By Tuesday, Michelle and Colin had become a couple, as well as Courtney and Seamus. Emilia, Maria and Dean were feeling very left out. Every time they'd go down stairs they'd see two of their friends snogging in a dark corner. "I wish I had a guy," Maria sighed to Emilia as they slumped up the stairs to their dorm. They dropped their bags on their beds and finished the remainder of their Astrology and Defense Against the Dark Arts homework.
"Gemna's so lucky," Emilia said as she and Maria put their books away. "She never has any trouble with this stuff. She's so…perfect. No wonder Harry likes her so much." Maria gave Emilia a deadly glare. "Oh, sorry, Maria. I didn't mean it like that."
Maria relaxed her face. "It's okay. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I still dream of when I got a chance to hold his boxers." They both laughed. "I just wish there was someone for me. I'd do anything to have a boyfriend."
Just after she said this, Gemna walked into the room. "Hey girls. What's up?"
"Not much," Emilia answered. "So what are we doing tonight? I still can't remember what I've been doing the last few nights. But for some reason, I have the feeling it was a good thing."
Gemna smirked. "Sorry. Tonight I have no plans for us. I promised Harry I'd help him with his levitation. He has the capability; he's just completely off. We're also going to take advantage of the occasion to check out the Room of Requirement."
Maria giggled. "You sure you aren't just going there to…"
"Shut up!" Gemna laughed and shoved Maria. Emilia laughed with them as she continued justifying her plans. "We're not doing anything like that. When I went to teach the boys to levitate last week, he was awful. Could barely even get off his bed. So I promised that on Tuesday I'd give him some private instruction." She looked at Maria's face for a second. "You're sick, you know that?" They all laughed again. "Tomorrow, however," she continued, "I do have something planned. I think it's something you'll enjoy very much. But it will take a while, so we need to start right after dinner. I got to go meet Harry now. Catch you girls later!"
"What is…" Maria started to ask. But before she could even finish her second word, Gemna walked out. "Um, okay…. So what should we do now?"
"Let's work on that levitation. I want to find out what happens if I think of my version of a happy place. Hey, when have you ever seen a frowning skull?" Maria knew Emilia was joking, but she gave her a rather disturbed look before changing into her dress and lying down.
"Ah!" Harry fell to the floor with a loud thud. "Well, hello to you, too"
Gemna had seen Harry at the bottom of the stone stairs and jumped on him from behind. She was in a fit of giggles. "Sorry. But it was so easy! I would think a guy like you would be a bit more alert." She helped him up and brushed off her dress.
They started walking towards the painting. "Well, I got here a bit early. I guess it was a little too early, considering I was beginning to fall asleep." He smiled.
As they walked past the painting the final time, a door appeared. "Interesting," Gemna said. "Is it safe to go in?"
"Should be," he answered. Harry opened the door for his girlfriend and closed it behind him. The room was enormous and full of dozens of luxurious queen-sized beds. There was a small bookcase with levitation books and around the room were posters of things to inspire relaxed minds and remind a levitator of key levitation points. As they stepped further in, Gemna noticed a cabinet full of potions and pills for things such as concentration enhancement, anti-body loss, and essence solidifiers. "What's this?" Harry asked as he found a hidden nook with a gold plate reading O.B.E.
"O.B.E.?" Gemna asked as she walked over. "That's a special thing incredibly few people can do; or at least do right. It stands for Out of Body Experience. I don't mean to brag, but I'm one of the few who can do it. Care to see a demonstration?" Harry nodded, still rather confused about what it truly was. Gemna lied down on one of the many beds, but not like she had for levitation. She looked like she was going to fall asleep. She closed her eyes and for a few minutes, nothing happened. Harry walked over to see if she was okay, but just as she did, a silvery thing, much resembling an enormous ribbon, began to rise into the air from Gemna's chest. In about a minute or two, it had taken the form of what her body would have looked like without clothes, but had no details. No face, no bodily features. Pretty much like a three-dimensional outline. He was a bit disappointed at the lack of detail, yet incredibly fascinated, especially when it began to walk towards him. The silver shape of Gemna drew closer to the stunned boy and stopped. He stared at where her eyes should have been. The figure suddenly kissed his cheek and whisked quickly back into Gemna's chest, who sat up smiling a moment later. "That's O.B.E. Allowing your essence to leave your body and allowing it to go and do anything and anywhere you wish it."
Harry blinked a few times in amazement. He put his hand on his cheek where he was kissed. He knew Gemna could do a lot of weird-yet-cool things, but next to her Indegica, that was probably the coolest. "Do you think I'd ever be able to do that?"
Gemna and Harry sat on one of the beds. "I don't know. Like I said, very few people can do it. And of those who can, many die. If your essence doesn't return to you in a certain amount of time, your body becomes a completely lifeless corps. But if you can, there's a potion I found in a cabinet at the other end of the room that can solidify your essence once it's out of your body. Basically, it makes it seem like it's your actually body and adds all the color and detail. Of course, there's the lack of clothing issue, but as long as there are clothes near by that the essence can put on, it's not a problem. The good thing about it is, no injuries can happen to it. So if there's something really risky you want to do, like jump off a building, you can do it. However, essences can be captured. They also can't hold any matter that isn't cloth. So it's not like they can stab someone, which is a good thing most of the time."
"Wow, now I really wish I could do that. Not to stab someone though," he laughed.
She laughed, too. "Well, you might actually be able to. You have many gifts already. And you have a very strong essence. I can sense it. I became pretty good friends with the Divination teacher when she saw me reading auras before the school year started. Yours is very powerful. Having more talents is one of the things that add power. Like being a parselmouth."
It had completely slipped Harry's memory of when he first found this out about her. "I was a bit freaked out when I first found out I had it. But it has come in pretty useful. Snakes are pretty cool, too," he chuckled.
Just then, Gemna raised her hand and waved it down in a squiggly line. "Serpensortia!" Gemna said as she twisted her palm out to catch a snake falling from nowhere. "Hello there. Sorry to take you out of your home. This is Harry and I'm Gemna. What's your name?"
Astonishment arose over him again. 'Did my girlfriend just summon a snake out of the air and introduce us to it?'
The snake stood up on its belly and looked at the two students; one shocked and one smiling and awaiting a response. "They call me Ssssarrett," he hissed. "You're a human, right? Not many of your kind around my home."
"And," Harry finally spoke up, "where would that be?"
"A forest in Ssssouth America. The humanssss who live there have a name for it, but we call it Lorna. It'ssss beautiful. Sssso, why have you ssssumoned me here?"
"We were interested in talking to a snake. I'm sure you know not many humans can. We're magic. But not a lot of magic people can't either."
Sarrett looked over at Harry again. "Interessssting," he hissed. "Do you magic humanssss only live here or are there any of your kind near me? It'd be nisssse to talk to a nisssse human for a change. The only onessss that ever come near my friendssss and me are the onessss who live there or try to catch ussss. Your kind sssseemssss very polite. Just because we sssslither doessssn't mean we're not friendly."
"You've certainly shown us that, Sarrett. It was wonderful meeting you."
"And you assss well, Gemna and Harry Potter." Sarrett hissed what looked like a snake's smile.
"Oh, don't tell me you've heard of me, too. I thought you said there were no magic people where you live." Gemna laughed a little and let the snake slither into his hand.
He stood on his stomach again and said, "Well, none that I know perssssonally. Esssspecially none that I can talk to. That, and I'm friendssss with Hedwig. She's flown over for sssseveral visitssss over the last few yearssss. You lead a very interessssting life. Sssso doessss she. We enjoy disssscussssing ssssuch things over a buffet of rodentssss. She sayssss she doesn't get why you never eat them. They are rather deliscioussss."
"Um, we just don't care for mice very much," Gemna said. "Well, we don't want to keep you away from home to long. All send you back."
"Thank you. Ssssend my regardssss to Hedwig assss well. Again, it wassss wonderful meeting you, Gemna and Harry."
"And you." Gemna raised her finger and pointed it at Sarrett. "Serpensortiturnium!" The snake vanished out of Harry's palm.
"Now that was amazing. You're so perfect, Gemna." Harry pushed a lock of hair behind her ear to see her face more clearly.
"I'm not as perfect as you think."
"But you are. Never think you're not good enough, because the truth is, you're even better." Before Gemna could answer this, Harry leaned towards her and kissed her. Their arms gradually rapped around each other as they both closed their eyes. The longer Harry and Gemna kissed, the more passionate it became. Their tongues danced wildly with the other's, contradicting opposing movements. Gemna seemed to know just how to drive him nuts. She started to nibble on his lower lip, causing his eyes to open momentarily in surprise. That was something he hadn't experienced before, yet was really enjoying. As she returned her attention to the rest of his mouth, Harry moved to try the same thing on her. Though Gemna definitely wasn't as surprised as he had been, she did seem to really enjoy it. Harry's hands began to slide down the inside back of Gemna's dress again. She withdrew from the kiss slowly, but quick enough to give Harry the hint to stop.
She smiled at him so he'd know she wasn't angry. "It's not you, Harry. We're just not ready for anything like that. The time isn't right. We better get started with your levitation lessons. Take off your socks, shoes, watch, and glasses. I'm going to go see if this room has proper attire for levitating. Those clothes are much too prohibitive." Harry gave Gemna an odd look as she got up to search for a hidden closet. As he took off his last sock, Gemna returned with a folded piece of black cloth. "Put this on. There's a changing room down at the other end. It's kind of small, though. You can change out here if you want. I won't look."
Harry actually wouldn't have minded very much if she did, though. He agreed to change where he was, so Gemna lied down on an opposite bed and rested for a few moments. As Harry began to undress, the thought of being naked in the same room as her took over his mind. He barely noticed that he'd been standing there naked and staring into space until he tripped over one of his shoes.
Gemna didn't get up, but responded to the noise. "You okay, Harry? I didn't get you a possessed robe, did I?"
He chuckled as he got to his feet and unfolded the black fabric. "Nah, I just tripped over my stupid shoes. Give me a second. I'm almost done."
"And they say girls take forever to get dressed," Gemna laughed as she shifted her head slightly and closed her eyes again.
A few moments later, Harry walked over to Gemna, who had fallen asleep already, and kissed her cheek. "Ready." She sat up and let Harry lie in the bed where she had been.
"Okay," she began. "Relax and clear your mind…."
"I can't believe I got it!" Harry said as he sat up, excited. "I actually levitated! Wicked!"
"You did great," Gemna said, handing him his glasses. "You got about five feet off the bed. I haven't seen anyone do that."
"Well, you did say I had a powerful essence," he said, smiling. Harry put his glasses back on and attempted to fix his naturally messy hair.
"That I did." Gemna looked at a moon-shaped clock on the wall. "Oh, it's so late! After 1:00am already?"
"Harry looked at the clock and regretted seeing she was right. "Shit, we have class in eight hours. The others are probably wondering where…what are you doing?"
Gemna had taken off her shoes and walked in front of a mirror. "If we leave now, we'll get caught. We'll just have to stay here and pick up our books during breakfast. Blekenyo tesesleep!" Her dress transformed into a blue silk and lace nightgown, with a single rose in the center of the neck. "Harry, can you turn around for a moment, please?" About a minute later, she okayed him to turn back around and put her folded lingerie in the drawer of a nightstand. Harry seemed a little taken back. "What? I don't like sleeping in my underwear. Would you like me to transform your outfit into your nightclothes, too?" Reflexively, he nodded. "Okay, you got to stand up though." Harry got up from the bed, just realizing what his nightclothes were. "Blekenyo tesesleep!" Gemna shouted as she repeated the same hand movements she always did for such spells.
Harry was standing there in his boxers. He quickly pulled a blanket around himself. "Sorry! I forgot I don't…."
Gemna giggled. "No need to explain. At least they're not blue and green. Orange and red are much nicer together on you."
He couldn't help but laugh with her. "You really think so? This blanket totally clashes with it, though." They laughed again.
"I love your sense of humor," Gemna smiled as she got under the covers and laid her head on the pillow.
He didn't say anything. He just smiled. The candlelights dimmed by themselves and Harry watched Gemna drift off to sleep. She looked gorgeous. And the only thing that was separating him from her were thin layers of fabric. He wanted her more than he'd ever wanted anything. For what seemed like hours, he just laid there and watched her, dreaming of pretty much everything that could happen between them. After about the twentieth daydream, Harry's eyes slowly closed and he fell asleep.
"Harry! Wake up! What the bloody Hell are you doing?" Harry rolled over and saw Ron whispering what normally would have been a yell through his teeth. The candles weren't on, but it was light in the room. Harry sat up and saw Hermione drawing back curtains to let in the sunlight. He looked to his right and saw Gemna was still asleep. "I said, what are you doing in your boxers in a bed with Gemna?"
Harry took a moment to process the whole situation. "Until now, sleeping. What are you doing here?"
"We were up all night waiting for you to come back so we could find out how the levitation went. This morning Maria and Emilia told us that we could find you here. Looks like you two had a good time." Ron snickered.
"Nothing happened! I mean, something happened, but it wasn't what you're thinking! We just stayed here so we wouldn't get caught."
"Caught having sex?" Hermione questioned quietly as she approached. "I can't believe you'd take advantage of Gemna like this!"
"But I didn't! We agreed that if we left to go back to the dorms, we'd get caught. So she transfigured our clothes into nightclothes so we could sleep here."
"Then explain why your clothes are folded up on that bed!" Ron hissed, pointing.
"I changed into a robe she found in a closet somewhere so I could do the levitation thing. She said clothes like that are too prohibitive."
"Yeah right."
"It's true, Ron. All of us changed into dresses before we levitated. Flowing outfits work best. I'm assuming she didn't ask the same of you," Hermione said.
"So shouldn't one of us wake Gemna?" Harry asked.
All of a sudden, a flash of silver zipped into Gemna's chest and she sat up. "Good morning. These are some nice beds. I feel totally relaxed."
"What was that flash of…" Ron began to ask.
"Ron and I will go in the changing room you mentioned so you can get dressed," Harry said, grabbing his clothes, Ron's arm, and his turn to speak. They walked towards the door on the other end, Ron still trying, yet failing, to get his question out.
As the door closed, Gemna got up and took her lingerie out of the nightstand. "So what was that flash of light we saw?" Hermione asked.
"Flash of light? You and Ron must need more sleep. There was no flash of light." Gemna put her clothes on and transfigured her nightgown to a dress; different from the one she was wearing when she first arrived in the room. She knocked on the door. "Harry, you can come out now. I'm done getting dressed."
The two of them stepped out of the room, and Harry went to put on his shoes. As he passed Gemna, he whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I didn't tell Ron about the light. I told him he needs glasses." He smiled, kissed her cheek, and walked with Ron back to the other end of the room. When he was done, Hermione handed them their book bags and they headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Wednesday night came and the seven girls were sitting in a circle around the 6th year girls' dorm room. A black and gold cloud above Essence Of Self had just begun to swirl around like a whirlwind, transforming to green and cream. It returned to a cloud and drifted towards the zombie-like Maria. "Maria Maxwell," it hissed at her. "Let's see, let's see. Who do we need? Ah, yes, a 6th year boy again. A Gryffindor. A…Dean Thomas." The cloud had just drifted to her face. "Maria Maxwell, Dean Thomas." The moment the phenomenon touched her lips, it dived down her throat, leaving the room in a brief darkness. Her body began to glow the colors of the cloud as they swirled around within her. All the while, everyone remained still, as though nothing was happening at all. A blood-curdling shriek and the cloud dashed back out and over the book. "Very good girls. Step one has been completed. Now do your job and do it well or you will suffer even more." The cloud was sucked back into the book and everyone returned to normal.
"That was quite a ghost story, wasn't it?" Gemna smirked. "You should've seen your face, Maria."
"Well, me and Maria are going to go for a walk. It's too stuffy in this room," Emilia said as her and Maria put on slippers and left.
They approached the boys' dorm and silently stepped inside. Emilia stayed in the corner as Maria approached the side of Dean's bed. She took out her wand and placed it at his forehead, tracing down to the center of his heart. After a few mutters, there was a small zap of green and cream light. She kissed his sleeping lips and her and Emilia walked out. "You know the password to Slytherin now, right?"
Thursday morning, Maria and Dean walked hand in hand down the courtyard as Malfoy and Emilia whispered and giggled with each other just outside the library.