For once, they were eating at the Ravenclaw table for dinner. Luna was mostly left alone there, and they wanted a bit more privacy than they would get if she had joined them over in the land of Gryffindors as they usually did.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay this weekend?" Pansy asked.
"Of course. I think I'm going to skip Hogsmeade in fact. I have a few assignments to catch up on, and I might as well spend some time in the library too. I am one of those bookish Ravenclaws, you know. That means I have a reputation to uphold."
"Since when you have cared about your reputation?"
"Well, it sounded good," Luna shrugged. "Besides, being around you two makes it a lot more fun for people to gossip about me. There won't be much point with you not here."
"Sorry sweetie."
"It's alright. I understand, perfectly. I'd want to get away too if I were Harry. I try not to dwell on things when the anniversary of my mum's death comes around in the spring, but thankfully, it isn't on a holiday. And no one celebrates her death by giving me a title that annoys me."
"That's one way to look at it," Harry snorted. He leaned in close to whisper to her. "I was thinking of having Hedwig deliver a letter to you on Monday morning. Or maybe at lunch... Anyway, my idea was that if the staff starts wondering about us being missing, it would be a good way for you to let the headmaster, for example, know that we won't be back until after Halloween."
"I hope you two don't get into too much trouble."
"Other people have missed classes before and only sometimes have I seen them get detentions or any sort of punishment like that. When Hermione was burning the candle at both ends with that blasted time turner two years ago, she missed a lesson in Charms and all Flitwick made her do was write about the cheering charm and demonstrate her proficiency in it for him. That's no big deal."
"However, that was Flitwick," Pansy argued. "We're going to be missing History-"
"Which won't matter," Harry interjected.
"True, but also Potions, Arithmancy, and Defense. Now, Sluggy might love you, so I'm not too worried about that, but Vector and Watts are another story."
"I've already offered to cover any detentions they assign you," Harry pointed out.
"And I've already told you that we'll serve them together, if we get any. I'm just reminding you about the consequences. We should probably be really glad we don't have McGonagall that day. I have a feeling she'd be harder on us than just about anyone else."
"Yeah, she probably would."
"You would think she would go easier on people in her own house," Luna suggested.
"In my experience, she definitely does not do that. First year, I lost fifty points for being out late after curfew."
"That's completely ridiculous."
"Tell me about it."
"So, Pansy's already told me about your plans for tomorrow and Monday. I assume that leaves Sunday for visiting your parents?"
"Yeah. Maybe go see a movie or something after."
"Date night?" Luna wondered.
"It's a good way to not let the mood of the entire day be ruined," Harry responded. "I think the fact that I don't really remember them at all makes things different for me, if that makes sense."
"Of course it does," Luna agreed. "I have plenty of memories of my mother, so I can understand why you wouldn't feel the same, without those thoughts to connect you to them. It's a cruel thing, Harry. I wish you'd had a few years with them like I did with my mother. I'll always miss her, but at least I have those memories to treasure. Pictures in a photo album can't really compare. Maybe that's why I'm so nice to you."
"You mean it's not my dashing good looks?" Harry grinned.
"No, those are probably no more than fourth place for the reasons why I love you."
"Now I'm curious," Pansy wondered. "What are the top three?"
"Acceptance, kinship, and sense of humor."
"You know, I've always heard that ladies like guys who can make them laugh," Harry said. "I suppose that's true then."
"I do laugh at you a lot," Pansy smirked. "Sometimes even when you mean for me to."
"I'm still counting it."
"Anyway, do you want to do something tonight Luna?" Pansy asked. "We've got a couple of hours or so until curfew."
"It's too bad it's been so cold these last few days. I wouldn't have minded a walk otherwise. Now it's too muddy also. I know!" She pulled Pansy in close. "I'm going to call it an early night and then you can have Dobby pop me over to your quarters. Then we can hang out in private, just the three of us. Maybe put on some music and make Harry blush about girl talk or something."
"That sounds like a plan."
With Luna's attention elsewhere, they only had to let Granger know that they would be leaving for the weekend, officially to visit the graves of Harry's parents. Their heads of house had been notified, but Harry's perpetually nosy friend would have annoyed them to no end if she hadn't been told as well.
For some reason, she still tried to act as Harry's minder at times. And yes, that made Pansy dislike her more than most things.
But Harry was also still feeling quite awkward around the girl due to the night he had obliviated her of what happened with Umbridge. It had been six weeks already, but it wasn't something he was getting over quickly enough for Pansy's taste. That being said, they'd had plenty of things to occupy their time, so the occasions for Harry to brood were few and far between.
She had insisted that they get up and out of the castle as early as possible that Saturday. There were several errands to run before they could get ready for the Halloween party their muggle friends were throwing.
Harry didn't argue either. Getting away from the castle to relax was something that they had both been looking forward to.
He hadn't even pouted too much when she mentioned going to several clothing stores in order to put together the perfect costumes. That might have been because she had hinted that she would probably be in a mood to celebrate privately after the party. He was pretty easy to please that way.
It had been a long day, but Harry had to admit that Pansy's idea had borne fruit.
Sometimes, it is best to go along with whatever your girlfriend wants. More often than not, he was pretty happy following her lead.
On that day, it had been all about putting together fairly elaborate matching costumes.
Harry was standing in the bedroom, admiring his outfit in the mirror over the large chest of drawers.
Truth be told, he did feel a little bit silly at the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt. The jeans, boots, and even the mirrored sunglasses weren't a big deal, but wearing a black leather jacket open to expose his pale torso did make him feel somewhat... well, naked. Pansy seemed to like it though, and that was all that really mattered.
She had withdrawn to the bathroom a while ago, not only to change but to work on her makeup. She was going to have to finish his look with some hair gel, and at least he now knew why she had asked him to grow his hair a couple of inches longer than usual.
At first, he had kinda assumed she just wanted him to do so with her, since she was growing her own hair longer too. During the day's many trips to various stores, she admitted that she had been planning their looks since July. That was a lot more work than he would ever put into just about anything, but he knew that Pansy occasionally got these obsessive notions and would go all out. Even with all of that, she'd required a wig for the night as otherwise she would have needed a hair growth potion. But the big teased-out look of Patricia Morrison would have been murder on her hair (as she explained to him at least), so a wig ended up being easier in the long run.
He still had to do a bit of minor, magical alterations to make it just right. Pansy was big on details like that.
The rest of her costume was even more intricate than his. Between the black leather knee high boots, the fishnets (which was the one thing they hadn't needed to purchase), the black skirt that looked almost shredded, the elbow length opera gloves with the fingertips cut off, and the black leather bodice that was making him stare at her cleavage even more than usual, Pansy was a sexy gothic vision. It was certainly going to build a lot of anticipation for him while they were at the party.
He was idly humming to himself, failing to remember most of the lyrics when he pulled out his wand and cast a spell he'd been meaning to try out for awhile now. He missed hearing the door open as Pansy was coming over to check on him.
"Hey now, hey now now, Sing this corrosion to me."
"Harry, what-" Pansy stopped while he turned to look at her as she growled appreciatively. "Do that again."
"What?"
"Sing! How did you get your voice so deep?"
"Oh, right." He smiled as he noticed the hunger in her eyes. Definitely a good idea to learn that spell then. "Hey now, hey now now, Sing this corrosion to me!"
The fact that he didn't know most of the lyrics didn't matter anymore because Pansy had shoved him back against the bed and was already undoing his pants.
For just a second, his brain tried to remind him that they probably didn't have time if they were worried about running late.
Then the rest of him paid attention to the fact that his girlfriend was pulling his pants down and kneeling by the side of the bed, and being late to the party was the last thing he was thinking about.
In the end, they made it to Steven and Vanessa's front door a little after nine. With the party starting at eight, they were a bit more than fashionably late, but Pansy had needed to fix her makeup before they could leave.
Their hostess answered the doorbell dressed in a sexy, skintight catsuit.
"Oh my god, you guys look amazing!"
"Thanks," Pansy smiled. "So do you. I imagine Steven was pleased by your costume."
"Oh yes," Vanessa giggled. "I'll have to remember to tell you more later. Come in."
"Thanks," Harry added, following the ladies inside.
"Hey Harry," Steven said as he came over before pausing mid step. "Holy shit, was that Pansy?"
"Yep."
"Damn. You guys really went all out. Sisters of Mercy, huh? Nice."
"Yeah, well, I'd like to take credit, but this was pretty much all Pansy's doing."
"Now I really feel under dressed," Steven chuckled.
"I guess Vanessa likes you in a kilt?" Harry wondered.
"Yeah, you could say that. I'm Connor MacLeod, of the clan MacLeod. You know, the Highlander?"
"No, sorry."
"It's a pretty crazy movie. You should check it out sometime. These immortal swordsmen fight across centuries. Queen did the soundtrack too, which is pretty killer. Anyway, I had to put my sword away. Vanessa said it wouldn't be wise to have it out once everybody started drinking."
"That's probably for the best," Harry agreed.
"I guess I shouldn't offer to take your coat, huh?"
"That would mess up the costume," Harry admitted. "I might feel kinda silly walking around completely topless too."
"That's because we haven't gotten any alcohol into you yet." Steven pulled him through the room as Harry said hello to a couple of people he recognized before they made their way to the makeshift bar set up on a kitchen counter. "What will we start you on?"
"Nothing too strong," Harry said. "I need to be sober enough to enjoy the end of the night too."
"Girlfriend in a sexy costume. Right," Steven grinned.
"And you know the only thing better than a girlfriend in a sexy costume," Harry began as Steven passed him a cup. "Helping her take the sexy costume off."
"I'll drink to that!"
"So, why aren't you drinking tonight?" Pansy asked when she noticed that Vanessa was only having a ginger ale. Her voice was somewhat loud, but between the music and all the other people talking, she doubted anyone else heard her. Vanessa still looked a little nervous as she grabbed Pansy's hand and dragged her down the hall to a bedroom, closing the door behind them.
"Okay, you can't say anything about this. Alright?"
"Yeah. What's going on?"
"I, um, well you know how I said that I dressed up all sexy because I might not get a chance to again."
"Yes."
"I'm pregnant," Vanessa said with a smile.
"Congratulations," Pansy answered while hugging her friend. "That explains not drinking too. But why don't you want me to tell anyone?"
"It's just that Steven and I haven't had time to really tell anyone yet, and we want to do it the right way. You know, with our families and everything. Just spilling it at a party wouldn't feel right, although Jenny already knows."
"Well, you did tell me that she's your oldest friend, so that makes sense."
"Yeah, she came over for brunch last weekend and caught me having some morning sickness. That wasn't any damn fun, let me tell you. The ginger ale helps for that too, although I've been okay for the last couple of days. I'm not taking any chances though."
"I can understand that."
"I did kind of want to tell you though, especially since you and Harry are going back to school for the rest of the term. That is what you said, right?"
"Yeah, we've got a train tomorrow heading back up north. We both needed a break though. It's been really stressful this year at school."
"You can tell Harry, but you might want to wait until after the party. I saw Steven dragging him off to the bar."
"Are you sure your hubby won't spill anything?"
"I don't think so. Steven's always been a lot better at keeping secrets than me. Plus, I think he's pretty nervous about the whole thing. Not that I'm not, but I'm mostly pretty happy about it. I mean, I know it's not going to be easy, but it just feels like I'm ready to start having a family. I would have been happy to get married a couple of years ago. I've known Steven was it for a long time, so this... I guess it feels like the next step, you know?"
"Yeah, I get that," Pansy replied. "I'm not ready for that yet with Harry, but I know he's it for me too. We're still a bit young for having kids."
Wasn't that an understatement? She kept her smirk down though, as she was supposedly twenty as far as Steven and Vanessa had been led to believe.
"So tell me all about it. Do you know when it happened?"
"I'm pretty sure, yeah. I had to travel over to Wales for work, to interview someone. Since it was going to be a bit of a trip, Steven took a couple of days off and went with me. We stayed at this really cool old place called the Skirrid Mountain Inn. It's supposedly haunted," Vanessa giggled. "We didn't see any ghosts, but we did stay up way too late. And there was definitely a lot of moaning going on that night."
Pansy giggled at her. Harry would have liked that line.
"Was it planned then?"
"Sort of," Vanessa shrugged. "I got off the pill awhile ago. Steven knew, but we weren't specifically trying for a pregnancy yet. I just wanted to see if it would happen on its own first."
"I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks. I'm just hoping that I still feel good at the end of the night."
"I imagine you wore that outfit for a reason," Pansy grinned.
"Yeah. As long as I don't feel like puking, I've been really horny. I've heard it varies a lot with women, but my hormones have me wanting to drag Steven off somewhere private constantly."
"If you need a little help for a distraction tonight, let me know."
"I might just take you up on that," Vanessa agreed with a smile. "Come on, we should get back out there. It won't matter if that silly man of mine is drinking way too much."
"I can't believe you did that," Harry said as they landed in the living room of their flat with Dobby before Pansy tumbled into him with a giggle and they collapsed on the couch. "Thanks for the lift Dobby."
"Master Harry is always welcome," the elf replied while shaking his head at his silly humans. He disappeared before they could start doing anything in front of him.
"Don't be a prude, Harry," Pansy said, slightly slurring her words.
"I'm not a prude, it just kind of tickled." She giggled again at him while Harry contained his groan. "Besides, I had my back to you and all of a sudden someone was groping me and licking my chest."
"Vanessa needed a distraction."
"And my horny girlfriend decided to play the part?"
"Steven's horny wife needed the help."
"Huh?"
"Oh, I haven't told you yet." Pansy looked up at him with a dreamy Luna-esque smile. "Vanessa's pregnant."
"That's cool. Are they excited about it?"
"Yes, but my point was that she's all hormonal and was feeling extra horny."
"Thus the catsuit?"
"Exactly, Harry. Plus, she didn't think she'd be up to being all sexy again at Halloween once she's a mum chasing a little one around."
"Okay, yeah I get that."
"Right, so she wanted my help so she could have a quickie."
"In the middle of the party? Wow, lucky Steven."
"Jealous?"
"Yeah, I mean, he's had sex more recently than me, so a little bit."
"We can fix that you know," Pansy leered at him.
"You really like my costume, huh?"
"Uh huh," she moaned. "Oh, wait, before you distract me again with your sexiness."
"Now I guess I know how you feel all the time," he chuckled.
"Don't be a prat, Harry. How did you sing like that earlier? Your voice isn't that deep."
"Oh, that." Now it was his turn to grin at her. "You liked that, didn't you?"
"Yes, now answer the question."
"I found a spell that lets you mimic the voices of other people. I thought it would be a neat party trick. Plus, now you won't be making fun of me singing in the shower so much."
"Harry, I make fun of you singing in the shower for other reasons too."
"Like what?"
"I, err..."
"Wow, have I struck you speechless? I don't know that that's ever happened before."
"It's, agh!" She took out her frustration on the wig she'd been wearing, throwing it aside.
Harry loved how mussed up her hair looked at that moment. Maybe that's why she liked his permanently messy hair he briefly thought.
"Look, the thing is... something about you with wet hair really turns me on lately. I'm not sure why, but I have to control myself otherwise-"
"Otherwise, we'd be late for breakfast every morning."
"Yeah, that." Pansy looked up sharply at him. "Wipe that grin off your face, or I'll... I'll tell Luna on you!"
"That won't work," Harry chuckled. "Luna would so take my side on this. In fact, she's more likely to start dowsing my hair whenever we hang out just to watch you lose control."
"Damn you, Harry."
"When I'm right, I'm right. And you know it."
"Fine," she huffed.
"Are you feeling any more sober now?"
"I didn't have too much to drink."
"Okay, just checking," Harry threw his hands up. "I don't want to miss the end of the night fun. That's why I made sure not to have too much at the party. I just was going to check if you wanted a sobering charm."
"You know a spell for that?"
"Yeah, Sirius taught it to me. He said it was one of the most important lessons a godfather could teach, although he wanted us to practice it by getting drunk and making sure I could still do it when I really needed it. That would be the advanced class, but I haven't had a chance to do so, and I really only drink socially. It's not like we've been at a party like tonight when Sirius was around, you know?"
"Right," Pansy nodded. "I'm feeling pretty good, actually, so I don't think I'll need it. I do need you to do something else for me, though."
"What?"
She crawled away from him and threw her legs up into his lap.
"Take these off of me and rub my feet."
Harry chuckled but started to follow her instructions anyway, reaching up by her knees to unzip them and then pulling the high-heeled boots off. "I was wondering if those could possibly be comfortable to wear."
"They're not bad really, but maybe not quite the perfect fit. Ohhhh," she moaned out as he squeezed a tight spot. "I love your hands."
"Thanks," he laughed. "They love you too. That's why I can't keep my hands off you."
"Ughhh."
"Not even going to give me any grief over a line that cheesy?"
"Only if you stop rubbing," Pansy answered with a grin, her eyes closed as she relaxed.
The next few minutes were silent other than Pansy groaning in appreciation of his work and Harry humming to himself. Once she opened her eyes and sat back up, Harry looked over at her with a smirk.
"Feeling better now?"
"Much. Thank you."
"Great." Harry stood up and pulled Pansy to her feet. "I don't know about you, but I could really use a shower."
"That does sound pretty good."
"It should also help us feel refreshed before bedtime." Harry grinned at her. "Plus, I now know not to hurry to dry my hair."
"You're unbelievable," she huffed.
"We both you know love that about me." He leaned in and kissed down the left side of her neck while his hands moved up to her breasts. "Do you know what this leather bodice thing and I have in common?"
"Hmm?"
"We both do wonderful things to your boobs."
"You're going to help me take it off, aren't you?"
"Fuck yes," Harry moaned as she slipped the jacket off of him. He spun her around and kissed the back of her neck.
"You'd better," she purred as he reached for the zipper. Pansy giggled when he paused to kiss the mole between her shoulder blades. "Weren't you complaining about me tickling you earlier?"
"I wasn't really complaining," he snorted as she pushed him down and motioned to his boots. He started tearing his own clothes off while she reached under her skirt and slid the fishnets off. "No fair, I wanted to do that."
"You're taking too long."
Harry stood back up, still with one sock on, and grabbed her hands before she could shed any more of her attire. She gave him an almost feral grin as she lunged for his mouth and their tongues and hands both began to battle for dominance. Pansy eventually reached up and grabbed onto his hair while he reached down and slid his hand up her thigh.
"Looks like I'm not the only one excited," he smirked as he felt how wet she was through her panties.
"I suppose I could let you finish undressing me."
"Then I win."
"I think we both win, Harry," she teased. Pansy kept smiling as he knelt down and stuck his head under her skirt. She lifted one leg and hooked it over his shoulder as she gasped out, "Oh fuck me."
"Soon enough," Harry paused to chuckle.
"Don't- ahhhh- don't stop. I'm already close."
Pansy's purrs turned to a shriek within another minute or two, and as soon as her quivers subsided, Harry was getting back to his feet and unbuckling his belt. She pulled him with her as she backed towards the hall and then down to the bathroom door, which she pushed open with one foot. Harry kissed her as he lifted her up and set her on the counter top next to the sink.
"You've got something on your face."
"What?"
"Me," she smirked but he pushed forward to kiss her anyway.
"You're delicious," he replied as his pants fell to the ground, and then he stepped closer and slid inside her in one fluid motion.
"Oh fuck," she moaned as her legs went up and wrapped tightly around him.
"Exactly," Harry grunted in return.
It was heated and fast as they kissed before he drifted down to suck at her delightfully sweaty neck. Pansy responded by grabbing the back of his head and starting to scratch his back with her other hand. Her moans were becoming perilously close to shouts as he reached up and stuck two fingers in her mouth. She sucked at them while his other hand reached around and began to squeeze her bum.
Harry could tell he was getting close.
He moved back up to her lips and she pulled him in even closer, drawing his tongue into her mouth. He slid his now free hand down between them in search of her clit. The appreciative moan that acknowledged his efforts made him grin as he leaned back away from her for a moment.
"Cum with me," he growled.
"Almost... ahh, almost there."
"Good girl," he moaned as his body took over, all instinctual now to reach the finish. He felt his own climax begin and was barely able to keep his fingers in motion to trigger Pansy's as well before his peak was over. Feeling her muscles squeezing him damn near made him howl.
Instead, he slowed but continued to press forward into her a few more times as she kept going and going. He grinned to himself, always both pleased and proud of giving her as much pleasure as he possibly could.
"Oh fucking shit," Pansy moaned a moment later as her orgasms finally ended. "That was awesome. We should get dressed up and go to more parties like that in the future."
Harry laughed. "That is something I will definitely agree to do."
She pulled him back to her lips and kissed him again. "Now I'm definitely going to need a shower. As soon as I'm capable of standing."
"Me too."
They leaned here for a moment, arms around each other's backs, skin all pressed together slick with sweat. Their breathing slowed and they murmured happily. Harry was as content as he could ever remember feeling.
There was a funny little squelching sound as he pulled away from her after a minute later that made them both giggle.
"Shower time?" he asked.
"Start the water, then help me down."
Harry stepped over to reach into the bath to get the water running, knowing it would take a little bit for it to get hot enough to enjoy. He yelped as Pansy swatted his arse as he was standing back up.
"What was that for?"
"Looking so yummy that I almost want another round before we clean up." She smirked as he stepped closer. "Don't act like it's so strange that I like your bum too."
"I think I like yours more," Harry replied as he kissed her once before helping her into the shower. "Go ahead and get started without me. I've got to do something real quick and then I'll be right in there with you."
"Alright, but don't take too long."
Pansy pulled the shower curtain closed and he hurried to their bedroom. It took him only a couple of minutes to prepare things- magic was always handy and Dobby had been a real pal in setting things out for him. Once everything looked right, Harry almost ran back to the bath.
"Miss me?" he asked with a grin as she climbed in behind her.
"You weren't gone that long. The water feels great, squeeze in here by me."
Harry did as she asked and felt himself start to smile when she pushed his head directly under the spray of water. Pansy's eyes were lidded as he stepped towards her, water running down his face.
"Very yummy, Harry." Pansy grabbed him and went straight for his lips. She forced herself to pull back after a moment, having more to say. "For future reference, ordering me to cum with you- very hot. Calling me a good girl, even hotter."
"I think I can remember that."
"Excellent. Luna always says that I do have you well trained."
"Yes, you do."
"Good. Let's just get rinsed off nicely and go to bed."
"No shower sex?" Harry pouted.
"If one of us were to slip, then we wouldn't be able to have any fun in bed. And I'm not done with you yet."
"I like the way you think, gorgeous."
They spent a couple of minutes cleaning up before shutting the water off and reaching for the towels. Harry made sure to leave his hair at least kind of damp and noticed as Pansy watched him in the mirror. He was going to be using this little admission of hers as much as possible for the foreseeable future.
Once they were done, Harry made sure not to let her get in front of him.
"Do me a favor?" he requested.
"What?"
"Close your eyes."
"Why?"
"Just trust me." She rolled her eyes at him but then did as he asked. Harry grabbed her hand and led her into the bedroom, opening the door and stepping inside. He positioned her right at the foot of the bed. "Okay, now you can open them."
She gasped as she took in the state of the room. There were several candles lit and rose petals strewn all over the bed.
"Harry?"
"Do you know what tonight is?"
"A very good night is what it looks like."
"Exactly two years ago was the first time we made love." Harry grinned as she turned to him with unshed tears. "One of the best nights of my life. I would say the all time best, but you've outdone yourself many times since then. But the point is that I love you. Never doubt for even a second that you are by far the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"I love you too, you wonderful romantic man." Pansy kissed him then molded into him for a very satisfied embrace. She sighed after a moment. "I would say that you're getting so lucky tonight, but then, you already have."
"I'm always ready for more."
"Just give me a moment to enjoy this, Harry."
"Take as long as you want."
As fast and ferocious as their first time had been after the party, the first time in bed that night was just as slow and tender. But it was not the last. Harry was up for a couple more rounds and by the end of the night, they were both completely satiated when they finally drifted off to sleep as the candles started to burn out.
It was early the next afternoon when they made it to the graveyard at Godric's Hollow. The silence hung heavy as Harry just didn't know what to say to his parents.
'Hey mum and dad. Since we last spoke, I killed several Death Eaters, got tortured by the Dark Lord, barely escaped dueling him with my life, and am now teaching a bunch of Slytherin girls how to fight so they don't get raped by any of the little junior league Death Eater wannabes at school.'
Probably not the sort of thing to talk about at a cemetery, but it was what the type of irreverent things his mind was thinking of, so Harry just sat there quietly for a moment while Pansy held his hand and leaned against him.
What else could he really talk about? Winning the Triwizard Tournament, driving off two dementors that tried to attack Hermione? But that brought to mind the fact that he'd stopped that fucking ministry bitch from torturing her, using the Cruciatus curse for the first time- and only time, as he once again swore to himself.
Oh yeah, and obliviating his best friend, who he now had trouble looking in the eye. That was one of his better moments.
Would his mum scold him for being such a sarcastic little shit? Because that's how he felt.
Thinking briefly of Sirius, Harry imagined that his dad would probably be proud of his trouble-making son for skipping out on an entire day of class on that black anniversary. Going to a muggle concert with his smoking hot girlfriend would likely have pleased him too.
The one thing he did truly want to brag about was how wonderful and amazing Pansy was, but that was just so obvious. If they were still out there somewhere, as Luna believed, then they had to know that Pansy was the rock that he always clinged to through troubled times. And there had been more than enough of those lately.
That was the main reason they weren't heading back to Hogwarts that night.
Okay, the second reason, really.
But come on- Radiohead tickets! Did he mention that Pansy was amazing? Best girlfriend in the world.
In the end, he merely sat there and sighed, wrapping an arm around her while she placed their bouquet of flowers in front of the tombstone. Maybe it wasn't enough, but it was the best he could do.
Afterwards, they did have a date night. They ate lots of delicious, filling pasta and breadsticks at an Italian restaurant before heading off to the movies. There were a couple of things that looked interesting to Harry, but he let Pansy choose, so they ended up watching Species.
When they got home to the flat that night, she decided to play out the movie acting as Sil and requiring him to be her human mate.
Harry was up to the challenge, and he even swore that he would help her and their hybrid children take over the world afterwards. Humans were overrated anyway.
It made her laugh, and the sex afterwards was a lot of fun.
Too bad they didn't have access to a hot tub though.
Breakfast in bed on Halloween, hundreds of miles away from Hogwarts. Just the thought of it brought a smile to Harry's face.
Pansy was still a bit concerned about how their teachers would respond, but it was quickly put out of her mind by how incredibly happy and carefree Harry acted all day long.
Hedwig was sent to Hogwarts at lunch, leaving Luna with a note to explain their absence just in case. Who knew if it would help smooth things over- probably not if McGonagall got off on a tear, but hopefully if Slughorn took charge- and then they put that aside as they got ready for the concert.
Harry played both Radiohead albums (the Bends twice) as well as their My Iron Lung EP while she picked their outfits and they spent the afternoon lounging around the flat.
His excitement was palpable by the time they were standing in front of the stage. Pansy could feel him practically vibrating. It was cute- not that Harry would think so- but after how tense he had been for most of their time at school, it was an enormous change.
Once the band came on and the guitars roared to life, Harry was in heaven.
"You've got to feel it in your bones"
Between the volume of the music, and the joy that Harry was practically radiating as he sang along with Thom Yorke, Pansy could feel it in her bones. It was definitely a step up from a year prior, when she had wanted to destroy that stupid goblet.
Hours later, Harry was quietly singing Nobody Does It Better to her as they lay in bed. He was still too amped up to go right to sleep. That was a cool song to finish the show with, even if he didn't know it from any of their albums. (A year or so later, he would find out it was a cover from a Bond movie, originally done by Carly Simon.)
Whatever the case, it seemed a fitting tribute to the woman he loved. No matter that she had already fallen asleep.
He briefly wondered why he had felt a twinge of a headache during the concert.
Probably just the loud music.
He grinned to himself about dodging the curse of Halloween. That happy thought eventually helped him to finally drift off to sleep.
Harry's good mood lasted even through his exhaustion the next morning. Truthfully, they could have had Dobby just pop them back into their quarters, but that was a secret advantage that Harry was keeping as quiet as possible. So instead, they had to get up extra early, get dressed, and travel to the road between Hogsmeade and the castle, not too far from the gates.
Pansy and he seemed to be having a yawning contest as they trudged up towards the entrance of Hogwarts. Hedwig surprised them by swooping out of the school and landing on Harry's shoulder.
"Umm, hey Hedwig? Good morning."
She barked at him and stared into his eyes but Harry was left feeling confused.
"I'm really tired today, Hed. If you expect me to read your mind, I'm probably going to disappoint you this morning."
She responded by closing her eyes and rubbing against his head fondly.
"Thanks for delivering that note to Luna yesterday," he told her as he reached up to scratch the feathers on the back of her head, just where she had taught him. His owl had probably been helpful in training him how to be better at responding to females. She and Pansy were both sort of similar. As long as he pampered them every now and then, everything else seemed to work out okay.
"I think she's worried about something, Harry."
"Yeah, maybe," he agreed. "Wait a minute. No. You and Hed are not allowed to team up against me. You already do that with Luna all the time. Leave my owl out of your... your teasing, tormenting female wiles."
"It's not my fault that your owl is a girl too."
Harry just pouted while Pansy smirked at him. Hedwig gave off what he just knew was her version of a laugh as she took wing and headed back towards the owlery.
"I need to remember to call Sirius tonight."
"Why?"
"Because I clearly need some sort of male influence in my life."
"Such a typical guy," Pansy snorted. "Surround yourself with beautiful ladies and then complain about it."
"Yeah, yeah."
Harry tried his best to ignore her teasing, and it became much easier as soon as they stepped into the Great Hall. Luna came racing over and threw her arms around them both.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Pansy asked.
"It's really begun."
"Huh?" Harry asked, feeling as eloquent as ever. Luna pulled them over to where she had been sitting.
"Hedwig brought me your copy of the paper today."
Looking down, it was obvious what the problem was. Now that he glanced around the room, he realized breakfast was much more quiet and somber than usual. There were a few guys over at the Slytherin table gathered together talking about it, and that one sleaze Warrington that Flora loathed so much actually smirked at him.
Harry's strategy at avoiding the cursed day hadn't seemed to matter this year. For once, the danger wasn't at Hogwarts. But it would be coming soon enough, that was clear. He sat down, determined to make it past the headline and see if there was anything more he could learn from the Daily Prophet. Really though, the headline was all it took to ruin the day.
Death Eaters Break Out of Azkaban!