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Disclaimer: Who owns Harry Potter? Not me!

Author's Note: I've had the image of Pansy dancing in this chapter in my head since before I ever started writing it. Should just be one more chapter before we head back to Hogwarts.

-oOoOoOo-

The next week sped by, and soon enough Hedwig was off delivering their last letter to Luna before she would be away on the trip to Nepal with her father for most of the rest of summer.

"Don't wake at night to watch her sleep."

The music played loudly from the living room, and Harry smiled as Pansy was once again blasting the Crow soundtrack. True to her word, she had taken Harry to see it just a couple of days after their weekend they spent with Hermione and Luna.

The dark atmosphere and the music were both things they enjoyed, but it was the idea of a spirit rising from the dead to take revenge that really appealed to them.

The fact that the film's opening tragedy happened at Halloween did hit a little too close to home for Harry's liking, though.

The next day, they had immediately gone back to the record store to buy the soundtrack.

And now, she was of course making a list of more music to look for.

Harry had a feeling that they were becoming Rob at Championship Vinyl's favorite customers.

This summer had been so much more pleasant than any time in the past. Even the previous year, he had mostly spent working with the occasional secret visit to Pansy when they could get away with it.

Never before had Harry felt so much like a normal person.

It was liberating.

He just hoped that whatever Voldemort was doing wouldn't get any results for awhile.

He should have known better than to tempt fate.

-oOoOoOo-

It was unbelievable, but his hormones took up the reigns when his mind could not handle the task.

The blonde hair shocked most of his thoughts right out the window, and her smirk as she rode him in ecstasy took him back to last New Year's Eve despite his promise to put that night out of his mind.

But her body was still amazing, and he reveled in it.

Until Pansy climbed atop him and then he had a second nude beauty with which to indulge his lust.

He descended into a haze of positions and so much flesh to touch, see, and taste.

Exquisite legs wrapped around him, pulling him in as deep as possible.

A breast before him, a nipple to suckle upon.

Wet fingers slipping inside her.

Lips meeting his, before trailing down his jaw.

His hands always busy, caressing all the many different curves.

A tongue licking him as he erupted.

If this was a dream, he hoped to never wake...

-oOoOoOo-

He wasn't sure why he was drawn there on that night.

But as he slid into the shadows of the inn, he soon found his prey.

A young, foolish witch. Get a pint in her, and she would tell you anything. The man across from her wasn't paying too much attention to her words, only hoping she would finish her drink and maybe a couple more so he could enjoy the end of the night with her.

The lurker in the shadows had other concerns. Tonight, he could be patient. This foolish woman was giving him ideas- ideas of how to get revenge.

He waited.

When the witch and the lecherous cretin beside her slipped out into the night, he followed. Their minds were already weak, and the alcohol made them much easier to control.

If only he could do more. Slaughtering a wretch or two would make him feel so much better. Soon enough, blood would be spilled again.

A brief moment of domination was enough to send the fool off, the night and the witch both forgotten. A black out and pain similar enough to a hangover, with only an unanswered question of what happened to the woman from the night before.

She stumbled into an alley.

He was shadow, and he waited as she drew near.

Closer now.

Even closer.

One last step and she was in his grasp.

He slid into her effortlessly.

Her resistance was pitiful. Only a half second to begin to scream. She felt the eyes- the red eyes- bore deep into her, and she was lost.

-oOoOoOo-

It was far from the first time that Pansy had been awakened by an amorous Harry, but it was the first time she could recall him already being inside and on top of her.

And worse, it hurt.

"Harry, stop," she said, but looking up she noticed his eyes were closed and his scar was much darker than usual. Even more so than when he'd had the nightmare in France.

"Harry, wake up!"

But there was still no response, so she reached up and grabbed his hair, pulling it hard and up away from her.

"Harry!"

His eyes finally flashed open, and for just a second they burned crimson in the shadows of their room.

She saw Harry look around the room in a daze before there was a flash of recognition.

Then he tried to roll away from her only to crash onto the floor.

And before Pansy could get to him, she heard him heaving and retching on the floor.

She called for Dobby, who thankfully appeared sooner than she could even finish saying his name.

"Master Harry!" the little elf cried as he took in Harry's pitiful state. He began cleaning up the mess immediately.

"Let's get him to the bathroom, Dobby."

Harry stumbled as they tried to get him to stand, so the house-elf finally just popped him directly there.

Pansy rushed in behind them as Harry knelt on the cold tile floor in front of the toilet and continued throwing up. She was worried even more now that she could see him in the light- he was drenched in sweat, shivering, and had tears rolling down his cheeks.

It took him a few minutes before Harry finally stopped dry heaving and unsteadily sat back, leaning up against the side of the bath.

Pansy settled down next to him as Dobby handed her a cool damp cloth that she pressed to his forehead. The scar almost looked as if it were about to break open and start bleeding.

"What happened?"

"He raped her.

"No, that's not right. Not rape exactly.

"It wasn't just her body. Deeper. Her very soul. She would never be clean again. She was defiled by him. Contaminated by his darkness.

"I could feel it. I could feel her agony. And also his triumph. It was disgusting.

"And then I woke up, and it was even worse. I didn't want... I can't..."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"I was afraid that I was somehow infecting you with that... that monster. I'm so sorry."

"Harry, it's alright," she cooed at him, as she slipped an arm around him. "Let's get you cleaned up and go back to bed."

"I don't know if I can go back to sleep after that," he admitted.

"You're forgetting something, Harry."

"What's that?"

"I'll be with you, and we'll figure out a way I can protect you from these nightmares."

"That would be nice," he groaned as he climbed to his feet and stepped over to the sink. Harry splashed some water on his face and then let Pansy lead him back to the bedroom. He grabbed his wand from the night table and used a breath freshening spell on himself- twice actually- before sinking down under the sheet next to her.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Shh, it's not your fault," she whispered. "We'll get through this."

"But how do I-"

"Don't worry about it right now, Harry. Let's just try to get some more rest."

"If Voldemort will let me," he sighed.

"The Dark Lord is just going to have to piss off. You're mine, Harry. He can get his own boyfriend."

That brought a chuckle that soon became matching giggles from them both.

"Can you just imagine?" Harry joked.

"What type of boys do you think a Dark Lord would be interested in?"

"I would have said Draco, but then he'd be out of luck."

"It does seem like he must have had an enormous inferiority complex the way he played up to the pureblood supremacy nonsense," Pansy snorted.

"I don't know, I mean I know at least one pureblood who is pretty damn fabulous," Harry answered with a grin.

"Yes, I am, but you don't need to flatter me."

"I think you deserve it for tonight. You take good care of me. Well, you and Dobby."

"We should do something nice for him."

"I know, I've been trying to think of exactly what for awhile now."

"That's going to have to be another thing for tomorrow, Harry. I'm too tired for scheming." Harry curled up behind her and she took his hand in hers as his arm instinctively wrapped around her.

"Me too. I love you."

"I love you too, Harry. But sleep now."

"Good night, sweetheart."

-oOoOoOo-

"Occlumency."

Harry turned over and looked at her. They'd had a light breakfast to try to insure his stomach didn't have any further problems that morning and then laid back down to rest some more.

"What about it?"

"You need to work at it more. It should help keep your mind clear."

"Will that even work in my sleep?"

"Only one way to find out," Pansy replied.

"I suppose it's worth a shot."

-oOoOoOo-

Later that afternoon...

"I thought of something else that might help."

"I'm all ears," Harry answered as he looked up from the couch. She had strongly suggested that he try to learn from her notes of how she had worked at Occlumency the year before. It was all he had done since lunch.

"I think we should try to try to make love every night."

Harry had a huge smile for her suggestion.

"Not that I'm in any way objecting to this idea- at all- but don't we pretty much already do that every night?"

"We didn't last night. Remember?"

"Hmm? You're right."

"It might help, you know, sort of put you in the wrong frame of mind. Love is supposed to be the opposite of hate and all that."

"This may just be the most brilliant plan of yours yet."

"You would say that," Pansy said as she rolled her eyes.

"It's not my fault that you're a genius."

"Harry-"

"Nope, too late to take it back. We're both going to have to work very hard at this new project."

-oOoOoOo-

That evening...

Harry had been going through Occlumency exercises for at least an hour. Since it was similar to meditation, he hadn't noticed Pansy leave the room, nor the fact that she had been gone for quite awhile.

But he did notice when she came strutting back into the living room.

He immediately felt his pants get a lot tighter.

She was wearing a sexy nurse outfit.

The white dress (if you want to call it that) prominently displayed her cleavage, had red highlights that drew his eye to her curves, and barely covered what couldn't have been more than three inches of her thighs.

And her legs were even further flaunted by the white thigh high stockings and red high heels.

Harry had to remind himself to breath.

"Mr. Potter, I hear you've been feeling a bit under the weather. I'm here to give you a thorough examination, and then we'll have to see what type of treatment you might need."

"I have a few ideas," he grinned.

"I'm sure you do, but I am the healer, so I expect you to follow my instructions."

"I'll do anything you say."

"That's what I wanted to hear. You can start by taking off your pants..."

-oOoOoOo-

Hours later...

"You are a goddess," Harry panted out.

"And don't you forget it," she said with a smirk.

"If I ever do, just remind me of tonight."

Pansy laughed in response.

"Think of it as an early birthday present. Remember when you took care of me last summer? You suggested you might enjoy something like this."

"I love you," he chuckled. "Please tell me you'll wear the costume again some time?"

"Only if you're good, Harry."

"I'll be on my best behavior."

"I know." Pansy rolled over, halfway on top of his left side and he felt them both shifting a little to get into the most comfy position. It was second nature now how they fit together.

"There's only one problem."

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Now I have to top that for your birthday."

"Best girlfriend ever," Harry said with a happy little sigh. Soon, they both drifted off to sleep.

Needless to say, there were no nightmares that night.

-oOoOoOo-

"Hey Dobby, can I ask you a couple of things?"

"Of course, master Harry sir!"

"I'd like to know more about house-elves. I-"

"We," Pansy interjected.

"Right, we both appreciate everything you do for us. We would like to give you something, like a gift, but we don't know what we can do for you. What do you like to do with your time? Other than taking care of us, of course."

"Dobby is not sure what master Harry wants to know."

"I mean, I assume that house-elves have relationships with other house-elves." Harry quickly stopped himself from saying anything about where baby house-elves would come from, as he thought that might be too private to mention. "Friendships and whatnot. You do know other house-elves, right?"

"Yes, master Harry." Dobby looked uncomfortable and nervous.

"Dobby, I'm sorry if this isn't something you want to talk about. I just wanted you to know that we" he looked over to Pansy, who nodded, "support you and want you to know that if there's anything we can do to help you with something, just let us know."

"Thank you, master Harry and miss Pansy," Dobby answered before looking down, deep in thought.

"Dobby does have some personal house-elf things to take care of."

"Well, feel free to do whatever you want, okay? We just want you to be happy," Pansy replied.

"Yes, you mean a lot to us, so we want you to know that we'll be on your side just as much as you've been on our side."

"Dobby thanks you both, master and miss. Dobby will be leaving at night after dinners sometimes then."

"That's fine," Harry agreed. "In fact, if you need more time, Pansy and I can always go out to eat."

"Or we could drop in with the Brightwells, we haven't seen much of them this summer," Pansy suggested.

"That's true."

Dobby gave them a deep bow before popping away.

"He's getting better at that," Harry said.

"What do you mean?"

"Next time he leaves like that, listen to the sound. It's a lot quieter lately than it used to be."

"Maybe Dobby's getting stronger. Or more practiced. It could be both."

"Could be..."

Harry looked over at Pansy with a grin and an eyebrow waggle.

"So, what do we want to do tonight?"

-oOoOoOo-

They did end up spending more time with the Brightwells after that. Ruby was delighted to have them over as guests for dinner, which they made a regular weekly occurrence for the rest of the summer.

Harry and Pansy also started coming down to the shop for afternoon tea more often than not. Ruby refused to let them pay, as Harry had been very generous in allowing the same terms from the late seventies originally set up with his mother continue on unchanged. Not having their rent go up for more than fifteen years had let the Brightwells do a lot better financially than they otherwise would have. In fact, Ruby had confided in Pansy that they would have been likely forced to close their business when the recession hit in the early eighties if Lily hadn't given them such a bargain.

However, just because she wouldn't let Harry pay didn't stop him from leaving behind large tips.

It was amusing to Pansy watching Harry and Ruby try to out do each other while being polite yet as stubborn as possible.

The older woman had completely won Pansy over. She was somewhat of a far cry from Pansy's grandmother, or at least what she remembered of her, but Ruby was warm and kind. And funny too, especially when 'their boys' weren't around. Pansy tried to tell her that Harry would be highly entertained by her more crude side, but she had gotten it into her head to try to be a good influence on him for some reason.

Pansy didn't bother arguing with her about it. She could be Harry's bad influence to balance things out anyway.

Not that Harry was necessarily a good influence on her either.

But she did insist that they get their summer assignments done as quick as possible, so they could enjoy their free time before heading back to Scotland in the fall.

Pansy didn't even complain when Harry put in his regular amount of effort on most of the essays. McGonagall scowling at him for his parchments being a few inches short was sort of a tradition now, and she knew that Harry secretly enjoyed it. Especially when he then mastered the spells, often even faster than Granger last term, and proceeded to grin at her for the rest of class.

Pansy had come to accept that Harry would apply himself where necessary, or when it suited him, but that otherwise he did not care at all about his grades. Their final results from the last year proved that. He had barely scraped by with passing grades in Herbology, History of Magic, and Astronomy as he just didn't see much point in those classes.

Potions didn't count, since there was no way that Snape graded anyone fairly- which was even clearer after Pansy's grade had dropped from an Outstanding the two previous years to only Exceeds Expectations despite her skills and the fact that she knew she had not missed a single question on the final exam.

Oh well, the petty bastard had tormented his last group of children. It's not as if she had to worry about her parents' reactions to her grades. Harry was proud of her regardless and would happily tell people that she got better grades than him.

Well, on average at least.

She beat him in all four of those classes, as well as Transfiguration. They had both gotten Es in Arithmancy with Os in Charms and Care of Magical Creatures.

However, when Harry chose to shine, he really went all out.

Pansy was proud to have gotten Os in both Runes and Defense as well, but Harry got the highest score in both of those classes out of their entire year. Granger had checked after all, and seeing the bookworm pout at not being the best at everything put a huge grin on Pansy's face.

The funny thing was that Harry didn't particularly seem to care that he had done so well. His top scores and his four Os were all in classes that were useful to him. He was just pragmatic like that.

The fact that those worthless muggles had probably caused his complete lack of care towards his studies for anything other than real life applications was just one of the many reasons she still wished she had just killed them all. If Harry had been raised even semi-decently, he probably could have given any Ravenclaw a run for their money.

Still, thoughts of their grades did bring about an interesting question they had not yet decided. Should they drop Arithmancy?

On the one hand, they only needed to take two electives. Runes was obviously in, and both of them had enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures fairly well, although Hagrid's teaching skills were uneven (as Pansy was being kind for Harry's sake.)

Arithmancy was their least favorite of the three, and its lack of practical applications (at least so far) gave Pansy the impression that Harry could quickly lose interest in the class.

On the other hand, it wasn't really that hard, and an extra OWL always looked good on a resume.

Assuming either of them ever needed a resume, that is.

And speaking of an extra OWL, Pansy was almost positive that she and Harry would both get one for Muggle Studies without ever taking the class. Granger's utterly ridiculous 312% on the final exam was proof that experience in the non-magical world was more than enough.

In the end, she was leaning towards continuing the class for at least another year. Harry said he didn't care and was willing to do whatever she decided.

-oOoOoOo-

Would anyone be surprised that Harry ended up doing something romantic for her on his birthday? Of course he did.

Harry told her he had made a reservation for a late dinner in Paris at a restaurant that was supposed to have an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower to the west. It would be perfect for sunset.

And of course, it was.

He wanted to make sure that they had some good memories of Paris, considering the rather traumatic night after the funeral.

This made Pansy decide to go all out for Harry's birthday. They would be very busy for the entire day.

Two nights before his birthday, they were cuddling in the bathtub when the idea finally came to her.

"Harry, what's the most times we've had sex in a day?"

"What do you mean? Like a total? Or the longest amount of time? Or the most orgasms?"

"Do you keep track of all that?"

"Of course. Who do you think I am?"

"A sex-obsessed teenager?"

"That's right," he proudly agreed.

She could only giggle in response. At least he was honest.

"I'm pretty sure the most amount of orgasms I've ever had was on my last birthday. You were going for a record, after all. But what's the most amount you've had? It's got to be at least four or five, right?"

"Six, actually."

"Do you remember when?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Take a guess."

She groaned and reached over her should to pinch his ear. "Just tell me, you goof."

"Come on, just one guess?"

She hummed and thought about it for a moment.

"Was it on my birthday as well?"

"Yep."

"Well, that's fitting, I suppose." Pansy paused to think, before continuing. "I had an idea of something special to do for your birthday."

"Now you're getting me excited."

"I can tell," she purred as she rubbed back against his arousal that was now poking her bum. "I want to give you as much fun as possible for your birthday. I'm not sure if we could get to fourteen, but I'm willing to try."

"That might take all day long," Harry moaned as she continued to slowly writhe against him.

"Do you have anything better to do?"

"Never."

"Good."

The water soon sloshed over the side of the tub as they began to get a lot more comfortable.

-oOoOoOo-

In the end, they didn't get to fourteen, but they had a lot of fun trying.

They were both pretty damn sore the next day though.

-oOoOoOo-

A few days later, after yet another trip to the record store, they were on their way back home when Pansy grabbed a flyer.

"Oh Harry, do we have any plans for Friday night?"

"I'm guessing we do now?"

"Good guess."

"Well, tell me what we're doing because my hands are full."

"You're taking me dancing."

"Okay. Where?"

"Euphoria."

"That sounds fun."

"It's the name of a night club that opened earlier this year."

"Close by?"

"Let's see...

"Where is 137 High Street?"

Harry thought for a minute.

"I think that's near that pub Mortie took us to last winter. High Street was a couple of blocks over."

"We might not want to walk all that way then. Maybe we could ask Dobby for help that night."

"Probably should do it soon then. Who knows what he's been up to lately."

"We also need to run a couple more errands this afternoon."

"Where to?"

"We'll need something to wear."

Harry could only shake his head. It was all his fault really. He never should have encouraged her.

In the end, shopping for clothes didn't actually take too long. However, Pansy also felt the need to drag him along to multiple shoe stores. Because of course she needed something new to go out dancing in.

The next few days she broke in both of her new pairs of shoes, as she was having trouble deciding on which of them to wear. She also tried dancing in them, which meant Harry got a lot of practice as he was 'damn sure not going to just watch her dance' as she explained.

Going along with her demands was easy enough, really.

Dobby was happy to help them out that upcoming Friday night. Harry had secretly asked him to follow them when they went dancing too. He wanted to make sure no drunken louts caused them any problems. Pansy was a sexy girl, and sexy girls tend to attract the wrong type of attention sometimes.

Harry was also thinking of carrying a knife when they went out. He wasn't going to be taking any chances. Pansy was his sexy girl, and if anybody tried anything, he would gladly leave them bleeding.

He might have relaxed some that summer, but he was still paranoid about their safety. Well, mostly about her safety really.

-oOoOoOo-

Harry was pretty good with glamour charms by the time that Friday night rolled around. It was easier to tweak someone's appearance more than just doing an entire different persona. He and Pansy were getting used to seeing older versions of themselves. The fact that she was probably her full height (and yes, he heard her grumble once or twice about not being taller) was helpful.

For his own part, Harry made it look like he was a couple of inches taller, with another stone or two of weight, and actually needing to shave. The growth spurt from the last year had slowed a lot, but he had gained at least another inch since last winter. However, the hair growing on his body was at very different paces. His legs looked like a full grown man's, but he had just started getting hints of facial hair. And the less said about his single chest hair, the better.

(Pansy made fun of him for it.)

But she had been nice enough to teach him a depilatory charm.

It was well after dark before they arrived at the club. This allowed Dobby to find the perfect hidden spot, a little alley between two closed businesses on the other side of the street, for him to drop them off. They had all huddled under the cloak to avoid anyone seeing their sudden appearance.

Harry nodded to Dobby just before they crossed the street. The little guy was going to keep an eye on them, just in case.

The line at the door wasn't too long. They could already hear the pulsating music, and shortly they were inside where the noise and atmosphere was almost overwhelming.

Pansy's eyes sparkled with delight as she led him down into the crowd onto the dance floor.

Harry followed her happily.

Moving in time with her had become second nature, and following her lead as they danced was more than instinctive at this point.

He only recognized one of the first few songs, but they all tended to have similar, steady beats.

It was hot in the densely packed room, and they were soon sweating. Harry wished he had worn a short sleeve shirt, but he would have felt more awkward not having his wand with him.

Pansy hadn't bothered, as she could still get in trouble for being underage. Plus, she trusted Harry to keep an eye on things.

He would certainly be watching her closely all night. The way she moved, how could he not?

Before long though, he felt the need for a drink.

Pansy told him to get her something too, so he made his way over to the bar while she finished dancing to another song.

He ordered a couple of cokes. As he waited, he felt two arms go around his waist.

Harry turned his head and saw her smiling over his shoulder.

"Let's sit for a minute," she said, loud enough to be heard over the din of the crowd and the blaring music. He nodded in agreement and followed her as she strolled through edge of the crowd. They found an empty booth in a corner towards the front door. Pansy slid in first as Harry sat down the drinks and scooted over next to her.

"Thanks for bringing me here," she said with a smile.

"Of course."

"I know this is more my thing than yours, Harry."

"I like seeing you having this much fun. Besides, you look really hot, and I might be looking forward to taking you home tonight. You know, that's usually the reason guys go to a club. Trying to pick up a hot chick."

"Well, keep it up and you might even get lucky," she teased.

Harry waited for her to finish taking a drink before leaning over for a kiss. Pansy returned it eagerly, and soon they were snogging, off in their own little world as the music kept throbbing in the background.

When they came up to breathe, they saw a couple walking towards them.

The man was maybe thirty, with shaggy light brown hair down to his shoulders. He was trying not to spill his drink while laughing.

The woman looked to be a bit younger. She had long auburn hair and was smiling at them.

"Couldn't he wait till he got you home for the night?" she asked.

"Harry can't keep his hands off me."

"Why would I want to?"

"I'm Vanessa and this is Steven. Have I seen you two somewhere? You look familiar."

"The record store, babe. When we were putting up flyers for the last show," Steven said.

"That's right. Are you new to the neighborhood?"

"Sort of," Pansy replied. "We're back from school for the summer. I'm Pansy and this is Harry."

"Mind if we join you?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure."

As Pansy answered her, Vanessa slid in around the other side of the booth and Steven came in next, sitting opposite Harry.

"Steven and I like to keep an eye out for people new to the area. See the guy in the far corner. Dreadlocks and that silly hat?"

"With the really big black guy next to him?"

"That's the one. Watch out for him. Lenny's a dealer and he's not a very scrupulous about it. Two summers ago a friend of ours got some bad molly from him and OD'd."

"Shelly nearly died," Steven added. "We try to warn people since then to be careful. You know what they say- always know your dealer."

"Thanks for the advice," Pansy answered.

"So, how long are you two going to be around?" Vanessa asked.

"We head back to school at the beginning of September."

"Pretty soon, huh? What are you studying?"

Harry's brain froze at that, but Pansy was up to the challenge.

"We're still just doing general classes."

"No majors picked out yet?"

"Not yet."

"You might not think it just from looking at her, but Vanessa just finished her LPC."

"LPC?"

"Legal Practice Course."

"Oh, so you're a solicitor?" Pansy asked.

"Well, I'm still in training for a couple more years," Vanessa replied. "But it's a firm started by my family, so I'd have to really blow it for Uncle Reg to kick me out."

"Congratulations," Harry said. "That must have been a lot of work. I wouldn't have the patience for something like that."

"I'm just happy that you don't cut classes," Pansy grinned at him.

"Pansy's the more academic one of us."

"I can relate," Steven answered with a smile.

"My drink's finished," Pansy said.

"Want another one?"

"No, I need to hit the loo."

"I'll join you," Vanessa said, and both of the guys slid out of the booth to let them past.

Harry sat back down to finish his drink.

"You two been together very long?" Steven asked him.

"More than a year now."

"I thought so."

"How about you?"

"I've been with Vanessa for almost five years now. But we've known each other since we were kids. Her big brother and I went to primary school together."

"Pansy and I met at school too. But we hung out with different groups, so we didn't get to know each other until last spring."

"And you got together almost immediately?" Steven asked with a grin.

"Well, I knew what I wanted, so why bother waiting? Life's short."

"You sound like Vanessa."

"Smart girl."

"Smarter than me, at least," Steven replied. "I should have asked her out sooner."

"Why didn't you?"

"Oh, you know. I had a girlfriend. Then when I was single, she was seeing some guy. It went like that for a couple of years."

"Well, better late than never I guess."

"I'll drink to that," Steven said as he finished his drink. Harry's was already empty.

"You know what, Harry? We are two lucky guys."

"Huh?"

Steven just pointed out onto the dance floor.

And there she was. He didn't even notice Vanessa dancing with her.

Pansy was wearing a black sleeveless top that would ride up while she danced, and it made Harry want to go out there and lick her bellybutton. Her skirt was short enough to let him ogle her legs, although she claimed to have chosen it so she wouldn't feel restricted while she moved.

Yeah, right. She just wanted to drive him nuts.

Well, it was working.

The shoes she had eventually decided on were also black. They had only a small heel, but it was a thick wedge compared to some of the more pointy things he usually thought of as high heels. Pansy admitted that the other pair she considered had better ankle support, but didn't look as good with her outfit.

This was all very important apparently, but to Harry it was just a time for him to nod in agreement.

But now she was out there, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

A song by the Cure came on, from Pansy's newest favorite album Disintegration. The driving beat pulsated and Harry felt like he was falling into a trance as he watched her. Pansy was hypnotic. She was all in black and dancing with abandon and glee.

She was a vision of desire, and for some reason it felt familiar.

Steven brought his attention back around as he patted him on the shoulder.

"You looked like you zoned out there. You alright?"

"Yeah."

"Are you on anything tonight, Harry?"

"Nope. Just nuts about a girl."

Steven nodded at him as Harry stood up and quickly hopped over a rail onto the dance floor. Pansy was laughing as Harry weaved through the crowd to get to her. But soon enough, he was next to her, and they were moving in rhythm together. Everything felt right.

-oOoOoOo-

The night ended with them even sweatier. As soon as they got back home, Harry took her up against the wall. He barely even bothered to close the front door. Her legs were wrapped around him and Harry was in bliss.

-oOoOoOo-

They would end up going back to Euphoria a couple of more times before the summer ended. Vanessa also invited them to a party, which Pansy was quite keen on. They got along fabulously. It would be the first party in the muggle world either of them had ever experienced, and that meant it was probably going to be quite different from either the quidditch victory celebrations at Hogwarts or the fancy New Year's Eve ball at the Malfoys.

Pansy spent three days deciding on the perfect outfits for each of them.

-oOoOoOo-

Hedwig had just finished the bacon and gone to her bedroom to sleep through the day after dropping off a letter. They were sitting on the couch, having recently eaten their own breakfasts. Harry read it quickly with a frown growing before letting out a frustrated growl.

"How thick can he be?"

"Who?"

"Ron," Harry sighed.

"Pretty damn thick, Harry. What did the moron do now?"

"He had his dad get an extra ticket for the Quidditch World Cup for me. As in a single extra ticket. It's been a year, I would think even Ron would have realized by now that we live together."

"You're not going?"

"It was a nice gesture on Mr. Weasley's part, but no. Don't get me wrong, I like quidditch. But I love you."

"Harry, you don't have to skip this on my account. I'm sure I could keep myself occupied for a couple of days."

"Well, let's think about the options.

"On one hand, I could camp out in a tent full of Ron, his pushy, overbearing mother, his blushing sister with the obvious crush, his dad who will ask me all sorts of inane questions about the muggle world, and who knows how many of his older brothers.

"On the other hand, I could go to a party that night with my sexy girlfriend.

"I could spend the night trying to sleep despite Ron snoring loud enough to wake the dead.

"Or I could sleep with my sexy girlfriend.

"This is really such a hard choice."

"You're sweet even when you're being a sarcastic prat."

"I've learned from the best."

Pansy kissed his cheek then leaned back and put her feet up in his lap.

"Rub," she said.

Harry chuckled but took one of her feet in hand and began.

"So, just for clarification, any time I take you dancing, I also have to give you a foot massage later?"

"Yes."

"You're lucky that I love you."

"Don't complain, Harry. You love how turned on I get from dancing."

"True enough." He switched feet and she sighed happily.

"Are you sure you don't want to go? To the quidditch, I mean."

"I'm sure. You've been planning for this party for days now, and I wouldn't be much of a boyfriend if I ditched you on that night. Besides, I like Steven and Vanessa, and I can snog you in front of them without worrying about it. That's something I'm going to miss when we have to go back to school."

"Yeah, me too. I guess we could always snog in front of Luna, at least. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind."

"Probably not."

"You should write back, explaining that you already have plans. The Weasleys should have enough time to find someone else to make use of the ticket that way."

"I thought you didn't like the Weasleys?"

"I don't, but that doesn't mean that I want them to think you're rude."

"Okay." Harry found something to write on and began to scribble a response for Hedwig to take back to Ron.

"Hey, Harry."

"Yeah?"

"Who is even playing in the Quidditch World Cup?"

"I have no idea. Honestly, I don't follow the sport at all. It's not like I grew up with it or anything. I guess I'll have to start rooting for a club if Wood gets signed by someone."

"And yet, it seems so important at school."

"Well, it's just an excuse to fly really fast for me."

"So you don't think about playing professionally?"

"I suppose it could be fun in some ways. But I have a feeling all of the preparation, designed plays, and endless practice that Wood put us through would be even worse at that level. So, probably not."

"What do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

"Assuming we don't have any more psychopaths or terrorists trying to kill us?"

"Obviously," Pansy snorted.

"I don't know. Maybe we could travel the world? There's lots of places I'd like to see. Lots of beaches."

"Is that just an excuse to see me in a bikini again?"

"Did you know there's something like two hundred countries in the world?"

"No. Why?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"Because that means there are about one hundred ninety eight countries that we haven't had sex in yet."

"And you want to try to set a record?"

"Let it never be said that I don't have my priorities straight."

Pansy shifted over to snuggle into his side.

"Harry?"

"What is it?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Choosing to go to the party with me instead of to the Quidditch Cup."

"Well, like I said, I have my priorities straight."