Exhibition is a Right: Chapter 19 (Patreon)

"A Burden Shared…"

Harry stared silently for several minutes, before recovering and coughing into his hand. “Ah, Tracy. I, er…thought you had used the other changing room.” He tried to maintain eye contact, but he was conscious of the fact that his eyes had flicked down towards her pert breasts at least once.

Tracy's smile softened, and she cocked her hip out with her hand on it. “Not who you were expecting, huh? Shame…one of the “flying foxes” then? I'm not surprised they got to you. I can admit they're beautiful.”

Deciding that lying was only going to upset her, Harry gave a sheepish look before replying. “Sorry, Tracy. Though, I won't say this is an unpleasant surprise.” He made more of a show of looking her up and down, before fanning himself dramatically.

Tracy chuckled, before lightly smacking his shoulder. “Typical Gryffindor, huh? Still, it's nice to be appreciated. Too many in my house think I'm “dirty”.”

Harry frowned and shook his head. “Idiots, the lot of them.” Tracy smiled warmly, before smirking and turning from him. She started to walk towards the girls shower block, her hips swaying enticingly.

“Glad to hear you think so. Still, I'd better go and clean up properly, just in case…” Tracy stopped near the entrance of the shower, looking over her shoulder and catching Harry staring at her ass.

“Well? Will you come and help this “dirty” girl get clean?” Tracy then flexed her ass cheeks, breaking Harry out of his admiration of her backside, before she giggled and disappeared from sight.

Harry looked between Tracy's abandoned clothes and the shower entrance, hearing water start to run within. With a light chuckle, Harry stood from the bench. “Well, it would be rude to refuse such an offer” He dropped his trousers once more, before stepping out of them and walking into the shower.

Inside, the space was much the same as the men's was. A large, tiled room with numerous shower heads at intervals around the walls. Unlike in the men's, there wasn't so much as a divider between them, the whole room being open with a central drain in the middle.

“Clearly, privacy wasn't an issue for the girls.”

What this meant was that Tracy was clearly visible, currently standing beneath the middle shower and rinsing her long brown hair under the warm water.

Hearing his footsteps, she turned and smiled at him. As she looked lower, her carefree smile was replaced with a pleasantly surprised look of shock.

“My my, Potter…I am impressed. And here I thought snakes were a Slytherin thing~” Tracy smirked before crooking a finger towards him to gesture for him to join her.

Harry shrugged, only slightly embarrassed by his noticeable erection bobbing in front of him as he joined her under the warm water. “Haven't you heard? I can speak to snakes and everything. Maybe I'm more Slytherin than you think.”

Tracy hummed in agreement, as well as appreciation of feeling his cock brush against her thigh. 

“Well, I don't think you can charm every snake you meet. Pansy is proof enough of that” She snorted a little at seeing Harry's look of disgust at the mention of the unpleasant Slytherin.

“I think I'll live. Tell me, are you being charmed?” Harry ran his hands up and down Tracy's sides, helping to spread the soap suds that were present. Tracy shuddered at the touch, before leaning closer and resting her forehead against his.

“I might be…” she breathed. As Harry continued his exploration, his hands now massaging her hips near her round bum, Tracy brought her own hands down across his chest, and over his abs.

As she reached lower, threading her finger through his sparse hair to reach his length, she bit her lips and looked down with a sheepish expression.

“Potter…Harry. I'm not looking for more than…what I mean is, I can't, you know…” Tracy looked down in embarrassment, before moving to step away.

Harry however, gently held her shoulders before placing a finger beneath her chin to get her to look back up at him.

“Tracy, tell me what you want. We won't do anything more than that, ok?” Tracy swallowed, and he got the distinct impression that her eyes were welling up slightly, though the shower made that difficult to tell for sure.

She nodded, before leaning back into his chest. “Thank you. I…I can't have sex. Not properly, anyways. There's a reason, but I won't go into it. I just…I don't know you well enough to tell you. Sorry.”

Harry pondered this. There could be several reasons that would be the case. A marriage contract came to mind, but that would be unlikely. Tracy was half blood, after all.

“It's alright. This is kinda the first time we've spoken, isn't it? Honestly, the fact we're sharing a shower at all is already more than I had dreamed of” he chuckled, trying to provide some levity. It worked, based on her smile.

“Yes, not quite sure what came over me. Guess you just looked so sexy in just your towel when I walked in” she stepped back and looked him up and down. “Even better without it.”

Harry gave an exaggerated flex of his arms making them both laugh. “So, you didn't come in just to find me then?” Harry asked as they calmed down.

Tracy shook her head, before turning around so that her back was pressed into his chest. “No…I was just getting away from the other changing room. I was fed up listening to Malfoy try to persuade me to drop my place. I earned it, dammit. It didn't help that he eyed me like a piece of meat at the same time as telling me I wasn't good enough. Git.”

Before Harry could comment, Tracy reached for his hand, before placing it on her breast. “You’re allowed to touch. Lower too. I may not be able to have sex…but I sure as hell can still cum.”

That was all Harry needed to hear. With deft fingers born from practice with his recent partners, he began to knead her breast gently with one hand while bringing his other around to dip between her legs.

Tracy clearly approved, raising her own hand to thread into his hair, turning her head to kiss him on the neck. He was sure she was going to leave a hickey, but he didn't care much at the moment.

His cock, currently sandwiched between their bodies, was getting rather uncomfortable. With a swift dip of his legs, he was able to swing his cock down to then bring it to rest between Tracy's legs, the head poking through her thighs.

Gasping, Tracy looked down. “Fuck, that's hot…” She then gave an experimental roll of her hips, the action causing them both to groan. “Good, that doesn't seem to trigger…nevermind. Just keep doing that!”

Harry, taking note of her near slip, gently thrust himself back and forth, running his length along her folds. He combined this with rubbing lazy circles near her clit. The extra stimulation soon had Tracy writhing in his arms.

“Oh shit…oh my God! So close…I’m gonna…!” Harry chose that moment to both rub her clit directly, while also gently pinching one of her nipples.

“Ahhn…urgh…” Tracy seized up, causing her legs to clench shut and her thighs to grip him like a vice. This meant that the next few thrusts were enough to bring Harry to his own peak.

With several grunts, he exploded, painting the tiled wall in front of him with his load. As the pair slowly recovered, Tracy released her grip on his cock but made no move to step away from their embrace.

“Holy shit, that was good. Almost the best orgasm of my life…” She looked at the mess on the wall, watching as it was washed away by the stream of water with an almost wistful expression.

“Only almost? Man, I guess I need to step up my game” Harry chuckled, gently touching the nipple he had previously pinched until it was no longer so red. Tracy rolled her eyes before looking behind her with a smirk.

“Sorry, Harry. I've got someone else to help relieve me most of the time. Jealous?” Harry held his hands up with a chuckle. “I can hardly judge.” 

Tracy smiled, before shutting off the water and pushing him towards the changing room. “Oh? Popular with the ladies are you? Can't say I'm surprised after that little demonstration. Come on, we better get going, or people will talk. Malfoy’s already insufferable as it is…”

Harry agreed with her on that front. The pair got dried and dressed in companionable silence. When she was finished, Tracy stood and tucked her still damp hair behind her ear.

“I'd better go ahead first. I really would rather avoid the headache of us walking into the great hall together. No offence” Harry waved her concern away, and with a final smile, she swept from the changing room, leaving the door open behind her.

As she left, Harry frowned. “Clearly, something was bothering her there. Still, if she doesn't want to share, I can't make her.” Shrugging, he returned to getting dressed, taking his time to allow Tracy ample time to reach the castle ahead of him.

Soon, he was stepping out into the cool air of the Scottish Highlands. Nearing the middle of October, it was raining more often than not, but at least it had held off for the trials. Now, a thin mist settled over the grass, giving the whole valley an eerie feel to it.

Walking at a leisurely pace, he glanced around the grounds. His eyes passed over Hagrid’s hut, and he made a mental note to visit the gentle half-giant soon.

As he looked over the lake, he caught movement down by the shore. Looking closer, he was surprised to see Luna, currently sitting alone beneath the tree he often visited when practicing his patronus.

Barely hesitating, he changed his direction. Moments later found him crunching along the shingle shore towards the petite girl.

Currently, Luna was staring out at the lake, humming a tune and swaying slightly, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. Before he could call out to her, however, she made it clear she had heard him coming.

“Good afternoon, Harry. Come to practice some more?” She asked with a light tone, returning to humming straight after. Harry shook his head fondly. “How do you even know about that? Nevermind, I actually came to check you were ok. Hasn't lunch started?”

Luna shrugged. “Perhaps. But that was less important. You really should keep practicing, you know.” Harry frowned, but drew his wand regardless. With a flick and a barely muttered incantation, Prongs emerged in a swirl of mist.

Casting the charm was certainly easier now than it used to be. Though it still required a strong memory, constant practice had made conjuring such easier and quicker each time.

Now used to being brought forth without actual dementors to fight, Prongs simply looked around. Realising it was where he was often cast, the stag looked towards the only new thing in the area, Luna.

Walking forwards, the large deer huffed into her face, displacing her hair with its breath and making her giggle lightly. She reached up, patting his nose gently. Prongs shook his head at the touch, before walking around behind her and laying down. This allowed Luna to easily pat his head without having to reach.

Harry watched the interaction with a soft smile on his face. “Daft deer's getting soft, I swear” he muttered, to which Prongs raised his head and gave a cry in response. “I'm serious. If we had dementors here, would you charge them or ask them for head scratches?"

The stag huffed again, but Luna just gave him more scratches behind the ear, calming the silvery stag. “He doesn't mean that. You'd still beat all those nasty dementors, wouldn't you?” she said in a sing sing voice.

Harry rolled his eyes, before taking a seat next to Luna on the bank. It was a strange experience, seeing his patronus act so lifelike. He could swear he could almost feel those scratches himself…

“So…have you thought about what I said on the train?” Luna said, returning her gaze towards the lake itself. Harry blinked, before shrugging. “About sharing my…situation with some of the others? Yes…but I can't say I've come to a decision yet.”

Luna hummed in interest, before tilting her head slightly. “Would you wait until after the champions are chosen?” Harry turned to look at Luna with curiosity.

“Just how much do you know?” Luna hummed a louder note, before shrugging and swinging her legs. “More than some. Less than others. Not enough, yet, too much. You understand?”

Harry chuckled. “Nope. Seer?” he asked quietly. Luna tilted her head again. “I see things others don't, yes. But that doesn't mean I'm a Seer. At least, not this world's definition of one.” She looked up at Harry, and he swore her silvery eyes had flecks of a deeper colour, briefly. But when she blinked, they were gone.

Luna stood up, earning a whine from Prongs as the scratches ceased. With a twirl, she put her hands behind her back and smiled. "You're at a crossroads, Harry. Tell your friends, or don't. But regardless, your choice will be taken from you if you wait forever.”

Harry sighed and stood as well. “I know, I know. They're smart, they'll notice I'm acting…weird. Different, to the friend that they know. Both Hermione and Ginny have questioned my apparent lack of understanding how this version of my world works. Why couldn't I have retained this Harry's memories? It would have been so much easier.”

“This is you, that was another Harry. You cannot mix, nor can you erase. He will be somewhere, perhaps where you came from? It's hard to tell…but he's happy. He never felt comfortable here, I think.” 

Harry ran a hand through his hair and his shoulders sagged a little. “Well, that's a relief, I suppose. I was worried I might have, I don't know, overwrote the previous me?” Harry shook his head, before smiling at Luna. “Thanks, Luna. And I will tell my friends. Hermione, at the very least, yeah?”

Luna nodded enthusiastically. “Good. And what better time than the present?” She then looked off to the side, behind Harry.

With a wince and a feeling of dread, Harry turned to look in the same direction. Confused at first as he saw nothing, his concern was proven right when the disillusionment charm that had previously covered Hermione's form melted away.

Hermione was clearly a little shocked, staring at him as if he was a complicated puzzle she was trying to figure out.

“Oh. Hi Hermione. So…how much of that did you hear?”  

“Enough. You're from a different world?” she folded her arms beneath her bust and raised an eyebrow in a look that was so “Hermione”, he had to chuckle.

Harry looked to Luna, who was smiling unrepentantly at him. “Choice taken from me, huh?” she simply nodded.

Sighing, Harry looked back to his oldest female friend with a determined expression. “No running from this. Time to come clean, I suppose…”