Author's Note:

Decided to give you a double posting this week — because I have a job interview on Friday and I'm feeling confident about it — so enjoy!

Reviews and Comments: To bankerrtxx01: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the Galleon device, but I don't think Harry will be using it to recruit people. Thank you! To CF: Ron is so very smitten with Hermione, it's true! Thanks for loving his attention to Hermione detail! Yes, those bitches! Poor Neville didn't deserve that. You think something bad is going to happen to Zee in France again? We'll see. Thank you! To HinnyMe: Yes, rewarded with a second post just in time for you to catch up! Thank you for saying Theo and Finn are your new favourite couple. I love Theo and just want to see him happy. Ron is very strategic and observant, I agree. Thank you for appreciating him. Thank you! To Guest: Yes, I've been wanting to bring Crouch back in since we learned what he did to his father at the Yule Ball, but I just didn't have the means yet. Thank you! To KhaleesiGinny: Thank you for saying that Finn is amazing and yes, Theo does deserve a prince charming. Ron and Hermione do make a great team and yes, Ron fancies her a lot. I love giving Neville some sass. Remus comforting him was much needed and I agree, he gave good advice about having to learn to love yourself first, something Remus had to learn the hard way. Thanks for loving Deamus finally being together. Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you! To Wolf's scream: Neville is slowly learning to get some more confidence. Lucius does need to make a decision. Thank you! To astolfo83: Um goodbye as well? I don't really know what to say to that. Thank you?

To Dianne: Here is your back-to-back update, one time only! Thank you so much for loving this story so much! To boothbonesrule: Thank you for loving the romances starting out between Dean and Seamus and Theo and Finn. Abraxas is definitely a jackass and Lucius standing up for Theo does put a bit of a target on his back. Yes, Thaddeus is completely locked out from everything as he deserves. There will be lots more of Theo and Finn as well as Hinny coming your way. Thank you! To pix25: Thank you! To Leaf Ranger: Ron deserves to be credited, he's more brilliant than he lets on, he just gets overshadowed. To dutchie: We will see more of Harry and Ginny soon. Thank you! To supersandman86: I forgot all about the ten year anniversary and I like to think Sirius has too. He's moved on from it and has a life worth living, he doesn't want to look back at what could have been, but look forward to the future. Zee is very smart and knows to be cautious. She's not going to make the same mistake twice. You think Crouch is going to get more than he bargained for? Thank you! To alix33: I have friends that I consider like brothers and sisters — I used to fight with my siblings all the time, but now I consider them great friends. Thank you! To ginevrabamf: You think the potential attack on the Guardian will be the first test of the GWCS coins? Interesting. Thank you! To Guest: Yes, it is my story and no, I will not cut down on all of the gay stuff. Love is love and I love my gay couples and want to share their love with the world. Thank you for your thoughts.

To xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: I like to think that the story of Cain and Abel is universal and not necessarily a Muggle invention. At least that's the way I imagine it to be. Thank you! To Guest: Thank you! We will see more of Theo's character developing as I have lots of future plans for his character. Thank you for saying you've never read another fanfic where there was "such a great partner for Sirius." That means a lot. I do love her. Thank you! To HGRHfan35: No, Hermione hasn't figured out how to remove the Mark, but someone will 😉. If Lucius could leave, he would, but right now he doesn't know how to do so safely. Thank you for saying I do torture well — it's all Crouch. Neville deserves your adoration. Thank you! To speedsONEandONLY: Rude people definitely suck! Neville was trying to test his confidence level. Lucius is very proud of Theo. Ron should definitely just kiss Hermione again. Remus definitely didn't remember he can't say broadsword in front of his wife lol. Thank you! To Steelcode: Finn and Theo are sweet! Neville definitely needs to figure himself out still and having all of this support is good for him. Yes, finally Dean and Seamus! Thank you! To AnyonmousHufflepuffWriter: Thank you!

To coloredwords: No, they aren't fazed at all, nor should they be, Deamus makes sense. They are just annoyed by their lack of silencing charms lol. Thank you! To christyannb94: My heart hurts for Neville, too! Girls can be so cruel! Yes, Dean finally figured things out. Finn is very suave and deserves to give you shivers, Theo is very lucky. Neville definitely deserves to be romanced too. Now, if Hannah would ditch her boyfriend it would be better and yes, if Ron and Hermione got their shit together too lol. Thank you! To Savageness321: Thank you, and I know I hurt people by killing off Viktor and the slow burn of Romione is still happening, I can promise you that. Thank you for saying Theo and Finn are your forever OTP, I love Theo. If I kill Finn off, all of the readers will riot like with Viktor? Interesting. No promises. Thanks for loving my Deamus slow burn as well. Thank you! To RedheadLover: Abraxas does deserve a painful Muggle style death. More Hinny goodness to come. Thank you! To LordSmidgeon: Thank you for saying that was one of my best chapters! I do think this showed how well Ron and Hermione can work together and yes, Finn is both the perfect gentleman and a dirty flirt at the same time lol. Neville is getting more growth and wisdom from the adult meant in his life. I wanted Neville to have a moment and I felt like having Remus be the one to tell him its okay, that's it's important to love yourself first meant so much coming from Remus of all people. Thank you very much! To Sister_Says_Go: I love that you only read the bit about Theo and are grinning like an idiot. I'm so glad everyone loves Finn!

To Zeta_Actual: Thank you! I'm glad you decided to return and check it out. Thank you for loving what I've done with the HP universe. I'm honoured that I've inspired you to write! Thank you! To Jmcglynn522: Thank you! You're terrified for Zee and think she's walking into a trap? Interesting. Yes, Theo already locked his father out of everything. I have big plans (obviously) some amazing and some evil and yes, Theo is not messing around! Thank you! To Bluepencils: Neville deserves all of the soft spots! He did have a panic attack, but I loved showing him have a mentor role from Sirius and Remus is so important. Thank you very much!

My posting schedule: Once a week.

Thanks to Dusk for her awesome editing skills.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND ELEVEN:

The One Where Harry Says 'I Love You' and
The Fluke Continues

Zee stood on the coast looking of Château d'If looking out at the ocean as she let out of a long sigh. She had been surprised that she'd found the courage to return here. But the Melusine people were waiting for her and she knew that if they had any hope of obtaining an alliance with them, she needed to open communications. The first part of doing that was to find the Merpeople village of Marseille Fond de L'Océan.

And while she did that she couldn't spend all of her time looking over her shoulder as if she feared she would be attacked again at any moment. It wouldn't be of any help and it would only enable her fears — which was the last thing she wanted.

Zee took a seat on a rock, looking out at the sea and she waited. The water sparkled before her, birds soared overhead, and after nearly thirty minutes, she began to wonder if the messenger had stood her up before the head emerged from the sea. The Merman swam forward, spear in his hand and spotted her sitting there, approaching slowly. She tucked her wand away to show him that she meant no harm and he moved closer.

"You are the agent from your Ministry?"

"Call me Zee," she said, extending her hand.

The Merman stared at it, but did not accept it. "I am Caspian. I've come to escort you down to the village to speak to Chief Caulder."

Zee nodded. "May I perform a charm to help me breathe?"

The Merman nodded and she hopped down into the water before she performed the Scuba Diving Charm on herself. Caspian took her arm and led her through the sea. They dove deep and she marvelled as they delved further from the shore, past shipwrecks and deeper until she saw the gates ahead. They entered through the front and Caspian pulled her through the gate and into a bubble which allowed her to remove the charm and walk around as if she were on dry land.

Caspian left her alone to get Chief Caulder and she wandered along the edge of the room, admiring the art on the walls and taking in the room. She'd always been fascinated by the culture of different creatures.

Chief Caulder floated towards her and she bowed in greeting.

"Agent Zacarias, you were supposed to arrive months ago."

"I was," Zee told him. "And I sincerely apologize for the delay. I was attacked on the shore by dark wizards and I needed time to recover before I could safely return to you."

"Did you lead them to our doors?"

Zee shook her head. "No, your Grace, I don't believe I did."

The chief stared at her for a long moment before he nodded. "Are you here about River?"

"Is River the half-Melusine Seer that I've heard about?"

Chief Caulder closed his eyes. "We had hoped that the rumours wouldn't reach the surface. Attina was the first seer of our people in centuries and when she mated with a wizard… River has been missing for over a week. There's been no sign of him and we're beginning to worry that something happened."

Zee nodded. "I was looking for him, but only as a way of introduction to you, your Grace. But I'll admit, I was hoping he could help me with information on the Guardian."

"The Guardian is a legend," Chief Caulder scoffed. "Our Seer knew the truth of this and now he is missing, presumed dead."

"I hope that's not true," Zee told him. "Your Grace, I come as a Magizoologist from the British Ministry of Magic to speak with you about an alliance —"

"—No," he answered quickly. "We do not wish to make peace with your kind. We know the dangers that brings to us. We know of what it could mean for our village and our community."

"Princess Sapphira —"

"— trusts you," Caulder stated. "I respect her on that and I do believe that you mean us no harm, but you, Miss Zacarias, are not the British Ministry of Magic. We've been fooled into believing them before — not your Ministry only, mind you — but they took over our villages, stole our weapons, and raked our supplies for themselves."

"With all due respect, your Grace, I can't apologize for what happened in the past. I am here now about a dark wizard rising on the surface. The very dark wizard who once threatened you a decade ago."

Caulder stared at her. "Your war is not our war."

"I'm not saying it is," Zee said carefully. "We are building a defence against this dark wizard and his army. Part of that defence will be on the water. We have fighters and creatures to help us defend our villages and our communities: On land, on water, and in the air. I come to you today, on behalf of this new defence, to tell you that the Ministry will defend your villages and your communities as needed from this monster."

"And why would your Ministry do that?"

"To keep you safe and to hopefully broker an alliance. The Ministry of Magic is taking steps towards change and the government knows that it cannot change overnight. Things will take time to improve, but if we can work together against a common enemy, we can work together for the common good."

Chief Caulder stared at her for a long moment. "You will have a drink with me and my council."

"I would be honoured, your Grace," Zee said, bowing to him.

"Caspian, bring Agent Zacarias to the council chambers. Her words have intrigued me."

"Your Grace?" Caspian questioned.

Chief Caulder's eyes met Zee's. "I am willing to listen, but I make no promises."

Zee smiled warmly at him. "The fact that you're willing to listen is a great start."

"Get Miss Zacarias a glass of our finest Kombu wine. I want to hear what she has to say."

"Yes, Sir."

Zee watched as the Chief left the room and Caspian offered his arm to her.

"Right this way, Miss."

She accepted the arm and let out a slow breath. They were willing to listen, she thought, and that was a very promising start.

~ ASC ~

Tonks stepped inside her home later on that night, stretching her arms up over her head. The temperature had really dropped outside and she shivered, despite her warm attire. She locked the door behind her, stepping out of her boots and hanging up her cloak, contemplating whether to take a hot shower or to start a fire when warm arms encircled her waist and she turned into his warmth.

"Mmmm," she purred. "This is better than anything I was thinking."

Remus kissed the top of her head as her cold hands slid under his jumper to rest on his ribs making him jump. "You're an icicle!"

She nodded, burrowing closer as he merely picked her up and carried her to the sofa to snuggle her into his warm arms further. He wrapped a blanket over her and she sighed against him.

"This is perfect."

He smiled against her hair. "Rough day?"

"No, not really," she admitted. "Higgins and I were just outside a good portion of it and warming charms only last so long before you need to find actual warmth." She rested her cheek against his chest as she spoke. "You are my warmth."

He smiled, kissing the top of her head. "Always."

"It was a pretty typical day, but we think we found a new prison."

Remus' eyebrow rose in surprise. "Oh?"

Tonks nodded. "It was Scrimgeour's suggestion and Madam Bones rather likes it. Apparently it's been in the works for quite a few months now. Have you ever been to the catacombs?"

Remus shook his head, jolting when her cold hands, still under his jumper, slid around his ribs and up his back. "No, and I don't think I'd want to."

"Some of them are used as tourist attractions for the Muggles, but most of them are closed off and abandoned. Scrimgeour was saying that he's caught some dark wizards down there in the past. He said it's a labyrinth that should be further explored. A unit was sent down there and I think that they've decided to make it the new prison. A construction crew is building cells as we speak. It will be deep underground, iron cells in cement blocks, with no windows and only torches for light. Each cell will be charmed accordingly based on the punishment of the prisoner."

"How will it be guarded?" Remus inquired, tugging the blanket off the back of the sofa and wrapping her in it as she wrapped her legs more securely around him, burrowing closer.

"That's the question that's still up in the air. There's discussion of hiring guards and Scrimgeour even suggested using Auror recruits as guards as part of their training. Someone else mentioned house elves, but that was shut down quickly. Ideally, a few guards would be needed at the entrance points and that's it. Someone would be assigned to provide meals and healer check-ups, but the prisoners would be left alone."

"Underground cells, trapped without daylight… that is definitely a prison."

Tonks nodded, her cheek resting over his heart, smiling when the blanket was tucked at her shoulders almost cocooning her in warmth. "There was another idea… though I don't know how serious it was…"

"One you don't approve of I take it?"

She shook her head. "It's not that I don't approve of it… it's complicated. For some people, I support it very much, but at the same time… that's my desire for vengeance and I don't know if we should feed into that desire."

Remus frowned. "What's the concept?"

Tonks tilted her head up to look at her husband. "Do you remember the wizard Dante?"

"The thirteenth century Italian poet? Yes. His work was quite popular even among the Muggles, still is today."

She nodded. "Someone mentioned building the cells in a circular pattern similar to his Inferno."

Remus' eyes widened at her words. "As in the nine circles of hell?"

Tonks nodded again. "The concept I think has merit. Each circle would be a different section for the prisoners based on their crimes, but it's the whole punishment per circle that gave me pause."

"They aren't actually thinking of adding hellish tortures to the prisoners?"

"It was suggested," she admitted, resting her cheek against his chest again. "But most people strongly disagree with it. It's horrible and yes — these are criminals — but they are being punished already by living their lives in a cell. Adding torture to them is hardly humane and I think makes us worse than the criminals we are in fact punishing. Madam Bones suggested designing the prison based on the nine circles, with the same fears and torture ideas, as names for the cells and the levels to inspire fear. I rather liked that idea. For example, you could be spending eternity in the Burning Alive Wing or the Frozen in Ice Cell; something that sounds awful. With the Dementors gone, prison doesn't seem as fearful to many — and inspiring fear isn't a bad idea, but they would only be imprisoned. Madam Bones has also stated that better care for their personal hygiene needs to be taken into accord along with more healer checkups, with at least two guards in the room with every prisoner when healers come in. She wants to take all precautions while making sure the prisoners are staying healthy enough to live out their sentences in their cells."

"Hmm," Remus said quietly. "That's interesting."

"What do you think about it?"

"Well, my opinion hardly matters, Dora."

"It does to me," Tonks told him, her eyes meeting his.

Remus ran his hands over her shoulders and down her back. "I like it. I like the concept of a strong prison that cares for the well being of their prisoners while still punishing them and eliciting fear. Using the Dementors was too harsh, a needless torture. Being forced to live underground in a dark cell is quite a punishment on its own. The concept of say, being told your crime is relevant to being torn to shreds by wild dogs or being burned alive is horrifying — and I think a terrifying concept, if it was handled properly. The fact that they are horror stories rather than real ideas is what's most important, but building nine levels of the prison underground with the worst criminals being at the bottom — is an idea I rather like. It keeps those with petty crimes away from the dangerous criminals and closer to the surface."

She nodded. "I agree. Like I said, construction is set to start on it within the next few weeks, but Madam Bones is hoping that by March, it will be habitable for the prisoners we currently have stored in the Ministry dungeons."

"As to the nine circles of Hell, Nymphadora, Dante's ideas are rather old fashioned. In today's world, we hardly agree with treachery being worse than violent crimes or thievery not being as terrible as rape. The levels would have to be appropriate to the worst crimes."

"They will be. King has established a unit to discuss the law with the Minister's Cabinet. They are planning it all out to be discussed with the Wizengamot and passed by the end of the week so that construction crews can get started. Of course, some of the prisoners will fall under multiple categories — so based on the levels of their crimes and their sentences — they will be placed accordingly, but I think that it's going to happen."

Remus nodded. "I think it's a good idea. It sounds like the Ministry is really coming together and getting some things done. Another idea might be to use enchanted guards like Hogwarts has. Stone warriors charmed to defend and protect as necessary. They could even be based on different magical beings and creatures with their powers and whatnot. Obstacles or spell work like Dumbledore used to protect the Philosopher's Stone."

"Oooh, like obstacles to get through to even get down to the next level?"

"Exactly," Remus told her. "It would keep the prisoners under tighter security and would prevent escape. It would have to be adjusted though so that guards could still move freely, maybe with a special charm or something. Unfortunately, nothing is infallible, but as much security as we can have, the better. It will at least alert someone if there ever is an attempt to break in or to break out."

Tonks had to agree with her husband. "I'll tell King your thoughts in the morning."

Remus kissed the top of her head. "Sounds good. What do you want to do tonight?"

"Don't you have marking to do or something?"

"Always, but that doesn't mean that I can't make time for my beautiful wife."

Tonks smiled at him. "You being here is all I really need."

He bent his head to kiss her, losing himself in her a few moments of long, deep kisses that left them both breathless. "Let's go out," he suggested.

Tonks only raised a brow. "Where?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know, just out. We'll go for a walk, out to dinner, browse some shops… out."

Tonks leaned in to kiss him once more. "That sounds like a date, Mr Lupin. Are you getting sappy because it's Valentine's Day in a few days?"

"Can't I take my lovely wife out on a date when I want to?"

Tonks kissed him again. "Absolutely." She hopped out of his lap, tossing the blanket onto the sofa, and stretched. "Let me just change out of my work clothes now that I'm finally warm and toasty."

Remus nodded as he watched her go, his heart in his throat. Sometimes just looking at her reminded him of how lucky he was. He loved her very much and he wanted to show her as often as he could.

And taking her out on a date for no reason other then that he wanted to seemed like a good start.

~ ASC ~

Harry woke mid scream, gasping desperately for breath. Neville shoved his bed curtains open only a second before Ron did.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said quickly, rubbing his knuckles over his eyes.

Neville put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Been a while."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Go back to sleep, lads — I'm fine. Thanks."

Ron stayed a moment longer, looking over his friend carefully. "If you want to, you know, talk about it… "

Harry shook his head, but smiled gratefully at his friend. "No, I don't — but… thanks."

Ron nodded, squeezed Harry's shoulder, and went back to his own bed.

Harry settled back under the covers, his heart rate finally slowing down. He had been back in the graveyard for the first time in forever. Bellatrix had sewn his lips shut and he reached up to touch them, remembering the feeling of the thread piercing through, pulling his skin tight and sealing his mouth. He rubbed a hand over his arms where the vines had cut into his skin. The cuts were long gone, but with the dream so fresh, he could still feel their sting. He shivered a moment, trying to get warm under the blankets to no avail.

He wasn't sure how long he tossed and turned, but Ron and Neville were both snoring again when he got out of bed. He shoved his glasses on his face and pulled a jumper over his bare chest before he padded barefoot down into the common room. The embers from the fire had died down. He stood there for a moment, wondering what could have sparked his dream.

The last two weeks had been a wonderful reprieve without Umbitch around. Flitwick had gotten rid of Fred and George's swamp in moments, but had left a section squared off under the window with their names on it as a tribute. Colin had taken a photo for Ginny — who had sent it off to her brothers. Fred and George had set up shop in Diagon Alley and were planning to open by Easter weekend. Mr and Mrs Weasley were in a bit of an uproar over that development, but in the end (and with a lot of discussion from Mr Weasley) they respected their sons' decisions and supported them (despite the fact that both still wished their sons had finished their education).

Theo was dating the fairy prince and seemed to be walking on air. He always had a huge smile on his face, despite the fact that his name had been in the paper almost every day in accordance with Macmillan's — and his arrest. Macmillan had been charged with physical and sexual assault along with extortion. Theo (despite his embarrassment) refused to back down, and pressed charges against Ernie for multiple oral rapes and continued abuse. He'd shown the officers his Pensieve memories of the events and Macmillan was sentenced to a combined sentence of fifteen years in prison for the rape, physical assault, and extortion of Theo. He was currently being detained in the dungeon prison cells of the Ministry of Magic until a new prison could be established. His father, Lord Richard Macmillan, was horrified of his son's actions and the paper had stated that he'd disowned his son, leaving everything to his youngest son, an eight-year-old-boy named Evan. Professor Sprout had chosen Justin Finch-Fletchley as the new Hufflepuff prefect with Macmillan gone.

Dean and Seamus were also dating, which didn't surprise many people. Harry could see that Dean was happy, and every time Seamus kissed his cheek or took his hand, he continued to look surprised, as if he wasn't sure how this had happened. Harry thought that it was good for the two of them. They had been tripping over and around each other for quite some time and the last week they had been in that new relationship stage of pure bliss. It looked good on them.

The last two weeks had been good ones. Justice was served and nothing bad had happened. In fact, Harry had spent every waking moment (that he wasn't in class or searching for the diadem among the statues) snogging his girlfriend. The diadem was nowhere to be found and they had decided last night that despite Luna's ingenious claim — it wasn't hidden on any of the statues in the castle. The next move was going to be going from room to room again in an attempt to find it, and Harry didn't relish doing that. The castle was huge and at this point, it could quite literally be anywhere.

Harry stood there for a moment, trying to quiet his mind, to understand why the nightmare had struck him so fiercely and so seemingly out of the blue, but no reason came. Sometimes, nightmares were just a plague and he knew that, but he didn't find the thought reassuring. He contemplated heading back upstairs to wake Ron and Neville or taking his mirror and calling Sirius and Zee before he shook his head.

It wasn't them that he needed.

He transformed into his Animagus and booked it up the stairs into the girls dormitory. In his animal form, Harry magically opened the door and shoved his snout inside. He used his tail to close the door behind him and moved across the room to Ginny's bed, the smell of her shampoo like a beacon. He changed back into himself and sat on the side of her bed, closing the curtains and putting a silencing charm around them.

She was sleeping on her side. Her long red hair was haphazardly spread across the pillow and on her shoulder. Her lips were parted slightly and though he thought that she looked beautiful, he was suddenly feeling rather intrusive. Harry had never seen her in bed before, he realized, and the thought that he was made his heart race. He reached out to brush her cheek with his finger.

"Ginny?"

Ginny sighed, her lashes fluttering as her eyes slowly opened. She blinked at him for a moment.

"Harry?" she asked blearily before her eyes cleared. "Harry!"

"Hey," he said softly, his fingers trailing along her hip over the blankets.

He wasn't sure if it was something in his eyes, but she simply lifted the covers and waited for him to crawl in next to her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. It didn't matter that they'd never shared a bed before. It didn't matter that he wasn't allowed to be up here. She knew that he needed her and he was grateful for it.

Ginny wrapped her arms around him and he buried his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. She ran her hands over his shoulders, up and down his back, and he just sighed into her, relaxing degree by degree with her touch. She was exactly what he needed, he thought. Ginny kissed the top of his head, not speaking. She just held him.

He burrowed a little closer, sliding down and resting his cheek against her soft breasts as her fingers gently ran through his hair. He sighed deeply and then his eyes were closing and soon, he drifted off to sleep.

Harry woke a little while later, his legs bent so that he didn't hang off of the bed, the softness under his face making him burrow closer. He smelt citrus and something floral, something distinctly Ginny, and he rubbed his face closer to the softness, before realizing that it wasn't a pillow, but his girlfriend's breasts. Her unbound breasts beneath the thin cotton fabric of her nightshirt — and he felt his cock twitch as he lifted his head to look up at her.

Ginny was staring at him, a soft look on her face, her fingers still in his hair. "Good morning."

"Good morning," he murmured, blinking. His glasses were missing, he realized, but she was clear in front of him; that was all that mattered.

She cupped his cheek. "Did you sleep okay?"

He automatically made to shake his head yes before he realized that it was a yes. He felt like he'd slept better than he had in ages. "Great."

Ginny bent forward to kiss his forehead, her lips pressing against his scar. "Good."

Harry rested his cheek against her breasts again and sighed in contentment when her fingers went back to his hair. "You were what I needed."

Her fingers continued to gently stroke through his hair. "I'm always here."

He smiled against her breasts. They were soft and warm, the perfect pillow, and when he shifted just so, the steady rhythm of her heart was so calming and such a lovely sound that he relaxed even more.

"I was in the graveyard again," he whispered.

Her hands didn't falter, but he felt her heart race against his cheek as he spoke.

"I could feel the silk threaded in my lips again; it was pulling at my mouth, my lips… It was sewn shut and I could feel the cuts from the vines holding my arms. I woke up and my ankle hurt and it just... it all came back. Bellatrix… Voldemort forcing me to duel him… making me bow to him like we were at some formal competition... he was playing with me and I hate that I let him."

Ginny's fingers slipped below his ear to stroke his cheek before moving back to his head.

"I just... it felt too real and I… I didn't want to be alone."

She smiled at him, her warm brown eyes on his. "I'm glad that you came here."

Harry snuggled closer to her breasts, one hand coming up to caress one. "This is nice. Lying here… in bed with you."

"Bold."

He grinned, holding her breast in his hand through the thin fabric of her nightshirt. "Ginny?"

"Mmm?"

Harry turned to look up at her, his chin resting just under her breasts. "I love you."

Her eyes widened before they softened, and the love he saw looking back at him warmed him in ways that he couldn't explain. He felt like he was sitting under the warmth of the sun, warm rays soaking into his skin, heating him from the inside out.

Ginny bent her head to kiss him softly, her hands on his shoulders. "I love you, too, Harry.

"Yeah?" he replied, his eyes lighting up at her words and his lips curving.

She kissed him again. "Yeah. You should know better than to doubt me." She tugged him up to her lips, framing his face in her hands. "It's always been you, Harry. Always."

Harry kissed her, feeling like his heart was ready to burst from his chest, cradling her closer as he deepened the kiss. When they finally let up for air, he buried his face in between her soft breasts again.

"I should go, before your dorm mates wake up."

She nodded, her fingers in his hair again. "You can sleep a little longer. I'll wake you when it's time."

Harry kissed the soft mound next to his mouth and snuggled into her soft breasts as her nipple pebbled next to his lips. He couldn't resist letting his tongue slip out to caress it through the cotton and she let out a soft sigh. He flattened his tongue before he rolled it achingly slow along the peak and her head rolled back as he used his thumb to do the same to the other one.

"Harry," she breathed. "I… my dorm mates…"

His eyes met hers and his mouth curved into a slow smile. "I put a silencing charm up when I came in."

Then he bent his head and suckled her nipple through the thin cotton.

Ginny arched towards him, letting out a small gasp that pleased him. This was better than through her blouse and bra. This was… she felt almost naked under his mouth. He continued to circle the peak with his tongue before he suckled as her fingers delved into his hair. His mouth was hot and wet and his tongue seemed to lick along just the right path and she let out a soft whimper.

Her whimper spurred him on and he slid his hands down the sides of her breasts while his mouth flicked over her nipple, hands sliding over her ribs and then his fingers were teasing under the thin cotton.

Ginny let out another whimper.

She had never felt anything like this before. Wet heat seemed to be coming over her. She couldn't breathe properly, and when he lifted his mouth from her breast and raised her shirt, her eyes darkened in arousal. He was destroying her, she thought.

Harry stared into her warm chocolate eyes for a long moment as if in question and then he slowly slid her long-sleeved cotton shirt up her body, bunching it just under her breasts, and bent his head to plant soft kisses over her freckled stomach. His tongue licked around her navel and along her ribs, alternating between sensuous licks and slow, hot kisses. His tongue trailed under her bunched shirt and then he slid the shirt higher and her full breasts sprung free, light pink nipples pebbled.

He stared at them in fascination. They were more beautiful than he had ever imagined, the size of ample grapefruits or large oranges and speckled in freckles that had no real pattern. His hands cupped them, feeling the naked weight of them, and Ginny gasped.

"Is this okay?" he whispered.

Ginny met his gaze and then she reached down and pulled her shirt right over her head, dropping it onto the pillow next to her. Harry's eyes darkened, but he kept them on hers as his thumbs stroked a steady tattoo from freckle to freckle, over her nipples and dipping between the two mounds.

His hands were rough from Qudditch and the sensation on her skin was enough to make her arch more under him. As she did, her cotton pants tightened and she found herself grinding against the seam as it fell just so. The hot hardness of Harry's cock rubbing against the seam only exacerbated the growing feeling of need pounding through her. He bent his mouth back down, kissing each freckle before his tongue gently prodded her areola, exploring softly and then a little harder, licking, nibbling — and when he tugged on her nipple just a little with his teeth, the wave of pleasure that came over her completely shocked her.

She cried out as her body seemed to take over, trembling in pleasure and pulsing between her legs as he suckled her.

Harry's swollen lips slid off her breast as his eyes widened in amazement. His gaze moved down her body to her cotton pyjama bottoms. "Did you just…?"

Ginny's cheeks heated. "I-I think so."

"Have you ever before?"

She bit her bottom lip, shaking her head as her face flushed redder, moving down her neck. "No, I… I've come close, but I haven't found the right… you know… to push me over the edge."

Harry's face broke out into a pleased smile. "What did it feel like?"

Ginny blushed deeper until he rested his chin between her breasts, keeping his eyes on hers and she realized that he wasn't embarrassed or horrified, but that he looked downright pleased with himself. She suddenly felt much more confident and relaxed.

"I… I don't know. Good. Really good."

Harry trailed the tip of his index finger over the top of her waistline. "Whenever I come, I feel relaxed and on edge at the same time as if I just exhausted myself from a Quidditch practice. But it feels good, really good."

Ginny stared at him. "I couldn't control it," she murmured. "It just… happened."

Harry grinned and kissed her nipple softly. "I never knew I could make you come like that without even…"

Ginny had never managed to make herself orgasm before. She'd come close, but it always seemed to slip away from her before she could reach that peak and yet here Harry was playing with her breasts and she'd... but he was grinning, his eyes dancing in delight and she felt herself smiling back at him.

"So... that was brilliant," she breathed.

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah it was."

Her fingers were still in his hair and she smiled. "Take off your shirt, Harry."

Harry's eyes met hers before he sat up and pulled his jumper over his head. Her eyes dropped to the patch of skin he revealed at his waist and lower, to where the prominent bulge tented his pyjama trousers; she swallowed. She let her eyes travel up the dark happy trail to his navel and higher over his dark pink pecs and broad shoulders and she licked her lips. He tossed the jumper on the pillow before he leaned down and captured her lips with his. Her breasts, still tender and tingling, pressed against his bare chest, and she moaned at the delicious contact.

Their skin brushed, hands roamed, and their kisses deepened. They turned, lying side by side, kissing slowly but sweetly, their tongues meeting, caressing, exploring as their hands roamed over each other's bare torsos and backs.

Ginny slid her mouth away from his, kissing down his throat in a straight column, her thumbs stroking his nipples in a similar fashion that he had used on her and his breath hitched. She bent her head to lick one and his hips jutted forward; she was rewarded with the feel of his hard erection, pushing into her stomach of its own accord. His hips bucked, and when she sucked on his nipple, her fingers teasing the waistline of his pyjama trousers, he bit his lip.

"Ginny... I'm gonna…" He bit his lip as he attempted to move away, but she only pulled him closer and she felt him tremble and then he let out low groan that sent shivers over her. She felt the wet heat of it against her stomach through his pjs again and again and again and she goggled.

Harry's breath was still fast as he buried his face in her hair. "That was so bloody brilliant!"

Ginny trailed her fingertips over his shoulder. "Harry?"

"Hmm?" he asked sleepily.

"I really love you."

Harry's eyes fluttered open and a half-smile appeared on his face before he leaned in and kissed her softly. "I really love you too, Ginny."

She kissed his cheeks, his nose, his chin and then his lips before she snuggled into his chest. "People are going to be awake soon."

He nodded and snuggled her closer, his nose buried in her hair. "Uh-huh."

Ginny pushed him. "You have to go."

He kissed her softly once more before he sat up, plucking his wet pyjama bottoms away from himself and finding his wand to clean up the mess he'd made. He winked at her before transforming into his dog. Ginny tugged her cotton pyjama top back on before she peeked out of her bed curtains and seeing the way was clear ushered him out of her dorm. She crawled back into her bed and saw his jumper still lying there so she tugged it on, basking in the warmth that was Harry.

She closed her curtains and then dove back under the covers, hesitantly reaching down into her knickers to find herself sticky. She blushed, tugging her hand free. She used a cleansing charm on herself, feeling better. She had no idea that her body could do that. He hadn't even touched her below the waist, she thought as she snuggled into her pillow.

He loved her.

Harry loved her and he'd given her an honest and real orgasm! She grinned into the pillow and wondered what Hermione would say. This was definitely something she needed to share before she burst.

She drifted off to sleep with Harry on her mind.

~ ASC ~

Harry hurried back up to his dorm, his mind turning over everything that had transpired. It was only five thirty, but he suddenly felt very awake. He'd made Ginny orgasm and he hadn't even explored below the waist. And she'd let him come! She'd watched him! It was a feeling that he couldn't quite explain. When it had happened with Mandy, it had been great. He'd enjoyed it, of course he had, but this... this was different. This was Ginny — and it had felt so much more intimate; so much more important. And so bloody… right.

And most of their clothes had still been on!

He could still taste her skin as he remembered how good her nipple felt in his mouth. Seeing her shirtless was even better than he had ever imagined it would be. Her breasts were perfect, filling his hands, slipping over the sides… he wanted to play with them for hours. He wanted to suck on those perfect nipples for days. He wanted to keep counting those delicious freckles. He'd found fifteen on her right breast, but twenty-four on the left. He wanted to use his hands and mouth continuously, and more than anything he wanted to make her come for him again. He wanted to watch those chocolate brown eyes turn molten, to hear her moan and gasp and his hand gripped his cock as he felt himself harden.

It had been the greatest night of his life.

He grabbed his toiletries and headed into the shower to freshen up (and for a much needed quick wank) before he grabbed his books and went down to breakfast with a skip in his step. He was reading the paper when Neville slid onto the bench next to him.

"Hi, Nev."

"Hey," Neville said, pouring himself a glass of orange juice from the pitcher. "You okay?"

"Great," Harry told him. "I slept really great."

Neville's eyebrow rose. "After your nightmare?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "Thanks for being there when I woke, but you know how those things sometimes grab you by the throat?"

Neville nodded. "I do. Was it You Know Who?"

"Yeah. Just a bad dream and once I managed to quiet my mind, I was all right." He poured himself a second glass of juice before he snuck a look over at Neville. "I told Ginny I loved her."

Neville's eyes widened. "The Big L?"

"Yeah."

Neville's face broke out into a grin. "That's great! I'm happy for you, Harry."

Harry grinned back at him. "She said she loves me too."

"Well, duh," Neville retorted making Harry laugh. "You two are mad about each other, everyone knows that."

Harry simply turned back to the paper in his hands as Neville helped himself to some breakfast.

"Anything interesting in there?"

"Nothing big, no," Harry told him. "Some people are missing in Leeds and the DMLE is looking into it. The Ministry is addressing the new changes being made and there's a few comments on the latest bills that have been passed."

Neville nodded absently. It wasn't long before the Great Hall began to fill up and Ginny kissed Harry's cheek as she sat down next to him.

His eyes met hers and he let his gaze drop to her chest, unfortunately covered by her blouse and jacket, but he licked his lips. Ginny's breath hitched and she leaned into him.

"Stop looking at me like you want to take a bite!"

"Can't. I do want that."

She blushed and he grinned, linking his fingers with hers beneath the table.

"Hogsmeade this weekend, the Saturday after Valentine's Day," Ginny informed them.

Ron wrinkled his nose. "Ugh. That means there's going to be hearts everywhere and probably confetti."

"Only if you go to Madame Puddifoot's," Ginny said, her thumb caressing Harry's knuckles. "And I, for one, have no plans of spending my day there."

"So you're not going to send me a singing Cupid this year, then?" Harry teased.

Ginny elbowed him in the gut and he grunted. "Ron, can you pass me the bacon?"

Harry only looked at his girlfriend, rubbing a hand over his sore stomach, unable to keep the grin off his face. He couldn't wait to spend Valentine's Day with her this weekend.

~ ASC ~

On Valentine's Day, Sirius had a dozen red roses waiting for Zee when she walked in the door. She'd returned from France on Sunday with news that the Melusine were interested in discussing a potential alliance with the Ministry of Magic pertaining to the Aqua Protectors force, but they had insisted on bringing in other Merpeople communities to assist them. Zee had put them in touch with Princess Sapphira and they were going to network a meeting with Madam Bones and the DRCMC to discuss a potential temporary alliance. Zee had been incredibly pleased and happy to be home.

Sirius was even happier she was home. She'd been gone five days and he'd missed her terribly. The bed was cold and lonely, the house too quiet. He'd been restless and had spent most of his time in the work shed playing around with his new tools and tinkering with the bikes. He'd also spent a great deal of time thinking about the romantic holiday and had decided that he was going to do something special for her this year.

Last year, they'd stayed in and shagged. The year before, they'd cooked dinner together, and then stayed in and shagged. The year before that, he didn't remember the exact details, but there had definitely been shagging. But this year, he wanted her to know how special she was to him and how much he loved spending time with her.

Sirius had woken her that morning with his tongue, and she'd screamed so loudly when she'd come he'd thought that it was a good thing they didn't have close neighbours. She'd been flushed and happy, telling him that she'd make it up to him when she got home from work that night.

Sirius had other plans.

He'd mirror-called Harry to ask him before he'd gone ahead to make them, but he was looking forward to it. Then he'd gone into town to The Potterer and picked out a dozen red roses for his woman. The sight of her eyes widening in surprise when she saw them made it all worth it.

He needed to get her flowers more often.

"Siri..."

Sirius simply tugged her close and kissed her. "Happy Valentine's Day, love."

Zee kissed him again. "They're beautiful. I don't deserve them."

"Why the hell don't you deserve them?" At her look, he rolled his eyes. "Are you still beating yourself up over the frying pan thing? Babe, I know that it was an accident. You did not aim for my head with that pan — because I know you. If you'd been aiming for me, that frying pan would have slammed into my family jewels — not my head."

She smirked at that. "Well, that's true..."

Sirius kissed her hand, tugged her close, and slid his arms up her back. "Now, I was thinking... this weekend, we both have a lot going on, but next weekend — let's go away. Harry is letting us use Potter's Paradise for the weekend. Hot sun, hot water, naked bodies, drinking on the beach... what do you think?"

Zee stretched up to her toes to kiss him. "It sounds perfect."

"And," Sirius added with a grin. "We can take my new bike to the island with us and go for a ride."

Zee's eyes twinkled in delight. "I'm definitely in." She slid her hands around to rest on his bum, leaning in to nip at his lips. "You know how much I love to hold your cock while we ride the bike."

Sirius flushed. "You're a danger to society! This is how we crash!"

She chuckled. "I have a Valentine's present for you too."

"Is it sex? Because that sounds brilliant right about now," he told her, nipping at her ear.

Zee grinned. "Later."

She moved out of his arms and he groaned in disappointment, making her laugh. Zee led him to the kitchen and she waved her wand, levitating a biscuit tin down from on top of the cupboard before she presented it to him.

Sirius raised an eyebrow before he opened the lid. Nestled on red tissue were a dozen heart-shaped sugar treats with red and pink sprinkles. "Biscuits… you know how much I love your sugar biscuits."

Zee shook her head. "The bike was a big gift at Christmas and I didn't know what to get you so I thought this would be fun. For both of us. Look closer."

Sirius unwrapped the biscuits to get a better look and then he grinned. Each biscuit had something written on it in red frosting and his eyes widened as he read them: Shower Sex, One Striptease, One Lap Dance, Outside Shag, Blow Job, Anal, One Fantasy Fulfilled, Public Hand Job, Table Sex, Rim Job, Sex Somewhere We Shouldn't, and One Do Anything You Want. He licked his lips.

"I like this — I like this a lot," he told her. He picked up the biscuit that read, 'Table Sex' as he spoke. "So, how does this work?"

Zee smiled at him. "Whatever biscuit you decide to eat is your choice of coupon."

"And once I eat it?"

"You have one hour to begin to make the coupon come true," Zee told him.

Sirius held out the biscuit in his hand and took a bite. "Get on the table, Zee."

She laughed, hopping up onto the table behind her as he offered her a bite of the biscuit. She watched him finish eating it before he tugged his shirt off and unzipped his jeans, standing naked before her so quickly that she chuckled.

"Someone's excited."

Sirius flicked his wand and her clothes vanished making her stare at him in surprise before he bent his head to kiss her breast as his fingers stroked over her, dancing towards the growing heat he could already feel emanating from her. It didn't take long.

He gripped her hips and pulled her to the edge of the table, sliding into her in one deep thrust that made her toss her head back as she cried out. He thrusted harder and faster, the table shaking under their combined weight. He clutched her bum with one hand while his other hand worked her clit until she was screaming, clenching around him as he continued to jerk his hips as he kissed her. Her hands gripped his bum, squeezing as they rode out their climaxes and when they both came down from their high, he kissed her shoulders.

"So, was that only for one round on the table? Because I was thinking we can still make table sex a reusable coupon especially if I bend you over it, maybe underneath it," he said, his lips trailing over her shoulders. "Not to mention spreading you across the surface for a nice long lick…"

Zee's breath hitched. "I think all of those can be taken into consideration."

He grinned, his lips still dancing over her skin. "Good. As soon as I catch my breath, we're doing all of those."

Her eyes twinkled. "And what were your plans for under the table?"

Sirius' eyes darkened. "Was thinking we could both use our mouths."

Her tongue darted out to stroke her bottom lip. "You know how much I love having your cock in my mouth."

His lips crushed into hers as his cock twitched in response. His hands cupped those big beautiful tits eagerly as his mouth mets hers.

Yes, he had big plans for these biscuits, he thought, and he couldn't wait to use every single one of them.

~ ASC ~

Harry was on his way down to lunch the day after Valentine's Day when he felt his mirror vibrate in his pocket. He shifted his book bag in his attempt to reach it and pull it out, moving over to the side of the hallway. He saw Sirius' face there and he grinned.

"Hi."

"Hey," Sirius said, his voice a little higher than normal. "Saturday, do you have Quidditch practice?"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's the Hogsmeade trip for Valentine's Day."

"Right," Sirius said quickly. "Listen, Ginny will understand if you cancel on her, right? I mean — I need you with me on Saturday for something."

Harry frowned. "For what?"

"It's… look, I just need you with me on Saturday — it's important. I'll pick you up at ten at Hogwarts, okay?"

"Uncle Sirius, is everything okay?"

Sirius grinned widely. "Everything is great! I'll see you on Saturday morning!"

He disappeared from the mirror and Harry was still frowning as he tucked it away. He sat down next to his girlfriend in the Great Hall, kissing her softly as he did.

"Hi, Harry," she said brightly. "So, for Saturday, I was thinking that maybe we could just walk around a bit, browse the shops, maybe eat lunch at Mangia Italiano before we meet up with everyone at The Three Broomsticks? Is that all right with you? We don't need to do anything special, after all — Valentine's Day was yesterday and we both had classes."

Harry nodded absently before he shook his head. "Actually, no. Uncle Sirius just called me and said that he needs me for something on Saturday. He said that it's important and that he's picking me up from school at ten."

Ginny's eyebrow rose. "He didn't say anything more on the subject?"

Harry shook his head. "No. He seemed oddly jittery though. It was weird. He was rather insistent on it. I know that it's Valentine's Day weekend and all… I can tell Uncle Sirius no — if you're upset?"

Ginny smiled, tilting her head to give him an amused look. "That you're ditching me because your father needs you for something important? Really?" She kissed his cheek. "If you get away early, come meet us at the pub, yeah?"

"You're the best," he said, helping himself to some pumpkin juice from the pitcher on the table.

Ginny just grinned. "I know. You can make it up to me next time."

"Gladly," he told her as the charm went off signifying the end of lunch. He leaned in and kissed her softly. "I love you," he murmured against her lips.

Ginny kissed him again, her eyes twinkling. "I love you. See you at dinner."

Harry said goodbye to her and couldn't resist a look at her bum beneath the skirt as she hurried off, his eyes on her nylon stockings, as he felt his cock twitch under the table. Now that he knew what she wore beneath her clothes, looking at her in her uniform was getting a whole lot more dangerous.

~ ASC ~

"Will you just shut it already!"

Hermione stopped in her tracks, turning to glare angrily at Ron. "Did you just tell me to shut it?"

Ron stared at her in exasperation. They had been patrolling the sixth and seventh floors of the castle for the last half an hour and Hermione had done nothing but stress about how far behind she was in revision.

"Yes! It's February, Mione, bloody February! I know that you want to do good on your exams — but it's bloody February! Studying is not a priority right now! You're going to stress yourself out before they even get here!"

"No, I won't! If I follow a regimented study session to keep myself on top of all of my classes, on top of reading ahead, I can —"

Ron turned and threw his long arms out against the wall on either side of her head, making her gasp in surprise. "Did you learn nothing from that Time Turner fiasco in third year?"

"That was completely different!" Hermione declared matter of factly.

"No, it isn't," Ron stated. "You took on too much and almost had a nervous breakdown!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did," he insisted.

"No," she said firmly again. "I was taking too many classes back then, yes, and now I'm back at a reasonable number!"

"I'm just trying to look out for you, Hermione."

"It doesn't sound like it!" Hermione exclaimed shrilly. "It sounds like you're trying to tell me what to do!"

"Maybe I am!"

"That's what I said!"

Ron let out a slow sigh. "Would it be so bad to listen to me for once and take it easy?"

"No, but I'm not — I'm fine!"

She made to move out from under his arm and he put a hand on her hip, making her freeze — and when she looked up at him, she knew that it was her that made the move this time.

Their lips crashed — and just like before — heat seared through her. She moved closer and his fingers clamped at her hips. His lips were soft and he tasted of peppermint. It was like he was burning her from the inside out and she desperately needed him to put out the flame.

His hand shifted, grabbing a fistful of her bum; she wanted to protest, but he tugged her closer, and she found herself pressed up against solid steel. Heat pooled between her legs and her hands slid up his chest, the lean muscles there making her remember how good he had looked shirtless.

I need to lie down, she thought desperately, I need to lie down. His hands gripped her bum more firmly, lifting her as if she weighed nothing. His tongue danced with hers and she moaned against him and nipped at his bottom lip. Ron's lips left hers, trailing down her neck in hot, wet kisses and her fingers clutched his shirt. He kissed his way back up her throat, lips meeting hers again and she tugged him closer as he squeezed her bum. Her legs locked around his waist, her skirt riding up as his hand slid over her thigh and then they tumbled back through the wall, landing on a velvet settee.

Hermione stared at him in surprise. "What... was there a door there?"

Ron shook his head, his blue eyes unfocused before he realized that his hands were still on her plump arse. He quickly pulled them away as if he'd been caught with his hand in the biscuit tin, the back of his neck flushing.

"A door?" he asked, his eyes on her swollen lips.

"Yes — we… there was a wall there," she insisted, gesturing vaguely to the room around them.

Ron tore his eyes away from her to look around the room. It was large with tall archways on each side and it was full of sofas: Settees, chesterfields, love seats, arm chairs, cots, and even a large bed in the corner near a tall mirror. He hadn't remembered seeing a door either, but then again, once her lips had crashed into his, he hadn't been thinking of much. He let his eyes drift over her again. Her bushy curls were falling out of her bun, dancing along her flushed cheeks. Her skirt had risen up, revealing a great deal of those creamy thighs along with the top of her stockings and her lips still looked full and delectable. He wanted to lie his body over hers and snog her senseless.

"So… what was that?"

"A fluke," Hermione answered quickly, tugging her skirt down to a respectable length.

"We called it a fluke when it happened two months ago," Ron retorted, his eyes on hers.

Hermione bit her bottom lip as she snuck a look up at him. His lips were swollen from hers and the sight made her breath hitch. "We're friends, Ron, and this... it was the heat of the moment... you know that I'm right."

"Bloody hell woman! I just finished telling you that you're not always right!"

"So we kissed a few times, so what?" she retorted quickly. "We're both unattached and… they were just snogs!"

Ron stared at her before he nodded. "Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence… and you're the one who kissed me this time. Three makes a pattern, Mione."

Hermione flushed as she willed her racing heart to stop beating a mile a minute. Ron knew her too well and she knew that if she let herself get caught up in the argument, he'd wheedle her down. He knew her moves, her backup plans, and that kiss... that gloriously incredible kiss... it couldn't happen again. They were friends.

But so were Harry and Ginny, the voice in her head said. But they were different. They were made for each other. They were the other half of each other like one soul trapped between two bodies and she and Ron... Merlin, they were too different. All they did was fight. It was a fluke. A coincidence, like he said, and nothing more…

"Well, we won't have to worry about that," she said quickly as she felt his eyes on her. "There won't be a third time. Now, where the hell are we?"

Ron let out a slow breath before he shoved his hands in his pockets. "A common room?"

Hermione shook her head. "We've patrolled this corridor at least a hundred times and I've never seen it before!"

His eyes met hers. "It's strange ... why would there even be a room full of so many seats?"

"We should show it to Harry and Ginny."

Ron blanched. "So they can sneak up here and snog on every damn thing in sight? I think not."

Hermione chuckled. "Maybe they already know about it. They do always disappear somewhere secret quite often."

"Maybe… but I don't think so. This room is so strange," Ron said as he weaved in between the sofas. "I wish whoever stored this shit made a better aisle to walk through!"

An aisle immediately appeared before him and he goggled.

"Ah, Mione? You seeing this?"

Hermione looked over at him. "Seeing what?"

"Ask for something."

"What?"

"Ask for something!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. She was randy from his kisses and annoyed with herself. She threw her hands up in the air as she spoke. "For what? Bring me my Charms textbook that I should be reading instead of — ah!"

Her Charms book in question had magically appeared in front of her and her eyes sought Ron's blue amused ones.

"So, magic room?" he teased.

Hermione let out a small laugh, not even sure how else to react. "It... gives you what you want?"

Ron took her arm in his, turning so that they could both look around together. "It is pretty incredible, you have to admit. I don't know what this place is, but I feel like it's important."

Hermione could only agree. "We have to show this to everyone."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, yeah we do."

She turned towards the door, but his arm snaked around her waist and tugged her back against him. Hermione's eyes widened.

"Ron!"

He stared at her lips, his thumb coming up to brush the bottom one. "Are we going to talk about this?"

Hermione pulled herself out of his arms trying not to think about how much her entire body reacted to that thumb on her lip. "There's nothing to talk about! As I said, it's a fluke and it's not going to happen again. Now let's go. We need to tell the others about this room."

Ron watched her scurry out of the room, her Charms textbook in her hand, and he wondered if watching her walk away was the right choice. A fluke, he thought, but this time — she had kissed him. He licked his lips, remembering how delicious she had tasted. Even when she was the one to kiss him, she still wasn't interested, he thought. Give it up, Ron, he told himself angrily, she's too good for you.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and grumpily followed her out of the room, but he kept his gaze on her round bottom and tried to pretend that he didn't know how good it felt in his hands. He adjusted himself under his robes and tried to think of something else, but when she bent to scratch her knee, he licked his lips.

She's not interested, he told himself over and over — but it did nothing to alter his thoughts, or to help the situation under his robes.

~ ASC ~

"Harry!"

Harry looked up at his name and saw Ron and Hermione hurrying towards him. "Done patrol already? You two are early," he said, closing his Charms book.

"Well, we finished a bit early, yes," Hermione said quickly. "But that's because we found something!"

Harry's eyebrow rose. "Found what?"

Ron plopped down onto the sofa next to him. "A room that magically brings you whatever you want."

"What does that even mean?"

"It's hard to explain," Ron told him. "We stumbled across it accidentally, but let us show you!"

Harry jumped to his feet. "Let's go."

They grabbed Neville on their way out of the portrait hole from where he was chatting to Seamus and Dean. Harry urged him out with them, Ron and Hermione leading the way.

"Where are we going?" Neville asked, hurrying to keep up with Harry.

"No idea. Ron and Hermione found some secret room."

Neville only nodded and followed his friends down the hall and around the corner from the Gryffindor common room where they stopped at a large stone wall. "This is a wall."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I can see that, Neville, thanks for stating the obvious." He pressed his hands over the stone. "There was a door here twenty minutes ago."

"There was," Hermione insisted. "We were inside of a large room."

Neville frowned as if he looked puzzled. "Actually… I swore I found a room in this hall once before. Back in third year, one night when I had forgotten the password — I was trying to find a place to rest, as I didn't want to wake McGonagall and admit that I'd gotten myself locked out again — and I found a bedroom with a warm four poster all set up for me. I came back the next afternoon to leave a note of thanks as I wasn't sure who it belonged to, but I couldn't find it again."

Harry's eyes widened. "You're sure that it was in this hall?"

"Positive," Neville told him. "And hey, do you remember when Dean was telling us about that sculpture room he found one night?"

"The one with all of the nude pieces from ancient Rome and ancient Greece?" Ron questioned.

Neville nodded. "Yes. He said that it was down here, but when he tried to find it again to show it to Natalie the one with the massive cock, he said —"

"—it had disappeared," Harry finished, frowning now. "That's kind of fascinating."

Ron tapped the wall. "It seems to give you what you're looking for. When Hermione and I found it, it was covered in chairs and sofas and beds and you could barely walk around it was so full. I said something about making an aisle and one magically appeared as if it had heard me."

"Full of chairs and seats and beds?" Harry asked in bewilderment.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Because I was thinking that I really wanted to lie down!"

Ron nodded, scratching his long nose. "So the question is, how do we get it to reappear?"

Neville frowned as he stood in front of the wall. "There has to be a simple way… everyone stand back a minute."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione did as he instructed and Neville stared at the wall, scrunching his face so hard that he looked a bit constipated. Arms encircled Harry's waist from behind and he covered his girlfriend's hands with his own as she pressed her face into his back.

"What are you lot looking at?"

Harry tugged her around to his side to slip an arm around her waist. "Ron and Hermione found a secret room here."

Her eyebrow rose. "Found a secret room?"

Suddenly the wall before them began to form a set of large wooden doors as if they were being painted into the stone.

Harry beamed at his friend. "You did it, Nev!"

Neville shrugged as he reached for the door knob and held it open for all of them to file in. When they stepped inside, it was a very large room with comfortable armchairs on a thick sink-into-me rug in front of a big fireplace and lots of open space.

"It's a living room," Ginny said.

Neville grinned. "It's actually my living room at home. I stood in front of the wall and I thought that we need a homey space over and over and here it is..."

"So that's the trick then!" Ron exclaimed, looking around the room. "It's so simple yet so ingenious!"

Neville shrugged. "It is a really cool room and I'm not just saying that because it currently looks my living room back home. Harry, do you think Sirius knows about it?"

"I don't know, but I don't think so, as it's not on the map," he told him. "It is a cool room. We can make it become whatever we want."

Ginny tugged Harry down into one of the armchairs with her. The chairs were roomy enough for two. "If only we had some music it would be perfect!" A wireless radio appeared on the table next to Ginny and she grinned. "Brilliant!"

"It is nice to have kind of a secret place to hang out," Harry told them. "But... what's the purpose of the room? There has to be a reason behind it."

"I bet Gryffindor created it," Ron said. "It's in his tower and it seems like the kind of thing he'd do, don't it? A room that can be anything you need when you need it?"

"You're probably right, Ron. It does seem to have his stamp on it in comparison to the other founders," Hermione agreed.

"So, how did you two find it?" Ginny asked, her eyes moving between her brother and her friend.

Hermione shrugged. "We just sort of stumbled across it actually."

"And what was inside?"

"Lots of seats — I guess because I was thinking that I needed to lie down."

Ginny's eyebrow rose. "Why would you want to lie down?"

"She was tired," Ron said quickly. "She'd just been telling me that she slept poorly and that her feet hurt."

Hermione nodded quickly, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Exactly."

Ginny stared at them suspiciously. "Okay then." She placed her hand on Harry's flat stomach and tilted her head up to look at her boyfriend. "This place is much closer to the common room if we want to have a good snog."

"Oi!" Ron bellowed, turning to glower at Hermione. "See! I told you that we shouldn't show them!"

Hermione chuckled as Ginny glared at her brother.

Neville turned up the music as Ace of Base sang from the wireless and plopped down into one of the chairs. "So, now that we've found it… what do we do with it?"

Harry shrugged. "Keeping it as a place to hang out works for me. You never know when it could come in handy. We can even use it as a clubhouse of sorts to discuss the hunt for the diadem."

Neville nodded, his fingers tapping his knee. "Any idea where you want to look next?"

Hermione reached into her bag to pull out her notebook. "So far we've made a pretty good start, I think."

Harry reached for the notebook to look down at his friend's neat writing. She'd crossed off the places that they had already looked, but the castle was large and as this room had just proven, still being explored.

➾ Potions Classroom
➾ Chamber of Secrets & Surrounding Corridors & Aqueducts
➾ Swimming Pool
➾ Roman Bath
➾ Transfiguration Classroom
➾ Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom
➾ Charms Classroom
➾ Lupin's Office
➾ McGonagall's Office
➾ McGonagall's Suite
➾ Staff Room
➾ Statues
➾ Storage facility of Class Rosters
➾ Entrance Hall
➾ Great Hall
➾ Hospital Wing
➾ Office of Hogwarts Herald
➾ History of Magic Classroom
➾ Library
➾ Arithmancy Classroom
➾ Ancient Runes Classroom
➾ Astronomy Classroom
➾ Astronomy Tower
➾ Greenhouses (1-7)
➾ International Magical Relations Classroom
➾ Muggle Studies Classroom
➾ Divination Classroom
➾ Lupin's Suite
➾ Gryffindor Tower

"It seems like we're running out of options," Harry admitted. "Everything left is random classrooms either unused or full of storage, corridors, duelling rooms, closed off suites and rooms, house common rooms and dormitories… we have to be missing something."

"We'll find it, Harry," Hermione insisted, closing the book. "I know we will. We just have to be confident and keep looking."

He knew that his friend was right, but he couldn't help but feel like he was missing it. The thought didn't sit well with him. It had to be here somewhere; he just couldn't figure out where.

End Author's Notes:

I feel like Harry and Ginny have the kind of relationship where they are comfortable with each other to the extent that they can talk about those things. They can talk about anything with each other and I wanted Harry to tell her he loved her and for Ginny to just smile and say she already knew it because she's in love with him too. They were in love and just hadn't told each other, but once they did, the words came out as natural as breathing.

Thanks for reading and please review!