It was a wonder Draco had even managed to get into costume on time for the bloody ball, let alone dragged Leyton along to open the damn thing with him and the other prefects. He’d been fixing up the Hall all day with the others and he had to say it looked rather fantastic. There was also the fact that the idiot Heads had left him in charge of food and drink, which meant that there were at least four empty bottles of firewhiskey already and more waiting for when the punch had to be refilled.

All in all, Draco was quite happy with himself. Especially considering he’d managed to turn himself into a wolf-man sort of thing, transfiguring a mask into a snout and giving himself large pointed furry ears. He’d even done some spells to make his white-blonde hair grow long and thick down his back and shoulders, while his chest and lower arms were coated in a thin layer of smooth white fur. He looked like a white werewolf, and his silver eyes gleamed hungrily. Draco was the Big Bad Wolf, and his Huntsman held him on a leather leash. He’d never last the night like this, but that was okay. They could always leave early in favor of a broom closet.

Wearing only a pair of old black trousers, Draco even sported a thick white-blonde tail and had charms on his hands and feet to give him thick claws. He grinned wolfishly around the room and let out a howl as he led his Huntsman to an empty table, plopping down and looking around at the other people there. He was sure they wouldn’t be alone for too long. Not judging by the stares they’d been getting since they entered the room. Draco was quite proud though. He’d decided specifically on the leash just to guarantee the reactions. The blonde craved trouble, what could he say?

”You ready to make heads roll, love?” he growled at Leyton, summoning two cups of punch and taking a great gulp, grinning at the slight burn that said his spiking had definitely worked. ”I am sure we’re going to be the life of this party. At least until company shows up…” He hadn’t forgotten the promise of the ‘dark lord’ joining the shindig. In fact, he was sure Luca would be on his way to the Room of Requirement to let the dark wizard in. He only hoped he would be too distracted to bother killing him or his lover.

Draco smirked, twirling his wand in his fingers. ”I think it’s high time we start that little trip-jinx game…” he murmured, aiming his wand and shooting said jinx at a nearby dancing couple. Draco was quite determined to have a wonderful time at this ridiculous ball, and between the showing off, the jinxes, and the alcohol, he was pretty sure that was going to be easily accomplished.

Leyton still had no idea how he had gotten roped into coming into this damn ball. Probably on the promise of more sex than he could possibly stand in the months to come. That was the only thing that was keeping him in the Great Hall and not in the common room. He would give it an hour, or two tops and then he would drag the boy out by the leash whether or not he wanted to come along.

Running his hand over his head, he tossed a look around the room as other stared in their direction. It was going to be a very long night to say the least.

His costume was fairly simple in comparison to Draco's. He had on tan cloth britches, brown leather vest-bare chested, and tan boots that came up to his knees. Across his back was slung a very realistic looking ax. All in all, it wasn't a horrible costume by any means. Following Draco along as he tugged on the leash he scowled as he howled. Very long night indeed.

"Well Draco I would say that you have already succeeded in making sure that everyone knows that we are here thats for sure." Picking up his cup he downed it all in one swallow. There was only one way he was getting through this evening and that was with copious amounts of alcohol.

"Don't remind me of whats to come, I was really hoping to forget it was even happening. I say we say for a bit and then spit before something we can't handle happens." Shaking his head he summoned another glass of punch. "Come dance with me before I lose my nerve."

Harry had been informed in no uncertain terms that he would be going to the Halloween Ball, and that he was to have a good time. Apparently that was the drawback to having a Prefect for a girlfriend suddenly. At least she had promised him that he would have much more fun at this one than he had at the last ball he went to. She had also told him not to worry about a costume, that it was being handled. He wasn’t sure whether to be excited or worried by the idea of her dressing him like this.

He was beginning to think she had forgotten and he would get out of it, until he returned to his dorm Halloween afternoon, intent upon getting the invisibility cloak and using it to try and figure out what the Headmaster was up to. He had been far too quiet lately. Instead, he was met with a grinning elf on his bed, holding up a pair of lime green socks and a package that must contain his costume. “Hell, Dobby, don’t sneak up on me like that,” he gasped in surprise.

”Dobby brought master his Halloween costume,” the elf said with a grin and a bounce on the bed. ”Mistress said to make sure you aren’t late, and to make sure you were the socks. And Mistress said you better figure out who she is.”

“Okay Dobby, got it,” the raven haired boy said, smiling at the elf and rolling his eyes. When the elf was done, he changed into the costume, a tight black chest piece of a shirt that was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, black pants that were basically tights, and black boots, plus a mask that came to two points at the top and left only his eyes and mouth uncovered in the front. “I am the Batman,” he whispered to himself in a husky voice with a grin.

He pulled the lime green socks on, though they were mostly hidden by the pants and boots, and looked at himself in the mirror. The top half was far too tight, to the point that he could barely breathe and his chest muscles were clearly defined. His legs seemed to be in basically the same situation. The best thing that could be said for this costume was that his scar was actually covered for once. The only parts of his face that could be seen as he made his way into the ball a little later were his shining green eyes and a devious smirk.

He made his way to the punch bowl, pouring himself a glass as he scanned the crowd. There were no shining purple eyes or anything else that screamed of his girlfriend. Apparently she was intent upon being a challenge tonight. That was just like her. He took a sip of the punch and almost spit it back out as it burned his throat. So it was spiked. He fought to swallow it and then swaggered off, still smirking and looking for a familiar face. His eyes settled on a familiar head of blonde hair, even if it was a little altered tonight, and sat down at the table, ignoring Malfoy’s cousin entirely. “So, Draco,” he drawled out, forgetting that the blonde might not quite be able to tell who he was thanks to the mask, “you had to be dating her when she planned tonight. Any idea what Skyler’s surprise costume is?”

Skyler looked quite pleased with herself as she observed her work in the mirror in her dorm. The other girls had already left for the Ball, fussing about being late. The brunette only rolled her eyes, perfectly happy to take her time. Even though she had made sure Harry would get the message to not be late. A little waiting wouldn't kill him, and it wasn't like he would know who she was anyways. Atleast, not until she was ready for him to know.

Her smirk widened in the mirror at the thought, anticipation and excitement clear in her now onyx colored eyes. Though she loved her purple ones more than any other feature she had been given, they were too easily spotted and recognized, seeing as she was the only one who had a pair in that shade of color. The color-changing charm she had used on them wouldn't last forever, and would wear off before the night was through, by which time she would already have her boyfriend eating out of the palm of her hand anyways. The thought made her whimper with desire.

Of course, her plan was to be her boyfriend's very fantasy without him even knowing it was her. Her goal was to have him wanting and needy for her, even if he wouldn't know it was her he was lusting for. And in this Skyler knew she wouldn't fail, because she couldn't have picked a better costume if she had tried. If ever the Slytherin witch would admit she looked sexy, it was then.

The vinyl body suit she was wearing gripped her body like a second skin, hugging every inch of her and accentuating her every natural curve. It was red and black in color, with the left leg and right arm of the suit red, and the opposites of each black. The thing zipped up in the front, and Sky, the devilish little vixen that she was, had it zipped only to just below her breasts, which were giving a deliciously frustrating show of cleavage that she knew would drive Harry wild. Her hands were covered in black gloves, that were laced with white ruffles, as were the heeled black boots that adorned her feet. Her face was painted white, her lips painted a burning red, and a thin strip of black mask covered the area around her eyes. A red and black jester hat sat atop her head, and her long, dark and wavy locks were done up in pigtails.

The teen had considered changing the color of her hair too, to perfectly fit the costume, but in the end couldn't bring herself to do it. Her hair was much too beautiful black for her to want to change it to the blonde or red the costume demanded. All in all, the brunette found herself looking devilishly sexy, and a very good rendition of Harley Quinn. Her Gryffindor was Batman, and though she had considered being catwoman, Sky had decided that if Harry was going to be the hero, she wanted to be his personal little villain.

She performed one quick charm to the heeled boots on her feet, ensuring she wouldn't make a complete idiot of herself by falling in them. The brunette was no expert in walking in anything with a heel, and fell enough with shoes that didn't have them, so she had taken the time to seek out a spell to help her in her endeavor. Sky had also taken the time over the past two weeks to develop a very passable English accent, to cover her American one so it wouldn't give her away. Now, sure she had all her bases covered, the Slytherin sauntered from the snake pit and made her way to the Great Hall.

The teen paused in the entrance way, taking in the decor in all it's glory, and, of course, to make sure eyes found her proud and confident form before she made her way in. Sky was very much an entertainer, but this was the first time she was planning on doing it in a way that didn't include making a fool of herself, and she was soaking it all up like a sponge as she grabbed attention with just her appearance and presence alone. A slow smirk curled her lips as the brunette finally made her move into the room with a confident strut that would make any diva envious, eyes roaming around lazily for the one boy she was there to drive crazy.

He wasn't hard to spot, in his incredibly sexy Batsuit, that showed off his body nearly just as much as her own apparel showed off hers, and her anticipation for the night doubled as she moved to get a drink. She noted Draco, who had decided to go with being the big, bad wolf as his costume, and Leyton, who was his huntsman and holding him by a leash. Skyler snorted into her cup, taking an experimental sip, only to find it burning it's way down her throat. Tobi and Laurette really should have thought twice about leaving Draco in charge of the drinks.

Skyler took her time wandering around the room, her every move subtly teasing and taunting as she did so. By the time she was through with her first cup of punch, the teen was feeling much more less inhibited, which she was happy for, because she had plans for her Batman. Setting her now empty cup down, and ignoring everyone else in the room, including the guy who was currently trying to hit on her and get her to dance with him, the Slytherin made her first move of the night, strutting across the hall towards the object of all her affections and desires in confident, sexy strides.

But she didn't put on the breaks once she reached him, and instead slid into his lap, her back pressing sensually over his played chest as she tilted her head back far enough to give him a smirk. "Does the big, bad, bat want to dance?" She purred at him, perfectly hiding her American accent as she did. His stunned silence had her currently dark eyes lighting up, but she was far from being done with her game, and pretended to take his silence as a rejection. "Is that a no then? How sad. I suppose I'll just need to find another partner for this one then.."

Skyler let her eyes drift to Draco, nearly laughing at the look on his face, but kept herself in check as she slid from her Gryffindor's lap, making sure to brush against him in a delicious way as she did so. She approached her blonde friend, letting her fingers whisper along his fur as she grabbed the leash from Leyton's hand, smirking at the older boy. "Don't mind if I borrow your wolf for a dance do you?" Sky didn't wait for an answer, instead taking the lead and pulling the blonde along after her by the leash, until they came to the dance floor.

The brunette made sure that her Gryffindor would remain in her sight, and that he would have a good view as she began to dance with Draco. She pushed her body against his, hips swaying and almost grinding against his to the music, but the show was all for Harry, and Sky wanted her boyfriend to get a good visual of just exactly why he would like to dance with her. It helped that it was Draco she used as a prop for this, because he was attached for one, so he wouldn't think much of it past that it was a dance, and she was sure at the most it would simply get him in a good state of mind for Leyton.

Draco had just settled down comfortably in the chair at the table when Leyton was standing up and pulling at the leash like the blonde was some common dog. In response, he kept sitting there and raised a brow, giving the older male a petulant look. When the boy kept up the tugging, he got to his feet and snarled, tugging the leash back hard to pull his cousin back toward the table.

”I just got comfortable, you ponce. Why don’t you just calm down and have another bloody drink? We can get to dancing later. It isn’t like we’re going to be leaving any time soon,” he stated with a demanding tone to his voice. Ever since that day in the forest with Sky, Draco had been feeling the need to be on top. It wasn’t just a sexual thing, either. It was a need to dominate every situation. Draco was the alpha and everyone needed to know that fact.

As the thought of how badly he needed to assert himself as the one to bow to in the room ran through his mind, a familiar pair of emerald eyes met his of silver and he growled, then flashed a daring yet friendly smirk. ”Nice bat suit, Potter. Why would you think I would know what she’s going to be? She was keeping that damn costume a secret since day one. Didn’t matter who the hell she was going with.” He couldn’t help but grin at the fact that she had kept Potter in the dark as well, though. It was something to do with male pride or some such nonsense, to be sure, but Draco was happy that nobody else knew what he didn’t.

He was about to say something more to Potter, possibly taking a jab at the tightness of his pants, especially considering what he knew about the Gryffindor thanks to that lovely Truth or Dare game, but he was interrupted from all thought by the appearance of a stunning girl.

Draco’s jaw literally dropped when the pretty jester strutted into the room, the suit leaving little to the imagination, especially the way it was zipped. Her eyes were so dark and mysterious… yet familiar. Some of that dancing mystery in there was eerily familiar to the blonde, and he wracked his brain trying to figure out why. Where might he know this pretty little clown from? She sat in Potter’s lap, and he felt the jealousy bubble up inside of him. No! He was the alpha! The sexy little devil of a girl should be rubbing up on him!

A growl was building in his throat, but it didn’t last long. The girl’s hand took his leash from Leyton and Draco felt a jolt of excitement course through his body. Oh, just the way she brushed his fur made him instantly harden. It was almost disturbing. Draco followed her to the floor, no longer even trying to fight the idea of dancing, and ran his hands over her body, feeling the familiar curves and smirking. Familiar? Oh, yes. This figure was so familiar he could close his eyes and see her naked form. Her rosy nipples would be so hard from feeling his arousal grinding against her. She’d be dripping with desire from all the heated eyes on her- especially Potters. That had him growling deeply in her ear.

The blonde Slytherin inhaled deeply near her neck, then nibbled it lightly before whispering huskily in her ear. ”The nice thing about having discovered my wolfish nature so recently…” he growled, digging his fingers into her hips and smashing their bodies together. ”Is that my sense of smell is still deliciously heightened. Nice costume, fail snake. Never thought you’d have the balls to be so fucking sexy. You should do it more often, baby. Confident looks fan-fucking-tastic on you.”

With that, he smirked, nipping her earlobe before the song finished and he led them back to the table, summoning new drinks for all four of the occupants. ”I don’t know if Batty here could handle a dance with you, you sexy thing. You might just get stuck with me tonight.” His eyes danced dangerously as he shot Potter a challenging smirk. He could man up now, or his witch would be up for grabs this fun little night.

Scowling down at the younger boy he couldn't help but glare at him. He was the one who had dragged him to the damn ball in the first place. He would have rather stayed in the common room and kicked back in front of the fireplace.  Now he was here was just expected to sit at the table and do nothing like a good little boy.  That was the last thing he was going to be doing.  "Its called a dance because thats what you are supposed to do. Not sit at a table and get drunk because you spiked the damn punch."

Dropping down with a huff he continued to scowl as Potter came over and dropped down at the table as well.  Things were just getting better and better as the night progressed.  Watching Draco from the corner of his eye, the reaction on his face did not to calm his mood when the little witch came strolling over like she owned the damn place.

As she dragged him out to the floor and he went along easily his fingers tightened around his wand.  Draco couldn't dance with him but he could dry hump this witch across the floor like it was perfectly ok.  Well it wasn't alright.  They were supposed to be here together and all Draco was doing was making him look like yesterday's garbage. Narrowing his eyes he pushed up away from the table with an angry growl throwing the glass at Draco's head.

"The next time you decide to dry hump another person in front of the entire school, ask yourself what your current partner would think about it."  Shaking his head he couldn't hide the hurt in his eyes as he spun around and headed across the room and back out into the hall.

Harry didn’t know who the girl in the vinyl bodysuit was, and he didn’t really care all that much. He did wonder if there was a chance in a million years that he could get his girlfriend into one, somewhere private where she wouldn’t be able to say that no one could ever see her that way. He was certain it would be the only show sexier than the delicious set of curves and cleavage that he was currently staring at as she made her across the floor. He knew he should be working harder to win the game of “find the girlfriend” but he had already given the floor a really good look, and apparently she wasn’t here yet. He would enjoy this show for a little bit and then go back to looking.

Not very long after he had come to this decision, she was heading straight for him. Well that was certainly interesting. Those curves seemed familiar, as if he knew them really well. The delicious smirk even more so, and as she slid into his lap, rather than pushing her off, he had a desire to dominate her, to prove that he could beat her, if he could only figure out what game they were playing. It was almost like the mysterious hot witch was…

But it couldn’t be her. The sexy purr in his ear was clearly British, and the deeply aroused and arousing eyes looking down at him were dark, and those were the two of the three things his girlfriend would never give up. That and the sexy comment were enough to make him stop himself at gaping at the basically face level cleavage instead of seizing the girl and snogging the life out of her.

Apparently that had been enough to allow her a break, sliding out of his lip so that he could look without touching, which would let him feel better about himself, especially if his girlfriend decided to no show. Still, he couldn’t help the whimper that escaped his lips when he lost contact with her, or the jealousy that filled his eyes as she led his longtime rival out onto the floor. Draco was just as much in a committed relationship as Harry, and his partner had actually bothered to show up on time. Why was he the one having fun with the sexy mystery witch?

Watching them grind together on the floor only made the jealousy grow, even though Harry was fairly sure he would never be capable of moving like that. Then again, it looked like it was just the stuff that led up to sex, with a little bit of fluidity thrown in, and he was perfectly fluid on a broom. Why couldn’t he do it on the ground too? When Sky showed up, Harry would show them dancing.

That was the plan still as they made their way back over as the song ended. It was still the plan as he deftly caught his second glass of punch of the night. It was even the plan as Leyton freaked out about something stupid or other that Harry didn’t care enough to listen to. Harry would be a good boyfriend. He would stare at the girl until Sky showed up, and then he would release all of this building arousal into making her night magical.

And then Draco challenged him, and the plan changed entirely. He rose to his feet without even realizing he had done it, downing the glass in one go and shaking his head slightly at the burn of alcohol down his throat. Then he snatched the girl’s hand away from Draco, tugging her back out onto the floor as the thumping bass line of the next song got going. Dancing had gone terribly the last time he had done it. Then again, that had been a dance run by Dumbledore and McGonagall, not Vincent and LeBeau, and the dance Malfoy had just done would not have been welcome there. On the whole, that kind of dancing seemed much easier and more fun, and Harry was more than ready to give it a go with this utterly sexy and mysteriously familiar witch.

He pulled her to him, grinding his hips against hers and dipping his shoulders to the unfamiliar but easy to follow beat of the song. Not content with the level of contact this generated, even as it was driving him completely crazy, he deftly spun her around so that her back was to him and pulled her flush against him. The longer he looked at her, felt her, breathed her in, the more familiar this girl seemed to him. Finally he couldn’t hold back anymore.

“You know,” he breathed huskily into her ear, still grinding against her to the beat, “if I didn’t know better, I would swear that you’re the girl I’m taking home with me tonight.” He paused for a moment, breath still ticking her ear. “But she wouldn’t have done something as Impossible, as giving up her eyes, would she?” He really hoped that his guess was right. If not, he was going to come off looking really stupid. Not that looking really stupid mattered all that much if this wasn’t his girlfriend after all.

The moment they were out on the dance floor, Draco's hands were roaming over her body, their familiar strength and touch eliciting a delighted shudder from her as their bodies melded together easily. Ever since that day in the forest, when the wolf had first made it's appearance, Skyler's body reacted to his every touch, and it wasn't anything she could control. Not that it hadn't done so before, but before there hadn't been any need for him to touch her in such a way. Now, things were different, especially complicated, and spiraling out of control again in an all new yet familiar way.

The teen had all but given up trying to figure it all out anymore, and decided to just go with wherever life was taking her for this ride, even if it meant she lost it all. Was it a dangerous game she was playing? Yes. Definitely. Were there risks of someone getting hurt? Of course. Was she a terrible person? There was no doubt in her mind about that one. Sky was completely out of control of her own life, her own emotions, and lately, her own body. Even her mind was in a downward spiral of control loss that was likely to lead to some kind of spectacular crash. And the loss of control was intoxicating the Slytherin.

In all her wildest thoughts, the brunette would never have dreamt up a situation like the one she found herself currently in, with an alpha who wasn't her boyfriend, and a boyfriend who had no clue just how wretched she really was. Right and wrong seemed to cease to exist in her life anymore, and more often than not what felt right was usually some form of wrong. She was sure by this time she represented the lowest life form on earth anyways, what with the cheating, the lying, and all the other unforgivable things she was doing. Now, she was just stuck in a place in her head where she hoped that when she finally came to the outstanding crash she was headed into, she didn't survive it.

But that was neither here nor there now that Draco was grinding his obvious arousal into her on the dance floor in time with the beat they danced to. For now, for maybe just that one night, the Slytherin would push it all away. Ignore the fact that everything she was doing was completely immoral, force the guilt away, and lose herself in the touches of the boys she loved. It was probably the worst idea she had had to date, and as fucked up as it was, especially now, the simple fact that she could bring both boys to stare at her with fierce desire even when they didn't know it was her was the biggest power trip she had ever experienced.

Of course, it didn't take the male Slytherin long to discover just who was hiding within the costume she had presented, him and his damn wolf senses making it far easier than she would've liked. But that was probably for the best. Her entire plan involved appeasing the wolf, so that the dominance Draco now possessed didn't rear it's ugly head, and driving Harry completely wild. So the teen allowed the nips to her neck, eyes closing as she continued to move against the blonde even as he growled in her ear about what he thought about her costume. She smirked at that. If he thought her just walking in was sexy, he hadn't seen anything yet. By that point, his fingers were digging into her hips in a way that she was sure was forceful enough to be leaving bruises, and their bodies were so close they might have fused together at some point and became one.

The raw possessiveness of his grip on her had her body pooling with desire, and a small whimper passed her lips at the term of endearment he had taken to using for her now, as well as at the nibble to her ear before the dance was over and he was leading the way back to the table. Sky took one of the drinks the blonde summoned for them all and all but ignored whatever was going on between him and Leyton. If the two weren't having sex, they were fighting, and the brunette had given up trying to understand it. Instead, she took the time to really observe her boyfriend, who looked far too delicious in the costume she had picked for him than even she had thought.

Licking her red lips and with dark eyes full of desire as she looked at her green-eyed Batman, Skyler responded to Draco's words, covering her natural accent again to keep up the charade she had going. "Oh I'm sure he can." The teen replied with a knowing smirk, which she hid behind the cup in her hand as she took a drink. It burned down her throat again, but she didn't let that stop her. Especially not when her boyfriend stood with purpose, and downed his drink. The brunette tried to follow the action, but only got halfway done with her drink when Harry was snatching her hand from Draco and tugging her out to the floor for a dance.

A jolt ran through her the moment he initiated the contact with her body, pulling her to him and grinding his hips into hers, eliciting a full body shudder from the teen. She wasted no time in matching him move for move, completely focused on driving him nuts by dancing up against him in a way she was sure she might not have done without the aided factors of costume and drink. Or maybe Draco was right, and she should try being less inhibited more often. She smirked as he spun her around, pulling her back against him until their bodies molded together like they were made to do so, and dropped her head back against him, her hips rolling against him to the beat of the song playing.

But Harry was pulling her to an all new realm of desire with his steady grinding into her, and she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip as his breath washed over her ear, her body quivering from the ticklish sensations it caused. His words had her smirk growing to a new wickedness, and the Slytherin looked up at him with a mix of desire and mischief in her dark eyes. "Mm, you can take me anywhere Batman. I'll be the villain to your hero any time, any place." Sky purred back at him, ignoring his question that would have her game ending much too soon for her liking. Instead, the teen fired back with one of her own as the song ended and another started, the new tune perfect for her next move.

"I guess it depends. Would the girl you were planning on taking home tonight do this?" Skyler smoothly twisted out of his arms and away from his body, backing up slowly towards the table, taunting him with her body and devilish smirk until he followed her. When she felt the table behind her, the brunette easily sat atop it on the edge, sliding herself back until she had room to pull herself to her feet in top of it. Her gaze stayed locked on the emerald green ones behind the mask Harry wore as the teen began a table dance she was sure would rock his world.

Her hips swayed and rocked to the rhythm the band was playing, her hands dancing over her body as she performed her provocative dance with a confidence even she hadn't known she had. Skyler never let her eyes leave the stunning green of the Gryffindor's, not even as the mesmerizing and delicious movements she was making her body perform grabbed attention. She didn't care who looked, or what anyone else thought. This show was for her boyfriend, and she wanted him panting with need by the end of it.

At one point the brunette dropped low, rolling her hips as she did, and flashed him her sultry smirk as the dark color faded from her eyes and in it's place was the violet color that they normally were. She have him a look that said 'come get me', crooking a finger to beckon him to her with that seductive smirk of hers and licking her lips as anticipation filled her and desire filled her purple orbs.

Well, that dance had Draco all worked up and he was about to take a long sip from his new drink when the sudden splash of punch hit him straight in the face. He sputtered, eyes burning from the alcohol as he stared after Leyton, snarling openly and shaking as he fought the wolf to keep it from coming all the way out. The cup hit him in the head then, and it was all he could do to close his molten eyes and find some sense of control. If he lost it here, people would notice. He couldn’t do that. It would put them all in danger, especially Sky, and he wouldn’t risk her over that sod of a cousin who just stalked out after a most undignified display.

”Maybe the leash gave you the wrong idea,” he snarled after the boy, ripping the offending accessory from his neck and letting out a wild howl. ”Nobody can tame me!” With that, he shook like the canine he was impersonating, droplets of punch flying around him though he was pretty sure Potter and his fail snake had already made it to the floor so they could avoid the shower. Draco made his way over to the table of punch, finding an extra bottle of firewhiskey that he’d stashed underneath and pulling that out, filling a fresh cup half with the already spiked punch and the rest of the way with straight liquor. He downed it in two big gulps, then repeated the process two more times, finally stowing the bottle and returning to the table with a full cup of punch and a bit rosier of a complexion.

By this time, he noted that the vinyl-clad Sky was sauntering sexily back toward the table and had a look to her eyes that made his trousers a bit tighter. She was up to something, and he was sure he’d enjoy it. She got up on the table, and he couldn’t help but pant a bit, feeling more wolfish even as his need to shift calmed down thanks to the liquor in his system. Draco growled and watched her movements, sniffing the air and groaning when her arousal caught his nose. Silver eyes lit with desire and he watched, pawing at himself openly through the restricting trousers. He didn’t care who might notice him. They should be looking at her anyway.

”Oh, yeah. You are full of surprises, aren’t you little snake? You dance like you’ve done that before…” he trailed, knowing she’d hear him even if most others wouldn’t. She had heightened senses too, after all. He growled, watching as her eyes turned back to purple and he saw just how proud of herself and turned on she was. Mmm, those eyes were such a giveaway once you knew how to read them. He loved having that little insight into her devilish little mind.

Luckily, the whiskey was making him pretty lax and rather pleased with the idea of sitting there and watching the show. Otherwise, he might have felt the need to claim her right there in front of Potter and everyone else. As it was, Potter could have some more play time with his girl. He’d just keep sipping his drink and let his fingers whisper over his erection, imagining they were hers and she’d given in to his will completely. Potter was nowhere to be found in Draco’s wonderful fantasy full of violet eyes and sensual dancing.

The kind of dancing this ball seemed to feature Harry could definitely get used to. He wasn’t sure if it was the lack of adults, or the fact that Halloween was just a much sexier holiday than Christmas, but he was sure that he didn’t care. This was the right kind of dancing, and the other stuff was still boring and girly.

Harry really, really hoped this was his girlfriend, because when she offered to be his villain anytime he wanted, it seemed like the best idea in the world, and if this wasn’t Sky, he probably wouldn’t even notice when the impossible little thing came in. This was turning into a hell of a week for him losing the ability to keep his hands to himself. He supposed he should be a little bit worried that he might be starting to act like Draco, but all of this felt entirely too good to stop, and besides, he knew where his heart belonged.

He wasn’t sure whether her answer was an answer or not, and the accent was still throwing him, but he followed her back to the table easily enough anyway. He wasn’t sure where she had learned to do that, but he was sure that it should be some kind of standard hot girl training going forward. Maybe if this turned out to really be some mystery girl he could figure out who she was and convince her to train the Snake Queen in training or something. Possibly the weirdest part of this was that it never occurred to him that the wild child from the other day might want to put on a show for him, and would be perfectly capable of this. Either this was his Sky, or it was some total mystery. At least, that’s all his brain would let him think of.

The emotions that coursed through him when the eyes shifted back to purple were confusing, to say the least. On the one hand, the show had really been entirely for him, since it was his girlfriend who had been doing these things, and he was honestly so turned on that he was shocked he hadn’t torn through his tight pants yet. On the other hand, this was a rather big talent to hide and a rather big personality shift, and she had rather enjoyed staring at him while grinding herself fully against Draco, and letting him kiss her, Harry was pretty sure. There was something deeply wrong with that.

Still, for the moment the fact that this was his witch, and she was putting on this show for him won easily, and he reached out as the song ended, pulling her off the table and flush against him. He kissed her hard, trying to communicate just how much she had affected him with her little show without saying anything. It probably helped that his rock hard, throbbing erection was pressing into her hip the entire time he kissed her.

Unfortunately, before he could do anything more forceful than kiss her hard, his body decided it needed to breathe, and when he pulled back for air his eyes fluttered open to take in the room again. Unfortunately, when they did, they landed on Draco, who seemed to have gone from zero to drunk enough to wobble a little as he sat, probably because of wherever the hell Leyton had gone after the fight that Harry was still only vaguely aware of. Unfortunately, he was pretty certain that Skyler was the only person here that could stand Draco if Leyton was really gone. He pulled back a little further, concern flitting through his shining eyes, and nodded his head at the blonde. “You should probably go make sure your friend is okay. I can wait a little bit.” He hoped he was right about that. Either way, friendship was always going to be more important than sex, especially since he was only just starting to be friends with Draco and really wanted to make sure the guy was okay.

Skyler was feeling daring, more so than she had in a while, as she performed on top of the table with her eyes pinned on the emerald gaze of her boyfriend. Her entire plan had banked on the fact that everything, from the costume she wore, to the provocative way she acted and danced, was completely out of character for the normally somewhat modest girl. At first, the Slytherin hadn't been sure if she would be able to pull it off. But the moment she had out on the costume and strutted into the hall, all eyes on her, her confidence had grown tenfold. The spiked punch had only ensured that her inhibitions were virtually gone, and both had ensured she was successfully driving Harry wild.

Not to mention her Alpha, who sat in his chair with his drink for the show. Even if her gaze never left Harry's, Sky could feel the heated stare from Draco on her. It only served to arouse her further to know she could perform in such a way for her Gryffindor and the blonde could sit back and watch. Of course, her heightened sense of hearing picked up his words, and her smirk widened that much more. Surprises? Oh, he had no idea. If there was one thing the two boys needed to learn about the brunette, it was that once she came up with a plan, she stopped at nothin got execute it. And she always covered all her bases.

What she hadn't expected was the incredible power trip it would be to feel the hungry stares, to feel the desire in the room build up around her as she performed her dance. Had she ever done this before? No. But dancing wasn't incredibly hard, even if she didn't particularly like it. And she had certainly never danced like this before, but she figured it was just moving in a way that would have Harry thinking of all the ways he could ravish her. The drinks had loosened her up, so there was no stiffness to her fluid moves, which helped greatly.

But her fun came to an end, and no sooner had the song and dance ended than her boyfriend was pulling her down from the table and into his arms. Once there, he pulled her flush against his hard body, and his clearly aroused member pressed into her, eliciting a needy whimper just as he claimed her lips in hot kiss that had her seeing stars and feeling electricity flowing through her body. Skyler moaned into the kiss, returning it with a passionate fervor until he stole every last breath she had and pulled away to have her panting, lightheaded, and weak kneed. That seemed to always be how he left her after his kisses. She felt it was safe to say, from that kiss alone, that he had enjoyed her show.

The Slytherin was still lost in the afterglow of the heated kiss they had just shared when Harry's words snuck into her desire fogged mind. When they finally made it through to her brain enough to where she could form thoughts of the words, her violet eyes followed his gaze to the form of Draco, who was slumped in his chair, clearly well on his way to drunk. If he wasn't already. Instantly, Skyler's look and face softened into one of concern and care and the teen didn't need telling twice. She slipped away from Harry, taking her now empty cup from the table and filling it with water from her wand, which she pulled from it's place up her sleeve. Approaching the blonde, the brunette squatted between his legs, taking the cup of punch he had already and replacing it with the one filled with water.

"You shouldn't drink so much, Alpha. You know who will be here, and I don't like seeing you like this." Sky spoke softly, so only he would hear, resting one her own hands over his that held the cup and insistently pressing it towards his lips. She hadn't really thought about getting sober up potions, so the quicker she got water into him, the better off they'd be. His last meeting with her uncle hadn't gone well, and she was sure being drunk wouldn't go over well either.

As Leyton stormed towards the entrance hall it took every thing he had inside of him not to go back and press a fight further.  His fingertips itched for a fight. Now was not the time nor the place no matter how badly he wanted it.  The boy was not stupid, he had noticed the subtle changes in not only his cousin but Riddle as well.  There was something going on and it would come out eventually.

Karma he supposed for all the wicked things he had done in his years.  The distance between Draco and himself was becoming noticable though and he hated the way he felt.  The more he pushed the more the other boy pulled away.  This dance was his hopes in getting closer to him once more.

That dream however was shattered to pieces when Leyton watched him dance, if you could call it that, with the witch.  Sure, it could have been something as simple as a dance, two teenagers letting off a little steam but to him it was more than that.  It was a betrayal though Draco obviously did not feel the same way.  Though his cousin never did see the same things the same way he did.  Pacing back and forth angrily in the hall he reached up and ran his fingers over his head, trying to force himself to calm down.  

The Dark Lord was on his way and the last thing they needed was to set him off and end up with half the school injured or dead.

Blowing out a deep breath he turned on his heel and headed back into the Great Hall walking straight towards the refreshment table.  If he had to witness such acts he was at least going to be drunk enough to not remember it tomorrow. Stopping at the table he downed two glasses of punch in a blink of an eye and poured a third.  Turning around he let his eyes scan the room until they stopped at the table that held the three he had left some minutes before.

Some conversation or something was going on between Potter and the fail snake, since she was suddenly coming toward him and taking away his drink, only to put some new cup full of something nice and cold in his hand. She was between his legs, and it had Draco wanting to paw at himself even more, but he somehow felt like that would probably be a bad idea, especially considering the way she called him ‘Alpha’ and told him he needed to sober up. She was reminding him of what was to come, or more specifically, who was to come, and it had him gulping down the water as she held the cup to his lips.

His ‘master’ would be joining them soon, he knew, and he couldn’t be off his game. Draco had to be sober enough to play his role properly, especially since he was supposed to be keeping his distance, romantically speaking, from one Skyler Riddle. The one he had claimed as his for eternity, as far as he was concerned.

It was the fact that she didn’t like him being so intoxicated that had Draco urging her to refill the cup so he could drink more of the refreshing water. Sure, it was important to be in the right state of mind for the Dark Lord, but he was more concerned with his little snake and making her happy. Disappointing her was the worst he could do, and so the blonde determinedly took more water into his system, feeling it flush out the mass of alcohol he’d drunk. It was foolish, yes, but at least he had someone looking out for him… helping him sober up enough to function like a human being.

”Yeah, you’re right. That was one hell of a show, though, baby,” he whispered the last bit with a husky growl. He knew she could see exactly what she did to him based on the tent in his trousers, but he wanted to tell her. He wanted her to feel the desire in his voice. And he wanted her to hear the commanding tone. She might be going ‘home’ with Potter tonight, but she knew exactly who she belonged to in the end.

Just as he was about to reach out and get her to stand up, as he was feeling much less inebriated now, the blonde heard a distinctive noise that had him shivering, the wolf clawing at him to get out. Something bad was coming. His senses were on fire and he had that feeling that something wasn’t right. It wasn’t the feeling he got when the Dark Lord was near, even. Something big was coming. Something bad. He looked to Potter with wide silver eyes. They needed to be ready for a fight.

Hermione Granger had a plan. Of course, Hermione almost always had a plan, but she was especially proud of this one. It also marked the only plan she could think of that she was not telling Harry and Ron about at all. In fact, the only person who knew any part of her plan was the Headmaster, because his plan overlapped nicely with her own. Still, she hadn’t told the professor everything, so if he knew her end goals it was because he had figured them out on his own. Harry had still been himself when he started doubting the Headmaster as far as Hermione could tell, so for now she would continue to treat the highest authority in the castle carefully and only work with him when it suited her own ends.

She had to be very careful, though. Halloween was the day that phase one of the plan happened, and if anything went wrong there was a strong chance that the rest of the plan would never happen. That simply could not be allowed to happen. Nothing could go wrong, because it was time for the Riddle girl to pay. The Headmaster had said just to deliver the girl to the proper place and he would take care of the rest, but based on the way he talked about the dirty snake Hermione doubted if he would mind if she got a measure of her own revenge first.
 
Phase one involved no one even realizing who she was at the ball. Unfortunately, as she was a Prefect, and the two Slytherin Prefects were high on the list of people she needed to fool, this was going to be hard to pull off. Apparently the Riddle bitch also had a secret costume, as she was doing their decorating duty in muggle clothing instead of a costume, and she wasn’t a girly little thing like LeBeau who would need to not get her costume dirty once she put it on. What was it with Slytherin house and useless bitch authority figures?
 
Hermione had chosen a much sneakier, subtler method that was probably more fitting for a snake than a lion. She had two different costumes. Leading up to the ball, she talked about doing something easy, and then she had shown up for set up as the nerdy girl in a horror movie, which was basically her school uniform minus the robes, big fake glasses, and a lot of blood. Surely everyone would just know this was the costume that she meant, and they would assume when they didn’t see it later that she had decided to skip the ball for whatever reason. Vincent or his useless bitch girlfriend might try to call her on it later, but it wouldn’t matter. She was so far above the two of them now that neither would ever be able to tell her what to do again.
 
Indeed, by the time she stayed all the way through set up, hid until all the other girls in her dorm had left for the ball, snuck back in, and changed, she was more than a little bit late, but that didn’t really matter at all. Her cue wasn’t here yet, and the less time she had to waste at this stupid dance, the better. As it was, Zorro was a rather dangerous costume, as she was deathly afraid that her hair would come tumbling out of the hat, or the mask would slip at the wrong time, or someone would recognize the wand she was flourishing, knowing that she wouldn’t be any good with a sword once her cue came.
 
Still, even nervous as hell, she couldn’t resist announcing herself to one person. It helped that just after she walked in, the Riddle bitch, the prissy Ferret, and the prissy Ferret’s boyfriend were all in something of a loose circle dealing with something she didn’t care about even a little. That left Harry standing by himself and staring at them dumbly. She strutted by quickly, in the swashbuckler’s gate of the hero she portrayed, but stopped for just a second in front of her old best friend and future lover once she fixed him, and removed her mask so he could see her eyes, breathing words that only he could hear, and that he wouldn’t dare repeat to anyone, lest they think he was crazy again and send him to bed, leaving them to come true even easier. “Watch your evil little snake, Harry. You know what a war the forest spiders have with dirty, evil snakes.” With a smirk she settled her mask back on her face and walked away as quickly as she had come, finding a corner far away from anyone who would want to talk to her to settle in so that she could wait for the fun to begin.

He had sank back into a seat, watching his girlfriend take care of his former rival and trying to remind himself that they were all in this together and that friendship, both Sky’s with Draco and his own budding friendship with the blonde, were more important than sex, no matter what his cock was currently insisting as he waited to see if she was coming back or if Draco was too far gone and needed a babysitter now.

He noticed that Leyton came back and grimaced. He wasn’t entirely sure he remembered the whole plan rightt, but if a Lestrange had left and then come back, there was at least some chance that Voldemort and a few handpicked followers were in the castle now, which meant they really couldn’t afford for Draco, their best and calmest contact with the would be ruler of the world right now, to be too sober to be his usual cunning self. Hopefully the water that Sky seemed to be sending in waves through him would do some good. Of course, it was just as likely that instead it would make him need to pee at the worst moment possible.

Before he could decide whether that would be funny as long as they came through it okay at the end, two things happened to let Harry know the night was about to be tossed on its head. The first was Draco looking at him with a look in his eyes that might have even been called fear. That meant it wasn’t the Death Eaters, since he knew they were coming, or if it was, it was much worse than they had known. More likely he had just realized that there was some entirely new hell coming for them.

The second thing was the Zorro sauntering over, revealing itself to be Hermione, and delivering the cryptic warning that only he had heard. Snakes and spiders and killing his impossible and lovely girlfriend? What in the name of Merlin and all the founders was she on about? Almost immediately she was gone and he was starting to hear the noise that Draco had heard what seemed like ages before. It was a noise that Harry had hoped to never hear before, especially in this large of numbers, and for possibly the first time ever, Harry really hoped that he was imagining thing. If what he was hearing was real, they were all going to die, and the death eaters would be really confused when they got here….

Running his finger over the rim of the glass he turned slightly to look at the stage as some Gryffindor he vaguely recognized jumped on stage and started going on about his witch. Rolling his eyes he turned back around and started back across the dance floor avoiding his brother and the inevitable fight he was picking with the Headnesses. Downing the cup he tossed it onto one of the tables as he got closer to the others.

Pulling out a chair he glanced down at Draco had obvious issues that weren't worth fighting about now. Leyton had a good idea what would happen when he got back to the common room that night and all he wanted to do was get through the ball first. So giving the younger boy a pointed look he shook his head, the emotion in his eyes unreadable.

As he was about to express his displeasure the hair started to stand on end on the back of his neck as the air about them seemed to almost crackle. Turning to glance over his shoulder he saw a sight he never thought possible. Spilling into the room were the largest spiders he had ever seen in his life and for the first time ever he froze and was at a loss for word.

Pulling on Draco's arm he sputtered and pointed still trying to get the point across before they all ended up as spider food.

Skyler refilled the cup with water when Draco urged her to, still watching him with concern in her purple eyes. She really didn't like seeing him like that, and cursed herself mentally for being so caught up in her game with Harry that she hadn't taken notice of the amount of alcohol her Alpha had consumed. The teen really wanted to question him as to why he had, but was too afraid, lest the answer concern the fact that she was still currently dating the Gryffindor. Even though they both knew she was Draco's. It was an incredibly complicated situation, and the brunette realized way too late how hard it might be for the blonde to watch from afar as she clung to Harry.

This had her feeling more ashamed for her actions so far during that night than ever before, not to mention wretched. It hurt her to think she was hurting Draco. The teen hadn't exactly been very considerate of his feelings so far, even if she had gone out of her way to appease him at the beginning. Skyler knew she needed to break things off with Harry, and knew the sooner she did, the better off they would all be. She just hadn't exactly figured out how to yet, and she really didn't want to hurt the Gryffindor. Not to mention she was terrified she would lose him from her life forever. And that wasn't really something she wanted as an option, even is she couldn't blame him if he hated her afterwards.

So caught up in her thoughts on it and her concern for the older Slytherin that she had completely missed the obvious arousal she was faced with as she squatted between his legs. Which he easily brought her attention to with his whispered growl that made her body shudder with desire at it's commanding tone. Sky was thankful for the darker light setting of the hall and the paint on her face that easily covered the blush hiding beneath it as her face heated from his words. "Thank you Alpha. I'm glad you enjoyed it." The brunette whispered back softly, gazing into his silver eyes, a shiver of anticipation running down her spine at the desire she saw there.

It was probably a good thing that Leyton picked that moment to pull up a chair next to Draco, because Sky was sure she was seconds away from giving in to her urge to crawling into the blonde's lap, everything else be damned. But she also wasn't happy to see the older boy, because she was sure he was atleast partly to blame for her Alpha getting himself so damn intoxicated. She spared him an angry glare for his efforts, but everything else was pushed aside from her mind in the very next second as her keen animal senses picked up on something her human ones never could.

She could feel her skin begin to crawl, the hairs at the back of her neck stood on end, and the look in Draco's eyes told her it wasn't just her that was sensing what was coming. In one, fluid motion she was standing, and turning back around. Sky zipped her suit the rest of the way up and pulled her wand from it's place up her sleeve, fighting the urge to let Nyx out, as the inner animal clawed inside to be set free for the incoming danger. The brunette had just taken her first step toward Harry when it happened before any other warning could be given.

Acromantulas.

They stormed the Great Hall so suddenly and in such numbers it scared even the usually fearless Slytherin. There were so many of them. Too many of them. For a split second Sky froze, completely unsure of what to do. The screaming started, the running around like chickens with their heads cut off started. It hadn't taken longer than that split second she had hesitated for the pandemonium and fear to set in and set things off throughout the Great Hall. It also hadn't taken longer than that split second for the spiders to converge over the entire room, and the split second was all that was needed for the small brunette to find herself faced with one that towered over her threateningly while the clicking sound that echoed around the hall drove the panther in her nuts.

Knowing she couldn't shift even if it was the best chance she had, Sky didn't have a chance to so much as glance at either Harry or Draco as the spiders were so clearly on the attack and in masses. Immediately the teen was on the defensive, and thankfully knew enough about these particular creatures to know where to aim. Before it could really make it's move, the brunette's wand moved through the air as she sent a conjunctivitis curse at it's eyes even as she ran straight at it. The teen dropped at the last possible moment to send herself sliding beneath the giant spider and aimed a stunner at it from underneath as she did.

The Slytherin could hear the yells of curses and hexes from all around the room and knew she wasn't the only one who was taking on the acromantulas, so when she slid out the other side of the one that collapsed behind her, stunned, the teen didn't waste time in getting back to her feet. Which was a good thing too, because she was immediately faced with another eight legged creature with way too many eyes. This time around, Skyler used her quick reflexes to her advantage, moving with the speed and agility of the cat she was, her wand slashing through the air as she sent severing hexes at it's legs.

Unfortunately, her luck with facing only one opponent lasted only that long, because just after she properly stunned the now leg-less one, she was faced with two more of the damn things towering over her small form. Much like the cat within, the Slytherin crouched, every muscle in her body tensing and ready to spring her into action. There was no hesitation now. And fear she didn't have time for, even though she was extremely worried about Draco, Harry, Leyton, and all the rest of her friends that had been in attendance. Purple eyes blazed with determination and there was no stopping the deadly hiss that passed her lips.

This was going to be a very long night.

Yep. He knew he’d sensed something. That chill running down his spine was definitely not unfounded, as there were creepy bloody spiders crawling into the damn hall and Leyton was grabbing his arm and gaping like some idiotic fish. Oh, and then there was the damn fail snake who was in some kind of warrior mode, pouncing and hissing like the bloody cat that lurked inside of her. Salazar’s bloody testicles. Draco was so not in the mood for this shit, especially since he was still a bit tipsy from the alcohol and he really needed to take a piss.

With a snarl, he snatched his arm back and started for the general area that he knew Sky to be in. ”Dammit Fail Snake! Where the bloody hell did you go?!” he yelled, running at a spider as he pulled his wand from his trousers, slicing it through the air and using a darker hex than he’d yet shown in front of his classmates, causing the creature to literally rip in half before him. The blonde performed the same spell on two more of the pests before he even caught sight of the girl he was so worried about. Merlin, she was sexy. He’d never seen a woman look so damn fine as when she was fighting off massive arachnids and getting splattered in their guts.

”Oi! Amazonian warrior! Where the hell is Potter?!” His voice was demanding toward her as he shot stunners at the spiders nearby, realizing it took a good two or three hits for the blasted things to go down. Of course, as soon as he found Potter’s bat-eared head, he shuddered as a bright green jet of a spell shot past him and hit a spider, knocking it over dead right where it previously stood. Oh bloody…

”Fuck. We’ve got company!” he yelled to the Gryffindor male, backing toward Sky as he tried to attack as many of the nearby creatures as he could. He was looking around wildly, trying to figure out how many of his followers the Dark Lord had brought with him. Well, at least they knew he was coming. What didn’t make sense was that he was attacking the bloody spiders. Didn’t that imply that he wasn’t responsible for them? Well, Draco had thought that he would play by the agreed rules and not hurt anyone, so… That seemed to actually be very likely.

Which meant… ”Oh, bloody fuck! Potter! It’s an inside fucking job! Protect the fail snake!” Panic streaked through his silver eyes as Draco realized in his haste to figure out what all was going on he’d lost sight of his old and future girlfriend. Dammit! How was he supposed to keep track of spiders, the Dark Lord, random Death Eaters, and the crazy woman who was Skyler Riddle?

Of course he wasn’t imagining things. Of course it was the giant bloody spiders that Hagrid had started breeding in the forest years before. It looked like it was probably every single one of them, too. It was hard to tell indoors as compared to in the forest, but if had to bet, Harry would say there were currently more spiders filling the Great Hall than there had been in second year when he and Ron had accidentally threatened them in their own bloody territory.

Harry had taken one step towards Sky as she was trying to reach him at the beginning, only for the mass chaos to make it largely impossible. He focused on at first on fire spells, knowing how much spiders in general, even bloody giant ones, hated light and fire, but quickly abandoned that as he managed to catch his crazy beater’s pant leg on fire while she ran by, hacking the legs off of spiders with an actual sword and dodging their fangs like some sort of deranged pirate ninja or something.

He shifted instead to a combination of blinding them, cutting off their legs, and ducking, since most people seemed to be using stunners, which more often than not only bounced off, since they had so few weak spots. By the time they had been in the hall a few minutes that seemed like an eternity, red beams were bouncing everywhere, and Harry was more focused on keeping the younger students alive and on their feet than on actually doing any fighting himself.

When Draco yelled in his direction, he looked up from trying to get Dennis Creavey behind a table to hide so that he didn’t get eaten. He found himself almost face to face with a masked Death Eater with long, clearly male brown hair coming out of the back. He was about to send a stunner at the psychopaths face, not caring who had truces with who, or just how Voldemort had gotten control of creatures that lived on the Hogwarts grounds and at least partially answered to the Hogwarts gamekeeper, when Draco’s next shout reached him and he lowered his wand a little, confused.

Then it hit him. Of course the Headmaster had done this. He had been quiet far too long, considering what Harry suspected of him and what he definitely knew of him. Sure, he hadn’t been any more suspicious during their weird little weekly meetings than he had the last five years, but that somehow wasn’t surprising, and neither was him unleashing something that could kill most of the student body, since obviously he had figured out somehow that Voldemort would be around to blame it on. Harry gave up on fighting entirely, weaving through the hall and trying to find Skyler. Chances were high that she was the real target of this insanity, since Dumbledore wouldn’t kill students just because he could blame it on his arch enemy.

Unfortunately, she seemed to be nowhere to be found. Not that that meant anything for sure, considering the crazy way she had been going back fighting the damn spiders back when Harry could see her, but still. He began shooting stunners of his own, carefully aiming for the eyes and screaming with range. He was going to clear a wide path, and he was going to find his girlfriend, and once that was done, he was going to kill someone for this utter insanity. He didn’t even quite care who just now.

Hermione had been expecting craziness and danger. What she had not been expecting was the Great Hall to actually be filled with spiders. She saw no way that this ended without a lot of dead or injured students. The Headmaster’s plan better work perfectly, because if it didn’t there was a high chance that the bushy haired Prefect would be expelled at the very least for her role in it.
 
Her initial shock plus that line of thought almost made it so that it didn’t matter. In the chaos she had lost sight of her target entirely. It probably would have been better if she had managed to grab her while everyone was shocked by the entrance of the diversion, but before the ball had broken down into complete chaos. Admittedly things would probably be simpler if Riddle got herself eaten by a spider. If that ruined the Headmaster’s plan he would be upset though, and that couldn’t be good.
 
She weaved through the crowd, not even bothering to fight with the spiders. If she didn’t draw attention to herself she would be less of a target, and if one of them decided that she was the tastiest prey here, she was probably dead anyway. Why waste the time and energy helping the castle when everything she was working for hinged on her mission here, not the survival of some idiot first year Slytherin or other?
 
Finally her weaving, avoiding and searching got her a sightline on Riddle. She was fighting more than one spider all by herself and there was no one around to help her. Once again the urge to ignore her and just let her get eaten hit, but she fought it down. Now that she had located the terrible girl, she might as well give the mission a valiant attempt. Knocking the girl out shouldn’t be a problem. Dragging her where she was supposed to be without one of them getting eaten might be, though.
 
She glanced around for Harry and Malfoy, but they were nowhere to be seen. Perfect. She knew that she was just supposed to stun Riddle and drag her off. That way, if someone saw her spell, it would look like it was aimed for a spider, and if someone saw her dragging the unconscious Riddle girl away it would look like the spiders had gotten her and Hermione was trying to save her.
 
No one was watching though, and Hermione doubted the Headmaster would hold a little bit of revenge against her, and stunners didn’t seem to actually hurt. Instead she sent three curses in quick succession: a full body bind, a silencing curse, and a cutting jinx at the girl’s face. Hopefully that last one would look like a spider bite, leave a nasty scar, and really hurt. Plus the combination of the first two would make Hermione able to drag Riddle without stunning her, so she would feel the pain of the process.
 
The spiders that had been closing in on the Slytherin seemed confused by the disappearance of their target and scrambled away to seek out other prey. Before more could replace them Hermione darted forward. She kicked Riddle hard in the side to make sure she wasn’t capable of fighting back. Satisfied with the result, she drug her quickly towards the door she needed, making sure to make the process as quick and uncomfortable as possible. When she reached the door, she gave Riddle a quick kick in the opposite side from the first just to balance out her injuries.
 
“Ready to die, tiny little problem girl?” she snarled, opening the door and shoving her inside. She walked in next and closed the door behind her, leaning against the wall and waiting for any further instructions she might receive.

Skyler wasn't entirely sure when she had managed to become so completely separated from the two boys she had been fighting alongside with. One moment, the brunette had been attacking the spiders scurrying around the younger years Harry was trying to help, with Draco at her back, and the next, she was nearly at the other end of the hall. This might have been due to the fact that at one point the teen had somehow managed to jump on the back of one the creatures as it scurried by, chasing after it's prey that was dressed up as a frog from what she could tell.

The chase had ended when the Slytherin had severed the spider's head from the rest of it's body, ending with the thing skidding out beneath her and into a wall. Thankfully, the brunette had sense enough to jump lithely from the thing before she managed to crash with it, and she turned from the carcass of the now dead creature with nothing more than satisfaction at her very first kill. Ever. Sky thought that maybe she should feel something more, but she didn't, and instead, the witch felt adrenaline pumping fiercely through her veins.

By now, her vinyl body suit was streaked with the slimy green guts of multiple spiders she had been the downfall of, and with so many more in the room, the brunette jumped back into the nearest fray, though she tried to keep a lookout for Harry and Draco. Part of her wanted to abandon the fighting and find them, but it seemed impossible to so much as take a few steps before being faced with another giant arachnid. Skyler didn't bother with stunners anymore, and instead aimed to kill the damn things by severing them in half.

There came a point when the small teen was faced with two of the massive creatures, and like before, she crouched between them, muscles tensed and prepared to move at a moments notice as their clicking pincers sent a shiver up her spine. Merlin that noise grated on her nerves. The brunette had just began to move her wand when she felt her body lock up, all movement becoming impossible, wand clattering uselessly to the floor and just as she began to tip over thanks to her now useless limbs, a searing pain erupted over her face as she felt the flesh along her right ear and up to her scalp split and she felt her own warm blood flowing from the cut.

A silent cry of pain might have been heard if the Slytherin could actually let one out, but the obvious body bind she had been struck with kept her from moving even her lips. Either that, or she had been silenced. Or maybe both. She didn't know, and she had no clue what to think, as the pain on the right side of her face took up a good chunk of her thoughts, while the rest was just complete confusion. Part of her wanted to believe she had been bit on accident, but the smarter part of her knew that just wasn't the case.

As the idea that she had in fact been singled out for an attack flashed in her mind, a hard kick to her ribs was delivered, and another cry of pain was never heard as purple eyes looked up into the unmistakable chocolate brown ones of Hermione Granger. Why was Sky not surprised? It seemed to be her place in life to attract the hate and blame of girls who were in love with boys who weren't in love with them. If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't, the Slytherin would have laughed at the unbelievable irony of it all as she was once again faced with an opponent she had no way of defeating.

Instead, she tried to focus more on fighting the body bind that forced her still as a stature instead of the pain running along the right side of her body now. Skyler tried to shift, willing her magic to do something, anything, as the older girl began to drag her roughly along the floor in a way that made her current pain double. But nothing was happening, and that same panic and fear she had felt that day outside the prefect's bathroom began to bubble up inside her. Skyler forcefully clamped down on those emotions.

She had promised herself she would never let herself be that weak again, and the idea that she had made her anger boil within her, giving her something more to focus on. Something she could use. Especially as she received another hard kick to her left side, the pain she was now in getting equally distributed. She was pushed through a doorway, and the Slytherin focused on her anger. Taking in the pain she felt and using it to fuel her building rage. Violet eyes were bright with fury, nearly glowing, and her hand twitched. Then a foot.

Skyler was using her rage to fight the body bind the other girl had put her in, but the first spell to break was the silencing spell as the air became heavy in the room from the magic building in her fury. "You...will...die...before..me." The teen managed to spit out as she regained the use of her lips, fingers now fully able to move. It was only a matter of time before she managed to free herself from the curse, and when she did, Granger was a dead lion.

With an almighty surge of fury, the younger teen's magic finally lashed out in forceful waves that would've had the older witch slamming against the wall and had the door flying clear off it's hinges and out into the great hall as Sky finally managed to break free of the body bind. Panting hard and eyes full of a dark rage, the brunette started to pull herself to her feet, gaze trained on the girl whose throat she wanted to rip out, deadly, cat-like hiss leaving her lips.

Sky was was shaking in her pain and anger, but before she could make good on her threat, the crack of apparation sounded and her eyes only had time to see the note as it fell to the ground before something gripped her and she was pulled into side-along apparation, with no clear thoughts on who, where, or why.

Harry paused in his crazed path clearing exercise to gape as a door came flying through the room with a shuddering bang, beheaded a spider, and came to rest in a different spider. Not in the neck, belly, or one of the other soft parts. It came to rest embedded deeply in the thick, magically impenetrable part. A burst of magic that powerful meant one of the two present Riddles, and Harry was reasonably certain that Voldemort had no reason to be in the little chamber that he had first heard details of the Triwizard tournament in. That meant that his search for his girlfriend was over.

Now he just needed to get most of the way across the Great Hall to reach her. “Oy! Draco!” he shouted in the direction of what looked like a blond half-wolf. Hopefully it was his former rival now mate, and not someone else in a similar costume. “Meet me at the little side chamber as quickly as you can!”

He picked up his pace, now spending as much time doing weird gymnastics to avoid spiders as shooting the stunners at them. There simply wasn’t time to mess around with fighting them. If the impossible witch was making doors explode off of their hinges, she was in some kind of grave danger. Besides, the battle seemed to finally be turned their way. If a handful of Death Eaters and the majority of Dumbledore’s Army couldn’t finish this; that was a different problem. So was what Voldemort was up to with reinforcements, but that would have to be the next problem up. His girlfriend came first.

There was a tiger looking at him curiously as he ran. Why was there a tiger in the Great Hall, looking at him as he ran? Oh right, because his assassin could turn into an actual tiger if things got too dangerous. That probably explained the paths starting to open up throughout the area. He shook his head at her, not entirely sure what he meant by it. “Stay close, though,” he panted, skidding to a stop looking into the chamber he had been searching for.

Sky was nowhere to be seen, though Hermione was standing in the middle of the room, wincing and reading a scrap of parchment that looked like it might have had the official seal of Hogwarts on it at some point. There had also clearly been a struggle, which meant this had been where Sky was taken, and it hadn’t been long ago at all. So how was she already gone?

“WHERE IS SHE?” he screamed out, stabbing her wand through the air and sending Hermione flying across the room and into the wall. “WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY IMPOSSIBLE WITCH?” Unfortunately, all the roaring and sending her flying across the room seemed to have left Hermione completely speechless. He slumped down, only to snap back to attention as Draco entered the room.

“Stay here with this psychotic traitor,” he spat out, nodding from the blonde to the brunette. “Try and make her tell you where Sky is any way you can think of. If she does, find someone who can send a patronus to me to tell me where she’s at. I’m gonna start looking. I’ll let you know when I find her.”

With that he turned back into the main hall, running as fast as he could towards the doors into the castle proper. He nodded to the tiger to follow him and grabbed Ginny as he ran, pulling her along. “Gin, I need you to stay a little back. Make sure that nobody follows us, either to cause trouble for us or to get themselves into danger. Sibes, follow me. You’ll know what you need to do when we get there. Just make sure that Sky comes out of this in one piece.” With that he took off again, heading up as quickly as he could manage. His first stop was the Headmaster’s office. He doubted the old tyrant would be foolish enough to take her there, but he needed to check to be sure, before he tried to think of places the ancient wizard could hide with her. Hopefully he would figure it out before anything bad happened.

Merlin’s saggy scrotum! This ball had quickly gone to hell and now Draco couldn’t even figure out where his damn fail snake was. On top of that, Potter seemed to be losing it and something was going on near the doors, plus there was a bloody tiger fighting off the giant beasts. A tiger! He couldn’t even make this shit up, it was so absurd!

The blonde felt like he was in some sort of bad dream rather than the reality that was life at Hogwarts, but it soon became very apparent that this was not the case as Potter was calling to him and he was racing toward the antechamber outside the hall, fighting the instinct to shift and start mauling spiders and people alike. Merlin, this was bad. Death Eaters, the Dark Lord, giant spiders, and now a missing Sky. What the hell else could happen tonight?

Apparently Granger could happen, as that was who Potter seemed to be screaming his head off at when Draco finally skidded into the chamber, fumbling about and nearly falling over as he tried to stop his trajectory. He’d been running pretty fast, and had to use a wall to stop himself completely before turning to snarl at the bushy haired girl, eyes flashing with the intense rage of the wolf. Apparently he was to guard the filthy beast that was Granger while Potter went off to find Sky. Draco didn’t much like the idea of not being there to save his girl, but at the same time, he knew someone had to make Granger pay, and Potter was more than capable of a successful rescue mission.

He snarled his acceptance of his role, then turned on Granger even as he heard Potter leaving the little chamber. He smiled maliciously at the girl before flicking his wand behind them, sealing the room off from any intruders and effectively trapping the muggleborn witch from any sort of escape. ”You’ve been a bad little witch, haven’t you, Granger?” he growled, eyes glinting again as his costume and his true form seemed to mesh. Some of the wolf was taking over, and Draco wasn’t even fighting to control it at all.

”Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to play with the big bad wolf? You might get yourself bit…” He lashed out at her with a clawed hand, snarling angrily as he worked to scratch at her face. She might back away this time, but there was no way she could dodge him forever. Not while she was his caged little rat and Draco was an angry alpha with no way of knowing whether or not his witch was safe. This stupid girl would pay for what she’d done.

Draco lunged at her without holding back, feeling her fall beneath his stronger body. He gnashed his teeth in her face, staring coldly into her chocolate brown eyes even as blood streaked her face where a claw had dug in rather deeply. ”Tell me, Granger, are you ready to die?”

Hermione would never admit that she had underestimated Riddle, or that the snake might have some impressive talent and ability. It must be a mistake Hermione made that allowed the strange and obviously evil little girl to speak her empty threat. The bushy haired Prefect would simply figure out what the mistake was and correct it.

“I will outlive you by years, you tiny prob-“ At that point her snarl was cut off by the fact that she was hurled backwards and slammed the back of her head into the wall. She was dazed for a moment and slid down the wall with a groan. By the time she recovered and raised her head, the stupid girl was gone and there was a note in the center of the room. She crawled over to it, recovering as she went, and by the time she reached it and started reading she was able to stand up. She scowled at the note. Apparently her role was finished and she was to pretend nothing was happening now. She hoped the Headmaster didn’t think he could avoid rewarding her for the help that she had given.

Before she could work out what she would do if that was the situation, Harry arrived screaming his head off. Even though she knew it was just Riddle’s negative influence and not his true feelings, it still hurt that he would treat her this way. It didn’t hurt as much as slamming into the wall for a second time did, of course. She was fairly certain that if people didn’t stop blasting her across the room when she wasn’t expecting it she would suffer some sort of brain damage. That would be a shame, as it would deprive the world of one of the brightest minds it ever could have had.

This time when she cleared her head and looked up it was Harry that was gone. Instead of a note giving her orders that she didn’t want, she was faced with Malfoy stalking towards her. She tried to tell herself that she was fine and that this was the same useless Malfoy that she had been dealing with for years, but she knew it wasn’t. The blonde seemed wild, more dangerous, and sharper somehow. On top of that she could tell that she was bleeding where the same place on the back of her head had been slammed into a wall at high speed twice. This was probably not going to end well for her.

A superior smile tugged at her lips as he childishly taunted her about being bad and she jumped back easily to avoid his claws. Maybe she was only imagining that he was more dangerous. She certainly had to be imagining the wolf-like claws on Malfoy. She must have hit her head even harder than she had realized.

“Even if I knew where she was, I would never tell the likes of you,” she sneered at him. “Actually, yeah I would, because it’s probably far too late for your precious bitch now anyway. So if I knew where the Headmaster was getting rid of her I would tell you right now, so that hopefully you would get there in time to watch powerlessly as he does it. Sadly I don’t know. He didn’t tell me.”

Her little speech was cut off as he lunged at her and knocked her to the ground. Her eyes went wide with a terror that she simply couldn’t control. It certainly didn’t help that one of his claws had ended up in her face, given her another place to bleed from. Those claws were definitely real. What was going on in the school this year? Evil little girls could do powerful wandless magic and brainwash good Gryffindor boys so effectively that even Hermione couldn’t break through. Malfoy seemed to be a weird mix of wolf and human, and she felt like it might not just be a Halloween thing, yet no one was saying anything about it. She was determined that when tonight was over she would figure out exactly what was going on.

His final words sunk in and she quivered again, not even trying to hold it back this time. “Please, Draco,” she nearly sobbed through her pain and terror. “Don’t hurt me anymore. I’ll…I’ll do what you say.” This was never supposed to happen. She couldn’t die. She was supposed to be the one who came out the winner in the end. She wasn’t supposed to die at the hands of a rival that she had been beating for years, sealed in a room where no one would know what happened. The idea was breaking her a little, and her brown eyes were wild as she stared up into the enraged silver ones of the wolf-boy.

“Please, Draco,” she begged, “you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to murder me. You don’t.” She trailed off from words to senseless begging. Her whole life was still in front of her. Tonight simply couldn’t be her time to die.