The Claiming of Cassandra

Disclaimer: This story takes place in the world JKR created. The characters and storylines are original. No $$$$ is being made by this fic.

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A/N: Both Cassandra and Marcus Delaluci are Original Characters introduced in my SS/HG series of stories. Marcus in story #6 “A Matter of Matrimony” and Cassandra in story #7 “The Ghost and Lady Snape”. I originally listed this under HG/SS because it is an offshoot of the “What Was I Thinking” Series, and was requested by the readers. But then a couple of reviewers told me in no uncertain terms that this had to go somewhere else! (You can read their responses in the early reviews of this story. Some people get really worked up about it.) Well, you learn something new every day. I put it in the Harry Potter M/F category instead, thoroughly cowed and chastised. That being said:

For those of you unfamiliar with the storyline, Marcus is one dilly of a wizard, having attempted to ravage Hermione unsuccessfully, getting his ass kicked by Severus in the process. He is generally perceived as a total asshole, who has absolutely no conscience when after something he wants. He is also a former assassin or Eradicator, who killed for the Ministry of Magic. Cassandra is an Obeah woman with the power to control spirits. She is from the islands and helps Marcus out of a fix when he, Severus and Hermione have to battle an evil ghost on the astral plane. Marcus is a bit of a rake, and generally gets women as easily as you or I get a drink. He has a special gift they love. See the epilogue of “A Matter of Matrimony” for details. But he has real feelings for Cassandra and has been trying to court her for over 2 years…but failing miserably because he can’t resist women or his own wicked ways. But he has improved in other ways that have finally made Cassandra accept him for a lover. He helped the Snapes out of some pretty terrible fixes (“A Rather Catty Situation”) and is developing a conscience, much to his dismay. Currently, he has been suspended from Hogwarts for three weeks for withholding information by Dumbledore, who suggests he go to the islands for that time, actually manipulating him so he visits Cassandra. Dumbledore has sent a package along to make sure Marcus sees the Obeah woman. This story tells what transpired because of her decision to accept him as a lover.

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Chapter 1 – Cassandra Finally Accepts Marcus as a Lover

Marcus appeared before the familiar thatch hut, Dumbledore’s package in one hand, and a bit of coconut port key in the other. The blonde-haired, violet-eyed wizard was dressed in his white wifebeater, a pair of jeans and some flip-flops.

He could smell the fire out back, and walked through the hut, out the back door into Cassandra’s outdoor kitchen. The Obeah was kneeling, tending her fire as always, and dressed in a light green sundress, her black hair bound up in a green turban wrapped around her head. She was barefoot, and colorful wooden bracelets graced her wrists and ankles.

Marcus swallowed and said, “Hello, Cassandra.”

The Obeah stood up and turned around and looked the wizard up and down, her head cocked slightly as she took in his appearance. She noticed the scars on his shoulders and the ones his shirt didn’t cover. She knew his back had one long scar, courtesy of his tryst with Odessa. He had been punished enough. She wouldn’t speak on them if he did not.

“Ah, dragon man. You have finally decided to put in an appearance. I thought you may have forgotten Cassandra,” the Obeah woman said with a slight frown, her hands on her hips

Marcus looked at her, his violet eyes serious. “I could never do that, Cassandra. You are truly unforgettable,” he said softly.

Cassandra clucked her tongue and said, “You with your smooth tongue. Come sit down and tell me how life is.”

She directed Marcus to the outdoor table. He sat down stiffly, watching the Obeah woman as she fed some sticks to her fire. She turned and walked to the table, sitting down across from him, her honey eyes meeting his. Marcus slid Dumbledore’s package across the table.

“From the Headmaster,” he said shortly, looking at the package curiously.

“Ah, Albus!” she squealed, ripping the package open and pulling out a phoenix tail feather. “The sweet, sweet, man. I will have to write him to thank him.” She smiled broadly, waving the feather back and forth with pleasure.

Marcus looked at her.

“How do you know the Headmaster?” he asked.

“Oh, he popped up on my island one summer. He was looking for a quiet place to vacation. He was very kind, very wise and very funny. He spent his vacation with me. We have been friends ever since,” she replied, still waving the feather like a child with a new toy.

Marcus felt a little stab of jealousy. He didn’t know why though. Albus was way too old to get it up…maybe. But then, he had heard things about him and Minerva…

“Cha! Get your mind out of the gutter. He was a perfect gentleman!” Cassandra said with a bit of irritation.

“Sorry,” Marcus said sheepishly.

Cassandra put the feather down and let her eyes sweep over him again, pausing at the scars on his shoulders before meeting his eyes again.

“So, dragon man, you had a close call, eh?” she asked him.

Marcus felt like dropping his eyes, but didn’t.

“Yes,” he said uncomfortably. Cassandra looked at him consideringly.

“Marcus, how long have you been coming to my island to see me now?” she asked him.

“A little more than two years,” he replied, wondering where this was going.

“Tell me, dragon man. Why do you spend so much time with a woman who you aren’t laying with?”

Marcus hesitated.

“Because I like your company, Cassandra,” he said lamely. She looked at him sharply. “And because I hope that one day, you will let me lie with you,” he admitted.

“You are still honest,” Cassandra said with a smile, “wicked, but honest. I know what happened to you. With the cat woman. You were very hungry for a woman, I know. You didn’t take one for over six months. Why was that, dragon man?”

“You,” Marcus said, “I was hoping that I could keep myself away from other women, and you would accept me. But, even though I didn’t touch any, I wanted to. So it wasn’t real, Cassandra. I was just fooling myself. And I couldn’t fool you. You knew all the while I still had my eye on them, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Marcus. But I wouldn’t have held any ill against you if you took care of your needs. I know how you are,” she said gently. “If the women are willing, there is no wrong in that.”

Marcus reached out and took the Obeah’s warm hand in his, locking his eyes on her face, willing her to feel his sincerity and his despair.

“Cassandra…I wish I could be what you want. I’ve tried, but I can’t be. But still, I can’t stay away from you. And unworthy as I am, I can’t seem to stop wanting you.”

The Obeah’s eyes softened, and she covered his hand with her own, sending sparks up the wizard’s arm, down his spine and to his cock. He tried to hide his reaction to her touch, but she noticed it. She didn’t comment on it, but said instead, “Marcus, I heard your thoughts about me. I know you desire me, you have from the first night we met. But I also know you feel something different about me, even though you still lay with other women. You believe I touch your soul, dragon man. And it is true, I can feel your soul and your heart. It is the gift of the blood you gave me. And I know you care for me more than any other woman.”

She gave him a soft smile, then continued.

“You have changed. You have learned to respect love between a man and a woman. When I met you, you felt love a foolish thing, a hindrance to pleasure. But you have grown. You have even protected love from destruction. A love that was not your own. A love you once sought to destroy.”

Cassandra was speaking of his saving Severus and Hermione from Odessa on the Hogwarts grounds.

Marcus frowned slightly at what he considered a distorted view of his actions, and replied, “I happened to be there. I wasn’t trying to do anything noble. I was just there and they didn’t know what was coming… Gods, I helped that woman get to them, Cassandra.

The Obeah caressed his hand gently, sending more jolts of reaction to his loins.

“No, you tried to discourage her from getting to them, Marcus. I know what you told her, and how you told her. You defended their right to love each other in your way. You were doing a good thing, for no other reason than it was right to do,” Cassandra said softly, her honey eyes meeting his warmly.

Marcus stood up, stepped away from the table and paced agitatedly. He frowned at Cassandra.

“First Dumbledore, now you, trying to tell me I am doing noble things when I’m not! I know what I’m about, Cassandra. Myself. That’s it. That’s all there’s ever been and all that there will ever be,” he said, angrily.

Cassandra stood up and walked to him, stopping his pacing, by taking his hands in hers.

“No, Marcus. Whether you want to accept it or not, you are beginning to care. About more than yourself. Oh yes, you still manipulate to get what you want, and aren’t that particular about how you get what you want. But you can put aside what you want for another’s benefit. You didn’t always do that, dragon man. Your heart is opening…wide.

Marcus was silent, but he knew Cassandra was right, simply because the battles of conscience he had been having over the past year.

“I think…I think you have a lot to do with that, Cassandra. I find myself thinking of you, what you would say or think…and I find myself aligning with what I think you would find…right to do. Is it because I want you so badly that I am doing this?” he asked.

“No, Marcus. It’s not. Because deep down in your heart, you believe you will never have me in that way,” she said softly. “So these good things you do, you are doing of your own free will. Maybe I have some influence, but you are not doing these things for me, Marcus. You are growing. You want more than what you have.”

Marcus looked at the Obeah, knowing she was what he wanted more than anything in the world. Cassandra felt his passion, and shuddered inwardly. The dragon man had so much fire. She led him back to the table, where he sat down and she again took her place across from him. She looked at him intensely

“Marcus, if I let you lie with me, what guarantee would I have that you wouldn’t stop coming to see me?” she asked, her eyes locked with his, “You lie with women and never return to see them.”

“That is only because they aren’t special to me, Cassandra. We only come together for physical pleasure and release. But you…I will always want to see you, Cassandra,” he replied, “whether you lie with me, or not. It is like I need your presence…almost like I need…” he stopped.

“Need me, dragon man?” she finished

“Yes,” Marcus said, his voice a low whisper, “but Cassandra, I can’t make you any promises that I can change who I am. I love being with different women. I can’t stop pursuing them. I don’t want to hurt you…” he said, his violet eyes pained. “I want you Cassandra, but I don’t…I don’t want you to lower your standards for me. I’m not worthy, and I know it. You are special…” His voice faltered.

“You think me special, dragon man?” she asked him, leaning closer over the table.

“Yes, Cassandra, the most special woman I have ever met in my life,” he replied, her closeness unnerving him. “You are special Cassandra, because of the way you make me feel when we are together. The world is kinder, sweeter in your presence. When I am away from you, from this place, my mind is constantly drifting back…wondering what you are doing, and if you are missing me like I miss you…’

She sat back and looked at him appraisingly.

“What do you think it would be like to lie with me, Marcus?” she asked.

He loved when she said his name.

Marcus drew in his breath. He didn’t know what it would be like to fuck Cassandra…but he knew it would be something different. It would have to be. She meant so much to him beyond his physical attraction. If he never, ever touched her, he would still come to her.

“It would be beautiful,” he said, his violet eyes telescoping almost involuntarily at the thought of his body entwined with hers.

Cassandra felt fire rush over her body from head to toe.

She composed herself and said, “Dragon man, I must be honest with you. You do not have the power I have, so you have no way of knowing what is in my heart. It has been hard for me to have you here, and not give you what I knew you wanted, because I have such a strong attraction to you. I have never been a loose woman, dragon man. I can count my lovers on one hand and have change left. But there is more to it than that…”

Marcus felt his heart thump in his chest at her admission that she felt attracted to him, and it had been hard for her to deny him. Maybe…maybe at last she would let him ‘lay’ with her…

“When an Obeah gives herself to a man, she gives up part of her power during the act, and it leaves her vulnerable to vengeful spirits. Spirits that might try to possess you, dragon man, and use your body to punish me. It requires much trust for an Obeah to take a lover. Her lover must want her so much he will fight possession with all his being to complete the coupling and make her his. ”

Uh, oh. He would be risking possession if he took her? This didn’t sound good. But looking at her, he knew he’d fight the devil himself to feel her orgasm around him. Cassandra raised her eyebrows at him, and her mouth quirked a bit. She knew what he had just thought. Marcus chided himself to keep his thoughts under control

“I know your darkness and your strength,” Cassandra continued, “I have taken it into myself and been blessed for it by your ancestor. You are already part of me, dragon man. If you take me, I would be giving up more than my body to you. I would be opening up my soul and the souls of those before me to you. The release of my power may take you up, to places you do not want to go. Do you understand this? It is not like a one-night stand, Marcus. Lying with an Obeah is something completely different. Most men are not ready for that kind of passion, that kind of experience. But you are right. Becoming one with an Obeah is very beautiful, very intense, and very, very pleasurable. It could ruin you for other women.”

Marcus looked at the beautiful black woman before him, seeing for the first time the fire burning behind her eyes. It was desire, but it was something more than that, something deeper, that made his very soul quiver. He should have known taking Cassandra would require something from him beyond the ordinary. Hell, he’d worry about other women later. Right now, there was only one woman in the world, and it seemed as if she were finally within his reach. He felt a powerful urge to touch her, to pull her close to him. He was willing to walk through hell itself to have her.

Cassandra knew his thoughts, and smiled softly at him.

“If you truly want me, then you must take me according to the old ways. It is no simple thing, dragon man. Precautions must be taken, ritual must be followed. I will need you to protect me if for some reason the circle is broken. There is much to having me, Marcus. Much more than just wanting me. But, after the first time, it is as with all men and women. It is only the first time that tests your soul.”

Marcus stood up and walked around the table. He took her hand and drew her up. He looked down at her, his violet eyes seething with desire.

“I want you, Cassandra. I want you more than any woman I’ve ever wanted in my life,” Marcus said hoarsely, pulling her against him, unable to stop himself. He slid his hands over her full hips, then down her thighs, and back up to her waist, where he held her, pressed tight against him She had to feel his arousal. His cock was like tempered steel against her body. She didn’t pull away, didn’t resist. He felt a sense of victory.

Cassandra looked up at him, and he could feel her body heating up beneath his hands. He lowered his mouth and kissed her, feeling her give against him. This strong, exotic, exciting woman was finally giving in, willing to give herself to him. It was the sweetest kiss Marcus had ever tasted. It was primal, like earth, sun, sky, thunder and water. He was losing himself in her until Cassandra broke the kiss gently.

“If you want me, dragon man, then you will have me,” she whispered, drawing herself away from him with some effort and taking his hand. “But we must both prepare ourselves. The ritual has to be done at nightfall, after the sea, which is the Great Woman, has swallowed the sun, who is the Great Man.”

Marcus liked that analogy immensely.

He looked at the Obeah woman and breathed, “Just tell me what I have to do.”

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A/A/N: Cassandra is willing to give it up to Marcus. He’s wanted her a long time…but it doesn’t look like it will be the regular bim bammer. She’s an Obeah, so I guess its ritualistic sex, with a hint of danger. Pretty cool lemons should be up ahead. Please review.