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)

73. Chapter 73

A/N - adult stuff. Like right away. Some slash type stuff. Please read at least the marked part of the A/N at the end.

> > > > >

Chapter 73

Ron sighed contentedly as Carys nibbled on the side of his neck. He'd already shagged her a number of times, his breath not even completely back to normal after the last amazing romp, yet he felt his loins stirring again. The essence had most definitely kicked in in full force. He looked over as he heard the door open.

"Bloody Hell! You two still going at it? Ever hear of variety?"

Ron blushed brightly as Blaise slipped his arm away from where it'd been draped across Tonks' shoulders and handed her his wand, then walked up to the bed, buck naked and smirking. Tonks stayed with the others, all three of them in a similar state of undress. The girls were carrying their own wands as well, giggling and whispering to eachother as they looked over at them. Forester had his hand clamped firmly over his eyes.

Blaise sat brazenly on the side of the bed. "Well?" Blaise asked Carys with a grin, "That big hampton of his do the trick for you? Get you all nice and broken in?"

"It was more than sufficient, thank you." She said with mock seriousness.

He chuckled. "You should thank me. This one's known for suppressing his sexual urges." He looked down at Ron, "Feel better now that you've worked out some of that frustration?"

Ron just rolled his eyes mutely, his blush darkening.

"Tell you what... let me go toss these guys in the closet and I'll come back here and throw myself into the mix..."

Carys gave a snort of amusement, shifting up a bit more and sitting there, straddling Ron's hips, her arms folding over her chest. "Presumptuous little wraith, aren't you? Just assuming I want to shag you like that..."

Blaise smirked as he noticed the continuation of the color theme on Carys. It was pretty easy to tell he liked what he saw, especially while he was unclothed. "Never said you'd have to, though I'm open to that idea if it interests you. For your information, I haven't had a chance to shag my hot redheaded lover here in a while, and as you can imagine, he's quite addictive."

She giggled and blushed. "Oh... um... right." She glanced over at the others as she heard them snickering, then her eyes caught on something. "Hey! No fair! Why do you get a tattoo?"

"I chose my family well as a child." Forester replied guilelessly, hand still firmly in place.

She huffed, then her eyes widened a bit and she looked down at Ron. He was looking over at Forester as well. She let out a little disgusted sound and swatted his chest. "Don't be fantasizing about my brother while you're in bed with me!" She said indignantly.

Ron ripped his eyes away and looked up at her contritely, his face and ears practically glowing with embarrassment as Forester smirked wickedly.

Blaise chuckled. "That's my little loverboy." He said proudly, then leaned over and kissed him passionately. When he sat back up, he gave Ron a smirk. "Why don't you give this little crumpet another good shagging." He said, swatting Carys' bare rump, then rising. "I have something I want to show Forester first."

"Yes, sir!" Ron said dutifully, letting his hands come to rest on her rump and squeezing lightly.

Carys groaned happily as he pressed up against her. "If you insist..." she murmured, shifting back down and kissing Ron hungrily.

Pansy slipped her arm back around Forester and led him forward, following Blaise. When he heard the door close behind him, he finally relented and lowered his hand, then blinked in surprise. "I thought you were joking about the closet." He said, gazing around them.

Blaise grinned. "This is just the way to my little meditation room. Since my dad is finally dead, I guess I don't have to keep it a secret anymore. This used to be where I hid to get away from him." He said, slipping his hand over between the clothes and the wall to touch the image of the unicorn. The panel in the wall popped open and they followed him in.

Tonks was staring around at the impressive crystal specimens, but, as Blaise had predicted, Forest barely even noticed they were there. He clambered quickly over the cushions, dropping down to his knees before the cd player, reaching out to touch it almost reverently.

"Thought you might like that." Blaise said with a smirk.

"It works?" Forester managed to get out, his fingers tracing the lines of the device like a long lost lover.

Blaise dropped down on the cushions in his favorite spot and grabbed up the remote. With the touch of a button, loud chaotic music filled the room, making the girls start slightly. Forester, on the other hand, looked completely enraptured. He wrapped his arms around the player, resting his cheek against the flat, cool top lovingly as his wings extended out as far as they could in the small space, curving around so they could pull tight. He shivered in pleasure as the sound buffeted him.

Tonks moved closer, reaching out and touching one of his wings. Her eyes widened and she grinned. She could actually feel the music through his wings. Every beat, every screamed line of lyrics, every reverberating screech of the guitar... it was all picked up by the thin membranes, making them pulse and vibrate. Pansy came over, kneeling beside him and feeling as well.

When the track ended, Blaise turned it off. "I'm not sure what you like... I have a stack of CDs to the side and there's a drawer in the front of that trunk it's on that has more. I have mostly alternative, grunge, some heavy metal or whatever they call it... pretty much anything I found that was sufficiently fucked up and angsty..." He said with a smirk, "Some of the stuff in the drawer is pretty old school, so you might actually know them."

Forester had finally released the stereo, pulling his wings in with a little shudder. He shifted over, looking down the stack beside the stereo, then shifted back and opened the drawer. He chuckled, picking up a cd. "Nirvana?"

Blaise grinned. "Most of it is a bit mellow for me, I admit... but there's just something about his voice... doesn't hurt that he's shaggable as Hell... those eyes..." He sighed, shivering and snuggling down in the cushions a bit more.

Forester grinned. "Not to mention he was obviously fucked up as hell. I had a life sized poster of him on the wall when I was a kid. Fuckin tragic what happened to him... now that's one person way more fucked up than me..." He said, shaking his head ruefully. He gasped, setting the CD in his hand quickly aside and grabbing up another. He let out a little sigh of bliss as he looked at it.

Blaise sat up, looking around to see which one he had. He chuckled, "Nine Inch Nails?"

Forester grinned over at him. "Actually, it's more one particular song of his..." He said, quickly figuring out the buttons, carefully putting one of the CDs off the five CD changer back in its waiting case and replacing it with his chosen one. "When I was a kid, listening to music... well it was pretty much my first somewhat sexual outlet."

"Sexual?" Blaise asked uncertainly.

Forester pushed the button that drew the CDs back inside and looked back at him with a smirk. "I was only seven... I wasn't interested in having sex yet... but... I mean I'm part incubus... my very nature is sexual... sensual... the impulses were there, even before I associated them with other people. If I found the right song... with the right beat... it was just about as good as sex... especially with these wings..." he said, ruffling the wings in question.

Blaise snickered. "You got off to music when you were a kid?"

Forester grinned, forwarding it to the right track. "Not in a jerking off kinda way, but ya, I guess I did. Laugh now, but if you really listen to it... feel it, I bet you could get off on it too..."

Blaise chuckled, then folded his arms up behind his head. "Ok then, I'll give it a try. Play this magical song for me."

Forester pressed play.

Blaise grinned as a pulsing beat started up, vaguely reminiscent of a heartbeat. At this volume, even he could feel it. "'Closer'... Always loved this one... main reason I bought that album in fact..."

"Shh..." Forester said softly.

Blaise glanced over at him, then his eyes widened. Forester was crawling over towards him, wings half unfurled and eyes glowing. There was something almost predatory in the intensity in those glowing eyes... in the way his tail was switching back and forth like a panther about to pounce.

He could feel the wraith power in him stirring uneasily, but it was drowned out by a rush of hormones. He'd been dying for a go at this moody incubus since he laid eyes on him... he had just assumed he wasn't interested by how fixated he'd been on Tonks. By the time Forester closed the scant few feet between them, he had Blaise's full attention...

Forester settled beside him, reaching out and tentatively running his hand over Blaise's stomach. It looked like desire and common sense were warring inside him... but the throbbing beat coming from the stereo and Blaise's blatantly obvious arousal quickly tipped the scales. Forester shifted down as the lyrics started up, playing his tongue over Blaise's stomach and making him shiver with pleasure, leaving his skin tingling. Forester trailed his tongue up Blaise's chest almost teasingly, shifting closer and settling alongside him as he reached the side of his neck.

Once he was settled, Forester lifted his head some, looking down at him, his hesitance returning. This time Blaise could see the barely veiled fear in his eyes as well. Forester stared at his lips for a moment, obviously wanting desperately to kiss him. He let out a little sigh. "Just don't kill me, ok?"

Blaise grinned. "Ok."

Forester kissed him tentatively and Blaise suddenly knew what it was he feared. The wraith within him blazed to life. He was able to hold it back, but he could feel a drawing sensation through his skin as Forester pressed his body against him, and even more strongly through their joined lips. This must be the siphoning of sexual energies he'd heard so much about, but somehow he doubted he would have noticed a thing if he were 'normal'. Even as he deepened the kiss he could feel the desire to retrieve the energy nagging at him.

Forester's tongue slipped into his mouth as the main chorus started up, all his worries obviously forgotten as desire chased them away. The feel of his tongue was pure bliss, its gentle caress sending pleasure shooting throughout his body. It was as if he could feel his very soul through that hot, wonderful tongue... Somehow he knew without a doubt that this simple gesture left Forester completely vulnerable to him... he could take Forester's soul for his own in a heartbeat if he so desired, and Forester obviously knew this...

Forester had settled almost completely on top of him now, his body rubbing against Blaise in time with the beat of the song, a groan of longing escaping him. Blaise slipped his hands down onto his bum, using the hold to press them closer, thrusting his hips up against him. He ached to roll him over and shag that wonderful arse. He felt Forester's tail wrap around his waist and knew a change in position wouldn't be allowed, but he was ok with that right now... it felt shockingly good just grinding against him like this.

Thankfully, the wraith within Blaise quickly stopped fixating on the loss of energy... it had also stopped feeling so much like a separate entity. His whole body began feeling strangely attuned to the incubus pressed so intimately against him. A tingling, buzzing sensation began suffusing his entire body as the air seemed to almost crackle around them. When he opened his eyes his vision was a chaotic mix of wraith and normal, making him quickly close his eyes again, feel light headed. Then again, that might have been caused by the amazing sensations Forester was sending through him.

Forester broke the kiss but kept moving against him, the lyrics of the song falling whisper soft from his lips as he nuzzled up against him, eyes closed and wings lifted high to catch every last tremulous chord. The look of pure rapture on his face made Blaise groan. His hands explored Forester's hot flesh, but he let Forester guide the experience entirely. He'd never really bothered with too much that didn't involve penetration in some way (or at least led up to it), but he was most definitely going to have to try a bit more diversity in bed! He quickly felt himself teetering on the edge. He tried to take control of himself as Forester shift his head to the side, knowing full well from watching him earlier what was coming.

As soon as the beat dropped away and the first of the closing notes rang out, Forester tensed and Blaise felt fangs sink into his neck. Blaise cried out as a wild rush of ecstasy and raw power surged through him, his senses spinning like an out of control carnival ride. Every other thought was instantly wiped from his mind as it felt like the whole universe pulsed around them.

The next track was almost over by the time his mind finally righted itself. He cautiously blinked his eyes open, his breath panting in his chest. His eyesight was somewhat back to normal, but everything looked strangely off... the lighting was wrong somehow... He blinked a couple of times, then realized the little glowing lights above weren't above anymore... and yet there was light...

He blinked again, then stared around in bewilderment. Everywhere he looked, his crystals were unmistakably glowing. He looked over, noting the huge rose quartz point on the shelf beside him glowing brighter than the others, even brighter than a torch.

Forester's full weight was on him, his wings draped over them limply. For a brief, terrifying moment, he thought he'd done something to Forester, but then he felt him nuzzling against his neck, kissing it gently. He let out a sigh of relief. He grabbed up the discarded remote and turned the music off, then dropped it and ran his fingers through his sweat dampened hair as Forester continued cuddling him tenderly. "That was..." He trailed off. He just couldn't find the words to describe it.

"Fuckin amazing." Forester sighed happily. "Told you it was a great song..."

Blaise chuckled, then glanced over at the girls. He could only see glimpses of them, as they were both nestled down in amongst the numerous pillows and cushions. He tried to shift his head up some to see them. Neither seemed to be moving much. "You two ok?" He asked curiously.

He heard slightly giddy giggles, then Pansy's head popped up some. Her cheeks were flush and she looked blissfully contented, "Do that again!" She said in a mirthful, pleading voice, then rolled over and cuddled down in the cushions some more.

Blaise looked at Forester questioningly. Forester just chuckled, looking around at the still glowing crystals. "Crystals can amplify and store magic. That's why they're so popular for charms and such. The girls probably got hit with a pretty wicked backlash."

"'Fuckin amazing'!" Tonks giggled from somewhere over near the stereo.

Blaise snickered, then looked back at Forester. "Don't suppose you'd like to give them an even better show...?" He asked hopefully.

Forester sighed, resting his elbows on either side of Blaise, twining his fingers and resting his chin on them, staring down at Blaise. "I'm afraid our desires conflict..." He said sadly.

Blaise blinked, "Hmm?"

"This... it's... well it's new to me..."

"Tonks took care of that already, didn't she? I mean you've even shagged Pansy..."

Forester smiled softly. "Not just sex... boys. I mean I've always kinda felt... attracted to them... well some of them anyway... but it's not really something I've been able to admit, even to myself. I mean it was bad enough being the winged freak boy... but being a winged freak boy who liked other boys? Maybe things have changed a lot since I last got to glimpse the world through my little tv... but I've grown up feeling like this kind of thing was... well... wrong..." He said, his cheeks coloring with embarrassment. "I guess I felt these urges just proved I was some terrible, immoral creature... that what was wrong with me went even deeper than my appearance... it proved I was something unnatural and sinful."

"There's nothing wrong with love and affection... no matter who it's between." Blaise said softly, stroking his hand down Forester's hair, then tracing one of his delicately pointed ears with his fingertips.

Forester grinned, "I had no doubt you'd say something like that." He said ruefully, then shifted his head over to rest on one hand, the other trailing over Blaise's damp skin. "When I was in with Tonks and my father for my little 'lesson'... he told me... well... apparently those of incubus descent, the males at least, are pretty much all bi." A little smile traced over his lips. "I'm 'normal'..." he said softly. "Never thought I'd be able to say that..."

"Well if bi is normal..." Blaise said leadingly, his hands slipping around him under his wings.

Forester chuckled. "Yes, but as I said, it's new to me. Well, not the urge... but the idea that it's ok. I might be willing to try fucking a boy... but I'm not ready to be fucked by one... and you don't want me to fuck you."

Blaise sighed. "It's not you..." He said sadly, "I just... I mean I've only ever been with Ron like that..."

Forester smile, tracing his fingers down the side of his face. "I know... and I think that's beautiful. What you two have is special, and I'd never dream of coming between you..." He paused thoughtfully, then smirked. "Ok, that was badly phrased, but you know what I mean. Of course, if either of you ever change your minds..."

"You'll definitely be the first one on the waiting list." Blaise assured him.

Forester grinned, then it slipped away as he shifted up a bit, looking down between them and grimacing. "Awful messy playing with boys..."

Blaise chuckled and barely caught his wand as Tonks tossed it in his general direction. He quickly started cleaning them up.

Forester shifted off him so he could finish. "Still... how could I resist? I mean my dad says it's ok... and the very same day I find a good reason to try it out? Sounds like fate to me. Who am I to argue?"

Blaise finished up and looked at him, "What reason? Not that I object in any way, just curious."

Forester grinned. "Had to give you a test drive before you had a go at my sister. Succubi draw off even more energy, and I mean I could probably have still enjoyed it without biting you, but from what I've read, succuba can pretty much only finish if they bite... and trust me, they can get really pissy and vindictive if you leave them unsatisfied, thus the little rule for Ron. Well, hopefully this at least showed that wraith lurking inside you that what we draw off during sex is well worth the investment if you let us finish."

"Ah, I see." Blaise said with a sardonic grin, "Well it was a good lesson. Feel free to take me for a test drive any time you like."

"I'll keep that in mind." Forester said with feigned seriousness. He carefully situated his wings and rolled over onto his back, then cleared his throat loudly. "Girls... you participated in a way, so I believe there is a rule..."

Pansy and Tonks quickly crawled over to him and settled on either side, cuddling up to him happily. He sighed contentedly.

Blaise chuckled, locating one of the little spheres that had been lighting the room. It was blackened and warm to the touch. "So much for those..." He muttered ruefully, tossing it over in a little waste bin near the door. He finished locating and disposing of the other burnt out spheres, then looked back over at the others. It was a pity not being able to give Forester any more of an initiation... he grinned as a thought suddenly occurred. "You know... if you want to try shagging a boy, why don't you just talk Tonks into turning into one?"

Forester's eyes widened and darted down to Tonks. "You can do that?"

Tonks rolled her eyes, releasing him and sitting up. "Well, I've only tried it a couple of times... It kinda takes a while, but I can work on it..." She hadn't changed at all since talking to Balthys actually. She hadn't wanted to change a look that was obviously working well. She scrunched up her face some in concentration.

Almost instantly her shoulders broadened, her breasts shrinking down as her entire musculature and skeletal structure altered subtly. She opened her eyes and looked down at herself in shock. "Bloody Hell..." She said, staggering to her feet. 'She' now appeared completely male. She was staring down at herself in confusion. "A change of that magnitude should have taken the better part of an hour!" she said incredulously. She concentrated again and shot upwards. She let out a surprised sound, ducking her head down quickly as the ceiling approached at an alarming rate.

"Holy shit! Welcome to fuckin Wonderland, Alice!" Forester said, a bemused smile on his face.

Blaise chuckled. "Damn. You're bigger than Hagrid!" His eyes dropped a bit and he gave her a considering look. "You think Hagrid's really hung that well?" He pondered.

Tonks followed his eyes, then blushed, "That can be whatever size I like unless I'm duplicating someone." She said, looking around interestedly. Everything looked so much different from this height, "But even then I can change it if I like... it just defaults to whatever size they really are. It's weird... I don't even have to have seen them naked before. Somehow when I become them my body just knows how big to get. Never been wrong yet. Admittedly, I occasionally try at least a partial change if I'm curious enough about someone..." She said with a mischievous grin, then concentrated again and suddenly shrunk. She let out a squeak as it felt as if she was in freefall, then fell on her bum on one of the cushions when she suddenly stopped the change. She looked up at Blaise, who'd come over to get a closer look. "Never seen an adult that size unless they were a house elf." He chuckled.

She giggled merrily, getting up... though 'up' wasn't very far. She was now a fully developed man who was a hair shy of a meter tall.

"Looks like that stuff you gave us fucked with her abilities a bit." Forester mused, looking her over.

"No shit!" Tonks said, but didn't look upset... if anything, she looked ecstatic with this new development.

Blaise looked at her contemplatively, "Say, could you do that? Be a house elf that is? I mean that would be like the ultimate form for a spy... who would suspect a house elf?"

Tonks snorted (which was adorable at her current size). "No trans-species changes for me thanks! How do you think I got the nickname Kitten? Course Christian was the only one to witness that particular catastrophe, thank Merlin."

Blaise chuckled. "Didn't go as well as hoped?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Not exactly. I was more like an anthromorphized cat person and it was wicked difficult getting back to normal. Fur is absolutely wretched!" She said ruefully. "Went about as well as Hermione's little brush with that bunged up Polyjuice potion couple years back. That's why I tried it in fact. It made me curious."

"Well, definitely stick to humans then. Wouldn't want you hacking out fur balls." Blaise chuckled.

Tonks glared at him, then an evil smirk came over her little face. She stared at him intently and Blaise suddenly found himself facing... himself!

"Bloody Hell." Blaise said, wide eyed. It was exactly as if he were looking into a mirror. He slowly circled around, inspecting his twin intently. Try as he might, he could find absolutely no difference. He smirked as he finished his circuit. "Damn... I'm even more shaggable than I thought... and you're right, Pansy... I have a bloody brilliant arse! Hell, I'd shag me in a heartbeat!"

Tonks grinned, then looked thoughtful, "I wonder... it wouldn't really be crossing species boundaries too much... and wouldn't have any bloody fur to worry about..." She concentrated really hard. For a moment, it didn't look as if anything were happening... then suddenly something sprouted from her back.

Blaise quickly grabbed ahold of her as she wavered, dedicating too much concentration to what she was doing to worry about keeping upright. Blaise held her as the growths developed and took proper shape. He watched raptly as they stretched out, forming into a pair of pristine white wings. He grinned, "Those are brilliant and all, but actually it was a tail I wanted..."

She chuckled, shifting back a bit now that she was done and smiling at him. He noted the pointed canines and slitted pupils. He looked down as he felt something brush his ankle. There was a perfect replica of Forester's tail trailing up his leg teasingly. He chuckled. "Sweet."

"Oh Hell yeah..." Forester said, getting up and eyeing the incubus incarnation of Blaise. He chuckled appreciatively.

"Bloody Hell... can you really see this much better? Wicked..." Tonks said, gazing around raptly. "Never tried changing my eye type before..."

Pansy let out a little whimper. "Why does something that hot have to be a girl?" She asked piteously.

"Hmm... let's check out the authenticity..." Forester said mischievously, circling around Tonks. He sidled up behind her, then leaned forward and nuzzled the little stretch of skin between the wings, then ran his tongue up it teasingly. Tonks shivered. Forester shifted up close, peering over her shoulder and chuckling. "I'd say you have the nerve cells set up right..."

Tonks stared down, giggling almost nervously. "Never had that happen when I was pretending to be a boy before..."

Forester pressed up against her, reaching around and stroking her as he nuzzled her neck. Tonks let out a little shuddering breath at the sensation, closing her eyes. Then he lifted his head and smirked at Blaise. "I think I can take it from here..." He released her, giving her a light swat on the bum, then slipped around her and over to Blaise. "Tell you what," He said, turning Blaise towards the door and draping his arm around him as he led him towards it, "You go have some fun with Ron and my sister and I'm gonna work on widening some horizons..." He glanced back over his shoulder and smirked. Tonks had settled down on the cushions, looking bemused as she stroked herself. Pansy's eyes were watching her movements as she bit her bottom lip. Forester looked back at Blaise. "I don't think my job's gonna be all that difficult..."

Blaise suddenly found himself looking at the closed door to his hidden room. He let out a little laugh, then turned, heading for the bedroom. Looks like tonight was going to be even more interesting than expected. He'd definitely have to see if there was some kind of Metamorphmagi registry somewhere...

> > > > > > > > > > >

"Draco!"

Draco's eyes sprang open as he spit out a mouthful of water. Ginny was in front of him, her hands propping his head up. He lifted his head as she released him and rubbed his hand over his face. "Bloody Hell... sorry..."

Ginny chuckled, "Bed time for you, mister. I don't wanna be a widow just because you couldn't stay awake in the tub!"

He grinned at her ruefully, then watched appreciatively as she slipped out of the tub, grabbing up the waiting towels. He sighed as she wrapped hers around herself, then carefully levered himself up, going over to the edge of the large tub and climbing out a bit less gracefully than usual. He accepted the towel and began drying himself off as he padded into the bedroom, feeling like he might just fall over if he stopped moving. He hadn't felt this tired since right after being hit by that bludger.

He wasn't completely dry, but he was finding it hard to care. He dropped his towel as he reached the bed, pulling back the covers and slipping gratefully under, ignoring how the sheets clung to his damp skin. He was past caring. The bed felt heavenly, clingy sheets and all.

Ginny took the time to finish drying herself, then grabbed up his towel and placed it with hers across the back of a hardwood chair before circling around and crawling into bed with him. As much as she'd love to shag him, especially since he was laying there looking so unbelievably shaggable, she was content to let him go to sleep. She knew how wretchedly tired he was, and besides, the night before had been absolutely amazing... and of course she was going to be remembering that little interlude in the closet for a good long time to come. It had been absolutely brilliant! And now he was to be a Healer... or, well at least pretend to be in training to be one for the time being anyway. Who knows, perhaps he'd take to it and go ahead and finish the training.

She sighed contentedly and cuddled up closer to him as the candles dimmed. Like many young witches, she'd always thought that a guy being a Healer was just about the sexiest profession imaginable. They were always so altruistic and brave... saving lives every day, even at the risk of their own... She'd had more than her share of Healer fantasies... one of which she had finally gotten to live out in that little supply cabinet. She wondered if he'd laugh at her if she asked him to put the robe back on the next time they were alone and he was awake...

Draco stirred, his eyes cracking open. "Oh... envelope..." He muttered, obviously barely conscious.

"Hmm? What envelope?" Ginny asked, shifting up and moving her ear closer.

"In the drawer... after the wedding... he said to wait..." He said, his words trailing off into nothing.

She furrowed her brow, then looked around. A drawer. What drawer? He was obviously completely dead to the world now and would be of no further help. She shifted over, opening the drawer in the bedside table on her side of the bed. Nothing. She shifted back, then leaned over him, opening the drawer in the one on his side. Bingo.

She pulled the large envelope out, looking it over curiously. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw her name printed on it in small, neat script. She recognized the handwriting. She sat up, settling tailor fashion and staring down at the innocuous looking envelope for a long moment. The candles, sensing she was no longer laying down, brightened once again.

She had been avoiding thinking about Percy. In a way, if she didn't think about what horrible things might be happening to him, she could try to believe that it had just been a bad dream, or some kind of mistake... perhaps just a glitch in her mum's clock... that he was really just sitting in a little flat somewhere safe and sound. She knew it was living in denial, but it was the only way she could deal with it right now. She knew full well there was absolutely nothing she could do about his situation, and to let herself dwell on something out of her control would quickly drive her mad. The rest of the family seemed to be dealing with it in a similar fashion. They hadn't spoken of him hardly at all. She knew her mother had set several of the Zabini house elves to watching her clock in turns so that eyes were always upon it, ready to dash off and tell them in an instant if there was any change. Other than that, her mother seemed to have completely immersed herself in caring for Justin and Penelope to keep from worrying constantly over Percy's fate.

She couldn't avoid it any longer.

With trembling hands, she turned the envelope over, undoing the twine binding it shut and opened it. She peered in. There appeared to be a number of things in the envelope. She tipped it over and spilled them out onto the bed before her. Her bottom lip trembled as she picked up a photo of Percy playing with Justin. She looked down and spotted another of him and Penelope in the hospital, Justin no more than a squalling newborn. There were about a dozen more little glimpses of his life with his young family. He looked happy enough... she picked up a family photo that looked rather recent. It was large enough for her to see him clearly. Penelope was holding Justin while Percy was standing behind her with his arms around her, his hands resting on her stomach lovingly, a hint of her second pregnancy already showing. His head was resting on her shoulder and he was looking into the camera. There was a little smile on his lips, but when she looked closely, she could see a hint of deep sadness in his eyes.

She swallowed, blinking back the tears that were stinging her eyes. She spotted a folded bit of parchment and picked it up. A small key fell out as she unfolded it. The parchment was a letter. She braced herself, then made herself read it.

Dear Ginny,

My dear, sweet baby sister... what can I say? I know this is a poor excuse for a wedding present, but for reasons that are most
likely apparent to you by now, I haven't had much chance to shop. The pictures that I have included are of me, my wife Penelope
(whom you may remember from Hogwarts, formerly Clearwater), and our son Justin. My second son should be arriving before
too long as well. I'm not sure if you've even heard of their existence before, as my letters to father have gone unanswered and
were probably used to light the evening fire or some such. Not that I blame him. What I did was unforgivable, and I'm well
aware of that.

As you no doubt know by now, I've went and gotten myself into a spot of trouble. I'm well aware that my demise is immanent,
and if it brings you pain when it comes to pass I beg your forgiveness. I never meant to hurt you. Any of you. I've come to
realize in these, my last few days, that there is nothing in this world more important than family. For this reason, I pray you can
all find it in your hearts not to hold my trespasses against my wife and children, and to accept them into your lives. Please don't
make them go through this alone. I'm not sure if Penelope will be able to bear it when she discovers I am gone, and I fear for the
baby she carries if she doesn't have the love of a family to sustain her. They are staying with Penelope's parents, but I'm afraid
they have never much cared for me. I doubt she will find much solace in their arms. They will most likely be openly glad to see
me go.

These are all the pictures that remain to me. Penelope's parents most likely have plenty of pictures of Penelope and Justin, but
they have made a point of either refusing the pictures with me in them or cutting me out of them (usually in front of me), so these
may be the last ones existing of us together as a family. I braved the Ministry building itself to retrieve them from my desk after
the flat was destroyed. I couldn't bear the thought of losing these, the last of the mementos of the brief joy I was allowed with my
beloved wife and son. If my children ever ask after me, hopefully there will at least be these few pictures remaining. There is no
other place I know of and that I can get to that they will be safe.

I know this is wretched of me, but seeing as you may well be the only one who would even consider it if I asked a boon of you,
I'm forced to do so now. Please, I beg of you, make father at least meet them. I know if he sees Justin he will come to love him.
If I know that my wife and children will have the love of the family I once had the honor to call my own, I will be able to rest in
peace. The key is for our vault at Gringotts. It doesn't contain much, but if you could get it to Penelope, I would be forever
grateful.

You may not be able to see the sense in what I have done, and why I feel it is important enough that I should make a widow of
my wife so early in life and leave my sons without a father to guide them. Please just believe me when I say that what I do, I do
for you, for my wife and children, for the rest of the family, and for countless other innocent witches, wizards and Muggles. What
I have given to the Daily Prophet was no more than the tip of the iceberg. The rest needs to be known, but for the stability of our
society must wait a bit longer. Things may seem bad now, but believe me when I say that there is so very much more wrong than
anyone ever dreamt. What I unwittingly stumbled upon can not be allowed to be silenced once again or all will be lost. The
danger we face comes not only from the obvious. For this reason, I am willing to give my life to protect this knowledge. I have
hidden it away where I hope those who would take it will never think to look. I hope things will calm soon, and that this conflict
will pass. When it has, I only ask that you remember me fondly. Do this, and my sacrifice will be more than worth it.

I know I promised I would always be there to protect you, and I hope some day you'll forgive me for breaking that promise.
I love you with all my heart. I wish you all the joy and love you so richly deserve. I know you and Draco will be happy together. Admittedly, I was skeptical when I heard who you were to marry, but I trust your judgment. You've always been able to judge
people better than I.

Well, I guess this is goodbye. If any of the others care to hear it, tell them how very much I love them and miss them. Perhaps
we'll meet again some day on the other side of the veil. Take care of yourself, and remember, no matter how old you get, you
will always be my little BBG.

Love, Percy

Ginny set the letter down, her hands trembling. She looked over the photos. Her eyes came to rest on a thin book. She picked it up and opened it.

Her tears broke free, coursing down her cheeks. It was a small photo album. The first page was a picture of Percy as a teen... he had a carefree grin on his face with her up on his shoulders. She was about five and had on one of his black shirts that hung loosely on her, holding her arms out to the sides and waggling her arms to make the loose sleeves flap, pretending to be a bat bogey. She flipped the page, her tears only increasing. The book held about a dozen photos, all of the family. If this was from his desk at work, he must have kept the album in a drawer or a pocket of his robes, not wanting the pictures out where others might see. The leather of the cover was well worn, parts of it slightly darker, obviously having been handled and held a great deal.

Draco stirred. "Ginny?" He asked worriedly.

She sniffled, quickly wiping away her tears and rubbing them dry on the covers, "I'm fine. Just finishing up." She said quickly, then carefully folded up the letter and gathered the photos and the key, slipping them back into the envelope. All accept for the most recent picture of Percy with his family and the little album. She set the envelope on the bedside table, then settled back, looking at the picture of Percy's little family.

Draco shifted up wearily, then wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm fine. Go back to sleep." She said.

"No you're not." He said softly, but without a doubt.

She looked over at him. His eyes were full of concern, and there were glistening trails from the corners of his eyes where he'd obviously cried in his sleep. "Can't lie to me about your feelings anymore. Not when they're this strong." He said, then leaned closer, kissing her cheek comfortingly.

Her bottom lip trembled as she stared down at the photo, then she shifted over, propping it against a water glass on the bedside stand. She picked up the album, opening it up to the picture of the two of them and propping it up next to it, then settled down in the bed. She just stared at them as Draco spooned up against her, wrapping her in a protective hug and kissing her neck tenderly.

"I just want my brother back." She said achingly, her voice cracking slightly.

"I know." He said sadly, holding her as she broke down and started sobbing. "We'll get him back."

> > > > > > > > > > >

Draco walked along in an uncharacteristic slouch. He was exhausted, and yet he couldn't sleep. He'd waited until Ginny cried herself to sleep then left the room, not wanting to wake her. His body felt slow and heavy with weariness, yet his insomnia had chosen the opportunity to kick back in full force. He had some of the potion for dreamless sleep along, but he couldn't bring himself to use it. He knew his body needed rest, but his mind was churning with worry and speculation over what was to come. The anxiety had been steadily growing in him and he could no longer deny it. He was afraid to use the potion, afraid something would happen and he'd be helpless in his drugged slumber. It was as if a huge shadow were hanging over him. Something was coming, he could feel it in every fiber of his being, and he hadn't the slightest doubt that it would be far worse than anything else he'd ever experienced.

Never had he had so many reasons to be afraid... so much to lose. He had never had anyone to truly worry about. His mother had always been the impassive lush that never seemed to require a second thought. She had almost been like just another part of the mansion. His father had long since stopped bothering with her, hadn't even so much as struck her in years. The thought that she might be in danger had never really entered Draco's mind. But now... now she was most definitely in danger. His father would kill her in as painful and drawn out a manner as he could devise if he got ahold of her, of that Draco was sure. He didn't even want to contemplate what his father would do to the two tiny sibling that had only just begun life in his mother's belly.

And of course now he had a whole big family to worry over. The thought of anything happening to his beloved Ginevra was unbearable, but he'd already begun getting attached to the other Weasleys as well... even Ron! He'd never witnessed the warm closeness and open affection they had for eachother. The thought of being somehow a part of that big, loving family had formed an undeniable attachment between him and every other member of his new family. Of course through Pansy, Blaise and Snape were now family in a way as well. He felt a stirring in his chest at the thought. Snape had been so much more a father to him than his real father ever had been, and Blaise... he'd never felt as close to someone (other than Ginny now of course) as he did to Blaise. He'd never thought he could feel so strongly for another boy... and come to think of it, they were going to be related even more closely through the tiny sibling his mother carried as well. That was definitely going to take some getting used to. It also meant Blaise was just as much at risk of his father's retribution as his mother was, if not more so.

And now it wasn't even just his 'adopted' family... he had blood relations as well! He'd never had much in the way of close relatives, and the thought was a bit mind boggling. He had an actual aunt and uncle! Two aunts actually. It was hard thinking of little Celestial as an Aunt, but she was technically. He still couldn't believe Balthys was now his grandfather in a way. It was only through marriage, but still. Never in his wildest dream had he imagined they would ever be related! And who knows, perhaps he might even be adding Lupin to the list as well. Of course that would just put the gentle man at the top of Lucius' torture and kill list...

He stopped in front of a door, sighing as he reached out and touched the damage the Thestral Stallion's talons had left in the wood. It would probably be fixed by morning, but the house elves apparently hadn't gotten to it yet. He had wandered aimlessly, but he knew he'd end up here sooner or later.

He opened the door and crossed the dimly lit sitting room in silence. He came to a stop before Molly's clock, staring at it in the sparse light from the fireplace. She had had to extend the center spoke to allow for the many new hands she'd added. He gave a little half smile as he saw a bit of blond hair amongst the many hands resting on 'home'. Then the smile slid away as his eyes slipped over to the only hand that was not safely ensconced on the crowded spot. Percy's hand still lay on the 'mortal peril' space. Draco hoped it was his imagination, but it looked like it had shifted a bit, but not in the right direction. It had drifted closer to the space marked 'dead'.

He just stood there, staring at the little blithely smiling photo of Percy on the hand. It looked so unlike the sad, tortured young man he'd spoken to on his wedding night. Had that really been just last night? He consulted his watch. It was just shy of midnight, so yes, technically it had just been the night before. It seemed like ages ago. Still, he was sure it had seemed like much longer to Percy by now. He knew well what his father was capable of. Even he had had many occasions when he was brought to the point of wishing for death while at his father's 'mercy', and his father had actually been taking it easy on him, not wanting to do too much obvious damage. He let out a deep sigh. Why hadn't he stunned Percy and chained him to the wall if that was what was necessary to keep him there? Sure, he hadn't known the true extent of his peril until after he'd left, but he should have been able to guess.

As his eyes went back up to the clock, they widened in horror. Percy's hand was moving. His heart seemed to seize in his chest, his throat locking up as the hand slowly drifted over, coming to rest firmly on 'dead'.

Draco let out an anguished cry, dropping down to the floor and hugging his knees to his chest as he let out a sob. The guilt and pain welled up inside him, threatening to overwhelm him. He couldn't bear the thought of facing the Weasleys, seeing their pain and loss. And Ginny...

"Please, sir..."

He took a shuddering breath, trying to gather himself. He lifted his head, searching around until he spotted a house elf sitting on one of the chairs that was facing the clock. This must be the one on 'watch'.

"Please don't be fretting so, sir." It said soothingly. "You is needing to wait..." It said, pointing at the clock and settling back in its seat.

He looked back up at the clock, blinking away the tears. Nothing had changed. He looked back at the elf, but it was just staring intently at the clock. He looked back, watching.

After a long, drawn out minute, the hand ever so slowly started moving again. Draco watched incredulously as it drifted back up to 'mortal peril'. He scrambled to his feet, looking closer, sure he couldn't have just seen that, but Percy's hand was resting back where it had been before. He reached up, but then pulled his hand back. He wanted to touch it, to verify what his eyes saw, unwilling to believe them, but he didn't want to risk damaging the delicate instrument.

He turned to the house elf. "How did you know it would do that?" He demanded in shock.

"It is always going back before..." It said with a little self-conscious shrug.

"'Always'? Just how many times has it done that?"

The house elves ears flattened back. "I is begging your forgiveness, sir... I is not knowing you is wanting me to count, sir. I is not knowing... Is you wanting me to start counting?"

His jaw dropped slightly. That this had happened before was shocking enough... but the elf couldn't even recall how many times it had happened? "How long then? How long since it started?"

"It is starting just before I is coming for my watch. Maybe nine o'clock? The other elf is saying he is coming back if you is being patient, and is saying not to be alarming everyone unless he is staying dead."

"Probably best."

Draco's eyes jerked up, catching on movement. Harry seemed to appear from the darkness. "Bloody Hell! Stop doing that!" He said, calming his racing heart.

Harry chuckled, then came over, dropping onto the couch by the fire. "Like I was saying, that's probably best really. Not sure poor Molly's heart could take watching that over and over again."

Draco looked at the clock and sighed, giving a slight nod. His heart almost hadn't taken it, and Percy wasn't even his son. He could only imagine how much worse it would be for her or Arthur.

The house elf was watching Harry nervously. Draco gave it a little smile. "Why don't you go out in the hall and take a breather. I'll watch the clock for a bit."

The house elf hopped up, nodding quickly and dashed out of the room without question.

Draco took a seat on the couch. "So, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be tending to your new mistress?"

Harry grinned. "Oh don't worry, she has no complaints. She's just tending to some household matters right now."

"Household matters? At midnight?"

Harry chuckled. "Ya, well the house elves are getting a bit frazzled and she's just getting them settled."

"What has them frazzled?" Draco asked, surprised.

"Well, they aren't used to anyone but the Zabinis being here for any extended period for one. They're trying a bit too hard to keep track of everything if you ask me. They're all in a tizzy because they have people wandering the halls unescorted, non-Zabini animals roaming all over the place, one of which was trying its damnedest to claw its way through one of the doors and get in..."

"What?"

Harry smiled. "Kulia's other gargoyle finally returned. Delse went to let it in. Then she was going to go and try to get Celestial and Tiger to stop climbing up to the top of the tallest tower and jumping off. It's about to give the poor elves coronaries."

Draco let out a laugh. Looked like Tiger found a way to keep 'flying' after the others tired of flying him up so he could jump and glide to the ground. He'd also apparently found a playmate. "That does sound like it would be nerve wracking for them."

Harry sighed, looking at the clock. "I wish he'd just stay dead." He said softly.

Draco looked over at him in shock. "Why the Hell would you say that?"

"Because I've seen enough to know he'd be better off that way." He said softly.

Draco swallowed, his throat feeling a bit thick. As much as he hated to admit it, he was probably right. "We might still be able to get him back." He said, trying to sound optimistic, though deep down he was feeling far from it.

Harry looked over at him, watching him in silence for a long moment, then said softly, "What would there be left to get back by now?"

Draco looked away. He didn't even want to imagine what condition Percy was in. Harry might well be right. There may truly not be enough of him left to save.

"You work out the riddle?"

Draco felt a bit of relief at the change in subject, but at the same time it brought up a whole new subject that made him feel sick inside whenever he thought about it. "Demon hybrid soldiers fathered by Death Eaters." He said with a slight nod.

Harry nodded, settling back in his seat and folding his arms over his chest. "Sick fucks. The idea had been discussed a bit around him when they didn't think he was conscious, but he didn't think they'd actually do it. He wasn't sure until he saw your father in Hogsmeade. He wasn't wearing his ring. He was always so very careful about not fathering any children, even if he was sure he was going to kill the woman when he was done with her. Didn't want to take a chance she'd somehow, impossibly, get away and bear an heir. Better safe than sorry I guess. Seeing that ingredient list confirmed it beyond a shadow of a doubt. You were looking at it when he passed by you once. With a photographic memory, a glance is enough."

Draco looked over at him, furrowing his brow. "Potter?"

Harry gave an amused snort. "Just catching on, are you?'

Draco stared at him. "You... just seemed like the demon. I can usually tell the difference."

Harry shifted a bit uneasily. "Ya... well... to tell the truth it's getting a bit harder for me to tell the difference too. Before, I was rubbing off on him... now... it's like he's rubbing off on me."

"Rubbing off?"

Harry sighed, "It's hard to explain. Blaise... well he did whatever that was to fix up the demon... and he did something to me too... and ever since then we feel closer somehow, like something that didn't quite fit before does now... and he... well..." He sighed in frustration as he tried to verbalize the strange feelings inside. "This is going to sound daft, and if you so much as smirk I'll curse you!" He said, narrowing his eyes at Draco for a moment, but when Draco just nodded, he went on hesitantly. "I've... always felt like there was something missing in me. Maybe it's just the loss of my parents or how my aunt and uncle treated me growing up... the way most people alienated me in one way or another since I came to know about the wizarding world, whether because they hated me or thought I was some almost mythical 'savior'..." He said, scowling in irritation at the thought, "I've always felt a kind of... void inside... when he's there... it's like it goes away. I don't feel as alone... as empty. It feels almost like the longer he's in me, the deeper he settles until he's starting to feel less like a demon possessing me, taking control from me on occasion... and more like a part of myself... the moment I refused to let him leave me, it's like I broke down some kind of barrier inside. It started before that really, but since then the lines have blurred so much... it's gotten so the transition between me and the demon is so subtle I sometimes don't even realize it... like we're two parts of the same mind... I speak sometimes, he speaks sometimes... but the transition doesn't even seem to require thought anymore... and when we make love to Delse, I couldn't honestly tell you who it was who is in control anymore. We both love her and want to please her and it's like there's no difference between us at all when we're with her..." He let out a sigh, "Makes no sense, I know."

"Actually, it makes perfect sense. Of course, I may be the only one who would understand." Draco said softly. "Sounds just like Darien and I."

Harry looked over at him, making sure he wasn't making fun of him somehow. Draco just stared back at him guilelessly.

They sat for a while in silence.

"So..." Draco said to break up the silence that was drawing out. "Who's running around unescorted?"

"You mean other than you?"

Draco grinned, "I'm not going to get lost. They don't have to worry about me."

"Being a Thestral has some advantages, eh?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Jealous?" Draco chuckled.

Harry looked thoughtful. "Hmm... you can fly, claw people and find your way around without a map... I can speak Parseltongue and demonic, take most attacking spells without even flinching, survive Avada Kedavra repeatedly, casts spells with demonic power to catastrophic effect, and shag about ten times better than should be humanly possible... I think I'm ok with what I have, thanks. Being able to fly without a broom would be cool though." He said with a little nod.

Draco gave a snort. "Bugger off."

Harry just chuckled. "But to answer your earlier question, Lupin and your mother have also apparently found their rooms a bit stuffy."

Draco straightened a bit. "She shouldn't be going on long strolls in her condition. Where'd they go?"

"The elves didn't say, but I think I can guess." Harry said with a wicked chuckle, rising. "Care to place a wager?"

> > > >

"Why would they be here?" Draco asked, puzzled as they stepped into the Hall.

Harry quickly made a hushing motion. He walked forward a few yards into the hall, then just stood there, eyes closed and listening for a moment. A smile sprang to his lips as he turned to the side, "Reminiscing." He whispered with a little snicker, then crept forward.

Draco followed him, puzzled. Harry came to a stop, then leaned against a tree, staring around it. Draco came up beside him, then quickly stifled a laugh. They were there, just as Harry predicted. They were huddled under a cloak, but from the number of clothing items scattered around, that was undoubtedly the only thing they had on. Narcissa was laying on top of Lupin, who was running his fingers through her long hair that seemed to almost glow in the moonlight falling on them through the tall windows. They were kissing in a slow, deeply passionate way that made Draco smile. He'd never seen his mother look so happy and contented.

He patted Harry's arm and they made their way silently out of the hall, not wanting to disturb them. When the door was closed Draco sighed. "Well, at least not everything is going all to pot."

Harry smiled. "Any light in the darkness." He said softly. Draco looked at him in surprise as Harry reached up and brushed his cheek. Red eyes stared back at him. "Go get some sleep, Draco."

Draco gave him a little smile, then nodded. "I think I will."

> > > > > > > > > > >

Snape stroked Hermione's hair absently as she lay there cuddled against him. Their evening together had been more than pleasant, yet he couldn't seem to settle down and sleep. It was morning already, the sky outside their window beginning to lighten, and still he hadn't slept a wink. His mind kept wandering to dark places he'd rather it didn't go. The plan the demon had hinted at was horrific... and yet he knew that it was completely plausible. He knew the complete disregard the Dark Lord and most of his followers had for lives, human and otherwise... but to use their own children...

He'd only known he had a daughter for a couple of days and already his heart had taken the knowledge and twined it so intrinsically throughout his very core that he couldn't bear the thought of anything ever happening to her. He couldn't imagine fathering a child, knowing full well for all those months that it was your own child growing in the woman's belly, and then doing something so reprehensible to it... in effect destroying the child just to make a cold, emotionless weapon.

How many children did they have there, awaiting a fate worse than death? What would they do with them if they didn't acquire the means to summon demons to inhabit their bodies? Somehow he doubted they would keep them and raise them. They were almost certainly using Muggle women, and the children would therefor not be pure blood. There hadn't been a rash of witches being abducted to his knowledge... though the Muggle papers had reported a small, but significant rise in the number of runaways and missing persons all over Europe near the end of the last school year and on into the summer, mostly female. They had suspected it was part of some kind of Death Eater movement once the Dark Lord came out, but had never found any real evidence it was related. They had expected something flashy and shocking right from the off. It was almost nerve wracking that he'd been so uncharacteristically subtle. Well, before Diagon Alley of course.

What was even more worrisome for his own circumstances was that he hadn't been told of this plan, or even of the attack on Diagon Alley. He was supposed to be a highly trusted Death Eater. Why had the Dark Lord not so much as hinted about it to him? Of course it was possible that he'd only told those who would be actively participating in the Diagon Alley attack about it beforehand... and he may just not have wanted anyone near Dumbledore to have any knowledge of the plan with the children since he had long suspected Dumbledore of having natural Ligilimency abilities. Snape had always been exceptional at Occlumency, but this might have actually been a strike against him in Voldemort's opinion. Voldemort had yet to get so much as a peek into Snape's mind, and at times Snape had seen indications that this was most vexing to him. He'd explained that he had natural mental barriers that were augmented by highly ingrained training that his father had started him on when he was no more than a child, and that he didn't think he could let down the barriers even if he tried. Voldemort had seemed somewhat less than content with this reason. He liked being able to poke about in the minds of his followers whenever he so chose. It gave the overly paranoid man a bit less to fixate on.

Even if he wouldn't have been told why, he was surprised Voldemort hadn't at the very least had him father a few children. He could have just told him it was a loyalty test or insuring his bloodline or some such. After all, Voldemort had promised to insure that loyal bloodlines were carried on and thrived. Even if his followers fell in his service, their progeny would be protected. Of course, Snape was thankful it hadn't been required of him. He wasn't sure if he could have retained a cool, calm exterior if they had tried to implant demons in his own children. Besides, he somehow doubted the women actually wanted to bear the little demonic offspring of their abductors, and rape wasn't something he'd been able to even bear watching, even back when the Dark Lord had first reigned and such things were almost expected of Death Eaters. Lucius had found this particular 'weakness' rather amusing.

Perhaps Lucius was behind it. He'd been growing decidedly disenchanted with Snape. Even in the beginning, Snape had known Lucius had ambitions... visions of grandeur acquired through cunning and double dealing while riding the Dark Lord's coat tails. Back then, he seemed to consider Snape a close comrade and confidante. He'd even hinted that, should he be put into any kind of position of authority, he would like him along as his right hand man.

After Voldemort's sudden fall and disappearance, Lucius had always looked at him differently. Lucius himself had been forced to bow, scrape, bribe and connive his way out of going to Azkaban... and he seemed to view Snape's easy avoidance of it as highly suspicious. They had slipped into a more 'casual acquaintance' type relationship after that. No longer did Lucius share his ambitions and confidences with Snape. Not that Snape missed Lucius reminiscing about his favorite torture sessions or a woman who had put up a particularly good fight. Snape would still attend Lucius' many extravagant parties and once Draco had started school, they became parent and professor, and had occasion to socialize a bit more, though Lucius kept on his 'public face', even though Snape already knew far too many of his dark little secrets.

"Where are you?"

Snape blinked in surprise, looking down into Hermione's warm brown eyes. He forced a little smile. "Sorry. Can't seem to sleep. A bit preoccupied."

"No kidding." She said with a smirk, then it faded as she laid her head back down on his shoulder. "Sorry... go ahead. There's a lot to think about right now. It's ok."

He stroked her hair, kissing the top of her head gently. "There is, but that's no reason to dwell on it during the little time we have to ourselves, especially since I was gone a good part of the day yesterday. The day didn't exactly work out according to plan..."

"No... I truly doubt anyone planned on what happened. But it wasn't all bad. I mean I never dreamed I'd meet Kulia's family, but that was great anyway. Part incubus... that's just amazing. I've read a lot about them." Hermione said with that familiar glint of scholarly excitement in her eyes.

"Interested in sex demons, are you?" he asked with a smirk.

She grinned. "Not an unusual subject for sexually frustrated teens to read up on. Actually, the books I looked through looked very well read..."

Snape smirked. He quite imagined they were. If he was being honest with himself, he had to admit that he had known all about them by the time he hit fifteen. He never did find a valid method for summoning them though. There had been mention of ceremonies to try to ward them off and such, but the authors didn't even appear to consider that someone might actually want to attract them. It was just said they seem to be very drawn to people with strong magical powers who were very sensual and open to new ideas, but even more so to those with unfulfilled sexual desire, or repressed sexuality. That being the case, he should have been swarming with them in his teens. Despite that, meeting Balthys and his children was the first time he'd ever laid eyes on even so much as a half-breed of the species. Well, to his knowledge anyway. Carys didn't appear to get much more than fangs from the incubus blood in her, and he'd heard of other powerful wizards who had been said to be half incubus though they showed no physical sign of it, Merlin the most notable of them of course.

"Thinking about doing a bit of research with Forester?" Snape asked teasingly.

Hermione snorted and swatted his chest. "Not likely. Why? You wanting to do a bit of research yourself with Carys? She didn't look like the type that would mind helping you out..."

Snape rolled his eyes. "I'm not a fool. Messing about with succuba has inherent risks I have no intention of taking. Only young men are foolish enough to hazard that with full knowledge of what they are capable of. Besides, I don't need a succuba to be contented now, do I?" He said, shifting his head down and capturing her lips.

When the kiss broke, she smiled, shifting up a bit so she could kiss him without stretching awkwardly. She settled down, closing her eyes as their lips met again. He slipped his arms around her as the kiss lingered and deepened.

When their somewhat drawn out snogging session ended, Snape sighed, nuzzling against her. "I love you, Hermione." He said softly.

She sighed happily, "I love you too, Snape."

He chuckled softly. "You know, sooner or later, you're going to have to stop calling me that."

She pouted playfully. "Why? You've always been Snape to me... How can I think of you any other way?"

"Very well, Miss. Granger."

"Oh stop!" She giggled.

"What?"

"My name is Hermione and you well know it. The only people who call me Granger are ones who don't like me."

"Well I have a first name too, and the few people who don't despise me tend to use it..."

"But your name sounds so..." She trailed off.

"So you just dislike my name?"

She rolled her eyes, "It's just Severus sounds so cold and like you're cutting someone up or something. I just don't feel it suits you."

"Well, it's worked well enough for me my whole life." He said with a slight shrug.

"Draco calls you Snape." She quickly pointed out.

"I'm not bedding Draco."

Hermione laughed, then settled down on him a bit more, nuzzling against him. "You've just always been Snape to me... Snape, my evil, vindictive, wicked Potions professor." She said in a sultry voice, nipping his neck and undulating against him.

He groaned, then smiled, "Ok, ok... for now you can keep calling me Snape... but at least stop calling me professor while we're shagging. I find it disconcerting..."

She giggled mischievously, "I'll try to stop..."

He kissed her cheek, "But you are eventually going to have to come to terms with my first name."

She pouted, "Why?"

"Because... when we get married, you will be a Snape as well."

Her eyes went wide and she sat up abruptly, staring down at him incredulously. "Married?"

"Well... if you don't find someone else and wander off again of course..."

Her eyes dropped as her cheeks flushed. "I..."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back down. "I was only teasing." He said gently, stroking his hand down her back soothingly. "You know it will be a while before we can even consider it... you have to complete your schooling... and then we should probably wait a bit longer still so it doesn't look too suspicious..."

She lifted her head, staring into his dark eyes, "But... after that... you would really want to marry me?"

He smiled, "If you'll have me. There's nothing I'd love more than to make you my wife and spend the rest of my life with you. You complete me." He said with soft spoken earnestness.

Hermione just stared down at him incredulously for a long moment, her eyes watery, her mouth hanging open a bit. She suddenly took a deep breath and let out a little cry of joy, wrapping herself around him and holding him so tightly he could scarcely breath. When she let up some she kissed him passionately.

He got a quick gasp of air when she finally let up on him. She shifted up, grinning down at him, then her expression sobered. "I find your proposal acceptable, but until it is signed and sealed, I retain the right to refer to you as Snape."

He chuckled. "I can agree to those terms. Until then, I would like to put down a deposit..."

She watched, puzzled, as he slipped something off his pinky... except there didn't appear to be anything on it... She watched as he took her hand. Her eyes widened as she felt the unmistakable feel of a warm metal band slipping onto her ring finger. She sat up again, furrowing her brow and feeling the invisible ring. Slowly, a gold band became visible, appearing on her finger and gleaming back at her innocently as if it had always been there. She gave a little gasp, looking closer. It was an old fashioned ring, a simple band of gold with light but fluidly graceful lines tracing apparently abstract designs around it with no beginning and no end.

"It was my mother's." He said softly. "Father was never one for extravagance... if you'd like a new one later I'll get you one..."

"No... it's beautiful. I love it." Hermione said, hugging her hand to her as tears streaked down her cheeks.

"I've charmed it to be invisible unless you will it to be otherwise. We can remove the charm once the engagement is official, but I felt it best for now..."

She quickly nodded, then wrapped herself around him again. She kissed him lovingly, then pulled her head back, looking thoughtful. "You know what this means, don't you?" She said with a little mischievous smile.

"What?" He said a bit warily.

"You're going to have to meet my parents..."

His eyes went wide. "Oh bloody Hell..." he muttered, utterly horrified. "Um... perhaps that would best be put off until later as well..."

She giggled.

They looked over as there was a knock on the bedroom door. Snape looked rather relieved as he shifted her off, grabbing up a robe and pulling it on. He made sure she was covered, then went over, opening the door.

Balthys smirked at him. "Morning." He said, walking past him and on into the room. "Tried knocking on the suite door but I guess you didn't hear me."

"Something I can help you with?" Snape asked as Balthys smirked at Hermione and gave her a little nod of greeting.

"No. Just done." Balthys said casually, reaching into his pocket and producing a small glowingly white object.

Snape's eyes went wide as he stepped closer, looking at the diminutive carving. "You're done? Already?"

"Actually I finished this by about three thirty. Most the way through the next already in fact, but I didn't figure you'd want to be disturbed any earlier. Celestial and that little thestral have been ripping around the room nonstop since they had to stop jumping off the towers, so there was little else for me to do anyway. Not like I could sleep through that. Don't worry, with my incubi blood I can go rather extended periods without sleep without much bother. Luckily it takes a while to work up to that ability. Those two both looked about ready to drop when I left. Should be blessedly quiet in the room by the time I get back to it. Well, unless Justin gets cranky... Anyway, thought I'd drop this by if you were awake, and you were, so here I am."

Snape reached out to take the carving, but Balthys quickly snatched it back. "Ah ah. No touching for you." He said, then tossed the carving over to Hermione. She caught it, then stared down at it, stunned.

"And just why can't I touch it?" Snape asked, puzzled.

Balthys gave him a little smile. "Let's be frank, shall we?"

Snape folded his arms over his chest, giving a nod and watching him warily.

"Do you want whomever stuck that thing on your arm knowing about you and her?" Balthys asked bluntly, pointedly eyeing the sleeve hiding his dark mark.

Snape's eyes widened.

"Somehow I didn't think so. Until you get rid of that thing or get rid of whomever put it there, I wouldn't suggest you touch the carving."

Snape put his hand over the mark self consciously and sighed. "It doesn't come off."

"Well then go with the alternative." Balthys said with a guileless smile.

Snape sighed. "If only it were that simple." He muttered, then forced a little smile. "Thank you. I hope we'll be able to use it someday."

"Oh you will." He said distractedly, looking around. "Nice room."

"Yes, I suppose it is." Snape said, a bit disconcerted. Balthys didn't appear to be leaving, and he wasn't sure how to tactfully ask him to after the man had just done him a favor.

Balthys looked over at him and smirked. "Aren't you going to ask me how to use it?"

"We were at the ceremony." Hermione said, looking up from the carving for the first time.

Balthys gave a little snort of amusement. "I doubt very much that they completed the ceremony in front of you. Unless of course they let you into their bedchamber afterwards... Draco didn't strike me as quite that open..."

Hermione blushed. "Oh... um... no..."

"Well, you saw the public part, then you take her back to the room as usual..." He sat on the side of the bed and held out his hand. Hermione handed it back to him. "Place your fingers here and here..." He said, showing her, "Then squeeze slightly..." The carving shimmered and grew larger. "Then place it like so on her belly and then do what comes naturally." He said, resting it on Hermione's stomach, making her blush even brighter. "This does requires the missionary position, so sorry if that cramps your style." He said with a playful smirk. "But once you've consummated the union it's done. After that, this is just a memento, but a pretty one at least."

Hermione picked the carving up, experimentally placing her fingers on the designs and making it shrink down. "It's amazing." She said, stroking its warm surface with her fingers.

Snape moved closer, looking down at the glowingly white object. "I'm just curious... why do you need incubus blood to make these?"

Balthys grinned, then held up his hand, his talons slipping out. "Because you need these to carve it properly."

Snape smirked. "Those must come in rather handy."

"On occasion..." Balthys said with a little nod. He opened his mouth to speak again, but his eyes suddenly shot wide and began to glow as his wings half unfurled.

Snape let out a little hiss of pain and clutched his arm. As the pain started to ease, he slid back his sleeve a bit and Hermione caught a glimpse of black on his arm. He dropped the sleeve and hurried over to the wardrobe the house elves had put his clothes in.

Balthys looked over at Hermione questioningly, but she was too worried to explain.

When he had his pants on, he doffed the robe, and Balthys got a look at the mark on his arm. The black had mostly subsided, the mark returning to it's usual ugly red. Snape pulled on his under shirt, quickly tucking it in as he looked over at Balthys. "I have to go. Not sure when I'll be back. Could you give my apologies to Delse for me?"

"Of course." Balthys replied immediately.

"Just tell her I was called away on urgent business... but tell Draco what happened, and he'll know who here needs to be told where I really am."

Balthys nodded.

Snape grabbed up the bag in the bottom of the wardrobe and carefully extracted something thin and rectangular in shape. As he unwrapped it, they saw that it was a small portrait of a prudish looking old witch who was nodding off in a rocking chair with overstuffed lime green cushions. He set the portrait on a chair, then cleared his throat loudly. When the old woman continued snoring away, he picked the portrait up and gave it a good shake before setting it back down. She woke with a little startled sound, quickly snatching at her spectacles as they tried to slip off.

"Blood and sand!" She said indignantly, righting her askew hat and smoothing her clothing. "There's no need to be rude!"

Snape sighed impatiently. "You've been given a job to do. Are you going to do it or sit there squawking?"

She glared at him. "Message?" She asked in a crisp (and rather cold) tone.

"Tell him I've been called away. While you're at it, tell him Draco and the others know the Dark Lord's plans and on the off chance he doesn't know yet, he should contact them."

She gave a rather rude snort. "Think you're smarter than him now, do you?" She asked sarcastically.

Snape rolled his eyes. "I never said that!" He said, very carefully keeping his temper. "And I don't have time for this!"

He snatched up his vest and pulled it on, quickly buttoning it up. He looked up as he heard her tisking. She was looking over at the bed where Hermione was wrapped up in a sheet and Balthys was still sitting on the side of the bed. "Lands... looks like the moral requirements for professors have gone down a great deal since my day. An young girl and an incubus? Scandelous!"

Snape gave her a poisonous glare. "That 'girl' is of legal age, the 'incubus' is a visiting relative who was just stopping by to drop something off, and might I remind you that there are other methods of getting messages through... and that fire is still lit!" He said, jerking his head significantly towards the fireplace where the fire was indeed still crackling.

"Lewd and violent... your mother must be proud." She replied caustically.

His eyes flashed and he took a step towards the portrait, but then let out a sudden cry. The searing in his mark had returned. This time, instead of going away, it began increasing until it felt like his entire arm was engulfed in flames. The intensity of the pain clouded his mind and he stumbled, then felt arms grab ahold of him. After a moment, the pain eased back down to a low burning.

He blinked his eyes open, gasping for breath. As his senses returned, he realized that Balthys was holding him, and his wings were wrapped tightly around them, cocooning them together. He tried to straighten up and take his weight off of Balthys, but the incubus didn't release him. "Um... you can let go now..." Snape said a bit uneasily.

"Not until he does." Balthys replied in a slightly strained voice.

It wasn't until then that he noticed the way Balthys had his eyes closed, a look of concentration on his face. He quickly realized that the mark had not subsided its onslaught... Balthys was blocking it!

It was a good minute or so before the burning finally eased the rest of the way and Balthys let his wings slip away, furling against his back as usual as he stepped back.

"Thank you." Snape said, unable to meet his eyes.

"Who is this person that you let do these things to you?" Balthys asked uncomprehendingly.

"He's never done that before." Snape said, grabbing his winter cloak off the hook. He pulled it on, then looking thoughtful. "That felt... personal."

"You can't go to him if he's mad enough to do that to you!" Hermione said fearfully. She was standing there wrapped up in the sheet. He glanced over, making sure she'd left the carving on the bed, then stepped up to her, wrapping her in a loving hug. "I have to go, Hermione. No matter what. Dumbledore is depending on me."

She let out a little piteous sound, hugging him tightly.

"You must promise me something." He said softly.

She pulled her head back, looking up at him. "What?"

"No matter what, you must swear to me that you won't leave these grounds unless Dumbledore himself escorts you. He should be coming by around midday if all goes as scheduled. When he leaves, go with him to Hogwarts and then do not leave the grounds."

"But what if..." She began, but he put his fingers over her mouth gently.

"Hermione... believe me when I say I will be much safer if you are safe." At her look of dubious confusion, he sighed. "You were there in that room... when I told you about Pansy, and then Draco and Dumbledore came in... what was discussed there would be my death sentence if the Dark Lord ever found out about it. He can't get that information from my mind, but if he gets ahold of you, we both die."

She bit her lip. Even Dumbledore had said it would get Snape killed. She'd never realized that her merely being in that room could put Snape's life at risk. Slowly she nodded her head. "I promise." She said sadly.

"Besides," he said gently, "So long as I know you're safe, I can bear anything the Dark Lord might do to me."

She let out a little whimper and hugged him tight.

"Want me to call a house elf to bring a ward for the grounds?" Balthys asked gently, not wanting to intrude.

Snape sighed as he released Hermione. "No need. I'll apparate."

"But this place is like Hogwarts. You can't apparate out." Hermione said immediately.

"No, I can't apparate through the wards... but that doesn't mean I can't apparate to the gate, walk out, and apparate from there." Snape replied with a little smile. "Sometimes you just have to find shortcuts. I, for one, do not want to leave him waiting long enough for another little reminder, so goodbye." He said, giving her another quick kiss, then backing up. He glanced over at the witch in the painting who was sitting there, looking stunned by the sudden turn of events. He rolled his eyes. "And if that old bat doesn't get up off her arse and do her job, toss her in the fire and send Dobby!" He said before Apparating away with a clap.

> > > > > > > > > > >

A/N - I know, I know. About bloody time I posted! Well, I've been having some difficulties lately, both with my muse and on the technical front. As far as the technical, my firewall expired and I haven't been able to even get online for several days because any time I get on without a firewall some bloody hackers get into my computer and fuck with stuff, sticking trojans on my harddrive and such, and I also end up with icons on my desktop I never put there, and I sure as Hell never put those 'girls girls girls' sites and shit like that in my favorites! No fuckin privacy and sure as Hell nothin sacred anymore! Well, I have a good firewall now, so that shit best not be happening anymore.

On the muse front, and PLEASE READ... I have been toying with the idea of starting the prequel before this one is quite over... but I'm going back and forth with the idea... I haven't written a whole lot on it yet, though I have a bit of it planned out already. There are some characters I would like a bit more developed for the end of this that I can only do in the prequel, and yet I hate to put off the end of this still longer just for some character development. Perhaps I'll just wait on that, finish this, and deal with the fact that you just might not understand the reasoning behind some things before I have the prequel out. (if you chose to read it that is). It's frustrating really, cause I'm not good at making tough decisions... and I mean I don't even have a title for the prequel yet! If anyone has ideas for it, please send them to me in private email and if I chose yours I will be sure to credit you in the A/N. If you haven't guessed yet, Hermione/Snape will be the main focus of the prequel, and I'm not anticipating that the focus will shift much or that it will go that long, as we have a preset time frame, and I will be avoiding giving too much away about this one, such as the fact that there's a demon floating around (just in case people later read them in time sequence), though I will of course be foreshadowing some of the things that happen in this. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. Should I pause this and do the prequel? Cause if so, I'm gonna have to pretty much pause NOW or I'll be leaving you with a cliffy an everyone will wanna beat me. I mean this leaves you wondering what's up with Voldy, but I didn't think it was too bad. I toyed with leaving the last section off, but that would have made it a rather short chapter, and you've all waited so patiently... Well, tell me what you think, and I'll probably go with majority rule. I'll put it in my profile when I make my decision on which way to go so if need be those of you who only have story alert can watch for it since it won't tell you if I start posting a different story. Just a warning, either way it might take a little while to get something up, cause both need some major planning and sequencing to go any further. Just bear with me ;)

Just a note for those of you unfamiliar with 'Closer' by Nine Inch Nails... actually, I'm sure you've probably heard it. It's the song with the lyrics "I wanna fuck you like an animal... my whole existence is flawed... you get me closer to God". Put that song on repeat with someone special sometime! ;P Just so you know, I have no idea how long the radio version is (on the few stations that will actually play it, though most that do play it censer it as well) but the version on the Downward Spiral is a little over 6 minutes long. Just didn't want you to think it was a standard three minute song ;>

XxTimesStopsxX - little refresher... Breanna is Pansy's mum. The one who got wasted at a party and shagged Snape ;) I've often thought I need a reference manual... Just don't know where I'd put it in an online story, or how much I could say in it without giving away stuff for those who haven't finished the story yet.

Krystal Klear - oh don't worry, I'm not planning on changing this one to reflect HP6. My other fic, which no one has ever seen, could be easily adapted to have a black Blaise though. I wrote the other one before I became interested in the Blaise character, so his part is very small in it. I'm just worried there will be too many other changes. I'll just have to wait and see I guess.

Nameundecided - Where did all the rings come from? Well, Forester's was obviously from his dad, and specialized for him. The ring Delse wanted Blaise to wear was the one his father had given him, but he had always refused to wear because it had his father's crest on it. Delse had let him go without seeing as there were alternatives (the spells) and he had been studiously careful before, but since he knocked up Narcissa (and only Draco and Ginny know that wasn't entirely an accident) she decided he needed a way to take care of that without possibility of forgetting. The ring Draco gave Blaise was the one Draco had always worn, but had taken off when he and Ginny decided to try for a baby. One of his elves found it in the carriage where he'd tossed it aside and tried to return it to him, but he no longer wanted it. I mean what would be the point? Ginny's already pregnant and he has no intention of shagging anyone else.

byrnes - I have never said you had to flatter me, not to mention that I would hardly classify your last review as mostly "lavish praise"! You said it was "good" but that it was put together in such an irritatingly complex way that you couldn't even stand to read it anymore! Then you proceeded to tell me what I had to do to 'fix' it! I found that just slightly insulting. I'm not about to go gutting my work and throwing away everything that, in my opinion, makes this fic worth reading! My story is what it is, and is far too integrated to even consider dicing up, even if I were inclined to, which I am not in any way, shape or form. I have spent nearly all my free time for damn near a YEAR now working on this and I am getting a very low tolerance threshold for irritation and people telling me I'm doing everything wrong. I'm trying valiantly to finish this fic, and I can't do that while being antagonized. I flatly refuse to get into a back and forth bitching war, so to keep things civil I've blocked your reviews, as I will with anyone else who decides they want to take a poke at me from now on. Of course that shouldn't be a problem since you've already said you aren't going to read this anymore because it's too complicated.