November 1st, 2010. Hogwarts, Scotland 7:00 AM BST

Despite not being willing to share my devilishness with the rest of the group, I DID see fit to inform them about cloak guy. I was still steaming from the troll fiasco, though more of a normal anger than the black out rage I'd gone into at the time. I'd decided to dig into this whole 'occlumency' thing Daphne had mentioned a while ago. Emotional control seemed like it would be useful.

Sadly, she said there was no texts on it in the library, and she'd had to send home for a text to study and she was going to let me borrow it when she was done. Until then, I just had to breathe deep and count to ten when I went into my 'little snits' as Blaise tended to call them.

Once everyone arrived and we talked over what I knew, Daphne smacked me upside the head. "Moron. You could have told us. We'd have been better prepared. I don't blame you for the troll still, but knowing someone like that is running around the school." She shuddered. "Imagine if one of us ran into him."

The desk creaked in my grip and Suzie shot me a concerned look, putting a hand on my arm. Hannah narrowed her eyes at the gesture. "Ok, that's the last straw. Daphne and Susan have been shooting you odd looks since we got here, and when Susan put her hand on you just now Daphne looked ready to draw her wand. What gives?"

"I…don't know?" I said lamely. "I've talked to Susan about it, but Daphne and I haven-"

"We're both seeing him." Answered Daphne firmly. "It's no ones business but ours, don't read into it." Susan didn't look nearly as shocked as I did, and Daphne snickered. "Susan and I had a chat this morning before we all met up. She pulled me aside coming out of the dormitories to talk, woman to woman."

She didn't elaborate, probably because she didn't want to let slip about my secret. Blaise squawked in outrage. "Oh bloody hell, how is that fair? Save some for the rest of us, mate! How am I supposed to get a bird if you're shagging the two fittest girls in our year…" He froze, realizing what he'd just said.

Theo snickered. "Brilliant, mate. You've just managed to piss off every girl in this room. If I were you, I'd start running."

Blaise looked around in terror, stammering for a second, then turned and bolted for the door, weaving sideways to avoid the stunners peppering the floor behind him. I laughed uproariously as my friend bolted out into the hallway.

"Oh, wait, he has my notes for next class." I said, randomly making up an excuse, and then blurred across the room, making sure to lower my speed JUST enough to avoid surpassing human limits.

I had zero interest in being part of the conversation they were going to have when everyone tried to figure out why both of the girls were dating me at once. Unfortunately, since Blaise was in hiding and the rest of my group were staying behind, I ended up arriving to breakfast alone. Sighing in annoyance, I slipped onto the bench at an empty spot in the Slytherin seats.

Sighing in annoyance, I asked for pancakes, getting ready to start eating, when a soft sound caught me attention. A girl, clearing her throat.

"Excuse me." Said a crystalline tenor. "I usually prefer the seats beside me be empty. I do so hate to impose, but I enjoy my space."

Turning, I saw a girl sitting next to me. Tall, willowy, with long pitch black hair and bright blue eyes. She was pale enough that I would have suspected her of being a vampire if we weren't sitting in broad daylight, and oddly busty for such a thin girl. Her features were delicate, and her eyes were sharp and focused.

"Oh." I said, momentarily thrown off by the big titty goth I had somehow missed sitting at this table. Or in classes. Breakfast was one thing, she probably ate earlier, but I'd clearly been way too wrapped up in my own shit not to have noticed this girl. "Hello."

Part of me felt SLIGHTLY guilty for drooling over this absolute snack when BOTH of my (apparent) girlfriends weren't here, but no one ever got hurt window shopping. She let out a huff. "Yes, hello. But as I said, I don't prefer to sit beside others. If you might move down a seat I'd be very grateful."

"Well see." I said apologetically. "I can't say that's much motivation. Since I don't know who you are, your gratitude is measurably less valuable than someone I might be more familiar with."

She rolled her eyes. "Perhaps if you spent less time bickering with Greengrass and diving headfirst into Lavender Brown's cleavage you might have noticed me sooner. I'd say if it's anyone's fault you don't know me it's your own."

I shrugged. "There's no use assigning blame. Clearly an injustice has been perpetrated and the two of us should work together to right this wrong."

"Really." She said flatly. "Has a line like that ever actually worked for you?"

I shrugged. "I am really, really, ridiculously good looking." To my surprise, that got a giggle, though one she quickly stifled. I winked at her. "See, I knew I would grow on you."

"Like a fungus." She drawled. "My name is Lily Moon. I'm in your year in Slytherin. I imagine you missed me with all your…distractions. I admit, you aren't nearly as dense as I'd expected from your vacuous appearance."

"Did you just imply that I'm stupid because I'm hot?" I said with some genuine offense. "Because I hate to break it to you, but you're not exactly hideous yourself."

"How sweet." She said acidly. "With charms like that its no wonder Flitwick is so enthusiastic about you. However, you'll find my self-esteem is quite adequate. I don't need to bounce my breasts around like Brown, or constantly parade my knowledge in front of others like that insufferable Granger swot."

There was some actual venom in her voice, and I snickered a bit. "Is it REALLY adequate? Because to me it sounds like someone doesn't like Hermione getting all the attention for being the smartest witch in our year."

She sneered. "Granger is NOT the smartest witch in our year. She's just the one who most feels the need to announce her knowledge like a yappy little dog. There are several Ravenclaw girls who are her equal in various classes, and my own scores are no worse than hers. I apologize if you weren't aware, I decided against competing with her for ad space in the Daily Prophet."

"Damn." I said appreciatively. "You're kind of bitchy about your grades aren't you? I love the attitude."

Her pale white cheeks pinked slightly. "I apologize." She said formally. "That was unbecoming." Before I could respond, she stuffed the last bite of her eggs in her mouth and swallowed. "Don't worry about moving, I'm finished breakfast anyway." Then she stood up and hurried off.

"Oooh." Jeered a familiar voice. "Looks like our ickle Slytherin Prince can't close with the ladies. Should we warn Lavender she has some competition?" George dropped down next to me with a grin.

"Lavender and I never really got past hanging out." I said with a shrug. "Besides, I'm seeing someone now. You two can put away your protective instincts until next year. I hear your sister is coming to Hogwarts, and there should be plenty of big brotherly threats to be given."

Fred snorted from my other side. "Ronniekins needs to keep his big mouth shut. Blabbing about Ginny to skeevy Slytherin ponces. What if you target our fair sister in your crusade to woo all of Hogwarts most eligible witches?" Despite his teasing tone, there was a cold look in his eyes.

I held up both hands. "Like I said. Seeing someone. My dance card is full for the foreseeable future. I'm sure your sister is a very nice girl, but I'm not looking for anyone."

They narrowed their eyes suspiciously at me, but let it go. "In any case, we came to let you know that we've noticed some strange activity near the third floor corridor, most likely from your cloaked friend. During the troll incident last night, someone attempted to gain access, but someone else stopped them. It's just an educated guess on who, though."

"That makes sense." I said quietly. "I first ran into him there. But what the hell is in that place that would require him to let a troll into the school as a distraction?" It was useful information, but also useless, because it meant cloak guy had decided sneaky entry was a no go, and had arranged to troll to allow a more direct assault.

George just shrugged. "We don't know. We heard about your little run in by the way. Good job saving Bonesy. Her aunt is good people. Knows dad from work and always treats him fair. Greengrass is a bit a priss, but she's nice to look at, so cheers for saving her too I suppose."

I rolled my eyes and flipped them both off, which got me a snicker. "So." I said after a second, but before they had time to leave. "What do you guys do for fun around here? If I keep focusing on nothing but classes I'll go crazy, no matter how neat magic is, and Hogsmeade is weekends only."

"You could join the Quidditch team." Said George helpfully, before yelping as his brother hexed him. "What?" He said in a wounded tone.

"He's a Slytherin." Hissed Fred. "If he joins the team we'll be playing against him. You've heard how good his on a broom. We'll never win a game if we let him play against us." Despite his harsh words, he sounded like he was half joking, even if he was also giving me the stink eye.

George looked embarrassed. "Oh. Well I suppose. We have Harry now though, right? Youngest seeker in a century? I'm sure we can measure up."

Fred snorted as he stood up. "I'll let you tell Wood that when he finds out you pushed that monster to play against us. I'll send flowers to your grave. Or piss on it, one of the two." He nodded to me cheerfully. "Alright then, Ryan, good to see you. We'll keep you updated. Good luck with all the hateful staring."

They strode off, and before I could ask what that meant, I looked around, noticing that every Slytherin at the table was glaring at me. Apparently talking to the most notorious pranksters in Griffyndor at the house table was frowned upon. Luckily, I had a hell of a reputation. "The fuck are you all looking at?" I snapped in challenge.

Several of them seemed to consider taking offense, but then they glanced at where Lockwood was sitting at the end of the table and thought better of it. Ever since I trounced the older guy, my reputation had become even scarier. I have no clue how it got out, and the story had mutated via a long ass game of wizard telephone, but people knew somehow.

Which meant I had complete and utter silence to enjoy my meal as I started digging into my pancakes. I thought back to what Fred and George said, I was absolutely going to look into Quidditch, if only to fuck with those two. Plus I did love flying. I was betting I'd be great at the game. I should try out for beater.

As I finished my food, I let out a long sigh. Now I had to go to double potions, and I'd have to let Lavender know I wasn't going to be pursuing things. The two girls I had now would be tough enough to balance. Gods it was a curse being this good looking. Ugly people must live such peaceful lives.

November 6th, 2010. Hogwarts, Scotland 7:00 AM BST

"Fuck it's cold." I complained, rubbing my forearms to try to regain feeling. My gloves were keeping my hands warm, but these stupid quidditch robes were short sleeved for some reason. Not to mention I had to send out to Twilfitt and Tattings for them, AND pay extra to get them done as a rush order.

Theo chuckled. "It's not so bad. I think the weather is bracing. Can't you smell that crisp, clean morning air?"

"Stop it." Growled Tracey. "You stop being a morning person right this instant. I won't have it. Not in my presence." Tracey was the only one of the girls who had decided to attend tryouts, though Daphne and Susan insisted on coming to cheer me on. The two of them were still in a mild cold war over their argument when I told them what I was, though things were thawing.

Blaise, who we'd talking into trying out for Seeker, groaned his agreement. "Right? He's always been like this. Ever since we were kids. Don't you know misery loves company? And everyone but you is miserable in the mornings."

"Why are they having these so late anyway? The first game is in like four days." I complained. "Don't we need time to get ready?"

"These are secondary tryouts." Said Theo with a snicker. "They'd already filled several of the positions, but there have been a few…'accidents'. Happens every year. No one is stupid enough to endanger the first string and risk the Quidditch Cup, but being an alternate is considered pretty bad luck during the beginning of the year."

I shrugged. "It's not like anyone is stupid enough to try to kick my ass over an alternate spot. Besides, there's always another beater position."

I'd considered long and hard what position I wanted to try out for. Seeker was boring for like ninety percent of the game, keepers sat around and did nothing except when they were blocking shots, chaser seemed like it might be ok, but I didn't have the patience to chase pretty much anything.

Beater though…beater sounded like fun. Carry a big fuck off club and smack the shit out of iron balls that chase you and your teammates around the field? That was the least boring thing I could imagine.

Theo meanwhile was more interested in the reserve keeper spot, and Tracey was all about that chaser position. My most outspoken friend had tons of practice at Quidditch and she loved to show off. Chaser was also her favorite position, and she was insistent she was a shoe in for the spot.

Blaise, sadly, had almost no chance of making it. He was mostly here as moral support, he had very little practice on the pitch and he wasn't an unholy creature of darkness, so he couldn't keep up with the rest of us. Still, he was convinced if he did well and didn't embarrass himself he might get some interest from the ladies. The Carrow twins had come to watch the try-outs, and ever since finding out I was dating both Daphne and Susan, Blaise was convinced he could land them both.

Granted, at the moment, Flint was captain, and having to listen to that shitheel was going to chafe, but he was plenty scared of me after we had a little 'talk' about him harassing Daphne, so I doubted he'd try anything, especially not when I was directly responsible for both defending him from an redirecting pissed off balls of sentient iron designed to injure him.

"Alright, you lot." Barked Flint. "Time to get your arses up in the air." I was amused to note that he was purposefully looking away from my spot on the field. I looked up to see Susan, Daphne, and Hannah sitting together in the stands. Susan waved at me happily while Daphne nodded slightly, a smirk on her perfect lips.

Calling my broom to my hand, I connected that link I'd felt last time. I let it hover at waist height and climbed on, making sure the others were doing ok before heading up into the brightening sky.

Immediately I was overcome with a sense of euphoric joy. Watching the ground fall away beneath me never stopped being a magical experience. I was holding a borrowed beater's bat, and I swung it a few times, getting a feel for the weight. It was light as a feather to me, so I had to measure my swings, but I got comfortable with it fast.

When it was time, flint blew the whistle around his neck and we started. For the reserve tryouts we were playing a game against the first string. There would be another game after this for anyone who didn't get called up for this first one.

Pushing the link, I sped off in search of enjoyment. I tried to stay close to Tracey and Blaise. Theo was in the ring, so he was kind of on his own. The other potential beater, Lucian Bole, was flying around looking menacing but not doing much else.

My devil eyesight was a huge asset, and I let my eyes unfocus a bit. I saw a blur of motion and sped off toward Tracey, appearing in front of her to backhand serve the bludger. The iron ball thunked against my bat, exploding off into the distance as my raw force overpowered the enchantments, sending it careening into the other one where I'd aimed it.

Tracey whooped, whirling her broom to bat the quaffle down the pitch with the bristles as I dove to cover Blaise. The original bludger had righted itself and was coming back, while the second one had only gone a few dozen feet off course. Hearty little bastards. I wasn't hitting them full force, the bat would have snapped by now, but I was putting some english on them, and they seemed to be holding up fine.

I wished I could have helped with the Quaffle, but as a beater I had to stick to the bludgers. There was no I in team.

Despite my overwhelming strength, the main beaters were actually decent. They created a sort of web for me, bouncing the bludgers long distances in wide arcs to ensure I had to hurry across the field every time to intercept.

It was actually a lot of fun, and it became clear that power aside, I didn't have anywhere near the experience or skill they did when it came to the game. Part of it was team work, I didn't know Bole for shit, and without a partner I was at a disadvantage. I was fast and strong, but I couldn't be in two places at once, and with two of them and two bludgers they were able to work around me.

The longer we went, the faster I had to be, darting from one side of the field to the other. I learned as I went though. I could control the broom perfectly, but being able to move it any way I wanted didn't mean I knew the right ways. As we played, my turns got sharper, my lunges faster.

I didn't push magic into the broom like I did my wings, I was worried I'd burn the thing out, but I definitely put it through its paces. Between the effort of moving the thing and hitting back the bludgers, I was actually getting a nice workout here.

Meanwhile, outside my little game of cats and mouse with the other beaters, the rest of the game went on apace. Tracey was whipping ass as a chaser, up against Flint and his cronies, and Blaise was just sort of drifting aimlessly through the air looking for the snitch. I actually noticed it a few times, but I had no way to get a message to him in time and it was always gone when he got around to looking.

Luckily Terrence Higgs was having his own problem, because I was making sure to include him in my bludger back and forth as often as possible, and kept distracting him from the snitch at the last second. The guy looked like he was ready to try to fight me, until he remembered how easily I was smacking the bludgers around.

And that was when the beaters made their move. They'd been studying my reaction time and strength for the whole match, getting my timing down (mostly my broom speed, neither of them were able to match me for hand speed obviously). The two of them had taken advantage of the hit at Higgs to get in position to smash both the bludgers towards my friends.

Blaise was way off down the field and Tracey was about fifty feet away. I considered what to do, whether I should use magic or something, but I knew that would get me booted from tryouts. I glanced between the two bludgers with indecision, then shrugged. I hauled back and fucking HURLED my bat as hard as I could, sending it spinning like a frisbee across the pitch.

I didn't even watch as it intercepted the bludger, though I heard the thump. I blitzed toward Tracey, and as I interposed myself between her and the bludger, hauled back and fucking PUNCHED the iron ball as hard as I could.

Even my devilish body couldn't take that easy (knuckles are surprisingly fragile) and I snarled as some of the small bones in my hand broke, but it was enough to send the bludger flying. Before the move was even finished, I oriented my broom and dove.

My bat had hit the bludger, being thrown off into the air in another direction, and had already started to fall. I had no shot at catching the damned thing where it was, so I pushed the broom to top speed heading for the ground to try to catch it.

The grass blurred under me as I shot toward the spot where the bat would intersect my path. My dynamic vision was absolutely perfect, and I knew I would be able to catch it, but it would be close. I was pretty sure they wouldn't let me land and pick it up, and with only one working hand there was no way I could pull off that punching trick more than once.

I saw the bat falling, spinning through the air like a propellor, and I leaned forward, judging the timing. My broken hand was pinned against my chest and the other was outstretched so there was nothing holding me on the broom except my legs, so I had to be careful as I leaned forward to catch the bat.

When I got within range my hand snapped out snagging the paddle as I pulled up, ready to head for the nearest bludger, but sadly, I came up just in time for Higgs to catch the snitch. Tracey had been crushing it and Theo was a damned fine keeper, but we hadn't gotten nearly a hundred fifty points before the catch.

I cursed, cradling my hand. Despite the loss, everyone on the stands was staring at me, whooping with excitement at the crazy ploy I managed to pull off. Susan and Daphne were on their feet, whooping with excitement as the crowd of onlookers roared in approval, and I grinned and saluted my girls with my bat.

Looking around, I saw more than a few expressions of shock, but I hadn't done anything TOO insane. You can wing a flat piece of wood pretty far if you chuck it right, and the bludger HAD broken my hand, even if not nearly as bad as it should have.

As I touched down, the others ran up, grinning like loons. "Bloody hell!" Shrieked Tracey. "That was FANTASTIC Ryan. I've seen some pretty crazy shit in pro Quidditch, but I don't even have a name for that. You need to some up with something good. Preferably with your name in it. Maybe 'The Black Attack'." At our stares, she shrugged. "Or something way better." We all laughed as we headed for the stands. I was pretty sure I had that alternate spot.

November 6th, 2010. Hogwarts, Scotland 8:00 AM BST

"So, to be clear." I asked my girlfriends in amusement. "The two of you decided amongst yourselves that I should have a date with Susan today." They both nodded seriously and I smirked. "And neither of you felt that I should be…consulted?"

Daphne smirked at me. "We decided it would only make things more awkward. Leave the thinking to us, darling. You just look pretty and hold the door for us when we need it."

"That's not what we meant." Cut in Susan with a glare. "Daphne and I decided that since you and she already had some…quality time. It was fair that I have some as well." She flushed. "Not that I want to do the same things you did with her." Then her eyes widened. "Not that I don't. I mean you're certainly very attractive-"

"Suzie." I snickered. "I don't expect our first date to be you letting me finger blast you in a coat closet." Her face went scarlet from embarrassment, and even Daphne blushed a bit at my direct phrasing. "I'd love to go to Hogsmeade with you. I enjoy spending time together, and I'd love to hear more about you."

My eyes fixed on Daphne. "You and I will be going out tomorrow, princess, so clear your schedule."

I expected her to argue, but the blonde just stammered out an agreement and then hurried off. I raised an eyebrow at her retreating form, and Susan giggled. "She likes it when you take charge like that. But she doesn't like admitting that she likes it. You know how she can be."

"So have you two mended fences?" I asked hopefully as we headed towards the path down to the village. "I know you'd been at odds since my little revelation."

Susan shrugged. "There was some tension, but I realized as we were sitting up there watching you today that I never thanked her for coming to find me. Daphne risked her life for me, same as you did, and that's not something I should have forgotten. I just got a bit…"

"Unspeakably jealous?" I asked her with a smug grin. "Did my sweet Suzie think Daphne was going to take me away from her?" I asked in a saccharine purr.

To my surprise, she didn't get upset or embarrassed. She just nodded. "Yes." She said firmly. "You're…you're special, Ryan. I've always been the shy, sort of bookish girl that people tolerate to spend time with Hannah. She's the outgoing one. The social butterfly. But you gravitated to me." Her voice lowered as her cheeks darkened again. "And you're very handsome."

"Well newsflash Suzie. You're a stone cold stunner yourself." I gestured to her body. "You're absolutely gorgeous, and any guy who isn't paying you attention is an idiot. Guess I'm lucky there are so many stupid wizards."

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm not." She disagreed. "Not like Daphne. She's beautiful. I'm just plain old Susan Bones. There's nothing special about me?"

I snorted out a laugh. At her confused look, I just shook my head in wonder. "Ok, this feels like a trap. If I start telling you all the things I find sexy about you, you'll think I'm just trying to get into your panties. Just know there are plenty of them."

Swallowing hard, she looked away shyly. "There are?" She paused for a minute. "You can tell me what they are. I promise I don't mind."

"Let's save the detailed list of why you're hot until later." I said with amusement. "Though I suppose I have at least one PG thing to say. You've got maybe the most kissable lips I've ever seen."

That got a squeak of embarrassed delight from my redhead. "Really?" She asked quietly. "You want to…kiss me?" At my nod, she glanced around. "We could kiss. I'd like you to be my first kiss. Just kissing though. I don't want to do…THAT yet."

She was adorable. I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her off the path, behind a small outcropping of stone, pushing her until her back bumped against the rock. "Oh." I said intensely. "Is that so? You want me to kiss you?"

Susan nodded hurriedly, eyes on the ground. I reached down, putting a finger under her chin and lifting it so I could stare into her green eyes. I leaned down and caught her lips with mine, sliding my tongue into her mouth.

Her adorable squeak melted into a moan as I pressed her against the rock, and I felt her wriggle around a bit as my hard on pressed into her stomach. I wanted to move my hands so bad, to run them over her and feel her body, but I didn't. If we were actually going to date I wanted to take things at her pace.

Pulling back from her, I left her panting and red faced, eyes unfocused as her chest heaved. I stepped back with a grin. "So, was that the first kiss you were hoping for?"

She nodded dreamily, then glanced down. "I made you like…that?" She gestured to my dick.

I laughed, putting an arm around her shoulders and leading her back onto the path. "You bet your sweet little ass you did. You're a sexpot, Suzie. Better watch where you're swaying those hips or you might drive me crazy."

"I…that's good." She stammered. "I want you to look at me like that. And maybe we can do that again. Sometime. Soon."

Grinning at the redhead, I leaned down and nipped at her ear. "I hope so. I think I have a new favorite snack. Those pretty lips of yours taste better than candy." Suzie wriggled a bit against me, and I forced myself to focus more on spending time with her than convincing her to fuck. I was reasonably sure I'd be dicking down Daphne soon, but my Suzie would be a slightly longer term project.

So we made our way to Hogsmeade and got a table at the Three Broomsticks. Rosmerta seemed pretty amused by my bringing a date, and spent most of the time smirking at me, but I ignored her except when we were ordering. I just paid attention to Susan.

"So, tell me more about yourself." I said with interest. "I don't know too much about your pre-Hogwarts life. Some stories and stuff from when we've talked before, but nothing really specific."

She shrugged. "I don't love talking about it. My parents died in the war, and I live with my Auntie. She's high up in the DMLE and is kind of paranoid, so I'm a bit sheltered. I think if it wasn't for Hannah I wouldn't have any friends at all. I was really worried about coming to Hogwarts actually." She blushed. "But then I met you."

I reached across the table and took her hand with a smile. "I could say the same thing. The only person I knew when I got here was Blaise, and only because I met him when I was getting my robes."

Biting her lip, she looked away shyly. "But you're so handsome, and brave, and clever. You would have made friends in no time."

"And you're beautiful, and kind, and intelligent." I challenged. "So I could say the same. Plus you're in Hufflepuff, which I'd say is probably the best place in the castle to make friends." Or get your dick sucked, if rumor was to be believed, but I doubted Susan was tight with the sluttier Puffs.

"Anyway." She brushed past the compliments, her face so red I was worried she might have an aneurysm. "I spent most of my time as a kid learning magic, spending time with Hannah, or reading. I'm not someone like Daphne who is involved with smuggling or exciting black market things."

"Daphne is Daphne." I said firmly. "And you're you. If you were the same, I wouldn't want you both." I winked at her. "I might be a greedy devil, but I have excellent taste."

She giggled at the inside joke, but before she could respond, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. A cloak, billowing as it went by. A familiar cloak. My head snapped to the side, trying to spot the garment, but it was gone. I frowned, and Susan noticed my uncertainty. "Ryan? Is everything alright?"

I nodded slowly. "It is, yeah, I just saw something unusual. It's nothing, I'll check it out later. Today is all about you." I didn't want to put Susan at risk again. If I wandered off to find cloak guy, I might miss him and leave her vulnerable. After she went back to the castle I could sneak off to do a bit of snooping. I'd seen the direction he went and there wasn't a ton there.

We talked for a little while, talking about our lives and hopes and dreams, and then I gave Susan a soft kiss and sent her back up to the castle while I turned my focus on the direction I was pretty sure I'd seen cloak guy head off in.

As I came around the corner, I only saw a few buildings. One of them was an old run down pub called the Hog's Head. The other was a small shop tucked between a butcher and a candlestick maker. "Garment O'Doyer's Book Buying Foyer." I read aloud. "That's…special." Still, something about the place seemed weird, so I figured I'd at least check it out.

Stepping through the door I was assaulted by the smell of musty books, candles, and for some reason, apples. I looked around, finding the shelves stocked with multi colored books, all blank of spine and completely ambiguous. In the back of the store stood a man with a shaved head and dark eyes, smiling placidly at me. "Welcome, friend!" He said cheerfully, a thick brogue in his voice. "What can I do for you?"

I strolled up to the counter. "I was looking for someone, actually. He came this way a bit ago, never saw his face but he was wearing a big cloak. Have you seen him?"

"Can't say as I have." He said cheerfully. "What makes you think he came in here? He seem like the type to get lost in a book?"

Shrugging, I just chuckled at my own desperation. "Nah, I was just grasping at straws." I looked around the shop. "Interesting place you have here, by the way. Can't even tell what any of the books here are. How much are they?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh they aren't for sale. Didn't you read the sign? We BUY books. Do you have any for sale? We offer very fair prices."

"Nah, I think I'm good." I chuckled. "All my books are library loaners. Maybe next time."

I turned to head out, but froze at his next words. "Actually. We do have one book for sale." He said casually. Something about his tone made me turn around to check, and he smacked a dark book down on the counter. "If you can pay."

The book was bound in thick, dark leather, and the image on the front showed a single red chess piece. I looked down at it, then back up at him. I weighed the pros and cons, considered the information that might be in the book…then shook my head.

"I don't know you man." I said as I turned away. "But I'm smart enough not to make sketchy deals with people who look like someone summoned them from the elemental plane of 'hey kid do you want some candy?'. I appreciate the offer, but you can keep that."

He shrugged. "Fair play, boy. You're wiser than most. Tell you what, I'll offer you a bit of advice. There might be another book in Hogwarts that would help you almost as much. If you have a chance, check out 'Secrets of the Darkest Arts'. I hear it's a real page turner."

I hurried out of the shop, this guy was giving me an even worse vibe than Roran. G O'd. Was he the guy my dad got the evil pieces from? I didn't want to end up owing him, my dad made him sound like a pretty bad guy, or at least a scary one. As I made it to the end of the street I stopped to turn around, and froze in place. Nothing was there. The shop was gone. What the actual fuck?

November 6th, 2010. Hogwarts, Scotland 6:00 PM BST

I called Susan and Daphne together as soon as I got back to the castle. I was kind of freaking out, and as the only two people who knew what the hell was going on (at least to the extent that I did) and I needed their advice.

We all met up in an abandoned classroom, and I filled them in on what had happened. I told them my suspicions about the creepy bald guy being the person my dad got the evil pieces from, and how from what I knew that guy was really shady and not to be trusted. I still didn't know what dad had paid for the pieces, but I got the impression the price was high.

"So he tried to tempt you into a deal?" Said Daphne worriedly. "Did he give any hint as to what might be in the book? Some sort of forbidden knowledge or manual for getting stronger? It seems odd he would try to lure you in with something so vague."

I shook my head. "I don't think it was like that. I got the impression he was just…bored. Like he was throwing out bait to see what he could catch. When I told him to fuck off he almost seemed impressed. I mean, I can't say the book wasn't enticing, but something in me just told me that this was NOT a guy I wanted having any power over me."

She nodded. "Understandable. He certainly sounds like an unsavory character. From what you said you have quite some time to learn everything you want to about your demonic side. Do you think the book he mentioned contains clues?"

"Maybe?" I said uncertainly. "Maybe it's a wild goose chase. Who the hell knows. But I think I need to at least check. Even if it'll probably end up being some super vague misdirect or something. I get the feeling he doesn't actually lie, even if he twists the truth in knots."

Susan cut in. "What gives you that impression? He sounds like the kind of person who would enjoy misleading people."

"That's the thing though." I said, trying to articulate the impression I'd gotten. "He does. But just lying to me seems too…boring. The main feeling I got from him was one of overwhelming boredom. Playing games is no fun if there aren't any rules. Otherwise he could have just killed me when I said no. Or forced me to take the book."

"He's right." Daphne said firmly. "This person is clearly incredibly manipulative. He isn't likely to outright lie about something like that book. I would tend to believe that the situation will be more complicated than he let on though. I assume you're planning to find and check out the book?"

I nodded. "Tonight. I have no way of getting a pass to the restricted section, which with a title like that is almost definitely where the damned thing is located. I'm going to have to break in."

Her eyes narrowed. "You mean WE will have to break in. You're hopeless without me. I'm not letting you bumble your way into the library in the middle of the night. Some of the books in that restricted section I know for a fact are cursed. As the resident DADA expert, you'll need me to watch your back."

I wasn't sure what a curse could do to me…which was all the more reason to worry about them I supposed. I needed to stop being so damned Prideful. Susan watched the back and forth with a small frown, but pushed down her discomfort with a long puff of breath. "I'll come too. Maybe I can help?"

"No." I said firmly. "It's too big a risk. Not just for you, but for us. Daphne and I are Slytherins. Slipping out of our dorm in the middle of the night will be easy enough. No one cares. Hufflepuff is a whole other ballgame. They'll look for you if you vanish, especially Hannah. The others don't know about this, remember. Not to mention having two points of potential failure makes us more likely to get caught."

Her brow furrowed in annoyance, but she couldn't seem to articulate a response. Daphne, to my surprise, put a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine. Just think of this as another date. He can owe you a second one soon enough." She winked at her. "And don't worry. I'll keep him out of trouble. I have enough brains for the both of us."

"Hey." I said in only partially mock outrage. "I happen to be a brilliant and talented wizard devil. I don't need you handholding me, princess."

She snickered at that and Suzie giggled, which I think was the whole point. After assuring her we'd recount the whole thing in the morning, Susan sighed and agreed to head back to her dorm. She gave me a quick kiss before she left, shooting a slight smirk at Daphne who just rolled her eyes.

Once she was gone, Daphne and I also headed back to our dorms. We wanted to make sure we had an alibi for if we caused a ruckus in the library. Daphne, being a DADA wiz, knew how to do that invisibility spell that cloak guy used in the corridor, and at about midnight, we snuck out to meet each other in the common room and she used it on both of us.

The library had long since closed, Madam Pince usually left at around ten P.M based on what I'd seen. Invisibility let us slip through the exit passage without being noticed. Luckily the password was just a mechanism to trigger the enchantment on the stretch of wall in the dungeons. No portraits to notice us leaving.

I had no idea how much portraits could tell about that kind of thing, given the limitations of their memories. But I wouldn't put it past the staff to set it up so the Hogwarts portraits could record people coming and going.

When we reached the library, we froze, and I closed my eyes to listen for footsteps or breathing. Sadly the library itself seemed to be soundproof, but I didn't hear anyone coming, which put me at ease. Then we slipped inside.

The library was surprisingly spacious and intimidating when empty. The shelves loomed larger in the shadows than during the softening daylight, and every corner seemed to hide some dark surprise. I wasn't actually afraid, but I almost punched like ten different books when I turned a corner to find them sticking out a bit.

Finally, we came to a small alcove on the top floor, off in the back corner. The restricted section. There was a chain with a sign across it laid in front of the entryway, informing us not to enter without a pass on pain of death.

"You got this?" I asked my girlfriend, who had been quiet the entire time we'd been sneaking. No answer. I waited for a minute and then rolled my eyes. "I know you're there, genius, I can hear you breathing."

"Damn." Snapped an annoyed voice. "Curse your enhanced demonic senses."

I snickered at her. "Why don't you stick to dinner parties and black market deals, darling. Pranks and humor just aren't your thing."

"I'll have you know I'm EXTREMELY funny." She said, so offended I could hear the pout in her voice. "People tell me so all the time. They tell me all about how witty and intelligent and beautiful I am."

"And, just a shot in the dark here. What percentage of these people have an obvious interest in sleeping with you?" I said innocently. She stomped on my foot, and I hissed, jumping up and down. "How did you even see me well enough to do that? No, not the point. You are beautiful and intelligent and deadly. You are NOT funny. Tracey is funny. Blaise is funny. Fred and George Weasley are funny. People like you and I have to get by with being scorchingly sexy."

Relying on the sound, I reached out and snagged her by the arm, pulling her against me and kissing her soundly. Her breath helped me find her face, and I managed to not humiliate myself. She melted against me, kissing me back hungrily, and I managed to get a handful of tight, peachy ass before she pulled away.

"Not the place, love." She chuckled, turning and bumping back against me with her ass, which was SO unfair. She was right though. She approached the chain, her footsteps the only way I could tell where she was.

There was a swish of fabric and the air was cut by what I assumed was her wand as she started to murmur incantations. DADA was her strong suit, and she'd learned plenty from her mother. The restricted section was built to keep out school kids not elite witches or wizards, so she was able to crack the wards on it (albeit temporarily) within minutes, opening up a small rift for us to slip in through.

With a pass it would have been simple as pie to get in, but we didn't have to time find, make, or steal one. I needed to find out what was in that damned book.

Once we were in Daphne removed our invisibility and I started sifting through them, though Daphne pointed out a few I shouldn't touch. "That one bites, that one screams, and that one will curse you to talk in limericks for the rest of your life." She said as she gestured to three books in succession. She paused and looked at a fourth. "My mother told me that one will get you pregnant, but I'm not sure if she was just trying to scare me off. Best not to risk it."

"Awww." I said in disappointment. " One thousand tantric rituals sounds pretty fun. But fair enough. I definitely don't want to get pregnant. Also, why are these fucking HERE? Like the tantric book I get, but why do we need a screaming book, or one that curses you. This IS a school right?"

She snickered. "It is. It's also the most protected bastion of knowledge in the isles. Rumor is the founders made a deal with the fae to ward the castle. The protections here are considered some of the most powerful and deadly protective spells ever devised. Even Nurmengard isn't as well defended as Hogwarts."

"Golly gosh." I said in faux excitement. "Do you mean it stops unblockable murder spells from being fired within school grounds? Oh wait, it definitely doesn't. Because I almost took one to the face."

She shrugged. "Breaching the grounds is nearly impossible. But it's not like they have a permissions list for magic. New spells are invented all the time, can you imagine trying to keep up a list?"

That was a valid point, so I got back to searching. At least, until I heard a slight scuff coming toward us. I spun on my heel, drawing my wand, and brandished it, shushing Daphne as I pulled her back from the entrance, deeper into the shadows of the bookcases, waiting to see who was coming.

The scuffing came closer, but there was no visible movement, at least until a hand slipped out of thin air from inside some sort of…invisible curtain, brandishing a pass that made the sign glow slightly, before rising up out of the way. As it rose, a disturbance in the air showed a gap opening in the defenses, and the hand and its owner retreated before the scuffing entered.

I blurred forward, wand ready, and snagged the cloth or whatever the hand had moved aside, yanking it away to reveal…three very familiar forms. I couldn't tell who was more shocked as I pointed my wand at them. Hermione, Ron, Harry, or me. "Well shit." I said sarcastically. "This isn't where I parked my car."

November 6th, 2010. Hogwarts, Scotland 1:00 AM BST

"What are you idiots doing here?" I hissed, after none of them laughed at my hilarious movie reference. If they weren't going to appreciate my humor, we'd jump right to me trying to scare them off. The last thing I wanted was Tightwad McPantytwist to find out I was sneaking in here to read a book of horrifically dark spells, and I doubted Harry or Ron would look fondly on it either.

Hermione wasn't a bad person, per se, she was just an unbearable buzz kill. Her admittedly clappable ass had a stick so far up it I was surprised she didn't choke on the thing. So while I didn't dislike her, I DID avoid her, because any friendliness on my part would encourage her to spend time around me, time which I would spend listening to her nag.

I'd tried to be civil for the first few months of school, but the more I was around her the more she felt like she could give her two cents on the things I did, and the less I wanted to hear her open her mouth. These days I just steered clear, so while we weren't exactly enemies, we weren't close either, and I admit I might be more amused than I should be when Snape messes with her.

"We should be asking YOU that question." She spat. While to the casual observer Harry might seem to be in charge, he was incredibly introverted, and Ron, while not a bad guy and with a certain knack for tactics, didn't care much most of the time. As such, though they probably dragged her into this, Hermione was pretty much defaulting to take-charge mode.

"We're here for BOOKS." Said Daphne scathingly. "So why don't you turn your corpulent oversized rump around and head back to your tower like a good little Gryffindor. Sneaking into the restricted section is bound to look bad for such an upright and studious girl."

Hermione looked shocked and a little hurt by the venom, and I admit I was surprised too. Ron, to my surprise, got defensive of her. "Oi, what's your problem with Hermione?"

I gave the guy credit for not making any snake related references when questioning my girlfriend. Daphne snorted. "She's unbearable. I think Moon is the only person more irritating. Hermione thinks she knows everything, judges everyone, and then jiggles her oversized arse at other people's boyfriends while pretending to be so innocent." At my surprised look, she just snorted. "What? Like I haven't seen you look? The thing has it's own orbit, I can hardly blame you."

Hermione's face was bright red as she stammered and tried not to look at me. Even Ron was blushing a bit. I cleared my throat. "Honey, we don't need to pick on her for something like that. I think maybe we can just both do our own thing. No reason to get in each other's ways."

Sadly, the shock of my girlfriend calling her a lard ass and intimating that I liked to stare (which I did and would never admit in Daphne or Susan's earshot) didn't prevent her core personality from showing through. "We will NOT stay out of your way. You're breaking the rules. The restricted section is restricted for a reason. These books are dangerous."

"Are you listening to yourself?" I said in frustrated amazement. "You're IN the restricted section right now you lunatic. That's where we're having this conversation. Are you somehow magically immune to the rules just because you're a kiss ass?"

"He has a point, Hermione." Said Harry quietly. "We don't have a leg to stand on. We need to find the books on Flamel and get out of here. It's not like we can tell any teachers without letting them know we were here ourselves. Just let them go about their business and we'll do the same."

I was shocked that despite looking like a strong wind would blow him over most of the time, Harry's voice was pretty damned firm. Hermione clearly wasn't expecting him to speak up either. "But Harry, these books are DANGEROUS. What if they're looking for something terrible. They could hurt someone."

"We're not." I lied. "And did you say Flamel? Like the Alchemist? Why the hell are you looking into him?" The Alchemy book I'd checked out from the library was chock full of references to old dead guys. Flamel was the one old ALIVE guy, so he kind of stuck out.

Hermione literally facepalmed. "OF COURSE!" She said in irritation. "NICHOLAS Flamel. The immortal alchemist. One of the inventors of the twelve uses of dragon's blood. I'm a moron, how could I have forgotten that."

Ron's eyes lit up. "Right, that bloke on Dumbledore's chocolate frog card. Knew I'd heard that name somewhere."

"So…was that all you needed, or…?" I trailed off, and Hermione grimaced.

"It was. We don't need to be in here to find books on Flamel." She looked indecisively at me and then at Daphne, her eyes narrowing as she stared at my girlfriend.

Harry put a hand on her shoulder. "Mutually assured destruction, Mione'. We tell and they tell. Snape will have their points back within a week, but hours will just be gone. Plus they helped us. Just let it go."

She nodded reluctantly. "Alright. But only because you helped. And you two should really show more respect for school rules."

My girlfriend just sneered at her, and Hermione turned around and followed Harry and Ron as they vanished under the invisible cloth again. Daphne whistled as the wards opened and closed again, showing us we were alone.. "I can't believe Potter has an invisibility cloak. I'm so jealous. Those work so much better than disillusionment."

I shrugged. "I'll keep an eye out. Maybe I'll get you one for your birthday." She rolled her eyes, smirking slightly as she headed back to the shelves to keep looking for the book. It didn't take us too long to track it down once they'd gone, and as I found it, I slipped it off the shelf and opened it up, leafing through the pages.

"Daphne." I hissed, calling her over. "I found it. Come check out what's in here. I want to see if there are any devil references.

As I paged through, I took note of the subjects in the book. Necromancy, blood sacrifice, bloodline curses. One entry had what appeared to be detailed instructions to make a phylactery (the kind you used to become a lich) and despite the stupid name, that one was actually passingly interesting until I read the requirements.

Murder of an innocent was outside my wheelhouse. I wasn't against offing some asshole for eternal life, but I wasn't killing a decent human being just to rip out a part of my soul and stick it in a box. I finished skimming the book after about twenty minutes, and resisted the urge to hurl it across the room.

"Fuck." I snapped. Tossing the book aside. Daphne caught it as I started to pace. "Never believe a mysterious, possibly evil entity when they tell you something. Nothing that book about demons or devils. Everything in there is completely useless to me. What the hell was the point of- Daph? Why are you crying?"

Daphne had opened the book, flipped back to a specific section, and was reading it, her eyes wet with tears. At my voice, she looked up, startled. "I…nothing. It's nothing. I'm fine, I promise. I was just reading something about…this section on bloodline curses."

"Do you know someone under a bloodline curse?" I was weirded out. I'd never seen Daphne cry. I'd barely seen Daphne upset. She was always so calm and collected, barring embarrassment or sometimes annoyance. Seeing my resting bitchface blonde tear up was jarring as hell.

She nodded, looking uncertain. "I do. My mother was under a bloodline curse. A malediction. She passed it on to my sister."

I stepped closer, pulling her into a hug. "Damn, I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do? Hell maybe one of my evil pieces could fix her."

Her face was guilty as she looked away. "I think it could. When you told me about them…it was the first thing that came to mind. I was upset when you told me about having to share you. I liked you and you were attractive and interesting and you were telling me I wasn't good enough. But then I realized what those pieces could do."

"If you're expecting me to be mad that you agreed to share me because you wanted to help your sister, you don't know me very well." I chuckled. "I can help your sister if she needs it. Why not just ask?"

She grimaced. "It was the attraction. Astoria is only seventeen. I know you mentioned women you…change, develop an interest in you romantically. I wanted to wait to ask until she came to Hogwarts next year."

I nodded. "You'd need to anyway. Newly changed devils need to be near their king to become acclimated." That was part of what stopped me from turning Seras yet. I hadn't remembered that part of the booklet until later. "Will she be ok until then?" I glossed over her sister possibly ending up wanting to sleep with me. That seemed like a minefield best left until later.

Daphne just nodded. "The malediction is slow growing to start. She's still young and strong enough to fight it off. She's a little weak and fragile, but other than that she should be fine for the foreseeable future. But…you only get fifteen chances. Are you really willing to waste one on someone you don't even know?"

I pulled her against me tightly, holding her close. "Of course I am. You're important to me. I'm not going to let someone you love die of a mysterious illness just to save one piece. Of course, I'm ABSOLUTELY using a pawn, so you don't need to feel too bad."

She sniffled, grinning up at me. "So I take it I'll have to pay this off in trade." She said in a sultry voice. It was clear she didn't really feel too pressured, but that the idea of me making such a big sacrifice got her pretty turned on."

Pretending to think, I made a considering noise. "I don't know. Do you think you have anything valuable enough to pay for something so unique. I mean whatever you were giving me would need to be grade A stuff. Do you have anything you think I would want that badly?" My hand snuck down, groping a handful of very pert ass cheek.

Daphne wriggled up against me, her lips crushing themselves to mine as she plastered her body to my front. We spent the next hour or so making out heavily as I groped her in the middle of the restricted section. Sadly, I remembered that this place was going to open again soon, so I couldn't exactly stay here feeling up my girlfriend all night.

As I pulled back, she let out a cute little whine, and I grinned at her. Standing up, I grabbed the book, flipping back through it until I got to the section on bloodline curses. I scanned the information, memorizing it as best I could before I put it back.

At her confused look, I shot Daphne a winning smile. "Your sister can't become a devil quite yet, but that doesn't mean we can't help her. I happen to know a guy who is VERY familiar with things like this." I wasn't sure why Daphne's father hadn't asked Roran for help. Maybe he didn't know who Roran really was, or maybe he hadn't thought of it. Either way it was definitely something I could look into.

My bitchy princess didn't say thank you exactly, but she gave me the softest, warmest smile I'd ever seen from her. I put an arm over her shoulder and she disillusioned us before opening another hole in the wards. This had been a surprisingly good night, maybe I wasn't so pissed at that bald bastard after all. Still, was the bloodline stuff what he was directing me to in that book? Or had I missed something else important. I had a feeling I'd find out eventually.

As usual pat-reon has the advance chapters at that site /malcolmtent hope everyone enjoys.