Intemptesta Nox (The Dead Of Night)

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Draco was doing his best to be a gentleman. He was opening doors, offering Thera his arm at every opportunity, he had even picked her up at one stage so she wouldn’t step in a puddle. Unfortunately she hadn’t been paying attention where she was going and when he had swept her into his arms it had come as a great surprise to her and she had squealed and punchim him in the arm quite hard before realising what was happening. She had of course apologized over and over for hittinm, km, kissing her fingertips and pressing it his arm before taking the other and dragging him off again. Apparently, because he was being such a gallant sweetheart (he flushed slightly at that, pleased she thought so but praying no one around him had heard), she was going to buy him an ice cream.

At her insistence they took a small, private booth at the back of the store. He had tried to go order and pay for them both but she had shoved him into his seat and told him that if he didn’t do as he was told she was going to go and find Harry. So of course, he sat down, told her complacently he wanted vanilla caramel ribbon choc-chip cookie dough and took the little bit of private time he had while she was at the counter to take in her form. He may have just spent the last 3rs irs in her company at breakfast, then back at the common rooms while those who were able to go to Hogsmede got changed and chatted excitedly with each other and the envious first- and second-years about Dumbledore’s surprise announcement, but he had been trying to keep up conversation with her and doing his best to be entertaining and polite, which obviously did not include ogling her while she was talking.

While she was no longer wearing the voluminous school robes, she may as well have been. She had on a floor-length circle skirt made of black velvet, and on top she wore an overlarge black silk mens shirt that may well have been one of the ones she had ‘confiscated’ from him at the beginning of the term. Red garnet cufflinks glinted, matching the small drop earrings barely visible in her mass of hair that had magically changed from the one large braid to dozens of tiny ones in the 10 minutes she had taken to get changed. Each plait was done up with a small red tie, and when she returned to the table with a loaded tray, her sed sed legs showed black leather buttoned ankle boots like those preferred by some of the older female professors and black and red striped stockings.

‘Dear Lord.’ He stated emphatically, staring at the mountain of ice-cream she had just placed in front of him.

She laughed and pulled out a spoonful of the sweet confection, almost dripping with hot chocolate fudge and a smidgen of whipped cream.

‘Open wide.’ She leaned across the table and carefully placed the spoon de hde his mouth, which was open not from her request, but in bewilderment.

He reached up and closed his hand over hers, pulling the spoon out at a leisurely pace so that she couldn’t slide back into her seat just yet. When she had leant forward the huge shirt had gaped oas tas the top buttons weren’t done up, showing a small V of cleavage that disappeared into a red brocade corset. As he slowly lowered the spoon and her hand with it, she straightened and the tempting view vanished back under the yards of silk.

‘Hmmm…?’ he came back to himself.

‘I said, you have sauce on your chin.’ She giggled.

‘Oh. Well, at least it matches the cream on your nose.’ He smiled airily. She looked at him in confusion.

‘There can’t be cream on me, I haven’t had any yet.’

He shook his head at her in despair.

‘Sure there is, riiiight, there.’ He dipped a finger in the cream and smeared it on her nose before she could react.

She laughed and wrestled the spoon away from him.

‘That’s it, you play dirty mister. I guess I’m going to have to feed you for both oukes,kes, as well as that of your terribly expensive clothes. Now here comes the broomstick!’ they both laughed and Draco ate obediently, mesmerized by her smile. Every so often she would pull back at the last minute and take a spoonful herself and he had a hard time not openly drooling as the tip of her tongue flicked over the spoon or her lips.

All too soon both were full and they left to explore the clothing and costumes shops. That had been Dumbledore’s surprise at breakfast, he had announced that this month there would be not the usual one but TWO Hogsmede weekends in preparation for the Halloween Masquerade. This trip the students could check for costumes and ideas and place any orders needed, e ree ready for the second excursion in two weeks time.

Thumbing through a rack of trashy ensembles suitable more for a homeless clown, Draco asked Thera if she had decided what she was going to go as yet.

‘Hmo, no, not really, I’ll have to discuss it with my date I guess.’ She replied distractedly, her gaze flickering between clothing and Draco and the rest of the store, especially the entry.

Draco looked up so quickly he wrenched his neck.

‘Is that a general statement or have you already agreed to go with someone?’ he forced it out through teeth gritted in pain and the anger that she hadn’t mentioned that she’d been asked aly.
y.

‘Oh, yeah, Harry asked me after breakfast this morning. It’ll be fun don’t you think? I haven’t been to a Masquerade for years. Durmstrang didn’t go in for social affairs and Beaubaxtons was all formalwear and curtseys.’ She jumped when a box of something at the counter was dropped with a loud thump. ‘Anyway, there’s nothing here I want to look at, how about we go somewhere else?’ she grabbed his hand and hauled him out of the store.

The rest of the day hadn’t gone quite so well after that. Draco sulked about how she was going to the ball with Potter and Thera became increasingly skittish as the day went on. Finally as they were browsing Honeydukes for more sugary substances to return to school with, it was time for the carriages to arrive to take them back. He tapped Thera on the shoulder to tell her he could hurry up, but before the first word could leave his mouth she had punched him hard in the arm again, in the same spot as last time in fact, spun on heel and run outside. Grimly he paid for his purchases and stalked off to the carriages to go back to school.

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Reviews please, I want to know if anyone is still actually reading this!