𝔸 𝕊𝕡𝕪 𝕀𝕟 ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕥 𝔻𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

The Yule Ball was a magical experience.

Anya and Harry danced until they couldn't anymore and spent what felt like the entire night talking.

It was like a dream.

They had found a small alcove high above the castle to stare down at the flickering lights of the castle tower.

They were completely alone.

"Wow." Anya breathed. "This Castle..... it's even more beautiful than you said."

She stepped up on top of the battlements and stared down over the edge.

Harry, used to her reckless behavior by now, watched as she looked out over the horizon, her pink dress fluttering in the wind.

"I wish I could live here." She said.  "We could call it... Anya's Castle."

Harry laughed.

She smiled and turned around to face him.

"I can see why you like it here." She said. "Why you never want to come home."

His smile faded.

She leapt down to stand beside him.

She had never been tall, and although he wasn't tall himself he still towered over her.

"Can you blame me?" He asked.  "There's nothing for me outside of Hogwarts. I have Sirius, and I have you. Everything else..."

"Is here." Anya said.  "But you won't be in school forever."

"Yeah." Harry said.

His voice was glum.

"I know."

"That isn't a bad thing." She chided.  "You're going to have a great life after school. I know it."

"Hogwarts is the first place I've ever felt at home." Harry said. "I can't just...leave it."

"You should look into teaching here." Anya suggested.

"If you're that serious about never leaving. I'm sure Dumbledore would love to have you."

"A teacher...?" Harry repeated. "What would I teach?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts." Anya said immediately.  "Moody is leaving at the end of the year, right?"

He grimaced.

"I don't want kids asking me about Voldemort all the time."

"Just tell them in your very first lesson that you won't tolerate questions about that." Anya said. "Easy."

"You have it all figured out, huh?"

Anya looked down at noticed that his hand was holding hers.

Her heart fluttered.

"If we're still together." She said. "I'll get to come here more too."

"If?" Harry asked.

"Well, one of us could die."

It was a pretty dark joke, one that she almost regretted, but the mood between them was so light and fluffy that he actually laughed.

"Most people don't marry the first person they date." Harry said.

"My parents got married before their first date." Anya told him. "Before they even knew each other, actually."

"Really?" He was surprised.