Fluffy chapter ahead. My Magzillasaurus cleaned it up for you, therefore my gratitude.


Chapter Eleven

Lugu day eighteen

By now, the whole team had raised three houses from scraps, a fourth and a fifth were in their infancy. Not only thanks to the hard work of every volunteer, but also thanks to the aid of every healthy pair of hands from the local village, who saw their hope and prayers become a reality. While the UK folk rose the walls, created ceilings and floors, and closed the roofs, the locals helped set up the plumbing and other needs according to their ways of life.

The daily cases of hurt fingers lowered at a visible rate, as hitting with a hammer improved. The splinters were not avoidable, neither was the occasional bruise - the arnica salve ran out but was luckily replaced by an Asian medicinal cream, courtesy of Chen's apothecary talent.

The Hogwarts group changed fundamentally as well.

The majority ate with chopsticks, sharing many of their meals with the villagers - the tables set up from the festival were now used for this purpose; their food more the Asian style than good old fashioned British cooking. Neville and Ron never got the hang of those sticks, despite the many tries and failed attempts. Chen or Huan would have a fork and knife at hand especially for them, tired of seeing them fumble with the meal.

Something else they also grew used to was, being rained out without notice. Showers of rain followed by intense sunlight was a daily recurrence. The girls whined about their hair, the boys, however, enjoyed the sneak peak of bra outlines when the shirts became glued to the witches skin. Some of those wizards applied the fast drying-spell technique, as the view of their girlfriend's body was considered a restricted area. Draco became a master, and Harry copied it, out of honour to keep Daphne's virtue intact.

On the other hand, some girls, like Pansy, would use their wet-shirt moment to show off their assets to certain wizards. Since she had employed the feed-Ron-project successfully, she added the make-Ron-blush feature to her plan of seducing the ginger-haired Gryffindor. And he sure did he blush alright.

To mess with his system, Blaise would come from behind and click his fingers right in front of Ron's eyes, "Snap out of it, your eyeballs almost fell out, mate." The already blushing bloke turned beet red, time and again.

They all had sun-kissed skin complexions, the more sunburned using the intensity to gloat with the paler tanned folks, particularly, inside the double bedrooms.

Nevertheless, between all the talks, the taunting and the laughter, the new found friendships solidified, regardless of their house or their blood status. Harry and Draco discovered how much they had in common and their easy-going comradeship grew effortless. For Draco and Ron, on the other hand, it did not come so easily, though they got along better than before, both making efforts for Hermione's sake.

"Malfoy, could we have a word?" Ron stopped the passing wizard, on his way out of the men's room.

"Wha's up, Weasley?" Draco was shaking his hands dry.

"Pansy told me a few nights ago, that she never played games, like hide-and-seek and that sort of stuff."

Draco thought for a few seconds, "Yes, probably. Witches aren't allowed to play such childish games."

"Are you going to tell me that you never played them either?"

"Of course I did, Weasley. Don't be daft. Girls don't, it's not considered proper, but we do." He realised where Ron was getting at, "You want Pansy to play hide-and-seek?"

The Gryffindor shrugged, "Well…"

"I'll talk to Tanya, I guess we could use another time-out, we've been working non-stop the past week." Draco considered his next words, they obviously didn't come easy, "Maybe you're cool after all."

Ron jerked away, "Wha?"

"Never mind, I said nothing." Draco walked away, shaking his head. How did she do it? Thinking of Hermione.


Draco stood on a bench, whistling hard between two fingers, "May I have your attention." It was past six p.m., and they got off early, thanks toTanya. "I suggest we let off some steam by playing a game."

Everyone broke in a burst of laughter, his words came out of nowhere.

"Whoever is too serious to have some fun, be my guest and stay behind. Otherwise, those who are interested, follow me." He guided the group, which in the end turned out to be the full body, towards a setting Kuan-Lin suggested as an interesting playfield. It was a temporarily abandoned temple and the perfect setting for his game. Hermione linked her hand with his and followed his steps. At the atrium, he laid out his plan. "It has been brought to my attention, that some of us never played a cool children's game called hide-and-seek." Automatically, they all thought of the argument between Ron and Pansy a week ago. "Shortly explained, one counts to ten, the rest hides the best they can." The smirks rose around him, "As we are quite an extensive group, it would be quite unfair to the seeker, to search for the hiding spot of nineteen people, so, I propose that we, the boys, give our girls the chance to hide. The winners get to choose the next activity, as this is my only idea, I'm out of suggestions." Not one soul said no.

Harry added his two-cents, "We count to ten very slowly right, Malfoy?" The blond agreed.

"Wait," Hermione didn't trust them for a second, "How can we be sure you won't peek?"

Pansy suggested, "Can you create a blindfold that disappears after the ten?" Hermione snapped her fingers and readied her wand. Seconds later, the world blacked out for the wizards.

Draco shouted, "One." Like a rumble of thunder, the women spread around the temple, giggling in the wind. Many screams and the requests for help could be heard about where to find the best spot. Hermione gave a tip or two, especially to Pansy and Daphne to make it harder for the respective wizards, and took off in a sprint towards a tower on the opposite side of where Draco stood. In the distance, she heard ten being shouted and the boys taking-off.

Screams and laughter floated around, some girls already discovered behind a thin wall. Hermione rolled her eyes from her she stood. The first scream she recognised was Ginny's, who was literally being dragged to the centre by a wide smiling Blaise. I guess a good chaser doesn't know how to hide decently. Luna's singing laughter followed shortly after. For now, Hermione seemed to be safe. She spotted the blond hair in the opposite of her position a few times, brightening her spirit even more.

She broke into a laugh, watching Harry carry Daphne over his shoulder, while the witch hit on his arse in retaliation, 'Let me go!'. The tone, though, was of glee instead of fury.

Hermione was curious about Pansy's hideout, crossing her fingers for a hard search and the witch surprising Ron with a stolen kiss; it was time Pansy stepped up her game, thought Hermione. She heard footsteps approaching, but a quick look at the hallway calmed her panic. For now.

"Oh, Granger. I saw you looking." Draco's voice wasn't as far away, as first thought. "Are you jealous of Daph and would you like to be carried that way? Like a caveman."

She barely suppressed a giggle.

"Love, make it easier for both of us. I'm going to find you anyway." The next giggle was less contained, and she spotted him following the sound. "That's good, let me know where to find you, Hermione. I'll make a deal with you, I'll give you two choices for the next activity. Feed me in front of everyone." Her huff was detectable. He smirked, riling her up with his typical Malfoy banter, "Or you let me bind you to the bed and have my way with your delicious body."

In the meantime, she learned of a quick way out, and she took off, hearing him run right behind her. Her agility came in handy, avoiding an obstruction here or there, but she was no match for his strides and sooner than she hoped for, he caught her by her arm. "I win!'

Not giving her the room to escape, he threw her over his shoulder and walked out through a nearby exit. They were, apparently, the last couple missing, and under the loud cheers and boos, Draco made it to the centre, dropping his cargo not so gently. She threw him a deadly look.

All the wizards patted Draco on the back, congratulating him with the win for the male team. Draco searched for Pansy's face and was happy to see joy splattered on her features, despite her loss. This was what Ron was after, and he nodded towards the beaming wizard, who had, surprisingly enough, traces of lipstick on his lips.

"Hey, Malfoy, what's Hermione's fate?" This was now a genuine manly showing off act.

"I let her choose between two, to give her a sense of control." He barked, knowing too well he would pay dearly for his statement, later.

"All good and well, but what about you decide between you all, which activity, we girls, should do together. Not singular acts, but as a group of witches. Sounds fairer." Pansy was as cunning as a true Slytherin. "And only if we get to choose the next game on another day."

Blaise shrugged, "That sounds good to me." Only nodding faces around them. They formed a circle with a casted muffliato, and after a few back-and-forths, they decided that the witches should belly dance for them, dressed accordingly. Their decision was met by a simultaneously raise of eyebrows, but the girls accepted the challenge.


Back at the tent, one witch helped the other change their outfits into belly dancer's, complete with cropped tops, harem pants and many golden ornaments. A few men outside conjured the perfect setting with lights and music, plus comfortable seats for everyone.

Entirely in the mood, the girls stepped onto the platform and took a pose, waiting for the music to start. As the first notes filled the space, the witches gave their best possible performance at the Arabian dancing style, a few quite unhandy, but the majority with a surprising talent for it.

Hermione singled out Draco as the focus of her attention, her makeup heavy on the eyes. He was drooling over the sight she formed, shaking her arse right before his face, spinning around seductively, eyeing him over her shoulder, jigging her breasts at the beat of the music. Draco admitted she was a sight to behold, once more. When she dipped low, he gulped dry, shifting his legs to hide the bulge inside his shorts.

Theo taunted him, "Stop drooling, mate."

"Speak for yourself, Nott."

"This is a game we can't handle." Theo had to admit, with her blond hair, Luna looked like a goddess. Her dancing was less Arabian-style, but it mesmerised him, nonetheless.

"Theo, think about later, we have a fire to extinguish."

"Long live silencing spells."

"I'll drink to that, Theo."

"So will I," Harry confirmed. He regretted not having a double bedroom with Daphne, but maybe tonight exceptions could be made. It seemed to affect her as much as him, maybe luck was on his side.


Draco tackled Hermione onto the bed, pinning her under his weight. "I don't want you to shake your assets again in front of others, woman. Your tits and arse belong to me, and me alone."

"It wasn't my idea, Draco." That last one came out laughing, he tickled her. "It's your fault!"

"Doesn't matter. This delectable body is mine." Her answer was muted under a demanding kiss. His tickling attack paused just long enough for him to devour her mouth and returned soon after.

Later that night, he confessed to her to not to be the original mastermind of this playful evening. "Ron wanted to please Pansy."

"She needs to give him a little push, he's almost there." Her chin rested on his chest and rose with his intakes of breath. Her finger played, in the meantime, with the blond curly chest hair.

"I think she already has, he was drooling all over her during the dance."

"Like you were, right, my dragon?"

"Vixen, you played me." He tickled her some more but drew her soon after tight against his frame. "You bring me joy, witch. I haven't laughed this much in a long time."

"Pleased to be of service, now shut up. I'm tired." A quick peck on his lips, before she returned to her place inside his arms and closed her eyes.

She was soon fast asleep, never aware of his last words, "I love you."