The Usual Suspects

I woke several times during the night. Each time, I was awake just long enough to register annoyance before falling asleep again. My roommates were dressing for the day when I woke for the last time. I had no desire to waste any more time trying to sleep. I was worn out.

The other girls went down for breakfast, but I didn't feel like joining them. Not that they'd have offered. None of them so much as looked at me as they filed out to the Common Room. I decided to skip breakfast. I'd been getting along fine without it anyhow.

It was too early to go to the Quidditch Pitch. I didn't want Draco to think I was stalking him or anything. Instead I headed for the Room of Requirement. It had been a perfect hideout yesterday.

The room was much as we'd left it. The candles were out, so I lit them. They were no longer the oversized candles they had been the night before. The diary and quill were on the bed again, and I picked them up, tossing them near the door. I'd take them with me when I left, if only to get them out of this room.

I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a while, eventually falling asleep. In my dream, I was still a child. It was night, and the thunder had woken me. I pattered down the hall toward my parents' room, but heard a noise from downstairs. I tiptoed down, jumping at every flash of lightening, at every crack of thunder. I think I heard laughter in my dream, but I awoke to find myself in the Room of Requirement, sweat beading on my brow.

I scrambled off the bed. I didn't want to be there anymore, didn't want to be in the room, didn't want to be alone. I grabbed up the diary and quill as I left the room, hurrying down to the Quidditch Pitch.

I arrived just as the Slytherin team was walking onto the field. A small crowd had gathered in the stands to watch, and I joined them, though I sat apart.

My heart rose when I spotted Draco, broomstick propped over his shoulder. He lowered it and got on, then soared into the air as if he'd been made to ride. Of course, he'd probably been riding well before Hogwarts.

The team swirled through the air, Bludgers swooping menacingly, the Quaffle bouncing back and forth between the players. Draco looped lazy circles around his teammates, looking for the Snitch.

He spotted me and he smirked, arrogance flowing from his gaze. My body tensed, and I couldn't tear my eyes off of him. The girls nearest me stopped talking. Finally I turned from Draco to look at them, and they were watching me and Draco intently. My eyes narrowed. They turned away without another word.

When I turned back toward Draco, he had disappeared somewhere. I scanned the field, finally spotting him near the goal hoops, where a speck of gold flitted back and forth. Draco swooped, plummeting into a dive toward the Snitch, which zipped toward the stands. Draco followed, and as the Snitch neared me, I imagined that I could hear the buzz of its wings.

It passed, and quick as lightening, Draco passed as well, a breeze scented with him blowing through my hair. The Snitch turned quickly, making a beeline for the beaters, who hovered uncertainly. Draco pushed on after it, shouting something I couldn't hear. The beaters moved, and Draco passed between them, then dipped toward the ground. My heart caught as he headed almost straight down. It looked as though he were falling, but he held fast to his broom. Suddenly he let go of the handle and reached out, straining. I leaned forward in my seat.

Draco sat, his arm in the air. He circled the field, slowing before me, a triumphant smile on his face. He held out his hand, closed around the Snitch, whose wings beat furiously through his fist. I smiled, then looked into Draco's eyes. The burning desire there stunned me. I could almost feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He turned and soared around the field again, and I stood, pushing my way back through the whispering girls behind me and off the stands.

At the ground, I saw Draco land just ahead of me. He stepped off his broom and crossed to me, his eyes gleaming. He dropped his broom as if it were nothing, still clutching the Snitch, and wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing his pelvis to mine as he kissed me.
I could feel the proof of his excitement, could feel his pulse beating in our kiss. He groaned softly into my mouth, and I reached up to run my fingers through the silk of his hair.

Draco pulled away, but grabbed hold of my hand, hauling me after him across the pitch. He pushed open a door which could only lead to the changing rooms, and across the open space within. He turned sharply, aiming his wand over my shoulder at the door. "Colloportus!"

He pushed me against the wall and pressed his body against mine, his tongue ravaging its way inside my mouth. His hands were on my hips, holding me as he ground against me. I dropped the book in my hand and tugged at his Quidditch robes, but couldn't get them off over the pads on his arms. Draco pulled back, yanking off one pad with a snap and tossing it aside. I grabbed the other and removed it and, ignoring the fingerless leather gloves he still wore, pushed his robes down over his shoulders to the floor.

Draco pinned me to the wall again, kissing me furiously. His knee, still padded, pushed between my legs, and the pressure of his thigh caused a ripple of pleasure to shoot through me. I wasn't wearing my school robes today, only a skirt and blouse, and I could feel the cloth and leather of Draco's legs against mine.

I shifted against Draco's leg, gasping as my body shook slightly. His hands left my hips to remove his gloves at last, and he pulled at my shirt, loosening it from my skirt. His hands slid up my stomach, and his thigh pressed against me harder, drawing another shudder as he unhooked my bra and slid his palms across my breasts.

I rocked on Draco's thigh and was rewarded with another thrill of pleasure, and another, until I ground myself against him. He pulled away, lowering his thigh, and I moaned in disappointment, but one of his hands slipped beneath my skirt and lowered my panties while the other dragged down his trousers. His thigh parted my legs again and he pinned me to the wall, his hands raising me up.

He pushed in, drinking everything he could from my lips, kissing me as he rocked, harder with each thrust. I tore at his back, my nails scraping him through the layer of his shirt. He moaned, pushing harder and harder until I clutched him, shuddering uncontrollably, my body screaming, reeling with pleasure. I heard Draco's voice echo across the room as he pulled out, spilling across my thigh.

I lowered my feet to the ground, trying to regain my footing. Draco rested his head on my shoulder, breathing heavily, and I pulled him close, rubbing his back lightly.

He looked up, then pressed his lips to mine, and I savored the slow motion of his tongue, the tired, satisfied breath he took as he pulled away.

Draco pulled out his wand, and we cleaned up, then straightened our clothes. Draco retrieved his Quidditch pads and tucked them in a wooden locker on the far wall.

He'd released the Snitch at some point, and it flew around the room, humming as it zipped toward the door, then back at Draco. He reached out and caught it, giving a smile of satisfaction. He opened the box at the end of the row of lockers and strapped the Snitch into its holder, then turned to me.

"We have practice every Saturday at half-past ten," he drawled, crossing toward me. Every movement of his body spoke of easy grace and certain superiority. "I'd like you to come."

I smiled. "I thought I just did." I turned crimson at what I'd said, but Draco chuckled and lifted my chin. His eyes sparkled.

"Then I'd like you to come again."

I blushed and looked away, but couldn't help smiling. "Whatever you say, Master," I murmured, daring to look back at Draco from beneath my lashes.

He smiled, and his eyes glittered with humour, but I sensed some deep pleasure in what I'd said. Draco dipped his head and kissed me, and I suddenly didn't care how he'd interpreted my spontaneous words. I just wanted his kiss.

A loud crash jerked my lips from Draco's. The little building shook with the force of it. I half dove into his arms, pressing my cheek to his chest.

"Thunder," Draco murmured.

I listened closely, and I could hear rain beating down. The doorknob jiggled, and there was pounding from outside. I could hear voices, and I pulled back from Draco, though I was still more or less pinned to the wall by his body.

The door swung open and the Slytherin Quidditch team filed in, shaking water from their robes. Draco took a step back, but still, when the team looked up, their eyes fixed on me.

As one, we all looked to Draco. His face was set with a glare so haughty and demanding that the room immediately filled with low conversation about the practice session. Draco's expression softened slightly, and he took my hand, leading me out into the rain.

We ran back to the castle and entered soaked to our skin. I leaned against the wall, panting, and when I looked up, Draco's eyes were so piercing that I could hardly breathe. He swept a lock of dripping hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. My heart raced, from the exertion of running and the sheer tension between me and Draco. He leaned toward me, and my eyes slid closed.

Maiow...

My eyes flew open and I turned to see Mrs. Norris watching from the bottom of a nearby staircase. Filch would have convulsions to see me and Draco dripping on the floor. I looked back at Draco, and his eyes seemed to echo my thoughts. Later.

He took my hand again and we ran past Mrs. Norris, turning left, then right, losing ourselves in the maze of the castle. When we stopped again I turned to Draco, smiling.

A boom of thunder rattled the castle walls, and I jumped away. My body shook with the next thud and the next. Draco's hand touched mine and I recoiled, a horrible, unthinkable vision tearing through my mind.

"What is it?" Draco sounded concerned, or perhaps frightened, but I pulled back, dropping to sit on the floor, my arms around my knees.

"Thunder," I managed, and I covered my eyes with my hands, pressing until I could see sparks, trying anything, anything to make the vision stop.

Draco's arms wrapped around me and I struggled to pull away, but he held fast, and I screamed as another peal of thunder echoed through the corridor.

"It's just thunder," Draco said, and I collapsed against him, my legs still drawn up, hands pressed to my eyes. He held me, and I couldn't fight anymore. I bowed my head and let the vision come.