Dark Repercussions

“So…” Daphne prompted as she stood outside your dorm room with the other three Slytherin first year girls. Based on the binoculars, the quartet had just gotten back from spying on you in the Owlery. “Are you going to invite us in… or would you rather we have this discussion out here in the hallway? Because there will be a discussion… one way or the other.”

She knew. Which meant they all knew. And it was up to you to run damage control.

You promised Gemma that you wouldn’t discuss her and her friends’ involvement with the incident at lunch with anyone who didn’t already know about it. And you’d phrased the promise that way for this exact reason.

“By all means,” you said as you stepped aside and held the door open for them.

Daphne marched right in and you took a moment to eye Tracey, “Did you two really recruit them to spy on me?”

“Recruit?” Tracey repeated as she followed Daphne inside. “They volunteered.”

“Never trusted Farley to begin with,” Millicent stated as she went in.

“And I wasn’t going to miss something this juicy!” Pansy added as she, for once, brought up the rear for the group of girls.

You closed the door behind you and turned around to see that Daphne and Tracey were already seated on the side of your bed, Millicent had gone to your desk and paused briefly to eye the picture of your mother that she’d sent you for Christmas before she dragged your chair around so it was in front of your and Draco’s desks, and finally Pansy made her way to Draco’s bed and paused briefly to remove her shoes before she laid down on it like it was her bed.

You were probably going to have to warn your roommate about that later.

“Where were you watching from?” you felt the need to inquire before you got started.

Daphne smirked, “I read an interesting essay recently where the author mentioned that the Astronomy Tower is a great place to spy on someone out on the grounds.”

Fantastic. Your Fluffy essay made Daphne a better stalker.

“Bet you didn’t even notice that Yaxley and Rowle were following you,” she commented.

“No, I was suitably distracted,” you admitted. Gemma had that effect on you. Hopefully, you were on your way to getting over that. “I didn’t know they were there until they announced themselves.”

“Well, we knew they were there,” Tracey said, “We couldn’t see in the Owlery with our binoculars. It was a bad angle. But we did see those two lurking outside and standing guard.”

“I was already suspicious of Farley…” Daphne stated, “but that definitely set off warning bells.”

“We were debating sending someone back to borrow Draco’s Omnioculars,” Pansy recounted, “But then Millicent suggested using the giant telescope.”

Your best friend shrugged, “We were in the Astronomy Tower. It was right there.”

“We were able to angle that to see through the open doorway,” Daphne said, “Things were looking awfully heated in there. Almost as if you were accusing her of something.”

You realised then that just because they could see in the Owlery didn’t mean they could hear the conversations that went on inside it. They didn’t know the full scope of Gemma’s plan and they hadn’t overheard the airing of Lysandra and Evanora’s dirty laundry.

“You know,” you remarked, “Most people would probably be upset by this gross invasion of privacy… but, honestly, I’m just relieved that when I thought I was alone and isolated from the castle with three morally questionable older Slytherins… that there actually was someone watching out for me in case things turned south.”

“I’ll always keep an eye out when you need it,” Millicent was quick to assure you.

“Yes, you looked terrified,” Daphne sniped, “How, exactly, do you go from accusing someone of attempted **** to snogging her!?” Millicent and Tracey didn’t look pleased about that either.

“Er… are you upset about the poisoning or the snogging?” you asked. You needed to know what you were defending.

“BOTH!” Daphne snapped.

“I thought Farley only said she’d snog you if you shutout that Hufflepuff,” Tracey recalled.

“How do you know about that?” you wondered.

“We were watching you during the match,” Daphne stated, “We saw how red your face got when she made that offer. So we asked Millicent about it afterward.”

You eyed Millicent who had notably voiced her displeasure at Gemma offering to snog you at the match… so you suspected that it didn’t involve much prompting on Daphne and Tracey’s part to get her to tell them what happened. She folded her arms across her chest and crossed her legs at the ankle as she remained seated in your desk chair.

This caused you to idly note that Millicent and Pansy were both wearing the long shin-length uniform skirt while Daphne and Tracey’s skirts were knee-length. It seemed only two of the four first year girls had learned the Warming Charm.

“I offered her something she wanted even more than that,” you explained. “I offered to persuade Flint to give her a shot at joining the Quidditch team.”

“Really!?” Tracey asked hotly. Millicent and Pansy didn’t seem to know what you meant by ‘persuade’ but she and Daphne definitely did.

“Really!” you insisted.

“She poisoned a housemate you decided to reward her!?” Daphne demanded.

And now you found yourself in the awkward position of having to defend a witch that you were personally none-too-pleased with.

“First of all, she didn’t actually cast the spell,” you stated for the record, “That was Rowle. And Yaxley was the one who stole the Hellebore from the greenhouse. It was Gemma’s plan but her role was damage control.” You pulled the bezoar pouch out of your pocket and tossed it to Daphne. “She had that in her pocket the whole time. And she insisted that if I hadn’t gotten involved then she would have.” You paused for a beat and stared directly at Daphne, “So you were right, their goal was never to kill Bletchley. Only to get him out of the way so I could play in the match on Saturday. And if it wasn’t for your advice in History of Magic… I never would have figured it out. So thank you for that.”

Daphne gave a small smile, pleased at having her suspicions confirmed.

Millicent still didn’t look happy and spoke up, “Just because she was passed over for the Quidditch team… doesn’t make it alright for her to poison someone who did make the team.”

“But that’s the thing,” you said, “She wasn’t just passed over. They never even let her tryout in the first place. They didn’t let any girls tryout. That’s what she was looking to change. Her goal wasn’t just to get me on the team. It wasn’t even to put me in a position where I could publicly embarrass her rival. It was a long term investment. She’s banking on me one day becoming Captain in the hopes that I’d be more open-minded about letting girls play on the team.”

You pointed to the poster of Blythe Parkin, the famous female Seeker for the Tutshill Tornados, which was stuck to the wall beside your bed.

“None of you play Quidditch so it probably doesn’t seem like that big of a deal,” you noted, “So let’s use something that you do care about as an example…” You eyed Daphne. “What’s that mystery book series about the Wizard detective and the Auror?”

“The Detective Files of Conebush and Persimmons,” the mystery-lover answered.

“And how many of those books do you have?” you inquired.

“A few,” Daphne admitted.

Behind her back Tracey held up eight fingers. “What did you think I meant back in September when I told you about Daphne’s collection of mystery novels? The vast majority are Conebush and Persimmons. I’m trying to introduce her to Sherlock Holmes.”

Daphne huffed at her best friend’s admission, “I’ve started challenging myself to try and solve the mystery before they do. There’s a formula… the culprit is usually one of the first characters introduced but it’s never the simple solution. That’s where I learned about Red Herrings.”

“Okay, so you’re a big fan,” you mused, “What if Headmaster Dumbledore suddenly decided that those books were now banned from Hogwarts. But not for everyone. Just witches. Wizards would still be able to read them. But you wouldn’t.”

“...” Daphne’s mouth became a firm line and she sent you an icy, blue-eyed glare for daring to suggest such a thing.

“As Headmaster of Hogwarts… he does have the authority to restrict what books are allowed to be read in the school he’s running,” you reminded her. “And as Quidditch Captain, Flint - and Selwyn before him - has the final say on who tries out and plays for the team he’s leading. But just because they made and enforced a decision doesn't make it the right decision.” You gave Daphne a pointed look, “I’ve seen how you get when someone withholds information from you. So I know you wouldn’t simply sit back and accept a decision that prevents you from doing something that you love.”

“...” Daphne’s icy gaze lost its chilling bite as your point sunk in so you moved on to Tracey.

“That’s why I agreed to help,” you told the blonde who liked to question your moral choices. “If I’m in a position where I can convince Flint to give Gemma a chance… then shouldn’t I? I know how good a flier she is. She never should’ve been passed over in the first place. And getting one talented witch onto the Slytherin Quidditch team might make Flint more open minded to letting other talented witches have their fair shot. Why wait three or four years for me to get the Captain badge when I can do something about it now?”

“Do you really think you can convince him?” Millicent asked. “I’ve heard he’s stubborn as a troll.”

“He was disappointed when I swore to him that I didn’t poison Bletchley,” you said, “I think implying that she might’ve been the one to do it would actually appeal to him. I like to think that I can be very persuasive, especially when I’m armed with a proper argument. And that’s another reason why I’m doing it. I wanted to show Gemma a way where she can get what she wants without hurting anyone. I don’t like what her jealousy is doing to her and I want to try and nip it before she does something she regrets.”

“Oh yes, Faarrrley has a lot to be jealous about,” Pansy mused aloud from where she remained reclined on Draco’s bed with her arms folded behind her head. You weren’t sure what that was about but cast a quick, hopefully discrete, glance down at her chest and how her position caused her jumper and blouse to stretch across it and noted that there was barely a swell there as opposed to the three older and more developed witches you’d dealt with back in the Owlery.

You took a moment to survey the other three Slytherin first year girls. There was still no excuse for the method Gemma had used to get Bletchley out of the way… but your argument seemed to have at least explained why it happened and had silenced the moral objections to persuading Flint to give Gemma a chance to play for the Slytherin team.

“So with all that being said…” you resolved, “I’d like to request that you not tell people that she was behind Bletchley being poisoned. I don’t exactly trust her like I used to… but I still need her to hold onto that Nimbus Two Thousand so I can use it for practice and matches.”

Daphne huffed, “I knew you were compromised when they bribed you with their knickers.”

“What kind of knickers were they anyway?” Pansy questioned with an impish smirk as she rolled onto her side and rested her head on her hand. “They were facing away from us so we couldn’t see them. But the way you were staring at them made me think they weren’t ordinary panties.”

“All I’m saying is that they were fancy,” you insisted. “Yaxley said herself that if they were going to give their knickers to a first year then they were at least going to give me something memorable.” Parkinson sat up and frowned. She didn’t seem pleased with that answer but she’d have to deal with it. “No, I mean it. That’s all I’m saying. I like to think that I offer a witch a sense of discretion when she gives me her knickers. Remember, I’m not the reason you all know about my collection. Daphne spilled the beans there. When someone gives me their knickers - for whatever reason - I want there to be an established sense of good faith that I won’t go around telling other people what kind of undergarments they wear and that I won’t go running down the corridors waving them like a flag.” You paused and gave Pansy a firm stare, “Would you want me to tell them about your knickers?”

“No…” she reluctantly admitted.

“Then I’m going to offer them the same courtesy,” you replied.

“How many do you have now anyway?” Tracey wondered.

You did a mental tally, “Eleven total. But you know full well that some witches gave me two.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Pansy remarked, “How many witches did you get them from?”

“Eight,” you answered.

“The four of us,” Daphne recounted out loud, “Yaxley and Rowle just now… and I’ll assume Farley slipped you hers at some point since you worship the ground she flies over.”

“Not so much anymore,” you needed to impart. You saw a small smile flicker across her face before she quickly hid it.

“Who’s the last one?” Pansy asked.

And now you somehow found yourself defending the privacy of Hermione Granger… the Gryffindor muggleborn who likely thought you were the Dark Lord incarnate. But still… it was the principle of the thing.

“None of your business,” you stated. “Same discretion rule applies here. If you can’t figure it out… then it stays a secret.”

“Wait a tic…” Millicent interjected as she eyed Daphne, Tracey, and then Pansy, “Did all of you give him two?”

“He did me two favors,” Pansy admitted.

“We were interrogating him and traded them to finally get some answers,” Tracey followed suit.

Millicent huffed as she stood up then pulled out the side of her long skirt as she pushed down the waistband of whatever she was wearing under it then did the same with the other side. “I don’t want the only ones you have of mine to be those boring white ones…” Green fabric pooled around her ankles and she carefully lifted her legs and feet out of it before she picked them up and tossed them to you.

Naturally, you caught the flying fabric. You noted that once again Millicent’s knickers consisted of more material than the ones you got from other girls. Although, this time it wasn’t only because of her larger frame but by design. In fact, they weren’t knickers at all…

“Are these… jade jockey shorts?” you questioned as you noted the legs of the undergarments and the black waistband that contrasted with the rest of the green fabric.

She gave a pink-faced shrug. “I figured everyone else was gonna go smaller or fancier… so I decided to do the opposite to make mine stand out more.”

You blinked as you processed that, “Wait… did you buy special knickers so you could give them to me?”

“We all did,” Daphne informed you, “We had a meeting about it at Pansy’s Christmas party. We decided that since one of our Slytherin yearmates is a shameless pervert who uses knickers as a bartering system… then it would be in all our best interest to purchase interesting knickers.”

“Or at least make sure we had ones that weren’t embarrassing,” Tracey added. That probably meant she left her favorite Scooby-Doo knickers at home this term.

You eyed Daphne for a moment. While she called you ‘a shameless pervert’, the fact that she also called you her special informant and already traded you two knickers for information likely meant she didn’t completely hate the arrangement.

Then you looked over at Millicent, these were the second undergarments she gave you. And much like the first ones, they were given voluntarily with absolutely no prompting on your part.

“Can we get on to the fun part now?” Pansy requested as she swung her legs off the side of the bed and sat on it - mirroring how Daphne and Tracey were sitting on the edge of your bed.

“Fun part?” you repeated as you turned to face her.

“The part where you try to buy our silence,” she replied. “We discussed it ahead of time. And we want three things.” The fact that they discussed what they wanted ahead of time in exchange for keeping quiet meant they were already willing to keep it a secret.

“I’ll give you two,” you countered.

That brought her up short. “What!? That’s not how this works! We have the leverage. If we go to Professor Snape… your precious Gemma could be in Azkaban before your broom gets here! We’re doing you a favor by keeping quiet about it. So you have to give us your underwear!”

That’s what they wanted?

“Ha!” you laughed, “You think I’m protecting her from you? Oh no, Parkinson. You’ve got it backwards. You see, I’m protecting you from her.” A haughty look crossed Pansy’s face as she started to scoff… but you quickly cut her off. “Or did you forget… that as a prefect… she can enter your room whenever she wants? Do you really want to mess with someone who can freely access the place where you sleep?”

Pansy paled and you saw a flash of worry pass over the face of the other three. Queen B Parkinson went with a slightly altered version of her usual threat, “She! Wouldn’t! Dare!”

“Wouldn’t she?” you countered. “You saw what she did to Bletchley. Or had done to him. And that wasn’t personal. I don’t think she has anything against him. He was simply in the way. The most disturbing part to me was how she showed absolutely no remorse for it. She likely saw it as a necessary evil.” You paused for a beat and lowered your voice as you stared Parkinson dead in the eye. “What do you think she’d do to you if you gave her a reason?”

Pansy flinched as her nasty spiteful mind concocted the worst case scenario all on its own.

You turned to survey the other three, “Let me remind you who you’re dealing with… because while you four were watching safely from a distance… I was the one in the Owlery surrounded by a vicious pack of wolves. I saw - and HEARD - their power dynamic first hand. I think you all know who the alpha of that pack is. It’s not the quiet one who poisoned a housemate without anyone noticing… it’s not the tall one who likes to bite adorable first years… Farley is the alpha she-wolf. The two Sacred purebloods defer to her and do what she says. She casually revealed some of their most embarrassing secrets in front of me - also not telling about those - and they didn’t dare retaliate, which leads me to believe that there’s plenty more where that came from.” You turned your attention back to Pansy and sent her a dangerous smirk, “I hope you don’t have anything embarrassing in your room. Because she’s underhanded enough to slip into your dorm room while you’re in class and dig through your things to find it. I doubt Mittens is much of a guard. Who’s doing who a favor now, Parkinson?”

“Damn it…” Pansy complained as she proceeded to pull her long skirt up to her knees l, then reached under it, and pulled down her knickers. She removed them and tossed the silky pale, purple fabric over to you.

You caught what was now your third knickers from Pansy and eyed the fine quality piece of a silk fabric as you tried to place the color. Perhaps lavender?

“It’s periwinkle,” Pansy supplied.

The alliteration automatically ran through your mind, “Pansy Parkinson’s periwinkle panties…”

You blinked. Pink… purple… periwinkle… you were starting to notice a pattern. Pattern with a capital ‘P’. “Do all your knickers have a color that starts with P?”

“Yes, it’s a theme!” she confirmed with a very pink face.

This was the second time today that you found yourself with knickers from two different witches in your hand. Your collection received a major boost over the last two hours. Four new articles from four different girls. Two were from new witches while the other two were repeats. This brought you to a grand total of unlucky thirteen. You didn’t study Arithmancy but you resolved to quickly acquire another to keep your collection from becoming unlucky.

“Sounds like someone’s over their stupid one-sided crush,” Daphne noted.

It wasn’t as one-sided as she might think. But you didn’t see any good coming from telling her that. Especially now that the one-sidedness had flipped the other way.

“You know what finally tipped me off?” you asked instead, “She brought up that snog she offered me if I shutout Tamsin Applebee. And unlike Bletchley, Farley hates Applebee. Looking from an outside perspective… she’s already conspired to have her rival publicly humiliated by placing a bounty on her head and exploiting a first year Keeper’s obvious crush on her by offering to snog him if he managed to shut her out.”

“We all already knew that,” Millicent stated. Yes, because she was the one who told everyone.

“Well, here’s the part you didn’t hear,” you replied, “Because after she brought up her bounty… I pointed out that a lot can happen in three months and that I might be dating someone then. And that snogging someone else behind my girlfriend's back would be a very, very bad idea.” Millicent frowned while Daphne gave another small pleased smile.

“Good boy,” Tracey lightly praised you.

“Wait ‘til you hear her counter offer,” you said, “Because after I made it clear I wasn’t going to be a cheater… she came back and said that in the interest of keeping things balanced… she’d be willing to snog me AND my girlfriend.” Daphne’s eyes went wide and she let out an awkward squeak as her face went bright red. Daphne’s blush turned out to be contagious because both Tracey and Millicent’s faces flushed too. “I asked if she was serious and she said… ‘If that’s the added motivation you need then I’m willing to give a young couple a joint snogging lesson. There’s not a lot I wouldn’t do if the end result is Tammy getting shutout by a first year.’” You shrugged, “That sounded like a pretty solid motive to me. And after that all the little things I’d previously noticed became more obvious. But in hindsight… it’s all kinds of disturbing when you consider what she’s already done to make that happen.”

“Still didn’t stop you from snogging her,” Pansy pointed out.

“You’re right,” you agreed. “But I’m not dating anyone now and she’ll always be my first crush. Now I know she’s poison and she’s not the witch I thought she was. That snog was one of the last things she had over me… I resolved to get it so I could get some closure and move on. And… silver lining… it turns out that as a Parselmouth I’m a naturally talented kisser… so I at learned one last valuable lesson from her.”

“Naturally talented?” Millicent repeated, “We watched you knock Yaxley on her arse. And we couldn’t see what you did to Rowle… but considering how fast you fled afterwards, we figured you took her down too.”

You rubbed the back of your neck, “Well. with Yaxley… I was trying to defend myself. It was three-on-one and I discovered that my snogging ability was both a weapon and a commodity, so I quickly learned to use it to my advantage to escape unscathed. With Rowle… I was trying to relax her…and I might’ve accidentally made her too relaxed… because she fell asleep. And I suddenly found myself struggling to support the full weight of an **** fifth year.”

“What… what was it like?” Daphne inquired. Her face was schooled into an overly calm expression which made you think she was attempting to downplay her interest.

You also noted that Millicent, Pansy, and even Tracey had all perked up at the change of subject. Something about the aura in the room shifted… it seemed their issues with Gemma and the poisoning had been put to bed… but now they were focused on the snogging. Maybe Yaxley was right about them frequently discussing snogging a Parselmouth.

“Farley said it was tingly,” you recounted, “And that when I hissed my tongue seemed to vibrate. She described it as a stimulating mouth massage. And Rowle seemed to think that - similarly to a snake - my mood and intent can influence the kind of… er… venom I put into the snog.”

“That’s what we want,” Pansy announced.

“Pardon?” you asked.

Parkinson grinned, “If you’re not going to give us your skivvies… then we at least want a snog. You’re our Parselmouth… and if you’re going to snog Farley, Yaxley, and Rowle then we at least want our turn too! And if you really are going to move on from Farley and date someone else…” Her eyes darted to the bed across from her. “I want to get my snog before you’re off the market.”

“Same,” Millicent said as she cast an annoyed glance at your bed.

“All of you want to snog?” you questioned.

“You already know that I regularly have the urge to kiss you,” Daphne remarked as her cheeks took on a deep pink tint, “And you know why I have that urge. Did you think learning that your kisses were literally magic would make me want to kiss you less?”

Beside her, Tracey shrugged. “We didn’t have the best view from up in the Astronomy Tower.” She paused and pointedly adjusted her charmed Velma glasses. “I figure I can get a better look at what kind of magic is in your Parseltongue snogs if I’m up close.”

“Er… alright…” you agreed, “I think I could do that.” You’d already suggested to Gemma that you might need to snog Daphne to keep her quiet. And it wasn’t like you didn’t want to snog her at some point. You just hadn’t expected that you’d need to snog all four of them.

“The point is,” Sandra said back in the Owlery, “When word gets out that a Parselmouth’s kisses are literally magical… there’ll likely be a queue of witches looking to snog you.”

They all stood up and you blinked in surprise when you suddenly realised how eager they were for these snogs that they wanted them now.

“I’m first!” Daphne announced as she practically Apparated in front of you.

You thought back to last Saturday in the library, “I suppose I owe you a thank you anyway.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Daphne’s icy blue eyes flashed as she jabbed her finger into your chest, “Don’t be stingy! You do still owe me a proper thank you. But this is very clearly a bribe. It’s an entirely separate transaction. If we’re going to be using knickers and snogs as tradable commodities then I won’t let you shortchange me! I’m going to get what I’m owed!”

“Er… alright,” you agreed. You probably should’ve seen this coming from a girl whose father made his money in trading. And again it wasn’t like you didn’t want to snog Daphne.

You idly noted that, of the four girls, Daphne was the closest to your height. In fact, with her standing directly in front of you, you couldn’t tell who was taller, which likely meant it was less than a half an inch difference.

Pansy was a pretty solid inch shorter than you and Tracey was the shortest of the four and barely measured over five feet. Millicent was by far the tallest and largest person in the room. She had a full four inches on you in terms of height. She wasn’t quite as tall as Yaxley, but considering she was only fourteen that meant she still had four years to catch up and potentially surpass the fifth year.

“Put those down when you’re snogging me,” Daphne complained as she tugged Pansy and Millicent’s knickers out of your hand with the tip of her fingers then tossed them onto your trunk with a quick flick of her wrist.

“You ready?” you prompted.

Daphne nodded with a smile that was notably wider than the smaller, restrained ones she’d quickly flashed you earlier. She squared her shoulders and pursed her lips as you reached out and gently cupped her chin but - before you closed in - movement caught the corner of your eye and you turned to see Tracey standing directly beside you.

“Do you have to stand right there?” you inquired. Gemma, Lysandra, and Evanora had all maintained a healthy distance while you were snogging in the Owlery. Tracey’s closeness was a bit unnerving.

“I told you I wanted a closer look,” the blonde half-blood replied as she madea point of adjusting her glasses. “And if you wouldn’t mind… could you stick your tongue out a tad more?”

“...” You found yourself momentarily speechless at the sheer audacity of the girl.

“Best get used to it,” Daphne advised with an impish grin, “Because I’ll be standing just as close when you kiss her.”

You rolled your eyes, “Meddling kids…”

That earned a small giggle from Velma. “Are you really going to pretend you’re not curious?”

Eh… maybe she had a point. It might be worth knowing what kind of magic passed between you and your partner when you used Parseltongue in a snog.

You closed your eyes in an effort to better tune out the three witnesses and focus on your current partner as you leaned in to gently bring your lips to hers. You applied light but lingering pressure as you began to kiss.

Daphne briefly pulled away to call out, “Mmm… spearmint!” Before quickly bringing her lips back to yours.

After making a mental note that a minty flavor appealed to Daphne, you continued to keep the pressure light and playful while you waited for her to give you a sign that she was ready for your tongue to get involved. But she appeared to be in no hurry. Her hands came to your sides as she returned your kiss, seemingly content to enjoy the moment.

“Come on, Daphne, get on with it!” Pansy cajoled her, “You’re holding it up the queue!”

You heard and felt Daphne let out a huff before she parted her lips as a clear sign of invitation. You slipped your tongue in and gave a light, playful hiss as you hissed the word §Kiss§

Daphne let out a cute “Meep!” when your tongue flicked against hers.

You opened your eyes a crack to check that she was okay but received your answer when you felt her tongue flick against yours. A clear sign that she wanted more. So you gave her more. And let out another hiss, this time drawn out, as you tried to convey on a feeling of warmth and reassurance while hissing the word §KissSSss§

“MMm!” Daphne pulled you flush against her then slid her arms up your back and lightly grazed her fingers down along your robes as she seemed to revel in the sensation. You snaked your free arm around her waist and enjoyed the feeling of her warm body pressing against you.

Remembering Tracey’s request, you pulled back a bit and felt Daphne’s tongue follow yours and gave it another flick as you hissed again. §Kiss§ Which caused Daphne to shudder against you.

“Ooo!” Tracey cooed from somewhere beside you. Which likely meant she’d seen something with her enchanted glasses.

Not wanting things to get too carried away, you disengaged and stepped back.

“How was that?” you inquired.

Daphne stood there with her eyes closed and almost seemed like she was lost in a pleasant memory. “Farley gets ONE free pass. But only because she taught you how to do that.”

That sounded like a seal of approval.

“I saw tiny green mites… like sparks go from his tongue to yours!” Tracey reported with a wide beaming smile.

Green? Tracey mentioned seeing a faint light go from your eyes to Daphne’s when you used your Serpent’s Gaze on her back in the mysteriously appearing bunker. But Pareltongue gave off green energy. Salazar Slytherin was one of the most widely recognised Parselmouths.. and the Slytherin House colors were green and silver. Perhaps there was a connection?

“And I felt those mites go through my mouth,” Daphne responded before finally opening her eyes. She smiled at you and lightly ran her tongue along her lips, “So glad I still have a ‘thank you’ snog to collect.”

“Switch?” Tracey asked.

The two best friends swapped places and also swapped the glasses. You found yourself staring down into Tracey’s curious brown eyes while Daphne stood nearly directly beside you wearing Tracey’s enchanted square-framed Velma glasses.

“Are you sure about this?” you asked.

The short blonde nodded. The look she was giving you wasn’t one of desire but rather a look of intellectual curiosity that you often saw her wearing in class when a professor demonstrated a spell for the first time. Tracey didn’t look like she wanted to kiss _you, _but she did seem keen to experience your unique brand of magical kissing.

You cast a wary glance over at Daphne. Most girls would be upset at a boy they liked kissing their best friend, but from her urging expression you quickly came to the conclusion that Daphne wasn’t most girls. This was the girl who sat on your stomach and smacked your face with her wand until you impulsively used your Serpent’s Gaze on her. Simply because she wanted to experience what it felt like to have your compulsion in her head when she was aware of it. You also pondered the dynamic between Daphne and Tracey. You already knew from Tracey’s admission back in November that Daphne told her everything. If the topic of snogging a Parselmouth was already popular among the Slytherin girls then it would be an even hotter topic now that you’d actually started snogging people. Daphne was likely looking forward to discussing another one of your serpent-themed abilities with her best friend at great length afterwards.

Gemma’s advice about snogging was that you were supposed to convey how much you wanted someone through the kiss. But it was clear Tracey didn’t want you at all. Still… you wanted her to at least enjoy the experience. And took a moment to contemplate your feelings for the blonde half-blood. You could admit that you admired her loyalty to her best friend. It stood in a stark contrast to Gemma’s relationship with her friends which seemed to be based on favors and ****. That was how Slytherins typically operated which was why it was so special to see genuine friendship. Tracey knew her friend liked you and made a point to tell you she had her eye on you. You respected that. She might question your moral choices but there really wasn’t anything wrong with her wanting you to be a good person. You’d seen back in the Owlery what happened when someone didn’t have a proper moral compass. That could work.

“Alright… let’s do this then,” you resolved.

For the first time that day, you leaned down to kiss someone shorter than you and noted that this was probably what it was like for Gemma and Evanora to have to lean down and kiss you. Lysandra was significantly taller than you so that was a matter all of its own. You closed your eyes and your lips tentatively made contact with Tracey’s. The contact was light but you were surprised when you felt Tracey’s tongue almost immediately prod against your lips giving you a clear reminder that she was doing this for the Parseltongue experience and not the kiss.

You focused on those feelings of admiration and respect and attempted to put that into your kiss as you flicked your tongue up to meet hers and let out a drawn out hiss. §KissSSss§

“Mmmm!” Tracey squeaked at the sensation and then almost seemed to melt against you as she stepped closer and pressed her smaller body flush against yours. Her arms came up and went around the back of your neck while you snaked yours around her waist and continued to hiss and glide your vibrating tongue around hers as you concentrated on those warm feelings of admiration and respect. “Mmmhhmmm…”

A finger poked your shoulder, “Come on! I want to see some sparks!”

Right, Daphne wanted a show. You drew back off of Tracey’s tongue and gave it a playful nip with yours while letting out a short fun hiss. §Kiss§

“Haa!” Tracey let out a short laugh at the contact.

Daphne let out an appreciative “Ooooh!” from beside you. “I see them!”

Since it was well received, you did it again. §Kiss§ “Hehehee!” And after a third nipping §Kiss§ Tracey had devolved into full blown giggling.

You stepped back and left her to it before eventually asking. “How was that?”

“That was… better than I thought it would be,” Travey admitted as she wrapped her arms around herself for a self-hug. “I feel… really warm.”

“I wanted you to enjoy it… so I tried focusing on warm and positive emotions,” you explained.

“Oh!” Tracey replied with a thoughtful grin, “Well… thank you.”

Daphne grabbed her hand and let her over to your bed. The two of them sat down on the edge and, as you expected they would, began comparing notes in quiet whispers.

That seemed like a dismissal to you so you turned around to face the other two occupants of your dorm room. “So… who wants to go next?”

Millicent’s face went bright red while Pansy rolled her eyes and shoved her larger and taller roommate in the back, “Don’t drag your feet. Just go and do it already.” Then she shot you a smirk, “Save the best for last.”

While Pansy was rushing Millicent along, you focused on reassuring your best friend. “If this is too awkward we don’t-”

“No!” Millicent interrupted. “I do want to do this…” She hesitated and gave an awkward shrug, “It’s just… this is my first kiss… and this isn’t exactly how I imagined it…”

“Oh,” you said, “If there’s someone else you’d rather kiss… I’ll see what I can do to make that happen if you prefer…”

Pansy scoffed while Millicent looked annoyed, “I meant I didn’t imagine it with an audience.”

“Oh,” you said again, now understanding. Millicent was shy. You knew this. And it didn’t exactly bode well for her when you considered the attention you needed to garner in order to reestablish your family name. You reached out and lightly placed your hand on her shoulder, “Alright… then close your eyes…” She closed her eyes. “Focus on me and my voice. Ignore everyone else. Imagine we’re in your room instead. And it’s just you, me, and Mittens. No one’s going to judge you or make fun of you… except your cat. But you know he’d never do that. And neither would I. You’re perfectly safe.”

You moved your hand from her shoulder to her face and gently cupped her cheek as you took another step closer. “We don’t have to do this right here and now. I trust you not to give everything away regardless. We can work something else out later if you’d prefer. I’m not going to pressure you to give away something as precious as your first kiss on such short notice. It’s completely up to you.”

Something in her eyes changed… and suddenly her lips were on yours.

CRIKEY!

She really laid one on you. Millicent had very clearly missed Gemma’s lesson on starting soft because she went hard right from the start. The only kiss you could compare it to was Lysandra’s early oral ****. But it lacked the fierceness of Sandra’s snog. Instead there was a hint of desperation like Millicent had realised that this might be her one and only chance to do this and so she was putting everything into it. The amount of sheer passion that she was pouring into the snog was almost overwhelming.

One of Gemma’s tips was about the importance of matching your partner’s intensity. If Millicent wanted to go all in to make her first kiss/snog more memorable… then you were happy to oblige.

You began to push back and ramped up your own intensity in an effort to match Millie’s. Much like with Tracey, you turned introspective on your relationship with Millicent as you thought over what kind of feeling to put into your kiss. You ended up focusing on your appreciation for your best friend. While you might not be as close or open with her as Daphne was with Tracey… you did still trust Millicent… and that really mattered in Slytherin. You didn’t like to volunteer your most personal information because it was often very dangerous. She was better off not knowing about Quirrell and the Philosopher’s Stone. It was much safer that way. Daphne knew a number of your secrets because she’d literally chased you down - on more than one occasion - and demanded to know. Millicent didn’t pry into your personal business and trusted you to tell her things when it was important. She offered you privacy but always offered an ear when you were in need of one.

Your lips parted and your tongue snaked out and you focused on that appreciation as you let out a loud hiss that matched the intensity of the snog. §KISSSSS§

The second you did it, you realised you made a mistake.

Lysandra Yaxley endured one of your intense Parseltongue hisses and barely remained standing. All it took was a light shove from you to knock her on her back. But Lysandra had a lot more experience with kissing and snogging than Millicent did. Obviously not with your particular brand of snogging but she was able to acquire a short notice boyfriend for the sole purpose of causing a scene with a very public breakup a week later. And as a fifth year student, she was likely more used to different forms of magical stimulation.

Millicent… wasn’t. Which was why her legs immediately gave out and she began to collapse.

“Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!” you exclaimed as you clung to your best friend and struggled to hold up a girl who was both larger and heavier than you. You called out frantically for aid, “Get the chair! Get the chair! Get the chair!”

Wood scraped on stone and you felt the leg of your desk chair knock against your foot… based on that… you heaved Millicent towards the chair and planted her in the seat.

A quick glance up revealed that Pansy had been the one to fetch the chair. Daphne and Tracey were still seated across the room on your bed. But both looked concerned.

You turned your attention back to Millicent and noted that her eyes were glazed over. A seemingly common after effect of overdoing one of your Parseltongue snogs. You were really going to need to work on controlling this new ability before you accidentally hurt someone.

“Millie! Millie!” you stood beside her partially splayed legs and gently shook her shoulder, “Are you alright?”

“Mmmm…” she let out a light moan. She was still partially awake so at least you wouldn’t have to worry about her unconsciously answering embarrassing questions like Evanora did when you put her to sleep. Her arm came up and she blindly patted her way up to your shoulder then abruptly grabbed you by your green and silver Slytherin tie and yanked you back in. Your lips collided with hers. She was barely conscious but she wanted more? You still obliged her and kissed her and when you felt her tongue prod against yours you made sure to keep both your hissing and your kissing light as you focused on your appreciation and concern for your friend. §Kiss§ §Kiss§ §Kiss§

You eventually pulled back and left Millicent slumped in your desk chair with a dopey grin plastered on her face. You took that as a sign that she at least enjoyed herself.

“Well… that will likely be the source of some very pleasant dreams,” Pansy remarked.

“What do you mean by that?” you wondered.

“I mean, Millicent mumbles in her sleep and desperately needs to learn the Silencing Charm,” Pansy stated.

How were you supposed to respond to that? “Err… glad I could help? I was trying to make it memorable.” You stood up and left Millicent sitting dazed in your chair while you turned to Pansy, “This isn’t your first kiss, is it?”

“No,” Pansy replied, “I managed to corner Draco under the mistletoe at the Yule Ball. Since my family was hosting. he couldn’t, in good conscience, refuse.”

The fact that Draco - who was normally very boastful - hadn’t seen fit to share his experience of kissing Pansy Parkinson over the holiday told you two things, Either A - he was trying to be a gentleman as you strived to be and didn’t want to ‘kiss and tell’. Or B - he hadn’t enjoyed the experience and didn’t want to share it. You weren’t particularly thrilled with the idea of snogging Pansy Parkinson either. Of the four witches in your room - six if you include the poster of Blythe Parkin and the picture of your mother - she was at the very bottom of the list. But still… you’d agreed to give all four of them a Parseltongue snog. It would be unbelievably rude to exclude her after you’d snogged the other three Slytherin first year girls.

“Your turn then?” you prompted as you did your best to fake enthusiasm.

Pansy smiled faintly as you approached her. You resolved to do it and get it over with so you quickly closed your eyes and brought your lips to hers. You didn’t have a ton of positive feelings towards Pansy. Of the four girls, you trusted her the least and she was the most likely to spill the beans. You focused on your desire for her to enjoy the snog so she’d feel like she got something good out of the exchange and would therefore be less inclined to reveal dangerous secrets to other untrustworthy parties. Your lips parted and your tongue made contact with hers and gave a drawn out hiss. §KissSSss§

“Mmmm!” Pansy let out a muffled squeak at the sensation in her mouth. She was known for her sharp tongue and so you found it was also fairly graceful as your tongue danced with hers while you hissed another few times. §KissSSss§

“Wooow!” she gasped when you finally pulled away. Her face was pink. “That was… …amazing…” From her hesitation you suspected that maybe she’d been planning to downplay your kissing skill but thought better of it. You’d succeeded in your goal… she enjoyed the snog.

“Glad you approve,” you replied, “So you’ll keep quiet about the poisoning?”

“You’ve bought my silence,” Pansy admitted, “But I asked for three things and you said you’d give us two. You snogging us was one thing. And since you refused to give us your underwear… that means you still owe us something else. Or rather… Farley does.”

That didn’t sound like a very good or safe idea. You didn’t know what lengths Gemma would stoop to anymore so you honestly didn’t know what she would do to them if she felt threatened. Digging through their rooms to find personal secrets in order to **** them would actually be the best case scenario. “And what’s that?”

“We want to learn that spell Yaxley cast on her skirt,” Tracey spoke up.

“She was facing away from us when she gave you that look up her skirt,” Daphne recounted, “So we couldn’t see anything. But based on your disappointed expression and how hard she was laughing…we assumed you couldn’t see anything either.”

Pansy smirked, “A spell that will prevent you or any other pervert from looking up our skirt seems incredibly useful.” She gave you a pointed look which seemed to communicate that she still remembered that time in the library back in November when she caught you trying to sneak a peek up her skirt while you were helping her with her Potions essay. That was the day you set the command where she was compelled to give you her knickers in exchange for you doing her a favor and had been promptly given the pink knickers she’d been wearing that day. “I could even go without knickers and no one would be able to tell! Especially not those leering portraits in the Grand Staircase!”

It was a Hogwarts tradition for the older girls to teach the Skirt Obscurus Charm to the younger ones. Which meant the older girls were already morally obligated to teach them the spell. Perhaps you could play it up as a bigger deal than it was in order to make it seem as though arranging it was a bigger concession?

But first… you needed to convince them to go with safer teachers…

“I honestly think you’d be better off learning the spell from Yaxley and Rowle,” you imparted, “I don’t want to think of what Gemma might do to you if she feels threatened. And I think putting the five of you alone in a room together would be a recipe for disaster. One of you might say something to set her off… and I’d rather avoid any unnecessary bloodshed when I can help it. Especially if that blood comes from someone I care about.” You looked over at Daphne and Tracey. “Yaxley told me she taught you the Warming Charm… how’d that go?”

“She wasn’t the best teacher,” Tracey said, “she made us change into our short skirts then took us outside and made us stand out in the cold while we learned the spell. She claimed it was to give us extra motivation to be warm. She was really short with me and she left as soon as I got it the first time. Didn’t even wait for Daphne to get it.”

You knew more about Lysandra now so you were able to apply better context. That abrupt lesson was Lysandra helping them out of the goodness of her heart while still maintaining her image as a flesh-eating monster. They didn’t mention owing Yaxley a favor so it sounded like she gave them the lesson for free. You get what you pay for.

“But… you did learn the spell,” you pointed out then made a point to eye their knee-length skirts. “Both of you… from the looks of it… Which means she’s proven to be capable of teaching you. Rowle’s better with magical theory so adding her as a second teacher would probably help things along.” You pondered it for a moment then nodded. “I could probably convince them to teach you… and do a better job of it. I learned today that they’re very… transactional. The three of them exchange favors back and forth. Since I’m Gemma’s favorite firstie she was able to use me and my new snogging ability to repay the rather large favors she owed Yaxley and Rowle for carrying out her plan. They seemed to enjoy themselves back in the Owlery. If I offer them another snog… they’d probably go for it.”

“Another one?” Daphne huffed.

“Do you want to learn the spell or not?” you asked.

“I do!” Tracey spoke up before Daphne could. “Snog away! Take two for the team!”

“Oh! That reminds me! What did you see when Yaxley gave you that look down her skirt?” Pansy inquired, eager to learn some juicy dirt. “I heard a rumor that her minge has teeth! Is that true?”

“That’s personal, and I’m not telling,” you insisted. You promised the cuddle monster that you wouldn’t reveal her secrets. “In fact… if she agrees to teach you the Skirt Obscurus Charm… make a point to tell her that you asked and I refused to tell you. If I prove that I can keep a secret… then she’d be more inclined to trust you to keep a secret.”

Pansy looked annoyed at your repeated refusal of sharing personal information but seemed to at least understand your logic. You hoped she’d eventually appreciate the fact that you’d offer her the same courtesy if you ever saw her bits. Not that you were going to go out of the way to see… especially after she learned the Skirt Obscurus Charm.

“So a snog from me and a spell from them,” you resolved. “We’re all in agreement then that the Poisonous Plot remains a closely guarded secret?”

They all agreed. You even roused Millicent to catch her up and allow her to voice her agreement with the arrangement.

You led them to the door intent on tracking down Yaxley and Rowle to get your transaction underway quickly… but stopped in your tracks when you opened your door and found fifth year prefect Gemma Farley leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the corridor.

“You know,” she spoke, “As a prefect, I should probably be concerned when I learn that a boy’s secluded himself in his dorm room with four girls.” She eyed the four girls in question with her sapphire eyes lingered on the binoculars still hanging from Daphne and Tracey’s neck. She asked in a deadly calm voice, “Do I need to get involved?”

You felt one of the first year girls step up directly behind you and snake her arms around you but were annoyed when you looked back and found it was Pansy.

“Back off, Farley!” Parkinson called out. She didn’t exactly sound brave when she was using you as a human shield. “He’s our Parselmouth!”

“Could you not?” you requested. This was why you suggested Yaxley and Rowle ask charm tutors over Farley. You turned back to the most dangerous of the three fifth years, “No. You don’t need to get involved. The matter’s been dealt with. However… as part of the truce I brokered… I’ll need you to ask Lysandra and Evanora to take some time to teach them the Skirt Obscurus Charm. Tell them there’s a Parseltongue snog in it for both of them if they handle with care and all four of their students know the spell by the lesson’s end.”

“I’m not doing anything at the moment,” Gemma pointed out. “And there’s still some time left before dinner… I could teach them.”

“I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” you responded. “It would be a very tense lesson. Someone might say something they regret. And that could cause someone to get hurt. And then I’d get upset. I think it would be better for everyone if we avoided such a scenario altogether. I know firsthand that Yaxley can cast the Skirt Obscurus Charm… and she’s already taught Davis and Greengrass one spell. With Evanora helping they should be fine.”

”...” It was tensely quiet for a moment.

“Very well,” the Poisoned Prefect eventually agreed, “I’ll go ask them. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.” Her only concession in the arrangement was to give Lysandra and Evanora their required permission to collect their reward snogs from you at some point.

The tensions remained thick until she turned and walked away. Then everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

You rounded on Pansy, “Do not antagonise her. You know full well that she’s the type of person to hold a grudge.”

“Sounds like you two need to change into shorter skirts!” Tracey resolved as she led Pansy and Millicent past you and out of your room.

“And put knickers on,” you mentally added.

Wait a minute… that was only three of them…

You whirled around and let out a small sigh of relief when you saw that Daphne wasn’t taking advantage of her access to your room to snoop through your things. Instead, she had reclaimed her seat on the side of your bed.

“Erm… can I help you with something?” you inquired.

“You still owe me a ‘thank you’ snog,” she reminded you.

“Oh…” you said as you shut your door behind you. “Alright.” You went over and sat down beside her on the bed.

But you didn’t immediately launch into it. This was Daphne and now that you had a moment alone you wanted to check in and see how she was handling all of the day’s revelations. “So… are you… alright with everything that just happened?”

“Are you referring to covering for three fifth years that poisoned a third year… or the part where you just snogged all four of the first year Slytherin girls?”

“Er… both?” you replied with wry grin remembering when she shouted that at you at the beginning of the discussion.

“I’m already keeping quiet about the Quirrell stuff…” Daphne admitted, “You made it very clear that it was a matter of self-preservation. I suppose this might be too. It shouldn’t be too hard to keep quiet since most people are going to go with the simple solution and automatically assume it was Quirrell… even if they don’t know he was the one behind the attempted **** of Potter at the Quidditch match. Unless the Headmaster and the other professors come and start digging around… we should be able to keep a lid on things. When whatever Quirrell’s up to finally comes fully to light… he’s likely to get the blame for Bletchley.”

“About that…” you said as you recalled your mental tip off to Professor Snape, “I might have accidentally convinced Professor Snape that Professor Quirrell was behind the poisoning.”

“Accidentally?” Daphne repeated.

“Did you know that Professor Snape can read minds?”

“WHAT!?”

“It’s called Legilimency,” you explained, “Being able to do it makes you a Legilimens. Salazar Slytherin was one. It’s on his Chocolate Frog Card. I figured out Professor Snape was one back in September when he caught me and Draco coming back from our late night duel with Potter and his gang. The library didn’t have much on the subject but from what I’ve learned it’s done through eye contact.” Daphne was staring at you in wide-eyed shock. “So if you’ve done something suspicious… avoid looking people in the eye. Especially Professor Snape and Headmaster Dumbledore… and maybe Professor Quirrell for good measure.”

“Can… can a Legilimens… plant thoughts in someone’s head?” asked the Greengrass girl who previously stared you directly in the eye and demanded that you place a compulsion on her.

You blinked then it was your turn to stare at her in shock as you followed her line of thought. Could YOU be an untrained Legilimens? Could the compulsions created by your Serpent’s Gaze be a form of Legilimency?

“I don’t know,” you admitted as you once again found yourself appreciating the insight and altered perspective that Daphne could offer. “But it sounds like something worth investigating. There weren’t really any books about it in the general library… but maybe there’s something in the Restricted Section?”

As an absolute last resort… you could potentially ask Professor Snape.

Speaking of your Head of House, you quickly shifted the conversation off the tangent and back to the previous subject, “Back in the Great Hall… I needed to convince Professor Snape that I was innocent… so I made eye contact and thought about my genuine reactions to hearing that someone had been poisoned and then learning that it was Bletchley. And while I had him there… I decided to try and show him who I thought was behind it. And as you know from Halloween and the Quidditch match… Professor Snape is already actively working against Professor Quirrell so I don’t think it took much convincing for him to believe the worst in a wizard who attempted to **** another student last term.”

“Well, now that I know to avoid eye contact with probing professors… I should be able to keep it a secret,” Daphne resolved. “As for the snogging… we all agreed to that ahead of time. We saw your conversation but couldn’t hear it.” You’d realised that too. “You went from arguing and accruing her… to snogging her… to snogging her friends… and then you left alone. So we weren’t completely sure what happened or how deep Farley’s claws were still in you. I knew I needed all the help I could get and thought that experiencing your magic kisses firsthand would provide some extra motivation to keep you out of the clutches of dangerous outside parties.”

“As far as those dangerous outside parties are concerned…” you said, “In the interest of honesty and full disclosure… I should probably tell you that the stupid one-sided crush you mentioned earlier isn’t quite as one-sided as you might think. I learned today that Gemma Farley’s plans tend to be long term. She knows she can’t do anything until after I graduate but she’s definitely interested.”

“Of course she’s interested… you’re incredibly interesting,” Daphne replied. You blinked as you processed that very telling response. “The important question is: are you still interested?”

“Not anymore,” you answered. “After learning what she’s really like and seeing the kinds of things she does… I don’t think I could ever properly trust her. And it turns out that’s important to me in a relationship. I trust her to act in her own self-interest… but that’s about it. I’m going to try and distance myself from her… but that’s going to be hard to do since I obligated myself to get her on the Quidditch team and she’s going to be holding my broom.”

“Do you trust me?” Daphne quietly inquired.

“We’re getting there,” you gave an honest answer. “You know a number of my secrets and haven’t revealed them. That counts for something. And after the wonky day I’ve had… I’ve come to really appreciate your insight.” You paused and lightly laughed, “Hah! You know… when the three of them had me surrounded in the Owlery and asked if I was going to keep quiet about it… my exact words were ‘I promise I will not discuss your involvement with the incident at lunch with anyone who doesn’t already know.’ I made that promise knowing full well that the only reason I figured it out was because you already knew. And if you knew that meant Tracey knew too.”

“Show me,” Daphne responded.

“What?”

“You said after you snogged Tracey that you focused on positive emotions,” Daphne stated, “Well, I’m waiting for my thank you kiss. Show me. Let me feel how much you appreciate me, how much you trust me, how much you like me.”

You turned and your lips met hers and her tongue eagerly darted out to meet yours. You focused on all those positive feelings you had for Daphne as you gave her another dose of Parseltongue. §KissSSss§ She gasped against you and pulled you close as you continued to channel those warm feelings into her through your dancing tongues. §KissSSss§

Daphne eventually fell back on your bed and pulled you down on top of her. §KissSSss§ You gave another few warm kisses before you eventually rolled off and laid beside her so she could catch her breath.

“How was that?” you asked.

“Wow…” she whispered. “Just… wow…”

That sounded like approval.

It was quiet for a moment then she turned to you and smiled, “Your compulsion gives me the urge to kiss you. But now that I know your kisses can do that… that urge is going to be a lot stronger and harder to ignore. So if you ever feel like practicing your technique… I’m your girl.”

“My girl?” you repeated with a soft smile.

“Is that… something you’d be interested in?” she asked nervously.

“It is,” you quickly affirmed, “But… I have the biggest opportunity of my life coming up this weekend and I need to be focused on that so I can put on a good showing and properly earn my place on the starting lineup. Plus, I don’t think we should rush into anything so soon after the big Gemma revelation. I still need time to properly process that.”

“Oh…” Daphne said as her face fell.

You sought a lifeline and quickly thought of a prominent holiday that was less than two weeks away and had a firm focus on relationships and romance.

“Today’s February third…” you noted, “Which means Valentine’s Day is in eleven days. It could be fun to celebrate my first Valentine’s Day at Hogwarts with my first girlfriend…”

“OH!” Her icy eyes lit up and her cheeks took on a pink tint. “I… alright.” She took a deep breath, “But you should know… I expect flowers!”

“Then you’ll get roses,” you returned with a grin as you remembered one of the first conversations you had with the girl, “Which means I’ll have to pick good ones since you’ll know the meaning behind all the different colors.”

Daphne gave a giddy smile and leaned in to give you a firm peck on the forehead. She sat up on the end of your bed and wiggled around for a moment then turned and tossed you a small bit of fine quality seagreen fabric.

“Thirteen is an unlucky number,” she said with a teasing grin, “We wouldn’t want to invoke misfortune that could see your perverted collection confiscated.” You noticed that problem too. But it wasn’t a problem any longer since - thanks to Daphne’s latest contribution - you now had fourteen knickers from eight different witches in your collection. ”You gave me plenty of valuable information today to warrant the trade.”

“Sounds like you don’t mind that I have a collection of girls’ knickers,” you remarked as you took a moment to eye the newest knickers in your collection. Mint green… pale icy blue… seagreen… much like Pansy it seemed like Daphne was working with a theme. Or at least a set color scheme.

“Of course not,” she replied, “As the girl who started your collection… I find it convenient that a walking information fountain like you has such an easily exploitable weakness.” She lowered her voice and added as a whisper, “And I didn’t want you to have more of Pansy’s than mine.”

“Haha,” you let out a light amused laugh as you stood up and took a moment to tuck her knickers away before you walked her to the door. She reached over and grabbed your hand… then gave it a soft squeeze before she finally walked out. You watched her with a fond smile as she made her way across the common room to the girls’ hallway.

You probably just imagined Tracey’s loud shriek of “VALENTINE’S DAY!?” that sounded from the same hallway a few seconds later.

It had been one hell of a crazy day. But after working your way through all the schemes and plots, while also pausing to form a few of your own, it seemed that the stars were aligning and everything was coming up Gaunt. Joining the House Quidditch team probably would have been infinitely more straight-forward in the other three houses… but this was Slytherin. A murky and winding path was almost to be expected in the darkest of the four Hogwarts houses.