A/N I truly apologize for the long wait, being in school tends to take up most of my time. I know I promised smut, but there is a problem. I have yahoo mail and a computer virus that makes it to where I can only view yahoo mail on the highest possible security settings, meaning I cannot delete, reply to, or compose e-mails. On the plus side, I can send yahoo greetings e-cards... so if anyone would like to receive their smut through that, just let me know. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Chapter 9: Anitcipation

The concept of time no longer existed, there was only that moment, those lips, and the intense heat building between the two. It had really only lasted a fraction of a second, but the emotion behind the kiss had left a promise of much more. Hermione hadn't even seen it coming, and was feeling extremely self-conscious around the older French woman. When their lips no longer made contact, the dominant witch leaned in to Hermione's ear and whispered, "Your outfit...no, everything about you Hermione, it is wonderful. This is more than I could have imagined... truly, I am impressed." With that, Fleur ran a gentle hand over the other woman's backside and pulled her into another kiss.

There was a definite silence in the once very active room, and pulling apart they discovered why. Turning around to have an open room of stunned, knowing, or amused magical folk was not something they had expected. The spell maker's face was completely red; she could have competed against any Weasley in a blushing contest. Fleur, however, had only a slight tinge of pink to accompany an almost feral grin. Despite the embarrassment her confidence never wavered.

An uproar of applause and raucous cheering finally broke the tension. The hero of the wizarding world gave his ex-potions professor a high-five while Tonks, Fred, and George seemed to be having simultaneous seizures. Dumbledore just smiled and gave Fleur a simple wink, while she smiled in return.

With the party back in motion, the platinum haired woman took Hermione's hand and let her upstairs. Ginny and Snape were the only ones to notice their departure, as a new arrival had just let in another blast of frosty air.

"Before we begin, I want you to be fully aware that there is a silencing charm on the room we'll be occupying," her tone was commanding, yet reassuring, "however, the silencing works only one way. We will hear nothing but ourselves, but everyone else... I'm sure you get the idea." Her final words had definitely hit a mark; the incredibly intelligent witch stood stock still, absolutely dumbfounded yet tentatively enjoying the thought of being an exhibitionist.

Black, and lots of it, covered his alabaster skin. It looked as though he had taken a very expensive Batman costume and transfigured it into a hybrid of athletic and formal wear. Another guest in the Potter home perked up immediately, his red face nearly matching his hair. Ron chugged the last of his butterbeer and stood up cautiously. The Batman held up his hand, and then motioned for Ron to sit. Instantly he complied. The Batman strode over purposefully, speaking softly to Ron, "I see you received my letter."

"Are you sure no one will notice?" the redhead was oblivious when it came to muggle things, but somehow he expected his 'Robin' costume went with the Batman one. "I don't want to be discovered in front of quite so many people," Ron grinned sheepishly and wiped his sweaty palms on a napkin.

"Even if someone notices, let them try to say something negative... I've got my wand and a pair of magical handcuffs on me, let's see what they do then," he flashed a toothy smile as he fiddled with the many odds and ends on his utility belt. "This thing sure came in handy."

"I love it when you're kinky," the youngest Weasley brother gave his friend a light kiss on the cheek, making sure no one was watching. Little did he know that Harry's emerald gaze had just settled between them, inquisitively watching their not so secret discussion.

Adjusting her comm-badge, Ginny tapped it once to communicate with her husband. She had magically created a two-way radio link that was proving to be useful. "Hey, what do you suppose they're doing upstairs? You did see that I created a dungeon up there, didn't you?" Smiling at her own sense of creativity she asked, "Would you like me to keep it in place, perhaps a permanent addition to our home? I know how shy you can be... but since talking to Fleur I've become really interested in this whole BDSM thing!"

Sometimes her excitement and enthusiasm bewildered the messy-haired man, but he loved her all the same. "Yes love, but something more urgent has come up, meet me at the end of the snack table but keep your eyes on my other best friend," he said all this in a matter of fact whisper. Ginny was now thoroughly confused. She weaved her way through her guests and watched her brother and an unknown man converse. Something about the dark figure seemed familiar to her, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. Just as she approached her husband, the two men she was watching quietly slipped into the kitchen and out the back door.

"Gin hon, did you get a look at Batman's ass?" he asked with the utmost urgency, unaware of how strange he sounded.

"What? Only for a second, why the bloody hell did you ask me that?" The battle between feeling suspicious, jealous, and curious waged with Ginny's emotions.

Upon seeing his wife in distress he replied, "Oh, calm down already. Ever since sixth year when you mentioned a few guys' nice asses, I couldn't help but compare them to my own," he grinned in that shy puppy dog sort of way only he could get away with. "So I think I know who it is, but I wanted to check with you first."

"Well, I might have an idea, but that was son long ago... I can't believe you still remember!" her lips brushed against his temple before asking, "Why does it matter anyway? He's probably a friend of Ron's from the Ministry or something. You know he has other friends besides you, right?" her eyes twinkled; she loved teasing her husband like this.

Leaning in to the tall redhead, the former Seeker gave her an 'eskimo' kiss and replied, "Maybe I should have told you about what I saw and heard before asking about another guy's ass," his face grew suddenly serious, "He and the Batman were acting more than just friendly, and right before leaving they shared a brief kiss. I'm sure Ron thought he was being careful, but not much gets past me in my own home."

"Why would he hide a relationship from us? I mean, his best friend and closest sibling! He better have a damn good excuse," her temper flared up quickly, as was common in the Weasley clan.

"I've been thinking the same thing... but think back to what I asked about Batman, that may just explain it," nervously he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "If you remember correctly, you told me of one guy in particular who had a great ass. In fact, his ass was the greatest of all asses, until you confessed that mine triumphed over all else but that at the time you were too embarrassed to admit it," The 'Boy' Who Lived did a little booty shaking victory dance to prove his point.

At this Ginny laughed, but immediately sobered. What he said had just sunk in, "But... it couldn't be, after all he's said and done it just doesn't make sense! None at all."

"I know, trust me, I know, but I'm sure it's him," his face was hard to read; disappointed at not being told such a huge secret, curiosity as to why he wanted to be secretive in the first place, and just a hint of revulsion.

"Seriously Harry... my brother, and... Draco Malfoy?" Harry moved quickly to catch his love, who simply passed out from the shock.

All discussions in the Potter home were interrupted by a resounding 'smack.' Though it was muffled, everyone heard it coming from upstairs. More laughter ensued before the party continued as normal. Out in the unkempt backyard, two men were obliviously locked in a passionate embrace. Once again they were being watched, but the eyes this time were charcoal black. Snape rolled his eyes at himself and muttered, "Give it to Harry to get me out of the school only to act like some twisted voyeur for the rest of the night. Damn, I could really use a drink."

Periodically more smack sounds were heard, accompanied by faint cries of shock and moans of pleasure; they were now politely ignored. Even Moody, with his magical eye, wasn't peeking in on the two witches, despite having Fred and George harass him about it every few minutes. No, Moody was smarter than that... and powerful though he seemed, he would not fancy getting on the bad side of Fleur, no matter how curious their upstairs tryst made him.