Thick drops of rain drummed against the windows and rooftop as the Hogwarts Express rolled through the wild landscapes of Britain, blowing up steam which merged with the heavy storm clouds darkening the sky. Inside the front carriage sat one of the best, if not the best, student at Hogwarts, Gryffindore prefect Hermione Granger.
A sudden burst of lightning caused the lights in the cabin to flicker. Annoyed, Hermione closed her book and put it away; it was just impossible to read under such circumstances.
“Centuries of studies on magic, and still no solution to these problems” she grumbled. She knew it was unfair; contrary to most non-magical beings’ belief, you can’t solve every problem by waving a wand and casting a few spells. But she was just getting to the good part!
The orangette stretched her legs and stood up in the cabin to get her circulation moving again after a long period of sitting. That was not a problem since she was currently alone in it. Her eyes met the cover of the book. Artful golden letters on the red cover read “The Rise and Fall of the Dark Lord”. It was about Lord Voldemort, the greatest dark wizard the world has ever seen. Hermione didn’t actually need to read this book since she knew the story better then anyone, being one of Harry Potter’s best friends and having helped him vanquish the evil sorcerer once and for all. Still it fascinated her that Voldemort, one of the most powerful wizards in the history of magic, was defeated twice by the same boy; first as a little baby, then as a teenager.
The girl looked over at her cat Crookshanks, who was sleeping and purring on his own seat until a sudden sound made him wake up and look around in confusion. Hermione turned her head over to see the cabin door open, expecting it to be the witch who sold snacks and drinks to the passengers. Instead, there was standing none other than Ginny Weasley.
Hermione’s mood brightened. “Oh, Ginny, it's you” she greeted the unexpected but welcome visitor, putting down her book.
“Yep, it’s me. The brilliant Hermione Granger is right once again, a true genius!” was the redhead’s joking response, accompanied by a friendly clap of hands “So tell me, how long before the Nobel?”
“Ha ha, very funny” smiled the orangette “Why are you here?”
“Just wandering around to kill some time” Ginny looked around the cabin before taking the seat opposite to hers “Mind if I stay here a while?”
“Not at all, I’m just surprised you’re not with Harry. The two of you have stuck together like glue since becoming a couple.”
“Like you’re one to talk” shot back the younger Gryffindor “You and my brother are practically joined at the hip!”
“Only to give Ron an easier time copying my school notes” pointed out Hermione, in a tone that was only partially joking “But seriously, aren’t you worried someone will try and snatch him away while you’re here? I mean, he was popular with the fair sex even before defeating Voldemort, and now girls swarm him everywhere he goes.”
“Trust me, I noticed” pouted Ginny, crossing her arms in annoyance “I’ve lost count of how many people flirted with him this week alone, sometimes even when I’m right next to him. It’s like they’re trying to make me mad!”
“That may actually be it: they want you to blow your top and make yourself look bad in front of your boyfriend.”
“Than they failed miserably. The last one who made a pass on him is currently hanging from the train ceiling by her underwear, and Harry laughed louder than me when I did it.”
“He did? Hmm, I’m afraid Ron’s immaturity might be infecting him” mused Hermione “He’s usually much more polite than that.”
“Well, she had just commented that I was completely out of his league, not to mention severely lacking in wealth, beauty and…” she blushed and covered her chest half-consciously “…boobs.”
Hermione blushed as well “Guess she really had it coming then. And there is no reason to be ashamed, boobs aren’t everything.”
“Says the one with DD cups” grumbled Ginny, gazing enviously at her friend’s impressive chest.
Before Hermione could make a retort the door swung open again to reveal a second visitor; this one, however, was far from welcome.
“Oh great. It’s you” groaned Ginny upon recognizing the new arrival.
Arrogant. Spoiled. Annoying. Those three words pretty much described Romilda Vane; a pureblood witch from a rich and influential family, with no qualms about using these advantages to get her own way no matter what. Case in point, instead of her mandatory school uniform she was wearing a tight black dress, long, black silk gloves, black nylon stockings, and matching black high heels. It was amazing she was even allowed to enter the train dressed like that, but that’s the power of family donations for you.
“Look who’s here, the bookworm and the social leech” sneered Romilda, pushing a strand of dark hair off her face to better glare at them “Fancy meeting you here, instead of taking advantage of Harry’s kind nature like usual.”
Almost forgot: she was also one of Harry’s most determined and hardheaded would-be suitors, and believed Ginny wasn’t worthy of kissing the ground he, or she for that matter, walked on. The two girls had butted heads more times than Hermione could count -and she could count pretty high- and it generally ended with an humiliated Romilda, a laughing Weasley and a light scolding from the teachers who weren’t also laughing.
Yeah, teachers didn’t like her very much either.
“I’m surprised you even know what a leech is, considering your IQ” Ginny spat back “Oh wait, that’s right: you two are of the same species, only leeches are a lot more pleasant to look at.”
“Why you…”
“So, what brings you here?” Hermione cut in before they could jump at each other’s throat like usual. She didn’t like Romilda either and greatly enjoyed watching Ginny beat the Horcrux out of her, but sending a fellow schoolmate to the infirmary before even arriving at Hogwarts would definitely look bad on their permanent record “Something tells me it’s not to wish us a good school year.”
"As if! I’m here to warn your friend to break up with Harry once and for all, or she’ll regret it" hissed Romilda threateningly.
"I thought I made it clear to you, several times I may add, that I will do no such thing" replied Ginny, not at all intimidated by the other girl. She had faced Death Eaters, giant spiders, bloodthirsty werewolves and the Dark Lord himself; a spoiled brat’s demands didn’t even register as a threat.
“You don’t deserve him!” shrieked Romilda, childishly stomping her foot and scaring Crookshanks into jumping in his owner’s lap "You are just an ill-bred, mannerless, filthy mudblood supporter who brings shame to all us purebloods, and you ought to be taught a lesson!"
“And who’s going to teach me? You?”
"I can take you any day!” snapped Romilda “In fact, I’m gonna prove it once and for all. Tomorrow after breakfast, in the dueling arena, and whoever wins will become Harry Potter’s new girlfriend. You in?"
“Fine, whatever” Ginny sighed “You never learn, do you?”
The spoiled girl gave a strange smile, like she knew something they didn’t. “Oh, I learned alright… a lot more than you think” and with that, she turned on her heels and left the cabin in her usual holier-than-thou attitude.
“Huh, that wasn’t suspicious at all” said Hermione, feeling a little concerned for her friend “I’m willing to bet she has some nasty trick up her sleeve. You better be careful, Ginny.”
“Don’t be such a worrywart, Hermy. I’m a Weasley, remember?”
“That’s why I’m worried.”
“Hey!”
There was much murmuring among the crowd that had gathered in the arena for the fight. Almost the entire female student body was present, along with a good number of boys who didn’t want to miss the massive catfight. Luckily the teachers considered duels a useful way to practice spells and tended to close an eye as long as no one got seriously hurt. To ensure that, several ghosts from the four Houses had chosen to act as referees and were currently floating around to share suggestions and last-minute advices to their respective proteges.
In the middle of it all, two witches stood glaring at each other.
“This was supposed to be just between us!” snapped Ginny “What are all these people doing here?”
Romilda shrugged innocently “I’m afraid someone tattled on our little bet, and now everyone wants in on it; good gossip spreads fast, what can you do?”
“I can set them straight” growled the young Gryffindor.
“Aww, afraid of a little competition?”
Next to her friend, Hermione raised an eyebrow; it seemed Romilda wanted to turn the duel into a full-fledged war. But why? Having more rivals to contend with would hinder her as well. Before she could say a word, Ginny cracked her knuckles as if preparing for a fistfight.
“You’re on!” she barked angrily.
“I’m competing too” added Hermione. At the incredulous look Ginny threw her, she clarified “You may need some backup to win this.”
“Thanks Hermy, you’re a real friend.”
“Plus, Harry is kinda cute- kidding! Kidding! Put the wand down!”
“Fine by me, two losers isn’t much better than one” smirked Romilda "Remember the rules?"
"Last one standing wins. You can disarm, knock out, immobilize or force to cry uncle, but no serious injures are allowed."
"And…"
"And the winner” under her breath she added ‘which will be me’ “Gets to be Harry’s girlfriend."
"Than let the game begin!"
A hundred wands were simultaneously whipped out from their belts, and a hundred voices shouted a hundred different spells. Sparks flew across the arena, electricity crackled in the air, the wind picked up, and the duel was on.
The first barrage alone took down a dozen girls, unable to either counter or avoid the sheer number of attacks. They were quickly dragged to safety by members of the audience. The survivors fanned out, some searching for opponents to face, others opting to simply protect themselves and let the ranks thin on their own.
Ginny was one of the former, firing spell after spell at everyone foolish enough to challenge her; and considering she was Harry Potter’s current girl, there were a lot of challengers. Being a Weasley -known as a very poor family- and a fairly tiny girl, most people didn’t think much of her: they would be very, very wrong, as several students quickly found themselves knocked out by her curses.
Hermione was covering her back, using her vast knowledge of spells to cast highly advanced incantations whenever her friend looked close to being overwhelmed. A single one of them could fell an entire group, but they also required time to prepare; that’s why she was a perfect match for Ginny’s rapid-fire tactic. Together, they were an unstoppable force on the battlefield.
The bystanders chatted excitedly at the show, making comments and placing bets on their favourites. The Gryffindor pair was currently in the lead, but there were other impressive witches quickly building up a reputation.
Not far from the duo, the infamously extravagant Luna Lovegood was proving once again her weirdness by casting a variety of rather… unorthodox charms: a group of Slytherins were dancing the Macarena while another kept the time by drumming a pair of wands on her own head; a Ravenclaw was running around on all four, covered in a strange mixture of feather and fur and belching England’s national theme whenever she opened her mouth to speak; a Hufflepuff’s panties had sprouted wings and were flying around the battlefield, dragging their unfortunate owner with them.
Needless to say, most duelists opted to steer clear of her.
The asian beauty Cho Chang was also a force to reckon with; average in terms of magical prowess, she compensated with an incredible agility born from countless Quidditch games, dodging multicolored bolts with ease before retaliating with her own. No matter how powerful a spell is, it’s useless if it can’t hit the target.
Romilda had chosen a different tactic altogether: she and some of her housemates had united their efforts to create a powerful protective dome over all of them, and were now calmly waiting for the rest of the partecipants to eliminate each other.
“So this is her plan!” realized Hermione “To have such coordination, she must’ve prepared that group beforehand. Which means she’s the one who organized this tournament. Good gossip, my foot.”
“What’s wrong, Romilda?” yelled Ginny, firing a spell that simply bounced off the green shield “Afraid you’ll break a nail?”
“Sorry little girl” taunted Romilda “I’m too much of a lady for such unsavory scuffles.”
“Too cowardly, you mean!”
“I got this” reassured Hermione, readying her wand “Annullium protego incant- woah!” she yelped and ducked as a red bolt almost slammed on her shoulder “Right after I deal with- you?”
Her surprise was justified, for standing in front of her was Cho Chang with a dark scowl on her face.
“It’s time for you to pay, bookworm!”
“Ok, first of all, why does everyone keep calling me that? And second, pay for what?”
“You’re the reason I broke up with Harry!”
“… say what?”
“It took me days to build up the courage to ask him out” shrieked the dark haired Ravenclaw “I had everything planned to the last detail to make it perfect, and it was going perfectly… until he left halfway through because he had a date with you!”
“It wasn’t a date!” protested Hermione “We were just-”
Cho didn’t let her finish. “I don’t care about your excuses!” she yelled, firing a silver ball of magic that singed the tips of her hair “You’re going down!”
“Well, can’t say I didn’t try” shrugged the orangette, preparing herself for battle.
In the meantime Ginny had found herself engaged in a one-on-one duel as well, as she faced the Slytherin Pansy Parkinson. “Since when are you interested in Harry?” she asked “I thought you were dating Malfoy –though I have no idea why.”
“Oh please, as if I care about the so-called ‘chosen one’” scoffd Pansy, grasping her wand tightly "I just want to knock you Gryffindors down a few pegs. You’ve become way too full of yourselves as of late, and defeating the golden boy’s girlfriend ought to cut you down to size."
"Funny, and here I thought Slytherins were the ones with delusions of grandeur" Ginny mocked.
“It’s not delusion!” shrieked Pansy “We’re the superior breed! Most of the greatest wizards in history came from our House!”
“You mean like Voldemort?” the Slytherin gasped, and Ginny laughed at her freaked out expression “Really, he’s long gone by now and you’re still afraid of his name?”
“Shut up and fight!”
The two girls stared each other down, tension between them boiling over. Ginny, never the patient type, made the first move.
"Stupify!" she yelled, firing a jet of light at Pansy who barely had time to raise her wand to block.
“Protego!” a semitrasparent shield surrounded the Slytherin long enough to repel the attack. She quickly aimed at her opponent’s legs and retaliated with a "Locomotor Mortis!"
Ginny dodged the spell, that would’ve otherwise immobilized her legs, and fired back.
The skirmish continued for what felt like hours but was actually little more than a couple minutes. The two girls went back and forth firing charms, hexes, and curses at each other with gradually increasing ferocity until one of them finally got the upper hand; too focused on the duel, Pansy lost awareness of her surroundings and tripped over Luna, who for reasons unknown had decided to take a nap in the middle of the battlefield. She stumbled backwards to topple on the floor, wand slipping from her fingers.
Ginny saw the chance, and seized it without mercy.
"Incendio!" a fireball shot towards the Slytherin right as she turned over to stand on hands and knees, hitting her squarely in the rear and setting the skirt on fire. Pansy howled in pain and scuttled away on all four, so focused on escaping she didn’t even think about removing the burning garment as she abandoned the arena and the battle, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake.
“Sorry Pansy, but you know what they say: play with fire, and you get burned!” Ginny yelled after her.
“Can you keep it down?” yawned Luna, blinking her eyes open “I was trying to sleep- oh, hi Ginny! Are you here for the hairy poster too?”
“The what now?”
“You know, the prize for the winner. At first I thought it’d make a great decoration for my room, until I remembered dad is allergic to fur. I could shave it, sure, but then it’d just be a normal poster. So I decided to quit.”
“Luna” started Ginny slowly, like she was talking to a kindergartener. On the inside, however, she was happy the blonde girl wasn’t interested in stealing Harry from her. They weren’t exactly friends, but she couldn’t help finding her an interesting character to be around “The prize is Harry Potter, not a hairy poster.”
“You put your boyfriend on sale?”
“NO! Well, technically yes, but no!”
“I see” she commented, like the answer made perfect sense to her “Best of luck, than.”
And she was asleep again.
Befuddled but satisfied, the redhead turned to check on how her other friend was doing. The answer was, pretty well: instead of attacking the much faster Ravenclaw directly, a tactic many others had tried and failed at, Hermione froze a wide section of the floor. This caused Cho, who’d been running circles around her in search of an opening, to slip and fall on her back. Another spell and the ice wrapped around the asian girl like a cocoon, rendering her completely immobile save for the chattering teeth.
“Good job, Hermione” praised Ginny.
“I-I’m not d-d-done yet!” stuttered Cho through the ice “J-just you wait until I g-get out of here!”
“You shouldn’t struggle so much” warned Hermione “Take this time to cool off a little.”
Apparently Ravenclaws didn’t appreciate humor, because she screamed bloody murder and jerked her body forward. The strenght she used was enough to shatter the frozen prison, but also her equally frozen clothes. She was now standing in nothing but a black skimpy bra and string bikini panties.
Hermione shook her head. “I told you so” she reprimanded, folding her arms in mock disappointment “Now you’re half naked, not to mention very likely to catch a cold.”
Cho looked down to see if she was telling the truth. Realizing she was, she dropped her wand and covered her chest, squeezing her legs together. So much for not being done. The Ravenclaw crouched to the ground and tried pulling the largests pieces of cloth from the ice.
Ginny walked behind her and tapped her on the shoulder with her wand. Cho slowly turned around to see the Gryffindor smiling, wand pointed right between her breasts. “Unless you want to lose what’s left of your clothes” she said “I suggest you leave.”
No sooner the words had left her mouth that Cho was running for the exit, leaving behind her dreams of a future with Harry and most of her dignity.
“Not bad, Ginny” complimented Hermione “Now to end this. Annullium protego incantos!”
A sky-colored light erupted from her wand to collide with Romilda’s shield. Blue and green swirled together in a fight for dominance. In the end blue prevailed and the barrier exploded. Most of its occupants were knocked out by the powerful shockwave, but their ringleader managed to avoid it by using her minions as human shields and immediately counterattacked.
“Clothum meldinum!”
Hermione let out a grunt when the curse slammed on her chest. It became muffled in the end as her shirt collar expanded to cover her mouth, tightly clinging to her skin. Attempting to raise a hand to pull it off, she found that her arms were being forced across her stomach; even as she watched, her sleeves melded with the material covering her torso. It looked, mused a detached corner of her mind, like she was wearing a straitjacket, albeit one much tighter than normal. In no time at all her arms were crossed in front of her, which had the side effect of lifting her impressive breasts up as if for inspection. While all this was going on her boots had also become joined together, leaving her balanced precariously on what had become a single ‘foot’.
“How do you like that?” gloated Romilda “This spell allows me to use my opponent’s own clothes to restrain them. And now, visibilus transparis!”
Bound as she was, Hermione had no way of avoiding the second curse; but to her surprise, nothing seemed to happen. She was about to give a mocking reply, nevermind the gag, when she caught a peek at her clothes. Or rather she didn’t catch a peek, because they were gone!
Well, not really. She could still feel the fabric rub on her skin and bind her limbs, but it had become invisible. Which meant her white panties and bra were now in plain sight of everyone present.
“Mmmmph!” she squealed. The surprise caused her to lose balance and fall on her butt. She remained on the ground, squirming helplessly like a fish out of water, fear in her eyes as Romilda prepared to cast another spell.
To her relief, Ginny stepped between them. “That was uncalled for” growled the redhead, standing protectively in front of the bookworm “She already lost, there was no reason to humiliate her like that.”
“If you think that was humiliating, wait to see what I have in store for you.”
Silence fell in the room. A glance at their surroundings showed that, beside the two of them, there was no one left to fight; all the other contestants were either unconscious or incapacitated. This was the final match, and neither of them planned on backing down.
“You first” said Ginny “Wingardium leviosa!”
It was one of the most basic spells, usually the first to be taught at school and the first to be forgotten in the real world. Romilda had to reconsider its efficiency when all of a sudden her dress attempted liftoff. It whipped around her waist, exposing her pantied bottom to the audience who laughed and hooted. She blushed in equal anger and embarrassment and struggled to push the cloth back down with both hands.
"First point to me!" gloated Ginny “By the way, nice underwear. The pink really brings out the red on your face.”
Romilda relinquished her grip on the back of the dress, which promptly flipped up and left her rear on display once more. "You won't be laughing for long" snarled the red-faced girl, using her free hand to aim her wand "Wedgius totalicus!"
An invisible hand grasped the back of Ginny's rough cotton underwear and jerked them straight up. The Gryffindor yelped and flailed wildly, trying to free herself to no avail.
“How do you like it?” Romilda's wand moved upward. The panties followed its movement, forcing Ginny to stand on her tiptoes to reduce the pressure, hoisted almost off the ground.
“I-is that the best you’ve got?” challenged Ginny throught gritted teeth. She tried to retaliate, but her hand shook too much to aim properly and she had to hold it still using both “Stuper-”
“I don’t think so. Ticklicus solicus!”
A sensation like a thousend feathers flooded Ginny’s soles, but to everyone’s surprise she didn’t even crack a smile. “Is that all?” she scoffed “I grew up with six older brothers, including two professional pranksters. I’ve been tickled so much my feet are practically insensible by now.”
Romilda wasn’t discouraged “Your feet may be tickle-proof, but what about the rest of your body?”
Ginny’s sudden paleness and sharp intake of air was all the answer she needed “As I thought: ticklicus totalicus!"
Ginny shrieked. Those damned invisible hands were passing right through her clothes to slowly, gently, maddeningly stroke the insides of her armpits and her ribs. Her legs buckled and the rough cotton of her panties, right now the only thing holding her up, dug cruelly between the cheeks of her sore behind. This was agony, and nothing she could do would make it stop.
"And now for the coup de grace" cried Romilda "Spankum bottumus!"
A series of loud slaps echoed through the arena. Though there was nothing to be seen, Ginny's red, wincing face and the squirming little dance she was performing left no doubt that her bottom was being thoroughly -and violently- smacked without mercy.
"This is really amusing" Romilda gazed sadistically at the writhing girl "But I bet I can do better. What do you think, little girl? Maybe I should remove those dirty rags you call clothes and let everyone see you in your birthday suit…"
Ginny whimpered something under her breath, too quiet for anyone to hear.
"What was that?" asked Romilda, stepping closer to her rival "Are you giving up?”
Another low, almost inaudible murmur. She leaned closer still, grinning from ear to ear "Suffered enough, mudblood lover? Ready to surrender your boyfriend?"
The Gryffindor looked up and stared her directly in the eye. She smiled, wound her leg back, and swung it up to kick her full in the chest. Romilda fell on her back, concentration broken, and the spells tormenting Ginny dissolved into thin air. She landed on her feet, sore, humiliated, and angrier than ever.
The same could not be said for the other. When she toppled backward her dress had flown up over her head and gotten rather embarrassingly tangled. Her bare legs kicked in the air as if she was trying to ride a bicycle upside-down, and her pink panties were on display for all to see.
She looked ridiculous. Utterly, completely ridiculous.
“If there’s one thing I learned from my brothers, apart from wearing shoes even in the shower, it’s that magic isn’t everything” grinned Ginny “Even the strongest wizard can be defeated with a good brain and some brawns.”
She crouched down beside her opponent, grabbed a hold of her dress, yanked the whole thing further up and deftly tied the hem into a knot, careful to bind both arms in it. Muffled swearing and screaming came from inside, but there was nothing Romilda could do. Her arms were trapped inside the silken clothes, her wand was on the ground somewhere and there was no way to hide her rosy undies and frilly bra from the gaze of their audience.
Ginny contemplated her opponent's hysterical, futile attempts to wriggle free of her predicament, hands on her hips and a smile on her face. Then she grabbed the girl and pulled her over a knee. Romilda gasped as she felt the first of many sharp, stinging slaps upon her bottom, and tried blindly to squirm away.
"That was payback" whispered the redhead in Romilda’s ear "But this, this will be just for fun."
Romilda felt slim hands gripping the waistband of her panties. She froze, suddenly petrified as if fallen prey of a Pietrificus spell. She could hear through the silk all the whoops and cat-calls of the crowd. Ginny looked around at the assembled students, a broad smile on her face as if asking them a question. There were cheers and a chant of "Take them off! Take them off! Take them off!"
"You win!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. She couldn’t be stripped like this in public, her family reputation would be ruined forever! “Harry is yours, I’ll never try to steal him from you, I swear! Just don’t take them off!"
“Mmmm…” Ginny pretended to muse over it for a good minute, enjoying the way the spoiled brat squirmed fearfully under her touch “Ok, I won’t.”
With all her might, Ginny yanked Romilda’s panties upward. Most of the fabric either stretched up her back or slipped into her asscrack, leaving her bare, white, quivering bottom on display.
“YOU PROOOWWWWWMISED!”
“I didn’t pull them down, did I?” she gave another tug “Besides, you haven’t officially surrendered yet so anything is still fair game.”
“I SURREND-”
“Silencio.”
Romilda repeatedly opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out.
“I still don’t heard a surrender” chuckled Ginny. By now the panties had turned into a thong, and she showed no sign of stopping “But don’t worry, the spell should wear off in an hour or so.”
She omitted to say there were no rules about casting the same spell again.
And again.
And again.
It’s not like she had any plans for the rest of the day.
The end