The twins had made so much money from people betting on Harry and the girls, they felt they needed to give back. They started by giving Harry their most prized possession: the Marauders Map. They also decided to host a not-so-secret costume party. After some negotiations with Nearly-Headless Nick, they were able to secure the deathday ballroom for the day before halloween. The 30th being a Saturday, it all worked out perfectly.
The party was a rollicking good time. As Harry observed the sheer volume of snacks and alcohol on display, he could only wonder two things: how had none of the staff found out, and exactly how many people had placed bets on the contest.
Students from all four houses showed up. First and second years weren't invited, but some of them slipped through the cracks anyways. There were a good amount of Slytherins, though thankfully for Harry Malfoy and his crew were nowhere to be seen.
He had yet to see the girls, who in a rare act had grouped together with a few older girls to set up their costumes. Him and Ron were in a group with Dean, Neville and Blaise Zabini. It seemed that his involvement with Daphne was helping heal the rift between houses.
"What are you supposed to be, Longbottom?" Blaise asked. He was decked out in full Romeo and Juliet wear, complete with feathered cap, tight stockings and colorful robes. The whole medieval nobleman look seemed to be rather popular with the pureblood boys.
"I-I'm a bubotuber." The boy responded nervously. To Harry he looked like a giant black turd with legs and a head.
"Jesus Neville, do you actually get off on being pathetic?" Dean asked. He had on a full spiderman costume, which no one besides Harry really understood. Harry had asked if he'd somehow mail-ordered it, but Dean had actually drawn a rather detailed sketch of the costume and gotten a seventh year to transfigure it up for him.
"W-what are you talking about?!" The boy's voice had gone up a pitch, but the others noticed a sudden bulge near the bottom of the costume.
"Well, this is the last time I hang around Gryffindors." Blaise said with a sigh. The boys surreptitiously took a few steps to their left, keeping their circle while creating some distance between them and Neville.
"You know, he's probably getting off even more now." Dean said.
Harry refused to glance back at Neville. He looked over at Ron.
"Chudley Cannons keeper, eh? Why am I not surprised?"
Ron was wearing a full Chudley Cannons quidditch kit, as well as a keeper's helmet. He was even dragging along one of the school brooms, a beat up old Cleansweep 7 with the bristles sticking out at odd angles.
"Gotta say, your attention to detail is immaculate, Weasley," Zabini commented with amusement. "Even got the broom right."
Ron's face reddened. "What, are you a Falmouth supporter? You know we almost beat you last season, right?!"
Blaise raised an eyebrow, glancing at the other boys to see them both trying to hold back laughter.
Harry would have loved to needle Ron some more, but he noticed something at the back of his kit. "Is Wazlib a real surname?"
Ron frowned. "If you have to know, Roonil Wazlib is my alter ego. He's been the Cannons captain for five straight years and he's the best keeper in the world. He even helped the Cannons finish fourth one year!"
"Even in your fantasies, they only finish fourth?" Blaise asked.
"That gets us into the European Cup!"
"Do you win the European Cup?"
Ron frowned. "No! We get knocked out in the group stages. But still-"
"Gotta say mate, if it wasn't for Neville I'd say that's the most pathetic thing I've ever heard." Dean said.
Ron was spared any more insults when a group of girls approached them. It was Daphne, Susan, Lavender and Hermione.
Lavender stood out the most, both for what she was wearing and what she wasn't. She had two magical clouds covering her chest and hips. The white cumulus mist wrapped around her top and bottom was solid enough for nothing to be visible, but it was still very clear that Lavender was wearing nothing else besides those clouds. She somehow looked more naked than if she'd just been naked.
The other girls had shown a lot more restraint.
Daphne's costume could still be classified as sexy, but it had clearly not been her main goal.
She looked like she was ready for battle. She had on a dragonhide coat, along with boots and gloves of the same material. Harry could see a wand holster on her wrist, and under her coat she had on a tight, black leather bodysuit. Just her coat probably cost more than everyone else's outfits put together.
Susan had dressed up as a dairy cow. She had the cow ears, a nose ring and a black choker with a small bell hanging off it. Her spotted black and white onesie was rather…tight. Harry couldn't help but trail his eyes down her body all the way to her black knee-high boots. Sometimes he wondered if there was some sort of magic at play. How could a girl be so voluptuous and thick while still having a flat tummy?
He finally turned to Hermione, who looked… familiar. She had on emerald green robes with a tall witch's hat. He could have sworn he'd seen it somewhere.
"You came as McGonagall? Hermione, Please tell me you didn't come as McGonagall!?" Ron whined.
Hermione's face reddened deeply as she glared at him. Dean, Blaise and Harry shared wide-eyed looks, trying to hold back laughs that threatened to burst out of them.
"How about everyone talks about their costume?" Harry blurted out, needing the distraction.
"Why don't you start?"
Harry blinked. "Sure. Err well, I think its obvious," Harry lifted up his black cape and bared his fangs. "I came as Dracula,"
The purebloods' eyes widened in panic, and Daphne rushed up to put a hand over his mouth. "Quiet! First the Dark Lord's name, now this!"
Harry looked taken aback. "What, is he actually alive?"
Blaise scoffed. "Of course not. He's undead,"
Harry made a face. "What does that mean anyways, undead? Like, it feels like they just wanted a cooler term for alive,"
Daphne rolled he eyes. "None of that matters, Harry. What matters is that you almost got yourself sued out of your inheritance,"
"What?" He looked around to see that Hermione and Dean were the only ones as confused as him.
"Everybody knows, Harry." Lavender said with a raised finger. "Dracula is really protective of his image. He'll sue the pants off anyone that appropriates it without authorization."
"Exactly. That is why for the rest of this party you must tell everyone you came as a well-off vampire who likes capes. Do not even dare mention that name. Merlin knows only the Hogwarts wards protected you from that taboo, but they won't hold up if you keep saying it." Daphne finished.
Harry looked between them, waiting for someone to start laughing and make fun of him for falling for it. But they all looked dead serious.
"Right, I came as a rich vampire who likes to dress up," Harry said.
They all Released a breath. Daphne decided to follow up.
"I came as my alter ego, Queenie Fatale. I'm an expert of all forms of magic. I can perform any spell wandlessly and silently. My animagus form is a phoenix, I have a nundu familiar and I can play every single instrument flawlessly. My outfit is made out of the dragons that I personally killed,"
Everyone stared at her, not sure what to say.
Ron huffed. "Oh, so when she does it everyone's quiet, but when I do it you look at me like I'm a weirdo?"
The girls looked confused. Dean shook his head. "Mate, in her fantasy she's all powerful, in yours you finish fourth in the league."
The boy crossed his arms with a grumble. Hermione seemed happy that Ron had been taken down a peg as well.
"I uhhh, I dressed up as a cow." Susan said shily. Harry glared at the other boys, who were doing their hardest to look anywhere but the sexy redhead. "It was really Lavender's idea!" She added hastily.
Lavender looked proud of that fact. "I wanted our theme to be slutty halloween costumes. But these two wouldn't play ball," she sniffed in the direction of Daphne and Hermione. "Mine is just some clouds covering me up, I'm a cloud fairy or whatever," she smiled suggestively at Harry, who had to admit she looked rather sinful.
"How'd you even set that up?" Dean asked, staring at a spot right above her shoulder.
Lavender shrugged. "Tina Farley from Ravenclaw did it for me."
"How long's it gonna last for?" Harry asked curiously, "Like, when does the charm start fading?"
Lavender's eyes widened in fear. She shot a questioning look at Hermione, who only shrugged back at her. "Ummm, I'll be right back." The blonde ran off swiftly.
The party was a success. Lavender had returned a few minutes later, a tank top and skirt clearly visible under her clouds now. Which was fortunate, as the charm faded away completely after an hour. They had drinks, fraternized and overall just had a good time. Neville stood completely still in a corner, creepily staring at everyone. Daphne roped Harry into a little play, where Queenie Fatale hunted distinguished vampire man down. She did it with ease, and Harry didn't mind when she tackled him, straddling him as she held a fake stake over his heart.
It was the most fun Harry had ever had. Outside of the incident at the Quidditch match, this had been the best year of Harry's life.
…
Then Halloween happened.
The day had been highly enjoyable. Harry was not allowed to go to Hogsmeade, and while he may have been tempted to use the Marauder's Map to sneak out, the girls put a stop to that.
Lavender spent the morning with him, then Susan clocked in for midday while Lavender went out to Hogsmeade, and finally Daphne spent the afternoon with him. Harry held back from doing anything sexual with the girls that day. He was beginning to enjoy just spending time with each of them, and he found that he was growing to love them all.
He cuddled with Lavender in the common room while they did personality quizzes off the latest Teen Witch. Apparently Harry was a Waxing Hippogriff and Lavender was a Waning Mooncalf, which according to her was a perfect match.
With Susan, he helped her out with her homework for a bit. They had all taken up Arithmancy and Runes, and while Lavender carried on like she wasn't even taking the classes, Susan actually wanted to do well. And So Harry tutored her, finding that Daphne's own tutoring had given him a very good base on the topics. Then they'd gone to the kitchens and had a wonderful lunch together, playfully feeding each other grapes and sharing light kisses along the way.
Daphne had planned to teach him all about politics and the Wizengamot and all that stuff. But then her sister Astoria had shown up, and the three of them had ended up talking and sharing sweets from Honeydukes while Daphne braided her younger sister's hair. Then they'd played a few rounds of exploding snaps, ending with all of them singed and burned, laughing happily together and Harry not a single bit more knowledgeable about politics.
It had really been a wonderful day. And Harry had a warm smile on his face as he made his way up to Gryffindor Tower.
And then he saw the students crowded around the Fat Lady's portrait, or what used to be her portrait. The canvas was completely torn apart, and Harry wondered if portraits could feel pain.
Which led to the entire school in sleeping bags in the Great Hall.
The teachers roamed about while many tried to hold whispered conversations. To be honest, Harry found it kind of fun. It was like a big sleepover. They'd even gotten hot cocoa and biscuits!
After a while, the teachers stopped patrolling in between the students, deciding to keep watch from near the exits.
Harry found himself near the center of the Great Hall, a fair distance from any Professor. Most everyone was sleeping now, and he could hear Ron's loud snores just a few feet away from him.
Harry's own sleeping arrangement was… interesting.
After an intense round of rock paper scissors and some wandwork from Daphne to merge three sleeping bags into one, they were in their current configuration.
Three of them were spooning in the combined sleeping bag. It was charmed so that from above, it just appeared that they were all sleeping separately, if a bit close together. Susan had come in second place, and so she was spooning Harry from behind, which he very much appreciated as he felt her breasts push into his back and her breath tickle his neck. Daphne had won, so Harry was spooning her, and the girl kept wriggling her ass around to find a comfortable position.
Lavender had lost rather quickly when it became obvious she would always pick rock. She was in her own sleeping bag, which she placed in the opposite orientation to theirs, so that she could look directly at Harry's face.
Well, that bitch Greengrass was partially blocking her view, but still.
Harry's heart raced. This was quite risky, and he was very thankful that Ron's snoring had worked as a deterrent, causing people to scoot away from them. With Hermione's bushy hair covering them from the other side, they'd be fine.
As long as Snape didn't pass by, see through the enchantment and give him detention for life.
He gasped as his worries were suddenly forgotten. He had another, much bigger problem.
Daphne had just shimmied down her pajamas. Her bare ass was now grinding against his cock, which was straining against the cotton of his own pajamas.
"Daphne!" Harry whispered, trying to keep his composure. From behind him, Susan placed her chin on his neck, pressing herself closer to him. "Daphne, what are you doing?" Susan asked in a voice that was much too loud for Harry. He was sure everyone would be staring at them any moment now. But no one looked, everyone was asleep. Harry dared to glance at the corners, Sprout and Flitwick were supposed to be on patrol, and they were both dozed off in their respective spaces.
"Whatever do you mean?" Daphne said, the heat in her voice palpable. She reached back and felt for the waistband of Harry's pants. The boy was paralyzed, his heart thumping a mile a minute as Daphne lowered his pants and his cock was freed, immediately met with the flesh of her delectable derriere as she grinded hard on him.
He gasped.
He could see Lavender, upside down from his vantage point, glaring. "What the fuck are you doing Greengrass? You're gonna get caught."
Once again Harry braced himself, expecting Hermione to shriek and wake everyone up. But his bushy haired friend was fast asleep, everyone was.
Daphne guided his cock downward. His tip pressed against her sopping wet heat. "Merlin!" Harry groaned out. He pushed his head against Daphne's back, doing all he could do not to yell out.
"I'm not going to get caught. I'm going to fuck Potter and the two of you wont do a thing about it," she said smugly. She threw her hips back and Harry's cock plunged into her virgin cunt. He broke through her maidenhead, his cock surging through her tightness. His head bumped against her cervix, the impact leaving him with an almost numbing tingle.
Daphne was whimpering and gasping. Looking down at her, the girl had bitten into her pillow hard, a trail of drool leaking down the white linen.
"Daph-" Harry shuddered. Her pussy felt incredible. All he wanted to do was pound wildly into her, to break her in two and then pump his seed as deep as he could in her. But they were in the Great Hall. His friends were just a few feet away.
Susan and Lavender were watching.
Daphne began to move, face still buried into her pillow as her walls slid sinfully up and down on Harry's hard shaft. The schlick of her movement sounded louder than a blasting curse, but Harry had long since stopped caring. If Snape or McGonagall stumbled upon them and gave him detentions with Filch for a year, he'd happily accept it.
Harry began pushing back, his hips moving in rythm with Daphne's as he began fucking into her pussy. Daphne lifted her head up from the pillow and twisted it back. Seeing what she wanted, Harry captured her lips in a deep kiss. His hands began to roam, pinching her nipples with one hand while the other went south to play with her clit.
There was a gasp, which sounded like Lavender. From behind him, Susan kissed his neck, and then she moved up to lick his earlobe. Harry moaned into his kiss with Daphne.
This was not happening. It couldn't. But it was.
Daphne pulled back abruptly from the kiss, tearing her mouth off from his. Confused, Harry opened his eyes.
Lavender had pulled Daphne by the hair. She'd grabbed the Slytherin's pillow and pushed her head into it. Daphne was so wrapped in her pleasure as Harry now took the lead and began pounding her pussy in earnest that she didn't protest.
Harry looked up at the curly haired blonde as Lavender scooted closer, enough for her to lean into him and capture his lips in an upside down kiss.
Lavender had her tongue down his throat, Susan was sucking on his neck, and Daphne's pussy was getting pounded by his hard cock. The sounds of flesh slapping felt so loud, the musk of sex so thick, surely people would begin to notice.
He felt Daphne tremble and he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She shook in her release. The loud moan, muffled by the pillow, somehow sounding that much more lewd.
Susan bit into his earlobe, Lavender's tongue lapped at his own, and Harry shuddered as he let loose, emptying his balls inside of Daphne's hot, welcoming cunt.
They all came down from their high. Harry broke the kiss with Lavender, Susan pulled back from his ear to bury her head into his back, and Daphne's ragged breathing began to settle. Harry meant to pull out from her, but his eyes became heavy and everything became hazy. As they all drifted off to sleep, he remained plugged into Daphne.
They were woken up by a scandalized Hermione. Groggily, as the bushy haired girl ranted about how the professors would find them and how they couldn't keep their hormones in check, Harry found he was still inside of Daphne. His morning wood was rock hard, and the girl let out a soft, gasping moan as she felt his girth inside of her.
Unfortunately, they couldn't push their luck. He pulled out of her slowly, both of them biting their lips at the feeling. Hermione hadn't noticed that they'd been fucking, thankfully, though Harry wondered how the hell she couldn't feel the overwhelming smell of sex in the air.
They got themselves decent while Susan hesitantly pushed away from him. They all got up, and Harry thanked Merlin that Hermione had gotten to them first. Everyone else around them was still asleep.
"Harry!" Hermione eeped, scandalized.
"What?" The boy asked while scratching his head.
Red-faced, his friend looked away, while Lavender and Daphne licked their lips in front of him. Looking down, Harry saw his erection straining against his bottoms. "Oh,"
Lavender surged forward. "Cmon now Harry, you need a shower," she dragged him away, leaving Daphne and Susan behind.
Harry feared that the burning heat in Lavender's eyes would fade in the time it took them to reach Gryffindor Tower and then the boy's shower, but if anything it was more intense, helped along by a few rough snogs against a wall every few floors.
They entered the boy's shower with a trail of clothing left behind them, both of them naked as the day they were born. If Harry hadn't been hard before, he would have instantly risen to full mast with one look at Lavender's body. Large, full tits with light pink nipples leading down to a slim body with very curvy hips. Her blonde curls cascaded down to her shoulders and Harry drunkenly pushed her against a wall, capturing her lips in a needy kiss.
The showerhead magically started. They were first met with a blast of cold water, eliciting small gasps of shock from both of them, before the water quickly turned warm and steamy. Harry pressed against Lavender while they kissed, reveling in the feeling of her soft tits pressing against his chest.
Lavender raked her hands down his back, feeling every inch of his body as the heat between them swelled. Harry's erection pressed against her belly, and neither one of them could wait any longer.
"Fuck me, Harry!" She gasped out in between kisses.
He lifted her leg and bent it to his torso. A thrill ran through Lavender as she prayed she'd be able to keep her balance on one leg with water pooling under them. Their wet hair got in their faces as they tried to gaze into each other's eyes.
They shared a laugh, and then Harry took on a look of concentration as he lined himself up with her entrance. Lavender let out gasping breaths as the steam condensed around them. He thrust in hard.
"Ooooooh Harry!!" Lavender's eyes rolled to the back of her head as Harry burst into her. She felt a delicious fullness as his thick meat invaded her cunt, her nails dug into his back as she gripped him for all she was worth. The leg still planted on the floor trembled, she wouldn't be able to stay upright…
Harry grabbed it and picked it up, pushing her further into the wall and his cock deeper into her cunt. She wrapped the leg around his waist as best she could, her other one still trapped against his stomach.
With surprising strength, Harry held her up and began moving. Stroking his dick into her.
"Oooh Harry, you like fucking this tight little bunny?" She moaned as Harry pounded into her.
That drove Harry a bit wild, and his pace became a bit more manic as he dove his face into Lavender's neck. The girl threw her head back and screamed out with abandon. In the rutting, her leg got loose and joined the other around Harry's waist.
"M-M-Maybe I should transfigure myself into a bunny girl next Halloween, would you like that HaRRY!" The pitch of her voice picked up considerably as Harry reacted positively to her words. His face was mushed against her delicate neck, and he was now truly jackhammering into her tight quim. All Lavender could do was wrap her legs and arms as tight as she could around him, while water kept falling on them and steam kept building up.
Soon Harry found the mix of the steam and the heat of their coupling a bit unbearable. With strength that must have been magically enhanced, he stepped back, holding Lavender up against him. The girl squeaked as he marched out of the bathroom, their wet bodies tracking water as he zeroed in on the first bed he saw. With a burst of strength on his last few steps, Harry dropped Lavender on the bed, a large wet spot seeping out as her soaked body sank into the mattress and her wet hair fanned out all around her.
Harry climbed onto the bed and got on his knees, now able to look down at where his cock was disappearing into Lavender's delicate little pussy. He rutted into her like a madman, his pelvis crashing against her mound as they made more and more of a wet mess of the bed. Harry's hair dripped drops of now cold water onto Lavender's body, the chilly november air hitting their bodies as they continued to fuck like animals.
Lavender tightened her legs around him, and he could feel her pussy spasm around his cock. Harry cried in his own release as he shot load after load into Lavender's waiting pussy. He'd cum inside a Slytherin for dinner, now he was coming back home for breakfast.
They lay in the bed gasping for a few minutes, not wanting to pay too much mind to the mess they'd made.
"I think I need another shower," Harry said with a laugh. Lavender joined him with a giggle. "Who's bed is this anyway?"
Harry raised his head and looked around. He saw a cactus on the nightstand.
"Oh. It's Neville. No worries then, he'll probably get off on it."
….
Classes were interesting.
Everyone was still a bit finicky after Black's attack the previous night. Hermione kept shooting him suspicious glances. He'd hoped she would just keep it to herself, she had such a heavy workload anyways he doubted she had the time. Though to her credit, even with taking all the classes, Hermione had been perfectly fine so far.
Unfortunately for him, she caught him alone in between classes. He'd walked out of Herbology with Susan, and his next class was Charms with Daphne. This was an all important transition period where Lavender was not allowed to walk with him to class. As he was heading towards the dungeons, Hermione grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him aside.
"Hey, what's the big idea 'Mione?"
Hermione had her arms crossed, a stern look in her eyes as she tapped her foot.
"What?" Harry asked with a bit of trepidation.
"Harry James Potter. Have you been having…intercourse?" Hermione's face reddened after that, her eyes wanting to drop down.
"Why'd you say it like that?"
"It doesn't matter. Have you, Harry?"
Harry looked at her for a moment. He really should lie, but he knew Hermione would see right through anything he said. "Yeah," he answered sheepishly.
She sighed. "Have you at least been using protection?"
Harry blinked. "Like what? I haven't seen anyone handing out condoms around here 'Mione."
She glared at him. "Are you serious Harry? What about the contraceptive charm? Have any of you been using it?"
"Err… is that a sixth year spell?"
"I need to have a talk with you. All of you."
And so later that night, Harry and the girl's found themselves in an abandoned classroom, Hermione standing behind the teacher's desk as if she had given them detention.
"Does this count as one of those meetings?" Susan asked.
"What meetings?" Hermione questioned.
"Oh. We set up a whole contract. If there are any disputes between us we're supposed to meet and discuss terms." Daphne said, her face scrunched up in concentration. "It's not through the established channels, but I would still consider this the Second Ecumenical Council of Potter."
"Ecumaniacal? That's what we're calling these? When did we agree to that?" Lavender asked.
Daphne glared at her. "It was one of the finer details we ironed out. Remember, when you were spacing out and making popping sounds with you mouth?"
Lavender snapped her fingers. "Oh right, the boring part!"
"Can you please stop?" Hermione spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.
"It's better to let them burn themselves out 'Mione." Harry offered.
Hermione shot him another glare before she gave them all her best McGonagall gaze. "So. It has come to my attention that all of you have been sexually active with Harry,"
Lavender raised her hand enthusiastically. Hermione hesitated before she groaned. "Yes, Lavender?"
"Susan hasn't yet! Daphne and Harry fucked last night and I did this morning. But Susan hasn't" she said matter-of-factly.
"Last night!? In the sleeping bags? In front of everyone?!" Hermione was scandalized, a hand placed over her heart.
"Oh sod off it Granger." Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "But Brown is correct, it is my understanding that Bones here is far behind us,"
Susan just kept her mouth shut, a blush on her face. Harry reached out to grab her hand and nodded firmly. The girl decided to speak up. "Umm, actually, I took Harry's virginity."
"What?"
The three other girls yelled simultaneously, Lavender and Daphne looking murderous.
"We keep underestimating you…" Lavender grumbled.
Daphne glared at the redhead. "Brown, we may need to consider an alliance. This Hufflepuff is more cunning than she lets on."
"Could you guys please focus!" Hermione brought their attention back to the center. "None of this matter! What matters is that you are all thirteen, having unprotected sex with no contraception."
The girls stared blankly back at her.
"Really, Granger?"
"Everyone knows the contraceptive potion takes away all the feeling." Lavender yapped out.
Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. She turned to Susan, only to find a similar look. "It's true Hermione, all the older years talk about it. It ruins the whole thing."
"You…you three realize what will happen if you go on like this, right?"
She received a collective shrug in response, with even Harry joining in.
"Harry! Do you really want to be a father at thirteen? With all the danger you get yourself into?"
Harry considered her words. "I dunno Hermione. I kinda always wanted a family. Sounds sorta nice to me."
"You're schoolchildren!"
"We're purebloods, we have parents and house elves to take care of most of it," Daphne said.
"Wait, what are House Elves?"
That actually proved to be their escape hatch.
Daphne explained house elves to Hermione, who became indignant, especially when she discovered Hogwarts employed hundreds of them. The girl left in a huff, completely forgetting about Harry and the others.
Once she was out of hearing range, Lavender let out a snort. "Joke's on her, everyone knows Hogwarts doesn't let witches get pregnant!"
Susan, Daphne and Harry shot her a questioning look. "Where did you hear that, Brown?" Daphne asked.
Lavender looked back at the girl as if she was stupid. "Some older girls told me. Come on, everyone knows!"
"My mum got pregnant with me in her sixth year," Susan mumbled.
"Oh," Lavender's face turned ashen white.
"Hah! Gonna chicken out, Brown?" Daphne taunted.
Harry sent her a reproachful look. "Daphne, behave." He warned.
"Oh course not!" Lavender answered the Slytherin. "Harry can cum in me all he wants as much as he wants. Bet I feel way better than your frigid little pussy!"
Daphne's eyes lit up. "You absolute bitch! Potter probably fucked you in the shower so he wouldn't have to deal with your stench!"
Harry sighed as they picked up steam. He laid his head on Susan's lap, who ran her hands through his hair. Somehow, Daphne and Lavender's shouting matches had turned from grating to soothing, and Harry found himself drifting off to sleep as the two girls hurled insults at each other.
….
Daphne found herself alone in the library, going over her potions essay. Before this year she hadn't needed to put too much effort into her written work for that class. She was a good potioneer, and when it came to grading, Snape always gave her the Slytherin curve, which meant work that should have been E worthy would receive an O.
But ever since her relationship with Harry had become public, she was forced to pay the Potter tax. Every single word, punctuation mark and space was scrutinized. She'd gotten a nasty surprise when she'd received her first essay back with a P. Daphne had wanted to fling herself from the Astronomy Tower after that embarrassing incident. Since then, she'd put in extra effort on her essays, just to barely manage an A.
As she crossed out yet another sentence, letting out a little growl of frustration, she balled up the piece of parchment and tossed it to the trash. She would have to start over. With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair.
Tracey was in some broom closet with Zabini and Astoria was Merlin knows where. It was Lavender's turn with Harry this evening, and so she found herself feeling a bit lonely.
"Hey, Daphne!"
She raised her head to see Bones standing at her table, her satchel at her side and a book hugged to her bountiful chest.
"Bones?" She questioned, wondering what exactly the girl wanted. Had Brown done something needing a council meeting?
Susan shifted nervously at Daphne's guarded tone. "Can I sit with you? We could go over some Runes stuff. I…would like your input on some things,"
She most certainly could not. This was Daphne's time to do her own work, not to help a rival with her homework. Where did Bones get off, thinking she could just come up to her and talk to her?
Susan's smiled weakened as the silence dragged on. Daphne should dismiss her immediately, dissuade whatever silly ideas of camaraderie the Hufflepuff may have had.
But then again, she had to admit, quite begrudgingly, that Bones was ahead in their little contest. At every turn, no matter her schemes and machinations, the sneaky little Hufflepuff had beaten her to the punch with Harry. For goodness sake, she'd sat on his lap on the train!
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right?
Daphne nodded toward the seat across from her.
Accepting the barest of allowances from Daphne, Susan's smile returned in force as she began to place her things around the seat.
Daphne put away her potions things and and took out the heavy Runes tome.
"What is it you need help with? Are you still trying to figure out the initial clusters?" She tried her best to contain the bit of disdain in her voice. Bones had come in late after all, and unlike Harry, she didn't have someone as fantastic as Daphne to catch her up.
If Susan had caught the barb, she took in in stride. "No, I'm good with that," she opened up her notebook to a page with many different runic arrays hastily sketched out, many of them crossed off and other with notes written under them.
"I've actually been working ahead, but I keep getting stuck on how to best arrange the clusters,"
Daphne leaned over, and she quickly became more and more shocked as her eyes scanned the page. This was way beyond their level, this was fifth year stuff, maybe sixth.
Daphne's deep need to always be correct, to always be the smartest one in the room, left her clutching at straws.
"You're mixing codexes," she latched onto something she noticed, "like here, there's Hieroglyphics mixed in with Elder Futhark and Linear B,"
Susan gave her a blank face. "But, I thought that was allowed? I asked professor Babbling and she said that it was common in more advanced rune work. As long as you pick the appropriate ones, mixing different alphabets helps cover up for insufficiencies in one or the other. Though she did say that it makes the cluster a bit more volatile," Susan began to chew on her quill.
Daphne's jaw dropped. Her brain refused to work. This couldn't be.
"Bones, have you studied runes before?"
"Of course not silly. I just started this month. I'm glad I did though, its really not that hard once you get the hang of it," as always, Susan said this with a genial smile.
Daphne took deep breaths. At first, she tried to come up with some way to still one-up the girl. There had to be something she could pull out of her ass to still seem superior at the subject. The more she searched though, the more another urge overtook her.
"Susan, could you help me with my Runes work? I'll tutor you in Potions, if you want, I know you struggle with it a bit."
Susan gasped. "Would you?"
Daphne found herself nodding. Susan gave her the most radiant smile she'd seen yet.
What the hell had just happened?
….
The temperature gradually dropped. The leaves continued to fall until the time came that there were none left. Winter had fully set in. Before any of them realized, it was mid-december.
Winter break was only three days away.
Which meant that in two night, Harry would have to make his decision.
Things were tense now. The school was tense, as most everyone had placed a bet by this point. There was anticipation in the air as the students wondered who Harry would choose as the winner.
There was tension between them as well.
It hadn't been like that. Over November something had formed, a sort of companionship between them all. Even through the girl's rivalry, through Daphne and Lavender's constant bickering, the four of them had become close. At some point, the hard dividing lines denoting each girl's time with Harry had begun to blur. It maybe started when Susan stumbled onto Harry and Daphne cuddled up in the fifth floor and the Slytherin had invited her to join them. Or it might have been when Lavender allowed Daphne to brush her hair while she had Harry cut out pictures from magazines for a collage.
Whenever it had happened, at some point they began to blur the boundaries between each other. At some point each girl's solo time with Harry turned into group time. The four enjoyed each other's company, and they spent as much time as they could together.
Then it was a week before the deadline, and the reality set in. Hesitantly, things went back to the way they were before as each girl made her last few moves to try to win Harry over.
Harry found himself disappointed. He'd grown to love each of them, and this past month in particular had been blissful. But now the girls had forced themselves apart, and he found that the decision he had to make loomed large.
Harry was in a classroom on the third floor. All three girls, separately, had asked to meet with him here. He hoped that by getting them all in a room together again, they could work this out. He had long since decided he wouldn't be able to pick one over the other.
Lavender was the first to arrive. With her, she brought along a large, shaggy black dog that looked a bit underfed. The dog was panting happily, and its eyes lit up when it saw Harry. He swore it looked just like the dog he'd seen in the summer.
"Hey babe! I met this dog out in the grounds the other day, and I think you'd love him!" Lavender's smile was a little manic, and Harry stopped himself from cringing. Of course, they were all making their last desperate moves to try and win him over.
"Hey there boy," he held his hand out and the dog padded over to him enthusiastically, nuzzling his face onto Harry's hand. Harry began to scratch the appreciative dog's head.
"So, what do you think?" Lavender asked with a smile that was a bit too wide.
"Err…" Harry wasn't sure what to answer. He was saved from having to provide one when someone else came in through the door.
"Harry! I've found Weasley's lost rat. Shall we go and return him?"
Daphne held Scabbers tightly in both her hands. The rat had been calm, until it saw the large dog in the room. The dog turned his head towards the door and its eyes darkened, it's friendly gaze turning feral as it grumbled menacingly.
Scabbers squirmed in Daphne's hand. She tried to maintain her grip but the rat bit her finger and she released him with a scream. Scabbers scampered away, the dog giving chase as it thundered after the rat.
"Brown! Did you bring that damn mutt in here?" Daphne yelled, nursing her finger as she glared at the Gryffindor.
There was a crash outside, and the three of them ran to the corridor.
Susan was getting gingerly back up to her feet. In front of her, writhing desperately, both the dog and Scabbers were tied up together in thick, brown ropes.
"Susan, What happened?" Harry asked, pulling the redhead close to himself.
"I-I was coming over with some… things I wanted you to try out with me." Her face turned a deep, deep crimson. "And then the dog bumped me and they kind of got tangled in them,"
Daphne crouched down, touching the ropes. "Charmed bondage ropes." She shot a smile at the now completely embarrassed Susan.
"What's going on here?" Professor Lupin rushed in, wand out at eyes serious.
"It's alright Professor," Harry assured. "This dog we brought in just started chasing Ron's rat,"
Remus had frozen in place as he looked at the tangled animals. Scabbers seemed to become even more frantic when it saw the Professor staring down at them.
"Professor?" Lavender asked. Remus had a stony expression. The man's hand was trembling as he looked down at the two animals.
"This can't be… it can't be…"
Remus snapped his head up. "Harry, come with me. We need to go see the Headmaster,"
Remus didn't wait for an answer, he levitated the tied up duo and began to walk briskly in the direction of Dumbledore's office.
Giving the girls a shrug, Harry jogged over to where Remus had almost disappeared around the corner.
"He liked the dog. I think I came out on top in this one," Lavender said with a slight smile.
"He would have liked my gift way better." Susan challenged.
"Where did you even get that, Susan?" Daphne asked.
Susan didn't blush this time. "My Auntie owled them to me. I think she runs a side business where she ties up rich pureblood men,"
"Didn't need to know that!" Lavender yelled, covering her ears.