First off: Happy Premiere day everyone! I know you all know what this chapter contains and I figured, if I had to post it on any day, today would be the day, because tonight you will all get to see Leonard and Penny reunited!

Now in Season Six, Penny mentioned parts of the Harry Potter book series and it struck me as odd that Penny would have read them. Being one of the biggest HP fans, this caught my interest. Also in the same season, it was mentioned how slow of a reader Penny was. So in order for her to have already been in book six by season six, I figured why not get her started reading them nearly two years earlier. We're talking about 300-800 pages books. So that will start to be included in these little moments. Actually a little more than the actual episode's events. I couldn't help it, my inner nerd came out!

Not much else to say except, I'm sorry for what I have to write in this chapter, I don't own BBT, and, once again, happy happy premiere day!

Enjoy!

Chapter 10: The Roommate Transmogrification

Several weeks had passed since everyone had gathered by Howard's side at the hospital. Since then Howard's mother had been released home and Sheldon had returned from being quarantined, immediately demanding someone take him to the comic book store to fetch the latest issues he had missed. "If I'm not too late," Sheldon had thrown out, bitterly, passing by her in the hallway. Everything had practically gone back to the way it was before. Including Penny rarely seeing Leonard. Even Howard had been the one to take Sheldon to the comic book store the week before, although that might have been more from the fact that Sheldon blamed Howard for his quarantine and guilt tripped the smaller man into taking him.

Either way, it seemed like Penny's plan of seeing Leonard more was slowly slipping away. The few times she did happen upon him were usually at the Cheesecake Factory and then he had Priya attached to his side. The day before while serving their table, Penny had smiled and casually tossed jokes (at Leonard's expense) around, while trying her hardest to calm her racing heart and to not allow herself to get lost in his eyes.

With everything going back to normal, Penny had found herself, once again, forbidden from 4A, and alone in her apartment many nights. Sure there had been girl's nights every weekend, but during the week, she had begun to sink into an almost depressed state. One night, she'd found herself staring at her ceiling, pondering if she would really find any other man who would care for her as much as Leonard had. She had laid awake most of the night, haunted by these thoughts, tears stinging her eyes.

It was the next day that, while in the mall, Penny had stood staring into the nearest Barnes and Noble. Biting her lip, she had contemplated entering the store. She needed a hobby to try to keep her mind occupied. Why not reading?

Because you always hated it.

Yeah, she had always hated reading in school, when she was forced to read. She had better things to be doing then besides reading. She had a life.

And now? A sucky job, a failing actress, and no boyfriend?

That had been what pushed her further into the store. That and people had begun to stare.

Walking around, feeling completely out of her element, Penny wrung her hands together. Her eyes had slowly scanned the shelves, taking in the various illustrations and different sizes. There were a lot of big ones. Her eyes soon found a paperback book sitting on a shelf near the top, surrounded by even bigger books, all with the same huge words printed across the cover.

"Harry Potter," She had mumbled to herself, her hand reaching out to grasp the book.

Holding the object, Penny flipped through the pages. A little over 300 pages. Not too intimidating, but also not small. She had heard plenty of people talk about this book, but had never been bothered to read them or even watch the movies, viewing them as 'nerdy' and 'childish'.

She continued to stare down at the book, wondering if she should just buy it. It was only $10. It would help pass some time. And if she liked this one, then she could buy the second one. Her eyes glanced back to the shelf, finding the other Harry Potter books. She counted 7, including the one she was currently holding. She noticed the books thickening in size as the series continued. That's a little intimidating.

She shook her head and wondered what she was even doing in this kind of store. Her hand reached up to place the book back to it's original spot, preparing to leave and head to the nearest clothing store, where she'd feel more at home.

"Can I help you ma'am?"

Penny had jumped at the soft voice behind her, spinning around. She had come face to face with a store employee, a young girl with bright blue eyes and a shiny smile. She couldn't have been more than 16. She continued to stare at Penny, an eyebrow raised. Penny's eyes flew from the girl's back to the book.

What do I have to lose?

Her slightly shaking hand had stretched out to grab the book again. She had no idea why she felt so nervous. In the back of her mind, she wished Leonard would've been there to help her.

She turned to the girl again, holding out the book, and flashing her a nervous smile, "Yes. I'd like to buy this."

That had been a week ago and now Penny was several of chapters in. She sat, book in hand, on her couch, a half empty glass of wine in front of her. Her eyes scanned the pages, her mind filling with images of the bespectacled boy with the famous lightning bolt scar on his forehead. She felt herself already beginning to get sucked in. It had taken several tries to really get started, and some words confused her, but she was determined to at least finish one book on her own. She had refrained herself from going online to read spoilers or flipping ahead in the book. She was actually enjoying learning about this character.

When Penny had reached the end of the fifth chapter, she set the book down, marking her place. She had been entranced with the mental pictures she had created for the boy, his family, and especially Diagon Alley. Taking a sip of her wine, she realized what she needed to do.

"Holy crap on a cracker, I have to watch this."

Setting her wine glass aside, she reached for her laptop nearby. She clicked on the internet icon, already prepared to purchase the movie. If she bought the movie now, she could watch it as soon as she finished the book, comparing her imagination with it's images.

An error page popped up on her screen. Frowning, Penny tried to reload it. The same page occurred after several tries.

"Sheldon," Penny muttered, picking up her laptop and walking across the hall.

"See? I listened! Don't know what it means, but I listened!"

Penny's body shook with laughter as she smiled at Raj, taking another gulp of her wine. She had lost count of just how many glasses she had gone through, at this point though, she didn't care. She was having fun.

"You're a smart girl, Penny." Raj smiled back, swaying in his seat slightly.

"Oh whatever!" She waved her hand, dismissively, losing her balance and falling back across the couch. Laying on her back, Penny stared at the ceiling. A moment passed, filled only with small giggles from Raj and a few hiccups escaping past her own lips, before she spoke again. "I'm reading Harry Potter now."

"Whaaaat!" She heard Raj exclaim, his voice reaching a pitch she knew it really shouldn't for a man.

She slowly nodded, a smile forming, "Yeah, I like it. But I'm only on Sorcerer's Stone, so don't ruin anything for me!" She sat up quickly, regretting the movement as soon she did it. The room begun to spin. "Ugh. Make the room stay still."

Raj stood and stumbled onto the couch next to her, gripping her shoulders. His eyes shut quickly, "No, that didn't help."

Penny laid her against the back of the couch, her thoughts wandering. She briefly wondered what Leonard was doing and why he wasn't here having fun with them, before Raj and Sheldon's words flashed back to her. Oh yeah, he was currently shacking up with his girlfriend. She felt the beginning of tears appear and sat up again, this time slowly. She would not let her mind think about Leonard tonight. She was supposed to be having fun.

She swallowed the rest of her wine and turned to face Raj. She tried to push thoughts of Leonard away, while striking up another conversation with the man next to her. Despite everything she tried, she couldn't make it happen. Even when she had leaned over and pressed her lips against Raj's, her mind told her it wasn't really his lips she was kissing. Pulling back, Penny opened her eyes. Instead of seeing the shy, awkward Indian sitting in front of her, she saw Leonard, his smile beaming at her, his glasses slightly askew from the kiss. She smiled back, her heart melting. "I missed you," She whispered, leaning forward once again.