Somewhere Safe - Chapter 12

Harry woke up with something warm against his back. He adjusted his glasses to see a wild head of black hair resting between his shoulders. Rose had her arm draped over his side. She pulled him closer as he shifted in bed.

"Rose." He said softly. "I need to get up."

She grumbled but didn't move.

"We skipped dinner." Harry prodded her. "It's time for breakfast."

Rose snapped to a sitting position.

"Shit, wank." She grumbled.

"What?" Harry chuckled.

"Nothing." Rose waved him off. "I fell asleep."

"We both did." Harry sat up and stretched.

"Everyone saw me come in here with you." Rose continued.

"Oh." Harry said slowly. "Nothing happened."

"We know that." Rose sighed. "Lav and Vati will have told half the school by now."

"Aren't they your friends?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but they are still the worst gossips in school." Rose groaned as she held her face in her hands. "Everyone is going to think I'm a total slag."

"I've had people talking about me for years." Harry rested a hand on her shoulder. "The best thing to do is act normal. Walk out of here like nothing is wrong. Get dressed and head down for breakfast. If they see you sneaking around, they will talk more. They're going to talk, nothing will stop that, but you can set your friends straight. Tell Lavender and Parvati what really happened. They'll spread it around just as fast."

"Tell them that we slept together?" Rose spoke flatly.

"That we fell asleep talking." Harry got out of bed.

A quick look around the room and he found his trunk. He hit the latch to activate the closet. A row of his clothes slid out before him. Absently, he took off his shirt and tossed it at the laundry bin against the wall. His hands paused when he started to unbutton his pants. He quickly grabbed one of his uniforms before heading to the bathroom.

"I'll see you at breakfast?" Harry asked as he closed the door, hoping she didn't see him blush.

"Sure." Rose stared after him, slightly dazed.

Harry waited until he heard the door open and close before he got in the shower. It was luxurious compared to the stalls in the dorms. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to savor it. He quickly rinsed off and got dressed. His stomach was not happy that he had skipped dinner, especially after all the magic he had thrown around.

He stepped into the hallway and came to a complete stop, just barely avoiding knocking a girl to the ground. Iris braced her hands on his chest, holding him upright as he nearly fell over.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Good morning to you too." Iris said with a wry smile. "I wanted to walk you to breakfast. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with you yet. You weren't around for dinner."

"Thank you. After all that testing I needed sleep." Harry let out a nervous breath. "Sorry. Good morning, Iris. Didn't mean to tackle you, I was worried I was going to miss breakfast."

Iris grabbed his arm, pulling him close, and turned to lead them down to the Great Hall.

"You didn't, so we're fine." She said with a shrug. "That wasn't the common room door."

"No." Harry shook his head. "There wasn't any space in the dorm, so they gave me the Head Boy room for now."

"Fancy." Iris said with an appreciative nod. "And all to yourself."

"Yeah." Harry smiled. "The shower is amazing. It's nice not to have to share it with other guys."

"I'd like to see it sometime." Iris said casually.

"Anytime." Harry replied easily.

He didn't see the devious smile that flashed across her face.

"Do you know your schedule?" Iris asked.

"No." Harry replied after a moment. "I think they'll give it to me this morning. If not, I'll just follow Rose around until they tell me."

"Hmph." Iris muttered something too soft to hear.

They made it down to the Great Hall. Iris stayed with him, taking a spot on his right. Their conversation paused while they started to eat.

"What are you doing here?" Rose asked as she walked over to them.

"I'm having breakfast." Iris replied casually. "Is it so wrong for me to want to visit?"

"You've never eaten here before." Rose countered.

Iris shrugged. Further conversation was interrupted by the unmistakable noise of Ron eating. Harry had no idea how he did it, but the ginger was louder than three people. It wasn't a Weasley thing, no one else in the family was that noisy. Hermione had once told Harry that she thought it was a defense mechanism since he was the youngest brother. Whatever the reason, it wasn't pleasant, even in his home dimension.

"I remember why now." Iris shuddered. "I'll see you at lunch." She paused, glancing at Ron. "Or not."

"Bye." Harry said with a smile.

Rose glared at her little sister. She took the spot Iris had just vacated. He didn't see the younger girl wink at her older sister. Lavender, Parvati, Katie, Ciri, and Neville quickly filled in around them.

"So." Lavender said brightly. "What did you two kids get up to last night?"

Rose groaned.

"I was having a hard time adjusting." Harry replied before they could press further. "Rose stayed with me to help talk through a few things."

"Is that what they call it where you're from?" Parvati said with a giggle.

"I told you." Rose grumbled.

Harry smiled at her. Professor McGonagall rescued them with her approach.

"Mister Potter." She said holding out a card for him. "Your class schedule. You will need to inform me of the electives you wish to take by tomorrow morning. If not, they will be assigned to you. History is when you will have private instruction. You will be meeting with a tutor at that time instead of attending class. Any questions?"

"Thank you, professor." Harry said. "Where do I meet them?"

"Do you recall the location of the room where the testing took place yesterday?" She asked.

Harry nodded. "Thank you."

She gave a small nod before departing. He turned back to the others.

"Who teaches History here?" Harry asked.

"It changes every year." Neville answered tiredly.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"No one wants it." Ciri chuckled. "Binns keeps trying to teach the class. He's a ghost and was the professor when he died."

"They've tried changing the classroom, but he just keeps finding it." Neville added. "No one has the patience to stick around with him constantly interrupting to rant about goblin rebellions."

"There's a pool going around about how long they last." Rose said.

"Shortest was two weeks." Ciri continued. "That ministry lady. I can't remember her name. The one who looked like a toad."

"I think we all preferred Binns to her." Katie said with a shudder.

Harry let out a breath. An annoying ghost was better than a curse. He checked his schedule. The first class was Charms, an elective, then lunch followed by Potions, and ending the day with Defense. Tomorrow, the day started with Herbology, then double Transfiguration, break for lunch, History, and finishing the day with an elective that hadn't been chosen yet.

"What electives are there?" Harry asked. "I know Care of Magical Creatures, and Divination."

"Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and World Studies." Rose answered.

"What is World Studies?" Harry asked.

"The world, obviously." Katie replied sarcastically.

"It's a brief overview of magical practices from all over the world." Ciri said, flicking Katie on the dangly bit of her earlobe. "I'd skip it if I were you. You've already got a lot of new information to take in."

"Thanks." Harry replied, giving her a small nod.

He liked Care of Magical Creatures, but he didn't think he could stand seeing Hagrid constantly. Divination was interesting, just not for him. The biggest draw for Astronomy was Professor Sinistra. Even the robes she wore couldn't hide her amazing curves. That left Runes and Arithmancy. He was a year behind, but they were the most appealing of the bunch.

Harry flipped the card over. "Does anyone have a quill I could borrow?"

The group stared at him for a moment.

"What?" Harry asked.

"A quill?" Rose answered with her own question.

"To write with." Harry replied with a nod.

"Who told you that you needed a quill?" Rose asked.

"Mom." Harry blinked. "Your mom, I mean."

Rose smiled at his slip of the tongue.

"We don't use quills anymore." Parvati chuckled. "Here." She pulled out a fountain pen. "Use this."

"Thanks." Harry took it and focused on writing.

He hoped they would mistake his blush for getting fooled rather than what he had said. The card folded itself into a little airplane once he had finished writing. It drifted up off the table then glided over to Professor McGonagall, who plucked it from the air.

"What did you chose?" Ciri asked.

"Runes and Arithmancy." Harry replied.

"I'm in those too." She replied with a nod. "We can study together."

"Thanks." Harry said with a genuine smile. "I'm heading to charms."

~~~

Sorry for the lateness. I'm fighting a cold.