Harry awoke to the early morning sunshine and the warmth of Astoria's body pressed against his. Their limbs were a tangled mess and her rich brown hair was all over his face, but Harry wouldn't have changed it for the world. Not only did his body feel good to be pressed up against Astoria like this, his mind and spirit did too. That underlying sense of anger that had plagued him for weeks now was finally starting to fade for good, and it was moments like this that helped that process along.
It felt good to feel like this. An invisible weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and his heart felt fuller than it had in a long time. Daphne had been wonderful to him in his moments of darkness, but Astoria was his first love. The fact that he'd gotten so angry with her over little things these past weeks had hurt him as well as her. He never wanted to feel anger towards either of the women he held so close in his heart.
Gently, Harry brushed Astoria's hair away from her face and planted a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and then Harry leaned down to kiss her properly.
"Good morning, love," Harry murmured softly.
Astoria sighed happily and snuggled in closer to him. "Good morning to you too. Oh! And to you too," she giggled softly as she felt his morning erection pressed against her thigh.
"Sorry," Harry laughed quietly.
"Don't be," Astoria kissed him. "I like feeling exactly how much you love me."
"It's a bit hard to keep it away when you're pressing your naked body against me all night long," Harry smiled.
"I could say the same to you," Astoria replied. "Do you know how hard it is not to jump your bones when you snuggle up behind me and kiss my neck when we're going to sleep?"
"Maybe you should just do it then," Harry told her. "I certainly wouldn't complain."
"Only if you promise to make a move on me when you're feeling randy," Astoria replied, biting her lower lip and pushing her thigh against his erection.
Harry laughed again, pushing back against Astoria. The thrill in his cock sent shivers down his spine. There was just something about the way she touched him that drove him completely wild. Their late nights in the library and the prefect's bathroom had been driven by lust, but this was nothing but pure loving passion.
After pressing another sweet kiss to Astoria's lips, Harry slowly slipped beneath the bedsheets and crawled his way down between Astoria's thighs. She was beginning to breathe rather quickly in a way that made her body rock in the most sensuous fashion. Harry couldn't help but admire her form as his hands found her thighs and his lips found hers.
A fresh coat of wetness painted his tongue as he teased her hairless slit. She tasted divine to him, like a fine wine. No matter how many times he went down on her, he could never tire of it.
In an instant, Astoria began to tremble beneath his touch. She squirmed awkwardly as she tried to find the right position that would allow her to perfectly relax against Harry's pleasurable touch. It was a marvel as to how easily he was able to make her melt just from the lightest little lick. They were made for each other, and that drove Harry on forward.
As one of Harry's fingers pushed past her entrance, Astoria whined quietly. It was the type of sound she made that told him he was doing the right thing. He slipped a second finger inside of her as his lips encircled her clit, teasing it without applying too much pressure as to overstimulate her. It was the perfect touch that left her begging for more, and Harry was more than happy to deliver on that front.
"Oh, Harry," Astoria sighed contently, placing her hands on the back of Harry's head through the bedsheets. "Yes, that's it. Right there, please."
He lapped at her clit, teasing her just enough so that he felt a proper amount of wetness coating his two fingers inside of her. Her juices felt sweet against his tongue. She kept leaking so much that he had to lick the base of his fingers clean.
With a subtle curl of his fingers inside of her pussy, Harry had Astoria's back arching off of the bed. Her breasts pressed up against the sheets, and her legs trembled around his frame. She was his to control, and he loved that he was able to make her feel so good.
He could only imagine how adorable her face must look right now, all screwed up in pleasure. He never tired of seeing her that way. Anything that he could do to make her scream his name was well worth doing.
Astoria's hands slipped beneath the bedsheets and grabbed onto Harry's hair. His fingers brushed against that rough spot within her core just as his lips sealed themselves firmly around her clit. The pain from Astoria yanking on his hair was well worth it. Just hearing her moan his name left Harry with butterflies dancing in his stomach.
"Harry, please," Astoria moaned. "I need you inside of me."
He couldn't take it anymore. He slid along her body until his cock was poking at her inner thigh. Just that simple touch made him throb with ache. He needed to be inside of her right now; nothing else would come close to satisfying him.
"I love you," Harry murmured as his lips brushed across Astoria's.
"I love—" she gasped as his cock speared her lower lips, pushing past her entrance. "—you."
Harry kissed her neck as his cock ventured further into her tight, hot depths. She was so wet that he had no trouble pushing forward until he filled her up completely. He'd forgotten just how tight she was.
"Fuck," Harry groaned, kissing Astoria soundly again. Her lips felt so soft against his. He didn't know if bliss could be any better than being inside of Astoria and feeling her body pressed against his.
"You feel so good inside of me," Astoria moaned softly, clenching down hard around his cock.
Harry reached down and grasped her left thigh, hoisting her leg up so that he could get even deeper inside of her perfect pussy. He grinded his hips against hers, feeling his cock slowly stir clockwise inside of her pussy. As desperately as he wanted to start thrusting, there was little that could compare to the overwhelmingly wonderful sensation of being completely surrounded by such a tight, wet warmth.
"Don't you ever leave me," Harry said before he kissed Astoria again.
"Never," she replied breathlessly. "Not until the day I die."
Let that never be soon, Harry thought to himself.
The two of them grunted together as Harry started to move inside of Astoria. His cock rocked back and forth as he made tiny motions, just enough to tease both of them with enough pleasure to elicit little sounds of ecstasy.
Harry knew that he had to be the luckiest man alive to have both Astoria and Daphne as his partners. The two of them were simply unbelievable, and neither could replace the other. They acted as the perfect complement to one another, offering Harry the most intense type of love that couldn't be achieved by one woman alone. He was grateful that both of them understood that and still offered themselves over completely to him.
Steadily, Harry worked up his pace as he thrusted into Astoria's pussy. Their lips sought each other out desperately as they made the most of their early-morning lovemaking. It was the sweetest type of touch imaginable, and both of their bodies worked the other's up into a needy frenzy that drove them on to seek nothing but love and pleasure.
Astoria's tight walls squeezed him perfectly as he slammed forward and buried himself completely inside of her pussy. She let out the most adorable gasp into his mouth, too stunned for a moment to even kiss him back. Her arms pulled his chest down onto hers, and Harry made sure to rub himself up and down against her sensitive nipples to give her just that extra little hit of pleasure.
"Harry," she moaned his name softly as he started to kiss her neck. "Fuck, I needed this."
"We needed this," he corrected her gently as he started moving again.
Harry's hips rocked faster. He wasn't fucking Astoria as hard as they often did, but he was doing enough to leave her breathless. Her eyes fluttered closed and her mouth hung open as she let herself give in fully to the pleasure. Her moans grew louder and louder in time with each of his thrusts, and he could feel her starting to come undone around him.
His cock began to swell, matching Astoria's pace. His body trembled as a rush of pleasure began to course through him, but he didn't stop thrusting inside of Astoria. He kept up his efforts until he heard her cry out his name again, and then he finally let himself free.
Harry buried his face in the crook of Astoria's neck and let out a tremendous groan as he unleashed a torrent of cum inside of her pussy. He rammed forward until he was as deep inside of her as he could go and lost himself in the pleasure of feeling her walls spasm around him. Her hands clawed at his back as she came beneath him, thrashing about on his cock.
It was bliss. This was how the two of them were meant to be.
"I love you," Harry whispered in her ear.
Astoria looked on the verge of tears from love and happiness. She grabbed his head and pulled him in for a tender kiss.
They stayed there for several minutes, Harry's cock still resting rock hard inside of Astoria's pussy. They traded sweet kisses back and forth as they found solace in one another.
However, all good things had to come to an end.
A loud knock sounded at the door to Astoria's bedroom.
"Breakfast is almost ready," Daphne's voice called out through the door. "Unless you want mum or dad to come up and check on you two, you'd better come down soon."
"I guess that's our fun done for the day," Harry said to Astoria as he stared deep into her loving gaze.
"I suppose," she sighed. "Then again, we could have some more fun in the shower."
"That's my girl," Harry grinned.
He didn't bother pulling out of her warm depths. Instead, he pulled her with him to the edge of the bed and then hoisted her up. She clung to his torso, sat firmly on his cock as he carried her over to her bathroom.
The warm spray of water only enhanced their further copulation. They made love in each other's embrace until they both found their fill, and then Harry helped Astoria get cleaned up from his seed dripping out of her core.
It took quite some time before they made it out of the shower, but once they did, they hurried downstairs to the dining room.
A smile graced Harry's lips as he saw Daphne, Anastasia, and Cyrus all talking together peacefully at the breakfast table. They all seemed to be in good spirits. Their talk with Sirius days earlier had done wonders to improve the relations between the Greengrass parents and Greengrass children. It almost seemed like an entirely different family altogether from the one Harry first got to know.
"Astoria," Cyrus smiled brightly as she saw her come into the room. "We were waiting for you."
"Sorry," she said as she hurried around and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek. "What're you waiting on me for?"
"There's mail here for Harry," Anastasia chimed in, holding out a sealed envelope towards him.
"Oh?" Harry hummed as he accepted the letter. He flipped it over and saw his name scribbled in a neat font. He turned it over and saw a familiar seal on the back of it. "It's from the Weasleys."
Harry's lips twitched as he broke the seal. His time after becoming Hogwarts' second champion had been difficult. Not only had Ron, one of his best friends, not believed that he hadn't entered his name, he'd gone so far as to mock Harry within the Gryffindor Common Room. It'd hurt terribly at the time, but the sting had been lessened by the inclusion of Astoria in his life not long after.
Harry,
Mate, I hope you don't burn this letter the second you see who it's from. I've talked a lot to Hermione about everything, and… well…
Look, I believe that you didn't enter your name into the Triwizard Cup. I guess I was jealous. Everything always seems to go your way, even when it doesn't. I don't know if I explained that right, but we're best friends. I don't want to fight with you, and I don't want you to think that I don't believe what you say.
I'm sorry.
I'd love to have you over at the Burrow today, or any other day if it's better for you. Hermione's here with us too. Mum's been bugging me about having you over, but Dumbledore said that we needed to give you a bit of time to yourself. Whatever you went through during that last task must have been mental.
If you feel up to it, come on over. Or send me an owl at least. I want to know how my best friend's doing.
Sincerely,
Ron
Harry set down the letter with a furrowed brow. He didn't quite know how to feel about this.
Ron had always been… temperamental. He'd occasionally have these small bouts of jealousy that'd cause problems, but he'd always remained loyal to Harry and Hermione. At least until this year. This time, his jealousy had driven a wedge between the two of them that neither had made any effort to mend.
Part of it may have been Harry's fault. He'd become enamoured with Astoria and basically spent all of his time with her until Daphne joined them. He rarely saw his Gryffindor dormmates except at meal times or when they were asleep, and he made no effort to try to talk things out with Ron. Then again, this was all due to Ron's jealousy in the first place, not Harry's. Harry shouldn't have been the one to fix anything.
"What is it?" Astoria asked, clearly picking up on his somewhat melancholic expression.
Harry passed over the letter wordlessly and let Astoria read it. Daphne leaned over her sister's shoulder to read it too, and both of them grew pensive upon finishing it.
"I think you should visit him," Daphne said suddenly. "Even though you don't talk about him much, I know you miss him."
Those were Harry's thoughts too. He had so many fond memories of his time with Ron at Hogwarts and over at the Burrow. If it wasn't for what transpired this past year, it wouldn't have been surprising for Harry to find himself at the Burrow again for much of this summer.
"I suppose I should," Harry murmured.
If nothing else, at least it'd be good to see Hermione again, if things didn't work out smoothly with Ron.
"Would you two come with me?" Harry asked.
"Of course," Daphne replied instantly, and Astoria nodded her head along too.
Breakfast returned to a more cheerful affair after that. Little was discussed about the letter. Rather, Cyrus and Anastasia seemed quite keen on getting to know their daughters again.
It felt nice to see a much warmer family dynamic than may have ever existed before, except for when the girls were quite young and there wasn't so much pressure placed on Daphne's shoulders. Harry was quite content to stay quiet on the sidelines and just watch.
By the time breakfast ended, Harry felt calm and at ease, which was exactly what he was going to need for the upcoming discussion with Ron.
After saying their brief goodbyes, the three of them headed out to the front of Greengrass Manor where Harry apparated them away smoothly.
The Burrow looked the same as it ever did. Harry didn't know why he'd expected it to be different somehow when he arrived. Maybe it was because he'd changed so much since he'd last been here. The overgrown garden and frog-filled pond out behind the house were still the same, as was the old broomshed. It was a peaceful, idyllic place so far removed from the turmoil of Harry's life.
Ron was waiting for them outside when they arrived. He was standing near the back door to the Burrow looking terribly awkward and nervous. Off near an old oak tree, Hermione was sitting down and reading quietly. The sound of Harry apparating in with Astoria and Daphne broke off their discussion.
Hermione gave Harry a wave, to which he returned with a smile. Although he wasn't quite as close to her as he once was, he didn't quite harbour the same negative sentiments towards her as he did Ron. At the very least, she'd decided to believe that he didn't enter his name into the goblet, and they'd remained friendly since. It was just difficult to spend time around her when Ron so obviously tried to hog all of her attention.
"Looks like he wants to talk to you alone," Astoria commented perceptively as she released Harry's arm.
"We'll go over and talk with Hermione," Daphne added. "Give you two a moment to talk things out."
As the two of them walked off, Harry was left with the well-worn dirt path leading straight to Ron. He didn't look like he knew whether to wait near the Burrow or approach Harry first, so he made a jerky step forward before he came to an abrupt halt, reconsidering his choice.
Biting back a sigh, Harry started forward. He didn't like this tension that had built up between him and Ron. He didn't know if they'd ever be as close as they once were before, but at least it would be one less thing lingering in the back of his mind as he prepared for the most important year of his life so far. His focus needed to be on training to stop Voldemort and on his two beautiful girlfriends.
"Hey," Ron said lamely, going to offer Harry a hand to shake before thinking better of it and running his hand through his short orange hair instead.
"Hey," Harry replied. He didn't feel awkward like Ron did. Instead, it felt like he was showing up to a wake. Memories of their old friendship flooded his mind, tinged with sadness at how it'd been torn apart.
There was a moment of silence as Harry waited for Ron to say anything. He kept fidgeting and glancing over at Hermione.
Eventually, Harry realised that he was going to need to be the one to do some prodding here if he didn't want to just stand around all day.
"I was surprised to get your letter," Harry began carefully.
"Oh, yeah," Ron grimaced. "I, uh… thought it was time we should talk." Ron glanced over at Hermione again.
"You did?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Or was it Hermione?"
The red tinge of Ron's cheeks told Harry everything he needed to know.
"It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to you," Ron suddenly blurted out. "I just didn't know if you'd want to talk to me after what a jerk I'd been."
Harry hummed quietly in mild agreement. "To be honest, I've been pretty preoccupied. Talking with you hadn't crossed my mind much."
He regretted his words almost instantly when he saw the pain laid across Ron's face. Internally, Harry chided himself, forcing him to clamp down on his bubbling anger inside of his chest. He was in control, not it.
"Sorry," Harry said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that. I've just been busy with everything, you know. Between the tournament and Astoria and Daphne… I just haven't had time for much else."
"No, I get it," Ron said as he scratched the back of his head. "I've been busy too. Fred and George are planning on starting up a business this year, so I've been helping them get all of their products ready to go."
"Good for them," Harry replied sincerely. He'd always thought that the two pranksters would do well in the business world if they were able to put their minds to it. They had the creativity and talent to propel them far.
"Yeah," Ron replied lamely, looking down at his shoes. "Look, Harry, I'm sorry for the way I acted this past year to you. I know you didn't actually enter your name into the tournament yourself."
"What changed your mind?" Harry asked curiously.
"A bit of Hermione lecturing at me," Ron chuckled. "A bit of time spent thinking about it. I know that you don't like having to deal with your fame or stupid stuff like that. It's just hard for me to remember that sometimes. I try to imagine myself in your shoes, and I know that I would've done anything to get my name in the goblet and kept it to myself so that I'd have the best chance of getting my name picked. I guess I'm selfish like that."
"I don't think you would've kept it to yourself," Harry told him honestly. "You care about your friends. You would've told them."
"Not enough to not be a jerk to you," Ron replied.
"But enough to eventually apologise to me," Harry pointed out.
"Later than I should have," Ron grimaced.
"Better late than never," Harry countered.
Ron opened his mouth before snapping it back shut again. A second later, a peal of laughter left his lips. "You're really not going to let me be down on myself, are you?"
"Nope," Harry replied with a small smile. "You fucked up, but you're trying to make things better now, and I appreciate it."
"I won't do anything like that ever again," Ron promised. "And if I do, I give you permission to smack me upside the head until I'm thinking clearly again."
Harry chuckled at the thought of that. He stuck out his hand for Ron to take. "Friends?" He asked.
Ron grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him in for a hug. "I'm so sorry, Harry," Ron said as he hugged him tightly.
"Thank you, Ron," Harry said as he hugged him back.
When they finally released each other, Ron gestured to the door to the Burrow. "Mum's out front gardening, but when she heard that you were coming over, she baked some biscuits for us. Want to come in and have some? It'd be good to catch up."
"Definitely," Harry grinned. He waved over to the girls, who all got up from under the oak tree and hurried over to them.
Hermione led the charge, practically tackling Harry with a bear hug that put Mrs Weasley's to shame. "I've missed you so much!" Hermione exclaimed as she squeezed him. "How was your summer? Were your relatives alright? Have you been eating enough? You're looking better than when we last saw you after the third task. There's so much—"
"Hold on there," Harry laughed. "One question at a time, please."
"Sorry," Hermione said, flashing Harry a bright smile as she let him go. "It's just been so long."
"Too long," Harry agreed. "But we can talk more inside."
The five of them headed into the Burrow. Astoria and Daphne were both looking around the strange home curiously. Harry had told them all about his stay at the Burrow during part of the summer after his second year at Hogwarts. The ghoul in the attic was a particularly interesting topic for them.
They ended up in the living room. Harry sat down on the wide sofa with Astoria and Daphne on either side of him while Hermione and Ron took up armchairs across a small table from them, which was laden with a hefty tray of an array of biscuits.
For several minutes, Harry did nothing more than catch up with Hermione and Ron. It was all light topics of conversation that they focused on: their end-of-year exams, the upcoming school year, and how Harry ended up together with Astoria and Daphne. The revelation that he was dating both of them at the same time nearly had Ron's eyes bulging out of their sockets in surprise and awe, but Hermione was just happy that he'd finally found two people who he could truly love.
The conversation felt familiar and awkward all at the same time, but it got better as time went on. Eventually, it was as though Harry and Ron had never fought in the first place. That was helped especially by Hermione's presence, as she had remained on good terms with both men throughout the entire year and helped to smooth out any awkward moments.
As Harry finally savoured the taste of a butterscotch cookie, a voice rang out from his right.
"Ah, it does warm the heart to see the three of you together again."
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry exclaimed as his head turned to the side, seeing the wizened old man standing in the doorway to the Burrow's living room. He had the most garish, violet-and-green striped robes on and a stack of letters in his hands.
"Harry. It is so good to see you up and about again," he said kindly. "How has your break been treating you?"
"Good," Harry answered, shooting a look over towards Daphne and Astoria. "Mostly thanks to these two helping me out so much."
"Young love is a good cure for a great many things," Dumbledore smiled as he stepped into the room.
"What are you doing here, Professor?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I had need to speak to Harry here and to deliver these."
With a wave of his hands, the stack of letters took flight and separated off. One flew to each person in the living room, and three flew upstairs to Fred, George, and Ginny. Harry recognised the letter immediately. It was their Hogwarts letters for the year.
A sharp ring sounded as a heavy badge fell out of Daphne's letter. She picked up, already knowing what it was.
"I'm a prefect?" She raised her eyebrows in mild surprise, glancing up at Dumbledore. "I figured that Professor Snape would've chosen Pansy."
"He would have had it not been for a timely suggestion on my part," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "A last minute change, but one most deserved, I can assure you. You have been an excellent student for years now, and I have no doubts in mind that you will use your newfound authority wisely and responsibly."
"Thank you," Daphne murmured, glancing down at the gleaming badge.
"I got one too," Hermione said, her eyes widening as her own prefect badge fell into her hand. She looked up at Harry. "Did you get the other one for Gryffindor?"
Before he could respond, Ron let out a strangled cry of surprise as a prefect badge dropped into his lap. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked quite stunned at the revelation.
"Me?" Ron said aloud, flabbergasted.
"It was a difficult decision on Minerva's part," Dumbledore chuckled good-naturedly. "But I do believe that she made the correct choice in the end."
"Why not Harry though?" Ron frowned.
Honestly, Harry was wondering that a bit himself. He wasn't particularly upset at being passed over for prefect, but he had thought that he was the most likely candidate out of his dormmates.
"Harry will be quite busy this year," Dumbledore said knowingly. "He has much to prepare for, and I did not want him more overburdened than he already is. I hope that you can forgive me, Harry, for removing you from contention."
"It's fine," Harry waved off his concern.
"Good, good," Dumbledore nodded. "Now, I was hoping that I might be able to speak to you privately about a few things."
There was an awkward silence as Ron and Hermione realised that they were being excluded from this talk. They used to always be kept in the loop on whatever it was that Harry and Dumbledore talked about, but things were different now.
Merlin, they didn't even know about Voldemort's resurrection, Harry realised.
"Ron and Hermione can stay," Harry said as a spur-of-the-moment decision.
"Alright then," Dumbledore smiled. "You should know that I have been preparing an additional curriculum for you this upcoming year. We will be having irregular meetings in my office whenever we both have the time for it. I will ensure that I or Minerva provide you the password beforehand."
"Thank you," Harry said sincerely.
"Think nothing of it," Dumbledore replied. "It would also be good for you to know that I visited your relatives to inform them of where you have been staying this summer. I placed new wards over their home to protect them in case of an emergency."
"Probably didn't even care I was gone," Harry snorted.
Dumbledore smartly chose to ignore that comment. "And finally, I wished to prepare you for an unexpected turn of events for this upcoming school year. Professor Snape has finally convinced me to allow him to take up the post of Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. I had greatly struggled to find a suitable alternative professor for the position, and with the threat of the Ministry instilling a professor themselves, I decided that it was time to give Severus the chance he's so badly wanted."
"Excuse me, Professor," Daphne chimed in. "But who's going to be taking over his former position as Hogwarts' Potions Master?"
Dumbledore grimaced, an uncommon sight from the old wizard. "Unfortunately, under such short notice, I only had one viable candidate to choose unless I wished for the Ministry to appoint their own professor. The Board of Governors approved the appointment after a tense vote as well."
Harry had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"The new potions professor is Lucius Malfoy," Dumbledore announced gravely.
Harry's mind flashed back to the graveyard. To the masked faces who'd come to Voldemort's side when he called for them. To the hiss of pain that'd escaped Lucius' lips when Voldemort had ripped his mask off of his face and revealed him openly to Harry.
Most of all, he remembered the flames that'd burned from his wand and the sight of Lucius scrambling away in terror.
A/N: Hey, thanks for reading! If you are interested in reading more or supporting me, check out at p atreon .com(slash) ashox