A/N: Short chapter, but very juicy!

Chapter 4: The Scarlet Glade

"So what are they doing now?" Lewis Malfoy tried to see over the shoulders of his other friends.

"Shut up," Gareth Larkin growled. "He's looking."

"Quiet, both of you," Jonathan Lestrange snapped at the pair of them. "What the female does is her own business and none of yours."

"Then why are you looking?" Jonathan turned around to give Lewis a sharp glare.

"Because someone has to make sure she doesn't make any mistakes. And, being the smarter one of the three of us, that someone is me. How is Marisa, by the way?" Lewis mumbled a 'fine' before he slouched into a nearby armchair. Jonathan continued to look into the crystal and smiled.

"She has led him to the Glade," he informed them after a moment. "I wonder what she is up to…"

"Maybe she's going to kill him!" Gareth said, eagerly.

"Don't be stupid," Jonathan muttered, not taking his eyes off of the crystal. "It's too early for that."

"I have the urge to kill someone…" Gareth muttered. "I need to kill someone…"

"Everything to you is about blood, Gareth," Jonathan said, finally looking at the young man. "But you'll soon learn that there's more to life than murder. You need to be clever, you need to commit the perfect crime. You need to know what you're doing, and most of all, my young, naïve little fool, you need patience."

"You sound like the Lord," Gareth said with a roll of his eyes. "I could kill Malfoy. That way my urge would be satisfied and we wouldn't have him whining all the time about his precious wife." Gareth grinned over at Lewis who scowled right back at him. But Jonathan ignored them.

"Ah…" he realized. "So that's what you're up to, you little harlot…"

Geoffrey appeared in the Scarlet Glade and looked around, but found no sign of the playful redhead. It was only drizzling lightly here and the raindrops delicately kissed the lake before they joined the mass of water. Geoffrey smiled as he looked around the place and understood its namesake.

In the glade, it was always autumn. The trees surrounding it were adorned with gold and crimson leaves and the lake in the center glistened in a chill wind. A long time ago, something magical had happened there. But that was just a fairytale parents told their children. Supposedly, there had been a battle there between the Dark Angels and the Angels of Light. So much blood was spilt that day, it was said to have stained the glade permanently and the season in which the battle took place never changed. It was always autumn.

He spotted Lucy, hiding behind a tree, her clothes still soaking wet. She giggled and beckoned to him to follow. A look of curious confusion came across Geoffrey's features as he slowly followed the girl as she led him on an endless chase through the trees surrounding the glade. Soon, he broke into a run and as he sped up, she sped up. The thing quickly turned into a game as Lucy laughed and Geoffrey pushed away plants and branches to get at her.

Lucy entered the glade again and hesitated right before the lake that shimmered with a golden red reflection of the surrounding vegetation. She looked over her shoulder at Geoffrey who was quickly making his way over and then jumped swiftly into the lake and went under.

When Geoffrey arrived at the edge of the lake, he looked anxiously for his love.

"OK, Lucy…" he said with a laugh. "Where are you?" But the girl didn't surface. Geoffrey frowned. "Lucy?" But the lake was as placid as if she had never even jumped in. Geoffrey saw a ripple in the water, but noticed it was only a frog hopping onto a lily pad. The seconds passed…

Without warning, a hand shot up out of the water like a swiftly growing flower and seized Geoffrey's foot. Geoffrey yelped as he was pulled downward and consumed by the cool water.

Lucy surfaced and gasped the sweet fresh air and struggled out of her school robes and laid them on the bank. Soon, Geoffrey came up and gulped in a breath of autumn air.

"DON'T DO THAT!" he screamed with a smile. Lucy gave him an innocent look.

"I'm sorry!" she said insincerely, and then took off like a torpedo towards the other end of the lake. Scowling, Geoffrey swam to catch up with her.

Lucy stopped swimming in the middle of the lake and turned to look at Geoffrey who was close behind. She flashed him that smile that always made him feel weak. As Geoffrey arrived, he noticed her bare shoulders and frowned.

"Lucy, where's your…" but then he noticed a green cloth floating in a heap next to her. "Oh…" he said. She grabbed the shirt and held it in front of her.

"You really thought I could swim that fast with these wet clothes on? Not bloody likely!" Geoffrey laughed and struggled out of his own black shirt.

"Where are we going to put these?" he asked.

"My skirt and my robe are on the bank," she replied. Geoffrey blinked.

"What?" he cried. She laughed.

"Relax!" she exclaimed. "There's no one else here. No one ever comes here. We're all alone." The way she said it sent an excited shiver down Geoffrey's spine. In the silence that followed her comment, the thought of modesty seemed to materialize in Lucy's mind and she suddenly blushed and tried to rap her shirt around her. Geoffrey gave her a weak smile.

"Yeah…" he said. "I guess you're right."

"Do you love me?" Lucy blurted out as if it were a question in the back of her mind she'd been longing to voice. Geoffrey was taken aback.

"Well, I suppose I— I mean, I— Yes. Yes, I do." Geoffrey flustered and Lucy smiled a bashful smile.

"Relax," she said again in a calm whisper. "I love you too." Slowly, Lucy moved closer to the young man until they were merely centimeters apart. He stared longingly into those emerald eyes that seemed to consume him. It was so easy to get lost in those eyes. She softly put her hands on his bare back and caressed his lips gently with her own.

Time froze as the two forgot they were in a lake at all and stopped kicking their legs as they fell under, without a care in the world.

Geoffrey was in a daze as he climbed out of the lake once more. He absentmindedly picked up his shirt and pointed his wand at it. Instantly, it was dry and he threw it over his head. The rain had stopped and the clouds had parted, leaving a completely unobstructed view of the setting sun over the red foliage of the trees. Geoffrey sighed peacefully. He had never been happier in his life.

He heard a splash by his feet and looked down at his crimson-haired love, whose head looked up at him with soft green eyes and whose bare arms rested on the shore while the rest of her body lay invisible in the water.

"Geoffrey…" she said, with a slightly abashed tone to her voice. "Would you mind… you know, turning… away?" Geoffrey blinked at her, coming out of his trance. When her words finally sunk into his brain, a look of comprehension dawned on his face.

"Oh!" he cried. "Yes, of course!" Geoffrey turned his back to her as the maiden gracefully drew herself out of the lake. He waited patiently until she told him he could turn around again.

She smiled at him through long lashes with water droplets clinging to them. Her green top and skirt were no longer wet and she pulled on her newly dry black robes. He tore his eyes away from her to look at the large orange fireball in the pink and violate sky.

"Isn't it lovely?" he asked. Lucy nodded.

"I think we're way overdue at the castle," she said. "The lecture should have ended an hour ago. Come on." Lucy took his hand and told him she would see him soon.

"Tomorrow," he said to her. She seemed confused.

"Where?" she asked.

"Here," he replied. "Right here." But Lucy gave him her trademark playful grin.

"How about tonight?" she whispered eagerly into his ear. Geoffrey looked at her, startled.

"Tonight?" he said. "Where?"

"Your room," she whispered. Geoffrey grinned.

"Where did they go?" Lewis asked.

"Nowhere," replied Jonathan as he covered up the crystal ball with a purple velvet cloth. Lewis and Gareth were both suspicious.

"They have to have gone somewhere," said Gareth, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"They did," Jonathan told them, evenly. "They both went home. Our job is not to spy on Lucy Kilbourne and her victim, it's to make sure that she doesn't mess up. You know how unhappy the Lord gets when someone touches his mistress. He doesn't even like anyone to look at her the wrong way. He's not happy about leaving her alone with this boy. The sooner it's done with, the better." Gareth nodded, satisfied.

"If he's so touchy about it then why is he letting her take part in this… scheme?" Lewis asked. Jonathan glared at him icily.

"That is none of your concern."

"Well then pretend it is!" Lewis said with a grin as he rested his chin on his hands. Jonathan sighed.

"Geoffrey Dumbledore is the key to his Uncle's downfall. If Lucy can persuade him to love her and turn him against his own family, it will drive Albus Dumbledore mad. That's what the Lord wants. He already knows that Dumbledore is suspicious of him. He even thinks Dumbledore knows what he is doing and what he is up to. But he doesn't think Dumbledore even imagines what is going on with his nephew. That is why he is allowing Lucy to seduce him. For the greater good. Now! Shoo, both of you! Go back to your comfortable little homes, there's no need for you to stay here. Lewis, return to Marisa, Gareth, go back to… wherever it is you go to. The night's work is done with for now." The other two obediently nodded and departed.