His hands were like velvet as they moved over her soft silky skin. Her skin was already starting to bead sweat as they moved up and down each other. His hands moved along the skin, swiping at the moisture there until he found what he wanted and lightly ran his finger tips along it. A shudder moved through her body as she sighed and held her eyes closed in rapture. His lips replaced his fingers exactly on the same spot and she purred slightly and then groaned when his lips left the gentle touch of her skin.
"I submit myself fully to you, my Master." She panted as she came down from her high, lying next to her wonderful lover. Her body was still tingling from the pleasure and the pain that he had given her even as his body left her space. She groaned in protest. "I love you, Harry, stay with me."
Hermione rolled over to try and find the warm spot where the other body had been only a moment ago, but there was nothing but the cold sting of the morning air. Rolling over to the other side she felt nothing but air again, except this was beneath her. For a small fraction of a second she hung in the air before with a muffled thump her body twisted in the blankets fell off the bed and landed on the hard stone floor of her dormitory. Her head shot up out of the blankets and quickly looked around.
The room was silent and nearly dark with the early morning sunlight barely starting to break through the small curtains that were pulled over the slit windows in the stone walls. Her roommates were still snuggled down into their beds with the curtains pulled around their beds and a light sound of snoring coming from Parvati Patil's bed. The trunk at the end of Hermione's bed was still open from the previous night when she had gone through her things to find suitable work out clothing for the morning as well as the robes that she would need for the rest of the day.
Putting a hand to her head she felt the slight sheen of sweat and the remembrance of the dream brought a flush to her face and a slight tingling between her legs. Squirming under the blankets a little she quickly stood up and set her bed back to rights. She was completely nude, as she had fallen asleep that way since the beginning of the year, with a fine sheen of sweat coating her body. Her hair was matted to her head in a curled mass with fringes poking out in all directions giving her a very seductive and harried look at the same time. A slight morning breeze through the window ruffled the curtains and made her shiver from
the chill. Gathering up her things for the day she rushed into the shower adjacent to her room to get cleaned up before her work out was scheduled for the early morning. A quick check of the time with her wand showed that it was not even six and she had some time before she was going to meet Harry down on the lawns.
The memory of the dream, more specifically her complacency in the pain that she received, was rushing through her mind as she hurried through a shower and getting dressed. She had never considered herself to be very sexual; always wearing frumpy looking clothes and robes that would hide her feminine curves and features. She was never looked at by boys in any other way than to get help with homework or to use her in comparison with a prettier girl that they wanted to shag. In her dream she felt desirable, sexual, and very beautiful to a single man, and that frightened her slightly.
The main thing that scared her, besides the sex, was the fact that she enjoyed being slapped around and roughly mounted. She could remember the sensations of his phantom hands roaming her body getting her hot and heavy, of his hands slapping her backside. Shivering in the shower slightly she picked up the pace and finished as she was rolling the idea over in her head that maybe she would enjoy a little pain and pleasure mixed, but there was no way to know for sure short of actually having sex with someone, and she didn't trust anyone yet enough to take her virginity.
Drying off and getting dressed in the spandex leggings and shorts that she had gotten in a package from her parents. She had written to them after the first day begging to get some athletic gear and they had come through the previous evening with a late delivery by owl. She took a moment to admire her reflection in one of the full length mirrors that dotted the large common bathroom. She ran a hand along her thigh and up towards her chest, admiring some of the curves that were being shown off by the skintight nature of the spandex. Blushing furiously she pulled on her robe, applied a few spells with her wand and then hurried from the room back to her bedroom to collect her book bag for the day as well as her shoes.
Dressed as she was she snuck down through the common room and out into the chill of the castle proper. Most of the portraits that she passed were still snoozing so she stepped lightly until she reached the entrance hall and then sprinted out towards the grounds. She knew that she wasn't going to be late, it was still fairly early in the morning, but Harry had started early the previous day without her. Cresting the hill just in front of the castle she looked down and was startled to see two figures standing beside the lake.
Harry was standing next to the lake with his shirt off wearing a pair of baggy black pants that rustled around his ankles when he moved and was showing someone else how to move into the basic forms that he had taught Hermione the day before. As she drew up closer she could see that the other boy was Neville dressed in a long robe and he seemed to be sweating quite a deal as the collar was already wet. She came up close to them and dropped her bag where the other things were located and then made her way towards the pair with her hands behind her back.
"I told you that you should have worn something less constrictive." Harry was saying with his back to Hermione as he moved Neville's arm into place. The boy was moving a little chunky and slowly with the long robes constricting some of his movement.
"When you said you were going to help me in defense, I didn't think this is what you were talking about." Neville was panting and almost fell over flowing into another form. He stumbled a little and groaned as he stood back up. "I'm never going to get this."
Harry smiled and patted him on the arm a little before looking towards Hermione. His chest was bare and well tanned from what she could see. There were a few old scars that crisscrossed along his pecks and abs, the black spot still showing out brightly like a bruise against his tanned skin. "I hope you don't mind that I asked Neville to come join us, do you?"
Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment as she looked between the two boys. Given her dream she was a little apprehensive about being around Harry alone now, but this time with him was coming to be precious to her. "I guess, it's just….I…well…" she flushed and looked at the ground.
Harry smiled a little and came up to her, lightly putting his hand on her shoulder. "You're still my favorite
student if that's what you're worried about." Her face turned an even darker shade of red, but he continued to speak. "I'm sorry that I didn't ask you before asking him to come down with us, and if it makes you uncomfortable then we can find an alternative."
Hermione shifted from her left foot to her right and then looked over at Neville. The boy was watching them intently with his hands behind his head as if he was caught doing something that he shouldn't have. Looking the boy over quickly she sighed and her shoulders slumped a little. "I would be selfish to want you all to myself, and I suppose that with more people it would make things a little easier. Still…" Her voice trailed off as she caught his emerald green eyes staring into her own orbs.
"I'll consult you on any other major decision that needs to be made from here on out." Hermione nodded with his suggestion and then moved towards their bags as Harry turned back to Neville. ", you can stay as long as you wish and keep up as best you can. We'll be working on muggle fighting techniques as well as exercise for the next hour before breakfast."
Neville groaned a little at the thought of the exercise, but didn't say anything as he stripped off his outer black robe. The robe was already soaking wet from all the exercise and the early morning air was helping to cool off his skin quickly. Under the robes he wore a tight white shirt and some black slacks that were normal for the Hogwarts uniform. With a wave of Harry's wand the pants transfigured into some loose fitting jogging shorts, causing the boy to flush deeply and try to hide his knobby knees behind the robe that he was still holding.
Harry shook his head a little. ", you've got to get over the shyness thing. You are a good wizard, you just need some training and confidence in yourself." Neville nodded warily as he stood by the lake looking back up at the castle.
Hermione had stripped off her robe as well and had started doing the stretches that Harry had already taught her. Moving from one motion to the next she started the individual katas before looking up and seeing Harry with his head cocked to the side a little. "What?" She asked.
"Yesterday I would have thought that you would never wear something like that." Hermione looked down at herself and her face flushed a deep red. She was reaching for her robe again when Harry's hand caught her wrist. "Don't, you look great." He gave her a small smile and then whispered so that only she could hear. "You didn't need to wear a specific thing though, although I do understand that you've gone with it for so long."
Hermione's mouth dropped opens a fraction as she took in what he had said. Before she could formulate a response he had turned on his heel and started to run along the side of the lake. Knowing what to do she dropped her robe on the ground, forgotten for the moment as she motioned for Neville to follow and started up the path after Harry. It took her a few moments and about a hundred yards before she got into a good pace behind Harry and could feel the burning in her thighs by the time they were halfway along the loop. She glanced back a few times to see Neville panting and breathing hard, but he was still jogging as much as he could to keep up with the pair of them.
Once the trio had finished with the one lap around the lake, Harry took them through a number of small exercises designed to move their muscles to get ready to block and attack. He would throw fake slow punches at them and let their bodies react, correcting hand placements and improving their reaction time. He had explained that once they got good enough it would become second nature to block and attack without even having to consider where everything was at the time. Slowly he would start to speed up each one until they had found a pace that was acceptable to the person being attacked.
While Harry was showing one person how to block and defend he would be talking constantly about what they should and should not do when confronted by a bully. More often than not he would use Weasley and Malfoy as examples of behavior to avoid and what to do when they would say things. These were small emotional changes and nothing like the physical changes that he was doing to their bodies at the moment.
Ducking under a punch thrown by Neville, Harry came up and gripped his wrist, pulling him forward and into a small headlock with him behind the boy. "The best defense in a combat situation is to not get into it in the first place." He smiled as he released the other boy and pushed him way.
"So if Malfoy and Weasley make fun of us, we're just supposed to ignore them?" Hermione asked from a few feet away where she was both stretching and keeping an eye on what Harry was doing with Neville.
Harry nodded as he moved back in front of Neville and raised his arms in a combat ready position. Neville did the same a little more chunky and less fluid. "Drop your left hip a little, Neville. That's it. Now twist your left wrist…there you go." Harry nodded as Neville was already starting to correct himself. "To answer your question Hermione, that's exactly what I'm saying."
Neville panted a little from the exertion that they had been moving so much during the last hour, but he was still standing and facing off with Harry now. "What about all the mean things that they do or say to us?" He threw a lazy punch that Harry easily avoided by moving to the left.
Harry kept his eyes focused on the center of Neville's chest as he moved with his individual movements, dodging another punch designed to hit him in the side of the head. "Words mean nothing, they're just words. I'm sure that Hermione's heard the old playground rhyme."
Hermione nodded and in a sing-song voice she recited. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me."
Harry nodded as he reached out and deflected a punch from Neville, stopping his own fist a few inches short of hitting the boy in the nose. "Keep your guard up at all times and let your mind is focused on the task at hand. I've found in the past that if you find a way to clear your mind you're more aware of the world around you." Neville nodded and moved back into position before throwing another punch.
"What about physical violence though? Like if they were to attack us using magical means." Hermione called out as she was gathering her things together. The bell for breakfast was due to ring in a few minutes and she wanted to be prepared to go inside.
Harry scowled a little as he dodged another punch from Neville, this one getting close to hitting him and moving a little faster than the others. "I don't like it when someone older or larger picks on someone they think is smaller or meek. I have in the past had to defend people from being bullied, but I would like it more that people would stand up for themselves."
"So you think that if they attack us that we should use violence back at them?" Neville asked as he panted and put his hands on his knees, clearly worn out from the exercise the morning had brought.
"Violence only begets violence." Hermione said in a small voice as she handed Harry a towel and some water that she had stored in her bag for the morning. He smiled and accepted it from her, taking a swig from the water bottle before handing it back.
Harry moved towards the small pile of their things and pulled out his shirt and his robe. He spoke as he was sliding them both on his body. "I would never ask you two to sink to the level of those that are bullying you, but using what I've taught you in defense is something different. If at all possible you should avoid a conflict, but should they start something then you should be expected to defend yourself."
Hermione was chewing on her bottom lip for a moment lost in thought as she ran her hand through the bushy curls. Her hair had straightened slightly from the sweat and was plastered to her head in a slight wave down along her shoulders now, but it wouldn't stay like that forever. "What if we see other people being bullied? Should we help them?"
Neville paused as well as the two others looked back to Harry and watched as he pulled the book bag up onto his shoulder and tightened the straps. "I would say that if it's just words then leave it be, or at the very least tell the person being bullied that they should report it. Physical violence is a little different though, and should be handled on a case by case basis." He paused as he looked up at the two students staring at him. "Why, do you know of people being bullied?"
Neville sighed as he gathered his things and put his own book bag on his shoulder as he walked up to stand near Harry. "Besides us there are a few younger years that are picked on in Gryffindor. Mostly it's the Slytherin students that pick on all the other houses, but there are some within the houses that are being bullied and pressured."
Hermione nodded and chewed on her lip a little more, a small droplet of blood starting to form at the edge of her teeth. Harry moved forward and wiped away the blood causing the witch to blush horribly before she could speak. "There have been times that I've had to hide in the Library from bullies and seen others in the same state as I was, ripped bag, torn clothing, or even just a haunted look in their eyes."
Harry sighed and nodded a little as he made sure that the bag was secure on his shoulder. The bell was just tolling softly up at the castle signaling the breakfast was just starting so he turned and started a leisurely walk up towards the castle doors. "It's hard to watch others be bullied and pushed around. If something can be done for it, then stand up to it, but sometimes people need to stand on their own two feet. They just need confidence in themselves to really do it."
Hermione and Neville shared a small look as they followed Harry up the path that lead to the doors of the castle and into the entrance hall. They hurried their pace to keep up with him after a while, his long strides and his athletic posture carrying him a little faster and further with each movement than they could match, but before too long they were entering the castle again and heading towards the Great Hall.
Passing into the entrance hall they moved through small crowds of students that were already starting to mull around and make their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. For the most part the other students looked like zombies, dragging themselves and their bags to their tables and then slumping down to stare at their plates for long moments before shaking themselves awake. More than once when he passed by someone, Harry had to tap them on the shoulder to get them to move. When he touched a third year girl on the shoulder when she was sitting down she nearly tipped forward into a pile of eggs; it was only Harry's quick movements that prevented it and set her head down on the table next to her plate.
Sitting down at their usual places, Neville sitting down next to Hermione on the opposite side of the table from Harry, Harry shook his head a little at the other students. "If they're all so tired why are they even trying to get up this early in the morning?"
Hermione gave a small smirk as she pulled some fruit from a tray in the middle of the table, Neville and Harry following suit. "I imagine that they want to imitate the great Harry Potter." Harry gave a small snort of disagreement, but remained silent as Hermione enjoyed a small giggle.
Neville shook his head as he looked back and forth between the two. "You two are barmy, you really are. Although it is nice to hear Hermione giggle every once in a while."
Harry smiled at the flushed look that Hermione was sporting. "I'm sure that I can corrupt her before Christmas at the rate that I'm going." The boys shared a laugh at the horrified and red look that Hermione was sporting. "At leas this early in the morning we don't have to deal with-" He was cut off by a large body slumping down into the seat very near him and panting.
"Why didn't you wake me, mate?" Ron asked. His hair was wet and dripping all over the floor and it was soaking through his shirt and robe that he wore. The robe was tied off at an angle and his shirt was buttoned with a few holes misaligned, his slacks being held up by what appeared to be a tie while his belt hung loosely around his neck. "I thought I was going to miss breakfast again."
Harry turned towards the redhead and raised a single eyebrow before stoically speaking. "Indeed." He turned towards Hermione and raised the other eyebrow as he continued to speak. "If we're in the mirror universe than where the hell is my goatee?"
Despite the situation Hermione gave a small giggle while Ron and Neville looked on in shock. Ron seemed to recover before the other boy and spoke with food flying from his mouth. "whath ah youh twoth doin hear?" He swung the fork around to indicate Hermione and Neville and swallowed before speaking again; Neville and Harry were trying to mop up their robes from the food splatter while Hermione was moving her plate away as far as she could get. "You two should leave my best mate and I alone, go find your own friends."
Neville started to move, but Hermione gently laid a hand on his arm and shook her head. "Remember what Harry said before, Neville. You're welcome to stay here, unlike others." She tried her best glare towards Ron, but as she had little practice he simply brushed it off and turned back towards Harry.
"Come on, mate, what are we going to do today? Skive off class so that we can go and play Quidditch? You want to play some chess later on?" Ron was almost bouncing in his seat as he continued to speak, but Harry held up a hand to try and forestall him saying anything more.
"Weasley, I'm not sure if you're either incredibly stupid, or simply have a very bad memory, but do you not recall that you tried to curse me and get me expelled yesterday thinking that I had somehow violated your sister's….innocence?" The last word was said with some sarcasm that Neville and Hermione picked up on, but Ron didn't seem to really notice it.
Ron was stuffing his mouth again with all the food and drink that he could get within reach. Discretely Harry had moved his goblet into range and watched with a small smirk as it disappeared into the vacuum of Ron Weasley. Ron shook his head a few times and then flipped his hand over and over. "That's water under the bridge; just a little misunderstanding is all." He shook his head a little and seemed to gaze intently at the wall just opposite the table.
Harry waved his hand a little in front of Ron's face and when that garnered no reaction he simply shrugged and gathered up his books for the classes today. "Hermione, what have we got for today?" He looked over and could see Hermione and Neville almost as frozen as Ron was before Harry had spoken.
Hermione shook her head as she pulled up her bag with her schedule while standing. Neville was waving his hands in front of Ron and getting no response from the seemingly frozen redhead. "Uhm….Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Ancient Runes will finish off the day for today."
"What did you do to him, Harry?" Neville asked as he used his spoon to poke at Ron's arm repeatedly and it only seemed to move it a few inches off to the side while getting no reaction from the teen. Food was still dripping from Ron's partially opened mouth and the fork that he was holding partway to his mouth.
Harry smiled and shrugged, tapping Ron on the head a few times. "I did nothing; he really should watch what he eats though." He smiled again before turning and humming a jaunty tune as he headed out of the Great Hall. After a moment of thought both Hermione and Neville hurried after him to leave Ron alone staring at the stone wall with a glazed over expression.