The Fireworks

The next morning Mary Ellen, Jeannie and Jolliet jumped on Dylan's bed, waking her up. "Where were you last night?" Jolliet asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"Wha... I was in bed," Dylan said, stretching.

"Uh-uh," Mary Ellen said, shaking her head. "I saw you sneak out. I couldn't sleep with all of your thrashing around and I watched you transform." Mary Ellen settled down at the foot of Dylan's bed, hugging her pillow.

"Yeah, and lately you have been practically singing and grinning like a Cheshire cat." Jolliet nudged Dylan to move over so she could sit down next to her. Dylan pulled herself up to face her friends. "So give... Where did you go and what did you do?"

"Like a what?" Dylan asked, confused, shifting over for Jolliet.

"She means a Clabbert," Jeannie stated, "or that grinning cat in that Muggle book of hers – the girl that falls down the rabbit hole."

"Alice in Wonderland – and I like that story!" Jolliet said. "You're changing the subject. Where did you go last night? You had a secret liaison, didn't you? And he kissed you, didn't he?"

"How can you know that? I just... um," Dylan stammered. She looked at her two best friends and grinned at their expectant faces. "Okay, you got me – yes, I snuck out last night."

"Ooohhh, I knew it! You like someone – I can tell! So deny it – you were with a guy," Mary Ellen squealed. "Who is it? Who'd you meet?"

Jolliet looked from Mary Ellen to Dylan, her brow furrowed. "What about Jonathan Mondragon. I thought you liked him?" she asked. "He asked about you again after dinner."

"No, that's been over for ages," Dylan said off-handily. "I went to see Fred and George Weasley, if you really must know."

"No!" all three girls exclaimed surprised.

"Dylan, whatever for? I thought that thing with the grindylows was done?" Mary Ellen asked, dropping her pillow.

"So where did you meet them? I heard Snape was on patrol," Jolliet asked, eager for the gossip. "I heard Williams telling MacClennan that Snape took points from him for snogging his girlfriend last night."

"Yeah, Snape knows all the good places," Mary Ellen said with a slight pout, then looked up at Jolliet and Dylan innocently, undaunted. "Well, he does!"

Dylan laughed at her, and Mary Ellen grabbed her foot through the covers, giving it a shake. "I went up to Gryffindor tower and..."

"NO!" Jeannie screeched in shock, as Mary Ellen cried, "No, you didn't! How did you get in?"

"So did they kiss you?" Jolliet asked.

"Jolliet!" Dylan exclaimed stunned, blushing a deep pink, then tried to laugh it off. "I went to their room to give them the stuff my dad gave me. You know for helping me get even with the Toad," she tried to explain and to redirect the conversation.

"You didn't! The Weasley twins – in their room!" Mary Ellen said as Jolliet asked, "You were in their room? With both of them?"

"So which one kissed you?" Jeannie asked as Jolliet asked simultaneously, "Did you kiss one or both?" Mary Ellen looked at Jolliet in disbelief. Jolliet simply shrugged her shoulders, rolling her eyes, smiling.

Dylan, however, ducked her head, blushing even deeper. "She did! Look, Mary Ellen, she did! Which one – or am I right, you snogged both?" Jolliet pried.

Mary Ellen's mouth dropped open, and then she made a choked laugh, looking at Dylan shocked. "So give – which one kissed you?" Jeannie asked undeterred, her eyes bright and sparkling.

Dylan sighed, knowing that her friend would not relent. "Okay, Fred kissed me in their common room when he walked me down." Dylan said, then bit her lip as her friends squealed and laughed.

"So, was it nice?" Jolliet asked. "Is he a good kisser, or what?"

"Jollie!" Mary Ellen laughed and hit Jolliet with her pillow.

"Oh, yes...!" Dylan closed her eyes a moment to remember the kiss. "Oh, good goddess, he can really kiss!" she confessed, leaning over with a moan, her head falling onto Jolliet's shoulder.

"Maybe I should get you to match me up with George!" Jolliet said, smirking, wrapping her arm around Dylan. "So come on, details – I want details! You're holding out on me. When did this thing with Fred Weasley start?"

~o0o~

Detention with Filch turned out to be not quite as bad as Dylan had been dreading it would be. As soon as she and Fred arrived at the first floor corridor between the girls' loo and the boys', Filch arrived, followed by a house-elf, both of them pushing buckets of soapy water with a mop.

"So there you are," Filch said. "You are to mop up both of these loos. I want them sparkling." Fred looked at the mop in his bucket rather dubiously. "Yes, Mr. Weasley, you are to use the mop and bucket, just like I have to. You are to clean the boys' loo." Filch shoved a mop and bucket at Dylan. "You get to do the girls' loo; now get on with it!"

Fred took his bucket and mop and angrily pushed the bucket into the boys' loo. Dylan carried hers into the girls, looking around. Four stalls. Four sinks. Okay. Starting in a far corner, Dylan began to mop the floor, making wide sweeps with her mop. Stopping at each stall to wipe the outside of the toilets down with the really large rectangular sponge in her bucket, and moved to the next stall. It wasn't too different from cleaning her bathroom at home – only times four and she didn't have to pick up any piled and tossed laundry, wet towels, assorted bath toys, or clean up a bathtub.

She was wiping down the sinks when Fred peeked in on her. "Hey, how did you get so much done so fast?"

"What's the problem, wizard doesn't know how to use a mop?" she said cheekily.

"Well, I..." he stammered. "We only have to pick up, and then mum uses her wand at home."

Dylan tilted her head, appraising him. "If you help wipe down the sinks, I'll help you mop the loo." He nodded and entered the loo. It took no time at all to finish. "Okay, your turn – let's go," she said, laughing at his confounded stare. "No problem, its fine – really," she added, pointing at the door to the boys' loo. When Dylan entered the boys' loo she was surprised to see four urinals, four toilets and five sinks. The floor was damp, but it was obvious that he hadn't really done much. "I need to refill my bucket," she stated.

Immediately the house-elf was back. "Miss, you is in boys' loo," the elf stated, alarmed. "Miss is to do girls' loo."

"I'm done. I mopped that one already. I need more soapy water," Dylan said. The elf looked into her bucket, picked it up and disappeared. Seconds later the elf was back struggling with the bucket full to the brim with soapy water. "Oh, my gosh! You are amazing!" she exclaimed. The elf looked up at her pleased. "Okay, grab your mop and let's get to it, Mr. Weasley," she said in a mock order. She dragged Fred and his mop to the far corner and began sweeping the soapy water in wide sweeps with her own mop. "Come on I said help – not do," she chided him.

"Argh," he growled, slopping the floor with his mop.

Stopping at the first urinal Dylan wiped it down and scowled. She pulled out her wand and uttered her mum's favorite cleaning spell, then did the next one. "We aren't supposed to use magic," he stated.

"Mr. Filch said we are to mop the loos. He didn't say I couldn't use magic on the urinals and toilets! Besides, I'd rather be doing something else besides cleaning loos all night," she said. "How about doing the same thing I am on the toilets?"

"How about I swipe them with the mop and you swish and flick them clean?" he suggested, using his best little boy smile.

"I'll help, remember?" she reminded him. Fred grunted. "What was that exactly?" she asked with a grin. He gave her an irked smile and began mopping the floor.

Dylan finished the last urinal, smiling, and then dumped her bucket, asking the elf for a refill, and turned to see Fred entering the third toilet. Dylan checked each stall, magically cleaning them and met up with him in the last stall. Not realizing she was standing right behind him, or that the elf replaced both buckets with fresh ones, Fred accidentally whacked Dylan's legs with his mop. "Hey, watch it," she admonished him, grabbing her sponge from her fresh bucket and chucking it at him.

Wrong move! Fred quickly grabbed her sponge and turned to chuck it back, but she ducked out. Suddenly a very wet sponge landed in the middle of her back. Dylan dipped her hand in her bucket and flicked water at him. He reached down and grabbed the sponge from his new bucket and threw it at her, hitting her waist, soaking her. She grabbed and dunked his sponge, throwing it back, and then found her own. Fred slapped her with his wet sponge on her shoulder as she tried to squish hers in his chest. Before long they were flinging water at each other with sponges and wands in complete abandon.

"Miss... Mister...!" the house-elf cried, dodging a poorly aimed spray of water. "You is making a mess!"

Dylan stood and turned, staring at the house-elf as Fred doused her side with a burst from his wand. "Oh, please don't tell," she pleaded, suddenly feeling embarrassed by the mess they'd been making. "You know that we could never clean a bathroom as well as a house-elf can – even with magic. It just simply is not possible. House-elves are just too good at cleaning!"

The elf stood there staring at Dylan, not sure how to take her comment, finally deciding she'd given the house-elf a compliment, and smiled. "You is going to have to get up the water before Mr. Filch sees!"

Both Fred and Dylan froze at the elf's reprimand. "I suppose we could siphon it back into the buckets," Fred suggested, drying his robes and shoes, and then attempting a Cleaning Charm on himself. Dylan also attempted to quickly clean and dry her robes. Together they began trying to siphon all the soapy water off the floor. Before long the floor was cleaned up. "So we are done?" Fred asked grinning.

"So now what?" Dylan asked. "Do we wait for Filch to return?"

"I is to tell him when you is done, Miss," the elf stated.

"So then we are done," Dylan said smiling. "Thank you, by the way. I really appreciate all your help."

"I is happy to do it, Miss," the elf stammered, smiling, and bowed, then disappeared again with the buckets and sponges.

Fred grabbed Dylan's hand. "Let's get out of here, c'mon!"

"Where are we going?" Dylan asked, trying to keep up with him as they ran up the stairs to the fourth floor.

"Someplace I bet you've never been," he said, smirking, pulling her with him down a corridor. He took a staircase down a floor, turned a corner and went up three flights of stairs, before running down a long corridor.

"Where are we?" she asked as he stopped and opened up a concealed door, ushering her up a narrow spiraling staircase.

"We're near the southeast corner of the castle," he said as they climbed the spiral stairs. "There is one wide step just above you; stop and let me catch up." Dylan nodded and waited on the step. It was barely wide enough for him stand next to her. "Expositus," he said. The door opened to him, and he ushered her inside.

The circular room was small, with several large open windows that took up two-thirds of the circular walls. Fred took her hand and guided her to one of the windows. The sky was darkening, the sun having already dipped below the mountain ridge. Below her she could see the lights of the castle reflected on the lake. She stood transfixed at just how beautiful the sight was.

"If we move over to the next one, you can see Hogsmeade from here," he said, breaking into her reverie. She smiled up at him and followed his lead. Standing at the open window looking out, the tiny lights of the village showed up like jewels upon black velvet. The dusky sky was already filling with stars, and the night breeze wafted in, carrying with it the smell of the forest trees.

"It's so beautiful," she said in a breathy whisper.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind and hugged her. "I'm glad you like it," he said softly. She leaned her head against his shoulder, gazing at the darkening sky, and he kissed her temple.

"I must reek!" she exclaimed, surprised by his kiss.

"No worse than I do," he said as she stood up and turned to face him. "You really don't smell that bad – honestly." He removed his robes, hanging then on an unlit sconce. "Want to get out of your robe?" he asked softly, his eyes dancing wickedly.

Dylan simply shook her head, knowing that the thin white shirt under her robes was still slightly damp, even after her attempts to dry off. "No, I'm fine, thank you."

Fred leaned down to kiss her, and Dylan tilted her head up to kiss him back. His arms wrapped around her waist, drawing her closer to him, and she slid her hands up his arms to his shoulders, enjoying the warmth of his embrace. He leaned against the window, pulling her with him, slightly unbalancing her, and she adjusted her feet, finding herself pressed against his body.

His hands slid up her side while he deepened his kiss, and one hand gently cupped her breast. Dylan gasped in protest, eliciting a soft chuckle from him. "Look, I won't go any further than you want to," he murmured against her ear, placing teasing nibbles just below her earlobe. Dylan closed her eyes, enjoying the light headiness he was causing.

When he straightened up to kiss her again, she noticed that he'd managed to open her robes and his hands slipped inside; warm and firm even through the thin material of her blouse. "Your shirt is nice," he said, "Soft and silky."

"Thank you," she said, slightly breathless. As they kissed Fred kept playing with her buttons, trying to open her blouse, and she pushed his hands down. It was a losing battle; as it was, he still managed to open half of her buttons with his dexterous fingers. "Fred, I'm... not – oh... ready for this..." she stammered, trying to regain her composure desperately. Her breathing was heavy, and he was causing sensations that shot though her in unexpected places.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a soft low voice. She nodded desperately. "I should get you back to your common room then."

"It's really late. You don't have to walk me to my dorm," she protested, the room suddenly becoming quite cold now that he had released her. "You don't have the advantage I do. I don't want you to get caught."

"I want to," he replied firmly. "Beside, I know this castle really well. I won't get caught – it'll be fine." He grabbed his robe and guided her from the turret, down the stairs and along the corridor and down a flight of stairs and into the corridor that led to her common room. He stopped just outside the portrait, still holding her hand. "I have something to do tomorrow, but maybe you'd like to get together Tuesday after dinner?" he asked.

"Yes, sure, I'd like that,' she replied, feeling a flutter in her stomach because he wanted to see her again.

He cupped her face, placing a simple kiss on her lips then pulled away, his hand caressing her cheek. "Goodnight, my pretty little raven," he said before he turned and ran away.

~o0o~

Breakfast on Tuesday in the Great Hall was completely buzzing with rumors about Dumbledore having been sacked. Apparently, either the Toad tried to expel Harry Potter for breaking her decrees, or the Headmaster had been involved in undermining the Ministry. There were some that said that both Umbridge and Fudge trumped up the charges against Dumbledore because the Toad wanted to be Headmistress of Hogwarts and Fudge was afraid that Dumbledore wanted to be Minister of Magic and would overthrow him. What everyone knew for certain was that Dumbledore fired off only a two spells and easily overcame two Aurors, the Toad, the Minister of Magic and his Junior Assistant to escape.

Dylan heard that Dumbledore simply Apparated, although she knew that was impossible; Hogwarts A History said so. One boy said he transformed into an owl and flew away, and then later said Dumbledore became a great eagle. There were stories that Dumbledore gave the Minister of Magic horns, or turned him into a horklump, or that Fudge was vomiting up lemon drops by the buckets, had sharkskin, swollen appendages and covered in boils. Dylan discounted most of the ridiculous rumors, hardly believing that the kind, fatherly Dumbledore would hex or curse the Minister of Magic. He probably simply Stunned everyone or did a Body-Bind, and walked out the door, and the Ministry would be too embarrassed to admit the truth. I doubt even the Daily Prophet will print what really happened. The only person that everyone agreed knew the whole story was Harry Potter, and Dylan didn't know him well enough to ask. But Fred will know; his brother Ron is Harry's best mate. He will know for sure.

One rumor that Dylan really liked was that the stone gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office would not recognize Umbridge's authority, and refused to let her into the office. I can just picture the Toad standing in front of the stone gargoyle, yelling at him to let her in, stomping her feet, jumping up and down; that stupid bow on her head bobbing, with her face all red and her mouth stretched out like a grindylow! Priceless!

In Dylan's first class there were notes being passed and whispers among the students. Professor Flitwick was so angry about Dumbledore that, as long as they managed to Disillusion each other, he didn't care what they did. However, in Potions, Professor Snape was in a really foul mood and nobody uttered one word. He took points from Dewbrane simply for being the last to sit down, and Crandall was docked points for having an ink mark in his Potions book. But as soon as Professor Snape dismissed the class, everyone ran from the room and gossip and rumors abound from nearly everyone.

"Dylan, did you hear?" Joanne Kauffman confronted Dylan and her friends in the corridor. "Umbridge appointed an Inquisitorial Squad! A group of students who support what the Ministry is doing – and they are all from Slytherin!" Twelve students all stopped in their tracks around Dylan, she simply stared at Joanne in disbelief. "That's not all – they can deduct points from anyone they want to. They took thirty points from Gryffindor and twenty from Hufflepuff after breakfast and another forty from Gryffindor this morning – for stupid stuff!

The first thing that Dylan noticed in the Great Hall during lunch was that the Headmaster's chair was unoccupied. The second thing was the sour looks on most of the professors' faces. The third thing was that Fred and George were late to lunch... and Harry Potter was not at the Gryffindor table. "Oh gods! She's going to expel Harry Potter!" she said, aghast.

"What?" Jolliet asked.

"She's right!" Mary Ellen exclaimed. "He's not in the hall and the Toad isn't here either!"

Jeannie passed the pumpkin juice to Jolliet. "But then he gets into loads of trouble, doesn't he?" she said.

"Trouble seems to hunt him out as well. I mean, first Vol – ah, Vol..." Her friends all flinched. "Okay, You-Know-Who, he tried to kill Harry Potter, then the Basilisk his second year, and his third year that escaped convict, Black, tried to get him," Dylan listed off in his defense.

"Rumors were that the imposter Professor Moody put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire to kill him," Jolliet said.

"Everything does seem to happen to him," Jeannie stated. "But it also seems like he goes looking for trouble too."

Dylan helped herself to the potatoes. "Personally, I think he's unlucky – well, lucky enough to get out of sticky situations, but all Vol... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's supporters still want to do him in!"

"The article in The Quibbler said that the imposter Moody was a Death Eater and he made the trophy a Portkey to send Harry Potter to He-Who-Must-N..." Mary Ellen was saying when suddenly...

BOOM

There was a huge explosion from somewhere inside the castle.

The floor shook violently; the windows rattled; even the tables and benches seemed to bounce, making many of the goblets spill, and some students tumbled from their seats. The students screamed; some ducked under the tables, and others ran for the doors. All the professors jumped up instantly. Professor Snape pointed his wand at his throat and hollered, "SILENCE," then ordered everyone to sit as Professors McGonagall, Snape and Flitwick forced their way from the Great Hall and out into the Entrance Hall. Professors Sinistra, Sprout, Vector, Wey, Stilfield, and Hagrid walked down the tables, Hagrid yelling over the noise for prefects to help keep their houses together until they had word.

Finally Professor McGonagall appeared and announced that several fireworks had been let off in the castle, but it was safe enough to attend classes. Oddly, she looked amused rather than angry.

Heading to their common room, Dylan and her housemates were suddenly trapped between a dragon firework comprised of green and gold sparks and a huge shocking pink Catherine wheel. "I'll get them," MacClennan declared, drawing his wand, and together with her house prefect, Williams, they tried to Vanish them. Chaos and mayhem broke out as the fireworks divided – by ten, each – sending the Ravenclaw students stumbling and scrambling, to either fall face down on the corridor or to curl up tightly in groups along the walls. "Okay! Nobody Vanish them – it doesn't work!" MacClennan yelled down the corridor,

"No kidding, Filbert the Fearful, did you figure that one out all by yourself?" Jeannie admonished MacClennan, pulling down his wand arm.

"It would appear that wasn't the best thing to do," Williams admitted, still trying to sound as if he had the situation under control, getting up and brushing off his robes.

"Well, at least they've moved on," MacClennan said as the twenty or so fireworks made their way from the corridor.

Trying to get to class, Dylan and about twenty students were trapped in the third corridor as two sparkling dragon shaped fireworks soared in from either end of the corridor, and rockets ricocheted over their heads. Several of the older students tried Vanishing the dragons or Stunning them to get by, instantly multiplying the two dragons into thirty and the few rockets into nearly as many if not more, plus setting off a myriad of explosions as the Stunners hit. Dylan and her friends cowered in a doorway until it seemed safe enough to get to class.

By late afternoon everyone was pretty much used to having rockets shooting overhead, pink Catherine wheels bouncing along the ceilings and dragons soaring along the corridors. Twice, Dylan even saw glittering pink and silver-winged pigs flying loops in lazy circles, which made her smile. The second time one passed by her, she hit the sparkling pig with a couple of Vanishing spells just to see it multiply.

By time the toll rang for dinner, Dylan still hadn't seen Fred anywhere and was feeling a little down. She did see Fred and George at the Gryffindor table at dinner, talking animatedly with their housemates, and twice they glanced up and smiled at her.

"All right, Dylan, what gives? You're being awfully quiet," Jolliet asked as they sat in the common room doing homework trying to ignore the sparkler over head that twirled in the air writing 'Bugger' over and over.

"Yeah," Jeannie said. "You even turned down your favorite chocolate custard."

"Nothing," Dylan replied, forcing a smile. Jolliet cocked her eyebrow, giving her a disbelieving smirk. Mary Ellen, on her other side, placed a hand on her back with a questioning look. "Just thinking about something I hoped to do tonight." She stood up. "I'm going to the library, care to join?" Her friends shook their heads.

"MacClennan and I are going to meet up and revise together," Jeannie stated.

Jolliet rolled her eyes again. "Revise my foot. I'd stay away from the west battlement tonight if I were you."

"Yeah, that's the first place Snape checks on his patrols," Mary Ellen said with a pout. "It's the best place to watch the sunset..."

"I'll keep that in mind," Dylan stated as she rose from the table.

In the library, a pair of rockets zoomed around the ceiling and Madam Pince was in a fit trying to protect her books, obviously aware that she couldn't Vanish, Stun or use water to extinguish them. Dylan stood at the door, and then changed her mind. She turned and saw Fred leaning against the wall in the corridor with his arms crossed, nearly giving her a fright. "Are you trying to ditch me?" he asked, regarding her with a speculative look.

"What? No! I didn't know where we were going to meet – or when... so I thought I'd get a book, but... um... There are rockets in the library," she stammered, trying to explain.

"They got in there too? Cool," he said grinning.

Dylan laughed softly and looked at him, mildly surprised. "They're your fireworks, aren't they?"

"Of course they are," he stated proudly. "You had any doubt?"

"They're wonderful! Did you make the flying pink and silver pigs for me?" she asked.

He grinned mischievously. "Especially for you," he replied, stood up and regarded her. "So where were you headed, if I may ask?"

She shrugged, biting her lip, looking up at him. He laughed at her softly. "Follow me then," he said, taking her hand. Nearly back at her common room, he stopped at a heavily framed painting of the famous Arithmancer, Bridget Wenlock, tapping on her frame seven times. The painting opened, revealing a flight of stairs, and he guided Dylan up and along a corridor until they stood at the open door to the spiral staircase that led up to the southeast turret.

Fred opened the door to the turret and Dylan slipped inside. Crossing to the windows, she leaned out to watch a pair of dragon fireworks soar over the lake, and slightly below her, a glittering pink and silver pig firework seemed to dance along the battlement. She could feel him as he leaned out the window with her, and his arm curled around her waist. She smiled as she noticed that he'd already removed his robe. "So you like our firework show, do you?"

She smiled enthusiastically. "I love them – they're fantastic!" He fired a Vanishing spell at one of the dragons as it passed, and even though the firework was slightly faded, it burst into ten bright, sparkling dragons flying out in different directions. He leaned further out the window, their bodies crushed together as he hit the flying pig firework on the battlement, exploding the sparkling pig by ten. Dylan smiled, enraptured as the new dragon fireworks soared and sparkling pigs bounced.

Fred pocketed his wand and placed his other hand on the edge of the window beside her. "Your flying pigs," he whispered softly in her ear. She stood up, turning to face him, and his arms enveloped her. He softly brushed his lips against hers. "And I'm quite sure you know which twin you are with," he said as his mouth claimed hers, crushing her to him. Dylan closed her eyes, melding into his embrace, her hands splayed against his chest, and as she moved them to hug him back, her hands slid down his chest caressing a firm abdomen and slid around along his strong back. She marveled at the muscled tone of his body, running her hands along his back muscles.

This time, as he opened her robe she didn't protest, his hands caressing her, sending shivers as they explored. Her eyes closed, feeling heady as his mouth traveled down her neck. She swayed slightly when he leaned her against the window, his body pressing into hers. He trailed one hand slowly, from her shoulder down her front cupping one breast. "Fred?" she sighed.

"Huh," he responded as his lips caressed her neck while his deft fingers undid her blouse. "What do you want?" he asked softly before he kissed her, his thumb rubbing against her nipple through the material of her bra, sending shivers down her stomach.

"I – um... I don't... k-know," she said breathlessly. She explored his body as relentlessly as she dared, so he divested himself of his shirt to let her touch him. She moaned as his mouth trailed down her body, his tongue making little licks between his kisses. She hadn't even noticed her blouse was open until he released her bra, magically removing it, and his mouth covered one breast, his tongue flicking her nipple. She arched into him even as she placed her hands on his shoulders to push him away. Her mind was reeling; she wanted this... needed him to stop, instinctually reacting to what she was feeling.

"I can't..." she started to say as one of his hands moved from her hip, down to her thigh, slowly sliding until his hand touched skin. With a sharp intake of breath, she realized he had his hand under her skirt, just as his fingers slid along the elastic along her leg. "Fred, I – please..." she uttered as his fingers teased her around her knickers.

"Please what?" he asked, teasing her lips with feather light kisses. "Tell me, what you want." His tongue slipped into her mouth when she tried to answer. "Do you like this?" he asked, slipping a finger into her in rhythm with his deepened kiss.

She could only moan an affirmative as his thumb rolled across her knickers sending a sudden jolt through her. "Oh, I... gods!" His fingers moved the flimsy fabric of her knickers aside, as his hand stroked her, causing sensations Dylan had never felt before. She knew she should stop him, but her body demanded he continue. Her body won against all reason. "Oh! Please... don't stop that..." she pleaded.

Fred smiled as he continued to fondle both her breast and moist folds, his thumb stimulating her, all the while his kisses firm and demanding. Leaning against the wall, she gave herself to the growing swirl and throbbing building low in her body. She placed both hands on his shoulders, saying his name as if a mantra as the sensations seemed to peak, then released as if she were melting.

"Dylan, I want to feel you," he said lustily, leaning into her, kissing her urgently. "I want you so much right now."

"You," she sighed as his lips teased hers, "have me..." she uttered and kissed him back passionately. Fred smiled as he undid her skirt, sliding her skirt and knickers to her ankles, trailing kisses on her breast, down her abdomen and back up, finally claiming her mouth again.

He supported her with one arm as he conjured a large rug of fluffy white fur. "I remember that you like these," he said, pulling her to join him on the rug. She lay down, and he propped himself up on an elbow, removing his trousers and pants, looking down at her. "If this hurts, I don't mean to," he said as he positioned himself.

His entry stung, making her gasp loudly, and he held still for a moment, looking at her in concern. When she opened her eyes, he kissed her tentatively, sliding his hand along her skin, and she kissed him back. He began to move slowly, rolling his hips slightly. She groaned, her muscles tightening. "Am I hurting you?" he asked softly, alarmed.

"Not too bad..." she replied. He stopped, holding himself deep within her, waiting for her to relax.

"Are you sure?" She looked up at his face, smiled at the worry in his eyes, and nodded. "Dylan, is this your first time?"

She shook her head, biting her lip. "No." His eyebrows rose as he looked at her incredulously. "It's my second..." she whispered, blushing. Dylan made gentle swirls on his skin with her fingertips hoping he wouldn't be upset with her inexperience.

He ran his fingers along her face, shifting his weight slightly, and she rolled her hips, pressing into him with a moan. "Are you okay?" he asked, kissing the side of her mouth.

She nodded. "I'm fine," she murmured, then turned her head to avoid looking at his eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm – no good..."

"Blimey, Dylan! I'm the one – I..." he said, interrupted by her kiss. "I should have been much more gentle with you." His kiss was tender as he ran his hand along her side. He began to move in her with long strokes, his lips and tongue trailing along the sensitive areas of her neck. Dylan arched her back and into him. She ran her fingers through his hair and over his body. He brought his mouth back to cover hers and Dylan made an exploratory sweep of her tongue across his lip and into his mouth.

Even as she started to kiss him, her hips tried to move with him, and Fred easily matched her rhythm. He returned her kisses as she became more ardent, urging him, and he guided her hips. She wrapped one of her legs around him so she could lift into him, urging him to move deeper. His hand gripped her flesh as he increased his thrusts, and she sighed in pleasure. Still sensitive from her first release, she began to moan, demanding more from him, and he complied.

She felt the tension escalate again, and her body reflexively seemed to tighten, his rhythmic movements becoming longer and rougher. "I'm going to come, Dylan," he said in urgent breathlessness. "Come with me, let go... come with me," he urged.

The tight build held only until she heard his words. "Fred, I... oh, gods..." she uttered between breaths, as he cried out, "Oh Dylan... Circe, Dylan...!" Her body reacted, hearing him first groan then cry out her name, and the tension within her broke, spasms rolling though her, feeling light as air and liquid as water as she cried out his name. "Fred, oh, Fred...Fred... Fred...."

~***~

Author's notes:

When Catherine Wheels collide with the rockets they make winged pigs! How convenient!!

Sorry that this chapter is so long, but I wanted to do the last scene justice.

Expositus is Latin for open, accessible, exposed

According to HP Lexicon:

Filbert the Fearful can be found on a Chocolate Frog Card for being so cowardly that he never went out of his house. He died when his roof collapsed as a result of a Defensive Charm that backfired.

Bridget Wenlock, (1202-1285) was a famous Arithmancer. She is on a Chocolate Frog card for being the first to establish the magical properties of the number seven. Wenlock was J.K. Rowling's Wizard of the month for August 2005.

Much thanks need to be said to my betas, Juliannanight and Charmed3, for all thier had work. I couldn't do this without you.