Girls, Girls, Girls

***

Harry decided after reading through the letter from Sirius a few times that the old dog had a point. Several points, in fact. He sorta wanted to show the letter to Hermione to get her opinion, but was reluctant to because of the reference to Katie, Angelina and Alicia. While polygamy wasn’t unheard of in the various magical communities, it was not the norm for the British Wizarding World. Hermione would most likely take an even dimmer view due to her muggle background since polygamy was even less common in the muggle world.

Thinking it over, Harry decided that if his relationship with the three Chasers were to become serious, than he wouldn’t want to hide it. Especially from someone he was so close to. He would, of course, get their permission first before he said anything. Still, as it was right now they didn’t actually have a relationship beyond being good friends that enjoyed a bit of slap and tickle.

That didn’t change the fact that he wanted Hermione’s opinion on the other topics raised by the letter. First and most immediate was the various ideas for dealing with the Second Task. The air freshening charm was not reliable enough. It required a great deal of concentration to keep it going and Sirius was correct in how dangerous it could be if he was distracted or surprised. He had offered several alternatives and they needed to be researched and explored.

The second thing that Harry wanted to consider was the idea of having a PR Manager. He hated the idea of being some sort of celebrity or wizarding icon, but that was out of his hands. The Wizarding World had become fascinated with him the moment that moldy-Voldie hit him with the killing curse and that fascination hadn’t faded with time. He had come to the conclusion that most people will believe whatever is presented to them as fact. They wouldn’t bother with their own research or with double-checking to make sure all the facts ‘fit’ in with what they were being asked to believe.

It wasn’t just the kids at school; it was also the adults out in the world that did it as well. A few stories in the Daily Prophet and they were ready to hex Hermione, despite the fact that they didn’t know her and she hadn’t done anything wrong. Rita was either being asked to trash reputations by someone paying her off, or she simply enjoyed causing extreme reactions by making people jump to her tune. Obviously, reporting the truth and spreading the real news was not one of her motivations.

In the end, he decided to focus on the Task and just offer up the idea of a PR Manager and ask her to consider it for discussion after the Task was over.

***

The Gryffindor Common Room was mostly quiet with only a few groups of students scattered here and there. Some were studying and some were playing games or gossiping with their friends. Harry sat at one of the study tables with Ron and Hermione, a few books spread out before them.

“Well…” Hermione shifted a few pieces of parchment around until she had the one she was looking for in hand, “I agree with Snuffles in that I think the transfiguration will be difficult to learn, especially in such a short time period. It is something to look into later just for fun and as possibly a way to practice for learning the full animagus transformation. Right now though, we have a strict time limit.”

Ron nodded, “Hermione’s got a point.” He grinned and gestured at Harry. “I’m not saying you couldn’t learn it, mate. You are fairly decent at transfiguration. It’s just a matter of time. If you can’t learn it fast enough, then it’s a waste of time we could have been devoting to other things.”

Harry and Hermione blinked in surprise. Hermione was shocked that he agreed with her and Harry that Ron hadn’t tacked on ‘like Quidditch’ to the end of his sentence.

“Anyway,” she held up the parchment. “I think that the two best ideas are to use gillyweed to facilitate a transformation or to use the water breathing potion. We would have enough time to brew it if we start gathering stuff right away. It needs to simmer for two days and sit under a freezing charm for four days, so…”

Harry took the parchment and looked it over. The potion required some ingredients that weren’t a part of the student potion kit. He frowned at it slightly and considered his options.

“Well…the main problem with both of these options is lack of materials. We could always stage a raid of Snape’s supply cabinet, but that isn’t a guarantee. We could get caught and punished or he might not have everything we need.”

Ron and Hermione both grimaced. They had raided Snape’s supplies before, but that was just as risky as anything. If they could find another way to procure the supplies, it would be best.

“It’s a pity that I can’t get to Diagon Alley. Then I could just go to Gringotts and take money out of my vault and purchase the stuff at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. That would solve the problem.”

“Just owl order whatever you need.”

Harry jumped in surprise. He hadn’t noticed Katie coming up behind him and her voice startled him. Turning to look, he saw that she was flanked by Alicia and Angelina. All three of the girls wore little smirks of pleasure on their faces. He blushed lightly and grinned at them.

“Ladies…”

Harry saw Hermione frown slightly and open her mouth, most likely to try and distract the three girls before sending them on their way. He didn’t want that, not just because they were all easy on the eyes, but also because he was very curious as to just what Katie meant. He shifted over slightly and gestured at the table.

“Have a seat for a moment please.”

Hermione huffed a bit, but didn’t argue as the three girls each grabbed a chair and then giggled over who got to sit next to Harry. With a smug smirk, Katie won that little battle and plopped down next to him, nudging his leg with hers. He grinned at her for a moment before clearing his throat.

“Now, I don’t know how much you three overheard, but we were discussing a potion that Hermione thinks would be helpful for the Second Task. The problem is that we don’t have all of the ingredients. We aren’t thrilled with the idea of trying to steal them from Snape. For one thing, we might get caught and for another, he might not have exactly what we need.”

Angelina whispered loudly to Alicia, “Did you notice that he didn’t list stealing being wrong as one of the reasons not to do so?”

Alicia giggled and nodded. Hermione huffed again, but Harry just winked at the girls.

“So, I was hoping you could explain about owl ordering the ingredients. I’ve never heard of such a thing and if we could somehow legally purchase what we need, well… it’s the best thing to do, don’t you think?”

The giggling stopped and the three girls exchanged glances. It was almost as if they were each confused and confirming that the others were the same.

“Ah, Harry?” Katie shifted slightly, a tiny frown on her face. “You do have a vault at Gringotts, correct?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, but I didn’t realize how much money I’d need this year and…” he blushed lightly. “I’m running a bit low. Besides, even if I did have enough gold on me to buy what I need, I have no way to get to Diagon Alley to pick it up.”

The three girls sucked in a breath as one.

“Do you actually have your key?”

Harry exchanged looks with Ron and Hermione, found confusion and curiosity, then shrugged and nodded.

“And no one showed you how it worked?”

Harry frowned. “It opens my vault when I visit Gringotts. What’s to know?”

Katie gaped at him for a moment before her face turned red with anger. “I can’t believe that they just handed you your key and then didn’t explain how it worked! That’s criminal!”

“I don’t understand. What else does a Gringotts’ key do?” Hermione’s voice brought Katie up short and most likely prevented an explosion of temper.

“Harry, go get your key. I’ll go get some official Gringotts’ spelled parchment and I’ll show you, okay?”

Without waiting for an answer, Katie hopped up and dashed off towards the stairs leading to the girl’s dorm. Angelina leaned forward and grimaced.

“Katie gets a bit odd about money. I think it’s because her father is an accountant, but she is right. You should have been told all about it the moment you were given your key. That you weren’t is very suspicious and criminal.”

Harry stood up and frowned. “I don’t think Hagrid meant anything criminal by not explaining. He might have thought I already knew.” That reasoning was shaky though, since Hagrid knew that Harry had been completely ignorant about anything to do with the Wizarding World.

Angelina frowned harder and shared a look with Alicia. “Harry…Hagrid had your key?” At his nod she shook her head in confusion. “I like the guy and all, but he should never have had it in the first place. It should have been in the possession of yourself, your guardian or the goblins. Where did he get it and who gave it to him in the first place?”

Harry blinked. “I…I don’t know. He gave it to me on my first trip for school supplies.”

Alicia huffed much like Hermione. “So…for almost a decade, your key and all the money connected to it was in the hands of someone unknown? You might want to check into that.”

Hermione tapped her fingers on the table. “It was probably Professor Dumbledore that gave it to him. You’re being paranoid.”

Harry thought of it and nodded. That did make sense.

Alicia wasn’t impressed. “I’m not saying that the Headmaster would steal from you, but he shouldn’t have had it either.”

Hermione frowned, but didn’t say anything and Harry quickly left and jogged up the steps to his dorm room. He quickly dug his key out of his trunk and ran back down. He arrived at the table slightly out of breath just as Katie rejoined them. She placed a stack of parchment on the table that was slightly larger than the typical muggle paper used in computer printers. She handed one each to Harry, Hermione and Ron.

“This isn’t really parchment. Parchment is heavier and much sturdier. This is velum and will rip or tear easy, so be gentle with it.” She pointed to the decorative trim that ran along the border of each sheet. “This design is actually goblin magic. It’s bright blue because it is dormant, still waiting to be used. Once the sheet of velum is used, the border will turn a rusty red color and it won’t be useful as anything but writing letters on because the magic will have been used up.”

She set a sheet on the table. “The velum can be used to interact with your key. Since each Gringotts’ key is linked to a vault and account, it can be used to get information with one of these pages. Harry, put your key at the top of the sheet.”

Harry carefully placed his key at the top of the sheet of velum. The blue border lit up and began to glow softly.

“Perfect.” Katie grinned. “The magic has been activated and is now waiting to be used. There are three things that you can do before the sheet is used up. One, you can inventory the contents of your vault. Two, you can request a list of actions you can take with your vault and the limitations put on it. For instance, you might have a limit to the amount of money you can withdraw in one day. The third thing that you can request is a statement of all transactions for the last month or the last six months. That will tell you everything that was put into your vault and everything that was taken out and the dates that each transaction happened.”

“How do I do any of that?”

Katie grinned and gestured to the key. “Just tap the key with your wand and say; inventory, rules or statement. Once you pick up your key, the border will go dark red and you’ll need a new sheet of velum, even if you only did one of the three options.”

Grinning, Harry tapped his key and said, “Rules.” Instantly, words began to write themselves out on the sheet of velum. Everyone leaned forward and began to read.

“See here,” Katie pointed to a listing of various shop names. “Whoever set up this vault made sure that you had accounts at these shops. All you need to do is request an owl order form and fill it out. There is a space on the form for your signature and for you to press you vault key to. The shop owner will file the form with Gringott’s and the amount of your purchase will be transferred from the vault indicated by the key to the shops’ vault. Then your order will be mailed to you by owl.”

Harry was impressed. There were several bookstores, the apothecary, a few clothing stores, a few shops he’d never heard of and Quality Quidditch Supplies.

“You also have a limit of 50 Galleons per day unless it’s been okayed by your guardian, so don’t go nuts ordering a broom or anything.”

Harry was thrilled about finding this out even though he was pretty miffed that no one had thought to explain this before. Still, he didn’t think to ask either, so maybe it was partially his own fault. Without thinking, Harry turned around and wrapped his arms around Katie, dipped her low and kissed her deeply.

A startled squeak caught his attention and he looked up to see Hermione in shock and everyone in the Common Room staring intently. He grinned and blushed hard even as he straightened them both up.

“Thanks Katie. You’re the best.”

Giggling and tittering, Alicia and Angelina stood up and walked passed Harry, each kissing him on the cheek with a giggled “Bye Harry,” before helping a dazed Katie to walk off and up to the girl’s dorm.

Harry turned to face his friends. “Um…”

“Hey, mate?” Ron was both blushing and grinning. “Next time I do something nice for you? A handshake will do. No kissing necessary. Okay?”

Ron and Harry chuckled and the rest of the Gryffindors eventually went back to their own interests, although he was sure that they were all gossiping about him kissing Katie.

“Well…” Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly. “We should write to each of these shops and request an owl order form or catalog from them for you. Then I think we should maybe have a little chat about Katie.”

That wiped the smirk off of Harry’s face and replaced it with a frown.

“Very true. This is going to hit the Prophet within days. Katie doesn’t deserve that kind of abuse anymore than you did.”

Sighing and rubbing his eyes under his glasses, Harry turned a serious look at Hermione. “I also wanted to get your opinion about hiring a PR Manager. Snuffles suggested it. I hate the publicity, but he says that the papers will either write what I tell them or they’ll make stuff up on their own. I think that I’d rather they write stuff that I okay and not a bunch of hurtful lies.”

Hermione gave him an odd look. “That’s probably a good idea.”

***

Harry’s prediction was correct. Three days later the Daily Prophet ran a story about Harry’s desperate attachment to an older woman in an effort to fix his heart since Hermione broke it. It portrayed Katie as a sophisticated pedophile tempting young men into her bed with wicked seductions and promises of sexual pleasure. Katie came across as a slag and Harry as a clueless little boy being used for his gold.

Katie was furious. Not at Harry, but at the Prophet and Rita Skeeter.

Alicia and Angelina called a House meeting and ripped into their fellow Gryffindors for spreading rumors and gossip. Katie’s reputation was practically ruined and it would take a lot of work to change it. She’d already been sent several dangerous letters and a host of howlers from nosy busy-bodies around the British Isles.

Hermione suggested that Harry follow Snuffles advice about a PR Manager in order to compensate for Rita’s scathing quill and even recommended Moony for the position. Her reasoning was that Harry could then pay him for his services and insure that he and Snuffles had access to any money they might need.

***

Dear Snuffles and Moony,

I don’t know if you’ve been reading the Daily Prophet, but they did it again. They gleefully dragged my name through the muck and completely destroyed the reputation of an innocent girl in the process. Is the Daily Prophet owned by Death Eaters or something? I can’t think of any other reason for them to try so hard to isolate me and turn me into a pariah in my own House at Hogwarts. As if it wasn’t hard enough to make friends because of the whole Boy-Who-Lived rubbish, now everyone’s afraid they’d get blasted by the newspaper.

I’ve talked it over with Hermione and we both agree that your idea for a PR Manager is a great one. We would like Moony to take the job. He is trustworthy, intelligent and in a position to travel to speak with various persons as needed. Yes, I would pay for all the hard work and time spent doing all this, so let me know the vault number I need to have Gringotts’ transfer the money too.

I don’t know if the three of us; myself, Hermione and Katie, can actually sue the Daily Prophet for slander or not. I would be willing to give an interview to whichever publication you think best. Both Hermione and Katie have agreed to go along as well so that they can give their side of the story.

Please let me know if you would be willing to help.

Always, Harry.

***

The Second Task was horrific, of course. It would have been a lot worse without the potion and gillyweed for backup, and he’d been prepared for the grindylows and was able to speak to the Merfolk. Still, he’d had a minor panic attack when he wasn’t allowed to rescue both Hermione and Katie. Victor arriving to save Hermione helped calm him immensely. It wasn’t until afterwards that he realized that Fleur failed in her task and the judges had to go and save her sister for her.

All in all, Harry was just glad that it was over. Gryffindor celebrated his excellent score and after collapsing into bed that night, Harry slept for 12 straight hours.

***

It wasn’t long after that when Harry found himself tucked away in a comfortable sitting room in the castle with Moony, Hermione, Katie and a reporter from Witch Weekly. Snuffles was there too, but he looked very different and not at all scary. According to Moony, he had been to a professional muggle dog groomer and gotten his tangled and scraggly fur shampooed, trimmed and brushed, his nails all trimmed and buffed and his teeth cleaned. A Gryffindor scarf tied around his neck finished the transformation from frightening Grim to friendly pet dog.

Harry explained to the reporter that Hermione was his best friend, more like a sister than anything. The hug that Rita had overseen was given to him after learning about the dragons of the First Task. It wasn’t romantic in nature, but comforting in the face of horrific danger and fear. The kiss with Katie was also explained as teasing and a thank you for helping him with something. It wasn’t lewd or lurid or anything but innocent and playful.

Harry went on to explain that he wouldn’t agree to date anyone at this point because he was terrified of what the Daily Prophet would print. Both Hermione and Katie told how they had been ruthlessly attacked via owl post with hexes and dangerous potions. They explained about how horrible it was to walk through the halls of Hogwarts while the students called out nasty taunts and gossiped about their destroyed reputations.

Moony casually mentioned that the four people who owned the Daily Prophet had all claimed that their Dark Mark’s had been given while they were under the Imperious Curse and had avoided going to Azkaban by a slim margin. He wondered why they were so insistent on publicly attacking the Boy-Who-Lived via the paper if they really hadn’t been supporters of the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The Witch Weekly reporter nearly drooled over all the juicy gossip, scathing opinions of the Prophet and its reporters as well as getting the personal interview of the century. Several photos were taken of each of them alone as well as together. Harry had been promised that their article would be out in the next addition. Moony insisted on being allowed to read a copy first for any editorial changes.

***

With the Second Task over and the decrease in pressure, Harry found himself having time to read over the other two books Sirius had sent. The anatomy book was a little dry, but extremely informative. He now knew that the little nub of flesh that Angelina had responded so strongly to having rubbed was called a clitoris. He also knew exactly how and where babies came from which was interesting, but not something he wanted first hand knowledge of.

It was also interesting in that certain spells and hexes were designed for various parts of the body. Those spells were easier to cast when one knew exactly where to aim for best results. Of course, seeing how a wizard’s body was laid out made him wonder what it would be like to have oral sex with one. He thought it would be interesting and possibly enjoyable, but the thought just didn’t excite him the way being with a witch did. It was like comparing a candle to the sun; they both gave off light, but one was not nearly as intense and bright as the other.

The book about sex magic was nowhere near dry or boring. It was packed full of interesting things that Harry wanted to try out as soon as possible. He had found potion recipes for a massage oil and for a sexual lubricant that he wanted to brew up. He also experimented with a few engorging and reduction spells. Being able to increase the length and girth of his penis and then return it to normal was fun.

He figured that if he practiced enough to do it wordlessly that he could then attempt it on his tongue. Snogging shaved snatches was fun with a normal sized tongue, but he bet that Katie would squeal wonderfully if he had a six inch long tongue.

Another spell that he wanted to learn non-verbally was one that would make a body part vibrate. He’d tested it out on his hand and then wanked himself silly. That charm was definitely a keeper. Just holding onto his bollocks with a vibrating hand while he wanked with the other had been enough to have him cumming so hard that he nearly gave himself a nosebleed.

***

When the copy of Witch Weekly with their interview came out, it was the talk of the school. Several people had actually scrapped together the guts to go up to the three of them and apologize for believing the Prophet. Even Molly Weasley sent Hermione a letter apologizing for thinking that they had reported the truth when she should have known better.

Harry didn’t mind so much that he came across as a lonely and confused boy that didn’t understand why the Daily Prophet was attacking him and his friends. While he didn’t truly feel all that lonely or confused, it did emphasis his concern that everyone would be afraid to be his friend out of fear of having their reputation publicly ruined with lies and scandal. Witch Weekly even went so far as to explain that Hermione was his best friend and that they shared a relationship of brother and sister and that Katie was his teammate on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.

The article ended with a suggestion that the Daily Prophet’s reporting techniques be investigated. That two underage witches had their reputation damaged so badly without even being interviewed by the paper in question to verify facts was decried as criminal. That Harry was famous wasn’t an excuse according to the Witch Weekly reporter even as she asked her readers to imagine their own young daughters being in Hermione or Katie’s place.

In the end, most of the other students stopped shunning Hermione and Katie. Harry was also reassured by lots of people that they weren’t afraid to be friends with him, even people that he barely knew.

Draco Malfoy, of course, couldn’t keep his big mouth shut and strutted over to the Gryffindor table with a nasty sneer on his face.

“Well, I don’t care how much you paid off the reporter to that witch’s rag, Potter. There are those of us that know the truth.”

Harry tilted his head and glared up at the smirking blonde.

“What truth is that Malfoy? The truth that your father is a marked Death Eater who bribed his way out of going to Azkaban with a handful of gold? Or the truth that you’re a nasty little pouf that’s jealous that it’s not you I’m snogging?”

“I’m not a pouf, Potter! Take that back!” snarled Malfoy.

Ron, bless his heart, only caught part of the conversation but jumped right in with an extra loud voice that rang across the Great Hall with his distress.

“Malfoy’s a shirt-lifter! Oh Merlin, is that why he’s always trying to get your attention? He’s a jealous poufter that wants you to snog him?” Ron paled and leaned back away from Draco. “That explains so much.”

Draco snapped his head around, indignant. “What!?”

Ron was nodding and babbling to himself, half in a panic and half convincing himself that he had finally figured out the answer to a baffling question.

“Well, I guess there’s always been a lot of little clues, haven’t there been? I mean, the fancy clothes, the hair potions, the buffed fingernails. And he is always trying to get you to notice him Harry. He prances over here all the time and tries to chat you up, and then when you’re not interested he gets all huffy and jealous. That’d explain the hexes and jinxes he always throws around. Plus calling Hermione nasty names and stuff. He’s a jealous little nancy boy.”

“I am not a nancy boy poufter!”

Draco’s ringing shout caught the attention of everyone in the Great Hall not already listening. Harry, vastly amused nodded his head, a smirk on his face.

“Of course you’re not.” He turned and stage whispered to Ron and Hermione. “Denial.”

Grinning, Hermione nodded back and began to babble about how he was probably trying to hide his true preferences from his overbearing and ruthless father. When Terry Boot, the only openly homosexual student in their year, called out from the Ravenclaw table that it was ‘okay to be gay’ and that Draco ‘didn’t have to be ashamed’ the blonde blushed a bright crimson, turned on his heel and stormed out of the Great Hall in a huff.

Chuckling as he watched Malfoy leave, Harry turned to Ron and said, “Throw in a good snogging session with a pretty witch and this would be one of my best days ever.”

***