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Chapter 3:
Relax

By MayorHaggar (mayorhaggar@gmail.com)



Harry Potter grunted in frustration and slammed the book down on the table. The thud of leather slamming down onto wood stood out in the quiet library, and did not go unnoticed by Madam Pince.

“Don’t abuse the books, Potter!” the stern librarian said in warning. It was a warning that Harry was not in the mood to heed.

“Yeah, I better take good care of these books. They’ve helped me loads so far,” Harry quipped sarcastically.

“If our selection is not to your liking, Mister Potter, then perhaps you should do your research somewhere else,” Pince suggested, glaring at the Gryffindor fourth year.

“Might as well,” Harry muttered. “There’s nothing useful in here anyway.” He stood up from his chair and marched out of the library without another word, not sparing a backwards glance at his table, where Hermione, Ron and Parvati remained. Parvati called out to him, but her plea fell on deaf ears. She was halfway out of her chair as she prepared to stand up and give chase, but Ron spoke up before she could do so.

“That’s probably not a good idea, Parvati. When Harry gets like this, it’s best to just leave him alone for a bit.”

Parvati turned towards Harry’s best mate, and saw the uncharacteristically thoughtful expression on Ron’s face. She was about to argue, but this time it was Hermione who spoke up.

“I think he’s right, Parvati. Harry can be pretty stubborn when he’s frustrated about something. You’d likely have better luck cheering him up if you wait until he’s cooled off slightly.”

Parvati still wasn’t convinced that Harry should be left alone while in such a foul mood. But she reasoned that Ron and Hermione had known Harry far longer than she had, and if they were both in agreement on this, perhaps they knew something she didn’t. So she lowered herself back into her chair and gave her full attention to Harry’s two oldest friends.

Hermione looked just as concerned as Parvati felt herself, while Ron looked like he wanted to take a page from his best mate and bolt out of the library, never one of his favourite places to spend his time. Parvati and Hermione looked at each other helplessly, both trying to figure out how to help improve Harry’s increasingly sour mood. With both girls lost in their own thoughts, it was Ron who broke the silence.

“Might as well get going ourselves,” Ron suggested. “Not much point in staying here without Harry. Besides, it’s almost time for supper.” As if to emphasize this fact, Ron’s stomach gave a loud rumble. Pince glared at the lanky redhead, while Parvati gave a little half-smile. Hermione’s reaction was rather predictable.

“Honestly, Ronald. If you spent even half as much time concentrating on your studies as you do on filling that bottomless pit you call a stomach, you’d have some of the highest marks in our year,” Hermione scolded, being sure to keep her voice down so as not to offend the moody librarian. Ron’s ears turned red, but he wasn’t about to back down.

“Well if you’re so bloody smart, Hermione, why haven’t we found anything that will help Harry with the Second Task? It was you who said we should focus on Charms. It’s been weeks since we started looking, and we haven’t found a ruddy thing,” Ron retorted, making no attempt to keep his voice down.

Hermione huffed and narrowed her eyes, but before she could reply, a fed up Madam Pince marched over to their table.

“That’s enough out of you. If the three of you aren’t going to obey the rules of the library, you can follow Mister Potter’s example and go do your work somewhere else.”

The trio of Gryffindors returned the books they had been searching through to their proper places and gathered their things before leaving the library behind. They walked down the corridor in silence before Hermione spoke up.

“Sadly enough, you have a point, Ron,” Hermione said quietly. Ron’s eyes widened at Hermione’s admission, but she ignored him and continued to voice her thoughts.

“I still believe that Charms is the proper facet of magic for us to be investigating. There has to be some charm in existence that would allow a wizard or witch to breathe underwater for long periods of time. I was so certain that we would find what we needed at the library. But, like Ron said, we’ve been combing through every relevant book in the library for weeks now, and we aren’t any closer to a solution. Harry even got Professor McGonagall’s permission to look in the Restricted Section, and nothing in there has been of any use, either. There’s little more than a week to go before the task, we have no clue how to proceed, and Harry becomes more discouraged by the day. I don’t know what to do,” Hermione finished, her voice quiet and defeated. Parvati patted Hermione’s shoulder gently and attempted to console her.

“I know how you feel, Hermione. I’m getting so bloody frustrated with all of this. But you can’t blame yourself. I still say you’re right about focusing on Charms.”

“Then why haven’t we found anything?” Ron questioned.

“Who knows?” Parvati replied, shrugging her shoulders as the trio continued their walk down to the Great Hall. “Dreadful luck, maybe? Or maybe the Hogwarts library isn’t quite as extensive as we thought.”

“No, I’m sure that, if such a charm exists, there is information about it somewhere in the Hogwarts library,” Hermione objected, unwilling to consider that the library could fail them.

“It’s too bad that the professors are strictly forbidden to help, or even give a hint, to the Tri-Wizard Champions. I bet that Pince would know exactly where to look. Or Flitwick. Flitwick would know the perfect charm, I’m sure,” Parvati said.

“Well, it’s only fair. With the tournament being held here at Hogwarts, Harry and Cedric would be able to consult our entire staff of professors for aid, while Viktor and Fleur would only have the small little contingents that accompanied them from their schools,” Hermione pointed out. Ron stopped walking down the corridor and glared at Hermione.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want to make things any harder for Vicky, would we?” Ron spat. “I guess we know what you’re really up to, don’t we?” Hermione’s cheeks flushed with indignation, and she looked at Ron with rage in her eyes.

“And just what is that supposed to mean, Ronald?” Hermione asked venomously.

“I’m sure Ron is just—“ Parvati began, trying to head this situation off before it exploded right in the middle of the corridor. But Hermione dismissed her with a wave of her hand, never taking her narrowed eyes off of Ron. Ron met her furious stare with one of his own.

“You know exactly what I mean, Hermione. You’re holding out on us, aren’t you? I bet you already found a charm that will work, but you passed it on to your boyfriend Vicky instead of Harry.”

“How DARE you!” Hermione hissed, drawing attention from students who happened to be passing by. “First of all, Viktor is not my boyfriend—we are friends, and nothing more. And I would NEVER do anything to jeopardize Harry’s chances in this tournament. The tournament is very dangerous, and if Harry is not prepared, he could be seriously injured—or worse. Why do you think Parvati and I have spent almost all of our free time in the library, helping Harry with his research? I am doing absolutely everything I can to help Harry. Unlike you, I will always be there to support Harry, no matter what.”

“What, and I won’t? Do you think you’re a better friend than I am or something?” Ron asked heatedly.

“What do you think, Ronald? When Harry insisted that he did not put his name into the Goblet of Fire, I believed him, and supported him however I could. But what did you do? You yelled at him. You accused him of being a glory hog who craves attention, even though you knew full well that Harry HATES all of the attention that he gets. At a time when Harry needed all of the help and support that he could get, you turned your back on him. That doesn’t sound like a very good friend to me.”

“Oh, give it a rest, Hermione!” Ron shouted. You always try and butt in and tell me what to do and how to behave. You’re always criticizing every single thing that I do, and I’m bloody tired of it! ’Pay attention, Ronald!’ ‘Write it yourself, Ronald!’ ‘Language, Ronald!’ ‘Don’t talk with your mouth full, Ronald!’ You’re a know-it-all, and it drives me bonkers. Harry too. But it looks like you don’t know as much as you think you do, huh? If you did, you would have figured out a way to help Harry by now! Instead, he’s losing it! And if we don’t find what we’re looking for soon, he could die! Bet that would knock you down a few pegs, huh? But don’t worry, I’m sure Vicky will let you spend your life bossing him around if something happens to Harry.”

Seeing as she wanted to smack Ron upside the head for being such a prat to someone who was supposed to be one of his closest friends, Parvati could only guess what Hermione wanted to do to him. She saw Hermione reaching for her wand, and rushed to place herself between the quarrelling friends before their row could get out of hand.

“Ignore it, Hermione. He’s just being a prat; it’s not worth getting detention over,” Parvati whispered. Hermione tried to get at Ron, but Parvati held firm.

“I think it is well worth a detention to teach my stubborn, immature “friend” a lesson,” Hermione ground out through gritted teeth. Ron, pleased with himself for getting Hermione so riled up, smirked as Parvati struggled to hold the bushy-haired witch back.

“Maybe it would be worth it under different circumstances, Hermione, but you can’t afford to spend any time in detention right now. The Second Task is right around the corner, and Harry needs our help,” Parvati reasoned.

That did the trick. Hermione stopped struggling and allowed herself to be led away from Ron and in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. The two Gryffindor girls walked in silence, soon realizing (much to Parvati’s relief) that Ron had not decided to follow after them. Hermione’s breathing soon returned to normal as she relaxed, the anger fading. Parvati was content to continue their trek in silence, but Hermione was not.

“You’re wrong, you know,” Hermione mumbled, her eyes glued to the floor. “He doesn’t need me anymore. Not like he used to. Because he has you now. He needs you, not me.”

“He needs both of us,” Parvati insisted. When she saw that Hermione remained sceptical, Parvati continued on. “I’m serious. Hermione, just because Harry and I are dating doesn’t mean that you’re any less important to him. You’re his oldest friend, other than Ron. And unlike Ron, you’ve always done your best to help him, even when you’ve been at odds with each other. If he didn’t have you, he would have died by now.”

“That’s probably true,” Hermione ceded. “And, just like I said to Ron, I will always do whatever I can to help Harry if he needs me. But now that he has you in his life, he doesn’t want or need me around as much.”

“Are you daft, Hermione?” Parvati asked. “He needs you right now. I can’t help him with all of these preparations by myself. Once Harry gets through the Second Task, he’ll have the Third Task to get ready for. And let’s be honest, as long as there are dark wizards in the world, Harry will always need to be prepared. That’s where we come in.”

“He didn’t need any help to save Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets. He and Ron went down into that Chamber while I was laying petrified in the Hospital Wing, and Harry confronted that basilisk and destroyed Riddle’s diary all by himself,” Hermione stated. Parvati, who had been brought up to speed on all of the Trio’s previous adventures by Harry, nodded in agreement.

“Yes, you’re right about that. Harry fought the basilisk alone. But he only knew he would have to deal with that basilisk thanks to you. You were the reason he knew what was waiting for him down in that awful Chamber. Harry’s the bravest person I’ve ever met, but he’s not invincible. He’s not great at planning, either. He needs someone by his side that has the patience and intelligence to think things through and help him be as prepared as possible, rather than just letting him rush headlong into danger.”

“What about you, Parvati? If you’re intelligent enough to realise the things that he needs help with, who says you can’t provide that help? What makes you think he still needs me around?” Hermione asked. Parvati was ready with an answer.

“I knew that Harry needed to figure out the clue from the egg, but I didn’t try and push him on it. I just ignored what needed to be done, ignored the danger that Harry was in, and still is in, and focused on enjoying my time with him. It wasn’t until you blew up at the two of us in the common room that I was forced to face reality. I was too scared to even think about the danger that Harry was in, much less concentrate on ways to help him through it. After that little rant of yours, I realised that if I really wanted to be good for Harry, I couldn’t keep allowing him to ignore what he needed to do.”

“I didn’t realise that my outburst had such an impact on you. I know I’ve said this to you before, but I do apologize for it. Some of the things I said were out of line,” Hermione said apologetically. Parvati grinned and waved her hand in dismissal.

“No, you don’t need to apologize for any of it. It was a wake-up call for me, and one that I sorely needed. You certainly didn’t think it was a coincidence that Harry and I took the egg to the bath the very next day, did you?”

Hermione blushed, though whether it was because of the impact her speech had unknowingly had, or the mental image of Harry and Parvati in the bath together, Parvati couldn’t say. The two girls walked in silence once more, until Hermione once again spoke up.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really thanked you for all you’ve done for Harry,” she said quietly. Parvati looked at the bushy haired witch inquisitively.

“What do you mean? I haven’t done much aside from taking him to the Prefect’s Bathroom—which, like I said, I only did after your prodding.”

Hermione shook her head. “I wasn’t talking about that sort of help. I was talking about how happy he seems to be since you’ve come into his life—well, aside from the recent frustration with the Second Task, at least. He deserves some happiness after everything he’s been through, and you obviously make him happy. So…thank you.”

Parvati wasn’t sure quite how to respond to that. “Um…you’re welcome,” she replied, chewing on her lip. “You really care about him a lot, don’t you?” she asked softly.

Hermione’s eyes widened, and for a moment, she looked at Parvati with—was it guilt? Surprise? Fear? Harry’s girlfriend wasn’t entirely sure what it was, and Hermione quickly broke eye contact. But the blush spreading across her face made it quite obvious that Hermione was decidedly uncomfortable at the moment.

“Well…yes, of course. Harry’s my best friend; of course I care about him,” Hermione said in a rush, still not making eye contact. It was obvious to Parvati that there was more to Hermione’s feelings towards Harry than simple friendship—and vice versa as well.

“Sure, yeah,” Parvati mumbled, not for a second believing that it was that simple, but not wanting to confront Hermione about it, either. Things were already sure to be tense with Ron over the next few days, and the last thing Harry needed at the moment was for his girlfriend and his best female friend to have a disagreement. So she let it slide, and let her mind wander.

Whenever Hermione’s name would come up in their conversations, Parvati would notice Harry’s smile grow a little wider, and his eyes express emotions that she doubted he was even aware he felt towards his bushy-haired friend. Hermione and Harry’s feelings for each other definitely ran deeper than any friendship Parvati had known, even if neither one of them would admit it. She occasionally found herself feeling jealous of Hermione, who had been a vital part of Harry’s life far longer than she had. Harry may have grown to trust her and open up to her, but there was still a certain newness to their relationship, and they were still learning things about each other. He and Hermione, on the other hand, already knew each other well. At times, Parvati found herself wishing that Harry and Hermione weren’t quite so close. In her weaker moments, she worried that maybe she wasn’t as important to Harry as he was to her. That, deep down, she’d always be second best.

But she always talked herself out of that depressing state of mind before long. All she had to do was picture the look on Harry’s face when they kissed, or talked, or made love. Parvati knew that Harry cared for her deeply, regardless of whatever he might feel towards Hermione. And she also knew that Hermione’s friendship and support was extremely important to Harry, so she did her best to ignore her worries and get along with Hermione.

Which, she had discovered, wasn’t all that difficult. Once she got to know Hermione a little better, she realised that, once you got past her “bossy bookworm” exterior, she was actually quite pleasant. Plus, the two girls shared a mutual desire—to help Harry make it through all of these obstacles in one piece. Which was why Parvati had reassured Hermione regarding her place in Harry’s life just minutes ago, despite her own feelings of uncertainty regarding it all. Harry needed Hermione, and Parvati wasn’t about to let her own worries about their closeness keep the two long-time friends apart.

“Virtus.”

Parvati’s head jerked up as her focus returned to her surroundings. She watched as Hermione stepped through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room. Had she really been lost in her own little world that long? Shrugging her shoulders, Parvati followed Hermione into the common room—and had to stop suddenly to avoid colliding with her back. Parvati looked at Hermione’s back in confusion, wondering why the girl had gone completely still. She got her answer once Hermione opened her mouth.

“H-hello, Harry. How-how are you?” Hermione asked nervously.

“Fine,” Harry replied blandly. He only looked at his friend for a few seconds before he returned his attention to the Quidditch magazine he held in his hands.

Hermione nodded jerkily, her nerves still frayed after the end of her conversation with Parvati. “That’s good. Well, I’m not all that hungry, and I need to work on my Potions essay, so I think I’ll head up to the girl’s dorms for a bit. Bye, Harry. Bye, Parvati.”

Hermione turned and quickly walked up the stairs to the girl’s dorms, not waiting for a response. Parvati watched her go, and frowned to herself. Part of her wanted to just confront Hermione and force her to admit that she had feelings for Harry that went beyond normal friendship. At least everything would be out in the open, and there wouldn’t be this need to constantly tiptoe around the issue and pretend it wasn’t there. But she realized that now wouldn’t be the best time for that. Later in the year, perhaps. After the Tri-Wizard tournament was behind them, maybe she, Hermione and Harry could all sit down and get everything out in the open. Until then, though, she’d just have to focus on helping her boyfriend as best she could.

Parvati shook her head, deciding to put those thoughts aside for the time being. She had more pressing problems to deal with.

“How are you feeling, Harry? Have you settled down enough to carry an actual conversation, or should I just leave you down here to sulk?”

Harry smiled slightly, which Parvati took as an encouraging sign. She plopped herself down on the couch right next to Harry, their bodies touching slightly.

“Sorry about losing it like that earlier,” Harry said quietly, still staring down at the Quidditch magazine. “I know I was being a moody prat. I’m just getting so frustrated. I mean, we should have at least found something by now.”

“It’s OK, Harry. I understand why you’ve been a bit of a tosser lately. We’re all getting quite upset with how big a failure our research has been so far. And, hey, at least you took it out on Pince this time. That nasty hag could use a bit of an attitude adjustment, I’d say,” Parvati teasingly suggested. Harry smiled once again, but only for a moment.

“Where’s Ron? Why didn’t he come back with you guys?” Harry asked.

“He and Hermione got into a row,” Parvati replied, frowning at the memory.

“Shocking,” Harry muttered, earning a giggle from his girlfriend. He finally put his magazine down and turned towards her, another brief smile on his face. It faded quickly, but Parvati was determined to find some way to bring it back.

“Old habits die hard, Harry.”

“Tell me about it. Those two have been at each other’s throats for years. So, if Ron isn’t with you, where did he go?”

“Supper’s starting, so it should be pretty obvious where he went,” Parvati said. Harry actually laughed this time, and Parvati felt some of the tension leave her body at the sound.

“Speaking of which, would you like to go down and grab a bite?” she suggested. Harry shook his head.

“No, I’m not really hungry. I’m not in the mood to deal with Malfoy and his goons right now, either. In the mood I’m in, I might beat the piss out of the wanker and land myself in detention with Snape,” Harry said.

“OK, we’ll stay up here, then,” Parvati agreed.

“You don’t have to stay up here with me, Parvati. I’m sure you’re hungry. Go down to dinner,” Harry said. Parvati shook her head in refusal.

“No, Harry. If you’re not going down, neither am I. The most important thing to me right now is to get you to stop moping.”

“Moping? I’m not moping.”

“Really, Potter? What would you call it, then?” Parvati asked, her eyebrows raised.

“I prefer ‘brooding’,” Harry replied, sharing a smile with his girlfriend.

“Ah. Well, I will admit that you look pretty sexy when you’re brooding. But it’s not good for you. It’s OK to get angry once in a while, but it’s been happening far too often lately,” Parvati said, keeping her voice light and trying not to sound overly judgmental or preachy.

“I know it has,” Harry said quietly, shrugging his shoulders, “but what do you want me to do about it?”

“I guess there’s not much you can do about it,” Parvati admitted with a sigh. “You can try to control your emotions, but as long as we keep struggling to make any progress with the underwater breathing research, that’s going to be pretty hard to do. It’s been hard for me to do lately, and I’m usually a pretty level-headed person. I guess the best you can really do for now is just figure out some way to relax and let your anger go, without taking it out on anyone else.”

“How am I supposed to do that? Flying on my broom, maybe?”

Parvati gave it some thought. “Not a bad idea, but you won’t always have the opportunity to get outside. You need something you can do inside the castle as well. Something where you can sneak away for a bit, and just…relax.”

As Parvati spoke, an interesting thought occurred to her. She smiled as a plan quickly took shape in her mind. Her sudden change in mood did not go unnoticed by her boyfriend.

“What’s got you smiling, Patil? You think of something?” Harry asked. Parvati didn’t reply, but her smile grew even wider. “OK, seriously…what is it?”

“Go up to your bed, Harry. I’ll meet you up there in a few minutes, OK?” Parvati instructed, her chipper mood evident in her voice. Harry’s mouth hung open in shock at what she had just said.

“Are you serious, Parvati? What if someone sees you up there?” Harry asked nervously.

“Dinner’s just now starting, Harry,” Parvati said dismissively. “And, knowing you Gryffindor boys and your massive appetites, I doubt anyone will be joining us any time soon. Now go, Harry.”

“Parvati, what’s going on? Are we going to…you know…” Harry stammered, his question obvious.

“You’ll see, Harry,” Parvati teased. Now get moving.”

Like any good boyfriend, Harry did as he was told.

--

Try as he might, Harry found himself completely unable to settle down once he plopped down onto his bed in the Fourth Year Boy’s dormitories. He tapped his foot impatiently, and checked his watch more times than he could count. Time seemed to drag to a complete stop as he waited for his girlfriend to appear. The Boy-Who-Lived was, once again, quite frustrated.

Except this time, the Tri-Wizard Tournament was not the source of his frustration. In fact, the tournament was just about the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. There was really only question running through his mind: where was Parvati? Well, make that two: what were they going to do once Parvati got there?

He knew what he hoped they’d do, of course. They hadn’t had much time alone since their memorable trip to the Prefect’s Bath, as they’d spent almost all of their free time trying to come up with a plan for the Second Task. But that didn’t mean he didn’t stop to think about his beautiful girlfriend. In fact, she was never far from his mind. Her pretty face…her lithe body…her flawless skin…pert breasts…cute little arse…

Yes, it was fair to say that Harry spent a considerable amount of his time remembering the joys of his previous sexual encounters with Parvati, and hoping they’d have another soon. Knowing that the likelihood of that happening was rather remote as long as the underwater breathing dilemma remained unsolved only added to Harry’s annoyance and frustration at their lack of progress.

Which made this wait all the more agonizing. Harry may not have been an expert on the moods of girls, but he felt he’d gotten to know Parvati pretty well in the nearly two months that they had been together. He’d been with her long enough to know that when she was pleased with herself, it usually meant things were about to get much more enjoyable for him. And it had been some time since he’d seen her smile as widely as she just had down in the common room. Perhaps not since that wonderful trip to the Prefect’s Bath…

“Miss me, Harry?”

Harry snapped out of his daydream, and looked up to see Parvati standing next to his bed and smiling down at him amusedly.

“What took you so bloody long?” Harry grumbled irritably.

“I was only gone for a few minutes, Harry,” Parvati answered, amused.

“Felt like forever,” Harry said honestly, which got a giggle out of his girlfriend. “So what’s this all about, Parvati?”

“I’m going to help you relax,” she stated.

“I’m not really angry anymore, to be honest,” Harry said.

“Maybe not, but you’re still ‘brooding’, as you put it. I want to get you off of ‘brooding’, and all the way back to ‘happy.’ Now, take off your shirt,” she instructed.

“Sounds like a great idea to me,” Harry grinned. He hurriedly tossed his Gryffindor tie aside, pulled his plain white shirt over his head and tossed it alongside his tie, and awaited further instruction from his girlfriend.

“Lay on the bed,” she said. When Harry went to lie down on his back, she shook her head. “No, Potter. On your chest.”

Harry sprawled out on the bed, his bare back on display for his girlfriend, who took a moment to admire the view before climbing onto the bed behind him. She got into a kneeling position, her knees nearly touching the outsides of Harry’s legs as she hovered above him. An antsy Harry was on the verge of asking her what she was up to, but he got an answer to his unvoiced question as Parvati began rubbing and kneading his shoulders with her gentle hands.

“That feels really nice, Parvati,” Harry said through a sigh as his girlfriend continued to massage his shoulders. As Parvati applied just the right amount of pressure on his shoulders, Harry could feel all of his tension and frustration vanishing. He groaned in disappointment as Parvati’s hands left his shoulders, but when she shifted her attention to his neck, all was forgiven.

“Mmmm...your hands feel wonderful, Patil,” Harry said in appreciation. Parvati said nothing, but continued to apply her proverbial magic touch to her boyfriend’s neck. She grinned to herself in silent satisfaction as Harry groaned and sighed his approval.

Parvati decided to use her hands further down on Harry’s body. She worked her way down, rubbing Harry’s back. She didn’t plan to spend too much time on Harry’s back, though. As much as she enjoyed running her hands across that smooth skin, she knew she was on something of a time limit. When Parvati’s hands stopped rubbing his lower back and left his body entirely, Harry was not pleased.

“Why’d you stop?” Harry objected.

“Patience, Potter. I’m not even close to done,” Parvati assured him. Her hands gripped his pants by the waistband. “Let’s get these things off of you.”

Harry didn’t need to be told twice. He raised his hips off of the bed and quickly unzipped his pants, allowing Parvati to tug them down his legs. He made to remove his boxers as well, but Parvati put her hands over his before he could do so.

“Not just yet, Harry.”

Harry let out a sharp grunt in protest, but his focus shifted once Parvati slipped his shoes and socks off and began massaging his bare feet. Harry had never given much thought to his or anyone else’s feet, but he couldn’t deny that Parvati’s hands rubbing his sensitive soles felt quite nice.

“Is it wrong that I’m getting turned on by you rubbing my feet?” Harry questioned.

“Just so long as you don’t expect me to do anything else to these disgusting things,” she teased while continuing to rub his feet. Parvati’s hands soon left Harry’s feet, and she began working her way up his bare legs. As good as his first-ever foot massage had felt, Parvati’s work up his calves and thighs was infinitely better as far as Harry was concerned. Parvati’s touch felt magical on his legs, and as her hands continued their progress, Harry could feel a different part of his anatomy make a progression of its own. He squirmed in discomfort as his growing bulge made lying on his stomach increasingly unpleasant, and his restlessness was not lost on his girlfriend.

“Something wrong, Harry?” Parvati inquired.

“I’m getting a little...uncomfortable lying here like this,” Harry said, his tone almost pleading.

“I see. Would you like for me to do something about this?” she asked matter-of-factly.

“Yes. Yes, definitely,” he answered quickly, now pleading in full.

“Well, if you’re that uncomfortable, I suppose I can help you out,” Parvati said, giggling at Harry’s eager groan. “Roll over onto your back, Potter.”

Harry complied instantaneously, flopping over onto his back, and Parvati’s giggling became even more pronounced as she saw the massive tenting of his Quidditch-themed boxers.

“Wow...no wonder you were getting so antsy,” she commented. Harry didn’t respond, and simply stared into his girlfriend’s dark brown eyes in silent request. Parvati decided to put him out of his misery. She pulled his boxers off and tossed them on the floor next to his pants.

Harry sighed in relief as his aching erection was finally freed. Parvati gazed at Harry’s hardness, a smirk on her face.

“I had planned on massaging your front as well, but something tells me you’d prefer it if I skipped that this time around,” she said. Harry nodded his head emphatically, and Parvati laughed at his enthusiasm. She settled herself into a more comfortable position and wrapped her right hand around Harry’s prick, causing him to moan in pleasure. Parvati slowly jerked her hand up and down the length of her boyfriend’s member, to his immense satisfaction.

“Merlin, Parvati...please don’t stop,” Harry begged. She smirked at him and continued to stroke his cock with her right hand. Her left hand, meanwhile, began fondling his ball sac. Harry gasped and flinched involuntarily as her fingers teased his sensitive testicles, while her right hand continued to bring pleasure to his rod.

Parvati continued to please Harry with her hands for a few minutes, but when she heard his breathing grow deeper, she released him from her grip.

“Why’d you stop?” Harry questioned once he caught his breath (and his senses) a bit.

“We don’t have all day, and I didn’t want you to waste a round on my hands,” Parvati replied bluntly. Harry gaped at her a bit, not sure how to respond. As it turned out, he didn’t have to respond, because once she was convinced he had come back down off of the brink, Parvati got back to business.

Her hands once again gripped Harry’s penis, but she made no move to resume her hand job. Instead, she lowered her head and licked the tip of his penis with her tongue. Harry moaned softly, which pleased Parvati to no end. She gave the head a few more licks before turning her attention to his shaft, which she promptly coated with her tongue. She licked up and down the length several times before taking the tip into her warm mouth.

Harry had to fight to keep his eyes from rolling back into his head as Parvati sucked on the tip of his throbbing penis. He glanced down at his girlfriend, and found her staring up at him intently. He shivered slightly at the fierce, almost primal lust he saw in her dark brown orbs as she nursed his head. Parvati’s glittering brown eyes locked on Harry’s emerald ones as she opened her mouth wider and took more of his cock into her mouth.

Parvati’s eyes remained wide open and locked in on Harry’s as she got more and more of his length into her mouth. She relished the look of utter bliss on her boyfriend’s face as she sucked him; it was really quite empowering. The beautiful Indian witch quickly established a rhythm, bobbing her head up and down on Harry’s rod. With their limited time frame on her mind, she was intent on finishing him off quickly, and was well on her way to doing so if Harry’s heavy breathing was any indication. However, she stopped her blowjob and pulled her mouth off of Harry’s manhood entirely, much to his disappointment.

“Wha—why’d you—“ Harry began, but Parvati cut him off.

“Quiet, Harry.”

Harry shook his head in confusion, clueless as to what had come over his girlfriend. But she paid him no mind, as she was too busy looking around the dorms, seemingly searching for something. She squinted her eyes and did another visual sweep of her surroundings before shrugging her shoulders and returning her attention to Harry, who simply stared at her.

“I thought I heard a noise,” she explained.

“Well, of course you heard a noise. You were slurping, and I was panting and groaning,” Harry reasoned. Parvati smiled and chuckled at him.

“Not any of those. It was something else. Like—a gasp, maybe? Or maybe a thud, I don’t know. But I guess it was just my imagination. Well, anyway, no time to dither—I believe I have a blowjob to finish,” Parvati quipped, laughing as Harry gave her another enthusiastic nod.

She dove right back into her task, parting her lips and engulfing Harry in her warm mouth. She didn’t waste any time in re-establishing her previous tempo, and before long, she was sucking Harry off with such fervour that his eyes closed involuntarily and his hands instinctively came to rest on top of her plaited hair. Remembering a previous miscue, Harry was careful not to tug or pull on his girlfriend’s hair. Instead, his entire body remained still and he allowed Parvati to have her wicked way with him. The slurping noises Harry made reference to earlier were back in full force. In fact, said slurping actually grew in both volume and intensity as Parvati continued to throw everything she had into sucking her lover off.

Considering the feverish pace that Parvati was working with, no one could fault Harry when, in a matter of minutes, he was near his breaking point. Wanting to savour the feeling of Parvati’s wet mouth wrapped around him, Harry tried his best to hold back. But Parvati’s rapid head bobs and insistent slurps gave him no choice but to accept his fate.

“Parv...I’m going to...” Harry warned. Harry’s approaching climax only drove Parvati on. To Harry’s great surprise, she started bobbing her head up and down on his rod even faster than at any previous point. Sucking in a deep breath, Harry slowly opened his eyes, wanting to watch as he finished off inside the mouth of his gorgeous girlfriend.

Noticing that Harry’s eyes were once again open and glancing down at her, Parvati looked up into his flushed face, not wanting him to miss a second of the show. After a few more bobs up and down his manhood, Harry gave himself over to the pleasure. He moaned unashamedly, his grip on Parvati’s hair accidentally tightening as he began shooting off inside of her mouth. Parvati didn’t say a word of complaint, so focused was she on swallowing every drop of cum Harry gave her. Harry continued to fire off into Parvati’s mouth, and the Indian witch continued to accept every bit of his salty semen past her lips, into her mouth and down her throat.

Harry was finally spent, and Parvati pulled her mouth off of his cock with one last slurp. The Boy-Who-Lived started to regain his senses, and it was at this point that he noticed his grip on Parvati’s hair.

“Err...sorry I grabbed your hair, Parvati. Guess I lost myself for a second there,” Harry apologized despite his laboured breathing, letting go of her hair and running his hands through it tenderly.

“It’s OK, Harry. Honestly, I barely noticed. I was kind of preoccupied,” she assured him, crawling up the bed and snuggling into his side.

Harry wrapped his arms around his girlfriend’s body and kissed her forehead affectionately. She sighed in contentment and laid her head across his bare chest, listening to Harry’s heartbeat, which gradually returned to normal as he came back down from his orgasmic high. As Harry held this wonderful treasure in his arms, the anger and frustration he had been feeling for weeks was a distant memory that felt like it belonged to another lifetime. He gave God, Merlin and whomever else he could think of a silent thanks for the gift that was Parvati Patil. But it occurred to him that he should probably thank her as well.

“Thank you, Parvati.”

“Don’t mention it, Harry. Truth be told, I rather it enjoyed it too,” she replied, her head still buried in his chest.

“I didn’t mean for that—but thanks for that, too. What I mean is—you’re just so amazing. A few months ago, I never thought I would ever really open up to anyone. You’re the first person that I’ve really felt completely comfortable around. And with as crazy as this year has been with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, with Ron and I not speaking for what felt like forever, with most of Hogwarts thinking I’m a liar, and everything else that’s happened, I still think this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. And that’s all down to you. So thank you.”

Parvati lifted her head to gaze at her boyfriend, and had to blink back tears before she replied. “Thank you, Harry. That means a lot to me. And, just so you know, this is the happiest I’ve ever been, too.” She paused, considering. “But, when you say I’m the first person you’ve felt completely comfortable around—what about Hermione?”

Harry took a moment to think this question over before replying. “Hermione’s great. I’d trust her with my life—I have trusted her with my life. But sometimes, she just pushes too hard. She’s so used to having to tell me and Ron what to do that it seems like she thinks she needs to tell me how I’m supposed to feel, how I’m supposed to think. It’s hard to really open up to someone like that.”

“I understand, Harry. I do think you should try and remember that, even when she’s being judgmental and bossy, Hermione usually has your best interests in mind. She’s a great friend, and you’re lucky to have her in your life. She just needs to learn how to listen and be supportive without always trying to push her own opinions forward.”

“I guess so. But enough about that. I was trying to thank you. And I thought that, maybe, I could thank you by...returning the favour? I mean, I’ve obviously never done that before, but I’d like to give it a shot...if you want to, that is...” Harry trailed off uncertainly.

Parvati grinned and rubbed Harry’s forearm. “It’s sweet of you to offer, Harry, but I don’t think we have time for that right now. But, if you can “get it up” again soon, we might be able to fit in a quickie before people start heading back.”

Harry wasn’t about to turn that offer down. He nudged Parvati over so she was laying flat on her back and reached for her skirt, planning to pull it down.

“Leave it on, Harry. Just pull my panties off, and leave everything else on. We need to hurry,” Parvati requested.

Shrugging, Harry reached underneath the skirt and yanked her panties off in one hurried move before tossing the pink cotton onto the floor near his own clothes. He pushed the skirt up and out of his way and saw that, to his delight, Parvati’s bare pussy was already moistened in anticipation. Harry rubbed his member against Parvati’s wet slit several times, and he, as Parvati said, “got it up” again very quickly. He glanced up at her face and, not seeing anything other than an expectant smile, he pushed his hard member into Parvati’s wet folds.

Parvati let out a sharp grunt when Harry entered her, and immediately wrapped her legs around his waist. Harry gave her a moment to adjust to his girth before he started to move, pushing more and more of his length inside of her. She wrapped her arms around Harry’s neck and pulled him down to her, crashing their lips together in a passionate kiss. Harry started picking up the pace, rocking his hips back and forth and burying himself inside of Parvati’s tight sheath. Parvati’s tongue traced Harry’s lips, requesting entry, which was quickly granted when Harry parted his lips. Their tongues wrestled in a playful battle for control while their lower bodies collided with each forward thrust from Harry’s hips.

Her body requiring oxygen, Parvati reluctantly extricated her tongue from Harry’s mouth and broke their lip-to-lip contact. She sucked in several deep breaths before using her mouth for another purpose.

“Keep it up, Harry,” she demanded. “Faster!”

That was one request Harry had no objections with. He buried his face in Parvati’s neck to stifle his grunts and groans as he kicked it up a notch, putting even more force into his thrusts. Harry’s bed rocked and squeaked from the strain of supporting the two teens and their frantic sexual encounter. Harry’s hips bounced off of the smooth skin of Parvati’s ass with every thrust, while she playfully squeezed his waist with her legs, urging him on.

“Come on, Harry! Time’s almost up—not even Ron can stuff his face forever! Let’s finish it!”

Harry suddenly took Parvati into his arms and lifted her up, flopping onto his back and pulling her down on top of him, his rod remaining snug in her snatch the entire time.

“You want me to get you off, Harry?” Parvati teased. He nodded, running his hands along her bare legs and underneath her skirt, cupping the silky-soft cheeks of her ass. She smiled down at him and gave him a quick peck on the lips before she started moving.

Parvati wasted no time, bouncing up and down on Harry’s thick member fast and furious. She rubbed his abs and chest with her hands while impaling herself down onto him over and over again, her hair sticking to her face, which was beginning to sweat. Harry used his grip on her firm arse to assist in the bouncing, helping her create even more momentum. Parvati lowered herself down onto Harry again and again, the sound of their thighs slapping together echoing off of the walls of the empty boy’s dorms.

Harry revelled in it all: the feel of Parvati’s walls clenched tightly around him, the pleasant collision of her lower half slamming down onto his crotch, the naughty grin on her face, the twinkle in her eyes, the smoothness of her bottom underneath his hands. But all good things must come to an end, and alas, Harry felt the end of this good thing approaching much too quickly for his liking—especially since Parvati didn’t seem to be anywhere close to her own climax. He grit his teeth in determination, vowing to do whatever he could to make sure Parvati came over the edge with him.

Sensing that Harry was holding himself back, Parvati’s hands stopped rubbing Harry’s stomach and came up to cup his face, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

“Don’t hold back, Harry. Come for me.”

“But...you’re not...”

“Don’t worry about me. We don’t have time. You can make it up to me some other time.”

“But...”

“Just do it, Harry. Let go.” She gave him a deep kiss to reassure him.

Realizing that this was one battle he wasn’t about to win, Harry closed his eyes and accepted the inevitable. He gripped Parvati’s butt harder and helped raise her up and down even faster, seeking immediate gratification.

Parvati dropped herself down into Harry’s lap, never breaking stride, intent on getting her boyfriend off. She hit bottom once, twice, three times more...and suddenly, Harry’s hands left her rump and gripped her hips hard, holding her in place. He let out an animalistic grunt in spite of the fact that he had been biting down on his bottom lip, and released himself inside of her.

Harry continued to hold Parvati in place as his semen poured out of his prick and into her cunt. This didn’t prevent her from craning her head down and capturing Harry’s lips in a passionate kiss. The two Gryffindors swapped spit while Harry held her in place and rode out his orgasm.

Finally, Harry’s load was emptied. His hands left her hips and dropped down onto the bed. Parvati gave him one last kiss before raising herself off of his lap and standing next to the bed. She looked down and grinned at the sight of Harry, completely naked and sprawled out on his bed. Utterly exhausted, but an enormous smile on his face.

“So? Did it work? Are you feeling relaxed now?” Parvati asked teasingly as she bent to retrieve her wand.

“Oh, without a doubt. I’m ‘brooding’ no longer,” Harry said through a yawn. “Though I hope you realise what you’re getting yourself into with this whole relaxation business. Now, whenever I start to lose my temper, I will fully expect you to do this for me again. The Tri-Wizard Tournament, Malfoy, Ron and Hermione’s bickering, that terrible chicken dish they serve for supper—it’s going to be up to you to make it all better.”

“I think I’m up to the challenge, Potter,” Parvati said confidently, waving her wand and cleaning the mess they’d just made with a quick Scourgify. She grabbed her panties and slipped them back on underneath her skirt, wriggling in place until they were comfortable.

“You might want to get dressed, Harry. It can’t be long before people start coming back from supper,” she suggested, tossing Harry’s boxers in his general direction. Harry grabbed the boxers and roused himself from the bed, standing next to Parvati and slowly beginning to dress. He put the boxers back on and was in the process of putting his pants back on when Parvati caught his attention with a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Well, I think I’ll be heading down to the common room. Don’t want to get caught up here with you when Ron comes back.”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be good, not with his blabbermouth,” Harry agreed. “Thanks again, Parvati.”

“Any time, Harry.”

“Not just for that. For...everything. I feel so much better now, thanks to you. It’s no wonder I love you,” Harry said, his eyes widening as he realized what he had just blurted out—for the first time.

Parvati went still, her eyes widening and her mouth wide open in surprise. For a moment, Harry was afraid he had buggered everything up. But then, Parvati’s face broke out in a huge smile, and she launched herself into his arms. Harry hugged her tightly to him, relieved that Parvati hadn’t been freaked out by that very first ’I love you’. Parvati broke away from his hug and gave him a heartfelt kiss on the lips before resting her forehead against his.

“I love you too, Harry.”

“You do?” Harry questioned, not ready to believe it.

“Of course I do, silly. I wouldn’t have given myself to you that night after the Yule Ball if I didn’t. I’ve loved you for longer than you can possibly know—even before I really knew you. And the more I get to know you, the more I fall in love with you. You’re an amazing man, Harry Potter.”

“You know...you’re the first person to ever tell me they love me. I mean, I’m sure my parents did, but I don’t remember that, obviously.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, given how wretched your Muggle relatives are. But I’m not the only one who loves you, you know. Hermione loves you, even if she does get bossy sometimes. Ron loves you, even if he has a temper even greater than yours. From what you’ve told me, I’d say your godfather Sirius loves you. And all of us will do whatever we can to help you through this tournament, Harry. We’ll all be by your side, no matter what.”

“I believe you, Parvati. I know that, no matter what, I’m not alone.”

--

A/N: Here it is, at long last: Chapter 3! This was quite the struggle, what with deciding to go another direction in mid-chapter and having to start from scratch, not to mention my hardware issues. But that’s all settled now. I now have a new laptop for my own personal use, so I should be able to get a lot more writing done. I have a very clear plan laid out for the next chapter, which I should start writing very soon. Hopefully there won’t be anywhere near as long a delay between postings this time around! Don’t forget to leave me some feedback and suggestions!

Oh, and before I forget: I’m thinking that this story, and other future stories I will write, would greatly benefit if put through the beta reading process. So, if you’re interested in helping me out and serving as a beta, please let me know. I’ve never submitted a story for editing before, so I’m not sure how it all works, but nevertheless, I think it’s a good idea going forward.

One last thing, which some of you are probably already aware of: there is some concern on the forums that Ficwad could go under early this year (I think I’ve seen March mentioned.) It was the feedback I got on this site that convinced me to go forward and turn this from a one-shot into something more, so I’d be quite disappointed if this were to happen. But just in case it does, I should point out that I also post this story on Adult Fan Fiction, so you’ll be able to find it there if the worst should happen here on Ficwad. Beyond that, though, does anyone know of any other suitable places to post this or other NC-17 Harry Potter stories? The only other place I know of is Portkey, but this particular story cannot be posted there for ship reasons.