Disclaimer: In the month or so since this story's last update, I was not able to secure the rights to Harry Potter and the Wizarding World. I was too busy being so stressed I lost twelve pounds despite the fact that I was practically living off of fast food and never worked out once.
Chapter 74
"Bloody hell, you'd think at least one of our professors would ease up on homework. It's only the second day," Ron lamented as the Gryffindor Gang marched back towards Gryffindor Tower from the Herbology greenhouses. "We've probably got ten feet worth of essays to do by next week."
"It is our O.W.L. year," Hermione pointed out with a sigh. "You weren't hoping to simply coast through the most important exams of your life, were you?"
Ron paled slightly. "Course not," He mumbled.
"That's why we keep you and Harry around," Seamus snickered.
"O.W.L. year or not, McGonagall must be trying to kill us with that essay on Vanishing Spells," Parvati groaned, earning several murmurs of agreement. "I mean, eighteen inches by Thursday? She knows today is Tuesday, right?"
Harry and Hermione, who were the only two in the class to perform the spell successfully and thus not receive an essay homework, suddenly found their shoes rather interesting.
"Oi, wait up, Harry!" A voice called from behind the group just as they neared the top of the stairs. Harry turned to see none other than Fred and George Weasley jogging up the steps towards him. Having anticipated this conversation, he turned to his peers and waved them away.
"I'll catch up with you guys," He said, to which everyone but Hermione nodded and continued on their merry way. "You don't have to stick around, you know," He offered to Hermione. "In case you want to go get a head start on that Charms homework or something."
Hermione simply smiled and remained by his side – a habit of hers that Harry would never tire of.
"Merlin's beard, Freddie, is that really Harry Potter?" George teased as he and his brother reached the pair of fifth-years.
"I think it is, Georgie. In the flesh and everything," Fred grinned.
"What an honor. You know, I heard he killed a basilisk when he was twelve."
"I heard he dueled You-Know-Who and lived to tell the tale."
"Well, I heard his hair's insured for ten thousand Galleons."
"That may be true, but I heard he does broomstick endorsements…in Japan."
"Are you two finished?" Harry sighed, glancing over the banister to see if an accidental push would send the redheads in front of him to the Hospital Wing or to the afterlife.
"Please, we could go on about you for ages," Fred waved him off.
"But as much as we love to embarrass you," George cooed, pinching a now-irritated Harry's cheeks.
"We're actually here for something else," Fred finished, his mischievous demeanor giving way to one of sincerity. "We wanted to thank you."
"For your investment," George clarified.
"Don't mention it," Harry waved them off.
"Seriously, mate," George pressed on. "We wanted to thank you in person because…well, we still kind of find it hard to believe."
"Not kind of," Fred shook his head. "It's very hard to believe. When Bill told us you were giving us your winnings, we thought the Daily Prophet was right and you were genuinely off your rocker."
"But then he handed us the money, and, well…we just wanted to thank you," George gave a genuine smile. "It's pretty much the least we can do. Actually, it is quite literally the least we can do."
"Along with giving you free products for life, which we are most definitely doing" Fred added. "Seriously, whenever you want something, just say the word and it's yours."
"Oh, no, you guys don't have to –"
"Nope," George cut him off. "Don't want to hear any of that insufferable modesty of yours. We owe you big, alright? And free products for life doesn't even begin to cover it, so if you ever need a favor, just ask."
"Or several favors," Fred shrugged. "Running a shop of our own has been our dream for ages, and thanks to you it's not just a dream anymore."
"We are eternally grateful," George bowed exaggeratedly.
"And eternally indebted to thee, Lord Potter," Fred mimicked his brother's actions.
"Oh, please don't call me that," Harry winced.
"As you wish, sir," The twins said in unison as they stood up straight. "But in all seriousness," Fred said.
"If there's anything we can do for you, just say so."
"Thanks," Harry nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Just, erm, don't tell anyone who gave you the money," He pointed to the Prefect badge pinned to his robes. "I like having this."
"Don't worry," Fred reassured him.
"We'd hate to break up the dream team," George chuckled. "Plus, I'm sure you two are looking forward to capitalizing on your nightly patrols around the castle with no supervision."
Hermione let out a sort of growl and crossed her arms.
"Kidding!" George said quickly, his smile vanishing. "Please don't hex me," He added in a small voice.
"Remind me again why you, a Prefect, gave a thousand Galleons to the two biggest pranksters at Hogwarts?" Hermione huffed.
"Because smiles and laughter are going to be hard to come by, with everything that's happening. I believe that making just one person's day better is well worth a few headaches for Prefects like ourselves."
"Hmph," Hermione frowned slightly. "Still…I should stop them."
"If that's what you think, then stop them," Harry shrugged, casually examining his fingernails as they turned a corner.
"Well, maybe I will," Hermione said in a very uncertain voice.
"Cool," Harry nodded. They continued to walk in silence for a few seconds until he cleared his throat. "Are…are you going to stop them? Because you're walking in the opposite direction and –"
"Alright, fine, I'm not going to stop them," Hermione cut him off with a sharp exhale. "You've been a horrible influence on me, you know," She added with a half-hearted scowl.
"Hey, this has been years in the making," Harry winked. "I wasn't the one who blatantly disobeyed McGonagall's instructions and broke the laws of time to snog an extremely handsome Quidditch player they fancied, was I?"
"Shut up."
"Seems to me that you're every bit a troublemaker as I am."
Hermione glared and smacked the back of her hand against his arm. "Try again."
Harry playfully rolled his eyes. "Hmm…" He tapped a finger to his chin. "It seems to me that you're a shining beacon of obedience and adherence that occasionally breaks the rules."
"And why exactly do I break those rules?"
Harry grinned. "Because you love your rule-breaker of a boyfriend?"
He glanced to his right to see Hermione looking straight ahead, her lips curved into a rather proud smile. "Damn right I do."
"Ooh, you kiss your boyfriend with that mouth?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Hermione said cheekily.
Harry's smile widened as he slipped his hand into hers, and their fingers remained comfortably intertwined until they reached the Gryffindor common room a few minutes later. They found the remaining members of the Gryffindor Gang had all gathered relatively close to their usual couch and decided to work as a group on the mountain of homework they had been assigned over the course of the day, starting with their Charms essays.
"Being friends with you two is the best," Dean mumbled absent-mindedly after Harry and Hermione corrected part of his introduction. "Not just because you're smart, obviously!" He quickly clarified at the two glares being sent in his direction.
"Mm-hmm," Hermione rolled her eyes, looking thoroughly unconvinced. Thankfully, Dean was spared from defending himself any longer due to the sound of hurried footsteps making their way towards the cluster of chairs and couches that the Gryffindor fifth-years were occupying.
"Where's Harry…Harry!" Angelina Johnson let out a relieved sigh and placed her hands on her knees as soon as she laid eyes on her bewildered teammate. "Thank Merlin, I was starting to think you were avoiding me!"
"Uh…" Harry's eyebrows climbed towards his hairline. "Sorry? Here I am?"
"Yeah, whatever," She sighed, catching her breath and standing up straight. "Did you have a good summer?"
"I mean, the government's been slandering my name and I was forced to stay indoors for most of the last couple –"
"Glad to hear it," Angelina cut him off. "Listen, I'm holding tryouts for the new Keeper on Friday, since someone has to fill in for Wood. I want the whole team there to see how everyone gels with the current team members."
"I'll be there," Harry nodded, darting his eyes towards Ron, who shifted nervously in his seat but nodded. "What time?"
"Five," Angelina said briskly. "I want you there, okay?"
"Don't worry," Harry reassured her, feeling more than a bit excited by the prospect of flying across the Quidditch pitch once again. "Oh, if you need to tell the twins, we just saw them heading –"
"I told them yesterday," Angelina waved him off. "I told everyone, yesterday, actually, except for you. I spent half the afternoon after classes trying to track you down. Where were you?"
Harry swallowed hard, his pulse quickening as he remembered exactly what he had been doing after Umbridge had dismissed the Gryffindors from Defense. Based on how Hermione hitched her breath and buried her nose in her textbook, she was experiencing a similar trip down memory lane.
"I was…studying," He said in a rather unconvincing voice. "In the library."
Ron snorted audibly, and his outburst was followed by several quiet snickers from some of his peers.
"What?" Harry turned towards the redhead, who smirked.
"Studying?" He asked in a teasing voice.
"Yeah, studying," Harry repeated stubbornly, ignoring the blush that was making its way onto his cheeks. "I know you're not very familiar with the concept, but it's when you open your textbooks and actually read what's inside them."
Ron's smirk widened into a full-blown grin. "Is that what you were doing yesterday?"
"Yeah, it was," Harry doubled down on his lie.
"Interesting," Ron mused. "Now, were you doing this before or after I walked into our dormitory and saw you pinning Hermione against the wall like a poster?"
The quiet giggles of the Gryffindor Gang escalated into full-on peals of laughter as Harry's jaw dropped and Hermione's book hit the floor with a THUD.
"How…" Harry spluttered, his face matching the scarlet paint on the walls. "How did you…we locked the door!"
"We learn the Unlocking Spell in our first year, mate," Ron shrugged.
"Do you have any sense of privacy?" Hermione asked, looking quite flustered.
"It's my dormitory too, you know," Ron held his hands up in a gesture of amity. "And it's not like I walked in hoping to catch you two snogging. I was just grabbing a spare quill and thought Neville accidentally locked the door again."
"That does actually happen a lot," Neville admitted sheepishly.
"But I ran off as soon as I saw…you know," Ron finished, gesturing vaguely towards Harry and Hermione. "For what it's worth, I'm not a huge fan of our dormitory being converted into Snog Station."
"Oh, this is a nightmare," Hermione groaned, burying her face in her hands and leaning into Harry's side as if doing so would shield her from her housemates' laughter.
"I…think I should go," Angelina said, unable to stop herself from smirking at her blushing teammate. "Five o'clock on Friday, alright?"
"Yeah, whatever," Harry suddenly found his trainers to be rather fascinating.
"Well done, Seeker," She chuckled, ruffling his hair as she walked past him and away from the Gryffindor Gang.
"Chin up, Harry," Lavender piped up. "It's not like we didn't already know you snog Hermione's brains out every chance you get."
"But I'm not even the one that…ugh," Harry groaned, slumping back against the couch cushions and taking several deep breaths. "You know, Ron, I really miss the days when you were afraid of saying the word 'dating' out loud."
"Yeah, well," Ron shrugged, still grinning. "That was before I realized how entertaining it is to make fun of you two."
"That's great," Harry said sarcastically. "You and Lav should start a club. You can call it the Society of Getting on Harry Potter's Nerves."
"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Lavender protested, but she promptly received seven looks of sheer disbelief. "Oh, sod off," She rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry for appreciating the fact that we have the Wizarding World's dream couple right here in front of us."
"The defense presents Exhibit A," Harry muttered under his breath.
"You know," Hermione whispered while Lavender held the rest of the group's attention by rambling about what exactly made Harry and Hermione the greatest couple on Earth, "you should have asked Angelina for a new jersey while she was here."
"What?" Harry whispered back. "Why would I do that? Can't you just give me my jersey back?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"Seriously?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"I told you, I'm not giving it back," Hermione gave him an unapologetic smile.
"Then I guess I'll have to steal it back from you," Harry smirked.
"Oh, please. Good luck getting into the girls' dormitories."
"Oi!" Seamus's voice caused Harry and Hermione to snap their heads towards the rest of their friends, who were all looking at them expectantly.
"Are you two going to keep flirting when you think nobody's paying attention, or do you want to do this homework with us?" Lavender cocked an eyebrow.
"Exhibit B," Harry mumbled, sitting up straight and grabbing his Charms book.
A few hours later, after dinner had come and gone and the sun had long since dipped below the horizon, Harry and Hermione found themselves done with their homework and were now offering guidance to their housemates that needed it. As the various clocks that adorned the room's walls chimed quarter to nine, Harry glanced up from Colin Creevey's Transfiguration essay and locked eyes with Hermione, who was helping Ginny Weasley with her Herbology assignment.
The two Prefects had their first nightly patrols, and as per the guidelines presented by Cedric during their meeting on the Hogwarts Express, they were to meet the Head Boy and Girl in the Prefects' Lounge at nine o'clock sharp in the evening. Silently nodding, Harry and Hermione put the finishing touches on the corrections they were offering to their friends before grabbing their bags and meeting each other at the foot of the marble staircases.
"Shall we drop our bags in our dorms and meet back here?" Harry asked, gesturing to his own backpack.
"Sounds like a plan," Hermione beamed. "See you in a minute," She added before turning on her heel and jogging up the steps towards her dormitory. Harry opted to wait rather than go upstairs, turning and scanning the common room until he spotted Parvati and Lavender seated in a pair of armchairs with what looked like diaries open on the table in front of them. He quickly strode over, throwing a cautionary glance over his shoulder towards the girls' staircase before he reached his destination.
"Hello, Harry," Parvati greeted him cheerfully, glancing up from her diary. "What's up?"
"Um," Harry threw one last look at the girls' stairs. "I need a favor."
A few minutes later, Harry and Hermione approached a life-sized portrait of Caspian Parvulus, the first Head Boy in the history of Hogwarts. "With great power," Hermione said proudly.
"Comes great responsibility," The young man in the portrait responded before swinging outwards, not unlike the Fat Lady that led to the Gryffindor common room. Unlike the Fat Lady, however, this painting concealed the entrance to the Prefects' Lounge, which Harry and Hermione eagerly entered.
"Hey, you made it!" Cedric looked up from a book he was reading and grinned, giving the pair of Gryffindors a thumbs-up before checking his watch. "And you're early, nicely done. Now I have a legitimate reason to have you guys as my favorite Prefects."
"We're not allowed to have favorites, Cedric," Sighed Head Girl Elizabeth McCringleberry, a Ravenclaw seventh-year that Harry and Hermione had met for the first time on the train a few days prior.
"Damn, I keep forgetting that," Cedric sighed dramatically. "Alright, well, you two are patrolling tonight, as you know. You'll be patrolling every Tuesday night, as per the Prefect rotation schedule." He turned to Harry "Angelina already knows, so don't worry about late-night Quidditch practices on Tuesdays."
"Brilliant," Harry grinned.
"Now, do you guys remember all those rules and guidelines from the definitely-not-boring Prefect meeting on the train?" Cedric asked. "I know Hermione, you were taking notes, so I doubt I even need – oh, look, you brought them," The Hufflepuff raised his eyebrows when Hermione proudly extracted a scroll of parchment from her robes. "So, I suppose you two are good to go, then. Elizabeth, anything you want to add?"
"Nope," The Ravenclaw shook her head. "Just make sure you're patrolling until at least midnight. Don't leave any earlier."
"Got it," Hermione nodded.
"Lovely," Cedric grinned, reaching out and tapping the two Gryffindors' shoulders as if he were knighting them. "Go get 'em, Lady Granger and Lord Potter."
"Why is everyone calling me that today?" Harry muttered under his breath as Hermione grabbed the sleeve of his robe and pulled him towards the exit. After bidding the Heads goodnight and climbing through the portrait hole, the pair found themselves standing in a quiet corridor, only illuminated by the slivers of moonlight that crept through the tall windows above them.
"Ready?" Hermione asked, taking a deep breath.
"Sure," Harry shrugged, turning and flashing her a grin. Hermione smiled back before averting her eyes and tentatively holding out her hand. Surprised by her shyness at something they did rather frequently, Harry took it, lacing their fingers together and giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
As soon as they clasped hands, Hermione let out a sigh and a look of pure bliss graced her features.
"Everything okay?" Harry asked.
"Everything's perfect," Hermione whispered, closing her eyes and smiling. "I'm holding hands with you. During Prefect rounds." She paused, blushing slightly. "I know it's a bit silly, but this is something I've wanted since I was eleven. It's…it's almost too good to be true."
Harry stood silently for a moment before squeezing her hand again. "You are honestly the cutest thing in the entire world," He grinned, causing her blush to intensify. "Now, are you ready to go enforce the rules like the good Prefects we are?"
"I was born ready," Hermione smiled back.
"Me too," Harry winked, reaching his free hand into the pocket of his robes and extracting a familiar piece of parchment. "I think this is going to help speed things along, don't you?"
"You want to use the Marauder's Map to enforce the rules?" Hermione asked incredulously. "What would Sirius think of this?"
"Hey, if he didn't disown me for getting picked as a Prefect, I doubt this will bother him that much," Harry pointed out as he summoned his wand from his wrist holster and used it to activate the map. "Oh, look, Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst are on top of the Astronomy Tower right now."
"Oh, we can't have that, can we?" Hermione shook her head in disapproval.
"No, we cannot," Harry said. "I mean, imagine having the audacity to go to the Astronomy Tower after curfew. I, personally, will not stand for such blatant disregard for the rules."
"Of course, it was different when we did it," Hermione pointed out.
"Oh, way different," Harry agreed as they began to walk towards the tallest tower in Hogwarts. "I mean, it was the last night of the year, for starters. Who can blame us for wanting to go out there on the last night?"
"Plus, Boot and Brocklehurst are probably just going there for some hormone-fueled tryst," Hermione added. "And we were going out for a romantic viewing of the sunset, which is objectively better."
"Absolutely," Harry smiled fondly. "At most, our little outing featured some romantic and wholesome kissing and snuggling, which is very different from whatever unholy deeds those two Ravenclaws are probably up to."
"Very different," Hermione nodded. The two Prefects continued to jokingly justify their third-year excursion to the Astronomy Tower to one another until they reached the top of said tower, where they took it easy on the two Ravenclaws by taking off only five points each for breaking curfew (and for their passionate public display of affection).
"So, have you also been dreaming of sending a few snogging teenagers back to their dorms since you were eleven?" Harry asked teasingly as they descended the steps of the Astronomy Tower.
"Oh, shut up," Hermione huffed.
"It's just, I don't remember seeing that ever written in your diary –"
"Don't make me hit you with the Silencing Spell," Hermione warned, sticking her tongue out at her smirking boyfriend.
"Just asking," He winked. "I want your first Prefect patrol to be exactly as amazing as you dreamt it."
"And if I dreamt of you shutting your delectable mouth?"
"Touché," Harry chuckled, checking the Marauder's Map once again. "Hmm. Only two other troublemakers out tonight. I was kind of hoping for more excitement."
"Still better than nothing," Hermione said, wrapping her arm around his and leaning into him so she could scan the map herself. "Who dares to sneak out on our watch?" She giggled as she peered at the parchment.
"A couple names I don't recognize, walking away from what looks like the Hufflepuff common room. But they're just going deeper into the basements…" Harry furrowed his eyebrows.
"They're going towards the kitchens," Hermione pointed out. "Come on, let's try and catch them before they get there."
"Good idea," Harry nodded. "Hey, maybe we can stop by the kitchens ourselves after we send them back to their dorm," He added hopefully. At Hermione's disapproving look, he rolled his eyes. "To visit Dobby, not to ransack the Hogwarts food supply."
"We have rounds to do."
"Nobody's out right now besides those two Hufflepuffs," Harry pointed to the map. "Besides, it's for a good cause. Dobby probably misses us."
"We have rounds to do," Hermione repeated matter-of-factly.
"Please?" Harry begged, giving her his best puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Hermione?"
She pursed her lips together in thought before eventually relenting. "Alright. I suppose I can talk to some of the elves about wages while we're there. That way we can make this unsanctioned visit at least somewhat productive."
"That's my girl," Harry nudged her with his elbow, grinning as she blushed and smiled bashfully down at the ground. "Come on, let's go catch some miscreants and advocate for elf rights. Because that's what Prefects do!" He said with a wide smile, taking her hand and leading her down a staircase.
"You're ridiculous," Hermione chided him, following him down the steps with a grin of her own.
After intercepting two Hufflepuff third-year boys that looked devastated upon realizing they wouldn't be able to make a late-night trip to the kitchens, Harry and Hermione found themselves standing in front of an enormous painting of a bowl of fruit in a brightly lit corridor tucked away in the Hogwarts basements.
"You would think the founders would be a bit more creative," Harry pointed out as he tickled the green pear, taking one last look at the Marauder's Map to ensure that they weren't allowing any rule-breakers to roam the corridors. "I mean, is everything worth hiding in this castle hidden behind a painting?"
"Well, there's that passage to Honeydukes," Hermione pointed out as the pear in the painting transformed into a green door handle. "That's tucked under that statue of Gunhilda de Gorsemoor, right? The One-Eyed Witch?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Harry smiled, pulling the door open. "You're brilliant, you know that?"
Hermione beamed, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek as she walked past him and into the kitchens. Harry flashed her another smile before taking one last glance at the Marauder's Map. He scanned the illustrated corridors and hallways until his eyes landed on a dot labeled Parvati Patil making its way from the girls' Gryffindor dormitories to the boys' dorms. Smirking to himself, he reverted the map to its blank state and stuffed it back in his pocket, slipping into the kitchens and closing the painting-turned-door behind him.
"Harry Potter, sir!" A familiar elf squealed in delight, sprinting across the kitchens as fast as his little legs could carry him until he was throwing his arms around his legs. "Dobby has missed the great Harry Potter, sir!"
"And Harry Potter has missed Dobby," Harry chuckled, awkwardly patting Dobby on the head while Hermione covered her mouth in a futile attempt to stifle her giggles. "How have you been?"
"Dobby has been very good, Harry Potter," The elf stepped back and gave Harry a toothy smile. "Dobby has been more than good ever since Harry Potter freed him."
Harry smiled again, blushing slightly under the appreciative stares of both Dobby and Hermione. "Glad I could help, Dobby. Hermione and I just wanted to say hello while we were out patrolling. And Hermione was hoping to –"
"Harry Potter is too kind!" Dobby gave Harry another hug, almost causing him to topple over due to the unexpected impact. "Dobby must repay Harry Potter for his kindness!"
"Oh, no, Dobby, you don't have to –"
But the elf was already dashing off, weaving throughout the maze of counters and ovens in search of what was sure to be an excessive amount of food for the two Gryffindors to take with them for the road. Harry turned to give Hermione an apologetic look, but she had already gathered a small group of elves and was well underway in explaining the importance of being paid for one's labor.
Shrugging, Harry hopped onto the nearest countertop and extracted the Marauder's Map once more, perusing the parchment for any signs of trouble that they would have to deal with as Prefects. He spotted Snape patrolling the dungeons, along with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick patrolling the east wings of the first and second floors, respectively. He spotted Dolores Umbridge's dot located in her office, wrinkling her nose as he watched her dot remain motionless at what must have been her desk. Not terribly far from that was the Headmaster's office, where Dumbledore's dot could be seen shifting back and forth across the room as if he were pacing.
Confident that there was no mischief to be managed amidst the corridors, Harry glanced up to observe Hermione as she gave a passionate – albeit slightly unwelcome – speech to the gathering of elves before her. His lips immediately curved into a smile as she began gesturing wildly with her hands, her bushy hair flying back and forth as she moved her head in order to look each and every elf in the eye as much as possible. She caught his eye at one point and gave him one of those dazzling smiles that made his entire world stop, but as quickly as it had come it was gone and she was back to being her enthusiastic self as she argued tirelessly for the improvement of elfish welfare.
Every once in a while, Harry was convinced that nothing could possibly exceed how much he loved Hermione Granger. And every time, she would do something so Hermione that he was proven wrong, as he somehow managed to fall even more in love with her.
This was definitely one of those moments, Harry thought to himself.
After about a minute of internally reminiscing about how much he cherished his girlfriend, he heard Dobby's eager footsteps come running across the floor in his direction. He turned and nearly fell off the counter in surprise as he spotted the former Malfoy servant carrying a bag of bite-sized toffees that looked as if it weighed as much as a baby hippogriff.
"For Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby beamed, thrusting the bag into a stunned Harry's hands. "And his Miss!"
"Uh…" Harry glanced at Hermione, who was too engrossed in wrapping up her little speech to notice. "Dobby, this is too much, we can't possibly –"
"Dobby insists!" The elf squeaked, shaking his head vigorously. "Dobby hates to go against Harry Potter's wishes, but Dobby wishes to help Harry Potter in any way he can!" He concluded with a bow, brushing his long nose against the tiled floor.
"Erm…" Harry glanced at the bag in his hands and had to admit that the toffees looked delicious. "Thanks, Dobby. We appreciate it."
"Dobby is happy to be of service," He squealed, clasping his hands together in delight.
"What have we here?" Hermione asked as she walked over, looping her arm around Harry's and raising her eyebrows at the bag of sweets. "You do know my parents are dentists, right?"
"Dobby wanted to give us a parting gift," Harry explained, to which Hermione flashed Dobby a smile. "Although I feel bad; we didn't bring him anything."
"Oh, that's not quite true," Hermione winked, reaching into the pocket of her robes. "Dobby, you like socks, don't you?"
"Oh, yes!" Dobby nodded so vigorously his ears flapped with his movements, pointing down to his feet, which were clad in mismatched socks. "Dobby likes socks very much – Dobby loves socks!"
"Well, that works out well," Hermione smiled, throwing Harry a sly look as she fished out the most ridiculous-looking pair of socks he had ever seen – one was purple with gold polka dots of various sizes and the other was navy blue with stripes so orange they reminded Harry of Ron's Chudley Cannons gear. "Because we brought you these," She handed the socks over to Dobby, who took them with trembling hands.
"These are…for Dobby?" He asked, his eyes sparkling with tears.
"Only if you want them," Hermione shrugged.
"Oh, yes!" Dobby nodded once more, hugging the socks to his chest. "Dobby is very grateful – Dobby loves them! Thank you, Miss, and thank you, Miss's Harry Potter!"
"Ooh, I like that title," Harry chuckled, earning himself a swat on the shoulder from Hermione.
"We should probably get going," She whispered, and Harry nodded.
"We have to head out now, Dobby, but we'll see you around, alright?" He turned back to the elf, who looked elated at the prospect.
"Dobby was very glad to see you!" He squeaked.
"And we were very glad to see Dobby," Harry winked, turning and guiding Hermione out of the kitchens. "Where on Earth did you get those socks?" He whispered once they were back in the corridor.
"Oh, those?" She smiled proudly. "I grabbed a couple of empty bowls off the counter after my speech and transfigured them. I figured Dobby was going to give us an excessive amount of food, and I wanted to give him something he'd appreciate."
Harry blinked, floored by his girlfriend's thoughtfulness and quick thinking. "You're amazing," He said breathlessly, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Truly, truly amazing."
"Thanks," She blushed. "Anyone sneaking around that we should know about?"
"Good question," Harry handed her the bag of toffees and pulled the Marauder's Map from his pockets. "Still nothing," He observed. "Well, except for the fact that Snape is walking around the dungeons instead of overseeing his kingdom in hell."
Hermione rolled her eyes at that.
"So, I guess that leaves us with nothing to do but walk around in the moonlight," Harry grinned, folding up the map and stowing it back in his pocket. "I can only imagine how thrilled Lavender & Co. are about that."
"Oh, yes," Hermione drawled sarcastically as they began to walk towards the nearest stairwell. "Because there's nothing more romantic than walking around a drafty old castle at night."
"Are you telling me that walking around at night, holding hands with no interruptions, was not a part of the perfect Prefect patrol you've been dreaming up for the last five years?"
"Shut up," Hermione threw him a playful elbow, the blush on her cheeks answering Harry's question. "Toffee?" She tentatively opened the bag in her hand.
"Only if you throw it," Harry grinned. A moment later, he craned his neck to the left and deftly caught one of the sweets in his mouth. "Oh my god, these are better than anything from Honeydukes."
"Okay, fine, I'll try one," Hermione sighed, reaching her hand into the bag.
"Nice try," Harry snatched the sweets away before she could grab one. "You have to earn it, Granger," He winked.
"Bring it on," She said cheekily. Harry obliged, lobbing one of the toffees into the air only to burst out laughing as it bounced off of the bridge of an indignant Hermione's nose. A second later, Hermione caved and burst into a fit of her own giggles.
"Were you trying to catch it in your nose?" Harry wheezed as they reached the ground floor of the castle.
"Alright, alright, let me try again standing still," Hermione huffed, looking as if she were trying hard not to smile. "We can't all be Seekers."
"No, we can't," Harry chuckled, tossing her another sweet. This time, she caught it with ease, to which she did a gleeful little dance. "Nicely done," He grinned, tossing another one up and catching it himself. "This is going to be a fun," he checked his watch and saw that it was just past eleven, "hour."
"I agree," Hermione smiled.
"Did your eleven-year-old self envision you and I eating a tooth-rotting amount of toffees during our first patrol?" Harry asked as they continued walking again.
"Not exactly, no," Hermione admitted.
"Is that a bad thing? Your parents are dentists, after all."
"No, it's not a bad thing at all," Hermione shook her head, reaching into the bag and grabbing another toffee. "Well, my parents might disagree, but I quite like this. Tonight has been far better than I ever imagined it would be."
"I'm glad," Harry smiled back at her.
"Although…it's not quite perfect," Hermione admitted after a pause, biting her bottom lip pensively.
"Something I can do to help?" Harry offered as they rounded a corner.
"Actually, yes," Hermione perked up, turning towards him with a determined glint in her eye. Before he could ask what she meant, she grabbed his arm and stopped walking, forcing him to do the same. A split-second later, her lips were pressing softly against his, and Harry felt his entire world stop for the second time that night.
"Now it's perfect," Hermione murmured as she pulled away.
Harry could not agree more.
A/N: Hi everyone. Remember me? I'm the guy that used to update every day? Remember that? Yeah, so long story short school got much more intense, finals started early for me, and I just did not have the time to write. Any time I did try and budget time out to write, the stress of finals looming over me would be so severe that I would burst into tears. It was really sad, actually. So that's why I haven't updated for so long. I'm still not even done finals yet, but I'm on the home stretch and finally had the time and proper mentality to do some writing, so I thought I'd make up for my extended absence by giving you an absolute shit load of fluff in this chapter. Hope you liked it.
References: Fred and George borrow a couple lines from the cinematic masterpiece Mean Girls in the beginning of this chapter. The password to the Prefects' Lounge is the iconic mantra from literally every Spider-Man comic book, movie, and TV show ever. I just thought it was fitting. And I once again borrowed the famous Peraltiago 'tossing bite-sized food into each other's mouths' bit from the Brooklyn 99 episode 'The Bet'. This is the third time in this story I've done that, but I doubt I'll ever get tired of it.
Caspian Parvulus is a tribute to a friend of mine on the HMS Harmony Discord server. If you're reading this, Caspian, I'd recommend looking up what 'Parvulus' means when translated from Latin to English. You probably won't find it as funny as I do. Elizabeth McCringleberry is also a tribute to a friend – and role model – of mine on the HMS Harmony server. She asked for a ridiculous last name, so I borrowed one from the timeless Key and Peele East vs. West Bowl comedy sketch. I hope I got the job done, Elizabeth.
Speaking of the HMS Harmony Discord server, if you're interested in joining a community of people who ship Harmony, this is the place for you. The people there are lovely and welcoming, and there are all sorts of wonderful writers, artists, and Harmony connoisseurs that make the server the best online community I've ever been a part of. We'd love to have you here, just use this link: discord dot gg/2GcXw8R
I thank all of you for your patience. I can tell from the many private messages and reviews that I got over the last month or so that many of you thought I might be abandoning this story. That is not the case, nor will it ever be the case. I will finish Strangers on a Train even if it kills me – which I doubt it will, but you never know. Thank you all for your patience, for your time, and for your support. It truly means the world to me. Thank you all, and stay safe!