The curtains around the bed flew open, allowing early morning light to fall on Oliver's bed.
"You two might want to get up now," a voice said. Gwen squinted up at Alex.
"Percy's just gone to take a shower, and he said Gwen better be out of here before he gets back," Nathan added.
Oliver mumbled something that sounded like "prat."
"All right, just give me a second," Gwen said, rubbing her eyes.
"I don't get it. How can you sleep in here and not get in trouble?" Alex asked.
"Probably because he's worried I'll hate him forever, and then I won't ask my dad to help him get into the Office of International Magical Cooperation after graduation," Gwen responded. "Besides, I really don't think we're doing anything wrong or 'immoral.'"
She propped herself up on one arm and stretched her back, then shivered slightly.
"What are you looking at?" Oliver asked Alex roughly, glaring at him.
"Huh? Nothing," he said quickly and turned away.
"Right. Well, we're going to breakfast, and you should get outta here," Nathan advised before closing the door behind him.
"What was that about?" Gwen asked, looking down at Oliver.
"I probably shouldn't have given you a white shirt to sleep in," he chuckled. "Cold?"
"Yes... oh!" She hopped off the bed after the sudden realization struck and put on her robes, then stuffed her clothes from yesterday into her bag. "I better go shower real quick and get dressed. Meet you in the common room in half an hour?"
"All right. And bring my pajamas back, okay?" he added, sitting up and throwing his legs over the side of the bed. Gwen rushed back to kiss his cheek before leaving.
As she reached the girls' stairs, Gwen spotted Percy coming in the portrait hole, no doubt returning from the prefects' bathroom.
Just as she promised, Gwen rejoined Oliver in the common room thirty minutes later.
"So are you going to tell me what happened with Flint last night?" Oliver asked tentatively.
Gwen took a deep breath before launching into the story, trying to tell it as quickly as possible, Oliver's ire increasing steadily. "That's it, there's only one solution left-"
"Oliver, they might expel-"
"I'm not letting you out of my sight!"
"What?"
"I need to keep an eye on you so I can be sure you're safe, so I'll escort you everywhere," Oliver said as though it were the simplest thing in the world.
"That's ridiculous!" she protested. "I don't need a babysitter, for heaven's sake. And you can't be with me every minute of the day."
"Of course I can." He was quite confident of his plan. "We have most of our classes together, so I can just walk with you like normal."
"And when I have potions and you have Ancient Runes?"
"Easy. I'll walk you to Potions a few minutes early, then dash up to the fourth floor for class."
"And after class? You can't expect me to hang around the dungeons with Snape for ten minutes, waiting for you."
He had to think about this for a moment. "I could make it in five."
"Oliver!"
"You could stay with Percy and Penelope until I get there," he suggested.
"No, this is nonsense. I do not need a babysitter!"
"Too bad."
"Too bad?" Her tone made him wince, but he stood his ground.
"I've made up my mind," he said finally. "I'm the man, and it's my right to protect what's mine."
"Excuse me?" He winced again. "When you put it in those terms, you make me sound like just another piece of your property, like your broomstick or something."
"But you are mine," he said.
"That's not the point. You're such a... Neanderthal."
This was the part where Gwen would normally storm off to breakfast in a huff, but in Oliver's current state she knew it wouldn't do any good. Instead, she walked on silent and tight-lipped, hugging her books to her chest.
Upon reaching the Great Hall, Gwen and Oliver settled into seats across from Fred and George, both looking very excited about something.
"Hey, Wood, did you tell her what she missed at the dueling club last night?" George asked.
"We haven't gotten to it yet," Oliver said brusquely.
"So, what did I miss?" Gwen inquired, pouring honey into her porridge.
"Harry Potter's a Parslemouth!" Fred exclaimed.
Gwen paused in the act of replacing the honey, holding the jar six inches above the table. "You're joking," she said, wide-eyed.
"It's the truth," George insisted.
"Honest," Fred added.
"Harry was dueling Draco Malfoy, and Malfoy sent a snake at Harry," Oliver explained.
"Then it started going for a Hufflepuff boy."
"And Harry made these hissing noises," George continued.
"But then I... left," Oliver said, looking at Gwen. "I don't know what happened next."
"The snake backed off," George recounted. "It went all calm, watching Harry."
"The Hufflepuff chap freaked out and stormed off," Fred finished.
"Harry actually talked to the snake?" Gwen asked doubtfully. "But that's... that's the mark of a dark wizard." She glanced down the table to see Harry with Ron and Hermione. "It just doesn't make sense."
After breakfast, Gwen and Oliver walked to Transfiguration together.
"I hope you finished your essay," Gwen said. "I worked on mine last night."
"Yes, I did," he answered, setting his bag on the table.
"Essays on your desks, please," Professor McGonagall instructed. Once everyone did as requested, she called out "Accio homework!" and the papers flew across the room to stack themselves neatly on her desk.
"Today, class, we will be practicing human transfiguration," she continued. "This is serious business, and it can go horribly wrong. Although you have already written essays for me, I would like you to open your textbooks and review the instructions there. Then, you must partner up to practice."
Taking out her book, Gwen flipped open to the desired chapter and began reading. She paid close attention to the picture of a wizard turning a prince into a frog. When she finished reading, she picked up her wand and took a deep breath.
"Wood, Miss Pennington, let's start with you," Professor McGonagall suggested.
Gwen looked down at her book again, and then smiled nervously at Oliver before saying the spell to turn him into a badger.
"Excellent! Five points for Gryffindor, Miss Pennington. Now, go ahead and turn him back."
Feeling more confident, Gwen muttered the reversal spell, and Oliver once again stood before her. However, she noticed that his hair was still striped black and white. The class started to laugh.
"What?" Oliver asked.
"Uh, well..." she began.
"Settle down, class," McGonagall said over the laughter. "Almost, but not quite, Miss Pennington. You see, class, this is why I've had you study so much. That can be fixed easily, though."
She raised her wand to correct Gwen's mistake, but didn't get the chance.
"ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!" Peeves screamed from the corridor outside.
Everyone froze where they were until Professor McGonagall rushed forward and out of the room, followed by the rest of the class. The twenty students followed her down the hall and around a corner until they saw Peeves hovering over a strange scene. Sir Nicholas slowly revolved over a petrified body, next to which Harry Potter knelt.
A considerable number of students stood in front that McGonagall forced her way through, and Gwen and Oliver tried to follow in her wake.
"What's happened to Sir Nicholas?" Gwen gasped, eyes wide.
"He looks all... black and smoky," Oliver said. "Looks like he's been knocked on his back."
"What could do that to a ghost?" someone in the crowd asked. Below Sir Nicholas, there lay a young Hufflepuff boy on the stone floor, petrified. The crowd grew louder, and suddenly a loud bang sounded, causing the crowd to fall silent.
"Everyone will return to class immediately!" McGonagall ordered.
As everyone reluctantly started leaving the scene, a Hufflepuff boy ran past Gwen and yelled, "Caught in the act!" He pointed directly at Harry.
"That will do, McMillan!" McGonagall said sharply.
Gwen started following the crowd away, and heard Peeves singing from behind her.
Oh, Potter, you
rotter, oh, what have you done,
You're killing off students, you
think it's good fun--
"That's enough, Peeves!" McGonagall barked.
Back in the classroom, Oliver explained that the petrified boy was the one the snake went after at the dueling club the night before, and Gwen wondered what would happen to Harry.
After the double attack on Justin Finch-Fletchley and Sir Nicholas, the students really began to panic. Even worse, most of them blamed Harry; after all, he was found at the scene, kneeling next to Justin's petrified body. Gwen, however, thought the idea that Harry Potter was the heir of Slytherin to be utterly ridiculous.
"It just doesn't make sense," she repeated to Oliver the next day in the common room. "I mean, does that look like the face of evil to you?"
Oliver did his best to calm her, and had, of course, increased his watch over her. She hardly thought it was possible.
People skirted around Harry in the corridors, convinced he was causing the attacks; many muttered, pointed, and even hissed as he passed. The Weasley twins never failed to find humor in anything, and the current situation was no exception. They marched ahead of Harry, shouting, "Make way for the heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through!" Harry seemed to take heart in their joking.
Percy, however, did not approve. He confronted Fred and George, saying coldly, "It is not a laughing matter."
"Oh, get out of the way, Percy," Fred answered. "Harry's in a hurry."
"Yeah, he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant," George added with a laugh.
Nearly the entire student body had signed up to book seats on the Hogwarts Express, clearly too frightened to remain at school over the holidays. When the morning of departure arrived, there was practically a stampede of students moving toward the horseless carriages. The short ride to the Hogwarts Express couldn't pass quickly enough.
Since so few people stayed behind, the Weasley twins among them, Gwen and Oliver shared a train compartment with Nathan and Alex. The three boys talked of Quidditch, mainly strategy, leaving Gwen nothing to contribute to the conversation. Thinking to take a nap, she laid down and rested her head on Oliver's thigh. Something flared in him briefly- anger tinged with jealousy?- and he quickly reached over to make sure her skirt was pulled down and covered her legs with her robe before continuing the chat. His motions moved her head where it shouldn't be in public, and she hoped that her cheeks weren't flushed. Oliver seemed awfully cold toward Alex as she drifted off to sleep.
When Gwen woke, some time later, Oliver sat idly stroking her hair while watching a light snow fall outside the window. Nathan and Alex chatted quietly across from them. Realizing she was awake, Oliver looked down at her, letting his hand come to rest on her shoulder. She sat up slowly to avoid a head rush, pulling her robes around herself. Oliver radiated satisfaction. Odd, that.
"Why don't you two go change out of your uniforms?" Oliver suggested to the second string Beaters. They hesitated a moment, looking from Gwen to Oliver, before fishing Muggle clothes out of their trunks and leaving the compartment. Oliver locked the door.
Eyeing him suspiciously, Gwen stood on the seat to get into her own trunk, removing a pair of jeans, a green lightweight sweater, sneakers, and a black pea coat.
"No funny business," she warned.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said airily, retrieving his own jeans and black sweater.
Gwen rolled her eyes as she removed her robe, folding it neatly, and kicked off her shoes. Next she peeled off her sweater and removed her tie. She piqued Oliver's interest when she began to unbutton her shirt. He paused in the act of doffing his robe, then finished in a rush when she glanced at him. He reeked of disappointment when she tugged her jeans on, then pulled her skirt off over them. Returning to her shirt buttons, she felt that all too familiar flare, like a flash of heat.
"I said no funny business," she reminded him breathlessly.
"I didn't say anything," Oliver responded defensively.
"You didn't have to!"
"Well, we do have the compartment to ourselves..."
"No, no more train sex. It's too risky! Don't you remember what happened last time?"
His face darkened and she winced. "I remember." Okay, maybe she shouldn't have brought that up. There was only one thing she could think to do now: She finished unbuttoning her shirt. Next she grabbed his tie and pulled him closer.
"Nobody's pants are coming off," she said firmly, looking him squarely in the eyes. After a moment of careful thought, he nodded reluctantly.
A knock on the door what only seemed a short time later was followed by Nathan's voice saying, "We'll be there soon."
Gwen managed to pull her lips from Oliver's long enough to say "Just a minute" and stole a few more kisses before pushing Oliver off of her. Sitting up, she pulled on her sweater and fixed her hair, then thrust Oliver's sweater at him. She barely waited for him to pull it on before opening the door.
Nathan coughed nervously. "Right. Just thought you should know." He and Alex resumed their seats, looking at nothing in particular. Oliver tugged down the back of her sweater.
The rest of the ride, about fifteen minutes, passed in near silence. Oliver sat between Gwen's legs with his back to her, gazing out the window, and she curled her fingers in his hair, massaging his head. He almost fell asleep.
As soon as the train pulled into the station, students began milling about in the corridor, trunks in tow. Once on the platform Gwen caught sight of Marcus Flint, but Oliver's murderous glare was enough to send him scurrying away. Suddenly she came upon her mother and got pulled into a warm hug. "Welcome home!"