Chapter Seven

Charms was Parvati's favourite subject, although that didn't mean she was early to class. She slipped inside the classroom just as the bell reverberated around the halls, breathing heavy from having run up the last flight of stairs. Professor Flitwick offered her a cheery smile, but nobody else paid her any attention as she took her seat at the back of the room, next to the window overlooking the school grounds.

"Good afternoon," said Professor Flitwick in his squeaky voice. He beamed at the class as they boomed his greeting back at him, before he proceeded to start calling out their names from the register.

As Parvati retrieved her wand from her robes, ready for the lesson, a low hissing sound caught her attention. It was followed by a quiet snicker and then the unmistakable sound of Hermione Granger sighing. Parvati had been warned about that sigh, from Hermione herself last night; she'd said it was borne out of a prolonged amount of time spent in Harry Potter's company. When Parvati had expressed her confusion, Hermione had cryptically told her that she would soon find out she meant.

Parvati thought she now understood, as she watched Harry converse with the snake coiled around his forearm. He was patting it on the head, as though it was a cute little puppy and not a venomous serpent. Harry happened to catch her eye and his lips quirked in a grin, which just about took her breath away. Her chest suddenly felt very warm. The smile she returned was wider than normal, creating dimples in her cheeks and showing her white teeth.

"Parvati Patil," said Professor Flitwick, lifting his eyes from the register to glance at her.

"Here, sir," she said absently.

"Harry Potter?"

Harry had been paying even less attention than Parvati had been, so his name being called out jolted him. He looked up sharply, blinking in confusion, and hissed something. On the other side of the room, Draco Malfoy violently flinched.

"I didn't quite catch that, Mr Potter," said Professor Flitwick, frowning.

"Sorry about that," said Harry, this time in English and not Parseltongue.

Next to Harry, Ron's shoulders shook with stifled laughter. Harry rolled his eyes but smiled, and then he patted his snake again. The action caused Hermione's face to distort in disgust, which Parvati would have found comical, had she not been as equally repulsed.

"When I finish here I'll find you a big, juicy toad," said Harry, obviously not realising he was speaking English. Neville Longbottom gave Harry a worried look. The snake hissed, seemingly in excitement, and Parvati wondered if it could understand English. "Yes, of course you can have dessert," Harry added, before slipping into Parseltongue again.

Parvati had known Harry for years, of course. They'd never quite been friends, more like acquaintances, and she'd never really known who he was. She knew the public's perception of him, which fluctuated between thinking he was their heroic saviour the one moment, but then proclaimed him to be the next Dark Lord the very next day. No, Parvati didn't really know him, but she had liked to think she knew him better than most. When he had walked into her compartment on the Hogwarts Express, everything had changed.

That fateful day inside the Shrieking Shack had changed him. As Ron had said, Harry was different. He wasn't the same boy that had asked her to the Yule Ball in fourth year. His black hair was still as messy as ever, still the same hair she had dreamt about running her fingers through; his eyes were still bright green, too, but they held more mischief now. There was a swagger about him, in the way he walked and acted; he had an inner belief and a new confidence that bordered on arrogance.

Parvati had grown up since the events of the Yule Ball. She had been more annoyed that night than truly hurt; Harry had ignored her, but the night had ended well after a French boy had swept her off her feet. She had experienced young love and heartbreak and she never wanted to feel it again. So, while Harry wasn't the same boy anymore, she wasn't the same girl, either.

Finished with the register, Professor Flitwick began speaking about the N.E.W.T exams that faced them all at the end of the year. He then told them to brush up on last year's charms, and like Professor Delacour had done, he walked between the rows of desks until he came to Harry.

"The Headmistress has told me about your predicament, Harry," said Professor Flitwick, his tone sympathetic. "How has your spell casting been so far today?"

Parvati's gaze was fixed on Harry's fingers, which were twirling his wand with an elegance she hadn't expected from him, one which he had certainly never shown before.

"It's very rusty," said Harry. "But so far, it's been okay. With a bit of practice I'm sure it will be back to normal. The magic is there, it just needs to be … refined."

A crease appeared in Professor Flitwick's brow. "Would you mind showing me, Harry?" The professor placed a feather on the desk. "Perhaps with a simple Levitation Charm?"

"Of course," said Harry. He stopped twirling his wand and pointed it at the feather. "I don't actually know the incantation. The spell's there in my head, somewhere, but the incantation is just out of reach."

Despite his words, it obviously wasn't too much of a problem, because the next second the feather launched itself into the ceiling. Parvati craned her neck and watched the feather gently float back down, landing back on the desk.

"Now you know what I mean when I say it needs to be refined," said Harry, looking faintly annoyed with himself.

Professor Flitwick raised a white eyebrow and murmured, "I daresay I do."

Harry crossed his arms, which was a mistake. He was still holding his wand and the feather, along with the desk it had been on, was suddenly whipped across the room. It crashed into the wall above Malfoy's head and clambered to the floor, forcing the students on that side of the room to scatter out of the way. The room instantly fell silent and every eye turned to Harry, who heaved a sigh. He aimed his wand towards the other side of the room, narrowed his eyes in concentration, and the table levitated into the air. Harry guided it back across the room and placed it on the floor in front of Hermione, Ron, and himself.

Professor Flitwick had been as perplexed as everyone else at first, but seemed satisfied at Harry's last spell.

"I would advise you to master the simple spells before trying anything that could be considered dangerous," he said. "Keep trying, Harry. I'm sure Miss Granger will give you all the help you need."

For the rest of the class, Parvati tried her hardest to revise the charms they'd learnt in the previous year, but her concentration wavered and she couldn't keep her eyes off Harry. After the initial mishap with his magic, he forced himself to concentrate harder, and it resulted in the feather floating perfectly in place at eye level. Parvati saw she wasn't the only one intrigued, as Hermione was watching him carefully. Ron was slumped in his seat, his cheek resting on his fist, not even bothering to act like he was doing his own work.

Harry ignored them all; his focus was fully on the feather. With a careful turn of his wrist, the feather started to rotate in mid-air. Satisfied, Harry gave the smallest flick with his wand and the feather spun faster.

Even though it was relatively simple magic, Parvati was impressed. Harry was bending the magic to his will, but she knew it wouldn't be long until he would be commanding his spells with ease. She could feel the power within him, bubbling away just under the surface, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice. It made her think of vast landscapes, like the mountains surrounding Hogwarts, yet it made her think of home. She could feel it in her bones, and her skin tingled in a way she had never felt before. It took her breath away.

Something must have fell into place inside Harry's mind, as a small grin appeared on his lips and his eyes sparkled. The next moment, the feather glided across the room, capturing a number of people's attention. They watched as the tip of the feather tickled Malfoy on the back of his neck. The blonde boy whirled around, his grey eyes irritated, but the feather had jumped out of his sight. He sent a glare Harry's way, who was whistling innocently. As soon as Malfoy turned back around, Harry had the feather tickle him again, this time behind his ear.

"Potter!" snapped Malfoy, furious.

"Huh?" said Harry, appearing completely oblivious. He pulled it off remarkably well.

"I know it's you," said Malfoy, his face pink. "Whatever it is you're doing, stop it."

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat and asked, "Something wrong, gentlemen?"

"Not at all," said Harry cheerily. "I'm not sure what Malfoy's on about, to be honest."

Malfoy huffed but said nothing. Harry waited all of thirty seconds before he did it again, but Malfoy failed to react. Harry shrugged it off and brought the feather back, this time making it dip into Hermione's inkwell. The feather then flew to Parvati's desk and started to write on a blank piece of space in her Charms textbook.

Meet me tonight, in the common room, at nine? And I know I'm hard to resist, but shouldn't you be doing your own work, not watching me do mine?

Parvati hid a smile behind her hand and retrieved her quill. For a moment she marvelled at the magic Harry had done; she wasn't sure she would be able to dictate a quill to write out anything by using a levitation charm, yet he had, and the writing was neat, too! She wrote a reply on a spare piece of parchment, forcing her usual loopy handwriting to be neater than usual.

I'll be there. Perhaps you'll show me what else you can do with a wand?

Parvati passed the parchment over and watched Harry's face become eager. He raised his eyes to her and nodded.

Her concentration completely left her after that, as her mind filled with thoughts that left her grinding her teeth in anticipation. Seconds before class finished, Harry sent the feather towards Malfoy once again. This time, he didn't tickle him; as soon as the feather was above Malfoy's head, it exploded, showering him with fake snow. Harry's booming laughter followed, just as the bell rang.

It was loud in the Gryffindor common room later on that evening. The tower was filled with students from not just Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, too. It made for a lively atmosphere, as it always was on the first day back to school. With next to no homework to complete, friends used the free time to catch up after a long summer break.

Parvati ignored them all; their voices were merely a constant buzz in her head. She was sitting by the fireplace, commonly known as the most comfortable seats in the tower. Lavender was next to her, excitedly chattering on about a new cosmetic charm she wanted to attempt. Parvati nodded in all the right places, but it was obvious she wasn't paying attention; it was lucky Lavender could continue a conversation with herself, really.

As the minutes ticked by, they were joined by Dean and Seamus, but Parvati found her eyes drifting to the portrait hole every few minutes. Harry had yet to show his face. She hadn't seen him since Charms. Who knew what he got up to in his spare time? If she had her way, they'd be spending a lot of their free time together in the upcoming weeks, preferably alone and away from prying eyes.

Parvati's hopes were raised when Ron and Hermione stomped through the portrait hole, but were dashed when there was still no sign of Harry. Perhaps he'd gone flying; she knew how much he enjoyed Quidditch. She was thinking of asking Ron and Hermione, but stopped herself when she noticed the argument they appeared to be having. They were sat by the window and Ron was gesticulating furiously about something. Oddly enough, Hermione was nodding along, a resigned look on her face.

Dean started sniggering. "Don't tell me they're having another row?" He shook his head. "I wish they'd just have it off with each other and get it over with. If I have to hear Ron complaining about her all year, I think I'll end up killing him in his sleep!"

Parvati could sympathise. Dean's little speech reminded her of Lavender, who complained about everyone and everything, including a certain Ron Weasley.

"You know," said Lavender, nibbling on her lipstick smothered lip, "I always thought it would be Harry and Hermione who got together."

Dean seemed sceptic. "Really?"

A hint of annoyance tugged at Parvati's patience. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, do you ever see them arguing? Or even falling out?" Lavender looked at them like they were all stupid for not figuring it out. "Just look at the way she looks at him. She's completely in love with him, even if she hasn't realised it yet."

Dean and Seamus looked at each other, frowning.

"I'm not so sure about that," said Seamus.

"I just think they've been through so much together, they're bound to be really close," said Dean. "The three of them are never out of each other's company. From what I've gathered, they spend most of the summer together, too."

Lavender scoffed. "Well, as much as I don't like it, I think Ron and Harry are both in love with her, but Hermione's not sure what she wants."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case, my money's on Ron. If you haven't noticed, Harry's changed — big time. He's not even sitting with them right now."

Lavender couldn't help taking a peek over the back of the sofa. "Well, maybe he's got detention or something."

"You'll change your mind when you talk to him," said Dean confidently.

Lavender wasn't convinced. "Well, whoever Hermione decides, can you imagine if they had kids?" She started giggling. "Their hair would be horrendous!"

Parvati tuned out of the conversation at that point. She wasn't sure what to feel. It wasn't as though she and Harry were going to get married and grow old together. She didn't even know if they'd last a month in each other's company without annoying one another, so it really wasn't worth dwelling on.

Harry finally arrived in the common room a few minutes later, looking like he'd stepped straight off a broomstick. His hair was even messier than usual and his eyes roamed the common room until they fell on her, but something else caught his attention and he looked away. With a frown, he turned back to her and held up a finger, indicating he would be back, before he crossed the room and sat down at Ron and Hermione's table.

"Speak of the devil," said Seamus.

"One day I'm going to force him to let me cut his hair," said Lavender, looking annoyed. "How does he live with it?"

Parvati happened to like his hair; it made him different to all the boys whose hair was gelled and styled. She sometimes thought they spent longer in front of the mirror than she did.

"Speaking of Harry," said Dean, his voice turning eager, "did we get around to telling you who let that firework off last night?"

Parvati should have known. At least she hadn't been asleep when it had gone off, although it had still made her jump about a foot in the air.

"It was Harry," said Seamus needlessly. "The boy's mad, I tell you!"

Lavender leant forward on the edge of her seat, desperate to hear more, and she wasn't disappointed. Parvati held in a sigh and only heard part of the story, which was something to do with drinking beer. Halfway through Seamus's telling of it, she felt her bra twitch on her back. She thought nothing of it, but the clasp suddenly snapped open, making her gasp.

Luckily, she was ignored by her friends, who were too engrossed in their conversation to hear her. Parvati was about to quietly slip away, to head to the bathroom to sort out her bra, when she felt it clasp itself back together. She whipped around, wondering what the hell was going on, when she saw Harry sitting at his table. He was staring at her, a smirk playing on his lips, and innocently twirling his wand in his fingers.

Parvati's jaw dropped, which made him laugh. Hermione gave him a sidelong glance, frowning like she thought he'd lost his marbles.

Parvati had never heard of a spell that unhooked bras, but she was quite certain that such a spell didn't exist. She still didn't have the faintest idea how Harry had managed to do it, though.

"So, what is happening between the two of you?" asked Lavender.

"What?" asked a baffled Parvati.

Lavender huffed. One of her biggest pet peeves was being ignored, as Parvati had learnt over the years.

"Are you and Harry together now or not?" she asked. "You haven't told me anything yet!"

"Oh," said Parvati. "No, we're not. I don't want to be tied down, and neither does he." She hid a smile. What he'd actually said was the only time he wanted to be tied down was if she did it with ropes. "We're just seeing what happens, at least for now."

"It's just sex, is it?" asked Dean, frowning.

His words might have offended most women (he'd said the same thing to Lavender once and she refused to talk to him for weeks because of it, even though he'd been entirely correct), but it didn't bother Parvati. Sex was just sex; it was exactly what she wanted. While Lavender wanted romance and a loving relationship, Parvati didn't at this moment in time.

"I suppose so," said Parvati, shrugging. "It's what we both want, so why not?"

Seamus snorted. "He's a lucky bastard."

"Tell me about it," muttered Dean.

Parvati took their words as a compliment. She was quite amused when Seamus went on to complain that he couldn't find a girl like her, no matter how hard he'd looked. As he was talking, Parvati felt her bra unhook itself again. She bit down on her bottom lip, but otherwise didn't react.

This time, Harry didn't strap her bra back together. After a few minutes, it became clear he didn't like her lack of response. Out of nowhere, a pair of hands settled themselves on her shoulders. Parvati turned to see who it was, but nobody was standing behind her. When she looked, Harry was still sitting on the other side of the room.

He nonchalantly flicked his wand and Parvati had the sensation of somebody running their fingers down her spine. Her eyes widened in wonder. That must have been what he'd been doing all evening! He'd been researching charms. Parvati shivered as her shoulders started being massaged by hands that weren't even there.

One hand continued to massage her shoulder, while another moved to start caressing her hip. Parvati wondered how long Harry would persist, but found her own patience starting to wear thin after a few minutes. She was starting to get very hot under her robe, and she'd been forced to clamp her legs together and grip the arm of the sofa. The hand on her hip tugged softly on her knickers and her breath caught in her throat.

She had never experienced something like it before. Without meaning to, she let out a soft moan, receiving weird looks from her friends, but she didn't care. The sensation of a finger trailed down the inside of her thigh had her standing up sharply, the blood rushing to her head, and she murmured a quick goodbye to her friends.

"Harry," she growled upon reaching his table.

"Something I can give you a hand with, Parvati?" he said casually.

His unusual phrase had Hermione frowning at him, but he only had eyes for her.

"Yes, and now," demanded Parvati, her voice pleading.

"Is everything all right?" asked Hermione, looking worried. "Do you need to see Madam Pomfrey? You look a bit … hot."

"You could say that," muttered Parvati. "But no, only Harry can help me. After all, he's the one who got me into this state."

Hermione looked between the two of them, her eyes crinkling in confusion.

"If you continue teasing me like this, I promise I'll get my revenge," Parvati warned. "Now, come on, I've been waiting for this all day."

Harry jumped out of his seat and grabbed her hand, but not without saying. "I'll look forward to seeing what you can do, but for now…" He turned to his friends. "I'll see you two in the morning."

Harry practically ran up the boys' staircase, with Parvati hot on his heels. As soon as she crossed the threshold into the seventh years' dormitory, Harry lifted her off her feet; her legs instantly wrapped around his back and their lips crashed together. The kiss was hard and furious, exactly what she wanted. It made her toes curl. Harry carried her across the room. She expected to be put down on his bed, but he plonked her down on a hard surface. She broke the kiss and blinked at the red cloth.

"Is this a pool table?" she asked, incredulous.

"It's a good way to pass the time," Harry said with a shrug, which was enough of an answer for her at the moment.

Sometime during the kiss, Harry had opened her robe and pushed it off her shoulders. It fell around her waist and she pulled it off completely, leaving herself in just a blouse and a skirt, before she grabbed a fistful of Harry's shirt and pulled him down for another kiss.

Within moments they were both naked and, by unspoken agreement, they paused what they were doing. Harry stared at her, breathing heavily, and she stared back. Her chest was heaving and her hands were shaking, but she felt no shyness as Harry's eyes roamed her naked body.

"How did I get so lucky?" he muttered under his breath.

A number of scars lined his skin, a stark contrast to her darker, unblemished body. Parvati placed her palms on his chest and met his eyes.

"Fuck me, Potter."

And so he did.

Parvati hadn't known what to expect. She didn't know if he was a virgin or if he'd done this countless times before, but he seemed experienced. She hadn't thought he'd be gentle, but at first he was, as though he was testing the waters. She urged him on, which was all the encouragement he needed to know she was fine with him picking up the pace. Her hands tangled in his hair as her breathing became uneven, and she closed her eyes to cherish the moment.

"As you can probably tell," said Harry, "I've been learning spells all afternoon. It worked, I take it?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," said Parvati, moaning into his shoulder. She was in no doubt that he'd done this before, but she didn't care. She was his for the moment, which was all that mattered.

"Do you think it's cheating if I use any of them during sex?" asked Harry.

Parvati pulled back to look at him. Her hair was starting to stick to her forehead now, as was Harry's.

"Use them," she said.

Harry lifted her off the pool table and grabbed his wand.

"First things first, let go," he said.

Parvati's arms stayed around his neck.

"Are you mad?" she said. "I'll fall."

"Trust me," he said, chuckling.

She eyed him warily, but trusted him anyway. She loosened her arms and eventually let herself fall, only she didn't go crashing to the ground. Her body seemed to be as light as the feather Harry had been levitating earlier that day, and she floated horizontally to the ground. It was one of the oddest sensations she'd ever felt.

"By the way, your legs are momentarily glued around me," said Harry. He lifted his arms, proving his point by not holding her in place. "See, no hands."

"This is incredible," she said, waving her arm up and down, amazed at how light it felt.

"Wait until you feel this," said Harry, grinning widely. He trailed his wand across her collarbone, bringing the sensation of someone kissing her skin.

"Merlin, Harry!" She laughed. "How many spells did you learn?"

"A fair few," he said, shrugging it off like it was nothing. "Here's another for you."

He pointed his wand at her again, this time in a general area around her stomach. Nothing happened for a moment, but then fireworks exploded behind her eyes. Every nerve ending in her body seemed to sing, making her twist in mid-air, and her lips parted in a long moan that she couldn't control. It was pleasure like she'd never felt before. It continued for what seemed like a lifetime, but it was over far too quickly. When she opened her eyes, she realised her whole body was trembling.

"Do that again!" she demanded.

Harry complied with her wishes. He had just completed the spell when the door was suddenly flung open. Parvati cried out as her body was overcome with the spell; it somehow hit her even harder than before, and lasted longer. When she opened her eyes this time, she found Ron standing in the doorway, his mouth agape, staring at them. She couldn't muster up any words, but she didn't care that she had an audience. She'd never felt so deliriously happy.

Harry looked over his shoulder at his best friend. "Are you trying to pick up some tips or something?"

Ron blinked, looking dazed. He shook his head and turned away without speaking a word.

"Sorry about that," said Harry. "I forgot to lock the door in all the excitement."

"I don't care," mumbled Parvati.

"Anyway," continued Harry. "I performed another Charm earlier, on myself."

"Did you make yourself bigger or something?"

"No, I didn't, but thank you for the compliment," said Harry. "Put it this way … I have the energy to do this all night, without having to stop, if you catch my meaning."

"If you do this much longer, I think you'll fuck me into a coma," said Parvati.

Harry was about to reply when the door was flung open for a second time, but it wasn't Ron coming back for another look. It was a red-faced Hermione Granger, whose eyes were bulging as she took in the scene.

"Harry James Potter!"

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Could I trouble you for another?