Chapter 12:The High Street and the Towel Closet
"And you're saying we have to be decent to him?" Ron questioned for the fourth time. Celine turned around slowly trying to keep her temper under control.
"Yes Ronald. Don't you want to help figure out who's trying to kill me?"
"Well of course I do."
"Then don't be a dick."
"Wait what? How'd you reckon that? You're the one-"
"I swear to Morgana Ron, if you say 'fraternizing with the enemy' I will not hesitate to pour Veritaserum into your next pumpkin juice."
"Stay calm Weasley, I'm not looking to pick a fight today." Draco said walking up from behind them. Harry narrowed his eyes, "And no funny business either, Malfoy."
"I wasn't planning on it." Draco had his leather gloved hands in the air.
Celine sighed knowing that this was as good as it was going to get. She watched Ron and Draco exchange dirty looks.
"Going to be slightly harder than you anticipated I'm afraid." Hermione muttered so that Celine was the only one who heard.
Draco took them to a part of Hogsmeade that she had never known existed. It reminded her of the high fashion streets in Venice, each store front uniquely decorated to showcase the opulence within. Handmade chocolate, leather goods stitched with intricate patterns, exquisite home-made soaps. On more than one occasion Celine had to remind herself that they had a bigger objective at hand.
"I'll take you around after." Draco said from beside her. He must've noticed her wandering eyes. Not that she was trying hard to conceal it. Hermione must have overheard too because the next time Celine caught her friend's gaze there was an extremely amused expression on her. Celine tried her hardest to appear nonchalant with Draco walking beside her, occasionally tapping her on the arm to direct her in the correct way. They hadn't gone to Professor Slughorn's soiree instead they'd sat in front of the fireplace exchanging stories from their childhood. It suddenly all made sense, the constant tormenting, the snide remarks – Celine had been right about Lucius Malfoy's significant authoritarian role on his life.
They approached a storefront that looked like it belonged in the New York in the 20s with awnings in moss green with gold trimmings. The name read Hunter's.
The air inside was lightly fragranced with lavender, the display shelves were made of dark oak and their collection of designer jewelry were kept under glass cases. Her eyes were drawn to a bracelet display that held bracelets with different stones in laid in the middle. They were similar to the one she was currently wearing.
275 galleons.
Celine blinked her eyes slowly to make sure she wasn't misreading the numerical.
"Mr. Malfoy. Pleased to see you again." A wizened wizard dressed impeccably in mossy green fitted robes with a matte gold tie. "And what can I help you with today? Another charming trinket for your lady friend?"
"What? Oh…no…err…Darius…these are…my friends…" Draco's ears were turning a pale shade of pink. Celine pretended not to notice how warm her cheeks were getting. She noticed Ron making a face earning himself a jab in the ribs from Hermione.
"-I was wondering if we could take a look at the customer acquisition paper for anyone that purchased a bottle of Dragon's Milk in the last two months."
"I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy but that cannot be done. Hunter's has a strict customer privacy rule that we adhere to."
"Listen, our friend here almost got killed from drinking what she thought was your mead." Harry said. "We are asking for your kind cooperation, please. So we can figure out who tried to do it. Her life is in danger."
"You're Harry Potter." A smile started blossoming across Darius's face. "My niece is a big fan of you, Mr. Potter."
Celine saw Draco expressively rolling his eyes while Harry looked rather taken aback.
"She is?" He echoed.
Hermione elbowed Harry in the ribs. "So you understand the seriousness of the situation? You must believe us, we're only trying to get to the bottom of this."
"I deeply apologize, Miss?"
"Granger."
"Miss Granger but these are Hunter's rules. If you insist upon them you must open a case with the Ministry of Law Enforcement and issue a search warrant." Darius said placing both hands on top of the glass display case.
"How can you be so-…" Harry began but immediately fell silent seeing Draco move towards the counter. He leaned against it slipping a 100 Galleon note casually across the shiny surface.
"I can perhaps show you the pickup schedule of the week you are interested in." Darius eventually said.
Draco nodded. "That would be useful."
"Thank you." Celine added hastily. Draco glanced at her, surprised, murmuring a soft 'thank you' under his breath. She could've sworn she saw a small smile on Darius's lips before he disappeared behind a set of curtains. It didn't take him long. In fact the curtains were still fluttering from his exit when he returned carrying a tan leather bound book. In his other hand he held a rather large and elaborate peacock quill.
Celine caught Hermione's eyes. They both stifled giggles.
"What were the dates you were interested in?" He asked flipping the pages.
Celine tried to bring the memory of unwrapping the mead to mind. She didn't mean to glance at Draco, didn't mean to look into his eyes, seeing the steel blue flecks again. She was brought back to when she sat next to him and their arms brushed against each other.
Remembering the small paused charged with energy that transpired between them.
"A week before Christmas." Celine finally said, blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Unfortunately there are quite a number." Darius pointed out to them. Celine's heart sank. There had to be dozens of names on those dates.
"Does anyone stand out to you?" Harry asked.
"Hey is that Rookwood there?" Ron pointed out. "Didn't he die in the war?"
"Obviously this would be a relative." Hermione said before turning to Darius whom was nodding slightly.
"Miss Granger is absolutely correct, though I dare say I don't know exactly how they are related. As you know, that isn't a subject that would come up in usual conversation."
A desperate sigh ran through Celine, "I guess we're back to square one."
"I'm sorry I wish I could have been more of service."
Celine shrugged trying hard to hide her disappointment. Draco took her hand rubbing his thumb over the back of it, "Hey. We're going to figure this out."
She had to smile. The way he said we're. The certainty behind his tone.
Ron cleared his throat.
Celine didn't realize how cold her hand was until Draco pulled his away. Hermione shot her a knowing look which she pretended not to notice. Harry and Ron were already walking out of the store. They never saw the bracelet. Hermione caught sight of the display case that Celine spotted earlier. Her eyes went round when realization struck her.
"Let's go Hermione." Celine said quickly grabbing her by the arm and steering her away from the cases.
The wind had picked up outside and Celine pulled her plum colored trench coat tighter around herself.
"So it wasn't someone you knew from Beauxbaton." Hermione smirked. Celine shot her friend a look but thankfully Harry and Ron were out of earshot. Not that they would have noticed Celine's bracelet in the first place let alone make the connection that it was Draco that gave it to her. "Were you ever going to tell me? After that lecture you gave me about never telling you about Professor Snape?"
"I'm not even sure what this is supposed to mean 'Mione." Celine said.
Hermione pursed her lips but quickly wiped her expression neutral as Draco approached them.
"I'm not sure what you lot are up to but I'm heading back to the castle…unless you want to take a look around the shops Celine?"
"I…uhh.."
"We have Quidditch practice." Harry reminded her squashing any notion of wanting to spend the afternoon with Draco. Snap out of this Celine, what are you doing?
She swallowed hard, "Right. Of course."
Later feeling battered, wind-swept and cold Celine trudged into the changing room with the rest of her Quidditch team. Ginny was still busy trying to give words of encouragement but she barely heard any of it over the creaky metallic sound of her locker opening.
"Aren't you coming for dinner?" Harry asked.
Celine shook her head, "I'm going to take a shower here. My muscles are killing me."
Harry shrugged, Ron already at the entrance of the changing room gesturing wildly for the two of them to hurry up. "See you later then."
The hot water cascaded down her shoulders releasing the tension in her muscles and chasing away the chill that had settled in her bones from spending too much time on her broom while in the just below freezing weather. The only Quidditch captain that hadn't worked them to death was when Harry was captain in their sixth year, Celine thought ruefully. The cool tiles gave her a soothing reprieve from the water. Her heavy water-saturated hair sat on her shoulders the tips clinging to her elbows. It felt soothing.
Sounds of someone entering the changing room and head down towards the bathroom made her eyes fly open. The shower area is a rectangle shaped open space without any barriers separating the stalls, anyone walking in would immediately see her. The other end was completely blocked off with just a closet and several potted plants. She didn't have much of an escape route. Turning off the shower Celine made a grab for her towel – this was precisely the reason why the other girls hardly ever took showers in the changing room.
"Celine?"
"Draco…" Her heart was beating an erratic tempo in her chest. She'd barely managed to get her towel around her when he walked into the shower area. "-what are you doing here?"
"I have Quidditch practice after dinner…I came down early..."
Celine was highly aware of water droplets still dripping from her hair and running down her skin.
"Draco?" Pansy's girlish voice rang through the high-ceilinged changing room sending actual shivers down Celine's spine.
Draco's eyes widened from where he was rooted. He quietly rushed towards her, grabbing her arm and pulling her through the closet door partially hidden behind a giant leaf. There wasn't much space inside and Celine found herself pressed against Draco's form, the shelves of extra towels jammed into her back. His warm dry hands felt exquisite on her shoulders but Celine could hardly concentrate on that now, she was busy trying to keep herself from breathing too loud.
It wouldn't matter Pansy can probably hear my beating heart.
His fingers were on the back of her neck now causing a hitch in her breath. Draco pressed his palm against her mouth and tiny shivers ran down her spine.
The sound of heels clacking against stone brought Celine back to reality her fear bursting forth. What would Pansy think if she finds us like this? Sexual relation between students is definitely worthy of getting kicked out of Hogwarts. Pansy could say anything…oh Morgana…
"Draco I saw you walk onto the pitch…I know you're somewhere in here…" Her footsteps were beginning to fade.
Draco's hand on her mouth loosened slightly and fell to her shoulder whenever they couldn't hear Pansy anymore.
"That was," Draco exhaled pressing his forehead down against hers. "close."
"Draco…" She could smell evergreen cologne on his skin, the spearmint on his breath. Their eyes met and they conveyed his embarrassment.
"I-I-I'm…s-sorry…" His hand found the doorknob. It rattled and shook in place.
"I think it's stuck." Draco said trying to look anywhere but her chest. Celine bit her bottom lip, self-consciously pulling the towel tighter around herself.
"Do you have your wand on you?" Celine asked.
"No, it's in my room."
"Oh for Morgana's sake…" She closed her eyes leaning her head back against one of the shelves. "There has to be a way out of here." Her voice quivered.
"Celine, what's the matter?"
"I just don't like being in small spaces." Her throat was tightening.
"I didn't realize I didn't want her to find us…"
"Just get us out of here please."
Draco nodded. Celine involuntarily clung onto his side hearing voices through the door, "Who's that?"
"I think it's the rest of the team. Practice is going to start soon." He whispered in answer.
"Won't they find us here?"
Draco shook his head placing a finger to his lips as the voices increased in quantity and volume. Celine tried to tune out the locker room talk that carried through the walls. The Slytherin team was predominantly male with the exception of their Keeper who is quick with her sharp turns.
"You lot are disgusting!" Her voice rang clear. Another person replied her but Celine could only hear his deep murmur before the raucous laughter ensued. Draco shook his head. "They need to stop harassing Lisa or she's going to leave the team." He muttered.
Celine tried to focus on anything to harness her panic fortunately all she could cling on to was to the scent of Draco's cologne. Closing her eyes she a picture of the Forbidden Forest came to mind. A small clearing with fluffy grass that always felt warm underfoot and flat surfaced rocks that made great tables to study on; she had accidentally stumbled upon in her fifth year. She could hear Draco shifting in front of her, his Quidditch robes grazing her thighs. Trying to ignore the tingly feeling the places he touched her were experiencing she tried to focus on Hermione. What would she do if she was ever in this situation?
A distinctive fictional character came to mind with dark wavy hair and prominent handsome features, Sherlock Holmes. Yes…what is that Muggles do…peel locks? No. Pick locks? Yes, yes that's it…But I don't have anything like that…
"Celine…" Draco's voice was husky and cracked with restraint.
"Ssshh…I'm thinking…"
"I understand that but…" He shifted and all of a sudden the hyper awareness that she was only dressed in a towel came rushing back. The inside of her left thigh came into contact with…Oh...Is that his-…?
"I can't help it." Draco said.
Knowing it was her that was making him feel this way sent warm tingles down her neck into her spine and settled in her loins. Opening her eyes she realized the problem: the front of her towel had come undone in her meditation displaying her nudity from the waist up. Grabbing the hems she retied the knot averting her gaze from Draco's face.
"Is that a Keeper's faceguard behind you?"
"I..I don't know…Hang on…" He tried to turn but the constriction of space caused his arm to push against her chest. Celine pretended it wasn't a big deal knowing it would only cause more unnecessary sexual tension. At least Draco actually seemed preoccupied with trying to get the faceguard. "There. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. All I know is I need something thin and long." Celine paused trying to ignore the sexual innuendo that threatened to spill from her lips. She needed to rein her thoughts in or she was never going to be able to look at Draco in the face ever again. "Do you mind just…trying to move over so I can get to the doorknob?"
"Yeah, sure."
They shifted around trying to make the least amount of noise possible in case any stragglers from the Slytherin team were still hanging around in the changing room. Celine tried to think of other thoughts feeling his hard dick pressed against her shoulder blade when she knelt eye level with the keyhole.
"What are you doing?" Draco asked sounding alarmed.
"Relax…it's not…I know this looks weird but Hermione and I were watching this show…the man is sort of like an Auror…Muggles call him a private detective and he does this whenever he needs to get through a locked door. There are tumblers inside that can unlock it." Celine explained while ripping out the metallic part of the faceguard from its leather face attachments. Taking a thin silver metal rod from the netted metallic portion she inserted it into the keyhole fumbling for any sort of purchase.
"Do you even know what you're doing?"
It was hard to ignore the skepticism in his voice. "I don't see you coming up with any other solutions. So unless you want to be found like this-…"
"Like what? We could just say we were trapped."
"Oh Draco you think they would believe us?"
"Who's 'they'?"
"Them. People. Professor McGonagall." Celine gestured taking the rod out of the keyhole. "Whatever it is it looks like we're having sex in here and you know that would get us expelled." She was trying to keep her voice down but the exasperation was making her louder with every syllable.
He fell silent at that. Celine wondered what he was thinking of, regretting her choice of words, because now she can't get the image of the two of them out of her head. Her claustrophobia was pushed to the back of her mind.
It's been so long…
She imagined running her hands through his hair, offering her throat for him to kiss. An overwhelming unexplainable desire washed over her, the towel felt like a weight pulling her.
And maybe it was just that…
The charged atmosphere heightened with the intense look Celine couldn't keep off her face. Her imagination had taken reign yet a small inkling survived.
Can I do this…?
"Celine…" His voice did it for her. The soft husky way he pronounced the last syllable of her name made her smile. Her hands held onto his shoulders and her tongue suddenly tasted spearmints. His warm fingers trailed down her shoulders to the front knot of her towel.
"Oh…" Celine gasped. Draco had deftly untied the knot and his long fingers were playing with her nipples. Opening her eyes, seeing the smirk on his lips Celine had to bring him closer; had to satisfy the sudden craving for spearmint. Those hands that had teased her were now tracing the curves of her body.
"It's unfair that I'm already naked…"
"I think it's a bloody turn on." Draco murmured into her hair. "I'm confused…isn't this exactly what you didn't want happen?" Speaking didn't put a stop to his roaming hands. A fluttering need started up Celine's groin when his hand briefly passed over her mound brushing the fine pubic hairs.
"You're not making it easier though." Celine countered. Her fingers started to undo his belt feeling her way into his khaki Qudditch pants. She felt the healed crinkled skin around the scars on his stomach and his hips, felt the tiny tremors of his body as she touched him. Her lips longed to trace his scars but the closet didn't give much room to maneuver.
"Oh Merlin…woman you're killing me."
"I can't help it there's not much space" Her fingers brushed his hardened dick. Draco shifted simultaneously pushing himself into her hand. Celine wanted to take her time but that was perhaps one thing they didn't have.
Voices echoing from the changing room caused Celine's hand to freeze around Draco's dick.
"Wish I knew where Malfoy has gotten to. When I find him-…"
"You're not going to do anything."
"What? You think I'm afraid of that pathetic little-"
"He's one of the best players you've got you don't want him leaving the team."
"What's the worst he can do? Father is in Azkaban remember?"
Celine recognized Edmund's voice belonging to one of the speakers and assumed that the other individual was perhaps Jacob Donahue, the Slytherin captain. She tried to block out the rest of their conversation concentrating instead on sliding her hand up and down Draco's erection.
"Tease." He whispered into her ear when she kept switching between fast and slow rhythms. Celine allowed her sexual needs to take over.
Click.
The door unlocked from their constant shifting. Both froze immediately worried that Edmund and Jacob would hear them. Draco's hands cupped her breasts as he closed her towel around her but Celine was relentless.
The thrill of getting caught seemed very plausible – making it that more erotic. His hands flew to her hips when she tightened her grip on him. Celine could hear him struggling to remain quiet. She was battling an inner frustration of her own, pulling out his dick meant easier contact and feeling his hot skin against her fingertips is turning her on. She couldn't remember the last time she was consumed by such a desperate desire. But seeing his hardened dick would certainly entice her to take him into her mouth. She was craving to taste another part of Draco and she could tell from his eyes that he shared the desire.
"I'm sure he would have his reasons. Maybe McGonagall needed him for something. You honestly think he would be skulking around in the changing room because he wanted to play hooky?" Edmund's voice sounded alarmingly closer.
"He better."
Their voices eventually faded – all the while she hadn't released his dick, keeping up a steady rhythm.
"Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to be on a broom with a hard on?" He growled. Celine grinned, opening the door and discovering the whole reason the door locked itself in the first place: the giant leaf had wedged in the frame. The silver rod had helped with unlocking one of the tumblers that accidentally locked.
Celine delved her hands deeper, gripping his dick with her two hands now. She had to bite her lip to refrain the smile threatening to break across hr face upon seeing his entire body shudder with delight. His left hand gripped the hair at the base of her neck pulling gently to expose her throat.
"I think you still have some time before you can have that." His lips brushed her neck sending more sexually charged tingles from the places he touched. Celine gasped not expecting the sharp pain on her neck. He'd bit her.
Celine grinned, acutely aware of how wet looking at that wolfish smirk got her. "But I enjoy playing with fire."
"I need to go to practice."
"Edmund had a point Professor McGonagall could've needed you for something. I might need you for something." Celine looked at him meaningfully earning a genuine smile from him this time.
"Unfortunately I'm a man of my words, unlike Father. I have an obligation to the team." He carefully removed her hands, kissing her palms. "We'll continue this later."