SPOV
To my consternation, the evening had continued on mercilessly as planned. I had a hope, however brief, that Augustin might have closed the palace and terminated the celebration early in light of the shocking events. That assumption was dashed harshly when instead the musicians simply began to play anew. The light and cheerful melodies that fluttered through the room seemed an odd contrast following on the heels of the Aria's rapture and molten passion.
At least nobody dared speak to us. After our strange possession by Ashera's spell, we had become radioactive. Having to entertain a throng of shocked adults, praising or fawning after us would have probably been worse though...' I thought watching Al's flushed features out of the corner of my eye.
Sure we had gotten looks and whispers as we stood panting in the center of the room... but not a single guest risked approaching us about what had happened. Finally even our parents and grandparents had stopped giving us their suspicious glares. Except for her of course... Every time I found my mom's face in the crowd she forced herself to turn away hurriedly. Aunt Daphne and aunt Renée were arguing with her shamelessly... their hands a flurry of movement. Were they defending me?' I wondered. To my surprise Ginny Potter walked up to my mother and greeted her warmly, interrupting the heated discussion with her eyephone. The ginger beauty held out her device to share whatever was on its screen. Astoria delicately withdrew the item, her thoughts lost in some far off place.
I wanted to know what was being discussed but my attention was wrenched from me when an electrical crackle began to my left.
I couldn't help but groan loudly when I took in the sight of the smoking broadcasting equipment around us. Despite the destruction of the cameras, the world had already seen the power of the pureblood ritual with us at its heart. It wouldn't be long before most if not all of our age group found out about this. The last thing we needed right now was more gossip.
"I'm going to find Aurora, you'll be alright on your own for a bit Al?"
Athena nodded absently, a little flushed, her hand trailing from my arm as she detached herself from me. I watched her walk towards Lorcan and Lysander who were in turn glued to their Grandfather Arcanis. My boss's mouth moved in response to his family's words, but his eyes did not leave me or Al.
'Is this really what you had in mind when you told Al to draw attention to himself?' I wondered when Aurora came up to me bravely with a glass of champagne, walking me off from the center of the chamber. Nobody else had dared to fill the empty space where the circular marks of our magic had scarred the floor.
"That was... interesting."
I ignored her gentle invitation to discuss the freakish display of our power.
She led me casually to a more private corner of the hall where we found ourselves behind a table arrayed with an exquisite sampling of food. She positioned me conveniently so that my sight of Al would be obscured by a massive chocolate fountain.
"You know its me here right?"
"So... school will be starting up again. You ready to for fourth year?"
"Scorpius Malfoy—"
"—Not now Rory. I mean it. Its too much."
I took in her concern, a strangely strained distance between us. She had to look up at me, her fifteen year old features appearing so unfinished to my adult eyes. Hers searched my face hotly, out of concern and admiration both.
"Can you just distract me from it? Talk to me like nothings changed. I'm sure the order will want to discuss this at the meeting later. For now… I just need my mind to settle. You have no idea what the magic feels like. It's still coursing through my veins like a tempest."
So Aurora and I had chatted, she making a substantial effort to distract me from the nights exhausting drama. To her credit she had me laughing within minutes, joking at the expense of many of the guests we had known since our childhood. Her charm was infectious and as I drank more of the bubbly champagne offered to me she finally bristled petulantly around my third glass.
"Just because you're eighteen and can drink, doesn't mean you have to get hammered right in front of me! Stop rubbing it in."
"Its a Dom Perignon too, 1986. Delicious really." I teased, tilting my glass side to side to show off the sparkling wine. Aurora was about to fire back at me when her attention was dragged off to a sight behind me.
"Oh no. Where do they think they're going?"
My eyes trailed back in the direction of Auroras gaze to catch Max leading Al out of the room by the hand. Again I had the strange feeling in my chest from earlier in the night. Max had made that comment about seeing Al without his clothes on and it had somehow angered me to no en—
"—Go. That's a bad idea if it's what it looks like." Aurora signaled, nodding her permission for me to leave her. Without waiting I grabbed a napkin from the table and paced quickly out of the room, feigning as though I had spilled something onto my expensive shirt. The moment the eyes of the chamber were off me, I dropped the napkin onto a side table and followed the pair into the adjacent hall.
Max paced towards the doors that led out onto one of the unlit balconies, laughing as Athena trailed behind him along the sleek marbled tiles of the Valois palace.
The first night of the carnival there had been ten times the number of guests, and so every inch of the palace had been lit and open to the revelers. Nobody roamed the halls this time. The final night of the Carnival had many of the public spaces left closed, including the secluded balcony the two were now sneaking off to.
I slipped out of the thrumming party, looking around for any sight of them as the door creaked behind me.
I froze suddenly when I heard Al's flirtatious laughter emanating from around the corner to my left.
"What's going on?" I barked, my eyes catching sight of Max's hand fumbling at Al's now naked back.
"Oh thank goodness! Maybe Scor can help?" Al laughed again casually, smiling at me from over her shoulder. "It seems neither of us really has much experience with a braw. I had an issue with it while dancing and needed to readjust it." She explained, her now loose hair gathered over one shoulder so the tall Max had complete access to her beautiful skin.
"Oy Macmillan, I think your cousin is looking for you." Aurora squeaked, peeking her head through the open doorway. Light and the sounds of conversations flooded out from the interior of the palace, although with the moon so full we hardly needed it to see.
"Hey Aurora. I guess i'll leave Al in your hands then Scor." Max offered innocently as he headed back inside. "Care to dance with me after I speak to Melody?"
"Why I'd be delighted, Hufflepuff."
Rory and the badger left us without a backwards glance and just like that we were alone again for the first time since this morning. Out here beneath the glistening starlight, away from the din and forced veneer of the Carnival, a sense of clarity overcame me.
"So its your turn I guess to try fixing my—"
I stepped forward to place my hands against the alabaster skin of the young woman in front of me, cutting her off mid sentence in the process. She shivered beneath the touch of my fingers and I delighted beyond words at the sensation. Finally I ran my index finger down the length of her exposed spine, at least as far as the unzipped dress would allow. A strange itch gnawed at my thoughts to see Al's entire frame and musculature so different from what I was used to.
'I want to see more'.
That feeling rang inside of me until it grew louder than a swarm of bees.
"Scor?" She asked when I'd failed to move.
Without warning I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled us tightly against one another.
"Use your new gift, fly me to the roof." I ordered into her ear.
The soft scent of the cologne I had gifted Al filled my nose just as the wind danced playfully through her hair.
"Erm… ok." She mused, not sure what was going on. Athena, as Al had insisted we call her, summoned her flight magic and leapt us from the balcony onto the roof of the shadow Louvre in one smooth bound. We alit with a shaky wobble, my arm around her making the landing a little awkward. Still I clung to her, refusing to let go.
Outstretched before us lay the city of Paris, twinkling magically for miles in every direction. Light from the iconic glass pyramid shone in the courtyard just beyond the hazy glimmer of stealth matrix, making the entire scene look like a masterful painting. Tomorrow, when photos and videos of our spell surfaced across the muggle world, we'd get a chance to see a real unique vision of the city. I had no doubt the sight had both frightened and captivated all who had seen it.
Like petrified statues the two of us stood there for several minutes beneath the caress of the night air. Our breathing came more and more heavily the longer we were pressed together, awareness of each other's bodies growing like nervous flames. The heat grew until I could barely stand it. I forced myself to release her, but instead of re-affixing the braw as she'd expected, I chose to seize the zipper of her gown between my fingers. Athena froze as I dragged the ornate toggle down as far as it would go.
"Take it off." I commanded firmly, walking backwards to casually lean myself against the flagpole.
"Excuse me?" She stuttered, turning around to stare at me as though i'd gone mad.
The ravishing beauty held the dress up desperately, trying to keep it in place now that it had been completely unfastened. I could feel the three glasses of champagne coursing through my veins and the spell of Ashera's Aria numbing my logic. Still I merely motioned for Al to continue, noting the flapping sound of the french flag from above me.
"Are you saying no to me? Æ£ßüS." I asked curiously, watching her flinch at the use of her true name ringing out into the open. She gasped, a cute little intake of air accentuating the nervousness she must have felt.
Her reaction only emboldened me more.
"Are you going to make me?" She countered, a shallow fear dripping from her voice. Even from here I could tell her hairs were bristling with nervousness.
"I would never make you do anything you didn't want. I'm asking you if you're actually refusing my request?" I pushed, raising an eyebrow.
"Is this… because of Max? I asked him if he would join the order earlier. We've all had a bit to drink. That's all Scor."
I began to sing the lyrics of the song we had just played for the entire court, enunciating the words more slowly and delicately than during the live performance. The music had been stuck in my head the entire day.
"Kuwata, tsunowo vralai…
Tsuriji pufuralekaiiiiii…
Kwondzuvai… undovartsu wronduwaiiiilllll
Tjortetei… jeki liagooooo…"
To my surprise Al's face reddened, her eyes darting away from mine as fast as she could manage. The ethereal creature slipped her arms from the dress one at a time, allowing the beautiful fabric to fall in an elegant heap to the ground. She was now clothed only by an un hooked silk braw and matching black silk panties. Athena pulled her arm protectively around her breasts as she shuddered under the attention of the wind. Those long slender legs stepped free of the mound of fabric on the floor of the roof and I had to catch myself from gulping stupidly.
"Happy?" She asked as a challenge, still unable to meet my eyes directly. I merely continued to sing, drinking in the sight of her moonlit skin like a drug. I was drunk off of the vision.
I hadn't stopped to consider what I was asking of Al. I hadn't stopped to worry about what this would mean for our friendship. I merely nodded for her to continue, closing my eyes as the music poured from my lips.
"Jiunmata… ivelischpfuli…
Neftyoma… sorepiyameiiiiii…
Schijiyako… alefni fatalliliya…
Nic'hpisfa… unhoreselye…"
When I opened my eyes again, hers were closed out of sheer embarrassment. She was completely naked now, her body reacting to the unseasonable chill of the evening. I heard myself gulp this time, interrupting the flow of the lyrics audibly. It was the first time i'd ever seen a naked woman.
"Is it quite fair of you to do this to me?" Al asked when she heard me detach myself from the flag pole to begin circling her like a hungry wolf. "Not to mention we need to gather the order in less than an hour to meet for our first mission."
"What's it like in there? Do you still feel like you?" I heard myself ask, stepping closer to her. I'd completely ignored her protest.
Like stalked prey, she sensed my approach. Her eyes shot open in desperate fear when my voice had appeared behind her. Still i continued to circle.
"You don't seem like you either right now… so it's hard to gauge." She accused nervously, breathing more heavily the closer I moved. I placed a hand over her heart and she gasped again at the contact. So soft…
"Your heart is racing. Why is that Al?"
"Because… you're scaring me Scor." She whimpered. A heat rose in my groin as I felt the beat of her heart pound harder in her chest. My hand shifted slightly from her heart to her perfect breast, my thumb making a delicate half circle to trace the line there…
"You make out with me when you're a boy but you feel nothing for me like this?" I asked curiously, teasing her.
"Thats not at all the same thing. I also didn't opine as to what this body feels… or wants right now. I just said… that you're scaring me. I've had a bit to drink and i'm still dizzy from the performance…"
"What does this body of yours want then?" I interrupted, pulling her chin towards me so that she had no choice but to face my gaze. Our eyes met again and I wasn't sure this was Al at all. Her demeanor, her emotions, her words. Athena she had called herself…
Her hand came out to grab my waist by its belt, pulling me closer like a challenge so that our bodies were nearly flush against each other.
"You think this is a good idea… You think it's fair? I'm going to go back to being a boy, likely with the memories of whatever it is you have in mind for us right now. Do you think that's ok?" She asked, almost panting at the scent of my pheromones.
"You swore. Forgive each other for anything." I smirked at her devilishly, almost daring her not to continue.
"Those were your terms you ass… but yes… I did agree. You're the one I will hold to them some day." She corrected cryptically, her hand undoing the clasp of my belt. I started to unbutton my shirt in a hurry, leaning in to grab her lips with mine. The shock of our tongues sliding against each other nearly drove me insane.
Out of respect for Al's modesty, I won't describe the half an hour or so we spent on the roof as the Paris skyline sparkled in the background. All I can say was that it felt more right than anything in my life ever had. We fit together like two puzzle pieces. I wasn't thinking about wether or not things would be awkward for us after. I wasn't thinking about my feelings… or his. I just wanted what I saw in front of me. I didn't consider how selfish it was, I only knew that Athena had enjoyed it just as much as I had.
I hugged her from behind as our sweat slicked bodies cooled in the midnight breeze. Her head nuzzled back at mine in contentment even as I hummed the melody of Ashera's Aria into her ear. Another few minutes and the fog of passion cleared. Clarity rained back upon me like a volley of arrows, igniting for the first time in me a real sense of fear.
"Are you ok?" I asked softly, finally daring to turn her around to face me. She avoided my eyes and slipped her underwear back on quietly, offering only a timid nod as answer. I had to grab Al and physically keep her in place. "Are you ok Al?" I repeated delicately, noticing the scrapes on palms and knees where her skin had made contact with the rough stone of the railing and rooftop.
"We'll see tomorrow. I'm a little confused, but that's honestly because of how amazing it was. I just know... my mind is not what it is when I'm a boy."
In a few quick motions I deftly helped re-hook Al's braw, zipping her dress back up in one smooth draw. I turned to gather my own clothes next, pulling them back on as fast as I could. When I faced round again, she was gone…
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