Disclaimer: Not mine. I wish it were so we would have had HHr, but alas it's JK Rowling's.
A/N: My reply to the challenge issued by PJ, you can find it here: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26635 . This story will start right after fifth year, and it will involve sex, some blood, and such, so this is why it is rated NC17. I hope you'll enjoy it, I think this is the most complex challenge I've ever dared to reply to, so I sincerely hope I'll be able to pull it off well.
Thanks to my beta Gingercat!
Harry Potter and His True Sixth Year
Chapter Twenty-four: Quidditch and Scandal
Harry woke up groggily, that morning. That was the day of the last Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor against Ravenclaw, and he smiled to himself as he thought the Quidditch Cup could be theirs once more. They just needed to not lose for more than one hundred points, and he was confident they could pull it off.
Quickly putting on his Quidditch robes as he realized he was running a bit late, Harry dashed to the Great Hall to grab a bite before heading to the pitch. There, at the Gryffindor table, he met with Hermione, who had already prepared him a plate with all his favourites on a Quidditch day.
He smiled thankfully at her and started eating, musing about how well they knew each other, and how thick he had been to not notice that before.
"At least last summer I woke up and noticed her" he thought as he walked quickly toward the Gryffindor locker room where the rest of the team was waiting. He had just finished giving them a pep talk, telling them they could do it, the Cup was within their grasp, they just needed to claim it as their own, all the while noticing the permanent scowl that had taken residence on Ron's face with an inward sigh, when there was a knock on the door. Motioning for the team to start getting on the pitch, he then went to open the door, and was surprised to see Hermione standing there.
She looked up at him a bit shyly, a tiny blush on her cheeks.
"I didn't give you your good luck kiss" she whispered, and he grinned, pulling her to him and kissing her quite thoroughly, making her moan softly when they parted. With ragged breaths she smiled at him, and wished him good luck once more before going to join Neville in the stands.
As Madam Hooch spoke with Harry and Cho, the two captains, about wanting a fair game, no dirty play and her usual ramblings, Luna was announcing the players' names, being the new Quidditch commenter now that Lee Jordan was out of school.
Soon, the game started, and Harry immediately set to look for the Snitch, Cho constantly on his side, tailing him in every turn.
"I won't make this easy for you, Harry" she called at him with a wink, and he smiled back. "You never do, Cho" he acknowledged her ability. Seriously, since Cedric had died, but maybe even before that, Cho had always been the second best Seeker at the school, after Harry, and he always had a hard time beating her. Nonetheless, he always did.
Circling the pitch with the hope of spotting a glimpse of gold, Harry was also checking on how his team was doing, and he had to admit they were really giving their best. He spotted Ron make a spectacular save and he smiled at his ex best mate, who just nodded, the scowl still glued to his face.
Harry sighed and shook his head, once more searching for the Snitch. Cho had left him alone, a rare event in their matches, to have a look on the other side of the pitch, but she must have be deluded because a couple minutes later she was again tailing him.
The match went on for other two hours, with the score of 130-120 for Gryffindor, when finally Harry spotted something and launched himself at breakneck speed. Cho was trying to keep up, but the Firebolt wasn't the best racing broom for nothing, and with Harry's skill it was soon clear who would get the Snitch first, if there weren't outside interferences like Bludgers.
Following the little golden ball, Harry dived toward the ground, Cho still following him but with little hopes to get the snitch first. Both Seekers were so caught up in their target that neither noticed how near to the ground they were already.
When Harry did, he pulled up with all his might, and his Firebolt harshly turned toward the sky, its end barely brushing the grass of the pitch. Cho wasn't so lucky, and her Cleansweep would have made her crash if Harry hadn't dived again, this time to catch the Ravenclaw seeker before she killed herself, or at the very least hurt herself badly.
As he gently landed, letting the pretty witch out of his arms, the crowd roared in approval, and even Hermione couldn't believe how self-less he was. It wasn't his job to save Cho, and surely Dumbledore would have intervened, so he just had to turn his head right and grab the Snitch hovering near him, she knew he had spotted it too, but he didn't care, and sacrificed the chance of ending the match because he just had to help Cho.
"He's really amazing" she heard a dreamy voice whisper behind her, and she knew it was one of his many fans, but this time she couldn't help agreeing.
--
Eventually, Harry caught the Snitch, Cho too shaken by her near death experience to be effective in her play, and Gryffindor won the Cup. Harry lifted it to the sky in the middle of the pitch, the students roaring on the stands, apart from the Slytherins, as usual.
When finally the celebrations ended, and everyone moved from the stands to go back to the castle, while the teams retreated to their locker rooms to have a shower and change, no one noticed the spell hitting the back of the Ravenclaw Captain.
--
Harry was enjoying a warm shower, his team-mates having already left and telling him they would be in the common room to have a party, when a husky voice was heard.
"Do you need any help with that scrub, Harry?"
He turned, and gulped as a very naked Cho was leaning on the doorframe.
"Cho! What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, glaring at her while covering himself up the best he could, and trying not to peek at her great body, especially her heaving breasts.
The Asian witch giggled, and walked toward him, seductively swaying her hips in the process.
"Why, to shag you senseless and show you who is a real woman of course, silly" she said, having finally approached him, and pressing herself to his chest, her hands caressing his face. That was the moment Harry noticed her glassy eyes, and knew she had been Imperiused.
Gently pushing her aside, he ran to the locker rooms, leaving a trail of soapy water behind him, and grabbed his wand. Then he stunned her, dressed her with her clothes which he found near his own on the bench, and then proceeded to dress himself.
When that was done, he dragged her out of the locker rooms, Disillusioned himself, revived her and broke the curse, before Obliviating her so she would not remember anything of the events that took place in the shower room.
"Sorry Cho, but it is better this way" he thought, while walking away from her, still Disillusioned, the fact that someone had Imperiused her to seduce him troubling him. He knew probably the Death Eaters among the students were responsible for that, but he couldn't understand why.
When he reached the common room, the party was in full swing, and he searched for Hermione with his eyes. Spotting her on the couch with Neville and Parvati, he made his way there, knowing he should probably talk with her about the incident, but deciding not to. She had already helped him lots that year, he would find who had Imperiused Cho on his own. Plus, he didn't want to make her jealous for nothing.
He would soon discover he was sorely mistaken in his decision.
--
The next morning, when he entered the Great Hall, Harry found everyone staring at him. He wondered why, but since it had happened before, he didn't let it trouble him.
However, when he sat near Hermione and she suddenly got up, he noticed her eyes were filled with tears.
"Sweetheart, what has happened?" he asked, and she glared at him.
"Don't sweet talk me, Potter" she hissed, throwing the Prophet at him. There, on the front page, was a picture of Cho and him, naked, in the shower room, her body pressed against his. The photo conveniently didn't show the part when he pushed her away, though.
The article read:
Potter plays the heart of young witches
By Rita Skeeter
Harry Potter, 16 years old and thought to be the Savior of the Wizarding World, is nothing more than a spoiled brat who thinks he can have it all. Not happy with having the affection of the caring, smart, beautiful Muggleborn witch Hermione Granger, who has always been on his side since first year, Potter thought wise to seduce the pretty Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain Cho Chang too, the two could be seen flirting all through the match and Potter even gave up an easy win to save her from a fall, it surely adding to the infatuation Miss Chang felt for Potter, of which clear proof could be seen last year when they briefly dated.
The article continued inside, but Harry had read enough. Crumpling it with his hands, he ran after Hermione, slamming the Great Hall doors in the process as he left.
He regretted not having told her about it now. Thinking furiously, he grinned as he realized where she would be. They surely needed to talk.
The library would be the obvious choice, so he knew she wouldn't be there. She could guess he would search her there first. Instead, he was pretty sure she had retreated to what he had come to call "their" spot, near the lake, outside from the view of the castle.
He ran there as fast as he could, and there she was, sitting against the bark of "their" tree, her shoulders rising and falling with her sobs. Harry felt his heart wrench in his chest at the sight. It was the second time in a few months that he made her cry, and he hated himself for it.
"Hermione" he called softly.
"Go away!" she shouted. He was prepared, though.
"No" he said
"Leave me alone, Harry! You've done enough damage already!" she cried, images of him and Cho talking and smiling as they flew coming back to her mind. She hadn't given them much thought at that moment, but maybe what the paper said was true, maybe they were flirting openly in front of the whole school, and that made her feel so stupid.
"I thought you loved me" she sobbed then, seeing that he had no intention to leave. "I was mistaken, though" she added with a bitter chuckle.
Harry had had enough, and sat near her, forcing her to look at him. She tried freeing herself from his grasp, but he was stronger, and she had to stay.
"Hermione, look at me. Nothing that article says it's true. I never seduced Cho, but she was Imperiused to seduce me. Look into my mind, if you don't believe me" he said, and after some insistence, she caved in. Raising her wand, she cast the spell.
"Legilimens!" she cried, and Harry pushed the memory he wanted her to see to the front. She watched how he was having his shower when Cho arrived, already naked, and all that followed.
When she finally broke the connection, he pulled her into his arms, letting her cry as he rocked her, drawing circles on her back to soothe her.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you last night, I thought I could handle it on my own and find who had done that to her without putting another problem on your shoulders. I didn't notice anyone taking pictures, and I wonder how they did it, since I'm sure no one else was there, unless he/she had an Invisibility Cloak"" he confessed, and felt her nod into his chest.
"I'm sorry I believed the paper, too. I should have known it was printing lies, but when I saw that photograph…" she said, and he caressed her hair, smiling at her.
"It was pretty convincing, uh?" he admitted, and she chuckled, nodding. "You know, I've always dreamed of doing it in the Quidditch shower room…" he suggested, and she swatted him on his chest.
"Pervert" she teased him, as he leaned in for a kiss.
From afar, a lone figure swore under his breath. It seemed nothing could break up those two, the person thought as he walked away to avoid being spotted.
--
Later that night, Harry was on the couch in the common room after having studied all night, toying with his Marauder Map, Hermione asleep with her head on his lap, when he spotted three dots walking to the Forbidden Forest.
"Malfoy, Ginny and Ron" he hissed. "I knew it" he added then, barely containing himself from shouting as that would have awakened Hermione. After the day she had had, he felt she deserved some rest, and kept running his hand through her locks, as she had been lightly purring since he had started doing that.
With a small smile, he closed the map and sighed.
Tomorrow would be an interesting day.
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