At The Heart Of The Matter
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
42
Views:
20,516
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
3
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
42
Views:
20,516
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
3
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The First Two Years
Authors Note: Thanks again to ALL my reviewers! Harry Potter is still not mine!
The First Two Years
*****************
Harry’s Schedule - Year 1
6:30 - 6:45 Rise/Shower
6:45 - 7:00 Stretching/Warm-up
7:00 - 8:30 Running and Weight Training
8:30 - 9:00 Breakfast
9:00 - 12:00 NEWT Studies
Monday & Wednesday - Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions
Tuesday & Thursday - Charms, Care of M.C., DADA
Fridays - Dueling and Self Study
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 Martial Arts and Weaponry Training
Monday & Wednesday - Martial Arts
Tuesday & Thursday - General Weaponry
Fridays - Open Study of either Discipline
3:00 - 4:00 Metamorphmagus and Empathy Training
Monday & Wednesday - Metamorphmagus
Tuesday, Thursday & Friday - Empathy
4:00 - 5:00 Occlemency
5:00 - 6:30 Dinner Break
6:30 - 9:00 Blood Magic/Runic Casting
9:00- Relax and Sleep
No schooling on Weekends, but must do physical workouts
Harry stared at his schedule, then stared up at Moody, then back at his schedule and letting out a sharp bark said, “Are you trying to kill us! We do have 5 years, you know!”
“You have a lot to learn, so stop belly aching and get a move on!” growled Moody and once his back was turned, Harry rolled his eyes to the great delight of all the rest still at breakfast.
“Hey, Oliver, what does your schedule look like?” asked Harry, already knowing that most of his friends had similar schedules, with only Blaise and Bianca joining him in Blood Magic classes. The rotations were slightly different, to accommodate the instructors, but the schedules all included the same studies with Blood Magic being the exception. Most others would be taking either Healing, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, or Warding during those times.
“Where you guys are taking NEWT studies, Angelina, Alicia, Adrian and I have the Advanced Charms, DADA and such spread throughout our schedule. From 6:30-9:00, we start with the Grey Arts. They seem to have spaced everything so that no one teacher has more than a handful of people. That must have taken them awhile.” Oliver said, finishing with a chuckle.
The first couple of weeks were pretty much hell, until everyone got settled to this new military style system. Neville, Oliver, Adrian and Harry suffered the least during the beginnings of the physical workouts, having already been on some form of workout routine before going into the warp. After about the first month, things stopped being so daunting, and a more relaxed air filled the house and grounds.
Harry took to the empathy just like Paole said he would, and within 6 months, he was pretty much a master at deciphering the emotions and feelings he was picking up from others, and being able to shut off the ability at will. Being an Empath, was very taxing if you left the it turned on all the time, so he took to keeping it off as much as possible. What took him by surprise, was how truly hard Blood and Runic Magic was. It didn’t sound to hard when Paole briefed them on what they would be learning….draw some symbols, drop some blood on them and WALLAH…Done! It was DEFINITELY not that easy. Depending on the exact results you were looking for, the runes had to be set in certain patterns and enchanted to activate within the parameters of the casting to ensure that when the blood set the runes in action, they would work correctly. There was actually a lot of Arithmancy involved at first, to learn how to set the parameters and patterns to cast….not to mention the runes and all their potential meanings. Needless to say, after the first couple of months, the three of them were ready to pull their hair out.
One of the unexpected benefits to the time warp, besides never having a full moon for Remus, was that the weather was always the same as it had been the day they went in. It was like the warp froze the day of August 10th, and that was what it remained everyday. Thank the goddesses above that it had not been a miserably rainy day. They did have to use the lake and a lot of house elf magic to keep the grounds and gardens from drying up…but a small price to pay for the constant beautiful weather.
The week of Christmas, or at least by their calendar, they were given a 5 day break, but was right back to the schedules immediately after. Around April, the Blood Magic finally started to click with Harry, but Blaise and Bianca, while making progress, were still struggling. Paole had said that it was because he had more of an affinity for this type of magic and it would always be somewhat easier and faster for him.
They continued to throw parties on the weekends, and slowly, you could see couples starting to form. Blaise had hooked up with Alicia for a while, and George had started seeing Su-Li. Neville and Hermione were going just as strong as ever, but Hannah and Ernie had called it quits. They were still friendly, but it had been a strain for the first week or so. Oliver and Angelina seemed to be getting on the best, and everyone was guessing they’d be the first engaged couple in the warp. Harry….well, Harry was still in his committed friends with benefits pattern, often partaking in the company of Susan, Bianca, Tracey and occasionally, Hannah after a couple of months being separated from Ernie. Every now and again, they would do the two on one, but only once did they tried a three to one ratio. Harry didn’t want to try that again….to much work for what enjoyment he actually got. Two was his max, and only rarely. He was realizing that one on one was much more personal and enjoyable…..more to his tastes.
As the first year drew to a close, they were all physically fit and progressing well in their studies. On August the 10th, year two, new schedules were handed out.
Harry’s Schedule - Year 2
6:30 - 6:45 Rise/Shower
6:45 - 7:00 Stretching/Warm-up
7:00 - 8:30 Running and Weight Training
8:30 - 9:00 Breakfast
9:00 - 12:00 Advanced Studies
Monday & Wednesday - Adv. Transfiguration & Adv. Charms
Tuesday & Thursday - Grey Arts & Adv. DADA
Fridays - NEWT Review
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 Martial Arts, Weaponry Training & Dueling
Monday & Wednesday - Martial Arts
Tuesday - Swords
Thursday - Knives
Fridays - Dueling
3:00 - 4:30 Wandless Magic
4:30 - 5:00 Occlemency
5:00 - 6:30 Dinner Break
6:30 - 9:00 Blood Magic/Runic Casting
9:00- Relax and Sleep
No schooling on Weekends, but must do physical workouts
During year two, Harry was spending most of his time with Remus, for Adv. Transfiguration/DADA, Paole for Blood Magic/Grey Arts/Occlemency, Arthur Weasley for Grey Arts, and Flitwick for Adv. Charms/Dueling. They had geared his training more toward defeating Voldemort, placing a heavier emphases on the Grey Arts, since he had no restrictions and would need this form of magic more than any other.
He was making huge strides in Blood Magic and was starting to cast the more complex series of runes. Once he started getting the hang of it, he really learned to enjoy this ancient, yet fascinating branch. Blaise and Bianca had started coming around more towards the beginning of the year, and they to found themselves liking it more and more. They had not ventured into the Blood/Sex Magic yet, and probably wouldn’t until year four or five.
Harry relished in the Martial Arts training with its rigorous workouts. Complex kicks, punches, and sweeps, all coming to him with his natural grace and agility, easily. He liked throwing knives, but took to the sword fantastically, and often times could be seen practicing a series of intricate sequences that resembled a fierce dance. It was beautiful and terrifying to behold.
His wandless study was more or less self taught, with Flitwick, Paole and Moody supervising and offering any advice or knowledge they could. They were the only ones it the warp who had any experience in this area, so progress was slow. Harry knew he would master it eventually, but with very few tomes about wandless casting in his library, and the limited help he was receiving, it would take most of the remaining four years.
It was at one of the parties in early February that saw a new type of focus come to Harry. He had been dancing with his regulars, as he had started calling them, when he excused himself and left the floor to get a drink. While at the bar, he noticed that Katie was alone and seemed a little down.
“Hey, Katie. You’re a little down tonight. Anything I can help you with?” said Harry lightly touching her hand.
“Harry, not tonight…I can’t take the suave you right now.” said Katie, not even looking up at him.
He was a little taken by this and said, “Katie, if I’ve done something to offend you, I’m sorry. I just thought I’d be friendly and see if you were okay.”
“No, Harry, I’m sorry. I’m just in a mood tonight, and I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. You’ve never done anything to offend me. I guess I’m just feeling sorry for myself tonight. You know, just one of those moods.” she said giving him a small smile.
“Yeah, I get what your saying. I don’t much feel like being here either. I just can’t seem to get into it. I think I’m starting to tire of the one night stands, if you know what I mean. Funny coming from a guy, huh!” chuckled Harry.
“It’s not really that odd, I think everyone wants more eventually. That’s my problem tonight…Fred started hitting on me, and normally it wouldn’t bother me, and I would play along, but….Oh, I don’t know, I just want more. It’s hard enough being here with the same view day after day, but to act the same way all the time is starting to grate on my nerves. Does that make any sense?” she asked.
“Yeah, a lot of sense. Don’t get me wrong, I really care about Susan, Bianca and Tracey, but I just don’t think I’m up to the kink anymore. It was fun while it lasted, but it’s time to move on.” he paused, then continued, “Hey! Let’s head down to the pitch and work off some of this frustration. No ones down there right now, so we can practice some of the harder moves.”
“Sounds like a plan to me!” and they both left the party, many people noticing, and just assumed they were heading upstairs.
The next morning at breakfast, Fred teasingly said, “Hey, Katie…why’d you ditch me for Harry last night? I know he’s supposedly a god in bed, but give another guy a shot.”
“WHAT! Fred Weasley, that was low! I did not sleep with Harry last night!” Katie said, offended.
“Fred, that was uncalled for. We went to the pitch for some practice, not to get into each others pants, if you must know. I think you owe her an apology.” said a very stern Harry.
“Katie, God! I’m sorry…we all just assumed when you left together…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything bad by it.” said an apologetic Fred.
“It’s okay, but you people need to stop assuming stuff. You know what they say….you make an ASS out of U and ME.” she ended with a small laugh.
Harry noticed how beautiful she looked when she smiled, and decided that if anything was going to happen between them, it would not be another quickie. He meant what he said the night before…he was definitely wanting more than another one nighter.
As February turned into March then into April, he did get to know her better and they were seen spending most of their free time together and attended very few of the parties. They had not slept together yet, and that was just fine by Harry. When they finally did, it would mean the world to him, and to her. They had done some exploring of each other, but nothing to heavy. She was such a giving person but had a sharp edge if pushed….she very much reminded him of Poppy….stern when needed, but fun loving any other time.
June came, and the first free weekend found a group out on the race track having a very intense race. It was couples night on the track it seemed. There was Katie/Harry, Neville/Hermione, George/Su-Li, Michael/Hannah, and Oliver/Angelina. With just enough cars for each person, they set out and Katie quickly took the lead, but Harry was determined to take her down. As much as they cared about one another, their competitive natures would always look to win over the other.
“Your not going to win this one, Potter!” she screamed over the engines.
“We’ll just see about that! Leave yourself open on the inside again, and your mine!” he loudly retorted back.
“Just try it Mister….YOU….ARE….NOT….WINNING….THIS….TIME!”
And sure enough, he never did pass her and when they got out of the cars, she did a victory dance all around him.
“I Win! I Win! You Lose! I Win!” she went on and on, until Harry grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder and made for the pool. Someone was getting dunked! As the group approached the back patio, with Harry and a frazzled Katie in the lead, everyone stopped and started laughing at the playful antics of the newest love birds. She was kicking and beating on his back the whole way to the pool.
“Don’t you dare, Potter! You put me on dry land this instant!” she yelled and roared in laughter as her only response from him was a tickle to her side. As he swung her around to throw her in, she grabbed hold of him at the very last second, and both went tumbling into the deep end. When they emerged, they were both laughing so hard, some thought they might drown. Eventually, they pulled themselves out, sopping wet clothing and all, they sat on the edge till they calmed to a chuckle. Leaning over, he gave her a tender kiss that had most of the girls cooing.
“Your forgiven, Harry.” she said softly only those close could hear. What they heard next had eyes bulging and jaws dropping.
“I love you, Katie Bell!” he said equally as soft, looking her directly in the eye, giving her another tender kiss. It was like only they existed in this moment, no one else was around them that they appeared to notice. With tears of joy in her eyes, she leaned in, hugging him with all she had and said softly in his ear, “I love you, too!” Everyone knew what she had just said by the way Harry scooped her up and gave Katie the most loving kiss he could give. The clapping and cheering became almost deafening and giving all the party goers a smile, he lifted her to her feet, and they left to get dried off. About 20 minutes later they were back, snuggled close, dancing to a long set of love songs, played special in their honor.
That night as they laid together, and made slow passionate love, Harry became aware that what he had done before was just good sex, but this was truly making love and he choked back a small sob at the thought of actually loving another this much. As they fell asleep, he felt peaceful for the first time in his life, and he liked this new feeling immensely. Over the next several months, their relationship grew stronger and as year two came to a close, Harry thought, ‘This was a very good year.’
The First Two Years
*****************
Harry’s Schedule - Year 1
6:30 - 6:45 Rise/Shower
6:45 - 7:00 Stretching/Warm-up
7:00 - 8:30 Running and Weight Training
8:30 - 9:00 Breakfast
9:00 - 12:00 NEWT Studies
Monday & Wednesday - Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions
Tuesday & Thursday - Charms, Care of M.C., DADA
Fridays - Dueling and Self Study
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 Martial Arts and Weaponry Training
Monday & Wednesday - Martial Arts
Tuesday & Thursday - General Weaponry
Fridays - Open Study of either Discipline
3:00 - 4:00 Metamorphmagus and Empathy Training
Monday & Wednesday - Metamorphmagus
Tuesday, Thursday & Friday - Empathy
4:00 - 5:00 Occlemency
5:00 - 6:30 Dinner Break
6:30 - 9:00 Blood Magic/Runic Casting
9:00- Relax and Sleep
No schooling on Weekends, but must do physical workouts
Harry stared at his schedule, then stared up at Moody, then back at his schedule and letting out a sharp bark said, “Are you trying to kill us! We do have 5 years, you know!”
“You have a lot to learn, so stop belly aching and get a move on!” growled Moody and once his back was turned, Harry rolled his eyes to the great delight of all the rest still at breakfast.
“Hey, Oliver, what does your schedule look like?” asked Harry, already knowing that most of his friends had similar schedules, with only Blaise and Bianca joining him in Blood Magic classes. The rotations were slightly different, to accommodate the instructors, but the schedules all included the same studies with Blood Magic being the exception. Most others would be taking either Healing, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, or Warding during those times.
“Where you guys are taking NEWT studies, Angelina, Alicia, Adrian and I have the Advanced Charms, DADA and such spread throughout our schedule. From 6:30-9:00, we start with the Grey Arts. They seem to have spaced everything so that no one teacher has more than a handful of people. That must have taken them awhile.” Oliver said, finishing with a chuckle.
The first couple of weeks were pretty much hell, until everyone got settled to this new military style system. Neville, Oliver, Adrian and Harry suffered the least during the beginnings of the physical workouts, having already been on some form of workout routine before going into the warp. After about the first month, things stopped being so daunting, and a more relaxed air filled the house and grounds.
Harry took to the empathy just like Paole said he would, and within 6 months, he was pretty much a master at deciphering the emotions and feelings he was picking up from others, and being able to shut off the ability at will. Being an Empath, was very taxing if you left the it turned on all the time, so he took to keeping it off as much as possible. What took him by surprise, was how truly hard Blood and Runic Magic was. It didn’t sound to hard when Paole briefed them on what they would be learning….draw some symbols, drop some blood on them and WALLAH…Done! It was DEFINITELY not that easy. Depending on the exact results you were looking for, the runes had to be set in certain patterns and enchanted to activate within the parameters of the casting to ensure that when the blood set the runes in action, they would work correctly. There was actually a lot of Arithmancy involved at first, to learn how to set the parameters and patterns to cast….not to mention the runes and all their potential meanings. Needless to say, after the first couple of months, the three of them were ready to pull their hair out.
One of the unexpected benefits to the time warp, besides never having a full moon for Remus, was that the weather was always the same as it had been the day they went in. It was like the warp froze the day of August 10th, and that was what it remained everyday. Thank the goddesses above that it had not been a miserably rainy day. They did have to use the lake and a lot of house elf magic to keep the grounds and gardens from drying up…but a small price to pay for the constant beautiful weather.
The week of Christmas, or at least by their calendar, they were given a 5 day break, but was right back to the schedules immediately after. Around April, the Blood Magic finally started to click with Harry, but Blaise and Bianca, while making progress, were still struggling. Paole had said that it was because he had more of an affinity for this type of magic and it would always be somewhat easier and faster for him.
They continued to throw parties on the weekends, and slowly, you could see couples starting to form. Blaise had hooked up with Alicia for a while, and George had started seeing Su-Li. Neville and Hermione were going just as strong as ever, but Hannah and Ernie had called it quits. They were still friendly, but it had been a strain for the first week or so. Oliver and Angelina seemed to be getting on the best, and everyone was guessing they’d be the first engaged couple in the warp. Harry….well, Harry was still in his committed friends with benefits pattern, often partaking in the company of Susan, Bianca, Tracey and occasionally, Hannah after a couple of months being separated from Ernie. Every now and again, they would do the two on one, but only once did they tried a three to one ratio. Harry didn’t want to try that again….to much work for what enjoyment he actually got. Two was his max, and only rarely. He was realizing that one on one was much more personal and enjoyable…..more to his tastes.
As the first year drew to a close, they were all physically fit and progressing well in their studies. On August the 10th, year two, new schedules were handed out.
Harry’s Schedule - Year 2
6:30 - 6:45 Rise/Shower
6:45 - 7:00 Stretching/Warm-up
7:00 - 8:30 Running and Weight Training
8:30 - 9:00 Breakfast
9:00 - 12:00 Advanced Studies
Monday & Wednesday - Adv. Transfiguration & Adv. Charms
Tuesday & Thursday - Grey Arts & Adv. DADA
Fridays - NEWT Review
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch
1:00 - 3:00 Martial Arts, Weaponry Training & Dueling
Monday & Wednesday - Martial Arts
Tuesday - Swords
Thursday - Knives
Fridays - Dueling
3:00 - 4:30 Wandless Magic
4:30 - 5:00 Occlemency
5:00 - 6:30 Dinner Break
6:30 - 9:00 Blood Magic/Runic Casting
9:00- Relax and Sleep
No schooling on Weekends, but must do physical workouts
During year two, Harry was spending most of his time with Remus, for Adv. Transfiguration/DADA, Paole for Blood Magic/Grey Arts/Occlemency, Arthur Weasley for Grey Arts, and Flitwick for Adv. Charms/Dueling. They had geared his training more toward defeating Voldemort, placing a heavier emphases on the Grey Arts, since he had no restrictions and would need this form of magic more than any other.
He was making huge strides in Blood Magic and was starting to cast the more complex series of runes. Once he started getting the hang of it, he really learned to enjoy this ancient, yet fascinating branch. Blaise and Bianca had started coming around more towards the beginning of the year, and they to found themselves liking it more and more. They had not ventured into the Blood/Sex Magic yet, and probably wouldn’t until year four or five.
Harry relished in the Martial Arts training with its rigorous workouts. Complex kicks, punches, and sweeps, all coming to him with his natural grace and agility, easily. He liked throwing knives, but took to the sword fantastically, and often times could be seen practicing a series of intricate sequences that resembled a fierce dance. It was beautiful and terrifying to behold.
His wandless study was more or less self taught, with Flitwick, Paole and Moody supervising and offering any advice or knowledge they could. They were the only ones it the warp who had any experience in this area, so progress was slow. Harry knew he would master it eventually, but with very few tomes about wandless casting in his library, and the limited help he was receiving, it would take most of the remaining four years.
It was at one of the parties in early February that saw a new type of focus come to Harry. He had been dancing with his regulars, as he had started calling them, when he excused himself and left the floor to get a drink. While at the bar, he noticed that Katie was alone and seemed a little down.
“Hey, Katie. You’re a little down tonight. Anything I can help you with?” said Harry lightly touching her hand.
“Harry, not tonight…I can’t take the suave you right now.” said Katie, not even looking up at him.
He was a little taken by this and said, “Katie, if I’ve done something to offend you, I’m sorry. I just thought I’d be friendly and see if you were okay.”
“No, Harry, I’m sorry. I’m just in a mood tonight, and I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. You’ve never done anything to offend me. I guess I’m just feeling sorry for myself tonight. You know, just one of those moods.” she said giving him a small smile.
“Yeah, I get what your saying. I don’t much feel like being here either. I just can’t seem to get into it. I think I’m starting to tire of the one night stands, if you know what I mean. Funny coming from a guy, huh!” chuckled Harry.
“It’s not really that odd, I think everyone wants more eventually. That’s my problem tonight…Fred started hitting on me, and normally it wouldn’t bother me, and I would play along, but….Oh, I don’t know, I just want more. It’s hard enough being here with the same view day after day, but to act the same way all the time is starting to grate on my nerves. Does that make any sense?” she asked.
“Yeah, a lot of sense. Don’t get me wrong, I really care about Susan, Bianca and Tracey, but I just don’t think I’m up to the kink anymore. It was fun while it lasted, but it’s time to move on.” he paused, then continued, “Hey! Let’s head down to the pitch and work off some of this frustration. No ones down there right now, so we can practice some of the harder moves.”
“Sounds like a plan to me!” and they both left the party, many people noticing, and just assumed they were heading upstairs.
The next morning at breakfast, Fred teasingly said, “Hey, Katie…why’d you ditch me for Harry last night? I know he’s supposedly a god in bed, but give another guy a shot.”
“WHAT! Fred Weasley, that was low! I did not sleep with Harry last night!” Katie said, offended.
“Fred, that was uncalled for. We went to the pitch for some practice, not to get into each others pants, if you must know. I think you owe her an apology.” said a very stern Harry.
“Katie, God! I’m sorry…we all just assumed when you left together…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything bad by it.” said an apologetic Fred.
“It’s okay, but you people need to stop assuming stuff. You know what they say….you make an ASS out of U and ME.” she ended with a small laugh.
Harry noticed how beautiful she looked when she smiled, and decided that if anything was going to happen between them, it would not be another quickie. He meant what he said the night before…he was definitely wanting more than another one nighter.
As February turned into March then into April, he did get to know her better and they were seen spending most of their free time together and attended very few of the parties. They had not slept together yet, and that was just fine by Harry. When they finally did, it would mean the world to him, and to her. They had done some exploring of each other, but nothing to heavy. She was such a giving person but had a sharp edge if pushed….she very much reminded him of Poppy….stern when needed, but fun loving any other time.
June came, and the first free weekend found a group out on the race track having a very intense race. It was couples night on the track it seemed. There was Katie/Harry, Neville/Hermione, George/Su-Li, Michael/Hannah, and Oliver/Angelina. With just enough cars for each person, they set out and Katie quickly took the lead, but Harry was determined to take her down. As much as they cared about one another, their competitive natures would always look to win over the other.
“Your not going to win this one, Potter!” she screamed over the engines.
“We’ll just see about that! Leave yourself open on the inside again, and your mine!” he loudly retorted back.
“Just try it Mister….YOU….ARE….NOT….WINNING….THIS….TIME!”
And sure enough, he never did pass her and when they got out of the cars, she did a victory dance all around him.
“I Win! I Win! You Lose! I Win!” she went on and on, until Harry grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder and made for the pool. Someone was getting dunked! As the group approached the back patio, with Harry and a frazzled Katie in the lead, everyone stopped and started laughing at the playful antics of the newest love birds. She was kicking and beating on his back the whole way to the pool.
“Don’t you dare, Potter! You put me on dry land this instant!” she yelled and roared in laughter as her only response from him was a tickle to her side. As he swung her around to throw her in, she grabbed hold of him at the very last second, and both went tumbling into the deep end. When they emerged, they were both laughing so hard, some thought they might drown. Eventually, they pulled themselves out, sopping wet clothing and all, they sat on the edge till they calmed to a chuckle. Leaning over, he gave her a tender kiss that had most of the girls cooing.
“Your forgiven, Harry.” she said softly only those close could hear. What they heard next had eyes bulging and jaws dropping.
“I love you, Katie Bell!” he said equally as soft, looking her directly in the eye, giving her another tender kiss. It was like only they existed in this moment, no one else was around them that they appeared to notice. With tears of joy in her eyes, she leaned in, hugging him with all she had and said softly in his ear, “I love you, too!” Everyone knew what she had just said by the way Harry scooped her up and gave Katie the most loving kiss he could give. The clapping and cheering became almost deafening and giving all the party goers a smile, he lifted her to her feet, and they left to get dried off. About 20 minutes later they were back, snuggled close, dancing to a long set of love songs, played special in their honor.
That night as they laid together, and made slow passionate love, Harry became aware that what he had done before was just good sex, but this was truly making love and he choked back a small sob at the thought of actually loving another this much. As they fell asleep, he felt peaceful for the first time in his life, and he liked this new feeling immensely. Over the next several months, their relationship grew stronger and as year two came to a close, Harry thought, ‘This was a very good year.’