"Ow!"
Harry had tumbled over onto the floor of their quarters next to the couch. He was glad there was a rug that he landed on, as his legs were still quivering from an amazing orgasm. Pansy looked to be in similar shape, laying face down while her legs were dangling over the side of the couch. He heard her panting, roughly in time with his own labored breathing.
"Harry?" she asked, still gasping for air as she turned towards him. Her hair was in complete disarray and her cheeks were pink after their recent exertions. She was a sweaty mess, which to Harry meant that she looked absolutely gorgeous.
"Are you alright?"
"Huh?"
He had to remind himself that he had fallen over as he was now gawking at her like an imbecile.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are today?"
"That's what made you say ow?" she asked with a smile.
"In a roundabout way, yes. If you weren't so incredibly sexy, then I might be able to control myself-"
"Doubtful," she teased.
"Well, maybe not," he shrugged with a grin of his own. "But we could have made it back to the bedroom."
"We'll make it there eventually," she replied as she brushed her hair out of her face and propped herself up with one elbow. "The night is young, Harry."
"If we were in bed, this would count as pillow talk."
"We do have some things to talk about, don't we?"
Harry nodded as he pulled his pants up from around his ankles and managed to stand, as well as helping Pansy up. They both started straightening their clothes after a round of charms to clean and freshen themselves up.
"Where should we start?" she asked as they sat down on the couch and Harry lifted his left arm so she could curl up against his side.
"Holiday plans, I guess. None of our close friends are leaving for the Easter break, so we can skip the train. That will give us some extra time."
"I'm looking forward to it. As a child, I never would have thought I would enjoy my time in the muggle world so much. My father is probably rolling over in his grave," Pansy snorted. "We aren't going to do anything related to school. I need a break."
"I could write a few more of my own assignments," Harry offered. "I didn't mean to make you-"
"That's not a big deal, Harry. You look over my work for Defense and Runes, anyway. While I am glad, for your sake, that Hagrid has forgiven you, I am also more convinced that we should drop one of our electives. Next year, with the OWLs, things will be even worse. At this point, I'm not sure if we should pick Arithmancy or not."
"It has gotten a bit more interesting this term," Harry admitted. "I mean, it's still a lot of theory, but now that Vector has started tying it into ritual magic, I actually look forward to the class."
"I know. The problem is that Care of Magical Creature is probably the easiest class we have in a lot of ways. You know I'm not a fan of Hagrid's like you are, but the fact that he almost never assigns us any essays is a big plus."
"Well, we don't have to decide that till this summer. So, nothing but fun for the next week then?"
"That may be the best plan you've come up with this year."
"Alright, on to the next topic, which won't be as fun. What are we going to do about Nott?"
"I think we should wait till the summer to deal with him. He's a minor annoyance compared to you getting through this stupid tournament safely. Besides, I've kept my eyes on him, and I think someone, probably Slughorn, reminded little Teddy of how you dealt with the Malfoys last year. You intimidate him."
"Good, but that's not enough. He tried to-"
Pansy silenced Harry with a kiss before he could start ranting. She was brilliant that way. Harry relaxed his clenched fists and heeded his girlfriend's demand for his attention. Whenever she put her tongue in his mouth like that, he was unable to focus on anything else.
"I know what he tried to do, and he will not be getting away with it," Pansy said, once they came up for air. "Let me scheme up something good, and we'll take care of that little cockroach this summer. He won't be under the watchful eyes of people like Dumbledore and Slughorn then."
"Okay. Ready for Dobby?"
"Yes. Dobby can you help us?"
"Of course miss Pansy," Dobby replied as he popped in. Pansy noticed that he had gotten a lot quieter about it over the last year, something that Harry had mentioned before as well.
"We found out that the Carrows don't have a house-elf," she began. "Could you go to their home and do a little spying for us?"
"Dobby cannot," he replied, looking down as if he were ashamed. "Dobby knows not where Carrows live."
"If they're behind any sort of wards, it could be hard for you to find them, right?" Harry asked.
"Yes, master Harry. It would be easiest if Dobby could follow miss Pansy's friends home."
"Too bad they're staying here for Easter then." Harry brought his free hand up and rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "And you think Winky is still too damn loyal to the Crouchs to make that a safe target?"
"Dobby could go there, but Winky would know, even now that she has a new family. She could warn them. Winky never stopped loving the Crouchs, not even after being given clothes. That's why she was so unhappy when Dobby brought her to Hogwarts. It is very good that miss Luna took her into her family. Miss Luna is a good witch. Master Harry and miss Pansy have good taste in friends."
"Thanks Dobby," Harry chuckled then turned to Pansy. "Disappointing, but nothing new there. We don't have any good ideas right now for Dobby to investigate."
"Not safely, at least," Pansy agreed. "Don't worry, Dobby, we'll have some more important work for you one of these days. This summer at the latest. I'm pretty damn sure of Flora and Hestia. I think we could trust them to help lead you to their home, and then we would hopefully have some new targets for finding out who some of the other Death Eaters are."
"We still know about Crabbe," Harry pointed out.
"True, but there is the off chance that the Crabbes have a loyal house-elf."
Harry and Dobby both snorted at that.
"I know, more likely than not they either don't have one or treat it poorly. But we don't want to take any chances. Dobby, you're worth too much to us to endanger you or give away the secret of just how useful you really are."
Dobby blushed deeply at that, being considered too useful to waste was just about the best compliment a house-elf could get.
"Alright. I guess we just have the end of the year and the damn tournament then. Nothing major we can really plan for right now."
"Then, I guess we don't have anything else to do before bed," Pansy teased, and Dobby popped away, knowing what his humans were going to be doing. She stood up and began to strut towards the bedroom. "Coming Harry?"
"Hopefully," he teased in response as he got up to follow her. "Can I just say that I love how horny you've been these last few months? Must be my good influence finally rubbing off on you."
"Maybe," she giggled. "I'm ovulating right now. Do you know what that means?"
"I did my homework. Should I double up on the contraceptive charm?"
"No, the spell is fine. Even for people with a fraction of your power, the charm reliably lasts all day long. What I was trying to get to is that women tend to be more interested in sex when they can get pregnant. Our bodies want us to reproduce."
"I'm surprised that you know so much about biology. I wouldn't think that sort of thing would be taught to magical children."
"It isn't necessarily, but my mother told me a few things when I was younger, and I've always had a tendency to read up on subjects that would have alarmed my parents. Like books about sex magic," she hinted.
"I get it- studying sex and magic meant they would have noticed when witches were more likely to get pregnant."
"Yes, and witches have always kept a very close eye on our cycles. They often tie in to the phases of the moon, which is why a lot of the older religions had moon goddesses. The pagans were more connected to nature, and in a lot of ways magical people still are, at least compared to muggles."
"Okay, well that explains why you're dragging me to bed now," Harry said as he began to get undressed, his eyes never leaving Pansy as she did the same. "But that's only a few days a month."
"It probably is your fault to some extent too. I've felt differently ever since we revealed our relationship."
"Better?"
"Yes. I'm a lot more confident. And happier.."
"Good," Harry said as he climbed into bed. Pansy took a moment longer, but she was soon crawling over him with a look of arousal.
"I might also secretly enjoy the angry glares of all the girls too."
"I don't know how much of a secret that is," Harry tried to argue. But then Pansy was leaning over him, her breasts inches away from his face, and Harry's concentration was only on their shared pleasure for the rest of the night.
"I feel so extraordinary. Something's got a hold of me..."
Harry knew exactly what had a hold of him that night, as he was once again back in a nightclub dancing with Pansy. He was starting to really love it, or at least dancing with Pansy, because she always took it as an opportunity to get dressed up. She looked really sexy, and by the time they got home that night, she would be just as excited as him.
It was a good thing that she had suggested a nap that afternoon. They were likely to be up all night, and that was after the night before when they were still at Hogwarts. If they had taken the train, they would have likely slept for the entire trip.
Once the song was over, Pansy had another reason to drag him off to the record store. By the time they went back to Hogwarts, she would be the proud owner of half a dozen New Order albums.
Two hours later, happily laying in bed in the sweaty afterglow, Pansy rolled over to look at Harry. He noticed that she pulled the sheet up to cover her breasts, meaning she wanted to talk to him and have him actually pay attention.
"What is it?" He was going to make sure to pull that damn sheet back down as soon as this conversation was over.
"I was a bit disappointed tonight. I was hoping to see Vanessa."
"They're probably busy. Not everyone can go out dancing whenever they want. Isn't the wedding in another month or so?"
"Yes, and I'm still upset that we won't be able to make it," Pansy frowned.
"We could send them a gift at least. I'm sure Dobby wouldn't mind discreetly dropping something off."
"I know, I just wanted to see the ceremony and everything."
"Sorry sweetheart. Maybe they'll record it though. One of their friends is bound to have a camcorder. Then, you could get together and watch the tape this summer."
"That would be nice. Not as good as being there in person, but it'll have to do."
"You can call her tomorrow. I know we've got their number written down around here somewhere."
"Right, good idea," Pansy said, looking frustrated. "You realize I've never actually made a phone call before?"
"Huh, I hadn't thought of that. I haven't made too many either. I'll walk you through it tomorrow, if you like."
"Thanks Harry."
"You're welcome. Now, you're not the only one disappointed tonight, you know?"
"What do you mean?"
Harry answered by reaching over and uncovering her.
"I'll be very disappointed if you think we're ready to go to sleep yet."
"You're insatiable, you know that?"
"Less talking, more boobies."
"Hey, Ruby."
It was the afternoon of the next day and he had gone downstairs to the tea shop, figuring he had plenty of time to relax.
"Harry, weren't you wanting to use the phone?"
"Pansy needed to call a friend, and I'm pretty sure they're going to be talking for awhile."
"I see," the older woman nodded, already pouring him a cup. "It must be hard to have friends here when you're off at school for so long."
"It never really mattered for me until recently."
"So, who's the friend?"
"I don't want to keep you from getting anything done."
"Don't be silly," Ruby replied, gesturing around to the almost empty room. "I have nothing but time to kill right now."
"Alright, let it never be said that only women gossip," he teased.
"Oh, hush if you aren't going to be any fun."
"Her name is Vanessa. We met her last summer when we went out dancing."
"I hope you two are careful when you do that. You're both still awfully young."
"Whatever, mum," he snorted. "Anyway, Vanessa had just finished her law degree, and she and her boyfriend Steven were moving in together. We went to their housewarming party; remember when Pansy was learning to bake?"
"How did that turn out?"
"Not bad, especially considering how she had never spent much time in a kitchen before. I think she really wanted to try to impress Vanessa."
"Because she's older?"
"Yeah, in a way." Harry leaned in, not wanting the couple a few tables over to hear this next part. "A lot of things in this world are still new to her. New to me too sometimes."
"I see. So this Steven and Vanessa are like the hip older couple that you two can look up to."
"Something like that, I guess," Harry shrugged. "I think they're going to be talking for awhile because Vanessa's wedding is coming up and Pansy really wishes she could go to it."
"I understand." Ruby had a wide grin. "I remember being a teenage girl and dreaming about my own wedding. You realize this is going to give her all sorts of ideas, don't you?"
"That's okay with me."
"Harry!" Pansy came bouncing in the door and threw her arms around him.
"Hi," he said as she pecked his lips with a smile on her face.
"We don't have anything important to do for the rest of the day, so I told Vanessa we could come over. She was going over the decorations she wanted with Lizzie. You remember her cousin, right? Well, anyway, they got into an argument about something, and now she needs another woman's perspective. So I volunteered."
"Okay. Let me just finish my tea."
"Good, I'm going back upstairs to get ready. Oh, and don't worry, Steven's there too so you won't be bored while we talk about the wedding."
She hurried out the door and disappeared while Ruby laughed.
"She's a good girl, Harry. A lot of people wouldn't think of making sure you had something to do. You're lucky."
"I know, but she also might just want me to stay out of her way. I've gotten used to being dismissed when it's time for girl talk. Thanks for the tea."
"You're welcome," she said, not even bothering to argue this time as Harry set down a few quid and got up to leave.
Ruby never charged him, but Harry always tipped her more than enough anyway. She would just have to make sure they came over for a couple of good home cooked meals later that week. Maybe she would bake a pie or two? That would teach him- it was her prerogative to spoil the lad if she felt like it.
"Thanks for the help, Harry," Steven said as he handed him a floor tom out of the back of a van. They were around the back of a nightclub, preparing for a gig, and Harry was learning that the drummers always had the most gear for a show. Steven's equipment consisting of two guitars, an amplifier, and box of effects pedals was simple compared to a drum set, and from what he was told, Richie's wasn't even that elaborate compared to what some people used.
Harry was an old hand at manual labor, and the free admission was a nice treat considering he didn't mind helping out anyway.
Pansy was off to the side talking to Vanessa and Richie's girlfriend, who was a total fox named Barbara. Harry wondered how the drummer had managed to get a girl that was so clearly out of his league.
'I guess it's true that some women really like musicians,' he thought as he hefted another drum through the door and onto the stage.
"Thanks Harry," Richie said as he was reassembling the drum kit.
"No problem."
He stepped back outside, dodging Paul who was carrying the high hat, and found Steven locking up the back of the van.
"All done for the moment," Steven said as he threw an arm over Harry's shoulders and led him over to the ladies. "Show's not supposed to begin for another fifteen minutes."
"And that's just when you'll start tuning up," Vanessa added with a laugh.
"Babe, there's such a thing as being fashionably late. You know the crowd is never ready right at the start time.
"Besides, it gives us a chance for a little pre-show pick me up," he finished, pulling a joint of his shirt pocket.
"Great idea," Paul said as he came back outside. "Richie should just be another minute."
Harry winded up coughing hard for a minute after his toke, and Pansy was only moderately more successful. He thought that brownies were much more fun, but at least none of the actual adults gave them any grief over it.
The joint was passed around for a couple of minutes as everyone made small talk, and Harry realized it was probably a good idea to take the nerves off before getting ready to perform. Pansy had done an admirable job at helping to relax him before any of his quidditch matches the year before, and he had certainly enjoyed the relief.
A few minutes later, they were following Vanessa out onto the floor as the crowd was beginning to assemble at the front of the stage. Harry guessed there were probably a couple of hundred people. He and Pansy were each holding a coke as Vanessa had suggested they not try to drink too much during the show, especially since they were going back to her place afterwards.
"Where did the name come from?" Harry asked as they waited. Hiding From Frank was kind of an odd choice. He imagined Luna would like it though.
"I guess you've never seen Blue Velvet?" They both shook their head so she continued. "It's a great movie. Sort of a strange, moody mystery. Frank is the villain, and there's a scene where the main character hides from him in a closet."
"Oh."
"They originally called themselves Mute Witness, but then Morrissey had a song called that a few years ago, and Paul can't stand Morrissey. Plus, I think they wanted to go with something even more avant-garde."
"But The Smiths were great," Pansy argued.
"Don't look at me," Vanessa replied. "I like his solo stuff too. I think it's his persona. Plus, Paul really loves steak, so the whole hardcore vegetarian, 'Meat is Murder' thing really pissed him off."
"That's ridiculous," Harry said.
"You boys can be silly, Harry. That's why you should always be glad when us ladies take pity on you and allow you in our presence," Vanessa smirked.
"Now I see why you like her," Harry told Pansy.
"She's not wrong," Pansy giggled.
"I'm really glad you guys could be here for this," Vanessa said, raising her voice above the din as the crowd drew closer to the stage. "They usually play with another band. They're all really pumped to get to play a long set tonight. It's going to be something of a last gig too, at least for awhile."
"Because of the wedding?" Pansy asked.
"Yes, and then our honeymoon. We're both incredibly excited. Glastonbury should be amazing- it's too bad you can't come."
"If we got out a week earlier, we would be there," Pansy answered with a frown. "It sounds like a blast. Harry's heard me complaining about missing your wedding too. For most of the week, really."
"We've got a week in France after that, although I think Steven's more excited for the festival."
Harry chuckled at her fake pout.
"He won't be if you're dressed appropriately," he replied. "Pansy and I went to Nice last summer. If he isn't gawking at you while you're on the beach, then his eyes must not be working."
Pansy elbowed him in the side before he could say anymore, as she had told him more than she was probably supposed to about the swimsuits and lingerie Vanessa had already packed for the trip.
"You'll just have to tell me about it this summer," Pansy said. "I hope to see the wedding video too."
"Will you be taking notes?" Vanessa teased.
"Maybe."
"She's got plans for you, Harry." Pansy was grinning at Vanessa but he just shrugged in response.
"That's fine with me. Most of her plans are better than my own."
"You're no fun. Provoking you doesn't work if you're just going to agree with me."
"I tease him in very different ways," Pansy said.
"Ways that are not appropriate for public," Harry added.
"She's clearly too good for you then," Vanessa laughed.
The main lights went down and the stage was bathed in cool colors, greens and blues mostly, as the band took their places. The drummer counted off and a sound erupted, the crowd yelling in approval.
Pansy took a half step back at the volume, and Harry took the opportunity to wrap an arm around her waist. She smiled in response and leaned into his embrace.
It was going to be a good night.
"Harry." She was shaking him, and his head was pounding. "Harry! For fuck's sake, wake up!"
"What?"
"Here," she handed him his wand and was helping him to sit up. "Our glamours have worn off. Vanessa and Steven are bound to be awake soon, if they aren't already."
"Ugh." He sat up and winced. He thought he remembered most of the concert, but he had no idea what had happened after that.
"Come on, Harry. We don't need them wondering why we look like teenagers all of a sudden."
Right. Glamours. Pansy was trying to get him to focus. His eyes hurt, but he blinked a couple of times and thought he could handle that, despite how bright the room was. At least the curtains were closed.
Harry did his best to focus and reapplied the glamour charms.
"Are you guys alright in there?"
"We'll be out in a minute," Pansy replied, muttering 'I hope' under her breath.
Pansy dug a compact out of her purse and checked herself in the mirror.
"Good job, Harry. I was worried there for a minute."
He was still clutching his head and didn't even notice as she took his wand and put it away.
"I'll help you up."
A couple of minutes later, they joined their hosts in the kitchen.
"What the hell happened?" Harry croaked out as Vanessa handed him a cup of coffee.
"What do you remember?" Steven asked.
"Your show. It was good, although I'm not sure I saw all of it."
"I feel like I kind of owe you one, Harry," Vanessa said. "Pansy and I went to the bar to get more drinks about two thirds of the way through, and someone apparently tried to slip something into one of our drinks. Only thing is, we ordered the same thing for all three of us, and you happened to get the one that was spiked."
"I guess that's good," he said, still rubbing his forehead. "I would have had to kill someone if they had done that to Pansy."
"My hero," she said quietly, still minding his headache. "We should get back to the flat and let you rest more."
"You don't have to hurry off," Vanessa said.
"No, that's alright. I need to pack things up before we head back to school tomorrow anyway." Harry let Pansy decide what they were doing, he just wanted to go back to sleep for the next month or so.
"Let me give you guys a ride home at least," Steven offered.
Thankfully it was only a few miles away, so it wasn't too long before Harry could crawl into bed.
His head was still throbbing when they made it back to the flat, but he still noticed the envelope sitting on the couch.
"We got some mail."
"I'll help you to our room, and then I'll check on it," Pansy replied and Harry nodded along. She pulled his shoes off and Harry laid down, using both hands to cover his eyes and forehead. He heard her moving around, going out to the living room and then coming back.
"It's from Sirius."
"Read it to me please."
"I don't know if I should."
"Pansy, I doubt the mutt is going to say anything that offensive. I don't feel like opening my eyes right now."
"Alright," she said and Harry heard her tearing open the envelope. "Hmm. It's pretty short."
'Dear Harry,
Pay attention to the Daily Prophet. Good news should be coming soon. And I hope to have a hilarious story to tell you.
Love, Sirius.'
"Great, I wonder what he's done this time," Harry grumbled in response.
"No sense in worrying about it now. Why don't I go get a wet towel for your head?" He heard her stand before he could even agree, and a moment later, she was pressing the cool cloth to his head.
"I really love you right now."
"Yes, well you took this curse for me, so to speak. It's only fair that I nurse you back to health."
"I still appreciate it."
"Dobby's making some soup for when you feel up to eating something. Just try to relax for now."
"Okay."
The month of April had come and gone, and Harry could hardly believe his luck. Two straight months without any danger. It felt almost miraculous.
Of course, the third and final task of the tournament was still looming ahead, along with whatever that may bring. The news from Sirius had yet to show itself either. Harry just hoped he was being more careful than he had in the past.
He had also taken to writing more of his own assignments. Harry was now dealing with everything for Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Arithmancy, Defense, and Runes completely on his own. The other classes thankfully didn't have too many essays.
The reason why, as usual, was Pansy.
Unlike Harry, she did have the end of term exams coming up, and he wanted to make sure that she wasn't overly burdened because of him. He even helped her study, sometimes without letting it devolve into an excuse to do anything sexual. With as much as she had followed his lead in working with Moody and extra practical lessons, he felt he owed it to her to make sure she had a chance to do as well as possible with her finals.
In part, that was why they were at breakfast one Sunday in May. Pansy had talked him into not sleeping in because she wanted to get a lot of work done that afternoon.
Hedwig swooped in, delivering the paper as usual, and finally Harry had received the news from Sirius.
Honor Duel Turns Deadly! Auror Revealed as Death Eater!
He began to scan immediately, and exhaled once he saw that Sirius had prevailed and Yaxley was deceased.
"Looks like Sirius has been busy," Pansy said.
"I wonder how badly wounded he ended up this time," Harry muttered as he kept reading. Pansy poked him in the side to draw his attention.
"Speak of the devil."
Sirius was striding into the Great Hall with his left arm in a sling and a smile on his face. Not too badly wounded, it seemed.
"Harry, I guess you've seen the good news."
Harry looked him over as he nodded, then pointed to his godfather's injured arm.
"Andromeda's work?"
"No. Would you believe a pretty little healer at St. Mungo's this time?"
"Maybe, but I also might think you were exaggerating to make the story better."
"You're no fun, Harry," Sirius laughed as he patted him on the shoulder. "I need to talk to you in private once you're done eating."
"Would you like to join us, Mr. Boardman?" Luna asked.
"I haven't been called that in a long time," Sirius snorted. "I will neither confirm nor deny that I may have allowed a young lady or two to assume that I was that wizard just because of the resemblance."
"Sure," Harry drawled. "Let's try to keep your ancient past where it belongs. Some of us are trying to eat."
"Don't be rude, Harry," Hermione admonished him as she scooted over. "You're welcome to sit with us."
"Thank you, miss Granger," Sirius said as he plopped down between her and Harry. "It has been far too long since I sat at this table. Those were some of the best years of my life. Sadly, I see the elves still aren't putting out enough bacon."
"No, that's just because you arrived after Hedwig had already been here," Pansy said.
"I make sure to look after my ladies, with or without feathers as the case may be," Harry said with a grin. "And today, she did deliver your long awaited good news."
"Well, I'll fill you in more once we're alone. I would hate to traumatize the young ladies. You, on the other hand, I have a duty to-"
"Irritate?" Harry suggested.
"I was going to say perturb."
"Did someone let you borrow a thesaurus?"
"No, I have my own, thank you very much," Sirius answered as he raised his chin. "It was very useful when we were taunting all the little Death Eater wannabes back in school. Too many purebloods fall back on the same few boring insults. No imagination in that lot."
"You should spend more time with Luna then," Pansy recommended. "She's the most imaginative girl I know."
"That's very sweet of you to say," Luna replied as she leaned her head against Pansy's shoulder. "Your reputation might take a hit if you keep being so nice in public, though."
"Not when it's you Luna. You're my girl," Pansy said as she wrapped an arm around her. "It's not as if I'm hugging Granger or anything else ridiculous."
"Of course not," Harry chuckled, putting down his fork. "I guess I'm done. Ladies, I'll see you all later. Try not to have too much fun without me.
"Pansy," Harry kissed the side of her mouth once she had finished taking a drink. "Luna, keep an eye on her for me till I get back."
"Will do!" Luna snapped off a crisp salute even though her hand still held a fork full of sausage.
"Alright Sirius, let's go."
Harry got up and they walked out into the hallway. As soon as they climbed some stairs to the next floor, Harry opened the door to a disused classroom and stepped inside. Sirius followed him, closing the door.
"I thought we might go back to your quarters," he began, but Harry waved him off.
"Dobby!"
"Master Harry sir!" the house-elf popped in, happily ready to serve. He had been somewhat disappointed that morning that he hadn't been allowed to make breakfast.
"I've got a job for you to do. I want you to make sure that no one tries to bother Pansy while I'm busy with Sirius here. But don't let anyone know you're there unless it's necessary, okay?"
"Dobby can do that, master Harry."
"I know you can. Take good care of her."
Dobby smiled and disappeared.
"Is that really necessary?" Sirius asked. "I've heard of over protective boyfriends, but you're taking it to another level, Harry."
"Sirius, the headmaster of Durmstrang is a known convicted Death Eater, and he is also the most likely suspect for me being in this stupid tournament in the first place. His star pupil already tried to assault my best friend and at least interfered if not tried to outright attack me during the second task. Meanwhile, one of the little bastards from Slytherin tried to slip Pansy a love potion."
"You caught him then?"
"Pansy detected it and Slughorn confirmed things. If he had succeeded, we would not be talking right now because I would still be busy torturing him to death. That was four months ago, mind you."
"Well, I can't say I blame you for that," Sirius nodded. "I fell victim to one in fifth year. Thankfully, it wasn't very strong, but I never would have been caught in a broom closet with Edna Dorsey otherwise. She didn't even have the decency to know what she was doing. I mean, sure she looked like her mother might have mated with a baboon, but a blow job's a blow job. Or, it should have been."
"I think we should hold off on the rest of this conversation until we get back to my quarters."
Sirius agreed so he instead took to whistling as they climbed the stairs up to the Gryffindor tower.
Harry tried not to let it bother him, but he still took the several flights of stairs a little faster than usual. If it just so happened to make Sirius winded enough to stop by the fifth floor, then that was certainly nothing more than a happy coincidence.
"Alright, alright," Sirius panted as they neared the Gryffindor common room. "You're going to give your poor godfather a coronary."
"Actually, my godfather is rich and he was being an arse, so I'm sure he deserved it."
""I'll get you back for this, Harry."
"You'll try," he replied before giving the password to the Fat Lady and quickly heading over to his quarters. Once the door was closed behind them, Harry went over to the little kitchen area and started looking for tea.
"You could have had your house-elf do that if you weren't so bloody paranoid. I went to school with at least half a dozen Death Eaters, and I was never as bad as you."
"You didn't have as many people trying to kill you, I'd bet."
"Just my family mostly," Sirius snorted. "So, I guess you'd like to hear the whole story."
"It's too bad he couldn't be taken for questioning, but getting Yaxley out of the ministry was definitely something that needed to be done. What happened to the arm?"
"Caught a bludgeoning spell in the shoulder. Got a little bit dislocated. It'll be fine in a day or two."
"Nothing more serious than that?"
"No."
"Good."
"What did you think of me stealing from your playbook?"
"Huh?"
"Unlike you, I actually slept with his wife instead of just making him think I had done so. Let me tell you, Harry, it was glorious. Apparently old Yaxley had become so immersed in the Dark Arts that he was impotent. Or at least his sex drive was so low that his wife was very unfulfilled. Which just meant that she was insatiable for some Sirius loving."
He waggled his eyebrows dramatically.
"Your puns are terrible," Harry groaned as he finally remembered to start the water boiling. Sirius could be such a huge distraction.
"Then I guess you don't want to hear more about it? Carina told me she danced with you at Narcissa's party a year ago. That made you a lucky boy, just not as lucky as I got. Her breasts were fucking outstanding, Harry. Merlin bless the ingenuity of witches and their cosmetic charms. I think she's a year or two older than me and she still didn't need to wear a bra. Listen to me, I sound like I'm in love."
"Or in lust, at least," Harry chuckled.
"Same thing," Sirius replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I spent three entire nights with her, hoping to sneak out just when Yaxley returned one night so he would see me leaving and challenge me to a duel."
"He could have just tried to kill you on the spot."
"He had spent so long maintaining his good name as an auror that I figured he wouldn't be that cavalier and would rather try to get rid of me in a more legal way. It was a calculated risk. Besides, now we're even."
"Huh?"
"When you saved my life, I told you I owed you a life debt and you said if I killed another Death Eater, we'd be even."
"Shit! I just said that as a joke."
"Maybe, but magic might not have seen it that way, and now I shouldn't have a debt hanging over me. Not that I think you would have done anything awful with it-"
"Probably just something humiliating," Harry smirked.
"Exactly, but now I don't have to worry about that," Sirius said with a grin.
"So, are you going to keep seeing the widow Yaxley?"
"I don't know. It might not be as exciting without the threat of her husband catching us. Besides, I'm only thirty five, you can't expect me to settle down yet. And I'm very concerned that Carina might think I was getting serious about her."
"So, seducing her away from her husband was fun, but consoling a widow not as much?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I spent all last night consoling her. She turned into a screamer too. And she did this thing with her tongue-"
"Sirius, please, for the love of all that's holy, don't tell me any stories about a woman's tongue and your body. I just ate and I don't enjoy vomiting."
"Spoilsport."
"What did we need to talk about in private anyway?"
"I have a lot more to tell you about Carina. Have you heard about how some women can squirt when they have an orgasm?"
"Someone kill me," Harry muttered as the tea was finally finished. He grabbed the tray and carried it over to the table in front of the fireplace as Sirius started to sit on the couch.
"You might prefer the chair," Harry suggested.
"Why?"
He waited until Sirius had started to take a drink of tea before responding.
"I've had a lot of sex on this couch."
The spit take was glorious.
"Dammit, Harry," Sirius said. "I thought you didn't like talking about sex."
"I didn't say that," he teased.
"Alright then." Sirius sat up a little straighter with a smile on his face. "I'm actually a little torn on Carina. I mean, she is fabulous looking, but I don't know if I really want to pursue a relationship with her. But then the sex is so fucking amazing. She even let me bugger her last night. If you haven't tried that, I can't recommend it highly enough. There's just something about a woman bent over on all fours in front of you..."
"Imagine that, you prefer doggy style," Harry chortled.
"What can I say? I'm an arse man. Don't tell me you're not."
"I'm just a Pansy man," Harry shrugged.
"You don't have to say things like that when she's not here, you know?"
"It's true. I like every part of her."
"Ah, to be young and in love," Sirius sighed.
"Do you and Carina actually, you know, talk and stuff?"
"Of course."
"Maybe you should focus a little more on that to determine how far you want things to go with her."
"Look at you, being all mature and reasonable," Sirius teased. "You're probably right, but I just haven't really considered a real relationship in a long, long time. And with the idea of a war possibly starting back up, I'm not sure how much I could focus on one anyway."
"It's likely she might not want to jump right back into marriage, you know?"
"True. It would make the gossip that much worse if she and I immediately showed up in public together. I'll just take it slow and see what happens. I might be able to get some more information from her. Speaking of which, we now have two more names on our list. David Gibbon and Thorfinn Rowle, both were younger associates of her husband that spent a lot of time with Yaxley last summer right around the time of the Quidditch World Cup."
"That's not proof positive, but it's certainly worth checking."
"Carina said that both of them tended to follow his orders."
"Henchmen?"
"Likely," Sirius agreed.
"Alright, but for fuck's sake be careful. You've been wounded both times you've gone up against a Death Eater this year. We don't want the third time to be the charm."
"Fair enough."
"It will give you a chance to get to know Carina better. We all need a chance to take a break while we still can."
"That's a good idea," Sirius said as he sat back in his chair. "How's your Legilimency?"
"Not bad, as far as I can tell. Why?"
"It might be a way for me to show you the duel. Give you some more ideas for how to do things the next time you get in a fight."
"Worth a shot, I suppose," Harry said as he drew his wand.
"One thing I've found is that simple spells are often better, especially one on one. I tend to favor Reducto a lot. You can still damage the area around your enemy even if you miss, and that can be very helpful. Plus, it's three short syllables, which makes it fast to cast. One of the only drawbacks of the killing curse is that it's six syllables. Even a fraction of a second can matter in a fight to the death."
"That makes sense. Is there another drawback?"
"In the last couple of years at Hogwarts, they start teaching silent casting. It works for a lot of spells, but not the killing curse, which requires too much power and focus. According to most theories anyway. Every time I've seen it cast, the Death Eater shouted the damn thing."
"I understand. The Patronus charm is similar and it requires powerful emotion to cast too."
"Exactly," Sirius replied. "Give me a second to get ready and then hopefully you'll get to see how the fight went with Yaxley."
Harry spent the next couple of hours going over the fight between Sirius and Yaxley before he led the older man down to an empty room where they could practice together. They agreed to take things somewhat easy due to Sirius' injury, but he could still cast at Harry and make him work up a sweat dodging spells. He had given Harry the advice that mobility in a fight was always something that would be on his side against older wizards. Harry might never have the knowledge of spells of someone like Dumbledore, but his youth and stamina would be on his side against older opponents.
According to Sirius, the Death Eaters never did much in the way of dodging. They favored numerical advantage and the terror of seeing killing curses flying, which was enough to cause most magical people to try to flee. Mastering the fight or flight impulse was a huge step in the battle that few ever managed.
Harry kept that thought in mind as Sirius put him through hell that afternoon, launching spell after spell at him. By dinner time, he had gone about three steps beyond tired and sore. As he soaked in the shower before heading down to the Great Hall, Harry decided that he would need to start running at least a couple of times a week to build up his stamina more. One of the only downsides about not being around Dudley anymore is that he wasn't as fast as he used to be.
He had six weeks before the third task. Hopefully that would be long enough.
Two weeks later, Harry was on his way down to the Quidditch pitch one night after dinner. Pansy was back in their quarters as he had been once again summoned for part of the Triwizard Tournament.
The other two champions had already beat him there even though he was close to ten minutes early. Lugo Bagman was standing in the middle of a maze of low hedges, no more than two or three feet tall.
Harry noticed that for once neither of the heads of the other schools were there with their champions as the former quidditch star went over the goal of the third task, to make it through the maze, past all obstacles- including some creatures provided by Hagrid, which Harry was definitely not looking forward to as the blast-ended skrewts were a fucking nightmare. It was a simple goal though, fastest to the center would reach the Triwizard Cup and thus be declared the winner.
Harry wasn't there to win though. He was expecting trouble, and that's why he was keeping a close eye on Viktor Krum.
The Bulgarian was his usual surly self, but Harry didn't notice anything out of the ordinary from him.
Once Bagman had finished going over the rules, they were dismissed to go back to their accommodations, and Harry decided it was time for him to have a talk with Fleur Delacour. Getting Bagman to stop trying to chat with him was annoying, but Harry managed it soon enough. He sped up his pace so he could catch the French champion.
"Fleur, might I have a word with you? In private?" Harry glared at Bagman, who finally took the hint and walked off.
"Of course."
They headed off towards the forest. The Beauxbatons' massive carriage was parked in that direction.
In the darkness, neither of them noticed another figure watching quietly near the edge of the trees.
"What do you wish to speak about 'arry?"
"This final task. Well, and the second task too in a way."
"Ah, so you wish for me to repay you for rescuing Gabrielle? What is your request zen? You know I am in last place at ze moment?"
"True, but winning has never been my main concern. I might not have had to help your sister if not for Krum's interference. Who can say for sure if he was just being clumsy in his altered form or if he had more nefarious motivations."
"You're suggesting it was a deliberate attack. Why?"
"There was already some bad blood between us because of how he treated my best friend at the Yule Ball."
"Zere were several rumors going around about zat night."
"I'm sure," Harry sighed. He could see the outline of the carriage in the distance as they continued to walk closer to it. Hagrid's cabin was even closer along the path they were taking. "I hope your night was pleasant enough."
"It could 'ave been worse. Ze Ravenclaw boy turned out to be a fool, but it was easy enough to send 'im off when 'e bored me. My allure can be quite useful. Now, tell me what happened between Krum and your friend."
"Let's just say that he wanted to be more physical with her than she wanted."
"I see. But 'ow are you involved?"
"I helped Hermione get away from him that night," Harry eventually replied. It was basically the truth, without revealing Dobby's involvement.
"And zis led to you taking up 'er patronage. Was 'zis just to protect her? Zat could lead you to problems in ze future."
"Hermione's one of the smartest and most driven witches in the school. I think it's more likely that I'll make her look bad than any damage she could do to my reputation. Besides, we've been best friends pretty much the entire time we've gone to school together. I'm sure I can count on Hermione."
"Alright, zen back to what you were going to request."
"Right, well, I don't trust Krum at all. It's even worse when you consider that Karkaroff was a convicted Death Eater. I've had a few encounters with them in the past, and they usually try to kill me. I wouldn't be surprised if Krum tried to attack me during the third task.
"Therefore, I propose that you and I team up to get through the maze together. You can help watch my back in case Krum tries anything. Plus, two people will certainly have more luck against whatever obstacles we might come up against, and believe me, Hagrid is likely to put some very dangerous magical creatures in the maze. When we make it to the center, I'll even let you take the trophy."
"You would let me win? Why?"
"I don't care about winning. I never wanted to be in this tournament in the first place."
"So you were telling ze truth about not putting your name in ze goblet," Fleur said as she slowed to a stop. "It seemed like you were just being rude zat night. Not zat I have room to talk."
Harry saw her give him a tentative little grin and he nodded while he thought of a response.
"I don't suppose either of us made a very good first impression that night. Sorry about that." He rubbed the back of his neck while Fleur accepted his apology with a quiet murmur of merci.
Before he could say anything else though, there was a rustle coming from somewhere nearby in the woods. Harry immediately drew his wand and he saw Fleur reach for her own.
"Who's there?"
A figure struggled through the brush, and once he got a little closer, Harry recognized that it was Mr. Crouch. He looked like he had struggled through the entire forest. His clothes were torn in several places, his normally meticulous hair was out of place and drenched in sweat, and he had scratches as well as what appeared to be bits of glass embedded in the left side of his face.
"Mr. Crouch, are you alright?"
But instead of responding, Crouch stumbled onto his knees and let out a soft moan.
Harry kept his wand out but took a couple of hesitant steps closer. Crouch looked up, and Harry saw a look of terror on his face.
"Dumbledore!" he gasped. "Must... see... Dumbledore. Never should have... escaped... my fault. All... my fault."
"Can you stand up? We can get you to professor Dumbledore very soon," Harry said while he scanned the nearby area, as Crouch kept looking over his shoulder, as if someone had been chasing him.
"Close. Always... kept close. Mistakes, my mistakes. So many... Dead now. Poor... Bertha. The blood... too much. Nothing... could be done. Should have... never listened... damn elf..."
""E seems to be out of 'is mind," Fleur said quietly as she stepped closer to Harry. "What could 'ave caused zis?"
"I'm not sure we want to find out. Let's see if we can get him out of the forest at least. Hagrid's hut is pretty close by. He could help get Crouch up to the school."
Harry stepped closer and helped the disheveled man to his feet.
"Mr. Crouch, if you can come this way, we can get you to Dumbledore. Can you walk just a bit more?"
"Just... a bit more. Yes," he replied with a groan.
Harry took a couple of steps back towards Fleur.
"If you can guide him, I'll drop behind in case someone followed him here." Fleur looked ready to agree but before Harry could turn back to Crouch, a voice cried out.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Harry grabbed Fleur and they spun around a nearby tree, trying to dodge out of the path of the killing curse, wherever it might have come from. There was a thud behind them.
He crouched down low and edged towards the right side of the tree's trunk while motioning with his hand to wait.
Fleur's eyes were wide in fright, but she remained silent as she nodded and raised her wand, waiting for a further attack to come.
Harry took a deep breath and listened, but heard no further movement. As quietly as he could, he leaned out and tried to spot the mysterious attacker. Less than ten feet away, Mr. Crouch lay face down on the ground and Harry could already guess at his fate. Peering deeper into the woods, Harry saw a figure standing no more than thirty feet off.
He was about to cast a spell when he noticed that the figure wasn't moving. Why would someone cast the killing curse but not continue the attack nor flee to escape discovery? He chose a different spell, hoping to capture whoever this was in their momentary indecision.
"Petrificus Totalis."
He hadn't learned to cast the spell silently, but he managed it with little more than a whisper and the target was still not moving, so he was pretty sure it was a hit. Harry leaned back behind the tree and raised a finger to his lips as Fleur looked down at him. He pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket, never more glad that Pansy had insisted he carry it with him.
'Just in case' had never been more prescient.
He covered himself in the cloak, cast a charm to muffle his footsteps, and crept out towards the shadowy figure. The sun had set and without a moon in the sky, there was very little light. Harry was nearly right in front of him when he saw who it was.
Krum.
The Durmstrang champion was definitely frozen in place, and his wand was in his hand although it was now stuck to his side by the body bind curse, but the unusual thing Harry noticed was the vacant look in his eyes.
Harry knew that look. Moody had made sure it was something he would always recognize.
It was the Imperius curse.