excited crowd, she paid a small price for it.
Anne made her way to Aaron, who was holding a stack of books, and tugged at his sleeve to pull him out of the line. Hermione gave her a disapproving glare, which Anne ignored.
Once they reached the second floor of the bookstore, Anne let go of his sleeve and said, "Uncle Aaron, I don't need a signature. Let's just buy the books later."
Aaron looked at her expressionless face and smiled, ruffling her hair. "Not a fan of his, huh, Anne?"
Anne didn't dodge the gesture and only gave a silent nod. All that talking earlier had left her throat dry. Aaron just assumed she was throwing a rare childish tantrum.
"All right, we'll skip the signing and wait up here for a bit."
Suddenly, applause erupted from downstairs. Anne and Aaron walked to the wooden railing and looked down at the signing table. Lockhart was now posing for a photo with Harry.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Lockhart's voice rang out as he raised a hand to quiet the crowd, "what an extraordinary moment this is! I've been keeping a little secret, one I've waited to share until just the right occasion."
"When young Harry walked into the shop today, he only meant to buy my autobiography. I insisted on giving him a copy!" More applause. "But what he doesn't know," Lockhart said dramatically, shaking Harry slightly and knocking his glasses askew, "is that he and his classmates are about to receive something far more valuable than Magical Me."
"Indeed, I am thrilled and honored to announce that starting this September, I will be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts!"
Another round of applause burst out below. Anne, however, muttered to herself, Great. A completely useless Defense teacher, just what we needed.
"Huh? Malfoy?" Aaron's voice interrupted her thoughts.
Anne turned her gaze toward the door. Draco Malfoy was standing there, with his father.
It looked like the two Malfoys were arguing with Mr. Weasley. But the shop was packed and noisy, so it was hard to make out what was being said. Anne saw Mr. Malfoy take an old book from Ginny's cauldron with a sneer. Mr. Weasley lunged at him, and the two men ended up in a scuffle.
"Oh no!" Aaron rushed downstairs. Anne followed, holding her stack of books.
Aaron stepped in to separate the two, and Hagrid soon arrived as well. Before leaving, Mr. Malfoy tossed the book back into Ginny's cauldron with a sneer. "You'd better hope you always have someone around to save you." He gave Aaron a cold look and walked out.
"Don't mind him, Arthur. You know what that family's like," Hagrid said, trying to comfort Mr. Weasley. Hermione was calming her parents, who had clearly been startled by the commotion.
"Let's head out," Aaron suggested. The group left the shop and gathered around the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. Once everyone had calmed down, they said their goodbyes.
The Weasleys and Harry left using Floo Powder, returning to the Burrow. Aaron and Anne did the same. The Grangers planned to drive back into the city, their car was parked outside the pub.
Back home, Aaron seemed quite pleased with Anne's three Gryffindor friends. Before leaving for work again, he went on and on about how they were all in the same house, should help one another, and support each other in times of need. In short, he was delighted that Anne had made friends.
September 1st arrived quickly. Anne packed her things and said goodbye to Orbie. She hailed a taxi and arrived at King's Cross Station at 10:25 AM. She and Fanny had agreed to meet at 10:30 at the entrance. Fanny was taking the train for the first time, and of course, as her friend, Anne had to help.
Right on time, a sleek black car pulled up quietly beside her. Fanny stepped out cheerfully and waved. "Hey, Anne! So good to see you~"
"I was just wondering how you were planning to get here."
A well-dressed young man stepped out from the driver's seat. Wearing a tailored suit, tie, and white gloves, he bowed politely. "Good morning, Miss Reeve. A pleasure to meet you."
Anne returned the greeting, though her eyes shifted curiously to Fanny.
Fanny stepped beside Anne and introduced him. "This is Lang, my family's butler's son. He drove me here. Anne, how do we actually board the train?"
Lang smiled and stood nearby, awaiting instructions.
"Where's your luggage? Let's carry it in together. You've got your ticket, right? Just follow my lead."
Fanny grinned. "Oh, I already sent my luggage to school!"
The class divide is real, Anne thought.
"Alright, then let's go. You can tell Lang to head back."
Fanny nodded to Lang. "You can go now. I'll be fine with Anne."
"Of course, Miss Fanny. Miss Reeve. Take care." Lang gave Anne a polite smile before driving off.
Fanny was bursting with excitement. It was her first time on a train, and she chatted nonstop. Anne felt like she was taking her younger cousin out for a day trip.
Once they passed through Platform 9¾, Fanny begged to go through again, and Anne had to quickly pull her back.
There weren't many people on the platform yet, so Anne led Fanny to the last carriage and entered an empty compartment.
Anne lifted her trunk and placed it on the overhead rack. She'd grown a lot over the summer, now only half an inch shorter than Fanny, though her face still looked small and delicate.
Fanny stood in the corridor, peeking out of the window. "Wow, it's so lively! That means Muggles can come see their children off too, right?"
Anne pulled a book from her bag, "How to Better Nurture Your Magical Plants", and replied casually, "Yeah, the wizarding world does have some Muggle-friendly rules. Also, maybe don't stick your head out of the window like that, it's not safe."
Fanny pouted and pulled her head back, peering through the glass instead. "Anne, I see Malfoy! And Crabbe and Goyle too. Malfoy's actually taking the train!"
A moment later, she gasped again. "Pansy! Pansy's here too, oh, is that her father with her?"
"So many people from our house!" Fanny chirped.
Anne was too absorbed in her book, she was reading about how to safely re-pot a hazardous magical plant, to offer more than the occasional nod or grunt.
Then Fanny said, "Anne, I just saw your Gryffindor friend, Hermione Granger! Let's invite her to sit with us!"
"Mm…" Anne replied absentmindedly.
A beat later, "Wait, what?"
Too late. Fanny had stuck her head back out the window. "Hey, Hermione! Anne's here, she wants you to join us!"
Hermione had been saying goodbye to her parents nearby. She looked up, smiled, and after a few words with her parents, made her way over with two trunks.
Fanny turned back, beaming. "She's coming! Let's help her with her things."
"…What choice do I have?" Anne sighed, setting her book aside.
Anne didn't even know what to say at that point. She set down her book and stepped out of the compartment.
There was a metal-grated step between the train carriage and the platform. Hermione was standing there, gripping the handle of her trunk with both hands, clearly struggling to lift it onboard.
Anne walked over, bent down, and grabbed the handle with her right hand, her fingers brushing against Hermione's. "Let go," Anne said calmly. "I'll lift it up."
Hermione hesitated. "But… it's really heavy…"
"In that case, I'll use both hands. Just let go," Anne replied, turning slightly so she was facing Hermione directly. She placed her other hand on the side handle of the trunk.
Sensing Anne's steady grip, Hermione released the handle without argument. Truth be told, the moment Anne first held the trunk, Hermione had already felt most of the weight disappear.
Letting go of the side handle, Anne lifted the trunk into the carriage with one hand. "It is a bit heavy. Don't tell me you packed all your books in this one?"
"Uh… more or less…" Hermione admitted, standing on the platform and watching Anne hoist the trunk effortlessly.
Anne glanced at the second, smaller trunk next to Hermione. "Go ahead and get on. I'll bring the other one up, it doesn't look that light either."
Hermione stepped aside as Anne climbed down again.
"It's only a few books…" Hermione said sheepishly.
Anne brought up the second trunk. Inside the compartment, Fanny had tried lifting Hermione's trunk out of curiosity. She managed to raise it only about two centimeters before giving up with a grunt.
Hermione, meanwhile, was flipping through the book Anne had left on the small table, How to Better Nurture Your Magical Plants.
"Alright, you two step out of the compartment for a second," Anne said. "I'll put the lighter one on the rack and the heavier one under the seat."
Hermione and Fanny stepped outside while Anne lifted the lighter trunk, rose up on her toes, and placed it securely on the overhead luggage rack. Then she bent down and slid the heavy trunk beneath the seat.
Dusting off her hands, she straightened up and called out, "All done! Come back in."
The two girls stepped back inside. Fanny took the window seat across from Anne, while Hermione, after closing the compartment door behind her, sat down next to Anne. More and more people were boarding the train by now.
As soon as Fanny sat down, she leaned forward, eyes sparkling. "Anne, how are you so strong?"
Hermione was looking at her with equal curiosity.
Strong? This is nothing, Anne thought to herself. In my past life, I had to haul furniture up to a sixth-floor apartment by myself. But aloud, she simply said, "At the orphanage, we had to do farm work two or three times a week. After three years of that, of course I got stronger."
Fanny and Hermione's expressions changed slightly.
Noticing their reaction, Anne added, "I don't mind talking about it. Besides, working under the sun builds character. And if I weren't strong, who would've lifted all those trunks today?"
Fanny blinked, a flicker of doubt in her eyes. "But Anne, you're still so pale. Did you slack off during work or something?"
"…" Anne paused, recalling those years working at the Gill family's place. Every time, Gill would drag her off under the excuse of wanting to play, and Anne, definitely not some naïve child, had learned quickly how to get out of hard labor whenever possible…
"Ah-ha, Anne! You are hiding something!" Fanny said, narrowing her eyes at Anne's slightly guilty expression.
Hermione, sitting beside her, noticed the tips of Anne's ears were turning red.
Thankfully, at that moment, a loud whistle pierced the air.
"We're leaving, aren't we?" Fanny exclaimed, pressing her face against the window.
"Yes, the whistle means the train's about to depart," Anne replied with relief.
Hermione let out a small laugh. Anne's ears turned a bit redder.
Then Hermione, ever the curious one, changed the subject. "Anne, about that glass orb you gave me last time, why did it end up looking like that? The silver inside was beautiful, but I couldn't find anything about it in any of the books I checked!"
Fanny perked up too. "I meant to ask you about that at the end of last term, but I forgot! It really was pretty! I even asked my uncle, he's a powerful wizard, but he said the orb had no magical signature at all. No trace of magic. How did you do that? And those little silver patterns inside had actual shapes!"
Hermione chimed in again, "I also noticed the shapes changed depending on the weather. When it rained, I thought it had broken or something!"
"Really? I didn't even notice," Anne said, glancing at Hermione with admiration. Leave it to a top student to catch that kind of detail. I only added a tiny bit of that substance, it shouldn't have been obvious…
"It's hard to explain exactly what I added," Anne continued, "but it's not a magical substance. It's something from the physical world, the Muggle world. A chemical compound that reacts physically."
"Chemistry again?" Fanny scrunched her nose, clearly uninterested.
"Chemistry? Physics?" Hermione repeated, intrigued. "I've heard of those! Muggle schools teach them, don't they? That's what my cousin said, anyway. But Anne, how do you know this stuff?"
"Ah, well… that's a secret," Anne said with a smile. "But those glass orbs? They're called storm bottles, or sometimes weather bottles."
By now, both Fanny and Hermione were used to Anne being cryptic, and let it slide.
The three girls chatted the rest of the way. Time seemed to fly, and before they knew it, the train had arrived at Hogwarts.
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