Despite their neverending activities the night before, Harry and Hermione woke up earlier than normal. They both climbed out of bed, and he then followed her swaying hips into the bathroom where they showered together. It was the first time that Harry had ever consider washing your body as a form of torture for that is exactly what Hermione did to him. After drying one another off, they returned to their separate rooms to dress.
Harry met her ten minutes later down in their Common Room.
"Ready for the first day?" Hermione bubbled happily.
"Yes and no. I'm happy to be back, but this is gonna be our last year."
"True, but it's not the end of the world. You should know that better than anyone."
"Very funny, Herm."
"And speaking of better…" She pressed up against him, and her eyes darkened, "…don't plan on sleeping tonight, love, I owe you some serious retribution for the magic you worked on me last night."
"Can I help it if I love to touch you?" Harry asked and brushed his fingers across her cheek.
"Well, the only problem is that the girls are going to wonder what's wrong with me. I won't be able to stop smiling all day," she giggled.
"I take that as a compliment," her lover snickered. Hermione stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him firmly.
"It's a fact, Harry, you're wonderful to me."
"And you to me."
The two shared a long hug before reluctantly parting.
"Classes await," he drawled.
Harry held out his hand, and Hermione readily took it.
"Shall we, milady?"
"Lead the way."
Hogwarts was a bustling place on the first day of classes. All the first years were dashing about the halls trying to find their classrooms. Harry and Hermione easily wormed their way through the mass of people until they had to part. He had Advanced Arithmacy, and she had Expert Transfiguration.
"I'll see you at lunchtime, okay?" she asked sweetly.
"Sure, I'll see you then." Bending down, he brushed their lips together and let her go.
"Bye love, see later."
"Bye sweetheart." Harry watched her head off for Professor McGonagall's classroom watching her brown hair bounce as she walked down the hallway.
"All right, time to go."
When Harry spun around, he bumped into someone and immediately grabbed their arm to stop them from falling.
"I'm sorry about that."
"That's quite all right," a melodious voice replied. The girl brushed her blonde hair out of the way and smiled; it was none other than Cassandra.
"Oh Cassandra, I didn't recognize you for a minute. Didn't mean to run into you like that."
"Don't worry, Harry, I'm fine, but umm…I was wondering…could you help me?" she asked, her voice coated with sugar.
Harry remembered his scar reacting the other night in the Great Hall, but he still had no proof that it was because of her, and besides, she was a Gryffindor. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Sure thing, what's the problem?"
Cassandra's cheeks tinted slightly, and her head lowered.
"Well…this is my first time at Hogwarts, and I don't quite know where my class is."
Harry chuckled slightly and grinned.
"Don't laugh at me!" she gasped.
"I'm not laughing at you, I promise, trust me, I was the same way my first day here. Look, you have Advanced Arithmacy now too right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Come on, I'm was just on my way over there."
He tugged on her arm slightly, and Cassandra followed after him. They walked down the hallway with almost every pair of eyes turning to follow after them.
"So Harry, it must be rather exciting to be as famous as you are."
"Not really, it's more a pain than anything. It used to be where I had people bugging left and right - either for a picture or some memento that they had met me. It was really stupid; I mean, I'm just as normal as everyone else."
"You're not normal; you're Harry Potter."
"See what I mean?" he quipped. Cassandra finally got what he was trying to say.
"Yes, I think so, whenever you meet someone, they already have a picture of you painted in their minds of who and what you are."
"Exactly. I'm nobody special; I just happen to have abilities that others don't. There are a lot of things I don't do well - Potions, Herbology, and especially Divination. Professor Trelawney used to predict my death at least three times a week!"
Cassandra giggled and covered her mouth to hide it, but Harry still caught her.
"I'm sorry," she apologized.
"That's all right, it really is quite funny; she's a little eccentric."
"So what do you do in your spare time?"
"Well, I'm pretty busy will classes…plus I also play quidditch as well. Both Ron and I are on the house team."
"I've never seen a real quidditch game. It wasn't a big hit back in Salem. We had a few intramural games but nothing official."
"Don't worry, Cassandra, in a few weeks, you'll get to see one first hand. Ron's the captain and a beater. Our chasers are Arial Johnson (Angelina's sister), Katherine Hornwell, and Brian Northhall. The other beater is Justin Schultz, and the keeper is Rachel Worthing."
"So what do you play?"
"Oh, I'm the seeker."
"So you have the most difficult job of all," Cassandra gasped.
"It's not that hard; I kinda had some help because my father was a seeker as well."
"I saw the field briefly yesterday; it's huge; you must have a lot of fun."
"Yeah. I loved flying since the first time I held a broom; it was the one thing that I was good at."
"I assume that Ron and Hermione like flying as well. You three are like peas in a pod."
"Well Ron likes it, but Herm is a bit different. She's never cared for flying that much - plus she has a slight fear of heights. It's okay though because she's always there at the games cheering us on."
"So how long have you two been together?" Harry arched his eyebrows at her question.
"Why the twenty questions?"
"I'm sorry. If I'm being nosy, just tell me."
"I don't usually talk about my personal life with everyone I meet, Cassandra," he said with a slight glare.
"I understand."
"Tell you what…you answer my question, and I'll answer yours."
"All right."
"What are your parents like? They must be something to pick up and move clear across the ocean."
"Well, they're actually my adopted parents; my real mother died when I was very young."
"What about your father?"
"I don't know him very well. He left my mother when he found out she was pregnant. I tried to find him a few years ago, but he died as well."
"That's terrible, I can't believe he'd just abandon your mother like that," Harry said and shook his head in disgust.
"I'm happy though cause my new parents are great. They both actually work for the Ministry of Magic. My dad works with the Aurors, and my mom works in the ministry's archives."
"I'm glad to hear that your new family is wonderful to you."
"Thanks, now it's your turn," she said with a stern glare.
"Ah, and here I thought you forgot," Harry chuckled.
"Not a chance, now spill!"
"Hermione and I have been friends since the first day we arrived at Hogwarts. We became a couple at the beginning of last year, and my life has never been better. She's a little bossy when it comes to homework, but she's also incredibly sweet and has the biggest heart of anyone I know."
"Sounds like she's quite the girl."
"Damn right. She's the best there is; she's the first person that I ever loved." Cassandra was quite surprised that Harry would blurt out such a heartfelt statement.
The two finally reached their classroom, and Harry opened the door for her. Cassandra walked inside with her thoughts milling around in her brain. From what he'd told her, she could tell that Harry cared deeply about Hermione, and there didn't seem to be anyway to break them apart.
'I'll be patient. There has to be something that I can use against them. Then we'll see who he likes the most.'