A warm breeze on my neck broke through the darkness of my dreams. My eyelids were heavy, and a headache thrubbed painfully against the inside of my skull. I raised a hand to my forehead. No heat so I didn't have a fever. What the hell happened last night? I opened my eyes to a squint and was met with the calm face of a younger teenager. If I wasn't feeling like complete crap I would have jumped up.
Harry Potter was in my bed. Sleeping next to me.
I glanced down and felt a flash of relief when I saw that we both had on our boxer shorts. At least I didn't take advantage of him. That would have been terrible . . . I groaned quietly as the younger teenager snuggled closer, nudging his nose against the underside of my chin. My arm, which had wound itself around Harry's torso in my sleep tightened almost possessively.
A sleepy voice reached my ears. "Are you awake, Talis?"
". . . Yeah."
Harry shuffled back a bit until he could look up at me. His emerald eyes were half-lidded with sleep. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked.
"My fuckin' head hurts."
"You drank over half a bottle of firewhisky," Harry said. Disapproval made his maturing voice thicker than normal. "You got drunk after you met your uncle and he said you had a sister."
I stared at Harry. "Oh . . . yeah . . ." Memories of last night hit me like a rogue Bludger. "Fuck." I rolled over onto my back, taking my arm away from Harry's body, and stared at the ceiling on my room. It looked so dirty. . . What the hell was up with all the dust in this castle? "Thanks for finding me, Harry," I muttered. "I don't know what the hell I would have done. . ."
"I don't know either." Harry blinked once, twice. "Promise me you won't do something that stupid again."
"Promise."
"Good." Harry sat up and leaned over me. "You look so cute when you're hungover," he said with false sweetness, grinning broadly.
I half-heartedly batted at him. "Shut up, Harry." A seemingly distant memory popped up in my brain as a silly grin appeared on his handsome face. "How did the Quidditch match go last night while I was busy getting - What's wrong?" Confusion coursed through me as his beautiful smile fell into the darkest frown I've ever seen. It didn;t fit him at all. "What happened, Harry?"
"It doesn't matter," he grumbled, glancing away angrily.
"Harry."
The younger teenager whipped his head back toward me and growled, "I was banned from Quidditch, for life!"
I jolted upright; a sharp pain bounced around my head and I returned to my mattress. "Who the fuck banned you from your favorite sport involving deathly broomsticks?"
"Umbridge," Harry spat.
"Why'd she do that?"
"Malfoy was talking about Molly Weasley and my parents. Fred, George and I. . . we couldn't keep our tempers."
That explained everything. I knew Harry had a temper than could almost, almost rival mine. "I'm sorry she did that to you guys."
"She locked my Firebolt in her office. My godfather gave it to me in my third year."
I reached a hand up and cupped Harry's face. His skin was warm under my palm. "That's terrible, Harry. I'm sorry she did that to you and the Weasley brothers. I wish there was some way I could get it back for you. I mean, a Firebolt! Woah! But I'm just a teacher's assistant. There's not much I can do." I stroked his cheekbone with my thumb. "We'll find a way to get revenge on that pink bitch."
Harry tried but failed to crack a smile. "It sucks, Talis."
I sighed softly then leaned upwards; Harry met me half-way and kissed me gently. "It'll be okay, sweetheart," I whispered against his lips. "We'll think of something. Don't forget you've got Ron and Hermione, and practically every person in Gryffindor, to help you and support you." I smiled lightly at the troubled teenager. "And you've got me." I felt a hand rest on my shoulder a moment before I was roughly pushed onto my back. A gasp passed through my lips as Harry straddled my hips, hands pressed against my chest to give him leverage. His lips moved almost desperately against mine. He rolled his hips in a quick jerking motion, and a strangled moan traveled up my throat. I knew he was experimenting, and, hell, did it feel good. He did it again, and my back arched off the bed. I could feel something hard and hot poking against my thigh; my heart hammered angrily in my chest and my nerves burned when I realized what it was. How the hell did he get that hard that fast?
Harry's lips left mine and started nibbling a trail down my neck. I moaned quietly as he bit down on the skin covering the pulsing vein. His teeth scraped against my flesh, sending shivers of pleasure down my spine. I raised a hand and gently fisted his jet black hair. The other hand dragged across his shoulder blade, possibly leaving scratch marks on his taut golden skin. Then I gripped his shoulders tightly and, with a burst of strength, flipped our positions, leaving a panting, red-faced Harry lying below me. I smirked down at the horny Gryffindor, taking in the sight of his toned torso and the healthy-looking tent in his boxers. I could tell he was smaller than me, but that was okay.
I lowered my face to his chest and slowly dragged my tongue over one of his pert buds, which had hardened as he got excited. His groan echoed off the walls; I smirked and did it again. My hand crept up his body, feeling up his toned light golden skin, marveling at the way his muscles rippled under my touch, until my long fingers found his other bud. I gently rolled the pebbly nipple between the pads of my fore finger and thumb. Harry arched his back off the bed, pressing his hips against mine. I smiled against his gorgeous skin and carefully kissed my way down his torso. I knew where my destination was and that it would not completely take his mind off the predicaments he was facings, but at least I can make him feel good for a little while.
Harry released a small hiss when his clothed tip bumped against my chin as I gently nibbled on the skin above his boxers. One of his calloused hands came up and fisted my hair in a tight grip. My tongue flicked out and tasted the beautiful flesh before me. Harry moaned my name softly, and I could feel my lower region getting harder with each breath. My fingers curled around the rim of his boxers, and I swallowed hard at the thought of seeing him naked.
"Talis Creary! Someone is at the door!"
A harsh snarl escaped my lips. Who the fuck had the balls to interrupt me? I looked up at Harry and wasn't too surprised to see that he had disappointment flashing in his emerald eyes. I guess he wanted me to do what I was going to to do. Sucking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly to calm my nerves, I reluctantly got off the young Gryffindor, who narrowed his eyes with annoyance.
"Keep your fur on!" I called back. I snatched up my jeans from the floor and hastily slipped them on, cursing angrily at my erection. "Fuckin' cock-blocking canine." My head pounding with an anger that matched my mood, I slipped out of my room, leaving Harry sprawled on my bed, and stalked to the back of the painting. I pushed it open a few inches and growled, "What?"
Two pairs of startled eyes, one blue and one brown, stared back at me. A bit of my anger cooled at the sight of Harry's two best friends, but I was still annoyed that they had interrupted me and Harry's time. Hermione looked as if she was about to run away - probably not used to knocking on assistant teacher's doors - and Ron kept glancing around as if they would get in trouble for standing in the hallway; with Umbridge's rulings I hardly blamed him.
"I'm sorry if we woke you up, Talis," said Hermione with a squeak when I opened the door further, revealing my state of undress. I could feel her eyes roving over my scarred chest for a few heartbeats. When she looked into my face she must have seen the dark circles that were inevitably under my eyes. "Are you okay?"
"I'm feel like a fucking garden gnome that's been dropped on its head." I swallowed another growl and stepped back in to the room. I motioned for them to follow me into my quarters. Ron looked around with wide eyes and Hermione glanced at all the books. "What's up?"
"H-Harry wasn't in the dorm this morning," said Ron, sounding half distracted. "We thought he would be here . . ?"
I groaned, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands. "Yes . . . He stayed with me last night."
The door to my bedroom opened, and I lowered my hands to see Harry walk into the room. He was pulling on his shirt with annoyance clearly showing on his gorgeous face. Several low grumbles slipped out between those bruised pink lips of his. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of her friend, and Ron's face darkened with anger. The redhead whipped around and glared at me. "Did you take advantage of him?!" he demanded, pointing an accusing finger at me.
My brain pounded against my skull at his loud voice. "The fuck? No!" I glanced at Harry and was surprised to see the look of utter shock and anger on his face. He probably didn't except his best friend to accuse me so openly. "I may be an animal, but I do know my limits," I growled at the steaming redhead. "Besides, why the hell would Harry want to fuck someone like me? I'm too old for one, and two, Harry's not even gay." I crossed my arms over my chest. "So if you don't mind, shut the fuck up. I got a hangover the size of the Isles, and I am not in the mood to argue."
"You're hungover?" Hermione's soft voice was refreshing compared to the inferno of Ron's. "Why were you drinking, Talis?"
I narrowed my eyes. "I learned some things last night that I would have be all to happy to not have learned. Uncle Salo said I have a sister when I was raised as an only child since as long as I can remember."
"Your uncle?"
"Yep. My uncle, whom I have not seen in quite a while, shows up in the middle of the damned woods, asking for a place to hide out because Voldemort - " Hermione and Ron winced at the name but Harry didn't even flinch. " - is looking for him and me, and tells me, in front of the Headmaster, that I have a sister." A groaned rumbled up my throat. "It was too much shit to handle so I got something to drink. Don't remember much after that."
"I found him," Harry continued, coming over to stand beside me. "I had gone for a walk because I couldn't sleep, and found this drunken idiot trying to walk back here. I didn't know how well he held his liquor so I stayed here to keep an eye on him."
"Is that why you were here this morning?" I asked, though I did remember the sweet moments we had just had minutes eariler.
Harry nodded, green eyes shining with annoyance and worry. I knew I was going to get a talking-to later. I turned away from the angry black-haired teen and scratched absentmindedly at my chest. "So what's up?" I asked again.
Hermione, Ron and Harry did a weird three-way glance before the female of the trio looked up at me. "Hagrid came back."
My eyebrows raised at the news. I knew he was going away for something, but I didn't know he was back already. I motioned to the sofa and took a seat in the chair. A warm fire burst forth from the ashes of the previous fire as we settled down. I looked expectantly at the bushy-haired girl. "Where was he?"
"In the mountains," she replied as she snuggled down between her two friends. "He and Madam Maxime - the Beauxbaton's Headmistress - went to see if they could convince the giants to join our side. I guess the Death Eaters were there as well . . ." She trailed off.
"Death Eaters . . ." I snarled.
Hermione nodded, unfazed by my behavior. "The giants aren't joining our side, Talis," she said in a forced calm voice. "The giant who was the leader when they got there was overpowered by another giant, and those who did want to join us . . . I don't think many of them lived to see the next day."
I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath through chapped lips. "Well . . . At least he tried."
"He looked so horrible, Talis." Her soulful brown eyes gave away her concern. "He looked as if that three-headed dog got ahold of him."
Ron glanced at his friend then looked at me. "Then that . . . toad showed up." His hands clenched into tight, white-knuckled fists. "She was trying to force Hagrid into telling her where he was then told him that she was going to inspect him soon. You've got to be there!"
I winced a bit at the redhead's outburst. "Why should I? Hagrid's a big half-giant boy."
"He'll need you there to keep things under control." Harry looked at me with those green eyes. I knew it was his way of begging me to go. "Come on, Talis," he said when I hesitated. "It's Care for Magical Creatures, and we all know how much you love that class."
You sneaky little bastard.
I sighed through my nose. I knew I had to do this, if not for Hagrid's sake, then for Harry's. "Fine."
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I stared longingly into the forest. I could smell the blood from the cow carcass that Hagrid had carried into the trees, which I knew would tempt the creature of today's lesson into being viewed. The chilly wind blew my cloak behind me in ripples as I glanced at the sun and growled at the students' tardiness. They were almost five minutes late. On a normal day I wouldn't have cared, but my good mood had vanished when I remembered what Hermione had said: Umbridge was likely to inspect Hagrid's teaching any day now. And for some damned reason I kept expecting her to pop up at any moment.
Chattering caught my attention. I turned toward the castle and saw a small sea of black, red and green heading toward me. I guess the Gryffindors and the Slytherins were supposed to have this class together; what kind of trouble will the snakes create today?
The students paused in a slightly divided cluster about fifty feet away from me. I noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione looked relieved that I had shown up to help Hagrid. I nodded slightly at them before motioning to the class. "You students know I do not bite. Come closer." I tapped my foot against the snowy ground impatiently as I waited for the students to gather before me. Their warm breath drifted into the air in a faded mist, and several of them shivered against the cold. "Right. In case you have forgotten, my name is Mr. Creary. I will be assisting this class today."
"Where's Professor Hagrid?" asked a Gryffindor, Parvati, shivering beside Lavender Brown.
I swept my arm around to point at the forest. "In there."
"And why, Mr. Creary, is Professor Hagrid in the forest?" demanded the blonde Slytherin Draco Malfoy, a sneer on his pale face.
"He is getting our lesson ready." I saw the majority of the class's eyes widen in fear and excitement. I guess not many of them have gone into the forest before. Then again it is off-limits for a reason . . . "Anymore questions before we go in?"
"Do you know what creature it is that we will be learning about today?" asked Hermione, curiosity in her brown eyes.
"Yes, but I am not telling any of you." I smiled slightly. "It's a secret. This forest is dangerous," I added, addressing the whole class. "Some of you may be tempted to follow one of the paths in hopes of finding something interesting or to get a good story to tell your buddies later. Do not do it. I don't want to be wandering the forest at odd hours of the night looking for your corpse." I didn't want to scare the students, but I had to get my point across. "I'll lead you to Professor Hagrid. And if any of you decide to wander off the path, I will know and you will spend the next month cleaning Professor Snape's classroom cauldrons without magic. I've already talked to him about it, and he agrees that it would be a suitable punishment, regardless of House."
That seemed to catch their attention for all the chattering ceased in an instant and every eye was trained on me, even the unruly Slytherins.
"Follow me." I turned on my heel and started toward the trees. "Do not make loud noises and don't use magic unless it's necessary. You never know who or what you'll attract." I barely set foot in the forest when a voice piped up behind me.
"Why are we going into the forest to see this creature?" It was Harry. "Why couldn't Professor Hagrid bring it out?"
I glanced over my shoulder at the dark-haired teenager. A vivid image of him lying practically naked on my bed with lust-filled eyes flashed before my eyes, but I forced it back to answer him. "Professor Hagrid wanted you to view the creatures in their natural habitat. They do not like too much light." I looked into the trees. "They are truly remarkable creatures. One of my favorites actually."
The trek through the forest was not as hard as I thought it would be. No one strayed away from the path, but I did have to save a couple students from an angry bowtruckle when they brushed against its tree. A handy handful of wood lice diverted its attention. About ten or so minutes passed before I caught a strong scent of blood on the breeze, and after rounding a bend I found Hagrid. He was standing over the carcass; I swallowed thickly at the delicious scent.
"Well met, Mr. Creary." Hagrid beamed at me. "Gather roun', you lot."
The students didn't seem to like the idea of getting closer to the half-giant professor, but at a low growl from me, they crept forward. Snorting lightly in annoyance, I took my place beside the half-giant professor, vainy ignoring the bloody carcass that some of the students were wrinkling their noses at. "The creature I'll be showin' yer likes the smell o' meat. I'll give'em a call." He drew in a deep breath then released a cry that sounded like some kind of giant angry bird that would send a tremor of fear down anyone's spine. The students huddled together as Hagrid gave out the call several more times. The air was still and thick under the canopy of dense leaves, in spite of the snow that littered the ground and the chill in the wind that whistled through the trees. Then I heard the soft hoofbeats coming from behind me. I twisted around and stared between the dark trunks. Two white orbs stared back as the creature moved through the forest. I nudged Hagrid's arm with my elbow and nodded toward the approaching creature. A bright smile appeared among Hagrid's thick beard.
"Should Hagrid call again?"
"What are we waiting for?"
The lizard-like horse halted beside the carcass and bent its great head to begin feeding. I marveled at the majesty of the skeletal hybrid-looking creature. A few gasps came from teh few students who could see them, and I felt a pang of sorrow that they had to witness such horrific events. Another horse came stalking through the trees, obviously drawn to us by the scent of the blood.
"What are you supposed to be seeing?" demanded Malfoy in an irritated voice.
Annoyed at the Slytherin prat, I motioned to the cow carcass. There were a few scared gasps from the students. I know it must look horrifying to many of the students, those who had not seen death, to see chucks of raw meat being stripped for the carcass and disappearing in thin air.
"What's eating it?" shrieked Parvati.
Hagrid looked proud of the creatures. "Thestrals. There's a herd livin' in here."
Parvati, who was trying to hide behind a tree, poked her head out. "But they're unlucky! They bring death and bad luck!"
I rolled my eyes at her, but Hagrid only laughed good-naturedly. "No, tha's superstition. Thestrals aren' unluck. They're very clever an' useful. This lot pull the school's carriages."
"Something touched me!"
"Parvati."
The girl looked up at the sharpness of my voice, which seemed to draw the rest of the class's attention to me.
"They're not going to hurt you," I said in a softer voice. "Hagrid tamed these thestrals long ago. They're a lot gentler than you think, if you look past the eating raw flesh part. They never get lost and can be quite loyal if you earn their respect."
That seemed to calm the class down a bit. Hagrid smiled his thanks at me before asking, "Who can tell me why only some of you can see'em?"
It didn't surprise me when Hermione's hand was raised into the air.
"Hermione?"
"They can only be seen by those who have seen death," she answered solemnly.
"Ten points ter Gryffindor."
Then I heard it. That simpering, annoying, damning cough of the toad. I glanced at Hagird, but he was looking at the thestral nearest him. He obviously thought the creature had made the noise. "Hagrid," I breathed.
The giant man looked at me. "Wha'?"
I nodded toward the class. "Umbridge is here," I muttered just loud enough for him to hear. "We've got to pass this."
"Hello, Professor Hagrid." The toad stepped out the trees in all of her pink glory. I felt a growl crawling up my throat but quickly concealed it with a cough. "You received a note about being inspected. That is why I am here."
Hagrid smiled at the significantly smaller professor. "I'm glad yeh found our location. We're doin' thestrals today -"
"What did you asy?" Umbridge cupped her hands around her mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't catch that."
"Thestrals." Hagrid started making weird flapping motions with his arms to get his point across; I winced a bit at his attempt to get her to understand. "Yeh know. Dark winged horses."
Umbridge frowned at him and wrote something down on her notepad. I caught the words "resorts to crude sign language" as she scribbled. I curled my hands into tight fists.
"We started out with a male an' several females. That's how we got the herd." Hagrid motioned to a smaller large thestral, though he spared Umbridge a nervous glance. "This is Tenebrus," he said with a twinge of pride in his voice. "He was the firs' born, and he's my favorite."
"The Ministry has classified thestrals as 'dangerous,' or have you not heard about that," Umbridge said loudly. If she doesn't lower her voice level, she's going to attract something from the trees.
Hagrid seemed to be at a loss of words from being questioned so closely by a pint-sized teacher. I took this as an oppurtunity to step in. "Thestrals are not as dangerous as many people believe," I said, addressing the class as well as Umbridge. "They may nip at you if you bait them, just like any other creature, magical or not." I reached out a hand to the nearest thestral, a young female nameed Mixl. I waited patiently for her to sniff my hand, judge if I was safe or not then press her nose against my hand. To many of the students it looked like I was stroking the air. "See? They can be gentle. It's because of the superstitions that give them such a bad reputation."
Umbridge did not seem impressed by my amount of knowledge. Instead she started to wander around and question the students. I knew the Slytherin's were going to start something as she headed toward them.
I exchanged a look with Hagrid then stepped back to allow him to resume teach. Mixl snorted as her white eyes followed Umbridge. "I know, girl," I whispered to her. "I don't trust her either." Mixl snickered quietly, and I carefully caressed her hollow-looking cheek.
The remainder of the class period passed rather quickly. Thanks to Umbridge, Hagrid lost a lot of his confidence in his teaching, and I could only fill in so much as an assistant teacher. When the time came to end the class, I followed reluctantly. I didn't want to have to deal with Umbridge anymore for the rest of the day nor did I know how to comfort Hagrid after Umbridge's rudeness to him. I want to hex the hell out of the toad, but I couldn't do anything without risking my job. As I followed the students to the castle, I could feel Harry's eyes glance back at me every now and then. He knew I was angry, but there was no way he could help me with my temper.
I heaved a sigh and darted back into the trees.
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I know it's been a while since I last posted . . . I don't usually apologize for lateness, but I'm kinda sorry for being so late. My boyfriend had to move last month, and being in a long-distance relationship sucks, especially when he can't see our son every day . . . It's taken a bit of a toll on me so don't expect the next post to be so soon.
Anyways, the next chapter will most likely have some lemon-like stuff in it, but I will not be posting it on here. One of those people who call themselves the "Exterminators" or whatever got ahold of one of my oneshots and I had to erase it because they were being very rude. I think their name was catspats31 or something like that . . . So if the next chapter does have some highly sexual stuff in it I'll tell you where to find it. So sorry about that.
Questions? Comments? Don't be afraid. I only bite when angered. :)
