And another one for you, because I edited it this morning.

One more chapter and then onto year 4 (Finally!)

"Oomph," I state as I fall of the ladder onto my back. From behind me I can hear Snape laughing.

"Oh yes," I state, pushing myself up. "Friggen hilarious. Glad to know you're concerned with my well being."

"After a two foot fall from a ladder?"

I glare at him and stand back up, climbing the ladder once again to grab the book that I was originally after. I pick the old curse book from the shelf and bring it down to one of the tables where Snape sits across from me.

"What's that for?" He asks me.

"I want to refine my dueling skills," I say, flipping through the chapters looking for the non verbal spells.

Snape stands up with a smirk. "Let's see what you've got."

I raise an eyebrow at him and follow him to the middle of the room. "Go easy on me," I say innocently. "I'm only a fourteen year old girl."

He rolls his eyes at me and fires a stunning spell at me before I can even get my wand out of my back pocket. I dodge it and whip my wand out, firing a stinging hex that just misses his left arm.

He face is quite expressionless as he watches me and I get the impression that he wants to see just how advanced my magic is. He sends a spell that I have never heard of at me and I produce a shield charm, watching as the red light from his wand slowly eats away at my shield. As I send more force behind my charm, it fires Snape's own spell back at him and he has to jump out of the way in order to miss it.

I quickly retaliate while Snape is slightly off his guard and send a blasting curse at him, cringing as he hits the wall behind him I lower my wand as he slowly stands up, a scowl on his face.

"Don't fight back," he says slowly. "I want to see something."

I nod at him and watch as he points his wand at me. "Impiro."

Suddenly I find myself directly linked with Snape's mind. "Sit down." I can hear him say from within my own mind. Knowing that he was attempting to control me using an illegal curse, made it easier for me to want to disobey him. "No," I respond, looking at him fiercely in the eyes. He smiles at me and drops the curse.

"It's encouraging to know that along with mastering Occlumency you can also throw people out of your mind when other methods are used. It's a good skill to have."

I shrug at him. "Did you ever find anything interesting out about my blood?"

"No," he says annoyed. "I didn't. As far as any potion or spell can detect, your blood is completely normal."

"I guess that means I'm normal," I say with a smile, sitting back down at the table and re-opening the book in front of me.

"Hardly," he replies, using his wand to push the book away from me.

"You could have used you hand," I state. "This book is about as deadly as a Flobberworm."

"Get dressed," he states. "I need to get some more supplies before school starts back up. Teachers are required back three days before the students."

"Remus wasn't," I say in confusion.

"Lupin had you and a full moon to deal with, now get dressed."

I stand up and walk up the stairs to my room, quickly changing into shorts and a t-shirt, securing my wand in my back pocket and shrinking my moneybag so it can fit in one of my front pockets.

When I walk down stairs, Snape is already waiting for me by the door. I follow him outside and he takes hold of my wrist apparating us to Diagon Alley.

"Do you need anything here?" He asks as we walk away from the apparition point.

"I got everything I needed last time here except for extra parchment. How long will you be? Can I just stay in the bookstore?"

He considers me for a moment before nodding. "I should only be about 45 minutes, so that should be fine, assuming you can remain there without incident."

"You're doubting me?" I ask, feigning insult.

"Just go," he says, turning left towards a small potion ingredient store.

"Yes, Sir," I state, continuing down the road towards the bookstore.

Just as I make it to the front of the store, I hear someone call out from behind me.

"Hey Black!"

I turn around quickly to see Angelina and Alicia walking towards me, the two other Chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, along with Katie Bell who had quit the team the year I joined because her parents wanted her to focus on schoolwork.

To my surprise, both Angelina and Alicia pull me into a hug. "How has your summer been?" Angelina asks me excitedly.

"Pretty good," I reply. "Long."

"Are you seriously living with Snape?" Alicia asks me.

"How'd you find out about that?" I ask in return.

The three of them look at each other quickly. "We sat with Oliver on the way back from Hogwarts."

I narrow my eyes at the three of them. "And did Oliver say anything else?"

"A little bit," Angelina says with a smirk. "I heard you gave him a pretty decent goodbye."

"Before you get pissed at him," Katie says quickly, correctly interpreting the look on my face. "We kind of forced it out of him. Although, it wasn't that hard to guess seeing as he blushed every time your name was mentioned."

"Lovely," I state. "Is anyone else aware?"

"It was only us in the compartment," Alicia replies. "And he made us swear not to tell. I'm pretty sure that he was terrified that George would find out."

"I basically told George," I say, watching as the Patil twins walk by us. "Told him I wanted to give Oliver a proper goodbye at any rate. He's not stupid, I'm sure he knows."

"Well good luck with that one," Angelina says with a smile. "I'll see you on the Quidditch field then."

"I wouldn't bank on it," I mutter.

"What?" Alicia asks.

"Nothing," I reply, shaking my head. "See you guys later."

Walking into the store, I immediately make my way to the back wall where several shelves of transfiguration books lay, hoping to find one to help me through the last portion of my animagus transformation; my head.

Finding nothing, I head to the defense section, looking for more up to date hex and curse books than the ones that I've been reading at Snape's place. Finding a decent book, I pick it off the shelf and begin flipping through it. Deciding that it would do, having a fair amount of spells in it that I am unfamiliar with, I close it and look around the rest of the shelves figuring that Snape won't be around for a half hour or so.

Feeling a hand on my shoulder I turn around to see Oliver's brother, Topher, standing with a large smile on his lips.

"Hello, Toph," I state as he pulls me into a hug.

"Tay," he says happily. "How went my brother's visit?"

"Brilliantly," I reply, turning back around to browse the Charms books. "I'd be surprised if he didn't tell you so himself."

"You know him well then."

I shake my head, reading the titles in front of me. "I'd appreciate you not telling anyone."

"Don't worry about that," he replies. "When I started making fun of Oli, he held me at wand-point."

"As he should have," I state with a smirk, turning to face him. "What was there to make fun of him for?"

"My first thought is you."

"Bugger off," I reply, attempting to hide my smile. I've been close to Toph almost as long as I have Oliver. Less so, being in different houses, but we still get along extremely well. "Ready for year six?"

"More than ever, how about you, fourth year, right?"

"Yeah," I reply. "I doubt it will be more challenging than last year."

"Easy for you to say," Toph replies, reaching behind me to pick a book off the shelf. "You get what, perfect marks in everything without studying?"

I roll my eyes at him. "And how were your O.W.L.s?"

"Mostly Es and Os…no clue how I scraped an O in potions…I doubt I'll even pass this year."

"If you want a tutor, I can always attempt to help you. I try my best with Harry and Ron."

"Yeah," he says laughing. "Like I'm going to ask help from a Gryffindor two years younger than me and on an opposing Quidditch team."

"It might be the only way you pass my class," Snape's voice sounds from behind us, making Toph jump.

"And what is this?" He asks with a faint smile. "Set your eyes on the other Wood brother now? Forgotten about Weasley?"

As Toph starts to laugh, I elbow him in the side.

"Are you ready to leave?" Snape asks.

I hold the defense book up. "I just need to pay for this."

He nods at me and walks to the counter waiting for me to follow.

"I'll see you on the train then," I say to Toph, pulling him into a hug. "Tell Oli I say hello then."

I follow Snape to the counter and hand the book over to the witch behind the counter, pulling out my moneybag from my pocket and giving her the correct amount for the book.

"Don't you think you have enough books?"

"Never," I reply, looking down the road. "Is there any place near here that sells parchment?"

"Up the street a bit."

We walk up the Alley in silence and Snape turns me towards a small notary shop. I pick up several rolls of parchment and some new never out quills and head to the counter, paying for them and walking back out with Snape.

"Why is it that we're required to write with quills?"

"Because it's much neater than any Muggle invention."

"So a simple pencil would be wishing too much?" I ask him.

He rolls his eyes at me. "What is your issue with quills?"

"They're messy."

"Not if you use them correctly," he counters.

Reaching the apparition point, he grabs my arm and apparates us both back to his house.

Give me love, because I love you all 3