Anna Grayson and The Order of Merlin
Fun with Hair

Anna walked down the longdriveway toward the road at the bottom of the hill. The road turned and twistedthrough the huge old growth trees that surrounded the Grayson estate. Theproperty, stretching several hundred acres around her, was enchanted to deterany uninvited visitors. From the beach below the cliffs, the house was totallyinvisible to everybody in the non-wizarding world. If any Muggles, non-magicalpeople, tried to enter the grounds, they would instantly begin feeling anincreasing sense of dread as they crossed the boundaries and approached thehouse.

“Like the way I feel whenever Isee Damon,” Anna laughed to herself as she walked along. She thought abouttheir morning fight. “I’m hungry,” she said to herself, opening her lunch bagand removing the sandwich. I’m alwaysfamished after a good row, she thought, smiling again.

As she ate, Anna wondered howDamon could have turned out the way he did. In fact, Dowla and Tencha werealmost as bad as Damon. A year older than Damon, her sisters were fraternaltwins. Anna never found any middle ground with the girls. Cruel andinsensitive, they were practical jokers and pitiless toward anything theydeemed less than themselves. Whether they were Muggles, magical creatures, or evenother witches or wizards from less prominent families, the twins seemed to replacefault with everyone.

But then there was Eric. Anna’soldest brother, Eric, was nothing like the rest of the children in the family.Erradole Grayson was extremely charming and immensely kind. Anna had neverknown anybody as compassionate as her elder brother. She remembered the timewhen one of the horses she was caring for was about to give birth. Eric hadstayed up with Anna in the stables all night and into the morning before themare delivered. Unfortunately, the colt was stillborn, and Anna was devastated.She couldn’t remember a time when she had ever felt so much pain. A part of hersimply died on that very cold early morning, and she thought her heart wouldnever recover. Her father tried to comfort her, but he just couldn’t understandthe depth at which Anna felt this kind of grief. Anna wasn’t just feeling theache from the colt’s death; she could also sense the loss within the mother,and the agony in her failure.

No, Anna’sfather was not the person who understood the things she was able to sense andfeel. That awareness was found solely in her brother, Eric. It was Eric whocame to her the next night and slept in the stall with Anna and the devastatedmare, and Eric who cried with her through all the sorrow, and told her thatwhat she was feeling was a gift and not a curse. Anna sincerely loved Eric forhis empathy and willingness to listen. From that moment on, she knew she hadsomebody in the Grayson family in whom she could confide. During the longschool year when Eric was away, Anna sorely missed her big brother. In fact, itwouldn’t be long before all the Grayson children would be leaving the familyagain, leaving for Castlewood.

CastlewoodAcademy for the Magical Arts was aschool set-aside for all the children of wizarding families living in America.Settled in a remote area of Pennsylvania,Castlewood’s exact position was a secret to everybody, including the magicalcommunity. The reasons for this were never really explained to Anna, but shewas sure it had something to do with security from the dark forces around them.There were evil wizards and witches in this world. Certainly the existence ofsomebody like Damon and, in a smaller way, Anna’s two sisters, proved thatbeyond any shadow of a doubt in her mind.

Anna loved to listen to Erictalking about Castlewood and its Dynasty Unions. Castlewood Academy was made upof five Unions, whose history could be traced back a thousand years, to severalcountries in the Old World — Europe and Asia. Each Union, at some time, hadmoved its school to the New World, but over the centuries it becameincreasingly difficult to keep them out of the way of an ever-increasing Mugglepopulation. Eventually, the five schools came together to establish a newschool in the secluded Pennsylvania mountains, and it was there that CastlewoodAcademy was founded. Anna had only seen pictures of the castle and the fiveUnion walls surrounding the school that formed its ramparts. But she had alwayshoped to see the school in person, and this was the year she believed it wasgoing to happen.

Eric would be starting hisseventh and final year at Castlewood the following week. Anna was hoping shewould be allowed to travel to his graduation ceremony the following summer withher father, and watch him receive his Diploma with Merit and Achievement fromthe school. Eric was an accomplished student, and would surely be looking forCastlewood’s top scholastic honors. Graduating at the top of his class wasEric’s dream ever since he first arrived on the Castlewood grounds, and hiswork to date in attaining that goal had been impressive. Anna watched theexcitement in Eric growing over the last week as he prepared to return toschool, but she could only meet his enthusiasm with an aching dread. Anna wasgoing to miss her big brother, and she already longed for his return over theChristmas holiday.

Anna’s father, Boris EdmondAllister Grayson, was master of the Grayson estate. More than just the children’sfather, Mister Grayson viewed himself as caretaker of the family’s security andtraditions, and he always took his responsibilities very seriously. Active andenergetic, Anna’s father had a driving personality. Very tall and broad, he wasthe type of person who looked exactly like the person he was, a very powerfulman who wielded a lot of power in the wizarding world.

Mister Grayson held the post ofMinistry Director in the Office of the Wizard and Muggle Banking Cooperation.His post included ambassador responsibilities between the worldwide wizardbanking community and their counterparts in the Muggle world. From what Annacould tell, it was an extremely difficult job. The position required a wizardwith absolute and accurate knowledge of the Muggle world, and the innerworkings of their systems of government, banking, and law. On the other hand,Boris Grayson was responsible for understanding and keeping with the traditionsof the various wizard ministries, their banking methods, and international lawsgoverning the wizarding world. It was his job to ensure the transferal ofriches, investment, and venture between these two worlds proceeded smoothly andwithout difficulty. The Banking Cooperation represented the only safe conduitand contact between these two groups. Her father always said it was strangethat two such systems, totally oblivious to the manner in which worldly goodswere sent and received, should know so little about each other. In fact, it washer father’s job to ensure things stayed that way. The two economies weretotally dependent on each other in a way only Anna’s father truly understood.His position sometimes put him in the center of world affairs and requiredpersonal contact with many of the heads of state both in robes and inpinstripes.

But to Anna, Boris Grayson wasjust her daddy. He was kind and endearing, and Anna loved him very much. Theyhad been through a lot together. This was especially true recently, when it wasdecided Anna would go to a Muggle school. It was hard for Anna to accept thisdecision, even though it happened more than a year ago, but there was really noother option open to her. This was because Anna, unlike her brothers andsisters, never received her invitation to Castlewood after her eleventh birthday.In truth, nobody in her family expected an invitation to arrive like it did forall of the other Grayson children, because, since her birth almost thirteenyears ago, Anna had never shown any magical abilities.

This, however, wasn’t the casefor her brothers and sisters. By the age of five, Damon was flying about theestate on his door. Unlike most of the European wizards and witches, mostAmericans didn’t use brooms for their transportation. They used various doorsinstead. Just as handy and well-disguised from Muggle scrutiny, Americans itseemed, preferred the conveniences of standing as well as sitting while theytraveled. And, on the occasion that a Muggle might notice something abnormal,it was easier to explain a swinging door than a broom hopping about a room onits own.

Anna’s sisters were alsoshowing increasing magical capabilities at a very early age. Gabby still talkedabout the footprints that had to be washed off the walls and ceilings as theyoung girls ran about the house playing with each other. But there were nomagical games of fun where Anna was concerned, and maybe that was the rootcause of all the trouble between herself and her siblings. Over the years theytormented her at every opportunity, knowing it was impossible for Anna to defendherself. Her father and Eric did their best to keep their torments in check,but they couldn’t be there all of the time, and Anna paid the price. Many werethe times she had found herself waking up stuck to the ceiling of her bedroom.Then there was the time Anna was left in the forest buried up to her neck inmossy dirt, held down by one of the enchanted trees in the backyard. It seemedDamon, Dowla, and Tencha thrived on causing her pain and suffering. But theworse part of their torments came only recently when they started school atCastlewood. It was almost as if they wanted to isolate her from the rest of thewizarding world and keep her existence a secret from all who might replace out theGraysons had a squib in the family.

“Squib…” Anna said to herselfresentfully as she continued her long walk toward the bus stop. She hated thatword. Although Damon’s recent efforts to segregate her didn’t have the effecthe had hoped, just the existence of this word alone set her painfully apartfrom the rest. “How could this have happened to me?” she asked herself,rounding the final corner to the front gates.

The huge iron gates at theGrayson entrance began to swing aside as Anna approached. Each door had anintricate metal outline of a horse and the letter “G” woven into the center ofthe figure. As Anna stopped to look at the horse, she could see it galloping ata very slow and enchanted pace. It was this place, this very spot, where thedifferences between Anna and the rest of her family became most obvious to her.Looking at the moving horse on the gate, she looked down at her feet. Sheslowly raised her right foot as if to take another step, but stopped and lookedup again at the horse. It was still running. Anna stepped forward and just asher foot touched the ground on the other side of the gate, the horse froze inmid-stride. Anna smirked.

She lifted her right footagain, this time pulling it back and placing it next to her left once more. Thehorses instantly began running again. Anna slowly leaned forward keeping herfeet in place until she found the exact spot outside the gate where the horsesstopped and started their galloping race.

“This is my real home,” Annawhispered to herself. Stuck between two worlds without any magical abilities,but possessing full knowledge of magic’s existence, she represented somethingtruly rare in the wizarding world. She was a squib, a powerless Muggle borninto a family with a very strong wizarding heritage. How could this havehappened to her? Anna’s father was an immensely powerful wizard, and from whathe had told her about her deceased mother, Victoria Grayson was also a giftedwitch in her own right. So how could it have happened? Why was Anna sodifferent?

Anna stood there, lookingdejectedly at the now frozen horses on her left and right. She continued towalk ahead, and she could hear the iron gates behind her squeaking as theyclosed. Clang, they sounded as they locked themselves tight. Annastopped and turned around. The gates and the horses were still.

“What? Can’t you perform yourlittle dance for a squib?” she yelled resentfully at them, crossing her arms.“I guess we Muggles aren’t good enough for you!” she hollered. Still nothing.“Fine!” Anna shouted angrily.

She took a step backward andthen stopped, her arms still crossed in indignation. She took another stepbackward, bringing her feet together and stopping to wait again. She sneered.She took another step back, and the gates suddenly began to ripple and distort,as if giving off an immense measure of heat as they faded into invisibility.They were gone now, and in their place lay two very large dead trees forming abarricade. This is what the Muggles saw as they approached the Grayson estate.The only reason Anna could see the gates at all, or the house for that matter,was because her father had placed a charm upon her, which countered the spellsthat existed on the grounds. Apparently, this Muggle needed extra help to livewith her own family.

Anna stood there looking at thetrees barring her path to the house above. “Good,” she said as she adjusted herbook-bag on her shoulder, “I think you look better that way anyway!”

Beep-beep, a hornsounded behind her.

“The bus!” Anna snapped, turning around tolook. She dashed down the dirt road and the last hundred yards to the finalbend to the street below. There, with its red lights blinking within a curl ofblack smoke, was the Muggle school bus. When the driver saw Anna running downthe hill, he smiled and opened the swinging door with a loud slap.

“Good morning, Anna,” sang thedriver in a happy voice.

“Hi, Mr. Anderson,” Annapanted, leaping onto the open steps and pulling her book-bag off her shoulder.“Well?” she said, breathlessly. “What’s the word?” She was staring at him withanticipation.

“She had eleven!” said thedriver, beaming with delight.

“Eleven? Eleven puppies? That’swonderful!” Anna shrieked, leaning over to hug the man. “Are they okay? Whencan I see them?”

“Any time you like, Anna. Justgive the missus a call when you think you’d like to come up,” he said. “They’reall healthy scalawags, eight girls and three little rascals. I believe theirmother is going to have her hands full with them,” he said, with some worrymoving on his face.

“Well, if they’re anything liketheir father…” Anna said, nodding her head in agreement. She smiled and touchedhis elbow, “I’ll call Mrs. Anderson tonight about a visit,” she said, in alowered voice. Anna started moving toward the back of the bus as Mr. Andersonclosed the door. She found a seat and sat down.

“Hi, Anna,” said a girl sittingin the seat in front of her.

Anna looked up, “Oh… hi,Teres,” Anna replied. Teresa Flemming was another girl who lived in a largehouse at the bottom of Grayson hill. She was nice enough, but Anna had beendoing her best to avoid her during their first week of school. Anna knew whatwas coming next.

“So, did you ask your fatherabout the sleepover?” the girl asked, adjusting her position excitedly.

“Yeah, I did,” replied Anna,searching for a nice way to tell her what she had to say. “I’m sorry, Teres. Hesaid… no.”

“No? Really? But… why?”

“Well,” Anna started slowly,“he said he would be traveling for most of the next month and he wouldn’t beable to be there to watch over us,” Anna said, hoping that would end thediscussion.

“Ohhhh…” said Teresa, stickingout her bottom lip enough to show her disappointment. But then a smile startedto form on her face once more as she spun quickly around again. “What aboutEric?” she asked, with a newly lit face. Anna knew how Teresa felt about herolder brother; the girl had a crush on Eric longer than Anna could remember.

“No,” Anna replied, with agrimace, “he’ll be leaving for school again next week.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot. Ohwell, maybe next time, then,” the girl said disappointedly, as she turned inher seat to face front. Anna hated disappointing Teresa, especially since shehad taken the time to arrange several overnight parties throughout theneighborhood. But it couldn’t be helped. How could Anna possibly arrange for aMuggle visit into her home? What would her friends at school say if they eversaw Gabby running around the house? It was for the best.

As the bus started down theroad again, Anna’s mind began to wander. She could see the trees whizzing bythem, and then noticed her reflection looking back at her in the window. Annawas a very pretty girl with shoulder-length red hair and very clear white skin.She was a bit taller than the average girls at school, with beautiful greeneyes and very straight teeth. Anna sighed as she looked at her own reflection. Mostgirls would be happy to be me, she thought to herself. But then again thereare very few Muggle girls who knew anything about the magic around them. Shewondered if it would have been better if she hadn’t known anything about thewizarding world. It was unfair to know so much, without the ability to takeadvantage of this knowledge. To her, it was like looking at the biggestChristmas present under the tree without ever being able to open it.

Anna began thinking about hermother. Victoria Grayson was her father’s second wife. His first wife, LeolaGrayson, had died very young after Damon’s birth. “Humph!” Anna grunted. Nosurprise there. Who wouldn’t die after giving birth to that, she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. The death ofVictoria Grayson was still very much a mystery to Anna. All she knew about itwas that her mother had been out hiking with her father in a remote area of Europe. Her father had told Victoriahe didn’t want her to go, especially since she was about to give birth to Anna,but her mother insisted. Apparently, she fell while on the trip and, by someunbelievable miracle, Anna was saved after her mother died. But why would anymother go running off in the woods nearly nine months pregnant? It never madeany sense to Anna, and these questions added to her frustration about being aMuggle. Could the way her mother died have anything to do with Anna being borna squib?

Anna’s father never allowed herto act like she was anything less than his other children. In fact, Annaconsidered herself extremely lucky to have a knowledgeable parent when it cameto the ways of the Muggle world. Most wizards knew almost nothing aboutMuggles, or anything about the way they live their daily lives. This isespecially true in the Old World. Sheremembered the time when the Graysons were entertaining another member of thewizard ministry, a man by the name of Arthur Weasley. Mr. Weasley was from theMisuse of Muggle Artifacts Office in London, England, andwas supposed to come for a simple dinner. He ended up staying the entire night.She thought the man would never leave their house, especially after he foundout Anna went to a Muggle school.

“Blimey,” he said, “a Muggleschool? Extraordinary! Do you think I might be able to visit the place?” Heproceeded to ask Anna a series of endless questions about the school, herfriends, and their families. It wasn’t until Mr. Weasley overheard Damontalking about Muggles in his normal insulting manner, that the ministry workerrealized he had overstayed his welcome and finally left.

Mister Grayson had taken greatcare to ensure Anna had what she needed to be successful in the non-magicalworld. He felt it was his duty to secure her future, and if that meant gettingcloser to the Muggles to do it, so much the better. In fact, it was herfather’s study of Muggles on Anna’s behalf that eventually lead to his successin his banking post at the Ministry. His knowledge and abilities had provenimmensely valuable to both Muggles and wizards alike.

Anna noticed the bus startingto slow and it finally rolled to a complete stop. Three more girls stepped intothe aisle. It was Veronica Drummond and her two sidekicks, Polly Peterson andConnie Bains. Veronica was a very pretty girl, and very popular with all theboys at school. Always immaculately groomed, her hair was pulled back in a nicebraid, delicately woven and held together with blue clips to produce theperfect effect around her attractive face. Pretty as she was, Anna found her tobe rather snooty and snobbish for somebody so young. In many ways, she remindedAnna of her sisters.

“Good morning, girls,” chirpedMr. Anderson in his ever-so-jovial way.

“Yeah… right,” moaned theDrummond girl, in a grumpy-testy tone of voice.

Polly and Connie walked bywithout saying a word, but Veronica stopped next to Anna’s seat and lookeddown. “Nice hairdo, Grayson. Did you do that on purpose… or just wake up thatway?” she laughed, and then stepped around to sit in the seat directly behindher while the other two girls giggled between themselves.

Anna instinctively moved herhands to her head and tried to comb her fingers through her hair. There wasdefinitely something wrong. She turned to the window again looking for herreflection, and what she found looking back surprised her. All the hair on theright side of her head had been pushed up and over onto the left side. The redclip Anna had placed in her hair that morning had moved itself around to theother side of her head and tried to restyle her hair again. It had done a verypoor job. As the girl sitting behind her had suggested, it looked as if Annahad awoken late and hadn’t bothered to brush her hair at all.

“You silly, stupid thing!” Annawhispered angrily as she made a grab for the clip. Sensing it was in trouble,the hairclip jumped off the side of her head with a loud POP, and fellonto the seat next to her. Before Anna could grab it, all the hair piled on topof her head fell down into her face. Looking down at the seat through a curtainof red hair, Anna turned around and started swatting at the clip, tryingdesperately to catch it. “Come back you… oh… when I catch you…” Anna said, in afury. “Come back here!”

“Whom… are you talking to?”Veronica asked, in a scoffing tone. “I must say, Grayson, you get weirder everytime I see you,” she said with a chortle, looking over at her friends.

Anna froze and then looked upat Veronica behind her. She could barely see her through all the hair nowdumped in front of her face. Anna didn’t move a muscle as her eyes dartedaround still looking for the clip.

“Now that’s a style you shouldstick with, Grayson. It suits you better than anything else I’ve seen youwear,” Veronica sneered, looking again at her two friends sitting across theaisle. They all started laughing madly. “I tell you, Anna,” the girl continuedthrough her amusement. “You sure know how to perk up a Monday bus ride.” Theyall continued to laugh.

Anna turned around in a furyand started pulling her hair back behind her head. “Do you have a rubber band?”she asked Teresa, who had turned around to see what all the commotion wasabout.

“Uh… yeah… sure… hold on.”Teresa reached into her bag and started fumbling through its contents. “Hereyou go,” she said, holding out the little pink ring.

“Thanks!” Anna huffed, jammingthe rubber band between her teeth while she finished pulling her hair back.When she finished, she started glancing around her feet looking for the clipagain.

“Hey, Grayson, does this belongto you?” came the same irritating voice from behind her again. Anna spun aroundto see Veronica holding up her red hairclip.

“Yes it is… give it here!” Annademanded, reaching out to take it from her. The girl snatched back and thenlooked at the clip more closely.

“Where in the world did youever get such an ugly, horrid thing like this?” the girl asked, mockingly.“I’ve seen better looking ornaments on a clown.” The girls next to her startedsnickering again.

Anna’s face flushed in anger.She stared at the clip in the girl’s hand and back into Veronica’s smilingface. Anna looked at the clip again. “Are you going to let her talk about youlike that?” she said, in a low whisper that only the girl, or the clip mighthear.

Veronica stopped laughing andfrowned. Her eyes moved away from Anna and then to the clip in her outstretchedhand. When her eyes returned to Anna, her frown had transformed itself backinto an ugly grin. Undoubtedly thinking Anna had lost her mind, she turned tosay something to the girls next to her when it happened.

The little clip in the girl’shand suddenly popped open by itself. Veronica’s attention jerked back to theclip, her frown set once more. She could clearly see the clip’s sharp metalpoints, like so many tiny little teeth, sparkling in the light. Then, to herunbelievable surprise, the clip snap closed again on the end of her finger.

“OUCH!” Veronica yelped, as shegrabbed the clip with her other hand and tried to pull it off. But the littleclip was latched tight. “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” the girl barked, shaking her handwildly over her head.

Anothersnap was heard, and this time Veronica howled. Polly and Connieimmediately stopped their happy laughing, and shot across the aisle thinking tohelp. Snap! -Snap! -Snap! -Snap! Again and again, the clip nipped andbit wildly at the other girls reaching in to rescue their friend.

“Ouch!”

“Aaaaaahhhh!”

“What? Oh!”

“Ouch!” All three girls werenow hollering in pain.

Finally, Veronica made themistake of trying to pull the clip off her thumb with her teeth.

SNAP!

Anna looked up, and to hersurprise saw the red clip had latched itself onto the end of Veronica’s prettylittle nose. The girl bellowed in agony as she stared horrified down her muzzlecross-eyed at the thing growling on the end of her snout. Her hands wereflailing wildly on either side of her head not wanting to put her sore fingersanywhere near the biting thing. She swatted at the clip with the back of herhand, which dislodged it from the end of her nose and into the air. Anna watchedin astonishment as the clip flew up, hit the ceiling of the bus with a light tink,and then fell back down upon Veronica’s head.

“Where is it? Where did it go?”Veronica wailed, tears of pain pouring down her face. Not knowing whether tosit or stand, she began screaming at her friends. “Where is it… where is it?”Another loud POP was heard, and the three girls froze. Anna watchedVeronica’s eyes slowly moving up in perfect unison with her shoulders, whichwere scrunching their way toward both sides of her ears. All was quiet whileeverybody stared apprehensively at the top of the girl’s head.

Snap-snap-snap, went thelittle red clip, and Veronica started screaming louder than ever before. Herhands were now pulling wildly at her own hair, desperate to free herself fromher tiny attacker. Screams from all three girls were now filling the bus.

“Say… what’s going on backthere?” yelled Mr. Anderson from the front.

Anna spun around to see thedriver looking back at them from his rearview mirror. She looked back atVeronica again, only to see the blue clips and bobby pins, once nestled soneatly in the girl’s own hair, flying out in every direction. She let loose anear-splitting yowl of pain, while the other girls pulled and yanked at herhair, trying frantically to help. Finally, there was another loud POP,and Veronica immediately jerked one of her hands out and toward Anna’s face,screaming still louder. The clip was holding on to the end of the girl’s fingeragain, shaking and growling intensely. Anna reached out and snatched the clipaway and jammed it into her pocket.

“Thank you…” Anna said, in asingsong little voice. Veronica was now lying back in the corner of her seatagainst the window with her fingers buried in her mouth. Her once pretty hairdowas now a complete mess, sticking out in all directions around a very wet andcrying face.

The bus finally stopped infront of the school, and Anna was the first to stand and head for the door. Mr.Anderson was now moving to get past her in the aisle, looking for the source ofall the screaming. Anna stepped out onto the sidewalk and immediately headedtoward the front of the school. She could still hear the girl squawking like aplucked goose somewhere in the bus behind her.

As Anna walked, she pulled thered clip out of her pocket and brought it up to her eyes. “I should be angrywith you… you know that, don’t you?” she said, in an angered whisper. The clipwas still. “Oh sure, now you’requiet.” A delay, and then the little clip popped open again. Anna smirked andconsidered the circumstances. She then slid the clip back into her hair, whereit closed again with a sharp snap. Anna patted the clip next to herhead, and then pulled open the doors to the school entryway. Looking back atthe bus, she could see several students stepping down onto the sidewalk,laughing and giggling as they looked back. Apparently, Veronica was stillhowling.

Anna reached up to check theclip once more. “All is forgiven,” she said, smiling, as she walked inside.“Gosh… I’m famished.”