Ghosts and Baggage (Dare/Anna)

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare was impatient for the classroom to clear out. He waved at Brindle, though she didn't seem at all pleased with him after he'd cut in on her with that guy, but his mind was elsewhere.

Can I talk to you after class?

Would she stay because she had to? Would she feel trapped? Would that one request make things even worse? He was Transfiguration Professor now, and he couldn't ask her to leave his class because they had common baggage. This had to be done. They had to talk it out.

Yes...Sir.

Was it inappropriate? He didn't even know if he was allowed to talk personal stuff with students. He'd never talked personally with a professor, but then, he'd never been taught by someone he'd been in class with only the year before. Maybe he should have given it a year. Maybe he should have taken that time off that Michael had wanted him to take so badly.

But no, he wanted this. He wanted to teach, to feel useful to something more than himself.

He liked Anna. He had from the first time he'd met her in the Room of Requirement, when he'd been so panicked that he hadn't even been able to tell her his name. They'd joked around a couple times, but it had always been tense. A ghost of Michael was always there, reminding him why he couldn't be friends with her. He hadn't forgotten how upset Michael had been that day after they'd walked Anna to the hospital wing.

Please let this help.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna wasn't sure what to think as she took her time putting her things away while the rest of the class filed out of the doors. She nearly dropped her book before securing it safely in her bag and closing the clasp. Slinging the strap over her shoulder, she walked to the front of the class and waited for the last student to disappear into the corridor. Her hands were clasped perhaps a little to tightly in front of her and her gaze was on the bookbag sitting by the professors desk. It brought home just how odd this situation was. Had she been here last year, he would have been finishing his studies with her, not teaching her.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare let out a heavy breath and closed the door, then turned back into the room. His hand rose, rubbing absently at the back of his neck a moment before lowering again as he cleared his throat. "Anna," he started, though he wasn't at all sure how to go on. He thought, then approached her, his gaze taking in her posture and wishing he knew exactly what to say.

"I don't want this class to be like... awkward," he said. "So if you want to talk about it, I want to talk about it." He hovered, then turned into the classroom and sat down at one of the desks. "And please, just call me Dare right now."

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle turned toward Dare and gave him a tight smile. He didn't look nearly as intimidating when he was sitting in a student desk even if he was still dressed in his professor robes. She unclenched her hands, wiggling them before picking at a thread on her jean messenger bag. "I'm sorry, I'm....I'm not normally like that in class. It's just.....well....I've been gone, and it's a new term.....and all these changes....." Annabelle was talking slower then she normally did, not sure exactly what she could say and stumbling over her words as she tried to make a bit of sense.

She didn't give him enough time to form a response before trying again. "It's, It'll be fine. I mean, I know my head wasn't really on class today.... but I just found out last night..... It'll be fine, right?......I mean, It's gotta be weird for you too, doesn't it?" Annabelle blushed at her last question, not meaning to have spoken it out loud. She was sure it was awkward for him, otherwise he'd never have asked her to stay after so they could somehow try and work it out.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's brows drew slightly together as he looked at Anna, trying to read between the lines and at a loss. "Yeah, a little," he admitted, "but I mean..." He looked away, then shook his head at himself before searching her eyes and trying again. "I feel like I ought to apologize to you, or explain things. It's been two years, and I mean..." He ran his fingers almost roughly through his hair, then shifted in his seat. "You don't have to listen to this," he said. "It's just the erumpent in the corner and stuff like that drives me crazy." His eyes asked for patience or understanding, something that would make this okay.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Oh, no, please don't!" Anna exclaimed. Dare's words made her snap out of her nervousness, temporarily forgetting about her coming classes as she addressed the situation at hand. She moved so she could lean back against the side of a desk in the front row, partially sitting on it, and met his gaze. "The past is the past, it's done and buried. I mean, it's not like we have a past, not really. And anything between Michael and I is long gone and over." Anna got off the desk and sat in the chair at the desk next to Dare. This seemed like a conversation that should be had face to face.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

You'd think so, wouldn't you? Dare thought. He wished Michael could move past it, but Michael held onto grudges so long that it still felt like it was happening. He didn't understand it. Maybe Michael was protecting himself by holding onto it, but it wasn't doing any good.

"If it's over, why is it weird?" Dare asked. He folded up his legs a bit to give Anna more room, unable to come up with an answer on his own.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna chewed on her lower lip, not answering right away. She thought back, trying to find an answer and an explanation. "Well, when we split up it was hard, and awkward, confusing and, well, awful. Michael and I avoided each other like the plague, and since I didn't know you, I associated all those negative feelings to you as well. I didn't understand what had happened, or why."

Anna looked away, staring out the window, trying to draw the courage to explain things. She didn't want the whole year of classes to be the hell that today was. "I think if Michael and I had seen each other, it would have worked itself out better. But as things went, I blamed myself for a long time." She didn't voice directly that she'd thought there was something wrong with her, couldn't tell Dare of all people how insecure she'd become because Michael had left her for a guy.

She turned back from the bird soaring in the distance as she forged ahead with what she gathered was the issue. "Over time everything faded, life moved on, words said were forgotten. I moved on, Michael too, and everything should have been fine. But we never interacted after, so we never learned to coexist without the, well, drama. So now we see each other and don't know how to act. Not that I've spent any time analyzing it or anything." Anna smiled with a small shrug and a blush creeping across her cheeks. "I guess I've lumped you with Michael so when I see you I think of the awkwardness I'm going to have being his student."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's lips curved, a crooked smile replacing the quiet, near-misery of before. Annabelle was such a Ravenclaw, and his eyes lightened, despite the heavy subject. "You know, I think you're pretty cool." he said. "I'd totally hang out with you if it wouldn't freak everyone out." The Prophet and the other students, yeah, the Headmistress, probably, but he could only imagine the pissy mood it'd put Michael in.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

The light pink across Anna's cheekbones deepened, spreading across her nose. Her lips parted into a true smile. Just like that Dare had taken it in, evaluated the worth, and found the words to break through the gap. She could see how Markise had been such close friends with him. If it hadn't been for Michael, she'd have probably met him and maybe even become his friend as well. "You're pretty cool too, just don't tell the other students. It's bad enough being a Ravenclaw, if word got out that I thought Professors were cool, my life would be ruined."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's lips spread into a grin, and a low chuckle rolled up from his chest. "I'll keep it quiet, I swear," he said, crossing himself. "So we can do this, right? Get through class and everything? How'd your orange turn out?" He'd seen her working at it, but how much of it had been nerves and how much had been lack of experience he had no clue.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna cringed at the thought of her worst transfiguration to date. "It was awful." The dread of the afternoon returned at the thought and Anna inherently moved her hands over her stomach. She could get past being worried about Dare treating her differently now, but what about Michael? Hopefully she'd be able to leave any worries about DADA until after Transfiguration class in the future."Like I said, my mind wasn't on Transfiguration, I managed it, but it wasn't very good. Hopefully I'll be able to focus more next time."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare was silent for some moments, thinking. "I can't let you redo it without letting everyone redo it," he said. "If you can show up to class early or something, maybe we could like, talk. Get your nerves out or whatever. It's not anything I can help you with, is it?"

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna smiled at the offer that she would never accept. She'd managed to talk to Dare about her past with Michael, but she wasn't about to tell him how frightened she was to take that class. She could just imagining him talking to Michael about it and that would only make things worse. "It wasn't that bad. I made an orange, but it took me multiple tries, and the flesh inside was a bit pale." Yes, she was a perfectionist. It was still probably one of the better ones in the class compared to some of the other fruit she'd seen turned in for marks. She had always excelled at Transfiguration, so even a minor mistake was an epic failure to her.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"All right," Dare said with a nod. He wasn't about to push her. He'd made the offer and they'd cleared the air, even if it apparently hadn't needed cleared. "You can go, I guess. I hope I'm not making you late for anything. I can like, write you a note."