"The first day's half over...thank Merlin! I don't think I could take another second of Snape's lecturing," groaned Ron as the four sat at the crimson and gold table for lunch. He immediately started shoveling food onto his plate. "But mate, your comeback with Snape was gold! Say it again, I don't think its ever gonna get old."

Harry chuckled and made his voice dramatic. "There's no need to call me 'sir', Professor."

"You deserved the detention!" Hermione cut in. "Harry, you shouldn't be talking back to teachers like that!"

"'Mione, you're just jealous that you're not as clever," said Anna, winking at Harry when nobody else was looking. He just smiled and looked down. 

For some odd reason, she was extremely proud of Harry's comeback. So proud that she earned herself one for the same day and time for sassing Snape herself afterward, mockingly saying, 'Need some ice for that burn...sir?'

Needless to say, Hermione did not approve.

Speak of the bushy-haired devil, she narrowed her eyes and scowled. "I'm not jealous of anything, I just think it was really rude and if you keep it up-"

"Let him keep it up! Honestly, it's one of the most lovable things about him," Anna said but internally thought, 'and his eyes and kindness and smile and-'

As if reading her thoughts Ron smirked and said, "I doubt that's the only thing you love about him. So...how about that love potion in Slughorn's? I guess it's an interesting way to announce you two-"

"W-we aren't together!" stammered Harry quickly, his voice a bit nervous yet harsh. Anna frowned and rested her hand on her chin, feeling rejection flood throughout her again.

Just when she thought they were getting somewhere.

"So, what'd you smell, Anna?" asked Ron through a mouthful of potatoes.

She cringed before answering shamelessly, "Campfire, hot chocolate, lemongrass, and mint." She almost knew where they were all from. Campfire from the Burrow, hot chocolate because Sirius always made it, and lemongrass for Harry. She was unsure of where the mint came from.

"Hey! Harry! Anna!" a voice called from the doors of the Great Hall. They turned to see a boy in their year running towards them with a roll of parchment. They recognized him as Jack Sloper, Beater for the Gryffindor Quidditch team last year. He was a kind and likable guy - who got along with Anna quite well, mind you - but...

Well, let's just say he wasn't the brightest. 

Quite incompetent, really.

Like seriously, he probably didn't know the difference between a flobberworm and a hippogriff.

"Hey Jack, what's up?" asked Anna kindly, her frown replaced with a forced smile. She felt almost at ease to be talking to someone who didn't know her inside and out.

"This is for you two," he said, holding the parchment out. Anna took it and gave a curt nod, looking it over before handing it to Harry. "So...heard you two were captains for Quidditch? When are tryouts?"

"Not sure, tryouts are mandatory for everyone though, even returning players," said Harry, an edge to his tone.

"Never said they weren't, mate. You should have them Saturday after the Hogsmeade trip...speaking of which..." he trailed off and sat next to Anna, smiling. "Wanna go together, Black?"

Her grey eyes snapped up to meet his kind brown ones. In all honesty, she liked the guy as only an acquaintance and teammate, but something sparked in her as she felt Harry's gaze.

She just really wanted to irk the raven-haired boy.

"Sure-"

"Actually, she's busy," Harry cut in coldly.

Anna rolled her eyes and gave a laugh. "He's just screwing around...see you Saturday, Jack."

"Okay, sounds great!" he said with a grin. He kissed her on the cheek before leaving. The group's eyes followed him to his huddle of friends at the front of the hall who started wolf whistling and high-fiving Jack. 

Anna blushed and chuckled. "Did I just get asked out?"

"Yes, and you accepted."

"Didn't know you were attracted to incompetence," muttered Harry.

He wasn't quiet enough though, because Anna smirked and retorted, "Guess that explains why I dated you."

"Okay, back to potions!" said Hermione quickly. "Harry, I want to know how you made a perfect potion!"

The boy hesitated but just shrugged. "Not sure, just did my best. Guess Snape resigning wasn't such a bad thing after all."

"Bloody hell, mate, you need to start making my potions!" exclaimed Ron. "Anyway, what's the note say?"

Anna tossed them the parchment and grabbed Harry's arm. "Just a note from Dumbledore saying we have to see him on Saturday. We're gonna go back to the Common Room for a bit. See you later."

Ignoring Ron and Hermione's protests, she led Harry to the Gryffindor Tower in silence. He didn't even bother asking the purpose until they went through the portrait hole and sat on the couch together. Anna was pleased to see the room was mostly empty except for a few younger girls sat at a table out of earshot.

"So...why-"

"You're the new potions master, hmm?" she asked with a smirk. "So let's get this straight...you go from mediocre in Potions, even with help from Hermione and I, to perfect? Tell me...have you a new mentor? Is their name 'The Half-Blood Prince'?"

Harry stared at her incredulously. "H-how...how did you..." 

He got his answer when he started fishing around in his bag for the book but it was missing. 

"Looking for this?" asked Anna, holding up his Potions book.

"How long have you-"

"Long enough to have an idea of who it is..." she trailed off sadly. The girl pulled out her own hand-me-down book and handed it to Harry. "Front cover and page ten."

He opened it up and read aloud, "'This completely and utterly useless book belongs to Sirius Black'...Anna..."

She squeezed her eyes shut, swallowed the tears and nodded. "I-I know..."

Harry put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "You can't escape, can you?"

"It's like someone's telling me he's out there...I just...I don't think he's..." she trailed off as she stared into the fire. She decided against continuing when she caught a glimpse of his saddened expression. "Nevermind, just turn to page ten."

He obliged and read it silently, his eyebrows knit together. "It says 'Princess'...who-"

"Think," she stated, straightening up and turning to face him full on. "Who did he value above everyone else? Who was his princess? Who was a kid when he was?"

"Leah, your mother."

"Mhmm. And I think that's the answer to your book as well."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "No, it can't be. She was muggle-born and it says 'prince'."

"Okay, but she was actually half-blooded. She found out later on in her life that she had magical relations but wanted to keep the title of a muggle-born. As for prince...well, 'princess' is similar, right? Maybe it was some alias or something?" tried Anna. It sounded more like she was convincing herself than him. "A-and besides, I think that's her handwriting!"

"Anna...it doesn't make sense. if she didn't know she was half-blooded until later on...you're trying to connect things that don't work...I'm sorry, but I don't believe it," he said quietly.

She frowned a bit but then nodded. "I-it's fine. But about the book...it seems like you don't want anyone finding out."

"Yeah, so please don't say anything-"

"On one condition," Anna cut in with a smirk. "We sit next to each other in class...let's share the book. We both wanna be Aurors, might as well help each other get the good marks."

"You don't want to use-"

"Harry, I can't even look at that fireplace without wanting to burst into tears," said Anna quietly. "It just...it's hard to have to deal with it as it is, I don't want a constant reminder."

"Okay," he said with a kind smile and she muttered thanks. They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, leaning against each other. "Anna?"

"Hmm?"

"About the love potion...I'm sorry-"

Anna sat up straighter and narrowed her eyes. "Quite frankly, I think you did it on purpose."

"W-what? Why-"

"Because you're possessive but don't actually like me and are kind of a jerk and that was a great opportunity to embarrass me."

"I...Anna, just because we aren't...it doesn't mean I don't..." he trailed off and just decided to stay quiet. He still had a firm belief that Anna wasn't a force to be reckoned with and she was too unstable for a relationship. 

She broke the silence. "I need to go get something." Anna headed up to her dorm and shut the door, leaning against it and holding back tears. 

She hated herself for constantly getting so emotional but she just couldn't stop it and the realization made her want to rip her hair out. She also hated Harry but she loved him and didn't want him to hate her, but she just knew that she wasn't good enough. The thought plagued her mind, so whenever he would do anything as simple as smile at her, she felt hope that maybe, just maybe, she could have the love of her life.

The love of her life? Too far-fetched? 

She thought not, because a certain memory popped up when she thought about her feelings. It was at the end of third year when they'd cast their patronuses. A majestic stag and doe. Corporeal. Soul-mate material. Literally.

'But sometimes even soul-mates don't get together,' she thought with a sigh. Just as Anna was about to go back downstairs, she heard someone talking to Harry and cracked the door open to eavesdrop.

"Hey Harry!" said a cheery voice. It was a girl with very curly but beautiful and full hair, doe eyes, and a bright smile. She was quite pretty.

"Erm, can I help you?" he awkwardly responded, causing her - and her friends who were watching from their huddle - to giggle.

"Well, I heard you were Quidditch captain-"

"Co-captain, actually. Anna and I are sharing the position."

The girl's eye twitched and she forced a smile. "Heh, right. Anyway, I was wondering when tryouts are?"

"Erm, do I know you? I don't recall seeing you play."

She puffed out her chest and smiled. "I'm Romilda Vane, a fourth year. Doesn't mean I can't handle a broom." Romilda sat next to him and leaned close, causing his breath to hitch and for him to blush. "Maybe we could talk about it over a butterbeer sometime?"

"Vane," a voice barked from the top of the staircase to the girls' dorm. It was Anna, and her eyes were red with anger. "You want to be on the team? Tell me...how many penalties are there? Can you name at least two? What position do you even want to play?"

Romilda was at a loss for words and Anna wore a smug expression. The curly-haired girl shot up from her seat and scowled. "I don't recall you being in the conversation!"

Anna walked up to her and inaudibly whispered into her ear, "He's not into fake bitches." before grabbing Harry's arm and walking out of the Common Room, leaving the fuming girl behind.

"What the hell was that?!" growled Harry, stopping her.

"She was obviously lying to you!"

"So what? She was being nice, you completely overreacted-"

"Because I'm just confused, okay?!" she exclaimed, her lip quivering. "A-all you do is lead me on and...good god, Harry, what the hell do you want?! Why are you so damn confusing? One second you're nice and it seems like you actually like me, a-and the next...you see me for what I am."

"Anna-"

"Were you lying about the love potion?" whispered the girl, daring a glance at him. 

She caught his beautiful emerald eyes and he sighed, hanging his head. "No. I-I didn't lie, I swear."

"Then..." Anna stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her heart was pounding and she hoped and prayed that this time things would work. This was her last attempt ever, she mentally swore to it. She pressed her lips to his, kissing him slowly and putting every ounce of affection into it. 

Instead of someone else interrupting, she was the one to - reluctantly - break it. Anna looked into his eyes and whispered, "Tell me...what do you feel? I'm sick of you telling me about my feelings, I want to hear what you want. I...it just seems like you want this, Harry, but you're holding back because of me...I just want to know...do you love me?"

With her words, all his doubts were lifted and he smiled. "I do." 

Anna grinned a grin so hard she could've beat the cheshire cat in a grinning contest. "It's about damn time," she said with a soft laugh.

He leaned in again to kiss her but a voice called out, "Hey, Anna!" They turned and saw Caspar who's eyes widened a bit at the sight of the pair's closeness. "Oh, did I uh, interrupt-"

"Yes," Harry cut him off, narrowing his eyes as he put an arm around Anna's waist. Something in her felt...conflicted, but she ignored it.

"Sorry, but uh, Anna, are you coming to Hagrid's for class? I uh, don't know the way," he admitted sheepishly.

The raven-haired boy knit his brow. "She's going to Sprout's, not Hagrid's...she doesn't take Care Of Magical Creatures."

"Heh, about that..." Anna said with an awkward chuckle. "I uh...am, actually."

Harry looked at her and it started piecing together. "When you went to McGonagall after talking to him...you got your schedule changed...didn't you?"

Caspar quirked an eyebrow. "She told me she was already taking the class-"

"N-no, not my exact words!" she said quickly. "I just...uh..."

"Yeah, I get it," said Harry coldly, retracting his arm and starting towards the Fat Lady's portrait. 

Anna muttered an apology to Caspar and jogged to catch up with Harry. "Wait!"

He spun around and narrowed his eyes. "I knew you had a thing for-"

"You're overreacting!"

"No...you...you look at him in this...way. It just..." he stammered and clenched his jaw. "You haven't figured it out, have you?"

"What? Harry!" she called and pulled him back as he started leaving. "I love you, you don't understand, I'm just trying to be a friend-"

"Maybe we're better off as friends, like you said last year. Or maybe not...friends aren't supposed to lie to each other," he muttered and left. She watched him go, her eyes filling with tears. 

"Um, Anna...are you okay?" asked Caspar from behind her. She took a deep breath before turning to face him and nodding unconvincingly. He held his hand out and said, "follow me."

She took it and they started down an empty corridor away from the watching portraits, stopping in a secluded area. Caspar sat her down and stayed next to her, pulling her into a hug as she started crying. He didn't bother to ask questions and Anna greatly appreciated that.

They sat like that for a few minutes, his strong arms around the sobbing girl with her head buried in his shoulder. After she let out her emotions, she tried figuring out why Harry had flipped out. Surely it wasn't only because of the schedule change. That would be absurd.

But when she sniffled, she found her answer. The scent of mint entered her nose...mint. 

"Oh my god," she whispered and shot up. It hit her. Harry knew what she smelled in the love potion and probably caught Caspar's scent when they were at the staircases. 

"What?" the boy asked softly. 

Anna just shook her head and stood up. "Come on, let's get going to Hagrid's."

~=~

Care Of Magical Creatures had gone decently well and Hagrid was delighted to see Anna. Only three other students advanced onto the N.E.W.T. level, but the smaller class meant more dangerous and interesting creatures.

And yes, they would be studying Hippogriffs again.

The class ended and Anna and Caspar headed back to the castle together. They had gotten along well and she almost forgot how upset she was. 

Caspar had a way of making her laugh and talk too much that she couldn't focus on other things. He hadn't asked once what happened and didn't make her feel bad or stupid in the slightest. 

She learned that he was quite good with magical creatures and wanted to work in a field that included such. He also wanted to be an animagus. Anna revealed that she was one and her form was a fox, which, to her delight, made him very intrigued and impressed.

"So, anything I need to know about History Of Magic?" asked the boy, his bright blue eyes meeting her. 

She grimaced a bit and shrugged. "Not sure, I don't know the teacher. The subject's a joke, really. We're gonna be late so we should probably hurry."

They picked up the pace and continued talking until they approached a mahogany door leading to the classroom. Caspar raised his fist to knock but Anna just pushed through uncaringly. He chuckled a bit and followed her into the room.

It was large and full of sixth-year students, all of which were silent. At the front of the room stood a brooding witch, her arms crossed and bright eyes narrowed at the two.

"I didn't give you permission to sit," she growled as they started towards an empty desk in the back. 

"Sorry we're late, I'm new-"

"And why should you take pride in that?" droned the woman, pacing in front of them. She stopped in front of Anna but didn't meet either of their gazes. "What is your name?"

"Caspar Mundy-"

"Detention. I didn't ask you," she hissed, causing Caspar to flinch.

Anna stepped forward and scowled. "Anna Leah Black."

The woman's light hazel eyes met hers and widened a bit before she clenched her jaw and nodded towards the empty desks in the back. She walked to the front of the room and stood before the students, staying silent for a bit so they could take her demeanour in.

She was a tall, dark, brooding witch, and her presence gave many chills. Not only did she look scary, standing there dressed in dark robes and a scowl, but her voice was a mix of Snape's monotonous drawl and a biting hatred of her own. 

"I am Professor Mavis, the new History of Magic teacher...obviously. I am here because of your idiot headmaster, whom I openly dislike. He, for some reason, thinks it's necessary to make this subject mandatory," she said boredly. She started pacing back and forth, her high-heeled black boots clacking dreadfully. She suddenly stopped and turned to face the class quickly, causing a few to flinch. "How much have you learned?"

Hermione's hand shot up and she started to speak, but Mavis cut her off. "The question is not directed towards insufferable know-it-alls who read textbooks in their immense amount of pathetic free time," she said coldly and Hermione slowly lowered her hand, her lip quivering. The woman rolled her eyes. "Someone tell me-"

"This class is a joke...no wonder why you're teaching it, 'Professor'," said Anna, her tone matching the witch's. She wasn't usually one to be rude to a new person, but she couldn't stand it when people were mean to her friends, especially Hermione. 

Professor Mavis merely smirked and walked to the chalkboard and started writing. The class was dead silent, so of course, everyone heard it when she muttered, "Black...just as irritating as your stuck-up, stupid, murderous father-"

In a second's time, Anna had shot up in her seat, pulled out her wand, and aimed it at the woman, yelling, "STUPEFY!"

She moved out of the way just in time and the spell hit the chalkboard so hard that it broke. Mavis turned to face Anna, her eyes wide with anger as she got her own wand out and took a stance. "Don't you dare point your wand at a superior-"

"Superior? I don't think so," she spat as she started towards the teacher. Mavis opened her mouth to say a spell, but it was almost as if she didn't know any. When Anna got to her, she jabbed her wand into the woman's throat, almost making her cough. "Don't talk about my father, you didn't know him-"

"We all know what he is-"

"NONE OF YOU KNOW!" yelled Anna, her eyes filling with tears. "HE...he...he wasn't..." She lowered her wand and swallowed the tears. The girl clenched her jaw as she silently went back to her seat to grab her bag and leave the classroom, slamming the door behind her.

~=~

Hey guys! Hope you liked that one, I know I did. Gahhh, I know, they were so close to getting together! This (and many chapters recently) is unedited, so I'm sorry if they're a bit messy or confusing!

Anyway, I don't have much to say except for that Hidden In Plain Sight has been updated and that I might not be on schedule because imma be busy the next few weeks but I'll do my best :)

Question of the chapter
~What do you think of Professor Mavis?~

Pls vote, comment, and follow :)

Love to all,
~Lumos