Chapter 20 – Sensual Reunions

By the time dinner was over, Serena was full. Not in an I-feel-sick-and-totally-should-not-have-eaten-all-of-that way, but in a comfortable and happy way. She was still feeling quite giddy about seeing Tom and anxious to see him again.

The students stood up around her and Serena realized it was finally time. She caught Tom's eye as she walked out the doors of the great hall and waited for him to come over.

"I'm just going to go unpack and check on things but I'll be back down here in like twenty minutes?" She said, somewhat asking. He nodded.

"Good, I have to see to the other prefects, there's a meeting, again, but forty-five minutes sounds good," He said.

"Forty-five minutes then," Serena said, before smiling at him and running off to catch up with her girlfriends.

They walked the rest of the way back up to the portrait hole where there were a bunch of students waiting for the new password. Once the latest prefects had given them, the door swung open and there was a mad rush as the students piled in.

Serena, Heather and Eve found themselves in a very small room at the back of the tower, with only three beds in it. They looked around once and their jaws dropped with shock.

"Does this really mean it'll be just us!" Serena asked. The two other girls didn't respond, but instead ran to the beds with luggage that looked similar to theirs to make sure.

"This is my luggage for sure," Heather announced.

"Definitely mine," Serena agreed.

"Yes!" They heard Eve cry. "It's mine too!" The girls stood, shocked, with their mouths hanging open, still taking in the fact that they were rooming all together and all by themselves.

And then, after a moment, there were loud, giggly shrieks heard as the girls took it all in.

"This is so cool!" Heather said.

"I can't believe they did this!" Serena cried. "This is so great!" Eve only murmured.

"Wow, that's awesome."

"Do you think they did it on purpose?" Serena asked them, as she began unpacking. The girls shrugged.

"Who cares, it's awesome," Eve said. Serena had to agree. Not that the girls hadn't been roommates their whole life at Hogwarts, but they had never had a room all to themselves. Normally it was shared by at least two other girls.

"So, Eve, have you said Hello to Professor Sinclair yet?" Serena asked as she continued unpacking. Even in the dim lighting she could tell Eve was blushing slightly.

"Not yet," She said. "But you know guys I don't know anymore he's kind of…"

"Old?" Serena suggested. Eve bit her lip grimly and nodded.

"Aw!" Serena and Heather said simultaneously. They were both obviously just a little disappointed that their lurid affair was coming to an end. Eve shot them a dark look that sent Heather and Serena laughing as they finished unpacking.

After about thirty-five minutes that had flown by unbelievable fast, Serena went to the bathroom to make sure she looked ok before she went to meet Tom. She made a few adjustments to her hair and makeup before she felt satisfied and left to find Tom, making sure to take a small purse filled with more makeup and the necessities just, because.

She practically skipped on the way over. She wasn't scared of getting caught because technically it wasn't late and she was still allowed to be out as a seventh year. She reached the spot where Tom had told her to meet him just at the appointed time.

She was a little disappointed to see Tom not already there, but decided to wait as she was, just on time. After almost ten minutes, when she was just about to give up and go back and cry, she saw him striding purposefully towards her.

"Don't you think it's a bit dirty to be sitting on the ground?" He asked as he reached her. She rolled her eyes.

"I got tired of standing after a while," She said, pushing herself to get up. Tom extended his hand though, and she allowed him to pull her up.

"Yes, sorry about that, the meeting went a bit late," He said as Serena dusted her skirt off. "Rebecca's just very enthusiastic about her duties." Rebecca. Serena felt a twinge of jealousy. That was the second time today her name had been mentioned and it was only their first day back. She wondered how much more she would be hearing it.

"Rebecca, huh," Serena said, not being able to help herself. "Is she nice?" Tom shrugged.

"I guess."

"Is she pretty?" Serena asked. Tom smirked.

"Why are you, perchance, jealous?" He asked, leaning his arm on the wall.

"No, you've just mentioned her a lot," Serena lied. Well, part lied. He had mentioned her a lot today. He saw through this and his smirk grew.

"My, Serena, you are jealous," He said, finding this situation very amusing. "Admit it."

"No," She said, stubbornly.

"Come on, I know you do anyways, so you can just admit it," He said. She sighed, tired of this game.

"Fine, I am, a little bit," She said. A smug grin found itself on Tom's lips.

"I know," He said arrogantly.

"Well, is she pretty?" Serena asked. Tom smiled and let his eyes travel up and down Serena's body before meeting her eyes again.

"Don't worry Princess, you're the only person who interests me," He said. Serena felt herself blush slightly but she still couldn't deny the sense of relief she got when he said this and her smiled showed it. Tom shook his head at her smile, feeling very entertained at how silly she was reacting. "Come," He said giving Serena his hand. She bubbled a little on the inside as she took it, realizing he'd never held hands like this with her before.

"Where are we going?" She asked as he led her through the corridors.

"You'll see," He said. Serena sighed and pondered over the possibilities while they walked.

They finally reached their destination, but Serena wasn't quiet sure where it was. It was in the dungeons, very close to the Slytherin room, but they stopped right outside a statue. Tom said something Serena didn't hear because she was looking around and trying to find out where she was. She had never been down here before. Not that she would have, she didn't hang out with Slytherins, well, other than Tom, but this place looked totally foreign to her.

The moving statue caught Serena's attention and she moved closer to Tom. After all of her experiences with him so far, she didn't know if she was about to be dragged somewhere dangerous or not. Tom looked down at her, one eyebrow raised in curious amusement as he led her inside.

As soon as they were inside, Serena felt herself blush at her stupidity. It was a small common room they had stepped into. There was a couch at the end of the room with a table next to it. A small bookshelf lined the wall opposite to it and a huge carpet covered the stone floor. There were a few paintings and a small staircase leading upstairs.

Serena looked quizzically at him.

"Welcome to my room," Tom said proudly. She smiled.

"This is the Head Boy room?" She asked. He nodded.

"It's very nice," She said, walking around the room, looking it over.

"It is, isn't it," He agreed.

"A quiet place to work, your own private library," She was saying, "I know you must like it."

"And, there is a little snack compartment, in case I get hungry," He said, opening a cabinet door.

"Impressive," She said, looking over the mix of candy and drink. There wasn't anything really nourishing in there, but she did notice a small bottle that caught her eye.

"I don't think the Headmaster would have put a bottle of desert wine in here," She flirtatiously.

"Maybe because he didn't," Tom said. Serena looked at him, waiting for him to reveal the fact that he had bought it, even though she already knew. "I did."

She smiled as he pulled out two goblets and indicated that she take the wine. Giggling a little, she took the bottle and joined Tom at the couch.

"Well this is a surprise," She said as he opened and poured the wine, handing her one goblet and taking the other. "But I don't recall you liking it very much."

"Not so much, but I remembered how much you did," He said, holding his glass out as she smiled. She took the hint and gently brought her goblet to his, creating a small 'clink', before sipping the cool, sweet liquid.

"Make this an apology for never writing you back this summer," He said as he had a sip.

"Oh so you did get it!" She cried excitedly. "I wasn't sure at all if I even sent it to the right address. The postman seemed to know what I was saying, but he also seemed kind of stupid and I wasn't sure how capable he really was…"

"Yes, I got it in July. It was a surprise to hear from you," He said.

"A bad one?" She asked uncertainly. He smiled.

"A nice one," He said. "But I was busy so I never really got a chance to respond. I was planning on it, but I just never seemed to have the time."

"That's ok," She said, "I wasn't really home that much this summer, so even though I could have gotten it from my owl, you couldn't have sent it by owl anyways."

"You were with your friends, this summer?" He asked.

"Yes, we spent a month at each of our houses," She said.

"So it was a good thing I didn't stay with you then," He said, " you'd have left me all alone with your family."

She could almost have laughed. She wasn't that stupid. She would NEVER leave Tom alone with her family, especially when it was likely he'd be bored and do not good things just to amuse himself.

"No, I would have stayed at home all summer and Heather and Eve would just come by a lot," She said.

"Oh," Tom said. "It's good to know you're ok with making sacrifices for me."

Serena wasn't quite sure what that meant, because with Tom, there were a lot of implications. She set her now empty goblet on the table and saw Tom do the same.

"It would have been a small one," She said, deciding not to worry about it. "Besides, I'm sure you regretted staying at the orphanage in the middle of summer." He sighed.

"I did think about it sometimes, but I wouldn't have been able to do as much at your house," He said.

"So you didn't miss me?" She asked playfully, running her finger along his leg. He smirked.

"No, I did," Tom said, leaning and kissing her. It was hard, maybe a bit rough, but not ungentle. It was passionate, urgent and she could tell very obviously that he had indeed missed her. He was about to pull her onto his lap when he pulled away from her. She looked at him, uncertain.

"Let me show you my new bedroom," He whispered, somewhat out of breath. Serena smiled and let him lead her off the couch and up the staircase.

At the top of the staircase was an open door, which Tom kicked shut after they had entered the room. She looked around the room, noticing a rather big bed with black sheets, but that was about all that she had the time to notice. Tom was behind her, and had just started caressing her neck, while his hands encircled her waist. She moved her head to give him better access as he moved lower.

Her breath was short by the time he turned her around and caught her lips with his. He kissed her hungrily, greedily as if he hadn't had her in months (which he hadn't). She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her in a few short strides to the bed.

Laying her gently on top of it, he stripped himself of his clothes, while she started on hers. She had taken off pretty much everything, save her bra and underwear, when Tom's lips found hers again.

Soon she lost herself in his hands and mouth and before she knew it, she was crying his name in a wave of ecstasy.

And finally it was over and he slipped out of her and down on the bed next to her. It was a few moments while they both tried to catch their breath before either spoke.

"That was…wow," She finally said, rolling over to lay her head on his chest. He laid his arm around her as she settled against him.

"I know," He said. She could hear his smirk on his voice and she rolled her eyes. He pulled her chin up to face him with his other hand and looked her in the eyes.

"I missed you," He said. She smiled and kissed him.

"I know," She said, closing her eyes and snuggling against him. "I missed you too."

She lay with her eyes closed for a little while he ran his fingers over her back. After a little while, his fingers abruptly stopped moving and she opened her eyes.

"Oh, Serena I have something for you," He said, reaching over to his trunk which lay open at the side of the bed. He pulled out a small, long box and handed it to Serena.

She sat up and wrapped the sheet around her before taking the box from Tom. She looked at him curiously.

"Open it," He said. She slowly opened the box and her breath caught. There was a heavy silver chain with a square onyx pendant, inset in more silver. There were also three diamonds on either side of the pendant that were twisted into the chain and sat, winking at her in the moonlight.

"Tom," She breathed as she held the necklace in her hands, examining it, "it's beautiful."

"I thought it would go nicely with your ring," He said, pleased that she was still wearing it.

Serena didn't say anything, but continued gazing at the necklace. It was so beautiful! And, she knew it must have been very expensive. That was what worried her. She knew Tom didn't have that much, if any, money and she knew he could not have gotten this necklace in any honest way. She thought about asking him, but, she realized, she wouldn't like the answer she received so she thought it was best to just stay quiet and accept it.

"I think it's an antique," He said.

"I wouldn't doubt it, it's beautiful," She said.

"Put it on," He said. She smiled and brushed her hair out of the way before placing it on her neck. Tom came forward and did the clasp on the necklace while she held her hair.

"Beautiful," He said admiringly when he was done and Serena blushed slightly if he meant the necklace or herself. Serena fingered the necklace. It was beautiful. It was heavy against her, but not too heavy that it was uncomfortable.

"Do I want to know how you got the money to buy it?" She asked him, not being able to help herself. He smirked.

"Probably not," He said. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, thank you Tom. It's gorgeous," She said.

"You like it then?" He asked.

"I do, it's beautiful," She said.

"Think of it as an early Christmas present," He said. She smiled.

"Well thank you Tom, I do like it," She said, kissing him gently.

"I should probably be getting back. It's pretty late," She said.

"Why? You can just stay here. I have the whole place to myself and no one would see you," He said. Serena thought about it.

"I don't know…" She said. She didn't want to get in trouble, but then she realized that her only roommates were Heather and Eve. She could definitely trust them to keep her secret.

"You don't want to get in trouble for being out late your first night back, do you?" He asked her. "Rebecca has duty tonight and she doesn't strike me the type to let someone go off free."

"Well I don't have anything here for the morning, I mean how am I supposed to get ready?" She asked.

"Wear your stuff from the today. It's the same uniform and you could use my shower too," He said. She sighed.

"I guess I'll stay," She said. "I don't really feel like getting out of this bed."

"I don't feel like seeing you put clothes back on," Tom said. Serena laughed and lay down against him on the bed.

"You know, Serena, someday soon I will be able to dress you in expensive silks and jewels that would match your beauty." He said as he ran his fingers over her necklace.

"Tom, you don't have to do that," she said. "I don't require fancy things like that."

"No but you would like them," He said, "and you would deserve it. I wouldn't want my Princess to wear anything less than the best. I'm just upset I can give you so little now." She smiled.

"Don't be," She said, kissing him again. "You don't need to worry about things like that Tom." He didn't say anything and after a while she closed her eyes and rolled over. She felt his arm wrap possessively around her and after a little while later, she was asleep.

Tom watched her sleep, her soft body caressed by the moonlight that filtered in through his window. She was so beautiful, his prize. Her eyes were closed and her lips were curved slightly upwards almost as if smiling. Her chocolate hair fell about her shoulders and she gently held onto the sheet she had tried to cover herself with in one hand. Her body rose and fell in rhythm to her clam, slow breathing. She looked so peaceful there that Tom was overcome by a sense of not only pride but also admiration: Pride that he had conquered her and she belonged to him, and admiration of her serene, quiet beauty that had captivated him so. He watched her silently as she slept for a few minutes more, thinking and planning things before he grew tired and lay down beside her.

Hours later Serena's eyes flickered open with dread.

"You might want to get up now Serena, you have thirty minutes before breakfast," Tom announced, fully dressed and watching her calmly from the bathroom doorway. Serena groaned and threw herself off the bed. With only thirty minutes, she'd have to skip breakfast to get ready. Otherwise she'd be late and looking very disheveled on her first day of school. She groaned again and ran to the bathroom.