Love and Monster Ch. 12 (Patreon)

I just now realized that I swapped Fabian Prewett out for Gideon halfway through the fic, and isn't that embarassing. I've fixed it for this chapter and the last one, but the others will take a bit more since I'm doing this on mobile (working on getting a desktop)

“That light's far too bright! Turn it off!” Vulpie complained as she slammed her eyes back shut. She threw her arms outward as she stretched, inadvertently catching Susan on the side with a punch.

“Watch it, fur ball!” Susan huffed, a plume of smoke bursting from her nose as she too  fought to regain control of her limbs.

Harry and Daphne watched on in amusement as the girls stirred from their hibernation. They still looked a mess, but it was a mess bursting with vitality, as opposed to the walking corpses that had cocooned themselves up two weeks prior.

They stretched and yawned themselves awake. Fleur ruffled her feathers, letting old, dead ones fall off from her wings. 

“I need some pruning.” Lavender said as she pushed at an overgrown bump on the bulb of her nose. The bump sank in, only for a small branch to pop out off her forehead. There were leaves coming out of her elbows and ears.

Delphi groaned as she stretched to her full length. She was wearing a lace sleep mask over her eyes, and she began to grope around blindly to find where she'd left her glasses.

“Here you go, Delph.” Harry walked over and grabbed her glasses, handing them over to her. 

“Thanks.” Delphi said in relief as she removed the sleep mask. She kept her eyes screwed shut until she placed glasses over them and finally opened her yellow orbs.

“What did you two get up to?” Vulpie asked as she finally made her way to her feet. 

Harry shrugged, looking over to Daphne, who looked nonplussed as always. “We had an enjoyable time with Madam Rosmerta.”

“I bet it was boring as shit.” Susan said as her leathery wings spread wide. “What day is it anyways? I have no sense of anything.”

“We start classes tomorrow, do we not?” Fleur directed the question towards Harry, who nodded.

“The train's bringing everyone else back in a few hours.” He added.

Vulpie walked over to him, stumbling about a bit drunkenly as it appeared she had forgotten how to walk. She wobbled her way over until she just spread her arms out wide and fell forward. Harry quickly closed the distance and caught her in his arms.

Vulpie smiled smugly. “You're still well conditioned, good.” She took a deep inhale of his scent. “I missed this.”

Soon Harry found himself surrounded on all sides as the girls all came over to get at least a fleeting touch or squeeze of him. Well, Susan socked him on the shoulder, which he figured was romantic for her.

“As much as I missed Harry, I miss eating even more.” Lavender said. On cue, stomachs began to grumble all around. “You said the other students would be back in how many hours?”

“I don't think I can wait.” Fleur said. “I'm famished.”

Harry shrugged. “Dinner won't be for a while. Unless… you guys want to try and find the kitchens?”

The girls perked up at this. “Ooh, that sounds like fun! Plus we all need to stretch out legs.” Lavender said.

And so, they ended up leaving the common room and heading out into the castle on a mission to locate the kitchens.

“It has to be below the great hall, right? Right above there's classrooms.” Delphi said.

“That makes sense.” Harry agreed. “So its probably somewhere in the dungeons.” 

“...just be careful, don't do it too har-AAAARGH! Susan!” 

Lavender was rubbing her forehead as susan crushed up a small little twiglet in her hand. “I took it off, didn't I? Now lets rip off those leaves-”

“No! I'm good.” Lavender quickly moved away from the redhead, “Delphi, could you help me with this later? I know you'll be way more delicate.”

“Sure.”

“Even if we're just looking through the dungeons, I feel like this will take a while. Who knows where they could be hidden?” Fleur pointed out.

“Why don't you and Daphne use your powers?” Harry suggested. At their questioning looks, he chose to elaborate. “You can sense people with your powers, right?”

“That's a point.” Daphne conceded.

“They'll probably be on the other side of the dungeons too, not the area that was quarantined for us.” Delphi added.

Their search began in earnest, with Fleur and Daphne both spreading out their senses to try and sniff out any pockets of emotion behind the walls.

“What if they don't even have anyone cooking the food? Maybe there's some magic they use for it.” Susan said.

“We'd be in quite a bind, if that were the case .” Vulpie said. “But it's not like we have anything better to do.”

They were all content to follow along. This was one of those cases where the journey superseded the destination, as the girls threw off the haze of their long slumber and slowly fell back into their usual banter.

For a moment there, Harry even forgot what they'd originally set out to do, and it seemed that the girls had too, because Fleur suddenly jerked to a stop, spinning in place and crinkling her eyes at a portrait of a bowl of fruit.

“What is it?” Susan asked.

Daphne joined Fleur in her inspection. “There are emotions coming from behind that painting.” 

“A bowl of fruit… makes as much sense as anything else to be the entrance to the kitchens.” Harry said.

“Yeah, but how do we get in?” Lavender asked. 

Susan took a step towards the painting but stopped when everyone shot her cross looks. “What?” She crossed her arms defiantly. “Did you think I was gonna try and rip it out or something?” 

The resulting silence made her huff. “Whatever. Let me see you guys figure something out.”

Lavender stretched her hand out, letting it deform into a mass of vines. “Maybe we can just touch something.” Her vines writhed all over the painting, focusing on the actual bowl of fruit, she was beginning to think it was a dead end when a pear near the corner giggled as one of her branches made another pass over it.

The portrait swung backward, and Lavender glanced back at the others with a triumphant grin. “Point for Lav!”

They walked in through the portrait hole to be faced with three long tables and two smaller ones, counterparts of the house and staff tables. Along the wall behind the tables were dozens of pots, pans over burning flames as well as lit stoves baking away. Manning these stations were about a dozen people, most of them middle aged but some older and one looking to be in her mid-teens, still well within Hogwarts age.

“Errr… hi.” Harry said dumbly. They'd put so much effort into finding this place, and yet they hadn't thought of what they'd do when they actually got here. A part of him hadn't expected to just find regular people, but then, what else could he have expected? 

Gasps of surprise turned into apprehensive and even fearful looks as the kitchen workers saw exactly who had barged into their domain.

Vulpie rolled her eyes irritably, “Seriously, you heathens disgust me. You think we would waste our time on spilling your blood? We demand that you feed us.” 

Usually, Harry would have wanted to reprimand Vulpie from being bratty, but in this case she was more than justified in her attitude.

The teenage girl stepped up with an embarrassed look on her face. “I'm sorry, we don't ever get people coming in. We can definitely whip something up for you guys, can't we?” She gave the others a pointed look, and they soon were moving around to whip up a quick meal for them.

The girl led them to the counterpart of their own house table. They all sat down while she remained standing, and Harry got a weird feeling, having been on the opposite end of this interaction so many times at the Broomsticks.

“I'm sorry again for everyone's reaction.” The girl reiterated, giving them a short bow. “My name's Katie, I'll be happy to serve you.”

“Its alright.” Delphi said. “Why… aren't you supposed to be in school too?”

Katie looked at her in confusion before letting out a small laugh. “No, no, I can't go to school, I'm a squib.”

“What's a squib?” Susan asked. 

“A squib is someone born from magical parents but without magic of their own. For all intents and purposes, we're basically muggles.” Katie's voice fell as she said this. Behind her, Harry could see grimaces on the faces of the other kitchen staff.

“So you're all squibs?” He asked.

Katie nodded. “There's not much out there for us. We can't really integrate into the muggle world, or we don't want to anyways. Working in the Hogwarts kitchens is one of the few forms of gainful employment we can find.”

“So you just work here all year and then go home in the summer?” Fleur asked incredulously.

Katie shrugged. “It's this, or my family would have left me in the muggle world. And I have no idea how to survive there.”

The Slytherins exchanged frowns, and it was Vulpie that finally spoke up. “You may sit with us, join us in our meal.”

“Oh no, I couldn't possibly-”

“Please, it would be no inconvenience for us.” Daphne insisted.

At that moment, two other workers arrived with several trays full of food. They avoided eye contact and left as soon as they'd placed the trays onto the table.

Katie sighed and gave them a smile. “Sure, why not?”

Fleur and Daphne made room and Katie sat down between them. She grabbed a plate, and helped herself to some of the food. For the next fifteen minutes, the only sounds were the occasional burp from Susan and the clinking of silverware as the girls devoured their food. The kitchen staff had over served them, yet they were still whittling down the portions very quickly.

“Wow, I guess you guys won't be hungry when dinner time arrives.” Katie said.

Susan snorted as the other girls laughed. 

“They've been sleeping for two weeks, they have a lot of calories to make up for.” Harry said between mouthfuls of food.

“And you?” Katie asked Harry as she suppressed a giggle.

“He can't help but eat like a wild beast.” Vulpie said on his behalf. Harry's responding snort did nothing to help his cause.

When they began winding down, conversation picked up in earnest, and they found that Katie was not at all uncomfortable in their presence.

“You're welcome at any time.” Katie insisted. “Well, any time until dinner. After dinner is served, our day is done.”

“Where in the castle do you guys live?” Delphi asked.

Katie's smile fell slightly. “We have our shared living space attached to here, and we have our common area and some places to relax. The castle itself can be a bit dangerous for us, since we don't have any magic.”

Harry refrained from voicing his opinion that that arrangement was akin to a form of enslavement. House arrest at best. He hadn't met any squibs before this, and they were rarely talked about in Hogsmeade. He did remember some of the patrons gossiping about Mr. Robin's squib daughter, whom he had sent off to the muggle world the moment he realized she lacked magic. 

These conditions may not be the best, but it seemed that life was hard for a squib regardless. 

Life seemed to be hard for everyone. Harry suddenly felt an oppressive weight on his chest, as he wondered just what kind of future awaited him. Awaited them all.

After some more chatting, Katie finally shooed them away with a promise that they could return whenever they wished. 

…

“You look pale.” Lucius commented.

Prewett always looked a bit haggard. It was to be expected for a man who bore the weight of such suffering so openly. Really, Lucius suspected the man actively enjoyed wallowing in his self-pity. 

But he'd never looked like this. His hair was practically blood red as it contrasted with the paleness of his skin. His eyes were sunken in, but more than that, they had a glassy, almost empty look to them. 

“It's not exactly sunny in Scotland.” Prewett said, his tone carrying a bite to it that it never had before.

Lucius frowned as he swirled the glass of low quality mead that the barmaid Rosmerta was always so proud of. He didn't like his puppets getting bold and thinking they could talk.

“Have you got any leads on our rampaging beast?” Lucius was not expecting any news on that front. Classes had only just begun, after all.

Fabian's lips curled into a stiff smile. “Actually, I have.”

“Oh?”

It irritated Lucius how amused the man suddenly looked. He even mimicked his own actions, swirling his mead about languidly before taking a sip.

“Tell me, what are our plans? How would you utilize our friend?”

Lucius raised an eyebrow. “Our friend?... are you saying you've been able to contact this creature?”

“I have.”

“And it is not some feral beast?”

Fabian chuckled in a very uncharacteristic manner. “Far from it, Lucius. In fact, I believe I can persuade this creature into furthering our goals.”

Lucius was left speechless. Fabian Prewett, the man with an eternal, burning hatred for creatures, was implying that he was working together with one?

“Don't act so shocked, Lucius. My ultimate goal is to see those monsters eradicated. A temporary alliance with one is barely even a compromise.”

“So you have in fact reached an agreement with this monster?”

“I have.”

“And… what exactly is it?”

Fabian shook his head. “I cannot reveal that due to the pact that we have made. But I can assure you, it will be more than helpful in furthering our goals.”

Lucius felt apprehensive. This felt like missing information, like there was an angle to this that he wasn't seeing.

Then again, there was no real risk to himself, was there? Fabian could not speak on their affairs, so if this went bad, his hands would be clean.

“Alright then, Fabian. I do have a plan in mind. Do you recognize a first year student by the name of Hermione Granger?”

…

Things settled into a comfortable rhythm after the winter vortex. Classes continued on in earnest. The danger posed by the strange creature from the forest receded as they heard nothing. Fawkes did not seem any more stressed or concerned than before. In fact, the aged phoenix seemed to have relaxed compared to the end of the previous term, where she looked to have been on the verge of a breakdown.

They continued to hang out with Hermione, and now they'd added regular visits to the kitchens, where Katie always welcomed them and even the other squibs had become accustomed to their presence.

Really, everyone had become accustomed to their presence by now. The girls began to feel comfortable in the school, they began to actually enjoy it. They moved freely, and they were left to their own devices. No one had the energy anymore to fling insults and send hateful looks. People just chose to ignore them. Quickly, the Slytherin's world grew as they explored more and more of the castle.

Currently, they were sitting in the library, a bold step that they had first taken a week ago. That led to a renewal of the scornful, offended looks, but no one had done or said anything, and this was now their third time here.

They were all there, minus Harry and Delphi, who were out on their date.

“I can't believe I ended up being last.” Lavender whined as she twirled her quill around her fingers.

“You should be happy. My body yearns for more than the kissing and petting we've been doing recently. This stupid agreement irritates me.” Vulpie said.

“Once we've all had our dates, I'm sure we can make things less rigid.” Daphne said. 

“It sucks that Fawkes got so strict with the full moon.” Susan said. Ever since that first full moon, Harry had been placed in a room on the fifth floor under Fawkes’ watchful eye. He would have been unable to venture down into the dungeons even if he'd wanted to.

“Hey, there goes our lover boy right there.” Lavender pointed and the other girls turned to see Harry walking up to their table.

“Where's Delphi? Why'd your guy's date run so short?” Fleur asked.

“I came here to ask you guys where she was.”

The girls shared worried looks.

“Have you checked the common room?” Vulpie asked.

“Err… no.” 

“That would be the first place to check, you imbecile.” 

Harry rolled his eyes. “I'll go get Fawkes if I can't find her.”

“Should we come with you?” Lavender asked.

Harry shook his head. “It's alright, I'm sure she's fine.”

They all had the same mental image of Delphi surrounded by a bunch of wizards wanting to cause her harm, but they quickly dispelled that. She was fine. She had to be.

Harry left the library and practically broke into a sprint on his way to the dungeons.

“Ah, Heir Potter!” Crabbe waved at him. “A moment of your time?”

Harry didn't even break his stride. “Sorry, busy.” He brushed past the other boy and ran down to the dungeons, making it into the common room in record time.

His heart fell when he didn't see Delphi in the common room. He ran over to her door, dread filling him as he knocked.

“W-Who is it?” 

Harry let out a loud sigh of relief. “Delphi, you're ok! What's going on?”

He heard a small squeal on the other end. “H-Harry, I'm sorry… I won't be able to make it to our date.”

“That's fine. Are you ok?”

“I'm fine!”

Harry frowned. “You don't sound fine. Can I come in?”

“No!” She yelped. “Please, I'll be fine, you can go hang out with Vulpie or Daphne if you want.”

“I'm staying here, Delph.” Harry said, sliding down the door as he took a seat on the floor.

“Harry, please!” 

“I'm not leaving you, Delphi. I know something's wrong.” 

Harry sat in silence for a few minutes, his back leaning against the door.

“Fine.” 

It was so faint that he wasn't sure if he'd even heard it.

“Fine what?” Harry asked in a bemused tone.

“Fine, you can come in.”

Harry hopped to his feet and turned the knob, opening the door to Delphi's room. 

Delphi was in her bed, her face flushed red as she lay under the sheets. 

She looked absolutely adorable with her hands holding the sheets up to her chin. Her yellow eyes, bright as lamps, were wide behind her glasses, shy as always. Her body was a large, serpentine lump under the sheets as her lower half coiled every which way to fit into the bed.

“Are you sick?” Harry asked. He walked over to her and put the back of his hand against her forehead, causing Delphi to yelp. “Your temperature's fine.” He said, though he noticed that the red on her face had deepened quite a few shades.

Delphi's grip on her sheets tightened. “I-Its embarrassing.”

Harry sat down on one of the few free spots on the bed. “Delphi, you know me, I'm not going to make fun of you.”

Delphi's lip quivered. “It's disgusting.”

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'll sit with you here.” 

Delphi seemed to wage an internal debate before she suddenly threw her sheets off her body.

Harry's eyes raked down her body, pausing for a moment over the tight black bralette she was wearing and pausing even longer over the lace knickers that hugged the area where her human half met her snake half, where her hips morphed into a tail. 

Keeping impure thoughts at bay, he finally saw the issue.

Just below her hips, right at the start of her tail, there was a line of white, papery film that seemed to be squeezing tight against her body. Harry wasn't sure what he was looking at until he noticed how the scales above the line looked sleek and glistened with a glossy finish. Meanwhile, everything below looked dull and dessicated.

“You're shedding.”

Delphi had clasped both hands over her face as she nodded weakly.

“Does it hurt?” 

Her voice came out muffled through her palms. “I-It feels weird. And its really hard to take off.” 

Harry nodded as he looked down at the half an inch of gorgeous black and emerald scales that glistened under the dim light of Delphi's room. “I'll help you.”

“What?!” Delphi gasped, removing her hands to look at him in shock. “N-No! H-Harry… its t-too embarra-”

The lamia went cross eyed as she glanced down at Harry's finger over her lips. Harry shook his head sternly. “I'm doing this, Delphi. Now just lay back and try to relax.”

Delphi thought of trashing about, making it impossible for Harry to do this. But instead, her head hit the pillow, and she swallowed nervously, her face burning up something fierce as Harry's hands touched her hips.

She gasped as Harry's fingers grazed the side hoops that kept her knickers clasped together. “Harry?” She questioned, but the boy's hands moved south, transitioning from soft human flesh to her impossibly smooth fresh scales.

Harry wriggled his fingers about over the layer of dead skin, finding more and more purchase with each movement until four digits on each hand finally dug in between the shed skin and the new growth.

“I'm going to start, Delph. You ready?”

Delphi could only nod, her eyes snapped shut tightly.

Harry pulled. The shed skin rustled as it slowly scraped down Delphi's tail, creating friction and heat. Harry managed a few inches when Delphi's tail throbbed and tensed up, cutting off circulation to his fingers.

“I'm sorry! Its just… it feels…” 

Harry shushed her. “It's alright, we have plenty of time, Delph, just relax.”

Harry allowed Delphi's breathing to even out. Her tail relaxed, and Harry resumed his work. 

Delphi grabbed her pillow and buried her face into it, making strange, muffled noises as Harry continued to peel her shed skin off her body. Harry's face was awfully close, and each new segment of freed scales was greeted by a blast of his hot breath as the boy's brow furrowed in concentration.

Delphi's head was trashing and twitching as she pressed the pillow harder and harder onto her face. Her tail would regularly tense and Harry would take a short break until she relaxed once more. 

When he got two thirds of the way down and her tail tapered down in size, the skin slid off more smoothly, and Harry was able to quickly peel it off the rest of the way until the very end popped off the tip of her tail.

Delphi moaned into her pillow as Harry held up the long length of shed skin, observing his handiwork with something akin to pride. He tossed it off to the side and looked back down at Delphi.

It was hypnotic, the way the diamonds of her black and green scales glistened sleekly, looking glossy and smooth. Harry reached out and touched her, and his hand glided down her form.

Delphi arched her back and Harry couldn't help himself. His other hand joined in on the party, and soon he was rubbing trails all across the newborn flesh.

Delphi finally tossed the pillow off her face as she gazed down, fully flushed and bothered. “H-Harry… please stop.”

But her eyes told a different story. Harry leaned down and kissed one emerald diamond as his hands traveled back behind Delphi's body, fingers sliding along the creases between scales.

“G-goodness!” Delphi arched her back once again as her sensitive new scales sent her waves of pleasure in reaction to Harry's handiwork. Harry placed another kiss on her tail, this time higher, and he began to climb.

He looked up and locked eyes with Delphi. She was staring back, apprehensive yet clearly excited, her glasses fogging over as beads of perspiration condensed all around her body.

Harry moved a hand away from its worship of her tail. He grabbed onto one of the latches at the side of her knickers, and with innate dexterity, he undid the clasp, allowing the garment to hang off one side before slipping off her body completely.

“Oh gooood!” Delphi groaned as her hands jumped down to cover herself up, though they ended up stopping just above, resting atop her lower belly as Harry forced them down.

Harry stared down at Delphi's beautiful treasure, its heat brushing up against his face. It was a beautiful, tight little slit, a thin pink diamond with fleshy lips nestled right at the center of Delphi's being, at the edge of the two halves of her self. Above it was soft, pale human flesh, and below, her pussy was drooling little dewdrops of her arousal onto the gutters between her scales.

“So beautiful.” Harry whispered breathlessly.

“Y-You think so?” Delphi said tentatively.

Harry licked his lips as his green eyes burned intensely into her own. “Let me show you, Delphi.”

Her protest died in her throat, becoming nothing more than a croak as Harry leant forward, spreading her slit with his fingers until the diamond almost matched her scales, and his tongue sank in to retrieve its bounty from her chamber.

“HARRY!” Delphi moaned as Harry's tongue punched into her pussy. Her hands jumped to his head, finding a hard, desperate grip on his messy hair as he wasted no time in circling his tongue around her wet heat.

Delphi bit her lip as her pussy coiled tightly around Harry's tongue at the same time as her lower half did the same. Delphi couldn't hope to control herself even if she 

Tried as her tail wrapped around Harry's body, constricting his torso as the boy's tongue twisted and turned expertly inside of her sex.

Tears squeezed out of Delphi's eyes as she thrust her hips up against Harry's head, rubbing her pussy all over his face and pushing his tongue deeper into her molten hot core. Harry feasted on her pussy as Delphi continued to coil around him.

He felt the weight of her tail settle around his shoulders and then the very end wrap around his forehead moments later. He just kept on pleasuring her, lips pressed against her labia as her inner walls squeezed his tongue for dear life.

“I-Im g-gonna…Ooooooh!” 

Delphi squeezed tight around him, both against his tongue and against his body. His head was suddenly snapped back as she pulled him away from her pussy, which was visibly throbbing and gushing as she was ravaged by her orgasm. Her clit was on fire, directing the symphony of her pleasure even though it hadn't been touched.

Struggling against Delphi's deathgrip, Harry was now painfully aware of just how hard he was, and how badly he wanted to fuck his sexy lamia.

“Delphi!” Harry pleaded. His hands were squeezed tight against his sides, but he had just enough freedom of movement to undo his fly and let his raging hard cock bob out.

Delphi's eyes followed the sudden movement, and they widened into dinner plates as she saw Harry's cock for the first time.

“Oh… oh goodness… Harry.” The shy lamia's brain was a complete mess as another wave of her orgasm crested upward as her mind filled with the lewd thoughts of just what that cock could do to her.

“Delphi, please, can we do it?” Harry begged.

“Y-Y-Yes!” Delphi stammered, hands jumping up under her bralette to tweak her rock-hard nipples.

Her tail unwrapped from around his head. Harry watched as the tip pushed into her pussy, circling around to coat itself in her slick before pulling out and wrapping around his cock.

Harry hissed as Delphi's tail stroked him, jerking him up and down as it squeezed tightly.

“Yes, yes, yes, please put your thing in me!” Delphi sounded almost delirious as her ministrations became more frantic and Harry worried that he'd cum before he even got the chance to fuck her.

Delphi seemed to regain enough presence of mind to stop what she was doing and unwrap her tail from his cock. She didn't uncoil the rest of her from his body, but she loosened her grip enough for Harry to move up in the bed until they were face to face and his cock was pressing against her entrance. 

Delphi wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a searing, passionate kiss. Her lower half began to tighten around him again, and Harry decided to thrust his hips forward before his movement was restricted completely.

They both moaned into the kiss as Harry's cock pushed into Delphi's cunt. Harry's head burrowed into her tight, welcoming embrace, stretching her wonderfully as his shaft slowly slid in, inch by inch.

Delphi had him completely wrapped around her, pressed fully against her body as Harry rocked his hips back and forth. Their kiss broke and the two kept their noses pressed against the other, gasping breathlessly into each other's mouths as Harry set a slow, deliberate rhythm. 

Periodically, Delphi stole kisses from him, her swollen lips seeking to deepen their connection as Harry buried himself to the hilt inside of her, the head of his cock bumping up against her cervix.

“F-Feels soo gooood…” Delphi, eyes squeezed tight in ecstasy, gurgled as she bit her lip, her hair splayed out on a halo behind her. She had coiled tight around him again, and Harry could not move his hips back, but that didn't stop him.

He ground himself against her, gyrating his hips as his cock touched every single inch of her piping hot pussy, pressing against every nerve ending in a delicious dance that drove them both wild.

Harry gently bit down on Delphi's lower lip and pulled on it, sucking it into his mouth as he angled his cock as far sideways as it could go.

Delphi's eyes rolled to the back of her head as Harry felt her spasm around him. That just made him grind himself harder into her, ignoring the lightheadedness that was incoming as Delphi's constriction finally began to take its toll.

Harry didn't care one bit. He put all his energy into pushing as hard as he could manage into her, pressing his throbbing meat against her desperately quivering walls. He pushed even as his lungs became too constricted to move, feeling that burning spark on the tip of his cock grow and grow as Delphi smashed her lips against his own and shoved her tongue down his throat.

Finally, it all became too much. His cock exploded, blasting her inner walls with jets of molten hot cum, his sideways-angled cock throbbing dangerously inside Delphi's pussy and sending her to new heights of pleasure.

Just as he began to see spots at the edge of his vision, Delphi's hold on him slackened. Harry took deep lungfuls of air even as his balls continued to churn, emptying into Delphi's welcoming womb. His hips relaxed and his cock straightened out inside of her, releasing the tension and allowing Delphi to slowly come down from her cloud.

Harry's cock was still twitching as he lost consciousness, losing himself into Delphi's warm embrace.

…

“Is it true, Draco?”

Draco sent Neville an annoyed look. They had just sat down for dinner, Draco hadn't even had time to put food on his plate, and Neville was looking at him with an infuriating frown.

“Is what true?”

“They're saying that Hermione is friends with the monsters.”

Draco flinched back, and he desperately hoped that his reaction was taken as shocked offense.

“What fucking idiot put that idea in your head?” He had to fight not to turn his head in search of Blaise. If that fucking traitor had broken his promise…

“People have been saying it.” Dean piped in from next to Neville, and Draco suddenly realized just how many ears were listening in on this conversation.

“Hermione's been distant from everyone, and you don't really talk to her anymore.”

“T-that - I mean - it's… that is a private matter between us, and you lot have jumped to the wildest conclusion possible!”

Flint, who had been leaning in from halfway down the table, shrugged. “Whatever, Draco. People aren't stupid, what other reason could there be for you to cut your muggle born loose?”

“I haven't cut her loose!” Draco snapped. That only drew more attention, and then his eyes moved frantically around the table.

Where was Hermione?

“She said Professor Prewett had asked her to see him after classes.” Morag said, having read his face, “I wonder if that's just another lie and she's hanging out with the monsters?”

The Slytherin table was empty. The creatures had been skipping meals randomly ever since term had begun. 

Draco seethed. “Hold your tongue. Spreading nasty rumours like that is unbecoming of a lady.” 

“But laying with beasts isn't?” Flint asked.

Draco's face reddened as everyone around him laughed. He growled in anger as he pushed off the table.

“Awww, did poor Drakey's feelings get hurt? It's alright, Draco, you can always find another one.”  

Draco used all his willpower to turn his nose up and look as unbothered as he could manage, even if on the inside, he was boiling with rage.

He left, making for the exit of the Great Hall. 

He would find Hermione and set her straight. He would talk some sense into her. He needed to.

…

“You needed to see me, professor? Was my essay not up to standard?”

Something felt off. From the moment Hermione had walked into Professor Prewett's classroom. There was a strange chill, a chill she felt deep in her bones.

Professor Prewett looked bad. It had been something that Hermione had noticed since term had begun, but being alone with him, she noticed just how bad he truly looked. His face was sagging, almost as if it was about to melt off, and he looked deathly pale.

“Your essay? No, Miss Granger, your essay was quite excellent. Please, have a seat.” 

A voice in the back of Hermione's head was screaming at her to not take the offered seat. It was screaming at her to take off and run.

But of course she sat down. Her professor had asked to meet with her, and she was nothing if not a model student.

“No, I'm here to discuss something else. I wanted to hear it directly from you, what truth is there to the rumours of your newfound friendships?”

Hermione felt a lead weight settle into the pit of her stomach as her face fell. How had he found out? At the same time, a righteous fury bubbled up within her. Professor or not, he had no right to try and reprimand her for the company she kept. If he was going to launch into a virulent, racist rant about her mixing with the wrong kind… well, Hermione wasn't going to just sit there and take it, and she was within her rights to get up and leave. She would protest it all the way up to the Headmaster if she had to. 

Professor Prewett let out a dark chuckle. “Your face says it all, girl. Good, this is very good indeed.”

Hermione's head snapped up in shock. “You think its… good?”

The way he smiled made her skin crawl. “Of course, girl,” he lifted his wand, and Hermione's legs suddenly felt like lead as her brain screamed at her to run, “You'll make for the perfect bait.” 

She had only moments to register the flash of red light before it struck her, and Hermione's body crumpled up onto the floor.

Fabian Prewett stood up from the desk, glancing down at the wand sputtering in his hand. “Seems like I did not have much time to spare.” He snapped the wand like a twig, and when he opened his fist, little broken bits of the wand had sunk into his slowly melting skin.

He grabbed the child roughly by the collar and exited the quarters. Everyone would be down at dinner, and there was a secret passage down the hall that would lead him directly onto the grounds. Dumbledore would not be alerted. 

There was a yelp behind him as he dragged the unconscious girl through the floor. He turned his head, his neck twisting near the point where it would snap.

It was a large, boxy boy with brown hair. He did not recall his name, but he knew it was a first year.

“Yes?” He asked impatiently.

The boy's eyes darted from the unconscious girl to the professor, whose face was now beginning to melt off in earnest.

“I-I was waiting for m-miss Granger. I-I wanted to a-a…” the boy swallowed. “Actually, its not important, sir, I'll be on my way.”

Crabbe turned around, sweat dripping from his brow as his legs trembled under him. His heart was beating out of his chest, and he found himself wishing this was all a strange nightmare.

A clawed hand tugged at his collar.

“I suppose you will do as well.” Bellowed a monstrous voice.

Crabbe's scream was muffled by a gnarled hand as he was dragged off into a secret passage.

The bait was set. Now, all the manticore had to do was lay in wait, and he would soon savor in the blood and screams of the little hatchlings.