Chapter Seven: Trepid
Naima sat down in her office the next evening, going over some books she'd picked up over the summer. Tales of all sorts surrounded the berserker enchantment, some realistic while others… "Fish scales for skin?" She shook her head. Something told her not to pick up anything muggle for this sort of research. She politely turned the book down on the table and made a mental note to burn it later. "Pa-Pa," Naima called to the portrait. The image of her grandfather immediately shook out of his bout of snores and looked up at her sleepily.
"What is it, dear? I was just in the midst of a dream about a purple tortoise and unicorn. It was quite interesting…" "Which family member was inflicted with the curse?" She felt as though she was being terribly rude, but she didn't have the patience to listen to him go on and on about some silly dream. Did portraits even dream? Never mind that…
"Ah… that would be Aliel Dumbledore."
"And Azurea, the dark witch of her time cast the berserker enchantment on her to ensure that she would…what exactly?"
"How many time do we have to go through with this?"
"I'm sorry grandfather. It just doesn't make any sense. I mean, honestly. Why would you cast a Berserker on someone to control them. No good can come of that enchantment, every witch or wizard knows this. Even the evil ones. If Azurea would do something like that and end up with the upper hand, why didn't Voldemort?"
"
Voldemort? Are you on that one, again?" Another portrait had been pulled from his slumber, and Naima suddenly became too frustrated to even elaborate.
"My dear, I agree with you, but this tale has been passed on for generations."
"Yes, but aren't all tales twisted after a few hundred years? Grandfather, none of these people are even alive to…"
"You question your great-great…"
"It isn't that I question her account. Only the one that told the tale after her. And the one after that. Do you understand what I mean, grandfather? How can we even prove that these words came from Aliel? It just doesn't seem right. The Berserker is too…it's too unpredictable."
"Azurea was seeking to destroy Aliel's image."
"Yes, I suppose your right, but it still doesn't add up. Something doesn't add up."
"I wish I had thought more on this when I was alive dear. But being that my mother only had sons, we thought the curse would die out with her." "Boy, were you guys wrong." "Yes, well. We had no idea." He barely whispered this last part.
"Oh, I'm not blaming you, grandfather." Naima dropped her head to her desk.
"I know dear. But now, we have to live with the knowledge that I have. I cannot aid you. All I can do is spy and I am sure that no one here will be whispering about Azurea."
"I know, grandfather. I'm all on my own."
"This is a heavy burden for you."
"Nowhere near as heavy as Potter's, was. I am only one girl, grandfather."
"You have no idea how significant you are. If not for your curse, then for your blood. You are a Dumbledore. Your magic is…"
"I know grandfather." Naima mumbled in a tight voice. Albus was silent for a while. What was he to say? To do?
When Naima began to sniffle, he could feel his heart breaking all over again. What could he do? "Sometimes, I wish… I wish you were still here, grandfather."
"I am still here."
"No…this painting is only a shadow of what you are, Pa-Pa. If you were really here, you would have hugged me." She looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, moist, and threatening to erupt in tears. She was nearing her time for her daily dosage, but she thought she had another good hour in her before she truly needed it.
"I wish I could, Naima. But you understand that my death was to…"
"I know why you died."
"No, you don't."
"Why, grandfather-- why did you leave me here to do this all on my own?" Albus looked down at his hands. He was silent for a while, thinking about how he was going to say this.
"I died in order to rescue a soul from the depths of hell, Naima."
"What?" she croaked.
"The boy was young, too young to realize that he was being poisoned by his own blood. Saving him is what helped us win this war. My life was worth it, Naima. I have already lived
many lifetimes, and so has your father." Naima looked away.
"My life was worth saving that boy and the world." It was always so hard hearing this: that someone else was worth so much more to him. Her grandfather was all she had in this world, and when he died, he took nearly all of her with him.
"Who?" she whispered.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Who was worth it, grandfather? You said that he was worth your life, the life of perhaps the greatest wizard that ever lived. Who was worth so much?" Albus swallowed before he answered. She would hate him forever for this, but he could hold the truth from her no longer.
Albus stared into her glistening eyes, replaying his happiest memories he shared with her when she was a child: riding a bike, making mud pies, eating birdseed-- she was more than just a granddaughter. When times were dark and he had nearly lost all hope, she was his very soul. Hearing this would rip her apart, but he could blind her to the truth no longer.
"Draco Malfoy."
,
"What the hell do you want, now, Malfoy?" Hermione was just finishing up with the last Transfiguration class for the day.
Packing her books into her satchel, she turned her back to him, hoping that he would go away.
"Just stopping by to say hello." But of course, she was never spared any such mercy.
Hermione turned around and plastered on the most horrendously plastic smile she could muster. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your warm company, Professor?" She waited until the last of her children left Her fake smile immediately fell, replaced by frown.
"I wish I could get you alone more often. Lord knows that I never guessed that you'd be so… welcoming."
"Enough with the niceties. What the hell do you want?" Draco closed the door and stepped further into the class, looking around at some of the students' work. They were apparently trying to turn kneazles into boots-- or the other way around. Whatever they were doing, they were vastly unsuccessful.
Draco raised an eyebrow at Hermione. How could she just stand there while the animals were half transfigured? It seemed a bit too cruel for her. In turn, Hermione rolled her eyes and then waved her wand in two separate actions. On the first, the animals turned back to their original state, on the second, they were all locked inside a little cage. She flicked her wand once again and they and the cage shrunk to fit in her hand.
"I really am busy right now. Why don't you run along? Oh and lock up for me? My hands are full." She made to push past him, but Draco blocked her path.
"Let me go, Malfoy."
"You know, I don't really get you. One moment, you're all over me--"
"All over you? You're the one that attacked me the other night."
"Attacked?" Draco's mouth hung open. "I don't remember you complaining when my hand was up your skirt." Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
"I thought so." He said, moving further into her classroom. "We need to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about. You took advantage of me when I was…"
"How dare you stand there and say that. After what we did? After what he had?"
"That was years ago, Draco. Get over yourself." She adjusted the satchel on her shoulder. "It's like what the Headmistress said. It's time to move forward." He couldn't let her walk
away. Not after that.
"I suppose the other night might have been a mistake. I might have caught you at a time of desperation." Hermione turned around and nodded.
"That's right."
"Then I suppose last week was a mistake, too." he could see her begin to crumble. "And the week before that, and the time before that and all those times we've FUCKED since the beginning of term, Hermione." She jumped, dropping her books and the cage.
"Well, I'm saying that it's over, now. I can't hate my husband for cheating on me while doing the very same thing behind his back."
"Is that what this is about, really? You afraid of what your husband-- who's too pissed drunk to even remember that you have a vagina-- will do?" Hermione had to resort to the use of foul language.
"F-fuck you, Malfoy. I can't believe the nerve you have." She balled her hands into tiny little fists and glared at him. "I have never been more to you than that mudblood girl that always hung around Potter and Weasley. You don't care about me like he does. You've never cared about me."
"I've never cared for you?" He shouted, causing Hermione to jump again. "I may not claim love, but even when all we had was a few stolen moments in a broom closet I never even looked at another woman sideways. Can your husband say the same?"
"Ah, so nice to see you on this lovely eve, Prof-- what's wrong?" Blaise was in the halls, about to go and pick on his favorite subject when she came storming out of her offices, cheeks flushed.
"Not now, Zabini." She continued her way through the halls, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to go find that disgusting prick."
"Who?" he fell in step behind her.
While Blaise thought she was adorable when she was angry, there was a dangerousness to her that frightened him a little. Although he never feared any little girl, she was a Dumbledore.
"Malfoy." She was jogging down the steps, now, pushing through the endless throngs of students. He fought to keep up with her, wondering what the hell she was so angry about. He'd been around the bloke all day, and he was sure that he hadn't done anything.
"Naima, what are you…" he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the Bloody Baron walk through the walls.
"He wasn't worth it. No one that sick is worth it…" he heard her mutter.
As they pushed past the last group of students, he dragged her into a deserted classroom. She struggled against him, and she nearly broke free before he closed the door, but he pulled out his wand on her, and she was forced to settle.
"Great. Now that I have your attention--"
"I told you I don't have time to deal with you, Zabini." Her breathing was hard and shallow.
"Calm down."
"Get out of my way." she hissed.
"Not until you calm down."
"So is this it? You protect the bastard, too? I suppose so, him being your best friend." Blaise started to lower his wand, making on of the biggest mistakes of his life.
In an instant, Naima had her wand drawn, it's ebony eleven and a half inches fully exposed. She seemed as though she might spout fire. "I suggest you move out of my way, Zabini. I may not do magic often, but oh do I know how to use my wand."
"I don't know what you heard tonight, but this isn't the way to deal with your grief." He opened his mouth to continue his speech when a single word shot from her own, pulling his wand to the other end of the room, and upending his world.
"Now, I warned you, Zabini." In an instant, she had him pinned to the wall, wand at his throat.
"Naima, you must calm down." Just saying those words seemed to piss her off even more.
"He isn't worth it. He was never worth it. Not him." She shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes.
Great, not only did he have a determined Dumbledore on his hands, but an emotional one. "No, he wasn't. Not at the time, he wasn't. But you must respect your grandfather's wishes." She winced and pushed the wand into his throat.
"How dare you, say that. Take it back."
"You can accuse me of many things, cara, but I would never lie to you." She didn't move, but she didn't curse him to the depths of hell, either. "I'm not your enemy, innamorato." Her eyes cut to his. He had never seen such emotion. "Put down your wand." She started to shake her head.
"That is none of your business. What my husband and I do is never any of your business, you god damned prick!" she cocked her hand back and slapped him with all her might. She waited for his reaction, and when none was forthcoming, she made to slap him again, but he caught her by the wrist.
"I'll let that slide."
"I want you out of my room and out of my life."
"Pushing me away isn't going to make things any better with him, Hermione. You know that."
"What do you want from this? What do you think we have that's so fucking…" she searched for the right word, "precious?"
"Tell me what's so great about a relationship with him, then." He watched her as she leveled her smoldering eyes on him. "You can't answer that, can you?"
Hermione desperately wanted to say something- anything to save herself from what she was about to do. She knew it was coming. He knew it was coming. It was like clockwork. He would come in, get pushy about her and Ron, and they would end up rutting like animals.
"I don't…"
"Just shut the fuck up, Granger." His voice was soft now, gentle. He lowered his head to kiss her on the lips. It was surprisingly gentle-- usually they were harsh, almost demanding. She just couldn't help herself-- Ron's kisses were never so… sensual. Soon, Hermione couldn't maintain her front, and she found herself giving in.
Draco immediately pounced upon the chance to guide her backwards, her surprised gasp puncturing the sound of her body being pushed into the wall. He took the moment to leave her lips and start a trail of soft kisses along her neck as Hermione bit her lip, fighting the urge to let out this tiny noise that had been dying to escape her throat. She leaned her head to the side, lightly scratching his back with her nails as he picked her up and positioned himself between her legs.
Hermione finally let out a soft moan and lifted his face so she could kiss his lips again. When he slipped his tongue in to explore her mouth, he absently began to grind his hips into hers, and she wasn't stupid enough to not figure out where this was leading. As the passion of his kiss increased, the persistent thrust of his hips grew harder and faster.
Suddenly a tingling sensation slowly snaked through her entire body and she wondered what he did that always made her feel so...good.
Hermione's head lolled to the side and he took to kissing her neck again. "Draco...please". All she knew was that the pleasurable sensation spreading through her body couldn't end. She was growing oh so very warm and if he put her down now, Hermione was sure her legs would give from beneath her.
"Damn it, Mina," He swore as he felt the crotch of his pants getting wet. He'd so quickly forgotten that she almostvnever wore any panties underneath her long skirts, and the mere
thought sent the last bit of blood that could be spared straight to his loins. Draco buried his head in her shoulder as his cock twitched to life. "Fuck."
Hermione softly moaned his name when she felt the growing pressure against her. The succession of the things that happened next shocked her. Draco had somehow managed– between balancing her and suckling on her neck– to unbuckle his belt and let his pants slide to the floor. It took a bit more skill to lower his boxers just enough, but he managed it expertly. Her legs shook slightly as she anticipated the main event, and it was all she could do to prepare herself.
In desperation, Hermione tried to grab anything behind her and only succeeded in knocking her hand into a painting. "Oh, fuck." she swore as she clawed at his back.
A low, guttural sound erupted from his chest as he ground into her harder and harder. Hermione resumed to bite her bottom lip although it was a matter of time before she couldn't stop moaning 'yes' again and again and again. He soon began to tease her– slowing down and speeding up, stretching her to her limit as she soon began to feel her body seizing up.
She was getting louder and louder and it seemed like the sound of her soft cries were delighting Draco as he started to gently nibble on her shoulder. "Come on, baby," he whispered. He sped up again, and her screams loud enough to reach the halls, now. Her legs began to shake and just when she felt like she couldn't handle it anymore–
He gave one last thrust and let out a soft grunt.
Blaise was tiring of their little staring contest. He was almost ready to knock the little bint to next Wednesday. He didn't know why her grandfather would wait until now to tell her the truth, but he was damned thankful that he was here or she would have done something stupid. She would have done something that would have gotten her arrested. In all honesty, he really shouldn't care. To be honest with himself, the only reason he wasn't actively going after her job anymore was because he just wanted to get a go with her before she got the boot. Right now was the perfect opportunity to get her fired, but the prospect of getting in a good lay before she had to go was just too… delicious. So when her hand began to tire, and her arm began to buckle, he decided to wait for an opening.
"You're meddling in something that is not your affair, Zabini." He closely watched her lips. She was sure to say something else.
"I just don't want you to do anything stupid, cara."
"I'm not your bloody--" She started, but almost as soon as she opened her mouth, he knocked her wand hand down and spun her around, and pushed her face-first into the wall. She struggled against him, but he just applied a little pressure to her arm behind her back. There was no way in hell he was going to let her go before she put down her wand.
"I would stop struggling if I were you, N'ima-- you're actually doing me a favor wriggling around like that." He chuckled. She felt tiny vibrations on her back as the sound reverberated through his chest. Naima stopped fighting so hard, but she wasn't giving in that easily.
"Now, how about you put down your wand and we handle this like mature adults?"
"Why do you care, Zabini? You want my job. This is the perfect opportunity to get me fired."
"Why do I care?" He lowered his voice as he leaned in to whisper.
"I don't, not really. I just don't think it's worth it. I'm trying to make you see reason. Hurting Draco isn't going to solve your problems but create new ones. Is it really going to make you feel any better?"
"It would give me just the satisfaction that I need."
"Satisfaction that you are going to cause bodily harm to the man your grandfather died trying to save?" He waited for a reply, and when none was forthcoming, he decided to try a new route. He leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"If it's satisfaction you're looking for, I can help you out there." Violet tensed a little. They were in a classroom. His classroom. He looked down at her and grinned broadly. Home field advantage.
"Mr. Zabini, if you don't get your hands of me this instant I'll--"
"You'll do what, exactly? I don't take too kindly to threats, Ms. Dumbledore." Feels weird saying that name in such a situation. He grimaced. "Why don't we do away with the formalities, then?" He said as he ran his hand along her side.
"Stop it, Zabini." She wasn't even convincing herself with that.
"So we're playing that game, eh?" He asked as he lowered his head and kissed her softly on the neck. She absently tensed a little. This sort of thing hadn't happened to her in a very long time.
"Relax, N'ima." He stroked her hair and began to lick her pulse point.
"How," she started, surprised at how breathless she sounded. "how am I supposed to relax while you're doing that?" He pressed her body flat against the wall with his.
"Zabini…"
"Blaise," he corrected as his hand lightly caressed her back and trailed down to her bottom. He gave it a gentle squeeze, drawing a small gasp from her. He chuckled and then spun her around. She was completely flushed. He'd never seen brown skin get so red, but he truly liked the effect.
She was panting, her chest rising and falling, drawing his gaze to her breast. "Blaise…we shouldn't." She said. He looked back into her eyes and smirked. He leaned in for a kiss and she turned her head, gripping her wand tighter.
"I have something I have to do, and I don't want to have to hurt you." She whispered. In an instant, he had her pinned against the wall again, wand hand twisted behind her back.
"I already told you… you're not going anywhere." He pulled her wand from her hand and threw it down on the floor.
He pulled her back into him and started kissing her neck fiercely again. It was an uncomfortable position for her, really, but the feeling he was giving her just from sucking her neck felt so good, she would put up with it until he saw fit to stop. Soon, she was melting into him, and he took that as a sign to continue his ministrations.
What am I doing?
Cupping her breast with his free hand, he began to rub her nipples through her shirt eliciting a small moan from her. He moved to the other side of her neck and she brought up her hand to hold him there. They hadn't even properly kissed yet and she could already feel her panties getting wet. He moved his hand lower still and Naima bit her lip for fear that she might say something stupid. Reaching into the waist of her skirt, he pulled out her shirt and trailed his hand back up to cup her breast through her bra. She certainly was a handful, he thought with a smile.
Naima sucked in a deep breath when she felt his calloused hand on her bare skin. It was surprising that she was letting him do this to her, but for some reason she didn't want it to stop. With all the problems she faced, she never really thought about sex. Love, maybe-- but never sex. It was a subject she tended to avoid. But now that he had expertly done away with the clasp in the front, and rolled her pert nipples in between his fingers, it was all she could think about.
Normally, Naima wouldn't have given in so easily, she thought as he left her shirt and trailed his fingers over her bare thighs. Why was she letting him do this to her? "Stop thinking about it and just feel." He said as he rubbed his fingers against her.
"So wet. And the party hasn't even properly started." He chuckled as he began to slide his fingers along the length of her sex. She didn't know what it really was, but Naima thought that being fingered from behind was definitely worth not killing Malfoy. She thought as she closed her eyes.
All blood was rushing from her head now, and what's more she felt Zabini's erection pressing into her thigh. Suddenly, he spun her around and before she could say or do anything, he kissed her fully on the mouth.
As their tongues battled, Blaise guided her back towards one of the desks in the room and once her thighs hit the sides, he hoisted her up and pulled her legs apart, gripping her by the thighs. Naima moaned into his mouth and he quickly began unbuttoning her shirt.
Remembering herself, Naima pulled from the kiss, gasping for air, pulling his robes from his shoulders and unbuttoning his shirt. She suddenly stopped when she noticed something resting against his chest.
Tied by a simple leather strap, a bloodstone stared back at her, eyeing her, almost seeming to size her up. Naima stared hard, and it took a few moments before she noticed that Zabini had stopped as well. When their dark eyes met, she swallowed. A bloodtsone. A God damned bloodstone. They sprang apart and stared at each other.
Naima was the first to move, searching for her wand. When she found it, she slowly moved to retrieve it. The bloodstone was the stone worn by Italian Aurors. It was a warrior stone meant to protect them from foes. A good luck charm, but one of that particular size and shape was something all of them wore-- it was a tradition dating back hundreds of years. What the hell was he really doing at Hogwarts?
She grabbed her carnelian stone and stared at him. "So…" he started. "A carnelian stone? Is that why you're always so jumpy?" Naima looked down and began to button her shirt.
"An Auror?" She felt so betrayed. Of course she would open herself up to someone-- practically throw herself at them-- only to learn that they could be her downfall. But why would the Italian authorities be here.
"So…you were the job." Naima's eyes snapped up.
"What did you just say?"
"Your skin is red. If I know my ailments well, it's time for your next dosage." Fear gripped her heart and it nearly seized in all the terror coursing through her. She would be killed, for sure. She would be turned over to the British authorities and would probably be sent to Azkaban.
"Wait, Zabini…I…" He held up a hand and she nearly shook with fear.
Her grandfather wouldn't be able to get her out of this one.
Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this last chapter. It was definitely one of the hardest I had to write. It was rather difficult, writing the two sex scenes. So, if you can, please send me some reviews so I can get much better at it? I didn't want to use words like 'dick' or 'cunt' or 'vagina' for the obvious reasons… and I didn't want to use silly terms, either. I almost wish this wasn't written in English. There are so many different terms for private parts in other languages that don't sound nearly as funny as they do in English. Anyways, enough talk about that.
I really want to thank the people who have been reviewing this story. It's really helping me to not only create a much better story for you guys here, but also gives me food for thought whenever I'm writing my own personal novels. Anyways, PLEASE, S'IL TU PLAIT, POR FAVOR, review so I can know how I'm doing.
