Ch 17
Harry prowled along the far width of the training room like a caged animal. He was frustrated with himself… again. He couldn't seem to shake this never ending anger bubbling beneath the surface of his skin. Was he already past the point of no return? Was a single use of Fiendfyre enough to damn him eternally?
No. At least, not according to what Dumbledore had told him. The old wizard had said that time and love would be the key to getting past this, but he'd also said that his anger would fade day by day if he stuck to this. And yet, whatever progress he'd made in the weeks since had been minuscule at best.
His anger was bone deep, cloying and consuming. It begged for violence, destruction, and the continued use of dark magic.
Even now, he twirled the tip of his wand in the start of the motion that would conjure Fiendfyre. He did it subconsciously, but his body sang whenever he did it. It was begging him to take that next step, to give in and use his magic to fuel the spell, to let it burn through everything in its path until there was nothing left but the flames. Even Harry himself would be consumed too, but only at the very end once he'd given it everything he had.
There was a dark fixation that drew him to actually consider this. A faint, vain hope that just giving his body a little bit of what it wanted would lead to all of his troubles leaving him.
But that was a lie. His anger would never abate so long as he used dark magic.
So, he stuffed that thought deep down inside of his brain where no one would ever find it. But it had legs, and every so often, it crept back to the fore of his mind.
Like right now.
"Let's try that again," Astoria called out from across the room. She was in her training robes, just as Harry was, with a thin sheen of sweat covering her forehead. They'd started the day by having Harry practise some new spells on Astoria, which she blocked or dodged to the best of her ability. Now, it was Harry's turn to practise his blocking and dodging.
At the halfway point in the room, behind a carefully enchanted, protective wall, Daphne watched the two of them train. True to her word, after Harry had his two days of rest, she'd been with him every single day for training.
Daphne was the ultimate arbiter for when it was time to bring things to a close, and she absolutely refused to let Harry argue his case to continue training. She didn't want to see him aggravate his injuries, and so she took great pains to make sure that his training was as safe yet fulfilling as possible. She usually joined in, giving Harry the chance to practise with someone different or letting him fight against her and Astoria at the same time.
Although she often annoyed Harry by stopping his training before he thought that he'd done enough for the day, he respected her greatly for standing up to his shite. She was always firm but never mean, and his shoulder ached a lot less now. He owed her greatly for this, as he did Astoria.
But such thoughts rarely filled his mind when rage was at the fore.
Harry continued to pace back and forth as Astoria called out to him again.
"You did really well last time!" She told him encouragingly.
No, he hadn't. He'd dodged over a dozen spells and blocked half as many before Astoria had clipped him with a jelly-legs jinx. The humility of the spell was nothing compared to the humility of being taken down so easily. He needed to be able to withstand a protracted fight with one of the vilest wizards the world had ever seen.
"Just start whenever you're ready!" Harry shouted back roughly.
If his tone of voice upset Astoria, she didn't show it. She simply dropped into her ready stance, bending her knees slightly and aiming her wand towards his form.
Not again, Harry said to himself. She won't get me again.
If there was one thing that had improved most for all three of them during their training, it was their silent casting. Most of the time, they didn't bother verbalising their spells, even if doing so generally offered an extra bit of power.
Astoria fired off three quick spells, stunners by the look of them, towards Harry without prejudice. There was enough distance between them that Harry was able to move out of the way of them easily by simply continuing his prowl along the far wall. He hadn't even bothered to lift his wand.
She should be pushing him, closing the gap, and not giving him a chance to breathe. Instead, she moved forward slowly, looking for an opening she could exploit. He didn't understand why she was doing this; after all, it wasn't like he could fight back.
Harry bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from lashing out verbally at Astoria, chastising her for still taking things too cautiously. He hated the way she treated him gently in their duels, even if it was done out of genuine love and concern.
Merlin, why was he thinking this way? He shouldn't be upset with her for loving him! This damned dark magic was—
Finally, Astoria unleashed her next volley of spells. A resounding stream of red jets of light culminated in hefty explosions all around Harry, which he was forced to shield against. Thick, black smoke surrounded for just a moment, obscuring his vision. He knew what was coming next and dropped to his belly preemptively.
Faintly through the smoke, he saw a couple more spells pass overhead and crash against the wall behind him. Harry quickly rolled aside, predicting that Astoria would follow up by targeting the floor once she heard her spells hit the wall.
It was all too easy to get back to his feet. Astoria spotted him rolling out of the smoke and tried to adjust her aim to strike him, but that was easier said than done in the heat of the moment. Her spells went wide again.
Why wouldn't she just rush him like he did to her? It was the smart thing to do! Did she think that she was giving him better practice by playing around cautiously like this? Voldemort and his Death Eaters wouldn't be cautious!
Arrogantly, Harry pushed forward. If Astoria wasn't going to close the gap, then he would.
Astoria's eyes widened as Harry dashed forward, leaving barely a ten-metre gap between them. It was big enough that Harry would still have time to react, but he'd need to be quick.
As if gaining energy from Harry's sudden burst of speed, Astoria began casting faster. Her wand whipped back and forth as a steady stream of spells shot towards Harry.
Harry barely needed to look at the spells anymore to understand where they were headed; he swore that he could practically taste the magic in the air, feel its tingle along his skin, sense it resonating within his body. Harry invited the overwhelming attack wholeheartedly, knowing that this was closer to what he needed to be able to withstand Voldemort and his forces. But he still wanted more from Astoria. More violence, more ferocity, more power.
He wanted to stare death in the face once more and prove to himself that he could defeat it.
He dodged side to side, making every step count. He never moved more than he needed to and tried to let his movements flow naturally with his body. Unfortunately, he wasn't perfectly successful with that. The aches and pains his body had suffered at the hands of Voldemort still lingered even now. Normally, they were quite faint, but they amplified whenever he exerted himself.
As he shifted his weight onto his left foot, his shoulder let out a sharp twinge of making, making Harry hesitate for just half of a second. At this close range, half of a second could be the difference between life and death, and he chastised himself as he brought up his shield.
He needed to be stronger than this! He needed to let go of all of his pain and fight through it. If he just cast Fiendfyre again for just a moment, it'd give him the adrenaline rush he needed to do exactly that.
His hand moved, his mouth forming the words.
"Fuck!" Harry shouted, hurling his wand to the floor. It clattered away from him on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Astoria asked with deep concern lacing her voice. She lowered her wand instantly, rushing forward to check on Harry.
"Why did you stop?" Harry shouted at her, unable to contain his rage. "You should have pressed your advantage when you had the chance! Voldemort wouldn't have quit!"
Astoria came up a few feet short from Harry, hurt lingering across her face.
"I was worried about you," Astoria emphasised. "I thought you were hurt."
No, but she almost was. If he hadn't stopped himself…
Daphne came out from behind her cover and strode over towards them. She put herself between Harry and Astoria, staring down Harry with a serious look in her eyes.
"Astoria isn't Voldemort," she told him sternly. "Nor is she one of his Death Eaters. She's her own person, and she has her own style of duelling. You can't expect to behave viciously if that's not in her nature. It's not fair to put that on her."
Harry wanted to rage and argue, to discount every word that Daphne said as nothing but foolishness, but he didn't. Daphne put her hands on her hips, staring at him unblinkingly until he looked away first.
Merlin, why did he have to be like this?
"I'm sorry," he muttered, staring down at his feet. "I'm having a bad day."
"Tell that to Astoria," Daphne snapped at him.
Harry looked up. Astoria looked more worried than sad, but at least she didn't seem scared of him. He didn't know if he could live with himself if he made her feel that way.
"I'm truly sorry, Astoria," he said softly. "For being rude to you. You're… Daphne's right. You have your own way of fighting, and just because I'm angry and aggressive all the time doesn't mean that I should try to make you that way too. You're already doing so much just by helping me, and I really appreciate it."
"Oh, Harry," Astoria softened instantly. She moved past Daphne to wrap Harry up in a tight hug. "I know this is all so difficult for you, but we love you so much. You try so hard everyday, and I know it's never enough progress for you, but all of us have grown leaps and bounds since summer started."
She wasn't wrong on any of those three things. They had become far more competent duellists, and they're skills were growing each day, but it still was nothing compared to what Voldemort was capable of.
But this wasn't the time to discuss it.
"Harry's still struggling with his use of dark magic," Daphne commented.
"I figured the aftereffects would've started to die down by now," Astoria said as she pulled out of the hug and examined Harry's face like she could spot some sign that she'd missed.
"Each case is different, but Harry used one of the darkest spells in existence," Daphne pointed out. "There might be days, like today, where he regresses a bit, but what matters is that things will get better so long as we're careful. I'm guessing that he threw down his wand because he was about to do something that he was going to regret."
Harry's guilty expression told them everything they needed to know. "I normally have it under better control than this," Harry admitted.
"You need to tell us when it's getting bad so that we can take a break," Daphne told him. "We can't afford to have any accidents happen. If you slip up even once and use any dark magic again, it'll set back your progress tremendously. We'll still be here for you if that happens, but all of us have our breaking points, and I won't accept being with someone who's angry all the time."
Harry swallowed and nodded his head. "Understood. I'll do better."
"Good," Daphne said, finally softening up a bit too. She gave Harry a hug and sweet, lingering kiss on his lips.
"How do you know so much about this?" Astoria asked. "Do you have a book or something I could read?"
Daphne shook her head as she released Harry. "Mother and father prepared me in a lot of ways for my future marriage. One of them was teaching me about the signs of dark magic usage in people. A lot of pure-bloods use it, and it can lead to a lot of problems at home. They wanted me to be able to recognise it and know how to help someone through it, or how to defend myself if I had no other choice."
A chill ran down Harry's spine.
Was Daphne already wondering how to protect herself and Astoria from him?
"I'll try to do better—" he began to say.
"I know you can't always help how you feel," Daphne assured him quickly. "But if you're ever really angry or upset, you need to tell us. Communication is the bedrock of any good relationship, and love is what will help you get better."
Astoria's lips twitched up in amusement. "Is that why you've been shagging him so much this past week?"
Daphne's cheeks pinkened lightly. "Something like that," she murmured.
"Definitely not because you love how good he feels inside of you, right?" Astoria giggled.
"Shut up," Daphne snapped, turning away quickly before either of them could see her blush worsen.
Harry smiled halfheartedly, thankful for the light change in tone. These two women were better than he deserved, and he needed to prove to them that he was worth their love.
All he had to do was get past this damned anger. But with these two by his side, he knew that he could overcome anything.
"You don't call, you don't write," an exasperated voice cried out. "I've been worried sick, cooped up all day inside of that stuffy old house, and after countless attempts of reaching you, I finally find you just lounging by a pool with two beautiful witches on your arms?"
Harry would've had the decency to look embarrassed if the entire situation wasn't so completely hilarious. He was laying down on a pool chair with Daphne and Astoria on ones right next to him. The plush cushions effectively formed a wide bed for the three of them to lay across. They were all in their respective swim-wear but had decided that they'd lounge in the sun for a while before they slipped into the water.
"Should I dispose of him?" Hobsy, the Greengrass' young house-elf, asked, wiggling her fingers as sparks of magic danced between them.
"No no no no no no," Sirius Black repeated, waving his arms around wildly in protest. He was dangling upside down from a rope tied around his left ankle above the pool in front of them. His face had already turned red from all of the blood rushing to it, and he was wrestling to keep his robes from falling over his face. "Absolutely under no circumstances should you dispose of me. Ever."
"What if you get fleas?" Harry asked innocently.
"Harry, please," Sirius whined. "I travelled so far to find you. Please, just let me down."
Harry glanced down at the pool of water beneath Sirius' head. Would it be too mean to let him fall right down into it?
Well… he did ask to be let down.
"Alright Hobsy, let him down," Harry said with a mischievous grin.
Harry let out a belly laugh as Sirius plummeted into the water. It'd been a long time since he'd laughed like this, probably not since before the Third Task took place. It felt good to let himself relax like this and not be so serious and angry all the time.
"That was so mean," Astoria pouted at Harry.
"Maybe next time he should try knocking on our front door rather than sneaking around the manor grounds," Daphne pointed out.
Sirius emerged from the water spluttering with an annoyed look on his face.
"Really?" He asked Harry.
"I just did like you asked," Harry chuckled.
Taking pity on his godfather, Harry pulled out his wand from his swim trunks and gave it a wave. Sirius was hoisted up out of the water and deposited on the edge of the pool before Harry then magically dried him off.
Pushing himself up to his feet, Harry embraced the man with a warm hug. "It's good to see you, Sirius."
"I see you've developed a sense of humour since I saw you last," Sirius replied snarkily, hugging Harry back.
"I suppose," Harry agreed.
"Well," Sirius said, a glint in his eye. "Just remember that what goes around comes around."
Harry realised his mistake far too late when Sirius, still holding onto him, pitched both of them into the pool.
The girls were laughing at them as they bobbed back up to the surface of the water. Sirius had the biggest grin on his face that Harry had ever seen.
"You've still got much to learn," Sirius laughed.
It heartened Harry to see Sirius looking so well. After his stint in Azkaban, the man had become gaunt and frail. A bit of time spent being free had clearly done him plenty of good. He had put some weight back on, even if he was still on the leaner side of things, and his eyes didn't quite have that same haunted, hallowed look that they had the last time Harry had seen him in person.
"I guess I do," Harry laughed along with him.
They both climbed out of the pool, and Astoria thankfully dried them off again.
"I don't blame you for not writing if you had these two lovely ladies to keep you company," Sirius teased Harry lightly.
"This is Astoria," Harry said, gesturing to her. "She's the one who you helped me work up the courage to ask out to the Yule Ball."
"Of course!" Sirius exclaimed. "I knew you had it in you."
"And this is Daphne, her older sister," Harry added.
"Sisters… you can't mean…" Sirius looked into Harry's eyes for any hint of deceit, and when he found none, he let out a howl of approval. "Oh, Harry! You're more of a dog than I am! James would be so proud!"
He hugged Harry tightly all over again as Astoria and Daphne laughed.
"I don't know about that," Astoria said teasingly. "Aren't you the one who's actually a dog animagus?"
"You can't go giving all my secrets away, Harry," Sirius chastised Harry lightly. "How else am I supposed to make a spectacle of myself the next time I want to surprise your girlfriends?"
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find a way," Harry replied.
"What's going on out here?"
The four of them turned to see Cyrus and Anastasia walking down the stone pathway towards them, each with their wands drawn.
"It's okay," Harry assured them. "My godfather tried to sneak onto the manor grounds to check up on me."
"Harry, do you know what he's done?" Cyrus asked, assuming a dangerous pose with his wand pointed at Sirius' chest.
Harry stepped out in front of his godfather with his arms outstretched. "Whatever you've heard about him, it isn't true. Sirius is innocent of everything. I can explain it all to you if you'd just put your wand down."
It was a testament to just how accustomed Cyrus had gotten to Harry's presence here over the past weeks, or maybe it was due to his positive perception of the young man, that Cyrus lowered his wand at Harry's word. Anastasia, however, didn't.
"Perhaps we should speak inside," Cyrus said, glancing around.
"We'll go get changed and meet you in the formal sitting room," Daphne said quickly as she got to her feet.
Harry turned back to Sirius. "It's probably best if you go with them for now. We'll meet you inside in just a few minutes."
"Alright," Sirius agreed, eyeing Anastasia's wand warily. "But if they kill me or send me back to Azkaban, just know that you won't be getting any more birthday or Christmas presents from me."
Harry snorted in amusement. "It's a deal then."
The six of them headed inside and split up. Harry, Daphne, and Astoria hurried upstairs to get changed while the others headed for the formal sitting room. It was a place for serious discussions between the members of the Greengrass family or their close acquaintances.
Harry was wondering how he was meant to explain to Cyrus and Anastasia about Sirius' past and how he was innocent. At best, he could offer his memories as proof if they had a pensieve on hand. He hoped that whatever rapport he'd built up with Cyrus was enough to convince him. Anastasia would undoubtedly prove to be a more difficult challenge.
Minutes later, Harry and the girls arrived at the formal sitting room, finding a tense silence between Sirius, Cyrus, and Anastasia. A stark look of relief crossed Cyrus' face when the three of them finally returned.
"Lord Black here filled us in—" Cyrus said, only to be cut off by Sirius clearing his throat.
"Just Sirius," he said. "None of this Lord Black nonsense. I doubt the Ministry would even recognise me as such anymore."
"Because you're a wanted criminal," Anastasia said coldly. "In my home."
"Believe me, the only reason I'm here is because you have my godson," Sirius retorted hotly. "And I'll have you know that I'm innocent of all charges."
Anastasia snorted. "A likely story. One that most inmates in Azkaban have held to at one point or another."
"It's true," Harry interjected, drawing their attention over to him. "Peter Pettigrew was the one who gave up my parents to Voldemort and murdered those muggles. Sirius never had anything to do with any of it. You can ask Dumbledore himself; he knows what Peter did after we managed to get Pettigrew to confess everything last year."
"If that's the case, then why isn't Pettigrew in Azkaban?" Cyrus asked.
"Because Pettigrew escaped," Harry admitted through gritted teeth. "But he's still out there. I saw him again just a few weeks ago."
"At Hogwarts?" Cyrus asked.
Harry shook his head and glanced over at Astoria and Daphne. Both of them were fully aware of Voldemort's return, as was Dumbledore, but as far as Harry knew, no one else was in the know. They certainly hadn't told anyone else, but Dumbledore might have.
He recalled the wizened man's words: "Tell those whom you trust to keep it a secret."
In truth, he didn't know if either Cyrus or Anastasia could be trusted. From what he knew, the Greengrass family hadn't been directly aligned with Voldemort before. Neither Cyrus or Anastasia had his Dark Mark either. But Harry couldn't say that he knew either of them well enough to be a proper judge of their character. Would they keep this a secret?
Daphne and Astoria both seemed to pick up on the unspoken question Harry was asking them. Daphne looked quite pensive, but Astoria was the one who surprised him. She nodded her head.
"Go on," she prompted him gently. "They'll keep it a secret, if only to protect us."
"Protect you from what?" Cyrus asked, suddenly sitting up straighter.
"From Voldemort," Harry answered, leaving Cyrus and Anastasia recoiling in shock. Sirius didn't seem surprised by the news, so Harry assumed that Dumbledore must have informed him about what took place. "There was a trap during the Third Task. The Triwizard Cup was a portkey, and it whisked me away to a place where I was captured by Wormtail and had my blood used in Voldemort's resurrection. He's back, and the world's going to be plunged back into war soon enough."
"That's why you three have been training so much," Anastasia murmured, lost in thought.
"Dumbledore's already organising a resistance movement," Sirius chimed in carefully, trusting that if Harry was going to reveal this information to Cyrus and Anastasia, it would be prudent to let them know that more was being done on the matter. "We're keeping an eye on known and suspected Death Eaters, watching their movements and seeing who they meet with."
"Spying, essentially," Anastasia said with a tone that expressed exactly how little she thought of the idea.
"Not much else we can do with Fudge in charge of the Ministry," Sirius shrugged.
"Does he even know about this?" Cyrus asked.
Sirius and Harry both shook their heads at the same time.
"Merlin," Cyrus sighed, sagging down in his seat. "This is madness."
"Madness is what will rule if Voldemort isn't stopped," Harry corrected him. "He's already tried to take over the Wizarding World once. He'll do it again."
"He'll come after you too," Anastasia added pointedly, her mind already spinning ahead to understand the potential ramifications of it all. "You're the only one who ever beat him. He can't leave you alive since it'd make him look weak."
"That's why I plan to fight back," Harry replied.
"And we'll be with him through it all," Astoria stated firmly, grabbing onto Harry's arm.
"That's right," Daphne agreed, taking up Harry's other side.
In that moment, Harry felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for the two parents who were just witnessing their daughters commit themselves to war. They were the ones alive through Voldemort's first war. They saw the horrific things done in his name to those who opposed him. Perhaps they were imagining those same sickening things being done to their daughters right now.
Harry expected protests, rage, or even pleading for the girls to reconsider, but instead all he was met with was a deafening silence.
Cyrus looked unable to formulate even a single word while a sour look crossed Anastasia's face as she continued to play out various permutations of the future in her mind. Neither of them seemed keen on trying to tackle this complicated issue, which was why Astoria did it for them.
"Remember when we talked a couple weeks ago," she said softly. "You wanted to make amends and learn more about our relationship with Harry? Well, I think I made it clear then just how attached Daphne and I are to him. You two still have a lot to make up for over trying to break Harry and I up, and supporting us in this would be a wonderful first step."
"You can't actually expect us to—" Anastasia tried to speak, but for what was perhaps the first time in their marriage, Cyrus shushed her.
"Of course we will," Cyrus told them. "You two are the most wonderful daughters we could have ever asked for, better than we deserve. You're both so wonderful and intelligent. I know that if this is the decision you two have made, it wasn't done lightly. We'll help you in any way we can."
A swell of hope filled Harry's chest. He knew that this was exactly the type of unconditional love that Astoria and Daphne had always wanted from their father. The fact that he was standing up to Anastasia too meant the world.
But it didn't mean much if Anastasia wasn't on board too.
"This is your chance to make things right," Daphne chimed in, meeting her mother's gaze.
Anastasia glanced down at her feet for a moment before she opened her mouth to speak, but Sirius beat her to the punch.
"Look, I don't know the full story of what's going on here or what your family dynamic is like, but I can imagine from having grown up in a pure-blood family myself," Sirius grimaced. "But my time spent away in Azkaban really taught me a valuable lesson: there's nothing more important than family. But family doesn't have anything to do with blood; family comes from choice. Blood-related or not, family won't stick around if you don't choose to love them. I love Harry more than anyone else in the world. He's family to me, and I'd give up anything to see him live a long, happy, and successful life in any way he wants to lead it, even if it goes against what I hope for him. Not that you're doing a bad job on that front! I mean, two witches…"
Harry chuckled. "Thanks, Sirius."
All eyes turned back to Anastasia. If she didn't choose to support Astoria and Daphne now, she might lose them forever. And honestly, even with that on the line, Harry wasn't sure what choice she'd make.
Seconds passed by in silence.
Finally, she spoke.
"I suppose that as long as you're still with Daphne…" Anastasia trailed off, biting her lower lip. "I'll be here for all of you too."
The relief that swept across everyone's faces was more than palpable. It was as though an uplifting energy filled the room and literally raised everyone's spirits up.
For the first time in months, Astoria and Daphne hugged their mother.
Ch 18
Harry awoke to the early morning sunshine and the warmth of Astoria's body pressed against his. Their limbs were a tangled mess and her rich brown hair was all over his face, but Harry wouldn't have changed it for the world. Not only did his body feel good to be pressed up against Astoria like this, his mind and spirit did too. That underlying sense of anger that had plagued him for weeks now was finally starting to fade for good, and it was moments like this that helped that process along.
It felt good to feel like this. An invisible weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and his heart felt fuller than it had in a long time. Daphne had been wonderful to him in his moments of darkness, but Astoria was his first love. The fact that he'd gotten so angry with her over little things these past weeks had hurt him as well as her. He never wanted to feel anger towards either of the women he held so close in his heart.
Gently, Harry brushed Astoria's hair away from her face and planted a kiss on her forehead. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and then Harry leaned down to kiss her properly.
"Good morning, love," Harry murmured softly.
Astoria sighed happily and snuggled in closer to him. "Good morning to you too. Oh! And to you too," she giggled softly as she felt his morning erection pressed against her thigh.
"Sorry," Harry laughed quietly.
"Don't be," Astoria kissed him. "I like feeling exactly how much you love me."
"It's a bit hard to keep it away when you're pressing your naked body against me all night long," Harry smiled.
"I could say the same to you," Astoria replied. "Do you know how hard it is not to jump your bones when you snuggle up behind me and kiss my neck when we're going to sleep?"
"Maybe you should just do it then," Harry told her. "I certainly wouldn't complain."
"Only if you promise to make a move on me when you're feeling randy," Astoria replied, biting her lower lip and pushing her thigh against his erection.
Harry laughed again, pushing back against Astoria. The thrill in his cock sent shivers down his spine. There was just something about the way she touched him that drove him completely wild. Their late nights in the library and the prefect's bathroom had been driven by lust, but this was nothing but pure loving passion.
After pressing another sweet kiss to Astoria's lips, Harry slowly slipped beneath the bedsheets and crawled his way down between Astoria's thighs. She was beginning to breathe rather quickly in a way that made her body rock in the most sensuous fashion. Harry couldn't help but admire her form as his hands found her thighs and his lips found hers.
A fresh coat of wetness painted his tongue as he teased her hairless slit. She tasted divine to him, like a fine wine. No matter how many times he went down on her, he could never tire of it.
In an instant, Astoria began to tremble beneath his touch. She squirmed awkwardly as she tried to find the right position that would allow her to perfectly relax against Harry's pleasurable touch. It was a marvel as to how easily he was able to make her melt just from the lightest little lick. They were made for each other, and that drove Harry on forward.
As one of Harry's fingers pushed past her entrance, Astoria whined quietly. It was the type of sound she made that told him he was doing the right thing. He slipped a second finger inside of her as his lips encircled her clit, teasing it without applying too much pressure as to overstimulate her. It was the perfect touch that left her begging for more, and Harry was more than happy to deliver on that front.
"Oh, Harry," Astoria sighed contently, placing her hands on the back of Harry's head through the bedsheets. "Yes, that's it. Right there, please."
He lapped at her clit, teasing her just enough so that he felt a proper amount of wetness coating his two fingers inside of her. Her juices felt sweet against his tongue. She kept leaking so much that he had to lick the base of his fingers clean.
With a subtle curl of his fingers inside of her pussy, Harry had Astoria's back arching off of the bed. Her breasts pressed up against the sheets, and her legs trembled around his frame. She was his to control, and he loved that he was able to make her feel so good.
He could only imagine how adorable her face must look right now, all screwed up in pleasure. He never tired of seeing her that way. Anything that he could do to make her scream his name was well worth doing.
Astoria's hands slipped beneath the bedsheets and grabbed onto Harry's hair. His fingers brushed against that rough spot within her core just as his lips sealed themselves firmly around her clit. The pain from Astoria yanking on his hair was well worth it. Just hearing her moan his name left Harry with butterflies dancing in his stomach.
"Harry, please," Astoria moaned. "I need you inside of me."
He couldn't take it anymore. He slid along her body until his cock was poking at her inner thigh. Just that simple touch made him throb with ache. He needed to be inside of her right now; nothing else would come close to satisfying him.
"I love you," Harry murmured as his lips brushed across Astoria's.
"I love—" she gasped as his cock speared her lower lips, pushing past her entrance. "—you."
Harry kissed her neck as his cock ventured further into her tight, hot depths. She was so wet that he had no trouble pushing forward until he filled her up completely. He'd forgotten just how tight she was.
"Fuck," Harry groaned, kissing Astoria soundly again. Her lips felt so soft against his. He didn't know if bliss could be any better than being inside of Astoria and feeling her body pressed against his.
"You feel so good inside of me," Astoria moaned softly, clenching down hard around his cock.
Harry reached down and grasped her left thigh, hoisting her leg up so that he could get even deeper inside of her perfect pussy. He grinded his hips against hers, feeling his cock slowly stir clockwise inside of her pussy. As desperately as he wanted to start thrusting, there was little that could compare to the overwhelmingly wonderful sensation of being completely surrounded by such a tight, wet warmth.
"Don't you ever leave me," Harry said before he kissed Astoria again.
"Never," she replied breathlessly. "Not until the day I die."
Let that never be soon, Harry thought to himself.
The two of them grunted together as Harry started to move inside of Astoria. His cock rocked back and forth as he made tiny motions, just enough to tease both of them with enough pleasure to elicit little sounds of ecstasy.
Harry knew that he had to be the luckiest man alive to have both Astoria and Daphne as his partners. The two of them were simply unbelievable, and neither could replace the other. They acted as the perfect complement to one another, offering Harry the most intense type of love that couldn't be achieved by one woman alone. He was grateful that both of them understood that and still offered themselves over completely to him.
Steadily, Harry worked up his pace as he thrusted into Astoria's pussy. Their lips sought each other out desperately as they made the most of their early-morning lovemaking. It was the sweetest type of touch imaginable, and both of their bodies worked the other's up into a needy frenzy that drove them on to seek nothing but love and pleasure.
Astoria's tight walls squeezed him perfectly as he slammed forward and buried himself completely inside of her pussy. She let out the most adorable gasp into his mouth, too stunned for a moment to even kiss him back. Her arms pulled his chest down onto hers, and Harry made sure to rub himself up and down against her sensitive nipples to give her just that extra little hit of pleasure.
"Harry," she moaned his name softly as he started to kiss her neck. "Fuck, I needed this."
"We needed this," he corrected her gently as he started moving again.
Harry's hips rocked faster. He wasn't fucking Astoria as hard as they often did, but he was doing enough to leave her breathless. Her eyes fluttered closed and her mouth hung open as she let herself give in fully to the pleasure. Her moans grew louder and louder in time with each of his thrusts, and he could feel her starting to come undone around him.
His cock began to swell, matching Astoria's pace. His body trembled as a rush of pleasure began to course through him, but he didn't stop thrusting inside of Astoria. He kept up his efforts until he heard her cry out his name again, and then he finally let himself free.
Harry buried his face in the crook of Astoria's neck and let out a tremendous groan as he unleashed a torrent of cum inside of her pussy. He rammed forward until he was as deep inside of her as he could go and lost himself in the pleasure of feeling her walls spasm around him. Her hands clawed at his back as she came beneath him, thrashing about on his cock.
It was bliss. This was how the two of them were meant to be.
"I love you," Harry whispered in her ear.
Astoria looked on the verge of tears from love and happiness. She grabbed his head and pulled him in for a tender kiss.
They stayed there for several minutes, Harry's cock still resting rock hard inside of Astoria's pussy. They traded sweet kisses back and forth as they found solace in one another.
However, all good things had to come to an end.
A loud knock sounded at the door to Astoria's bedroom.
"Breakfast is almost ready," Daphne's voice called out through the door. "Unless you want mum or dad to come up and check on you two, you'd better come down soon."
"I guess that's our fun done for the day," Harry said to Astoria as he stared deep into her loving gaze.
"I suppose," she sighed. "Then again, we could have some more fun in the shower."
"That's my girl," Harry grinned.
He didn't bother pulling out of her warm depths. Instead, he pulled her with him to the edge of the bed and then hoisted her up. She clung to his torso, sat firmly on his cock as he carried her over to her bathroom.
The warm spray of water only enhanced their further copulation. They made love in each other's embrace until they both found their fill, and then Harry helped Astoria get cleaned up from his seed dripping out of her core.
It took quite some time before they made it out of the shower, but once they did, they hurried downstairs to the dining room.
A smile graced Harry's lips as he saw Daphne, Anastasia, and Cyrus all talking together peacefully at the breakfast table. They all seemed to be in good spirits. Their talk with Sirius days earlier had done wonders to improve the relations between the Greengrass parents and Greengrass children. It almost seemed like an entirely different family altogether from the one Harry first got to know.
"Astoria," Cyrus smiled brightly as she saw her come into the room. "We were waiting for you."
"Sorry," she said as she hurried around and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek. "What're you waiting on me for?"
"There's mail here for Harry," Anastasia chimed in, holding out a sealed envelope towards him.
"Oh?" Harry hummed as he accepted the letter. He flipped it over and saw his name scribbled in a neat font. He turned it over and saw a familiar seal on the back of it. "It's from the Weasleys."
Harry's lips twitched as he broke the seal. His time after becoming Hogwarts' second champion had been difficult. Not only had Ron, one of his best friends, not believed that he hadn't entered his name, he'd gone so far as to mock Harry within the Gryffindor Common Room. It'd hurt terribly at the time, but the sting had been lessened by the inclusion of Astoria in his life not long after.
Harry,
Mate, I hope you don't burn this letter the second you see who it's from. I've talked a lot to Hermione about everything, and… well…
Look, I believe that you didn't enter your name into the Triwizard Cup. I guess I was jealous. Everything always seems to go your way, even when it doesn't. I don't know if I explained that right, but we're best friends. I don't want to fight with you, and I don't want you to think that I don't believe what you say.
I'm sorry.
I'd love to have you over at the Burrow today, or any other day if it's better for you. Hermione's here with us too. Mum's been bugging me about having you over, but Dumbledore said that we needed to give you a bit of time to yourself. Whatever you went through during that last task must have been mental.
If you feel up to it, come on over. Or send me an owl at least. I want to know how my best friend's doing.
Sincerely,
Ron
Harry set down the letter with a furrowed brow. He didn't quite know how to feel about this.
Ron had always been… temperamental. He'd occasionally have these small bouts of jealousy that'd cause problems, but he'd always remained loyal to Harry and Hermione. At least until this year. This time, his jealousy had driven a wedge between the two of them that neither had made any effort to mend.
Part of it may have been Harry's fault. He'd become enamoured with Astoria and basically spent all of his time with her until Daphne joined them. He rarely saw his Gryffindor dormmates except at meal times or when they were asleep, and he made no effort to try to talk things out with Ron. Then again, this was all due to Ron's jealousy in the first place, not Harry's. Harry shouldn't have been the one to fix anything.
"What is it?" Astoria asked, clearly picking up on his somewhat melancholic expression.
Harry passed over the letter wordlessly and let Astoria read it. Daphne leaned over her sister's shoulder to read it too, and both of them grew pensive upon finishing it.
"I think you should visit him," Daphne said suddenly. "Even though you don't talk about him much, I know you miss him."
Those were Harry's thoughts too. He had so many fond memories of his time with Ron at Hogwarts and over at the Burrow. If it wasn't for what transpired this past year, it wouldn't have been surprising for Harry to find himself at the Burrow again for much of this summer.
"I suppose I should," Harry murmured.
If nothing else, at least it'd be good to see Hermione again, if things didn't work out smoothly with Ron.
"Would you two come with me?" Harry asked.
"Of course," Daphne replied instantly, and Astoria nodded her head along too.
Breakfast returned to a more cheerful affair after that. Little was discussed about the letter. Rather, Cyrus and Anastasia seemed quite keen on getting to know their daughters again.
It felt nice to see a much warmer family dynamic than may have ever existed before, except for when the girls were quite young and there wasn't so much pressure placed on Daphne's shoulders. Harry was quite content to stay quiet on the sidelines and just watch.
By the time breakfast ended, Harry felt calm and at ease, which was exactly what he was going to need for the upcoming discussion with Ron.
After saying their brief goodbyes, the three of them headed out to the front of Greengrass Manor where Harry apparated them away smoothly.
The Burrow looked the same as it ever did. Harry didn't know why he'd expected it to be different somehow when he arrived. Maybe it was because he'd changed so much since he'd last been here. The overgrown garden and frog-filled pond out behind the house were still the same, as was the old broomshed. It was a peaceful, idyllic place so far removed from the turmoil of Harry's life.
Ron was waiting for them outside when they arrived. He was standing near the back door to the Burrow looking terribly awkward and nervous. Off near an old oak tree, Hermione was sitting down and reading quietly. The sound of Harry apparating in with Astoria and Daphne broke off their discussion.
Hermione gave Harry a wave, to which he returned with a smile. Although he wasn't quite as close to her as he once was, he didn't quite harbour the same negative sentiments towards her as he did Ron. At the very least, she'd decided to believe that he didn't enter his name into the goblet, and they'd remained friendly since. It was just difficult to spend time around her when Ron so obviously tried to hog all of her attention.
"Looks like he wants to talk to you alone," Astoria commented perceptively as she released Harry's arm.
"We'll go over and talk with Hermione," Daphne added. "Give you two a moment to talk things out."
As the two of them walked off, Harry was left with the well-worn dirt path leading straight to Ron. He didn't look like he knew whether to wait near the Burrow or approach Harry first, so he made a jerky step forward before he came to an abrupt halt, reconsidering his choice.
Biting back a sigh, Harry started forward. He didn't like this tension that had built up between him and Ron. He didn't know if they'd ever be as close as they once were before, but at least it would be one less thing lingering in the back of his mind as he prepared for the most important year of his life so far. His focus needed to be on training to stop Voldemort and on his two beautiful girlfriends.
"Hey," Ron said lamely, going to offer Harry a hand to shake before thinking better of it and running his hand through his short orange hair instead.
"Hey," Harry replied. He didn't feel awkward like Ron did. Instead, it felt like he was showing up to a wake. Memories of their old friendship flooded his mind, tinged with sadness at how it'd been torn apart.
There was a moment of silence as Harry waited for Ron to say anything. He kept fidgeting and glancing over at Hermione.
Eventually, Harry realised that he was going to need to be the one to do some prodding here if he didn't want to just stand around all day.
"I was surprised to get your letter," Harry began carefully.
"Oh, yeah," Ron grimaced. "I, uh… thought it was time we should talk." Ron glanced over at Hermione again.
"You did?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Or was it Hermione?"
The red tinge of Ron's cheeks told Harry everything he needed to know.
"It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to you," Ron suddenly blurted out. "I just didn't know if you'd want to talk to me after what a jerk I'd been."
Harry hummed quietly in mild agreement. "To be honest, I've been pretty preoccupied. Talking with you hadn't crossed my mind much."
He regretted his words almost instantly when he saw the pain laid across Ron's face. Internally, Harry chided himself, forcing him to clamp down on his bubbling anger inside of his chest. He was in control, not it.
"Sorry," Harry said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that. I've just been busy with everything, you know. Between the tournament and Astoria and Daphne… I just haven't had time for much else."
"No, I get it," Ron said as he scratched the back of his head. "I've been busy too. Fred and George are planning on starting up a business this year, so I've been helping them get all of their products ready to go."
"Good for them," Harry replied sincerely. He'd always thought that the two pranksters would do well in the business world if they were able to put their minds to it. They had the creativity and talent to propel them far.
"Yeah," Ron replied lamely, looking down at his shoes. "Look, Harry, I'm sorry for the way I acted this past year to you. I know you didn't actually enter your name into the tournament yourself."
"What changed your mind?" Harry asked curiously.
"A bit of Hermione lecturing at me," Ron chuckled. "A bit of time spent thinking about it. I know that you don't like having to deal with your fame or stupid stuff like that. It's just hard for me to remember that sometimes. I try to imagine myself in your shoes, and I know that I would've done anything to get my name in the goblet and kept it to myself so that I'd have the best chance of getting my name picked. I guess I'm selfish like that."
"I don't think you would've kept it to yourself," Harry told him honestly. "You care about your friends. You would've told them."
"Not enough to not be a jerk to you," Ron replied.
"But enough to eventually apologise to me," Harry pointed out.
"Later than I should have," Ron grimaced.
"Better late than never," Harry countered.
Ron opened his mouth before snapping it back shut again. A second later, a peal of laughter left his lips. "You're really not going to let me be down on myself, are you?"
"Nope," Harry replied with a small smile. "You fucked up, but you're trying to make things better now, and I appreciate it."
"I won't do anything like that ever again," Ron promised. "And if I do, I give you permission to smack me upside the head until I'm thinking clearly again."
Harry chuckled at the thought of that. He stuck out his hand for Ron to take. "Friends?" He asked.
Ron grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him in for a hug. "I'm so sorry, Harry," Ron said as he hugged him tightly.
"Thank you, Ron," Harry said as he hugged him back.
When they finally released each other, Ron gestured to the door to the Burrow. "Mum's out front gardening, but when she heard that you were coming over, she baked some biscuits for us. Want to come in and have some? It'd be good to catch up."
"Definitely," Harry grinned. He waved over to the girls, who all got up from under the oak tree and hurried over to them.
Hermione led the charge, practically tackling Harry with a bear hug that put Mrs Weasley's to shame. "I've missed you so much!" Hermione exclaimed as she squeezed him. "How was your summer? Were your relatives alright? Have you been eating enough? You're looking better than when we last saw you after the third task. There's so much—"
"Hold on there," Harry laughed. "One question at a time, please."
"Sorry," Hermione said, flashing Harry a bright smile as she let him go. "It's just been so long."
"Too long," Harry agreed. "But we can talk more inside."
The five of them headed into the Burrow. Astoria and Daphne were both looking around the strange home curiously. Harry had told them all about his stay at the Burrow during part of the summer after his second year at Hogwarts. The ghoul in the attic was a particularly interesting topic for them.
They ended up in the living room. Harry sat down on the wide sofa with Astoria and Daphne on either side of him while Hermione and Ron took up armchairs across a small table from them, which was laden with a hefty tray of an array of biscuits.
For several minutes, Harry did nothing more than catch up with Hermione and Ron. It was all light topics of conversation that they focused on: their end-of-year exams, the upcoming school year, and how Harry ended up together with Astoria and Daphne. The revelation that he was dating both of them at the same time nearly had Ron's eyes bulging out of their sockets in surprise and awe, but Hermione was just happy that he'd finally found two people who he could truly love.
The conversation felt familiar and awkward all at the same time, but it got better as time went on. Eventually, it was as though Harry and Ron had never fought in the first place. That was helped especially by Hermione's presence, as she had remained on good terms with both men throughout the entire year and helped to smooth out any awkward moments.
As Harry finally savoured the taste of a butterscotch cookie, a voice rang out from his right.
"Ah, it does warm the heart to see the three of you together again."
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry exclaimed as his head turned to the side, seeing the wizened old man standing in the doorway to the Burrow's living room. He had the most garish, violet-and-green striped robes on and a stack of letters in his hands.
"Harry. It is so good to see you up and about again," he said kindly. "How has your break been treating you?"
"Good," Harry answered, shooting a look over towards Daphne and Astoria. "Mostly thanks to these two helping me out so much."
"Young love is a good cure for a great many things," Dumbledore smiled as he stepped into the room.
"What are you doing here, Professor?" Hermione asked curiously.
"I had need to speak to Harry here and to deliver these."
With a wave of his hands, the stack of letters took flight and separated off. One flew to each person in the living room, and three flew upstairs to Fred, George, and Ginny. Harry recognised the letter immediately. It was their Hogwarts letters for the year.
A sharp ring sounded as a heavy badge fell out of Daphne's letter. She picked up, already knowing what it was.
"I'm a prefect?" She raised her eyebrows in mild surprise, glancing up at Dumbledore. "I figured that Professor Snape would've chosen Pansy."
"He would have had it not been for a timely suggestion on my part," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "A last minute change, but one most deserved, I can assure you. You have been an excellent student for years now, and I have no doubts in mind that you will use your newfound authority wisely and responsibly."
"Thank you," Daphne murmured, glancing down at the gleaming badge.
"I got one too," Hermione said, her eyes widening as her own prefect badge fell into her hand. She looked up at Harry. "Did you get the other one for Gryffindor?"
Before he could respond, Ron let out a strangled cry of surprise as a prefect badge dropped into his lap. Harry, Hermione, and Ron all looked quite stunned at the revelation.
"Me?" Ron said aloud, flabbergasted.
"It was a difficult decision on Minerva's part," Dumbledore chuckled good-naturedly. "But I do believe that she made the correct choice in the end."
"Why not Harry though?" Ron frowned.
Honestly, Harry was wondering that a bit himself. He wasn't particularly upset at being passed over for prefect, but he had thought that he was the most likely candidate out of his dormmates.
"Harry will be quite busy this year," Dumbledore said knowingly. "He has much to prepare for, and I did not want him more overburdened than he already is. I hope that you can forgive me, Harry, for removing you from contention."
"It's fine," Harry waved off his concern.
"Good, good," Dumbledore nodded. "Now, I was hoping that I might be able to speak to you privately about a few things."
There was an awkward silence as Ron and Hermione realised that they were being excluded from this talk. They used to always be kept in the loop on whatever it was that Harry and Dumbledore talked about, but things were different now.
Merlin, they didn't even know about Voldemort's resurrection, Harry realised.
"Ron and Hermione can stay," Harry said as a spur-of-the-moment decision.
"Alright then," Dumbledore smiled. "You should know that I have been preparing an additional curriculum for you this upcoming year. We will be having irregular meetings in my office whenever we both have the time for it. I will ensure that I or Minerva provide you the password beforehand."
"Thank you," Harry said sincerely.
"Think nothing of it," Dumbledore replied. "It would also be good for you to know that I visited your relatives to inform them of where you have been staying this summer. I placed new wards over their home to protect them in case of an emergency."
"Probably didn't even care I was gone," Harry snorted.
Dumbledore smartly chose to ignore that comment. "And finally, I wished to prepare you for an unexpected turn of events for this upcoming school year. Professor Snape has finally convinced me to allow him to take up the post of Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. I had greatly struggled to find a suitable alternative professor for the position, and with the threat of the Ministry instilling a professor themselves, I decided that it was time to give Severus the chance he's so badly wanted."
"Excuse me, Professor," Daphne chimed in. "But who's going to be taking over his former position as Hogwarts' Potions Master?"
Dumbledore grimaced, an uncommon sight from the old wizard. "Unfortunately, under such short notice, I only had one viable candidate to choose unless I wished for the Ministry to appoint their own professor. The Board of Governors approved the appointment after a tense vote as well."
Harry had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"The new potions professor is Lucius Malfoy," Dumbledore announced gravely.
Harry's mind flashed back to the graveyard. To the masked faces who'd come to Voldemort's side when he called for them. To the hiss of pain that'd escaped Lucius' lips when Voldemort had ripped his mask off of his face and revealed him openly to Harry.
Most of all, he remembered the flames that'd burned from his wand and the sight of Lucius scrambling away in terror.