Ch 15
His body still felt far too tender for his liking, but he supposed he deserved it. Fighting Voldemort had been a foolish choice. No matter how much progress he'd made since the start of this year, Voldemort had years of magical experience on top of him. Voldemort had gotten under his skin, made him angry, and now he was paying the price for it.
It was a harsh lesson, one that he deserved to learn. He'd nearly died that day. If it hadn't been for that fire he'd created…
A flash of darkness shot through him at the memory of those violent, destructive flames. How many had died to them? One? Five? Ten? Harry didn't know.
A part of him felt that they deserved death. They were followers of Voldemort, and it had been a life-or-death situation for Harry. Another part of him chastised himself. Death was finality. It was dark and horrific. He didn't want to be the bringer of death.
But without his actions, those Death Eaters might have gone on to do worse down the line. It was impossible to predict the ripple effect his actions would have, but he liked to think that the deaths of those Death Eaters would mean that more innocent people would survive whatever was to come.
Now that Voldemort was back, there would be war again. He might lie low for a time, reconvening his forces and licking his wounds from the losses he suffered at the graveyard, but he'd come back one day. The First Wizarding War had been Voldemort attempting to wrestle control over the Ministry and society at large. His goals hadn't changed, as far as Harry knew. War was brewing, and Harry had to be ready for it.
Unfortunately, he wasn't quite ready for it yet.
"Careful," Astoria said with concern in her voice as Harry hissed loudly. He'd refused to let them levitate him up to the Headmaster's Office like they'd suggested. He wanted to walk on his own two feet, but he was somewhat regretting that decision now. Every step sent a jolt of pain through his body, and his shoulder ached something fierce.
"I am," Harry replied. He cringed at how short he sounded with her. It wasn't her fault that he was hurt, and he should be grateful that someone cared for him and his health. An apology was on his lips, but they'd already reached the stone gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's Office. Astoria left his side and approached the ugly creation.
"Jelly Slugs," Astoria called out.
The gargoyle leapt aside, allowing them passage up through the spiral staircase.
Harry hobbled over to Astoria's side. The staircase looked daunting given his current state, but he knew that he could make it.
"Do you want any help?" Astoria offered.
As much as he wanted to reject her offer out of sheer pride, he still felt bad for being short with her. She was doing her best to help him through this, and he didn't need to take out his frustrations on her, especially after she and Daphne helped keep him safe from Barty Crouch Jr.
"Please," he said politely.
Astoria seemed quite happy to wrap his arm around herself and allow him to lean on her for support. Together, they slowly made their way up the staircase.
The Headmaster's Office felt… different now. When he was younger, he'd been amazed by all of the strange artefacts, magical devices, and dozens of portraits covering the walls. Now, it all felt hollow. It seemed so unimportant compared to the horrific reality that Voldemort was back. The only bright spot about the entire office was Daphne's presence.
She rushed to his side the second he stepped inside and wrapped him up in a tight hug. Despite it hurting, he didn't stop her. She deserved this and more for how supportive and protective she'd been with him throughout all of this.
"How are you feeling?" She asked him as she pulled back.
"Fine," he lied. His body hurt and he just wanted to lie down back in bed, but there was travelling to do first.
"He's not fine," Astoria told her sister. "He's been hurting the entire walk over here."
Harry had to bite his tongue to stop himself from snapping at her. Even if she noticed this, she didn't need to tell everyone.
Merlin, why was he so angry? From the moment he'd awoken, he'd had this underlying anger inside of him that burned endlessly. No, the anger had been there before. Ever since he cast that fire magic, there's been an anger that had taken a deep root inside of him.
He needed to get a grip.
The other occupant of the room cleared her throat. Professor McGonagall stepped forward, concern radiating throughout her body language.
"Mr Potter, if you need to stay another day and have Madam Pomfrey look over you—" She began.
"No," Harry interrupted her. "I'm fine. Please, I just want to go with Astoria and Daphne."
Professor McGonagall didn't look entirely convinced, but she didn't seem keen on arguing with him either. He must have made for quite the sorry sight if she wasn't willing to exude that stern persona she normally had.
"Of course," she replied quickly. "The floo has been opened for the next few minutes for you to leave. I'm sorry that Professor Dumbledore isn't here to see you off, but he's been caught with that unfortunate business at the Ministry about Barty Crouch Jr."
Harry only knew what little Astoria and Daphne had been able to explain to him about the situation, but what he knew was more than enough to leave him with yet another frustration over the fact that he hadn't realised that something was off with the man sooner.
"Right," Harry muttered. "Well, let's get going then."
"Before you do," Professor McGonagall stopped him. "Professor Dumbledore wished for me to inform you that he is planning to visit you in the coming days. He's deeply concerned about you, and he wants to make sure that whatever ordeal you underwent is handled appropriately."
The curiosity in her eyes was evident. Since waking up, Harry hadn't said a word about what had happened to him. It'd been difficult enough coming to terms with it himself. He needed time before he could explain it all fully.
The screams of the dying Death Eaters still echoed through his mind. How was he going to tell Astoria and Daphne that he'd killed people?
He didn't have anything to say back to Professor McGonagall, so after another worried look, she stepped aside and allowed him passage to the fireplace.
His things were already waiting there alongside Astoria and Daphne's. Daphne hurried forward to get the floo ready while Astoria stayed back to help Harry walk forward. He accepted her help and crossed the room to the floo.
"Greengrass Manor," Daphne said as she threw the powder into the flames.
"Be well, Harry," Professor McGonagall said softly, breaking her normal, professional vernacular. "I hope to see you again in the fall."
"So do I, Professor," Harry replied as he, Astoria, and Daphne stepped through into the flames.
Greengrass Manor looked exactly as Harry remembered. He realised that much couldn't have changed in the couple of months since he'd last been here, but things felt so different now that he'd been expecting all sorts of changes where none would be found.
They were spat out of the fireplace into the entry hall by the grand fountain, which was glistening as sunlight shined in from the large windows nearby. As soon as Harry stepped out of the flames, tremors wracked his body. Madam Pomfrey had warned him that these would come if he ever pushed his body too much, but he'd been too stubborn to put much stock in her words. He dropped to one knee as Astoria and Daphne both cried out in surprise and tried to help him up.
"Sorry, I'm pretty clumsy with the floo," Harry lied, laughing it off and subtly grabbing his still-shaking hand to keep it steady.
"You need to be more careful," Daphne chastised him lightly. "You're still on the mend, and I don't want you getting any worse than you already are."
It struck him how different Astoria and Daphne had treated him while he was injured. Astoria was all about being as caring, gentle, and supportive as possible. She never pushed him to accept her help and easily accepted whatever lies he told her as truth. Daphne, on the other hand, was like a stern mother who saw through his every lie and insisted on helping him, even if he didn't want it.
"I know," Harry replied as he got back up to his feet. At least his legs weren't shaking now, but he didn't know how long that was going to last for.
"Let's get you settled upstairs," Astoria suggested gently. "You can rest up there—"
Harry wanted to protest his need for rest even though he so desperately needed it, but any words he had fell to the wayside when Anastasia and Cyrus Greengrass walked into the entry hall.
An awkward air filled the room as the two sides just stared at one another. Anastasia had a cold pout on her lips as she saw both of her daughters helping to hold Harry up while Cyrus had an uncomfortable grimace on his lips.
"Welcome home girls… and Harry," Cyrus said slowly. "We… we're glad to have to have you back home." He kept pausing like he was trying to find the right way to phrase everything.
"We're glad to be home," Daphne replied gently. There was sincerity in her voice but also an undercurrent of something… more. The issues that had cropped up the last time they were here hadn't been fully resolved yet, and it left an uncomfortableness in the air.
Silence returned, and another tremor suddenly wracked Harry's body. This time, both Astoria and Daphne felt it, and concern overtook their expressions.
"We should go upstairs," Astoria murmured quietly.
"We've prepared a guest room—" Cyrus began, but Daphne cut him off.
"He'll be staying in our rooms while he's here," she stated firmly, leaving no room for argument. "We need to keep a close eye on him while he's recovering."
"That isn't proper," Anastasia finally spoke.
"Neither is trying to break up Harry and Astoria, so we'll just call it tit-for-tat and leave it at that," Daphne retorted, not unkind in her tone.
Fury flared in Anastasia's eyes, but Cyrus quickly put a comforting arm on her shoulder. "That's fine, girls," he told them.
It was clear that Daphne and Astoria were both surprised at his quick acceptance, but neither of them were willing to look a gift horse in the mouth. As they helped Harry past them, they both glanced over at Anastasia to see if she'd do or say anything to stop them, but to their surprise, her lips were pressed into a fine line.
Harry did his best to manage by himself as much as he could, but he quickly found himself leaning more and more on Daphne and Astoria for support. Still, he wasn't willing to let them levitate him.
The stairs proved a challenge, but once they were up on the second floor, it was easy. Rather than guide him down towards the east wing where his guest bedroom had been previously, they took him to the west wing of the manor where the family's rooms were.
The decorations and portraits on the walls became more ostentatious in this private section of the manor, but there were also glimpses of family there too. There was a portrait of a younger Daphne, perhaps when she was ten or so, twirling around and dancing with a smile on her face while Astoria and their parents clapped politely in the background. Another portrait showed all four of them together with bright smiles on their lips, at least until the Astoria in the portrait—who looked to be only five or six—suddenly squished Daphne in a massive hug that sent the two of them tumbling off of their parents' laps and onto the floor. The four figures in the portrait laughed together and then resettled back into position before the sequence replayed.
"We were happy back then," Daphne sighed wistfully as they passed by the portrait. "And then mother and father started separating us, and before long, I was spending weeks and even months at a time in Europe visiting countless pure-blood families to make an impression on them and potentially marry one of their sons in the future. I guess I was lucky that I never found anyone that I truly connected with. Our parents wouldn't force me into an unhappy marriage."
"That was… decent of them," Harry said awkwardly.
"Better than decent by most pure-blood standards in Europe," Daphne corrected him. "There's still quite a few families who just try to sell off their daughters to the highest bidder, regardless of their feelings on the matter."
Astoria suddenly snorted. "I bet they were mad that they had to cancel your summer tour of Europe."
Harry's ears perked up. He hadn't heard about this.
Daphne noticed Harry's interest and quickly filled him in. "Before you came over and made quite the impression, my parents and I were still planning out my yearly trip through Europe. We were set to spend a couple weeks each in Prague, Hamburg, Riga, and throughout the Bulgarian countryside, culminating in a final visit to Liechtenstein."
"Sounds like quite the whirlwind tour," Harry commented.
"It would have been," Daphne smiled at him. "But then I forced them to cancel it all once Astoria and I agreed to share you."
"We'll have to make some better memories for you in Europe other than spending time trying to find a husband," Astoria said. "Maybe we can go on our own trip, just the three of us?"
That sounded wonderful…
If only Voldemort wasn't back.
"Maybe," Harry smiled, but it came out like more of a grimace.
It was a short walk down to the corridor that held Astoria's room. Although her room used to be next to Daphne's when they were younger, her parents moved it to a separate corridor to make it harder for the two of them to sneak in to visit each other in the night.
Astoria hurriedly opened the door, and Harry was surprised to see just how distinct it was from the guest bedroom. Unlike her family's namesake, Astoria had never been a massive plant or Herbology lover; she loved books and reading and charms, and her room reflected that.
Tall bookshelves, running from floor to ceiling, lined two of the four walls of her room. They were absolutely stuffed full of books, both older tomes and new ones. There was the occasional potted plant placed upon the shelves, but they were easy-to-maintain plants like succulents and cacti. Her bed had soft, pastel-pink bedsheets and a violet-coloured canopy and sheer curtains that were embroidered with ivy designs. Already, his and Astoria's trunks were both placed at the foot of her bed. There was a little reading nook beside a massive window that overlooked the setting sun each night and the endless fields beyond the manor.
It was a beautiful room and fit Astoria perfectly.
"Let's get you in bed," Astoria said as she came back over to help stabilise Harry.
"Thanks," Harry replied as he made it the last few steps over to the bed. As soon as his knees hit the soft mattress, his body pitched forward, and he collapsed onto the bed. His body was exhausted, and he couldn't even be bothered to get under the covers.
Luckily, Astoria and Daphne were there for him. They pulled off his shoes and helped him get out of his robes, leaving him in only his underwear. They tried to get him into some sleepwear, but Harry was too tired to bother. He just slipped under the covers and passed out almost instantly, barely feeling Astoria and Daphne climb in on either side of him.
"Harry?"
Slowly, he stirred awake. The first thing he saw was the massive window and the sunlight streaming in. It was the morning again. He must have slept through the night. He was still in Astoria's bed, but his girls weren't lying next to him anymore.
"Harry?"
Awareness flooded Harry's mind suddenly and his gaze snapped over to Astoria. She was standing next to her bed, right beside a chair that had a closed book on it. She'd gotten changed out of her school robes into some more casual, summery, yellow ones that brought out the colour of her big, brown eyes.
"Yeah?" His voice was scratchy from sleeping for so long.
"Professor Dumbledore's here to see you," Astoria said tentatively. "He's been… insistent that he hears about what happened to you."
He could see the curiosity in her eyes as she spoke. It had quickly become clear to him that no one knew what had actually happened to him in that maze—though he wondered if Dumbledore might have an idea. He could only imagine what crazy rumours the Daily Prophet was reporting on.
"I'll go see him," Harry replied as he made to get out of bed.
"No," Astoria pushed down on his chest, and Harry didn't have the strength to resist. He fell back onto the comfy bed and nestled his head back into the pillows. "I'll bring him here to talk to you. You still need to rest."
"Could you bring Daphne too? And some water?" Harry asked her as he cleared his throat again. He figured it'd be best to explain everything to everyone all at once.
"Sure," Astoria smiled at him. She bent over and placed a kiss on his forehead before heading out the door.
Harry rubbed his eyes clear from sleep and glanced around the room. It was clear that Astoria had started unpacking her things. Her wand and schoolbooks were neatly organised atop her desk while her uniforms looked like they'd been freshly washed and dried and were now ready to be put away. Some of his things had been set out too, like his wand and casual clothes. They were stacked together on a small table on the other side of Astoria's bed.
The windows were open, letting in a nice, flowery breeze. Harry breathed it in deeply.
It felt peaceful here, which was just what he needed if he was going to recover properly.
He closed his eyes for what felt like only a second, but was definitely much longer, when Dumbledore arrived.
"Harry," Dumbledore's voice sounded softly as he reached the threshold into Astoria's room. "You have no idea just how good it makes an old man feel to see you awake and alive after the ordeal that you went through under my watch. I do wish to sincerely apologise for everything that's befallen you during the Triwizard Tournament, but it makes me tremendously proud to see how you've managed to persevere through it all."
He stepped into the room, followed close behind by Daphne and Astoria. Astoria hurried to his side with a glass of water, which Harry eagerly drank from to clear his parched throat.
"Thank you," he murmured to Astoria before he turned his attention back to the Headmaster. "I'm glad to be alive too. I suppose I have Astoria, Daphne, and Madam Pomfrey to thank for that."
The pointed lack of Dumbledore's name wasn't lost on any of the occupants in the room, though none of them chose to speak on it.
In truth, Harry didn't know whether or not the cup being a portkey and the subsequent attempt on his life by Barty Crouch Jr was Dumbledore's fault or not. The man certainly couldn't be omniscient, but it still felt like more could've been done to prevent all of this. Maybe hindsight was clouding his judgement, or maybe it was the simmering anger that couldn't seem to leave him, but Harry couldn't help but blame Dumbledore in part for what had happened.
"Yes, they all worked tirelessly to keep you safe," Dumbledore replied gently as he sat down in the chair next to Harry's bed.
Astoria climbed up into bed with him, and Daphne did the same. Astoria curled up next to him comfortingly, but Daphne was sat up straight like a watchdog. Her piercing gaze was fixated right on Dumbledore.
"Do you know anything more about how Barty Crouch Jr managed to disguise himself as Professor Moody?" Daphne asked him pointedly.
"There's little I can share that isn't already public knowledge at this point," Dumbledore answered candidly. "The Daily Prophet got it right: Alastor was trapped inside of his trunk for the entire year while Barty Crouch Jr masqueraded as him."
"And you didn't notice anything off about him?" Daphne continued. "I thought that you two were old friends."
"We are," Dumbledore nodded with a grimace. "Unfortunately, my multiple roles as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot keeps me quite busy. I rarely have the chance to socialise, even with my old friends. Still, I regret that I didn't notice anything. Alastor did act slightly odd this year, but given the man's incessant paranoia and private nature, Barty Crouch Jr's fears of being found out actually led credence to his acting skills."
Harry could see Daphne processing the information at a breakneck pace. She was always very perceptive of people and their words, and her training from her parents in preparation for her inevitable ascension as the Head of the Greengrass family gave her the skills she needed to analyse everything rapidly.
"As much as I am happy to answer any questions you all have," Dumbledore began. "I did have a few of my own for Harry."
Harry sat up in bed a bit, helped by Astoria who readjusted his pillows. "What do you want to know?"
"Everything," Dumbledore replied seriously.
Astoria and Daphne both perked up as Harry took another sip of water. He wasn't exactly looking forward to reliving his experience in the graveyard, but he needed to warn them about what was coming.
So, he did. Harry summarised his journey through the maze up until he reached the Triwizard Cup. Then, things took a dark turn.
When Harry mentioned Voldemort's resurrection, Dumbledore's face didn't change. It was surprising, almost like he already knew that fact and Harry had only confirmed it for him. Harry had to pause as Astoria suddenly grabbed his arm, her eyes wide in surprise and fear. Even Daphne looked ready to wrap him up in her arms, if only to make sure that he was still alive. Few people faced Voldemort down in a fight and lived to tell the tale.
"I was trapped," Harry explained, remembering how he'd been forced to cower behind a headstone while Voldemort taunted him. "And I got angry."
"Angry?" Dumbledore asked. Though his tone was gentle, Harry saw the concern in the man's eyes.
Harry nodded, biting his lip. "I've been feeling pretty angry ever since then too," he admitted.
"What exactly happened when you got angry?" Dumbledore asked for clarification.
The image of the recently-resurrected Voldemort grabbing his wand and unleashing a magical torrent flowed through Harry's mind.
"Voldemort had created this serpent of fire," Harry began slowly, practically feeling the sensation of the heat tingling across his skin. "It had felt raw, powerful, and when I was trapped, I just… recreated it."
"Was there an incantati—" Dumbledore began to ask.
"No, no incantation," Harry answered quickly. "It was a feeling more than anything. Like the Patronus Charm, only…"
"You used anger instead of happiness," Dumbledore said, sounding more weary than Harry had ever heard him before. "I believe I know the spell you cast. It's called Fiendfyre."
Daphne sucked in a deep breath. "But that's really dark magic."
"Indeed it is," Dumbledore nodded gravely. "Dark Magic is fuelled by negative emotions, and this anger that you've been feeling since then is the repercussions of that."
"So, casting dark magic will make me angrier? Anything else?" Harry asked.
"There are hundreds of adjectives I could use to describe what you'll feel like, but all of them are rooted in anger," Dumbledore explained. "You might feel jealous over another's achievements, you may become easily agitated over the smallest inconveniences, or you could fall into a deep depression over your own actions or those of others. Dark Magic isn't to be trifled with lightly."
Harry's heart began to race in his chest. "Is there anything I can do to stop feeling like this?"
"Time and love," Dumbledore answered simply. "The anger will fade with time, and the only way to improve upon your current state is through acts of love. You and your two lovely ladies here have been through a tremendous amount in a short time. Find solace in each other, ease each other's burdens, and, perhaps, you'll find that your anger will grow less and less with each passing day."
That was easily done. Harry wrapped his free arm around Daphne and pulled her closer to him, matching Astoria's place on his other side.
"I hope that you will do well to heed this lesson, Harry," Dumbledore told him. "Now that Voldemort is back, we must be ever vigilant of the world around us, and we all need clear heads to do so."
"I will, Professor," Harry nodded.
"What does this mean for us?" Astoria asked quietly. "Will Hogwarts still welcome us back with a Dark Lord on the loose?"
"Of course it will," Dumbledore assured her. "Nothing will change in the upcoming year."
All three of them frowned at that. Nothing would change?
"Excuse me, Professor, but how can you say that nothing will change?" Daphne asked critically. "V… V-Voldemort is back. Surely the Ministry will intervene and place additional protections around the school."
"They would if they did truly believe he was back," Dumbledore grimaced. "For the meantime, I have no intention about informing the minister of Voldemort's return."
"What?!" Harry shouted as he sat up straight, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. "How can you just stand by and let them think that nothing's wrong?"
Dumbledore held his hands up in surrender. "I'm doing this for the right reasons, I can assure you. When Barty Crouch Jr was brought into the Ministry with his mark revitalised, the Minister decried it as a false omen. He didn't want to believe the experts from the Department of Mysteries, who argued that it meant that Voldemort had returned in some form. He ordered Barty's execution and washed his hands clean of the matter."
So that was why he didn't seem so surprised at the announcement that Voldemort was back. Did that mean that others knew too? But with the Minister arguing that it wasn't true…
Daphne grimaced. "So he's burying his head in the sand?"
"Precisely," Dumbledore agreed. "I will be informing a select few within the Ministry who have the power and influence to help prepare the institution for what's to come, but if the Minister catches wind of this, it'll mean trouble for us all. There are others outside of the Ministry whom I will be calling on as well to aid in the fight against Voldemort, but until he reveals himself for everyone to see, I fear that we'll have to operate in the shadows."
"Can't we try a memory or veritaserum or—" Astoria began throwing out suggestions, but Dumbledore just shook his head.
"All of these things can be bypassed in one way or another, and our enemies will do anything they can to discredit us if they feel it's in their best interests."
"Our enemies?" Daphne asked. "You mean Voldemort's supporters."
"There are many from the first war who still remain free," Dumbledore said. "Many will once again choose the wrong path."
"What are we supposed to do in the meantime then?" Harry asked hotly. He could feel his magic pulsing like a heartbeat, aching to be used. It made the pain in his shoulder lessen and his anger flare.
"Live your lives," Dumbledore said with a small smile. "Spend your summer relaxing and studying for the upcoming year. I want to see all of you hale and hearty come September."
That's it?
Harry hadn't realised that he'd actually spoken those words aloud with contempt in his tone. Astoria and Daphne's heads both snapped towards him in surprise, but Dumbledore didn't seem bothered in the least.
"Yes, that's it," he said. "You can spend your time training for battle as well if you wish, but you can't forget to live your life in the process of it. Love, Harry, is the most important thing in the world. Spend time with each other and make some good memories to look back on. You deserve to have some."
"And in doing this, I presume that you don't want us telling anyone about Voldemort's return?" Daphne asked, stopping Harry from letting out another angry remark.
"Tell those whom you trust to keep it a secret," Dumbledore told her. "But until Voldemort plays his hand in the open, I think it's best if we keep things as private as we can."
Harry's hands tightened into fists. He'd just been defeated by Voldemort, nearly lost his life in the process, and now he was being told to just keep living life like nothing had really changed? It was ridiculous, preposterous, and futile. He couldn't just sit still and not do anything. His magic was screaming at him to get up and fight.
Astoria noticed his anger instantly and ran her hand soothingly down the back of his. "I think it's time for Harry to rest again, Professor," she said gently.
"Of course," Dumbledore dipped his chin in understanding. "I may come back to speak to you again, Harry, if that's alright. There may be more information that may be of use to us."
"If it'll help in the fight against Voldemort, then I'm more than happy to help," Harry told him honestly.
"Thank you," Dumbledore said as he got to his feet. "I am truly sorry that the burden of this event has fallen on your shoulders, but things always have a way of working themselves out in the end."
"Let me see you out," Daphne said as she started to get up too.
"No need, Ms Greengrass," Dumbledore waved her off. His eyes twinkled with amusement. "Right now, all three of you could do with some time alone in the wake of the day's revelations. I'll see myself out. Have a pleasant summer."
And then he was gone, leaving the three of them alone.
"He's really back," Daphne murmured under her breath. "People always talked about him returning one day, but it was like a hopeful wish more than anything. And now…"
"What do your parents think about Voldemort?" Harry asked.
"Not much," Daphne snorted. "They saw him as an upstart and didn't join in on his rise to power like a lot of the other pure-blood families did. Still though, I don't think they really did anything to help stop his rise."
Harry nodded in understanding. He knew from his time at Hogwarts that there were more than a few pure-blood and half-blood families who followed the same path. They figured that they could stay as neutral as possible and not get caught up in the crossfire of the war, but that was never really possible when one side wanted to so radically change the world.
"And what about you two?" Harry asked cautiously. "Now that Voldemort's back, he's coming after me, and if you two don't want to get caught up in—"
"Shut up," Astoria snapped hotly, her demeanour shifting on a dime. "Don't do this. We're not going to leave you just because some crazed, homicidal maniac is coming after you. We love you for you, and nothing's going to change that, right Daphne?"
"You'll get no argument from me," Daphne agreed wholeheartedly. "And we're not going to sit back and let you fight this on your own either. Astoria and I already took down one Death Eater. I think we've made our stance on all of this clear enough, don't you?"
"Yes," Harry smiled at them. "You have."
He pulled Daphne in close and kissed her. It was sweet and gentle and perfect in every way. He turned to Astoria next, and their kiss was anything but what his and Daphne's had been. Astoria pounced on him, mindful of his injuries, and kissed him with everything she had. If it was her way of confirming her love for him, then he wasn't going to complain.
The three of them were in this together, and nothing was going to stop that.
The following days for Harry became a haze of pain and love. Despite magic's wondrous ability to repair a broken body, the length of the recovery seemed exponentially tied to how injured someone was. For instance, a paper cut took seconds to heal, a broken bone might only take an hour to heal before it was as good as new, and replacing body parts might take a day, but combine all three together and it'd take three days for a person's body to be fully up and running again with magic's aid. In Harry's case, he lost count of the days, but he remembered every ache and pain that came up as he struggled to recover.
His left shoulder, in particular, was still giving him trouble. He couldn't quite stretch it up all the way above his head, and lifting anything even remotely heavy left him with a throbbing ache that lasted for hours. But he was grateful that he could at least use it.
Madam Pomfrey had made it clear in her final speech to him before he left Hogwarts as to just how close he'd come to losing the arm entirely. If whatever he'd been hit with was just a few centimetres lower, his entire arm would have been blown off at the shoulder. She'd managed to repair it, but it was never going to be the same unless he did the exercises she prescribed. It was mostly made up of stretches, but they left him hurting worse than most of his Quidditch matches did.
Still, Harry was determined to fight through the pain no matter how bad it got. He couldn't have his body be in anything but top form whenever he encountered Voldemort again. So, he worked himself to the bone everyday. He still slept for upwards of twelve hours at a time, but the moments he was awake were always productive.
Despite their concern and dislike at seeing him hurt, Astoria and Daphne were right there at his side through every step of the way. They helped him through his exercises, gave him encouragement whenever his body felt like it wanted to give up and die, and took care of him afterwards when he was often too exhausted to walk to the bathroom for a relaxing soak in the tub.
Slowly but surely, he felt his strength beginning to return. His pains became less and less, and his drive to prepare for Voldemort's next attack only strengthened.
Next time, he would be ready.
Next time, he wouldn't be alone.
Ch 16
There was barely a thin scar left on his shoulder now, but Harry could still feel the aches and pains from it. Lately, he'd begun having phantom pains of when his arm had nearly been severed off. It was like his wound was opened back up again, but the second he looked at it, the pain would recede into a dull ache.
He knew that he should be grateful that he'd healed up so nicely. Daphne and Astoria both expressed to him regularly just how glad they were that he was healthy again. And yet, Harry couldn't help the anger that remained simmering beneath the surface.
Casting Fiendfyre had been a mistake. The dark magic left him irritable and angry all the time, even if he didn't show it outwardly. He shouldn't have cast it.
But if he hadn't, could he have escaped Voldemort? Harry had been getting beaten to a pulp by the vastly-more experienced Dark Wizard, and even if he'd managed to somehow get a lucky shot in and take him down, all of the other Death Eaters would've just swarmed and killed him anyway.
Maybe there was something else he could've done. Maybe.
Truly, there was no sense in arguing with himself over it now. What was done was done. He knew now the dangers of dark magic, and he'd have to be wary of it in the future.
Harry stepped back from the mirror and grabbed his robes off of Astoria's chair at her desk. Her bedroom had become just as much his in the time he'd been here for. She'd strove to ensure that he didn't feel like an unwelcome guest by letting him take over a few spaces and setting up a little workstation for him on a new desk they'd brought in. It was a kind gesture, one that Harry didn't take for granted. The Dursleys never treated him half as good as Astoria did, and so he did everything he could to show Astoria just how thankful he was for her.
His face twitched as slipped his robes on. His shoulder still felt awkward when he moved it, but all of the other injuries he'd sustained seemed to be relatively cleared up by now.
He'd be ready one day. His recovery would still take time, but he was past the worst of it now. He just needed to make sure that he didn't aggravate his shoulder any further.
Harry cracked a small smile. Like he was going to listen to his own advice.
He strode out of the room and headed downstairs. Greengrass Manor was becoming more and more familiar to him as the days passed by. His brief visit here earlier in the year had introduced him to many of the odd nooks and crannies, but his stay so far this summer reminded him of what it was like returning to Hogwarts as a second-year student.
Navigating through the place was easy. He knew which corridors were frequented by Astoria and Daphne's parents so that he could avoid them—things had still been quite tense since they all returned from Hogwarts—and which ones led to the places he wanted to visit. And right now, he was going to find Astoria. He knew exactly where she'd be. It was the one room she spent the most amount of time in except for her bedroom.
Ever since Harry revealed Voldemort's existence to Astoria and Daphne, the two of them had quickly returned to training their skills here at the manor. The massive duelling room that Anastasia used to test her daughters in had become their favourite place to work out and train. Harry often came down with them once he'd been able to leave Astoria's bed without too much pain wracking his body, although they only let him watch rather than participate like he wanted to.
Well, that was going to change today. He didn't feel perfect, but when would that be an acceptable excuse if battle broke out? He needed to get stronger now.
As he expected, Astoria was in the middle of exercising in the centre of the duelling room. A few training dummies were set up in a wide circle around her, each armed with a mock wand that was enchanted to fling small, red balls her way, which represented spellfire. If one of them hit her, the ball would turn green. Then, once all of the balls were used up, she could easily see how many she managed to dodge.
Her robes fluttered around her lithe frame as she spun out of the path of two balls fired towards her head. She had a slight sheen of sweat on her brow, but her breathing looked good. Harry watched from the doorway as she continued to dodge left and right, ducking, and even throwing herself to the floor when necessary. Dodging wasn't always the best tactic to use in combat, especially if you were fighting with allies who could accidentally get hit by the spells you dodged, but it was a useful skill to practise nonetheless.
She noticed Harry watching her, and with a simple jab with her wand, the dummies lost all sense of life. Their bodies slumped forward, and Astoria stepped out of the circle they'd formed around her.
"Hey," she smiled at him, wiping away the bit of sweat from her face. "I'd come give you a kiss, but I'm a bit sweaty."
"That's never stopped us before," Harry laughed as he crossed the gap between them. Astoria beamed up at him as he leaned down to kiss her.
"Come to watch me train?" She asked as they broke the kiss.
"I actually came to train too," Harry said carefully. He could see the flicker of surprise in her eyes, which morphed into a serious look.
"It's too soon," she protested quickly.
"I've been stuck in bed for a few weeks now," Harry said gently. "I think it's time I start getting back to it."
"Another week of rest won't hurt you," Astoria said, even as she realised that he seemed set on doing this.
"I can't stay sitting down all day anymore," Harry countered as he walked the length of the duelling room. "Voldemort is bound to reappear again one day, and I need to be ready when he does."
Astoria bit down on the inside of her cheek. She clearly wasn't happy that he was rushing to get back to training when his shoulder wasn't even entirely healed yet, but she understood his reasoning for it. A part of her probably even agreed with Harry, but her concern for his health and safety was stronger.
"One practice duel," she compromised. "It's been a while since you've done any magic or physical activity; I don't want you to accidentally overexert yourself and aggravated your shoulder. If all goes well today, then I'll help you out again tomorrow. Deal?"
"Deal, as long as you take this seriously," Harry smiled at her. He wasn't going to bicker and quibble over the little details.
Suddenly, the air shifted as both of them recognised what was about to occur. They'd duelled before in practice matches back in the Room of Requirement, but it'd been clear that Astoria had been holding back each time. Now, despite her reservations, she seemed ready to do what she must to put Harry to the test.
They didn't have a duelling platform to practise on, which was fine by Harry. Real battles were never fought on a duelling platform anyway. The entire room was theirs to use.
Astoria banished the training dummies away, giving them plenty of clear space to work in. The room was warded to prevent any other part of the house from being destroyed, but the walls, ceiling, and floor could still be damaged, leading to some interesting possibilities.
There were well over a million different ways a duel could go. Each spell added on lead to a different permutation. Even if you removed entire types of magic, there were still hundreds of spells you could use within each discipline. Virtually each duel would be unique due to that fact.
Harry knew that he'd been reliant on the spells he'd learnt in Defence Against the Dark Arts. There were plenty of charms, transfiguration, and various other fields of magic that offered interesting magical offerings that could provide him that edge he needed to be able to beat Voldemort.
Astoria's knees bent slightly, giving Harry the hint that she was about to strike. When she sprung up and lunged forward with her wand pointed at him, Harry was already moving to the side. Astoria tried to adjust her aim, but it was difficult to let her spell loose at the exact right moment when it'd strike Harry.
The violet-coloured spell coursed straight past him. It crashed against the far wall, which rippled with blue-coloured energy as it absorbed the blow.
Harry snapped his wand towards his girlfriend with a curse on his lips. Despite the tip of his wand being tracked on her chest, his eyes were focused on her feet. He spotted the way her knees bent and the sudden leap she started to make towards her left. Harry's wand tracked her easily, and he unleashed a powerful Stunning Spell and a Disarming Charm to try to finish her off quickly.
However, Astoria wasn't as weak as to fall to his first few spells. Even though she landed right in the path of them, she brought up a shield half a second before his spells could hit her. His spells exploded against her shield, radiating out around her, and she fired off a couple quick counter attacks.
Harry was quickly forced onto the back foot as Astoria pushed towards him. Her wand flicked with smooth, fast, restrained movements. She was perfect, not wasting a split second more than was necessary to unleash each spell.
The sudden burst of speed caught Harry off guard, but it wasn't anything that he was unequipped to handle. After facing off against Voldemort himself, Astoria's casting seemed slow in comparison. That didn't mean that his body had the agility and grace to act as quickly as he wanted it to, but his mind could process what was happening and set him up for success.
He twisted and made careful movements as he blocked or evaded Astoria's spells. Anytime he neared one of the walls, he made a forceful dash to the side to avoid getting pinned down. The more distance he kept from her, the worse her aim was, and it was those brief moments of reprieve where he was able to fight back.
Burn her.
Harry stumbled in surprise at the thought that had crossed his mind. It'd been subtle, insidious, and all too tempting to unleash before he could reflect on its implications. His wand had already started the first part of the movement needed for Fiendfyre when he caught himself.
Astoria either didn't realise that he'd frozen up or just didn't care as she cried out and lunged forward with a violent stab towards him. A Piercing Hex came barrelling towards him, and it was only through sheer instinct that Harry managed to get his shield up at the last second. It was hastily and imperfectly formed and shattered under the impact of Astoria's spell, which continued forward towards him.
Harry could do nothing but accept the blow right to his injured shoulder. The Piercing Hex gouged open a shallow cut right over his scar, sending a burst of fiery pain that radiated down his arm and through his collarbone.
Burn her!
Harry bit his tongue until he tasted blood to stop the dark desire within him from taking over. Instead, he flicked his wand faster than ever before.
"Bombarda!" He cried out, targeting Astoria's feet.
The charm landed, causing a small explosion that broke apart the wooden floor. Astoria had leapt a few feet back just in time to avoid falling, but it wasn't enough.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry shouted, forcing his magic to obey his will.
One of the damaged planks snapped up from its place in the floor and clipped Astoria's chin. Her jaw snapped shut with a loud click, and she recoiled away in a dazed state.
That was all he needed. Harry rushed forward, closing the gap between them suddenly as he directed the plank to fly around her and hit the back of her knees.
Right as Astoria tried to get her wand back up to target him, the plank hit her, and her spell was instead sent straight towards the ceiling. The tip of his wand ended up pressed against her throat.
BURN HER!
With his skills as a Seeker, Harry reached out and snatched Astoria's wand right out of her hands.
"I win," Harry said with a smile that morphed into a grimace.
Astoria gasped as she fell back on her bum. Her lips went right up to her chin, where a small cut had formed from the plank hitting her. "So you did," she murmured softly.
She looked uncomfortable. "Are you okay?" Harry asked with concern as he knelt down beside her, offering her back her wand. He hid his other hand behind his back, which was shaking and clutching his wand so tightly that he worried that he might break it in half. He'd nearly killed her. Was this the real danger of dark magic?
"Yeah," she said after just a moment's hesitation. "I just thought that I'd have done better than I did. I've been training so hard, and you're still recovering…"
A small sound in the distance caught Harry's attention.
From the doorway, Anastasia and Cryus were both watching them. The blond-haired witch, who looked so much like Daphne other than her set of brown eyes that matched Astoria's, had a tight-knit look on her face. Harry couldn't tell if she still disapproved of his relationship with Astoria or if she simply disliked him as a whole, but he supposed it didn't really matter. So long as he lived, he'd be with Astoria.
Cyrus, on the other hand, at least had an encouraging smile on his lips. He'd clearly seen how Harry had held back from really harming Astoria at the last minute, and he approved of the way Harry had handled himself. If only he'd known the thoughts that had been going through his mind…
With an offered hand, Harry helped Astoria back up to her feet. Her puckered frown told him that she was both displeased at losing and the manner in which she'd lost.
"You used a first-year spell," she said as she shook herself clean of any debris left on her robes.
"I did," Harry agreed. "And it worked wonders."
He needed to be more creative like this going forward. Standard spells that could disarm or directly injure an opponent were all well and good, but being able to catch them by surprise by using a spell creatively might be just the edge he needed to be able to stand a chance against Voldemort. The man was more powerful than Harry was, and he knew it. He didn't need to be creative with his spells. He knew a wide array of dark magic and could rely on his brute force to batter down anyone who stood in his way. Harry might be able to match his power one day, but he'd never catch up to the incredible depth of knowledge that Voldemort had. So, he needed to be creative.
"Don't tell Daphne," Astoria giggled. "She'll never let me live it down."
"I don't know if it's her we need to worry about," Harry said with a pointed look over Astoria's shoulder.
She glanced back and saw her parents standing there. Apparently, that look was all it took to convince them to step inside.
"You've been working hard," Cyrus began. His words were hesitant, like he was thinking each one over carefully to ensure he didn't say the wrong thing. "Your skills have been improving a lot."
"Not enough though if this bedridden man can take me down," Astoria huffed, shooting Harry a playful look.
"Still… it's been… good to see you pursuing something so passionately," Cyrus said. "Isn't that right, dear?" He added, glancing at Anastasia.
Anastasia's lips were pressed tightly together, like she needed to hold herself back from speaking. Her eyes ran over Astoria and Harry's faces, and Harry could see the anger and frustration in them.
"I suppose," Anastasia reluctantly said. Her lips snapped shut right afterwards.
Since he'd arrived here, Harry could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Anastasia. An outsider would be convinced that she was the bedridden one and not Harry. Cyrus was much more available, though he clearly felt awkward over the entire situation. Sometimes, he was so kind and caring that Harry couldn't help but wonder if he'd never wanted any of this strife between his wife and his daughters. Given Anastasia's domineering personality, the thought wasn't entirely without merit.
"Right," Astoria said a little aggressively, clearly picking up on Anastasia's tone. "Well, if that's all then, I need to take Harry back—"
"Actually," Cyrus interjected quickly. "We were hoping to talk to you. To both of you."
"Harry's tired and needs to rest," Astoria countered.
He opened his mouth to argue against it, but Astoria shot him a look that told him to close his mouth back up.
"Then just with you then," Cyrus said.
Astoria crossed her arms beneath her chest. "What exactly do you want to talk to me about?"
Cyrus glanced at Anastasia, who seemed no more interested in talking than she had before, and sighed. "Your mother and I wish to make amends—"
Astoria snorted loudly. "Fat chance of that happening after what you two tried to pull."
"Astoria, please," Cyrus pleaded with her. He seemed incredibly sincere in his desire to try to fix things, but it seemed pretty clear that Anastasia wasn't entirely interested in that.
"No," Astoria snapped. "Both of you tried to manipulate my life for your own selfish reasons. That's not something parents should ever do to their children. You say that you want to make amends, but I don't think that there's enough left of our relationship to bring back together!"
Cyrus took a step back like Astoria's words had physically hurt him, but Anastasia just glowered at her daughter.
"You insolent brat," Anastasia said with a quiet menace. "What we have tried to do was for the good of the family. Daphne is the heir to the Greengrass family, and that means that she's burdened with a responsibility that you can't even begin to imagine. Her bearing that means that the rest of us need to do whatever we can to support her. Family needs to make sacrifices for family sometimes."
"You seem to be volunteering plenty of sacrifices on my part without offering up any yourself!" Astoria shouted at her.
Anastasia narrowed her eyes. "You can't possibly begin to imagine what I've done to keep our family healthy and safe. I've made my own sacrifices; it's time you make yours. Step aside and let Daphne find her happiness with Harry."
Astoria snorted loudly. "How blind can you be? Haven't you noticed yet? Harry is with Daphne. And he's still with me."
Cyrus looked shocked at the revelation, but Anastasia's expression was completely unreadable.
Harry supposed that they'd never outright told Cyrus or Anastasia that Harry was with Daphne too now. That shift in their relationship had happened at Hogwarts after the break. Neither Astoria or Daphne wrote home over the rest of the year given the conflict that had developed, but he'd assumed that at least Cyrus would have noticed the newfound affection between Harry and Daphne. Maybe being cooped up in Astoria's room so much had made him doubt any suspicions that might have grown in his mind.
"The two of you are… sharing him?" Cyrus asked, still caught up in a mixture of disbelief and astonishment.
"That's right," Daphne's voice confirmed from behind them. "All without any of your stupid interference too."
Her parents whirled around to see her standing there with her hands on her hips.
"Do you have anything to say about it?" Daphne asked them, raising a challenging eyebrow.
"No, no," Cyrus answered quickly. "If that's what the three of you have agreed to…"
"It is," Astoria chimed in.
Cyrus looked incredibly caught off guard at this new information, but it was Anastasia's reaction that was truly interesting. Her sour expression had turned into something utterly perplexing. On one hand, one could read it as being a satisfactory smirk at having achieved her goal, but on the other hand, there was also something undecipherable at play. It didn't look like she was dissatisfied that Astoria was still with Harry, but there was something lingering underneath that reflected displeasure, confusion, or uncertainty.
"Well, even still…" Cyrus ran his fingers along his chin. "Could we still speak to you? There's… matters that ought to be discussed."
Astoria looked uncertain, which was plain to see for everyone involved.
"We'll wait for you in my office, if you choose to join us," Cyrus said with a weak smile. "I'd really appreciate it if you did."
Anastasia had nothing to say as Cyrus gently led her out of the room. The dour atmosphere around her faded as she disappeared from sight.
"We can go talk to them together if you want," Harry suggested gently to Astoria, trying his best to be supportive.
She huffed again. "I don't know if I want to bother with them at all."
"That's fair," Daphne said as she strode into the room right up to Harry and Astoria. "But at least Dad's making an effort to do better."
"I guess," Astoria mumbled under breath. "If only mum wasn't such a…"
"Bitch?" Daphne suggested helpfully.
"Pretty much," Astoria scowled.
"I don't know if she'll ever change," Daphne admitted. "But we'll need to hear them out sooner or later. There's still plenty of summer left before our next year at Hogwarts. Eventually, we'll need to make a decision about what to do with them. We can keep ignoring them or we can try to work things out."
"Do they deserve to have us work things out though?" Astoria asked. "They've behaved so terribly for so long."
"They have," Daphne agreed, grimacing.
"One thing you might want to consider is how this is affecting you two," Harry pointed out, doing his best to suppress that internal anger that kept calling for violence and revenge. "This problem's going to plague you two until it's resolved. Even if things don't work out peacefully, maybe just hearing your parents out and coming to a final decision will help you put all of this behind you."
Astoria bit her lower lip. "That does make sense."
"They've been trying to get me to talk to them too," Daphne told them. "I've been putting it off until now, but if you want us to deal with this together—"
"I think this is something I need to deal with on my own," Astoria replied. "It's not that I don't appreciate your help, but this is about me and mum. I need to be strong enough to confront her by myself."
Daphne smiled at her younger sister. "That's fair enough."
"If I go, would you be able to take care of Harry?" Astoria asked, glancing at his wounded shoulder with a grimace.
"I'll make sure he's alright," Daphne assured Astoria. "You go talk with them."
Something unspoken passed between the two sisters through glances and the most subtle gestures of their bodies; it was like a conversation that Harry couldn't follow.
After a few moments, Astoria cracked a bright grin towards them. "Have fun then. I'll see you two later."
She gave Harry a peck on the cheek and then followed the path her parents took out of the duelling room.
"What was that?" Harry asked Daphne.
"Nothing," she shook her head. "Come on. Let's get you upstairs and cleaned up."
"I'm fine," Harry tried to assure her as they started to walk back upstairs. "It's just a small cut."
"I'll be the judge of that," Daphne retorted gently. "Given your recklessness, I'm not going to trust your judgement on what's a serious injury and what isn't."
They returned back upstairs, but rather than go to Astoria's room, they went to Daphne's. It looked much like Astoria's. It was prim, proper, and clean. She didn't have the same amount of clutter from all of the books that Astoria had, but she did have a large closet filled with clothes and shoes that her parents had bought for her for their trips to Europe in search of a proper suitor for her. He'd been in here a few times by now but never for very long.
She sat him down on her bed and quickly pulled out her wand. "Can you take your top off?" Daphne asked him.
He nodded, only wincing a little bit as he did so. The fabric of his robes clung to his shoulder, where his blood had formed a tight seal. He ripped it away, and the wound on his shoulder started to bleed again. It wasn't quite as bad as he'd expected, but it was right over top of the small scar he'd sustained.
Daphne tsked as she went about magically healing it, weaving her wand in a consistent arc back and forth. "You shouldn't have duelled today."
"I need to start practising sometime," Harry argued back weakly.
"Did you ever consider training against dummies like Astoria does?" Daphne asked with a challenging eyebrow raised.
Well… not really. Harry's mind was focused solely on preparing for his next duel with Voldemort, and that meant that he needed a partner. He supposed that he could practise his spells against training dummies, but it wouldn't bring the same rush of adrenaline as a real duel would.
"It's just not the same," Harry said.
"I get that," Daphne replied. "But it also doesn't end with you injuring your already damaged shoulder. If Astoria's blow had gone any deeper, you probably would've been stuck with a couple extra weeks of bed rest."
Merlin, all of this resting was driving him wild. He could deal with pain and just push through it, but the endless hours of doing nothing drove him mad.
"I just…" Harry sighed. "I feel itchy all the time, like I need to be up and doing something."
"That'll be the dark magic telling you to use it again," Daphne said. "And your own impatience."
"I know."
"Then learn from it," Daphne pushed. "You're no good to anyone if you stay perpetually injured. Take things slow. Work out your energy and magic against things that can't hurt you back, and slowly work back up to your normal limits."
It wasn't what he wanted, but neither was losing to Voldemort in the first place.
"You're right," Harry said.
"Of course I'm right," Daphne replied. "But I don't care about that. I want to know that you'll take more care of yourself from now on."
"I'll try my best," Harry cracked a smile.
Daphne snorted. "That's the best I'm going to get, aren't I? No: of course Daphne, I'll be safe and wait until I'm fully healed before I do anything boneheaded again."
Harry laughed. "Pretty much."
Daphne shook her head, but a small smile graced her lips. "Your shoulder will hold, for now," she said as she stowed her wand away. "But you seriously need to be careful. No heavy lifting or exercising with it for at least a couple of days. I don't even want to see you training with practice dummies until then either; there's too big a chance that you could delay your recovery even more."
"Alright," Harry nodded. "I'll wait two more days, but then you're coming down to train with me."
"Deal," Daphne agreed quickly. "It's probably better that I keep a close eye on you anyways. We should get you cleaned up in the shower now; I don't want to agitate your freshly-healed cut with any spells."
Harry followed her gaze down to his torso. The blood from his wound had dripped down his arm and chest and dried there.
He got to his feet, and Daphne guided him over to the doorway that led into her bathroom. There was a large tub in there, easily big enough for two, beneath a wide window. One corner of the room was dedicated to a shower with large glass walls. The opposite corner had a sink, mirror, and expansive countertop that was covered with beauty potions and various other toiletries. A door nearby led into a tiny room with a toilet.
With a flick of her wand, Daphne turned on the shower.
Harry didn't have any real sense of modesty around Daphne. She'd watched him and Astoria have sex multiple times now, so it wasn't like she was seeing anything that she hadn't already. He started stripping off the rest of his clothes
Just as he finished undressing, he heard the sounds of clothes rustling behind him. When he glanced back, he realised that Daphne was getting undressed too.
His eyes widened in surprise, eating up every inch of her bare flesh that he could. "What are you—"
"Shh," Daphne placed her finger on his lips. "Just get in the shower."
Harry pulled open the glass door and stepped in underneath the warm water, and Daphne followed him close behind. She closed the door behind her and pressed her body against his back.
"Just relax," she murmured softly. "And no touching."
He didn't know how he was supposed to relax when he had her pressed up against him like this. Her breasts were perfectly pillowy against his back, and her silky hair was tickling his skin.
Daphne's arms wrapped around his midsection and reached past him for the various bottles on a large shelf next to him. She grabbed one in particular that was filled with a viscous, shimmering, violet gel. The cork came out smoothly, and she dumped a healthy amount of the gel into her other hand before putting the bottle back on the shelf.
Harry was surprised when a moan escaped his lips as Daphne started rubbing her hands up and down his torso. The gel quickly frothed from the water on his skin, and it heated up nicely from Daphne's touch. She ran her hands over every inch of his chest and abs, leaving him faintly smelling of bergamot and earthiness, with just an underlying hint of spice. There must have been a Soothing Charm baked into the gel or maybe some type of potion designed to make his body relax, because Harry quickly felt the aches and pains of his duel begin to fade away.
She was careful with his injured shoulder, ensuring that she didn't poke or prod it. Her hands ghosted across his skin, gently clearing away the dried blood and leaving him feeling nice and relaxed. The tension that'd been built up there faded.
She moved onto his back next, still keeping her breasts against him. She grabbed the bottle again and poured the gel all over her breasts and then used them to rub the gel into Harry's skin. He could feel her heavy breathing in his ear as she cleaned him, bringing her hands to help out too.
Once she finished there, she knelt down and got to work on his lower half. She spent quite a bit of time massaging his calf muscles before she worked her way up to his thighs. She was perfectly gentle and yet had just the right amount of firmness that Harry liked.
Given the fact that Harry had only seen Daphne's bare breasts once before and never her fully nude like this, it was no wonder that his cock was as hard and stiff as it had been the first time he'd been with Astoria. Daphne had never really touched him before either, but that didn't stop her from letting her fingers run along his shaft and lather him up with that wonderful gel.
It felt nearly impossible to follow Daphne's 'no touching' rule when she was making him feel this down good. Her hands were gently stroking his shaft, making sure that it was fully covered in the lathered gel, and ended up working their way down to his balls. She gently played with them in her hands for a moment before deciding that she'd cleaned them enough.
Finally, Daphne stood back up. Her cheeks were pink from nervousness and embarrassment, but she stood proudly in front of him and let him get a good look at her body.
It was just as perfect as Harry knew it to be. Her large breasts were perfectly perky and delightful to look at. He desperately wanted to feel the weight of them in his hands, but there was more that was drawing his eyes. Just like when he'd seen her in her lingerie and bikini, the shape of Daphne's body was a classic hourglass figure. Her hips popped out nicely and gave way to the soft, supple curve of her plump arse. Like Astoria, she kept her pubic hair completely shaved off. He wished he could see those glorious pink lips between her thighs, but he'd need to kneel down to do so. He didn't want to interrupt the flow that Daphne was going with.
She stepped under the warm water again, and Harry was astounded by just how incredible she looked as those sparkly droplets ran down her body.
"Come here," she waved him forward.
He took a step closer, and Daphne wrapped her arms around his back and pulled his front firmly against hers underneath the spray of the shower. Harry groaned as his cock ended up trapped between her thighs. He could feel her damp pussy radiating an incredible amount of heat against the top of his shaft.
Daphne smiled at him as she helped rub the gel clear from his stick. She had to reach far to clean along his spine, and that made her thighs rub along his shaft in the most delightful way.
Finally, Harry couldn't take it anymore, and he reached around and grabbed Daphne's arse in his hands.
She gasped. "I thought I told you no touching."
"You're driving me crazy here," he replied, giving her arse a squeeze. "I can't take it anymore, not when you look so incredibly beautiful."
Daphne looked away shyly. "Stupid…" she muttered under her breath.
"I'm stupid because I think you're beautiful?" Harry chuckled.
"Yes! No!" She exclaimed, shaking her head. "I'm supposed to be taking care of you right now, and you're…"
"I'm…" Harry said when Daphne didn't speak again for several seconds.
"You're driving me wild," Daphne said. She rubbed her thighs along his shaft again. "I want you so bad, Harry."
"So do I," he groaned.
She kissed him soundly, heating up every inch of his body with lust. They clung to each other, kissing for what seemed like minutes as they teased each other's bodies. But all of the teasing was getting to be too much for them, and they both wanted more.
Daphne shut off the shower and guided him out onto the mat in front of the shower. She bent over to grab her wand out of her robes, giving Harry a perfect view of her incredible arse.
With a simple wave of her wand, both Daphne and Harry were dried instantly.
"Go lie down on my bed," Daphne told him. "You're not supposed to aggravate your shoulder, remember. So let me take charge."
Harry was more than glad to. The loving way she'd washed his skin just now had been so intoxicating, and the thought of witnessing her beautiful body bouncing on top of his was bound to be just as much so.
Daphne followed him out into her room, where Harry quickly climbed on top of her bed and laid down. Daphne waited until he was settled before she followed him up. She crawled up to him on her hands and knees, looking like a lioness who'd just completed a fine hunt and was about to get her reward. She crawled over top of him and leaned in close to whisper into his ear.
"I did promise you my virginity for winning the Triwizard Tournament, didn't I?" Her eyes flashed with amusement as she sat back on his thighs and gripped his shaft in her delicate hands. "It's been quite a while since then, and if you think that you're good enough to duel again, surely you're ready for this."
Harry's mouth felt parched. He wasn't a virgin anymore, but being with Daphne brought back memories of what it was like to lose his virginity for the first time. The thrill of discovering something new, the excitement of connecting with another on such a physical level, and the mind-numbing bliss of a perfect orgasm that can only be brought about in partnership with someone else.
"I've been ready for this for longer than you can imagine," Harry told her.
"Good," Daphne said confidently. She shifted her hips, raising them above his. Her labia had plenty of moisture visible on them, and Harry's shaft was still nice and clean from Daphne's washing. It also seemed like it was slightly lubricated, perhaps from something in the gel she used. It'd make this easier, especially since it was her first time and he was so large.
The warmth that emanated from Daphne's pussy nearly made Harry thrust up into her. Her labia barely grazed along the tip of his cock, and he was already desperate to get inside of her.
A tingle ran throughout Daphne as she positioned herself perfectly above him. She got his cock perfectly centred against her tight opening. All it would take is a little drop and he'd be inside of her.
But Daphne hesitated.
Finally, a crack of nervousness showed on her face.
"My hymen is still intact," she told him when she noticed him staring up at her with a concerned look. "My parents insisted I never lose it except to my future husband, and my mum used an enchantment on my clothes to help keep it intact even when I was duelling, horseback riding, or exercising. I know it's going to hurt a bit."
"Astoria used a potion to help deal with it," Harry said, remembering all the way back to their fun at the Yule Ball.
"I took the same one," Daphne confirmed. "But it still stings a bit."
"We can always wait if you're not—"
"No," Daphne interjected firmly. "I want you now. I've never been more sure of anything else in my life. I just… could I kiss you while I go down?"
Harry nearly laughed. "Of course you can kiss me," he told her. "You don't have to ask permission."
"Right," Daphne said with a nervous smile.
Keeping her hips perfectly still, she laid down across his body until their faces were inches apart. Her gorgeous blue eyes stared into his green ones, and then their lips met.
A second into their kiss, Daphne started to sink down onto him. Harry groaned into her mouth as her incredible warmth surrounded the tip of his cock, but he didn't get much further before he felt the barrier blocking his passage.
Daphne hesitated for barely half of a second before she pushed down onto him. Harry made a tiny thrust upwards to help as she moved, and he felt the barrier tear.
"Fuck," Daphne hissed into his mouth as she stilled. She had most of his cock inside of her tight depths now. Her walls pulsed around him as she rode through the pain, and Harry did his absolute best to stay perfectly still to let her adjust to the new sensation. Being filled up with a cock of his size could be uncomfortable, even with enough foreplay to ensure that she was properly ready for him, and losing her hymen added another complication into the mix.
Still, the potion she took did its work, and it took little more than a minute before Daphne sank the rest of the way down onto him.
"Oh, oh, oh, fuck," Daphne whimpered as he filled her up completely. She was incredibly tight and hot around him, yet her walls remained supple and soft.
"Are you alright?" He asked her.
"Big," she whimpered again. "So fucking big."
She kissed him again as she grinded her hips against his. She kissed him with a tenderness and desperation that blew him away. Even their first kiss hadn't been as powerful as this one. There was something special about being truly connected with someone in this way that just made it all so electrifying.
"Take your time," Harry murmured against her lips when they needed to go up for air.
"I will," Daphne told him. "We've both waited too long to rush things now."
Harry felt like his mind was going to explode when Daphne started to ride him in earnest. Feeling her stirring his cock around inside of her pussy was nice and all, but there was nothing quite like the sensation of her walls gliding up and down his shaft, just begging him to pump a nice load of cum deep inside of her. Just the thought of it alone made his cock jump inside of her pussy.
Daphne let out a quiet giggle. "I never realised just how much I'd be able to feel you with you inside of me. You just moved then, didn't you."
"I did," he confirmed.
"Was it because of me?"
"Merlin, yes," Harry groaned, wrapping his arms around her back and keeping her luscious breasts pinned against his chest. "I was thinking about what it'd feel like to cum in you."
Daphne's eyes widened with excitement and lust. "We'll just have to see then, won't we," she said breathlessly.
Harry started to make small thrusts upwards to meet Daphne's motions. She was riding his cock slowly as she got used to the new range of motions and his girth inside of her, but it was still incredibly intimate and wonderful. He wanted to show her that he loved her just as much as she did him.
Even just the slight deviation from what Daphne had become accustomed to was enough to make her let out a sweet moan. Her body trembled, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck beside his uninjured shoulder as she continued to ride his cock.
"You feel so good," Harry murmured into her ear as his hands slid down her back to grab her arse again. He was never going to get tired of grabbing onto these two perfect cheeks.
"You too," Daphne mumbled against his neck.
Suddenly, she pushed herself back up so that she was sitting up straight on his cock and staring down at him. Her hands were planted firmly on his chest, squeezing her breasts in between her arms in a way that just made them really pop out.
Harry just relished the feeling of Daphne as she started to run along the full length of his cock in a single, smooth motion. Balancing herself on her knees, she was able to move absolutely perfectly to ride all the way up to the tip of his cock and all the way down to his pelvis. The pleasure was incredible. His hands roamed her curvaceous frame, touching every inch of skin like it was the first time he'd ever been with a woman.
Daphne lapped up all of the attention he was doling out on her. She stood tall and powerful as she rode his cock. All of her nervousness had long since faded away, and now she was fully in control of exactly what she wanted. And what she wanted was to ride Harry until both of them were screaming out in pleasure.
It was impossible not to lose himself to the wonder of Daphne's tight walls lavishing his cock. He swore that he could feel every single little curve of her pussy around him, and when she sank all the way down onto him, he felt like he was just barely touching her cervix. It was wonderful to be so utterly connected with her, and Harry knew that he wasn't going to last for much longer.
Thankfully, Daphne didn't seem to be able to hold on for long either. Each time she dropped onto his cock, her body shuddered, and her next drop was less coordinated. The thrill of being filled up by his meaty shaft and the pleasure that came along with it left her gasping for breath and shuddering at every little touch his hands made. Squeezing her arse, feeling up her breasts, running his hands along her hips, and gently grazing her clit all elicited wonderful reactions that told Harry that he was doing exactly what he needed to in order to make Daphne's first time special. She quickly became a quivering mess above him, and Harry grinned at seeing her in so much pleasure.
"Go ahead and lose yourself," he said softly to her as his fingers circled her clit. He gave her the most gentle touch and thrust upwards into her pussy as she dropped onto him. Their bodies collided in a loud smacking sound, and while Harry was able to hold back a groan of delight, Daphne's moan rang out like a musical note in a beautiful song.
"I—" Daphne tried to get out, but she ended up biting her lower lip and groaning as she dropped back down onto Harry's cock again.
"Cum for me, baby," Harry told her. "And then I'll cum for you."
Daphne trembled again and leaned forward as she rode back up his cock. The next time she dropped down onto him, she couldn't lift her hips back up. She was trembling so badly, but Harry knew that she hadn't hit her peak yet.
So, he lifted her arse and started to thrust up into her. He was as gentle and smooth as he could be, but the pleasurable sensation of her pussy made it impossible for him to maintain a consistent pace. He pounded into her pussy again and again as she cried out in pleasure until he felt her start to come undone.
The sight of Daphne throwing her head back, her hair dancing around her, and her body shaking as she came on top of his cock was a sight that Harry would never forget. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Harry memorised every little movement that Daphne made. Her pussy clenched up to an impossible tightness around his cock. He wouldn't have been able to move her except for the fact that he let go of her arse and let her entire weight drop onto his cock.
An explosion of pleasure radiated out through Harry's body as Daphne screamed.
"Daphne!" Harry groaned loudly as his own orgasm struck him. Her body pulsed in time with his, helping his seed to fire deep inside of her body. Harry felt like he'd transcended into a higher plane of existence as Daphne's pussy sucked the life out of his cock. He just revelled in the pleasure as she drained him completely dry.
Harry fought hard to breathe again as his orgasm started to fade. Daphne was no better as she panted heavily above him. Her pussy was still squeezing his cock something fierce, but it was weakening every second as she came to terms with the orgasm that'd made her scream.
Daphne collapsed down onto Harry's chest, breathless and overwhelmed by her first time having sex. Harry had no desire to move her off of him, so the two of them just laid there in their post-coital bliss.
This was what life was worth living for, Harry knew. The dark magic that'd plagued him seemed like less of a concern while he was in the arms of one of his two lovers. If he kept this up, maybe he could finally move past the dark thoughts that kept creeping into his mind.
But that would take time, as would his recovery. At least he could work through it with the two beautiful witches he loved most in this world.