Sorry had to take a break, so I'm a little slow to update. My brain was sizzling from overwork. :D

The D.A. started up again and Harry found he wasn't pestering Terry nearly as much as he had been before. Instead, he was hanging around Theodore and instructing the quickly improving Neville Longbottom.

Meanwhile in Occlumency, Harry was sure he wasn't making any progress and he confessed these fears to his Professor.

"My scar is hurting more than it did." Harry confided. "And the dreams...they're the same every night. I keep going down that corridor towards that door."

"You need to clear your mind before you go to bed." Snape instructed. "Practice before and after every meal and when you first get up in the morning. Every opportunity you get to, you should practice clearing your mind. Don't wait until the lessons. While you bathe or performing any mundane task or during History of Magic."

Harry laughed at this last bit. "Theodore tell you?"

"Who else?"

"Sir..." Harry glanced over at the Penseive. "What memories are you hiding?"

"If I wanted you to know I wouldn't put them in there, would?" Snape's sarcastic tone made Harry roll his eyes and the continued their lesson.

Time flew by and before Harry knew it, Valentine's Day had arrived and with it a request from Theodore.

"Need you to meet me in the Three Broomsticks around noon." He explained. "Is important because it's taken me this entire time to convince her."

"What?" Harry furrowed his brows. "Theo, I'm going with Terry into..."

"Let him tag along then." Theodore gave an exasperated sigh as his eyes showed his revulsion. "Just be there."

Harry sighed and started off towards the entrance hall where he met Terry Boot.

"Hey, Harry." Terry gave a timid smile. Harry knew the other boy had noticed how much Harry hadn't been hanging around.

"Hi." Harry tried to quell his nervousness. "Shall we go then?"

"Yeah." Terry quickly nodded and they set off down the path.

It took a little while to get talking, but once they did the butterflies settled down in Harry's stomach. They talked about Quidditch and the D.A. and the spells they'd been covering. Soon they were in Hogsmeade, wandering around looking around through the shops and visiting the Shrieking Shack.

This last bit had been the breaking point.

Terry had decided, standing together amongst the wet grass with nearly-budding blossoms all around them, to lean in and give Harry a kiss when Harry, mind trying to focus on how to tell Terry they were meeting up with Theodore, hadn't really wanted to kiss him, which had resulted in Harry not and pushing him away gently.

Giving Harry an irritated look, Terry swallowed hard and said, "You've been off a bit, Harry. Did something happen over the holidays?"

"N-no." Harry shook his head. "I've just been busy with O.W.L.s study and the D.A. and extra classes with Snape that I'm kind of tired."

"You've been off during D.A. as well." Terry pointed out, his voice becoming accusatory.

"Well, Theo's been a bit mad at me."

"Nott?" Harry didn't miss the repulsion in Terry's voice. "Is that why you've been hanging around him so much during D.A.?"

"Neville's needed the extra encouragement actually." Harry lied.

Terry gave a snort of disbelief. "I can't believe you. You know, everyone told me I shouldn't like you. They all said you liked Nott and wouldn't return the feelings. I really got my hopes up, you know. I really thought you did like me, but I think I was wrong."

"I do like you." Harry objected, surprised by the sudden burst of anger. "I just...it's..."

"That doesn't sound like you're so sure."

Harry winced. "I like you, Terry. I just have a lot on my mind..."

"You mean, you have Nott on your mind?"

Anger surged upward into Harry's chest. "Hey, what's with this? I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"It's clear you'd rather not be." Terry argued. "You were thinking about Nott."

"This is ridiculous." Harry snapped.

"You think I'm ridiculous?"

"Yeah, actually, I do." Harry turned and started walking off without another word and headed into Hogsmeade.

He knew that if Terry went after him, he'd see him go straight to Theodore, but he didn't care.

Angrily, he stormed into the Three Broomsticks, spotted Theodore sitting along, and plopped down beside him. He couldn't help slumping in his seat.

"Are early." Theodore stated calmly.

"Terry and I got in a fight." Harry grumbled. "It's your fault."

"Good."

Harry wrinkled his nose and glared at his friend. "That's good? Me being unhappy is good? I don't know if you realized this, but I wanted to go out with him."

Theo looked at Harry with his passive features. "And now you know how I feel."

Sitting up, Harry made to leave, but Theodore grabbed him and pushed him back down. "Are here for a reason."

"Fine." Harry plopped back down in his seat.

Not long after, Luna appeared and Theodore introduced the Skeeter Beetle. He had apparently devised a plan where Harry would give an interview to Rita Skeeter depicting the truth about what had happened in June last year, which would then be printed for free in The Quibbler.

"Will earn your freedom and I will not inform the Ministry of your unregistered Animagus form." Theodore informed the beetle, who had not been let out of her jar and not been able to argue with them. "Will write only the truth about what Harry says and you will not elaborate in ridiculous ways. Are looking for extraordinary writing, not the rubbish you normally write. Understood?"

The beetle nodded and buzzed excitedly and he finally let her out of her jar. She morphed under the table and slid up. Her clothes were torn and worn looking and her hair wild upon her head and her face looked incredibly older without its make-up.

"I cannot believe you idiot boys kept me in a jar for all these months." She sounded like she was nearly in tears.

"If you tell anyone," Theodore warned. "Will put you back in it, tie it to a rock, and toss you in the Black Lake. No one would miss you."

She dabbed at her eyes, sniffing profusely, but still took the notepad and quill that Theodore handed her. "All right..." She cleared her hoarse throat. "The truth and nothing but the truth if you would, Mr. Potter?"

Harry, feeling a bit mischievous, began to tell the story while Luna hummed a tune he'd never heard. The only point he struggled over was when he had to list the Death Eaters who had participated. He skipped over Nott, but Theodore corrected him. They argued for a couple minutes before Luna insisted it would be best for people to know as it would make sure they didn't trust him. Finally, the meeting was over and the four of them finally parted ways.

"Are you sure you don't want me to put you in the jar and give you a good shake?" Theodore asked, a hint of malicious glee in his cool voice. "Think you liked that."

"You are the nastiest, evilest, cruelest, most disgusting little boy I have ever met." Rita was swallowing down the lump in her throat and batting her eyelashes ferociously to fight back the tears. She glared at Harry. "You thought what he did in front of you was bad, you should have seen what he'd do when...when...when..."

Bursting into great sobs, she turned and walked quickly away.

Harry turned to Theodore with a bored look on his face. "What did you do to her?"

"Broke her spirit." Theo replied smoothly. "Easier to handle that way."

"What did you do?"

The glint of malign delight had returned to Theodore's eyes. "Oh, various things: threatened to use her as bait on a fishing pole, threw a male beetle in the jar with her, put her jar in a terrarium with spiders, put her jar in an aquarium with large fish, put her jar over a fire a couple of times and pretended to drop her, pretended to forget her random places and leave her for hours, and I think I even knocked her off a balcony "accidentally", but thankfully she landed on the one pile of small cushions instead of the stone floor."

Harry's mouth was open a little in shock and sick awe. "You know...you might really be kind of evil."

"Taking that as a compliment." Theodore laughed lightly.

"You put a male beetle in her jar?"

"Yes." Theo's smile grew slightly.

"Couldn't that constitute as rape?"

"If he'd done something." Theo shrugged as if he wasn't concerned. "But he didn't."

"Lucky her."

"Maybe. Probably was her first time in ages to have something be attracted to her...but even her own kind didn't want her."

A laugh escaped Harry's mouth before he could contain it. "Oh, god, Theo, you're so...crude sometimes!"

"Like that side of me."

Harry stopped laughing and he glanced at his friend. "Theo, I like all sides of you."

Theo gave a snort of disbelief, but Harry just rolled his eyes as they continued to walk amongst the shops much the same as he had done earlier with Terry. This time felt different though. He was at ease, his stomach was all over the place inside him, and his heart hadn't jumped up out of his throat and hidden down an alley. More importantly, his mind wasn't wandering. It was right there with him and Theodore as they walked together.

"Why?" Harry finally whispered as they started up to the castle. "Why did you insist on me ratting out your father?"

"So I don't look special." Theodore explained, looking at Harry pointedly. "So that you're not giving me special privilege. Don't think for a second that You-Know-Who and his followers won't be reading this: they will be and if you give them even a hint of a weakness, they'll take it. Ratting my father out, shows you send no mercy even my direction."

Harry swallowed hard. "But I do, Theo."

"Can't let him see a weakness."

"It isn't a weakness." Harry stopped and Theo did the same after a moment, turning to face his friend. "It's probably one of the things that makes me strong and separates me from them."

"Love conquers all?" Theo gave a scoff. "Is Dumbledore nonsense, that is."

"So you think what Dumbledore says is nonsense?"

"Think he has some wisdom." Theo rectified. "But not every word from his mouth is gold."

Harry sighed. "All right. You're entitled to your opinion."

Theodore's smile was there for only a moment, but it was enough to tell Harry that he had said the right thing...for once.

"Thinking hot cocoa is going to be good once we get back to the castle." Theodore started walking again and Harry joined him. "Cold out tonight."

"Yeah?" Harry stepped closer to his friend and rested his head briefly against Theo's arm.

Theo seemed to stiffen slightly and gave Harry a slight warning glance before looking forward again. Though he had been optimistic moments before, Harry's heart quickly plunged down into ice cold depression.

"Will you ever date me, Theo?" Harry asked as they reached the castle. "Or should I try making up with Terry?"

A scathing sound that was almost like a snort and a chuckle escaped Theodore's mouth and he gave Harry a perplexed and appalled look. "That easy to switch between us?"

"I want you." Harry said adamantly, grabbing Theodore's elbow and forcing him to stop. "But I'm not going to hold my breath for you if you don't feel the same."

Theodore looked away from Harry and then turned back as if he'd made up his mind. "Can Legilimens, right?"

"S-sort of." Harry hadn't anticipated this and nervousness welled up inside of him.

"Than Legilimens me." Theodore told him. "Won't fight you."

Harry swallowed, his mouth suddenly arid. "I...that's...I'm not really good at it, Theo."

Theodore straightened and yanked his arm out of Harry's grasp. "Than I guess you'll never know."

By the time Harry had gathered all his feelings together and been able to start walking once more, Theodore was long gone.

And there you go. :D Damn Theo.