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Golden Delights

“Is that everything?” Auror Potter asked, out of breath. 

He raised the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat that dotted his forehead. The muscular expanse of stomach and chest was exposed, dark with hair that matched the colour on his head and along his jaw.

Hermione looked up from where she was organizing her potions kit in the kitchen. She blinked widely at the sight of the wizard’s toned stomach and quickly turned her attention away again before he could spy her peeking. 

She looked around the messily filled, rundown sea-side cabin, her cheeks a rosy pink colour. Her eyes darted across the various boxes, labelled on the outside so she knew what they contained.

“That’s everything,” she confirmed crisply and cleared her throat.

Harry sighed. “Thank fuck, I’m exhausted. Why’re these boxes so heavy? Are they just books?”

Hermione scowled at the wizard. “No. You know that shrinking down the boxes will ruin the magical artifacts inside.”

Harry raised his hands. “I didn’t say we should-”

“-You did.”

He glared at her. “Once. I said it once.”

Hermione huffed and went back to her potions kit. It went without saying that she was not pleased to be partnered with Harry bleeding Potter. He was the most arrogant, most lawless, most insulting Auror she’d ever had to work with. And that was saying something considering the rubbish the DMLE tended to spit out of their training facilities.

Aurors and Unspeakables had a rather nonsensical distaste for one another, as a rule of thumb.  As one of the few Unspeakables willing to do fieldwork, she was often paired up with whichever Auror drew the short stick. Over the past year, she’d worked with a number of different witches and wizards.

Her first field mission had been with Auror Potter and it had been a travesty. They hadn’t been paired together much since then. Until this mission.

Auror Franklin was on leave. Auror Bass was on maternity leave. Even Auror Newcastle had been busy and he never left the office. Head Auror Potter and Head Unspeakable Spratt had sat Hermione and Harry down two days ago and informed them that there would be no issues on this trip or there would be massive consequences. 

Since Potter’s daddy was his boss, Hermione suspected that meant there would be massive repercussions for her. The fact that they’d been called in by both their leads was probably the most infantilizing thing Hermione had ever had to endure. She resented Potter for it, even if the utter fiasco that had been their first mission in Iceland had been partially her fault. 

This time would be better. She wasn’t going to have the Magical Minister of Greece scold her in front of her superiors. She wasn’t ever going to be in such an awful position ever again. 

“I’m going to finish setting this up,” she told him, “and then I want to head up the mountain and gather samples before nightfall.”

Auror Potter nodded once. “Let me know when you want to leave.”

“Will do.”

He turned and headed deeper into their tiny cabin. Hermione hadn’t even bothered to inspect it. She was fairly certain it was a tiny one-bedroom with no magical air conditioning and awful water pressure. It was pretty much the standard when she went on field operations. 

She set up her potions kit at the kitchen table and meticulously organized her things. She needed to be prepared for whatever magical plant they found up the mountainside.

Magical Greece had recently reported to the International Confederation of Wizards that an unknown magical plant was invading the ecosystem around Mount Olympus National Park. After much debate, the British Ministry of Magic had offered the services of their Unspeakables to investigate. Hermione was regarded as one of their top field operatives -- despite the Iceland incident -- and had immediately been chosen to investigate.

She’d done this sort of thing before, but mostly in Britain. She wasn’t worried so much as incredibly stressed. She had technically been hired by the ICW. If she did well here, she could wiggle her way into a contract with them. Working for the ICW would be incredible for her career.

“I’m ready!” Hermione called. 

She headed to the door and picked up her knapsack. It was a simple brown bag made in leather. She’d charmed it seven ways from Sunday to ensure that all of her Unspeakable gear within would remain sterile and unharmed. 

Hermione picked the bag up, light as a feather, and swung it over her shoulder. 

“Let’s go,” Harry Potter said behind her.

She didn’t even glance in his direction before heading out into the hot afternoon sun. The beach was a short distance away and the beautiful ocean glinted in the sun just beyond. 

Their cabin was in a small magical community on the edge of Mount Olympus National Park. Trees quickly surrounded them as they headed into the park. Birds sang around them and insects buzzed loudly all around. 

The air was heavy with humidity. Hermione was dripping with sweat in seconds. She huffed and came to a stop by a fallen tree. Harry paused as well. She ignored him as she shrugged off her cloak and stuffed it into her bag. 

A quick look at Harry showed that he’d changed into hiking gear. She was a little annoyed she hadn’t thought about it. Usually, magical plants didn’t involve a trek through a national park. 

Despite her annoyance, he was also dripping with sweat, so it clearly wasn’t doing him well. Hermione pulled her hair up into a bun while they took a short break. Harry drank from his water bottle and Hermione did the same.

She felt herself cooldown by increments now that her cloak was gone. Underneath, she’d had the foresight to wear muggle shorts and a tank top. She turned to Harry, ready to snap at him for ogling her as most wizards did when they saw her in her ‘revealing’ muggle attire.

Harry wasn’t looking at her. He was staring off into the trees as he slowly sipped his water. He was taller than he had been when they were in school together. He’d always been rather thin then, perfect for his position as Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Now, he’d grown to be as tall as his father and towered over her. His shoulders had broadened and his training with the Aurors had broken him of his otherwise gangly limbs.

He was handsome.

Hermione scowled at the thought.

“Ready?” she snapped, more harshly than she’d intended.

Harry turned and he frowned at the very sight of her. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They continued through the park. As they made it further into the dense woods, Hermione began to walk slower. They were entering the region the plant had first been spotted in. She looked around, keeping her eyes and magical senses open for the plant they were looking for. 

They kept walking for another couple of hours, stopping for water and snack breaks as they went. Their trek began a more vertical incline as they headed up the mountainside. It was during one of their breaks that Hermione finally spotted something.

She tucked away the wrapper from her muggle granola and bent down at the edge of the path they were following. There was a collection of pretty purple flowers there.

“Is that it?” Harry asked as he leaned in over her.

Hermione shot him a look of annoyance. “No. It’s… something else.”

She searched around in her bag until she found her disposable muggle camera. She snapped a picture of the flower. 

She stood. “Let’s keep going.”

“It’s getting late,” he objected.

She wrinkled her nose at him. “We haven’t found the plant yet.”

“We can come back tomorrow. Start fresh at sunrise.”

Hermione pursed her lips. She looked up at the fading sunlight. 

“A little longer,” she insisted. “We can apparate back, we don’t have to worry about getting caught out here at night.”

He sighed and nodded. “The second the sun sets, we’re gone.”

Hermione nodded and quickly spun around. She began to move through the forest faster. She didn’t want to waste a single second of daylight. She heard Harry sigh behind her before following.

The wind began to pick up as they got further. The breeze was a nice reprieve from the unrelenting heat. Hermione was searching the trees and floor as she mentally wondered how cold the shower would have to be to bring her body temperature back down when they got back.

A whisper of something danced in the wind. 

Hermione stilled and her head ticked up. She remained as still as possible. There was something… musical drifting through the wind.

“Do you hear that?” she whispered.

Harry shifted loudly behind her. She turned and shot him a glare. He stilled and listened. 

“I don’t hear anything. What is it?”

“I don’t know.” 

She listened longer but whatever she’d heard was gone now. 

Harry shifted again. “Let’s head back.”

“I think we’re close,” she protested.

There was still sunlight. They didn’t need to leave just yet.

“You don’t even know what we’re looking for.”

Hermione scowled at him. “I’ve done this plenty of times, Potter. I know what I’m looking for. You can turn back if you’re sleepy.”

Hermione whirled around and headed further up the mountainside. She heard Harry cuss and swear before following her. He stomped loudly like a little boy. She rolled her eyes.

Their path had disappeared long ago and Hermione and Harry continued to head up the side of the mountain. More purple flowers dotted their way. The more that appeared, the more Hermione felt like they were on the right track.

They made it to the top of a mountain ledge. The rolling, rocky mountains and green trees spread across the horizon. The fog obscured the view of the sun as it disappeared over the ocean in the distance.

Harry grabbed Hermione’s arm before she continued on.

“Enough. We’re going back.”

“What?” Hermione tugged on her arm, but he didn’t let go. “No. I’m not turning back. We’re almost there!”

“Where, Granger?” he snapped. He gestured with his free hand. “You’ve taken us off the path hours ago. I’m not sure what trail you’re following, but the sun is gone and something is watching us.”

Hermione frowned at him. “What?”

“Don’t you feel it?”

Hermione’s brows drew together. She concentrated and after a long moment, she realized she could feel something. Some sort of foreign magic surrounded the entire mountainside.

“It’s getting stronger as the sun sets,” Harry informed her. “The sun is gone and I do not want to be here whenever that thing gets here.”

He was right to worry, Hermione realized. Magical Greece was ancient. Ancient magical communities faced a whole host of different problems than more modern ones. Ireland was constantly infested with faeries. India had black bees and the kirtimukha. Greece had nymphs, sirens, and a whole host of other issues. Their creature department was rather abysmal and whatever magical creature was near Harry and Hermione could be anything from a little nymph to an ancient breed of Greek dragon.

Hermione sighed and nodded. “Fine. But we’re back here at dawn!”

Harry nodded and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, fine. Let’s go.”

She agreed and he apparated them back to the cabin. Hermione felt her chest tighten. She hated to be away from work. She had hoped she’d at least have a sample of something to work with by the end of the day.

She had her photos of the flowers, she supposed. Hermione pulled out her camera and popped the film out. She sat down at the table and began to use the spells to extract the photos.

Harry moved around her, readying something to eat for dinner. By the time he was done cooking, Hermione had the photos developed and was searching through a massive anthology to identify it.

Harry set a plate of food on her book. 

“Eat,” he ordered.

He sat down across from her and tucked into his chicken, rice, and veggies. Hermione sighed and did as she was instructed. She was surprised he’d even bothered with her. Usually, the Aurors just let her starve if she didn’t figure out her own meals. 

“Thanks,” she said after she had taken her first bite. 

It was really good and she was doubly surprised that he knew how to cook.

Harry shrugged. “Can’t let you starve.”

“The others usually don’t care.”

Harry frowned at that, clearly unimpressed with his coworkers. “Well, it’s better if you don’t die before the end of the assignment. I don’t want to look like an idiot in front of the ICW.”

Hermione’s eyes flicked across the table to him. “You want to join the ICW?”

Harry nodded as he chewed and swallowed. “Ideally. They’re the best of the best.”

“Agreed.” 

Hermione couldn’t help how impressed she sounded. She hadn’t realized that Harry Potter was so ambitious. She should have guessed. He was a Slytherin, after all. 

“I figured you were following in your father’s footsteps.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Well, you know what they say about assuming.”

Hermione glared at him and he smiled charmingly back. She turned back to her meal and decided that maybe not talking with the arrogant git was best.

“I want to go into healing,” he explained into the silence. 

Despite herself, Hermione found herself looking up to meet his gaze.

“I can’t go into St. Mungos because of the blood restrictions, but the ICW would train me for free to be a field medic. If I serve for a certain amount of years, they’ll fund my training in pretty much any healer’s specialization as long as I qualify for it.”

Hermione frowned. She knew about the blood restrictions on St. Mungos. She’d considered going into healing herself at one point. But then she’d learnt that only pure-bloods were allowed to study the academic side of healing with St. Mungos. Anyone could apply for practical applications or internships, but the formative years of study and training were only offered to pure-bloods and to study outside of Britain made an already costly mastery even more so. 

It was an old and silly rule, one that had also used to be in the Auror department. More people went into Auror training than they did healing though, so while the Auror department had changed their rules, the healers at St. Mungos hadn’t yet done anything about it.

“That only applies to pure-bloods,” Hermione told him.

Harry looked up at her. “I’m a half-blood. My mum’s a muggle-born.”

Hermione blinked widely at him.

“I didn’t know that. I mean, you were a Slytherin in school so I assumed-”

“-there you go again,” he quipped, “assuming.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes even as a smile teased her lips. It clicked then, that his joke about assumptions was a muggle one. She hadn’t even realized before. 

“Shut up,” she said without heat.

Harry laughed. 

“Well, I suppose you’ve been having as much trouble getting into the ICW for healing as I have for Incidents of Mysterious Performances.”

Harry raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Probably.”

IMP was a highly regarded ICW funded program. Hermione would be trained as a Hit Witch, study under a master at the ICW, and then be afforded the opportunity to go around the world and explore the most advanced, most mysterious magical circumstances around the world. It was a wet dream for a baby Unspeakable like her and Hermione wanted it. She was going to get it. This job in Greece was her opportunity to show the ICW that she was worth it.

They lapsed into silence after that. Hermione finished her meal and cleaned up the kitchen in silent exchange for Harry cooking. She immediately settled down at the table again and began looking through her anthology of magical plants.

It was late into the night when Harry disturbed her again.

“I’m going to turn in. Did you want the bed?”

Hermione looked up and blinked widely as she pulled her mind away from her research. She looked around and remembered that the space was far too small for two bedrooms. 

Hermione shook her head. “I’m not tired. I’ll take it tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” she said, her attention already on her books again. 

Hermione stayed up half the night trying to find a match for the mysterious purple flower before she finally gave up. She’d have to broaden her search, possibly pick up a book about it in Litochoro. They had a small magical district that she could pop into.

After finally giving up on her research, Hermione curled up on the couch to go to sleep.

It was hot.

It was disgustingly hot.

She spread out and widened her limbs so she wouldn’t feel so hot and sticky. Her mind raced while she lay there, waiting for sleep to reach her. For a moment, she considered masturbating to either pass the time or tire her out.

The thought of Harry coming out of the bedroom and possibly seeing her wasn’t a deterrent. The thought of how much hotter she would feel afterwards was. 

Eventually, she sprang up from the couch and headed to the front door. She opened it wide and sat down on the porch steps. She could see the moon in the sky and its reflection glinting across the water.

A breeze drifted across her, cooling her flesh. Hermione moaned as her eyes fell shut. She leaned her head against the porch column. 

She felt, finally, a little less agitated. 

Harry awoke on his second day in Greece to so much humidity, he thought he might be choking. He gasped for breath, his throat dry as a desert. His hand shot out for the side table and scrambled for his glasses. He squinted into the bright sunlight of the room until he located his wand, having fallen to the floor at some point.

Harry swung his legs over the side of the crappy bed. He conjured himself a glass of water and practically inhaled it. He drank the second one slower. His watch on the side table told him it was just past noon.

Harry frowned at the little mechanical hands. Hadn’t Hermione wanted to leave at dawn?

He stood after he finished his second glass of water. A few spells siphoned the sweat from his body and would stop him from smelling like a Knockturn Alley beggar the rest of the day. He headed out of his room in nothing but a pair of boxers.

The door was open and the couch was empty. Panic gripped Harry’s chest for a moment.

Where the hell was Granger?

He was supposed to protect her. That was his only job. Just keep her alive. Had she left without him? Harry’s panic turned to fury.

He was going to kill her.

He stormed through the front door and nearly tripped as he came to a sudden stop. Hermione was sitting at the top of the porch steps, leaning against the wooden post, and dosing. She also looked like she was sunburnt and being eaten alive by bugs.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Granger.” 

Harry shook her awake and the mosquitos flew away. Her normally tanned skin was dark and had a tinge of red to it that Harry didn’t like. Hermione groaned as she came awake.

“What?” she mumbled. “What’s wrong?”

“Did you sleep out here?” he questioned, flabbergasted. 

Hermione blinked blearily. She looked around with a sleepy, confused frown on her face. 

Her eyes widened. “What time is it?”

She jumped to her feet and immediately winced. Harry was sure her entire body was aching. 

“It’s noon.”

Hermione groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Come on,” he nodded to the house, “let’s get you fixed up. I’m sure there’s stuff in the healing kit for…” He gestured to all of her. “Maybe not the hair.”

Hermione shot him a steely glare. “Bite me.”

She whirled around and stormed back into the house while Harry grinned after her.

“Mosquitos beat me to it,” he quipped.

Harry entered the cabin and cast a spell that had the numerous insects that had gotten into the house through the night fly back out. He closed the door after them and summoned the healing kit. 

Hermione winced as she straddled a chair at the kitchen table. She hugged the back of it and allowed Harry access to her shoulders and upper back. He pulled out a tin from the healing kit for bug bites and slowly began to dab each red and angry bite he saw.

“I think they’re the magical kind,” he told her. “They’re a lot angrier looking than they should be.”

Hermione sighed. “Great.”

“Did they bite through your top?”

Hermione shifted and winced. “Think so.”

Harry lifted up the back and hissed at the sight of her red and angry back.

“You should probably just take it off.”

She scoffed. “As if.”

“It’ll make my job easier,” he said, trying to sound reasonable. 

Hermione sighed. She was silent for a long moment before she said, “I don’t think I can pull it off. Just vanish it.”

Harry hesitated. He waved his wand and the blue tank top disappeared. She hadn’t been wearing a bra under it and she sat topless in the chair, her chest facing away from him.

“Do you have another tin?” she asked.

He handed her the backup and she began to apply potion to her chest and stomach while he worked on her back. They were silent for a long time while they worked. Slowly, each mark of white serum sank into the angry red skin. Both disappeared, leaving behind only Hermione’s very tanned, and slightly sunburnt skin.

“Why were you out there?” he asked as he began to apply a potion to fight her sunburn. 

Hermione was leaning over, applying the bug bite serum to her legs. She paused and he saw her head tilt as she thought.

“I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t think I’d be out there for that long.”

Harry shook his head. “You’re taking the bed tonight.”

“We could camp in the park,” she suggested. “It might make our job easier.”

“You want to camp in a park with an unknown magical plant.” He glanced at the kitchen table where there were developed pictures of the flowers they’d found. “Of multiple unknown plants?”

“That one’s known,” she corrected. “I just don’t know it. I want to go into Litochoro today before we head out. Their magical district is small, but it’s primarily for magicals that plan to camp in the national park. They have a lot of books and such on the native wildlife. I think I’ll be able to figure out what that flower is then.”

“And that’ll help?”

She nodded and summoned a shirt. She pulled it on over her head and stood before turning to him. Harry handed her the sunburn potion and she began to spread it liberally across her legs. He tried not to stare.

“That plant is new. It’s not a normal part of the ecosystem here. I studied it quite extensively when I got assigned. Whatever it is, it’s not what we’re looking for as it doesn’t seem to be magical in nature. But it’s likely connected to the magical plant in some way.”

“Can magical plants bring other plants into the ecosystem?”

“Of course.” 

She packed away the healing supplies and turned her attention to him. She looked right as rain beside a few rather brutal bites that hadn’t yet faded. Her skin was darker than he’d ever seen it, but it didn’t look unnatural. Her hair and eyes were always dark and they matched her new skin tone nicely. Harry had seen Hermione with her parents once or twice. He couldn’t help but think that she looked a lot like her Indian mother with the tan.

“Any change in an ecosystem can completely disrupt it and cause other new plant life or the extinction of plant life. It could make animals sick or force them to migrate elsewhere. That’s why we’re here. We don’t want this place to be completely overrun.”

Harry nodded. “We’ll leave in twenty?”

“Ten. We can grab food there.”

They were packed and gone in less than that. 

Litochoro was a bright and airy city with white buildings, pretty pathways, and green trees. People mingled, speaking a mix of Greek and English as they went from vendor to vendor. Stores, cafes, and restaurants had their doors thrown wide open, letting in the cool ocean breeze and offsetting the blazing heat.

Harry looked out the second-floor window to the breezy street below with yearning. The sweltering bookshop they’d been in for the last two hours was less than ideal. They’d gone to a nature reserve first, but the officials only had information on the wildlife before things had started to change. Hermione had taken them to a bookshop and then to the one they were currently stationed in. It sold rare books, scrolls, and other parchments from Ancient Greece and copies thereof.

Hermione had spoken to the old man who owned the shop in Greek, the same as she had for everyone they’d interacted with that afternoon. Because of course Hermione knew Greek -- Ancient Greek too, apparently. The man had been more than happy to help and two hours later, they were still searching ancient scrolls for information on the mysterious flower.

Harry had gone out twice to get food and ice-cold drinks. He could barely take the heat. It was ridiculous. How did people live like this?

Hermione looked completely unaffected. She and the bookshop owner sat together at a table speaking in rapid-fire Greek. She was completely fluent in the language. She’d been fluent in Celtic and German when they’d gone to Iceland for their first mission together, which had made her ability to pick up the Icelandic language surprisingly easy. Or maybe it was just that Hermione Granger was capable of learning anything. Harry didn’t know why he was surprised.

Hermione knew everything.

She looked up and returned the smile that he hadn’t realized was touching his lips. Harry straightened as he cleared his throat. He looked back out the window.

Hermione joined him another thirty minutes later.

“I found it,” she told him.

Harry sighed with relief. “Brilliant, let’s go.”

“Don’t you want to know what it is?” she asked, sounding genuinely surprised that he wasn’t as invested in her job as she was.

Harry shot her a look. “Not as much as I want to get out of this place and somewhere with airflow.”

Hermione nodded and shrugged. She collected her things with a wave of her wand. All the books and scrolls that she’d brought out of her work bag were quickly filed back into it. The books from the shopkeeper were returned to their shelves. 

Hermione thanked the man in Greek before turning and leading Harry out of the shop.

“It’s from Ancient Greece,” she told him.

Harry sucked in a sharp breath of fresh air as they exited the shop. He didn’t say anything but hoped Hermione had learnt more than that. He’d figured that out himself when they’d gone to the bookstore specializing in ancient texts.

“The Classical Period to be exact. The name loosely translates to ‘Dear Lover.’ More importantly, it’s supposed to be extinct.”

Harry nodded. He led them to a vendor selling food. 

“How did it come back?”

He pulled out several galleons and bought dinner for both of them. There was a small collection of tables to the side and they sat down with their meals.

“I’m not sure,” Hermione admitted with a wrinkled nose. 

Harry began to devour his meal while she spoke.

“An educated guess would suggest that it has resurfaced due to whatever magical plant has entered the ecosystem.”

“There were a lot of them,” he said.

Hermione lifted her fork and ate some of her rice and potatoes. She raised her eyebrows for him to continue.

“You made it sound like a pretty serious problem for even one new plant to enter the ecosystem. But that flower looked like it was everywhere.” He frowned. “Actually, it looked more like a path.”

“Maybe it was. Maybe, the magical plant is a version of the magical platycodon grandiflorus plant.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a magical breed of a muggle flower that leaves residual magic behind. It moves. Its roots aren’t stationary. Some plants are attracted to the residual magic and will grow in the area the grandiflorus once was. It creates a sort of path that one can follow.”

Harry nodded. “So we follow the path and find the magical plant.”

She shrugged and nodded. “That would be the best option.”

“Tomorrow?” he asked hopefully.

“I’d rather go now.”

He sighed. “The bugs-”

“-We can set up wards. We have repellent too. It’ll be fine. We can camp under the stars.” 

She said the last part as if it was enticing. Her smile was teasing and her brown eyes wide and alluring. Her curls had long ago begun to fall out of her bun and were prettily framing her face. 

Harry raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her even as the image of laying under a canopy of stars with Hermione at his side swam into his mind. He frowned, swallowed, and turned back to his food.

“Fine,” he agreed after he finished his food. “We need to grab the camping stuff from the cottage.”

“I already packed it,” she told him with a smile.

Harry sighed. This was going to be a long evening.

And it was. 

They apparated from Litochoro right back to where they’d left off their hike the night before. Despite it being dinner, they still had hours of sunlight left before they would need to settle down and make camp.

Hermione quickly pointed out the purple, ancient flowers and they followed the path up the mountainside of Mount Olympus. Harry tried to focus on the time. On the hike. On the dwindling sun in the sky. He even tried to focus on the disgusting heat and bugs that swarmed around him.

But all he could seem to focus on was Hermione Granger’s arse as she climbed in front of him.

He shook his head as he caught himself staring at her legs. He told himself he was checking to make sure her bites were fully healed over. It was his job to keep her safe on this mission. That was it. He was supposed to be watching her. 

He was just really dedicated to his job. 

Sure.

That worked.

“Granger,” he called as the sun started to set.

They had found themselves on a flat ledge, further up the mountainside than Harry ever wanted to go. He looked out across the wide landscape. The green of the trees were tinged golden with the light of the setting sun. It was a beautiful view. 

“We need to set up camp.”

“There’s still daylight,” she protested, already moving towards the next best place for them to continue their climb. 

She was a woman on a mission. Harry huffed. He remembered she was single-minded and crabby as fuck, but he didn’t remember her being this hyperactive about it. She had a manic look in her eyes that he didn’t like. The longer they were in the park, the worse it got.

“This is a good place to stop,” he protested. “There’s enough room here to set up camp and we can-”

She was already climbing up the mountainside again.

“Granger!” Harry shouted. “Jesus fucking Christ, witch.” 

Harry turned and looked out across Greece. He could just leave her. Let the fucking wilderness take her. He could just shrug and say it was an accident. It was fine. No one would even blame him.

Harry dropped his head and sighed.

“I’m gonna kill her,” he whispered to himself.

With nothing else to do, he followed after her. He ground his teeth together and began his hike up the mountainside, starting where Hermione had. Harry continued up and then very quickly realized that he’d lost sight of Hermione.

“Granger?” he called out.

No response.

“Granger!”

He sped up and made it to a secondary, smaller ledge surrounded by thin trees and a flat wall of rock. He looked around. Where the hell had she gone?

“Granger!” Harry shouted. 

He waited, but no response came. Harry’s heart began to race. It was just a second. He hadn’t had eyes on her for a fucking second and she was gone. He sucked in a sharp breath of panic and tasted heavy magic on his tongue. The presence of it was alarming. That sort of residual magic couldn’t be caused by the plant, could it?

He raised his wand and cast, “Homenum revelio.”

He waited. And waited.

Nothing.

“Fuck. What the fuck?”

He turned in a full circle. Nothing. There were no humans around. Not a single one. 

Had she apparated back?

Harry turned on the spot. He appeared on the porch of their cabin with a thunderous crack! He dashed inside, hollering Hermione’s name as he stormed through the house. Empty. She had to be on the mountainside still. But where? Why hadn’t she shown up?

The magical plant? Had she found it? Had it interfered with his spells?

“Fuck!”

Harry turned and apparated straight back to where they had last been. He stumbled and caught himself on a tree. The world spun and he closed his eyes as he waited for his mind and magic to settle. Once he didn’t feel like he was about to spit up everything he’d eaten that day, he opened his eyes.

It was already darker outside. The fading light was disappearing rapidly.

“Lumos,” Harry said and then cast the sister spell that detached the light from his wand and let it rise high above his head. It wasn’t as good as daylight, but it would keep him from falling and breaking his neck. 

His eyes began to scan the forest floor. Should he keep following the purple flowers, he wondered. He cast homenum revelio again, but once more, no one appeared. 

Was it the residual magic? Possibly. Was it whatever creature was living in the park that he’d felt the night before? A much stronger possibility that Harry didn’t like.

He could still taste the magic on his tongue. Whatever creature had been close the night before was back. The feeling of its magic was growing as the light continued to fade. He looked up and felt his stomach swoop when he saw the moon beginning to rise. It was a full moon.

Never a good sign when someone was missing in a forest.

A splash of purple caught his eye. The flower. Harry frantically looked around the dirt floor. There, he spotted another patch of purple flowers. Quickly and with no other course of action to take, he followed the path, desperately hoping that Hermione would be at the end of it.

As he climbed the mountain, the moon rose higher into the sky. Harry wasn’t sure if it was the presence of the moon, the fading light, or the fact that he was still following those purple flowers, but the heavy magic in the air was only growing thicker with every step he took. 

He’d been travelling for almost an hour when he heard it. He was sweating profusely despite the slightly lower temperature now that it was night. There was no breeze that night. It was as if he were in the middle of the desert rather than by the ocean. 

Harry paused and cocked his head to the side. Music. It was music. 

Hope soared in his chest. He felt a fresh wave of energy fill him and he continued to move forward. He followed his sparse path of flowers and as he did, the music grew louder. It was some sort of wind instrument, he thought but wasn’t entirely sure.

Finally, he reached another ledge of the mountain. The music was loud enough that Harry knew he was in the right place. He stepped up onto the large flat ground and felt the heavy magic press down on him like an atmospheric bubble. It was the same magic he’d felt earlier and it was definitely the same from the night before. 

The world in front of him wavered like a mirage. It was a sign of heavy magic the likes of which Harry had never seen in person before. He hesitantly raised his fingers and they skimmed through the mirage harmlessly. He took a deep breath and passed through the layer of magic.

On the other side of the wall was a sight Harry had not been expecting. There were too many things happening at once. Music, women, laughter, and some sort of magical creature. 

Harry sucked in a sharp breath.

A few eyes turned in his direction. The women smiled and giggled at the sight of him. Before Harry knew what was happening, he was surrounded by three beautiful, incredibly naked females. They had pretty golden flowers in their hair and as the music played, the flowers shimmered and shivered.

The music swelled around them as their hands curled around his shoulders and slid down his body. They smiled and giggled as they pressed up against him.

Harry’s mouth opened, but his protests didn’t reach his tongue. Golden dust fell down from the flowers onto each of them. Harry felt his mind grow a little hazy. The soft female hands were cool and nice against his skin. Their soft breasts pressed against his chest and arms. Sweet lips teased his neck and ears.

A hand boldly grasped Harry’s cock. He gasped as he was brought out of the fog that surrounded his mind. 

“Oi!” he protested and disentangled himself from the women. They made whines of playful protest that broke down into playful giggles.

Harry stumbled away and quickly looked around for a familiar head of curly brown hair. The women followed him and Harry shot them annoyed looks as he dodged his growing procession of naked women. 

Where the hell was Hermione?

His breath hitched when he finally caught sight of her. Standing across the circular clearing and near one of the many ancient columns was Hermione. She was as naked as the other women. Golden flowers bloomed in her hair, the same ones that were growing off of the columns that surrounded the circle. 

Harry halted before he made a move towards Hermione. His eyes flickered to the source of music and wondered just how dangerous of a situation they were in. Given who the magical creature undoubtedly was, probably a lot.

The man stood on a circular dais. He had horns growing out of his head with the hind and legs of a goat. He wore nothing but was sporting an absolute monster of an erection. The pan flute he played filled the clearing with soft, pretty notes of music. 

It was Pan. 

It had to be.

He glanced over his shoulder to the women he’d left behind. They’d finally given up on chasing him and were dancing to Pan’s music once more. They threw golden flowers into the air. The dust spread over them and the women closed their eyes as they released breathy moans. 

Nymphs, Harry guessed. 

Harry eyed the god-creature warily as he headed over to Hermione. She was bewitched, he assumed. Nothing short of mind-altering magic would have Hermione Granger dance naked in a field before a god-creature like Pan.

Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him before she could dart away. Hermione went willingly with a giggle. She spun with the music on the ball of her foot and swung around into his chest. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her mouth against his own.

The music swelled and Harry felt his mind grow hazy again. His arms wrapped around her. His hands smoothed across the soft skin of her back. Harry curled his fingers into her hair and tipped her head back. He tasted her lips, her tongue. Her mouth was so soft and wet. 

She tasted like lavender and honey, he’d almost forgotten that.

Hands pulled at his shirt. Harry barely noticed as the nymphs undressed him. Hermione’s hands trailed down his torso and curled around the base of his cock. Harry moaned. 

One of the other nymphs pushed closer and kissed him next. Harry’s head jerked back when he didn’t taste Hermione on his tongue. His eyes opened and he was startled out of his lustful fog once more.

“No.” 

Harry’s head spun with lust and desire. He stumbled away from the nymphs even as he kept a firm grip on Hermione. He pulled her with him as he stepped away from the beautiful women. 

Hermione giggled and kissed his neck, perfectly content to go with him.

Harry turned and spotted Pan up on his dais. He flicked his wrist and felt his wand settle into his palm from his arm holster. It was the only stitch of clothing that the nymphs had left him with.

Before he could talk himself out of it, he raised his wand and cast his spell. A bright blue jet of light flashed across the clearing and hit Pan’s flute straight out of his hands. The music cut off and the nymphs released sounds of dismay. They shot Harry pouting looks before they turned and rushed to their god’s side.

Pan, the Greek god of the wild, turned bright green eyes on the pair of them. A pulse of magic flew out across the clearing. The ground rumbled. 

Harry tightened his grip on Hermione’s waist. She was also staring at Pan, but Harry didn’t think she fully understood what was happening. 

Then, Pan spoke, and Harry felt a chill run down his spine. “You dare challenge me, human?”

Harry swallowed. “You took Hermione.”

Pan glanced dismissively at the witch. “I do not control who hears the call of the wild.”

“But you do control the wild,” he countered. 

Pan didn’t respond. 

“You must know the effect you’re having on nature here?” Harry pressed. “We were brought here to stop it.”

Pan’s shoulders drew back and his chin raised. “So, you do challenge me?”

Harry’s eyes widened. “No, no, no. Not at all.” He hesitated. “I’m just… asking… politely… for you to leave? And reverse what you’ve done to the national park?”

Pan raised an eyebrow. “In exchange for the girl?”

Reflexively, Harry’s hand tightened on Hermione’s waist. She moaned and began sucking on his neck. Harry swallowed and tried not to be embarrassed about the fact that Pan wasn’t the only one sporting an erection in that clearing. 

“You can’t take Hermione,” he told the god-creature firmly. 

Pan’s green eyes narrowed into slits. “A god demands a sacrifice.” 

Harry floundered. What the hell was he supposed to offer? Money? Books? A favour? What would Pan want with any of that? He wasn’t anyone important, a favour from him would be insignificant.

“I’m bored,” one of the nymphs complained into the silence.

A few of the others made sounds of agreement. 

“Play for us, Pan!” a nymph requested with delight.

“Play for us!” the women began to chorus as they danced around the clearing once more.

Harry tensed as a few skirted past him and Hermione who was still entirely focused on leaving a mark on Harry’s neck.

One nymph brought Pan his pan flute that Harry had cast away. The god took it, a mischievous smile on his face. He turned his smile on Harry and Hermione.

“Entertainment,” he told them. “That is my price.”

Harry’s brows drew together. “Entertain-”

-A nymph flew a puff of golden pollen into his face. Harry’s eyes rolled back and he stumbled as his mind completely fogged over. The world turned black for a moment and when he came to again, he was snogging Hermione within an inch of her life.

Her scent of tulips consumed him. He spread his fingers through her hair and pulled her flush against him. He wanted to feel every inch of her skin. He wanted to taste lavender and honey and never taste anything else again. 

He lifted her up with his arm on her waist and her legs wrapped around him. Harry lowered them to the ground. He rotated his hips and groaned at the feeling of his cock sliding between her soaking wet folds. God, he wanted to just sink right into her.

He kissed his way down her body. There was a beauty mark on each of her breasts and Harry took his time to worship each of them. His lips and tongue smoothed against her puckered skin before his teeth teased her nipple.

Hermione’s back arched as she pressed her chest towards him. She moaned loudly. 

The sound of it had sparks shooting straight to his cock. He wanted her. He always wanted her, but it wasn’t a fact he could deny now, under the powerful gaze and power of the god of the wild.

Harry kissed her hotly and lined himself up with her entrance. Hermione’s face was flushed. She had a faint golden hue around her and Harry wasn’t sure if it was from Pan’s flowers, the magic in the clearing, or Hermione herself. Her curls were damp and her lips looked bruised from his kisses. Thoroughly distracted from his original goal, he leaned forward to nibble on her plump bottom lip. 

Hermione’s fingers tangled in his hair. She curled her fingers and tugged lightly. Harry looked up and met her eyes. A spark of Hermione flickered behind her dark brown eyes. Harry’s breath caught. Her fingers curled into fists in his hair.

“Please,” she whispered and Harry knew it was Hermione speaking. 

Harry growled and, without warning, sank into her. Hermione cried out. It felt like pure bliss. Harry’s eyes fell shut for a moment as he allowed himself to simply feel how good it was to be surrounded by her.

Hermione’s legs locked behind his back. She twisted her hips and he hissed at the blissful friction it provided.

“More,” she demanded with a whiney pout.

Harry didn’t hesitate. He pulled back and thrust his hips hard into her so that there was nothing left to give. They moaned deliriously. Sex had never felt so consuming. So fucking fantastic. 

He did it again and again. 

The sound of Hermione’s cries of pleasure echoed throughout the clearing. Harry grabbed her leg and pressed her knee to her chest. He shifted and sank deeper into her hot, warm centre. They groaned together as their pleasure grew. 

Hermione’s eyes fell shut, but Harry found he couldn’t look away. She was beautiful. Her dark lashes were long across her cheekbones. Her lips were full and sweet. They parted and her eyes opened as she came. The golden hue around her shimmered and shined. She’d never looked so magical or alluring as she did then.

Harry groaned as she spasmed around his cock. He couldn’t control himself. He came almost immediately after her. She the sight of her was enough to do him in, but that coupled with how good she felt and Harry was a goner.

His hand released her leg and he caught himself before he collapsed on top of her. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath. He stared down at Hermione. Her eyes were wide and clearer than before. The golden dust settled around them. She stared up at him as if shocked to see him there.

Harry eyed her warily for a moment.

A smile touched her lips.

“Again!” a voice shouted.

Golden dust flung across them. Harry's mind swirled and he felt himself harden again. Hermione moaned beneath him. Neither Harry nor Hermione hesitated as their desire for one another rose to new heights. He leaned down and savoured the moans Hermione released as he began to fuck her again.

The world blurred as they fucked. Time and sexual pleasure bled together. Pan’s music lulled them beyond any awareness other than each other and their desire. 

Harry wasn’t sure how many times he’d come by the time he had Hermione straddling him. The stars were fading in the sky behind her as the sun rose.

She threw her head back as rotated her hips. Her curls cascaded down her back. Her breasts bounced with each move. Harry’s hands pressed into the skin at her hips. He thrust his hips up into her at every one of her downward turns.

His jaw clenched as he came again. Hermione moaned. She leaned forward and moved faster. Pretty little cries fell from her lips as she found her release.

She collapsed on top of him, sweating and completely spent. Her head rested against the centre of his torso. His cock was finally softening inside of her. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed that it was finally over.

Harry’s heart hammered in his chest. He turned his head towards the dais as the sun slowly drifted higher into the sky. 

“He’s gone.”

Hermione opened her eyes and saw the dais as well. “He left a while ago,” she said breathlessly.

It was true. Harry hadn’t heard the god calling for them to continue for a while. Even with the god and his nymphs gone, the plant's magic had lingered. He raised his hand and noted that the golden hue was totally gone.

Harry rested his hand on her hot, sweat-slicked back. “At least the Icelandic Minister for Magic wasn’t here to catch us fucking this time.”

Hermione groaned. “The ICW is never hearing about this.”

“Agreed. Just tell me what to write on the report.” He glanced down at her. “Do you feel better?”

She hummed happily.

“I meant your head, you deviant.”

Hermione laughed lightly. She lifted her head to look at him. He noticed, then, that the golden flowers in her hair were also gone. There weren’t any left in the clearing. Pan had kept to his side of the agreement.

“I’m thinking straight again. I hadn’t even realized there was something wrong before.”

“It was subtle,” he agreed, though in truth he had picked up on it almost immediately. 

“This is why Unspeakables need babysitters.” She turned and rested her head against his torso again.

Harry hummed and ran his fingers through her curls. “Suppose so.”

A long silence passed as they felt the tiredness from their night's activities enter their bodies. The sun was rising higher and they could feel the temperature rising, even as high up on the mountain as they were.

“Wanna do it again?”

The question shocked a laugh out of Harry. “I thought you blamed me for the last time?”

“Oh, I do!”

Harry rolled his eyes. Hermione slipped off of him and he couldn’t help but admire her full breasts. She smacked his chest.

“Oi!”

“Don’t stare!”

“I was just sucking on your tits ten minutes ago.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “This time is definitely your fault.”

He sat up on his elbows, uncaring of his nude state. He was amused that she was clearly eyeing him up. Harry knew he looked good.

“Didn’t you just ask if I wanted to go again?”

Hermione sniffed and looked away. “I was still out of my head, clearly. I’m better now.” She stood and began looking for her wand. “Let’s go.”

Harry stood as well. He sidled up to her and leaned down to whisper, “That’s a shame because I certainly would have said yes.”

Hermione stiffened. She turned to him. “You didn’t say that last time.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Last time ended with the Icelandic Minister for Magic catching me with my head between your legs when we were supposed to be working. And Frejya was much more concerned about your sexual completion than she was mine.”

Hermione pursed her lips. “I suppose that’s fair. You didn’t really get to enjoy it last time, did you?”

He grinned. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, Granger, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.” He shrugged. “This was a bit less one-sided though.”

Hermione stared at him. “So… again?”

He shrugged and his smile widened. “Do you think the ICW would pair us up in the field too?”

Hermione returned his smile. “I really hope so.”

THE END