Anya leaned over the papers she had spread out across the desks, running a hand through her long, blonde hair and exhaling deeply.

Bill Weasley, who was skimming through a book on Charms, looked up at her with a soft smile on his face. "Is this magazine causing you more trouble than you thought it would?"

She shook her head, sliding a sheet from one side of the table to the other. "No, it's not that. I've got the connections to produce it, and I know the profits will outweigh the costs, but I'm reviewing the submissions we've had from people who want to be writers, or editors, or photographers, or even just want to stir up trouble, and I think I've made a mistake."

"What's that?"

"I'm going to have to apologise to Achilles Spalding and tell him he's more than a prick with an inflated ego after all."

Bill let out a bark of surprised laughter.

"I'm serious!" Anya scowled. "He was talking about how good he was, and I really laid into him, but it turns out he's one of the most talented writers in the school by far."

A tentative knock on the door to the empty classroom they were using made Anya look up, hair falling into her eyes once again. She pushed it away with an irritated flick of her head.

"I can come back if this is not a good time," the girl suggested.

"No, it's alright," Bill welcomed her in. "How can we help?"

"I'm Nadine," she said, as if that explained it.

"Of course!" Anya smoothed down her uniform, even though it was already pristine. "Bill, would you be a darling and close the door behind her?"

He frowned, curiosity clouding his expression, but he did as she asked anyway.

"Thank you," Anya winked at him before turning her attention to Nadine. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to put this bluntly: I need an empath on the editing team."

Bill chuckled but it quickly turned into a fake cough at the look Anya shot him.

"You mean I can be part of the newspaper? That's amazing! Thank you so much!" Nadine was practically bouncing with joy. "I thought this was supposed to be an interview. Not that I don't want the job! I just—"

"It's alright," Anya reassured her. "You deserve the job. I've seen how you have a unique talent for co-existing with Slytherins and still maintaining a moral compass. Most people don't last a day once the smell of the dungeons sinks into their pores."

"You have a moral compass," Bill interjected defensively.

She raised an eyebrow. "Do I? I'm starting what is essentially a gossip column and encouraging the younger years to help me. If something gets me praise and puts down my enemies, I'm not sure I could stop myself from publishing it." She suddenly remembered Nadine's presence in a rush of shame. "Which is why we need Nadine. She can keep a lid on things that are unnecessarily spiteful."

"I think the fact that you realise this and are willing to act against it proves your morality," Bill muttered, picking up his charms book once more.

Anya ignored him. "I've called a meeting for all the interested parties I've decided to invite to write, photograph, edit, etcetera for the magazine, and we have a lot to cover before they get here. Are you up for it?"

Nadine grinned. "You bet!"

By the time the other students started filing in for the meeting, Nadine's head was spinning.

Anya had taken her through all her plans for the paper, and she'd been so kind and open about it all. (Was this what it felt like to have an older sister? She'd need to collect more data to be sure.)

Anya clapped her hands twice, drawing Nadine's attention back to the present.

"Welcome to the first school-run newspaper," she announced. "Since the older years have for the most part refused to participate, we'll just have to show them what they're missing out on."

Nadine, who had heard her whispering this speech to herself in practice a couple times over the last few hours, resisted cheering.

"Our first issue will be out in two weeks, and we will publish on a bi-weekly basis from then on," Anya instructed.

"Excuse me for interrupting," Delilah Nott, a Slytherin girl who had applied to be writer. "But you missed the part where you told us what our involvement in the newspaper is."

Anya swallowed the word 'impatient' and instead nodded. "That's fair. The main writers are to be yourself and Achilles, with Mur— I mean, McNully writing the Quidditch news. Lisa will follow with the fashion and illustrations, with Caleb and Marcus doing photography. Penny will do interviews, and the two of you writers can write them up. Bill, Nadine, and I along with the rest of you on a rotating basis will edit it and send it off. Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Delilah replied. Anya knew it was a dig of some kind, but she chose to take it as a compliment to her leadership skills.

Achilles smirked. "You liked my writing, then?"

"More like all the older years thought it was above them, so she's stuck with you," Marcus, a third year, scoffed. "Lisa and I are only doing it as a favour to Anya."

"You'll learn the lesson not to cross a writer pretty soon, then," Delilah shot back, earning an impressed nod from Achilles.

"Whatever," Marcus' eyes lit up as he seemed to think of a barb. "We all know why Bill's doing it, anyway."

To his credit, Bill didn't even look up from his book.

"Yes, because he's my best friend," Anya snapped. "You're a valuable member of this team, Marc, but it's still a team."

"Well, I'm super excited to get started!" Penny pitched in, cleverly diverting the attention away from the boiling fight. "What's the plan?"

Anya's mouth curved into a smile. Finally, they were getting back on track.

The meeting split up into smaller groups, most of the second years thrilled about being chosen.

Achilles and Delilah had their heads bent over one of the articles they'd submitted to Anya, and Achilles was scribbling over it in red ink.

Penny, Nadine and McNully were discussing their ideas, McNully practically glowing as he talked about his special interest.

Anya was talking to Lisa about her column, leaving Caleb and Marcus to make awkward conversation about photography.

After clearing his throat for the third time, Marcus finally spoke up. "You like photography, then?"

"Yep." Caleb examined the ceiling tiles.

"Get your camera and show me."

"What? I—" Realising it wasn't worth the fight, he agreed. "Sure, why not?"

Caleb trekked over to the Gryffindor common room at the pace of a snail, keen to avoid returning to Marcus.

"Hey, man!" Evan grinned at him as he stepped through the portrait hole. "How was the meeting?"

"Not over yet," he grumbled. "'Marc' wants me to show him my photography so he can look at it judgily. Did I leave my camera here?"

"You sure you don't want to say you can't find it?" Zoë called from her window seat.

"I wish. Ah!" He saw it perched precariously on the mantlepiece and snatched it off. He turned it over in his hands, mentally calculating how long he could stand there before he had to go back, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

At first, he thought he'd somehow scratched the fireplace with his camera, but when he moved closer, he realised what it was.

It was an intentionally carved symbol of a C and a V overlapping.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard himself say 'that'll make for a nice A4 illustration to fill up space in our project'.

"Holy shit."

He wasn't going back to that meeting anytime soon, that was for sure. 

A/N

sorry this is a day late 😫😫

anyway here's anya & bill! romance at its finest 

the magazine crew I'm is pretty cool (if I do say so myself) and I can't wait to see what they produce! (wink wink) 

the vaults are FINALLY getting started, so the next chapter will focus on those and a little on the ghostly apprenticeships! 

I had so much more planned to say but I forgot haha

omg when do you want another update/what days are best? 

thoughts/comments/requests for your character here!! 

love, Im <33