Author’s Notes: This year is a bit longer, to better work in the changes occurring within our favorite characters. Enjoy!

There is Always a Choice

Chapter III: Pain lessons. But it is never gone.

“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” – Rose Kennedy

“He didn’t mention anything to you about it?” Draco asks for the tenth time. Tallie throws another blasting curse at the wall of their common room. They had left the Welcoming Feast as soon as they could, mostly to get Tallie calmed down.

“I’m not surprised. He and Sirius have been doubly-engrossed with each other lately. That’s why it was so easy to stay away nearly the entire summer at yours and Harry’s places. Thanks again, for that.” Tallie shifts in her armchair before the fire to look her companion in the eye, smiling at him gratefully. “You two kept me sane and I have so much more control over the wolf now.” Draco smiles and stretches out his lanky form. The git had gone and had another growth spurt. He was nearly four inches taller than her now! Harry had only grown an inch, thankfully, but still!

“With Remus as our DADA teacher, you’ll get half as many nosy letters.” Draco points out helpfully. She scowls back at him, tossing her regrown hair behind her shoulders.

“He’s already sent me a note about eating lunch and dinner with him three times a week and using my Hogsmeade trips to visit Sirius for lunch to catch up. He’s planning my life for me! I can’t stand the way they treat me anymore.” Tallie bursts out. Draco stays silent; having nothing to say that will soothe the angered teen.

Thankfully, the wall slides open to reveal a mussed and bemused Blaise. Tallie and Draco watch with confusion as he walks dreamily over to them, slumping onto the couch.

“Er…Blaise?” Tallie ventures cautiously. The dark-skinned boy smiles in their direction.

“I hadn’t realized Pansy was such a good kisser.” Tallie and Draco broke out into laughter. Oh yes, the hormones were unleashing themselves at last.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hormones were an understatement. The sudden discovery of girls to the boys and boys to the girls was like a World War. Hogsmeade visits and the hours after dinner were dedicated to stumbling across snogging couples in random corridors and tables were filled at the Three Broomsticks with moony-eyed couples.

The third year boys of Gryffindor and Slytherin (with the exception of Theodore and Crabbe) were out one day in March, before the Easter holidays, soaking up the last few hours of sunlight before darkness. Their exams had ended at last and bags were happily abandoned in their common rooms. Games of Exploding Snap and Wizard chess were scattered throughout the boys and the conversation was light and teasing.

“I heard Millicent isn’t much of a kisser, Greg.” Draco states after checkmating the Slytherin for the third time. Around him, the boys quieted down to listen to this piece of news. Greg flushed and glowered at the blonde, who smiled innocently.

“She’s fine.” He grunts. Blaise chuckles and elbows Ron slightly in the side, eliciting snickers from the long-haired red head. “Pansy’s not much better, Zabini!” Blaise wrinkles his nose and nods.

“I can’t disagree with you there. Too much tongue. I prefer Lavender. Much more enthusiasm.” He waggles his eyebrows as the others laugh and some agree. Draco and Harry roll their eyes at the mention of the daft witch.

“What about Terry?” Dean pipes up. Harry flushes and glares at his housemate, who winks. Heads swivel to look at the blushing Gryffindor, who shifts in discomfort.

“He wasn’t bad.” Harry mumbles at last. Draco snorts.

“Bad? You told me he kept stopping to analyze each part of it. ‘Too wet, Harry? Too much tongue? Too little? What if we twist our heads to the side? No, not a 35 degree angle, a 45!’” Draco reenacts as Harry buries his head into his arms in the grass while the others roar with laughter. 

“You can’t say much, Draco! You were particular starry-eyed after kissing both Padma and Zacharias in one night!”

“Traitor!” Draco growls at the beaming Blaise, who yelps a second later and dives behind Ron to avoid the Stinging Hex sent his way.

“Someone’s turning into a little player, isn’t he?” Seamus laughs at the blushing blonde. His eyebrows are singed from the latest round of exploding snap.

“And you aren’t?” Harry chuckles. The boy had had dates every single night for an entire month this year!

Seamus frowns slightly and tugs at some grass. “Not anymore.” He mumbles. The silence is thick over the boys as they look at their suddenly despondent friend.

“What’s up, mate?” Ron treads carefully. The boy was known for his Irish temper lately. Said boy shrugged and tore at the grass beneath his fingers, shaking his shaggy sandy hair from his eyes to glare at the lake, as if blaming it for his love troubles.

“It’s me girl. We’re not steady or nothin’, mind ye. Only been on a couple of dates, really. But she’s interested in someone else, too.” Seamus mumbles downheartedly. Dean claps him on the back in sympathy. Neville shifts onto his stomach, finally joining into the conversation now that it was serious. He had been quietly dating Hannah Abbott and didn’t like to share the details about their interactions with the others. Plus, he was well aware of Seamus’ situation.

“Who’s she interested in?” Greg asks. Seamus’ expression darkens.

“That idiot Hufflepuff, Justin Finch-Fletchley.” Justin was the ‘hottest Hufflepuff’ according to the other third year girls. The others insult the boy appropriately to make their friend feel better. Their vocabulary has definitely expanded this year.

“She’d be a fool not to pick you, Seamus.” Harry adds when the insults get weaker. Seamus avoids eye contact with the boy, feeling awkward. Draco and Blaise pick up on it instantly and grey and bright blue eyes narrow suspiciously.

“Who exactly is this girl, Seamus?” Draco questions. The Irishman’s freckles nigh disappear beneath his blush as he mumbles a garbled name. Neville chuckles at the impending chaos, waving cheerily at the glare the dead-meat-boy throws him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that. Say again?” Blaise questions with a smile, catching on. Ron is buried in the grass, laughing while Harry watches with a confused expression.

“It’s Tallie. There, I said it!” Seamus exclaims, scrambling to his feet as both Draco and Harry’s faces flush with fury.

“WHAT?!” They exclaim, shooting to their feet as well, going at their year-mate from both sides. He yelps and freezes as wands are leveled at his tender bits.

“She’s off-limits!” Harry growls, his emerald eyes flashing dangerously as the jaguar snarls silently just beneath his skin. In his mind, an echoing roar of a lion bounces about as Draco nods fiercely in agreement.

“Ye’ve got to be kiddin’ me! If she’s off-limits to us, then she’s goin’ to turn to the older blokes. Do ye really want that?” Seamus demands. The two boys pale and then flush again at the thought.

“None of you wankers are good enough for her.” Draco snaps anyway.

“Does she know the bounty you’ve placed on any guy that shows interest in her?” Neville questions.

“Of course not.”

“And if she did?” Ron asks rhetorically.

“It’s for her own good.” Draco retorts. Seamus snorts and grabs onto some extra courage he had hidden somewhere, thankfully.

“Listen you two, I’m sorry for not getting’ your bloody blessin’ or whatever it is ye call it. I really like Tallie. She’s fit, she’s sassy, and she can hold her own in Quidditch. She’s perfect.” Seamus’ eyes go slightly distant as his brain is taken over by thoughts of a silver-haired witch with blazing, brown eyes. Draco bares his teeth, his mind screaming to hex this idiot into a pile of goo. He knew all of that about Tallie. She had nearly brought their team to victory this year had he been a bit faster with the damn snitch. She was an excellent keeper.

“What have you done with her?” Harry’s question brings him from his thoughts and he focuses on the Gryffindor before him.

“That’s none of yer business!” He continues as the dark-haired boy’s wand began to glow with a blue light. His dueling skills were a bit of a legend around the school, as were his talents in DADA. (Especially now that they had a competent teacher.) “We’ve snogged, that’s it. I respect her wishes.”

The wands are hesitantly lowered as female voices float towards their group. The sun was almost set and they didn’t need a scolding for fighting from Hermione and Tallie to ruin their evening. Harry and Draco step into Seamus’ personal space for the briefest second.

“Hurt her”

“And we’ll make it double.” Draco finishes. Seamus glares but nods and the three separate as the two girls come into view. Tallie smiles at Harry and Draco before walking to Seamus, who watches timidly. The rest are silent, waiting for her next move.

“Justin’s an idiot.” Tallie says flippantly, as if discussing the weather. Hermione smiles happily for her friend, knowing she had been greatly confused these last few weeks. Seamus breaks out into a great smile and hugs Tallie. Tallie grins and pulls back, glaring defiantly at Harry and Draco before turning back to Seamus and kissing him full on the mouth.

Both protective boys manage to keep their protests to a strangled shriek and a slight tantrum later that night after dinner. Just a little one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Talianna, a word please?” Tallie freezes halfway out of the DADA classroom. Seamus and Harry, on either side of her, pause as well and turn to her for what to do. She shrugs, her lips a thin line, and beckons them to their next class— Herbology with the Slytherins. Draco would worry if all three of them were late. He was going slightly crazy as end-of-the-year exams drew days away.

As soon as their cloaks are out of sight, Tallie turns to her teacher, her face carefully controlled. She knew what this lecture would be about.

Remus smiles at his cub, oblivious to her coolness, and pats the desk beside him, where he’s hopped up upon. She drops her bag back onto her desk and sits in the desk before him. His smile falters slightly but he forces it back into beamingness. “Talianna, is everything okay?”

“Yes, Professor.” She responds dryly.

“We’re alone, Talianna. You don’t have to be so formal.” When she doesn’t respond, he plows forward. “You’ve missed the last three Hogsmeade trips with your dad and I. Has your schoolwork been overwhelming you?”

Tallie lets her chin fall on her hand, feigning boredness. “No, it’s been fine. I’m passing all of my classes.”

“Then why have you not met us for lunch?” She shrugs in reply and the wolf in Remus growls at the petulance of his pack member while the father in him flinches from the coldness practically shooting off of her. “Talianna, your dad is worried about you as well. He says your replies to his letters are barely more than two sentences.”

“He sends me a letter every day. Not much has happened between each letter. And anything big that does happen, you’ll tell him anyway. I don’t see the point in reiterating it.” Tallie looks at the small pocket watch on a chain around her neck, decorated with two small stones of aquamarine and emerald – a Christmas present from Harry and Draco—, and stands up, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder once more. “Look, Professor, I’m already five minutes late for my next class.” She heads to the door. Remus stands up, his legs wavering between running after her and collapsing back against the desk in defeat.

“Talianna! What more do you want me to do? I’m trying! We’re both trying!” He calls after her. His only reply is his classroom door shutting with a sigh. The werewolf hangs his head in his hands, scrunching his eyes up as the swelling regret washes over him. It was after encounters like that that clarity struck him for a few precious moments and he knew the mistakes he had made.

An owl tapped against his window, a blue-eyed barn owl with a short temper. His lover’s owl. Remus stood up straight, smiling happily as he took the letter from the bird and sat down to eagerly read what Sirius had written.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Freedom! Oh, sweet Freedom, I bow to you!” Draco praises as he, Tallie, and Harry race out of the castle after their last exam, History of Magic. Tallie does one better and falls to the ground, arms raised to the sky in reverence. Harry snorts and trips Draco as he goes to run towards the lake. The boy tumbles and pulls Harry with him.

“Pack pile!” Tallie yips and pounces on top of both boys, eliciting puffs of air from suddenly squeezed lungs and grunts. She giggles and rolls onto her back luxuriously. Both boys groan and protest, yet not wanting to toss the girl off of them.

“Hey darlin’!” Tallie is swung up from the ground anyway, pulled into a chaste kiss by her boyfriend of four months. She smiles and tugs his sandy hair to get some air. His smile falters slightly as he catches the looks on his year-mates’ faces. Tallie twists around, keeping his arms around her waist, to glare back at the boys.

“What?”

“Do you really have to do that in public?” Harry asks quietly. Tallie snorts and gives him a look as if to say, “Really?”

“What he means is that we don’t want rumors going around about you, that’s all.” Draco amends hastily. Tallie smiles fondly at the two.

“Seamus, give us a sec.” Seamus nods and presses a kiss to her forehead before wandering back to Dean, who was waiting for him by a tree next to the lake. Once he’s settled comfortably on the ground, Tallie turns to the two teens with an unreadable expression.

“Harry, Draco, I understand why you’re both acting like this. Really, I do. I feel the same way every time I hear about you two with someone new. I’m scared that they’ll hurt you or use you or you’ll do something you regret or perhaps weren’t ready for. But I trust you both and I let you guys make your own decisions. I—”

“You sound like our mums.” Draco blurts without thinking. Tallie pauses with a raised brow and Harry slams his elbow into the blonde boy’s side while muttering something that sounded awfully like ‘Foot in mouth.’

“That’s because they explained this to me. They understood what becoming a teenager represents to most and prepared me for it, since my parents couldn’t do it properly.” Draco smiles apologetically and Tallie punches him playfully in the shoulder. “I like Seamus; he’s a wonderful first boyfriend. I don’t love him, though. I’m not going to give him everything either, so you can stop pulling your wands out every time he takes my hand. I’m not so naïve, guys.” The boys exchange looks before sighing in defeat.

“We just can’t see anyone being good enough for you.” Harry admits. Tallie throws her hands up in exasperation.

“Then who is?” When both fail to reply aside from some very uncomfortable fidgeting, she keeps going with a no-nonsense tone. “I have needs too, you guys. I want to kiss and holds hands and be held beside the fire and have someone to escort me to Hogsmeade and surprise me with chocolate or a butterbeer. I want to feel something.” She blurts accidentally, caught up in the moment. Draco and Harry step forward instantly, surrounding her with their comforting presence without touching.

“You’re right. We’ve been too overprotective. We just…it’s like you said. If you got hurt or got in over your head, we wouldn’t be able to take it.” Draco mutters, unsure of how to properly explain his feelings. They went further than that, way further, but he and Harry had both agreed that she was more important as their friend than as their crush.

“If someone hurt you, I’m not sure we’d be able to control ourselves.” Harry added. Tallie leans forward and wraps one arm around each of their necks to pull them closer.

“Just remember, it’s the same for me. Now, would you like to join me by the lakeside or do you not think you can handle it?” She challenges. The boys smile and start racing towards the tree, with Tallie racing happily after them. The boys dog-pile and dissolve into a wrestling match while Tallie, joined by Hermione, watch with laughter.

“Harry!” Everyone pauses as Ron runs over, a newspaper clenched in his hand. His freckly-face is pale and slightly green. Harry jumps to his feet, hand outstretched to steady his panicked friend.

“Ron, what is it?” Tallie questions, already reaching for the paper. Ron beats her to it, unfolding it and pointing to the enlarged photograph on the front.

PETER PETTIGREW ESCAPES AZKABAN FORTRESS!

Tallie snarls and immediately moves to Harry’s side, her eyes flashing with a silver sheen. Harry grasps her forearm in reassurance as Draco reads the article with fury.

“We’ll keep you safe.” Tallie whispers as Seamus and Dean come up behind them, making a shield around the dark-haired wizard. Draco reaches out to grip Harry’s hand where it grasped Tallie. His blue-grey eyes burned with the same promise as the newspaper was crushed in his grip.

Pack…pack…protect…pack…