A/N: A guest reviewer has pointed out that another story with the same name as this already exists. Now I can't say I'm really surprised seeing that Don't Look Back in Anger is a timeless classic song by Oasis. However, a shitload of stories with the same name actually does exist in the site, and I had thought of an alternate name for the story. So let me know if you think I should keep the name or change it.

3. Pleasant and Unpleasant

"Wow, this place is bloody awesome!"

She couldn't help but agree. It looked very warm and comfortable. They were standing in the little common room, which had comfortable armchairs, a soft sofa, a table and a huge window that overlooked the Lake and the Forbidden Forest. On one side, two staircases led to the two bedrooms, and there was a fireplace in the other side, with a lion and a serpent painted artistically on the sides. Beside the entrance, there was a small frame, which was now occupied by the picture of a woman in midnight blue robes. McGonagall had explained that when she wasn't there, the frame would act as a one way looking glass to the corridor outside.

"Would you set up the password now?" the miniature version of the portrait of the Blue Mistress, who guarded the Head's Dorm, asked.

Harry looked at Daphne and asked, "What do you say, Greengrass?"

She gave a shrug that said 'might as well'.

"So did you have anything in mind?" he asked. She shook her head.

"What about you?"

"Sure, how does 'no nose no life' sound?" he asked.

"What? What on earth is that supposed to mean?" she asked with a scowl.

Harry looked a bit disappointed. "You know; old Voldemort has no nose. So it's a way to make fun of him, saying that he is a lowlife pedophile with an unhealthy obsession with Neville."

Daphne's mouth fell open. That boy is going to be murdered! But she was unsure if he was being serious or not. She knew that the Dark Lord looked like a snake and was indeed nose less, but...

"You're not serious, are you?" she asked him suspiciously.

"Nope. That's my godfather you're looking for." He replied happily. The mutt would be proud.

"What?"

"Dumb blonde never gets a joke." He grumbled.

"Hilarious. Ha ha ha." She drawled sarcastically.

"Now she gets it." Harry told the amused portrait of the Blue Mistress who chuckled.

"You are so much like your father, dear. I swear if your eyes weren't green I would think that James Potter is back again. You even have both badges like him." The woman said fondly, gesturing towards the Head Boy and the Captain badges on his uniform.

"My lady, you and I are going to have a very long chat someday." He winked at her.

"Hate to break this up, but I need to go to my room, so you mind setting the password a bit quickly?" the Head Girl asked irately.

"You suggest one if you don't like my one, then."

"How about 'Potter should die'?"

"How about 'Blondes should fly'?" he shot back.

"What?"

"You know, blondes have airy heads, so they should fly." He tried to explain. She stared at him coldly.

"Hey Blue Mistress, you know what's the similarity between a smart blondes and self-casting wands?"

The Mistress shook her head in amusement.

"Both are heard of, but never seen."

Daphne looked tired by now.

"Where is that responsible Head Boy who was all matured up a few hours ago?" she wondered loudly.

"Wishing he wasn't stuck here with you. Hey Blue Mistress, can we call you something shorter? It's a mouthful name for conversations. No offence."

"None taken. I guess you can call me Maggie when there is no company. That was my real name."

"Right. Nice to meet you, Maggie. Call me Harry."

Maggie smiled.

"So about the passwords..." she asked, looking at Daphne, who looked like she had a headache.

"Go on, Greengrass." Harry encouraged her. "I'll go by anything you set as long as it's not too predictable."

She thought for a few moments, and then said with a sly smile, "Mama's boy."

Harry gaped for a moment, and then burst out in laughter.

"Mama's boy it is. Good one Greengrass!" he extended a palm to her for a high five, but she pointedly ignored it.

"Oh don't get your arse so tight. I could feed you coals and you would crap out diamonds." He complained.

"We. Are. Not. Talking. About. My arse." She said through gritted teeth.

"Well, you can't ignore the fact that you have a great arse, despite being so tight and all." He commented offhandedly.

"I'm going to kill you if you say that again."

She said it with some serious venom in her voice. Mentally picturing his mother's glare, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Umm... sorry . I was just fooling with you, and your arse seemed like a nice thing to fool with if you know what I mean..." he laughed feebly, but quickly stopped at the look in her face.

"Fuck off, Potter." She said coldly, and quickly disappeared to her room. Harry cursed.

"Have you two been like this always?" Maggie asked curiously.

Harry shook his head. "Not always. Didn't know her before third year. Had to share Arithmancy project with her and let me tell you, she was a royal bitch back then. Though I have to admit that I have been a total jerk with her too."

"What happened? Bad breakup?"

"Merlin no! Do we look like we were ever decent to each other? No, it was different. I had friends from Slytherin and I... er... kinda assumed that all the Slytherins are like my friends. So I tried to chat with her and she gave me this cold, blank look, which I took as a personal insult. I tried again, but she didn't even nod. So I... um... called her some names, and next thing I know I was sprouting boils all over, and it was a war since then.

"I've been really mean to her at times, but she wasn't a white fluffy bunny either. I think she gave more than she got, taking advantage of my slight aversion of the idea of attacking a girl. I had to think before I cast a hex, and she used that time to hex me with whatever came at the tip of her tongue. Once she used a curse that almost lost me a few bags of blood, but for some strange reason, when Madam Pomfrey asked, I said I was attacked from behind. I don't know why, I felt that it wouldn't be right to get her in trouble.

"Good thing was, she avoided me for almost two months after that. She never said it out loud, but I guess that in her own way, she was apologizing to me, and for some even more strange reason, I forgave her and never took revenge for that particular event."

"So what was the bad thing?" Maggie asked and Harry chuckled.

"Well, technically it was a good thing too. Our war cooled down, and instead of hexing each other to oblivion, it was just the verbal insulting. Don't get me wrong, I still dislike her for being so arrogant, bitchy and rude, but I kinda miss the fun in the hexing spree against her." he smiled fondly at the memories.

Maggie shook her head in amusement. Potters sure knew how to make a girl mad at them.

"Well you two had a bitter relation for years, but now you have to be responsible. I suggest you try to apologize. It wouldn't be good if the Head Boy and Girl are glaring at each other on the first day of school." She suggested.

"Apologize? Are you crazy? She would hang me to the Astronomy Tower all night again!"

Maggie wanted to hear the details about the first time, but she decided to save it for another time.

"She is not a thirteen-year-old anymore, dear. And neither are you. Just go."

Harry nodded at her. He really didn't feel like apologizing to her again, but he guessed Maggie was right. It was his last year at Hogwarts. If he couldn't build more bridges, he shouldn't at least burn the existing ones. He went up the stairs leading to her room (to his relief, it didn't become a slide like the normal girls' dorms) and stood in front of the closed door which had a silver plate with 'D. Greengrass, Head Girl' written in green letters. Releasing a breath, he knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again and she got no response this time, either. He tried to open the door, but it was locked.

Shit! This must be bad.

He waved his wand at the door to cast a charm he learnt from his father. He used it when Lily wouldn't open the door and he had to apologize. He winced at the similarity, but decided to go with it.

"Hi Greengrass. I know you can hear me, but don't worry, I can't see or hear you. So I reckon what I said to you earlier wasn't a great thing to say, and given our history, I could claim it was almost polite. But I'm not claiming that. I just want you to know that I'm really, truly and sincerely sorry. I'll even make puppy faces if you open the door, but don't feel obligated. In fact, don't open it. I don't think I can stand the look in your face when I'm apologizing. So where was I? Umm... oh right. I am really sorry for what I said and I didn't mean anything by it, but you already know that. Err... so yeah, that's it. Goodnight, Blondie."

He turned around to leave but he heard the door open. He stiffened, expecting and bracing himself for a curse. To his surprise, she called him.

"Potter?" he turned around.

"Hey there." He tried to sound cheery, but she didn't even notice.

"I'm sorry, I overreacted. But you are still a jerk."

Harry nodded in acceptance. "Wanna have a butterbeer?"

"We are not friends, Potter. Goodnight."

"Bitch."

"Wanker."

They turned away at the same time, both smirking slightly.

Ioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioi

"Hey mate." Dean Thomas called at him when he entered through the portrait hole.

"D-man! How's it going?" Harry called back brightly and Dean groaned. Back in their third year, Dean had tried to get everyone call him 'D-man', which they still used to tease him about.

"Aw c'mon Harry, would you let that go?"

"Not a chance, mate."

Dean shook his head and went the other way and Harry laughed at him. Gryffindor common room looked the same as ever, and Harry was already missing it, knowing that although he was still a Gryffindor, he would definitely not spend as much time here as he did before.

"Hey Mione." He called his bushy haired friend, who was, to absolutely nobody's surprise, reading.

"Harry! Congratulations on making Head Boy. Didn't have a chance to say it before." She said with a smile.

"Thanks! I was sure you would be the Head Girl. Why someone would choose that cow Greengrass over you is beyond me." He complained as he plopped down beside her.

"Be nice." She admonished. "I was hoping to get the badge, but now I think of it I am probably better off being just a prefect. I could use the extra time to prepare for NEWTs."

"But you are so much better than Greengrass!" Harry whined and she chuckled.

"Not really. We are pretty much evenly matched in terms of grades and performances." She admitted and Harry rolled his eyes.

"I meant as a person. And aren't you supposed to the brightest witch of our generation?" he asked. Hermione actually laughed at that.

"Oh Harry, that was something Hagrid said to cheer me up. I love Hagrid, but he doesn't really have much of a clue about academics, does he?" she asked in a lower voice, as if Hagrid was about to sneak up on them and eavesdrop.

"I heard Ron say that." He pointed out and it was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, when we were dating."

Realization dawned on Harry's face as he realized that he never heard Ron say that once they broke up. "So how are things going? Are you still seeing that muggle?"

"No." Hermione said without much enthusiasm. "I mean he was cute and interesting, but there are so many things I could not talk to him about, it was driving me crazy. Also, he made some racist jokes when we were out eating, and I decided that he is not really worth the trouble."

"I see." Harry nodded. He was about to speak up when Parvati showed up.

"Hiya Harry!" she said brightly. A bit too brightly.

"Hey Parvati." He replied a bit cautiously.

"Congratulations on making Head Boy. You deserve it!" she said passionately.

"Erm… Thanks, I guess." He replied uncertainly. She grinned brightly at him.

"See you around, Harry!" she thankfully left with that, but not before squeezing his arm and letting her hand linger for a bit more than necessary.

"So someone has a crush on you." Hermione stated as a matter of fact before laughing out loud. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that was weird. She has never been like that before. I mean, she knew I had a crush on her back in fourth year and she practically avoided me. Why the sudden change of heart?" he wondered.

"I think she changed her mind last year after she saw you shirtless last year after you won the Quidditch Cup." Hermione speculated. Harry nodded.

"That makes sense. I am quite… dishy!" he ended with a fake pose that made Hermione laugh.

"Shut up, you prat!"

Ioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioioi

"Lily Potter."

He waited for a few seconds and his mother's face appeared on the mirror.

"Hi mum."

"Hello darling. How are you?"

"As well as you saw me in the morning. You?"

"Missing you, of course. But healthy as a horse."

"I miss you too, mum. Hey, guess who the Head Girl is?"

"No idea. Who is it?"

"Greengrass! Can you believe it?"

"No kidding. You remember what I told you earlier, don't you?" Lily asked a bit sternly.

"Yes mum, I remembered. She was about to go for my throat, but I explained that being Heads gives us responsibilities and we shouldn't fight in public."

"In public?"

"Come on mum, you really think we can go without having at least one serious argument a day? Merlin, we already had one a few minutes back! Though this one was unintentional."

"What did you do?" she asked in exasperation. Harry looked indignant.

"Hey! Why do you assume it was my... okay no need to glare, we are talking like adults here." He backtracked quickly.

"What did you do?" she deadpanned.

"Ah... well, it's like I... ah... made some inappropriate comments about her derriere and she didn't see the humour in that." He finished the last part quickly and braced himself for the shouting.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING? WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU COMMENT ABOUT A WOMAN'S ARSE, CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME?"

"Hey, you don't complain when dad compliments your-"

"Are you dating her or planning to marry her like your dad?" she asked irately and he almost dropped the mirror in shock.

"Mum!"

"Then you don't get to make inappropriate comments about her arse. Understood?"

"Yes mum."

"Good boy. Now go and apologize to her right now."

"I already did."

Lily was surprised. "Really? You apologized? Did she forgive you?"

"Always the tone of surprise! Yeah, I really apologized and she apologized back for overreacting. And I also asked her if she wanted to have a butterbeer as a sign of peace." Lily smiled at this.

"She refused, I assume?"

"That would be a safe assumption."

"Did you kiss and make up?" Sirius appeared in the mirror, grinning wickedly.

"Sirius!" Lily and Harry yelled at the same time.

"Hey, I was just curious."

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked him.

"Oh, now you remind me. James wanted some stuff you are supposed to have."

"I'll get it." Lily moved away and Sirius looked at Harry questioningly.

"No. She told me I wasn't her friend, then I called her a bitch and she called me a wanker and we parted."

Sirius barked in laughter and Lily reappeared in the frame, holding a box.

"Are you still telling her blonde jokes?" she asked him suspiciously and groaned when Harry looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Harry, how many times do I have to tell you-"

"But mum, she secretly loves them too!" Harry whined.

"Oh really? Pray tell how did you come to know that?"

"Er... she doesn't hex me anymore?"

Despite her sternness, Lily had to laugh. Sirius interjected.

"Hey pup, I got a new blonde joke for you. Wanna-"

"SIRIUS! GO AWAY!" Lily yelled in his ears and he quickly ran away with the box.

"It's getting late, Harry. Go to bed. I'm really glad that you're at least trying to be mature. Don't give the girl much trouble. Okay?"

"But mum, if she starts-"

"Harry."

"Right. Goodnight mum. Love you."

"Night darling. Love you too."

He smiled at his mother as her face disappeared and he looked back at his own reflection. Carefully, he put away the mirror and yawned. Putting up a ward as usual, he leant back to his bed and almost instantly fell asleep, unaware of the fact that the girl next door was about to bang her head in frustration for letting Potter get under her skin once again.

Next day, Harry woke up earlier than usual. The moon was still out and the sky was barely showing the hints of blue from the window beside his feet. The window was critically placed so that the sunlight wouldn't directly hit the face of the occupant of the bed before it was at least ten. It was unimportant for him because he rarely woke up after six am, thanks to Master Zhi and his morning exercises. Quietly, he stepped out of his room and climbed down to the little common room. The place looked oddly peaceful in the dark. He went up to the mini portrait of Maggie. Right now, Maggie wasn't there and the little square showed the empty corridor in front of the portrait that was the entrance to the Head's Dorm. Not wanting to wake up the Blue Mistress, he quietly opened the door and headed towards the Room of Requirement.

He knew that many quidditch players take up jogging as the first thing to do in the morning, but Master Zhi taught him better. Jogging or running was good, no doubt, but it simply makes sure you are not falling out of shape, nothing more. The trainings he had to do, however, were far more beneficial and way more exhausting.

And exhausted he was when he returned to his room. He had the familiar urge to sleep down his exhaustion, but he managed to crawl to the washroom instead. One would think that doing the same drill for several years might get him used to it, but that was the motto of his training. Never get used to it. As much as he cursed Master Zhi, he had to admit that the man knew what he was doing. He remembered the early days of his training when he couldn't gather the strength to get back to his room for an hour after he was done. At least he was way better than that now. After a long shower, he went down.

"Went jogging?"

He was surprised to see Greengrass standing beside the large window in the common room that had a magnificent view of the lake and the forest.

"You are up early." He commented.

"I normally wake up at this time. You didn't answer my question."

"Something like that. Why do you ask?"

Daphne shrugged. "The Blue Mistress asked me why you were panting like a dog chased by centaurs when you came back."

He ignored the jibe. "I do some exercises. So what do you usually do being up so early? Breakfast isn't served before eight."

"I like to enjoy the quiet." She replied shortly, looking at him pointedly. He chuckled at her.

"Mind if I stay here? I will keep quiet, I promise."

She considered for a moment. "As long as you don't bother me." She said with a shrug. He nodded and conjured two chairs and then placed one of them right in front of the huge window. He saw her doing the same, keeping some distance between them. He didn't mind. He wasn't in a mood to bicker with her this early in the morning. And Merlin knows how hard it was for him to make a full conversation with her without throwing insults.

The Forbidden Forest looked peaceful and... asleep. The windows of Hagrid's hut were closed, which meant the Gamekeeper was already out for his morning duties. His eyes wandered through the lake and the empty bank, remembering the Triwizard Tournament, where Neville was abducted and Voldemort resurrected.

That was the first time he met Fleur, and he took it as a challenge to charm the haughty quarter Veela who made most boys drool a litre every time she threw back her hair. Taking tips from both his father and Sirius, he managed to take her to the Yule Ball, and later to a date in Hogsmeade. But both of them knew that they weren't made for long distance relationships, and both of them had far too less in common to pursue a relationship. Most importantly, there wasn't the spark. They parted as friends and wrote to each other occasionally. A fact that made Ron Weasley green with jealousy when Harry was answering Seamus' queries about how good quarter-Veelas were as kissers.

Something silver caught his eye and he looked just in time to see a unicorn through the forest trees. He smiled widely, his heart filling up with gratification. Unicorns were the reason he could be yelled at by his mother when he did something foolish or wrong. At first he did stupid things just to hear his mum shout at him. Last year he confessed this to her and though she threatened to spank him next time, she hugged him tightly all the same.

He still felt hollow when he recalled looking at the empty eyes of his Lily Potter, lying in a white bed in the Permanent Damage Ward of St. Mungo's. Since he could remember, his dad and he went to visit her almost every day, often accompanied by Sirius, and sometimes Remus. He saw his father laugh and smile along with his friends, but he knew, his father knew, and Sirius and Remus knew that he was hollow inside. Harry would just sit beside his mother, telling her about his day, as James would stand at her feet, staring at her blank face, those green eyes he used to worship devoid of life. She was well fed and cared, but lack of sunlight made her pale face almost paper-white. She looked like a living ghost.

Going to Hogwarts was the toughest. He couldn't think of not visiting his mother for several months in a row. James tried to tell him that he would be occupied by magic, his lessons and new friends, but Harry knew he was trying to convince himself as well as Harry. Both of them were comforted by the mere presence of the other when Lily wouldn't respond to their pointless ramblings. Going to Hogwarts would be a test for both of them. It would be difficult, but life was a bitch and she liked to make things difficult. Or so Sirius said.

Then, in the summer after his first year, they were all sitting beside Lily, Harry telling her all about his year. He was telling her about the detention with Hagrid, when James suddenly perked up, and for the first time in eleven years, his eyes showed hope.

Harry didn't know, nor did he care about the details, but all he knew was that his dad did some research and he reached to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe a unicorn could help Lily. That was all Harry had to hear, before he started praying to whatever higher powers might be up there.

He was informed when appointments were made with the healers and his mother was taken to a magical forest in the west, where Unicorns were said to be more common. Hagrid accompanied them, as he knew more about magical creatures than anyone else, and Harry waited at home with Sirius. After a few weeks, Remus came back alone. But he had good news. According to him, Lily was showing signs of life and James decided to stay there for as long as it took for her to recover. Harry immediately wanted to go and see her, but Remus sad that it was better not to confuse her when she was just coming back.

Remus then gently explained a confused and disappointed Harry that Lily doesn't remember anything from the last eleven years, so she wouldn't know how Harry looked like now, as her memory would call an infant Harry. And since Harry was almost an exact replica of a twelve-year-old James she went to school with, her still healing brain might collapse again from the confusion.

Reluctantly, Harry agreed to stay and it wasn't until after the next Thanksgiving, when his mirror sent vibrations to his hand during his DADA class. He pulled it out, wondering why his father called him during class time.

"Hi dad, I'm in a class-"

"SHE IS AWAKE!"

Ignoring the students and Lockhart, he ran out of the class and within seconds, he was in the Teacher's Room.

"Potter, ten points from Gryffindor-"

He totally ignored Snape's drawl and came to a halt in front of McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter, aren't you supposed to be in class?" the old witch asked with a frown.

"Professor, I need to go home right now." He panted. Snape decided to interject again.

"The school doesn't bow down to your wishes, Potter-"

"I wasn't talking to you." He didn't spare the bat a glance.

"Detention, Potter! How dare you-"

"Just shut the hell up! Expel me for all I care! I need to go home. Right now."

McGonagall interrupted before it got out of control. "Explain Mr. Potter. And do not interrupt, Severus."

He was granted to leave the premises for a week, without any actions taken against him. That was undoubtedly the best week of his life. Properly meeting his mother for the first time since he could remember, getting used to the fact that his mother, his own mother, was actually hugging him, telling him how much she missed him and how much she loved him. He learnt to cast the Patronus charm with that very memory.

"You look very cheerful."

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the comment by Greengrass. As usual, she looked expressionless, but there might have been a tint of disgust at being happy this early in the morning.

"I remembered something that made me very happy. Wanna know what it was?"

"Not really." She replied quickly, already regretting speaking out loud.

"I know you are curious, so I'll tell you anyway." He said, ignoring her irritated look. "In third year, you were drenched in that gooey, green liquid when you tried to intimidate Peeves, and you smelled horrible for the whole day. Remember?"

"Piss off, Potter!"

Harry snickered, wondering what she would do if she knew that it was him who suggested Peeves to bother her in the first place.

A.N: The joy from reading reviews are the only thing that I get out of writing fanfiction. Would you deny me of that joy? Could you?