Another year meant yet another threat from the headmaster about how the forest was forbidden for reasons and the students should respect that fact. Well, since when did Draco respect anything without good reason? It wasn’t like the man ever explained why the place was forbidden, after all, other than the fact that there were creatures lurking in those trees. If the blonde boy could deal with the Dark Lord and his Aunt Bella, he was sure he could handle a few magical creatures.

So, he’d wandered down toward the quidditch pitch only to veer off the path and duck into the cover of thick trees, smirking to himself all the while. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing, but it wasn’t like he expected to survive past Halloween at the point, so it was okay. Life was good for the moment, and he was feeling daring. Might as well take hold of the reigns and go for it.

The young Malfoy had completely given up on robes outside of classes, viewing this as a great sign of rebellion. He wandered through the foliage in dark slacks and a light grey shirt that matched the color of his eyes. It was still obviously an expensive outfit, but it was far from wizard standard, and that made Draco ridiculously pleased with himself. It also made him wonder what his cousin might say to him. It seemed he was growing more like the younger boy each day.

The blonde slipped a bit further into the cover of the forest, no longer visible to the school grounds. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, really, but the solitude of the place was relaxing. The sounds of birds and small animals making their way through the plants were comforting in a way, and Draco found that his mind was clearer than it had been in the castle. He made a decision then, setting his bag at the base of the nearest tree and removing his restrictive dress shoes. He wiggled his toes in his dark socks, then unbuttoned and rolled up his sleeves. His shirt was already somewhat undone, so he didn’t have to worry about it constricting his neck too much. Perfect.

The Slytherin grinned before hopping lithely, using his seeker’s skills to grasp a branch and pull his body up into the tree. His muscles rippled lightly as he did so, and he felt a slight sweat break out on his forehead. He climbed a few branches higher, then stood, looking out over the forest. It was stunning. Draco wiped his brow, then smiled with an open mouth at the sight before him. “Brilliant,” he muttered, appreciating the view.

Skyler had left the castle to stretch her legs. Ever since she was little she enjoyed being outside, and that still rang true. She thought maybe she would go for a fly, but she had visited the pitch already this week and if truth be told ever since the warning her and the rest of the student body had received at the welcome feast, Skyler had been drawn to the forbidden forest. Skyler had snorted then and snorted now. Seriously? Fastening forbidden to anything was the surest way of inviting her in. One might as well have put a flashing neon sign up.

As she snuck through the grounds, hoping against hope no one watched from the windows, she entered the forest, finding cover in the darkness the trees provided. This was the perfect place to really stretch her legs. There was sure to be no students in her. She glanced around just to be sure, and with the biggest grin her face could manage, the brunette began to change. Her body was becoming shorter, shrinking in on itself, until where Skyler had stood, now stood a sleek black jaguar with violet eyes. Though if one asked Skyler she would say her animagus form was a panther, which technically, it was.

This was one secret she didn't want to share with anyone just yet, having only finally accomplished of over the summer. It was still really new to her, as she was herself, yet she was the animal as well. All of her instances were animal like on nature, but Skyler's mind remained. It was a complicated sort of thing to explain, but it was a damn wicked experience. And speaking of instincts...

The nose of the black panther twitched, and Skyler detected a strange scent. Somehow it seemed familiar, but she didn't know why that was. The black cat leaped forward at the nearest tree, and Skyler absently wished she had brought Nyx with her as she scaled the tree easily with the help of the claws she now possessed in this form.

She leaped gracefully from tree to tree, and soundlessly moved through them as she followed the scent her nose caught until finally, looking through the leaves of the tree she was currently in, the jaguar caught sight of the boy. Skyler had to consider whether or not she wanted to share this with him, but the idea of scaring the wits out of him was too strong and she smirked in her mind. The large feline easily stalked around to find a way into the tree the boy was in.

Leaping from one branch to another was like second nature for the lithe and powerful cat, and she slowly emerged through the leaves of a few branches above the one the boy was on. Letting a vicious snarl rip through her, Skyler crouched, ready to pounce, and the grin on the panther's face was too human like to be natural.

Looking up, Draco felt the color drain from his features. That was a panther! How did a panther end up in the forbidden forest? He knew there were crazy animals out here, but he expected some volatile versions of magical creatures, not purple-eyed jungle cats with maniacal grins on their faces! The sudden appearance of the large feline had Draco stumbling, nearly falling out of his tree as he grasped at the trunk and grimaced as he twisted an ankle. That was going to make getting out of this tree a pain in the arse.

As he righted his balance, however, Draco realized something. What kind of panther had eyes like that? And what kind of animal could grin? Those eyes were damn familiar, as was the flirtatious grin, and he couldn’t believe what his brain was concluding. “Damn, little snake,” he muttered, pulling himself up to a standing position despite the pain in his ankle so that he might see her a bit closer. “That’s one hell of a hidden talent.”

He was gazing at the feline in complete awe, amazed at the girl he called his girlfriend. She was an animagus? Seriously? That was some advanced magic, there. It required skill and discipline. He’d always wondered what it would be like to discover his inner animal, but he’d never had the energy to really get serious about studying it. The fact that this girl did was… well, it was incredible. “Damn,” he repeated. His grey eyes sparkled in wonder as he stared at the creature before him. He didn’t even know what else to do but observe the beautiful feline.

Skyler preened at the obvious praise she was getting from Draco, lifting her head in a show of pride before she dropped into a stalking crouch. The large feline seemed to be readying itself to pounce, it's muscles coiling like a spring. Without warning she sprang forward, landing gracefully on the branch he was standing on.

Skyler enjoyed being in her form. It had taken two years to manage the transformation, and the whole summer to be able to transform at will. But it was worth the work. She never would have guessed the black cougar would be her inner animal. She had pictured at first a bird, because she loved to fly. The freedom of it was exhilarating. But it was nothing compared to the feeling she got when she ran in this form. The animal was fast, and powerful. Stealthy, and inside her head it's animal instincts were unparalleled.

She kept her eyes on her boyfriend, excited to share this with him, but not wanting to startle him. Aside from when she did it the first time. And that had been hilarious. The panther made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snicker at that thought as it crawled forward an the branch. Skyler sat before him tall and proud, ears pricking up and long, thick tail swishing behind her. She might have preening again, except she tilted her head to the side as she watched him, her tongue lolling out of the side of her mouth humorously.

The boy couldn’t help but laugh at the look on the animal’s face as it sat before him. Even though he knew it was his girlfriend, Draco still found it unnerving to have the large feline staring at him like she was. He smirked at the animal, however, as he finally found his voice and his nerve again. “You just gonna sit there in kitty form all day then? I’m not going to make out with you like that, you know…” he grinned, reaching out to pat her on the head. Somehow, he knew this would irritate the girl. Call it his intuition.

Or call it him knowing who his girlfriend was. Either way, Draco was probably going to end up falling out of a tree today. There was a good possibility that the blonde would end up with more injuries than just the twisted ankle, too, but he didn’t seem very concerned. The playful glimmer in his eyes was enough to let the girl just how foolish he was feeling.

At some point Draco Malfoy used to value his life. It seemed that natural instinct was fading as of late, however, so he reached out to pat the panther’s head again. If she didn’t bite his hand off, he’d be shocked. An odd thought struck him, and he didn’t even know why he knew the kids’ jingle that came to mind. “You know, if you were a little less furry, we might make it the K-I-S-S-I-N-G…” he mumbled, humming the tune of the little kid tease.

Skyler grinned in her panther form at his laugh, her eyes clearly showing how pleased she was to hear it again. All grinning stopped, however, when he patted her on the head. Patted her. Like she was some common house pet and not the regal creature she was that demanded the utmost respect. Her tail swished irately and she glared at him, turning her head away and lifting her nose in the air in an extremely haughty move, especially for a panther.

But when the idiot Slytherin decided to push his luck and pat her again, singing that ridiculous song, Skyler snapped at his hand, and none too playfully either. She didn't want to really bite him, because she was irritated enough to bite his hand off and not feel bad about it. For a while anyways. But she did enjoy him whole with all his pieces. Especially when he had his shirt like that.

Suddenly, Skyler let out a vicious snarl at him, and entered into the hunting crouch of the panther, eyes darkening and never leaving her prey. Every muscle in the lithe body of the panther seemed to tense up as it prepared to attack. The panther looked too serious at the moment to playful. And Skyler wasn't. She focused every instinct and thought on the acromantula that was hovering from a branch only feet from Draco, who hadn't noticed. A low and angry hiss emitted from her muzzle and her hackles rose, showing off long, gleaming white fangs.

He pulled his hand back quickly as the cat snapped at him, not wanting to risk his fingers at the moment. Draco was a bit startled when the animal got into what he could only describe as a predatory pose, like she was hunting. It wasn’t like he’d meant to make her that angry! Was she really going to attack him over a pat on the head? Sure, he knew it would make her mad, but this seemed a bit overdone, really.

It was then that he heard the clicking in his ear and turned to stare in horror at the giant spider hovering beside him. So, his girlfriend wasn’t trying to kill him. She was trying to make sure he didn’t manage to get himself killed. That was a nice difference to note. Draco, however, was too busy noting the fangs of both creatures to make a point of thanking the panther at the moment. In his shock, the boy had completely let go of the tree, and now he felt the consequences of that decision catching up to him.

The blonde threw out his arms, flailing in a windmill fashion in a pointless attempt at keeping his balance even as he felt his body rushing backward out of the tree. He wasn’t so high up that he would die from the fall or anything so dramatic as that, but it was far enough of a drop that he was sure to injure himself pretty badly.

A rather unmanly yelp escaped him as Draco fell backwards out of the tree. He closed his eyes tightly, bracing himself for whatever sickening crunch might soon come.

Skyler watched everything unfold as if in slow motion. The pincers of the spider were clicking, the noise had much the same effect that nails on a chalk board gave her. She had been only seconds from pouncing when Draco seemed to discover that her prey was not him but the acromantula hanging next to him. And then he was flailing around in the tree even though this only happened in a matter of seconds but Skyler felt like the fall seemed to last forever.

Skyler only had a split second to act and this time, it was her human instincts she acted on. Even though everything told her she wouldn't make it to the ground before he did, she had to try. The height really wasn't so bad. She could tell he wouldn't die from the fall. But considerable damage could be done and she really did prefer him in one piece. Besides, she owed him a rescue. She ignored the damn spider for the time being and launched herself from the branch, shooting toward the ground to try and beat the falling Malfoy there, and cushion his fall so he didn't break his damn neck.

Skyler absently wondered if this was going to be a routine with them, because if so, life obviously wasn't going to be boring.

Grey eyes fluttered open as Draco felt softness beneath his body. He hadn’t expected that. It still jostled his bones a good bit, and his sore ankle felt even worse that it had in the tree, but for the most part, the boy was okay. He hoped the panther could say the same.

Draco groaned, then pushed himself up, sliding his body off of the soft fur beneath him so that he could sit his butt on the ground. He rubbed his face, then looked around them at all the green leaves. It was looking more and more like a jungle out here, and it was getting unnerving. It didn’t help that Draco was now completely disoriented and had no idea where that damn spider had gone. He swiveled around to look at the animal he’d landed on, searching for her familiar eyes.

“I really hope I didn’t just crush you,” he muttered, resisting the urge to reach out and stroke down her body, checking for any damage. “Will you please change back so you can at least show me you’re alright? It’s driving me mad and I really don’t want to get my hand bitten off here.” He shot her an irritated glare, trying to mask the worry in his voice. Draco hadn’t meant to put himself or his girlfriend in any danger, and now they’d just managed to fall out of a tree. Well, he’d fallen. She’d just caught his clumsy ass.

They could deal with a spider with their wands, but they couldn’t deal with anything if they didn’t assess the situation quickly and figure out what wounds needed mended. Draco wondered if Sky might happen to have any healing charms up her sleeve, since he hadn’t mastered anything of the healing nature quite yet. Dark arts he could do. Stuff that was actually useful, like a nice mending of a sprained ankle? Not so much. Damn dark wizards and their damn priorities…

She really did try to contain the roar that emitted from her muzzle, really, she did. But it just wasn't going to stay in her mouth. It wasn't like Draco was light, and he had been high enough in the tree to create some momentum before landing on her. Still, she didn't regret her decision. She would've done it in a heartbeat again.

When he rolled off her, she stayed on the ground, not willing to move at the moment. Her purple eyes roamed the immediate are though, her ears pricking back and forth as they picked up sounds. She wanted to know where that damn spider was. Skyler did not like spiders. And especially not giant spiders. She didn't care if it was relatively girly of her. They freaked her out with all their eyes and hairy legs. And that noise their pincers made...

A shudder ran through her thick, furry body, and she couldn't help rolling her eyes at the glare she received from Draco, but she thought it was probably a better idea to humor him and change back to her normal human self. No need to piss the blonde off anymore than he already was. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on shifting back, and slowly yet surely she could feel her limbs growing smaller. It was a bit painful changing back, and she supposed that was because she might've bruised a rib or two, judging on how hard it was to breathe.

The brunette hissed as she sat up, fallen leaves stuck in her hair, and she covered it up with a cough so as not to worry her boyfriend. Opening her eyes, she again searched around the immediate area for the spider but didn't spot it. Finally, she turned her gaze to Draco, and grinned at him even as she pulled her wand from it's place in her pant leg where she stashed it when she went panther. "Guess that makes us even then."

Gathering his shoes and attempting to put them back on, Draco watched his girlfriend for signs of damage. “Yeah, we’re even. What did you hurt?” he asked bluntly, not trusting that she managed to make it out unscathed. He sat against the trunk of the tree, wanting to go over to the girl and check her more closely for injuries, but finding that his ankle was quickly swelling and he really didn’t want to push his luck with it. He’d need to save his ability to walk on it for getting out of the damn forest.

Obviously going into the forbidden place had been a very smart idea indeed. Draco rolled his eyes at himself, then focused again on Skyler. “I think my falling scared the spider away, love,” he said sarcastically, noticing the nervous way she seemed to glance around them. He flashed a smirk in her direction, knowing his shirt would have opened even more after the fall and his hair was probably ruffled just the way she seemed to like it based on their first little run-in.

“You don’t happen to know how to fix a twisted ankle, do you?” he asked, hoping the girl might have even more surprises to share with him. “I mean, you can turn yourself into a damn jungle cat. I figure you could be hiding quite a few skills behind those gorgeous eyes of yours.” She was probably going to hit him for all the compliments, but Draco didn’t much care. He was going to tell it like it was. Just because she wasn’t like other girls didn’t mean he wouldn’t tell her the truth, and the truth was that she was beautiful. The fact that she was different only added to that beauty.

Draco thought about how he could get lost in her eyes and forget the pain in his ankle completely if it weren’t for his worry about her own well-being. It bothered him that he had literally fallen on top of her, but he reasoned that there wasn’t much else they could have done, and it was better this way than him being knocked out cold on the forest floor. “We really should plan better dates, little snake.”

Skyler checked herself over, stretching and moving her bodily limbs to see if anything was hurt while shooting a glare at him for his question. So maybe he was only worried for her own well being and she appreciated that, but still. A couple of bumps and bruises never hurt anyone.  She wasn't a piece of glass and the sooner he understood that the better of they'd be. Besides, better off her with a couple of bruised ribs than him with a broken collarbone or something. "I'll have you know I am perfectly fine, thank you very much." She replied haughtily, as she began to pull herself to her feet, and winced at the movement, her arm wrapping around her middle automatically in reflex.

Skyler cursed herself mentally, and rolled her eyes at herself. Great. Just great. She would never hear the end of this one. The brunette brought her gaze to her boyfriend and offered a sheepish grin. "Heheh. Maybe I've got a bruise or two?" She stated questioningly, her hand going to rub at the back of her head self consciously. She felt the leaves stuck in her hair and made a disgusted face. "Eww." The Slytherin immediately went about pulling the dried, dead leaves and twigs from her hair, not caring about how much of a girl she looked like at the moment. She actually liked her hair, thank you very much.

It was during this that she really looked at Draco, taking in his lithe form now leaning up against the tree, hair all mused from his fall and exactly how she liked it. She meant it when she had said it made him look more approachable, but he also looked like he had just rolled out of bed after doing Merlin knew what with someone in it. His entire look was improved, in Skyler's eyes, by the way his shirt was opened, and that damn smirk of his. Unconsciously, Skyler licked her lips as she appreciated this view of him. Her purple eyes darkened for a moment as she observed him, until he questioned her and with a blink of her eyes, she snapped out of it, nodding with a frown, but she shot a glare at him for good measure for all his ridiculous compliments.

The brunette made her way over to him with a roll of her eyes and kneeled next to his legs. "I only know one or two. You sure it doesn't feel broken?" She prodded the ankle softly, not wanting to hurt him but trying to make sure it wasn't, in fact, broken. At his mention about dates, Skyler completely ignore his words, choosing not to make any comment on it. Surprisingly enough though, a flush seemed to work it's way on her face, and she tried desperately to will it away. How ridiculous! She thought at herself angrily. She can look at the boy and appreciate him in a physical way but he mentions dates and she gets all flustered! Skyler didn't care that she had a good reason for her reaction, because she had never dated before, which meant she had never been on one. She was pissed at herself for acting in such a girl like fashion.

“You might have cracked a rib, and you are worried about your hair?” he rolled his eyes at the girl, shaking his head and causing his own blonde locks to fall into his eyes. He shook them back away from his gaze and focused on the lovely girl yet again. “It’s still pretty, though. You really don’t have to worry.” Draco winked at her, noticing the way she was staring and licking her lips. Of course, he also noticed the way she glared at his compliments. It was good to see. Made him sure that she was still his little purple-eyed snake.

He sucked air through his teeth as she prodded his ankle, but he shook his head at her question. “It’s not broken. Just really badly twisted.” Draco knew the feeling of a broken bone. This was not broken. It just hurt like hell. “Do your magic then, love,” he growled, wiggling his brows at her. He knew he looked good at the moment, all disheveled and fighting to keep his face from showing any of the pain he felt from her touch.

“You know,” he started, voice low and throaty as he looked over the beautiful girl. “Now that the spider’s gone we could actually enjoy our surroundings a bit. All alone in the wilderness…” He licked his lips, leaning forward a bit toward her. “I’m sure you didn’t just come out here to knock a guy out of a tree.” He gave her the best ‘come hither’ look he could manage, wondering if her ribs were too bruised to warrant a bit of fun. He might need to get her back up to the castle, but he hoped they might spend a little time together first. She was a tough girl after all…

Skyler all but ignored his pet name of love, focusing her attention on his ankle, but gave it a rough prod with her finger in retaliation, an innocent grin gracing her face as she said, "Oops. Totally didn't mean to do that, love." She didn't give any time for a reply as she waved her wand over his ankle, muttering "Episkey!", and hoping that would do the trick. If not, she did know a spell that would splint it until they could get back to the castle, but that was all she had. The brunette made a mental note to try looking up some new healing spells, since it seemed like she would need them with him around.

The brunette found her breath catch at his tone and implications, looking at his ruggedly disheveled form she couldn't help the blush that rose on her cheeks. But that was all she would allow as she smiled coyly at him, looking at him through long, thick black lashes. She felt a fluttering in her stomach that she was getting used to when around Draco, but she rolled her eyes nonetheless, asking, "How's your ankle?" Nevertheless, the brunette was in no mood to deny his silent request and gathered all her confidence as she moved to straddle his lap, facing the guy she called her boyfriend and wrapping her arms around his neck in a way that made it seem completely natural.

Oh, this girl was really something else! Draco couldn’t believe that she’d really just pushed on his wounded ankle to get back at him for complimenting her. She was nuts! He liked it. After a quick intake a breath through his teeth, the blonde shot her a smirk as she healed his injury and he felt instant relief. It was still bruised, of course. It would probably take the school nurse to actually have it heal with no residual pain at all, but this was good enough for Draco. “Thanks,” he said with ease, barely stopping himself from adding some sort of pet name that would have gotten him into more trouble with the girl.

When she straddled him, Draco couldn’t help but grin, and when her arms wrapped about his neck, he let a low growl escape his throat. “Much better,” he said in a low voice, moving his lips to her neck. He trailed his mouth from her collar bone up to her earlobe, kissing his way along her soft flesh. When he reached her ear, he closed his lips on the lobe and sucked lightly, knowing he’d likely drive her crazy. While he knew she didn’t have experience with this stuff, Draco had no intention of moving too slowly with his little snake. She was a big girl. She could handle anything.

“I take it those ribs aren’t hurting you too badly then,” he purred in her ear, fingers moving along her hips in light whispers, only to snake their way to the small of her back and exert enough pressure to pull her toward his body, pressing her chest to his and moving their faces to where they couldn’t get more than a few inches apart. “You still didn’t tell me what you were planning to do out here, you know…” he murmured, licking along the curve of her ear as he moved his hands to her back pockets, sliding them in to cup her ass. “Were you just letting your wild side have some fun?”

Draco wiggled his brows at her, then kissed her lips in such a way that left nothing to the imagination. This kiss was hungry and lustful, and Draco thought if anything could be considered a snog, this was it. This girl was doing things to him and he didn’t know how he was controlling himself. It was his body and her body and that was just about all there was in the world. And that was all he needed. He didn’t even need oxygen as long as he had her.

His growl and low tone had shivers of anticipation running through her, and when his lips came in contact with her skin, Skyler sighed and her body seemed to tense and relax at the same time, as if this contact was something she had needed somehow. It was an odd feeling to the brunette, but not entirely unwanted as her eyelids fluttered closed of their own accord and her head tilted to the side to give him easier access. Her mind seemed to be trying to warn her against taking this too far, but when his lips reached her ear all thought seemed to cease and Skyler was left with only feelings of pleasure and a want for them to continue.

She had no time to be embarrassed, or anything else but the putty she seemed to turn to when under his ministrations. It was rather pathetic but then Skyler was nearly entirely sure that if the shoe were on the other foot, Draco would be like clay in her own hands. This quelled any desire she might have had to slow down anything, though somewhere in the back of the brunette's foggy mind she knew she should. It was hard to think when his lips were doing such wonderful things and when he was awakening feelings she had never experienced before.

Skyler couldn't manage any kind of dignified response when the breath from his words ghosted over her ear, sending a chill down her spine that had nothing to do with fear. Instead, a very undignified soft mewling noise came from between her lips as he pulled her flush against himself, and she shook her head. Her ribs were the last thing on her mind at the moment. She did manage to atleast think of a coherent response for his next words, however getting them from her bran to her mouth was a whole other as his expert tongue licked her ear and the brunette pressed further against him, shivering in the pleasure he seemed happy to provide at the moment. He was driving her crazy but Skyler didn't mind because she was sure her time for payback would come, and oh how she would enjoy it.

Skyler absently wondered how this had all started. This was all new to her and yet she didn't leave room to be shy, or embarrassed. Nor did she leave room to doubt. The teen knew her own limits, and she knew what she was and wasn't ready for, so Skyler didn't worry about it. In fact, she didn't worry about anything. At the moment, it seemed all her worries and thoughts had faded away, replaced with only the feelings she had. At the moment, it seemed like all the world had gone and only they existed. The brunette hadn't even given a second thought to that spider, or any of the other creatures that could be in the forest.

Her eyes snapped open to reveal shocked but lust darkened violet orbs when she felt his hands on her backside. That was definitely something new and Skyler struggled not to smack him outright for taking such liberties. A brief look of outrage and indignation flashed across her face, but she forced those feelings down, biting back anything she might have said in her anger as she adjusted herself in his lap, making herself more comfortable by wrapping her legs around his back. This bought her time to rethink the lines they were crossing. Obviously, Draco had no intention of moving slowly, which brought to the forefront of Skyler's mind a few questions. Just how far had Draco gone before? And with who? That last one had a blaze of jealousy igniting inside the brunette.

Skyler had had every intention of voicing these questions now that her slight anger had given back the ability to think, but Draco seemed to like her as putty because his lips were on hers and her thoughts ceased to exist again as her eyes, once again, closed on their own accord. She told herself she couldn't help the way she threw herself into the kiss, her jealousy at the thought of someone else having been kissed this way by him forcing her to want to claim him as her own. Skyler matched him this time, no longer willing to simply allow him to kiss her, but becoming a willing participant and putting equal passion into it.

When breathing became a problem, Skyler pulled back from his lips slowly, their closeness not giving her much room to work with in the first place. She didn't mind though. She could happily stay we're she was for hours and still not want to move. She nipped at his bottom lip lightly, and proceeded to catch her breath by following his earlier actions and planting butterfly light kisses down his neck. "What makes you think I have a wild side, Drakie?" She questioned in an innocent tone that no way went with the wicked smirk on her lips as she bit down at the junction between his shoulder and neck, not hard enough to break the skin there, and she then proceeded to suck at the small bite mark lightly.

Skyler pulled back and admired her handiwork, a small satisfied grin settling on her lips. "Maybe I was meeting someone. Skyler belatedly replied, avoiding his eyes purposefully. This, of course, was not the case, and somehow she knew this was probably a dangerous thing to say to him. But she didn't really care. She enjoyed possessive, jealous Draco just as much as she enjoyed heroic Draco. The brunette rather enjoyed all his different sides, and liked when they came out to play every once in a while. Not to mention she had a thing for pushing people's buttons. That hadn't changed just because they were a couple.

She responded well to his touch and his lips and Draco thought if there was such a place as heaven, this was surely it. This beautiful girl on his lap making noises like his personal kitten, kissing his neck in the most delicious way… Then she had to go and say that horrible nickname and the spell was almost broken. The boy was about to voice his protests when Skyler clamped down on his collarbone area and he felt himself shiver with pleasure. Oh sweet Salazar, that felt amazing.

She bit and sucked and he let out a groan of absolute ecstasy, wondering just where this was going and yet not worried about it in the least. All that mattered was the here and now and those wonderful lips on his skin that made him feel so damn alive. He knew he’d have a hell of a mark on his pale skin after that assault, but Draco found he was rather happy about that idea. He would wear any mark his little snake gave him quite proudly for the world to see.

“Meeting someone?” He immediately stiffened, hands pulling from her pockets to grasp at her arms and push her away to arm’s length. Draco looked at her with intense grey eyes, trying to figure out what she could be insinuating. She seemed to have understood that they were exclusive now, so why would she be meeting someone in the forest? He looked at her a bit longer, then his eyes narrowed in mild anger rather than the jealousy he’d been feeling at the thought of her meeting someone.

“You’re lying.” His voice was a growl as he pushed the girl to her back on the forest floor, pouncing onto her body and holding her to the ground. “I can’t believe you just lied to me about possibly meeting some git out here in the bloody forest!” Face slowly turning from anger to amusement, Draco was actually a bit impressed with the girl he called his. She really knew how to push his buttons and get under his skin.

Draco pressed his hips against her body, smirking down at the trapped figure beneath him. “You really shouldn’t lie to a fellow snake, my dear,” he hissed. “I might insist on some kind of punishment…” The blonde ground his hips against her body, his hair falling forward in front of his eyes as he continued to smirk at her, wondering if she knew just what she was getting herself into.

A shudder ran through her body when his eyes narrowed on her, though Skyler had pouted somewhat when she had been forced away from his body by his hands, which were now clamped rather tightly around her arms. Her eyes snapped to his when he quickly came to the correct conclusion, and they widened in surprise when she was forcibly pushed to the ground by Draco. His angry words had another shudder run through her, but it had nothing to do with being afraid of him. Skyler didn't fear Draco in that way. It had more to do with the way his eyes looked so intense when he was angry, pinning her in place.

Skyler smirked up at him, not bothering to fight his hold. It wouldn't do any good and Skyler enjoyed when he exerted his dominance. If she had to be honest, the brunette found this new position rather thrilling. Not that she would admit that out loud. "Technically I am not lying. I met you here didn't I? And by your own words, not mine, you're kind of a git so..yea..." She trailed off, sending him a cheeky grin which faded quickly when his hips pressed down against her body, creating an extremely wonderful friction that was exhilarating, scary, and thrilling all at once.

Skyler tried to glare at him for the new pet name, and for these new ministrations he was using against her, but she failed because her eyes closed and she bit down on her lip to keep back the moan that threatened to break free. Her body seemed to be acting of it's own accord, arching against him as her arms strained against his hold on them. It seemed her own hands were eager to touch and Skyler felt a small panic at feeling completely out of control of her own body. Draco was doing things to her she had never experienced before and it made her react in ways she had never imagined she would.

“I’m a git, hmm?” he growled, enjoying the way their bodies melded together. It was delicious to Draco and he kept having to remind himself that the girl beneath him was much less experienced than she seemed. It would be a terrible thing for him to move too fast or push too much and scare her away. The blonde didn’t think this girl could be scared very easily, but he still didn’t want to push it. It wasn’t worth risking.

Draco leaned down again and kissed her with all the strength he had, forcing himself to pull back and roll off of her before he pushed too much. It took so much will power to stop what they were doing, but Draco knew that it was much too soon to get much further than this, and they were in much too serious of a position for things to stay very innocent for very much longer. He sighed and raked his hands through his hair, willing his body to cool down as he convinced himself that he could wait. Sky was worth the wait.

He pushed himself up off the ground, getting to his feet. “We better get inside and get your ribs fixed, love,” he muttered, offering a hand to the small girl on the ground. “I don’t really want you puncturing a lung or something, though I do appreciate your daring catch.” He thought about referring to her as a kitten, but figured she might kick his ass for that, and he didn’t really feel like any more pain at the moment. “By the way, would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend? I thought we might have a nice lunch at the Three Broomsticks and then maybe get some quidditch supplies. I’ll be holding try outs soon. Thought maybe I could get my best new prospect something to boost her demonstration a bit,” he smirked, thinking of how badly he wanted a girl to actually make his team for once. “Not that you’ll need it, of course.”

Skyler couldn't contain the small moan against his lips when finally he kissed her again. She enjoyed his kisses way too much but couldn't help it. The brunette groaned out loud at the loss of both his lips and bodily contact, and poured up at him when he got to his feet but put her hand in his nevertheless. It was probably a good thing atleast one of them had some self control because obviously hers got thrown out the window when it came to her blonde boyfriend.

She used him as leverage to pull herself to her feet and dusted herself off, pulling dried leaves from her dark hair again and rolling her eyes at his reference to her ribs. "I'm sure nothing is broken or cracked. Jeez." Skyler moved her hands to the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up on the left side, revealing her milky white skin beneath as she checked out her ribs, poking at them. An intake of breath was the only sign of pain she gave, and she dropped her short back into place with a satisfied grin. "See? Just a bruised one, I'm sure. No need to be so worried my little hero." She teased lightly, her eyes dancing in amusement.

The teen flushed pink at his question about Hogsmeade but nodded, her eyes growing excited as her grin turned shy. "Are you asking me on a date? Like, a real date?" Skyler clasped her hands behind her back and bit her lip, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as she cocked her head to the side as she looked at Draco. She ignored the quidditch stuff for the moment.

Draco grinned at the girl, happy to note that her injuries seemed to already be healing a bit. That meant she was probably right and it was just a bit of a bruise. One trip to the hospital wing per week was a good limit to set in the blonde’s opinion, so that worked well for him. “I believe I am, yes,” he said smoothly, pulling her to him and embracing her once again. It seemed Draco had a hard time letting go of the girl and actually getting them anywhere even when he did set his mind to it.

“So, will you go on a date with me this weekend?” he looked at her, wondering if she intended to ever answer him. He rested his chin on her head, thinking of all the things he needed to do. He needed to figure out when he should have try outs for the team. He needed to go patrolling with his girlfriend soon for prefect duties. He needed to contact the Dark Lord about Potter and Skyler as well. He should probably talk to his damn cousin about things, but after all that had happened so far he wasn’t really so sure about that idea.

Responsibilities were boring. “Come on, let’s get up to the castle. It’s been too quiet here and I get the feeling we are far from alone anymore, if we ever really were.” He was also distracted now with the thought of telling a murderer about his girlfriend’s existence, which could honestly get her killed. It was disconcerting to say the least. Draco really needed to figure out what the hell he was going to do about everything. If only he had someone to confide in…

Skyler allowed him to pull her to him, and easily went into his arms. "Of course I will Draco." She replied with a beaming smile for him, happily settling her face in the crook of his neck. This she enjoyed more than any kiss. Just being in his arms. It was awfully odd to feel so at ease and comfortable with him considering she had only just met him but Skyler wasn't going to question it. She probably never would, and that spoke volumes about how she felt about the blonde boy.

She sighed in resignation when he said they should get going, but she didn't make any move to disentangle herself from Draco. The teen witch didn't want to leave her solitude with Draco. Not when there were so many things waiting to be figured out and so many problems waiting to be solved back at the castle. Nodding, the brunette pulled away from him but entwined her fingers with his. Maybe now was a good time to bring up her thoughts on a few things? Since they were heading back into their world of problems. "So...I've been thinking. About what we should do in regards to your Dark Lord..." She trailed off, violet eyes gazing at him in an unreadable but intense way.

Skyler cleared her throat and continued, keeping her gaze on his face, seemingly looking for anything that might tip her off as to what thoughts were going on behind his handsome face. "And I was thinking that you should tell him soon. But leave some of the more..pressing details out."

The thought of their future date brought a smile to the blonde’s face, but he knew he needed to take care of his other obligations before he could really focus on the happiness he felt when he was around this girl. At least she seemed to understand, as she held his hand in a way that he found reassuring. Her words were unexpected, though, and he looked into those gorgeous eyes with a sort of admiration. She spoke of the Dark Lord without any sort of fear in her voice or stance, and that was impressive. He’d made it clear that the man frightened him, and yet his little snake was prepared to face the situation head on. Draco knew he’d been right in thinking she was strong.

“I was thinking much the same,” he confessed, keeping his eyes on hers. “He will have to be made aware of your name, though.” There was no way around this most important bit of information, and Draco had to be sure to include it in his letter lest he expose his weakness to the deadly man. “Leaving out something like that would get us both killed.” He sighed, raking his free hand through his hair in a nervous habit.

Draco looking into those violet eyes before looking away, ashamed that he had to put her in such potential danger. “I won’t mention our relationship, though. He won’t know how close we are or aren’t.” The blonde was determined not to let his ‘lord’ use him against the girl he loved, at least as long as he could manage to keep him from doing so. If it came down to it, Draco would refuse. He’d take the torture, hell, he’d even take death before he handed Skyler over to the demonic man he served. He had made the bad choices to get himself into such a situation. She hadn’t. She didn’t deserve to have to deal with the evil man.

Skyler nodded along to his words, her face marred by a small frown which had settled upon her lips. It was hard to find something to say about this because she had no idea what to expect. For once she had no idea what was going on aside from the little pieces of information she had been given thus far. She really needed to sit someone down and force them to explain things to her but she had reservations about who. Draco? He had more than enough on his plate and a lot of his worry seemed to be because of her might be relationship to this Dark Lord. Maybe Harry, or Ginny. Somehow she had a feeling either one of them would be a good source of information on this subject.

When Draco turned his face from her, Skyler took it as a sort of rejection. And it stung. But could she blame him? She had just dropped in out of no where and probably made his life ten times harder. Maybe she had been a fool to trust that this was all real. Her cheeks reddened with her embarrassment and her slight anger, and her eyes stung. The brunette willed herself to shake out of it. She would not cry and she would not stand for anything or anyone getting in the way of what she wanted.

Any fear she felt, and she did have it, was calmed by the fierce determination she embraced. The teen was anything but a quitter and she wouldn't quit on Draco. He was scared, he had let that much be obvious. Skyler was sure there was good reason for him to be afraid, and she was sure she should be too. But as it stood then, she had nothing to fear. And she was determined to keep it that way. She just needed a plan, and that was something she was relatively good at.

The wheels in her head were working overtime now and her eyes had a calculating look, much like the panther she turned into had when stalking its prey, looking for the perfect place and time to attack. "What will happen when you do tell him? I mean, look, I need to know what to expect." She was sure he would laugh at her. She would if she were him. She was one small girl and this was a full grown wizard they were talking about. An evil, crazy, dark, full grown wizard apparently. It wasn't really a laughing matter but even she had to snort at the idea.

“I’m really not sure,” Draco said in a small voice, feeling helpless and a little hopeless as well. He wanted to make everything alright. He wanted to reassure the girl he cared so much about. The problem was, he couldn’t do that, and he was ashamed. The blonde looked at his girlfriend with wide grey eyes, trying hard to think of something reassuring to say, but in the end he knew there was nothing he could think of. “I’m sorry, Sky. He’ll probably be curious about you. He’ll want to meet you, I’m sure. I’ll hate it. But there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll probably have to set it up, too.”

His face was a full on frown at this point, and he really just wanted to hide Skyler away from the world. Of course, he couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t let him even if he could. “Whatever happens, though, I won’t let him do anything to you.” Draco would die first. He gazed at her with an intensity that he held for no one else. His hand found her cheek as he held her face so that their eyes bore into each other. “I promise you, I won’t let anything bad happen to you so long as I live.”

Draco kept her gaze for a moment more, then took her hand again and resumed their trek out of the forest. “Do you trust me?” he asked, hoping that she did. Her life may well depend on her trusting the blonde. Draco had a feeling he was going to play a key role in whatever shitstorm was about to break loose in their world, and he was sure his decisions with the whole thing were going to affect a lot of people. He just hoped he could make them positive effects.