Disclaimer: None of this is mine; everything belongs to the great Joanne K. Rowling.
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews to fifespice, HowlingRain, Silvermane1, mizzrazz72, Abeham, JJFicFreak, Kelly185891, redfox-9, Night-Chan-DragonEyes, Vengence-Angel2010, Beth9891 (yes, I aged everyone (including Harry) two years up!), a guest and lil joker 1989 and also thanks to all the readers who followed and favourited my story!
I'm very sorry about the delay, you guys, but I passed my final exams at last and I'm now done with uni forever, YEAH! Also, this chapter is a bit shorter than normally, but you get the Prefect's bathroom which turns out a bit differently than in the book… hehe. Enjoy!
xXx
"You never did tell me what you did to Skeeter," Marcus said. His arm was casually wrapped around Harry's waist, but Harry knew that he'd be able to keep him in place with his arm if only he flexed his muscles – when he thought that Harry might try to evade his questioning, for example.
"I didn't," Harry admitted, stretching lazily in Marcus' embrace. He had awoken to soft kisses all over his neck and torso and, before he had known what happened, Marcus had kissed him everywhere, on his stomach, on his thighs, on his cock; and then he had casually flipped him around and Harry had expected to be fucked, but Marcus had continued his kisses on Harry's back and on his bum and, oh sweet Merlin, between his butt cheeks – Harry blushed again at the thought, he had never known before that anything could feel that amazing and he had reached his orgasm very fast, but he had still been that turned on that he had hardly been able to wait for Marcus to fuck him – he might have rushed things a bit, but it ended up in a good kind of pain, throbbing between his legs and making him feel tired, but satiated.
"You want to hear it now?" he asked.
"Obviously," Marcus drawled, "I can hardly wait to hear what three non-goody two-shoes Gryffindors could have done and whether I might have to give you detention for it."
Harry snickered – that would be a detention he would look forward to. "So, we had the spell in the Red Receptacle and we discovered her in one of the corridors while we were alone, so I immobilized her and Hermione put her into an unbreakable jar and we decided to, er, deal with her where no one could see us, so we went to a classroom on the third floor. Hermione then told her that she would throw the jar – with her in it – into the Hogwarts Lake if she didn't turn back as soon as we opened the jar. We all had our wands on her when she flew out and she actually did turn back, but she tried to make a joke out of it, saying we were only children and we didn't know what we were doing.
Hermione then pulled a potion vial with a Veritaserum-like potion from her bag – it was not Veritaserum, though, but I wouldn't have put it past Hermione – but Skeeter obviously thought it was Veritaserum and she spilled her secrets when Ron mentioned that we happened to know the punishment for being an illegal animagus. You know, she has these fake jewels on her glasses that are actually tiny shards from a photo lens she has enchanted to record everything around her and they are around her eyes as a bug, too – that is actually really clever, Hermione was very impressed because you normally can't keep part of your clothing when you change into your animal – anyway, that is how she took the photos of… well, of Cedric and me."
Marcus gave a grunt at that and kissed Harry, hard, as if to remind him that Cedric'd better be forgotten – as if Harry didn't know that. "Then I told her to never write about me or any of my friends – or boyfriends, at that –" Something flashed in Marcus' eyes at that, but he didn't say anything and so Harry continued. "And not to come onto the Hogwarts grounds anymore, too. At first, she was of course not willing to, but then Netha poked her head out of my sleeve and suddenly, she was very willing. Hermione then had her write down everything we had agreed on and sign it – on a special parchment that she had bewitched to make all of Skeeter's hair fall out and never let it grow back again, should she not keep her promise. She was very meek after that."
Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Who would've thought that three little Gryffindors could have that much criminal intent. That was almost… Slytherin."
"Well, the Hat almost put me into Slytherin," Harry said, grinning at him. "And while Hermione never said anything about it, I think the Hat considered Slytherin for her, too."
"Why didn't he put you into Slytherin, then?" Marcus asked, a sudden rough edge to his voice.
"I chose Gryffindor," Harry admitted, "I knew that Malfoy was in Slytherin and I was very sure that I didn't want to be in a House with him – besides, I had heard quite some nasty stuff about Slytherin."
"Just imagine," Marcus said then, his voice hoarse, "just imagine what could have become of you if you had gone into Slytherin."
"Are you not happy with what has become of me as a Gryffindor?" Harry asked softly.
There was a short silence, then Marcus said abruptly: "We need to get out of bed, it is very late already. Hurry up, Potter." He opened the curtains a bit, peeking out, and stood up when he had obviously deemed the situation to be safe.
A short Tempus confirmed to Harry that they were indeed very late, so he hastily jumped out of bed and picked up his clothes; and yet he couldn't help but wonder what Marcus might have said, hadn't he interrupted himself.
xXx
Nervously, Ron glanced at his watch – Harry still hadn't shown up. Professor Flitwick had started with the lesson already and Hermione was fidgeting in her seat. "You should have woken him," she whispered – Ron had told her that Harry had wanted to sleep in today (as opposed to not having been in the dorm all night) – he hadn't wanted her to worry about him because he knew that she worried about Harry all the time anyway. And, he thought, Harry owed him one for that – for example he ought to tell Ron what he had been up to last night.
In this very moment, the door opened and Harry slipped in, out of breath and with his hair dishevelled. He tried to get to his usual place between Ron and Hermione without attracting attention, but Professor Flitwick called out to him. "You are quite late today, Mr. Potter."
"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry said, settling down, "I forgot about the time."
"That will be ten inches more for your homework today, Mr. Potter. Please try to be on time for the next lesson."
"Yes, Sir," Harry said in his best fake-meek voice that made Hermione frown.
"Where have you been?" Hermione hissed under her breath.
"I'm sorry I didn't wake you, mate," Ron said, giving Harry a meaningful look, "you told me yesterday you'd like to sleep late, so I let you."
"It's fine," Harry said after a few seconds. "I was just really tired, I guess." He gave Hermione a sheepish smile and produced his Charms book from his bag.
After Charms, Hermione hurried off to Arithmancy whereas Ron and Harry strolled towards the Divination classroom at a much more sedated pace. "So, you owe me one, mate, for not ratting you out," Ron said casually, making sure that no curious ears were about, "where have you been last night?"
Harry grimaced. "I was, er, about."
"Obviously," Ron said drily. "Maybe I should rather ask with whom you have been last night."
Harry flinched. "No one," he said after a few seconds.
Ron rolled his eyes at him. "C'mon, Harry, don't play stupid with me."
"Does Hermione know?" Harry asked, fidgeting with the seam of his sleeves.
"No," Ron said, "I mean she doesn't know about last night, but both Hermione and I know that there is something going on with you, Harry. You are… obvious. You have a new… boyfriend, don't you?"
Harry gave a deep sigh. "He's not… he's not my boyfriend. But I guess we are dating, in a way, yes."
Although Ron supposed Harry would not answer that question, he still asked: "Who is he?"
"I can't tell you, Ron, I'm sorry. It's really complicated and… I just can't. I promised."
How Harry always managed to land himself in difficult situations without being able to tell someone about it because it had to be secret, Ron would never know. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?" he asked nevertheless despite knowing that trying to extricate a secret from Harry was foredoomed.
Harry pulled a grimace. "I would, Ron, I just… I just can't. I wish I could, but I promised to keep it secret and… well."
"Yeah, it's fine," Ron said, "I don't mean to pester about it. But, mate, if you really need someone to talk, you know I'll be there for you. Also, if I think that he – whoever he is – is hurting you then Hermione and I will make his life a misery."
"Oh Ron, you're the best mate anyone could wish for," Harry said, throwing his arm around Ron's shoulders.
Ron grinned at him. "That is a good thing because you'll surely be willing to let me borrow your Firebolt this afternoon, won't you?"
xXx
Harry was curious to see what Marcus had in mind for him – he had written him a short note this morning, delivered by a school owl, to meet him on the fifth floor next to the statue of Boris the Bewildered at nine o'clock.
There he already stood, waiting for him, arms crossed and scowling into the darkness, but his expression softened when he glimpsed Harry jogging towards him. "Hey," Harry said quietly, giving him only the shortest of kisses, but Marcus already stepped away.
"Not in public," he growled. "Pinefresh," he then said to the fourth door to the left of the statue and the door swung open silently.
They stepped into a huge bathroom with an enormous tub – more of a pool, in fact, as it was quite huge and sunk into the ground with what looked like a hundred golden taps around it; and on the wall behind it was a huge picture of a sleeping mermaid. The room was dipped in soft pink light from the lustre at the ceiling. "What is this?" Harry breathed, but instead of answering, Marcus pulled him in for a long, deep kiss.
"It's the prefects' bathroom," he said when their kiss was finished. "Thought you knew it."
"No," Harry said, "why would I?"
"I thought Diggory might've taken you here to fuck you," he replied, his voice dark.
Marcus could be so crude, but Harry liked it; somehow, it was so refreshingly unexpected. "No, he hasn't," he just said and Marcus grinned.
"Good, 'cause I've fantasized about fucking you right here, in the water; glad it hasn't come true with Diggory yet," he said, his voice rough now.
A shiver ran down Harry's spine – Marcus saying these things in that voice always awoke his arousal. "So? You getting started then?" he drawled, taking a step towards the tub. Marcus caught him by his waist, though, and pulled him back.
"Not so fast, Potter," he growled, pulling him into another kiss while impatiently tugging at Harry's clothes.
Harry had no idea how many of his clothes Marcus had already torn (he considered himself an expert in mending spells now), but there was something incredibly arousing about the fact that Marcus wanted him so much he was too impatient to remove his clothes the way they were supposed to, but ripped them off his body instead – and Harry loved it.
So he offered no resistance when Marcus tore his shirt open, kissing and biting along his throat and chest and stomach; and pulling him towards the tub.
Off went his shoes and socks, pants and boxers; and Marcus' clothing met the same fate; and then they climbed in. The water was blissfully warm and Marcus settled himself on the bench that went along the side of the pool, pulling Harry onto his lap for lazy kisses that became more passionate very quickly, and Marcus slipped his hand between Harry's thighs.
"Wait," Harry murmured, "I want to enjoy the location a bit." Marcus gave an unwilling grunt, but he let go of him and Harry slipped from his lap, swimming around the pool a bit.
He was curious to see what the taps might be for and turned on one of them, laughing in surprise when hundreds of tiny blue bubbles popped out. From the next one, there were enormous white bubbles that exploded with a fruity smell when he touched them. Even more curious now, he turned on all of the taps – there were bubbles of all shapes and sizes in every colour of the rainbow; some played a melody when they burst; some floated through the air like colourful clouds; others glittered like tiny stars –
"Potter," Marcus said impatiently, "come here."
"Impatient?" Harry teased him with a grin; Marcus frowned and tried to grab him, but as Harry was far enough from him (and had anticipated the move) he evaded Marcus' hands; but it didn't take Marcus very long to catch him by the waist and pull him close.
"Not impatient," he growled, but the way he grabbed Harry's chin and kissed him roughly, pressing him against the tiles, told Harry that Marcus might be more than a bit impatient. He didn't mind at all, though, responding to the kiss eagerly and shifting into a more comfortable position; and enjoying the feeling of Marcus' hot, hard and muscular body against his own, and the way his erection pressed against Harry's thigh.
Then, Marcus grabbed him by the hips, lifting him out of the water and settling him on the bathroom floor – and once more, Harry couldn't deny that he loved it when Marcus lifted him up like that, as if he weighed nothing. His breath hitched in his throat when Marcus climbed out of the tub and knelt over him, pressing him onto the cold tiles and drawing a pattern of fiery kisses over his torso. Mostly whenever they fucked, Marcus lay on his back and Harry was on top of him, but there was something very arousing about lying under Marcus, he thought, and about the feeling of his heavy body above him.
"Marcus," he said hoarsely; Marcus was tormenting him and he knew it, "Marcus, please."
"Yes?" he drawled, holding Harry's hips down when Harry tried to press himself against his body.
"I want you to fuck me," Harry breathed; and something flashed in Marcus' eyes; and he pulled him in for such a wild kiss Harry was completely out of breath when he let go of him again.
"I like it when you're naked and wet and willing," Marcus said in a low voice that made Harry shiver with want. Impatiently, he fumbled for his wand in his trousers that were, along with the rest of his clothes, haphazardly piled on top of his bag.
There it was and Harry just opened his mouth when his bag toppled over, his belongings tumbling out – among them the Golden Egg, which cracked open; and immediately the horrible screeching began once more – Harry had taken to carrying the Egg with him wherever he went, hoping epiphany might hit him sometime if only he constantly had the Egg with him.
"What the fuck?" Marcus bellowed over the screeching and Harry tried to grab the Egg, but his fingers were so slippery with soap it slipped from his hands and rolled into the water.
"Oh no," Harry moaned, fearing the Egg might be broken, but suddenly there was no screeching anymore, but a choir of beautiful, eerie voices.
"Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you're searching ponder this;
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,
An hour long you'll have to look,
And to recover what we took,
But past an hour, the prospect's black,
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked when the song was finished. "What is it about? What kind of voices are those? We cannot sing above the ground… must be some kind of thing that lives under water, isn't it?"
Marcus shrugged, his gaze fixed on the Egg which Harry had scooped out of the water again.
"What lives under water and can sing?" Harry wondered – fish obviously couldn't sing, but… "Merpeople," he breathed. "Those are merpeople singing. But I don't know anything about them – where does the nearest colony live?"
"I don't know much about them either, but everyone knows there's a colony in the Lake," Marcus said.
"Oh, really?" Once more Harry wondered how many more species of magical beings might live on Hogwarts grounds – and if he would yet encounter them all before he finished school – but, he guessed, he had already met his fair share of them. "So, they will take something from me? But what? And how would they do it? I mean they can't even walk."
"Remember, Potter, this is staged," Marcus said drily. "Obviously it won't be the merpeople themselves."
"Yeah, right." Harry turned the Golden Egg in his hands, frowning at it. "And I have to get down to them and bring back whatever they took, right? Only… how am I supposed to do that? D'you happen to have any brilliant ideas?"
Marcus shrugged. "Dunno, never thought about it. But I guess there are spells for it. We can look them up if you like."
"We?" Harry asked. "As in, you and me?"
"Obviously," he said with a frown.
"I just wasn't expecting you to actually help me," Harry said, more than a bit surprised.
"Don't want you to drown, do I?"
Harry smiled at that; and then Marcus pulled him into a kiss; and within minutes, the Egg was forgotten.
xXx
A/N: Oh, wasn't that convenient. The Second Task is on, stay tuned, guys! Please let me know what you think of this chapter!