Harry watched the countryside fly by the train window. He never got tired of the Hogwarts Express, and this particular trip seemed to be better than any of the others before it. Not only was he sharing a compartment with his best friends Ron and Hermione, Colin Creevey had also joined them. Harry might not have thought much about hanging around with Colin in the past but now it made all the difference.

It had been a month since that first night, the first time they'd ever really seen each other outside of school. Harry had kept waiting for things to cool off, for one or both of them to realize that things had come on too swiftly to last. That dreaded moment never came, and in fact Harry had stopped dreading it. Sure, they'd had a squabble or two but nothing so big that it had changed Harry's feelings. If anything, he was feeling a little more strongly with each day that passed, as they got to know more and more about each other.

It had been a surprise, just how easily Colin was able to fit into his life. Harry had come right out with it the first night they were at the Burrow. All the Weasleys had been around the dinner table and he and Colin got to telling them just what had transpired to bring them together. So maybe they'd left out the part about being in a nightclub, but the important part was that the story ended with Harry telling his best friend's family that he had every intention of dating Colin Creevey.

They had been surprised, but ultimately accepting. Mrs Weasley's reaction had been to tell them that she had better not catch them sneaking into each others rooms at night, which caused both Harry and Colin to blush vibrantly. Harry hadn't though much about going that far with Colin, as of yet. Mrs Weasley had inadvertently made sure that it was in the forefront of everyone's minds.

Hermione had arrived a week later and it seemed to take her a little more time to get used to the situation. Colin had won her over by asking for help with his summer homework. Harry didn't bother to inform her that he'd actually finished it weeks ago.

Harry hadn't thought it prudent to be overly affectionate in front of the Weasleys. He and Colin held hands sometimes, occasionally shared chaste kisses. There had been a couple times where control had been lost, where he and Colin might have been spotted exiting Mr Weasley's shed looking a little ruffled. If anyone minded, they didn't say anything. Harry had seen Ron and Hermione in a similar state of disarray on at least one occasion. Sauce for the goose was sauce for the gander, after all. Though if that turn of phrase made Hermione the "goose," Harry supposed that would make Ron the "gander." He didn't know where that put Colin or himself and he didn't want to think about what the "sauce" was.

Harry was brought out of his memories of the summer by the sound of Colin laughing at something Ron had said. They were getting close to Hogwarts. Just as he hadn't kept any secrets at the Burrow, he wouldn't be keeping any once they got to school. The Weasleys knew, Hermione knew, even Voldemort knew about Harry's feelings for Colin. The magical link that bonded them made the dark wizard privy to some of Harry's most intimate thoughts. The funny thing was, Voldemort didn't even care, not really. It was just another thing he could potentially use against his mortal enemy. It wasn't something Harry was too worried about, either. If Voldemort was going to try to get to him by attacking his friends, he'd have done it already.

They weren't going to go around making announcements or anything, but Harry was sure word would travel. Harry was pretty sure it wasn't just his ego that made him think people would care about his love life. That made him imagine an article about his relationship with Colin in Witch Weekly or some other magazine. The idea made him cringe a little.

Then he thought again of Voldemort. If the most evil wizard who ever lived didn't give a fairy's wings about whom Harry chose to love, then it was hard to get worked up about what anyone else might think.

Colin tugged on Harry's hand. "Let's go find the trolley, I want another chocolate frog before we get to the station."

There was a glint in the younger boy's eyes. A glint that told Harry in no uncertain terms that chocolate was the furthest thing from Colin's mind.