Chapter 40, God knows, I'm getting it wrong?But who the hell cares when you're gettin' it on

"Sorry, what?" Hydra asked, blinking as she tore her gaze from Ballan's.

Ballan gave her a slight frown. "I asked what your family plans to do with this place anyway."

"I don't know. They don't know. We are just trying to figure it out at this point. What it is, why it is, what it was intended for, and what we can use it for now. What do you think we should do with it," she wondered. Stepping closer, she took his wrists and placed both of his hands on the nearest towering tree. "Do you feel it? What do you feel?"

He laughed. "I ask you one question and get, what fifteen in return?"

Hydra grinned. "I wasn't counting." After a moment of consideration she added, "I did answer yours before I asked any, though, and I think I only asked three, which is a magic number."

He blinked, turning to her with another laugh. "What the hell do magic numbers have to do with it?"

She shrugged, grinning back. "Nothing really. It is just a random fact." This was easier. She'd somehow gotten him relaxed and laughing! She could hardly believe it. "And though I answered your question, you did not answer any of mine," she accused, jabbing him with a finger simply for an excuse to touch him.

He still stood with his hands pressed to the tree where she had placed them. It was several seconds before he answered, and when he did, his words came out slow and thoughtful. "I do not know what should be done with this place yet either. If I have thoughts, you shall be the second to know, directly after myself. Yes I do feel IT, and no, I do not know what IT is that I feel. There. All three of your questions are answered. Are you satisfied?"

She grinned. "Yep. For now."

"You're hard to satisfy?" He asked, glancing over at her inquisitively before smiling.

Was he teasing? She didn't know, but the look in his eyes as he regarded her with such amusement made her breath catch. "I don't know," she managed. "Probably not. I did not used to think I was. No I am not," she decided. Her head was spinning. Or was it the forest?

He chuckled. "I did not intend for that to be such a difficult or complicated question." His expression suddenly became more shuttered, and just a little withdrawn, though she somehow got the impression that it wasn't personal. "Then again, I am unaccustomed to conversation of a general and normal nature, so I would not actually know, I suppose."

"No! The question was fine. It was me," she hastened to reassure. "I'm quite sure I'm not normal."

He gave a short mirthless laugh. "Who of us is? Me? You? Greok? Your parents? Wolfgang and Millicent who were kind enough to see my suffering and free me when no one else would? That crazy little Minister who always feels the need to chat me up? Ah wait, Leaf is probably somewhat normal. She is at least afraid of me, and once she was frightened of Greok. Wise considering what we are."

"I am not afraid of you," Hydra said quietly. "Why should I be? Granted I am certain that you are dangerous, and unwise to anger, but I do not plan on earning your wrath, so I feel I have nothing to fear."

Ballan shrugged, clearly unmoved by her lack of fear. He turned away from the tree, bending to study the ground before placing his hands against its flat surface. "You have nothing to fear from me, so you are correct. You were raised not to fear, unlike Leaf who was raised a slave."

"So were you, but you aren't afraid of anything." She did not bother to keep the admiration from her voice. "What do you feel?"

"It is powerful, though not quite in the same way as the trees," Ballan replied thoughtfully, after only a second of hesitation in which he likely considered his words. "Nothing grows here, as the ground is as petrified as the trees, but strong magic was laid here, and it is still strong. The ground did grow these trees long ago, and I think it remembers. I am not afraid because I was pushed too far for that. Clearly Leaf was not. She is far too gentle for that."

Of course Hydra wanted very much to ask him how he was pushed. She wanted to hear every detail of his life story, but she knew how rude asking would be, so she did not. He wasn't likely to tell her at this point anyway. She turned her attention instead to the topic of the Elf Woods, sighing in exasperation. "I felt the same thing from the ground, so I agree with you, but I was hoping different elves would sense different things."

Ballan's lips twitched as he straightened. "I am sorry to disappoint, but at least you're in bad company." He walked over to a waist high tree stump and sat himself upon it, legs dangling. Only then did Hydra notice the tall leather boots he wore. They looked soft, which surely made it easier to walk with silent vampiric stealth. "Perhaps Leaf will sense something that you and I have not."

"Or Greok," Hydra said. "Unless my parents have brought Griphook here, Greok may be the first goblin to see these woods. I am eager for his thoughts as well.

Ballan nodded. "His observations could be interesting. He is a bright observant sort for the most part, but don't tell him I said so or I will deny it."

Hydra chuckled as she stepped closer to lean against Ballan's tree. "That sounds like me and Loughness. Greok is like a brother to you, yes?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. At least a friend. I do not know about brothers, never having one. He has a sister, though." He scowled darkly. "She won't even talk to him, because he became a vampire. For some reason that is beyond me, this disgusts and infuriates her. It really hurts him, but he doesn't say much about it. I shouldn't have said anything. It's this stupid talking to people business," he grumbled, scowl deepening to a ferocious level. "I'm no good at it, and actually prefer not to do it if I can help it."

"Why," Hydra asked. "I swear not to mention it to him, and I keep my word."

He nodded. "Thank you. He did not say not to mention it, but I probably should not have anyway. At least I assume so. Hell I don't know!" He gave a sigh of clear frustration clinching his fists in his lap, then slowly releasing them. "And I don't like talking to people, because I usually have nothing to say. That chatty Minister does not seem to understand, for example, that we come from different worlds and therefore have nothing to say to each other. Small talk is ridiculous and a little insane if you ask me."

Hydra chuckled. "I never considered it that way before, but you're right. Kereston, though. She's not bad."

"I did not say she was bad. Just that she and I have nothing to say to one another."

Hydra's lips twitched. "You'd be surprised. She was dragged into helping Grindelwald kill someone once. Granted Picquery deserved it from what I've heard, but still. And she's gotta be some kind of special to be best friends with Daddy Kreacher and Grindelwald."

Ballan shrugged. "So she helped to kill one person. I kill ten or more a night on a slow night just to soothe my inner hatred and rage at humans."

"That wasn't what I meant," Hydra murmured distractedly. "I just meant she's not easily shaken. It isn't about kill count." Trouble is your middle name, but in the end you're not so bad. Hydra had looked directly into his eyes and sung those words, yet somehow he'd managed not to understand. Likewise he had not understood the line, Give me all your true hate, and I'll translate it in your bed. How much more clear could one be?

"You are bothered by that much killing?" Ballan asked.

Hydra blinked in surprise. "No. Why?"

"Because you were just staring at me with this strange look on your face." He shrugged, giving her a dry amused smile. His eyes held a mix of discomfort and challenge that she found moving as hell.

"It wasn't about the killing. It was about the fact that I used a song to tell you that I find all that about you appealing, and that I can work with it to..."

But he stood suddenly, feet slamming onto the ground, and she broke off, eyes widening in startled surprise.

"Have you lost your mind, Little Hydra," he asked quietly.

"I... I don't think so," she managed. Why was it suddenly so difficult to breathe in the best, most exciting of ways?

"You know nothing of what I am. You could not handle me, and you should not. I am no good for you. No good for anyone, and I do not wish to be. I enjoy being alone. So do not sing anymore songs to me, please. I suppose I should appreciate the thought, so thank you and all that, but you have no idea who I am."

Hydra scowled, stepping closer. "I see more of you than you think. Sure I don't know all the details, though I would love to. It's rude to ask, though, so I was waiting on that. But in general, what you just said, you are wrong." Taking the final step that was required for what she wished to do next, she slipped her arms around him and kissed him hard. He made a sound of surprise against her mouth that turned into a near growl of desire as his body pressed hard into hers.

This was what she'd wanted. Everything she'd wanted! And now she finally had it. A responding sound of need came from her as she tightened her arms around him, leaning deeper into the kiss. The hard toned lines of his slender body had hers silently screaming for more. Their mouths devoured one another's for several long passionate seconds. It was Ballan who tore his mouth away first, breath coming out ragged as he leaned into her.

"You are trying to get me killed," he managed gruffly after several seconds. "Your parents are going to kill me."

Hydra chuckled. "They approve. Don't worry."

"They what? You have told them? What have you told them?" She laughed again. She was unable to tell if he was curious or panicked. Rather than answering, she kissed him again, this time more slowly, exploring rather than devouring. His body relaxed as he responded, leaning into her as she leaned into him. Eventually she slowly began to allow her hands to explore him, drifting up his arms, over his shoulders and across his back.

She'd understood from their earlier interactions that he was not immediately comfortable with touch, so she moved slowly and carefully, feeling for any sign that he may be tensing up. Hesitantly he reciprocated instead, hands running through her hair before drawing her more tightly against him. Her rising need was akin to a hunger, and she needed more. Stepping back, she gently tugged him onto the ground. "I am never going to change," he told her, drawing back to peer hard into her eyes. "If you think you are going to change me with this, Little Hydra, you are not. You must know this."

Hydra smiled. "Good. I like you just as you are. Changing you would be pointless. Then it would no longer be you." Taking his face into her hands, she kissed him again. Sighing against her mouth, he finally surrendered to his urges and hers as well. When his body pressed full length against hers on the ground, Hydra arched against him with an animalistic need that she reveled in. After several minutes of increasingly heated kisses they somehow got one another's clothes off.

Her body was engulfed by a fever, and she couldn't have him inside of her fast enough. Once he was, it only hurt for an instant and even that instant felt good in its way. Throwing her head back, she moaned as they thrust together. Only at the feel of his fangs scraping against her throat, did she realize that throwing back her head like that must have seemed like an invitation. She hadn't intended it, but nor did she mind. She'd heard more than once that vampires came with an added bonus, after all. His bite felt more odd than painful, then it felt amazing. Eventually they lay together on the ground, staring up at the stars, Hydra's head pillowed on Ballan's outstretched arm. "Why don't you mind," he asked after some time.

"Mind what," Hydra replied reluctantly, unwilling to give up the peace and utter contented tranquility of the moment.

"The killing."

She frowned. "Why should I? I should think you have good reason, and you aren't killing anyone I care about." He chuckled.

"No, Little Hydra. I am not."

Now that her mind was bestirred, she noticed it. They were looking up at the stars! Previously, whatever shield surrounded these woods kept one from seeing the stars. One simply looked up into an expanse of nothing. One would have to levitate or fly up and past the barrier around this place to see the stars. "Ballan? You can see the stars too, right?"

"Yeah, sure. Aren't they supposed to be here," he quipped. Then he realized before she could reply. "Wait, but they weren't earlier. The shield around this place was blocking them along with any external breezes or temperature shifts. Is that not right? Why this place doesn't even have the usual smells on the night air."

Hydra nodded against his arm before slowly, reluctantly sitting up. "Yes, that's right. And now we can see the stars."

"The smells, breezes and temperature shifts are still gone though," Ballan observed. The two found their clothes and got dressed, both moving slowly and thoughtfully as they cast frequent glances at the sky. "I suppose as the rest is still the same, we didn't break the shields around the place," Hydra said. "At least not completely."

Were they going to get in trouble over this? How would they know not to shag here? Hadn't the Daddies shagged here yet? While the thought of her parents shagging was always disturbing, it was also difficult to believe that they'd been able to control themselves here when they came to investigate it alone.

"Look," Ballan said suddenly. Hydra glanced up to see the stars slowly vanishing. There was no darkening as if a curtain had been pulled. Instead the stars just seemed to fade one by one, then in greater numbers until the sky was blank and colorless again. The shield had obviously just replaced itself overhead. "So do you think shagging did it? Or intense passion in general," Hydra asked. As always her Ravenclaw mind was at the forefront, ever a comfort to her as it worked to sort things out.