A/N - adult stuff. Slash. Drop down past the first divider if you don't want to read it.

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Chapter 37

"Ron please..." Blaise said tiredly, "You're making me dizzy, and I can't even see you!"

Ron stopped his pacing, letting out a deep sigh. "What could be keeping them?"

"If there was something wrong they would have told us. Maybe they're just trying to get him back into Gryffindor Tower." Blaise said reasonably.

None of the Slytherins had returned to their rooms, still waiting for the return of Snape and Draco. Some more had even filtered it, having been woken by the commotion. They were all now watching Ron with open concern. The twins were still sprawled out on the couch asleep, both blissfully unaware.

Ron contemplated that for a moment, then distractedly began pacing again.

Blaise got up, following the sound of his movements and managed to catch ahold of him. "Ron, let's go back to the room."

"I can't go back to the room! What if they come back?" Ron said, surprised that Blaise would even suggest such a thing.

"All you're doing in here is wearing through the rugs. They will tell us immediately when they return." Blaise replied reasonably.

Ron glanced around, noting all of the people staring at him. He sighed, realizing that he was increasing their anxiety. "Fine..." He conceded morosely.

Blaise slid his arm around Ron's waist comfortingly as they headed towards the room. Pansy hurried over and took Ron's other arm, leaning her head against his shoulder as they walked. When they got back to the room, Blaise led him over to the bed (the one thing he never seemed to have any problem finding...).

Ron stopped beside the bed, sighing as Blaise started taking off his shirt. "Blaise..." He said wearily. "Shagging isn't the solution for everything."

Blaise smirked, "I have my doubts about the validity of that statement, but I wasn't planning on shagging you... well, unless you want me to of course."

Ron blushed. He had been presuming about Blaise's intentions... but then that presumption was usually accurate with him. "Oh... um... not right now... I just..."

Blaise grinned, "I know. I didn't figure you'd be in the mood. Now strip and get on the bed."

Ron just stared at him mutely for a moment. Talk about conflicting signals! He started as he felt Pansy unfasten his pants, slipping them down. He hadn't had time to put on anything else. None of them had... their awakening had been so abrupt that they had barely had time to pull on the bare minimum for decency, though Blaise had been able to grab up yesterday's shirt off the back of the desk chair as he passed it as well. He sighed and gave up, stepping out of the pants.
He let Pansy lead him onto the bed. She sat tailor fashion on one of the center pillows, indicating that he should lay down on his stomach with his head towards her. She took a thin pillow and placed it in her lap, then got him to put his head on it. He was really beginning to wonder what they were up to when he felt her fingers begin to gently massage the back of his neck. Some of the tension drained out of him. He sighed contentedly as she diligently worked her way up the back of his neck and up onto his scalp.

He didn't even turn to look as he felt the bed shift under the addition of Blaise's weight. He was a bit puzzled when he felt Blaise's fingers as they found him and got oriented, then his legs straddled Ron's waist, still wearing the cotton night pants he had been wearing before. After a brief pause, Ron felt warm, oiled hands settle on the back of his neck, quickly removing all remaining tension from it. As they worked their way down across his shoulders, Ron couldn't help but let out a little groan of pleasure. It felt absolutely heavenly!

Blaise worked him over slowly and methodically, Massaging not only his shoulders, but also each arm right down to the finger tips, then on down his back, even his bum, then on down, turning around and studiously massaging each leg and foot. The scalp massage felt wonderful as well, but to be honest, he never even noticed when she stopped, switching to simply stroking his hair. When Blaise was done, he shifted over beside Ron, then placed his hands on his shoulders and slowly stroked them down the whole length of his body. Ron shuddered with pleasure. He stroked down him one more time, eliciting yet another shiver and a deep moan, then he shifted down, laying beside Ron.

"Feeling any better?" Blaise asked softly.

Ron let out a deep sigh, nodding slightly against the pillow.

"Good..." Blaise said happily, kissing his shoulder.

"Blaise..." Ron said after a moment.

"Yes?"

"I... I think I've changed my mind... could... could you...?"

Blaise smiled brilliantly. "Your wish is my command." He said, slipping off his by now overly tight pants and shifting back over on top of him.

The massage had left Ron so relaxed that Blaise had little trouble entering him. They both let out groans at Blaise pressed deep and started moving. He tried to keep it slow, but it was pretty obvious he'd been achingly hard ever since he started the massage.

Ron shifted his head to the side so he could breath easier, then slipped his hands up under Pansy's little emerald green nighty. He ran his hands up over her thighs and on up, letting them settle on her bare rump. He let out another little moan. With his head that close to her, he could smell the slight scent that told him she was very aroused.

On an impulse, Ron grabbed the pillow from under his head and pulled it away, then pushed her knees apart. She was surprised, but obligingly uncrossed her ankles. He grabbed her hips and pulled her closer, making her nighty ride up.

She gave a trill, falling back against the pillows and spreading her legs wider as he started in on her. It may have been his first try at it, but he apparently paid attention when he'd seen Blaise do it.

Blaise grinned, not having a difficult time figuring out what Ron was doing from the sounds Pansy was making. He started moving faster, making both Ron and Pansy moan. Pansy could feel every jolt of their bodies clashing. She lifted her head, watching Blaise intently as she bucked up against Ron.

In very little time, the room rang with her cries as she peaked. Blaise let out a groan and soon followed her lead. After a moment, Blaise shifted off to the side, panting happily as Pansy finally released her hold on Ron's hair.

Ron shifted up some. Pansy let out a little squeak of surprise as he grabbed her hips and pulled her down further. Without so much as a word, he plunged himself into her. She cried out and wrapped herself around him as he started thrusting into her hard. She could tell he was nearly there already by how abrupt his movement were, the little sound of strain already creeping into his breath.

As aroused as she'd been already, she quickly went over the edge again, clutching him to her as she bucked up against him, crying out his name so loudly it echoed off the stone walls. This made him speed up even more, rutting her hard for another minute before stabbing himself into her and letting out a deep growling grunt as he filled her.

He held that position for a long moment before slowly sagging down on top of her. She pulled him close and held him as he let out a aching sigh. Blaise stroked his hand down Ron's back soothingly. "I'm sure they're all fine, Ron..."

Ron just gave a little nod, but snuggled his face down into Pansy's shoulder, slipping his arms around her and holding onto her as Blaise cuddled up beside him.

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Harry cracked his eyes open, peering over at Snape, who was sitting in a chair near the foot of the bed he was laying in. He just couldn't figure out why the two people he hated most (this side of Voldemort of course) had saved him. He couldn't imagine either of them caring for anyone, let alone looking out for Ron's feelings... Perhaps they were just merely trying to prolong his misery? Seemed more likely...

Draco had gone off to get cleaned up while Snape kept an eye on Harry. Harry had been dozing as the blood replenishing potion did it's job. It made him feel odd... like the blood flowing through his veins wasn't natural somehow... of course it wasn't. It was magically produced. Snape had assured him his body just had to adapt to it and accept it until he was able to replace it naturally. Soon he shouldn't be able to tell any difference at all. Harry certainly hoped so. There was nothing wrong with it, but it just felt a bit... off. Snape had told him that was why the potion must be taken in stages, so it didn't send Harry's already weakened system into shock.

He studied Snape, who was gazing off across the room, oblivious to the fact that Harry had awoken. Snape's face looked odd. There almost seemed to be hints of sadness and worry on his usually harsh features. Certainly the look wasn't for him... Harry followed his gaze and found his eyes resting on one of the empty beds. Slowly, Harry's mind scraped through the fuzziness that clouded it, and he realized that he was looking at the bed Hermione had lain in no more than a couple of hours ago... the one he had spent all day next to.

He blinked, his mind clicking into gear. He vaguely remembered something being said about the fact that Snape had discovered her and brought her in. Surely Snape wasn't now concerned over Hermione as well? What was the wizarding world coming to???

Snape noticed Harry and his posture stiffened, the cold, blank expression quickly slipping back into place. "About time for another dose, Potter." He said, gesturing vaguely towards the bedside table.

Harry looked over, noting the little measuring cup on it that already contained just the right amount. Harry reached over, trying not to let his arm shake while Snape was watching. He choked down the wretched stuff in one swig, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to force himself to take a second drink so soon after otherwise. He tried to keep a straight face, but it was disgusting! It actually tasted a bit like blood. Not unexpected he supposed, but it made him feel like a vampire. He vaguely wondered how they could handle such a diet.

"Is His Highness ready to go yet?" Draco asked, strolling in from the small bathroom at the end of the room near Pomfrey's office, toweling his hair dry as he walked.

"He's just had a dose, but I'd like to get one more down him before we leave." Snape said, eyeing Draco, who was now wearing a muggle outfit consisting of an old t-shirt and a pair of jogging pants that were nearly worn through at the knees. "The spare clothes are generally for students who have been afflicted with something that has rendered their clothes useless and unmendable. You could have merely cleaned and dried your pants." He said with a sarcastic smirk.

Draco laughed. "Oh please! I incinerated those. Think I want a pair of pants all stained up with Potter blood?"

Harry rolled his eyes, but held his tongue.

Snape just shook his head ruefully.

Draco sighed, tossing the towel carelessly across the post of the nearest bed. "We've got to get back! It's been over an hour! They're going to do something stupid if we don't get back soon. I just hope they haven't already..."

Snape sighed. "True. I suppose we can try moving him." He looked over at Harry. "Can you walk?"

Harry contemplated it, then gave a nod, reasonably sure he could walk. He just hoped he could make it all the way back to the Tower. That was an awful lot of stairs...

"Good. I have no intention of levitating you all over the place like a piece of furniture. Besides, the more you get that blood moving around, the sooner you'll get used to it. Let's head for the Dungeon then."

Harry blinked, "The Dungeon?" He asked in shock.

Snape sneered at him. "Do you suppose we can just go up and tap on the Gryffindor door and they'll just open up and let you back in? Sealed is just that; Sealed. You're extremely fortunate that we had our wards down for a moment when that whinny spirit came searching for someone to go rescue you. Even with the other houses, not even spirits can get through... and our defenses are quite a bit stronger than the others. If you don't care to hang around out and about in the castle where you are fair game for that bloody demon, I suggest you come with us. We'll have to put up with you for the night. Mind your manners." He added darkly.

Harry was very uneasy with going into a house that he'd been told he had attacked and caused a great deal of damage to not all that long ago, but he couldn't see as he had much choice. As Snape said, the other option was to hang around and wait to be possessed. He'd rather let a whole House of angry Slytherins have a go at him than that.

Harry pulled off the blanket and shifted himself up, levering himself out of the bed and trying not to look like he was about to crumple to the ground... even though that's pretty much how he felt.

Snape gathered up the remaining potion and then went over to a small pad of parchment mounted to the wall beside Pomfrey's office, jotting a note on it with the quill from the little shelf beside it. It was for after hours visits such as this so she would know to replenish any used supplies. He wouldn't want her to throw a fit when she noticed someone had been there.

"All right then, we all ready to go?" Snape asked as he set the quill back on it's shelf and turned.

Harry nodded glumly.

Draco grabbed up the invisibility cloak and slipped it around his shoulders wrong side out so it remained visible. "I'll be borrowing this... Pomfrey apparently doesn't think anyone will need shoes or warm clothing..." He said, fastening the cloak securely.

Harry glowered at him, but didn't say anything. He technically wasn't supposed to have one, so pushing the subject would probably just get Snape to confiscate it. Besides, he had worn his own cloak under it, and the invisibility cloak didn't afford much warmth anyway.

Draco turned, picking up something else. "Tell me... what's this?" He asked.

Harry looked at the Marauder's map in Draco's hands. He hadn't thought to wipe it! Harry reached for it, but Snape snatched it before he had a chance at it. Snape smirked down at it. "Looks like a spare bit of parchment... eh Potter?"

Harry glowered at the floor in silence.

Snape examined it, watching several of the little dots moving around in rooms. The three sealed Houses had a light blue line tracing around them. "Should have known... I figured it was something of this nature the first time I saw it... good old' Prongs wouldn't have had a hand in something if it didn't have a mischievous purpose..." He smirked up at Harry's surprised look. Then he glanced back down at the folded parchment, folding it out.

He let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes. "Come along. They appear to have launched a search party. Will they ever listen?" He said, making his way out into the corridor swiftly. Before they could even catch up, he stopped dead, staring down at the parchment. He turned back to face Harry so fast it gave Harry a start. "Why is there a glamour on this?"

Harry blinked in surprise. "A what? Um... perhaps it's how it works?" He offered.

Snape rolled his eyes, "This does NOT work by means of a simple glamour. You should know how very complicated a spell is required for this." He turned back, starting on his way again and pulling out his wand.

Harry watched him worriedly as he began casting spells on the parchment. He had grown very attached to the map, but he knew well it was illegal, and he had no right to object. He followed along morosely.

"By the way... How's it feel, Potter?" Snape asked with a little smirk.

"How does what feel?" Harry asked carefully.

"Owing a wizard's debt to someone you consider your enemy." Snape asked with a wicked smirk.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks, feeling slightly dizzy. Draco stopped as well, looking over at him in surprise. It was obvious he hadn't thought about that either.

Slowly, a brilliant smile spread over Draco's lips. "Don't worry Potter..." He drawled lazily, "I'll think of a way for you to work it off..."

Harry suddenly began wishing fervently that he was back at the bottom of the bathtub.

"Aha!" Snape said as a small popping sound came from the parchment in his hand. He studied the map again, then slowed. Draco hurried up to look over his shoulder.

"What's that?" He asked curiously.

"I believe... that may be our uninvited guest..." Snape said speculatively.

"The map doesn't show the demon... I've been searching it for days..." Harry said, trying to hurry up enough to see as well. When he caught up, he spotted what they were looking at, but it looked like nothing more than a small smudge on the map. He was about to say as much when he noticed the smudge start to move slowly across the little corridor it was on.

"The glamour was hiding it... it obviously cast the glamour on it while occupying you... it certainly wouldn't want something laying around that could tell us where it was..." Snape said contemplatively.

"But that's more than four times as big as a person... it isn't that big is it?" Harry said, confused.

"No... the map can only pick up its aura unless it's corporal. But why is it running about without a host? That's most unusual... Oh bloody Hell!" He said, suddenly picking up his pace, "It's heading right for the search party!"

Draco snatched the map from his hands. "I'll head it off!" He said, sprinting off without pause.

"Draco!" Snape growled, but Draco was already rounding a bend. He cursed under his breath. "Come on Potter!"

Harry felt a bit of strength returning as adrenaline rushed through his veins. He quickly forced his weary body into a run.

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Draco ran as fast as he could, feeling a bit panicked as it drew closer and closer to his Housemates. He put on an extra surge of speed, careening through the corridors recklessly fast until he finally reached the placed he had picked to make his stand. If it wasn't in a body, he had a chance. Bodies are what they used to guard themselves from the majority of magical attacks.

He came to a halt, panting slightly as he scoured the map in the dim torchlight of the corridor. It was approaching slowly but surely. He clutched his wand pensively as he waited. It drew closer and closer. He began to wonder if he was even going to be able to see it. The invisibility cloak would do him no good; demons could see through them.

He took up a defensive stance as it started around the corridor that led directly to him. He squinted through the gloom and suddenly spotted movement. His jaw dropped slightly at what he saw.

There was a fluffy orange cat striding purposely towards him. He glanced at the map. That was definitely the source of the smudge... could the smudge simply be how it displayed lower creatures? Then he spotted it's eyes. Instead of the usual glint in it's eyes from the low torchlight, it had glowing red orbs.

"Oh bloody Hell that's creepy..." He muttered, feeling oddly disconcerted.

The cat paused, spotting him. It eyed him for a moment, then strolled closer with a slight swagger. It settled down on it's haunches a couple of meters before him, contemplating him. Suddenly a shadow flowed out of the diminutive creature. The cat slumped to the floor, panting and looking exhausted.

"Well well..." A voice he could only describe as filthy said, "Little Malfoy came out to play..."

"Back off demon." Draco said, pointing his wand at the creature menacingly as it took form.

It let out an ugly laugh. "Don't push it little one. Your father wasn't as concerned with your safety as you might think..."

"Be gone from this place and never return." Draco growled, hoping he sounded confident. It was hard for even him to muster much confidence when faced by this foul creature.

It let out another ugly laugh. "You are no master, child. And I have permission to take care of you if you should get in my way... and you are currently in my way..." It said significantly.

"I'm not going to let you get my friends." Draco said firmly. He whipped his wand, casting the sunlight spell.

The demon anticipated it, striking at him as fast as a snake, sending his wand scattering away and grabbing him by the throat. "Guess you don't listen too well... oh well... you'll do just as well then I suppose..." It said, holding him firmly with its right hand as it's left half dissolved, flowing towards Draco.

As the rest of the demon dissolved and flowed over him, Draco dropped to the ground, letting out a scream of pain as it suddenly felt like something was trying to burrow into him as the dark shadow of the demon enveloped him. The pressure increased, cutting off his cries as it seemed to crush all of the air out of his lungs. The pressure continued to build as the second drew out like hours.

Finally, the pressure withdrew and the demon reformed, looking murderous. "What is wrong with you, wretched creature?" It hissed furiously.

Between gasps Draco managed a smirk, relieved the theory had proven correct. Brown flooded into his eyes as he chuckled. "This one's mine."

"You..." It hissed wrathfully.

Darien nodded agreeably. "Me."

"Well, I can take care of that..." It growled with poisonous promise, drawing back it's lethally taloned hand.

Suddenly the hallway filled with brilliant light as seven wands burst forth with sunlight simultaneously. The Demon let out a tortured shriek, diving back into the cat and making it struggle to its feet. It turned to run back the way it had come, but Snape and Harry were coming from that direction, both wielding brightly blazing wands. It glanced around frantically, then leapt up on the windowsill, smashing headlong through the glass.

The others converged on Draco. Draco grabbed up the map, then let Goyle help him to his feet as Snape and Harry hurried over. Draco quickly surveyed the map. The smudge was flitting away across the grounds. He glanced out the broken window, spotting the cat laying on the ground several meters from the window. He looked over as one of the others handed him his wand.

"How did it escape?" Snape growled irritably as he came to a stop, having been temporarily blinded by the amount of light coming from the other direction.

"The cat." Draco said, peering at the limp form laying on the snow outside.

Snape looked out, spotting it. He glanced at the map to make sure the demon was gone, then flicked his wand. "Accio cat." The limp body flew towards him through the broken window and he caught it as gently as he could. He examined it. "Still alive. Wouldn't have thought..." He trailed off, looking at it a bit closer. He sighed. "Half Kneazle... I should have known. I had no idea we had such creatures wandering unsupervised around Hogwarts or I would have thought to check them as well..."

Harry pushed forward. "Crookshanks!" He said, shocked.

"Hermione's cat? Ah yes... should have known with what I've heard of it." Snape said with a thoughtful nod. He cradled the limp cat gingerly in his arms, "Well, let's get into the Dungeon already. No sense giving it a chance to regroup."

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A/N - Didn't mean to leave you all jonesing, but the weekend was absolutely exhausting and I'm still trying to recover... which isn't each to do when you work ten hour days at work... Now I think I'll go take a nice 3 hour nap before getting up for work! ;) So sorry if this has errors and stuff... thought you guys would start going into withdrawal if I put it off any longer... Anyway, about searching for me... I checked. Apparently it doesn't like dashes when searching. Search for just "GD7" and it will find me. As for McGonagall and the others checking students upon entering... well I hope this cleared that up.

According to Mugglenet dot com, J.K. has said that Crookshanks is, in fact, half kneazle. That explains his unusual intelligence, etc.

Paraphrased from Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, p24:

Kneazle - small cat-like creature with flecked, speckled or spotted fur, outsized ears, and a tail like a lion's. Intelligent, independent, and occasionally aggressive, though if it takes a liking to a witch or wizard it makes an excellent pet. Has the ability to detect suspicious or unsavory characters, can be relied upon to lead its owner safely home if lost. They have up to 8 kittens in litter, and can interbreed with cats. Licenses are required because can attract muggle attention.