Chapter 21

The next morning, Harry was hoping to catch up with Hermione at the breakfast table to tease her even more, testing her resolve about stopping their stress-relief engagement. Unfortunately, she was noticeably absent from the table. It wasn't a huge loss, as their next class was Herbology, which he not only shared with Hermione, but also with a certain busty Hufflepuff. All the ways he could interact with Susan was watering his mouth. Flirting with Susan was its own reward; and Hermione's jealousy was a very useful bonus.

Scanning the Gryffindor table, he noticed a lone blonde, more focused on her breakfast than her surroundings. "Jackpot," he murmured as he changed his direction towards her. Hermione's absence didn't mean that he couldn't have some fun at breakfast, after all. "Hello, Lavender," he called even as he took the seat.

"Harry," she exclaimed in response. Harry acted like he didn't notice her awkward greeting as he filled his plate with some roasted potatoes, giving her some time to gather herself. Her shock was not surprising, considering the last time they interacted, it was in her room, and she was watching him in a rather intimate activity with her roommate, all the while thinking herself unnoticed.

And just a glance to her blushing face, framed carefully by her beautiful golden hair, was enough awaken some interesting memories in his mind, especially the parts that occurred after he had magically nudged her to think that she couldn't have been seen by them. Her supple and curvy body, framed beautifully by the soft light of the room, was not a memory easily forgotten. Especially since she almost rivaled Susan in the size of her breasts, and her hips were even better shaped.

For a minute, he just focused on his breakfast, giving her opportunity to calm her nerves, at least until she could speak without getting undue attention to them, which worked until he asked a question. "Have you seen Hermione around?" And just like that, her blush was back with revenge.

"She left the room early," Lavender managed to stammer. Luckily, he didn't ask that question while she was drinking something, as it would have created a huge mess. "She's probably at the library," she added a second later, in a passably-casual tone.

"Pity," Harry murmured. "I had something to handle with her," he added casually, putting a slight focus on the word something, like he was trying to make a joke Lavender wouldn't get.

From the way her eyes widened momentarily, he could see that it hadn't gone unnoticed. "But she is occupied with the exams, so I hope it's not something tiring," Lavender answered, though her blush reduced the impact of her weak insinuation even further.

"No promises, but maybe I can find someone else to help me if she tires out early," Harry said as he took one last bite from his food. He stood up, but instead of walking away, he stood next to Lavender, towering above her. Her gaze found his, suddenly shy. "See you around, Lav," he whispered in a tone that was just suggestive enough to trigger the thought, but light enough to make her think that it was just a casual comment.

Lavender was already out of his mind as he walked into the greenhouse that would be the classroom for the day. Greenhouse seven, one of the largest ones that housed some very interesting, and moderately dangerous, plants. Harry was earlier than usual for a very simple reason, the small sheet that was hanging on the entrance, showing the assignments for the day, both the members of the groups, and the assignment sectors. A small tweak was in order, Harry decided, adjusting the paper with the application of some simple spells. As a result, he was assigned to the section in the backend of the room, which conveniently was obscured from the sight of the rest of the class, with much more interesting group mates than Neville and Antony.

He waited at the entrance, examining the people that was slowly filling the class, which also gave him an excuse to spot some future targets. Hannah was definitely one of them, entering the greenhouse next to Susan, though, a sudden blush that spread to her face while her gaze bounced between him and Susan, suggesting that she wasn't completely unaware what was going on in his training sessions with Susan. It made things much harder, as Harry expected her loyalty to her best friend would overpower a lot of the small tricks he could imagine from the top of his head. A challenge that he welcomed wholeheartedly, as seducing her would have been bland without some extra spices, and betrayal against a close friend definitely counted…

But that was a job for later, Harry decided when he saw Susan walking towards him after checking the assignment sheet, leaving her best friend behind. The huge blush on her face was not a surprise considering the way their last encounter had ended. But more important was her steps, skipping with excitement rather than being dragged down with trepidation, suggesting that she might find their last encounter shocking, but she didn't regret it.

"Hi, Harry," she whispered after she stood next to him, just a foot away, a distance that suggested intimacy without confirming it with certainty. She tried to meet his eyes, but that turned out to be a bigger challenge than she could handle, her gaze fluttering down before she could say anything else.

"Hi, Sue," he answered, his volume equally low, but there was a suggestive throatiness in his tone hers lacked. "How are you since we last talked? Have you been practicing the material you have picked up in our last session?"

"W-what," she stammered in shock, not expecting his bluntness. She opened her mouth to add something else, but the words denied her order, choosing to stay in the oblivion. "What are you talking about!" she managed to add a moment later, quite a bit louder than necessary. But for once, people's tendency to avoid him came useful, as they failed to notice any irregularity with it.

"I'm talking about obstacle running," Harry added cheekily. "What else I could be talking about?"

"Prat!" Susan said, but the playful slap on his arm suggesting her enjoyment.

"Hey," Harry warned. "Be careful with physical assault. That's one beast you don't want to awaken."

And just like that, Susan was back to her attempts at imitating an open fire through her skin color. She was unable to answer, which meant it was very convenient for her when Harry noticed Hermione entering the class just as it was about to start. A very obvious ploy to avoid him, considering her normal habit of arriving at the classroom at least ten minutes before the bell.

Harry made an effort to meet with her gaze, which she failed to avoid. He waved her, and she waved back, then gestured towards the assignment sheet apologetically, using that as an excuse to cut their distance-gesturing. She turned her gaze away, but Harry kept watching, curious about the expression she would wear the moment she realized her partners for the day.

And it didn't disappoint, Harry thought amusedly as he watched a blush creeping on her neck, visible even through her bushy mane. Though, he made sure to turn away from her before she could gather herself, remembering that he was supposed to play the aloof friend. He turned to Susan and whispered. "But I shouldn't be hasty. Maybe you would like to explore the intricacies of mundane physical combat in our next session."

Susan looked around like she was trying to find a way to escape, but she managed to suppress that particular desire soon after. "When is the next session is going to be?" she managed to murmur while she looked around, trying to gain some time while she tried to find something to distract him from his question.

"Tonight," Harry answered with a smirk, as the beautiful sight in front of him was too arousing to delay for much. Their last encounter was a delicious starter, and while it might be a bit early for the main course, he still wanted to taste another bite of that amazing, voluptuous, aroma. He waited for a few seconds, but no answer was forthcoming. "You're going to come, right?" he repeated.

The direct meaning of the words might have meant a question, but his tone left no mystery about the answer she was supposed to give. And just like he expected, it took only a second for her to surrender with a nod, followed by a barely audible whisper.

Harry would have preferred to push her a bit more, but Hermione chose that exact moment to join them. While it was a pity, it was a small one, as there was very little he could do while the class was in progress.

For now, at least.

He decided to give Susan a small reprieve, turning his attention towards Hermione. "Hello," Harry said, using that exact moment to use his favorite trick, reaching to her mind to push a particularly heated memory to the surface. Although, it wasn't a hard thing to do, considering that several of them were already swimming on the surface of her thoughts. He just pulled one of them into a more prominent position.

"Harry, Susan," she said, impressively managing to keep her voice even despite the state of her mind. Both nodded, but before they could answer, Professor Sprout started to speak, explaining day's objective, gathering leaves from a magical plant called sizzling rose due to its tendency to drop acid whenever it was disturbed too much.

To make things worse, Sprout informed them that the wounds it created left scars even with the magic. Harry couldn't help but feel disappointed, as that particular detail ruined a large section of his plans for the day. Fooling with Hermione and Susan together while keeping them unaware of each other would have been fun, and having another scar wasn't a scary concept, but he had no intention of marring the beauty of the girls.

Still, that didn't mean that a little light flirting wasn't off the table whenever both girls were securely away from the plant. But all of his flirting was turned to Susan, which didn't escape from Hermione's attention. Not that he had any intention to hide it from her, as the whole point of the setup was to make her notice it.

It was obvious that she didn't like it at all, biting her lips as she tried to keep herself from saying anything whenever Susan blushed under another of his compliments. When the class ended, and Harry bid Susan farewell before she joined Hannah and left the class, Hermione was seething with anger.

Harry was deliberately slow as he gathered his bag, and so was Hermione, and soon, they were alone in the greenhouse. Even Professor Sprout had left after asking Hermione to lock the door while she was leaving, her reputation as a teacher's pet and a prefect coming useful.

The moment the last student other than them left the greenhouse, Hermione waved her wand towards the door, closing and locking the door before turning to him, jealousy burning in her eyes unmistakable for anything else. "What was that!" she asked, seething, her fingers around her wand tight enough to turn white. She tried not to look like she was burning with anger, but that was a challenging

"What was what?" Harry asked casually, keeping his attention on his bag, acting like her poor attempts to hide her anger was successful.

"The way you talked with Susan," Hermione said, gnashing her teeth at the mention of the name of the redheaded Hufflepuff. "You were flirting with her. Very heavily, I might say."

"I thought it was quite well," Harry said, using the opportunity to raise his gaze.

"It went well! How dare you say that," Hermione seethed, abandoning her attempts to keep her anger hidden.

"Why it's a problem?" Harry said, bringing his acting skills to the fore, trying his best to seem angry. "Since you don't want to continue our stress-relieving arrangement, I need to convince someone else to assist, and Susan is an excellent choice. She is a member of DA, and she is trustworthy enough to keep my weakness a secret." Just as he finished his explanation, he made sure to put a perverted smile on his face. "And her body sure doesn't hurt," he murmured, seemingly to himself, but loud enough for Hermione to hear.

The resulting confusion blooming on her face was delicious. Reminding her that she was the one that stopped the arrangement between them took the wind off her sails, but the following accolades to Susan, especially the last part, managed to kindle her anger once more. "But-" she started, but Harry had more interesting things in mind, so he took a step towards her, reducing the distance between them to nothing, and that shut her off in an instant.

She took a reflexive step back, and Harry followed up with a step of his own. She tried to take another step back, but she was surprised when she found a wall behind her, cutting her escape route off. Harry took a step more, close enough for his breath to fall off her lips, their bodies almost touching. "Harry," she started, but a finger, pressing on her lips, was enough to cut her word off.

She could have still talked despite his finger, but her breathing was too out-of-control to actually succeed on that. "Relax, Hermione," Harry said with a whisper. "It's clear that you're feeling the stress of upcoming exams. Let me help." She looked alarmed at the prospect of his help, which wasn't a surprise considering how their last encounter had ended, but Harry was quick to cut. "Just a massage, I promise."

His promise was as believable as a wolf committing to vegetarianism, but her mental state was too compromised to put the resistance his offer deserved. She still tried to mutter those words, of course, but a heated glare was enough to bury that intent, no magical adjustment required. "Okay," she murmured, her hesitancy clear, but unable to reject the reward dangling in front of her.

"Excellent," Harry murmured. He put his hand on her shoulders gently, and pulled her forward a bit. He let their bodies to touch for a moment, but pulling back before she could say anything. He made her turn using the same gentleness, which she consented with a slightly confused expression on her face, failing to understand what exactly he was trying to do.

She understood it when he pushed her against the wall, with a motion much sharper than his earlier movements. She gasped in shock, but before she could ask for anything, both of his hands were on her shoulders, squeezing just hard enough to make her moan with a surprised enjoyment. "How is this?" he asked as he brought two of his fingers to her spine, dragging down softly.

She just purred in response, losing herself in his touch, proving that he was quite adept at learning the way her body worked. But he didn't let the pressure slip, his hands dancing on her back determinedly, traveling up and down in measured moves in an effort to bring things to a climax. It was working, but not as well as he would have hoped, her robe reducing the impact.

It was a barrier easy to get rid of, he decided, one of his hands slipping the small gap between her neck and the wall, and unlocked the first button before moving down. She noticed that when he was around the third button. "Harry," she said warningly.

"I'm just trying to make the massage better," he explained naturally. "But if you don't want it…" he said, letting it linger. She didn't answer, which he was happy to take as approval, and continued his self-appointing task of divesting her of her robe. Another gasp rose from her lips when his fingers danced on her breasts while opening her robe, and being significantly less careful than they should, sinking into her flesh sharply. He leaned into her ear and whispered an apology, but with the throaty tone he picked, it wasn't exactly worked the way its direct meaning suggested.

"Careful," she warned a moment later, when his fingers 'accidentally' squeezed one of her nipples, which would have been more effective if her voice hadn't come out as a moan.

"Sorry," Harry repeated even as he moved his hand down, focusing around her belly. Soon, the front of her robe lay open, and she raised her arms when he pulled her robe off. He threw it on the side, and placed his hands on her shoulders once more. And this time, limited only by a shirt, too thin to hide the warmth of her skin. And, from her rising voice, he guessed that she liked the new situation as well.

A while later, he once again put his fingers on her neck, directly on the path of her spine, and started to drag down, which managed to earn a moan of appreciation from her. Soon, his fingers felt a bump, namely her bra. Feeling mischevious, he unhooked it without much fanfare, which she either failed to notice, or was too deep in pleasure to comment.

He decided to reverse direction when his fingers reached the point where her shirt was tucked in her skirt. But he decided to make it more interesting than just a patrol on a beaten path. A small tug was enough to pull her shirt from her skirt. He used the small opening it provided to start climbing upward.

The gasp that escaped her mouth was different than the earlier sounds she made. Harry could sense that a strong flicker of determinism in there, suggesting that she was preparing to finally call things off. He could have slowed down and try to convince her to continue, but scaring her off just as her arousal was reaching to an unmanageable level would be even better.

With that in mind, he pressed his body against hers, which pushed his erection between her plump cheeks, even as his hand traveled upwards, passing the area that was supposed to be barricaded by her bra. She gasped in shock, realizing just how close she was to a dangerous climax, but he leaned to her ear before she could say anything. "Maybe we should use Sprout's desk for some more intense methods of stress-relieving," he murmured with amusement.

Hermione pushed him back, which was barely harder than a breeze in her position and lack of leverage. Nevertheless, he pulled back, an amused smile on his lips as his gaze met with hers when she turned towards him. At that moment, he was struck with a desire to ignore his plan, close in the distance, and help himself with the beautiful contours of her puffy lips. Rest of her body looked delicious as well, her chest rising rapidly as she tried to gather herself, her bra slipping further with each repeat.

"I'm late for Arithmancy," she murmured in panic even as she grabbed her robe, pulling it on haphazardly before dashing towards the door. She tried to open it, for a moment, forgetting that she had locked it before the start of their 'stress-relief' activity.

Harry watched for several minutes as she tried to open the door with increasing panic. "You have locked it before we started," he reminded her with a smirk.

She glanced at him with a blush, but said nothing as she reached for her wand, murmured a spell to unlock it, and dashed away. Harry smirked with satisfaction, glad that he already arranged a meeting with Susan for the evening…