"So hold on, you like Harry as well?" Daphne said as she and Tracey sat in their room, thankfully Pansy shared a room with Millicent, leaving just the two of them to talk.
"I...um...yeah." Tracey nodded, a bright red blush on her face.
"What? Since when?" Daphne asked, this most certainly complicated things for her.
"I...I always thought he looked nice, even with his scar," Tracey admitted. "but I suppose I really started liking him after he saved my life." Tracey added. "And then...well we spent some time with him and I started liking him more, you know? He's so strong but...he's so kind as well."
"Hmm." Daphne hummed, for her it was pretty much the same, seeing Harry save her best friend had kick-started any feelings that she would have had for him. And since then she had enjoyed spending time with him, she enjoyed the Slytherin part of him that would embarrass Weasley, and would cleverly get him out of any situation. She liked the fact that he was such a great wizard and was helping her become a great witch, but she also loved how he treated her. Harry could be ruthless with his enemies if he wanted, but he was overall a really nice guy. "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked Tracey.
"Me?" Tracey blinked. "Why didn't you?" She countered.
"Me?" This time it was Daphne who blinked. "W...what do you mean?"
"Please," Tracey snorted, "I know that you like him too." She said.
"W...what?" Daphne's face turned a bit red.
"I know that you like him too." Tracey repeated. "That's part of why I didn't say anything, I think you two would make a great couple." She said in a quiet voice.
"I...I feel bad now." Daphne admitted. "I didn't even realise that you liked him as well, and for what it's worth I think that you and Harry would make a great couple."
"Really?" Tracey said with a bit of disbelief in her voice. "You two are so great for each other, you're both smart and good duellists and you both love Jet."
"And Tracey, I could argue that you and Harry are brilliant for each other. You are both kind and smart and you really complement each other." Daphne replied.
"Thanks," Tracey said with a small smile. "so...what do we do now?" She asked.
"I...well, to be brutally honest, I don't really know." Daphne said, and she was being brutally honest. She did not know what to do, what on Earth was she supposed to do now that she knew that she and her best friend had a crush on the exact same person?
"Hmm, this is all your fault, you know that, right?" Tracey asked.
"My fault?" Daphne looked at her with disbelief.
"Of course, I had a crush on him first after all." Tracey said with a grin.
"Shut up." Daphne huffed, calming down now that she knew she was joking. Daphne picked up a pillow and tossed it at Tracey.
"Oh, you did not just do that." Tracey said as she picked up the pillow and threw it back.
"Oh yes, I did." Daphne said before she picked up the pillow again and threw it at Tracey, the two quickly descended into laughter as they engaged in a pillow fight.
Later the two best friends descended down the stairs and into the common room, they saw Angela sitting in a chair with her legs crossed as she read a book. Once the two of them reached the bottom step Angela looked up from her book and gave the two of them a questioning look as she raised an eyebrow.
Tracey and Daphne exchanged looks with each other before they turned to Angela.
"Next year." Daphne said to Angela. "We have things that we need to think about and neither of us are ready yet." She admitted.
"Next year." Angela hummed to herself. "Very well," Angela said to the two of them. "but if neither of you make your move next year then I will start looking for somebody else for him." She warned.
"We got it," Tracey nodded. "we just want to spend some more time with him this year to help us make a decision."
"I suppose I can understand that." Angela sighed, even though she was tempted to just tell them to hurry up with it.
The next day Harry and his Slytherin friends were heading into Hogsmead for their first Hogsmead trip, all of them were dressed in non-school winter clothes seeing as it was snowing , so it was naturally going to be very cold. Once they had arrived they began walking around, going past and into various shops.
Harry could not help but appreciate the beauty of Hogsmead Village, soft and beautiful snow everywhere, some people were singing, children were playing. The whole thing looked like a bloody Christmas card come to life.
"Is this your first time here, Harry?" Blaise asked as they walked along. Daphne was walking on Harry's right, and Tracey was walking on Harry's left, funnily enough they hadn't even planned that, it just happened. Blaise was walking next to Daphne and the others were just about two steps behind them.
"Yeah," Harry nodded. "am I that obvious?" He grinned.
"A little bit." Blaise grinned back.
"You been here before?" Harry asked.
"Um," Blaise paused for a second. "once when I was like seven or eight."
"The last time I came here was when I was ten," Daphne said. "my father took me, said that you could see the castle from here."
"Oh, so you got an early look then, clever." Harry complimented. "Still, this is a very beautiful place."
The group spent a bit of time looking around, before they had exited the village and stopped by the Shrieking Shack, they all stood by a fence that was a short distance away from the building. The Shrieking Shack is an abandoned house in Hogsmead, nobody went there due to the rumours that it was haunted, many villagers had claimed to have heard loud screams and moans from the building at night. The building looked like a typical haunted house. The windows and doors were all boarded up, in fact Harry couldn't even see an entrance to it.
"The most haunted house in Britain," Draco repeated from memory. "got to be honest, I was expecting something a bit more...terrifying. This isn't scary at all." He scoffed.
"In that case why don't you go closer to it?" Blaise suggested with a grin.
"Why?" Draco said quickly, a little too quickly since he started talking in a slightly slower voice. "I see no reason to go there."
"But you said it wasn't terrifying." Theo reminded him, also grinning.
"Neither is Weasley's house, but I don't want to go there either." Draco countered.
"I don't know about that." Daphne replied. "I would find Weasley's house to be much more scary, imagine the diseases you'd get." She said, earning laughs from the other Slytherins.
"Are you sure you don't want to go, Draco?" Tracey smirked at the blond boy.
"I am not interested, what about Harry? He can go," Draco said before turning to Harry. "go on Potter, you're the bravest of us, and the strongest."
"Your words do fill up my heart with joy, Draco, but need I remind you that I was the one who fought a troll in my first year, and have gone into the Chamber of Secrets last year. I think it's about time you start to pull your own weight Draco, you take the adventure this year." Harry said before he gestured to the shack. "Have at it, Draco." Harry smirked.
"F...fine." Draco said before walking to the shack, mumbling under his breath as he did so.
"So...how long do you guys reckon it will take until he comes running back?" Theo asked the group.
"He'll get halfway at least." Blaise guessed.
"Less than a minute." Harry replied.
"He'll go all the way." Pansy said confidently, after all Draco was a very brave boy, at least as far as she was concerned.
"No, he won't." Crabbe replied.
"What do you mean 'he won't'?!" Pansy demanded.
"He is coming back now." Goyle replied as he gestured to Malfoy who was indeed coming back.
"I should have bet money." Harry sighed.
"That was really quick, Draco." Blaise grinned. "Did you somehow learn to apparate?"
"There was a sign that said 'don't get close'," Draco shrugged. "I am a well behaved student of Hogwarts, I am not going to break the rules." He said, there was a collective snort from everyone in the group.
A small while later the group of Slytherin's were sat outside of the shack, sitting in chairs that they had created, – with magic, what else? - all apart from Harry and Daphne who were both standing a small distance away and practising spells. Harry knew that Daphne had a real knack for ice related magic, so he decided that it would be a good time to start practising.
"Alright, now just loosen your wrist a little bit and you should be fine. Remember, it's like being an opera conductor, not a blacksmith with a hammer." Harry advised, standing right behind Daphne.
"Opera conductor," Daphne repeated under her breath. "got it." She said before she practised the wand movements one more time. "Alright, I think I got it." Daphne said before she performed the spell, the snow in front of her twirled upwards before changing and taking the shape of a human. It stood around the same size of Daphne. "I did it!" Daphne grinned brightly.
"Keep your concentration, keep your concentration." Harry quickly said.
"Concentration, got it." Daphne nodded, focusing on the snowman.
"Atta girl Daph." Harry clapped for her, of course keeping his clapping as light as possible so to not break her concentration. "Now, try and get it to move."
"Got it." Daphne said, she moved her wand slightly and the snowman took a few steps forward, she moved it again and then it moved back. "I'm doing it."
"Nicely done, Daph." Harry smiled at her.
"Thank you," Daphne replied just before she allowed her snowman to collapse, turning back into regular snow. "that was so cool." She grinned as she looked at Harry.
"Was that a pun? Was that intentional?" Harry blinked as he looked at her.
"It was a pun and no, it was not intentional. Or...at least not this time, I cannot speak for the future." She replied.
"Fair enough." Harry laughed before he cast a tempus spell to check the time. "Oh crap, I've got to go now."
"Oh, where are you going?" Tracey asked in a curious voice.
"I am meeting Blaise's mom." Harry replied.
"Hey!" Blaise said in an offended voice.
"No, I have an actual meeting with your mother." Harry began explaining. "In her last letter to me she said that she wanted to talk to me face to face, in private. I am meeting her in the 'Three Broomsticks'." The 'Three Broomsticks' being a very popular pub and inn that was located in Hogsmead.
"Why do you have a meeting with Blaise's mother?" Draco asked in a confused voice.
"I wish I knew," Harry shrugged. "anyway I'll be off now, she does not seem like the type to appreciate being made to wait."
"No, she does not." Blaise said with a small shake of his head.
When Harry arrived in the Three Broomsticks, he saw that it was packed full of customers, some were adults and some were clearly Hogwarts students. Some were talking, some were laughing, the food and drinks looked brilliant. When Harry entered the majority of people noticed that he had a snake on his shoulders, the Hogwarts students were able to quickly to ignore it with ease of practise. Though most of the adults could not help but look, they had of course heard that the boy-who-lived was a parslemouth and that he had possessed a snake for a familiar, but hearing and seeing were quite different things.
"Harry, the humans are looking at me again." Jet hissed into his ear.
"I can't blame them, you're so majestic looking." Harry replied.
"Majestic?" Jet repeated. "I like it."
"You would." Harry snorted.
"Can I help you with something?" A voice asked, Harry turned to see an very attractive, curvy woman with a pretty face and blonde hair, she wore a dark brown dress with a furry brown jacket. She looked like she was in her late twenties to early thirties, though with magical ageing in the mix she could be much older.
"Um, that rather depends on who you are, Mrs..." Harry trailed off and gave her a questioning look.
"It is 'Miss' actually," The woman corrected him. "I am Rosemerta, I own this pub."
"Ah, it's nice to meet you." Harry replied. "I am..."
"Harry Potter, I know." She said with a smile.
"Ah, kind of obvious, huh?" Harry said with a grin.
"Yes," She grinned back, "the snake kind of gave it away, along with the scars. So did your eyes and face, you look just like a combination of your parents." she said.
"You knew my parents?" Harry asked.
"Ah yes, I was only a couple of years out of Hogwarts when I started working here. I met your father and mother during my first year here, it wasn't a meeting that I am likely to ever forget."
"Why not?" Harry asked in an interested voice.
"They sat on opposite sides of the room, I met your mother first and she apologised in advance for whatever your father was about to do." Rosemerta smiled. "I then went over to your father who tried to flirt with me in the hopes of getting free food, when that didn't work he went over to your mother and tried flirting with her. She tossed a drink in his face and punched him in the stomach before she stormed off."
"Oh, I remember that!" Harry laughed. "I read about it in one of his journals."
"It was quite funny, there were bets going around if they were ever going to get together." Madam Rosemerta admitted.
"I would love to talk more about this with you, but I have a meeting to attend." Harry said in an apologetic voice.
"Ah yes, allow me to accompany you." Madam Rosemerta said, smart enough to not mention the name of who he was meeting with, something which earned an appreciative nod from Harry. Both of them knew what the public would be like if she simply mentioned that the boy-who-lived was meeting a woman, it would be even worse if they knew that he was meeting with Mrs Zabini of all people. Harry followed Madam Rosemerta, with practised ease he was ignoring the whispers of people who were talking about him.
When Harry finally got to the room he was supposed to meet Mrs Zabini in, he gave Madam Rosemerta a quick nod and a thank you before he entered and closed the door.
"Mrs Zabini, it's me, Harry Potter." Harry called out when he couldn't see her, "Are you even here?" Harry asked as he looked around. He was currently in one of the more expensive private rooms, and he could tell that just from the expensive looking furniture.
"Be with you in one minute." A voice called from a door in the room, a door which Harry assumed would lead to a bathroom or something. Harry sat down in one of the chairs, not knowing how long it would take for her to come out. Roughly half a minute later she did come out of the door, her whole body covered in a long, black robe, her hair in a ponytail. "It is good to see you, Mr Potter." She smiled, Harry paused as he looked at her, there was something different about her smile. "I have some very important things I need to discuss with you." She added.
"And...what would that be?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Your education." She smirked.
"My education?" Harry repeated in a confused voice. "I am the top student in my year, I've mastered spells that I am supposed to learn in later years and..."
"Not that type of education," She interrupted, "no, I am talking about something very, very different, yet so very important." she said before she undid the clasp of her robe. "Very important." She breathed before she pulled off her robes, she let them drip to the ground and Harry's breath was taken away. Mrs Zabini was stood in front of him, wearing a black corset, a thong, stockings that ended at her thighs and black high heels. Harry gulped before he could stop himself.
"Oh...goodness." Harry coughed out, in his defence he was only human and he was pretty sure that the visual in front of him would turn most men into quivering wrecks.
"I see you understand what I am talking about." She smiled wickedly as she began walking towards him, her hips swaying as she did so, drawing attention to her perfect body. "I wouldn't worry, Mr Potter, the legality of this is different in the muggle world. Here the age of consent is thirteen, I believe it's something to do with magically maturing bodies." She stretched out the last few words as she stopped in front of him. "Aren't you a lucky boy?" She said as she licked her lips.
"Please tell me that I don't have to stay here and be forced to watch you two have coitus." Jet begged.
A.N: Was that the best place to end the chapter? Hmm, I am thinking yes.
Also before anyone asks, no I am not writing full on smut scenes that will last half of or all of a chapter, if you want that then I would suggest you head to Megamatt09's page or any of the other smut writers.
As for Daphne and Tracey I was thinking about having them get with Harry this year but I've post poned that to next year for a few reasons:
Number the 1: So that Harry can spend this year focusing on other things (yes, that does include Mrs Zabini).
Number the 2: You've got to remember that these are girls who have grown up differently from normal girls and they are in Slytherin house, a house where everything is fifty times more complicated than things need to be, also they each have to deal with the fact that their best friend has a crush on their crush.
Number the 3: The girls are still thirteen, I doubt things will be so bad if they wait a year.
Number the 4: Because I am the author and I want to, (shrug).
Anyway thanks for reading, feel free to leave a review. The rest of this A.N will just be copied and pasted from my last A.N in case somebody is reading this one but hasn't read the last one (trust me, it happens).
Also those of you who are reading my Damaged Raven story will know that it is nearly finished, I hope to complete it either this month or the next month. Sooner or later I'm going to put up a vote on my pat-reon for what story I am going to do next (that's legal as far as I'm aware). Also I should make it clear that this will not be me asking what fics you guys want, I'll be giving a list of options that I want to go for and you guys get to vote on it. A problem that I have is I can get an idea, think about it for days then get another one and want to do them both.
The list will be only visible to patrons and before any of you complain, thesse people are giving me money and this is just a way of paying them back. In the future I also plan to release early chapters, I don't really know how early yet, maybe two or three days, maybe a week, I'm still thinking on that.
Thanks for reading, my pat-reon account is JB21 (I can't type in a link because of the website but just type in the website which ends in a dot-com and then a slash followed by JB21Q, I'll have a batman picture up for my profile) if any of you are interested in becoming patrons and donating, it will not affect your ability to read the stories if you aren't interested, thanks again and feel free to leave a review.