Time passed by quite quickly. Anastasia's relationship with Draco and Pansy were a bit strained at first after her sorting but they quickly came back to normal after a few days.
She can't say the same thing for Theodore, though. For some reason, she felt as if he's distancing himself from her little by little.
As for the Gryffindor'd little trio, things are going just as she expected. Harry should be able to find the Mirror of Erised near this time. Her relationship with the three were friendly, but they can't be considered as close friends just yet. Anastasia is perfectly fine just helping them in the sidelines.
Currently, Anastasia are talking with her Slytherin friends near the Whomping Willow. Crabbe and Goyle are also with them, but their relationship with the girl can only be called acquaintances. They don't really talk much unless needed.
" Maybe we should form a study group like what we always do back then. ", Anastasia said. Honestly, it was an excuse. For one, she wanted to have time to hang out with them, and two, she's really having a hard time studying all by herself.
For some reason, the girl finds herself getting out of focus or giving up easily when studying alone which is why she always allows Draco, Pansy, and Theodore to come over to her house before Hogwarts. She can't afford to embarrass the Glasswater Family so she always invited the three to study together. And her roommates have their own worlds. They've talked for quite a few times but made it obvious that they're always busy with their lives.
Draco seemed to brighten at the idea. It was one of the few times he could show off his intelligence to his friends. " Of course! Let's do that! "
" When should we do it? ", asked Pansy.
Anastasia thought for a bit. " Hmmm... Are you all free tomorrow? "
Pansy, Draco, and his friends agreed.
" I'm not going. ", Theodore said.
The others looked at him. " Huh? But I thought you've already finished all your activities ahead of time? ", Pansy asked.
" I still need to check them over. "
" Oh... Then are you free the next day? ", asked Anastasia.
" No. "
" The day after that? "
" No. "
" N-next week? "
" No. "
Anastasia got more and more anxious as she continued to talk to Theodore. She could now clearly see that he's avoiding her! And the others could see it too, judging from their uncomfortable expressions.
" Hey, are you ignoring her? That's very childish of you, don't you think? ", Draco said, earning approval from his friends.
" I'm not avoiding her. I'm merely making all my free time useful. "
Ouch.
Pansy stood up from the ground angrily. " Hey! What's wrong with you?! "
Anastasia quickly pulled her back down beside her and gave her a pleading look. Pansy huffed in annoyance before turning away.
Anastasia then turned to look at Theodore, who was still reading his book, unbothered by the whole thing.
" Theo, did I do anything to upset you? "
" No. "
" Can you at least say anything other than ' no ' ? "
Finally, Theodore shut his book close and stood up before muttering something loud enough for everyone to hear. " If only you were a Slytherin. "
After that, he walked away from the stunned group. Draco was the first to react. He angrily stood up and chased after him, yelling curses on his way. His friends had no idea what to do and decided to just follow after him.
Finally, Pansy placed a hand on her friend's shoulder comfortingly. " Don't mind what he said, Ana. He's probably still bothered by it. But I'm sure he'll get over it soon. "
Anastasia can only nod as she bit her lips to avoid letting out a sob. She had her head down as she stood up in order to cover the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. " I'll go ahead now. We can just study together once he's free. ", She whispered before turning around to leave.
Even though she knew that Theodore would probably never agree to it again.
Anastasia continued to walk along the empty corridors with her head down. Her tears were now escaping. She brought a hand to her eyes and attempted to wipe the tears off with her wrists.
As she was doing so, she bumped into something, catching her off guard. She was about to raise her head when she heard a voice. Two voices.
" Oh, Ana! Just the one we're looking for! ", said George.
" Our plan is complete now! We just have to put our vampire blood mix into Snape's potion before his class starts! Oh I can already imagine his face once he smells the scent coming out of it after he opens the lid! ", said Fred.
The twins then laughed together. They awaited the younger girl's laugh but received nothing, making them stop. They looked at each other in confusion before turning back to the girl.
Fred then leaned in closer. " Are you alright, Ana? ", he said as he moved the girl's hair away from her face. His movements froze abruptly once he noticed the tears silently running down her face. George who was also taking a peek beside his twin, froze alongside him.
Anastasia pushed the two away from her before bringing her hands to her face in order to cover it. She then turned around and began walking away in a pitiful attempt of escaping. But the twins moved faster as they grabbed both of the girl's arms and pulled her somewhere.
She ended up getting dragged inside an empty classroom. The twins then gently made her sit down on a chair as they say beside her. The girl was quiet the whole time, and it made them more worried than they already are.
The twins went straight to the point.
" Who made you cry? ", asked Fred.
" Was it your Slytherin friends? I knew they were up to no good! ", George exclaimed.
Anastasia shakes her head hesitantly before finally speaking. " I... I'm not even sure if... I can still refer to him as my friend. ", she said with a shaky voice.
Fred quickly made an assumption. " Who? The Malfoy? "
" No! "
Anastasia feels a loss at words. Why do they always assume that Draco's at fault whenever she feels down?
" It's... It's Theodore. "
George perked up. " Theodore? Theodore Nott? "
Anastasia nodded.
The twins then looked at each other with strange expressions. She couldn't tell if they were uncomfortable or angry.
Fred awkwardly put his arm on her shoulders. " Hey... Do you want to know something about him? Just a warning, it might hurt you. But I think it's better for you to know it now. "
Anastasia felt curious? What is it about? And what did it have to do about her?
Though she hasn't received an answer to her own question yet, she feels like she already knows the answer to it.
Quietly, the young girl nodded her head. " Go on. "
It went quiet for a bit as the two tried to think of nicer words that'll explain what they need to say. Finally, they began to speak.
" Just the other day, we were passing by the Great Hall with Lee. We were supposed to put one of our prank mix into Snape's food before breakfast starts but we heard voices inside. You can probably already guess who one of them is. ", George started.
Anastasia nodded.
Fred then continued. " Nott was talking with his fellow Slytherins about you. I don't remember his exact words but he told his peers about how irritating you were even before Hogwarts. "
George nodded at that. " Yeah, and he also complained about how you kept asking for a group study whenever they come over. He even made a remark that the reason why you kept doing it is because you're.... "
The two looked at each other with uncertain gazes. But they didn't need to continue that sentence as she already knows what the last word is.
" Dumb? ", She asked blankly.
The twins nodded slowly.
Anastasia felt embarrassed. Of course Theodore would say something like that. Out of everyone in their small study group, he was the one that was bothered the most by her. It was because she knew that he was the smartest and the one with most patience in their group. It was the reason why she looked up to him and always acted more nice than usual around him. He has probably ran out of patience for her.
She brought her hands back to her face and lowered her head in shame. She tried to ignore the new information given to her and instead tried to focus on the way Fred tightened his hold around her and how George brushed his fingers on her hair.
Anastasia felt like burying herself deep in the ground. Or maybe she should just go drown herself.
After calming down from the revelation, the three made their way out of the room and headed towards the Great Hall for dinner. A lot of students were already inside and eating their meals.
They sat down near Lee who waited for them before eating. Lee noticed the young girl's tired red eyes and asked what happened. The three quickly summarized what happened earlier, though it was mostly just the twins speaking.
Perhaps Ron might've heard it to as he was close to them and once the conversation was finished, he began to whisper something with Hermione and Harry. Anastasia could only eat awkwardly as she trid to ignore the looks of pity that the golden trio sent her.
The four changed their subject to something lighter in order to clear the tense atmosphere.
" What does vampire blood do? ", Anastasia asked.
" It has a really strong smell. ", Lee said. " It's not the kind of rubbish bad smell but a very strong smell. I don't know how to explain it, but it's really strong and metallic. It can hurt someone's nose just by smelling it. "
" Exactly! You're going to enjoy the show tomorrow, Ana. ", Fred said with a laugh.
And they stayed true to their words. Because the next day in Snape's class, while he was about to show them what a Phadari Potion looks like, a strong metallic smell filled the entire classroom as he opened the lid of the potuon bottle.
Phadari and Vampire blood has similar colors. Phadari was used as some kind of freshener like a calming draught. It was supposed to make the consumer feel at ease, helps them think clearly, and basically helps them avoid feeling any negative emotions for an hour. It was created by using red Phadarias petals.
Everyone stood up from their seats and covered their noses with their robes. Luckily, Anastasia's friends made her drink some kind of potion that blocks off any magical scent, so she wasn't bothered. But she still covered her nose with her robes in order to avoid suspicion.
She could see Draco scrunching his face in disgust, almost gagging. He was in all of her classes, as said by Lucius and Dumbledore on the day they met.
Finally, Snape told them to go outside and wait while he takes care of the problem. Everyone practically bolted out of the room as soon as he said this.
" Bloody hell, what smell was that? ", She could hear Ron ask.
" Vampire blood. I've read about it before. It was supposed to smell strong and metallic, it could easily take over an entire room in just seconds. ", Hermione explained.
" I think I'm gonna go vomit. ", said Harry as he began running away.
" Harry! ", his friends exclaimed as they ran after him.
Their whole time for his class was taken up by it so they had to leave for the next class. As Anastasia was walking behind her classmates, she heard her name getting called out by a stern voice.
" Miss Glasswater. Would you mind staying behind for a talk? "
Shoot. It was Snape.
Anastasia hesitantly turned around and began walking back to the classroom. Once she entered the classroom, she could hear Draco's voice arguing with Snape.
" Why can't I stay behind as well?! "
" This is none of your concern, Mr. Malfoy. Now go ahead before I tell your parents about your recklessness. "
Finally, the argument stopped and Snape stepped inside the classroom. Anastasia suddenly felt nervous and awkward.
Sure, she still speaks to Snape even after she got sorted into Gryffindor but Snape became saltier than usual after it. Though he did not show distaste to her like how he does to other Gryffindors, they pretty much became awkward. Maybe he's just forcing himself to talk to her because he's still her guardian.
" How's your studies? "
Oh.
" They're alright... "
They aren't. She's been having some tiny trouble learning them ever since Theodore started ignoring her. And she couldn't just ask help from Hermione when she's already busy helping her friends. And she can't really ask her for help yet when her group are against her friend Draco. She can't rush everything and destroy their relationship as acquaintances.
" Alright. They're alright for you? What have you been doing, Ana? "
" What- I'm just doing what I normally do! "
" Then do tell me why your scores have been going down a bit? Was it because of those Weasley Twins and that Jordan? I knew they were bad influences for you. I should've told them to back off the moment I saw you with them. ", Snape's voice got more are and more sterner as he spoke.
" Don't you even dare do that! ", Anastasia raised her voice as she refuted. " Don't just take them away from me when Nott just - " Anastasia stopped herself in time from saying anything more.
" What? What did Mr. Nott do? "
Anastasia gritted her teeth. " He's one of your students in your house and yet you don't even notice any difference between him and I? You know what, just forget it. If you're worried about me failing my education along with everyone's expectations then there's no need to do so. I'll bring them back up. ", She said before stomping out of the room.
" Anastasia that's not what I meant! ", Snape yelled but the girl has already walked off from him.
Again.