Chapter 5  A Wand and Cauldron Stirring

Oddyseus fought to contain his nerves as he closed the door to the suite he had gotten for the day.

Narcissa smiled at him over her shoulder as she strolled through the sitting room and into the bedroom beyond. He wiped the palms of hands on his slacks to dry the sweat from them.

He had planned on doing this for days now, so why was he so nervous? It wasn't because he knew that at any moment he would be confronting a man who would try to kill him.

He had done that often enough that either outcome no longer disturbed him. Could it possibly be that it was because a beautiful woman.

And regardless of the fact that Narcissa was old enough to be his daughter, she was beautiful and was at this moment sitting in his bedroom waiting for him to make love to her? Was that anything to be frightened over?

In his many lives he had engaged in many acts of debauchery, from prostitutes to noble ladies. All fell on his mighty prick, he was a changeling for Bobcot's sake.

It was in his nature to do acts like this, so why was he nervous? wasn't he in a sexual relationship with Lucinda just a few days ago?

Thinking about this hee wiped his palms again but his thoughts were disturbed by a discreet knock on the door.

A waiter wheeled in a small cart holding a bottle of iced champagne, two glasses, and a small bowl of perfectly ripened strawberries. Oddyseus gave the grinning man an extraordinarily large tip and locked the door behind him.

As he turned to push the cart into the bedroom he saw Narcissa standing in the doorway.

One arm was resting on the jamb above her head and her hips were cocked to the side. Gone was the elegant suit she had been wearing.

She stood there in only a sheer white silk blouse with all the buttons undone. Through the gap in the fabric Oddyseus could see the light pink color of her lingerie and his mouth went dry.

"Champagne? Excellent, I am a tad thirsty. Why don't you bring it in with you?" She turned and went back into the bedroom as he stared at the swaying of her hips.

She turned to meet him as he entered, the bottle in one hand and the glasses in the other. She entered the circle of his arms smoothly as he wrapped them around her. She rose onto her toes and gave him a soft kiss that made his vision swim. Oddyseus put the things down on a nightstand and slid his hands down her blouse and then under it.

His hands thrilled as the smooth texture of her skin, it's subtle warmth. He slowly raised them up her sides and was rewarded by a small shiver from her.

He pushed her blouse off her shoulders and she shrugged, allowing it to fall to the floor. He gazed down at the lacy garments she wore.

They teased him far more than they covered her. Yes indeed, Oddyseus thought, Muggles can certainly do some things quite nicely. Narcissa guided him back until they were standing beside the bed, its duvet already pulled down. She glided under it and pulled him down alongside her.

With sure movements she pulled off his jumper and undid the buttons of his shirt. She leaned forward and kissed the skin of his chest.

He kicked off his shoes and quickly shed his trousers to join her in bed. Narcissa reached out and touched the small crystal amulet he wore on a chain around his neck.

"What's this?" she asked in a husky voice.

Her contact with the talisman quickly brought his mind back to the reason he was there, and that wasn't Narcissa. He coolly wrapped his hand around the crystal, forcing her to release it. She sank down onto the pillows with a sigh.

"Merely a token, a good luck piece made for me several years ago."

Narcissa smiled up at him, her shimmering silver hair forming a halo around her head.

"And do you think you're going to be lucky today?"

"Luck comes in many forms," he answered then lowered himself down to kiss her.

She quickly deepened the kiss and Oddyseus could feel her heart racing in her breast. Was she aroused by him, he wondered, or was it the idea that Lucius would soon be here to kill him? The charm was still cool so he knew he still had some time.

"Tell me, Narcissa," he asked when they finally broke apart, "the tracking charm he uses, I assume it is on your ring?"

Narcissa pouted for a moment but answered, "Yes, it is."

"And is there a trigger phrase to tell Lucius..." Oddyseus explicitly avoided referring to him as her husband. "...when it is safe to appear?" She nodded reluctantly. "What is it?"

"B - E - T - R - A - Y - A - L"

"How appropriate," Oddyseus said as he reached for her left hand. Careful not to hurt her, he slipped the ring off her finger.

He looked at the large emerald before setting it on the nightstand, impressed in spite of himself at the sheer size and implied value of the stone.

He inverted one of the champagne glasses on top of it and cast a quick but effective silencing charm on it before turning back to Narcissa.

"Now with that temporarily out of the way, shall we continue?" Narcissa smiled widely as she undid the front closure of her bra and let it pop free.

Oddyseus was stunned by the sight of her breasts. They were full and firm, without the slightest hint of gravity daring to have any impact on them at all.

The nipples were taut with excitement and Harry greedily took one into his mouth. Narcissa sighed in contentment. Things were finally going the way she had expected.

Two hours later, the English sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon.

The two lovers lay entwined in a nest of bedclothes, Narcissa's head resting on Oddyseus's shoulder it had been a few weeks since she started dreaming about this blonde haired man.

She saw him in her dreams and many night he had ravaged her body over and over again, there mornings she had woken up after making a mess of her undergarments.

Mornings where her spot on the bed was beyond soaked in her fluids, was it the reason why she was here?

As her fingers traced one of the many scars that marked his body her thoughts shifted. She wondered idly what sort of battles this young man, barely ten years her junior, had seen.

Had he triumphed in all of them? Or had he tasted the bitter dregs of defeat? She thought for the first time since he had pushed her down on to the bed about her husband and his plans.

Would he succeed as easily as he thought he would? Did she want him to? Narcissa frowned for a moment.

Where did that question come from? She had been married to Lucius since she was eighteen and was absolutely loyal to him and his ambitions.

It was true that Lucius had not been as completely loyal to her but then that was common in their pure-blooded circles, expected even.

She loved her marriage, or at least the wealth and power that it brought with it. She didn't want to give any of that up, but still...

Oddyseus stirred from his doze and looked at her with a feeling that Narcissa couldn't define. It certainly wasn't conquest as she had expected.

"I hope your rest was pleasant," he said with a smile.

"Indeed, quite," she replied with a warmth that surprised her.

He sighed deeply and rose to a sitting position. "Well, I suppose it's time to get on with the rest of the evenings festivities."

He looked at her almost reluctantly.

"Just give me a moment to freshen up and then we can get on with things."

He stood and walked into the ensuite. Narcissa sat at the edge of the bed and watched.

He had left the door ajar and she heard the water beginning to run in the shower. She also noticed that his wand was sitting atop the dresser across from her, next to that odd Muggle box with the glass front.

She reached down and picked up her blouse from the floor and began to put it on.

From the bath, he watched in the mirror until Narcissa turned her back to him. Clutching his talisman, he cast a wandless Summoning Charm and called his wand to him.

He quickly disillusioned himself and cast a silencing charm on his feet.

On cat's feet, Oddyseus eased around the door back into the bedroom as Narcissa sat down on the bed.

She toyed with a button on her blouse as she looked at her wedding ring, still trapped under the glass on the nightstand. Almost reluctantly, she reached out and lifted the glass away from her ring.

Hesitating, she picked it up and returned it to her finger. Straightening the blouse and fastening two of the buttons to close it over her breasts she took a deep breathe before opening her mouth to speak.

Her words were stripped from her mouth as three sharp cracks signaled the apparition of Lucius and two companions into the room. Harry's amulet blazed with heat and he clutched his wand tightly as he recognized Crabbe and Nott seniors.

They were wearing the black robes of the Death Eaters but their faces were unmasked. Oddyseus flinched as Lucius waved his wand casting a silencing ward across the door to the bath.

The sound of the running shower immediately died and no sound from the room would penetrate into the bath either.

"What have you done?" Lucius snarled at the now cowering form of Narcissa. He looked around at the state of the bed, and his wife, reaching the obvious conclusions. "You have disgraced us both!"

"Lucius, please!" she begged. Either she was a very good actress, Oddyseus thought, or this wasn't going at all the way she had been told.

"So, you've finally come round to putting your ring back on, have you? Your wedding ring?" The fury rolled off Lucius like a physical thing. "How dare you disgrace me this way!"

"But Lucius, he... he cursed me. He used the Imperious. I couldn't help myself."

Crabbe and Nott sniggered behind him which enraged Lucius even further.

"You expect me to believe that? Do I look like a fool to you? DO I!"

"Please, Lucius," Narcissa begged again. She leaned forward, to begin to crawl towards him on the bed. The movement, since only two buttons on her blouse had been done, exposed the tight triangle of blonde hair at the top of her legs and Harry noticed the other two men gawking at it. Narcissa didn't seem to see it but Lucius certainly did.

"How dare you!" he screamed again. He raised his wand as Narcissa shrank back in terror. "Avada..."

Before he could finish his curse, Oddyseus banished him as hard as he could into the wall.

While Lucius was dazed, he cast an Impediment jinx on the other two Death Eaters. Lucius struggled to gather his wits enough to turn around while he cancelled the Disillusionment charm on himself.

As Lucius's eyes grew round as saucers Harry summoned him just as hard as he banished him a moment ago, then stepping out of the way, he threw Lucius Malfoy through the sliding glass door to the balcony and over the edge.

There was a terrified, high-pitched scream as he fell to the pavement twelve stories below.

"And what have we here?"

Oddyseus asked in a cold voice as the remaining two attackers struggled to get to their wands.

Their movements were slow, as if the air itself was as thick as treacle.

"Accio Money Bags."

Two heavy purses flew from their waists to Oddyseus's hand.

"It seems that Lucius is paying way too much for his hired help these days,"

he commented. With a lazy flick of his wand the two followed Lucius out the window and down.

"Loyal to the end at least."

Stepping carefully through the shattered glass door, Oddyseus leaned out and surveyed the crowd gathering around the bodies far below him.

There were also many people standing out on their balconies, as he was, watching. He looked around until he spotted what appeared to be an unoccupied room.

He cast a spell to silently shatter the balcony door to the room then stepped back inside and reparo'ed his own door.

Taking a sheet of hotel stationary from the small writing desk, Oddyseus enchanted a pen to write a short note:

Together we leap into the next great adventure, confident that we will be together always. United as one for eternity.

He left the note unsigned and once again opened the door to the balcony. With a puff of breathe, the note sailed out of the door, down and over, and into the room whose door Harry had recently shattered.

Satisfied with his efforts, he turned his attention to Narcissa. She was curled up at the head of the bed as if still expecting the fatal curse to strike.

Oddyseus sat next to her and reached an arm around her shoulders. She shrank back at first, afraid that he would hurt her.

"Not to worry, Narcissa dear," he cooed gently to her. "They're gone now. They won't hurt you, I promise."

"He was going to kill me," she sobbed into his neck.

'I reckon he didn't cotton to the idea of being a cuckold, no matter what face Narcissa might put on it' He thought silently to himself.

He smirked into the room as the realization sank in that Lucius Malfoy had met his well-deserved end screaming like a little girl.

Narcissa snuggled down into his embrace like a small child, quaking in fear and the rush of adrenaline that flooded her body. He had seen this response often after a battle.

In fact, he had had it himself on several occasions. He had never noticed the rush of emotions as he fought but afterwards when things were over, they would strike.

It was like shock, it struck a person after the event and there was little you could do but ride it out. Oddyseus wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

He rocked her gently as she wept, her tears wetting the nape of his neck where her face was pressed.

It was several minutes before the tears stopped. Oddyseus moved to release her but she just clung all the more tightly to him.

Her face was still pressed to his neck and Harry felt her lips brush him in a way that he thought must have been accidental.

His view changed a moment later when Narcissa went from kissing to nibbling at his shoulder and he reacted as any man might.