Notes: This was written in response to a challenge on lj by rurounihime about safe/non-safe sex. The challenge can be found here.

Harry was bored. He’d been in the library studying with Hermione all day. He should have been outside enjoying the lovely Sunday weather with Draco rather than trapped in a stuffy library. He was starting to consider Ron and Draco lucky to be in the infirmary all weekend than where he was.

With a sigh he picked up Hermione’s Muggle magazine and discretely hid it behind his History of Magic text.

Oh, great. Cosmopolitan, he thought with another sigh. At least it should be more interesting that Goblin Wars.

Harry flipped through the pages, looking at the pictures, reading about which movie star had cheated on who, and admiring the hot guys. Eventually, he got to the question and answer page. He skimmed through the questions until one caught his eye. It was about vaginal discharge (Harry shuddered at the thought) and burning sensations. The question caught his eye mostly because Harry was entirely grossed out by women’s bodies now (he blamed Cho), but it was the answer that caught his attention. The expert gave several possible situations, but advised the woman to go to a doctor and get checked for STDs.

STDs. The word rang in his ears like a church bell from far away. The last time he’d heard that word was when Dudley came back from Smeltings one year and talked about their health classes. Harry had never had a health class like that since they didn’t offer one at Hogwarts and he’d been so young when he’d left his Muggle school.

Immediately after those thoughts images popped into his head. Memories to be more precise. Memories of him and Draco in various positions and places. All memories where he could have potentially caught an STD.

He and Draco were always prepared, it was true. Draco brought lube and they always prepared long enough to be as painless as possible (unless they wanted it otherwise). Unfortunately, neither of them had thought of other kinds of protection. Harry wasn’t even sure if STDs existed in the wizarding world.

Harry looked down at his lap nervously. What if he had an STD and he didn’t know it? He knew enough to know that some medical conditions didn’t have symptoms. He wasn’t sure if any STDs were among them, but it was a possibility. He’d never slept with anyone except Draco, but he didn’t know if it went the other way. Draco had always been mysterious about his past experiences. Harry knew that his boyfriend wanted to seem experienced, but he wasn’t completely sure if he was or not. If Draco had slept with others, the current absence of condoms was not a good sign for Harry.

Now shifting nervously in his seat, Harry desperately wanted to know if there were STDs in the wizarding world or not. The only problem was he didn’t know where to get that information. He wasn’t sure which books would be helpful and he certainly didn’t want to ask Madam Pince for help. Either she would be shocked at his moral depravity or she would report him for breaking the school rule about sex. Most likely, she would do both.

The only other option was to ask Hermione. After all, it was her magazine and she was so smart she would undoubtedly know the truth.

But it would be so embarrassing, he thought. Hermione was practically his sister and to ask her something of this nature would be utterly humiliating for both of them. However, it was his most viable option. Judging from the number of times Ron was able to lend Harry (and, unknowingly, an invisible Draco) his Head Boy room, Hermione definitely knew a thing or two about sex. Harry was sure that if she was having sex, she would know all about this sort of thing. He took a deep breath and gathered his courage.

“Hermione?”

“Yes?” she said, not even looking up from her essay.

“Do they have… I mean, are there wizarding STDs?”

That made Hermione look up very quickly. She frowned. “Of course, there are. Why do ask, Harry?”

Harry fidgeted even more. “And how would one go about, er, testing for them?”

“Go to a medi-witch, of cour… Harry, do think you’ve got an STD?” she asked, jumping to the core of the problem with all her usual cleverness.

Harry looked down and blushed. “I don’t know,” he asked in an uncharacteristically small voice. “I’ll just go to Madam Pomfrey, then.”

Hermione sat silently as Harry collected his things. Her mind was taking a similar course to Harry’s previous thoughts. First she wondered at the lack of sexual education at Hogwarts. Then, she thought of her activities with Ron. She gasped when she realized that the charm she had to effectively prevent pregnancies had said nothing about diseases.

“Perhaps, I’d better come with you, Harry.”

Harry smiled to himself as she gathered her own books. At least, I’m not the only one who forgot. It wasn’t that he wanted her to possibly have an STD. After all, he knew she and Ron had both been virgins. He just felt less stupid for not remember, if a smart witch like Hermione hadn’t either.

****

Upon arriving at the infirmary, Harry and Hermione noticed that Ron and Draco’s bruised and bloodied faces had been healed. They sat on beds as far from each other as possible and they scowled menacingly across the empty space. When they saw Harry and Hermione, they’re faces lit up, though you had to know Draco very well to notice. Instead of heading over to their significant others, Harry and Hermione went to Madam Pomfrey’s office and knocked on the door.

When the matronly witch came out, Hermione took charge of the situation with her usual aplomb.

“Madam Pomfrey, Harry and I would like to be tested for STDs, please.”

The shock on Madam Pomfrey’s face was nothing compared to Ron and Draco’s shock. Harry would have almost felt like laughing, if he hadn’t been so embarrassed.

“You’d better check them too,” she said cheekily, pointing at the other two boys.

Madam Pomfrey blustered a bit before she was able to form a coherent sentence.

“Well…I never…that is to say…ahem.” She cleared her throat and took on her usual professional attitude. “Very well. It will all be confidential, I assure you. I do not want to who you could have possibly contracted anything from. Though, I urge you to research the school rules regarding student, ah, interactions of that sort. Miss Granger, if you would follow me please.”

Hermione followed the medi-witch into her office, while Harry stood outside nervously. He did not move his gaze from the floor. He was too embarrassed and too nervous to risk eye contact with Draco.

Minutes later, Hermione emerged looking greatly relieved.

“Your turn, Harry,” she said.

Harry nodded and went in.

Madam Pomfrey beckoned him come into the middle of the office. When he got there, she waved her wand at him and said a spell he did not recognize. The air around him glowed and changed colours before finally settling on white. Madam Pomfrey nodded.

“You are perfectly healthy, Mr. Potter.”

“That’s it?” he asked, slightly shocked that it was so simple, though he should have expected that.

“That’s all,” she said. “Now, let’s go back out there so I can test Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy.”

Harry nodded and felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He had been seriously worried, but he was alright. There was nothing to worry about. He gave Draco a large grin when he reentered the main infirmary and hurried over to Draco’s bed. Madam Pomfrey gave him a look and shooed him away as she drew the curtained partition around Draco.

Minutes later the curtains moved back to their usual place and Madam Pomfrey walked over to Ron. Draco smiled and Harry smiled back.

“You’re alright, then?” he asked.

Draco nodded. “Yes, but I feel stupid for not thinking of it myself.”

“It’s okay,” Harry whispered, “Hermione didn’t think of it either and I only stumbled on the thought myself.”

“Harry, what have I told you about letting your mind wander? It’s too little to be out alone.”

Harry smacked Draco lightly on the arm. “Don’t be a prat. It is something that we should have thought about.”

Draco shrugged a shoulder and Harry knew that meant he’d conceded the point.

“Next time though,” Harry continued, “we’re using a condom.”