And so a new year begins...

[Genevieve Stark]

It had been a very quiet holiday break for Gen this year. She had stayed at Hogwarts, for a change. It had been many years since she had spent those two festive weeks away from her family but she was surprised to find that she actually didn't mind it all that much. A few of her friends had remained as well so she was never alone. And on Christmas day she still had a mountain of presents waiting for her at the foot of her bed.

As far as the "dirty little secret" she shared with Francis...she didn't have to worry about it at all. He had left the school for the holidays and all of her really close friends, those that would notice something strange was amiss, were gone as well. This meant that she had plenty of time to clear her mind and come up with a good explanation for "disappearing" that one Hogsmeade weekend before the holidays arrived.

She still wasn't quite sure how she would react to seeing him again, though. Or what was even the proper thing to do in this situation. They had agreed that they wouldn't tell anyone about their day together, but how was she going to remain friendly towards him without her friends finding it suspicious? Were they going to pretend they still didn't know the other existed? She found this very sad, because she really did like him, but she honestly didn't see any way of a "friendship" working out between them. After much thought, she finally decided that she would have to just stop worrying about it. He was on the same page as her anyway. Hufflepuffs didn't typically socialise with Slytherins either. So he would have a hard time explaining himself as well, if he even wanted to remain friends after all.

On the day everyone returned to school, Gen sat with one of her friends at the Slytherin table having a light lunch and reading the Daily Prophet when students began to pour into the Great Hall. The Hogwarts Express had obviously just arrived and in no time the whole of Hogwarts would be buzzing with chatter. And the Great Hall would be full of students just itching to talk about their holidays and brag about all the presents they got for Christmas.

Gen wasn't quite ready for socialising yet, so she gathered her things and quietly left the hall. She decided she would go to the library. She figured there would be no way anyone would bother going there on their first day back to school. So with her eyes still on the Daily Prophet, so others would know she was in no mood to talk, she made her way down the slowly crowding hallways. Hoping to have at least one more quiet afternoon before school starts again and reality kicks back in.

[Francis Eric Thorne]

Christmas at home had been nice and relaxing, but just a bit too quiet for him. This was the first year he'd actually wished he was able to stay at Hogwarts, and he wasn't under any illusions as to what was making him feel that way either. He'd been yearning to see Genevieve again since he'd left. After the weekend they'd spent together he'd only caught a few glimpses of her before he'd left for the holiday, so he couldn't believe his luck when one of the first people he saw after walking through the front door was Genevieve. He stopped in his stride for a moment until someone behind him bumped into him. He muttered and apology before making his way through the crowds after her. She was heading upstairs instead of down to the Slytherin common room, which was probably best because she was unlikely to bump into any of her friends. He wouldn't be able to talk to her if she was with other Slytherins.

It took him a while to catch up with her, even though she was walking slowly whilst reading the paper. Still he managed to get quite close behind her. He followed her like that through the corridors for a couple of minutes until he saw the perfect opportunity. This corridor wasn't as busy, probably because it didn't lead to any common rooms. It was for that reason Francis didn't draw too much attention when he slipped his arms around Gen and pulled her into a recess behind a tapestry.

Not waiting to say anything, he pushed her back against the wall and kissed her. He felt like he was being allowed a drink again after months in the desert. He'd longed to kiss her again for nearly a month now, and he was glad he didn't have to wait another moment.

[Genevieve Stark]

As soon as she was grabbed Genevieve turned with a gasp and began to push the person off. How dare anyone touch her! Much less grab her! - she thought with disgust. But her thoughts of anger disappeared almost immediately after realising whose hands were actually around her. "Francis!"

She had barely had time to say his name before he had pulled her behind a tapestry and pressed her against the wall. And she'd definitely had no time to wonder how he even found her. Not that she cared anyway, because once his lips touched hers nothing else mattered. She had not realised until now just how much she had missed him.

Gen wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pressing their bodies together as close as they could go, and whispered breathlessly in between kisses. "You're....crazy,....you...know that?"

[Francis Eric Thorne]

Francis laughed breathlessly as he pulled back a little, looking down at her. "I know. I've been going crazy all holiday and it's your fault..." He gave a small, half embarrassed smile. He'd missed her so much and had imagined kissing her again so often, but none of his imaginings or memories had lived up to the real thing. He didn't know how he'd handle this whole secret thing, but he didn't care as long as he could feel this with her some more. She made his blood rush and his world stand still when she was with him.

Lifting a hand, he ran it through her firey hair, drinking in how she looked in that moment. He had half expected her to push him away as soon as she'd seen him, but he was beyond glad that she hadn't. Moving one hand to her waist, he kissed her again, wanting to taste her lips again and savour the feeling.

[Genevieve Stark]

Gen smirked at his response, happy to learn that the insanity went both ways. But she had no time to reply because when he ran his hand through her hair and began to kiss her again she was powerless once more...and more than willing to give in.

Alright, so she was enjoying this.  Much more than she could have ever imagined. And she could not count the times she had fantasized about being in this kind of "naughty" situation. Of course, none of the dreams had ever included a Hufflepuff (not until recently anyway).  But that just made it that much more exciting, didn't it?  In this case, Francis would definitely be the boy a Slytherin girl's father would warn her about.  Or rather forbid her, without question, from ever seeing...ever! But like Francis himself explained to her that one day at his house, this only proves how much of a Slytherin she really is.  If she's going to break the rules, she might as well break them all - and have all the fun she can while she's at it....right?  Right!

When they finally broke away for a breath she looked up into his eyes and smirked.  "Are you sure you want to do this?  There's going to be lots of hiding, and secret owls and late-night meetings if we do."  She then laughed at her own words, moving closer again.  Her lips were just a breath's distance away from his when she whispered.  "Sounds like fun to me..."

[Francis Eric Thorne]

Francis chuckled softly, looking down at her as he tried to get his breath again. Moving his hand from her hair, he placed it on the stone wall beside her head, enclosing her between himself and the wall. "I don't care as long as I get to do this some more." He stole another quick kiss before grinning down at her again. "I will literally die if I don't get to see you any more," he said, his voice low and ragged. "And I know you feel the same way, or you wouldn't have let me pin you up against this wall." Besides, she was right... the sneaking around might be irritating at times, and he didn't know how he was going to deal with seeing her in class, but it would just make everything more interesting.

"Anyway," he said in a low voice, his lips close to her ear. "Don't you love how it feels to be making out in here when there are people just on the other side of that tapestry? Exciting. Dangerous..." He licked his lips. "Really hot."

[Genevieve Stark]

Genevieve sniggered as her hands moved down to the front of his robes, grasping them tightly. And when he stole a kiss from her, she pulled him in closer and stole another right back - already yearning for more.

"Yes. I do," she whispered. She had to admit it, there was no point in denying it. There would be no one to fool but herself if she tried. Because she does want him. She wants to never stop tasting his lips, to feel his hands on her body, his warmth, his voice, his smell....all of him! But..she wasn't about to tell him that, of course. She would show him, though. She had every intention of making sure they both got what they wanted.

Still breathing heavy, she watched him. Not daring to peel her eyes away from his until he leaned in to whisper in her ear. And then a mischievous grin spread wide across her face at his words. "Definitely hot! But not hotter than you."

Just as she said these words she heard a set of voices right next to them. Giggling girls apparently. Genevieve's eyes grew wide, and her hand shot to her mouth to keep from laughing. Had they been heard? Were they caught? Her heart began to race again with excitement. Theirs was going to be one awesomely thrilling ride.

[Francis Eric Thorne]

It took a few moments for Francis to take in what she had said. Not hotter than him? It took everything he had in him not to jump for joy. She had called him hot! She, Genevieve, the most beautiful girl in the school had called him, a lowly Hufflepuff hot. Before he'd been wondering if he was just her bit of rough that she didn't think much of but found it exciting to be with, but now she had said he was hot. To be honest, after that Francis was just about ready to burst out of the tapestry and tell everyone in the school that Genevieve Stark had called him hot, but he restrained himself.

Francis bit he lip, grinning as he heard the sound from outside too. He lifted his hand to cover hers over her mouth, trying so hard not to laugh as he heard the girls giggling from just behind the tapestry. He licked his lips, looking down into her eyes as he listened. After a moment, the voices moved away. Slowly, he moved his hand back from her mouth and tweaked back the side of the tapestry to peer out.

"The coast's clear," he said in a mock whisper.

[Genevieve Stark]

She couldn't help but giggle underneath both their hands. Although she did feel a bit relieved when the other students finally left. They hadn't been heard, so no harm done. But when he lowered his hand she nodded in agreement. The coast being clear was a good thing. Maybe this was their prompt to leave.

"Perhaps we should get going then? We probably shouldn't push our luck on the first try, right?" She smirked, and pecked his lips ever so lightly. Almost as a tease of things yet to come - things worth waiting for. After releasing him from her grasp she adjusted her robes and ran a hand through her hair, taking in a deep breath to try to calm her still racing pulse. "I was headed to the library. I figured it would be empty right now. You're more than welcome to stop by later. Maybe we'll be able to find an isolated corner somewhere. A place...to talk?" She smiled, but even though she said so, she wasn't all that sure associating in such a public place was a good idea. It was probably even riskier than this hidden nook behind the tapestry. Anyone could walk in on them at any time there. Yeah, probably a very bad idea. But today, she didn't want to let go of him. She had missed him and she wanted to spend more time with him, even it if was just sitting across from him at a library table talking. Or....perhaps he had a better idea?

[Francis Eric Thorne]

Francis smiled against her lips as she gave him a quick peck. Did she know how hard it was to resist just pulling her back behind the tapestry and kissing her for all she was worth all over again. He didn't really want to get going, but he knew they couldn't say here all day without getting caught. It was just lucky those girls had been too absorbed in their own conversation to pay any attention to anything else.

"Library," Francis repeated, nodding. "Gimme ten minutes and I'll follow you. He needed to go down to the common room to ditch his school robes (which he never wore if he could get away with it) and check his trunk had been delieved, then he'd be there. Besides, they couldn't really walk there together without turning heads.

[Genevieve Stark]

Genevieve smiled a triumphant smile. It wasn't over! They would be meeting again shortly and she already couldn't wait for it. Yes, her better judgment must be completely clouded by insanity. It was obvious that they were going to be pushing the limits. And meeting at the library would be the first risky step. She wasn't worried, though. They would probably end up trying all places and ways to be together, and at some point they may even be seen. But she had always been good about talking her way out of things, convincing people into believing what she wanted them to believe. And she had a feeling Francis had the same talent. How else could he have managed to talk her into going on that ride with him to begin with? The ride that started all of this. Oh what a glorious day that was!

"Okay. I'll be in the back near the restricted section. It's quite secluded back there." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and smirked. "See you later, Hufflepuff." And with that she stepped out from behind the tapestry and started on her way, joining the scattered unsuspecting students going about their business on their first day back from the holidays.

[Francis Eric Thorne]

Francis gave a low chuckle as she kissed his cheek before floating out into the corridor. Completely happy, he stepped back, leaning back against the stone wall of the recess, his eyes fluttering shut as he remembered how it had felt to kiss her. He lifted his hand, letting his fingers brush his cheek. She was funny and exciting and dangerous; everything he wanted and needed and more.

Taking a deep breath, Francis slipped out from behind the tapestry and hurried off towards the Hufflepuff Common Room.