December rolled around and River still hadn't asked Penny out. They had spent a lot of time together studying though, and they seemed to grow even closer as friends and their bond became stronger. River was sitting in the common room one night, reading a Daily Prophet article by Rita Skeeter about Hogwarts and the Cursed vaults.

Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry: Safe, or is it?

Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry has long been Headmaster by none other then Albus Dumbledore, who has always kept the school in a safe working order, has recently been questioned by many parents, governors, students and even teachers due to the recant events of the infamous Cursed Vaults. Many students and teachers at Hogwarts were questioned about the events. Professor Severus Snape stated, "One student comes to mind when asked about these events. River Knotts. Even when he first stepped into the school he had an obsession with the vaults. A mediocre student and delighted by his brother's fame, he wasted no time in gathering mindless followers with more talent then him and searched the castle for the vaults." Indeed, River Buchanan William Knotts seems to have gathered a group of talented friends, and used them to force his way to the vaults. Rumors have recently come up that River has been seeking dark magic in the vaults and that he has intends to find and join You-know-who should be come back to power. When questioned about these rumors, River stated "I would never join the dark lord, or dabble in the dark arts! My motivation to find the cursed vaults lie in my brother Jacob, who was tragically trapped in one of them. It still scars me deeply, and I regret that I could not save him from his untimely death at the hands of 'R', but I still will stay loyal to Dumbledore and the Ministry!" Even after his heroic statement, in which his eyes teared with his emotions of the past, a anonymous tip told the ministry that River was, in fact, an illegal Animagus. The ministry quickly dispelled these rumors, suggesting that River may have paid the ministry off to keep his secret safe, which leads further suspension that River is secretly learning the dark arts.

River scoffed and used some language that should have gotten him detention for a week if heard by a teacher. River crumpled the paper into a ball, and threw it into the dying fire. "Load of rubbish." He sighed and heard a voice behind him. "What's rubbish?" River turned and saw Penny walking towards the couch he was on. "Oh, just an article Rita Skeeter wrote about the vaults and me. Jacobs not even dead, and where would I get the money to pay off the ministry?" Penny sat next to him and River asked, "Have I ever used you or anyone else to get something done for my own ends?" Penny leaned against him and said, "That article really got you worked up, huh?" River leaned back, both from her weight and the unexpected move. "I guess. I just…" He sighed, "Not a lot of people understand me, or get how hard all the years have been." Penny leaned closer to him and said, "I understand you." She smiled at him and asked, "But there have been some things that have made things easier?" River smiled back at her. "Yeah, I could think of a few things." Penny got closer to him and said, "I really, really like you, Riv." She got even closer and just as her lips pressed against his, River woke up panting; it had only been a dream. He checked his watch, and it was 3:47 am. River wiped the sweat off his forehead and whispered to himself, "Bloody Hell, that felt real." He sighed and went to bed right after that.

"You already see her when she's alone, just ask her out for a date. It's really that simple." Or so Ben kept telling him the next day, after River told him about the dream. River shook his head. "Ben, I'm telling you, if I went back to the vault of fear, this would be it. Especially now, after that awkward dream. I've tried so many times, but my stomach feels funny, my mouth goes dry and I can't seem to speak English." Ben tapped his quill against the table, "Why don't you ask her to the upcoming ball? I'm sure she would love it. Dance with her a little bit as well, could never be a bad thing, could it?" River sighed, but before he could reply, Professor Flitwick walked by them and said, "Now, now boys. A little less chatting, more wand work!" Ben shrugged and cast the undetectable extension charm on the bag in front of him. Flitwick took to bag and reached into it. "Well done, Mr. Copper! Now, Mr. Knotts, will you please demonstrate the spell?" River waved his wand across the purse in front of him. Flitwick picked up the bag, and stuck his arm into it. He nearly got sucked in when trying to do so, "Not bad, Mr. Knotts. The only suggestion I would make, focus on how deep you want it to go. Your bags always seem like a black hole." River nodded and the bell rang. River grabbed his bag and walked with Ben to their common rooms. "Seriously River, if you don't ask her, your going to regret it. Now's as good as time as ever. When you get to the common room, ask her." River sighed and said, "Alright. I'll try talking to her, but I think she just cares for me as a brother." Ben smirked, "Sure. I'll see you later, River." River waved was Ben turned the hall and up the stairs. River continued down the other hall and went down the stairs that lead to the Hufflepuff common room.

When he entered, he saw all of the other seventh years chatting vigorously about the upcoming dance. River looked for Penny in the crowd, but her golden braids were nowhere to be seen. "Probably off planning for the ball," he said to himself. River sat down in one of the armchairs and sighed. "What am I going to do?" River felt someone lean against his chair and looked up. Chiara was looking at him with slight concern. "Hey, you doing okay? You look stressed." River sighed and said, "Can I trust you to keep a secret?" Chiara smiled and said, "Of course. What are friends for?" River smiled. "Thanks. Oof. Um, okay. This is hard for me to say. I haven't really told anyone this before, only Bill Ben, Talbott and Rowan before he…" Before he died, River finished in his head. Chiara's smiled faded a little. "I see. You can trust me, I'm here for you." River sighed. "Well, I've been dealing with this since day one at Hogwarts. And with the upcoming ball, and this being our last year, Ben and Talbott have been pressing me to ask Penny out. Like, on a date? I really like Penny," River felt his insides run a fitness class in his stomach as he said it. It felt good to say it aloud to someone new. "And I was wondering if you could maybe help me with that?" Chiara's smile fully disappeared now. River sat up, "Is something wrong?" Chiara forced a smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. Um, I would love to help but I can't. Sorry. I just remembered, I have a ton of divination homework." She stood up and left rather quickly. 'We're in the same divination class, and we didn't get that much homework, except our dream journals.' River stood up and walked to the door once it closed behind her. Tonks walked up to River, and River said, "Is she okay?" Tonks shrugged. "I dunno. What did you say to her?" River sighed. "Well, I asked her for advice for asking Penny out." Tonks blinked. "Blimey, that isn't good. I hope she's okay…" River turned to her. "Why is it not good?" Tonks gave River a sympathetic smile and said, "You don't know do you?" River shook his head and Tonks sighed. "Whenever you aren't around, you're all Chiara talks about. Constantly. It's a bit annoying, to be honest. She fancies you, River." River stood there for a moment, trying to take that in. "So, she fancies me, and I asked her for dating advice. That's…" Tonks nodded. "A low blow. I'm going to go check on her." As she walked away, River stood there and thought to him, 'What did I just do, and what do I do now?'