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Chapter 66: Winter Break

It had been decided amongst themselves that The Greengrass girls, Blaise, Pansy and Susan would be staying with Harry over the holiday. The former because they were under Harry's protection, the last because her Aunt asked and it gave them an excuse to get to know one another all over again.

Nym had decided to stay at the castle over break when she heard Draco was not going home and hoped to finally figure out how to follow him into the Room of Requirement though she had committed to coming over for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning. Most of Harry's other friends would be joining him on Boxing Day including the Patil's. This last was slightly ominous however as Padma said she would mention the possibility of a Marriage contract to her family and may be bringing her older brother with her as well as Parvati.

The train ride was rather uneventful with Draco not on board, and this was in fact Harry's first train ride back for Christmas, last year had been a fluke when Arthur had been attacked and they all had to rush to be with him. Ron and Lavender were somewhere further forward on the half empty train with Neville and Hannah. Though he and Harry had made up for the most part Lavender still refused to admit that she had lied to everyone including Ron who had witnessed the proof himself. He could hardly say as much to everyone without losing the woman he loved so the two kept their distance.

Ginny lay snoozing in Hermione's lap on the bench across from him while the older girl read a book with one hand and idly stroked the girls hair with her other; Luna was reading the Quibbler on the door end of the bench where Harry was seated in the corner with Susan snuggled up next to him. After that first night they had noticed the gap between them where they had both grown while apart and were taking things slowly now until they could rebuild what had been torn from them so abruptly. That didn't mean they didn't enjoy the snuggling and snogging, just that they decided that moving fast might end up with the same outcome as before and both wanted to be sure this time.

As the train pulled back into the station Harry and Hermione woke their respective girlfriends before heading off to the Platform with shrunken trunks in their pockets. Being able to use magic outside of school definitely had its advantages. Once on the platform Harry spotted Dan and Emma, looking distinctly uncomfortable surrounded by people in wizarding garb. He pointed them out to Hermione before the four of them strode over to greet them.

"Dan, it's good to see you again. So you two were brave enough to walk through solid brick? I'm impressed, though the trick is to take it at a run the first time." Harry greeted the man with a handshake.

"I see my little girl is still in one piece and smiling so I'm not going to ask any questions." He said in a half-dangerous half-joking tone that made Harry gulp.

He turned to Emma and offered her his hand but she was having none of it as she pulled him into a hug and kissed him on the cheek. "You look good Harry, I'm glad to see you still in one piece." He blushed as images of her in one piece of a two piece swimsuit came to mind at the contact. He then turned to his girls.

"So I guess this is it for a while..." He said with a sad smile. Hermione pulled him into a hug and kissed him chastely on the lips confusing Dan a bit. Especially when Ginny engulfed him in a hug and kissed him rather deeply before her mother called out from the other side of the platform.

"Ginevra Weasley! You will control yourself in public! I will not be accused of raising a hussy." The girl blushed as Molly joined them and was pulled into a hug which she gladly returned to hide her face.

"Sorry mum."

"Well then dear, I guess we will see you before you leave for school once again. I hope you have fun Snow Skying."

"Skiing Mum, its snow skiing, and I plan to."

Molly shrugged off the correction before turning to Hermione. "And don't you look lovely dear. Happiness suits you rather well." She looked as if she was going to tear up and pulled the girl into a hug. "Please keep yourself and my baby safe?"

Emma smiled, "I promise that skiing has to be much safer than whatever these three can come up with at that school. I swear, possessed Professors, giant snakes...Giants for that matter."

"In their defense Grawp is a very small Giant." Luna said earning Harry an amused smirk from Dan and a disapproving look from both mothers.

"Well then there is nothing else for it, have fun dears and we will see you at the New Year." That ended the conversation and with another round of handshakes, hugs, and kisses...from all the females present no less; Hermione and Ginny left with the Grangers for Holiday in the mountains.

Harry excused himself from Susan for a moment as Luna started to walk away. "Luna hold on."

She turned her large eyes on him and smiled. "Yes Harry?"

He was suddenly nervous and not entirely sure what he was trying to say. "Uh...we haven't really talked about the other night but I wanted you to know..."

"I know Harry, me too." She kissed him quickly before turning to walk through the barrier.

Susan slid up next to him and wrapped her hand in his once more, "What was that about?"

"I really have no idea, Luna means a lot to me...but we have barely seen each other or spoken since..."

The girl nodded and squeezed his hand. "I think I've learned a few things about Luna, the main thing is you shouldn't try to figure her out. You either enjoy her company or you think she's a nutter."

"I know, I just...she saw what happened to Gabrielle, or at least knew part of it. She was so worried that I wouldn't forgive her, rightly so, until I saw the pain on her face in the Hospital Wing. It broke my heart and I knew...on some level, I knew how much she meant to me even if neither of us have ever said it."

"You love her too then?" Susan asked with a smile.

He looked confused trying to sort his emotions. "I don't think I would have given her one of my necklaces if I didn't, but we never made anything official."

"Don't worry about it Harry. Luna's a free spirit in more than the traditional sense of the word; she knows how you feel probably better than you do, probably before you did. She looked happy to me so don't overanalyze and dig yourself into a hole, if Luna wants or needs more from you she'll let you know."

He finally gave up and pulling on Susan's hand they followed Molly back toward the group of redheads and Order Members waiting for them with a Portkey in hand. Harry turned around and motioned for his Slytherin friends to join them and once they were all together they touched the old boot before being hooked by the guts and flung through space. Harry landed in a heap with Susan on top of him in the back garden and groaned as he got up.

"That's it! I refuse to take a Portkey or Floo ever again!" He grumped getting chuckles from those present who had witness his exit from the Floo on more than one occasion.

Pansy, Daphne, Astoria and Blaise were looking around in confusion at the empty lot that seemed to stretch toward the street. Pansy was the first to speak up. "Fidelius right?"

Harry nodded and pulled a slip of parchment from his robes and handed it to her, after reading it her eyes widened in comprehension before passing it on to the rest. Even after reading it the younger Greengrass still looked confused.

"Just concentrate on what you read Miss Greengrass." Mad-Eye growled.

Soon the building appeared and she too looked up in awe before they were lead inside along with their entourage who quickly left them in the kitchen as they retired to the dining room.

"So this is the notorious House of Black?" Pansy asked looking around.

Harry nodded before flipping the light switch by the door and turning on the overheads. All four of the Purebloods shielded their eyes for a moment before looking around once more.

"You have Electriksity?" Astoria asked. "In a Pureblood Mansion?"

Harry laughed as he knew Sirius would love the expression on their faces. "Yes, I was raised Muggle and I like my electricity; torches and candlelight is great for ambiance but for every day lighting you can't beat incandescent bulbs. Besides, my godfather hated all that Pureblood supremacy nonsense that his family spouted and making their home just a bit Muggle appeals to the Marauder in me."

They all looked at him blankly so he decided to explain after motioning for them to follow. He gave them a quick tour, stopping outside of some rooms and pointing out where bathrooms could be found all while relating the tale of the Marauders and their exploits at Hogwarts. After showing them where his and Susan's room could be located as well as explaining how to change the setup of the Dual Room upstairs he led them back down to the third level where he spread out his arms. "Faites comme chez vous. Make yourselves at home."

They spread out looking at the different rooms like little kids in a candy shop; Harry was surprised when Blaise and Daphne did not take a room together even though he had explained that all the adults knew this was his house and that his guests were not to be bothered about sleeping arrangements. Instead Daphne and Astoria happily took the room across the hall from the bathroom. Blaise took the one next to it and Harry led Pansy to the room where Ron had stayed previously. The Weasleys would be spending a lot of time here but had elected to stay at home over the holiday.

"Pansy I know how much you love your showers and this one has an en suite so you don't have to share. As much as we enjoy each other's company I assume you would like to take the holiday to stay away from me. But I also wanted to offer you the Ladies Quarters on the top floor if you like; Susan is going to be staying with me."

The girl looked a bit torn between anger and gratitude and finally seemed to settle on indifference. "This works for now, I might take a look at that room upstairs again later... Thank you, for thinking of the shower and all..."

He smiled at her and she hated him for looking so cute like that, "Nothing but the best for my betrothed."

She smacked his arm painfully and looked to see if anyone else heard him before giving him an evil look, "Don't joke about that! Make up your bloody mind already. If we are going to work something out we might as well do it. I'm tired of your jokes, ever since that dreadful date in Hogsmeade."

"Hey!" He took offense. "It wasn't my fault that the ruddy Death Eaters showed up!"

She sneered, "No but you forgot all about me as soon as one of your harem girls came along."

"Susan could have died! Are you jealous or something?" He asked in outrage.

"Please... Look; just stay away from me for the Holiday. This is the only chance I'm going to get to be away from you for the next several months and I plan to enjoy it!"

"Fine!" He shouted drawing the attention of the others in the hall.

"Fine!" She shouted back before marching into her room.

He wanted so badly to shout something back at her but nothing formed on his mind..."Well bloody Fine!" He said turning his back as she slammed the door behind him. He looked up a bit confused and a bit unnerved by the argument which he would have called a lover's quarrel if it had been Ron and Hermione a year ago; only to blush as three Slytherins and a Hufflepuff were smirking at him with one eyebrow raised each.

"What?" He asked incredulously.

"If you don't know I'm not going to tell you." Blaise said before turning and walking toward his room. "I assume Dinner will be early since we missed Lunch on the train?"

Harry nodded, "Then I think I will take a nap, please wake me when it's ready."

Harry bowed as low as he could. "Of course your grace, will that be all?"

The dark skinned boy grinned and pretended to think about it before kicking his shoes off. "You can shine my shoes as well boy. Thank you." Dobby popped in at that moment and began scolding both Harry and Blaise.

"Mister Harry Potter is not to be shining shoes; that is Dobby's job!" He then popped away taking the aforementioned shoes with him. Harry met Blaise's eye and they both burst out laughing before the other boy waved and closed his door. He turned toward the Sisters who were still watching him with interest.

"For heaven's sake will you please tell me why you are looking at me like that?"

Daphne smiled and shrugged before walking into her room with Astoria in tow. The younger girl's blonde hair seemed to almost float as she spun her head around and began to walk. It reminded him briefly of Gabrielle before he decided that no matter how cute the young Slytherin was, she was no Veela. "I take it you two would like a ring when Dinner is ready as well?"

Astoria turned and smiled up at him, "That would be lovely Garson! Merci." She then closed the door in his face. He turned to Susan with an extremely confused look.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" He asked her though he made sure she could tell he was not directing his anger at her.

She just shook her head and took his hand before pulling him toward the stairs. "You will figure it out eventually, as for the ribbing, I think they found your sense of hospitality...refreshing is all. Especially when you have two perfectly good house elves that could have shown them to their rooms and offered to get them for Dinner."

He shook his head as they plopped down on the couch, he looked up and sighed before getting back off the couch and crossing the room to his big screen Telly. "Finally we can be together again my love!" He cried as he hugged the set. Susan rolled her eyes and smiled at his antics.

$$$$

"So we're back where it all started." He said quietly.

"Oui, this is very nice. Not that ze meadow is not nice, but I miss this bed."

Harry's dream had taken the form of the Masters Quarters at Grimmauld place for a change. Currently he lay in bed next to a sleeping Susan with Gabrielle cuddled up in the crook of the opposite arm tracing circles on his chest after their latest round of love making.

"It is good you and Suzie find each other again."

"Oui, I thought for a minute..."

"But she is here because she loves you and your necklace works for her."

"It should have worked for you too." He said slightly depressed. She leaned up and captured his lips for a sweet kiss to bring him out of his dark mood.

"Master I am with you always now, I miss ze waking world but to be with you at all times is close to perfect."

That suddenly brought the questions back to his mind that he never seemed able to ask her. He sat up and pulled her with him, "Pet I need to ask you some questions."

She smiled, "I know, you keep getting distracted, Non?" As she said this her hand trailed fire down his chest toward his groin and he groaned as he stopped her from distracting him again.

"Trelawney said some things..."

"She is not as vapid as she seems."

He nodded, "Is it true?"

She smiled, "Would you believe me if I say yes? I am just ze dream, Non?"

"I'm starting to wonder...I'm not exactly running on all Cylinders." She just looked at him funny not getting the Muggle phrase. "Uh, I'm..." He fished around for a magical equivalent. "A few ingredients short of a potion?" She raised that infuriating single eyebrow and he sighed. "Not quite all here, a bit barmy, gone off the deep end, a couple of eggs shy of a dozen?"

"Oh, you are crazy? I know zis Master, it is cute."

He shook his head as he rolled his eyes. "So I don't know if believing what I hear in a dream means I'm crazier; or finally getting better..."

She straddled his lap and kissed him, smiling against his lips as she felt him stir between her thighs. "Do any of your other dreams do zis to you?"

It was true, he had nice dreams before, but never ones that were so real he made a mess of himself in the waking world. Even when he had been with Lavender. As he thought about his time with the girl his arousal grew despite the hard feelings between them Lav was still extremely attractive and they had fun together. Another kiss brought him back to the girl currently in his lap and his erection sprung to full mast before she sank herself down on top of him and began moving.

"I promised I will not leave you...but I cannot stay trapped in ze body that was damaged...so I bind myself to you using ze necklace." She increased her pace and he couldn't respond to her as he was solely concentrating on not cumming before she did and on listening to her explanation. It was a war between body and mind.

"Ze necklace was infused with your magic. It makes it easy to stay...zis is why I ask you to wear it...but zen you were so full of anger and hatred...I cannot cum to you." At the word she screamed out the rest of the sentence alone with her orgasm but did not stop moving as she rode it out. He finally lost the battle and cried out her name as he filled her with his seed and fell back onto the bed with her in his arms, still coupled and enjoying the post-coital bliss.

His voice finally came back to him and he grinned from ear to ear. "So this is real?"

"Oui." She answered him quietly.

"So you aren't dead..."

"Non, I am more and less zan a ghost but I am yours forever and I do not leave you. Ze dark emotions make it impossible to reach you but when you are happiest I can reach you easily. Either way I am always here."

He nodded into her hair and enjoyed the scent and feel of her once more. "So..."

She giggled before smacking his shoulder, "So stop feeling depressed and angry all ze time and I will visit you in your dreams each night. I love you Master."

"I love you too Pet." The world began to darken and he knew it must be time to wake up.

$$$$

He woke up with one of the largest grins he had ever worn as he rolled slightly to the side and took in the form of his once and current girlfriends sleeping form. Though they were both nude, they hadn't done more than cuddle and kiss the night before and Harry loved every second of it. As much fun as sex was he was learning that just being together with the women he loved made him feel whole.

His thoughts were interrupted as Susan rolled over in his arms and smiled up at him. "Hey you."

He was still grinning like an idiot but managed to speak. "Hey yourself."

"What'cha smiling at?"

"I can't just smile at my nude girlfriend?"

She burrowed her head into his shoulder and pressed herself a bit closer to him. "That depends on if you are laughing at aforementioned girlfriend's nude form. In which case you better not answer that question." She said without opening her eyes.

He leaned in and captured her lips for a quick kiss, nothing too deep since neither had been to the loo yet. "Why would I find this..." He slid a hand from her shoulder all the way down to her bum before bringing it back up to rest on her hip. "...funny?"

She shrugged cutely before opening her eyes and kissing him once more. "So..." She began.

The grin wouldn't leave his face as he answered her question with a question. "So..."

She playfully hit his shoulder, "Stop it, so... what's the plan for today?"

He thought about it for a minute before shrugging, "I thought we could have a movie day with the Slytherins seeing as they probably haven't ever actually seen a Telly."

"So you're going to drag the Pureblood snobs kicking and screaming into the Muggle world?" She asked him with only a slight tone to her voice.

"Honestly Susie, they aren't that bad, well I don't know Astoria at all but even Pansy has stopped with the Pureblood nonsense. You probably didn't notice but she and Hermione are actually really good friends now."

"What?" Susan said sitting up. "Man you miss a couple of months with Harry Potter and the world changes around you..."

He sat up against the headboard and pulled her to his chest. "Yep that's me, change the world one Pureblood at a time."

"So what's up with her anyway? You were on a date with her in Hogsmeade when the attack happened right? So is it really just about keeping her safe?"

He sighed, "I don't know." He answered honestly. "I never would have thought I could fall for her but somehow she slithered her way into my heart. For the moment I guess you could say I feel like an overprotective brother or father to her, except for the fact that she's dead sexy and knows how to use it against me."

The girl in his arms chuckled as she felt him slowly hardening against her arm and couldn't help but reach down and run her fingernails lightly across his scrotum causing him to jump a bit.

"Eep! I thought you wanted to wait..."

She shrugged, "I did...but I don't know anymore..."

"You aren't going to lose me just because a Slytherin would put out and you won't or anything like that. I love you Susie."

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him. Deepening the kiss, morning breath be damned, she soon found herself straddling his lap only a few movements away from coupling. "I love you too Harry, and that isn't why I want you. My whole body has missed you and now that I have you back I can't pretend I don't want this."

He hugged her close and kissed her neck where he knew she was most sensitive as his arms ran up and down her back. "Make love to me Harry?" She asked quietly.

$$$$

After a late breakfast Harry lead all of his guests back upstairs where he asked them to get comfortable on the couches. "I just finished sending off a note to Minister Bones requesting provisional magic use licenses for the Slytherins. Just because we are on holiday doesn't mean we get to be lazy. So I've set up a schedule for us to train once we hear back from the ministry. After breakfast we are all going to work on meditation and Occlumency." He was cut off by Pansy's snort.

"Yes Miss Parkinson?"

She turned to him, "Honestly? We know what goes on when you teach Occlumency and you just expect us all to get naked for you?"

He was a bit surprised by her knowledge once again but added it to the growing file on Pansy's sources. "Meditating in the nude worked for Hermione, Susan and Ginny. I didn't need it so it is not a requirement, if you have some issues to work out we can work as a group in whatever you feel comfortable and if need be Susan can help the ladies out in private. If that's alright with you Blaise?"

The boy had a look in his eye that Harry couldn't quite place before he nodded. "Happy now?" He asked Pansy.

She shrugged so he continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Occlumency will help with your reading, retention and recall abilities making it much easier for me to teach you. After we have cleared our minds for the day we will work on casting speed, power control, and dodging drills just like in the Room of Requirement."

"How are you going to pull that one off? It's not like you have one of those rooms here..." Pansy asked before looking around. "Do you?"

He shook his head, "I can conjure the targets and have one of the elves charm them to move the way we want. As for the dodging drills, I will be acting as your target dummy."

Pansy grinned at this, "You mean we get to fire spells at you all we want without repercussion?"

"I think that's enough discussion from you, yes you can fire whatever non-lethal spells you want at me. It will help me train as well." The girl looked like she wanted to say something else but was soon sitting at attention again. "Then we have lunch and after lunch I plan to enjoy my holiday, how many of you have ever actually watched Television?"

All of the Slytherins shook their heads and he grinned, "Great, I'm going to turn you into couch potatoes if it's the last thing I do."

"That sounds disturbing." Daphne said with a small smile. "Are couch potatoes anything like garden gnomes?"

He couldn't help but laugh and a quick glance told him that she at least knew what the term couch potato meant and was having him on. "Alright, so let's get started on Occlumency. For now I want you all to get comfortable and simply close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. To clear your mind it is much easier to concentrate on something like being in a pitch black room than to try not to think at all, that was my first mistake. You can also try staring into a flame, real or imaginary if you think it would help. I'm gonna run out and get some books for you and I expect to find you meditating when I get back."

"Who made you the boss of us?" Astoria asked a bit rudely.

"Your father via Wood Parkinson. I can't be with you all the time, just ask Pansy how annoying that is, so I'm going to teach you how to defend yourselves to my standards." The girl looked contrite after the slight rebuke by her now acting family Head.

"Dobby?"

"You is calling me Mister Harry sir?" The little elf asked as he popped in.

Harry nodded, "Everyone this is Dobby one of my two personal elves, if you need anything within reason you can ask for either him or Winky. Dobby can you please clear the furniture?"

"Everyone will be getting off the couch please?" Dobby asked and they all complied; not used to getting orders from a house elf. He then clapped his hands and the furniture moved to the walls and the charms were put in place to prevent spell damage. "Will that be all Mister Harry?"

"Thank you Dobby." Harry said with a grin before the elf nodded and popped away.

Blaise looked rather uncomfortable, "You let your house elves talk to you like that? To your guests like that?"

Harry shrugged, "He isn't my slave even if he is bonded to me, I treat them with the respect any sentient being deserves, and I pay them though I hear from a reliable source that they only use my money to buy gifts."

After a moment of Blaise looking at him critically, he simply nodded his acceptance. "Alright, Susie can you help get them relaxed and meditating. For now don't worry about trying too hard to find your center just to get calm and ready to learn."

The girl nodded and Harry kissed her on the cheek before popping away to Diagon Alley where he had been notified that his shipment of Occlumency for the Occluded had arrived.

$$$$

Harry walked out of Gringotts with a huge smile on his face despite the bitter and gray looking surroundings of the Alley. He made his quick stop into Flourish & Blotts to pay for, pick up and shrink his shipment of Occlumency books. He had purchased enough to distribute them to every member of the Old Guard whom he had a suspicion would be needed more than the Order or the Aurors before this war was over. He wanted to give them every advantage possible.

He popped into the back garden once more and headed inside and quickly up the stairs where he found the group sitting in a circle and looking peaceful though not necessarily in a meditative state. He pulled the crate from his pocket and enlarged it before gently floating a copy of the book to land in front of each member of the group. Once that was done he shrank and stowed the remainder in his room before heading back to the group and gently gaining their attention so they could begin the day's exercises.

$$$$

"I still don't understand why it was called Episode Four if it was the first of a trilogy." Astoria complained as the movie ended.

Harry just shook his head, "I think the story behind the story is that the person who wrote it had six or so installments but this was the most exciting one. If he could only make one movie this was the one he wanted to make."

"But it should still be episode one, it's not like it would make any sense to do an episode one, two, or three after four, five, and six have already been told." Daphne tried to make Harry see reason.

"I don't know and I honestly don't care, what did you think about the movie, not the title?" Harry said in exacerbation.

Blaise looked up from his chair, which still confused Harry since he and Daphne were so close at school he would have expected them to sit together and snuggle. "Right, so good guy doesn't know what he's getting into, loses his parental figures, finds out he has some sort of special power and embarks on a journey to kill bad guy who killed said parents. I wonder why you like this movie so much."

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Harry then shivered as the revelations of the next two movies hit him when he looked at the ladies in the room. "Let's hope my life isn't really like these movies though...that would just be vile."

Susan nodded as she too shivered at the thought of Voldemort and Lily Potter. Or her being his secret twin sister; "Enough of that Harry, you're going to give me nightmares."

He smiled, "Who wants more popcorn before we start Empire?" Many hands were raised and he quickly asked Winky for more food and drinks. After their magical exercises, during which he had made sure to push them to the edge of their endurance, he was able to convince them to watch the Muggle device known as Television.

It had taken he and Susan a while to explain what a movie was but once the pictures began moving on screen they had stopped talking and watched in awe. He had to pause the movie more than once to answer questions about how they fit the people and sets into the little box and other such stuff leaving them amazed at the ingenuity of Muggles.

As he and Susan got comfortable once more he felt the couch depress on his other side and glanced over to find Pansy sitting down. She appeared to be pretending it was completely innocent, especially when she caught him looking.

"What? My neck hurts from sitting off to the side, why can't they make this thing three dimensional?"

He just shook his head at her antics, "They have come very far, very fast in the past hundred years or so while the magical world remained stagnant. However they are still limited by technology; I'm sure someone is trying to make 3-D telly out their somewhere."

Susan snuggled into him as the music began and all talking ceased as if a spell fell over the room. She had seen this too many times to remember when Harry was going through his all-TV-all-the-time phase during the summer so instead she kept sneaking glances over his shoulder at the other girl wondering how she felt about sharing her life with a Slytherin if it came down to it.

Meanwhile Harry pointedly ignored when Pansy's hand bumped lightly against his on the couch next to him, and tried to ignore when the next time her hand stayed where it was touching him even though her arm did not appear to be in a comfortable position. After the first 'AT-AT' was brought down on screen he sighed and glanced toward Susan who he saw was looking at the other girl. When their eyes met he looked quickly down at their hands where Pansy was trying to pretend she didn't realize they were touching.

Susan looked back up into his eyes and shrugged before returning her attention to the movie. Harry gave up his pretenses at that moment and decided that if it was likely he might have to marry the girl eventually, that he might as well get to know her better. Using the ancient and most time-honored move on the books he pretended to yawn and stretched his left arm straight up before setting it along the back of the couch behind the brunette beside him.

She looked a bit lost at first when his hand moved away from hers, and suddenly rather scared when she realized his arm was basically draped behind her shoulders. She suppressed a slight shiver before pretending to adjust her skirt a bit and sliding slightly closer to the handsome wizard beside her.

Harry pretended he didn't realize what he was doing as his fingers lightly brushed against the girl's hair. He felt vibration on his other side and looked down to see Susan trying to control her laughter as her couch mates pretended even to themselves that they wanted anything but to touch.

After a few moments of teasing her hair with his fingertips to see if she would react he plucked up enough courage to actually run his fingers through the silken locks. Pansy sighed just a bit before looking embarrassed for a split second. In the time it had taken for them to make it this far the movie had moved on. Pansy jumped as Luke lost his hand to Darth Vader and nearly fell off the platform in Cloud City. When she landed she hardly noticed she was leaning heavily against Harry and he had draped his arm around her shoulders.

They finished the movie like that but as the lights came back on in the room they quickly split apart as if nobody else had noticed the position they were in, or as if it were a complete accident. His member was throbbing in his pants and his arms tingled from elbow to fingertip from all the pent up tension and nerves the other girl had caused in the last hour or so of just holding her close. He jumped up and headed straight to his room, auspiciously to use the Loo.

Susan then turned to the other girl on the couch who was looking at his doorway in slight confusion. "Pansy?"

The girl jumped nearly out of her skin before turning back to Susan and desperately trying to control the blush that was fighting its way up her neck. "Yes Bones?"

Susan rolled her eyes and scooted a bit closer, "Look, I know you want to be with him, and he knows it. If you don't realize that he made a decision to try getting closer to you just now then you aren't as cunning as Slytherin gets credit for."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Like I would want anything to do with...Lord Potter-Black."

"You know it's alright to call him Harry? In fact he doesn't like his titles."

The girl shook her head, "He is the acting head of my family at the moment; that deserves respect even if I...well no matter what the situation."

Susan gave up as Harry walked back in looking a bit relieved and quickly put in the last tape after taking a vote on watching the final movie of the trilogy despite the fact that it was nearing Midnight. He sat back down and allowed Susan to cuddle into his right side once more and lay his arm across the back of the couch without any preamble this time.

Susan caught the other girl's eye and Pansy looked slightly panicked; Susan looked up quickly at Harry then back to Pansy and nodded. The Slytherin mustered up as much courage as she could and slid back into his embrace as the lights came down once more and the music that could never be mistaken for any other began to play. Harry relaxed a bit and smiled as he let his arm fall across the girl's shoulders before turning to Susan and kissing her quickly on the forehead before giving both girls a squeeze causing them both to smile, though Pansy quickly recovered her mask.

$$$$

Meanwhile Severus Snape found himself in the middle of the desert on some strange contraption that looked to be the child of a sailboat and a Muggle tank. He saw a flash of green light ignite on the barge in front of him and before he knew what was happening he had fallen backwards and onto the sand dune below.

As he slid he turned and looked toward the gaping maw of the most hideous thing he could remember seeing. As he plunged into the stomach of the Sarlaac and felt the slow digesting acid begin to burn its way through his clothing and skin he couldn't help but think that this was at least better than being raped repeatedly by Lily Evans, James Potter, or Sirius Black.

A/N:
Well another installment...things have been a bit off track in my head and I think its because I feel the end closing in. I have written up to chapter 70 at this point and have the final lineup of girls picked...so probably 80 chapters is going to be it for SFTP.

Forgive me if things seem to be forced or rushed, I am trying to avoid that at all costs but there might be some things left unresolved until the very end, and I doubt I will do an epilogue.

However, thats what reviews are for. They make a world of difference in getting that next chapter out there!

Or you can join me on my yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gml_fanfic