A/N: Hello people and sorry for the long absence, I took a vacation amongst other personal matters, but I'm back. I'm sorry, again, and I hope to make it up by posting for two weeks straight, daily.
A big thanks to my Betas and Discord Staff - Alec, Fox, Hindu Hari, Knight, Letus, Metzger, NerdDragonVoid, Post Mortem and Weather Report
Special thanks to Discord users: 5Firehawk, Guiding Moonlights, Kovacs, Dr Maou-Senpai, Post Mortem, Denduck, Wumjumba, Ac, R3, Shirokama, TrustTube, Zachary, JDH, Avatar, CJ07, Echoh, Elizabeth Wilbrooke, Jacks_, Kappe, Kryn_Womble, Mr. E, Pat, Plut0, Presno, Shawnjohn120 and Trop C'est Trop for supporting my writing and commissioning works!
Feel free to join my Discord for updates, early access, original stories and information, link on my profile. Without any more rambling from me, I hope you enjoy the story!
(Sorry if you don't like the chapter!)
Bold = Parseltongue
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE KIND REVIEWS. We now get so many that it's impossible to respond to all of them, but each and every one of you taking the time to speak your support mean the world to me. Please, by all means, speak with me in Discord or private message me here if you'd like a response! Sorry!
August 20, 1943
"Good evening, Harry," Corene said as she floo'd into his home, her tone and body language as bland as always. "You were waiting for me, I see. Have I made so regular an appearance in your parlour room that you now know when to expect me?"
Harry nodded. "That about sums it up. Ever since my birthday when I woke up the following day to learn that you'd worked on my floo so that you could access my home, I've written down when you show up. It's always at the same time in the morning. I have to ask, what do your parents think?"
Corene cocked her head at him. "What do yours say?"
His shoulders sagged slightly, and then he huffed. "I s'pose now's when I tell you they're not here anymore?"
"Confirming my suspicions is the correct and polite course of action. Thank you for doing so," Corene's lips went ever so slightly upwards as her head righted itself. "My parents know that I'm spending a great deal of my time with you and suspect it means courtship is happening. While I wouldn't necessarily say that's incorrect, you've made clear your wish to finish Hogwarts before any real progress can be made — should you decide otherwise or attempt to initiate intimacy with other witches, I'll take that to mean I can persist with my initial goal."
"I'm not interested in other witches after that ki- wait… what's your original goal?" Harry asked, cutting himself off as he looked curiously — and slightly worriedly — at his girlfriend.
Corene grabbed his hand with one of her small, dainty ones. "Why worry about something that isn't going to happen?" she asked in that incredibly mundane tone of voice she'd often use.
Right… that's not terrifying in the slightest, now is it?
Harry smiled at her and swallowed. Merlin, he'd picked a terrifying girlfriend, but on the other hand… he doubted he could find a cuter girl. "Right."
"I'm happy to see that you agree, now, why don't we enjoy breakfast before we go about our various daily tasks?" Corene's question wasn't really that, not with how she immediately began to lead him towards his own dining room. "Would it be too forward or early on in our relationship for me to request the rights to a room within your home? If you fear for your chastity or mine before marriage, I can assure you it's simply for ease on my behalf. Clothes and makeup would be far easier to put on in the morning without the urge to rush so that I could arrive on schedule."
Chastity. Marriage. Clothes. Makeup.
Those four words registered on his mind better than all of the rest, especially because of the separate visions they gave to him.
Chastity: he pictured a red-faced, blushing Corene sneaking into his room and flipping off his covers all without any sense of real shame about her.
Marriage: that word made him think of them together in perpetuity. Children would come from it, then grandchildren, and so on.
Clothes and Makeup were easy; the former would mean a very naked Corene within his home and the latter would allow him to see what she looked like without anything that changed her appearance.
"No, no that's fine, we can clear a room out for you. Is there anywhere, in particular, you'd want it?" Harry meant to move off of the topic of their mutual chastity and over to something that was far less… bothersome in his lower extremities.
"You sleep in the grand suite, do you not?" Corene asked, one of her fingernails rubbing the back of his hand just hard enough to make his skin tingle.
"I do," He said.
Corene's lips went higher, making her face morph into one of those incredibly rare Corene smiles. "Those words will take on a different meaning one day, I should hope. My apologies if that makes you blush too, I'm simply impatient — it's enjoyable seeing you appear so nervous around me too. It reminds me of our earlier friendship when I intimidated you despite you saying that I didn't," Corene then switched topics, her teasing seemingly over, thankfully. "Unless I'm mistaken, the room beside yours was originally meant for Lady Peverell in the event that she wanted her own space to prepare for events or otherwise enjoy personal time. If that is correct, I would like to clear out that room so that I could be right beside you."
Harry smiled at Corene, her final words putting him at ease to some extent; it'd be nice to have somebody with him regardless of the time or day. It was something he didn't know he'd miss so much until he'd been sent back in time.
Who knew a daily conversation was so important?
"That works for me," He said after a few blinks from Corene. "We can keep up whatever you'd like and replace the rest. I'm sure we could have it cleaned up and ready for use within the next hour if we get the elves to help."
Corene stood up on the tips of her toes to gently kiss his cheek. "My thanks, Harry. Most would not have agreed so readily, and of those who would, most wouldn't be nearly as pure or polite. I find myself looking forward to spending more and more time with you."
"I'm glad," He laughed, bending down to kiss her forehead as he wrapped an arm around her for the remainder of their walk.
His relationship with Corene had started very… uniquely? Maybe that was the right word, but regardless, it'd morphed into something he absolutely cherished. Elaine was in check, Corene was showing more of her real self to him, and soon enough, he'd have a constant companion in his life.
"Harry?" Corene asked, stirring him from his errant thinking as they drew closer to what would soon become her room.
"Yeah?" He responded with a faraway look still on his face.
"You're not opposed to kissing more often now that I'm staying with you, are you?"
Never. That answer will never be a no so long as I have my wits about me.
So that was what he told her… and that was what turned an hour-long room cleaning into something that took fifteen minutes more.
September 1, 1943
"Aren't we supposed to go to Professor Slughorn's cabin for his annual meeting?" Harry questioned as he and Corene entered into one of the cabins furthest from the front of the train.
"Elaine is aware that you and I are busy on this trip," Corene said, not bothering to look at him as she withdrew her wand to stow her luggage. "I told her that I was working an angle on you so that you would be more willing to speak with her."
Oh right, Elaine's still trying to 'speak' with me, Harry thought as he watched Corene silently cast a levitation charm, the beautiful girl then turning to look at him.
"Would you like me to take care of that for you?" Corene offered, her eyes drifting to his luggage.
"No, I'll take care of it," Harry said, smiling at her before he did just as he said he would — the fact that she didn't move as he got closer to him meant his body was nearly pressed against hers, not that he minded. "There, done."
Corene tilted her head back to look at him rather than turn around, and while it was a wonderfully cute gesture that resulted in her head pressed against his chest, it was also horribly enticing. The incredible view of her long, pale neck that he'd kissed, nibbled and sucked on was making memories of their private escapades surface whilst the two still had their door open. It didn't help matters that they were pressed so intimately together since he was sure she felt something rather awkward pressed up against her.
"You could've let me take care of it for you," Corene said, blinking blankly up at him… or so he thought until he saw the slight rosiness of her cheeks.
"Uh… yeah… yeah, I'll do that next time," Harry coughed, subtly moving back and away from her to remove himself from the awkward situation that'd arisen. "So, did you, uh, make any promises to Elaine about progress?"
Corene righted her head and moved over to her favourite seat beside the window — she loved views of nature just as much as she loved animals of all kinds. Next, she looked over at him long enough to pat the seat beside her with a look that left no room for bargaining before her attention was once more focused on the world outside of the train.
Harry watched her for a few seconds, noticing that her blushing hadn't gone away any more than his issue had. When neither changed after another few seconds passed the happy young couple by and she still hadn't answered his question, he moved towards her with the slightest of sighs.
"Elaine did not extract a promise from me regarding progress or lack thereof whilst we spent time together. She isn't entirely pleased that we've bonded in intimate ways such as putting our tongues into each other's mouths or groping, but she does seem to see it as a way for you to feel closer to our group," Corene said, her attention turning towards him again. "If you don't mind my saying so whilst we're in a semi-public setting, I very much enjoy all of the time we've spent together in intimacy, though I don't mean to depreciate our time spent regularly."
He blinked at her for a few seconds once he registered everything she'd said and how weirdly she'd put it. In a way, it made sense just as everything else did when she spoke. On the other hand, he didn't think he would ever grow fully accustomed to her weird manner of speech or how long-winded everything was with her.
"I'm glad you enjoy snogging me," Harry eventually said with a grin, making Corene's blush a little more prominent as she continued staring at him with a blank expression.
"Snogging is very enjoyable with you as a partner, though I'll admit a lack of experience in this type of field. Perhaps further experiments with you will be needed to see if experience matters," Corene said offhandedly as if she were analysing him like one might a spell or potion. "Did you lock our cabin door by any chance, Harry?"
"Yeah, why, what's up?" He asked, looking at her with a touch of inquisitiveness at her question.
Obviously, he knew she liked her privacy, but it was weird for her to bring that up out of the blue as she'd done.
"I would like to rest during our journey, and to do so whilst at maximum comfort, I'd need to be in your lap with the ability to see out of our compartment's window," Corene didn't wait for his answer before climbing into his lap and settling herself as a cat might on its human; she balled up his shirt, rested both hands on his chest and pressed her head against the crook of his neck whilst maintaining visibility.
It was impressive how small she could make herself when she wanted to, and even more impressive that such a position was comfortable for her. Harry didn't think he'd be able to sleep like that, and with how quickly her breathing levelled out, he was well and truly shocked.
Ah well, he thought as he switched his gaze from his girlfriend to the outside world and back again, I've got a beautiful girlfriend, two amazing views and a chance to save my friends…
What's not to love about this time?
Merlin's beard.
That was all Harry could still think despite him and Corene sitting together at the usual spot in front of the fireplace in the Slytherin common room.
He stole a glance at Corene, her usual lack of expression and nearly-bored body language, not at all the same as what he'd seen earlier. Truthfully, he thought what had happened was a dream or wish, but when she cocked her head at him and asked for his opinion on… something… he knew it wasn't.
Only she could be that straightforward and uncaring while wearing only her underclothes. Still, the view was a vision that'd be permanently entombed in a place of highest honours within his mind; where else would he put the image of Corene in only her underwear but at the pinnacle of his memories?
"You look enthralled," Corene commented, her legs crossed and a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. "Should I send for my elf to check and see if you were bewitched during our journey?"
Harry wasn't sure if she was joking or not, but he shook his head nonetheless, not trusting words.
"Are you still thinking of earlier? When I changed into my uniform with you still in the cabin? Corene asked, her head cocked and her nose scrunched up when she tilted the mug of hot liquid a touch too high, leaving a chocolatey-marshmallow stain on the tip of the aforementioned cute nose.
This time, Harry nodded.
Corene's tongue came up and swiped at the offending liquid, a satisfied noise slipping from her when she got it. "If I would've known allowing you to see more of me would leave you so quiet, I don't believe I would've done it. My cousin was right that wizards do so easily get enthralled by a good French witch of noble stock."
Right, she's French, Harry remembered.
Really, he'd been too lost in how fit she was to remember any other word that started with an 'f'... well, aside from the obvious one that made him blush and was stuck in his head thanks to a pair of twins who weren't here for him to bother.
He heard her click her tongue at the same time one of her warm, pale hands took hold of one of his. "Take a sip," she encouraged, a look on her face that he couldn't place as he did as she requested.
As always, that elf of hers made a wonderful, delicious drink. He didn't think he'd ever taste anything better than the current one though, and so he held it to his lips to take little sips to savour the flavour.
In the meantime, Corene's eyes pulled themselves up from his lips — of which she was always fascinated with — and settled on his face. "I do so wonder what your reaction will be when you see me naked for th—"
Harry couldn't contain himself, and with a mighty sound that was luckily contained by her privacy charm, he spewed the masterfully made drink all over the carpet beside himself. When he turned to look back at his girlfriend, the unplaceable look was gone and a smug look was on her face… as smug of one as she could manage, at least.
"I believe that would be my first successful prank," Corene said, her tone containing pride as she cocked her head at him and moved it closer, and closer, and closer until their noses were touching.
Once that happened, her tongue shot free from the confines of her lips and swept across his, taking away all of the hot chocolate that remained on them. She made no sound nor gave any look that was lustful or wanton, but it didn't stop him from wanting her.
Harry doubted he'd last the week before he ended up pulling her aside for the snog of their relationship.
November 16, 1943
Their relationship had progressed seamlessly, with not one fight, feud or incident occurring between them since first they started dating. Many considered it weird, unnatural or a sign that they were meant to be together indefinitely; he didn't put any stock in what anybody else said.
All Harry cared about was Corene, and after the Hogsmeade date that evening where she and he got intimate in a way they hadn't done before, he was left feeling more towards her than he previously had. As shallow as it sounded and made him feel when the two of them could share an experience like that… there wasn't any way his love for her couldn't grow.
With his head against his pillow and his body encompassed by the softness of his mattress, he couldn't help but be drawn in by the memories of his girlfriend. Her softness, the mewls she'd make while his hands rubbed circles on the da—
Without warning, a weight landed on his chest, cutting him off from his thinking and stopping dead the hardness that was growing down below. Worry had a way of doing that, you see.
"You seemed deep in thought," Corene's voice greeted softly, her mouth pressed right against his ear.
Immediately, his hand that had started for his wand ceased its movement and his other wrapped itself around the slight girl's waist. "Nearly gave me a heart attack, you."
Corene smiled, her eyes practically glinting in the darkness before she lowered her face to slide her tongue across the entirety of his bottom lip — the first time she'd done that, he'd been thoroughly weirded out, but now… well, he simply thought of it as another one of her rather unique signs of affection. As great as that was and as wonderful as she was, it didn't stop the southern issue from rising again.
"My apologies," She said, her tone bland as it normally was but with a touch of breathlessness mixed in it. "I found it hard to sleep after thinking about what we did, and so I wished to visit. Do you mind if I slipped into bed beside you?"
He wanted to say that she should go, especially with her being in the boys' dorms, but he simply scooched over and lifted the sheets for her. Corene smiled, genuinely smiled, and slid under the sheets in silence. Once she did so, her thin arms found their way around Harry's chest at the same time her body pressed against his.
"Did you miss sleeping together as much as I did?" She asked him quietly, her voice so low that had there been any other source of sound in the room he doubted he would've heard her at all.
Harry's left arm wrapped itself around her as much as it could with her body laying on top of it. "I did, but it's… a bit harder now that we're back at Hogwarts."
"There's no reason for it to be," Corene said, her head tilting up so that she could look him in the eyes; that hers were unblinking, alert and without expression wasn't at all surprising to him. "I do believe I've told you that my father's on the board. With that being the case and the majority of others friends with him, the amount of sway I have with other Prefects and the like is high enough to allow me whatever I'd like — Elaine often benefits from such privileges too."
I don't doubt that.
"Still, it's a bit weird. What if the others saw you leaving my bed in the morning?" He nodded towards the foot of his bed where, on the other side of the curtain, Reinhard was asleep within his own canopy.
One of Corene's hands moved from its position, wrapped around his waist and trailed across his chest. From that spot, it moved in circular motions, gradually moving downwards until she stopped her hand right above his belly button. "None would say even one word in contention. Rest with me and allow your worries to wash away, won't you?"
Harry made to respond when her hand ceased its motion and went flat, the hot palm of it coming to rest under his shirt. The vicinity of it in relation to something else wasn't lost on him, nor was the soft exhale of her breath against his neck or the way she pressed herself so firmly against him.
All in all, the intimacy of the moment and the innocence she gave off was… frustrating.
I'm lucky if I sleep an hour tonight.
"Pev?" Harry heard as soon as sleep left him.
It was Aster's voice, and the boy sounded close, maybe a few feet from the foot of his bed.
"Yeah, mate?" Harry called back to him, accidentally rousing Corene from her position on top of him; he hadn't a clue as to when she'd moved there. "What is it?"
"I was thinkin we could get breakfast, you, Reinhard and I. Down in a few, or should we bugger off so that you can sleep in like the great big lump you are?" Aster's voice held a touch of levity, but Harry could hear the seriousness more predominantly.
That wasn't surprising in the slightest considering how much those two could pack away when they called themselves 'hungry'.
Corene's eyes blinked up at him, the darkness and lack of expression in them startling. She said nothing to him, nor did she urge him to respond, she simply stared at him in anticipation of his response. He furrowed his brows to see if that'd get any reaction from her, and it did, but not one that he wanted.
In response to his curious look, she cocked her head and pressed up with her hands on his chest. Corene only gained a few inches of space between her chest and his, but the cocked head in addition to her still blank look left him thoroughly alone in regards to answering Aster's question; he wished she would've had some sort of an opinion.
"I'll be down in thirty, yeah? Reckon I want to sleep in a bit, you know, get ready before Elaine pops off at me with more questions," Harry called back, one of his arms coming up to rub circles on Corene's back as he responded to his friend.
"Alright, mate, alright," Aster replied, huffing loudly so that he could be heard. "I s'pose me and Reinhard will make our way down… alone… and we'll have to fight to save you a seat… by ourselves."
Harry laughed at the boy's overly dramatic words, but that laughter very nearly turned into a groan when Corene leaned down to nibble gently on his collarbone. He wasn't given any warning, she simply went from looking pleased for all of a few seconds thanks to his rubbing of her back to expressing that emotion with physical affection.
Still, he wasn't a stupid enough bloke that he'd complain when his girlfriend decided to kiss him sans any form of warning.
"I'll be down in a bit," Harry said, the firmness in his tone a bit higher than he'd intended, but really, there wasn't anything he could've done to stop that.
Not with Corene kneading his shoulders while she gently bit all across his collarbone and up his neck. Merlin, he didn't think she'd be half as much a seductress as she was.
In his defence, who would've expected her to be?
Aster didn't say anything more, and after nearly a minute of pure silence, Harry determined he was alone with Corene in the boys' dorms. At least the one for their year.
"You're horrible," He said, a chuckle escaping from him when she pulled back to look at him with her usually cocked head.
"Don't you enjoy this type of affection? I seem to remember you preferring it almost — when we were in your home, I mean," Corene seemed genuinely curious, her kneading of his shoulder muscles continuing despite her kissing having stopped and all the while she stared at him after asking her question
Harry threw his head back and sighed. "I do enjoy it, bu—"
Corene didn't let him finish his sentence, instead, she went back to her kissing and disregarded anything else that left his mouth. He didn't have it in him to be cross with her for doing that, but he definitely knew who he'd blame when Aster and Reinhard were moaning all day that he'd been late.
November 27, 1943
"Hogsmeade," Corene remarked, her lithe body stretching with remarkable flexibility when she stepped down from their carriage. "Question, Harry. What restaurant did you book for us, and why have your cheeks been so red during the entirety of our trip?"
Harry narrowed his eyes at Corene even as he slipped his arm through hers. "I won't spoil what restaurant I made reservations at any more than I'll spoil why my cheeks have been slightly warm since we rode down here," He used their conjoined arms to begin leading them towards a strip of buildings with barely any customers loitering outside of them.
"Chocolate?" Corene asked him, her head cocked and a smile on her face that left him just as speechless as they always did thanks to the rarity of such a thing.
"After we eat dinner, promise. First, I figured we'd go somewhere that would immediately benefit you — didn't think I forgot all the talk of clothes, did you?" Harry winked at her as he turned them on their heels and headed towards the entrance of a clothing store.
It wasn't just any plain old clothing store that dealt in ancient wizarding apparel though. Not even slightly. Instead of something quite so boring, it was a store that dealt in nothing but imports; France, Belgium, Canada, America, Germany and even Russia, all countries of a large enough size were represented with Muggle elements in the mix too.
Corene had mentioned a week ago — when she'd been in his bed again — how her current clothing was ill-fitting thanks to a growth spurt she'd reached, and rather than using magic on it, she wished for a new wardrobe. Her parents had promised to take her shopping when Hogwarts was over, sure, but he figured he'd use that knowledge to earn himself some boyfriend points.
Merlin knew he needed them with how much Corene seemed to know about him.
"Shopping for clothes is no quick task," Corene said, gazing up at him with a face that'd quickly morphed back to a look of boredom.
"Two hours enough time, or should we use the thirty-minute break I'd planned afterwards too?" He asked cheekily, grinning when Corene — for the first time — had a look that could almost be considered surprised come across her face. "You scheduled everything in great detail… I'm impressed. That time should be sufficient too, and so again, I find myself impressed by your planning abilities that are truly too ignored."
Harry smiled despite the slightly backhanded side of her compliment… it was Corene, after all. Just as he made to speak, she stopped him by leading him towards the shop and through the many aisles until the pair were at a series of dresses. Still silent, he watched as she plucked three gowns in a way that nearly looked predetermined before again, the two of them were off to a dressing room in the far back of the shop.
He was lucky he'd rented it out for the time they'd be spending together, lest other customers get in the way of a dangerously fast-moving Corene.
"Enter and wait, if you'd please. I'd like to find a few other articles of clothing to try on, and doing so may be difficult if specific questions need asking," Corene said, a red hue coming to her cheeks.
"Alright?" He answered, the word coming out like a question even to himself.
"My thanks, Harry," Corene said, dipping her head as she backed out of the small room and zipped through the building with a speed that he could hear despite the door being closed as it was.
Merlin, I should be happy she's having me wait here.
Right as he finished that line of thinking, the door was flung open and there Corene stood in the frame. In her arms were numerous pieces of clothing, some of them were immediately identifiable as underwear whilst other pieces were blouses, dresses or even coats for the upcoming winter season.
"Good?" Harry asked as she closed the door, his eyebrows going up when she dropped the clothing on the table beside her in a very non-Corene like fashion.
"I am," She responded simply, nodding at him before she simply began to remove her casual apparel.
He'd seen her in her underclothes a few times by now, but the vision was still far from boring or repetitive. Thus, Harry watched her strip down and when she made it down to the final few pieces of clothing, he expected her to reach for one of the many dresses she'd picked out.
She didn't.
Corene continued with not a care in the world; she didn't blush, she didn't speak, her eyes didn't even seek his out. So casual was her action that he half suspected it was in his head, or weirder yet, a side-effect of one of the new spells he'd learned.
When she turned towards him with an article of clothing in each hand, said article being a bra of Muggle-making he guessed, the startling realisation that she really was naked hit him.
"Do you find the right more attractive, or the left?" Corene asked, her head cocked and her hair moving to conceal one of her two breasts.
Harry blinked nearly a dozen times before he lifted his eyes so that they looked into hers. "Either. Both. You could try them both on."
Corene nodded. "I see. I'll do so, and in the meantime, do try and disguise your gaze a bit more than you've currently done — this evening is when we reserve our time for intimacy, Harry, not before then."
He snorted, then he began to laugh, and before he could go any further, he was hit in the face with a piece of clothing. When he pulled it from his face and saw that it was a pair of knickers, he looked up to see Corene in all of her natural beauty staring at him with her lips ever so slightly raised.
"That's the pair I came in with," Corene said to him, a smile forming on her face when his eyes widened to the likeness of a house-elf at the same time he threw them back to her; only then did she speak again. "They weren't, that's something you'd know if your eyes went lower rather than higher. I do, however, believe that's my victory for the day."
It was, Harry knew, but he was the real winner with the epitome of beauty before him.