At least once a month, the gang had a movie marathon day at Apartment 4A. Some months had a particular theme and they each brought a DVD/blu-ray disc or picked an applicable movie to stream. For instance, the previous month's theme had been "Space." Therefore, the final lineup had consisted of a mix of movies that was just as eclectic as the group that watched them: "Apollo 13," "Serenity," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Alien," "Wall-E," and "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy."
Some months, however, they watched an entire series on movie marathon day. In this way, over time they had gone through all of the parts of many of their favorite science fiction, fantasy, and adventure series. These included "Star Wars," "Indiana Jones," "Lord of the Rings," "Matrix," "Men in Black," etc...
However, for the weekend after May 2nd, Sheldon had decreed a set of double marathon days. Of course, this was mainly an excuse to watch all of the movies in the new blu-ray complete box set that he had just purchased for the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. However, the other guys were just as excited as he was. Therefore, they all got out their cloaks and wands, and settled in for a couple days of magic. Penny, Bernadette, and Amy joined them for a while, but jumped ship somewhere during "Prisoner of Azkaban", when the werewolf started to remind Bernadette a little too much one of her former test subjects. Therefore, the ladies all went out to eat, do some shopping, and have some girl time instead – especially since they knew that the guys would probably not resurface until the next day. It was a long movie series, after all.
…
It was late the next night when the group of bleary-eyed and exhausted men finally called it quits as soon the credits started to roll after part two of "Deathly Hallows" ended. During the last two days, they had watched the series and most of the commentary features in their entirety - stopping only for food, scheduled bathroom breaks, a few quick refreshing levels of various Harry Potter-themed video games, and just a couple hours of sleep when nobody could hold their eyes open any longer. Now that they were finished, the rest of the fellows stumbled away to their various abodes and/or significant others, leaving Sheldon by himself at 4A. The isolation did not bother him in the least because he was barely able to don his pajamas and brush his teeth before he fell into bed and sleep overtook him. In fact, his dream came to him as soon as he hit REM.
It was only the second day of classes and everyone was still trying to get back into the schedule and routine of their magical boarding school. Everyone except Sheldon Cooper, that was. He thrived on routine and did not see any reason why that should change just because it was his last year at Hogwarts. He stood up from the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall after lunch and straightened his blue and gold tie. "I'm going to the library to work on my Arithmancy formula, Leonard. Are you coming?" he asked his friend and dorm mate. The other young man didn't answer immediately, however, because he was too busy staring at the Gryffindor table.
"Have you met the new girl, yet?" he finally muttered. Sheldon followed his line of sight to the aesthetically pleasing blonde as she laughed and chatted with her new housemates. "I heard that she transferred here from Ilvermorny over the summer for her last year."
An American…and a Gryffindor, thought Sheldon. Well, if that does not spell trouble, then I don't know what does! Then, he sighed and reminded his friend, "Well, if she is in our year, then we will see her tomorrow in Herbology. We have that with the Gryffindors."
"Oh yeah!" Leonard said and a smile brightened his face as he followed his friend to the library. As soon as they had pulled out their materials and begun to work, however, they were interrupted by their friends from the Hufflepuff House. Sheldon sighed in exasperation as Howard, Raj, and Stuart sat down and began talking loudly about the new girl, as well. After several minutes of listening to his four companions argue nonstop about who was going to get the girl first, and what smooth moves they were going to employ, Sheldon huffed in impatience and irritation. They don't even know her! He then systematically packed up his materials (Haste is no excuse for disorganization, he thought sensibly.) and went in search of a quiet place to study…somewhere with less hormonally-charged stupidity. However, as soon as he exited the library, he wondered where he should go. At first, he thought about returning to the Ravenclaw common room, but he had a suspicion that Amy would be there – and he really did not want to get caught alone with her. He usually enjoyed her company since she was a serious scholar like himself. However, ever since they accidently ran into each other at Diagon Alley this summer and consequently had lunch together at the Leaky Cauldron, sometimes she would give him these hungry wolf eyes like she wanted to gobble him up. Therefore, Sheldon had been trying to steer her in Leonard's direction since he knew that his friend would be more amenable to such attention than he was.
Since the library and the common room were out, he decided to head down to the grounds and try to find some privacy there. At first it seemed to work. He perched on one of the large rocks on the edge of the lake and watched as the giant squid lazily waved his tentacles around for a while. Then he got down to business. Just as he thought that he might be on a breakthrough with his Arithmancy, though, he heard a small sound behind him. Thinking it might be Leslie Winkle or one of her band of Slytherin thugs trying to sneak up on him just like they used to in the earlier years, he whipped his wand out and spun around. However, instead of one of the snakes that he had been expecting, he found that he was pointing his wand at a lioness, instead. It was not just any lioness, either. It was the new girl!
"Merlin!" she exclaimed in what Sheldon recognized as a Midwestern American accent. He did pride himself on having a wide range of knowledge, after all. Before he could consider this further, or wonder why she was there, the blonde Gryffindor continued to speak. "Watch where you are pointing that thing. You could put a girl's eye out, you know." Her bright smile, on the other hand, told him that she was not really angry…and in fact he found himself irrationally wanting to respond to it with one of his own. However, her next words caused the unusually pleasant feeling to disappear. "You wouldn't be MoonPie, by any chance, would you?"
Sheldon sighed and dropped his wand. "You have been speaking to my sister." It was not a question, but the girl nodded anyway.
"Well, Missy is my dorm mate, so it would be a bit weird if we did not talk at all, you know," she stated cheerfully. "In fact, she was the one who suggested that I come see you. I was hoping that you could help me."
"I don't do other people's assignments," he stated baldly and grasped his wand firmly again – just in case. The new girl may be Missy's friend, but his sister had a habit of throwing hexes his way that were even meaner than some of the ones that the Slytherins hurled. Merlin only knew how he had shared a womb with that girl for nine months…and who knew of what this American witch was capable! He had always heard about how wild and magically irresponsible they were across the pond.
The girl's bright smiled faded at this remark. Sadness and then anger flashed in her eyes. Sheldon stood transfixed at the sight of her magic building as her hair practically sparked with the force of her power. It…she…was beautiful…just like the solution to a complex Arithmancy calculation! He was distracted from the sight, however, when she grabbed her own wand and pointed it at him. "I…do…not…cheat!" she said forcefully. "Missy said that I should come to you because you were a gentlemen and would not hit on me like all the other guys have been doing. However, insulting me is even worse!" She spun on her heel and began to storm away. Sheldon was stunned by her vehemence and the hurt look in her eyes – which he had put there. He suddenly felt a little ashamed of what he had said.
"Wait!" he called out at her retreating back. She stopped, but did not turn around, and she still held her wand at ready. "Most people outside of Ravenclaw…and even some of them...only talk to me when they want something," he added softly. "I…apologize…if that was not the case."
The girl slowly turned around and spoke quietly herself. "Trust me, Sweetie, I understand very well what it is like for everybody to want something from you. They just want you for your brains and me for my body. I am sorry to have jumped to conclusions that you would be willing to help me. Therefore, your apology is accepted, and I hope that mine is, as well.
Sheldon stared at the new girl in surprise. The implication that people only wanted to hang out with her because of her looks…or even worse…because of what they wanted to do to her because of her looks - just like his idiot friends - made his blood boil and it was his turn to become angry this time. He may have been considered a scrawny kid back in the Muggle world, but here at Hogwarts he was almost a fully trained wizard at the top of the class…and most people knew better than to mess with him now. In fact, he had not had a problem with bullies since fifth year. During his Prefect patrols, he had been angry enough after he caught the Slytherin gang of his year bullying a group of helpless first year Puffs, that he actually turned Kripke into a ferret. Since human to animal transfiguration was notoriously difficult, his head of house was much more impressed than angry with him, and he did not even have to serve detention for the incident. An additional benefit was that after the story of that experience spread, everyone left him alone. Therefore, he was going to use his reputation to make sure that they knew better than to mess with her, too. They could discuss that later, though. In a show of good faith, he slid his wand back up his sleeve. "Your apology is also accepted. How can I help you?" he asked.
"It's Potions," she explained as she put her wand away, too. Sheldon nodded his head, sagely. Potions was his specialty, next to Arithmancy, but a lot of people had trouble with that class. The professor was notoriously tough and did not take kindly to any kind of nonsense. However, before he could open his mouth to mention the study group that he knew the Hufflepuff Trio attended, she spoke again. "I am a pretty good Potions student on my own, just like my brother was. However, unlike him, I have no desire to dabble in illegal ones and end up on the wrong side of the Aurors." She paused to shake her head while he digested that interesting piece of information before she continued. "Therefore, I don't really need help, per se. It is just that I was reading the textbook and there are at least three potions in the prerequisite list that I have never made before and I don't even recognize the names of a few ingredients that are listed in the index. I suspect that we call them something different over in America and it is more of a cultural/translation problem rather than one of understanding. I swear that sometimes it is like you people speak a whole different language over here!" Here she paused to laugh, and Sheldon realized with surprise that he found the cheerful sound to be quite delightful. "Anyway, I was hoping that you would be willing to discuss it with me first, so I don't have to spend the whole day researching in the library while getting ogled. There is one creepy Hufflepuff in particular that keeps following me around in there. I know that I could take him down easily - even without magic – but I don't want to get into trouble so soon in the school year."
Sheldon just sighed since he had a feeling that he knew exactly about whom she was speaking. Howard was not exactly known for his luck, skill, or tact with the witches. He appreciated her restraint, however, since he had no doubt that she could probably cause quite a bit of harm to his admittedly scrawny friend. She had that certain corn-fed vigor about her. At any rate, his attention snapped back to Penny when she started speaking again. "If you could go over the list of ingredients with me, and possibly talk me through the unfamiliar potions, then I would be happy to return the favor, you know. Missy told me you were a wizarding genius, but if there is anything that I could help you with, just let me know."
"Thank you for the offer, but I doubt that you could help me," he replied, a bit pompously, but he really believed that he was speaking the truth. "I excel in all of my classes – even Herbology. I just really don't like getting my hands dirty there." He was pleased that she had offered, though, since it meant that she did not expect something for nothing – like so many others seemed to do.
"Oooh, I love Herbology!" she exclaimed, surprising him again when she didn't even sound insulted by his comment. "I grew up on a farm in Nebraska, you know – so a little bit of dirt is nothing to me. I'll tell you what. Our two houses have the class together tomorrow. Therefore, why don't you let me be your Herbology partner to pay you back for your help in Potions. We will split the work. I will do all of the planting and dirty stuff and you can do the boring essays – especially since Missy said that you really enjoy them. Then we can work together on the rest." To his surprise, that actually sounded like a good deal to Sheldon. He could keep his hands clean and it would give him a chance to keep her close and start to figure out which blokes were bothering her. He did not really understand why that last part was so important to him, but he still agreed immediately and they split up to go back to their respective houses until they met in class on the next day. The parting kiss that she gave him on the cheek in thanks was simply a bonus that he had not expected, especially since it was accompanied by a little magical spark that startled them both. However, he found that he liked it all the same…which was quite astonishing since he was not usually fond of physical contact.
…
The next day, Sheldon walked with Leonard and Amy to the greenhouses. As soon as they entered, he was surprised to hear his name being called in a familiar voice that he recognized, not only from their meeting, but also from his unexpectedly pleasant dreams during the night afterwards. When he looked towards the sound, Penny waved at him from the front table and beckoned him over. "I saved you a seat up here since Missy said that you liked to be at the front of all your classes." At the mention of his twin, Sheldon twisted his head to look around to the back where Missy was partnered up with her fellow Gryffindor and new boyfriend, Will. He and Will had not gotten along very well their first couple of years at Hogwarts, but they had become much more friendly over the past few years…especially after Will had expressed his approval over the Barry Kripke ferret incident. Her taste in wizards has certainly improved, Sheldon thought charitably, as remembered all her incredibly unintelligent exes – like that big Zack fellow who had dropped out of Hogwarts several years before. Missy, however, just waved cheerfully at him and gave him a wink while Will sent a double thumbs-up his way, as well.
Wait a minute! he thought with a bit of exasperation. Did they do this on purpose? Are they purposely trying to set me up with Penny? Despite her best efforts to change his mind, Missy knew that he did not date and that he preferred to focus on his studies instead. However, he had to admit that Penny was definitely different from all of the other girls that Missy had tried in vain to set him up with at Hogwarts. He had certainly never dreamed about any of them before! He had to put aside that intriguing idea for the moment, however, when Leonard and Amy sat down next to him. They had apparently agreed to partner up together once they realized that he was already claimed. Leonard eyed Penny appreciatively for a moment until he remembered Sheldon's warning to him and the rest of the gang on the previous evening. Since Leonard was not stupid and was in no hurry to be become a hippogriff snack, he let Amy reclaim his attention after they were introduced to the pretty American. He was soon completely ensnared, however, when his fellow Ravenclaw accidentally placed her hand over his on the table. Leonard looked startled for a moment, but he did not pull away. In fact, smiles soon stretched across both of their features as they both started to consider each other in a new way that neither of them had seriously contemplated before.
Maybe this will work out for me in more than one way, after all! Sheldon thought as he gazed at his friends with approval before he looked back over at his own partner. Penny had been watching his friends, also. She then looked back up at him and smiled brightly again as she boldly put a hand over his, as well. If it had been anyone else, he would have pulled away immediately. However, he realized that the contact felt…different…exciting…with the new fascinating witch. Startled by this discovery, he looked up, right into her sparkling green eyes. All of a sudden, he knew then that his initial assessment of her had been correct. The American Gryffindor was definitely going to be trouble… and it was going to be a very interesting year, indeed!
Sheldon woke up the next morning after the movie marathon, not at Hogwarts as he had hoped, but back in his bedroom in Pasadena. An overwhelming feeling of disappointment swept over him when he realized that he had only been dreaming and that none of those events had really happened. In fact, the only grain of realism to be found there was that Leonard and Amy actually were together as a couple…and had been so ever since her cousin's wedding. Unfortunately, the rest of the dream was just a wonderful fantasy. He was not actually a powerful and respected wizard and Penny was not his…partner…nor was she the one who needed protection. In reality, Sheldon was well aware, especially after the World of Warcraft theft incident, that Penny was usually the protective one…the avenger…in their relationship. However, it had felt nice to take care of her for once…even if it was just a dream. Before he could finish that thought, however, his attention was drawn away from it by the puzzling sounds coming from the living room.
He moved cautiously down the short hallway, since he had no magic with which to defend himself in this reality. Therefore, he was relieved to find that the noise was just the TV as Penny sat on the couch and watched the rest of "Prisoner of Azkaban." Nevertheless, when he saw her, that unfamiliar rush of emotions that he had felt in his dream assaulted him again…even though he was now awake. The feeling only increased when she looked up and smiled at him.
"Oh, hi, Sweetie! she called out. "I hope that you don't mind. I just couldn't get this out of my mind and wanted to finish it."
Sheldon huffed - more in surprise than annoyance, though. In fact, he was a bit bewildered at how pleased he felt to see her. "Penny, why in the world didn't you just take the movie over to your place?" he asked to cover his uncertain emotional state. "You can borrow the whole set, if you want."
"Awww! That's so nice of you!" Penny exclaimed honestly as she felt a rush of affection for her unconventional neighbor. She really felt honored since she knew that Sheldon did not normally lend out his belongings. "I don't have a blu-ray player, though – only a DVD one," she admitted with a shrug.
Sheldon could not stop his expression of dismay from escaping at her admission and he knew immediately what he would give her for whatever non-optional gift-giving social obligation event that was next in line. His eidetic memory quickly supplied him with the answer. Her birthday was next month. He would certainly take care of the glaring omission in her technological inventory at that time. Until then, though, he had no problem with her company. He just turned towards the kitchen to make some coffee and sighed as he wished that he could just Accio himself a cup.
However, Penny surprised him again. "I already made coffee," she said with another bright smile as she pointed to the cup on the table next to his spot. "It's just the way you like it, and I waited until I heard you get up before I poured it so it's still nice and hot." She then patted his seat cushion next to her. "It's still early. Wanna come finish watching the movie with me?"
"If only I could," he sighed again wistfully. Sitting close to Penny and watching Harry Potter suddenly seemed very appealing to him. "However, I have to leave early to catch the bus." He visibly shuddered at the thought that he would also need to don his bus pants before he continued to explain. "Leonard stayed with Amy last night. Since she lives closer to the university than we do, he inconsiderately refuses to come back here to pick me up."
"Oh, that's okay, Sweetie," she answered cheerfully. "I have the day off, so I'll take you to work."
Sheldon found that he could not resist the combination of the promise of her company, coffee, Harry Potter, and a ride offer. Therefore, he settled down in his spot next to her for the last twenty minutes of the movie. He did not even pull away when she snuggled closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. In fact, her closeness made him realize just how nice that her hair smelled…and he was more than happy to stay like that until the final credits rolled.
Not realizing the surprising direction that his thoughts had taken, Penny tilted her head up to look at him and continued to talk about Harry Potter. "You're so brilliant, Sheldon! If you were a wizard and went to Hogwarts, you would definitely be sorted into Ravenclaw."
"You are correct on both counts," he answered, rather pleased with her comment. He was a bit flustered, as well, though, when he realized just how close her face was to his at this angle and that all he had to do was lean down…just a little…to touch her soft-looking lips with his own. He tried to ignore that alarming thought though, as he cleared his throat and continued. "You would definitely be in Gryffindor." At her puzzled look, he told her the truth. "You are the bravest person I know."
"You think that I am brave?" she asked in a pleased, but quietly amazed, voice.
"Well, of course you are!" he exclaimed as he realized the truth of his statement. "You moved to a strange city half way across the country by yourself. You continue to fight for your dream of becoming an actress despite the obvious setbacks. You always kill the spiders in the bathtub…even the big ones…and perhaps, most definitively, you attempted to have a relationship with Leonard. If that is not bravery, then I don't know what is!"
Penny laughed at that final point and Sheldon noticed that her green eyes sparkled, just like they had in his dream. She then leaned up and bridged the distance to kiss his cheek. "Thank you, Sweetie. I needed that. Now, why don't you go get ready for work. I need to run back to my place to get dressed, too." She gestured down to her usual state of dishabille. Sheldon had not noticed until that moment that she was still wearing her rather tiny sleeping outfit. That discovery, combined with her closeness, and the sparkling eyes and kiss on the cheek that reminded him so much of his dream…along with the sudden knowledge that he did not mind any of it…flustered him so much that he jumped up off the couch immediately.
"Yes, getting ready would be a good idea!" he exclaimed as he rushed into his room to try and regain control of himself.
Penny watched him go, but did not think twice about his strange behavior. She was entirely too used to him for that to be necessary. "That's my whack-a-doodle," she simply said as she fondly shook her head and headed back to her own apartment.
…
Twenty minutes later, they were in her car and headed towards the university. Sheldon was determined not to glance towards her Check Engine light – or to think too much about his unexpected confusing physical and emotional reaction this morning to the woman beside him. Therefore, he tried to distract himself with conversation.
"What do you think your patronus would be if you were a witch?" he asked Penny.
"I don't know. I have never really thought about it," she mused. She glanced over at him. "What do you think mine would be?" she asked curiously.
"A lioness," he replied without hesitation. After all, he had meant it when he said that she would have been a perfect Gryffindor. "Not only are you quite aesthetically pleasing, you are powerful and strong - just like a lithe predator. You are also very protective and will fight for those you care about most…your friends, your family, your pride. Your patronus would reflect all of that. Therefore, you would be a lioness."
"Oh, Sheldon!" she exclaimed, obviously pleased, as she turned those sparkling green eyes towards him again. His breath hitched and he felt his heart skip a beat at the very pleasant effect that the sight seemed to have on him. This effect increased even more when she added a brilliant smile to the mix. What is wrong with me? he thought and he struggled to distract himself, so he quickly asked the next question.
"What about me?" he asked. "What do you think my patronus would be?" He thought that she would choose something that was an obvious symbol of intelligence - like an owl. However, her answer surprised even him.
"A dolphin!" she exclaimed immediately, without even having to think about it. At his incredulous look, she laughed. "No, really!" she replied. "I know that some people consider them to be a girly animal, but…due to somebody's influence…I actually watch a lot a lot of shows on the Science channel now…and I have learned some things. Therefore, just think about it for a moment. Like you, dolphins are incredibly smart. They also do fine on their own, but they function better with a social group…their pod…just like you do with the other guys. They are also extremely graceful in their element…just like you are when you are deep in thought, focused on a problem, and your fingers are flying across the whiteboard while you do your amazing Beautiful Mind math stuff. They can also be intimidating, as well, and have been known to drive off larger predators – even sharks. Sheldon, I have seen you jump right into arguments with famous and well-known scientists without hesitation when you knew that you were right and they were wrong." Here she paused before she finished her thought. "Plus, dolphins are really cute, too!" Sheldon was astonished at her very insightful and complimentary answer…and at the sight of the light blush that rushed across her face, as well as the fact that she would not look at him. He then put his scientific mind to work. Even though his knowledge of social cues and situations was admittedly lacking, he was still able to recognize that those signs probably meant that the normally confident woman was feeling some emotional distress.
Is she embarrassed? he wondered as he thought back over the events of the morning. Her thoughtfulness for making him coffee and offering to take him to work, their physical closeness during the movie, the mutually complimentary conversation, the admission that she thought that he was as cute as a dolphin…Oh! He suddenly realized that not only did he admire her more than any other woman that he had ever met (besides his mother…and perhaps Beverly Hofstadter…but that was in a completely different way), but also that Penny actually seemed to have some sort of feelings for him, too! These epiphanies kept him quietly stunned and lost in his own thoughts as they finished the rest of the drive in silence. By the time that Penny pulled her car into his designated parking space, he had come to a decision to do something about the situation. Therefore, even though he was definitely not a Gryffindor, he pulled up all of his bravery in order to ask her a question.
"Penny, since you have the day off, would you consent to pick me up after work?" Before she could say anything, however, he hurriedly continued. "Leonard will be at Amy's. Therefore, we can stop by Szechuan Palace for an order of Cashew Chicken for me and some of your favorite Shrimp with Lobster Sauce. Afterwards, we can go home to watch "The Goblet of Fire"…together." The shy and almost nervous way that he said that last word caused Penny to jerk her head up in surprise and she looked at him intensely.
"Sheldon, Sweetie, that sounds a lot like a date," she replied slowly after reigning in her rampant thoughts. After all, she had been silently berating herself for the last ten minutes for finally admitting out loud to him that she actually thought that he was cute…and now Sheldon was talking about the two of them doing dinner and a movie! However, he couldn't possibly mean it that way, could he?
Sheldon cleared up that mystery when he murmured, "It was meant to," in a softer tone than his usual clipped matter-of-fact one. After all, he was in unchartered waters here and he did not know what the social norms for requesting a date were…since he had never actually done it on a level above just friendship before. However, his confession still startled her into a quick acceptance.
"Yeah, that sounds…um…good," she answered in a slightly shaky voice. "Pick you up at the usual time then?" she added, trying to insert some normality back into the completely unexpected and crazy conversation.
Sheldon nodded. "That would be…acceptable," he answered slowly since he was still uncertain of the correct way to go about all of this. However, the difference between matter-of-fact Sheldon and uncertain-about-how-to-ask-for-a date Sheldon suddenly made Penny smile and the awkwardness of the situation subsided as all of her fondness for the man came back to her in a rush! Sure, he might be a little unorthodox, but he was practically her best friend…and she was suddenly excited to see if they could actually become more.
"I'm looking forward to it!" she exclaimed with such honesty that he could not help but to return her smile – especially when she favored him with a lingering kiss on the cheek before he exited the car. She then waved and drove away…already planning to stop at the mall in order to pick up a couple of house-specific Hogwarts tshirts for them both to wear on their date. She knew that he would like that…and he was always the most comfortable when he was immersed in his geeky, but lovable, fantasies. The thought of actually being a part of one of Sheldon's fantasies interested her in an extremely surprising way…and she suddenly found that she could not wait for their evening together.
For his part, Sheldon stood there and watched as her car drove away. However, he was not trying to estimate her rate of acceleration, necessary braking distance, or anything like that. Instead, his thoughts were more pleasantly occupied as he contemplated the science of physical and emotional attraction. He suddenly realized, even without the benefit of actually being able to study Divination, which of course was pure hokum anyway, that his future was probably going to be much more magical than he…and his scientific mind…could ever have imagined!