The Burning Pen

A Looping of the Scales by Ruth Solomon

The story content is adult in nature and can contain graphic sex and violence.  Those under the age of 18 are asked to leave this site immediately.  You are not welcome here.  The author is not responsible for those under-aged who view these works.

CHAPTER 79

All recognizable characters belong to JKR. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
**************************************

Chapter 79 ~ On the Grounds of Boleskine

Straw flew up into the air as Snape and Hermione wrestled around, Hermione laughing as he tugged at her clothing. Finally, she began to help him, trainers, boots, shirts, jeans, trousers, socks, bra, boxers and knickers flying out of the haystack to the barn floor as the young couple went at it. Snape covered them up completely with straw so all that could be seen of them was a moving lump of hay, making its way through the pile, little cries and gasps of pleasure accompanying the motion.

There wasn’t a lot of foreplay. They were both too randy and excited, Snape taking Hermione passionately, driving her through the hay almost brutally, his mouth locked to hers as they shagged missionary style.

Outside, Susan and Ron gamboled up to the barn in their Animagus forms, then both transformed.

”A barn,” Ron said with a smile, his eyes hot. “How about a shag, Susan?”

”In there? Oh, Ron.”

”Oh, come on. It’s fun to do it in different places. Come on, Susan,” he said, grabbing her and snogging her soundly. When he let her up for air and looked at her with puppy-dog eyes, she sighed.

”All right, Ron,” she said. “Just a quick one.”

”That’s fine,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling open the barn door.

The first thing they saw was the lit lantern on the ground and the huge haystack. Then the clothing tossed all over the place.

”What—“ Ron said under his breath.

Suddenly, they both were startled as a big pile of straw appeared and started to vigorously rise and fall, jerking through the haystack.

Then, they heard Hermione shriek, “Oh! Severus! Damn!”

”Whoops!” Susan said, softly as Ron blinked at the very animated pile of straw as it buckled and bounced with such alacrity that little pieces were flying out of it.
Wow. Snape was certainly pouring it on.

”Let’s go, Ron, before they realize we’re here,” Susan said, pulling at him.

Still staring, Ron let her pull him out, then closed the barn door. It scraped the ground and Snape popped up out of the hay, looking around, straw sticking out of his hair. Hermione sat up on her elbows, also with straw in her hair.

”Did you hear that?” Snape asked her, still looking about.

”I didn’t hear anything.”

Snape scented the air and discerned the scent of orangutan and elk. Uh, oh. Ron and Susan must have come in and seen them. He blinked, then looked down at Hermione lying before him, flushed and naked, bits of straw sticking to her body, her full breasts still puckered.

Oh well. They were gone now. There was no need to upset her.

“I must have been hearing things,” he purred, then dropped on her as she squealed, pulling the hay over them again and continuing their breaking in of the barn.

Ah, to be young and in love.

********************************

Ron and Susan walked back toward Boleskin House, Ron very silent. Susan held his hand and kept the silence as well, for a while. But, finally, she said something.

”Ron, are you okay?”

Ron started and looked at her with a sober expression.

”Oh, yeah. I’m—I’m fine,” he replied.

“Seeing that was a bit of a shock, wasn’t it?” she asked him softly.

”Seeing what? Oh—Snape and Hermione shagging? Yeah, a little.”

They were silent for a few more steps.

”It bothers you a little, doesn’t it?” Susan asked him.

”No—“

”Ron—“

Ron sighed. Susan could always tell when he wasn’t being completely truthful.

”Well, a little—but I don’t know why, exactly. I mean—I’m perfectly happy with you, Susan. I love you. What we have is better than anything I’ve ever had before—“

Susan smiled at him.

”Yes, but you were with Hermione, Ron. You loved her, too. You still do in a way,” Susan told him. “When you’ve cared about someone the way you have about Hermione, then see them with someone else—it can be hard, even if you’ve moved on.”

”It doesn’t make any sense, Susan. Why do I feel anything about it?”

”Because, tonight, the reality set in, Ron. That’s all. She’s really with Severus—really with him in every way. It’s just—just something residual.”

Ron was so into Susan, he had pushed Hermione completely out of his mind, focusing on his own happiness. He’d gotten used to seeing her with Snape and even the occasional show of affection between them didn’t bother him, because he was much more affectionate with Susan publicly. But there was a difference between seeing a peck on the lips and the two of them moving haystacks around.

“It’ll be all right, Ron,” Susan said, squeezing his hand.

He looked down at her. She was so perfect for him. Most witches probably would have been jealous about his reaction, but—Susan wasn’t and that was because she understood connections between people didn’t just break when they went separate ways. Ron and Hermione were friends unsuited to be anything more. But they had tried, and even though it hadn’t worked out—there would always be a bond. In a world that could be cold and heartless, people needed bonds.

”Susan, you are something special,” he said to her softly. “Really.”

”You’re something special, too, Ron,” she replied with a soft smile.

Together, they headed for Boleskine House.

*****************************************

”Arrgh!” Draco cried as Blaise sent a fire demon flying at him, Ginny and Harry standing off to the side with their wands drawn as it lit up the night, roaring flame.

“Get it, Draco!” Blaise cried. “Focus! You can stop it!”

Draco produced a huge ice shield that stopped the demon from advancing.

”Good! You’ve stopped it!” Blaise called, smiling. “Now, use your wand to push it back! Force the shield forward! Drive the bloody thing back! Show it who’s the strongest!”

Encouraged by his success at stopping the demon, and encouraged by Blaise, Draco slowly walked forward, using his wand to push the demon back. At first, it was difficult, but Draco was determined. He had to keep sending the ice because the heat of the creature was melting it. Slowly, he began to push it back, the ice stream becoming stronger.

”Yes! That’s it! You’re stronger, Draco. Cover it in ice! You can do it!”

As Draco drove the demon back, it began to lose color, dimming, the ice beginning to surround and encase it, melting less and less.

”Why isn’t Blaise telling Draco to use a Banishing spell?” Ginny asked Harry.

Harry shrugged.

Now, the demon was encased completely in ice, only the eyes retaining any glow.

”Now, destroy the ice, Draco! Blast it to bits!” Blaise instructed.

Draco snarled a spell, blasting the ice and the demon to pieces, small shards raining down on everyone.

”Good. Good, Draco,” Blaise said to his smiling housemate.

”I did it,” Draco said, pleased.

Blaise nodded.

”You’re stronger than any demon, Draco. You have to remember that,” Blaise told him. “Men have dominion of the earth, not demons. They are beneath us.”

A small bonfire was burning for light, and Ginny looked at Blaise standing near the flickering flame, a proud, disdainful expression on his face as he spoke of the demons. His eyes glittered and she could feel power and darkness coming off of him.

“Now, everyone get back. I’m going to show you all how to deal with an Earth demon,” Blaise said. He was dressed in traditional wizard robes and shook back his sleeves.

”An Earth demon? Blaise, those are really dangerous,” Harry said to the wizard. “How do you even know how to summon one?”

Ginny sighed inwardly at Harry’s caution. It was good he was cautious, but still—now wasn’t the time to show it, especially in front of Blaise.

”Nothing wrong with facing a little danger, Potter. I’d think you’d know that, considering—“ the Slytherin said, his lip slightly curled. “But to answer your question, I know how to summon, banish and destroy a large amount of elemental demons because of the line of work I’ve been recruited for. I’m going to be an ‘Unspeakable.’ After I’ve gone abroad for Gringotts for three years, of course. If I survive, then—I’m in.”

”An Unspeakable?” Ginny repeated. “That’s a dangerous job, Blaise.”

”That’s why I’m going to be one. No namby-pamby cushy job for this Slytherin. I live on the edge, that’s what makes me feel whole, Weasley.”

”That ‘edge’ being nearly getting yourself killed for a living. That’s a healthy attitude,” Ginny shot back at him.

Harry was suitably impressed. Being recruited to be an Unspeakable was a very high honor. It took a certain kind of wizard to work in that sector of the Ministry. Unspeakables worked with the darkest, most dangerous magic and magical items known to the wizarding world. Some even unknown, kept from the public because knowledge of the horrible things out there would send the citizenry into a panic.

Being an Unspeakable was sort of like the position of ‘The Men in Black’ but for wizards. A lot of footwork was involved.

”What are you going to do for Gringotts?” Harry asked him.

Blaise put his wand away. Clearly, he wouldn’t get anything done until he answered a few questions. Normally, he wouldn’t do it, but he wanted to impress Ginny.

”I’ll be ‘collecting artifacts,’” Blaise said.

”Raiding tombs. You’ll be a Cursebreaker, like my brother Bill was,” Ginny replied. “He used to break curses on tombs and other structures to get treasure or magical items for the goblins at the bank.”

Blaise looked disdainful, as usual.

”Hah. A Cursebreaker? No. All they do is gain access. I’ll be a Cleaner,” he replied. “I’ll be the first one to enter. My job is to take out whatever guards the items we’re seeking. Usually demons, but anything can be inside. Gorgons, Basilisks, Dragons or supernatural entities. I came to Boleskine hoping to get some experience with beings created with Muggle magic, because much of what I’ll be facing will be products of that. Otherwise, it will be trial and error. And an error can cost me my life.”

Harry shook his head.

”I can’t understand why anyone would want a job like that,” he said to Blaise.

”Life isn’t worth living if you don’t take some—risks,” Blaise replied, looking directly at Ginny. “I’m a risk taker, Potter. It’s what motivates me. I’m going to work for Gringotts to build up my resume for the Unspeakable position. Besides, the idea of taking what isn’t mine—and the danger that doing so involves—gives me wood.”

Harry noticed Blaise was looking at Ginny as he said this, and the boy who lived didn’t like the vibe he felt as Ginny frowned back at the Slytherin. He moved a bit closer to her.

”Yeah, but you know wood can be splintered,” Harry replied, his green eyes hard behind his glasses. “In fact, it can be chopped into tiny pieces.”

”That depends on how well someone can swing the ax, Potter,” Blaise responded with a rather dark smirk.

“Just show us the Earth demon, Blaise,” Harry said coldly.

Draco just stood there and listened, wincing a little at the tension in the air. Blaise had done it. He’d put Potter on the scent. Damn it. Slytherins were supposed to be subtle with their sneaky plans. But Blaise wasn’t. He was going for bold, because he suspected Ginny liked bold and reckless. Not to mention dangerous.

With the death of Voldemort, Harry wasn’t like that anymore. Ginny might love Harry for who he was, but Blaise was certain that the element of danger surrounding him had to play an integral part of that initial attraction. “Attraction” being the key.

“All right, Potter.”

Blaise produced his wand again, shaking back his robes sleeves. His brown eyes were narrowed as he looked at Harry, who returned the favor.

The wizard slowly raised his arms over his head and closed his eyes. His mouth moved subtly, then he clasped his wand with both hands and brought it down hard toward the ground as if chopping it.

There was a rumble, then the ground began to shake. It was like a small earthquake.

”What’s happening?” Ginny cried as they were buffeted around as the quaking intensified. Suddenly, a small mound formed in front of Harry as Blaise looked on, a nasty smile on his face as the mound increased in size, turning into a large pillar of earth. Roots and stones stuck out of it oddly and it had to be at least thirty feet tall. The quaking stopped and all was quiet.

Harry had backed up and stood staring at the pillar, Ginny beside him.

”I suggest you move,” Blaise called over.

Draco backed away further, as did Harry and Ginny. Suddenly the pillar exploded, earth raining down on everyone. In the place of the pillar stood a creature made of solid earth. It had two legs, four arms and one long, rather pointed head. The features were twisted as if made of clay, and the empty narrowed eyes glowed with an eerie green light. Its limbs were blockish and dirt trickled from it without it losing mass.

It stared down at Harry and Ginny, then lunged forward with a roar, attempting to smash them with its huge fists.

”Run!” Harry cried as the creature lurched after them.

”Blaise! What the fuck are you doing?” Draco yelled at him.

”They’ll be fine, Draco. Potter just has to stop running and start fighting. I’ll get rid of it if it gets the best of him.”

”Blaise—I swear—“ Draco hissed, running after the demon.

Both Ginny and Harry had their wands out, sending Reducto spells at the demon. But the spell had little effect, simply blasting earth off it. They dove aside as the fists slammed the earth again. Draco cast a spell he learned in Herbology at the demon, and some of the roots grew out of its body and wrapped around its legs, tying them together. The creature toppled.

”Good one, Draco!” Blaise called approvingly.

But the demon wasn’t done for yet, and pulled itself along the ground with its arms, making quick progress. Harry shot fire at it, and one of the arms hardened, and broke off.

”Fire! Fire will do it!” he cried.

Blaise watched as Harry, Draco and Ginny started roasting the demon, turning it into fired earth. Once it was completely hard, they blasted it into dust. Harry and Ginny were covered with dirt from diving out of the way so much. Harry turned his wand on Blaise immediately.

”You did that on purpose, Blaise. You sent it after us!”

Blaise looked at Harry calmly as Ginny also pointed her wand at him, furious. The Slytherin made no attempt to raise his wand.

”Well, I invited you here for ‘support.’ What did you imagine that would be? You didn’t expect just to watch, did you? You helped Draco just like you were supposed to do.”

”You didn’t say you’d be sending demons after us!” Ginny spat at him.

”I shouldn’t have had to say it,” Blaise shot back at her. “What else did you think was going to happen if you were here for support? I can’t believe how thick you two are. This session is over. Obviously, you can’t handle it.”

With their wands still trained on him, Blaise turned and stalked away into the darkness. Harry and Ginny let him go, not knowing what to do other than hex him in the back. Ginny was sorely tempted to do it. If she had been alone, she would have.

Draco didn’t seem to register the argument. He was looking at what was left of the demon. He’d manage to overcome it as well. As far as Draco was concerned, this had been a very, very good night.

***************************************

When the earth shook, Severus and Hermione had simply attributed it to the intense climax they reached, which coincided nicely with Blaise’s spell. Spent and smiling, with straw sticking all over their bodies, they lay in the haystack, catching their breaths.

”Much better than sand,” Snape reiterated.

Hermione lifted her hips and pulled several long pieces of straw out of the cleft of her bum. She had been on the bottom the entire time. Sliding through the haystack hadn’t been without its price.

”Speak for yourself,” she told the wizard, throwing the straw at him. He brushed it away.

“We’ll have to break in the Gate House next,” Snape told her.

Hermione frowned at him.

”We’ve just finished having sex and you’re already thinking about shagging in the Gate House?”

Snape looked at her.

”Well, statistics state young men think about sex every five seconds—so, it’s really to be expected, Hermione,” he informed her.

“Don’t go spouting facts at me, Severus Snape. You’re just—just wanton.”

”Wanton?”

”Yes, wanton.”

”I thought women were wanton. Men are just—always ready.”

He was rewarded with a faceful of straw for that remark. He brushed it away and spit out a few pieces that got into his mouth. But he smiled at Hermione and she smiled back at him.

”I like being in love,” he said softly, then pulled her into a kiss.

***********************************

Twenty minutes later they were slowly flying back toward Boleskine House, Snape holding Hermione against him firmly, his chin resting on her shoulder. He kissed her cheek from time to time, Hermione hunching her shoulders every time he did so.

She liked being in love, too.

Standing on a ridge was a shadowy form, watching the couple fly back to Boleskine house. When they landed and entered the premises, it slowly walked away.

*************************************
A/N: This was just a fun little chapter to write. Building up tensions and adding a little mystery. I think its going to be a little longer than I anticipated. I don’t foresee an easy wrap up right now. Blaise is something else, but now Harry suspects he wants Ginny. Not sure what’s going on with Ginny yet though. Anyway, thanks for reading. ***

PLEASE REVIEW A Looping of the Scales"." >>> NEXT CHAPTER

Story Index