Chapter 6: Explanations, Reactions, Revelations.
A few moments later, Harry was sat in Pomfrey's office trying not to feel too awkward with Hermione's friends in the room, two of them wearing knowing smirks, the third, a Third Year Ravenclaw had a serene smile on her face, she looked almost as if she were daydreaming.
Pomfrey pulled them both to one side and ran her wand over both of them, muttering diagnostic spells. "Hm, all of your vitals seem to have normalized Mister Potter, just as Miss Granger's did earlier…that is, rather interesting. For now, you seem to be just fine."
"Sooo…" Harry said, eyeing the red book on the desk. Then looking up awkwardly at the three other girls.
"Sooooo…Harry! How was your first time Muff Diving?" Daphne said, giving him a cheeky grin. Hermione gasped as she stared at her friend in open-mouthed shock. "Daphne Greengrass! Don't make me wash your mouth out with soap!" Hermione said, giving her friend a fierce glare, even though she was blushing just as badly as Harry was.
"Er…It was…er…" Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that, especially when Hermione turned her fierce glare on him.
"'Invigorating', I'd say." Susan quipped, sitting back with a knowing smile on her face, Harry's blush deepened.
"Can we talk about something else please?!" Hermione said, fixing the two of them with a look.
"Ok Hermione." Luna said, as she moved to open the book at a certain page. "I believe you wanted to discuss this?" Hermione nodded, seeing what the chapter was.
'Bonding. What it is, how it works, what to expect.'
"Er…what were you girls talking about while Hermione was…" Harry asked, leaning forward.
"Sitting on your face?" Susan asked, toying with a few strands of her hair as she grinned at him.
"Susan…" Hermione growled through her teeth. Susan gave her an innocent look. "What? You said that's what you would have to do."
"Let's just see what this book says about Bonding, shall we? Since Harry and I don't know about it." Hermione huffed as she pulled the book to her so she and Harry could read it.
"Ok, it says here…"Bonding, typically the only form of Sex Magic considered legal in most Magical communities around the world, is usually performed between a Witch and a Wizard who are at least 15 years of age or older, and requires a pre-requisite that said Witch and Wizard have to have some level of affection between them. Note, artificial affection, such as those that result from potions, can also trigger it." WHAT? That means that anyone could trigger this Bonding with anyone else just by using a Love or Lust Potion!" Hermione spat, outraged.
"That's true, though in those cases, if the Potioneer doesn't keep up with the doses, there's a strong chance the Bond will fail." Daphne said. Hermione then continued.
"The Bonding has several benefits, among them being synchronizing the couple's Magics and strengthening emotional connections. There are also some theories that it may also impart a soul-bond that links the souls of the two together, and also may impart an empathic bond, allowing the two to sense each other's emotions, though this is rarely documented." Huh…interesting."
"There is more." Luna said, "Keep reading."
"…"The Bonding process is initiated first by the Witch, who must perform Oral Sex on her chosen Wizard and swallow the resultant discharge at least three times a week for a full year, during this time her magic synchronizes with the Wizard's, and her side of the Bonding fully forms and stabilizes. Nine months after the process is started, the Witch will begin to lactate—WHAT?!"
Her outburst startled Harry, who had been trying to follow along as best he could but had got a little distracted at about the part concerning the number of times the witch would have to give head.
Hermione's face turned several interesting colors as she started to read, a little louder than before, incredulity clear in her voice. "…the Witch will begin to start lactating, and the Wizard will be required to drink the produced milk to solidify his part of the Bond and finalize it, in preparation for the final act of properly forming and permanently establishing the Bond. The final act being the first act of Sexual Intercourse the couple participate in. The Witch will be able to tell when the Bond is strong enough that it can be made permanent in this way. Note: Other forms of sexual intercourse do not affect the final stabilizing of the Bond, and Oral Sex merely strengthens it.
A fully Established Bond does not guarantee the two will stay together for life however, nor does it ensure that if they were to marry, that the marriage would last, it just makes that outcome more likely.
It should also be noted that although the Bonding requires at least 3 instances of oral sex performed on the wizard per week to start the process and maintain it, the more often it is performed, the faster the Bonding will happen.
WARNING: Performing the Gift of Aphrodite spell on an unbonded couple will dramatically accelerate the speed at which the Bonding occurs, once it begins, the Bonding can fully establish and stabilize to the point of being ready for finalization (consummation) within a range of time between three months down to THREE WEEKS?!"
Hermione looked up, eyes wide as she stared at her friends and at Harry, blushing slightly then looking at Pomfrey, who was looking at her sympathetically.
"Uh, care to run that by me again Hermione?" Harry asked. Hermione sighed at turned to him.
"It means Harry, that once we start Bonding, if we do, then what would normally take about a year, could take anywhere between 1 to 3 months. So if we started the process now, I could end up producing breastmilk as early as the 8th of DECEMBER! Instead of August next year, as I would otherwise, without this damn curse playing a part!" she snarled.
"Uh…how often would you produce?" he asked, feeling very uncomfortable. Hermione paused, wracking her brain. "Well, if I were nursing a baby, I'd be constantly producing, which would naturally allow me to feed the baby several times a day, and night, but since this is a magically induced state of lactation, with the curse affecting me on top of that, it's impossible to say. Though, to be on the safe side, let's just say I might have to have them drained daily." She turned and gave Harry a meaningful look, his eyes widened, face flushing. "A—Are…Are you…Sure about that?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.
"We're already going to have to depend on each other, as well as anyone else we're willing to ask to help us, to merely survive Harry, this will just be a little extra. Besides, there may be a possibility, slim mind you, that the Nutrient blocking aspects of the curse might not affect breastmilk, though I'm just guessing here, but if my theory is right, you'd at least be able to get something out of my milk, maybe not everything you'd need for a balanced diet, but still…" Hermione said, still trying to wrap her mind around the notion that, if they started the Bonding soon, she'd probably start producing breastmilk within weeks, and she started to picture herself with swollen, sore breasts, in near constant pain, needing someone she trusted, most likely Harry, to relieve her.
Harry blushed some more, trying desperately not to think about what she'd just said and implied. He couldn't remember being breastfed by his mother, and he honestly wasn't sure how to feel about the idea of regularly feeding from Hermione. An involuntary shudder went through him, and he started to think. 'Could he really do that? Could he really suck on her breasts and actually…drink her milk? And the other thing…could I really do that again?' he tried not to think about what he and Hermione had just done on the bed, but he couldn't help it, and he felt himself start to stiffen again. 'Oh bloody 'ell!' he thought, trying to ignore the memory of what Hermione felt like laying on top of him, skin to skin, what she smelled like, and what she tasted like, and he felt his hardon get so hard it almost hurt.
"Are you ok Harry?" Susan asked. Harry looked at her and tried to answer, but it came out as little more than a faint squeak. He started to take notice of just how good-looking Susan was, she had a nice round face, shining brown eyes that were a shade darker than Hermione's, filled with curiosity and worry. Her dark red hair in a plait draped over her right shoulder. But her face wasn't all he noticed; his eyes traveled traitorously down her front, no matter how hard he tried to stop them, to her chest, which, even under her robes and uniform, was clearly quite ample, clearly larger than Hermione's, even for a Fourth Year. Susan smiled a little flirtatiously as she realized where his eyes were and she sat back, pulling back her shoulders and thrusting out her bosom. "See something you like Harry?"
"What?" Hermione blinked, looking up from the book at her friend.
'No! Nope! NIEN!' Harry mentally yelled at himself, feeling his face flush with embarrassment and horror as an image entered his mind of him cupping those covered mounds, gently caressing them and suckling on them, wondering what her milk would taste like, what her breasts would feel like wrapped around his…'STOP! IT!' he mentally screamed at himself, visibly cringing as he tore his gaze away from Susan, only to land on Luna, who sat between the redhead and the second blonde, Daphne.
Luna was also looking at him, with a curious intensity, the daydream expression on her face gone, her grey eyes focused. Her dirty blonde hair ran down her back as she looked at him, and again, his eyes started roaming of there own accord. He tried to shut his eyes, but he found he couldn't, to make matters worse, Luna sat back then pushed out her chest towards him, her words only half registering in his suddenly arousal swamped brain.
"How do my breasts compare to Susan's? Or Hermione's since you've already seen hers?"
"WHAT?!" Hermione yelped, staring at them, her gaze going back and forth between Luna, Susan and himself.
"He was staring at Susan's breasts, and I was wondering what he thought of mine. I know I'm not as well-endowed as her, or you for that matter, not many in my or your years are." Luna said off-handedly. Harry wanted to hide. He wanted to go back to Privet Drive, crawl back into that cupboard, lock the door, and stay there.
He tore his gaze away from Luna and it landed briefly on a smirking Daphne, who had also sat back and was puffing out her chest, he quickly looked away, but his gaze then landed on Hermione, and he froze. Even with the look of incredulity she was giving him, that was slowly turning to one of disbelief, and with what he thought were faint flickers of betrayal in her eyes, he tried to reign in his raging libido, but he couldn't. Looking at Hermione, his eyes started to roam up and down her body, taking in all the details, and he again remembered what they'd done, and his gaze involuntarily dropped to her chest, then further down. As he tore his gaze back up to Hermione's face, he saw that her expression was unreadable, and for a moment, he was truly afraid he'd hurt her feelings.
"I…I need some air!" he stood, hoping none of them would notice the tent in his trousers. Backing away from the table, he turned towards the office door.
Hermione blinked, feeling confused and worried for her friend as she saw the look of utter panic, guilt and fear cross his face as he'd looked at her, and the faint surge of jealously she'd felt at the thought of him ogling her friends was forgotten when he stood, his clearly showing distress, and she saw the very visible distortion in his trousers, which he quickly tried to hide as he turned towards the door. At the sight of it, and the memory of how it smelled, felt and tasted in her mouth still fresh in her mind, and the very stark realization that she would have to have it in her mouth again soon, if not one of the other boys from Gryffindor, sent a surge of arousal through her body, and she felt herself getting wet again.
'Oh for goodness sake!' she mentally chastised herself, trying desperately to clamp down on her suddenly resurfaced lust. 'Are you kidding me?! It's not even been half an hour! What the hell are you Granger, a Merlin damned Nymphomaniac?!' she mentally raged. 'Well, that IS what Draco was trying to make me.' Another part of her mind said, as she stood to follow her friend. "Wait here guys." She said as she walked towards the office door, only passively noting Pomfrey's conflicted look. 'What was it he said? "You better get used to giving head, Granger." Well, looks like I don't have a choice, and neither does Harry.'
"Harry?" she asked, closing the office door behind her. He was pacing, agitated, looking confused and distraught, and guilty. She felt her heart tighten at the look on his face as he turned to her.
"Hermione…I…" he said, gesticulating with his hands, shaking his head, looking like he didn't know what to do with himself. "I'm sorry!" she blinked, head tilting in confusion.
"What? What for? You haven't done anything."
"For earlier! For…for ogling your friends! For hurting your feelings! They deserve more respect than that! YOU deserve more!" he began to pace again, muttering to himself. "Not right…Not right…First the bloody Tournament, now this…"
Hermione blind again, still confused as she tilted her head, then her eyes widened as it struck her. 'Oh. I see. Well, looks like I was right…unfortunately.' "Harry, it's ok, it's ok. It's perfectly natural to admire a beautiful girl. Actually, we appreciate it. It's when you start leering and openly gawking, mentally undressing us that we don't like it."
Harry shook his head, his back to her. "Not it's NOT!" he snapped, turning to face her, his eyes wide and almost wild. She could see the mental and emotional war he was having with himself, saw the guilt, the self-loathing, the frustration, the anger. But she could also see desire, lust, and that is what he seemed to be struggling with most. She could also see the affection in his gaze when he looked at her, and the confusion.
Had he been ogling Susan's breasts? Maybe just a little, but she figured he honestly couldn't help it, she was a beautiful girl, and her natural…assets, were rather impressive, and when the girl had noticed him looking, she hadn't exactly tried to hide them, Luna certainly hadn't. if anything, the flattered look she'd briefly seen on Susan's face seemed to tell Hermione that her friend had been pleased that Harry was looking. And while yes, she had felt some jealously over that brief ogling, as for a moment, she'd wished he'd look at her that way, she knew that helping her friend work though his troubles was more important right now.
"What do you mean?" she asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach starting to build.
"What we did earlier…what I just did in there…it's…not Normal! It's not what Normal people do!" he said, going back to pacing. Hermione stiffened; she didn't like the emphasis he'd put on the word 'Normal'. Her eyes narrowed as she started to put things together.
"So only married people can do what we did earlier? And what happened in there?" she asked carefully, gauging his response. He nodded, still pacing.
Her eyes narrowed to slits. She'd been right. And it was at times like this, that she hated being right. 'God damn you Petunia, Vernon…What the fuck did you DO to him?'
"Yes!" he exclaimed.
"What about people who are dating?" she asked, not mentioning that they weren't. He shook his head. "Anything outside of marriage is wrong! We shouldn't have even done…what we did earlier! As for girls who do that sort of thing…well, Aunt Petunia usually uses words that…aren't very nice…in that regard."
"What about if we were dating Harry? How would you feel then, if it was us doing those things? Not counting the fact that if we hadn't done what we did earlier, we'd still be on those beds almost comatose." Hermione said, part of her not believing what she'd just said. She also didn't add that, regardless if they were dating or not, they'd now have to do those things to survive, as she'd said before, even if not with each other. Harry paused in his pacing, looking at her, his eyes conflicted, like he didn't know what to say.
"I…I…I don't…" he shook his head helplessly. "I don't know!" he cried, throwing his hands up and turning away.
"Well I do." She said determinedly. "If we were dating, I would very much like to do more of what we did earlier, ignore for the moment the fact that we now have to, if you were my boyfriend, you would have my permission to look at me as much as you'd want, to kiss, hold, caress and cuddle me as much as you want. Forget the Dursleys. Forget everything they ever taught you! Because their views are incredibly skewed and outdated, and I'd bet a lot of money that one of them is having an affair with someone else on the side, if not both of them!"
Harry shook his head, going back to pacing, continuing to rant. "I heard you Hermione! Friday morning! I woke up really early during the night, and I heard you…ya know…and…I'm sorry!" he cried out, turning to face her and she felt her heart tighten again at the look of complete shame on his face, the tears in his eyes. "I know I shouldn't have listened! But I couldn't help it!"
"You…heard me?" Hermione asked, blushing, despite the fact that a small part of her found the idea of him listening to her masturbate hot as hell. "How much did you hear?" she asked curiously. Harry looked at her with wide eyes, searchingly, looking for any trace of the anger he'd seen earlier, but found nothing. "Uh…you were complaining about it…not working, and that was the third time…" he said awkwardly, looking away.
Hermione's face felt hot, and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she cast her mind back to that night, and the failed attempts at getting her raging body to calm down. The several following attempts in the shower hadn't worked either. Then a thought occurred to her and she looked at him.
"What about you Harry? Did you try to…ya know?" his face flushed and he shook his head. "I did in the shower Thursday night, but later in bed, when it got hard again…no, I didn't, and the rest of the time I was too tired and hungry." He paused, looking up at her and sighing again. "Besides, it isn't Normal for me to—" Hermione cut him off with a raised hand.
"You said 'Me' that time, instead of 'boys our age'. Would I be right in assuming that everything the Dursleys told you was wrong about sex was specifically in reference to you?" she asked, an unpleasant feeling in her gut. He closed his eyes and nodded. "I know it's not normal touch it and stuff, or for it to get hard, but I can't—" Hermione cut him off again, stepping closer.
"What if I told you it is perfectly Normal for boys and girls our age to masturbate? What if I told you it is perfectly Normal for boys our age, younger and older, to get erections when they think about or see girls that they think are beautiful. What if I told you it was perfectly Normal for girls to get hard nipples, slightly swollen boobs and wet pussies whenever we see an attractive, handsome boy we like or think about? When we think about dragging said boys into Broom Cupboards?" she paused, taking a step towards him, her anger fading, her tone becoming sultrier. "What if I told you it would be perfectly Normal for us to do what we did earlier? For me to get down on my knees, pull your pants down and take your hard dick in my mouth? I've already done it twice today, and I'm going to do it again later today. And tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. Yes because I have to, but also because…" she paused, catching her breath and collecting her thoughts.
"…Because I want to. Even IF you hadn't also been affected by the curse, and it had been just me, my options would be limited, there are probably two or three boys in our year who I'm sure I could count on to help me and not take advantage of me, maybe more, I'm not sure, and two among the Sixth Years, and boys who I trust implicitly, close enough to trust them not to brag to their dorm-mates, that is at least two. And you are at the top of both lists." She paused again, then continued, trying to ignore her own surging arousal that had started to burn while she'd been reading the book, but had spiked during the conversation.
"The others would be Neville and the Twins, though Neville I think has started to court Hannah, and the Twins…well, I'd trust them to help me, but it would get awkward around the Burrow, and while I don't think they'd brag…" she trailed off, not wanting to think ill of two of the only six other students in the school, including herself, who believed him innocent of cheating. "Your options are a little more varied. I'd imagine three quarters of the student population of Third Years and up would be more than willing to drop their knickers and spread their legs if they knew the reason you were asking them, if you ever did. And if not that many, then there's at least four who would be willing to, three at least. I'm one of them, the others are all in there." She finished, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb.
Harry stared at her, not quite sure what to make of what she'd just unloaded on him.
"Uh…what about Ron?" he asked, she shook her head. "No. Not after everything he's done. Yes he helped you save me from that Troll in our First Year, and helped you reach the Stone, but he was responsible for me being in that bathroom. Second Year, he laughed at me after my Polyjuice mishap. Last year he raged at me over your Firebolt, even though what I did was the sensible thing to do, and he relentlessly persecuted Crookshanks, thinking he'd eaten his Death Eater rat. Then there's this year, and him turning his back on you almost immediately after your name came out of that damn Goblet. I'm sorry Harry, I know he was your first friend in this society, but, if he doesn't change his attitude, I think we'll have to seriously reconsider him as friend material. Like I said, for me to get what I need, I'd feel most comfortable coming to you first and foremost, even if it were only me going through this." Then she smiled somewhat "And I hope that you'll come to me first and foremost, but I'll understand if you don't always."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Is this your way of asking me to be your boyfriend?" he asked. She shook her head. "Not really, basing a relationship on sex is NEVER a good idea, and what we're dealing with now would also count as that, technically. I guess the best way to describe us for now, would be 'Friends with Benefits', and if not by the end of the day, then I strongly suspect that by the end of the week, we'll be sharing private quarters, while we deal with this. And I DO care for you Harry, a lot, but is it romantic? For me, not right now. Would I like it to be in the future? Of course, but it won't happen overnight, though I suspect that our close living conditions for the foreseeable future, will help us get to know each other on a more personal level." She said, and Harry nodded.
"I see what you mean…I mean, I do care about you…but everything the Dursleys told me, what little they did, and the views they instilled in me…"
"Are totally unhealthy and completely detrimental to you. Your views on sex and sexuality are a clear example, and I hope that I, and maybe a few others, can help change your outlook." Hermione replied. "I just want you to know Harry that, however our friendship changes in the future, however fast or slow that change is, I want you to know that you can always come to me when you need to…uh…feed." She said, blushing. Harry blushed too.
"Uh…thanks…you too." He said awkwardly. Hermione stepped forward and hugged him, pressing her face into his neck as his arms went round her torso. She took a deep relaxing breath, filling her lungs with a strong musky scent that thanks to her earlier experiences, she recognized. For his part, Harry buried his face in her hair, taking a deep breath, and catching a scent of cinnamon and parchment, and a tangy, sweet musky scent that he recognized, his eyes widening as his body stiffened, and one part stiffened more. Hermione felt it against her hip and smiled, pulling back, she reached up to cup Harry's cheek, looking into his eyes, she could see the desire there, the sexual tension he was fighting.
"Looks like I'm not the only one fired up." She said quietly, her voice almost a whisper. "Want me to help you take care of it?" she asked. Harry shuddered, shaking his head as he stepped back.
"No, no, I can…deal with it. You don't have to."
"Actually Harry, I kinda do. That's the whole point, like I said. We literally HAVE to drink the sexual fluids of others. I must suck a penis until I get a mouth full of semen which I then must swallow. Several times a day, possibly for the rest of my life. And for the record, like I just said, I would prefer yours be my first choice, because I trust you. Yes this isn't ideal for either of us, but we're adaptable if nothing else. I'm sure we'll manage. You will also have to do the same. Though it may be possible that we might be able to get what we need from anyone, not necessarily someone of the opposite sex, I highly doubt that will happen though, since I don't really fancy the idea of sticking my head between a girl's legs, and I'm sure you'd never feel comfortable with the idea of sucking another boy's—" Harry raised his hands and turned away, barely suppressing a shudder. "NO! No…I won't be doing that! EVER!" Hermione smiled playfully "Better not tell Colin then, he'd be heartbroken." She teased.
"Hermione!" Harry cried, gripping his head.
"Sorry." She smiled. "Seriously though, I can take care of it right now, if you want." Harry shook his head again.
"No…no, I'm good…lets go back in and try and read more about that Bonding thing."
"Ok."
Hermione gave him a calculating look. "Harry, did your Aunt or Uncle ever give you 'The Talk'?" she asked. Her looked at her flatly.
"Which one? The 'You're an unnatural freak' talk? All the time. Or maybe the 'Don't do any of your freakish things inside the house' talk? That one too. Or how about the good old 'Don't use your freakish ways to cheat and get better grades than Dudley! Can't have you robbing him of his grades.', though that one stopped once I started Hogwarts."
Hermione blinked, finally getting a hint of just how bad it really was at that house, and she felt a righteous surge of fury start to burn within her. "No Harry, I mean 'The Talk' the sex talk." He shook his head 'no'.
Hermione sighed. 'Ok, better let Pomfrey know.' She thought.
A few moments later, they were back in Pomfrey's office, the occupants all watching them closely.
"You guys ok?" Susan asked as they sat down.
"Yeah, we just needed to sort some things out, I think we got it mostly sorted, for now." Then she mouthed to Susan 'I was right'. Susan paused and gave Harry a sympathetic look. He met her gaze awkwardly. "Uh, hey, sorry about, ya know…" she waved him off. "Don't worry about it Harry, you're not the first, and you won't be the last I assure you."
"Ok, so where were we?" Hermione asked, drawing her attention back to the book.
"You were reading about the final stages of the Bonding and how the curse you're under affects the whole thing." Luna said, idly playing with her wand. "I believe you'd just got to the part about when you're going to start producing breastmilk, and I believe Harry was wrestling with the question, and idea, of whether or not he'd be able, or willing, to drink it." She added. "That about right?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah…that's it."
"Don't worry Harry, it's not a concern right now, since we're not Bonding." 'Yet.' "For now, let's focus on other matters, like what the First Task might be, and what those asinine morons from the Ministry might force you to do."
"Oh yeah…forgot about that."
"Hm, it says here that, a highly established Bond has the potential to form a psychic link between the Bonded couple, along with the Soul and Empathic bonds, though this is rare, and is not always guaranteed."
Just then, Professor McGonagall re-entered the Hospital wing then re-entered the office.
"Nice to see you up and about Mister Potter, how are you feeling?"
"Uh, fine thanks Professor…uh, the uh…'treatment' worked." He said, feeling very awkward. A slight smile tugged at Minerva's lips. "Well, I'm glad to hear that Mister Potter. Poppy? If there is no need to keep them here, I'd like to take them back to the Tower. And you three, I'm sure you have other things to take care of."
"I see no reason to keep them anymore Minerva, though I will be checking up on the two of you." She said to the two lions, who nodded. "Alright, if there are any complications, come back and see me and I'll do what I can."
"Wait…uh, Madam Pomfrey…" Hermione said, blushing and casting Harry an apologetic and sympathetic look. 'I'm SO sorry about this…'
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Before we leave, I think you should have a private talk with Harry." She said, blushing as she shot him another look.
"A talk?" Poppy asked, confused. Hermione nodded. "Yes. A Talk." She said, air-quoting the word 'Talk' and putting emphasis on it. Pomfrey scrutinized her a little, before her eyes widened then her face became purely professional.
"I see. Very well then. I'm assuming you have already had one?" she asked. Hermione nodded. "My mum sat me down and gave it to me over the summer."
"What are you guys talking about?" Harry asked. Susan snickered, "You'll find out Harry, don't worry." Then she looked at Hermione, giving her a wink. "Looks like you're gonna owe him one after this Granger."
"Well, I don't think we need to be here for this next bit." Daphne said, standing, as did Luna.
"Agreed. Daddy told me where babies come from last year, though he was very embarrassed about the whole thing." Harry choked. "Wait…What?"
McGonagall chuckled. "Miss Granger and I will be outside Poppy. Try not to traumatize him too much."
And with that, the group of students left the Hospital Wing, Susan and Daphne giving Hermione hugs, along with promises to catch up later, while Harry suffered the most embarrassing conversation of his young life. He emerged from Pomfrey's office almost an hour later, red-faced. While he was getting psychologically scarred, Neville, Parvati and Lavender came in to check on them, her friends were ecstatic to find her on her feet and seemingly healthy. When they inquired, she said she'd explain later, when they asked about Harry, Hermione had just nodded towards Pomfrey's office and said he was having a private conversation with the mediwitch.
"I'm so sorry Harry, but it had to be done." Hermione said.
"S'ok." Harry mumbled, not looking at her.
After another 10 minutes or so, they were back at the Gryffindor Tower. Minerva turned to them. "Ok you two, I've set up some private quarters for you in the Head Boy's Gryffindor Quarters, just off from the Common Room. They currently aren't in use, so I figured they would suit you for the time being. The Password for the Portrait is 'The Circle of Life Moves Us All'. The Private Quarters have their own Common Room, a small Kitchen area, two bedrooms with on-suite bathrooms, a small Library, a fireplace, though just like the Common Room fireplace, it can accept and make Floo calls, but not travel. There is a balcony connected to the Common Room. I advise you to choose who you wish allow entrance to the Private Quarters and share the password with them. I strongly advise you not to abuse this privilege however, and by that, I mean, I expect you to still socialize and mingle with your housemates. Understood?"
They both nodded.
"Good, I've already had the Elves move your things, it will be up to you to decide which rooms you each want. While I did consider activating the same charm on one of the rooms that is on the Girls Dorm staircase, in which case, the door would slam shut and lock, I have not done so yet. You will need to tell me which room is yours Miss Granger, and I will see to it."
And with that, she stepped through the Portrait hole, into the Common Room. It was deserted. Minerva walked to the right and turned down a small hallway, more of an alcove really, about 6 foot deep, at the end of it, they saw a magical painting, arranged Landscape, showing what looked to them like a sunlight African savannah, the center of the picture was dominated by a large rock formation; a towering conical rock that looked like it had been broken off a mountain then split in two, the second piece pushed into the first, with a third under that, supporting it, giving the allusion of a giant backwards stylized 'K' made of stone. A single male lion was standing on the very end of the K's 'arm', his gaze looking out over the grassland.
"Mufasa, these are the two new residents that you'll be looking after, Harry and Hermione." Minerva said after tapping the painting with her wand. The lion turned its gaze to them, then nodded, and the painting swung sideways, revealing a smaller version of the Gryffindor Common Room, a fire already burning in the hearth.
"Right then, I'll let the two of you get settled. I will make the announcement regarding your change of accommodation after Dinner tonight along with a brief reason of why, I'll let you tell the others the specifics. Is there anything else you two need?" they shook their heads.
"Very well then." And with that, she turned and left. The two of them looked around. "Nice. Right, let's get unpacked." Harry said, moving to his trunk, Hedwig's empty cage sat on top of it.
"We should also write a letter to Sirius, let him know what's going on." Hermione said. Harry nodded, moving to unpack his trunk, a fluttering sound caught his ears and he turned to see Hedwig settling down on a perch over the fire.
"Hey girl, sorry we've been absent for a few days, we haven't been well." Harry said, moving to the perch and offering a gentle breaststroke. A quiet beak-click and slight finger nibble was his answer, the owl assuring him she wasn't upset.
A jingle from the little hallway leading to the bedrooms drew his attention, and he turned just in time to see a large ball of orange fur enter the Common Room and come to a stop at Hermione's feet, where he proceeded to rub against her legs, purring loudly.
"Crookshanks!" Hermione gasped, as she paused in looking through her trunk to pick up her cat, and briefly cuddle him. Harry paused as he pulled out a few sheets of parchment and his ink bottle. "Want to write the letter first then pick a room and get unpacked?" he asked.
"Sure." She replied, setting the part-Kneazle down on the plush couch.
Ten minutes later, Hedwig flew out of the Balcony doorway and off, heading south in the cool late morning air.
"Ok, now that's settled, lets pick and sort out our rooms." Harry said, grabbing his trunk. Hermione paused as she ran her gaze over him, noticing his still slightly flushed face, and as her gaze moved down, she noticed how he held his body, it was clear to her that he was still trying to hide his arousal, hiding her own had been slightly easier, though it had been distracting. 'I really hope this won't be a problem in class…Morgana, that'd be awkward.' She thought.
"Are you sure you don't want me to…uhm, take care of that? And you don't need to…?" she asked, face flushing. Harry blushed and shook his head. "No…no, I'm good, thanks, you ok?" he asked. Hermione bit her lip, honestly, she did feel a little uncomfortable, not as bad as she'd felt early Friday morning, but that had also been a combination of hunger and exhaustion as well, now, it was more manageable. Plus, she reasoned, keeping busy was a useful distraction. And while part of her did want to sit down on the sofa or one of the arm chairs, lift her skirt, pull of her knickers, lean back and spread her legs as wide as she could, the mean thought just doing that…it made her a little uncomfortable.
As she thought, she began to process the full overarching consequences of the curse Draco had used, and her earlier words now came back to her with full force. While they could put it off for now, soon, within another 8 to 10 hours, they would have to do it again. Harry would have to lick her vagina again, and she'd have to suck him again, for the third time that day, so they could both take in the nutrients they'd get from lunch and Dinner, which they hadn't even had yet.
'Should we even bother wearing knickers and boxer shorts anymore?' she wondered. Then she realized she'd have to, at least during her cycle, but the rest of the time…A rush of heat came to her face as she pictured herself over the next three or four years, walking around Hogwarts, Diagon Alley and even her parents' house while going commando. 'I'll keep them on for now.' She thought.
"Yeah…Yeah I'm fine. Let's go pick our rooms and unpack." She said, grabbing her own trunk and following him. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't keep her eyes from roaming over his back.
-=-=-=-=-=-
Albus sat in his office, pondering. He'd visited the Hospital wing early that morning, but apparently there had been no change. He was getting worried. The Dragons would be arriving the tomorrow evening from the preserve where Charlie Weasley worked. A Welsh Green, a Chinese Fireball, a Swedish Short-Snout, and the most dangerous of all, a Hungarian Horntail. All nesting females with recently laid clutches of eggs. Adding the Horntail last minute had been difficult, she'd just laid her clutch, and was fiercely protective of them, making collecting them for transport difficult.
Replicating a fourth golden egg had been relatively easy however.
Now all he had to do was make sure Harry faced the Horntail, and that he found out about the Dragons ahead of the task. He knew Maxime and Karkaroff would help their champions, he didn't particularly care about Cedric, or either of the other two Champions, it was all about Harry.
The best way to ensure he faced the Horntail would be to apply compulsion charms to the models of the other three, keyed to each of the other champions, to make sure none of them took the Horntail's model. He would also 'suggest' to Moody that he give Harry some telling hints as to how he could beat the Task.
He hadn't yet contacted Malfoy Senior about the supposed Grimoire, as he suspected that Draco had lied, though he had yet to hear from the Malfoy Patriarch about his son's punishments, which was surprising. He also hadn't yet visited the Hospital Wing to check on the two affected students, namely because he'd noticed some of the monitoring charms on his shelves that were keyed to Harry stabilize a while ago, indicating that his vitals had normalized, for now at least. 'Very curious…Poppy or Miss Granger's friends must have found something.'
Hopefully it was a permanent solution.
He reached for a lemon drop just as the door to his office opened and Minerva walked in.
"Ah, Minerva my dear. Any news on Mister Potter and Miss Granger?"
Minerva nodded, "I'm pleased to report that Miss Granger's friends came through for them and found a solution, it's not a permanent cure, but it will have to do for now. They are both up and about and Pomfrey has cleared them to attend Classes."
Dumbledore nodded. This was good, it meant that Harry could be prepared to face the Dragon, and following the Task, he would move forward with his plans for Miss Granger and Mister Krum. If Krum could be 'persuaded' to ask Granger to the Yule Ball before Harry or Ronald had a chance to, he could then suggest to Karkaroff that the girl would make an excellent Hostage for the second task.
"Oh? Only a temporary solution? There is no cure?" he asked, genuine concern entering his voice. Minerva winced.
"There is a cure, of a sort, but using it now would be tantamount to Line Assassination, in regard to Mister Potter, as using it on either of them would sterilize them." Dumbledore's eyes widened, his mouth falling slack.
"What?" 'Line Assassination?! A Sterilization spell? What did that impudent little brat hit them with? Obviously this will not do.' He thought.
"Yes, and I believe that was Mister Malfoy's endgame; get them so desperate for a cure, that when it is found, we'd use it before looking into it." Minerva growled. "He has to be dealt with."
Dumbledore sighed, rubbing his temples. While part of him agreed with Minerva, he also wanted Draco to avoid heading down the same path his father took, to restore some honor to the Malfoy line. Obviously, they couldn't use the 'cure' if it was something that would render Harry unable to sire an heir for the Potter line before he faced his destiny.
"What exactly was the curse Mister Malfoy used?" Dumbledore asked, almost afraid to. Minerva sighed.
"Well, apparently, according to it's description, the spell was developed as a means of a marital aid, though it seems to have had some un-intended side effects it's creator was not able to account for or correct. There is also evidence that it may accelerate the Bonding Process once it begins, if the affected couple are not already Bonded." Dumbledore winced.
That…was a potential problem. If Harry Bonded with Miss Granger, the odds of him wanting to Bond with Miss Weasley, and Miss Granger with Mister Weasley respectively, as he and Molly had planned, dropped significantly. Then again…
"I see. What exactly does the curse affecting them do? I assume they're still under its effect?" he asked, keeping his voice calm. Minerva nodded.
"For now, what they have would best be described as a Magical Condition, but thankfully, the effects can be easily mitigated, if somewhat…awkwardly. The curse basically forces them to ingest the bodily fluids of someone else so that they can absorb the nutrients their systems extract from the food they eat, which the magic of the curse 'holds for ransom' you could say. That is why they deteriorated over the last couple of days. They were eating food, but not getting anything from it. The curse also accelerates that process."
Dumbledore blinked, not quite sure his hearing was working right.
"Pardon? Bodily fluids? What do you—"
"Sexual bodily fluids, Albus." Minerva said, her tone clipped. Her mouth in a thin line as she regarded him. "They have to perform oral sex on each other, or anyone willing to allow them to, at regular intervals, or they will deteriorate as before, to the point where then end up in a coma, and following that, death." She growled.
"Oh…" well, of all the things it could have been, he never saw that coming.
"Yes. Oh. I've already taken the liberty of placing them in private quarters, for convenience sake and to minimize any embarrassment. I will be informing the rest of Gryffindor about this change later tonight after Dinner, though I will not be telling the students specifically why. I will leave that up to Miss Granger and Mister Potter."
Dumbledore silently cursed. While it wasn't as bad as he'd feared, it still wasn't ideal. Still, it wasn't a complete loss, and if anything, if worked the right way, could even work out in his favor. All it would take is for certain nudges to get the two to focus on getting what they need from others rather than each other…
It was the fact that they would now be living together under such close quarters that was the potential issue. Harry had to have a relationship with, and at the very least impregnate young Ginerva Weasley, not only to secure the next generation of Potters, but to also bring stability to the Magical World, and to restore the Potter family's standing among the Sacred 28, and finally, to bring the Weasley family out of the near impoverished state they had been in for years, and once again elevate their standing. If Harry settled down with Miss Granger, or at the very least impregnated her, then she would be able to influence the next generation of Potters more directly, along with the next generation of other magical families. Having her married to young Ronald Weasley would limit that of course.
While few would argue that Muggle-borns did not bring fresh blood into the Magical world, at least the few Pure-bloods who would be prepared to admit that, it was widely believed by many that the Muggle ideas and concepts that they brought with them upset the status quo, and the natural order of things.
Which was why Dumbledore had made little to no effort to improve Muggle-born standing within the magical world, both since World War 2 and after Voldemort's first fall. It was also why he hadn't pressured to have the Imperius Defense many Death Eaters had used over-turned. Having so many prominent members of the Wizengamot in Azkaban would have been a disaster for the Dark Block, giving the Light and Neutral Blocks too much power, affecting the plans of the remaining Block, and elevating the prominence of Muggle-borns.
Fortunately….Albus had control of the Potter Proxy, and all of the votes it held, so he held all the sway, with most of the former Alliance of Light Houses supporting him, but if Harry ever took control…no, that wouldn't happen, he'd convince the boy to give him Proxy properly, then Albus would take things from there.
It was also why he had not said or done anything to help Sirius. He knew the man hadn't received a trial and made sure no-one questioned his guilt. Regardless of how Albus felt, he knew that Sirius would one day pass the Black Legacy down to Harry, as was his right as the current Head of the family, which would work out fine for Dumbledore, if he could somehow get control of the Black Fortune, he could keep it away from Voldemort, and redistribute it, along with the Potter Fortune, at least, the amount that the Weasleys didn't spend.
He was brought out of his internal musings by the sound of Minerva clearing her throat, loudly.
"Albus! Are you listening?" she snapped.
"Yes Minerva, I hear you." Dumbledore said, now focusing on her again.
"Then what did I say?"
"You explained the mechanics of the curse affecting young Mister Potter and Miss Granger, and you've moved them into private quarters, but I am given pause to wonder, is that wise? They are teenagers after all."
Minerva rolled her eyes. Was he SERIOUS? "Albus, it was either that, or make things unnecessarily awkward for them. Besides, they already have to do things together, or with others, that normally I would only ever expect them to do if they were in a relationship with either each other or another individual."
"Point." Albus said, he just hoped the teens would be careful. He didn't want Harry impregnating the wrong witch, after all. Then a thought occurred to him. "How often do they have to…ah…mitigate their…condition?"
"According to the information we looked through in Pomfrey's office, at least once every twelve hours, but the more times the better. Which brings me to my next point. The Dursleys." She growled, almost snarled. Albus sighed, this wasn't the first time she'd brought it up, and it would not be the last, he was sure.
"What about them?"
"Do you have ANY idea what they've done to him?!" she almost shouted, her temper now fraying. "They've abused him in almost every way short of raping him! To say nothing of the emotional and psychological state they left him in! Why the damage hasn't come to light sooner I'll never know! They taught him practically NOTHING about certain aspects of life that are pretty much essential for all teenagers to know. I'm not entirely sure of everything they have done to him, but I can promise you this Albus! If he goes back to that family at the end of term, he'll be dead within the first WEEK!"
"Surely you're exaggerating. I highly doubt Petunia would let Harry perish." Dumbledore said, starting to panic. He NEEDED Harry to be at Privet Drive, not only for his own protection, especially now and after this year, but he also wanted the boy to be reliant on him, and him alone. He needed the boy malleable so he could be properly guided to face his destiny. Minerva scoffed.
"I doubt that. Highly. If not Petunia, then her husband I'm sure, would jump at the chance to see Harry gone from their home. They consider him and everything he represents to be 'un-natural'. And consider what I told you. Harry will have to consume the sexual bodily fluids of a woman or girl several times a day, at least once every twelve hours, or he'll quickly deteriorate as he did here over the past two days, slipping into a coma then he'll die. Same for Miss Granger. I HIGHLY doubt Petunia or her sister in-law would be willing to help him. As for Miss Granger, I can only hope she'd be able to find a local boy willing to help her, though I doubt she'd feel comfortable with that idea."
Dumbledore winced. Yes, that was…a complication, he doubted Arabella would help him, unfortunately, he needed the boy to stay there, at least long enough to supply the Wards.
"I'm afraid there is no alternative Minerva, Harry MUST stay at his relative's home, at least for a short while. Perhaps he could be moved to the Burrow, after a short while. I'm sure Molly and Arthur would be happy to take him in."
Minerva folded her arms. "And just WHAT do you intend to tell them? HOW do you intend to tell them? I hardly think that Molly of all people, would be happy with either of them doing that sort of thing with each other under her roof several times a day. In fact, I suspect she would go as far as trying to keep them so busy they'd never find the time."
Dumbledore thought, carefully. If he played this right, it could work to his advantage, it would give him the opportunity to solidify a relationship and Bond between young Ginevra and Harry, and Ronald and Hermione respectively, the problem would be getting Molly to agree to the slight change in plan. While he fully intended to have Harry moved to the Burrow, or even Grimmauld Place, assuming Sirius agreed to let the Order use it, once it was re-established, upon his 15th birthday, this change would simply mean that Harry would be moving to live with the Weasleys sooner than anticipated.
"I will take care of it Minerva."
"Good, because I would hate to have to come up with a Plan B." and with that, he turned and left.
-=-=-=-=-
12 Grimmauld Place, early evening.
The door to the Black Family's Private Library flew open with a bang. And Sirius Black stormed in, scowling. He ignored the hollering of his beloved mother's Portrait as he waved his wand at various bookshelves, and several books flew over to the reading table and he sat down. In his right hand he held the two letters he'd received half an hour earlier from Harry and Hermione, letting him know of the weekend's events.
To say that he was angry would be an understatement.
Hermione's letter was more detailed than Harry's, but they mostly said the same thing: That they'd both been cursed, though neither went into detail on exactly what the curse was. Only that they would tell him in person given the chance. The cure constituted Line Assassination, so now they were having to treat it like a medical condition, with regular 'Treatments' that they would explain later in person if they could, and that they'd been moved into their own quarters to help with that. Hermione had also gone into detail on her theory as to why Draco had chosen that spell, specifically, regarding its counter spell.
Sirius growled. That snot-nosed, stuck-up little prick would PAY for this! He suddenly wished his status as the Head of House Black was legally recognized, so he could cast the little shite out of the line of succession right at that moment and burn his face from the tapestry. But he couldn't, only the next Head of House Black could do that.
He paused, then grinned.
"Looks like a trip to Gringotts is in order. Need to update my Will…" he muttered, then started to read the books, looking for a cure that wouldn't hurt his Godson or his friend. If Dumbledore forced Harry to go back to the Dursleys, something Sirius had always been against from the very moment he'd found out about it, then the old Goat could kiss any chance of using his ancestral home as the new base of operations for the Order goodbye.
He needed to catch up with Remus at some point, and go check on Potter Manor, and see how the place as doing, he hadn't been there since just before Lily and James went into hiding…he paused, thinking. Why had Lily and James abandoned the Manor and gone to Godric's Hollow? The wards around the manor were some of the best in the country, beaten only by Gringotts' and Hogwarts' wards. Something about their sudden snap decision did not sit well with him, and he decided he'd have to investigate it.
He looked at the wall clock, it was early evening, Dinner was probably just about starting, he idly wondered what everyone was doing up at the castle, wishing he could Apparate up there and investigate as Padfoot, but it was too risky, there were not many, if any dogs around Hogsmeade, so if he were spotted, it would likely raise suspicion.
After nearly 40 minutes of fruitless searching, he sat back and sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He needed to write and send replies to their letters, he knew if he sent them now, Hedwig wouldn't make it back to the castle until sometime during the night, meaning they'd get the replies first thing.
He contemplated what he'd do for the rest of the night, he didn't really fancy spending the night here, he couldn't really drop in on Remus this late, so…looked like a night out on the town in Muggle London for good ol' Padfoot.
Maybe he could find a couple of stray bitches to spend several hours with. He wasn't completely sure of the legalities, but, he reasoned, it surely couldn't be classed as bestiality if he was in his animagus form as Padfoot, right? It wasn't like he had many other options anyway.
Leaning forward, he conjured couple of sheets of parchment and summoned a quill and got to work. Once he tracked down Hedwig and sent the letters, he made himself a sandwich then left the house, magically locking the door behind him. He then morphed into Padfoot and trotted off down the street, sniffing the ground. It didn't take him long to catch the scent of a bitch in heat and, tail wagging, he doubled his pace, tracking down the rather cute German Sheppard relatively quickly.
-=-=-=-=-
Hogwarts, evening after Dinner.
Minerva led her students back to their common room, pondering how best to tell them about Harry and Hermione's new living arrangements, and the reason behind it. She'd also dropped a rather subtle hint, ok, not so subtle hint to Pomona about arranging Private Quarters for Cedric, but Pomona hadn't really seen the point.
After they'd entered the common room, she ordered everyone to take a seat and to stay quiet while she talked, as she had a rather important announcement to make.
'Here goes Minnie…' she thought. She cleared her throat.
"Alright, I would like you all to pay close attention, because I'm only going to discuss this once, and I will not repeat myself." She said sternly.
"You may have noticed Mister Potter's and Miss Granger's absence yesterday, as well as their absence from the Dorms Thursday and Friday night." There were various nods. She caught the eye of the two Gryffindors in question and noticed that they looked a little more tired that she'd expect, Harry seemed to be absentmindedly rubbing his stomach, and she idly wondered if either of them had…fed…since that morning in the Hospital wing.
"Well, I feel it necessary to inform you all that Thursday afternoon, after their last class of the day, Mister Potter and Miss Granger were confronted by a fellow student and were hit with a particularly nasty curse. I will not go into detail about what the curse does, or how the two of them are dealing with it's affects. I will leave that up to their discretion. Please do NOT hassle them about it. If they feel comfortable enough to tell you about it, then they will in their own time. If I get reports of anyone pestering them for details they are not willing to give, it will mean a week's detention with Filch."
She looked around, fixing all of them with a stern look, her gaze lingered on the two Gossip Queens, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. Once she'd given everyone a stern look, she continued.
"To that end, and to avoid any awkwardness for them in dealing with the effects of the curse, I have taken the liberty of moving them into the Head Boy's Gryffindor Quarters."
She paused, wondering how long she'd have to wait for the protests to start, she didn't have to wait long.
"What?" Cormac McLaggen spoke up. There were several murmurs from the other students of various years. She noted that Ron looked particularly unhappy, his face creased in an angry scowl of jealously as he looked at the two Gryffindors in question. Young Ginny wasn't much better, shooting the two of them an unhappy look. The two older Weasleys, Fred and George, were smirking and giving Harry the thumbs-up, Minerva wanted to roll her eyes at the two of them.
The reactions from the rest of the students was more varied, the First and Second Years looked confused, clearly not understanding what all the fuss was about, the Third Years had started to talk among themselves, shooting the two skeptical looks. It was the Fourth Years and Fifth Years that got the most reaction, the most negative of which were the youngest Weasleys, Neville was trying to give Harry and Hermione a supportive look, though he was clearly uncomfortable.
"So they're going to be sleeping together?" Seamus asked. McGonagall mentally sighed as the whispered conversations got louder, particularly among the girls. "No, Mister Finnigan. They will each have separate rooms. The room that will be Miss Granger's will have similar charms on it to the Staircase." She stated firmly.
Fay Dunbar snorted, "Maybe, but I'll bet nothing'll stop Hermione from jumping under Harry's blankets." Giving the two blushing Gryffs a knowing smirk. Ron growled. Dean noticed, and chuckled. "What's the matter Weasley? Jealous?"
"No!" Ron said, his ears turning red, though everyone in the room could see he was lying out of his arse.
"Ah-hem!" Minerva made a show of clearing her throat again to get their attention. "I expect Miss Granger and Mister Potter to show maturity and respect for the rules, the arrangement is hopefully temporary, and will only last until a proper cure is found." 'Though it may never be.' She thought.
"Now I suggest you all get settled for the night. And I don't want to hear of any fighting! If I hear anything, those responsible will be serving detention!" and with that, she turned, gave Harry and Hermione a re-assuring nod, then left.
"'Cursed' Huh? Is that the best you could come up with Potter?" McLaggen snorted, folding his arms.
"They were actually, we saw them in the Hospital Wing." Neville said, Parvati, Lavender and even Ron nodded, though Ron was still scowling.
"So, what's so special about this curse that you need to have private rooms?" he asked. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, each silently asking the other what to say. Finally, Hermione spoke. "It's not something we'd want to discuss in front of the First, Second or possibly even Third Years, sorry guys." she said, offering an apology to the younger students, some of whom made noises of objection.
"Does it matter?" Neville asked, turning to the Fifth-Year boy, who turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. "They'll tell us when they're ready, and right now, I doubt they are ready to tell us just yet, and if or when they do, that's their choice." This got smiles of gratitude from the two, who both silently promised that Neville would be among the first they told.
"Whatever, I'm heading up." Ron growled, shooting Harry one last glare before he turned and stalked off towards the stairs. Ginny gave the two of them a silent look, her expression unreadable, before she turned and headed towards the Girl's staircase.
The reactions from the rest of the Gryffindors was mixed, though mostly lukewarm, except from Neville, the Twins, Parvati and Lavender, who were all very supportive. "We'll fill you guys in tomorrow, how's about that?" Harry asked, they nodded, then left the two alone in the common room.
"Come on Harry." Hermione said tiredly, thankful for the narrowly avoided confrontation as she made her way towards the Portrait of the wild Lion.
Once they were both inside, Harry sighed as he looked around the small common room, spying Crookshanks sleeping in front of the fire.
"Well…That could have gone better." Harry said, as he tried to ignore his aching stomach, his tiredness and the erection in his pants that he'd been doing his best to hide for the last few hours. Hermione brushed her fingers through her bushy hair as she turned to him, noticing his tired look, pretty sure she looked just as tired, and felt just as horny. Mentally she prepared herself. They hadn't 'fed' since the hospital wing that morning, and they were quickly approaching the twelve-hour mark. She quickly realized that Harry wasn't going to start things, not until he was more self-confident, so for now, it would be up to her.
"Yeah, but it could have gone much worse Harry, it could have broken down into an all-out fight. Did you see the look Ron gave you? Gave us?" she said, as she moved towards the small hallway that led to their two bedrooms, which were opposite one another. Harry nodded, following her, he figured he'd get ready for bed now, so he wouldn't have to later.
"Yeah, it's like the Goblet thing all over again, but hey, at least they talked to me a little!" he joked, trying to lighten the mood as he entered his room but didn't close the door, and started getting changed, he heard Hermione's reply from her room.
"We'll tell Neville, Par, Lavender and the Twins some time tomorrow, as for the rest, well, I'm not sure."
"Sounds good." Harry called back.
A few minutes later, he was in his pajamas, and he turned as he heard Hermione enter the room, dressed only in her white nightie. He gave her a questioning look, he had intended to go back out to the common room and just sit with her.
"I'm pretty sure neither of us have fed since this morning, and we're coming up on twelve hours." She said quietly, giving him a look. He swallowed, trying desperately to think of something, anything, to change the subject.
"What do you mean? We had lunch and Dinner." He said, inwardly cringing at how pathetic that was. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"That's not what I mean and you know it. I told you this morning Harry, we're going to have to do that again. Several times at day at least, realistically, it's too dangerous to us to keep it at just two instances a day, anything could come up that would leave one of us unable to feed when we have to, then we'll start to deteriorate, and end up back in the Hospital Wing. And I don't want to go through that ever again, and I don't think you do either." She paused, looking him up and down, then gave him a sheepish smile.
"Besides, I do sort of owe you one for making you endure Pomfrey's 'Talk' today. So, we can either do it here, or in the Common Room, which would you prefer?"
Harry shuddered. As much as he wanted to Obliviate that entire hour from his mind, he knew everything Pomfrey had told him, in mind-scarring detail, was for his benefit.
"Uhm…here's good…I think, you don't have—" he was cut off as Hermione walked forward until they were both standing on the plush and thick sheep skin rug, and she sank to her knees, her hands moving to the waistband of his pajama bottoms.
"YES Harry, I DO! We BOTH do! We went over this this morning, now, I'll do you first, then you do me, that sound good to you?" she looked up at him, and saw the conflicted look on his face, obviously thinking about what he'd revealed to her about his upbringing, she sighed. "We'll work through it Harry, I'll help you, I promise, but right now, we need to take care of each other's needs." And with that, she gave his bottoms a firm tug, and they piled around his ankles.
Harry opened his mouth to protest again, his hands moving to intercept her head, but any protest he might have been about to make died on his tongue, replaced by a surprised moan as he felt his hard shaft being enveloped by a wonderful wet heat. His hands, which had been about to pull her head away, instead gently gripped and cradled it, his fingers even started to move, gently stroking and caressing her as she hummed, then got to work.