Chapter 7: Adjusting.
Monday, November 21st, 1994
Harry woke up slowly, feeling great. Well, as great as he could feel with the artificial sense of fatigue he felt. The hunger and the arousal making itself known between his legs were real, however. Despite that, he couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so good. He was on his back, alone in a large double bed, the mattress was softer and springier than his old bed from the Boy's Dorm. Then he realized why he'd slept so well. It was so quiet. There was no sound except the faint tick-tock of a clock on the far wall. Rolling onto his side, he reached for his glasses and slipped them on, then cast a quick Tempus, seeing that it was almost 7 in the morning.
'Gotta get up and get ready.' He thought. As he stood, his mind wandered back to the night before, as he took full notice of how he was really feeling. He mentally sighed, remembering what Hermione had said. They'd fed each other at about 8pm the night before, so they were again coming up on the twelve-hour mark. Which would mean they'd have to feed each other again before breakfast, or push themselves a little and wait until after, but that wouldn't leave them much time before classes started for the day, and they couldn't skip half a day.
'We really need to work out some sort of schedule, at least for the mornings. But Hermione is right, we'll have to do this several times a day…every day…Merlin…I'm gonna be like a damn parasite. There has to be another way…'
As he turned to head towards his on-suite bathroom, he heard a light knock at the door. "It's open Hermione." He called, turning to face the door as it opened, and Hermione walked in, and Harry took in her full visage. She looked…well, she looked rested, like she'd just got a good night's sleep, her hair was mussed up, her nightie disheveled, but looking in her eyes, he also saw the hunger there, as well as the faint arousal he knew she no doubt felt.
Closing the distance, he drew her into a tight hug.
"Morning Hermione, how'd you sleep?" he smiled into her neck as she returned the hug, pressing herself against him.
"Morning Harry. I slept fine." She yawned. "Oops, sorry."
He chuckled and pulled back, getting a good look at her. "That's ok, how are you feeling?"
She gave him a once over. "Good, all things considered, a bit hungry though, and still a bit tired, and…well…" she made a vague gesture with her head, pointing down, he nodded.
"You too huh?"
She nodded, blushing a little, though not much, clearly, she was getting used to it, far faster than he was. "How about you?" he shrugged.
"I slept ok, feeling ok, apart from the obvious, though the hunger I think is genuine." She nodded.
"It's the curse, hopefully our bodies and magic will eventually adapt, and we'll be able to go longer between feedings."
Harry nodded and sighed. "Well, knowing my luck, mine won't, but yours will. We really need to come up with some sort of schedule, at least for the mornings. I was about to take a shower, but we're coming up on the twelve-hour mark, and breakfast starts at 8, classes start at 9, so depending on how long we spend eating breakfast, we'll not have much time for…well…that. Plus I don't know how quick we can…uh…finish. But I'm sure there will be moments where we're really pressed for time, ya know?"
She nodded "Yes, you're right, we do, that's one of the reasons I came in here, I mean, we could do it now, but neither of us have had a shower yet, and there's no telling how long we'll have once we're done before breakfast…" she paused, thinking, though her wet labia and hard clitoris tried to convince her to just shove him on the bed and climb on top of him like she had in the Hospital Wing, but she resisted. "Tell you what, we'll each take a quick shower, freshen up as much as we can, then if there's enough time before breakfast, we'll do it in the common room, and if not, we'll find somewhere secluded and try to be as quick as we can."
Thinking it over, he nodded. "Sounds like a plan." He said, giving her another hug, then they parted ways. When he entered the bathroom, he took it in. it was impressive. A toilet, a sink with soap and his toothbrush and toothpaste, a towel rack with several small and large towels neatly folded hanging on it. And a large bath that also seemed to double as a shower, with what looked like a detachable shower head.
"Hm, not bad." He mused, as he started going through his routine.
-=-=-=-=-
They had managed to get cleaned up relatively quickly, though they hadn't really had time to see to their more pressing needs before they'd had to go to breakfast, which Harry reasoned, worked out in their favor, since it meant that they would be able to get the benefit of what they ate, but Hermione reminded him that it took several hours for their systems to fully digest food, and they probably wouldn't be able to benefit from it until round about lunch, or mid-afternoon. Still, to avoid succumbing to the effects of the curse, they did promise each other that they'd to try and get a chance either at period breaks or lunch, if they couldn't right after or before breakfast.
Harry raked his hand through his hair as they made their way down to the Greenhouses for Herbology, they still hadn't had time to pull Neville or any of the others they'd planned to tell to one side during breakfast. Though there had been one positive. Sirius had replied, saying he'd call them via Floo later that night at 9pm so they could talk, and since they'd be alone, they'd be un-interrupted.
The persecutions from the other houses, on both of them, was still on-going, much to their chagrin.
Herbology went well, Susan even managed to get close and ask them, discreetly how they were doing. They replied that they were still figuring out how to cope with it daily, given their schedules.
Smiling, Susan leaned in and whispered, "Well, if either of you ever need a 'boost', send me a note or something and I'll come meet you somewhere, maybe one of the unused classrooms. Daphne made the same offer, and I'm pretty sure Luna would too." Hermione's face had turned beat red.
"Susan!"
"What?" the redhead replied.
Hermione gave her a look. "I'm not into girls!"
Susan snorted. "Me neither, but then, I'm not asking you to date me, I'm just offering something that you might need, when you need it. The fact that it'll involve you licking my snatch is irrelevant. You get what you need to stay on your feet another twelve hours, a free snack, and I get a, hopefully damn good, orgasm out of it."
Hermione spluttered, trying to keep her voice down as she worked on their class assignment. Harry's face was almost as red as a tomato. "And just what makes you think I'm any good at that? I've never done it before!" she said quietly. Harry nodded and added his own little bit to the conversation.
"Same here! I mean, I've only done it twice, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't that good."
Hermione blushed, giving him a sheepish smile. "It was…okay."
"'Okay'? Just 'Okay'? You haven't told him about that spell yet?" Susan asked, incredulous.
"What spell?" Harry asked. Hermione flushed again.
"It's more of a technique than a spell, per se. Basically, if you tried using your Parseltongue ability while…uh…'Dining at the Y', you'll be able to bring her off faster, and also boost your own power levels." Susan said, smirking. "I can't believe you haven't looked through it yet, didn't you take the book with you?"
"Er, yeah, left it back in my new room." Hermione said.
Susan rolled her eyes, then looked at Harry. "You really should read it Harry."
She then paused, thinking, the nodded to herself. "Besides, there is one other option you could try, if timing is an issue." The other two looked at each other, then back at her while they worked.
"Oh?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.
Susan nodded, smirking. "Food."
"Food?" Harry asked. She nodded again.
"Each of you takes an item of food the other wants, rub one out, then mix the results in, and give it to them. Simple."
Hermione gasped, her eyes going wide, as she stared scandalized at her friend. Harry's mouth had fallen open, his eyes wide as he also stared at her in disbelief. He vaguely noticed Hannah and Neville, along with Justin Finch-Fletchly starting to take notice. He wasn't sure he could trust Justin with this kind of knowledge, but Neville they still needed to tell, he just hoped Hannah would be discreet.
"'Rub one out'?! Just what kind of girl do you take me for Susan Bones!" Hermione hissed, making sure to keep her voice down, as she too had noticed they were starting to attract attention. Susan rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Masturbate. My idea is simple, at lunch and Dinner, take something that Harry wants to eat, masturbate to orgasm, then rub your pussy juice covered fingers onto and into his food, then give it to him. Harry, you can rub one off, holding some of her desert, and cum on it." Susan explained, as casually as if she were discussing the weather.
Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, blushing hard as they each pictured what would have to happen, before Hermione turned to Susan, whispering fiercely to avoid drawing attention. "Susan! I can't just climb up onto the Gyffindor table, pull my knickers off, lift my skirt and squat over Harry's Shepherd's Pie!"
Susan rolled her eyes, then smirked, "I'm not suggesting you do it that way. I'm suggesting you go down to the Kitchens, ask the Elves to give you something you know Harry likes to eat, like a small cake or something, go somewhere private, then rub your fanny until you get yourself nice and wet, and after you cum, use your fingers to add it as a glaze. Simple. And hey, you never know, Harry could even take a small piece of apple pie for you and turn it into a creampie!"
"SUSAN BONES!" Hermione hissed, her face flushing again with embarrassment and frustration. Where was this coming from? Her friend had never been this forward before. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Susan shrugged. "Ok, I admit it, I'm a little jealous of you. I mean, you're getting your fanny licked several times a day, or should be, at any rate. I can't think of any other girl in the school who whouldn't want to be that lucky. At least tell me how he is, what it feels like."
"I'm right here you know." Harry deadpanned.
"And I wouldn't call us 'lucky.' Susan, we're being FORCED to do this or we face a slow horrible death! Besides, we're both still…learning things." She paused, then remembered what had started this line of the discussion.
"How would we even get to the Kitchens?" Hermione asked.
"Wait, what? You're actually considering this?" He asked.
Hermione looked at him and shrugged. "We still haven't fed since last night Harry, I'm starting to get tired, and hungry, and I know you are too. This would at least give us an option for lunch and Dinner, or at least for after that. But realistically, we need to do this sort of thing more than 3 times a day, I'm not sure how many times would be ideal yet."
"What's going on you guys?" Neville asked, as he, Justin and Hannah moved closer. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks again, then both nodded.
"Remember what McGonagall said yesterday in the Common Room?" Harry asked, Neville nodded. "Well, Susan was just discussing with us possible ways we could manage the affects of the curse Draco used on us. Though we don't want it getting out, it's kinda personal."
"It's very personal." Hermione huffed.
"Ok, it's very personal, which is why McGonagall put us in Private Quarters. We don't want it getting out, so…we want to limit who we tell. And those we tell will have swear never to tell anyone else until we say it's ok." Harry said. Neville nodded.
"Well, I won't spread it around." Hannah also shook her head, "Me neither." Justin also agreed.
"Ok." Hermione said, then quickly, as tactfully as she could, she outlined the curse's affects, what it had done, how it worked, and what they now had to do daily, at least for the foreseeable future.
By the time she was finished, the hour long lesson was almost up, and Neville, Hannah and Justin were all blushing and trying not to look at the pair too awkwardly.
"Well…I can see why she'd put you in Private Quarters." Hannah said. Neville nodded.
"Yeah…uh…so this curse, basically means you have to 'feed' from others in order to avoid starving, even though you eat food? And it says you can basically get it from anyone?" they both nodded, Hannah gave him an odd look, and he started to backtrack.
"Well, uh, I'm not saying I'm offering, I don't think you'd accept anyway…uh…" Hermione smiled appreciatively, then patted Neville's arm.
"I appreciate the thought Neville, but for convenience sake, and simply because it's more comfortable for me, I'd rather it just be Harry."
"What are you going to do about your…ya know…" Hannah asked, making a vague gesture towards Hermione's lower abdomen. "Time?" she finished, her blush increasing.
Hermione sighed. "I don't know yet, I'm due next week. I'll try to think of something."
"Anyway, back to what we were discussing before Susan." Hermione said after a pause "Where is the entrance?"
"Go to the entrance hall and take the stairway down leading to the Hufflepuff Basement. On the way there you'll find a brightly lit basement hallway full of food themed paintings, one of which is a painting of a fruit bowl full of fruit. Just tickle the pear and it will giggle, then turn into a door handle, and you use that to open the door to the kitchens." Susan said.
Harry blinked "So the kitchens are right below the Great Hall?" Susan and Hannah nodded.
"It's worth a try." Hermione said.
After the bell rang for the end of the lesson a short while later, the two Gryffindors started to make their way back into the castle, heading for their Care of Magical Creatures lesson, talking quietly, trying to discuss various ways of meeting their respective 'Needs'.
Hermione quickly checked her watch, then looked around the corridor they were in to make sure they were alone, as the rest of the Gryffindors had moved on ahead, since they were still blanking Harry, though thankfully they hadn't yet given them too much grief over the private quarters, though Ron still seemed angry.
"Why'd you stop Hermione? We're gonna be late." Harry asked. She didn't respond, not with words. She just pulled him towards a shadowed alcove, since there weren't any broom closets nearby, and promptly dropped to one knee, her hands moving quickly to the zipper at the front of his trousers.
"Whoa Hermione! What are you…? Here? Now?" he protested, the last two words coming out as strained whispers.
"Yes. Here. Now." She growled as she got his fly open and worked her fingers into his boxers, finding his semi-hard shaft. As soon as she had him exposed to the air, she gripped him more firmly and slid back his foreskin, and leaned forward, wetting her lips as she pressed them to crown of his shaft in a kiss, which turned into a gentle embrace as they opened and she took in as much as she could. She didn't take him all the way in, she'd learned the night before that while she could deep-throat him, she didn't like doing it too much, as it stoped her from breathing, so instead, she just focused on sucking his shaft, using the hand holding it to stroke it, while her other hand went down under her skirt and into her knickers to find her smooth wet slit ready.
She figured it probably wouldn't be the same for him getting it this way, but it would hopefully keep him going for a awhile. They also had the issue of time to consider.
They really didn't want to be late for their next class and have to explain to Hagrid why.
So this would have to be quick. Quicker than she would have preferred, as she'd discovered she rather liked having Harry's penis in her mouth. She liked sucking it, she liked the feel, the texture, the taste. She still wasn't sure if it was just the curse, or whether she seemed to have a natural talent and affinity for oral sex, but she was quickly coming to the conclusion that she was ok with this. She was his best female friend, and she was willing to do anything for him. Even this. Even if the curse hadn't been a factor, if he had wanted it badly enough and had plucked up the courage to ask her, she found herself admitting to herself that she honestly still would have done this. For him. Because she cared.
She thought back to yesterday and remembered her panic and worry that she wouldn't be able to do this, and she mentally snorted. 'You CAN do this Granger. You MUST do this. So you WILL do this. For as long as you need to. And you're going to make damn sure you both enjoy it.'
Malfoy wanted her to be a cocksucker? Fine then, she'd be the best damn cocksucker that had ever gone to Hogwarts. But only ONE boy would EVER know just how good she intended to become.
And so, Hermione started to use the tricks she'd learned so far worked best. She hummed. Hummed and alternated between long firm sucks along his shaft, to gentle licks and sucks of his tip. Paying special attention to his frenulum and the small slit at the very tip.
All the while, her other hand was busy between her legs, fingering her passage, trying to get her fingers as coated as she could while also stroking her hard clitoris and swollen lips.
For his part, Harry was staring down at her in surprise, then quickly looked up and around to make sure they were truly alone. He tensed as he felt the warm heat of her mouth envelop him, and she began to lick and suck with determination, then she looked up at him, her brown eyes full of concern, compassion, and hunger.
"Her-Hermione…" he gasped as he started to shiver with ecstasy as he felt his shaft rapidly harden in the delicious confines of her mouth. When their eyes met, he saw her smile as she started to quickly bob her head.
She pulled back and kissed the exposed tip, her tongue flicking out to catch some of his pre-cum. "Mmm…that's it Harry, come on…give me what I need, and I'll be able to give you what you need." She then started to rub his glans over her face. On her cheeks, her chin, even her eyes and forehead as she planted kisses up and down his shaft. She even pulled back his foreskin all the way, then licked the exposed skin and defined blood vessels, in long strokes of her flat tongue, even pressing it against his coronal ridge, before she once again closed her lips around it, leaving just his glans in her mouth, then she sucked hard.
Harry's body jerked, his hips thrusting forward as he gasped, Hermione moaned as she used her tongue to press his glans against the roof of her mouth as she sucked. Her body alight with fire as she also continued to finger herself, her wet sounds of her fingers working between her legs barely audible over the sounds coming from her mouth. She was close, her clit was so hard and throbbing it almost hurt, she wished Harry could suck it, use his fingers, anything to help her reach her own peak.
As she gently massaged her clit, she felt his shaft harden and twitch, and suddenly, her mouth was filled with the thick warm liquid that she wanted. She moaned and closed her eyes as the taste of chocolate Cauldron Cake filled her mouth, and she swallowed, her own body shaking with climax as she did, and she felt the hand between her legs become coated in her juices.
Then the bell for next class rang.
'Perfect.' She thought, as she continued to suck the last few drops from Harry's body. She then stood on shaky legs as Harry slumped back against the wall, Hermione reached out to steady him, then brought her slick fingers up to his face. Their eyes locked, hers full of renewed vigor, and his looking slightly tired.
"Go on Harry." She whispered.
"Are you su—mmmMMPH!" what ever he'd been about to say was cut off as her fingers were pushed into his mouth, and he started to suck and lick them clean of the heady, thick, sweet-tasting juice that covered them.
"Better?" she asked after he'd swallowed and made himself presentable. He nodded. "Ok, lets get to Care, hopefully we won't be too late."
-=-=-=-
Draco Malfoy was not a happy Slytherin.
Not only had Potter and his Mudblood not been punished for nearly breaking his nose, then punching him in the balls—seriously, what were they? Savages?—then Granger kneed him in the face, which had broken his nose, and he'd needed Professor Snape's help to fix it. Not only that, he'd also been denied access to the Hospital Wing. He'd gone there after finding out that yes, he really had been banned from Hogsmeade visits. The Old Goat had been serious after all, and that revelation had infuriated him so much, he'd gone to the Hospital Wing with the express intention of making Potter suffer some more, though Pomfrey had likely anticipated this, and set up a ward at the door way of the Hospital Wing that kept him out "As long as they're here." She'd said. Meddling old crone, once the rumored new Ministry Official was placed on the staff the following year, she'd be the first to go, right after the Old Fool.
He'd heard about this from his father in a short missive, it hadn't revealed much, just that Fudge was looking for a reason to put one of his people on the Hogwarts staff next year, as he was not comfortable with the way the school was being run, and felt the Ministry needed a foot in the door. Apparently, there had been too many unusual instances in the last few years that the Minister did not like: First the Basilisk, then Black breaking in, and the Dementors somehow being driven off, then the escape of that feral Hippogriff, Buckbeak, and now Potter was in the Tournament.
Draco scowled.
Potter!
Draco had had to school himself to mask his surprise when they turned up for Care of Magical Creatures, once again being taught by the Lumbering Half-breed Oaf. He'd had to bite his tongue to suppress the snarl of rage when he saw they were perfectly fine, not tired at all. And they seemed to have a certain look about that, one they wouldn't have had if they'd used the counter curse that he'd hoped they would.
Sure, if they had, he technically would have committed Line Assassination, which if he'd ever be convicted of, he'd get life in Azkaban, but he was sure his father would be able to get him out if that ever happened. But then, it was the Potter line, it wasn't like it actually mattered! The Potters were removed from the list of Sacred 28 for a reason! Who gave a shit if the line got snuffed out?
Though apparently, according to his father, the Dark Lord would be returning soon, so that was good at least.
So it was pretty clear to him how and why they were back on their feet.
Still, there was some consolation out of all this. Granger would by now have to be giving head on a regular basis, so he reasoned, he could get her to put that mouth of hers to better use than quoting books. Sure, he could do a lot better than some mudblood, but…a blowjob was a blowjob.
Though he wasn't about to proposition her in front of the Gryffindors and the Oaf, he decided he'd wait until later.
He turned his attention back to the Skrewt he was trying to work with. The thing was still small, about the size of a cat, it was long, with what looked like the body of a scorpion but without the tail, and it looked nasty. He couldn't remember why Hagrid, sorry, the Lumbering Oaf thought it was a good idea to crossbreed a manticore and a giant fire crab. Draco shuddered. He did NOT want to think about how that could have possibly worked.
Surely these things violated the ban on experimental breeding, maybe he'd tell his father or the Minister about it and get the Oaf finally fired. The Skrewt was small, only recently hatched, and while he noticed it did not have a noticeable head, it was easy to tell which end was which, that's the sparks that gave it it's name. it was also easier to tell the difference between males and females, as the males had two scorpion tales, one at each end, but according Hagrid, the females were covered in suckers, meant for drawing blood.
And the one he was trying to deal with was one of the latter.
He looked over at Potter and Granger as they were able to successfully deal with the Skrewts they were trying to wrangle.
What were they supposed to be doing with these things again? He couldn't remember. He considered asking Granger and Potter how it felt to be each other's personal whore, but decided against it, for the time being at least. While he was pretty sure most of the Gryffs were still blanking him, as they should, he knew that if he said anything to Hermione, there was a chance they'd turn their wands on him, and he was surrounded by these little abominations, that, if he was guessing right, were all the females, and he did NOT want his blood sucked out by them. And he certainly didn't want to earn a Detention from the Oaf. So he would bide his time.
He scowled as he saw Daphne Greengrass shooting Potter and Granger looks every now and then. He'd had is suspicions about her before, her family had remained Neutral during the last war, and part of him wondered if that would be the case this time around, but Greengrass was showing far too much interest in Potter…could she have…? No…the book was safe back in his trunk, he'd checked. He knew the counter curse was listed in other books, as it was just a general Sterilization curse, though even if they hadn't found it and figured to use it, Potter would have died anyway, so it would have been a win either way in his mind. The Potter line would have been wiped out either way.
He'd have to confront her at some point.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Care went well for Harry and Hermione, well, it went as well as it could when they were dealing with small, creepy looking creatures that looked like the unholy lovechild of a lobster and a scorpion. Though according to Hagrid, they were the unholy lovechildren of a Manticore and a Fire Crab, though he didn't call them that. Neither Harry nor Hermione wanted to know how he achieved that union.
Harry wasn't sure why he'd bred the things, but he was sure it was for the Tournament.
"Alright there 'Arry?" Hagrid asked as he came over.
"Yeah…uh…are you sure these things are safe? Or a good idea?"
"Sure they're safe! At least when they're little like this, just need ta 'andle 'em with care is all." Hagrid replied jovially.
"Right…sure." Hermione said, trying to wrangle a couple of the little things and stop them from getting too close.
"Anyway, wha' you two been up to? Haven't see ya' all weekend, no one would tell me anythin'."
Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, then nodded. "We'll tell you later Hagrid." Hermione said with a smile. The big half-giant smiled in return.
"Oh, befor' I forget. 'Arry, I'll be by Gryffindor Tower to pick ya up tonight at abou' 1 in th' morning. Got somethin' to show ya. It's pretty hush-hush though. I'm not suppose' to tell ya anythin', but…uh…Dumbledore asked me ta."
The two of them looked at each other, then nodded. "We'll be waiting."
Hagrid gave him a look. "Uh, only supposed to be showin' you 'arry." He seemed a little uncomfortable as he gave Hermione an apologetic look.
"It's ok Hagrid, I'd be telling Hermione anyway, so you might as well show us both. Besides, we're in Private Quarters now." Harry replied.
"Ya are? Why's that then?"
"Tell you later tonight." Harry said.
-=-=-=-=-
Care went ok for the most part, the only really amusing thing that happened was Draco panicking when one of the small female Skrewts started to crawl up his left trouser leg, he'd bent over to try and grab it and pull it out, only for two more of them to leap onto his face. Screaming and flailing, he'd fallen to the floor, while Crabbe and Goyle tried, in vain, to get the creatures off him. Hagrid had been forced to intervene, and then Draco had been carried off to the Hospital Wing, his face, neck and left leg covered in sucker marks and trails of blood.
The class let out at lunch time, and Harry and Hermione made their way into the castle, heading for the Entrance Hall. "We're not going to the Great Hall?" Harry asked as Hermione led him, she shook her head.
"I want to see what the Kitchens are like, have a talk with the Elves. Yes I'm still not happy with them working here, but…honestly, we have slightly more important things to worry about than SPEW." She replied, not looking back at him as they entered the entrance hall, ignoring the students who walked past them, they headed to the door Susan had mentioned, then descended to the basement hallway. After a few turns, they found themselves in the hallway with the food-themed paintings.
"That one." Hermione said, pointing at a rather odd painting of a fruit bowl. Harry looked at it and shrugged, before reaching out to tickle the pear. It giggled, wiggled, then turned into a doorknob. Taking hold, Harry pushed open the door and the two of them entered the large kitchen.
It was a room almost as big as the Great Hall, with rows of counter tops full of pots, pans, bowls and plates lining all the walls. A huge fire burned at the opposite end of the room to the main doors. The room also had many counter tops where various food items were being prepared, some already were.
It was also full of House Elves, who all turned to look in their direction when they entered, but most quickly went back to work, but one particularly heavy-set Elf stepped forward, wearing a dirty vest that bore a badge with a stylized 'H', denoting him as a Hogwarts Elf.
"Whats can Pitts be doing for yous? Shouldn't yous be up in the Great Hall?"
"Erm…" Harry began, scratching his head, not sure how to begin. This was going to be a very awkward conversation. He looked at Hermione for help, but she seemed to be just as flustered. 'This probably would have been easier with Dobby.' He thought…maybe.
"Well…you see…my friend and I have recently become afflicted a magical condition that…now requires us to meet certain dietary needs…" Hermione said blushing. The Elf raised an eyebrow, even though he seemed to be completely hairless.
"Yous be wanting certain foods then? What foods you bes needing?" he asked.
"No, it's not that." Hermione said, fiddling with her hands, wondering how much she could say without explaining everything. She didn't know this Elf like she did Dobby. "We were wondering if we could take something with us out of the Hall or the Kitchens, well, anything that wouldn't be considered a snack, like a small pastry or something." Hermione mentally cringed, remembering Susan's 'Creampie' comment.
Pitts nodded slowly, obviously a little confused. "Yes. Yous can bes doing that."
"Well, meeting our unique needs would require somewhere…a bit private, somewhere where we won't be disturbed." She added. Pitts looked thoughtful.
"Yous could bes using the Come and Go Room."
"Uh…the what Room?" Harry asked.
"The Come and Go Room." Another Elf replied, stepping forward. This Elf, a female, looked young, like Winky, dressed in a pink and worn pillowcase. "Also being called the Room of Requirement."
Harry and Hermione exchanged a look, then looked at her. "We've never heard of it. Where is it? What does it do?"
"We uses it to store things." Pitts said. "It responds to the wishes of the one who opens it. It can create anything the one openings it wishes. If yous be needing a place to sleep and yous can't bes getting into yous Dorms, it will becomes a bedroom."
"Amazing…Where is it?" Hermione asked, already thinking of the possibilities.
"Seventh Floor, opposite the Tapestry with the mad Wizard tryings to teach Trolls to dance."
"Wait a minute, the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy? How many times have we walked past that? There's nothing opposite that, just a blank wall." Harry said.
"Yous needs to be walkings back and forth three times in front of the tapestry, and be thinking about whats yous really be wanting or needing. Tipsy will show yous." The female Elf said. Hermione smiled at her.
"Thank you. Erm, we'll take some sandwiches, and a pot of tea please, oh and some fudge cake please."
The Elves nodded. "Pitts will sees to your order, Tipsy will bes showing yous where to find and how to open the Room." Pitts said, nodding to Tipsy before turning away.
They followed the little Elf out of the kitchens and back up to the entrance hall, and in ten minutes or so made their way up to the Gryffindor corridor, stopping in front of the tapestry.
"So we just walk back and forth in front of this three times?" Harry asked. Tipsy nodded.
"While yous be thinking of what yous really need."
The two exchanged a look, then Hermione started pacing back and forth, a look of concentration on her face. On the third pass, a large wooden door appeared in the wall. Hermione stepped forward and opened the door, revealing a small grass covered area, sunny blue sky, and a moderate temperature, it felt almost like spring as they entered. Looking around, they saw it was a park. A picnic blanket was already laid out on the ground.
"This is nice…" Harry said, surprised at the temperature. Hermione smiled as she looked around, then bent to feel the grass.
"It feels real, I'd love to see the magic that went into creating this room. This is some seriously complex conjuration and transfiguration." Hermione muttered to herself as Harry sat on the blanket as Pitts appeared, levitating three trays with their orders and a pot of tea on the third, along with some milk and sugar.
"Thank you." Hermione said, offering to take the trays, but Pitts just set them down, gave her a curt nod, then vanished. Tipsy looked at them.
"Is there anythings else yous bes needing?" she asked.
"No thanks, we're good I think." Harry said, she nodded and vanished.
"How'd you come up with this?" Harry asked as he tucked into his lunch and she did the same.
"It's a small public park near where I live."
"It's nice. We're really gonna have to see what this room can do." Harry said, "It's not on the map, guess that means the Marauders never found it."
"Or they did, but didn't know what it was, so never recorded it." Hermione shrugged.
Harry nodded as they ate.
"I wonder what else this room can do?"
"Well, I'm assuming that this room uses advanced conjuration and intent reading wards, or charms. Well, I'm guessing that there are limits to what it can create, for instance, nothing that is naturally alive can be created here, so this grass might feel real, but it isn't. It probably also might not be able to create food, though water, probably. If it doesn't violate the laws of either physics or magic to do it, I'm sure the room will be able to make it." Hermione concluded.
"It'll have to be tested more later. After lunch though, I've got Arithmacy and you've got Divination."
"Joy." Harry muttered as he finished his sandwich, pouring some tea for himself. "More predictions of my impending demise. Fun." He finished sarcastically.
Hermione smiled. "You really should have switched you know. Maybe you can take Ancient Runes next year with me."
Harry thought for a moment…yeah, that would be nice.
Once they were done with their main meals, Harry looked down at the two deserts they'd brought, and he swallowed, remembering the conversation they'd had with Susan, and then Pitts, as he assumed, that was why they'd come here, and not just to have a quiet meal alone.
'We're not even dating yet, if there will even be a yet, and we're already doing things that I'd never thought I'd do.' He thought.
"Well…I might, depending on how the rest of this year goes." Harry said, before he eyed her up and down. "So…why exactly are we in here? Not that I'm complaining having a nice quiet lunch with you, but I thought we could get the opportunity to tell the others, at least those we were going to tell, about our…situation."
Hermione hummed. "Weeell…I had originally intended to test out what Susan suggested we try…" she said, her face reddening. Harry's did too.
"Uh, ok…and now? I'm honestly not sure how I feel yet about doing that in front of you. Sure, we've had to do other stuff, but that sorta thing is…ya know…private. And besides…well…you know I feel about—" a raised hand cut him off, and Hermione glared at him.
"That's the Dursleys talking Harry! And they were talking about you specifically, not teenagers in general. They just didn't want you to have any self-worth or sexual desire or knowledge. So we need to fix that, and the sooner the better. This issue wasn't on my mind when we came in here, but, now you've brought it up, we can work on that."
"And how do you intend to do that?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
"How ever it takes. For as long as it takes. If telling you that it's perfectly normal and healthy for you to have sexual desires, thoughts and urges about girls doesn't work, then I'll have to resort to showing you."
"There's uh…no need for that." Harry said, awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. Hermione pursed her lips and thought for a moment.
"I know that you've probably noticed the pretty girls in the school, particularly around our year and maybe a couple a year or two above us."
Harry nodded and looked away, feeling uncomfortable. He had noticed the girls around the school. Hell, he'd even ogled Susan, right there in front of Hermione and two of her friends. He wasn't blind for Merlin's sake! He'd even started to notice Cho Chang, the rather attractive Ravenclaw he'd seen every now and then.
He suddenly winced as an unfamiliar and unpleasant feeling spread through his gut as he thought of the other girls, that feeling increased as he looked up at Hermione and saw the flash of unhappiness in her brown eyes.
"You're beautiful too Hermione." He said quietly, hoping to take that slightly hurt expression off her face, he wanted to reach out and comfort her and screw Trelawney and her weekly predictions of his death. Hermione looked at him, smiling faintly.
"Thank you, Harry." She said quietly. She then closed her eyes to think, then opened them and looked at him. "Well, the other reason I brought up the subject of the other girls is, you may not always be able to feed from me. I start my cycle next week, around Sunday maybe, though it varies from month to month. And as much as I do enjoy you licking me, and I like to think you're starting to like it too, I doubt you want to be doing that while I'm bleeding."
Harry shook his head, remembering that detail from The Hour of Mental Torture, thank you Pomfrey. He certainly did NOT want to accidently swallow any of that. If he were a Vampire, maybe, but he wasn't.
"Well, in that case, you need to feed from someone during that week, and I know Susan, Luna and Daphne have already offered, but I'm sure there are plenty of girls who have a crush on The-Boy-Who-Lived, and would happily drop their knickers for you if they knew the reason why."
"I doubt all of them would, and besides, you know I hate that name, and what it means."
Hermione nodded "Fair point, I can't imagine all of the Slytherins being willing to do what I and apparently my friends are willing to do."
Harry shrugged "Well, recently, I think most wouldn't be willing to help me."
"We'll prove you didn't do it Harry, somehow. They'll have to believe you eventually."
"I don't know Hermione, I just feel like I'm using you, in some way. Like we're only doing this because we have to." Harry said, his face conflicted.
Hermione sign as she moved closer and drew him into a hug.
"It's ok Harry. At first, yes, we were only doing this because we had to, but now that I've done it a few times…well, to be honest, I'm starting to like it, really like it actually." She pulled back from the hug, blushing as she continued "In fact, I'm ok with this. I'm perfectly at ease with what we've been doing, because you're my best friend, I'll do anything for you and I trust you. And I've come to the conclusion that I really like having you in my mouth. If Draco wants me to be a cocksucker, then that's ok with me, I'll be the best Merlin-damned cocksucker in the entire school, but I'll never be sucking his, not willingly at any rate."
Harry swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "You're…ok with this?" He asked. She nodded.
"I realized earlier today that, even if this curse wasn't a factor, I'd still be willing to do it for you, if you'd ever plucked up the courage to ask me."
Harry snorted, "I wouldn't have counted on it. You know what my upbringing was like, what they told me. Sure, I've…taken care of things myself, but it's never felt right, you know?"
She nodded sadly. "I know, what they've done to you has been horrible, and I want to help you get through that, and I'll be damned if you're ever going back there, even for a day. I don't care what wards are around that place, they clearly don't protect you from the Dursleys, I'm going to send a message to my parents and ask them if it'll be ok for you to join us at the end of term."
"Wait, what? Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, have you told them about…" he vaguely gestured to the both of them. She shook her head, an embarrassed expression on her face.
"No, I haven't told them anything yet, I honestly don't know how. Could you imagine them reading that letter? "Dear Mum and Dad, sorry I haven't sent you a letter lately, but I've had a lot to deal with. My best friend is being forced to compete in a tournament that has killed past participants. I was recently cursed by a blond-haired little prick and I'm now forced to suck a dick and swallow the boys cum several times a day just to survive. My best friend who decided to use himself as a human shield was also hit, and now must lick pussy just as many times a day. What's new with you guys?" oh yes, I can just imagine their reaction." She deadpanned.
"Well, if I'm gonna be staying with you, you'd have to tell them, there's no way they'd let us sleep together, we'd never be able to go anywhere private for long, at least long enough for us to do what we need to do, and we certainly won't be able to try and do what Susan suggested, which we still haven't done." He said. "Besides, do we really need to do that now? I mean, we did it earlier before Care."
"True, but you didn't get much, and well…" her cheeks flushed as she uncrossed her legs and sat back, spreading them a little, letting him see the white material of her knickers between her smooth thighs. "I still want to prove to you that it's completely normal for teenagers our age to masturbate, and healthy, physically, emotionally and mentally to boot. Besides, we do need to try what Susan suggested at some point, why not now?"
"Uh…we might not have the time? It's nearly end of lunch, and I've got my Weekly Prediction Of Doom to get to, and you've got Arithmancy." He said, doing his best to try and ignore the erection that was starting to form.
She sighed, "Ok, point, BUT, we are going to try this at some point. I also want you to get to know Susan, Daphne and Luna better as well. I know I've only just met Luna, but I'm going to try and get to know her too, but it's important you get to know them also. As I said, I'm on my cycle next week, so you may not be able to feed from me as often as you otherwise could, and Daphne, Susan and Luna have volunteered to help you, so, if they come to you and make an offer, you WILL accept it! I will be checking with them, as well as any other girls who offer to help you, and if I find that you've been neglecting yourself, putting your own health, even your life at risk, I will be very upset with you! Is that clear Harry?"
He nodded, reaching for the chocolate cake she'd ordered for them. While they hadn't gotten around to doing what Hermione had originally intended, this private little lunch had been nice.
Hermione nodded in approval, reaching for her own desert, a piece of apple pie and sitting up. "I meant what I said Harry; you're my best friend, I'll do anything for you, and I trust you with my life." 'And while I love you as a friend, I'm starting to hope we can one day be more, if you'll say yes.' She added silently.
Harry smiled at her, feeling a surge of warmth within him. "And you know I'd do anything for you Hermione, you're my best friend, one of my first friends ever, and you know I'll trust you with anything. I mean hell, you're one of the few people who stood beside me through everything here." 'And I do love you Hermione, at least, I think I do, I just don't know what love is, I've got no frame of reference…' he thought.
Hermione smiled and leaned forward, drawing him into a tight hug. "I meant what I said Harry. I'll do anything for you. If you need to feed, and we're alone, just tell me, and I'll happily let you. Ok?"
"Uh, sure thing. Did you…really mean what you said? About ya know…"
"How much I like having your willy in my mouth? Yes. I did. And yes, I really do." She whispered huskily into his ear.
Harry sucked in a breath as a chill shot down his spine and he felt himself harden fully. "Gee, thanks Hermione. How am I going to concentrate on Trelawney telling me I'm going to die horribly with this?" he asked, pulling back, looking down, then back up at her. A knowing smirk and a glint in her eye told him that was the reaction she'd been hoping for. 'When did she get so…Amorous?'
He moved to pull away, but one of his hands came down and brushed against a robe covered breast, and before he realized what was going on, his fingers had closed around it, and given it a gentle squeeze, making her moan and close her eyes.
He jumped back as if he'd been scolded, his eyes wide, face flushing with embarrassment and horror. "Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean—" he was cut off by a light giggle from his friend, who smiled at him, her face showing no trace of alarm or anger, only amusement, with undercurrents of lust burning in her eyes.
"Harry James Potter, after everything we've done over the past 18 or so hours, you freak out at accidently squeezing my right boob? Those god damned Dursleys…" her smile faded, her face and tone becoming serious. "Ok, I'll make this simple for you: You have my full permission to touch, stroke, caress, rub, squeeze, lick, kiss, suck and even finger any part of my body you want, whenever you want or need to. Within reason. Is that good enough for you?" she asked, tilting her head as she finished off her apple pie.
Before Harry could say anything, the bell rang, signaling the end of Lunch hour, and the start of afternoon classes. The two quickly finished up and stood, hugged then left the Room of Requirement, watching as the large wooden door faded into nothing as soon as it closed behind them.
"We're definitely using this room again." Hermione said, Harry nodded as they both made their way to their classes. They split up, after another hug, agreeing to meet up at Dinner in the Great Hall, though the proposal of telling the Twins and the Gossip Queens was tabled, as Hermione said she wanted to think on it. Still, if anyone asked, they'd explain at their discretion.
-=-=-=-
Divination went about as well as Harry expected it to. With Trelawney predicting his death yet again, this time it involved fire and a lot of teeth, or drowning under a lot of water, or getting lost in some hedges and getting pounces on by something big and nasty. He'd just tuned her out. While she had made an accurate prediction with Wormtail the year before, she didn't seem to be able to remember making it. He was honestly thinking of dropping the subject, as it just seemed to be a waste of time.
He figured Lavender would probably be pissed, maybe, since she seemed to take the whole Divination thing rather seriously, though Harry just figured she was buying into the whole con.
After nearly falling asleep, and being assigned homework he really didn't want to do, he left the class and headed towards the Great Hall along with the rest of his classmates. Ron was still ignoring him, in fact, most of them were, but Ron seemed especially determined, even going as far as to glare at Harry every time their eyes did meet. And if Harry was honest, it was starting to annoy him.
-=-=-=-
Albus Dumbledore sat at the Staff Table in the Great Hall, surreptitiously watching Harry and Hermione as he ate. Something was wrong. He hadn't seen them at lunch, and a quick enquiry with the portraits and various armor suits in the castle had confirmed that they'd gone down the Kitchen below, and had spoken to Pitts, the Elf in charge. What he had told them, the Elf did not divulge, but the Elves had told him that the request he'd made of them had been fulfilled: Harry and Hermione's food had been laced with mild lust potions, starting that morning at breakfast, and again with their lunch. A slightly stronger dose was to be added to their evening meal. He'd also placed a silent compulsion charm on Viktor Krum, compelling the young man to seek out Hermione and attempt to befriend her, but the lad had not been able to get the opportunity to do so at lunch, and was now sat with his peers, so would not be able to now either.
Where had they gone? His mind cast back to the meeting he'd had with Minerva the day before, after the details of the curse had been revealed, and Minerva had left his office, he'd raged, cursing the Malfoy brat for his stupidity! The meddling little shit was putting the Greater Good at risk! While Dumbledore did not know if the curse would affect the Bonding, he had to assume it would, and being forced into such close quarters, having to do such things so regularly…the odds of the two Bonding, even without knowing it, increased greatly. The fact that starting the process required a conscious effort on the part of the Witch involved was potentially irrelevant, and if it was…
Still, he reasoned, it wasn't a total loss, the Bond, if it had started to form, could be broken or shifted to another Wizard, such as Krum, or Weasley, which was partially what he'd hoped to start happening at lunch. Still, he reasoned, the future of the Magical World was safe, Hermione could not become the next Lady Potter, that spot was reserved for young Ginevra, as per the contract he and Molly had penned shortly after her birth. With Harry marrying Ginny, and the Potters being once again counted among the Sacred 28, the Magical World would once again stabilize. The Greater Good demanded it. It was just a shame young Harry would never live to see it, but his child, borne from Ginevra's womb, would.
The First Task was just days away, the dragons were arriving that night, Harry and the two foreign Champions would learn of them, and get their eggs, which would set up the next Task. He could possibly try compelling Hermione into showing favoritism to Krum, rather than Harry during the First Task, and if that failed, there was the Yule Ball, following which, he could suggest to Igor that Hermione be Krum's Hostage, that would be sure to get the papers talking, and to start building relations between the two. This of course would no doubt infuriate young Ronald Weasley, who clearly had his eye on the girl, if the furiously jealous looks he was giving the two now were any indication. Clearly, he had not taken the news of their new living arrangements well.
'Hmm…this is a problem. Young Mister Weasley's jealously is driving a wedge between him and the other two, and driving Harry closer to Hermione, though their new living arrangements and the curse are not helping there either. I will have to speak with him soon.' Dumbledore thought.
-=-=-=-=-
Hogwarts Head Boy's Quarters, Gryffindor Tower.
Harry looked at the clock above the fireplace as he sat on one of the sofas in their Private Common Room, it was getting close to 9pm, and Harry was starting to get 'hungry' again, he could tell Hermione was too, though neither of them could do anything, as Sirius was due to call any minute.
Suddenly, the fire flared into a roaring flame and turned green, then Sirius's head appeared.
"Sirius!" Harry said, getting up off the couch and getting down to sit on the rug in front of the fire, joined by Hermine a moment later.
"Hey pup, Hermione, how are you guys doing?" Sirius asked.
"We're doing ok, thank you." Hermione replied, smiling.
"We can't talk long though Sirius, Hagrid is coming by at about 1am to pick me up, says he wants to show me something."
"Us Harry, he's coming to pick us up. Whatever he's showing you, he can show me." Hermione said, determined. Sirius smiled, this was really bringing back memories for him.
"Well, I won't be here that long. So, what exactly has been going on with you two and Malfoy? You said he'd cursed you, and that you were managing it with 'treatments', what treatments? You also said you'd explain more later. Now it's later. So spill!" Sirius said.
So they told him everything. Including their new living arrangements and what they had to do for each other, and Hermione's theory as to why.
Harry snorted "If Draco wanted to kill off the Potter bloodline, there are easier ways for him to do it."
Sirius scowled, letting out a small growl. "That little shite will pay Harry, I promise, he's going to get a nasty shock when he comes of age, hopefully sooner."
"How? There can't be much you can do." Hermione said, Sirius nodded.
"True, I can't legally expel him from the Black Family and disinherit him, only my successor can do that, or unless I'm cleared, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. But there are things I can do, such as visit Gringotts and update my Will, and make it official, along with what I'm about to do in relation to you pup."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked. Sirius grinned.
"I'm naming you my heir. That means if anything happens to me, everything in my name, as the current Lord Black, will pass to you."
Harry was speechless, as was Hermione.
"I…Sirius…I don't know what to say."
Sirius grinned "Well, 'Thank you' would be a good place to start, followed by 'Don't be in a hurry to die.'"
"Thank you, Sirius." Harry said, smiling, his eyes pricking with tears as he felt Hermione wrap her arms round him in a hug. Sirius watched them, smiling at them with pride. They were so much like Lily and James it was almost frightening, it filled him with warmth and sadness. He really missed his friends.
"Ok, I'm gonna leave you guys to your evening, if you find out what the Task is let me know before hand ok?" They nodded. And with a last smile, he was gone, the fire calming and returning to normal.
-=-=-=-=-
Hagrid came to collect them outside of the Fat Lady's portrait at exactly 1 am, just as he said he would.
Though Hermione was hidden with Harry under his cloak, Hagrid was initially hesitant to bring her along, but Harry said he would have just told her anyway, so the half-giant relented.
It took a while, but they eventually made their way out of the castle and into the Forest, huddling closer to Harry as they entered the trees, and noises that did not belong to the forest became audible.
As they came to the edge of a clearing, Harry paused as he felt Hermione stiffen next to him, even pressing closer to him. Harry saw off to the side Igor Karkaroff with Krum, and on the other side, Maxime with Fleur, but there was no sign of Cedric. Harry scowled.
"I don't see Cedric." He whispered, "Look, there's Karkaroff and Krum, and over there, there's Maxime and Fleur. But no Cedric…"
Hermione didn't respond, her gaze was focused forward on the clearing, and the four large cages, with numerous people buzzing around them. It was what was inside the cages that had caught her attention.
Dragons.
Four of them. All looking incredibly agitated, and angry, all snapping at the humans running around, occasionally breathing jets of flame and roaring.
"'Ello Charlie!" Hagrid called, drawing the attention of one of the wizards who came over. He looked like a younger Arthur, or and older Percy. His red hair giving him away as a Weasley even from a distance.
"Evening Hagrid, nice bunch aren't they? Swedish Short-snout, Welsh Green, Chinese Fireball and Hungarian Horntail. Each with a freshly laid clutch. Though it's odd that they requested four, not three. It was a close thing, getting the Horntail, we almost had to get one of the Nadders or Nightmares."
"Oh? Didn't think there were any of those Northern species left." Hagrid said, raising a bushy eyebrow.
"Very few. That's why we're glad we were able to get the Horntail, the other dragon species are so critically endangered, that the wardens on the preserves that have them would probably have refused to lend them if we'd asked." Charlie said.
Harry and Hermione exchanged looks, they'd never heard of Nadders or Nightmares, they had no idea what kind of dragons they could be.
"So, how come there's a fourth Dragon in the rositor?" Charlie asked.
"A fourth name came outta the Goblet." Hagrid said.
"What?! Who? HOW?" Charlie asked in shock.
Hagrid looked at the two concealed Gryffindors, a slightly apologetic look on his face.
"Well, that's the thing ya see. It was Harry's name that came outta the Goblet."
"What? How the bloody hell did he manage that?" Charlie asked. Harry growled, scowling, clenching his fists. Hermione took one of his hands in hers, silently offering her support. Hagrid cleared his throat.
"Well…'e claims he didn' put 'is name in, that someone else musta done it." Hagrid said. Charlie thought for a moment, then sighed.
"Well, I'm guessing Ron isn't too happy about this. I sent him a letter couple of days ago letting him know I was coming in, and that I was bringing some Dragons with me for the First Task. I'm guessing he hasn't told Harry about them."
"No. He did not." Harry growled quietly. His words drowned out by the dragons, but Hermione heard him. She let go of his hand and instead wrapped an arm around him in a hug, which he returned.
"Don't think he has yet." Hagrid said, shaking his head. Charlie sighed.
"Guess I'll have a word with him."
"Well, I need ta be gettin' back. It was nice seein' ya again Charlie. Good night."
"Same to you Hagrid." Charlie said.
-=-=-=-=-
"Dragons…Dragons. We're supposed to be facing Dragons! How the hell are we supposed to do that?!" Harry said as soon as they were in their Common Room, and Hagrid had left. The intention to tell him about the curse forgotten.
"Nesting females at that! Are they completely insane?" Harry ranted, huffing as he started to pace. Hermione looked at the clock, it was nearly 2 in the morning.
"We'll figure this out Harry, you and me, together. And we'll warn Cedric tomorrow, that'll give you and him two days to prepare." Hermione said, before she drew him into a comforting hug.
"For now though, we need to get to bed, I'll even join you tonight, I doubt you want to be alone right now." Hermione said, drawing back to look at him. He did look tired, though that was probably due more to the actual time than anything else.
Harry paused then nodded tiredly, suppressing a yawn, then pulling back. "I think I'd like that." And with that, the two of them headed for his room.