Sofia hated this day.
The skies over the Veela court were cloudy at her command. Dark with rain that would never fall, a face magicked to never cry. It was the one day of the year where Sofia had to swallow her pride and visit her mother who lay upon on her deathbed.
The Queen's day of birth. In honor of her, the balmy skies turned gray. The Veela of the court turned to study instead of sex. Even she had to pay her respects.
Sofia went alone to the pavilion in the fort's corner, far away from the Roman baths and the high temple. The pavilion was meant to be a tomb.
Mother always had been stubborn.
Down the stone steps, pushing through the creaking wooden doors.
The silver cobwebs swayed away from her — even the spiders knew who the rightful Queen was.
Lit by four crisscrossed beams of light from each of the stained glass windows, there she lay, the breathing corpse. Sleeping Beauty could not compare to her mother's divine looks, even now.
The Queen of Veela. Irina, though Sofia had never called her by that name.
It would not have been allowed.
She reached out a trembling hand to caress her mother's skin. Still smooth.
"Why do you haunt me still?" She murmured.
The wind breezed through the wooden doors and through the cracks in the stone. It sounded like a jaunty whistle.
She feared Mother would mock her even in death, if she ever succumbed to it. Perhaps the Queen would outlast her. She'd heard of such a thing.
Kings that outlasted their sons, Princes that never wore the crown.
"I still rule, you know. Even without the title." She murmured.
There was no reply.
She felt silly, but she imagined her mother's lips twitched into a smirk.
It 's all in your head.
"I'm going to do what you never could, Mother." Sofia traced her finger down her mother's cheek, across her lips. She snatched her mother's cheeks roughly, squeezing it until her lips bulged like a fish. "I'm going to take the male Veela. I'm going to make him beg. Bleed. Break."
Sofia threw her head back, the sun beams bathing her in light but not warmth. There was no sun allowed this day.
Her mother lay in shadow.
"When I'm finished," She whispered. "I'll be unopposable. Every coven will bow. Even the humans will cower. And who will dare argue when my dearest darling Mother finally succumbs to her ails?"
Sofia smiled, imagining it all. She pressed a gentle kiss to her mother's forehead. "Happy Birthday, Mama."
###
Susan was beginning to think Hannah was avoiding her. She knew this would happen. Every time she and Hannah did a little sapphic 'Tracey Davis' action, her best friend got freaked out and distant for a few days.
It wasn't like she'd initiated it — even if she had been lying in Hannah's bed.
Maybe I 'm overthinking it.
Hannah did disappear often ever since she and Harry had started their…whatever it was they had. She'd miss lunch breaks or whole lessons and appear later wearing a stupid smile, badly conjured buttons on her blouse, her pigtails wild or yanked out completely. Once, she clearly had some cum in her hair.
But this was different.
Because Harry was flying in the air, doing some Quidditch training before the big Gryffindor Ravenclaw match. She hadn't even needed to see the rapid blur outside the window, because whenever Harry flew, there was an annoying crowd of firsties bunched up at every window.
Today, there was even a queue coming down the Astronomy Tower stairwell.
The pitfalls of celebrity — it was a wonder he ever managed to disappear for his rendezvous with Hannah.
So Harry was flying and Hannah was still nowhere to be found. Not in her bedroom, not in the Great Hall, not in the kitchens, not grabbing an early seat in the Quidditch stands and not hiding in the boys' changing rooms, waiting to give Harry a kneeling pep talk.
Susan had checked everywhere.
Which left only the library.
And that made her even more mad. Because Hannah had promised her that she'd stop stealing those dodgy Dark Arts books, the ones with evil effects and corrupting influence.
She could accept her best friend becoming a bend-over bimbo for Harry — he had that sort of effect and Hannah didn't have the same opportunities she did.
But she wouldn't accept lies.
Susan crept down the corridor towards the library. She'd catch Hannah in the act, make her admit she was still stealing evil books and make her admit she was avoiding her.
The library was empty, as it always was before a Quidditch game. Hannah had timed her heist well.
In the corner, behind the tallest bookcases, Susan saw a flash of blonde hair.
I knew it!
She crept forward, ducking behind the tables and the trolley of returned books.
Hannah's voice. "I can send a letter but I'm not sure I'll have any more luck."
Hermione sighed heavily. Everyone knew that sigh — the girl did it every time someone answered a question incorrectly. "They won't even reply to my letters, since I'm a Muggleborn. I was hoping a half-blood might have more luck."
"Can't Harry do it?" Susan saw Hannah frown through a gap in two hardback tomes.
"He can't. It looks bad if a Lord is writing to people asking if they need money."
"Oh, right."
"It's so frustrating." Hermione stewed. "Harry's allocated so much money to the Potter Foundation and we can't even give it to the people who need it most, because they won't talk with a simple Muggleborn. Like, they don't believe I even represent him."
"Like who?"
"Like, charities, shelters, orphanages, pre-schools, disease awareness organisations." Hermione scoffed. "Even the Society for Distressed Witches won't reply to me."
Hannah sniffed. "Susan was literally made for this work."
"Don't — you know Harry doesn't want us pressuring her."
"I know, it's just frustrating. I'm biting my tongue every time I see her." Hannah complained.
Susan swallowed. She knew that things were a little awkward between her and Hannah, but she didn't know it was because of this…
Were they really in need of her that much?
She wrinkled her nose — the books in the corner of the library were dusty, untouched.
"Well, keep biting. Harry won't be happy if you say anything else." Hermione said bossily.
"Can we go? I want to watch him fly."
"Hang on." The Gryffindor girl licked her thumb and turned her binder of parchment. "I need you to read something that Peter put together. For some reason, Harry wants your thoughts on it since it mentions Susan—"
"—what's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing!"
"It didn't sound like nothing."
"Do you want to fight or do you want to go watch Harry fly?" Hermione challenged.
"Hurry it up, then." Hannah crossed her arms, deliberately enhancing her cleavage.
The blonde girl scanned the offered parchment. "This is sensitive — I don't want to get caught with this in my bag. You know how antsy the teachers have been since they found my Dark Arts books. Owl it to me instead."
Hermione shook her long bushy hair. "We're not owling anymore. Harry thinks Dumbledore is reading his letters."
"What?" Hannah scowled. "How are we meant to like, meet up and stuff?"
Hermione tapped a book on the shelves, right next to where Susan was peeking through. She ducked down.
"This book. The Monster Book of Monsters by Edwardus Lima." She almost sounded nostalgic. "Nobody's going to take it out, not since it bit off Dennis Creevey's nipple. Anything you need to say, just put it between the pages."
"What if it takes my nipple?" Hannah said skeptically.
"I hardly think the book will open wide enough." Hermione jabbed snottily.
"Oh, hah-hah. Don't be jealous."
"Jealous of your lifetime of back issues? Hardly—"
Susan grabbed her nose just as she sneezed — it came out light, quiet.
Fuck!
Not quiet enough.
"Someone's here." Hermione urged. "Take it!"
"I'm not carrying it, leave it here. I'll grab it later."
"Fine." Hermione stuffed it inside the Monster Book hurriedly, stroking the book's spine as she opened it to make it placid. She pushed it back onto the shelf — almost hitting Susan's fingers.
The redhead ducked down, pulling the book trolley in front of her to hide from the two girls as they scurried out of the library.
Finally, silence.
She poked her head up.
Nobody and nothing.
Susan hesitated for a second. She couldn't resist.
It was right there.
Who was Peter and what was this report that mentioned her?
Curiosity killed the badger.
She grabbed the book and stroked the spine as she opened it, ensuring the tome's fangs didn't snap down.
It was a single freshly-inked parchment.
Harry,
I asked my think tank to create a political vote outlook analysis, as you asked. You can see the results for yourself but in summary; the Bones voting bloc will decrease substantially once their contracts run out.
Voting contracts are a vote of confidence but also an act of leverage - 'you control my vote so you'd better act in my interest'.
For obvious reasons, that vote being held by Susan Bones is much less attractive than being held by the future Minister Amelia Bones.
My think tank thinks that the bloc splits into four neat quarters. One sticks with Susan, one to Dumbledore, one comes across to House Potter and the other is scattered across trading or single-issue blocs.
The Houses that have signed their vote across to House Bones will have separate contracts with different ending times but by and large, by the end of the year, there 'll be a bloodbath. House Bones will be much less powerful and notable by year's end.
Susan stared at it, a cold chill washing over her skin, like she was standing in the sea. It said nothing she didn't know yet it stated it so clearly, it felt like the end of the world.
There was a handwritten scratch at the bottom of the parchment. Hermione's writing — she'd traded for enough of the girl's essays to recognize it. Does this change our plans?
A boy's messy scrawl answered. No, I promised Susie that my proposal stands and I won't go back on my word. She's important to me - H.
Susan's throat was dry. There was a tiny owl flying in her belly, each beating wing making her veins run cold.
She blinked back tearful eyes and murmured. "Oh, Harry."
###
Quidditch. It hardly seemed to matter until the day was upon him. He knew, intellectually, that he had more important things to attend to.
His calendar was full.
Apolline wanted him to go visit Corsica with her, to see the island of mermaids that the Veela wanted him to clear.
The Patels had invited him to dinner — some necessary social etiquette before he made Padma and Parvati take turns on his dick.
Not to mention he'd promised Dumbledore that he'd take one of the girls to visit Slughorn and convince him to join the faculty.
But whether he was more Harry or Tom, he was still ultra competitive. The itch to win burned like a disease from a night with a Knockturn hag.
The match didn't matter, but still…his leg was bouncing.
Calm down, Harry. If you lose, you can spend the night burying your dick along with your disappointment, inside Cissy or Mione or Daph or whoever.
It didn't help. He was still nervous, and the voices in his mind weren't helping.
Especially since they'd progressed to become…actual voices. His mind was tearing apart and he'd gained a popcorn-eating audience, a peanut gallery, to watch his descent into insanity.
"Those thigh-high white socks were always alluring, even in my time." Tom said idly as they watched Katie Bell prop her leg up on the wooden bench and adjust her shoes.
Mei Chang scoffed. "Why is it that men hunger for their school days? Ignoring the woman for the girl, the ocean for the pond, and the scum that taint the waters."
Harry squeezed the bridge of his nose. This was not what he wanted.
His plan to fuck his way into distraction hadn't worked in the long term.
He desperately wanted a quickie before the match, a dirty rut in the broom cupboard or a tight throat to fuck. But Hermione and Hannah had begged off — Mione said she was finally initiating Project Susan.
He didn't want Daphne — the girl had finally, temporarily, been fucked into obedience after the girls had tricked her into a hardcore assfuck. Giving her some solo time would have reverted the lesson before it set in.
Which left him taking big breaths as the crowd outside was cajoled into a roar. The commentator Lee Jordan was in his seventh and last year and had given up on being appropriate — he was currently doing a rundown of the prettiest redheads at Hogwarts.
"At the top, it's gotta be everyone's favorite, Susie Bones! She's redder than a Chinese Fireball, she scowls like Professor McGonagall right here and she's always classy— it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke—I'm just filling time—"
"We'll find him if he mentions Ginny, eh, Ron?" Harry told his friend.
"I've got this." Ron muttered to himself again, staring between his knees. His face looked green.
"That's the spirit." Angelina said brightly.
Harry tried not to stare at Katie — she was wearing tight little red track shorts with white stripes on the side, hugging her crotch and slit high on each side. The girls never wanted to wear the traditional scarlet robes when it was match day — they said it slowed them down.
"I don't like it when women wear red." Tom said slowly. "Can't see them bleed."
Merlin fucking wept.
Harry palmed his face.
"Alright, Harry?" Katie asked, adjusting her long red-and-gold sweatbands. Her long brown hair was swept in front of her shoulders, framing her beautiful cherub-face.
"Men in China would pay a lot for her thick toned thighs." Mei said sagely.
"I know of such men." Tom added. "They'd season them with salt and rosemary."
Harry gave the girl a trembling smile. Her athletic thighs did look like they could squeeze a melon to pieces — but, fucked up in the head as he was, he still didn't want to eat them.
"I'm good." He said simply.
"Don't let Cho distract you." Angelina advised. "She gets slutty when she's competitive."
"She'll probably flash you." Alicia declared. "Eyes on the prize, Potter."
"My daughter would do no such thing." Mei exclaimed.
She certainly would, Harry thought. Cho was a tease at the best of times, and ten times more when she was playing Quidditch. The girl hated to lose.
"I'll behave." He promised. He'd behave a lot better if one of the girls had drained him already.
You 're getting spoiled, Potter.
"Okay, time to go. Stop looking like that, Ron." Angelina complained. "I'm gonna throw up just looking at you."
They walked out onto the field. The wave of noise hit them like a Bombarda — scarlet flags fighting Ravenclaw blue. Dean and Seamus held a banner with a slogan that read "GRYFFINDOR STRONG!".
"The Gryffindors are here!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Before the Triwizard Tournament ruined everything, they were thought of as one of the best teams Hogwarts has seen."
Lee's commentary was by a tide of "boos" from the Claws.
"But that was before they lost keeper Wood and the Weasley twins! Without the best keeper in a decade and the ginger destroyers, can they still compete? Sloper and Kirke have taken the gingers' brooms, but they'll have to prove they're less brittle than a ginger biscuit."
A roar from the Gryffindor loyal decried Lee's lack of faith.
"Captains, shake hands!" said Madam Hooch.
Roger Davies gave Angelina a smirk as they shook hands tightly.
"Mount your brooms!" said Madam Hooch. "Three... two... one..."
Harry rose into the air. Like always, the nerves left him as he ascended. The joy of flying, the carefree feeling of soaring through the wind currents.
His broom jerked oddly.
Tugging at his broom bristles, Cho Chang. That was how she flew, ever since their first encounter in third year — she wanted to tail him, mark him out of the game.
"Alright, Harry." She said, grinning as she cut in front of him. Cho was one of the only girls who played Quidditch in a skirt — the crowd down below couldn't see her panty flashes, her thighs clenched tight around her broomstick, but when she spread her knees high in the air, away from the crowd's view, it sure distracted her opponents.
"Chang." Harry said evenly, looking past her, searching for the glint of gold.
"Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell, heading for goal…" Lee said.
"How about we put some skin on the line?" Cho licked her lips. "Sweeten the pot?"
"Gryffindor scores!"
Harry gave her a once-over. Her blue polo shirt didn't stretch down to her skirt, exposing a slim midriff, and it wasn't buttoned up high either.
"What'd you have in mind?"
The Ravenclaw seeker blocked him as he tried to dive down to bat at the pass between the two Claw chasers. Harry scowled — Davies was a prick but he was the lead of a good trio of chasers, and Harry was meant to get in their way as much as he could
"Well…" Cho said slowly, tracing her finger down her throat. "How about if I win, I get to sit on your face."
Harry almost choked. In his mind, Mei Chang spluttered.
"And if you win, you get my face." Cho said, stroking her hair. "To do with as you like."
He studied her closely. Was she for real? "Thought you were going to give it all to your first wed?"
"Hopefully, I am." Cho raised a brow at him. "But I've had a letter from Father telling me that Lord Potter would be a suitable match."
Harry winced as Ron conceded an easy shot. "Oh?"
"Which, in dad-language, means I can do what I want to make it happen." Cho shrugged. "Before, Mother was giving me the green light and giving me leverage on Rita Skeeter but now I have Father too?" She winked at him. "The shackles are off."
"Do what you want, huh?"
Cho nodded as she tailed him in and around the Ravenclaw hoops, matching him pace-for-pace as he went fast and slow. His shoes trailed over the white hoops, taking some of the paint.
"And what I want is to sit on your face." She said bravely. "Whatever happens, I can tell my grandkids that I beat you in Quidditch and I perched like a queen on your face."
"That's a weird conversation to have with your grandkids." Harry quipped.
She floated above him and widened her thighs. He expected a flash of white panties but he saw only…petal pink.
Cho smirked at him. "Oops. Did I forget to wear anything?"
She had him distracted already, hardening in his robes, thinking of spreading her lush ass and holding her still while he tongue-fucked her pussy. Or of taking grip of her glossy black hair and sawing between her soft lips.
Fucking tease.
"Your daughter is a whore." Tom said unkindly.
"She's just being a pragmatist." He could almost feel Mei crossing her arms.
Focus, Harry.
Sometimes, the voice in his head sounded like Hermione.
If Cho wanted to play dirty, so could he.
He flew high into the sky, drifting into the white clouds that hid them from the crowds below. Up here in the misty white, it was called the Nimbulus Naughtiness, where Seekers kicked and punched one another where the referee couldn't see.
Ron had told him that, in the Macedonian League, a Seeker had even been stabbed in the clouds.
"I know what you're trying to do, Harry." Cho smirked as she followed. "Fly high and then dive down to get some space. It won't work, even on a Firebolt."
"You've got me all figured—" Harry pulled up alongside her and then reached out to snatch at her skirt, hard. The zip broke, the cloth tore — he was left holding her skirt. Cho gasped, gobsmacked, her pussy bare to the air.
"Very nice, Chang." He grinned as he leered at her — her fair skin, her supple behind, those thighs.
"What, Harry!" She snapped, cheeks reddening. "Y-you can't do this!"
"I hope Hooch considers your uniform regulation." He saluted. "Ciao!" He dove down out of the clouds, eager to use the time he'd bought for himself.
"Good." Tom murmured. "Rip away the thin garment of modern society and showcase their cowardice."
"Fuck off, Tom." He murmured. He dove down, feeling the sharp wind on his face, whistling through his ears. An outstretched leg clipped Davies' broom, ensuring he missed an easy catch from his fellow chaser Chambers.
"Gryffindor down by thirty but this one's gonna be decided by the seekers. Potter's causing havoc but where is Chang? She's still in the clouds! Seeker's love a birds-eye view but she's not winning a Snitch chase from up there!" Lee crowed.
Harry took a moment to fly by Ron, whose lip was bleeding from biting it so hard.
"Get it together, mate!" He yelled.
"My hands are cold!" Ron complained.
Harry rolled his eyes and hit him with a Warming Charm. Flying with a wand was against the rules but a Warming Charm emitted no light.
Harry caught a burst of movement from the crowd. Was it the snitch?
No - a huge blue Ravenclaw flag zoomed away from Luna Lovegood's hands, spinning high into the clouds.
Harry grinned.
A Summoning Spell - Cho had her wand too.
Sure enough, she descended from the clouds, wearing a brand new skirt of sorts, the flag fabric flapping as she descended, scowling.
"Chang's been changing outfits." Lee guffawed. "Now, I'm all for women being in the game but you wouldn't see a man do that—"
"Jordan!" McGonagall growled. "Get on with the commentary, not your half-witted gender takes!"
The Ravenclaw team wasn't distracted by their fashion-focused seeker. Bradley hid the ball behind his back and sneakily dropped it to Chambers, who hard-braked into a switch-hit, smacking the Quaffle with their broom into Roger Davies, who caught it more with his stomach than his hands.
Davies reached back with his long arms and threw it like a spear into Gryffindor's highest hoop.
It was ten points, until it wasn't — Ron jumped up from his broom, his toes pushing off the shaft completely, and used his forehead to head the Quaffle away.
"YES!" Dean screamed from the crowd. "Just like in football!"
"Weasley saves!" Lee cried. "Weasley says red hair, don't care as he does a beautiful standing spear jump save! Even Wood didn't do that one!"
Harry gave his friend a thumbs up. Cho Chang settled in next to him. "Dirty move, Potter." She glared.
"Are you wet, Chang?" He answered, barrel-rolling away. This time, she seemed more wary of following him so closely.
The game sped on, the intensity high. The Gryffindor girls were a well-oiled unit, the best in the castle, but the new Beaters were dragging them down.
Sloper and Kirke were full of enthusiasm but short on flying talent. Kirke actually shrieked when Chambers flew at him, almost falling from his broomstick.
"Even the Cannons wouldn't hire these two." Lee bemoaned. "The twins are rolling in their graves — excuse me, their big piles of money. Umbridge has a lot to answer for."
"Hear, hear." McGonagall muttered beside him.
Harry was struggling — he didn't know how good the twins were until they were gone. The Ravenclaw Beaters were taking full advantage — Inglebee elbowed him hard, while Samuels smacked a Bludger that grazed his hair.
They didn't stop there.
He'd lost Chang as a tail, but gained Inglebee — the grinning boy held his broom still for his Beater friend to smash Bludgers at him.
"Fuck off!" Harry growled, kicking his leg out to send the boy spinning. He heard the Bludger more than saw it, instinctively sliding down into a sloth-hold under the broom.
WHOOSH!
He saw the Bludger zoom past to the stadium stands and then jerk oddly into the crowd.
A sickening crunch. A flash of red hair.
The crowd gasped.
Harry righted himself on the broom.
"Oof!" Lee shrieked. "Bludger on Badger action! Crowd casualty! Susan Bones is down!"
Harry blinked and through the mass of bodies, he could see the unconscious girl. Teeth missing from her jaw, her nose angled oddly, face coated in blood pouring from both nostrils.
Pomona Sprout levitated Susan into the air to try and get her away from the mass of bodies, but it only served to give everyone a good look at her limp body.
"Youch!" Lee said. "That's a lot of blood. That's Quidditch folks — Bludgers are mean old things. We wish her the best — heal her up good, Madam Pomfrey!"
Harry found the Slytherin section of the crowd, his eyes meeting Daphne's, anger boiling up in his stomach.
She shook her head minutely, her eyes wide and pleading.
It wasn't me, she said without saying.
He frowned. That Bludger had been smacked in Susan's general direction but it had taken a strange dip at the last second.
"Eyes on the prize, Harry!" Alicia shouted at him.
The match didn't get any better.
The Gryffindor beaters began to tire, unused to the strains of Quidditch. Sloper thumped a Bludger at Cho but only ended up cracking into Alicia's shoulder. Kirke tried to ram Davies off his broom, but he sent both their brooms colliding into Angelina as the girl neared the Claw's hoops.
In a matter of minutes, they were a hundred points down.
"Gryffindor are blowing up and facing a blow-out here." Lee worried. "Like a lonely widow, they need some Harry Potter action!"
"JORDAN!" McGonagall screeched.
Lee wasn't wrong, Harry thought. He needed to catch the snitch fast.
He rose up high above the action, floating up the altitude known as The Observatory — the best place to find a glimpse of the Snitch.
Cho was being careful — she was far below, staying in and amongst the action, tugging on Katie's broomstick, cutting in front of Angelina.
But when that glint of gold came, his stomach dropped.
It was far away, on the other side of the pitch, next to the Ravenclaw hoops. Worst of all, it was low and near Cho.
She'd see it soon.
She was nearer.
But he had to try. He abandoned any pretense, pressed low to his Firebolt, pushing it hard and fast.
"Katie Bell has the Quaffle and she's racing towards the Ravenclaw hoops — oh, they've both spotted the Snitch!" Lee yelled, all too soon.
Chang was turning, and Harry was still far too high. The game played out beneath him, the players moving like figures on a board. The Firebolt couldn't dive fast enough…
But maybe he could.
"Fuck it." He murmured. He let his fingers unclench from the broomstick, his knees slipping. He rolled free, weightless, dropping through the sky like a stone.
"Potter's free-falling!" Lee screamed.
The crowd screamed with him.
"Harry's got a death wish!" Lee howled.
Harry had something better.
A target.
He smashed down on the back of Katie's broom, toppling back. Something crunched. His tailbone seized up in pain and he damn near pulled Katie's scalp off as his hands tangled in her hair, but he was down.
He'd made it.
"What a move! Potter drops like Lady Malfoy's knickers!" Lee said gleefully.
To her credit, Katie knew the plan immediately, jetting forward like a rocket.
"Faster, faster." Harry chanted, feeling useless.
The hoops were close. Their Keeper, Grant Page, was bewildered, his eyes wide as Katie and Harry sped towards him. But behind him, behind the hoops, Cho was almost in arms reach of the Snitch as it zig-zagged away from her.
"Katie, one shot!" Harry warned.
"I got it!" She growled.
He ducked down as she reared back, Quaffle in hand.
She launched it like an arrow…arcing past Page's hand…through the hoop.
And smacking right into the Snitch.
The walnut-sized winged ball was smacked away, knocked out of Cho's closing fingers. It zagged and jagged angrily, up, down, left, right, like a bee swatted.
"You've never seen anything like it!" Lee Jordan hollered. "Bell and Potter on one broom and Bell smacks the Snitch out of Chang's hands! You've got to close your claws quicker than that, Cho!"
All eyes on the Snitch. It zapped around the hoops, darting in and out like it was scoring points.
All eyes on the Seekers. They were both close — but Cho had a broom.
"Agh!" Page flinched. Katie jerked them into a high climb to avoid crashing into the Ravenclaw keeper — Harry felt his toes brushing the boy's hair.
But flying high meant the Snitch was getting further, because it was still swimming around the hoops, and Cho was catching up, tailing the sphere's every movement, her flying impeccable.
Harry snarled. Weighed down with two bodies, he and Katie wasn't winning any Seeker battles.
His eyes laser-locked to the Snitch.
He saw its movement. He saw the pattern. It was playing with Cho, in and out of the different hoops.
Like he was in the mindscape again, seeing the future with the Qilin's blood on his hands, he saw.
And then he jumped.
Cold wind. Hot blood.
Time stopped. The grass below stretched out to an endless, looping void. The crowd noise disappeared.
Cho's arm reached out.
He was on the wrong side of the hoops, the circular window to his failure.
No.
He couldn't — wouldn't — lose.
Fingers on the white paint. Grip tight. Muscles burning.
He swung himself through the hoop and into Cho's arm, knocking it away just as she was closing her fingers.
His right arm snatched out desperately, grabbing hers. For a eternal moment, their eyes met in mid-air, his bicep burning, a tendon snapping, and then, a blink later, he swung into position.
Behind her.
On her broom.
"Ha haaa!" yelled Lee Jordan. "The biggest balls in Britain, Harry Potter! I thought Goyle was the only monkey-brain in Hogwarts, but did you see that swinging?!"
Cho elbowed him hard. "What the fuck was that, Potter?" She glared.
He grinned, dazed, arms around her waist. "First a look at your pretty pussy and now a ride, Chang, it's a dream come true."
Harry gazed around. Madam Hooch had her whistle to her lips, as if trying to remember a Quidditch rule that made this illegal, but it had never been done.
Two seekers, one broom.
Davies was screaming at Hooch, his face red, the game forgotten.
Cho elbowed him again. "Get the fuck off, Potter, find your own broom!"
"Most entertaining." Cho's mother said in his mind.
Metres ahead, the Snitch buzzed, vibrating like it was laughing at them.
Cho forced the broom forward, but Harry hooked his arms under hers, preventing her from reaching forward. He'd fucked Apolline like this, once.
"Would you stop—" She spluttered.
He had her arms pinned but he couldn't reach out himself. Their broom flew closer.
A puzzle — if he let go, she was closer.
Cho squirmed, trying to wrestle free, every writhe of her body making her ass wriggle against his crotch. Her flag-skirt to cover her bare pussy, pinned by conjured safety-pins.
She'd foregone panties to throw him off his game.
He'd make it cost her.
He let go of her arms and instantly ripped the safety-pins off her flag skirt.
"No!" She shrieked, her hands coming down to hold her skirt in place.
His chance. Harry jumped smoothly into a standing stance, arms out for balance. His knee on Cho's shoulder as he reached forward.
She tried to jerk the broom into a dive with her thighs.
Too late.
His fingers closed around the Snitch.
"Potter grabs the Snitch from Chang's broom!" Lee cried. "What was she doing? Gryffindor goes wild!"
"YES!" Harry roared, the Snitch held tight in his hand, wings beating against his palm. The stadium exploded, crowd louder than a thousand dragons.
Cho let out a feral growl, seething.
Katie was speeding towards him, open-mouthed, and she was followed by Alicia and Angelina thumping into them. Cho was enveloped by their many-armed hug, the odd one out, the loser in a pile of winners as they sank down to the ground.
"That was unbelievable!" Ron beat his back.
"I hate you, Potter." Cho growled as she peeled herself free.
He wiggled his eyebrows. "Don't want to make good on the bet tonight?"
"I'd rather die!" She stomped her foot and stalked off.
"Some of the most daring flying I've seen since Krum—" Lee was saying, but the crowd wasn't listening, piling onto the pitch.
Hands thumping his back, a wave of crimson flags and scarfs and robes. Hannah jumping up and down excitedly, while Hermione just looked pale-faced and relieved.
"I can't believe you jumped—" Angelina squeezed his cheek.
"I thought you were dead." Alicia fretted.
"What if you'd missed my broom?" Katie demanded, poking his hip. "I had to hard-stop!"
Harry grinned, arm around her shoulder. "We make a good team, eh?"
Ron looked faint. "This could change anything. A Chaser-Seeker duo. Gravity is faster than brooms, of course! Professional teams will look at this—" He said to himself.
"What was Cho doing?" Katie exclaimed.
He shrugged in response, watching the girl trudge off the field. She'd get over it.
He let a lazy smirk coil across his lips. "I think she just wanted to show off the Ravenclaw flag."
Katie pressed closer to his side, her smile mischievous, her fingers sliding into his robes for a half-second. "Someone should have told her you can't hoist a flag without a big pole."
###
It felt like they'd won the Quidditch Cup already. The party went late into the night. Lee Jordan disappeared with Seamus and came back like the twins used to do; carrying crates of butterbeer and pumpkin fizz, half of Honeydukes and a couple of bottles of Firewhiskey for the later hours.
Hermione pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You were amazing." She said softly. "Please don't do that again."
"I won't."
Her eyes flitted to Katie Bell, who was already sitting on the sofa, holding the mega-blanket out. "Once, seeing you mess with her under the blanket made me cry all night."
Harry looked at her hesitantly.
She sighed. "Now I want you to break in the silly girl so you get more powerful." She patted his cheek lovingly. "What did you do to me, huh?"
"Loved you?"
Hermione fluttered her eyelashes. "I'm going to bed early. Come wake me up if you don't get lucky."
Harry swallowed. Sometimes he couldn't believe his luck.
She leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "I took one of those big Gryffindor flags. Hopefully it will keep me warm tonight, because I can't find my pajamas."
She gave him a saucy smile and sauntered up the stairs.
Harry scratched his head as he joined Katie on the sofa. Hermione never ceased to surprise him. Around the fireplace, they were still talking about the match.
"I can't believe poor Susan." Angelina said, her eyes bright and tipsy.
"Bludgers can act so weird." Ginny murmured.
"They're bewitched to attack players, not fans." Alicia frowned.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked. "Samuels hit it at Harry, Harry dodged it so it went into the crowd. Could happen to anyone."
Alicia sipped her butterbeer. "The trajectory looked off to me."
Ginny shrugged. "I didn't see anything. She shoulda ducked quicker."
"Ginny!" Ron chastised.
"I'm just saying."
"I hope she'll be okay. Susan's so nice," said Neville.
"Pomfrey will patch her up." Harry said confidently.
Ginny took a long swig of her bottle, expression sour. "Best-looking redhead." She sniffed.
Harry was distracted by Katie next to him, but more so by the voices in his head.
"Take her. A virgin bleeds so beautifully." Tom whispered.
"Western women are so shameless." Mei murmured, ignoring her own daughter's behaviour.
Harry swallowed. Deflowering Katie seemed like a perfect way to end the day. The victory trophy. He felt invincible, his hand caressing her bare thigh.
She was stiff, her fingernails digging into his arm, but she said nothing.
"The team looked a bit off today." Ginny said.
Angelina sighed. "It's Kirke and Sloper. They're doing their best, I shouldn't complain."
"Whole new team next year." Ginny said bravely. "Since you and Alicia are leaving school."
Angelina nodded. "Katie will have to play lead chaser."
Harry stroked a little higher up the brunette girl's toned, athletic thighs. She'd changed into a skirt — maybe she'd changed panties too. Maybe she wasn't wearing any, like Cho.
But when his wandering fingers trailed over her pussy to find wet cotton, she clutched his wrist tightly.
"Behave, Harry." She whispered. "I'm not that sort of girl."
Harry opened and shut his mouth. "But—"
She frowned at him. "I'm not just a girl for celebrating with, Harry."
"I know that." He said, giving her a warm smile.
"Do you? You've barely said a word to me since that…since that day at Hogsmeade."
Tom hissed. "Power is the only consent you need. Take her."
Harry held his aching head. "I-I'm sorry, I've had a lot going on."
"I know you have." She said, biting her lip. Her hand covered his. "And you always will."
He paused, trying to search for the right thing to say, as the voices in his head told him all the wrong things.
"Offer her your feet to kneel at." Tom said.
"My husband gave me a jade hairpin when he courted me," said Mei.
"I thought you, uh, wanted some fun." Harry said, wincing as he said it.
"I did." She gave him a sad smile. "I'm not looking for the one. And I knew I wouldn't be your number one. I was okay with that."
"But—"
Her thumb rubbed his hand. "But can you look me in the eyes and tell me I'd rank in your top five? That you'd think of me even once a day?"
Tom burned with rage. "A presumptuous whore thinks she can demand our affections?"
Please shut the fuck up.
But it was too late. He'd said nothing when he needed to.
Katie sniffed. Her chin trembled. "That's what I thought."
Then she was gone. He was left holding his head, looking a fool.
"What's with her?" Ginny wrinkled her nose. She stood up and shivered theatrically. "It's a bit cold—"
The portrait hole opened to the common room. Tonks tripped as she entered, thumping into the carpet. "Whoops!" She giggled, bouncing to her feet before any of the eager boys could assist.
'Dora Tomkins' was popular because she she bounced a lot, a clumsy mess of long legs, jiggling tits and a rounded ass. "Ooh, free spot on the sofa!" She cried, diving across his lap into the seat Ginny was about to take.
Harry found himself with Tonks' ass in his lap, her skirt breezing dangerously high, a glimpse of cute pink panties, before she swivelled her legs away and down.
"Sorry, Harry." She said brightly.
"Hi, Dora."
"This castle produces an unending line of gormless whores." Tom remarked.
Harry wasn't getting his hopes up — Tonks had been firmly ignoring any of his attempts since she'd started shadowing him. Coming out of the shower in just a towel, showing off his magic, dropping said towel…the Auror was professional to the end.
Except now, her thigh against his, her hand on his leg.
He leaned over. "I'm not sure there's any threats to me here, Tonks." He whispered.
She wiggled her eyebrows and tossed back her famous hair. Long and glossy magazine hair, roots of bright mauve, streaks of teal blue and the rest a peachy-pink. "Who says I'm on the clock?" She whispered back.
Parvati walked by the sofa and waved cutely. "Goodnight, Harry." She brushed back her long sleek black hair.
"Goodnight, Parvati."
"She'd be a good acquisition." Tom said silkily. "She must be used to serving an Empire."
Harry groaned out loud. He could fuck the racism out of Daphne — that wasn't an option for the voice in his head.
Dora rested her head on his shoulder.
I 'm going to have a breakdown.
Tonks was acting weird. Ginny was giving him the crazy-eyes, fidgeting like a drug addict. Alicia and Angelina were giving him nasty glares.
He blew out a long breath. How did those that juggled multiple girls do it? Dudley had called them players. He didn't feel like a player — he felt like Ron's owl Pigwidgeon in an arena with dragons.
"You were so amazing out there." Dora crooned. "I wish I had that coordination." Her hand settled on his crotch. "I'm all fingers and thumbs."
Ginny crossed her arms. "Everyone knew early on that Harry could go professional." She gave Dora a withering glare. "He shouldn't though — too many brainless fangirls with big chests and no brains."
Dora looked like she was holding in a laugh. Harry wasn't sure that the petite redhead was aware that Dora was actually Auror Tonks — he'd told Ron and Hermione to keep it quiet. "You're right, Harry's too important for Quidditch." She said breezily. "I bet he'll join the Aurors and fight against evil." She turned to him. "They work in pairs, you know."
Harry kept his mouth firmly shut — he knew better than to get involved in a cat fight.
Ginny pursed her lips. "Politics is where Harry belongs. It's all about image, though." She gave a very long glance at Dora's chest, which was struggling against her tight blouse. "Respectability."
Dora looked down at her own tits. "The future's a long way away, isn't it?" She gave Harry a sultry glance — he was sure her eyelashes grew. "When you're at school, people expect you to play."
Ginny stood up abruptly and tripped on the edge of the chess table.
"Oh, shit—" Her beer spilled over Dora's white blouse. "I'm so sorry, Dora," said the redhead, though she didn't look sorry at all.
Tonks giggled, wiping herself clean. "Oops, that's okay! Oh, I'm all wet." She pouted. "Harry, can you see through this?"
Harry stuttered. Dora's blouse was very much now see-through, revealing her large creamy tits and pink nipples.
Was this his chance? Ginny's glaring gaze felt like Crucio's on his skin, but a chance at the Metamorphmagus was too good to turn down.
It seemed too easy…
"Fuck her." Tom begged. "Make her turn into the shapes of our enemies and ruin her."
"Perhaps she could morph herself into someone respectable." Mei mused.
Steps on the stairwell. Hermione appeared, barefoot and cute in just his oversized jumper.
Harry was saved from answering as his bushy-haired friend leaned over the sofa and whispered in his ear.
"Sorry to interrupt, I just thought of something." Her breath was hot in his ear. "I did promise you that I'd deliver you Susan."
"Huh?"
She bit her lip. "I made some good progress earlier but right now, she's in the Hospital Wing with a broken face, wondering if the guy who proposed to her actually cares enough to visit."
Harry looked at her and then at Ginny and then at Tonks. Dora was holding her tits up and trying to lick the beer off. Ginny had steam coming out of her ears.
"But…"
Hermione patted his shoulder without sympathy. "Long-term thinking, Harry."
He threw his head back. "Fuck my life."
###
"Stupid Katie." Harry grumbled as he crept towards the Hospital Wing under his Invisibility Cloak. "Stupid Dora. Stupid Ginny. Stupid cockblocking—"
"Do not concern yourself with these mindless peons." Tom advised.
"Fuck off, Tom." Harry growled. "I would have had her if you didn't interrupt with your stupid advice."
He pinched his nose again, realizing he was talking to himself in the middle of a Hogwarts corridor.
He pushed through the Hospital Wing doors.
Susan was wide awake, staring at the ceiling. She was a mess, her nose at a side angle, teeth missing from a red gummy mouth, cheekbones purple and broken.
But Hermione was right — her eyes lit up when she saw him. "I didn't think you'd come." She said softly. The moonlight was pouring through the windows, reflecting off the stack of silver bowls on her bedside window — one bowl held the teeth she'd lost.
In the quiet of the night, the moment was intimate.
"Of course I'd come." Harry lied. He would have visited tomorrow, after spending the night ringing Katie's bell. "Sorry, Susie, it took me a little while to escape the party. I kept trying to."
She squeezed his hand when he took hers, wincing as he examined her. "Not so pretty now, huh?"
Harry took a seat next to her. "Nonsense — girls without teeth are a big trend right now."
Susan raised an eyebrow. "From what Hannah tells me, it might help a girl with you."
He choked out a laugh. "Susan!"
She laughed, her whole body heaving until the laughter turned to tears that she tried to wipe away, sobs wracking her frame.
"Hey, hey," Harry shifted to her bed, holding her shoulder. "You're okay. Pomfrey'll make you good as new again. Better even. You think I was always this good looking?"
Susan sniffed, blinking away the tears. "Who did it, Harry? Bludgers don't do that."
His smile dissipated. "I don't know. I'm looking, promise."
She wiped at her nose. "It-it's not one of your little schemes, is it? Auntie Amelia said you were dangerous."
His insides froze. That she'd even think that showed how large the rift had grown between them. Worst of all, she might not have even been wrong.
He'd told the girls he needed Susan. Would Daphne have done this? Would Hermione, even, if she thought it would please him?
"Hand on my heart," He said earnestly. "I don't know anything about it. I'd never want to hurt you, sweetheart."
"I-I know, I just…I don't know, I don't know why I asked." Susan sniffled. "I just…I feel so alone."
"I know, beautiful." Harry told her softly. "That's why I'm here. Here, budge up a little. Is there space in there for me?"
"Really, Harry?"
"Just for a cuddle, promise. You need it."
"I don't trust you one bit." She said, but her lips turned up. "That's probably how you got Hannah. No chance."
Harry hummed in thought. He took one of the silver bowls on her bedside table and ran his wand across it, Transfiguring it into a belt.
A belt across his groin. "There, look." He said triumphantly. "Chastity belt!"
She giggled. "You're too much."
"Lemme in." He squeezed under the sheets, pushing her across.
"I'm a patient, you know!"
"And I'm a cuddly doctor. There," He wiggled his toes happily. "This is nice, right?"
Susan was still like a corpse but she was smiling. "Sure, if you say so."
"Hey, did you figure out how far you're gonna have your teeth regrown? Last year, Hermione had them accidentally regrown smaller."
"I knew it!" The redhead exclaimed. "That sneaky bitch. I swear her boobs are bigger too."
Harry said nothing to that — he was pretty sure that was the result of pumping a lake full of cum into her.
Susan wriggled into his warm embrace. "Thought I could keep you out of my bed." She said sleepily.
He snorted. "Never. How are you doing these days?"
"Utterly bored at people asking me how I am." She said flatly. "How about you? Being Harry Potter looks like a tremendous amount of work."
Harry stared up at the ceiling. He'd forgotten Susan was more than just a powerful stacked redhead that he desperately wanted to fuck — she was also intelligent and witty.
Mei rolled her eyes in his head. "Women are people too, amazing."
"Well," he thought about Tonks. "I think everyone is trying to manipulate me." He thought about Ginny. "I think girls are trying to eat me, possibly literally."
"You are too bony to taste good." Tom interjected.
"And I think Dark Lords will be the death of me, physically and mentally." Harry finished. "And I have so much going in my head that I can't sleep."
Susan joined his ceiling stare-down. "Well, least you have a full set of teeth."
"There is that. And I'm in bed with a pretty girl, so I can't really complain."
"Mmm, somehow, you are." She teased. "Thankfully, you're wearing a chastity belt. I just need to put your hands in cuffs and then I'll feel safe."
He turned his cheek to face her. "That still leaves my silver tongue." He let his Parseltongue out to flicker wildly against her cheek.
"Harry!" She giggled, cheeks red. "Hannah's told me about it."
"Oh?" Harry said, interested. "Girls talk, do they?"
"Yes, girls talk and no, you're not hearing any more of it. Goodnight, Harry." She turned away, yawning theatrically.
"Hannah talks to me too, y'know."
"Goodnight, Harry."
He paused for a long time, listening to the cycle of her breath. He leaned closer, watching the goosebumps form on her neck. "Hannah's pretty good with her tongue, isn't she?"
"Harry!"