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Special Services in the Room of Requirement Chapter 11
🕑 Added 2023-04-19 15:59:01 +0000 UTCAN: Hello everyone and welcome to what I'm calling Part 2 of this story. We're just past the halfway point now, and I wanted to check in. Tomorrow, I'll be posting a poll asking whether or not you all want Harry and Hermione to continue to fuck other people in the Room of Requirement, or if you'd prefer that they remain exclusive with each other. Please be sure to vote in that poll to let me know how you want this story to develop going forward.
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Harry awoke to the smell of sweet vanilla and sandalwood. The late morning sun was peeking in through the closed curtains over the window, letting him know that it was almost time to get up and ready for the day’s trip to Hosmeade. He’d been looking forward to it immensely over the last week, but he couldn’t find the will to get up this morning. At least, not while his beautiful angel was resting in his arms.
Hermione stirred beside him, her naked body stretching out beneath the covers. Her arse brushed up against his semi-hard cock, reminding him of the many ways they’d made love the night before. The evidence of their sweat and other bodily fluids was sunk into his bedding by now, but Harry wasn’t bothered by that. All it did was serve as another reminder that he had Hermione in his life now, and he was never happier than he had ever been before.
Hermione scooted back against him, molding her body to his. It was wonderful, except for the sudden mouthful of hair he got. But Hermione was perfection incarnate, and he wouldn’t change anything about her, not even how messy her hair was in the morning after a vigorous love-making session the night before.
Harry couldn’t help but watch the gentle look on Hermione’s face as she tried to stay asleep. She was so beautiful and delicate. He wished he could savour this moment forever, but he knew they had to get up eventually.
Leaning down, Harry planted a soft kiss on Hermione’s lips. Her eyes fluttered open gently and her lips parted slightly. Her gaze seemed to be searching around for something, and then it landed on Harry.
Suddenly, Harry was recoiling back as Hermione’s fist connected with his jaw.
“Ow!” Harry shouted as he rolled over to the other side of the bed, far away from Hermione. “You hit me!”
Harry looked over at Hermione as he rubbed at the spot where she had hit him. She was sat up in bed, the sheet pooled around her waist, and she was looking at him with a confused look on her face. The confusion didn’t last more than a few seconds before her eyes widened and she scrambled over towards him.
“I’m so sorry!” Hermione exclaimed as reached out to check up on his jaw. She started babbling as she tried to explain herself. “I didn’t know where I was and I didn’t know who you were and I was just really tired and confused and I’m so sorry that I didn’t realize what was going on!”
“So you just punched me?” Harry said incredulously.
Hermione grimaced and moved Harry’s hands away from his jaw and looked him over. “I know! I’m sorry! I just wasn’t awake yet and I thought I was in a strange man’s bed and I was naked and it was just a lot to deal with.”
“Blimey,” Harry said before chuckling. “Remind me not to kiss you awake ever again.”
“No, it was lovely,” Hermione insisted. She crawled back over to her side of the bed and grabbed her wand off of the bedside table before returning to Harry. “Episkey,” she murmured as she pointed her wand at his jaw. Harry felt the dull ache there fade as Hermione’s magic struck him. “I’m really sorry. I’m just not used to waking up in someone else’s bed.”
Harry shook his head and laughed. What else could he do? Hermione looked so concerned and stressed out, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. It was kind of funny thinking about it.
“First you kick me in your sleep and then you punch me when you wake up,” Harry chuckled. “Maybe I should put you in a body-bind before bed.”
“Absolutely not,” Hermione said firmly.
“Then I guess I’ll have to learn to deal with the constant attacks,” Harry replied teasingly.
“I’m sorry,” Hermione apologized again, for the umpteenth time. “Once I get used to waking up with you, I’m sure I’ll stop doing that.”
“Hey, you don’t need to convince me to have more nights like last night,” Harry grinned.
Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes. “Men.”
“Hey, I remember you liking last night a lot too,” Harry pointed out. “In fact, I remember you starting to beg me for-”
“Okay!” Hermione shouted, cutting Harry off. “Yes, I know. I like it too.”
“You love it,” Harry said teasingly, leaning in and giving Hermione a quick kiss.
“I love it,” Hermione agreed. She sighed and looked down at herself. “I guess I need to shower before we go out to Hogsmeade.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Harry said. “I’ll join you.”
“If that happens, we’ll never make it to Hogsmeade on time for our double date with Neville and Hannah,” Hermione replied amusedly.
“No,” Harry agreed, “but it’d make for a wonderful morning.”
Hermione shook her head, but she was smiling. “You need to shower too, you stink.”
“Fine,” Harry groaned as he got to his feet. He walked around to where his discarded clothes from the night before laid haphazardly on the floor and scooped them all up into a pile that he promptly pushed into the corner of his room before he went to grab a fresh set of his clothes from his trunk. He stopped just before he opened it though because Hermione distracted him as she got to her feet.
Despite having seen her naked quite a lot this last week, Harry never tired of seeing her body bared in front of him like this. He loved watching stretch as she threw open the curtains and went looking for her own discarded clothes. As she bent over to grab her skirt, she noticed him watching her.
“Go shower,” she repeated herself, but it was clear that she was quite pleased with his hungry gaze. “If you make it down to the Common Room on time, as an apology for punching you, I’ll let you hold my boobs tonight when we’re going to sleep.”
Hermione wasn’t even done with the sentence when Harry slammed the bathroom door shut behind himself.
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It was a beautiful day in Hogsmeade. It was a little chilly with the wind, but the sun was shining and the town was alight with hundreds of students swarming between the various shops. Harry felt wonderful to be out in the warm sun, especially with Hermione clinging to his arm. She had a cute but nervous smile on her lips as several students gave them curious looks. It was their first public outing as a couple, after all, so there were bound to be stares. Harry had learned to accept it by now, but Hermione had nowhere near the experience he had dealing with this. She wasn’t normally one to shy away from things like this though.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked her quietly as they squeezed past a group of students cluttering the road in front of Honeydukes.
“Yeah,” Hermione replied reassuringly, but her eyes were still flickering nervously. “I guess I just didn’t expect this much attention. It’s as bad as it was right after the war ended.”
Ah, yes; that terrible month after the war had ended had nearly converted Harry into a hermit. He hadn’t been able to go anywhere in the magical world without being gawked at by everyone around him. Even the muggle world hadn’t been a safe haven; he’d been recognised on four separate occasions by witches and wizards who had rushed up to him in the streets of London to thank him profusely for what he’d done. The Obliviators only had to show up for one of those instances, but Harry had been cautioned by the new Minister, Kingsley, about being more careful in the future.
Looking around at everyone, Harry supposed it was quite similar to that time. It seemed like there were dozens of eyes on them at any single time, and he could already see the rumor mill starting to swirl. At least the press wasn’t here; McGonagall had explicitly barred them from the town today, with the support of the Minister. But Harry was sure that there’d be a story about it in Witch Weekly and the Daily Prophet by the next morning.
“Just ignore them,” Harry suggested.
“It’s a little hard when there’s so many of them,” Hermione sighed.
“We’re close to the Hog’s Head,” Harry pointed out. “We’ll be safe in there.”
Hermione readjusted her grip on his arm, holding him tighter as they turned off the main road and started down the final stretch towards the Hog’s Head. It was much quieter down this side road since there weren’t many shops around. Still, that didn’t stop several onlookers from following Harry and Hermione with their gazes.
Just before they reached the old, dingy pub, the front door swung open and Aberforth stuck his head out.
“Hurry on up you two,” he grunted. “Too many eyes out there for my liking.”
His head disappeared back inside as Harry and Hermione reached the threshold. They stepped inside the pub and the door automatically shut behind them.
“Never liked it when my brother visited for the same reason,” Aberforth shook his head in annoyance. “People come around after and ask questions about him, and they never buy any drinks.”
The man and his pub looked much better than the last time Harry had seen them. Aberforth had cleaned himself up; his grey beard was trimmed down so that it just covered his face rather than fall down from it, he had a new pair of spectacles on that fit his face much more nicely, and his robes were clean beneath the fine leather apron he had on. While the exterior of the Hog’s Head Inn hadn’t changed much, the interior was much more clean now. The goat-like smell was gone and replaced with the smell of ale and freshly baked bread and stew, and the dirty windows had been replaced and fitted with curtains to help maintain the darker atmosphere in the pub. The floor had been cleaned and polished, and the bar itself looked like a brand new slab of dark oak. The tables and chairs had seen similar refurbishments, and the booths along the wall no longer looked like they were places for shady dealings to take place. The pub still had a dark atmosphere, but it was far less dirty and disgusting than before. The only thing that seemed to stay the same was the hog’s head mounted on the wall.
“Sorry about that,” Harry grimaced.
“Bah,” Aberforth waved him off with a cough. “Not like it’s been any easier after this one told everyone what a good little helper I was during the war,” he said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder at a booth in the corner of the pub.
Neville gave a sheepish wave over at them. “You didn’t tell me not to mention you,” he pointed out.
“You don’t go around telling people that the shady pub owner is helping you,” Aberforth shouted as he threw his hands up in exasperation. “Do you know how many times I overheard something I shouldn’t have in this place and got my brother to put a stop to it before it became a problem?”
“Sorry,” Neville apologized.
“Apologies from everyone today it seems,” Aberforth grumbled. “Not like it’ll do me any good. Had to go and make the place look all respectable to get any visitors now.”
“It looks very nice,” Hermione chimed in. “A lot less grimy than before.”
“The grime gave it character,” Aberforth sighed.
“I think the place still has a lot of character still,” Neville argued. “I mean, it's got great food.”
“You’re only saying that because your girlfriend did the menu,” Aberforth replied.
Hannah popped her head up over the edge of the booth too. “But the food is good, right?” She asked Aberforth with a worried expression on her face.
Aberforth’s morose demeanour vanished into a reassuring look that reminded Harry terribly of Albus. “Of course it is,” Aberforth replied quickly. “Better than good; it’s bloody excellent.”
Hannah’s face lit up with a bright smile and a rosy flush on her cheeks.
“Now,” Aberforth began as he turned back to the two newcomers. “You two go sit down with them. Whenever you figure out what you want to eat, just give me a shout.”
With that, he trudged off back to the kitchens.
“I’m so glad you two could make it,” Hannah said as she slipped out of the booth and onto her feet. Hermione let go of Harry’s arm as Hannah rushed over and met the other woman in a big hug. Harry was the next recipient before Hannah guided them over to the booth.
“Yeah,” Neville added as he took a sip of his ale, shifting over to make room for Hannah again while Harry and Hermione sat down opposite them. “I bet Hannah twenty galleons that you two wouldn’t make it because you’d be too busy in bed shagg-”
Neville spluttered up some ale as Hannah elbowed him hard in the ribs, never once letting the gentle smile on her face leave.
Hermione’s cheeks went a deep crimson as embarrassment set in. “We’re not that obvious, are we?”
“No, of course not,” Hannah answered reassuringly.
“I’ve just been seeing Harry making eyes at you for weeks now, so I figured…” Neville trailed off sheepishly. He cleared his throat and put an arm around Hannah. “I just remember how active we were during our first few weeks together.”
Everyone laughed, and Harry shook his head. “Why does it feel so embarrassing to talk about this stuff when we’ve all used the Room of Requirement together?”
Hannah shrugged. “The Room of Requirement is sort of a space set aside for stuff like that. Even though people talk about what goes on in there outside of the Room, no one’s really supposed to. It’s kind of like its own private thing, but traditional relationships are a bit different.”
Neville nodded his head in agreement. “It’s been weird with Hannah and I deciding to date too, but we’re making it work. I’ve had to shut down a few crass jokes here and there, but people tend to be pretty respectful about it all.”
Hermione leaned against Harry’s side, and he couldn’t help but wrap an arm around her waist as he glanced over the menu. It was a short list of traditional pub fare that Harry expected to find at muggle pubs or the Leaky Cauldron.
A short time later, they called out for Aberforth and placed their orders.
As the older man returned to the kitchen, Harry focused in on Neville. “So, are you planning to keep running the Room of Requirement?”
An uncomfortable silence fell as Neville and Hannah glanced nervously at each other. From their expressions, it seemed that they’d had many of the same discussions that Harry and Hermione had in regards to the Room of Requirement. They were long and difficult talks about the nature of their relationship and whether or not it was right to open it up in the Room. Dean and Lisa had managed to make it work, but that didn’t mean that it was possible for everyone, especially when you loved someone dearly.
“I think we will,” Neville replied slowly, his eyes still on Hannah. She nodded encouragingly to him. “But I don’t think that we’ll have sex with other people anymore.”
Harry understood completely. He and Hermione still weren’t sure where their opinions sat on the matter. It was a difficult decision.
“We still want to keep it running for everyone else,” Hannah reiterated. “The Room was a great source of happiness for us during the war, and taking it away would do a lot of harm to people who still aren’t ready for a relationship yet.”
“Yeah,” Neville nodded. “It’s good that they have an outlet for their energy without needing to struggle with the fear and worry that come along with relationships. People lost boyfriends and girlfriends here at school to the Death Eaters; some of them still have nightmares about it.”
“That’s why we’ll keep it running,” Hannah stated. “Besides, it was still really fun to shag people through those holes,” she grinned at Neville. “Maybe we can even go before everyone else and have a little private time together, or even just meet up with each other secretly in the room.”
“That would be exciting!” Hermione exclaimed suddenly. “If you could know where your boyfriend or girlfriend was, you could make it so that you only matched up with them.”
“Exactly,” Hannah smiled. “We’re going to see what everyone thinks about it before the next session. Hopefully, enough of them will be interested in it.”
“What about you two?” Neville asked.
“We’re not sure yet,” Hermione replied quickly, her cheeks growing a little pink.
“We’re still figuring our relationship out first,” Harry explained. “So, we won’t be joining in until we get that part sorted out first.”
“Smart,” Hannah commented.
A blur of blue out of the corner of Harry’s eye caught his attention. His head snapped around and he saw something buzzing in the air. At first he thought it was a fly, but he quickly realized that the shape was a little bit different. He squinted at it, watching it as it flew towards the front door of the pub. It seemed familiar…
“Skeeter,” Harry hissed. It was her damned beetle Animagus!
The beetle heard him and moved faster than before. It dove down to the floor, bouncing wildly as it struck it, and scrambled for the thin gap beneath the door.
Harry was out of his seat before anyone else had fully registered what he had said. He leapt over the edge of the booth as he slid his wand into his hand and fired off the first spell that came to mind. His red stunner crackled through the air as it shot straight towards the tiny beetle, but it escaped beneath the door half a second before the stunner hit the floor.
“Harry!” Hermione exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
“It was Rita Skeeter!” Harry shouted, making for the door. “She was in her Animagus form!”
“Animagus form?” Neville repeated in confusion, but he was still following Harry’s lead as he got to his feet.
“She’s an unregistered Animagus,” Hermione explained quickly.
Harry could hear her footsteps coming up behind him as he threw open the front door. A gust of cool air struck his face, and there was no sign of Rita Skeeter anywhere.
Silence fell between the four of them as the gravity of the situation sunk in. Rita Skeeter, the most notorious gossip in Britain, had overheard their conversation. Hermione’s face was deathly pale. This was her worst fear realized; she had been hesitant to participate in the Room of Requirement over the fact that something like this could happen. They’d made everyone sign an agreement to prevent anyone from leaking what went on in the Room to the press, and now it was the four of them who had let the secret slip out.
“How much did she overhear?” Hannah murmured quietly.
“I don’t know,” Harry replied. “I didn’t notice her until she flew away.”
“I didn’t see her at all,” Neville commented.
Hermione was still silent and staring down at her shoes. Harry reached out and put an arm around her. She let him, but she didn’t melt into his embrace like she normally would.
“Merlin,” Neville groaned. “How the hell are we going to deal with this?”
Harry tried to quickly come up with a plan in his mind. He needed to find a solution and fast before Skeeter could leak the news.
“She’s an unregistered Animagus,” Harry said, repeating Hermione’s earlier words. “If we go to the Ministry with it, they’ll arrest her. We blackmailed her once before in our fourth year to get her to stop spreading false stories about us; maybe we can do it again.”
“She must have gone back to the Daily Prophet offices,” Hannah said. “We can apparate over there and go nip this in the bud.”
“Right,” Neville nodded.
As the two of them started discussing a plan of attack, Harry squeezed Hermione’s shoulder. “Hermione?” He whispered quietly.
She pulled away from him then. “You three go on ahead,” she muttered as she hurriedly made for the door. “I’ve got to go let McGonagall know you’re leaving the grounds.”
“Hermione!” Harry called out, chasing after her. But the second she stepped through the doorway of the Hog’s Head Inn, she apparated away.
