Where Others Fear to Tread

Chapter 5

It was Thursday.

Precisely 12 hours left before he walked into the most important meeting of his young life and he was less prepared than he’d been for any of his exams.

Harry sat quietly in the corner of the library a biscuit in one hand and his disguised restricted book open in his other. Every moment he’d had free this week he had spent in the library reading. There had been a few whispered comments in class regarding his suddenly studious nature, a few brave Ravenclaws daring to hazard a guess as to what exactly he was up to. Not that he was paying the rumors any attention, for he had far greater problems to worry about than gossiping students. Besides Ron and Hermione were doing a fine job of heading off the more malicious rumors.

The information he’d gained from reading specific chapters in the books he’d borrowed were utterly mind-boggling. Some of the more complicated passages about wizarding law he’d had to ask Madam Pince about but she’d been helpful and thank-fully hadn’t asked to many questions. Harry was beginning to see how a muggle marriage, differed from a wizarding one.

Most surprisingly Harry’s list of contract items had grown to seven and was a little more detailed. It now read;

1/ I want to visit or be visited by my friends and family whenever they or I like.
2/ I want to be allowed to play Quidditch whenever I want.
3/ I want my own bedroom and bed if at any stage we share accommodation.
4/ I want to finish my education and be allowed to pursue a career of my choice.
5/ I want to be allowed to have girlfriends if I choose.
6/ I do want to have children in the distant future.
7/ NO SEX.

The last point was now outlined in red with large striking balloons around it, which flashed ominously when being read. Harry had held onto that point with vehemence but it somehow mocked him when put aside the sixth point. Not that it mattered, the more Harry was reading the more he was beginning to realize that the seventh point may be impossible to demand.

Harry was too busy reading a particular passage regarding financial aspects of wizarding marriage to notice someone approaching him until a shadow fell across his book. Instinctively Harry slammed the book shut its automatic locking system closing with the pages to prevent any unauthorized students from reading it. Not that Harry understood why the book was in the restricted section in the first place, so far having found nothing to suggest its restriction from students. Still when he glanced up to find Draco Malfoy standing over him, he was kind of glad the book had sealed itself shut.

“What are you doing here Scar head.” Draco spat nastily nudging past Harry forcefully to sit down in the armchair opposite his nemesis. Quite uncharacteristically Draco had been rather placid all week not that Harry had gone out of his way to irritate the blonde like he often did. Still Draco had been less feisty and his snarling comments had been kept to a minimum. Harry wondered if Snape had told Draco of the marriage, it now common knowledge Snape was Draco’s godfather. Harry took a kind of sick pleasure in knowing one day Draco would have to refer to Harry as ‘my godfathers husband’. That pleasure was fleeting though and Harry knew the reality that Snape was unlikely to tell anyone about the marriage, the potion professor’s friends and relatives all in league with the dark lord in some way. If Snape wanted to survive to see old age he knew as well as Harry this marriage had to remain a secret.

Refocusing his attention on the blonde haired boy and his two cronies now sitting across from him Harry put his book carefully in his bag and glared at Draco for invading his valuable reading time.

“Nothing that concerns you Malfoy.” Harry paused briefly before his tongue got away from him as it always did around Draco. “I’m surprised to see you in the library, I would have thought most of these books beyond your reading level.” Harry chuckled as Draco snarled at him angrily.

“Good come back potty, now piss off and let me read my letters.” Harry scowled at Draco who brought out two neatly sealed letters from the pocket of his robes. Harry was about to point out that he had been sitting in the reading spot first when he decided it wasn’t worth it. Shaking his head in silence Harry gathered his things and with a final glare at Malfoy left for his dorm. Dinner had been and gone hours ago and Harry had rather been grateful for Malfoy’s interruption to his reading. It would be good to get a relatively early night, knowing he would have to keep his wits about him if he was ever to keep up with the meeting tomorrow.

Reaching the dorm Harry paused momentarily to talk to Seamus and Dean who were playing exploding snap with Neville. Ginny was sitting with the girls from her own year and smiled warmly up at Harry, catching the boy’s eye and winking at him seductively. Harry blushed a little at her attention again, seemingly unable to keep his face the same colour when near her. Harry wondered if perhaps she’d want to dance with him at the Yule Ball this year, but then the heaviness of the books in his school bag reminded him quickly, he might not be permitted to. With a sigh Harry made his way upstairs to the 6th year boys dorm. Harry had learnt his lesson with the closed door and knocked politely on it before pushing it open. Thank-fully Hermione and Ron where sitting on Ron’s bed looking at Quidditch magazines, Ron attempting and failing miserably to convince her that Quidditch players were far better looking than muggle footballers.

“Harry! How was the study session?” Hermione inquired as she watched Harry walk into the room and flop down onto his own bed with an exhausted sigh.

“Good I learnt a fair bit.” Harry motioned with his head to the chocolate frog wrappers on Ron’s side table. “Got one left?” He inquired shortly inundated with several of the wrapped chocolates. “Thanks” Harry muttered as he opened one of the frogs, barely catching the springing chocolate before it left off his bed.

“Hey want to hear some gossip Harry.” Ron sat up from his bed propping himself up in his pillow as Hermione lay back her head resting easily in his lap.

“Ronald! It’s not nice to gossip.” Hermione chastised her boyfriend quickly; Ron put his hands up in defense of himself.

“Hey I’m just going to tell Harry what I heard in study hall that’s all. It’s not like it isn’t true or anything, I bet that’s what was in those letters he got this morning.” Harry frowned a little in confusion but waited patiently for Ron to explain. Hermione scowled a little at her boyfriend but let him continue regardless. “As I was saying Harry. There’s a rumor going around that Draco’s mother is having another baby and that Draco’s pissed he’s not going to be the only child anymore so he’s moving out of home.” Ron looked knowingly at Harry who remembered clearly the letters Draco had pulled out of his pocket in the library.

“That’s probably why he’s been so placid all week.” Harry muttered around his chocolate frog, himself stretching out on his bed having charmed himself into his pyjamas ready for bed.

“Yeah more pressure on him now to be the good obedient son, so that his daddy still loves him.” Ron mocked nastily only to receive a short slap on the arm from Hermione for being so nasty.

“Ronald that’s not nice. He may be a complete bastard but we shouldn’t make fun of his family, that’s something he can’t help.” Although Hermione was being deadly serious both Harry and Ron broke down into hysterics at the girls comment. It took Hermione a moment to realize what she’d said before she tutted loudly and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Honestly, you two are immature children some times.” Harry and Ron were still laughing when Neville, Dean and Seamus came into the room ready for bed.

“What’s so funny.” Dean inquired falling into his own bed dramatically.

“Just laughing at Malfoy’s expense.” Ron muttered trying and failing to regain his self control as Hermione glared at him.

“That’s not hard to do.” Seamus spoke up, returning from the bathroom having cleaned his teeth.

“True.” Harry commented as he got into bed and started to pull the curtaining around. Harry had a big day ahead of him tomorrow and he knew it was best he got the most sleep possible. “I’m going to get to bed guys, see you tomorrow. Hermione are you staying the night?” Harry inquired of his friend watching as Hermione and Ron exchanged a glance before Hermione nodded. The five boys had become accustomed to having Hermione stay the night in their dorm room and all accepted Ron and Hermione’s relationship. “Okay then I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” Closing the last of his curtains Harry settled down in his bed and snuggled under the blankets, listening as the others in the dorm settled for the night and the last candle was blown out.

Exhausted after the stressful week Harry fell quickly into sleep his dreams focused on the Quidditch match tomorrow evening rather than the ‘contract meeting’ that would take up most of the day.

It was late when Harry was awoken by a familiar sound coming from the bed next to him. Unlike his friends he was an extremely light sleeper, his years of fearing Voldemort making him unconsciously aware of everything going on around him, even in sleep. Sighing heavily Harry sat up in bed as the springs of the bed next to him creaked rhythmically, the deep labored breathing of his best friend harmonized with his girlfriends yelps of delight. Sticking his head out of the curtaining Harry glared at the closed curtain around Ron’s bed.

“Ron, the silencing charms!” Harry whispered to his best friend strongly from the comfort of his own bed but it got no response. Harry tried again only this time the motions of the bed and the accompanying grunts and whines of pleasure increased. Sighing heavily Harry put his head back inside his own little bed and with a flick of his wand that he kept under his pillow Harry had his own silencing wards up around his bed. Wide-awake now though Harry knew there was little chance of falling back to sleep and so grabbing a candlestick he lit the wick and levitated the candle above his head so that it cast a warm glow inside the enclosed bed. Picking up his school bag from beneath his bed Harry pulled out the book of wizarding marriage law he’d been reading in the library earlier and began flipping through the pages, looking for a boring enough chapter that would put him back to sleep. What he found however was certainly not boring and it made him completely re-evaluate why the book was in the restricted section of Hogwarts library.

Unlike the other chapters in the book, this chapter had pictures. While the pictures were black and white sketch drawings they were still extremely detailed and with their added wizarding movements Harry was captivated. Putting his hand in on the page, Harry flipped back a few pages to read the title of the chapter. ‘Sex in Wizarding Marriages.’ Harry swallowed hard, wondering why he hadn’t seen this chapter sooner. Turning back to where his hand was wedged in the book marking the page Harry watched as the little sketch drawings of the naked witch and wizard on the page, thrust backwards and forwards into one another in the same erotic dance, Harry’s friends were participating in next door. Swallowing the familiar stirring in his groin Harry flipped slowly over the pages, reading the captions but largely ignoring the rest of the information in favor of the pictures. As the chapter progressed the sketches became more erotic the positions the figures were taking more elaborate and definitely more sensual.

Relaxing back in his bed Harry spread his legs a little wider to accommodate his growing erection, his eyes now totally ignoring the words in favor of the pictures his eyes were glued to. Harry let his finger tips run down over the sketch of the two figures humping in the picture, his mind supplying the details of the witch in the picture, red hair, slender bone structure, creamy skin dotted with freckles. Harry found himself breathless as he imagined the familiar witch in the position of the witch in the sketch. Harry closed his eyes and let his left hand glide down to the tented fabric of his pajama bottoms, gently squeezing and rubbing his engorged cock. Sighing heavily at the pretty images in his mind Harry turned the page.

No sooner had the images of the familiar witch took over in his mind then they were chased away by the drastic change in the sketches in the book. No longer were the sketches of a womanly figure locked in a passionate embrace with her man, they were now two distinctly male figures. Harry removed his hand from his hard cock and ran his finger over the caption on the picture.

‘The dominant male in a wizarding marriage is entitled to dictate all sexual encounters unless otherwise stated in the marriage contract.’

Harry read the caption again before looking back up to the picture. The two men in the sketch were kneeling behind one another, their motions pistoning back and forth. Harry wasn’t sure exactly what they were doing but he could most probably guess. For a long time Harry stared at the sketch of the man in front his facial expression one of rapture and utter pleasure. Harry bit his lip and moved his attention to the expression on the man’s face behind him. Like his partner this sketch seemed just as delirious. As Harry stared at the picture of the two men rooting, the sketch of the man behind began to change. The short hair began to lengthen, his hair darkened and the nose lengthened and bent. In an instant it wasn’t a faceless sketch, Harry was seeing Snape staring back at him, frantically pounding into the body in front of him. Suddenly breathless Harry shook his head violently and slammed the book shut, shoving it hastily back into his bag and blowing out the candle above him. As Harry lay in the dark staring up at the canopy of his bed, his pajama pants still tented in arousal he couldn’t shake the image of Snape’s face staring back at him from the picture.

“Shit.” Harry muttered to himself as he squeezed his eyes closed and reached down and into his pants to grab his erection willing the image of the red haired witch to return. The image did return for a time and Harry luxuriously stroked his cock imaging the sounds she’d make but when his peak came it wasn’t her feminine voice that assaulted his senses it was a far more familiar masculine sound. Harry was horrified but couldn’t stop and as he shuddered and came it was Snape’s dark eyes that met his in rapture. Exhausted and disturbed Harry cleaned himself up with a quick cleaning spell and turned over into bed, pulling his blankets up and over his head as he closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep, two words playing over and over again in his mind like a mantra.

‘No sex. No sex. No sex.’

Eventually Harry fell into a dreamless sleep…

TBC>>>>>>>>>>>