Disclaimer: My house belongs to the bank, my work belongs to my boss and my money is always confiscated by my wife. And Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling... Damn...
To choose the lesser evil
By DerLaCroix
Chapter 6 - If you hop into bed with the devil...
"Now, this is the living room, and through here, you will find the main bedroom," the maid, a girl in her early twenties explained, leading them through the entrance and into a rather nice room, cream walls, dark brown furniture and curtains, beige, very stuffy leather couches and a bar in the corner. A nice TV in view of the seating area, and some sideboards strategically arranged to give some storage and for decorative purposes. Runners and trinkets on the various surfaces, some abstract art on the walls and a decorative fern next to the balcony rounded the room off.
As they stepped into the bedroom, the theme continued, especially with the large king size bed that took centre stage, a make-up table at one side, a lone stuffed chair on the other, plushy carpets on the floor and a TV located on a sideboard next to the door, with some magazines, remotes, surrounding a decorative bowl of colourful succulents and a cactus placed directly under the TV. Closet doors were taking up both sides of the room, except for a door next to the makeup-table.
The sight of the large bed immediately made Harry think about what might be happening in there, soon, and caused the same reaction in Marietta, who once more had to stifle a moan and fight her blushes. While she was pretty sure the maid must have noticed it, the woman kept on professionally explaining the air condition and the TV to them.
Leading them through the door into a marble bathroom with a luxurious looking whirlpool and an even more fancy looking glass-walled shower with brass fittings and a dozen heads spaced out across the corner of the wall it was located in, Marietta could not help but gasp in surprise. Not only because of the opulent room, but because of the various scenarios her addled mind has prompted for the use of the facilities. Through a veritable stupor, she braved the maid talking them through the settings for the shower and whirlpool, and other amenities, and excused herself when the woman was announcing to show them the second room, citing a need to freshen up while Harry was to see 'his' room.
When Harry returned after the finished tour, the maid gone and the door locked, he found Marietta sitting on the edge of the bed, facing an existential crisis, with her face buried in her hands, elbows firmly planted on her thighs.
"Anything wrong?" Harry asked when he found Marietta sulking. Her reaction was to simply ignore him, looking the other way.
"Oh, come on - tell me what's bothering you, Marietta!" Harry asked, the direct address and use of her name making it impossible for her to resist the implied command.
"I never felt that humiliated in my whole life," Marietta started, winding up. "She certainly did not buy our cover story about cousins. Or maybe she does, but she knows exactly what we are going to do in here."
The vitriol in her response st Harry back, visibly, but then he chuckled softly.
"She might just have been more casual around younger guests than with grownups. Either way, just ignore her. Strangers don't matter. Trust me, you'll get much worse if we are out and about in the public where people know me," he tried to placate her, but talked himself firmly into a corner.
"What exactly do you mean with 'much worse'?"
"Remember the Prophet? Newspaper, gets delivered by owl, and make people write me angry letters? " he quipped. Maretta groaned and let her shoulders slump as she realised what was going to happen.
"Yes," Harry commiserated. "Those same people think they also have the right to accost me in the Alley, to tell me their opinion right to my face.I still remember - the very first time I stepped into the Leaky Cauldron - back when I was shopping for first year with Hagrid - they almost squashed me trying to shake my hand. There might be some trying to shake my hand because of it, but I am pretty sure I'll be getting yelled at by most people out there once our deal becomes known."
Suddenly, a funny thought occurred to him. "Might even save a penny on groceries with all the fruit and vegetables being tossed at me. I'll catch it, and you carry the basket, ok?" He joked, chuckling at himself.
"You know, that reminds me I'm kinda hungry again. But after our day I don't really feel like going out and getting something. Would you mind if we stay in today and just call the hotel and have them deliver something to our room?"
Before Marietta could respond, Winky showed up. She obviously had been looking up some household magazines of years long past, and had come up with a long-sleeved black floor-length dress, and a frilled white apron, and finished the outfit with a frilly round cap balancing between her ears, giving an approximation of a Victorian maid's dress. Harry had to turn around quickly to not laugh. His own idea had been more along the lines of a French Maid dress, but of course, the elves would not find any reference on that in the home of the pureblood crone. She most likely would have considered such depictions pornography.
"You want Winky to make dinner?" the petite elf squeaked.
Harry exchanged a surprised look with Marietta, and felt that her shrug meant that she would be fine with that, too. "Well, if you don't mind - I thought you would be too busy, and since we're not at home, you see," Harry stammered through his train of thought.
"Winky be serving Master wherever he be. Winky just serving, Dobby be doing cooking. He be done with stairs, and fixing walls now, Winky already cleaned house once, will be scrubbing staircase later, make sure it be ready for work."
It was obvious that Winky was quite eager to serve. Not Dobby-jumping in place eager, but definitely with a spring in her step. Harry relented, but thought it was prudent to be cautious. Images of Dobby roasting whole oxen and baking huge cakes danced before his inner eye.
"Ok, but keep it simple, no huge Banquet or something, just a nice dinner, ok?"
"Winky be back in 10 minutes with starters," Winky squeaked and popped away. A few moments later, plates and silverware started to appear on the couch table.
Harry and Marietta looked at it and then at each other… The silence became awkward, and minds started to wander. Marietta blushed, Harry reacted, and Marietta blushed even more.
"I… I guess I better go freshen up, then," Marietta made hasty excuses and fled into her room.
She returned about in time when Winky started serving the soup. True to their orders, the elves had kept it simple. Some vegetable broth, lamb chops with steamed and glazed veggies, and some pumpkin juice on the side. Simple, but delicious. True to Harry's declaration, they both were pretty much starving, so there was not much conversation as they both came close to emulate Ron's eating speed, but still minded their manners while chewing. They both did comment the food for a bit, made some remarks about the awkward eating situation around the low table, but that was pretty much it.
During the meal, the pads on her face had started coming loose, most likely due to time and her chewing, and she was getting aware they'd fall off any moment now, which indicated to her she really needed to clean up, maybe shower, and then take care of her face.
Harry was quite understanding, and just told her to take her time, he'd look up the "Tea vee" program for something they could watch to pass the evening, whatever that meant.
ooOOoo
After taking a totally needed shower and as much time as she could caring for her face, Marietta wrapped herself in the luxuriously fluffy bathrobe the hotel had provided. This was not with any intent, but for the lack of actual lounge or sleepwear, and the fact that her old clothes had vanished from the floor and most likely getting cleaned right now by the elves. Barefoot, she padded back into the living room - where Harry was sitting, still in his day clothes - with her hair up in a towel.
"Just asking - are you deliberately drying it like this, or just not aware what a hair dryer is," he asked, eyeing her turban.
"Hair dryer? I was about to borrow your wand for a drying charm," she responded. Her puzzled expression made him take her back into 'her' bathroom, providing the firm proof that Muggles are geniuses.
Soon, she was back in the room, still enjoying the fluffy robe, and her now perfectly dry, warm, and perfectly poofy hair, with springy curls and locks that would have taken her ages to get right with just a towel, wand and brush.
"Looking good! Get over here, there's a Bond playing! Sit down, you'll love this," Harry exclaimed in joy from the couch, where he went through the TV magazines laid out, and immediately switched to the proper channel. Marietta had to fight the impulse to run and dive onto the couch at his words, and after the internal struggle, asked what a 'Bond' was, exactly. Harry tried to vaguely explain it like a Muggle version of an Auror, having epic adventures saving the world from some villain trying to take over. Marietta was being a bit sceptical, but having no frame of reference, and nothing else to do, she agreed to watch it, sitting on the far other end of the couch, enjoying the tea and biscuits Winky had provided them with.
The movie started with Harry having to explain an aeroplane and a Space Shuttle, and a rather funny scene of the attractive, but cocky Muggle Auror being fooled into a trap by a pretty woman, a fight, and a visual explanation of what a gun was. After Harry explained the principle and importance of a parachute, she could enjoy the action and pacing of a fight over one in free-fall, and the funny elements. Obviously, this moo-vee theatrical play was taking a rather tongue in cheek and humorous take on the adventures of this Auror, reminding her of some of the novels doing rounds in the Ravenclaw dorm rooms.
Then there was a switch to opening credits (a term used and explained by Harry), which featured names of the actors in front of some smoky background, with silhouettes of obviously naked women doing jumps and somersaults across the screen. It was racy, but still classy enough that she could potentially have enjoyed the art aspect of it, if it wasn't for Harry's excitement forcing her to switch the way she crossed her legs. Keeping her eyes firmly forward on the screen, she missed Harry's equally awkward squirms to prevent showing his reaction.
The rest of the evening was spent in a confusing mixture of a rather enjoyable entertainment via an exciting, well paced movie with great acting, tongue in cheek humour and a realistic portrayal of an overconfident Auror, trying to get his way with any women he could come across, in a rather charming way, she would have admitted. That was, if it weren't for the fact that she could practically feel Harry's knob knocking against her entry every time a nude or semi nude woman appeared. Worse, the constant stimulation had already made herself so hot and bothered that she actually started to semi-eagerly anticipate and enjoy these jolts to happen, which made her angry at herself.
Soon, the movie had run its course, ending in a scene where Bond was kind of getting caught by his superiors making love to this woman in a spaceship, with some jokes and fun, and some sexy wordplay before it faded off into the credits..
"That was a good one. Well, it's getting late - guess it's time to go to bed, right?" Harry said, slapping his knees and reaching for the remote, turning the tv off.
Marietta was still feeling the pulsing energy of his lust, pretty much punching her in the gut during the final scene, echoing her own yearning arousal that had built up during the movie. Trying to fight against the feeling, she proceeded to wrap herself even tighter in her bathrobe.
"Yay! Rejoice!" she voiced in a lethargic tone, drenched in sarcasm.
Harry was feeling quite confused. He had seen her laugh and fever along with the action during the movie, so he was rather confused about her sudden change in mood. "What's that supposed to mean? Didn't you like it?"
"The mov-e was fine, apart from knowing that it made you all hot and bothered, and ready to defile me mercilessly," she moped back wallowing in self-loathing, not really thinking before giving the demanded answer.
His angry exclamation of "Excuse me?" made her jump, but she was too far into self pity to stop the rant she had been building up over the day.
"Sorry, my bad. Excuse my mood, give me a moment and I'll try to exhibit the proper excitement for a girl looking forward to her first rape!" she snarked.
When she saw him staring at her in wide-eyed shock, sputtering for a reply and not coming up with one, the floodgates broke.
"This is horrible! I thought the stories about the bond were just scary tales to frighten us straight, but this is even worse! I have to constantly fight the urge to jump into action at the slightest hint of a command you utter, like a well trained dog! And on top of that, every single time your pecker twitches, my panties get soaked as if I'd watch the Weird Sisters perform naked! It makes me WANT to do whatever you tell me to, not that I could resist doing anything you tell me to do. But getting so riled up I WANT things to happen makes it even worse!. I'm nothing more than a well trained sex puppy, waiting for my master's call. You paid a bloody fortune to make me keep my free will, and what is it worth? I can't barely keep waggin' my bloody tail when you speak! I'm less than a house-elf, a true mindless slave!" she wound up, getting worked up more and more the longer she spoke.
"Yes, I KNOW!" she all but screamed at him when he made motions to respond, cutting him off. "It's fine, because I deserve it! I'm a failure, I wanted this! I am a bad person, and this is the proper punishment, isn't it? I believed the lies they fed me, I betrayed you when you only wanted to help people, let myself be bullied into snitching! Then I messed that up, too, getting Dumbledore in trouble, got everyone in school into trouble with that bitch, and in the end, got my parents killed over it.," she snapped at him, getting to her feet and starting to pace, gesticulating wildly as she built up even more steam as she went on.
"Then I came up with this hare-brained scheme, thinking little old me can handle this - how bad could it be? Better than death, right? Wrong! I'm a slave now, a fucking sex slave, and I even fail at that," she ranted, stoped, and angrily tossed her robe off, standing in front of him, in all her naked glory.
"Here, you bought it - how do you want me? In the bed? On the couch? Over the bar? Or here on the carpet? Just shove it up my bum, and make me say I like it, already - that's all I'm good for now, after all!" she spat.
"Marietta! Shut up, sit down, and listen!" Harry suddenly commanded. Before she knew it, she had stopped her rant, and was sitting on the couch, attentively looking at him, hanging at his very lips.
Only then, she realised what had just happened, and a horrified expression started to appear on her face, but she remained unable to move. Harry was somewhat surprised, as well, and decided to test out just how far he could take things without her being able to resist.
"Marietta, stand up!"
She was at her feet before his voice had faded.
"Marietta, smile at me."
While screaming abuse inside her head, she was beaming a radiant smile at him.
"Marietta, do a twirl!"
Again, she was spinning, doing it with no way to stop it.
"Marietta, stop! Now do the teapot song and dance!"
She was barely into the initial motions when he spoke up, again.
"Marietta, stop, put your robe back on, sit back down."
Once again, she went through the motions as if a puppeteer was guiding her - she was barely a passenger in her body as she dressed, sat, and stared at him, still grinning like a lovesick puppy.
In front of her, was that puppy's master, but he was anything but lovesick. He was definitely thoroughly sick of her, and her attitude, though.
"Yes, this is the kind of power you have given me. And to restate the obvious, this is something that you insisted on giving me. All of this was your plan, which you hatched, sprung on me and did your darndest to sell to me, even going so far as to guilt trip me into accepting by sucking my cock as a preview, to make me go along with it. I have never made any demands, and given you more than one chance to change your mind, and call this thing off, but you insisted on this being the only solution. So far, I got nothing out of it, even that one blowjob was done while I was asleep and barely noticed anything of it."
"You think your current state is horrible? THIS is what it would have been like if I had not insisted on spending a fortune to make you keep as much control as possible! How's that for a change? You like that?" he spat back at her. He could only guess what was going on behind her frozen smile, but his guess and the demented sobbing that went on inside her trapped mind were not far off. Then it dawned on him.
"Marietta, you can act free on your own will, again!" he said, watching her sag into the seat, tears starting to steam down her face, all looking horrified, as the reality of her situation was finally completely clear to her.
Marietta would want nothing more than to curl up and sob, but she was terrified what this might prompt the boy who had started pacing to and fro, angrily, to do to her if she moved from the spot. Meanwhile, Harry was trying to find words to throw at her.
"Yes, you are in a bind, and went through some stuff – but I have plenty of problems of my own, too. My parents were murdered before my eyes, too – that's the reason I can't stand dementors, because I relive the moment my Mom died whenever they get close to me," he started off with the biggest stone off his chest.
"That murder left me at the steps of my loving relatives you've met - take a guess what bloody nightmare my life had been growing up with them! I didn't know anything about my parents - heck - I only learned my name wasn't 'boy' on the first day of school, at the ripe age of six! Then, at age eleven I suddenly learn that I am somehow the most famous person in the Wizarding world, somehow, and get to live there. Great, right? Bugger that! So far, after being reintroduced to the wizarding world, I end up fighting for my life every few weeks! I had to fight a bleedin' troll to save Hermione from getting squished to a paste a few months after school started, and later had to kill a Voldemort-possessed teacher! AT AGE ELEVEN!
"I had fight a thousand year old basilisk and a ghost of Voldemort trying to revive himself by eating Ginny's BLOODY SOUL - in second year, while all Hogwarts shuns me like I am the antichrist coming to kill all Muggleborn - ignoring I am best friend of one and pretty much ONE OF THEM, MYSELF !"
"I fought against acromantulas, dementors, and a werewolf in third year, fought against a dragon, saved hostages from the lake and fought numerous other creatures in that stupid tournament I was entered into against my will in fourth year - not that anyone believed me! Cedric got killed right next to me before getting mutilated in a ritual to revive Voldemort, just to have to fight him right after in a duel that I barely escaped with my life," he continued, pacing agitatedly up and down in front of her, pulling his sleeve down to show the jagged scar where Wormtail had slashed his forearm open at the appropriate moment during his rant.
While she knew that she was able to move again, she was pretty much still unable to, by sheer fascination and fixation on the story he told. She knew that his school days had been a bit wild, and rumours were ripe and plenty, but to hear him confirm all those things, and even new ones was simply stunning. And frightening.
"Coming back from that fight, I tried to warn people that Voldemort was back. For that, I get attacked by the press, the ministry - who even sent frigging dementors to Little Whinging, this time, in an attempt to either kill me or get me expelled for defending myself," Harry ranted on. "Then Umbridge is sent to school to deal with things, and I end up getting vilified, ridiculed, and eventually TORTURED by her," he continued his tale, again showing his inscribed hand when he reached the proper part of his speech.
"And all the time, teachers tell me to suck it up, people keep hounding me in letter and shunning me in school, Dumbledore completely ignores me, and Snape keeps on mind-raping me to his hearts desire during these so-called 'remedial potion lessons', when he was supposed to teach me to protect myself from these visions Voldemort kept sending me. Every. Bloody. Night!"
"Yes, visions – like the one I had when you were worrying why my pecker went soft on you – I get a live coverage of him and his followers rape and torture their way through men, women and children, every time he feels particular strongly about things," he expanded on things when he saw the confused, questioning look on her face, quickly turning into one of horror at his explanation.
"So he used those visions to lure me into a trap at the ministry to fetch some prophecy for him, where my friends and I had to battle Death Eaters, and ended up having to get rescued by the adults when it was almost too late, and my godfather, Sirius Black, died a stupid death by stumbling through some bloody death gate while fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. IN FRONT OF MY BLOODY EYES, AGAIN!" he continued to rant in a blind rage, no longer looking at her, and unaware of the mounting horror showing in her face, as he kept vomiting out his stream of consciousness at her.
"You know the best thing?" The fact that he had suddenly stopped raving and had started talking in a calm and collected tone made the experience even more frightening to Marietta.
"Voldemort showed up, fought Dumbledore and then ended up possessing me in order to goad Dumbledore into killing me. You know how twisted that bloody wanker is? Me realising that I was going to die, but then get to meet my parents and Sirius again in the afterlife was too much love for him to handle! Isn't that pathetic?" he told her, chuckling sardonically while retelling that part and knowing that it was getting even worse.
"And after that bastard pisses off, Dumbledore kidnaps me into his office, tells me he is sorry about my loss, and then drops the fucking bomb of 'you are the chosen one, only you can kill Voldemort, and one of you will kill the other, some day' on me, and then ships me back off to my loving relatives, to be isolated again, all summer, like every. Bloody. Year."
"He fucking knew that stupid prophecy for 16 years, but never mentioned anything about me having to fight that monster, never trained me, nor even made some plans for me how to go about it. He simply left it be on me to pull something out of my arse, or maybe hat. To him, it was my problem to deal with, but he never bothered to even fucking tell me about it, even when I asked him, back in first year."
Harry briefly paused, and then abruptly turned on Marietta, glowering at her with an intensity that made her immediately resume her attentive position, as if she was sitting in a classroom, having a teacher stare her down.
"And it's the same with all you fucking wizard folk – half the time, I am a bloody menace, enemy of the state or humanity itself, and they shower me with hate mail or just shun me. A few months later, I am the bloody hero, and everybody loves me, until a few months later, they flip back to hate. But alas, now Voldemort is back, and suddenly they expect the bloody Boy-Who-Lived to save them. Because I owe them, somehow. They keep carrying on with whatever they bloody do, and expect me to solve their problems," he ranted on, his glower darkening.
Making another brief pause, he closed his eyes to calm himself, or at least keeping himself from flying off the handle. Marietta had to swallow a sudden lump in her throat when his eyes opened and found hers. While he was not raving mad or anything other than calm and collected, there was a malice in them that she never thought possible, and it was solely concentrated on her.
"So don't you DARE lay your problems at my feet and demand that I solve them for you. I saved that bloody school and the whole wizarding world, a couple times over, and never asked for anything but to be left alone. I've done nothing to get you into this situation. I had no part in that. You insisted on this deal, and now, after you got not only protection, but the life of a kept woman of a filthy rich guy out of it - now you try to guilt trip yourself out of your end of the deal," he started, his eyes pinning her down.
"A deal that you only needed because you were trying to fuck me over for trying to help people! You got 'people in trouble'! Hell yes, you did! I would at least have had my wand snapped for that! They kinda tried to argue how they could use it to bloody throw me into Azkaban over this, and then settled for arresting Dumbledore, instead! Which set off a whole lot of other things, that got me and a lot of other students harassed, assaulted, and even tortured, and culminated in the fight in the Ministry, where my godfather got killed. And you have the bloody nerve to rant at me that I am a bloody slave owner or something, while I FUCKING GREW UP A SLAVE FOR MY RELATIVES" he accused her, getting increasingly agitated as he carried on.
"Remember that bloody cupboard I checked for stuff when we left – THAT WAS MY FUCKING ROOM! I LIVED THERE FOR ELEVEN YEARS, WHILE WORKING LIKE A HOUSE ELF FOR THEM. STARVED, BEATEN, HUMILIATED. I LEARNED TO COOK THEIR MEALS WHEN I WAS FOUR! SO DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT BEING A SLAVE IS LIKE – I WAS ONE!"
Marietta was unable to move away from the green orbs burning down at her in righteous fury. All she was able to do was lean back to retain the distance to him as he stalked closer during his rant, but ended up right face to face with him as he leaned down on her in his final angry growls. Her tears of fright running down her cheeks thankfully seemed to stop Harry, at least from shouting. He made an about heel and stalked off a few feet, his posture rigid as he took a few calming breaths, and then a few more, while Marietta fought the impulse to curl up and cry, silently sobbing with her head hanging.
After almost a minute, Harry spoke up, not turning to face her.
"You have two options right now, Marietta. Actually three – one option is that you just walk out of here. I won't stop you, I'll even set you up with enough galleons to get you out of the country and settle somewhere else. Dunno how you are going to be out there with this bond on you, but frankly, I do not care. But if you stay, you are going to have a looong conversation with yourself about how you want this thing here to be. I don't love you, I don't even like you a lot, right now – we were clear on that. But at the same time, I do not hate you. Yet. So far, I think I was being reasonable about all this, and if you chose to be, too, we can make this mess work out," he slowly said, carefully weighing his words, before turning around, and pinning her with his glare, once more.
"Again - I did not do anything to get you into this situation. I even tried to talk you out of it, but YOU wanted this. You showed up at my place, you offered this deal, and I never asked for anything, nothing. I wasn't even awake for the thing YOU chose to do TO me. So far, I did nothing but help you. But at the same time, we made a deal, I held up my end, and I expect you to honour yours. Despite you giving me the power to do, well... anything, I think that I have been a proper gentleman, all this time. Don't get me wrong, I fully intend to get as much as possible out of this deal, living on borrowed time and things, but I have no intention to mistreat you or make your life hell," he said softly, making an effort to keep his voice checked as he spoke to her.
"But if you are going to insist on treating me like a rapist monster that kidnapped you, anyway, it's only a matter of time until I stop bothering with the effort," he spoke, his voice cracking with emotion barely held in check, before walking out of the room and leaving her alone with her thoughts. And tears.
Not quite as alone as she thought, though, as Winky popped in the moment the door fell into the latch, starting to pick up the tea service, at least Harry's side, organising things neatly on a tray.
She continued puttering about with the cookies and stuff, setting things neat, until she gradually stopped and finally let her shoulders fall with a sigh.
"It no be working, you know?" she spoke up, in almost a whisper.
Marietta replied with an owlish hoot when being pulled out of her musings by the small elf.
Turning towards Marietta, Winky paused, and waved at the girl's already cold and stale cup at the table, vanishing the tea and pouring a new cup from the kettle. Another wave sent it floating towards her.
"What you be trying. It not be working. Winky be being in your place, just a little time ago. Made this huge mess, Winky told you. Disappointed Master Crouch, was given clothes. A disgrace," Winky said, wringing her hands in the white apron of her maid dress, before tugging here and there at the unfamiliar garment, absentmindedly.
"Winky ended up at Hogwarts. Everybody be treating her nice, Dobby, the other elves, even Dumbi-dore," Winky continued, staring down at her feet, her posture hunched over, almost hugging herself while burying her hands in the folds of her apron, again.
"But Winky knew she was bad elf, made mess," she whispered.
"Bad elves need punishing, but there was being no one doing it. So Winky punished Winky. Be trying make elves see Winky being bad elf, make elves punish her. Try make Dumbly-dore punish her. Drank butterbeer, messed up work," she confessed, Marietta being her captive audience.
"Not be working. Nobody punishing Winky, nobody fixing Winky. But nobody being nice no more. Be calling Winky, Drinky. Felt worse. Old mess still being here, and now new mess being here, too."
Winky looked up at Marietta, smiling softly at the girl through her still sad face.
"But now Winky in new place. Winky was being bad elf to old Master, but old Master no longer here. New Master is. Master Harry Potter, Sir, is good to Winky. Winky is being good elf to new Master. Will always be. Never be bad elf again."
Marietta was feeling that this was relevant, but could not quite decipher what the little creature tried to tell her. "What are you trying to tell me?" she asked.
"Mar-etty was doing bad things, making mess. Being angry at self. So was Winky. Winky was thinking so much of being bad elf in past, Winky forgot to be good elf in now – only makes mess bigger, makes you bad elf," Winky replied softly.
"Old mess you can not clean up, but making new mess is making new mess. Making mess makes Master mad. Mar-Etty need stop making mess and be elf who can be proud of self," Winky explained while she smiled at her, supportively.
Slowly, it dawned on Marietta what Winky was trying to tell her. "So I shall let the past be, and try moving forward, making the best out of it? Not making things worse by dwelling on past mistakes?"
"Yes!" Winky beamed, clapping her dainty hands together. "You is getting it."
"Sounds fine and all, but at the end of the day, I am still... you know...have to..." Marietta sighed, not able to end the sentence.
Winky tut-tutted at Marietta, with an expression of amused disappointment.
"Now you sounding like small elfling getting first chore and not liking it. Every elf having main task. One elf cook elf, other elf cleans, another does washing. But when main work done, you can be doing what chore you like. Just be good at main work, you be good elf, and can be doing other fun stuff too," she chided.
"Also, quit whining. Being bed-elf being easy work, can be lots fun work, too," Winky added with a sparkle in her eyes and a melodic giggle.
"Winky be spending more time on knees, and lying on back much less than Mar-etty will be. Maybe Winky should be asking Dobby if he be wanting to do extra work," she continued, ending in a bout of giggling that Marietta simply could not resist joining in.
ooOOoo
The water was scalding, and Harry's temper only slightly less so, even after half an hour under the literal waterfall the bathroom provided. He finally gave up on his mission to empty the Thames through the shower head and finished up.
While he had been showering, Marietta had been going through a veritable show of poses to find the proper one. Standing felt weird, kneeling on the floor extremely submissive. While she felt that it might be appropriate for an apology, it did not sit right with her. Chances of having her first time on the floor were too high for her liking. It was going to be bad enough on the bed, no need to have herself humiliated any further.
Lying on the bed felt bad, too, her boobs were doing weird shapes when she tried different poses. Sitting on the edge felt plain wrong, and cross-legged was waaaay out of her comfort zone, it turned out. She never really noticed how revealing that could be.
In the end, she settled for semi-kneeling on the bed, sitting side-saddle and tucking her legs under her as she leaned on her left arm.
When Harry finally entered the room, he stopped abruptly. "What the hell?" he sputtered, his anger only mildly dampened by the shock of her presenting herself like that.
"I'm sorry," she said meekly.
"Noted," was the rather frosty reply, slightly belated as he first took his time checking her out.
There was a painful pang in her chest at his tone, but at the same time, she felt the familiar pulling sensation starting in her back, where her mark was, which was quickly echoed by the similar, but much more enjoyable, sensation further down and front that made her shiver. The fact that his angry glare did not change the slightest, though, sent her into a panic. Gone was all the well laid out apology, as she simply started babbling for her life.
"I'm really sorry, Harry, I mean it. Really! I am. I know I messed up. So many things, I can't count them. I owe you, and I am going to make it up, I swear! I'm going to be good, I promise! Just tell me what you want, I'll do it, please...just... just...", her voice was breaking from the strain, and she started sobbing, choking on her words. "Please don't hurt me..." she finally pleaded, her head bowed as tears streamed freely from her eyes.
When Harry continued glaring at her, she gave a shuddering sob, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Why are you still convinced that I am going to hurt you?" he huffed, grumpily.
"Because I'm terrified!" she squealed, not able to keep from answering. "Have you ever seen yourself when you are like that? You were ranting at me about how you killed people, monsters, and fought against things that most people don't even dare speak about! Went against the most vile murderers that wizardkind has known! And all the time, I know that I am one that helped them get to you, that I played a part in getting you and your friends hurt, and your godfather killed! And I know that you will make me pay for that! You told me so, yourself, multiple times during the day! And I can't do anything! You're stronger, more powerful, and I don't even have a wand on me. Not that I could stand against you, or that you'd even need one! You could order me to fuck myself with that cactus there, and I'd jump on it before you'd finished the word!" she ranted on, her face a red mess, and blubber bubbling from her nose as she full-on went into ugly crying.
"How on earth would I not be terrified of you?" she wailed.
Harry had been angry, flabbergasted, then shocked and finally embarrassed, all during the few seconds of the girl breaking down into a crying mess in front of him. Finally, her words fully registered with him, and he slumped against the wall, and started to chuckle, and finally got into full belly laughs as he slowly began sliding down to the ground.
Marietta was pulled out of her sobbing by the unexpected sounds. "You think that's funny?" she complained, her voice still strained and broken.
"Sorry," Harry gasped between laughs. "With a cactus!" he brayed out, not able to calm himself. "Oh my fucking god, that's priceless!" he gasped, unable to comply with her cries to stop mocking her. "How did you come up with that?" he gasped. "That's the first thing that came to your mind? A cactus?"
"No, I just happened to look at it while I talked, and... STOP IT!" she rounded back on him, her fury re-igniting due to his mockery.
"I mean, everythings a dildo if you're brave enough, I guess," he bleated out, finally sliding all the way down the wall, his legs stopping to work as he was wracked with laughter.
With an unvocalized squeal of anguish, she finally tossed a pillow at his face, before flinging the linens over her head and hiding under it, curling up, embarrassed to the bone.
Five seconds later, she also started giggling, uncontrollably, as the mental image started to invade her mind, as well. It lasted for almost a minute, until both of them started to wind down, and soon, an awkward silence fell upon them.
"Sorry about that," Harry remarked, breaking it first. "I didn't want to make fun of you, the image was just too hilarious."
Marietta was slowly poking her head back out of the tangled bed linens, reminding Harry of some shy animal getting coaxed out of hiding with some morsel. Her face was still all blotchy from the laughing, the crying, and not to forget the fact that she had some of her skin evaporated by a laser today, and definitely looked like it, the patches only covering some of the red area, standing out being the only skin coloured spots on her flushed face.
"Don't be, I needed that laugh. Hadn't had a good one in weeks," she responded, still sounding like she was expecting him to attack her any second.
"Yeah, life's like that, sometimes," Harry agreed as he slowly made his way back on his feet. "You know, I'm sorry I've been such a cad to you all day. Honestly, I didn't even want to scare you, which makes it even worse, now that I think of it." He frowned, scratching the back of his head, absentmindedly.
"I am not the most eloc...elo.. you know, good with words kinda guy. And a boy as well, as Hermione would put it. So I was probably thinking I was saying nice things, and never realised how it might sound on your end," Harry stumbled through his attempt at an apology.
"I don't know how to say it. I want to apologise for snapping at you like that, before. I'm not mad at you, I mean, I was, kind of - but I don't want to hurt you or do anything bad to you, I promise. Lord, I wish I knew how to soothe your fears, but I'm coming up blank. I could swear a magic oath to never hurt you, but knowing my luck, I'd then promptly step on your toes or something and keel over dead. Really don't want to tempt fate any worse, you know," he voiced his opinion.
"Definitely not. After all this trouble we went through to get this far... Also, I'm not sure about this, but you dying would probably not end well for me, in any possible scenario," Marietta agreed, warily.
Harry could only agree with that notion.
"We should ask Pikeshaft about that - totally forgot to ask about that point. But what little I have learned about Goblins tells me that you're probably right. Just killing the guy so you can bond her to another is probably the first scenario they'd come up with and take precautions against. Anyway, let's talk this through. I get the feeling that we were having two different conversations all day, and are heading straight into a disaster. I really would like to understand what is going on, but you need to explain it to me, please. What exactly is it that you are panicking about, and is there anything I can do to make you feel safer?"
"For example, I can assure you that cactus insertion is definitely not my thing," he could not resist adding when she was stalling for time, grinning boyishly at her.
"Now that's a relief," Marietta huffed, finally getting herself back into her prior semi-sitting position, the linens now haphazardly wrapped around her, giving Harry only glimpses at what was hidden underneath. Of course, his reaction had, again, caused a pronounced reaction on her, almost jumping out of her skin in surprise.
"That's the biggest problem," she sighed. "You're sitting here, a thoroughly frightened woman in front of you, and you're still horny as hell. I mean, I know that people joke about boys being horny monsters, but honestly - how can you live like that?"
"Like what?"
"This feeling! I mean, you barely show it, but every time I feel it, it's like somebody is pouring a bucket of hot water down my spine, and right into my panties. Yes, it feels great, but at the same time, my breath hitches, and I feel my brain heat up. While it's happening, it's all there is for a few moments, everything else is fading away. And it never goes away, it lingers, and it builds - each and every time it happens it gets worse, until I feel like I can't breathe anymore!"
Harry had to take a long breath, himself, exhaling it through his pursed lips, while trying to parse what she was telling him. "Frankly. I don't know. We just do. I get what you're hinting at, things like that are the reason why we boys in second year and up can barely talk to girls. We just get these feelings and our brain shuts down, and then we bail. It doesn't even need to be anything sexual. Sometimes, it just happens randomly, while you're not even thinking of anything. It just happens. Nothing beats getting called up in class and suddenly getting a boner out of nowhere," Harry replied, nodding at her when she blushed in second-hand embarrassment.
"That happens?"
"All the time. Worst with female teachers - sometimes, all it takes is their voice, and your willie goes 'whoa, woman present - prepare for action'. Sinistra is especially bad, with her looks and that sultry voice of hers - good thing half of class is late at night, in the dark, and outside - most of us spend part of Astronomy class at full mast. And there's nothing you can do - anything can trigger that - you could be walking down the hallway, see a weird crack in the wall and get a boner."
"Yeah, I feel like that right now," Marietta sighed. "Half the time I don't even know if it's you triggering me, or if I am already so strung up that I start reacting to random things on my own," she lamented, hanging her head. "That's not me. I wasn't like this. Everything is just about sex now. Nothing else matters. Am I losing myself in this?"
"Well, that's definitely on me, I guess. With our situation, I am already primed to constantly think about it, so I definitely am on a hair trigger, right now. I guess it will get better once I am getting used to you hanging around, but let's be honest - I was stumbling onto a pretty naked girl stretched out on my bed, you can't really blame me for being worked up, right now, can you?"
Marietta ducked her head and whispered an apology, before perking up. "So you think I'm pretty?" she said with a coy smile, feeling giddy about it, while at the same time feeling dumb for reacting so girly and shallow at a mere compliment. If only her kitty would stop purring for just one second so she could focus properly – stupid tattoo! Focus, say something smart, switch topics, just do something about it!
"Sorry, can't help it. Girl reaction, you know - it's always nice when people call you pretty. So you do? Didn't think blondes were your type. You never went for Brown, even when she tried so hard to catch your attention before the yule ball," she tried to switch topics, stalling for time.
"She did? I never noticed," Harry confessed. "To be honest, I don't really have a type, I think, it's more a complete picture thing. Looks, and personality both matter to me. Lavender is pretty, no doubt, she just acts in a way I really can't stand."
"And I think it's quite obvious what I think of you," he added cheerfully, briefly glancing down at the bulge in his towel wrap.
Marietta was quick to parry and riposte. "Nude girl equals erection, you said, didn't you?"
"Beaten by my own words," Harry scoffed, playfully. "Alright, got me there – he thinks you're hot, I think you are pretty, as well."
Marietty cocked her head to one side, frowning playfully.
"Isn't that kind of the same for you guys?"
The barb took hold, and Harry gave her a slightly wounded look.
"Not really. Hot means that you can't help start thinking randy stuff when you look at her. Pretty means you just like looking at her, even when the other things are out of the question, just to appreciate the beauty," Harry mused, trying to find words for feelings, which to him was a hitherto uncharted territory. "You know, that easy on the eyes thing people talk about. Kinda like, being hot means you get us going, but pretty means you make us smile at you, if you get what I mean."
"Some real emotional depth there, colour me surprised." Her smile while saying that made it clear that she was only speaking in jest, so Harry replied in kind.
"Slightly above a teaspoon," was his chuckling response, while he mimicked measuring a minuscule distance between his index and thumb, which was returned in a similar jovial manner, just a lot more melodic than his own voice.
"Naw, I'd grant you a cup. Maybe a half one. Somewhere in there," she granted him, gesturing to wave him off gracefully, before losing to the giggles building up.
For a few moments, they were both laughing along, things forgotten, before that familiar awkward pause settled between them, again.
"Sooo, about that attire," Harry teased. "Forgot your nightshirt?"
"Prat! No. Don't even have one - someone tore it to shreds, remember? No - I thought this would be appropriate attire for my position,"she replied.
"Your... position? What exactly would that be?" Harry replied, his chuckling at her response finally breaking the ice as the last tension left her voice.
"Winky called me your bed-elf," she replied with a genuine smile and a roll of her eyes, as the memory helped her relax, especially as Harry had to snort with laughter at the term and the mental images it conjured up.
"Yes, me too, " she giggled. "Maybe Mar-etty should be wearing tea towel, then?" She tried mimicking the elf-patois.
"I think you could make that look work," Harry agreed, his face flushing pinkish as he was wiping at his face to clear the laughter off it, taking a big breath to get it under control. His gaze became much more serious for a split-second as he focussed on her, while another pull raced through her loins, making her flush in unison with him, before he broke eye contact as if stung.
"Got it, maid uniforms are your thing, I guess," Marietta spoke, her voice strained as she fought the sensation, her mouth suddenly dry. "Noted. What else are your kinks?"
"Sorry about that." Harry responded, ducking his head apologetically, before pondering the question. "Honestly, I am so new to all of this that I don't even know about the things that could be done," he admitted. "I mean Dean and Seamus always do some talking, about things and stuff, but I honestly don't even know if they were making things up or not."
"What are yours? Or better, tell me the things that you absolutely don't like - so we can rule them out?" Harry proposed, catching her by surprise by flipping the script on her.
"The 'pureblood way' terrifies me," she responded, blushing brightly as she realised what she had said. "Omygod! I did not want to tell you that!" she gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth. "Stupid bond!"
"Sorry 'bout that. But in this case, that's actually helpful, " Harry replied, trying to sound calm and soothing. "We really need to be honest about all this, or this thing here is going to end up blowing up in our face in a really bad way, I'm afraid."
Marietta was not yet able to face or respond to him, but she still nodded to show her agreement to this scenario. Bolstered with that small victory, Harry continued, because he had a small issue with her statement.
"Ok, the pureblood way is a nono. That's alright with me, but it might help if I knew what exactly that is - it's not ringing any bell, sorry," he sought some clarification.
"The Hogwarts hallway," she blurted out with a brightly red face, but she could see him drawing a blank, again, which had her cringing at the prospect of having to go into details. "Up the bum!" she finally hissed at him, mortified, before hiding her face, once more.
"Oh, wow. I. Yeah. That," Harry stammered, now blushing just as brightly, with his imagination running wild at the input given.
"I knew it!" Marietta groaned with disgust when she did feel a reaction from him. "You're all the same."
"Come on! Give me some credit - I hadn't even thought about that! I only heard that being used to insult boys as gay!" Harry stammered. "People really do that? How? And why is it called pureblood style? And Hogwarts hallway?" he kept on it, before the Knut finally dropped. "Oh boy..." he mumbled, ignoring the smirk and roll of eyes that Marietta shot his way. His mind was reeling, as he tried to make connections to the things she had told him before.
"Girls do that? At Hogwarts? Really? Why?" he blurted, not believing some of the things he came up with.
"Remember what I told you about pressure and upper years? Sometimes, a boy wants more than just snogging and a blowjob," she explained. "But at the same time, you are expected to stay pure for the wedding. They do check before the bride price is paid, you know? So, the Hogwarts hallway it is."
"So when you told me that Cho had been willing to, you know," Harry tried to make sense of the things he knew, "This is what you were talking about?"
"Of course! She was pretty sure that you and Granger were having a thing. After you stood her up at Valentines, she was pretty sure that Granger had your claws in you, and since Muggleborn can just use the fun hole, she knew she might have to go all in if Granger were to fight back. That day she stayed behind after the DA? She'd told me to not wait for her that day, and was determined to go all out if necessary, no stops. I'm curious - what happened? All I got from her is that you made out with her and left her hanging."
"I wouldn't call it making out," Harry responded, pensive. "It was just a kiss. Not even a good one. Like, she started crying while she kissed me, and then she started talking about Cedric and, yeah, that kind of killed whatever little bit of mood that was there, so, you know, I high-tailed it out of there, kind of," he recounted, which made Marietta giggle.
"Really? She brought up Cedric? Of all things! Can't blame you, then. Seriously - she made you look like the big bad wolf when she just totally blew it," she chuckled. "After all that preparation! Makeup, sexy underwear, hyping herself up in front of the mirror. She even used the three spells on herself before the session, just to be prepared in case you wanted more than a blowjob!"
"The three spells?"
"Numbing charm, lubricating charm, and the bowel-loosening hex," Marietta muttered.
Harry was shocked at the third one. "Now you're just messing with me!" He blurted, flushing like mad.
"Never wondered why every pureblood upper class girl knows that one to threaten people with? That's the main reason this spell exists. That and constipation. It's only bad if you are not on the loo when it hits you. It's a lifesaver, they say."
"Still not sure you're not messing with me - how would that - oh, I get it," Harry stammered as he put one and one together. "Sorry , but… You know.. I…Like, does that even do something for, I mean, do girls like doing it that way?"
"What do you think?" Marietta huffed, giving him an annoyed look.
Harry was shaking his head at the things he was learning. "And you thought I'd do that to you?"
"Of course. You were mad at me. I've seen enough seventh years do their homework standing up after they got their boyfriends mad at them. If you make your boy mad enough, you don't even get to use the spells, according to the grapevine. Didn't you ever wonder why the Slytherin girls are obedient like that? The ones like Greengrass are rich enough that they don't need to put out if she doesn't like to. They get to choose their lover, if they want one. So she can be all haughty and cool and be fine about it. But Parkinson, Davis? Bulstrode? Bet they knew the three spells since 5th year, and lost all of their gag reflex during the fourth," she started slagging. "Especially Parkinson - she knows that the moment she lets go of Malfoy's wand, he's gone. Rumor has it he's really into the younger Greengrass sister."
"I told you that Hogwarts is mostly about getting a beneficial marriage for pureblood girls. The education is seen as a side-effect that most families would opt out of if they could save money - none of them will ever work," she reminded Harry when he was just shaking his head at her tale.
"It just sounds hard to believe that this kind of stuff is going on, and that any girl would accept being threatened like this, you know."
"Let me tell you something - the only real difference between my current state and a pureblood wife is a lust potion and an imperius curse. We all have been told since birth that we will be marrying someone my parents will choose. None of us is marrying for 'Muggle love'. If you are lucky, you may find someone that likes you, and your parents might agree that he is a good choice. But love is not a necessity. Simply said, your job is to give him an heir. Preferably male. And that's it. Especially with the heirs of the posh families, both light and dark. All these guys are going to have mistresses and affairs. Even frequent brothel visits or raunchy parties at 'the club' with their friends are kind of expected in that social circle. Their wife will know it, but never say a word about it. It's just how it is done for the old families. It's not about love, it's money and politics. After doing her duty and providing an heir, she's usually quite happy to be rid of him. As long as she's occasionally doing her wifely duties if he remembers she exists, and the kid and house are well kept, her bum is safe. But if she gets in his hair, she'll receive a jolly rogering to know her place. Maybe a good hexing, too. Nothing she can do about it - the house, kids and vault are his, she either puts up with him, or he just chucks her out on her ear."
"God! Every time I learn more about this world, I get more disgusted about it," Harry spat, looking quite agitated, starting to pace. "Do you want an unbreakable oath that I'll never punish you like that? Right now? I'll do it!"
"You'd need a third wizard to cast that on us, Harry. I don't think we need that. But thank you," Marietta spoke, sporting a small smile as they fell into a companionate silence.
"Anywayo," Harry hemmed after the pause drew longer, moving from one foot to another while trying not to pick at his towel. "I was going to change into some boxers to sleep, and.. I mean... not that I.. I mean, you can put something on as well... if you want to, I mean," he stammered, starting to feel anxious about the situation, now that he had neither anger nor jokes to distract him.
"Doesn't even have to be a tea-towel," he tried to hide behind a joke, again.
"Wouldn't even know how to wear that, anyway," she replied, trying to run with it. Anything to stall for more time. "Maybe an apron like Winky's uniform has?"
She felt his response before he had spoken the words or had the time to have his face light up in red, mentally berating herself for her unwise choice of topic as she clamped her knees shut.
"I can see that working," he choked out.
"Bet you do," she wheezed, having to steady herself, her flush giving her away. "I certainly felt that! You really are into that stuff, it seems."
"Rest assured, I was just as surprised when you brought it up, " he grinned. " But honestly - French maid? Short skirt, white blouse, apron, that tiny cap thing... With that hair of yours, you would look stunning."
"You think? Thank you, I guess. Well, we can check that tomorrow. Just need the apron, I have the rest already. It is pretty much what we wear at school, every day, come to think of it."
"And now you know why we boys struggle to pay attention in class," Harry added with a grin, before getting a bit pensieve, for a moment.
"You know, we should go shopping tomorrow, by the way. There should be some other shopping district somewhere here, so we don't run into these women again. And with these patches, we might get through without a repeat. You have some stuff from that store, but nowhere enough, and I could do with some clothes that fit, just as well. I'm done owning only what I have on my back."
While at first being slightly confused by the sudden revelation of insight, Marietta pretty quickly reverted to her usual snarkiness, but with a huge grin to soften the blow.
"You already have me naked in your bed, Potter, no need to butter me up with shopping trips!"
"Fine, no shopping, just a skimpy tight schoolgirl uniform for you, then. Fine with me," Harry grinned back, getting a tongue poked out at him for his efforts.
"Promises, promise," he teased.
"I have done more than just promising that to you. But thanks, I really could need some spare cloth to cover me bum while you're not using it," she teased. "Should I switch into that uniform for tonight? Pretty sure that's what it was used for, anyway, am I right? Used every cleaning charm I knew once I realised why you two were laughing."
"Yeah, " Harry confirmed, starting to dig into the meagre contents of the wardrobe behind him, trying to pick out the least threadbare option of his available clothes. "Perverts, both of them. Lovable, funny, hilarious perverts. I won't stop you, but I don't think that would be nice to sleep in. Would you rather borrow a shirt or get one of yours?"
"Oh? So I am getting any sleep tonight? Didn't think I would, with being tied to the bed and all that stuff," she joked, before growing visibly nervous, the fact that he was definitely coming to bed in a few moments and what that would mean suddenly catching up with her.
"Don't you want to do, ahem, you know, I mean, before we bother to dress up?" she stammered, her voice breaking.
She could see his shoulders slump as he stopped digging in the pile and rested his head against a shelf board in front of him. Sighing deeply, he turned around, looking sad.
"Let's hold on to that thought of ropes, uniforms, and whatnot for later, buuuuut... To be honest," he started, looking very put out for a second. "I mean, you know, Ree - what's going to happen next? What was your plan?" he queried, sounding dejected, all of a sudden..
"Ree?" she stalled, puzzled .
"Nickname I just came up with – can't use your name now, can't I? I would constantly send you off with orders left and right, just while talking. It's a real handful to say, anyway," he explained with a slight chuckle.
"And Hermione is so much easier?" she retorted, slightly angry at him for making fun of her name.
"You have no idea!" he moped, rolling his eyes. "It's just as bad. But she really hates being called something else. To be fair, when Ron or I talk about her, we use 'Her', as in capital 'H'. We both know who we mean, and it's sooo much easier," Harry confessed.
"Please don't tell her I said this!" he suddenly added, looking frightened, which caused her to giggle at his antics.
"I know Cho calls you Mari, but that - or anything else I could get from your name - doesn't quite roll off the tongue, easily, either. Ree just kind of flows with it. Do you mind? Do you have a preferred one you want me to use instead?"
Pondering the name she finally shook her head.
"It's ok, I guess?" she allowed. "I've had worse. Certainly better than Mar-mar or Mar-bear," she joked, shuddering dramatically as she used those cursed names.
"Ree," she tried the sound of it.
"Ree - hey, Ree! How are you, Ree. Hello, I'm Ree," she babbled along, testing it some more. "Yes, I get it. The more I try it, the more I like the feel of saying it," she voiced her judgement.
"Good. Well... " Harry responded, fidgeting. "What's next? Are you going to lie back and think of England? Or what do you want us to do right now, Ree?"
"I really don't want to do this right now," she responded, again, before she could prevent her mouth forming the words. Slapping her hands over her mouth, she had tears welling in her eyes as she feared his reaction. To her surprise, Harry just sighed and let loose of the breath he had been holding.
"Thought so. Next time, tell me right away. I don't want to be lied to – I get that everywhere else. In fact, you are more likely to get in trouble for lying to me – I really hate lying, you know? So never be afraid to tell me what you really think, ok?" he asked, receiving a small nod and a whispered "Thank you" in return.
Harry closed the distance to the bed and sat down a safe distance next to her, turning to face her as he started talking, softly.
"Ree, no matter what you still believe to know or to have heard about what my sex life has looked like - I told you, it's not true. I am just as new to this as you are. Actually even worse, cause I had no one even talking about this stuff to me, so there you go. You might not believe it, but I'm just as scared as you are. And then some. Call it performance anxiety, if you will," he ended with a slight jab at himself and a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.
"While I certainly get horny looking at you, and my mind is running wild with things, just as for any other guy with a pulse, that doesn't mean that I feel like I can just… you know, jump into the deep end just now."
"Yes, there is the fantasy of having a slave girl, always available and willing, but, now, in reality... I mean - if that is how you want it to be, we could do it like that. I'll call on you when I feel like, use you as I want, and then we just part our ways until the next time I feel like it," he said, huffing and staring at his feet for a moment before he looked back at her.
"But honestly, I don't think I can do that. Just feels too much like rape to me to be comfortable with it. And I don't think you would like it to be like that, don't you?" he asked, with Marietta whispering her agreement to that assumption. Being used like a piece of furniture would make things so much worse, in a way.
"I have a proposition. It might be cruel, but maybe we could try to do what you have told me would happen to me this year," he stalled, trying to find words to express what he thought. "You said some girl would try to snatch me up. I'll offer you that spot. Pretend I am the sixth year guy you want to catch and show to your parents to get their minds off the rich old lecher that offered a tidy sum for you," he said, turning his head away as he did and staring at his feet.
"Take your time, let us both get used to this. It won't be easy. I'll be a bloody insensitive cad at times, I'm sure. I have no good idea what love or affection feels like, to be honest. You met my relatives. I never had anyone show me affection, or love. Cho was the first kiss I ever had, from anyone. Hermione was the first I remember to ever hug me, ever. I might have picked up some basics, but I am pants at anything more complicated than polite co-existence. You'll have to take the lead, a lot. Explaining, teaching. I don't know the first thing about relationships, I'm afraid. But I want to learn. To know. I want you to show me what it feels like when a girl loves you, I want to know how that feels to be loved, even if it's just pretend," he whispered, his head hung in shame at his confession, hot tears welling up in his eyes, but he fought valiantly to keep them from falling. "Is this something you would like to try?"
"But, won't you get mad if I keep stalling you?" she asked, a little bit of the fear creeping back into her voice. "We had a deal, after all. You said so, and you were right. I promised to keep you happy and do what you want, no matter what," Marietta replied, getting closer to tears as she spoke.
Harry had to laugh, softly, as he heard that.
"Oh come on, I am sitting next to a stunning nude girl in my, no, OUR bed!" he said with a hearty chuckle.
"I can guarantee you that I am happier about going to bed - and my life - right now, than I ever was, period. To be honest, I am absolutely terrified and ecstatic at the thought of merely being allowed to hold you tonight, and frankly, just the thought of sleeping next to you is messing with me badly, enough that I know that there will be some awesome dreams and definitely some accident happening in my boxers before morning. So I really doubt I will get bored, any time soon, fine? And if, I'm sure we can just talk it out, couldn't we? Just relax, you're safe with me. Remember, my part of the deal was that I promised to keep you safe, didn't I? And strongly feel that this should include you feeling safe with me, as well."
She couldn't react any way differently than she did. She reached out and hugged him to her chest, sighing, "Thank you , Harry," her eyes welling up, the same.
Rather quickly, she realised the crucial difference her current attire - or the lack thereof, as the linens had slid off her as she had moved - made to this a few seconds later, when Harry suddenly stiffened in her embrace. In more than one way, as her bond was eager to tell her.
"Sorry," she blurted as she let go and sat up, scrambling for the linnen, her face on fire just the same as his, and that was not even starting to tell what was going on in both their loins.
"Don't be," he blurted, "Icertainlyamnot!" He had to swallow a lump to clear his throat. "So much for the slow dating idea," he huffed out.
"You're welcome," she tried to inject levity, "and don't worry - when a girl is that desperate to catch a sixth year, you are only ahead of schedule three, maybe four dates, tops," she grinned, trying to pretend she wasn't as flustered as he was. She managed to get him to huff a pained laugh, which was more than she expected.
"But I like your idea. If that is what you want, I am more than happy to do so. Grateful, even more so. You'd really be doing me a favour. Again, I am sorry I strung you along with promises I am really not up to keeping," she told him with a genuine smile as she reached out and held his hand in hers.
Looking into his eyes for a few seconds, Marietta made a decision. Leaning forward, she gave him a kiss on his cheek, and then a second, on his lips.
"Thank you for being so understanding," she said, and took a deep breath to fortify her nerves as the feedback from him rushed over her, again. "Merlin, I'm really having trouble breathing when you are getting so worked up, Harry. This is what being drunk must feel like."
"Shall I go and rub one out? That usually cures it, might work for both of us?" Harry offered, and tried to get off the bed, only to be held back.
"Oh, quit being silly, Potter! I'm nowhere ready to go all the way, but giving you a helping hand is well within what I think I am comfortable with. I've done worse," she responded, playing a jab at herself, with a pained grin, before his recollection, and subsequent reaction made itself known to her.
"I don't know about worse - all other things aside, I think you did a fairly good job," Harry parried with a smirk and a waggle of his eyebrows. "But you really don't have to do anything, it's fine. I can take care of this, myself, quickly." With that he again started to rise, but Marietta was having none of this.
"No, it's not fine, because it's making me feel worse," she protested. "We made a deal. You are being really gracious about it and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. But I am not going to sit around and let you wank off in the bathroom, doing my job," she semi-ranted at him as she pulled him back. "I got what I wanted, and more, and now it's time for me to pucker up and pay… golly!" she gasped as another wave of heat crashed through her as he was starting to realise that she was being real about her offer.
"Oh, for fuck's sake – that's it, this is going to be dealt with, right now!" she huffed, agitated. "Lose the towel, Potter, and forget about those boxers. We're going to make sure that any discharge tonight will not be accidental. Hope I'll at least get you up to speed on kissing and stuff before you fall asleep," she commanded, and started tugging at his wrap.
"Heard you guys drop dead the moment your wand goes off, maybe that will get your wand to stop casting that pinching charm at me," she growled as she pulled him fully onto the bed, sliding up alongside him, and starting to fighting with the linnen to get them both under cover.
When she finally came to rest next to him, and made contact with a specific part of his body, her guilty consciousness briefly flared, once more.
"And you're really okay with that?" she asked. "I mean. You can have me, if you want to," she started, timidly, her fear not yet fully quelled.
"I know," he replied softly. "But I am not going to force myself onto you. Not tonight, not tomorrow, not ever. I'm not that kind of guy. You know what, let me spell it out for you. This is an order - if I try to sleep with you without you asking me to do so, you will fight me off and kick me in the balls as hard as you can, Marietta. Oh, and Marietta - you will only ask me to sleep with you if it is your own wish to do so. There. Does that help? Does that make you feel better about us?"
The confirmation hit his lips a few moments later.