FicWad

See chapter one for disclaimer





Chapter 62: In Practice


The past few nights had not brought him any dreams of Gabrielle that he could remember but his whole being seemed filled with happiness at the thought that she was here with him even if he couldn't contact her directly. More and more he found himself flirting with any female in sight much to the amusement of Hermione and Ginny. He had even had to keep himself from flirting with Minnie a few times.

Tonks was unable to resist assigning him extra credit on Tuesday due to his not so subtle flirting during class and on a return trip from the Room of Requirement he had run into Professor Sinistra on her patrol after curfew resulting in a very uncomfortable conversation on both parts when he suggested they find a more comfortable place to discuss his punishment. Despite this he had still not found decided upon Padma or Pansy as a date to Hogsmeade next weekend. Padma intrigued him and was very open about the fact she wanted to try getting closer to him but he felt his duty to protect Pansy and unwillingness to leave her safely locked away in his suite while the rest of the school enjoyed themselves. He hadn't found the courage to ask either one of them out.

It was now Wednesday evening and he stood with Hermione and Ginny in the Room of Requirement waiting to see who responded to the summons of the Old Guard after dinner. Slowly they began trickling in much like the year before when they had been trying to hide their clandestine organization from She-Who-Eats-Flies. Within ten minutes however it seemed that everyone was there.

The Old Guard this year consisted of Hannah, Neville and Susan; Ron and Lavender; Katie, Parvati, Dean, Seamus and the Creevey brothers. Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Mandy, Padma, Cho, Luna and Su Li from Ravenclaw. Justin Finch-Fltchley, Ernie Macmillan, and Zacharias Smith rounded out Hufflepuff; and the Slytherins: Blaise, Daphne and Pansy.

As the door closed and disappeared into the wall Harry looked around at the group. "Thank you all for coming, why don't we hold questions until I get through with my introduction?" At the nods he took a deep breath and went into his carefully prepared speech.

"Alright, even though we are no longer a clandestine organization I would like us to take on a more active role than simply a school club. Last year we called ourselves Dumbledore's Army mostly to piss off the Ministry. The official name has been changed to Defense Association; however those of you in this room are part of what I have been calling the Old Guard, yes even you new folks." He said with a smile at the four newcomers.

"Here is how I see it, Voldemort..." He paused and grinned when none of them shuddered, "has attacked both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, there is no reason to believe he is not coming here next. In fact I have good intelligence to suggest that Draco Malfoy is leading an effort to attack this school from the inside." There were gasps from some and looks of disbelief from some but none of them interrupted him.

"That said, we need to become the army in deed that we were in name last year. I want us to train harder and together to become a militia in case of attack. The prefects not in the room should be assisting the staff in keeping the students safe rather than repelling an invasion; and with Hogsmeade this weekend we all need to be on alert. Are there questions before I explain more in depth what I expect?"

Zach spoke up from the back of the group. "Not that we don't believe you but why should we risk our lives?"

Harry stood straighter and addressed the room though his eyes never left the Hufflepuff who had spoken out. "Because the people of the wizarding world are sheep. There are over two-hundred witches and wizards in Hogsmeade right now, each of them with a wand. But a group of five or so Death Eaters could easily hold the entire town hostage because the sheep don't know how to stand up for themselves. We need to be Sheppard's and protect the flock from the wolves. Those of you in this room have the skill and the courage necessary to protect others who cannot or will not protect themselves."

Su Li spoke next, "But if they choose not to protect themselves then what use are they?"

Harry nodded, "There was a time I thought the same thing, still are times. But if we stop caring about those around us we aren't any better than the Death Eaters. I think the Ministry is corrupt beyond repair at the moment, but to let it fall would spell disaster for too many people. If I let that happen when I could have fought against it I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Would you?"

The room went silent for a full minute while he let them think about their answers. Cho spoke up next, "You lost your girlfriend on Halloween, why haven't you...I mean..."

"Why haven't I been my normal angsty self?" Cho blushed but nodded. "For one because before she died she promised to stay with me, bound her soul to mine in marriage." At the gasps he nodded, "Yes, we were bound together in magic just before she died, I don't know how but I don't care. I love her, and I guess I feel like she is still with me and that she wouldn't want me to sit around crying and brooding when there is life to live and things to do so nobody else loses a loved one. Any other questions?"

The room stayed quiet so Harry nodded and walked a few yards into the room and closed his eyes for a moment. "Training Program One-Alpha!"

A training Dummy sprang to life in front of them and began firing green tinted spells his way which Harry dodged. After a minute he brought his wand to bear and fired a Reducto into its chest ending the simulation. "One-Alpha is level one scenario alpha. A single opponent firing curses at random intervals. You can use this program to practice dodging or you can practice your casting while under pressure. If you get hit with that spell it will leave a green line where it hit you and give you a less-than-mild sting but nothing that is permanent damage."

He closed his eyes and called out. "One-Bravo!"

The Muggleborn in the room recognized the scene as a grassy field appeared where the back wall used to be. From the left two clay pigeons came flying from the grass and Harry quickly tracked and fired to redactor curses exploding both of them, hanging from the ceiling they saw a counter displaying his score which remained perfect at the end of the round. Turning from the field back to the spectators he spoke.

"The Muggleborn or raised will probably recognize Duck Hunt. Those of you who don't, don't worry, this One-Bravo is to test and hone your accuracy and speed."

He turned one more and called out "One-Charlie!"

The room went back to normal momentarily before looking like a shooting range with a target at the far end. Harry brought his wand up and concentrated for a moment before screaming the incantation as he fired a Reducto at the target dummy at the far end. The dummy simply disintegrated upon impact and a number appeared on the panel beside him with an asterisk next to it.

"Charlie is designed to help you figure out and hone the power you put behind your spells. For this demonstration I overpowered it just a bit, 250 is the highest the room will register, 100 is the optimum level for whatever spell you are casting meaning you get the most efficiency out of the spell. Over 100 will increase the power and effect of the spells but by the time you approach 200 you are likely bleeding magic that would be best conserved for another spell before you exhaust yourself."

"What does the Asterisk mean?" Padma had to ask as her Ravenclaw curiosity got the better of her.

Harry blushed slightly but smiled, "Consider it way off the charts, again I say anything above 200 and you might put yourself into a coma while your magic recovers. 200 is not simply twice as powerful as 100 it is several orders of magnitude above it. My Arithmancy leaves a bit to be desired but you can try working it out if you really want to."

Dennis Creevey walked up to the line and Harry stepped aside so he could try it. He concentrated for a second and cast his own Reducto at the dummy. "78 isn't bad at all Dennis, now you know you have to work on that but anything above 75% efficiency is respectable." Harry said loud enough for the others to hear.

Dennis turned back around and closed his eyes; Harry could see his fist tightening on his wand and the tendons in his neck getting tight. "Dennis wait!"

He was too late as Dennis screamed the incantation and was promptly blown off his feet as the spell left his wand and left panting on the floor as his score registered. "How does it feel to cast a 110 Reducto Dennis?" Harry asked with a grin.

The boy groaned as he was helped to his unsteady feet and thankfully a chair formed as he fell back onto his bottom. "Great until the kick-back..." he said groggily.

Harry smiled, "Right then, Dennis you can sit out tonight's training session, I really don't want to explain to Poppy why a fourth year ended up with Magical Exhaustion on my watch." The boy nodded as everyone else simply stared at him in awe.

He was getting a bit uncomfortable so he moved on quickly, "Uh...Right then, everyone pick an area and the room will ward it off from the others so you don't have to worry about stray spells. Let's start with One-Alpha and work our way through all three for the next hour alright? Nobody better knock themselves out on the last one though, and remember the first two exercises are not about power."

The group found their places for the first exercise and soon they were all dodging and weaving away from the opponents as Harry looked on with a smile. A few of them were hit with his Abara Kedabra curse but they continued on just the same. The second task went better than he had hoped for the first session with everybody being above 50%. Granted when he started sneaking into Dudley's room to play Duck Hunt he had never handled anything resembling a gun before, and it was on a thirteen inch television not life sized. These were using their wands which over the past 4-7 years had become like an extension of themselves.

Exercise One-Charlie was rather interesting as he stood back and watched the scores. All of them were above 75 and many of them approached 100 including Susan, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Neville, Pansy and Blaise. He called a halt when he saw the numbers begin to spike to 101 or higher indicating people were beginning to push themselves.

"Alright I think it went well tonight, what do you think?" Harry asked. All around sweaty people nodded in agreement. "Good, now this weekend I am not necessarily going to ask you to patrol in Hogsmeade but I want you all to keep your eyes open and keep your coins on you. If you see something tap the coin with your wand and the rest of them will vibrate and warm up to let you know. If that happens I want everyone to head to the main street to see what is happening. If I cannot see what the situation is after you summon me I will put the current time on the coins and we all meet up outside the Three Broomsticks to figure it out. Sound like a plan?"

They all nodded, "Good, one more thing, can you all cast a Corporeal Patronus still? When was the last time you tried?"

Many people looked chagrined at being called out but soon Patroni were flying around the room. Harry went over to help Mandy out but the most she was able to manage was a mist. "Don't worry about it; it took most of these a few months to get it. Me too though I was facing my Bogart on every try..."

"Your Bogart is a Dementor?" She asked quietly, reveling in the close contact as he stood behind her to help her with her wand work and whispering in her ear.

"Yeah, guess my greatest fear is fear or some other rubbish, it was dead useful in making sure I was able to do it when the real world situation presented itself."

She focused on the feeling of being in his arms and cast the spell once again, surprising herself when what looked like half a Dachshund came flying out. Harry hugged her and whispered congratulations in her ear before walking off to observe the rest of them leaving her breathless.

"Alright, times up. I think we should meet up every Wednesday evening and eventually we can move to level two and so on. Eventually these scenarios will require us to work in a team which is my goal. One of the main reasons our Auror forces get beaten is because they don't coordinate their attacks. They all go in like lone cowboys and pick targets at random. We are going to specialize in coordinated defense at first, I sincerely hope we do not reach the point where we need to work on coordinated attack but we will cross the bridge if we get there. Thanks and goodnight!"

The group left the room all smiles and he received handshakes and kisses on the cheek from most of them before they left. Soon it was just Hermione, Ginny, Padma and the Slytherins. Harry had an idea and approached Daphne.

"So Miss Greengrass, I know I ask in every class period but would you uh...like to gotohogsmeadethisweekend?"

She smiled at him, "I'm sorry what was that?"

He took a breath and looked to make sure no one was listening in. "Will you accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

She was still smiling before she sighed, "Sorry, I'm already going with Blaise..."

He remembered them walking hand in hand a lot lately and they always sat together for meals. "Oh." Was all he could manage, funny when he didn't think he was interested in her before this moment.

"Mostly for protection Blaise and I are announcing our betrothal soon..."

That hit him out of nowhere. "Wait what?"

"My father spoke to Blaise before Pansy's talked to you, I'm really sorry Harry but I can't exactly date you when I'm supposed to be marrying Blaise..."

Harry hid the hurt well and simply smiled at her, "Fine, not like I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with you anyway Ice Princess!"

She took his needling as well as usual and walked over to the door where she linked her arm with Blaise, she whispered something to the dark skinned boy who met Harry's eye and smiled slightly before nodding and leaving the room.

Harry was thoroughly confused at that point and turned to find the others looking at him expectantly. "Uh..." He managed intelligently.

"You don't need to keep up appearances with us Harry, but its still fun to watch you two flirt." Hermione said with a smile.

"We were not flirting! I just wondered...you know you could have told me about the betrothal Pansy."

The girl in question looked just as surprised by the situation as he was. "What?"

"To protect Daphne from Malfoy I imagine, she and Blaise are announcing their betrothal."

"Oh..." Was the only response he got from the girl. He sighed and looked between her and Padma.

"Gin and Mione here are going to Hogsmeade together to make my life more difficult, I could just go as a third wheel or by myself...but I thought maybe you would like to go with me Padma?"

The girls eyes lit up, "I'd love to Harry...but what about Pansy?"

He turned to the girl in question, her face was unreadable. "Pansy I don't want you stuck in the castle, so if you would like, that is if it is alright with you Padma, you can come with us." Padma nodded but Pansy had something to say about that.

"I think I can take care of myself for one bloody day milord, I refuse to be a third wheel to anybody!" She stormed out of the room without a look back.

"That went well." Harry commented before turning back to his date.

Hermione and Ginny smiled as they left hand in hand, "Don't wait up for us Harry, it's a weeknight so you know where we will be." Hermione said before they headed off for the OWL study group in Gryffindor Tower. Turning back to the last girl in the room he smiled shyly.

"So..."

She grinned at him, "So I was last choice Potter?"

"That isn't even fair, you have no idea what it is like to be me right now..." He grumbled. "Sorry for making it seem like that though..."

"So I wasn't your last desperate choice this time?" Her tone and face looked playful but he still took the comment like a slap.

He offered her his arm as they walked out of the room and back down the stairs toward his suite. "Yeah well...I have more history with Luna but she was unavailable and I won't touch Cho...again, at least not right now. Hannah is with Neville now and I have no idea what's going on with Susan. Daphne didn't occur to me until on the spot just a moment ago, I didn't realize how it would look to you but Daph and I have been joking about a Hogsmeade date since term started. I am sorry."

She smiled at him as Bernie opened up and they headed to the couch. Despite his recent thoughts he was suddenly quite nervous being alone with Padma even though he was almost certain Pansy was in the next room. Actually he was more nervous with Pansy in the next room since he had somehow offended her as well and she had no sense of boundries any longer when it came to his privacy.

"So..." He began hoping she would have a topic for discussion.

"Do you want to kiss me Harry?" Padma asked him out of the blue. He turned to look her in the eye as his mind fought for control with his body. As he fell into those inky black pools he felt a mental nudge which he had begun to think of as Gabrielle push him into action. Rather than reply he simply leaned in and caught her lips for a short but promising kiss.

He pulled away and waited to see her reaction; when she finally opened her eyes he could see a bit of lust reflected back at him and a smile on her lips. "That is how the Yule ball should have ended Harry; when we were fourteen! Now how about a real kiss?"

She took the initiative and leaned forward to capture his lips and soon she deepened the kiss as her hands went behind his neck. His hands went to the small of her back where he began alternating between making small circles with his fingers and running them up to her shoulder blades and back. When they finally broke the kiss he found that she had ended up straddling his lap and his arousal was rather plain. She blushed and quickly moved back to the couch.

"Uh...so..." She said still blushing.

He smiled at the tables having turned but decided this might be the most normal relationship he had yet and no matter what Gabrielle might be nudging him to do he was going to go slowly. "That was wonderful...I wouldn't mind exploring a bit more of that eventually but I want to take it slow. Is that okay?"

The girl was immediately less tense and she picked his arm up before snuggling into his shoulder as they leaned back on the couch. "Thank you Harry...there is just something about you that makes me lose myself...when I ended up...well in your lap I was sure you would think I was a hussy."

He smiled down at her, "Never crossed my mind...not that I wouldn't want to...just... This has been really nice, getting to know you without some stupid compulsion charm or just wanting a quick shag or something and I was a bit afraid you were going to push... Not that I wouldn't want to..."

She grinned up at him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Once I realized I was in your lap I was ready to but for some of the same reasons I took a step back when you didn't push... thanks for that by the way."

He nodded and relaxed a bit more, "So...where does that leave us?"

She smiled, "Well, I hear you haven't been sleeping well without someone to cuddle with. Would you mind too terribly if I stayed the night?"

He was getting nervous again, not because he didn't want to shag her, but because he knew what could happen if they shared a bed. "Uh, that would be nice...but I kind of can't sleep in clothes anymore..."

She giggled; it made him blush and made him a bit angry at the same time. "I can always where my nightgown, it might be... interesting to sleep with you like that."

Deciding to call her bluff he made a snap-decision. "Winky?"

The elf popped in, "You is calling me Ma...Mister Harry?"

"Could you please go pick out one of Miss Patil here's nightgowns from the Ravenclaw Sixth year dorm?"

"Right away Ma..ister Harry." She popped away and Padma was beginning to look a bit panicked but was fighting it. He grinned at her and leaned in close feeling bold.

"You could always go without you know...I think I can behave myself though I can't promise my hands won't wander while I sleep..."

Winky popped back in with a set of dark blue silk pajamas and with an 'Eep!' the girl grabbed them and ran into his room to change. Still nervous but smiling he turned back to Winky. "Thank you." With a nod she popped away.

He gave the girl a few more minutes to get changed before he headed into his room. He heard the water running and realized that while he had simply watched the exercises earlier she had participated and was taking a shower. He quickly disrobed and climbed into bed and under the sheet where he tried to calm his suddenly high blood pressure and rapid pulse. He hadn't felt this nervous about a girl in his bed since waking up to Ginny the morning they officially became a couple.

The water stopped and he waited impatiently for the girl to finish and enter the room. When she did he caught his breath and wished he could sleep comfortably in boxers as his nether regions stood to attention under the sheet.

Her hair was hanging straight and unhindered down her shoulders and back stopping just above her waist. Her dark blue silk pajama top and bottoms looked like they would be too constricting for sleep as they left almost nothing to the imagination when it came to her figure. She shyly approached the bed and thankfully said nothing about the apparent tent over his lap. She slipped under the sheet without looking and laid nervously about eight inches away from him.

He reached his hand down and wrapped his fingers through hers as they both lay looking up at the ceiling. "So..."

She nodded, "So..."

"You sure you want to stay in here with me? I don't sleep all that badly without company..."

"Yeah... whatever you may think I noticed the difference in you after the girls started staying in Gryffindor again during the week. Plus, I just want to be close to you... Uh..."

He smiled as a bit of his recently acquired smoothness kicked in. He turned on his side to face her and began playing with the fingers of the hand he was holding. "Well over there isn't really close to me is it?"

She gulped almost audibly but shook her head and scooted over a few inches. He smiled and scooted another couple before his nerves got to him and he chickened out. "Uh...yeah, that's better."

She nodded and they lay quietly for a while before she began to fidget. "Problem?" He asked quietly.

"I uh... can't sleep on my back or stomach; have to lie on my side..."

He nodded and sighed in relief. "I can fall asleep on my back but I always end up stiff as a board in the morning...so you want to uh...spoon?" He asked quietly.

She giggled just a bit at the situation but nodded into the darkness... "You want front or back?"

He was still hard and throbbing and figured she would not appreciate being stabbed in the back. "I guess I'll take front...probably safer that way..." This being said he rolled away from her and scooted back a bit until his bum brushed her hand and she quickly recoiled before rolling onto her side as well and scooting just a big closer. She then hesitantly placed her hand on his hip.

They lay that way for a few minutes uncomfortably before the smooth part of him took over again. He reached up and grabbed her hand before tucking her elbow beneath his and wrapping her arm around his stomach where he continued to hold her hand. He then scooted back just a bit more until he felt the cool silk of her impossibly soft pajamas against his back. He then sighed as he was finally able to get comfortable.

Padma tensed up at the contact at first but eventually she began to relax and was soon hugging him like a giant teddy bear. She sighed in contentment as her body finally started to relax and she felt herself drifting off. "G'night Harry." She mumbled.

"Night Pad..." He said with a sleepy smile.

$$$$

Harry leaned over his broom to coax out the last bit of speed as he pushed toward the ground at an underwear ruining speed. The grin on his face was manic as he barreled to certain doom in the lush green grass of the Quidditch pitch. 100 Meters he tightens his grip and squeezes his thighs around the shaft; 50 meters his eyes begin to water as his cheeks begin to flap in the wind and his robes stream out behind him; 25 meters, any sane person would have pulled out of the dive by now going over 200 miles per hour straight at the hard unyielding earth was not for the faint of heart he barely registers a scream from Ginny as he passes her on his way to his death. At ten 10 meters he shifted his feet and his weight so that the bristles of his broom were pointing almost straight down and the lurch in his gut as the braking charms kick in but it isn't enough he is still headed at the ground at terminal velocity. 5 meters he reengages forward momentum and is nearly forced off his broom as he goes from 125 miles per hour straight down to 200 miles per hour in an almost horizontal trajectory toward the far end of the pitch; he still didn't time it quite right as he is almost flipped head first into the grass when his toes dig in and create two long divots in the field below him. He barely rights himself but he can't stop laughing. It's good to be back on his broom.

He slows down to a lazy pace only a few feet off the ground hoping to take a victory lap around the pitch but his plans are ruined as both female chasers tackle him to the field, one kissing him and the other scolding him.

"What the hell was that you idiot! You won't do any good to me or Gryffindor dead!" Katie berates him.

"Harry that was amazing but if you die on that broom I am going to kill you!" Ginny says between kisses.

He can't help but smile up at both of them, "Sorry ladies but I'm a Seeker and that was a perfect...okay almost perfect Wronksi Feint; I did skim the grass there at the end..."

"I don't care what you call it! I don't fancy scraping you off the pitch during practice!" Ginny scolded him before grinning. "That was amazing though!"

He smiled back at her as both girls helped him to his feet, "It was something else wasn't it? I can't wait to draw Draco in and watch him faceplant!"

"That's the spirit Harry, but you have three practices to make up for and I expect you to be in shape to take a proper shower later!" Katie chastised him before winking and taking back to the air.

"Oi! Make out on your own time!" Ron called from the rings and Ginny huffed before kissing him on the cheek and following the older girl back into formation.

Harry grinned as he brought the practice Snitch out of his pocket and let it go. The only difference between this and the regulation Snitch was the practice model did not have the non-summon charm. He gave it a few minutes lead time before taking back to the air himself.

$$$$

A thoroughly clean Ginny and Harry made their way back up to the school after making certain that Katie wouldn't accidentally drown while recovering from their makeup session. They walked into his suite to find Hermione, Padma, and Pansy going over Dumbledore's materials; Hermione especially was so engrossed in her current three books she didn't even notice them as they entered.

He crossed the room until he was behind her and leaned down to nibble her ear lightly. The first time she swatted him away as if he was an annoying bug earning a chuckle from Ginny who joined him on her other side. They repeated the gesture on both ears sucking along with the light nibbling and the girl let out a slight moan before she sat up and looked at them upside down.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

"Or see us, or realize I was making a pass at you the first time." Harry said with a smile. She had to think about that for a moment before smiling.

"Oh...well I think I'm finally on to something, unfortunately the ancient Egyptian translation isn't in my codex anywhere and neither Flourish & Blotts nor Poulterscritch's have what I'm looking for!"

"Did you try Atrum's?"

"I've never even heard of it so no, where is that?"

Pansy spoke without looking up from her current book, "Knockturn Alley three doors down from Borgin & Burkes."

Hermione turned quickly on the girl as if she were going to chastise her for spending enough time in Knockturn to give directions, but was stopped when Pansy silently raised one eyebrow. "Oh...right then. I suppose there is nothing for it but to write them."

Harry pulled her with him as he slumped onto the couch, "So you think you're really onto something?"

She nodded, "Ginny found the original entry but we can't get past this piece, in general it looks like a ritual to bind someone's soul to an object without their permission."

His hand went to the necklace around his neck without thinking, "You mean like making a Horcrux?"

The girl shook her head as Ginny sat down on his other side. "Not exactly, to create a Horcrux you rip a piece of your soul out and bind it to an object, this ceremony is almost darker... you could use it to bind a soul to an object like a table or a tree, it doesn't matter. The point is, even though you have to kill to create a Horcrux, using this ceremony you can bind another soul without permission."

His eyes lit with understanding, "So even if we can't find all of his other Horcruxes, we might be able to force what's left of him into another object effectively rendering him dead?"

"Not dead, technically he would still be immortal unless you could find a way to force the soul fragment to move on."

"What about the rest of the pieces? Last time he didn't die he became a spirit, if we destroy or trap that spirit could someone resurrect him with one of the other Horcruxes?"

The brunette began nibbling on her lip as her eyes began darting around the room. "I don't know, I hadn't thought about it...if they wanted could they create a bunch of clones..." Harry cleared his throat and brought her attention back to him. "Sorry, I don't know Harry but you bring up a good point; one thing at a time though."

He nodded and she stood up and marked her place in her books before returning them to the shelf. "In any event, Gin and I need to get going to our study group." The redhead in question groaned as Hermione pulled her to her feet. "We'll see you at breakfast." Both of them leaned in and kissed him on the corners of his mouth before the older girl dragged the younger from the room. Harry sighed as he turned to the other two occupants.

"So an eventful day then?" Pansy sniffed before putting her materials away and Padma's soon join hers before she joined him on the couch as the Slytherin brought out a Potions assignment to work on.

"Not bad, how was practice?" Padma asked.

He proceeded to regale her with tails of bravery and suspense as well as the reactions of Katie and Ginny; he was met with a swat to his shoulder. "You deserved it you Prat! Why anyone would go full out straight at the ground is beyond me!"

He raised his hands to defend himself from her swatting as he spoke, "Hey professional Seekers do it all the time, its called the Wronski Feint!"

"Exactly, Professional Seekers get paid to pull stunts like that! If I'm not mistaken you have a certain Dark Lord to take care of and spreading yourself as fertilizer onto the Quidditch Pitch probably isn't the best way to go about it!"

Harry tensed as his mind began working overtime and he remained silent for a moment before he remembered that the girls had confirmed the rumors at his birthday party but stopped short of revealing the Prophecy. "I guess you have a point...I can't promise anything during a match but I will take it easy on practice alright?"

"At least at the match there will be a few hundred or so friendly wands out there to catch you if need be and Madame Pomfrey will be on hand to put you back together..." She went quiet and he noticed a slight sparkle to her eyes as if she were trying not to cry.

"Hey," He began quietly putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a side hug. "Flying is one of those things that comes naturally to me and no matter how dangerous that move looks I promise I was in control the whole time. I refuse to go out that easily, like you said, I do have more important ways to get splattered."

He smacked his shoulder again but was smiling at his tone. "That's not funny!"

"Then why are you smiling?" He laughed.

"I think Madame Puddifoot's sounds wonderful for our date this weekend don't you?" She asked sweetly and he gulped.

"Uh...me and that place don't have a good history...why not the three broomsticks instead? Or a picnic? We could go on a picnic?"

"But Harry, I hear they have these darling little cupids that float above the tables and these cute little hearts all over." He was beginning to rethink this whole take Padma to Hogsmeade thing when he realized she had changed the subject.

"Hey! That's so not fair! You aren't allowed to change the subject when I'm being cheeky!"

She grinned back at him, "Honestly Harry, Parv told me about that place and even she and Lavender can't stand it for long. The only reason to go there is so you can snog in front of other people and nobody cares."

He groaned, "I knew I should have just kissed her..."

Padma went quiet for a second, "Who?"

He realized his mistake but right after that remembered that she knew the stakes coming into any sort of relationship with him. So rather than backpedal he simply explained. "Cho, when we went on our only real date she took me to Puddifoots and I remember being uncomfortable with everyone else in the room kissing and how much I hated that confetti the cupids throw around getting into my tea. Now I understand, you aren't there to drink the tea."

She smiled and nodded and he was glad to have gotten past the awkward moment. "So...where would you like to go then?"

"Actually that picnic sounds lovely, though I do have some shopping to take care of."

Harry thought quickly before grinning, "Have you ever been to the Shrieking Shack?"

The girl shivered and nodded, "Yeah, that place creeps me out but we all went third year just to see what the fuss was about. I mean honestly, who cares if its haunted, it isn't like we don't see ghosts every day at school?"

He nodded, "Would you like to have a picnic inside the Shrieking Shack?"

It was her turn to gulp, "Uh, sure...if you think it would be romantic..."

Finally he found an opening to rib her back a bit, "Who said anything about romance? I thought we could transfigure a comfortable bed and get to know one another better."

She looked lost at his words and about to tear up again, he realized he may have gone a bit too far and pulled her up and into his lap before wrapping his arms around her. She fit very nicely against him and that slightly spicy smell he associated with her skin enveloped him. "Hey shhhh... I was kidding, don't you think if that were my plan I would have made my move last night instead?"

That brought her back around and she laughed when she realized she had been had. "That wasn't very nice at all! I...I really like you Harry..."

"And I really like you too."

"No Harry, I mean I wasn't kidding about wanting to join your little harem or whatever you want to call it. You being with other girls doesn't bother me at all, I just like being close to you like this." She leaned her head on his shoulder to demonstrate and began nervously picking at the buttons on his shirt. "I...I think I'm falling for you..."

He smiled and leaned in to her neck and breathed deeply before kissing her lightly below her ear. He pulled back when his body spasm'd involuntarily and his arms tightened around her. "I don't know if I'm falling for you Pad but I think I could if I let myself...I slept really well last night..."

"Can I stay again tonight?" She asked quietly.

He smiled and hugged her again, as he went to let her go he was surprised when she kissed him. It was very light but it was on the lips and it left a tingling where hers had been. He smiled lopsidedly, a trait he unknowingly picked up from Han Solo, and his eyes flicked from hers down to her lips and back a few times before he gave up and leaned in for another kiss.

They were interrupted by a door slamming and he was so startled he nearly deposited her on the floor. Looking up he saw that Pansy was gone from the room; he noted the time and guessed she had gone to bed a bit early which was suddenly sounding like a wonderful idea.

"Ready for bed?" He asked quietly.

She nodded and got up off his lap before helping him off the couch, he groaned as his muscles protested, apparently holding onto a broom going over 200 miles per hour vertically then switching to horizontal did not entirely agree with him. "Hot shower sounds really good first." He said with a wince as his back twinged again.

She look concerned for a moment before coming to some decision, she wrapped his arm over her shoulder and helped him toward the bedroom. "I know just the thing Harry. But first, do you think you can take that shower yourself or will you need some help?"

His pants tightened at the thought but he shook his head, "I can handle it, what did you have in mind?"

Just go take your shower and meet me back in here. "She said as she pushed him into the bathroom and pulled the door closed behind her on her way out. He slowly got undressed, thankful he wouldn't need to get dressed again that night, and climbed into the shower after setting the temperature to near scalding and directing the nozzles along the wall to a height where they would hit his aching back. He stood in the shower for a good twenty minutes soaking up the heat and willing his muscles to relax before finally giving up and hoping he would be better by morning.

It took everything he had to dry himself off with the towel without crying out in pain and finally he made his way out of the bathroom not even caring that Padma was about to see him in the buff for the first time.

He entered the bedroom to find half the candles lit and what looked like a drum and sitar enchanted to play softly in the corner of the room. He continued to look around the room in confusion before his eyes landed on the corner and froze.

Padma was standing there in black lace panties and bra and nothing else, she turned and lit some incense and caught his eye as she delicately blew on the end to get it smoldering properly. She then crossed the room without saying a word and helped him toward the bed, she didn't even mention his raging hard on which had only appeared the moment he spotted her.

She lay him down on his back on the bed and he groaned before finally getting somewhat comfortable. He started to speak but she simply placed a finger over his mouth which he indicated meant he should not say anything. She brought out a blindfold and he looked at her questioningly before he allowed her to put it over his eyes. Only then did she speak.

"I am going to give you a proper massage Harry, I can see you are having a bit of difficulty relaxing at the moment," He blushed not knowing if she was talking about his back or his manly parts. "but I promise, at the end of a proper massage that will be the last thing on your mind." Yep, manly parts...

He felt warm oil spread onto his foot and shin before her hands began working and kneading his muscles and he groaned as the lactic acid was pushed from its hiding places back into his blood stream. "You are not to remove the blindfold or say anything Harry, this is a family technique and you aren't allowed to see how it works unless you are family." He nodded though he was wondering whether that was an invitation of some sort.

Before his thoughts could go too far in that direction he felt her hands removed from his leg as she reached his knee before more warm oil was placed on his other leg and she began the process once more. He was momentarily surprised when he felt his other leg being massaged in exactly the same manner from toes to knees. He guessed that this was her secret; somehow her two hands were able to do the work of four. He was interrupted by her voice once again.

"Stop thinking Harry, you won't figure it out while blindfolded and you won't be allowed to remove the blindfold for a massage unless you were my husband. Stop thinking and just enjoy, if you want you can even do some Occlumency to help you relax."

While that idea had merit he was enjoying the feeling of her slick hands on his skin too much to give it up. He felt his member bounce along with his heartbeat and tried not to blush again at the fact he was laying flat on his back at full mast in front of the girl.

The hands continued their way up to his thighs after another layer of oil was applied, as he felt the fingers approaching his groin he prayed that he wouldn't accidentally go off in the middle of this. He needn't worry however as he felt a wand touch the tip of his member and soon it relaxed and began to deflate. He could still feel his hormones raging but without the reminder of a flagpole he could distance himself from the arousal and concentrate on relaxing the rest of his muscles.

Oil was applied to his chest and abdomen and the hands continued their magic over muscles he never would have thought to massage. He never would have thought it could feel so wonderful to have his chest massaged like this either, the girl made sure not to rub or tweak his nipples so this was not at all sexual for him, he didn't know how much tension one could carry in their breasts, even if he refused to refer to his chest as such outside of his own mind.

He felt his arms lifted from the mattress and fingers beginning to massage starting with his hands and working their way up to his biceps. Once again he groaned as the acid was pushed from his muscles but felt much better after the initial pain. All of these small releases were making him drowsy and he barely noticed as he was levitated and flipped onto his stomach before laying back down on the bed. He was thankful however for whatever charm had de-boned his boner as that would have been more than uncomfortable in this position.

"Just relax Harry..." She said quietly before he felt her barely covered bottom sit down on his calves.

"Where your pajamas at..." he mumbled half coherently.

"No talking, but I will answer just this once." He felt the oil dribble on to his buttocks before once again he felt four hands where there should be two kneading his backside. "This is massage oil not a water based lubricant, my underwear are cotton so it will wash out, the silk would stain."

He nodded at her logic and lost himself to the sensations once more. The hands made their way up his back where he hissed as his muscles were pulled in four different directions before being kneaded up and down to push out any acid that remained. It hurt but was getting better, apparently they decided to leave that for now as her hands went to his shoulders and his eyes rolled back into his head as her surprisingly strong hands began to work out the knots and kinks he had put into them in the last 16 years of his life. His mind began to wander and before he knew what was happening he had fallen asleep.

$$$$

"I must know this technique! The sensual massage I am master of but how a beautiful woman can put you to sleep while wearing a few scraps of lace is beyond my talent!"

Harry smiled at his wife as they sat in what could pass for the Gryffindor Common room except that there was a television where the fireplace was supposed to be currently showing re-runs of Star Trek episodes.

"It really was amazing, for a minute there I thought I was going to have an incident though." Gabrielle slithered onto his lap and wrapped her arms behind his neck before kissing him.

"I would not mind a little incident myself Master..."

$$$$

Harry slowly joined the waking world with a huge smile on his face; he had seen Gabrielle again and had a wonderful time of watching the telly and just being a couple. Then it struck him, he had seen Gabrielle again and not even thought to ask about what Trelawney had told him. He felt someone stir slightly against him and smiled as he pulled her closer to him. He began kneading the breast in his left hand softly until he felt the nipple begin to pucker beneath the lace.

Lace... His girls didn't sleep in their underwear...He inhaled sharply and recognized the slightly spicy aroma of one Padma Patil before his eyes snapped open. Apparently she had joined him after the massage and at some point during the night he woke up enough to turn from his stomach onto his side. She was currently laying on his right bicep and curled nicely against him, though just how nicely he thought of their arrangement was about to be broadcast into her lower back. He struggled not to jump away from her and wake her up. He did however remove the offending hand slowly from her chest.

"Uh...good morning Pad." He said quietly to the girl.

"Too early go back to sleep." She grabbed his hand and placed it back onto her breast before her breathing became steady once more. He lay his head back down but tried to scoot his lower half away from the girl. She responded by scooting back into him and pressing his arousal along her spine. "Mmmm warm."

He was trying not to panic, on the one hand this situation should not be anything new to him, he had woken up in far worse situations actually, though he supposed determining whether the situation was good or bad depended on the girl and the relationship. Currently Padma was not his girlfriend, they were not intimate at all and their boundaries had not been defined. So he was rather nervous as to how she would take being stabbed in the back and having her chest mauled when she actually awoke.

Pansy walked into the room quietly and arched an eyebrow at the couple in the bed. "Smooth milord, very smooth."

"I'll have you know she is still clothed and nothing untoward happened." He whispered to her before closing his eyes to keep from staring.

"Not like I care." She said with a sneer before disappearing into the bathroom.

"What was that?" Padma finally started to come around.

The nerves returned full force, "Uh...just Pansy again, she takes a shower every morning at this time, she will be out in about ten minutes or so if you want it next."

She nodded into his arm before realizing where she was and blushing but made no move to escape his grasp. She realized her hand was holding his over her breast and quickly let him go. "I see you enjoyed more than just your massage last evening?" He could hear the grin in her voice.

"Just so you know, it was an accident until you grabbed my hand and put it back earlier."

He felt her blush again and the warmth transmitted into the super sensitive head of his member causing it to twitch and alerting her to that part of his anatomy as well. "Oh...uh... I think maybe I will head back to Ravenclaw to get a shower and clothes for the day..."

Slowly as if not wanting to lose the contact she slid away from him until his manhood bounced free beneath the sheet. He summoned his glasses and put them on before wishing he hadn't. He tried not to watch too closely as the girl bent over to pull on her skirt exposing her lovely back side to him and wanted to whine like a puppy as she pulled her blouse on and covered the skin of her back from his view. She then smiled over her shoulder and headed for the door. "I'll see you at breakfast Harry."

"Thanks for last night Pad, that massage did wonders!"

She thought about it for a moment, "Anytime Harry, just ask." Then disappeared out the door.

He lay back and began working on his Occlumency until he heard Pansy exiting the bathroom. Without even a glance in her direction he got out of bed and into the bathroom to take care of necessities and shower. As he let the warm water wash over him he kicked himself mentally once again for not asking Gabrielle about what the Divination teacher had said.

He couldn't help wondering though, if he was going crazy and he asked dream Gabrielle a question; and everything in a dream was a representation of yourself; Then would he be once again talking to himself inside himself? And if he believed what he told himself would he then be simply delusional or schizophrenic?

He felt a chuckle and quickly ended that train of thought as he didn't have Gin or Mione here to rescue him this time and he didn't want to drown in the shower while laughing himself silly.

$$$$

Severus Snape had grown bored of dying. Almost as annoying as the repeated deaths was the red uniform he was required to wear while acting out these strange scenarios involving starships, aliens, and other worlds.

Over the past however long it had been, he had lost track of time, he had been stabbed, shot, disintegrated, had his neck broken, thrown into caves, disemboweled and eaten. He had been lost in transporter malfunctions, had his mind taken over and turned against his crewmates and even been seduced a time or two before having his life force drawn out from his body.

And then it would all happen again.

It was his fondest wish that the boy would just kill him and be done with it, living had lost its appeal to him at this point and he would have been better off diving from the astronomy tower than manipulating Potter into rescuing him.

It was as he was pondering suicide that the blackness shifted into a hellish scene from what could only be some sort of Muggle factory. All of the light around him was red and every surface seemed to have shadows cast upon it. He waited patiently for the Captains Log to begin so he would play the guessing game of How to kill Severus Snape This Time? But the voice never came.

Curious he looked down to find himself in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with some Muggle band printed on it. Despite knowing that this was simply some sort of dream his sense of dread began to gnaw at him. "What are you up to this time Potter?"

A deep and terrifying laugh seemed to emanate from everywhere at once before it started moving from place to place causing him to jump as he tried to follow the sound. "Potter! What do you want?"

"Who's Potter?" A raspy voice asked from right behind him. The man who could make a First year wet themselves at a hundred paces and a Seventh year nearly do so at twenty screamed like a little girl and jumped away before turning around. He tried to reclaim his dignity before he saw what stood in front of him.

The things face looked like it had been burned off at some point, Snape never thought he could see a being that was more grotesque while still appearing human than the Dark Lord, however he quickly changed his mind.

He was wearing a hat and striped long sleeve shirt which in themselves were not terribly frightening except for the blood stains that were clearly visible. No the most terrifying thing about the man in front of him was the five razor sharp blades that extended off the gloved hand. As the thing noticed him looking he wiggled his fingers and sparks flew from the metal and made a terrifying sound.

"Snivellus Snape...whats your worst Nightmare?" The thing asked him.

Snape was unable to reply as he stood terrified and rooted to the spot. "Ah ha...why don't we see what Lily Evans has to say about you Snivellus?" As the thing finished the sentence he morphed into a beautiful redhead with startling green eyes, Snape was momentarily relieved and excited to see his lost love until he found that glove still on her hand.

"What did you do to us Snivellus? What have you done to my son?"

"Lilly No! I didn't know!"

"You didn't care! You just wanted me for yourself and my husband and son be damned!" She took a step toward him and went from beautiful to an animated corpse in a split second, still with the knives for fingers. "How do you like me now Snivy? You want me for your sex slave? Lets have some fun!"

He turned and ran away from her as she attempted to slice his front with that hand. He heard her high pitched laughter as he turned a corner only to be confronted with her again. Piping broke free from a nearby wall and wrapped around him bending him over. "Now now Severus, I'm just going to love you the way you deserve." Her voice was back to being pleasant but her visage was still that of a zombie. He felt a slash up the inside of his leg before his jeans and boxers slid to the ground.

He screamed as she began using those knives to make love to him.


A/N:
As if nobody knows yet, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GML_Fanfic is my group for story alerts since Ficwad is dying a slow and painful death.

In any case, I'm only up to chapter 68ish at the moment and I'd like to stay that far ahead. There is just so much to fit in! I wanted to be done by chapter 75 but at this point who knows?