CHAPTER THREE,
intentions.

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THE PREFECT MEETING DID NOT TAKE LONG. ONCE EVERYONE WAS assigned a task, they made their way back to their dormitories and prepared for the next day as classes would begin in the early morning. Remus dropped Anastasia off at the Slytherin tower before heading towards the Gryffindor one, the two shared some words and a smile before parting.

Anastasia is currently in her dormitory, propped up against the headboard of her bed with a book in her hand. She can hear the faint sound of water running as Dorcas is in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. The two shared the bedroom with two other girls who rarely ever stayed in the room, one always ended up falling asleep on the couch in the common room and the other would end up in another's bed. The only thing she knows about them is their names, Margot and Lydia.

"Ana," Dorcas called out. Anastasia hummed in response, her eyes stayed on her book as she flipped a page over, "I know you've told me this earlier but do you really think James is being truthful? What if he's trying to make a fool out of you?"

"Let him." Anastasia simply responded.

Dorcas peeked her head out from the bathroom doorway, a surprised expression clear on her face. Her lips curled into a slight grin before a giggle left her mouth, "You amaze me every day, Anastasia Lee."

Anastasia looked up from her book and shrugged with a laugh, "At the end of the day, he's a boy. He'll do boy things. I don't know him well but I know him. He's bound to pull something stupid."

"You're not wrong," Dorcas mutters as she makes her way over to Anastasia. She fell back on her bed with a loud huff, "I'm not going to lie though, Potter's got fitter, hasn't he?"

Anastasia sputtered out a choked gasp, she whacked Dorcas on the arm with her book causing a loud laugh to leave the curly-haired girl's lips, "Dorcas Meadowes!"

"I'm only joking! You know I don't swing that way." Anastasia merely rolls her eyes at Dorcas' response. She shoved the girl off her bed making an abrupt surprised shout to leave Dorcas'  mouth.

"Go to bed, Meadowes."

"Aww, love you too, Ana."

. . . . . . .

The following morning, the Great Hall was packed with students when Anastasia arrived with Dorcas. Which was surprising to her as it was extremely early in the morning, and usually there wouldn't be that many people in the hall. It took some time for Anastasia and Dorcas to finally reach their house's table, tons of first-years were blocking their way which wasn't that frustrating to them as it was the students' first time here at Hogwarts.

"Morning, you two are looking quite beautiful." Barty Crouch Jr. smirked at the two as they took a seat in front of him. On each side of the brunette boy was Evan and Regulus. The aforementioned boys raise their eyebrows at Barty's comment.

"Barty, it is way too early to be high." Anastasia sighed, giving the boy a pointed look. Barty let out a scandalized gasp, a mocking hurt expression was etched on his face. The boy had a hand over his heart as well.

"Ana, you wound me! Besides, can't I compliment my friends without being accused of such things?"

"No," Regulus bluntly answered. Evan snorted at the raven-haired boy's curt response. Dorcas giggled and drank some pumpkin juice from her glass. Anastasia's lips twitched into an amused smile as she watched Barty pull Regulus into a headlock. Regulus lets out a shout of surprise as he is caged in Barty's arms.

"Let me go, idiot!"

"Apologize first!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I swear to fucking—"

Barty's arms slightly squeezed harder, "Ah, ah, ah, don't use the Lord's name in vain!"

"You're not even fucking religious!" Evan laughed harder, his eyes shut tightly as he clutched at his stomach. Anastasia giggled and patted Barty's arm, signaling him to let Regulus go. Barty rolled his eyes with a smirk before letting go of Regulus.

Dorcas raised an eyebrow at Regulus and grinned widely, "Your hair looks outstanding, Reggie."

Regulus scowled and hastily fixed his hair, "Shut it, Meadowes." Anastasia chuckled and leaned over to help him, her fingers threading through the strands, perfectly combing it back into how Regulus would usually style his hair.

"Uh oh, we got a crowd," Evan muttered playfully as he took a sip from his pumpkin juice. The four turned to see some people glancing towards their direction in amusement. Anastasia sees a fellow housemate, Aria Hart giving them a shake of her head, chuckling at their antics.

The sound of hushed whispers scattered through the air but a particular group of students caught Anastasia's sight. The Marauders. She caught James' eye and the bespectacled boy sent her a hesitant wave which she slowly returned with a look of mirth.

Anastasia shook her head before turning back to her friends who, beside Dorcas, all stared at her in shock. She furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion, "What?"

"You didn't tell them about last night." Dorcas stated as she popped a grape into her mouth.

"What the hell happened last night?" Evan demanded with wide eyes, "You're buddy-buddy with Potter now?"

"Don't tell me," Barty paused dramatically with a hand over his chest, "You replaced me?!" Regulus rolled his eyes as if he was saying, here we go again.

"Oh stop that, Barty." Anastasia chortled before giving Evan a look, "And I'm not buddy-buddy with him. He asked for a truce last night and I don't know, I guess we're on okay terms now."

"I think that's a little suspicious." Regulus pointed out and Barty was quick to nod in agreement.

"One-hundred and ten percent."

"I agree." Evan nodded as well, "That man hated your guts, and people don't change overnight like that. Something's definitely up."

"Would I be an arsehole if I suggest that it has something to do with Lily?" Barty questioned making Regulus pause from eating, the boy gave him a pleased look.

"For once, you didn't say something idiotic."

Barty rolled his eyes, his voice dripping in sarcasm, "Oh, geez. Thanks." Evan snorted at that.

Anastasia pondered for a moment before evidently shrugging, "Maybe. But, I don't think we'll become close friends anyways. Maybe acquaintances, but nothing more."

Regulus kissed his teeth, "Well, just be careful, okay? I don't want you to get hurt." Anastasia smiled at him and brushed her fingers teasingly under his chin causing the boy to send her a scowl.

"Don't worry, little. I'm a big girl."

"If Potter does pull something, I'll beat him up with my beater's bat." Evan let out a loud 'tsk', Barty slapped him on the shoulder with a huge grin.

"Great idea, Evan! Count me in!"

"Absolutely not!" Anastasia gritted out with wide eyes, "You'll do no such thing!"

"Buzzkill." Barty huffed with a faux annoyed look.

Dorcas shook her head with a laugh and gathered her belongings, "Alright, children. We got class, we'll be late if we don't start heading there now."

Anastasia gave Evan and Barty one last look which they snickered at. She grabbed her bag and followed after Dorcas with Regulus, Evan, and Barty. The walk to Potions was not that long, Barty and Regulus did not have Potions with the other three as they were a year younger; the pair had Transfiguration instead.

"Alright, see you three later," Barty smirked, giving them a small salute. Regulus rolled his eyes at the boy's actions before sending the trio a smile.

"See you." The two then walked away after sharing goodbyes and the other three walked in which gained the attention of the students who were already inside.

"Ah, hello you three!" Professor Slughorn beamed with a smile, "Come in, come in! Take your seats. Hurry." Anastasia glanced around to see that the only empty seats were beside Marlene, a Hufflepuff named Lila Hawthorne, and James. Within a blink of an eye, Dorcas was seated next to Marlene and Evan with Lila which left Anastasia with James.

She gave Dorcas and Evan a betrayed look. The two only quietly snorted in response. Anastasia inhaled in a sharp breath before making her way over to James. She sees that Sirius and Remus are sitting right behind the boy. As she came into view, Remus was quick to send the girl a grin whilst Sirius looked at her with an unreadable expression. Anastasia swallowed thickly and gave Sirius a small smile which he slowly and hesitantly returned.

James, on the other hand, was busy scribbling on his parchment until he felt a presence beside him. He glanced up and was thoroughly surprised by who he was met with, "Lee."

"Potter." Anastasia sent him a timid smile, "Is this seat taken?" James blinked before he shook his head and gestured for her to sit down. "Thanks."

"Perfect!" Professor Slughorn cheers as he glances around the classroom. "I see that you're all seated now. For the rest of the year, the person that you're sitting next to will be your partner. There will be no changes, so please no complaints."

"Professor!" Severus Snape raised his hand, his lips curled in distaste as he side-eyed the female student beside him. Anastasia recognized the girl, a Hufflepuff named Maeve Harrington, she watched as the girl flushed in embarrassment. Maeve was known to be terribly bad at potions and she knew Severus did not want to be her partner, considering the boy was gifted in the subject. She would only slow him down.

"Severus, I'm sorry but you will be paired with her." Slughorn gave Severus an empathetic look.

"Don't be so harsh on the girl, Snivellus." Sirius cackled from behind Anastasia and James. "She probably doesn't want to partner up with you and your greasy hair anyway." A chorus of laughter rang through the air making Severus go bright red in anger. James snickered and twisted around to give Sirius a high-five. Anastasia rolled her eyes and she slightly turned her head behind her, her gaze fell on Remus who gave her an exasperated expression. A quiet snort left her lips as she shook her head before she turned back around to face the front.

"Mr. Black!" Slughorn yelled with wide eyes, "Five points from Gryffindor for your rude comment! Now, stay silent, or else more points will be taken away from your house."

"Killjoy." Sirius mumbled before a quiet yelp left his lips, "Moony! What the hell was that for?"

"Shut the fuck up."

Anastasia's lips twitched into an amused grin upon hearing their conversation. She felt eyes on the side of her face making her look over to her left. James' eyes went wide like a deer caught in the headlights. Anastasia raised her eyebrows at the boy in mirth, "Can I help you?"

James licked his lips and quirked a brow at her, "You know, just because I called a truce doesn't mean I suddenly stopped disliking you. I still do. I'm just not publicly showing it anymore."

Anastasia only gave him a smile, "Good to know."

James narrowed his eyes, "You're something, Lee." Anastasia merely rolled her eyes in response, but her lips were tugged in a slightly amused grin.

James went quiet for a bit, he drummed his fingers against their desk for a few moments before he spoke hesitantly under his breath, "So. . . uh, you and Lily, are you guys friends?"

Anastasia furrowed her eyebrows together, "Yes. Why?"

"Nothing," James suddenly beamed in happiness, his entire demeanor had changed giving Anastasia whiplash, "Just asking because I saw you with her last night during dinner."

"Oookay. . ." Anastasia blinked.

"Mr. Potter! Can you tell me how you would cure a Petrified person?" Slughorn called on James who froze. The bespectacled boy stared at him with wide eyes which made Sirius let out a quiet chortle.

Anastasia discreetly elbowed James, causing him to scarcely look over at her. She slid over her parchment and his eyes trailed down to see her very neat handwriting on it, Mandrake Restorative Draught.

James gave Anastasia a quick glance before he shot Slughorn a confident smirk, "By giving them the Mandrake Restorative Draught, sir."

Slughorn nodded, impressed. He gave James a wide smile, "Great job! Five points to Gryffindor for providing the correct answer. Now, the Mandrake Restorative Draught will bring a person back to their original state if they were cursed or transfigured."

"Why did you help me?" James whispered under his breath as he leaned over closer to Anastasia.

"I helped you because you called a truce, not because I like you." Anastasia responded as she continued writing her notes.

James blinked in surprise before a quiet chuckle left his lips. Maybe, he lied. Maybe, he is starting to like Anastasia Lee. Just a tad bit.

. . . . . . .

After Potions, Anastasia along with everyone else had Charms before eventually, it was lunchtime. Loud chatters filled the atmosphere of the Great Hall. Everyone talked animatedly with one another as they took bites from their food. Anastasia was sitting with her usual group of friends; Regulus, Dorcas, Evan, and Barty, but this time they were joined by Pandora, Evan's twin sister. Anastasia decided not to eat much as Quidditch practice would begin right after. She would always get ill during practices if she ate too much.

"You need to eat more." Regulus pointed out to Anastasia, "You need energy for practice."

"I ate already." Anastasia answered half-heartedly. Regulus raised a brow and placed his sandwich in front of her. Anastasia let out a sigh before taking a small bite out of the food. Regulus shook his head making Anastasia groan, the raven-haired girl took a bigger bite out of the sandwich and Regulus nodded with a pleased look.

"Reg's right." Dorcas mumbled through bites, "You need energy for practice. We have our first game in a couple of days and even though you're the best player on our team, we don't need you fainting and falling to your death."

"Ouch, brutal." Barty winced causing Pandora to let out a small giggle. Evan shook his head with a chuckle before he placed some food on Pandora's plate.

"What? It's true!" Dorcas exclaimed, "It almost happened once, remember? Thank god Regulus was able to catch her in time."

"Oh yes, I remember that day." Pandora muttered with wide eyes, staring at Anastasia, "That was a scary experience. You were falling so fast that no one registered what was happening until Regulus saved you."

Anastasia pursed her lips awkwardly and exhaled through her nose, "Yeah. . . I remember that alright."

"Exactly." Regulus raised a stern eyebrow at her, "So, eat."

Anastasia raised her hands in mock defense before grabbing a strawberry from their plate of fruits and taking a bite from it.

"Isn't there a Quidditch game later today?" Pandora asked softly. Her curls shook as she turned over to look between Regulus and Anastasia, "I heard it's Gryffindors against the Hufflepuffs."

"Yikes." Evan winced as he stabbed his fork in a sliced apple, "Hufflepuffs will absolutely get demolished." Pandora's eyes went wide and she gave Evan a smack on the arm at his words.

"Evan! That's not nice!" Dorcas giggled at Pandora's cry whilst Barty smirked in amusement.

"He's not wrong, little Rosier. As much as I hate the Gryffindors, their Quidditch team is brilliant."

"I have to agree, yeah." Anastasia gave Pandora a pitiful look, "I know you have some Hufflepuff friends but they lack some skills that the Gryffindors have."

"I know that." Pandora mumbled, "It's still hurtful to say that."

"Never change, Pan." Evan snickered, ruffling his sister's hair. Pandora shrieked and whacked him on the arm again.

Regulus laughed before he gave Pandora a nod, "To answer your question, yes. There'll be a game later today. I'm quite positive that it'll start an hour or two after our practice."

"Ooo," Pandora smiled. She looked around at everyone and raised an eyebrow, "Will you all be going? I am."

"Of course we are." Barty smirked, placing his arm around her shoulders, "It's Quidditch! We would never miss a match."

"Great!" Pandora beamed with a huge grin. A sudden shout of her name made her turn and she saw her friends in her house which was Ravenclaw, waving her over to their table. "Oh, I have to go. My friends are calling me, but I'll see you all later, okay?"

"Bring that boyfriend of yours too." Dorcas winked, "I want to see who captured baby Rosier's heart." The mention of Xenophilius made Pandora blush. She gave her a nod and quickly scampered away.

Anastasia grabbed another strawberry from their plate of fruits and took a bite of it, wiping off the excess liquid that dripped from the corners of her lips. "Alright, we should get going to the pitch. I want to have a long practice so that we're all thoroughly prepared for our upcoming game."

"Aye, aye, captain." Barty smirked as he gave the raven-haired girl a mock salute. Anastasia playfully rolled her eyes in response, a grin plastered on her lips as she stood up from the table. Regulus shook his head with a laugh and followed suit. Evan quickly shoved the remnants of his food down his throat before using a napkin to wipe his mouth.

"Do you think Hufflepuffs will somehow win against the Gryffindors today?" Dorcas asked as they exited the Great Hall. The five of them began to make their way down to the Quidditch Pitch.

"Nope." Barty answered, popping the 'p'. "One, Amos Diggory is an absolute fool. I don't even know how he was given Captain. Two, they don't have a clear strategy. They just do whatever. And three, the Gryffindors have some of the best Quidditch players. The Prewett twins, Potter, and Sirius." Regulus pursed his lips at his brother's name, "Oh, let's not forget Frank Longbottom. He's one hell of a seeker."

"Barty's right." Evan chuckled, "They're doomed."

"Now, if we were going against the Gryffindors," Barty smirked as he turned to face Anastasia, "We would win with no doubts."

"Arrogant ass." Dorcas rolled her eyes.

"I'm just being honest!" Barty raised his hands in mock surrender.

The five of them finally arrived at the pitch. Anastasia chuckled and gave Barty a slight nudge, directing him toward the large storage room where their equipment was placed, "Get your broom, fool." Barty gave Anastasia a faux sad look before grabbing his broom. The rest of them grabbed their brooms as well as the equipment that was used for the sport. They started heading over to the middle of the Quidditch Pitch, and as they reached closer to their destination, Anastasia noticed that the other two players of their Quidditch team were already there.

"Lucinda, Emma!" Anastasia waved at them. The two girls turned and gave her a grin. Lucinda Talkalot and Emma Vanity were both seventh-years and wicked players. The two of them are Chasers alongside Anastasia.

"Hey!" Lucinda smiled, "Are you going to the match later on today?"

"Of course." Anastasia grinned, "It's Quidditch." Emma chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen." Dorcas grinned, glancing around at all of them. "Are we ready or what?" Everyone let out a laugh and Anastasia signaled to them to go on their brooms. Before they went up, Anastasia opened the equipment chest and handed Evan and Barty their beater bats. Evan winked at her, giving her a nod as a silent 'thanks', and zoomed up into the air with the rest of the players following after him. She unlocked the clasps that were on the Quaffle, Bludgers, and Golden Snitch—letting the Snitch and Bludgers dash into the sky.

"Are we all in position?" Anastasia shouted, glancing up to where they all were waiting. She hovered her hand over her face to block the sunlight. Regulus gave her a nod and she positioned herself on her broom before bolting into the sky.

"Alright, Dor. You know what to do, make sure I don't get the Quaffle into the hoop." Anastasia stated. Dorcas nodded and gave her a grin, "Reg, keep your eye on the Golden Snitch no matter what, but watch out for the Bludgers that Evan and Barty will send after you." Regulus nodded before she continued, "Lucinda and Emma, you're both fantastic. Just make sure to always be faster than the other team in getting the Quaffle." The two girls nodded with a smile and Anastasia looked over at Evan and Barty who was sporting a smirk, "And, you two. . ." Anastasia sighed and gave them a pointed look, "Just be careful, don't get hurt, and please no foolishness."

"We would never." Evan gasped in mock offense but Anastasia only rolled her eyes in response. Barty chortles and adjusts his grip on his bat.

"Positions, everyone." The sound of whooshes filled the air as everyone sprinted to their places.

Anastasia took in a deep breath and gave everyone a grin, "Game on."

. . . . .

author's note! —
james: "let's call a truce!"
ana: "okay"
also james: "i still don't like you"
ana: "....okay"
my unbothered queen 😭😭
james be giving so many mixed
signals like 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

and ana's gonna be eating her words soon, "we won't become close friends" ....sure!!!!
p.s. the angst i have planned is so great, you're not ready 😈😈

shoutout to -gutspilled -HEARTS4LORELAI greenharts for their little mentions in this chapter :')

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