His Black Rose Chapter 9: Important Choices, a harry potter fanfic

AN: OK, here's the new chapter and another warning, there is a lot of sexual content at the end of this chapter. Even if you don't read it, you'll find out what happened at the start of the next one. I've left a very obvious place where you should stop if you don't want to read it.

Chapter 9

Important Choices

The sound of birds woke me the next morning. I shifted my position to go back to sleep only to feel something tighten around my waist. My eyes flicked open. I was still in my bridesmaid gown from the previous day and there lying behind me on my bed was Harry, his arm draped over my waist. We must have fallen asleep together last night. I glanced at my clock to see it was just gone nine. Mum and Dad were probably up by now. I should probably get up too. As for Harry, James and Lily would no doubt be wondering where he got to last night. I was torn between waking him up to say he better get home or just leaving him be. He actually looked quite cute when he was asleep. Knowing how much I disliked getting woken up in the morning, I chose the latter.

Carefully I slid out from Harry's grip and got up. Instantly I winced, the pain right between my legs. I lifted up my dress to check down there to find a small bloodstain. But my period wasn't due for another week. Why was I bleeding? It didn't make sense. Then I remembered last night and what had happened. Harry and I went further last night, this time him pleasuring me. Instead of pleasure though I'd felt pain. Could that be what was making me sore?

Quickly I got out of my dress and pulled on my pyjamas. Checking Harry was still asleep, I crept out of my room to see if Mum was up. She'd know what was wrong. I went downstairs and through the hall to the kitchen. Sure enough Mum was in there busily brewing some coffee. She had her back to me. I close the door, announcing I was there. She looked round.

'Morning,' she said. 'You're up early. I didn't think you'd be up until later, considering Harry stayed over.'

I felt a slight heat start in my cheeks. Mum sat down at the table. I went and joined her.

'Yeah, about that,' I muttered. Mum raised her eyebrow at me. She'd noticed my anxious look.

'Is everything all right, sweetie?' asked Tala. She flicked her wand at the kettle and it poured me a drink as well which she floated over to me. I took it and had a sip. 'You seem a bit distracted.'

I didn't respond straight away. I didn't really know how to phrase what I needed to ask her but Mum seem to know anyway.

'Did something happen last night with Harry?' she said softly. I glanced at her, then nodded. 'D'you want to talk about it?'

'I don't really know where to start,' I mumbled. I paused again as I rearranged my thoughts, then said, 'Last night … Harry and I – I mean, Harry convinced me to go further with him.'

'Did he force you?'

'No,' I said instantly. I didn't want Mum or Dad ever getting that impression. 'No, he would never do that. I might have been reluctant at first but it was completely mutual.'

'I was just checking,' said Tala. 'I'm not asking because it's Harry. I would do the same regardless of whom you were dating. Your father and I don't want anything happening to you.' Mum took a sip of her drink then place down her mug. 'So,' she continued. 'How far did you go, if you don't mind me asking?'

'We didn't have sex,' I replied. It was pretty clear to me now that Mum and Dad might have heard us last night. 'We'd gone this far before except last time, it was me pleasuring Harry. This time it was the other way round.'

Mum nodded. I continued.

'At first it seemed all right. We were just kissing and stuff but when we started to go further, I froze. Harry promised he wouldn't go too far, and he didn't, but what we did do … it hurt.' I looked at Mum, confused. 'When he was just touching me I enjoyed it, even when he went … you know, down there, but then he –'

'I think I know what you're getting at,' said Tala, cutting me off. I was kind of thankful. I wasn't being the most articulate in explaining what Harry and I did last night but I didn't want to put it as bluntly as "he fingered me" to my parents. 'One other thing, did you have any after effects either last night or this morning?'

I guessed this was the Healer in her coming out so I replied, 'I felt a bit shaken up after we finished last night then this morning I was a bit sore and I found blood in my pants, but I'm not due yet.'

Mum's anxious face relaxed. She gave me a reassuring smile.

'You'll be relieved to hear that's all completely natural, Jenna,' she said. 'You were nervous last night. It was the first time you'd allowed Harry to touch you like that so you were bound to feel scared. That's why you're probably a bit sore this morning. When you're nervous when you're being intimate, you tighten up and it's harder for that sort of stuff to go smoothly. As for the blood, sometimes there is a little bleeding when you first get sexually active. You've nothing to worry about.'

I was definitely glad about that. But the fact that it still hurt in the first place concerned me. I needed to talk to Harry.

-o-

The sound of the door creaking shut stirred Harry the next morning. He opened his eyes to find he was still in Jenna's bedroom having stayed over the previous night. However, Jenna was not beside him on the bed as she had been hours previous. In fact she wasn't in her room at all. She must have gone downstairs Harry decided. He then glanced at the clock on her bedside table to check the time. It was almost half nine.

I should probably get home, Harry thought, getting up and doing up his shirt again. Mum and Dad are no doubt going to be questioning me about where I was last night.

Grabbing his robe from off the floor, Harry left Jenna's room. Quietly Harry went downstairs in case Sirius and Tala were still asleep to find Jenna. His best bet would be the kitchen. Having been to Jenna's house so often over the summer, Harry didn't have trouble finding it. However as he was about to push open the door, he stopped. Jenna was in there, sure enough, but so was Tala, and from what he could hear it sounded like they were having a private conversation.

'Harry promised he wouldn't go too far,' said Jenna's voice. Instantly a heat rose under Harry's collar. They were talking about what she and Harry had done last night. Mentally Harry cringed. 'And he didn't, but what we did do … it hurt.'

What? Harry moved closer to the door to check what he'd heard. He'd hurt Jenna last night? But how was that possible? He'd been so careful. He'd checked what he had to do to make it comfortable for Jenna beforehand; he hadn't pushed her further than she wanted to go; and he would have stopped the moment he thought Jenna was in pain. Harry would never have intentionally caused Jenna pain. It hurt him too much to see her hurt. How could this have happened?

'You'll be relieved to hear that's all completely natural, Jenna,' Tala's voice replied. 'You were nervous last night. It was the first time you'd allowed Harry to touch you like that so you were bound to feel scared. That's why you're probably a bit sore this morning. When you're nervous when you're being intimate, you tighten up and it's harder for that sort of stuff to go smoothly. As for the blood, sometimes there is a little bleeding when you first get sexually active. You've nothing to worry about.'

'Ahem.'

Harry looked back over his shoulder to find Sirius watching him, his eyebrow raised and arms folded. Harry jumped.

'I wasn't eavesdropping,' he said though he knew it blatantly looked like he was. 'I mean, I –'

'No, of course you weren't,' said Sirius, humouring him. 'You were just standing with your ear to the door while my wife and daughter had a conversation in the kitchen. Harry, what do you take me for?' The heat rose in Harry's cheeks. Sirius chuckled. 'You can calm down, all right? I'm not going to do anything. It'd be a bit hypocritical if I did.'

Harry let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

'Yeah, I know,' he replied. 'It's just … you heard us last night, didn't you? I mean, that's what Jenna's talking to Tala about.'

'Rule number one, Harry,' said Sirius. 'A Silencing Charm goes a long way if you don't want to get caught.'

'We didn't –!'

'I know you didn't. I trust you enough to know you wouldn't push Jenna. But I will say this,' Sirius added, his voice taking on a more serious note, 'if you hurt Jenna in any way, I will not hesitate to act. Regardless of you being my godson, Jenna is still my daughter and I will not have her pressured into anything or taken advantage of. I would do the same no matter who she was with. Do I make myself clear?'

'Of course, Sirius,' said Harry. 'You know I would never do anything to hurt her. She means too much to me.'

'Indeed, I know that,' said Sirius. 'I've watched you two enough to know what you mean to each other which puts me in no doubt about trusting you. Just don't give me a reason to withdraw it.'

Harry nodded. Sirius smiled and patted Harry on the shoulder before walking into the kitchen.

-o-

The kitchen door opened and in walked Dad followed by Harry, Dad coming over to me to kiss me good morning then Mum who was already starting to cook some breakfast now everyone was up. Harry was still standing by the door. I caught his eye and nodded at the spare seat next to me. Better than having him look like a spare part in the kitchen. Harry got my drift and smiled then came and sat down beside me. I decided to wait until Harry left before I spoke to him so that Mum and Dad didn't overhear. Hearing us last night was enough of an embarrassment for one day.

Talk mainly revolved around Rita Skeeter's article again as it had done for the past few days. Hermione had decided to do some investigating to see whether Rita had been up to her old tricks again when she had discovered Harry and me in Fortescue's because if she had, it would mean she'd broken her word and Hermione could report her for being an illegal Animagus. We were still waiting to hear from her. To be honest it was hard to avoid the subject at the moment, especially as I had once again been receiving a bit of hate mail from some of Harry's female followers, or perhaps worshippers is a more appropriate word considering what some of them write in their letters. Only one or two actually supported the idea of us being together. The Howlers were the worst though.

'You'd think some people would have better things to waste their gold on other than sending you Howlers, Jenna,' muttered Mum as she cleared up the ash from one of them into a bin. 'I pity the Owls who deliver them if they don't get there in time. Give them a right fright.'

'You've never heard a Howler from Molly Weasley?' asked Harry. He sat beside me as I opened my mail, his arm draped round my waist. We shared a smirk when he said this, remembering the one she'd sent Ron back in second year. 'It wouldn't so much give them a fright. More of a heart attack.'

'I dunno,' shrugged Sirius. 'A Howler from my Mum was always a shocker, remember Tal? That one I got when she found out I was dating you.'

'I can't really forget it,' said Tala. 'She always did have a way with words when it came to insulting someone.'

Ah yes, my grandmother. Never met the woman apart from the portrait of her in Grimmauld Place and that was enough to know I would never receive her approval. I wonder how she would take it if she found out Dad was alive again and I killed her favourite niece. A shiver ran down my spine at the memory of Bellatrix when she died. It was not something I liked to remember.

'She could probably even give Molly a run for her money when it came to shouting the place down.'

I smiled as I continued to read my post. All of them had pretty much the same message: to keep my filthy half-breed hands off Harry and to grow up from using love potions on him otherwise I'd be getting some hexes in the mail soon. I knew to take them with a pinch of salt but some of them still hurt. However, it was none of those that bothered me. It was one that was only a couple of sentences long which caught my attention, nor was there a name on it.

They say roses are red and violets are blue. But you are all Black, you know that it's true. He'll never
understand, he could never see. It's more than magic which draws you to me.

'Harry, look at this,' I said, showing the letter to him. 'Who d'you suppose sent it?'

Harry's eyes scanned the note.

'Well I'm guessing it's not just girls who are annoyed we're together,' he said. 'Perhaps some guy who had the hots for you is disappointed you're taken.'

'And yet it was me who was made out to be the bad guy.' I folded the note and put it with the others. 'Either way, I'll be glad when all this attention dies down. Least they don't know I live here.'

'Speak for yourself,' said Harry. 'Talking of which, actually, I better head home. Mum and Dad are probably wondering where I am.'

I nodded. Excusing ourselves from Mum and Dad, we went into the hallway so Harry could Apparate back to his house. I held him back for a moment though so I could speak to him without Mum and Dad overhearing.

'About last night,' I began. Harry immediately cut me off.

'Jen, I heard you talking to Tala,' he said. 'I honestly didn't mean to hurt you.'

'I know you didn't,' I said softly. I gently stroked his cheek. 'I know you would never hurt me. It was no one's fault.'

'Then why did it happen? Did we miss something? I was so careful not to push you.'

'You didn't push me. I wanted it to happen but I think part of the problem was my nerves. If we can find a way to make me relax, maybe it won't happen again. I know kissing you and you holding me helped.' I then leant closer so I could whisper in his ear. 'I especially liked it when you touched me,' I placed Harry's hand on my thigh and moved it up to my rear, 'like that.'

'I'll bear in mind to do that again then,' whispered Harry, smirking. I felt a tingle in my spine as he used the soft, deep voice he knew I couldn't resist.

'That works too,' I added. 'Anyway, you better be going. James and Lily will be expecting you back sometime today I'd assume, seeing as you didn't turn up last night.'

'I don't think they would have minded, they knew where I was though I'm probably going to get questioned,' said Harry. 'Ah, they're probably going to be really embarrassing about this.'

'No more than mine will be when you're gone.'

'At least it's only your parents who are going to hassle you. I've already had Sirius give me "the talk" about it.'

I held in a groan at that. Why did Dad have to go do that?

'I don't even want to know what he said to you,' I said, holding my hands up in resignation. 'And I have no sympathy for you either if it was embarrassing as it's going to be just as embarrassing for me when you're gone. Which you should do!' I pushed Harry towards the door. 'Come on, I've got homework to do and I can't be distracted.'

'All right, all right, I'm going!' laughed Harry. Then, in a move I didn't see, Harry caught my wrist and next moment I was in his arms as he pressed his lips against mine. 'You've got to admit though,' he added, breaking it, 'I'm a good distraction.'

'Hey!'

'Gotta go!'

Harry ran out the door on to the snowy path. I followed, miffed he'd managed to steal a kiss like that, only to retreat again when I remembered my slippers weren't meant for the snow. Harry laughed when he saw me retreating back indoors. Then, in a flurry of snow and a loud crack, he was gone. I let out a heavy breath in exasperation then returned to the kitchen for whatever "talk" was going to come from Mum and Dad.

It wasn't for another few days before I found out the outcome of Hermione's investigation into Rita's article. She'd managed to track her down at her office and, unfortunately, Rita had stuck to her end of the bargain. It turned out that she had indeed been at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour the day she'd seen me and Harry there and she had the receipt to prove it. She'd gotten the photo legitimately and so had been within her right to write what she wanted as she hadn't eavesdropped to get the gossip like she had in our fourth year.

'There's nothing we can do about her this time,' Hermione had told Harry and me over the Floo network. 'It was just a complete coincidence that you were there at the same time.'

'So we can't even get a retraction or something?' asked Harry. Hermione shook her head.

'Nope, it's all legitimate,' she said. 'Sorry, Harry. There's nothing we can do.'

Begrudgingly Hermione had to admit Rita had kept her word. She hadn't done anything sneaky to get interviews, nor had she been spying, and the article was mainly made up of what she'd seen and her own opinion. Harry and I could do nothing about it. But it also didn't help us with what we were going to do about the article. Harry was once again being hounded by the Prophet through letters and people following him wherever he went all wanting information on whether or not he was dating me or if I'd seduced him. As for me, I was lucky I was only getting hate mail. Owls only need a name for them to deliver a letter so they could find me. The reporters couldn't as my last known address had been Moonlake Cottage and Remus had already dismissed those who'd turned up at his door looking for me, telling them I'd moved out months ago.

The sound of the church bells drew me from my thoughts. I looked round the village square from my position on the wall surrounding the local pub's garden. I'd been out for a walk to get away from Mum and Dad for a bit and had taken a break as I was in mixed minds between heading home or going to see how Harry was. There weren't many other people about in the street, mainly some kids enjoying the last of the snow as their parents talked in the queue in the shop. I let out a sigh, my breath misting in the cold air, then got up. I pulled my hair over my shoulder and the hood of my coat up then headed back down the hill towards my house. I went quite slowly as the pavement was icy. When I got to the end of the road, I stopped. Looking to the left I saw Harry's house, the grey brickwork dusted with snow like a cake with icing sugar. To my right, another street with my house in it. I turned to walk down the street when I heard voices behind me.

'Up ahead, in the green.' I looked round. A small group of people dressed in robes were gathered on the street corner. One of them had a camera while another had a notebook floating beside them. 'It looks like her. She's got the right hairstyle. It must be Black.'

Without giving them a chance to confirm it I made a run for it. Thinking about it, running was probably what gave me away. The group of reporters instantly started chasing me. I ran straight for the park, hoping I could lose them on the path that snaked round it through the trees.

'We only want to ask a couple of questions!' they shouted at me.

'What's it like dating The Boy Who Lived?'

'Have you any response to Rita Skeeter's article the other week?' another shouted.

'You apparently used Love Charms to seduce Potter! Can you recommend any?'

The reporters were like a pack of wild dogs on my tail. I couldn't lose them. I ran as fast as I could through the park and out the back gate. It had taken me all the way to the edge of the village past Harry's house. Unfortunately when I got out of the park I didn't see the black ice on the road. I slipped over, giving the reporters a chance to catch up.

'Miss Black! Finally!' The reporters caught up to me as I stumbled back to my feet. 'Now, a couple of questions!'

I waved my wand and created a flurry of snow to disorientate them. With them distracted I made another break for it. I ran back up the hill towards the church and the street that lead home for me. I ran straight past Harry's house knowing it was no use going to hide there as that would just lead the reporters to him as well. But they were one step ahead of me. I skidded to a halt just in time to see two of them Apparate in front of me whilst the other three ran up from behind. They were aware this was a mainly Muggle village, weren't they? I looked at them without a clue of how to get out of this. I'd only Apparated in snow once before and I still wasn't very good at the re-entry part of it.

The group advanced on me. All of a sudden I felt something grab me round the waist and there was a flurry of snow as someone Disapparated, taking me with them. I didn't see who as I'd closed my eyes when the snow kicked up but I heard the familiar crack. Seconds later the two of us reappeared in an area I didn't recognise and was certainly not in Godric's Hollow. Opening my eyes I saw I was in another park, one I'd seen before but couldn't remember where. The arm holding my waist relaxed. I glanced over my shoulder to see who it was.

'Thought you could use a hand,' said Harry. 'They found you, huh?'

I couldn't have been more relieved to see him.

'Yeah, they spotted me when I was on my way home. I guess they know where we both live now.'

'No rest for the wicked,' shrugged Harry. 'Still, while we're here, we might as well enjoy what privacy we have before we attempt to Apparate back. Those reporters have been hanging around all day.'

Harry stepped away from me and headed over to the swings. I followed.

'But couldn't they follow our Apparition path?' I asked. 'The tears stay open for a good minute or so after someone Apparates.'

It seemed silly but it was true according to what Twycross had taught us in sixth year when he was teaching us to Apparate. Whenever you Apparated or Disapparated somewhere, you momentarily make a tear in the passing of time as you instantly move from one place to another, like you do when teleporting according to those ridiculous sci-fi things Muggles read, and if you're quick enough you're able to follow the pathway one person creates when they Apparate. It's something Aurors apparently have to learn in order to follow criminals by using their tear pathways. Dora told me she wasn't that good at it.

'I doubt those reporters are skilled enough to do that,' said Harry. He used his wand to clear the snow off one of the swings and took a seat. 'Following a tear pathway is one thing. Actually being able to end up where whoever they're following is another. It takes a good year of training to be able to accurately follow someone.'

I was momentarily impressed by Harry's knowledge of the subject then shook myself.

'And where exactly are we?' I asked. I sat down on the swing next to him and looked around again. I had no idea where we were.

'Don't you recognise it?' said Harry, surprised. I shook my head. 'We're in the park near Wisteria Walk. We're in Surrey.'

I looked around again. It was all the snow. That was why I didn't recognise it. When I was younger and still lived here, there was never that much snow in the winter. Right now there was a good two inches of the stuff. No wonder I hadn't recognised it.

'Why bring us here?' I asked, confused.

'Because no one ever knew I lived here, apart from the Order, of course,' Harry explained. 'So they wouldn't ever think to look for me here. It's where I used to go when I was a kid to get away from Dudley and the Dursleys.'

That was the first time in about six months I'd actually heard Harry mention the Dursleys. I was well aware of what Harry's relationship with his aunt and uncle had been like when he lived at Privet Drive but surely now Lily was back, his relationship with his aunt at least would have improved.

'How are your aunt and uncle?' I asked carefully. 'Have you seen them much since you moved out?'

'Nope,' said Harry shortly. He didn't face me as he said it. 'Don't have a reason to.'

'What about your mum? Has she seen or spoken to Petunia since she came back?'

'She's thought about it but she doesn't really know how she'd explain it to her,' shrugged Harry. 'I mean, how would you go about explaining to a Muggle how someone who'd been dead nearly eighteen years miraculously reappears again.'

Harry had a point. Whilst the wizarding world had bought what Kingsley had said about how they came back, explaining it to a Muggle might be much harder.

'I think a part of her wants to see Petunia,' Harry continued, 'but there was still that tension between them because of her being a witch which I think holds her back. Petunia hated it. They used to get on really well as kids until she went to Hogwarts. She was jealous and that affected their friendship.'

'Petunia was jealous? But she always spoke so disdainfully about the wizarding world,' I said. 'Like after the Dementor attack on Dudley.'

'Apparently so, or at least according to Snape's memories from his talks with Mum, she was.'

'And you don't think that changed after Lily died?'

Harry shook his head. 'The subject of my parents was never discussed when I was younger. If Petunia ever did regret Mum's death, she never showed it. To her, Mum just didn't exist.'

I couldn't tell if Harry was annoyed by this or not. But I s'pose he was right. It sounded to me that Petunia would never get over the fact Lily had gotten an opportunity she hadn't and would never forgive her. Perhaps it was for the best if Petunia didn't know Lily was alive. I couldn't help feel sorry for Lily though. I'd found it hard enough when Dad died. I couldn't imagine losing a sibling and not being able to see them again.

'How do you feel about it?' I asked Harry. 'D'you think Lily should get in contact with her?'

'Ultimately, it's Mum's choice,' he said. Harry got up and walked away. 'I know what I think. It's up to her, not me.'

I got up and followed him. He'd stopped and was staring up into the grey sky. I took his hand.

'What do you think?'

'Personally, I don't think it's a good idea,' said Harry. 'Not because of my feelings about the Dursleys. Because it'd be too hard on Mum if Petunia rejects her again.'

'I guess that just proves how different people are,' I said. 'I couldn't imagine being in Lily's situation. I hate losing the ones I love.'

Harry smiled gently down at me. He put his arms round my waist and pulled me closer, resting his chin on my head.

'Well you're not going to lose me.'

I smiled then nestled back into Harry's warm arms. It was nice being out in the open again and not having a photographer trying to get a picture of us together. And of course, when you're alone it means that other things can happen. After a few minutes Harry had lifted my chin and engaged me in a long kiss to which I had no complaints over. It was the voice that jeered at us which annoyed me.

'Oi, oi! Get a room!'

Harry pulled back instantly. He must have recognised the voice as next moment his arm pushed me behind him. I looked around him to see who had shouted at us. There was a group of five or six people gathered on the other side of the fence, all laughing at us, and judging by the look on his face Harry seemed to know who they were. Seeing they'd gotten our attention, the gang approached us. There were four guys, all sporting a similar buzz cut hairstyle, tracksuit and trainers; with them were two girls who looked equally as thuggish, dressed in clothes that did not look appropriate for the winter weather. The boys were smirking at us.

'Well, well, well.' A boy with cap on his head stepped out of the group. He stood in front of Harry. Harry glared at him. 'If it ain't little Potter.'

'Polkiss,' replied Harry slowly. 'See you haven't changed much. Still as thick as you always looked.'

The two other blokes let out an "ooh". Polkiss glared at Harry and stepped right up to him. Harry didn't react. He obviously knew who the guy was but for some reason he looked oddly familiar to me too, and his name.

'I heard you'd finally been taken to the nut house,' said Polkiss. 'Heard you were a right head case.'

'Oh? And where did you hear that?' asked Harry.

'Dudley's dad told mine, and he told me.' Vernon Dursley, of course. 'Said they'd finally kicked you out. Said you were a right nutter.'

I watched Harry cautiously, hoping he wouldn't start anything. If my guess was correct, this bloke standing in front of us was a boy we once knew called Piers Polkiss, one of Dudley's friends from primary school who'd taken part in beating up both me and Harry, the other boys being the rest of the gang. Harry stared at Polkiss, not saying anything.

'He can say what he wants,' Harry shrugged. He turned away and took my hand. 'Come on. Let's get out of here, Jenna.'

I was very relieved Harry had chosen to walk away. The last thing I wanted was him drawing his wand on a bunch of Muggles. But as we were walking away, a shrill voice spoke up. One I hadn't heard in years.

'No way!' it shrieked. I froze, shivers racing up my spine from the voice causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. 'Wittle Jennifer, the prodigal orphan, has returned?'

Never in my life did I think I would hear that voice again but I couldn't mistake it anywhere. Very slowly I turned round to see a girl with bright red hair staring down her freckled nose at me. And she hadn't changed one bit since the last time I saw her. Dressed in a short skirt without tights, furry boots and a coat over what I assumed had to be the most revealing top on the planet, Mandy smirked when she realised I'd recognised her.

'Itsy bitsy Jennifer, unwanted little doll,' Mandy sung in her squeaky voice, reciting the old rhyme she'd made up to torment me when we were kids. 'No one to love her, all on her own.'

'Mandy,' I responded, my teeth clenched. 'Long time no see.'

'Do you know her, Jenna?' Harry asked me.

'Unfortunately, I do,' I muttered. 'Harry, this is Mandy Holden, a girl at the orphanage I lived at when I was younger.'

'That's Miss Holden,' snapped Mandy. 'Or do I have to remind you of what happened last time you didn't address me correctly in public?'

She still thought she had that power over me? I was six years old at the time and didn't know any better, plus she'd been a right bully (not that that had apparently changed). What Harry must've been thinking as he watched this, I couldn't begin to imagine. He'd never met anyone I'd known at the orphanage as I'd always met him well away from the place.

'You wouldn't dare,' I muttered under my breath.

'Try me.' Mandy raised her eyebrow at me then looked up. 'So, are you going to introduce me?'

My jaw clenched again, 'Mandy, this is Harry Potter.'

'Yes, indeed,' she mused. I watched as her eyes travelled up and down him. Her tongue trailed over her upper lip. 'It's a pleasure to meet you,' she then continued, holding out her hand for Harry to take. 'Harry Potter.'

Harry didn't say anything but shook her hand. I don't think Mandy was quite expecting that judging by her reaction.

'Come on, babes,' said Polkiss. He walked up to her. 'There's no point wasting your time with this loony.'

'Oh, but he's a friend of Jenna's,' said Mandy. She glanced at me and smirked again. 'Any friend of Jenna's is a friend of mine.'

I didn't respond. I'd learnt years ago not to rise to Mandy's taunts. This time, however, she went way too far.

'So, Harry,' continued Mandy. It was clear she was only addressing him now. 'How did you meet our lovely Jenna?'

My eyebrow arched. Lovely? Mandy had never called me that. What was she up too?

'I met her at school,' replied Harry. 'Used to live in Privet Drive and we went to the same primary and secondary school in Scotland when she moved. My Uncle wanted to get rid of me so he sent me there when I told him it was a boarding school and he wouldn't have to pay for it.'

'And yet we've never met before,' sighed Mandy, sounding disappointed. 'Such a shame Jenna never introduced us.'

And for good reason, I thought to myself.

'Such a shame indeed,' repeated Mandy. That's when I noticed where her hand was. She was ever so slowly trailing it down Harry's neck and chest. Harry didn't react, even when she moved right up close to him. My hand automatically twitched closer to where my wand was hidden in my trouser pocket. The rest of her group were snickering in the background. 'We could have gotten to know each other so well.'

'Get your hands off him,' I said slowly, my voice deadly. Mandy looked at me. She didn't move.

'Why should I?' she asked. 'It's a free country, Jenna. I can do what I like. Can't I, Harry?'

She stroked his cheek. I glared at her. She knew perfectly well this was annoying but I wasn't going to rise to it. I was just glad at how unresponsive Harry was being, his face completely neutral. I wasn't the only one getting annoyed now though. Polkiss too seemed to be getting irritated by Mandy's actions.

'Babes, come on,' he said again. 'Let's leave these losers.'

'I'm not done yet,' Mandy snapped at him before returning her attention to Harry. 'So Harry,' she continued. 'What's a guy like you doing with a girl like her? I mean, she's a bad girl, Harry, and not in a good way. I'll even let you in on a little secret about wittle Jennifer. She's a freak. Complete circus freak. Strange things always happen if you hang around her.'

Newsflash for you, Harry knows that. Tell him something he doesn't know.

Still Harry just stood there. For a brief moment it looked like Mandy was going to give up, frustration narrowing her eyes as she couldn't get Harry to respond. She moved even closer.

'I could show you what a real bad girl is. Real bad.'

Mandy moved closer to the point where her lips were centimetres from Harry's; that did it for me. Instantly I pushed her away. Unfortunately though, my irritation at her actions had made my shield spark up at my hands and so she was pushed back a little harder than I'd intended. The reaction to this happened in a matter of seconds. Moments after I'd pushed her, Polkiss had lunged at me only to be blocked by Harry who'd pushed me out of the way and drawn his wand. Mandy was shrieking in the background to her girl friend. Harry held his wand under Polkiss' chin while he had grabbed Harry's jacket. Polkiss laughed.

'Still carrying that stick around with you?' he jeered Harry. 'I could break that and you like a twig. And that cow.' Not that I knew many Muggle terms, I was pretty sure he was meaning me when he said that. 'No one pushes around my girlfriend.'

'And you won't lay a finger on mine,' growled Harry. 'Now, how about you and your little friends run along. Go beat up a ten year old like you used to.'

'Oh we've moved on to bigger targets since then,' said Polkiss. He raised his fist. 'You'd be perfect.'

'Give it up, Piers.'

Everyone looked round. Someone was approaching us. Harry lowered his wand when he saw who it was.

'Come on, Big D, it's only Potter,' said Polkiss.

'I said, leave it,' repeated Dudley Dursley. He glared at Polkiss until he got the message. He released Harry's jacket. 'Go see to your girlfriend and get out of here. Your mum was round mine looking for you.'

Polkiss groaned then turned away. Dudley, Harry and I watched as the group slinked away. Mandy glared back at me before running up to catch up and link arms with her friend. They left the park. Once they had gone, Dudley turned to us. He'd changed since I last saw him. He'd slimed down a lot though he was still as broad and heavily built as always, more rugby player than wrestler now; his hair had grown out too making him look slightly less thuggish.

'It's been a long time,' said Dudley, holding out his hand. Harry took it.

'It has,' replied Harry. 'See you're still being called Big D.'

'Only Piers does,' he shrugged. 'So, what are you and Jenna doing around here? I thought you'd moved to London or something.'

I was surprised Dudley remembered who I was while Harry replied, 'Jenna had a little bother at her home so I Apparated us here. Get some peace but then your old gang turned up. They haven't changed much.'

'Neither have you by the looks of it,' said Dudley. 'Still drawing your wand?'

'Only because he threatened Jenna,' said Harry. 'I wasn't going to let him hurt my girlfriend.'

Dudley glanced at me.

'Oh, you two going out, eh? Good for you then, I s'pose.'

'Thanks,' I said though I was really taken aback by how casual he was being.

'Well, seeing as you're in the area, d'you want to come back to mine and get a drink?' Dudley continued. This surprised both of us.

'I don't think your mum and dad would appreciate me turning up unexpectedly,' said Harry. 'Besides, we should probably be heading back. We've got school in a couple days and I need to pack.'

'Still at Hogwarts? I thought you'd finished by now.'

'We didn't exactly get to do our exams last year so we're catching up now.'

'Fair enough,' said Dudley. 'Well, see you around, Potter.'

With that Dudley turned on his heel and walked off. Taking that also as our cue to leave, Harry took my hand and we Disapparated back to Godric's Hollow.

I was quite apprehensive the morning we were due to go back to Hogwarts for the spring term. I just had the image of reporters being gathered at platform nine and three-quarters. To my surprise, it was only the usual mass of Hogwarts students. The Daily Prophet obviously weren't aware Harry and I were still in school. Definitely for the best. Mum, Dad and I got to the platform well in time and we were met on the platform by Hermione and her parents. Together we found a compartment and dumped our trunks and pets before returning to the platform to wait for the others. Harry was the next to arrive with James and Lily. That was when the staring started. When he greeted me with a kiss on the cheek several pairs of eyes turned on us from around the platform and on the train. Finally, as usual, the Weasleys were last. We saw a flash of red hair we knew to be Ginny's run through the barrier then up the platform towards us, Molly, Arthur and Ron following.

'Sorry we're late,' gasped Ginny. 'Some of us overslept.' She sent a look at Ron.

'It wasn't my fault I was up late,' said Ron indignantly. 'I'd forgotten how much time packing takes.'

'Packing?' repeated Harry.

Hermione, Harry and I all exchanged confused looks. Ron grinned then pulled forwards what he'd been holding in his hand. His old Hogwarts trunk with his initials emblazoned on the side. Hermione beamed.

'You're coming back?' she burst. Ron nodded. Then, in a move very similar to their first kiss, Hermione ran at Ron, jumped into his arms and kissed him full on the mouth, not that Ron complained. 'But how are you going to catch up?' asked Hermione, once they'd disentangled themselves. 'You've missed so much work and there are all the new spells we've learnt and –'

'Herm, shut up,' laughed Ron. He put his arm around her. 'It'll be fine. I'd always planned on coming back eventually so Ginny had been Owling me copies of the work and stuff. I just had other commitments first with Fred and George. Dad helped me with things like practicing Sensing and Mum was always a whiz at Herbology. It'll be fine.'

'Not if you miss the train,' said Molly. She had her hands on her hips looking impatiently at us all. 'You can save the story for later, Ronald. Right now, you've got to get on the train.'

We said a quick goodbye to our parents and got on the train before Molly had a complete fit that we'd miss it. Once we'd left the station Harry and I met with the prefects and gave them their timetable for patrolling the train. With that done, we headed back to our compartment with Ron and Hermione as neither was patrolling until later. Ginny, Neville and Luna were already there. I took up my usual position of watching the countryside fly by, occasionally joining in the conversation that flew about. I'd done this journey so many times now that I never really noticed how long it took anymore so I was always surprised when it would slow as we approached Hogsmeade station.

It was raining by the time we finally got there. I looked round as I stepped off the train to see there was still a thin layer of snow left which meant it would probably soon all turn to slush. Fun. In the distance I could hear Hagrid calling everyone to hurry up and get in the carriages. As my eyes scanned the station I saw Malfoy get off a couple of carriages down from mine. He seemed to look up the moment I saw him. He gave me what could only be called a look of pure disdain then shouldered his bag and turned his back on me. Hmm, frosty or what? Perhaps he'd finally gotten over me if that's the reaction I get now when he sees me. Means Potions lessons could end up being quite interesting with this turn of events.

Harry and I got one of the last carriages up to the school as we did last term. There'd been a bit of a problem with the track as the snow melted and mixed with the mud. The wheels of the carriages were getting stuck and so the younger Thestrals were getting agitated as they tried to fly instead of walk through it, much to the surprise of the passengers inside the carriage when it began to buck and float, and being some of the few students who could see them, Harry and I had to help Hagrid calm them down and get the carriages out of the mud. Hagrid soon got them all moving again and they proceeded up to the castle. I was heartily relieved when we finally got there. Harry and I were soaked from rescuing the Thestrals. We trudged up the main steps, our robes dripping all the way.

'This reminds me of fourth year,' I shivered. I couldn't stop my teeth chattering. 'First day back and it had poured down with rain. D'you remember?'

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'Peeves had the time of his life tormenting us. Throwing ink pellets and –' Harry was cut off by my scream as a mass of water exploded on my head, 'water balloons,' Harry finished. We both looked up to see said poltergeist cackling gleefully at what had just happened.

'Oooh, bang on target,' he cackled, floating above us. In his hand was a second water balloon. 'Double points for hitting his Headship!'

Peeves made to throw the balloon. Harry quickly drew his wand and flicked it at the balloon. It instantly changed direction to splat into the wall. Infuriated by this Peeves stuck his tongue out and blew a loud raspberry then zoomed off up the corridor. A smirk graced Harry's face. I, however, wasn't finding it that funny. I sent him a look, my eyes hidden by my soaked fringed. Harry noticed. He brushed my fringe out my eyes and cupped my cheek with his hand.

'Come on,' he said. 'The sooner we're in the Great Hall, the sooner we'll warm up.'

The feast was already in full swing by the time we got there as there were never any announcements at the start of the spring term. The Hall was full of noise when we walked through the main doors. I expected Harry and I would be able to sneak in without being noticed. That was not the case. It started with just the odd person glancing in our direction as we walked towards the Gryffindor table; in a matter of moments whispers were travelling down each of the other House tables and people were straining to see round their friends to get a glimpse of us. I sped up down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables to where Hermione and Ron had saved us a couple of seats.

'Blimey,' said Ron to Harry. 'I thought you had attention when you were the Chosen One. D'you reckon this is all from Skeeter's article?'

'It must be,' said Hermione. 'Judging by how many girls are glaring at Jenna's back.' I felt my cheeks flush and I automatically looked down. 'Oh, just ignore it, Jenna. You've had your fair share of staring in the past. All four of us have. This time around shouldn't be any different.'

'And that's meant to make me feel better, is it?' I hissed quietly. 'It's not like they're staring because they're impressed that we've just managed to escape death or gotten in trouble again for the umpteenth time. They're staring because they're envious and hating the fact I'm apparently dating Harry bloody Potter.'

'Er, I'm sitting right here, Jenna,' said Harry beside me.

'Sorry,' I muttered. 'I just hate how I'm the bad guy in all this. It's not every day you're made out to be an eighteen year old seductress who's entrapped the most famous wizard in the last decade. This was exactly what I was afraid would happen the moment people found out about us.'

At that moment I suddenly lost my appetite. I stared at my food then put down my fork.

'I think I'm gonna head back to the Tower,' I said, not being specific on which one I was going to. 'Plus I kind of want to dry off. I'll see you guys later.'

I got up from the table and was about to leave when Harry grabbed my hand.

'It'll blow over, Jen,' he told me, 'it always does.'

I smiled, knowing he was right. The only question was how long was it going to take to blow over? Harry smiled back, squeezed my hand, then leant up and kissed my cheek. Instantly I heard a couple of whispers from the people opposite us. I rolled my eyes and walked away out the Hall.

I retreated to my room in the Head's Tower, mainly because that was where all my dry clothes were. I got out of my soaked school robes and hung them up by the heater to dry. Digging around in my trunk I pulled out my favourite pair of jeans and t-shirt, a baggy one with a picture of a heart with wings on it. I lay down on my bed and pulled the hangings, out of habit rather than need, content to have some privacy at last. About half an hour later though there was a knock at the door.

'Come in,' I called.

I didn't bother getting up. There weren't really many people it could be knocking on my door and I just assumed it was Hermione. That was why I was so surprised when my bed dipped behind me and an arm wrapped round my waist.

'How did you get in?' I asked, confused. 'I thought boys couldn't get in the girls' dormitories.'

'Through the bathroom,' said Harry. 'There appears to be a loophole in that rule for the Head's Tower. It seems that while I can't get to your bedroom up the stairs, I can through the doors in the bathroom. I s'pose it's all to do with them trusting us more.'

I mused this thought for a moment, then said, 'Sneak. So how come you needed to come in here anyway? I thought you'd be with Ron and Hermione in the common room.'

'Ron and Hermione wanted to catch up, or rather Hermione had one idea of what catching up meant and Ron had the exact opposite, if you know what I mean.' I chuckled at that. 'Besides, I wanted to check on you. You seemed a bit upset earlier.'

'No, not upset.' I sighed. 'I'll just be glad when all the staring dies down. And the evil looks for that matter. I swear Romilda Vane was trying to kill me with her glare earlier.'

'Ah, Romilda,' chuckled Harry. 'I still remember those cauldron cakes she gave which were laced with love potion. I've never seen Ron so dreamy before.'

'Except when Hermione kissed him,' I said. A smile then came to my face. 'Least that's a clue to you not being under a love potion. You've not got a goofy look on your face whenever you think about me.'

'That's what you think.'

'What?'

'Nothing. Well, I s'pose I better get going,' Harry then said. He sat up and slid off my bed. I got up too and we walked over to the bathroom door. 'I've got rounds with Ron tonight in about half an hour.'

'I thought the House Captains and the seventh year prefects were doing the first night back this term?'

'Ron asked me to put him on tonight so he could get back into the swing of things,' said Harry. 'He's a lot more responsible than he used to be. Plus he mentioned something about wanting to talk to me about something so I put myself down tonight too.'

'Well, that's always a good thing, Ron being more responsible,' I said. 'It's amazing what having a job and duties can arouse in people.'

Harry's brow furrowed when I said that.

'Arouse?'

'Yeah, you know, to arouse something in a person, to inspire them. You know what arousal means, Harry.' I gave him a strange look. 'What's wrong with using it?'

'Nothing, it was just a curious choice of word.'

'Well, I thought it worked. People can be aroused by things. It makes sense.'

'Yeah.' For some reason a grin came to Harry's face; he looked away from me as he considered what I said, or at least I thought he was. 'Why didn't I think of that?' he muttered.

'Think of what?' I asked. I hadn't exactly said anything profound, had I? What did Harry believe he'd missed? 'Want to let me in on the secret?'

'You'll see.' Harry grinned broadly, brought me closer and kissed me. 'I just – I can't explain it right now but you'll see. I'll see you tomorrow.'

'Yeah.' I honestly had no idea what Harry was on about. 'Night.'

The next morning Harry and I left the Tower together to meet Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor Tower for breakfast. When we got there, we were surprised to see the majority of our year and the year below gathered at the notice board while the other students walked past them and out of the common room. Curious, we went over to see what was so interesting. Everyone seemed to be looking at the big scroll of parchment that had been pinned in the top corner. Below it was a pocket containing what appeared to be forms.

TO ALL SEVENTH YEAR STUDENTS

This term you are expected to apply for the careers of your choice you wish to
pursue after the completion of your final year at Hogwarts and in preparation for
your NEWT results in August. Below are the forms you are required to fill in. Your
Head of House will arrange a meeting with you individually in the next few weeks
to check your applications and collect them for sending off. Please do so promptly.

Once the crowd had cleared I picked up a form and took a look at it. There were quite a few sheets to the form. It seemed to require a lot of information including all my family details and my OWL and NEWT results from fifth and sixth year. On the last page it required me to fill in which career I had chosen to pursue. There was a list of jobs, some which had been divided into further jobs, and we had to write down which job we'd chosen and up to three places where we'd like to study if that option is available. Below that I was required to write a five hundred word passage about why I'd chosen that particular job. My eyes scanned the form. I couldn't believe the Ministry wanted so much information just so a wizard could pass on to further education.

'Just look at all this,' said Hermione. She too was reading the forms. We left the common room and headed down to breakfast. 'It asks for information not only about you but on any siblings you have as well. Is it really necessary?'

'Not really,' said Ron. 'In the cases of Muggle-borns, putting down the information about your siblings is usually a waste of time unless they too are a wizard or witch. In your case, writing down that your parents are dentists won't matter to them in the slightest.'

'So why do they need all the information if it's not relevant?' asked Harry.

'Beats me,' said Ron. 'When I asked Dad about it, he just said it was to do with the whole Statute of Secrecy and keeping tabs on who does what job.'

As we sat and ate breakfast I continued to ponder over my application form. I knew I wanted to be a Healer, that was easy enough. I'd decided to be one during our time on the run and the numerous times I spent healing Harry and Ron from various injuries. What I hadn't known was that there was more than one hospital I could study at. I'd always only known about St Mungo's; on the piece of parchment there were several different hospitals listed. There was one in Scotland, Ireland, and a couple in America and Europe I could choose from. I'd never really considered studying abroad. I'd always thought I'd be studying in London after I finished Hogwarts. I even already had a flat in London that was ready for me to use as soon as I'd sorted out the forms.

I'd almost forgotten about that flat until Dad had reminded me about it over the Christmas holidays. When he first died (to put it bluntly) Dad had left me a flat in his will. It was where he and Mum had lived together when they had finished Hogwarts and before I was born. I've never actually seen it but Dad said it would be fine for me and a flatmate when I finished Hogwarts and was working in London. He did warn me though that it was in a block of Muggle flats and that they'd had a lot of trouble with the landlord about odd goings on. The only reason Dad still had the flat was because he'd paid for it in full so it was legally ours but the landlord was in charge of bills such as water, gas and electricity. Not that that was a problem for me. I'd dug out the forms over the holidays so I could look over them when I was back here. Now looking at my application, I wasn't so sure I was going to need it quite yet. Still, I'd have to look into the other hospitals before I apply.

The morning passed on with a buzzing Charms lesson as we progressed with Conjuring followed by a hectic lesson of Herbology where we were tackling more of the venomous plants in greenhouse six. Ron surprisingly wasn't as far behind as Hermione had thought he'd be. He'd evidently put in a lot of work when he wasn't at the shop with Fred and George. It was almost unlike him. Of course, some habits die hard. During our Transfiguration lesson after break when we were supposed to be changing ourselves into our partner's appearance, Harry and Ron were messing around at the back of the class with a couple of new Weasley products. It appeared they had forgotten about Professor McGonagall's sharp tongue.

'While it is nice that you have rejoined the school to complete your NEWTs, Mr Weasley, I can assure you,' she said, her eyes narrowed through her square spectacles at him, 'if you continue to mess about in my class, you and Potter will be wishing you were still in hiding.'

At quarter past twelve the bell rang. The class gathered their things and made their way out the classroom, some still sporting various traits from other people. Parvati looked very strange with Lavender's blonde hair while Seamus had Dean's thick dark eyebrows. I was still trying to straighten out my hair from having Hermione's curls by the time we got back to the common room. I'd never realised how curly it was. Taking up our favourite seats in the corner we spent our free period finding out what Ron had been up to while we'd been here the previous term.

'I am so proud of you, Ron,' said Hermione, 'and I'm so happy you've come back. Hogwarts wasn't really the same without you.'

'I think that's Hermione's way of saying she missed you, Ron,' I said, smiling. Ron grinned. He took Hermione's hand and pulled her into his lap.

'I missed you too, Herm.'

I averted my eyes when they started to kiss knowing it wasn't polite to stare. Out the corner of my eye I noticed Harry was doing the same. Shrugging it off, I dug out my diary to note down I had Quidditch practice on Saturday that Ginny had informed me of this morning and the date of when our application forms had to be in.

Applying for a Healer course was a lot harder contrary to what I originally thought. Most of the courses available were all about three years long with the option to specialise in a certain area of Healing for your final year, depending where you applied. Each course was different though. The ones abroad were much more expensive for a start and I didn't want to study abroad anyway so that ruled America and Europe out. The one at the hospital in Ireland sounded interesting as it relied more on spells rather than potions to help speed up the recovery process. St Mungo's covered pretty much everything including working in the field with Aurors and Obliviators which really appealed to me. But it was the course in Scotland that really caught my attention. The hospital there, St Heathclithe's Infirmary, offered something the others didn't: it was partnered with a local Muggle hospital and the Healers were able to learn some Muggle medicine. It wasn't a big hospital but the fact it had that option would be such a benefit for me in the long run.

To help me decide, I visited the hospital wing to talk to Madam Pomfrey during my free period on Wednesday morning. She was very delighted to hear I'd chosen to be a Healer and had lots of advice for me. She also gave me a book about the top hospitals in Britain for me to have a look at. When I read all the stuff about St Heathclithe's, it just made me want to apply there even more. Avalon Heathclithe was a nineteenth century Muggle-born Healer who founded the hospital. His methods were considered a little radical for wizarding standards, incorporating Muggle healing methods to heal wizard injuries, and there was quite a bit of controversy over his methods but it helped lessen the need for Memory Charms on Muggles who got hurt by spells and cursed objects. Sounds like the kind of guy Arthur would want to meet.

'Do we know when McGonagall's going to meet with us about our application forms yet?' asked Harry.

The four of us were sat in the library on Friday evening, getting some peace from the first and second years so we could fill in our application forms. The deadline was just over a week away now. As expected, most of our year and the year below were in there either studying or filling out the forms as well. We'd already spent an hour in there just writing in all our personal details. The form was very repetitive.

'I think she said the appointment list would be up on Monday,' said Hermione, then asking. 'Do Harry and I have to fill in this bit?' showing Ron her form.

'No, but Jenna and I do,' he said. 'That's only for wizards who've been living in the wizarding world for more than five years. You obviously haven't as you lived with your parents while you were here and neither has Harry as he lived with the Dursleys.'

'Right.' We lapsed back into silence for the next few minutes as we filled in our forms. 'So have you decided where you're going to study yet, Jenna?' Hermione asked me. 'Your job allows you choose where you're going to apply, doesn't it?'

My head shot up, my eyes darting across to Harry. I hadn't exactly told him that being a Healer allowed me to choose where I went to study unlike being an Auror and the job Hermione wanted to do which both required them joining the Ministry of Magic, nor had I told him I was thinking about applying at St Heathclithe's. He was giving Hermione a strange look.

'What do you mean "choose"?' he queried. 'She's applying at St Mungo's. That's the only wizard hospital in Britain. Right, Jen?'

'Actually, it's not,' I replied. 'My course allows me to choose to study anywhere in Britain, Europe or America. Unlike you, Ron and Hermione, I'm not attached to the Ministry though St Mungo's students train in the field with Aurors and such. I get to choose up to three different hospitals to study at.'

'You're not going abroad, are you?' asked Harry. His voice had dropped slightly.

'No, of course not,' I said. I took his hand and interlocked my fingers with his. 'I can't afford to study abroad and I couldn't do that to Mum and Dad. And none of the courses there really appealed to me anyway.'

'So you're applying at St Mungo's, yeah?'

I nodded, 'But I've got three options so I might as well pick a couple others. For all I know St Mungo's might not even accept me.'

'Of course they will, Jen,' said Harry. 'Your Potion marks are always really good and you're brilliant at keeping calm in bad situations if someone's been injured. They'd be mental not to take you on.'

'That might be so, Harry, but it's better if I keep my options open.' I gave his hand a squeeze.

'What other hospitals are you applying at? Ron asked curiously.

'St Agnes' Hospice in Ireland and St Heathclithe's Infirmary in Scotland,' I replied. Harry's grip on my hand tightened suddenly making me gasp quietly. He didn't notice.

'Not St Heathclithe's,' laughed Ron.

'What's wrong with studying there?'

'Nothing's wrong with it,' said Ron. 'It's just they're renowned for their strange methods up there. Thinking they can mix Muggle medicine with magical injuries. It's been in the Prophet recently that the Head Healer up there is trying to bring in using Muggle creams to help dragon burns which is never going to work according to Charlie.'

'Just because they're a little different doesn't mean I shouldn't apply,' I said. 'Sure, not all Muggle methods are great. Those stitches your dad used when he was bitten by that snake didn't work but that doesn't mean they wouldn't work for other things. Madam Pomfrey occasionally uses Muggle butterfly strips on cuts if they're very deep and it takes time for the spell to heal them.'

Ron shrugged.

'It's your choice. I just know I wouldn't go there if I was injured.'

With only our five hundred words to do, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I left the library to return to the Gryffindor common room. I was still a little miffed with Ron about what he'd said regarding St Heathclithe's. What was the harm in being a bit … radical? We got back to the portrait of the Fat Lady and Hermione said the password. She swung open to let us in. Before I could climb through though, Harry held me back.

'You're not really going to go to Scotland, are you?' he said. 'I thought you were going to stay in London with us. Haven't you got that flat of Sirius's to use?'

'Harry, it's only a thought,' I consoled him. 'If I get into St Mungo's, that would be great but I've got to be realistic. By having more than one choice means I've got more chance of success. Besides, I've got months before I have to choose which one I go to. I've got to be given an offer first.'

I could tell Harry wasn't too happy about me applying in Scotland or Ireland. It was quite a way from London. But it was my choice and like I'd told him, I had to keep my options open. I gave Harry a reassuring smile. I did have ages before I had to decide where I was going. A bit happier with this, we went into the common room.

The weather didn't really improve much over the following few weeks. Rain and hail battered the windows of the castle and cold winds blew through the corridors. It was good when Professor Flitwick took pity on the younger students and lit the fires in the corridors for them to warm up at during break. Of course, with all this rain it meant that Filch was even grumpier than usual as when the students who had Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology or any Quidditch teams came in from outside, there was more water left for him to clean up. You'd see him muttering in the corridors with a mop about us bloody students having no respect. Bet he wishes Umbridge was still here.

With the bad weather came a lot of colds. To think I'd spent a year on the run and managed to avoid falling ill; I come back to Hogwarts and three days of wet weather and I get a cold. Madam Pomfrey was swamped once again with students coming to her with colds and flu. You could always tell who had visited her; any student whose ears were issuing copious amounts of steam had been subjected to the Pepper Up Potion, not that it actually cure the cold or anything. It wasn't fun walking into my appointment with Professor McGonagall with my hair floating by my ears thanks to all the steam coming from them. It did make her crack a small smile though.

'It appears, Miss Black, you are not as unstoppable as the papers make you out to be,' she mused as she conjured my records. 'If a common cold is all that can slow you down, perhaps the Dark Lord should have used flu germs as a weapon instead of the Elder Wand.'

The main thing on Professor McGonagall's mind after reading my application form was why I had changed my decision of being an Auror from my meeting with her in fifth year. I didn't really have a reason to give her and just said it felt more rewarding to heal people having had to heal Harry and Ron so many times when we were on the run. Professor McGonagall just nodded. She did another quick check of my form, asked me some more questions about various points, corrected one bit of my five hundred words, then confirmed it was complete. As it was the day before the due date, I handed it in to her knowing there was nothing I wanted to change and left her office. However, as I made my way to Defence Against the Dark Arts I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I wasn't completely happy with what I'd done.

After all, it's only in Scotland, isn't it?

I poked my head round the door to the classroom to see everyone was already seated when I got there. Professor Lupin was standing in front of his desk, waiting for me to come in. Smiling, he told me to take my seat. I slipped in through the door and walked over to the spare seat by Hermione while Lupin began explaining what was to be the aim for this term's work. He told us we only had one thing left to cover but it was something I was surprised to hear they taught us.

'Yes, you heard me correctly, Mr Thomas,' said Professor Lupin in reply to Dean shouting "No way!". 'Though the school generally discourages fighting between the students and Houses, seventh years are permitted to learn proper duelling etiquette and techniques as certain jobs do require a level of skill in duelling for any applicant they take on. For any of those planning to take a career in the Ministry, most jobs there require some knowledge of duelling, particularly if it is an Auror that you wish to be.

'Now I just want to assure you, as I'm aware some of you have little or no experience in duelling, while others may have more pacifistic beliefs, that you do not have to take part in any classroom duels if you do not wish. They will, however, be performed under the strictest conditions and the watch of myself and Professor Flitwick. Foul play will not be tolerated and anyone found using inappropriate curses or underhand attacks will be prohibited from continuing. But we can worry about that later. For now it's theory first, practicals later.'

We spent the best part of an hour's lesson learning the rules of duelling. There were so many, some regarding wand work and legal movements with it, others about contact between duellists, but the majority were on conduct maintained through the duel. The most important rule was to always respect your opponent. At the start of a duel when you've faced your opponent you had to bow before assuming your attack position and if they called for a reprieve, you were obliged to give one, and they in return. Cheating was not tolerated in anyway and the slightest foul could get you disqualified in the professional duelling tournaments. It was only in the last ten minutes we actually started practicing the five basic wand movements. The rest apparently was all up to the individual duellist's own style.

Hermione had already left Defence Against the Dark Arts before it finished for her appointment with Professor McGonagall. I left on my own as Harry and Ron had to go to the library for their Herbology essay that was due tomorrow. I told them I'd see them later in Charms. I packed up my things, shouldered my bag, and left the classroom. The corridors were already starting to fill up as break started. I glanced around at the other students to see one or two were still watching me like at the start of term. I sighed and carried on back to the Gryffindor Tower.

It's more than magic which draws you to me …

I instantly stopped and looked behind me. That voice … I swore I recognise it but it hadn't been loud enough to be clear. None of the other students in the corridor seemed to have heard it. I stood where I was for a moment or two wondering where it had come from then carried on up the corridor. As I turned round I saw a flash of white hair. Just ahead of me, Malfoy was talking to a girl in Slytherin robes by the window. She looked younger than him at least by a couple of years but had the same wavy blonde hair as someone I knew. I watched as the two of them spoke until Malfoy looked up straight at me. I jumped. He turned back to the girl and said something to her. She smiled, giggled, then walked away not before brushing Malfoy's chest lightly with her hand. When she was gone Malfoy turned round and walked over to me. It took me a moment to actually realise I hadn't moved.

'Got a problem?' he asked straight out.

'No,' I replied. 'Why would I? I was just curious about who you were speaking to, that's all. She seemed familiar.'

'Astoria Greengrass,' shrugged Malfoy. 'Daphne's in our year.'

'Makes sense, same hair,' I muttered.

'So the Cub's really dating Potter,' Malfoy said next. Not this again. And what was with the nickname? 'What d'you even see in him?'

'I don't see why it's such a surprise to you,' I said. 'You already knew I was dating him. And it's none of your business what I see in him. Mine and Harry's relationship is private, contrary to what Rita Skeeter thinks.'

Malfoy's indifferent look didn't change. He shook his head.

'Whatever.' He turned and walked away then, halfway down he shouted back, 'He'll never understand you!'

I watched as Malfoy disappeared round the corner. What had he meant by that?

Friday came and the remaining Gryffindors including Seamus, Dean and Lavender handed in their forms to McGonagall at breakfast. Now it was all up to us to get the grades required for the jobs we wanted. With our applications handed in, it was one less worry off my mind. Professor McGonagall said it would be at least three weeks before I heard back from any of the hospitals with an offer. As for Harry, Ron and Hermione, the boys had also given in their applications during their meetings with McGonagall while Hermione had decided to make a last minute change to her five hundred word passage. All three of them had a longer wait than I did for the Ministry of Magic to process their forms as it took on loads of people every year in its various departments. According to what Harry had read, for every three wizards that applied for the Auror training program, it was lucky if even one got picked. In the last ten years or so barely any had been taken on. The training was highly intensive according to Dora and from what it had said in a leaflet Harry and Ron had looked at, in February the Auror department calls in all candidates to have some tests to see if they were physically and magically able to survive the three year training course.

The term progressed quite comfortably for me. I'd finally managed to balance between Quidditch practices and my duties as Head Girl while also finding time to do all the work to keep up my grades and spend time with Harry. It was just a matter of organisation. Our next match against Ravenclaw was a good two months away so Ginny wasn't piling up the training just yet; Harry and I had arranged a Hogsmeade trip for the final Saturday of January so hopefully the rain would clear up by then; I did most of my work during my free periods so that I usually had after school and the evening free; as for patrols, Harry had had a spark of inspiration (or so he says) to use the Marauder's Map to see if any student was out of bed in order to surprise them when we turned up exactly where they were headed. My guess was James might have "inspired" Harry but he assured me that the Map had been confiscated well before James's seventh year so he couldn't have used it. Didn't mean James didn't drop the hint though. Still, I wasn't one to complain as it made patrolling a lot easier. Whenever Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny or I were on duty, Harry gave them the Map to keep an eye out for students out of bed then go after them. The rest of my free time I spent with Harry.

It was definitely a relief to be back at Hogwarts again and away from the public eye. Since Skeeter's article had come out I had avoided going to Diagon Alley to not risk anyone ambushing me for information about our relationship while Harry had been practically housebound for the last week of the holidays. Now being back at Hogwarts meant that, knowing practically the whole school knew about us thanks to the article, Harry and I were able to just be a couple again around the school. We'd now walk to class together hand in hand and, once in a while, share a kiss behind the odd pillar or in a secret passageway. And it felt so right. Any student who saw us together always started whispering in their groups or stared at us as we passed but at least any student with a half decent knowledge of potions could tell Harry was not suffering symptoms of a love potion as Skeeter's article had suggested. Unsurprisingly, that didn't stop the odd girl glaring enviously at me. Or the odd guy for that matter.

I was surprised to see that Harry also was getting glared at by a few of the male students around Hogwarts. Harry had been right when he said that guys were also jealous we were dating. Wayne Hopkins and Ryan Malone, a couple of Hufflepuffs in our year, sent Harry very dark looks during our Herbology lesson with them on Monday morning. I guess I'd never realised how many guys were attracted to me. I'd never been overly bothered about my looks and to be suddenly aware of the male attention I received was really strange and I wasn't too keen on it but I didn't let it bother me. There was only one person though who really stuck out.

Malfoy's attitude to me had certainly changed over the Christmas holidays. Last term, if we passed each other in the corridor Malfoy would occasionally catch my eye and send a small smile in my direction, so long as Harry wasn't around. Even in Potions he was bearable and we worked together quite well getting Exceeds Expectations on most of our work. Now Malfoy would barely glance at me unless to glare at me when I was with Harry while sitting in Potions lessons next to him was like I was sitting in a fridge. He was so cold towards me. Not that I minded that he'd gone back to his usual stiff self, a part of me sort of missed the Malfoy I'd seen in the last few months who actually could say something to me without it being a snide remark.

Potions on Monday afternoon was no different. We had to brew the Mandrake Draft for curing petrification, a tricky potion seeing as the main ingredient could kill you with its scream. The entire class had to wear ear muffs until we'd added the Mandrake as it squealed every time we cut the root. I was relieved when I could finally take them off. Between us Malfoy and I brewed the potion. Not one word was spoken. Every so often I glanced at him out the corner of my eye to see him staring resolutely at either the cauldron or at the notes he was making. He added the final ingredient then took the ladle from me to stir it and put it in the vial.

The lesson bell rang. Professor Slughorn told us to clear up and leave a sample on his desk then we could go. Malfoy got up to hand the vial to Professor Slughorn. I started to clear up our ingredients and stopped the fire beneath our cauldron. While that cooled down I closed my textbook and piled up all the pieces of parchment that were left on our desk. Most of them were my notes but there were one or two that were obviously Malfoy's judging by the different handwriting. He had quite nice writing by the looks of it, and familiar writing at that. I picked up the piece of parchment Malfoy had used. I'd seen that writing before. I gasped silently, my eyes narrowing in annoyance when I realised.

The class began to file out. I heard Hermione call to me that the boys were going to head to the Great Hall while she went to her Arithmancy lesson. I pretended to wipe some spilt potion on my desk and told her I'd catch up. I had a bone to pick with Malfoy. I stalled as long as I could to wait for him. He walked past me and picked up his bag then headed out the classroom. I picked mine up and followed. Malfoy was heading up the stairs towards the Entrance Hall. I walked quickly after him and grabbed his arm, unceremoniously pulling him into a broom cupboard. I locked the door behind us with a tap of my wand.

'Well this is a surprise,' said Malfoy as I faced him. 'Bit cliché, don't you think? Pulling me into a broom cupboard. Don't want Potter getting any wrong ideas.'

'Wow, you must really think a lot of yourself if you think that's why I dragged you in here,' I retorted. I was in no mood for this. 'Then again, you're a Malfoy. You pride yourself on self-importance, just like your dad.'

'Ooh, aren't we feisty today,' said Malfoy coolly. 'Then again, wouldn't expect any less from you, Cub.' He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted my face. I shrugged it off.

'Don't call me that.'

Malfoy shrugged. 'So we're in here because …?'

'"They say roses are red and violets are blue. But you are all Black, you know that it's true". Am I ringing any bells here?'

'Nope.' Malfoy made to walk past me. I took out my wand and pointed it at him. He stopped, his grey eyes on my wand. 'Now I know you're not going to use that on me. So why don't you just put it away and let us out, eh, Cub?'

'You know, you have some nerve sending me that,' I said. 'And don't say it wasn't you. I recognised the handwriting. The only question is why did you send it? I know it was you so tell me the truth.' Malfoy raised his eyebrow at me. I stared back resolutely, my wand still on him. 'I'm waiting.'

'So I sent it,' he shrugged. 'Just trying to open your eyes to the fact that you and Potter are never going to last.'

'And what makes you so sure of that?'

'Well, the fact you dragged me into a broom cupboard and locked the door is a good clue.'

'Not including this.'

'Just trust me on this one, Black,' grated Malfoy. 'Sure, you seem like the ideal couple now.' He moved closer until I was forced against the door. Malfoy leaned over me, his hands against the door either side of me. 'Holding hands, going on dates … kissing,' Malfoy sneered the word. 'But what about when you leave Hogwarts? When you decide what happens in your life. I guarantee it, Potter will ruin whatever hopes or dreams you have for his own selfish reasons. Eventually Potter will drive you away because he doesn't understand you. And I'll be the one to pick up the pieces.'

'How can you be so sure that you'd be the one I'd go to if Harry and I broke up?'

'Because deep down you already know you wouldn't be able to go to anyone else. Like I said, it's more than magic which draws you to me. Deep down, you and I both know you feel something for me.' Malfoy leant down to me, our faces almost touching. 'Face it, Black, our futures are linked whether you like it or not.'

I pushed Malfoy away from me.

'You're only guessing at what the future will bring,' I said. I raised my hand. 'I, however, can see it.'

I made a move to touch Malfoy's face. He was too quick for me though; Malfoy caught my wrist and held it still, my fingers poised centimetres from his face.

'You sure you want to do that?' he asked me. 'If you touch me, it could be more than just your life you're ruining.' I hesitated. 'Sometimes it's better to just let the future unfold.'

I thought through what Malfoy had said. Then, heeding his warning, I withdrew my hand. Malfoy released my wrist. I sighed and fell back against the door, my hand holding my forehead. I was starting to get a headache. There were many things in magic and the wizarding world I still didn't know or understand, and this was another one on the list. Malfoy was being so ambiguous. I had no idea what he was talking about.

'If what you say is true, then answer me this,' I said. 'What is it about me that draws you to me?'

'I've been asking myself the same question,' said Malfoy. 'You and I both know how attractive you are. But that's not the half of it. I don't know what it is about you that I find so appealing. All I know is it will always be there no matter how much I repress it. It's not just you who doesn't want this.'

'Then we need to do something about it. I can't offer you anything but friendship.'

'Trust me; I'd rather have that too.'

When Malfoy said that, I found that a bit hard to believe considering his behaviour last term. This could just be another bunch of his lies. I examined his face. He looked sincere. Whether he meant it was another matter.

'Believe it or not, you're not all that bad, Black,' said Malfoy. The corner of his lip lifted slightly into a smile. 'Not many gave me a second chance when the war ended. You did. And I value your friendship and belief in me.'

'So why are you trying to break me and Harry up?'

'Maybe I was originally, but not anymore,' said Malfoy casually. 'If I was the reason you and Potter broke up, you'd be hurt and I'd feel sorry for you which I don't want. Being worried about you when you were chased by the Carrows was enough for me. I have no interest in you. I have my own interests I wish to pursue. You're family. I'd rather care about you that way even though there's nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting once in a while. It's not my fault Potter's not secure enough to believe nothing will happen.'

'Harry's lost a lot in his life,' I replied. 'We've known each other since we were eight years old. If he lost me, I don't know what it would do to him and I don't want to find out.'

'Then you better hope you can hold on to him.'

'What do you mean by that?' I asked. Malfoy didn't answer and walked past me. 'What do you mean "I better hope I can hold on to him"?'

'If what has happened in the past is anything to go by …' shrugged Malfoy. Again with the ambiguity. 'This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Many wizards have gone through this before.' Malfoy drew out his wand. He cancelled my Locking Spell on the door and pushed it open. He glanced back at me. 'Just so you know, this will always be with us, you can't change that. It's up to you how you deal with it.'

Malfoy walked out the broom cupboard. I made to follow but then had second thoughts. It would look quite suspicious if I followed Malfoy out of a broom cupboard to anyone who saw us. It was common knowledge students tended to hide in those and up the Astronomy Tower when they wanted a snog. I quickly thought of a Thestral and vanished. I snuck out the closet and let the door fall shut. I ran across the Entrance Hall as quietly as I could and up the marble staircase towards the corridor leading to the changing staircase as it was empty of students. With the coast clear I reappeared and walked back down the stairs to go to the Great Hall.

'Merlin, Jen,' said Ron when I finally got there. 'Where've you been? Class ended twenty minutes ago.'

'Oh, er, I got held up,' I said, taking a seat. I pulled out my copy of Confronting the Faceless for Lupin's essay he'd set on duelling. 'I got talking to a Ravenclaw I know in the fourth year. He wanted to know about joining the DA.'

'I'm not really sure about taking on any more new members,' said Harry. 'There's still the twenty of us from the original group, plus the ten that joined last term. And if they're fourth year, some of the spells we've covered they might not yet have done in class and I don't want to make things hard for the teachers. What did you tell them?'

'I said I'd speak to you or Neville about it,' I replied, 'and that it wasn't up to me about who joins. I'll let them know what you've said. That's a point, have you sent out the notices about this weekend's meeting?'

'No, I haven't. I'll do that at our prefects meeting tonight when we hand out next week's patrol timetable. It's Saturday afternoon this week because of the Hogsmeade trip, isn't it?'

'Yes, and we're covering Reducto and Blasting Curses,' I said. I gave Harry a smile. 'Hermione, Ron and I don't help you and Neville run it for no reason, you know.'

Harry grinned.

'All right, I know.'

'Sounds like we better be on hand with Reparo to fix all the things we break,' said Ron. 'Oh well, what's the harm in exploding something once in a while.'

I rolled my eyes then started on my essay.

The Great Hall began to fill up as more and more students appeared for the homework hour that took place after school ended. Hermione appeared with Neville just after four and joined Harry, Ron and me, and the five of us spent the next hour before dinner working on our various essays. As we worked, my conversation with Malfoy remained in the back of my mind. What had he meant? How could he be so sure that I did have feelings for him and that he'd be the one I went to if Harry and I ever broke up? A part of me wished I had touched him so I could find out what the future did bring for us but I knew he'd been right about one thing; sometimes it was better to just let the future unfold. Mum had once told me the future was fluid, always changing. Perhaps whatever Malfoy thinks will happen between us won't, depending on what my actions now are.

As I worked I glanced up at Harry. He had his head in his textbook as he did his essay. I was the one in charge of my future, and Harry was the one I saw in it. Not Malfoy.

After dinner Harry and I had to go to our weekly meeting with the prefects and House Captains. We left dinner just before Hermione and Ron so we could get to the room on the second floor that was used for the meetings and sort out what needed to be said this week. Besides giving out the notice about the next DA meeting and the patrol timetables for the next week, Harry and I also wanted to discuss the Harvest Dance with the seventh year prefects and House Captains. It was tied in with our graduation at the end of the year and we apparently had to come up with a theme for it so we wanted to put the idea to the others and see what they thought. We still had the entire summer term to plan it but we also had exams so Harry and I had agreed to get a start on it.

The room we held these meetings in was quite nice. It was the size of a small classroom but certainly didn't look like one. The room was decorated in all the House colours with a banner for each one depicting the House emblems and a table in the centre of the room for us all to sit at. While we waited for everyone to arrive I pulled out the various pieces of parchment we needed and laid them out in the order we needed to address them while Harry set up enough chairs for all those attending. When he'd done that, he came up behind me and gently kissed my neck.

'How long is this going to take?' he asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.

'As long as it takes,' I replied. 'We've got quite a bit to discuss this time.'

'But I've got other things to do,' said Harry. He kissed my neck again. 'Important things.'

'Harry, knock it off,' I said. I playfully batted him away. 'The others will be here any minute and it wouldn't look good if we're caught messing around. Just be patient and it'll be over quicker than if you complain.'

Harry rolled his eyes and took a seat.

'If there's one thing about being Head Boy I dislike, it's the meetings,' he sighed. 'Even patrolling is better than this.' I held in an exasperated breath and shook my head.

Admittedly, this week's meeting did take a long time and even I was getting tired by the end of it. While I spoke to the prefects about who was on duty during the Hogsmeade visit this weekend to make sure no trouble started, Harry was fidgeting beside me and constantly looking at the clock. After all the important topics had been discussed, Harry and I handed out the timetables for patrols and the notice about the DA meeting for this week and dismissed the fifth and sixth year prefects. The seventh years and House Captains were a bit confused to why they were still here.

'There's just one last idea Harry and I would like to put to you,' I said. 'Next term is the Harvest Dance as you'll all know and it's the final event for the seventh years before their graduation the next day. Professor McGonagall informed Harry and me at the meeting at the start of term that the Dance is themed and we wanted to get some ideas for what theme we could do this year.'

'As it's the last time we'll all be together at Hogwarts, we want it to be something that's not been done before,' said Harry. 'And we could use your help on organising it and the setting up of the Great Hall beforehand. If any of you are interested in helping us then bring your ideas to the next meeting or let me and Jenna know this week.'

'That'll be fun,' said Luna lightly. 'I love designing things.'

'Well if you have some ideas now, that'd be great,' I said. 'If not, you're free to go.'

Malfoy instantly got up and left, followed by the other Slytherins. No surprises there. Only a few others left, saying they'd have a think and let us know.

'Do we know what's already been done?' asked Nicholas, the Hufflepuff House Captain.

'Well, in the past there've been some rather extravagant ideas,' said Ginny. 'Having five older brothers who've already graduated, I know quite a bit of what's been done already.'

'Even though Fred and George never did,' laughed Ron.

Ginny and Luna did indeed have quite a few ideas about what the theme for the Dance could be. I'd never realised how creative the pair were. Between the eight of us there we managed to come up with a list of possible themes, Harry noting them down for us to suggest to McGonagall. I was quite taken by Padma's idea to set it in the time of Godric Gryffindor and the other founders of Hogwarts. There was so much we could do with it.

'All right, we'll suggest these to Professor McGonagall,' I said, looking over Harry's shoulder at the parchment. 'And we'll let you know.' As I said it, my voice caught in my throat. I just felt something on my thigh. I glanced at Harry but he was still writing something down. 'I think that's all so you can go.' My voice caught a second time; the thing had moved, fingers trailing lightly along the inside of my thigh. What was Harry doing?

The House Captains and remaining seventh year prefects got up and left. As soon as they'd gone, Harry removed his hand. I made to question him about it but he just acted as if he'd not even realised he'd done it. I certainly hadn't imagined it. He shrugged it off and packed up the parchment. Though confused, I didn't pursue it and helped him clear up so we could go.

That was only the start of Harry's strange behaviour. Every so often I'd find him in his dormitory "working" as he put it but he never told me what he was doing. It was like he was planning something. What, I didn't know. I was quite curious about what he was up to and when I asked he merely brushed off my question. Still, I knew better than to pry from previous experience so I left Harry to it. What had happened at the end of the meeting was my first clue to something was up. Nor was it the last in the coming week.

'What's the deal, Harry?'

I strode up the corridor as fast as I could after Harry. Had something lit a fire under his robe? We'd been sitting in the Head's Tower quite happily when all of a sudden he got up and told me to hurry. I put my quill down and did so. We'd walked all the way down to the fourth floor so far and I was starting to wonder just what exactly Harry was after. I hadn't even been aware that he'd been watching the Marauder's Map for anything. Harry turned left into another corridor. I followed.

'Harry, what's up?' I called after him. 'Will you slow down and tell me what we're following?'

'It's just round the next corner,' Harry replied over his shoulder. 'Come on, quickly.'

Harry disappeared. I chased after him. This was getting ridiculous. We were apparently chasing something or someone right into an open corridor in the castle and if we ran into Filch without any proof of what we were doing, we could get in trouble. If this was just another wild Niffler chase –

I'd just run round the corner when all of a sudden Harry grabbed me. He caught my wrist, catching me by surprise, before pushing me up against the wall behind a pillar.

'Harry, what –?' but I was cut off when Harry pressed his lips against mine. I froze. I hadn't expected that. After a few seconds, Harry pulled back with a pleased smile on his face. 'Harry, what are you doing?' I whispered. 'We're meant to be patrolling. We could get in trouble if we caught like this.'

For some strange reason, Harry's smile grew.

'That's the whole point.'

What? OK, I'd always thought Harry had been a bit reckless before but this was ridiculous. Not to mention a complete breech of the rules and abusing our positions as Head Boy and Girl. Maybe he'd finally flipped his wand or something. Either way it didn't look like Harry cared as he pressed his lips against mine a second time. I did my best to resist him but Harry was relentless and in a matter of moments I'd given in and was kissing him back. That same strange feeling that I'd experienced over the holidays started again in the pit of my stomach.

'Harry,' I murmured through our kisses. I'd just heard footsteps at the opposite end of the corridor. 'We shouldn't be doing this …'

'Then try and stop me,' was his reply.

The Head Girl side of me was trying to stop him. All I could see was a week's detention for this. Those footsteps I'd heard had to be only a few minutes away. But the girlfriend side of me had a much louder voice so when I moved my hand to push Harry away it somehow instead found its way into Harry's hair while my arm wrapped itself round his neck. Harry moved closer to me, pressing me against the wall. The feeling intensified, like a knot being tightened. His body felt so hot next to mine and I felt so aware of it. Of his hand on my neck and his other on my waist. It slid lower until Harry's hand was pressing my hips into his. I made a move to deepen the kiss when Harry pulled away. He grabbed my hand and once again we were running back the way we came away from the footsteps that had just entered the corridor we were in.

As we ran Harry pulled something out of his pocket. It was his Invisibility Cloak. We came to a sharp stop and Harry threw the Cloak over us. Filch's footsteps caught up with us and he appeared in the corridor. At his feet was Mrs Norris.

'Anyone here, my sweet?'

The two looked around. I watched silently from under the Cloak behind Harry. Filch held up his lamp. Harry pushed me back against the wall so we didn't cause a shadow in the light, facing me. Filch was still looking around. I looked at Harry to give him an "I told you so" look when I noticed he was staring at me. He didn't move. All he was doing was staring at me. His green eyes seemed to have darkened and I couldn't look away. A second later I tensed. Harry's hand was very slowly making its way up my thigh; Harry once again pressed his body into mine until I was on tiptoes, my skirt hitched up with his hand just resting underneath it, his fingers lightly brushing the line of my underwear. The knot tightened even more.

The light in the corridor faded away. Filch must have left. I breathed out having not realised I'd been holding one. When we were once again the darkness Harry leant forward and kissed me just below my ear, then whispering, 'I knew we wouldn't get caught.'

Sure we didn't get caught but several times I swore my heartbeat would give us away. We finally got back to the Tower and when I tried to ask Harry about what that had been about, he just shrugged and went up to his dormitory. Again with the secrecy. What was he up to? That was the second time in the space of a week something like this had happened. I folded my arms in frustration. I felt something on my wrist and I pulled back my sleeve. Another section of my bracelet had turned white.

The wet weather finally receded as February approached. The castle was still overcast with clouds and you'd still see the students wandering around with their scarves and jumpers but at least now at break and lunch you could go out into the grounds occasionally when the sun was out. It made a nice change from being cooped up in the castle. The grass had finally dried enough so you could walk down to the Herbology greenhouses without worrying you'd get stuck in the mud. Hagrid too had taken advantage of the sunny weather and could now be seen digging in his vegetable patch or carrying the odd carcass to the lake to feed the giant squid. With the weather drying up, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I started spending more of our time outside with the rest of the school, sitting under the beech tree to do our work instead of in the castle.

It was the second week of February that I finally got some news back from my application form. The three weeks since we handed in our forms had more than passed and so I had forgotten that I was still waiting to hear from the three hospitals I'd applied at. It was at breakfast on Thursday morning that I finally received something. St Agnes was the first to reply that day and I got the other two later in the week. St Agnes had decided to give me a conditional offer to train there as long as I got Os in my Potions, Charms and Herbology NEWTs while I needed Es in Transfiguration and Defence Against the Darks before I would be accepted. St Mungo's also had quite high expectations; I needed to get four out of five Outstandings, most importantly in Potions, for them to take me as a student. St Heathclithe's was the last one to get back to me.

The letter arrived late on Monday night. I'd been doing my homework alone in the Head's Tower while Harry had been patrolling with Ron. I was quite tired as I'd had Quidditch practice earlier that afternoon and the heat of the small fire in the common room had been making me dozy for a while so when I heard Gadget's talons scratching the window I almost didn't realise what it was at first. When I saw her I let her in through the window and she deposited the letter on the table. I gave her an Owl Treat I had left in my pocket and she flew off back to the Owlery. I then picked up the letter and slid it open with my wand. There were quite a few pieces of parchment in it. My eyes scanned the first piece of parchment but they felt so heavy I barely took in what it said. Instead, I yawned and went to bed, leaving the parchment letter on the table.

I felt much better the next day after a good night's sleep. I got up Tuesday morning feeling refreshed and ready for whatever the day might throw at me, particularly because we had Defence Against the Dark Arts last period and we were finally starting duelling each other; Lupin's plan was for us to have a small duelling tournament over the next few weeks and whoever won it would get a special prize at the end. A part of me was looking forward to it but I was still very apprehensive. My duelling skills weren't exactly great but good enough for me to hold my own during the war. It felt almost like I had an unfair advantage from all that experience. Not that that was how I wanted experience in the first place. Still, I had to learn it sometime or later.

I pulled on my robes and left my dormitory. When I got downstairs I found that Harry was already up and waiting for me. He was sat at the table where we did our homework. In his hand was a sheet of parchment.

'Morning, Harry,' I said cheerfully. Harry looked over at me then got up leaving the parchment. I noticed he had a rather solemn look on his face.

'Morning,' he gave me a kiss on the cheek, then stepped back.

'Is something wrong?' I asked.

'No, I just didn't sleep well last night,' he said. 'Need a good breakfast, that's all.'

Harry took my hand and we left the common room. But something wasn't right. As we walked down to the Great Hall, it was like Harry wasn't all there. His grip on my hand was loose and he stared out into the distance as we walked. When we got to the Hall we met up with Ron and the others and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Throughout breakfast Harry remained quieter than usual. He joined in the conversation about the start of Lupin's duelling tournament but still he didn't seem with it. Even Ron and Hermione noticed.

'You OK, mate?' he asked. 'Looks like someone's taken the magic right out of your spells.'

'It's nothing,' shrugged Harry. He ate a mouthful of toast and swallowed it. 'I'm fine.' The bell ran signalling class. Harry got up and shouldered his bag. 'We better get going. We've got Herbology first.'

Harry didn't wait for us. Ron, Hermione and I shared a confused look.

'What's wrong with Harry?' asked Hermione. 'Did something happen this morning?'

'I don't know,' I said. The three of us got up and headed out of the Hall after him. We walked across the Entrance Hall and out the main doors into the courtyard. 'He was up before me. I found him in the common room. He was at the table holding a piece of parchment. He was like this when I found him.'

'What did the parchment say?' asked Ron. 'Was it about his application?'

'It couldn't be,' answered Hermione. 'If it was from the Ministry, it would be saying he'd been offered a place and when his test date is. Kingsley said he'd be taken on in the Auror Department without question. If anything, it looks like he's lost something, or is going to. It's the same solemn mood he was in after Sirius died.'

'Losing something?' I repeated. 'What would Harry be losing?'

Hermione shook her head, 'I don't know.'

Harry's solemn mood continued throughout most of the day. In Herbology he barely spoke to us but got on with collecting the leaves from his Alihotsy bush in silence; he worked all through break and the following free period on his Charms homework which was due in the next day; he managed to brew his Girding Potion and transfigure himself into a dog in record time for him Potions and Transfiguration; and in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he easily defeated Zacharias Smith, Ryan Malone and Libby Moon in the preliminary rounds of our tournament. Well, even if something was wrong with him, Harry's concentration hadn't been effected. If anything, he worked much better.

I got back to the Tower after our last class on my own as Harry had hung back to talk to Lupin. I dumped my bag by the sofa and walked over to the table under the window. The parchment from this morning was still there. It was a letter. My letter from last night! I picked up the parchment and looked at what it said. My eyes widened when I read the first sentence. If Harry had seen this –

'So, when were you going to tell me?'

I span round to see Harry standing at the entrance to our common room.

'What?'

'When were you going to tell me St Heathclithe's had given you an unconditional?' Harry walked over to me. 'That's what the letter's about, isn't it?'

'Harry, I …' I paused, trying to think of what to say. 'It's only an offer. I haven't accepted it yet.'

'You should,' said Harry, surprising me. 'If it's where you want to learn, then you should accept the offer. You're not going to get better than that.'

'You're … OK with this?' I asked.

'If it's what you want to do, then it's your choice,' replied Harry. 'Whatever makes you happy.'

Harry smiled. But I didn't believe it. Something was telling me Harry was just saying that to please me. It was like his words were saying one thing, but his heart meant something completely different. His eyes, they would tell me. I lifted my own to look into his. They were clouded. His green eyes were clouded, hiding his feelings from me. But why? Harry raised his hand and touched my cheek. He told me he had some work to do and that he'd see me later. With that, he went upstairs to his dormitory.

Harry's quiet and reserved behaviour continued for the next couple of days. The day after he spoke to me about my offer I tried to talk to him again about it but Harry still said I should go for it if it was what I wanted to do. After that I let the subject drop though I was still concerned about Harry's feelings towards it. I wasn't the only one either. Ron and Hermione couldn't mistake Harry's solemn mood, mainly because he was working harder than he had before. He worked diligently through class and spent most of his breaks doing his homework. Even Ginny picked up that something was wrong with him.

'Harry's been like this for the last few days?' she asked during breakfast on Friday morning. 'Do we know why?'

I said I still wasn't sure what it was. As I said it, I noticed Ron was watching me carefully. It felt slightly unnerving. The bell went and Hermione left for her Arithmancy class while Ginny had Herbology. Harry wasn't with us. He'd left earlier to go to the library. Once Hermione and Ginny were gone, Ron spoke.

'Come on then,' he said bluntly. I gave him a strange look. 'Why is Harry acting like this? I know you know.'

'What?'

'Jenna, you're a bad liar,' said Ron. 'Now tell me why Harry's acting like this.'

'No need to be so bossy,' I said. I took a sip of my drink. Ron was still waiting for my answer. I held in a sigh. 'I think it has something to do with my application. I got a letter the other day saying I'd been given an unconditional offer to St Heathclithe's in Scotland. He must have found it because he asked me about it the next day.'

'I figured it had something to do with you,' said Ron. He got to his feet and picked up his bag.

'What's that supposed to mean?' I asked. Ron stopped. He glanced back over his shoulder at me.

'If it wasn't for you, Harry would still be with Ginny,' he said. 'Now you've got him, don't screw him up. He's had enough shit in his life.'

Ron walked off. I watched after him, completely shocked. How could he say that? I would never do anything to hurt Harry, he knew that. I cared about Harry so much; I would never purposely hurt him. By the looks of it, it seemed Ron was still blaming me for Harry and Ginny not getting back together. I didn't intend to fall for him and Ginny was the one to make a move with Neville in the first place. But evidently, I was the one getting the blame. I sighed and got up to go back to the Tower before my next class.

With Ron's view on Harry's behaviour known, I decided to spend the weekend in the Head's Tower out of his way. He'd cool down eventually about it, I hoped. Throughout Saturday I worked continuously on my wand movements and the spells we were allowed to use in Lupin's tournament as I had got through to the second round in the top four of my group, only losing one duel to Neville. I didn't see Harry for the best part of the day; he'd left the Tower around ten o'clock and by late afternoon he still hadn't returned. As I started on my Transfiguration essay on Animagi, I did start to wonder where he was, especially as it had once again started raining again, but I knew he'd turn up eventually.

I wasn't wrong. At around half eight after I'd had dinner, Harry turned up in the Head's Tower. I'd been sitting in a chair by the table with a copy of the Daily Prophet floating in front of me to read. There'd been an article about a new book Rita Skeeter had written concerning Severus Snape which I wanted to read. I sat there quite content, my eyes scanning the text, when I heard the portrait to our common room open, indicating Harry had returned.

'Hi, Harry,' I said. It was only when I got no response that I glanced round my paper. Harry was there all right across the common room without his shirt on. Seeing he was there, I went back to my paper.

Hang on …

I let my head fall to one side to look round my paper again. Sure enough, Harry was standing there without his shirt on, the piece of material in question lying on the floor. My eyebrow arched. I hadn't imagined it. Not that I minded but … why was Harry topless? Harry hadn't noticed my gaze. In fact, he kept his back almost completely turned to me the entire time he was there and when he announced he was going to his dormitory, he didn't turn round. I merely murmured a reply as I was still staring at him somewhat from surprise. Even more so when I noted how low slung Harry's jeans appeared to be. Harry walked off and headed upstairs to his dormitory.

I lowered my paper. I just sat there for a few moments while my mind registered what I'd just seen in the last couple of minutes. I got up and walked across the room. I picked up his shirt. It was damp. He'd been outside? I hadn't even realised. I reached out to put the shirt on the arm of a chair then changed my mind. Instead I turned and headed up the stairs to Harry's dormitory. He shouldn't really leave it lying around after all. I climbed the stairs then turned left to head to his dormitory. I stopped at his door and knocked. I didn't get any response.

I turned the handle and pushed the door ajar. I poked my head round it to see if he was in there. He wasn't. Where could he have gone, short of taking his broom and flying out the window. His broom was propped up against his wardrobe. Where was he? I opened his door and walked inside. I was surprised to see his room was quite tidy; there was the odd book lying open on the floor and piece of clothing hanging out of his trunk but otherwise it was quite tidy for a boy's bedroom. But no Harry. It was then I heard a noise. It was coming from the bathroom. I crossed the room to the door to see it wasn't locked. Carefully and quietly I pushed it open. I peered round the door. My breath caught in my throat at what I saw.

I knew I should have left that instant or at least looked away. But I couldn't. I physically couldn't move. I just stood there transfixed on Harry has he had a shower. I couldn't see much because of the steam but what I could see was more than enough. He was just finishing washing his hair, shaking the last of the soap out of it. The lines of soap trailed down his back and chest. I instantly felt that knot form again in my stomach. I shifted, trying to repress the feeling. I don't know how long I was standing there but when I realised Harry had finished his shower, I panicked. I stepped away from the door and ran as quickly and as quietly as I could across his room. But then I came to a problem; I couldn't open the door and close it again quietly enough for Harry not to notice. I damned myself for closing it when I came in.

The door to the bathroom opened. Harry was going to be here any second! I looked avidly round his room for his Invisibility Cloak. The one time I needed it, Harry just had to have tidied his room. I span round when I heard Harry's footsteps. I closed my eyes and thought of a Thestral. I vanished just in time as Harry came into the room in nothing but a towel slung round his waist. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him. Very slowly, I backed away so I was against the wall by his door glad that I was bare foot so he couldn't hear me. I tried not to look at him, my eyes focusing on the floor, but when his feet appeared in my line of vision I couldn't help it. I bit my lip as the knot inside my stomach tightened even more.

Slowly I looked up, my eyes taking in every detail. They travelled up his legs towards his waist. He still had the towel round him, hanging loosely around his hips to cover himself up. I couldn't help but notice how low it was, nor the defined lines of Harry's v-section. To think, just underneath that was Harry's – I mean – But it wasn't that which held my attention. It was his chest. I couldn't believe how toned Harry was; his chest was so smooth and defined, shadows highlighting the lines of his lower torso, a thin trail of hair going from his belly-button to below the towel. His arms were just as strong, his muscles flexing as he dried his wild jet black hair. How could I never have noticed all this before? I asked myself. Harry had had his shirt off many times when we'd kissed in the past. How could I have never realised how … sexy Harry was?

That was it, I was hooked. I fell lightly against the wall, my legs sagging a bit, and let out a light breath.

'Harry …'

I was more than content to stay where I was even though I knew sooner or later I'd have to give up the invisibility. I was so aware of my heartbeat as I stood there, the knot seeming to throb in my stomach. I watched silently as Harry dropped the towel on the floor and shook his hair now he'd dried it. And looked straight at me! I froze. Though I knew he couldn't see me I could have sworn his eyes looked straight into mine. Harry began to approach me. My pulse sped up. Oh Merlin! Harry stopped right in front of me. He just stood there. Next I felt the lightest touch on my thigh. I glanced down to see his finger trailing up it, then my waist, then down my cheek. His eyes never left me. The next thing I knew, I was being pressed into the wall as Harry kissed me. I didn't spare a single thought before I responded and turned visible, pulling myself as close to him as I possibly could.

Harry wasn't hesitant in the slightest, engaging me in a deep kiss. I didn't care that he was still wet from his shower or that the water was soaking through my blouse. I merely tangled my hand into his damp hair while the other rested on his torso. Harry's were holding my waist, raising me ever so slightly off the floor. His kisses were so fierce, my chest heaving as I fought for breath. Harry's attentions soon moved, first along my jaw then to my neck over my pulse point. I moaned. My entire body felt like I was on fire, not to mention the knot was getting unbearable. Whatever Harry was doing to me, I didn't want him to stop.

By now Harry's hand had also began to wander. Harry pulled me away from the wall just enough so his hand could slide up my side beneath my blouse. I felt him graze my breast before his hand travelled round my back for the clip of my bra. In one swift movement I felt my bra loosen. I was actually kind of impressed, in amongst other things going on in my head at the current moment. My back touched the wall again and I gasped as Harry's hand began to stroke my chest, his thumb rubbing me until I was stiff. He then moved to the other breast while his free hand slid lower and lower until it found my skirt. He hitched it up so it was on my hip, then going for my tights to pull them down. I moaned again, loving the feel of his touch. Harry peeled down my tights just enough so he could access my pants. He slid his hand inside. Quickly I grabbed it to stop him. Harry pulled back.

'What is it?' he breathed, his voice husky.

'I wouldn't,' I said. I swallowed in an attempt to control my breathing.

'Why not?' I gave Harry a pointed look, not wanting to say. After a moment or two he got my drift. 'Ah.' He removed his hand from my pants, as well as the one from beneath my shirt. 'Well then,' he said, moving closer. I licked my lips in anticipation for his again. 'I'll just have to take my attentions elsewhere.'

I looked forward to that. We resumed the kiss. It was much slower this time but nonetheless passionate. I was finally released from the wall and we stood in the middle of Harry's room. Now I was free I could finally explore Harry's body; I ran my hand down his strong chest and towards his hip, feeling the definition of his torso and v-section. I stopped when I felt the towel beneath my fingers, knowing it wouldn't take much to make it drop. A low rumble came from Harry's throat. I grinned and left my hand where it was. I awaited Harry's next movement, however, when it came I panicked. Harry's hand which had been on my neck moved lower to the buttons of my blouse. He managed to undo the first but when he tried the next, I pushed him away.

'No!'

I broke free from Harry's arms and stumbled back. I fought to regain control my breathing. I could feel my body shaking. I fell to my knees. I kept my arms firmly over my chest and my head bowed.

'Jenna? Jenna, what is it?'

I heard movement around me. I felt Harry's hand on my cheek and looked up. Harry too was breathing quite heavily, his eyes worriedly scanning my face. I closed my eyes. A tear fell down my cheek. Harry pulled me into his arms.

'Jenna, what's wrong?' he asked. 'What did I do?'

'It's nothing you did,' I breathed. My voice shook as I spoke. 'It's what Bellatrix did.'

'What? What did Bellatrix do?'

I took another few moments before I answered, 'She scarred me …'

Harry let me go and sat up. I looked up at him. He knelt in front of me, now wearing his boxers. He gently touched my cheek, a concerned look on his face.

'The scars from the Flagrum Curse,' Harry said. 'Did they ever heal?'

'No.' I shook my head. 'They didn't – they're still there … I can still feel them …'

I bowed my head again, hiding my face behind my hair. Neither of us spoke for a while. I was so embarrassed by the scars; I never wanted Harry to see them.

'Show me.' What? 'I'm serious,' he said. Harry took my hand and got me to my feet. 'I want to see them. Show me your scars.'

'Please don't make me,' I breathed. 'Harry, please –'

'The only way to heal is to accept them,' said Harry firmly. He lifted his fringe revealing the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. 'I accepted mine. You've got to accept yours.' He dropped his fringe. 'It's not going to change how I look at you.'

I swallowed. I really didn't want to do this. But Harry was right, I knew he was. I took a deep breath and turned my back to Harry. That was where the most of my scars were. I reached underneath my blouse and clipped my bra together again. I paused. My heart was racing. I was still shaking. I breathed in again and braced myself for Harry's reaction. I put my hand on my collarbone and ran it over my shoulder, pushing my shirt off it. I let it fall off my shoulders, revealing my scars. Another tear fell down my cheek. I waited apprehensively for Harry's reaction. The floorboards creaked as he approached me; his hands touched my waist. Then, to my surprise, he began to kiss my back. His arms wrapped round me and he took hold of my hands. Harry gently pulled them away from my chest so he could remove my blouse. It fell to the floor at my feet.

'There's nothing there,' he whispered. I started. I looked back at Harry. He nodded. Harry ran his hand over my back then turned me round. A swift wave of embarrassment crossed me at the fact I was still just in my bra. He ran his fingers lightly over my chest. 'Not a single mark.'

Relief swept over me. A small smile graced my face.

'I don't see what you were so scared about,' said Harry, stroking my cheek. 'You're beautiful, Jenna.'

'Really?' I asked. Harry chuckled.

'Why are you even asking? You know what I think of you. Why d'you think I went to so much trouble to help you relax when we're intimate?' Huh?

'You did?'

'Yeah. Touching you during the prefect meeting, the corridor, just now. I did it for you.' Harry leant down and kissed me. 'All to get you aroused.' So that's what had got to Harry a few weeks ago. 'All because I love you.'

A sudden rush of happiness hit me like a wave when Harry said that. I couldn't help but smile.

'I love you too.' and I kissed him. It last several long, heavenly seconds before we broke apart. 'That's why you've been so secretive lately,' I then said. 'You were planning all this.'

'Kind of,' shrugged Harry. 'Didn't quite expect it to go this far but … Who knew a little seduction would help?'

'It helped a lot,' I said. I put my arms round Harry's neck. 'I've never felt so good before. It was amazing. I loved every second of it. And you are so sexy, Harry James Potter,' I whispered. 'You've been holding out on me.'

Harry grinned.

'I might have kept a few things quiet. Now,' he then said, wrapping his arms round me. He gently lifted me up and carried me over to his bed, placing me down before lying beside me. Harry leant over me, kissing my neck. 'I believe we were in the middle of something …'

I lay there silently as Harry kissed me, my mind free to wander. I weaved my fingers loosely into his hair, allowing it to glide through them. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. I smiled. That knot in my stomach had finally released and had now been replaced by a strong warmth. Something then occurred to me. I checked my bracelet.

'Harry,' I whispered.

'Hmm?' he murmured. He sat up, allowing me to do so to. 'What is it?' Harry asked, brushing back my hair.

'I think I'm ready,' I said quietly. I gave him a smile. 'I think I'm ready to take the next step.'

Harry stared at me. His mouth twitched, a grin slowly appearing.

'Really?' Harry shifted closer to me. 'Are you sure this is what you want?'

'Yeah, I'm sure. I want to sleep with you.'

A few days later I was still in a bit of a daze at the fact I had agreed to sleep with Harry. It was a big decision but I didn't regret it. A part of me was pretty sure that, had there not been that little obstacle my body had presented, Harry and I would probably have done it the other night. All those feelings I'd experienced that night. I had been so turned on by Harry; I couldn't believe how my body had been reacting to him. The following day Harry and I had another conversation about it to confirm we were both ready to take the next step. Harry had been for a while now, a good month or so, and I was very flattered at the fact he'd waited so long for me to be too. Now it was just a matter of when. We knew we didn't want it to be so planned that it took the fun out of it but we also didn't want to do it spur of the moment either. In the end we agreed to wait another week or so, so that we could both prepare ourselves. After that, if it happened, it happened.

The first thing I did when I got a free moment was write home to Mum for some advice. I knew if Dad found out he'd get all protective of me so I gave Gadget strict instructions to deliver it when Dad wasn't there. A few days later I got her reply. Attached with the letter was a folded piece of parchment with two spells written on it. I took the parchment and slipped it into my pocket knowing I couldn't risk losing it. Mum said they were vital for a girl to know if she was in a serious relationship.

When I read those words in her letter a part of me seemed to hesitate. I'd never really thought about it that way but Harry and I were in a serious relationship, more serious than my relationship with Noah had been or his with Ginny. To my knowledge, Harry was still a virgin; let's put it this way, if he'd slept with Ginny we would all know because Ron would have found out and murdered him for it. I thought about this. Harry was the only person I could imagine doing this with and I wanted to do this. I smiled at the thought. Harry was my first serious relationship and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The day when it finally happened came much sooner than I anticipated. A week had passed and I was sitting in the Gryffindor Tower with the others doing homework. Harry and Ron were talking animatedly to each other. That Wednesday they had received letters from the Ministry with the dates of their physical in the coming weeks and both were excited about it. Hermione positively beamed at Ron when they told us the news. Unfortunately they had been placed in separate groups; Harry's was first out of the two of them, his being in the afternoon of the Monday and Ron in the morning of the following Wednesday.

'It's a pity they didn't put us in the same group,' Ron said, re-reading his letter. 'We'll have to let McGonagall know when our tests are so we can get permission to leave that day.'

'Well Jenna and I've got to see McGonagall later this week about the Harvest Dance,' said Harry. 'I'll mention our tests and let her know when we've got them. Has Neville heard back from the Ministry yet? Wasn't he also applying to be an Auror?'

'Dunno,' shrugged Ron, 'but if we have, he should've heard back by now.'

I wrote the final sentence of my Potions essay and put down my quill. I stretched out and let out a yawn.

'I've finished my essay so I think I'm going to call it a night,' I told the others. 'Plus Ginny wants to do an early morning practice tomorrow as the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw's next week.' I turned to Harry. 'Are you coming or are you going to stay here a bit longer?'

'I think I'm done too,' said Harry. He picked up the piece of parchment he'd been writing on and put it in his textbook, the placed it in his bag. He got up and put it on his shoulder. 'We'll see you guys tomorrow.'

Harry and I bade Ron and Hermione goodnight and left the common room. We didn't have patrols tonight for once so we were enjoying our freedom. We walked back to the Head's Tower hand in hand in no particular rush. I loved it when we held hands; they seemed so right like that. Harry said the password and Ambrosia admitted us. We dumped our bags on the sofa and took off our shoes. We always did this. Harry and I then went upstairs to our dormitories. I walked with him to his as he couldn't go near mine so I could say goodnight.

'I'll probably see you at breakfast tomorrow after practice,' I said, standing in his doorway. My fingers were gently playing with his by our sides.

'Right,' said Harry. 'I'll see you tomorrow then. Night, Jen.'

I gave Harry a gentle kiss on the lips and said, 'Night.' I didn't move though. Harry and I just stood there until we both laughed.

'Night, Jenna,' Harry said again.

He stepped closer and gave me a small kiss on the lips. He pulled back and again we just stood there. I moved closer and kissed him again, this time for a little longer before pulling back. We watched each other for about a minute longer before Harry closed the gap separating us and engaged me in a long slow kiss. I put my arms round his neck and responded. I felt his hands on my waist and he pulled me into his room, turning us round so he could kick the door shut behind us.

I don't know how long we remained like this. We just stood there kissing, deepening it after a few minutes; we had been together so long it just came naturally to us now. I reached up and took hold of Harry's tie. We broke apart only long enough so I could remove it, Harry then doing the same to mine. Harry gently brushed back my hair. Next, I felt his hand run down the side of my body until I felt him grasp my hip. I pushed off my toes and Harry picked me up, his hands holding me just beneath my bum. I automatically wrapped my legs around his waist to bring myself closer. Slowly Harry walked across the room to his bed. He gently placed me down then sat beside me. We continued to kiss, completely content in our own world. I felt Harry lower me on to the bed so my head was on his pillow. Harry lay lightly on top of me, resting on his elbow so he didn't lie directly on me. His hand ran up my leg. I felt it go beneath my skirt.

'Harry, wait,' I gasped, breaking the kiss. Harry sat up. I did so too. I took my wand out of my skirt pocket and pointed it at my abdomen. I felt a small burst of heat as I said the spell. Harry watched.

'What was that?' he asked.

'A Contraceptive Charm,' I said quietly. I looked at Harry. 'We don't want to risk anything.'

'But I have a condom,' said Harry.

'A what?'

'Er – don't worry. So, we're really going to do this?' Harry said next. He stroked my cheek. 'Are you sure you want to sleep with me?'

My face took on an irritated look. He'd asked me that almost every day since I first told him. I put my hands on Harry's shoulders and pushed him on to his bed. He went down obediently. Harry stared up at me. I smiled. I got to my knees and crawled forwards so I was straddling him. I leant down and kissed his lips.

'You ask me that one more time, Harry Potter, and I swear I'll hex you,' I told him. Harry laughed. 'Just shut up and kiss me.'

Harry didn't need telling twice. Hand in my hair, he pulled me closer and we resumed the kiss. That knot I'd felt before instantly formed in my stomach. Harry sat up so he could deepen the kiss and gently turned us over so he was on top. I was in heaven. A part of me still couldn't believe this was happening. I ran my hand through Harry's hair, feeling it glide effortlessly through my fingers, then brought it round to his chest. My fingers found the top button of his shirt. One by one I undid them, then sat up so I could push it off his shoulders. It fell to the floor. Braving it, I traced my hand over the contours of his chest. I'd been dying to do that since I saw him after his shower. His muscles twitched ever so slightly at my touch. My heart raced. After a while Harry broke away from my lips. His cheek brushed mine as he started to kiss my neck. I let out a moan indicating I was enjoying it. Harry grinned through the kisses and began to move lower. He kissed me along my jaw and down to the base of my neck where the collar of my shirt stopped him.

'I think it's time we removed that,' he said.

His voice had changed to that deep husky one I loved. Shivers raced up my spine. His fingers trailed down my chest along the buttons of my shirt. I felt my breath catch. I knew he'd done it before but I couldn't help my nerves. When Harry started kissing my neck again, I relaxed. Harry's hands travelled back up my chest undoing the buttons, and he pulled it out from beneath me, his arms bringing me closer. My breathing deepened. His body felt so hot against mine. Harry wasn't finished though. With my shirt out of the way, Harry continued his path down my body; he kissed his way over my chest then down the centre of my stomach. I closed my eyes as that knot tightened. He came to a stop when he reached my belly button. I opened my eyes to see him look at it. His finger circled it once or twice before he leant down and started to kiss it. Harry ran his hand down my side then gently lifted up my skirt; I felt him take hold of the top of my tights. With both hands he slid them down my legs. They joined our shirts on the floor before Harry moved to my skirt. He found the zip on the side and lowered it. Moments later in a move I somehow missed, Harry removed my shirt so I was lying there in just my underwear. Harry kissed me once more on my stomach then returned to my lips. We kissed for a moment or two before I pulled back.

'My turn.' I put my hand on his shoulder and gently pushed Harry over so he would lie back. I got to my knees and straddled his waist. I smiled down on him. My hair cascaded over my shoulder as I leant forwards and tickled Harry's neck making him chuckle. 'I don't think it's fair you get to be so clothed while I'm just in my underwear.'

I moved closer and gently pressed my lips on his. I concentrated on those for a few minutes, my hand tangling into his hair, before moving my attention elsewhere. I tore my lips from his. Harry let out a whimper. I grinned. I moved lower and began to kiss Harry's collarbone. I ran my fingertip lightly down his chest, pressing butterfly kisses along the hot trail it left, going lower and lower until I reached his snail trail. I sat up and looked at Harry; he lay there staring back at me, a goofy smile on his face. I bit my lip then traced my finger over the line of hair that disappeared beneath his trousers before fingering his belt. I could feel my hands starting to shake. I fumbled a bit with the buckle but after a couple of tries I managed to undo it, his button and fly following quickly afterwards. Harry's breathing deepened, his chest rising and falling quicker than before. I then lay back over Harry and resumed the kiss. We turned over again so I was beneath Harry, just as I hoped. With Harry distracted, it gave me time for my hand to push Harry's trousers low enough so I had access to his boxers. I slid my hand beneath the material and cupped Harry's crotch. Harry's breath caught but he didn't break the kiss. He fought to hold on as I ran my hand over him once before somehow managing to push his trousers off his legs. Harry kicked them free.

Now both in nothing but our underwear, I could feel Harry beside me much more than I ever had before as we lay there kissing. In the momentary break, my mind was able to wander. I couldn't believe this was happening. My heart started to race again. This was Harry, someone I'd known for over ten years, my first friend, and we were moments away from having sex. Never had I imagined this would happen. I felt my nerves set in again and the tightness in my stomach grow. What if Harry wasn't impressed? What if he didn't like what I looked like naked? But hang on, this was Harry. He wasn't just my boyfriend; he was my best friend too. All I had to do was just be myself. The tightness released a little.

Harry broke the kiss and sat up. I opened my eyes to see he was staring down at my body, his emerald eyes taking in every detail. I took a breath. They focused in on my underwear, his finger touching the red lace pants I was wearing. I could tell he liked the look of them by the way his eyes were dilated. Harry looked up and his eyes met mine, a silent question in them. To answer it I sat up, put my arms round Harry's neck to pull him closer, and kissed his as passionately as I could master. Our kisses were much more rapid this time and I could sense the urgency in Harry's touch as we fell back on to the bed. His hips pressed into mine and I felt the bulge that had formed behind his boxers. Harry was more than ready. I moved my hand down his back until I found the band of his boxers and slipped my hand inside. I lightly teased my fingers over his erection. Instantly Harry gasped and grabbed my wrist to stop me.

'Bloody hands want it to end too quickly,' he muttered. I giggled. 'Do something about that.'

Harry placed my hands above my head and held them there with one of his before pressing his lips back against mine. I tried to free them, desperate to be able to touch Harry's body, but I'd forgotten how strong Harry was. His free hand, meanwhile, had other ideas. I gasped against his lips as Harry's hand grazed my thigh and went up my body. It felt rough on my skin but I loved every second of it. He began to stroke my side then slid beneath my back for the clip of my bra. Like before he managed to undo it with a single try. My back arched into his body giving him a chance to pull it free. My chest was now completely exposed to his attentions. Like before Harry tore himself away from my lips and began to kiss my breasts, his hand massaging the other, before switching. I gasped again at the feelings it caused in my body. But Harry had forgotten one thing: he'd let go of my hands.

With my hands now free, they went straight back to his waist. I hooked my thumbs into the band of his boxers and carefully slid them down to free him, using my foot to remove them completely. I hadn't, however, noticed what Harry's hands were doing. While I had been busy with his boxers, he had been interested in my own. Distracting me with his kiss, Harry had finished his attentions on my chest and ran his hand back down my body to my pants. With one sleek move, Harry slipped his hand into them and began to stroke my most private place.

'Oh God!' I gasped, burying my face in his neck. Harry smiled and continued. I began to pant as ecstasy shot through my veins from Harry's movements. My hips pressed into his hand desperate to feel him more. Harry shifted himself so he had better access, stopping only to remove my knickers completely. The knot tightened to the point where I could bear it no longer. 'Harry, please, I –'

Harry stopped, giving me a brief respite. I opened my eyes to look at him, a thin trail of sweat on my forehead. Harry looked back at me, sitting up. My eyes travelled over his body, his gorgeous body, stopping when I saw his erection. Instantly I felt my cheeks grow hot. He looked so … big. For a moment my previous fears came back that this was going to hurt. Harry must have seen this in my eyes as he lay down on me and gently kissed my lips.

'Don't worry,' he told me softly. 'I won't let anything happen to you.'

I swallowed and nodded. Harry gave me a reassuring smile, kissed me again, then sat up. Gently he nudged my legs apart with his knee and positioned himself. I looked away and focused on the canopy of Harry's bed. I tried to control my nerves but they were building rapidly. He touched me one last time down there before I felt him enter me. He pushed as gently as he could but I couldn't hold back the whimper that escaped my throat.

'It'll be OK,' he said. 'Just relax.'

I nodded and took a deep breath. I felt Harry withdraw slightly before – With one sharp thrust Harry broke through my barrier and entered me fully. I let out a cry, feeling the tear leak from my closed eyes. Instantly, Harry moved closer and took my hand, kissing my forehead. He stopped as he allowed me to adjust, holding me to his body to reassure me.

'You OK?' I knew he could feel me shake slightly beneath him. I fought to regain my breathing before nodding for him to continue. I opened my eyes to look into Harry's; he smiled at me, his hand stroking my face. 'We'll take this slow.'

Harry propped himself on his elbows, his hand still holding mine. I felt him pull out again before pushing back in, his hips moving in a rhythmic wave. He barely moved at first as I got used to it before making longer movements. And to my surprise, it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would and a sigh escaped me. In fact, it actually felt quite pleasurable. I wrapped my arms round Harry's neck as he thrust into me, my body relaxing. Our chests rose and fell in almost complete sync. The heat between our bodies grew. At my request Harry started to move faster. The knot in my stomach grew tighter again as I felt the pressure build up in my lower body. Tighter and tighter it got until I was panting in Harry's arms. Harry too began to pant, a drip of sweat trailing down his cheek.

'Faster, please –'

Harry complied. He moved faster, thrusting harder into me. I bit my lip trying to hold on but I knew I was seconds from oblivion. My nails dug into Harry's back, my body convulsing beneath him. I could tell Harry too was close when he groaned as he moved inside me.

'Oh God –' he groaned. 'Jenna –'

He didn't stop. The pressure was getting unbearable. I felt like I was going to burst.

'Harry, I'm –' I panted. 'I'm –'

I didn't get the sentence out as seconds later I moaned with pleasure. This was it, I knew it. Harder and harder Harry thrust into me until he pushed me right over my limit. My eyes snapped open and I cried out, shouting Harry's name at the top of my lungs. In seconds Harry muffled my voice by pressing his lips hard against mine. He continued to thrust in me a little longer until he too reached his threshold and I felt Harry released inside me. He broke the kiss and instead buried his face in my neck as he shouted my name. My breathing finally began to slow. I turned my face so I could see Harry and gently kissed his cheek. Our bodies were damp with sweat. Carefully Harry withdrew and lay down beside me. We gazed at each other. I smiled through my pants, happier than I'd ever felt before.

'That was – amazing …' breathed Harry. He touched my cheek. 'You're – so beautiful …'

I blushed. Harry chuckled quietly then put his arms round me to bring me closer. He tilted my chin to kiss me one last time then pulled the blankets over us. I settled down in his arms, my head resting on his chest, and together we fell asleep.

AN: well there you have it. I don't know when the next chapter will be up will be posted so you'll just have to be patient. Again, I did my best not to be too smutty and not lose how Jenna sees things but I hope I did it justice. Hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review. Also do vote on the poll on my profile page if something should happen to Jenna.