A/N - Warning, adult stuff. I'll let you guess what ;)
Chapter 42
He stood there in the middle of the room, feeling completely out of sorts as she went to fetch her wand. She had removed the robe she had been wearing before, dress now in only a long white nightgown.
She caught his gaze before he could drop it and looked down. "I know propriety requires a full six months of wearing black after a spouse's death... but I'm nearly to the end of that... besides, I didn't really think anyone would see me in this... I always think black makes me look too pale and washed out..."
"No... you look good in black." Harry said without thinking, then blushed bright red and dropped his eyes to the floor again as he realized what he'd said.
She gave him a little smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. Well, down to business..." She came over to him and he let her pull his shirt open again. He watched in silence as she began to cast spells on the scars.
"Um... how's he doing?" Harry asked gently.
Her movements stilled for a moment before going on. "As well as can be expected I suppose... he's asked me not to spend much time in his room... in fact now he only seems to let Draco and Severus in... There's really nothing more for Pomfrey to do, so she's not even allowed in. Severus said he would tell me if there were any changes..."
He just nodded. After a minute, she finished working on his chest. She couldn't get all of the scars, but she was able to remove a number of them, and the remaining ones looked a bit less pronounced at the very least.
Then she lifted the side of the shirt, circling around him and then lifting the back. She sighed and shook her head. "Thorough little bastard, isn't he?" She muttered. She started slipping the shirt off to get a better look, but he quickly crooked his arms so it wouldn't come all the way off.
"What?" She asked, coming back around to face him.
"It's just... um..." He blushed brilliantly again, arms crossed, not wanting her to see his forearms.
"Oh come now... how bad could it be?" She said, gently prying his arms apart and pulling the shirt the rest of the way off. She stared, looking stunned as she spotted the pink of newly mended skin running down his arm across the many scars. He looked studiously away, his cheeks red with shame.
"Oh..." She said softly. She looked up at his face. "Oh..." She repeated. She seemed to gather herself then. She began casting on the arm as if there was nothing odd about the thin scar. Most of the scars Fudge had put there came off, but the one Harry had added remained stubbornly in place.
She gave up and went over the other arm with similar results. She circled around again, working her way methodically down his back. He studiously tried to ignore the feel of her agile fingers as they gently probed and examined each scar to determine the best spell to use... it was getting increasingly difficult, despite how uncomfortable he'd felt just moments before.
He took slow, even breaths, baffled as to why every innocent touch seemed to cause a responding stir within him. She was Blaise's MUM! She was old enough, therefor, to be his mum. She certainly didn't look it thought... He closed his eyes, trying to banish thoughts that started creeping into his mind. It didn't seem to help though... It just seemed to amplify the feel of her hands gently touching him. He quickly moved his thoughts back to the subject of her being a mother... and of a boy in his year at that... a Slytherin no less... not to mention that Blaise would probably give him a right pasting just for being in his mother's room! Let alone having any kind of thoughts about her... of course since he was a bit laid up at the moment, Draco would probably get the pleasure.
He quickly veered his thoughts away from Draco. He didn't want to be reminded of the humiliating incident in the bathroom. He absently rubbed one of the scars. If only he'd been a bit later... but then he couldn't even bring himself to truly wish that now... not knowing what it would do to Ron... The thought of Ron led to what was happening to Blaise and brought his thoughts full circle to Delse again. The corner of his mouth tugged up slightly as he remembered her perched on Fudge, the dagger poised at his throat. She was certainly something else when she wanted to be...
"Take off your pants."
His eyes sprang open as her voice came from behind him. "What???" He asked, shocked.
"I can't imagine he just stuck to the top half of you, and I can't just guess where a scar might be..." She chuckled at the tension in him, "Come along... you've got skivvies on haven't you?"
"Ya..." He said quickly, stooping down and snatching up his shirt, holding it nervously. "But... um..."
She chuckled again, "Ok, if you're bashful I'll look away. Just get the pants off and get on the bed."
He darted a glance around at her incredulously. She was dutifully facing the wall. "The bed?"
She laughed. "I'm not kneeling on a hard stone floor Mr. Potter. It's either the bed or the desk, and I'm not sure that ancient desk would support you..."
He glanced over. It looked ok for writing on, but he probably wouldn't put anything heavier than a sack of potatoes on it. He stared over at her for a moment as she stood, waiting patiently.
He looked down in embarrassment, moving the shirt out of the way and seeing the bulge in the front of his pants that he knew would be there. How could he refuse without her finding out why? He'd already had to endure her catching him showing a bit more interest than was proper once... but then she'd certainly find out if he took his pants off! Then he got an idea. He quickly stripped off his pants and went over, laying down on his stomach on the bed. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it would at least buy him time to banish the thoughts properly...
He glanced over as she got on the bed, then quickly turned his head back, burying his face in the pillow. She had had to hike her long gown up so she could crawl over into position without treading on it. He tried to banish the image of those slender, shapely legs. He sighed. This wasn't going to be easy... the pillow was saturated with the scent of her light, slightly musky perfume. He tried not to react as she started gently touching him again.
Unfortunately, Fudge had run out of things to test on him and had only had half a dozen marks put on the backs of his legs... so all too soon she finished, and he'd had no luck banishing the thoughts... in fact, it had done nothing but make the problem worse...
"Over." She said, patting his leg and moving away a bit to give him room.
Harry had been dreading that word. He thought quick, grabbing the pillow from under his head and moved it down, obscuring the problem as he turned over.
She chuckled. "You certainly are bashful." She said with a shake of her head, but went about her work without further comment, starting at his feet.
He lifted his head slightly and hazarded a glance down, making sure the pillow was covering him adequately. His throat went dry. She was leaning forward over his feet, working on the scar that ran up the side of his ankle... and the position she was in gave him a perfect view down the front of her nightgown. He couldn't seem to break his gaze from those downy white swells of flesh half visible through the neckline of her gown. It was only when she moved, shifting around more to the side as she worked her way up his legs that he was able to look away. He closed his eyes tight, afraid they would be drawn back.
She worked her way slowly up his legs as he studiously tried to keep his breathing normal. He felt wretchedly guilty for reacting like this, but he couldn't seem to help it. He'd never felt so completely drawn to a woman before... not even Hermione. His feelings for Hermione had been a deep longing, feeling like he'd never been closer to a girl before... and the desire to get closer still... but never had he experienced the burning, flame-like desire that was surging through him now.
Her knee bumped into his hand as she shifted again. "Sorry." She she said a bit distractedly.
He opened his eyes, looking down in shock. His fingertips were now resting on her bare knee, her gown having been pulled a bit out of place by her movement across the bed. He stared for a moment. She was making no move to shift her leg away. He looked up at her. She was intent on her work. He just watched in amazement. It was obvious she was completely unaware of how she was effecting him.
He couldn't stop the little involuntary shiver that went through him as her delicate fingers traced one of the scars, the end of which ran a little ways down his inner thigh. She paused in her work, her eyes getting slightly wider. They slowly shifted over to look at him. He suddenly realized he had started unconsciously caressing her leg, his fingers having made there way up her thigh a bit.
He immediately snatched his hand away, his cheeks burning brightly and his eyes closing, mortified. After a moment she started working again.
After a few minutes he felt her finish working on the last scar. He dreaded opening his eyes. He'd never been so embarrassed in his life. Here she was, just trying to help him... the mother of one of his classmates... and he was acting like a... well, ok, like a hormonal teenaged boy, which he supposed he was... but it still didn't make it right.
He started slightly and opened his eyes as she took ahold of the arm he had put across his stomach to keep it away from her. She was examining the long thin scar again. "It was a magical blade, wasn't it?" She asked gently.
He looked away, staring at the ceiling in embarrassment. He just nodded.
She nodded, "That would explain it... I'll give it one more go..." She said, starting to weave her wand over it and muttering softly.
He ventured a glance over at her, wondering at her lack of reaction to his actions. Surely she was mad at him? Her cheeks were a bit flush, but her eyes remained fixed on the scar. His eyes drifted down a bit and he noticed the delicate flush that colored the pale skin along her collarbones and creeping down between her breasts. He blinked. Wasn't that supposed to be a sign of arousal in girls? Or maybe embarrassment did that too...? With the high necklines of the school uniforms, he hadn't had much opportunity to see girls' reactions in either state.
His eyes darted down as he felt his hand brush her as she worked higher on his arm. He stared. His hand was a hair's breadth from her breast. He couldn't restrain his curiosity. He let his fingertips 'accidentally' brush her breast. It was obvious by the deepening of the flush near her throat that she noticed, but she studiously made no other indication. As she moved up just a bit higher on his arm he grew bolder, letting his fingers rest on her breast. The flush became deeper still, and her breathing seemed to be coming a bit faster. He shifted his hand slightly closer, gently cupping her breast. It was soft and hot, and it was quite obvious there was nothing between but the very thin material of her gown.
The spell she had been muttering faltered and fell away, but still she sat there, staring at his arm. Harry couldn't stop himself. He sat up, leaning over and kissing her. She tensed, but didn't pull away. Much to his surprise, she kissed him back, her eyes fluttering shut. Emboldened, he deepened the kiss and soon they were in a deep liplock, their tongues eagerly exploring eachother.
He didn't even remember removing the pillow and pulling her onto his lap, but he suddenly found himself fondling her firm breasts through the thin material and grinding up against her, achingly hard. She broke the kiss and pulled away slightly and he feared she wanted to stop, but then he heard her utter the most wonderful thing he could ever recall hearing...
... a silencing spell...
Her wand then fell forgotten from her fingers, her lips finding his once again. Any hesitance gone, Harry took ahold of the hem of her nightgown, breaking the kiss long enough to pull it off. Then he felt the heavenly heat of her bare skin against his. After another long minute of heavy snogging, he shifted her around onto the bed, breaking the kiss as he slipped off her knickers. Her eyes seemed to glue themselves to him as he pulled off his skivvies.
He knew he should have some second thoughts... some hesitance... but his overwhelming desire seemed to block them out entirely. There wasn't a trace of the awkwardness he'd felt with Hermione. He shifted down on top of her, kissing her passionately as everything seemed to fall into place on instinct alone. Her breath caught as he pressed himself into her. He groaned, immediately starting to thrust himself into her incredible heat.
In the back of his mind, he feared she'd change her mind, ask him to stop as Hermione had... he almost did stopped the first time she called out his name... but that was all that left her lips... his name... as he moved faster she called it out again. The sound of it, being called out more and more as she got closer, drove him on. Suddenly she bucked up against him, calling out so loudly it echoed off the walls as her body clamped down on him.
He groaned driving himself into her hard for a moment before his own peak finally crashed over him. He closed his eyes, his head spinning like a top as he spent himself in her clutching body.
He just lay there for a while after that, trying to gather himself. She was still wrapped around him tightly. Finally she broke the silence with a sigh. "I shouldn't have done that..." She said softly, holding him a bit tighter. "Please tell me you weren't a virgin..."
He shook his head mutely.
She sighed again. "That's something at least..."
He shifted up some, looking down at her searchingly. "You... didn't want to?"
She let out a laugh, pulling him back down and hugging him tightly. "I wanted to Harry..." She said gently, "Oh how I wanted to... Merlin it's been so long..." she sighed. "But I should have been able to control myself..."
"I started it..."
She let out a laugh, "Yes, but you're a teenaged boy!" Then she pulled him closer again, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean it to sound like..." She let out another sigh, "Thank you Harry... I think we both needed that..."
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Harry pulled his clothes back on as silently as he could, trying not to wake her. He longed to stay, but the implications of what they had done that he had ignored before had come rushing back to him after the fact. He tensed as the door made a clicking sound when he turned the knob. He glanced back as she stirred slightly in her sleep. He very carefully opened the door, slipping out and trying to shut it as silently as possible.
He was about to step away when he heard a sound. He spun, his heart catching in his throat as the door opposite opened. Draco stuck his head out. "Potter." He said, looking unsurprised to see him there, "Blaise wants to see you."
Harry stared, feeling a bit panicked. Did Draco see where he'd been coming from? "Um... why?" He asked cautiously.
Draco slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him and coming over to stand before him, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't ask."
Harry shifted uneasily, "Um..."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Let me make this simple for you Potter. You are the first person he has voluntarily asked to be brought in to see him, so I'd say it's important. He also has very little time, so every minute you spend out here being indecisive is one less minute he has left. So, here's your choice... either come with me now like a good little Gryffindor, or I break your legs and drag you in."
Harry blinked at him. It was obvious he was being perfectly honest, and he had no doubt he would break his legs, and quite happily at that... even if a stunning spell or paralysis spell would be just as effective. "Um... ok..." Harry said softly.
Draco nodded his head. "Ok... just... don't do anything stupid like gasp or anything... he's already self conscious about his appearance as it is..."
Harry just nodded.
Harry felt more like making a run for it, but he forced himself to follow Draco into the room. Draco closed the door, then looked over towards the bed. He let out a sigh, hurrying over to it. "Damn it Blaise..." He said gently, "You know you're not supposed to lay on your back."
Blaise let out a little amused sound. "I'm not going to stop breathing Draco... that would be too easy..." he said in a soft, wheezing voice. "Besides... my side hurts when I lay like that."
Draco sighed, settling down on the side of the bed, gently shifting him around.
Harry approached the other side of the bed hesitantly. Blaise was all but hidden by the thick quilts. When he got close enough to see him properly, he was glad for Draco's warning... without it he would have undoubtedly gasped.
The person laying before him looked nothing like the boy he'd seen. His hair was, by now, almost completely white, his body looking frail and wasted, and all of his exposed flesh completely chalk white. He just watched mutely as Draco carefully shifted him up on his side to help ease his labored breathing.
When he was settled, Draco gently rubbed Blaise's aching side. Blaise's lips curled up into a little smile. "So this is what it takes to get you to touch me?" He wheezed mirthfully.
Draco gave a little smirk. "Oh shut up." Then he glanced over at Harry. "Potter's here."
"I know..." Blaise said, opening his eyes.
Harry stared at the strange eyes as they seemed to survey him. Curious, he shifted to the side a bit. The eyes seemed to follow him.
Blaise smiled weakly again. "Ya... I can see you." He said softly. He surveyed Harry for another moment. It was beginning to unnerve Harry. "You have a lot of scars..." Blaise commented almost curiously.
Harry unconsciously rubbed one of his remaining scars.
Blaise smiled again. "I can't see your body, Potter. All I see is your soul..."
Harry shifted uneasily, his cheeks burning.
"It's getting stronger too... this vision... you would be amazed what people look like underneath... it's fascinating really..." He paused, catching his breath. After a moment, he went on, "You know what I can't see?"
Harry looked up at him, wondering if he was really supposed to guess, "Um... what?"
"Walls." Blaise breathed.
Harry stood there, thunderstruck. He couldn't possibly mean he'd seen...
Blaise was making a soft sound. After a moment, he recognized it as soft chuckling. "I can't believe you shagged my mum..." He wheezed, gasping for breath in his mirth.
Harry's eyes immediately affixed themselves to the floor, his cheeks going beet red.
Draco looked up at him, his eyes widening, then he laughed. "Bloody Hell Potter... I kind of suspected something was up when I saw where you were coming from but honestly! Never thought you of all people..."
Blaise's thin hand reached up, patting Draco's where it rested on his shoulder. "Leave him be..." He wheezed, still sounded highly amused. "If she hadn't wanted to, Potter would be on the way to St. Mungo's by now..." He said, making Draco smirk. Blaise took a deep breath and let it shudder out. "Merlin knows she needed it... she's not taking this well at all..." He said, his soft voice growing sad.
Harry hazarded a glance up. "You... you mean you aren't mad?" He asked incredulously.
Blaise gave him a little smile. "Hardly." He shifted around a bit uncomfortably and Draco overcame his surprise, starting to rub his back. "Actually... I wanted to ask you a favor..."
Harry blinked in surprise. "What?"
"Help her deal with it... when I go..." He said sadly, "Ron too... I have a feeling neither will take it well..."
Harry's eyes stung. Seeing Blaise like this, and hearing the fatalistic acceptance in his voice brought it home profoundly that this was probably a final request. "I'll do my best..." he said earnestly.
"He won't need to. We'll get you cured." Draco said firmly.
Blaise gave a sad sigh, a little smile playing over his lips. "Sure, Draco..." He said gently.
Draco gave him a little half-hearted smirk. "You know... you better hope this thing with Potter and your mum is just a fling... imagine if they got married!"
Blaise let out a little laugh. "Merlin! He'd be my dad! Bloody Hell, bring on the poison..."
The amusement faded from Draco's face and Harry saw a pain in his eyes so profound he would never have thought him capable of it. He knew this was supposed to be Draco's best friend, but he never really imagined the cold, sarcastic boy could actually have such a strong emotional attachment to someone. He couldn't help but imagine how he'd feel if it was Ron laying there wasting away and dying like that.
Blaise let out a shuddering sigh. "It was a joke Draco..." He said softly.
Draco nodded. "I know..." He said offhandedly, but his eyes looked a bit watery.
Harry shifted, uncomfortable witnessing Draco's pain. "Um... maybe I should go..." he said, starting for the door.
"Harry..." Blaise said, stirring weakly.
Harry stopped and looked back, "Ya?"
"Go back and be with her... I'll have a house elf wake you before the others come down in the morning..." Blaise said softly.
Harry nodded, "Ok..."
"But..." Blaise added as Harry started to turn back to the door. "If you're going to shag her again, could you take it to your room? I tend to favor this side..." He said mirthfully.
Harry smiled, his cheeks flushing again. "I'll remember that..."
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Draco snapped awake as he felt a gentle tug on his arm. He blinked the weariness out of his eyes, realizing he'd nodded off where he sat on the side of Blaise's bed. He looked down, feeling the tugging again and saw Blaise looking up at him.
"What? Are you ok?" He asked, immediately worried as he saw the unsettled look on Blaise's pale face.
"There's something wrong... something's happening..." He said with a note of urgency in his rasping breath.
"What?" Draco asked, fear welling in his chest that the curse was worsening. Blaise had so little time left as it was...
"I don't know... there are people fighting and running..." he said, his blank gaze staring past Draco up in the direction of the main castle.
"I'll check it out..." Draco said, getting up.
A knock came at the door as he reached it. He opened it and stepped out, startling Nicolaus. "What's happening?" He asked, spotting the Marauder's map in his hand. He had obviously pulled the night watch duty.
"I don't know... it looks like the Aurors are going after the teachers!" He said, holding up the map so he could see. "It looked like they were having some kind of meeting with Fudge... and then everything went all wonky... The Aurors came in from where they were waiting in the next room and all Hell broke loose..."
Draco looked over the map, then spotted Professor Oblique making for the dungeons. "Go wake Snape. Tell him I'm dropping the ward." He said, taking off down the corridor.
He lit his wand and made his way as quickly as he could through the winding passage, trusting Nicolaus to get the word to Snape. He didn't have the time to spare. From the looks of it, the Aurors would catch up with her long before she made it to Slytherin, if that's even where she was heading, but there was still a chance...
When he reached the end of the passage, he took one last glance at the map, then set it aside and let the light wink out, leaving only the faint glow of the protective runes for him to see. He cast the spell that would take down the ward, making the runes fade from the stones. He put his hand against the wall, making it dissolve, leaving an open arch into the recessed alcove. He slipped out into it, pressing back against the wall and waiting tensely.
It wasn't very long before he heard footsteps racing along the corridor. He darted out, wrapping one arm around her waist and clapping a hand over her mouth before she could cry out in surprise, yanking her back into the alcove and through the secret passage before her pursuers had a chance to round the corner into view.
When they were in, he dropped the struggling woman, quickly pulling his wand out and casting a sealing spell on the passage. The Aurors shouldn't know about the passage, but there was no sense taking chances. When it was safe, he looked over at her. She was panting, staring up at him, stunned as he lit his wand.
"Malfoy?"
He smirked.
She scrambled to her feet. "Where's Professor Snape?" she gasped, still out of breath.
"Right this way..." he said, snatching up the map and heading off down the passage.
By the time he got back into the main corridor of the Siege tunnel, Snape was arriving as well. "Sit..." He said, seeing how distraught she was. He led her over to one of the chairs next to the little table they'd put there for those watching the Map. "What's happened?"
"Fudge called a meeting for this morning before breakfast..." She said, obviously getting a grip on herself with some effort. "He told us about his plans for how he is going to try to get the demon..."
Snape nodded. "He mentioned something about a device to trap it in it's host.
She nodded, her eyes tearing. "He didn't tell you all of it, did he?"
Snape glanced at the others, then shook his head, "No..."
She drew a shuddering breath. "He's planning on sending the children out on the grounds after breakfast... and to use the device outside... it will activate and trap the demon once it gets within a certain distance of it... and once its been trapped in a host, he's going to kill the host! One of our students!" she said achingly, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Snape just stood there, staring at her in shock, "You can't be serious!"
She wiped the tear off her cheek, nodding, "Kill them and incinerate the body so the demon is exposed to direct sunlight. He figures that should kill it."
Snape looked incensed, "He's going to kill an innocent child in the hopes of killing a demon?? And if his plan fails?"
Her face clouded with anger. "We asked him that. He said that odds were in their favor, and one child was an 'acceptable loss'." She spat. "When we told him we wouldn't stand for it, he had his Aurors standing by... few of us even made it out of the room... I should have known not to go when I heard Dumbledore was gone..."
"Dumbledore is gone?" Snape asked, his eyes narrowing.
She nodded. "Fudge summoned him to the Ministry to discuss the possibility of relinquishing what you need for Zabini with the head of the Banned Materials Department. Obviously just a ruse. He's already sealed the grounds and closed off the Floo network into Hogwarts."
"I was never notified of the meeting this morning... I suppose he may have been worried I'd bring along Blaise's mother..." Snape mused
She let out a half amused laugh. "I heard about that... but I also heard he's been spending all his time since then changing laws." She said ruefully.
"Insufferable bastard!" Snape growled, "All that effort to prevent something that wouldn't even be an issue if he'd just hand over what we asked for! Well, I might not be able to stop him from endangering the other students, but if he thinks I'm sending my students out there to possible slaughter..."
She let out a bark of rueful laughter. "Not likely. He knows that thing isn't in here, because you are far too careful for that... and besides, you've got Potter. He can't chance it getting back into him!"
Snape growled angrily. "Nice to know there's one student he doesn't want to kill." He said sarcastically.
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Harry shifted away from the door, slipping it shut, looking over at Delse sadly. She was just staring at the door, tears streaming down her cheeks. He stepped up to her and took her in his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face against his chest. "He's just going to let him die..." She sobbed achingly, "He's going to kill someone else's child, then he's going to kill mine..."
Harry just held her in comforting silence.
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Within half an hour, everyone in Slytherin was awake and knew what was happening. The air was filled with anger and frustration, but there was nothing any of them could do. The Aurors had set a barrier on the Dungeon entrance to prevent it opening, so they couldn't get out that way if they wanted to. Besides, if they left the Dungeon they would either be caught and arrested by Aurors or possibly possessed and killed! Not great options.
The news came especially hard to Ron and Pansy. They made their way to Blaise's room, determined not to let Draco keep them out. When they got there, Draco was coming out of the room. "He thought you'd be by..." He said gently, holding the door open for them.
They were surprised, but hurried in. Ron kept his arm around Pansy comfortingly as they approached the bed. The sight of him hit them both hard, but they tried not to show it. Ron let Pansy sit on the bed next to Blaise, choosing to stand at her side. Blaise managed a weak smile, sighing happily as he reached his hand over, gently caressing Pansy's stomach. They looked over as a light tapping came on the door.
"Let them in..." Blaise said softly.
Draco went over and opened the door. Kulia entered, the twins on either side lending her support. Ron could see her grip on the twins tighten when she saw Blaise, and the twins both looked distraught over how much he had deteriorated since they had last seen him. Pansy got up, shifting around to sit by his pillow so Kulia could sit as well.
"Hello Blaise..." Kulia said gently.
He gave her a little smile. "I thought that would be you... you look very...." he just shook his head slightly, at a loss for words as he gazed at her. He gave her a weak smirk, "Hey... how do you like the hair? The color looked great on you, so I thought I'd try it..."
She gave a little smile, but couldn't hold it. She sighed. "I tried to get the ingredients... I'm so sorry..." she said sadly.
He smiled again. "Don't be... everything happens for a reason..." He said, his voice soft and raspy.
"What possible reason could there be for this?" Ron asked, pained.
Blaise shifted his gaze over to Ron. "Good can come from bad... without this curse... I might never have gotten the balls to tell you both how I felt... and this little one would never have been..." He said, reaching up to gently touch Pansy's stomach as he regained his breath a bit, a little bit of a smile working onto his ghostly pale lips, "And if Draco wasn't so upset... he'd have thought to explain the peculiarities of fertility spells... and then there wouldn't be this little one..." He said, shifting his hand over and touching a different part of her stomach.
Both of their eyes went wide and Draco blushed. "Shit... you shagged her?"
Ron and Pansy looked at eachother wide-eyed.
"Bu... but fertility spells only allow for one egg to get fertilized... they fixed them when they had so many problems with women having half a dozen kids or something..." Pansy said, sounding a bit faint.
Draco smirked. "In a monogamous relationship, yes... but the spell can only recognize that a given male has fertilized an egg and prevent his seed from fertilizing more... so it only limits it to one fertilized egg per male... and it keeps working for two days in case the couple was using a more residual contraceptive spell before."
Ron was looking completely stunned. "You mean... she's have TWO babies... and one of them is MINE???"
Draco smirked, "It appears so."
Ron and Pansy both looked like they were about ready to faint at this point.
Fred and George were smirking over at Ron.
"You knock up Pansy???" Fred asked with a chuckle.
"Way to go..."
"Didn't think you had it in you..."
"Honestly..."
"Molly will be thrilled..." Blaise said softly, but happily. "She wanted grandbabies... now she's gonna have three..."
"Wait a minute, THREE???" Pansy said, alarmed.
Blaise nodded slightly, "Unless she counts mine too... that would be four."
"No way... he said one per male and I've only slept with two guys!" She said defensively (and with a slight edge of panic!).
Blaise let out a soft, rustling chuckle. It took a minute before he was able to settle down and catch his breath. "Calm down love..." He said soothingly. He reached out and touched the spot on her stomach again. "One little Weasley..." then he laboriously moved his thin arm over to Kulia, patting her stomach, "Two little Weasleys..."
Fred and George looked like they could be knocked over with a feather. Kulia just smiled brilliantly, not looking the least bit surprised. "Can you tell if they're identical?" She asked eagerly.
He gave her a little smile and nodded.
"Yes!" She said triumphantly. "I knew it..." She beamed over at the twins.
They looked at eachother, then back at her.
"You knew?"
"But..."
"I mean..."
"Pregnant?!?"
She grinned at them at they stared at her, even their speech thrown. "Just what theory did you think I was testing out?"
Blaise was chuckling softly, enjoying everyone's shock. "Blaise... the amazing human pregnancy test..." He wheezed mirthfully.
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Harry leaned up against the wall next to the table on which a Slytherin fifth year was diligently watching the Marauder's Map. He could see the students spreading out onto the grounds, blithely unaware of their mortal danger. Just watching them wandering around, wondering which one would die, made his feel deeply disturbed.
He had managed to slip out of Delse's room without anyone else seeing. Nicolaus, of course, smirked at him and wriggled his eyebrows knowingly as he passed him later, but he thankfully didn't appear to be sharing what knowledge he may have gleaned from the map the night before with anyone else.
Harry sighed as he looked at Delse's room on the map. She was right where he knew the bed was. She had wanted to be alone for a while, not wanting to disturb Blaise while he was with his friends, but also not ready to face anyone yet.
Harry couldn't help but imagine all sorts of horrible ways he'd like Fudge to suffer for what he was doing. Fudge may want him alive, but the feeling was definitely not mutual.
He watched as the small group came out of Blaise's room. They had been in there nearly half an hour... he wondered sadly if they were saying their final goodbyes... Ron gave Harry a sad look, but went with Pansy... undoubtedly they would end up sobbing in their room just like Delse. Even the normally light-hearted Weasley twins looked torn up as they left the room, each with their arms around what, to Harry's surprise, appeared to be a large white haired elf...
He watched as Draco emerged from the room. He carefully closed the door behind him, then put his back to the wall beside the door and slid down it into a crouch, covering his face with his hands.
Harry just stared as Draco's shoulders shook. He hated Draco... always had... and yet he found seeing him like this incomprehensibly painful. It was that more than anything that made up his mind. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then started down the corridor towards Draco.
Draco heard the approaching footsteps and straightened himself out. By the time Harry came to a stop before him he looked just as indifferent as always, glaring up at him. "What do you want Potter?"
"I want to see Blaise."
Draco furrowed his brow. "Why?"
"It's a private matter." Harry said evasively.
"He's pretty wiped out. I don't think he should be disturbed again." Draco said firmly, getting up.
"It won't take long. It's important." Harry said insistently.
Draco glanced back at the door for a moment, then sighed. "I'll go see if he wants to see you." He said, slipping inside the room. He returned a moment later, looking less than pleased, but holding the door open.
Harry paused as he passed Draco. "Um... I'll be sure to find you and tell you when we're done talking." He said, the implication to leave blatantly apparent.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Fine. But if you aren't out of here in ten minutes, I'm coming back in. He needs his rest."
Harry nodded. "Fair enough."
Harry waited until Draco was gone, then went over to the bed, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to the bed, looking Blaise over in silence for a moment. His rate of deterioration was alarming. He didn't appear to be awake, even though Draco had talked to him just a moment before.
"Blaise." Harry said gently.
Those strange, opalescent eyes opened, peering over at him. "Ya?" he wheezed tiredly.
"I just wanted to tell you... I'm sorry about this... all of this..."
Blaise let out a little belabored sigh, "We've been through this..." he said, his eyes drooping even as he spoke.
"I know... but I just wanted to say that I'm sure they will cure you... you just have to hang in there a bit longer... so you can look after your mother and Ron..."
Blaise sighed again. "We both know the odds of that happening Potter."
Harry nodded, "Yes, but that just means we have to increased the odds."
"Sure..." Blaise said, "We've had such luck at it so far..." He wheezed mirthfully, his eyes drifting shut.
Harry sat and watch for a moment as the emaciated boy slipped into a fitful sleep. Then he rose, "Time for me to face my demon." He said softly, pulling out his wand and setting it on the bed beside Blaise.
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A/N - sorry it took a while again. I felt I had to get this much in a single chapter. And I hope you don't mind me cutting out the tearful part of the scene in Blaise's room. Didn't think you all really needed to read that. Too much sadness. I'm sure you can guess how it would have gone. Sorry, eloquence has flown for the moment. Way way way tired.... oh, and the main ward is an added precaution, not their only defense. Taking it down wouldn't endanger the Dungeon unless a demon or something of similar strength was currently attacking. They have regular locks on the main door that would keep most stuff out, and only some of the staff know about the Siege Tunnel.
And before you complain about Ginny not being around really in this chapter... well I think she's a good enough girlfriend to back off and leave him alone when he needs time with his friend.
As I said, eloquence gone bye bye. I best post this before I do too... (yawns)