Rory knocked on Harry's bedroom door and heard a twin pair of voices welcome her inside. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. Harry and Ron were sitting on their respective beds, both of them in the midst of schoolwork.

"Hey, what's up?" Harry asked.

"Here for Ron, actually," Rory said digging in her bag. "History of Magic notes."

"You're a lifesaver," Ron said as she pulled the notes from her bag. "Hermione would kill me if I asked her again."

"Well, you do ask her all the time. You might try staying awake for your classes every once in a while," she said handing him the notes. She sat down beside Harry on his bed, letting her legs dangle over the side.

"You let Harry borrow your notes every time he falls asleep in class and don't complain," Ron said.

"Well, Hermione's not your girlfriend. She doesn't have to tolerate your slacking the way I have to tolerate his," Rory said.

"'Tolerate?'" Harry asked.

"Yes. Tolerate," Rory said pointedly, looking at him over his shoulder.

"Sounds like you might want to make an effort as well, mate," Ron said.

"Clearly," Harry said. He tickled her sides and laughed, as she swatted his hand away.

It had been two weeks since their last detention with Umbridge. Things in class were always tense, but Harry had kept to his word and avoided provoking Umbridge any further. The words on the back of their hand were starting to fade from the deep, angry red they had been to a less intense shade of pink.

They were both in a better mood, and more relaxed as a result. Things felt almost normal again.

"But before I start trying harder, could I possibly borrow your charms notes?" Harry asked. "Just for clarification purposes?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "I suppose."

She reached into her bag and pulled out her notebook and handed it to Harry, but not before first gently whacking him on the head with it. He laughed and gave her a quick kiss.

"Thanks," he said. "I appreciate you."

"Yeah, you'd better," she said. "Do you mind if I do my homework here since you're holding my notebook hostage?"

"Go ahead," Ron said getting up from his bed. "I'm leaving."

"Why?" Rory asked.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think either of you is going to get much homework done right now. I'd rather not be present for the snog fest," Ron said. "I'll go and bug Hermione. And I'll lock the door behind myself."

"We're really just going to do homework," Rory insisted.

Ron nodded as he walked to the door. "I completely believe you." Rory stuck her tongue out at him. "Have fun with your 'homework.'"

He pulled the door open, made a show of twisting the lock on the back of the door, and then walked out, closing the door behind himself.

"He's probably traumatized," Rory said, pulling her bag open again. She made to grab blank parchment from her bag, but Harry grabbed her hand and kissed her. "What was that for?"

"I felt like it," he said. And he kissed her again.

"Charms essay," she reminded him with a chuckle.

"I know," he said, gently plucking her bag from her hands. He dropped to the floor with a thud. "But Ron did lock the door." He laid her back against his pillows and Rory, didn't bother to argue with him. She pulled him down to her lips and his fingers tangled themselves in her hair. His weight settled down upon her.

His lips moved down her jaw to her neck. Her whole body tingled and she let her hands come to rest on his shoulders. His tongue and his teeth on her skin, moving lower and lower. He gently nudged her blouse to the side so he kissed new parts of her. She shuddered.

And his hand rose higher and higher up her thigh, and anxiety started to bubble inside of Rory. She had to tell him something before things went further.

Rory pulled away from him and placed a hand on his chest.

"Harry, wait a minute," she said.

"Do you want to stop?" Harry asked, quickly pulling his hands away.

"No, no, no," she said shaking her head vigorously. "Not that it. It's just I…" Her already flushed cheeks seemed to redden even deeper. Her eyes looked away from his. "I've never… I never… You know… Like touched myself there before, so I don't know what to… I don't know what it's supposed to be like."

"Oh," Harry said. He kissed her again. "You know I don't think I've ever seen you nervous before. It's kind of cute."

"Haha," Rory said smacking him playfully on the chest. He kissed her again and let his lips trail down her jaw to her neck. She felt a mixture of relief and longing as his hand found its way beneath her skirt again.

"Just tell me if it feels good or not," Harry said. Rory nodded with his lips against her neck. His fingers stroked her through her panties and her breath caught in her throat as the new sensation flooded her senses.

"That feels good," she said quietly.

"Good," he said. "Because I have no idea what I'm doing either."

So far, Rory had no complaints. He hadn't even moved her panties out of the way and all she could think about was how she wanted to feel more of this.

Rory kissed him hard, almost attacking him with a smattering of open-mouthed kisses, tasting him as his fingers danced beneath her skirt. She felt a tightness pooling in her belly, and it seemed as though her now uncomfortably wet panties were hindering her from feeling her much wanted release.

"Can I take these off?" Harry asked as if reading her mind.

"Please," she answered. She hadn't wanted to sound quite so desperate, but she was aching to feel his fingers directly against her. She could only imagine what it must be like considering how good it felt through her underwear.

He pulled the panties down her legs and dropped them somewhere on his bed. She pulled his lips back to hers and his fingers slid tentatively up her thigh. Her body shuddered and she could feel the warmth radiating from between her legs as Harry neared.

The first brush of his fingers against her skin sent a jolt of electricity through her. She whimpered against his lips. His finger traced her slit, up and down, and it was all she could do to remember to breathe.

And then he pushed a finger into her. Her body went rigid from the shock at how delightful it felt. She moaned his name and buried her face into his chest. Her head was swimming., The only coherent word she could get out was his name, and before long, even that failed her.

She was close, so close, she could taste it. To what she didn't know, but she wanted to summit whatever mountain she was about to crest.

Harry pushed a second finger into her. Rory felt her body clenching and squeezing around him and she drowned in the sensation of him filling her body more. It took her by surprise when that ever-tightening coil in her belly snapped and unleashed a wave of heat and light and electricity surging through her body. Her fingers curled around Harry's arms, she repeated his name like a prayer into his chest. Oh, Merlin, she'd never felt anything so wonderful in her whole life.

His hand came to rest on her thigh as she tried to catch her breath, coming down from her wonderful high. The only sound in the room was the sound of her deep breathing.

"So it felt alright, then?" Harry teased, his breath on her neck. A chill rippled down her spine and she chuckled. She rolled onto her side and kissed him. She didn't want to stop. She wanted to kiss him all over and feel him all over. Her lips moved down his neck and he clenched her thigh tighter.

"Take that as a yes then," he replied. Rory chuckled. Her hand slinked down his chest until she reached his waist. She could feel the bulge in his pants. She caressed him through his trousers and a soft moan rippled from out of him. She unbuttoned his pants as her mouth found his again.

She felt inclined to return the favor.


"Have you and Harry thought about what I asked you?" Hermione asked Rory in Arithmancy the next day.

"Hm?" Rory replied, looking up from her work. "What?"

"About the extra lessons? Hermione whispered.

"Oh, right," Rory said. "Harry said it's mostly luck on his part. He doesn't want anyone to get their hopes up."

"You really think he can keep pretending he's not good at Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Hermione asked. "Remember last year when Moody used the Imperius Curse on us? Harry was the only one who could shake it off. And the Patronus Charm-."

"I know, I know," Rory said. "I've tried to remind him how talented he is on more than one occasion."

"He'll do it if you tell him you think he should. He already said he won't do it without your help," Hermione said.

Rory sighed. "I don't want to force him to. I don't want it to be another thing that's stressing him out. He's grumpy enough as it is."

"I know, but he'd be excellent at it," Hermione said. "You know he would be."

"I'll talk to him again. But you don't seem to be concerned at all with convincing me," Rory said.

"That's because you know it's a good idea," Hermione said.

It was a good idea. And Harry would be an excellent teacher. He was exceptionally good at Defense Against the Dark Arts despite arguing that he was just lucky. Harry wanted to be an Auror. He couldn't be an Auror if he wasn't good, and he was. He was better than Rory. Better than Hermione.

Rory could have all the book smarts she wanted, but when it came down to pure talent and instinct, Harry had it. Just like everyone in her class could memorize their divination textbooks and know everything about it, but not hold a candle to Rory because she was a true seer.

When class was over, Rory found Harry and looped an arm through his as they walked toward transfigurations.

"Hermione asked about the extra lessons again," Rory said.

"I told her I dunno if it's a good idea," Harry said.

"Well, I kind of think it is," Rory said. "You think it's all luck, but Harry, you're actually really brilliant in that arena."

"You know you're my girlfriend and you're obligated to say things like that," Harry said.

"Well, I'm not just saying that. Lovey, there are full-grown wizards who can't produce a full Patronus like you can. And you tell me how much cleverer and smarter I am than you all the time, but when's the last time you saw me produce anything other than mist when I tried to make a Patronus?" Rory asked.

Harry seemed to smile a bit at this, and Rory was glad about it. Harry always thought he wasn't as smart or as good as Rory at magic, but there was quantifiable evidence that he was better than he thought.

"That's one spell," Harry said.

"One ridiculously advanced spell. And besides, do you expect to become an Auror if you're just mediocre at defensive magic?" Rory asked.

Harry sighed. "You think I should do it?"

"I do," Rory said. "But I told Hermione I wasn't going to talk you into something you don't want to do, but-."

"I think everyone needs it," Harry said. "I mean with Umbridge teaching… Well, I guess she isn't really teaching anything."

"Exactly," Rory said.

"And you'll help me?" he asked.

"Of course. I know how to make a lesson plan and everything," Rory replied.

He kissed her square on the lips and she giggled. "Then let's do it then."

As they headed towards Transfigurations, Cho Chang saw them.

"Hi Harry," Cho said, stopping, her friend Marietta Edgecombe standing beside her.

"Hey, Cho," Harry said.

"Did you see Malfoy added Crabbe and Goyle to their roster as beaters?" she asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"It'll be an easy win at least," Cho said. "Especially for you."

Cho's cheeks flushed pink and Rory found herself feeling rather territorial of Harry. Why was Cho blushing when she was talking to Rory's boyfriend? Why was she flirting with Harry at all? Rory didn't like it one bit. And she knew it was stupid to be jealous, but this wasn't the first time Cho was hanging around chatting with Harry like Rory wasn't even standing there.

"Well, Harry's got the best record of all the current seekers playing right now, so I think that'd be obvious even if Slytherin has a crap team," Rory said.

Cho looked at Rory and blinked at her for a moment as if suddenly realizing she was there. Then her eyes went back to Harry.

"Anyway, I'll talk to you later, Harry," Cho said pointedly.

Harry waved goodbye and Cho walked over. Rory squeezed Harry a little tighter.

"I think Cho fancies you," Rory said.

"Why?" Harry scoffed.

"I just can tell. She's Ravenclaw's seeker, talking about how easily you especially can beat Slytherin," Rory said.

"You said so yourself I'm the best seeker out right now," Harry said.

"Yes, but no one pays attention to stats except me," Rory said. "She's flirting with you. She didn't even say hello to me. Pretended like I wasn't even there. She's been doing it since school started."

"What's it matter if she likes me if I'm not interested in her?" Harry asked. "I love you."

There was that. Maybe Rory just needed some reassurance that this girl hanging around wasn't going to be a problem. Still, Rory wished Harry was bright enough to see that Cho was flirting and that he would at least acknowledge Rory when Cho was pretending his girlfriend wasn't standing right beside him.

Harry had had a crush on Cho back before they were dating. Rory knew this. It didn't bother her. At least it hadn't until Cho started coming around now and that Harry paid her any attention.

"I love you too," Rory said.

Harry wrapped an arm around Rory's shoulder and pulled her close.

Rory always felt safe and reassured when Harry held her like this, but now, for some reason, she felt a bit uneasy. Certainly, Harry would never sneak around with Cho, that wasn't who he was. But what if he liked Cho more than Rory? What if he thought she was prettier or funnier or that they had more in common? What if he just got tired of Rory?


Harry loved watching Rory read. She was always so absorbed in her reading that she shut everything else out, even him. She'd twirl her fingers through her dark, curly hair, occasionally mouthing the words of what she read. Every so often, she'd stop reading and scribble something down in her notebook, or in the margins of her text.

Aurora Lupin was the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid his eyes upon. He loved her, distractingly so, because he spent too much time staring at her while she studied to remember to do his own reading.

Today was no different. Though he tried not to stare at her when they were sitting with their friends. But Harry was absolutely smitten. And he wasn't that diligent of a student before he'd started dating Rory anyway.

He sat in the common room with Rory, but also Ron, Hermione, and Neville, all looking over Transfiguration notes in preparation for their upcoming test in two days. Harry felt it was almost a formality that Hermione and Rory studied with them because they knew everything.

"You know, Harry, sometimes I think about how your dad was an unregistered animagus and it pisses me off because sometimes I have to reread a passage five times before I understand the concept," Rory said suddenly. "But thirteen-year-old James Potter can just poof himself into a stag super simple easy."

"Well, Sirius can as well," Harry said.

"All the more reason for me to be frustrated," Rory said. She looked to Hermione. "Think you could do it?"

"If I put my mind to it, I suppose," Hermione said.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Can you try not to be so brilliant for five minutes and make me feel normal?"

"You could probably if you really wanted," Hermione said. "You said you like the challenge of McGonagall's class."

"I do, but right now I just want to nap," Rory said. "And it's only going to get worse. My brain feels like soup."

Before Hermione could comment further, Matilda came hopping down the stairs and right over to them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow my OG squad," Matilda said.

"'OG squad?'" Ron asked.

"Rory and Neville," Hermione said.

"We need to have a conference, in my room if you don't mind," Matilda said.

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow," Rory said gathering up her things. She leaned over to Harry and kissed him.

"So what does 'OG Squad' mean?" Ron asked once Neville and Rory had gone.

"'OG' used to stand for 'original gangster' but now people just use it to mean 'original.' And squad is just your gang. Your people," Hermione said.

"Right," Ron said. "Muggles have so much slang."

"I never know what anyone here is talking about half the time," Harry admitted. He relied heavily on context clues and Rory.

"I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to upset Rory," Hermione said, "is she doing alright?"

"Yeah. What do you mean? Harry asked.

"She's just been distracted is all," Hermione said. "She seems all over the place."

Harry shrugged. "She hasn't had a good feeling about school since we got off the train. Umbridge makes her crazy. And she hasn't been able to talk to Firenze or Trelawney since school started because Umbridge has everyone on such a tight leash."

Hermione pouted. "I'm glad she has you to talk to about all this. She doesn't tell anyone else anything."

And why should she? Harry wondered. Hermione and Ron were his friends, after all. Not that Rory didn't trust them, but Hermione hadn't even felt comfortable asking Rory this herself. Just like Matilda had stolen Rory and Neville away to talk to them in private, just because he and Rory were dating, it didn't mean that every facet of their friends' lives got shared with everyone. Rory and Harry shared all the bits about Voldemort that were important, but other things didn't matter to everyone.

"She's fine," is all Harry said. Rory was the only one who kept him informed of anything all summer. She was the only one who understood where all of his frustration was coming from. If she wanted to hold back from them for a little while longer, Harry would not tell her to do otherwise.

Just then, Rory came running down the stairs. She put her hands on Hermione's shoulders.

"Dorm mom, we need you," Rory said.

Hermione groaned. "Do you?" Rory leaned down and whispered in Hermione's ear. Hermione's jaw dropped. In what seemed like one swift motion, Hermione shoved everything into her bag and scrambled from the table. "Goodnight."

Before Harry and Ron could get a word in edgewise, the girls were gone.

"What the bloody hell do you think that was about?" Ron asked.

"Probably something we don't want to know about," Harry said. "Could be anything if it's Matilda."

"Right," Ron agreed. "Don't think it's about Fred, do you?"

"I really would rather not speculate on that," Harry said.

"True," Ron said. He stared down at his book for a moment and then looked up at Harry. "Have you and Rory… You know… Done it?"

Harry felt his whole face go red.

"No. We haven't done that," Harry said. Ron nodded. "I mean… Other stuff."

"Figured that bit out on my own," Ron said, shuddering as if he were truly traumatized.

"I don't think either of us is ready for that," Harry said. He definitely wasn't. Fooling around and touching each other was one thing, but actual sex? No, Harry did not see that in the cards for Rory and him for a while. A long while.

"Right," Ron said with a nod.

Harry didn't blame Ron for being curious. He would certainly be curious if the roles were reversed.