Deep End

"Pansy!" Draco hissed, waving his girlfriend down the hall. Pansy tried not to roll her eyes at how obvious he'd been. Sure, everyone in their house would assume they'd went off for… private activities, not any actual intrigue. It wasn't like she wanted everyone talking about their relationship behind their back. A woman's reputation was a delicate thing, look no further than what had happened to Harry's band of blooder traitor sluts.

Pansy was willing to give Draco some leeway, because she knew just how much pressure he was under. When he'd first showed her his Dark Mark, she'd been beyond impressed that the Dark Lord had honored him, and so young! But then Draco had explained exactly why he had been marked. As a punishment to his father. He was expected to fail, in doing so either dying, winding up in Azkaban, returning to the Dark Lord a failure. She wasn't sure which fate would be worse.

Draco had concocted several methods of fulfilling his task, but all of them had struck unintended targets. Pansy had been there to console him with every failure, had been there every time he'd come up with another plan. For all the work she was putting into this relationship, he bloody better not fail. She wanted to be the Lady of a Great House! If Draco died, or ended up in prison, or ended up disgraced and destitute, this entire time spent cultivating a relationship with him would all be for naught!

She'd even deigned to give him some… physical pleasures. Nothing serious, just a few blowjobs when he was looking particularly down. She, of course, wouldn't go all the way with him, he'd probably think she was loose if she did that. She'd get that over with on their wedding night, or maybe after their engagement, when he was already committed. But of course, She also didn't want to give him nothing and have him look elsewhere. It was a delicate balancing act, but Pansy was a Slytherin, she could handle it.

That was probably part of why learning what Harry and his six sluts had been doing pissed her off so damn much. What were they playing at? All of them, having sex with one wizard? Yes, a wealthy and famous wizard, but still! They'd just thrown their reputations in the mud, but none of them cared one jot. Why? Why would they all have sex with him? What could possibly be in it for them?

After all, the only reason she was doing as much as she was with Draco was to secure him as a husband. Her mother had taught her how the world worked. Sex wasn't about enjoyment for women, it was a way to get and keep a husband. Men were the lustful ones, and cunning women could use that to their advantage. Foolish women would give it away freely, in search of temporary validation.

And then there was Potter himself. He'd always been annoying, but recently, he'd been even more grating than usual. He was… confident, now. When she confronted him, she had hoped to put a dent in his growing ego. She knew that the barb she had thrown at Potter would have gotten to Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, regardless of the girl it came from.

But he'd so casually responded to her, with that knowing smile that told her he didn't give one jot what she did or said. It was- it was infuriating! She was an heiress, how dare a half blood act like she was beneath him. How dare he have sex with six witches but not even be a little interested in her!

Pansy was drawn from her thoughts when Draco finally stopped at an alcove. As far as hiding places went, it was a pretty good one. He turned back to her and paused, to her eyes it looked as if he was working himself up to something "Draco, what's going on?"

"Pansy, it's happening. Tonight."

"Oh." She paused as she processed the information. He wouldn't just tell her this for no reason. He was about to ask for something "Do you need anything?"

Draco nodded once, licking his lips as his eyes flickered to her breasts. That was his tell. There wasn't any getting out of it, was there. "Er, yeah, well…"

"Of course babe." Pansy told him, and promptly got on her knees and began undoing his pants with an almost professional demeanor. At least she was about to, until Draco stopped her.

"Wait, Pansy. I want more."

"More?" She parroted, feeling like a deer in the headlights.

"Its just, this could be our last chance. And, well, just look at Potter!" He griped "It's about time we went further."

Internally, Pansy was fuming. Damn Potter and his sluts, making my life that much more difficult. Thankfully, she had a plan for just such a situation "I'm not ready to go all the way, babe." Pansy demurred "But maybe… I could give you a little more."

Pansy stood back up and began to strip- her school robes, then her blouse, and then her bra. Draco was dumbstruck- his eyes went wide, and a soft moan escaped through his parted lips. I bet Potter would be singing a different tune if he saw me like this. Pansy thought vindictively. The image, of Harry's face with the look Draco was giving her now appeared in her mind. It was unexpectedly appealing.

Draco's hands greedily cupped and squeezed her, his eyes gleamed lustfully. "You're so sexy, Pansy" He panted. "I need you, suck me." Pansy kneeled once more, and unzipped him dutifully, but her mind was elsewhere. In that short time, her mind had come up with a full blown fantasy. She and Potter would meet somewhere private, she'd let the robe covering her fall to the ground, revealing her naked body. Potter would moan, unable to take his eyes off of her breasts, her curves, her hips.

"Eager little slut, aren't you?" Draco growled, and Pansy realized she had just moaned, and it wasn't because of the cock in her mouth.

She imagined swaying up to Potter, and palming him through his pants. He'd moan again, his hard cock twitching against her hand, completely at her mercy.

"Oh yes, suck on it!" Draco, hissed. Pansy was flushed, she'd never felt like this before.

'What do you think of your mudblood sluts now?' She'd taunt.

'They're nothing compared to you.' He'd moan. 'Oh, Merlin. I thought blood meant nothing, but look at you. You're a prefect, pureblood goddess.'

She'd unzip him, letting his eager cock free. 'Perfect enough to betray your friends for.'

At first, he'd weakly protest, but then… then she'd start stroking him and he'd give in, beg her, forsake his friends. She'd show him mercy, pressing herself against him and aligning his manhood against her. She sink down on him and he'd feel so good inside of her, he'd-

Malfoy's grunts, a telltale sign that he was about to cum, jerked Pansy from her impromptu fantasy. She jerked her head back suddenly, switching to stroking him with her hand as he came all over the floor.

Her face, no, her entire body was flushed hot as Pansy tried to regain her bearings. To her horror, she began to realize. Had she been… had she seriously just been… thinking about Potter like that?

No, no, no. She shouldn't. Couldn't. She was a pureblood lady. Not one of those half-breed sluts. How could she let herself get sucked in like that? How could she have enjoyed that? Letting Potter plunge himself inside-

Pansy squeaked, as a little tingle of pleasure sparked in her core at just the thought.

Oh no.

-----

"Hey, babe. How are you doing?" Katie asked him carefully.

"A little tired of being asked that all the time." Harry replied irritably.

Harry wasn't nearly as good as hiding his emotions as he thought he was. His façade cracked at several points the next day, most noticeably when he spotted Romilda Vane in the common room that morning, that had caused him to tense and make a quick exit.

It galled Katie that Romilda was just free to do as she pleased, seeing her and Harry's reaction to her twisted something in her guts that made her want to strangle the girl. At the same time, it provoked a strong protective instinct in her, in all of them really. They'd all been keeping an eye out for their boy of the course of the day.

But Katie felt that she just might have the worst of it. Something about Harry made her want to wrap him up in a blanket and tuck him in, and at the same to strip him bare and ravish his body. It didn't help that she and Harry hadn't properly had sex since their first time, and it was starting to get to her. Waking up next to him that morning had been particularly torturous. Oh, working together to make him cum had been great, but being so close to his naked body and not getting a piece of it had put her in a state.

Just as Pansy was concocting her quite delusional fantasy, Katie had finally, finally managed to get Harry alone in the Room of Requirement. While a big part of her wanted to tear his clothes off, she'd held off. She hadn't wanted to rush Harry into anything he wasn't ready for.

He hadn't seemed very grateful for that courtesy. "Hey, I'm just watching out for you. I don't want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable." Katie reprimanded gently.

"I'm not made of glass, Katie." Harry replied "I get that everyone's worried about me because they care, but its… its, too much."

Katie hesitated, she could see how that could be suffocating. If it were just her who'd been worried about him, it'd be fine, but apparently the others had all done the same. If anything, it might just be an uncomfortable reminder of what had almost happened.

Harry, seeing her hesitation and mistaking it for offense, began backpedaling. "Er, sorry. I really do appreciate everyone watching out for me. I just don't need people probing into my emotional state every hour on the hour. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Merlin he was adorable. "Hmm, you should be sorry, Harry." Katie teased "Here, I go out of my way to check up on you, and you're so ungrateful." If he didn't want to be treated like he was fragile, she could certainly oblige him.

"Err…" Harry stumbled, his face flushed. Katie suppressed the urge to giggle.

"I think you need to make it up to me, don't you agree?" She grabbed the collar of his shirt with one hand, pulling up close so that their lips were inches apart. Her other hand she placed deliberately on his thigh, teasing him with what was to come.

"Er, yeah. Of course." Harry agreed, getting with the program. "What should I- mmph!"

Katie's kiss was aggressive and brief. As soon as Harry began to respond by wrapping his arms around her, she gave him a gentle shove backwards. Harry staggered, off balance, despite the fact that Katie's push had little force behind it.

"I'm in charge, sweetie." Katie told him "That means you don't get to touch me unless I tell you to. Understood?"

Harry's eyes were wide as he nodded silently. "Good boy." She crooned "Don't worry, I'm going to take very good care of you." To emphasize the point, she patted his erection, triggering a soft gasp from him. "Now, take off your clothes."

The room helpfully provided her a chair for her to sit back in while she enjoyed the show. She pushed aside her skirt and slipped off her panties, rubbing herself leisurely as she observed Harry with hooded eyes. He hadn't yet perfected the art of taking off his clothes for an audience, or if he had she had him off balance enough that he'd forgotten. Regardless, there were several moments where Harry struggled between taking something off quickly or properly, such as when his pant leg got caught around his ankle. She loved that she could make him flustered, despite the fact that he had plenty of experience with sex. It was fucking adorable.

When Harry had finished and was facing her expectantly, she was left with a conundrum. What should she have him do? Visions of him with his hands tied behind his back flitted through her mind, but she dispelled them- that was moving too quick. She could have him eat her out, but she really wanted to fuck him properly and they wouldn't have time to do both.

Hmm…

"Alright babe, I want you to lie down." A bed appeared beside him, courtesy of the room. Harry complied, fidgeting slightly as he settled into the bed. His cock jutted up proudly, just begging for her to ravish it. Katie wrapped a hand around it and gave him one long stroke for his cockhead to the base, and she was gratified to feel it twitch in response to her touch. Even more gratifying was the small noise that escaped his mouth. Katie wanted more.

"Moan for me, Harry. Don't hold back." Katie purred as she straddled him, positioning him at her entrance. "'Cause I certainly won't be."

-----

"You called for me, My Lord?" Snape said coolly. Behind his mask of indifference, Snape hid apprehension. A one on one meeting with the Dark Lord was, even in the best of circumstances, a strenuous ordeal. This was not the best of circumstances.

The Death Eaters had murmured about it, in the shadows, when they were certain they couldn't be overheard. The Dark Lord was… afflicted. It was an open secret that he'd awoken screaming twice in the past two months. It was clear to everyone who saw him that he appeared unhinged, even more twisted than his normal visage. Snape, nor anyone else, dare not ask him the cause of it. The only hint that the Dark Lord had given him was instructing him to look into any sort of weapon Dumbledore or Potter had developed.

Snape had relayed this to the Headmaster, who merely nodded, yet explained nothing. While he was curious, his only other avenue of discovery was to question Potter himself. He might rather die than rely on that arrogant boy for anything.

"Severus, you have no news, I take it?"

"Nothing pertinent." Severus said, unable to completely mask his sneer. Inane schoolyard babble hardly qualified. He felt vindicated in a way, that Potter had shown his true colors. He was just like his father… that arrogant piece of shit had slept his way through a large chunk of Hogwarts' witches by the time he'd taken his Lily. He thought she would have been better than that, were good looks and a big cock all that mattered to her?

His control of his Occlumency shields must have faltered. "Your hatred of the Potter boy betrays you Severus, though you are correct that I don't care about who the boy involves himself with." The Dark Lord hissed "Surely, you have something of use." Snape was at a loss. With Dumbledore being so uncommunitive, he truly had little to pass along.

"I have noticed that Mr. Malfoy seemed a bit more subdued than usual, I believe he is about to make another attempt, though he has refused direct aid from me."

"I see." The Dark Lord may have been disappointed, but did not linger "That is the other reason why I summoned you, Severus. Draco will have his final chance to complete the task I have given him tonight."

"What do you wish of me, my Lord?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I did not expect Draco to succeed in this task. An attack on Hogwarts will be a large enough morale blow as it is." Voldemort paused a moment "I need you in place, Severus. And I need you to find out what Potter is doing." For the first time, there was an edge to his voice.

"Of course, my Lord" Snape said, caught off guard by the rare display of emotion. "Dumbledore has been tight lipped about anything happening between him and the boy." The Headmaster had been much more reclusive as of late, and he told Voldemort as much. "The rumors are that a rift has grown between them, though I haven't been able to get a solid answer out of Dumbledore."

That made the Dark Lord pause "Is it… possible that Potter is acting on his own?"

"That boy is as talentless as his father. I don't see how he could achieve anything without the Headmaster." Snape sneered.

The Dark Lord, however, did not seem satisfied with that answer "No. Your hatred of the boy's father has blinded you. James Potter was not talentless, and neither the is boy. There's a reason he is the one the prophecy chose." The Dark Lord's eyes locked with Snape's, and the power of his magic compelled the man to remain in place "I need to find out what he's doing. Swallow your pride, Severus. Get me answers."

-----

When Dumbledore had asked him to stay behind at the end of the last Order meeting, Bill had been surprised. He shouldn't have been, he supposed, his curse breaking skills were bound to have been put to use sooner or later, if anything he should have been surprised that the Headmaster hadn't requested him sooner.

Fleur had, of course, given him an encouraging smile and a kiss on the cheek, an unspoken promise that she'd wait up for him.

"Mr. Weasley, I find myself in need of your services." Dumbledore told him "I'm afraid that this is an incredibly important, and sensitive mission. I'll have to ask that you tell no one."

"Not even…"

"Not even your fiancé." Dumbledore confirmed.

Dumbledore had proceeded to tell him the outline of the mission. They would be hunting down a dangerous dark artifact, one with an intense corrupting influence. Bill knew full well he was not getting the full story, but he supposed it was better that way.

That was how he'd gotten here- at the entrance to a cave on the side of a barren cliff face. The first obstacle was a blood offering, while Dumbledore had been in favor of going through with the offering, Bill knew better. It was likely that the defenses of this place were powered or enhanced by blood sacrifice, particularly the blood of a magically powerful person. Blood, after all, was imbued with a person's magic, which was why it was so commonly used in darker rituals.

Bill was able to bypass the gate easily enough. You-Know-Who may have been immensely powerful, but Archmages like he and Dumbledore didn't have intricate knowledge of every field of magic. Of course, he likely had followers with more detailed knowledge who could have made their lives truly difficult, but Dumbledore had given Bill the impression that You-Know-Who hadn't even wanted his followers to know about this artifact.

So, Bill was able to navigate them around the majority of the obstacles in their way, that is- until they got to the basin.

Bill had no clue what potion the locket was immersed in. Quite simply, it was out of Bill's wheelhouse. When he asked the Headmaster, he didn't seem to know either, which didn't stop the man's insistence on drinking it.

"Professor, maybe you should let me drink it." Bill suggested desperately, even as the Headmaster summoned a goblet.

The Headmaster merely chuckled "I think I'd rather suffer the effects of the potion, than suffer your Fiancé's wrath, Mr. Weasley."

Bill caught the Headmaster's hand, refusing to go along with this. "This is serious, Professor. What if-" You die?

"Tom did not construct this trap to kill, merely to torment." The professor countered. "I cannot burden you with this. It must be me." His eyes bore into Bill's, and he saw something in them.

Something desperate.

Bill relented. Whatever was beneath that potion better be worth it.