Mountain Fold (Oliver Wood)

Chapter Thirteen

Anna was prepared. Armed with her instruction book and a nice piece of maroon paper, she was ready to complete the task that Charlie Weasley had given her. Set up in an empty classroom, by herself, she was ready to put her origami skills to the test and make a large-than-average very complicated paper lion.

Thankfully it didn't take her as long to finish the paper lion as it had taken Zinnia, she didn't want to spend her entire Sunday making it. She didn't have too many problems with it and was proud of her finished product. She stared at the maroon lion and contemplated whether she should enchant it to make it lifelike or use a growth charm on it first. With Bazza she had enchanted it first since she wasn't sure if the enchantments she used would work as well on something so large.

Since it had worked so well with Bazza she decided to make it lifelike first. She used the enchantment that she knew off by heart now. Back during her first year, when she was on her first holiday, her Mother had used them on one of the pieces of origami she made, Anna had loved it so much that she begged her Mother to teach them to her. Her Mum showed her what to say and how to wave her wand, even writing it done for her since she probably wouldn't remember how to do it and she could try it until she got back to Hogwarts.

The lion looked up at her before jumping around playfully on her hand, wagging its tail at her. She gave it an odd look.

"I'm pretty sure you're meant to be a big cat not a little dog."

It tilted its head at her, then rolled over like it was demanding belly scratches. She used one of her fingers to tickle it making one of its back paws thump against her hand. She placed it on the ground where it immediately started chasing its tail.

"Ah sit."

The lion sat still on the ground and puffed its chest out with pride.

"Okay, stay still."

The lion sat as still as a statue, not even moving a muscle, not that it had muscles.

She waved her wand and muttered the incantation at the lion and it slowly started to grow. She wasn't sure how big to make it, every time she went to stop it looked odd. It felt strange looking a lion the size of a small dog, so she kept making it bigger and bigger until she realised that she might have taken it too far.

Charlie had said that he wanted the lion to be bigger than her other creations, but he didn't say that he wanted a lion-sized lion. Anna had no idea what to do, it looked weird if she shrinks it but if she didn't then she would have to deal with a giant paper lion. She could see that the lion was starting to tremble with its want to move and play.

She quickly decided to ask Charlie what to do. The only problem being that she didn't feel it was a good idea to leave the excitable lion on its own, if it escaped then Anna had no idea what it would do, and it might get noticed by the Gryffindor quidditch team. Not to mention if someone walked into the room they would probably have a heart attack.

She poked her head out of the classroom, having no idea what to do, she hoped someone would walk passed and she could ask them to go get Charlie. Someone was walking passed, the Gryffindor Keeper, the tryouts were months ago so she couldn't really remember his name. Anna still remembered vividly when she hit him in the face with a paper plane, he probably didn't remember, and it was even less likely that he would remember her face. But she would never forget.

In that moment Anna felt as though she would rather have gone back into the classroom, curled up in a little ball in the corner of the room and waited for Darian and Zinnia to find her than have to talk to the Gryffindor Keeper. But she focused herself to talk, trying to get his attention.

"Ah...hey." She barely had her head poking out the door. She remembered that Charlie had told her that he didn't want the quidditch team to know what she was making so she was trying to not let the Gryffindor see what was in the room. It probably looked very dodgy.

"Hey," he replied hesitantly.

"You... you know Charlie Weasley, right? Umm, would you mind getting him for me?"

"Why?" He asked. Anna was at a lose for a second, she didn't know what to tell him with telling him the truth. She wasn't good at lying so she tried to tell him a half truth.

"I need to... ah talk to him?" She didn't sound very certain of herself. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, it's almost like he thought she was going to try to assassinate the Gryffindor quidditch captain.

"Okay," he told her reluctantly and went to look for Charlie, she sighed in relief and closed the door. She waited nervously for him to come, not taking her eyes off the lion in the room.

"You can move now."

Anna expected the lion to start jumping around happily and was surprised when it got up slowly. That was until it gave her the look. She was something she recognised from when her dog did it. He would make eye contact with her (not that the lion had eyes) and go completely still for a second before going all out with excitement and attention.

And just as she expected the lion pounced at her, putting its paws on her shoulders, and nuzzling her face. She was glad that the paper lion wasn't as heavy as a real lion, but she was still unprepared enough that she fell back onto the floor.

That is how Charlie Weasley found her, being nuzzled to death by a paper lion.