The weekend with Harry had been almost fairy-tale like. It was the best birthday weekend I could've asked for, and that's what made it so hard to come to terms with it ending. It had to at some point. After all, we both had places we needed to be.

"That's what you're gonna wear?" Harry eyed out my outfit I had chosen for the day, from the bag of clothes we had picked up from my dorm two days prior.

I looked down at my black skirt and the skin-colored pantyhose I had worn beneath. I had paired it with my long boots and winter jacket, a good woolen sweater beneath and a scarf. To me, it looked pretty decent. "Yes. What's wrong with it? Is it not appropriate wear?" I quoted with a sarcastic grin, seeing Harry simply smile and shake his head.

He came up behind me, wearing his usual pressed trousers and suede jacket. He wore a sweater vest beneath as well, paired with a green tie that brought out the hint of jade in his eyes.

"I only meant," He spoke, leaning down to kiss my neck. "Won't you be cold? It's 7 degrees Celsius out."

"Pshh, beach weather," I waved off, unable to keep the wry smile off my lips. "I'll be fine. Besides, this is my way of sticking to summer. Until I see snow out there, expect lots and lots of more skirts, Mr Devon."

"I see. Fond of summers, are you?"

"I might be a little biased," I teased, turning around to loop my arms around his neck, dragging him down to my lips. "I had a pretty great last summer, you see."

Harry's lips twitched, and with a bemused look, he cupped my face. "That so? You'll have to tell me more about that later."

"I can sum it up in one word," I hummed back, an inch from his lips. "Orgasmic."

Harry tsk'ed his lips, as if disappointed. "And here I'd hoped you'd say educational."

Laughing, I then stood up on my toes and pressed my lips to his. Harry leaned down and took the pressure off my feet, kissing me deeper as I dragged him down, tasting the mint toothpaste on his lips. God, I had spent all weekend kissing these lips, but I still couldn't get enough.

"Cassandra," Harry created an inch of distance between us when I began tugging at his tie. "We'll be late..."

"Spoil sport," I sighed, but then relented. "Fine. You should save up energy anyway for what I have planned for tonight."

I pulled away and left Harry with a small frown creasing his brows. "Tonight? What's tonight?"

I grabbed my bag with my stuff, before humming innocently. "Let's just say, it involves doing two of your favorite things."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

I smirked slowly. Then, turning my head over my shoulders, I smiled crookedly at him just as I headed for the door.

"You're the professor; You do the math."

~~~

The day had passed excruciatingly slow, but I had been in too good a mood to let it get to me. Even as my last class of the day ended with another pile of reading material to catch up on, I couldn't get the smile off my lips, knowing what I was heading home to.

Or rather, what I was going to make Harry come home to.

Grinning excitedly to myself, thinking about the plan I had setup for tonight, I almost didn't hear someone calling my name.

"Miss Berry?"

I halted up in the hall and looked up and around, until my eyes finally found the source of the voice.

Percy Havers, in all his rotund tweed form, stood in the doorway to an office, his to be precise. He was smiling at me and waving me over, as if we were old pals. I reminded myself he was one of Harry's friends and my physics professor, so with a forced smile of my own, I reluctantly approached him. "Professor Havers."

"Miss Berry. I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time?" He asked, opening the door to his office. "I'd like to discuss your last paper, if you don't mind."

Shit. A nervous pull in my stomach had me gulping down a stone. Had I fucked up my last paper? I had studied for hours, but maybe that hadn't been enough. Physics was one of the subjects I had fallen behind in lately, and maybe this was me reaping the consequences of just that.

"Ah... of course," I therefore said with a tug of nervousness as I walked inside his office, seeing him shut the door behind me.

Yup, I was officially fucked.

Taking a seat in the cushioned chair in front of his desk, I sat down as Havers took one behind his desk, filled with papers and assignments to be graded.

"Now," Havers begun, clearing his throat. "First of all, I'd like to say I'm happy to see you coming to classes more often. Your attendance has been a little spotty over the past few weeks. You've also turned a few papers in late."

"I know, I'm sorry," I replied, cringing in shame, knowing this had been my own doing. I could've blamed the emotional disturbances that had occurred these past few weeks, but to be honest, it had more to do with lack of motivation. "I promise, I'm trying to improve."

"Yes, well..." Havers pursed his lips a little, looking down at the floor, down to my boots. "I'm afraid it's not going to be enough this time around, Miss Berry. I'm going to have to flunk you on this." He held up my last paper.

My heart dropped into my ass. I stared shocked, mouth falling open. I knew I had done bad, but I hadn't thought it was this bad. "Oh my God... I can't believe this. I mean, I..." I cupped my face, rubbing it hard. "I really tried..."

"I'm sure you did, Miss Berry. I see how hard you're working." Havers sympathized.

I really had been trying to up my game lately. I guess it hadn't been enough. "Yeah, well... like you said, I guess it just wasn't enough this time," I gave a small smile, trying to mask the blow of failing. Well, nowhere to go but up then. "So what do you suggest I do? Am I going to fail my midterm as well?"

Havers now stood up, folding his hands behind his back. "There are always options in these kinds of situations, Miss Berry. As I'm sure you're aware of."

Something in my gut shifted again, but this time it wasn't nerves. Instead, it tightened as Havers' voice turned smoother, probably trying to sound comforting... except something just didn't feel right...

"You're a smart young woman, Miss Berry," He walked around me and then laid a hand on my shoulder, clenching it. The hairs on my back immediately stiffened, and not in a good way. "I'm sure you and I could figure out a way you could... make up for lost time."

His voice now changed completely, turning into a slick tone I had only heard him use whilst kissing ass to Harry. Only this was much thicker, and it just so happened the hand on my shoulder now slid down my arm, imploringly.

I reacted on instinct; I jerked my arm away and stood up like electrocuted, trying to keep my stomach from actually rolling over as I met Havers eyes. He had a sly little smirk on his lips, buffing out his chest cockily.

"You're sick," I spat out, cowering away from him when he scoffed and came closer.

"I'm simply opportunistic. As I know you are as well, Miss Berry. Don't pretend."

"Excuse me?" I balked when Havers came even closer, the distance between us growing alarmingly thinner. I had backed up against one of his bookshelves, and was already reaching for anything on his shelf that could be used as a weapon. Unfortunately, he stocked thinner books than Harry did.

"I am not an idiot, Miss Berry," Havers scoffed, nodding down at my person. "Prancing around in your little skirts and stockings all day long. You think I don't know how you got that prestigious scholarship? It certainly wasn't on smarts, if going by your grades."

My heart stopped, and once again I was forced into silence as Havers smirked knowingly. But he couldn't...

"I didn't think Harry stupid enough to fall for a young, perky girl with great ambitions, but I guess even he is just a man. And I am as well, Miss Berry. I might not be as rich nor as influential as Harry Devon, but I do have my connections as well."

"You..." I was speechless, yet I suspected half the problem was the acid trying to make its way up my throat robbing me of my voice. I tried to swallow, but my body was going into adrenaline mode, shutting down yet going into hyper alert-ness. And right now, I couldn't stop being hyper aware of the fact that Havers had cornered me against his shelf, now so close, I could spot the white dots of shaving cream on his chin he had missed wiping off this morning.

And to think this was a man Harry had considered a friend.

"I didn't use Harry," I finally managed to get out, my chest still pumping with adrenaline as Havers snorted in disbelief. "I didn't. I-I don't know what you're talking about—"

"Oh, please. You were sleeping with him last summer and you're sleeping with him now. How else are you miraculously maintaining your calculus grades, hm? No, you were smart enough to get ahead on that count, weren't you, and here I am, simply offering you the same arrangement."

I batted his hand away when he suddenly reached out towards me, for my waist to be exact. Repulsion spiked up my spine, and I gave him a hard push, hard enough to make him topple a step back, glaring angrily. "You're a fucking sick pervert! Harry and I aren't an item—"

"So you weren't going at it as his townhouse, last Friday?" Havers broke in sharply, lifting a brow.

I fell mute again. How could he possibly know?

"I saw you," He scoffed, shaking his head, as if reading my mind. "In the window. I came by to talk to Harry, when to my utter surprise, I spotted him in the window with you. The two of you looked pretty busy, at least until Harry shut the blinds," Havers told, lifting his chin with a cocky expression. "How do you care to explain that?"

I shut my mouth, feeling my eyes burn with angry tears. I felt all kinds of wrong and disgusted, and yet I couldn't find a single thing to say that would make this all better.

Havers knew, and now my fate and Harry's rested in his hands. He could go to the board, he could have Harry fired, or better yet, have me expelled. It wouldn't be hard to find evidence; I knew two people who would love more than anything to see both of our downfall.

I had to tell Harry of this. Maybe he could prevent it somehow.

"Stay away from me," I whispered, seeing Havers smirk wider. "And Harry."

"Harry doesn't need to find out about this," He coaxed in that same slick voice, now coming closer once more. He leaned into my ear, and I was too frozen to move. "Just do for me what you did for Harry. I'm sure a young, athletic girl like yourself has more than enough energy for two men."

Bile rose in my throat, and I instinctively pushed him again, but this time he saw it coming; gripping onto my hand, Havers shoved me back, knocking me into the bookshelf. The wood bit into my back and left me hissing in pain.

"Stupid girl," He sneered, pressing himself harder against me. "It's just sex, don't be prudish about it. All you have to do is," He reached between us, and the second I felt his hand grasping at my stockings, I pushed him hard again, to no avail, "open your legs. I promise I'm not hard to satisfy. One quickie and I'll have your grade changed."

Fuck my grade, and definitely fuck this.

Grasping at whatever was behind me, my hand managed to find a vase-like sculpture on one of his shelves. An award, it looked like. I didn't spend time studying it, but instead fought back as I felt Havers rip my stockings open with his slimy hands.

I fired the award across his head, and the impact was hard enough to both thwack loudly into the room, but also for Havers to grunt in pain and stumble back on his feet.

This was my moment.

I ran like I had never run before. I escaped Havers' office with tears running down my cheeks, out of shock and disgust more than anything. I was shaking all over as I finally made it out onto the open campus roads, clutching myself and praying to God nobody had seen me.

For while I never wanted what had happened back in that office, what I feared more was Havers going to the authorities with this, or more specifically, the board. Harry's reputation would be ruined, and I'd be expelled and branded a whore, just as Havers had said. I supposed from an outside point of view, it had looked like that, me using Harry.

But the truth was so much different, but nobody would ever believe that once this scandal came out.

Running towards the street, I jumped into the first cab I found and gave them the address to Harry's town house. It was only a 20 minute drive, but it felt like forever had passed once we finally rolled up to the curb. I tossed some money at the cab driver and then I was out, just as darkness began to descend on the sky.

The second I walked inside, I knew Harry wasn't there. Of course he wasn't. He wasn't meant to be home until later. That had been the plan; the naughty one I had thought up this morning was suddenly so far from my mind, but back then Harry's late arrival home had been vital.

Now it all seemed so pointless.

Jean and Giselle was home however, and at the sight of me standing in the hall, flustered and half-crying, Giselle had ushered me into the kitchen and Jean had poured me some hot tea. Both of them had offered to call Harry home early, but I knew he was very busy today, with both classes and meetings. Besides, a part of me needed this time to plan how I was going to break this to Harry. One of his friends had tried to assault me, and had almost succeeded. Would he even believe me?

"He is no friend of Harry's," Giselle had scoffed, waving her had incredulously when I had voiced my concerns. "He tolerates him. He dislikes him in general, but has had to endure his company for the sake of his math." She made a scribbling motion on the counter, but then shook her head. "After Catarina, he needed another physicist, and Havers was the best one around. Or, rather the only one."

"This is true," Jean bid in, nodding encouragingly.

I was surprised at this revelation. While I had always suspected Harry to be annoyed with Havers' constant kiss-ass behavior, I thought he had still regarded him as an esteemed friend. Or as close as he could get them anyway; as Harry had said, everyone in his life had always wanted something from him. So why should his friends be different? Havers being a kiss-ass was probably normal behavior in Harry's presence.

But if he truly wasn't his friend...

Maybe this had been another give and take relationship on both parts. Harry had used Havers and Havers had used Harry; an equally beneficial relationship where both parties knew what the other was. Or at least until today.

But if that was the case, maybe Harry would be more inclined to believe me, or at least not be so surprised when I revealed his true character.

God, I hoped that was the case.

As if summoned by my thoughts, the front door finally went. It was about an hour later, and it was officially dark outside. Autumn had brought along a bout of rain, and as the door shut and Harry's footsteps were heard, my heart began to pound nervously.

Even if they weren't friends, I hated having to do this; Hated having to put more weight onto his shoulders.

"Giselle? Jean?" Harry called, his voice sounding from down the hall. It came closer as he approached the kitchen. "Is Cassandra h..."

His voice trailed off as he stepped into the kitchen and found both Jean and Giselle sitting around me, keeping me company. They had been overly kind and amazingly sweet, stepping away from their duties to talk to me, even though I assured them it wasn't needed. Jean had insisted dinner was simmering away anyway, and Giselle claimed she had already finished all her duties. So they had kept me company, right until now where Harry stepped in, seeing the scene.

"What's going on?" He asked in alarm, his forehead creasing as his eyes slid over me. "Cassandra?"

Sighing, I gave a small smile to both Jean and Giselle, silently thanking them for their efforts. Then, standing up slowly, I saw the way Harry's observant eyes insanely zoned in on my legs; more specifically my ripped pantyhose.

"Cassandra," His voice was now a deep boom, those amber irises darkening as I tried to pull down on my skirt to hide it. "What happened?"

"Let's go upstairs," I whispered, tugging at his arm. But Harry didn't move.

"Cassandra," He tentatively cupped my face, but forced me to meet his serious gaze. I gave a faint smile back, trying to calm him down. For the first time ever, though, I saw the unsettling lines of worry shine through his gaze. It was unnerving, but it also gave me hope that maybe he would believe me when I told him everything.

"Come on," I said, taking his hand and walking upstairs with him. Harry followed silently, but I could tell tension was brewing inside him. He was far from calm, and wouldn't be until I explained.

I waited until we came up to his room, the only thing different from this morning being that Giselle had changed the sheets and made the bed. I sensed Harry set his suitcase down by the stairs, his eyes never leaving mine as I paused up against his desk. I wrung my hands together, not knowing where to start, even though I had tried to prepare my words.

"Start explaining," Harry demanded; A quiet, authoritative tone that in no way left room for argument.

And so with a defeated sigh, I began.

Harry was quiet as I told him everything that had happened today. How Havers had approached me. How he had started by discussing my grades. How he had then begun implying ways to make up for it, and finally, how he told me he knew about us, and had misunderstood the situation.

"He thought I was sleeping with you to keep up my grade," I told with shaky voice, swallowing hard. "And he wanted the same arrangement, I suppose."

"And that's when he did that?" Harry finally spoke up after several minutes of silence. He nodded towards my ruined pantyhose.

I nodded back, but then blew out a soft breath. "I guess he didn't think I dressed appropriately either," I commented, almost jokingly, except no one was laughing.

"There's no such thing as 'dressing properly' for a woman in a man's world." Harry roughly answered, standing up and pacing the room.

I watched him warily, seeing him only for the second time appear out of sorts in all the time I had known him. The first being the time his brother showed up unannounced, last summer. This time around was worse, though.

With a tight jaw, Harry seemed to be chewing on something as he paced the room, a dark, pensive look in his eyes. Finally, after two long minutes, he stopped again.

"So you managed to escape his... advances?" He pushed out through tight lips.

I nodded softly. "I clobbered him over the head with an award."

Harry scoffed and shook his head, starting his pacing again. I knew he wasn't scoffing at my use of violence against Havers, but rather out of frustration; That violence shouldn't even have been needed.

After another two minutes of pacing, Harry then finally stopped again and sighed hard. Looking over at me, his face then slowly softened, and before I knew it, he was coming towards me.

"Can I touch you?" He asked, slowly approaching me.

His question surprised me briefly, but I nonetheless nodded mute. A second later, Harry wrapped his arms around me, pressing me into his body and embracing me. His hand sought up to my hair and combed through it gently, his lips pressing against my temple. His other hand stroked a soothing pattern up and down my back, and it was at that exact moment, I realized I was still slightly shaking.

I hadn't even felt the adrenaline still coursing inside me.

Melting into Harry's arms, I exhaled deeply and took the comfort he offered, holding me so softly, yet so firmly, I knew nothing would ever harm me whilst I stood here. Harry kept pressing small kisses to my hair, softly massaging my scalp with his fingers. I could feel myself completely easing up, all my muscles relaxing against him.

I didn't even realize how much I had needed this. But Harry did.

"Are you alright?" He finally whispered after what felt like ten minutes of simply holding me.

"I'm fine now," I whispered back, not lying. I had been anxious earlier, but it all felt gone now, standing here in Harry's secure arms.

"Nothing about this situation is fine," Harry finally pushed out with a grit to his voice, before slowly pulling back, giving a last peck to my forehead. I looked up worried when I saw him then take a step back, turning to sit down in his armchair.

I watched him for moment, processing everything. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes, before finally voicing; "Have I ever told you how I met Havers?"

I didn't really think it mattered much, but I still obliged him. "No."

"It was back when I was working on my first millennium problem. I needed a physicist's opinion, and I was introduced to Havers through various communications. I later found out he didn't know much about the specific problem I was working on, so he referred me on to another expert colleague of his," Harry lifted his eyes and gave me a dry glare. "One guess who."

The answer was obvious, even if Giselle hadn't given it to me downstairs twenty minutes ago. "Catarina."

He gave a bitter nod, before standing up and pacing some more. "I should've known then he wasn't a man to be trusted. I always knew he was slippery, but I never once suspected..."

I gave a soft look back when his voice ran cold, cutting himself off with a clench of his teeth. I slowly came towards him. "You couldn't have known, Harry."

"I should have," He snorted, shaking his head as I placed my hands against his chest. He looked down, his eyes falling to the soft expression on my face. Automatically, I saw his own features smooth out. Slowly, almost carefully, he lifted his hand to cup my face. "You never should've been put in that situation. I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter," I whispered back, seeing Harry frown in disagreement. "I mean, what matters more is what Havers could do now. I imagine he isn't happy I knocked him over the head..." I muttered, remembering the sound the award had made on impact with his head. That was probably going to leave a nasty bruise and an even nastier temper. "He could report you, Harry. He could have you fired and discredited—"

"Is that your worry?" Harry asked with a tone of surprise, his brows furrowing, almost angrily, yet the tone of astonishment lingered in his voice. "Cassandra, you know me enough to know I couldn't care less about what people will say of me. My only concern, is you."

"But..." I said, looking up Harry's determined face. "If the public found out—"

"They'd find a man who fell in love with a legally adult woman. Nothing more, nothing less," He cut off shortly, as if there was no more to discuss. "I'm more concerned about Havers getting away with this."

And just like that, my stomach tightened in a knot again. I knew this topic would come up, and that was the part I had prepared for the most. "Harry... there's no evidence of what he did in that office," I swallowed, hating that this was the truth. "Other than a pair of ruined stockings, which won't yield much, it'll be my word against Havers if we take this to the authorities."

"I'm well aware," Harry replied, pursing his lips, as usual ten steps ahead. He pulled me closer, pressing me to his chest again. "As I'm sure Havers is as well." He kissed the top of my head, rubbing my back soothingly.

I began to melt into his touch again. It had been a long, disappointing day, and so far it seemed it would end that way as well. I was glad Harry had believed me, but I knew very well no cop would. There wouldn't be enough evidence or cause to start an investigation into this. Havers was too well-liked and held too high a position at the school to be suspected of anything malicious. Not to mention the board would probably try to hush it all up, as to avoid a scandal.

– That left little to be done to repair the damage caused by today's events.

"Guess I should start packing up my dorm," I joked sadly, feeling Harry's hand pause on my back. "No point in waiting around to be expelled..."

Harry pulled back, lifting my chin to meet my eyes. I was surprised to see him glaring back down at me, a stern expression on his face. "I said Havers is aware of his advantages; Not that I was going to let him get away." Harry's voice hardened.

When he let go of me and went around me, I stared in confusion. I watched as Harry walked up and grabbed his suitcase, bringing it to his desk. "Harry... I know you don't like this, neither do I, but I don't think there's anything to be done. Like you said, Havers has all the advantage here. I know it's hard to accept, but I don't think—"

"You're emotional," Harry replied in a stealthy tone, opening his suitcase without looking at me. "What have I told you about letting emotions cloud your judgement?"

"Not do it," I recited, but I didn't see how that was going to help this time around. "But Harry—"

"—No matter the situation, never let your emotions overpower your intelligence." Harry quoted and turned to meet my eyes, fishing something out of his suitcase. I couldn't tell what. "Havers thinks he has the advantage. He thinks he's untouchable by reputation alone."

I blew out a hard breath, watching Harry's determined face. "Isn't he?"

Harry smiled tightly, before finally holding up whatever he picked out of his suitcase. My eyes narrowed, and then my mouth dropped.

"Not if I destroy it."

And there, in his hand, was his wallet.

But more specifically... my picture.

• • •

Havers is gonna wish he was with his mamma.