Heads up, this story is exactly what the title implies. My goal was to write a simple smut story, somehow I ended up writing much more story than I intended, so this is a 'story with smut' fic.

If anyone's wondering, the only initial change from canon was Harry exchanging more letters with Sirius during the summer between third and fourth year with Remus' help.

Enjoy! There will be more smut in further chapters.

This is a fic I had only posted on Ao3, but by request I'll be posting it here too. So no one complains I'm going to list the Ao3 tags for the whole fic so far, please read them.

Tags/Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content, Consensual Underage Sex, Bondage, Domination/Submission, Sex Magic, Concubines, Transformation, Monster Girl(s?)

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Dragon Concubine

Chapter One

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Harry Potter had not been enjoying life since his name came out of the Goblet of Fire. His fellow Hogwarts students were convinced he was an attention-seeking brat at best, at worst they were hexing him in the hallways. (Granted, that was mostly the Slytherins, but it wasn't like anyone else was helping him.) He didn't even feel welcome in his own house anymore. Hermione was literally the only person to stick by his side in the entire castle. She was his best and only friend now that Ron had thrown away their friendship out of jealousy. Hermione was not perfect, she tended to have far too much faith in authority figures, always thought she knew best, and could be described as 'rather bossy.' But she was also a stalwart friend, had a fierce sense of right and wrong, and was rather intelligent. Lately Harry felt bad about leaning on that last trait so much, but he was concerned about his odds of surviving this tournament otherwise.

He and Hermione had been holed up in the library for hours now, since just after breakfast. It was the second Saturday and a week and a half after the Goblet had spit out his name; the two of them had been planning to study together all day, but the stress was getting to Harry. "Hermione, I need to get out of the castle for a bit. I've been feeling trapped since Halloween, I think I need a bit of a fly to clear my head. I promise I'll be back soon, alright?"

Hermione's first instinct was to berate Harry for not wanting to study constantly to better survive the Tournament. Then again, her best friend had been terribly stressed lately; she knew he'd been hoping for a safe, simple year after all the near-death experiences. "Go ahead Harry. I'll copy down a few spells and we can practice them in that abandoned classroom we've been using after lunch, alright?"

Because of his early life, or as Dumbledore would eventually call it, 'ten dark years,' Harry wasn't exactly comfortable with physical touch, either giving or receiving. Still, he did his best and gave Hermione an awkward hug, whispering in her ear before heading to Gryffindor Tower to retrieve his broom. "If nothing else, the whole thing with Ron has proven both of us could use more friends. There's some girls from our year a few tables over, maybe you could say hello?"

It wasn't exactly bad advice, and given the school's current opinion of him it was obvious why Harry wouldn't be taking it himself. After Harry left, she picked up a book with useful spells for dealing with magical creatures and made her way over to a table. Right now there were just the Patil twins studying herbology and potions, and Hermione swallowed her nervousness and spoke up. "Hello. Do you mind if I join you? I've never been good with people, but I'd like to try making a new friend or two if you don't mind. I know we've been dorm-mates for three years now, Parvati, but I don't really know you."

Both twins shared a brief silent conversation for a moment before pushing out a chair for her. Parvati responded while Hermione set down her books. "Well, we don't have much in common Hermione. Padma thinks you would have fit in a lot better in Ravenclaw."

Hermione blushed before she spoke up. "The Hat considered me for Ravenclaw and gave me a choice, but I chose the house of bravery over cleverness."

Padma chuckled and spoke up. "Such a shame. If you'd chosen Ravenclaw we'd have won the house cup every year. Then again, Snape would just take points for made up offenses till his house won the cup. Have you studied potions on your own? My house has a list of really great textbooks we always encourage students to buy, I can get you a copy if you haven't. It's criminal that Snape never explains the different reactions and why they matter, without that his Potions class is nothing but a dangerous cooking class."

Hermione's first instinct was to insist Snape be given respect, but given his abominable behavior and viciousness, she really didn't want to argue about it. While Harry spent time in the air, she found herself making friends beyond Ron and Harry. Eventually Sue Li and Terry Boot joined them and Hermione found herself deeply enjoying the academic discussion that followed when they got sidetracked into discussing the spells in the Defense course that year. "That never made sense to me either, between Quirrell and Lockhart it's amazing we learned anything in those years. I know I'd be far behind if not for Harry."

Terry scoffed, and Hermione explained. "Harry is really talented with practical spellcasting. If not for the theory portions he'd be top of the class in Defense and maybe Charms too. He's also good with Transfiguration when he has the time to experiment outside of class too."

That set off a short discussion for a few moments, but no one present could deny that Harry usually did rather well with spells once he had the chance to practice. The discussion was interrupted by the arrival of two students from Hufflepuff, Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones. Hannah spoke up. "Well it isn't like he's actually talented or anything. With special lessons from Dumbledore anyone would be able to show off like he does."

The rest of the group watched as Hermione bristled. "Why do you think that Harry's getting private lessons? Dumbledore's never even given him a book."

Hannah replied with a scowl in her tone. "Everyone knows he's Dumbledore's protege! Why else would he get away with everything he does or give out those huge numbers of points at the end of the year? Everyone knows Dumbledore is training Potter."

Hermione snorted. "Then 'everyone' is wrong again. Just like they were in second year when the school was convinced Harry was attacking students just because he has a useful magical gift that he's refused to use or learn anything about because of the school's reactions to it!"

Padma spoke up. "That's a shame. In India we know better about Parseltongue; it can be a really useful ability. Every Indian speaker receives free copies of three books. The first one is about the ability itself, the second is all the healing spells that either work better or are unique to Parselmouths, and the third is supposedly mostly familiar magic and some unique transfiguration spells."

Terry interjected, ignoring the simmering Hannah. "Supposedly? You haven't read them yourself?"

Padma replied with an amused tone. "I can't. They're written in a magical script only Parselmouths can understand; even people who train to understand the spoken language can't read the books without the natural ability. For all I know they could actually be cookbooks and the speakers never tell anyone as a prank." Padma turned to Hermione. "If you want, I can write home and order a set for Harry. They're not really expensive for foreigners, but they're not paperbacks either; if Harry's ashamed of his gift a book of healing spells might convince him otherwise."

"Please do Padma. Harry might not be happy at first but he should at least understand his gift. Let me know how much it is and in the worst case I'll get the money for you after we head home for Christmas."

For the most part, the study session went smoothly after that. Susan listened a lot more than she spoke, and while Hannah made a few more cutting comments about Harry, Hermione countered her without getting mean about it. Susan, Hermione decided, was much more of a follower than a leader. They missed the first part of lunch but managed to get to the Great Hall before the meal ended. Hermione received an invitation to return tomorrow for the group's next study session and asked if she could invite Harry. "He's sort of awkward around people but he could use more friends too. Like I said, he's not great at theory but is excellent with practical spellcasting and I'm sure there's an empty classroom near the library."

Padma, who seemed to be the group's spokesperson, answered. "That would be fine. I'm sure we can all at least be polite, especially if he's willing to help us with that shield spell you mentioned."

(*-*)

As for Harry, he had returned to his room and simply flown out the window rather than dealing with people on the way down. He'd missed the wind in his hair and the wonderful freedom he felt as he flew. How long had it been since he just let himself enjoy a good fly? Even during Quidditch matches he never got to fly like this, looping out over Hogsmeade briefly before returning to the school grounds, buzzing the castle and lake. It's really not the sport I love, it's the freedom of being in the air. There's been some good points with the team, but it isn't like any of them are standing by me right now. Hell, it isn't like I ever even chose to join the team in the first place, McGonagall just told me I was their new seeker. Do I even want to play next year? Hogwarts isn't getting any safer, I might be better off spending my time practicing my spellwork.

For the next hour, Harry lost himself in the joy of pushing his high-end racing to its limits. While he was smart enough not to walk through the Forbidden Forest without a good reason, flying high over it didn't seem like a bad idea so Harry began looping out over the forest after another low pass over the lake that had caught the giant squid's attention. On one loop over the massive forest, he caught the scent of smoke. Curious, he slowed and began sniffing the air. He wasn't exactly an avid camper, but that didn't smell like a camping or cooking fire, it smelled less like a wood fire and more like burning pitch or brimstone. The smell was also a little familiar, but he couldn't match it to a memory. Now decidedly curious, he decided to follow his nose. His watch told him he still had time before lunch was served so he figured he had the time.

It didn't take long to find the clearing that was the source of the smells. Harry truly, desperately wished there had been something else in that clearing, but he couldn't deny what his eyes were telling him. Ah. I remember now, it smells like Norbert's flames. In addition to the four dragons, there were a lot of Dragon Keepers milling about. Harry watched them panic as the largest, angriest dragon breathed a massive rush of flame on her cage. While the metal was still hot, she threw herself against it and Harry saw the metal quickly warp and bend. The dozen wizards milling about, including one that was probably Charlie Weasley, began casting volleys of stunning spells at the dragon. Twelve adult wizards took two minutes of furious casting to make the enraged dragon pause, and another three minutes to actually stun it. Fortunately two thick chains attached to the dragon's rear legs had remained intact, but Harry could see that the dragon's breath had weakened that metal as well.

Without making a sound, Harry turned and flew back to the castle. He was shaking terribly by the time he returned to Gryffindor tower, and had almost fallen off his broom several times. Between the flight itself and the nervous sweat, Harry found himself in need of a shower, which thankfully calmed him down a bit. He still missed lunch, but he was far too nervous to think about eating right now. Instead he made his way to the room he'd agreed to meet Hermione in and began practicing a shield spell he'd been working on. When Hermione walked in, the smile on her face fell as she saw his expression. "Hermione, there are four dragons chained in the Forbidden Forest. I was flying and smelled smoke, so I took a closer look. One of the dragons nearly got free, it took a dozen wizards constantly casting stunning spells five minutes to actually stun the dragon. There's only three weeks until the First Task. I…"

Harry was distracted from the panic that was building again by Hermione's fierce hug. Without really thinking he wrapped his arms around her in turn and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I wouldn't admit this to anyone else, but I'm scared, Hermione. The dragon was intelligent enough to use heat to weaken the bars and the chain holding her in place, and she just wouldn't go down. Are there even any spells in the library that wouldn't just piss a dragon off?"

(*-*)

It turned out that finding a spell that could actually hurt a dragon was no easy task. Every book they could find spoke about how strong their hides and their natural magic was. While not able to cast spells directly, a dragon's magic augmented them physically, allowing them to fly despite the fact that their weight should make flight an impossibility. That magic also kept hostile spells from doing much damage, and had to be overcome to accomplish anything. Various species of dragons also used magic to enhance their flames in different ways. Every book said that overwhelming force was the only way to defeat a dragon. "How on Earth do they expect a fourth-year student to face one of these monsters if you can only beat them with overwhelming power? You'd need to be as strong as Dumbledore to beat one easily!"

Harry laughed a little madly, disrupting the few students still in the library half an hour before curfew. "Well, it's like Moody said, someone probably doesn't want me to survive. After looking up the species I saw in the forest, all four are definitely female, which is bloody fantastic because they're even more territorial and vicious than the males. Dumbledore hasn't said anything about getting me out of the tournament, and it isn't like he cares about me. Hell, he never even bothered to tell anyone I didn't put my name into the Goblet even though he said he believes me. You're the only person in this castle that's actually on my side, Hermione."

Hermione wanted to refute that, she really wanted to, but the staff's behavior was indefensible. Not one of the school's professors had said one word about the grossly unfair treatment Harry had been receiving. The only thing they had done was to constantly give him disappointed looks and unfair comments. Like now, for example, Madam Pince had come up with a scowl on her face at Harry's outburst. Hermione Granger was a good girl who listened to authority, but as the Librarian berated Harry and accused him of dishonoring their school with his behavior, she was so very very close to throwing hexes. For better or worse, Harry's temper proved slightly more volatile and he began shouting.

"After all the shite I've put up with in this school I don't give a damn about Hogwarts. Safest place in Britain my arse! There was a teacher hosting an evil spirit that nearly killed me first year, a little girl with a cursed diary and a Basilisk second year, Dementors my third, and now someone's trying to off me with this fucking tournament and the Headmaster can't even be bothered to tell the school he knows I didn't enter myself. Obviously he has to keep his reputation intact at the cost of mine. Hermione and I aren't even safe in the hallways unless we keep a shield charm up! How dare you assume I give a flying fuck about this school or the people in it! AS far as I'm concerned Hermione is the only person here that deserves any respect."

As Harry ranted, Hermione felt a pressure build in the air. Harry never thought he was a particularly powerful wizard. But while he wasn't as powerful as the Headmaster, there was now a taste in the air, like a thunderstorm before the first lightning strike as he lost control of his emotions and magic. Madam Pince instantly began to berate Harry, apparently not having noticed anything out of the ordinary. That changed when the air around Harry began to crackle and visibly spark as his rage got the better of him. Pince, apparently not a complete idiot, paused and took a deep breath. "Mr. Potter, you will leave immediately to calm yourself. You may take one book with you."

Harry took a deep breath and the sparks of electricity around him dissipated, though the sensation of pressure remained. He turned and without looking snatched a book off the top of one of the shelves and stormed out. Normally Hermione would apologize for her friend, but given the nastiness of the staff she simply piled their notes and her own books into her backpack and left without a word. Harry was waiting for her just outside the Library's entrance and they headed back to Gryffindor tower. Together they studied for a while before deciding to turn in for the night.

Just before climbing into bed, Harry realized he wasn't ready to sleep. So he retrieved the book he'd taken from the school's library, having placed it in his backpack without even looking at the title. Making himself comfortable in bed he used his wand to conjure enough light to read. Harry chuckled as he finally saw the title, but sadly he didn't have anything better to read. Oh well, maybe 'Magical Unions' will be interesting.

To Harry's surprise the book actually was interesting, and the further in he went, the more interesting it became. Even the introduction had drawn his interest:

'This book describes magical bonds used in marriage, as well as concubine and consort agreements in the last two thousand years. Its purpose is to separate fiction from fact, such as the continually popular but utterly fictitious 'Soul Bond' and the myths that surround the term. This book will also discuss the currently popular marriage bonds, which closely resemble a magical contract or oath. As this book was written, popular opinion is turning against the use of any marriage bond, thanks to a wide number of patently false sentiments. While it is true such magic can be misused, the choice of which of the hundreds of variations of the bonding magic and the intentions of those using it, like nearly all other magic, determine the outcome.

'This book will also discuss the long-unused consort and concubine bonds and attempt to dispel the myth that all of them involved cruelty or unhappy women bound to greedy wizards. While some of the bonds did involve outright slavery, most were more nuanced. Indeed, in the past some of the concubine bonds were performed at the request of fully-informed women. One ritual whose practice has since been outlawed had the ability to gift a wizard's magic to a half-witch, or even a completely mundane woman if the wizard was sufficiently powerful. In the case of a half-magical, commonly known as a squib, their damaged or malformed internal magic would be repaired or have it's natural growth restored; in the case of a mundane woman a small portion of the wizard's magic would continuously be channeled into her body, slowly building her own magic. In both circumstances, the women would gain the increased health, longevity, and vastly superior living standards gifted to those who are capable of using magic. Certain concubinage bonds have even been used to change temporary beneficial spells into permanent ones.'

(*-*)

Harry ended up reading later into the night than he intended but still got enough sleep to be well rested the next morning. Hermione had been waiting for him on one of the couches, reading one of the books she'd checked out of the library recently. A small notebook sat next to her with a list of spells and their page numbers. After a quick breakfast the two headed back to the Library. Harry decided to say nothing to Madam Pince at all, and the woman ignored him in return. Together they gathered up what books they could find on dragons once more, hoping to find a weakness. As they settled in, Hermione spoke up. "I talked to Padma and Parvati yesterday, it was rather nice. A few other Ravenclaws and some Hufflepuffs joined us after a while, but it was still mostly pleasant. Hannah Abbott is not a fan of yours though."

"What did I ever do to her? I bet she thought I was attacking people second year too."

"Probably Harry. She thinks you've been getting special training with the Headmaster, though I'm not sure why."

As Harry opened a book to where he'd left off yesterday, he replied. "I wish people didn't believe every stupid rumor. Anything else interesting happen?"

"Well, if you want we could join them for studying after lunch. I mentioned you've gotten good with that shield spell you've been working on and said you could help them with it if you want. You might gain a new friend or at least more people to study with."

"Might as well. Like I said, we could both use more friends."

Hermione spoke up again, a little more hesitant this time. "Also, there was one other thing. Parvati and Padma are originally from India, but their family moved here before they started Hogwarts; something to do with their parent's import and export business. Apparently India celebrates its Parselmouths, and there are three books Parselmouths always receive. I asked her to order a set for you, supposedly one is about the ability, one is all healing spells that work best with Parseltongue, and the last is a mix of other magic. I hope you're not mad."

Harry was quiet for a moment. When he spoke up again, he sounded thoughtful. "It's interesting to know that other places don't look down on Parseltongue. I don't mind Hermione, and given how many deaths this Tournament has had in the past knowing a few healing spells couldn't hurt."

With that, the two quickly became absorbed in their research. By the time lunch came, Hermione was discussing what she'd found. "A dragon's eyes are about the only weak spot, but they're not completely exposed either. They have a transparent eyelid that's always closed when they're agitated that can protect their eyes from most spells, but…" She paused for a moment before continuing. "Some curses, like the Conjunctivitis Curse can get through, but you'd have to put enough power into the spell to permanently blind the dragon."

Harry sighed as they packed up. "I'll keep it as an option, but I don't actually want to permanently injure the dragon if I can help it; it isn't like they want to be here any more than I do. Besides, blinding a dragon isn't the same as killing it, earlier we found out their sense of smell is fantastic and their hearing is pretty good too. I don't want to be stuck in an arena with an exceptionally angry dragon if I can help it. Plus, even if that works, the next day's Prophet headline will be about how the dark lord Potter blinded an innocent animal."

Hermione had gone pale at that. "That… would be bad. I'm sorry I suggested it."

Harry replied as they walked out of the library. "No, it wasn't a bad idea. The eyes are the most vulnerable place on a dragon and we might find a better way to take advantage of it."

After a quick lunch, both teens returned to the library and soon found themselves sitting down with Padma and Parvati who were once again the first of their study group to arrive. Padma had a surprise for Harry, however. "Hi Harry, I'm Padma. We've had classes together but haven't been introduced. We haven't really interacted before, but it might be nice to get to know you a bit. The school's rumors haven't been kind to you, but I'm smart enough to see they usually end up being wrong. I wrote to my father about the books I mentioned to Hermione, and it turned out he had a set he'd been trying to sell for a long time but gave up on. He said they're yours if you stop by my family's shop next summer since they're just taking up space in his inventory. My family has a business importing and exporting magical goods, our shop in Britain is just off Diagon Alley."

With that said, Padma pulled out three leather-bound tomes with differently colored spines. After placing the pile in front of him, she indicated the one with a blue spine. "All I know for sure is that this one is supposed to be read first, since it has all the information about Parseltongue. The yellow spine is supposed to have healing spells, and the orange one should be familiar magic and some other spells. Hermione promised you'd help us out with our shield spells later, do you mind?"

Harry replied with a smile. "Not at all Padma. Mind if I take a look?"

Padma simply gestured for him to go ahead with an amused expression on her face. While Hermione began discussing useful potion books with both Patil twins, Harry opened the first book and began trying to read the written Parseltongue. (Parvati was interested in potions as well, though Snape had killed her desire to learn from him.) By the time Harry was distracted from the book, he looked up and saw he had an audience. Looking around, he didn't understand why they were staring at him. "What?"

Hermione responded first. "Harry, what did the book say so far?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't really know yet. The part I've been working through is like the first books muggles use to teach their kids how to read. I can't really read the text yet, but I'm learning pretty quickly."

Parvati, who thought England's fear of Parselmouths was foolish, spoke up. "So you were just sounding out the syllables?"

"Yeah. Sorry if I was disturbing anyone."

Terry Boot laughed and spoke. "You know it doesn't sound as bad as at the Dueling Club, but it's funny that you were scaring us by learning to read a new language. Hermione said you're not bad at casting spells, are you willing to help us out with casting if we help you with theory?"

Harry looked around the table. Terry and the young woman he thought was Sue Li didn't seem to mind him, in fact the only one who really looked unfriendly was Hannah Abbott. Harry smiled before he replied. "Yeah that works, though right now I'm desperately trying to find ways to fight dragons." Harry nodded to the two Hufflepuff students at the table. "I'd appreciate it if you could pass this on for me, but yesterday I was flying to clear my head and I smelled smoke over the Forbidden Forest. I followed it and found a dozen wizards were keeping four dragons there. Would one of you two be willing to warn Cedric for me? I don't know him but he seems like a decent bloke and I don't want him to get maimed."

There was some disbelief at that, but the group quickly went back to studying and writing out a few essays. After an hour, the group moved to an empty room near the library for practice casting spells. Hannah had proven to be his one detractor and as they walked in had remarked snidely. "Well Potter, let's see if you're really some savant at magic or just some loser like Malfoy keeps telling everyone."

Harry could have made a few different responses to that, but instead decided to go 'all in' from the start. After a deep breath he shouted out: "Expecto Patronum!" As Prongs pranced around the room Harry continued. "Don't ask for anything else impressive, the Patronus spell is the only really advanced magic I know and it took me most of third year to learn. Now, this is the basic shield charm, the one which nearly every other shield spell is built from. Watch carefully as I do this, then try copying me."

Half an hour later, Harry paused as he was correcting Padma's wand movement. "Wait, I have a better idea. Do you all know the stinging charm? Or some unpleasant but harmless magic?" When everyone answered yes, Harry smirked. "Okay, I have an idea. Remember what Flitwick likes to say about magic being driven by intent? I think the problem is that you don't want the spell to work enough. Everyone pair up and we'll take turns shielding and casting stinging spells at each other, switch off every three minutes."

Everyone improved rather quickly with the threat of the slightly painful spell, even Harry himself. By the time the study group went their separate ways everyone's shield charm had drastically improved, and so had their opinions of Harry Potter. Harry and Hermione went back to the Library, but as Harry was moving to join her search for useful spells, Hermione insisted he stick to the Parseltongue book. By the time they broke for dinner, Harry had a basic grasp of the written language. "It's wickedly clever. The marks on the page make me want to say a specific word, and then I can understand that written word. It must have some other magic on it too, since I'm learning it so fast. Even now that I'm reading the general information on Parseltongue I'm still learning more of the language because the new words are mixed in with the text."

Deciding to avoid the Great Hall, the two of them were eating in the abandoned classroom the two had claimed as a study and practice space. Dobby, always eager to help Harry out, had no problem delivering their meal. While Hermione was still unhappy with her discovery of house elves and their living conditions, she had decided to table her efforts to improve their lives until after her best friend survived the Tournament. While she wanted to trust the organizers had made things safer than the las t Triwizard Tournament, she didn't have high hopes; in her opinion most of the magical world was simply insane as far as safety went. "So what have you learned about Parseltongue itself so far?"

Harry swallowed and took a sip of water before he answered. "Parseltongue isn't just the ability to speak to snakes, it makes snakes intelligent enough to speak with . And it can be used as part of a ritual to change other things too, have you heard of Lamia?"

Hermione shook her head so Harry continued. "They're a magical species that are human from the waist up and a magical snake or sea serpent from the waist down. The sea serpent ones also have gills on the human part's neck and small fins, there was an interesting diagram. The first ones were created by a Parselmouth wandering the Indian Ocean around 200 BC. A fever was sweeping through the islands and killing a lot of people. The Parselmouth was probably about as powerful as Dumbledore and felt he had to do something, but he couldn't heal the disease because the magical cures weren't safe for muggles. Instead he turned the muggles into Lamia after finding that the local snakes weren't affected by the disease. He saved their lives, and that island chain is still home to Lamia settlements to this day."

When they had more time, Hermione decided to learn what she could about this new magical species. "I'm surprised Voldemort didn't try to recruit them into the war, they seem like they'd fit his look."

"Yeah, but he'd never be able to convince them to follow him; it's not like Voldemort actually cares about his followers. You can't lie in Parseltongue, so the Lamia would never have followed him. Besides, England's a bit cold for them."

"What do you mean you can't lie? Are you sure?"

In response Harry began trying to hiss something to her, but cut off part way through and winced. "Yeah, I'm sure. Not only can't you lie, but there's a painful sensation if you try, apparently."

When they finished eating both began working on a Transfiguration spell to turn an inanimate object into an animal. While very useful, the magic was complicated and neither made much progress that evening. Harry wasn't sure he could learn the spell before the first task, it was normally only taught to seventh years, after all. By the time the two students headed back to bed, he was frustrated and his magic felt tired, like he'd been pushing it too much. After saying goodnight to Hermione he again found himself unable to sleep, and without anything to read other than his textbooks, he again began reading Magical Unions. (The Parseltongue books were tempting but they were interesting enough he'd be up all night.)

(*-*)

Another week of classes saw Harry paying the minimum attention to his professors and putting in the least effort on his homework possible. He did put forth his best effort when it came to actually using magic, however. Still, neither he or Hermione had made much progress in finding a way to fight a dragon. He didn't dare read his Parseltongue books in the common room or in public, but he was finding them to be incredibly interesting. Generally speaking, most magic involved changing the world in some way, and Parseltongue was a particularly strong expression of that theme. In fact, it was a discovery he'd made near the end of the introduction book that gave him the only hope he'd had so far. While Parseltongue-based magic resonated most powerfully with serpents of the land and sea, it affected all reptiles to some degree.

With a clear grasp on the written language, Harry had skipped ahead to the book that dealt with the many non-healing applications of Parsel-magic. Harry nearly wept when he opened the book to an index, something few magical books, even textbooks had. There was a chapter about using Parseltongue to communicate with dragons! The chapter was divided into three sections with the first two describing an occasion where a Parselmouth had communicated with a dragon, one had been a success and the other a failure. The third section was an explanation of why. The first encounter had been between a wizard who'd been driven from his home by a magical warlord. He had warned a brooding dragon that her nest was in danger and she should flee to protect her young. The wizard had helped her flee and the dragon had eventually become his partner and greatest weapon when he built an army of his own and brought the warlord's ambitions to an end, freeing the land from oppression. The wizard had used some kind of magic to make the Parseltongue intelligence boost permanent, but the book didn't say how it was done.

The second encounter was a powerful wizard that wanted the power of a dragon for his own. He used Parseltongue in conjunction with a bevy of magic to control the creature's mind, forcing it to serve him. This worked for a time and the man became a powerful ruler; flying into battle on the back of a dragon the two of them were unstoppable. But his success was fleeting. Over time the dragon learned to use its own power to negate the wizard's control, eventually gaining the ability to cast controlled magic like a wizard. One day the dragon surprised his slaver with a spell that consumed the wizard's vitality and magic, empowering the dragon and leaving the wizard an empty husk. Strengthened, the dragon left his master's castle a flaming ruin and returned to the wild; eventually his magically-boosted intelligence faded, but not before he sired an entirely new breed of especially strong and vicious dragons. This breed had thrived in the centuries since their birth, known around the world as the strongest, most intelligent, and dangerous breed of dragon: The Hungarian Horntail.

The last section of the chapter expounded at length about how important intent was when 'reaching out' with Parseltongue-based magic. Because of Parseltongue's very nature, you could not lie or deceive, you were forced to be honest and open. Your words and intentions had to be something in the dragon's best interest, had to be something that would make their life better. More than once the book warned never to even attempt speaking to a dragon unless you could honestly say you shared an enemy with the dragon in question.

Hermione had watched Harry suddenly switch books and read the chapter in question very intently, so when he leaned back in thought she asked him what he'd found. After an explanation, she shared her thoughts. "It's a shame this isn't more useful. If you can't lie, how could you convince the dragon to work with you here?"

Harry was silent for a moment. "It's not as helpful as I first thought, but still… It might be a way to win without actually fighting the dragon. There's something I've read somewhere that might give me something to work with this, but I can't remember."

Soon, it was time to head back to Gryffindor tower for the night. Harry and Hermione were hoping to get an early start, since they had the whole weekend to study and practice casting spells. It wasn't until he was heading up to bed that night that Harry realized what had been bugging him, he could only assume the stress he'd been under had kept him remembering sooner. With a start he pulled out Magical Unions and all three of his Parseltongue books and sealed his curtains with a spell. Under a conjured light, Harry poured over his books and jotted down notes on a pad of paper. Harry worked late into the night, crossing out some ideas and considering others, filling quite a few pages with the curling magical script. He'd found that Parselscript was more efficient to take notes in than English so he'd started using it to take notes in class, to the confusion of the professors.

By the time morning came, Harry had the outline of a wonderful, terrible idea. Normally he would never do something like this, but given he was expected to fight a dragon in just over a week… Harry moved into the bathroom and called for Dobby. Dobby soon popped away to bring a letter and some leftovers from the school's kitchen to his Godfather as well as leave Hermione a note saying that he would be sleeping in until he heard back from Sirius. With the relief of having something approaching a real plan, Harry put his books and notes into an expanded backpack Hermione had helped him enchant and got the most restful sleep he'd had since his name came out of the Goblet.

(*-*)

As expected Hermione did not like his plan after he explained it to her when he finally rose a little before lunch. Despite her exasperation, she did not have a better one. As they were eating lunch together in their abandoned classroom, Dobby returned with a reply to Harry's letter. It was succinct, but gave Harry hope anyway:

'Harry! Your idea is insane, but after reading and rereading your notes I don't see why it wouldn't work. My family's library probably has the ritual you need, so I'm leaving right away to dig it out for you. Here's one last piece of advice: If you're right that the ritual you want me to find for you can make temporary magic permanent, invest in some potions. You won't have the time or supplies to brew everything that would help you, so you should have your elf bring a letter to Horace Slughorn. He's the Potions Master who taught before Snape took over and he was always happy to connect with famous or powerful people. Don't tell him exactly what you're doing, simply say you think you have the chance to make a number of potion effects permanent and invite him to the First Task. Be sure to plainly state that you might be interested in hiring him as a potions tutor over the summer if he keeps your plan to himself until after the task. If you're going to do this you might as well go all in.

No matter what happens, I want you to know I'm proud of you Harry. Stay safe and don't do anything I wouldn't do!

Good Luck,

Snuffles'

Hermione was obviously disappointed that Sirius hadn't tried to convince Harry to find another way, but admitted that as insane as Harry's plan was, it could work and she didn't have a better one. It was certainly better than trying to use his broom against the dragon as Moody had suggested. Over the few days, Harry spent every spare minute either brewing potions with Hermione, practicing Parsel-magic and Parseltongue in general, (For once, Harry was grateful for Malfoy's snake-summoning spell from second year.) or endlessly going over his plan. Parvati began helping Hermione brew potions after the two girls discussed what cosmetic potions a girl might enjoy being permanent. Five days before the first task, Sirius came through and got Dobby to give Harry the book with the necessary ritual. Harry wasn't surprised when Hermione quickly began reading over his shoulder as he carefully turned the pages. When he found the one he wanted, he immediately began copying the ritual itself to a new page in Parselscript. Hermione read a lot faster than he did, and was commenting before he'd barely begun.

"I was worried about which ritual you were going to use, but this one doesn't seem so bad actually. It enforces obedience but also requires the user to 'treasure' the bonded. I'm not quite sure what that means in this context, but it really isn't as bad as it could be. You do realize you'll have a companion for life if this works, right Harry?"

Harry spoke up as he copied the ritual carefully. "A lifelong companion I can trust absolutely, someone to love and be loved by? I won't mind that at all Hermione. For the context, from what the other book said, it enforces affection and caring. If I use this ritual I won't be physically capable of abandoning the participant or cruelty towards her. These rituals can't make two people love each other, but they're made to encourage it. If the people involved aren't evil jerks, love can grow from kindness and compassion that the ritual creates. Maybe a possessive love, but also one that is very honest. No one is perfect, and after talking to Sirius the other night I think I understand what he meant about the possessive part. No matter what people think, romantic love is a part of the drive to have children so it makes sense for it to be a little possessive. I think this one, 'The Binding of the Treasured Concubine' is the best one to use, but I'd like you to look through the book and see if there's a better one. Just remember that whatever I use has to be a way to show I'm willing to love the other party, and I can't lie in Parseltongue."

Not long after, Harry handed Hermione the ancient tome Sirius had liberated from the Black's Townhouse. While he worked through the instructions on a rather complicated piece of magic, Hermione began looking through the book's many binding rituals. Some really were horrible, but others… Hermione couldn't understand why they'd been banned. Harry's chosen ritual was certainly illegal if used on a witch or a muggle, so technically what he had planned was legal, if something of a gray area. As Hermione looked through 'The Binding of the Treasured Concubine' again, she found herself wondering what it would be like to experience it herself. The text described the emotions required to cast the magic successfully, and it spoke again and again of unselfish love as a requirement. Romantic love wasn't strictly necessary, but unselfish love, compassion, caring about the other participant was. Hermione looked over to where Harry was meditating, or trying to, so he could pull up the emotions he needed for the ritual and bit her lip. She had some thinking to do.

(*-*)

That night Hermione stretched languidly as she left her dorm room's shower wrapped in a pair of towels. A few moments later she'd collected her sleepwear and after saying a goodnight to Lavender and Parvati as they prepared for bed, she closed the curtains around her bed and began throwing up privacy spells. Once she was sure no one would see or hear her, she stripped and spread the towels down on her bed and sat down on them with her legs crossed. Her new friendship with her dorm-mates had been worth the effort and not just for the companionship, she'd been shocked at the number of cosmetic spells they'd shared. First Hermione cast two spells into her hair, one that would gradually make her frizzy hair soft and silky and another to dry it. Stretching out on the towels, she cast a fairly complex spell and began running her wand over her skin, twitching at the uncomfortable sensation. This was a spell Parvati insisted she start using nightly for at least a month anytime she spent time in the mundane world and twice a month after that. The spell actually removed foreign material, like potion residue, toxins, heavy metals, and pollutants in general from her body through her skin; Hermione hadn't believed Parvati at first when she'd explained how many toxins and other unhealthy things were in food, muggle water supplies, and even the air, to say nothing of the way potions could build up. But as Hermione watched a dark film gradually build up on the tip of her wand, well seeing was believing after all. Parvati and Lavender had lectured her at length that a body needed to be healthy to be truly beautiful, skin especially.

After Hermione cleaned her wand on a rag she'd transfigured earlier from a bit of old parchment and vanished the foul-smelling residue along with the rag she continued to the next spell. This one moisturized skin, but not by conjuring lotion or anything so simple, instead the spell let the user encourage their skin to be soft and supple by increasing her body's production of the compounds it needed, essentially directing one's own body to become healthier. (Parvati had complained about how dry Hogwarts got during the winter, thanks to the cold and most of the castle's heating coming from fireplaces.) Hermione took a break after that and slowly stroked her own skin. It was too soon for the spells to have made a big difference, but she could swear her skin already felt softer and smoother. After a few moments, Hermione started her last task of the night and cast a shaving spell, once more dragging her wand across her legs as the hair started to fall off. After a moment, she winced at the irritation and canceled the spell. For three years now she'd been using the spell she found in the school's library, but she might as well try the one Parvati's mother had taught her new friend.

Oh God, I love magic! Compared to the charm she'd been using or the razor she used over the summer this charm was fantastic; it removed her hair without any irritation or pain, only the sensation of warmth gliding over her skin. Like the charm she'd been using, the spell vanished the cut hair, leaving nothing to clean afterward. As she took care of all her unwanted hair, Hermione let her mind relax. Only a few moments later her normal grooming was done and she looked at her pubic hair. Normally she simply kept her soft brown curls neatly trimmed, not wanting to deal with the discomfort of either shaving method she'd used before, but now… Why not try?

With that, Hermione slowly slid her wand across her mound, expecting the discomfort that had kept her from doing this before. Thankfully there was none, even on her most sensitive skin. Finishing after a few moments, Hermione put her wand down and gently stroked the skin that was completely free of hair for the first time since she'd turned twelve. Gently stroking the skin around her lips felt… nice, and Hermione leaned back on her bed, letting the pleasant sensations relax her normally busy mind. She hadn't exactly spent a lot of time exploring her own body, but now she couldn't resist slowly teasing herself and her fingers began to drift on their own. As her fingers grew damp and her left hand began caressing a breast her mind conjured a fantasy. At first she imagined Harry gently kissing her in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room late at night, but then her mind danced to his preparations for the first task and her mental image shifted.

Harry was standing above her with a smirk on her face; she was gagged and her hands and feet were bound spread eagle to a bed, the ropes held her in place with no hope of escape. Her fantasy spoke as her real hands danced. "Tsk tsk Hermione. Trying to tattle to the Headmaster with my plans for the task? I thought you were a better friend than that, but now I have to punish you.' Fantasy Hermione started to struggle against the ropes, but Harry just reached out and gently caressed her face, calming her and wiping away her tears. "I'm sorry you're making me do this Hermione. You still have far too much trust in people you shouldn't, so we're going to spend as long as it takes teaching you to trust me instead."

Fantasy Harry leaned in and kissed her forehead. "You should have just told me you were worried I'd forget you, that I wouldn't want or need you anymore. Did you think I'd just cast you aside Hermione? Never. I never said anything, never told you how I felt because I didn't think you wanted me that way. But now you need to be punished, so I'm making you mine, all your strengths and all your faults. I'll keep you at my side forever, Hermione Granger."

As her fantasy had progressed her fingers had continued rubbing. Her right hand was gently rubbing the sensitive skin around her clit while slowly pumping a single finger into her entrance while her left was alternating kneading a breast and tweaking a nipple. As fantasy Harry established dominance over her, Hermione slipped over the edge and lost herself in the strongest orgasm she'd ever experienced. (Given how rarely she pleasured herself, that wasn't saying much.) Her constantly busy mind quieted in a pleasant haze for a while, and when Hermione's brain rebooted she started to reflect on the unusual turn her fantasy had taken. Why does the thought of surrendering to Harry excite me? Was looking at those old rituals enough to do it? If Professor Lupin hadn't helped Sirius find that ritual book I'd be worried that it's cursed. Spending so much time with Harry this year has been wonderful and I like how close we've gotten without Ron around. I suppose I am worried about losing him, about being cast aside. But what should I do about it?

(*-*)

Hermione was a very insecure young woman. This wasn't something she would dare to admit where anyone could ever hear her, but at least in the privacy of her own mind she was able to admit it. She was insecure about her appearance, insecure about her friendships, and insecure about her place in the world. That was why she strove so hard academically and tried to drag her friends along with her. As she reflected during a mostly sleepless night, Hermione realized that she'd always been lonely and starved for attention and validation. Her parents had been distant more often than not, often placing their careers ahead of everything else, ahead of her. In school, she had been desperate for any attention and praise she could get, and her desperate drive to please her teachers served to alienate her fellow students. Harry had been a good friend (not perfect, but no one was perfect) and had been her first friend and her best friend since he'd rescued her from the troll. As the first task on Saturday loomed closer, Hermione realized she was utterly terrified of losing him. As morning dawned on the Tuesday before the first task, Hermione came to a decision. The day progressed as usual, until she and Harry were in 'their' abandoned classroom that evening.

The potions they could brew themselves were either finished or wouldn't need to be checked until tomorrow and Harry had just finished writing a reply to Horace Slughorn; the potions master had given his advice on which potions could be used together safely and agreed to provide a long list of difficult potions, including a heavily diluted vial of Liquid Luck. Harry's trust vault would be taking a significant hit to pay for these rare potions. He'd promised to pay up either the next time he could get to Diagon or, if he didn't survive, when his will was carried out. (Harry's will wasn't complicated, it simply insured his debts were paid and Hermione got everything he could legally give her.) After they'd eaten and were working on some practical magic, Hermione gathered her courage and spoke up.

"Harry, how confident do you feel about pulling off the different parts of your plan?"

Harry set down the notebook full of Parselscript notes he'd been going over and turned to her. "Better than yesterday. I asked Dobby to help me find more books in Parselscript, and he found the notes Salazar Slytherin made on the Basilisk as he was working on her. Slytherin wanted her to be an army-killer, there were some terrible wars with the Goblins in the century before Hogwarts was founded and even some magical fortresses were sacked. Slytherin promised to give her a home and a purpose, and the notes say she agreed happily."

(Proving himself smarter than the average elf or wizard, Dobby had asked the Room of Requirement to make copies of any books or notes that might help Harry. While the Room had limits, it was perfectly capable of conjuring paper and ink, or transfiguring ruined parchment from the Room of Lost Things.)

"She must have changed her mind then…" Hermione would have continued, but she saw Harry's face drop. "What is it?"

"I thought so too, at first. You know how I try to avoid thinking about the fight down in the Chamber? Well after reading Slytherin's notes I went through the fight again in my head. Hermione, after I panicked and started screaming for help, the Basilisk swiped its tail across the floor and threw the Sorting Hat into my face. Then I pulled out Gryffindor's sword out of the hat and killed it. I think it wanted to die, or maybe it just didn't want to hurt anyone else."

Hermione began to argue, but Harry spoke over her. "Remember the lesson on the unforgivable curses? If any regular dark wizard can drive someone insane in less than an hour, what do you think a teenage Voldemort could have done to a hibernating Basilisk?"

Hermione winced. "He was the only one who knew she was there… He could have done anything to her if she was asleep. If he left some spell or cursed item active for fifty years… That would have broken anyone. It also explains what you heard in the walls. I can't imagine she was still sane after whatever he did to her, or even if what Slytherin used to anchor her intelligence survived. Death was probably the only way out for her."

Harry nodded sadly. "Yeah. I think Slytherin's enchantment survived, since he made it to last the Basilisk's entire lifespan." Harry paused for a moment and focused back on the present. "There's a few useful bits I can use in his notes though, but there's warnings too. It's mostly about how a fundamental part of Parseltongue prevents lies, and how you have to embrace honesty to get the most out of it. I think everything will work, but I'm nervous about pulling off so much complicated magic at once."

Hermione bit her lip for a moment before she replied. "Harry, would you like to practice part of it with me?"

Harry's full attention snapped to his best, and currently only, friend. "Hermione, the only part I could practice with you is the Treasured Concubine ritual, and once it's started you do not stop halfway. And the ritual's bond is permanent, there's no escape from it besides death. Why on earth would you want that?"

Hermione was tempted to look away, to lie and say she was only joking, but gathered herself and spoke up. "Harry, I read through Sirius' tome. A lot of those rituals are nothing but slavery, but the one you picked… Harry, every girl wants to be treasured... I want that kind of a relationship, to have someone treasure me despite my faults. I want to be loved. " Hermione's breath came a little faster and her hands shook. "And… I want you. I'm scared you're going to get a new best friend and forget all about me come Saturday."

Harry quickly moved closer and gave Hermione a tentative hug. "Hermione, I should say it more often, but I do treasure you. I know you're not perfect but you're my best friend and the person I depend on most. But I'm not perfect either. The part that scares me the most about my whole plan is that love isn't something I understand, but it's the most important part of all this."

Hermione returned his hug before pulling back and giving him a soft smile. "Harry, out of anyone I know, you're probably the one who loves the most. You're brave and kind, and you don't know how important that is. You're not perfect, but no one is. I… Harry there's a lot about myself I don't like, but you've been my best friend since you saved me from a Troll. You want me around despite my faults."

"Hermione, you do realize that if this works on Saturday, you won't be the only woman in my life, right? You'd have to accept a sister-wife because I refuse to love one of you more than another. And remember, this ritual isn't 'the treasured wife,' do you really want to be subservient to me forever?"

Hermione shuddered just a little and blushed deeply. Ever since she'd masturbated to Harry enslaving her, she'd turned the idea around in her head so often her classwork had been abysmal. "Harry, I trust you. I trust you more than anyone else on Earth. It isn't easy to admit, but the thought of you owning me, letting you control me completely… Harry, I've touched myself while fantasizing about being absolutely yours. And about sharing you… I've always wanted a sister Harry, and the fact that you won't play favorites isn't a bad thing. Means I can have more time in the library while she's keeping you happy." Hermione drew in a deep breath and let it out, locking eyes with Harry. "I wouldn't ask you if I wasn't sure."

Finished speaking, Hermione leaned forward and kissed her best friend. After only a few seconds however, they both pulled back with unhappy looks on their faces. Harry was the first to speak. "There's running water in the bathroom. Think we should transfigure a couple toothbrushes before we do anything else?"

With a burning blush on her face, Hermione responded. "Yes, and I think we could both do with a quick shower. Do you mind if I go first?"

"No. I'll clean up the bedroom a bit. Hermione, if this is what you want I don't mind at all. You've brave and brilliant, and you're not afraid to stand up for what's right. Having you at my side just feels right. But only do this if you're sure."

Hermione only gave Harry a coy smile and walked out of their classroom into the attached professor's quarters. When she reached the bathroom, she quickly used a Scouring Charm on the shower. It wasn't disgusting, but it was rather dusty. Dobby was happy to provide towels, and as soon as he returned with enough clean towels for two the elf moved into the attached bedroom to help Harry clean it up. By the time she was out of the shower, used magic to dry her hair, and had quickly brushed her teeth Harry had transformed the bedroom. All of the dust was gone, the room itself was warm enough that Hermione felt comfortable in the silk pajamas that Dobby had fetched from her room. (Usually she only wore them in the warmer months.) She smiled at Harry as he hurried into the bathroom to clean up. Walking over to the bed which now boasted clean sheets (where they had come from she had no idea) she ran her hands over the impossibly silky fabric. She felt a brief moment of doubt over what she was about to do, but instead of changing her mind she decided to lose herself in a fantasy she would never admit to anyone other than Harry. That she was about to live it made it all the better.

(*-*)

When Harry exited the bathroom he found Hermione lying on the bed with her eyes closed, hands reaching under her pajamas. One hand was fondling a breast and Hermione was fingering herself slowly with the other. Harry would admit that he'd become so comfortable around Hermione that he had nearly forgotten she was a girl. But seeing her in less clothing than ever before, fondling breasts he would call 'a good handful' he realized his mistake. Taking in the rest of her, he realized that no sane person could call her 'fat.' His eyes feasted on her curves, barely concealed, and he decided that Hogwarts' many stairs kept her in perfect shape. She was beautiful. And for reasons he couldn't fathom, she wanted to be his. He had the feeling she might regret this later, but right now nothing would stop him from accepting her offer.

(*-*)

Hermione didn't hear Harry's soft footsteps until he was almost close enough to reach out and touch her, she was so lost in her fantasy. She had been teasing herself for twenty minutes, so she was ready for him. Opening her eyes, she didn't hear what Harry said the first time he spoke. Instead, she was taking a very good look at him, standing there in only a pair of soft pants. He had a few scars on his chest, but she barely noticed them. Harry wasn't muscled like a professional bodybuilder, he didn't have a six-pack, but he was definitely fit. Hermione hadn't realized how well built he was, Harry had the light build of a runner or swimmer, or someone who worked hard outdoors. He really did look good. When she realized he was speaking, she forced herself to pay attention. He smirked at her as he realized she had been too busy looking at him to hear what he'd said. "Hermione, are there any potions you want to take before we get started? Part of their effects might stick thanks to the ritual; you won't get the whole effect permanently, but we have at least three doses of everything. It's up to you though, I think you're beautiful as you are: I wouldn't change a thing."

Hermione felt a rush of heat and joy when Harry told her she was perfect as she was. Still, he might be satisfied with her, but she was not. Briefly running her mind over the possibilities, Hermione made her decision. "I'd like vials of Perfect-Skin, General Beatification, and Parvati's hair potion. You can add anything else you want to Harry. I trust you."

The three potions were as common in the magical world as makeup in the mundane. (Although this variation of the hair potion was a family recipe.) Harry soon entered the room with the requested potions, along with two other vials. He sat down on the edge of the bed and made a point of making eye contact with Hermione, despite his obvious desire to let his eyes drift further down. "I picked out two extra ones, but they're a surprise. Hermione, last chance to back out. Are you sure you want to do this with me?"

Instead of replying with words, Hermione kissed Harry again, and soon their tongues met when their lips parted. (Both decided that kissing was better after they'd brushed their teeth.) Breaking the kiss and leaning back, Hermione shoved down the fear that she was making a mistake. This was what she wanted, she was the one to bring it up, after all. Without another word, Hermione took the vial she recognized as the potion that granted soft, beautiful skin and prevented acne. As quickly as she could, Hermione drank the vials Harry passed to her.

Harry smiled and kissed her again. "The last potions require skin contact, I'll apply them in a moment." His voice dropped down to a growl. "You're overdressed, my beloved concubine."

Hermione shivered at that. Suddenly she stopped, unsure of what to do next. Harry, however, had enough of an idea of what to do next. The ritual they were about to use had been very specific, and thankfully Sirius had sent him a book over the summer: 'A Wizards Guide to Pleasing Your Witch.' (The book was essentially a wizard's guide to sex and sex magic and Harry had read it more than once; and not only for the moving photos.) So, with a deep breath he lifted Hermione's downcast face by her chin and kissed her again, then reached for her shirt's first button. Leaning closer, he whispered in her ear. "These potions are supposed to be fun, but I need to tie you to the bed or you'll never hold still. The sensations are a little intense."

Now insanely curious, Hermione just nodded her consent. Harry picked his wand up from the bedside table and flicked it along with a gentle hiss, and the silk ropes he had prepared earlier slithered out from under the bed, each one connected to a bedpost. Quickly each one had found one of Hermione's wrists or ankles and gently pulled her until she was spread-eagle in the center of the bed. Harry quickly moved a pillow under her head. Hermione suddenly began to chuckle. "Harry, I think you forgot something. How are you going to get my clothes off?"

Smirking, Harry removed his pants, revealing his tented boxers. Tossing them to the floor, he stood up. Another wave of his wand, this time with a mumbled incantation she didn't catch, and the silk pajamas she was wearing were gone, along with her panties. The only thing hiding her from his view was the pants he'd tossed on the floor and used a Switching Spell on. Smirking, Harry leaned forward and kissed her as he ran his hands from her neck to her breasts, cupping them gently and fondling her nipples before straying lower. Hermione actually whined as he touched her, his eager but unpracticed hands teasing her into a frenzy. Hermione was sure that Harry was eagerly enjoying being in control, given how little he seemed to have over his own life, and it gave her a warm feeling to know she was doing that for him. This was the first time in her life she could remember giving up control to anyone, and she was enjoying it so far.

Too soon, Harry pulled back and reached for the two potion vials she hadn't taken. Pricking a finger, Harry added three drops of blood to the first and seven to the second. "I'm sure you remember these Hermione. This one enhances physical sensation from my touch. Once it soaks in, I'll add the second, which will give you a little thrill of emotions whenever I touch you. I don't know if they'll be permanent or not, but it'll be fun finding out, won't it?"

Soon, the first deceptively small vial had a third of its contents poured over Hermione's breasts. Harry quickly spread it around, making sure the orange sheen covered every inch of her beautifully perky boobs. It only took a moment to soak in, and once it had Harry blew air over both breasts to see how sensitive they were. When his witch arched her back and moaned, Harry smiled. "I guess it works? Well, let's use a little more then. I admit Sirius sent me a book about seducing witches over the summer, but this is my first time seeing anything in person. If nothing else, this should be educational, Hermione."

With that said, Harry summoned a number of pillows and placed them strategically under Hermione's rear, the Parsel-magic enchanted ropes moving to accommodate him. Before Hermione knew what had happened, her knees were bent and her ass was up off the bed and at an angle, like she was a hopeful mother trying to pool his seed in her uterus. She really had no idea what Harry was doing, until he brought the vial to her pussy and poured all but a little over her mound. She started to moan and curse as Harry used both hands to massage the potion into every gap and fold as he acquainted himself with the female form. By the time he was using two fingers to push the potion deeper and deeper, she was writhing uncontrollably; every inch of her sex was now hyper-sensitive, every small movement of his fingers made her shudder and shake. By the time Harry broke her hymen (what was left of it anyway) with his fingers, she'd fallen into a state of nearly constant orgasm.

Harry was glad he had silenced the walls, ceiling, floor, and doors. He'd even asked Dobby to make absolutely sure that no one interrupted them tonight. Slowly pulling back from the trembling girl Harry looked at the vial. There was a little left, the potion dose had been meant for a fully-grown witch, and Hermione wasn't quite there yet. With a smirk, Harry remembered the overview of anal sex in the book Sirius had sent him over the summer. He wasn't entirely sure about it, but figured he'd give it a try at some point, and if these potions became permanent… A quick use of his wand saw Hermione's rectum spotlessly clean, then Harry added some more of the potion. This time he only used one finger, but he knew for certain when it activated by Hermione thrashing incoherently in the ropes again. Moving up her body, he figured there was enough of the potion for a few more spots. Hermione's neck and throat got most of the remaining potion before he quickly vanished the saliva in her mouth and used his clean hand to spread the potion across her lips and tongue.

When that was done, Harry offered Hermione a few sips of water and let her catch her breath. As she stopped panting, Harry spoke. "Hermione, we have one more potion to use, but I'm going to start the ritual as I apply it. Last chance to back out."

With eyes that could only be described as 'smoldering' Hermione replied. "Do it Harry! Make me yours!"

Harry wasn't entirely sure if this was something he'd regret or not, but despite her faults Hermione had been a worthy friend. Now, she was about to become his lover and something much more permanent. Popping the cork out of the last vial, Harry applied the potion to Hermione, starting at her neck and slowly working his way down. As he did that, he began the ritual. This particular ritual wasn't anything like what most assumed a ritual was, there were no pentagrams, no blood offerings, no dramatic gestures. Instead, as Harry touched her, he began forcing his magic, charged with emotion and intent, into her body. (It was a form of wandless magic, and one that he'd been practicing the last few days; luckily it was fairly simple to do, simply focusing on an emotion and using his will to 'pour' it into her.) Once he started, he couldn't lose physical contact with her so he moved to straddle her middle even as he kept rubbing the potion in.

As Harry worked, Hermione lost track of everything. Before, it had only been physical sensation, now there was an emotional and mental effect in play as well. That wasn't even mentioning the warm, masculine magic of her best friend that was wrapping around her, penetrating her. Penetrating really was the best word for how the foreign magic felt as it forced its way deeper. She could feel Harry's power surrounding her… binding her. Hermione jerked as the sensation became more real as she felt Harry's magic reach out and grasp hers, kneading her own magic like dough. Harry's magic was forceful and demanding, forcing her own magic to submit and follow the flow of the ritual. Far too late, she realized this went against everything she'd been taught, everything that modern culture told her a woman should be. Predictably, she began to panic, fighting back against the foreign magic invading her. Harry was reaching out, grasping everything she was, forcing her to become his. As she felt him shift again, she felt his intentions pour into her. "Submit to me… Obey me… Serve me… And I will treasure you. Submit to me, my Treasured Concubine."

Hermione trashed and struggled, but it was too late. As the sensations of flesh, mind, and magic overwhelmed her, she realized that she'd asked her best friend to enslave her, to make her his loyal, obedient, smiling pet. His slave! She'd never stand beside him as an equal again… She'd wanted this… Hermione realized that Harry's magic was overwhelming hers, tearing down her magical and mental defenses. If she'd been more rational, she would have realized that it was too late to stop once he'd started to channel magic into her flesh, if he stopped now the backlash would certainly kill him and likely her as well. But as she struggled against the presence holding her down and stealing her freedom she could only reflect in terror at how even quiet, shy Harry had a part of him deeply buried that wanted to dominate her. Wanted to control her utterly and make her his happy slave. She struggled, pitting her will against his. But that was never a fight Hermione could win.

(*-*)

As Harry worked his way through the ritual, he felt Hermione fighting him. The text had described the natural fear people felt at giving up control to another, and how it wasn't always a rational fear. Like Hermione had found, Harry was as human as anyone else, and the desire to dominate others was a part of humanity. He felt Hermione's panicked struggles, but it was too late to stop now. Instead he caressed her physically and magically, and focused his magic on the intent of making her submit. He didn't think he would ever admit to anyone how good it felt to hold her, to claim her, to force her to become his slave. A primal, instinctual part of him crowed in delight as he fought down Hermione's resistance, forcing her to accept her place under him. He had reached the hardest part of the ritual now, entwining his magic with hers, drawing some of her magic into himself and leaving some of his behind in turn. (He realized doing this for the first time on Saturday, along with everything else he needed to do would have seen him lose control and likely die.) As Harry knelt between her legs, one hand moving to line his member up with her slit, he leaned over her, briefly sucking on a nipple as he made eye contact. He looked her in the eye as he slid the head of his cock over her folds, pushing and prodding until his head found her entrance. "You are mine forever Hermione!"

And in the same moment he ensured neither were virgins, Harry brought his magic to bear on Hermione's with all his will and strength. The struggle was brief, but oh how she fought. Harry had never felt the desire to control, to dominate before, but in that moment he saw the appeal. He loved Hermione, he really did, but now he could admit that part of him had always resented her superior attitude, her need to badger him. As he followed the last steps of the ritual, infusing his magic with the promise of love, he felt her last resistance crumble. Hermione belonged to him now, and a long-ignored part of himself roared in victory as he battered aside her final defenses and claimed his best friend as his concubine. Light and magic flared around the borrowed bedroom, and the spell was finished. Harry roared as he basked in his dominance and Hermione wept as the tide of emotions swept her away. Between the physical and magical sensations, both had the most powerful climaxes of their young lives as the Ritual of the Treasured Concubine completed.

Harry was worried as he flicked his wand and released Hermione from the ropes but he wouldn't, couldn't apologize for this. She had asked to become his concubine, hadn't regretted it until it was too late to stop, and now the ritual would force her into the role she'd chosen for herself. The only way out for her now was his death, and he couldn't imagine Hermione asking him for that, even now. The kindest thing he could do for Hermione now was help her to embrace her new life, so instead of offering comfort he kissed her neck and began moving again, not having gone soft after spilling his seed in his best friend.

Hermione, unsure of everything as the magic she'd submitted to coursed through her, wrapped her arms and legs around Harry and tried to match his movements. They were both clumsy at first, but proved to be quick studies as they found a rhythm that worked for both of them. When Harry moved his lips to hers and locked them together in a fierce, dominating (if clumsy) kiss, Hermione threw her all into it. For better or worse, what was done was done; she could feel Harry's magic threading through every inch of her, giving her a warm sense of belonging. The more she surrendered to the magic thrumming inside her, the more warmth, love, and desire she got in return. By her own choice, she was now the concubine of Harry Potter so she decided to make the most of it.

Thanks to the potions both had taken (Harry wasn't about to chance under-performing his first time with his best friend.) they made love for nearly two hours, and around midnight it was the intense burning of unused muscles and chafing, not exhaustion, that drove them to stop for the night. Thankfully, there were potions for that and Hermione had thought to brew several before making her move. As she fell asleep wrapped in Harry's arms, listening to his heartbeat, she began to think that maybe she hadn't made such a huge mistake after all.

Both teens nodded off quickly. Neither had given much thought to what the other students in their dorm would think. As for birth control, using the common potion or charm in conjunction with the ritual carried the very real risk of permanent sterilization, so both teens were simply hoping that they wouldn't be parents in nine months.

(*-*)

Author's Note: This is my first real smut story. Right now I have four, almost five, chapters written out, as well as some other fics in development which will get posted as I polish them until they're shiny.

Also, I know I should be working on Elune's Pebble, but my muse wanted to write different fics, so here we are.