Chapter Twenty-One
She had been unsure about what exactly to wear. It wasn't a formal presentation, the Dark Lord was expecting her, but still she wanted to look nice. She finally settled on Slytherin green robes paired with dainty matching slippers. Her hair was freshly cut into a chic bob, the black locks curling gently, just past her chin. She wanted to look feminine, yet not enticing. Somewhat delicate, but still capable.
The hallway was familiar, with its dark carved wood and numerous doors. At the end of the hallway was a small window, with an equally small table set before it. She could see the glint of the sun hitting the small glass vase that held dying flowers from the corner of her eye when it was not firmly trained on the tips of her shoes.
This was only her second visit to the house, and though her name protected her somewhat, it still wasn't smart to connect eyes with the rare individual allowed to walk down this particular corridor.
She had been sitting for at least an hour, when she almost jumped out of her skin as a heavy hand landed on her shoulder.
Her eyes followed the heavy limb until they connected with Wormtail's less than pleasant visage. She had to push back the disgust that wanted to grace her face, instead painting it with polite smile. She had disliked the man when her eyes first laid on him, with his fat slovenly appearance and beady eyes. What made him important enough to warrant his position? Unwavering idiocy most likely, she thought.
"He is ready to see you," he said, in his grating, reedy voice.
She silently followed him down the long corridor, the clicking of her heels muffled by the expensive Persian floor runner. Soon they stood before a pair of dark, polished double doors.
He knocked once, and she had to tamp down the urge to shift her feet as they waited for an answer.
"Enter."
Wormtail opened the door, pausing for a moment to assess the room, before quickly ushering her inside.
Rich, brown velvet curtains blocked out the midday sun and dimmed the room considerably. A few tapestries lined the walls and broke the monotony of the dark plum wallpaper, but only the fireplace brought warmth to the room.
The Dark Lord was seated in a heavy, leather armchair, placed just out of the reach of the light from the fireplace. His features were shadowed, and for this she was glad. She remembered her first glance at his inhuman features and disturbing red eyes. She tried to blank her thoughts, but she hadn't been trained in Occlumcy, so she knew that it was most likely in vain. She just hoped that he wouldn't take offense, or at least deemed her fleeting thoughts to trivial to bother searching.
She took a small step forward before lowering herself into a deep curtsy, that she knew made her robes billow in a most becoming fashion.
She remained in position, her face lowered as Wormtail spoke. "Will you be needing anything else, M'lord?"
"No. You may leave ussss," Voldemort said quietly.
Wormtail left the room, the door shutting with a quiet click behind him.
"Rissse, and look at me. I wish to sssee your face."
She gracefully rose to her feet, turning her face toward his shadowed features. She swallowed hard, as he leaned forward and the firelight revealed his reptilian face.
A cold shiver ran down her spine when a smile graced his thin lips. "Have you completed the tasssk I asssked of you?"
"I have, M'lord."
"Come, let me sssee."
She walked forward, before sinking once more to kneel at his feet. His hand rose to cup the back of her head.
It was her only warning before his mind sank into hers with the force of a blade slicing through skin. She was unable to prevent the small hiss of pain that escaped her lips, and she trembled when he made a sound of pleasure at the noise.
She remained still as he rifled through her memories. She had done exactly as he had instructed, and found the perfect candidate for his particular request. He watched as she approached the yellow eyed witch with a falsely tearful expression.
"Ssshe is a lover of women, yesss?"
"She is," she said quietly, "There have always been rumors about her orientation. It wasn't too difficult to convince her to meet with me privately."
"Would you have gone as far asss to ssseduce her?"
"If need be, yes, but there wasn't a need for such repugnant activities. I merely told her that I had similar feelings and needed someone to talk with about them. She was hesitant, but I emphasized that I didn't have an adult figure that I was comfortable speaking with, and that my parents wouldn't be receptive," she said quietly.
Voldemort chuckled, titillated at her deviousness. "Ah, I sssee."
He watched as the girl followed the woman to her office. The older witch offered her tea, a concerned, yet friendly look on her face, that quickly turned into horror and then blankness as the Imperius hit her squarely between the eyes.
"You made sssure to cover your tracksss? Ssshe will be ready when needed?"
"Yes, M'lord," she said quietly. "I have instructed her to act normally until the proper moment. When the time comes she wont hesitate to do as ordered, before coming to me afterward. She has a window of an hour to get to me to be Obliviated, or the Imperius will cause her to take her own life. Either way she won't be able to tell tales."
Voldemort's hand slid from her hair as he settled back into his chair. "I don't often give sssecond chancesss, and I sssense that the mark was not what you were after when you offered your ssservice to me, but I find that I like your calculating nature and ssso I will grant it if you have changed your mind."
"No, M'lord," she said, before she thought better of it. "I mean," she added quickly, stumbling a bit on her words,"It isn't that I wouldn't be honored to receive the mark should you decide to give it, it's just..."
"Jussst sssay what you want. I don't have time for blathering," Voldemort said cuttingly.
Pansy's eyes rose to meet his. "I want Draco."
0o0
"Ugh, I just realized that I didn't take the time to get clothes while we were at my house. Thank Merlin that I left a lot of them at school," Taryn groaned once they had gotten back to Draco's apartment.
"Don't worry about that. We can just shrink some of my robes to fit you for tomorrow, and transfigure something for you to wear underneath," Draco said, before asking quietly, "Are you okay? Y'know, about what just happened with your parents?"
"I'm not happy with their reaction, but I can't say that I'm surprised. I figured that they were going to freak out, so I was somewhat prepared for it. This is going to sound really bad, and I don't want you to think that I don't care about them. I do care, but they aren't really my parents. I don't have that same depth of emotion that I'd have if they were my own parents," she said, as she toed off her boots, wriggling her feet in the plush rug by his bed.
"That's actually understandable. I mean, you haven't known them long enough to forge deep bonds or anything."
Taryn quirked her mouth at him. "People could say the same thing about us."
He pulled her to him, his arms going around her waist from behind. He laid a warm kiss against her neck. "They'd be wrong. We both know that we always felt something for each other, granted, it was a healthy amount of dislike before it became this," he said, lips still grazing her skin.
"That's true," Taryn allowed, before she groaned. "I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. Besides Chase, we don't really have any true friends." She turned in his arms, leaning back to look into his face. "After we talk with Dumbledore, I really want to tell him about myself."
"Just Chase? What about Potter and Weasley?"
Taryn sighed. "I can't just jump back into my previous life. As much as I want to tell Harry and Ron, I'm not sure if it will be fair to them. Really, think about it. It has to come from you and I doubt Harry will believe anything that you have to say right now. He suspects you far too much."
Draco thought about her statement. He stilled as he realized the depth of trust that she had placed in him. She really couldn't tell anyone who she was, and unless he decided to tell others her secret would remain just that. "You're right. Potter would probably want to cast an Unforgivable at me if I even attempted to speak your name. That you're my fiance only makes the truth less believable." He sighed, "Well, at least I won't have to warn off Serrano, though I'd probably have to knock you before he'd stop trying to get at you," Draco growled.
"I hope he got the message when I abandoned him at the Christmas party. He was way too grabby. I was close to hexing him just so he'd keep his hands to himself," Taryn grimaced.
"Fuck, don't tell me that. You don't know how close I got to kicking his ass. I didn't like the way he looked at you. In fact, I hate how any guy looks at you. Hopefully, my ring on your finger will make some them back off, because I really don't need to get expelled for putting blokes in the infirmary."
"You talk like every guy in school is trying to get in my knickers," Taryn said, rolling her eyes. "Its pretty much the exact opposite," she turned in his arms, tilting back her head to look into his eyes. "You're the one that all the girls want. I swear, I think that more girls are after you than Harry."
"That's because I'm hotter than Potter," Draco said, laughing a bit at his unintentional rhyme.
"No arguments here," Taryn said, tiptoeing to rub her lips across his.
0o0
"I can't believe that you're engaged," Rico said, furiously hitting the button on his controller. "Shit," he said, tossing the controller on the couch next to him when he lost yet again. "How do you keep winning? Have you played this already?" he asked suspiciously.
Draco laughed. "Playstations don't exactly work at Hogwarts."
"Oh yeah," Rico said, before his voice lowered to a serious tone. "But really, are you sure about the whole engagement thing?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," he said quietly.
Rico nodded after a moment. "You must be. That's a freaking huge rock on her finger, and you even let her take your credit card to go shopping. That is love, bro."
Draco stretched, before leaning back into the soft cushions. "Well, Bianchi's is out for awhile. I'm already going to have to deal with Pansy's shit when I get back to school. I'd rather not add Brandi in too," he said, speaking about their tradition to eat once more at the pizza parlor before Draco returned to school.
"Leah is set on us taking you both out to celebrate your engagement. She thinks that its ridiculously romantic. I've told her that I don't dance," Rico said with a grimace. Suddenly his features brightened. "At least I get to laugh at you. You're pretty much obligated to dance," he said with a laugh.
"How do you figure that?" Draco asked.
"You said that Taryn is a dancer. She'll probably want to dance and you'll be too jealous to let her dance on her own. Have you talked with her about that? The jealousy thing?"
"Kind of. She just brushes it off. I don't think she realizes how serious I am about it," Draco said with a frown.
0o0
"Okay, just put this piece right..." Leah said, pulling a bobby pin out of her mouth and sliding it into Taryn's hair. "You have great hair. Is this color natural?"
"Um, yeah it is," Taryn said.
She was sitting on the toilet so the shorter girl could easily reach her hair.
"Okay, you can look," the other girl said.
Taryn stood to glance in the mirror. Her hair was pulled into a half up half down style that managed to make her wavy hair look as if it would fall with the pull on one pin, yet was strangely secure. "Its not too much? I could just put my hair into a ponytail."
"No," Leah said firmly. "I caved on the color thing," she said eying Taryn's outfit, "You should do a little something different with your hair. Not that you need much color with that huge rock on your finger," the other girl joked.
Taryn turned her head, the rhinestone clip in her hair catching the light from the bulbs above the sink. "Its cute," she said finally. She smoothed down her shirt, which was a contrast the the bright outfit the Leah was wearing.
The other girl was wearing a pink metallic halter top and skintight dark wash jeans. Her dark hair was smooth, lying like dark water over her shoulders.
Taryn was wearing a deep gray top, that hung a bit off of one shoulder, and banded just above the waist band of her slim fitting black jeans. The small rhinestone charm on the thin silver belly chain she wore winked as she turned to get a full appraisal of her outfit. Her outfit was sexy, yet casual and comfortable.
"You sure that you don't want to borrow something of mine? I have this blue top that would look really good with your coloring," Leah suggested.
"No, I think that this is fine," Taryn said.
"You afraid of what Ryu is going to think if you wear it?"
Taryn paused for a moment before her mind clicked on the Ryu name. "He probably wouldn't like it if I went out in something super sexy, but he'd have to deal if that was what I wanted. I love him, but he doesn't dictate my life."
Leah smiled at that. "Well, judging by what happened at the bar any guy would be crazy to go after you while he's around."
"He doesn't have anything to worry about," Taryn said.
"Hmmm, if you say so," the other girl said.
Taryn turned to her. "What does that mean?"
"Chill," Leah said raising her hands. "I don't mean that I think that you'd cheat on him or anything, and I really don't know him very well, I just think that he seems like the jealous type. He just seems really...intense. Rico can be pretty intense in his own way, but I think that Ryu is on a totally different level."
"I can deal with him," Taryn said with a grin.
"You're going to have to," Leah said with a laugh, "Especially since you're marrying the guy. How long have you to been together?"
"Well, we've know each other since we were eleven, but we've only been together for about four months," Taryn said.
"Aw, childhood sweethearts," Leah said, looking starry eyed.
"Not exactly," Taryn laughed. "We practically hated each other for years. Its only been rather recently that it changed."
"Is Ryu as secretive as Rico?" Leah asked. "I mean, I didn't even know that Rico had a brother until a few days ago. I saw the second bedroom and I just assumed that Ryu was his roommate or something. I'm actually still a little pissed off about it."
"That's something that they share. Ryu can be closemouthed too," she said quietly.
"Has he taken you to Stygian?" Leah asked.
"No, he's told me all about it, but I haven't been there yet," Taryn answered.
"Well, if he does then Rico won't have any excuses about my going anymore."
"He hasn't taken you there yet?"
"No," the other girl said, "He doesn't want me there. He doesn't tell me a lot, but I'm not stupid. I know it must not be legit or something, otherwise he'd bring me around." She laughed. "We haven't been together much longer than you and Ryu, but there are still things that he won't talk to me about."
"Ryu will talk to me about things, but its mostly as they come up," Taryn said, trying to explain the situation without bringing Voldemort into it. She grimaced. Obviously she wasn't very good at this. Draco was coming off as a backwards "I know what's good for you, little lady" chauvinistic asshole.
"But, doesn't it bother you?" Leah asked.
"Sometimes," Taryn said honestly. "He tells me the important things, and he is a little overprotective, but he knows my limits, how far to go, and if he needs reminding I don't have a problem letting him know. Really, though, at the end of the day I know that he loves me and that that is the most important thing."
0o0
Colored lights cut through the fog that flowed throughout the dance floor. The press of bodies gave the air a warm, almost tropical feeling.
Leah and Taryn danced side by side, their boyfriends sitting at a nearby table on the edge of the dance floor.
"Let's head over to the table. I'm gonna die if I don't get something to drink," Leah called over the loud, thrumming beat of the music.
Taryn nodded, and they made their way back to the table. She reached over and grabbed the rest of Draco's drink, downing the beverage until only the ice was left.
"That was mine," he said, raising his brow.
Taryn grinned before crunching on a piece of ice. "You don't need it. You've been sitting here the whole time. You should come out and dance with me."
"Yeah, go dance with her Ryu," Rico said with a grin.
Taryn grabbed his hand. "Come on, I know you know how to dance. I bet you learned to dance the waltz before you even came to Hogwarts."
"Yeah, well this is pretty far from the waltz," Draco said motioning at the gyrating bodies on the dance floor.
"Don't worry," Taryn said with a naughty smile, "I'll be gentle with you."
Draco counted himself lucky when a slightly slower dance song came on. That is until Taryn turned, her back to his chest as she slid an arm up to curl around his neck. Her hips started to do a slow figure eight shimmy as she moved to the music.
His hands instinctively slid down to hold her hips as she moved against him. "You must not want to be here much longer," He murmured. His voice had turned into that low growl that she loved so much.
"What do you mean?" she asked in mock innocence. She turned her face to peck a kiss against his lips, before she undulated in a slow body roll against him. She could feel him coming to attention behind her, and she shivered in anticipation.
Her heels made her the perfect height for him to whisper into her ear. "You think I don't know what you're doing?"
She rocked her hips back into his, shivering as he ran his finger tips across the exposed skin of her midriff. "You deserve it for making me practically drag you on the dance floor."
He pulled her arm from his neck, kissing the sensitive skin of her wrist, before he turned her in his arms. "We're leaving," he said, kissing her quickly on the mouth. He grasped her hand, pulling her from the dance floor, and back to their table.
"Judging by that little performance on the dance floor, I'd guess that you're leaving," Rico said with a knowing grin.
"You'd be guessing correctly," Draco said.
Rico stood. "I probably wont see you before you leave for school, so take care of yourself bro," he said, giving Draco a quick hug. He turned to Taryn. "Its been nice to finally meet you Taryn."
Taryn smiled at him. "Likewise."
Leah pulled her into a hug. "Let me know if you need any help planning the wedding. We'll see you both again around Easter, yeah?"
"Probably," Taryn said. She would do her utmost effort to assure that both she and Draco would be able to see the couple again.
"Of course you will," Rico said, lightly, his serious face belittling the effort at levity. Draco told her that Rico knew about Voldemort, but not every detail.
"You and Ryu will have the apartment to yourselves. Rico and I fully intend to take advantage of the fact that my roommate is still out of town," Leah said with a wink. The bubbly girl had obviously not noticed the serious undertones of their conversation. "Try not to scare the shit out of me the next time that we see each other," she said, directing her comment to Draco.
"He wont," Taryn said. "We'll meet up for a proper lunch somewhere expensive and make him pay for it," she said grinning.
0o0
They appeared back in the apartment with a pop.
Taryn followed Draco to the bedroom, fully expecting him to toss her on the bed. She was surprised when he began stripping off his clothes, heading directly to the bathroom.
She frowned when the sound of the shower started immediately after he closed the door. Not that she was an expert on the subject, but she didn't think that this was the way seduction was supposed to go.
Draco was usually the aggressor in the bedroom, but it was about time the he gave up the reins, at least for a bit.
With that thought in mind, she stripped off her clothes and gathering courage, opened the bathroom door.
She could see his body through the semi-transparent shower curtain, and paused for a moment to admire the view.
She pulled the pins from her hair, dropping them on the vanity, before running her fingers through her hair to soothe the slightly sore spots on her scalp.
Rico had the master bedroom of the apartment, and because of this Draco's bathroom wasn't the most spacious of bathing rooms.
When Taryn pushed back the the shower curtain and stepped into the tub, she was almost plastered against his back.
He looked over his shoulder with a grin, and she watched in enthralled fascination as water ran in rivulets down the muscles of his back.
She pulled the washcloth from his hands and began to run the sudsy cloth over is skin. "This shower doesn't have anything on your shower back at school."
He turned around, his grey gaze locking on hers. "That's okay. We wont be in here very long anyway," his voice was low, laced with sensual promise. He leaned down to capture her mouth with his, gently brushing his lips against hers. The washcloth dropped to the shower floor, forgotten as her hands twined around his back, brushing the muscles there.
Her mouth opened on a soft gasp, and he deepened the kiss, his mouth hotly colliding with hers.
One of her hands moved from its place on his back, down to trace the taut muscles of his stomach, before reaching her ultimate goal.
His mouth broke from hers with a moan when she wrapped her hand around him, lightly rubbing her thumb on the underside of his cock, sliding upward the rub the tip.
She began to stroke him firmly, watching as his eyes drifted close with a groan. His hand drifted down to still hers. "If you keep doing that I'll come."
"That's okay. I want to make you feel good," she whispered. She tugged his head down, kissing again him as her hand began to move rhythmically once more.
One of his hands braced against the tile wall, the other cupped her jaw as he locked his mouth against hers. Heated pleasure ran through his skin, the pinpricks of hot water at his back only adding to the sensations that traveled through his body. His hips began to move urgently, rocking as he helped her push him into ecstasy.
His mouth broke from hers with a groan as he came hard, his forehead resting against hers. His eyes opened lazily and connected with hers.
Her mouth curved into soft provocative smile, before she leaned forward to kiss him. "That was really hot," she murmured against his lips.
She thought it was cute how he blinked slightly in disorientation. She left him to gain his wits as she eased past him. She reached down to grab the washcloth, intending to wash before all of the hot water ran out.
He took the washcloth from her hands. "Uh uh, baby. You washed me. My turn to wash you."
He wet the cloth in the cooling spray, reaching over for the bar of soap and quickly lathering the cloth. He ran the cloth down one of her arms, before running it over her breasts. Her nipples drew taut as he teased them with the cloth, running it over them in soft circles.
A soft, breathy moan of pleasure left her mouth, as she concentrated on the sensation of the cloth moving against her warming skin.
Draco dropped the cloth, leaning down to take one of her nipples into his mouth, his tongue laving for a moment before he began to gently suck.
"Oh, my god," she breathed, her back arching slightly.
Her eyes drifted close as he kissed between her breasts and down her stomach before lowering himself to his knees.
Her knees buckled slightly as he dropped soft kisses against her belly. Her hand reached out to grab at a convenient bar for balance.
Draco's hand traced down her left leg, hooking it to twine it over his shoulder. He leaned forward and settled his mouth against her. Her head banged against the tile, as a sob of pleasure was ripped from her mouth.
His tongue moved in soft, slow circles around her clit, with just the right way to drive her insane. She arched into his mouth, her free hand moving to tunnel through his hair. She keened when one of his fingers slipped inside of her, gently thrusting and withdrawing.
She grew hotter and hotter as delight settled into her body. He kept the perfect rhythm, pushing her ever closer to climax.
Her eyes snapped open, a wail escaping her mouth as she came, trembling in the aftermath.
He rose from his knees, kissing her tenderly on the mouth. She wrapped her arms around him, and he ran a and down her back. She felt him pressing against her once more, and smiled, her face buried in his neck.
"Fun as this is," Draco drawled, "the water is getting a bit chilly. Time to take this elsewhere."
He moved away from her to shut off the water as she leaned bonelessly against the cooling tile.
Pushing back the shower curtain, he reached for a towel from the bar next to the tub. He carefully stepped out of the tub, before helping her do the same.
He dried her off, before using the same towel to dry himself.
She tried to squeeze the excess water from her long hair, squealing a bit when he swung her into his arms. "My hair is going to get the sheets wet," she warned as he laid her down on the rumpled bed.
"Who cares?" he said, climbing onto the bed and crashing his lips against hers once more.
Breaking his mouth from hers, he grabbed for one of the the decorative pillows, raising her hips and sliding it under her.
Her legs wrapped around his waist as he knelt before her, and he slid inside her in one smooth move. She cried out, her back arching into a curve, as he began to drive into her in deep, pumping thrusts.
His hands were clasped firmly on the curves of her hips, and his eyes almost blanked when she began to rock and swivel, using muscles made strong from dance to blow his mind.
"Fuck, yes, baby," he hissed, his eyes slitted in pleasure, his breath coming out in pants. His hand reached down to trace around her clit as his hips rocked into hers.
"Oh, shit...harder, Draco," she said in between whimpering moans. Her hands reached up to run down the flat, hard muscles of his chest, before reaching back to grasp at the headboard.
He was masterfully claiming her, and she was almost mindless with sensation, little cries of delight escaping her mouth. Pleasure sang through her body as he moved faster and faster, and she helped him surging hotly against him as their tense straining bodies moved ever closer toward the pinnacle of pleasure.
Suddenly she was there, coming hard, spasming around this length, with a scream. The movements pushed him into his own climax, and he came with a low, raw groan.
Once he had gained his breath, he gently moved from her. Dropping down beside her, he laid a kiss against her sweat slicked temple.