/
Chapter fourteen
During the full moon
/
Ron and Hermione were engulfed in quite an argumentative game of Wizarding Chess. Harry was watching his two best friends thoughtfully, pondering.
Just what was keeping him from confiding in them all this time? He already knew he was able to talk about that damn prophecy with other people, without letting himself sink in depressive ideas about what it would lead to in the end. Those two had always supported him no matter what. They deserved to know, and the sooner the better.
Harry took another chocolate cookie from the huge box Mrs Weasley had sent them and bit into it forcefully. He had enough of that unspoken secret. He would tell them. Right now.
When Ron finally beat Hermione with checkmate and she acknowledged it after a long exchange of opinions, Harry took a deep breath.
"Um, I want to tell you something," he began thoughtfully. "Something, I should have told you earlier, but… I just didn't feel up to it."
"You're unusually serious, Harry," said Hermione, already paying him full attention.
"I have a good reason to be," he replied.
"Go on then," urged Ron curiously. "We are listening."
And so Harry began to tell. He filled them in on what they did not already know from his conversation with Dumbledore back then at the end of their fifth year at Hogwarts. He told them everything about the prophecy and his possible connection with Lord Voldemort. He did not omit anything this time.
When he finished, his friends both stared at him in silence for a long moment.
"Well, this is… Wow…" Ron breathed out finally.
"Why did you keep it from us for so long, Harry?" Hermione asked quietly.
"Hmm, I just didn't want to…" he started, but his clever friend finished the sentence instead.
"Scare us?"
"And make us worry about you even more, huh?" added Ron.
"Yeah, sort of," agreed Harry sheepishly.
"Oh, Harry. As if you don´t know you can tell us anything," Hermione sighed.
"Exactly. We'll be there for you no matter what," Ron joined her determined.
"I know," Harry smiled at them widely. "And I'm really grateful for that."
"Now that I think about it, this prophecy can be interpreted in a number of ways," Hermione stated thoughtfully.
"Sounds more like a riddle than a proper prediction," Ron sneered.
"I totally agree with you on that," Harry agreed. "Do you mean something specific, Hermione?"
"Well, not really, but…" she started, but Ginny's arrival interrupted her.
Harry gave his friends a significant look to let them know he would like to finish this conversation later and they both understood.
/
Half an hour later, Harry choked as the biscuit crumbs stuck in his throat and widened his eyes in surprise at smiling Angela in the salon doorway. More than helpfully, Ron started pounding on his back.
"Hello, everyone!" the brunette girl in summer dress greeted them excitedly, letting the travel bag fall to the floor behind her.
"Hi," Hermione replied, a little taken aback. Ron nodded at her and Ginny stared as if her archenemy had just appeared.
Harry grumpily pushed Ron's hitting hand away and took a gulp of juice. "What are you doing here?" he asked in astonishment after he swallowed.
"Didn't Remus tell you?" Angela wondered, flopping onto the sofa. "I'll stay here until Sunday."
"Well, Remus has other things on his mind now," Harry assumed. Anyway, he was quite pleased by such news and he wanted to continue, but was rudely interrupted.
"What?!" Ginny shouted, making everyone wince.
The newly arrived witch raised an eyebrow in surprise and the trio turned to her as well.
"I wasn't expecting any fanfare, but what's wrong with..." Angela began, but Ginny did not let her finish.
"You can't be serious!" she snapped.
"But I am," Angela confirmed her announcement firmly.
"What are you mad about, Ginny? What's so terrible about that?" Hermione asked what Angela had not managed to say before.
"Don't you get it?" the youngest Weasley got up from her chair, red with anger. "She'll attract those monsters again, just like the last time she was here! Have you forgotten what she told us?"
There was silence in the room. The others really realized that only now. Angela looked at Ginny seriously.
"I can assure you all that they won't come again," she stated.
All eyes turned to her for a change.
Ginny was speechless for a moment, so Harry took the space to speak this time: "For real? Are you serious?"
"Deadly," she nodded.
"How can you be so sure?" asked Hermione.
"…I just am. Trust me."
"Lies! She's lying so that she can annoy us!" Ginny protested again, catching a fresh breath.
"Please, calm down, sis!" even Ron cut into the unpleasant exchange.
However, Ginevra did not seem to hear him and continued to glare at the Slytherin girl. Angela could not take it anymore, stood up and confronted the redhead directly.
"When I say they won't come back, then they won't. I would not risk staying here for so long otherwise. That's your problem if you don't believe me," she settled upset Ginevra coldly. "And by the way, I have a greater right to be in this house than you have!"
Ginny just opened and closed her mouth like a carp a few times and was about to object again when Hermione cut her off: "Angela's right. Sit down, Ginny."
"Fine! Of course, you are all on her side! But I won't be in the same room with her!" Ginny snapped like an extremely angry cat and stormed out of the salon.
Sighing, Angela sat down again: "What did I do to her?" she cast a questioning glance at the others.
Harry and Ron shrugged, but Hermione gave her a significant look. "You should ask Ginny about that," she suggested in a strange tone.
"She can´t even bear me!" argued Angela. "She's hardly going to explain anything to me."
"Let it be for now," Harry brushed the subject aside, impatient to know more about the sudden turn of events. "How come you'll be here so long?" he asked curiously.
"Well…" Angela fidgeted uneasily. "I kind of needed to… Let's say, unwind."
"And your mother doesn't think it's weird that you won't be home for three days?" Hermione wondered with a smirk. Even Harry and Ron looked at her suspiciously.
"Alright," sighed Angela. "It´s hard to fool you, guys. For my mother, I'm somewhere in Cornwall at the moment with…"
"With your fiancé?" Harry finished instead of her caustically.
She nodded: "We agreed to cover each other when needed."
"Huh and where is he now then?" Ron asked.
Harry looked like he was chewing on a lemon.
Angela pursed her lips in displeasure. "I don't know," she said.
"You're bullshitting," Hermione stated surprisingly rudely, making Ron gape at her in shock.
"Even if so what?" Angela responded defiantly. "It´s not your business."
"That's true," the other witch acknowledged conciliatorily. "We'd better leave it at that. Where will you sleep?"
On that Angela stood up and raised the bag in the air again with her wand.
"Well, there are still plenty of rooms available on the floor above yours. I just have to choose, right?" she added and headed for the door.
Hermione looked over at Ron, digging into him. He fidgeted unwillingly for a moment, but then rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Hey, Angela!" he raised his voice. "Thanks for back then."
The young witch turned to him in surprise: "For what?"
"For that nice protective shield. Otherwise, we'd probably get more than just an unpleasant encounter in the Cauldron," Ron explained.
Angela looked at Harry.
"You told them!" she accused him. He had already talked to her through the Floo network since the afternoon on Diagon Alley and asked her about it. She only preferred to keep quiet about the fact that Draco helped her with that as well.
"They made me! By force!" he raised his hands in a defensive gesture.
"Yeah, we tortured him for two hours before this information came out of him, really!" Ron confirmed with wide eyes.
"Well, sure, you liar!" Hermione argued with pretended outrage.
Everyone let out a relaxed laugh and Ginny's displeasure was forgotten for the moment.
/
Angela's luggage moved through the stiff air first, and then she herself. She climbed the stairs to the second floor and turned left. On this floor, Remus also had a room just to the right. She walked past several mostly faded and dark paintings and purposefully headed to the end of the hallway where the room with the largest window was located.
She tried hard to stay calm in front of the trio and especially in front of Harry, but inside, she was nervous and excited about spending time in this house with him. She did not want to think about it as a mistake, not when they finally got back together. However, she could not figure out a way to calm herself down.
She walked thoughtfully into the room and let her bag fall to the floor for the second time that afternoon. She also immediately headed for the window. She drew back the heavy drapes and curtains and opened it wide to let in the fresh air and sunshine. Only then did she look around the room she had chosen.
It just needs a few minor alterations, she told herself, looking at the thick layer of dust and modest equipment.
/
Harry wondered how Angela could be so sure the vampires would not come after her anymore. He was certain something had happened. Something, she had not told him about. After all, he noticed that she had been different for some time already. He decided he had to try and carefully pull it out of her.
He speared another potato on his fork and dipped it in the delicious sauce. To everyone's joy, Tonks' cooking was starting to improve a lot. He stuffed it into his mouth and glanced sideways at silent Angela. Ginny understandably took her plate and went upstairs to the salon to eat. No one had tried to stop her.
However, even a great dinner did not lift Remus' spirits too much. He looked up at the clock. It was past nine. He stood up slowly.
"I'd better go now," he hummed softly. Everyone looked at him sympathetically – except for Kreacher, who was also present, of course. "Before I miss the right time."
Nobody said anything. They knew what kind of night it was. Tonks walked up to him, "I'll see you off."
"But…" Remus wanted to object, but Nymphadora put a finger to his lips.
"No excuses. Let's go," she took his hand, which Harry registered with a smile.
"See you, guys," Lupin turned to them.
"Take care," Harry said.
"All the forest animals should take care," replied Remus glumly.
There was no response to that. In a moment, his and Tonks' footsteps were lost on the stairs to the hall. Angela pushed the empty plate away from her and leaned thoughtfully against the back of the chair. Harry dug into his potatoes dumbfounded, and Hermione and Ron were also kind of silenced.
/
It was a calm and warm night. Starlight darkness spread around the Blue Lake, brightened by the silver glow of the full moon just before ten o'clock. Something else also lit up in the dark. On the eastern shore of the not-so-large lake, the flames of a small fire glowed, its light reflecting on a nearby wooden hut and in the eyes of two people in love.
Draco was sitting with his back against a tree, hugging Daria tightly as she sat close to him, her head on his chest. He breathed in the air of the forest mixed with the breeze from the lake and the scent of Daria's hair. They were silent; they did not need words, enjoying the unspoken understanding between them.
Daria tilted her head slightly and registered the moon slowly rising in the sky above the treetops on the other side of the lake.
"I've always been mesmerized by the full moon," she gently broke the long silence. "It's scary, yet beautiful."
"You pretty much nailed it," Draco reacted quietly. "Because tonight is the first of three nights, during which certain people turn into bloodthirsty monsters."
Daria was stunned. She understood what he was talking about right away, but she did not like it much. She turned her face to his with a slight frown.
"Well, that didn't sound very romantic. Why do you have to talk about things like this? Are you trying to scare me?"
"No," Draco denied, but he was not looking at her. "It's just a simple fact."
"Hmm, but you could have kept it for yourself," she continued to frown.
"Sorry..." he responded quietly.
Daria broke out of his arms and stood up. She added some dry branches on the fire, making it crackle cheerfully.
"You could have done that from here," he noted.
"I couldn't," she snapped, folding her arms.
Draco sighed and stood up as well: "I hope I didn't say too much," he stated conciliatorily.
"…no. I'm sorry, too..." she trailed off.
"You're just irritated from this never-ending heat," Draco guessed.
Daria thought of something and gave him a mischievous smile. "Then let's cool down a bit, shall we?"
"What do you mean?" he did not understand, but Daria was already heading down the stone-paved path to the lake. She stopped approximately two meters in front of the water and slowly raised her hands to unbutton her thin sweatshirt.
With her back to her boyfriend and the moon shining directly to her face, Draco could only see a dark outline of her. She also pulled her t-shirt over her head and then kicked off her shoes.
Draco was still watching her. He understood, but he did not believe she would actually do it. Yet, Daria was already taking off her jeans. Then she unbuttoned her bra and tossed it on the pile of her clothes. He noticed that she hesitated for a moment, but then she bent down and gracefully pulled off the last piece of her clothing as well.
Draco felt the blood rushing up to his head. Daria let her hair down, went to the water and slowly entered it. After a few steps, where she already knew there was a greater depth, she plunged into it with a splash. Her head came up to the surface with a gasp and she turned back to see Draco still standing by the fire.
"Come! The water is great!" she called to him. "You're not afraid of me, are you?" she added sweetly.
Draco threw some more wood into the flames and made his way to her. He stopped just short of the shore and stared intently at the outline of her head illuminated by the moonlight.
"I'll turn around so you have the same terms," she giggled brightly, turned around and moved a few paces away.
Draco smiled oddly and began to take his clothes off. Daria stayed where she was, treading water until she heard a splash. She slowly began to turn on the spot.
"Took you long… enough," she finished in surprise. The surface of the lake near the shore rippled a little, but otherwise there was no one there. However, a second one pile had formed next to her clothes as she noticed.
"Draco? Draco, don't be silly!" she called. "You're such a kid, come out!"
However, nothing happened and the smile disappeared from Daria's face.
"Draco?" she tried again, a little louder. She looked around intently at the moonlit surface, but nothing was happening. How long had he been underwater? Half a minute? The whole minute? Two? She was starting to worry about him.
"Where are you? Draco!"
Suddenly, something grabbed her left ankle and she screamed in terror, as it pulled her under the water before she could catch her breath. She nearly panicked that she had been grabbed by the same creature that had most likely eaten Draco when, just as unexpectedly as it had appeared, the pressure on her leg eased, allowing her to scramble to the surface again.
She took a jerky breath, started coughing up water, sputtering all around her. A blonde head appeared next to her and started laughing incoherently. Daria got angry.
"I'll kill you, you moron!" she snapped between coughing fits. "You - know - how - you - scared - me?" she snapped when she finally got over it a bit.
When Draco continued to laugh, she started splashing him with water, which of course he started reciprocating. After a while, they were frolicking in the lake like little children, until Draco stopped having fun, he quickly swam over to her and grabbed her hands.
Daria was smiling happily. Here and there, she felt the touch of Draco´s feet under the water as they were both kicking slowly to stay afloat. He pulled her closer to him and their naked bodies hugged each other lovingly. Daria felt a pleasant tingle in her lower abdomen and placed her hands on his slender shoulders, while he grabbed her around the waist. Draco felt as if he could go crazy with desire when his girlfriend´s soft breasts pressed against his chest.
Water dripped from their faces and hair as they kissed gently and then continued more eagerly. Both Daria and Draco felt heat and passion rise up their bodies from head to toes. Daria bit down on Draco's lower lip tenderly as she felt a firm, hot pressure in his lap.
They stopped kissing for a moment and looked into each other's eyes lit up by a silver glow.
"I love you," Daria whispered.
Draco let her beautiful words ring out into the silence. He could not answer her the same way. Not yet. Instead, he started to kiss her again. Tenderly and deeply, eager to let her know what he felt.
Neither of them realized that it was five meters of water below them, when they stopped treading water. Therefore, both of them almost sank under the surface, when a long howl sounded nearby the lake. Cruelly, it snapped them out of their cuddling. They looked in the direction from where the chilling howl came again.
Draco's agitated blood immediately cooled down a little. "We'd better go inside."
"You´re right. Let's go," agreed Daria quietly.
Regretfully, they broke away from each other and quickly headed for the shore. They ran out of the water and grabbed their clothes. However, Draco could not help but observe Daria´s body in the bright moonlight. She noticed it, and those pleasant shivers inside of her appeared again, this time a little lower.
They put out the fire with their wands and climbed the steps up the gentle slope to the cabin. They closed the door behind them; Daria locked it and turned off the outside light. Draco turned on the small lamp on the wall. Their still wet bodies were now bathed in the yellow glow.
Their eyes met and Daria could almost see that spark. She dropped the pile of clothes on the floor as did Draco and they rushed at each other, driven by renewed desire. As they continued to kiss, Draco scooped Daria into his arms, carried her into the living room attached to the kitchen, and placed her gently on the fur by the dimly burning fireplace.
Draco was about to bend down to her when Daria, using her last bit of self-control, stopped him with a finger on his lips. Then she sat down and reached over to a nearby table that had a storage compartment under the top. Draco watched her as she pulled out a small red box and gave him a serious look.
"I know there´s some charm for it, but…" her tight throat did not let her continue.
Draco gently took the box from her hand.
"Sorry I didn't think of it myself," he whispered apologetically, looking in her eyes.
"An apology accepted if you kiss me now, love," Daria replied shakily.
She did not have to repeat such a request.
Then they started exploring each other's hot bodies, and they hugged and kissed as if it was for the last time. Yearning for the other led them further, even making Daria forget her worries, if her first sexual experience would be as she kept imagining.
When Draco carefully penetrated the inviting centre of Daria´s thighs and sank into her eyes, he saw only love and desire and he felt happier than he had ever been in his life.
/
"Angie?"
She turned and looked at him questioningly. Harry caught up to her on the first floor and grabbed her hand gently.
"Yes? What is it?"
"I just…" Harry stuttered. He saw something in his girlfriend´s face that startled him, though he did not know what it was. His determination to ask her what was going on wavered. Even if he did, from some reason he doubted she would tell him in that moment. "I… I just wanted to say good night," he said in a strained voice in the end.
Angela´s expression softened and she stepped closer to him, to place a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Thanks. Good night then," she soothed his fingers and turned her back on him again.
"You're not even going to give me a proper kiss?" Harry asked hurt as he pulled her back uncompromisingly.
She smiled lovingly: "I'm sorry, I just wanted to hear you ask for it," she said softly, approached him again and kissed him in a way, which made Harry forget where he was for a moment.
"Good night, Harry," she repeated quietly, this time breaking out of his grip.
With a strange feeling, Harry was looking after her until she disappeared up on the stairs.
/
In contradiction with where they ended up the night before, Draco woke up in comfortable bed. Somehow, they got upstairs during the night and made love again. A little faster and more passionately. He smiled blissfully at the memory and patted his hand on the bed. Finding no one, he blinked in surprise and opened his eyes.
Daria was already gone, leaving behind only the folded sheets. The window of the room was open and the roar of birds was pouring in through it, literally. He never thought that the little creatures could scream so much in the morning.
He sat up dazedly and ran through his rapidly growing hair with a yawn. The door was ajar, so the smell of fresh coffee, toasts and fried eggs suddenly wafted into his nose. As he dressed hastily, he thought that he had never been so hungry.
/
Lupin did not look very well in the morning. They should have been used to it by now, but his appearance still made them feel pitiful and depressed. With huge circles under his eyes, the werewolf slowly sipped the black coffee that Tonks had prepared for him, and he was apparently not in the mood for food.
Ginny sat at the table as well, silent and sullen, but she stayed there with them. Angela preferred to avoid even looking at her so that the red head would have no reason to assault her again. She was thinking of Daria. She supposed that she and Draco had a much more cheerful atmosphere during breakfast than they did, and she almost envied them.
/
Of course, Angela guessed correctly. Draco and Daria happily fed each other and laughed when they managed to drop something on the ground or when they smeared their mouths with marmalade.
After they both had enough, Daria cleaned up hastily and rushed upstairs to the room for her and Draco's swimming suits as the temperature was rising pretty high again. They decided to hang out by the lake all day to properly enjoy the rest of their weekend.
/
Angela let the jets of hot water whip over her body, inhaling the steam mixed with the rose scent of her shampoo with her eyes closed. She knew that running hot water on herself in those sweltering conditions was almost crazy, but she could not help it. While showering like this, she was able to relax the most and not think about anything, which she really needed.
After a few minutes, she did not know if it was ten or thirty, though the shrivelled skin on her fingers suggested the latter, she turned off the water with a sigh. She was in the bathroom on the first floor, which was the only one in the whole house, so she purposely waited for everyone to wash up so that she could spend the longer time here. It might have been around nine in the evening already.
She wrung the water out of her hair, reminding herself that she should get a haircut already, and reached for a large towel to wrap it around her body. Stepping out of the shower, she stood in front of the sink that had a mirror above it and wiped some of the fog off it.
She fastened the towel over her breasts and began to dry her hair with the other. Then she threw it over the holder and finally dared to take a good look in the mirror.
Now that she was alone, she saw how that mask of carelessness she got used to put on all the time disappeared. The corners of her mouth were bent down in a depressed way; there was a strange shadow in her eyes, and tired circles under them...
Shakily, she covered her face with both hands and took a slow breath.
That damn promise, that oath haunted her even in the night when she could not sleep, came up on her mind again. She controlled herself by force of will so that the tears of helplessness would not fall from her eyes. Self-pity would not change anything and would not make her feel any better. She just had to try not to think about it and keep going…
Angela reached for the comb, altered her hair out carefully and fastened the wet locks with a clip. She was about to untie her towel so she could dry herself properly, when the bathroom door suddenly opened, letting in much cooler air from the hallway. She turned to them in surprise and met the familiar emerald eyes. Harry, with his hand still on the doorknob, stared at Angela in the towel and blushed slightly.
"Um," he croaked. "Sorry, I thought no one was here."
"It's my fault. I forgot to lock," answered Angela, trying to keep her voice calm under Harry´s look.
"I just wanted… to… that, well…" Harry stammered.
"What?" she asked softly.
"Wash hands. I leaned on something sticky in the kitchen," Harry explained hurriedly. "But I'll come later," he started to back away.
Angela took a shallow breath: "Why?" she stopped him hastily. "Just wash them here."
"Well, okay…" Harry gulped down heavily and slipped around her. "Thanks."
With slightly trembling hands, he ran the water into the sink and carefully began scrubbing his palms with soap. At the same time, he could feel Angela's gaze on him and the scent of roses in the humid air.
After an infinite time, he turned off the water flow and dried his hands. Then he lifted his eyes and met Angela´s gaze in the mirror. She was looking at him so… strangely. He could not tell what she was thinking.
Harry swallowed hard and turned to face her. Whether he wanted to or not, his gaze drifted to the curves of her breasts forming on the towel and her long slender legs. She was so beautiful at that moment it made Harry forget how to breathe.
Angela noticed his interest and realized that her heart was beating louder each second. She could feel that Harry wanted her…
Ever since they settled things between them, they both wanted to move on, to surrender to each other completely again, but something was holding them back. A strange uncertainty probably caused by their previous ugly breakup.
But… why should we be so afraid of making love, when there are completely different things, which we should fear and avoid? Angela thought with everything squeezing inside of her.
Harry still did not move, seeming to be unable to make the firs step. She would make him then.
Angela tore her eyes away from him, took her wand from the mirror shelf and – in the first moment, Harry had a crazy idea that she wanted to throw him out of the bathroom – and closed the door.
The lock audibly clicked. She returned her eyes to him and slowly put her wand away. Harry felt the blood rushing in his veins.
"Are you just going to keep standing there…" Angela began quietly and hoarsely, grasping the ends of the towel in her trembling fingers. "Or are you finally going to kiss me?" she finished, letting the towel fall to her feet.
That was more than a sufficient encouragement for Harry. He jumped up to her and swept his girl into his arms eagerly. While he hungrily kissed her, Angela unbuttoned his shirt and threw it somewhere behind him. Harry gasped when she pressed against him passionately.
Harry´s touches started to heat up every part of Angela´s naked body to the highest degree. She sighed and buried her hands in his thick hair as he bent down to her hardened nipples and started caressing them. The hair clip slipped from her wet bun and clattered against the tiles under the sink.
Harry felt himself quiver with excitement from Angela´s soft touches and he could not contain himself any longer. She was not truly his for too long. He had to have her. Right then and there.
Angela, as if seeing it in his eyes, smiled shakily and began to unbutton his pants, which was hiding his aroused member…
/
So far, nothing in her life could match the experience when she and Harry made love in the foggy bathroom.
Angela could still feel his hands smoothly lifting her up under her buttocks and slamming her shivering body against the cold wall. She had no idea where such rough desire appeared in usually so gentle Harry, but she loved it. She felt like she would explode with passion as he penetrated her over and over again, not allowing her to breathe properly. She could just gasp and moan and enjoyed it as nothing else.
It was no less than awesome. After all, this was the best way to forget all her worries ever.
When it was over and they remained still, looking into each other's eyes breathless, they did not even have to speak. They knew what the other was thinking.
Shaking with happiness and fear at the same time, Angela realized that she truly loved Harry. She could not imagine ever handling the reality without him anymore. And Harry's thoughts were going in a way too similar direction, as he soothed her soft skin…
They were almost unable to split up in front of the bathroom door.
At this moment, Angela was damn glad that she knew how to use an anti-pregnancy charm, even though it was one of those, which she really hated. Otherwise, she would have to stop Harry back in that bathroom and that would probably cause her quite considerable problems.
Looking out from the window, she sighed with a dreamy smile and ran fingers over her sore lips. How could she ever think that Harry would not like to touch her anymore?
Suddenly, the door behind her opened softly. She turned sharply and in the darkness of the room, she could make out dishevelled hair and the reflection of the moon in the glasses.
"Harry?" Angela spoke in a strained voice, but she could already feel the tingling in her lower abdomen returning. "Didn't we say good night already?"
Harry closed and locked the door behind him.
"Yeah, but I can't sleep… And it doesn't look like you're going to bed," he replied quietly.
"Well, I´m kind of awake… Ron knows you're out of bed?"
"No. He's somewhere else, too," he grinned knowingly. "And you should learn to lock yourself up. Like this, anyone can reach you easily."
"Really? And who might be interested in assaulting me in the middle of the night?" Angela asked with a mischievous smile.
Harry slowly approached her, before he spoke again.
"Maybe me," he answered in a muffled voice, taking the ends of her half-dry hair with his right hand, while his left headed much lower, under Angela´s nightgown.
"Don´t tell me, you´ve got some dirty intentions, Mr Potter," she breathed out shakily.
"You´re about to find out, Miss," he reacted huskily.
Shivering, Angela held her breath in expectation. Harry´s fingers were a bit cold, but gentle and at the same time crazily teasing as he touched her still so sensitive, most private parts.
"Then… Since you´ve already ambushed me," she breathed out heavily. "What else can I do than… let you take me," Angela moaned when Harry´s fingers moved even further, pressing hard down there.
"Good," he murmured against the skin of her neck.
Suddenly impatient, Angela grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to the spacious bed in the corner. Harry allowed her to drag him there without resistance, but then he took the initiative, pressing his beloved girl against the mattress.
He really enjoyed making Angela moan and call his name. Each time they did this, he knew more about her, about her body and about himself. And it was the most amazing learning ever.
/
They were smiling furtively at each other over their mugs of tea at breakfast, but Hermione must have noticed anyway because she was glancing at them knowingly. Angela could not take it anymore.
"What is it, Hermione?" she asked shortly after Tonks had dragged Lupin into his room to finally lie down and rest. Ginevra did not show up for breakfast at all.
"Nothing, what should be?" Hermione wondered.
"Just don't pretend. You keep looking at us," Harry joined her girlfriend.
"So what? What are my eyes for?" she replied.
Ron chuckled. Hermione sighed as those two continued to stare at her.
"Well… You're not very good actors," she announced.
"What are you talking about?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"That's exactly what Hermione's talking about, buddy," Ron sneered mischievously.
"Wait, Harry," Angela cut him off as he was about to start another argument. "Kreacher, get out," she ordered, gesturing briskly to the door.
The house elf raised his head in the corner he was currently in and then walked away with an unsatisfied chatter.
"So, I see we can´t keep anything from you, right?" she turned back to Ron and Hermione. "What did you come up with, Hermione?" she asked with a sigh.
Harry shot her a quizzical look and a question: Is this okay with you?
Angela just shrugged in response. She already knew that there was no point in fussing in front of Harry´s two best friends.
"You're back together," Hermione stated with absolute certainty. "I don't know exactly when, but before we went to the Diagon Alley and met you there."
"Bingo, Hermione! You're right as always," Harry responded after meeting Angela´s approving look.
"Hey, you secretive boy!" exclaimed Ron cheerfully, slapping Harry on the back. "Why didn't you at least tell it to me, huh?"
"Stop it, Ron," Harry murmured. "How did you find out, Hermione?"
"Well, what a question!" she rolled her eyes. "You two are literally glowing! Well, not all the time, you're able to control yourself, but we've known you, Harry, for a long time, haven't we?"
"I should have known you could figure it out," Angela sighed again. "But seriously, you cannot..."
"Utter a word about you two, we know," Ron cut her off, but he did not mean it badly.
"That's all right then," Angela responded calmly.
"Remus knows, too," Harry said slowly.
"How?" Hermione wondered.
Harry met Angela's gaze. "He saw us," he simply replied then.
"Ah," Ron nodded in understanding.
They fell silent just in time since Ginny was already coming down the stairs. As soon as Angela noticed her, she preferred to quickly finish her tea and walk away from the kitchen.
/
Draco stroked Daria's tanned shoulder tenderly, his other hand circled around her waist. She wiggled contentedly in his arms until her hair tickled his chin.
"I don't want to leave this place at all," Daria said in a voice still slightly clouded by half-sleep, even though it was almost nine in the morning.
"Me neither. But we´re leaving for school the day after tomorrow," reacted Draco, looking up at the ceiling.
"Yeah, and we promised Angela we'd be back by the evening," she added.
Then she rolled over and propped herself up on her elbow to face him. He looked at her lovingly.
"I want to tell you something," Daria whispered.
"Yes?" Draco prompted her questioningly.
"These have been the most beautiful and happiest days of my life since my parents died," she said with a twinkle of sadness in her eyes.
Remembering the role his family had in it, Draco felt guilty. He took a deep breath: "I´m sorry…"
"What for?" she asked with her eyes widened.
"For what my father did to…"
She pressed a finger against his lips: "You´re not the one who should apologize. You´re not him. I love you, Draco Malfoy."
To prove her words, she leant down and kissed him softly. Draco pulled her away from him, so he could look into her eyes and buried his hand in her long hair.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Daria Prescott," he stated seriously. "And I love you even more."
Draco did not really believe he would ever be able to tell anyone those words, but he did, and it made him happier than ever. Daria just smiled beautifully and eagerly kissed him again.
/
"I'll see you in the train the day after tomorrow," Angela said goodbye ten minutes before the end of the hour since Draco´s bracelet started to cool her. "And say hello to Lupin, I didn't want to wake him up. He's still sleeping."
"Sure, you can count on it," Hermione nodded.
"Goodbye then," she said to Ron and Hermione before looking around intently. Seeing no one else, she walked up to Harry, who was watching her with bright shine in his eyes, and hastily kissed him on the mouth.
"Bye, love," she whispered so that only he could hear it and made her way to the door.
She already had her hand on the handle, the travel bag in the air beside her, when a scathing voice called out from the staircase. "It's about time for you to finally get out."
Angela's smile faded and she turned to the voice, as did Harry, Hermione and Ron.
"I'd like to start breathing normally," Ginny added with a smirk.
Angela was silent for a while. She did not want to argue with this annoying witch, but she was not the type of person to let anyone throw dirt on her.
"You know where you can stick these talks of yours, Weasley? Into your bony ass. Bye," she concluded and left with a slam of the door.
Ginny blushed. Kind of sullen Harry approached her.
"Why are you talking to her this way?" he snapped grumpily. "Angela didn't do anything to you."
However, the redhead puffed up even more when she saw Hermione´s and Ron's disapproving looks.
"You can all bite me!" she barked and ran up the stairs.
"I really don't understand her anymore," Ron shook his head.
"I'll talk to her," Hermione said and slowly followed her friend up.
/
"Mum! I'm home!" Angela called into the interior of their house, when she found her mother neither in the kitchen nor in the living room. "Where are you?"
There was no response, just silence. She shrugged. Mother was probably again somewhere about which was not allowed to be talked about.
She headed back to the kitchen where she took a few ice cubes out of the small freezer that was part of the fridge, dropped them into a tall glass and poured tonic over it all. She started sipping on it slowly when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
With the glass in her hand, she walked back into the hall and raised her head to the staircase.
"Well, fina..." she stopped in shock mid-sentence. For it was not her mother coming down to her, as she thought, but a tall, black-haired man in his usual black robes.
"You?!" came out of Angela before she could stop herself. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Severus Snape smirked. "You should be more polite, Rosier," he reminded her icily, stopping right under the stairs. "I'm still your professor."
Angela gasped. What is that moron doing here? In their house?
"Explain to me immediately, what you want here. Sir," she added contemptuously.
"I could ask you the same thing. Aren´t you suppose to live in the Malfoys´ house by any chance?" snapped Snape scathingly.
Angela gritted her teeth in anger, hardly controlling herself. She gripped the glass with her drink more tightly than necessary.
"It's none of your business, Professor, but you're right. As comes to the Ministry, I'm staying there until the end of summer holidays. Now, where is my mother?" she figured she was the only one who could explain it to her.
"I'm here," came the voice from the stairs before Snape could say anything. "It's good that you´re home already, dear."
"Hello, Mother," she replied, still keeping eyes on her teacher. "Could you tell me what this… professor wants here?"
"He came to see me. You don't need to be interested in anything else," Mary Rosier replied with a strange expression.
"I'm already leaving anyway," Snape added, piercing Angela with his eyes.
"Oh, I'm glad to hear that," she reacted caustically.
"Stop being rude, Angela. I'm going with him," Mary stated dryly. "And…"
"And you don't know when you'll be back," she finished instead of her mother, looking up at the ceiling. "How else?"
Mary Rosier just glared at her, but did not say anything else.
"Shall we go?" Snape turned to her questioningly.
Mary nodded and they both headed for the back door to the garden. Before they closed behind them, Snape gave Angela one more sharp look and then they were gone.
Lost in thought, Angela finished her tonic and then headed up the stairs with her bag, confused by her mother´s behaviour more and more.