Chapter 3: Hogsmeade
Saturday November 19th
Early morning, Slytherin Fourth-Year Girl's Dorm.
Daphne Greengrass stretched and yawned. Then sat up, rubbing her eyes in the early morning light coming in through the high windows. The Slytherin dorms might be in the Dungeons, but they still needed windows for ventilation, which she was thankful for sometimes.
She wondered how her friend Hermione was doing, yesterday's double Potions with the Gryffindors had been…eventful. After the class had entered, finding Professor Snape already waiting for them, the class had begun, when Snape had done roll call, and had got to Draco, and received no response, his dower glare had automatically fixed on Harry and Hermione, who had been last in, and both of them looked half asleep, but determined.
When the students had been ordered to pair up, Snape had ordered Hermione paired with her, and Harry paired with Blaise Zabini, the dark-skinned, black haired boy had sat stiffly next to Harry, only talking to him as much as he needed to, though Blaise seemed a little confused, and annoyed, by his apparent tiredness.
She'd asked Hermione how she was doing, and her covert friend had quietly replied "Hanging in there, feeling half dead on my feet, got worse since this morning. Constantly hungry is not fun. I'm getting so hungry I think I'd be almost willing to start eating raw meat. And…I'm also pretty much constantly horny now, no matter what I do, and I know Harry feels the same."
Daphne had given her friend a sympathetic look, though tried to keep it inconspicuous. Then Hermione had smirked as there was movement outside the door. "Still, the quick beating me and Harry gave Draco just before coming in was worth it."
And at that moment, the door had opened, revealing said blond, his face bruised and bloody, at least one black eye developing, and he was limping rather heavily, wincing each time as he walked, and unsteadily took his seat. Snape had docked him 10 points for being late, and for the condition he was in.
Draco had scowled, a look of betrayal on his face as he'd glared at his godfather and Head of House, before finally scowling at Harry and Hermione, before begrudgingly taking his partner seat next to Ron Weasley, who looked at Draco like he was something a Kneazle had left in a litter box.
Unknown to Daphne or Draco, or Harry and Hermione, Snape had a pretty good idea why Draco was late, and who had given him such a beating. He had wanted to dock points from the two Gryffindors, and assign detention, but he knew he'd get hell from Minerva if he did. So, this time, he'd let it slide.
By the time the double Potions lesson was over, Hermione looked even more tired, and Daphne was getting worried, even getting up after the potions lesson had been difficult for her, and she and Harry had walked out, leaning on one another, Neville Longbottom moving up to help them, the two of them giving him grateful looks.
She'd done her best to keep an eye on the two, and at the evening dinner, she'd seen Susan Bones also eyeing them.
Now, she made her way to the showers, taking care of her morning routine, then after getting dressed in her green Slytherin robes, she made her way to the Common Room, stopping to give her little sister Astoria a quick hug and kiss good morning, then the two of them made their way up to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Daphne was excited, it was the first Hogsmeade visit of the school year, and she'd heard through the gossip grapevine already, that Draco had apparently been banned for the entire school year, by Dumbledore, for cursing Harry and Hermione, and the one time it had been mentioned to him after dinner, by one of the Seventh Years who wasn't too fond of Draco inquiring about it, Draco had blown his top, and started ranting and yelling about "Bloody fucking Potter!" and his "Bloody fucking Mudblood whore!"
Daphne was not happy about one of her few friends being insulted in such a way, and Draco was still ranting, and watching Pansy Parkinson fawning over the Ferret, making pointless platitudes, promising to get revenge on Hermione and Harry for him, Draco shook his head, muttering angrily.
"Don't bother, from the look of them at dinner last night, I'm guessing they still haven't figured out how to beat the curse yet, with any luck, by the time they do, it'll be too late. Can't that old Goat understand that Potter cheated?!"
"What curse did you use?" Parkinson asked, Draco muttered something, Daphne not being close enough to hear him, cursing herself.
"Ooooh! That one! I can't wait to see their faces, assuming they survive."
Daphne silently cursed as her sister dragged her towards the entrance of the Common Room to head up to the Great Hall for breakfast. The carriages would be leaving for Hogsmeade at 9 am and would be returning until about 4 pm. Daphne wasn't sure if Hermione could be going, and from what Hermione had told her, Harry hadn't yet got permission from his relatives to go.
She scowled, from what she'd heard, Harry's relatives sounded horrible. How someone could treat their own nephew the way they had was unthinkable to her. If anyone treated her little sister like that, she'd kill them, without hesitation or notion of mercy.
She made a mental note search Malfoy's room at some point, to see if he was still harboring the book.
"What's going on Daph, you seem pretty quiet." Astoria asked as her other friend, Tracey Davis fell into step with them. Daphne sighed.
"I'm worried Tori, Draco used a curse on a friend of mine and no-one has figured out a cure yet. Malfoy still has the book in his room, I'm gonna try and get it from him later today or tomorrow. Can't do it during the Hogsmeade visit because he's been restricted to the Castle, banned from Hogsmeade visits for the entire school year." Tracey snorted.
"Oh, I bet he loved that. I can picture his reaction now." Her voice raised a couple of octaves, and her face took on a darkish, petulant expression as she did her best to impersonate Draco, completely unaware that said Slytherin had just exited the common room and was several meters behind them, just in time to hear the last of Daphne's statement, glaring furiously at their backs, while Pansy walked beside him, her pug-ish face twisted in indignation.
"'You can't do that! Just you wait until daddy hears about his! Blah blah blah!'" she mocked, grinning. Astoria started giggling. Daphne snorted.
"Yeah, I imagine that was pretty much how it went. He's such a spoiled bastard!"
Behind them, Draco's face twisted in a scowl. How dare Greengrass and Davis mock him?! Didn't they know who he was?! Well, he'd show them. Maybe he'd use that curse again, this time on Greengrass, or maybe her little sister.
But he hesitated. Snape hadn't come down on him too hard for using the curse on Granger and Potter, as he believed it would teach them both some humility. Snape had wanted to know what curse Malfoy had used, so he told him. At first, Snape had been surprised, asking "Why that one?" and Draco had replied that, if they didn't figure out how to mitigate the curse, or discover the cure, they'd be dead by Monday at the earliest.
Snape had paused and seemed to consider. "And what is the cure?" Draco had replied, boasting and almost sniggering. Snape had then asked why he would want Potter to get the cure, and Draco had replied that, he was counting on Granger and Potter being so desperate for a cure, that they'd use it before reading the effects.
Snape's only response had been to raise an eyebrow, then snort to himself. Then he'd advised Draco to keep the book hidden and out of the Private Library, and to keep his Occlumency shields up, then left.
Draco stopped and sneered at the retreating forms in front of him. Then he turned and decided to take a different route. He'd deal with them later.
-=-=-=-
Bartemius Crouch Jr, Death Eater, and Polyjuiced Defense Professor, stalked through the halls of Hogwarts, mulling the latest problem over in his head. While part of him wanted to congratulate Draco on finding such an inventive curse to use on the filthy Mudblood Granger, the little upstart was too smart for her own good! In his opinion, the fact that Potter had also been affected, and was at this moment, bed-ridden in the Hospital Wing concerned him. It was less than a week until the First Task now, and Hagrid, that great lumbering Oaf, hadn't yet shown Potter the dragons that had been brought in. He suspected that Maxime and Karkaroff…-Barty snarled at the thought of that…traitor-…would show their champions the dragons soon, Barty wasn't bothered if Diggory found out or not, he wasn't important, really, none of them were, except Potter. HE was the one who needed to reach the Cup, which Barty would rig with a Portkey once it was in position.
The problem…was if Potter missed the First Task, the Goblet would interpret that as a Forfeit, which would instantly strip Potter of his magic, leaving him a Squib. And a Squib Potter was useless to his Master. Not to mention, if the brat was rendered a Squib, he'd be unable to participate in the rest of the Tournament anyway, and wouldn't be able to reach the Cup, that's if the Goblet declaring a Forfeit didn't outright kill him, since it was a binding magical Contract.
He'd used Moody's magical eye to scan both Potter and Granger the day they had been cursed, and he'd clearly seen it, as a red aura around them, though he couldn't tell what curse it was. Now he was considering his next move. The most prudent course was obvious. Go and inform his master of the developments, get his opinion, and if he was familiar with the curse, where to find the counter spell.
Yes, that would do. Go down into Hogsmeade with the students, use a Floo connection or Apparate to his Masters' location and inform him. It would be too risky to summon Pettigrew to Hogsmeade.
He paused, cast a quick tempus to check the time, then took another swig of Polyjuice from his flask, grimacing at the taste. He hated this stuff, but he had to keep drinking it, at least until his Master's plan had worked, then he'd kill the old Auror, and be done with this place. He then turned and headed to the Great Hall for Breakfast.
-=-=-=-=-
Poppy walked into the Hospital Wing, carrying a small tray of food for her two patients, she smiled as she saw them sitting up, they seemed awake, but even from a distance, she could tell they were not doing as well as they had the day before.
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger looked, in her professional opinion, exhausted. They both looked even more tired than they had the day before. She tried to hide the disappointment she felt at not being able to find the cures in the books she'd searched through the day before, though, she considered, there were books there she hadn't searched yet, so it was probably worth another look. She really didn't want to put in a call to St Mungo's, as she ran the risk of the information getting out. While the healers respected patient privacy, not all of the staff did. And the last thing these two needed was getting hounded by the press, well, any more than they had been.
"Morning you two, how are you feeling? I brought you some breakfast."
"We're…ok." Harry said, rubbing his face, trying to clear his head. "What time is it?"
"About 8:30 in the morning Mister Potter, breakfast is still going, so I thought I'd bring you something.
"Any luck with…finding a…cure?" Hermione asked between attempts to stifle a yawn as she rubbed her tired face. Poppy frowned.
"I'm afraid not dear, not yet at least, but we'll keep looking."
"Has the Ferret said anything?" Harry growled. Pomfrey shook her head.
"Nothing concrete from what I heard from Professor McGonagall, apparently he claimed it was an old family spell from the Malfoy Grimoire, so we're searching the Library and the Slytherin Private Library to find any clues as to the curse and a cure. Professor Dumbledore may even have to contact Lucius and…ask him to bring the Grimoire." Hermione winced.
"Lucius isn't going to like that." She huffed in annoyance, though she had no sympathy for him or Draco. "At least tell us that Malfoy didn't get off free for what he did to us."
Pomfrey snorted. "Hardly. If what I've heard is right, he's not only banned from Hogsmeade visits for the rest of the school year, as Mister Longbottom was last year, he may also have lost his candidacy for the Fifth Year Prefect post, something I'm certain he's furious about, if the glares he was sending Dumbledore during breakfast were any indication. McGonagall was livid. She was complaining to Albus at breakfast, demanding that Draco be handed over to Director Bones, but Albus refused, said something about not wanting Draco to be 'prevented from being brought back to the right path' or some such drivel. I suspect he may also be excluded from attending the Yule Ball."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other in surprise, then at her. Pomfrey winced. 'Damn it Poppy! You weren't supposed to mention that!' she thought.
"A Ball? You mean, like a dance, with suits and dresses and stuff? That's new." Harry said. Pomfrey nodded. "It's a Triwizard tradition, Mr Potter. The hosting school always has a ball on the evening of December 25th of the year the Tournament is held. Students from the ages of 14 and up, so Fourth years and up, will be able to attend. Third Years may attend, but only if they're accompanied by an older student. And the Champions will be required to have a date of course, since they will be opening the Ball and leading the first dance." She looked at him sympathetically as his tired face fell, a look of utter misery and hopelessness crossed his face, which he promptly buried in his hands.
"Well…that's just greaaat…who am I going to ask to the Ball? Who'd want to go with me?" he said sarcastically, and since he wasn't looking at her, he completely missed the slightly hopeful look that had come across Hermione's face, but then vanished at his response, to be replaced by a slightly hurt expression, but Pomfrey did not miss it, and she sent the younger witch a sympathetic smile.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find someone Mister Potter. There are plenty of young Witches in the castle who would love to be your date." Harry snorted.
"Not lately I bet. I can't even dance! I'm probably more liable to trip over my own feet, or trip my partner, rather than actually dance!" he protested, finally looking up at her. Pomfrey rolled her eyes.
"You are being dramatic Mr Potter, now eat your breakfast!"
Hermione also rolled her eyes at him, and tucked into her own food, silently wondering if he would ask her, or if she'd have to ask him.
-=-=-=-=-
An hour later, in her office, Minerva McGonagall paced, mulling the problem over in her mind. She was furious with Albus' refusal to call Amelia Bones, for what Draco had done, he should at least be expelled. Minerva had argued the point, both the day before after Draco had been dismissed from Dumbledore's office, again and breakfast, then again in the old man's office after that. But no, Albus was resolute. He believed expelling Draco would not help him find redemption for his actions and would steer him down a path that would only bring him pain later in life.
Minerva had countered that if anyone else had done this, if one of the Slytherins had been the victim, Snape would have ranted and raved and demanded the one responsible be expelled at the very least. And if Susan Bones had been the victim, then Amelia, as her only living family, would have to have been informed. And Dumbledore's response, infuriatingly enough, had been the same.
"We must endeavor to make sure they do not stray down the Dark Path Minerva, we must guide them towards redemption and the Light. No, expelling or imprisoning young Draco will serve no benefit to anyone, and will only serve to drive him down the same path his father took."
"I beg to differ!" she growled, she'd stormed out after that, saying that she would be keeping a very close eye on Draco from now on, and if he stepped out of line like that again, she would do everything she could to go over his head. She'd turned and left, before he could respond as he'd gotten to his feet to respond to the indirect challenge to his authority. As-of-yet, their search for answers had turned up nothing.
She was getting worried, she'd been in to see them after her meeting with Albus, and the two of them had been sleeping, and according to Poppy's estimate, another day, and they'd barely be able to stay awake. Poppy had also informed her, regrettably, that she'd told them about the Yule Ball before Minerva had a chance to. Minerva had been a tad disappointed, as she'd been wanting to tell them, but she'd reassured her friend, saying "Well, if we can get this mess sorted, it'll give them something to look forward to."
Poppy had agreed, hoping that Mister Potter wouldn't wait too long before asking Hermione to the Ball. Minerva had nodded, she'd been watching them the previous 3 years, and Hermione had been at his side through almost everything, and clearly cared about him, and she was sure Harry cared about Hermione, Minerva just wondered if it was platonic, or if it could be nurtured into something more.
She sighed, looking down at her desk at the unfinished letter she'd been trying to pen, the one that would be sent to Miss Granger's parents, informing them of what had befallen their daughter. She just wasn't sure how to finish it, and didn't want to even try until they had more answers, but then, HOW do you write such a letter? She was at a loss for what to do. After a few more minutes, she decided she could do no more in her office, heading out the door, she decided to head to the Library and do some more searching.
-=-=-=-
In his office, Albus sighed, his meeting with Draco yesterday and Minerva that morning had been a little taxing. He could not allow the DMLE to get involved, they would soon have other concerns, such as preparing the Ministry to face Voldemort. In his mind, he felt Draco had been punished enough, of course, this would mean that Serverus would have to find a replacement Prefect next year, since he had been forced to revoke that guarantee from Draco, thanks to Minerva's presence in his office the day before. He would have been satisfied giving the boy detention until the new year, and the yearlong Hogsmeade ban, since he was sure to hear from Lucius soon demanding an explanation, but having him expelled or arrested? No, that would not do. Because once Voldemort returned, an embittered Draco would flock to Riddle's cause and take his Mark.
Which, for the Greater Good, could not be allowed.
His plans to engender attraction between Hermione and Viktor Krum were on hold for the moment, until this curse business was dealt with, then things could proceed as planned. He just hoped that what ever the curse's lingering effects were, if any, they could be managed.
-=-=-=-=-
Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton
By mid-day, Bartemius Crouch Jr entered the dilapidated ruins of the building that had once been the home of the muggle Riddle family, though he did not know that, he did not need to, after all. As he walked through the overgrown and moldy corridors and rooms, he idly wondered why his Master chose this place to hide conceal himself in. it had taken a little longer to get away from the students than he'd thought, as he'd decided to grab himself some lunch first at the Hog's Head Inn, owned by Albus' brother Aberforth.
His time in the Inn had been thankfully brief, there hadn't been many patrons, as the students mostly stuck to The Three Broomsticks and Fortescue's. though his lunch had been nice, a nice chicken pie and peas, to help get rid of the taste of the Polyjuice. He'd also taken a quick trip to Nocturn Alley to acquire more, as he didn't fancy brewing any now, besides, he had plenty in his trunk back at Hogwarts. He was just lucky no-one had tried to wake him at night while he slept, while he wasn't under the effects of the potion.
He paused as he came to the door of the room where he knew his Master resided. He knocked twice.
"Enter!" came the rasping voice.
Barty opened the door and stepped inside, averting his gaze from the malformed bundle in the room, he approached to within a respectable distance, and knelt. To his right, he could see the form of Peter Pettigrew watching him carefully.
"Ah…Barty…my most loyal…What have you to report?" Voldemort hissed, his familiar, Nagini, coiled protectively around him, eyed him carefully, her tongue flicking every few minutes.
"Master…there has been a…development with the boy." He said carefully, making sure to keep his gaze down unless ordered otherwise.
"A 'Development'? Explain."
"The Potter boy and one of his friends, a Mudblood girl, got into an altercation with the son of Lucius Malfoy, on Thursday after their last Defense class of the day. Words were exchanged, followed by spells. It seems the Malfoy boy lost his temper and attempted to curse the Mudblood, but Potter stepped between them and took the hit, though she was still affected."
There was no response from the bundle, and Barty began to get nervous.
"How is it affecting Potter?" Voldemort asked after a minute or so.
"According to what I've overheard; ever increasing hunger and, exhaustion and fatigue. No matter how much they eat and sleep, they feel as if they have done neither. They're both currently in the Hospital Wing. The staff are attempting to find a cure, but as-of-yet, have had no luck."
"Have they interrogated the Malfoy brat?" Voldemort hissed.
"Aye, my Lord. He claims the curse is a spell from the Malfoy Family Grimoirum, but I have my doubts."
"What are the odds of Potter being able to compete in the First Task?"
"At the moment? Slim. Unless a cure is found, or a way to mitigate the curse's effects, he'll be lucky to even be able to stand come the First Task, if he doesn't die or is driven mad with starvation before then."
Voldemort paused again.
"This…will not do…" Voldemort hissed, his anger clear. Barty waited.
"Barty, you will return to Hogwarts, you will find a cure for Potter, or a means of mitigating the curse's effects enough so that he can compete and is not stripped of his magic. A Squib, or dead Potter is of no use to me!" Voldemort paused, before continuing. "Normally, I would commend Draco for such…creativity…But NOT when it jeopardizes my plans!"
Barty nodded. "And…what of Potter's friend? The Mudblood?"
"She is irrelevant." Was the reply.
"And what of Draco?"
"The outcome of the next few days will decide his fate. If Potter dies or is rendered a Squib, then Draco shall take his place. And if not, then he will live to learn from his lesson."
Barty nodded, knowing he had been dismissed, he stood and turned, walking quickly from the room.
-=-=-=-=-
Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade.
Neville Longbottom sighed as he enjoyed the nice quiet drink he was having with Hannah Abbot, her friend Susan, her friend Daphne, Tracey Davis, Ginny Weasley, Ron (who was alternating between ignoring the Slytherins and glaring at them), the Twins, and the Gryffindor Chasers. Several of the Beauxbatons students, including their Champion, Fleur Delacour were also in the pub, as was Viktor Krum, and his small entourage of fangirls, and several other Durmstrang and Slytherin students were all clustered into the Three Broomsticks.
Neville noticed that Krum didn't look so happy about the followers he had, if anything, he looked frustrated and annoyed. He remembered Krum asking Hermione, pronouncing her name rather brokenly, if she would accompany him. He'd been surprised, and Ron had been jealous, which Neville had rolled his eyes at, honestly, Ron didn't stand a chance with Hermione, not after the way he'd treated her over the years. Susan Bones had apparently complained to Hannah about him once, after Hermione had ranted about Ron's treatment of Harry following the Halloween Feast.
If Neville was honest with himself, he still felt a little guilty about not believing Harry when he'd first proclaimed his innocence, but he'd come 'round after thinking carefully. Ron however, refused to accept it, and as far as Neville knew, was still blanking Harry.
"You guys had any look searching?" he asked. Daphne shook her head.
"Not yet, I can try go get hold of the book Draco found it in, though I have no idea when I'll be able to, since he's stuck in the castle."
"Haven't you been looking?" Susan asked, raising an eyebrow. Neville shook his head, feeling guilty. "Searching for curses isn't exactly my thing, besides, I'd have to get into the Restricted Section, and I doubt McGonagall would give me a pass. I'll be going back to check on them when we get back, maybe I'll nip into Honeydukes and pick something up for them."
"We really should go see them, brother of mine." Fred said, or was it George?
The other twin responded, smiling. "We should! Oh brother of mine."
Neville rolled his eyes as the girls giggled. "Just don't prank them, ok? They've been through enough!" he scolded.
"You wound us friend Neville!" the twins said in unison, putting their hands over their hearts. Neville snorted and rolled his eyes.
"I overheard Draco talking to Parkinson, he told her what curse he used, but I wasn't close enough to hear." Daphne said. "I hope we can figure something out soon. If I can just get that damn book."
"Well, when you get it, send me a note via House-Elf or Owl or something, and I'll meet you in the entrance hall, then we'll figure out where to go from there." Susan said quietly, Daphne nodded, giving her friend a smile.
"I haven't seen Malfoy out here." Angelina Johnson said, giving Ron a look as he took a drink from his glass of Butterbeer, shooting Daphne and Tracey another look. Tracey snorted with amusement.
"And you won't. Not for the rest of the school year. He got banned for cursing Harry and Hermione. Also apparently invalidated as potential prefect next year. He's pissed. He's also apparently banned from the Yule Ball. Pansy was NOT happy when she heard that news."
"You looking forward to that? Got a date yet?" Neville asked. Tracey nodded. "I don't have a date lined up yet, but I'm sure I'll find one."
"You know you'll probably need a date right?" Ron asked Neville. Neville looked at him. "Yeeaaah…" he said, drawing out the word. Ron shrugged.
"Well, hope you can find one."
Neville cast a look at Hannah, who smiled at him a little flirtatiously. "Oh, don't worry about me Ron, I think I'll be fine. You'll have to find a date too ya know."
Ron shrugged. "I'm sure Hermione'll go with me."
Neville raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?" Dean asked. Ron rolled his eyes as he turned to his dorm-mate.
"Who else is she gonna go with?"
"Krum?" Alicia asked, smirking at the jealous scowl that crossed Ron's face.
"Harry?" Katie said, Ron's ears started to flush red.
"Hell, I bet she'd even go with Neville if he asked. Or me!" Seamus said, missing the look Hannah gave him and the embarrassed look Neville gave him. Ron snorted.
"Yeah…right…" then he finished off his butterbeer and set the glass down. "Hermione and I have been flirtin' with each other for ages! We're great for each other!"
"'Flirting'? Is that what you call yelling at each other, blanking her during Third Year after that mess with Harry's broom, and upsetting her during First Year so badly that she ended up in a situation where she was nearly killed by a Troll?" Susan asked, incredulously. Ron's face flushed. "How'd you know about—"
"Well, when you drove her away last year over Harry's Firebolt, she ended up in the library with me and Daphne, and we got talking." Susan said, giving him a hard look.
"Seriously Weasley, yelling and arguing is your idea of 'Flirting'? Who in Morgana's name told you that equaled flirting? Harry has a better chance of landing Hermione as a date than you ever will." She then turned and stared at the twins. "You two really need to educate your younger brother on how to properly interact with and treat women."
The twins gave each other a look, then nodded.
"Don't you worry…" said one.
"…We'll take care of ikkle Ronnikins." Said the other, both grinning evilly. Ron gulped, wondering what the Puff had landed him in, as the others broke out in laughter.
-=-=-=-=-
Later that day, at around 5pm, Neville, Fred and George entered the Hospital Wing to find Harry and Hermione sitting up, going over their homework again.
"Hey guys." Neville said, as he approached Harry's bed and dropped a small bag on the nightstand. "Picked up a little something for you from Honeydukes."
"Thanks Nev." Harry said, giving his friend a tired smile.
"How are you two feeling?" Fred asked.
"Enjoying your time together?" George asked, giving Harry and smile and winking.
"Oh yes George, or is it Fred? We've had a great time sitting here with almost nothing to do except get hungrier and hungrier, and more and more tired." Hermione growled, as Neville passed her a small bag.
"We nipped into Tomes and Scrolls to try and find something that could help you guys, but none of what they had seemed to describe what you guys are going through, sure, there were curses and such that caused hunger or tiredness, but not both." Fred said. Hermione gave him a thankful smile.
"I didn't think you would, there are…other side effects that this curse is having, but…don't really want to go into that right now." She said, her cheeks reddening slightly. Harry's face also reddened, and he refused to look at her.
The twins and Neville exchanged a look.
"Want us to deal with Draco?" Fred asked.
"If it involves beating him to a bloody unidentifiable pulp, then yes please!" Harry said. "I don't think that quick beating we gave him outside of Potions on Friday got the message across."
"So that WAS you!" Neville said, grinning.
"Oh? Do tell!" the twins said in unison.
"Basically, he came up behind us as we were about to enter Potions, started flapping his gob, so we punched him in the face, at the same time…" Harry said.
"Then punched him in the balls…at the same time…" Hermione said with a grin.
"Then Hermione kneed him in the face when he doubled over from the crotch-punch, and we left him on the corridor floor."
The twins and Neville looked at each other, then burst out laughing.
"Oh Merlin! I can't believe we missed that!" Fred said.
George nodded. "Yeah, I would have paid good galleons to see that."
The twins and Neville stayed a short while, before leaving. Parvati and Lavender stopped by just after dinner, which the House-Elves had delivered. While Hermione had her issues concerning the way House-Elves were treated by most families, she was too tired, and too hungry to care at that point.
When it was almost bedtime, Pomfrey had had to help them to the showers, but had been able to provide shower stools for them so they didn't have to struggle. With professional detachment borne of years of experience as a healer, Pomfrey had noted the two's now constant state of sexual arousal on top of their other frustrations, and mentally ran through the possible potions she could give them for that, unfortunately she didn't really have any of the more powerful ones that would last the whole night, and the side effects for the ones she did have were…not pleasant.
Pomfrey sighed as she watched the two of them settle down for the night, wishing she could help them.
-=-=-=-=-
The following morning.
Daphne Greengrass looked around the Fourth-Year boy's dorm room, Crabbe and Goyle were still asleep, snoring loudly, as was Nott, but Draco was up and out of the room already, probably showering, which was just fine by her, as she approached the trunk that she knew was Draco's. she had to be quick; get in, grab the book, if it was there, then get the hell out. She didn't want to know what Malfoy would do if he caught her with the book, then again, she could probably convince him to let her borrow it…but he'd want something in exchange.
She shuddered.
She had a pretty good idea what he'd want, too.
Despite her close friendship with Hermione and Susan, there were things about life in Slytherin that she had not told them. And wasn't sure she could.
Putting those thoughts and memories out of her mind, she quickly knelt by his trunk and muttered the unlocking spell, she also cast a silencing charm on it in case the hinges squeaked. Once it was open, she started to rifle through it. Ignoring a half-written letter to his father, no doubt whining about his punishment, it didn't take her long to find a book that she knew did not belong.
It was black, bound in hard leather, decorated on the cover with various pictographs she couldn't identify. Across the top, in stylized hand, was the title: 'The Dark Arts of Sex Magic' with the author's name below it being faded and illegible.
Standing, she quickly closed and relocked the trunk, after transfiguring the cover of one of his other books to match the one she now held, then canceled the silencing charm on it, turned and quickly headed out of the room. Quickly, she returned to her own dorm room, slipped the book into her bag, then headed for the shower. Hopefully by the time Draco figured out the book was gone, she and Susan would have found something.
Chapter 4: Finding a Cure...of a sort part 1
Sunday, November 20th 1994
Hogwarts Great Hall.
"I have it." Daphne whispered to Susan as the two of them exited the Great Hall after breakfast, Susan nodded and then looked around.
"Where do we go? The library, or McGonagall's office? Or take it to Pomfrey?" she asked. Daphne looked thoughtful.
"Let's go to the Library, if Draco follows us and causes a scene, we'll have witnesses, and Pince will throw him out."
Daphne nodded, and followed her friend. Once, they made it to the Hogwarts Library, and once they were in, the two girls found 'their' table, the one they usually used for studying with their Gryffindor friend, and took a seat, there were a few other students in the Library, including a few Durmstrang students, but the girls ignored them. A small contingent of girls were still following
Daphne pulled the dark leather book that had a non-descript cover out of her book bag. Susan looked at the title on the cover and scowled.
'The Dark Arts of Sex Magic'
"Lovely title…" Susan snorted, as she and her blonde friend started leafing through the book, taking a moment to read the Forward at the beginning. "Hey, listen to this Sues…"Not to be confused with 'The Magic of Making Love' which is a book that focuses on the positive aspects of Sex-Magic, of which there are many. This book focuses on the more negative and therefore, more well-known side, specifically on Sex-Magic that is focused on the darker side of sex; such as non-consensual sex, which is one of the main reasons Sex-Magic as a whole is considered Dark by many. Whereas the Magic of Making Love focuses on spells, potions and rituals centered around and focused toward Consensual Sex, Love, Fertility and Pleasure. Since sex is the act of creating new life, and Magic is the essence of life, it can be theorized, and in some small circles, is believed, that Sex-Magic is essential for life." Huh, I'll bet they'll never teach this in any of the classes here." Daphne said, Susan nodded.
They spent a few minutes leafing through the book, looking for the curse Draco had used, a few caught their eye, such as the 'Uncontrolled Breast Enlargement Curse' which if used, would cause a Witch's breasts to inflate, until they literally exploded, which would, naturally, be fatal to the witch in question.
Another spell they found would give a wizard a temporary second penis. Yet another spell they found, turned the wizard's tongue into a penis. The two girls' eyes had almost popped out of their sockets as they'd read the possible uses for that spell. There was another spell that turned a witch's lips 90 degrees, and effectively turned her mouth, at least her lips, into a perfect replica of her vulva, with a fully functional clitoris, or at least, the shaft and glans of one, where her nose would have once been.
"Who the hell would want a fanny on her face?!" Daphne blurted, staring at the animated magical illustration that demonstrated the effect, in case the verbal description wasn't clear enough.
"Pansy?" Susan asked with a smirk.
Daphne snorted, "Ok, you might be right there."
They continued to read, skipping to the back end of the book, towards the heavier spells, thinking what they were looking for could be found there.
"No, I don't think he used this one, and I'm glad he didn't…" Daphne said, shuddering in revulsion as she read the description of a particularly nasty curse, and its effects on its victims and its usage history. Susan leaned over to look.
"The 'Rapist Curse'?" she asked, eyes widening as she read the effects.
"Yeah, Draco didn't use this, if he had, Harry and Hermione would be all over each other by now, fucking each other, and everyone else they come across raw. And they'd also be suffering from these other effects too, so no, definitely not this. Thank Merlin!"
"Hello." came a serene, calm voice.
Both girls looked up, eyes wide, as they laid eyes on a waif of a girl with long dirty-blonde hair, and large silvery eyes, that both seemed to have a faraway gaze in them, but at the same time, were also focused. Daphne saw keen intelligence in those eyes, though her outward demeaner was one of aloofness. Daphne of course, recognized her immediately, as she suspected, so did Susan. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer bottle caps.
Even if the third-year hadn't been wearing Ravenclaw colors, it would be nearly impossible not to recognize Luna 'Looney' Lovegood, the daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, the owner and editor-in-chief of the Quibbler, a magical Magazine that usually contained articles on strange and exotic creature, many of whom hadn't yet been seen, but Luna claimed to be able to, something that made her the subject of a lot of ridicule, both in her own house and the others. The snakes in particular were especially harsh, though Daphne did her best not to be, she'd heard through the rumor mill that Luna had watched her mother die at a young age, and in Daphne's opinion, she'd be honestly surprised if Luna wasn't a little fucked up in the head after that.
Neither of the two older witches tried to hide the book, they figured she'd already seen what they were reading anyway.
"Uh, hi, Luna is it?" Susan asked. The girl smiled dreamily.
"Some people call me 'Loony' Lovegood, actually."
"Well, we won't. We don't like bullies." Daphne said, smiling.
Luna blinked slowly. "A lot of my bullies are Slytherins. Some of the worst are in my own house though, such as Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe and Margot Smythe. I don't like them."
"We're not all the same." Daphne said a little defensively.
"May I join you?" Luna asked. Daphne and Susan exchanged looks, wondering if they should let her. The two of them held a silent conversation, before finally Daphne gave an almost invisible nod. Then they turned to Luna.
"Sure, maybe you could help us, we're trying to find details on a curse a friend of ours has been hit with."
"Ok. Thank you." Luna said, as she took a seat next to Susan and leaned over to read the book.
After another 15 minutes of searching back through the book, Susan spotted something that made her stop.
"Wait! Hold up! What's this? Huh…How did Hermione say she was feeling? Increasing tiredness and hunger, even though they've been eating for the last two days and sleeping in the Hospital Wing?" Susan asked, skimming the text. Daphne nodded.
"Yeah, and Harry has been the same. Why? What have you…Oh." She asked, as she saw what Susan had, and Luna also leaned forward.
Susan started reading it aloud.
"'The Gift of Aphrodite' also sometimes called 'The Kiss of The Succubus' curse. Oh boy…that doesn't sound good." then she swallowed and continued, her eyes widening.
"Listen to this: "Those affected by this spell are forced to subsist almost entirely on sexual emissions of other humans, and in some cases, animals when humans cannot be found or are unwilling, in order to survive. Requiring consumption of seminal or vaginal fluids at least once every 12 hours, but the more often, the better.
To facilitate this, Wizards and Witches affected by this spell have their mental perceptions of taste altered, so when they ingest seminal or vagina fluid, they perceive its flavor as something they enjoy eating most. They are also induced into a near constant state of arousal until the spell's initial requirements are met. There is also speculation that the sense of smell of the affected individuals is also affected, though this has not been verified.
Those affected can eat food but gain no nutrients from it. They will also experience constant hunger even after eating, with the feeling increasing exponentially. The only food they can eat and get any benefits from seems to be water. Nutrients digested from consumed food are kept from being absorbed by the body, thanks to the spell, until its magic detects the presence of seminal fluid or vaginal fluid in the stomach of the affected Wizard or Witch, at which point the 'stored' nutrients are released and absorbed by the body."
"Who the fuck created this?!" Daphne hissed, furious.
A sharp "SHHH!" from the front desk told them that Madam Irma Pince had heard her, and was reminding them to be quiet. If there was one thing Pince hated more than an over-due book return, it was noise in her domain.
"Hey wait, what's this bit?" Susan asked, pointing to a block of text below the listed effects. "WARNING: Delaying consumption of fluids beyond the minimum required instances will result in increasingly severe states of malnutrition and fatigue and arousal, until the subject succumbs first to coma, then to death by starvation, accelerated by the magic of the spell, leading to the effected individuals succumbing to starvation far sooner than they normally would, within 3 days to succumb to coma, 5 to succumb to death, at most." She blinked, not sure she read it right, then reread the description of the worst of the effects, and the warning. "What the actual FUCK?!" Susan spat, incredulous.
"That can't be right…" Daphne said, staring at the text, wide eyed. "If that's accurate, that means…that means…" she stammered, unable to finish her thought aloud.
"It means…that Harry and Hermione are going to be giving, and probably getting a lot of head in the foreseeable future. In fact, I'd say they're gonna become experts at it. Because it will literally KILL them if they don't." Susan growled, also not believing what she was reading.
Luna, for her part, seemed completely unaffected, as if what she'd just heard was perfectly normal.
"That does seem like a rather odd effect for a curse to have. Usually the effects are more debilitating and over a shorter period, and I've never read any curse descriptions that have actual warnings of their effects. This almost seems like a spell meant for foreplay that went wrong, and wasn't intended to be a curse, but eventually became classed as one. Which would explain why there is a warning in its description of its effects, and why it's called the Gift of Aphrodite." Susan and Daphne stared at her. "What do you know about foreplay? You're thirteen!" Daphne asked, eyes wide.
"Almost fourteen. In three months." Luna replied.
"Still..." Susan replied, not sure how to respond, she didn't want to upset the girl.
"There is no set starting age for a teenager's ability to experiment with sexual activity or explore their sexuality." Luna commented offhandedly. "I have been rubbing my fanny, or masturbating, or if you prefer, 'stirring my Cauldron' for over a year now. And my parents had a very active sex life. I could certainly hear them well enough. Besides, my parents were, what is the muggle term? Oh yes, Naturists."
Susan blinked at her, thanks to Hermione, she knew some muggle terms, so she knew what Luna meant.
"Wait...Your parents were nudists?! Are...are you?" Susan asked, shocked, Daphne was equally surprised. Nudists were not common in the Magical world, and almost unheard of in England, given the traditionalist views of most Pure-Blood families. They were more common in main-land Europe and the US, in warmer climates, though again, it was usually Muggle-borns that practiced it.
Luna looked downcast, "Not anymore. Not since my mum died, and I'm not allowed to here at Hogwarts." she said sadly.
"I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you Luna." Susan said sympathetically, reaching over to take one of the girl's hands in her own.
"It's ok. I've had time to heal. Though not many friends."
"Well, now you have us, and once Hermione and Harry meet you, I'm sure they'd love to be your friend." Susan replied smiling.
"Yep." Daphne added, then she turned her attention back to the book, once again going over what they'd read. "So, you think this spell might have started out as a form of foreplay?" She asked. Luna nodded.
"Yes, look here at its effects: "Wizards and Witches affected by this spell have their mental perceptions of taste altered, so when they ingest seminal or vaginal fluid, they perceive its flavor as something they enjoy eating most." That definitely sounds like something that would be used in foreplay, to encourage couples to engage in oral sex."
"Fuck me…" Daphne breathed.
"Not here, it's too dusty, there are other students present, and the table would not exactly be comfortable enough for you to get into a position that would allow us to rub our vaginas together even though I have not done that before, and I do not possess a dildo or a penis, sorry. However, I would be more than willing to try and perform cunnilingus and lick your vagina for you if you prefer, although I have not done that before either." Luna said, completely missing the fact that Daphne's comment wasn't aimed at her, and had not been an actual request.
Daphne stared at her, eyes so wide they nearly popped out of her skull as her jaw went slack in complete shock and disbelief. Susan wasn't doing much better. "I…I…I…WHAT?!" Daphne said, completely taken aback, embarrassed and utterly mortified by what her new friend had just said, her face turning two different colors; white and red. She could not believe what the young Ravenclaw had just said! Susan was likewise shocked, not quite believing what the girl next to her had just so casually said, and implied about herself. She had not known Luna for even an hour, but she was already starting to realize how she may have got her nickname, and the fact that she seemed to speak her mind. And took EVERYTHING she heard literally.
"So…" Susan said, trying desperately to come up with a change of subject for her friend's sake. "This spell started out as an attempt at foreplay you think?"
"That makes the most sense. Why else would a curse force people to do what normally, they would love to do? Perform oral sex on each other. There is also this part here, about the spell altering a person's perception of taste, and maybe even smell, so any semen or vaginal juices they get in their mouth tastes like their favorite food. Clearly, this spell was created with married couples who were in a loving stable relationship in mind and was likely intended to be used on both. That is not what a true curse-creator would intend. I think this spell was originally intended as a form of foreplay, but only became considered a curse, and known as one, when it was discovered that there was no way to reverse it, and the debilitating, potentially fatal side-effects were first discovered."
Daphne mulled it over, thinking, she took in everything that was said, and what they'd read, and with a sinking feeling, realize the full depth of the implications for her other friend, and her friend, Harry Potter. "That means they're gonna have to, literally, feed from each other, eat each other, at least twice daily, to keep their strength up and avoid dying of starvation in about a week...Merlin...I sincerely hope, that for Harry's sake, that Hermione is a squirter."
"Tell me about it…although, that's urethral, not vaginal. Hermione will just have to get VERY wet. "Affected witches and wizards will experience feelings of fatigue that increase with time without meeting requirements to alleviate symptoms.
Self-stimulation has no long-term effect at relieving symptoms of arousal. Any relief from self-stimulation, if it is achieved, is only temporary.
Strength, stamina and alertness are restored upon ingesting sexual fluids of partner, whether they have the curse also or not." Huh, so they might not have to feed exclusively on each other. They could be able to get what they need from anyone." Susan said. Daphne snorted.
"Yeah right. Can you imagine Hermione dragging random boys into broom closets one or more times a day to blow them? I'm sure there are plenty of girls who would lift their skirts for Harry though. And can you imagine the rumors that would start flying about them?"
"You're right." Susan said, as she thought for a moment. "They're not gonna be happy when they hear all this. To say nothing of what McGonagall will say."
"Do you think that they would let their friends help them?" Luna asked.
"Uh, what do you mean?" Susan asked, almost afraid to ask.
"Well, it's my understanding that friends help each other, and the two of you are their friends, and hopefully soon, I will be too. And it would be unreasonable to assume that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger would be able to get what they need from each other all the time they may need to. So their friends should be willing to help them." she said nonchalantly.
Daphne and Susan stared at her. Their brains not quite willing to process what she was implying.
"Are you…Are you suggesting that we let them, both of them, lick our pussies?!" Daphne asked, eyes widening. Susan nodded. "I'm not sure Hermione would be ok with that, I'm pretty sure she's straight, I know I am. And besides, I don't really know Harry all that well, haven't really talked to him, most of what I know about him I know through Hermione." Susan protested. "I can't just walk up to him, drag him to a closet, get him down on his knees and shove his face in my fanny!"
"You could make the offer at least, just so he knows you're willing to help him if he needs it." Luna said, then continued after a moment, "And there's nothing stopping you getting to know him."
"Uh…" Susan said, not quite sure how to respond to that.
Daphne nodded, then she spotted something. "Here's a bit on its history: "The exact origin of the curse is unknown. Believed to have been developed in Ancient Greece as a method to help couples' sex lives, or as a method of foreplay by what is believed to be a Priestess of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek Sorceress that ancient Muggles believed to be a Goddess, who is believed to have pioneered the study, creation and practice of rituals, potions and spells commonly referred to as Sex Magic. It should be noted however, that the spell was originally intended to be used on fully Bonded, married adults. If cast on people who are not bonded to each other, or other witches or wizards, then there is a very strong, almost guaranteed possibility of the Bonding process forming, and leading to rapid completion, far sooner than what would be considered normal. (See other reference material for details on Bonding) It is for this reason, that some have speculated the true intentions of the spell's creator was to create a spell that assisted in the creation of the Bond between a witch and a wizard, who did not want to wait for the Bonding to develop over time. Hence the name 'The Gift of Aphrodite'. The reason it was added here was because of the potentially lethal side-effects leading to its classification as a Curse." Huh, looks like you were right Luna, this spell was meant as a spell for foreplay. Or as a spell to help accelerate a Bonding for those who were impatient." Daphne said, before continuing to read.
However, evidence would suggest the spell went wrong, or was not properly crafted, leading to the side effects listed above that were not accounted for and could not be reversed. The spell soon became regarded as a curse once the fatal side-effects were known, and later found prominent use in countries to the far East whose rulers routinely kept Harems, this curse was believed to be instrumental in forming some of the earliest ones. Morgana's sagging tits!" she growled.
Susan nodded, pointing further down the page. "Look here, it says there's a counter curse: A counter curse was later developed, however, it should only be used as a last resort, as it causes a complete state of sexual dysfunction and leaves the subject unable to become physically, emotionally or mentally aroused, leaving wizards completely impotent and unable to father children. Lust potions have been shown to have no effect at countering this. It also shuts down a witch's menstrual cycle, inducing Menopause.…Well…fuck…" then she looked at her friend, who's eyes were wide as they read the text over, just to be sure she hadn't misread it.
"You think that's what Draco is hoping will happen? That they'll find out about the counter curse and use it before reading the effects?" she asked, Daphne shrugged. "That's a possibility, but any use of this counter curse, especially on the last surviving member of an Ancient and Most Noble bloodline and house like the Potters, would effectively be Line Assassination, if it's done before Harry has any kids. And besides, I can't imagine either of them would be willing to face a lifetime without sex when they're still so young."
Susan paused, then she stood. "I'll just go and see if I can find that other book, what was it? 'The Magic of Making Love' huh, interesting title…" Daphne and Luna watched as she disappeared into the Restricted Section, Daphne casting a quick notice-me-not so no one would see her go in, or come out. After a few minutes, she came out with a thick red leather-bound book in her hands. "Got it, ok, hopefully this will have some more information." She said as she slipped it into her own bookbag.
"Hopefully you're right, com on…we need to show this to Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey, they're not going to like this…and poor Hermione is going to have a fit!" she said, marking the page with a leather bookmark, she then closed the book and slipped it into her back as she stood, Susan following her, as they turned and headed for the door, their new friend Luna following close behind, a serene smile on her face.
It was good to have friends.
-=-=-=-=-
Hospital Wing, sometime earlier.
Hermione opened her eyes and groaned. Her stomach hurt, her limbs felt like lead and her head felt so fuzzy and clouded that she could barely think clearly. She blinked a few times, then, with effort, lifted her hands and weakly rubbed at her eyes.
Grimacing, she rolled onto her side, though it took a lot of effort, then she slowly pushed herself up, until she was in a sitting position. She looked over at Harry, who was laying on his bed, sleeping, though there was a noticeable tent in the bedsheet about where his hips were. Hermione would have blushed, but she didn't have the strength, but she was dimly aware of her own arousal, her nipples were hard still, her breasts particularly sensitive, and she'd given up wearing knickers since yesterday. Her thighs were wet, as was the bed, it would definitely need cleaning. Hell, her nightie was wet in places, and she sighed in frustrated anger as she slowly, laboriously worked the cotton garment up past her waist then over her breasts, then over her head, and threw it to the floor, leaving her sat naked on her bed.
If Harry woke up now and saw her, if he'd be lucid enough to even perceive her, she honestly wouldn't care that he'd be seeing her naked, hell, she'd lean back, spread her legs and let him ogle her. She was so horny she'd let him do anything he wanted. Anything.
She considered getting one of the House-Elves to bring them some breakfast, because on top of feeling hornier than she'd ever felt in her life, and almost half dead from exhaustion, she was so hungry! She didn't care at this point that she thought their treatment amounted to slavery, she just wanted to eat something!
For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off the tent of Harry's bedsheet, and she found herself licking her lips, her mouth suddenly filling with saliva, which she used to wet her throat. She stood on unsteady legs, and took a step towards him, then another, and her knees gave out, and she collapsed with a grunt, resorting to crawling the final few feet to the bed, then pulling herself up. It wasn't comfortable on her knees on the floor, so, with more effort, she pulled herself up onto the bed. Panting with the exertion, Hermione could already feel sweat beginning to form on her forehead. She got up into a kneeling position, straddling Harry's legs. Reaching forward, she gripped the sheet and pulled.
Slowly, Harry's bare torso came into view, then the boxer shorts he was wearing, and the tent formed by the erection within. With almost shaking hands, she slid her fingers into the waistband, then pulled. After a few firm tugs, his erection sprang free, and Hermione Granger got her first up-close and personal look at a living, flesh and blood penis.
For a few moments, she just stared at it, slowly licking her lips, her stomach growling, her hunger and arousal seemed to spike as she looked at it, she could tell, just by looking, that her initial estimate of his size was close: five inches long, nearly two inches thick, and very little tapering along the length. At its base there was a thick patch of dark hair. The swollen head, the outline of which she could just make out, was hidden beneath a cowl of skin. And for a moment, some small, barely lucid part of her mind silently sent a prayer, thanking Lily and James for not letting a surgeon take a scalpel to it. She also noted that it had been pulled taught by the glans beneath it, and the very tip, was just barely visible.
Her heart now pounding in her ears, breath coming in short and heavy, Hermione reached out and gently took Harry's shaft in hand, while holding herself up with her left. She gently ran her fingers over it, exploring, feeling the soft skin that was warm to the touch, almost hot, and moved under her fingers, and the hard flesh beneath it. She didn't even realize she'd started to lower her head until her nose became filled with the warm musky scent of male. A smell that was both generally male and uniquely Harry. The smell sent a shiver of lust through her, and she felt her clit throb impatiently, and her vagina spasm with desire, her muscles acting on their own, clenching as if desperately trying to milk the penis her hand was holding. A fresh wave of heat rolled over her from between her legs, followed by even more wetness, but she didn't care anymore.
All she could think about was the organ she held in her hand, less than an inch from her face. And as she pulled the skin back, gently rolling the foreskin back, exposing the swollen glans, her nose made contact, and she closed her eyes, and breathed in.
"Mmmm..." the purring moan that reverberated in her throat, and even down into her chest, sent a thrill through her. By Merlin! He smelled good! Good enough to eat! She opened her eyes, or at least, half opened them. And took another look at the shaft, taking note of the blood vessels that ran along its length, she hadn't quite pulled the foreskin all the way back from the glans, but she felt that didn't matter, as something brushed her barely conscious mind, an instinct, an urge. A desire to do something she'd never done before, and never dreamed she do with Harry. And that something, that desire, that urge was to…
Suck.
Swallow.
Drink.
'Wait…what?' she thought, barely registering it though as her right hand gently moved up then down, stroking the shaft with a gentleness she didn't know she had, all the while, the thick, musky scent of him filled her lungs and brain, filling her mind with lustful thoughts and ideas. Then she lowered her head and pressed her nose into the base of his shaft, then slowly brought it up, keeping the tip of her nose in contact the entire time as she took deep, slow breaths.
When she reached the glans, she continued down, breathing in his unique masculine scent as she felt herself getting more and more overtaken by lust the more she sniffed, until she reached his balls, taking a moment to run her fingers over them and gently stroke them, she leaned down and took another deep breath, then opened her mouth, and pressed her lips to first one firm orb, then the other, in a gentle, open-mouthed kiss.
She mewled, letting sort, high-pitched whimpers of lust escape her as she planted open-mouthed kisses over his testicles, then up the length of his shaft, kissing from every angle, her tongue occasionally darting out to give soft licks. The taste danced on her tongue, stoking the fires of her lust even more. When she reached the crown once more, she started to lick and kiss it, even wrapping her tongue around it, as much as she could, then letting his foreskin slide over her tongue, then pulled it back down again. She pulled his foreskin down and licked around the corona, then she started to run her fingers over Harry's scrotum, just as her lips parted, and her head dropped that final distance, and her wet lips slid over the head of Harry's shaft, until they closed behind the corona, meeting his foreskin, his glans rested on her warm, wet tongue, and she sucked. Tasting him.
'Oh my god…' she thought, the last part of her barely lucid mind coming through again. 'I've got Harry's penis, the actual head of his penis in my mouth…and god…it tastes…Good!'
Hermione let her head descend lower, taking the first couple of inches into her mouth, getting what she comfortably could take nice and coated with her saliva, she closed her eyes, and moaned.
After nearly a minute of just holding half of Harry's shaft in her mouth, on her tongue, she lowered her head further, until it filled her mouth, her lips sealed around the base, her nose buried in the mat of pubic hair, the head reached all the way to the back of her throat, and she had to swallow to stop herself from choking.
It was an…odd feeling, having the glans of his penis being squeezed by her tongue and the muscles at the back of her mouth as she swallowed, feeling it in the back of her throat. After a few deep breaths through her nose, she tried pushing a little further, but her gag reflex kicked in and she pulled back some, then after a moment, she tightened her grip with her tongue and lips, and sucked.
"Mmmmm..." Hermione purred, savoring the taste and feel. Part of her wondered and worried how he would react if he were to wake up while she was doing this, but the thought of him catching her doing this sent a thrill through her. And if he didn't wake up…well, that wouldn't be a good sign.
She then began to slowly raise her head, sucking all the while, stroking the hard shaft with slow, swirling plies of her tongue. When she had about half of the length in her mouth, she used her tongue to lick his frenulum, pressing his glans against the ridged roof of her mouth. She moaned again, then pulled back, letting the organ out of her mouth with a wet 'pop'. She opened her lust filled, tired eyes and looked at it hungrily.
It was…sexy…hot…delicious…beautiful…gorgeous even. Hermione tried to sort through her tired mind to think up all the erotic endearments she could think of to describe the piece of male flesh that stood proudly before her, glistening wetly with her saliva from base to tip.
She saw a bead of clear liquid emerge from the slit at the tip, and she curiously licked at it, collecting it on her tongue. She'd expected it to be salty, as she knew from reading her parents' medical books, that was what 'precum' and semen usually tasted like, depending on the boy's or man's diet…but she wasn't expecting the slightly sweet taste. Tilting her head curiously, she took the shaft back into her mouth, focusing on just the head, while her right hand moved up and wrapped around it gently, and she started to gently stroke.
She resumed licking the shaft she had in her mouth, she could feel her arousal spiking. She wanted to masturbate. Desperately needed to, but her frustration over the last few failed attempts, both at night and in the shower the night before had failed to alleviate anything, so she did her best to ignore it and focus on what she was doing, while she had the energy to do so.
"Mmph…Mmmph…Mmmph…" she moaned, letting short, whimpering grunts vibrate in her mouth as she started to bob her head faster and deeper, until she was drawing him all the way out to the tip, before taking him right down to the base, all the way into her throat. She knew she wasn't an expert, and probably wasn't doing that good a job by the standards of most of the more experienced girls in the school, not that she really had any comparisons to draw from. Every so often she'd catch some more precum on her tongue and wonder at the strangely sweet taste, it was familiar, yet her tired mind couldn't place it.
The only sound in the room now was Harry's slow steady breathing, and the slow hungry moans, wet slurping sucking sounds coming from Hermione's mouth as she, while being exhausted, did her best to give her first ever blowjob.
Hermione quickly lost track of time, alternating between taking him all the way in and leaving him there, sucking and swallowing to cope with her gag reflex, and drawing back until just the head was on her tongue, sucking and enthusiastically licking. She even worked her tongue under his foreskin as she rolled it back over his tip, doing her best to wrap her tongue around the glans, giving it firm sucks. It was while she was doing this that she felt it swell a little, before it seemed to pulse, and her mouth was suddenly filled with a thick, warm, viscus liquid.
Hermione stopped dead as she felt Harry climax in her mouth, sealing her lips around the tip to prevent any leaking. She licked and swirled her tongue around him, giving him a few more sucks to get as much out of it as she could, as the semen settled in her mouth and the taste finally registered in her fatigue clouded mind. And her tired eyes bulged with surprise.
"Mmmph! Mmmph…Hm?" she squeaked in shock as the taste finally hit her, and she tried to logically associate the flavor her taste-buds were telling her, and what she knew she had in her mouth, and how it should taste, but didn't.
'Why…Why the hell does his…his semen taste like…Cauldron Cake?!' she asked herself mentally. Pulling back, she looked down at the slick shaft as she let it fall back against his pubic mound. She swirled the semen in her mouth, mixing it with her saliva, then she swallowed, gasping for breath as soon as she could.
The instant she felt the warm liquid settle in her stomach, she felt a wave of energy surge through her. Within seconds, she felt stronger and more awake than she had since Thursday, before she and Harry had been cursed. Her mind was suddenly clear, her brain no longer fogged by fatigue, her body no longer feeling weighed down. She sat up and looked down at herself. At her naked body, and she ran her hands down over herself, letting them settle over her stomach. Then she rubbed her face. Grabbing her wand, she conjured a small mirror and looked at her face. The darkness under her eyes was gone, she looked like she'd just had a good night's sleep. She felt awake, alert. She felt…great.
"What the hell?!" she said, her eyes going wide as she looked down at the erection resting on Harry's lower stomach, still covered in her saliva, and she felt her own fanny pulse.
"Her…mione?" Harry's groggy voice startled her and she turned to face him, eyes wide as she felt her face heat up with a deep blush. Had he seen her? Did he know what she'd done?
Harry was looking at her with half-lidded eyes, his expression one of utter exhaustion. "You're…ok…how?" he asked brokenly. She blushed harder and averted her eyes, not sure how to tell him, or even if she could.
She then heard footsteps approaching the door to the Hospital Wing, and she panicked, standing up, she bent to grab her nightie and throw it on, then quickly covered Harry with the bed sheet, before she sat down on her own bed, running her hands through her hair as the door opened.