Chapter 5
Thursday, 14 September 1995
Hogwarts Castle, Scotland
Harry entered the Defence classroom for his detention and sat at one of the desks. Umbridge was already present, working on whatever it was that she busied herself with, since she never actually taught during class, and assigned only the bare minimum of revision. So far, Harry's day had been fairly normal. At lunch, he'd provided his interview to Luna, who'd asked thoughtful questions and probing follow-ups.
He'd also found time to complete most of his revision. Katie and Neville were proving to be surprisingly helpful. Before dating her, Harry hadn't pegged Katie for a swot, but she could at least keep up with Hermione as they went around the library. Neville, while he might've been a little underpowered in the practical magic department, more than made up for it in the theoretical magic department. Together, in the company of Hermione, Harry was able to complete his revision in record time. And so, as Harry looked up at Umbridge, he felt… pretty damned good for once. For half a second, he wondered if someone hadn't hit him with a cheering charm.
Presently, Umbridge looked up from her desk and saw Harry sitting there.
"Ready to begin?" she asked in a saccharinely sweet voice. Harry nodded. Despite his good mood, he fully intended to keep his promise to Angelina not to get into trouble with Umbridge again. Umbridge rose, and waddled around her desk, blood quill grasped in her sweaty, fat little sausage fingers. She handed it to him gently. "I believe one more night should do it," she pronounced, glancing at Harry's hand. Harry made no move to respond. "Perhaps then you'll remember that you shouldn't tell lies."
Harry breathed in deeply, his good mood was slowly slipping away, and he grasped onto his last shred of control as a lion grasps a gazelle flailing on the ground. As Umbridge returned to her desk, Harry started to write. To compensate for the pain, his mind wandered. He thought about how unfair it was that she made him write lines about lying, when he was telling the truth. He thought back to what Sirius had told him about keeping his sanity in Azkaban by focusing on the fact that he hadn't been jailed for what he'd been accused of doing. Since it hadn't been a happy memory, the dementors couldn't take it away from him. It had kept him going.
As her wrote, he wondered why the Minister was so adamant in his views on Voldemort. He knew that the Minister was tight with Lucius Malfoy, and his mind wandered trying to figure out how and why. What did Lucius Malfoy do for the Minister, and if Harry did the same, only more so, could he sway the Minister to his views, and thus sway Umbridge. Or perhaps Umbridge and Malfoy played the same role just with different motivations. Perhaps they were both trying to control the Minister, and each reinforcing the other, to get what they wanted. But what was that? Power? Control?
Malfoy was a fairly open book. Whatever he was doing was to further Voldemort's agenda. In the past, it might've been for a pureblood agenda, but since Voldemort's return the two were so close as to be functionally the same thing, despite the fact that Voldemort was a half-blood.
It was clear to Harry that Umbridge desperately needed to be in control at Hogwarts, but was it a need to crush perceived enemies of the Minister, or was it simply a happy coincidence that by doing so she could both consolidate power and ingratiate herself with the Minister, in her mind, the ultimate font of power? Perhaps she was just a blood bigot, just like Malfoy. But what was blood bigotry, really? Did people really think half-bloods and muggleborns were worse than purebloods, or was it about consolidating and keeping power in the hands of a few?
The thoughts danced and percolated through Harry's mind for an hour as he wrote. His imagination could only take him so far. Finally, his curiosity forced him to act. Throwing caution to the wind, he stopped writing, looking thoughtfully at the paper and the lines.
"Mr. Potter," Umbridge called out once she'd noticed. "Continue your lines."
"Ma'am," Harry said, looking up. "Why?" He was entering dangerous territory. He had to be careful how he said things, as well as what he said.
"Are you questioning my authority?" Umbridge asked, less sweetly than before.
"No!" Harry said quickly. "I meant, why do you and the Minister hate me? I support the Minister. I want him to help people and succeed." It wasn't strictly a lie. Before last June, he had no real opinion on the Minister. He'd accepted that the government was the government. It hadn't affected him. Besides, he did want the Minister to help people. He just wanted the Minister to help people prepare to fight Voldemort.
"I don't believe that's true," Umbridge countered. "You need to learn to respect your betters and do as you're told."
"I'd like you to educate me," Harry decided, wanting to learn just what she meant. Getting angry now wouldn't help anything. Harry needed to understand this woman if he was going to fight her. "You say I need to learn to respect my betters. No one worth listening to has explained to me who my betters are. Do you mean adults… ancient and noble heads of house… government employees… my professors… purebloods? Please, tell me what you mean when you say betters. I've only spent four years knowing I was magical, and pretty much all that time I've been in school, so I'm a little behind on the nuances of society."
Umbridge regarded him for a moment, leaning forward and steepling her fingers in front of her, as if trying to decide if he was serious. Certainly, he'd stroked her ego by implying that she was someone worth listening to. Eventually her hands lowered slowly to the desktop.
"Mr. Potter, all of those answers are correct," she said at last.
"Which should I regard as the penultimate better?" Harry asked. "Neville Longbottom is a pureblood, however he's fairly lacklustre as a wizard. Professor Dumbledore's an educator, but you don't seem to like him very much, and I get the impression that should I listen to him, I'd just get in more trouble. Mr. Arthur Weasley's an adult, a government employee, and a pureblood, but I'd bet that you don't like him either. I myself am head of an ancient and noble house, but you don't like me very much. How am I to know to whom I should turn without bringing the wrath of the Minister down on me?"
"Obviously, the Minister, as the head of the Ministry, is the penultimate authority," Umbridge answered sweetly again, quickly hiding her displeasure that all his answers highlighted the flaw in her original answer. "Like Arthur Weasley, he's a pureblood, an adult, and a Ministry employee, however, he is… a better sort of person than Arthur Weasley. As his Undersecretary, I am also above other Ministry employees, except of course, the Minister."
"Please, Ma'am," Harry pleaded, trying to get her to speak plainly. "What do you mean when you say better sort of person? How is the Minister a better sort of person than Mr. Weasley?"
"The Minister understands the proper order of things," Umbridge replied disdainfully.
"And what is that, ma'am?" Harry pressed, writing lines long forgotten.
"Since you haven't lived long in our society, I suppose it is forgivable that you are so poorly informed," Umbridge prefaced. "You brought up purebloods. The proper order, of course, is that purebloods, being those families the longest in society and therefore best able to understand our traditions, should be placed in positions of authority where they can ensure that those traditions are upheld and propagated."
"What traditions are those?" Harry asked, actually curious if he could get to the heart of the matter. What Umbridge had just spouted was fairly common. It seemed to Harry that the phrases were dog whistles for consolidation of wealth and power among purebloods and fuck the rest of society.
"Most half-bloods and muggleborns have been too exposed to muggle society," Umbridge said. "They are enamoured, as I alluded in my welcome speech, to progress for progress sake. Our society… the Wizengamot, the Ministry, Hogwarts, and other wizarding institutions, have stood for centuries, millennia even, and have functioned well. Wizarding society doesn't need to change just because we don't look like muggle society. We don't need to wear muggle clothes, listen to muggle music, or have muggle contraptions. Muggles are beneath us. We were gifted with magic. Not them."
"So, the Minister is better than Mr. Weasley because Mr. Weasley likes to tinker with electric plugs?" Harry clarified.
"That would be one reason, yes," Umbridge allowed. "Arthur Weasley has also voted in the past to remove protections from pureblood families. He is a blood traitor… that is to say, he's a pureblood with no respect for the traditions of pureblood wizards." Harry nodded. He knew, or at least suspected, that that was the reason that Mr. Weasley wasn't respected in the Ministry.
"Neville Longbottom said that ancient and noble families were the top of the social order," Harry said carefully. "Are you saying that he's wrong? That in fact, pureblood families are at the top?"
"Not precisely," Umbridge explained patiently. "Ancient and noble pureblood families certainly deserve more respect than others, with noble pureblood families following, and ancient pureblood families close behind. But just being an ancient and noble family means nothing if you're not pureblood. Those families have lost respect for the traditions of wizarding society."
"I guess, as a half-blood there's nothing I can do," Harry said, feigning sadness. "Neville Longbottom had told me how wonderful wizarding society is, and I'd been looking forward to joining it, but I guess now I can't. Can I at least show the Minister that I support him? I really think he's got the wrong impression of me.
"I mean, when I came back at the end of the Triwizard Tournament, I told him and Professor Dumbledore what I thought I saw," Harry continued, faking earnestness. "I admit, I was quite excited about the whole thing at the time, but I didn't tell anyone else later. Plus, when I got back home, I didn't talk to anyone all summer. But for some reason, he thinks I'm an attention seeking liar. I didn't write or say anything to anyone about anything! Now that I've sat through several detentions, I've been thinking that perhaps I was wrong. After all, I defeated Voldemort as a baby. How do I know what he looked like? Maybe I didn't see what I thought I did. Is there a way for me to show him that he has me pegged wrong?"
"It's refreshing to see that my punishment has had the proper effect," Umbridge said, smiling an ugly, disgusting, toothy smile. "I shall inform the Minister of your change of heart."
"Is there a more tangible way I can express my support?" Harry asked again, his babbling seemingly stream of consciousness. "I don't know much about the government. My ignorance is something I'm trying to correct. Is the Minister an elected position? Does he have a campaign fund or something that I could contribute to?"
"The Minister is elected by the Wizengamot," Umbridge informed him. "However, he does have a small campaign fund he uses to pay for gifts and parties for Wizengamot members. He would probably welcome a donation, though I doubt you'd be able to give a meaningful amount."
"What would be considered a meaningful amount?" Harry asked, sounding confused, but actually hunting for information.
"Some friends and well-wishers have contributed upwards of ten thousand galleons to the Minister's campaign fund over the years," Umbridge revealed. "I doubt you have access to…"
"I could probably manage that," Harry interrupted her, oozing hopefulness. "Do you think if I gave the Minister ten thousand galleons for his campaign fund, he'd believe that I'm really on his side?"
"I am certain he would be most pleased by your thoughtful contribution and earnest desire to repair your relationship," Umbridge said happily. "Now, I think you've learnt your lesson. Pack up your things. You're free to go. I think we can forego your detention tomorrow as well."
"Thank you, Ma'am," Harry said, as he reached down for his bookbag.
"You still have plenty of time to make it to the owlery before curfew," Umbridge pointed out as Harry stood and started for the door. "Gringotts will already know to which account to forward your donation, so just explain it's for the Minister's campaign fund. I'll be telling the Minster of your change in attitude, and that he can expect your contribution."
Harry nodded, and as he passed out the door, he could hear Umbridge scraping her chair across the floor in her hurry to go to her office floo to tell Fudge the good news. Harry snorted quietly, smiling to himself at how easy it was to get information out of the toad. All he had to do was pretend, keep his cool, and suck up harder than a hoover.
At least he knew her motivation. She was a dyed in the wool blood purist and thought that Fudge was the epitome of a pureblood government servant. Harry was still a little shaky on Fudge's motivation, but he assumed that it was probably some mixture of money and power and he used pureblood propaganda as a way to gain both. Harry was fairly certain that even Lucius Malfoy wasn't as serious a blood purist as Umbridge. Sure, like Fudge, he spouted the right words, but Harry thought he was trying to protect his finances and privilege. He probably hadn't really spared a thought about whether purebloods were actually better than half-bloods and muggleborns.
All said, Harry was happier than he'd been in a long time. He had a great girlfriend, people were working to help him, and he was finally free of detentions with Dolores Umbridge.
-oooo-
"I can't believe you, mate," Ron said as they stood around waiting for Angelina to start practice. "I mean, I thought you said you wouldn't talk to her again." Harry had just finished explaining how his detention the night before had gone.
"I'm impressed that you could keep your cool," Katie pointed out. "Good job." She gave him a quick sidearm hug. Angelina finally arrived and the gaggle of students before them fell silent. Try-outs for the reserves were about to begin.
"Alright, you lot!" Angelina called out. "If you're already on the team, move over there. If you want to be on the team, move over there." About twenty students quickly sorted themselves out. Harry had been surprised when Angelina had accepted his advice to bring in reserve players, as she'd been rather put out with him when he'd suggested it. Still, Harry supposed, it was a good idea both for the team as it stood today, and for the team in the future. As the students finished moving about, Angelina began addressing the prospective candidates. "We're looking to bring on three reserve players: someone who will train as a seeker and chaser, another who will train as a keeper and chaser, and a third who will train as a beater and chaser. The idea is to have at least one reserve player able to play every position, and then next year, you lot can move up to vacant chaser and beater positions on the starting squad. Got it?" The students nodded.
"Seekers over there," Angelina pointed to her left. "Keepers over there," she pointed to her right. "Beaters stay put. We're going to try you out for the specialty positions first. Harry, Ron, Fred and George, let's put them through their paces."
Harry went over to the small group of seeker hopefuls. Ginny Weasley was the one he knew best. The others were Colin Creevey, third year Romilda Vane, and second year Natalie McDonald. For ten minutes he had them race each other, seeing who was fastest. Then he had them follow him, to see who could keep up. The final exercise was a tiered one. He had the four of them pair up to simulate competing seekers working against each other. He then had each pair fly against each other to catch him, with his broom simulating the snitch. Whichever of the two caught him first was the winner, who then flew against the other winner, until only one was left.
Ginny was the fastest. Ginny was also the one best able to keep up. Finally, Ginny won both of her trials against the other hopefuls. First, she handily outflew Colin Creevey, and then surprisingly, snatched victory right out from under a tenacious Natalie McDonald. The second year had been nipping at Ginny's heels in the other trials as well.
"I don't suppose it's any secret," Harry told the four of them once he landed. "Ginny's the clear winner of the seeker portion of the trials, though I'm extremely impressed with your effort, Natalie. Colin, Romilda, thanks for the effort. Remember, this was only half the trial, so you all still have a shot at making the team. I'll let Angelina know we're done, and then when the rest are finished, you can start chaser trials."
Harry was being marginally untruthful. Unless Ginny completely flubbed the chaser portion, she was on the team. If she did, Natalie was probably going to get the spot. Colin had been dreadful, and Romilda had been so set on impressing Harry with her… womanly charms, that she had only been marginally better.
Harry had no real part in the chaser trials, though Angelina did give him the job of sending the fliers up three at a time to run through their paces. There were five sets, though the last two sets were sets of two instead of three. Harry made sure to send Ginny, Natalie, and Romilda up together, as well as keeping the five keeper hopefuls together, so that Angelina could have more direct comparisons for relative skill. Colin ended up getting lumped into the last group of two with a second year Harry didn't know. Once the trials were over, the team landed, and Angelina waved Harry over to them.
"Well? What do you think?" Angelina asked everyone as they huddled up.
"Ginny for seeker," Harry said first. "Did she do OK on the chaser trials?"
"She was one of the better ones," Katie confirmed.
"Yeah," Angelina agreed. "Ginny's got the reserve seeker slot. Who else?"
"Jimmy Peakes," Fred and George said together.
"OK, he'll do for beater," Angelina nodded. "Who's going to be keeper?"
"I think Demelza Robins," Ron said, unsure of himself.
"You think?" Angelina pressed.
"Yeah," Ron said. "I mean, Cormac McLaggen was better, but..."
"But he's a giant arse," Angelina nodded. "I remember him from the original trials."
"He kept trying to tell me how to run the trials," Ron reported. "I just… I don't want him on the team."
"I think we've all had enough of McLaggen's opinions," Katie added. Alicia nodded in agreement.
"So, Ginny, Jimmy, and Demelza?" Angelina asked. She got nods all around. The team broke the huddle and Angelina moved to address the hopefuls. "Our reserve seeker is Ginny Weasley," she announced. "Jimmy Peakes is our reserve beater, and Demelza Robins is our reserve keeper. Thank you all for coming out, and the team hopes to see you at trials again next year when we'll have more spots to fill. If I could see Ginny, Jimmy, and Demelza over here, please."
Ginny and Demelza squeaked and hugged each other, despite being a year apart. Jimmy high fived a dejected looking Richie Coote. The rest of the crowd groaned and started back up to the castle. Harry could hear Cormac McLaggen complaining loudly about how unfair it was, and how he'd clearly been cheated out of the reserve keeper slot.
"Alright you lot," Angelina said as Harry turned his attention back to the team. "Congratulations. We'll have practice tomorrow at nine o'clock. No sense in waiting. We'll get you kitted out at the start. Do any of you have your own brooms?"
"I've got a Cleansweep 6," Jimmy said.
"Anyone else?" Angelina asked. Ginny and Demelza shook their heads. "OK. Well, you can use school brooms for now, but write your parents and see if you can get something better, alright? If push comes to shove, you can use the broom of whoever you're subbing for in games." The rest of the team nodded their agreement.
-oooo-
When Harry got back to his room, he was in for a major shock. There were a huge number of trunks stacked in piles around his bed.
"Dobby!" Harry called. The little elf popped in.
"Yes, Harry?"
"What..."
"Winky bought all the manor trunks they be having," Dobby reported. "Twenty-four being all they had in stock. The man asked if we be needing any more."
"Winky!" Harry called. Winky immediately popped in. "Winky, what did you say when the shopkeeper asked if I needed more trunks?"
"Winky says she not be knowing what Harry wants," Winky replied shyly.
"OK," Harry said, sighing with relief. "I think I have enough trunks. We don't need to buy any more." He looked at his watch. "I don't have time for these now. Can you take them and store them in the basement of the manor for now? I'll set them up tomorrow." The elves began popping trunks away. Harry shook his head and turned to go back to the common room.
"What's up?" Katie asked when Harry plopped down beside her. She'd been talking to Leanne.
"I now have twenty-five trunks," Harry reported.
"Dear God!" Katie gasped. "That's..."
"Twenty-five hundred square miles," Leanne said reverently after quickly doing the maths in her head.
"You've got your own country!" Katie laughed.
"What? No!" Harry denied.
"Your trunks are bigger than Luxembourg by a lot," Katie said. "I think."
"More than double," Hermione said, having been eavesdropping from the other couch.
"So, can we see it?" Katie asked excitedly.
"I was going to set the new trunks up tomorrow after practice," Harry told her. "If you want, you can come along and help."
"Oh, goodie!" Katie bounced. "Can I make one mountains?"
"Yep," Harry agreed. "I want some mountains, some jungle, some sea..."
"They can do all that?" Leanne asked, astonished. "I didn't see much when I was in there, but it just looked like England outside."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "That trunk is set up to be like England, but they don't have to be. They can be anything available on Earth. I don't think I want any desert or tundra, though. But I would like at least a bit of everything else."
"How much will you be farming?" Hermione asked. She'd been paying attention when he'd talked about farming earlier.
"Well, farming's pretty elf-intensive," Harry reminded her. "I don't think I'd want to farm even half of the land. Probably around eight hundred or so square miles. That's almost..."
"About eighty-eight hundred elves," Hermione informed him in disbelief. "That's a lot of elves."
"Plus, I'll want to do some logging and some industry too, probably," Harry added after a short pause to consider the sheer size of his proposed operation. "I could probably have more than fifteen thousand elves and still have work for them all."
"This is gonna be so cool!" Katie gushed.
-oooo-
Harry was still thinking about his trunks the next morning during practice. He thought he had the lay of the land pretty much worked out. He should end up with about twenty different biomes if he did it right. He'd spent some time the night before looking through some of the books with Katie, Hermione, and Neville. Neville had had some good ideas about what sorts of plants Harry should be trying to grow, and what environment they grew best in. Hermione had taught him about supply chains, and how he could be both a supplier and a manufacturer. He planned to grow wheat for flour and chickens for eggs, so he could make bread cheaper. He wanted to grow grapes for wine, and hops and barley for beer. He wanted to raise cows for meat, milk, cheese, and other dairy products. The more he learned, the more excited he became. He'd have to ask Dobby if they could make cars or planes or trains or something to get around. Twenty-five hundred square miles was enormous!
Harry had been getting used to practices. Angelina wasn't quite the taskmaster that Oliver had been. Besides, she knew Harry was good, and he operated pretty much on his own usually. Ginny had joined him for about half the practice and would for the foreseeable future as she learned more about seeking. She also provided Harry someone to practise against, something he was grateful for. For the second half of practice, Ginny and the other reserves scrimmaged against the starting chasers, leaving Harry to his own devices.
After practice, Harry once again watched Ron depart without hitting the changing rooms. This time, though he was behind Ron, walking with Katie.
"Is that bloke ever gonna shower?" Katie asked as she watched Ron practically running towards the castle.
"At this point I think he'd be scarred for life if he did," Harry said. "I mean, both his brothers are shagging their girlfriends in the shower, which I'd not want to see if they were my brothers."
"Yeah, and now add Ginny to that," Katie pointed out as they reached the changing room door.
"No bloke wants to see their sister naked," Harry shuddered. Harry broke off from Katie and entered the boys' aisle. Moments later he was joined by the twins, with Jimmy following behind. After stripping and grabbing a towel, Harry set himself up in the shower. The shampoo was already in his hair when the other boys started showering. Harry nodded appreciatively to Jimmy, who'd taken the shower across from him and one over.
Everything was quiet until Angelina poked her head in. Harry suppressed a laugh, but could do nothing about the grin he grew at Jimmy's predicament as he watched Angelina and Alicia scamper past the sandy-haired twelve-year-old who quickly spun to face the wall to hide his sudden erection as best he could. The grin came off Harry's face seconds later when Ginny entered and took the shower right next to him and started adjusting the water temperature.
Harry spared her a glance, but that was all. She looked about like he'd expected. She was about average height for a girl, and the unflattering Hogwarts robes didn't hide much. She had nice hips and was a natural redhead, but she could use some instruction on personal grooming, if Harry was being honest. Her breasts were adequately proportioned for her athletic frame, but nothing special; B cups at most.
"Hey Gin," Harry said casually as he rinsed his hair. "Can you budge over one? You're in Katie's shower."
"Oh," Ginny said, "I didn't realize..."
"That my girlfriend would want to shower next to me?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Your girlfriend?" Ginny asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Harry said casually as Katie finally entered. Katie noticed Ginny immediately, and seemed at a loss about how to handle it. Harry waved her over.
"I thought..." Ginny trailed off as Katie came over. Ginny looked crushed. Harry felt bad for her, really.
"I see my shower's been usurped," Katie said lightly, apparently having decided that Ginny, even a nude Ginny, wasn't the threat she'd initially thought.
"I suppose you could share with me," Harry offered with a grin.
"It's OK," Ginny said sadly, eyes slightly red. "You can have your shower, Katie." Ginny moved over to the shower between Katie and Angelina. It was then that Ginny noticed the four seventh years were engaged in their usual hijinks. She was stopped, wide-eyed, mouth gaping, and unable to move.
Harry looked over and noticed that Jimmy had noticed the seventh years a while ago, and was trying to decide what was more important, watching the sex show or concealing his throbbing willy from the girls. It appeared to Harry that curiosity had won out as he was physically turned towards the back of the showers, mouth hanging open as the twins got their girlfriends into some rather advanced sexual positions.
Movement out of the corner of his eye caused Harry to glance at the entrance to the showers. Demelza was standing there, also gaping at the scene in front of her. At thirteen, she wasn't much of a looker, but she was skinny, with shiny black hair and bright blue eyes. Puberty was definitely already upon her, as her breasts were already at least A cups, maybe even small Bs. She obviously cared enough about her appearance to groom a bit downstairs.
"Do I have to worry about you, Harry?" Katie asked from where she was standing between his shower and hers, a knowing grin on her face. Harry grinned back and shook his head. "Join the party, Demelza," Katie called out easily. "I think there's an empty shower there next to Jimmy."
At that, Jimmy whirled around, looking for all the world like a deer caught in headlights. Ginny finally pulled herself away from the spectacle that was her brothers and turned her attention to the young ones by the door. It was that distraction that finally allowed her to adjust the water temperature of her new shower and begin washing. Demelza also got moving and took the shower across from Harry.
Like Jimmy, Demelza seemed somewhat hazy on the etiquette and protocol for showering co-ed and couldn't decide where to look. The moans from the back of the showers were certainly distracting, and after observing Katie and Harry shamelessly watching, the greenhorns decided that watching wouldn't get them into trouble at least.
"Do… erm… Do they always do that?" Ginny finally asked Katie, gesturing to her brothers.
"Since their fifth year," Katie nodded, then turned around. "Do your back, Harry?" she asked with a wink.
"Erm, sure," Harry agreed, smiling at her and turning towards the entrance to give her access to his back. Katie took her washcloth and started rubbing it across his shoulders, moving slowly down his back. Harry glanced over and saw both Demelza and Jimmy watching. Demelza's eyes were locked on his cock, which was at full mast, thanks to all the nude women surrounding him, and the fact that Katie was basically massaging his back. "Don't worry," he reassured them, "we'll not be shagging. At least, not today." Harry noticed that Jimmy's eyes were locked on Katie. He didn't begrudge him the look. After all, Harry had ogled Angelina and Alicia enough over the years.
"All done," Katie said after she'd spent about a minute massaging his bum with the washcloth. "My turn!" With that, she turned around, presenting Harry with her back. At the invitation, Harry turned and began rubbing her shoulders with his soapy washcloth. "Don't forget to get everywhere," Katie reminded him after a few moments. To emphasize her point, she stuck her bum out, bumping it into Harry's cock. Harry couldn't determine if the contact had been accidental, or on purpose, but he wasn't about to complain as the soapy skin brushed across the tip of his dick.
"You don't expect me to do that, do you?" Demelza asked timidly.
"What?" Katie asked, looking at Demelza as Harry washed her back. "No. You don't have to do anything you don't want. I don't think we ever established rules, but some good ones are don't do anything you don't want to do, don't do something to someone else they don't want you to do, and have fun. You're free to shower in the girls' shower if you're too uncomfortable here. You can also wash Jimmy's back, or even his front, if he's agreeable. No one will care." She jerked her thumb at the seventh years. "Those degenerates weren't shagging when they were your age. They weren't even slapping each other on the arse back then. They didn't start shagging until they started going out with each other. All I ask is that you leave Harry to me. I don't mind you looking, but please don't touch. He's for me." Harry nodded in agreement.
"Same goes for you, Jimmy," Harry reiterated. "Look all you want, but no touching."
"You or Katie?" Jimmy asked, confused.
"Both!" Harry replied with a laugh. Katie, Ginny, and Demelza laughed too.
"Are you gonna shag with them?" Jimmy asked curiously.
"Ew! No," Katie faux gagged. "They're a special kind of odd for that, in the Gryffindor showers at least. We might shag each other at some point, but not them."
"Hey! Watch it!" Ginny cried out, shying away from the sex scrum. Harry looked past Katie to see that George and Angelina had bumped into Ginny while they'd been changing positions.
"Sorry," George said sheepishly, before thrusting back into his girlfriend. With that, Ginny turned her attention back to Katie.
"What did you mean in Gryffindor, at least?" she asked.
"Hufflepuff has free-for-all orgies in their showers," Katie told her. Ginny's eyes went wide. "Obviously, that's not a good idea in our showers, what with four siblings on the same team."
"Ew," Demelza said.
"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "I can't even look at those four without wanting to throw up."
"No one's making you watch," Angelina moaned from where she was pressed up against the tile.
"Jimmy doesn't seem to mind," Alicia added from the floor where she was on her hands and knees. Jimmy's face got even redder than it had been. Demelza and Ginny both looked at his cock and grinned.
"All done," Harry told Katie, slapping her bum for good measure. He'd spent about as long on her arse as she had on his.
"You want me to get your front?" Katie asked hopefully, turning.
"Maybe next time," Harry said quietly, glancing around the showers at the others.
"OK," Katie said. "I'll just have to do my own front, then." She rubbed her washcloth seductively across her breasts, doing nothing to alleviate the discomfort in Harry's groin.
"Jeez, Katie," Harry groaned. "Jimmy and Demelza are gonna think we're all a bunch of libertines."
"What about me?" Ginny asked, offended.
"If you don't know me and your brothers by now..." Harry started, unable to tear his eyes away from his girlfriend.
"Well, I thought I did!" Ginny protested. "Apparently I was wrong."
"You weren't wrong," Harry corrected her. "Not about me, at least. I've not done more than kiss my girlfriend."
"You mean except for all the pornographic shower shows," Ginny pointed out.
"That was going on long before Katie and I started dating," Harry explained. "Besides, I was looking at Angelina and Alicia too."
"You mean to tell me that you and Katie have been showering together in the buff for four years, and you haven't so much as touched her?" Ginny asked in disbelief.
"My hand to God," Harry said.
"What?"
"It means that I haven't," Harry clarified, finally looking at Ginny. "Not until today, anyway."
"You certainly want to," Ginny observed, glancing meaningfully at his cock.
"So?" Harry asked. "So does Jimmy over there, and I don't see him and Demelza making the beast with two backs." Both Jimmy and Demelza blushed wildly and looked away.
"Give it a few months," Ginny snorted. "Though Demelza'd probably go for Ron." Demelza actually looked thoughtful for a second, then went back to blushing.
"Ron'd have to take a shower first," Harry pointed out.
"Ew," Ginny said. "You mean..."
"I mean, Ron has no idea what happens in the Gryffindor showers, as he's yet to enter the Gryffindor showers," Harry explained.
"So, I get to tell him?" Ginny asked, shaking with joy.
"Just don't tell him in public," Katie warned. "And make sure to tell him not to tell anyone about it."
"OK," Ginny agreed, confused.
"Katie's friend Leanne practically shouted it out in the Great Hall," Harry informed her.
"That girl doesn't understand the meaning of the word discretion," Katie said, shaking her head.
"Course, if Ron starts showering, and starts hooking up with Demelza, that leaves you not only watching three of your brothers shagging," Ginny shuddered, as Harry continued, "but it also means you're stuck being the only one available to teach Jimmy here about the wonders of the female form." Jimmy continued to blush madly but didn't look at all upset at the idea of pairing off with the vivacious redhead.
"Look, I'm not denying the kid's got potential," Ginny prefaced. "But I've gotta think about Michael. I can't do that to him."
"Who?" Katie asked.
"Michael Corner," Harry said. "Ginny's beau. He's a Ravenclaw in my year."
"I guess it's a good thing Ron doesn't shower then," Katie observed. "Means that Jimmy and Demelza are free to ogle each other to their hearts' content… and whatever else they want to do together, without fear of interruption." She looked over at the two. "Either of you lot seeing anyone right now?" Both of them shook their heads. Katie grinned. "It's OK. We won't hold it against you. Harry and I went three years showering together before we started dating. We got eyefuls of the hedonists over there and talked a bit. It was fun."
"It sure looks like Harry has 'fun'," Ginny noted, as she stared at his cock.
"I like to think everyone does," Katie replied, glancing at Ginny's hard nipples under the hot spray. "I know I do."
"We'd better call it a day," Harry said. "I'm about to turn into a prune, and it looks like the show's over." Harry nodded to where the twins were sitting on the floor propped against the shower wall under the spray, with their girlfriends leaning up against them, talking quietly, basking in the afterglow. Harry turned off the water, grabbed his towel off the peg, and left, drying himself as he went. Once dry, he went to his locker and pulled out his wand. Binning the towel, he returned to the shower, still nude. "Is everyone cool with where they showered today?"
"What are you doing?" Katie asked.
"Something that would've lessened hurt feelings had it been done earlier," Harry said simply. Without another word, he pointed his wand just above his showerhead and transfigured the shower tile there. Where before had been two white subway tiles, he changed it to a deep red sign with gold letters that read 'Harry'. He went down the row, adding 'Katie'. "Are you good with that shower, Ginny?"
"Yeah," Ginny replied. "Less temptation over here." Harry smiled and nodded, then added a nameplate for 'Ginny'.
"I can never tell who's where, since you lot are all over this end of the showers," Harry told the seventh years. "Is this Angelina's shower, or Alicia's?"
"Mine," said Angelina. Harry created a sign for her, and another for George next to it. He then moved across the aisle and added signs for Fred and Alicia. Knowing that Ron was the only one missing, Harry added Ron's name over the vacant shower.
"You wanna switch with Demelza, Jimmy?" Harry asked. Jimmy thought for a second, then shook his head. "You'll be showering next to Ron," Harry pointed out.
"Yeah, I know," Jimmy replied.
"Why would you wanna do that?" Ginny asked.
"I didn't want to force Demelza to have to shower next to him, and she didn't seem to mind showering next to me," Jimmy reasoned. "So why shake things up?"
"Plus, he can cockblock ol' Ronnie..." Fred began.
"...if he ever gets off his nasty arse and actually comes to shower," George finished pointing out.
"You certainly have a pranking mind, young sir," Fred observed.
"A worthy beater if ever there was one," George agreed.
"And not a bad choice of birds," Fred complimented.
"Yes!" George said. "Were I but single and four years younger..."
"I'd be all over the delectable Demelza like..." Fred added.
"…stickiness on spell-o-tape," George concluded. Jimmy and Demelza continued their competition for longest blush they'd been staging since the girls came into the shower.
"Are you alright with your spot?" Harry asked Demelza before he added Jimmy's name. Demelza nodded shyly. She appeared to have become acclimated to the co-ed nudity but was still coming to terms with the compliments to her person by seventh year boys. Harry merely accepted her nod and added nameplates for Jimmy and Demelza over their showers. "Now there'll be no more confusion," Harry said at last. Harry turned to leave, only to have Katie slap him on the bum on the way out.
Out in the changing room, Harry quickly changed into his robes. When Katie left, he managed to exact payback by swatting her on the bum as she passed by, still towelling her hair. She gave a jump but smiled at him as she disappeared through the curtain.
Harry was waiting on Katie in the meeting area a few minutes later when Demelza came out of the girls' side. He had his broom with him. He'd need it later that day if everything worked out.
"Hey," Harry said. Demelza went over to him. "Are you alright with everything?" he asked quietly. "I know it can be kind of a shock."
"Yeah," Demelza replied, running a hand through her black hair. "It was quite weird at first, but..."
"Yeah," Harry laughed. "That's the second thing Katie said to me the first time she came over to the boys' showers.
"What was the first thing?" she asked, curious.
"'Can I shower here?'" Harry repeated. "She's always asked. In fact, today was the first time ever that she's not asked."
"It's because I don't have to anymore," Katie replied as she walked up to them. She also had her broom with her.
"Cause you're dating?" Demelza guessed.
"Yep," Katie acknowledged. "This boy's mine now. That means I get to shower next to him without asking." Harry merely smiled at her and kissed her cheek.
"So, you're OK?" Harry asked again. "Not scarred for life, or anything?"
"No, I'm OK," Demelza agreed. "It was kinda fun. Your pricks are funny looking, especially all hard like that, but… interesting? I think they're interesting."
"Well, the boys all think our tits are interesting too," Katie pointed out.
"That's why we're all hard," Harry agreed. "But I don't just like you for your tits."
"Oh, right, cunnies too," Katie laughed.
"And your brain," Harry added, rolling his eyes and smiling. Katie took her turn to kiss him on the cheek. "Alright, c'mon. I need your brain to help with the next bit with the trunks. I want to get them set up after lunch."
"Well then, lead on, good sir," Katie joked as she pulled him to standing. "A meal and an adventure await."