"Are you aware I think you're an intolerable bint?" Draco asked snidely. Tonks, who was rather handily pointing her wand at his pale throat, merely smiled and offered her cousin a hand.
He ignored the gesture and picked himself up off the dusty floor, shaking off the excess dirt clinging to his robes.
"I'm fully aware that you hate me, but I think at this point you hate me less than you hate your father," Tonks returned brightly, smiling all the while. "So shut up and keep dueling. I'm giving it to you easy. Your father won't."
"Funny, I can't decide which of you I want gone more," Draco retorted, retreating to his side of the salon and raising his wand.
"Lucky for you, I'd like to see your mother back in one piece. I'd like to meet her. And until you learn the skills you need to help defend yourself and her, I'm quite content to be an intolerable bint."
Kingsley watched the entire exchange and held back a laugh, thinking that the Black cousins were very much alike. He signaled to Tonks to wait for a moment before beginning, giving Draco a pointer on his stance.
Hexes, spells and charms began to fly though the huge room, and after five non-stop hours, Draco was becoming a bit lighter on his feet. He was quicker to respond to little sounds that could indicate someone was trying to surprise him. Tonks felt his progression seemed a bit slow, he was making headway.
Draco even allowed Kingsley to instruct him in some physical dodging of spells, methods in which one could jump or leap or drop to the ground to avoid magical damage, but would enable that person to fire off spells from some unconventional positions.
But after those five grueling hours, Tonks could see that Draco was about ready to drop where he stood.
"Get out of here," Tonks said good-naturedly, shooing him toward the double doors. "You stink. Get a shower."
Draco gladly went. He didn't want to admit it, but he had picked up a great many tips and techniques from Tonks and that chap Shacklebolt. He knew he would be in for a round of the same for the next few days, and all Draco wanted to do was drop in to bed. He procured some clean towels and clothing from his room and dragged himself upstairs. In a daze, he showered until his hot water ran out and icy needles of spray rained down. Taking that as his cue to leave, he blindly descended the stairs and entered his room.
He barely remembered turning down the sheets and crawling between them.
***
Ginny excused herself from dinner, as Draco hadn't shown. Kingsley had remarked that he and Tonks had worked Draco very hard. Tiptoeing down the stairs, she quietly nudged his door open.
He was sprawled over the entire bed, light snores emitting from between parted lips. Ginny found her own lips twisting into a fond smile, and she gently closed the door. Retreating to her own room, she fell into the sheets and slept deeply as well, content that Draco was having the same restful slumber downstairs.
***
It was a week later when Professor Snape staggered into the lounge as elegantly as he could and announced that Narcissa Malfoy was unequivocally alive before he fainted dead away.
Everyone present in the lounge was in a furor; Professor Snape never showed himself in public after he had been Summoned, and if Narcissa was indeed still alive there was a fighting chance of bringing down Lucius as well.
Ginny immediately went into action and forced everyone but her mother, Draco, Tonks and Shacklebolt out of the room so she could tend to Snape.
"Carry him to the sofa," Ginny directed Draco and Kingsley. Immediately Snape was hefted onto the soft davenport, and a groan of relief could be heard. Fishing in Snape's outer robes, Ginny located a vial of an all-purpose healing potion. Her eyes lit up when she spied it, and as much as she wanted to parcel it out, she tipped the entire tube into the unresisting man's mouth.
"I'm going to get a cool cloth for his forehead," Molly announced. "Shall I get anything else?"
"A few other cloths and a dish of water, I think. He's got a lot of dirt and blood on him." Ginny asked, trying to quickly evaluate what supplies she needed.
Molly nodded and swept out of the room.
When she turned around, she found Tonks holding Snape's hand and muttering quietly to him; though whether or not Snape could hear Tonks, Ginny did not know. As she was recovering from the surprise of seeing someone voluntarily touch the fearsome Professor Snape, she wheeled around to see Kingsley and Draco sitting in a pair of chairs some distance away, deep in conversation.
Surely this is the first sign that the world is going to end, Ginny thought crazily.
As she thought about pinching herself to make sure she really was experiencing this surreal scene, Molly hustled back in with the requested items.
"Draco, Kingsley…could you come and lift the professor again so Mum can take off his outer robes and frock coat?" she asked. They nodded in tandem, and soon Snape was hoisted far enough off the sofa for Molly to unbutton those top two layers of clothing.
Underneath, Snape wore a starched white shirt which was presently stained with blood.
Tonks gasped when she saw the thin red lines permeating the linen.
"You've got to take that off," Tonks said to Molly, face stricken. When the shirt was removed, nasty vertical gashes decorated Professor Snape's thin, pale chest.
"That's enough," Ginny said to Draco and Kingsley, motioning for them to release Snape, who was already starting to come around a bit and moaning quietly.
"Professor, can you hear me?" Ginny asked him. When he frowned before answering, she pretty sure he was going to be all right.
"Of course I can hear you," he snapped as well as he could. "Would you be so kind as to wipe this blood off?"
Wordlessly Ginny nodded, and began dipping the washcloth in the water Molly brought, wiping away the congealed blood on his torso.
"Slicing hex," Tonks said, somewhere in the background. Snape opened one eye and glared with all his might.
"Of course it is. Glad to see they teach you that in Auror school."
Tonks ignored him and came closer. "What happened to you?" she asked.
"When I was Summoned, the Dark Lord informed those present that Lucius had gone back to Malfoy Manor with Narcissa, where he planned to hide in a nearly untraceable room within," Snape said, coughing slightly and wincing.
"That's impossible," Kingsley said, voice thoughtful. "We sealed off the Manor some time ago."
"Well, there you go," Snape said derisively. "You left it there and never checked it again, thinking that the wards you placed on it were unbreakable by an outsider. Well, my little magical police, it is only by your lack of surveillance that Narcissa is still alive."
Seeing the murderous look on Tonks' face prompted Draco to speak up as Molly and Ginny finished cleaning Snape up as best they could.
"I don't know of any untraceable room in the Manor," Draco said to Professor Snape. "Father never told me about one, at any rate."
"Draco, at times your lack of wit astounds me. Remember, I've been in your home longer than you've been in your home. There is a small room underneath the southwest wing of the Manor which is guarded by ancient and nearly undetectable wards. The secret of it has been passed from Malfoy patriarch to patriarch, from your grandfather to your father. Only your father was such a foolish show off that one summer he showed me the location so I could find him, on the chance that he had to hide."
"But he didn't tell me," Draco insisted stubbornly.
"I know he didn't!" Snape roared, cheeks tinted in an uncharacteristic pink. "You as much sealed your fate when you refused the Mark. Would he tell a turncoat about the most secret room in the Manor?"
Draco clammed up immediately, and it was clear he was mortally embarrassed by Snape's pronouncement.
"We'll have to get her out of there," Kingsley interjected, trying to lead the conversation away from the present uncomfortable topic.
"As it happens, you're a lucky lot," Snape sneered, his attention back on the Aurors. "The Dark Lord is planning on convening the inner circle in that room this Saturday at three a.m. I suggest you formulate a plan."
"We're going to have to discuss this with Arthur and Remus," Tonks said to Kingsley over Snape's prone body. "And Dumbledore has to know, since Harry will have to be there."
Kingsley nodded, his handsome face becoming drawn in thought. He joined Tonks, the pair leaving immediately to discuss the implications of Snape's knowledge.
"Could you all just leave?" Snape requested irritably. "My public humiliation is complete for the night." Snape tried to hoist himself from the squashy surface and failed, snapping Draco into action.
"I'll assist you, Professor," Draco said firmly, and helped his godfather to his feet. Molly and Ginny watched the tall Potions Master and his equally tall godson stalk slowly out of the room.
"I worry about him," Molly breathed, shaking her head. "Someday I fear he won't make it home."
***
After all the lights were out, Ginny snuck halfway down the stairs and waited for Draco. Sitting on the hard steps, she hoped he hadn't already gone to bed and she'd missed him. He was very tired lately, what with all the hoops Tonks was making him jump through.
Her thoughts broke when Draco came slowly down the dark stairs.
"Draco," she said softly, hoping she wouldn't startle him.
"Mmm," he murmured, shuffling forward tentatively until he was sitting one step above her.
"How is Professor Snape?" Ginny asked, the Healer in her hoping the patient was recovering.
"Tired, and pretty much asleep by the time I got him in to bed. I almost had to swear a blood oath before I left that I would never divulge the state in which I saw him tonight."
"Can't say as I'm surprised," Ginny mused. She reached out in the darkness to pat his knee.
"I'm just glad to know your mother is back at Malfoy Manor. I mean, doesn't that give us a fighting chance? You and Snape know a lot about it," she continued.
He laughed tonelessly. "That's the problem. So do the Death Eaters."
Chagrined, Ginny didn't say any more.
She shivered when his hand found its way into her hair and began to stroke her scalp.
"I don't want to think about all that right now," Draco said, his hand letting go of her long tresses and teasing the skin around her collarbones.
"That tickles," she protested, trying to squirm away.
"I'll have to remember that," he said, stepping up his gentle assault. She tried not to giggle, but was quickly losing that battle.
"Shh," Draco cautioned, his mouth suddenly very near her ear. "We don't want them to hear us."
Her titter was cut off by Draco's shifting body. Moments ago he had been sitting sideways on the narrow staircase, his back to the wall. Now he sat properly on the step, facing her with his knees open. Before she could ask what he was on about, he hooked his hands under her arms and brought her crashing onto his mouth.
His fervor caught her off guard, and she found herself trying to steady her shaking body by grabbing on to his firm thighs.
"Draco," she murmured desperately, "what's going on?"
He clutched her more firmly to his chest and crushed another kiss to her lips.
"I don't want to die," he said softly, burying his head in the soft skin of her neck and nipping.
"And snogging me will make a difference?" she said lightly, hoping to direct his thoughts away from the impending battle for his mother's freedom and his own exoneration.
"Because you remind me that there's something to come back to."
"Malfoy Manor?"
"You."
He was holding her so tightly against him that she could now feel his growing hardness against her stomach. Memories of their shared night raced through her head. When she thought about touching him through his trousers, her head felt weak and her bent knees suddenly didn't seem like enough support any more.
If he didn't stop licking her ear, she was going to be a puddle of goo. Tentatively, she slid her free hand between them and caressed his erection. A sharp gasp whistled between his teeth and he released her ear.
Draco was completely silent as she gained confidence and steadied herself, rubbing and stroking him through the rough fabric of the denims he wore. Hard puffs of hot air blew past her ear, his labored pants somehow very sexy.
"Fuck," he swore softly, moving his hips ever so slowly against her palm. "I get hard just looking at you."
"I'm guessing this isn't hurting anything either," she quipped, squeezing him a bit for emphasis.
"No, no, perfectly fine," he said hurriedly, voice a little higher-pitched than usual.
She laughed deep in her throat, the husky sound surprisingly sensual to her own ears. Locating the zip of the trousers, she hoped she could still perform her little trick of unzipping pants with her teeth. After overhearing some girls in her year at Hogwarts talk about how much the boys liked it, she had practiced with every type of pants she owned. Though she'd only had chance to try it twice during an abortive attempt at dating a Ministry official's son, it seemed to please well enough.
When she lowered her face to teasingly search for the metal hidden behind the placket, Draco groaned and pressed his knees to her side.
"Hmm…" she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear, "where does one find the zip on a man's pants?" Nuzzling her way around his clothed cock, she reveled in his little groans as she rested her cheek against his heat. Working her tongue through the placket, she flipped up the tab and caught the metal between her front teeth.
He moaned when he felt the metal teeth unlocking, one by one. She forgot how much she'd enjoyed this female power play, when she'd had the chance to use it. Too wary to pull his denims further down, she let him soak in the warmth of her hand as she pretended to search for the opening in his boxer shorts.
"You're going to kill me," he said between gritted teeth.
She hoped he could hear the smile in her voice as she closed her fingers around his raging erection.
"The French call it `the little death."
Suddenly dying didn't sound like such a bad option when she enveloped him in her smooth, hot mouth.
The musky saltiness of his skin and combined with his radiating body heat was heady indeed. Rapidly becoming reacquainted with fascinating male contours, she worked hard to curl her tongue around him; to turn her head parallel to him and slide him through her mouth.
His breathing was ratcheting up and she was afraid he would suddenly start stroking through her mouth in earnest when he abruptly leaned back on the stairs, arching his back and supporting himself on unsteady arms.
"Can't look at you," he muttered. "Makes me want to come when I do that." Her resultant laugh vibrated his cock inside her mouth and his body jerked violently.
"No laughing," he ordered sternly. "Feels too good."
Presently she wrapped her hand around what she couldn't take inside her mouth and stroked, varying the speed and pressure. Well, as much as she could remember to do it, as his intense arousal was bringing on her own in short order. Unconsciously she began to rock back and forth, trying to move her thighs together to maybe, just maybe, assuage the pressure building inside.
Mindlessly she moved her body and her tongue in an ancient rhythm, picking up speed as she fell under the spell of it all. Almost before she knew it, he was coming in long, soul-deep shudders as he clenched his teeth around his fist to keep from shouting out his pleasure.
His orgasm surprised her, so deep was she in her reverie. He allowed her to hold him loosely while he caught his breath. When he felt sufficiently calm, he pulled her close and kissed her, tasting himself over the minty hard candy she always sucked on.
"You're excellent," he breathed into her ear, sliding his own fingers down her torso and into the front of her pants, seeking the wet heat he could tell had been building. When he parted her folds she gasped, grabbing his bum tightly. She was at the perfect height for him to stroke her body and lick the hollow of her throat.
A particularly sensitive spot made her gasp, and Draco nearly missed hearing the approaching footsteps over her excited vocalizations. He withdrew his hand in a flash and her eyes flew open, hurt and bewildered.
"Someone's coming!" Draco managed, trying to nod his head in the direction of the mostly unused cellar entrance a few paces away from his bedroom door.
"What?" she asked, whirling around.
Draco had barely tucked himself back inside his trousers when the owners of said trousers made an appearance in front of him and Ginny.
"What are you doing?" the twins asked in menacing unison.
"Nothing you haven't done!" Ginny blustered right back, shielding Draco from their view as much as possible.
"She's probably right, mate," Fred said, sotto voce. His twin elbowed him hard in the ribs.
"Did Malfoy hurt you?" George asked fiercely, training his gaze on Draco and staring.
"Do I look hurt?" she replied tartly.
"Does Mum…" Fred began and was promptly cut off by his sister's small hand covering his mouth.
"Doesn't know, and won't know, because there is nothing of her concern happening here. Frankly, if I was Mum, I'd be more concerned about what her twins are doing out dancing with Muggle girls at local nightspots!"
"We're not consorting with the enemy!" George burst out.
"Neither am I," she bit out, eyes flashing venomously. "When I need or want your help keeping people away from me, I'll let you know."
The Weasleys held a three-way staring match until finally Fred looked away.
"Damn it!" he growled at Ginny, grabbing George's arm and beginning to pull him up the stairs.
Ginny and Draco warily skirted them, but suddenly Draco was snapped back by two hands like cuffs on his wrists, making it crystal clear the twins were demonstrating a point.
"It's very easy for us to make a party trick fatal," Fred said nonchalantly.
"And wildly entertaining at the same time," George added, and the two stomped up the stairs and were soon gone from sight.
Ginny eyed Draco carefully, who was discreetly trying to rub some feeling back into his right wrist.
"I think they like you," she said cheerfully.
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