Unveiling Secrets: A New Path for Harry Potter

Harry didn't just feel spent, he felt thoroughly drained. He wasn't exactly sure why that had come over her, but he hoped it was gone now.

Pansy had drifted off to sleep probably twenty minutes ago, but he could only lay there. His mind felt dull, while his heart was still pounding. No longer from exertion though, now merely from the tension that would not abate. He was still spooned up behind her, and her hand that had pulled his arm around her was still clutching tightly to him.

It had been one hell of a day.

He hoped Pansy would still feel up to a vacation, as Harry really could use a break. The first week away from school had been nice, but the funeral made things messy, and that night, well...

Sex is always fun, he supposed, but sex with a crying girl is really not a turn on.

Maybe it was to someone. He'd really start to worry if it ever were to him though. After all, if a Death Eater had enjoyed that sort of thing with his wife, then Harry really didn't want to follow in those footsteps.

He was so distracted by his own rambling thoughts that he didn't notice Pansy stirring.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Yes."

"Are you alright?"

"Better. A lot better actually."

"Really?"

"Yes. It felt good to put those ghosts to rest."

"I think I understand."

"Really?"

"Your mother, naked and crying. That's what sex was to seven year old Pansy."

"You remembered that?"

"Of course. I do pay attention to you, you know? Especially the important things."

"Well, yes. That was...

"I don't know. I guess I felt like I needed to commune with my mother. If that makes any sense. Like I could put myself in her place so that I could let her go."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Please don't make me do that again, though."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm really not into seeing you cry. That's sort of the opposite of arousing."

She laughed.

"Good. It shouldn't be. I guess it's a good thing that your hormones were up to the challenge then."

"That's why I made you turn around."

"Oh." Pansy pulled his hand up from around her chest and he felt her place a soft kiss on his palm. "At least that made it easier for you to spank me."

"You really like that huh?"

"Sometimes. Not always, but when the mood strikes, yeah, I really do."

"Okay."

"You don't like it?"

"I wouldn't say that exactly. I guess I'm just afraid of hurting you."

Pansy giggled at that, and the sweetness of her tone both surprised Harry and finally helped release that tension that had been constricting his chest for the last half hour.

"I promise I'll tell you if you ever hurt me. Or at least, hurt me enough that I want you to stop. Sometimes, I have to remember that you're actually even more of a sappy romantic than I am."

"I don't hide it the same way you do."

"Oh? Does anyone else see that side of you?"

"I think Luna sees that side of both of us, at least to some extent, but that's not what I meant. I'm an open book. You, on the other hand, my dear are a mysterious, befuddling, confusing, bewitching woman."

"You know what they say, Harry. A girl's got to have her secrets. It makes things more interesting."

He snorted.

"My life is interesting enough. I'll take simple and content instead."

"Well, I do feel pretty content right now. I'm starting to get a bit hungry though."

"Do you want to go out or have Dobby whip something up for us?"

"Let's go out, but not just yet."

"Sounds good," Harry answered as he curled up a bit closer to her. They relaxed into the peace and calm of the evening.

He felt his own hunger growing soon though, and while it felt wonderful curled up behind her, he needed to get up before he drifted off to sleep if they were going to go out.

Harry kissed the back of her neck and pulled away a bit.

He saw that spot again and found himself planting a trail of kisses down her spine.

"Harry?" she moaned in response.

"Did you know that you have this cute little mole on your back? It's right here," he whispered as he kissed just to the right of her spine between the bottom of her shoulder blades. His stomach rumbled a little.

Her skin was so soft though.

He kept kissing down her back. Her bum was still a bit red, so obviously he needed to kiss there as well. And then, well, he got to one of his favorite parts of her body...

Fuck it.

Dinner could wait.

After that first turbulent day, they decided that Paris wasn't where they wanted to spend their time in France. It was summer, and Harry had never been to the sea. They decided to go to Nice.

After the first day there, Harry decided that it would be impossible to feel depressed while on the French Riviera.

Not only was there a beautiful curving coastline, and incredible blue water, but also it seemed like everywhere they went there were French restaurants and cafes with outdoor seating, just perfect for the wonderful summer weather.

Plus, they went to a different beach almost every day.

And that meant that Harry got to see his girlfriend in a bikini for the first time.

It was black, of course, and of a rather classic cut. Certainly not the most revealing swimsuit, especially considering they often saw women sunbathing topless, but to Harry, it made Pansy look even sexier than usual.

Since they were two pale Brits who lived up north in Scotland most of the year, sunburn would have been a concern. Harry had suffered through that before, when Petunia had made him slave away doing yard work during the summers, so he knew to exercise caution.

And if that caution meant that he just had to spend a lot of time covering Pansy head to toe in sunscreen, well, he would just have to grin and bear it.

While it might have been true that there was a spell that could have done the same thing, Harry pleaded ignorance of it. She caught him surreptitiously casting it on himself twice that week.

She didn't mention it though. Harry was getting really good at knowing just how and where to rub every little inch of her body. Why complain about something that felt so good? Especially when it let him have some harmless fun in public. The fact that they would both end up ridiculously aroused every time they made it back to their hotel room just meant they were having slightly more sex than usual.

Okay, maybe more than slightly.

But Pansy was convinced that Harry would never turn down a chance at sex, and after the catharsis of her mother's funeral, Pansy needed it more than usual too. It was a fun, sweaty, and lately quite often primal way to connect.

Plus, Harry was a very giving lover.

He was also always willing to cuddle afterwards, something that supposedly a lot of guys would not do.

She remembered seeing her father roll away from her mother to go to sleep after sex. Not only had he ignored her physical pleasure, but seeing her mother crying into her pillow- well, it still sent a shiver down Pansy's spine to think of that.

That was the type of fate that she had dreaded being forced into, and every time it came to mind, she would curl in just a little closer to Harry.

It was a thought that came back to her for the first few nights in France.

Every night though, she fell to sleep in Harry's arms a little more easily.

By the end of the week, the ghosts of her parents were well and truly put to rest.

"Harry, we have to go back home one of these days."

"But we just got here."

"We've been here almost two weeks!"

"Time flies when you're having fun," he snickered. "Besides, I still have another bottle of sunscreen to use."

"How many of those did you buy anyway? I swear you must have been coating me in half a bottle every day."

"I don't want your wonderful skin to get burnt. It leads to cancer, you know? Besides, you've never had a sunburn, and I'd like to keep it that way. It sucks. Trust me."

"What is cancer, by the way?"

"It's a disease that causes tumors and often leads to death. I don't really know much more about it, but it's one of the leading causes of death, at least in the muggle world."

"Oh," Pansy said quietly before slumping back in her chair.

"What's wrong?"

"I think that's what my grandmother died of. I didn't know what it was at the time, but now that you mention it, I believe that's what she had. It's kind of a hazy memory."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. That just hit me out of the blue."

"Well, if you're feeling down, I know something that always cheers me up."

"Oh, fine," she muttered. "The beach does tend to cheer me up too. But this is the last day. We have other things to do this summer rather than just going to the beach and having sex all the time."

"I can't think of anything else, really," Harry said with a smirk.

"Don't you want to visit Luna before she goes off with her dad for a month?"

"Oh, fine. I do miss that girl."

"Strangely enough, so do I," Pansy admitted.

"I knew she would win you over. Luna's a sweetheart. And we could both use someone like that to balance us out at times."

"Are you saying I'm not sweet?" She gave him a challenging glare that made Harry laugh.

"You're sweet to me, which is all that really matters. But I think both of us tend to be cynical and snarky more often than not. Luna is like our opposite. Open, happy, innocent. She's like a breath of fresh air."

"And you're going to do everything you can to protect her innocence."

"I am?"

"Oh, come off it Harry. We both know you've pretty much adopted her like a little sister. It's not surprising really, with you rescuing the girl from bullies. I'm just glad she seems to have not fallen in love with you like-"

"Like you did?"

Pansy groaned.

"I didn't fall in love with you because you rescued me from bullies. I didn't even fall in love with you because you rescued me from my family. I think I fell in love with you because of how you trusted me. You took a chance, you believed in me, even though most of the school would have never believed a Gryffindor should ever trust a Slytherin.

"Plus, I thought it was pretty cute how you flirted with me. That took me by surprise."

"It took me by surprise too," Harry agreed with a smile. "I'd never really flirted with a girl before. I just listened to my instincts."

"You do have good instincts."

"Then you should listen to them now because my instincts are telling me that we need to go to the beach."

"Alright, Harry, but this is the last day."

"Fine, but if this is our last night in France, then we're going out with a bang," he said with a wink.

"Or three?" she giggled.

"Or five, if I have my way."

"To the beach then, Harry. I have a feeling I'll need some rest before tonight."

"Now we're talking!"

They had been at the beach for nearly an hour, and Harry was almost finished applying the sunscreen. Not for the first time, they had gotten a few looks as Harry was thoroughly enjoying his task. Pansy was stretched out in a lounger looking out at the waves while Harry was very slowly rubbing lotion onto her calves. Only the tops of her feet were left.

He was becoming like an amateur masseuse, and she loved how much he enjoyed practicing on her.

She sighed and laid her head back.

The vacation had been a great stress reliever for both of them.

Some whistles and catcalls drew her attention. About twenty yards down the beach was a young woman that was making all the men stare and more than a few of them actually drool.

"That has to be the blondest French woman I've ever seen," Pansy muttered.

The girl in question was a silvery blonde that was highly unusual. She was dressed in a relatively conservative one piece bathing suit, but she had a body to die for. A sting of jealousy grew in the pit of Pansy's stomach- those breasts were incredible and probably twice her size. Plus, the bitch was tall and had legs that just went on and on. Pansy had been stuck at five foot three for almost a year now and was doubtful that she would grow any more.

"Which one?" Harry asked, briefly looking up from covering the top of her right foot with sunscreen.

"Which one? Don't play dumb with me, Harry. The babe that everyone's drooling over." She would have been more annoyed with him if his hands weren't making her feel so good.

"Okay. I think her little sister might be slightly more fair actually."

Pansy looked down at him as Harry went back to his work, taking her left foot in his hands.

"Little sister?" she asked.

"Uh huh," Harry grunted in agreement while he squirted out a bit more sunscreen.

It was pretty ridiculous how much of the stuff he was using, but it felt oh so good. Especially when he did that. Pansy almost purred as Harry rubbed between her toes and then along the bottom of her foot. She doubted anyone had ever gotten a sunburn there.

"All done," he said a moment later.

Pansy felt absolutely incredible. The fact that Harry had been doing this daily to her, no matter how much she teased him about it, was part of the reason her sex drive was rivaling his own for once.

Despite this, something got her attention. Pansy looked back over towards the blonde that looked like a model. She was watching a younger girl, almost certainly a little sister based on the resemblance, splashing in the water. The younger blonde was incredibly fair skinned and had even lighter hair.

"You might be right."

"Hmm?"

Pansy looked back to Harry who was scooting his own lounger over next to hers. She couldn't help but smile at him.

"You know Harry, I think you might be the only guy here that even noticed the younger blonde. It seems likely everyone else is too busy ogling her big sister."

"Oh."

"Why aren't you staring at her?"

"Is this a trick question? I know you don't want me to stare at other women. Why would I want to upset you?"

"But don't you think she's gorgeous?"

"Sure, I guess. I mean, I'm not blind. But I'm also not interested. I've got plans for tonight with a different gorgeous girl."

Pansy could only sigh.

"One of these days, Harry, you're not going to have such a good answer. And then I will be very cross with you."

"Well, hopefully it will be about something much less important. Like how you don't like one of my friends, or how I'm too lazy about writing obnoxiously long essays for McGonagall. Interfering in our awesome sex life is not something that I'm willing to risk."

"Alright, let's go."

"Go?"

"Back to the hotel. You're being a very good boy, so it's time for your reward."

"Oh!" Harry quickly stood and gathered their things.

"Plus, it's a huge turn on the way you rub sunscreen all over me," she whispered in his ear.

Harry took her hand and they nearly ran back to their room.

They made love through lunch and on into the afternoon. Eventually, they collapsed together and drifted off for a nice afternoon nap, with the sea breeze blowing in through the open window.

The shadows were nice there in the dark, overgrown forest. It was an inhospitable place. Humans rarely ventured there. Animals did, or at least they used to. Now, they mostly avoided it.

Something in the woods was hungry.

It had been hungry for so long, and so angry too.

Was it just a night ago that the deer came upon the wrong path? Maybe it was three nights ago. Maybe a week. It was getting harder to tell.

Despite the occasional comfort, something was calling to the West.

The darkness moved, following that call- that instinct- that said destiny awaited.

The shadows slid around it as the trees fell away.

The clouds helped to grant some minor concealment, but soon the darkness slithered out into a clearer path.

Bright lights came around a corner and swerved out of its path.

Two red glows peered out of the darkness.

Soon.

A cry of pain awoke Pansy.

Harry was groaning with both hands pressed to his forehead.

"What? What's going on?"

"Head... hurts."

She sat up groggily and rubbed her eyes. Harry's scar looked pinker and more pronounced, as if the wound had only recently healed.

"Is it your scar?"

"I think so." He gasped as she lightly touched it. The famous lightning bolt was hot to the touch.

"Dobby!"

The elf popped in to answer Pansy's call.

"Something's wrong with Harry. Get me a cool damp cloth, then see if you can find something for a headache."

"A potion for master Harry?"

"We don't have time to find a potion. Just get something muggle."

"Yes, miss."

In a flash, and two pops later, Pansy was sitting up while softly placing the cloth over his forehead.

"Is that better?"

"Yes," he groaned. "Thanks."

"Just try to relax, Harry."

"Okay."

She heard his breathing slow as she tried to clear her head.

"Do you have any idea why this happened?"

"I don't know. The last time my scar hurt like this was when I was near Quirrell while Voldemort was possessing him."

"That's not good."

"Probably not," Harry answered with a very mild attempt at a chuckle.

"Does anything else hurt?"

"No."

"Can you think of anything else?"

"I...

"I was having this really weird dream."

"About what?"

"Darkness. Darkness in a forest somewhere. But the darkness was moving. And I was moving with it as it slid through the trees and brush."

"Is that it?"

"I think there was something calling to the darkness, drawing it out of the wilderness."

"Hmm."

Dobby popped back in and handed Pansy a bottle of pills.

"These are muggle pain pills, miss Pansy."

"Thanks, Dobby. Let's see. It says you should only take one of these pills. Could you get a glass of water please, Dobby?"

A moment later, she was helping Harry sit up so he could take the pill with a swallow of water.

"I wonder how long this will take to help you feel better."

"I think usually non-magical medicine takes awhile to work. Maybe half an hour or so. I think that's how long it takes things to get into the blood stream, if I remember right from science class."

"Science class?"

"You don't think the Dursleys would ever waste money on medicine for me, do you?"

Pansy growled briefly.

"I still sometimes think I should have just killed them all."

"No, I think I prefer the idea of them all having to suffer for years. That's a fitting pay back. You ruined their oh so precious reputations too. That reminds me, I don't think I've told you how much I love you today."

Harry managed a smile as she kept holding the wet cloth to his head.

"I'm actually starting to feel better already."

"Maybe the medicine helped faster than you remembered."

"Maybe. I think it might have been just waking up from the dream though."

"What does that tell you?"

"I don't know if I want to think about it."

"You told me that when the Dark Lord left Quirrell's body, a shadow flew out of it."

"I know."

"So was the dream...?"

"About Riddle? Probably. That's why I don't want to think about it."

"Have you ever had any other dreams like that?"

"Not that I remember. And if it hurt like this, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered."

"I'd think so too." Pansy looked down and saw Harry close his eyes and take a few deep breaths. "So, what does this mean?"

"I'm guessing his ghost, or spirit or whatever, is on the move.

"I wonder why now, though."

"Me too. Maybe leaving Quirrell's body behind weakened it. It had to rest for a couple of years before it would be strong enough. But strong enough to do what? What was calling to it?"

"Who knows? How did the Dark Lord not quite die all those years ago when I somehow destroyed his body? That's really not what's supposed to happen when you cast the killing curse."

Harry sighed before he continued.

"I wish I could trust Dumbledore. He would probably have some idea of what this all means."

"That would be nice," Pansy agreed. "Do you ever think about what happened that night?"

"Sometimes. Why?"

"It's just...

"How do we even know that the Dark Lord did cast the killing curse at you?"

"I don't know. I've wondered that myself. There weren't any witnesses. I certainly didn't tell anyone what happened, and I doubt Riddle's spirit did either."

"Plus, well, the killing curse doesn't leave behind a mark. So why did it leave your scar the one time it didn't work?"

"All good questions. I'm not holding my breath on getting any answers though.

"I mean, why was my scar famous anyway? Dumbledore wanted me hidden away from the magical world. How exactly does everyone somehow know what I look like happen despite those ten years I lost? Wouldn't that kind of put a bigger target on me instead of helping me to be anonymous?"

"To be fair, that could be Hagrid's fault. You did say that he was the one who took you to those damn muggles, and he couldn't keep a secret to save his life."

"True, but knowing that, why would Dumbledore even have him involved then? Not a damn thing about the 'official story' of that Halloween makes sense.

"And I'd still like to know why my father wasn't using his fucking invisibility cloak while we were in hiding."

"It's all pretty damn frustrating," Pansy said.

"Tell me about it."

"Like you said, it would be nice if we could trust Dumbledore."

"Yes, but even when I did try to trust him those first couple of years, he never gave me a straight answer. And when I did ask him why Riddle was after me, he flat out refused to tell me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, at the end of first year, when I woke up in the hospital wing."

"That fucking bastard."

Harry chuckled.

"I'm not feeling to kind towards him lately either. I mean, it was one thing when he spoke kindly of Draco, as if he were just a student who made a poor choice. Tried to cast an unforgivable curse in Hogwarts, just a tiny mistake really. But then, the headmaster does seem all too forgiving.

"Snape, though," Harry had to take a deep breath before he started yelling. "That worthless bastard is the reason I don't have a family. I hope there is a hell, so that he can burn there forever."

Pansy shushed him with a kiss, so he lay back down and was quiet for a moment.

"I actually feel fine now."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My head doesn't hurt at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. We slept through lunch anyway. Aren't you starting to get hungry?"

"I guess so. But for the record, we fucked through lunch. It was already almost three by the time we fell asleep."

Harry just smiled at that.

"What?"

"Two things. First of all, that makes me very happy. And secondly, I love it when you curse."

"All the time when I curse? Or just when I'm talking about sex."

Harry hummed in appreciation.

"Can't it be both?"

"Alright, if you're going to be teasing and flirting like that, you must be feeling better. Let's get cleaned up and dressed so we can go eat somewhere."

That last night in France started out well enough, but Harry got oddly loopy during the meal. Afterwards, they were both ready to get some more rest.

Harry decided there was one last thing they should do. They called it an early night, but he set an alarm for half an hour before dawn.

They started the month of July by sneaking down onto a private beach, one of the few actually sandy beaches in the area.

Harry cast a notice-me-not charm and didn't hold back any of his power.

He and Pansy made love as the sun rose.

Harry did want to end their vacation on a high note, after all.

It was beautiful.

Thankfully, he remembered to bring a large beach towel, so sand didn't even get anywhere too uncomfortable.

Afterwards, it was time to head home, but they both had a feeling they would be coming back to Nice someday.