Author's Note: I know, it's been over a year. Now I'm struggling to remember how the story was supposed to go... I can only remember a few vague ideas. For now, I'll post the chapters that I had already completed long ago. Hopefully, the rest of the story will return to me... Enjoy!

Warning: This chapter precedes a Lemon Chapter.

Chapter Sixteen

The Beginnings of Temptation

Time could not have passed more slowly for Narcissa. She grew impatient, and very frustrated from feigning sleep on her bed. But when she finally decided to head out of the room, her heart throbbed with nervousness. She looked at the clock in their common room. It was a good half hour before midnight; plenty of time to reach the Astronomy Tower.

She unfolded the parchment Sirius handed her and drew her wand. Now we'll see what's so special about you, she thought. Touching the tip of her wand to the parchment, she murmured, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." And from where the wood and the paper met, veins of ink scattered onto the paper. She watched in utter fascination, after the moment the brief spasm of shock had passed. It took only a second for her to realize that it was a map. And another second further to know it was a map of Hogwarts.

Pocketing her wand, she studied the map closely. The detail was impeccable. Every room and every corridor, every single secret passage was depicted clearly. But what astounded her the most were dots, moving along the hallways on the map. And then she saw her own dot, with her name written right next to it. But she could marvel at this for only a second, because barely inches away from her – on the map – was another dot, labeled Severus Snape.

She turned around, breathing heavily, she sought him out. But there was no one there. She looked all around her, but it was obvious that she was looking for a person who simply was not there. She turned her gaze back on the map, and saw that there was no dot. Maybe she had imagined it. Sighing, she smiled. James was so thoughtful, meaning to keep her out of trouble. Her anxiety faded, the apparition of Snape forgotten, and she walked out of the dungeons to head for the Tower.

Upon reaching the base of the stairs, she sat down and waited. It was as if she could hear the ticking of a nonexistent clock in her head, counting down the seconds to James' arrival. Her eyes were on the map, watching for every moving dot that came close to her location. And finally, she saw his, a few corridors away. The ticking grew louder, speeding up as her heartbeat raced. And when he was about to round the corner to where she was, she looked up.

"James?" she breathed, in a whisper as soft as she could muster. But she could not see him. She looked at the map again, thinking maybe she had made a mistake. But there it was, his dot, standing very close to hers.

And then she saw a disembodied hand grasp hers. "Narcissa."

She would have screamed, if she had not felt him wrap his arms around her, and see a sheet of liquid silver cascade around his feet. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. "James," she whispered, returning his embrace. "James…" she said again. She felt his lips against her shoulder and she trembled against him. "I missed you."

"I know," he said, looking at her and caressing her cheek, feeling warmth spread throughout his body from the points he touched against her. "I missed you, too. Don't ever get yourself hurt again, okay?" He grinned, and she loved him.

He sought her lips and kissed them passionately. He placed a hand against the back of her neck and gently held her against him. Pausing for a minute, he looked into her deep blue eyes and sighed her name, sighed that he loved her. But as he leaned over to kiss her she turned away.

She grasped the silver lying at his feet. It was light and silky, and beautiful to look at. "What is this James?" she queried, running her fingers gently over it. She swallowed hard, her eyes far away from James' brown ones. Temptation was biting at her and she did not want to give in.

"An Invisibility Cloak," he said, taking it from her and hurriedly draping it over his shoulders. He took a deep breath, wanting to hide from her that he felt the same temptation, too.

She gasped when she saw his body disappear before her. She reached out to touch him, and he raised his invisible hand to meet hers. "Come," he said.

They climbed the tower together, map and cloak in hand. They reached a doorway, went through it, and shut and locked the door behind them. "Muffliato," James said, casting a spell around the room. They were a flight of steps away from the top of the Tower. But they didn't need to go that high.

Narcissa stood by the window, the cold air crisp and sharp against her skin. But it kept her sane; it prevented the growing heat in her body from controlling her. She tried not to look at James for a moment, not knowing that he was doing the same. They were alone. They were alone and there was an increasing desire within both of them that they felt they must suppress.

"What was it you needed to talk to me about?" he asked, scratching the back of his head.

Narcissa, grateful for his interruption of her thoughts, faced him and said, "I am worried about Snape, about what he said the other day…"

He stepped closer to her and drew her against him. "I don't think you should be worrying about that."

"But, James," she murmured, leaning comfortably against his chest. "I am afraid of what he might do, of who he might tell. And what of Lily…?"

James combed through her soft, golden hair with his fingers, calming both her and himself. "I love Lily, Narcissa, I honestly do. I have loved her for a long time. But when I look at you, when I am holding you like this… I know I love you, too. I know I am madly in love with you." He kissed the top of her head. "There is nothing Snape can do to tear us apart, you hear me?"

"Are you willing to give Lily up for this? For us…?" she queried, her voice shaking.

"Perhaps… About as much as you are willing to break your engagement with Lucius Malfoy."

His hands lowered to the small of her back and he drew her close. She noted that his breathing became slightly uneven, and that his grip on her was strong despite the fact that they were trembling. "James," she mumbled, placing her hands on his chest, intending to push him away. But she could not.

"Narcissa," her name escaped him in a soft growl. He pressed closer against her, the heat from him enveloping her, and she whimpered softly. "I want you…" he whispered.