"Anna, what's wrong with you?" asked Harry as they headed to the dungeons. She shrugged. "For the past week you've been off. You've barely said a word...hell, even Mundy's concerned-"

Her grey eyes snapped to him. "You've been talking to Caspar?"

Harry gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, erm, yeah. I thought he may know, but he doesn't...Anna, please just tell me-"

"No," said Anna simply, swallowing the lump in her throat as she caught a glimpse of Harry's sad expression.

She felt so heavy. So sick. So...dead. She wasn't even dead yet but she sure as hell felt like it and part of her wished Voldemort would just get it done and over with.

It was hard to carry the burden of knowing when you were going to die, but even more so when it's the person you care for more than anyone else in this world. For Anna, it wasn't Caspar that she cared for most, but Harry.

So not only was she upset about their fate, but she was also confused yet again on her feelings.

Yes, she knew that she could love platonically, but whenever she looked at Harry, she wondered if it would be the last time. Her heart begged her to fall into his arms and make the most of their last days. Her feelings towards Caspar weren't gone, but compromised. She decided to avoid Harry at all costs, but Dumbledore sent the request for them to visit Slughorn tonight so it had forced her hand.

But back to keeping the secret of their fate. Anna was caught in a predicament.

She couldn't eat because she felt sick constantly. She couldn't focus in class because she was focused too hard on Occlumency to the best of her ability. And worst of all, she couldn't sleep in fear of Voldemort entering her mind or her talking in her sleep.

She was tired, starving, and failing her classes.

She was stuck in a vicious, spiraling cycle; much like the one she had at the start of the year, as much as it pained her to say.

Harry was beyond worried for her. He thought she was relapsing in her depression. She started to lose weight and the dark bags contrasted heavily from her pale, sickly skin.

So while Anna was trying to stay away, Harry was suffocating her in fear of her taking her life again.

"Anna...if you want me to talk to him instead I can," he said carefully. "You really should get some sleep."

"I am sleeping," she lied monotonously.

"I don't know how to say this but, well, you look like Death."

Her eyes flickered with something resentful, but she was so fatigued she couldn't even process anything. She heard whispering constantly...she assumed it was hallucinations. She stopped caring so much that barely anything phased her at this point.

They approached the door and Harry opened his mouth to offer again to do the taking, but Anna had already raised a lazy fist to knock on the door.

"Come in!" called Slughorn from inside. The duo entered to see him just pouring the last dregs of a concoction into a glass vial before looking up.

"Ah Harry m'boy! And Anna! What a treat this is, indeed! You know, we haven't talked much since the party."

"Sorry sir," said Harry sheepishly. "We've been-"

"Miss Black, you look dreadful. Is everything alright?" Slughorn cut him off, turning to the dazed girl.

Anna's eyes were a dull, cloudy grey. Dark spots clouded over her vision, leaving a grey fog to remain clinging. She felt as if she could collapse at any moment.

Something about the man's idiotic question made anger burn within her. "I would be a lot better if we knew the truth about Voldemort."

Slughorn gave a startled cough before crossing his arms defensively over his chest. "I can assure you that I am of no help."

"Cowards like you..." she started, pointing her finger at him but starting to sway with severe exhaustion, "...are the reason why the world is the way it is."

And with that she fell unconscious as though something snapped off inside of her, leaving her dropping like a heavy weight. She surely would have collided with the stone-flagged floor if it wasn't for a combination of Harry's sharp seeker reflexes and his already brimming worry. The boy's eyes were wide with fear as he cradled her. "Sir-"

"Oh dear, I think it would be best if you took her back to her dorm."

"C-can we keep her here? Until she wakes up? It's quite a long trip back and you could help her much better than I, Professor," pleaded Harry as he struggled to hold Anna.

Slughorn hesitated, but as he stared down at the head of blonde hair that was so similar to Leah's, guilt flooded him. "Okay, okay, fine. Just set her on the couch in my office."

Harry held the girl, surprised at how much worse she looked up close.

And yet, staring down at all of her flaws that seemed to present themselves to him so neatly in that moment, he still loved her. All he wished her to feel well again.

But at the moment, he had to focus on getting them out of this predicament with Slughorn.

"Sir," he started as he set the girl and himself on the couch with a grunt. "I want to apologise. She didn't mean what she said. I just think her stress and all has been getting the best of her. I was like this last year, angry and all."

The man arched a bushy grey eyebrow but sighed upon seeing the boy's genuine expression.

"Well, it's alright. Trust me, I've seen students break down many times in the years of my teaching, far worse than that. Her mother especially. Merlin, she would get so angry that her potions wouldn't work that she would throw things! Or when times were getting worse- yes, quite a shame. Anyway, why did you come to me on a Saturday morning? I sure hope Dumbledore didn't send you in on a pointless crusade."

The lie tumbled easily out of Harry's mouth. "Anna has been ill lately. She hasn't been able to sleep but when she does she gets nights terrors. I think she's been avoiding it-"

"She has insomnia, doesn't she?"

"H-how did you know?"

Slughorn chuckled. "Both of her parents had insomnia, especially during their teenage years. Leah used to have to take potions to wake herself up. She's call them 'energy drinks', as they'd say in the muggle world, although these are definitely stronger. I'd suggest giving one to Anna now so she can finish out the day."

The man got up and went to his portable potions cabinet. He made a quick concoction in a small goblet, his back turned to Harry who was studying Anna closely, hoping to figure out what was wrong.

It was surely more than insomnia, although that didn't necessarily help her either.

Of course he couldn't read her thoughts like she could his, and it angered him. He felt hurt, as if she didn't trust him. But she didn't even tell Caspar, so whatever was going on must have been quite awful.

The aged man turned around and handed the goblet to the the raven-haired boy. The liquid was a sickly red color resembling wine. He grimaced before carefully tipping it into her mouth. Her stormy eyes shot open as she gave a cough when the liquid trickled down her throat.

"Bleh, this tastes awful," she murmured, glaring at both of them. "W-what is it? Are you trying to poison me?"

"It's just something to wake you up," said Slughorn, keeping his distance from the temperamental teenager. "So, I've heard you've been having sleeping troubles lately? Night terrors, Harry said."

Anna gave a glare to the boy, annoyed that he threw her under the bus, though she quickly slipped back into a mask of nonchalance as the head of Slytherin continued to speak.

"There is a potion that you can take where you can sleep dreamlessly and easily. It typically helps those with insomnia like yourself. I'll give you a few vials that I have on hand, but the instructions for it should be in your book if you need to make more."

With a nudge from Harry, the girl sputtered, "T-thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

He handed her the bottles before motioning for them to get up. "That's quite alright. Well, I think it's time you two get going-"

"That wasn't why we came though," said Anna as she arched an eyebrow. Harry was about to cut her off but decided against it with a single glance at her. "We came to talk about Tom Riddle, Sir, we know that you know-"

"I know nothing!"

"But he was your student! We're not blaming you we just want help-"

"Get out!" bellowed Slughorn, his voice echoing off the walls as he pointed to the door. "Get out now, you're just as bad as Albus! Accusing me of being a traitor, how dare you!"

Harry put a gentle hand on Anna's back as he led her to the door. She stopped at the entryway, her eyes so much like her father's connecting with the old man, staring into his soul as she said, "You are a traitor as long as you keep this from us."

Angry tears seemed to prick at Slughorn's eyes as he slammed the door in their face.

All that could be heard were footsteps of the two cursed teenagers as they quickly distanced themselves from his room. The boy was trying to find the words to express his anger without hurting her. He knew that she deliberately sabotaged the meeting...but why?

He didn't know that it was to selfishly hold off their inevitable deaths because she cared for him so deeply.

And she didn't know why he put up with her antics for all of the years they we stuck together.

But their thoughts were interrupted in the quiet corridor as they heard laughter from a nearby room. A voice said, "Oh, Caspar!"

Anna's head snapped toward the voice. It sounded familiar, but she just couldn't quite pinpoint it...until she opened the door to the broom closet that it came from.

Caspar pushed Reeve up against the wall, her legs straddled around him as their lips crashed together, traces of smiles on their faces. They broke apart upon seeing Harry and Anna.

"Hey, uh, do ya mind? We'd like to be alone. I'm sure there's another room available, if y'know what I mean," said the boy with a dazed chuckle and wink.

Anna grit her teeth, her eyes blood-shot and narrowed as she stared down the two. Harry pulled her away before she could say anything. Horror had quickly sunk into his features during the exchange. "Anna, I'm so sorry-"

She wrapped her arms tightly around the bespectacled boy, finding it easy to swallow any tears that would surface and to ignore the stinging in her chest.

She was just happy to have an excuse to be in Harry's arms.

~=~

Nice plot twist, eh?

It only gets better from here...y'all have no clue of what I have in store for later ;)

Hope all is well with each and every one of you. 

I will be updating my "Rants, Advice, Random Shiz" book soon, as I have many new and exciting things happening in life right now, but also mad tea since I've been reading on here more lately and omG I need to spill

~Question of the chapter~

Did you like Snape or Slughorn better as the potions teacher? Why?

(I liked Slughorn because he actually treated his students like human beings)

Love to all, 

~Lumos