A/N: same old, only own what isn't from the books and the plot
The lyrics at the beginning are from 'Immortality' by Celine Dion
Cheers for the reviews, all are answered below and keep reviewin plz! =) enjoy xx
Chapter Two – Dangerous Desire
And I will stand for my dream if I can,
Symbol of my faith in who I am,
But you are my only,
And I must follow on the road that lies ahead,
And I won't let my heart control my head,
But you are my only
And we don't say goodbye,
And I know what I've got to be
Appleby sighed and continued to stare up at the silver and green embroidered canopy of her huge four-poster bed as Matthew sauntered in and flopped onto the bed besides her making the whole mattress shake.
"You look depressed as hell, angel."
Appleby sighed and handed him the rolled up letter from her lap, lying silently amidst the pillows as he read it through quickly before rolling it back up. He eyed his best friend as she absently scratched at her bare thigh beneath her lacy black knickers and matching lace camisole top. Anyone else would have been hard pushed to concentrate with Appleby Malfoy sprawled wantonly in her underwear on a double bed next to them, but Matthew had known her all his life and was too close to her as a brother to have any thoughts of anything else between them.
"Oh, so apparently you're meant to save the world?"
Appleby glanced up at Matthew who was watching her with a curious look on his face, shifting his gaze from the letter still clutched in his hand to her expressionless face. She rolled over onto her stomach and brought her legs up behind her, swinging them as she cradled her head in her hands and stared at the wall above the headboard of her bed.
"Yeah, my mom killed this Kendra person and I'm meant to have to deal with her offspring or something sometime soon."
Matthew raised an eyebrow at her and threw himself backwards onto the bed so his head was besides her elbow, looking up into her surprisingly calm face.
"And your mom and dad are like some part-vampire Mates?"
Appleby nodded and dropped her head onto her now folded arms on top of her pillow as he watched her, glancing back down at the letter now lying on his chest. He knew better than to accept the ice-cold façade Appleby showed the world, the two of them had grown up together along with Shari and he knew every single little gesture that gave away exactly what she was thinking. Take now for instance, she was twirling a loose strand of hair from the messy ponytail at the back of her head around her forefinger and knowing unconsciously on her bottom lip which she only did when she was extremely agitated.
"Well that makes sense."
Appleby looked up at him and he looked back at her steadily, watching as her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"I got the same letter from my parents last week."
Appleby nearly fell off the bed in shock, but settled for punching him on the shoulder and sending a jerk through his entire body with its force.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" She hissed, sounding very like her mother had all those years ago.
He shrugged and tucked his arms behind his head, accepting the poisonous glare she was giving him easily and shaking his hair out of his eyes.
"It also asks if you had a nightmare last night, how did she know about that?"
Appleby shrugged and propped her head up in her hands again, kicking her legs gently backwards and forwards in an unconscious rhythm. Her thoughts drifted from the dream to her mother to Finn; she had spent all day with him yesterday as friends and they had definitely had fun acting like first years in the snow, until he had tried to kiss her and ruined it all.
Finn would have been the perfect guy for her if he hadn't been with Shari, but even if something had happened between them if he had been single it would only have lasted a couple of weeks at the most; she could never hold a relationship together for long before she got restless. She didn't know what it was she was looking for but she knew it wasn't at Hogwarts.
"Guys, are you planning on eating at all?"
Turning towards the door where Finn was slouching in the frame Appleby crawled over Matthew to get to the floor and wriggled into a pair of skin-tight black faded jeans and a long-sleeved turtle necked silver-grey sweater that turned her eyes to pure sparkling silver. Pulling on a pair of socks she rootled under her bed and pulled out a pair of designer pointed black high-heeled ankle boots that zipped up the back and retied her hair at the back of her head with a black ribbon.
"I'll meet you guys down there."
Appleby could have slapped Matthew when he said this and settled for stomping very hard on his foot as she passed on her way out of the door. Finding herself jammed against the wall as a group of fourth year girls, giving Finn appreciative glances, barged past chattering loudly, Appleby's face drained of colour and she backed away.
"Are you alright?"
There was concern in Finn's voice as Appleby rammed herself against the wall to keep from touching him.
"Shari."
Finn watched her carefully, slowly backing her against the wall as he advanced on her, making Appleby press herself flat against the cold stone wall.
"You don't think we should tell her what happened."
Appleby gaped at him, lowering her voice as some of her friends wandered past, nodding at Appleby as they passed.
"Nothing happened."
She looked down at the floor to avoid his searching eyes, when she looked up he was gone.
Appleby slipped into her seat besides Matthew and looked down at her hands; she was all screwed up inside no matter how cool she looked on the outside. Ignoring Finn she hitched a typical Malfoy smirk onto her face and blocked out all thoughts of the Prophecy her parents' letter had been about from her mind.
"What's up babes? You look awful!"
Appleby raised an arctic blonde eyebrow at Cecy sat opposite her making a great show of licking the cream off her spoon for Matthew who was swallowing noisier by the second.
"Just a headache that's all."
Matthew looked at her curiously as she toyed unenthusiastically with her roast beef and prodded her vegetables with her fork held limp in her fingers. Her mind was fixed on the letter her parents had sent her even though she had been trying her best to block it from her mind;
'I'm sorry you had to find out this way...'
'Your father and I were destined to be together it seems...'
'As much as I hate the fact, it is your hand that will save the world in the final fight...'
Appleby was so deep in thought she walked straight into someone without noticing until she was knocked to the floor. Looking up at the boy sprawled on the floor before her she gaped at him as he got to his feet, reaching out a hand to help her up. Pulling herself together she gripped his hand and climbed to her feet gracefully, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder and placing a hand on her hip, swinging her hip out to the side and staring down at him haughtily.
"Are you alright?"
The question knocked her for six; that was definitely not what she expected. Tossing her head again she glared at him with silver sparks in her eyes, he didn't move just stood and watched her, his hands at his sides and his eyes refusing to even blink until she was fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Yes, no thanks to you."
He didn't even blush as she gave him a glare that by rights should have had him in a coma; he continued to watch her with his dark inky-black eyes flecked with blue and silver and framed by thick black lashes too long and curling to be real. His prolonged silence was making her edgy which inevitably brought out the Malfoy bitchiness.
"Hello, anyone in there?"
He moved so swiftly she didn't realise what was happening until she was pinned against the wall, rammed against his body as a group of Gryffindor sixth year boys thundered past without looking where they were going, trampling over the place she had been stood in seconds before.
Her heart was racing as they stood in silence, neither moving away from the other even after the group of boys had gone. Her hands were flat on his chest, surprisingly muscular beneath the black and silver shirt, and his long white hands rested on her bent elbows. Their eyes were locked, black on silver as his heart beat steadily under her right hand, his thick raven locks sculpted to his head contrasted with his paler than white features and neck and faded into his shirt at the base of his neck.
"They're gone."
Neither of them moved for what seemed an eternity after she had spoken until he stepped back swiftly, leaving her feeling unnecessarily cold. By now her defences were shattered and she couldn't think what to say, no one had ever caused her to become speechless never mind the fact that she had only known him for ten minutes at the most. She studied him for a second before thrusting out her right hand towards him;
"Appleby Malfoy."
He watched her hand for a moment, watching the light from the flickering torches reflecting off her signet ring on her third finger. Eventually he took her hand in a surprisingly warm grip and she felt his own ring crushing against her fingers.
"Dante Curtis."
She smirked at him and released his hand, leaning back against the wall with her arms folded over her stomach and one eyebrow raised as she watched him. She was positive she had never seen him before and he intrigued her, he was as still and watchful as a cat or more likely a panther in his baggy black pants and short-sleeved black shirt revealing a tattoo of a Chinese symbol from his left shoulder to his elbow.
"Where were you heading to?"
She had never had to make small-talk before but this boy wouldn't speak unless he wanted to and she felt the desperate need to find out more about him, like it or not she was intrigued.
"Anywhere, just looking for somewhere to get away from the crowds."
Appleby watched him, gnawing on her bottom lip as she contemplated showing him the one place she was ever really alone; no one but her knew about the place so why not.
"You want somewhere to be alone; I'll show you a place."
He didn't say anything but followed her anyway as she propelled herself off the wall and started towards the staircase at the end of the corridor at a brisk pace, grinning when he matched her speed easily but still not making any attempt at striking up a conversation.
"The Astronomy Tower, not exactly a private place."
She shot him a glare and stalked over to the window overlooking the grounds, lifting one leg over the ledge and climbing out onto the thin window-sill. Scrabbling around on the top of the window frame she found the grooves she was looking for and dug her nails into them, pulling herself up and onto the roof before dangling her head upside down in the window and offering a hand to help Dante up. He refused her hand but followed her up nonetheless until they were both crawling up the slanting tiled room of the Astronomy Tower.
Once they reached the part of the roof that edged upwards into the point, Appleby placed her hand flat against it and pushed hard until the entire point had folded over revealing a trapdoor in the roof. Pulling it open she lowered herself into the room and waited for Dante to join her, pulling the trap door closed behind him.
They found themselves in a round room with a low slanting ceiling ending in a point in the centre where a circular candelabra was suspended by a long chain that lit the room with a strange glow. There were scattered bean bags and cushions to sit on around the room, a marble chess-set in the middle on a low Chinese table with cushions to sit on around it and a large ornate fireplace to the side.
Using her wand to light a fire and the few torches in brackets along the walls before slumping down onto one of the cushions and pulling two bottles of Butterbeer out from a secret compartment in the floor, Appleby gestured for Dante to sit down opposite her.
"What is this place?"
Appleby watched him curiously as he spun around in a slow circle taking in everything with his huge dark eyes before finally dropping down onto the cushion opposite her.
"It was a storage room but it was such a pain to get to that people gradually forgot all about it."
He watched her as intensely as she had been watching him as she took a sip of her Butterbeer, his eyes tracing the drink's progress down her snowy-white throat as she swallowed. He glanced down at the chessboard twinkling in the firelight and gestured with his hand at it;
"Do you play?"
Appleby's eyes lit up and she rose to the challenge, sitting up straighter and crossing her legs after pulling off her boots and rolling up her sleeves.
"My Uncle Ron taught me, he's the best. He beat that giant chess set here in his first year."
Dante raised his eyebrow but said nothing as she moved a pawn, waiting for him to make his move as she stared down at the board, her brow furrowed with concentration.
They were still engrossed in their game when a distant bell chiming made Appleby jump as she looked down at her watch; dinner time.
"Check."
She stretched up her arms above her head and hollowed her stomach as she stretched her aching back and rubbed her eyes, scrambling half-heartedly for her shoes.
"Not bad."
She glanced up at Dante who was surveying the board with an expressionless face, she watched him as he absently fingered the pieces he had already taken of hers while he pondered his next move. She missed his move as she was getting to her feet but she was definitely aware when he was stood besides her, his hand on the small of her back as he pushed open the trap-door above their heads which had proved to be made of glass transparent on their side but a simple black slab to the other side.
Helping her up he smirked at her discomfort and kissed her knuckles teasingly, leaning in towards her as her breath caught in her throat. Both of them were oblivious to the fact that they were only just balancing on a slanting room of the tallest tower at Hogwarts, the wind whipping their hair about their faces in a frenzy as she felt his hair tickle her cheek.
"Check-mate."
She briefly felt his breath against her ear before he had whipped around and was gone, disappeared back into the castle as she leaned back against the roof trying to catch her breath. She tugged open the trap-door and stuck her head inside, her eyes scanning the chess board until she caught sight of the move he had made; he had won he hadn't been bluffing.
Grumbling she made her way back into the castle, suddenly realising how much about herself she had revealed to cover up the uncomfortable silences his distant attitude created. Thinking back she also realised she had found out almost nothing more about him than she had known that morning when they had first met; only that his parents were dead and he lived with his uncle.
She paused outside the doors to the Great Hall and rubbed her chilled hands together uncomfortably; she really was in no mood to listen to the other's random gossip and questions about where she had been all day. She was about to turn away when Matt, Shari, Cecy and Finn appeared along the corridor behind her and swept her into their midst, somehow bustling her into the Great Hall as they did so. Sighing she cast a quick glance around the room but could see no sign of Dante anywhere, fighting back unreasonable disappointment she trailed after her friends towards the Slytherin table.
((Dante's POV))
He could smell her advancing down the corridor, her scent was tangy and enticing; the scent of the forbidden. Her footsteps were steady and her blood flow was regular so even before he saw her he knew she was deep in thought as she traipsed along the corridor with her head held high and a haughty expression on her striking face. Despite himself he stared; he hadn't expected her to be quite so beautiful, she had a pale heart-shaped face with high aristocratic cheek-bones framed by a veil of white-blonde hair that was at the moment pulled back into a plait at the back of her head. Her eyes were huge almond-shaped stars, a vivid dark silver colour he had never seen before above a scattering of freckles over her long nose like confetti against her pale skin above her luscious full pink lips, typically twisted into a smirk. He also noticed she didn't walk like a normal person she prowled, her back straight and her head held high proudly as she stalked along the corridors looking every inch a princess.
He stepped into her path to stop her and instead found himself barrelled over and flat on his back on the hard stone floor as she gaped at him from her seat on the floor. Getting to his feet quickly he extended a hand to help her up, surprising himself as much as obviously surprised her.
"Are you alright?"
He watched her as she visibly pulled herself together and dropped a hand onto her hip, swinging it out to the side and enhancing her curving figure as he watched, silently figuring out his next move.
"Yes, no thanks to you."
He stayed quiet as she stared back at him; he could tell his lack of speaking was unnerving her and he could also tell no one else would have been able to figure that one out; this girl was very good at hiding things she didn't want others to see.
"Hello, anyone in there?"
Once again he refrained from replying as he strained his ears at the slight noise he could hear in the distance, his nose twitched as he cocked his head slightly to the side; six boys. He could smell they were gaining on the pair of them as their footsteps grew louder in his ear and before she could react he had pinned her against the wall, his body pressed against hers as the boys thundered past.
He could hear her heartbeat jumping as she gazed up at him, her lips slightly open and her eyes huge as his hands slid down her arms to rest at her elbows. His own heartbeat was far from normal but he managed to slow it down before she felt it beneath her hand and he watched her, his sharp eyes picking out the desire she probably didn't even realise she felt at the back of her eyes. He could smell her lust now, a sharp tingling sensation in his nostrils as he breathed it in, but it was faint enough for him to know she couldn't feel anything other than a slight difference inside her to relate to it.
"They're gone."
He made no inclination that he had heard her as he watched her eyes drink in his appearance, flickering ever so slightly from his eyes to his hair to his features and back again. He stepped away from her and watched her eyes dance over his tattoo before meeting his eyes again as though in a trance.
"Appleby Malfoy."
His eyes strayed to her outstretched hand, taking in the sight of the signet ring on her third finger, the rare metal band and the small jewel glittering in the light of the torches lining the walls before he gripped it and shook it.
"Dante Curtis."
He released her hand and she leaned back against the wall, watching him once again as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Where were you heading to?"
He could see she was making an effort to get him to talk and he suppressed a smirk; his plan was working perfectly, if he could just get close enough to her he could find out what hurt her the most.
"Anywhere, just looking for somewhere to get away from the crowds."
He watched her shudder with pleasure involuntarily at the sound of his voice and this time couldn't hide his smirk as the lingering smell of desire shot up until it was surrounding her like a cloud of perfume.
"You want somewhere to be alone; I'll show you a place."
She set off at a fast pace down the hall and he hurried to keep up with her, partly because he didn't know his way around Hogwarts properly yet and partly because he had the feeling she was testing him.
"The Astronomy Tower, not exactly a private place." He sneered as she stopped outside the door before unlocking it with her wand and glaring at him on her way to the opposite window.
He followed her out of the window and up onto the roof, hardly straining himself at all with the climbing and grinning when he noticed the continuous looks Appleby shot him, reinforcing his certainty that she was somehow trying to test him. Dropping down into the room through the trapdoor he watched her light the candles, torches and fire before examining the room. He had to admit she had beautiful taste in interior designs, the minimalist furniture was stunning even if it was only cushions and low tables; he was willing to bet her bedroom was the same.
Cutting off that road of thought immediately he turned back towards her, sensing this was the only place at Hogwarts where she was truly relaxed.
"What is this place?"
He watched her drop down onto one of the oversized cushions at the end of the table, rummaging around and producing two Butterbeers before he relented and slumped onto the opposite cushion.
"It was a storage room but it was such a pain to get to that people gradually forgot all about it."
He couldn't resist watching her mouthful of Butterbeer's progress down her throat, her scent was overpowering him and he was furious with himself for being so violently attracted to her. To distract himself he moved his gaze down to the chessboard;
"Do you play?"
Her eyes lit up as she tugged off her shoes and rolled her sleeves up, crossing her legs and leaning towards the table.
"My Uncle Ron taught me, he's the best. He beat that giant chess set here in his first year."
He raised an eyebrow at her as she shifted one of her pawns and surveyed the board before moving his own pawn.
He heard the bells ringing seconds before she did and he didn't bother to raise his head when she began to pull her shoes back on. With his extra-sensitive hearing and sense of smell he knew exactly what she was doing without having to watch her.
"Check."
He raised his eyebrows at her move but still didn't look up at her.
"Not bad."
He felt her gaze on him as she stood up; smirking inwardly when her breath caught in her throat and her pulse began to beat twice as fast when she found him already on her feet before she was halfway up. He could smell her blood pounding through her veins in excitement as she watched him climb up through the trapdoor.
Smirking at her he leant down and met the hand he was lifting with his lips, letting his lips graze her knuckles until her heart rate was bouncing around all over the place. He leaned in towards her, listening with a contented grin as her breathing quickened;
"Check-mate."
Her eyes had flickered down temporarily and by the time she had snapped them up he had faded in a swirl of black mist. He watched her retreat back into the castle grumbling to herself. His plan was already working; she was attracted to him as well which was a bonus to his plan but there was one slight hitch he hadn't banked on; he was actually attracted to her instead of just having to pretend to be. He frowned at this, ignoring the quickening of his pulse as he remembered the feel of her body against his in the corridor and the smell of her raw desire sweeping over him. Narrowing his eyes he allowed himself to fade into mist again, appearing seconds later at what was temporarily his home.
AnitaBlake/BuffyFan = thanks very much I'm glad you like my stories so much =D
kneh13 = cheers, hope ya had a good birthday
bigreader = I hope your questions were answered but if they weren't tell me =)
Chantal J = thanx hope you like this chapter
TarynMalfoy88 = thanx a lot, glad you like it
valentines-hater = this is seventeen years after the first one as its Ginny/Draco's child's last year at Hogwarts
mell8 = thanx, I got continuously harassed until I agreed to do the sequel lol
Alicandra Black = cheers I'm glad you like my stories, sorry you don't like the name but she is half Weasley as well and it just sounded kind of ok when I was writing it
Kazte = thanx I hope you like it