Author's Note:

Chapter revised December, 2013 for SPaG (spelling, grammar, punctuation) issues, to flesh out the plot a bit more, and add some foreshadowing earlier on in the story.

CHAPTER 2: CASUALTY OF INFATUATION

Saturday, June 21st, 2031 (night)

The thumping bass of the music roared through Rose's veins as she ground her arse against her date's pelvis in time to the beat.

Corwin McLaggen, Keeper of the Montrose Magpies and arch rival to her own team, the Holyhead Harpies, was a master hottie. He was the epitome of everything she found sexy in a man: short blond hair that was as soft as an angel's wings, blue-grey eyes that glimmered with lust, pouty lips that begged for kissing, and a hard, firm body that made her ache with want. Although the two had an on-again, off-again flirtation back in school years prior, she'd never had him.

She intended upon rectifying that short-sightedness tonight.

Cor's rough, strong hands gripped her hips and pulled her in tighter, letting her feel his raging erection surging against her bum. Wrapping his arms about her waist, he pressed his wicked mouth to her ear and made her the offer she'd been hoping for: to go back to his place for an evening of fun.

Quickly nodding, Rose took his hand and led him off the dance floor, signaling her best girlfriends across the room—Eleri Nott, Holly and Shannon Finnigan, Alicia Longbottom, and her cousins, Lucy and Lily—that she intended on splitting for the night. The Finnigan twins both gave her the thumbs up, Alicia toasted her with a shot of some clear liquid before tossing it back, Lucy grinned, and Lily happily waved her bye-bye as she headed towards the loo.

The only detractor was, unsurprisingly, Eleri. Her best friend, who was dancing right then with Rose's cousins, Albus and Louis, took one look at Rose's partner and scowled at him in disapproval.

Rose laughed at her girlfriend's reaction, as it was a well-known fact that El and Corwin had been as antagonistic towards each other back during their school days as Rose and Scorpius Malfoy had been (El would often referred to Cor as "Gryffindor's Quidditch knob' and he'd fire back something to the effect that she was a gold digger and only after lolly). Basically, there was no love lost between them.

"Bye!" she mouthed to Eleri, not letting her friend's prejudice sway her against what she had planned for tonight. She'd waited far too many years to be back in Corwin's arms.

Dragging her ad hoc date out of the club behind her with a grin and a shake of her head (as he glared over his shoulder at Eleri), they hit the Apparition point and Side-Along'd to Corwin's flat without further interruption.

They'd just barely they made it past his wards and inside before falling upon each other in a tangle of frantic hands and hungry kisses. The small scene at the club was instantly forgotten as their mouths and fingers sought skin any way they could find it.

The truth was that Rose had never dared anything like she was doing just then. She'd always been a "good girl", not wanting to disappoint her dad who believed the sun traveled its horizon just for her. Besides, her mother had always been rather strict about propriety, and it had been ingrained into her from a young age that proper ladies never "got around". In her twenty-five years, she'd only had two men in her bed, and both of them had been long term commitments, spanning over two years a piece. Tonight, though, she'd decided to take Lucy's advice and have fun at the club and to let her destiny take her where it may. She'd never in her wildest dreams thought she'd reconnect with Corwin there, much less that he'd be interested in going home with her.

Her heart beating with manic wings, she now partook of this fantasy-come-true with the one man who had made her wish she'd given up her virginity to him back when she was sixteen.

Cor's strong, calloused hands pushed up the fabric of her aqua-coloured dress. "Bloody hell, Rosie, I've always wanted this with you," he admitted on a groan as he discovered the edge of her thong and followed it around with his fingers. "Ever since our school days. You're so fucking hot, you know that?"

His words made Rose's heart flutter faster. Never had either of her two previous lovers referred to her as sexy. They'd been soft, comfortable men to date, mostly friends-with-benefits. Definitely not the burn-me-up-and-fuck-me-against-the-wall type of relationship that she'd always, secretly craved. Would Cor be the one to give that to her at long last?

Pressed hard against the wall in the entry of his home, she felt her would-be lover's clever fingers dip under the band of her knickers and slide into her welcoming slit. His touch was pure gold and his skill to where to touch and with exactly the right kind of pressure was almost magical. Gone was the shy, young boy who'd blushed as he'd danced with her during the Yule Ball; clearly, Corwin had become quite adept at handling and pleasing women over the years. He certainly knew what to do to make Rose desperate, anyway! She grew so wet from his attentions that her pussy made embarrassing squelching, sucking noises as he pumped his fingers in and out of her body.

High-pitched keening noises escaped the back of her throat as he pressed a third finger into her, and her nails dug small gouges into the plaster as he fucked her nice and slow with them. Her whole body tensed as the pleasure grew, bubbled over...

"That's it, Rosie. Come for me."

She tipped into ecstasy at his simple command, crying out as her body convulsed around his fingers and her core pulsed with liquid heat.

Only when her body had finally stopped convulsing did Cor move them deeper into his home, preparing to take things all the way.

Rose was carried in his big, burly arms to the couch, where she was laid back into the cushions. With a quick tug, her panties were ripped from her legs and with a fast pull her dress was over her head and tossed to the floor. Cor then knelt before her to take her all in.

He went silent and still.

When she glanced over to find out what was wrong, she was surprised to see the awe-struck look upon Corwin's face.

"Merlin almighty, you're gorgeous, Rosie! So beautiful." He looked into her eyes and brushed back the bangs from her face. "Ravenclaw smart, Hufflepuff caring, Slytherin sly, and Gryffindor brave. You're all of it in one—the perfect girl." He seemed to turn inward for a moment, murmuring to himself. "I always knew you were all those things when we were kids, but now that you're all grown up… Wow. Dad was right about the women in your family. You're different… special. You're it."

Rose turned her head to face him head-on. "'It'?"

He blinked, and for a moment, she could have sworn there was someone else staring back at her through Corwin's eyes. The moment passed, however, as he shifted to lean over her, and something in his face took on a more determined look. "You're gonna be mine," he told her with conviction, his blue eyes flashing with a possessive claim. "All mine after tonight."

His words made her heart tremble. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. At least, not that she could recall…

"You're mine after this, Rose, you know? I'm keeping you."

She blinked, confused for a moment as the memory of another voice—a disturbingly familiar voice she couldn't place—echoed down the long corridor of her mind, surfacing from the dark vault of forgotten moments in her life.

"Who-?" she started.

Corwin's laughter cut her off and his features softened with his amusement. "You, Rosie. I was talking to you. Who do you think I meant?"

Rose glanced left and right, realized where she was and who she was with, and that she'd been caught in another one of her weird daydreams again. Thankfully, this one had been short enough not to affect her mood too much.

During her last few days at Hogwarts, and in the months and years following graduation, she'd occasionally slip into such moments of 'unreality', where she'd hear snippets of conversation she couldn't remember having, see flashback events she didn't recall participating in, or feel things she'd never felt before—all involving her childhood rival, Scorpius Malfoy, strangely enough. She'd have bursts of irrational paranoia or anger or sadness that she couldn't explain, too, usually proceeding one of her walks down Memory Lane.

Eleri had counselled her on more than one occasion to speak to someone about it, but Rose had always brushed off the mood swings as PMS and the bizarre voices or images as the residual of bad dreams (and yes, Malfoy was definitely nightmare material for an independent gal like her. All those articles in The Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, Witchie Pooh and other rags about him using up women like disposable toys was enough to grate on any real feminist's teeth. Honestly, the man was an absolute menace to womankind!). Thankfully, as she'd gotten older, those random breaks in reality didn't happen as frequently. She hadn't had an episode in almost a year, in fact.

Why now, though?

"I can't wait to have all of you under me, Rose," Corwin purred, thankfully not noting her momentary lack of attention, "to be inside you finally. To make love to you as I've wanted to since we were teenagers."

Bending his head towards one of her bared nipples, he drew the erect bud into his mouth with tender suckling, moaning like a devout man having found the Holy Grail.

Instantly, Rose's dimming arousal was reignited. There was something about Corwin that was irresistible; he was light to chase away her dark mood. She ran her fingers through his short hair, enjoying its softness, and she encouraged him with mewls of "yes," and "harder". He switched nipples, giving equal attention to both breasts, and then his fingers were back in between her legs, spreading her open, expertly entering her and coaxing her body to reach for another climax.

Before she could get there, however, Cor lifted his head, placing a small kiss upon her lips. "Do you want me inside you now?"

Out of her mind with pleasure, Rose nodded. "Yes. Please!"

"I like the sound of your begging," he teased. "Are you on anything—a birth control potion or pill? Or do I need my wand for the contraceptive spell?"

"We'll need the spell."

Without hesitation, he summoned his wand to his hand with a silent Accio, and cast the charm to prevent pregnancy and disease upon her. That done, he tossed his wand aside and began stripping off his clothes. "No more waiting," he mumbled, tossing his shirt over his head and to the ground, and rushing to undo his belt and trousers. "I'll try to go slow, but… fuck, Rosie, I want inside you so badly, I'm dying here!"

Sitting up, she helped him tug his slacks down his thighs, brushing his erection on the way past. He groaned as she wrapped her fingers around his length and gave it a long, slow stroke. "Want this inside me," she hummed as she gave him a long, wet lick. He shuddered in her mouth as her lips wrapped around him, drawing him in and sucking on the tip. "I need it fast and hard, Cor. Go slow later."

He nodded. "I can do that."

Using the strength in those powerful arms of his, Corwin lifted her up and pressed her into the back of the couch. Gripping her hips, he lined them up and slammed himself inside with one mighty surge, burying his cock to the hilt in her dripping wet pussy. They both cried out in satisfaction, clinging to the other as need overwhelmed their sanity.

Remaining true to his word, Cor fucked her from the get-go with quick, forcible pounding. Rose gave a series of incoherent cries, urging him on. She dug her nails into his arms, and rode him like an animal. Despite her lover's obvious skill, however, she didn't see stars behind her eyelids when she came. Instead, it was a bit of a disappointing orgasm, honestly, taking longer than expected, and ending in a series of small tremors, rather than shaking her to her core as her earlier climax had.

It was a frustrating sigh of relief when she'd been expecting an explosion of life-altering proportions.

Still, any orgasm was better than none, she supposed, especially as they were a rare occurrence for her. It typically took a lot of work to get her to come, even using her favourite strawberry-scented heated lubricant and her Muggle toys with their special ticklers and vibrating options. Besides, she'd had a lot to drink tonight. Alcohol always killed a bit of sensation, right?

It took several minutes of 'cool-off' time before Corwin was coherent enough to speak. Apparently, her lacklustre experience hadn't been mutually shared. "That was amazing!" he pronounced with a boyish grin. He lightly ran his hands over her spine, and nuzzled her throat. "I just knew it would be—that you'd undo me completely."

Well, clearly, Corwin not only had a sweet touch, but a sweet mouth, too. The orgasms he'd given her might have been a tad uninspiring, but Rose had to admit, her new lover more than made up for it with such lovely praise.

"I've kept tabs on you for years," he continued, sounding shy now. "Nothing stalkerish. Just asked on occasion how you were, if you were seeing anyone, if you were happ... that sort of thing." He brought a trembling hand up and caressed her cheek with it, meeting her eye. "All through school I fancied you, starting the day we shared a compartment on the train to Hogwarts. You never seemed really interested, though. I'm a lucky fucker to get this second chance."

Rose was astonished by his confession, having had no clue as to his hidden feelings for her back then. "But we went to the Yule Ball together during sixth year, when you were the Hogwarts Champion for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Remember?"

He gave her a slanted smile. "You spent the whole night glaring at my cousin, Scorpius, over my shoulder. It was pretty obvious where your interests lay then."

Flabbergasted, Rose could only gape at him. She hadn't liked Scorpius Malfoy when she'd been a kid. Her feelings for him had been just the opposite, in fact—she'd despised the Slytherin git! All through their school years, he'd cruelly taunted her, shoved her, played tricks on her, competed against her, and tripped her up, and she'd been glad to bid bye-bye to him the day they'd graduated. No way had she ever been interested in him, with his stupid rodent face and waspish tongue…

"It was my first time. You hurt me!"

"Babe, I'm sorry. No more pain, I promise."

His lips tasted of fresh, ripe strawberries - her favourite…

"Rose?" Corwin tilted her chin up, turning it from side to side, a worried expression on his face. "You okay?"

She blinked, and instantly came back into herself.

Oh, God, had she slipped again?

"Sorry, I was just… er…" Quickly, she reached for a lie to cover up the truth. "I was trying to recall that night."

Cor gave her a gentle smile and shrugged, as if it weren't really important in the grand scheme of things. "it was a long time ago. I'll admit, I've been secretly hoping that someday you'd be interested in me in that way, though, if we ever crossed paths again. It was really lucky that Lorcan and Lysander Scamander decided to drag me out tonight for some fun. Otherwise, I'd have missed you again." He ran a finger over her jaw, down towards her lips. "So, I guess I'm saying that I'm interested in seeing more of you, and asking if you want to do this again. Tonight. Tomorrow. Whenever. Cause, Rosie, I have to admit, I'm quite taken with you. Always have been."

Behind her ribs, Rose's heart picked up its paces. "Let's start with tonight, and see how we both feel in the morning."

Clearly relieved that she hadn't rejected him, Corwin eagerly nodded. "I want to take you to my bed, though. Should have done that the first time, but couldn't seem to make it that far. Sorry." He leaned in and kissed her. "I want to touch you and taste you all over. I want you to do the same to me. Sound good?"

"Absolutely!" she enthusiastically replied, looking forward to a second chance to orgasm tonight. "Lead on, sexy boy."

He lifted her in his arms and took her to his room. They didn't emerge for the remainder of the night.

Come morning, Rose was already half in love with her former crush.

X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X

Saturday, June 28th, 2031 (morning)

Rose continued to lay in bed feeling deliciously sated. Three orgasms (petite ones that hadn't rocked her world, but had done the job of relaxing her just as well) and a soothing shoulder massage had turned her into a pile of happy goo.

Corwin had spent the night at her flat, and he'd only just left her an hour earlier to get ready for his team's practise later that morning – the same exact thing she needed to do in a little while (although she didn't need to hit the Quidditch pitch until one o'clock, as the Holyhead Harpies were a little more interested in letting a girl get her beauty rest than in perfecting her Bludger batting technique). For the moment, she relished lying among her rumpled cotton sheets, pressing her nose into the pillow and smelling Cor's cologne—a wholly masculine scent that conjured images of tight Quidditch leathers, the scent of an honest-to-come-by sweat, and underneath it all, the hint of open pine forests. It reminded her of her Hogwarts days, which made her both happy as well as a bit nostalgic.

Sighing in satisfaction, she rolled around, hoping to bury that scent deep into her very pores, wanting to be saturated by it.

Good Godric, she was falling fast and hard for her new beau! It was impossible not to. The man was sexy, handsome, moderately wealthy, intelligent, and fun to be with.

A sudden worry had her sitting up and gripping her pillow close to her chest. Could they sustain the intensity between them and keep Corwin's interest long-term, or would this time be like the last two failed relationships she'd had: a bit of fire in the beginning, but fizzling out over time? From what Holly and Shannon had told her the night she'd first spied Cor on the dance floor at that club, her lover had had his fair share of the ladies since he'd come of age—and both sisters could be counted amongst that number, in fact.

Bloody buggering hell, how could she make herself stand out in what was surely a sea of other women who'd come before her when one of those experiences included taking a pair of hot twins to bed?

Perhaps Albus could offer some advice. After all, of all the fellows in her acquaintance, she knew that her bi-sexual cousin understood best how to win a man's attention. She made a mental note to owl the Potters this afternoon as she made her way to the shower and hopped in, getting ready for her day.

X~~~~~X

As she skipped down the stairs, freshly showered and feeling light on her toes, Rose began singing the chorus to a sappy Muggle love song that was one of her mum's favourites: "Cause it's witchcraft, wicked witchcraft!...And although I know it's strictly taboo… When you arouse the need in me... My heart says 'yes, indeed' in me... Proceed with what you're leading me to…"

An owl pecking at her kitchen window interrupted her cheerful tune. She opened the window to find her mother's messenger owl, Herbert, carrying an envelope addressed, "For Your Eyes Only, Rose".

She rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she wondered if her mother's paranoia stemmed from her time during the war dodging the Dark Lord's spies, or if the woman came by her distrust naturally.

Slipping the bird some treats and sending it on its way, Rose set the letter down on the counter next to the stove and began preparing her morning coffee. She'd formed the habit of enjoying khavesi, Turkish coffee, the summer after her Hogwarts graduation, when she and the entire female Weasley-Potter-Delacour clan had taken a "women's holiday" together to Amasra in Turkey ("also known as Amastris, the heart of the Veela empire in ancient times and the birthplace of the Amazons, their all-female army," according to Dominique), to visit her maternal side of the family. It was now Rose's sun-up ritual every day to make a cup of strong java, cook up some porridge, and sit at her small table to enjoy at least twenty minutes of uninterrupted dining over the morning paper.

Today, however, she opted to open her mother's letter at the table, and to unwisely read it at the same time as sipping from her mug.

Black coffee spewed from Rose's mouth and across the whole of the table's wooden surface as she sputtered and coughed with surprise.

After cleaning up the mess, she set her porridge bowl aside and re-read the letter. Holding the letter away from her as far as her arm could stretch, she re-read it again, thinking her eyes must be tricking her. It was either that, or she needed her glasses to read again (she'd gotten corrective magic done at St. Mungo's for that when she was nineteen, and had been happy to chuck the ugly things), because there was no way on Rowena's right tit that her mum had written…

Nope, it still said the same ludicrously asinine thing: she was to skip practice today, dress in her best, summer dress (something conservative) and make herself presentable for high tea with the Malfoys at Madam Puddifoot's in Hogsmeade at three o'clock.

Riiiiiight.

She scoffed and tossed the letter to the table with a negligent flick of her wrist. There was no way she was ever going to ever have any kind of pleasant conversation over crumpets and delicate china with that serpent-tongued tormentor of her childhood, Scorpius Malfoy. Not if she had anything to say about it.

Putting in a Floo call to her mum only ended with her stepping into the chimney and taking a trip over to her mum's cottage, where Hermione Granger-Weasley had been living ever since her divorce from Rose's dad. Rose then proceeded to get into a shouting match with her mother over the letter, which ended with her mum putting her foot down and Rose relenting – but only after having a heaping, steaming pile of guilt dumped right onto her shoulders, of course. Her mum had absolutely no compulsion whatsoever about using every trick in the book to get her children (and her ex-husband, and Uncle Harry) to fall into line whenever she needed them to. Rose fell for her hoodwinking every time.

The truth was, Rose was not a gullible person by nature, but she simply didn't like to disappoint her parents. They had sacrificed so much for her over the years, and that fact was her Achilles Heel, as it were.

With a deep sigh of resentment, she'd left her mother an hour after arriving at her home with a fifty-point jump in her blood pressure and a promise that she'd attend this important shindig which, her mother had informed her, had been at the personal behest of Scorpius, the spawn of Satan himself. Apparently, whatever that nimrod had to say to her was of the utmost importance and couldn't be postponed another day. Whatever. The wanker probably just wanted to tell her that he'd used his family's obscene wealth to buy up a Quidditch team so he could use them to beat her solidly once and for all. He was probably still sore-arsed that he'd never won a match against her, Seeker to Seeker, back during their school days.

Returning to her flat through the Floo, Rose slumped in defeat. Gods, her mother could be such a bitch sometimes. The woman had actually whipped out the argument that her daughter still owed her for that one time during Rose's seventh year at school when she'd been called into the new Headmistress' office in the middle of the week, having to leave an important meeting at work, all because Corwin had accidentally ingested a Puking Poison that Rose had intended for Scorpius (a retaliatory revenge act for Scorpius having joke-hexed Rose with a spell the previous week that had made her entire body bare of all hair for several embarrassing days). Only her mum's quick thinking and persuasive arguments had saved her daughter from expulsion that day… and now her mother was using that as a weapon to force Rose's acquiescence in some twisted, but clever Slytherin-esque manoeuvering.

How utterly intolerable!

How absolutely inescapable.

Resigned, Rose dragged her bum over to her closet to rummage about for an appropriate outfit. Her mother had stressed that she was to look her best and no funny business. As if she wanted to look good for the likes of Scorpius git-on-a-broomstick Malfoy…

She paused with her hand on a hanger, considering that idea for a moment.

This was the perfect opportunity to at last get even with that snotty, spoilt brat, wasn't it? Malfoy hadn't seen her, as far as she was aware, in all the years since graduation, so he hadn't witnessed her transformation from an ugly kid duckling into an attractive, confident witch. Five years ago, she'd had her teeth done in addition to her eyesight, and now she not only had perfect vision, but a straight, white smile as well. Additionally, right after leaving Hogwarts, she and Eleri together had taken a ten-week beauty course on the weekends for fun and she'd learned how to adequately tame her wild hair. She'd had it properly cut and had been maintaining it with care ever since. Instead of a tangled mess, it now lay in smooth, gentle curls around her shoulders and down her back. Her figure had filled in, and instead of a flat straw-girl with coltish legs, she was now curvy and toned. Further, with the money she'd made from playing Seeker for the Harpies, she'd been able to afford a stylish wardrobe at long last.

Using all of her adult advantages, she was sure to 'wow' even the likes of a well-publicized man-slag like Scorpius Malfoy now that she was older. Rubbing it in his nose that she'd grown into a woman of beauty, despite all of the horrible things he'd predicted for her as a child, would be the ultimate revenge.

She liked the plan. She liked it a lot.

With gleeful anticipation, she put it into action.

X~~~~~X

Finally satisfied that she was a delectable vision of loveliness that was sure to turn Scorpius' head, Rose gathered her purse and wand, and Apparated over to her mum's cottage.

At first glance and to her shock, her mother was dressed rather handsomely as well, wearing a conservative, but well-tailored pastel lavender three-piece suit and snow white pumps that accentuated her attractive legs. The woman's hair and make-up were tastefully done as well, and she was wearing subdued, classic jewelry pieces to play-up the visual.

"Who are you hoping to see looking like that?" she questioned her mother, automatically suspicious.

Her mother blushed and turned away. "This is an important meeting, Rose. It's imperative that we both put our best feet forward. That means not just talking the talk, but walking the walk."

Rose raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Right."

Obviously, her mother was enjoying a moment of vanity, too, perhaps to stick it to her own childhood rival, Draco Malfoy, who had (as she'd understood it from Uncle Harry and her father) teased Hermione Granger-Weasley all through her school days. Scorpius' father had been as much a shite to Rose's mother as Scorpius had been to Rose. As the father, so the son.

Rose sighed in annoyance, and quickly checked the Muggle clock on her mother's wall. "We should probably just get this over with. It's about time."

To her astonishment, her mum rushed into the bathroom to check her appearance in the mirror once last time. With a final application of lip colour, her mother agreed it was time to go. The witch raised her wand to Apparate them both to Hogsmeade.

The trip was as easy as Apparition could be, and the landing perfect, as expected. Despite that, Rose felt a bout of nausea roll through her belly. Dread settled over her shoulders like a heavy cloak. In a few moments, she'd see him again… the one boy who had tormented her, made her feel inferior, and had broken her heart over and over again as a child.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

Her mother took her arm and started them towards Madam Puddifoot's. With each step, Rose's intuition screamed at her to turn and run in the opposite direction.

"You're not marching to the executioner's block, you know," her mum reminded her with a teasing smirk.

"No, just another kind of doom," Rose replied, some sixth-sense telling her that her life was about to be thrown into turmoil again. Just as when her parents had announced their divorce, she braced herself for the worst to come.

Her mother laughed at such a gloomy prediction, and it was a bright sound – the kind that chased away misery. Its joyful ringing took Rose by surprise. "What's gotten into you?" she asked, wary and a little concerned.

"You," her mum confessed. "You're the most overly-dramatic girl I know. You worry more than I ever did." She gently elbowed Rose's ribs. "Everything will work out as it was meant to. You'll see."

Riiiiight. Either her mother was smoking something she oughtn't, or she knew something Rose didn't and wasn't telling. Either way, she honestly had to say she hadn't seen her mother this happy in… well, a very long time. The woman suddenly looked years younger, and her step had a spring to it that Rose had never felt from her before.

To her dismay, such boundless cheer was impossible to resist. It made Rose smile and shake her head, lightening the mood a bit.

"There's my girl," her mum proudly proclaimed. "Chin up, darling. No matter what comes, we'll face it together."

"Right."

Well, whatever was going on, it seemed Rose and her mother were going into it together.

TO BE CONTINUED...

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Over-arcing plot foreshadowing in this chappie... did you catch it?

Please review!

The song Rose was singing is "Witchcraft" by Frank Sinatra.