Please Note: This fic's rating has been upgraded to M/R. It's SLASH of course. Review Responses and Disclaimer are below.

""snaketalk"" Parseltongue

"Shut Up & Kiss Me"
by; imLittleLily

Operation FireEater: Part One, Picaro

The door of Eeylops Owl Emporium opened, admitting a tall wizard covered completely in black robes, no skin visible beneath the shroud. Owls hooted, annoyed by the sudden bright afternoon sunlight washing the shop's atmosphere. Gloomy dimness returned just before the latch clicked signaling closure. Harry, under a glamour charm approached the witch behind the counter, nodding in greeting without revealing his face.

Apparently in a fowl mood, she glared. "What cha want?" Her eyes raked over him, stopping on Harry's hands as he placed them on the wood surface between them.

Harry, able to see through the charmed hood, tilted his head toward the back. "I'm interested in your latest shipment of owls. I understand you have some common barn owls newly delivered."

Distain dripped from her in response. "Yeh, the cheap ones."

Harry tapped the counter with his be-ringed fingers. "Cheap and mundane—that's what I want. Perhaps I should journey down Knockturn Alley instead?"

She snarled, motioning for him to follow her as she made her way back to the slumbering birds in the back room.

Harry entered the back chamber with caution. He began to appraise the different owls that lined the walls on wood perches. Some were plain brown while several had varied markings of black and white. He paused in front of one who pulled its head from under its wing and blinked at him with black eyes.

""Too unique,"" Draco hissed from his pocket.

Harry released a soft breath. Turning slightly, he noticed that the witch was watching him closely with narrowed eyes. Raising his hand to pet the owl, he whispered, "Sorry, he's right." He moved on down the line in search of a more common and thus more discreet bird.

The owl hooted at his back and ruffled his feathers.

Harry bit the inside of his cheek and stopped abruptly. He turned on his heel. "Picaro."

The owl flew to him and rested on his forearm.

""Harry…""

"This one will do…"

The witch approached him, eyeing the bird with caution. "He's a real mean one. I should warn you about him. He nearly kilt one of the smaller birds." She searched for Harry's face in the black fabric. "'Course maybe you don't care…"

"I said this one will do." Harry allowed Picaro to move to his shoulder. "I would also like a cage and cover, four boxes of owl treats and one bottle of tonic."

The witch's shoulder lifted as though relinquishing responsibility for the rogue owl and led the way out of the back room. "We have three different sizes of cages." She waved to the right, allowing Harry to pick the one he preferred while she collected the treats and tonic from behind the counter, placing them in a brown sack. Next, she pulled a preprinted form on parchment from under the register. "We'll need to fill this new form out. Ministry requires registration of all birds now."

Harry stared at the parchment. He jingled his galleons in his pocket and said firmly, "That won't be necessary."

The witch snorted and tried to force a quill into Harry's hand.

Picaro, deciding he did not like her so close to his new master, snapped his beak harshly and flapped his wings.

"It's the law," she insisted.

Draco hissed from his pocket.

Picaro squawked angrily, still flapping, sending several loose feathers to the counter and floor.

Harry said, "Shh, here get in your cage…it's only temporary…til we get home."

Disgruntled, Picaro went into the large cage, puffed up and owl muttering with annoyance.

Harry settled him in and covered the cage securely with a large heavy-duty black cloth he had chosen. Finally satisfied, he returned his attention to the witch behind the counter. Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his moneybag. He was about to do something he had never done before. He paid close attention to the fact that the witch was watching his movements with a rising sense of greed. Good. "Here's the deal," he said with firm determination. "I'll give you three times the owl's value without the paperwork. With the paperwork—no sale." Harry began to pull galleons out, lining them up neatly on the counter before the witch.

"Scrim—"

"Doesn't need to know." Harry clinked several galleons on the counter to emphasis his point. Then he paused for dramatic effect.

Draco snickered in his pocket.

Then the witch watched as Harry laid three more galleons down. Her breathing visibly quickened. She clenched her jaw, looked for Harry's face again and finally reached forward for the money. When her fingers made contact with the first galleon, Harry picked Picaro's cage up and turned in a swirl of billowing robes. At the door, he said, without turning around, "Good afternoon."

Draco stared at the owl Harry had insisted on purchasing. He shook his head in frustration. "This is crazy, Harry. He's too noticeable. A black owl with white markings? Bloody hell, he's wearing a white mask. Did you realize that?"

Picaro's black eyes blinked up at him as if to say, "Well duh, of course he noticed." He preened, emphasizing the point of understanding between master and bird.

Harry smirked and didn't hold back his laugh. "Yeah, like a Zorro mask except it's white. That's why I called him Picaro...means rogue. Draco, no one is ever going to believe Harry Potter would have an owl like that."

Draco released a huff of exasperation and finally pulled a chair from the table and sat. "I guess there's no sense in arguing about it. You two seem to have bonded. Just wait till Hedwig gets back from Ghillie Dhu, she's gonna have owlets."

"Naw, she'll be fine. I already told her that I need another owl because she's so beautiful." Harry sat across from Draco and pulled a parchment closer. He began to write. He paused when he finished, chewing his lip, contemplating the note before him.

Draco leaned forward, reaching for the parchment.

Harry passed it over. "You're sure this will work?"

"Yes. She'll understand." Draco took his wand from his sleeve and folded the parchment over twice. Tapping with the end, he whispered, "Ferocitis." The note sealed itself with wax embossed by an imprint of a snake.

"Won't the snake be obvious?"

"No," Draco answered. "Picaro isn't going to be intercepted. Remember, he has a reputation to maintain. Don't you, boy? There's also the fact that only three people can see the snake, she can see it and we can see it."

Picaro ruffled his feathers in agreement and hopped over to Draco where he waited patiently as he attached the missive to his leg.

"Okay. If that's all, Picaro should be leaving." Harry stretched his arm out and watched as his new owl climbed up onto it. He stood, walked to the closest window and released Picaro to the early evening. "Safe journey," he said.

Picaro called out as his wings caught a breeze.

Harry watched him fly over the rooftops with a sense of relief. Their plans would soon begin to take shape.

Outside the wide double window, white lightening split the black sky with angry flashes followed closely by the rumbling vibrations of thunder. Jagged energy spiked through Narcissa Malfoy as she pulled her heavy terry robe closer across her breasts and released her wet blonde hair from its green velour towel. The sight before her brought on a sense of foreboding, even stronger than the one she felt after Lucius' arrest and incarceration in Azkaban. Dark memories of Death Eaters congregating in her drawing room, laughing drunkenly despite their so-called higher birth, made her shiver.

The absence of Lucius brought forth silence within the walls of Malfoy Manor. Only a few of her female friends had come to call in the wake of the scandal. Now, no one came. Her reflection in the shiny black glass of the window was her only companion tonight. Her breath hitched—Severus. Trembling fingers rose to touch his spot, just above her cleavage slightly to left. Fingerpads circled the tiny red rosebud embraced by a snake, painted there by loving hands. The Half-Blood Prince. Lucius had never known its origin.

It was not that she did not love Lucius Malfoy. In fact, like the other complications of her life, she did love him—very deeply. He was not her first love, however. There was always something about your first—so fresh and new—titillating in all of its extremes. Being sixteen only brought in a more adventurous excitement for young desire. Your first lover always carries a part of you until the day he dies.

The lump in her throat would not go down when she swallowed. Its power gave her a fear that it would grow to explosion point. Icy looking tears glazed her cheeks. Her breath beginning to rasp from grief, Narcissa lowered her lids to take away the sight of her mournful reflection. Closed eyes revealed a flash of love's expression, sending her on a pirouette into the past….

Severus groaned and sat in the chair behind him with a sigh of resignation. He threw his head back and closed his eyes.

Knowing him since they were students at Hogwarts themselves, Narcissa smiled. She knew he was thinking, maybe, if he could not see the disaster, it would vanish. So much for being a powerful Occlumens and courageous double agent. Narcissa motioned to Draco that it was fine to leave. She would take care of Severus, soothe and calm his nerves.

Draco nodded, picked up his shirt, pulled it on without closing the buttons, and pulled his robes over it. He leaned over to kiss his mother on her upturned cheek and exited the Potion Master's chambers.

Narcissa turned to Sev and said softly, "He's gone." She reached out, touched his cheek, caressing it, and then his forehead. Severus liked it when she massaged his temples and forehead. That always seemed to help his frequent headaches. She took a seat on his lap and proceeded to work circular motions across his forehead using steady pressure with her thumbs.

He moaned softly from his throat and finally spoke. "This is a disaster. Contrary to what Draco says, the Dark Lord will be very angry. We have been working on these plans for months. Now it's shot to hell. Did you know that you have the hands of an angel?"

"Humm," she leaned closer, increasing the pressure of the small circles, moving up into his hair. "What do you know about this latest failure?"

"I don't really know that much; at least not what he is up to. Draco has a habit of disappearing for hours at a time. Albus put a tracking charm on him. It lasted all of five minutes. Somehow, he knew and removed it. The left side seems to be worse today." He injected as he finally began relaxing enough to move his hands from the arms of the chair to her thigh and back.

Cissa moved into the hand on her back but did not stop with his massage; instead, she focused more on the left side.

Severus studied her through hooded eyes and finally asked, "Why are you wearing Muggle jeans and shirt? Is this the new Cissa?"

She laughed softly. "Not really, I was supposed to be getting fitted for new robes; I like to dress simply when the designers come to the Manor. It keeps them from being distracted. At least it used to." She frowned slightly when she remembered an earlier experience with them. "Maybe I should convert; start wearing them more often." She teased by leaning closer, allowing her breasts to brush up against him and asked in a breathy voice, "What do you think?"

A low growl was the only verbal response she received because he promptly buried his face within the softness before him His hand slid up beneath her short tee seeking and finding warmth and solace.

"Sev?"

"Humm?"

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable in the bedroom?"

In one fluid motion, the Potions Master was standing with her in his arms and headed to his bedchamber. "I was beginning to think you would never ask," he said as they passed through the door.

She smiled; she liked it when he played at being so cool, calm and collected. She knew better; there was nothing cool about this man. She leaned her head in and bit his neck, lightly at first. By the time they reached the bed, her hands unfastened his shirt and he already had a pretty little red mark on his neck. She smiled into his skin, blowing and licking the new mark causing him to growl with suppressed passion. He clutched her tighter and collapsed back onto the bed with her over him. Musical laughter escaped as she began disrobing the knight below her. She snapped her fingers and music began to play. The music had a pulsing, throbbing beat and made one feel as though they were soaring to great heights. She allowed her laughter to intermingle with the beat as she looked down at Severus, moving to the resonance throughout the chamber.

"You are a tease, Ciss," he said as he reached to pull her down.

She avoided his hands by pulling them away from their goal. She sent her pointed tongue out and licked the fingers she stopped in mid-flight. Her white teeth nipped him as her hips swayed to the beat. "I don't think I tease you enough." She pulled the hem of her tee shirt up. He reached for her again. She smacked his hand away. "Keep that up and you will find yourself tied to the bed, darling," she said, pulling her tee shirt over her head.

Obsidian eyes drank in the site of her bare breasts. Sev moaned, "Damnit, Ciss, you really need to work on your control issues." His hands spread on each of her thighs; apparently, he could to touch her there. He thrust upwards seeking contact that was more intimate.

Narcissa was able to channel her insatiable need of him through every pore of her being. Severus attempted again to touch her pert breasts only to find her threat carried out. She bound his hands to the headboard with silk scarves conjured from thin air. She smirked down at him feeling heightened mischievousness.

"Cissss…a…oo…fuck…"

She cut his words off, teasing with her breast just out of reach. Laughter bubbled up as he bucked beneath her trying to better his position.

"…mmmnn…Cissss…"

Narcissa screamed—her throat and lungs near bursting, she continued to vent her emotions. The vision of her lover, Severus Snape changed before her closed eyes from insatiable passion to one of crimson death. Thrashing at the sudden shocking change behind her eyelids, Narcissa jerked and found herself on the Persian carpet staring up at an apparition on the other side of the black window glass. She gasped and scurried back, putting distance between her and the window.

It pecked at the glass insistently, wanting in.

Shaking to her marrow, she stood with determination, trying to slow her ragged breathing. Why the hell would someone have a black owl with a white mask. She shuddered, staring out at its wet persistence.

Tap…tap…tap. The owl glared at her.

Narcissa's eyes moved to her own reflection. Wet and bedraggled herself, she had no room for judgment. Apparently, she had passed out on the carpet and been there for quite some time. Tangles marred her usually smooth hair and dark circles beneath deep grey eyes gave her the look of a wraith. The only thing of beauty before her was Sev's red rosebud just over her heartbeat.

She stepped forward and snapped the window open. "Well, come in. It's raining," she said belligerently.

The owl flew in through the open window and landed on her dressing table.

Narcissa hissed angrily at him and approached with caution. It was bad enough the foul creature had nearly succeeded in scaring her to death, now he was messing her personal toiletries up.

The owl snapped his beak at her almost as though telling her to take her delivery.

"Be still. I can't get the knot." She struggled unsuccessfully until giving up and reaching for some small scissors in her drawer. Finally free of his burden, the owl flew to the top of her wardrobe and took up residence there, apparently either waiting for a response or refusing to go back out into the storm. At that moment, lightening split the sky heralding a sound like a gunshot. Narcissa jumped involuntarily and went to the window. One of the outbuildings glowed from the strike. Growling, she said firmly, "Maxy!"

Maxy popped in behind her. "We is already there, mis'is." He motioned to the window where now the fire could be seen growing at a rapid rate despite the wet grounds.

Narcissa rubbed her face and forehead, coming to a stop on her tangled hair, sighing, she said, "All right, Maxy. Thank you."

The house elves still unaccustomed to the cool politeness of her treatment since Lucius' incarceration often showed surprise at her change in attitude. Maxy was not included in this. His lips split wide in a smile from ear to ear. "You is needing anything else, mis'is? I could send Flur to help."

"No thank you, Maxy. Goodnight."

Maxy bowed deeply and popped out to go check on the fire.

She watched as the elves gained control of the fire, put it completely out and began to leave the smoldering ruin. This wasn't the first fire at Malfoy Manor, therefore, the elves knew what to do. She should have known they would be on top of the situation. Narcissa's eyes dropped to the folded parchment on her dresser. With slow deliberation, she reached for it, unsure of its contents or purpose. She knew of no one who owned such a horrifying owl. She supposed it could be a new purchase of some Death Eater—a sick joke as far as she was concerned.

The owl must have sensed her trepidation because he hooted mournfully at her.

She swallowed her fear and turned the parchment over. A band tightened around her heart like a vice. She froze. "Ferocitis." The band exploded. With shaking hands, she whispered, "Sweet Merlin." There was only one person who would send her this. One person who knew that Ferocitis was her son's way of smirking at the world—summed up—arrogance, courage and untamed spirit in a bad sense. Just like Malfoy meant bad faith, Draco added his own embellishment. Ferocitis.

She ripped the wax seal away from the parchment and opened the missive with eagerness. This was the first word she had of him since that night in the cemetery.

Seek Nemeton.

Green is the color of FireEater.

No. 9…Noon at Night

Perendie

Her knees wobbled.

Reviews are like Chocolate Frogs . . .
there is a surprise card in each package.

Let me know what you think. Thank You . . . Blessings. LL

Hi Everyone. Thanks for taking the time to review. I hope I don't get into trouble with FF, but I find I don't like not responding here to my wonderful reviewers. So here goes...

As always, review responses are in the order received. LL

Dark Enchantress: Draco demanding? Giggle, yet again. I like him demanding, however not in a submissive whiny sort of way. That's probably because I see him as being stronger then most people portray him. Sure, he'll argue, steal and sometimes harass Harry, but those are his lovable qualities. Harry knows all this—now, anyway. When I first wrote today's scene, I worried they would end up in a fight. Naw. I did skip the slashy yum this chapter…there's a reason for that. :wink: I wouldn't want my readers to think I'm becoming repetitive. Hehehe. Anyway, thanks so much for your review. I hope my reviewers realize just how priceless they are. Blessings. LL

Natasha AKA Tash Hey, Tash, where ya been? Boy, it was good to hear from you. I can't claim inspiration all on my own. The last chapter came to me after I reread HBP. JKR wrote Harry thinking about a "Twisted Path" on the very last page. Then I just pick and choose which episodes she wrote and turn them on their ear. You know, make them slashy. :grin: Oh what fun it is… Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know you still stop by occasionally. I feel like you are an old friend. Blessings Always. LL

Katsu KitsuneHi. These guys knock me on the head if they don't like the way I portray them. Believe me, this is the only thing I can do that lets me get away with saying, "I hear voices and sometimes they tell what to do." Giggle. "Ow! Damn it, Harry. Bugger off! Go shag Draco—we have to make up for not getting it on this segment! Whew, he's gone…" Hehehe Draco just mouthed, "Thanks." Thanks for reviewing. You are priceless. Blessings. LL

Blanket Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Co. and all other characters within Potter World do not belong to me. No infringement is intended. I am making no money here; just having fun. Kudos and blessings to the literary genius JKR.