Unveiling Secrets: A New Path for Harry Potter

"Well, that's got to be the most memorable exit Hogwarts has ever seen."

"I would think so," Harry answered as he closed the door to their compartment on the train. It wasn't too surprising that no one else had yet made it down to the Hogwarts Express. "Why exactly are we bothering to take the ride home instead of just having Dobby pop us back to the flat?"

"We don't want people to think that you did anything wrong," Pansy answered. "Magic itself judged Snape poorly. He happily betrayed the life debt he owed to your father; he deserved no less than a painful death for that. If the other students see you riding the train home as if this is natural, then they will be less inclined to start another wave of disapproval towards your actions.

"And I know at least those raised with magical backgrounds- well some of them anyway- will see what happened as proof that Snape was in the wrong. It's not like you raised your wand to cast anything at him. I'm curious to see how Dumbledore tries to spin this off in the press. It's not like he can Obliviate the entire school. Word of this will get out, and the fact that he let a man who was largely responsible for your parents deaths not only teach at Hogwarts, but also torment you for the first couple of years until Sam threatened Dumbledore, well..."

"Yeah, I can't see how the headmaster can make any of that look like a good idea. Snape was a monster. And since you reminded me, I should probably contact Sam as soon as possible about crafting a statement for the ministry and/or the press. He would be better at handling that sort of thing than I would."

"And that's what you pay him for after all. How do you think your friends will react to Snape's death?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if Ron was cheering me on."

"Then you would be correct. Which of course means that I'll be forced to endure his presence for at least part of the ride home."

"I won't let it be too bad, I promise. Besides, the rest of summer should be Weasley free, and I know you're looking forward to that."

"You do know me so well," she purred. Pansy looked out the window and saw that the rest of the students were still not to the platform, so she kissed Harry. "I might not get to do that again for several hours, and you must know how excited I got watching you take care of Snape."

"I could always throw up a half dozen Notice-Me-Not charms, and we could always start celebrating the end of the school year a little early."

"Tempting," she replied, as Harry began kissing her neck. "Stop."

"Don't wanna."

"I don't want you to either, but this is important."

"Fine, but don't expect to do anything else when we get home."

"Don't pout, Harry, I'm not exactly happy about this. But one of us has to be able to control their hormones, and I don't see you applying for the job."

"I'll have you know I control my hormones every day."

"How so?"

"We still go to class don't we?" Harry chuckled and Pansy rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright you goofball, how do you think the rest of your friends are going to react to today's events?"

"Hmm, well I know at least two thirds of my favorite ladies will be alright with it."

"Two thirds?"

"You, obviously, and Luna too I would guess. She told me that he started treating her worse in class this spring, once it became known that she was my friend. Not as badly as he treated Neville or Ron from what I've heard, thankfully. Ironic, that me defending her from bullying actually led to one bully targeting her more. That's yet another reason I'm glad that evil fuck is dead.

"Hermione will be upset and worrying over what I've done and all sorts of fallout from ridding Hogwarts of that vile piece of filth who should have never been allowed to be around children, and probably ten other things too. I'd wear myself out trying to keep up with her trains of thought as it sometimes seems like she has five going at once. I think she'll be on my side, just possibly with more of her usual nagging behavior. I know she means well, but Hermione really needs to learn to relax."

He had an idea about that, but it was a long term plan, and he had no idea how easily he'd be able to pull it off. Well, keeping Hermione sane would just have to be up to her parents over the summer.

"Okay then, who else do you think will bother stopping by on the train ride?"

"Well, the other Weasleys probably. Maybe the rest of the quidditch team. And I suppose Parvati and Lavender will be stopping by to flutter their eyelashes at me."

"That does get a bit annoying at times. I'll be happy to not have to deal with any other girls trying to steal your attention over the summer."

"You always have my attention, and you know it. I would still like to visit Luna at some point, though."

"Why?"

"Well, aside from the fact that Luna is just really fun to be around, I'm curious to see more of how magical families live. I've really only seen brief hints of your family and the Weasleys, and I don't want to live like either of those two examples."

"Oh, what did you dislike about the Weasleys? And Harry, be sure not to leave out any details."

Harry smiled at her pleased smirk but indulged her anyway.

"The house itself was rather odd, as the construction would have nearly been a violation of the statute of secrecy. It was like they added on more floors and rooms as they kept having children, and they clearly didn't know what they were doing because without magic the whole building would probably come crashing down. However, if they were going to do that they should have built it much bigger."

"I thought you said it was something like four stories tall."

"Well, other than the ground floor, the others mostly were just a couple of bedrooms stacked on top of each other randomly. But it must have been a nightmare a few years ago."

"What do you mean?"

"Seven children. Five bedrooms. One bathroom."

Pansy gasped and shuddered, and Harry smiled as he had anticipated that response.

"People actually lived like that? That sounds terrible. Even sharing a bathroom just with you at the flat isn't as nice as when we have access to two at the castle."

"We don't have to both get ready in the mornings at the flat though."

"It's still not polite to keep a lady waiting, Harry."

"As I recall, it's usually me that ends up doing the waiting."

They were interrupted as the door slid open, and Luna stepped inside.

"What are you waiting for, Harry? Me, I hope."

"Oh, I was just talking about waiting in general. It's nice to see you though, Luna."

"Thank you. I wasn't sure if the two of you would want company or not."

"We're all about keeping up appearances, apparently," Harry said with a sigh.

"Good, then that means having a friend sitting with you would not be the wrong appearance I hope. I wasn't looking forward to finding somewhere else to sit."

"You're more than welcome to join us."

"Thanks. I hope I won't be bothering you, Pansy."

"Don't worry, Luna. You bother me much less than some of the people I expect to come visit."

"That's good to know. I do suppose it would be impolite to speculate on the order of those you dislike the most." Luna had said that in her care-free manner, as if gossiping with Pansy about which of his friends (Ron obviously) she disliked the most was no big deal since Luna herself was not at the top of the list. He really liked Luna, but he would never understand her. Cattiness was not something he would expect from the blonde, but it usually amused him when it came from Pansy; so as long as they weren't bitching about Hermione, he really wouldn't care.

"Especially since people are boarding the train now, we wouldn't want to speak ill of those who may stop in," Harry added. "What are you looking forward to this summer, Luna?"

"I'm not sure yet. Daddy often sets out on expeditions searching for rare animals or lost magical places. That could be a fun way to spend at least part of the summer. It's one of his dreams to find evidence of where exactly Atlantis disappeared to. Last year we traveled to Transylvania."

"Isn't that where Dracula is from?" Harry asked, jokingly.

"Yes, but that wasn't why we went there. We were hoping to find the long lost invisible pygmy wolves of the Carpathians. Unfortunately, they are still long lost. However, it was a fascinating trip."

"You know, a lot of muggles also love the idea of finding Atlantis," Harry said with a small smile.

"Really?" Pansy asked. "I thought muggles didn't believe in fantastical things like that."

"A lot don't, but there are still some dreamers out there that hold on to ideas of the mystical and supernatural. Those types of people would absolutely love to see most of the things the magical world takes for granted. Hell, a few years ago, I was one of those people."

Once again, the compartment door opened as Hermione joined them, followed by Ron.

"Harry, what have you done? You killed professor Snape!"

"Hermione, that scumbag never taught anyone anything in his life. We would have learned more in Potions with a ghost like Binns- at least he wouldn't have actively encouraged people like Malfoy to sabotage the rest of us in class.

"As for what I was doing, I was avenging my murdered parents."

"And good riddance!" Ron cheerfully agreed.

"But Harry is going to get in so much trouble."

"Why?" Pansy asked.

"What do you mean?"

"All Harry did was call for a traitor to be judged. He did not lift his wand, nor cast any spell. If you hoped some awful person in the muggle world were to be hit by a bus, do you think they would arrest you if that did actually happen? Magic itself made Snape pay for his crimes. If you have trouble thinking that's true, then think of it like karma."

"But-"

"Hermione, believe me, I've done more research on life bonds than probably anyone you know," Harry added. "Don't you remember what happened when Draco attacked me? The only reason I can think of that didn't happen to Snape is that he didn't personally try to murder my father and I. But he certainly didn't care when my father was killed, and he wouldn't have cared if I died either. All he wanted was my mother. Because he was a creepy fucking pervert who seriously thought she would love him after her husband and infant son were murdered. What a fucking lunatic!"

Hermione was so shocked by Harry's outburst that for once she forgot to chide him about his language.

"But, Harry, how do you even know that?"

Crap.

Harry looked at Pansy and she raised an eyebrow as if she expected him to come up with something.

"It's a secret, Hermione. Let's just say that if it weren't true, then Snape wouldn't have been found guilty. But obviously he was, so therefore, you can be assured that I was right."

Luna nodded along, as if that made all the sense in the world to her, so Harry knew that it wouldn't pacify Hermione Granger.

And sure enough, it didn't.

"If this was some secret, then why did you tell everyone in the Great Hall?"

"Because I wanted that fucking bastard to pay! He may as well have killed my parents, and Dumbledore not only let him terrorize children, and behave like an absolute twat to me, but he actually protected him from going to Azkaban. He should have been put on trial, and all of this should have come out right before they fed him to the dementors. Snivellus Snape deserved no mercy, and I'm glad he's dead."

That put an end to the discussion, as everyone looked around uncomfortably. The twins took that opportunity to step inside.

"Sounds like there's a party going on in here. Celebrating the demise of the former Potions nightmare, are we?"

"Well, I was trying to," Ron answered. "But Hermione had to get all worried about things and set Harry off."

"Hermione, I'm sure you mean well," began the twin on the right. Fred, maybe? "But you don't understand how important family is in the magical world. Old family lines are a big deal. There are a lot of people that try to make sure they marry people from other old families."

"Not only because they believe purebloods are better," the other twin added. "That's just gits like the Malfoys. But there is a lot of prestige in marrying well. Not just for marrying someone from a rich family, but also someone from a magically powerful family. Harry's parents were Head Boy and Girl, which meant they were smart and good at magic. Add in that Harry's dad was an only child and the last of the Potter line, and you have a fair amount of money too.

"Snape almost single handedly ended that out of spite and malice. If not for the little miraculous boy wonder, that is."

"The magical world is already a small place; losing entire families made it weaker. That's one of the reasons you-know-who's reign of terror was such a big deal- the entire British magical culture suffered a lot. It's a miracle Dumbledore has held onto his post with the ICW. Britain is not nearly as powerful as it once was."

"How do you guys know so much about this?" Harry asked.

"We pay attention to things that are important. Percy's been wanting to get into politics for years now, and as annoying as he can be, he is smart enough to have made Head Boy. Plus, our oldest brother Bill works for Gringotts and travels a lot. He tells us all sorts of things about the rest of the world."

"And from everything he says, Britain has fallen pretty far from the top position that we used to have. Just don't tell that to anyone in power. They like their illusions, and that's one of the reasons we give Percy so much grief. Who would want to work for a government that is run by people that are just full of it?"

"That does help explain some of the stupidity I've seen," Harry agreed. "If the ministry knew what it was doing, those dementors never would have been let anywhere near Hogwarts. It only took a near catastrophe, and hundreds of angry letters, to make them see reason."

"Exactly. Our brother must be mad to want to join them," the first twin agreed. "So, what's next on the agenda for our illustrious Lord Potter?"

Harry laughed at the twin's snooty voice. "Going home to take a nap."

"Big things then." The second twin nodded knowingly.

"Well, I've done a good day's work already. I might even take a nap on the train ride for awhile."

"Harry, you're going to be as lazy as Ron talking like that," Hermione chided.

"It did actually feel a bit draining with Snape being judged," Harry admitted. A second later, a yawn further drove the point home.

"Well, don't let us keep our favorite seeker from his nap time."

"Right, George, see you later ladies and gentlemen." The twins stood, doffed imaginary caps, and left the compartment.

Harry yawned again and Luna stood up.

"Scoot over, Ronald," she said.

"What for?"

"So that Harry can have his nap."

"Do you mind?" Harry asked as he looked over at Pansy.

"Fine, but you still owe me for last time."

"Last time?"

"Lap rental from the beginning of the year's nap."

"Are you sure I never paid you back for that?"

"Not officially," she said with a smirk.

"Alright," Harry said, reaching into a pocket. He pulled out a pouch full of coins and handed it to her. "You can either wake me when the food trolley comes around or just get me something."

He stretched his legs out and laid his head in Pansy's lap. She squirmed for a second and Harry heard just a hint of a growl come from her. If not for the company, he would have teased her about it. But as much as he wanted to have some nice, physical fun with her, Harry really was starting to feel more tired by the minute. Must have been the adrenaline wearing off.

Harry only briefly felt fingers brushing through his hair before he drifted off to sleep...

By the end of the train ride, Harry wished much more that Pansy hadn't talked him out of using Dobby to go straight back to the flat. Snacks from the food trolley were nice, but a far cry from an actual lunch. More people than he thought he knew came by to say something to him, many out right thanking him for getting rid of Snape, others just wanting to wish him well for the summer. He had an idea that people were extra nice to him since they all knew all too well about the life debts they owed him.

Christ, it wasn't like he was going to ask any of them to do something for him.

Although, it must not have seemed that way to the rest of the student body, he supposed. There were two deaths now attributable to life debts- but as long as the other students were not actively trying to kill him, that really shouldn't matter.

But then, he did have Pansy too. Not that many people had figured that one out. Other than Luna, of course.

Hermione seemed to just accept that Pansy was his other best friend, and she did at times (like the most recent lap pillow incident) dote on Harry, so there was clearly a close relationship there. However, most of the other students their age weren't really dating yet, so the much more intimate nature was still a secret. Harry was tired of that deception; he would definitely savor not having to worry about it for the next couple of months.

They said their goodbyes to their friends and watched as the others all met up with their families. Pansy smiled at that- for the first time, the summer didn't mean returning to a depressing house with a violent father and an alcoholic mother.

A sex-obsessed boyfriend and a fanatically loyal house-elf were huge steps up by comparison.

She just hoped that Harry would want to do a few other things this summer.

"Take us home Dobby."

Almost as soon as they appeared in the flat, Harry's hands were all over her. Pansy felt his lips trailing down her neck and managed to groan out "bedroom" before feeling him lift her up and carry her.

She was kissing him, her eyes closed as they moved through the hall and then crashing into the bedroom. Every inch of her felt inflamed; she felt the mattress sag underneath her as Harry set her down and leaned back. Pansy reached down to begin unbuttoning her blouse, but Harry took her hands in his.

"It's a lot more fun when you let me do that," he smiled. She grinned back and responded by tearing his shirt open, buttons popping off.

"Oops," she purred.

Harry threw his shirt off and across the room, then pushed her back down against the bed. He took her shoes off, then slid his hands up her legs and underneath her skirt. He really seemed to love doing that, but she wasn't going to complain. His hands running up her thighs was always a turn on.

"This is why I love you in a skirt," he said as he slid her panties down, then kissed up the inside of her thighs.

"Easy access," she managed to say before a gasp as he reached his target.

Pansy had been massively turned on earlier in the day, and that feeling had never really passed all through the train ride. It had ebbed now and then, especially when one of his more annoying friends was talking, but watching Harry stand over Snape as the bastard finally got what was coming to him was enthralling. She didn't have the nerves and worry that she'd had when he dueled Malfoy; this time she could just enjoy seeing the demise of one of their enemies.

It was even more exciting than when he had shown her the memory of her father's death.

Now, though, she was soaked, and yet Harry was still taking his time, driving her over the edge. It didn't take long before she was shivering in pleasure, but he still wasn't stopping.

"Harry, please," she moaned. When he still didn't answer, she grabbed his hair and pulled him up, but Harry resisted, kissing up her stomach to her breasts. He still wasn't in her grasp.

"Dammit Harry, fuck me!"

She felt him chuckle against her right breast, but he finally, finally slid inside her. And when he started, he held nothing back. 'This was more like it.'

She knew he had been excited as well, so it was no surprise that Harry was as energetic, frantic even, as he had ever been. And she needed that, she needed to feel him pounding them into the mattress. If they broke the bed, that would be a good sign. Besides, Harry had claimed to have pretty much mastered the Reparo spell.

She lost that train of thought when he began swirling a wet fingertip around the nipple that his lips weren't clamped onto. That was a wonderful new trick. Oh god, there it was- she felt the spasms come deep from her core and spread out through her whole body.

(It would be two weeks later before she remembered to ask him about the nipple thing.)

Just after coming down from the wave of her own orgasm, she felt Harry begin to peak, and a warm contentment filled her just as he did. She loved it when he came inside her. Pansy didn't know if other girls liked it as much as she did- that wasn't something she could talk about with Parvati and Lavender, obviously- but she assumed it must be pretty normal. That's what our bodies were made for, anyway. The biological urge.

Harry's urge was almost ever-present. He was still hard as he rolled them both over so she was astride him. He liked to wait to pull out for as long as possible. She tried to catch her breath and began to realize just how hungry she was.

Harry summoned the sheet up over them before calling for Dobby.

"Dinner will be ready soon, master Harry," the elf said without even being questioned.

"You're the best, Dobby," Pansy answered, feeling Harry's heart still pounding against her chest.

"What she said," he agreed.

"This tub needs to be bigger," Pansy said as she wriggled, trying to get more comfortable with Harry behind her. She felt his approval at this movement. "That will have to wait. Don't you ever get enough?"

"Enough of sex? With you? God, I hope not." Pansy harumphed in his lap and he smiled at the smirk he just knew he provoked when his arousal poked at her again. "Look, just because you've already hit double digits doesn't mean I have. I'm not lucky enough to have multiple orgasms, and I have to take breaks when I do finish."

"If not for the refractory period, I think guys like you would fuck till their cocks fell off," she huffed.

"Probably," he laughed. "Seriously though, we'll be having this same conversation in reverse in twenty years or so. It's not my fault men and women don't have sexual peaks that line up by age."

"Yes, well, I'll just have to remind you then of how indulgent I am now in the future when you start complaining."

Harry chuckled.

"Does that mean you admit you're complaining now?"

Pansy's response was to reach back over her shoulder and pinch his ear.

"Ow!"

"Be good or no more sex tonight."

"You should really take it as a compliment, you know?"

"We have other things to talk about."

"Alright, like what?"

"Like everything we want to do over the summer."

"Okay. We've got almost a week until we meet with Malcolm to go to France. What do you want to do in the mean time?"

"Nothing having anything to do with school, or the magical world in general. This last year was fucking stressful. Plus, I'm not sure how bad the funeral might be. I just want to relax for the next week."

"Fine with me," Harry agreed. "Everything will be alright. At the funeral, I mean. Whatever you need, you know I'll be there for you."

"I know," Pansy sighed. "I'm still not looking forward to it, but I think you're right that it's something I need to do."

She laid her head back against him, and Harry kissed her neck while wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she answered. "Let's talk about something more pleasant. What else do we want to do this summer?"

"Well, we've got a standing invitation to visit Luna any time other than the last two weeks of July. And Luna is pretty much always fun."

"True, but she's even more fun when I get to watch Granger's reactions to her."

"We could always take Hermione along with," Harry suggested. "She would probably enjoy seeing a magical family's home."

"And I could encourage Luna to try to make her head explode. You're so nice to me, Harry," she giggled.

"Well, I've been thinking of a number of things to try to get Hermione to be less uptight. Luna could help with that if I could just get Hermione to be more open minded. You would think going from the muggle world to the magical would make her more inclined to believe in things that seemed impossible. I know that's how it is for me."

"Yeah, I don't know what Granger's problem is. Or problems, really. Sometimes, I almost think I could like her, but then there are things like how she still seems to actually like that buffoon Weasley."

"I still like Ron, too."

"Maybe, but you've been less inclined to put up with all his stupidity and bullshit this year. My wonderful influence, obviously," she drawled out. "Besides, you don't have a crush on someone that treats you like crap the way he does to her."

Harry snorted.

"Yeah, I don't get that either. And for the record, I've been harsher with Ron because of how much of a git he's been to the women in my life. When it's just him and me, he's not bad, but whenever he's around you, or Luna, or even Hermione, it's like his inner arsehole comes out. It doesn't make sense to me. It just seems natural to be nicer to girls, not more of a jerk like Ron. He's pretty crappy towards his sister too."

"You're just a natural gentleman, Harry. Most of the guys at Hogwarts could take a lesson or two from you, and that's before we even get close to some of the entitled pureblood dickheads."

"Hey, I did get rid of one of the worst of them."

"Yes, you did, and I will be rewarding you more for that this summer. But with Malfoy gone, believe me, there will be others strutting down the halls thinking that their family is now the richest and most obnoxious. It almost makes me feel bad for some of the upper years. Can you imagine how poor the school must have been to put a pompous brown-noser like Weasley as the Head Boy?"

"Honestly, I kinda expect that type to get the Head Boy and prefect positions."

"Well, in the past it has gone to much more dynamic and charismatic people more often than not. Like your parents."

"I hope you don't expect me to live up to that. Trouble seems to follow me like a shadow."

"I expect to help keep you from getting caught, keeping you out of trouble is probably impossible. And as long as you don't get caught, then you could become Head Boy. Just think of all the things Black keeps writing you that he and your father got away with when they were at Hogwarts."

"I suppose. Sirius likes the stories where they got caught too. It seems like they were both pretty shameless."

"And you're only shameless when we're in private," she chuckled. "What do you want to do about Black?"

"I'm not sure yet. For some reason, I find it hard to hate him. I haven't forgiven him for not choosing to take care of me."

"Good. I'm not forgiving him for that either. Stupid wanker fucked up your childhood with his idiocy. And that reminds me, whenever we have children, there is no way in hell that some moron like Weasley will be the godfather."

"Sure," Harry snorted. He couldn't imagine Ron becoming responsible enough even in a decade or two, so that wasn't an argument he was interested in pursuing.

"But, about Sirius, I am a bit more inclined to... I don't know. Not forgive him, precisely, but... give him another chance? I guess.

"It's not like Lupin who just fucking forgot all about me for twelve years. Self-centered prick. Sirius at least suffered too. Azkaban and the Dursleys probably weren't too far apart in some ways. Because of that, I guess I'm willing to keep talking to him. Does that make sense?"

"Yes. Alright, so we'll probably have a visit with Black later this summer too then. And I assume you'll drag me along to go see Granger as well?"

"Well, you wouldn't have to go. But Hermione probably does have a lot more experience with things in the muggle world than I do, really."

"Muggle libraries, soooo interesting."

"I'm sure her parents at least took her to restaurants, films, the theater, things like that occasionally. I mean, the first time I ever went to see a movie was with you last Christmas."

"And it was wonderful, Harry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you of the past."

"It's alright. I'm just saying that Hermione wouldn't necessarily be as driven during the summer. At least, I hope not."

"Fine. But I think I want in on whatever plans you have to get her to relax."

"I'll tell you later. If I didn't think she would give us all ulcers with her constant 'study, study, study' demands, I might have considered trying to talk her into going back to Divination. That time-turner could have come in handy some time in the future, I'm sure."

"Maybe, but I don't think dealing with the incredibly high-strung Granger for four more years would be worth it."

"Probably not. And I'm not quite that manipulative, either. You know the one thing I'm not looking to about seeing her, though? Hiding this. Us."

"I know, Harry."

"That's one of the other things I like about Luna. Why do we have to keep hiding it? The Malfoys are gone. Your father is gone. Snape is gone. I don't think I can do that for another year, Pansy."

"It will change things if other people know."

"But we got rid of so many enemies already. I did it to protect you. I just... I want everyone to know that you're my girlfriend. I don't like having people like Lavender flirt with me constantly."

"Or Parvati?"

"Parvati doesn't bother me as much. She isn't as extremely blatant about things. Hell, Lavender proposed taking me to a broom closet and quote "blowing my mind, or something else.'"

"That was pretty funny," Pansy giggled.

"We were in Charms!"

"That's why she did it. Flitwick is a push over; she wouldn't have tried that if MacGonagall could over hear it."

"Anyway, I'm tired of it."

"You know that will just mean all those girls will shift their attention to me, and giving me nasty stares. Don't you want to protect me from that?"

"You're taking advantage of my heroic nature," Harry grumbled. "Of course I want to protect you from that."

"Look, Harry, in a lot of ways I want to stop hiding too. I just think there will be some ramifications that neither of us will like. People will talk about you taking advantage of your servant, you know."

"People talk behind our backs constantly. The dementors, the Malfoys, Black, Snape. I'm sure there will be ten more reasons next year too."

"I understand. Let's just try to think everything through before we decide on changing things like that, okay?"

"Okay."

They relaxed after that. It had been a long day, after all. And judging by what was still poking up against her bum, Harry intended to make it a long night too.