Knowing she was a bit earlier than everyone and already had bought what she needed for that new school year, Juvia slowly walked towards back at the Diagon Alley towards the Leaky Cauldron where she would meet her friends so they could spend the rest of their vacation together.

Lucy had sent her a letter a few days before, saying that her father had said yes for her to take a few friends to their beach house and she wrote her friends, Juvia included, so they could all meet and travel there via Floo Powder.

Juvia was thrilled when, a few days before, she received a phone call from Gray instead of just a letter as they had been doing all summer, asking her if she got the authorization from the orphanage's Headmistress.

Hearing his voice made her melt all over and miss him even more – after their first kisses at Hogsmeade, even though they (him) didn't want to label what they were and with the O. W. L's, they managed to sneak out and meet, only their closest friends knew of their affair.

Juvia couldn't help it but to smile like a silly girl while she walked on the Diagon Alley, thinking about how one night they had managed to sneak in the Astronomy Tower, lied down on the floor and gazed at the stars. It had been very romantic – if she ignored the fact that Gray had to be bribed for her to have her romantic moment; his payment was snogging time for the rest of their hidden date and Juvia sure had nothing to complain about, she loved his kisses.

It was weird how much she enjoyed just kissing him. While in her relationship with Bora, she had accepted it was going to be a part of it and while it was nice for most part, it was hardly something she heard other girls sigh and talk about.

But one kiss with Gray and Juvia understood.

Gajeel had had one look at her when she arrived at the castle after that first batch of kisses and narrowed his eyes for a moment. "Oh bloody hell. Something happened, didn't it? You are going to talk my ear off, aren't you?" He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Come on, the earlier we start, the sooner this torture will end."

Later on, he had told her she arrived at the Slytherin Common Room with a wide smile and looking rather dreamy and Juvia believed him, she was on cloud nine that day and every day since.

The only thing that bothered her was that while Lucy and Natsu stopped hiding their new relationship a couple of weeks after the Hogsmeade trip, Gray and Juvia still pretended they were just friends while in public. Juvia bit her lower lip – she had to work on that front soon, she didn't want any girls thinking they had a chance with Gray unless they wanted to find themselves hexed with an itchy spell.

She shook her head, trying to make those thoughts go away and to calm down her green-eyed monster. Gray didn't seem the cheating type and as far as she knew, they were exclusive. Weren't they?

Her line of thought was interrupted when she heard her name being called and her heart raced when she looked over her shoulder and at the doorway of Flourish and Blotts, there was Gray.

"Gray-sama?" She asked, amazed to see him there which was ridiculous because they were supposed to meet in a little while. Juvia walked his way and he met her halfway – he wasn't smiling like she was, but she knew him enough to notice how his eyes had softened when he looked at her. "How are you?"

"Great. Excited for this week at the beach. You?" They were close, but not enough for her liking.

Knowing he wouldn't appreciate her throwing her arms around him like she wanted to, Juvia contained herself. "Same." She told him and they stayed in silence for a while, just looking at each other and Juvia felt a little awkward. They had been snogging like crazy during the last weeks of their school year, so she really should've been ahead of the awkward phase. "Uh... did you buy everything you need for school?" He blinked as if she had brought him from a deep thought. "You were just at Flourish and Blotts, right? That's usually when you get your books." Juvia said, knowing it would be a while until she had enough to buy there; she still had to use the second handed ones.

"Right." He nodded. "Yes." Gray cleared his throat. "Yes, bought them all. Just, actually. That's when I saw you passing by the window and I kind of ran off... aw, damn it." He cussed. "I will get an earful."

Juvia frowned. "From whom?"

Gray opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a man carrying a lot of books bumping on Gray and saying: "Damn it, Gray! I am not your house elf, you can't just run off and leave me behind to pay for your crap." The man, Juvia noticed, was a bit older than they were, with white hair. His eyes were dark green and sharp, taller than Gray and just as handsome – even though she thought Gray would win that competition. "What happened?" He asked, watching as Gray gathered his books better on his arms and then glanced Juvia's way as if he had just seen her there. "Oh. Hello."

"Hello." Juvia offered him a small smile and Juvia saw him blink in surprise for a moment and for some reason she couldn't fathom, he became quite red. Was he mad at her for Gray running off the store?

He cleared his throat and looked confused. "I know you from somewhere but I can't remember from where."

"From school." Gray mumbled, looking irritated to have been caught by surprise. "You are two years older, you were gone by the time we started hanging out." Gray looked Juvia's way and, with a sigh, said: "Juvia, this is Lyon. We were adopted by the same woman when we were kids."

Juvia nodded in understanding and Lyon looked at her in realization. "Oh! I remember you now." He smiled her way. "You were part of the Element Four, weren't you? You were nothing to be messed with." He chuckled and Juvia smiled, proud to have herself recognized. The white-haired man offered her his hand. "Since Gray doesn't want to properly introduce me, I'm Lyon Vastia. I was at Ravenclaw, a couple of years ahead of you."

"Juvia Lockser." She shook his hand and with her other, put a stray lock of her blue hair behind her ear.

"Enchanted." He actually leaned and kissed her hand without breaking eye contact and Juvia looked around, embarrassed some people actually looked their way. She glanced at Gray and saw him get red as well, looking at Lyon in disbelief. "So, you are a friend of Gray's, huh?"

Juvia was a little surprised to hear the little tone of flirt, because that just wasn't possible. Right?

"Yes, she is." Gray bumped on Lyon and gave him the books he was holding, back, so he had to let go of Juvia's hand. "Look, you can go now. Ur said she would have these delivered for me at Lucy's beach house so we could leave for Hogwarts from there."

"She also said to keep an eye on you. The last time you were here on your own, you ended up in the Tower of London and she had to go to the Ministry of Magic for an audience because you used magic while underage." Lyon told him and looked Juvia's way. "Can you believe this?"

"Oh." She blinked before answering. "Uh... Juvia was with Gray-sama that day, actually. She had to go to the Ministry as well."

"Did you now?" Lyon sounded awfully interested and Juvia suspected he already knew about her involvement. Ravenclaw indeed. "That sounds fascinating, care to tell me over a cup of-"

"Alright." Gray interrupted him, his face was red and he put himself between Lyon and Juvia. "You have to leave. Now." He said between gritted teeth. "I will be fine, I have zero intention of getting in trouble. We are going to wait at the Leaky Cauldron and I'm sure you have to go back."

"I could stay a while more." Lyon looked over Gray's shoulder to peek at Juvia. "I sure wouldn't mind."

"No." Gray grabbed Lyon and pulled him far enough Juvia couldn't hear them. He looked very angry and for a while, Lyon seemed confused until realization dawned upon his face and he glanced her way. Gray looked her way as well, his redness deepening then their attention was back to each other.

Juvia saw Lyon, while speaking with Gray, took his wand and whispered a spell so the books were floating by his side instead of in his arms and smirked towards the younger man. They finally seemed to reach some sort of agreement a minute later and walked her way back again.

"It seems I am being dismissed, Juvia-chan." Lyon said and Juvia wondered why he called her that. "Apparently, I am embarrassing someone." He rose his eyebrows Gray's way and Juvia had to bite down a laugh when Gray looked at him in frustration. "It was a pleasure to get to know you."

His smile was sincere, so Juvia smiled back. "Likewise."

"Now I have to go and tell Ur all about meeting Gray's girlfriend. She won't let him forget it anytime soon." He said fast enough, probably so Gray couldn't interrupt him. "Bye." He, then waved her way before showing his tongue to Gray and apparated.

"She's not- Shit." Gray tried, but Lyon was gone. "Urgh, he's gonna tell Ur and she really won't let me live this down."

Trying to hide her hurt about his denial of their relationship, Juvia cleared her throat. "Uh... Juvia is sorry?"

He glanced her way and sighed. "Not your fault. Lyon is a blabbermouth and it was my own fault anyway, running and leaving him behind. I could've waited to meet you with everyone else at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Why didn't you?" Juvia asked, curious.

Gray blinked a few times before answering. "I... I don't know." He seemed confused with his own behavior. "Before I knew, I was at the door."

Warmth spread through Juvia. He didn't know, but she did. Juvia had that feeling all the time when he was concerned and sometimes she could act before taking action, but sometimes she acted without really thinking just because she wanted to be close to him.

Gray had done the exact same thing.

Without saying another word, Juvia grabbed his hand and lead him through the crowd to a side street that was quite empty. He looked confused up until the moment she pushed him towards the wall, tip toed and kissed his lips.

He was surprised for about a second before one hand was on her lower back and the other on her jaw and took him another second to spin them around so she was pinned on the wall.

"Wanted to do this since I saw you passing by the store." Gray confessed between kisses and Juvia smiled.

"It's been too long." She answered, stealing another kiss and Gray hummed in agreement, resuming kissing her for a while until she, regretfully had to stop him when he dove in for another kiss while they were panting, trying to get their breaths back. "We have to go." She informed him. "We have about ten minutes to get to the Leaky Cauldron to meet everyone."

"You are right." Gray groaned in annoyance and took a step away from her, to Juvia's regret.

"We are definitely snogging more later, Juvia is sure Lucy-san's house has a lot of empty rooms." Juvia smirked when she saw him blush, it was always fun to see and it made her feel warm inside. Gray just nodded in response. Juvia, then, passed a hand through her hair to get it less messy. "How does Juvia look? Does it look as if she just spent five minutes kissing you?"

"Yeap." He popped the p, clearly amused. "I bet I look the same way?"

"Yes." Juvia chuckled as she glanced to his messy hair, messier because she really liked to pass her fingers through it while they kissed, she found out. Gray tried to com his hair back into place with his fingers and after a few moments arranging themselves, they headed back to the main street, side by side. "So... where are your things?"

"I had them delivered at Lucy's place, better than taking with me. And yours?" He asked, curious.

Juvia opened her coat and showed him a little side purse she was wearing and Gray frowned, confused.

"Undetectable expanding charm." She told him. "All Juvia needs is here." She patted the purse.

"Wow. We haven't learned that yet in school."

Juvia shrugged. "You didn't. Juvia has been practicing this spell for a year and she finally got it right."

"Nice." He seemed impressed and pleased with her knowledge. It was one of the things she really liked about him: he didn't feel threatened at all about her knowing some spells he didn't like sometimes she knew Bora was back when they dated. She even corrected his posture one time when he was mock fighting with Natsu. His wand hand had been lower than it should be for best effect – something she caught during her dueling times was that teachers taught in a general way, but some students needed some special adjustments – and correcting him had been automatic. Gray was amazing, he just needed that little adjustment. Instead of being annoyed, he did what she told him to correct his posture and when the spell came out better than before, he had laughed while seeing Natsu's stunned face before he thanked her. "We have a few minutes and I can see Fortescue's line is incredibly short. I'll buy you an ice-cream."

Juvia nodded in excitement and couldn't help it but to twine her arms on his and rest her chin on his arm, looking up, grinning. "Aw, remember that time last summer we went there? It was our first date." She teased him.

Gray snorted. "Yeah, let's hope a maniac doesn't appear this time to start a fight with us. Ur would kill me if that happened."

#

Lucy's family beach house was actually a mansion, Juvia concluded while being lead further in by the blonde, their friends by her side. She was looking around in wonder how would it be like to have so much money to be able to afford a beach mansion.

Looking over her shoulder, she caught Gray's gaze and mouthed 'wow' and he nodded, also amazed; apparently, he hadn't known how big the place actually was either.

Alongside with them were Natsu, Erza, Wendy and Levy. The others, unfortunately couldn't make it, even though she knew Gajeel would spend a day there, it was all he managed to get since he didn't have permission to leave his orphanage and running wasn't an option; it would bring too much unwanted attention.

"So, that is my room." Lucy pointed to a door at the end of the corridor. "On the right rooms we have: Levy-chan, Juvia, Wendy and Erza. On the left, Natsu and Gray. Whoever sent their stuff, it's already inside their rooms." She pointed to each door and turned to smile at her friends. "I hadn't been here in a while, so I'm very excited. Go change and we'll meet downstairs so we can go to the beach!" She squealed in delight and Juvia couldn't help it but to smile at it as they walked towards their designated rooms.

Juvia's eyes widened when she got inside her room; it was spacious, the walls were white, there was a double bed that looked very comfortable with some blue pillows on top of them, nightstands in each side of it, a full-length mirror, a wardrobe and a two-seats couch.

But what really caught her attention was the small balcony so she walked right over, amazed at the view of the beach, taking a deep breath and reminding herself how much she loved it.

Feeling just as excited as Lucy had been, Juvia took her suitcase from inside her purse and put it inside the wardrobe. She got her bathing suit and stepped into the bathroom, which looked amazing and as if it had just come out of a design magazine.

Juvia put a dress on she was looking herself in the mirror when she heard a knock on the door and said it was okay to get in.

"Are you ready?" Lucy asked and closed the door behind her.

"Yes." The blunette said and frowned when Lucy looked to her dressed and wrinkled her nose. "What?"

"Juvia..." Lucy started slowly, as if trying to find the right words. "You are very modest, I can see that you are." Juvia nodded. "But... you are on the beach. Are you sure you want to wear a dress like this? All up to your throat?" Juvia had to admit it was a little puffy. "Look, if you are comfortable, I say go for it but if you are not and you think you should wear this for some reason... Don't."

Juvia looked at herself in the mirror and then to Lucy's reflection. The blonde had chosen shorts and a t-shirt but Juvia could see the straps of her bikini peeking out.

"I... I got used to wear these clothes." Juvia told her friend. "In the orphanage, you always get hand-me-downs and they are always too big so they can last for a while. During her first years in Hogwarts, she had the clothes fitted by magic. I liked it." Lucy nodded in understanding. "But then Juvia's body began to change and suddenly everyone was looking at her all weird and Gajeel-kun explained her why. He did. They were looking..."

"Urgh, yeah, I get the picture." Lucy agreed with a nod.

"So Juvia began to wear her clothes loose again. Most of the looks stopped, some didn't." She shrugged.

"Well, the looks will never really stop, no matter what type of clothes you wear; you are a very pretty girl, Juvia." Lucy told her and Juvia was surprised. Of course she knew she wasn't a monster, but having one of the prettiest girls in Hogwarts telling her she was pretty... Juvia didn't know she wasn't that vain until that moment. "What?" Lucy was confused. "You look surprised."

"Juvia is." She confessed. "Hearing someone describe me as pretty..."

"It's the truth." Lucy said, confident. "You are and you shouldn't be ashamed of wearing whatever it is. Do you want to wear this dress? Wear it. Do you want to wear shorts? Go for it. Do you want to wear a summer dress? Amen. No one here is going to give you weird looks for what you choose to wear." She thought for a moment. "Well, except for Gray."

"What do you mean?" Juvia asked, concerned: she really didn't want for Gray to give her a weird look.

Lucy smirked. "He has only seen you in your uniform and those baggy clothes we talked about, right?" Juvia nodded. "He is a sixteen-year-old teenager boy and he's about to see his girlfriend in just her bathing suit? You are getting some looks, alright."

Juvia felt her cheeks get warmer. "Lucy-san!"

"What?" Lucy crossed her arms under her breasts. "I understand, having a creep staring at you is uncomfortable and awful, but trust me when I say that when it's the guy you are in love with and he is looking at you with that stupid expression on his face, it's different. Very different."

"What if... what if he doesn't like what he sees?" Juvia asked.

"He liked you without seeing what is underneath your clothes, right? He'll keep liking you after." Lucy shrugged. "If he doesn't, he doesn't deserve you. But it's Gray and it's you. I say go for it, I have shorts that would look great on you, but it's up to what you want."

Juvia looked at her reflection again, biting her lower lip. She could try it and if she didn't feel comfortable, all she had to do was change back.

"Alright." Juvia nodded.

#

Juvia took a few calming breaths while she followed Lucy towards the living room where the others were already waiting for them. In the end she had chosen to just wear shorts, like Lucy had suggested and seeing that they were going straight to the water, they were shirtless, just wearing their bikini tops.

After putting her hair in pigtails, Juvia nodded to her friend and they went downstairs, but Juvia was getting nervous with each step.

"Don't fret." Lucy said while looking over her shoulder. "You look great." Incapable of speaking, Juvia just nodded and they stepped inside the living room. "Sorry for the delay. We can all go to the beach now."

Not one of their friends looked at her weird, just nodded and they were all smiling as they followed Lucy to the side door that supposedly lead them to the beach.

Gray, though... Gray was glued to his spot, looking at her with wide eyes and a bit of a blush on his cheeks and Juvia felt her heart beat faster. How about that? Lucy was right, it was different.

He looked so handsome too, with just his own shorts and shirtless. Juvia had known he was a fit guy, but seeing the defined abs and imagining them were two different things.

"Shall we go?" Juvia asked quietly taking a few steps towards him and Gray blinked, as if she had just brought him back.

"Yes." He whispered and then cleared his throat. "Yes, we should go." Gray said, much more like himself and nodded, pointing towards the door the others had gone through. "I'm right behind you."

"Alright." Juvia was about to start walking when she decided to step closer to him and give him a light peck on the lips. He was surprised, but not displeased. "Okay, we can go now." She started to walk her way to the door and she could hear him a few steps behind her, muttering something under his breath and she smiled to herself.

#

Two days later, Juvia was feeling very frustrated with Gray.

Every time they were about to get on their own or she was going to give him a kiss, he slipped away from her and she didn't like it at all. He was acting so weird she was starting to think she had done something wrong but she needed to ask him what it was because she had no clue whatsoever what that was about.

So, while Gray was upstairs and the others decided to go to the beach, Juvia had told them she was going to take a nap and as soon as they were gone, she walked up the stairs.

He was leaving his room when she caught him by the hand and pulled him inside her room, closing the door behind them.

"Juvia, what-?" Gray asked, confused but the next minute Juvia had her arms around his neck, pulling him down and kissing him, not at all like the other sweet times she had been the one who started it.

The blunette sighed in relief when Gray kissed her back almost immediately; she had been afraid he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Apparently that was not it.

Gray was leading her back and she only knew why when she felt the back of her knees hit the bed and he gently lowered her to it, his body covering her own and Juvia's hand were roaming on the exposed skin of his back.

She'd find out about what he was weird about it later, when she wasn't having a great time snogging the hell out of him.

For the life of her Juvia couldn't say how long they had been kissing on the bed, just that it felt amazing and she wished it would never end, especially when he kissed her jaw down to her neck and she gasped.

They had reached that far, but while sneaking out in school and properly dressed, having him kiss her neck while there was skin to skin contact and the only thing separating their upper bodies was her bikini top was an entirely different feeling.

She didn't expect him to bite gently on her clavicle but she gasped with it.

For some reason, Gray froze with the sound and was off from the top of her a second later, getting off the bed, leaving a very confused Juvia lying down.

"Shit." He whispered over and over again. "I'm sorry, Juvia. I..." He walked from one side to the other, passing his fingers through his hair in a nervous tick. "You kissed me and I just... Goddammit."

Juvia sat on the bed, confused. "What are you sorry for?"

"I kind of lost it when you kissed me." Gray said, as if it explained it all and by Juvia's expression of confusion, he tried to become clearer. "I knew this was going to happen and I know you are not ready for it and I'm sorry."

"Wait, wait, wait." Juvia got up from the bed. "What are you talking about?"

He took a step back when Juvia tried to get closer to him so she stayed put, waiting. "Remember when we met?"

Juvia frowned. The first time they had seen each other was at... "The Sorting Ceremony?" She asked, confused.

"No. The first time we talked." He explained. "You were in the male's bathroom because your ex had broken up with you? There was a cloud above the stall and it was raining."

"Oh. You knew it was Juvia?" She was surprised.

"You referred to yourself in third person." He mumbled. "I knew it was you."

Still surprised, Juvia asked: "Alright, but what does that has to do with anything?"

"You said he was pressuring you, right? To go further and you didn't want to?" Confused, Juvia nodded. "I knew that kissing you like this would make me forget about it and I don't want to be like that scumbag."

"What?"

"That's a lot of exposed skin, Juvia." Gray sighed in defeat, waving his hand towards her. "I'm just human."

Trying to connect the dots and when she finally did, her cheeks became hot and she supposed her cheeks must've been an interesting shade of red, much like Gray's were at the moment.

"Oh." She said, lowly. "You weren't avoiding Juvia because you are mad at her, but because you were afraid of what you would do when we were alone."

"You thought I was mad at you?" He frowned.

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"You haven't been alone with me since we arrived." Juvia pointed out. "Now Juvia knows why."

They stayed in silence for a moment before Gray cleared his throat. "Well, I'll be leaving, then."

Juvia stepped in front of him. "Wait." She put a hand on his chest to stop him. "You seem to have the wrong idea about all of this."

"About what?" Gray looked at her in suspicion.

"About you and Bora being similar in any way. Or the circumstances we're in." She clarified. "I was a fourteen-year-old girl then, Gray-sama. It's only been two years since, sure, but Juvia has changed a lot since that day. You never pressured me in any way while he pushed every limit and got mad when I drew a line." She looked at him for a moment. "Would you have stopped right when we got to the bed if I had asked you to?"

"Of course I would." He said with a nod. "I would never-"

"Yes, I know." Juvia put a hand on his cheek and caressed it with her thumb. "Don't you see? Juvia trusts you, she's comfortable with you, she's the one who kissed you in the first place."

"You don't know what is in my mind." He sighed.

"Juvia's mind is not exactly pure either, Gray-sama." She admitted, blushing harder. "You look very handsome and without the shirt..." Juvia cleared her throat and pulled her hand away from his cheek. "Juvia has ideas."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh. You are not the only sixteen-year-old with hormones here." She muttered. "The point is," she cleared her throat "in all this time we have been seeing each other, have you ever been soaked to the bone by a rain of Juvia's making?" Gray shook his head. "That's right, because Juvia was never uncomfortable being with you. I like kissing you and a few minutes ago that snogging session on the bed was a fabulous thing. Juvia is a big girl, she can take care of herself. If she's feeling uncomfortable in any way, you'll know it: I'll either tell you, you'll get really wet or get yourself hexed."

"So... you were not feeling pressured when we were...?" He waved towards the bed and she shook her head. "Will you let me know if you ever get that feeling? Because that's not my intention at all."

"Alright. Same request." She told him and Gray nodded in answer and Juvia smiled, after a moment, he offered her a small smile as well. "So... shall we continue from where we stopped or...?"

"Juvia!"

"What? It was very nice and you seemed to be thinking so too. Besides, you owe Juvia two days' worth of kissing." She offered him her hand. "Come on."

Gray took her hand and Juvia lead them back to the bed, making him seat. She leaned and kissed his lips, pushing him back gently and she ended up on his lap, kissing him.

His hands were curled up in fists and she told him between kisses: "Gray-sama, unless Juvia tells you not to or pushes your hand away, you are allowed to put your hands on her." She chuckled when he blushed and nodded, putting his hand on her waist. Apparently knowing she could drive him crazy made her bolder.

She would enjoy the feeling as long as it took.

#

"We should go meet the others." Juvia whispered, looking up to Gray. "Juvia said she was going to take a nap but since you didn't join them at the beach, they will do the math."

They had been in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company. He was lying on the bed while Juvia was next to him, her head resting on his shoulder, her front pressed to his side, an arm across his stomach and a leg thrown over one of his. Juvia was feeling rather comfortable, especially with the feeling of his hand on her lower back, his thumb caressing her skin absent minded circles. If Juvia were a car, she'd be definitely purring.

"Yeah." Gray sighed in regret. "I guess we should." He said, yet neither of them made any mention of getting up. "Say, when Gajeel arrives?"

"Tomorrow, around nine or so." The blunette informed him. "It's been a while since Juvia saw him, it's going to be fun."

"That's one word for it." Gray snorted and Juvia chuckled. "I can't believe it we are going to start our sixth year at Hogwarts in a few days. Just yesterday we were arriving on those little boats."

"Speaking of boats, Juvia seems to remember someone saying he'd go for a swim with her if she took flying lessons." She poked on his side and Gray laughed. "Juvia stares death in the face every time she gets on a broom."

"You are very dramatic; I'm always there when you fly, to catch you if you fall." He snorted.

"Why are you feeling nostalgic about our first year?" Juvia asked. "Talking about already be on our sixth year..."

"I don't know." He shrugged and looked down to her. "Maybe it's going to be a good year. Now come on, we have to go meet the others and not look like as if we just spent an hour snogging on your bed."

It was Juvia's turn to snort, they looked quite a wreck. "Good luck with that."