Fic: The Unforecasted Storm (Louis/James/Scorpius), NC-17
Recipient: deathlydragon
Title: The Unforecasted Storm
Pairing(s): Louis/James/Scorpius
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Explicit slash sexual description, group sex, two characters are under 18 (but over 16), sexual acts between cousins, swearing, references to alcohol abuse, drug abuse and het.
Summary: Louis' inheritance causes him difficulties when he falls in love. " ... There was rubble, broken glass and intense light, and that was all. Where was I? Who could have done this to me? What was going on? Why did everything - and I mean every last part of me - ache? ... "
Word Count: 6,000 (approximately)
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
The title is taken from Brianstorm by The Arctic Monkeys (Alex Turner).
Prompts used: Frozen Lake, A storm is coming in, Veela!Wolfy!Louis.
Author’s notes: Thank you to deathlydragon for your exacting request, which was a challenge at first, but one which gave me great satisfaction. I hope this is what you wanted.
Betas: Thanks so much to both of you for your steerage, corrections, suggestions and for giving me faith in this when I lost confidence in it. This has been (quite appropriately really) a three-way creation.
My eyes were dry, so dry it was like burning. That's all I knew at first. I tried to raise my hand, to block the white light that seared into them. Then I realised that I was lying face down on the floor. What light could shine so bright that it hurt even when the carpet was right up against my eyelids?
My hands were underneath me, and they had gone to sleep. I shifted to one side, easing my aching body over. A sharp, stinging pain! It took a moment for me to work out that I had cut my thigh. I needed to move carefully; dangerous things surrounded me.
I lifted my head, prised open my sore eyes and looked around. Devastation. There was rubble, broken glass and intense light, and that was all. Where was I? Who could have done this to me? What was going on? Why did everything - and I mean every last part of me - ache?
Last night, before the sleep, or the unconsciousness. What was then?
Images and fragments returned to me as I lay absolutely still. I wasn't at school and I wasn't at home. Good. At least no adult was going to find me like this and lecture me. My mouth and my head felt dry and sore; it was a familiar feeling. I burped. There was a sickly firewhiskey tang to the bile taste of it. Was this a hangover?
Party. Oh, yes. I was in the middle of the week-long party that we had told our parents was a “skiing trip”. We were staying at the Malfoy place in the mountains. I lifted my head again. Well, it looked like we had wrecked the place.
I could make sense of the light now. It was the low morning sunlight that radiated off the frozen lake in the valley below us. I shouldn't be able to see that from the floor though. The windows were too high. Which room was I in?
The holiday had been engineered by my cousin Albus. He'd persuaded his best mate, Scorpius, and between them they'd talked his dad into letting us stay here, invited most of the Slytherins in our year and a few family members, then worked on all the parents until they gave permission and handed out the Galleons.
The tale we told our parents was that this would be our last shot at freedom before we knuckled down and got on with studying for N.E.W.T.s; we told them that it was all about exercise and fresh air, beautiful views and foreign languages. Then we packed our bags with vodka, hash pipes and condoms.
One of us was not at our school. He'd had to book time off work. Right from the earliest planning stages Scorpius had asked Al, “Do you think your brother would come?” No, of course we didn't think he'd come. Why would he? Even when he'd been at Hogwarts he'd called us 'babies' and 'silly little kids.' Now that he was a working man he wasn't going to have anything to do with us.
In the end Al asked him, just to shut Scorpius up. He never would have done it if he'd known. The last thing he wanted was his big brother hanging around, ready to report back to their parents. James just checked that Scorpius was coming.
I didn't like that. I liked having James here, he's my favourite cousin, probably my best friend; but I didn't feel good about him and Scorpius being so keen to spend time together. It made me feel a bit sick. It angered me to see them together, laughing, playing gobstones, telling stories. It made me drink too much.
What was the date? Where were we at? Had I got angry and drunk too much at the wrong time of the month?
I looked up again and forced my neck to move so I could look all around me. There used to be a wall there; this used to be the sitting room. Shit! Did I do this? I let my head drop back down.
I smelled someone approaching. A female. Her scent was strong even though my nose was pushed right up against the wool and dust of the rug. This was very bad. My Creature senses only get this heightened at the very worst point in the month. Those are the days when I must not drink alcohol, when I must keep control of my emotions. I twisted round to sit myself facing the door so that I'd be ready when she opened it. It hurt like hell.
Cousin Rose opened the door. Great! What I really didn't want just then was a scolding from a bossy relative. She gasped dramatically and clapped her hand over her eyes. I looked down at myself and saw that I was naked. I was bruised and scratched.
"Good morning, Louis," she snapped, her voice all ice and acid. "You woke up then?"
I started to nod, but it hurt and, of course, she couldn't see me. "Looks like it." My throat was raw.
"You scared us all half to death last night. I warned you to take it easy."
By now the family members would have explained things to the rest of my friends. By now they would all know that I'm some freak part-Creature. Scorpius would know. The frozen air on my bare skin hadn't chilled me, but that did.
"Sorry," I muttered.
"Never mind that. You've destroyed the place. How's Malfoy going to explain this to his parents?"
It would have to be his lodge, wouldn't it? He would hate me.
"I'll sort it out," I muttered, or something along those lines.
"Yes, you bloody will," she spat. "And don't think any of us are going to help you!"
She flounced away, slamming the door behind her. Only then did I realise that she'd been dressed in nothing but skimpy underwear. Perhaps I should have noticed that. I tried to stand, but the cuts and bruises hurt too much. I was going to need to heal myself before I could start repairing and cleaning, but I didn't know where my wand was, so I couldn't make any kind of a start on the room or my body.
I stared out at the lake instead. It was beautiful in its way, overhung with snow-laden pine branches, as white and as shiny as platinum. My brain did that buzzing thing. It made my eyelids droop. Not now.
I was on that frozen lake, on the thick ice, gliding. I was warm, though I was still naked, because I was pressed up close to another body, to my lover's body. My Mate. I didn't need to look round to know who it was; it was always the same person when I had these visions.
When I was eleven my mother sat me down and gave me the 'Veela' talk. It started long before then, though. There's an electric awareness that runs along my skin, a noise in my head, a thick feeling round my eyes sometimes, and then there are the visions. When I was young I had no control over any of it.
"It will probably be some years before you experience any of this," she said. I didn't correct her. "When you meet a girl you like, someone who you think is pretty and ..." her mouth pursed as she thought of a polite, innocent way to put this. Perhaps she was just trying to remember what she'd told my sisters. "... that you find attractive," she said in the end, which was a bit lame given the length of the pause. "You will find that you have responses. Not just the usual boy responses to a pretty girl. Other things. In time you will learn to control them and to use them to get what you want. You must never abuse your power, though."
She was wrong. I was already abusing that power, but I've never experienced 'responses' to a 'pretty girl'.
The vision cleared, and I became aware of new scents approaching the room. I couldn't see my clothes. I recognised the pheromone pattern; I didn't want to be caught naked by them. I squatted down and leaned forward. The door opened.
Scorpius swore and stared around at the state of the place. James looked at me and swore even louder.
"You could at least put some fucking clothes on!"
They were holding hands. A rough growling that I could have done without stirred low in my chest.
"Can't find them!" I snapped, then added, "Or my wand."
It would be unbearable if Scorpius thought I just hadn't bothered to tidy up.
Rolling his eyes, James pointed his wand and called, "Accio Louis' clothes. And wand."
Scorpius was looking at me, though, and he was looking with concern. It made my eyes feel warm and thick.
"You alright?" he asked.
I shrugged.
"You're hurt! We'd better sort that out before you get dressed." His voice was soft.
I stood up and took a couple of steps towards him. We made eye contact. The buzz in my head became a singing then -
"Don't you dare!"
"What?" I asked innocently.
"You're doing that Veela thing!" James snarled.
I pouted. "I thought you liked that Veela thing!"
I knew he did. We'd played with it for hours as kids. He'd touch my arm, even when I was as young as five and we had no idea what was going on. The static would run up to my armpit and he would giggle, saying that it tickled him. The older we got, the more we pushed it. That's how I learned to control it. I know I gave him his earliest hard-ons. I knew how much fun he'd had with 'that Veela thing.'
"I do," he admitted. "But I don't want you using it on him."
He thrust my clothes at me. I took them, but I made a point of healing every graze and bump before I put them on.
"I'm sorry about this," I said to Scorpius.
"Don't worry," he replied. "We'll get it fixed up. Father will never know." He was going to help me! He didn't hate me! I was so relieved. Then: "Rose explained about your conditions." My heart sank again. Of course she bloody did. She will have explained in detail the rare complications caused by Creature Combinations in the Y Chromosome. That was the title of her mother's study paper. I was the only subject of the study. She might as well have called it Louis Alastor Weasley is a Weirdo. Mind you, she did work out my coping strategies, and I hadn't had an episode in years. Until last night.
"I hadn't realised where we were up to on the lunar cycle," James said apologetically. "I would have stopped you drinking."
"Rose tried that," I said, pulling on my trousers. "So did Roxy. Really early on in the evening. I bit their heads off and ignored them. Don't think you would have done much better if you'd tried. I don't remember much after that." I stood and assessed the ruined room properly. "Is it just in here?" I asked, dreading the answer. "Did you manage to keep me locked in?"
"Yeah, we got out pretty early, kept you confined in here. The girls did some screaming, but none of us were really worried." Scorpius smiled reassuringly. I loved him even more.
"Thanks for finding the wand. You don't have to help. I probably ought to sort this out myself."
They were both insistent, though. We worked silently to begin with, casting spells to rebuild the wall, to Reparo the window, clean up the floor. Scorpius' arm movements were graceful and he handled the magic deftly. My eye kept getting caught on his form.
"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" James asked eventually.
I thought he was just showing off so I ignored him. Scorpius turned and grinned, though.
"Stop slacking to check out my arse!" He grinned. At both of us. My head buzzed.
Why didn't my Veela responses know that it was hopeless, that they should stop flaring up? He had found someone else. He had fallen for my childhood playmate, the one who'd woken up those responses all those years ago. If I wanted to be with Scorpius then I had to hope that they would both be unhappy, my Mate and my best mate, when they split up. Or even hope for James to die. The Veela was too dilute in my blood for that. I loved James, too. I wanted them both to be happy. I just didn't want them to make each other happy.
I moved away from both of them and made a frenetic tour of the corners of the room, where I could check the stability of the walls, but more importantly, where I could look away from them.
"I tell you what, Lou, it smells good in here. The rest of the lodge stinks of feet and farts," James said. They both laughed. I thought about turning to face them. "Maybe you could go berserk all over, let in a bit more fresh air." I kept my reddening face to the wall. That was not the most sensitive description I'd ever heard.
"When we finish in here we should go for a walk. We've been stuck inside for days." Why did Scorpius' voice have to be so soft, when his words excluded me so harshly?
James laughed. "It's freezing out there!"
"There are some big coats in my father's wardrobe upstairs. And there are warming charms, of course!"
Well, I hoped they'd have a lovely time, holding hands (no doubt) and chatting about how much they like each other, their breath puffing out like smoke and mingling against the icy blue sky. I'd just find a quiet place and lick my wounds. Perhaps literally if I had another wolvine episode.
"I think we're done. What d'you reckon?" Scorpius asked. His house: his decision.
"Yeah. Well done us!" James replied.
There was a silence. Then Scorpius asked tentatively, "Louis?" Me? I didn't think they cared about my opinion.
Flustered, I turned and looked round. "Good as new," I managed.
Scorpius smiled at me, a beaming, golden smile. I wished he wouldn't. "I'll get those coats!" he said.
I was alone with James, and I didn't know how to feel about him anymore, so I turned away to stare out of the newly-mended window and contemplate all the snow and the frozen lake at the centre of it. I would have slunk off and left them alone together, but I couldn't stand the thought of facing the rest of our friends. I wanted to go home.
He came and stood next to me, but I didn't even want to see his reflection, so I looked down at my own pale, skinny hands, resting on the white-painted sill.
"You like him, don't you?" he asked. He asked it like some real question, but I was sure it would be about to turn into a warning. It didn't. Instead he ran his fingertips along the soft, hairless skin between the inside of my elbow and my wrist. “And I know you like me,” he said into the buzzing he'd started in my head, across the static passing between our arms.
I rested my forehead against the cold glass. "Stop it!" I muttered. I could feel tears brewing.
"Do you fancy him?" he persisted. They'd kissed yesterday evening; I suddenly remembered it clearly. That's what had brought on the rage and the binge drinking which had brought on the episode.
"Oh, fuck off!" I choked out. "I don't know." Then - Merlin knows why - I sobbed, "I think he might be my Mate."
I expected James to pull away, angry that I'd said that about his new boyfriend. I think I wanted him to.
But Scorpius came back then, carrying thick, heavy, furry, brown coats. Three of them.
There were boots "by the back door" apparently. I hadn't even known that there was a back door. Mutely, I followed the other two down low-ceilinged passageways I'd never seen before. It hadn't occurred to me that I was included in the invitation to walk. I didn't know what to do with my resentment now. I was scared to let go of it, in case it was the only thing holding me upright.
There was a shelved alcove next to a small, part-glass door. It was full of a jumbled cornucopia of boots in different sizes and different designs. There were baskets full of gloves and hats and thick socks and sunglasses too, as well as heaps of shopping bags, string bags, back packs, and a picnic hamper. Only then did I understand that this was a place where Scorpius spent family time. For years he had played and relaxed here with his parents and grandparents. It was like The Burrow was for us, but he would have been the only child.
How strange: no sisters, no cousins to squabble with, to play with, to sneak away from the adults with. The Burrow made me think of hiding behind hedges with James. I looked at him, but he was looking straight back at me so I looked away again. It scared me: the shiver I got, the suddenly burning desire to hide away with him again and have him touch my skin to test what that would do to us.
In a tall cupboard there were skis, sledges, snowboards and ice skates which reminded me of my vision. Scorpius gave an embarrassed sort of shrug and said, "I don't know if you want ...?"
James laughed. "We wouldn't know what to do with them."
Scorpius made a dismissive gesture, one that seemed to apologise for having had a privileged background which included such 'fancy' pastimes.
"You can ice skate, James!" I said. I wanted to protect Scorpius from whatever he was feeling. It felt like the first time I'd spoken in hours. It was only minutes, really. It was the only thing I'd said that hadn't been about me and my oddness, though, since the night before. Maybe that was why. "And Grandpa's got a couple of sledges just like them in the shed." I checked Scorpius' expression. He did look more relaxed.
"Yeah, but the skis ..." James began.
"Maybe another time." I said over him. I was thinking what strangely Muggle objects they were for any Pureblood family, but particularly for the type of Purebloods the Malfoys were rumoured to be. I didn't say that, though.
Once we were togged up and striding along the Magically cleared lane down the mountain, James took Scorpius' hand and Scorpius surprised me by taking mine. I was sure he must be able to feel the charge that caused, even through thick gloves. I was buzzing; my cheeks were flushing. Even worse than that, my cock was twitching. I was surprised that I could still walk.
I wanted to pull away, and at the same time, I never wanted to let go. I kept my gaze on the lake below us. They chatted a little, but most of the time there was a bubble of calm around us. Scorpius shifted closer; his shoulder brushed mine. I let go of his hand and stepped away.
"I'd rather you didn't," I said.
He looked hurt, which was unbearable.
"I thought you might like ..." he muttered.
I tried to cover it with a shrug and a laugh, but I couldn't actually lie to the man I was in love with.
"I do, that's the problem."
They exchanged a look then, one I couldn't decipher. Slowly we stopped walking forwards and came to a halt. I thought about going back. I thought about all the girls up there that I had frightened, and all the boys who now despised me for it. Why didn't these two despise me too?
"Fuck's sake!" James muttered. "Just say it!"
"You just say it if you think it's that easy!" Scorpius snapped back at him.
Trouble in paradise? An opportunity? But even if they split up, would I really have the courage to swoop? And which one would I swoop for? Which one betray?
"I tried." James said. "Sort of."
Scorpius glanced at me, then carried on as though I weren't there.
"What did you say to him?"
"Just that I thought he fancied you and I knew he liked messing about with me!" He looked right at me then. I was disorientated. "Didn't I?"
"Not exactly," I answered - sulky but truthful.
"And you said, didn't you, that you thought - can I tell him what you said?"
"No you fucking can't!" I yelled. "I was vulnerable! That was in confidence!"
"That's not the point anyway." Scorpius' voice was less soft now. He sounded shaky, maybe nervous. James and I turned and faced him. "The point is that we both like you. Not just as friends. I mean we like you."
He couldn't mean what I thought he did, but I answered him as though he did. "So what? You're going out with each other now, aren't you? What does it matter who likes me or who I like?"
"I told you he wouldn't get it!" James said to Scorpius.
Scorpius rolled his eyes and turned to me. He tried to take my hand again, but I put it behind my back. I had enough Creature crap going on. "I just don't see why we have to be couple," he said, "a pair, a two. Why not a three?" He paused. "You want in?"
Disorientation, resentment, hope, the remnants of the rage, confusion and some Veela and wolf stuff I don't even have names for: emotions swirled through me as I stood stock still. Eventually happiness won out. It prickled my eyeballs with wet heat. I had to clear my throat before I asked, "Really?" then "Me?"
"Really." James said. "You." He put one sheep-skin covered palm on either side of my face, then he did one of the few things we'd never done before: he kissed me softly on the lips.
The heat of Scorpius' body covered my back. "Of course you," he murmured, close to my ear. "Always you." Then he pushed James' mouth away, gently, and he kissed me himself. James' cheek still rested against mine.
A rush of something heated my groin, and I had to hold back the urge to throw Scorpius to the ground and possess him there and then. I took a deep breath and kissed back as chastely as I was able. Then we broke apart and the two of them kissed each other over my shoulder, inches from my face. I couldn't understand how arousing that was.
"Shall we go back?" Scorpius asked then. "Shall we go to bed?"
The others were in the kitchen, half asleep in the foetid air. We had to walk through them to get to the stairs. We held our heads high.
"You feeling better, then?" Lorcan asked me, without a trace of sympathy in his tone.
"You were scary last night," Morganna Zabini whimpered into his chest.
"Sorry," I mumbled.
"You're supposed to be sorting the sitting room out!" Rose accused.
"It's done," Scorpius replied quickly. "Excuse us."
Albus stood and blocked his way. "Why? What are you up to?"
"We're going upstairs. For some privacy."
"The three of you?" Albus' eyes flicked over us all as though trying to work out a calculation. "Wouldn't you rather have some girls with you?"
Lysander sniggered.
"They might get in the way," Scorpius replied defiantly.
Albus scoffed, "Oh come on, we all know that snoggathon you and James set up last night was for their benefit."
"Albus!" Scorpius snapped.
"I'd know if you were gay." Albus looked past me at James. "Both of you." Then he looked at me. "He's weird enough to be anything."
"For fuck's sake, Al!" Scorpius sounded exasperated. "I never pretended to be straight! You only hear what you want to hear! I've been telling you for years!"
"And I never tell you anything," James added. "Why d'you need to know everything? What makes you think you're in charge?"
"So you're going off for another snog are you?" Roxy asked. "Is that what you expect us to believe?"
"Why would we care what you believe?" James retorted.
"Of course they're not!" chimed in Hyacinth Abbott-Longbottom. "They've got Beast Boy with them!"
James' skin flushed and he looked like he was about to launch into a spirited and possibly violent defence, but Scorpius shoved us both up the stairs hissing, "Not worth it. Just go!"
I looked back when I was halfway up. Albus stood glaring defiantly as I stole away with his best friend and his brother. He looked like his father does on that owl post stamp where he's facing off against Voldemort. There would be trouble there, sometime in the future. I could see the on-coming storm, but for now we were safe.
Scorpius pushed us on, up the stairs and along the landing, past the dormitories of bunk beds and on to the door at the end which we were meant to stay away from, because it was his grandparents' bedroom. He pushed us inside, then threw himself on the door to lock and charm it. I hadn't heard anyone following us, though, just one dismissive shout of "fucking perverts!"
Scorpius leaned back against the door, looking at me and my cousin and at the Queen-sized bed under the window. His teeth were bared as he asked in a low voice, "Now, boys, what shall we play?"
I was transfixed; I just swallowed and stared at him. A singing started up again inside me. "Why don't you show me your game?" he asked, his eyes twinkling devilishly.
Beside me, James chuckled. I was spiralling internally. I couldn't take my eyes off my Mate. I was sure now - quite sure - that Scorpius was just that. All at once my mood was broken by a steadying which somehow centred on my right ear. As my head cleared, I realised that James was touching one lobe - holding it gently between the tips of his thumb and forefinger. He moved slightly and the old sensations started up again, the playful charge that tickled both of us.
I looked into his face, expecting to see him grinning at me as usual. Concern furrowed his brow. He let go and took a step back from me.
Then Scorpius said, "My turn."
My heart leapt, but James started saying, "I'm not sure -"
"Spoilsport"” Scorpius admonished him lightly. He walked towards me.
"I'm serious. We need to think things through." This wasn't like James, he was usually spontaneously mischievous.
I didn't want to think about anything; I wanted to play. Scorpius kept walking, his every movement strung tight with desire.
James hissed urgently at me: "Louis! If what you said earlier ... Listen! I don't think - Not right after an episode. Louis!"
Scorpius' approach was sucking me back into that strange, warm place, though, and I couldn't translate the sounds James made into any sort of rationality. Then Scorpius reached out his long, pale fingers. I closed my eyes and he touched my cheek.
Suddenly a fierce heat invaded my whole body. A spasm overtook my chest. I couldn't see or hear.
Then it was over and I was lying on the floor gazing up at Scorpius' shocked face. He held his fingers carefully in his other hand as though they were hurting. His skin was bloodless and he panted with terror.
"I don't get it," he said through clenched teeth.
"It's a Creature thing," James explained. I glared up at him; I didn't want him to say that: I don't want to always be the weirdo.
"Bollocks" Scorpius sneered.
"When we kissed out there, nothing freaky happened."
"Oh!" James sounded like he'd just worked out the key to an advanced Arithmancy problem. Not that James had ever attempted advanced Arithmancy. He knelt down and grabbed hold of my forearm, pushing up my sleeve and clasping my bare limb. My skin felt tender from whatever had just happened, but his hand didn't make it worse. The static he sent over it was soothing.
"Touch Louis again now!" James told Scorpius.
Scorpius shook his head. I felt a prickling in my lower lid and a thickening in my nose - not a Creature reaction, just the start of tears which I did not want to shed. I tried to breathe normally and struggled up to a sitting position.
"It'll be different," James was urging our boyfriend.
"Outside, before, I was there, too; I was touching him, too. Try it. It's like you're an electric current and I'm the earth wire."
I'm sure my look communicated the same confusion as I could see on Scorpius.
"Now is not the moment when I teach physics to the purebloods," James said. Then he added, more softly, "It's fine, Scorp. I'll make it safe, I promise."
Hesitantly, Scorpius squatted down beside us. He looked from my face to James' face, then back again. James leaned over and pulled down my collar. Scorpius looked at my throat and the top of my chest. I looked down myself at the pale hair and freckles there. His hand approached. He touched. I could hear something trill, and warmth pooled in my stomach, but there was no pain. He smiled a slow smile of relaxation. It wasn't hurting him either.
James chuckled. "It looks like you two are going to have to keep me around," he said.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Scorpius murmured, placing his other hand on James' shoulder.
We moved onto the bed and out of our clothes, stroking and kissing continuously. Scorpius moved down my body and James encircled me from behind. When Scorpius licked at my groin I heard myself growl. He stopped. James gently cupped my balls in his palm and the wolvine feeling passed out of me. "Ok?" he whispered into my ear. I nodded, turning my head to gaze into his eyes.
"It's fine," he reassured Scorpius.
Scorpius kissed me carefully on the smooth skin by my belly button. Then he lapped down my abdomen, back towards my cock. I watched him until James kissed me and my eyes closed. I could feel his tongue working against mine and his erection pressing against my lower back. I could feel Scorpius, too, one hand at the base of my cock and his breath on the tip. His other arm came up between my legs and James gasped into my mouth.
We broke the kiss, both too breathless. Then Scorpius took my cock into his mouth and I was arching, thrusting, moaning, writhing. I wasn't the only one. We twisted about like one naked, six-armed beast. Lines of harmony rang pure through my whole body.
My muscles coiled in on themselves and I tried to give a warning that my climax was on its way.
"You gonna move your mouth off?" James asked Scorpius urgently.
"Nah," hummed through me and the vibration broke me. Overcome by my orgasm - which was intensified by the caress of Scorpius' throat as he swallowed - I blacked out for a moment.
When I opened my eyes, there were two heads, one dark and one white-blond, bobbing round my groin. I felt their tickly licks all over my sensitive prick. Then they pressed their matching grins together. Watching them kiss made my heart soar. It was so different from how it had made me feel the night before. Now I knew their love did not exclude me. I placed a hand on each of their heads.
Scorpius groaned throatily a couple of minutes later, and I saw that James' fingers were travelling between his buttocks.
"Accio lube," I called, and instead of the spell bringing a tube clattering to the bedroom door from my backpack - as I had planned - a large vial floated down from a shelf of decorative crystal over the dressing table.
James and I exchanged a questioning look, but nobody said anything. Instead, together, we hefted Scorpius up the bed and onto all-fours. I poured the sweet-smelling liquid on both of our hands, and we started to massage over and round and finally inside Scorpius' arse.
"It's great having you here, but do you think I'll ever be able to touch him, like, if you're busy?" I whispered to James. Then I kissed the end of his nose, just in case that made him feel unloved. I liked the way his nose felt so I did it again.
"Sure you will," James nodded, laying his shin over my calf to maintain our contact, but leaving me to stretch Scorpius on my own as he upended the lube vial over his cock. "We'll try again when the wolf's dormant. That's most of the month, right?"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, it is. He's ready."
James' skin shone with sweat as he licked his lips, gazing on Scorpius' open hole. Then he smiled up at me and pressed an awkward kiss to the edge of my mouth. I nodded reassuringly at him, and he took a deep breath.
I stroked one hand down his hot back to rest in the curve above his bum, so that he could concentrate on the job in hand but it would stay safe for me to touch the flushed ivory of my other lover's skin. He keened with need below us. We took a buttock each, moving our hands away from each other, opening him up. James' other hand held his cock and mine hardened again at the sight of him lining up and, slowly, gradually, pushing in.
I watched them and I touched them, through every thrust and jerk and shiver. My one hand tingled on James' back, the other heated and vibrated - but stayed safe - even as it stroked Scorpius' cock. When he came, his spunk landed on me and it felt like -
No! I can't explain what it felt like. If you have any Veela ancestry then you know; if you don't then I can talk about angel's wings and warm snow clouds and perfumed cobwebs but you still won't understand.
I curled into myself, nursing his seed on my skin, and moved back to the edge of the bed to watch the final moments, relishing the distortion of James' features, his joyous exclamation and the way his hips pistoned without rhythm.
Then we snuggled together on top of Lucius and Narcissa's soft quilt: James in the middle, flat on his back, and the two of us on our sides, heads on his shoulders, legs thrown over each other. We dozed happily, but we could hear movements on the other side of the door. We knew our friends were out there and we knew that soon we would have to offer them explanations; it was impossible to forecast accurately the storms which we had yet to weather together.
Title: The Unforecasted Storm
Pairing(s): Louis/James/Scorpius
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Explicit slash sexual description, group sex, two characters are under 18 (but over 16), sexual acts between cousins, swearing, references to alcohol abuse, drug abuse and het.
Summary: Louis' inheritance causes him difficulties when he falls in love. " ... There was rubble, broken glass and intense light, and that was all. Where was I? Who could have done this to me? What was going on? Why did everything - and I mean every last part of me - ache? ... "
Word Count: 6,000 (approximately)
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
The title is taken from Brianstorm by The Arctic Monkeys (Alex Turner).
Prompts used: Frozen Lake, A storm is coming in, Veela!Wolfy!Louis.
Author’s notes: Thank you to deathlydragon for your exacting request, which was a challenge at first, but one which gave me great satisfaction. I hope this is what you wanted.
Betas: Thanks so much to both of you for your steerage, corrections, suggestions and for giving me faith in this when I lost confidence in it. This has been (quite appropriately really) a three-way creation.
My eyes were dry, so dry it was like burning. That's all I knew at first. I tried to raise my hand, to block the white light that seared into them. Then I realised that I was lying face down on the floor. What light could shine so bright that it hurt even when the carpet was right up against my eyelids?
My hands were underneath me, and they had gone to sleep. I shifted to one side, easing my aching body over. A sharp, stinging pain! It took a moment for me to work out that I had cut my thigh. I needed to move carefully; dangerous things surrounded me.
I lifted my head, prised open my sore eyes and looked around. Devastation. There was rubble, broken glass and intense light, and that was all. Where was I? Who could have done this to me? What was going on? Why did everything - and I mean every last part of me - ache?
Last night, before the sleep, or the unconsciousness. What was then?
Images and fragments returned to me as I lay absolutely still. I wasn't at school and I wasn't at home. Good. At least no adult was going to find me like this and lecture me. My mouth and my head felt dry and sore; it was a familiar feeling. I burped. There was a sickly firewhiskey tang to the bile taste of it. Was this a hangover?
Party. Oh, yes. I was in the middle of the week-long party that we had told our parents was a “skiing trip”. We were staying at the Malfoy place in the mountains. I lifted my head again. Well, it looked like we had wrecked the place.
I could make sense of the light now. It was the low morning sunlight that radiated off the frozen lake in the valley below us. I shouldn't be able to see that from the floor though. The windows were too high. Which room was I in?
The holiday had been engineered by my cousin Albus. He'd persuaded his best mate, Scorpius, and between them they'd talked his dad into letting us stay here, invited most of the Slytherins in our year and a few family members, then worked on all the parents until they gave permission and handed out the Galleons.
The tale we told our parents was that this would be our last shot at freedom before we knuckled down and got on with studying for N.E.W.T.s; we told them that it was all about exercise and fresh air, beautiful views and foreign languages. Then we packed our bags with vodka, hash pipes and condoms.
One of us was not at our school. He'd had to book time off work. Right from the earliest planning stages Scorpius had asked Al, “Do you think your brother would come?” No, of course we didn't think he'd come. Why would he? Even when he'd been at Hogwarts he'd called us 'babies' and 'silly little kids.' Now that he was a working man he wasn't going to have anything to do with us.
In the end Al asked him, just to shut Scorpius up. He never would have done it if he'd known. The last thing he wanted was his big brother hanging around, ready to report back to their parents. James just checked that Scorpius was coming.
I didn't like that. I liked having James here, he's my favourite cousin, probably my best friend; but I didn't feel good about him and Scorpius being so keen to spend time together. It made me feel a bit sick. It angered me to see them together, laughing, playing gobstones, telling stories. It made me drink too much.
What was the date? Where were we at? Had I got angry and drunk too much at the wrong time of the month?
I looked up again and forced my neck to move so I could look all around me. There used to be a wall there; this used to be the sitting room. Shit! Did I do this? I let my head drop back down.
I smelled someone approaching. A female. Her scent was strong even though my nose was pushed right up against the wool and dust of the rug. This was very bad. My Creature senses only get this heightened at the very worst point in the month. Those are the days when I must not drink alcohol, when I must keep control of my emotions. I twisted round to sit myself facing the door so that I'd be ready when she opened it. It hurt like hell.
Cousin Rose opened the door. Great! What I really didn't want just then was a scolding from a bossy relative. She gasped dramatically and clapped her hand over her eyes. I looked down at myself and saw that I was naked. I was bruised and scratched.
"Good morning, Louis," she snapped, her voice all ice and acid. "You woke up then?"
I started to nod, but it hurt and, of course, she couldn't see me. "Looks like it." My throat was raw.
"You scared us all half to death last night. I warned you to take it easy."
By now the family members would have explained things to the rest of my friends. By now they would all know that I'm some freak part-Creature. Scorpius would know. The frozen air on my bare skin hadn't chilled me, but that did.
"Sorry," I muttered.
"Never mind that. You've destroyed the place. How's Malfoy going to explain this to his parents?"
It would have to be his lodge, wouldn't it? He would hate me.
"I'll sort it out," I muttered, or something along those lines.
"Yes, you bloody will," she spat. "And don't think any of us are going to help you!"
She flounced away, slamming the door behind her. Only then did I realise that she'd been dressed in nothing but skimpy underwear. Perhaps I should have noticed that. I tried to stand, but the cuts and bruises hurt too much. I was going to need to heal myself before I could start repairing and cleaning, but I didn't know where my wand was, so I couldn't make any kind of a start on the room or my body.
I stared out at the lake instead. It was beautiful in its way, overhung with snow-laden pine branches, as white and as shiny as platinum. My brain did that buzzing thing. It made my eyelids droop. Not now.
I was on that frozen lake, on the thick ice, gliding. I was warm, though I was still naked, because I was pressed up close to another body, to my lover's body. My Mate. I didn't need to look round to know who it was; it was always the same person when I had these visions.
When I was eleven my mother sat me down and gave me the 'Veela' talk. It started long before then, though. There's an electric awareness that runs along my skin, a noise in my head, a thick feeling round my eyes sometimes, and then there are the visions. When I was young I had no control over any of it.
"It will probably be some years before you experience any of this," she said. I didn't correct her. "When you meet a girl you like, someone who you think is pretty and ..." her mouth pursed as she thought of a polite, innocent way to put this. Perhaps she was just trying to remember what she'd told my sisters. "... that you find attractive," she said in the end, which was a bit lame given the length of the pause. "You will find that you have responses. Not just the usual boy responses to a pretty girl. Other things. In time you will learn to control them and to use them to get what you want. You must never abuse your power, though."
She was wrong. I was already abusing that power, but I've never experienced 'responses' to a 'pretty girl'.
The vision cleared, and I became aware of new scents approaching the room. I couldn't see my clothes. I recognised the pheromone pattern; I didn't want to be caught naked by them. I squatted down and leaned forward. The door opened.
Scorpius swore and stared around at the state of the place. James looked at me and swore even louder.
"You could at least put some fucking clothes on!"
They were holding hands. A rough growling that I could have done without stirred low in my chest.
"Can't find them!" I snapped, then added, "Or my wand."
It would be unbearable if Scorpius thought I just hadn't bothered to tidy up.
Rolling his eyes, James pointed his wand and called, "Accio Louis' clothes. And wand."
Scorpius was looking at me, though, and he was looking with concern. It made my eyes feel warm and thick.
"You alright?" he asked.
I shrugged.
"You're hurt! We'd better sort that out before you get dressed." His voice was soft.
I stood up and took a couple of steps towards him. We made eye contact. The buzz in my head became a singing then -
"Don't you dare!"
"What?" I asked innocently.
"You're doing that Veela thing!" James snarled.
I pouted. "I thought you liked that Veela thing!"
I knew he did. We'd played with it for hours as kids. He'd touch my arm, even when I was as young as five and we had no idea what was going on. The static would run up to my armpit and he would giggle, saying that it tickled him. The older we got, the more we pushed it. That's how I learned to control it. I know I gave him his earliest hard-ons. I knew how much fun he'd had with 'that Veela thing.'
"I do," he admitted. "But I don't want you using it on him."
He thrust my clothes at me. I took them, but I made a point of healing every graze and bump before I put them on.
"I'm sorry about this," I said to Scorpius.
"Don't worry," he replied. "We'll get it fixed up. Father will never know." He was going to help me! He didn't hate me! I was so relieved. Then: "Rose explained about your conditions." My heart sank again. Of course she bloody did. She will have explained in detail the rare complications caused by Creature Combinations in the Y Chromosome. That was the title of her mother's study paper. I was the only subject of the study. She might as well have called it Louis Alastor Weasley is a Weirdo. Mind you, she did work out my coping strategies, and I hadn't had an episode in years. Until last night.
"I hadn't realised where we were up to on the lunar cycle," James said apologetically. "I would have stopped you drinking."
"Rose tried that," I said, pulling on my trousers. "So did Roxy. Really early on in the evening. I bit their heads off and ignored them. Don't think you would have done much better if you'd tried. I don't remember much after that." I stood and assessed the ruined room properly. "Is it just in here?" I asked, dreading the answer. "Did you manage to keep me locked in?"
"Yeah, we got out pretty early, kept you confined in here. The girls did some screaming, but none of us were really worried." Scorpius smiled reassuringly. I loved him even more.
"Thanks for finding the wand. You don't have to help. I probably ought to sort this out myself."
They were both insistent, though. We worked silently to begin with, casting spells to rebuild the wall, to Reparo the window, clean up the floor. Scorpius' arm movements were graceful and he handled the magic deftly. My eye kept getting caught on his form.
"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" James asked eventually.
I thought he was just showing off so I ignored him. Scorpius turned and grinned, though.
"Stop slacking to check out my arse!" He grinned. At both of us. My head buzzed.
Why didn't my Veela responses know that it was hopeless, that they should stop flaring up? He had found someone else. He had fallen for my childhood playmate, the one who'd woken up those responses all those years ago. If I wanted to be with Scorpius then I had to hope that they would both be unhappy, my Mate and my best mate, when they split up. Or even hope for James to die. The Veela was too dilute in my blood for that. I loved James, too. I wanted them both to be happy. I just didn't want them to make each other happy.
I moved away from both of them and made a frenetic tour of the corners of the room, where I could check the stability of the walls, but more importantly, where I could look away from them.
"I tell you what, Lou, it smells good in here. The rest of the lodge stinks of feet and farts," James said. They both laughed. I thought about turning to face them. "Maybe you could go berserk all over, let in a bit more fresh air." I kept my reddening face to the wall. That was not the most sensitive description I'd ever heard.
"When we finish in here we should go for a walk. We've been stuck inside for days." Why did Scorpius' voice have to be so soft, when his words excluded me so harshly?
James laughed. "It's freezing out there!"
"There are some big coats in my father's wardrobe upstairs. And there are warming charms, of course!"
Well, I hoped they'd have a lovely time, holding hands (no doubt) and chatting about how much they like each other, their breath puffing out like smoke and mingling against the icy blue sky. I'd just find a quiet place and lick my wounds. Perhaps literally if I had another wolvine episode.
"I think we're done. What d'you reckon?" Scorpius asked. His house: his decision.
"Yeah. Well done us!" James replied.
There was a silence. Then Scorpius asked tentatively, "Louis?" Me? I didn't think they cared about my opinion.
Flustered, I turned and looked round. "Good as new," I managed.
Scorpius smiled at me, a beaming, golden smile. I wished he wouldn't. "I'll get those coats!" he said.
I was alone with James, and I didn't know how to feel about him anymore, so I turned away to stare out of the newly-mended window and contemplate all the snow and the frozen lake at the centre of it. I would have slunk off and left them alone together, but I couldn't stand the thought of facing the rest of our friends. I wanted to go home.
He came and stood next to me, but I didn't even want to see his reflection, so I looked down at my own pale, skinny hands, resting on the white-painted sill.
"You like him, don't you?" he asked. He asked it like some real question, but I was sure it would be about to turn into a warning. It didn't. Instead he ran his fingertips along the soft, hairless skin between the inside of my elbow and my wrist. “And I know you like me,” he said into the buzzing he'd started in my head, across the static passing between our arms.
I rested my forehead against the cold glass. "Stop it!" I muttered. I could feel tears brewing.
"Do you fancy him?" he persisted. They'd kissed yesterday evening; I suddenly remembered it clearly. That's what had brought on the rage and the binge drinking which had brought on the episode.
"Oh, fuck off!" I choked out. "I don't know." Then - Merlin knows why - I sobbed, "I think he might be my Mate."
I expected James to pull away, angry that I'd said that about his new boyfriend. I think I wanted him to.
But Scorpius came back then, carrying thick, heavy, furry, brown coats. Three of them.
There were boots "by the back door" apparently. I hadn't even known that there was a back door. Mutely, I followed the other two down low-ceilinged passageways I'd never seen before. It hadn't occurred to me that I was included in the invitation to walk. I didn't know what to do with my resentment now. I was scared to let go of it, in case it was the only thing holding me upright.
There was a shelved alcove next to a small, part-glass door. It was full of a jumbled cornucopia of boots in different sizes and different designs. There were baskets full of gloves and hats and thick socks and sunglasses too, as well as heaps of shopping bags, string bags, back packs, and a picnic hamper. Only then did I understand that this was a place where Scorpius spent family time. For years he had played and relaxed here with his parents and grandparents. It was like The Burrow was for us, but he would have been the only child.
How strange: no sisters, no cousins to squabble with, to play with, to sneak away from the adults with. The Burrow made me think of hiding behind hedges with James. I looked at him, but he was looking straight back at me so I looked away again. It scared me: the shiver I got, the suddenly burning desire to hide away with him again and have him touch my skin to test what that would do to us.
In a tall cupboard there were skis, sledges, snowboards and ice skates which reminded me of my vision. Scorpius gave an embarrassed sort of shrug and said, "I don't know if you want ...?"
James laughed. "We wouldn't know what to do with them."
Scorpius made a dismissive gesture, one that seemed to apologise for having had a privileged background which included such 'fancy' pastimes.
"You can ice skate, James!" I said. I wanted to protect Scorpius from whatever he was feeling. It felt like the first time I'd spoken in hours. It was only minutes, really. It was the only thing I'd said that hadn't been about me and my oddness, though, since the night before. Maybe that was why. "And Grandpa's got a couple of sledges just like them in the shed." I checked Scorpius' expression. He did look more relaxed.
"Yeah, but the skis ..." James began.
"Maybe another time." I said over him. I was thinking what strangely Muggle objects they were for any Pureblood family, but particularly for the type of Purebloods the Malfoys were rumoured to be. I didn't say that, though.
Once we were togged up and striding along the Magically cleared lane down the mountain, James took Scorpius' hand and Scorpius surprised me by taking mine. I was sure he must be able to feel the charge that caused, even through thick gloves. I was buzzing; my cheeks were flushing. Even worse than that, my cock was twitching. I was surprised that I could still walk.
I wanted to pull away, and at the same time, I never wanted to let go. I kept my gaze on the lake below us. They chatted a little, but most of the time there was a bubble of calm around us. Scorpius shifted closer; his shoulder brushed mine. I let go of his hand and stepped away.
"I'd rather you didn't," I said.
He looked hurt, which was unbearable.
"I thought you might like ..." he muttered.
I tried to cover it with a shrug and a laugh, but I couldn't actually lie to the man I was in love with.
"I do, that's the problem."
They exchanged a look then, one I couldn't decipher. Slowly we stopped walking forwards and came to a halt. I thought about going back. I thought about all the girls up there that I had frightened, and all the boys who now despised me for it. Why didn't these two despise me too?
"Fuck's sake!" James muttered. "Just say it!"
"You just say it if you think it's that easy!" Scorpius snapped back at him.
Trouble in paradise? An opportunity? But even if they split up, would I really have the courage to swoop? And which one would I swoop for? Which one betray?
"I tried." James said. "Sort of."
Scorpius glanced at me, then carried on as though I weren't there.
"What did you say to him?"
"Just that I thought he fancied you and I knew he liked messing about with me!" He looked right at me then. I was disorientated. "Didn't I?"
"Not exactly," I answered - sulky but truthful.
"And you said, didn't you, that you thought - can I tell him what you said?"
"No you fucking can't!" I yelled. "I was vulnerable! That was in confidence!"
"That's not the point anyway." Scorpius' voice was less soft now. He sounded shaky, maybe nervous. James and I turned and faced him. "The point is that we both like you. Not just as friends. I mean we like you."
He couldn't mean what I thought he did, but I answered him as though he did. "So what? You're going out with each other now, aren't you? What does it matter who likes me or who I like?"
"I told you he wouldn't get it!" James said to Scorpius.
Scorpius rolled his eyes and turned to me. He tried to take my hand again, but I put it behind my back. I had enough Creature crap going on. "I just don't see why we have to be couple," he said, "a pair, a two. Why not a three?" He paused. "You want in?"
Disorientation, resentment, hope, the remnants of the rage, confusion and some Veela and wolf stuff I don't even have names for: emotions swirled through me as I stood stock still. Eventually happiness won out. It prickled my eyeballs with wet heat. I had to clear my throat before I asked, "Really?" then "Me?"
"Really." James said. "You." He put one sheep-skin covered palm on either side of my face, then he did one of the few things we'd never done before: he kissed me softly on the lips.
The heat of Scorpius' body covered my back. "Of course you," he murmured, close to my ear. "Always you." Then he pushed James' mouth away, gently, and he kissed me himself. James' cheek still rested against mine.
A rush of something heated my groin, and I had to hold back the urge to throw Scorpius to the ground and possess him there and then. I took a deep breath and kissed back as chastely as I was able. Then we broke apart and the two of them kissed each other over my shoulder, inches from my face. I couldn't understand how arousing that was.
"Shall we go back?" Scorpius asked then. "Shall we go to bed?"
The others were in the kitchen, half asleep in the foetid air. We had to walk through them to get to the stairs. We held our heads high.
"You feeling better, then?" Lorcan asked me, without a trace of sympathy in his tone.
"You were scary last night," Morganna Zabini whimpered into his chest.
"Sorry," I mumbled.
"You're supposed to be sorting the sitting room out!" Rose accused.
"It's done," Scorpius replied quickly. "Excuse us."
Albus stood and blocked his way. "Why? What are you up to?"
"We're going upstairs. For some privacy."
"The three of you?" Albus' eyes flicked over us all as though trying to work out a calculation. "Wouldn't you rather have some girls with you?"
Lysander sniggered.
"They might get in the way," Scorpius replied defiantly.
Albus scoffed, "Oh come on, we all know that snoggathon you and James set up last night was for their benefit."
"Albus!" Scorpius snapped.
"I'd know if you were gay." Albus looked past me at James. "Both of you." Then he looked at me. "He's weird enough to be anything."
"For fuck's sake, Al!" Scorpius sounded exasperated. "I never pretended to be straight! You only hear what you want to hear! I've been telling you for years!"
"And I never tell you anything," James added. "Why d'you need to know everything? What makes you think you're in charge?"
"So you're going off for another snog are you?" Roxy asked. "Is that what you expect us to believe?"
"Why would we care what you believe?" James retorted.
"Of course they're not!" chimed in Hyacinth Abbott-Longbottom. "They've got Beast Boy with them!"
James' skin flushed and he looked like he was about to launch into a spirited and possibly violent defence, but Scorpius shoved us both up the stairs hissing, "Not worth it. Just go!"
I looked back when I was halfway up. Albus stood glaring defiantly as I stole away with his best friend and his brother. He looked like his father does on that owl post stamp where he's facing off against Voldemort. There would be trouble there, sometime in the future. I could see the on-coming storm, but for now we were safe.
Scorpius pushed us on, up the stairs and along the landing, past the dormitories of bunk beds and on to the door at the end which we were meant to stay away from, because it was his grandparents' bedroom. He pushed us inside, then threw himself on the door to lock and charm it. I hadn't heard anyone following us, though, just one dismissive shout of "fucking perverts!"
Scorpius leaned back against the door, looking at me and my cousin and at the Queen-sized bed under the window. His teeth were bared as he asked in a low voice, "Now, boys, what shall we play?"
I was transfixed; I just swallowed and stared at him. A singing started up again inside me. "Why don't you show me your game?" he asked, his eyes twinkling devilishly.
Beside me, James chuckled. I was spiralling internally. I couldn't take my eyes off my Mate. I was sure now - quite sure - that Scorpius was just that. All at once my mood was broken by a steadying which somehow centred on my right ear. As my head cleared, I realised that James was touching one lobe - holding it gently between the tips of his thumb and forefinger. He moved slightly and the old sensations started up again, the playful charge that tickled both of us.
I looked into his face, expecting to see him grinning at me as usual. Concern furrowed his brow. He let go and took a step back from me.
Then Scorpius said, "My turn."
My heart leapt, but James started saying, "I'm not sure -"
"Spoilsport"” Scorpius admonished him lightly. He walked towards me.
"I'm serious. We need to think things through." This wasn't like James, he was usually spontaneously mischievous.
I didn't want to think about anything; I wanted to play. Scorpius kept walking, his every movement strung tight with desire.
James hissed urgently at me: "Louis! If what you said earlier ... Listen! I don't think - Not right after an episode. Louis!"
Scorpius' approach was sucking me back into that strange, warm place, though, and I couldn't translate the sounds James made into any sort of rationality. Then Scorpius reached out his long, pale fingers. I closed my eyes and he touched my cheek.
Suddenly a fierce heat invaded my whole body. A spasm overtook my chest. I couldn't see or hear.
Then it was over and I was lying on the floor gazing up at Scorpius' shocked face. He held his fingers carefully in his other hand as though they were hurting. His skin was bloodless and he panted with terror.
"I don't get it," he said through clenched teeth.
"It's a Creature thing," James explained. I glared up at him; I didn't want him to say that: I don't want to always be the weirdo.
"Bollocks" Scorpius sneered.
"When we kissed out there, nothing freaky happened."
"Oh!" James sounded like he'd just worked out the key to an advanced Arithmancy problem. Not that James had ever attempted advanced Arithmancy. He knelt down and grabbed hold of my forearm, pushing up my sleeve and clasping my bare limb. My skin felt tender from whatever had just happened, but his hand didn't make it worse. The static he sent over it was soothing.
"Touch Louis again now!" James told Scorpius.
Scorpius shook his head. I felt a prickling in my lower lid and a thickening in my nose - not a Creature reaction, just the start of tears which I did not want to shed. I tried to breathe normally and struggled up to a sitting position.
"It'll be different," James was urging our boyfriend.
"Outside, before, I was there, too; I was touching him, too. Try it. It's like you're an electric current and I'm the earth wire."
I'm sure my look communicated the same confusion as I could see on Scorpius.
"Now is not the moment when I teach physics to the purebloods," James said. Then he added, more softly, "It's fine, Scorp. I'll make it safe, I promise."
Hesitantly, Scorpius squatted down beside us. He looked from my face to James' face, then back again. James leaned over and pulled down my collar. Scorpius looked at my throat and the top of my chest. I looked down myself at the pale hair and freckles there. His hand approached. He touched. I could hear something trill, and warmth pooled in my stomach, but there was no pain. He smiled a slow smile of relaxation. It wasn't hurting him either.
James chuckled. "It looks like you two are going to have to keep me around," he said.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Scorpius murmured, placing his other hand on James' shoulder.
We moved onto the bed and out of our clothes, stroking and kissing continuously. Scorpius moved down my body and James encircled me from behind. When Scorpius licked at my groin I heard myself growl. He stopped. James gently cupped my balls in his palm and the wolvine feeling passed out of me. "Ok?" he whispered into my ear. I nodded, turning my head to gaze into his eyes.
"It's fine," he reassured Scorpius.
Scorpius kissed me carefully on the smooth skin by my belly button. Then he lapped down my abdomen, back towards my cock. I watched him until James kissed me and my eyes closed. I could feel his tongue working against mine and his erection pressing against my lower back. I could feel Scorpius, too, one hand at the base of my cock and his breath on the tip. His other arm came up between my legs and James gasped into my mouth.
We broke the kiss, both too breathless. Then Scorpius took my cock into his mouth and I was arching, thrusting, moaning, writhing. I wasn't the only one. We twisted about like one naked, six-armed beast. Lines of harmony rang pure through my whole body.
My muscles coiled in on themselves and I tried to give a warning that my climax was on its way.
"You gonna move your mouth off?" James asked Scorpius urgently.
"Nah," hummed through me and the vibration broke me. Overcome by my orgasm - which was intensified by the caress of Scorpius' throat as he swallowed - I blacked out for a moment.
When I opened my eyes, there were two heads, one dark and one white-blond, bobbing round my groin. I felt their tickly licks all over my sensitive prick. Then they pressed their matching grins together. Watching them kiss made my heart soar. It was so different from how it had made me feel the night before. Now I knew their love did not exclude me. I placed a hand on each of their heads.
Scorpius groaned throatily a couple of minutes later, and I saw that James' fingers were travelling between his buttocks.
"Accio lube," I called, and instead of the spell bringing a tube clattering to the bedroom door from my backpack - as I had planned - a large vial floated down from a shelf of decorative crystal over the dressing table.
James and I exchanged a questioning look, but nobody said anything. Instead, together, we hefted Scorpius up the bed and onto all-fours. I poured the sweet-smelling liquid on both of our hands, and we started to massage over and round and finally inside Scorpius' arse.
"It's great having you here, but do you think I'll ever be able to touch him, like, if you're busy?" I whispered to James. Then I kissed the end of his nose, just in case that made him feel unloved. I liked the way his nose felt so I did it again.
"Sure you will," James nodded, laying his shin over my calf to maintain our contact, but leaving me to stretch Scorpius on my own as he upended the lube vial over his cock. "We'll try again when the wolf's dormant. That's most of the month, right?"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, it is. He's ready."
James' skin shone with sweat as he licked his lips, gazing on Scorpius' open hole. Then he smiled up at me and pressed an awkward kiss to the edge of my mouth. I nodded reassuringly at him, and he took a deep breath.
I stroked one hand down his hot back to rest in the curve above his bum, so that he could concentrate on the job in hand but it would stay safe for me to touch the flushed ivory of my other lover's skin. He keened with need below us. We took a buttock each, moving our hands away from each other, opening him up. James' other hand held his cock and mine hardened again at the sight of him lining up and, slowly, gradually, pushing in.
I watched them and I touched them, through every thrust and jerk and shiver. My one hand tingled on James' back, the other heated and vibrated - but stayed safe - even as it stroked Scorpius' cock. When he came, his spunk landed on me and it felt like -
No! I can't explain what it felt like. If you have any Veela ancestry then you know; if you don't then I can talk about angel's wings and warm snow clouds and perfumed cobwebs but you still won't understand.
I curled into myself, nursing his seed on my skin, and moved back to the edge of the bed to watch the final moments, relishing the distortion of James' features, his joyous exclamation and the way his hips pistoned without rhythm.
Then we snuggled together on top of Lucius and Narcissa's soft quilt: James in the middle, flat on his back, and the two of us on our sides, heads on his shoulders, legs thrown over each other. We dozed happily, but we could hear movements on the other side of the door. We knew our friends were out there and we knew that soon we would have to offer them explanations; it was impossible to forecast accurately the storms which we had yet to weather together.