Murky Waters

please bear with me. this is a new venture..... a stand alone piece, but it\'ll have some cameos. i hope everyone enjoys.

this is written for my very bestest friend in the whole world. love ya, babe!

ok, not mine, much as i wish thet were. j.k. rowling is responsible for my descent into the bowels of smutty fanfic hell. and i enjoy it so much.

k folks, read and review.......

Murky Waters

Chapter One: The First Annual Quidditch Expo
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Baronesse Illiana Von Haifisch stood in the middle of the pitch, looking over the entire playing field. She had never been to Hogwart\'s before. She was found she was rather impressed with the facilities. She\'d been invited to play in the Quidditch Exposition at the school. It was an attempt to coax more witches and wizards into getting involved with the sport. She had seen many people arriving at the school over the past few days, from all over Europe. It looked as if the Expo would prove a popular event. Only time would tell if it served the intended purpose.

As she stood there, a series of brooms came flying out of one of the spectator\'s towers, half way up. The group, wearing different colored robes, zipped about the pitch in warm up excercises. She watched as a woman stepped out on the field, carrying the box that contained the Bludgers, the Quaffle, and the Snitch. Her hair stuck up straight off her head, and she had eyes rather like a bird of prey\'s. Sort of a yellowish color and very striking. \'Hello there, dear. What brings you?.....\' the woman began, then broke off as her sharp eyes went to the sky above them. \'Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy! Either you two break it up this very minute, or I\'ll see to it that you both are ejected from the games!\'

Illiana followed the direction of the woman\'s gaze to see two of the riders slowly separate from each other. One wore burgandy robes, the other a silvery green. Both dropped down to hover near the spot where she and the other woman stood. Illiana could see that the player in burgandy robes was raven haired with green eyes and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Her eyes widened to know that she was looking at the now infamous Harry Potter. He was throwing glares at the other rider.

Said other rider wore the icy green robes, his blonde hair slicked back from his face. His eyes were sort of a liquid silver/blue that seemed as if they would change color, given the right emotion. This must be the Mr. Malfoy she had referred to. Rather an attractive young man, all things considered. He did seem to have a harsh look on his face at the moment. Perhaps because he was scowling at Harry Potter.

\'Potter started it, Madam Hooch!\' Malfoy insisted. She saw those well known green eyes roll, and got the feeling that the two of them shared some sort of history. \'He.....\'

\'Shut it, Mr. Malfoy! As this is an exhibition game and not your school days, I suggest you bury the hatchet some place where it won\'t harm anyone!\' Madam Hooch snapped at the blonde. Malfoy opened his mouth to continue, but a look from the other woman had him clamping his lips together. Potter and Malfoy returned to the normal play level, and the practise ensued. Madam Hooch turned her yellow eyed gaze back to the woman next to her.

\' I\'m impressed with the way you handled that,\' Illiana told the flying instructor. \' I should think most people would be in awe of Harry Potter.\'

\'Mr. Potter is a rather not the awe inspiring type. When he was at school, he excelled at Quidditch and flying, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and getting into trouble. He broke as many rules as he could. But, if not for him...... well, I can only say we\'d be up to our arses in shite at this very moment,\' the last comment was made rather low pitched, then the woman seemed to shake off the mood and smiled at her brightly. \'Call me Hooch. And you are?\'

\' Illiana von Haifisch. I\'m from the Durmstrang team. I was out here admiring the pitch when the lot of them came out,\' she replied. Madam Hooch held out her hand and the two of them shook amicably. She nodded her head to the sky where Potter and Malfoy were chasing after each other from one end of the pitch to the other. \' It looks as if those two have a history together.\'

\'When they attended Hogwart\'s, they were bitter rivals. Potter was always coming out on top, even when he was in the deepest trouble. Malfoy never could accept it. But then, Draco shocked everyone by telling his father off and striking out on his own. He actually joined the fight against..... I still can\'t say his name. At any rate, he and Harry called a sort of truce. The two of them needle each other like that purely for the fun of it. Twisted boys, if you ask me!\'

\'Sounds very intriguing. I shall have to learn of their history together at a later date. As it is, I must meet with several Durmstrang alumni. We are going to discuss the tactics we intend to use so we may win all of our games,\' Illiana, smiled, remembering the stories she\'d heard in her days at school of Harry Potter\'s abilities as a Seeker. She intended to beat the legendary Gryffindor Seeker. She gave one last glance to the skies, where the Hogwart\'s team was zipping about at a mind numbing pace, then sauntered off the field to meet up with the rest of the team at The Three Broomsticks.

~*~*~*~*~

Illiana stood under a tree, staring up at the starlit skies. It was still fairly mild, even though it was already late October. She had a wool shawl wrapped around her shoulders, enjoying the quiet. It had been noisy in The Three Broomsticks. Most of the alumni from Drumstrang she had met there had only been interested in talking over old times. Their voices had been loud and boisterous, prompting her to seek the solitude of the outdoors.

Night had spread her cloak of inky blackness only a few hours ago. A thin layer of light still licked along the edge of the world, but it was fading away rapidly. The Expo would be starting the following day, the last Saturday of the month. All Hallow\'s Eve. There would be a full moon, as well, which meant play could go on well into the night. She had read of games that had gone on for days at a time, some even months. Fortunately, she didn\'t think she would need to worry about that here.

She had to admit, she was looking forward to watching the Alumni team from Hogwart\'s play. The stories about Harry Potter\'s games here were legend, running amok among the Quidditch fans through out Europe. And the blonde Malfoy had intrigued her this morning at the practice. He had the aristocratic features of the nobility, and the single minded arrogance that seemed to lend it\'s self to men of stature. He looked as if he were molded from by the hands of the gods. He was pure, unadulterated lust made flesh.

Why her mind chose to linger on the blonde, she wasn\'t sure. She only knew there was something about him that interested her. A strange happening, since few men had interested her for long. She was of the opinion that a man was only worthy of her attentions when she found him appealing on more than just one level. Looks were one thing, but brains and personality were as important. And she certainly didn\'t want someone who would lick her boot heels because she carried a title. She wanted someone who saw her for who and what she was. On the inside.

Too many men had looked at her and seen beauty. She had yet to come across someone who didn\'t fall prey to her unique looks. She knew they were something out of the usual, but she saw nothing amazing about them. Or the way she looked on a whole. She knew she was fair passing pretty, but not the object of lust men seemed to make her. Hair the color of moonlight, silver and flowing like water, to just past her shoulders. The ends flipped under of their own accord, giving her hair a slight bounce. Her bangs hung past eyebrows so pale, they were almost invisible against her flesh. They grew progressively longer as they went round the sides of her head, carefully framing an angular, heart shaped face. The ends swept up and tickled her under her chin.

Her crowning glory was her eyes. A dark amethyst color that drew the light and men\'s gazes into them. They went too well with her pale tresses. When she turned her eyes onto some unsuspecting soul, the results were always the same. Quite comical, too. Cartoons she had seen on Muggle television were closest to what happened. Their eyes bulged out of their sockets and their jaws hit the floor, tongue rolling out like the red carpet did for royalty and important persons. Only she had seen it all and was tired of it. She wanted a man who could look at her and see her for the woman she was inside.

She was not just a shell of beauty, to be admired and desired. She was a woman and a tom boy. Soft and hard all at once. And it seemed no one could see that about her. She had a sense of humor, but knew when she should be serious. She liked sports and eating, as her slightly larger than normal curves attested to. Not that she was really fat, just a little more hour glass shaped than most. But she maintained firm muscle tone and took care of herself. She was a well rounded individual, in more ways than one. She just wished other people saw it.

She heaved a sigh and turned for the temperary shelter erected on Hogwart\'s grounds for the Expo. She had a tent to herself, and the comfortable bed awaiting her would feel heavenly. These moments of deep introspection got her nothing but confused and angry with the way the slightly askew view of women the world had. Nothing she could do about it any way. Besides, she intended to be up early to get her sea legs, so to speak. She had a new pitch to get used to, and there was no better time for that than the crack of dawn.

~*~*~*~*~

The first faint rays of the sun were just crawling over the very edge of the world when Illiana stepped out onto the pitch, her Firebolt clasped loosely in her hand. The sky overhead was just lightening up with the rising of the sun, casting shadows across the green grass. She was, as yet, alone with her thoughts. Inhaling the freshness of the morning air, she let go of the Firebolt, waiting for it to settle into it\'s hovering pattern before mounting. Pushing off with her feet, she soared up to a level even with the middle goal, then began a series of figure eights and loop the loops to loosen herself up. Once those were finished, she went into a flat out dive, leaning low over the handle until she pulled up and went back to her previous level.

Once the lingering drowsiness she felt was driven away by pure speed and adreniline, she began circling the pitch, moving lower with each pass. The playing field had bee n well built. The Firebolt had no problems keeping to the lay of the land, so to speak. She zipped between the goals, watching them fly past in a blur of color. She had been Beater on the Durmstrang team, and no one had gone up against her when she knocked the bludger at them. She was just coming around one of the goal posts when she heard a sound and looked down.

Several other people had taken the field, broom sticks in one hand. All wore old robes that they could practice in, not the dress robes each team wore for games. She saw one faint ray of sunlight glinting off a pale blonde head. Guiding her broom lower with her knees, she found that there were three players from Hogwart\'s on the ground, as well as her old class mate, Viktor Krum. He glanced up at her and smiled, knowing her routine almost better than she did. She nodded in acknowledgement. The three men below her looked steadily at each other for a time, seemingly unwilling to break the staring contest. Then, by unspoken agreement, they each mounted their brooms and took to the sky.

Illiana watched as Harry Potter slipped past her, his eyes going to the sky as if searching for something. He seemed unimpressive on his broom, so her gaze sought out Draco Malfoy. Dragon......interesting choice for the young man. The scowl she\'d seen on his face the previous day seemed to say he was capable of breathing fire as the beasts did. He was graceful on his broom, as if he\'d been born to it. He was, at the moment, hanging idly in the air, watching Harry do his Seeker bit. If she was any judge of looks, Malfoy appeared to be giving off a long suffering look of pain at the way Potter was showing off. She found the image worth a chuckle. It brought the blonde head swinging toward her.

Silver eyes, tinted with the smallest hint of blue, focused and narrowed on her, and she had the distinct impression he didn\'t care to be laughed at. Also that he was sizing her up. She merely smiled and looked to where the box of Quidditch gear was set. She swooped down and opened it, taking out a bat and then setting loose the Golden Snitch. Let the three Seekers try to kill each other diving for it. The Snitch zoomed out of sight, and she noticed that Viktor and Harry took off after it. Malfoy stayed where he was and glared at her.

\'Here!\' a voice called, and she saw a Bludger as it was lobbed at the blonde. He dove out of the way, heading for the ground as the ball whipped around and followed him. He flew past the open chest and lifted the other bat from it, then turned back toward the oncoming Bludger and gave it a hefty whack.

The projectile immediately reversed course, and it took a fraction of a second to realize the blonde had hit it at her. She dodged out of the way, just before it hit her, and took her turn to glare at him. He laughed, a self satisfied sound that marked him as the arrogant man she thought he was. She felt Viktor coming up along side of her, his eyes asking the question he didn\'t need to voice. \' I\'m fine, Viktor. It seems Malfoy should stick with Seeking, as he certainly has no ability to hit anything he aims the Bludger at.\' She looked over and met his eyes, adding saucily, \'Or maybe, he merely lacks the strength for a proper hit.\'

With her last word, she turned and lifted her bat, swatting away the Bludger coming at her with practised ease. It went hurtling to the ground, where an unknown person caught it and wrestled it back into it\'s resting place in the chest. Malfoy glared at her a moment, then a smirk settled on his lips and he merely nodded. \' I look forward to playing with you,\' Draco drawled at her, his smirk becoming a full blown smile. Then he flew off after Harry Potter to spar with the other man.

Was she mistaken, or did he just make a pass at her? His words had certainly been open ended. She felt a tightening somewhere low in her belly. Her oulse was racing wildly. Now, this man had some promise. The golden god was perhaps worth her time. \' I look forward to playing with you, too,\' she whispered under her breath, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

Very promising, indeed.......
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for you, my dearest friend, so that you may live out some fantasies of your own. i love you.

thanks always to madam shark, who is ever the faithful editor.... ~this is spelled wrong, change that line, this doesn\'t make sense~ she\'s the best!

i look forward to knowing what you, the readers, think of this new start. i will, of course, be continuing this, as well as my other work. so please feel free to leave me some note, telling me what you thought.