Unveiling Secrets: A New Path for Harry Potter

"Sure." He reached up to pull Luna's bag down from the overhead.

"Let's keep our eyes peeled," Pansy said as she stood up. "I want to get a look at their parents if we can."

"Good idea. Shall we ladies?"

The next week went by in the blink of an eye. The time they spent in the muggle world was so much simpler. A dinner to catch up with the Brightwells. A visit to the nightclub, where they danced all night and ran into Vanessa and Stephen, who were now engaged. A couple of nearly day-long shopping trips- Harry's treat as he wanted to spoil his girl, even though they had agreed not to go overboard this year on the Christmas presents. That meant that Harry still had free reign to splurge for Pansy's birthday.

And on the winter solstice, Harry took excruciatingly good care of Pansy all day long. It wasn't every day a girl turned fifteen.

Which meant she got to enjoy another year of birthday spankings, for one thing. And all sorts of other fun too.

But Christmas day came, and after enjoying a breakfast with Dobby and opening a pile of presents, they were going to have to head back to Hogwarts.

Harry hadn't been in any hurry to go back to school, so he complained and moaned until Pansy agreed that they could wait to show up until just before the ball itself. They were going to be making an entrance that should shock more than a few people anyway, so she let him have his way. She might not admit it out loud, but she was really looking forward to the looks on all the faces of the female half of Hogwarts once she was revealed as Harry's date.

Besides, Harry wouldn't need long to get ready, so she could have the bathroom to herself for the afternoon.

For his part, he spent much of the afternoon playing DJ, as Pansy requested that he play music for her while she did whatever mysterious things girls could do for hours in order to get ready. Harry wasn't dumb enough to complain though- for one thing, he was going to be benefiting from the things she did to look her best later that night. He just had to hope that he wasn't too uncomfortable while they were at the ball, as he was pretty sure he was going to be incredibly excited at the idea of getting Pansy alone and unwrapping her- she was always his favorite present.

"Pansy, sweetheart, we've got fifteen minutes." When she didn't respond, he tried again. "I know I'm not supposed to rush you, but we have to open things tonight. So being fashionably late will probably just get us yelled at."

"Don't worry, Harry. I'm ready."

He looked up at her voice as she came into the room with a definite strut in her step and Harry forgot how to breathe. She was wearing a slinky black dress, with two little straps that went up to wrap around behind her neck. It was incredibly well fitted through the bodice, and the low neckline hung to the curves of her breasts with such emphasis that Harry wasn't sure if he would be able to stop staring at her. The only reason he saw the rest of it was that his eyes were drawn to the slit up the outside of her right leg, and how incredibly high it went.

"You like?"

"Yes." Harry's eyes were still bulging, and his pants were too, which brought out the giggles from Pansy. "You look absolutely amazing."

"Amazing huh?"

"If amazing isn't good enough, I could try incredible. Or perfect. Yeah, perfect."

"I'm glad you approve, but you'll have to stop staring long enough for us to go."

"You've just made this night a lot harder on me you know."

"Making things hard tonight was the idea," she purred. Harry laughed and stood up, adjusting himself so that he wouldn't start the Yule Ball by showing off an erection.

"Have I said how much I love you?"

"I'm always willing to hear it again."

"Then, I love you Pansy, more than everything else in the world."

"Good. Let's go."

The murmurs of the crowd gathered just inside the front doors all came to a halt as Harry and Pansy stepped out from the shadows. Harry's outfit was similar enough to a classic tux that it wasn't too remarkable, although she had used a bit of hair gel to make his typical messy look that much more fabulous, or at least so Pansy said. He was also going without his glasses for the first time, and he was thankful that he had been using his contacts for the last week to get more used to them.

Pansy's dress contrasted greatly with the more restrained gowns that most of the girls were wearing, although Fleur Delacour was wearing a rather sleek silver dress as well. It would be a cold night in hell when a Veela didn't dress seductively, and she was briefly annoyed by the tall French girl's perfect curves. But since Pansy was pulling many eyes away from her, then that counted as a win.

And of course, the only eyes that really mattered were fixed entirely on her. She might never let Harry wear his glasses again because she loved how great his emerald green eyes looked without them getting in the way for once.

Professor McGonagall was organizing things, sending everyone into the Great Hall except for the champions and their dates who would enter last. Pansy glided over to stand by the others on Harry's arm, pleased to see so many girls glaring at her.

It was incredibly hard to hold back her smirk.

"Hermione?"

Of course there had to be a complication. What the hell was the little bookworm doing with Krum of all people? If this took too much of Harry's attention away, she was going to kill the little bitch.

"Hi Harry! Hi Pansy! You both look great."

"You do too. So, this is the mysterious date, huh?" Harry replied.

"Potter," Krum grunted with a small nod.

McGonagall was getting them to line up, so Hermione just whispered that they would talk later.

Delacour went to the front, as being in the spotlight was a part of her nature. Krum and Granger came next. Pansy was on Harry's arm in the back.

"Saving the best for last," he whispered in her ear. His smile was completely genuine as they walked into the Great Hall to loud applause and more than a few whistles and catcalls. Harry might not always enjoy the attention, but he was never more proud than that night, finally revealing his girlfriend in all her glory.

They walked down an aisle in the center of the Great Hall, which was decked out in sparkling silver frost with ivy and mistletoe hung everywhere. The four long benches had been replaced with a large number of circular tables spread out, with one at the very front where the tournament's five judges all awaited them.

Harry took a seat directly opposite from Dumbledore, as Pansy sat to his right and Hermione and Krum were on his left. Fleur and her date (one of the Ravenclaw chasers who was already drooling with a vacant look in his eyes) were on Pansy's other side. Karkaroff and Maxime were on the sides closest to their champions. Bagman was rambling about something to Crouch and Dumbledore, neither of whom were paying as much attention as he might have liked. They were all dressed up, although there was a big difference between the staid Crouch, the elegant (if enormous) Maxime, and the flamboyant as ever professor Dumbledore.

Even the presentation of food was special, as the golden plates were all empty, with a small menu off to the side. One only had to state their selection out loud, and the food would appear. Some people might think that would be much more trouble for the dozens of house-elves down in the kitchen, but Harry was coming to understand that they were almost assuredly overjoyed at the extravagant occasion.

Harry ordered the salmon, while Pansy chose coq au vin, a French dish made with chicken. Fleur complimented her on having good taste. Pansy politely thanked her, but Harry noticed she wasn't otherwise keen on talking, as the French girl was criticizing the decorations as being very inferior to how her school did things. Harry listened long enough to chuckle to himself about how dismissive and rude she was being before leaning over to whisper in Pansy's ear.

"I know I have to save a dance for Parvati, so please forgive me but I may also have to dance once with Hermione."

"Make it a short one Harry, if you know what's good for you."

"As short as possible," he replied with a smile. "I just have to warn her about Krum."

"Fine."

On the other side, Krum was also relating what his school was like to Hermione. Harry wondered briefly how she had met the quidditch star, but he realized that she spent plenty of time on her own, as Harry was more often than not alone with Pansy.

But when she looked even half as good as she did tonight, how could anyone blame him for that?

"Did our entrance live up to your expectations?" he asked quietly.

"Very much so. I may have counted the girls with angry faces as they saw who you were with."

Harry struggled to keep himself from laughing too loudly.

"I'm sure they weren't blown away by how ridiculously sexy you look either," he whispered.

"Just remember how lucky you are to have me."

"Luckiest guy in Hogwarts, believe me, I know."

Soon enough the meal was over and the band was ready with their instruments. Harry felt like he was floating as he led Pansy out onto the dance floor. He had waited more than a year for this, and the end of the secrecy felt like a weight removed from his shoulders.

Pansy took his hand as the other slid effortlessly around her waist. The music began with a simple waltz, something he could have done even a year before. By now, moving in time with her was second nature, as instinctual as flying had always been. And in his head, Harry was starting to disassociate himself from the part of his life before Pansy entered it as some bad dream that he had finally awoken from.

Harry was smiling that dreamy smile as he stared at her, and Pansy was pleased that it wasn't just when he glanced down at her cleavage. She caught glimpses of the other champions. Delacour's date was too stunned by her allure to focus and was staggering through the waltz as if he was drunk. Krum's awkward gait and Granger's inexperience made them both inept dancers. In comparison, she and Harry looked like professionals. Her heels even helped her to be closer to him in height, not that it was necessary, but it was a nice little boost to not feel like one of the shorter girls in their year.

Pansy looked back to Harry and saw that his gaze was still fixed firmly on her. His eyes were sparkling with so much joy that she almost laughed as she remembered her brief instinct to try to figure out who Harry should invite to the ball so they could keep their relationship hidden for just a bit longer. It seemed so silly now. Yes, they still had enemies out there, especially Riddle's wraith floating around somewhere, but her father, and Malfoy, and Snape were all out of the picture. Just how many more people would Harry have needed to kill before she would have realized they were secure enough to come out of the shadows?

Harry would always be more willing to be open about how he felt, but Pansy knew that he was right in this case. Hadn't Sam suggested as much a year ago- that they would be happier when they revealed their love. Harry obviously was. And she now understood that she was elated by that freedom too. Who cared what others might think? She had Harry and his love. The rest of the world could burn as far as she was concerned.

The song was winding to a close, and she felt Harry dip her low in his arms as polite applause began. Then his lips were on hers and she dimly heard the applause grow louder, with a few wolf whistles as well. But the sounds were distant because right then all she could taste or feel was Harry.

When he pulled her back upright, it was like coming up from underwater as the crowd around her came back into focus. But before anyone could approach them, another song came on, and Harry was leading her back into the steps of the dance.

"You have an expression that looks like Luna," he whispered as he stepped in closer to her. "Dreamy, but happy."

"Well, you did practically snog me in front of the entire school."

"I know," Harry smiled. "I'm pretty proud of myself. I almost dipped you too low though."

"I'd kill you if you ruined this dress, Harry."

"If I ruined that dress, I'd kill myself. I had no idea dresses could be that sexy."

"It's good that you're finally starting to appreciate fashion." She gave him a satisfied little smirk. "I suppose I should have known that you just needed the right inspiration."

"I am often inspired by the way you dress," he teased.

"Inspired to be even more incorrigible, you mean."

"And you love me for it."

"That I do." The floor was filling up around them, but Harry steered them safely through the crowd. "One more song, then you should find Parvati. I'll get us drinks."

"Alright."

"Hey Neville, mind if I borrow your date for a moment?"

"Sure, Harry."

Parvati was beaming as she walked with Harry out onto the dance floor.

"So, how's your night been so far?" he asked as she slipped into his arms. Not quite as close as she wanted, but Parvati didn't push.

"Not as good as yours. You really weren't going to hold much back, were you? I could hear girls' hearts breaking all around me."

"That was holding back," Harry grinned.

"Pansy's a lucky girl then."

"Things going well with Neville?"

"Pretty good so far. He's a surprisingly decent dancer; apparently his grandmother made him take a few lessons when he was younger. Still not the smoothest talker though, but that's not the worst thing. I saw poor Lavender wrestling with Seamus to keep his hands above the waist already."

"That's probably going to be a losing battle," Harry laughed.

"Only until she slaps him."

"Think she will?"

"Sooner or later, yes. Lavender talks a big game, but she isn't going to be easy for just any guy."

"And definitely not if he's being disrespectful."

"Exactly. It's one thing to try to cop a feel in a broom closet, but doing it in the middle of the dance floor is just so tacky."

"I agree."

"That's why so many girls like you."

"Not that many girls really know me though."

"Okay, so some of them just think you're cute. Speaking of which, where are your glasses tonight?"

"Contacts."

"Ah." Parvati said as she looked thoughtful for a moment. "Harry, you have an important choice to make then."

"Alright, what are my options?"

"Number one, always wear your glasses from now on. It will cut down on the female attention going your way, but if Pansy isn't braindead, she might not want you to do that."

"What's option number two?"

"Never, ever wear your glasses again. But if you do that, you might have to keep Pansy from killing me when I am unable to keep from throwing myself at you. And I won't be the only one."

"That could be a problem," he chuckled.

"It could be, or it could be wonderful. I don't mind sharing, Harry."

"Well, Pansy does, and I like keeping her happy."

"A good girlfriend would keep you happy."

"Oh, she does."

"Of course she does. Dammit," Parvati muttered under her breath. "Well, keep my offer in mind just in case."

"I don't think Neville would appreciate that."

"Neville is a suitable date to the ball, but he's not boyfriend material."

"Really?"

"Still too shy, especially for someone like me."

"Oh, that's too bad. I thought you and Lavender might have gotten him past that."

"We could only do so much," she shrugged.

"I hope he at least shows you a good time tonight."

"Better than some could." Parvati looked over into the distance and Harry followed her eyes to see Ron sulking by himself in a corner.

"Did he come alone?"

"Yes. There was a rumor that he was going to come with his sister, but Dean was desperate to find someone, so Ginny got a date. He apparently struck out with his first few targets."

"Anyone I know?"

"Susan Bones for one. I heard she was really hoping that you might ask her."

"I don't know why- I barely know the girl."

"Are you sure? Isn't she part of professor Slughorn's little club with you?"

"Yes, but those get togethers really aren't as interesting as you might think."

"Anyway, Susan shot him down. Padma did too. I think the fact that you told me that he thinks I'm hot might have been a strike against him for her."

"Let me guess, since you were already taken, he figured he'd ask out your twin since she's got to be just as hot. Something like that?"

"I may have warned her," Parvati giggled. "Padma was still considering it, but his approach apparently didn't meet her standards either. Some other Ravenclaw also passed. But you'll never guess who else he asked."

"Hmm, the way you say that makes me think it was a Slytherin."

"Boys that look as good as you aren't supposed to be smart, Harry," she teased with a coy little smile. "How are we ladies going to wrap you around our fingers if you pay too much attention?"

"It was Daphne, wasn't it?"

"Damn Harry. How did you guess?"

"Well, I don't think Dean would ask some girl he didn't even know, so it would probably be someone in our year. And Daphne is very good looking."

"Aren't you spoken for, Harry?"

"I'm not blind. Besides, any teenage guy could probably rate all the girls around him without even engaging his brain. Just let his hormones do all the work."

"Really? I've never heard that theory before."

"Let me put it to you like this. As a teenage girl, I assume your hormones are doing all sorts of things that distract you, right? Probably not in the same way that they affect us guys, but I know there are some similarities."

"Sure."

"So, I assume that makes you think about boys and snogging and all sorts of fun stuff like that, right?"

"Yes... I think I see where you're going with this."

"I hit puberty a couple of years ago, and I wasn't even on the early side of things. I think about sex constantly. Any class I've been in this year, I guarantee you I've thought about sex during part of it. Probably every class last year too.

"And if you think that's bad, you should stay far, far away from Seamus. Even I think he's a pervert."

Parvati giggled again. "How did you get this confident, Harry? If Neville had just an ounce of this, he'd be an infinitely better date."

"I know I'm leaving the ball with the most gorgeous girl here. What do I have to worry about tonight?"

"You really think that, don't you?" Parvati sighed. "Pansy's even luckier then."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry tensed and pulled back from her angrily.

"Please don't get upset. I don't think she's bad looking or anything, but Harry, there's a Veela less than thirty feet away from us. You might be the only guy here who hasn't even glanced at her."

"Well, she is kind of a bitch." Parvati only laughed at Harry's response.

"A lot of people would say the same thing about Pansy."

"Maybe, but she's mine."

"And what those people think don't matter to you, right?"

"Exactly." The music wound to a close at that moment.

"The song's over, so I suppose you should take me back to Neville. Thanks for the dance, Harry."

"You're welcome." They were soon back at the table where Pansy sat, with drinks in hand. Neville looked nervous.

"She's all yours, Nev." He turned to his girlfriend. "May I have this dance, my dear?"

"Certainly."

Once they were in the middle of the noisy crowd, Pansy leaned in to ask him, "Do I need to worry about Parvati?"

"Only if I don't put my glasses back on. Then I'm supposed to keep you from killing her when she throws herself at me."

"She said that? I'm almost surprised she would be that honest."

"I'm also supposed to keep her in mind if you ever decide you're willing to share."

"Don't push it, Harry."

"I'm not, I just didn't want to hide anything from you. I thought you'd be more used to how Parvati is than I am. You spend a lot more time with her."

"I suppose so."

"Besides," Harry leaned in even closer, whispering into her ear, "I thought you liked it when we got a bit angry before sex."

"Not tonight. Tonight should just be amazing."

"That works for me. I want to kiss every inch of your body. But your dress makes it hard for me to decide if I should start up here," Harry said with a glance down at her cleavage. It was a good thing Pansy was so shameless, otherwise his staring would have made her blush several times.

"Or?"

"Or that wonderful slit up to your thigh."

"You have always liked my legs," Pansy teased while Harry stole a glance downwards.

"No, I've always loved your legs."

They finished that dance and one more before Harry noticed Hermione walking off while Krum headed to get drinks. Pansy grudgingly followed him as Harry aimed for his best friend. She wondered if he still thought of her like that, or if he had come around to preferring Luna's company yet.

Knowing Harry, he would probably just say that both of them were his best friends. Well, Pansy certainly favored Luna- she doubted Granger would have been so encouraging of helping her play out a fantasy like Luna had on the train. However, it might have been funny to see how she would have reacted to witnessing something like that.

She might have fainted. That would have been pretty funny.

But more likely, she would've just tried to put a stop to things. Pansy would have needed to be quick with a full-body bind in that case.

Harry was back out on the dance floor now. She hoped this would be a quick conversation. She didn't need any of the mouth breathers to come over to bother her. At least last time, she had Longbottom to terrify and no one had tried to harass her. That was the one problem with her dress- idiots might take it as a cue to try speaking to her.

It would be pretty hot to see Harry blast someone though. Fighting for her honor and all that. Yes, that could be fun.

She should have known that she was tempting fate.

"I'm surprised you have time to dance with me, Harry. I wouldn't have thought you could tear yourself away from Pansy. Particularly with how she's dressed tonight."

"She does look stunning, doesn't she?" Harry looked over at Pansy once again, but made himself pull his eyes away and clear his mind. "I wouldn't have had to if you had told me who your date was."

"What's that mean? Don't tell me you think I shouldn't have come with Viktor. I wouldn't think you would be that petty, Harry. Just because he's another champion-"

"I don't care about that, Hermione. What worries me are the rumors about him."

"Rumors? You're clearly spending too much time with Parvati- and that was very surprising."

"I owed her a favor, so I paid it off with a dance."

"Is that all?" Hermione looked at him skeptically. "I suppose it will be a bit of a boost if she's one of the few girls to dance with you tonight. Alright, so what's so wrong with Viktor?"

"Look, this will probably aggravate you, but I'd rather you be mad at me and safe than otherwise. Krum supposedly prefers younger girls, and that worries me- that he might try to take advantage of you."

"Viktor has been nothing but a gentleman tonight."

"So far," Harry argued. "I doubt he would just start groping you in the middle of the dance floor. But he's eighteen and famous, with tons of groupies throwing themselves at him. Why did he pick you to ask to the Yule Ball?"

"What's wrong with me?" Hermione was definitely infuriated, but Harry knew this was coming.

"Nothing's wrong with you, Hermione. But in the muggle world, it would be illegal. You're underage and the fact that he had a lot of options but specifically chose someone young is worrying. I've heard that he's been caught checking out other girls in the lower years- and only the lower years.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but that makes him sound like a creep to me." Hermione was scowling at Harry, but he wanted to finish his warning. "Look, if he tries anything that you don't want him to just call for Dobby, alright?"

"Dobby? Your house-elf?"

"Yeah, I can ask him to make sure to answer your call if you need anything. Maybe I'm wrong about all this, in which case I'm sorry. But you're my best friend, so I'm going to worry about you. It would take a pretty special guy for me to actually trust him not to hurt you."

"Viktor could be that special guy, you know."

"I hope so, for your sake."

"You're too paranoid, Harry."

"Maybe," he allowed, "but it's kept me alive, hasn't it?"

"Vhere did Herm-own-ninny go?"

Ah yes, Krum. She should have known at least this mouth breather would be by to bother her. She looked out and saw Harry and Hermione, who appeared to be more arguing than dancing. Hopefully that meant they would be done soon.

"She's dancing with her best friend."

"You vill dance with me then."

It wasn't a question, as he reached down and touched her arm.

"Keep your grubby paws to yourself," Pansy said, trying to shake him off. There was a crackling sound as a spark shot into Krum's hand, who quickly released her.

"Vhat? How did you do that?"

"I did warn you."

"Warn you what?" Harry asked as he and Hermione had finally returned. While she looked annoyed, Harry was staring daggers at Krum.

"Krum here seemed to think you had agreed to swap dates."

"You vere dancing with Herm-own-ninny. It only seemed fair for her to dance vith me."

"Maybe I didn't want to dance with you, as I said," Pansy replied.

Harry's wand was instantly in his hand, and he brought it up to point at Krum.

"You ever touch my girlfriend again, and I will kill you."

It was every bit as hot as Pansy had fantasized. He was getting so lucky tonight. More than she had already planned, now.

"Harry, calm down. It was just a misunderstanding." Hermione jumped in between them.

"A girl saying no is never a misunderstanding," Harry growled.

"Come on, Viktor." Hermione pulled him away. As she walked off, she turned to hiss at Harry, "You're acting crazy!"

Harry shook his head in frustration. Pansy took a sip of her drink as they watched the bookworm and the quidditch star disappear into the crowd.

"Once again, she's blinded by someone famous. At least Lockhart was good looking. That arsehole looks like a scowling caveman trying to figure out how to rub sticks together to start a fire."

"Let's go, Harry."

"Where?"

"We could use a walk outside," Pansy took his hand and led him towards the doors. "And I need to get you somewhere private."

They moved quickly, heading out the doorway of the Great Hall and down a couple of hallways until they found an empty broom closet. If they had taken a different path, they might have gone outside and run into a scheming little insect, there to dig up as much dirt as she could.

But instead, Pansy found herself with Harry pressed up against her back, while his hand slid all the way up the slit of her dress and even further on.

"No underwear?"

"I am a naughty girl, Harry," she breathed.

"And I'm the luckiest guy in the world," he answered as his lips moved down to the side of her throat. Pansy didn't have to hold back her lusty moan; she reached over her shoulder to grab his hair & hold his mouth tight against her. Even if she got a hickey, it would hardly be the most scandalous thing she did that night.

"What is this thing called around your neck?" he asked as he paused for a breath.

"A choker. Do you like it?"

"It draws attention to your throat, and I love your throat. Should I take it off?"

"Only if you can do it with your teeth," she purred. "Now stop talking."

Harry put his mouth back to a better use, and she gasped as his fingers started working their magic as well.

"Oh, fuck yes," she moaned. His thumb was drawing circles on her clit and the little nub was sending waves of pleasure through her. Pansy was glad that they had found some place empty nearby. She had been so wet ever since he pulled his wand on that bastard Krum. And now she was getting her reward.

"Don't stop!"

Harry took instruction well as usual and a few moments later she was clenching on his hand, before desperately whimpering that she'd had enough.

Pansy turned around as Harry was sucking on his fingers.

"You're delicious," he said with a smile.

She pulled his hand away so she could kiss him.

"Dobby?" The house-elf arrived with his usual pop, and he was squeezed onto a shelf in the small storage room.

"Yes, miss Pansy?"

"Can you bring me one of the cushions from the couch?"

"Of course."

He popped away and back again, before being thanked and leaving with a blush. He could tell his humans were having their fun times again.

Pansy set the cushion down on the floor and carefully hiked her dress up as she knelt down.

"Luckiest guy in the school," Harry murmured as Pansy was undoing his pants.

"That's right, but don't mess up my hair," Pansy said before taking him into her mouth.

"Oh god." He grabbed onto the shelves with both hands as Pansy went to work, licking and sucking his cock. She had always been enthusiastic about it, but ever since he had moaned out 'more tongue' a few months ago in the middle of a blow job, she had gone from good to incredible at giving him head.

And tonight, she was in rare form, hungrily devouring him. Harry was gratified to know that he wasn't the only one who had been turned on all night long.

"Fuck." Harry's breathing was becoming ragged.

"So close," he pleaded, and she doubled her efforts, coaxing him into an orgasm so strong that his knees buckled and Harry felt something sharp as one of his hands lost their grip on the shelf he had been clinging to for dear life. Pansy didn't stop until she was sure she had gotten every last drop though, and that was really the best part about when she went down on him.

"Awesome," he gasped out, when she had finished and was sitting up, reaching for her glass of punch that she had set on one of the lower shelves. Harry's had spilled in his earlier exuberance.

He reached down to put his pants back on. "Ouch," he yelped.

"What is it?"

"I think I got a splinter." Pansy took his hand and saw a few drops of blood coming from his middle finger.

"Hold still, Harry." She stood up, and pulled her wand out of an inner pocket from his jacket. Pansy summoned the splinter out and then cast a healing charm to stop the bleeding. Then she drew his finger to her lips and kissed it.

"All better," she cooed, before taking his finger into her mouth and sucking on it seductively.

"You're driving me crazy tonight."

"That was the plan," she teased with a grin. Pansy slid her wand back into his pocket and pulled out a small, hand held mirror. She began making sure that her dress wasn't bunched up anywhere before double checking her hair and makeup.

Once they were both ready to rejoin the party, Dobby was called to take the cushion back to the couch.

"Dobby really is the best," Harry said. "What would we do without him?"

"I'm not sure, but I know my knees would be a lot more sore."

Harry laughed as he opened the door and stepped back out into the hallway, nearly crashing into Fred Weasley who was with Angelina Johnson.

"Harry, my man, good show," Fred said in a posh accent as Angelina tried to hold back a giggle.

"What were you two doing in there?" she asked.

"Use your imagination," Pansy drawled out.

"Or use Fred's, if you're feeling outrageous," Harry suggested.

"Are you two done?"

"She's all yours." Harry smiled as he took Pansy's hand, while Angelina pulled Fred into the newly empty broom closet. "Have fun guys."

They went back to the Great Hall where Harry and Pansy spent the last hour sharing every dance and ignoring the rest of the school around them. At midnight, the band finished playing. Harry took the opportunity to kiss Pansy once again while the crowd applauded for the Weird Sisters. In his mind though, they were cheering him and his love on.

Pansy wasn't the only one who was a romantic, after all.

They slowly strolled up through the castle, deciding to head back to their quarters for the night. They could go back home tomorrow and finish off their break from school. Dobby would have a breakfast ready for them in the morning, no matter where they slept.

When they reached the Gryffindor common room, it was still very full with a number of couples bidding each other good night, some of them rather brazenly. For example, Fred and Angelina had apparently not had quite enough fun downstairs. Harry chuckled to himself while wondering if he should have had Dobby leave the cushion.

Harry saw Ron sitting against a wall, scowling by himself, and he felt a hint of sadness for his former friend. Ron had become more of a loner recently, and Harry wondered who he would spend time around now. After the way Hermione had raged at him for suggesting that she couldn't find a date, that friendship looked to be on its last legs as well.

But Pansy was pulling Harry's hand as she led him back into their rooms, and all thoughts of any redheads slipped away as he looked back to his incredibly sexy girlfriend. He could start calling her that now, publicly, and that brought a smile to his face.

"What's that smile for?" she asked.

"You're now officially my girlfriend. I've wanted to call you that for a year and a half, and now I can."

"I guess we didn't really need to keep things as hidden as we did. But then, we wouldn't have gotten the shocking reception we did tonight."

"As long as you're pleased with how things worked out, then I guess I am too."

"I think it's time for bed."

"And time for me to unwrap one last present."

"What's that?" Pansy asked with a seductive look in her eye, as she exposed even more of her leg through the slit in her dress.

"You, you minx." Harry smiled and pulled her into his arms. "I love you."

"I love you too, Harry."

Before they made it to the bedroom though, there was a pop and the sounds of someone sobbing. They turned to see Dobby with Hermione, whose previously sleek hair had fallen down from her updo into a mess and whose mascara was running.

"Hermione?"

"I hate you, Harry," she moaned as she threw her arms around him. "Why did you have to be right?"

"What happened?"

"Everything was going so well too."

Pansy was grumbling at the timing, and Harry felt similarly as he saw her scowl while Hermione rambled on.

"He was supposed to walk me back to the tower. He wanted to stop by a broom closet, and I thought, well that's just one of those things teenagers do on nights like this. And the snogging was nice enough, I guess, but then..."

Pansy had motioned Dobby over and was whispering something to him. Hermione choked down one last whimper as she tried to continue.

"He grabbed me. It was, you know, like a grope, but he didn't let go, even when I asked him to. He just put one hand on my bum instead. And he wouldn't stop.

"Damn you, Harry. Why did you have to be right?" she cried into his chest, and Harry feebly patted her on the back.

It's not like he wanted to be right.

There was a popping sound though, and Dobby was handing something to Pansy who stepped over towards them.

"Here, Hermione," she said as she held out a potion vial. Hermione looked up curiously.

"What is it?"

"Just something to help you calm down."

"Thanks, Pansy." Hermione gulped it down, and within seconds she sagged into Harry's arms, completely unconscious.

"I take it that wasn't just a calming draught?"

"No," Pansy snickered. "It was a dreamless sleep potion."

Harry laughed as well.

"We do have other things to do tonight," he said with a smile. "You'll probably have to help me put her to bed."

"I'll get the door," Pansy replied walking over to the rarely used second bedroom.

Harry lifted Hermione onto the bed and reached down to take her shoes off.

"What are we going to do about her dress?"

"Dobby can handle it, master Harry!" With a snap of his fingers, Hermione's clothes had changed into sleepwear.

"Cool. That's like a really powerful switching spell. We ought to learn it, it seems really useful. Good work, Dobby." Harry pulled the covers back and set his friend down in the bed, trying to get her into a comfortable position.

A moment later they were heading to their bedroom, hastily trying to get past the interruption.

"Now where were we?" Pansy asked in a husky voice as the door shut behind her.

"I believe it was time for me to unwrap one last gift."

"Which one?" she teased as she put her arms around his neck.

"My favorite one," he responded as his hands slid down to caress her breasts through the fabric.

"Don't tear the packaging."

"Never." Harry reached up to undo the strap behind her neck. "Presents this precious should be savored, and that includes taking my time to unwrap you."

"Good things come to those who wait."

"Precisely. I think you should help me slip into something more comfortable too."

"Like what?"

"Like you."

There were no more words; their lips came together and their hands went to work removing each others' clothes. Once Pansy's dress was off, she slowly stalked across the room to put it on a hanger, wearing only her heels and knowing that Harry's eyes were watching her. As soon as she was done, she felt one of his hands slide down to her bum and then in between her legs while the other wrapped around and took a breast in hand.

"Leave the choker on," was the last coherent thing either of them said for the night.