Disclaimer: I pretend Harry is mine, but I'm delusional. I hope you're not delusional and think that if you sue me and get more than dirty boxers.
That's right, I'm too poor to buy detergent. (Not really, but lawyers are Satan.)
I really like reviews, so dish em' out. I'm greedy. Don't worry, you don't have to review, I'll still post chapters even if you don't.
Warnings:
Rated: R
Short chapter, sorry people. The muse left me, the vagrant hussy.
Also, I apologize for my horrible poetic abilities (or disabilities).
Chapter IV
"Every dumb animal copulates in one way only, but we, endowed with reason, have the advantage over animals in this—we invented anal intercourse. But all who are held in sway by women exclusively are no better than muggles."(Stratonis the Bent, Wizard's Antologia of Eroticarma, XIII, 245).
Finally lunch came around and as the seconds trickled away waiting for Hermione to come out of the library, Harry and Ron talked about everything from the new model broom to how the best new Quidditch players recently seemed to come from Bulgaria, until they finally arrived to the subject of the Hogsmeade visit and started comparing notes on snogging techniques.
"But would you like that?" asked Harry, curious to see Ron's point of view.
"Well, if you do it that way, I'm sure I'd like it," said Ron, frowning. "But you know, if we were in another Wizarding school we'd be talking about this in class. I've heard that in France they have an Erotic Magia class, that would be really brilliant wouldn't it? Here you're pretty much on your own."
"We could go peek into the Restricted Section," said Harry, bracingly.
"Nah, I'd rather leave Hermione to poke around those dusty scrolls. I can barely understand the curlicues and squiggly calligraphy, let alone what the words actually mean," said Ron, scratching his head and stretching his gangly legs in front of him.
"Ron, I just remembered something. Why did you mention Percy, when you spoke about the Erasmes union—
"Erastes, Harry, Erastes, we may not know what the word means, but the least we can do is pronounce it correctly. And yes, I think Mum was hoping that if you married anyone it would be Percy. We all kind of thought you would, since you don't have a dad and all. If you don't like Percy, you could always take Fred and George," said Ron, nodding in a comically wise way.
"Marry? Ron, you're kind of scaring the hell out of me here," said Harry, his eyes widening like two saucers, "and you meant Fred OR George, didn't you?"
"What? They're twins, Harry, really," said Ron as if that explained everything.
"Hi boys. Finally I'm here," said Hermione with a few scrolls under her arm. "Well, come on."
"Blimey, Hermi," said Ron bouncing up, "those look old."
They went outside, sitting under a tree with Butterbeer and sandwiches they had gotten by way of Fred and George, and sat to listen as Hermione read.
Opening one of the scrolls, Hermione flipped her hair away from her eyes and said: "This one is pretty good, very simple and doesn't overwhelm you with latin terms you might not understand." She cleared her throat and began:
"An Erastes is a Protector,
He must guide and then inspire,
The Eromenos, inexperienced,
He must listen and inquire.
The Erastes and Eromenos,
Through the union of two bodies,
Friend the Power Eroticarma
That only Love-Sex embodies.
The Erastes and Eromenos,
Through the union of their souls,
Find the Safety and Protection,
Embedded within these scrolls.
The union of Body and Soul,
Mimics the very creation,
Of Matter, of Spirit, of Magic,
That awakes the Arousal
Of a male body's Erection.
Let the Union of the Two
Be in a Love so distinguished,
For this Union is Eternal,
And only by Death extinguished."
Hermione closed the scrolled and looked at them, apparently satisfied.
"I don't get it," said Ron with a full mouth.
"Me neither," said Harry, swallowing some butterbeer.
"Ok," said Hermione sighing, "I'll explain, but don't you dare interrupt me until I've finished. I'll only tell you once. Cedric wants to be your Inspirer. This I know because Kane told me, he also recommended I tell you to dissuade Cedric from the union. In my humble opinion, this is a mistake. Kane's just obviously worried that something will happen to Cedric, as your Protector. Ever since they went against You-Know-Who, they coincidentally have not met with natural deaths. They all die from some sort of accident or other, which is why the Ministry is advising against these apparently star-crossed unions."
"I don't understand," said Harry frowning, and shoving a sandwich into his mouth.
"If you stop interrupting, maybe I could tell you," said Hermione looking sternly at Harry and Ron. "These are all Athenian and Spartan terms which are used to label the union of a man with a boy, or an older boy with a younger boy. There must be an age difference, because the Older One must feel protective toward the Younger One, who must behave subserviently. It cannot be a union between equals or there would be no one to inspire and no one to listen, there would be a power struggle which simply does not exist in the Dualism of Erastes/Eromenos."
"What?" said Ron, squinting at Hermione.
"You idiot! Cedric wants to Protect Harry and wants to unite with him body and soul. That Union is created through magical vows, in which the Protector vows to protect and die for the Beloved Protected and the Beloved Protected Eromenos vows to obey and die before dishonoring the Protector. It's a way of protecting Harry and guiding him into manhood."
"Oh," said Ron smiling, "kind of what you're trying to do with me?"
Hermione laughed, relenting, "Exactly, love. The thing is that even Muggles adopted this custom in the time of Ancient Greece, when Wizards pretended to be Gods so that Muggles wouldn't try to eliminate them or make wars against them. Then came the Wizard Yeshua, who got himself crucified and resurrected so as to ferment the belief of Wizards as Messengers of the Gods. Ironically, his cult started rejecting Wizardry and little later the Laws of Secrecy were instituted so that we all went underground after that."
Something sparked in Ron's eyes and he said, "Hermione, is it true that the Malfoy's are descendents of Aphrodite?"
"Who knows, it might be true it might be rumors, but Athena strike me if I'm going to ask the little git."
"What about the seed?" said Ron, looking at Hermione with an expression of curiosity on his face.
"That's part of the Union, Ron. I we should leave that to Cedric," said Hermione, in a quiet voice.
Harry felt puzzled and apprehensive, but didn't really want to know more at the moment. He felt it would clear nothing up in his head and just confuse him further. "Drat, I have to go meet Professor Lupin, he promised to show me how to get rid of the sodding Dementors," and with that the black-haired boy sprinted away.
Strato the Historian