He was so happy and he rushed to his team and they converged on him, laughing and thumping him on the back. He was so cold that he could barely feel it, but he didn't care.
"Let's get back to the locker rooms and out of these wet uniforms!" Harry shouted out happily.
"Do you think you can come out of your private rooms for long enough to celebrate with us?" Katie ribbed him.
"After we've all gone to see Demelza in the hospital wing." He said with a nod and he led them all back to the Gryffindor locker rooms.
He, Jimmy, Ritchie, and Pauley went into the boys' section and Katie and Sarah went into the girls' section. Harry stripped off without caring, he was so cold there wouldn't be anything on show anyway as he all but moaned as he stepped under the hot water. He was joined by the three younger boys and they were all shuffling around self-consciously and Harry sighed.
"We're all boys, we've all got the same parts. Just get under the water and warm up before you freeze to death." He told them sternly as he stood under the spray and felt the tension ease out of his muscles.
"It's embarrassing." Jimmy muttered with pink cheeks.
"Why?" Harry demanded, turning around to see the three of them all trying to hide not only their cock and balls but their arses as well. He rolled his eyes. He wasn't much for public nudity, hell he wasn't happy with any nudity at all, not with his scars and blemishes, but he was freezing cold and he wanted to warm up. Besides, after seeing Rabastan and Rodolphus…things could always be worse and if he started bitching about his body when his betrothed had survived fifteen years of starvation and malnutrition in Azkaban, how the hell would Rabastan feel about his own body then?
"It just is." Pauley grumbled, but he couldn't help but give a furtive glance to Harry before his cheeks pinked and he turned away quickly.
Harry sighed. "You do know that it's natural to look, don't you? Curiosity is normal and there is nothing wrong or dirty in looking. When I was a tiny, scrawny eleven-year-old and I was allowed onto the team, I didn't care about anything because I was so happy to play. Then I noticed that the older boys were looking at me while we showered. Naturally, I was very freaked out about it…so I asked Fred and George Weasley why they were looking at me and they just shrugged and told me that it was just curiosity. That was when my own curiosity peaked and I looked at my teammates as well the next time that we showered together. We all had a good laugh about it and then we got dried off and dressed and went to celebrate as normal. It's normal, guys." Harry told them, remembering fondly his talk with Fred and George over their shower time antics.
"It's just embarrassing because…."
Harry actually lowered his eyebrows as he cottoned on to what wasn't being said.
"You're worried about size? Merlin! You two are thirteen-year-olds and you, Pauley, are only twelve. Trust me, you shouldn't be worried about something so ridiculous. Your body and size will change as soon as you hit puberty in a few years and it won't stop until you're adults. So take a look at me, at one another, and then get it out of your systems because curiosity is normal. Let's get dry and dressed and go to that party."
The three young boys grinned and they took a moment to check one another out, checked out Harry and then the moment was over as Harry rinsed himself off, grabbed his towel and rubbed himself dry. It was too cold to mess around as he dressed quickly and then scrubbed his hair furiously before he picked up his wand and cast a drying and warming charm on himself and he sighed as his body, now warm and toasty, relaxed and he was much happier.
The three young boys, also much happier, were messing around as they dressed and Harry grinned as he threw his arms around their shoulders and pulled them back out into the main area of the locker rooms and they met up with the two girls.
They all got under three large umbrellas and they made their way to the castle. Harry led them up the main staircase to the first floor and they went to visit Demelza in the hospital wing as a priority. He was relieved to see her sitting up, a little battered after her run-in with the bludger, but no worse for wear.
"Did we win?" She asked them as soon as she saw them. "Oh yeah!" Ritchie said excitedly. "Harry got the snitch! It was amazing, Demelza!"
"Are you alright, Mel?" Harry asked her. "No lasting damage?"
"No, I'll be just fine. It was a hard hit, but nothing's broken and I should be out of here by tomorrow. It's sad that I have to miss the party, but Madam Pomfrey wants to keep me in overnight, just in case."
"Likely for the best." Harry told her. "I'll send Dobby with some party food and butterbeer for you, but make sure you rest and get better. A Quidditch match isn't worth dying for."
"I never thought I'd see the day that I'd hear something like that coming from your mouth."
Harry smiled as he turned to Madam Pomfrey. "I never thought I'd see the day that I wasn't injured in a Quidditch match. It would have been better if none of us had been injured, but I do not miss waking up here." He said seriously. "But, I've come to realise that I have my whole life ahead of me, I don't want to kill or mangle myself before I've had a chance to live over a mere school game. Now, if this was a professional team in the Quidditch World Cup, that is an entirely different matter."
Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes and checked on Demelza.
"How is she?" Harry asked concernedly.
"She's going to be just fine. I want to keep her in overnight, just to be sure, but other than that, she'll be fine to leave tomorrow morning."
Harry nodded and he and the team stayed with Demelza, each of them taking their Pepper-up potions when Harry asked if they could take them to keep on top of any colds they might have contracted thanks to the game and they stayed until they were kicked out by Madam Pomfrey. "Come on then, let's get to the kitchens, send up some goodies for Demelza and then we can go to the party that is no doubt raging like a wildfire in the common room." Harry said with a grin.
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