As the month went on, classes became more and more difficult, and so did the nagging request of Dumbledore. Speak of it, Harry and Anna sat together in Potions, brewing the Euphoria Elixr using the Half-Blood Prince's book.

"Ugh, this is so hard to read! She could've at least wrote more in the margins rather than over the original print," said Anna, eyeing the heavily marked book with distaste.

"She?" asked Harry. "You can't tell me you still believe this is your mother's-"

"I do, and until you prove it otherwise I'll continue to do so," she stated with a smirk. The girl was sure she was correct with her assumptions, and she didn't see a problem with her conclusion. Who else's book could it be? She vaguely recognized the handwriting from somewhere as well...it just had to be her mother.

Before Harry could protest, Slughorn strode over to them merrily. The boy immediately put in the wrong ingredient causing Anna to groan and roll her eyes. "What the hell are you doing? You're supposed to add porcupine quills, not shrivelfig."

"Sorry, I must've gotten them mixed up," he lied, hoping Slughorn would see Anna's apparent dominance in Potions.

She was still oblivious to the professor behind her. "How? Do you need new glasses? Actually, why do they even have glasses in the magical world? Can't that just cure bad eyesight?"

"You know, your mother asked that same question," said Slughorn, startling Anna. She spun around and narrowed her eyes, staying silent. "You know, you're a lot like her."

"I wouldn't know," she said coldly.

Dumbledore's request popped into Harry's head, 'Make sure Slughorn takes a greater liking to Anna, she's crucial for this to work.'

"Anna's great at potions," he blurted out. "You know, if I didn't work with her, I'd probably fail this class. I don't know what I'd do without her, she's brilliant."

Slughorn smiled and pat the boy on the back. "Well, you know how women are, bossy but always right...even when they aren't!"

Anna merely cringed while the two laughed but felt relieved as she heard the bell chime, indicating they had to leave. Slughorn gave them a perfect score and strode off to quickly grade everyone else.

They packed up and started towards the door. But as they were leaving, something caught Anna's eye; there were many pictures on top of a cabinet near his office, and she could've sworn she recognized some of the people in them.

Before she could go look, Harry had lightly pushed her forward by the small of her back so they could leave. She felt a bit of a spark and silently cursed herself. 

"Anna, you need to be kinder to him, you know it's Dumbledore's request...hey, what're you doing?" asked Harry as Anna had taken him by the hand and quickly led him down the corridor where nobody else was. He gave a sigh and stopped her, looking her in the eyes. "We can't do this...you know how I feel about us being together-"

"What? No no no, don't be stupid, you're too much of a stick in the mud anyway," said Anna with a forced laugh, trying to ignore the memory of the last time they'd snogged and she'd practically melted under his touch. "We need to sneak into Slughorn's room-"

"We need to make friends with him, not give him a reason to hate us-"

"We also need to find out more about him!" she hissed. "Look, if we can find a lead or even a conversation starter, we should do so. I saw something that I need to take a better look at...Harry, please, come with or at least help me!"

He hesitated, but one look into her pleading gaze made him sigh and say, "Okay, fine, but we better not get caught."

"Thank you!" she said happily, and without thinking, she pecked his cheek and smiled as she watched him turn red.

There was an awkward silence between them and Anna rolled her eyes before leading him down the corridor towards Slughorn's room. It was obvious he was in there and didn't intend on coming out. "Damn, what should we do?"

"Not sure...maybe we could-"

"Anna?" asked a voice from behind them. They turned to see Caspar, who was holding his Potions book and an essay.

She immediately lit up. "Hey! what're you doing down here?"

"Just needed to hand this in," he said, holding up his essay. "How about you?" 

"We...wait, can you help with something?" asked Anna quickly, ignoring Harry's protests.

"Sure, anything for you."

Anna couldn't suppress a smile. "Well, um, we need to get into Slughorn's room...can you get him out and distract him for a bit? Fifteen minutes tops?"

"Hmm, maybe...if there's something in it for me. Y'know, fifteen minutes is a long time to talk to that old coot," said Caspar, tapping a finger to his chin. 

"Actually, we don't need the help," muttered Harry bitterly, giving a glare.

"Actually, we do. What do you want?"

Caspar grinned before he whispered into Anna's ear, "Meet me at the Ravenclaw Tower at midnight tonight. I have something to show you...and if you could, it'd be great if we could go around undetected."

Anna didn't hesitate at all. "Sounds good...and thanks again!"

"No problem, good luck with your mischief," he said with a salute before entering Slughorn's room. Anna pulled Harry around the corner so they wouldn't be seen.

He gave her a pointed look. "What did Mundy want?"

"Nothing special," she said, but secretly hoped she was wrong.

They heard Caspar's and Slughorn's voices fading down the hall and decided it was safe to come out. With a mischevious smile and nod from Anna, they soundlessly slipped into the room, quietly shutting and locking the door behind them.

"What was it you were looking for?" asked Harry. 

"There were pictures...oh, there they are!" she said, making a beeline for the cabinet. It was long but only one drawer and on top set many pictures. They all had Slughorn in them with various students. 

They recognized some of the people. In one, a young Lucius Malfoy with some other Slytherins sat. Another had the Slytherin Quidditch team, including Regulus Black - the resemblance to Sirius was obvious. But aside from these, two, in particular, stood out.

The first had young Leah Kendricks, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, and a girl who looked an awful lot like Cho Chang. Another was just of Leah, who was donned in a gown and stood next to Slughorn. They seemed to be in a Hall of some sort with many older, more superior-looking folk.

"Your mother sure seemed to be on Slughorn's good side," said Harry, trying to act as if Dumbledore hadn't already told him about her mother. "Maybe that could be used to our advantage?"

"This cabinet is locked," murmured Anna, not listening. 

Harry pointed his wand at the lock, "Alohamora!" Nothing happened.

"Hmm...I wonder what he's hiding...must be important," she said. Anna stepped forward, grabbed the lock, mustered all of her strength, and snapped it off. 

"How-"

She smirked. "Well, I hate my powers but sometimes they can come in handy." 

Anna quickly opened the cabinet and her eyes widened. There were many manilla folders overflowing with paper and one leather-bound binder that held files; it was marked "Special Students".

"Hey...maybe that can have something on Tom Riddle!" said Harry, emerald eyes wide.

"Maybe! Oh! Or our parents! Harry, this is great-"

"Timing," a voice finished from the doorway. They turned to see the last person they wanted to.

"Professor Mavis! W-what are you doing here?" asked Harry hurriedly, stepping in front of Anna, blocking her from the brooding woman's view as she shoved the binder in her bag.

"Well, I came to drop off all of Black's missed assignments. Unlike my class, she regularly comes to Slughorn's, and she wouldn't be able to avoid it here," said Mavis, her light eyes staring the two down. "Why are you here?"

"We came to talk to-"

"An empty room? Nice try, Black," she droned.

Harry softened his gaze and took a step toward the woman. "Professor...please, don't tell him we were here. We're not doing anything to harm anyone-"

"I highly doubt that, Potter," muttered Mavis. There was a moment of silence before she sighed and rubbed her temple. "I will consider it if Black decides to show up to class - as she should already be doing - and catch up on her missed assignments-"

"You want me around just to belittle me," Anna cut in coldly. 

"Belittle you? How could I possible deflate such a large ego like your own? Hmph, that's something you seem to share with your father," said Mavis, a glint of malice in her eyes. Anna reached for her wand but received a smirk. "I assume you'd enjoy a fight...I would hope you'd enjoy the scenery on the train ride home after your expulsion just as much...well, wherever your 'home' is. I've heard the House of Black has been raided by a man named Mundungus-"

"Bullshit," spat Anna, ignoring every nerve in her body screaming at her to fight this woman.

"Maybe...I guess we have a lot in common, then," said Mavis with a smirk, pacing. 

Anna slipped into Harry's mind and spoke,'I can't stand this bitc-'

'Just shut up and agree to be in her class otherwise I'll do it for you,' he thought sharply.

The girl gave her coldest glare to the woman and was surprised that she didn't flinch like most would, as Anna had a glare scarier than Snape's...or even Voldemort's. "Fine, I'll be in your class."

Mavis merely dropped the large stack of papers on the nearest table, creating a loud bang. Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she slowly said, "Sounds delightful."

The two watched her start out the door. When she seemed to be out of earshot, Anna muttered, "Don't be surprised if I 'forget' to show up to class."

"And don't be surprised if I 'forget' to keep this from Slughorn," Mavis' voice rang out. When Anna was about to make another smart comment, the woman came back and growled at the both of them, "Get. Out."

Anna silently repaired the broken lock without Mavis noticing, picked up the stack of History homework, and followed Harry out of the room, feeling the cold glare of their professor. It was ironic, though, because they heard Slughorn's merry voice from down the corridor as they silently ran off.

~=~

"We need to wait to look at it," said Anna suddenly as she and Harry sat together in the Common Room later that evening. Ron and Hermione were out studying along with nearly everyone else, leaving the two mostly alone beside some lingering underclassmen.

"Why?"

"Because we stole!"

"The sooner we can return it, the better," muttered Harry as he reached for the binder. 

Anna grabbed his hand to stop him and intertwined their fingers. She could've sworn his cheeks became tinted with pink. "No, we'll do this a different time. Late, preferably, and when we're sure nobody'll see it. We can't even tell Ron and Hermione..."

"T-tell them what?" he stuttered, not being able to take his eyes off her. It was one of those moments where he regretted every choice he made against being with her. Her complexion glowed in the firelight and it drew his eyes to her high cheekbones, perfectly badass scar over her left eye, the perfect slope of her nose, and finally, down to her pink velvet lips, which were relaxed and full and oh so kissable, he thought.

But suddenly, after realizing he had been taking in her features, she looked at him and cocked her head a bit, her lips tugging at a smile she was trying to contain. He met her fathomless, glittering grey eyes as she spoke. "Enjoying the view?"

He pursed his lips and looked away, shaking his head. "I've got no clue what you're talking about."

She knew better, though, because she knew when he lied and now was not one of the times she was too blinded by her insecurities to realize that she was capable of being liked.

But a thought popped into her head...Caspar. 

Was it right? Or should she try just one more time with Harry? Everyone makes mistakes, right?'No...I'm done.'

"Anna, can I tell you something?" he asked.

She was zoned out, though, and didn't hear him. She was too focused on figuring out how she could get his invisibility cloak. How she could meet up with Caspar. How something could happen between her and the attractive and mysterious blue-eyed boy that she absolutely adored.

The bell chimed, indicating it was time for dinner. An idea popped into Anna's mind. "Hey, I'm gonna stay behind and find a place to hide this...I'll meet you in a few?"

"Um...yeah, okay. But can we talk?" 

"Later, I promise," she said quickly, ignoring how deflated he sounded. "Save me a spot."

He gave her a pleading look but she didn't notice. He sighed and nodded before leaving, being sure to look at her one last time.

'Well, so much for trying to be with Anna again,' he thought sadly. 'No, I'm telling her tonight. I'm gonna make things right...we're soulmates.'

~=~

Hey everyone! I'm lowkey proud that I got an update on time because it's been a rare occurrence lately. I've been super busy since the school year started and I'm sorry, but I think I've gotten into the groove now. Still, sorry fi there's some mistakes, as I'm not putting much into editing lately.

I mentioned something about this chapter being special and worth reading, but I ended up making it shorter and cutting off the main event because I didn't want it to be rushed, chopped up, or ridiculously long. The next one will be good though, and I hope I've set up a decent amount of anticipation.

As for Hidden In Plain Sight...well, an update will probably end up coming out next week, sorry it's been like, two or three weeks, but I just haven't had time. It's gonna be a good update though.

Also, go read Lollipops by Emma0n3 , it's such a good book!

Question of the chapter,
~What do you want to happen in the next chapter? What are you expecting?~

Thanks so much for reading, and please vote, comment, and follow. It means a lot!

Love to all,
~Lumos