Power Plays Chapter 60

The lift carried Harry deep into the bowels of the Ministry to a place he’d once feared. His first visit to the courtrooms had been through a memory in Dumbledore’s office where he’d seen Barty Crouch Jr being arrested after Karkaroff identified him as one of Voldemort’s spies within the Ministry. It’d resembled a dungeon in his mind, a foreboding place where dementors guided prisoners to the centre of the chamber. Chains had wrapped around Karkaroff’s arms there, locking him in place, all but assuring his death if the dementors had gotten loose.

When he’d later been called to that very same courtroom over his use of the Patronus Charm, his first thought had gone back to the dementors and the chains. The stands filled with Wizengamot members and various Ministry officials had intimidated him back then.

But now, he felt confident walking through these halls. The men and women who’d once tried to intimidate a teenager no longer seemed anywhere near as scary to him. He’d been brought into the Wizengamot Chambers enough by now in his role as Head Auror to recognise the scare tactics for what they were for. It was a wonder that they gave the Wizengamot members offices down here. Was it a ploy by some long-forgotten Minister to try to scare the members? Or was it for any of their guests, to remind them of where they could end up if they didn’t give into what the Wizengamot wanted?

Harry came to a slow walk near Daphne’s office. It was closed, and he could faintly hear the sounds of voices coming from within. Of course, he couldn’t make out any of the words even if he tried. Magic preserved her privacy perfectly. Undoubtedly, she was busy coordinating plans with the Wizengamot members who supported her claim to become the next Minister for Magic. They would help organise public campaigns to bolster support from the public, which would then hopefully result in more votes in her favour.

Yet, not everything was going to be as smooth as they imagined.

“Oh, Harry,” a familiar voice spoke up behind him.

“Hermione,” Harry said with a half smile as he turned to face her. “Just the woman I was here to see.”

“Not Daphne?” Hermione raised a curious eyebrow. Her arms were full of bundles of parchment, and her hair was looking more messy than normal.

“Not yet,” Harry amended. “You’ve been doing a wonderful job helping her out with everything, and I just figured that you might want to take a look at this.”

He reached into the inner breast pocket of his robes and pulled out a tightly folded newspaper. The headline read: Bones Gives A Shocking Report on the Attack Against Greengrass!

Hermione let out a deep sigh. “Alright; let’s take this into my office.”

The room that she’d been using as a second office as she helped the transitioning process between Kingsley and the next Minister was more of a large supply closet than anything else. The cramped, windowless room had almost all of its shelving removed except for one extensive section that sat along the western wall. A small desk had been set up next to it with a pair of chairs on either side of it.

Hermione had to turn to the side as she slipped between her desk and the wall. The stack of parchments came tumbling out of her arms and onto her desk in a haphazard way, but it was clear that she was too tired to care much about being neat and organised this late on a Friday.

“Let me see it,” Hermione said to Harry, holding out her hand for the newspaper.

As Harry handed it over, Hermione dropped into her chair in a heap. She straightened out the paper and began reading the article. At first, everything seemed fine, but once she got to the section that’d worried Harry as well, she let out a frustrated groan.

“Keep reading,” Harry told her, knowing that it just kept getting worse.

And so she did. She read on until she reached the very end.

Tossing the paper atop her parchments in frustration, Hermione wiped away a few stray stands of hair from her face. “How did you get a copy of this?” Hermione asked him.

“Rita managed to snag a test print copy for me,” Harry informed her. “It’s set to go out in Monday’s Daily Prophet. Rita did enough to delay the article from appearing on the Saturday issue.”

“Good on her,” Hermione murmured as she scanned the paper again. “This is going to be a real pain to deal with.”

“I know. She’s going all out on Daphne and me.”

“Someone questioning your leadership as Head Auror is nothing new,” Hermione pointed out.

“It’s a bit different when it’s your boss who's saying those things," Harry countered.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “It’ll be easy to spin this as a political attack and nothing more. Now that she’s running against Daphne, Rita can make it look like mud slinging. It’d take something a lot more concrete to generate any real concern. I’m more worried about what she’s saying about Daphne.”

Harry nodded sympathetically. “There’s no way that Amelia can know that the attack against Daphne was Daphne’s own doing.”

“I don’t think so either,” Hermione agreed. “She was very careful to make sure that it was done quietly and securely. All of this posturing about bringing about a formal investigation into the attack outside of your command is just another way to try to discredit your ability to remain impartial. We can argue that she’s not entirely impartial either given the fact that she’s under investigation for this as well.”

Harry grimaced. He didn’t like what this was doing to the unity of the Ministry, not that there was much of that to begin with. Between the fractured Wizengamot and the chaos that was coming from Kingsley stepping down as Minister, this was the most fractured that the Ministry had been since the war’s end.

“You need to take even more care around Proudfoot,” Hermione told him. “We know that he still hasn’t given up snooping around about you and Dawlish. I bet Amelia has him looking into this attack too.”

Harry had already assumed as much himself. He did what he could to keep Proudfoot occupied on missions that kept him far away from the Ministry where he couldn’t be as much of a nuisance, but he couldn’t keep the man out of the Ministry entirely. Proudfoot was an incredibly competent Auror, never giving Harry a single reason to fire him. He needed to be dealt with in some way, but at this point, Harry couldn’t think of anything that he could do to stop him that didn’t involve him stooping down to a level that he refused to reach.

“I’ll be careful,” Harry replied. “With Tonks and Gabrielle around, they help keep him busy so that he can’t try to interfere with us. But you don’t need to worry about me; I have him under control. What I really need from you is to work on a plan with Daphne to make sure that this article doesn’t start causing some unsavoury rumours about my fiancée.”

“We’ll contact Rita and get a plan in place,” Hermione said as she let out another tired sigh. “Thanks for bringing this in.”

“Anytime,” Harry said, standing up as the conversation came to a close.

Just as he returned back out into the corridor, everyone in Daphne’s meeting was beginning to trickle out. He recognised several of the faces from the Wizengamot and their judgemental eyes as they scrutinised every minute fact of each case. Normally, he received little more than cordial-at-best greetings from those who weren’t aligned with Kingsley or the former ‘Light’ faction of the Wizengamot, but these men and women all greeted Harry as if he were an old friend.

Raphael Avery—the younger cousin to the Death Eater Avery—shook Harry’s hand eagerly and murmured his words of happiness that Daphne was already back on her feet. Gaspard Shingleton—Daphne’s one-time ally in the Wizengamot to see her father removed from his position as the Head of the Greengrass family—came over to express his sincere gratitude that Harry was putting the full force of the Auror Department behind the investigation into the attack on Daphne. And Morwen Tremblay approached him with all of the grace and power that an elderly pure-blood lady tried to exude and shook his hand while refreshing it would be if Harry sat in on a few of these meetings and cut through some of the nonsensical ideas that were put forth by the less intelligent members of the group.

A few other lords and ladies trickled out along with over a dozen aides. It was comical to imagine them all stuffed into Daphne’s office, sweltering by the fire that she always kept on whenever Raphael paid her a visit.

Eventually, Daphne herself stepped out, looking like a general surveying her troops. That stern look turned softer though when she laid eyes on Harry.

“Hey,” he smiled at her, leaning in and planting a quick kiss on her cheek.

“Hey yourself,” she replied playfully. “What’re you doing down here?”

“Dropping off another problem onto your plate,” Harry grimaced. “Hermione has the details.”

“She’s working herself too hard for me,” Daphne sighed. “I wish that Kingsley would let her go so that she could come work for me full time. If Narcissa was still around, I’d have her helping me with this.”

“What about Draco and Astoria?” Harry asked.

“You know how close Astoria is to giving birth,” Daphne pointed out. “And Draco’s busy hovering over her like she’s made out of glass and then trying to coax his dad out of his shell so that St Mungo’s will finally release him.”

“We’ll find some way of making this work out,” Harry promised Daphne, uncertain as to how it would ever happen. “In the meantime, if Hermione says that she’s happy to help, then we should take her up on that.”

“You’re right,” Daphne agreed. “Looks like it’ll be another late night in the office for me.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Harry replied.

“Oh right,” Daphne wiggled her eyebrows at him. “You’ve got a hot date tonight, don’t you?”

Harry rolled his eyes at her. “It’s not like that.”

“Should I be worried that you’re seeing an old flame again?” Daphne joked, continuing with the bit and ignoring Harry’s words.

“Parvati knows about our situation; she won’t overstep,” Harry assured her.

“Good,” Daphne grinned, poking Harry in the ribs. “Because everyone should know that you’re mine. Heart, body, and soul. I just don’t mind loaning you out if it’s for a good cause.”

“Finding out anything about Aurora Calderon will be a good cause. I just need to be sure that Parvati will go along with it.”

“I’m sure she will,” Daphne replied. “After all, you could convince me to do anything after you finish shagging my brains out.”

Harry raised his eyebrows at her. “Anything?”

Daphne laughed. “It’s not my fault that you’ve been sorely lacking in imagination. Maybe you’ll think of something fun for us to get up to next time. But tonight, you’ve got someone else to ruin with that magnificent cock of yours.”

“I have half a mind to cancel my plans with Parvati tonight and to take you home instead,” Harry said as he settled his hands on Daphne’s hips, pulling her body against his.

“Shame that you left me a new problem to deal with,” Daphne teased him. “Should’ve saved that until tomorrow.”

Harry growled in frustration but kissed Daphne regardless. “You’d better not have anything going on tomorrow night.”

“I’ll be all yours,” she purred in reply as she kissed him again.

It hurt to pull away from her, but Harry knew that if he lingered much longer that he wouldn’t be leaving this place at all. Besides, he had someone else he could offer up his lust too.

PAGE BREAK

The new address that Parvati had given him directed Harry over to Wembley. An old corner of the industrial estate there had been taken over by witches and wizards only a few decades ago and converted into luxury, modern flats that sought to bridge the gap between magical and muggle living. It was a nice place to live for anyone wanting to head out to the station to take a train somewhere, and it was also close enough to the Ministry that apparation was a breeze.

Flooing over deposited Harry inside of a long corridor with ceilings that stretched several metres above his head. The high windows sitting up above and the steel rafters gave away the fact that this used to be a warehouse. There were a dozen doors split between the two walls on either side of the hall while one final one sat directly behind Harry. Everything besides the fireplace looked like it was all original, but he was sure that magic had been used to enhance the spaces.

Harry walked along until he found flat number five. He’d barely rapped his knuckles against it when the door surprisingly swung open.

Cautiously stepping inside, Harry found himself entering into a large and open space. A large U-shaped sofa dominated the centre of the room, focusing in on an expansive fireplace. Despite the fact that so much time had passed since he’d last seen her, Parvati has a way about maintaining her style that seemed timeless. Her various art pieces and gorgeous furnishings that decorated her flat struck Harry as an utterly modern, yet still reserved within the Magical World, aesthetic. They showed in small ways from the fluffy rug under his feet to the small bust sitting atop a pedestal right in between a large window overlooking a clear field and a staircase that ran the length of the wall.

“I’ll be down in just a minute,” Parvati called from the expansive balcony up above. It covered nearly half of the floor below and had a single thick metal pole stretching up to meet the corner of it that stuck out.

“Take your time,” Harry called back, brushing a bit of dust off of his robes. He’d chosen to wear a more casual set of dark robes that he wore out on date nights with Daphne when they might find themselves out at a night club.

Harry lingered around, examining the small kitchen that sat at the far end of the room and the dining table next to it. This was quite a nice flat. As much as he enjoyed Greengrass Manor, there was always going to be a part of him that craved something smaller and simpler.

In what seemed like no time at all, he heard Parvati’s footsteps making their way towards the top of the staircase overhead. Harry walked over to meet her at the base of them, only to freeze in surprise when he saw what she was wearing.

“What, no flowers this time?” Parvati asked with an amused smile as she placed a single hand upon her hip.

“I thought that we would be having supper first,” Harry commented as his eyes raked up and down her body.

“Having supper first is overrated. Who wants to shag on a full stomach?” Parvati giggled. “I’d rather get you all to myself now and then celebrate later. Don’t you agree?”

It was hard not to when she was looking like this. Parvati wasn’t wearing robes like he was; she was in little more than a dark, lacy set of lingerie that hugged her every curve. As she began to walk down the staircase, showing off her long legs, Harry picked up on the scent of citrus and musk clinging to her. Her tiny little panties twisted with every movement, nearly giving away a glimpse of her perfect pussy without going so far as to actually do so. Parvati knew how enticing she looked and grinned brightly at Harry with every step she took. Her perky breasts strained against her bra, spilling over the top of them slightly.

By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, Harry was already reaching out to capture her in his arms. His heart was beating wildly, remembering their last encounter together, but his brain reminded him that there was business to attend to first.

“I was hoping to talk befor—”

His words were cut off as Parvati kissed him soundly. Her lips met his with an intimate familiarity. It was intoxicating and so full of excitement, but Harry forced himself to pull away.

“This is important,” he insisted.

Parvati seemed frustrated for a moment before she quickly masked it. “Please don’t tell me that your fiancée is shutting this down.”

“Nothing of the sort,” Harry chuckled. “It’s actually Auror business.”

“Well, be brief,” Parvati said, gesturing over towards her sofa. “I’ve been waiting for this far too long to let this slip out of my fingers.”

“Thank you,” Harry smiled as he guided her over towards the sofa, keeping his arm around her waist so that they at least had some intimate contact. He really didn’t want to blow this. As they sat down next to each other, Harry ensured he was looking deep into Parvati’s eyes before he started speaking again. “You heard about the attack on Daphne, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Parvati said sympathetically. It seemed quite genuine despite the fact that Harry could tell that she’d happily replace Daphne at his side if he so much as asked.

“Well, we believe that Rhys Orpington may have been behind it, but we need proof,” Harry told her. “His new assistant, Aurora Calderon, might have the information that we need. Everyone knows that you’re a social butterfly—”

“You want me to approach her and try to figure out what she knows?” Parvati interrupted him.

“Exactly,” Harry nodded seriously.

Parvati paused in thought for only a moment before responding. “Do you really think that she’ll give me what I need to know so easily?”

“No, I don’t,” Harry admitted. “That’s why I want you to start trading gossip with her, maybe even redirect her my way.”

“Oh?” Parvati raised an eyebrow at him. “Go on then.”

“You can tell her about our little affair,” Harry smiled lecherously. “Tell her all of the sordid details of what we get up to, and maybe even hint that I might be interested in her as well.”

Parvati blinked in surprise. “You’d actually sleep with her.”

“No,” Harry quickly told her. “But I want her to think that I would. I want her to think that she can get close to me.”

“Why?”

“So that she can try and kill me or Daphne,” Harry said bluntly.

For the first time, Parvati pulled away from him in shock. “You can’t actually mean…”

“She won’t succeed, no matter how hard she tries,” Harry assured Parvati. “I’ve killed Dark Lords and countless evil men and women. If she’s involved with Rhys, then I doubt her hands are clean. If he really was the one behind the attack on Daphne, then I know that he won’t let this opportunity pass him by. He’ll convince Aurora to kill me or Daphne, or she’ll somehow ensure that Rhys gets involved himself. Regardless, I’ll catch her in the act and stop her, and this will help make us all safer.”

“If she and her boss are so dangerous, then I don’t know if I want any part of this,” Parvati told him. “I’ve already gone through one fight with you, and I don’t relish having many more. I’m not a fighter like you.”

“You won’t be in any danger. All that you have to do is meet up with her in public places. Maybe you catch her in the lift and introduce yourself to her or you just so happen to end up shopping at the same place as her while she’s there too. I just need you to make contact, fish for a bit of information, and then send her my way. Everyone knows how much you love to gossip; she won’t be suspicious about you of all people looking for a bit of dirt.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Parvati replied.

“It’s not,” Harry said. “I know that you never give away any truly important or sensitive information. If you did, I’m sure that the details of our encounter would’ve been all over the Ministry by now. I think that you’d be perfect for this because no one would ever suspect you as being a threat. You’d be perfectly safe.”

“So you say.”

“Please, you’re talented with a wand. If Aurora really was a threat, I know that you could take her down without a sweat.”

Parvati thought about Harry’s words for several seconds. “This is the only reason you’re really here tonight, isn’t it,” she asked in a quiet voice.

“It’s the primary reason,” Harry admitted. “But I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t missed you or wanted to catch up. Even if you’re not the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, I really do care about you, Parvati. We’ve been through so much together from our time back at Hogwarts and the years after the war. You’re a brilliant woman, and one I love being with, even if it’s only temporarily.”

“I suppose that’s good enough,” Parvati said, letting out a nervous laugh. “I can’t say that I’ve ever met a man as incredible as you before. If this is all we can ever be…”

“It is,” Harry confirmed without any malice. He loved Daphne more than anyone else in this world; his heart forever belonged to her.

Parvati flipped her hair back over her shoulder and shot Harry a bright smile. “Then I’ll take this.”

“And Aurora?” Harry asked.

“I’ll see her first thing Monday morning,” Parvati promised. “I’ll work as quickly as I can without seeming too obvious.”

“Perfect,” Harry smiled back at her.

Parvati pounced on him instantly, pinning him onto his back. Her fingers tore at his robes with an intense desperation, as though fearing that this would be their last time together and wanting to make the absolute most out of it. Harry responded in kind, wanting this night to be absolutely perfect for her. He felt her every curve with his hands before he worked his way up to the clasp of her bra. He unhooked it deftly, and Parvati shook the straps down her arms.

Suddenly, Harry flipped Parvati onto her back, latching onto her dark, puffy nipples with his lips as he yanked his robes off. She moaned lewdly into his ears, grasping his head in her hands as she wiggled underneath him, letting her thighs tease his stiffening cock inside of his pants. He tore those off quickly too, leaving him utterly bare.

He knew that Parvati probably wanted him to just shove his cock straight into her pussy and drive her wild with it, but Harry wanted to really give Parvati the time of her life. He could see the faintest hint of her lower lips through her panties, and he was determined to give them the same love with his tongue that he’d delivered her glorious nipples.

“No,” Parvati protested with a whine as he shuffled down the sofa, moving away from her.

“Trust me,” he replied as his head ended up between her thighs. “You’ll like this even better.”

Parvati lifted her legs up towards the ceiling, giving Harry the perfect opportunity to pull her panties down her legs. As he began to tug at the soft fabric, he quickly spotted a thin string of her juices stretching from her labia to her panties. He licked it up with his tongue before tossing the panties aside and digging into her pussy eagerly.

“Oh, Harry,” Parvati moaned softly as his tongue licked up her excess juices.

His fingers danced precipitously along her inner thighs, steadily moving towards her needy pussy. His tongue continued to swirl around her, not quite moving to the spots that she’d liked to be touched at quite yet. He was teasing her briefly, helping to rebuild that anticipation and excitement after their discussion.

It was only once he felt her body begin to relax into the sofa that he truly pounced. His tongue found her clit, just giving it the briefest touch to gauge her sensitivity and reaction. She jumped in a sudden shock of pleasure but didn’t seem overwhelmed by his touch, so he let his tongue gently swirl around her clit, touching it every few seconds while he moved his fingers into position.

Parvati was so wet that it wasn’t hard to get the tips of his fingers nice and lubricated before he pushed inside of her. Her inner walls clung to him with his every move, squeezing down on his fingers desperately like they were a cock that needed to be milked.

Turning his fingers into a hook shape, Harry gently raked them along the upper wall of Parvati’s pussy until he found just the right spot that made her back arch off of the sofa. She moaned his name again with just as much love and adoration as before.

With his tongue and fingers working together in near-perfect unison, Parvati rapidly became undone before him. Her breathing grew heavier as her arousal only increased, and that spurred Harry on to act faster and faster. The scent of her desire filled his nostrils, intermingling with her perfume.

The long stroke Harry made with his tongue along Parvati’s clit especially drew her wild. Her breasts heaved up and down as she sucked in deep breaths, and her hips bucked upwards intensely. He kept up the ministrations with his fingers just long enough until he felt her inner walls begin to sharply contract around him, and then he suddenly pulled out of her.

“What the—” Parvati began to complain, but her words faded into nothingness once she felt his cock probing at her entrance. “Please,” she whimpered.

“Whatever you desire,” Harry murmured into her ear as he filled her with a single, hard thrust, trusting that his efforts to prepare her were enough.

“Oh fuck,” Parvati moaned. “You feel so fucking good. So full.”

Harry grinned down at her, watching her breasts bounce as he started to thrust into her. Parvati’s eyelids fluttered closed as she lost herself to the pleasure of him filling her pussy. It never failed to excite him whenever another woman expressed just how good he made them feel. His cock pulsed in excitement, leading her walls to squeeze down on him too.

“You’re so tight around my cock,” Harry groaned, grasping one of Parvati’s bouncing breasts in his hands.

Just as Parvati opened her mouth again, Harry kissed her soundly, letting her moan escape into his mouth. Harry began to pick up speed then, letting his hips pump faster and faster. Her body was rocking so much on the sofa that the springs beneath them began to squeak. Her nipples were begging for attention, so he started pinching them playfully, letting pain intermingle with pleasure.

He knew that he had to give her his all in order to assure her absolute cooperation with his plan, so his thrusts deep into her tight pussy picked up in roughness until he determined the exact amount of power he needed to deliver without causing her any discomfort. She was practically shrieking into his mouth in ecstasy as he pounded away. He pulled back just to let her cries fill her flat.

“Your cock is too good!” Parvati screamed towards the ceiling. “I need this every fucking day!”

“Play your cards right,” Harry chuckled before he kissed her neck. He let go of her breast and stared down at those two glorious orbs bouncing about. Her face was still so screwed up in pleasure that he couldn’t look into her eyes directly, so he was left to imagine the pleasure that could be found within them.

Those first few contractions that he’d felt when his fingers were still inside of her began again. The feeling of her walls fluttering around his cock brought a smile to his lips, and as if to ensure that he wasn’t going anywhere, Parvati locked her ankles behind his back. She was going to cum all over his cock soon, and Harry was ready to fill her up too. Daphne’s teasing had excited him already, but actually fucking Parvati was like experiencing a special treat that he hadn’t had in years.

Parvati started thrusting her hips up again, matching his downward thrusts as best she could as her inner walls tried to milk his cock.

“You’re going to cum soon,” Harry said as a statement more so than a question.

“Yes,” Parvati barely managed to get out. “I’m so close… I need to cum… and I need you inside of me when I do.”

“I can give you that,” Harry grinned as he slammed inside of her again.

Parvati’s nails dug into his back as she screamed his name. Her back arched off of the bed as she came around his cock, finally milking him for his seed that she’d been so desperate for. Harry lost himself to the pleasure, pumping his cum deep inside of Parvati again and again until every last drop was drained.

The two of them were utterly lost in their high of pleasure for countless seconds afterwards. Harry didn’t move for a while, letting his cock soften inside of Parvati’s pussy before he finally pulled out of her.

“That was worth the wait,” Parvati said after several moments. Then, her stomach rumbled.

After a beat, the two of them burst out laughing.

“I should get started on supper,” Parvati said, reluctantly pushing herself up to her feet.

“Let me help you,” Harry insisted, standing up as well.

“Alright,” Parvati smiled in agreement. “Do be warned though, I only have one apron, and I’m taking it.”

“That’s fine by me,” Harry grinned at her. “Something tells me that I’ll have a perfect arse in front of me before long, and I won’t want anything covering up my front bits for that.”