Midnight Grace

Chapter Five: Haunting Shadows

Jo paused at the entrance to the corridor, sliding her shoes on her feet and attempting to straighten herself and combat the tears threatening to spill. Holding her head high she walked to the door, uttered the password and passed into the common room past the crowds gathered there.

“Where the hell have you been?” Liz demanded, but Jo walked straight past her, heading towards the entrance to the girls’ dormitories.

“Iosifina!” Liz yelled over the din, but she went unheeded as Jo ducked through the doorway, her feet rushing down the stone stairs until they reached the shower level.
Passing through the door she moved past the three girls who stood idly chattering in front of the mirrors and made her way to the last stall, stepping inside before removing her clothes and tossing them back out. She flicked her wand at the shower knobs, closing her eyes as the hot spray tumbled down around her, and after casting a silencing spell on the shower curtain she tossed the wooden instrument out to lie on top of her clothes, dampening them.

The water fell around her, soaking into her hair, and only then did she let the tears rush down her hot cheeks, her hands trembling as she reached for the familiar bar of soap that wasn’t there. She hadn’t bothered to gather her bathing accessories.

Wrapping her arms around herself she leaned back against the wall of the shower stall and slid down it slowly until she sat on the tile. Hugging herself tightly she drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them, her body shaking with her sobs. It would be only a matter of minutes before Thane was back in the common room joking to his friends about what he’d done, laughing, snorting and making the lewd comments she’d so often overheard about other girls.

How could she have been so fucking stupid!? God, she’d been SO careful all last year! She’d put so much effort into distancing herself, into making sure she wasn’t one of those girls that were laughed at, and now here she was. All her planning, all her pushing people away had lead to nothing in the end. She was going to be the subject of ridicule and remarks, jokes and commentary.

Wrapping her arms around her legs she lifted her head and stared at the dark green shower curtain, watching it dance in the breeze created by the falling water. Beyond it she could hear the voices of the three girls she’d passed, she could hear their giggles but not their words. That’s all she wanted was to be normal, to be happy, but somehow things were always ruined for her!

Clenching her fist, she slammed it into the tiled floor, wincing as pain shot up her arm and into her shoulder. Lifting it she struck the floor again and again until her hand was numb, the physical pain overpowering the screaming ache in her chest and the writhing of her insides.

Meanwhile, Thane sat on the couch, dumbfounded, for several minutes after Jo left. The warmth of her body still lingered on his and he could smell her on his skin. With his elbows on his knees, he ran his fingers through his unruly spikes of hair and rested his head against his forearms as he tried to wrap his brain around what had just happened. This wasn’t what he had wanted. This wasn’t how he wanted Jo to see him. But, it seemed that old habits died hard and now he was left alone in the dusty old room with only a pile of his clothing on the floor for company.

Rifling through his robes, Thane produced a small black flask with an inlay of the Purefoy family crest in the shiny black metal. He unscrewed the lid and tipped it back, taking a long draught from the aged single-malt scotch it held inside. His eyes closed against the burning liquid as it slid down his throat, the warmth spreading through him as he swallowed. A tightening in his chest caused him to take another drink shortly after finishing the last, the Slytherin not wanting to contemplate at all what that sensation meant.

With the flask in his teeth, he pulled on his underwear, his pants and then sloppily pulled on his shirt, stuffing his tie into his pants pocket. Casually throwing his robes over his shoulder, he took one more long drink before exiting the room, the locking charm Jo had placed on the door easily overcome. He didn’t feel like going back to Slytherin just yet, seeing Malfoy and his new girl was the last thing he wanted to do right now, but staying here in this room was not an option either. Still, he had to go somewhere, so he simply followed his feet where they went, not paying attention to where they took him.

In the corridors not far away from where Thane now strode, Draco was being led by a fiery redhead, and despite himself, he was having a good time.

“So, where are you taking me now?” asked Tia brightly, her green eyes sparkling as she looked up in Draco’s narrowed grey eyes. She had to admit that she was totally taken by the Slytherin Prefect and she wanted to go anywhere but the House common room, not wanting to share his attention with anyone.

“It looks like you’re taking me,” he said dryly, unable to completely suppress his smirk.

“Oh, now that’s silly,” she took a few steps backward and pulled Draco with her by his hand. “I have no idea where we are.” She smiled coyly as she tugged him down a darkened corridor.

“Then it’s probably a good thing that I do,” Draco drawled, stopping abruptly and jerking Tia back to him. He wrapped his arms around her as she moved easily into him, her hands on his chest. “Slytherin is back that way,” he commented, glancing down the corridor behind him.

“You mean to say you never get lost?” she asked him, her finger tracing one of the stripes on his tie. “This is an awfully big dungeon…” She left her comment open as she lifted her gaze to meet his.

Draco liked the feeling of Tia in his arms, the scent of her hair filling his every breath, and he even like the temptation to get lost in her eyes. But, right now he was already lost in the feeling of her body pressed against him, and his body was beginning to betray him. Her finger lifted to trace the line of his jaw, his mouth opening reflexively as it trailed over his bottom lip, her touch driving him to distraction. Any thought of the Malfoys proper behavior was long forgotten as he stared into those emerald depths. She lifted herself up, her lips parted, and he met her eagerly with his own, something primal taking over as he tasted her for the first time.

Tia’s arms slipped around his neck, her fingers tangling in the back of his hair as his hands moved over her back, pulling her even tighter against him. His tongue traced the inside of her lip softly before delving deeper, her tongue meeting his as their kiss deepened. She pressed her hips into his, the state of his arousal evident when he pushed back, the soft friction between them serving only to fuel the fire that burned inside of them.

He lifted his hands to her shoulders and pushed her back against the stone wall, breaking their kiss, his grey eyes holding her where she stood. His fingers moved beneath her robes, slipping them from her shoulders and letting them fall quietly to the floor. She closed her eyes at his touch, her chest heaving as his fingers trailed over her neck and into her hair, freeing it from its tie and letting the long auburn locks fall over her shoulders. Opening her eyes to him again, she inhaled sharply through her teeth as his lips found her neck, suckling the soft skin there, his hands clutching at her breasts through her shirt. Her hips arched into him instinctively, feeling his full erection as it pressed into her, his mouth still sucking and teasing the flesh of her neck. She moaned softly in his ear, the full weight of his body pushing her against the cold stones of the wall.

“Is there some place we can go?” asked Tia breathlessly, her hands again threading through his hair.

“The doors are all locked,” he breathed against her skin, his lips continuing their previous assault.

“All of them?” She asked in a whisper.

Draco groaned as Tia’s hands slipped beneath his robes, finding his hips and pulling him into her. “All of them,” he moaned, not wanting to waste the time to find an unlocked room.

Every fiber of his being cried out for her, his lips finding hers desperately as he surrendered to his desires. He tugged roughly at her shirt, seeking the soft skin beneath, the buttons from her shirt echoing as they hit the floor. Then lifting her skirt and following the shape of her leg, he slid his hand between her thighs. Tia’s nails dug at his lower back, stopping her efforts to free his shirt from his pants. He pulled off her lace panties, letting them also fall to the floor, and made quick work of his own restricting clothing, tugging down his pants while at the same time lifting Tia until her legs wrapped around his waist. His robes flowed around them as Draco thrust into her forcefully, drawing gasps from both of them at the suddenness of his entry. He held her there, momentarily lost in her heat that now threatened to swallow him whole, until her hips urged him deeper. Her eyes held a fiery lust that matched his own and as he looked into them, he captured her lips again as he lifted her up, shifting her weight onto him as he thrust into her again.

Tia cried out as Draco penetrated her deeply, her own hips meeting his push with equal strength. She gasped again, in equal parts pain and overwhelming pleasure, and Draco’s hand slipped over her mouth to silence her cries of passion. He slammed into her again and again, each time lifting her against the coarse stones behind her. She clawed at his shoulders and her back arched as he moved inside her, each stroke urging her to climax. Tia ground her hips against him, wanting more of him, wanting all of him, as he relentlessly worked that tender spot inside her that threatened to cause her to lose control.

His fingers slipped inside her mouth, Tia grazing her teeth over his skin as she struggled to stifle her screams. He moved at a furious pace, his fingers gripping at Tia’s flesh with every pulsing movement, feeling her heat tighten around him, begging him for release. He thrust into her again, her legs gripping him tighter and her teeth biting at his shoulder, her cry disappearing into his robes. Her body stiffened in his arms as she came, her orgasm drawing out Draco’s unwillingly and light exploded behind the lids of his closed eyes, his own cry escaping from his lips as he buried his face in her neck.

The encounter had been fast and furious, and Draco’s body already ached to claim her again as the two Slytherins rested against each other, Tia’s legs still wrapped tightly around his waist. His breath was hot against her ear, his cheek pressed against hers as he regained his strength, his legs now threatening to collapse beneath him.

“Oh my,” Tia moaned softly against Draco’s soft white hair, breathing in his scent deeply as she settled against him.

“Come on, let’s find someplace more private,” he said, a smirk playing on his lips as he slowly withdrew from her.

“I thought all the rooms were locked,” Tia returned with a smirk of her own as she slid down the length of his body.

“I lied,” said Draco flatly, looking up at her as he picked up her robe from the floor. “Now, let’s go,” he said, grabbing her up in his arms and kissing her again.


Pansy had followed her one true love, Draco Malfoy, from dinner and had been tailing him silently ever afterwards, watching with narrowed eyes as the redheaded slut lead him by the hand, grinning and laughing, his grey eyes admiring her every move.

Pansy’s stomach tightened in a sick knot that grew tighter and tighter the longer she watched them. As the pair stopped in the corridor and began removing one another’s clothing her chest got so tight that she had to lean against the wall for support, her head light and dizzy and her vision blurred.

Yet she couldn’t rip her eyes away from the scene, even though the more she watched the worse she felt. When Draco finally leaned Tia against the wall, lifting her legs and wrapping them around his waist Pansy had to fight against a wave of nausea so overpowering it nearly brought her to her knees.

Tears bit at the backs of her eyelids as she tried to drown the visions out, but always she’d look once more, the sick, rolling feeling returning with renewed force each time. Her hand shook as she tried to wipe the dampness from her cheeks while her breathing was ragged and fast, her chest catching each time she inhaled.

As the pair finished their lovemaking Pansy turned and slinked around the corner, her hand finding the nearest doorknob. She cracked the door opened and flung herself inside the dusty room without thinking, seeking any escape from reality that she could find.

She made it as far as a ramshackle desk before her legs refused to support her anymore, and she collapsed to the floor, catching her chin on the seat as she fell.

She lay in a heap, her bleeding chin in her hands and sobs wracking her shoulders. How dare she! How dare that Canadian bitch waltz into this school and take the only man Pansy had ever loved, and could ever love? Who did Volusia think she was with her stupid name and her stupid act and her stupid – everything about her was stupid!

The girl let herself indulge in her sorrow for several minutes before using the back of her hand to wipe the tears away. Sitting up straight she began trying to collect her thoughts, though one was more prevalent than any other: Volusia would pay, and pay dearly. That bitch wasn’t going to take Draco just by shaking her ass in front of his face and winking at him! Not when Pansy had been working for so many years for his attention!

She climbed to her feet, using her wand to repair the damage to her chin, and straightened her robes before heading into the corridor beyond, eyes searching for any sign of Draco or his slut, but finding none.

Obviously they’d gone back to Slytherin or else had disappeared to go consummate their newfound romance some more. This thought made Pansy’s abdomen convulse, and she leaned back into the classroom, emptying the contents of her stomach onto the stone floor inside.

When she’d finished she wiped at her face and then stood once more and began the slow trek back to Slytherin’s common room, her eyes burning with fire and her insides shaking.

The girl stopped, her eyes landing on the figure of Thane Purefoy headed straight towards her, his gait wobbly and his face grim.

“What are you doing?” Pansy sneered. “Looking for Malfoy and the whore?”

"You know, an attitude like this is exactly why you can't get laid, Parkinson," the tall boy said, looking down at the pug-faced prefect.

Pansy growled at him, “Watch how you speak to me, I AM a Prefect, you know! I can take away points the same as Malfoy, and I’m sure you deserve to lose several!” She wrinkled her nose as the smell of alcohol reached her nostrils. “Drinking are you? And look at the state of your clothes! What have you been doing? Out bedding another slut? Was she so ugly you had to get drunk first?”

"No, I'll reserve that for you, love," he grinned, producing his flask and drinking from it defiantly. "There's enough to go around. Care to be part of the clean up team?" he asked smugly, looking down his nose at her as he replaced the flask inside his robe.

“I’d rather be cursed by an unforgivable!” Pansy snorted, her eyes narrowed. “Ten points for drunkenness, and another ten for slovenly appearance!” Her anger was bubbling, threatening to explode through her skin at any second as she heaped offenses on the boy before her. “And ten more for mouthing off!” she shouted, her voice growing louder and louder. He deserved this and much more for defending that whore!

"And what about you, Poochy?" asked Thane suddenly, a sneer on his face. "Do you lose points for barking too loudly or chasing your tail?"

“Watch what you say, prat!” Pansy snarled. “I’m sick of your pathetic dog jokes! You think I‘m ugly do you?!” She leaned close to his face, shouting. “Well I think YOU’RE ugly! And that Canadian bitch is uglier still! Not to mention that stupid Yank you’ve been spotted with!”

"Listen here you repugnant bitch," said Thane, his words slow and distinct as he spoke, his dark blue eyes narrowed in anger. "You breathe another word about the Canadian OR the Yank and I'll tell Draco you've been following him all evening," he threatened her, his tone conveying their meaning perfectly.

Pansy made a small yelping noise and leapt back, but tried to squelch her panic. “You can’t prove anything!”

"I don't have to," he said, an evil smirk rising on his lips.

“You’re a bastard, Thane Purefoy,” Pansy cried, waggling her finger in the boys face. “A bastard who thinks they can get through life just because they’re rich and supposedly good looking! Just you wait, one of these days that won’t be enough!”

"I wouldn't hold my breath on that one for very long if I were you," Thane laughed cruelly. "Unfortunately, you'll never know either of those in your lifetime."

“I don’t need to see it,” Pansy smirked. “It will happen.” And turning on her heal she strode away, fuming and suddenly wondering if Draco would really miss the git if she killed him too?

Thane watched as the three Poochies left him behind; closing one eye to determine which image was truly her. And, after pulling a black leather glove over his left hand, he pointed a finger at Pansy’s backside and began to giggle furiously, somewhat reminiscent of a First Year girl.

Pansy turned and scowled at the tall boy once more before rounding the corner to enter Slytherin. But, before she disappeared into the shadows, Thane caught a glimpse of his handiwork and Pansy’s newly acquired appendage, its fluffy brown hair peeking out from beneath her skirt.

Thane took another swig out of his flask, smiling smugly to himself as he turned and strode down the corridor into the darkness. “Now, that’s a fine piece of tail if ever saw one,” he laughed, stumbling into a wall to support himself. “Draco, you owe me one, Cousin. You owe me one,” he muttered to himself as he resumed his drunken swagger into the darkness, his cleverness and his scotch keeping his mind from the blonde who threatened to drive him mad.


Jo stayed in the shower, curled into a tight ball until long after the voices on the other side of the curtain had faded away and her skin had begun to wrinkle from the exposure to the water. Forcing her aching muscles to comply she stood, her legs trembling from having been held so tightly too long.

She shut the flow of water off and stood there, dripping and realizing she hadn’t brought a towel.

Opening the shower curtain she peeked out to make sure the room was empty and then grabbed her wand, casting a few drying spells on herself before sliding out and quickly pulling her clothes on.

Walking to the sinks she stared at herself in the mirror, her eyes red and puffy from her tears and the shower water, her skin pale except for two violently pink spots flaming on each cheek.

She tried a fake smile and noted the hollow effect; how it didn’t seem to reach her eyes, and tried again. There had to be happy thoughts in her mind somewhere that she could draw on, but at the moment she couldn’t find any. All she could see was Thane’s face swimming before her vision, his deep blue eyes staring into hers.

“God Dammit!” she muttered again, her fist connecting with the porcelain sink. She wondered if the entirety of Slytherin house had heard yet, or if the news would wait till breakfast to make the full rounds. She could imagine Liz’s condescending pity already, and Marianna’s smirks as she remarked about Purefoy using her.

She looked up, her eyes darting around for an exit, but of course there wasn’t one excepting the door that connected to the girl’s corridors. She had to escape, she just didn’t think she could bear this!

But she could, she had no choice in the matter, She’d have to take their remarks and swallow what shreds remained of her pride once again. God, it was all too familiar of a sensation. The jokes, the taunts, the laughter, though at least this time she wouldn’t be called a Vampire lover….

Straightening her shoulders she walked out of the shower rooms and made her way to her dormitory where Marianna’s curtains were already pulled tightly shut.

“Where the hell did you go?’ Liz demanded, poking her head out from her own bed.
“Shower,” Jo answered shortly, striding to her wardrobe and jerking it opened to retrieve one of the white cotton nightgowns inside.

“A shower?” Liz asked incredulously. “What on earth for? You’ve been gone hours!”

“Bubotuber Puss,” the blonde replied, sliding out of her clothes and tugging the nightgown over her head. “I had to get it off me before the boils erupted.”

“I guess…” Her roommate answered uncertainly.

Jo turned and headed for her bed, yanking back the blankets and climbing into it, her expression unreadable.

“Don’t suppose you ran into Tia in there?” Liz asked, her tone conversational.

“No,” Jo replied firmly, pulling the blankets up to her chin.

“Then she must be off with Malfoy still...” Liz trailed off. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” Jo answered. “I’m fine. As you can see I didn’t end up with any blisters.”

“That’s good at least.” The dark-haired girl fell silent. “How did you get Bubotuber puss on you?”

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Jo answered. Jerking the curtain closed tightly and lying back in the soft pillows she added quickly, “Goodnight.” Closing her eyes tightly she willed the ache in her chest to go away, knowing that tomorrow was going to bring with it an all too familiar hell.

As Jo tried to fall asleep, Tia walked with Draco back to Slytherin, the pair cautiously winding their way through the dark dungeon corridors. They talked and laughed as they went, Tia holding onto Draco’s arm, staying as close to him as possible while retaining the ability to walk.

Draco had shown her a different side of himself tonight. He seemed relaxed and light-hearted, he seemed to genuinely enjoy himself, and she found out he had a devastating smile – something she imagined he didn’t show just anyone. But, now as they approached their common room, an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Tia’s little escape from reality was rapidly drawing to a close, and she was a bit sad to see it end.

“You know, I think you’re a bad influence on me,” said Tia, catching Draco’s pale eyes with her emerald ones. Those eyes had enchanted her; much against her will, she surmised. The cocky, arrogant, irrepressible, and inexplicably charming Slytherin Prefect had taken her completely by surprise. And the way he looked at her – well, was it any wonder she could resist at all?

“And how exactly did you come to that conclusion?” he asked with a curious eyebrow raised.

“Well, we ARE out here after curfew, trying to sneak into our House and avoid detention,” she answered, flicking her long auburn hair over her shoulder. “My mother would have a fit if she knew this was how I spent my first day at Hogwarts.”

“Being out after curfew isn’t the worst of your offenses, now is it?” asked Draco with a knowing smirk on his lips.

“Well, no…” She stalled, looking away as she felt her cheeks color slightly. “But… oh my God! Do you think someone saw us?” she asked, suddenly feeling the terror of being caught in a lewd act on her very first day at a new school.

“Doubtful,” said Draco, full of confidence as usual. “If they had, I’m sure we’d know about it already. Prefects and Professors generally don’t wait to spring the news at you during class,” he said dryly.

Tia smiled and let her hand slip from his arm down to his hand, her fingers threading between his. She couldn’t displace this giddy feeling that seemed to consume her. It made her cringe inwardly at the thought of looking like one of those girls who lived and breathed for whatever boy happened to be attached to the arm from which they were currently hanging. No, Tia surely wasn’t one of THOSE girls. She had dreams, aspirations – a desire to break free from her mother’s control and the destiny of her father’s ancestry – no, she wasn’t going to fall into this. She was going to make it on her own without complication or worry, no family or marriage or children to get in the way. She had both the money and the brains to accomplish whatever she wanted. She wasn’t going to be saddled and tamed into… into what? Because here she was, hanging off the arm of none other than Draco Malfoy – of the Malfoys of Wiltshire, the family her grandmother had always told her about, the family that lived only a stone’s throw from where she now resided. No, she wasn’t going to let it get this complicated. She was just having fun, right?

Pulling Draco abruptly to the other side of the secret door, shadowed by the long tapestry that hugged the stone wall flowing from the ceiling, she slipped her arms around his neck and began playing with the hair at the back of his neck. “You aren’t going to disappear on me tomorrow, are you?” she asked, slowly lifting her eyes to meet his.

Draco wrapped his arms easily around her trim waist, pulling her against him. “That’s not likely,” the Slytherin boy answered matter-of-factly. “It’s not like I have many places to hide.” It was obvious that answer didn’t earn him many points by the look he received from Tia. “And I’m fairly sure you’d find me out, wherever it was I chose to hide,” he added with a smirk.

“Well, you’re right on one account,” she said, fussing with the collar of his robes. “I WOULD find you if I wanted to. The question is, would I want to?” she asked, raising a discerning eyebrow at the white-haired boy.

Draco’s brows knitted in disapproval, his pride clearly hurt.

“But, next time, do you think you could leave the buttons ON my shirt?” She teased as she fidgeted with her uniform.

“Next time I might just make them disappear altogether,” said Draco, that endearing charm of his shining through.

Tia pulled him down and kissed him furiously. She didn’t want this night to end, but she didn’t want him to know that either – at least not yet. He retuned her kiss with equal passion, both tasting and exploring one another like a child discovering something new. Her emotions consumed her and threatened to boil over and expose themselves, it was taking quite a bit of effort to keep them at bay.

Finally, Draco pulled away, his father’s sense of reason returning in force as it prattled away at the back of his head. He uttered the password to gain entrance to their common room and led Tia inside. He walked her to the girls’ dormitories and, with a pang of disappointment; he bid her goodnight, promising to escort her to breakfast the next morning.

When he returned to his room, the other boys were already asleep, save Thane Purefoy who was noticeably still missing from his bed. The curtains on the four-poster bed were open and tied to the posts, his bedding untouched. Draco wondered briefly at the whereabouts of his best friend, but quickly dismissed the thought in favor of recounting the events of his evening with Tia. It was like something had been awakened within him, something he didn’t even realize he was missing. And without knowing it, Draco was faced with again having a reason to start the new day with something other than the trepidation of what it might hold.

As he took off his robes, he pulled the envelope he received at dinner from the inside pocket before hanging the garment in his wardrobe. Peeling back the envelope he once again looked on his mother’s words – “The light has not yet been extinguished.”

Something lit up inside him at those words, a thing that could prove most dangerous living in the world in which he did. And, that light was called hope.

Pulling his wand from his pocket, he touched its tip to the parchment in his hand and he watched it disappear in a ball of blue flame. The words were forever etched into his memory, and his thoughts drifted easily to Tia and her beautiful face and her magnetic smile. He had no idea sharing any type of intimacy could make him feel like this, though admittedly he had no idea with “this” was. He couldn’t by all rights dismiss the feeling, no more than he could dismiss her. Tia gave him something in one day that he hadn’t felt ever before in all his life. And, selfish or not, he wasn’t going to give it up.