Flight of the Thestrals

by GD-7

Plagued by insomnia, Draco spends his nights soaring through the sky over Hogwarts. What happens when he runs into Ginny one night? R for reason. DMGW, some 'slash' between BZRW (but these chapters are well marked)

71. Chapter 71

A/N - yet more adult stuff. Anyone surprised here? BTW, in my little version of this universe, I'm sticking to J.K.'s description of werewolves as pretty much oversized wolves, not that weird man/wolf thing they stuck in the movie.

> > > > > >

Chapter 71

The mood in the dining room was quite a bit lighter after Balthys, Forester and Tonks had left. At length, Bazentine grudgingly agreed to stay and took a place at the table. Possibly out of spite, she took Balthys' seat. She looked a bit disconcerted when Celestial grinned at her, but studiously ignored the child after that. The twins had nabbed the page from the paper showing the remains of Diagon alley. They had been quite relieved when they spotted a picture showing Oliver Wood alive and well, helping dig out survivors from the wreckage. Their shop also was pictured. It was pristine, as were several businesses to either side... the shop about third down from theirs was just fine for half, but the far half was an absolute ruined shambles, obviously just outside the barrier. It was startling in its contrast, looking as if they had spliced together a before and after photo.

"So..." Draco said, trying to draw Bazentine out of the sulk she'd slipped into. "Did they say anything about the little stunt at the hospital?"

Bazentine looked up at him moodily, setting down her wine glass. "Which one? You've been outdoing yourself on crazy stunts of late."

Draco smirked. "Taking Penelope. Are there warrants out for my arrest yet?"

Penelope rolled her eyes. "Didn't finish reading the article, did you? It's in there. They made you out to be some bloody rescuer of the poor wronged pregnant woman, protector of your new family... Of course that idiot Fudge had a quote in there refuting that..."

Arthur, overhearing this, turned back to the correct page, luckily still having the correct half of the article, and quickly located the passage in question. He gave a little amused huff, then read it aloud. "Thanks for the continued well-being of Penelope Weasley and her unborn child goes entirely to the brave Ministry Aurors who managed to effect her escape from the group of Death Eaters that slipped into St. Mungo's completely unnoticed due to the hospital's woefully lax security. Senior Auror Angus Christian," Christian winced and looked pained at the mention of his first name. Draco smirked. Apparently Tonks wasn't the only one who loathed their name. "And Auror Nymphadora Tonks saw the continued danger to their ward and took measures to see that she was removed from harms way while the rest of the young woman's entourage of courageous Aurors fought off the Death Eaters. With the skills and fortitude Auror training instilled in those brave men, they were able to easily best the Death Eaters that lay Siege to the hospital, sending every last one of them to the depths of Hades where they belonged while not causing any undo damage to the hospital or sustaining even a single injury themselves. It was unconventional for Aurors Christian and Tonks to accept sanctuary in a private home to safeguard their ward, but under the circumstances they had little choice. Mrs. Weasley's family has insisted she remain with them, and since they appear to be in a well guarded location, the Ministry is granting them their request. However, Ministry Aurors will remain with her to insure her continued well-being and remove her to a safer facility should they see the need."

"Certainly turned that around, now didn't he?" Christian said shaking his head ruefully. "They serve us up to those bloody Death Eaters on a platter, then try to make it sound like what Tonks did to save the girl was all their idea. Made those snot nosed punks they stuck us with sound like heroes to boot. They didn't even have a chance to pull out their wands before your red eyed friend over there took care of the lot of them! I swear that man could make a lump of troll dung look like a diamond!"

"Not a big fan of Fudge?" Draco asked, amused that a senior Auror would talk about Fudge with that slightly sarcastic edge and obviously worn patience.

Christian eyed him appraisingly for a moment. "We don't agree on a great number of things, but as long as he's not telling me to do anything wrong, his lack of intelligence and common sense is his own problem. I've been working for the Ministry since before his father was a twinkling in his grandfather's eye. I've seen more Ministers than I care to admit, and there is a sad trend of flashy, yet idiotic people landing the position. It's a popularity contest that doesn't seem to take skill into account at all. It's sad, but it's the system. I just do my job and try to make life a little better, despite simple minded leaders."

Draco nodded his head, looking the man over with a bit more respect. He didn't know of many Aurors who would be so honest about their opinions, especially when they reflected so badly on the Ministry. Most of them (other than Tonks of course) tried to make it out as if they worked for the perfect system. "So, you think the elections will help?" he asked, genuinely interested in the man's opinion.

Christian scratched his stubbly chin thoughtfully. "I can only hope." He said, settling back and crossing his arms over his chest. "But to tell the truth, it's a pale hope at best, despite Dumbledore's admirable efforts. It's not the first time someone's tried to change the way we do things to get better people into the position. I'm just afraid the effort is going to be in vain. I mean for one, Fudge can put on a damn good public face. The public in general just doesn't know how much of an idiot he really is. He can take any disaster that's caused directly by his stupidity and spin it and somehow he's still the golden boy. I know a number of people I think would make absolutely wonderful Ministers... but unfortunately, I doubt I'll ever live to see it. The ones best suited for the job just aren't as concerned with publicity and posing and looking pretty for the camera... we need someone who's gonna tell it like it is and not dance around the subject and try to distract us with frivolous things... unfortunately, the public loves to see the dance... and that's why I have a hard time believing we'll ever have a truly good Minister. Unless of course Dumbledore would finally give in and let us make him Minister." He paused, a smirk slipping over his lips. "He put a special clause in that legislature stating that no one could be elected against his or her will. They have to personally accept the nomination before their name can appear on the ballot. Three guesses as to why he added that little bit!"

"We'll just have to work on him I guess." Draco replied.

"You feel free to give it a go. He's never listened to me on the subject." Christian said with a smirk.

Things fell silent for a while after that. Everyone just concentrated on their meals while their minds whirled with all that had happened lately.

Harry glanced over at Delse. She had finally sat down at his side, but she hadn't said anything. She just sat there, pushing the food around on her plate without actually eating much. He kept his silence, not sure he wanted to know what was bothering her. She hadn't really spoken more than a couple of words to him since he'd asked her if she wanted more kids. The more distant she was, the more his hopes were sinking that whatever was bothering her wasn't directly related to him.

Relax. Pax whispered softly in his head. There was a note of soft resignation in his voice. I doubt it's about you. It's much more likely it's about me. Think about it, would you want to have a kid with someone who was possessed? I could tell her demons don't pass on anything to children all I want, but it has to be a concern. I mean kids are hard enough to raise... who'd want a demonic one?

Harry sighed. She wanted you back. She asked me to bring you back to her. You can look in my memories yourself and see. Why would she be so worried about you if she didn't want you around?

Guilt. Pax muttered softly. She's too sensitive not to feel guilty... like it would have been partially her fault if I died. I should have thought about that.

Ya, well don't even think about making her feel guilty by doing something that stupid again! Harry replied quickly.

No guilt. Pax said softly. He fell silent for a moment, then said, Would you be so kind as to have one of the elves fetch a quill and some parchment?

Why? Harry asked warily.

Just a promise I made. Since I lived, it's really only right to fulfill it.

Harry felt a great deal of trepidation about it, but finally relented, signaling an elf over and making his request. He was more than a little curious as to what Pax was going to use the parchment for, but once he let him take over to write, he just seemed to blink and Pax was suddenly tucking a finished scroll in his pocket and setting aside the quill.

Why did you blank me out?

Pax gave a little mental shrug, taking a drink. It was private. He replied simply. He set down the glass and slipped back to the back of his mind. Harry was tempted to peek at the scroll, but he felt a little wave of irritable warning from Pax and grudgingly let it be.

"Narcissa...?" Delse said softly, still toying with her food and not looking up.

Narcissa looked up at her, noting her demeanor and sighed, leaning back in her chair and slumping uncharacteristically, rubbing her temples. It wasn't too hard to figure out what Delse wanted to know. "Yes, one of them is his." She sighed wearily.

"Oh... one of them? So there are two." Delse asked, no more than mild curiosity in her voice, but she still hadn't lifted her eyes from her plate. "I see. Well, congratulations." She said, flashing her a little smile. She set down her fork. "I should go check on dessert." She said, quickly rising and making her way towards the kitchen.

Christian quickly turned in his chair, reaching out and letting his hand brush her arm comfortingly as she passed. She paused. She didn't look at him, but she reached over and rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment before hurrying on into the kitchen. Christian just watched her go sadly.

Harry dropped his eyes, feeling inexplicably guilty. He still couldn't figure out what he'd said that was so upsetting her.

For his part, Blaise didn't look abashed at all about Narcissa's pregnancy, despite the stares he was receiving. His only concern seemed to be his mother's reaction. He watched her leave, sighing sadly and going back to his dinner, but without much enthusiasm. As for the way the others were staring at him, he seemed completely unperturbed by it. Draco was ok with it, and that's what was important.

"If you don't mind my asking..." Arthur said, folding up the paper and looking at Narcissa curiously, his eyes straying to Lupin. Surely it couldn't be his, yet she hadn't really even been around any other men that they knew of, let alone doing anything with one that would get her pregnant. The only men she'd been around really were his boys...

She rolled her eyes, once again easily able to deduce the question. "The other... well it isn't really even mine..." Narcissa said softly, her hand straying down to rest on her stomach. "It belonged to that poor woman at the hospital. She didn't want to kill it, but she couldn't carry it... so I took it."

"Always wanted a little sister..." Draco said with a wistful smile, peering down at his mother's belly. Seeing her surprised look, he explained. "Well... at least that's what the boy said. The one at the hospital. Tobias. He said father's was a girl and Blaise's was a boy. I know it's crazy to just take a child on his word about something like that, but... he seemed so very confident..."

Blaise broke into a smile. "Mine's a boy?"

"Well... if you want to go by..."

Blaise waved it off. "If Tobias says it is, I'll take his word on it. There's something about that boy..." He said, shaking his head and looking at a loss for how to explain it.

"Just trust him." Harry said with a knowing smile.

Narcissa was staring down at her belly, her eyes watery. "A girl..." She said softly, stroking her belly tenderly.

Lupin leaned closer, "Looks like you finally got to take one back." He said softly, smiling at her warmly.

She let out a little laugh and reached up, brushing her fingers down his cheek affectionately.

"So let me get this straight... You're carrying Lucius' child?" Arthur asked, obviously still a bit confused as to how she might have managed such a thing.

The happiness fled from her face like a cloud covering the sun. "It's not his anymore!" Narcissa replied irritably. She shoved her chair back abruptly and stood, her hand unconsciously clutched over her belly in a protective gesture. "It's mine now." she said, striding off towards the door, leaving Arthur looking stunned.

"I... I didn't mean..." Arthur stammered, but it was too late. The door swung shut behind Narcissa, the makeshift nature of its mooring allowing it to slam so loudly the sound reverberated around the room, even though she had made no effort to do so.

Silence reigned in the dining room for a good several minutes. As the conversations slowly picked up again, Pax took over, glancing around to make sure everyone was good and distracted, then leaned forward and extending the scroll of parchment to Lupin. Lupin looked up at him in surprise, accepting the scroll. "What is this?" He asked curiously as he started to unroll it.

"What I promised you. Just let me finish the meal first if you would. It's traditional..." Pax replied, starting in on the food Harry had barely touched.

Lupin furrowed his brow, looking over the scroll as Pax ate. His eyes widened as he realized what he was looking at. He lowered the scroll with a sigh, looking over at Pax sadly. "I thought you were over your self destructive phase."

"It's not self destructive. I'm not going to be the one casting it. If I could, do you think I would have wasted my time trying it the long way?" Pax snorted, grabbing up a roll.

Draco was looking back and forth between them. "What's going on here?" He asked warily, "What did he give you?"

Lupin sat back in his chair, handing Draco the parchment. "The spell to remove that binding device and the incantation to banish him."

"You knew how to remove that all along? Why didn't you tell me?" Draco asked, grabbing up the parchment and looking it over. It was a surprisingly simple spell.

Pax smirked at him. "You never asked."

Draco rolled his eyes, then glared at Pax. "And what's this rubbish about banishment? I thought you promised to cut that shite out!"

"A previously given oath can't be nullified by a general oath given afterwards. I promised him those two items." Pax said dismissingly.

"Why would you voluntarily give someone the means to banish you?" Blaise asked uncomprehendingly, having overheard the conversation.

"So they could banish me of course. It won't hurt Harry, because without this little bauble, I can slip right out first... and she doesn't have to feel guilty, because she'll have nothing to do with it. Harry and Delse can be happy, you can all be safe, and no one has to feel guilty... what more do you need?"

Blaise got up and walked over, coming to a stop behind him. "Why are you so set on dying?" He asked sadly.

Pax sighed, dropping his fork on the table and picking up his napkin, taking his time wiping his hands and mouth before answering. "Harry deserves his freedom. I, quite frankly, don't care to live outside of him again... and away from Delse. Making me live on once separated would be about the cruelest fate I could imagine. I'm hoping... and trusting... that you will not make me endure that kind of Hell. It should be quick and painless."

"What if we could find you another host? You could still be around them then. I know I wouldn't exactly be suitable, seeing as you're in love with my mother, and that would be a bit awkward..."

"You don't seem to understand!" Pax said, shoving his chair around so he faced Blaise. "I don't want to just 'be around them'. Seeing them there without me every day would be even worse than not seeing them. I want to be a part of him... I want to be with her... it just... wouldn't seem right any other way."

"And has Potter said that this is what he wants?" Draco asked softly.

Pax glared at him. "Harry doesn't know about this. He doesn't have to. I don't want him guilted into something he doesn't want."

"How do you know what he'll want? You're so into respecting other people's wishes, and yet you're ready to make this major decision for him without even showing him the respect of asking?" Draco asked evenly.

"You know how he is. He'll feel guilty over letting me die if he could have prevented it. There's no reason to add more trauma to his already overly fucked up life. I mean I was the spiritual equivalent of road kill when Blaise fixed me up, and Harry still took longer than I did!"

"Why don't you just let us talk to Potter and we'll try to keep it as un-traumatic as possible, ok?" Draco asked with a smile.

"There's no need to..." Pax began heatedly.

"That was an order, demon!" Draco growled, growing tired of trying to convince him.

Pax flinched and glared at him, but then his posture and eyes changed subtly.

Harry glanced around, seeing everyone staring at him. "What?"

"The demon has given Lupin the means by which to release the binding device you wear... and then banish him." Draco said, holding up the parchment, "He still seems to believe his death is necessary for your and Delse's continued happiness. He didn't want to tell you so you wouldn't feel guilty... I thought it might be nice to actually ask your opinion on the subject before he goes and does something stupid and irreversible."

"WHAT?" Harry all but yelled, leaning over the table and snatching the parchment from Draco's hand, knocking over several glasses in his haste. He looked over the parchment. "So this is the little promise that I needn't worry about, is it?" He growled irritably to Pax, not even bothering to say it silently in his head.

It's for the best. Just tell them to get it over with so you can get on with your life.

"Why the bloody Hell does everyone else seem to think they know so much better than I do what's 'best for me'?" Harry demanded. His eyes grew watery and he swallowed a lump in his throat with some difficulty. "And why does everyone always end up leaving me?" he asked in a soft, anguished whisper as images of his parents and Sirius crowding his mind.

"I tried to tell him we could find him another host as an alternative to banishment..." Blaise offered gently.

Harry glared at him for a long moment, the pain in his eyes hardening, then glanced over at Lupin. "So is your little promise fulfilled?" He asked, anger coloring his voice again, "You gave him the parchment, so the oath is over, right?"

Yes... Pax replied, uncertain where he was going with this.

"And you don't have any other outstanding oaths to try to get yourself killed?"

No...

"Lovely!" Harry said, taking ahold of the parchment and proceeding to shred it. "You're the one who wanted in me so bloody bad in the first place! If you want back out of me, you're going to have to claw your way out you little bastard!" He threw the shreds of parchment away, so angry they actually burst into flame, burning up in a brilliant flash and leaving nothing but fine ash fluttering down to the rug below. "Don't you ever hand that bloody information over to anyone again! And that's a fucking order!" He snarled, "As for you," he snapped, rounding on Blaise, "Get your own bloody demon, Zabini. This one's mine!" he growled, then shoved past him, heading for the door. Pax was too stunned to even breath a word.

Harry tried to pull away as a hand grabbed his arm before he could get to the door, but couldn't break the grip. He sighed, knowing by the strength alone who had ahold of me. "What?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Blaise asked softly, not releasing his arm.

"Like what?" Harry asked irritably, looking back at him.

"Like my mother?"

Harry's breath caught painfully in his throat. He looked away, his eyes stinging angrily. "If she can't accept us as we are, she can just give us the boot. Wouldn't blame her. I'm still not giving him up! He's sarcastic, bitter, sadistic, embarrassing and has a tendency to be quite nasty on occasion... but... despite that, he's done more for me than anyone else I've ever known. He's a good and decent person, whether he wants to hear that or not. He's gotten to feel like a part of me... it was terrifying at first... but then it became strangely liberating... now the only thing that terrifies me is the thought of him leaving and being empty and alone like I was before... I love Delse with all my heart... and he... well he loves her beyond my comprehension, but I don't think I could cast him out and let him die... even for her."

Blaise grabbed ahold of Harry and supported him as he staggered suddenly. "Harry! You ok?" He asked worriedly.

Harry let out a little laugh, looking a bit dazed. "Did I mention he's affectionate?" He asked, his mind still spinning as it was deluged with a wild torrent of joy and deep, ardent affection. It eased as Pax got ahold of himself a bit, but a tingling sensation continued coursing through him and surrounding him with its warm presence. Harry had to smirk. The only way he could think to describe the sensation was mental snuggling. He managed to get properly back on his own two feet after a minute, taking his weight off of Blaise.

"Why would you think she'd give you the boot?"

Harry's smirk faded away and he dropped his eyes. "The way she's been acting around me since we talked earlier... I mean she doesn't even seem to want to stay in the same room with me..." He said, his eyes drifting over to the kitchen door.

"What did you talk about?" Blaise asked carefully.

"I just asked her if she might want to have some more kids too..."

Blaise winced and looked pained. "And what did she say?"

"Just said it wasn't the time to discuss it and ran off to check on dinner." Harry said, watching Blaise curiously. "Pax thinks it's because she's afraid if we had kids they would be demonic because of him..."

Blaise sighed. "Well, I think it's time you talked to her about it now. Don't let her slip out of it again. If she won't explain to you what the problem is, I will."

Harry stared at him searchingly for a minute, then nodded, making his way over to the kitchen door. There was a house elf standing in front of it that looked as if he was guarding it.

"Let him through." Blaise called over to the elf.

The elf looked between his master and Harry worriedly, obviously reluctant to leave since it was the mistress of the house who had set it to the task of watching the door. Harry glared down at it, Pax making his eyes glow. The house elf let out a frightened squeak and scampered away. They watched in silence as Harry disappeared into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

Lupin cleared his throat and rose, breaking up the uneasy silence that followed. "Well, I should be heading for home."

"Not bloody likely." Draco replied immediately. "Father could be waiting outside that ward as we speak for all we know. He gets one look at you and it won't be too hard to figure out who that article was referring to. You're staying."

Lupin sighed. "You don't understand... I have to go. I need my medicine."

"I've already thought about that." Draco said, snapping his fingers to get the attention of one of his elves. Draco pointed to Lupin and it quickly nodded, scampering over, grabbing up a worn (and from the looks of it, rather heavy) leather satchel. He lugged it over to Draco. Draco took it and set it on one of the counters behind him meant to hold tea services and extra food that wouldn't fit on the table so the house elves could provide faster service. He opened it up, grabbing a spare wine goblet. When he turned back around, Lupin saw that he had filled it with what appeared to be a dose of his medicine.

Lupin came around the table, accepting the goblet and looking it over. "Where did you get this? It's not exactly something you'd pick up from the corner Apothecary shop."

"Made it." Draco said with a shrug, leaning back against the counter and folding his arms across his chest casually. "I had a rather boring summer."

Lupin looked at him, obviously shocked. "This is an extremely difficult potion. I mean, no offense... but considering what will happen if it's not just right, I don't know if..."

"Before you go offending him," Snape said with a smirk, "You should know that he's been the one providing your potion since February. He's an exceptionally gifted potion maker and I hardly have the time to be spending on such pursuits every month. Only had to show him once. He took to it right from the off. Good thing it stores well. He was apparently exceptionally bored this summer. You won't be needing more for at least a year and a half."

"Got enough in there for this month and the next as well." Draco said, indicating the satchel, "I forgot the last batch at home when I left for Hogwarts this year. Sent one of my house elves to fetch it. If you need more after that we will probably be able to get to the storeroom at Hogwarts and send it to you. If worse comes to worse, Blaise has nearly as extensive a potions lab as I do. I'm sure it'll be no problem."

Lupin looked at the open satchel, noting the neatly packed bottles it contained. "I don't know what to say... I'm sorry I questioned you..."

Draco grinned and waved it off. "Just drink up. I'd rather not see your wild side, thanks."

Lupin gave him a rueful smirk, but nodded. He drank down the potion, then set the goblet on the counter. "Thank you, Draco."

"No problem. If you're feeling tired, I believe Blaise has already arranged your room for the night."

Lupin nodded, "That probably would be best. Afraid I tend to be exceedingly weary and don't usually eat much around this time of month."

Blaise snapped his fingers and waved over one of his elves. "Vincent, time to lead Professor Lupin to his room if you would."

Vincent hurried over, nodding eagerly, "Of course, master. Right this way." He said, hurrying to open the door, then waiting for Lupin.

"Thank you." Lupin said nodding to Blaise, then to Draco again. "I'll see you in the morning." He turned to the others. "Goodnight." He said cordially, then made his way after Vincent as the others wished him a good night.

Once the door was shut, Blaise went over, leaning against the counter beside Draco. He held out his hand. Draco reached over, dropping a small bottle into his hand without even looking, a wicked smirk slipping across his lips.

"Three drops, right?" Draco asked casually.

"Two."

"Close enough." Draco said with a shrug, then they both snickered.

Snape looked between the two snickering boys, recognizing the bottle. "Oh bloody Hell! You had best make damn sure he gets his potion on schedule tomorrow night!" Snape growled irritably.

"Oh don't worry, I will." Draco said guilelessly.

> > > > >

Harry stood near the door, just watching her. He hadn't gone more than a few paces into the kitchen. So silent was his entrance that she had yet to notice him. She was perched on one of the tall bar-like stools near the counter, her face covered by her hands, her shoulders shaking. Though she made not a sound, there was no doubt in his mind she was weeping.

He wasn't sure why he didn't approach her... didn't at the very least make her aware of his presence. Perhaps it was the fear in his heart, and in Pax's as well, that her tears were because of him. To ask could alleviate these fears... but he wasn't sure he could bear it if it confirmed them. It had just been a bit of bravado for the others when he had said he didn't care if she left him over this... well, bravado or bold faced lie, whichever term you prefer.

Well, at least Ron had Blaise back and a family on the way, and Hermione had Snape. As disturbing as that thought was, he couldn't deny the look in Snape's eyes when he looked at Hermione. He couldn't begrudge her love like that, no matter how much he hated the man. His best friends appeared to have their lives set out before them, and seemed contented with them. He was glad, because that took some of the burden of guilt off of him. If anything were to happen to him, they would be sad, but they would survive and thrive with their new families. That was a very comforting thought... because he wasn't sure he was going to survive it if Delse asked him to leave. He was almost certain Pax wouldn't.

Delse dropped her hands and sighed sadly, then got up. Her head jerked around quickly, her eyes widening as she caught sight of him, then she quickly looked away, subtly wiping her tears away as she made her way over to the counter where the desserts were set out. "Harry... I didn't hear you come in." She said quickly, her voice taking on an obviously forced cheerfulness, "The desserts look ready. Tell them I'll bring them out in just a moment, won't you?"

Harry walked slowly over to her, then stopped once he was just a few paces from her. "No."

She looked over at him in surprise.

"Tell me what's wrong, Delse."

He saw a flicker of pain reflected in her eyes, but she quickly averted them, "Nothing. I'm fine." She replied evenly, pulling out a long knife and neatly slicing the pie before her.

Harry sighed, then pulled out his wand and flicked it towards each of the doors in turn, casting Unperturbable spells on them, then cast a Silencing spell over the entire room. "Delse... you have to tell me." He said as he slipped his wand back away. She just moved on to the next pie without comment, pretending she hadn't noticed or heard a thing. He rolled his eyes in exasperation. Why couldn't she just get this over with already? Looked like he was going to have to play dirty to get it out of her. "Not to try to make you feel guilty or anything, but if you don't spill it, the demon's libel to do something daft again. He just tried to hand out instructions on how to yank him out of me and banish him... he's still got it in his head that this is somehow about him... that he's some huge roadblock in our relationship or something."

She looked over at him in shock, then closed her eyes, letting out a pained breath. "It has nothing to do with him."

"Oh..." Harry said softly, dropping his eyes.

"Oh bloody Hell!" She said in exasperation at the sadness in his voice. She tossed the knife in the sink, "It has nothing to do with you either!"

"Well then what is it about?" Harry persisted.

"She's my age! A bit older actually!" Delse finally burst out.

Harry blinked. "Narcissa?"

"We went to school together! We weren't exactly bezzy mates, but we were friendly. And now my son has gone and gotten her pregnant! I could handle the kids having babies... I mean that's what happens when you get older... your kids grow up and start families of their own... you're delegated to the role of grandparent after that... I can deal with that... but to see her... a woman my own age carrying two little babies... two of them..." tears were streaming from her eyes again.

Harry stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, though he still couldn't comprehend why Narcissa's pregnancy was such a touchy subject for her. Certainly it had to be awkward having an old classmate carrying your grandchild, but surely it didn't warrant this kind of reaction. She was clinging to him tightly, sobbing against him.

"It doesn't sound as if they intend to pursue the relationship... and besides, I'd hardly have thought you would be so upset over their age difference..." he chided her gently, trying to cheer her up.

"I'm not. That's not the point..." She sighed in exasperation. She held him a little tighter. "It's just... I can't..." She finally admitted in a tiny, anguished voice.

"Can't what?" He asked, looking down at her questioningly.

"Have more babies..." She replied morosely, "I always wanted a lot of children... but I had an accident on my broom when I was just a girl that left permanent damage... I had several miscarriages before Blaise... When I got pregnant with him I was bedridden practically from conception and I was still only able to carry him a little over seven months. It's a miracle he survived really. The healers told me that trying for another baby would most likely kill me. I can't give you children, Harry... I'm sorry..."

He let out a breath of relief and gently kissed her. "That's ok..." He said softly. "Honestly. I can't say I didn't want any, but I can live without them. I'll settle for grandchildren. From the sound of it, you're going to have a number of them. We can spoil them rotten, then send them back to their parents. What could be better than that?" He said with a light, teasing tone, "And at least they'll probably have neater hair!" He said, kissing the tip of her nose.

She couldn't help but let out a laugh, then leaned her head against his shoulder, letting out an aching sigh. "You're the last in your line, Harry... I couldn't ask you to let your bloodline die out just because of me..."

He stroked her hair tenderly, "I think my parents would rather I be the last Potter and happy than be with some woman I didn't love just so I could pass on my blood. You aren't asking me to do anything, Delse. I love you, and if I can have your love in return, then I'll never regret it for a moment."

She looked up into his eyes, her own as sad as he'd ever seen them. "I wish you didn't have to make that decision..." She reached up, taking his head between her hands. "I love you, Harry..." kissing him lovingly. As she pulled away again, a little smile slipped over her lips. "And as for you, my little red eyed lover..." She said mischievously. "How could you ever think I would want you gone? Who would take over when Harry's too tired? He plays Quidditch a lot you know..."

Red blossomed behind his eyes. "But you know what I look like now... how could you ever even stand my touch now that you know?"

She sighed, "That wasn't you." She ran her fingers over his face. "This... this is how you'll always look to me."

His eyes got a bit watery, "Do you really want me?" he asked softly.

She gave him a little smile. "Of course I do. How could you ever doubt that?"

A soft smile graced his lips. He shifted forward, kissing her tenderly, then pulled back, looking her in the eyes once again, "Then you shall have me." He leaned forward, nuzzling up to her ear, "Volo..." He whispered, and a strange rushing feeling went through her, "Tacitus..." Her head started spinning, "Pario..." a warm tingling filled her, "Animus..." The warm tingling was replaced by what felt like a sudden torrent of cool rain, "Pax." he sighed out. There was a calm for a moment, then a sudden clap like a sonic boom as a wild rush of power whipped around her, taking her breath away and jarring her senses, then it reversed, slamming back into her as if it were a physical force, wrapping around them and pulling tight.

> > > > >

Draco gasped as it suddenly felt like someone was jerking on a rope fastened around his chest. Before he could even properly register what it might be, the 'rope' was severed cleanly, as if by a sharp knife. He blinked, looking around, stunned, feeling a unexplainable sense of loss.

Ginny was looking at him, obvious concern on her face. "You ok, Draco?"

He blinked, settling back in his seat, rubbing his chest absently and trying to figure out what the Hell had just happened. "Fine..." He muttered, looking around at the others to see if they had felt anything. His eyes fell on Celestial. She was grinning, and as he looked at her, she giggled. He glanced down the table at Carys. She was grinning as well, but her eyes were looking past him to the kitchen door. Blaise's eyes were on the door as well, blazing brightly with wraith coloring. He was leaning forward a bit in his chair, his hands on the edge of the table as if he was unsure whether or not to rise, his expression just as stunned as Draco's. Draco's eyes widened as they darted over to the door. No... he couldn't have...

> > > > >

Delse blinked her eyes open. She was laying on the floor, her mind still reeling. She shifted her head to the side and saw Harry laying beside her, panting and looking dazed. His eyes fell on her and he smiled, shifting over and crawling closer. He looked down at her, his eye glowing softly. "Sorry... didn't know it'd be quite that dramatic... I would have warned you..."

"Was... was that...?"

"My name." He said with a little nod. "I live or die at your whim, my love. Do with me as you wish."

She opened her mouth, but was too overcome with emotion to utter a word as she realized the sheer enormity of the gift he had just given her. Instead, she pulled him down, kissing him passionately.

When the kiss finally ended a few minutes later, he smiled down at her. "Harry just had a very interesting idea of how we should commemorate this little occasion..." he said with a mischievous edge to his voice.

"Oh?" Delse asked with a chuckle, "Do tell..."

"I think I'd rather show you..." He said, leaning down and kissing her again.

> > > > >

Vincent opened the door and led Lupin into the suite. The common room was rather dark, lit only by the fire in the fireplace.

"Thank you... Vincent, was it?" Lupin said as the elf stood to the side.

Vincent nodded his head, looking pleased that Lupin had bothered remembering his name.

"Remus?"

Lupin looked up, spotting Narcissa on the couch near the fire. "Oh... I'm terribly sorry..." He looked back down at Vincent. "This appears to be the wrong room."

"No sir... my master is being very specific. This is being the right room." Vincent said, not sure what the problem was.

"But this is obviously Narcissa's room... it would hardly be appropriate..."

"No... that is being Mistress Black's room." Vincent said, pointing to the door that led into her bedroom. "That is being your room." he said, pointing to the door leading to the suite's other bedroom. "Is you needing me to be getting the door for you, sir?"

Lupin looked from the door to Narcissa. Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Draco." She sighed, shaking her head and taking a drink from her glass.

Lupin looked back to Vincent, noting his longing gaze and followed it. Diamond was peeking out of Narcissa's bedroom door and grinning shyly at him, obviously having heard the voices. He cleared his throat, regaining Vincent's attention. "I really don't think these sleeping arrangement will be appropriate..."

"I is sorry sir, but Master is being adamant. He is saying this is being the only room available. You can be bringing it up with him in the morning... but... um... he is saying Vincent is off duty once you is being delivered... so..." He said, edging back towards the bedroom door.

Lupin sighed, then gave him a little smile. "Fine. Run along."

Vincent grinned, then scampered away, disappearing into the bedroom with Diamond.

"You might as well have a seat." Narcissa said, gazing at the fire.

"I'm sorry about this..." Lupin said, taking a seat next to her.

"It's none of your doing." She said, waving it off. "Draco gets things into his head and just runs with them. I'm the one who should be sorry... I go off and get drunk and make an arse of myself, and now you're probably going to end up getting hurt or worse, and all for nothing. Just my stupidity..." She said, dropping her eyes down, staring into her cup as she swirled it absently.

He sighed, reaching out and taking her hand. "Please don't, Narcissa." He said softly, "If anything happens to me, it'll be my own doing, not yours. I made my own decision, though I knew what it would probably mean. It's just taken twenty years to catch up with me."

She let out a little amused breath. "I doubt that was your decision either. Apparently I'm part Veela. My father raped some poor part Veela girl and stuck me in her belly, then stole me back once I was born. From the sound of it, I'd say it messed her up right nicely too."

Lupin looked pained. He let out a belabored sigh, "Be that as it may... your lineage had nothing to do with what happened between us. Veela have to purposely channel their energy to seduce... but... I had feelings for you long before you ever even noticed me..."

"Oh, I doubt that." She said, taking another sip from her glass. "I noticed you rather early on. Watched you quite a bit... though not when anyone was looking. You don't remember when we first met, do you?"

Lupin blinked, furrowing his brow. "The first time I saw you was on the train just before first year. You were sitting in a compartment alone. You were staring out the window and looking rather sad... I was thinking about joining you... but then I met Lucius. He shoved me into a wall, told me not to even look if I wanted to stay healthy, and he, Crabbe and Goyle took the other seats in the compartment with you. Wasn't a bad thing in the end though I suppose... I ended up sharing a compartment with the boys who would later become my dearest friends."

She looked over at him, giving him a little smile. "You have a good memory, but that's not what I meant. I meant the first time that it was just you and I... no one else."

He thought hard for a moment. "The first time I was alone with you was in the forest that night during the new moon..."

"No... actually we'd already been alone plenty before that. That was just the first time you remembered it. The actual first time was about midway through fourth year. I went walking in the Forbidden forest after my father had visited and we'd had an argument. It was the full moon..."

"Oh Merlin..." He breathed, wincing and closing his eyes. "Did I hurt you?"

"Well... you did run me down, knock me to the ground and then stood over me, snarling."

"What stopped me? Sirius and James?"

She shook her head. "No... At the time I thought perhaps it was because you liked me. Girlish wishful thinking I suppose. It was most likely just the Veela blood. Veela are magical creatures... werewolves don't generally attack them. After a minute or two of snarling you calmed down a bit. I was half wishing you'd ripped my throat out. To tell the truth, that's why I went into the forest in the first place... in hopes that something would put me out of my misery. I'd been trying to convince my father to let me out of my contract with Lucius because he was already starting to be a possessive, evil little bastard. You can guess how that went. I was just laying there, crying... then you started licking away my tears. You laid down beside me and stayed with me. I don't know how, but I knew who you were the minute you looked into my eyes, even in werewolf form."

His eyes widened. "You knew about my... condition? Even back then?"

"Of course I did." She said dismissingly. "I mean Sirius was my cousin! Not that he said anything, but I just listened more when he was around, and you and your little friends weren't always that discrete." a reminiscent smile slipped over her lips. "That was the first night of many we spent together. I sometimes think that you're the only reason I survived that wretched time."

"But... how? I mean I never traveled alone on the grounds. I always had the others with me to keep me from attacking people. If they couldn't be with me, I was locked up in the Shrieking Shack... and none of them ever knew about us."

She gave him a little smile. "James knew. He found you first that night. He headed off the others and made excuses... later he showed me how to get past the Whomping Willow. Said it was safer than laying around in the forest. James would tell me when they weren't going to be able to be with you and I'd see you every couple of months or so after that, right up until that night... I couldn't risk it after that. Lucius was watching me like a hawk, trying to figure out who you were."

Lupin was stunned. James had never breathed a word. "So... you would just come to the Shrieking Shack and... and... what?"

Her cheeks tinged with embarrassment. "I'd just sleep with you mostly. My being there calmed you down... and I found your presence very comforting. You were really quite affectionate." She took another drink, then nearly choked on it as she laughed when she caught sight of the reluctant, yet curious look on his face. She managed to swallow the sip down, followed by a couple of coughs and a smirk. "That night in the clearing was the first time you'd ever touched me like that... I'm not into bestiality! The nights I spent with you during full moons were purely platonic." A little smirk slipped over her lips. "Of course I did get to see you naked a few times when I overslept... I must admit I was sorely tempted to let you wake up and find me there... I mean waking up with a young man spooned up against me with his arms around me... naked as the day he was born and... well... you know how men tend to get in the morning..." She said with a mischievous grin.

Lupin blushed bright red.

"After our first meeting in the woods, I'd always known I wanted you to be my first... I just... I knew you'd be considerate and loving... but I was so frightened of what Lucius would do if he found out. That night in the clearing... I knew he would finish what he started soon... and you were there... and you had your arms around me... and it felt so... right... I knew I was risking your life... I just... I was selfish. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I wouldn't trade that night for anything." he said softly.

She sighed, "Well, enough embarrassing you for tonight I suppose. You're probably pretty done in."

"Actually... I'm feeling rather awake." Lupin said, furrowing his brow, "It's curious... I'm usually wretchedly tired... and I was just a bit ago in fact..." He shook his head in puzzlement. "I really must ask Draco if he's been altering the potion."

Narcissa sat up a bit straighter. "Potion?"

"Yes... well I have to take a potion if I am to control myself during the full moon. That wasn't an option back when I was attending school, or they wouldn't have needed the Shrieking Shack... With the potion I still change, but I retain my mind so I'm safe to be around."

"And Draco gave you this potion?"

"Yes... apparently he's been making my potion for a while now. He had one of the house elves fetch an extra batch he'd left at home..."

"And did you see him take this out of the container?"

"He put it in a goblet..."

She smiled. "Did you see it from the point it left the container until you drank it?"

"Well... actually his back was to me when he poured it into the goblet..." Lupin said, wondering where she was going with this.

"I see." Narcissa said thoughtfully. She leaned over, setting her glass on the coffee table, then picked up the centerpiece. It was a nice little arrangement of magically preserved flowers in a brass vase. She pulled out the flowers and tossed them on the table, then placed the empty vase in his hand.

"What is this for?" He asked curiously, looking over the vase.

"Just indulge me with a little test, won't you?" She asked with a smile.

"Um... very well... what exactly would you like me to do with this?"

"Just hold it..." She said softly.

He thought it was an awfully odd request, but then he noticed the way she was staring at him and found he wasn't worrying overmuch about the vase. She leaned slowly forward. His eyes slid shut as their lips met, his head spinning slightly as he found himself quickly deepening the kiss. She shifted closer, slipping one leg over to straddle his lap as their tongues caressed. He couldn't stifle the little moan of longing that escaped him as she shifted her hips a bit higher on his lap. He almost felt relieved when she finally let up, shifting back a bit and smiling at him. "Apples?" He asked with a little smile.

She rolled her eyes, "Hot cider. They went a little overboard on the cloves, but it's not too bad... and there weren't many choices. My bloody elf removed every last drop of liquor from the entire suite the minute she found out I was knocked up."

He smiled. "I'd say she cares about you. Alcohol really isn't good for babies."

Narcissa gave an amused sound, "I'm the one who raised her practically from a baby, and now she has somehow gotten it into her head that she's my mother! Bloody nuisance really."

He chuckled. "Sounds like an elf I'd like to meet... but if she was the one in the other room, the introductions can wait. I suspect she's a bit busy right now."

A smile slipped over Narcissa's lips. "Aren't they adorable together? Vincent raised Blaise from a baby. Apparently he's a bit of an artist. My Diamond is an absolutely brilliant seamstress. She made all of the robes and the gown for the wedding. Too bad you weren't here. I think you'd look marvelous in a nice dark brown set of dress robes..." She said, trailing her fingers down his chest.

He cleared his throat and tried to get his thoughts back on track. "Are you going to tell me why I'm holding a vase?"

Narcissa glanced over at the vase and chuckled softly. "I was just checking..."

He looked over at it, then his eyes widened. The hard brass vase was now quite misshapen, molded to his grip.

"You're surprisingly trusting for someone who teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts." Narcissa said with obvious amusement, reaching over and prizing it out of his grip. She smirked, letting him get a better look at it, then deposited it back on the table.

"He... he slipped me some of that..."

"The essence. Apparently so. I wouldn't expect to get any sleep any time soon from what I've been told. At least it appears to be counteracting your usual tiredness."

"But... but why would he do that? Doesn't he realize what could happen if I don't get my potion tomorrow evening? I don't even want to think about it!"

"Well don't worry. From the sound of it, he has plenty of the potion, and I'm sure he was just trying to be helpful. I mean he put you in my suite... and I've acquired more than enough of that essence... he just wanted to make sure I didn't hurt you..."

"Why would he think you'd hurt me?"

Narcissa smiled. "I wouldn't intend to..." she said with a hint of suggestiveness.

He quickly got the implication. He was acutely aware of the way she was still straddling him. "Um... you could have just asked me to squeeze the vase you know."

Her smile widened a bit. "I could have." She conceded, toying with one of the buttons on his shirt.

He sighed. "Narcissa..." He said sadly.

She pulled her hand away, looking into his eyes searchingly at the tone in his voice, "I'm sorry... I never even asked... are... are you seeing someone?"

He let out a little amused breath. "No."

She looked at him thoughtfully, then sighed. "Forgive me. I shouldn't have presumed you still felt the same way... I mean it was only one night for you, and twenty years ago at that..." she said, trying to keep the ache out of her voice as she shifted off of him, settling down morosely beside him once again.

He reached over and took her hand. "Narcissa... please... my feelings for you haven't changed, but I'm not young and foolish anymore. I realized what a risk I took with your life that night, and I swore to myself I'd never take a risk like that again. If I had bitten you..."

She was looking over at him, wide-eyed. "You've never... been with anyone else?"

His cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "It would be irresponsible for me to endanger innocent lives for my own pleasure. If I were to bite someone..." He said, shaking his head sadly.

"I don't care about that." Narcissa said seriously. "If you weren't listening at the hospital, they've learned how to prevent the curse from being passed on, and even if they couldn't prevent it, I don't care."

"Narcissa..." He sighed, "I don't think you understand what it's like to be a werewolf. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Even if you could bear it yourself, think of your children."

"Do you want me to let you in on a little secret?" Narcissa asked softly.

He looked over at her curiously.

"The werewolf curse is only a curse to the poor. It's sad, but it's the truth. The rich can afford specially trained healers and the potions like my son has been providing for you. There are even potions that counter the other side effects that make it so hard on the body, even to make the transformation itself virtually painless, but they are far beyond the means of most werewolves. There are actually a number of very prominent people in our society that are secretly 'cursed', but no one has a clue. I was able to spot one, but only because it was nearly the full moon, and I knew some of the more subtle signs from watching you. I actually spoke to him about it. He told me that to run as a werewolf during the full moon was the only time he ever felt truly free. He and a number of likewise 'cursed' friends even got together on the full moons and romped together on his private grounds. He reveled in his monthly transformation. I think, given proper medical attention, even you could learn to appreciate it."

Lupin was stunned. He'd heard mention of such potions, but had assumed they were merely myth or, at best, theory. He'd never heard even the slightest hint that there were highly placed werewolves. When he thought about it, he decided he really should have guessed. Werewolves weren't exactly choosy about whom they bit after all, and he doubted that social standing ever crossed one's mind when attacking. Statistically, there had to be at least a couple in the 'upper crust'.

"Why don't we take a walk?" Narcissa asked, getting up and crossing over to her robe that lay across the back of a chair.

"A walk?" He asked, the suggestion jarring him out of his musings.

She slipped on her robe, then turned to him. "Well, neither of us are tired, and your leg appears to have improved a great deal since I last saw you, so why not?"

He smiled and got up. "That was the demon's doing actually. He said it was a Christmas present. That's got to be one of the best presents I've ever gotten. It's been ages since I could walk without pain. I'd love to go for a walk with you." He said, offering her his arm. "Where would you like to go?"

"Oh I just thought I'd show you the hall they did up for the wedding. The twins' work for the most part. It's quite lovely." Narcissa said, leaving Lupin wondering at the mischievous glint in her eye as she led him out of the suite.

> > > > >

"Think of it as an extension of self. You must bend your energies to your will and focus them. It can be vexing in the beginning, but it does get easier once you get the hang of it. Once you've got it, I assure you, it will be more than worth the effort." Balthys said with a smirk, leaning back in his chair a bit more, his feet propped up casually on the coffee table.

Forester let out a little groan. "It's kinda difficult keeping focused under the circumstances..."

Forester and Tonks were on the couch. She had doffed her top (her own idea) and of course was without a bra as usual, considering she had yet to find one that could keep up with her ever changing shape. Forester was currently laying on top of her. He was fully dressed still, but the way she had her knees up to either side of him so that his body was nestled between her legs was distracting enough... not to mention the additional distraction of having her warm bare breasts right up against him.

"You have to learn how to handle the distractions." Balthys said, looking amused, "Just remember the cardinal rule: the woman always comes first." Forester looked over at his father with a bemused look on his face. "And yes, I'm well aware that statement has a double meaning. Both hold true." Balthys said with a smirk.

"Ya! So focus, boy!" Tonks chided mirthfully.

Forester rolled his eyes at her, then leaned his head down, darting his tongue out and traced the curve of her breast, his slightly pointed tongue brushing her skin teasingly light. She shivered.

"Once you get better you will be able to move on to only having to use a brush of your lips, then once you get really good, you won't require physical contact at all. I still require breath to deliver pleasure... but according to my mother, my father could do amazing things with a mere glance while a good meter from her if he so desired. I can only aspire to get that good some day. That may seem a long ways off for someone of your age, but trust me, very few women will object to the use of the tongue."

Tonks gave a little sound of agreement as Forester traced the smoothly flowing abstract celtic tattoo she'd sketched across the swells of her breasts and trailing on up over her collar bones.

"Well, Tonks. How would you assess his efforts so far?" Balthys asked seriously.

"Not bad..." Tonks gave a little sigh, "Feels really good actually..." She said, her eyes closed, a blissful smile on her lips.

Balthys gave a little amused sound. "Good rule of thumb for you, son. If the woman can still string together a coherent sentence, you aren't concentrating hard enough."

Forester let out a little snort of amusement, then redoubled his efforts, trailing his tongue along until it was circling her nipple. He settled on the nipple, closing his lips over it and probing it intently with his tongue. Tonks let out a shuddering breath, reaching up and grabbed ahold of his hair, pressing him closer and moaning as her hips thrust up against him.

"I think you're getting the hang of it now. Oh, and that's another good note: Never cut your hair so much they can't get a firm grip on it. Females tend to like doing that. Hell, men do too on occasion for that matter. That's mostly just if you're going down on them though."

Forester released Tonks' breast, looking over at his father in surprise.

"What?" Balthys asked, noting the shock on his face.

"Um... are you speaking hypothetically...?" Forester asked hesitantly.

Balthys blinked, obviously a bit puzzled by his son's reaction. "No." A smile broke over his face. "I see the books don't cover the mixed blood offspring of incubi. Statistically speaking, those with a quarter or more of incubus blood have about a ninety percent chance of being bisexual to some degree... of the others, a few tend to be purely homosexual, though those are extremely rare considering how strong our desire to reproduce is. The percentage tapers down the less blood you have, but rather slowly. Most species of pure incubi/succubi actually chose their gender at will to fit the desires of their current lovers, so it just goes to figure that even though we are trapped in a body who's gender can't change, we still desire both when seeking lovers. Oddly, mixed blood succubi rarely tend towards other females... I think it has to do more with their even stronger reproductive drive and the lure of masculine partners... they tend to desire to either dominate males or be dominated by them. Much the same as incubi really. I tend rather heavily towards women myself, but that doesn't mean I've ignored my genetic propensity entirely for the past five hundred years."

Forester looked rather stunned, but thoughtful as well.

"It explains some things, doesn't it?" Balthys asked softly.

Forester looked up at him sharply, then quickly darted his eyes away, his cheeks coloring. He looked up at Tonks, his eyes falling on the egyptian style eye 'makeup' and his blush deepened a bit more.

"Well, back on task." Balthys said, moving away from the obviously uncomfortable subject. "I'd say you have the basics of using your tail down..." Balthys said with a knowing smile, making them both blush with embarrassment. Obviously he'd been paying attention after all. "But you do have other implements of pleasure you might not even realize yet..." He held up his hand and his short, yet very sharp looking talons sprang out. Their eyes went wide.

"I don't want to hurt her!" Forester said quickly.

Balthys chuckled. "Unlike most other demons, our talons will not rend flesh unless we have a very strong desire to use them as weapons. Even our fangs won't damage flesh unless we want them to. Watch." He bit his finger firmly. Much to their surprise, when he released it, they could see the light pink impression of his teeth on the finger, but there was no marks where his fangs had appeared to penetrate the skin. Forester decided he should have known that. He'd never accidentally bit his lip before after all, and he'd barely been able to make his talons do much, but he'd thought that it was just because he was only a quarter blood and couldn't solidify them properly. Balthys then flicked his talons out and dug them into his own arm. When he retracted them, the skin was whole and unblemished. "Go ahead. Focus your desire on giving her pleasure and claw your little girlfriend."

Forester looked at Tonks and they eyed eachother uncertainly. Tonks didn't object as Forester hesitantly flicked out a talon. He lowered it to her tender belly. He held it there nervously, then looked over at his father again.

"Trust me, Forester." Balthys said seriously.

Forester took a deep breath, then sank his talon in her. Tonks' eyes shot wide, her mouth dropping open as her breath caught in her throat. He quickly yanked it back out, afraid he'd hurt her. She let out a little strangled cry, then her arms whipped around him, pulling him to her so fast it felt like his head probably bruised her breast bone. Her legs squeezed his side almost painfully as her hips jerked up against him. After a tense moment, she eased up on him a bit, her eyes shutting as she shivered against him. He looked over at his father questioningly.

"It would probably be best to avoid stimulating the uterus directly in the future. The optimal place to use your talons is on the upper back." Balthys said, obviously amused.

"You coulda mentioned that earlier."

Balthys chuckled. "Yes, but then you wouldn't have known why. Go ahead, claw her back. Talon tips only at first."

Forester grumbled, looking Tonks over worriedly. Her eyes were still closed, her breath a bit faster than normal. "I dunno." He said with serious trepidation.

Tonks seized his arms, lifting up some and shoving them around behind her. "He said to claw me, boy!" She said, grinning wickedly as her eyes opened again.

He grinned, relieved she seemed ok. He shifted around, placing his hands up near her shoulders, then pressed the palms of his hands to her warm skin. He slowly slid his talons out, their cat-like curvature bringing the tips up against her skin. He pressed them in just a bit, then started slowly running them down her back. She cried out loudly, her back arching as she clutched him to her once again, her legs wrapping around him just above his tail, her hips grinding against him in a way that made his head spin with desire. He couldn't help but kiss her. She kissed him back without hesitation.

"Just so you know... do that at just the right time and it's not too unusual for the woman to pass out. Didn't want you to be too surprised if it happened." Balthys said, getting to his feet. "Well, I think that's enough instruction for one day. Why don't you two go over what we've learned today, then once you feel you have it down you can make your way back to the kitchen and see if there's any food left. Just make sure not to wear yourselves out too much... from what I've seen going through the heads of that wraith and his little playmates, I believe they're planning a study session tonight." He said mirthfully.

Forester let out a little snicker, then went back to kissing Tonks. He broke the kiss and looked over in surprise as his father pulled his arm out from under Tonks. He felt cool metal sliding onto his ring finger. When his father released his hand, Forester pulled it over, looking at it. There was a broad, silver band on his finger covered in tiny, intricate runes. He looked up at his father questioningly.

"We're a particularly prolific lot. Their contraceptive spells rarely work on us. Do me a favor and keep that on. Oh, and Tonks... just so you know, he's going to bite you. It's just something that happens naturally, but don't worry. You want him to bite you."

Forester rolled his eyes. "I can control myself!"

Balthys smirked. "Ok, son." He said in an obviously humoring tone. He walked to the door, then paused, looking back, "Oh, and make very sure that boy Ron knows the cardinal rule, won't you?"

Forester blushed, but Tonks quickly nodded. "We'll tell him." She said, trying to unfasten the buttons on the back of Forester's t-shirt.

She let out a blissful sigh as the door closed behind Balthys. "Alone at last..." She said, pulling off his shirt. Her eyes fell on the cross shaped scar that stood out prominently against his pale skin, then were drawn down to his stomach. He had a tattoo on his stomach. It was only about three inches tall at its widest point, but ran in an arch all the way from one side to the other. It was very simple, but with a graceful and highly stylized look to it. The lines were as wide as her pinky nail in places, tapering down to nothing in smooth, fluid swaths like chinese calligraphy. She had to grin. "Guess I'm not the only one who likes decorating themselves. How'd you get a tattoo on an island?"

He gave a little embarrassed smile. "I got it before I went to the island actually. A present for my eighth birthday. Well, around when I figured my birthday was anyway. It's a wizard made Tattoo... it didn't hurt or anything..."

He shivered as she ran her fingertips over it. She let out a little groan and grabbed ahold of his pants, quickly unfastening them. He reached around back and she heard him undo a snap. When she pulled down his pants, she gave a little snicker. Before she had thought perhaps his skivvies were home made... understandable considering his anatomy, but now she realized he was actually wearing slightly oversized flannel boxers... backwards. He blushed brightly.

She got up, working her pants off. "Don't feel bad. If these aren't passion-killers, I don't know what are!" She said, showing him her plain cotton knickers. They were hanging on her a bit right now, being made to fit the largest size hips that would fit in her pants just in case.

He stared at them, looking a bit dazed. He shifted around to sit before her and slowly reached out, putting his hands on her waist above the knickers, then ever so slowly brushed his hands down over the swell of her hips, gently pushing them down. Once down past her hips, they slid down to the ground on their own. He ran his hand over her flat stomach, gently fingering the tiny silver ring dangling from the piercing in her bellybutton. He then brushed his hands around, running them over her firm bum.

It was almost as fascinating just watching his reactions during his exploration as it seemed to be for him to do the exploring. When he looked up into her eyes, it finally and truly hit home that this boy had never even laid his hands on a woman before... a pure innocent. For the first time, she felt reluctant. She'd never been anyone's first before. She was almost afraid she would do something stupid and mess it up for him. She knew how important the first time was... something he would always remember... some say it deeply affected the person's whole idea of what sex meant and even how and with whom they had sex in the future... she found that thought very intimidating. Sure, they'd played under the table already... but this was entirely different, and they could both feel that.

He got up, then just stood there, watching her with a hint of worry flickering through his eyes. She knew he could sense her reluctance. Well, making him feel unwanted or undesirable was probably worse than anything she could mess up while shagging him, so she decided to try to put her worries out of her mind and just do her best to show this boy an amazing shag. She shifted forward, wrapping her arms around him, letting her own hands do some exploring. She felt around his wings, feeling the strong muscles where they connected to his back near his shoulder blades. He let out a little moan, slipping his arms around her and pulling her close. She let her hands drift down, coming to rest on his bum and giving it a light squeeze through the flannel. He groaned, pressing his hips up against her and letting her feel just how interested he was. She quickly decided she'd had enough fondling.

She started working his boxers off, but he took over, having to work his tail out first so he could pull them down with the additional pressure in the front. Once he was free of the boxers, she couldn't help but touch him. She'd known he was big... it's pretty much expected with incubi... but he was even bigger than she'd thought. She had pushed his pants and boxers down when she went under the table, but apparently she hadn't gotten as much of his length out of his pants as she'd thought. It made her loins ache with longing when he twitched in her hand.

She released him, laying herself down on the couch and smiling at him invitingly. It was his first time, so he should really be the one who was on the top, setting the pace. He looked almost terrified, but he got onto the couch, kneeling between her legs, then shifting around rather awkwardly, trying to figure out how he was supposed to be positioned. She smiled and helped him, scootching under him a bit better.

He didn't enter her right away, but instead lay on top of her, his length rubbing against her as he settled down, kissing her hungrily as he rubbed up against her. It was exquisite torture for her, feeling him pressed so firmly against her but being unable to get him inside her. He dropped his head down some, kissing and licking at the side of her throat as his tail coiled around her waist. She led out a little trill, pressing up against him as the warm, plaint tip slipped down between them and started rubbing her. She felt his talons lightly graze her back and arched up against him, shuddering with pleasure. After another couple of minutes of this, her body was screaming for action. "Don't make me beg..." she implored piteously.

He flashed her a little smile, blushing. "Sorry... it's just... I... I've never... and... I'm afraid I won't be able to last long... I don't want to disappoint you..." he said softly.

She let out a moan, pressing up against him. That was about the sweetest thing anybody had ever said to her. He hadn't even shagged her yet, and he was already the most considerate lover she'd ever had. Most of the one's she'd had in the past had hardly gone out of their way to make sure she enjoyed it. Not that she hadn't enjoyed it... she just found it touching that it actually seemed to be a concern for this one. "Tell you what..." She said softly, "This being your first time, I want you to just make sure you enjoy it. Don't spend the whole time worrying about me. If it makes you feel good, trust me, it'll make me feel good too."

He gave her a little smile, but still seemed hesitant. She decided she was going to have to take the initiative. She wriggled around until she felt him slide into place. He felt it, his hips jerking forward instinctively. He groaned, his tail tightening around her waist and pulling her closer as he immediately started thrusting into her fervently.

His tail had been fun, but it was nothing in comparison to the feel of him on top of her, taking her so passionately. His tail half uncoiled from her waist, slipping down, the end wrapping around her thigh, pulling it up out of the way to free his movement up a bit as he strove to drive himself deeper into her. She started losing track of the pleasured sounds escaping her mouth. It felt like she was tangled up in him... his tail shifted around, holding on to her wherever he needed it... his half unfurled wings brushing her legs tantalizingly with his movements... his lips and tongue exploring her neck... his arms around her, holding her firmly, his talons sending tremors of pleasure through her as he struggled for purchase to keep his own ardent thrusts from dislodging her from his grasp.

It was indeed no more that a couple of minutes before she heard the slight change in his breathing that told her he was almost there, but by that point she wasn't sure she could handle it much longer. The pleasure within her had built up to an almost excruciating level, from which by all rights she should have already peaked at least a time or two, but for some reason she wasn't quite able to go over the edge. Suddenly he tensed, driving himself in to the hilt. She felt a rush of air as his wings shot out as heat flooded her, followed almost instantly by fangs sinking into the side of her neck. She jerked up against him and cried out, her peak finally crashed over her as a wild torrent of unbridled ecstasy rocketed through her.

The world became a blurry haze of pleasure and warmth for a bit after that. She didn't lose consciousness, but it was a close thing. When her mind finally gathered itself once again, she smiled as he nuzzled up against her. He was still pretty much wrapped around her, though his grip had loosened considerably. His wings were draped over them like a blanket so that he enveloped her almost completely.

He kissed his way up the side of her neck, then over to her lips, lingering there. After a few moments of tender snogging, he lifted his head a bit, smiling down at her a bit bashfully. "Told you I wouldn't last long. Sorry." he said apologetically.

She blinked at him incredulously. "You're shitting me, right?" She asked with a giggle. "If you'd have kept that up much longer I think you woulda ruined me for other men! Bloody Hell... that was amazing!" She ardently.

He grinned, obviously pleased with her reaction. "Sorry about the bite... I just couldn't help myself..."

She groaned as she remembered the feel of it. "No... that was brilliant! Bite me all you like..." She said, nuzzling up against him.

He let out a contented sigh, shifting his head down and going back to gently kissing her neck as he lay there atop her, holding her.

After a minute, Tonks started wondering what he was doing. By now, guys had usually gotten off her and either dressed and left or gone to get cleaned up or something... and yet still he lay there. After another couple of minutes of him still not getting up, it suddenly dawned on her that he wasn't planning to any time soon. Her mind boggled as it suddenly occurred to her how sad and pathetic it was that such a thing should surprise her. When she thought about it, she realized that never once had a man just laid there with her after sex.

He lifted his head, feeling the slight tension in her body as these thoughts ran through her head. "What's wrong?"

She blushed brightly. What was she supposed to say? 'I'm just used to a bit of cheap, meaningless sex with guys who get up and leave the minute they're done and this actual affection type thing is freaking me out'? She quickly decided that was not something she wanted to admit. "It... it's nothing... I was just.. forget it." She stammered, embarrassed.

He seemed to pick up on the fact that his continued presence was the source of this unease. He smirked and it was obvious that his confidence was returning in full force now that the awkward part was over. "Sorry... I really should have covered this beforehand... see it goes like this: we fuck, I get to cuddle. I'm afraid that's the rule. Deal with it."

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NOTE: update on the contest - well, no results as of yet that I've seen, but I do believe you can still vote for your favorite fanfic if you haven't yet. The site is awards dot magicaltheory dot com. And, once again, if you chose to vote for me (no pressure. Really. ;) ) then just scroll down a bit. It's under the vote button for some reason.

> > > > > > > > > > >

A/N - Well, finally got through that. There still a bit to this night, as I'm sure you can tell, but we'll get through it eventually. I wanted to have another scene or two in this chapter, but with time restraints the way they are, I figured you'd rather I get another chapter out there instead of torturing you longer. I don't even want to go into the crap in my life. Let's suffice it to say my car is on it's way to spare parts and I'm gonna have to get another ancient vehicle and pray it's better cause I can't afford jack, but if I don't get another vehicle I lose my job, become homeless, etc. etc., so I'm gonna have to get another ancient crap car (an '87!). Oh well. Wish me luck. Oh, and for those rabid Lupin fans out there, I just saw a decent movie (from the video store, I think it's from like '99, but it's on DVD) with the guy who played Lupin (David Thewlis I believe his name is) as the main character. It's called "Divorcing Jack" and was like a BBC movie or something set in Ireland. He's got plenty of faults (like he's a real lush) but he's got a bit of that sweetness as well (and he doesn't have to mellow down that adorable accent because it's set in Ireland!). For instance, he loves his wife without question. Doesn't keep him from getting into a bit of trouble, but he still loves her. I just wish she appeared to warrant such devotion (I spent the whole time wanting to smack her ;P). He gets beat up an awful lot though. Oh, and the guy who played Lucius makes an appearance (from about 2/3 the way through) as one of the 'bad guys' though it's hard to figure out who the 'bad guy' really is (it being a bit of a mystery so you don't know who did what until the end). He plays a character that reminds me so much of Lucius. Sexy... homicidal... arrogant and completely sure of his own infallibility. He's an odd mix. He has emotions and attachments and a sense of fairness, but has absolutely no moral compunctions against killing people and such. He had very short black hair, which I found disconcerting, but he was still shaggable. Very.

Sunflour - Blaise hasn't touched Ginny yet. She touched Draco while Blaise was holding him, but she never actually touched Blaise. Blaise is trying to avoid touching people that need 'fixed' until he has a chance to recoup.

Lulabear222 - (deep sigh) ok, I knew this was coming... the Black family tree... For simplicity, Narcissa's father and his wife will be referred to as Mr. & Mrs. Black. Ok... so Narcissa is the daughter of Mr. Black and Eryn Delovo, by way of molestation. Eryn later met Balthys, they married (making Balthys Narcissa's step-father) and had Carys, Forester and Celestial, so those would be Narcissa's half-siblings (And therefore Draco's aunts and uncle) through their mother Eryn. Mr. & Mrs. Black also had two other daughters, who would therefore be Narcissa's half sisters on her father's side: Bellatrix (the family psycho) later married Rodolphus Lestrange and became Bellatrix Lestrange. If you don't know who those two are, you need to read book 5 again :P The other sister was Andromeda (Sirius' favorite cousin) who married the Muggleborn Ted Tonks (getting her disowned of course which is why Tonks isn't rich), and they had Nymphadora. That cover it? ;)

kittybro - It may be odd for us to consider asking your father how to do stuff like that, but you have to remember that they are incubi... sex is in their nature. Not to mention... I mean hell, if someone really knew how to do that, you honestly telling me you wouldn't ask how just because it made you feel a little bit awkward? ;P

lady lorethei - Actually, I'm in the market for a good genealogy program so I can keep it straight because any attempt at a hardcopy I make looks like spaghetti and ends up useless. Well, it's not too bad at the moment, but once they start reproducing, it just gets impossible. I tried one program but it was cheap and was completely useless in the end because it can't establish relationships between existing files. I mean like if two brothers married two sisters it wouldn't establish the relationships properly (not that that's an issue here, but it's a simple example). I think it had to do with Blaise... he fathered one child with Narcissa, her other child being Draco who married Ginny who's brother fathered a child with Pansy who also had a child by Blaise... it formed a loop and the program refused to allow it. If it balked at that, I might as well give up now! ;P

elka78 - I can't expect everyone to get it I suppose. Ok, from the top, the others were not 'done', at least not with eating. Note Balthys saying dinner was getting cold. They stopped fooling around under the table because Ron's dad came in. Balthys, Forester and Tonks just found something more interesting than eating to do. Nobody else got up and left, now did they? Next... I think everyone is smart enough to clue in on what Balthys might be wanting to teach him considering what he just did to Bazentine, what he is and the reference to most of it being instinctual. For incubi, instinct usually leads one place ;) Balthys never lowered his voice, so at least his side of the conversation was perfectly audible. I also suspect Tonks was paying attention to them and more likely to have overheard Forester as well. Ok, about the fantasies... I never said they had to be like 'scenes' or anything (I see you guys out there picturing whips and such. Naughty, naughty! (smirks))... I'm just saying... I mean come on, if you see someone you'd just love to shag, are you telling me you never 'fantasize' about like tossing them on the couch and shagging their brains out or something? Or imagining they would come over and just rip your clothes off or you look at their body and imagine running your hands over it... just little things like that. Next time you find yourself in the company of someone you'd like nothing better than to shag, pay attention to your thoughts (especially if they are coming on to you as well). Now imagine that that person can see\hear every one of those naughty little thoughts! The comment about "even ones you don't realize you had" was referring to the reason incubi were most hated... they have a particular fondness for shagging guys that were firmly entrenched in the closet so to speak. These guys were homophobes because they didn't want to admit they found men interesting, so when an incubi came along and fulfilled that particular deep dark fantasy they went on about how reprehensible and unspeakably evil it was that this creature would molest them in such a manner, even though they secretly wanted it. As for stealing sexual energy, that is mentioned quite frequently in different accounts of such encounters, but it is always referred to as being temporary. The worst I saw said the 'victims' felt tired and drained for several days afterwards... then again I've seen references to people who claim they were 'molested' every night like all night and it didn't mention them being drained. I figure it's optional. I mean for one thing, sexual energy is released during sex, obviously, so this could be why people say that... maybe they've just never had a good hard shag ;P Anyhow, my opinion is that it's up to the incubus/succuba. Oh, and lastly... I actually didn't ask what people wanted to see as far as sequel or prequel. I merely mentioned that I had some ideas about a prequel (It would not, therefore, be Draco/Ginny of course since I've already shown the beginning of their relationship). If you can't figure out what previous incident I might want to write about, I'm not going to tell you. I'm sadistic that way ;P Sorry to say, I have absolutely no interest in writing a sequel. I believe I shall be taking this storyline just as far as I can with this story, and I've never liked stories set in the future with like the children of the characters. Having a couple of characters that are entirely mine is ok, but practically the entire cast of characters? Too wide open and very little to keep to 'canon'. I prefer the familiar 'universe' and rarely even read stuff that wanders too far from it. I believe in staying as true as possible to the source material. I generally skip anything that refers to 'alternate universe'. I like J.K.'s universe, thanks. Ok, with minor alterations, but still... :)

Morena Evensong - The reason Balthys had the upper hand on Bazentine wasn't just because she was only half blood, nor was it simply because he was happily married. I mean she did nothing for Forester and he was not only a single, horny teenage boy, but also only one quarter incubus. Veela can 'vamp' and pretty much control men... Incubi\Succubi aren't as limited :) Their powers of seduction are effective despite the gender of the one they are seducing. They are also demonic in nature (which I believe would surpass simple 'magical creature' status), and have the ability to pleasure their chosen lovers beyond probably what any other creature is capable of. Nothing I've seen about Veela said anything about them being particularly great in bed. I mean the guy would be entranced by their wiles, so even if they were a lousy lay the guy would probably think it was great. Veela's powers have always struck me as superficial, like sirens... they just use it to get their way. Incubi also have a great many more powers than I've seen mentioned for Veela. Overall, I think they are far more powerful.

Amelie D. - ;)

OHsnap - some things to consider about the lack of 'romance' between Forester and Tonks... First and foremost, he has barely had any contact with anyone his entire life... social interactions are not exactly second nature to him. Sex is in his nature and something he can understand on an intellectual level... romance is a whole other creature. Who is naturally romantic? I mean be honest, a great deal of what makes someone romantic is learned behavior. A 'romantic' is created by either growing up around people who are romantic, or taking the effort to learn it by studying the opposite sex (or whomever they are interested in!) and learning to understand them and know what will make them happy and making the effort to meet those needs. I doubt he gleaned much about romance from what a child would watch on American tv. I mean he was seven last time he watched tv, got to spend only a few months with any real interaction with other people, then became a hermit on a little island. Silver and his little group probably had at least a couple of members in relationships, but even if they were incredibly romantic role models for him, it was a very short time frame for him to observe them, and I doubt they would have been trying to actively educate him since he was only a little kid. Not a lot to work with there. He's young, and I daresay he has the desire to please, so I imagine he'll learn in time. Second reason for the lack of a smoldering romance... in my mind, I don't see Tonks as someone who's had very deep relationships before (as you might have been able to tell from the chapter). I just don't see her as being emotionally ready for it, despite her being in her twenties. From Draco's comments we can assume she isn't overly discriminate in whom she shares a bed with, and I don't know many men who would be able to handle a woman who constantly changed so radically anyway. I know most guys are probably saying "you're nuts! I'd give anything to have a girl who could turn into anyone I wanted to shag!" ok, yes that would be cool... but consider that you'd never even know something as basic as what she looked like! There would be no mental image for you to associate with her and I think that lack of consistency would become disconcerting. Any man who wanted a serious relationship with her would have to put some effort into it, and I just don't think anyone's ever taken the time before. Anyhow, just saying I don't think either of them have really experienced romance before.

Mealias - Good question. Meant to address that actually but forgot I guess. Pax can of course take or simply view memories by inserting his talons into the person's mind. This isn't a talent that Incubi usually have (Their talent for seeing fantasies is merely 'overhearing' the sexually charged thoughts of those around them), but they have a closer link with other demons, and were therefor able to 'watch' the memory by linking with Pax using their own talons. As for healing Harry, Harry and Pax have the same body, so he would have had to heal Harry as well when he fixed up Pax. He couldn't have left him half done if he'd wanted to. The whole obsessive compulsive thing. As for Ginny, as I believe I've already noted somewhere up above, Blaise hasn't touched her yet, so hasn't had to heal her yet.

anata oka-san - (laughs) not realistic, eh? And the rest was? Ok, ok... as for Forester and Tonks being quiet... Forester has been keeping himself inside his little shell all his life... I think he could manage to stay quiet. As for Tonks... that was what the Sanctuary spell Draco cast was for. It has a built in silencing spell. She could have been screaming her head off for all they knew. Ok, next... Kulia knew Eryn (Balthys' wife and Narcissa's mother) because Eryn was the girl that she had as an apprentice that Narcissa's father molested and thus we have Narcissa. As for Kulia knowing Snape... they met at Hogwarts when she arrived all beat up, and the conversation Snape mentioned happened that morning in the kitchen. I didn't 'show' the conversation, but I did mention Snape was going over to talk to her when he left Draco. And on to the next question... I'm a girl. Well, woman technically (if you're going by physical age rather than emotional age that is!). My muse is a girl because... well, muses are girls. There was like nine of them that sprang out of some greek god's head and were his daughters, etc. etc... my muse isn't like a real solid person or anything. Just in my head ;) Kinda a metaphorical reference really, but I often think of her as a separate entity (because she can vanish so completely at will for one. How could part of me do that?) And now a question for you... what the bloody hell is a lemon? I mean a lemon in reference to a story?

JustYourAverageReviewer - Well, as of this chapter, in my copy that is, admittedly, more refined (a bit better edited, etc.) that I plan to use to replace the current chapters when I finish this and get time, there are currently almost precisely 730 pages single spaced, half inch margin all around, size 12 font Comic Sans. That is without any Author's Notes, just straight text. In case you're curious, my actual word count (minus A/Ns, etc.) is roughly (because I don't know how it counts dividers, etc.) 424,937 words.