A/N - Smut. Slash. I know, I know... there was slash in the last chapter too, but it's necessary for the storyline... (or that's my excuse at least, and I'm sticking to it! (smirks)) I'm sure you'll be able to figure out when it's about to happen, and you can then skip down to the A/N if you want. There should be some 'straight' smut soon. Be patient (I'm not sure how long as I'm writing this as I go).
Chapter 38
Blaise leaned against Ron with a contented sigh, letting Ron dry his back. He really didn't need help with this, but he was playing up the blind thing again. Of course Ron didn't mind... He knew they were both just trying to keep him distracted. Still... the bath had been nice, even though they'd let it remain somewhat chaste... well, they hadn't shagged at least... soaping eachother up and snogging... warm water and slippery skin... He would definitely have to try that again when he wasn't so distracted and worried.
Blaise slipped his arms around his waist as he finished, shifting his head up and finding Ron's lips. They shared a long, lingering kiss as they pressed together for warmth in the rapidly cooling room.
They broke apart as they heard a throat being cleared loudly. Ron looked over. Pansy was smirking at them from the doorway, having returned from checking for news. She looked adorable in the short green silk robe with fluffy feathery trim, but it made Ron wonder once again if she owned clothing of any other color.
"If you boys are done snogging..." She said with a wicked smirk.
"Any news?" Ron asked eagerly.
"They're being checked over now. The search party just came back with all three of them and they look just fine... and they brought a half dead cat for some reason..." She shrugged at the puzzle.
"They're back?!?" Ron asked, quickly grabbing up a discarded pair of jogging pants and pulling them on. He paused as he started for the door, looking back at Blaise.
"Go on. I'll make sure this one's decent before he wanders out of the room." Pansy said with a smirk.
Ron grinned at her thankfully and nodded, dashing out.
The rest of the trip out to the Common room was just a blur that didn't even register. The next thing he knew, he was standing before them, nearly drowning in relief upon seeing Harry alive and well. Snape was already sealing the ward, the checks now completed.
Harry looked over and their eyes met. Ron strode forward, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him. "Merlin... I was so worried..." He sighed in relief. He couldn't help but notice that Harry was trembling slightly.
Ron shifted away, looking Harry over at arm's length. "What's the mat..." he trailed off, spotting something just below Harry's sleeve. He seized his wrist and lifted it, pulling up the sleeve. He stared in shock at the long thin pink line that ran up it. He reached over and took the other hand and pulled up his other sleeve. He let the other hand drop, looking up at Harry, stunned.
Harry stared at the floor, unable to meet Ron's eyes. The light scars running down Ron's chest hadn't passed his notice.
"Why?" Ron asked, his voice little more than a confused whisper, "I mean... when Myrtle... I... I couldn't believe you would really... how could you even think of... oh Harry..." He trailed of achingly, tears tracing down his cheeks.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone else..." Harry said softly.
"What?" Ron asked, his voice rising incredulously.
Harry looked up, meeting his eyes for the first time. "I nearly killed you, Ron! I nearly killed everyone here!" He said, indicating the gathered Slytherins.
"That was a demon, Harry! Not you!"
"Who cares? Sooner or later that bloody thing is going to get back in me, and then..."
Ron just shook his head, his voice rising with an edge of anger, "So you were going to top yourself just because there is a chance this thing might use you again? Harry... it doesn't need you... it could take any of us and do the exact same thing! You don't see us going out and snuffing ourselves!" Ron stepped up to him and wrapped his arms around him once again, holding him tight. "You silly, silly prat..." He murmured, his voice softening, "Promise me you'll never do anything that daft again... Please promise me... I don't think I could take it..."
Harry broke down, sobbing weakly against Ron's shoulder.
Snape cleared his throat uneasily, "Yes... well it appears the excitement is over for the night. Everyone back to bed." He said loudly. The other Slytherins grumbled, not wanting to miss a chance to watch the Great Harry Potter having a breakdown, but complied grudgingly, slowly filtering back into their rooms.
When most of the others had left, Ron looked over, spotting Draco for the first time. He had flopped down in his favorite chair, looking exhausted, Ginny curled up at his side and looking concerned. "You ok?" Ron asked worriedly.
Draco just grinned and waved it off. "No problem... just proving a theory... took a bit more out of me than I thought it would..."
"Theory?" Ron asked.
"The demon tried to take him." Snape said off-handedly, gingerly examining Crookshanks, who Goyle was now holding.
Ron's eyes widened, "I'm sorry... I should have gone myself..."
Draco snorted. "That would have been great... then we'd be fighting you off about now... assuming it bothered to use you as a host before ripping your soul out and escaping again that is..."
Ron winced, holding Harry tighter. "Sorry... I..." He sighed, "Thank you. I owe you."
Draco smirked, "Na... I'm sure Harry will cover it..."
Harry lifted his head, his sobs having died off, his body unable to sustain them any longer. He surveyed Draco with resignation. "What is it you want?" He asked dejectedly.
"I don't know yet. I'll let you know as soon as I think of something though, don't you worry." Draco said with a purely Malfoy smirk.
"Great... something else to look forward to..." Harry muttered darkly.
"Indeed. Now have a seat before you fall down, Potter. You're shaking like a leaf." Snape said authoritatively.
Harry sighed and let Ron lead him over to one of the smaller couches. He sighed again as Snape handed him another cup of the vile potion. He knocked it back with a grimace, then handed the small cup back to Snape without a word.
Ron waited for him to settle back in his seat before pressing on, "Why didn't you come to me Harry? If you were planning on..."
"I didn't plan it." Harry said, cutting him off, "It just kind of... happened..."
"So you just left the safety of the Tower for a little stroll?" Snape asked disbelievingly.
Harry glanced over at him, then dropped his eyes. "I... couldn't handle being there anymore... the way everyone was talking about me and staring... and what they were saying when they didn't know I was there..." He fell silent, hugging himself.
"When they didn't know you were there?" Snape asked, settling down into a nearby chair and watching him intently.
Harry sighed deeply, then related what had happened after he had returned to the Tower, giving a vague description of what was said. "And I can't say as I disagree with any of it... I mean what I did..." He finished achingly.
"This is really about the other night... about what happened between you and Hermione, isn't it?" Snape asked softly.
Harry looked up at him sharply. He'd left that part out. "What do you know about that?"
Snape sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "She was possessed."
Harry's eyes went wide, "How... how could you know that?"
Snape dropped his hand, looking over at Harry tiredly. "Because it told me about it. We had a right nice little chat before it tossed me about like a rag doll and ran off."
Harry's jaw hung slightly.
"It was possessing her when you two were together... it couldn't possess you because that old fool Fudge put Unicorn blood in you... though that protection was wearing off... and now that you obligingly emptied your veins it is most likely entirely gone. Unicorn blood in your system can be secreted through bodily fluids... by the time it realized you could pass it on to it's current host it was too late. That's why she ran away... it was removing its host from your presence before it lost control of her. If I had any idea you were going to pull a birdbrained stunt like this over it, I would have spoken to you earlier."
Harry sat there, stunned. He replayed the scene in his head... if that was true... it made sense... why she'd suddenly lost the desire to be with him and tried to get him to stop... but it had been too late... and that would have been why she... it was so angry! Could it be true? If it wasn't, how could Snape possibly know what happened between him and Hermione? "What else did it tell you?" He asked guardedly.
"Well, as you suspected, it's well fond of you... demons thrive on human emotions... obviously they enjoy pleasures of the flesh, which they can only experience through their hosts since they are asexual themselves... but more than anything, they revel in human misery. It referred to you as 'candy'. I suggest you excise some of your own demons before going up against that one again."
Harry dropped his eyes again. He wasn't sure that was possible...
"Well, we can discuss this more in the morning. You should really get some sleep. I trust you have gotten over the urge to harm yourself?" Snape asked, narrowing his eyes shrewdly.
Harry sighed and nodded, still staring at the floor.
"And what then?" Ron asked quickly, "We can't make him go back to Gryffindor!"
Snape rolled his eyes. "Well, we can't exactly send him away... he only has two places away from Hogwarts that he could go... Grimmauld Place or back with the Muggles. Either place I wager he'd be offing himself inside a week. We don't have anyone to baby-sit him. And we're not about to take him into Slytherin, if that's what you're thinking Mr. Weasley. Getting a unanimous vote for him out of this group... well if you're wishing for miracles, I suggest you find something more worthy to waste them on."
"So stick him in the Siege tunnel. There's plenty of room in there." Blaise said, having slipped into the room on Pansy's arm unnoticed.
"How the devil do you know..." Snape trailed off, his eyes darting to Draco and narrowing. "Scratch that. I have a fairly good idea how you found out about that..." He crossed his arms over his chest. "It took nearly thirty years of aversion charms to get the students to stay out of, and forget about, that tunnel... only the staff are supposed to know of its existence. I wondered why the house elves had suddenly taken to cleaning it... I thought perhaps they were just trying to find something to do with their time since they weren't allowed into the Houses very often anymore..."
Draco grinned sheepishly. "Wasn't me..."
Snape rolled his eyes. "Perhaps not, but it was undoubtedly your mouth that uttered it... and to him of all people! Honestly... Another week and he'll probably have a right fine rave going down there!"
"Well what have you been doing down there then?" Draco countered.
"For your information, it contains a fully functioning Potions laboratory. I've been using it to prepare what ingredients I have for Mr. Zabini. I can't exactly do that with the Ministry officials watching, now can I?" Snape asked testily.
"Oh..." Draco grinned, "I guess that would raise a few questions..."
"So?" Blaise prompted.
Snape looked thoughtful for a long moment. "The charms are still relatively good, and I've already started refreshening them to keep that blithering idiot Fudge from finding it... and I suppose I could extend the ward to cover it without too much trouble since it's attached really..."
"And maybe you could even reopen the tunnel into Slytherin. Would certainly make it less likely that we would be caught." Draco added.
Snape snorted. "How do you think I've been getting in there? I'm certainly not going to traipse through the corridors with illegal ingredients... It's blocked by no more than an interlaced grouping of glamors I put on it to keep nosey students from getting curious." He sighed and rose to his feet, "Well, I suppose that's another project to keep us occupied at any rate... Should be interesting talking McGonagall into it..." He mused. He glanced over at the twins, "Well, it looks as if the best couch is otherwise occupied... Stick him in the spare room down the hall from you on the way back to your room, won't you?." He said, looking over at Pansy. She nodded.
Ginny nudged Draco, who had started nodding off, and they got up, making their way back towards their room. Blaise reached out and stopped Draco as he started to pass him. "Draco... can... I talk to you?" He asked in a hesitant voice.
Draco looked over at him, surprised. "Sure... but can it wait until later? I'm pretty done in."
Blaise nodded, "Ok... later then."
They went on their way as Ron led Harry over. Ron suddenly became a bit uncomfortable as they came to a stop. "Um... you probably already know Blaise and Pansy..." He said, his cheeks coloring slightly.
Harry nodded. He couldn't help but notice they all had damp hair. It was still a bit hard for him to get used to the idea that Ron liked boys... but from what Draco had said, Ron and Blaise were seeing eachother... He eyed the dark glasses. "You're the one I blinded, aren't you?" He asked softly.
Blaise let out a laugh. "Listen to this cheeky monkey! As if you could have possibly have cast this curse! Please! If you want to take credit for something, make it something within the realm of possibilities... honestly." He chuckled, finding Ron and slipping his arm around his waist, "Let's drop him off... he's obviously still a bit delirious..."
"Obviously..." Ron said with a smirk, draping his arm across his shoulder and pulling him in for a little kiss before leading him off after Pansy.
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Ron woke as he felt the bed shift. He cracked his eyes open. Blaise had shifted over to Pansy and was cuddling up to her affectionately. Ron had to smirk. Apparently one good shag a night wasn't enough...
Pansy stirred and giggled as Blaise kissed her throat.
"A big garden in the back yard..." Blaise whispered.
"Blaise... please don't tease..." Pansy whispered back.
"And a big back porch so we can watch the sunset every evening..." He murmured, nibbling his way up the side of her neck.
"Blaise..."
"Maybe a crup or two chasing away the garden gnomes..." He continued.
Ron just listened, puzzled. He could see a smile slip onto her lips in the near darkness.
"You know I'd rather have Kneazles..."
"Ok... a couple Kneazles then... they should keep away the in-laws as well..." He said smirkingly.
She giggled and smacked his shoulder. Ron had to smile. It sounded like a game they played often...
"We'd have to have a greenhouse for winter..." She interjected smirkingly.
He nodded, "Either that or just go where there is no winter... overlooking a lake so we can go skinny dipping year round..."
She giggled, "And then we would need a boat house to sneak off into..."
"And the house... painted brilliant grass green!" He said, nipping at her earlobe.
She giggled again. "I'd better be the one choosing the interior colors then..."
"As you wish..." He said amenably. "But there'll have to be natural wood cabinets in the huge kitchen..."
She thought about it, then nodded, "Ok... but I get to choose the wood."
"Deal..." He said, shifting a bit and kissing his way to her lips. After a lingering kiss, he pulled away only slightly. "And woods out back... a nice big forest... and I can swipe some of Draco's strawberry plants and we can plant them in the forest..."
"You have a thing for strawberries now?" She giggled.
"I just like the idea of wandering through the woods and gathering up wild strawberries..." He said with a shrug, "Just struck my fancy... In fact we could have forest all the way around... no roads or anything... have the place all to ourselves... the rest of the world oblivious to our presence..."
She smirked, "Like your mother would let you hide away..."
He went on as if he hadn't heard her, "And the house will have lots and lots of rooms..."
She furrowed her brow. "Why lots of rooms? I thought you wanted a small house..."
He tilted his head thoughtfully. "That was before. Now we need room for the kids..."
Her eyes went wide, "Kids???" She said breathlessly, "But... you said you didn't want kids!"
"Well that was before Ron joined the family... I know how much you want kids... and I just don't want kids from my bloodline... I think it'd be great having a dozen or so adorable little redheads running about..."
Ron tensed, shocked. A smile crept over his lips. He knew they were just playing, but it was touching being included in their little game.
Pansy had wrapped her arms around Blaise, pulling him close and sighing contentedly. "That sounds so wonderful.... but... um... I'm not a baby factory... we aren't going to hit double digits!"
"Nine it is." He said agreeably.
She chuckled. "We'll see..." She let out a sigh. "But I want at least one with black hair... please?"
Blaise sighed, dropping his head down to rest on her shoulder. "Pansy..." He said sadly.
"Being in your bloodline doesn't mean the baby would turn out bad... you turned out just fine..." She said, her voice losing its playfulness.
"Why would you want a baby with me?" He asked sadly.
She chuckled. "Because I love you, you great lummox!"
That brought a grin to his face. "Ya... well you're hopelessly smitten with Ron too."
Even in the very dim light cast by the low burning candles Ron could see her cheeks darken. He waited for her denial... but it never came.
"You remember what you told me once?" Blaise said softly, "You said you knew you loved me because I'm the only boy who's name you'd ever called out while shagging..."
"Ya..." She said faintly.
"Well, tonight Ron became the second..."
"I... I...?" She stammered, stunned. It was quite obvious she hadn't even realized it at the time.
He chuckled. "Unless you've been keeping up the silencing charms, they probably heard it all the way in the Common room..."
After a minute she sighed. "Well... according to your little plan, that still leaves eight for him, so that's no excuse."
He was silent for a long moment, then sighed deeply. "Ok... one..."
She was barely able to stifle a little squeal of excited pleasure. Then she paused. "Promise?"
There was another long pause, then he said softly, "I promise..."
She sighed happily. "You would do that for me?"
He grinned, shifting over and kissing her tenderly. When he eased back, he smiled. "You're the only girl I want to have and raise my child..." He said softly.
She giggled, "Because I'd be such a great role model? I certainly hope it's not a girl then..."
He gave her another little smile, letting his nose brush hers. "Because... I love you..." He said tenderly. Her eyes went wide and she let out a little involuntary gasp of surprise. "I've loved you for quite a while now... I'm sorry I've never told you that... you really deserve to hear it... you deserve to hear it every day..." He said, kissing the tip of her nose.
She was just blinking up at him, stunned. "But... but... I thought you were in love with Ron..." She said, baffled.
He grinned and chuckled. "I am... who said I couldn't be in love with two people at once? Where is it written that I have to choose? Hmm?" He said, finding her lips again, slipping his hand under her neck and lifting it slightly to deepen the kiss, trailing the fingers of the other hand down her throat affectionately.
Ron just lay there, frozen with shock. He never thought he'd ever hear those words... Blaise had always been so close-lipped about his feelings... and yet he was saying it so openly now... he just couldn't understand it.
When Blaise broke the kiss, he shifted his head over towards Ron. "You deserve to hear it as well..." He said softly.
Pansy looked over, noticing Ron was awake for the first time. Her hand darted up, covering her mouth in embarrassment as she realized he'd heard everything.
Blaise released Pansy and reached over, finding Ron and coaxing him closer. When he was close enough, Blaise found his lips, kissing him passionately. When he finally relented, he rested his forehead against Ron's. "I love you Ron. I'm sorry I've had such a hard time admitting it. I was just scared..." he said sincerely.
Ron felt like his heart was going to burst. "I love you too..." Ron said hoarsely. His emotions were surging so strongly they had washed away any doubt he'd ever had about his feelings for Blaise.
Blaise let out a happy, shuddering sigh, then kissed him again, longer and deeper than before. When he finally broke the kiss, he smirked. He reached across him, getting into the beside table drawer. "Well... I'm planning on shagging this lovely little crumpet now..." He said, sliding the drawer shut and dropping a little bottle of oil on Ron's chest. "Care to join us? I think I'd like to try being shared..."
A brilliant smile flowed over Ron's face. He didn't have to be asked twice!
Blaise shifted back over to Pansy. "Pans... I know you like watching... but... you think you could keep the lights down this time?"
She grinned. It wasn't often she heard Blaise sounding so bashful. It was just too adorable. "Ok..." She said, leaning up and kissing him. She sat up then, pulling off the little nighty she'd put on and grabbed a pillow, shifting it under her.
She was practically trembling with anticipation as he started touching her. He shifted over and settled between her legs. "Pans..." He said softly, "I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to... um..."
She chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Having you inside while he shags you will be more than enough... I'm well aware of how hard it is to concentrate while he's doing the shagging..."
He grinned, shifting around and pressing into her, groaning as their hips met. He pumped into her a couple times before he settled down on top of her, buried to the hilt in her amazing warmth. He slipped his arms under her, holding her to him, then said in little more than a whisper, "I'm ready..."
Pansy held him while Ron carefully pressed in. Blaise let out a deep groan almost immediately. Ron was a bit surprised, but had to grin. Blaise wasn't stifling his reactions like he had before. It made it all the more amazing hearing soft moans and sounds of pleasure with almost every thrust. Ron shifted down more, his arms on either side of them propping him up but leaving him close enough to feel Blaise's warm skin brush him as he moved. He kissed the nape of Blaise's neck and felt a great shudder go through him as he let out a strangled groan.
"Don't stop Ron..." He pleaded in a hoarse whisper.
Ron grinned. He had no intention of stopping. He looked down at Pansy. Even in the near darkness he could see that her eyes were shut, a rapturous look on her face. Then her eyes opened, watching his dark form avidly as he moved over Blaise. She started kissing Blaise's neck, watching Ron intently.
Ron grinned and leaned his head closer. She lifted her head, her lips meeting his. He groaned as her tongue played over his. It was an amazing kiss, despite the slightly awkward angle required. Blaise shuddered again, starting to kiss and lick Pansy's throat lovingly.
As their kiss ended, Ron shifted back up, putting his weight back on his legs and grabbing ahold of Blaise's hips. He started speeding up, feeling his peak coming slowly but surely. Pansy arched up against Blaise, crying out and shuddering as she came.
Ron groaned, pushing harder. After a minute he buried himself in Blaise, groaning deep and trembling as his peak crashed over him hard. He held himself there for a minute, gasping for breath. Then he gingerly pulled out, making Blaise tremble and groan. He shifted over and collapsed beside them, reaching over and grabbing his wand wearily, quickly casting cleansing spells on them.
Blaise just lay there on top of Pansy, his face pressed to her shoulder as she held him.
"Did he...?" Ron asked curiously.
Pansy giggled, "At least three or four times!"
Ron grinned. Then his grin faded as he noted the slight shaking to Blaise's shoulders. "He's crying again, isn't he?" He asked softly.
She just grinned at him, stroking Blaise's hair soothingly.
"Sorry..." Blaise said in a soft, muffled voice.
Ron grinned, stroking his back tenderly. "It's ok..."
"It's just... I love you both so much..." He said tearfully.
Ron grinned wider, cuddling up beside them. "We love you too Blaise..." He said softly, "And we're not going anywhere. It's ok..."
Blaise let out a shuddering sigh, more tears trickling from his eyes. "Just hold me..." He said softly.
Pansy shifted them over to the side, making him slip out of her. Then she and Ron pressed against him to either side, enfolding him in loving flesh.
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A/N - Sorry it's taking me so long... been sick and drugged to the gills (the legal, over the counter drugs mind you!) but I can't seem to find anything that works and I feel all muddled most the time... the words just don't seem to come out right when my brain's all wonky :)
I'll say this now before you all lose interest and stop reading... I've asked it before, but I'll say it again. Especially now that it's getting closer to the end... PLEASE NO PREDICTIONS! It bugs me if you guess what's going to happen... and then I tend to go another direction just out of spite, and that can get tiring. My characters screw up my plans enough without outside help. You have any idea how many times I've changed my mind about what will happen? Of course, that set of predictions did give me a bit of a chuckle, so I'll let it pass... oh, and please review Chapter 31. Lucius' ownership of the demon has already been established.
Ok, so I may not have mentioned it, but for those of you who haven't read all of the books, Snape was so amused at Harry being indebted to Draco in the last chapter because Snape acquired a Wizard's Debt which he owed to James Potter in his youth, one that caused him quite a bit of irritation since he absolutely loathed James (their relationship being very much like Harry and Draco's). It was one of the things that greatly increased his irritation and anger towards Harry, especially since he felt the debt was unjustly earned. It was also supposedly why he saved Harry from the cursed broomstick in his first year, since he was never able to repay the debt to Harry's father before his demise, passing the debt on to Harry as his only living heir. I'd like to think he would have done it anyway, being a good and responsible Hogwarts teacher... but that might have been a bit of a stretch ;)
And the 'Prongs' reference in that chapter... they didn't really cover it in the movie, but James Potter was an Animagi who's animal form was that of a stag (which resulted in Harry's Patronus taking on the form of a stag, alluding to the lingering protection of his father). Thus James' nickname was 'Prongs', one of the four creators of the Marauder's map. Moony was of course Lupin (werewolf, moon...), Wormtail was Peter (for his rat form), and Padfoot was Sirius (for his dog form).
Paraphrased from Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, p8:
Crup - Closely resembles a Jack Russell terrier, except for the forked tail. A wizard created dog, it is intensely loyal to wizards and ferocious towards Muggles. A great scavenger, eating anything from gnomes to old tires. Must have a license to prove you are able to control your Crup in Muggle-inhabited areas. Owners are obliged to remove the Crup's tail with a painless Severing Charm when it is 6-8 weeks old, lest Muggles notice it.