Harry chuckled quietly as he heard the exuberant shouts of the Hufflepuff audience waiting outside the dressing room. It was the 8th of May and time for the final Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. It was the first time in years that Hufflepuff had a solid chance of winning the cup and the house was more united than ever before, chanting together as they greedily anticipated the clash.
The upper years said they had never seen such house unity as they witnessed now, the combination of their success in both the House Cup, the Quidditch Cup and the threat of petrification had seen the house of loyalty unite together stronger than ever. Harry himself had become an even stronger figure for the house, his academic performance racked in points like no other while his prowess at Quidditch had won him countless fans.
The school had been at peace ever since the attack in December and the students in general considered the problem dealt with. Even Malfoy seemed to have lost some of his bluster when his prophesied apocalypse of the muggleborn wasn't happening. It didn't help any that the Hufflepuffs were copying the actions of Harry when it came to bullying, retaliating together as one.
More than one person wondered what was happening to the house of the badgers, a few of the older ones considering what was becoming of a house built on loyalty and hard work now that a leader was emerging among them.
Harry himself was in a good mood, he was making good progress on all fronts, the personal tutoring from Mistress Andromeda allowing his ability to grow in leaps and bounds. Even his Ancient Runes self-study was going surprisingly well, yet he still puzzled over his ability to easily memorize the various runes and their combinations, he was fairly certain it should be more difficult.
Hermione continued to trouble him though; her condition had seen no change besides her growing far more comfortable with herself. No longer was she plagued by self-doubt and anxiousness, she seemed to embrace her new self with ease. She was still as affectionate as ever and Harry could only wonder what brought it all on.
He had obviously considered the life-debt she owed him from first year, when he had saved her from the troll, it was after all a magical bond of sorts and she herself said the potion had increased her sensitivity to all her desires. Alife-debt in essence required service from whoever owed it and he had to wonder if it was one of the reasons, she acted the way she did.
Still, he hadn't given up hope on fixing her condition, even if Hermione herself seemed rather content with the whole thing. Madam Pomfrey was good but she was no expert, getting an expert opinion on her condition might shed more light on the issue. Harry also considered the possibility of the Polyjuice potion messing with her animagus form, after all, no one knew how those two magics interacted, as no one was, well, dumb enough to drink a Polyjuice potion with animal hair in it.
Yet if her animagus transformation was the required fix she would still have to wait several years before attempting it. Not only did it require basic Occlumency to prevent oneself from being lost to the mind of the beast, one also needed extensive transfiguration training as the art was in essence wandless human self-transfiguration. As far as he knew the art wasn't even taught in Hogwarts, considered beyond the grasp of even the NEWT transfiguration students.
"Hufflepufffffffffff!"
Lee Jordan's shout drowned in the massive cheers that erupted from the Hufflepuffs in attendance and Preece grinned happily as he led them out on the field. Harry grinned in return; it was time to claim the cup for the puffs for once; he was pumped for this game.
"All students are to return to their common rooms immediately!"
Complete silence blanketed the stadium as they turned to gape at Professor McGonagall who was marching towards the pitch.
"What?!"
Lee Jordan seemed to have forgotten he still had his Sonorus spell active, or he simply ignored it, yet Harry couldn't blame him, why the hell would they interrupt the final Quidditch game? McGonagall glanced towards him and he saw hesitance flash in her eyes. He felt his stomach drop as he watched her compose herself to give a statement.
"There has been another attack, Ms. Granger from Gryffindor and Ms. Clearwater from Ravenclaw have been found petrified. Now move; everyone to their respective common rooms, this match is cancelled!"
Harry froze in disbelief, that fucking heir had actually dared to attack Hermione. Worry warred with rage inside of him as he clenched his fists, willing his mind to start working again. With a snap he took off, sprinting towards the Hospital Wing, he had to see her to sort his head out.
He couldn't even remember running in to the infirmary, all that mattered was the brown-haired girl lying in a bed next to the other statue-like students. Staring at her motionless form he had to forcibly remind himself that she was not dead; merely petrified.
The image was disturbing, to watch someone who had become so full of life as of late, be made into this caricature of herself. His nails dug into his palm, drawing blood without him noticing, he was going to make a fucking snakeskin wallet out of this so-called monster.
Reaching over to brush the hair out of her eyes he was at least relieved that her glamour had held, Professor Flitwick obviously knew what he was doing. Glancing at her left hand he saw a small mirror locked in her grasp and chuckled apathetically, of course she would find out what the beast was even when he told her to leave it alone.
Really, what was he expecting, she was curious before but now…the expression that came to mind was 'curiosity killed the cat'. The thought made him slightly nauseous and he turned away, feeling guilt well in him. No, fuck the guilt, why was Dumbledore still refusing aurors in the school? Why was he feeling guilt when that man could have prevented all this but was letting it run its course?
He looked at the row of frozen students and snorted without any real feeling, Penelope Clearwater was a half-blood. Ignoring the plight of muggleborns was one thing but the wizarding public would throw a fit when they heard the only daughter of the Clearwater family had been petrified because of his stubbornness.
His thoughts turned out to be prophetic, the second the word spread about the latest string of attacks; Dumbledore was removed as the Headmaster and kicked out of the school. Soon after, Hagrid out of all people was arrested based on suspicion alone and no doubt because of his status as a half-giant. He was naturally sent to Azkaban without any trial, why would they waste time and resources on a half-breed.
Harry palmed his face at the hypocrisy and stupidity of the Ministry, to remove Dumbledore from his post was one thing, but to remove him from protecting the students was idiocy. That's not even mentioning the idea of Hagrid proclaiming himself the heir of Slytherin. It was about as likely as Lucius Malfoy being revealed as the heir of Hufflepuff
XXX
To call the school tense following the attacks would have been an understatement, lower years were escorted everywhere they went and even the teachers looked frazzled. Several students had pulled out to receive tutorship for the rest of the year; those that couldn't afford it only stared with barely hidden jealousy at the departing students.
Harry didn't care; he thought it was a good thing as it narrowed down the list of suspects. To say that he was thirsting for revenge was like calling water wet, his blood practically boiled in his veins whenever someone mentioned the heir.
He spent hours every night prowling the corridors with his invisibility cloak, hoping to catch whoever it was that was responsible. He had not cared one whit about the attacks until they attacked something that was his. He did not care how sexist it sounded to classify Hermione as his, she simply was. The heir of Slytherin had made things personal.
Susan and Hannah were obviously worried about him and tried to cheer him up, yet it had little success. He had learned from Christmas and didn't snap at them or shut them out, yet there was little they could do to help him. Every morning he showed up for breakfast with bags under his eyes they would share a glance before piling up food on his plate.
Harry suspected they knew exactly what he was doing and was grateful for their silent support. He was even more grateful for the fact that they didn't press him with questions, he couldn't lie for shit to them and avoiding the questions would just have made things awkward.
Harry glanced at the clock while munching his prepared plate; he didn't even notice the taste but made himself swallow anyway. He would never starve again when there was food available; that had been a promise he had made himself.
"Charms next, eh?"
He nodded at Susan, Charms class with Slytherin, oh joy. If that house was disliked before, it was nothing compared to how they were treated as of late. The Gryffindors watched every single green-clad student with hawk eyes, seeming to hope for an excuse to go to war with them.
Hufflepuff was little better, entire groups of students tracing the Slytherins with their eyes when they walked by. Most seemed bothered by the attention; even Malfoy's swagger seemed to die rather suddenly when he wasn't around his house. Their meetings with Daphne and Tracey had ended for now, not that he blamed the girls for their caution; he wouldn't want to walk around as a pair in the current climate either. The school felt like a powder keg waiting to blow.
The prefect dropped off their class outside of the Charms room, clearly Flitwick hadn't arrived yet. The Slytherin class was already there, lounging outside the door.
The tension increased as soon as both sides realized they were alone in the hallway, hushed discussions going on within both groups. Harry was fine with the quiet; he really didn't feel like listening to Malfoy's rubbish right now. He remembered the old saying of 'speak of the devil' as he watched the blond boy swagger in between them, taking a demonstrative sniff of the air.
"Ahhhh." He muttered in delight.
Harry ignored him and started walking towards the classroom; he had more important things on his mind.
"Can you smell that? The air sure seems a lot fresher in the school as of late."
Harry froze, half trying to reign in his temper and half wishing to pummel the little fuck.
"Must be all the filth being purged as of late."
The blink of an eye later Harry's fist was buried in the wall next to Malfoy's head, his magic enforced fist breaking the actual millennia old rock, fine spider web cracks spreading out around his knuckles. The loud bang made more than a few people jump before quickly reaching for their wands, but Harry had yet to move an inch, content to keep his face inches from Malfoy, peering into his eyes. Draco swallowed softly as he glanced at the cracked rock next to his face before turning tail and legging it to the classroom.
A loud snort broke the tense silence and they all turned to Hannah who was covering her mouth her hand.
"Sorry, sorry, but that was pretty damn funny."
Susan tried to fight her giggle but failed and was soon joined in by a few soft chuckles. People glanced at each other before holstering their wands, not really worth fighting over the ponce.
"Mr. Potter."
They turned around at Professor Tonks's voice, not having noticed her at the end of the corridor.
"If you would come with me, the rest of you inform Professor Flitwick I have borrowed Mr. Potter."
She got a few nods in return before marching off with Harry. They walked in silence as she led him to her room and gestured towards the sofa. As he sat down she started preparing some tea.
"You realize you almost started a war between Hufflepuff and Slytherin?"
He grimaced but couldn't really refute it, Malfoy had been mouthing off but he had escalated it to violence.
"Yeah, it was dumb."
"Yes, it was. It was rash and quite simply stupid."
She walked over with the tea set, sitting down next to him and handing him a cup.
"Yet I don't blame you, your Occlumency seems to be a mess and your emotions are all over the place. Have you been sleeping?"
His answering grimace just made her nod, like she already knew the answer.
"Lack of sleep makes relaxation difficult which in turn makes meditation for Occlumency difficult. As this has been going on for some weeks you are allowing all your emotions to bleed through. The childish taunts of Malfoy should be answered with wit, not physical force like some brute. Never allow your enemies to know they are getting to you. Actual revenge can be taken later, especially when it doesn't involve your entire class. Or witnesses for that matter."
"You don't understand Mistress; I have to catch this little bastard!"
"The heir? Do you believe yourself to be in good condition to fight someone who is capable of controlling a basilisk?"
He was about to answer yes but frowned, she'd spot a lie a mile away and when he really thought about it he felt weak as a kitten. He hadn't had a decent night's sleep in almost a month. His lack of answer only made her raise an eyebrow as she sipped her own tea, prompting him to taste his.
"The Hufflepuffs look up to you; in fact, almost the entire first three years follow your lead. Had you started fighting with Slytherin today then the violence would have no doubt escalated, we need to sort out your head."
He drunk a bit more tea, savoring the taste, it was actually quite good, before giving her a questioning look.
"Sort out my head?"
She moved up, sitting down behind him so that he was practically in her lap. Her hands moved up to his chest and she pulled him back, making him recline against her pert breasts.
He had barely had time to put the teacup away and turned his head to look at her in question. She just smiled and kissed his neck before her hands parted his robes and gently pulled his shirt out of his pants. Harry flushed but didn't fight her; he wasn't a complete idiot after all.
Her hands roamed over his slight abs before continuing to his belt, unbuckling it with deft hands. His arousal was painfully obvious by now and she just gave a pleased murmur at the sight as she pulled down both his pants and boxers, freeing his erection.
Her left hand moves to his testicles, gently cupping and playing with them while her right hand grasped her wand. A muttered spell later he felt some sort of warm lubricant cover his cock and her right hand started pumping him slowly.
"Come on Harry, come for Mistress and let your body relax."
Her mumbling voice kept washing over his ear as her silky hand kept working on his shaft, playfully massaging the head before returning to the pumping motion. Harry hadn't bothered with masturbation in ages, too preoccupied with Hermione's situation and it clearly showed now as he felt himself lose control very quickly.
He panted and tried to delay his orgasm to enjoy the feel of her soft hands, but it was of no use and he soon felt himself come, covering her relentless hands in semen as he jerked in her lap. She wrung the very last drop out of him before giving him a small kiss on the cheek and picking up her wand to vanish the mess. Harry stared at her as she stood up.
"N-not that I'm objecting, but *yawn*, what was that all about?"
She gave him a victorious little smirk.
"Not only does an orgasm make your body release endorphins that affect your mood, it also relieves stress, something that you were in great need of having relieved. Above all, however, it also releases your magic and calms it."
She walked over to his cup of tea, inspecting the leftovers before smiling at his drowsy face.
"It also allows the Dreamless Sleep potion I slipped into your tea to work without your notice, you did after all say you hadn't been sleeping."
He tried to muster an angry glare at her but could already feel the potion taking effect, his vision steadily darkening.
"Good night Harry."
The last thing he saw before sleep claimed him was her tucking him in with a thick blanket. He couldn't decide if he should be upset or grateful.