Explicit het preliminaries ahead.
Evadne scowled at the Arithmancy problem again. Exactly how one got from here to there..."Help!" she finally said, looking at Iolanthe.
"Here," said Iolanthe. "It's like this. You're balancing the sides of the equation, you see." She made a couple quick diagrams on the corner of a piece of parchment. "So you just go along like this, and..."
And just like that, Evadne got it. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled brilliantly at Iolanthe.
"Thank you, ever so much," she said.
The older girl smiled. Iolanthe Weasley was tall, with a sturdy build that was well-muscled from playing Chaser for Gryffindor. She wore her flaming hair in a short ponytail, and nearly always had a merry grin on her face.
"It's just learning that little trick," she said. "No problem, really."
"Hey," Evadne asked her, "What are you going to do when you get out?"
"Weellll..." she drawled, realizing she had the attention of the whole table. "I got a letter today...from the Aurors. I passed the tests, and they'll have me."
The whoop of jubilation that passed around the table was no less heartfelt for being subdued to the appropriate volume for the library.
"That's great," said Tristan Ralston, shoving his pale brown hair out of his face.
"Oh, wonderful, Lannie!" her brother said, using her childhood nickname. "You must owl Mum immediately, she's been so worried!"
"Oh, don't be such a prat, Arthur!" she said. "I want to tell mum face to face. We're done in two weeks."
"Fine," he said. "Then you can write her and tell her that much and she'll stop sending me owls about do I know and are there any indications...I'm expecting a Howler any day."
"For you, Arthur, since you're my favorite brother...."
"Your only brother...."
"I will at least get our mother off your back."
They all laughed, and then Evadne looked up. Her face changed, softening and lighting up, and a great warm smile spread over it.
"Hey," she said, softly.
Lucius stood at the end of the table and smiled at her. "I thought you'd be up here swotting away," he said. "After dinner." He pressed a note into her hand, and gave her a look more formidibly sensual than a kiss would have been. And then he turned and left, leaving Evadne staring after him. Once the door to the corridor closed behind him, she sighed deeply and looked at the note. It had been folded cleverly into a little paper snake, and when she ran a finger down it, consideringly, it jumped in the air, unfolded itself, and displayed a message. After a moment, the words vanished, and the little snake refolded itself, sitting obediently on the table.
"Whoo," said Iolanthe. "The boy's got style, I must admit." There was a certain bright interest in her eyes, and aghtlghtly incredulous grin touched the corners of her mouth.
"Yes," said Arthur reluctantly. He was looking at Evadne, who had lost all pretense of studying. She was looking at the little snake, cheeks flushed, eyes bright. Finally she said, "I....I'm going to go study in my room. Um, I'll catch up to you all later."
She piled her books into her arms, stuck the little snake in her pocket, and hurried from the library.
Arthur just shook his head.
He was sunk in thinking when his sister entered the Gryffindor common room. She had expected to see him talking with Molly Allen, but he was alone.
"What's wrong?" she said.
He shook his head as she dropped down on the couch beside him. "I hate seeing something going wrong and not being able to do a bloody thing to stop it," he said.
"What ever do you mean?" Iolanthe asked him, with concern.
"Evadne," he said.
Iolanthe gave a great sigh of comprehension. "She loves him," she said finally.
"Yes," said Arthur.
"Is it that you want to date her?" his sister asked.
"No, no," Arthur said. "Molly and I are....well, we're us," he said finally. "Evadne's my friend."
"So what are you worried about?"
"He's bad for her."
"I don't know, Arthur," she said. "She's not the only girl who lights up when she sees her boyfriend. He's polite, he's always giving her little presents, and treats her wonderfully."
"I suppose," Arthur said consideringly. "You do know he's pulling her, don' t you?"
"Arthur!" Iolanthe said, scandalized. Then she relented. "Well, it's pretty obvious...I just wasn't going to say anything. But again, they're not the only pair. So what's your problem with it?"
"What's going to happen a year from now?" Arthur said.
"You'll graduate and....oh."
"Exactly," he said. "Molly and I are already talking about the future. She wants to name our first son William after her dad. And I know we're not the only couple doing it. But do you honestly see Malfoy there taking Evadne, whose grandparents are muggles, home to be his wife?"
Iolanthe shook her head. "I hate to say it, but no. He won't."
"And she -worships- him," Arthur said. "I just don't see it ending any other way than in a lot of tears on her side."
"You're right." she said consideringly. "They marry like princes, those sort do. It's all about dynasty. Besides, he'll probably want to make carbon copies of his pretty self, and that would take marrying a blond cousin."
"That's true," he said, consideringly. "You know, with Molly's hair and mine, we should have all redheads ourselves."
"Well, God help us if any of them are like you." his sister said. "You very nearly bought out Zonko's last week, I saw you. What ever are you planning?"
Arthur's face lit up with mischief. "In this case, my dear sister, ignorance is the best defence for you."
She sat there and watched him head up to his room with a sinking feeling of dread in her heart.
Evadne walked up to the North tower, turned left instead of right, went down the corridor, and stopped in front of an old and plainly disused door. She tapped it with her wand and said, Arbitrii mihi iura mei, and the door obediently opened.
Arbitri mihi iura mei. My laws are my will. The Malfoy family motto. How well it suited Lucius, her beautiful lover, a law unto himself. He would be there soon, she knew, but the wards that had opened so obediently for her were his creation, as was the sofa and bed inside. She went inside, and folded her robe over the foot of the bed. Her other clothes followed, leaving her in bra and knickers, the set he'd bought her. They were black lace and satin, and made her feel deliciously wicked. She'd have to transfigure them and hide them before she went home at the end of term. Her mother was so invested in Evadne being a nice girl, a good girl. She laid down on the bed, on her side, facing the door in an attractive pose, laughing to herself. I AM very good...Lucius says so. Natural talent, he calls it.
The door opened and he stepped in, eyes widening with appreciation and something darker as he took in Evadne, her olive skin contrasted against the white linen of the sheets. "Oh, VERY nice," he said, voice dropping into an intimate tone. "Have you had them on all day?"
"Yes, Lucius," she said. God, just his voice mher her wet. "It was like having your hands on me. I could barely pay attention in class."
He smiled, and took off his own robe. "Really.....Get off there and let me say hello properly."
She got off the bed and walked over toward him, accepting a languid kiss and then stepping back, kneeling down in front of him, lookip. Hp. He looked so hungry. She pressed a soft kiss to him through his fly, and he groaned. "Oh, yes....that would be a good start," he said, and she smiled.Slow and long and hot as hell it would be tonight, one last hot time before finals and home. She wanted to get the best out of it she could. He ran his hands through her black curls as she carefully unbuttoned his fly, and a shiver went through her. This was going to be very, very good.