The Devil's Handmaiden

The Devil's Handmaiden

Amy sat at her computer and ran her hands across her face in a vain attempt to relieve her tired eyes. She arched her back and gave a long and heartfelt yawn. She grabbed her mouse and moved it to the save button. A smile crept across her mouth as she thought about how much progress she had made on the latest installment of the Devil Series.

She shut down her PC and sighed at how interminably long it took to do so. "Pile of crud," she grumbled quietly. "Least it does the job. Just."

Finally, she took her leave of the labouring computer and wandered in to her son Eric's bedroom. It was late at night, so the tiny boy was fast asleep, his chest rising and falling evenly in the darkness. She placed a light, gentle kiss on his forehead before walking quietly to her other son Randy's bedroom and doing much the same.

As another yawn took over Amy's body, she made her way towards her bedroom. She smiled, thinking contentedly about the warm bed that contained her husband John that awaited her. She yawned again, feeling slightly light-headed.

Amy could see the gentle glow emanating from her bedroom as she neared the door. The feeling of light-headedness hadn't left with the yawn and she felt her feet falter beneath her. She had a distant feeling that something was wrong as she fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

Everything around her went dark.

**********

As the sun streamed brightly through a small crack in the curtains, Amy blinked slightly and awoke. She stretched sleepily and sat up. With a start, she realised that she wasn't in her bedroom.

"Shit!" she exclaimed more loudly than she intended. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" She covered her mouth with her hands as she looked frantically around the strangely familiar bedroom.

"What's wrong Tessa?" sounded a sleepy voice from beside Amy.

"Er..." she replied haltingly as her mind whirled out of control. She didn't know what on earth she should do or where she should go. She scratched her head in a frenzy as her mind descended into panic.

Amy felt some sharp motion next to her as the person next to her sat bolt upright. She looked at the man sharing her bed and gave a sheepish smile. Harry Potter sat in bed next to her, looking at her with a puzzled frown.

"Shit!" Amy exclaimed again, in lieu of a better word.

Harry looked at Amy again, still looking infinitely puzzled. "What's wrong, Tessa?" he asked more urgently. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I'm fine," mumbled Amy as she leapt out of bed and dashed out of the bedroom.

Harry sighed to himself as he lay quietly in the lingering warmth that she had left behind her. He was tired of Tessa's strange behaviour. He wanted answers to his questions about her dreams.

Several times in the last week, she had awakened from these awful visions crying and sweating. Sometimes she spoke in her sleep, but her words were garbled and incoherent. Sometimes she clung to Harry, her fingernails digging into his back, and one time she had actually pushed him away and sworn at him. That night terror had been the worst yet. Maddeningly, Tessa still refused to divulge the dreams.

"Swearing and running away is a first," Harry muttered. He wondered just how long his married life was going to continue on the track it was on. He didn't want to be at school because he was an outcast, yet he didn't want to be home because his wife was behaving like she was a card short of a full deck. He didn't know what to do for the best.

And it tired him.

*********

Amy stood in the kitchen of Tessa and Harry's house and paced between the fridge and the back door. Her mind raced as she ran through all of the ramifications of what she was seeing in front of her. God, it all seemed so familiar, she thought as she shook her head in amazement.

"How can this be?" she whispered to herself. "It's fiction, for God's sake. I'm inside a work of fiction from my own mind." She blew air through her lips and raked her hands through her hair.

She pulled open the fridge door and pulled out a glass jug of water with shaking hands. She retrieved a glass from the cupboard and placed it on the worktop before splashing a good measure of water into it. She drank it in a few gulps and took several deep breaths.

"I'll wait until Harry's gone out," she mumbled, "then I'll call John. Hopefully I'm not fictional too." She wrung her hands nervously and bit her lip.

At that point, Amy heard the clatter of Harry running down the stairs. He came into the kitchen, now fully dressed in his Hogwarts uniform. In spite of herself and of the seriousness of the situation, Amy smiled at the sight. She allowed a small chuckle to escape her lips.

"What are you laughing at, Tessa?" Harry asked. He was utterly befuddled at his wife's sudden mood swing.

"Nothing," she replied, still smiling. "I just think your uniform is cute."

"Really?" asked Harry with a mischievous grin. "You like it, do you?"

Alarm bells rang in Amy's mind. This boy of sixteen, this fictional boy of sixteen who thinks that you are his wife, is coming on to you. Sweet baby Jesus woman, that is so utterly wrong. She tried to keep up her pretence of jocularity as these thoughts ran unbidden through her mind.

Harry edged towards her and put his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck lightly and then whispered in her ear. "You know, Tessa," he told her, "it's still early. We have time for a little something before school." He pulled her closer and she could feel something pressing into her hip.

"Breakfast?" she squeaked hopefully. "I can grab my wand and whip you something up, I'm sure," she said quickly and rather nervously.

"I bet you can," he murmured softly in her ear. He kissed her cheek and nibbled her ear.

She didn't know how to escape from this situation without running the risk of giving herself away. But, on the other hand, she didn't want to do anything remotely sexual with The Boy Who Lived. She was uncomfortable enough as she was at that moment. She didn't even want to think about anything else.

Amy closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer for something to interrupt that moment.

After a few, agonisingly long, seconds, Abigail began to cry. Her wails were loud and piercing. They did, however, provide infinite relief to Amy. She gave silent thanks as she opened her eyes and disengaged herself from Harry's embrace.

He looked utterly disappointed, but had a look of comprehension in his eyes. "Go on," he said with a smile. "She needs you now. I'll go off to school and see you tonight."

Amy nodded dumbly, feeling far more comfortable and happy than she had moments before. "Thanks, Harry," she replied. "I don't deserve someone as wonderful as you." She had just used a line from one of her chapters. She couldn't believe that she had actually managed to say it without laughing. It was so weird to actually live your writing.

Trotting out of the room and up the stairs, Amy made her escape. She heard the front door close with a loud click as Harry exited.

Amy walked into Abigail's room and over to her cot. She looked at the wailing infant and smiled. She was exactly how she had imagined her when she had written about the cute little child. She picked her up in her arms and hushed her soothingly.

"I know I'm not your mum," she said in a hushed voice, "but you're stuck with me for the moment. Don't worry. I'll look after you just as well as Tessa. I have kids of my own, you know." Amy bobbed her up and down gently as she walked to the large, heavy mirror that hung on the wall in the nursery.

"Holy shit!" she cried. Her sudden shout made Abigail's cries redouble in volume. "Bugger," she whispered as she tried to soothe her again.

She walked in a small circle, waiting for the small girl to quieten once more so that she could confirm what she had seen in the mirror. She was sure that she had seen Tessa in the mirror. Come to think of it, her body felt different. In fact, she thought with horror filled amazement, she was sure that she was British.

As a test, she spoke again. "Brolly, bugger, frightfully awful, cup of tea, scone," she said, feeling rather silly. How had she not noticed something like that? How did she not know that she was in someone else's body?

"Crazy, crazy morning," she muttered.

In the hour that followed, Amy tried not to think. She got herself and Abigail washed and dressed. She put together a bag of essentials for the baby. Finally, she grabbed a coat and a bunch of keys for the house.

Amy walked outside, carrying Abigail in her arms and her bag on her shoulder. She walked down the path in the front garden and put her hand on the gate. "Problem," she sighed dejectedly and turned back to the house. She trudged back to the front door, opened it and went inside.

She flopped on the sofa and put Abigail down beside her. Abigail looked up at the woman who resembled her mother with wide eyes.

"If this was a fic," Amy said in a sing-song voice to the infant, "I would have a tough time writing over the plot hole I just walked into." She gave a gentle chuckle as she allowed the ridiculousness of the whole situation to wash over her. She sat back in the soft folds of the sofa and closed her eyes slightly.

"You see, Abigail," she said, "mummy, well, almost-mummy, doesn't have any money to make a phone call to her real husband. Also, mummy doesn't have a clue where she should go because she has no clue about UK geography. Believe it or not, little Abigail, mummy is American. She sounds English, but that is some very odd side effect."

Abigail sneezed and laid back in the chair, her posture echoing Amy's. She rubbed her head and yawned sleepily.

"I know Amie, my beta, lives near here," she told the nearly sleeping infant, "but I don't know where or how to contact her. How messed up is that?" She maintained her sing song voice in an attempt to not upset the child.

Amy yawned and Abigail followed suit. The tiny child wriggled close to Amy and closed her eyes, her breathing becoming deep and even.

"Maybe some sleep would make this clearer," Amy muttered as she drifted straight off to sleep.

******

Amy walked into the posh restaurant wearing a set of beautiful, low-cut royal blue robes that set off her eyes. The expensive tailored cloth was trimmed in silver and she wore tiny white flowers entwined into her hair. She squinted in the dimness as she looked about, trying to find John. In the note he had left on the divider at home, he had specifically told her to meet him here at nine o'clock. They were going to have a romantic dinner together sans children and the thought of it excited her no end.

The ambiance of the restaurant shouted wealth and power, by virtue of its vivid colour scheme of crimson and gold. The lighting was low, provided only by Chinese lanterns with dragons printed upon them. The tiny, intimate tables with velvety red tablecloths were only set for two here; this was most certainly not a full-family establishment: rather it was a place for starry-eyed lovers to congregate and discuss big plans for the future over forty Galleon bottles of Chardonnay. Amy smiled as she stepped up to the maitre'd. John had good taste, she thought as she twisted her wedding ring unconsciously.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for someone," Amy stated politely.

The dark-haired maitre'd looked up at her from his reservation book. "You must be Amy Webb," he said warmly as he met her eyes. "Your partner arrived moments ago and told me that you would be arriving shortly. He requested that you be led directly to his table the moment you arrived. My, he was correct when he said you would be stunning in your beauty," he said as he eyed her up, his eyes lingering on her breasts a little longer than was probably polite.

Instead of feeling uncomfortable at his behaviour, Amy simply blushed. John really knew how to pour on the charm when he wanted to, she thought as the maitre'd handed her a single scarlet rose. "This is from the man who loves you infinitely more today than he did yesterday, but not nearly as much as tomorrow," he said giving Amy a small bow.

Amy placed the rose to her nose and sniffed. Since when had John become so poetic? She could feel her insides turning to mush. Amy allowed the host to escort her to a table situated far in the back--far away from the other tables. It was a very private table, with gold curtains around it so that other patrons could not see inside.

She slipped the host a five-Galleon coin and stepped through the curtain. Her dinner partner sat with his entire head in the huge menu, obscuring him effectively from her view. So intensely focused on the menu was he that he didn't hear her come in. Amy noticed that two glasses of white wine sat untouched on the table and another rose lay upon her dinner plate, next to a basket of dinner rolls.

Hang on, she thought with alarm. Five Galleons? There was something drastically wrong with this, Amy thought. In fact, she was sure that she recognised the setting. Convinced, even.

"Of course!" she exclaimed to herself. "Peter?"

Her table-mate stiffened. Amy distinctly heard a sudden intake of breath. The menu dropped onto the table and Peter Pettigrew sat before her with a look of shock on his features.

"H-how did you know?" he asked her, clearly befuddled.

"Call it instinct," she said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm like a cat. Even if I can't hear you, I can sense you." She thought that she should have a little bit of fun with this. How often do you get the chance to do something like Dreamfast with a character and mess with him?

"A c-cat?" he queried, looking slightly panicked.

"Yup," she replied with a smile. "Wormtail, I've been thinking," she told him.

"You h-have?"

"Certainly have," she said with a nod. She was about to have some real extreme fun with this. "Look, Harry may be my husband, but I want you."

Amy knew what Tessa would do and mentally cackled as she threw it out of the window. She was going to do it her way; she was going to unwrap herself this delicious treat and enjoy the contents. This is why Amy could honestly say that Tessa was no Mary Sue: if she had the chance, which she now did, Amy would be peeling Peter's robes off faster than you could say 'Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs'. Probably before you could even get past 'Moo'.

"I-I've waited so long to hear you say that, Tessa," Wormtail breathed. "Are you serious? You're messing around. You must be."

"No, Peter," Amy replied flirtatiously, "I am perfectly serious. He's a kid and you, my friend, are all man."

''B-but you always push me away," he replied. ''I-In fact, y-you told me exactly how repugnant you f-found me!" Peter looked utterly perplexed.

Amy couldn't help but smile. She could imagine writing this very scene, in which Tessa finally gave in to Wormtail's charms. ''Can't a girl change her mind?" she purred. She looked at him and gave a coy smile. The girls at PISA would have a field day with this one if they saw.

Peter dashed to her side of the table in a flash. He put his arms around her quickly, almost as though he thought that she would change her mind back again. ''A-are you sure?" he whispered desperately in her ear, his breath tickling her face lightly.

She gave a long, agonising pause that she knew would drive him nuts. She studied him in the interim, making mental notes of how exactly he fitted the image that she had of him in her head. He had the same, thinning blond hair, the same slightly chubby face and podgy belly. She did notice, however, that he had a much stronger jawline and far brighter blue eyes them she had ever thought. In fact, she mused, he was rather handsome and she could see why Tessa could be tempted.

''Perfectly", she replied with a grin. She knew that she was married and had two adorable children, but, she reasoned to herself, she wasn't exactly herself at the moment. In fact, she rationalised further, she was her own fictional character, so she was sure that she could take things a little bit further under the term 'character development'.

Wormtail looked into Amy's eyes deeply. Something was different within the woman that he loved, of that he was certain. Something deep within those sparkling eyes had made a tidal alteration. However, he misconstrued Amy and Tessa's personality switch for a sudden change of heart by Tessa.

Without further ado, Peter pressed his lips to his companion's in a tenderly urgent kiss. They both opened their lips and allowed the kiss to deepen. Amy felt his tongue seek out hers and begin to duel with it.

The kiss was more mind-blowing than Amy had anticipated. She felt her body go limp beneath his as fireworks exploded in her head. His tongue flicked out again, its snake-like motion making her give a small gasp of pleasure deep in her throat.

As she pulled him close to her, she caught a whiff of his musky aftershave. Instantly, she was reminded of her ex from college. As she recalled, he was an amazingly good kisser too. She smiled and allowed her fingers to caress his downy-soft hair.

Finally, they reluctantly broke apart. They sat coiled in each others' arms, sucking in deep gulps of air.

''Until now, I thought that the kisses I wrote were pretty good," Amy breathed quietly, more to herself than to Peter. ''Now I've actually experienced one, I think I should be published!" She chuckled wickedly, thinking smut filled thoughts about a few later chapters.

''I th-think that's a compliment," he demurred, "albeit a slightly o-odd one."

Amy gave him the most suggestive grin that she could manage and raised an eyebrow. "I can think of a slightly better setting for this," she whispered throatily in his ear.

''C-can you?" he stammered, feeling slightly unnerved by Tessa's new outlook.

''Yep," she breezed confidently. ''Just give me a few seconds."

Wormtail gave an affirming nod as Amy closed her eyes. She tried to visualise a particularly kinky scene that she had especially enjoyed writing. As the minute details took on crystal clarity in her mind, she felt a minute change beneath her. She opened her eyes and smiled.

''Dreamfasting rocks," she commented sagely to Peter, who had a devilish look of appreciation on his face as he took in the scene before him.

The scene was one that Peter had become rather familiar with: they were at Hogwarts, inside an empty classroom. From the smile on Peter's face, Amy ascertained, based on his reactions back in chapter 22, that it had to be Professor Flitwick's Charms classroom.

Peter perched on the edge of the desk closest to the professor's, casting a fleeting glance at the large book, quills and a piece of parchment resting behind him. He smiled as he remembered a previous dream in that very setting; he remembered copying text from the dictionary as he heard the click of heels on cobblestones in the corridor.

His pulse quickened as he looked to the door, then back to Amy.

The first thing he looked at was her stiletto heels and long shapely legs. Very soon after that, his eyes raked up her body and took in the hem of a skirt, a blouse and finally a head. To him, it was Tessa.

Amy gave him a playful wink as she walked up to his desk, tapping a red ruler in her hand. She ran through the scene in her mind, remembering how the story had begun.

"Detention again, am I correct, Mr. Pettigrew?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am afraid so," Peter answered her. He was exactly eye level with her chest, and stared without shame.

"My face is up here, Pettigrew," Amy snapped, placing a finger underneath his chin and forcing his head up so that she could look him in the eye.

Peter's eyes drifted to her chest once again as he murmured, "I've made my choice, thank you very much."

SNAP! Tessa brought the ruler down hard millimetres from Peter on the desk, nearly breaking it in two. "You have been extremely naughty today, Peter, and you deserve to be punished!"

"Oh, I've been n--naughty indeed, Tessa. Please, p--punish me any way you see fit!" he said enthusiastically.

Amy giggled slightly as she allowed herself to get swept up in her story. She placed her hands on Professor Flitwick's desk and hoisted herself on top of it. She crossed her legs, allowing the already short skirt to ride up her legs, leaving it even shorter. Peter's mouth went completely dry as he watched her arms move to her hair and undo the bun that it had been in. She shook her head seductively and her hair fell into place about her shoulders.

Peter stood up and approached the desk. "How are you going to punish me today, Tessa?" he asked.

Amy grinned seductively and uncrossed her legs. She parted them slightly and beckoned him towards her. She shook her hair again as he shuffled slowly towards her, looking more nervous than he ever had in any of Amy's stories.

"You'll see," she said in a low, throaty voice. "And by the looks of things," she murmured as she looked towards his groin, "I'll see too!"

Wormtail looked down at the proof of his arousal, then back at the subject of his affection. He put his hands on Amy's shoulders and pulled her close, looking deeply into her eyes. He leaned in towards Amy, trying to seal her mouth in a kiss. She pulled away and shook her head playfully.

"Tease," he growled at her, his hands travelling to the small of her back. He tried to kiss her neck, but she pulled further back and smiled again. She unbuttoned her blouse, exposing the lace of the bra underneath.

Amy saw Peter's breath hitch in his throat. He shuffled forward and brought his hands to her breasts, massaging them delicately with his long fingers. She brought her hands behind him and grabbed his butt, squeezing it tightly.

"T-Tessa," Wormtail said huskily, "I don't know what's got into you, but I like it!"

"Nothing has yet," she replied, "but I'm so hoping that it will soon." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively and then winked at him.

With that, Peter could contain himself no longer and pushed Amy across the top of the desk. He kissed her long and deep, allowing his hands to brush nimbly across her flesh. He pushed the blouse away from her shoulders and kissed the skin that was not covered by her bra.

Amy pulled him close to her and basically enjoyed every second.

*****

As Peter and Amy lay on the desk, entwined in each others' arms, kissing all the while, they heard a small noise in the background. They dutifully ignored it as they carried on kissing.

The noise grew slightly louder. With a jolt, Wormtail moved away from Amy.

"What the? Who the? Huh?" he burbled.

"What on earth do you two think you are doing?" said a voice from the classroom door. Amy swivelled her head towards the door and allowed a bark of laughter to escape her.

"Tessa!" she cried. "I've been hoping that I would meet you."

"Amy, I presume," said Tessa, with a hint of amusement on her face. "Looking good, by the way."

"Thanks," replied Amy with a slight tinge of colour entering her cheeks. "Bet you never knew you had a twin." She winked at her doppelganger, who nodded knowingly.

"I never knew I had a twin who could Dreamfast," Tessa commented.

Wormtail's head darted back and forth between the two women, like he was watching a game of tennis between several talented hyperactive players. He looked thoroughly befuddled and perplexed as they shared what seemed to be a private joke. He was also somewhat confused as to how two people looked exactly like Tessa and were both Dreamfasting.

"Nice family," said Tessa with a smile. "Vastly less complicated than mine."

Amy gave a loud, hearty laugh. "Thanks. Your family is really nice too. I suppose some of the complications are sort of my fault. Sorry about that, mate."

Tessa gave a small smile and replied, "Well, I took a look on your computer and got a bit of a heads up for the next few chapters. Pretty rocky, isn't it?"

All Amy could do was smile. Tessa caught her eye and gave her a twinkling grin. "I suppose we're going to have to swap back," said Amy with a hint of sadness.

Tessa nodded slowly. "Just walk out the door and I'll take care of the rest," she instructed gently.

Amy walked out the door and into the corridor. She glanced backwards and saw Tessa scowl at Wormtail, who still looked thoroughly dumbfounded. She faintly heard Tessa hiss at Wormtail, "Come on, you filthy git. Stop pouting and go this way." She gave him an impatient shove towards the other door.

Amy sighed as the world of Hogwarts faded to white around her.

******

Tessa woke up, with Abigail sleeping soundly next to her. She brushed her daughter's cheek softly with her thumb.

"Now that," she said with a shake of her head, "was by far the oddest dream I have ever had. Including the Wormtail ones!"