Like A Phoenix From The Ashes
Chapter 5
By Kinsfire
"Just remember, Mister Potter — use the ability as little as possible," Madame Pomfrey told him. "I understand that there are certain classes where you require sight almost all the time, but in those where you can get away with it, I would recommend just letting your Quick Notes Quill do your work for you."
"Okay. I've got a question for you. I’m not arguing with your diagnosis — it's just curiosity. What’s the reason for not overdoing it with the magical vision, other than the fact that it will tire me out faster than a hard day on the Quidditch pitch?"
"Well, the damage was quite severe. You wouldn’t expect it to be the case, but those nerves need a workout as well while healing. If you continue to circumvent them, you may train your brain to use that form of seeing, rather than the natural way, and it could leave you permanently blind."
He paused for a long moment before saying "Well, couldn’t ask for it any blunter than that. Thank you, Madame Pomfrey." He laughed. "Being honest and scaring me a little is more likely to work than anything else."
He could hear the smile in her voice as she answered him. "Sometimes that’s what’s needed. Now go, you have places to be, I’m certain."
He gave her what he was sure his best puppy dog look. "Don’t you love me anymore? You always try to keep me here after an injury."
She laughed — a happy sound. "Get out of here, you scamp!" He smiled back at her and stood, and almost immediately the girls were by his side. He felt one take his left arm gently, and another take his right, and they began to walk.
They led Harry back to their shared quarters and got him settled in the chair nearest his room. As soon as he was seated, he heard things moving about, and found himself so curious that he simply had to ask, "What exactly are you ladies doing?"
"We're moving things around, Harry. Trying to make it easier for you to get around the suite," Hermione replied. "Madame Pomfrey gave me this absolutely wonderful book on adaptive living for the blind, and I'm trying to get things set up easier for you."
"What about your say in all this?" he asked. "After all, you live here too."
"I'm sorry if this sounds wrong Harry, but I can see. It's much easier for me to get around obstacles."
"It doesn't sound wrong — it's simple truth. What sort of things are in the book?"
She laughed. "The funny thing is — it's a Muggle book! They annotated for wizards and witches, but they're using a book written for Muggles! They talk about arranging things such as money, which I suppose we can worry about in June, if you're still blind, considering you can tell the difference between Galleons, Sickles and Knuts by touch. We'll rearrange you clothing to make it easier for you, so that if you reach in on one side, you know you'll be grabbing a pair of trousers, for example, and shirts in the middle of the cupboard, and robes on the opposite side from your trousers. Probably should rearrange your … well — "
He could hear the blush, and he chuckled slightly. "Admit it, Hermione. You're just looking forward to getting your hands on my boxers."
The silence was profound, and Harry began to get worried. "Hermione?" he asked. When he didn't receive an answer, he began to stand. "Hermione? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Please, let me apologize."
He finally heard a snort from a short distance away. "I'm sorry Harry," Hermione finally answered, trying very hard not to laugh, from the sound of things. "I didn't mean to make … oh heavens …" She fell to laughing for a few moments before she was finally able to continue onward. "… sorry … I didn't mean to make you think you'd offended me. I never expected something like that from you, and then … well, maybe the incongruity of the situation made it funny." He heard her come closer and felt her hands rest gently on his shoulders. "Harry, I’m sorry that I worried you — that I made you think I was offended." There was pressure on his shoulders, and then he felt her lips touch his forehead. "Please forgive me?"
"Nothing to forgive," he said with relief. "I just — I have four friends left in the student body, and I really don’t want to lose any of them through my own stupidity. I can’t control other people’s attempts to break us up, but … look, all I ask of all of you is that you remember that I don’t mean to offend you, and if I do, to let me know so that I can try to make it right. Okay?"
"We understand," Susan replied with a smile that he could hear. In what sounded like an obvious attempt to lighten the mood she added, "If you'd like, I'll rearrange your underwear drawer. Tell my fellow 'Puffs that I had my hands in your pants - they'll be so jealous of me!" She ended with a laugh.
"Go for it, Susan," he replied with his own laugh.
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Harry's schooling became more interesting, certainly, with the blindness causing changes to his routines. He now used a Quick Quill for taking notes, which meant that at least his History of Magic notes were far more complete than ever before. This was also about the only class where he did not need to use his vision, since Binns never performed any demonstrations in his classroom. With no sight, he found it that especially hard to remain awake in the room.
The other professors made an effort to work with him, and most of the classes were not problem. Potions, on the other hand, was more of a nightmare than they usually were, and that took into account Professor Snape easing back on him emotionally. This was the one class that required vision for almost the entire duration which led him to a rather impressive headache by the time the class was over. He was thankful that it was only once a week.
The expected response from Gryffindor began the very first day. He couldn't tell who it was, but someone removed his glasses with magic and dropped them into his cauldron. The skin oils reacted badly with the delicate potion within, and he found himself in the Hospital Wing afterwards dealing with second degree burns from the burst of flame from his cauldron.
As he lay in the hospital bed feeling his skin tingle as it healed, he contemplated revenge. I can still get into the Gryffindor Tower - hell, I can get into all the common rooms - so I think a little reminder needs to be given them. But not yet.
He heard a noise and turned his head toward it. Focusing through the headache it started, he saw a limping and bruised Hermione being held up by Susan and Pansy. "What happened?" he heard Madame Pomfrey gasp. He dropped the vision and the headache began to clear immediately.
"Disagreement between students," Hermione said, wincing.
"More like those Gryffindor bitches ganging up on you," Susan growled. "You’ll likely see them shortly, once they can figure out how to move them."
"We, uh, we got a little exuberant in defence of our friend," Pansy said softly. In some ways, this was a Pansy that Harry didn’t really know very well. He was used to the brassy, in control young woman whom he had taken to thinking of as a close friend, but a shy and somewhat demure Pansy was not what he thought of as normal.
Why would she be embarrassed by defending Hermione? he asked himself. He lay on the bed and smiled as he heard Hermione being placed on the one next to him. "Hey there, Hermione. What happened?"
"Parvati and Lavender decided to teach 'the prissy little bookworm' a thing about loyalty," she said smartly. "We traded barbs about you, and then they decided to forgo wands. I like to think that I taught them a few things about 'the prissy little bookworm' before they decided to pull their wands out. That's when Susan and Pansy stepped in with an interesting variation on the sticking charm. They either show up naked, or the headmaster frees them."
It was just then that the doors opened again and Harry could hear Pansy and Susan shift position, obviously to guard Hermione. There were sharp inhalations at the door, and Harry risked looking for a moment. Parvati and Lavender were being escorted into the Hospital Wing by Minerva McGonagall and Albus Dumbledore. Both girls were dressed, so their freedom had been gained by other means.
"I want answers as to what has happened," McGonagall said with harsh asperity.
Harry heard the inhalations of Parvati and Lavender and spoke before they could. "Headmaster, are you here as well?"
"Yes, Harry."
"Could a Pensieve be a good thing to use here? If so, I can donate the use of my own." He smiled inwardly, because he was quite certain that Parvati and Lavender were now trying to figure out how to avoid punishment.
"I believe that we can forgo the Pensieve, Harry, although I appreciate the offer. I am certain that the truth will be told by all involved. If necessary, however …" he finished, making his point clearly.
Lavender and Parvati broke down and admitted their actions, which led to detentions and their not getting access to bruise relief potions. Hermione, Susan and Pansy managed to convince Madam Pomfrey to allow Harry back to his suite, where they could help care for his burns as well.
By the next morning, the worst part of his injury was gone - barely pink from his burns. He spoke softly with the girls at the table, and informed them of his plans to prank Gryffindor Tower, since he was certain that it had been a fellow Gryffindor who had sabotaged his potion. They talked through ideas, and the week continued in its usual way. They finally settled on a prank at the end of the week, and set about planning how to pull it off.
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It was a particularly tiring day in Potions next week - it seemed that his headaches wouldn't go away no matter if his vision was on or off. He sat through most classes with his eyes closed, wincing. It had been so bad that Professor Snape had even handed him a headache potion without breaking stride or making a comment.
Hermione flanked him on his return to the suite, and people were already learning that she had become quite fast with her wand. He headed straight into his room and mumbled "Nap," to the girls as he passed by them.
He awoke a short time later feeling much better than he had a mere ninety minutes earlier, he noted as he glanced at his clock. Thank God, no head for the first time today. He slipped on his glasses and started to sit up, and then realized what he had just done. He closed his eyes and everything went away. Before reopening his eyes, he made triply certain that he was not using his magic to see, and slowly opened his eyes. His room came into focus through his glasses. He closed and opened them multiple times, enjoying the fact that he could now see without magic.
He bounced from his bed and ran to his door, opening it quickly. "Hey girls! I can … ohmigod!" He was stunned as he found himself looking around the room to see four very comfortable young women. Luna was in a chair wearing a look of concentration as she read one of her textbooks. That was all she wore, and Harry noted absently that her position showed him that her hair colour was natural, even if she did seem to have trimmed it into the shape of a heart. Hermione sat with her back against one of the arms of the sofa in simple white bra and knickers, her right foot in the lap of Pansy Parkinson, who was painting the brunette’s toenails. Pansy was in a nightgown that might as well have left her naked, it was so transparent, and Harry noted absently that the girl seem to be aroused by something, since it didn’t seem that cold in the shared common room. The last one had to be Susan, by process of elimination. Before him was what he considered to be the most perfectly shaped rear end he had ever seen, covered by pale pink hi-leg knickers, as she knelt on the floor looking for something. As the blood rather insistently tried to be closer to the person kneeling before him, he gasped and flew back into his room, slamming the door behind him.
It was only a few moments later when he heard the door open, and he looked up momentarily to see Susan standing before him in a short, tight tank top that seemed bound and determined to display every curve that the redhead had. It also made her bra-less condition painfully obvious (to him, at least), especially since her nipples appeared to be as erect as he was, and were quite prominent. He looked down at his hands, ashamed.
"Harry, what’s wrong?" she asked, coming closer to him. He closed his eyes tightly to keep from ogling his friend.
"I’m thinking things about you that I shouldn’t be."
"Why not?"
"You’re my friend, Susan. I shouldn’t be even thinking what I am." He blushed, scowling angrily.
He could hear the smile as she responded. "You shouldn’t want to press that cock of yours against me?" Before he could react to her blunt words, he felt her press her body against him and his eyes shot open. She was facing away from him and was gently grinding her derriere against his erection through his boxers. She grabbed his wrists gently and placed his hands on her breasts. He tried to pull his hands away, but she held them there. "You shouldn’t wish to fondle my breasts? Not even if I want you to?" He could feel the pressure of her nipples against his palms, trying to ignore the gentle pulse of her heart that he seemed to be feeling. She giggled. "My nipples are rather noticeable, aren't they?" She gently ran his hands across them, shivering.
"We’re friends. I don’t want to lose that," he said, pain evident in his voice as he tried to disengage from her breasts.
"We won’t, Harry. I’d just like to become friends with benefits. I want my virginity to go to a man that I trust, and there is no man here at school that I trust more." She giggled. "To be honest, Harry, you make me rather horny, and it’s nice to know that the feeling is mutual."
"We’re not going to mistake this for love, are we? I won’t let that happen again, mistaking lust for love."
"So all you felt for Ginny was lust?" she asked in a voice that stated that she simply didn't believe it. "You never felt anything anymore?"
"I thought I did. I wanted her to be so happy, no matter what. I'd have done anything for that." He scowled. "Then again, that's what her brothers were doing - anything." He grumbled incoherently for a few moments. "Oh, I still wish I could hold her, or caress her, and I can’t say as I’d complain about inviting her back into my bed when I was sure that she really understood the truth and accepted that truth. I remember the curves she’s got, and will never forget. But what I feel can’t be love."
"Why not?"
"Because I certainly couldn’t feel it for all four of you girls in so rapid a time, and I'm starting to. I want to be friends, with benefits, with all four of you, but I know that it’s my hormones speaking at having four beautiful girls around."
"Especially Luna and her current mode of dress."
He nervously pulled her closer and said shakily, "I was thinking, rather, of the girl with the best … uh …" He pulled her back slightly, pressing against her, blushing furiously.
"You think I have a nice arse?" she asked in a voice that sounded hopeful.
"Actually, I’ve always rather thought you had the best one in the school," he murmured quietly. He took a deep breath. "Susan, you should leave. I want what you’re offering so badly that if I take advantage of that now, I know it will be a mistake. If we both can look at each other tomorrow when our bodies aren’t screaming at us to fuck each other — sorry for the obscenity, but it’s a good way to describe how I’m feeling right now — if we still think it might be a good idea to be friends with benefits, then we’ll consider it."
"Are you sure, Harry?" she asked. "I won’t say your idea is bad, but I will admit that …" She stopped and looked at him for a moment. "Harry, are you agreeable to learning about fingers and tongues?"
"I already know about them," he said with a smile. "I think I understand what you’re suggesting. I bring you down from where you’re at, and you offer the same for me."
"Exactly!" she said. She wriggled out of his grasp and turned around to face him. "We’re both very excited right now, and …" She stopped suddenly. With a worried look, she suddenly asked, "You don’t think I’m a slut, do you? For being like this — so forward?"
He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her forehead. "If you’re a slut, then the word has taken on so broad a meaning as to be meaningless. You’re a woman who knows what she wants, and is figuring out ways to get it." He looked at her for a long moment before straightening and gently pushing her away from himself. "I think that it’s best if we don’t right now. First off, neither of us is really in a position to be thinking clearly, and second, I think that … well, it’s too soon. It only happened in early August, and it’s just too soon." He kissed her forehead. "I’m sorry, and I hope you can forgive me."
"Forgive you for thinking so much of me that you won’t let me run the risk of hurting you because I'm not thinking clearly? Forgive you for helping me to take the time to decide if I’m making the right decision? For telling me that my friendship means so much to you that you don’t want to lose it?" She pulled his face down and kissed his cheek. "Of course I forgive you, although a man telling a woman that he thinks so highly of her doesn’t need forgiveness." She turned around and walked to his door, wiggling her rear end slightly. "Doesn’t mean I won’t dress for effect around you, though. I know you like my looks, so I might as well accentuate them." She left his room.
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Susan walked over to an empty chair and sat down heavily, shivering heavily for a moment. Just before Hermione could ask if she was all right, Susan arched her back and released an obviously erotic gasp. "Oh Morgana," she breathed. "That man does not know the power he wields, does he?"
"What happened?" Luna asked.
"He turned me down," Susan said with a grin. "I hope you ladies know what a turn-on it is to have someone you want tell you he wants you, but respects you too much to act on it."
"I was with Draco," Pansy grumbled. "You tell me."
"I flat out told him I wanted to be on his bed with my legs wrapped around him, and he turned me down! Chased me out when he realised how close to giving in he was. I decided to honour that."
"You're very lucky," Hermione said. Susan looked up and saw more than a little sorrow in the Gryffindor girl's eyes.
"We all are," she answered. "He feels the same way about all four of us. He'd call it love except for those fucking Weasleys." At the Hermione's look of disbelief and shock, Susan said, "He said so. He's starting to feel the way for us that he did for Ginny. That, and the fact that he feels it for four people, makes him sure that it's just a serious case of lust."
"We'll just have to re-educate him then, won't we?" Luna said quietly. "After all, I find that I would not complain about a permanent relationship with you three and Harry." The others blinked at her. "Then again, I am considered the odd one at the school. That may simply be my insanity speaking."
Susan got up and walked over to her. "Then I'm insane too, Luna. Shall we head off to your room and … talk about it?"
Luna's eyes widened ever so slightly and she stood. Susan put her arms around the girl slowly and drew closer, giving the pretty blonde a chance to stop her. Her answer was Luna leaning forward and actually initiating the kiss. The two girls then walked quietly out of the common room, hand in hand.
"I used to think that girl wasn't quite right," Hermione said quietly. "Now I think she's the sanest of us all." She stood. "I think I need to talk to Harry for a bit."
"You know he may be working off the stress Susan put him under?" Pansy said with a smile.
"Then he'll tell me to talk to him later," Hermione answered. She walked to the door and knocked. She could hear Harry come to the door.
"Yes?" came the muffled question.
"May I talk with you?" she asked. The door opened in response, and his eyes widened momentarily before he scowled.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, I shouldn't …"
"I understand that Susan affected you, and I'm not offended."
"Would you be angry with me if I said that she's not the only one?" he asked quietly.
She dropped her face demurely and suddenly realised that she was causing Harry the same problem that Susan had. She'd been so comfortable in her underthings that she'd simply forgotten what she was wearing. While nowhere as prominent as Susan's, her own nipples were making themselves obvious enough to anyone looking. "I'm sorry, Harry," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to … I wasn't …"
He laughed and summoned his bath robe. "Here, if it'll make you more comfortable."
"I'm comfortable, but I'd imagine you aren't," she said, putting the robe on.
"Well, I'm just bothered that … how do I say it as to not be offensive …"
"May I try?" she asked him with a smile. When he nodded, she said, "You're looking at the four of us and wanting to invite us into your bed, correct?"
He nodded. "You're my best friend. I shouldn't be thinking that about you."
"Why not?" she asked simply. "Ignore love and lust and any number of other reasons you might want to get me naked. What's wrong with looking at someone and having sexual thoughts about them?"
He blinked and opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. He closed his mouth and thought for quite some time before finally saying, "Well, if I take out all the other factors, as you asked, I guess thinking about it is okay."
"Exactly. So, the next thing to decide is this - what are you going to do about it? Susan has stated an interest, and I feel quite certain that Pansy and Luna would just as easily agree. As for myself? Well, I won't force myself on you, but I'm also not going to complain if someday you decide to conserve water and scrub my back while I'm in the shower, with the requisite reaching for anything you can touch." She smiled, a slightly wicked expression. "We all care for you, and I can state with absolute certainty that two of us will certainly not complain if we woke up with you in our beds, naked. The other two I'm pretty sure feel the same way, with a better than ninety percent likelihood."
"But …" he began.
"Right now, we're not asking for anything, Harry. Other than your friendship, that is. Beyond that? We'll see. But I'm simply stating that whether it's love or lust, we're all willing to be with you in a sexual manner. It's too early for you to think about that, I can tell. The damage that Ginny did is too fresh. We're here for you, though, no matter what for. A hug, a cuddle, or an all-out shag that brings the headmaster in telling us to keep the noise down."
His jaw was nearly on the floor at her bluntness. She laughed and said, "What say we start with simple hugging?" She followed word with deed, and felt him relax against her.
"I love you, Hermione," he said finally. "Even if it only turns out to be the deep abiding feeling one has for one's closest friends, I love you."
"I love you too, Harry," she answered, tears in her eyes. She kissed his cheek and regretfully disengaged. "I'll let you get dressed for dinner, and then we'll head down together, okay?" He nodded and smiled back at her.
Author Notes:
Talks and pranks...