Chapter 4

"But you've always..." he trailed off as she unfastened the bra from behind and it fell away to reveal her beautiful breasts which fell a little and came to rest with erect nipples pointing towards him, "you...I don't...I don't want to take advantage of you," he found himself saying which was something that shocked him as much as it did her. If a stunning woman was standing in front of him almost completely naked James Sirius Potter would never stop to think about the next morning or what would happen after that, no James Sirius Potter would take the girl please her sometimes and then satisfy his own needs before thinking of the next morning and how to get rid of her. But now with his friend and team member stood gloriously in front of him, the girl who he had been trying to get into bed for the last three years, now he was starting to feel that he was abusing his position, abusing the situation and taking advantage of a vulnerable and terrified woman.

"You won't be," she said softly taking a step towards him, "I want this James, I want this now." Then she stepped right up to him and began to kiss him again firmly and more ferociously this time. The bemused man found his hands sliding down to the curve of her waist where they slipped inside the cotton pants she wore and stopped on her pert bottom which he gently caressed as he returned the vigorous kiss. Her hands travelled to the belt of his jeans which she deftly unbuckled and a few seconds later James kicked his way out of them to reveal his own completely naked body. He was now completely aroused and she took him in her hand as she continued to kiss him and stroked up and down his length listening to the soft moans he made at her touch. A few minutes later she stopped and removed her own underwear before laying down and looking up at James through still fear filled eyes, she beckoned for him to lay beside her on the hard cool ground of the canvas tent and he obliged, pulling her close to him to try and stop her relentless shivering, they continued to kiss for a few moments but he made no move to touch her in any other way.

Pulling her head back from his she laid down and arched her back to thrust one nipple towards his mouth, he looked at it for a moment before taking it hungrily and beginning to tenderly lick and suck on it, listening to the soft moans that she made while her hands sought out his hard member again. He alternated her breasts, cupping them gently between his hands and allowing his tongue to cause her pleasure and then he slid his fingers between her thighs and felt her rise to meet him as they gently slipped in and around her intimately. She guided him to bring her to ultimate pleasure and her whole body trembled briefly beneath him before she relaxed and moved his hand gently away from her, she held onto the hand as if in thanks but kept her eyes firmly shut. His lips sought out hers after that and he relished in the fact that he was still happy just to satisfy this gorgeous and terrified girl not at all interested in satisfying his own needs for once. He was amazed by her beauty, whether it was down to her or their situation he did not know but he was almost mesmerised by her and when she finally opened her eyes and used her legs to roll him on top of her he stopped and looked into her eyes brushing her hair back from her face before whispering, "Are you sure?"

She nodded her head at him and tried to smile though she was still clearly feeling an overwhelming amount of emotions, "I don't want you to regret this Annemarie," he murmured but she shook her head at him and began to push gently on his bottom trying to guide him into her.

He pushed himself slowly and then paused when she gasped, he could feel that he was completely inside of her and he waited a few seconds before pulling back and thrusting even deeper, she groaned intensely and looked into his face smiling through pain filled eyes and encouraging him still with her hands. He took his time, moved himself slowly, each time pushing ever deeper until he could hold it back no longer and with one final push and a deep groan he burst inside of her and collapsed onto her naked body covering her completely. He held her tight as they both trembled and tried to regulate their panting breaths, he started to shiver with a mixture of feelings like she had had, only his feelings were for different reasons. He suddenly feared how he felt about Annemarie who had seemed totally different to any other girl he had slept with before, he was scared of how his feelings about sex had suddenly changed in this one act with this one woman. He also felt on edge because of their dangerous situation and he suddenly felt guilty that he might truly have taken advantage of her vulnerable position and abused not only their friendship but his position as a more senior member of their small team.

Annemarie was still shaking and he swiftly moved himself back onto his side where he could pull her close and try to soothe away her fears, he stroked her shoulder and with his wand called blankets to cover them from the beds in the corner. Neither of them spoke for a long time, they just lay breathing and clinging to each other, both afraid to say anything and both on tenterhooks for any sound from outside that might let them know that their enchantments had been breeched.

Periodically through the night James rose and checked the spells again, he dressed hurriedly the first time and when he returned to their little bed in the middle of the room he found that Annemarie had dressed herself and was sitting covered in one of the blankets around the small candle which still burned. "Are you alright?" he whispered sitting beside her and taking the liberty of holding her in one arm.

"A-ha," she nodded turning away from his face and staring at the candle beside them she didn't lean into his hold but she didn't push away from it either and James was more concerned now with their situation to notice that the atmosphere between them had suddenly and inexplicably changed. Eventually Annemarie laid back down and fell asleep on the floor where they had made love earlier while James took up a watchful stance near the entrance to the tent, there had been no more movement outside and he had not heard any noise at all for a few hours. He therefore jumped to his feet in shock when five or six loud pops sounded beside the tent signalling the arrival of some wizards whether they were friend or foe he did not know and he held his wand aloft in front of him as he shouted "Annemarie."

She jumped to her feet immediately and he placed a finger to his lips to make sure she stayed quiet but moments later he released his stance as he heard a familiar voice shout, "Potter, Blaise, Watson the curtains are purple in the opposition's quarters." This was a signal that the people standing outside were Ministry aurors and he immediately opened the tent flaps and stepped beyond the enchantments as more aurors popped into sight along the hedge which enclosed the manor, they were all stood in duelling position with their wands held high ready to defend themselves against any attack.

"Potter," Beerney began when his comrade had come into view, "your cleric did not report back last night what is your position?"

"Zabini is captured sir, we have seen MacNair in the manor house and were seen running back to the safety of our enchantments by various wizards from within the manor, we were unable to send word as it would have betrayed our position and waited as is protocol for assistance."

"Thank you Potter, Blaise is captured you say? What about Watson?" he asked.

"Watson is safe inside sir," he went on gesturing to the still invisible tent, "I think she needs to be back at headquarters, the mission has been a shock for her and she needs to recover sir."

"Thank you Potter, Menson," he went on turning to another auror dressed in Ministry uniform of dark green robes, "will you escort Miss Watson back to the Ministry and debrief her on the situation?"

"Yes sir," Menson replied and with a flick of his wand James removed the enchantments and the tent came into view, Menson disappeared inside it and then reappeared a couple of minutes later accompanied by Annemarie who was still whitefaced and shaky. James offered her a small smile as Menson prepared to side-along apparate her back to the ministry with him but she did not return the smile and James felt a little sullen as she popped out of sight without acknowledging him at all. He suddenly started to feel a lot guiltier about everything that had gone on the previous night.

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"You will be debriefed in Beerney's office Mr Potter," said the new receptionist from the front desk who had come to find him in his office. The grounds and manor house had been searched but were completely empty having been vacated sometime during the night by the Malfoys and their friends. Blaise's tortured body had been found alive but severely damaged and he had been transferred immediately to St Mungo's to undergo treatment to ensure there was no permanent damage to his body. Once this had been done Beerney had instructed James to return to his office to await a call for debriefing and he had been sat waiting for the message for almost an hour when the young blonde haired girl had knocked on his door.

"Thank you," he said solemnly as she turned to leave his room. He trudged wearily to Beerney's office on the same floor passing by the reception desks where the administration staff were busy filing, typing and flooing various people. The activities at Malfoy manor had left the department with a lot of paperwork and an immense task as MacNair and his crowd needed to be tracked down quickly before their numbers could grow even more.

"Take a seat," Beerney said as James entered the room and closed the door behind him, a clerical assistant was sat between them ready to record the meeting and she had a quick quill poised in her hand. "James you are to be commended," Beerney began and his eyes widened a little, "You followed Ministry protocol and followed up Zabini's disappearance correctly, Miss Watson informed us that you waited the statutory sixty minutes last night before setting out after him and ordered her to remain in the tent to contact us in the event that you did not return. She also told us however that she failed to follow your command and set out after you instead of contacting the office for backup," Beereny's face became grave and James' mouth fell open as he continued, "she was foolish to do so and realises how much she jeopardised both the mission and the safety of all three of you, she deeply regrets her actions and is prepared to take responsibility for them herself."

"What...what will happen to her?" James stuttered still in disbelief.

"She has been given a verbal warning and lectured on the seriousness of the mistake that she made, Miss Watson has been suspended on half pay for the next month and will return to a lower position in the department when she comes back." Again James' face fell, she had taken full responsibility for everything and was to be punished when it was also partly his fault for allowing her to accompany him "However James," Beerney went on interrupting his thoughts, "she has told us about your admiral behaviour in protecting her from the hooded men who followed you back to the tent, you were primarily concerned for her safety and took it upon your self to ensure she was not harmed while undertaking the serious breech of ministry protocol that she did. Well done James, without your valiant effort the consequences of her mistake could have been grave, possibly resulting in her death, I am proud to call you a member of my team and I think that last night you showed for the first time your true qualities as an excellent junior auror."

"But," he tried to interrupt.

"Now as far as we can tell Zabini has suffered no permanent damage from his ordeal, his body is weak and he will need time to recover but he is responding well already to his treatment and we are impressed that he did not give away the whereabouts of you and Miss Watson even though she did it for you both." James began to look guiltily at his feet, she had taken total responsibility and it was not all her fault, how could he let this happen?

"Mr Beerney," he began but he was cut off immediately as his senior auror continued.

"Your mission is over James now that the manor has been vacated, you are to return to your usual duties within the ministry for the time being unless we require you to join with another team, at present they are all still staking out the main ex-death eater families as you were but if another situation presents itself like the one you encountered we may need you to go in as part of the back up team. It is usual policy to allow a few days of rest after a situation such as yours so you need not return to work until Monday, however if your help is needed before then we will contact you swiftly and expect your attendance at the office immediately."

"Yes Mr Beerney," James replied glancing up.

"Very well," Beerney said standing up and walking around his desk, "you have proved yourself worthy to follow in your father's footstep on this mission James and I look forward to seeing more from you as your career continues, now I can see you are weary," he laughed, "so may I suggest going home and getting some well earned rest?" he finished shaking James' hand and escorting him to the door. "Jenny," he went on turning back to look at the administrative assistant still scribbling on her notepad, "can you type up the debriefing and have the note sent to Abery as soon as possible thank you?" and nodding her head the young witch rose from her seat and followed James out into the corridor.

He wondered aimlessly past other offices heading in the direction of the clerical stations where he hoped to find Annemarie, but of course when he arrived she was not in her usual position ready to throw some witty comment at him and for a moment he felt a little lost to be there without her. He could still not believe that she had taken full responsibility for what had happened and he was feeling increasingly guilty about not setting the record straight during the meeting, he had tried once or twice to interject but he had been so bemused by it all that he had only tried half-heartedly and allowed Beerney to ignore his rebuttals. "Jenny," he said to the witch who had transcripted his debriefing and was now swiftly typing up the notes at a desk in the clerical area, she looked up into his weary face, "where can I find Annemarie?" he asked but she shook her head at him.

"She's gone home James," she replied, "Beereny told you she has been suspended for a month, she went home straight after her own debriefing and asked that no body contacted her."

"Where does she live?" he asked, "I need to speak to her."

"Sorry James I can't tell you that, I can't give out personal details about staff to anyone even if they are friends," she returned smiling in apology.

"Oh, right....right, thanks...thanks anyway," he said turning and walking slowly from the office intending to use the nearest floo to get back to his flat and get some rest.