everybody wants to be a cat [anna]

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Asa wasn't sure how desperate they looked from the outside, but they felt like they were really, really desperate. Seeing Lucy had stopped becoming a choice and started becoming a necessity, especially after the road trip they had taken together. School was about to go into session, though, and Asa was determined to get one last fix before Lucy disappeared until Christmas, or maybe Easter, or maybe even the next summer. The thought was distressing, to say the least, and the longer Asa thought about it, the more sure they were that drastic measures were warranted in this situation. That meant visiting without invitation or a good reason, so the Gryffindor was sure that they could come up with a good-ish reason on the spot. Apparating to Lucy's house was simple - Asa had seen it at the beginning of the pair's road trip. Once they were solidly on the front step of the house, Asa paused, and then knocked upon the door three times, hoping that Lucy would be the one to appear.

@annelise

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Anna was home alone and starting to get ready for school. She had to gather her things from all around the house, which was no easy feat. However, at least she could use magic now to help her. She walked around the house, calling out items and summoning them to her. She was about halfway done when she heard three knocks on the door.

Sighing at the interruption, she moved to the front of the house and opened the door. She never expected to see Asa standing there, looking ... anxious. What was he doing here? Anna could guess, but she didn't know for sure. Over the last little while, she'd had a feeling that something was going on between Asa and Lucy. Still, Lucy never told her anything, so it was only suspicion.

"Hi Asa. What's going on?" she asked, not really sure how to help them. If they were going to ask for Lucy, she wasn't there. Otherwise, Anna had no idea what they would want.

@asa

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Asa hadn’t planned this far ahead. They had been so stuck in the mentality of needing to see Lucy that they hadn’t thought of what would happen if their friend was not the one to appear. Sure, Asa knew Anna – they had been in the same house before Asa had graduated – but the two weren’t nearly as close as the girl’s twin sister was with the other Gryffindor. “Uh, is Lucy here?” Asa managed to stutter out, though they assumed the answer was no, since Lucy always managed to appear when Asa’s name was said within fifty feet of her. It was a talent Asa had no hope of understanding. Searching for something to fill the empty space, Asa finally managed to say something else. “Are you getting ready to go back to school?” They winced after the question was said, since the answer was so blatantly obvious, but it was better than silence. “Would you like any help?” There. That was better. Asa liked to be helpful whenever possible, and if they were at the Weasley household anyway, they might as well offer their services.

@annelise

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Asa asked if Lucy was there and Anna instantly shook her head. "No, she left for a bit. I don't know when she'll be back," she offered, though she didn't know why they wanted to know. Then there was an uncomfortable pause. Anna didn't know what to say. She'd known Asa, seen them in the Gryffindor common room often enough, but had never really been close to them. In fact, she didn't know if she'd actually had a real conversation with them before. Then Asa asked a question and she smiled, relieved that the awkwardness wasn't as bad now. She glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah, I'm just trying to find everything I need. I know it's all here somewhere." She said with a smile. Then they asked if they could help. Anna was surprised, but not really against the idea. She didn't particularly like being alone, after all and maybe they could help her finish sooner. She shrugged, "I could use some help, if you're not busy." She confessed, still leaving them an out if they didn't really want to help. 

@asa

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Asa mentally cursed when their suspicion that Lucy wasn’t home was confirmed. They wondered where Lucy would be off to – probably someplace with her Slytherin friends. The fact that Anna didn’t know when her twin would be back was even more troubling for Asa. They had really wanted to see Lucy…that wasn’t a problem, though. They had made an offer to Anna that was, surprisingly enough, accepted. Asa hadn’t expected that, but what better way to spend her time than with Lucy’s sister? They were sure that Anna was just as lovely as Lucy was, just in different ways, because no one could be the same way as Lucy. Lucy was…Right. This was not a time to compose a sonnet to Lucy’s eyes, or her spirit, or any other part of her. “It’s strange not going back.” Asa admitted as they stepped through the doorway, a silent confirmation of their offer to help. “I don’t have any place else to be.” They said, in case the step across the threshold hadn’t been enough. “So, what do you need found?”

@annelise

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Anna nodded when Asa said it would be weird to not go to school. "I can imagine. I guess I'll be going through that soon enough." She didn't really like that thought. She followed them back into the house, lost in thought for a second. Until they spoke, that was. "Umm ... I have a list. Let me grab it," She said, running around for a second to grab it. She hadn't expected anyone to help, but she was really glad Asa volunteered. "Here it is," she said with a smile as she held the parchment out for him to take. "I'm just going down the list and summoning because I really have no idea where anything is. I already have the things with a checkmark." She gestured to her trunk, which had piles of stuff stacked on top of it. She'd worry about organizing it later. "So what are you doing now that you've graduated?" She hadn't heard anything about Asa over the summer and now was curious.

@asa

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Asa smiled when Anna said that she’d be going through the school withdrawal soon enough. “Next year!” They said lightly. “Got any ideas for what you want to do after school?” Most students had at least an inkling at the beginning of their seventh year, though Asa wouldn’t fault Anna if she was still deciding – often that just meant that someone had a lot of different passions and they needed to decide which one was most important to them. Asa hadn’t had that qualm, of course – they loved French more than any other magical class, and when you added helping orphans to the mix, there was really no way Asa could say no and still feel like they had a heart.

After browsing the list, Asa had a fairly good idea of what needed to be packed, and began Summoning a few of the things they assumed would be closer to their location in the front hall of the house. “I speak French fluently, so I’ve taken up a position as a translator for the orphanage. I work with international cases, mostly about kids in France with English citizenships or vice versa.” They replied when Anna asked about what they were doing post-graduation. “It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy helping people, so it’s fun.” Asa shrugged.

@annelise

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Anna grimaced for a second at the thought as she continued summoning items and throwing them in the pile on her trunk. "Don't remind me," she told Asa, trying to not think about how little time she had left at Hogwarts. She knew most people couldn't wait to get out of school, but she loved it there. "I've got two ideas I'm trying to decide between. I'd like to be either a Professor or an Auror." She laughed when she realized how different the two occupations were. "Even though the two are nothing alike." 

Anna listened with interest as Asa explained what they were doing now that they were out of school. She smiled and nodded her head, "Well I'm glad you enjoy it. I'm not going to lie, it does sound very interesting," she commented. "So I'll bet you run into all sorts of people out there. When did you start?"

@asa

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Asa gave Anna a pleasant smile when she said not to remind her about graduation at the end of the school year. Asa had never been particularly overwhelmed by their future, but they knew it was different for everyone. They raised their eyebrows at the two different occupations that Anna named – being a teacher and being an Auror were obviously two vastly divergent paths, as Anna seemed to realize. “What would you be interested in teaching?” Asa asked. Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed to be the obvious answer when the author career in question was an Auror, but perhaps Anna would surprise them.

“The orphanage is severely understaffed, so I started working the Monday after graduation, actually.” Asa responded to the question about when they had started working. “A lot of people in my graduating class started working almost immediately because of lack of resources.” Asa explained. They hoped that didn’t happen to Anna’s graduating class, too, because however hard it was to coordinate meetings with Lucy now, it would be even worse when they were both working.

@annelise

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Anna thought for a second at their next question. She really felt like she would enjoy teaching quite a few classes at Hogwarts, but there weren't any openings, which was why she would probably go out as an auror. Maybe once someone decided to leave Hogwarts she'd come back and take their place. "I really like charms," she told Asa, shrugging. "But I do pretty well at everything except for Potions. I hate that class," she added, somewhat bitterly. She wished she could quit, but that was impossible. If she did want to be an auror, she had to do it. No matter how much she hated it. 

Ana was surprised when Asa said they started work right after school started. They hadn't even had a week or two of break? She hoped that didn't happen to her. Ana didn't like being rushed into things. "Is that normal? To start right after school ends, I mean," she asked, trying to sound like she was just casually asking.

@asa

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Charms was a popular subject, and Asa wasn’t surprised that Anna wanted to teach it. They had never been much interested in it beyond the day-to-day usefulness, but still, they supposed that Anna wanted whatever she wanted, and it wasn’t something worth harping on. When Anna said that she disliked Potions, though, Asa raised an eyebrow. It certainly wasn’t an easy subject, but most people who continued onto the N.E.W.T. level had some sort of talent at it. Besides, it wasn’t like it could be too hard for Anna – Professor Aguillard had a talent for picking favorites, and Anna’s last name would be more than enough to get her a passing grade. “Potions can be hard.” Asa said mildly, summoning another object and setting it down by Anna’s luggage.

“I don’t think so, no.” The Gryffindor responded when asked if going to work right after school was the norm. “But King’s Cross being exploded isn’t normal, either.” Hopefully by the time Anna and Lucy graduated, hopefully all of this would have blown over. Asa was beginning to think that was pipe dream, but who cared what they thought?

@annelise

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Asa said that they agreed that potions was hard, but their expression seemed a little unconvinced. "Especially for someone who forgets the small details," she explained. "Like how many times I've stirred the cauldron or making exact measurements. I guess the problem is I don't have much patience." Hmm. She hadn't meant to tell them all that, but it was true. She struggled with the little things when it came to potions, and with potions the little things were almost more important than the big ones. But she'd managed to pass the class every year so far, so hopefully she could do it this year too.

She nodded when they mentioned what happened at King's Cross. "I guess your right. I hope things die down or stop in the next year. I don't want this to become similar to what my parents went through," she admitted quietly. She was nervous that things would get worse, like they did when her dad was young. She didn't want that at all, which was why she was a part of Phoenix Rising. She had to do her part.

@asa

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When Anna explained further why she wasn’t much good at Potions, Asa had to admit that they felt a little more sympathy for her. Asa themself was excellent at small details, mostly because they didn’t busy themself with silly things like social interaction when it wasn’t necessary. Still, it could be frustrating when you thought you were doing your best and it still wasn’t good enough, because you had forgotten something small, almost insignificant. As for patience…well, Gryffindors weren’t known for it. Too bad Asa wasn’t a typical Gryffindor. “Patience is a virtue, but impatience is human.” They said quietly. It was recognizing the flaw, but still excusing it. They hoped that was an appropriate reaction.

“I wouldn’t count on things dying down, Anna.” Asa said softly. They Summoned another item while they tried to think of something better to say, some sort of explanation. “The people that we’re fighting against, they haven’t shown any signs of stopping.” The antagonists of the story hadn’t let the school year limit what they were doing, or where they were doing it – the King’s Cross attack was proof enough of that. “Unless we can stop them in the next year, you may be facing the same fate when it comes to working.”

@annelise

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Anna nodded at their comment, relieved that they weren't judging her too harshly. At least, they weren't judging her out loud. That had to mean something, didn't it? Maybe she needed to work on her patience a bit, but she didn't feel too bad about it. She felt pretty good with where she was. She'd passed her OWL at least, which showed she wasn't completely hopeless. She just had to make a little more effort than perhaps was normal. "Thank you" was all she said in response. She glanced at her list. They'd almost summoned everything that she needed.

She sighed, knowing that they were right. The problems weren't going to just go away. That's why she and Ranger were asked to lead Phoenix Rising. To try and help in school while their friends that graduated worked on things outside of school. Who knew? Maybe some of them joined the Order of the Phoenix even. "I know," she told Asa after a few minutes. "I probably will start work right away. I just hate how the atmosphere everywhere has changed so much. There's so much fear and I know it's reasonable because we never know when they'll strike again," her thoughts flickered to the attack on King's Cross and she closed her eyes and shook her head briefly. "but I just hate seeing things like this, you know?" She hoped they understood, because she wasn't expressing herself very well. She was afraid of what would happen with these attacks, but not for herself. She was worried for those she loved, for her friends and family. She hated that the world came to this again. Already.

@asa

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Asa couldn’t agree more with Anna’s comment about the way the atmosphere had changed. They were a pacifist, so the constant, palpable feeling that a fight was about to break out was making the hairs on the back of their neck stand up all the time. There was so much uncertainty there, too, and, like most people, Asa didn’t like to feel uncertain. “I understand.” Asa said with a nod. “A pacifist is a hard thing to be at times like this, and I’m a bit sorry I am one.” They Summoned the next item, and were surprised to find that between them and Anna, all of the packing had been completed. Well, that wasn’t how Asa had expected to spend their free day, but it certainly wasn’t horrible. Getting to know Lucy’s sister, at least a little bit, had been…interesting.

“Since you’re done packing, I guess I’d better go.” Asa said, nervously ruffling their hair. “It was nice to meet you, Anna. Have a good time at school.” Before Anna could say anything to make them stay, Asa fled the Weasley family home, Apparating away as soon as they hit the front door step.

@annelise