She pressed herself even closer against my arm as she said it, as if to underline the point. Her tits squished against my bicep, warm even through the fabric, and she smirked when she felt my muscles tense in reaction.
Gabrielle hummed in agreement on my other side, giving a little satisfied wriggle as she tightened her hold on me. "Oui. Let zem see," she added with a soft giggle. "All zose silly girls who spent weeks wondering how big our Harry is in bed can now know zat we are ze lucky ones~"
I snorted. "You two are menaces."
""Oui,"" they said at the same time, neither sounding remotely sorry.
The path out of Hogsmeade was mostly empty at this hour. A few late groups of students were still trickling back up to the castle, but most had gone already. The sky was leaning toward evening.
The wind had picked up a bit, nipping at exposed skin, but both Veela on my arms clung closer.
Fleur was quiet for a minute, then breathed out a small huff through her nose. "But do not get used to zat, Harry," she said suddenly as she tilted her head to look up at me. "What 'appened zis afternoon-it was... special. But it will not become normal. Understood?"
I raised an eyebrow at her. "You mean the part where I turned you and your sister into devils? Or the part after that?"
She gave me a look. "You know exactly which part I am talking about. Our maman." Just saying it made her lips press into a line.
Gabrielle nodded emphatically, her fingers tightening briefly around my arm. "Oui. We love 'er, but maman is not joining your harem," she said firmly, as if she were setting an unbreakable law of the universe. "You can have us, but you do not need any ozzer Veela besides us." She pressed herself more firmly against me as she spoke, like she was staking her claim physically as well as verbally.
"Exactly," Fleur added. "You already 'ave two very devoted, very talented, very insatiable Veela. Any more and your poor devil cock might actually fall off one day." Her lips quirked into a wicked smirk. "And we cannot 'ave zat, now can we?"
I laughed. "I appreciate your concern for my health."
"Good. Zen you will listen," she sniffed, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at the edge of her mouth. "Whatever happened between you and Maman today-" she flicked her gaze sideways at me, heat and irritation mixed in equal measure "-stays what it was. A one-time... indulgence." She chose her words carefully, then added firmly, "She is still married. Even if Papa is an idiot lately. We will not let zings stay messy forever."
Gabrielle's expression softened at that, and she let out a quiet sigh. "We do 'ope zey can work zings out, you know," she said, her voice gentler. "Papa was... awful about us becoming devils. And about you. But... zey were happy once. Before all ze fighting and ze fear." She glanced up at me, eyes earnest. "We do not want to lose 'im. Even if we are angry right now."
I didn't say anything for a moment. It wasn't my place to decide how their family should look in the future. But in my head, I didn't see her going back to smiling politely and pretending everything was fine with Jean Delacour. Not after what we all just did in the inn's room.
Jean Delacour should probably be expecting divorce papers sometime soon, I thought dryly. I kept that particular observation to myself. No sense dropping that bomb on them when they were still processing their new devil bodies and everything that came with them.
"We'll see," I said instead, giving Gabrielle's arm a reassuring squeeze. "Whatever happens between them, you two will have me and my family at your backs now. No matter what."
That made them both smile, soft and genuine, and they leaned into me in perfect mirrored motion, as if they'd rehearsed it.
After dropping them off at their carriages, I headed back inside the warm castle.
....
By the time I trudged back up from Hogsmeade, still feeling pleasantly sore and smug from my... extracurricular activities with the Delacour women, I was kind of looking forward to a boring evening. So of course, the universe took one look at that thought and decided to punt it straight into the fucking sun!
I hadn't even stepped fully into the Entrance Hall before I realized something was wrong.
Instead of the usual low roar of students coming back from the village-laughing, arguing over who bought the best sweets, bitching about homework-I walked straight into a wall of silence. Not real silence, exactly, but that tense, choked kind where everyone was talking in hushed voices, huddled together in tight little knots, eyes wide and darting.
A whole mass of bodies clogged the center of the hall, a thick ring of cloaks and uniforms and whispering mouths. Hufflepuffs clung to each other, Ravenclaws craned their necks, even a few Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were mixed into the press. Faces were pale, some streaked with tears, some hard with anger, some just... stunned.
My good mood bled out of me in an instant.
"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. "What now?"
I started pushing my way through the crowd.
People moved aside almost without thinking, like someone had flipped a switch. Conversations broke off mid-sentence as they caught sight of me, whispers turned into pointed stares.
""HARRY!"" Two blurs of color barreled out of the throng and slammed into me from the front. Lavender and Parvati, both still in their coats from Hogsmeade, crashed to a stop against my chest. Lavender's golden hair was a mess, her mascara was smudged from crying, and Parvati's braid was half undone, dark hair sticking to her damp cheeks. Both of them were breathing hard like they'd been running. They grabbed at my sleeves.
"Harry, she's gone!" Lavender blurted, voice wobbling between a sob and a shriek.
"Gone," Parvati echoed, eyes huge and wet. "She's-"
"What?" I cut in sharply. "What are you talking about? Who's gone?"
"Jasmine," Parvati whispered. "Jasmine's gone."
Everything in me went still.
"What happened?" I heard myself ask. "Start from the beginning."
Lavender gulped, fingers twisting in my robes. "We-we were in the library," she stammered. "Studying. Well, pretending to study. Jazz said she was gonna run back to the dorm to grab her notes-she forgot them. It wasn't even that long, Harry. We thought she'd be right back. But she didn't show. We waited, like, twenty minutes and then-"
"And then we went looking," Parvati said, taking over, talking faster and faster like she needed to get the words out before she broke. "We checked the common room, the loo, the library again, everywhere. No one had seen her. And then-"
"We heard screaming," Lavender whispered. "So we came down here and-"
"Harry!" Sona's voice cut in. She was standing near the front edge of the crowd with Rias beside her, the two of them a ridiculous picture of contrasts even in a crisis. Sona's dark bob was sharp and perfect despite the chaos, her Ravenclaw robes immaculate, face composed-but there was a tightness around her eyes I didn't like. Rias, in her Hufflepuff colors that somehow looked like high fashion, had her arms folded under her tits, her mouth set in a thin line that didn't match her usual easy smile.
I gently pried Lavender's and Parvati's hands off my robes. "Stay here," I told them quietly. "I'll fix it."
I made myself move toward Sona and Rias. As I approached, the reason for the crowd finally came into full view.
The far wall of the Entrance Hall, the one of smooth pale marble that led down toward the dungeons, had been defaced. Not with paint, not with ink-but with something much darker. Words had been carved into the stone itself in jagged, furious strokes, each letter gouged deep enough that cracks radiated outward like spiderwebs.
The message stretched across nearly the entire width of the wall, huge and impossible to ignore. Whoever had written it had done so quickly but with such force that every stroke screamed with hatred.
THE HEIR OF SLYTHERIN HAS RETURNED, YOU FOOLS!
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT!
I HAVE TAKEN WHAT IS YOURS, HARRY SITRI!
I HAVE TAKEN JASMINE POTTER TO THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS WHERE I WILL DEVOUR HER SOUL!
COME ALONE IF YOU WANT ANY CHANCE AT SAVING HER!
I felt myself growing furious at the message!
A hand brushed my arm-light, hesitant, fingertips ghosting over my wrist. I looked down and found Lilja standing just off my shoulder, closer than I'd realized. She was breathing hard, not out of fear, but anger. A low, furious sound rumbled in her throat, not quite a growl, but damn close.
"I'm going with you," she said, voice low and flat, threaded through with steel. There was no hesitation. "Wherever this chamber is, I'm going with you, Harry. Don't even think about arguing with me! I won't let Marlene's daughter die!"
"Lilja-" I started.
"You're not going alone," she snapped. "I don't care what some deranged idiot scratches on a wall. He doesn't get to dictate your movements. He doesn't get to think you'll actually walk into a trap by yourself because he wrote in big scary letters."
The second Lilja snapped out that fierce declaration, a warm, familiar presence pressed gently against my side from behind. Before I could even turn my head fully, the softness of Rias's breasts had already found my left arm, molding comfortably against me. She stepped in front just enough to face me properly, her crimson hair spilling gracefully over one shoulder, eyes intense and worried.
"Harry," Rias whispered, voice so quiet only I could clearly hear her. She rose onto the tips of her toes and pressed a warm, tender kiss against my cheek. Her lips lingered just a fraction of a second too long-just enough to send a comforting warmth through me, breaking briefly through my anger and anxiety. She drew back slowly, looking deeply into my eyes, her worry clear but carefully hidden behind the strength of her gaze. "You'd better come back safe. No risks you don't need to take."
I nodded gently, meeting her eyes and silently promising her everything I could.
"I'll be careful," I said quietly, leaning just slightly toward her ear so no one else could hear. "Promise."
As she reluctantly stepped back from the intimate contact, Sona quietly slipped closer, her posture as precise and proper as always. Unlike Rias, my aunt couldn't openly display the true nature of her feelings-not in a public space like this. But her eyes said everything words couldn't right now. She glanced around subtly, assessing the attention around us, before stepping forward and carefully wrapping her arms around me in a firm, deliberate embrace.
The hug was brief but powerful. Her slender body pressed lightly into mine for just a few precious seconds before she slowly pulled back, fingers lingering on my shoulders.
"Be smart, Harry," Sona said clearly, loudly enough to be heard, yet still gentle. Her dark eyes gazed sharply into mine, her hidden message clear to me alone-don't you dare put yourself in unnecessary danger. "Do not do anything reckless. Remember, you are not alone."
I gave her a small, meaningful nod, letting her know I understood completely.
"I'll be smart," I promised again, meaning it with all my heart. "I won't rush in without thinking."
Sona released me slowly, her fingertips sliding down my arm gently before she stepped back. She quickly straightened her robes and fixed her glasses, returning instantly to her composed Ravenclaw persona.
Dumbledore was approaching us, looking older and more weary than I'd ever seen him. As he drew nearer, he stopped next to me and gazed up at the violent words carved into the marble wall. The lines around his eyes and mouth deepened visibly as he read the message again.
"Harry," Dumbledore finally said, turning slowly to face me directly. His voice was heavy, almost cracked with genuine sadness. "I had so deeply hoped we would not face yet another tragedy this year. One student has already vanished without a trace-now another. Jasmine..."
He trailed off quietly, shoulders sinking further. I felt a sudden rush of understanding, my gut tightening even further.
Right-the boy who'd vanished about a week ago. We'd all assumed the stray devil had eaten or destroyed the body somehow. Lyra and Lyna had practically torn apart the Forbidden Forest searching but found nothing at all. Now, staring at the wall again, my mind raced rapidly, pieces of a terrifying puzzle clicking sharply into place.
Wait...
Was Voldemort the stray devil we'd been looking for? Was this even Voldemort at all, or maybe someone just pretending to be him so they could get me alone to hurt me?
I supposed neither really mattered, because they would be dead before the night was out. Now I just needed to find the Chamber of Secrets first, because of course the insane creature that did this forgot to mention where it was located.
But thankfully, I knew someone who might be able to tell me. I turned back to Sona and asked her where I could find Luna.
XXX
Psst! Download the app for additional rewards!
More events, more perks. Winning you more free perks. Download now!
StarWaves
StarWaves
avataravatar
chapter 33
Chapter 33 (~10k words):
— Harry —
When Lilja and I found Luna Lovegood, she wasn't very far away at all. She was right there on the same floor, sitting cross-legged in the center of one of the outdoor courtyards in the near darkness. But that wasn't the strange part-no, the strange part was what Luna was doing.
She was calmly tossing strips of raw chicken to a fluffy group of bunnies hopping eagerly around her. Their noses twitched, their fuzzy little tails flicked excitedly, and their dark eyes gleamed sharply as they tore into the meat with unsettling enthusiasm. Seeing rabbits gnawing at raw meat was jarring enough that it took me a moment to even find my voice.
Lilja tilted her head slightly, eyebrows knitting in mild disbelief. "Um... Luna?" she said hesitantly. "I don't think rabbits are supposed to eat meat. Pretty sure they're herbivores."
Luna didn't glance up immediately, her attention fixed on feeding a particularly aggressive white rabbit that had just sunk sharp, pointy little teeth deep into a pinkish piece of chicken breast. After a long, thoughtful pause, she finally lifted her dreamy gaze up toward us.
"Oh, these aren't ordinary rabbits," Luna informed us serenely, as if she'd been expecting someone to ask exactly that question all day. "They're carnivorous Vorpal Bunnies, you see. They are nocturnal and they only eat the raw flesh of other creatures. In fact, they can't digest plants at all-it would make them violently ill."
I stared down at the cluster of deceptively adorable creatures with renewed unease. "Well," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck, "that's not horrifying or anything. And Hogwarts just lets these little monsters hop around freely?"
