As I just realized my mistake, for the sake of continuity, assume that Lily, James, et all went to Hogwarts from 1973 to 1980. I know – I had this all plotted in my head, and overlooked that little detail. Thanks SO much for the great reviews! I love you all! Other author's notes are in my profile!

The "Hogwarts' Head's" Curse

Of the many curses that are associated at Hogwarts – most notably the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse – one of the least known is the Hogwarts Head's curse. Only occurring once every ten years or so, it is almost guaranteed no one currently attending the school would have previously seen the curse when it comes into effect. One common misconception is that the Headmaster and Heads of Houses choose the Head Boy and Girl. Actually, only the Prefects are chosen by the faculty of Hogwarts – the Head Boy and Girl are chosen by Hogwarts herself, which is why they aren't always Prefects. Although Hogwarts is sentient, she cannot speak to anyone save the Sorting Hat, due to it being imbued with the essences of the Founders. Normally, the Head Boy and Girl come from different Houses. However, when the Head Boy and Girl are from the same House, the Hogwarts' Head's curse occurs.

The curse dates back to the first Head Boy and Girl, who happened to be from the same House. They had happened to be betrothed, and were married and expecting by the end of their 7th year. Ever since then, when the Head Boy and Girl are from the same House, they are married and have either been expecting or have had a child by the end of the year. As it is a documented curse of Hogwarts, no official disciplinary action may be given to the Head Boy and Girl by the school's faculty, although they are subject to the cultural rules of their time.

Harry closed Hogwarts, A History slowly, staring blankly at the compartment door. "Ron, did it just say what I think it just said?"

Ron nodded perkily, "Yeah, mate! It said that the DADA curse is real! I always knew there was something odd about how we ran through teachers like that…"

Harry came out of his daze long enough to smack his best friend upside the head. "No, you idiot! Not that, we knew that!"

"Oh, you mean, did it just say that you get to sleep with a hot chick and not get in trouble? Yeah, it did!" Ron grinned at Harry.

"Cut it out, Ron. I know you're doing this on purpose. This is serious! I-I'm going to have a kid?" Harry returned to staring at the compartment door.

Ron leaned over and grabbed Harry's shoulder. "It'll be alright, mate. You'll get through it somehow. After all, it's you and Hermione. You two are the top in our year. If anyone can do this, it's the two of you."

Harry shook his head. "Ron… what am I going to do?" Behind Harry's back, Ron flinched at his friend's broken tone. "It's just… what am I going to do?"

"Here's what you're going to do – You're going to put a smile on your face, you're going to go run the Prefect's meeting, then you and Hermione are going to sit down and talk about how you're going to break this curse." Harry turned to look at Ron. It hurt Ron to see his nearly unflappable friend this bewildered. He threw his arm around Harry's shoulders, pulling him to his feet. "C'mon, mate. Let's go get this over with."

Harry leaned into his friend, grateful for his support. "Hey, Ron?" He paused as Ron turned to face him. "… Thanks."

Ron grinned. "No problem. And, hey, just so you know? I'm totally not jealous of you getting Head Boy instead of me." Ron dashed out the compartment door, attempting to escape from Harry's mock wrath.

"Okay, everyone, we'll start in just a minu-"

Hermione was interrupted by the compartment door flying open. Harry and Ron stumbled in, laughing and looking like they had run to the Prefect's meeting. "Hey, 'Mione," Ron said, blushing at everyone's eyes on them. "Sorry we're late."

Hermione walked over to the late arrivals. "You two should know better than this! We're 7th years now, and Harry, you're Head Boy! We can't just show up whenever we want! We have to set a good example now!"

Sensing her getting worked up, Ron shot Hermione a lopsided grin as he took his seat. "Sorry, Hermione. We were reading."

"It's a miracle!" Hermione blushed slightly and avoided Harry's eyes as she started to walk back to her spot.

Harry reached out and grabbed her hand before she got too far away from him. "Hey," he said softly. He tilted her head up to look at him. He brushed his thumb across her cheek, rubbing away a slight tear track. "We need to talk after the meeting, okay?" She nodded, leaning her head into his hand. He kissed her lightly on her forehead and smiled at her. "It'll be okay, 'Mione. It'll be okay."

The meeting flew by for Harry, who kept his arm around Hermione the whole time for moral support. He just thanked his – for once – good luck that Malfoy had his Prefect status revoked in their 6th year for 'abuse of power'. He didn't even want to imagine what Malfoy's comments toward Hermione and himself would be. As the Prefects filed out of the compartment, he turned to Ron and said, "Can… can you give us a little bit? We'll come find you."

Ron nodded understandingly. "Of course. Take all the time you need – I understand." He shot them a small smile as he left.

Harry turned to his friend. Hermione was sitting across from him staring at her hands. She glanced up at him quickly before returning her gaze to her lap. "So, you know," she murmured.

"Yeah. I know. We actually followed your advice for once and read Hogwarts, A History." Harry said with a wry grin. He sobered up quickly. "We need to decide what we're going to do about this."

"I know." Hermione looked up at him somewhat shyly. "We really only have one option, and that's to just live with it."

"No – we have another option. There's always a second option." Harry grabbed her hand and held it in both of his. "We can live with it, or we can try to break the curse. We have plenty of self-control. I'm pretty sure we can keep ourselves from jumping into bed together the first chance we get. We're both plenty mature… No, that's a lie. You're plenty mature – I'm just slightly mature." He grinned at the laugh his comment elicited. "There's a smile. We'll be fine, and if, for some reason, we think that we might succumb to the curse, we'll start trying not to be alone with each other."

Hermione pressed her lips together. "Yeah. We can do it. We'll break the curse."

"That's my girl," Harry smiled tightly "We can do anything. Now, come on. Ron's probably worried that we threw ourselves off the train – or that you threw me off the train. One of the two." Hermione shoved him playfully. He grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist. As they headed off to their compartment, she leaned into his side and he held her tighter, trying to ward off what they both were afraid of.

"And I'd like to welcome our new Head Boy and Girl, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger!" Dumbledore clapped for the two as they stood up and waved sheepishly at everyone. "Now, off to bed! Take heart, classes don't start until Monday!" (A/N: Uh. Disregard the fact that in 1997, September 1 was a Monday. Pretend it was a Friday. Thanks!) He made a shooing motion with his hands.

The trio stood up and stretched. They were just about to leave the table when McGonagall stopped them. "Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, may I speak with you a moment? Mr. Weasley, you may go on ahead to the common room, but could you gather the 7th years and wait with them outside the portrait hole?"

"Sure, Professor," Ron grinned and turned to Harry and Hermione. "Hey, can I borrow a hair from you, Harry?" Confused, Harry gave him one. Ron tucked into his pocket and darted off. "Oi, Seamus! Wait up!"

McGonagall nodded to Harry and Hermione. "First, may I congratulate you both on your positions. You both deserve it."

"Thank you, Professor," the two in question chorused.

"I expect the best out of you two this year, no matter what may happen," she continued awkwardly. "I'm here to show the two of you to your quarters. As you both know, the Head Boy and Girl get their own rooms, as they need to be accessible by members of all the houses – during set hours, of course. Any disturbances after 9 PM are supposed to be emergencies. After all, it is your NEWT year." At this, Hermione squeezed Harry's hand. He grinned down at her nervous face, squeezing back in reassurance. "Well, shall we?"

The stern Head of Gryffindor led them to a room just down the corridor from Gryffindor Tower. "We decided to keep you near your friends, as we know you'll probably want to spend time in the Gryffindor common room with your friends. Your password is 'Eternal', you may change it at any time, as long as you inform me or the Headmaster what is for safety reasons. Now, come with me, we need to meet the other 7th years."

They followed the professor to the Fat Lady, where she had them and the other 7th years follow her to another portrait a little farther down. "Now, some of you may know this, but a tradition here at Hogwarts is the 'It's almost over!' party at the beginning of your final year. Gryffindor's party will be held through this portrait. This will be the one time until the 'Thank Merlin It's Over!' party that you'll be allowed alcohol – you're all of age, we're trusting you. We're selectively locking you all in here until 5 AM; only the Prefects and Head Boy and Girl will be allowed out. We have food, music, and games in there for you. Have fun, and don't do anything too terrible." She grinned at them, and opened the portrait.

Seamus cheered as they all entered. "Yes! Being allowed to drink in school – this rocks!"

Ron waved him away. "You guys all go find a game – I'll get everyone drinks!"

As Ron headed over to the drink table, he heard Dean yell out, "YES! TWISTER!" and hysterical laughter from his two friends. He looked over to see the rest of the year forcing the three Muggle-raised (Harry, Hermione, and Dean) to demonstrate the joys of Twister.

While everyone was distracted, he slipped a vial of pink liquid, an eyedropper, and five hairs onto the table. The twins had told him about kick-off party the other day, and had slipped him this potion. They told him that this selective love potion was a huge hit at their party. Two drops in a goblet of Firewhiskey, and free snoggage. The best part was that the drink only had to be given to one person of the two who would be together. Placing a hair in the drink would activate the potion, and cause the drinker to kiss the person who's hair was in the drink. After the kiss, however (and, according to the twins, this was the best part), the potion would spread to both people, causing around an hour of snogging, but no further than a little groping. Fred had told him, "The best part is that, while it may cause some embarrassment, nothing serious happens, it's known that it was a love potion, and it probably won't hurt any relationships."

Ron mixed five of the laced drinks, and poured five regular Firewhiskeys for the guys. As he passed through the mingling crowd (who had abandoned Twister until after they were more drunk), he unknowingly handed the drink with Harry's hair to Hermione.

Well, I'd appreciate reviews, but I won't beg! Thanks for reading! The next update will, hopefully, be tomorrow!