Inside Quality Quidditch, Anora remained by Tonks' side as Charlie browsed several rows of quidditch supplies and stole a glance at the latest broom in the display window. She couldn't help the amused smile that pulled at her lips as she watched him walk around like a child at a sweets shop. No matter how many times they had ventured into the shop over the years, it was always like the first time for Charlie. He always managed to point out new products, in which Tonks and Anora would simply nod their heads and agree with whatever he was saying. Or on the occasion, if he expressed disdain over the product, they would frown and shake their heads in disapproval.

However, after a few minutes, Anora felt something sharp digging into her side, leaving her to look down and see Tonks' elbow jabbing her lightly. She met her friend's gaze, only to see the slight concern in her dark eyes. It was one of the times that Anora could tell Tonks' was joking around as she only used her natural eye colour to get her point across.

"What? What's wrong?" Anora asked her, quickly glancing around the shop to make sure everything was alright. She made note of Charlie in the distance looking completely unbothered. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You seem off today," Tonks replied, "you're quiet and every time I try to talk to you about something, you don't respond. Your mind is somewhere far away. So, what's going on with you?"

There was no sense in lying to Tonks, she knew Anora too well to play such games. But truth be told, Anora didn't even know what was possessing her to feel so melodramatic about their final year at Hogwarts. It seemed to be the only thing that continued to cross her mind over and over.

"I don't know what the hell is wrong with me," she said finally, "I keep getting wrapped up in thoughts about this being our final year and it's driving me mad. Maybe it's because I don't know what I'm going to be doing after this year. You got yourself all figured out, I'm sure Charlie is going into Quidditch or something."

"Well, it's not like you got to figure it out right now, Anora. I mean, it's months away until we graduate, you might think of something during that time. Besides, what happened to the idea of you and Charlie going off to Romania to work with dragons?"

Anora let out a loud laugh before covering her mouth with her hand as she startled an older man doing his shopping around them.

"Sorry," she muttered before turning to Tonks. "Oh, come on, Tonks. We were just joking about that."

"It didn't sound like a joke at the time."

"Yeah, but Charlie and I both know how competitive it is in the magizoology field, let alone becoming a dragonologist. You have to come highly recommended to get on any of the reserves."

Tonks crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Please, Kettleburn would use his remaining toes to write you and Charlie raving recommendations to go off and pursue careers with beasts. He adores you two, you really think he wouldn't?"

"I don't know how far Kettleburn's recommendation would go. He adores creatures, but they don't seem to adore him very much. He's as reckless as they come. I mean, who else has a bed reserved for themselves in the Hospital Wing? And besides all that, there is a reason why I wouldn't go all the way to Romania."

"And what's that?"

Anora wrapped her arm around Tonks' shoulder. "I'd miss you too much."

"Oh no, you don't!" Tonks laughed, pushing Anora's arm off. "Don't you try to use me as an excuse. You know very well that if I get into this Auror training program, I'm going to be tied up for years. You're barely going to see me, which would make more sense for you to go to Romania and then visit me. You can write me letters daily though."

"Daily?!"

Finished with his browsing, Charlie made his way over to where his best friends seemed to be in the midst of some sort of debate judging by their expressions.

"What are you two going on about over here?"

Before Anora could reply, Tonks reached her hand out and covered her mouth. "I was just telling our little Anora Nora that she...actually, both of you should go to Romania after the end of this year and work at that dragon sanctuary you two were talking about."

Immediately, Charlie's eyes wandered back over to Anora, who was fighting to get Tonks' hand away from her mouth.

"Are you actually considering it?" Charlie questioned her, not a hint of humour to his tone, but genuine curiosity. "Do you want to go?"

It took biting the inside of Tonks' middle finger to get her to remove her hand, giving Anora the opportunity to respond.

"No, I mean yes, I would love to go, but it's not like I'm actually going to go through with something like that," she answered, "my parents would kill me. Your parents would kill you."

Charlie couldn't argue that, already hearing his mother's scolding echoing in his head like a personal Howler.

"Anora's right," he told Tonks, "Our parents would never let us go."

Tonks shook her head at them. "And that's the beauty of this whole thing, they don't have a say anymore. Once this year is over, we are set to do whatever we want to do. We can be Aurors, quidditch players, magizoologists, or sit around on our arses all day and drink Butterbeer."

During her little inspirational speech, Tonks' hair had fluctuated through several variations of green and yellow, visibly showing her passion and excitement.

"You've been giving this a lot of thought, haven't you?" Anora asked her.

"I've been waiting for this moment. After this year, we are free."

After spending the majority of the afternoon in the company of her best friends, Anora had to say her final goodbyes as she had promised her father that they would share dinner together. She travelled home to drop off her school supplies near her trunk and to make sure that Iggy was fed and comfortable before leaving again. Gerald had already decided on heading down to the local pub in town. Since Alfriston was not known for a large wizarding community, it was the perfect place for father and daughter to share in a meal uninterrupted.

"So, did you get everything you needed off your list?" Gerald asked after placing their drink order.

Anora nodded, only to see an odd look on her father's face. "What?"

"I know I said it earlier today, but I just can't believe you're going into your seventh year," Gerald sighed. "Your mother and I joked about how you were growing up so fast and yet, I guess it wasn't really a joke, was it? Here you'll be graduating and heading off to start your own life."

"Yeah, about the whole starting your own life thing, Dad," Anora interjected, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course, sweetheart."

"When you told your parents that you wanted to be a quidditch player, how did they react? Were they upset?"

"My parents? No, not upset but maybe more worried," Gerald answered. "I think they were nervous initially about more of my financial situation. They kept pushing me to look into higher-paying jobs like becoming a Healer or an Auror, but none of that interested me. I knew I wanted to play Quidditch. When I was signed onto the Magpies, I brought in a lot of extra money, and I was able to help them out a bit more. They didn't make a lot between the two of them but once they knew I could live comfortably, they were happy for me. Your mother's parents on the other hand..."

"Yeah, they didn't approve of Mum being a Beater, right?"

"They still give her hell for it." Gerald shook his head in annoyance. "A renowned Beater worldwide, mind you, and they still won't come to terms with it because it's not ladylike or however your grandmother wants to put it. Distinguée? A load of rubbish if you ask me. Too wrapped up in traditions and gender roles. Anyways, why do you ask? Are you looking into becoming a quidditch player?"

Anora grew quiet for a moment, wringing her hands together under the table. "No, sorry," she said, "I've just been thinking about what I want to do after Hogwarts, you know? I want to do something with creatures, but I wasn't sure how you and Mum were going to react."

For a second, Gerald almost looked offended that his daughter felt nervous confessing such a thing to him but quickly recovered as he offered a sincere smile when their drinks were set down in front of them. "Anora, your mother and I have only wanted the best for you and the best means that you're happy and you're healthy. If you want to work with creatures, there is no shame in that. You've always scored high in Care for Magical Creatures, if you want to study unicorn herds or hippogriff migration patterns, who am I to stop you?"

"What about dragons?"

Taking the perfect opportunity to pose such a question just when her father went in for a sip of his drink, Anora could only watch as Gerald suddenly choked on his beer and started coughing loudly inside the pub. And if there wasn't enough attention on them after that, Gerald screeching "DRAGONS!" had captured quite the audience. He waved everyone off around him, assuring the other patrons that he was fine, by raising his glass. But as soon as everyone turned back to their own business, Gerald quickly returned his attention to Anora.

"Dragons?" he repeated. "Why dragons? Do you know how dangerous they are?"

"Yes, Dad, I actually do know how dangerous they are, I've been scoring high in Care for Magical Creatures for a reason," Anora countered. "And isn't it also dangerous to participate in a sport where you have to balance on a broom high in the air with enchanted ball launching themselves at you to knock you off? Not to mention, other players trying their hardest to knock you off your broom? You just said regardless of gender that Mom is the best worldwide- "

"Now, now, Anora," Gerald interrupted her, "my concern has nothing to do with the fact that you are a young woman, but rather the fact that dragons are extremely dangerous. Yes, Quidditch can be dangerous, I will agree, but dragons are a whole other level. Are you actually considering such a career?"

Under normal circumstances, Anora would have carried on the argument with her father, stating that danger was danger, and she could technically get hurt following any dream that she had. But seeing the concerned look in her father's eyes, and how his voice quivered with worry, she decided against it.

"No," she said after a few seconds before forcing a smile to her lips, "I was just joking with you, Dad. I wanted to see what your reaction would be, that's all."

There was a loud sigh of relief that nearly echoed when Gerald released it before he started laughing. "You're still one cheeky devil, that was a good one."

"Yeah, totally got you."

What started off as a joke over the summer, had quickly become a festering thought in Anora's mind as time carried on. Seeing her father's reaction, she told herself to think of something else, like working with unicorns or hippogriffs, but neither one of them appealed to her like dragons did. For the next several nights, her dreams were filled with dragons and working at what she imagined the sanctuary to look like from all of Professor Kettleburn's stories she had heard over the years. Of course, Charlie was there because Anora knew it was a dream of his too, even if he tried to play it off as she did. Really, the only thing that was holding them back was the fear of disappointing their parents.

Waking up in the middle of the night one evening, Anora lied in bed staring up into the darkness of her room. Once again, her sleep was interrupted from waking up abruptly from a dream involving dragons, only this time, it involved sitting in a field surrounded by the massive creatures and finding herself at peace. Perhaps it was Iggy shifting beside her as he slept that had truly caused her to wake up.

"Damn you, Tonks," Anora groaned, "this is all your fault, giving me hope and dreams! What kind of best friend are you?"

Hearing her own words, Anora couldn't help but laugh shamefully at herself, knowing damn well Tonks wasn't at fault in the slightest. Hell, if it had been the other way around and Anora knew that Tonks was fighting the idea of becoming an Auror just because her parents didn't like the idea of it, Anora would have told her the same thing.

"Sometimes I think Tonks would have been great in Gryffindor," Anora said as Iggy pawed at her gently. "Better than me some days."

To put her back to sleep so she didn't spend the whole evening having an existential crisis, Iggy began purring loudly, which seemed to do the trick as Anora drifted off once more. However, instead of travelling back to the dragon sanctuary, her dreams took her back to the Sorting Ceremony.

The train ride itself had turned out to be loads of fun for Anora with Charlie, Tonks, and of course, Iggy, in her company. From discussing Anora's parents to the size of Charlie's family and Tonks' abilities as a metamorphmagus, there was plenty to talk about to pass the time. Eventually, though, they did arrive at Hogsmeade Station, it was already dark out as they shuffled their way off the train. A loud, booming voice called for their attention and asked them to follow. It was only after stumbling down a dark path, festering with gnarly roots of the surrounding trees, did Anora and the others finally get a glimpse of the man directing the First Years.

It had taken many of them by surprise to find a man that stood almost as wide as he was tall, towering over all of them as if he were a giant. Anora's hold around Iggy tightened in slight fear, until the man who introduced himself as Rubeus Hagrid to listening ears, smiled in their direction. His job was to get them across the Black Lake, pointing out the line-up of small rowboats that were already halfway settled in the water.

Once climbing in with Charlie's assistance, Anora sat down near the bow of the boat and leaned over to peer into the dark water. Wondering how they were going to get across if they didn't have any oars to row themselves, Anora was suddenly thankful that she didn't ask such a question out loud as the boat lurched forward, following Hagrid's boat that remained in the centre. Steered by magic, the boats glided across the Black Lake, and Anora found herself reaching her hand down to touch the water as they went along.

Arriving at the castle grounds several minutes later, Hagrid approached Anora and told her that Iggy wouldn't be able to attend the feast with her but would be waiting in her room when she arrived later on. She instantly became hesitant about releasing her kitten into the arms of a stranger; however, Iggy didn't come across as apprehensive at all as he leapt down from her arms and purred against Hagrid's leg.

It also didn't help settle her nerves as they entered the castle and were greeted by a stern-faced witch that greeted them and told them to line up in alphabetical order to prepare for the Sorting Ceremony. Without Iggy or her friends to distract her, Anora became hyper-aware of the whispering taking her place as she made her way towards the front of the line.

"Look at her hair, it's white! Why does it look like that? Is she a hundred years old or something?"

Biting the inside of her cheek, Anora did her best to keep her head held high, remembering her mother's words, even if she looked like everyone else, someone would have found fault with her. Don't listen to them, she told herself, don't listen.

The stern-faced witch introduced herself as Professor Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration Professor of the school, as well as the Deputy Headmistress. She instructed all the First Years to follow her as they entered the Great Hall. And as they entered through massive double doors, Anora took in her surroundings. Four long tables with benches on either side of them, took up the majority of the hall, two on each side, allowing a path down the middle. Ahead, it appeared the rest of the staff of the school were seated behind a podium and before them was a stool with a rather raggedy old hat seated upon it.

Unsure of what to expect, Anora stood behind another student quietly, stealing a few glances around the room, until she was startled by the Sorting Hat, that started to sing:

Come closer, listen to the song of Sorting,

Because that, dear children, is what I do.

The Sorting Hat the Four named me,

And I'm here to provide a service to you.

There's nothing you can hide from me,

Your mind will become a book to read.

Try me on so I can see,

Just where you will fit perfectly.

From chivalry to bravery,

Maybe Gryffindor will be your home

Value the daring and nerve,

And the world is yours to roam.

Or perhaps wisdom and learning,

Is your mind's call.

Expect to always find your witty kind

In lovely Ravenclaw

Maybe you belong in Hufflepuff,

Home of the patient and loyal.

But don't be fooled, my friends,

For badgers are unafraid of toil.

Or perhaps it is Slytherin,

Where you will find your drive.

Known to be ambitious and resourceful,

Let your cleverness thrive

With sadness I say,

The Great Four are no more,

Only I survive,

But come and sit upon the stool, dear children

And let me see where you reside.

Caught off guard by the Sorting Hat singing, Anora could only redirect her attention back to current events when the first child had already been sorted. She flinched when the Hat called out "SLYTHERIN!" was followed up by the loud cheering from one of the tables, and polite applause from the others. There were only two other children in front of her and part of her wished she could sneak to the back, but with McGonagall looking over them, it didn't seem possible.

Before she knew it, Anora found her name being called.

"Forney, Anora."

A sense of dread washed over as she made her way to the stool and sat upon it. But just before the Sorting Hat was lowered on her head, she caught sight of Charlie and Tonks in the back, giving her two thumbs up. A smile formed and she could feel her nerves calm down in the slightest before the Sorting Hat covered her eyes.

It was a startling experience of hearing a foreign voice inside her head that didn't belong to her own thoughts. She thought about what the Sorting Hat had said, regarding the four houses, she had to admit, she liked the sound of Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Although she knew she was slightly biased toward Ravenclaw because that had been her father's house when he attended.

Her mother had not attended Hogwarts, attending Beauxbatons in her youth, so Anora didn't have her side to consider.

"It is not the house of your parents or family that determines your placement," the Sorting Hat suddenly told her, "But what you value the most."

"But I don't know what I value," Anora replied. "I don't even know what half of those words you said meant."

There was a soft chuckle in response. "Well, you may not know what you value, but looking into your mind, I think I have a fairly good idea. You would do well in Slytherin, there is the desire of ambition that travels in your thoughts. However, there is something else that you value far more."

"What's that?"

"Courage."

"But- "

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The dream ended for Anora and it was quite clear that the Sorting Hat had been right because when it came to pursuing her own ambitions, she was still wanting to find that sense of courage.