home invasion and tied strings

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June 25, 1977
3:18 pm
Leaky Cauldron

Anneliese and Leo were standing shoulder to shoulder, staring in the mirror in front of them with completely serious expressions, neither looking at themselves and only the other.

They had been in this state for a solid ten minutes, neither of them speaking and just trying to get a good grasp on each other when everything had been so sporadic for the past week or so with all of the trips to St. Mungo's and maintenance done to Leo's injuries.

"Do you think that Remus is going to care about my scar?" Anderson asked in a tiny voice. "On my cheek. They didn't get to that cut in time, and I think it was too deep for them to completely erase it."

"Oh, Leo, that doesn't matter," Anneliese assured him, tightly gripping his hand. "Scars just show that you're strong, stronger than most people. Besides, it looks pretty badass. Peter Parker would be impressed."

Leo sighed deeply, lightly tracing his fingertips over the thin pinkish line going from the end of his ear to the corner of his mouth. The skin felt odd and different from the way it was risen and rough compared to the smoothness of the rest of his face, and he hated it.

The smile faded from Anneliese's face as she realized she wasn't going to be able to comfort him at the moment.

Leo wasn't in the mood to feel sorry for himself right now, he was in the mood to beat the shit out of whoever had done this to him and why it had happened in the first place.

"Did you ever get to see who the Death Eater was?" Leo asked, looking at Anneliese's eyes through the mirror. "Age, appearance, all that?"

"They were our age, nothing that odd about them besides kinda pale eyes," Callaway replied. "Or maybe just a few years older than us, actually. But they just called me a mudblood and were done with it before I broke his nose."

"That's not much to go off of," Leo grumbled, rubbing his forehead and resting his forearms on the countertop. "All they said to me was asking about a blue light.. and then they left me alone when you came out."

Anneliese felt a pit shoot through her stomach, but then immediately convinced herself that she just hadn't heard what he said correctly.

"They asked you about what?" Callaway prompted, walking out of the bathroom and into the main bedroom. "What did they want to know?"

"A blue light," Leo repeated with a roll of his eyes. "As if I'm supposed to know what the fuck they're talking about. It's probably some of their cult bullshit, like I thought America was wildling but here it's just- Anneliese?"

Anneliese had sat down on the edge of his bed, a completely breathless sensation overtaking her, like there was a hand at her throat that she just couldn't get rid of.

"Woah, what's wrong?" Leo asked, rushing to her side and gripping her hands tightly. "Talk to me, A, don't be quiet, come on."

"This is all my fault.." she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "Oh my lord, Leo, this is all my fault, they thought that you would know about it because you were with me, and I- I was the one who- oh my god-"

"Slow down," Leo said in a calm voice, trying not to let the pain creep into his tone. "What the hell are you saying, A? Do you know about what they were talking about?"

"No, L, I made what they were talking about," Anneliese said, suddenly rising and starting to walk to the door. "I did something stupid, dumb, reckless, so dumb, and somehow they found out- but how-"

"Anneliese, what did you do?" Anderson asked her, standing up as well and shutting the door behind him. "You didn't make one of those spells again, did you-"

"Yes-" Callaway started, then shook her head. "Well, yes, I did, but the spell itself wasn't what caused the light- well, I used the spell on the wand and the wand was the thing that caused the light- does that make sense?"

"Literally, no," Leo called after her. "A, where the hell are we going?"

"We're going to Ollivanders," she said over her shoulder, breaking into a jog through the ever so busy pub. "Or you don't have to come, but I need to check something like right now."

"Ah, the constant bullshit of me not having to come," Anderson sighed with a shake of his head, starting to run as well. "What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't?"

Callaway just flashed him a meager smile and then held up her hand so that she could walk in first and see if Ollivander was in the front room and would see Leo coming in.

The wandmaker, thankfully, was working upstairs based on the pacing footsteps she could hear from the thin ceiling and the missing scales on the table where they usually rested.

"You're good," Anneliese mouthed, giving him a thumbs up through the glass so that he jogged up and walked in the door with a jingle of the copper bell. "Okay, so, don't touch anything. I need to see if anything is out of place."

Leo nodded, and politely opened the door for her so that Callaway could walk in first.

Her eyes carefully scanned the dresser, the bedside table, the desk, and her bed, but all of those things appeared to be exactly how she left them upon leaving after she worked on her other wand for six hours that morning.

Anneliese knelt down on the floor in front of her bed, lifted up the side of her mattress, and let out an enormous exhale of relief that the wand and her notebook, the two most dangerous things she owned, were in place.

"All clear?" Leo asked, kneeling down by her on the carpeted wooden floor. "Jesus fucking Christ, A, why the hell is it glowing-"

"I know, okay, I know," Callaway sighed, staring at the wand as if it was looking back at her. "It's bad, but I don't want to destroy it, because if it made that much of a mess when it was created, then I don't want to know what kind of power would be released if I snapped it."

"So, let me get this straight," Leo said, now also using a hand to hold up the mattress. "You used a spell to make a crazy powerful wand which caused the blue light.."

Anneliese nodded tightly, the silvery glow of the wand burning itself into her vision the longer that she stared at it in the only lamp lit room.

"And somehow the Death Eaters found out and knew it was powerful somehow," he continued, brow scrunched in confusion. "And are now willing to literally give someone a scar because they might know about the power source?"

"I guess so," Anneliese sighed. "It's crazy to me as well. I just don't get how they're that power hungry that they use every sign of power they find as a thing to try and take over."

"I'm more concerned about them knowing that it was you and not Ollivander doing it," Leo replied with a small frown. "Like, no one could see you do it, could they? Please tell me you didn't try something that powerful in the front room.."

Anneliese just avoided eye contact and scratched her nose while humming in the most guilty way humanly possible for a person hum American Pie.

"OH MY GOD A-" Leo shouted, standing up and letting the mattress fall down back onto it's wooden frame with a heavy thunk.

"I FUCKING KNOW, OKAY!" Anneliese shouted back, running a hand through her hair as she stood up as well. "IT WAS STUPID! I JUST HAD THE IDEA AFTER WE SAW THEM AND I DIDN'T- I DIDN'T EVEN THINK IT WAS GOING TO WORK-"

"Of course it was going to work, A," Leo groaned, holding his head in his hands. "You made it, and since when has one of your spells not worked?"

"I just want to get rid of it," Anneliese said with a small frown. "The last thing I want is for someone who shouldn't getting their hands on that wand or notebook.. they're too powerful. I can only imagine what the Death Eaters would do if they all had these wands."

"Okay, well then get rid of it," Leo said, bending back down to grab the wand. "We can find a way-"

"Don't touch it!" Anneliese cried, shoving his hand away from the mattress in a split second before he could even lift it up more than a few inches. "Don't."

"ANNELIESE, WHAT THE HELL AREN'T YOU TELLING ME?" shouted Anderson, standing up to his full height furiously. "IF THIS IS THE THING THAT PUT ME IN A HOSPITAL FOR A WEEK THEN I DESERVE TO KNOW THE FULL PICTURE!"

Callaway took a step back from him, fists clenched and nostrils flaring before lifting up the side of her shorts to show him the gruesome mark that the wand had left on her skin and still wasn't coming off.

All of the anger on Leo's face dissolved into worry as she tugged the fabric back down over the grey patch where all of her veins were suddenly so visible even against the dark flesh.

"Yea," Anneliese said, anger in her tone aimed at no one but herself. "Ollivander came down after the flash and I shoved it in my waistband to hide it, and it hurt like the devil until I took it off.. but it left this and it's not coming off."

Leo just watched in shock as she lifted up the mattress and pulled out the glowing wand with her bare hand.

"And look," Anneliese said, having it flat against her palm for a few seconds before placing it back down on the bed. "It left a mark and still hurt just now, but the pain and the grey fades. So as long as I don't touch it for too long, I can still use it."

"Use it?" Leo asked dubiously as he watched the darkness sink back unto her skin, no longer at the surface. "That's a joke, right? That's not even just about creating things anymore, it's just-"

"It is still about creating things if I can just find a way to make it safe to the touch and conceal the glow," Anneliese countered. "Then really, what's the harm?"

Leo stared at her for a few more seconds before just shaking his head and using a blanket to pick up the wand cautiously and put it back under the mattress safely.

They were going to have to come back to this later when she wasn't so heated, because when Anneliese was in this mood, there was no convincing her that she was wrong.

"Well, if you're not going to answer that one, then I have another question," Callaway said tightly. "Why the actual hell did that Healer tell me that no Leo Anderson had entered the country?"

"She said what?" he asked with confusion and both eyebrows raised. "I thought that we needed Mrs. Potter for something else-"

"No, it was about you not legally entering the country," Anneliese replied. "Leo, I'm all for you coming here and getting away from your mom, but it's not like you're a fugitive. At least do it safely."

"No, I did," Leo said indignantly. "They had to like check in my wand and then they pulled out a file that matched and that was it."

"Well, did you steal that wand?" Anneliese asked with a raised eyebrow. "I fail to see how that mistake was made, L. Do you have an alter identity that I don't know about?"

"Yes, I'm really Spider Man," Leo said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and shoving his hands in his pockets. "My gay awakening was looking in the mirror."

"You're annoying," Anneliese snapped, yet there was a tiny smile on her face. "I guess we can just blame the mess up on the stupid British Ministry?"

"As if Picquery and MACUSA are any better," Anderson grumbled. "Well, actually, you know, we don't have damn Death Eaters who are physcotic for power, so maybe America is doing something right."

"They don't have as many blood issues as we do here," Anneliese countered. "It was only a few kids, not half the damn school."

"Well I'm glad I'm at least a halfblood then," Leo muttered. "And hopefully I don't get sorted into- that house with all those pureblood assholes is Slytherin, right? Well, I don't want Ravenclaw either after what they did to you-"

"I think you'll get Hufflepuff or Gryffindor," Anneliese said truthfully. "Hoping for Gryffindor, though- actually you would all kill each other in the dorms- what is that?"

Anderson was sheepishly holding two bracelets made of light blue and cranberry colored string, messily woven yet apparently durable.

"I made these at St. Mungo's," Leo said with an embarrassed grin. "I was bored as hell, and the Ilvermorny colors are this reddish color and blue, so I thought that it would be cool if we could put them on the opposite wrist as our matching tattoos-"

"Oh, Leo, you truly are a Puff," Anneliese said as she took hers and tied it around her right wrist. "Making friendship bracelets like we're in our second year-"

"Shut the hell up," Leo said, using his teeth to tie his. "And this doesn't come off, okay? Because you have to cut it to get it off, and then the bracelet and therefore our friendship is ruined for forever."

"Uhm, Leo-" Callaway started with a raised eyebrow, but Anderson immediately held up his hand to cut her off, knowing what she was about to say.

"And premarital sex is unholy, so don't even start with me about that," Leo said, desperately trying to keep a straight face. "And even if you did, always use protection-"

"Leoo," Anneliese groaned, resting her forehead against the wall. "Shut up. Do you really think that I'm going to be that dumb after how many of those girls at the Wings got pregnant?"

"Fair point," Leo said with a shrug, but his tone was serious. "But for real, be careful, A."

"I know," whispered Callaway, tone suddenly dropping as she shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not going to fuck up my life like that. Obviously. Now I actually have something that I'm working towards."

"And that is?" Leo asked with both his brows raised. "Please don't say-"

"Finding out a way to either destroy this wand safely or be able to use it," Anneliese interrupted, and he sighed in exasperation. "Shut up, okay? I really-"

"HOLY SHIT!" Anderson squealed, abruptly jumping up onto her bed as a rat scurried from under her bed. "YOU NEED PEST CONTROL-"

"LEO, CALM DOWN!" Anneliese shouted as she shooed the rat out the door with her shoe. "Some people here keep those things as pets. It could be worse."

"It can always be worse when it comes to those things."

July, 8 1977
6:47 pm
Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor

Anneliese was completely confident that she was having the most pathetic summer of all time.

All she had done was worked on her wand every morning for six hours, thought about how to make the more dangerous one work, applied the ointment to the mark on her hip, and hung out with Leo and Remus while thinking about Sirius.

And get attacked by Death Eaters, but that isn't really the good kind of action, is it? she thought with a frown as she absentmindedly stirred her ice cream. At least I'm not at the orphanage, right?

"Honey, that ice cream is going to melt," Alice said with a sigh from behind the bar counter where Anneliese was sitting. "We charmed it to last longer, but not as long as you've been moping here."

"Do you want to finish it?" Anneliese asked, pushing forward the completely uneaten bowl. "I don't think I can have that right now."

Alice just shrugged and grabbed a spoon, taking a very large bite of the lemon and almond ice cream that made her hold her head from a brain freeze and Anneliese laugh lightly at her pained expression.

You see, ever since Alice offered for her to come over at around seven and she would get a free bowl because she was bored, things had returned to normal between the two girls.

Alice was one of the people Anneliese had been the least frustrated with in the first place, and the nightly talk sessions for the past week or so had strengthened their friendship fully back to what it had used to be.

Frank also came around many of these times, and Callaway found herself relaxing and laughing with them just like she used to before the events of the end of the year.

Remus and Leo were both happy to see this as well, because this meant that the five of them, occasionally with Peter, could go out without too many hard feelings circulating, especially once some alcohol was added.

Okay, maybe it hasn't been so bad, Anneliese mused as she remembered going to Zonko's with Remus, Leo, Alice, Frank, and Peter a few nights ago. It's not all that boring.. but it doesn't feel whole.

"I am not moping," Callaway told Alice, who was adding sprinkles to her bowl. "I just.. you can miss someone and still be irritated with them. You know?"

"James, Sirius, Lily, Marlene, Dorcas," Alice listed with a knowing nod. "I feel the exact same way, I really do. I just don't feel like we should be the ones to reach out first.. does that make sense?"

"Totally," Anneliese replied as she decided she did want some ice cream. "And it's weird to me that James and Sirius.. they're just so close, you know? Like I never saw them without each other before this.. and it's all my fault that their friendship is totally fucked up-"

"Uhm, correction, it's James's fault that he couldn't keep it in his pants because he was tired of Lily constantly rejecting him and decided to briefly go for someone else," Alice cut her off wisely. "Not yours."

"I guess I'm just too seductive," Anneliese said with a shrug, and Alice laughed heartily. "Who knows, maybe I'll go for Frank next- ONLY JOKING, DARLIN- STOP THROWING SPOONS AT ME-"

Thankfully, Callaway was spared from the metal assault, but only because an owl swooped into the parlor and dropped a letter in front of both her and Alice before they could even recognize the bird and see who it belonged to.

"It's Marlene's handwriting," Fortescue said, immediately recognizing the penmanship with a slightly hesitant expression. "What do you think she wants?"

"Only one way to find out," Anneliese replied with a heavy sigh as she picked up the envelope with a tentative hand. "Open them together?"

Alice nodded, and both of them ripped open the seal and started to read simultaneously.

a -

potter manor - 7pm - bring swimsuit - don't worry, it's just gonna be me, you, dor, alice, and lily - i really hope you come but totally understand if you don't

love - mar

"Well.. we did just say that we wanted them to reach out first, right?" Alice said after a few seconds of staring down at the letter in shock. "So.. this is good."

"You're going?" Anneliese asked with a raised eyebrow. "But I'm confused at how we're going to Potter Manor and not seeing James, Sirius, and their parents at all. That doesn't make any sense."

"Knowing Marlene, she probably has it all figured out," Alice pointed out begrudgingly. "And I highly doubt that it's some form of elaborate trap to get you and Sirius to talk, so yea, I'm going and you are too. What better things do we have to do?"

Anneliese was suddenly very interested in finishing her ice cream.

"A, it's been a month," Alice said with a sigh. "An entire month where you haven't so much been in the same room as them. You can leave right away if you want.. just give them a chance."

"And if I don't?" Anneliese prompted. "Then what?"

"Then you're going to regret it when you spent half of your last year at Hogwarts trying to regain friendships when you should have been enjoying your last months as just a student during a war."

"Jesus, Alice."

July, 8 1977
7:04 pm
Potter Manor

Marlene, Dorcas, and Lily were all sitting on the edge of the

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