Previously in Chapter 2:

While Sarah planned on how to get our new professor alone, I pondered the advice Sarah had given me. Maybe I should give Anthony a chance…maybe I'd make my move.

As the day wore on Sarah's advice was still tugging at my conscience. However, my Ravenclaw logic began to kick in. How many people could say they met their soul mate at 11? Next to none. If fate wanted me and Anthony together, then great…if, on the other hand, they wanted Harry and I together…perfect. Obviously still hung up on the boy that crushed my heart, I suddenly realized I did not care what other people thought if we get back together.

I made plans to speak to Anthony after our Transfiguration meeting with McGonagall. The day went by slowly as I shuffled from class to class to lunch to class. Finally at the end of the day, I already had a mountain of homework. Deciding it would be best to tackle my essays before tomorrow brought more, I settled down in the library at a corner table. It was nice to finally have time to myself.

After two hours, I had completed my Transfiguration essay and my Ancient Ruins translation. I was just finishing packing up the books, quills, and parchment which were spread across the entire table, when Hermione Granger timidly sat down across from me. Hermione and I had always gotten along rather well. Both studious…both cared for Harry…yet with the breakup and with her absence the past year, our relationship had also suffered.

Hermione smiled, "I see nothing had changed with our study habits. I think we may be the first in the library this year."

I tried to keep the awkwardness down to a minimum, "Well we gotta keep the competition going 'mione."

She laughed and then hesitated before speaking again, "Listen Charlotte, I…I really am sorry about all that happened. I wouldn't speak to Harry or Ginny for a long time when I finally found out. I really hope this doesn't change our relationship…"

I could see that the rift between Harry and I was causing an internal battle for Hermione. She knew Harry was wrong yet she was much closer to him than she was with me. I smiled trying to quell her worry, "Ohh Hermione, it doesn't affect us at all. I mean I'm sure we won't be seeing as much of each other…but we always have our library time. Two smart noggins tackling whatever these teachers can throw at us. Let's face it Hermione, we're pretty much unstoppable."

She nodded and smiled, "Good, I'm really glad you feel that way. And Charlotte…I am so happy that you found someone else. You and Anthony are great together, honestly."

I grimaced and slung my book bag over my shoulder, "Thanks Hermione. See you around. "

I left the library to grab dinner in the Great Hall. Hardly daring to believe it was already quarter past six I sat down at the end of the table which was sparsely populated. I couldn't afford to become drawn into a conversation else risk being late for my meeting with McGonagall. Bolting down some baked chicken, potatoes, and carrots. I downed it all with a glass of milk and sprinted to Ravenclaw tower to deposit my excruciatingly heavy book bag.

I found Anthony sprawled out on the very couch where we shared our first kiss just hours earlier. I waved to him before running up the stairs to my dormitory to change. I donned my gray sweater with a collared white shirt underneath. I secured my Ravenclaw tie and stepped into my pleated skirt. Checking my reflection in the mirror, I decided to loosen my tie a bit and then put on some flats. Professor McGonagall would approve at my professional attire and to my confusion I found myself wondering what Anthony would think.

Mildly disgusted with myself I turned to leave my bedroom to find Sarah smirking at me from the doorway. She eyed me up and down, "So I see you're going for a naughty school girl kind of thing, huh? Let me tell you, dear, its working. Poor Anthony does not stand a chance. I should take a leaf out of your book when I attempt to seduce that devilishly handsome potions master. I've decided I'm going to get a detention next class, that'll ensure me hours of alone time with that walking sex on a stick."

I gagged, "Merlin Sarah, get a grip on yourself! He is our professor!"

She just smiled, "You worry about you and I'll worry about him. Now can we please do something fun tonight? I was stuck in the common room with Terry Boot all afternoon!"

"Here is another area where you should take a leaf out of my book. I am way ahead of my studies, while you are sadly behind on the first day of class. And I have a meeting with McGonagall in a matter of ten minutes so I must get going. We'll do something tomorrow, promise," I watched her face fall. Though I would never say it out loud, I knew Sarah's personality, though hilarious most of the time, was rather a put off to many other girls, "Maybeee…we could plan a party for the Shrieking Shack on Friday night? Invite all the up and coming peeps."

It was an instant turn around, Sarah beamed, "YES. FINALLY you are back to the rule breaking Charlotte that I know and love! Perfect, I'll grab Mandy and we'll get to business. Have fun with Anthony, and tell me all that happens…if something happens."

I watched her sprint over to her bed and pull out parchment for the invitation list, "Alright, Sarah, have fun. See ya."

I raced down the stairs to find Anthony standing at the bottom looking rather impatient. I smiled at him breezily, "Come on, Anthony, quit dawdling. We're going to be late for Minerva!"

I sprinted ahead of him out of the common room and down the corridor. He was quicker than I thought and grabbed my hand from behind. We raced down the staircases down to the first floor where McGonagall's office was stationed. Careening down the hallway we finally reached her door. Anthony leaned on his knees, "Whewww…one minute late. Not too bad my dear."

I smiled and then knocked on McGonagall's door, still quite out of breath. She called for us to open the door. Her office was very practical and business-like. There was a painting of Hogwarts behind her desk which was made of dark mahogany. We sat down on two high-backed wooden chairs that were extremely uncomfortable. I mumbled a cushioning charm before I sat down.

"Well you two have some explaining to do before we get down to business," said Professor McGonagall in a matter of fact tone. We both glanced at each other guiltily knowing she was saving this time to fully reprimand us for our performance earlier.

"We're sorry Professor. We…we we're thinking properly," stated Anthony lamely.

If gazes could kill, hers most certainly would, "You certainly were not thinking," and then her severe facial expression changed to a genuine smile, "Why didn't you tell me sooner that you were together? It's just marvelous news!"

I had never been struck dumb before…besides that one occasion where my Hufflepuff brother, Owen, Confunded me. Yet here I was…speechless over the fact that McGonagall was actually applauding our relationship and the fact we had been roaming the castle snogging in corners. Anthony was the first to recover, "Ohh…I'm sorry Professor. It-it was kind of a secret. We decided to go public today…maybe a little too public. We wanted apologize for that incident in front of your classroom."

She actually waved her hand in the air, as if brushing aside his apology, "Don't even worry about that. Can you two keep a secret? Of course you can. I have been hoping and waiting for you two to get together since practically first year. And now it's finally happened! I know I should be reprimanding you for your displays of affection in the hallway, but I am just so pleased that you two have finally…It's just nice to see after that awful war we had."

"Thanks Professor. We…we are very happy," I replied trying to control my facial expression. I was fairly certain that a pained smile was forever implanted on my face. Anthony, however, seemed practically at ease with the situation, "Tell you what professor," he continued, "If Charlotte and I get engaged you'll be one of the first to know. You really do mean a lot to both of us."

I nodded my head and smiled at my favorite professor, finally showing her emotions for the first time to us. McGonagall smiled, and looked as though she was holding back tears, "Thank you, you two…well we…we really must be getting back to business." And just like that the serious, business like behavior commenced.

She pulled out two leaflets and handed them to us, "Now, during Christmas break you will be taking your Animagus Test at the Ministry of Magic. Granted you both have been able to transform into animals for some time, this will make it official. So these next couple months, we will be determining what animal would best suit the careers you will be pursuing. I believe you, Miss Shenwick, want to work at the Daily Prophet? And Mr. Goldstein, you at the Ministry for the Magical Law Enforcement Department?"

We nodded our heads and she continued, "Perfect. Ok then, so if you have any questions, I will address them, otherwise we will meet once a week to go over any imperfections in your transformations. Wednesday nights would be my best day, however I know both of you are on the Quidditch team."

"Yes, Professor, but we can meet on Wednesdays. We have practice on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday," I replied.

When Anthony nodded, she continued, "Ok then, I will see you two in class on Wednesday."

"Thank you so much professor, for everything," I stated as I headed for the door. She had been there for us from the start, helping us through every triumph and tribulation on our way to our shared goal of becoming animagi. Anthony agreed, "Yes, professor, if it wasn't for you we'd be lost."

I could have sworn she was holding back tears for the second time that night, "Now, now. You know it was my pleasure, goodnight you two."

We walked out of the office, and I was still taken aback by what had just transpired. Merlin…Merlin…Merlin. Anthony seemed to echo my thought, "Merlin. I had no idea she felt that way about us!"

"Me either…hey, so we need to talk…now," I said trying to recover from the Minerva incident.

"Yeah…yeah I know we do. Come on, um…room of requirement, we'll be alone there," said Anthony walking next to me as we headed to the seventh floor. I half expected for him to grab my hand as we walked but he didn't. He reached the area where the room was going to appear. I let Anthony walk past it three times, whatever he wanted the room to appear as I wasn't sure. Then, a small wooden door appeared and he opened it.

I gasped at what was inside. It looked as though we were going to walk outdoors. There was a small hill with an enormous willow tree at its peak overlooking a pond. I looked at the ceiling and saw a dark blue sky etched with thousands of stars. I smiled at him, "Merlin, Anthony I was expecting…well not this."

He grinned, "Yeah, well…I try."

I sat down on the hill and allowed my back to rest against the tree trunk and Anthony did the same. I took a breath and began, "Listen…I think that you may have misunderstood my instructions on our whole dating thing. I mean…well I guess…it's just been a little too much for a fake relationship."

"Let me get this straight ok? You want to make Harry jealous. You want him to think that you are happy with me. You want to make a display of our relationship without getting our own feelings mixed up and you want all of this because…you want to get back with Harry Potter," asked Anthony.

"Pretty much sums it up. I…I wanted to talk about one incident in particular…last night? That kiss…and the aftermath of that kiss…"

"Ohh shit, yeah, I was hoping you didn't notice that. Well…when you woke me up I was already having this…uh graphic…dream…and well then you tell me we're dating, its 2 am I was out of it…I uh…didn't mean for that to happen. So when we're alone, it'll be like…us…you know…like how we always are just close friends that make out and hold hand when others are around. I mean is that what you want?"

"If you want that then that's really what I was planning all along. I just don't want to see the look on McGonagall's face when we break up…she was so happy!" I shook my head in confusion.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. We'll figure it out, so we're ok now? I know you were kind of peeved before," asked Anthony in concern.

"Yeah, we're fine," I inched forward on the grass and layed down looking up at the stars, "It's so beautiful in here."

He turned his head and smiled at me, "I'm glad we can still do this Char. I really missed you this summer."

"I missed you too. Interning at the Daily Prophet was not nearly as exciting as I thought it would be. Did you…did you meet anyone this summer? I mean romantically while working at the Ministry?" I asked timidly.

He gave me a strange look, "Nah…no one appealed to me. Besides if I had I couldn't fake date you and we both know that'd be a major let down on both our ends."

I grinned, "Yeah, because dating you is such an honor."

"It is. Feel privileged. I mean who have I dated at Hogwarts? Padma Patil and we both know how that ended! So far…you are a much better girlfriend. Even if you are fake. You…you think…if this doesn't mess up your plan we could maybe go to Hogsmeade together next weekend? Kind of like a fake date to show you off and make Harry jealous."

I considered it for a moment. Sarah would obviously have a date for Hogsmeade…she always did…which meant I'd probably end up walking around with Anthony anyway, "Why I would love to go on a fake date with you! As long as you promise me one thing."

"Name it," grinned Anthony in triumph.

"We go to Madam Puddifoot's and stay there most of the day," I said with the most serious face.

"Uh…well on second thought Char…maybe you aren't such a great girlfriend. Merlin, you had me there for a second," Anthony said glancing at his hand for the tenth time that night. I could tell he was itching to grab a hold of it…and I genuinely wanted him to…it felt so much like Harry's when he held it. But this would be going against our new rules.

I stood up realizing it was almost eleven and I still had my potions essay to start. Sometimes I hated that I was so studious. Anthony agreed that it probably was time to be productive. We left the sanctuary of the room of requirement and began our journey to the common room. There was a surprising amount of people walking the corridors.

Our hands brushed up against each other yet he did not grasp it. Feeling as though it was my duty to fill him with the courage to at least touch my hand in public, I took a hold of it. He didn't look surprised or even taken aback by my movement; he just went with it like we had been doing it forever. We entered the Ravenclaw common room and found it bustling and noisy. Many people craned their necks as we entered. I was going to finish my homework in my room and he in his. We awkwardly hugged goodnight. Ugh...fuck it…we were 'dating' for Merlin's sake! I stood on my tip toes and kissed him soundly on the mouth.

I finally allowed myself to get reciprocate the kiss and found Anthony very skilled. His minty breath sent shivers down my spine. His hands played at the folds of my sweater teasing the skin beneath. A tantalizing warm sensation was creeping across my body. Seconds later, though we could have been snogging for several days…or months…or hours?...we broke apart.

"Night Char. I look forward to tomorrow," he kissed my cheek yet again and with a wink he set off towards the boys stairs. Without really thinking I followed him, "Wait, let's just do our homework together…it'll be faster."

He shrugged, "To be honest I really wasn't going to do any homework tonight."

I was suddenly disappointed, "Oh alright, well, see you tomorrow then."

"Wait! Char, I can…at least do potions with you. Meet me in my room?" I smiled and nodded running upstairs to grab my school bag.

We each sat on one end of the bed and began to do Potions. As if by magic we had finished within a half hour. This new bloke wasn't as bad as Snape at all. I threw myself down on a pillow and smiled, "Ahh, homework free for the rest of the night! Too bad you have Transfiguration AND Ancient Ruins."

"See…I'd normally do them but I have this rule. If there's a gorgeous, willing girl in my bed…I leave the homework for tomorrow. So I guess the question is…are you willing?" he smiled.

I played along, "Ahh, you see we hit the snag in your procrastinating abilities. I may be devastatingly gorgeous…but I am not quite as willing as you may think. However, we could make some negotiations."

I saw him glance up and down my body with a flick of his eyes and a hunger filled them, "Now these negotiations, there aren't people around to witness them as was part of our agreement."

"Now I disagree. An entire common room saw us enter your bedroom together." I kneeled on the bed now inching closer to him. His back was propped up against the headboard and his legs stretched out in front of him, "So it'd be common courtesy to fulfill whatever they think is going on…right?" I asked as I straddled his legs, I made the slightest thrusting movement with my hips and lowered my lips to his neck.

Rather than agreeing verbally he let his hands do the talking. They untucked my sweater from my skirt and caressed the skin beneath, his warm touch sent shivers up and down my body and I couldn't help but shift a little as I was still straddling his body. I had an urge to rip off his shirt when the door burst open and low and behold Sarah and Terry stood there.

"I KNEW IT!" shouted Sarah in victory, "I knew you were really getting it on. Your hormones…his hotness…it was only a matter of how much you were tempted."

"Merlin Sarah, way to scare the shit out of us!" I said as I raised myself off of Anthony's crotchal region.

"So…you two are really dating then?" asked Terry in confusion.

"No…we just thought…we just…thought it'd be fun I guess," replied Anthony.

Not wanting to continue the conversation I grabbed my book bag and Sarah, "We're going. See you boys tomorrow."

After yelling at Sarah for being a nosing prat I threw my exhausted body upon my own bed. Crap. Crap. Crap. This was going to be harder than I thought. I had feelings for Anthony that was sure. Sexual feelings for my brother. Crap that sounded bad, sexual feelings for someone who had always been like a brother to me. Now the question was Harry or Anthony? Hmmm…

Pleeeease review! I'd love to know what you guys think. It's going to get a bit more graphic next chapter. The Anthony and Charlotte relationship is going to intensify as if the Charlotte and Harry relationship. Let's just say the party at the Shrieking Shack is going to involve a fair amount of both firewhiskey and hormones!