set your life on fire [anna]

[Deleted]

Xan wasn't entirely sure what was happening. She had received a letter from Anna asking her to meet in the Room of Requirement that afternoon, but without a purpose attached to the meeting. Xan was going to go anyways, of course - she trusted Anna since the older girl was Hugo's cousin and also happened to be the leader of Phoenix Rising - but her Ravenclaw curiosity was stoked by the secrecy of everything. Xan had, of course, considered that maybe Anna had just forgotten to put why she wanted to meet in the letter, but the Gryffindor girl seemed to care too much about everything to forget a detail like that. Xan wasn't entirely sure, though, since she only saw Anna from the outside. She was sure that other people had a better idea of who Anna really was, and therefore would be better at guessing why they were meeting, but in the meantime, Xan could just guess idly. It could be something to do with Phoenix Rising, but Xan wasn't sure why she'd be the only one asked to come. There were no other people in the room, so unless they were all late, it was just Xan. Her mind continued to turn over various possibilities, but none of them seemed all that likely, and Xan was still stumped when the door to the room opened.

@annelise

[Deleted]

Anna was nervous about this, but she didn't have a reason to be. At least, not really. She was meeting with Xan and going to ask the girl if she was willing to lead Phoenix Rising. She'd talked to James about it, since she didn't want the group to just end with her leaving and he said that he trusted her judgment. That was great and all, but also a bit stressful. So she'd found herself watching people in any moment when she wasn't really busy ... which basically meant she could watch people during meals. Anna wasn't entirely sure that was the best time to try and decide who should take over the group, but she made her decision. Xan seemed mature enough and was definitely dedicated to the cause. Honestly, when she really thought about it, Anna couldn't think of someone else that she'd rather ask. That was how she knew she made the right choice. As long as Xan said yes, that was. 

Anna hurried to the Room of Requirement, annoyed at herself for being a little late. Really, that wasn't the best way to start a meeting, but there wasn't really another choice for her with how busy her day was today. Hopefully Xan wouldn't mind too much. She stopped outside the door and took a deep breath before opening it. "Hey Xan," she greeted with a smile as she walked in. "How are you?" Man, Anna was bad at this. She didn't know how to start this conversation, but figured asking about Xan would be a good way to start.

@xanthippe

[Deleted]

Xan had been trying to distract herself before Anna came into the room, but the Ravenclaw had to admit that she wasn’t doing a good job of it. Trying to distract her mind was like trying to stop a speeding train, sometimes – all but impossible. Luckily, Anna’s appearance meant that she could stop worrying, sort of. At least she had the promise of knowing what was going on soon. “Hi.” Xan said brightly when the older girl greeted her, trying not to seem too eager, but probably coming off that way just the same. Xan wasn’t much good at suppressing her bubbliness, though normally that wasn’t much of a problem (and definitely hadn’t been earlier that year, when she hadn’t had the energy to do much, even be bubbly. “I’m well, and yourself?” She asked, her manners kicking in. Manners didn’t last long, though, because after a brief pause, Xan blurted out a question. “Why’d you invite me here?” It was better to get just to the point, especially since she was worrying so much about being reprimanded somehow.

@annelise

[Deleted]

Xan greeted Anna enthusiastically and the Gryffindor couldn't help but smile. She liked the girl's cheery attitude, especially after all she'd been through this last year. Anna wasn't particularly close with the girl, but as the leader of Phoenix Rising, Anna tried to check on her progress, or ask others how she was doing when she had time. "I'm doing really well," Anna answered when Xan turned her question back on her. And she was. Now that the tournament was over and school was almost out, Anna felt like she could finally breathe and relax. It was great! Xan asked why Anna asked her to come here and Anna inhaled slowly, trying to think about how to start this. "I wanted to talk to you about a few things." She paused for a moment and then started, "I was wondering what you think about Phoenix Rising, about what we do?" Anna planned on asking that and waiting, but she found she couldn't. She had to get the real reason out there. "How would you feel about leading them next year?" She bit the inside of her cheek nervously, waiting for Xan's response. This was a very important moment.

@xanthippe

[Deleted]

Anna said that she was doing well, and Xan offered a smile at that. She imagined that it must have been nice to be done with the Tournament. Even exams would probably seem like a breeze compared to being put in death-defying situations, so Anna was home free. Anna said that she wanted to talk about a few things, and the Ravenclaw girl nodded. The question about Phoenix Rising caught her slightly off-guard. “I mean – I believe in the cause, if that’s what you’re asking.” Xan said, furrowing her brow. Her godmother was Anna’s aunt, and also one of Xan’s personal heroes, both for what she had done during the Second Wizarding War and after it. Building a better world didn’t stop with winning a battle, and Xan thought that was beyond important to understand. “I think there’s always more that we can do to be better, though.” Xan said cautiously. It was difficult for a ragtag group of students to make much real change, but they could always prepare for their lives after Hogwarts and everything. And then the stunner came – how would she feel about leading them? “Me?” Xan repeated dumbly. Her brain was jammed, and she couldn’t get any more words out for the time being.

@annelise

[Deleted]

Anna couldn't help but smile when Xan started hesitantly answering her questions. Yeah, she probably had no idea what was about to happen, but in all honesty there wasn't really a way for Anna to bring this up smoothly. She remembered last year when she had this same sort of a meeting, but it was with Abby. Her heart fell a little as she remembered her friend. Abby was one of the reasons Anna was determined to choose someone to keep Phoenix Rising going. She wanted it to be kind of a legacy of the girl. She didn't comment to either of Xan's responses to her questions, deciding to wait until the last one. She nodded when Xan repeated the question back to her. "Yes you, Xan. James asked me to choose someone to take over the group after I leave and I think you're the right person, as long as you want to lead Phoenix Rising. What do you think?" She wasn't trying to push for an answer, but at the same time she did need one, sometime during this conversation. If Xan didn't want to lead the group, she'd have to find someone else, but she had a feeling that the girl would accept the offer.

@xanthippe

[Deleted]

Xan had almost convinced herself that she had heard Anna wrong, but the older girl confirmed what she had just said – that she wanted Xan to take over. James, another one of Anna and Hugo’s cousins and the co-founder of Phoenix Rising, had asked Anna to choose someone to take over… and Anna had chosen Xan. She was almost tempted to ask if it was because of her relationship with Hugo, but Xan found that she didn’t really want to know the answer to that. Besides, if they had wanted Hugo to lead Phoenix Rising, then they could’ve just asked Hugo. Xan wasn’t going to be second-best to anyone, even to her boyfriend. Anna said that the job was hers if she wanted it, and Xan didn’t even think before responding. “Of course I’ll do it.” She replied. She wanted to make the world a better place, and she wanted to celebrate the life that she had fought so hard for, and she wanted something bigger. “I – thank you so much!” Xan said. “I won’t let you down.” Intentions could only get someone so far, Xan knew, so this summer, she was going to need to do some real thinking to make sure that everything turned out the way she wanted it to – and Anna needed it to.

@annelise

[Deleted]

Anna was ready to wait for the girl to answer her, but Xan didn't hesitate a moment before agreeing to do it. Anna was both a little bit surprised and pleased. She knew Xan believed in the cause, but this was also a big responsibility and she didn't want to pressure her into the role. Anna grinned at her, "Oh I'm so glad. I think you'll do a great job!" She nodded, convinced that she made the right decision in who to succeed her. "Of course, I'm here if you ever need me, as is James." She nodded when Xan thanked her, but mostly just to be nice. "You'll do amazing, I know," Anna responded confidently. She wanted to make sure that Xan knew she believed in her, since she knew that would probably help give the girl more confidence in what she would be doing. "Thank you for being so willing," she added, relieved that it went so well. "Do you have any questions?" 

@xanthippe

[Deleted]

Anna said that she thought that Xan would do a great job, which was really all the Ravenclaw needed to hear. As far as skills went, she knew that she was a little behind thanks to having to repeat a year, but she knew that over the summer she’d have time to start learning and start getting ahead. Xan had a Ravenclaw’s brain, ready to churn through as much information as humanly possible while she could. Anna said that both she and James were at her disposal. Xan hadn’t personally met the oldest Potter boy, but of course she knew of him – everyone did, it seemed, and that was even before one considered that Xan was dating James’s cousin. Anna thanked her for being so willing, and Xan smiled. “What’s the point of living if you don’t take chances sometimes?” And yes, leading Phoenix Rising would be a chance, but it was one of the most worthwhile gambles she could take, Xan thought. Anna asked if she had any questions, and Xan shook her head. She didn’t have anything she needed to know immediately. If she thought of anything, it wasn’t like she didn’t have an owl.

@annelise
(end on your post?)

[Deleted]

Xan seemed to light up a bit when Anna told her that she thought the girl was right for the job and Anna was glad. She knew what it felt like to get all of this responsibility unexpectedly. She'd never expected James and Abby to ask her to help lead their group and at first she felt super stressed about it. She felt confident that Xan would be able to handle it, even though she didn't really know the girl that well. She seemed like the sort who could handle stress though, especially after her sickness and everything she went through this last year. Anna nodded with a grin, "Yes, exactly. You can do this." She thought about repeating that she was here if Xan ever needed help, but didn't want to make it sound like she didn't trust her. She shrugged when the girl said she didn't have any  other questions. "Alright then, guess I'll let you go do whatever you need to then. Thanks for meeting with me." Anna opened the door and held it for Xan, deciding that it was about time for her to go visit her boyfriend in St. Mungos again. This went better than anticipated.

--- the end ---

@xanthippe