"I couldn't eat a thing." Maddy pressed a hand to her belly and grimaced. "I have cramps."

Two or three of her roommates broke off their conversation long enough to cast her a vaguely sympathetic glance.

"D'you want one of us to walk you to the hospital wing?" asked Eudoxia Avery, looking as if she hoped the answer would be "no".

Maddy shook her head. "I have a remedy back at the dormitory. I think I'll just turn in early."

As she left the Slytherin table, she caught Rabastan's eye. It was all Maddy could do not to grin. It was vital that she project an air of discomfort, at least until she was out of the Great Hall, if she meant to pull off her plan.

The hundreds of students and glowing candles warmed the dining hall, in spite of the high, chilly ceiling which reflected the wintery sky, but once the doors closed behind her, the warmth and hubbub vanished. Maddy pulled her robes tightly about herself and shivered, quickening her steps.

"Where are you going?" a familiar voice called after her.

Maddy's shoulders hunched, but she did not slow her pace or look up. "To my dormitory. I have a headache."

"Are you meeting that boy again soon?" Myrtle demanded. "It's been ages."

"It's December," Maddy reminded her. "It's too cold to do anything in draughty corridors."

"Oh." Myrtle looked disgruntled. "I'd forgotten about cold. It's always the same temperature when you're dead. What will you do until it gets warm again?"

"Keep our clothes on, I suppose," said Maddy, as if it were all the same to her. "Kiss and hold hands, like we're supposed to."

"It's too bad you're not prefects," Myrtle mused. "You could do it in the baths. Lots of people do."

"D'you happen to know the password?"

Myrtle frowned. "I forget."

"Then what use are you?"

"I could find it out."

"You do that," Maddy told her. "I'm off to bed. Serpens Viridis."

The sectiom of wall which hid the entrance to the Slytherin common room swung open. Maddy stepped through it and pulled it shut behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. Ghosts - apart from House Ghosts - were forbidden from entering common rooms and dormitories. It was the only place Maddy could be sure Myrtle would not follow her.

In spite of the fact that she had let Myrtle spy on her and Rabastan a handful of times now, Maddy was almost certain the ghost girl had begun stalking her, following her around the castle invisibly, in hopes of catching the two of them in additional private moments. As much as Maddy delighted in her secret trysts with Rabastan, it was growing harder and harder to relax and enjoy herself, knowing that Myrtle was watching them.

What they needed was some truly private, cosy, romantic time together. Tonight, thanks to Maddy's clever plan, they would have it at last. It might mean missing supper, but it was worth it to finally have time alone with the boy she loved.

In the safety of the lavatory, Maddy washed herself and changed into her loveliest nightgown. It had been a gift from her mother, the first time she had had her monthly bleeding almost two years before.

"I know you're not feeling your best just now," Cartimandua had said when she presented it to Maddy. "Pain and mess are a woman's lot in life, sadly. But it's every woman's right to feel beautiful."

The nightgown was beautiful. The cream coloured silk whispered deliciously against Maddy's skin, and delicate rose-pink ribbons gathered the luxurious fabric at her shoulders and bosom. She added a silver chain with a pendant shaped like a heart, to draw attention to the gown's low neckline, and admired the effect in the mirror, imagining Rabastan's reaction.

Maddy cleaned her teeth and brushed her hair until it shone. Her cheeks and lips were flushed and her eyes sparkled with excitement. She would not need Ravenna's magical makeup kit tonight; her love for Rabastan made her beautiful all on her own.

Stopping by her bed, Maddy drew the hangings securely closed. For once, she was glad that her roommates mostly ignored her. They were unlikely to check up on her, and would probably assume she was asleep.

The Slytherin common room was empty. Everyone was still at supper. Maddy crept down the boys' dormitory corridor, heart in her throat. It did not repulse her, the way the girls' corridor did when boys tried to enter it. Maddy wondered at that. Perhaps the school masters did not think boys needed protecting in the same way girls did.

The door opened on silent hinges. That was good. Maddy wrinkled her nose at the smell of unwashed socks and adolescent male bodies. The large room was dimly lit, with clothing, books, and parchment strewn casually across the floor. The beds were neatly made only because that was the duty of some house-elf, and not of the six boys who occupied the room.

Maddy felt certain she would know which bed was Rabastan's on sight, but she had asked him anyway, just to be sure.

"Will I find you there tonight?" he had asked, favouring her with a wide grin.

Maddy hid a smile. "Maybe."

"That sounds promising."

She climbed onto the bed, tugging the drapes shut after her, drew the covers up to her chin, and waited. Her breath, and even the pounding of her heart, sounded loud in the stillness of the room. She hoped Rabastan's roommates would not hear it, or guess at her forbidden presence in their inner sanctum.

Lying alone in Rabastan's bed, anticipating the delights in store, Maddy cupped her breasts, imagining his hands on her, smoothing the delicate silk over her body. She was already warm with excitement. The memories of all her other secret trysts with her beloved crowded her mind. Maddy wondered what they would do tonight, with the luxury of time, privacy, and comfort at their disposal.

She had quickly learned that the thing Rabastan liked best was her mouth on his cock, but she hoped he would not ask for that tonight, since he did not like to kiss her, after. Besides that, he seemed to enjoy sticking his fingers inside her, and talking about how much he wanted to fuck her. Maddy had tried a few times to show Rabastan how she liked to be touched, but in his excitement, he always forgot. That did not matter so much, though; she knew how to do it for herself now.

Biting her lip, Maddy tugged at the nightgown, feeling the smooth silk slide up, over the sensitive skin of her thighs and belly. There was no harm in touching herself a little, while she waited. The hair between her legs felt prickly where she had trimmed it. It had been an awkward business, but Rabastan liked it that way, and she told herself that she did, too. It looked much tidier, and it was easier to feel her way around the mysterious folds.

She was already slippery-wet from thinking about him. Even a light touch was enough to make her bite back a moan. Pleasure built, expanding inside her at the tip of her finger. Should she give herself release? Or should she wait for her beloved, to share that moment with him?

Merlin, you're wet, Yaxley, he murmured in her memory. I can tell you want it ...

Maddy thought about his cock, stiff and red and thick, and slid two fingers inside herself.

Though it was impossible to confess to such a thing aloud, in her heart of hearts, Maddy had to admit that she did want it. Once they were properly betrothed - once they had his parents' and her mother's blessing - she wanted his cock inside her. She wanted Rabastan to fuck her. The fingers of one hand churning within her, the other stroking that nameless spot of unspeakable bliss, Maddy imagined him, thick and lovely, filling her, pushing her to the brink of ecstatic madness, as they consummated their love for one another, giving her his seed in a shared moment of pure and perfect joy.

Maddy knew what her friends would say if she dared to speak of such things. They would call her a slut. But she knew she was not; she was deeply in love, and ready to be a wife to her man in every way.

Would they have to wait until Rabastan sat his NEWTs to be married? Some people left Hogwarts after OWLs, if they had a good position lined up. Rabastan's family had connections. Perhaps they would only need to wait until they came of age. Rabastan would be seventeen in a little more than a year. There was no reason for Maddy to continue to NEWT level; she felt sure she could manage a household, if she had a house-elf's services to call upon, and an education would not teach her how to please her husband, nor prepare her any better for bearing his children.

Maddy was still idly fingering herself, daydreaming about the peace of mind, security, and happiness that would soon be hers, when the dormitory door opened, and Rabastan and his roommates poured in. As lamps were lit and casual chatter filled the room, Maddy eased her fingers from between her legs and carefully drew the blankets over her head.

The boys seemed to take forever, changing into their nightclothes and taking turns in the lavatory. It was stuffy under the covers, and hot. Maddy tried to keep her breathing slow and quiet, listening to Rabastan and his roommates hurl jocular barbs at one another. Had he forgotten she was there? It was impossible to tell.

"Is that your wand, or have you got a stonker, Lestrange?" hooted a voice that Maddy recognized as Rabastan's best friend, Evan Rosier.

"Shut it, Ev," replied Rabastan's voice from nearby, "unless you're planning to come over here and suck it for me."

Ribald laughter ricocheted around the room.

"Do I look like your girlfriend?" Rosier laughed.

Maddy stiffened. Did they know about the things she and Rabastan did together?

"If I had a girlfriend who looked like you, I might never get hard again," Rabastan replied easily.

"Put it away, or go take care of it, Lestrange," said the sour voice of Severus Snape. "No one wants to see that thing."

"At least my nob's big enough to see from over there. Not like yours, or like Lockhart's sad little todger."

Fewer of the boys laughed this time.

"Mine's not small," quipped Snape drily. "It's just better-behaved than yours."

"All of you tossers can shut it," Gilderoy Lockhart snapped.

"Maybe I'll think about your mum while I'm tossing off," said Rabastan. "Is she as pretty as you, Gildylocks?"

"If I wasn't a prefect -" hissed Lockhart.

"- then maybe you'd get that stick out of your arse and be able to take a joke," said Noel Avery, Eudoxia's twin brother. "Leave Rab and his stiffy alone and go to bed. I'm all in."

One of the lights in the room went out.

Maddy heard a little grumbling, and then another lamp was extinguished.

The mattress sagged, and Maddy peaked out from under the covers to see Rabastan in his nightshirt, grinning, holding a finger to his lips. He pulled the drapes around the bed closed, and tapped each seam and opening with his wand, muttering a muffling charm.

"I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me," Maddy whispered, as Rabastan stowed his wand under the pillow.

"Nah; I just didn't want the lads to think I was too eager to go to bed. You wouldn't want them getting suspicious, would you?"

Maddy shook her head. "They don't know that we've been -?"

"Messing about? Nah," Rabastan said again. "I haven't told them anything."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

"I thought you'd already be naked," Rabastan continued. "Why don't you take that thing off, so we can have some fun?"

"Oh! Of course."

Maddy drew the silk nightgown over her head, disappointed that Rabastan had not noticed how pretty it was. But it was dark behind the bed curtains, and he was probably distracted by the excitement of the moment.

Rabastan quickly shed his own nightshirt, pulling Maddy close for a kiss. The thrill of his warm, bare skin against hers, all up and down their bodies, made her forget her momentary disappointment. But that was nothing to when Rabastan rolled on top of her. His hands were on her breasts and his hard cock ground into her thigh. Maddy could hardly breathe under the weight of him.

This is what it will feel like, on our wedding night, Maddy thought blissfully. Even now, his naked skin on hers felt so intimate and grown up, it was almost as if she and Rabastan were already married in their hearts.

One of his hands slipped between her thighs, touching her.

"Merlin, you're sopping!"

"I was thinking of you," Maddy confessed.

"Oh?" he sounded amused. "What exactly were you thinking?"

"Just - the things we've been doing. You touching me -" his fingers slid inside her, and she gasped, "- l-like that."

"Were you fingering yourself while you thought about me doing it, Yaxley?"

"M-maybe a little," she whispered.

He laughed. "Tart."

"I'm not! Not really."

"If that's so, then maybe I should stop."

His fingers slid out of her with a wet sound, and Maddy felt bereft, as he shifted his weight onto the bed beside her.

"I had an owl from home today," he said almost conversationally.

"I - you did?" said Maddy uncertainly.

Rabastan did not usually care to talk about other things when they were alone together, and he rarely spoke much about his family at all.

"They asked about you."

"Oh." Maddy's heart leapt into her throat. He had been talking to his family about her! "That's - what have you told them?"

Rabastan gave a one-shouldered shrug. "That we've been seeing each other for a while now. That you're pretty, and I like you."

Maddy blushed, pleased. "What did they ask you about me?"

"They asked whether we're serious about each other," he said casually, "and if we are, whether you'd like to come meet them over hols."

Maddy only narrowly remembered not to shriek, as her heart exploded with joy. The muffling charm could hide a wealth of sins, but not everything. Meeting Rabastan's family was only one short step away from being betrothed to him.

"D'you mean it? Can I?" she asked eagerly.

Rabastan chuckled, squeezing her arse. "Only if you're really serious about us."

"I am!" she cried. "Of course I am!"

He grinned. "Prove it."

Maddy drew back from him, and looked up into his eyes, taking a deep, shaking breath.

"I love you," she whispered, for the first time.

"Then let me fuck you. Just once."

"Rab - no! We can't!" gasped Maddy, eyes wide. "Not until -"

"I know, I know," said Rabastan, sounding mildly exasperated. "Not until we're betrothed."

Maddy put a hand on his chest, over his heart. She hated disappointing him more than anything in the world. "We can do anything else you want," she pleaded, "just not that."

He gave her a considering look. "Anything?"

"Anything," she repeated, relieved.

Surely there was nothing else they had not already done together, and having done it once, where was the harm in doing it again? It would be a shame if he asked her to suck him, because it would mean their romantic night together was already almost over, but it would be worth it, if it meant meeting his family.

"Well, you do have another hole ..." Rabastan said thoughtfully.

Maddy's mouth dropped open in shock. She was not certain she had understood him correctly.

"Y-you want to - to do it up the bum?"

He shrugged. "Sure. It'll be almost as good as doing it for real."

"But - isn't that for queers?"

Rabastan grinned and tweaked her nipple. "Queers and girls who want to stay pure, but keep their boyfriends happy. I know lots of blokes who've done it with their girlfriends."

Maddy was certain none of her friends had ever done any such thing. But it was too late to say "no", she realised; she had already promised him they could do anything he wanted tonight, so long as he did not take her maidenhead. She could not bear to disappoint him again.

"H-have you done it before?" she asked.

"No, but how hard can it be?" He frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Have you had a shit lately?"

Embarrassment squirmed in Maddy's stomach at discussing such personal matters so frankly. "Um, earlier today."

"Well, that's all right then. C'mon, Yaxley. Don't you want to do something special tonight?" Rabastan pressed. "To prove you're serious about us?"

Maddy swallowed. "A-all right. H-how do we -?"

Rabastan slapped her arse lightly, grin widening. "Turn over. Get on your hands and knees."

Forcing down her horror and disgust, Maddy scrambled to obey. She bit her lip, trembling, hands bunched in the bedclothes, as he knelt behind her. The blunt head of his cock pressed against her hole, and Maddy squeezed her eyes shut. A dozen frantic thoughts tumbled through her mind at once. Would it be messy? Would it hurt? Had she cleaned herself adequately?

"Too bad this hole is so dry," Rabastan quipped.

His fingers moved between her legs, scraping away some of her moisture. This time when his cock touched her, it slid against her skin.

"Ready?" he asked.

All Maddy could do was nod.

It was harder than she had expected for him to get inside her. Rabastan grunted and strained, cursing under his breath, trying to force his way in, as Maddy bit down hard on her lower lip against the pain, tears springing to her eyes. When he finally broke through, Maddy almost cried out.

Rabastan groaned in satisfaction as his cock sank into her, but all Maddy felt was burning, searing pain.

She tried to think about how much she loved him, and what it meant that he wanted to do this thing with her, but it was no good. This did not feel at all romantic; it felt dirty and humiliating. Maddy could not imagine any of Freya Lovelace's heroes doing such a thing to their lady-loves. What would her friends think, if they could see her now? What would her mother think? She could only be thankful that Myrtle was not there to see it.

Her breasts swung and jolted with every thrust, as Rabastan groaned and grunted behind her. Gritting her teeth, Maddy braced her arms more securely, determined to bear the pain and indignity of it for his sake. She was staying pure, and she was satisfying her man. Surely it would be over soon. Surely he could not last much longer ...

A sudden tearing, gurgling sound made her cringe. Maddy was mortified. On top of everything else, why must she break wind at a moment like this? Was her shame not complete? How would Rabastan ever find her sexy now?

But he barely seemed to notice. A few more rough thrusts, and a shuddering moan, and his body sagged against hers, almost forcing her trembling knees to give way.

At last, Rabastan pulled out of her, collapsing onto the bed. Maddy lay down beside him gingerly, feeling strange and sore and empty. A strong arm wrapped around her, pulling her close.

"You know what, Yaxley?" he said sleepily. "I think you might just be the perfect girl. My family are gonna love you."

Elated, Maddy snuggled close against his side, knowing it had all been worth it.

"I'll write to my mother tomorrow, and ask her if she'll let me come," she promised.

She wondered whether her mother would be disappointed in her for falling for a boy her own age, after what she had said about the wisdom of marrying an older man.

He's from a good family, she reminded herself. Mum will be pleased. She has to be.

Beside her, Rabastan gave a soft snore.

"Rab?" she whispered regretfully, touching his face. "Rab, I should go back to my bed now."

"Hmm? Then go," he mumbled.

"I need to find my nightgown," Maddy reminded him. "And I need to get to the door without being seen."

"Oh, right."

A little rummaging turned up the silk nightgown. Rabastan located his dark cloak to wear over it as far as the door, so that if any of his roommates woke up, all they would see was a shadow. She was just about to slip out, when he called after her.

"Hey, Yaxley?"

She turned back, hopeful for a tender kiss goodnight, or even that he was about to tell her he loved her, too.

Rabastan grinned. "That was fun. Night, Yaxley."

The door closed silently between them.

As Maddy tiptoed swiftly down the corridor, she could feel Rabastan's seed leaking out of her, running down her thigh in a cooling rivulet. It did not feel sexy or romantic, but that did not matter. All that mattered was that she was going to meet Rabastan's family, and that one day - perhaps one day soon - they would be married.