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Spiral Tangent: 'Witches Tales' - Part 2 of 2

Placement: later that day

What you need to know: This continues from Part one

*

Ritual Interruptus; 1:00 PM

Holly ascends the stone staircase up into Myrtle's loo to find Hermione standing there as expected. What is less typical is the mild expression of shock on Hermione's face when Holly steps up from the staircase to greet her.

"Something wrong, Hermione?"

"Uhh, no. No, I just... have a great deal on my mind today. As you might expect."

Holly gives her another skeptical look and then turns back down the stairs. "Yeah, I suppose. Come on, then."

Hermione follows Holly down the staircase carefully, almost nervous to touch the wall surrounding the passageway for its accumulated slime. They continue through to the Chamber without speaking, their footsteps echoing in the damp cavern.

Eventually they enter an antechamber; a square room lit by torches in wall sconces shaped like coiled snakes, small versions of the ones in the main Chamber. This room has been set up as a ritual space, with a base protection circle etched into the raised flagstone dais in the center of the floor. A long worktable with two heavy wooden chairs and a partially-filled bookcase are set against the wall opposite the entrance door, and Holly has conjured up an overstuffed dark blue futon in the center of the protection circle. Hermione takes all this in while standing at the entry.

Holly notices her doubtful-seeming scrutiny of the space as she gathers a collection of candles to place around the outside of the circle. "Oh, I know it's not much in the way of comfort, but a few Warming charms should make this workable. How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess. A little sore still..."

"But you still want to go through with this?"

"Yes, just... tell me again, what will it feel like?"

"Natalia had a decent time with the process, though she's a poor barometer for how much pleasure there is in pain, especially if she's running hot. Afterwards, I imagine you'll feel a little giddy. We ended up in a tickle fight."

Holly notes Hermione's continued look of concern and walks over to stand in front of her friend. She gazes up into her brown eyes and grasps both her shoulders. "Hermione, you don't need to do this. The bonds will have an effect on you that you may not appreciate. We'll definitely feel closer, but I fear for--"

"No, I want this." Hermione's gaze into Holly's eyes recalls her eye-swirling madness of days past. "I want to join you. I want to join... with you."

Hermione's eyes flutter to a half-lidded yearning and she leans down to kiss Holly. The red-haired witch tables her initial surprise to enjoin the snog, and they both step into a strong embrace. The kiss continues with a dancing rhythm of tongue-fencing, both girls moaning and gasping occasionally as their ardour gains momentum.

Holly finishes the kiss with a gasp and looks up at Hermione with a happy smile. "Nice! Well lover, I'd say I'm convinced! Get yourself comfortable. I'll be back in a tic with the ink."

Hermione smiles back and nods silently, moving to the worktable and pulling off her outer robe. Holly exits, closing the door behind her. Hermione turns to look back over her shoulder and then continues to remove clothing until she's only wearing a pale lavender bra and matching knickers. Looking around the room tentatively, she comes to a decision, removing those last pieces of modesty as well. The witch then takes a position next to the door, biting her bottom lip in anticipation of Holly's return.

Holly enters through the door carrying a tray with multiple ceramic cups, sand in a bowl, a glass of water and three small potion bottles. Hermione holds back pouncing on the witch but still startles Holly. The subsequent unbalancing of the tray sends both girls to fumble with it, hoping to prevent a full-on accident. A frightening ten seconds later, they stabilise the tray and its contents between their four hands and lock anxious gazes. Both girls then burst out laughing.

"Naked as well, Hermione! If you're not careful, people might get the impression you like me more than just in a friendly way." Holly takes the tray and places it down next to the futon. When she stands up again, Hermione is there with a smouldering look.

"I'd say we're friendly..." Hermione steps forward and engages Holly in another well-received kiss.

They break the snog and Holly slaps Hermione lightly on the hip. "Right. Let's get this thing going." Holly gestures for Hermione to lay down on the futon and begins to light the candles.

Hermione sits down on the comfortable mattress, keeping a close eye on Holly's every movement. She gasps slightly when Holly doffs her work robe to reveal her own naked body. Holly pulls off her trainers and then draws her wand from seemingly nowhere to apply another few warming charms to the dais.

Finishing the preparations, Holly enters the circle. She gestures for Hermione to lay down on her front and the eager witch complies quickly. "I am going to do this gently, my love, but I have to ask you a question first. I want to give you something; a token of my love for you. Will you accept my love and my protection? Will you take my Mark upon your flesh, so that you will always know that I love you?"

Hermione starts suddenly, recognising that words of power are being spoken. She gulps and then responds.

"Y-yes. Yes I will."

Holly bends down and whispers directly into her ear, while caressing her back along her spine.

"Are you sure, Pansy?"

"Yes I'm... OH FUCK!"

"Rigor Tergum."

Paralysis quickly enwraps 'Hermione' until she is frozen in a protracted position with her arms splayed out to the sides, her face now locked in an expression of complete surprise. Her eyes are still free to move, and they are darting about wildly in fear.

"So, here's my conundrum, Pansy. I have what I need to make you mine, but I don't know if I want you. You aren't yourself right now, so I'm not convinced the ritual would work right anyways. But if it did, you'd be the perfect mole for the return of the Dark Lord, and you'd have very little to say about it. On the other hand I'm about two seconds away from snapping your spine for your continued interference in my life. You should be happy to know that I've been having a weird day already, which is why anger wasn't the theme to follow this time. It has probably saved your life. So far."

Holly bends down to look directly into Pansy-Hermione's eyes. She touches her wand to the frozen girl's forehead and whispers 'Legilimens'.

Pansy feels her defenses broken through as if she were struck by a charging bull. Memories shift into her mental view much quicker than she normally experiences them, until a recent scene takes the fore.

~o~

Pansy is following Hermione Granger as she stiffly climbs the stairs to the second floor corridor and down several hallways to the girls’ loo, the same haunted lavatory that was a hub of activity two years prior. She sees Hermione look down into her hands discreetly and then turn to look back at the last juncture of hallways where Pansy is hiding behind a statue.

"Pansy?"

A wave of frustration passes through her and she steps out into view.

"Hermione. I saw you climbing those steps quite painfully, so I decided to follow you. Are you injured?"

Pansy notes the deep blush crossing Hermione's face, exulting with a rush of happiness and intrigue without reflecting it in her expression.

Hermione clears her throat after nervously shifting her stance several times. "Oh. Uhh, no. Not really. I may have... strained myself earlier but I'm sure I'll be fine by tomorrow."

The dark-haired witch smirks and slinks forward, giving Hermione a teasing look. "Of course you will. I imagine this is a... one-time pain. Tell me, did the Boy-Who-Lived claim your virtue, or is it perhaps the visiting celebrity Mr. Krum--"

"Pansy! Don't you think that's more than a little rude?"

Having caught up with the Gryffindor, Pansy takes her arm and leads both of them into the loo in a companionable manner. "No one else is around, as I'm sure your Sneak-o-scope or whatever has told you." Pansy seals the door behind them and slips into an imploring look. "Please, Hermione? I get so little gossip in my current situation. Can't you dish just a little?"

Hermione bites her bottom lip coyly and then turns to face Pansy with an eager look. The second their eyes meet, Pansy thinks strongly 'Legilimens' and enters Hermione's perception.

Immediately she catches some strangely obscured talk about a ritual of membership into some sort of coven, followed by a second, potently erotic memory of having sex with Harry Potter, then seeing him become Holly Evans.

Pansy quickly recedes out of Hermione's mind and hits her with an 'Obliviate' just as the witch's indignant look begins to turn furious.

"You will forget that Pansy met with you at all today, instead believing that your earlier exertions caused you to faint here in the lavatory. Stupefy."

Pansy's mind accelerates, thoughts of learning more of Holly's secrets bringing a rush of hope and wonder. She immediately digs into an inner pocket of her robes and pulls out a familiar flask, one recently used by the faux Alastor Moody. Pansy yanks a few curly hairs from Hermione's head, adding them to the container and applying a heating charm with her rowan wand.

~o~

Holly pulls out of Pansy's mind and blinks several times. Her eyes catch a feral glint in the torchlight. "Once more, I hold your life in my hands. Given the House vows, I now hold your magic in my power as well. How does that feel, Parkinson?"

The real Hermione enters the room. "Holly, Padma let me in when Myrtle told her I was waiting, but she said something about me already being here-- WHAT in God's name IS THIS?!" Her look of shock quickly matches that of her naked and paralysed doppelganger.

Holly continues glaring at Pansy-Hermione but replies to the original's question. "Well, this is a dress rehearsal of me giving you the Spiral, initiated when Pansy came onto me using Polyjuice to appear as you."

"H-how did you know it wasn't me?"

"Let me reiterate: 'she came onto me'."

"And what do you intend to do with her?"

Holly sits back on her heels, giving Hermione a somewhat challenging look.

"As much as I can, as often as I can."

The frozen 'Hermione' begins to shed tears, despite her condition.

Hermione protests, stepping forward to focus on Holly's face rather than be distracted by her nudity. "You mustn't!"

Holly moves her hands to her hips in a grump but remains kneeling in front of her captive.

"Okay, Hermione. You can make the call. Here are the choices: she gets Marked; we use Legilimency to uncover exactly what she knows that we don't want her to know and then Obliviate her of the knowledge; we Obliviate her of everything since the World Cup and conk her on the head to explain the memory loss; we kill her and dump the body with the Acromantulas; or we just ask her to promise not to use anything that she's learned so far against us. That last one worked out so well for you before- I think it's my favorite."

Hermione glares at Holly for her sarcasm. "Those aren't the only options. We could have her vow to keep the secrets."

"Which ones?"

"All of them; about you, about... us and this place and... and..."

"Getting complicated, isn't it?"

"Why are you being so mean about this?"

Holly jumps to her feet, distracting Hermione for a moment by the agile, bouncing movement of her naked form. The short witch's rant quickly recaptures Hermione's attention.

"I'm being mean? This is the REAL DEAL, Hermione. Our lives hang on the choice you're about to make! What she knows about this could ruin both of our lives and see us put into Azkaban. Never mind the Dark Lord, everything we know will be destroyed including our own will to live! Are you beginning to see THE PROBLEM?!"

"L-let's ask Pansy."

Holly scoffs. "Oh, Good God, why?!"

"I'd like to know what she'd prefer." Hermione tilts her head back in a superior stance.

"Lovely. I'll just be in the other room making sure this is the only rodent we let in. You can unbind her and hopefully you'll both still be alive and here when I get back."

Holly steps out of the circle and grabs her work robe from the floor, wrapping it around her body. She then walks past Hermione without a second glance and leaves the room.

Hermione watches her departure with a rising anxiety. She jumps at the sound of the door slamming shut.

The thoughtful girl turns back to face her frozen duplicate, pacing a few circuits of the room before coming to a decision. Hermione squats down in front of Pansy and looks into the tearful eyes that stare back from her own face.

"I'm going to release you now. We're going to talk. I need you to be honest or you'll end up dead, do you understand?"

Pansy can only aim her eyes downward once in response. Hermione cancels the effect of Holly's skin-locking spell and Pansy-as-Hermione collapses into the futon. She immediately bawls in fear and shame, curling up on the mattress and holding her head in her unfamiliar hands.

"Huhhhhhahhh! Is... (sniff)... is she really... (sniff)... would she really...?"

"Kill you? Oh, most certainly, Pansy. I'm not sure why you'd even wonder about that. At the moment I'm trying to determine if she'll kill me if I make the wrong choice with you."

Hermione sits down cross-legged facing the crying girl that looks exactly like her, resting her chin on her hand in a grumpy contemplation. Pansy pouts out a sobbing protest.

"You don't get to decide my fate, Granger!"

"It's really funny to see me say that- like I'm watching a movie where I'm talking to myself, or perhaps that Twilight Zone tale about the better version of me. Of course, I'd be the better version between us..."

Pansy calms her tears and tries to rise from the mattress unsuccessfully. "My legs are still numb."

"That's on purpose. It's really rather peculiar to see myself naked and crying on a mattress as well. God! This magical life is sometimes just so odd..."

Pansy's histrionics subside and she looks at the disgruntled Gryffindor. Pansy lifts her body up a little, exposing more of her unclothed skin to the other witch by propping up on her elbow.

"Would you... want to kiss me, looking like you?"

"Psh! Don't be MORE bizarre, Pansy. I'm having a difficult enough time concentrating on this as it is. What would you do in my place?"

Pansy slouches a little and considers the query for a moment. "Bind you. No question. A live thrall in the camp of my enemies is like winning the platinum sweeps. I can't even fathom why you're stuck on the decision."

"Clearly because I am not you... And yet again I'm having a moment of discord in the mode of this conversation!"

"Close your eyes if you can't keep your mind on topic! Merlin's sake, Granger! How stupid could a smart person be?"

"What do you want, Pansy? If you had the choice of any circumstance, what would you prefer?"

"I... I..."

Holly's voice echoes from the doorway, startling both Hermiones.

"She wants to not live in fear, anymore. She wants to belong, and feel protected. Pansy used to feel like that while in the Slytherin dorms until she reached too far. Then all her alliances fell apart in the face of Flint and his rape-gang. Their male sexual aggression was released from its societal constraints specifically for her... Punishment."

Pansy flinches at the word 'punishment' but tries to cover for it with a sarcastic moan. "Oh please don't wax political for my sake--"

"I wonder just how much Professor Snape likes you, Hermione, for him to take out his anger on Pansy so viciously."

"Professor Snape doesn't 'like' me, Holly. He just wasn't thinking through the consequences of his orders for Pansy's punishment."

"Riiight. Pansy, what's your take on that?"

"I had no idea Professor Snape had a thing for Granger, but hearing you say it explains so much about this." Pansy-Hermione turns to sneer at the original version. "It's your bloody fault I was abused. If I had targeted Patil it would have been a detention."

Holly responds, "If you had pulled that on Parvati she would be dead and you'd be in Azkaban. Nonetheless your point is valid."

Hermione protests, "It is not! Professor Snape doesn't have a 'thing' for me!"

"Well you should schedule some private tutoring with him to test that theory. Pansy and I will be ready to collect on any wager you wish to make on the outcome."

"So you're best friends with Pansy now? Wait. You think we should Mark her."

"I think she wants to be Marked more than you do."

Pansy spits, "Fuck you, Evans."

"We'll get to that," Holly answers, and then turns towards Hermione. "As to my relationship with Miss Parkinson, she and I have been working together in secret since the first of term. It was a practical partnering that neither of us mistook for friendship. At this point I think Pansy was hoping to gain some leverage on me to help restore her status within the House, but obviously things went pear-shaped on her plan."

Hermione sits back, looking first at Holly leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed and then at Pansy-Hermione's pathetic expression of hopelessness.

"Pansy, what would you have me do?"

"Obliviate me. Make me forget everything since our horrible potions battle. I want to go back to when it all made sense."

Holly interjects, "That time never existed. You thought you were protected and now you know you weren't. Even if we did Obliviate you that much, our Housemates would quickly bring you up to speed on your loss of status."

"Then kill me."

Hermione throws up her hands and looks at Holly. "Right. I've made my decision."

"WHAT?!"

"Oh, now you don't want to die?"

"What is with you, Granger?"

"Even I can see through that pathetic display, Pansy. 'Pity the poor girl. She's just harmless. We can let her go.' As if I could be THAT gullible! Holly- you should Mark her. She obviously has skills and cunning and can serve well in the coming conflict. It's probably the only path to take to truly redeem her, and even then I'd call it a longshot."

"Well, I'm with you in theory but it really does have to be voluntary. We'll have to convince her to go through with it. I suggest we give her a few hours in solitary to let her contemplate the possibilities."

"There's no way you can hold me here that long! People will notice I'm missing!"

Hermione stands up and shakes her head at the quickly panicking girl. "You keep forgetting, Pansy; no one likes you. I'd be the first person to notice your absence or take action on it, unless you've been nicer to Tracey lately than she's mentioned..."

Holly moves towards the door but stops as a thought occurs to her. "Oh, the other problem. Pansy, are you still a virgin?"

"Yes!"

"Yeah, sorry about this... not for much longer."

"I... NO!"

"It's part of the ritual. I just wanted you to know that to include it in your considerations. See you in a few hours. Petrificus Totalus."

Pansy's scream is cut off as the spell takes effect

"NAAOOOOO--!"

Hermione takes up the tray of ceramic cups from the floor and leads out through the doorway. Holly follows, closes the door and seals it with a 'Colloportus'. The spell makes a sound like a soft rubber stopper being inserted into a flask.

(Fworp!)

Hermione sets the tray down next to the door. "I have no idea what we were just doing."

"Just what it looked like- Pansy caught us about to reveal our secrets but we caught her because she didn't understand our relationship. Now we have to handle it. What do you think we should do?"

"Ehmm, maybe we should bring Natalia and Padma in on this."

"Why?"

"So that everyone involved can voice their opinion and we can come to a consensus."

Holly re-ties the belt of her work robe more securely at her hip. "Uh, no. Hermione, what part of 'vassal' did you forget in that line of reasoning?"

"Well then why did you ask my opinion?"

"Gee, I dunno. I think you're smart most days, all current evidence to the contrary."

"You didn't used to insult me when we argued."

"You made more sense then."

Hermione looks down in contrition. "Do you think your ritual will even work in this case?"

Holly sighs and shifts to lean against the doorframe. "I don't know. Padma thinks so, but she also thinks I'm being overly sentimental by fucking my followers before binding them. I certainly can go through the motions necessary even if the emotional investment is lacking. Until I Mark you I won't know if there's a difference in the effect based upon that."

"Because... you don't... love me anymore?"

"Because I chose to Mark Natalia as a matter of necessity and a desire to protect her but I'll be Marking you in a more selfish mindset and because you convinced me to do it. It may not make a difference or it may change the bond completely. Padma's already run through four scrolls in some mad calculation about it. Perhaps later you can explain to me how she quantifies affection in her formulas. Arithmancy still just breaks down for me at the practical level. 'If x equals dead and 4x equals very dead...'"

"We shouldn't just leave Pansy here until we finish our ritual. I think we can get a sample of Draught of Living Death from the twins- it was one of their early assignments this term."

"I'd rather she have the time to think. Better you should transfer our prisoner to the other side room. I'll chat with Padma about the possibilities."

~o~

Holly enters briskly into the study-antechamber, causing Padma to jump from her writing.

"Hermione found you, I take it?"

"Yeah, though next time you might want to provide some backup if things seem weird."

"How would I tell this sort of strangeness from any other we have been experiencing?"

Holly stops short and thinks for a moment. "Fair point. Anyway, I'm here because you said before that I didn't need to love my vassals, but that's the way I put this thing together. How would we change the process to bind someone without the love-sex part?"

"Is Hermione--?"

"Not her- Pansy Parkinson snuck in under Polyjuice, and I see an opportunity here."

Padma turns to fully face Holly with a look of concern. "Why would you want anything to do with Parkinson? She is the antithesis of everything you represent."

"No she isn't. Pansy was raised in this world just as you were, and she has already been forcefully faced with the harsh consequences of being a girl on the wrong side of the rulership. Also... I have some... feelings for her..." Holly shrugs almost guiltily.

"Holly, is this a personal neuropathy? You seem to become emotionally tied to every attractive woman you meet."

Holly scoffs. "Try again, Mrs. Freud. Pansy has been aiding me in acclimating to Slytherin House. Besides, there is a wide population of girls at Hogwarts that hate and fear me, or just have enough sense to keep their distance. Most of them, in fact. I'm only involved with the ones attracted to me."

"I am NOT--"

"Padma..."

"...very ...attracted to you."

Holly's smug smile in reaction is answered by a petulant pink tongue from the Hindi witch. Holly snorts, then returns to the subject of her visit.

"So, we have the Spiral which can give positive reinforcement, we have Pansy who is only partly a person I like and the rest of the time is a privileged racist bitch, and we have to Obliviate her one way or the other."

"Yes?"

Holly shrugs. "I dunno. Work on it. I'll be with Hermione."

*

Hermione's Wake-up Call

Hermione enters the ritual room once more after sealing Pansy in a different antechamber. Holly is already active within, having covered the dais with additional warming charms to ensure a relaxed environment. Holly turns and smiles at Hermione, placing a lighted stick of incense into a nearby dish of sand before rising to a stand. She removes her work robe, tossing it out of the boundary of the ritual circle which she now inspects with a specialised diagnostic spell.

Hermione stares for a moment. Holly is wearing nothing but a few rings and her glasses. Scars crisscross her torso- thin on the back and thicker across her chest and abdomen. The wound from Vernon's shotgun has healed into a small knot of pinkish flesh just above Holly's hipbone. Similar punctures remain on her right shoulder and just below her ribcage from the Basilisk's bite. Yet despite these flaws, Holly stands comfortably- sure of herself and unashamed of her appearance. It stirs something deep within Hermione that she hasn't felt for a while. Hermione gawks briefly.

Holly walks up to Hermione and kisses her lips. "You seem confused. Is something wrong?"

Hermione shakes her head a little, prompting Holly to turn towards another task. Hermione reaches out and grasps Holly's shoulder, pulling her back to face Hermione. Before Holly can say anything, Hermione dips her head and crashes her lips against Holly's, her tongue stabbing into the warm and soft entrance of Holly's mouth. The shorter witch shifts her weight and reaches her hands up to hold Hermione's face to her own, continuing the kiss with interest. Hermione snaps her head back suddenly and steps out of their embrace.

Holly gripes, "Oh, what now?!"

"That's how I feel! I was just enjoying this and my own brain just slapped me."

Holly's anger fades. "Ah. Sorry- I thought it was voluntary. At least I recognised the kiss. So, are you ready?"

Hermione starts removing her clothing with quick and precise motions, dumping each article into a small pile outside the ritual circle. She turns to face Holly once equally naked. "I've been ready for a month!"

Holly smirks and removes her glasses. "Yeah, you've always been slow. Lay yourself down on the futon as comfortably as you can. We start with a brief massage, then I get into the ritual proper. When I ask you a question, answer it simply. If I tap your lips, give my finger a wet lick. Other than that, once I start scribing the Spiral you should do everything in your power not to move."

"Why?"

"'Cause the tattoo will look lopsided if you mess me up."

"Wait. Holly, I have... a request."

"What's that?"

"I want to have sex with you again, as Harry. Before we start."

"Why?"

"Um, well I think that we should make sure that not all my transformative sexual experiences are traumatic. The first time... you went overboard, the next important time we lost consciousness because of the Strange Chocolate, the time after that I died, and now I've given you my virginity and am about to devote my soul to you."

"I guess I see your point."

"You guess? Aren't you the one insisting that sex is supposed to be fun?"

"I don't even consider that an argument worth having. Sex IS fun. If it isn't, it wasn't real sex but some other activity."

"Right. So?"

The pale witch looks into Hermione's eyes with concern. "I'm not Harry and this isn't about sex. Do you still wish to be Marked?"

Hermione's look of hope shifts into one of grim determination. "Yes. I am committed. I wish to serve you, Holly."

After a few minutes of preparation, Holly sets the tray of samples and other materials close at hand. Hermione's bare body is prostrated comfortably on the futon and all the candles are lit.

Holly retrieves a small green bottle and pours out some oil onto her hands. "I'm going to desensitize the area." Holly smears the warmed lotion on to Hermione's arsecheeks. Hermione moans agreeably.

"That doesn't feel (Gasp!) ...like it's a numbing agent."

"Wait for it. Enjoy the tingle, meantime. Newt, on station."

The inky lizard appears from behind the ceramic cups and hops onto the futon, scampering to set at the base of Hermione's spine. After a few pokes of the flesh to assure the numbing salve is in effect, she scribes a plate-sized design on Hermione's lower region using her tail and foreclaws.

"Newt, switch back the poles on the bond of Sacrifice and bond of Courage and we're changing out the bond of Diligence for... what shall we call it?"

Hermione lifts up her head in a mild panic. "You're making this up as you go?"

"Bond of Comrades- my blood, her sweat. Okay?"

Newt squeaks and adjusts the ink written in a few chambers to suit Holly's changes.

"Holly!"

"I heard you. Yes, it's a bit custom, but my instincts about the effects have proven spot-on, so stop worrying. The worst result is that instead of a higher pain threshold you'll have to bathe more often."

"You are joking, aren't you?"

"We'll find out..."

"Holly!"

"This is a moment of faith, Hermione. You're giving up trusting in God to watch over you and now have to accept that I'm taking on the responsibility. Either you believe in me or you don't. I want to give you something; a token of my love for you. Will you accept my love and my protection? Will you take my Mark upon your flesh, so that you will always know that I love you?"

Hermione takes a moment in intense thought. Her face then calms as she reaches a resolution.

"I do. With love and trust."

"Then accept this pain as a small sacrifice to our love."

Holly had already absorbed the specially-brewed ink into her quilltip finger and now begins scribing the sigil into Hermione's skin, following Newt's stencil.

Hermione bears through the process, her reaction at first limited to a tearful gnawing on the fabric of the futon to bear through the evident pain of Holly's tattoo-work.

"{As your labours' sweat is shared by my blood, we invoke the bond of comrades.}"

Hermione's whole body shivers as the fourth bond is emplaced, and she relaxes considerably.

"{As my arousal's sweat is given to your secretions, we invoke the bond of bodies.}"

Holly notices her friend seize up at this, a moan of frustration further distracting her before she presses onward.

"{As your spittle consumes of my secretions, we invoke the bond of lust.}"

Hermione's distress increases, her whole body curling in pain. Holly speeds up her process in concern.

"{As you drink of my blood by your spittle, we invoke the bond of courage.}"

Holly reaches between her own legs and barely pauses at the last moment lest she accidently slice into her own privates with the quilltip finger. Taking a moment's pause, she carefully gathers some of the fluid from her excitement before dipping back into the cup with Hermione's post-virginal blood and finishing the last chamber of the invocation.

"{As my secretions give fire to your blood, we invoke the bond of passion.}"

Holly's worry over Hermione's plaintive cries fades briefly as she lays her body over the distressed witch. One hand is pressed between their layered pelvises, resting her finger at the center of the new body art; the other slides around to hold Hermione's body against hers. Holly whispers into Hermione's ear.

"~Loyalty unto death I consecrate with this Mark.~ Come with me."

A chorus of moaning voices rises and the flames of the candles and torches all flare brightly, matching the bright orange glow that suffuses the witches in the center of the ritual circle. Holly retains enough control to slip her hand out from between their bodies and clutches Hermione against her, riding the powerful sensations of their magic-infused climaxes. Holly feels a strange burning rise from Hermione's tattoo, hot enough to sear the flesh of her Mons that she has pressed against her friend's sacrum. It becomes the only stable point of Hermione's body, as she is wracked with a seizure so powerful she can hardly breathe. Moments later, everything stops. The torches and candles flare out, leaving them in darkness.

Over their tandem breathing, Holly can hear Hermione mumbling in anxiety.

"can't-love-girls-heresy-unholy-corruptive-rot-nasty-mustn't-touch--"

Holly makes a gesture to reignite the torches and then turns the girl around in her arms, painfully separating the burned skin stuck between them with a grunt. She grabs the hysterical witch's head and focuses her eyes on her face. One hand slinks around to touch Hermione's newly-scribed Spiral.

"Hermione, this is an order. You will search out the Compulsions that make you want to avoid Holly or lesbian sex. You will find them and break them, along with all the self-induced memory masks you put in place in order to deal with it. Do you understand?"

Hermione looks at Holly with a panic that borders on sheer terror, but she nods vigorously in compliance. Holly wraps herself around Hermione, embracing the witch in a protective hold while she is setting her mind to racing. Hermione's breath comes faster and deeper as the minutes pass, her expression changing from fear to horror, to anger, to despair and reverting to a simple anxiety as her breathing reaches a point of her whole body flexing and curling to move air. Finally, a whine builds in her throat that rises into a scream of "GeerrrrrrRRROOOOOOOOOFFF!"

Hermione flings herself out of Holly's hold, landing on all fours and emptying her stomach onto the stone floor. Once finished, she sobs and cries loudly, allowing Holly to once more draw her back into a protective embrace. Holly whispers repetitively, "You've done well. You're going to be alright."

Hermione eventually calms down and heaves a great sigh before turning around to face Holly. She stares into Holly's eyes for a minute, searching for something.

"Holly..."

"Yes?"

"I will serve you as you ask. I'd like some time to think."

Holly's face reverts to a mask of mild kindness. "Go on, then. Padma will walk you back to your dorm."

Hermione responds with surprising ferocity. "I don't need a minder!"

Holly stares at Hermione for a moment.

"I'm protecting my investment. She'll keep you safe and un-Stunned, since you sorta missed that earlier."

Hermione rises from the mattress and quickly dresses, though she hisses in pain when trying to latch her skirt in place. Holly first enchants a paper bird to fly under the door, then watches Hermione's progress from her position on the futon. Padma enters the room just as Hermione finishes lacing her shoes.

"Padma, can you make sure Hermione makes it back to Gryffindor unmolested and then come back? I had another idea."

"A-alright."

The two clothed witches leave. Holly leans back and inspects the skin between her hip bones. An inch above the cleft of her Mons now sports a raised burn- the six-petaled symbol of the Svadisthana forming a reversed version of the center of the Spiral. Holly prods it gently with her finger, watching her skin's accelerated healing reduce it to a branding of slightly paler white flesh.

"Newt, Hermione ran out of here too quick. Catch up with her and make sure to spin her tattoo down to coin-size, alright?"

(Squeak!)

~o~

Natalia meets Padma and Hermione as they exit the stairs into Myrtle's lavatory.

"I'll take her back. Hols probably could use your help, right about now."

Padma looks doubtfully between Hermione and Natalia, but turns back to the staircase when Hermione makes no indication of preference.

"Shall we?"

"I don't really want an escort, you know?"

"Maybe, but I thought we might chat for a bit once we have some privacy."

Hermione sullenly leads Natalia back to the Gryffindor dorm and up to her room. Parvati and Lavender are thankfully absent and Hermione seals the dorm entrance before collapsing onto her bed.

"Thank you for escorting me 'home', Miss Tonks. Honestly, I'd like to spend some time in solitude, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, well I do mind, which you knew before. Don't stress it though. You can just lie there while I express meself."

"Wonderful."

"See, I expect that you're feeling a bit put-upon right now, but with you all fatigued I might be able to get a few words in before you get argumentative."

Hermione grunts.

"Right. Are you aware of just how much you've hurt Holly over the past year?"

"What?"

"I mean, bad enough you ran off when she found out about being Harry, but then you dump her with a 'you're evil and I never loved you' right when she was at her worst point. Then you trot off and start looking for men to shag, gleefully telling her about it through Harry."

Hermione sputters for a moment but is cut off.

"Oh, I know you thought it wasn't Holly, but a deep part of you might still have known, and there was no reason not to expect Harry to share that with Holly once she was, y'know, RELEASED FROM PRISON. Then there's this whole 'I want to know everything' quest you've been on. Strange you didn't want to know what Azkaban was like, or ask her why she likes me, or how she feels about Luna fucking with your lives. Is that still bugging you, by the by?"

"Luna? Very much so! Why did she forgive--?"

"Didn't ask her about it, though?"

"We never got a chance. Hedwig died--"

"And you couldn't be arsed to buy your own owl? Couldn't find your way back to see Holly directly? I'm happy you were there for the birthday party, but then you disappeared again. She could have used some support with having a dad for once."

"Miss Tonks, I get it. I haven't been the best friend. I'll try harder."

"No, you won't. You're too selfish. All this has been about your need to know. How about offering something back?"

"Damnit! What's your problem? What did I do that's so wrong?"

"You made her fuck you! Not 'make love'- FUCK! She fucked you, and a little piece of her died right then!"

"I... I wanted to..."

"You forced her into this for your own selfish reasons, not thinking about what it would do to Holly. You thought this would bring you closer, but instead you've just driven a spike into her heart. She doesn't need this sort of turmoil!"

"Then why did you help me convince her?"

"'Cause she needs you, and I want her to be happy."

"Then why are you jumping down my throat?"

"Because you still don't think about what your actions do to Holly! I recommend that you do everything in your power to make Holly's life easier from now on."

"Should I spread my legs whenever she wants, then?"

"No, that's my job you uppity bint. She loves you for your mind and your morals and 'cause you were the first person to crack her shell after she suffered ten YEARS of neglect. It's our jobs to make sure that she sees a good reason to keep fighting. Any other girl would be a hollow shell or a rabid monster after suffering half of what she's endured. Our Holly is a fucking hero. I'll be sure to slap you when you forget that."

"Why are you being like this?"

"Because... (sigh)... I need your help."

"You... what?"

“Holly’s getting darker. I’m fine taking it to the bastards when they step out of line, but she... look I just...”

Hermione sits up on her bed, watching as Natalia stares into her hands.

“We need to work together, or our Holly really will lose herself. She respects you in this. I respect you in this. But you need to bring up your ‘A’ game, sweetie. Holly’s not listening to Minerva much anymore and I’m the wrong person to guide anybody’s decisions. It’s up to you.”

“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be. It’s not like Holly cares much for me anymore, if you’re right. You’ve given me a lot to think about. (Huff!) As if I wasn’t already in turmoil.”

The Auror rolls her eyes. “I’ll leave you to your ruminations then. We’ll have time to chat at the Ball and such.”

Natalia stands up and then cocks her head in thought. “I'd like to teach you something first. You're fond of learning, I hear."

"I, umm... what is it?"

"Do you feel a warmth coming from your spine?"

Hermione thinks for a moment and then nods.

Natalia smiles. "That's Holly. Spend some time in your head tracking down the feeling and you'll find it."

"And then what?"

Natalia's face softens. "You'll feel her love for you. It'll make you turn towards her, like feeling the sun on your face. I always know which way Holly is, and so will you. Once you learn to Apparate you'll be able to pop right next to her, unless wards prevent it, of course."

Hermione concentrates for a minute. Her face snaps open in shock and she gasps and then flops off her bed onto the floor, having lost control of her leg muscles. Natalia turns towards Hermione slowly with a smug grin.

"Are you feeling it now?"

Hermione's hands flail uncertainly above her while she twists and twitches her legs and abdomen around on the rug between the beds. A small whine builds from the back of her throat.

"Eeeeeee (gasp) ehhhhhnnnnnnn (gasp) eeeeyyYYYYYAAHHHH! OH MY GOD!"

Both her hands snap hard against her sex, rubbing furiously as if to squash some burrowing bug beneath her skin. After a few minutes of this squirming about while trapped in a silent half-scream, Hermione convulses a half dozen times and collapses on the floor in exhaustion.

"Hmmm. I think you tracked back the memory of your Marking instead. That's always good for a fun time if you're stuck alone. I probably should have mentioned that you focus on your spine and not the Spiral itself. "

Hermione lolls weakly on the floor, summoning just enough muscular control to point the back of two fingers at Natalia before letting her arm drop back to the floor.

"And the same to you. I'll see you later, Miss Hermione. You just ponder those imponderables until you're ready to help, alright? Cheers!"

*

Sex and Violets; post-dinner

Holly enters the cell where Pansy is laying petrified. She releases the girl, gives her a warm terrycloth dressing gown and a glass of water, then leads her out of the bare stone cell and back into the room with the futon and candles. Gesturing Pansy towards the mattress, Holly lights the candles and then settles down to face her, slumping to a comfortable lounge on the cushion. Pansy kneels down and then leans across the cushion to mirror Holly's positioning, grateful for some measure of comfort.

"I'm here with a choice for you, but we need to hash out some things. First, I'm going to scribe a circle to hold in our secrets. Give me a drop of blood."

Pansy holds forth her hand and Holly sits up to kneeling, taking it in a firm grip. She cuts Pansy's finger using her sharpened nail and squeezes the tip until a bit of blood gathers into a healthy drop. Newt appears from within Holly's hair, slides down her shoulder to hop off her arm and catch the blood drop in her mouth, just as it falls towards the mattress. Holly releases Pansy's hand and makes a similar cut on her own thumb, also swallowed by Newt. The little lizard then sprints over to hop into a tall red glass bottle, absorbing the contents before popping out once more and beginning to trace a pattern on the stone floor.

Pansy recoils into a defensive pose, sucking on the cut on her finger while she watches Newt draw an unfamiliar binding circle around them on the stone beyond the mattress. "What is that thing?"

"That is an ink imp. Her name is Newt. Once she's done with the circle we'll get into it."

"Where did you--?"

"Shh! Just sit quietly for a moment, alright?"

Pansy looks over to see Holly sitting lotus-style, her head bowed in thought.

A minute later Holly hears Newt squeak and reaches over to empower the protective band with a mumbled incantation and a flash from her finger. She turns back to stare into Pansy's eyes.

"Quick question. Has Draco had sex with anyone I know?"

"N-n-nnnnn. Yes. He's bedded both of his enforcers; though Crabbe is the only one he's had more than once. I also believe he's been with Colin Creevey, though I have no proof. He tried but failed to bugger me during my punishment. Why couldn't I lie just now?"

"It's a circle of truth- Veritorbis. Spendy for the materials, but I think it's fairer than the serum."

"Because we both need to speak the truth! Are you really that stupid?"

"No, but I plan to Obliviate you later, so no worries on my part."

"I... admire that."

"Thank you. You get the first question."

"How long have you known that you were Harry Potter?"

"Since a week before I killed Flint. Just so you know, that little fact has tripled the likelihood that you won't survive the evening. You may want to consider that when asking these questions."

Pansy smirks for a moment before taking note of Holly's cold stare. She gulps and then nods for Holly to proceed.

"My turn, then. Why did you say that you would swear yourself to me earlier?"

"I know you know things. I know you're dangerous. If you found yourself with me as a surprise coven-member you may be foresworn from hurting me, so then you would be obligated to teach me to protect your secrets."

"Well played, then."

"Thank you. I... I'm uncertain now what you would think is 'safe' for me to ask."

"Anything personal you want to clear up between us?"

"Yes. Why do you sometimes act like I'm repulsive?"

"Ah. Well, Hermione and I were planning to sneak into the Slytherin dorm in second year but I reacted badly to the Polyjuice that we tried to use to turn me into you. Ever since then, thinking of you sexually makes me a little ill."

"Oh. But the one time..."

"'One time...', what?"

"You... fondled me in the shower..."

"Uhh, no I didn't. I do have a friend who has been threatening to appear as me in order to seduce people- she thinks I should use my dark reputation for more immediate benefit. It was probably her."

"Granger?"

"No, Pansy... Pansy, if Hermione had wanted to have sex with you, she... Hermione doesn't want to have sex with you. It's not personal, she doesn't go for women. And she's never even been in the Slytherin dorms."

"Hmph. But she went for you, even before you were Harry?"

"I'm a special case."

"Why?"

"You never forget your first girl. Either that or I'm just that good."

"You were definitely good with me... or rather your friend was... well who is she?"

Holly smiles. "Just the Goddess of Love. She can be trusted."

"I thought you were a Christian..." Pansy squints in irritation.

"Yes, well, she worships me, though I have great respect for her as a person and as a love goddess."

"I'm confused."

"Mission accomplished."

"Why are you able to be evasive?"

"I'm not trying to lie."

"Hmph. Are you a Christian?"

"I'm Agnostic, though damned."

"I'm unfamiliar with the term"

"It means I'm sure God exists, though I have no solid beliefs about his intentions for me."

"Yet you're sure you're damned?"

"If God has any doctrine in mind, He can't possibly be pleased with my performance."

"And why is that?"

"I've broken a major rule in every system of faith I've studied. If He is pleased, either the standards have fallen or the rest of the faithful are doomed for having the wrong idea. I choose not to believe in my infallibility against the various faiths of ten thousand millions of believers."

"There are only three billion on the planet and not all--"

"There are five billion alive and twice the same amount or more dead and buried who professed faith in a higher power over the last six millennia. Sure, some were lying to save their hide, but still. There's only one person I know of that could possibly be so egocentric as to believe he was right and everyone else fallible."

"Is this your Jesus?"

"No, I was referring to Albus Dumbledore."

"He heh. Heh heheh. Heheheh heheheh hahh HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Finally! We have a breakthrough! Finite Veritorbis." The circle surrounding the two witches flashes into smoke and dissipates.

"Hee heee heh heh, hmm. What did you mean a breakthrough?"

"I was searching for your humanity. C'mere."

Holly reaches forward and pulls Pansy up by her lapels. The violet-eyed witch is confused for a moment until Holly presses their lips together.

"What? I don't- MMMmffh!"

Holly wraps her hands around Pansy's face and dives into a deep snog that startles the dark-haired girl. Holly teases and tortures the girl's lips and mouth, frequently changing angle and pressure, sometimes sliding their lips together and other times pushing her tongue deep into the other girl's warm mouth.

After a few moments Pansy is breathing hard and trading back tongue lashes and nibbles, her hands gripped around Holly's wrists as if to hold herself up. Fairly soon the violet-eyed witch finds herself crying into Holly's embrace, and Holly shifts her arms to enwrap the shuddering girl in a protective hug.

Holly rocks the slim girl in her arms, holding her closely but not too tightly. After awhile, Pansy breathes in a deep, relieving breath and leans back out of the hug. She lifts her head to face Holly with a certain amount of pain and confusion in her tear-stained expression.

"Holly, what just...? I don't... know..."

"You may not believe me when I say this, but I know now that you've wanted me for a long time."

"Don't be ridiculous! This is just... because of the Punishment. That's it."

"You tried to kill my girlfriend. You made friends with her when you realised what she meant to me. You propositioned me at the World Cup after pissing her off again. You came to me looking for an alliance wearing only a nightie and then you asked to share my bed once I had conquered our House. Today you sandbagged my girl again, looking to take her place in a magical bonding ceremony with me, and I detected you because you wanted to kiss me more than she did. C'mon, admit it. I make you wet like a watermelon."

"N-no. I... I'm a... "

"Stop it. You aren't evil or wretched for wanting love. You don't deserve pain and humiliation."

"I don't... it's hard to trust my own judgment. What magic have you wrought upon me?"

"Truth, comedy, and sympathy. I'd use music but anyone who's heard me sing will tell you that it's a form of torture we should save for our worst enemies."

Pansy coughs out a half-hearted laugh. Holly smiles warmly and gently rubs the sternum of her distraught friend, calming her.

"Do you want to make something of your life? I mean, more than just struggling to find a decent pureblood partner who hopefully won't abuse you privately while demeaning you publicly. Do you want me to protect you? I don't promise you any kind of public support. Your world outside of this probably won't change much. But here, in your heart, you will know that someone cares for you. Someone powerful, if that makes it any easier. And I will protect you."

"I... I don't love you, Holly."

"I don't love you either, Pansy. But I'm willing to wager that my Violet has a chance to be worth loving. She's smart, wickedly funny and has a keen sense of the politics of this world. I met her at the beginning of term. If I remember correctly, she was nearly naked and hanging upside down outside my dorm room. Later, when she showed me unusual bravery and candor, I wanted her. Do you want to be my Violet?"

The girl sits in thought for a moment shaking her head. "You have some very strange notions, Holly."

"Yeah, but you like strange. And you like me."

"Oh? And why do you say that?"

"Because that's the third time you've called me 'Holly'. I guess you really like the way we kiss."

"I may want what you're offering, but I'm not a lesbian."

"Strictly speaking, neither am I. Besides, this part isn't about sex. It's about support and protection. Do you want to just go back to your pariah-ship, or do you want a chance for a better life?"

"Put that way I cannot deny you. Yes. I accept your offer."

Holly pats the futon. "Well then, doff your robe and lay down on your front."

Violet doesn't move, instead giving a disbelieving scowl. "'...she said while denying that this had anything to do with sex!' Yet you warned me that I have to give up my virginity. Although, come to think of it, why would you need to do that? Most any coven vow I've read about valued the witch's virtue."

"Some secrets we save until later. That said, I lied about the virginity thing. I will need to get you a bit revved and the whole experience is quite stimulating, but you can keep your hymen."

"Then why bring it up at all?"

"Two reasons. The first is that I wanted to make sure that you were willing to sacrifice for this, because this Marking stuff isn't about selfishness. We offer and require heartfelt cooperation."

"And the other reason?"

"I wanted to get Hermione in bed again. You'd be amazed how competitive that girl can get."

Violet snickers over the joke. "Amused maybe. Not amazed."

While Violet is distracted, Holly reaches back behind her and lights a small incense cone with a flame from her finger. The scent of mixed blossoms begins to fill the room.

Holly reaches forward to draw Violet into another kiss. This one is tender and only involves lips. As the kiss ends, both girls lean back and stare into each other’s eyes. Holly's look is inviting, with an underlying devilish amusement. Violet's return gaze is appreciative at first. After a moment more, she gasps. Holly smiles.

"Something wrong, Violet?"

"I... I... I WANT you! Like a stirring storm, I want you! Where did that come from?"

"Tell me your name."

"My... my name is... Violet."

"What do want from me, Violet?"

"I want your protection. And... I want your... touch."

Holly smiles evilly. "In that order?"

"NO!"

Violet lurches forward to grab Holly's face and starts kissing her repeatedly. Holly falls backwards onto the futon, followed by Violet. She starts chuckling due to Violet's insistent kisses around her face.

"Okay, in all fairness the incense is based on pollen from a Bacchus poppy, but that doesn't create lust it just unleashes it."

"Unleash me!"

Holly laughs lightly. "Down, girl!"

"Fuck that! Do you know how long it's been since I've felt loved?"

"I'd guess since you weren't born male that your family has treated you like a mistake, so you haven't felt it at all. I think you turned out alright, though. Just take your clothes off, Violet."

"Oh, right." Violet sits back to let Holly up. She peels off the terrycloth wrap, exposing her tender sheet-white skin to the warm air, and then lays down sideways in front of Holly on the mattress. "So did Granger offer to warm your bed out of jealousy after all?"

Holly rises up to kneeling. "She offered. I declined."

Violet starts and turns to look at Holly, confused. "Really. Why's that?"

Holly smiles and looks kindly down at Violet. "Maybe I wanted you more..."

Violet gasps quietly, watching Holly remove her own robe. Her excitement increases when Holly bends down close and kisses her while caressing her back. Her enjoyment is cut short though, as Holly then rises up to make a last check on the ritual arrangements. Violet follows the short witch's movements around the circle with a mixture of dread and excitement.

Holly has arranged the tray of cups and lit the candles, and now sits next to Violet on the futon, rubbing oil into her hands. "To make the experience memorable in a positive way, I'm going to start by massaging an oil over your lower half. Scream out in ecstasy when you're ready to be Marked."

"I... don't think I'm ready to take our relationship that far. I've been a straight girl my whole life."

"Not really. Violet, I highly encourage you to define yourself only by your experiences, not someone else's. You've been Violet for a short time now, and so far you've jumped me and gotten wet even thinking about kissing me. Don't accept an inheritance of poisoned ideas. Think, and learn. Then choose."

"So that's what you've been saying all this time?"

"Yup. I'd like to introduce you to a specialized term that might help you wrap your mind around your current situation."

"Okay." Violet gasps loudly as Holly's warm hands begin kneading the flesh around her buttocks.

"The word is 'Holly-sexual'. Seem appropriate?"

Violet moans deeply when the massaging moves between her legs to boldly stimulate her moistened sex. Her sudden rise in stimulation prevents her from answering except with a lolling nod.

"It's not about politics. This is personal. I'm personally interested in hearing you express happiness for once. And I'm kinda pleased to be the one to give you that happiness."

Holly continues to massage oil into the girl's privates, rump and lower back, occasionally leaning forward to allow her own breasts to caress the girl's pale skin. Holly's nipples curl into points, stimulated by the oil rubbed off onto them. Her breath catches briefly when her own ardour begins to generate heat at her core, encouraged by the sounds of Violet's enjoyment and the tingle across her chest.

"Quite... (Mmmmh)... pleased, actually."

Holly's manipulation of Violet's slickened petals switches to a more delicate, teasing motion. She runs her fingertips down along the outer lips and then rubs her way back up between the inner ones, swirling once or twice around her clit before repeating the motion. At the same time, she leans her body down against Violet's back and licks sensitive areas while rubbing her chest along Violet's spine. She slinks the hand not stimulating Violet's labia around to massage her breast, pulling the small mound to a peak and rubbing her palm across the center.

Violet's gasps give way to more moans, then cries of joy.

"Aingh! Aingh! Aingh! Aingh! Aingh! Oh, Merlin and MORRRRgana! Aingh! Aingh! Faster!"

Holly turns her fingers around and dips one into Violet's snatch, for a very loud reaction.

"Aingh! OaaaoooOOOHHH! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! (GASP!) (GASP!) (GASP!) (GASP!) AAAHHHHHHHNNNNhhhh!"

Holly feels Violet's peak of ecstasy as a clenching around her inserted finger. The spasms subside after a minute, their pulses fading with the volume of Violet's cries of delight. Holly gently removes her hand when she hears Violet settle into heavy breaths.

"And that's our starting gun. I want to give you something; a token of my love for you. Will you accept my love and my protection? Will you take my Mark upon your flesh, so that you will always know that I love you?"

Newt is already drawing in the stencil, though the ink bleeds a little and Violet's lower back clenches in reaction to her scribing.

"T-too... sensitive. Please. I n-need a m-moment."

"Nope. Now or never. Deny me now and you won't even remember that orgasm; one of your best if I guess right."

"It's the... Yes. I will take your Mark. Protect me."

"Then accept this pain as a sacrifice to our love."

Holly begins scribing the Spiral at her sacrum, causing Violet to clench up.

"Aighk! Gods! Are you telling me Granger made it through this already?"

"Yes, but I used a numbing solution for her. You are due a little pain from me, Violet. Just a reminder that you're still working up to 'ally' from 'antagonist'."

"I... accept the pain."

"Good, now shut up. You'll hear me hissing. Don't interrupt, and try not to squirm."

Holly begins scrawling the Spiral. She is careful to take her time, making sure the painful tattooing process is not adversely affecting the runework being applied to Violet's flesh. The witch in question bears through as best she can. The first few invocations are answered by only some whimpers and the sound of her nails puncturing the mattress. Following the 'bond of courage', Violet's reactions begin to take on a more sexual tone. The pain is still as intense, but Holly can sense that Violet is redirecting the meaning of the intensity so that it is linked to her sensations of arousal.

The fifth invocation is just taking effect when Padma bursts through the door. "Holly! Have you done the..."

Padma trails off, taking in the scene- the candle-flames lick upwards almost a yard beyond their wicks, Violet's naked body quivers and trembles, ink and blood freely covers her lower half and Holly turns to face Padma with glowing green eyes, her right hand seeming like a demonic claw with blood and ichor soaking it from her index finger downward. Waves of sexually-charged magic wash over her, and Padma slumps to kneeling on the floor.

Holly locks her gaze with the Hindi witch, initiating a conversation by Rapport.

'Padma, this had better be good.'

'You must not complete the chambers of the Svadisthana; if you intend to separate the personalities and bind only one to the Spiral, it must be incomplete. Otherwise, she will either break through the containment or go insane. I am not entirely certain if that can be avoided, but your chances for success are reduced if the--'

'You're sure?'

Holly feels a sudden burst of arithmantic formulas and side notes written in Padma's flowing script.

'Shove off, woman! I just asked the question; I didn't need a bloody proof!'

'Which bonds have you applied so far?'

'Warriors', enthrallment, courage, bodies and diligence, assuming I didn't mess it up when you interrupted.'

'I suggest you skip to the bond of passion, then.'

Holly turns back to the moaning witch beside her. A quick review of the sigil and Holly dunks her hand in the sand and the bowl of clean water, settling back on her heels slightly. Her hand slips down between her own legs, carefully rubbing against her clit until the potency of the experience releases the slickening fluid of arousal. Holly swirls her fingers for a few more turns before a quiet gasp reminds her of unfinished work. She reaches across Violet's body, pressing her teats down on the girl's raw and bleeding flesh only to cut a new source for blood on the outside of the witch's thigh. Holly drags her body across Violet's back as she returns to a scribing position, earning a whining moan that makes her smile. She skips two chambers and scribes the last rune while speaking in Parseltongue.

{As my secretions give fire to your blood, we invoke the bond of passion!}

Holly finishes the scribing, and both girls cry out from the sensations ripping across their bodies. Holly quickly incants the ancient consecration to finish the Marking. She places her scribing finger at the base of Violet's spine and grips her own nipple tightly with her other hand.

"Violet, come with me."

Like electricity, the final act sends both witches to screaming and twitching, until the candles and torches within the room all extinguish at once.

Padma lights her wand with a Lumos, and carefully inches forward to cast the glow towards the recent ritual's participants.

Both girls are panting heavily, with Holly slumped across Violet on the mattress. Holly slowly rises up to let Violet adjust her position. The dark-haired witch flips her body over to face Holly above her, her tear-filled eyes shining in the bluish wand-light. Padma breathes easier for a moment, relieved to see the girls seem to be alright.

A low growl emanates from the depths of Violet's throat.

Holly adjusts her position to match eyes with her new vassal. She is taken by surprise when the slim girl launches herself upwards, shoving Holly over onto the mattress. Violet continues to growl as she leaps onto Holly's naked body, but the sound quickly become muffled as she wraps her mouth around Holly's left breast and begins sucking on it forcefully. Holly's first reaction is a very loud 'GASP!', followed by another heavy breath as she feels Violet's hands sliding all over her body. One begins frantically kneading on her other breast while Violet's other hand rubs down Holly's abdomen, slipping immediately between her legs and forcing three fingers into the girl's snatch.

"OH GOD! Yeah! Fuck yeah! Oh Violet! Vi, you... OhHHHHHH!"

Holly literally wrestles Violet's face away from her now hickeyed breast and engages her in a fierce snog in a kind of combat reminiscent of wolves fighting for ascendency. The sheer ferocity of their tumbling sends Padma scrambling to her feet in fear, and she quickly leaves the girls to their battle, slamming the door behind her as she exits.

Later...

Holly is carefully tending to the bruises and scratches on Violet's body. A salve usually used to help recover from harsh burns covers her lower back and buttocks. Violet hums quietly and then stretches for a moment when Holly's ministrations tickle her under the arm.

"Tell me again. Why am I now Violet?"

"Because I don't like Pansy."

"So you invented a new me that won't make you ill?"

"Uh huh."

"You are so very odd."

"You're not the first or last to say so. The thing is... I can't let you remember being Violet."

Violet lifts herself up off the futon and turns to sit facing Holly with a challenging look. "What?"

"Padma and I talked earlier; we still need to Obliviate you of all this. You're too close to the enemy camp to keep up appearances just by acting- you're just not that good an actress."

Panic is evident on her face and she covers her chest with both arms, defensively. "You... you can't do this to me! I can't lose this... feeling!"

"You won't. I'm not destroying you, Violet. You'll just be hiding in the background."

"And... will you come and get me? Will I... be able to... be with you again?"

"I will periodically unlock Violet so that you and I can catch up."

"Privately?"

"Yes. You won't be sent back underground without a decent shagging."

Violet slumps a little, dropping her arms to hold herself up on the mattress. "You make it sound tawdry..."

Holly slips her arms around Violet, drawing her close into a cuddling clench. She lets one hand slide down to rest on the girl's arse, her fingers grazing across the sensitive flesh.

"Violet, feel how much I care for you." A spark jumps from Holly's fingertip to the center of Violet's Spiral.

Pulses of erotic sensation radiate from Violet's sacrum. Holly leans Violet back in her embrace and wraps her lips around a puffy nipple. Violet's immediate and sustained climax causes the girl to clench up in Holly's arms. She mewls, she whines, she cries out and finally she collapses, weeping in joy on the mattress before her Mistress.

Holly crouches down to reach out and lift up Violet's face to lock eyes with her.

"Do you need any more reassurances right now?"

"N-no. But I would like to express my appreciation..."

"Again? I'm fine."

"Not like that... at least... what I mean is I'd like to recruit for you... for us."

"Kinda difficult when you don't know you're a member. Did you have someone in mind?"

Violet carefully sits up again, turning to face Holly with her knees between them. "Tracey."

"You wanted to seduce your roommate?"

"No, not... does it have to be sexual?"

Holly shrugs an apology. "Sorry- bad habits. Besides, she's about as straight a girl at Hogwarts as can be offered."

"She is? When we met at the World Cup you said--"

"I had it backwards. I originally thought you were straight and she was a lesbian, and that she bought the radio out of respect for your preferences. Then my friend reminded me that you started chasing Hermione while I was incarcerated and I realised that Tracey bought the radio to keep you at bay. Even she knew you liked girls before you did."

"But I don't hate boys..."

"You are so ill-informed. I like boys... well, let's say I'm attracted to men, also. Even so, full lesbians don't hate men either; they just find them sexually distasteful."

"Yet you only pursue women, it seems. You said during the Secrets speech that Dean Thomas forced you to service him. Maybe that's what it is."

"I don't hate a group because of an individual. Dean made me wary, but if he hadn't tried to work me magically we probably would have ended up in bed together. But he stole my choice from me. I don't hate him for being male; the only people I hate are the ones that take something from me that I would have wanted to keep." Holly's expression darkens. "I hate them alot."

Holly's look of angered reflection causes Violet to gulp. "All of a sudden I am eternally grateful that Hermione lived through my idiotic prank."

"You bloody well should be. If you had killed Hermione... well, I've already gone to Azkaban for less. Get dressed."

Violet reluctantly clambers around to get up from the futon. After a quick search she finds her clothes folded neatly in a pile near the door and starts dressing. Once clothed, she turns to face Holly, her breath coming quicker when she sees that Holly is still naked, sitting at the edge of the futon.

"Come here."

Violet kneels down on the floor with her head bowed to Holly. After a pause, she turns her visage upwards slowly. Holly sighs once and then cups Violet's face.

"Did I say 'bow before me'? No. C'mere." She draws her up into a loving kiss. After a minute Violet leans back to gasp for air- Holly looks once more into her eyes and says 'Obliviate'. Violet's head snaps up from the spell taking hold, though Holly ensures that her left hand keeps contact with Violet's face. Holly grabs her Lignum Vitae wand to add more spells to the mix, pointing it at Violet's forehead, an inch above her eyebrows.

"Muto Venificus; Redimio Coactum: Everything you've experienced since meeting Hermione outside the lavatory today is to be associated with Violet, the devoted follower of the Spiral. Pansy will forget all of that information and believe instead that she was ambushed and left hidden and silenced in her own bed until she finally broke the enchantment the next day. Both will do what they can to prevent others from discovering the meaning of the Spiral Mark. Pansy will consider it a token reminder of being ambushed. Passphrase, in my voice only: 'Are you my Violet?' Even once hearing this passphrase, you will not attempt to integrate the memories and instead allow Violet ascendency. Phasmatis Reus."

With a downturn of her wand Holly closes the layered spells. She then lays out a quick series of charms; "Stupefy. Silencio. Dissimulo. Mobilicorpus."

Holly taps her foot to reclothe into her weekend wear- black jeans, layered rugby shirts and a pair of trainers. She stands up and turns towards the exit, towing Pansy's hidden floating body behind her. Opening the door, Holly finds herself facing three discontented girls. Holly scowls at Padma.

"Tattletale."

Natalia steps up first. "Hols, what the fuck?"

She is followed by Hermione. "I thought you were just testing me..."

Padma adds in her own opinion. "I advised you against this. You may not achieve the results you want--"

Holly raises her hand and all three girls stop short.

"It's done, and she's been Obliviated. For all intents and purposes she doesn't exist except as the Pansy we know and loathe. You all expect me to save the world the dark, messy way. I agree- good intentions and faith in the nobility of human nature hasn't worked. So... fuck you very much for giving me grief about it. Padma- I'll have notes for you tomorrow. Hermione- expect a severe talking-to from Minerva, as she'll be pissed as Hell that you got Marked. Natalia... I'm sorry. I'm committed now. Our wedding will have to wait for the fall of the patriarchy."

"But we'll still be together, right?"

"Meet me in my room in an hour and I'll show you how together we'll be."

Hermione makes a fatigued protest. "Holly, why are you going to tell Professor McGonagall at all?"

"Because she's on our side, she's my Mum, and you deserve an earful. Take your medicine. I'll be kind and suggest that your Shakespearean argument convinced me."

Holly walks off, carefully towing Pansy's chameleonized form behind her.

Natalia looks meaningfully at Hermione. “Feels like we’ve slipped one step closer to the edge, doesn’t it?”

Hermione nods.

~o~

An hour later...

Natalia removes the last of her clothing and slides into Holly's bed. She wraps her arms around Holly from behind- the scarred witch was already lying naked beneath the covers. Natalia pokes her head over Holly's shoulder to see her staring at the tears in her hand that she just wiped from her eyes. Holly's gaze is tinged strangely with fascination, or maybe disbelief.

"How are you doing with this, Hols?"

Holly turns around in Natalia's arms, blinks away a few more tears and shakes her head.

"I'm not... this day... Natalia, just kiss me."

Natalia initiates a languorous kiss that lasts for several minutes. Their lips finally separate and Holly leans back to smile at her lover.

"You make it all better."

"So... why'd you pull Violet into our happy harem-making scheme, anyway?"

"Your harem-making scheme- I only need you, remember? Anyway, Padma convinced me that it can serve both needs, so long as I don't fill the sigils for people we just want to recruit for the cause. Besides, as far as Violet is concerned, you started it. Since when do you get to seduce people as me?"

"Since I did and it helped!"

"Uhh, no! You didn't intend to help anyone but yourself at the time."

"Not true- you wouldn't believe how much that girl needed an orgasm."

"(Sigh.) Yes I would. Alright- this time I forgive you, as it was noble work. Has anyone else sampled my attentions without my being there?"

"I may have convinced Mr. Longbottom that he had the most excellent dream..."

"Natalia! You didn't!"

"I didn't... but I think it's worth considering!"

"He's fourteen!"

"Well so's Pansy--"

"No, we've already agreed that maturity gets a boost for being a girl, being bi-sexual and suffering through torture. By that accounting she's older than Charlie Weasley. Maybe if my care helps her heal from her abuse she could recover some of that innocence, but by then it'll be irrelevant. By contrast, Neville is completely untainted, male, and... inexperienced."

"Yup! Fertile and frustrated- you could probably get him to pop by kissing him. I'm willing to test that theory for you--"

"You are hereby grounded! Until Boxing Day the only one you get to kiss, much less fondle, is me!"

"What? No fair! The Yule Ball is like a buffet--"

"This is an order- you will not interact sexually with anyone but me for the length of your grounding."

A tremor rides up Natalia's spine, causing her to shiver until she bows her head and says "Yes, my liege." Natalia pouts.

Holly reaches up her hand to touch Natalia below the chin, angling her face so that they can lock gazes. "Are you going to be alright?"

"S'pose. Are you defensive about him 'cause you want to protect him or 'cause you want him for yourself?"

"Are you trying to make me throw you out of the bed?"

"No way! Forget I said anything. Can I kiss you now? It makes you forget stuff sometimes."

Holly smiles. "I've been looking forward to it."

Natalia snaps her head forward like a striking snake, licking and nibbling on Holly's lips almost desperately. Fairly soon Holly draws her into a deeper tongue-wrestling snog. Their hands rub across each other's bodies, pinching here and raking nails there until they break the kiss with a mutual gasp.

Holly licks her lips. "Mmmm! That was excellent but I didn't mean just there. Kiss everything, especially my warm and wet parts- I've had an amateur between my legs and I crave satisfaction from my true lover. Make me scream, Astarte."

Natalia grins and caresses Holly's arms, moving them to reach above her head. With a quiet word, silken cords snap out from the headboard to bind Holly's arms in position, pulling her to arch her chest upward, presenting her breasts like an offering. Holly's wide-eyed look at Natalia can best be interpreted as 'be careful; you're already on thin ice.'

Natalia sits up next to Holly's prone body and shifts into a form like a modern Mediterranean goddess- dark hair, deeply tanned skin, luminous grey eyes and absolutely perfect musculature. She trails kisses down Holly's neck, across her collar and down her chest to enwrap a nipple with a hot-tongued lick. Holly's breathing starts sounding like the growl of an engine. Once Natalia has nibbled Holly's nipple to a painful stiffness she repeats the action for the other breast. Holly twists in place under the skillful teasing and begins to keen with a deep-throated yearning. Her lover continues her kissing journey across Holly's abdomen, tongue darting out to stimulate nerve endings like she is following a secret, invisible map of erotic pathways. She hops over and shifts her position to kneel between Holly's untethered legs.

'Astarte's' hands glide up Holly's twisting body just as her kisses descend past the stubbly mound of Holly's Mons. She stops briefly, looking curiously at Holly's newest scar, but her interest wanes in favour of Holly's imminent sexing. The metamorph's tongue slips across her clit and between Holly's nether lips in time with the arrival of her long fingers rubbing Holly's rough and puckered areolae. Holly seethes and squirms in delight for a time under this treatment.

Holly is approaching her first climax in this dance when she is startled to feel a second pair of hands caressing beneath her thighs, drawing her legs to open wide and lifting her arse up from the bed. The green-eyed witch tips her head up to see what changed- Astarte now has four arms, and chooses this moment of surprise and revelation to drive her tongue deep into Holly's quim.

Holly throws her head back to scream in ecstasy.

She loses her voice about twenty minutes later.

It takes another hour before she loses consciousness.

*

... and dreams that somewhere in a derelict manor house, a man shaped like a deformed baby screams again in pain and frustration.

*

Omake: Looking back to '...the one time...'

One Sunday early in December...

Holly enters the second tier girl's shower to find it barely occupied. Millicent is just finishing up dressing herself and gives Holly a nod as she exits. One shower remains active; Pansy Parkinson has just finished rinsing the lather from her short bob of dark hair.

Hearing the door close, Pansy turns to verify her privacy only to find Holly standing a few yards behind her, staring at the willowy girl's wet and naked body.

"I'll be done in a tic. You can have the space to yourself, 'dragonslayer'."

Holly silently disrobes and walks forward, nudging Pansy out of the stream from the nozzle with a hip-check.

"Hey! Impatient much? Why not use a different stall?"

Holly soaks her face and body, then turns to face a disconcerted Pansy and responds, "I like this one. It has really good jets."

"Y-yeah. I know."

Holly pulls Pansy by the elbow back under the stream of water, moving to stand behind her. The tips of her breasts rub against Pansy's back below the shoulder blades. Holly wraps her arms loosely around Pansy's waist, making a piano-tapping motion across the taller girl's abdomen.

"I love how it thrums across your skin, bursting its droplets against your nerves."

Pansy tenses up, freezing her arms half-raised while Holly continues to tickle her front. She stares down, watching Holly's hands skating across her skin, moving just out of contact as Pansy inhales and falling back to glide close to the surface on the exhale. The feeling of the water jets across her body also seems to sharpen, to the point where Pansy can feel the rivulets flowing down her chest and belly, leaving sensitized flesh in their wake. She sees Holly's right hand start tapping upward while the other inches down past Pansy's bellybutton. Her breathing accelerates heavily from the action but she still can't bring herself to move.

From behind her, Pansy hears Holly seductively whisper, "It's like the water is licking your body..."

Holly's fingers graze across Pansy's tingling right breast and she flicks the nipple that snaps to attention. Simultaneously her left hand reaches Pansy's downy privates, teasing the soft, damp hairs there with her rapid finger-drumming. Pansy soon finds herself hyperventilating from stimulation.

"Hahh! (Gasp!) Hahh! (Gasp!) Hahh! (Gasp!)"

"Pansy, are you liking this?"

"Y-yesss, (Gasp!) Hahh! Yes."

"Good."

Holly's hands slap down- the right gripping Pansy's breast like a vise, the left plunging past her labia and then drawing back to grasp Pansy's Mons like it was a climber's hand-hold. Both hands repetitively clench and release so rapidly as to feel like a thrumming engine is pressed to Pansy's most erotically-sensitive clusters of nerves.

Pansy screams out in ecstasy, her own hands rushing to cover Holly’s'- partly intending to pry them away but instead finding herself increasing their pressure with her own grip. She then holds her breath through the rest of her rush of climax...
...a little too long.

The girl faints from lack of oxygen, slumping into Holly's arms. Holly gently lowers Pansy to the floor, laying her on the tile and positioning her hands to mimic where they had last been groping her body. Holly leans down and kisses Pansy's forehead just as the girl begins to stir once more.

"Time to wake up, little camper. Sex doesn't equal pain." Pansy barely moans in acknowledgement, her strength completely drained away.

After a quick rinse, Holly dries off and leaves the shower to return to her dorm room.

...and then shifts back into her Natalia form.

The real Holly sleepily looks up from the bed. "What have you been up to?"

Natalia smiles. "Praying. It's Sunday."

"Yeah, right."

"No really! Saturday is so over."

Holly giggles.

*

Author's notes:
The Twilight Zone episode Hermione mentioned is 'Shatterday', adapted from the short story by Harlan Ellison.

Spells you may not recognize:
Muto Venificus - 'modify enchantment'
Redimio Coactum - 'bind compulsion' - the Compulsion charm
Phasmatis Reus - 'the Spiral binds it/answerable to the Spiral' (ironically also translates as 'ghost defendant')
Dissimulo - 'to disguise/conceal' - the Disillusionment charm
Mobilicorpus - 'move body' - used to shift unmoving people around, where Levicorpus just hoists them up by the ankle