It's A Cruel, Cruel Summer
July 23rd, 1997 Parvati Patil's bedroom
Parvati had painted her toenails purple and was waiting for them to dry. The excitement was palpable, she thought with a snicker.
It had been quite the uneventful summer vacation so far. She had joined Lavender out shopping and meeting for lunch on a couple of occasions where said bestie proceeded to brag and gossip about her relationship with Ron Weasley, quidditch captain of the reigning champions from Gryffindor. Lavender was proud, although Parvati personally thought they got a bit lucky when Cho Chang came down with a nasty case of mumblemumps right before the final match, otherwise Ravenclaw might have been able to win.
The fact that those few times sitting around with Lavender were the highlights so far was more than a little disappointing though. If only she had her own guy to gush over.
"Padma, Parvati, come down to the study!" her mother's voice called out from the first floor.
Dinner was still a couple of hours away, so she wasn't sure what the summons was about, but reluctantly she grabbed her wand and used a quick drying spell. It worked nicely but it always tickled a little and she preferred to just relax after giving herself a nice at-home pedicure.
"Coming," she yelled as she heard Padma already stepping out into the hall from the room opposite hers.
After making sure the polish had set, Parvati followed her sister down the stairs. "Do you know what's going on?"
Padma shrugged. "Maybe some news about one of our cousins or something back in India? You know how mum can be about that sort of thing."
"Maybe," Parvati frowned. "I think Gita was pregnant last I heard."
"Which one was Gita?"
"Mum's second oldest brother, Kiran- his youngest daughter," Parvati answered.
"In here, girls!"
They stepped into their father's study and saw both parents waiting for them. Both of them were dressed nicely too, which was odd for a weekday when her dad didn't have any big business meetings going on.
"Oh, look at how lovely you both are," her mum said as she came over and hugged them both, Parvati first. "The time seems to fly by. One day you're my cute little girls playing with dolls, and before I know it, you've grown into beautiful young women."
"Thanks," Padma blushed.
"Um, mum, what's this all about?" Parvati asked with a frown.
"You're both of age now, only one more year of school," her father answered. "We should all start thinking about the future."
"We're having a couple of guests for dinner," mum added. "Nothing serious just yet, but it never hurts to meet a few prospects. I wanted you to each have time to get dressed, or do something with your hair, or anything else you might think of-"
"Prospects?" Padma asked with a look of confusion. Parvati was glad that her sister had spoken up because she didn't think she could form any words without shrieking.
"Two lovely young men will be dining with us," their mother replied with a smile. "Handsome young men. You know one of their mothers; remember Mrs. Mishra?"
"I can't believe this!" Parvati snapped. "You promised us we had until after school!"
"You don't have to decide anything tonight," her mother scolded. "This is just a chance to meet someone new, someone-"
Parvati stomped off with an almost inhuman sound of indignation, rushing up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door behind her. Throwing herself on the bed, she stuck her face in her pillow and screamed.
And she had thought that things had been too boring. This would teach her for not appreciating the simple things in life.
What was she going to do?
"Sis?" Padma knocked at her door, letting herself in a moment later as Parvati forced herself to roll over and look at her twin. "You're really mad about this, aren't you?"
"Of course I am!"
"Don't snap at me," Padma glared back. "It's not the end of the world; it's just dinner. Besides, maybe one of them will be nice."
"Then you can have the nice one," Parvati spat. "Why don't you go change into something fancy to catch his eye?"
"What are you going to do? Just sit here and seethe?"
"Until I think of something better to do, yes."
Padma snickered. "Well, good luck with that. Do you want some time alone?"
"Please," Parvati agreed.
"Alright," Padma replied. "Try not to be too upset. You know mum wouldn't introduce us to anyone terrible."
"Unless she wanted to shock us with a horrible option," Parvati countered. "Then she would set us up with nicer guys and we'd already be dreading worse options and more likely to settle, falling for her little trap and-"
"Mum is not nearly that devious," Padma giggled. "Maybe you should have been in Slytherin. Or maybe Pansy rubbed off on you."
Parvati turned away to look out the window. "Maybe..."
"Don't take too long sulking," Padma said as she got up and left.
But Parvati barely heard her. Instead the mention of Pansy's name had triggered a wonderful idea. A wonderful, scary, brilliant, possibly painful idea.
She ran over to her closet, dragged out her enchanted school trunk and began sorting out things she didn't need and packing away any clothes she might want.
Now, what was the name? Harry had told her and she remembered meeting the little guy but...
"Bobby, no... Dobby? I think it was Dobby."
A few seconds later there was a small pop behind her and she turned to find a house-elf looking at her.
"What can Dobby do for miss?"
"Can you take me to Harry?"
She was now standing in the living room of a flat that looked like it hadn't been used lately. Parvati was glad to have remembered to grab her wand at the last moment because without any cooling charms (or the air conditioner running), it was rather warm. At least she was only wearing capri pants, a light top, and sandals.
Dobby had disappeared to go get Harry after dropping her off there with her trunk sitting beside her. Parvati just had to hope that he wouldn't be annoyed.
Or worse, that Pansy wouldn't be too annoyed.
She was interrupting their honeymoon after all.
A crack in the other room announced Harry's arrival, and he came out of the hallway while buttoning up his shirt, his hair still wet, suggesting that he'd just gotten out of the shower. "Dobby said there was an emergency. Are you alright?"
"No, I..." She wasn't sure what to say, so Parvati just flopped down onto the couch. "I didn't know what else to do."
"What is it?"
"Our parents were setting up a dinner for Padma and I to meet some potential suitors." Her shoulders sagged as she sighed. "I just couldn't deal with it, and I didn't know who else I could turn to."
"Oh," Harry said as he sat down next to her and fidgeted with his shoes, which weren't tied.
She started to laugh- he'd rushed off to save her, as if Harry would do anything else. And yes, her big terrible crush was still right there, just as obvious as ever. If not for the fact that he was married (and that Pansy was more than a little intimidating), she could have kissed him.
When was she ever going to learn?
"Well, have you had dinner?" Harry asked, peering out the window. "What time is it, anyway? Five or six, maybe?"
"About five," Parvati answered. "Where were you anyway? I'm guessing not in England?"
"New York City," he replied.
"New York..." she softly gasped. "You apparated all the way across the ocean?"
"It wasn't that hard," he shrugged. "I used to live here, you know? Dobby might not have had the strength to pull you and your things all the way, so he came to get me instead. Apparently since he's bound to me, I'm like a beacon to him that also recharges his magic. Kind of neat, really. You'd think wizards would study house-elves more than they do because I've seen Dobby do some amazing things."
"Um, Harry? What's Pansy doing? Do you need to get back to her or something?"
"She's probably still in the shower, assuming the hot water hasn't run out," Harry replied with a grin. "Or she's doing her hair if she's finished. We were thinking of going out for lunch in a bit."
"Right," she tried to focus. "It must be several hours earlier there."
"So, you want to come with us?" he asked.
"I... I don't want to intrude," Parvati sighed. She really did want to join them, but not to be a bother.
"It'll be fine," he said as he stood up and offered his hand. "We had talked a bit about trying to visit with you one of these days."
"Well, then I'd love to." She couldn't help her smile.
Harry reached down and grabbed onto her trunk with his free hand. "Hold on."
It was a moment later and she was standing in the middle of a very nice hotel suite.
"Honey, we've got a guest!" Harry called out.
"Who is it?" Pansy yelled from another room.
"Parvati."
Now she felt nervous.
"Um, hi." She spoke just loud enough to carry and wondered if this really was a good idea. Or a terrible one. Maybe both.
Pansy came out a moment later wearing a light summer dress that was a soft purple. And smiling, so that was a good sign. "How are you doing?"
The hug was surprising, but in a nice way.
"Better now," Parvati replied.
"Parents?" Pansy asked with a curious, raised eyebrow.
"They wanted to introduce Padma and I to a couple of suitors," she groaned. "I just couldn't... and Harry had offered to help, and my sister mentioned your name, which made me think..."
"It's alright." Pansy grinned as she sat down and started to put on her shoes. "It might be nice to have someone else to hang out with other than Harry. He just wants to shag all day long."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Harry protested. "We're on our honeymoon."
"How many hours of sex would be enough?" Pansy shot back at him.
"You mean, in a single day?"
"Yes."
Harry frowned and Parvati could practically see him counting in his head. "Seven."
"Seven?" Pansy laughed. "So, you want sex to be like a full time job?"
"First of all, that's not quite a full time job," he argued. "Plus, it would be the best job ever. Besides, it's your fault for being so hot."
Pansy rolled her eyes but kissed him anyway. She turned to Parvati with a smirk. "Do you see what I have to put up with?"
Parvati nodded, not really sure what to say.
"So, you never did say if you were hungry," Harry piped up.
"A little bit," she replied.
"Good. Then we can all go out for lunch, and then maybe-"
"Keep in mind the time change," Pansy interjected. "She'll probably be dead tired before we know it."
"I've been staying up until eleven or midnight for the last couple of weeks," Parvati said.
"That would be before sunset here," Pansy replied. "We'll have to keep that in mind."
"Okay, but I'm starving, so let's go," Harry smiled.
Dinner for her and lunch for them ended up being an Italian place, which made Parvati feel a little nostalgic for the previous summer, that lovely day she'd spent with Harry, Pansy, and Luna before she'd gone back to India for six weeks. The food was yummy and the newlyweds were more welcoming than she had expected.
"So Gabrielle's sitting there pouting because Harry won't stare at her boobs!" Pansy erupted into laughter. "And whenever I need a break from dancing I have to surreptitiously wave over Luna or Hestia or Appoline before the little Veela can jump in. It was too bad Fleur was so busy with Izaak or I would have made her do it more just to see if Gabrielle would have screamed at her sister."
Parvati smirked at her. "Well, I would have danced with Harry all night long if you needed me to."
"I guess you would have," Pansy chuckled slightly for a second before trailing off. "I'm sorry we didn't invite you, but-"
"It was my fault," Harry cut in.
"It was both our fault," Pansy argued.
"I was the one who decided," he shook his head before turning back to Parvati. "I knew how rough the whole engagement thing had been on you, and I didn't want to upset you by... well, you know."
"You were trying to be considerate," she replied with a sad grin. "I get it. I probably would have cried, but then I always cry at a good wedding. Some of them might have even been happy tears."
"I'm sorry," Harry said.
"Me too," Pansy added.
"Don't worry about it," Parvati brushed aside their apologies. "But I would like to see your wedding dress."
"We've got a few photos I can show you later," Pansy smiled.
"Just don't ask her to take it out," Harry snorted. "She's got it sealed away under as many protective enchantments as I could think of."
"A wedding dress is special," Pansy glared at him. "Someday I'll show it to our kids and grandkids. And you can bore them to tears droning on about how I was the most beautiful woman ever."
"Alright, you've got a deal," he replied with a laugh. "That sounds like fun."
Parvati finished her last bite with a sigh. Not only was the food good, but it was more obvious than ever that these two were deeply in love. She really, really needed to get over it.
"Anybody want dessert?" Harry asked.
"I'm full."
"Me too," Pansy added. "Why don't we go see a movie this afternoon? It's easier to find empty seats during a matinee."
"That sounds fun," Parvati agreed.
"And if you start to get tired, you could nod off and it wouldn't be a big deal," Harry said.
"We'll need to... set up the couch," Pansy said with a look at Harry.
"I know," he nodded. "You already had me practicing for whenever Luna visits."
"Is she coming soon?" Parvati asked.
"She wanted to try to make it for Harry's birthday," Pansy answered. "But she and her dad are in Sweden visiting relatives and looking for some strange creature this week, and she isn't sure if she'll get back in time. I'll probably talk to her again this weekend."
"Not sooner?" Harry asked.
"I wanted her to have plenty of time with her grandparents," Pansy shrugged. "Luna doesn't get to see them very often."
"Do you have any grandparents?" Parvati asked. "I mean, I realize why you wouldn't talk about your parents, but-"
"They've all died," Pansy replied. "My maternal grandfather died several years before I was born. The other grandfather died when I was a baby. My gran- the one I really loved- died of cancer when I was almost eight. The other one died during my first year, but we never really got along, so it wasn't a huge loss."
"I never knew any of mine," Harry added.
"That's so sad," Parvati frowned.
"I don't have any memories to be sad about," he shrugged. "I would have liked to have them in my life, but at least I didn't have to grieve someone I loved and lost."
"That's part of why we're so defensive about Luna, you know?" Pansy said with a hint of something that Parvati couldn't quite place. "She lost her mum when she was only nine. Harry just wanted to wrap her up and take care of her from pretty much the moment they met."
He chuckled. "It's those big eyes of hers- she always was adorable."
"She'd be quite put out if she heard you call her that," Pansy replied. "She's all grown up and ready to be sexy."
"Believe me, I know," Harry groaned.
Meanwhile, back in England
"Is your sister going to be much later?" her father asked as Padma sat down at the dinner table across from two young men. Thankfully, her mum hadn't lied, as they both were fairly handsome. Young too, maybe early twenties would be her guess.
Now she just had to decide how to break the news. "I don't think she's going to be joining us."
Her mother sighed and started to get up. "I'll go get her."
"No, mum, she's..." Padma groaned. This was about to get really ugly. "She's not here."
"What do you mean?"
"I think she apparated somewhere." Padma looked down at her plate and reached for her fork, not really hungry, but definitely not wanting to watch her parents get irate.
The sound of laughter made her look up- the young man directly across from her was smiling.
"I can't say that I blame her," he said.
"What?"
"My mother has been trying to set me up for the last two years," he continued with a chuckle. "It's always, 'Suman, what about this nice girl? Suman, why don't you settle down already? Suman, when are you going to give me grandchildren to spoil?' I just turned twenty two, but she seems to think that if I don't get married soon that the world will run out of women."
"We mothers just want to help our children find good matches," mum replied with a scowl.
"I don't blame you for that either," Suman agreed. "I don't think most people have bad intentions about this sort of thing, but that doesn't make it easy."
"We just shouldn't tell your mum you said that, though," Padma said with a grin and he nodded.
"Exactly."
New York City, a few hours later
Harry had his wand in hand as he transfigured the couch in their suite into a bed for Parvati. She was beat even though he was only starting to think about dinner. Pansy was showing their guest the bathroom while he did his work.
"The bathtub looks really nice," Parvati said as she came out.
"Feel free to use it, although you may want to wait so you don't fall asleep and drown," Pansy suggested with a smirk.
"In the morning then," Parvati nodded before she looked up with a grimace. "I didn't remember to grab any toiletries."
"We can go shopping tomorrow," Pansy waved off her concern. "You can just use my shampoo or soap if you need to. The towels and bathrobes all belong to the hotel, anyway."
"Thanks. I'm just going to go get changed and ready to sleep." Parvati yawned as she grabbed some pyjamas.
"We'll be quiet when we come back in," Harry said. "And you'll probably be up long before us tomorrow, so just call for Dobby if you're hungry or something."
"Thanks, Harry."
"You're welcome," he replied as he stowed his wand and looked over at Pansy who was grabbing her purse. "We'll lock up as we leave."
"Have fun," Parvati said with another yawn. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Good night," Pansy added as they left.
Half an hour later, they were sitting down to eat when Pansy had a thought. "We may have an issue tomorrow."
Harry looked up from his Sezchuan chicken. "What do you mean?"
"The Portishead concert, remember?"
"Oh... yeah," he muttered as he took another bite, chewing over his food and thoughts at the same time. "I suppose we could take Parvati with us."
"It's sold out," Pansy countered. "We can't just buy her another ticket."
Harry frowned. "Notice-me-not charm?"
"That may work," she replied while looking unconvinced.
"It always has seemed super useful," he said with a little chuckle.
"Your favorite spell, I know," Pansy smirked.
"One of them anyway," he shrugged. "The contraceptive charm has to be up there too."
"Something else you use everyday," she snickered.
"Yeah." Harry took a drink and fidgeted for a moment. "Do you want to take her with us? I guess I really should have asked first."
"Sure," Pansy grinned. "I think it would be fun. Why? Do you think Parvati wouldn't enjoy it?"
"No, I just mean because this is a present for you," he answered.
"The more, the merrier," she said with a smile. "If Luna were available, I definitely would have dragged her along too."
"Speaking of our girl, I wish she had been here today. I think she would have loved the movie. Certainly more than you did."
"It was alright," Pansy wavered. "There were some funny parts anyway. I just don't see why you think movies with space aliens are so interesting."
"The story was even set here in New York," Harry laughed. "Luna would have been checking every stranger we met for signs that they were some other type of creature in disguise. She probably would have wanted to join them too."
"They were called the Men In Black, but the end did show a woman joining, so..." She took a sip of water and scowled. "I wouldn't be happy about that whole 'erase your identity and cut off all contact' part of things though."
"I don't think Luna would be willing to give up that much."
"I'd hope not," Pansy added. "Whenever she does come to visit, Luna will likely have to get used to the time change too."
"As much as she and Xeno have traveled the world, I think she's probably better adapted to it than most people."
"Yes, but we should start thinking about finding a different place to stay," she suggested.
"You mean, one with more bedrooms?" Harry asked.
She waited for him to take a drink of water before she replied. "Or a much bigger bed."
Harry's sputtering and coughing up water wasn't quite as over the top as Pansy had hoped, but at least he didn't end up spitting water in her face. She still ended up laughing at his plight for a couple of minutes.
July 24th, 1997
She was sitting there in a mostly empty hotel room and flipping through the channels on the television, trying to find something to amuse herself. Parvati already felt like enough of an intruder that she told Harry and Pansy not to worry about trying to sneak her in to the concert for one of Pansy's favorite bands- despite Harry's love of the spell, she knew that the notice-me-not charm was limited in how much it could affect people, especially for something like a packed environment.
And now she was striking out at finding something to keep her attention for the next two or three hours. Not that she would necessarily be awake the entire time, as her body clock was still closer to London time than New York.
Even the rainy weather outside matched her grumbly mood, although it wasn't as if she was going anywhere anyway.
"Dobby?"
There wasn't even a hint of a pop before the elf responded, appearing a few feet away. "Yes, miss?"
"Is there any chance Harry and Pansy brought their music collection with them on their honeymoon?"
"Dobby will have to unpack it, but yes," he replied.
"Would you mind?" Parvati asked.
"It will be my pleasure."
A few minutes later, she found herself putting on a Portishead album and realizing the strange position she was in, feeling very much like a third wheel that was just getting in the way. The mellow yet boring summer had become stressful and depressing.
Parvati drifted off to an uneasy sleep...
...And she woke up quite a bit later to sounds coming from the bedroom that could only mean Harry and Pansy were doing one thing.
The type of thing couples usually do on their honeymoon.
As if she couldn't get even more depressed.
Parvati covered her head with a pillow and wished she were back at Hogwarts.
July 25th, 1997
"Are you alright?" Pansy asked the next morning as they were sitting down to a delicious looking breakfast that Dobby had prepared.
"I didn't sleep very well," Parvati shrugged, trying not to look at either of them.
"Oh... crap," Harry muttered, blushing. "Did we... um, wake you up? I'm so sorry, we just usually don't need to bother with privacy spells, and I forgot-"
"It's alright," she cut in. "I was already out of sorts before you got home last night."
"I'm sorry anyway," he repeated his apology.
Pansy, on the other hand, set down her fork and looked over the two of them for a moment. "We'll just have to do something fun to do to make it up to you, Parvati. Is there anything in particular you want to do this summer? You've got a little more than five weeks left before Hogwarts starts back up."
"Ugh, don't even mention it." Parvati put her face in her hands as she groaned. "Last year was both boring and hard. I just want to have fun."
"Fun..." Pansy grinned to herself. "I have a couple of ideas for that. Harry, I might need you to make a trip or two."
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Back to England after I give Vanessa a call," she replied as she looked at the clock. "We'll have to wait a couple of hours or so for them to be home. Also, we'll need to run to a grocery store. You're going to do a little baking later today.
"But in the meantime," Pansy turned to Parvati. "Why don't you take a nice, hot bath today? That tub is one of the reasons I picked out this hotel for us to stay in."
"It would help me relax," Parvati agreed.
"And you'll have plenty of time when I send Harry out to pick up supplies," Pansy added. "Speaking of which, we should get some alcohol."
"I've never had much to drink before," Parvati said with a frown. "What do you suggest?"
"I think first we'll have to use a bit of magic," Harry interjected. "We're all seventeen, which may be adults back in the magical world, but it isn't old enough to legally drink here."
"Not that that's going to stop us," Pansy smirked.
"We are on our honeymoon," he nodded and grinned. "So, a little law-breaking for fun is to be expected, I guess. I just wanted to point it out first, in case the two of you decided to go without me."
"We could get the drinks while you pop back across the pond," Pansy chuckled. "I think I'm starting to like this plan."
"After my bath though," Parvati said. "That does sound like a good way to get more relaxed and feel up to having some fun today."
A few hours later...
"So then, Padma was about to scream at me if I didn't distract her so she could get away from him," Parvati giggled. "Raj always says that he's 'only a second cousin' and that makes it okay for him to hit on her. I caved in and helped her out."
"He didn't try the same thing on you?" Harry asked from where he was working at the kitchen counter of their suite. "I mean, I would think some guys would just... you know, go for the other sister or something if they struck out with one of you."
"Oh, he tried it a long time ago," she replied. "It was the summer when we were thirteen, and I kneed him in the bits. He's been smart enough not to try again."
"That's my girl," Pansy laughed as she threw her arm around Parvati.
"Yeah." The smile slid off her face after a couple of seconds. "I probably should write Padma though, to let her know I'm alright. But I don't know how I would do that from here."
"I could take care of it," Harry suggested.
"How?"
"Pop back home and hand it to Hedwig," he shrugged.
"I might take you up on that," Parvati said. "But not until tomorrow. Tonight is all about ignoring all that stress."
"Speaking of which, how much longer are you going to take?" Pansy asked. "I'm going to need some chocolate very soon. We're almost out of wine."
"You do realize that I saw the second bottle you got," Harry snorted.
"That's for tomorrow night," Pansy laughed.
"You could make a couple of rum and cokes," he offered.
"I don't know if I want something that strong before we get our brownies," she answered.
"Then make them weaker."
"I could do that," his wife said as she came over to stand by him. "How much did you put in yours?"
"I'm going to have to try to catch up," Harry began. "Also, I outweigh both of you by a bit, so-"
"I'll just put a little splash in," Pansy decided as she grabbed a couple of glasses.
Harry nodded as he put the pan of brownies in the oven. "And now we wait."
"How long?" his wife whined.
"Counting time to cool, about half an hour or so."
"What will we do in the meantime?" Parvati asked as she took a sip of the new drink and then grimaced slightly. "I can taste the rum, but I guess it's not too strong."
"Don't worry, we'll all remember this in the morning," Pansy snorted. "And we could play a game."
"What type of game?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Would you rather?" Pansy teased.
He groaned. "I'm going to have to drink more then."
"It won't be that bad," she replied. "I'll even start us off with an easier question, so as to not offend your delicate sensibilities."
"Thanks," he deadpanned.
"Alright." Pansy started to smile as she discarded her meanest and nastiest ideas. "Okay, I've got one. Would you rather go blind or deaf?"
"Deaf," Harry said.
"That was fast," Parvati laughed.
"Not being able to see my beautiful wife anymore would be tragic," he added with a grin.
"Sometimes I think sex is the only thing going on it that head of yours," Pansy rolled her eyes. "You know that would mean you couldn't listen to music anymore."
"Ooh, that does suck," Harry inhaled. "Oh well, I'll stick with my answer."
"You come up with one then," she suggested.
"Okay." Harry took a drink and thought for a minute. "Would you rather be able to eat anything you want and never get fat or never have to worry about getting sick again, not even if you drink yourself into a stupor every night, or if there's some terrible disease going around."
"The second one," Pansy replied. "I'm not a glutton like Luna or you can sometimes be."
"That's true, I guess," he chuckled.
"Plus, hangovers suck," she added with a grin. "What about you, Parvati?"
"Hmm." She took another sip and tapped her chin. "I guess the never get fat one. One of my grans was skinny when she was young but she put on a lot of weight as she got older. I don't want to have to worry about my metabolism getting shot like that."
"Good point," Harry agreed. "I think I'll say the same thing. I would have to take up exercise or something as I get older if I'm worried about my weight and that sounds boring. I've never really been very sick before."
"What about hangovers?" Pansy smirked.
"I'm more careful now, so I think I'm learning my limits," he shrugged.
An hour, two drinks, and three brownies later...
"Okay, time for some fun ones," Pansy said as she filled up her and Parvati's glasses, finishing off the second bottle of wine between them. "Parvati- would you rather be an exhibitionist or a voyeur?"
"Ooh, that is a fun one," Parvati giggled. "I guess it depends. Is it with strangers, or people I know?"
"People you know." Pansy held down her smirk as Parvati's eyes darted over to Harry.
"A voyeur would be safer..." Parvati took a large drink and smiled. "But I'm a Gryffindor for a reason. Be bold! Be an exhibitionist!"
"It can be fun," Harry added with a laugh.
"Really?" Parvati turned to him. "Who has been peeping in on you?"
"Jealous?" Pansy giggled.
"You know it," she muttered.
"Well, Moaning Myrtle once," Harry shrugged.
"No way!" Parvati laughed.
"We sneaked into the Prefects' bath one night," Pansy said. "Also, Luna's watched us at least two or three times."
"Maybe more," Harry added. "Some of your sneakiness might have rubbed off on her."
"Lucky," Parvati groaned.
"Harry, how about you?" Pansy asked.
"Exhibitionist, easy."
"Why easy?" Parvati wondered.
"Why would I want to watch other people have sex when I could be having sex instead?" He threw up his hands. "That's super easy."
"Harry's not really that kinky," Pansy explained. "Well, not compared to some people, anyway."
"I'm a simple guy," he said with a grin.
"That's one way to put it," she giggled as she poked him in the side.
"Hey!" Harry spilled a bit of his drink on his shirt and jumped up.
"Maybe you should stop drinking," Pansy teased as she stood up as well and then pulled him down for a kiss after he had set down the glass. "Go get cleaned up in the bathroom- actually why don't you rinse off in the shower?"
"Are you saying I stink?" he tilted his head.
"Do you want to have fun in the bedroom or not?"
The wide smile on his face answered her question.
"I won't be too long," his words came floating back over his shoulder as he was already leaving the room.
Pansy shook her head and smiled before she glanced over to Parvati who was once again sighing, the idea of Harry in the bedroom clearly still getting to her. It had been a fun night, and Pansy knew exactly how she wanted to end it.
She might even have a present for her friend- if what she had in mind could be counted as a present- but it all depended on one simple condition.
"We've only got a minute," Pansy said.
"Lucky bitch," Parvati groaned as she slumped back against the couch.
"In more ways than one, but..." Pansy offered her hand to the other girl. "How would you like to join us?"
"Join you?" Parvati squeaked. "You mean..."
"I mean, you come with me into the bedroom, and we give Harry a little surprise," Pansy grinned maliciously.
"Really?"
"Uh huh," she nodded. "But there is one condition."
"What?" Parvati frowned.
"If you want to play, you have to play by my rules," Pansy explained. "I'm going to be in charge. If you can handle that, then it will be a night you'll never forget."
"I..." Parvati sighed. "Can there be a... a safe word? Like if I say quidditch, you let me go? I have a feeling you're going to be more kinky than whatever Harry or I might come up with."
Pansy threw her head back and laughed. "You see, I knew you were smarter than some might think- because you are definitely right. And I can agree to that."
Parvati finished her glass of wine and stood up. "I'm in."
"Good." Pansy led her into the bedroom. "First things first, let's get you under Harry's invisibility cloak."
Parvati followed her and gulped as she looked at the bed. It was quite large, but she imagined it might be a tight fit with three people in it. Of course, wouldn't that be true of whatever they ended up doing?
Judging by the gleam in Pansy's eye, she thought for a moment that she should probably be more nervous than she was.
"Come stand right over here," Pansy directed her, a bit off to one side of the bed, but with plenty of space around her. She then held up her hands and Parvati thought that something may have been in them. "Now, just be quiet and wait until it's time for the big reveal. Alright?"
"Alright," she said as the thin fabric slid over her. Parvati took a deep breath as she looked through the cloak. She heard the bathroom door and tried to slow her racing heart.
Harry just had a towel around his waist when he stepped into the bedroom and saw Pansy waiting for him. He smiled and quickly kissed her.
She laughed as a bit of water dripped onto her forehead. "Your hair's still wet."
"You know you love it."
Pansy maneuvered him over to sit down on the edge of the bed. "You know, your birthday is coming up soon."
"Ooh, does that mean I'm getting a treat?"
He thought he heard a small noise, but Pansy smiled at him and nodded. "I know things were different because you got emancipated when you were younger, but traditionally coming of age is a big deal in the magical world. That's why I've been trying to come up with something amazing for you. When I turned seventeen, you married me and took me on this ridiculously long and wonderful honeymoon. You deserve something equally wonderful."
"Well, the honeymoon is for me too," he shrugged even though he kept grinning. "But you know I'll never turn down fun in the bedroom."
"I know," she laughed. "But tonight, I've finally come up with something... special."
Her eyes sparkled as she used her wand to switch her regular clothes with a very sheer black nightgown.
"Yummy," Harry said as he stood up and reached for her. Pansy leaned into the kiss and moaned happily as his hands slid down to her bum.
"This isn't the special part though," she managed to get out a moment later as he was kissing her neck.
"Hmm?"
"Your early birthday present is right over here," Pansy said as she took a step back. At the sight of Harry's furrowed brow, she grabbed his hands and guided them over to where she knew Parvati was standing.
When he felt something, Harry's eyebrows went up and he rubbed his fingers together until he caught the material of the invisibility cloak. Once he pulled it down and saw Parvati's flushed face, he looked back to his wife.
"Well," she grinned. "Go ahead and unwrap your gift."
"Gift?"
"Don't you want to unwrap me, Harry?" Parvati breathily asked.
He wasn't completely sure if her tone was meant to be seductive or a case of nerves, but either way he was definitely turned on. But first, he looked back at Pansy. "Is this for real?"
"I told her she could come play as long as she agreed to play by my rules," Pansy smirked.
"And what are your rules?" he asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." Her eyes darted back to Parvati. "Kiss her already before she explodes."
Harry looked down at Parvati's slightly quivering lips and smiled. "We wouldn't want that, now would we?"
Her arms immediately wrapped around him as they kissed, and he wasn't surprised by how much she enjoyed it. Harry had to assume that Parvati's crush was still pretty damn strong judging by the way she pressed herself into his body and let out a moan as he pulled back for a second.
"Should I start to unwrap my gift?" he asked her.
Parvati bit her lip but nodded.
He slid his hands down her sides and found the bottom of her shirt. Lifting it up just an inch or two, Harry whispered to her, "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
He pulled it up and over her head all in one motion and then went right back to kissing her as he reached up to cup her breasts. Parvati was clearly enjoying herself as one hand slid up to play with his hair and the other began sliding down towards his butt.
Pansy grabbed the wrist of her lower hand and quietly said. "Not just yet."
Harry remembered that he was just wearing a towel as Parvati grumbled and started to suck on his neck.
"That means you're still overdressed." He reached around behind her and unclasped her bra. Smiling, he turned them both around and pushed her towards the bed, Parvati took the momentary break to toss her bra aside and then blushed as his eyes strayed down to her now uncovered breasts. His right thumb traced a slow circle around one nipple while his mouth greedily suckled at the other.
She moaned in pleasure.
"Finish unwrapping your present, Harry," Pansy interrupted them a moment later.
Parvati would have been happy to let him keep doing whatever he wanted, but Harry instead stepped back and helped her to sit on the edge of the bed. He then sank to his knees and kissed her belly button. Feeling his hands on her thighs, she peeked down and saw him gazing up at her.
"I'm so glad you wore a skirt today," he grinned. "This is my favorite part."
And then his fingers were ghosting up her thighs, under her skirt, higher and higher, and Parvati closed her eyes and lay back onto the bed. But he stopped almost as soon as he'd reached his destination.
"Are you alright?"
She lifted her head and peered down at him. "Yes. I'm excited, but nervous, and..." One of his thumbs had softly caressed over her panties and she moaned again. "Don't stop."
"Just checking," Harry murmured as his hands went back to work.
She lifted her bum up a moment later to let him continue to undress her. Then his fingers were tracing the outline of her labia and she couldn't contain her desire. "More."
Pansy had been amused in watching how turned on Parvati was by everything her husband was doing. She had trained Harry well, or, as some would say, practice makes perfect. And they had had a lot of practice together over the last few years.
It was interesting to see how a different girl would now be writhing under the same techniques she'd enjoyed so much. Harry stood up and was taking off Parvati's skirt, his eyes drinking in her nude form.
But now it was time to remind her friend of the rules.
"Stop."
A cry of frustration came out, and Pansy smirked to herself. "Parvati, scoot over into the middle of the bed."
She grumbled but complied and Pansy then pushed past Harry to climb up on the bed, wand in hand.
"What are you doing?"
"We're playing by my rules, remember?" Pansy answered as she pointed her wand at Parvati's right hand. A conjured piece of silk slithered around her wrist and then shot over to the headrest, then a second did the same on the other side. The other girl moaned and lay her head back on the pillow.
Pansy then got back off the bed and went over to kiss Harry. Her husband was chuckling to himself.
"What's so funny?"
"I love how kinky you are," he said with a smile.
"And don't you forget it," she told him before throwing a wink at Parvati. "I get to go first."
Then she cast aside the towel that Harry'd had wrapped around his waist, and sure enough, he was very erect. Pansy was barely looking at him though- she was watching Parvati for her reaction and the lust in her eyes grew even more at finally seeing Harry naked.
For her own part, Pansy had been getting very aroused the whole time, but the thrill at controlling the situation was probably turning her on the most. She quickly pulled off her nightgown and lay back against the side of the bed. Parvati pulled her legs up out of the way, giving them both a clear look between, and Pansy was delighted to see how wet her friend already was.
It was going to be a little bit of sweet torture for her to have to wait and watch.
Harry wasn't waiting for his cue though as he'd already dived down between Pansy's legs and was kissing the insides of both thighs, just to spread the teasing around a little. But neither of them was in the mood for too much foreplay, and very soon his tongue found his way inside her.
Parvati was now aware of exactly how cruel Pansy could be. Watching Harry go down on her, and the obvious enjoyment she had from the orgasm he soon gave her, it all made Parvati more turned on than she could ever remember being before. As long as she waited for her turn, Harry would be doing that to her soon.
It was almost a dream come true. She just had to keep from going crazy in the meantime.
Harry was then climbing up onto the bed while Pansy spread her legs wide and wrapped them around his waist. She turned back to Parvati and smirked at her. "I am such a bitch."
"You really are." She couldn't help but agree.
Harry snorted as he saw the two of them looking at each other. "She is, but I love that about her. And now..."
Parvati didn't have the best viewing angle, but she was sure he had just slipped inside Pansy by the way she gasped. He reached up and wrapped a hand around his wife's throat and leaned between the two of them, his quiet voice had an edge to it.
"Now I am going to fuck your brains out so you won't be too hard on Parvati."
Pansy chuckled in response. "Give it your best shot."
Harry leaned back and grabbed her thighs, then pulled her ankles up over his shoulders. His smile was wide as he then slowly pressed his body down over her, and Pansy threw her head back as he thrust inside her. With her neck now bared, Harry leaned in and began to suck on it as he went to work at trying to fuck his wife senseless.
Parvati wasn't even aware of her own moaning as she watched. If being a voyeur was this fun, she really hoped that being an exhibitionist was even better.
By the time he finally allowed himself to come, Harry had already managed to wring a couple more orgasms out of Pansy, who was left gasping for breath. For Parvati's sake, he thought that might help keep the amorous torment down, at least briefly.
He rolled off his wife and ended up laying between the two girls. Parvati had drawn her legs up close to her body and was now sitting in front of the pillows. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked up at her. She looked beautiful and more than a little desperate.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
She nodded and blushed. "As soon as you are."
Still breathing heavily, Harry sat up right in front of her and summoned his wand in order to release her hands from the ropes binding her to the bed.
"Thanks," she murmured as she flexed her wrists.
"I have to admit, I'm not nearly as kinky as Pansy is," he chuckled.
His wife laughed too. "Not even close."
"Wait, I need my wand," Parvati said.
Harry shrugged and summoned it from the other room, handing it to her.
She smiled at him. "Take my hand, Harry."
He did as she asked and then she waved her wand over the two of them, softly chanting words he didn't understand. "Jaise hee hamaara shareer sabase pahale sparsh karata hai, vaise hee hamaare jaadoo ko bhee aapas mein judane den."
Setting the wand over on the nightstand, Parvati beckoned him closer. "I'm ready now."
"Oh, you think you're ready," he grinned as he pulled her legs towards and around him. "But we can't rush to the main event."
She frowned and started to ask what he meant, but Harry was already kissing his way up her legs while his hands softly caressed her thighs. Parvati smiled and leaned back.
"Tell me if you like something or if you don't," he whispered once he was almost at his destination.
She nodded and closed her eyes as his lips kissed her soaking slit. His tongue went to work, drinking her in and exploring which sensations made her moan the loudest. As Harry's fingers joined in and he flicked at her clit, Parvati cried out, "Yes!"
Pansy had been relaxing for a few minutes and just idly watching. As usual, Harry's fervor for cunnilingus was on display as Parvati's expressions were making it clear how much she was enjoying his efforts. It looked like one orgasm was about to turn into two, and Pansy knew that it was time for her to up the ante.
She crawled over towards them and whispered to Harry, "Use parseltongue on her."
His eyes shifted to her and his brow crinkled, so Pansy just repeated her order. "Do it."
Judging by the sounds coming from Parvati, Harry hadn't stopped despite the little interruption, and when he complied with Pansy's request it was obvious due to the scream Parvati let loose. Her legs tensed, her thighs squeezed him and Pansy just looked on and forced herself not to laugh.
Of course, Harry just kept on going and going, and Parvati eventually had to beg him to stop. With a ragged breath, she pulled up away from him as she groaned. "What was that?"
"Cheating by way of parseltongue," he explained with a grin, his face practically dripping from her release.
"You're kidding me," she exhaled. "I thought that was just a myth."
"Nope," Pansy cackled. "Personally, I make Harry save it for special occasions and when I'm not going to need to be able to use my legs any time soon."
"I can see why," Parvati agreed as an aftershock went through her.
"I like the way you squirm," Harry smiled as he climbed up and leaned over Parvati. "Ready for more?"
"Yes," she whispered.
He kissed her. "I'll go slow to start. Tell me if you want that to change."
She pulled him back down for another kiss and then smiled. "Okay."
Harry grinned, reached down, and slowly guided himself inside her. Parvati let out a little gasp and pulled his face down to her, their lips meeting as she moaned happily.
It wasn't long before she was calling out for more, and Harry was bent down lower to suckle on her breasts as she writhed underneath him.
Once they had both finished, Harry's peak coming not too long after Parvati's, Pansy laid her head down on his sweaty chest. His heart was still hammering away from the recent exertion.
On his other side, Parvati turned over and curled into his embrace. She looked very pleased by how the night had gone so far. "You know, I actually thought you might be a lot meaner about everything."
Pansy just smirked at her. "You mean you thought I would have made you do something more kinky?"
"Well, yeah," Parvati shrugged.
"Two things," Pansy replied. "First of all, the night's not over yet."
Parvati groaned. "Me and my big mouth."
"But secondly, and more important," Pansy shot her an evil grin. "I know how wonderful Harry is in bed, and that means I know that I've ruined other men for you."
Harry chuckled to himself.
Parvati sighed. "Fuck, you're probably right."
Pansy let out a cackle.
"You really are such a bitch," Parvati added.
Author's Note: As someone who's roughly a quarter Irish, I'm obligated to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day! Try not to drink yourself to death, lol.
I imagine this chapter will get an interesting reception. I hope you enjoyed it. :)
By the way, on the off hand chance that any of my readers speak Hindi, the quote that Google Translate & I probably butchered is supposed to mean: As our bodies first touch, let our magic also entwine.
