A/N: Sorry, Sorry, Sorry. I have had a lot of homework lately, my computer broke and I have only recently started using my Mum's computer and started applying for jobs all within a couple of months, but it's one more week until holidays so I will be able to write and post more often. Thanks for sticking with me. xoxo MAHP
Chapter 4 – Classes & Crushes
Annie stared out the window of the DADA classroom thinking about the upcoming holidays. She hated the holidays, all her friends left to go home to their families except the self-proclaimed Marauders. She wouldn't mind if it was just her, James, Remus and Sirius but of course Peter had to find an excuse so he can stay.
The door opened at that moment causing Annie to jump. "Sorry I'm late Annie, Professor Dumbledore needed to speak with me," Gideon said as he waved his wand causing all the chairs and tables to clear out of the way.
"What are we doing today?" Annie asked moving into the centre of the room with Gideon.
"Put your wand away. We're going to work on fighting the muggle way," Gideon told Annie as he conjured up some mats for them to fight on.
"Why?" She asked, confused.
"You're not always going to have your wand with you, so you need to learn to defend yourself without it," He told her.
They spent an hour practising before they became too tired to. They sat with their backs to the wall talking.
"Do you have any family other then Sirius that are willing to fight You-Know-Who?" Gideon asked.
"No, not unless you count the very extended family," Annie told him staring at her hands.
"What do you mean?" He asked confused.
"Well, James could be considered family if you count the fact his mother was a Black. That could be the same for many other people in Pure-Blood families, they are all interrelated," Annie told him with a slight scowl on her face.
"Why did you run away from home?" Gideon asked suddenly.
"Siri and I got fed up with all that 'Pure-Blood supremacy' stuff that our parents kept sprouting, so we just left. James' parents where more than happy to take us in. I'm the girl Mrs Potter never had and Sirius is like their second son, just another part of the family," Annie told him, the scowl turning to a smile as she spoke about the Potters.
"Come on. Let's just do another half hour of practise then call it quits," Gideon says pulling Annie up to face him. They stood there, transfixed, staring each other in the eyes, their faces almost touching. The sound of Peeves laughing in the distance shook them out of their trance.
The next half hour was quite awkward between the two and only after Gideon had left, leaving her alone in the room, did she allow herself to think about it properly. She thought about it while she walked the familiar pathway back to the Gryffindor common room. Was it possible she was falling for her mentor?
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Terms end came closer and the castle grew colder. One late November night Lily and Alice sat by the fire in the common room finishing the last of their homework. Annie and Remus then walked through the portrait hole grumbling about how Filch had caught them, James, Sirius and Peter in their newest prank and gave them separate detentions, theirs was helping Hagrid in the forest. Remus bid Annie goodnight and left for the boys dormitories while Annie sat down with Lily and Alice.
"Okay, now that Annie's here will you please tell us that big secret you where talking about earlier. I am dying to know," Alice said as soon as Remus closed the door behind him.
"Well, you see, there's this boy an-" Lily started blushing.
"I knew it. You like Potter!" Alice cut Lily off.
"How did you know it was Potter?" Lily asked.
"He's had the hots for you for ages, not to mention he has become more mature so you would at least give him a chance. Been driving me up the wall asking what you like in a boyfriend and things like that. I have had to cast a silencing charm on him more than once," Annie told Lily.
"Really? Ok not important. Well, I don't know whether to ask him out or not. I thought I might ask you two because Alice has been in a relationship since fifth year and Annie has spent most of her time here hanging with all the guys," Lily told them.
"That is going to be kind of hard. If you ask him out it might seem a little suspicious, ever since first year you have been saying no whenever he asks you out and then if you say yes if he asks you out again he might think you are joking or playing a prank on him," Annie spoke more to herself then the others.
"But I think I have an idea," Annie continued after a minute or two of silence between them. "There is a Hogsmead weekend in two weeks, I could invite the boys to come with us-"
"Then we could get everyone to bail except James, meaning that Lily and James are stuck together for the rest of the day," Alice cut in, squealing. The three of them spent over an hour talking, meaning that it was past midnight by the time she collapsed on to her bed exhausted.
The next day Annie tracked down her brother, Remus and Peter in the Common Room and, after making sure James was nowhere nearby, told them the plan.
"So, after years of telling Prongs to leave Evans alone and to stop asking her out, you want to set them up?" Sirius asked confused.
"Yes, keep up," Annie told him impatiently. "So do you understand the plan?"
"Yes, we do. We are just surprised by the change of heart, that's all. Are you sure it's going to work?" Remus spoke hurriedly, glancing over his shoulder as if waiting for something to happen.
"Of course it will Moony. The Pranking Princess of Hogwarts and Gryffindor Love Guru teamed up to plan this," Sirius told Remus with a 'duh' expression on his face.
"Great! What are you three so anxious about? You look like James did when he was dared to confess his love to Moaning Myrtle," Annie told them with an expression of worry and confusion on her face, looking around as well.
"We, Peter and I, put pink hair dye in James' shampoo by mistake, we meant to put it in Remus' but we got mixed up," Sirius told her as there was a loud shout coming from upstairs. "Oh, and write a great eulogy for our funeral,"
"Will do but I need Remus' help and he had nothing to do with this so, bye!" Annie said, then, quick as a flash, she grabbed Remus' arm and pulled him towards the girls dormitory as James came storming down the stairs. Annie and Remus just managed to close the door to the girl's staircase behind them as the door to the boys smashed open revealing a furious, pink haired, James.