A/N: Have you been waiting for some Rated MA goodness? Because I have. Spoiler alert: lemons. I don't want to catch anyone off guard, but they may or may not reveal something later. Read at your own risk and of course R/R please and thank you. - QOP

Chapter 21: Yuletide Dreams

"You're really going to the party with him?" Bash asked for the hundredth time. He was sprawled on her bed while she moved around her dorm getting ready. Blaise had approached her cautiously earlier that day to say he hadn't found anyone else to go with him, and she suspected he hadn't actually tried in the first place.

"Bash, we're just friends. There's nothing to worry about," she repeated, also for the hundredth time. She understood his concern, but she also didn't like feeling like a possession.

"Yeah, you said that already." She looked at him in the mirror as she secured her earrings.

"This conversation has been circular for an hour." She lifted the necklace with the Protean charm out of her jewelry box, fidgeting with the clasp. Bash jumped off the bed and came up behind her, taking the necklace from her and securing it in one easy motion before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You look beautiful," he whispered, and she leaned back against him, holding his eye contact in the mirror. "If he touches you, I'll kill him." She snickered at his threat, knowing for a fact he'd follow through with it. Bash was extremely passionate when it came to her, shooting daggers at anyone who dared look at his witch. Though they had yet to go "all the way," the attention he's paid to her when they're simply kissing or cuddling in one of their beds late into the night has been enough to make her long for more on more than one occasion.

"Oh, hon, if he touches me I'll kill him. But he won't. And the only one I want touching me is you." And Draco. That intrusive thought made her insides scream, wanting to beat that little voice in her head with a quidditch bat.

"You better," he quipped, moving his right hand down her side, over her thigh and slowly bringing it up under her dress. His left hand moved across her waist to pull her flat against him as he trailed hot kisses from behind her ear, down her neck and over the exposed skin on her shoulder. Meanwhile his right hand moved higher, inching along until it came into contact with her black lacy thong, and he skimmed his thumb under the band, teasing her. Her eyes closed and she tipped her head back to rest on his shoulder, giving his mouth more access to her throat while his hand roamed into her panties to tease her further. He bit down gently on her neck as soon as his finger skimmed her center, pulling a moan from her lips and causing her hips to move instinctively looking for more. He ground his hips against her bum and she could feel his arousal hard against her. "If you're good, I'll finish this when you get back."

And all at once he pulled back, kissing her softly on the cheek and flattening her dress out on her right side again. She groaned at the loss of contact and opened her eyes to glare at him. The smirk on his face told her he knew exactly what kind of effect he was having on her, and the lusty darkness in his eyes matched what she'd already felt below his waist.

"You're evil," she breathed, rubbing her sweating palms against her dress and trying to ignore the heat that had pooled between her legs for him.

"I had to be sorted into Slytherin somehow," he grinned. A knock came at the door and Katerina could tell by the sudden scent of cologne and expensive whiskey aroma that it was Blaise.

"I'll be right out," she called to him, and checked in the mirror one last time to make sure her… current state wasn't obvious before turning to say goodnight to Bash. "I'll be back soon." She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled his face down to hers. "Then you can finish what you started." The glint in his eye and the smirk on his lips told her all she needed to know, and with a quick kiss to his lips she left the room, Bash trailing behind her. When the couple caught Blaise's eye, the Italian merely rolled his eyes and held his arm out for Katerina.

"I expect her home by 11, young man," Bash said in his best protective-dad voice. This time it was Katerina who rolled her eyes, and she and Blaise left for the party.

The party was just getting started when they arrived, and Katerina was glad to see Hermione there, even if she was looking rather shaken next to an obviously handsy taller Gryffindor. Blaise grabbed them each a drink, some sort of punch that'd clearly been spiked with something, and downed his in one go.

"You know," he began, reaching for another drink on a passing tray, "I know I agreed to this whole 'friends' thing, but seeing you and him together…." He trailed, not knowing how to finish that.

"Hmm, well, I'm not sure what to tell you," she said, feeling irritation begin to bubble inside her. They stood in awkward silence for a moment, people-watching and sipping their drinks. "Any news from your mom?" she finally asked.

He shook his head. "She's still pretty adamant about pulling me out, but I've managed to push it off thus far." He paused and the said, "Though I don't have much keeping me here anymore."

She huffed in irritation, looking him straight in the eye. "Blaise, if you keep making comments like that I will rescind my friendship offer and we can be nothing more than housemates." He looked back at her, as if trying to determine pushing the matter or not.

"Fine," he huffed. "I'll drop it. Your happiness means more to me anyway." He didn't smile when he said this, only sneered at the ultimatum.

"You sure have a funny way of showing it," she grumbled, but there was no bite in her tone. She knew this had been hard on him, seeing her with Bash so quickly after his second failed attempt to kiss her, but she had her reasons, and he was just going to have to respect that. Plus, in her mind, his jealousy at seeing Bash come out of her room with her was a million times better than the anger he'd no doubt feel if he knew about her incident with Draco the week before.

She downed her glass and reached for another just as Harry Potter entered, arm-in-arm with a brightly dressed younger Ravenclaw. She heard Blaise groan in irritation, but he didn't say anything.

"At least Hermione will have someone to hang out with now instead of that touchy blonde guy," Katerina offered, trying to lighten the mood.

"I really couldn't care less who any of them chose to waste their time with," Blaise grumbled, sipping his drink.

"Well, this should be a fun night," she replied sarcastically. They went back to people-watching, and she mingled a bit with others.

Suddenly the door swung open, and a flash of platinum hair drew her attention in time to see Filch dragged Draco in by the scruff.

"Get your hands off me!" he demanded, but Filch did no such thing as he pulled the young wizard to stand in front of Slughorn.

"Professor Slughorn, sir, I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor." Draco wouldn't meet her eye, just stared at the group embarrassed. "He claims to have been invited to your part-"

"Okay, okay, I was gate crashing! Happy?" Draco admitted, stealing a pleading glance at Katerina. Somehow she thought she could feel his anxiety. Snape moved forward, looming in front of the boy.

"I'll escort him out," the greasy professor said, then took Draco by the arm and dragged him out of the room.

Katerina's heart was hammering in her chest. They'd somehow managed to avoid each other for the last week, but just seeing him in that moment brought back the feeling of his lips on hers, his hands on her waist like he was clinging to life, and the butterflies in her stomach threatened to tear their way out.

"You alright? You're shaking a bit," Blaise said, forcing her to draw her attention away from the door. She looked at her hand which held her drink, and saw the liquid was sloshing due to her shaking. She swallowed, trying to dislodge the ball that had formed there.

"Yes," she answered, but didn't elaborate. She knew he wasn't convinced because even she wasn't.

"We don't have to stay," he offered, shifting his drink to his other hand so he could put the closer one on her back reassuringly. She shook her head.

"No. I'm okay, really." Blaise remained unconvinced, but didn't push the issue, and they stayed for another hour before Blaise finally gave up trying to pretend he was having a good time and convinced her to leave.

Back in the common room they found her friends seated on and around the couch by the fire, plus Theo, Pansy and Daphne seated at a table a few feet away. Everyone turned to look at them when they entered, and Katerina suddenly felt the weight of the night begin to increase on her. With a murmerred "thank you" to Blaise, and a squeeze of his hand, she walked over to her friends and collapsed on the couch next to Bash. Blaise went directly to his friends and accepted a cup of tea from Daphne as he sat at a vacant chair.

"How was it?" Olivia asked, trying to keep her voice down so the sixth-years wouldn't get involved. Katerina sighed as Bash pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist and settling her against his chest.

"It was… interesting, to say the least," she answered, rubbing the corners of her eyes carefully so as not to smudge her mascara. "My partner was in a sour mood for most of it, and a certain blond dickhead tried to crash it at one point only to get dragged out by Snape." Everyone stared at her wide-eyed. Nearby she could hear Blaise telling his friends about Draco's attempted party-crashing as well, but none of the sixth-years seemed to have anything to say either.

They were all still sitting around talking in their groups when the portrait door opened and the crasher himself stepped into the common room. He met Katerina's eyes first, and looked like he was going to bolt back from where he came until Pansy called his name and drew his attention away. With one last glance at Katerina he walked over to the raven-haired witch, grabbed her hand, dragged her to her feet and pulled her from the room, leaving his friends staring after him. Although his face had stayed characteristically blank, she could see in his eyes the emotions he was trying to hide. Embarrassment from being caught and put on display at the party. Anger at seeing her wrapped in the arms of another. Exhaustion from carrying around the weight of the world on his shoulders. Her heart ached seeing his emotional anguish, anguish she could almost swear she felt radiating off of him from where she sat, and she wished she could take it away for him but was also sick of how he kept pushing her away whenever she tried. And now, with his blatant grip on Pansy in her face once again, she willed herself to push him away as well.

"Come on, party girl, bedtime," Bash whispered in her ear. His fingers grazed her thigh as he helped her stand from the couch and her mind joined her body in the present with the reminder of their earlier activities. Steeling herself, she took his hand and, after saying good night to Jax, Charlie and Bella, who was staying in the boys' dorm tonight, lead him up the stairs to the girls' dorm.

"Don't forget a silencing charm, please," Karen begged, and her roommates pulled their bed curtains closed, casting their own Muffliato charms just in case. Katerina chewed her lower lip anxiously, unsure what to do next.

Bash seemed to sense her anxiety and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. "We don't have to do anything except sleep, babe. I know you've had a long night." Damn him and his gentlemanly ways. She'd been sexually frustrated all night after his small ministrations before the party, and she couldn't deny that she wanted him to finish his earlier task as much now as she had hours before. Draco is not my priority, at all, she thought, decidedly pushing him to the back of her mind to focus on the wizard in front of her. She couldn't afford to worry about Draco. Bash was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something.

Regaining her clarity, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sure we will… after." His eyes widened slightly at her forwardness, but ever the clever fellow he didn't hesitate for long before drawing her flat against him and dropping his head to meet her lips. His arms moved to grip her sides and her mind flashed briefly to the events at the Lake before Bash lifted her up so her legs wrapped around his waist and brought her back to center. He walked them over to her bed, laying her down gently and waving his hand to wandlessly draw the curtains closed around them. Katerina cast a quick silencing charm on the bed before tucking her wand under her pillow, and scooting back against the headboard, Bash never taking his lips from her neck, his hands from her sides.

His mouth moved over the column of her neck, kissing and licking and biting at her flushed skin while she clawed at his back to pull him closer. He broke the kiss only long enough for her to yank his shirt up and over his head before bringing his lips back to her own, grazing his teeth along her lower lip, pulling a soft moan from her at the contact. His body was muscular, toned and curved in the right places. She could feel his chest heaving against hers as he pinned her to the bed, his weight held in careful proportion over her own. His hands moved behind her to unzip her dress, but her being pressed into the mattress made him frustrated until he gave up and vanished her dress completely, leaving her bare except for her panties. She gasped when the cool air met her skin, and groaned at the feel of his bare chest pressed against her breasts.

"Gods, you're so beautiful," he growled, pulling back to drink the sight in before him. She suddenly felt too exposed, moving her arms to cover herself. He grabbed her wrists and swiftly pinned them above her head. "Don't you dare." He dipped his head back to her neck, sucking and biting his way down to her chest, and she felt like her skin was shimmering under his touch. He settled himself between her legs and she ground her hips up to meet his, causing a hiss to escape his lips against her skin when her hot core brushed against his own stiff arousal. His hand holding her wrists tightened slightly while his other hand traveled the length of her body at an excruciatingly teasing pace until it settled between them, caressing her once more over her lacy black underwear and bringing forth a flood of soaking need when she recalled his earlier play before the party.

"Bash, please," she pleaded, rolling her hips against his hand to gain more friction. He circled her center gently while he kissed and nipped the hardened peaks of her breasts, and she preened under his ministrations, begging for more. He continued to tease her before dipping his fingers below the waistband of her underwear, finally giving her a semblance of the skin-on-skin contact she craved. She moaned when he ran one finger up and down her slick lips, louder again when he dipped a single finger inside experimentally. When she didn't object, he met her eyes with a deep, heated gaze as he slid the finger in all the way, only pulling back to add another. She felt hypnotized by his eyes, her mouth falling open to gain more air which she felt was being dragged from her with each moan and gasp as he curled his fingers within her. He released her wrists and leaned back on his knees, bringing the hand down to grasp and knead her breasts each in turn while his other hand pumped into her faster by the moment.

"I want you nice and ready for me, love," he growled, his voice alone nearly bringing her to ruin. This was much more fulfilling already compared to her one and only experience, and she never wanted it to stop. She brought her hands down to his shoulders, digging her nails in, hoping the crescent shaped marks would be there later to see, and arched her back, bucking against him to ride his fingers as deep as she could.

"Bash," she gasped between breathy mewls. "I need…." She choked on another moan when he curled his fingers again, hitting a spot within her that she hadn't realized was there.

"What is it, beautiful?" he asked, curling them again. "What do you need?" His fingers continued to pulse in and out, and she barely gathered her thoughts enough to reach under her pillow for her wand to vanish the last remaining bits of clothing he was wearing before tossing the wand aside. He groaned deep in his throat when his erection met the skin of her thigh, and he claimed her mouth in a hungry kiss.

She pulled back just long enough to whisper, "I need you inside me." That was all he needed to hear apparently, and withdrew his fingers before pulling her underwear aside enough, lining himself up to her entrance.

"Are you sure?" he asked, pausing long enough to check her eyes for consent. She grabbed his head, pulling herself up slightly to meet his lips with hers again, her consent given with the moan he pulled from her when he bit her lip again. In several calculated motions he eased himself into her, and she dropped her head back on the pillow, eyes closed in euphoria at the sudden feeling of fullness. He gave them both a moment to adjust to the new sensation. And then he began to move.

.o.0.o.0.o.

Draco covered the witch's mouth with his hand, muffling the moans that released with each thrust. Not that he hadn't cast a silencing charm to keep the others from hearing, because he had, but the sounds suddenly sounded wrong in his ears, and threatened to pull him from his imagination that it was anyone else beneath him than Pansy Parkinson, again. He came back to her time and time again because she was there. She was always there, and he knew no matter how far or hard he pushed her away, she'd always come crawling back when he snapped his fingers. He used to enjoy that kind of power, but now it just made his stomach churn.

His body moved frantically, angrily, and he kept his eyes squeezed shut to block out the sight of black hair instead of silky auburn, of pale skin instead of golden honey. Pansy didn't move much during sex, usually opting to let him take all of the control, and in the past that wouldn't have bothered him. But since he'd stepped into the fire someone else lit, his body screamed for the passion it no doubt would bring.

He hooked his free arm under one of her knees, bringing it up to change the angle of his thrusts, unable to ignore the high pitched whining that managed to slip past his fingers. He felt one of her small hands reach for his face, resting on his cheek, but he didn't stop or lean into her hand. A muffled version of his name slipped out from beneath his hand one, twice. She then gripped his hand and wrenched it away from her mouth.

"Draco, look at me!" she exclaimed, this time placing both hands on the sides of his face to angle his head up toward hers. The illusion was shattered, and after a few more well intended thrusts to try to salvage the pace, he opened his eyes and growled as he pulled out and away all at once. Pansy scrambled back into a sitting position, pulling the sheet up to cover herself as if modesty was one of her better traits. Draco took a seat at the opposite end of the bed, legs crossed and face buried in his hands while his knees supported his elbows. His breathing was erratic, and not just from the physical activity, and he felt like his head was going to explode. His erection still stood at attention, taunting him as he tried to push away the images his brain tormented him with of Kate writhing under a wizard that was decidedly not him.

"Draco, what is going on?" Pansy asked, her voice barely above a whisper. He could feel his whole body shaking and still didn't look up at her.

"I… I think we should just sleep," he finally managed, and she moved to the right to free up a space for him. He slowly moved to lay down, pulling on his discarded boxer-briefs in the process before climbing under the black satin duvet.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Pansy offered, slipping under the covers next to him. She reached a tentative hand out toward his shoulder, but the last thing he wanted was to be touched by her again, so he rolled over and laid with his back to her instead of answering. He heard a whimper and a sniffle at the rejection, but only rolled his eyes and tried to calm his traitorous mind. She seemed to settle in next to him and didn't attempt to bother him again. He almost felt bad, but he was feeling bad enough about everything else. Between the conversation he had with his godfather and the look in Katerina's eyes as she sat in that git's lap in the common room, he could barely spare an ounce of feeling for the witch currently in his bed.

It is possible to Occlumens oneself? he wondered. Block out your own intrusive thoughts rather than those of another. Exhausted mentally and physically, he would have been surprised how quickly he fell asleep had he been aware of it, and fell down the dark well into his mind that he wished didn't exist.

Draco rolled over in bed to find the witch sleeping soundly next to him, facing his direction, long eyelashes splayed across her cheeks as her eyes danced behind closed eyelids. In the dark he could hardly make out anything specific and for a brief moment allowed himself to imagine it was Kate instead of the girl he'd brought back to excise the anger at himself for failing on multiple fronts in a single evening.

His bedmate stirred, and he nearly died the moment her eyes opened, sparkling emerald and gold even in the darkness created by the bed curtains. She looked as startled as he felt, her eyes wide and her eyebrows knitting together to create a crease between them that he longed to smooth out with a kiss to her temple. After all, in his dreams he could be anyone he wanted; here he could be anyone she wanted.

"Draco?" came the soft voice from his ghostly companion, the voice he'd have given anything to hear regardless of whether it was hurling insults at him or begging to be touched. "What are you doing in my bed?" Her bed? he thought, taking a quick glance around the darkened four-poster bed, one that he knew matched every bed in the boys' and girls' dorms. Well, better than being in mine with anyone else.

"I've been here all night," he tried. It was a dream after all, he could say anything and his mind would conjure up its own explanations. "You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you."

"You… you came back for me," she said, her voice meek, questioning. He moved his right hand up to push a strand of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek when he did.

"I'll always come back for you," he whispered, and slowly closed the gap between their lips. They felt just like they had that night by the Black Lake, pillow soft and fiery passionate, scorching his very soul. She tentatively brought her hand up to the arm that held her, and he smoothly snaked his other arm under her body, rolling them over so she was straddled on top of him, the blankets falling away. She pulled back for a second, searching his eyes as if to make sure it was really him before she descended back to his lips, bringing her hands to either side of his face as her lips kissed and nipped his starvingly.

His own hands moved, one traveling up her back - which only then did it register to him was bare - to tangle in her hair, while the other traveled down her sides to the indent where her thigh met her hip. His fingers traced the soft lace material of her knickers, and he let slip a small groan when he realized it was a thong. She took advantage and slipped her tongue eagerly in his mouth to tango with his own, one of her hands carding up into his hair and tugging slightly. Her other hand grazed her nails down his neck, chest, stomach, hooking slightly in the waistband of his pants. He shivered under her attention, and could feel the buzzing against his skin where hers touched and slid against him. He mentally wondered if a dream would ever be as good as the reality.

Suddenly her lips were gone from his, and he nearly whined in protest until he felt them pressed against his pulse point in his neck, causing him to release her hair in favor of gripping the bed covers to keep from falling off the edge of the world. His other hand gripped tighter on her hip for even more stability. He would have moved his head if not for her grip on his hair, which she tugged slightly harder than last time to get better access. She trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses down his neck and he almost cried out when she bit down on the place where his neck met his shoulder, his straining hard on grinding deliciously against her heated core. She moved her head to the other side, licking languidly along his collar bone which earned her a strangled growl before trailing back up to take his lips against hers again. Her tongue was fire, and it set his body ablaze with need. None of the other witches he'd fucked had given him the real life kind of sensations that this dream Kate was giving him, and he was far from done with it.

Her hand tugged at the waistband of his boxers, slipping beneath and gripping him without warning. His breath hitched, and she pulled back, a look of surprise on her face as she tried to look down between them. He had no misconceptions about his endowments, but with the way her eyes darkened to Brunswick and copper with lust, he knew she wasn't going to let it intimidate her. Her hand gripped the base a fraction tighter, and she kept her eyes on his face to watch his expression when she began to move her hand up and down his length.

"Fuck," he breathed, throwing his head back and willing himself not to buck into her hand like a randy twelve-year-old. She moved her lips back to his neck, kissing and biting a trail down to his chest, nipping at one nipple and then the other as she kept a steady pace on his rock solid erection. His hands flew to her hair, holding her in place while she experimented with different intensities on biting. When she did a particularly good job his grip on her hair would tighten, and he could feel her grin against his skin before doing it again harder or in another sensitive spot. She removed her hand from his hair and raked her nails down his side, and his normally ticklish spots were alive with electric currents.

After several more moments of her wanking him off he'd finally had enough. He gathered all of his remaining brain power to hook his hands under her arms and pull her into a position that allowed him to pull her knickers down off her legs before yanking his down as well, throwing both offending garments off the side of his bed onto the floor. She quickly moved back to her original straddling position and he almost came undone right there when he felt her slick arousal sliding up and down his length as she grinding on him teasingly. The look on her face was a beautiful portrait when he finally aligned himself with her entrance and pushed inside. Her body resisted him at first, and he could sense her frustration at the slow pace he was taking to get all the way in. But nothing could have prepared him for her dropping her full weight on him, impaling herself to the hilt in one go. Both spewed a string of incoherent curses at the sudden sensation, and she cried out in pleasure when he rolled his hips to readjust himself more squarely beneath her.

The next few minutes were a mix of blurred vision and agonizingly electric sensations. She rode him slowly at first, and then with wanton abandon, the feeling of which made him want to shut his eyes and enjoy it, but the look of pure arousal on her face made him never want to even blink for fear of missing something. The gold flakes in her emerald eyes shimmered and glowed in the darkness. He reached up to wrap his arms around her back and pulled her flat against him, drawing his knees up so he could regain some semblance of control of the situation. The sounds she made were the sweetest music, much more melodic than Pansy… now wasn't the time. He didn't think he could fathom being with another witch after this. Kate would ruin him and he wasn't even awake.

Sooner than he wish he began to feel his climax building, and slammed into her repeatedly though trying to hold out until she was on the edge with him. When he felt her legs begin to shake on either side of his hips he give them both three more well aimed thrusts before he came undone, her name on his lips, hoping he hadn't jumped the gun before she was primed as well. Part of him knew he'd have a serious mess to clean up when he finally awoke, but right now he could only care about the feeling of the witch slumped against him, her chest heaving in counter-time to his own.

After what seemed like an eternity and also not long enough, he loosened his grip on her back and let her roll off to his side, pulling out due to the change in position. She cuddled into his side, her left arm thrown over his chest, her left leg still atop his own. He felt her lean up slightly and kiss his jaw, and he mumbled something inarticulate against her head seconds before the world went black.

.o.0.o.0.o.

Katerina groaned when the early morning sun found its way through the one sliver between her bed curtains directly into her eyes. She threw her arm over her face to shield from the light, but it was too late, she was awake, and at once she remembered she wasn't alone in her bed.

Her mind reeled from the night before. The way he'd gripped her hips tighter with each thrust. The sounds he made when she dug her nails into his skin. The feeling of him coming undone within her.

But that had been the dream, and the man in her bed beside her was not the one who drew the most feral of sounds from her with only his fingers, or the one who she could have sworn whispered a dangerous promise a few seconds before she woke up.

No, the man beside her was caring in the way the other was fierce, muscular where the other was lean, blazed with a steady passion where the other burned her soul to ashes. An ill-timed sex dream about a man she knew was currently sharing a bed with another witch (one she hated vehemently for that fun fact, among other reasons) had her questioning things she'd tried for weeks to pretend were unquestionable. And now she wasn't sure how she'd be able to look either in the eye.