"Home, sweet home!"

Matthew patted the side of the Tardis, almost going as far as dusting it, once they were back in the confines of Hogwarts. He was busying himself with locking the doors, seemingly content with the work his ship had accomplished. As was often the case, he and Hermione found themselves in an abandoned classroom, though not for the purpose that the school's rumour mill would likely have imagined. Those salacious details were kept behind blue doors, thank you very much.

In all honesty, Hermione had come to dislike this part of the castle, though hating anything about Hogwarts was a bit of a stretch. Standing there, with Matthew messing with the gloriously impossible box, she couldn't help but be transported back to that final conversation they'd shared. The last moment they'd had together, in that same room, before he'd travelled to Diagon Alley. It was too difficult not to think about what was to come, when they knew that that particular fate was still waiting for them.

"It didn't feel right, having her in the forest," Matthew pressed on, oblivious to Hermione's inner turmoil. "Getting all dirty. She'll need a good rest after what she's been put through."

"We both know that she would have loved testing herself," Hermione argued.

Matthew smiled, patting the Tardis once more. "Good point. I should never have doubted her."

"It is a minor miracle that it worked, though."

"To be fair, we've been dealing in miracles since we first stepped foot in this school. We're still standing and, frankly, that's not something we're exactly entitled to with the threats we've dealt with over the years."

"Harry's still standing," Hermione said softly.

"He sure is," came the equally soft reply.

The young couple shared a relieved look. It wasn't something that they'd openly discussed very often, despite the fact that the problem had been constantly on their minds. They'd been faced with the prospect of losing Harry, with the two of them working through that anxiety whilst not wanting Harry to fret about them or the plans. It was a lot to cope with at such a tender age, regardless of everything else they'd witnessed. It was no wonder that Hermione's usually composed mind was slightly more frazzled than usual.

"Well, he's lying down at the moment," Matthew corrected himself. "In the hospital wing, though there's no change there. He should be getting a frequent customer discount. Last I heard, Sirius and Remus were watching over him like a pair of hawks, giving him the time to recover from the ordeal."

"And you…think he will? He'll be alright?"

"The horcrux is gone and he's still breathing. I'd call that a success. Not only have we removed another piece of the puzzle when it comes to defeating Voldemort, we've also managed that without any noble sacrifices along the way. Even if Harry was itching to play the role of the doomed hero."

"We couldn't have managed that without Enola's help."

Matthew hummed in noncommittal fashion and Hermione rolled her eyes, though there was some affection in her reaction. She loved her boyfriend. She utterly adored the boy. But he was as stubborn as a mule and became suspiciously tight-lipped whenever a certain person came up in conversation. Given the fact that he normally couldn't stop his mouth from working, it was always clear as day whenever he was uncomfortable about a particular topic.

Hermione folded her arms. "There you go again."

"What?" he replied innocently.

"You go strangely monosyllabic whenever I mention Enola. Or when anyone brings her up. You have to admit that she did a good job. She was the one who first detected the horcrux inside Harry. And the injection of power she provided, both from herself and her Tardis, could have made the world of difference."

"I'm perfectly willing to say that she's been an asset."

"Then why have you been in a mood ever since we helped Harry?"

"What mood?"

"Maybe you've been hiding it. But, really, you should be dancing through the corridors in celebration after what we managed to pull off. We saved Harry's life. And yet it's looked like you've been slapped in the face ever since he woke up. What's going on? What aren't you telling me? Because we've done the whole 'keep secrets from Hermione for her own good' thing a few times, and it never works out for you in the end."

Matthew sighed, leaning against his ship. "A part of me…a very small part of me…didn't want to be proven that Enola's…good. She's a good person. She's on our side."

Hermione frowned. "Strangely enough, I would have thought that that was the better of the two options…"

"Of course it is. It means that she was there to help Harry. She got him out of Malfoy Manor. She got rid of the horcrux. We no longer have any reasonable excuse to question her loyalty. She's jumped through every hoop we've put in front of her."

"Again, I'm failing to see why you'd be so miserable about that."

"Because…because…"

"Was it easier to see her as some sort of bad guy? After what she did to your family?"

"Partly. You know I've been struggling with that from the very beginning, though I can accept that she wasn't actively involved in what happened. But the fact that she's apparently on our side means…well, it means that she can help me."

"Help you? With what?"

"Time travel. We've been avoiding the fact that I have to go back to the day of my death. It's set in stone. The only thing stopping me from closing the loop is the simple fact that my Tardis can't take me there."

"But her Tardis can…"

"She can help fix my ship. Up until now, I've been able to believe that she was working for Voldemort, which meant handing over the controls of my Tardis would have been reckless at best. But now she's had access to the Tardis throughout this whole thing with Harry, and she didn't once try to use that to her advantage."

Hermione knew that she needed to remain composed. She knew that there was an expectation on her shoulders in which she was supposed to be the logical person of the group, rather than being ruled by her emotions. But the thought of losing Matthew for a second time - the thought of going through all that pain and anguish all over again - it was too much to cope with. She could feel the tears threatening to fall and she purposefully dug her nails into her palm to stop them in their tracks.

"This doesn't have to change anything," she argued, stepping towards him. "There's no pressure for you to leave. The world isn't falling apart. Enola could help you, yes. But years and years in the future. I'm…I'm not ready to let you go just yet, mister."

"It's not as if I want to do this. It's just…I'm running out of excuses not to go through with it."

"You have me. You have the excuse of living your life with me."

Maybe she was putting a lot of weight on a teenage relationship. Maybe the expectation that they'd spent countless years together was a naive thought. But, whenever Hermione pictured her future, there was always one particular boy standing next to her. She wasn't going to allow the proper flow of time to stand in her way. She'd already been forced to fight for her boyfriend and she wasn't willing to give up the battle.

He gave her a small smirk. "That'll always be more than enough inspiration. For anything I do. I've just been…getting inside my own head."

"Because you never do that."

"I think we've all been culpable of that over the years. It's a bad habit that we all share."

"You're going to have to speak to Enola about this." She paused as Matthew wrinkled his nose. "You're going to have to reconcile with her. It's one thing saying that you trust her when you're speaking to me. But it'll carry a lot more weight when you tell her yourself. It's pretty obvious that she's been trying to win back your favour ever since she came to Hogwarts. It'll mean a lot to her to know that she's succeeded."

"I think the word 'trust' is doing a lot of heavy lifting."

Hermione set her lips in a thin line. "You moderately tolerate her presence now."

"That's better."

She opened up her arms. "Come here. Today's been…a lot."

He was only too happy to follow the invitation, moulding into her hug. It was an embrace that both of them needed, for fairly similar reasons. Recent events had put Harry's future in the balance, which meant they'd been able to ignore the doubts about Matthew's future. Now that their friend had been saved, there was only one logical place for their attention to go. But Hermione was telling herself that, if Harry had been able to grant himself at least a few more years on Earth, then the same could be done for Matthew.

There had to be a way.

xxxxxxxxxx

It was strange. Harry had expected there to be something different. Whether that had stemmed from his inner self or the world around him, he wasn't quite sure. But the removal of a horcrux from his soul should have changed his outlook on life. It should have made other people look at him in a different manner. Instead, his time at Hogwarts rolled on just as it always had done. In a sense, he should have seen that coming, since none of the life-altering events in the past had stopped attendance in classes being mandatory.

No one in the school knew what he'd been through. They didn't know what had played out in the Forbidden Forest. It meant they had no reason to understand the uptick in Harry's mood, with the Boy Who Lived smiling a lot more than he'd done in the past. Whilst there was still so much to deal with, he was allowed to celebrate this success. Having been so certain that the horcrux would be the end of his story, it was nice to have a change in fortunes. It was nice to be able to think positively about the future for once, no matter how long that state of affairs lasted.

He was in the Great Hall, just over a week since the horcrux had been taken from him. The days had been uneventful, which had to be seen as a good thing. Not only did it mean that he was able to rest, recuperate and build back his strength, but it also meant that Voldemort hadn't retaliated. They didn't know whether he could feel his horcruxes being destroyed, but the assumption had to be that he did. Was his lack of action a sign that he was weaker than usual? Or was he building up to something larger.

Harry was joined, as always, by Matthew and Hermione, who were sitting opposite him whilst they went through the rigmarole of breakfast. Enola was currently absent, though he viewed that as a momentary blessing. Now that she'd helped out with the horcrux, that should have eased the pressure whenever she came up. But now there was no distraction, Harry couldn't stop thinking about taking things further, about putting himself in the vulnerable position of asking her out.

It was truly mortifying, a prospect that made him eager to go another round with the slice of Voldemort's soul that had been poisoning him. It wasn't as if his friends could help, the people he'd normally turn to in a time of crisis. Whilst Matthew had seemingly picked up on Harry's feelings for Enola, their interconnected past wasn't the sort of thing you wanted to include in a new relationship. And there was every chance that Hermione would report back to her boyfriend, which brought Harry back to square one as a result.

The troubling position meant he was slightly jumpy when Enola eventually showed her face, though she didn't sit down at the table. Whilst she wasn't an official member of Gryffindor, she'd spent a decent chunk of time amidst the House. Even if most of the other students weren't brave enough to ask exactly who she was. But, on this occasion, she hovered by Harry, tapping him on the shoulder to put him even further on edge. Something he hadn't thought was possible.

"Can I speak to you?" she asked.

"...I'm all ears."

"In private?"

Harry glanced at his two friends, who couldn't hide the fact that they'd been listening into the conversation. It also didn't look as if they were bothered about hiding their act of eavesdropping, enjoying how Harry was left squirming in his chair. If anything, standing up and directing Enola away from the Gryffindor table was a way of giving his legs something to do, other than endlessly shaking. But then the two of them were alone and the nerves threatened to overwhelm him once more.

"Would you like to…hang out tonight?"

Harry processed the question. He absorbed the words, though they still didn't seem to make any sense in his head. He'd been fretting about presenting Enola with the same proposition, that he hadn't even considered that she would beat him to the punch. As if the boy was supposed to ask. But Enola, just like Matthew, wasn't extremely bothered about expectations. She strived for what she wanted and, for some reason, she wanted Harry.

He was either going to fall over or float away. There was no in between.

The interesting part was that Enola looked nervous, perhaps the first time he'd properly seen her in that state. Every other encounter had revolved around her self belief and the confidence she held in her abilities. Maybe, a bit like Harry, she found it easier to express herself when it came to using magic. But, as soon as personal feelings were involved, the words got caught in her throat. As it were, she was currently wringing her hands, suggesting it had taken a lot of courage for her to come up to him.

It made him wonder just how long she'd been waiting to speak to him.

"Like…just us?"

"That's…kind of the point, yeah."

"Like…a date?"

"If that's what you call it nowadays."

Sure, Harry was being remarkably slow. His lack of comprehension was potentially going to make Enola change her mind. But he just wanted to be certain. He didn't want to make any assumptions, especially when getting the wrong end of the stick would have led to a mortifying conversation. One he never would have recovered from. And he felt that he could be a bit of an idiot around Enola, since they'd spent enough time together now. Though he wasn't going to push his luck any further.

"I'd really, really love that," Harry told her.

Her smile was brilliant. "Great. Although I'll admit that I don't know any spots at Hogwarts to…you know…hang out."

"You'd love Hogsmeade but that's only open to us on certain weekends. And there's no chance that we'll be able to get there, with how strict the teachers have been ever since Voldemort came back. I suppose we can't really blame them for that."

"I think it'll be nice to do it at Hogwarts, anyway. It's where I'm being given the chance to start a new life, so it's a fitting place to…start something else too."

"You should try the Astronomy Tower," Ginny interjected.

It appeared that, as much as Harry had dragged Enola from his closest friends, he hadn't moved her far enough away from the dining table. Ginny was perched on the far end, though she was also leaning extremely forward to listen into the conversation. Harry wanted to shake his head at her antics, wondering why students at Hogwarts were always so nosey, but he was willing to take any advice that he could get his hands on.

"The Astronomy Tower?" Enola echoed.

"Yeah. It's notorious for being the perfect spot for couples wanting a bit of privacy. And you get to be under the stars, which is always romantic."

"That could work," Harry said, eager to make use of any location that would leave him alone with the girl beside him. "I could even get us some food. Dobby would be more than happy to put something together for us. It could be like a picnic."

Enola grinned. "That sounds lovely. It's a…what did you call it? It's a date."

xxxxxxxxxx

Harry wasn't a stranger to the Astronomy Tower. It wasn't a particular favourite when it came to his classes at Hogwarts, but he could appreciate the majesty of the stars high above them. It often felt like a different kind of magic, something much more natural than what people tended to possess. Given his intimate connection with pure magic, he liked to think that he had a stronger affinity with what was going on in the sky than most.

He couldn't revel in those sights, nor enjoy the thrill of being out of the common room at a fairly late hour. That was down to the simple fact that he had a pretty young woman sitting beside him. They were currently perched on a soft blanket, with separate ones also wrapped around them to stave off the worst of the cold. That wasn't stopping Harry's cheeks from burning whenever Enola happened to look at him. Given the fact that they were on their own, that was happening rather frequently.

Dobby, forever excited to help Harry in whichever fashion was asked, had gone above and beyond with the date night platter. There were bottles of pumpkin juice and butterbeer, which were extremely effective at warming their chests. An array of meats and cheeses had been put together, encouraging the two of them to share and to sit closer to one another. And the number of potential desserts boggled the mind, with Harry wondering how it all fit inside the basket.

But, having seen the Tardis in action, he shouldn't have doubted the bigger-on-the-inside capabilities of magic.

The House Elf had even gone to the effort of including a few candles that were ready to light themselves as soon as they were set aside. It added a more intimate atmosphere to the date, which Harry supposed was what was expected in those types of situations. With the stars shining down upon them and the Great Lake shimmering beyond, he had to say that it was utterly romantic. And that ensured that he was completely out of his depth.

One of the positives Harry was clinging onto was the fact that the date wasn't as traumatising as what had come before it. He'd felt he'd no choice but to tell Matthew and Hermione about what he was doing, seeing as his unexplained absence would have resulted in alarm bells being sounded. Naturally, such a confession meant that certain admissions also had to be shared, though he'd done his best to play down the romantic nature of the evening.

Again, Ginny had interrupted, outlining exactly what she'd heard in the Great Hall.

Which had obviously left Harry's hands tied.

With Matthew looking like he was itching to hex him.

Harry had offered to have a more in-depth conversation about what was going on, explaining his feelings in greater detail, as if that would make things better. But, much to his surprise, Matthew had quickly waved his hands, telling him to enjoy the night. Though he had added the caveat that a further discussion would be needed the day after, which Harry understandably wasn't looking forward to. But, with the outcomes he'd imagined in his head, the reaction had to be seen as a major success.

Getting to the tower had, up to that point, been the most enjoyable part of the endeavour. With professors and ghosts lurking around every corner, Harry had deployed his invisibility cloak, harking back to all those times he and his friends had snuck around the school. There likely wasn't much need for it, since he had greater freedom than most students, but he'd opted to use the cloak for one very particular reason. It felt a lot smaller than it had done once upon a time, thanks to the fact that he was bigger, which meant that he and Enola were forced to bunch really close together to fit.

It was a miracle that he didn't trip over during the journey.

"You've really never done this before?" she asked.

"What? Gone on a date?"

"Yeah! I've heard rumours, Harry Potter."

He groaned. "Do I even want to know what that entails?"

"Most people see you as the most eligible bachelor of this generation."

"I didn't take you for a reader of Witch Weekly."

"There are other ways to get gossip. Once some of the girls in this school start talking about you, they can't stop. Practically drooling over you, I might add."

"They don't even know me, so I don't understand how they could possibly like me."

"It still remains that you could get to know them if you really wanted to. And yet you've just told me that you haven't even been on a proper date. Is there something wrong about you that I should know about? Before I push myself deeper into…whatever this is."

"There was one girl. Margot. She was at Hogwarts when Beauxbatons visited. But it wasn't as if we ever had time to do anything like this. It won't come as a surprise to you that I was dealing with yet another life threatening ordeal. In the end, Margot didn't want to be a part of that lifestyle, and I really can't blame her for that."

"One girl in six years?"

"Hey, this year isn't over with just yet. Let's call it…five-and-a-half years."

"There must be a reason for that."

"I just told you the reason. I'm constantly having to put up with far too much danger and excitement, the sort that most people my age can only fantasise about. First of all, I simply don't usually have time to think about that sort of stuff. And secondly…well, I've already got plenty of people to worry about, people who could be used against me. I didn't think there was any point in adding someone else to that list."

"But I'm here. I'm sitting across from you. On a moonlit date."

His cheeks were turning red again. "Yeah…I've never been good at sticking to plans."

"I'm lucky that that's the case."

"Does that mean you're…having fun?"

Harry winced, hating just how pathetic he sounded. It wasn't the sort of question that you were supposed to ask whilst the date was still happening. He was showing too many of his insecurities, proving to Enola just how inexperienced he truly was. But she wasn't running away. She was still smiling, even if some of her laughter was directed at him. So he must have been doing something right. It was all a matter of repeating that trick over and over, even if he didn't exactly know what said trick was.

Enola raised her bottle of butterbeer. "It's surprising just how easy it is to spend time with you, Harry. And the night's still young, which means there could always be more fun in store."

There was something about her smirk and the darkness of her eyes. Maybe it was a trick of the moonlight. The potent mix of her alluring words and the teasing expression was enough to drive Harry into a stupor, mainly as he tried to figure out what type of fun Enola was referring to. Matthew and Hermione had hinted about that side of their relationship a few times. Was it just something he was expected to do? Should he have spoken to Sirius and Remus for some tips before leaving for the tower?

"If I'm honest with you, I'm glad that you've never been through this in the past," Enola admitted. "It takes the pressure off me."

"What pressure?"

"Well, it's not as if I've done this before either, is it? I've spent my formative years following the trail of Matthew, and then hiding in the service of Voldemort. Believe it or not, but that doesn't give you many opportunities to grow attached to someone else."

Harry wanted to hit himself for not realising that sooner. Enola was always so assured and composed that he just naturally assumed that she was good at everything. But it made sense that this was the first time she was taking that leap, accounting for the nerves he'd picked up on before. It made him feel closer to her, as if they were united by this shared exploration into the unknown, so much so that he shifted slightly across the blanket together, looking to close that distance in a physical sense as well.

"There's no one I'd rather be learning the ropes alongside. We can…help each other learn along the way."

If Harry was giving out signals, then Enola seemed to be picking up on them. She was copying his movement, shifting closer, leaning in. This was happening. He just had to avoid panicking. He was sure that he could hear and feel the wind around them picking up, but guessed that it was just in his head. Or maybe it was the sound of their music coming together, coalescing into a more potent force as they united as one.

When their lips eventually met, Harry didn't really know what he was doing, though that didn't stop him from enjoying the sensation. In the fictional stories he'd been told about, that long awaited kiss was usually greeted with triumphant noises and dazzling light. For Harry, it seemed that their surroundings were getting darker. He supposed it was just a result of the background fading into the distance as he focused all his attention on that one moment in time.

A crash of thunder forced them to part, Harry jumping up so quickly that he'd probably lost any machoness he'd just worked up. With the open plan of the tower, he was able to see the full extent of the Hogwarts grounds. He was able to see the darkening clouds that likely signalled the rain to come. But, as he calmed himself down after the kiss, he started to realise that the clouds weren't moving as normal. They seemed to be coming together, forming one black mass in the sky.

Except, as he moved to the edge of the platform, he noticed that the foreboding gathering wasn't actually originating up above. The dark force was billowing out from the trees surrounding the school. From the Forbidden Forest. The thunderous, inky stream of matter rose upwards like a tornado acting in reverse, until it collided with the outer limit of the wards protecting them. A dome around Hogwarts was lit up in a brilliant display, almost threatening to blind him as he witnessed the scene play out.

The most disturbing aspect of the view was the slow, daunting splintering of those very protective charms they relied upon. It was fracturing before his very eyes, wilting under the pressure of the onslaught. He wondered how everyone else in the school was reacting to the sight. He wondered whether they were panicking. He wondered whether a response was already being prepared. Most of all, he wondered what was causing the supposed threat in the first place.

"Enola, we need to go!" Harry said urgently. "I think we might be under attack."

He spun on his heel, prepared to charge towards the door. It wasn't really how he'd wanted the date to end, but he guessed it was fitting. For a few seconds, he'd been able to enjoy his life. He'd been able to act like a normal teenager, falling in love and exploring all the frankly brilliant upsides that came with that. It was only natural, given everything else that had happened over his years, that a massive problem would rear its ugly head at that precise moment.

But, as he turned around, he was met with the pointy end of a wand. Enola had it expertly trained on him, instantly freezing him in place. Harry wished that it wasn't a sight that was so familiar to him, but he'd experienced what it was like to be threatened by the young woman in the past. It didn't make it any easier to deal with. Nor did it make it clearer as to what she was doing, with how steadily she was standing and how steely her expression was.

"I can't let you leave, Harry."