It had taken threats to get Harry to agree that she could make it the rest of the way to Dean and Neville's flat on her own. She'd owled her father telling him she planned to stay with Dean tonight. She was feeling very relaxed due to the potion she'd been given. The mediwitch had told her this would likely happen though. Natalie rapped on the door and leaned heavily against the wall waiting for the door to open. If Dean or Neville wasn't here, she was just taking a nap in the hall.

Dean trudged wearily to the door. He'd been running himself ragged, finishing up the last of his outstanding work from the holidays. As he opened the door, he thought, Maybe now I'll finally have a bit more time to spend with...

"Nat?"

"Oh thank God you're here. Can I come in? And I'm sorry to say I might need help."

She almost laughed about how quickly he moved. Help? Try lifted and carried. Natalie actually squealed and grabbed onto his shoulders. He set her on Neville's sofa gently and looked at her expectantly.

"So I got hurt at work today," Natalie said with a nervous laugh.

Dean's breath hitched. Oh, god. This must be how Gin felt. "Who... how... why?" Dean paused a moment and took a deep breath. Sitting beside her, he took her hand. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"I am. I'm going to be just fine. That Cruciatus though? Not a good time. We, um, apprehended... by we I mean Harry and I. We apprehended the main suspect in a few of the recent murders today. And...." she didn't know how to tell him the next part. "And, I think, she, um might have been responsible for... for what happened to Alicia Spinnet."

Dean grimaced for a moment. "The Cruciatus? Jesus, Nat!" Visions of Nev's parents flashed before him as he gently rubbed her arm. "Are you sure you're alright? No lingering effects?" Suddenly the rest of what she'd said began to register. "You caught Ali's murderer?" Dean asked quietly, a pang going through him as he remembered the last time he'd seen her.

"Good," he whispered. "That's good."

"We think we did," Natalie said, patting his thigh. "She sort of confessed to it, but she's crazy, Dean. Truly. It'll be investigated, but in a way I hope she did do it because then that question is answered. Whoever did that horrible thing to Alicia Spinnet isn't still out there. We have them, you know? The mediwitch said I'll be a bit sluggish for a day or so, but there was no permanent damage. It was intense though. She was scary and laughing and threw some things at me... and hit Harry with a hair flattening charm. That distracted me a bit, and the next thing I knew I was down for the count. It hurt. I hope I never get to experience that again."

Dean gently pulled her into his lap and held her close. "Me too, love. Me too."

Trying to shake off his melancholy mood, he kissed her temple and asked brightly, "So, do I get to play nursemaid until you're feeling better? After all, that's a girlfriend perk, isn't it - getting waited on hand-and-foot?"

Natalie shivered and snuggled closer to him.

"Only if you want. I can't say I'd mind. I owled my da and told him I'd be staying over... if... if that's all right."

It just felt nice to be held right now. She'd been frightened earlier. It had oddly reminded her of the war and how things had been then. She didn't want to have regrets. She'd been hiding for a long time, and today she'd had a moment of panic when the curse had first hit her that this was it and she might not see Dean again. That had been her thought, so she'd been moody and pondering the rest of the day.

Dean dipped his head and kissed Natalie gently. "It's settled then. My schedule is officially clear until you're ready to be rid of me." His tone turned teasing as he added, "I'm looking forward to being your... manservant for a while. Your slave if you will." He grinned wickedly. "Your very, very willing slave."

This was sounding nice.

"Maybe I'll just stick around all weekend. Only I only have these clothes, so I'll have to borrow some or walk around naked, and while I am not opposed to naked, Neville might be opposed to me being so in his presence."

Natalie smiled then and kissed him lightly.

"If naked is an option, I'm all in favor of it." Dean replied with a grin. "And if Nev is the only obstacle, then I suppose you'll just have to stay in my bedroom." Dean paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. "This is sounding better and better, now that I think about it." He snuggled Nat a bit closer. "Seriously, though - you're welcome for as long as you like, love. We can work out the clothes issue later, alright?"

Natalie just nodded.

"Maybe I'll undress and let you paint me, but only you get to see it." She chuckled at herself. "As if you'd go showing it about."

Her fingers were absently tugging at his shirt. She was glad she'd started on her potion regimen because she was not entirely certain she could keep her hands to herself.

Oh, boy. Between her hands on her chest and the prospect of a naked Natalie, Dean was suddenly finding his jeans far too snug in certain places. Yup, I'm doomed, he thought as he fought the urge to tear her clothes off and drag her to bed. Remember, Thomas - she's the one setting the pace from now on. "Sounds nice," he said huskily. "And you're right. I don't like the idea of anyone seeing you sans clothes... except for me, of course."

She liked when his voice did that. She could feel that her position on his lap with the bit of wiggling she was doing was starting to have an effect. Natalie was uncertain what needed to be done about that or if anything needed to be done.

"I'm going to take my boots off," she said lamely.

Natalie moved to do that, shifting all about before she settled back, pulling her socked feet up on the sofa. Her wriggling all over did not have a calming effect. She didn't know what to do now.

"Um... should I... should we..."

Seeing her confusion, Dean smiled. "Should we what? Snuggle for a while? Make out?" His grin turned mischievous. "Shag like minks?" He chuckled. "That's up to you, love. Willing slave here, remember? Your wish is my command." His expression grew serious. "You're the one who decides where we go from here, love." His grin returned as he added, "Physically, at least. I do reserve the right to show how I feel about you, though." He kissed her gently. "Often."

Oh my God. She got to decide? Seriously? She didn't know anything about anything. What on earth made him think that was a good idea? Well, Ginny had said he was utterly respectful of women. Natalie considered. She didn't think she ought to go tearing her clothes off, all things considered, but a bit of exploring couldn't hurt, could it?

She slowly slid her hand up his chest and over his shoulder before moving to place a tiny little kiss behind his ear. It was probably a good thing most of her energy was sapped otherwise she might be scarily aggressive right now.

Dean sighed in a breathy manner, and his arms began roaming across he back, delicately tracing along her spine. "So, is this option one, two or three, love?" he whispered as he began to place wet, nibbling kisses on her neck. "Because I really, really don't want to muck this up by being my normal hormonal self."

"Not entirely sure. I don't really have a plan," Natalie breathed out. "Just tell me if I do anything wrong, and we'll never have any problems. Though maybe upstairs in your room would not be a bad plan since I don't fancy the idea of anyone but you seeing me naked either."

"It's not you that I'm worried about doing something wrong. I'm more worried about getting carried away and pushing you toward something you're not ready for." Suddenly Dean chuckled. "And yeah, upstairs might be a good idea," he said as he scooped her into his arms and stood. "I really don't relish Nev playing the part of your father, when it comes to walking in on us." His chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh. "And I'm putting silencing and locking charms up, just in case your dad decides to visit you this weekend." He shifted her in his arms, and made his way up the stairs.

Natalie was actually smiling. She'd never considered her slight size a benefit until he started hauling her all over the place. She was currently glad for it. She'd have hated for him to strain his back.

"Ready?" She whispered in his ear. "I don't know, but prepared? I am. I made sure that just in case I get swept away there's nothing to fret about later. I might have utterly embarrassed myself before my healer, but I'm all prepared."

There was a fair amount of snickering as she was set on the bed.

"You don't think Neville will mind my being here, do you?"

"No, not at all. His only demand is that my silencing charms work." He chuckled. "My only concern is the ribbing I'm going to get from Gin. She won't actually tell me that you've been to see her, but she'll be horribly smug for a while." Dean leaned down and slowly kissed her. "I'm thinking that it'll be worth it, though." He got up and pulled out a pair of boxers and one of his tank-tops. "Here you go," he said. "Something comfy for snuggling and sleeping." He grinned. "The fact that you'll look dead sexy is just a bonus."

Natalie grinned as she took them. When he looked like he was going to be a gentleman and turn his back to her for her to change, Natalie quickly whipped her jumper over her head, not giving him the chance. She kept her bra on, for now, but pulled the tank on before leaning back and wiggling out of her jeans. She pulled the boxers on and grabbed her wand before tossing her clothes on the floor. The she reached in and made quick work of her bra.

"Very comfy now." She looked down. "Though it would appear... cold."

Dean couldn't speak. He was reconsidering the wisdom of his clothing choice just now. He'd not taken into account how petite she was when he'd grabbed the tank, and now she stood there looking good enough to eat, with not much more than the straps covering her breasts and the collar dipping halfway to her navel.

"Wow," He whispered. How am I supposed to keep my hands off of her now? He mentally shook himself, and gave Natalie a lopsided smile. "I'm sure we can find some way to warm you up, love," he said as he stripped down to his boxers. Sliding under the covers, he held them open for her. "Care to join me?"

"Sounds delightful," Natalie said with a grin.

Her skin was humming. He was so lovely. There was lots of skin exposed with the both of them just now and cuddling under the blankets seemed especially dangerous, but Natalie liked the idea too well not to. She giggled as she snuggled into him. Her breasts somehow seemed to keep getting in the wrong place, making Natalie giggle even more.

Nat was killing him. Just killing him. As he rolled to face her, he could feel her nipples drag across his chest. Her giggles just made him more aware of her body against his. Determinedly keeping his hands on her back, he began kissing her neck again. "Gods, Nat. Dead sexy doesn't even begin to do you justice."

That produced a giggle. Not that she thought it was funny, but it made her that giddy. She wasn't sexy. She knew this, but it pleased her that he thought she was.

"Well, I'm sure the fact that you're very attractive brings something out of me."

It was a bit difficult for her to form words. He broke her concentration in the best way possible.

"Attractive? Me?" Dean said in a disbelieving tone. "Please. Harry, Draco, Blaise... hell, even McLaggen. They're attractive. Me? I'm just glad that I'm not Filch-homely." He frowned for a moment, before kissing her once more. "You, on the other hand, are beautiful." He kissed her again. "Gorgeous" Another kiss, lower this time. "Enchanting." Kiss. "And sexy as sin," he whispered as he kissed the valley between her breasts before coming back up to kiss her slowly.

Natalie planted both hands against his chest and pushed him back so she could see his face.

"Are you kidding me with this? Malfoy is not attractive, and Harry's... well, Harry. I'll give you Zabini and McLaggen, but I am here to tell you, Dean Thomas, that I would not go procuring contraceptive potions for ugly blokes. Sure, the most important thing about you is not how nice you look without a shirt on, but it's right up there. You're easy on the eyes, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks so. Why do you think all these ladies allow you to paint them naked?"

Dean blinked. "Because I'm the only Master under the age of eighty or so? Most people don't want some old geezer seeing them naked, after all." He knew he was nothing special as far as looks went, but he was loving the fact that she seemed to think so. He pulled her in for another kiss.

Natalie put her hand between her mouth and Dean's.

"I'm so totally and utterly serious. You're dangerously attractive. Dangerously. Don't make me tell Ginny you don't think you're good looking. You are. End of it. Attractive. I say so."

Natalie folded her arms across her chest and scowled at him. He honestly had no idea of his effect. It just made him that much more attractive to her.

Dean grinned, both at her annoyance and the fact that one of her breasts had come loose from the tank when she'd folded her arms. "Fair enough. I'll take your word for it, as long as you'll do the same." He leaned up and planted as chaste a kiss as he could manage on her nipple. "Though you might want to put that away - otherwise I'll be forced to show you just exactly how attractive I think you are." The image of his doing exactly that was making is mouth water. "Seriously."

Natalie forgot to breathe for two whole seconds. With a shaking hands, she put the tank top back. This wasn't the time for this. She was worn out after today, and reeling from the fact that he didn't see himself as others saw him.

"We try to sleep then?"

"Yeah," Dean murmured as he pulled Natalie down beside him. "We try to sleep." Emphasis on 'try', he thought wryly as he spooned himself behind her. I just hope I don't end up spearing her in the back. Might be a bit embarrassing, that.

"Sweet dreams, love," He whispered as she began to snuggle into him. Kissing the nape of her neck, he settled in for a long, sleepless night.

Natalie fought to stay awake, to enjoy this, but she was very comfortable like just now. Not to mention tired and worn after the day's events. She hoped he didn't get offended that she fell asleep. Because that's just what she did.


{SUMMARY} Natalie seeks out Dean after the exciting day she's had.