A/N - adult stuff near end. Like you couldn't guess.
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Chapter 72
Draco leaned back as a house elf cleared his plate. He watched the house elves as they magically cleaned the dinnerware, stacking it neatly on the side counters. It hadn't passed his notice that none had even attempted to go into the kitchen since Harry had entered it. Somehow he doubted it was just their dislike for the demon.
"Draco..." Balthys said, his voice low and unobtrusive. He had returned quite a while before and pulled up another chair on the other side of Celestial without comment since Bazentine was still laying claim to his old seat.
He looked at him curiously. "Ya?"
Balthys glanced around, making sure no one else was paying any attention to the conversation, then asked casually, "I was just wondering... is your grandfather still alive?"
Draco carefully tried to hide his smile. He was wondering when he'd ask about that. "No... he died when I was about four."
"Oh." Balthys said with a nod, carefully trying to hide his disappointment.
Draco couldn't hide the smirk that slipped over his lips. It was blatantly apparent how much Balthys would have dearly loved to pay back dear old grandpa Black for what he'd done. "If it helps, he died a slow, painful death. He was afflicted with a necrotic curse. He had more than his share of enemies, as you can imagine. Took him nearly two weeks to die. There was a cure, but he couldn't get the ingredients for it. Kulia flatly refused to ever get him anything for obvious reasons. Actually, my father had what he still needed laying around on his shelves, but it wouldn't have benefited him to hand them over so he never mentioned the fact. It would just be putting off mother's share of the inheritance. He might not have needed it, but that was no reason to go throwing away money in his opinion. Made more financial sense to just keep quiet. Mother didn't fight him on the subject."
A little smile slipped onto Balthys' lips and he settled back in his chair looking much happier.
Draco looked over, noting several house elves heading for the kitchen, looking as if they had been summoned. As they disappeared through the door, Harry emerged. Draco studied him as he sauntered over. He had a big smile on his face and looked thoroughly satisfied. When he reached Draco, he sat on the edge of the table next to him. Harry just sat there for a minute, watching Draco in silence, then reached out and poked him in the shoulder.
Draco furrowed his brow, wondering what he was playing at. After the third poke he'd had enough. "Cut it out!"
Harry grinned merrily, his eyes beginning to glow red as he poked him again.
Draco sighed. "You told her your name."
"Every last syllable." Pax purred.
Draco nodded, dropping his eyes. "I figured you had. I felt it when the bond was severed. It's funny... I never really felt it until it was gone." He sighed again. "Not that I ever really wanted to bond another being to me, but..." He trailed off, unsure how to explain the sudden sense of loss he felt.
Pax's smile softened. He reached out, brushing his fingers down Draco's cheek. "I kinda miss you already too... but then again, you'll always be a part of me now. When a demon gives its full name, they are forever more what they were at that moment. I will always have a bit of you in me... and a bit of Harry of course." A little mischievous smirk slipped over his lips, "In a way, I'm like yours and Harry's little demonic love child." he snickered.
Draco cringed in disgust at the thought, but shrugged it off, looked up at him searchingly. "And Potter... he's still..."
Pax chuckled. "Oh don't worry, he's just fine. He's just letting me take care of a few things, then we're going to take my lovely new mistress off to her room and show her the full benefits of having a shadow demon lock, stock and barrel. Sorry about the wait for dessert, by the way... just giving her a little preview..." He said, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"I see..." Draco said, noting Delse coming out of the kitchen and directing the house elves as they distributed the desserts around the table. She couldn't seem to keep a little smile off her lips, and she all but glowed with contentedness. "Well... I'm just glad you seem to have found a home for yourself. I hope you two... or three rather, have a long, lovely life together."
Pax sighed blissfully. "I can only hope... of course even the briefest moment as her possession is enough to make it all worth it for me..."
Draco smiled, seeing the burning devotion in Pax's eyes as he gazed over at Delse. "Take care of her demon. Potter too if you feel like it. That's not an order of course... just a request from a friend."
Pax looked over at him with a warm smile. "A friend would call me Pax. I'm really bloody tired of being called 'demon'."
Draco blinked, his eyes going wide.
Pax chuckled. "With shadow demons, the name only grants power over them the first time it is spoken aloud in its entirety in someone else's presence. Once I did that, I in effect handed over the leash. Nothing I, or anyone else, does will ever be able to take that power back now that it has been given. I could give you my full name right now without it doing a blessed thing. Of course I don't plan to... it's a bit embarrassing. I was rather idealistic in my youth... which you could probably tell from 'Pax'..."
Draco smirked. "A demon named Peace..." He said, shaking his head.
"Yes, well I once knew a demon named 'Dainty Gossamer Butterfly of Venus', so stop looking at me like that. Least my name has a bit of dignity. Just a hint for future, very few of us are daft enough to name ourselves obvious shite like 'Bane the Vile Baby Killer' or something like that. Leave names like those for the goblins. Of course I did once meet a demon who called himself 'Eugene the Perfidious'. Now he was an odd duck..."
"So how do you know the names of these other demons? Wouldn't that make you their master?" Draco asked
Pax gave a snort, "No. Shadow demons aren't considered 'people'. We can't belong to eachother. Even so, few would tell other demons their names, but some just like boasting about it so everyone will admire the ingeniousness of their chosen names... which generally means they aren't too bright considering our masters could ask us what their name is and we would have no choice but to tell them. Only our own names are protected knowledge. Those are usually the demons who never see triple digits. Probably just had particularly daft masters when they told me. They certainly never got my name! No one has ever heard it. In fact, Delse was the first one to charm so much as a syllable out of me."
Draco opened his mouth to comment further, but Pax's attention had been drawn over to the door. Forester and Tonks had just reentered, both looking decidedly satiated. He didn't miss the way Forester's hand was casually resting on Tonks' opposite hip, Tonks' arm around his shoulders just above his wings, keeping them close as they walked. When they reached their seats, he could see Forester's tail slipping away from where it had been wrapped around her waist. He glanced over at Balthys. He was just smiling at Tonks and Forester knowingly.
Pax reached over and lightly swatted Draco's arm. Draco looked up, then followed his gaze as Pax nodded slightly in Delse's direction. Delse had knelt beside one of the elves, accepting something from it. Pax grinned, then leaned a bit closer. "This should be interesting..." he whispered mirthfully as Delse rose and walked over to where Blaise was seated.
Blaise quickly shifted away as she came up beside him. "Please don't touch, mother." He said quickly as she reached her hand out.
Delse rolled her eyes. "Fine." She said, dropping something on the table before him.
Blaise looked down. An old silver ring sat there before him. His face darkened. "I'm not wearing that." He said in a soft but determined voice.
Delse sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh yes you are! I don't care if it has his bloody crest on it, you're going to wear it. You don't like it, just go buy yourself a new one, but until then you wear this one. Don't get me wrong, I want grandchildren... just not all at once! Besides, I doubt Draco would appreciate you knocking up any of his other relatives!" She said, her eyes trailing across the table to Carys, then slipping over to Tonks. The girls looked at eachother and smirked.
"I'm not wearing it mother." Blaise said, folding his arms over his chest stubbornly. "I never let that bastard mark me with his bloody crest when he was alive, I'm sure as Hell not going to let him now that he's finally dead!"
Delse didn't get upset, she just smiled at him. "Very well, dear. You don't have to wear it. But until you have one of your own, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cast an impotency spell on you."
Blaise's eyes shot wide, darting up to her. She was smiling, but gave no indication that she was joking. "You can't!" He said in alarm, then his voice lowered and became pleading, "Mother... please don't make me wear that thing. You know how I feel about it..."
"I'm sorry Blaise, but you really should have gotten yourself one years ago if you were so set against wearing this one."
Draco snapped his fingers at his elf without even looking. It scurried up. "Yes master?" It squeaked softly, not wanting to interrupt the conversation going on across the room.
Draco just held out his hand. The elf looked at it for a moment, obviously perplexed, then it brightened, digging in the pocket of its little outfit and pulled out the ring Draco had refused earlier, placing it in his hand. Draco stood, patting the elf's head as he brushed past him. The elf grinned.
Blaise, who had been glaring at the hateful crest gleaming innocently before him, looked up as Draco came around to his seat. Without a word, Draco took ahold of his wrist and pulled it closer. Blaise's eyes widened as Draco slipped the ring on his finger.
"One of the elves back at the manor found this and sent it along with the potion for Lupin, but it's not like I need it anymore." Draco said with a negligent shrug.
Blaise stared down at the ring incredulously. "You're giving me your ring?"
Draco smirked. "This doesn't mean we're engaged! I'm taken."
Blaise grinned, looking down at the Malfoy crest. "This crest I can live with."
Draco gave a snort. "At least that makes one of us! Any time you want to switch crests and last names, just let me know! But remember that means you'd get my father!"
Blaise flinched back, "I'll just borrow the ring for now..." He said quickly, but with a grin playing over his lips.
"Thought as much." Draco said mirthfully. He glanced down at the unused ring, then over at Forester. Anticipating the suggestion, Forester held up his hand, the silver of the ring on his finger catching the candlelight. Draco looked over at Ron.
Ron caught the look as well, and shifted uneasily. "I'll stick to spells, thanks. I don't want to wear that if he hates it so much!"
Blaise grinned, leaning over and kissing Ron lovingly. When he settled back in his chair, he glanced around. "Well? Anyone want this thing? Up for grabs."
"I'll take it." Charlie said with a grin.
Blaise pulled out his wand and got the ring up on the end of it, then flicked it over to Charlie, not even wanting to touch it. Charlie caught it and slipped it on. It was a good thing that most good contraceptive rings had sizing spells on them, as Charlie's fingers were quite a bit thicker than Blaise's.
Blaise looked up at his mother, "Happy now?" he asked, holding up his hand so she could see the ring.
She folded her arms across her chest. "Just so long as that stays on your finger. I see you without it again any time soon and I'll have to use that spell, got it?"
"Yes mother." Blaise said in a exasperated voice.
She reached out to ruffle his hair, but Draco quickly caught her wrist. "He wasn't kidding about the touching. We really shouldn't get him back into wraith mode tonight. He needs rest."
She pulled her hand back, looking at her son with concern. "Are you ok?"
Blaise gave her a little smile. "I will be. The hospital just took a lot out of me. I'll probably be back to rights by morning. I'll fix you then, ok?"
She blinked. "Fix me?"
"I'll explain it to you later." Pax said, coming up behind her and slipping his arms around her. "For now, I believe it's time to call it a night." he purred softly, making her grin and blush.
"I... I have guests..." She said, having to try hard to concentrate on getting the words out while he nibbled on her neck.
Blaise grinned. "Run along, mother. Dinner's almost over and then I think we're all going to be heading off to bed."
She looked like she was going to object, but lost her train of thought. "Ok... night..." She murmured as Pax pressed up against her.
Pax chuckled, then reached into his pocket, fishing out a scrap of parchment and handing it to Draco. "There ya go."
"What's this?" Draco asked, accepting it.
"You once asked me what your father was up to... I couldn't answer you then..."
Draco's eyes widened and he quickly unfolded the parchment. He looked it over, his brow furrowing. "What does this mean?"
Pax chuckled. "Didn't think I'd just hand it over on a silver platter, did you? I'm far too sadistic for that. Besides, I thought it'd give you more of a sense of accomplishment this way. If you still haven't gotten it by morning, I'll help you out, but you're a bright boy and I'm sure you won't need any more help from me than that. Night!"
Draco shook his head ruefully, looking back down at the parchment as Delse and Pax made their way out of the room.
"What's it say?" Blaise asked curiously.
Draco sighed, then read it aloud. "What you seek is three, not one. Two with which I am all too intimately familiar, the third I doubt you'd ever suspect. Together, these three have the potential to spawn a terror the like of which has never before been unleashed on mankind. You may not be graced with demonic heritage, but I trust you're bright enough to figure it out. Of course your father's mistake has tipped their hand and I'm sure Dumbledore has fathomed their plans by now anyway because of it. I just thought you might enjoy trying to work it out on your own."
"Three what?" Forester asked, obviously interested.
"Spells most likely." Draco said thoughtfully. He snapped his fingers to catch the attention of one of the elves. "Bring me my school bag from my room." He said, not even looking up from the parchment. Once the elf had scampered away on its task he went on. "My father and his precious 'Dark Lord' were most upset when Kulia stole back that elvish journal. I saw the conversation in a memory the... Pax showed me. They felt it would give away their plans. I translated it into english..."
"Pax?" Blaise cut in curiously.
Draco gave a little smile, "That's the demon's name. Part of it at least. He just gave his full name to your mother, so he's apparently free now to tell us as well. He asked that we cut out the 'demon' shite. Seems after over seven hundred years of being called that, he's getting tired of it."
Blaise nodded, then patted him on the shoulder consolingly. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of him." He said solemnly, then he broke into a huge grin.
Draco snorted. "Good luck getting any 'play time' with him. I'll wager he's going to be pretty much inseparable from your mother now."
Blaise chuckled. "True, but she's gotta sleep sometime!"
Draco just rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking back down at the scrap of parchment in his hand. "As I was saying... I gave the translation to Dumbledore along with a list cross referencing it with a list of the potion ingredients father had ordered from her." He looked over as a breathless elf scampered in lugging his school bag. "That was fast. Thanks." Draco said absently, accepting the bag and looking through it. The elf grinned and hurried off back to its duties.
He pulled out the journal and the list of ingredients and set them aside, then pulled out his rough draft of the list of spells that matched the ingredients. He looked down the list as the others began gathering around. Blaise quickly backed off and made his way around to the other side of the table so he could be close but away from the gathering people.
"I can guess one right from the off." Snape said as his eyes combed the list, then pointed to one of the spells. "The binding spell you used on 'Pax' required four very rare ingredients that your father so kindly provided. In fact, there was a great quantity of those particular ingredients... probably enough there for at least twenty such spells."
Draco nodded, "But why would he need..." His eyes trailed down quickly and located another spell. "Oh bloody Hell..." He breathed.
"The subterranean blood orchid..." Kulia said in horror as she made the connection as well.
"Throw me a better clue than that." Blaise said in exasperation, craning to try to see the list in Draco's hand from across the table.
"He's planning on making more shadow demons." Draco said softly, feeling slightly sick to his stomach. "According to the journal, a single binding spell could bind up to a dozen shadow demons..."
"I told him I could only get the three ounces of orchid blossoms that was in the box I gave you... that's enough to make at least a hundred demons, and he said he wanted more. He asked me to get him half a kilo... He said to give him that for now, but locate more as soon as possible... grow them myself if necessary." She said, settling down in the nearest chair and looking slightly faint. The twins stood to either side of her, touching her comfortingly and watching her worriedly.
"Is there anywhere else he could get it?" Draco asked urgently.
Kulia shook her head. "I truly doubt it. It was banned in eighteen seventy three. Follow up anti-demon legislation. To be found growing it or even in possession of it means an immediate one way ticket to Azkaban. They did their best to hunt down and destroy any natural sources as well. Did a pretty thorough job of it at that. I may very well be the last one who possesses it."
"Why would you risk carrying something that was so illegal and could be used to create demons?" Draco asked, surprised.
Kulia glowered at him. "Creating demons isn't its only use. Most of its uses are medicinal. It has amazing disease fighting properties as well as curse nullifying powers. I've kept a supply around because it's an ingredient in the only known cure for a sickness that decimated the snow elf population centuries ago. We once had a huge, thriving metropolis with our own government and everything. It was the pinnacle of our society. Unfortunately, we became too lax in our controls on our scientists... one felt the humans might someday pose a threat, challenging even our vastly superior magic and technology... he tried to create a weapon to destroy them if that day should come... a highly lethal virus... but through some error in his calculations, it wasn't humans it killed. He unknowingly infected himself... left his lab for the night..." She shook her head sadly, "It was so virulent it spread to every man, woman and child in a single night and day. In the end, we had to destroy the entire island to stem its spread. Thousands died. Over half of our population gone just like that. Only the snow elves that lived elsewhere survived... but it kept popping up... the dormant remains of the virus would drift around through the water and on the air currents and reactivate any time they came into contact with one of our kind. We managed to find the cure, and any who took it were thereafter immune to it, as were there descendants, but ever since my mother told me the tale when I was a child, I could never keep from worrying that the immunity may someday wear off, spread over too many generations..." Kulia trailed off, looking unsettled as she folded her arms over her belly protectively.
"Then why would you give your supply of it to my father?" Draco asked gently.
She gave him a little snort. "I still have nearly two kilos. I plant some every couple of decades to keep a fresh source. The seeds don't store nearly as well as the dried blossoms. Still, three ounces was all I was willing to part with, no matter how much your father offered. I did plant several seeds already, but I don't know if they'll germinate properly without me there to tend to them."
Draco looked down at the list thoughtfully. "Well at least it doesn't sound like he's likely to find more any time soon."
"You better hope no one else has a secret stash." Bazentine said from where she was leaning against the wall at the back of the little gathered group. "Because Dumbledore just made it legal to own and sell."
"What?" Draco asked, shocked.
"Weren't you listening?" she replied, rolling her eyes. "It's medicinal. Anyone who claims to have it for the sole purpose of preventing the spread of a disease or the like will have legal grounds to avoid prosecution. Hell, they could put it on the shelf at the apothecary shop and sell it right out in the open and be completely in accordance with the law so long as they label it for medicinal use only."
"Bloody Hell..." Draco muttered, then sighed, "Well lets just hope no one has any, and if they do, that they don't realize they can sell it..." He paused, a little smile slipping onto his lips. "Come to think of it... I think he made my entire greenhouse legal as well... even the nastiest plants often have at least some potential medicinal uses... remind me to thank him."
"How can I remind you of that? I didn't hear a bloody thing. My employers don't sully their hands with illegal activities to my knowledge." She said blithely, examining her nails.
He just smirked, "Oh, that reminds me... put me on the Animagi registry, won't you? Wouldn't want that bloody Minister coming after me on that count."
She blinked, "You're an Animagi? When did this happen?"
"Technically, my first transformation was the night school let out. Didn't even have a clue I could change before that."
She furrowed her brow. Being an animagi wasn't usually something you just happened upon. "So what do you become?"
He grinned, looking around and realizing there were quite a number of people there who had never seen his other form. "Let me show you. Budge up and give me some room." He said, putting down the list. The ones who had already seen urged the others back, leaving him plenty of room. His form shimmered and changed. In just a moment, he was back in his pale thestral form. It had taken a bit more effort than usual with as tired as he was, but the change gave him no problems.
"Blimey." Hagrid said, beaming at him happily. "Would ya look at that!"
"Bloody Hell..." Tonks muttered.
Bazentine was looking around at the others, looking a bit puzzled. "What are you, a bug?" She asked.
He snorted with amusement. He'd gotten so used to being around the thestrals that he had all but forgotten that some people couldn't even see them. He stretched his head forward and nosed her arm. She jumped and let out a startled sound before she could reign herself in, blushing brightly as the others chuckled.
Celestial let out a little cooing sound as she worked her way close enough to see (having no trouble seeing him since she, herself, was mostly magical in nature). She hurried over and pressed her cheek against the soft fur on the side of his neck, her hands stroking his fur as she giggled. "Such a pretty flying horsey thingy." She cooed happily. She looked back at her father. "Can I ride him, daddy?" She asked pleadingly.
Balthys chuckled. "Maybe some other time. Come back over here and finish your desert. You need to be getting to bed soon."
She pouted, then gave Draco one last snuggle and hurried back to her seat.
Draco looked over as he felt a hand stroke down the other side of his neck. Christian was standing there, looking at him with obvious fascination. He noticed Draco looking and smiled, pulling his hand away. "Sorry. I know how irritating that is. It's just... I've always had a great fondness for thestrals. Been years since I last saw one. You have no idea how lucky you are to have such a strong Animagi form. You should see the ones some people get stuck with..." He said with a rueful smirk, his eyes still traveling over him.
Draco shifted back and smiled at him, then looked over at Bazentine, who was still looking a bit disconcerted. "If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a Thestral."
She straightened a bit, smoothing her blouse and trying to look unfazed. "I see. And your distinguishing markings?" She asked in a businesslike manner, pulling out a little notepad and quill.
"Well, my fur matches my hair. I'd say that's pretty distinguishing for a thestral."
"And his eyes are brown and gray mixed." Ginny added.
He looked at her in surprise, then over at Bazentine. "Ok, that too I guess. I've never really looked in a mirror when in that form, so I'll take her word for it."
"A platinum blonde Thestral with brown and gray eyes." She finished the note and tucked it away. "You have up to one month after your first full transformation to register, so I think I'll wait a further few weeks or so before filing. Fudge is just raring for something on you right now, and when he gets ahold of this I can pretty much guarantee a thestral slander campaign along with your name plastered all over the paper."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Kinda figured he'd do something like that." He glanced over and noticed that Forester wasn't even looking in his direction. As he shifted to the side a bit he saw that he had the journal in his hands and appeared to be pouring over it intently. He moved closer. "What's so interesting?"
Forester looked over, blinking in surprise at being addressed. "Hmm? Oh... I was just looking at this demon conjuring spell... this doesn't make sense..."
Draco furrowed his brow. "You can read elvish?"
Forester looked up at him irritably, then reached up and flicked his pointed ear. "These mean anything to you?"
Draco blushed slightly, "I didn't mean... it's just that from what I understand you were raised by a human and then pretty much lived on your own after that... I was just wondering how you learned to read elvish...?"
Forester sighed. "Father had all sorts of books... many of them were educational books... probably for his other kids... I taught myself. It's not that difficult."
"You taught yourself how to read it? Just from children's books?" Draco knew firsthand how very complex elvish was. He couldn't imagine anyone learning it without considerable help.
"Ya... how to read elvish, english, russian, german, simple latin and a smattering from other languages. Course I can only speak english and spanish for the most part. That's all they spoke on the tv. Knew how to read english, german and latin before I even went to the island. Mother was willing to get me books now and then if it kept me shut up. Mostly crap from the bargain bin, but at least she didn't shop at the Muggle places if she could avoid it. Haven't run across spanish books, but I think I could probably at least get the gist. After I got to the island it took me less that a week to find dad's storage unit and break into it. Not like I had a lot else to do. Hell I haven't even had a tv since mom abandoned me." He said distractedly as if it was perfectly normal, still examining the page before him. "This spell here... it binds the demon to whomever creates it automatically, so why would they need a separate binding spell?"
Draco leaned closer, reading over his shoulder. He was right. It said quite clearly that the conjurer would thereafter be the demon's master with complete control over the beast, even if he was not the eldest in his line. Only the separate binding spell used to change masters had the requirement of being eldest. "Hmm... perhaps the binding spell isn't one of the three after all."
"But if that's the case, why would he order the ingredients for the binding spell? Two of those ingredients match nothing else." Forester said, shifting the list towards Draco.
"Maybe if we can figure out what the other spell is... there are an awful lot of ingredients left unaccounted for..." He looked over the list. He pulled a quill and a bottle of ink from his bag and settled down in a chair, putting a little check by each of the ingredients called for in the conjuring and binding spells, then looked for a spell that used the others. After a moment of scanning, he came across one. He furrowed his brow, rechecking. All of the ingredients not accounted for matched the spell before him except for two. He retrieved the journal from Forester and flipped through, finding the page to make sure he hadn't somehow mixed up the spell names. No... it matched perfectly. "Why would they want to cast this spell?" He asked curiously. "It's for women with risky pregnancies..."
"Well it certainly would be a spell we wouldn't expect." Balthys commented.
"What does it do to the pregnant women?" Blaise asked, suddenly looking more interested.
Draco looked over the entry. "Says it prevents miscarriages." Draco became suddenly introspective. "Father's mistake..." He muttered softly, as if to himself. His eyes widened and he felt slightly light headed. "The only thing father has done lately is... the baby... Father always wore a contraceptive ring. Why would he suddenly take it off? And I can't believe he wouldn't have killed her rather than leave a potential heir behind. Even if it was too soon for a pregnancy test, since he'd taken off his ring he should have known it was a possibility and taken measures to prevent it, or at least finish her off to be sure."
"Unless he just forgot." Blaise suggested.
Draco shook his head. "No. Father wouldn't take off his ring and then just forget about it... unless... it's been quite a while since he took it off..." He said slowly. He suddenly covered his mouth, aghast.
"What?" Ginny prompted.
He looked over at her. "After I saw that memory of the conversation... I told you they said something about running out of time, he said 'They will be too far along for it to work before too much longer'. You said maybe they were brewing something that would pass maturation soon... what if... what if they aren't brewing anything... In the 'hint', Pax used the words spawning and heredity... what if they're growing something?"
"Babies?" Ginny asked, horrified.
Draco dropped the journal and covered his face. "Why has it never occurred to me? In the memory, when Kulia got there to take back the journal and father left, the Auror threatened Pax... he said something about having plenty more women from the last batch he'd brought them if Pax needed taught a lesson or some such thing. At the time I thought maybe the sick bastards just had him gather up women for their demented pleasure... something to tide them over until they got the demon back... but what if the women were there to serve a purpose?" He dropped his hands and looked down at the innocent looking spell before him. "But how could this combine with the other two spells? I mean babies would hardly be the oldest in their lines, not to mention it would serve no purpose to give demons to children too young to even talk!"
Forester pulled the journal over, studying it intently. "Holy shit..." He breathed. He stood and reached over, snagging Draco's quill, his other hand and tail clearing a large patch of table. Without another word, he leaned over the pristine white linen tablecloth and began writing. He paused in irritation as the quill ran dry, lifting it and blowing on the tip, then continued writing. The ink never faltered again, the only pauses in his diligent work coming when he consulted the journal. "Standard recombination incantation... brew these separate and combine during this stage..." He muttered to himself absently as his hand flew over the linen, "That would boost the structural integrity of the womb during transference and keep the babies from dying..." As they watched, he covered a good meter and a half of table cloth from one side of the table to the other in neat script and small diagrams. When he finally finished, he leaned back and surveyed his work. "We are so fucked..." he said ruefully, tossing the quill aside in disgust.
The others crowded around, looking over his work raptly. The way he melded the spells made perfect sense. It was horrific, but nothing beyond what Draco would expect of his father.
"Demons with human bodies of their own... they would be damn near unstoppable." Christian said softly.
"What are those last two ingredients for?" Ginny asked, trying not to look at the complex spellwork laid out before her. The mere sight of it made her feel sick.
"An aging potion." They all turned to look at Fred in surprise.
"What are you all looking at?" George asked.
"Anyone remember the Tri-wizard tournament?"
"We used one to try to get over that bloody age line."
Draco looked back down at the tablecloth and nodded. "They aren't the most patient of men... they wouldn't wait for the babies to mature on their own. They would want them grown and ready to spread terror as soon as possible. It would shorten the lives of their creations considerably, but I doubt they'd care. They could just make more."
"But that would be four spells. Pax said three." Ginny pointed out.
"Only three of them combine."Snape said softly, "The fourth is merely to sate their impatience once the combined spell is completed and their demonic army is born."
"And if they work that just right and conjure the demons directly into the babies in utero," Forester added gravely, "Neither the children nor the demons would even have a chance to form a sense of individuality. They would be complete, unquestioning slaves to their masters, which in this case would actually be whomever fathered their bodies. All the sick fucks will have to do is kill off the mothers once the babies are born and no one alive would be able to challenge their authority over the offspring. Their orders would even override self-preservation."
"The ingredients for the aging potion won't be too difficult to find elsewhere." Fred said grimly.
"And we know for a fact that several of those other ingredients should have been relatively simple to find as well."
Kulia nodded. "Lucius has always been a bit lazy about looking for ingredients. Probably figures why take the time to look for himself when I'll do it for him? Not like even my fees were out of his price range. Shockingly, I got the impression he actually had been trying to locate them himself this time... and probably for some time considering how agitated he seemed. He's gotten so used to my doing all his shopping he simply doesn't know where to even start looking for illegal ingredients on his own. It's all in who you know, and he only really knows me. I was able to find most of those ingredients locally, and I probably could have found almost all the others as well, but I already had them in stock. Anyone competent in locating such things should have little trouble filling the majority of his grocery list. The blood orchids are going to be the only roadblock that I can see."
Draco sighed and an uneasy silence fell. After a few minutes, Hagrid cleared his throat, "Well, guess I should be headin out. Oughta be dark by now."
Draco looked over at him, only now realizing that Hagrid and the Thestrals were indeed scheduled to leave tonight. He suddenly felt acutely guilty for not having spent more time with them during their stay. He knew it wasn't right to keep them there any longer, but at the same time, knowing they were around was comforting somehow... not to mention he'd worry for their safety if they were to leave the grounds at the moment. In the end, concern won out. "You should probably stay... I mean what with father and all..."
"I ain't afraid of that puffed up goit." Hagrid huffed.
"No... but I was thinking about Tiger. I mean he can't fly on his own yet and if they were to attack you..."
Hagrid sighed, looking thoughtful. "A'right." He finally conceded. "Wouldn't want the little fella getting hurt."
Draco grinned. "Besides, he hasn't even met Celestial yet."
Celestial perked up, hearing her name.
Hagrid grinned. "Well at'd be no problem."
Draco smiled over at Celestial. "How would you like to see a little winged 'horsey thingy'?"
She hopped up, jumping up and down and clapping her hands, then spun around, "Can I daddy? Can I?" She pleaded.
He rolled his eyes. "Very well."
Hagrid grinned. "I'll introduce ya." He said as the little girl scampered up to him. He looked over at Balthys. "I'll see she gets to yer room."
"That would be wonderful. Thank you." Balthys said, nodding. He watched his daughter hopping out the door excitedly, her little hand barely fitting all the way around one of Hagrid's big fingers, his hand nearly at head height for her. Her gargoyle followed her out patiently. With that nap she'd had earlier Balthys was getting the definite impression that he would be getting little sleep tonight. With any luck, the young thestral would wear her out some.
Draco rose. "I think we should all try to get some sleep. It's been a wretchedly long day, and I don't get the feeling tomorrow is going to be any easier."
Arthur sighed. "I should get back to the room as well. Molly is probably wondering where I am." He accepted the basket from the house elf that scampered over at this, then paused, looking back at the twins. "I'm sure she'll be bringing Justin by in a bit."
They nodded, then slipped their arms around Kulia as she rose. Balthys paused long enough to give his son a hug, "That was brilliant, by the way. I'm so proud." He said lovingly, then released the fiercely blushing boy. He tussled his hair, then hurried after Kulia and the twins.
"Oh, those things you asked for should be in the suite already." Blaise called after him. Balthys smiled over and him and nodded in thanks before slipping out the door.
Forester looked over as he heard a tapping sound. Carys was standing there, tapping her foot and glaring at him, arms folded over her chest. "Don't know any magic hmm? Can't control yourself cause you've never been taught?" She asked shrewdly.
He rolled his eyes. "This is human magic stuff. They didn't exactly write instruction books on elvish magic! I don't know any of that elvish wandless fireballs-in-your-hands shit. Hell, I can barely even do anything the human way... I just understand how their spells work."
"You can do some human magic?" Draco asked curiously.
"Ya... well... not much really..." Forester said, obviously a bit embarrassed. "This thing doesn't really work that well..."
Much to Draco's amazement, he pulled out a wand. He let Draco take it and look it over. It was relatively simple, but well carved with an intricately interlaced celtic design on the grip. Draco looked up at him and smirked. "Sure you should be waving this around in front of a couple of Aurors?"
Forester shrugged. "It's not like it's a real one. I just carved it from a piece of wood some lightning blasted off one of the trees on the island. It doesn't have a core. I was hoping that since snow elves and incubi can wield magic without any help, I might be able to use this as a focal point and do human type magic even without a core. I can only manage a few really simple spells though. So, they gonna fuck with me over a stick?"
Draco blinked in surprise, then waved it a bit. The usual subtle feel of magic you got when holding pretty much any wand was absent. "Oh..." He looked up at Bazentine and smirked. "Would that be ok then?"
She rolled her eyes. "If they went around arresting every kid who ever carved a fake wand they would get nothing else done. And at any rate, I thought you said he was raised by a human, was that his mother?"
"Ya... well, mostly human. She was an eighth Veela." Forester replied, taking his wand back and slipping it away in the thin pocket in his jeans that ran down the side of his thigh. "Dad's half snow elf, half incubus."
"Only half?" She asked incredulously, looking at the door he'd left through. She pulled her eyes back off the door with apparent effort, then went on, pretending her little slip had never happened. "Well, it wouldn't be a problem anyway then, now would it? Will you be staying here for a while?"
Forester shifted uneasily, shrugging. "Guess so. At least until after Kulia's kids are born."
Bazentine nodded. "And how old are you?"
Forester looked over at Draco to see if he knew where she was going with this. "Sixteen. I'll be seventeen soon. I was born sometime in the spring. If you want more exact than that you'll have to hunt down my mom and hope she bothered to remember. Good luck."
She nodded, "Then you'd better get filing your registry papers so you can start school on time for the next term."
"Excuse me?" He asked, shocked.
"All school aged children are required to attend until they complete the required schooling. Your age would put you in sixth year, so you would be attending this term and next year as well if you remain in the area. Whether you pass your N.E.W.T.s or not, you'd be free to stop attending at that point." She looked over at Draco. "Since he's family, I suppose you'll be requiring me to take care of the paperwork?" She asked in a weary voice.
Draco was grinning. Forester set loose on Hogwarts? Now this should be entertaining. He'd have to see about making sure he got into Slytherin. "Of course."
Forester was looking back and forth between them in shock. "But... I mean look at me... I don't exactly look like a wizard! I'm not even a full half human!"
Bazentine rolled her eyes again. "I was at more risk of being excluded from human schooling than you are! To the letter of the law, you can't be more than half of any specific magical creature... If I had even one ancestor on my human side with Veela blood, no matter how far back or how little, it would have put me over the limit and I would have been out of luck! You aren't more than a quarter of any particular magical creature. Hell, to get technical, you only have to have some human blood. You could be an eighth human and still qualify for wizard status so long as you didn't have over half blood from any single other species. You're not going to get out of it that easily. I'll do the paperwork... but I'm leaving finding a tailor for your school uniforms up to Draco. That's not my field."
Forester shifted uneasily. He looked excited by the prospect, but at the same time very apprehensive. "But... I tend to... frighten people..." He said softly.
Draco grinned. "No one's going to mess with my uncle! Hell, you're free to use the Malfoy name as well if you'd like, though I don't see why you'd want to..."
Forester scratched his side, obviously weighing the options. "Well.. it would be better than mom's... and I don't think dad would much care for me taking the last name of her rapist..." He shrugged, "I'll have to think about it."
"You do that." Draco said. He looked back over at Bazentine as Forester made his way over towards Blaise, who was beckoning to him. She was still looking rather put out, had ever since Balthys' little 'lesson'. He smiled as he saw Charlie drift over towards her. Draco quickly looked away as Charlie glanced around.
Charlie sidled right up to her, stopping bare inches behind her, then leaned forward, "You can vamp me any time you like." he whispered softly in her ear.
A little smile spread across her lips as she shifted back a bit. He eagerly pressed against her, nuzzling the side of her neck. Her smile widened and she shifted forward, reaching back and grabbing ahold of his shirt, leading him out the door without so much as a backward glance.
Draco snickered softly. Well, that should help her wounded ego some. He glanced around, spotting Breanna. She had obviously noticed the departure as well. She looked decidedly disappointed, though she tried to hide it. Then Bill went over to her, whispering in her ear. Draco couldn't hear what he was saying, but a smile sprang to Breanna's lips and her cheeks reddened. After a moment, she gave a slight giggle and nodded and they made their way out the door as well.
Well, looked as if there would be quite a number of nicely warmed beds tonight as well. He would definitely have to see about getting a selection of contraceptive rings to keep around for guests, especially with the Weasleys around. They appeared to be quite a randy lot. Not that that was a bad thing... especially since he had his own little Weasley to warm his bed. No, his own little Malfoy actually. She was just about the only person who could make that name sound good in his opinion. He wandered over towards Christian, who was just standing there trying to stay out of the way and peering down at the tablecloth.
"If you can come up with any way of countering that, feel free to chime in." Draco said with a little smile.
"Simple." Christian replied immediately, looking up at him. "Just kill off all the bastards who would father children just to create mindless killing machines."
Draco's smile widened. He was getting to really like the way this man's mind worked. "Good plan. If it comes down to it, I'll throw my vote behind your suggestion... especially since my father is undoubtedly one of them." He stared down at the spell for a long moment, then sighed. "I know he's an evil, remorseless bastard... but it's still a bit hard to wrap my mind around this... I mean, for this to work... that means he's fathered more children... it means he's going to use my brothers and sisters as weapons... who knows how many siblings I have on the way?" He said sadly, his heart aching.
Ginny came up to him, slipping her arms around him. He held her, trying to pull his eyes off of the table.
Christian gave him a little smile. The warmth in his soft brown eyes seemed to give off an almost tangible sense of comfort. "You're a good boy, Draco. Don't worry, I'll do everything in my power to see that that doesn't happen. The efforts of one man might not count for much in a war... but I'll do my best. Who knows? Perhaps I'll get to do you the same favor I did for Blaise. It would certainly be my pleasure..." He said ruefully.
Draco smiled. "If you get to him first, be my guest." He watched the man silently for a moment, then furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "I was just wondering... what you were saying earlier... about Animagi... you sounded like you were speaking from experience...?"
Christian actually blushed. He glanced around, surveying the room for listeners, then cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Swear not to tell anyone?"
A little grin slipped onto Draco's lips. "I swear."
Christian sighed. "Back in school... Alex and I... that's Delse's grandfather to you... well we learned about animagi and decided it would be just about the keenest thing ever if we could teach ourselves to do that... really impress all the girls and the like... I'm sure you know that foolish teenaged impulse."
"And you succeeded?" Ginny asked, watching him intently.
He scratched his stubbly chin ruefully, "After a fashion. We both managed to completely transform on the same night... and neither ever tried it again thereafter."
"Why not?" Draco asked curiously. He couldn't imagine never turning into a thestral again now that he knew how... not to mention it took years of training to become one (usually!) and he couldn't imagine just throwing all that effort away.
"Because." He replied with a smirk. "Each person has one possible form, and one only... but the kicker is... you can't control what that form will be..."
"Did you change into something bad?" Ginny asked wide-eyed.
Christian laughed. "Bad I could have handled. Ferocious... even frightening would have been fine with me. But of course that was never a real possibility with us... see your Animagi form reflects your inner self... what creature you most closely resemble spiritually. With that in mind, our forms... well, they were just slightly embarrassing."
"Embarrassing how?" Ginny asked, dropping her voice and grinning conspiratously.
"Well... Alex, poor boy, he turned into the cutest damn bunny rabbit you've ever seen. White with brown spots. Got snatched up by one of the school owls less than a minute later as a matter of fact. That owl got the shock of its life, believe me!"
"And what did you turn into?" Draco asked with a mirthful glint in his eyes.
"That, my boy, I take to the grave." Christian said, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm going to go check on my ward before retiring for the night if you don't mind. Good night." He said, making his way towards the door before they could delve further.
> > > > >
"Welcome to my modest abode." Blaise said with a smirk as he led the little group into his suite. Carys, Forester and Tonks had followed them when they headed off for the night without a word ever being said. "Ah... I see they've left the refreshments..." He said, heading over to the coffee table on which sat a pitcher of chilled pumpkin juice and six glasses. He sat down before it and filled the glasses. Once he'd set down the pitcher, he set one glass off the tray, then took out his little bottle of essence and very carefully deposited two drops in each of the remaining glasses. That done, he slipped the bottle back in his robes. "Ok, one apiece. Have at." He said, taking the untreated glass and settling back, sipping it.
Ron and Pansy each picked up a glass and downed it.
"What's this?" Tonks asked, picking up a glass and eyeing it. Even in the relatively low light of the candle lit room she could see little flashes and shimmers of color dancing through the juice as she turned it.
"Well, see I have a little issue with excess strength right now... and that could be very dangerous to anyone I tried to shag if they weren't just as strong... and even if you don't shag me... it is very easily passed on, so anyone I did shag would have it and become too strong to shag anyone who wasn't treated as well... lets just say for simplicity's sake that my doctor has advised me to dose anyone who 'spends the night' with this first. Shouldn't take too long for it to kick in, but you need to drink the entire glass to be safe. You'll be a bit stronger afterwards, but it'll only last maybe four days or so, then you'll be back to normal."
Forester leaned over a bit, sniffing the glass in Tonks' hand. "What is that?" He asked, wrinkling his nose.
Blaise blushed slightly. "It's actually a substance my body has started producing reminiscent of Re'em blood... it's an extract taken from a sample of my blood."
Forester rolled his eyes. "I knew it was you... but what did you put it in?"
Blaise blinked. "Pumpkin juice."
"Agh! Haven't you people ever heard of like apples or oranges? Pears even? Pumpkins are for pies and jack-o-lanterns. Period. Ok, maybe roasted pumpkin seeds too... but juice?" He shuddered.
Blaise just chuckled. He'd never even thought to ask if they liked pumpkin juice.
Forester sighed and picked up a glass. He took a deep breath, then downed it quickly, setting the empty glass down as he grimaced. "Agh. Don't ever make me drink that shit again."
"Deal." Blaise said with a big grin. For Forester to have shown that much faith in him, taking an unknown substance on Blaise's word alone, was just about the most flattering gesture he could imagine.
Pansy leaned a bit closer to Carys, who still hadn't even touched a glass. "Ron already drank some..." She commented casually with a mischievous smirk.
Carys' eyes darted over to Ron and down to the empty glass he was holding. She pouted, then looked down at the tray. He would shortly be too strong to even consider shagging her if she didn't drink some as well. She rolled her eyes, snatching up the last glass and downing it. She grimaced as well. "Agh. He's right. You people really drink this stuff?"
"It's an acquired taste I guess." Blaise said with a shrug.
Tonks looked around at them and groaned piteously. Years of Auror training told her not to even contemplate consuming an unknown substance like that... but... "Oh bloody Hell!" She grumbled. "I'm sure as Hell not sleeping alone tonight!" With that, she quickly knocking it back before she could think better of it.
The formalities done, they all returned their glasses to the tray.
"Great," Forester said, turning to Ron, "Now can you fuck my sister so she'll shut the Hell up already?" He asked with a smirk.
Ron blushed bright red as Carys giggled and smirked at him.
"Oh ya... and her dad told us to make sure you know the Cardinal Rule." Tonks said mischievously, "The woman always comes first! Both meanings apply."
Ron just blinked, mortified. Balthys was expecting him to shag Carys as well?
"Great. That's settled." Blaise said, rising.
"Oh..." Pansy said, "There is just one more thing." She said with a smile, then slapped Blaise smartly.
Blaise blinked at her, stunned. It hadn't hurt physically since the essence hadn't had a chance to work yet, but it left him stinging emotionally. "What was that for?"
"That's for lying to me." She said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Lying? When did I lie?" He asked, obviously dumbfounded.
"You said I was the only girl you ever wanted to have your baby!" She said, her eyes angry and a bit watery.
He sighed, stepping forward and gathering her in his arms. "Pansy... you know how much I love you... This thing with Narcissa... it was just..."
"Don't you dare say it was an accident, because I know better Blaise Zabini." Pansy said primly. He pulled back, looking at her in surprise. "You have never once 'forgotten' to cast a contraceptive spell before shagging a girl. In fact, the more wasted you are, the more likely you are to cast one whether it's needed or not! You've even cast them on me a couple of times when you were pissed as a newt, even though I had the charm. Hell, I saw you cast one on a boy once you were so drunk!"
He sighed deeply, cuddling up to her. "I'm sorry, Pansy. I never meant to hurt you."
She let out an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes. "You better just hope mine come first! I wanted to be the mother of your first born." She said, her voice dropping and becoming soft and slightly petulant.
Blaise sighed, "I don't care which comes first. I'm going to love them all, no matter when they were born or who their mother is... or father for that matter..." He said, his eyes glancing over at Ron as he gave him a little smile before returning his gaze to her. "No matter how many children I may have, I have more than enough love to go around... but you'll always be the only woman I love..." He said softly, gently kissing her lips.
As the kiss deepened, her stance eased a bit. Ron knew well how difficult it was to stay upset at him when he kissed you like that. After a few minutes of increasingly intimate snogging, Pansy pulled away. She shoved him back, making him fall over the arm of the couch, landing on his back on the couch. She then giggled, practically pouncing on him and going back to snogging him passionately.
Well, that little fight didn't last long...
Ron's eyes widened as he felt arms wrap around him from behind. He felt Carys press up against him as one of her hands drifted down, caressing him boldly through his pants. He let out an involuntary groan. He hadn't even realized he'd gotten so aroused.
"Why don't you show me the bedroom, Ron?" She asked in a soft, sultry voice.
He swallowed hard, glancing around. Forester had taken Tonks over to one of the other couches where they were snogging raptly, already half stripped.
Carys released him, then took his hand. "Which door?"
He swallowed again, hesitantly nodding towards the door to the bedroom.
She smiled and started towards it, gently pulling him along after her.
When they got in the bedroom, she closed the door behind them, then released his hand, walking in and looking the room over with wonder. "Not bad..." She said, then sat on the end of the huge bed and bounced to check for softness. "Nice..." She purred, laying back on it and nestling down in the blissful softness. After a minute, she sat up, pulling off her shirt and tossing it carelessly aside. Ron just watched avidly as she stripped off her bra, then kicked off her shoes, quickly followed by her socks. He was a bit surprised when she removed the belt that had hung loosely around her hips... it had several knives attached to it, though how he hadn't been able to see them before was beyond him, especially since the one on the back of the belt was rather large. He had to smirk when she slipped off her pants. She wasn't wearing any knickers... and cuffs and collars matched...
He slowly drifted around to the side of the bed as she crawled up on it further, snagging one of the big pillows and cuddling up to it. Once she was settled, she gazed over at him with a little smile on her lips. Ron wished he had a camera... She was just laying there, not doing anything overtly sexual, but for some reason, it was about the most erotic sight he'd ever seen. Of course she would know that, wouldn't she? He quickly pulled his eyes off of her as he remembered she could see his thoughts. She had started squirming slightly, her pale cheeks flushing.
He kept his eyes off her, but doffed his shirt. Everyone was expecting him to shag her... it felt a bit like he had to. He undid his pants and pushed them down, only belated remembering his shoes. He managed to get out of them, feeling completely graceless and having to try hard not to look at her. She undoubtedly found his clumsiness rather amusing, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to get through this if he saw her laughing at him.
He pulled his wand out of the pocket of his not tangled up pants and braved a necessary glance up at her as he quickly cast a contraceptive spell on her. She was just smiling at him. He set the wand on the bedside table, then paused, taking a deep breath before slipping off his skivvies. He crawled across the bed to her, then grabbed up a pillow, laying down on his front and using it to prop his head up some, looking over at her. They just stared at eachother contemplatively for a few minutes.
"Can I ask you a question?" He asked tentatively, breaking the silence that had drawn out between them.
She nodded silently.
"Why me? I mean Blaise would be more than happy to shag you, and I know he thinks you're a bit of alright... and knowing him, he's got to have some pretty interesting thoughts on the matter... so... I just can't help but wonder..."
She smiled, snuggling down in the fluffy pillow a bit more. "Because of how you think of me."
He blushed brightly. "I'm a teenaged boy... I can't really control my brain." He said ruefully.
She giggled, but then her smile sobered a bit. "Pretty much every male I meet has those kinds of thoughts when they see me. You wouldn't believe some of the things they imagine doing to me... but... I'm just saying, it's not just that you want to have sex with me. I could find that pretty much anywhere."
"Why me then?"
"Like I said... it's how you think of me... with most men, they imagine doing things to my body... I'm no more than a faceless sex toy... you... you see me. I'm never faceless to you. You have never once just thought about ways I could please you... you imagine pleasing me... you don't want to just shag me... you want to make love to me..." She trailed off, staring intently at the edge of her pillow as she absently traced designs on it with her finger. "The first lover holds a very special place in the hearts of my kind... I just... wanted my first time to be special... I knew it would be if it was with you..."
He watched her contemplatively for a minute. "You know I'm with Blaise and Pansy... and Pansy's pregnant... and... I really love them..."
She grinned. "I said a special placing in our hearts! Never said I wanted to marry you! I don't think I'm going to be settling down any time soon. I'm still young, and there are an awful lot of shaggable boys out there... Ok, you'll probably have to put up with me showing up in your bed every once in a while..." She said with a mischievous smirk, "But nothing monogamous. In fact, I believe I'll be having a go at that cute wraith when I'm done with you!"
Ron grinned. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind that at all."
She smiled softly, reaching over and brushing her fingers down the side of his face and on down his neck. "You don't have to, Ron. I'm sorry I've been so forward... it's just... I mean I'm nineteen! Not to mention it's nearly the full moon... and I really, really want you... but what I want doesn't matter. What do you want, Ron?"
He looked over at her for a long moment, then slowly reached out, trailing his fingers down her cheek just as she had done. When he got the base of her neck, he didn't pull his hand away. His fingers drifted down past her collar bone. She shifted on to her back a bit more and he traced her breast with a feather light touch that made her shiver.
He shifted a bit closer, then leaned down and kissed her gently. Her eyes immediately fluttered shut as she eagerly returned the kiss. He deepened it, letting his hand trail down over her stomach. Much to his surprise, he could feel her trembling slightly. With a trace of amusement, he realized that, for the first time, he was the one who was more experienced. He'd never gotten to feel that way in bed before. Even the first time he'd shagged Blaise he had felt completely inept.
With growing confidence, he kissed his way down the side of her neck and on down to her breast tantalizingly slow. She let out a little sound of pleasure as he began teasing her with his tongue in a way that Pansy loved. He smiled against her, increasing his onslaught as she twined her fingers in his hair and undulated up against him with a moan. The sound made him ache almost painfully. He felt fit to poke a hole in the mattress and knew he couldn't keep up this foreplay much longer. He let his hand drift down between her legs. She let out a trill, immediately pressing up against his hand. She felt more than ready.
He worked his way back up, then kissed her passionately as he started shifting over. She spread her legs eagerly. As he settled on top of her, he could feel the trembling that had just begun to subside starting up again.
He rubbed up against her a bit, then shifted down some. As he tried to push himself into her, he met much more resistance than expected. He pushed a bit harder, then froze as a little pained sound escaped her. He shifted up a bit, looking down between them, then sighed. "I'm not trying to brag or anything... but maybe you should find someone a bit... smaller to be your first... I don't want to hurt you, and... well I'm just not sure it's gonna even fit..."
She let out a little frustrated sound, pushing her hips up some, but he could tell it hurt. He was about to move off of her when he felt her hands slip onto his bum. Suddenly, he felt her claws sink into him. It didn't hurt... in fact it sent an amazing jolt of pleasure through him. His hips instinctively jerked forward, driving nearly half his length into her and making her cry out in pain.
He looked down at her with concern, noting the tears trailing from the corners of her eyes. She pulled him down close. "Problem solved." She gasped, trying to shift her hips around to work more of him into her.
Well, she'd already gotten through the painful part, might as well make it worth it for her. Ron let out a groan as he pressed deeper. He had known she'd probably be tight from what the twins had told them about Kulia, but this was beyond even what he imagined. It felt like she was trying to crush him. Despite the pressure there was plenty of lubrication, so his movement wasn't hampered much anymore.
It felt almost like an entirely new experience. The feel of it quickly enticed him to speed up. The sounds she was making had lost all traces of pain. In no time at all, he was moving fast enough to shake the big bed, and having to try hard not to finish too soon. Even without the little 'rule', he'd never liked being the first one to finish. He'd finished at the same time as Pansy a couple of times, but had never beaten her to it and left her unsatisfied. He was determined not to let that happen with Carys either. Especially not her first time. Still, it was quickly beginning to feel like an endurance test to hold back when it felt so amazing.
He let out a gasp and had to bite his lip to keep from finishing as she dragged her claws down his back, sending shocks of pleasure through him. He felt her body beginning to tense and prayed she was finishing, because he didn't think he could handle much more.
She suddenly pulled him down, wrapping her arms around him. All bodily control left him as she sank her fangs into the side of his neck, sending a wild rush of pleasure through him. He hadn't thought he'd be able to get out so much as a drop with the vice-like grip her body had on him, but as the sensations rushed through him, it felt like his body was trying to drain itself of seed. He just lay there atop her for several minutes as his peak slowly subsided with a few last little shudders.
Once he'd regained his breath a bit, he shifted up, looking down at her. She was just laying there with a grin on her face, looking blissfully contented. He shifted his weight onto one elbow, reaching up with his free hand and feeling the side of his neck. The skin felt surprisingly unbroken.
"What?" She asked with a smirk.
"It felt like you bit me."
She giggled. "Cause I did. We do that." She said with a slight shrug.
"Well you could warn a bloke..."
Her grin widened as she slipped her arms around his neck. "Ok... fair warning... I'm planning on biting you a lot tonight..."
> > > > > > > > > > >
NOTE: update on the contest - well, still no results yet, but the site says that the reader's choice winner should be announced soon. They have taken down the voting thingy, so I hope you all remembered to vote! If you are a judge in the contest, well I don't want to rush you, but she's hoping to wrap this up soon... and I certainly hope you're not waiting for me to finish this first! The site is awards dot magicaltheory dot com.
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NOTE 2: I've been thinking I might actually put a little profile up, and the thought occurred that I could put in a little progress report every once in a while there if it's taking me a while to post so you have an idea why, and maybe when I'll hopefully be posting the next chapter. The profile looks simple to change, so it shouldn't be too hard.
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A/N - Yes, it is like raising rabbits, isn't it? Anyway... I'm not answering as many of the questions anymore... it's taking up too much room and time, and I'm setting up a crucial part right now and I don't want any chance of hinting at it. Also, PLEASE stop saying to stick in more Draco/Ginny! There were like half a dozen such requests from the last chapter alone! The characters get attention as I need them to, and I'm not gonna sit here and figure out how I can rearrange what I have planned to add in more D/G! Or anything else I don't have planned for that matter. What I'm writing I need. If I don't need it, don't expect me to stick it in just for giggles. Not to mention, if you don't recall, Draco has had a very long, very trying day. It would be contrary to what I've already written to make him suddenly ready for a nice rowdy romp in the sack! He's tired people, leave him alone!
Believe it or not, I would like to actually finish this fic eventually! It's getting down to the point of now or never, because my muse is getting bored! She is starting to fight tooth and nail because she wants to move on to other things! And the next HP book just came out an I wanna read it, but it's gonna totally screw my mindset to have new info tossed at me cause I won't be able to write stuff if it's been specifically contradicted by J.K.! You know how I am about staying true to the source material, so this is gonna be rough on me. I was just getting into HP when the last book came out and wasn't near writing my own, so I haven't had to deal with this before. If I ever wanna put out my other fic I have mostly written I may have to just hope I can alter it to incorporate whatever new information she gives us, cause otherwise I dunno if you'll ever see it, cause it's not done and I don't think I'll be able to finish it otherwise after reading 6.
For those of you wondering if I was one of those loons that lined up at the local bookstore at midnight to get a copy of HP6... well DUH! My boy even dressed up as Harry. Glasses, wand and even black hair color! He was cute as Hell! Anyway, no I haven't read it yet, though I'm simply dying of curiosity... but my boy expects me to start reading it to him next week when he gets back from camp. I just want to know one thing... is it true that Blaise actually has a decent role in HP6? And if so, how is his appearance described? Please DO NOT spoil it for me or I may have to figure out how to email curses! I just want a simple yes or no (In private email, as others might not want to know even that much) on the Blaise question, and a simple physical description if he is in it. That's it. I really need to know. It's been eating at me since I read something that said J.K. hinted he might be... otherwise I might just sit down and read it cover to cover and confuse my poor muse something awful.
Oh, and just a note for giggles - I took an online Harry Potter quiz and when I was done, this is what it said: "Thanks for taking our quiz. You answered 100 of the questions correctly. You are Albus Dumbledore. You are truly the greatest wizard of the age." (chuckles) it was only 13 questions, but I thought it was cute.
elka78 - Hmm... Tonks calling Forester 'boy' was my personal habit sneaking into the fic I'm afraid. I tend to use the term 'boy' to refer to any male in a light hearted, affectionate manner. I figure men never really grow up, so I'm safe referring to pretty much any male as boy. I once worked with a guy who was about 83. I called him boy too. He didn't seem to mind ;)
byrnes - sorry it's too complicated for you, but I have no intention of making it more focused on Draco/Ginny or chopping it into pieces so it will be more palatable. If you really want to stop reading just because of complexity, I think you should.
DeeCohan - Unfortunately there is a big difference between a knee and a woman's reproductive system. What Pax did for Lupin was merely rip the muscles and tendons that had healed wrong loose, then used magic to reattach them properly. I think internal medicine is a bit beyond the rip up and re-heal method. Besides, Pax could simply feel his way around on the knee, whereas Delse's problems are in the soft tissue of her abdomen. Delse's problem probably has more to do with scar tissue and such, and I imagine that her now late husband had already sought out the best human healers since he would have been eager to get an heir. She hasn't had a problem conceiving, so that part of the 'equipment' is working (though she would be using some method of long term contraceptive now to avoid a pregnancy that could kill her), she just can't carry a child to term.