AN: The next installment, please review!!

Chapter 9 –The Yule Ball

"Melissa," the girls screamed when a tall, thin, red head appeared in their dormitory on Christmas Eve.

"Merry Christmas," she shrieked as they tumbled into her and became a tangle of six arms and legs, "oh I've missed you two so much!"

"We've missed you too!" they screamed in reply, "How's Stephanie?"

"Gutted," Mel replied her face dropping a little as she thought about the friend she had had to leave behind, "she was desperate to come too and I felt so awful having to leave her behind but she sent her best and hopes we all have a great time at the ball!" her face lit up again as she mentioned it but fell once more as she noticed a lack of excitement coming from Lily. "Aren't you excited?" she asked curiously and Lizzie rolled her eyes as they gestured for the girl to sit on the spare bed and they pulled up two chairs. Lizzie, interrupted occasionally by Lily's glares and swipes, told the story of Lily's infatuation with the handsome triwizard champion whom she had fancied for ages and not told them about and then went on to explain how she was now dreading the following night's ball as she would be surgically attached to David all night who seemed to be getting more and more possessive of her as each day passed. She had barely been out of his company since the day school broke up and she was now beginning to feel that he was her shadow, when the tale ended Melissa hugged her friend in sympathy but wanted to know more details about the handsome Durmstrang boy who had stolen her heart. Lizzie went on to tell the tales about their kiss and subsequent almost kiss and the described the looks Raulph gave Lily whenever they were within ten feet of each other and her friend agreed that he was definitely interested in her no matter how much Lily tried to persuade them that he was just a family friend.

"Well now I won't keep my mouth shut because it's two against one!" Lizzie shrieked and Lily pouted at them both before being dragged into a tight hug once more.

"How's Terry?" Mel asked.

"You haven't seen him yet?"

"No, I wanted to see my girls first," she said laughing.

"He misses you," Lily replied.

"Good! It's been hell back at Hogwarts without him!"

"Go and find him, he'll probably be in the common room," Lily suggested and the excited young girl bounced off her bed, gave them one more hug each and then darted from the room.

There was a feast in the great hall for Christmas Eve and Mel was ecstatic about being able to join them, she met David there who clamped himself to Lily's side as usual and she frowned at him throughout the whole meal. She slyly asked Lizzie to point out the mysterious Krum boy and as soon as she clapped eyes on him she gave Lily a big thumbs up causing the poor girl to blush to her roots. The feast was fun and it was late when they all retired to the Hogwart's Express, the new arrival marvelled at their temporary home and had to explore every part of it disappearing for a significant amount of time to the library with Terry, the girls looked at her knowingly as she returned but she did not become embarrassed at all. David looked at Terry jealously as he obviously wanted to spend time alone with Lily but she kept evading his suggestions and he was starting to feel that the pretty young girl was not as interested in him as he was in her.

Eventually they retired to their bedrooms and the three friends climbed the spiral stairs up to their dormitory, the other sixth year girls were still sitting in the girl's common room so when they reached the quiet bedroom they all changed quickly into pyjamas and jumped onto one bed, drawing the curtains around them.

"Enjoy the library?" Lizzie giggled at her friend.

Melissa nodded and replied, "Yes thank you!" and they all fell about laughing, "I've been waiting over a month to try that out!"

"Try what out," she asked curiously as they leaned forwards to look closely at their friend.

"Imperio," she replied and watched as their faces fell.

"What?" Lily asked with a shocked tone.

"Imperio, everyone's doing it back at school," she smiled with a twinkle in her eye.

"What do you mean?" Lizzie asked as Lily continued to look aghast, "It's illegal."

"I know, but it's not like that. You have to learn it in Defence lessons in sixth year-"

"We know that," Lily interrupted, "but only so you can learn how to throw it off."

"Yeah, but imagine being under it for a while, you know, with someone you trust, letting them make you do things." She looked excited about the prospect but the girls still looked totally shocked at her suggestion. "No one abuses it it's just...well how much trust do you have to have to allow someone to do it? It shows someone just how much you do trust them, because you know they won't actually make you do something you wouldn't normally do, but it helps to banish those inhibitions a bit. I've been writing to Terry about it and he felt like you did but eventually I managed to persuade him, he only got me to kiss him but he also made my hands travel around his body a bit, something I wanted to do but felt a bit, you know, naive about."

"But Mel, what if he'd made you do more than that, he could have...have done something really bad," Lily whispered.

"But I know he wouldn't Lily, I trust him, I just wanted him to help me, sort of guide me a little."

"So what was it like?" Lizzie asked a little too eagerly.

"Lizzie," Lily shrieked at her.

"Well, like she said if you trust the person implicitly then they are not going to do anything too...you know."

"It was strange, I mean I've been under before in Defence lessons but this time I wasn't trying to throw it, I just let it take me, I felt like I was troubleless, like I had no worries and this voice in my head was making all my decisions for me, I'd told Terry what I was a bit inhibited about but he knew I wanted to do it, he got me to kiss him and I thought 'why not?' I'll just do it but then he made me move my hands about and I don't know I just did it, I was aware of what I was doing but only vaguely, but now I can remember it and I know what to do, you know next time. I felt totally safe because I knew Terry wouldn't take it any further."

Lizzie was now looking quite interested but Lily was still adamant that it was wrong, "Mel, it's so dangerous even if it is Terry, you just don't know and if anyone ever found out he'd be sent to Azkaban."

"But they won't find out and they'd only send him if I pressed charges or something."

"You still shouldn't be doing it," Lily replied.

"Oh come on Lily, like you wouldn't let Raulph do it just once, to get that kiss you want?"

"No," she shrieked jumping out of the bed and climbing into her own, she had been disturbed by the whole conversation and could not imagine anyone wanting to do any thing like that not even her parents who trusted each other completely, it was wrong and she knew it.

The other two girls shrugged their shoulders but continued to talk excitedly about the experience that Mel had just had with Terry and they only stopped and went to sleep when the other sixth year girls came up to bed.

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Christmas morning dawned and Lily had forgotten about the conversation from the previous evening, they swapped presents and then headed to the common room where deliveries had turned up during the night. They spent a couple of hours ripping paper from gifts and looking over their new items before they were joined by David and Terry, Melissa loved the necklace that Terry had bought her and they disappeared to the library for a short while once more, Lily eyed them wearily as she remembered the conversation from the previous night and hoped that Mel wasn't allowing him to do it again. David sheepishly handed her a small package which contained a box of fancy chocolates and a small stuffed owl, she thanked him and handed over a small chess set which she had sent for by mail order at the last minute and he gave her a kiss which she returned but did not especially enjoy.

After a huge lunch of Turkey with all the trimmings all the students returned to their dormitories to get themselves ready for the evening's ball, there were hundreds of excited people using numerous bathrooms and mirrors and Lily was beginning to resent the fact that she was not looking forward to it as much as she had wanted to. Lizzie had broken things off with Francis a few days before the end of the school term and two days before she had plucked up the courage to ask Peter herself if he would go the ball with her. He had accepted but they had not actually seen each other since so she was becoming more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by as the last time she had been with him properly a large amount of firewhiskey had fuelled her passion. Mel was over the moon to be with Terry and was even more excited at the prospect of entering the ball on a champion's arm and Lily thought wistfully what it might have been like to walk into the great hall behind or in front of her on the arm of Raulph Krum. She sat at her dressing table and wondered who he would be attending with, he was a handsome and popular boy who would no doubt have had his pick of anyone, but she was starting to feel envious already of the faceless girl she was imagining him walking along with.

Eventually the clock in the dormitory showed half past seven and the three girls descended the stairs and walked over to the main common room where David and Terry were waiting, the latter's face fell when he saw his girlfriend in a figure hugging jet black silk dress which fell to her feet and was completely backless, she had her hair twisted round in a French knot with a few sleek tendrils hanging down and he was overwhelmed. Lily received a similar stare from David but she did not appreciate it as much as Melissa had, she smiled as he approached wearing dark blue dress robes and gave her a small white Lily which she pinned to the thin strap of her dress. The boys both commented on Lizzie who was wearing a blood red velvet dress which had a square neckline and a full length straight skirt with a split all the way up one leg. Peter was meeting her at the entrance to the hall so they all set off together, David took Lily's arm and she walked by his side all the way up to the castle. Peter was stood nervously to one side and his face lit up when he spotted his date looking sheepishly back at him, he stepped forward to offer her his arm and then said good evening to the rest of the gang.

Professor Nitschmann approached Terry and asked he and Melissa to join the other champions who were standing on the other side of the doorway, Lily glanced over and felt her heart hit her throat when she spotted Raulph standing next to a pretty girl with brown hair who was wearing a silver strapless dress which was ruched across the body and fell in layers of chiffon to her ankles. He was wearing jet black dress robes with a crisp white shirt and a black bow tie, his hair was as messy as always but he looked more handsome than she thought she had ever seen him. He noticed her staring at him and flashed her a quick smile before turning back to talk to the other champion, Genevieve, who was accompanied by another Beauxbaton student in pale blue robes. Lily felt a hand slide into hers and she realised David had seen her staring at Raulph, she flashed him a brief smile and then suggested that they make their way into the hall.

The room had been transformed into a winter wonderland, ice sculptures surrounded a pristinely white wooden dancefloor which stood in front of a stage where a set had been put up. Around the dancefloor were separate round tables each donned with a white table cloth and set for eight people, glitter had been thrown onto all the tables and it shimmered in a multitude of different colours. The Christmas tree, which had been placed behind the stage, reached to the ceiling and had been decorated completely in white strings of beads and crystal baubles, there were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling bearing hundreds of candles which flickered and cast a shimmering glow on the whole room. Many students had already taken their seats and the rest were hurried along as the doors were closed in preparation for the champions' entrance.

David pulled out a seat for Lily and she sat down in it allowing him to push her in before he took his own seat next to her, a fanfare sounded and the double doors opened to reveal the three champions accompanied by their respective dates who took to the dancefloor as the band began to play. Lily watched as Raulph twirled the lithe young girl around in his arms and she longed to be her, she had not spoken to him since the day they had visited Lisleberg and if nothing else she was missing his company. The girl looked happy to be in the arms of such a handsome young man and allowed him to spin her around as the band changed their pace and started a new song, other couples took to the floor including Lizzie and Peter who were sat at another table and eventually David stood up and offered Lily his hand. She took it and they spent half an hour dancing before dinner was announced, throughout the meal Lily kept glancing over at her friend Lizzie who was seated at the same table as Raulph, she noticed him talking animatedly to the girl who had agreed to be his date and once more sighed wistfully before remembering that she had her own date to placate.

After a sumptuous meal the band began to play more up to date music and then a popular wizarding band known as The Wizards took to the stage and the students were able to partake in a less formal atmosphere, Lily was enjoying herself despite David being welded to her side as usual but was longing for a short break away from him. Eventually he disappeared to the toilet and she took the opportunity to sit with Lizzie who was taking a break while Peter got them both a drink, "Having fun?" she asked and her friend nodded enthusiastically at her.

"You?" she returned and Lily shrugged her shoulders.

"She's not a real date you know."

"What?" Lily asked with a confused expression.

"That girl," she nodded towards Raulph and the girl he was still dancing with.

"Oh," she said trying to sound nonchalant.

"She's an old friend from home, she doesn't go to school anymore, left last year and she has a boyfriend who is apparently his cousin! According to Peter, he didn't want to ask anyone at school because the only person he was interested in was taken," she lifted her eyebrow at Lily who tried to continue looking like she was not interested. "They've been friends since they were five and she's only here for the night."

"Right," Lily replied.

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"Who is it you are pining for?" the girl asked as he swung her around half heartedly.

"What?" he replied as if he had misunderstood the question.

"The girl?" she added.

"I don't know what you mean," he answered trying to look serious.

"Raulph Krum I know you better than you think I do, you could have had the pick of any girl in this school to go to the ball with and instead you ask Brin if he would mind if you ask me to go as your friend. You cannot possibly tell me there isn't a girl here somewhere that you would rather be with," she looked down into his eyes and smiled as he returned a slightly downhearted one.

"Over at our table in the green dress," he replied nodding at Lily who was deep in conversation with Lizzie at their table. When she had turned up on the Hogwart's boy's arm in the beautiful emerald dress which nipped in around her slender waist and fell gracefully to the floor, he had been gutted, absolutely beside himself that she wasn't on his arm instead. She looked simply amazing and he knew then and ther that he had made the right choice in asking Lotte to come up to school for the ball, there was no one else in the world he wanted to go with other than Lily Potter and as he couldn't ask her he had decided that his best and oldest friend would be the next best thing. He couldn't bear the thought of asking anyone else to go and had so far spent most of the night casting sly glances at Lily's table and admiring the way her dress hugged her thin, curvy body.

"So how come she's not on your arm instead of me?" Lotte asked interrupting his thoughts.

"I waited too long," he added and then again nodded towards their table where Lotte noticed Lily's date approaching.

"Doesn't look like she's too happy to be with him if you ask me," she commented noticing the less than pleased look which crossed Lily's face.

"It doesn't really matter, she's taken and I'm too late," he said and then he whisked Lotte away from that side of the dance floor so he wouldn't have to torture himself any longer.

It was an hour or so later when Lotte excused herself to talk to some old friends who were still at school and Raulph decided to take a short walk out of the hall to clear his head. He had enjoyed spending the night with his old friend but had also been slightly disappointed that he had not been able to spin the most beautiful girl in the school around in his arms. He had been tempted to ask her for a dance but the way the Hogwart's boy she was with had attached himself to her side he had figured it would not be a good idea. It was now close to midnight and he felt that he needed a little fresh air and some time alone to wallow in his thoughts of Lily Potter, the girl he had waited too long for.

Raulph walked slowly along beneath the covered walkway which ran on the inside of the courtyard, he noticed a few couples kissing in some of the shadowy corners and quietly envied them, after a few minutes he began to feel a chill and decided to enter the corridors through one of the doorways, they were all deserted and he enjoyed the peace and quiet for a few moments. He had not been inside long when he heard a familiar voice whispering, "Please leave me alone," Raulph sped up and rounded the nearest corner where he found Rick Branton pinioning Lily against the wall and leaning so close to her that they were almost touching. "Get away from me," he heard Lily sob and something rose up inside of him which made him rush forwards and push the evil boy away from her.

"I've told you before, Branton, stay away from her," he yelled.

"Or what?" the angry boy spat back at him as he recovered quickly from the knock which had sent him off balance.

"Or you'll have me to deal with," he replied as he put a protective arm around Lily catching the soft, cool skin which was exposed on her back and making her catch her breath.

"Oh, I'm so scared," he replied as he squared up to Raulph. Then he began to cackle and leaned close to his ear to whisper, "You can keep her mate, she's frigid anyway!" Letting go of her quickly Raulph raised his fist and aimed it forcefully at an unsuspecting Rick who groaned as his hand came into contact with his nose and a sickening crack echoed down the corridor. The bully moaned deeply and grabbed hold of his nose which began to bleed immediately, Raulph stepped back making sure Lily was tucked away behind him as Rick squared up to him, "You'll pay for this," he mumbled behind his hands.

"Yeah I'm scared," Raulph yelled and then the boy looked at him menacingly before turning on his heel and heading back down the corridor away from the two of them.

"Thank you," Lily whispered breathlessly when he had disappeared from sight, as if he had forgotten that she was there Raulph turned back to her looking a little startled.

"What are you doing out here on your own?" he asked in a commanding voice.

"I needed some space, she replied quietly, "I wanted to be alone," she added looking at the floor.

"Where's your date?" he asked almost reluctantly.

"In the hall," she replied.

"We should get you back to him in there," he added putting a hand on the small of her back and trying to guide her in the direction of the great hall."

"No," she said forcefully, "I don't want to go back in there."

"Shall I go and find him then?" he asked. "You shouldn't be alone out here with morons like Rick around, it's not safe."

"No," she replied looking down at her feet. "I...I just broke things off with David," she muttered quietly, "I...I don't want to see him now."

"Oh," Raulph replied looking at her curiously, "how come?"

"I just...he wasn't right...I just didn't like him that much," she stuttered and looked up at him through sad eyes. His heart melted as he gazed down at her, she looked lonely and vulnerable and he longed to console her.

Lily had begun to shiver but she had not noticed it herself, "You're freezing," Raulph said putting his hands on her arms and rubbing them vigorously.

"I'm alright," she said through chattering teeth.

"Let me take you back inside," he pleaded but she shook her head once more.

"I can't," she replied, "Not yet, He'll be looking for me, he...well didn't take it very well."

"Oh! Well let's at least get out of this draughty corridor," he suggested, "here take this," he went on taking his cloak from around his shoulders and wrapping it around hers, "come on!" He took hold of her hand and began to lead her along the corridor and out into the courtyard. Lily had felt the jolt of electricity that he always sent through her body the moment his hand had touched hers and she shivered once more but not from the cold this time. He pulled her quickly across the courtyard and over the drawbridge and then turned left past the Beauxbaton's carriage and over to a large building she had seen but not explored before.

"Where are we?" she asked curiously when they stopped by a ten foot high wooden door.

"The coach house," he replied pushing the door open, "well sleigh house really as we don't have coaches," he chuckled tugging her gently into the enormous stone building. It was pitch black inside but Lily felt completely safe with Raulph, he drew his wand out of his pocket and whispered, "Lumos," the end lit up casting a green glow over the coach house, Lily could see the row of white sleighs which had taken them into the village the previous Saturday, under the glow of Raulph's wand they looked magical as they glistened in the green shimmer. "Come on," he urged tugging her hand once more and leading her along the row of sleighs, as they approached each one it came into the green glow and then disappeared behind them.

"How many are there?" she asked.

"About fifty," he replied, "we use them to get up here from the village on the first day of school, but further up here are the older ones some of which are, aha!" he said as the green glow cast its light over a couple of magnificent looking sleighs. They had an antique look to them and unlike the ones they had used at the weekend, these sleighs were like small carriages with doors and small windows. They were faded white and were edged in gold swirly carvings each one had a seat at the front which was exposed for the driver to sit on and another at the back probably for a servant or someone to use.

"These are beautiful," Lily whispered in awe.

"Jump inside," Raulph said as he let go of her hand and opened the door of the sleigh directly in front of him, as it opened a small wrought iron step appeared and fell gently down stopping at the perfect height for climbing in. Raulph held out his hand for her and she took it as she climbed inside, it was pitch black and she could only just make out two long bench seats facing each other. She sat down on one as Raulph climbed in behind her and closed the door, he pointed his wand at a bracket above the seat she was sitting on and a candle suddenly lit up the whole carriage. Lily gasped as the inside came into sight, she was sat on a worn red velvet cushioned seat which was trimmed in gold brocade, the walls were covered in faded silk damask which had a paisley type patterns printed within it, the bracket holding the candle was wrought iron with gold gilt on it and was encrusted around the candle holder with sparkling jewels. Another bracket held a second candle above the opposite seat which Raulph had sat down upon and he turned around to light it, Lily continued to gaze around and saw heavy red drapes pulled back with gold woven tie backs at each of the windows. With a flick of his wand Raulph released them and they fell across meeting in the centre of the door and enclosing them inside the beautiful cocoon, "There," he said, "he won't find you in here!" Lily giggled and mouthed a thank you at him before turning back to gaze at the wonderful interior.

"This is amazing," she said breathlessly, she had not yet really realised that she had just left the ball and come to the opposite end of the school with Raulph where no one would think to look for her and it was another minute before she actually did and then she turned to look at him. He was watching her with a soft smile on his face and was longing to reach over and touch her, kiss her and disappear into her beauty but he knew she had just broken up with her date and he was still not sure if she felt the same way about him as he did about her. "Won't er..." she didn't know the name of his date, "sorry, your date be missing you?" she whispered.

"Lotte? No, she's not a date."

"Oh!"

"She's an old friend, a very old friend my Mum is friends with her Dad, a bit like Dad and Fleur are, I've known her since I was about five, we grew up together and I look at her like I do Victoire and Dominique she's actually going out with my cousin Brin at the moment."

"But you asked her to come to the ball?" Lily asked curiously.

"Yes," he began to chuckle, "Brin knows were good friends and I actually asked him first, I knew he wouldn't mind and he also knew Lotte would probably enjoy catching up with some of her friends who are still here, she's only a year older then me she left in July."

"But why ask someone from home? I mean you could have had your pick of girls here," she began to blush a little but the candle light hid it well.

"There was no one I wanted to ask," he coughed uncomfortably.

"Oh," she said quietly.

"Well I mean there was no one free," he looked at her shyly, "and as a champion I couldn't go alone because I knew I had to start the dancing so I decided Lotte would be the best person."

"Surely there must have been someone here that you wanted to go with."

"Lots of the Durmstrang girls were hanging around me all the time wanting me to ask them so they could be seen with the champion but the school girls here are so silly and childish, I didn't want to take any of them," he tried to explain.

"I see," she said trying not to look offended by the fact that he had said school girls were childish. "Maybe we should go back," she continued rising from the seat.

"No, wait," he said quite forcefully realising that his comment could have been taken the wrong way, how long was he going to skirt around this? He needed to tell her how he felt and he needed to do it now. She looked at him and he stood up slowly so he could sit beside her on the velvet seat, he noticed that she was shivering again and he moved closer so he could place an arm around her. "I didn't mean that all the girls were childish and silly, just a lot of them are, but not you...you're not silly or...or childish you're...mature and..." he wanted to say beautiful and warm and kind, why did he always get so tongue tied when he was trying to talk to her like this, as soon as he tried to say that he wanted to kiss her and go on a date with her and just sit holding her hand even he turned into a jabbering wreck.

"And?" she whispered looking up into his eyes through her own deep brown orbs, she felt him tighten his grip around her but she was unable to stop shivering.

"And...I'm...I'm sorry Lily," he said breathlessly unable to speak coherent words, all he wanted to do was kiss this pretty brown eyed and dark haired girl who didn't seem to be resisting his hold on her, a hold which was getting tighter and tighter the more he looked at her.

"Sorry?" she asked, "For what?"

"For this," he said and then slowly and tentatively he leaned forwards and placed his full soft lips on top of hers, he heard her gasp softly but her own lips began to mirror his as she allowed him to kiss her. His arms wrapped further around her thin curvy waist and he pulled her into him as her own small hands moved onto his waist and then around his back so that she too was holding him as tightly as he held her. The kiss deepened and Raulph felt her tongue slide into his mouth and begin to dance around with his own, he felt the electricity shoot up and down his body as the kiss lengthened and his heart began to melt as he realised just how long he had been waiting for this moment. He couldn't get himself any closer to this woman who he wanted to lose himself in, he was holding her so tightly that he could hear her shallow breaths and finally had to release her, they parted slowly as his hands came up to the sides of her face and he kissed her gently pulling his lips away slowly and then opening his eyes to look down into hers. They fluttered open slowly and looked back at him with the same feeling he had in his own he noticed that she was still shaking and he pulled back to look at her, "Are you still cold?" he whispered his hands on her arms but she shook her head slowly at him, "then why are you shaking?"

"Because of you," she whispered sounding out of breath, "but why are you sorry?"

"I...I didn't know if you wanted me to..." he coughed but still did not let go of her, "after last time I thought you didn't want me...that you didn't like me in that way." His eyes darted away from hers then afraid that she would reject him again.

"Raulph, I thought you only kissed me because you felt sorry for me."

"No," he said quite vehemently gripping her arms tighter and then releasing them when he saw her wince slightly, "No, back then I...I looked at you and I knew you were vulnerable and I shouldn't have done it like that but you looked so beautiful, I mean I had always thought you were a pretty girl but I had never looked at you that way before, but in that moment when I gazed into your eyes I realised you weren't just a pretty girl, you were a beautiful and amazing woman and I couldn't help myself. When you ran away I realised I had offended you, I thought I had done the wrong thing and I tried to forget about it thinking you only wanted to see me as a friend, but ever since that first kiss I've been able to think of nothing else but doing it again."

"But why haven't you said anything?" she asked.

"Because every time I tried to I got all tongue tied and acted like a complete moron, it was only when we had drunk all that firewhiskey on your birthday that I was able to say how I really felt but then we were disturbed and I couldn't quite remember what I'd said to you. Then I thought you might think it was all the drink talking and again I tried to talk to you when I walked you back to the train that day but my mouth just wouldn't work properly and I couldn't tell if you wanted me to...or..." He looked helplessly at her and she suppressed a little giggle as she noticed that he resembled a scared puppy dog. "I had made the decision to ask you to the ball and be shot down in flames if I needed to be on the day I saw you with David but then he asked you about the arrangements for the ball and I realised it was too late and I couldn't ask you so I asked Lotte. I didn't want to be there with anyone else so..." she smiled at him and he asked, "have I done the wrong thing?"

"What?" she returned with a puzzled expression.

"Kissing you? You returned it but was it what you wanted?"

Instead of answering him with words Lily took his hands in hers and then leaned up to kiss him back, his eyes stayed wide open for a moment in shock but then he closed them and began to return the kiss that she had this time initiated, a kiss which once more sent shivers through his whole body as his arms enfolded her once more and her hands began to run up his back and into his hair making him shudder with delight as he relaxed and realised just how much he had been longing to do this. He had never experienced anything like it before, he had kissed other girls, had even gone all the way with some of them but he had never felt this kind of connection with them like he was somehow linked to her without them having to kiss or touch or in fact ever do anything else. It had always been pleasant and pleasurable in many cases but this was different, he felt at ease like he didn't want to go away from Lily Potter, with other girls he had been on dates and spent the night with them, or in some cases a fumbled hour in a hidden away part of the school, but he had always been eager to get back to his friends afterwards, to go back to the common room or go home and be by himself without the girl. Being with Lily was completely different, he felt like he wanted to stay with her all the time, like he would be eternally happy if they were the only two people left in the world. He had found himself counting the days every week until Wednesday when he would get to be alone with her for a few short hours and he was always downhearted when he had to leave and go to his final lesson knowing it would be another week before he would be so near to her again.

The kiss went on longer this time and when they finally parted Raulph realised that he was now laid on top of Lily who had her back on the velvet seat and her head in his hand. Her arms were wrapped around him and had reached inside his shirt to touch his bare back with her finger nails, his weight was propped on one elbow and his other hand was at her waist sliding up and down the curves of her body. Their legs were twisted together and she had one foot up on the seat so her knee was in the air and the other stretched out with both of his, he realised that he was pressing against her and knew that he had been somewhat aroused by the kiss. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes which once more fluttered open as he pulled away from her. Lily's hands slid down and one rested on his waist while the other moved around to touch his chest she felt his heartbeat pounding at a heightened speed and realised that it was echoing her own, "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Why this time?" she replied looking confused.

"For this," he said indicating the position in which they were now laid, "I don't want you to think I am pushing you into anything, I don't know how this happened," he looked guiltily at her and she giggled a little.

"It happened because we both wanted it to," she replied looking at him demurely through twinkling eyes. "Raulph, I trust you completely, you are not going to force me into anything I don't want to do, I know that after the length of time it has taken us to get this far. I would even trust you to use imperio on me."

"What?" he said sitting up a little and looking at her with a mixture of confusion and outrage. "I wouldn't ever, I'm not..."

"I know Raulph," she said reaching up to put her hands round his neck and pull him back down so his chest touched hers again, he allowed her to do it but continued to look at her with the same face, "Mel, you know Terry's girlfriend, she told us about it yesterday apparently everyone is doing it back at Hogwarts, well people in a relationship anyway, it's supposed to let them know how much you trust them. I felt like you obviously do about it and I told Mel she was stupid and that it was dangerous but she kept going on about how wonderful it is to have that much faith in someone and how it just shows them that you do. I don't think they ever do anything too, you know, but she said it lowers her inhibitions a little, I still thought it was dangerous and I said I would never do it but all I meant then was that I can see now what she meant about trusting someone so much, I only mean that's how much I feel I could trust you." She smiled back up at him then and the look on his face changed to one which showed understanding. "I never imagined I would have that much trust in someone, at least not until I was older but I just left the ball and the safety of being around everyone and let you lead me off to a secluded building where no one knows we are."

"I didn't mean to drag you away or anything," he tried to protest.

"You didn't," she replied soothingly, "there is no where else I would rather be," she added with a twinkle in her eye, "Raulph."

"Hmmm," he breathed knowing there was nowhere else in the world he would rather be either.

"Kiss me," and he obliged slowly lowering his head until their lips met again and he heard Lily groan softly under his touch, he longed to explore her slender body and feel the curve of it in his hands but he didn't want to push the young girl who he knew was much less experienced than he was. However as the thought entered his head it was as though she had it too because her hands slid up the front of his dress shirt and she began to stroke his chest softly weaving her hands around his nipples and groaning seductively. He felt his arousal growing and he knew it was pressing hard into Lily's leg but she was not afraid or scared by it as he felt her turn him slightly so he was between her legs, the full skirt she wore allowed both her knees to come up on either side of him and although there was material between them both he felt Lily arch her back and begin to rub herself slowly and sensuously against him.

They continued kissing and he ran his hands down the soft satin of her dress feeling the contours of her body, he could tell that she was wearing very little underneath it and this only added to his throbbing desire for her. For a second she stopped kissing him and looked up into his eyes, he noticed a little apprehension in them and he was about to ask if she wanted to stop when Lily took his hand and tentatively moved it to the strap of her dress and continued to look deep into his eyes through excited and apprehensive ones. She had stopped sliding her body up and down beneath him but with his hand in hers she peeled down the straps of the dress and lifted her body up slightly so he could reach round and unzip the top, "Lily," he whispered hesitating momentarily, "are you sure about this? I don't want to push you into anything."

"You're not," she replied, "I know you are more experienced than me and I don't want to displease you."

"Lily, you would never displease me, I may have had more sexual experience but I have never felt like this about anyone before, I would be happy just kissing you, I don't want you to do anything that you might regret."

"I won't," she replied reaching her hands up to unfasten the shirt he was wearing, "I'm not sure how far I want to go but..."

"Then we should stop," he answered moving his hand away from the zip which was now halfway down so that the dress was falling away from her front and almost revealing her breasts, "I want you Lily, but not if you don't want it, I'm not pushing you into anything."

"I know, and you're not," she whispered still unfastening the buttons to reveal his strong masculine chest, she gasped as she began to explore it with her hands, "I feel so comfortable with you Raulph, I want to do more than just kiss you but I don't want to be a tease either."

"You are not a tease Lily, I would wait as long as you wanted to, I didn't bring you in here for this."

"But I want to do this, I want to do more than kiss you, I feel like I've been waiting for this. A few hours ago I would have been satisfied with that first kiss but now that it's happened I have all these feelings inside of me that I want to explore, now," she whispered and then she took her hands form his chest and peeled the front of the dress away from her body to reveal her soft creamy skin and pert little breasts, she smiled as Raulph stared down at her still too hesitant to touch her but he could not tear his eyes away from her either. Her nipples were on end and looked like tiny buds on the end of her creamy breasts, she took his hand which had moved back to her side and placed it tenderly over one of them, as it touched her flesh Raulph groaned and Lily felt him stiffen even more between her legs, she was aroused and excited and desperate to be satisfied in some way, but she did not know how, she was nervous and now envied her friend who had been brave enough to allow her boyfriend to use an unforgivable curse to lower her inhibitions. She didn't want to disappoint Raulph but she was bitterly aware of the fact that she didn't really know what she was doing.

He began to massage her breast and touched the end of her nipple causing her to gasp as a new wave of excitement ran through her body, she began to arch her back again and rub herself against Raulph's hard member which she could feel throbbing between her legs, they began to kiss again as he continued to caress her breast and he heard her breathing begin to quicken as her rubbing became faster and faster. Lily was thrusting her tongue into Raulph's mouth and had moved her hands to the small of his back as if she was trying to grip on for dear life, her movements became swifter and swifter and Raulph began to feel his own excitement quickening within him. He could feel her getting close to explosion and as she pushed herself up against him stopping the rhythmic motion she groaned softly and he gripped her tightly wrapping his arms around her so he was almost squeezing the breath out of her and he felt her seem to convulse slightly and then relax in his arms. Her breath was ragged and her eyes were closed, slowly he released her from the tight grip and laid her back on the velvet seat looking down at her face and raining soft kisses all around it, she smiled and made soft moaning noises which made him smile too. Whenever he had been intimate with a girl it had always been quick and to fulfil both their needs but this time had been different, he had enjoyed the way Lily had taken control and been able to send herself to new heights while gripping onto him.

He did not care that he had not had any sexual fulfilment from it, he had enjoyed the fact that he was with Lily Potter and been engrossed in how much she had wanted to do. He pulled the green satin dress back over her chest and looked down at the beautiful girl whose hair was now tousled and messy, falling from the twist she had styled it in for the ball, she looked angelic and satisfied and he suddenly felt a deep sense of something for this girl. He didn't think it was love, not yet but it was more than lust, looking at her soft contented face as her breathing returned to normal he realised that he could very easily fall in love with Lily Potter and knew it would not be very far off. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked sheepishly at him with a soft grin on her face, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" he replied with a puzzled expression.

"What about you?" she answered slyly glancing down her body where she could still feel him pressing against her , "I...I have...and you..." she looked uncomfortable and he silenced her with a soft kiss. When they broke apart she continued, "I don't want to go too far, not yet but I feel that...that it was about me and...and not you, I don't really know how to..." he smiled at her serenely and kissed her on the end of the nose he then breathed on her face softly and whispered to her.

"I don't care, I will wait as long as you want to, I am just as happy being here with you, I don't need anything more."

"But-"

"Shhh," he whispered dropping one more kiss on her lips. She was about to argue again when they heard a clattering sound outside and they both froze, it came from further down the building but they both sat up immediately and Raulph extinguished the candle light plunging them in to total darkness as Lily fiddled with the zip on her dress and hurriedly pulled her straps back up.

"Who is it?" she whispered betraying her fear with a quaver in her voice, she was well aware that if she was caught doing anything like this she would be sent home in disgrace.

"Don't worry," Raulph replied edging to the window and flicking the curtain back with his wand, an extremely faint light filtered through the gap and they both heard the large wooden door of the coaching house close behind someone, "they've gone," he whispered pulling Lily back into his arms, she leant against his chest and let him wrap his safe strong arms around her. He gently kissed the top of her head and said, "Are you alright?"

"Aha," she nodded.

"Are you sure?" he went on, "You don't regret anything do you?"

"No," she returned pulling back slightly out of his grip and lifting her head in search of his lips. They shared one more long sensuous kiss before he suggested that they should get back out to the party. They were both reluctant but agreed it would be the most sensible thing to do, they didn't actually know how long they had been missing and it was likely that Lily's friends would be starting to worry.

She sighed as she stepped out of the beautiful sleigh and Raulph closed the door behind her, she gave it one last look before they set off towards the great hall, he took her hand in his and they walked side by side, she was wearing his cloak again but did not feel the cold as she thought back on the wonderful time she had just had with this man. When they reached the door he took her waist and gave her one more kiss and as they broke apart he whispered, "Will you see me tomorrow?" he was desperate not to have to let her go but he knew she would need to return to the train for the night and he to his dormitory and that as soon as they were back in the great hall they would be accosted by their own friends.

"Yes," she replied, her arms had wrapped around his neck and she felt as if he was holding her up, "when?" she too was eager to spend more time alone with him.

"As soon as possible I hope," he whispered and she giggled at him shyly.

"Mel is here until lunchtime so I should spend some time with her in the morning, what about after lunch?"

"I don't know if I can wait that long," he moaned in a joking voice, "I don't want to let you go."

"Neither do I," she returned breathlessly and they found themselves standing in the shadows of the coaching house doorway for another twenty minutes as they kissed each other longingly allowing their hands to travel over their clothes where they had been mere moments before. Eventually they broke apart long enough for Raulph to suggest that they rejoin everyone before a search party was sent out and they reluctantly left the coaching house and walked hand in hand back over the drawbridge and across the courtyard. Many other couples were dotted across the grassy square in the centre of the fortress, some holding hands and walking, some kissing in secluded corners and Raulph did not let go of her hand all the way across it. As they reached the entrance to the great hall he pulled her to one side and said, "Are you okay with this?"

"With what?" she asked in confusion.

"This," he repeated holding up their entwined hands, "if you want us to go in separately that's fine with me," he added looking like he never wanted to let her hand go again.

"Raulph it's fine," she replied smiling at him, "will you dance with me?"

"I'd like nothing more," he said as he pulled her gently to the doorway and walked into the room still gripping tightly to her hand, Lizzie and Mel both noticed their entrance and smiled gleefully when they saw who she was with, David, who was sat by himself at their table also noticed and his expression became mutinous as he watched Krum lead her straight to the dance floor where he took Lily in his arms and proceeded to dance with her until the small hours of the morning when most of the students had retired to their bed.

He walked her to the train slightly ahead of Lizzie and Peter and Melissa and Terry, they reached the doorway to the girl's carriage and he kissed her swiftly on the lips and then raised her hand to kiss it too before bidding her goodnight and adding, "Until tomorrow," Lily blushed and nodded her head as he turned to walk away with Peter who had given Lizzie his own goodnight kiss.

The two girls stood in the doorway and watched them until they were back across the drawbridge and out of sight before the blonde one turned to the darker haired girl and gushed, "I want to know everything!" and then in a fit of girlish giggles they disappeared through the door and up to their dormitory where they did not sleep a wink all night as the two of them and Mel cosied up in her bunk with the curtains closed and Lily told most of the story to her two best friends.