Harry's mind slowly began to stir as the night came to an end. Early in the night, he'd been having a nightmare about Professor Quirrel's turban trying to tell him he belonged in Slytherin, and being dragged somewhere...but that had come to a startling end when the turban had suddenly been attacked and torn apart by a pack of squirrels, only for one of them to turn into Penny and pull him into a warm hug, reassuring him that he was worth being him. After that, he'd slept undisturbed in that warm embrace in the dream. As he began to awaken, the dream faded...but the warmth of the embrace didn't. He frowned uncertainly as he noticed that, his eyes slowly opening as he noticed the tail around his neck felt like fabric rather than fur. Without his glasses, he couldn't see too clearly, but the dark purple blur that hadn't been there when he'd gone to sleep told him something had changed. The gentle breathing on his neck confirmed that, and despite the situation the hug definitely felt familiar. "P...Penny?" he asked in confusion, doing his best to keep his voice down.

Penny let out an adorable sound somewhere between a yawn and a squeak as her eyes fluttered open. "Morning, Harry," she offered without the slightest bit of bashfulness, plainly completely unfazed by the current situation. She then nuzzled into his chest.

"Uh...what are you doing in my bed?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Couldn't sleep," she answered readily. "Didn't know if you'd had enough hugs to get through the night. Turned out I was right, you were having a nightmare. So I'm here to give you more hugs." She turned her head back and forth against his chest. "Mmm...you're comfy..."

Harry was uncertain how to react to this. On the one hand, part of him was pretty sure this wasn't the normal thing to happen. After all, everyone had been given their own bed and the boys and girls were sorted into separate sides of the dorm. On the other hand, Penny plainly saw nothing odd about this situation, and her social experience dwarfed his own, so maybe she knew better? He'd also heard other kids in elementary school talk about 'sleepovers', though Dudley'd never had one at the Dursley's, so Harry didn't know how those normally went. Was this how it worked? He also didn't really want to upset Penny by making a fuss...and it did feel rather nice, and was probably the best night's sleep he'd had for as long as he could remember... "I'm...comfy?" he clarified.

"Yup!" Penny confirmed happily, though her voice was still quiet as she plainly wasn't fully awake. "Not as hard as Papa, not as soft as Mama...nice and comfy nest sleeping..."

Well, that explained things to Harry, assuming he interpreted that right. Did Penny's whole family share a nest for bedtime? Well, she did seem to have a lot of squirrel instincts which she - apparently - shared with her mother, so that made some sense. Eventually, Harry decided not to really think about it. He knew he'd be encountering a lot of unusual things as he entered the Wizarding World, and this one was unquestionably pleasant. Managing to wrap his arms around her, he held Penny close as he relaxed. "You're comfy too..." he murmured as he tried to slip back to sleep.

Before he could, however, Penny's tail twitched. As it was apparently wrapped in fabric, this was much more noticeable. "I think it's time to get up," she whispered softly. "Feels like the castle's waking up."

Harry wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he did notice the barest hint of the beginning of dawn as the light subtly shifted. "Guess so..." he murmured thoughtfully.

"Gotta get back to Hufflepuff," Penny added sadly as she began to wriggle out of Harry's embrace. "All my clothes are there. Can't really walk through the castle in my jammies."

"How are you going to get back then?" Harry asked in confusion as he released her.

"Same way I got in!" she offered with a warm smile as she raced to the door. "See you at breakfast Harry!" With that, she vanished down the stairs, and he could just barely hear the window of the common room creak open as she slipped out.

"Right..." Harry muttered as he lay back. "Squirrel...walls are just roads for her, aren't they?" He shifted slightly, getting more of himself into the warm spot she'd left behind in his covers. It made it feel like she'd left a hug behind for him...

Penny easily slipped into her dorm room in silence before making her way back to her bed. Shifting the pillows back out of the way, she then proceeded to get dressed in her robes. She wasn't sleepy anymore - sleeping cuddled up with Harry had been wonderfully restful, and the morning climb down the castle back to her room had been wonderfully bracing - so she decided to get an early start on breakfast. She knew what her appetite was like, and she didn't want to be too rushed. Once dressed, she raced back down to the Common Room...only to nearly run into a very perturbed Professor Sprout.

"And just where were you last night?" the Professor demanded coldly. "You are supposed to be in bed after curfew."

"I was in bed after curfew!" Penny insisted with a wide smile. "Stayed in bed until it felt like it was time to start the day, and now I'm going to breakfast!"

"And which bed, precisely, were you in?" Sprout pressed firmly. "Because I know you weren't in yours. I do bed checks, after all."

"Oh," Penny allowed in surprise. "Well, I was in bed after curfew, and stayed there the whole night-"

"Which bed, Miss Wyrm?"

Penny blinked in surprise. "Harry's bed."

Professor Sprout's eyebrows twitched. "Mr. Potter's bed?" she clarified. Penny nodded. "In Gryffindor Tower?" Another nod. "And Mr. Potter was...?"

"Also in bed," Penny confirmed happily.

Professor Sprout's eyes narrowed. "You shared a bed with a male student last night?" she demanded coldly.

"Well, yeah!" Penny confirmed, her head tilted as she wondered what was wrong with that. "He needed more hugs! I was worried about that, and I was right! He was having a nightmare!"

Professor Sprout let out a long, rueful sigh as she rubbed her temples. "And how did you get there before curfew, exactly?" she asked in a resigned tone of voice.

"I climbed!" Penny answered readily. "The windows are plenty big enough to climb through."

Professor Sprout's head jerked up in shock. "You climbed the outer walls of the castle in the middle of the night?!" she demanded intensely, the only reason it couldn't be called a 'shriek' was how quiet she was still being.

Penny shrugged dismissively. "It was easy. Barely a three on the climbing difficulty scale, and I was managing sevens by my seventh birthday."

Professor Sprout closed her eyes, taking a few calming breaths. "Setting that aside for a later discussion..." she pressed on. "I admit, this is hardly the first time I've had to tell one of my Puffs that 'being in bed after curfew' means their own bed..." She then glared irritably at Penny. "But this is the first time I've had to say that to a Firstie. If I catch you doing this again, it will cost you points and you will be receiving detention. Understood?"

"Yes Professor!" Penny agreed with a happy smile and a nod.

"Good!" Professor Sprout affirmed, glad that was settled. "Any questions?"

"What time do you do the bed checks?" Penny asked innocently.

Professor Sprout blinked several times. "I...beg your pardon?"

"Well, you said it would be point loss and detention if you caught me doing it again..."

"So you want to know what time I check so you don't get caught?" Professor Sprout demanded, struggling to keep herself calm.

"Well, isn't that easier on both of us?" Penny asked innocently.

Professor Sprout stared at her, seeming somewhat stupefied. "You're going to keep doing this even if I don't tell you, aren't you?"

"Harry still needs hugs," Penny stated firmly. "If that means losing points and getting detention...giving him the hugs he needs is worth it. But I'd rather avoid the point loss and detention if possible, so...when are those bed checks again?"

Professor Sprout buried her face in her hands. "Just...go to breakfast..." she instructed firmly. "I need to speak with the Headmaster about this. I'll let you know what he has to say about your antics this evening before curfew."

"Okay, Professor!" Penny said happily before dashing to the exit, making her way to the Great Hall.

"You can handle this Pomona..." Professor Sprout murmured under her breath after she left. "Minerva managed four of them, you've only got one to deal with...you can handle this..."