Black Magic

Bursts of wind ruffled the top of the water into dark silk sashes; the lake seemed infinite, seemed to absorb the inky blackness of the night around it and haul into its depths so that it only had the appearence of looking deeper, even more infinite. It was mezmerizing, and the strangely beautiful building pitched against it seemed to look even more breathtaking, it was the most wonderful it had ever looked, small glowing lights peeping out from the arch of each window flickering as they kissed the glass. Tom barely made any noise as he wandered close and opened the door with a flick of his wand; it swung open obediently just as silently and he smiled ironically at the thought of something not doing as he liked which would never happen because Millie was still following him quietly, stunned into silence by the scenery as they crossed the threshold.

Caught by a sudden movement Millie slipped her hand out of Tom's grip and reached to pick up a small silver object that seemed to be humming with energy which lay on top of an upturned box; frowning, she whispered,
"What is it?" And as she spoke it began to turn around, and she saw that it was a spinning-top, flying into a blur as it whirled around in the palm before it began to drift over the back of her hand as she turned and it followed. She laughed gently as it crept up her wrist, lifting her eyes to meet Tom's as she smiled,
"It's lovely. Is it yours?"
He smiled back. "Yes."
"Where did you get it?"
"I charmed it." He caught her other hand roughly in his to pull her closer and he added with a slight nod of his head, "You can keep it."
She smiled and set it back on top of the box before she added, "I'd like to know how to do that myself," and then took a sharp inhale when she felt cool fingertips running down the side of her neck, urging her to tilt her head to the side just a little to allow them more space...Flustered, Millie turned her head away and, looking at the floor instead, muttered, "You did say you'd help me with Charms, after all, do you remember?"
Tom nodded, lifting his hand to thumb her cheek, his lips parted slightly. "Yes."
Millie gave in to an impulsive frisson down her spine, her eyelids fluttering slightly as she dipped her head away and pushed Tom's hand from her face with trembling fingers.
"So, will you?"
"Some time."
She glanced at him shyly, taking a step back towards the the sound of the water lapping against the stone, watching the little flecks of light riding on the ripples coming straight from the stars. She lifted her head a little, and glanced towards the door.
"Tom, I-"
"Camilla." His tone was stern and yet Millie felt herself oddly drawn to it, his voice had authority, cut sharply through the ambient water-lapping and breeze-whistling. She felt her stomach contract again and mustered the strength to say only, weakly,
"Please, please call me Millie." She could see hardly anything, just the light on the water and the glittering of Tom's eyes which were studying her neck intently, the exact spot over which he placed his hand seconds later to draw her closer and, although she willed him not to, to kiss her. Fireworks behind her eyes, flashes of blue-green and spots of burnt orange and Millie lost the power to move, to think, to breathe. She was. And Tom was stroking his fingers across her neck, dipping the tips into the ridge of her clavicle, sliding them lower across the expanse of creamy white towards the deep emerald V. Then white and green was enfolded in black, she was trapped in his arms, crushed against his chest, his mouth moving smoothly over hers, stopping every whisper and silencing every protest.

There was no sound but the gentle whistling of the wand through cracks in the windows and the hypnotic lapping of water on stone. Millie fought herself free for long enough to ask, breathlessly,
"Tom, what are you doing?" He held her with a steady smiling gaze, silent as he reached up to brush a piece of her hair which had come loose out her face, to twist it gently over her ear only for it to come free again and slide across her forehead. And then he laughed. And that laugh was all Millie could hear, ringing in her ears when he seized her again, pulled her against him, pushed her across the slippery floor so she stumbled and slid across, clinging to him helplessly. The hem of her dress was getting wet, stained dark olive against the shimmering green satin, her feet damp and cold from the moisture; he pressed her against the wall and she could hear his breaths as he drew them in, hungrily. His face, in the half-light, as he ran a hand up her leg, breath-takingly beautiful, the perfect waves of his hair, gentle curve of his mouth; her body, pressed against his by an insistent hand in the small of her back arched awkwardly towards him; her leg, pulled up and around his hips, held there, held up. And the hands, one hand scraping down across the dewy wet wall into that soft dark hair, the others stuck on a body clad in green satin and diamonds of glistening water. His shuddering breaths against her clammy neck; hers, equally matched in volume occasionally with a sharp hiccup of intense emotion. The water still lapping at the stone, the wind still whispering through, the festivities still going on far above in the castle. The glowing lights at the windows, the white moon in the sky. Stars. Endless blackness. Millie not knowing that she could ever feel like that, that it was possible in even a thousand years. It was, it was, the terrible and the incredible.

When it was over Tom simply released her with the flicker of a smile on his lips as he fastened his trousers avoided her gaze. Millie watched him with a single tear dripping down her face, not a tear of sadness exactly but of high emotion, of her reaching out for him in that moment but managing only to have his robes slide through her fingertips as he turned away. Knowing she'd given everything and yet that there was still so much that need giving. She smoothed her dress back down with unsteady hands, her voice brittle as she said quietly,
"Tom."
He turned to her without a smile but leaned forward and put his lips to her cheek like it might calm the intense whirlwind of feelings inside of her. "We'll go now," he said, and that was the end of it all. At least, for that moment.