QUICK FIC: Everyone Wants Harry Part 13: No Mistake (Harry Potter)

“Mr. Potter? Would you mind staying behind for a moment? I promise it won't take long."

“Sure, professor." For the second time, Harry stayed behind after the end of a nighttime Astronomy study. He wasn't staying because he had an erection to try and hide this time; Parvati hadn't teased him or wanted to partner up with him during their lesson. She actually hadn't tried to flirt or tease him at all since their last time on top of this tower. Maybe she'd taken Harry not accepting her invitation to visit her bedroom that night as a rejection and wouldn’t try again. That would be regrettable from Harry’s perspective, but what guy could have passed up on a chance to shag Professor Sinistra?

Alas, he could tell that he wouldn’t be getting lucky with the sexy astronomy professor tonight. There wasn’t even a hint of playfulness on her face as she approached him once they were alone. He’d had one of the most memorable nights of his life with this same woman on this same parapet, but tonight wasn’t going to go the same way. She’d asked him to call him Aurora last time while they were shagging, but she seemed to be going out of her way to be Professor Sinistra around him any time he’d had her class or seen her since then, and he didn’t get the sense that anything was about to change there.

"I wanted to talk about what happened the last time we were up here," she said. Her eyes shifted around nervously as if she were afraid someone might be around to hear them even though they were alone on the parapet.

“Sure,” he said. Watching her hug her arms around her middle, Harry frowned. “Do you regret it?”

“Yes, and also no,” she whispered, looking down at her feet and shaking her head. “Oh, who am I kidding? Merlin help me, but no, I don’t regret it. I should regret it, but I don’t. It felt too good, and I needed a night like that too badly after everything that’s happened.” Harry smiled, but her eyes rose to look directly at him, and she shook her head. “But it can’t happen again. You might be an adult, but I’m still a teacher, and you’re still my student. It was incredibly unprofessional of me to do something like that with you, and I can’t do it again. I’m sorry if you felt pressured in any way.”

“Pressured?” Harry said with a snort. He smirked at her and shook his head. “The way I remember it, I’m the one who made the first move.” Now that they were discussing it, he decided to explain his side of it in greater detail. “Just so you know, I didn’t bump into you on purpose, and I wasn’t, you know, hard because of you, either.” They both had Parvati to thank for that, though he chose not to say so. “I mean, obviously I decided to take my chance once you were in my arms, and I didn’t let go. But I didn’t, like, plan any of that out.”

“I believe you,” she said, nodding. “It wasn’t a moment that either of us planned. It was completely spontaneous.”

“Spontaneous,” he agreed. “And amazing. At least for me.” He couldn’t resist adding that. It didn’t seem like she was trying to leave the door open for him, and that was fine. He wouldn’t try to force anything if she wasn’t comfortable with doing more with him. But he wanted her to know how much he’d enjoyed it. She was silent for a long while, but she finally cracked a small smile and nodded her head.

“It was amazing.” Her smile reminded him of the way she’d looked at him the last time they were alone on this parapet, but it was gone quickly. “But it can’t happen again.” She looked away. “I can’t let it.” It came out almost as a whisper, and Harry was left wondering whether she was telling him or trying to convince herself.

“Whatever you want, professor,” he said softly. She looked almost wary as his hand reached toward her, but he gave her a platonic pat on the shoulder and didn’t let his hand stray anywhere else. “Our night together on top of this tower was one of the best nights of my life, and it always will be. But I don’t expect anything more from you. If it’s only going to be a one-time thing that never happens again, I’m okay with that.” Okay was a relative term, but he was choosing to avoid saying how much he’d like to take her back into his arms, bend her over and shag her again right here and now. It wouldn’t have felt appropriate. “But can you promise me one thing, professor?”

"I suppose that would depend on what you want me to promise." She tried to sound professional, but he could hear a sight shake in her voice that told him she wasn't as composed as she acted. He'd already known that, of course, but this was more proof. He stepped closer to her but left his hands at his sides and made no attempt to touch her or take her into his arms again. This wasn't about trying to make a move.

“Promise me you’re never going to wish you hadn’t done it,” he said seriously. “If you never want to do that with me again, that’s fair. It can be a crazy, impulsive thing that neither of us saw coming ahead of time and can never be recaptured, if that’s what you want it to be. But please don’t ever regret it, or feel bad about doing it. I had a great time with you, and I’d hate to think that you looked back on it and wished it hadn’t happened.”

“I probably shouldn’t promise that,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “But I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about. Minerva would probably have my head if she ever found out I shagged a student, adult or not.” Her eyes opened, and she looked at him with some emotion he couldn’t quite read. “You are a special wizard, Harry Potter. And even if we shouldn’t have done it, if someone were to hand me a time-turner right now and give me a chance to go back and undo it, I don’t think I could bring myself to take it. That night was special to me, too.”

“Good,” Harry said, smiling. “I’m glad to hear it.” She stood there staring into his eyes, and Harry was seriously tempted to kiss her. But he didn’t. He wasn’t going to ruin everything he’d just said. If they ever did hook up again, it would have to be her who made the first move. And if that didn’t happen, his night on the Astronomy Tower with Professor Sinistra would have to remain a treasured memory that could never be repeated. “Good night, professor. Unless there’s something else you wanted to talk about before I go?”

“No,” she said quietly. Harry wanted to think she looked reluctant to say no, but it might have just been in his head. “That was all I wanted to say. Good night, Har-Mr. Potter.”

Harry walked down the spiral staircase, leaving the Astronomy Tower with a sense of finality. He couldn't exactly complain if he really never got to shag Professor Sinistra again; he'd never expected it to happen in the first place. But he'd seen something in his astronomy professor's eyes that made him think that the conversation had been about her trying to convince herself it could never happen again as much as it was about telling him.

“Mr. Potter.”

Harry flinched; he’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even seen Septima Vector, the arithmancy professor, waiting for him in the corridor until he was right in front of her.

“Oh, g-good evening, Professor Vector,” he said. As he didn't take her class, he'd barely seen her or spoken with her in his years at Hogwarts. Seeing her standing there with her arms folded across her chest and her blue eyes staring at him seriously from behind her glasses, he quickly understood why she had a reputation as a disciplinarian. She gave off the aura of a younger McGonagall. A much younger McGonagall, with long black hair pulled into a beehive on top of her head and a face that was undeniably gorgeous even with the imposing look she was currently giving him. He mentally shook himself. This wasn't the time to think with his dick.

“We had an astronomy study tonight, and it just let out,” he said, rushing to explain why he was out after curfew before this notoriously strict woman tried to punish him. “Professor Sinistra asked me to stay behind for a bit, but—”

“Yes, I know.” The arithmancy professor cut him off, her deep blue eyes staring directly into his while she commanded their conversation. “That’s exactly why I was waiting for you. Come with me, Mr. Potter. We need to talk.”