The Sweat of a Gladiator
A/N: Okay, let's all cool down with some witty banter and a bone thrown to R/L shippers. I know some of you are getting impatient for the ending, but let me point out that this is the fourth posted chapter in seven days…think of this as a bonus, then, or a palette cleanser served between courses…. Bon appetit
Disclaimer: Not my characters, no money being made, etc. etc.
Chapter Eleven
Harry Potter didn't enjoy his third shower of the day nearly as much as the second. Hermione had washed separately, as they lived in a three bedroom/two bath tent.
The alone time did give him the chance to suss out where things stood. On one level, things were simple. Hermione didn't like getting spanked, and he didn't like spanking her. Therefore, they needed to shag in order to get the sweat they'd promised in exchange for the antidote. But right after that surface level there was so much more to consider.
Like Hermione's confession of exhibitionism. And the sight of her masturbating for him. Not just for him, but with him, if you considered the fact that the transfigured stapler was a full-scale model of his cock. Under other circumstances, these kind of thoughts would have led to his own masturbatory acts…but she had milked him for a fourth time that day after he helped her finish off her second, and any more attention paid to Mr. Phoenix would likely rub his skin raw.
"Now that's a symptom that I wouldn't want to ask Poppy to address," he thought to himself, as he finished rinsing off, then toweled and dressed. Harry found her back in the "office," dressed in a medium-length skirt and jumper. She was on her mobile talking to her mum; when she saw him enter, Hermione smiled and gave him a "just one minute more" signal. Harry nodded in reply, and then used the time to transform the play office furniture back into original forms.
"Yeah, mum," Hermione said into her phone, "eight-thirty tomorrow morning will work just fine…no mum, we can get there on our own…'we' as in Harry and me, mum." She rolled her eyes. "No, mum he's not joined at the hip."
"That can be arranged, though, Mrs. Granger," Harry called out.
"Ssshhh, Harry," Hermione scolded. "Stay over tonight?" she said into the mobile. "Well, I'll check with Harry, but I'm sure that'll be fine, just so long as you keep daddy on a short leash." She smiled at her mum's response. "Well then, make it even shorter than normal…see you soon…me too…bye."
Hermione ended her call, pocketed her cell phone, and sighed. "Mum sends her love and congratulations."
"Congratulations about what?"
"About us, silly."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows a bit. After all of their naughty fun over the past few hours he'd be hard pressed not to think of Hermione as his girlfriend, but they hadn't officially discussed it yet.
"About us in what way?" he asked cautiously.
Hermione smiled. "Why about our engagement, of course."
"What?"
She walked up and gave him a quick kiss, then brought him into a bearhug embrace. "Our engagement, Harry," she replied, as she pressed the side of her head to his chest. "Surely you realize that I wouldn't have done any of that in front of you without planning on marriage?"
Harry looked down at the top of her head with a gobsmacked expression, then shook his head. "You're having me on, aren't you? Let me see your face."
He thought he heard the quietest of snorts from her, and when she kept her head buried he leaned back and gently turned her chin towards him with his hand. "Hermione?"
She looked up at him with a serious expression that she held for all of two seconds, before breaking out into giggles. "Gotcha, Harry!"
He joined in the laughter. "You are becoming a very silly girl, Hermione," he mock admonished.
She tamed the giggles down into a broad smile. "I am, and I blame it all on you."
Harry locked her back up into a bear hug and mused. He had, in fact, spent time in the shower wondering what his this all meant and where it was going. One of the paths his mind had traipsed down did involve Hermione and a white wedding gown. He thought it silly to even think about discussing this so soon after they had gone physical in their relationship, but maybe he could probe her feelings within this silly and disarming environment?
"You do realize, Hermione," he said, "that silly girls have been known to marry on short notice."
Hermione waited a beat to respond, then replied, "Yeah, guess you're right…but usually not unless their silly boyfriends have proposed to them."
He chuckled. "So am I your silly boyfriend, now?"
Hermione moved her hands down to his bum and gave a good squeeze. "More sexy then silly, but nobody's perfect."
Harry smiled and his eyes lit up. He snaked a hand up into her hair and gently twisted her head so that he could press his lips up against her ear.
"So if that's the case," he asked, "will you be my girlfriend?"
She responded by squeezing his bum even harder, and pulling him even closer. With a smile he couldn't see through the tangle of her hair, she nodded and said, "Yes."
Harry reached back, grabbed her groping hands with his, and stepped back so that he could look into her eyes. "Great," he replied. "So now that the boyfriend part is established, would I still need to be silly in order to propose marriage?"
She looked at him with an expression he thought was both lovely and loving, and nodded. "You would indeed be silly if you proposed marriage right now…we've got enough on our plate."
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe getting our first sweaty shag out of the way and getting that hag off of our backs?"
Harry smiled. "You know, Hermione, your dad might think it better to reverse that order and marry before the first shag."
She gave his hands a squeeze and stepped into another kiss before letting his hands go in a "time to change topics" gesture. "Oh, I'm sure that Daddy would think that…but you can ask him yourself if you're still uncertain. We're staying over tonight."
Harry nodded. "Guessed as much from your phone call…so what's planned for tomorrow morning?"
Hermione closed her eyes and shook her head, in an "I can't believe she did that" look. "Mum scheduled an appointment for me with her gynecologist."
"Huh?"
"Gynecologist, Harry…you know, a woman's doctor?"
"Yeah, I know what a gynecologist is, I was more wondering why your mum would do that."
"Probably because her daughter is now a sexually active female," Hermione replied matter-of-factly. "She was worried that it was a `close the barn door after the horse left' situation, but thought better late than never."
"But you haven't opened your barn door for my horse yet, have you?"
"Oh, nice, Harry…your pet nicknames are so endearing."
Harry laughed. "Hey, it was your muggle metaphor, not mine….so did you tell her that Mr. Phoenix hasn't perched on your roost yet?"
"Not in those exact words, you git," she replied, "but yes, I did. She was very happy."
"But you did tell her that we'd still have to, right?"
"Erm, sure, Harry…I wasn't going to lie to her. She was happy that we didn't have to rush into it...now that I can visit the doctor before we shag, and we'll had some additional birth control options."
"Oh…I see. So Mr. Phoenix might not have to wear an overcoat?"
Hermione laughed. "Maybe not…might still be a good idea if it desensitizes and slows you down, though."
Harry nodded. "So when did you tell them that we'd be over?"
"Not until late tonight…eight or nine o'clock. We still have that meeting at Hogwarts to go to."
"Think that you'll still want to work on the spell-spanking calculations?"
"Not really," Hermione replied with a smile. She stepped forward and grabbed his crotch. "I'd rather spend the time working on your control."
Harry pulled her into another embrace, trapping her hand between their bodies. Reaching behind her, he snaked a hand up under her skirt. His eyes went wide when he realized that the bum he just grabbed was bare.
"You know that I'm not going to have any control at all if you start to run around without knickers."
Hermione gave Mr. Phoenix a playful squeeze, then leaned up and whispered into Harry's ear.
"Who says that I've only just started?"
+++
Harry and Hermione apparated to the gates of Hogwarts with a shared overnight bag shrunk-down and pocketed in his trousers. He had insisted that she pack a pair of knickers for propriety's sake (even if she had no plans on wearing them). This manifestation of her recent self-discovery was the topic of conversation as they walked up the path towards the castle.
"Hermione," Harry asked, as they walked hand-in-hand, "What exactly is a closet exhibitionist?"
She laughed. "Does sound rather oxymoronic, doesn't it?"
"Doesn't sound moronic to me at all."
"No, Harry…oxymoronic. Two words strung together that contradict each other…like `jumbo shrimp,' or `military intelligence,' or…"
"Or a brave Slytherin?"
"Yeah."
"Let's start with the exhibitionist part…you get excited showing your bits off in public?"
"Erm…not necessarily…right now I just know that I get excited at the thought of showing my bits off in public to you. The closet part means that I've kept it hidden."
"To everyone else besides me?"
"Yeah."
Harry smiled, thinking back to Montenegro. "So you got off on showing your titties on the beach, but only because I was seeing them, and not all the other blokes that were ogling you?"
"Oh, Harry…you don't need to overstate things. You were the only one ogling me on that beach."
Harry shook his head. "I disagree. You have lovely titties, Hermione, and I caught more than a few blokes staring at them when they walked by our towels."
"Really?"
"Yeah…it was even more obvious when you were turned over on your front…they didn't have to worry about you catching them staring at the way your thong lifts and separates your bum."
"Hmmm…funny you never told me this while we were there."
Harry paused for a moment. "Maybe I was afraid that if I did that you'd cover up more. Besides, it did seem that you were enjoying the attention."
"I was enjoying your attention, Harry," Hermione replied. "Hard not to miss just how poorly your speedo concealed your erection."
Harry thought for a moment. "So tell me, Hermione…if you knew I was turned on by your bathing costume, why were you so self-conscious this morning? Why did I have to throw out that wizard's oath to convince you that I found you sexually exciting?"
Hermione sighed and shook her head. "Different time, different place, I guess."
"I don't understand."
"Well…it's like this, Harry," she replied. "I thought that you liked what you saw on the beach, but I wasn't completely certain. There were other women that were wearing even less than I was, and it might have been them, or just the whole environment…that place and time."
She gave his hand a reassuring hand squeeze and continued. "It was on that beach that I realized I fancied you…realized that I probably always have fancied you, despite Ron and everything. I was hoping that you felt the same way, but you never really said anything about it after we came back to England."
"Yeah, I know," Harry replied. "I wanted to in the worst way, but I was afraid what might happen if you didn't feel the same way, and it was right after you and Ron split and that was awkward…"
"I understand, Harry, no need to apologize," Hermione said. "I was just saying that to explain why all of the self-doubts and insecurities came back that I thought I'd left behind in Montenegro with the other beach babes. I started thinking that you fancying me and my thong was just a dream."
"So when you went topless this morning in your mum's office…"
"I was afraid of finding out for sure that it was a dream."
Harry stopped walking and pulled her into a hug. "Oh, Hermione," he said. "I so sorry that you had any doubts."
"It's okay, Harry, really."
He pulled apart and started to walk again. "Glad to hear you say `other beach babes,' though," he said.
"Why's that?"
"Because it implies that you recognize yourself as one."
Hermione snorted. "Yeah, you right….it does."
He gave her hand a squeeze. "Just remember that you're my beach babe now."
"But we aren't at the beach, are we?"
They'd reached the front steps, and Harry paused before starting the climb.
"Then you'll just have to be my `Gryffindor Sex Goddess'."
Hermione giggled.
"Hey, now," Harry admonished. "No giggling…you got an image to maintain inside."
Hermione frowned. "What…I can't show my newfound wild and crazy side inside the castle?"
"Nope."
Hermione looked around and over her shoulder. With nobody in sight, she turned to Harry, grabbed her skirt's hemline, and flashed him a view of her Brazilian cut.
"Then I guess I'll have to just show it outside."
Harry let out a breath that contained bits of exasperation and sexual frustration.
"Let's go, Minx," he warned, "before Mr. Phoenix decides to warm your roost."
+++
Harry was surprised to find that the levels of sexual energy and frustration were only slightly lower within the infirmary's walls. With the danger to Ron's life past, his parents had returned to home and work, and Madame Pomfrey had turned her attention to the needs of her other patients. It was therefore only Luna that was at Ron's bedside, with half-drawn curtains that shielded them from the other's view. Luna sported a odd facial expression that combined a serene smile with lust-filled, hawk-like eyes, ready to pounce on its prey. Ron looked more like prey than predator, with wide-eyes that darted towards the point where Luna had slipped a hand underneath his sheets.
"Harry…Hermione," Ron said nervously, "How nice of you to visit." He glanced at Luna, expecting that she'd remove her hand from his upper thigh now that they had company.
His expectations weren't met in time to avoid their notice, causing Hermione and Harry to share Luna's smile.
"How is your patient, doing, Luna?" Harry asked.
"Oh, he's recovering quite nicely," she replied. "He's had three in a row without losing consciousness."
Hermione smirked. "Three what in a row, Luna?"
Ron, being terribly embarrassed, interrupted, "Erm…Luna's been looking after my blood flow issues."
"Looks like she's causing those issues rather than looking after them," Hermione quipped.
Harry looked around the edge of the privacy curtain towards Poppy, who was busy fixing a wheeze gone wild on two second-years. "So has Poppy approved of your treatment methods, Nurse Luna?"
"Oooh, `Nurse Luna', that sounds like a fun game." She then asked Ron, "So do you want to play doctor?"
Ron smiled weakly and shook his head. "Maybe another time, Luna."
It was all Hermione could do not to laugh out loud and draw Madame Pomfrey's attention towards them. "Letting Luna grope you in the infirmary, Ronald?" she asked with mock admonishment. "My, my…and to think that you were so scandalized by my beach attire last summer."
Ron let out a grunt, allowing Luna to answer for him. "Ronald has matured a lot since this summertime, Hermione…I'd like to think that I've rubbed off on him."
"More like rubbed him off, I'd wager," Harry said cheekily, earning a punch in the arm from his girlfriend.
"Well," Luna replied brightly, "things have worked out since then for all of us, haven't they?"
Hermione smiled, and after looking over towards Poppy and her patients gave Harry an unexpected kiss.
"Yes, they certainly have."
"Oy, you two…not in front of me," Ron whined.
"Oh grow up, Ronald," Hermione said sweetly, "and be glad that it's Luna that will be watching us shag and not you."
Ron choked rather violently in reply, which brought Madame Pomfrey's attention to them. She briskly walked over before Hermione could elaborate, and stood by Ron's side with a curt look and pursed lips.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, do I need to ask you to leave my patient alone?" she asked.
"No, Madame Pomfrey…sorry, Madame Pomfrey," Harry replied.
"And what brought about this coughing spell?"
Harry and Hermione looked at each other before Hermione replied, "I said something relating to the deal we made with the hag to save his life."
"Hmmmph," Poppy replied, one eyebrow raised. "You should now that his condition is frail enough without you providing him that kind of excitement."
"Sorry, Madame Pomfrey."
Poppy looked down at Ron. "Mr. Weasley, I believe that it's time for you to get some rest. Do you think that you can sleep on your own, or has your imagination been sparked so brightly that you require some `Dreamless Sleep'"?
Ron smiled. "I think I can manage on my own, thanks."
Poppy nodded. "Come along, then, you three," she said. Torn between wanting to insure her patient wasn't disturbed and wanting to provide her patient some privacy, Poppy turned her back and walked away, hoping that the three wouldn't be far behind.
With the nurse's back turned, Luna leaned over and forced Ron's mouth open with her tongue. After a moderately intensive kiss, she rose up and looked at Ron's face.
"Promise you'll dream of me, Ronald?" she asked.
He gave her a rueful smile. "Would be bloody impossible not to, luv."
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