Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowling's people, places, or items.

Comments: Oh no! Can it be the dreaded, and yet sought-after last chapter? Alas, it is!

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Chapter 48 – Parting

The months seemed to fly by much too fast for Harry's comfort. Before he knew it, he and Ron were in the boys' dormitories, doing some extremely last-minute packing. Their exams had come and gone, and Harry honestly had no idea how he had done. Memories of the last three months included late nights by the fireplace with Silver, games of 'tag' between all four of them, and nearly having Snape dock a hundred points in Potions because Harry had kissed Silver right in the middle of class. But it wasn't as if he could help it – she had had her hair curled and she smelt like candy. In the end, Snape decided that fifty points was more suitable for it being a 'first offense', but he had threatened to take two hundred the next time and had given Harry a detention complete with a lecture on self-control.

As he tossed his school robes into his trunk, he stopped, lost in a wave of thoughts. Going back to Pivet Drive was the absolute last place he felt like going. He felt like being wherever Silver was, and that was definitely not at the Dursleys. He ran a hand through his hair as he thought. He knew that the minute he turned seventeen, he was Apparating to Grimmauld Place – he'd like to see anybody try and stop him. Of course, he might have a little bit of fun with the Dursleys first – give them a little "going-away present" or two.

"Harry? Hello, you there?" Ron asked.

"Uh, yeah," Harry said, snapping back to attention.

Ron gave him a sympathetic look. "We're going to try and get you away from the Dursleys as soon as we can," he promised, "Mum's already hassling Dumbledore about it to get you out well before your birthday. She told him that if you needed to go home, you should go and spend one night there."

Harry grinned. "Really?"

"What'd you expect? You know you're like family to us. Already mum's invited Lupin over for the summer, and she's clearing out our attic so he can have his own room when he comes. She's trying to convince him to live with us so that you won't leave. I mean, she likes him and all, but she treats you like me, or Fred, or George – minus the yelling."

Harry's grin intensified. "I don't think I'll be moving out anytime soon," he said, "I'll just have to convince Lupin to move in, too."

Ron looked extremely pleased.

Suddenly the door burst open and Silver flew in, beaming. He couldn't help but notice how her dark green tank top flattered her figure extremely well. If there was anyone who could make Slytherin colors look remotely appealing, it was her.

"Harry, guess what?" she exclaimed.

"You're in the boys' dorms," he told her.

"Nope, guess again!" she replied cheerily, sticking her tongue out at him.

He grinned and surveyed her carefully. "New lipstick," he finally proclaimed.

She wrinkled her nose. "Of course not," she said, "Since when have I gotten excited about lipstick?"

"I was joking, darling," he told her bemusedly.

"Oh. Well, come to think of it, it is new…" she mused.

He shook his head, smiling, which caused her to snap back to attention.

"Come on now, guess," she prompted.

He squinted in mock concentration. "You've looked in the mirror and realized you're beautiful!" he tried.

Her eyes filled with surprise and she blushed. "You're not going to take this seriously, are you?" she asked, plopping down beside him.

"I was," he insisted, leaning over and kissing her on the side of the head.

"Were not," she replied stubbornly, refusing to kiss him back.

"Don't be mad," he begged in his best pleading voice, nipping at her ear playfully.

She allowed a giggle to escape and drew her head away from him.

"So, what is it?" he asked, continuing to pack.

He was faced with a problem when his trunk began to overflow and he wasn't even halfway done packing yet. Silver wrinkled her nose, reached over, dumped the contents out, and began to fold them and place them back in. He gave her a thankful grin and began to attempt to fold one of his shirts.

"Hermione's invited me to stay with her for part of the summer," she replied, taking the shirt he had folded out of the trunk and refolding it.

He let the pair of pants he was attempting to fold drop as he looked up at her. She took them from his lap and began to fold them.

"Well, only two days, really," she said thoughtfully. Ron snorted with laughter and Harry felt a bit relieved. It wasn't that he didn't want her to be with Hermione, he just had a feeling that it would stop the flow of letters he hoped to be receiving from her.

"Part of the summer?" he asked her amusedly.

"Two days is a part of the summer," she protested weakly.

"Course it is, sweetie," he replied comfortingly.

She smiled and hit him playfully with one of his shirts. "You sound so sincere," she said sarcastically.

"I am," he replied.

She tossed her hair back and he caught a glimpse of the earrings he had given her for the Valentines Ball. She caught him staring after a moment and raised her eyebrows questioningly. He shook his head and began to hand her clothes to fold. Ron watched with a raised eyebrow.

"Folding his clothes for him?" he asked Silver with a smirk.

"He can't manage it himself," Silver replied, with a teasing glance at Harry.

"Just like a married couple," Ron quipped.

Silver giggled. "Are you saying Hermione didn't help you even one little bit?" she asked.

"No," Ron said defiantly.

Silver looked up with an altogether too mischievous glint in her eyes, and he quickly changed his mind.

"Okay, maybe a little," he confessed.

He looked at Harry for a moment, and then at Silver, and then he shook his head, as if snapping himself out of a trance. "Uh, I'm gonna go see how Hermione is doing and…stuff," he said lamely, walking out of the room.

Harry grinned. Ron wasn't one for subtlety. He looked up at Silver, carefully noting the way her eyes sparkled, revealing so many shades of brown that it was almost unsettling, and the way with every slight movement of her head, her hair glistened with reddish highlights and chocolate brown undertone. He had come to appreciate her more than he thought was humanly possible, and yet the odd thing was that his appreciation never lessened, and never stilled. It seemed to grow constantly, every time he looked at her, or even thought about her. Thoughts like, She's bloody gorgeous, would come to his mind at various inopportune times, often causing him to stutter or simply space out. She looked up at him, and a flurry of emotions stirred inside his stomach. He did not, under any circumstances, want to leave her.

"What is it, Harry?" she asked.

"I don't want to leave you," he replied honestly.

She set down the shirt she was folding and scooted closer to him in order to wrap him in a hug. He clutched her tightly, knowing that in just a few hours time he wouldn't have the opportunity.

"I'm going to miss, you, Harry," she breathed, "A lot."

He pulled her tighter, not having realized that it was possible to do so until that moment.

"I'll write you as often as I can," she vowed, her fingers running through the hair on the back of his head.

He was silent, holding her and wishing never to let her go. He finally loosened his grip enough so that she could lean back slightly. To his surprise, the only adjustment she made was placing her lips on his and kissing him like tomorrow would never come. And, he supposed as he kissed her back, in all reality it wouldn't – not with them able to be together. One of her hands held the back of his head, attempting to somehow bring him closer, while the other played with his hair. One of his hands was immersed in her own hair, while the other lay on her waist. He brought it up to her shoulder and gently ran his finger down to her elbow. She gave a shiver and made a noise in the back of her throat that made him grab her arm both gently and firmly and pull her as close as he possibly could. She was straddling his lap and now caressing his neck softly with the hand that used to be playing in his hair. He felt and returned her passion, and could not resist seeing what would happen if he were to stroke her arm one more time. He repeated the motion swiftly and deliberately, and she pulled away from him as her entire body shook, giving a small cry against his lips before kissing him with more ardor than before. He found that he was overcome with the desire to lower her to the ground and touch her in places he had never dared to even come close to before. As it grew stronger, he distinctly heard a voice in the back of his head telling him to back off. As difficult as it was, he did, pulling his lips away from hers. She planted gentle kisses along his jawline, increasing the desires he felt by doing so.

"Silver," he whispered, attempting and failing to pull away from her insistent kisses.

"Mm?" she replied, pausing for only a moment as her lips caressed his neck.

"You're driving me crazy. Stop it."

His voice sounded deeper than usual, and it was a bit shaky, as well. She pulled away, although she didn't look as if she wanted to in the least. He wished that she would hurry and get out of his lap before he pushed her to the ground and began to kiss her again, which is what he felt like doing. She didn't move though, only sat with her arms around his neck, looking at him wistfully. Suddenly she leaned forwards and longingly brushed her lips against his. That was all it took. He pushed her off his lap, ignoring her puzzled look, and lowered her to the ground, his lips searching for hers.

"Okay, Harry, I get it," she said breathlessly, bracing her hands against his chest.

He came very close to ignoring her and kissing her anyway, but he managed to tear himself away from her and lay on his back next to her. It took him a while to catch his breath, his mind reeling. He had never felt so strongly compelled to do…something…with her before, but then again, he wasn't quite sure she had ever kissed him with quite so much passion before. He glanced over at her, and she turned to look at him at the same time.

"Sorry," he said.

"You didn't do anything, Harry," she replied, rolling onto her side.

He rolled onto his so that he was facing her. She reached out and pushed her fingers through his hair, causing his emotions to run haywire once more.

"I shouldn't have…pushed you down like that," he answered, "I wasn't thinking right."

She giggled. "And I shouldn't have kissed you again. But I couldn't resist."

She winked at him and traced over his lips with her finger. He kissed it softly, causing her to blush slightly. He grinned.

"You're blushing," he said amusedly.

"It's just that…you're so sweet," she replied, blushing even more.

He found himself grinning even more. "I sure am," he agreed, reaching over and pulling her close to him.

He kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes. He couldn't help but think that she looked completely and utterly adorable when she had her eyes closed. He nearly placed a kiss on her lips, which looked especially kissable at the moment, but the sound of the door opening caused him to lay his head back down and stare at her, their faces and bodies inches apart. She opened her eyes, smiling, and he became lost in their chocolaty brown depths. His focus was lost, however, when a very hard something hit him in the back. Wincing, he pulled Silver close and rolled so that she was on top of him, knowing that if she didn't, she would be hit by Neville's falling body. Sure enough, it was unmistakably Neville who hit the ground with a thud, and then scrambled up, muttering words he surely never would have uttered if he had known he was in Silver's presence. He turned around, and his eyes grew wide as saucers as he looked at the two.

"Harry! S…Silver! I'm sorry, I didn't see you two…w…way down there," he stammered.

Silver giggled. "It's alright, Neville," she assured him.

"I, uh, had better go," he said, blushing furiously.

"Didn't you come in here for a reason?" Silver replied sensibly.

"Reason, right. I mean no. I'll go," Neville said quickly.

With that, he ran out of the room, in such a haste that he didn't even close the door after himself.

Silver began to giggle. "I think we scared him," she commented.

"Well," Harry replied mischievously, "You have me in rather a compromising position, wouldn't you say?"

She began to laugh even harder as she rolled off of him.

"Oh, Harry, you're terrible," she exclaimed, "Now come on and help me pack your things."

"Kay, honey," he replied, sitting up. She looked at him as if she were about to kiss him, but wisely held back and handed him a pile of clothes to fold. In the end, his things fit in quite nicely.

"There, see?" she asked triumphantly as he snapped his trunk shut, "It does fit!"

"If it weren't for you, I'd have had to leave half my things behind," he replied, "You're a miracle worker."

"Sounds like a lame excuse for a kiss," she answered smartly.

"Is it working?" he asked hopefully.

"Like a charm," she confirmed, leaning in to kiss him.

No sooner had their lips touched when a most unwelcome noise reached Harry's ears.

"So it is true!" Ron crowed.

Harry glanced up to see him and Hermione watching them, both smirking.

"What's true?" Silver asked.

"Neville came out the color of a Gryffindor flag muttering at people to stay out of the boys dorms," Hermione replied, looking a bit too smug.

"Yeah, he said, and I quote 'They're rolling around on the floor!'" Ron mimicked, dissolving into laughter as he finished.

Silver blushed profusely, and Harry grinned.

"We weren't doing any rolling until he tripped over me and I had to grab Silver so that she wasn't crushed by him," Harry replied, and then as he saw Hermione's look, "And before that we were just laying there!"

"We didn't really think you two were," Ron said, only halfway recovered from his fit of laughter, "But it was so funny."

"Oh, no," Silver said suddenly, "Where is Neville?"

"I don't know, he left the Gryffindor common room," Ron replied, "Why?"

Silver looked troubled, and it only took Harry a moment to figure out why.

"Aw, no," he moaned, laying back on the floor, "Kiss me goodbye now, darling, because when Snape hears about that, I'll be dead."

Silver giggled. "I'm going to go make sure he doesn't get any…wrong impressions," she replied, "I would stay inside of Gryffindor tower until then, if I were you."

Harry watched her go amidst Ron's uncontrolled laughter and Hermione's giggles.

"You know, I reckon one of these days he really is going to hurt you," Ron commented, undisguised amusement in his eyes.

"You're so comforting," Harry replied sarcastically.

Silver didn't return for a good hour, by which time Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the common room, Ron and Hermione engaged in a game of chess. They all looked up to see a slightly disgruntled Silver walking towards them. She sat down looking half amused, half surprised.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked.

"Well, it was just my luck that he'd already heard an extremely stretched out version of Neville's story by the time I had arrived," Silver replied, "He was very hard to reason with - he made me admit that I was in the boys' dorms, gave me a talk about that, and he finished it off by giving me a lecture on how to get away from boys that are snogging me against my consent. He really doesn't want to admit that I like you in the least."

She gave him a sympathetic glance as she finished, and then added, "But I told him that you didn't do anything, so he's not that mad at you."

Harry was about to reply, when Ron interrupted.

"What, exactly, was this extremely stretched out version?" he inquired.

"Let's just say he told me he wouldn't buy any clothes for the baby," Silver replied.

Ron burst into laughter, and Hermione looked as if she were trying very hard to hold it in. Harry groaned.

"I'll bet he was ready to murder me," he said.

"I'm thinking he already had about five back-up plans," Silver confirmed.

Harry grinned with amusement. He guessed that Snape's first choice would have been strangling him with his bare hands. Silver scooted over into his arms, and he kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. He glanced at the clock and found that they would be leaving in only an hour. He breathed a sigh against her neck, and she gave him a sympathetic and understanding look.

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All too soon, they were boarding the train. At this point, Harry was afraid to let Silver out of his sight for even a moment for fear of somehow losing her. He watched as Silver bade goodbye to Charisma and Esperanza, whom Snape was going to transport to Grimmauld Place whilst they were on the train. Since it was not safe for him or Silver to return to the manor now that Voldemort was aware of Snape's loyalties, he and Silver were staying at Grimmauld Place for the time being. Harry was glad, seeing as that meant that when he finally did escape the Dursleys, he would be with Silver.

As they boarded the train, Ron and Hermione departed for the Prefects compartment, leaving Harry and Silver to themselves. Harry was determined to find an empty one, and, to his delight, they did. He made a great show of pulling her in gallantly, and she giggled as she entered. He slid the door shut and heard a satisfactory click as he locked it. He turned to her to see that she was looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"Ooh, locking the door, are we?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied, grinning evilly and sitting down beside her.

"Are you sure you want to be alone with me?" she asked, "After all, I might put you in a compromising position."

He scooted closer to her, and she scooted away. A grin lit his face as he followed her. Her eyes widened slightly when she hit the wall behind her. He chuckled.

"Something wrong, gorgeous?" he asked.

"Gorgeous?" she echoed, pretending to be suspicious.

"Very," he assured her, leaning closer, "Any guy would be lucky to be, oh, say, locked in an empty train compartment with you."

She giggled, and allowed her lips to brush his as she spoke. "You don't say," she replied.

He leaned in to kiss her, but she pulled away. His eyes glittered mischievously as he looked at her.

"Playing hard to get?" he inquired curiously.

She smiled in response. He took his index finger and let it gently trace the length of her arm. She gave a delighted shiver and allowed him to fasten his arms around her. She wound her arms around his neck, pulling him towards her with a small smile playing upon her lips. He was only an inch away from what he was sure was going to be a very satisfying kiss when a small blast issued from the door, and a very scared looking Neville toppled in.

"M…M…Malfoy," he stuttered, "Malfoy is hunting me down!"

"Well then hide or something," Harry replied exasperatedly, not allowing Silver to pull away, "And close the door."

Neville's eyes landed on the two of them for the first time, and he blushed profusely, opening his mouth to say something and then snapping it shut. Silver let out a giggle.

"Go on, Neville, hide," she urged, "The luggage compartment above the seat, I think."

Neville immediately slammed the compartment door shut and scrambled towards the luggage compartment, and no sooner had he begun to climb in than Silver began to plant soft kisses on the side of Harry's jaw. He turned to her with surprise. She was certainly in a very good mood, at least in his opinion. She placed a teasingly brief kiss on his lips, smirking as she pulled away. He heard the luggage's compartment door close and eagerly leaned forward. Once again, they were interrupted.

"Yeah, and then…" Ron's voice trailed off as he turned his eyes upon Silver and Harry.

Harry began to pull away, came to his senses, and kissed her anyway. She jumped from the shock it affronted her, but managed to kiss him back anyway.

"Aw, get a room," Ron groaned.

"Come on now, you two," Hermione echoed disapprovingly.

Harry grinned as he pulled away from Silver, who was also smiling.

"Well, we actually had a compartment all to ourselves until you came," he said, "Well, actually until Neville came, but he's hiding in the luggage compartment, so we're not paying any attention to him."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, reaching above the seat and pulling up the door.

Neville beamed at her from inside. "Hi, Hermione," he said brightly.

Hermione gave a squeal and let the door drop in Neville's face. Harry and Ron snorted with laughter, and Silver giggled. Hermione slowly pulled the door back up.

"What are you doing in there?" she demanded.

"Well, Malfoy was threatening me, so I came in here, and Harry and Silver were, ah…" he paused.

"We were going to kiss," Harry supplied, "But he broke the door down and we were a bit distracted."

Ron snorted. "Well, you sure weren't distracted when we came in," he replied.

Harry grinned. "Nope," he agreed.

"I'm sure you can come out, Neville," Hermione said, "We didn't see Malfoy anywhere when we were coming." Harry reached out and snaked an arm around Silver's waist, and she laid her head on his shoulder. They remained that way for the entire train ride, which was wholly uneventful. During that time he listened to Ron, Hermione, and Neville carry on a conversation which he and Silver occasionally joined in on, but mostly his attention was focused on Silver. He murmured the words 'I love you' into her hair countless times, and the other three all did a bad job of pretending they didn't notice.

When the train stopped, Harry felt like staying right where he was. He had a feeling that if he had asked her to, Silver probably would have stayed with him. As it was, they didn't move while Ron, Hermione, and Neville filed out. Neville had the good sense to close the door as he left. Harry turned to Silver, who was looking up at him with bright eyes. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, Harry," she murmured, "And I'm going to write you so often that you're going to get sick of my letters. And I'm going to yell at Dumbledore every day until he lets you come home."

He smiled, knowing full well that she would yell at Dumbledore.

"I won't get sick of your letters, so don't stop sending them," he told her, rubbing her back.

She sighed. "If we don't get off the train, there's going to be a search party conducted for me," she said, pulling away.

He grinned, knowing full well that she was right. "Alright," he agreed.

He was a bit dazed as he walked off of the platform and was met with the unwelcome sight of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's faces. Silver loyally stayed by his side.

"That's them," he informed her, with a nod of his head in their direction.

She followed his gaze and her eyes landed upon the two frowning and unwelcoming faces. Neither his aunt or uncle had seen him yet, and for that Harry was glad.

"I'll be right back," Silver told him, suddenly disappearing from his side.

"Don't-" he began, but she was too quick for him. "Go," he finished dully, not able to figure out where she had gone.

"Boy!" Uncle Vernon's voice suddenly growled.

Harry slowly turned his head to look at his uncle, who was giving him a death look along with his aunt.

"G'bye, Harry," Ron was suddenly saying, patting him on the back.

The entire Weasley family echoed him, and Hermione gave him a quick hug and a, "See you soon."

"Bye, guys," Harry said, giving them a small wave and then turning towards his aunt and uncle.

He was happy to see that the reason Uncle Vernon hadn't yelled at him again was because Lupin, Tonks, and Moody were currently surrounding the two, no doubt giving them a talking to.

"We may be dropping by to visit Harry this summer," Lupin said casually as Harry walked up, as Tonks, who was currently sporting lime green spiked hair, nodded.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked terrified. "Well I – I can't – I don't-" Uncle Vernon sputtered angrily.

He suddenly stopped, staring over Harry's shoulder at something with a disbelieving look on his face. The next moment Harry felt slender arms wrap themselves around him from behind. He turned around to face Silver, grinning once more. He realized that she had gone to set down her trunks so that she could hug him goodbye properly. He slid his arms around her waist and gently rubbed her back as he looked down at her. She rose on her tiptoes and slid her hands around his neck.

"Bye, Harry," she murmured, her eyes already closed in anticipation of a kiss.

Harry closed the distance between them easily, closing his lips over hers and feeling her tighten her arms around him. They parted after only a few seconds, but only with their lips. She stayed as close to him as possible, her head against his, and he held her tightly to make sure she didn't think she could leave anytime soon.

"Love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Harry," she breathed.

He reluctantly allowed her to slide out of his arms and take a step backwards. The promises she had made on the train were written in her eyes, partially hidden behind unshed tears.

"Come on, boy," Uncle Vernon managed, "We have places to go."

With that, he and Aunt Petunia turned and began to walk away. Silver bit her lip and stepped back once more, a signal for him to go, and not stay right there like he felt like doing at the moment. He turned back around, and got sympathetic goodbyes from Lupin, Moody, and Tonks before trotting to catch up with Uncle Vernon. Oh yes, this was going to be a very different summer…

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Note: I will be posting one more chappie, kind of like an Epilogue, which will give you all a link to the sequel. However, if you check my portfolio, you'll be able to find it anyway. See you guys in the sequel! -beams-