The Beast Within - Chapter 7

Andi and Nym had undersold the basement. Halfway down, the stairs changed from the standard indoor type to stone and packed earth. He could smell trees, following water, and sun-warmed grass. The sound of birds stopped as he arrived on the level. He sniffed, the was a distinct lack of animal scent.

"Fake birds?" He titled his head to the side.

"Illusions." Nym nodded. "All the ambience with none of the poop."

Harry chuckled. There was a stone path that branched off into a few different directions. Little strips of wild grass poked out between the tiles. It didn't look like the type he'd seen around Privet Drive.

"Mom said you're in control during the shift?" Nym asked again.

Harry nodded.

"That's good." She sighed. "I wasn't looking forward to buying some poor creature for you to hunt."

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. "That could be fun."

Nym gave him a flat stare. He broke into a smile.

"I'm not that much of an animal." He walked deeper into the room. "Something to do would be nice. It gets really boring."

"You could just sleep." Nym suggested as she walked beside him.

She didn't direct him where to go, they simply wandered.

"Not really." He shook his head. "The transformation is like a double-shot of adrenaline. It takes a while to burn off, so I've got like four hours to just do whatever."

The path led to a pond with a small waterfall. He could see a stream created to circle around to make it a complete circuit.

"We used to have fish." Nym said as they stopped on the bank. "Real ones. That was when I was still in school though. Now that everyone has their own thing going on we didn't want to neglect them."

"There isn't like a magical timer or something?" Harry asked.

"Could be." Nym shrugged. "I don't remember the last time I was down here. As the new girl I get all the crap shifts. I'm either sleeping or on duty until I get some more experience."

"Today?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"I've got a class XXXXX creature in my house." Nym bumped his shoulder with her own. "You're my new assignment for a while."

"Oh." Harry blinked. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Sorry." She gave him a small smile. "If it helps, this is the first vacation I've had in over a year. They can't call me away."

He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Logically, he knew that he was now a monster. It made sense that they would want to be careful. A sudden hunger sparked into a wildfire as he caught a new scent. His eyes snapped open. They gave off a soft emerald glow as his gaze locked on Nym.

Nym stared back at him. A wicked smile played along her lips.

"Fancy a swim?" She asked.

"Sure." He smiled. "If my trunk is already here then I should have some trunks."

"Pfft." Nym rolled her eyes. "It's just us."

She kicked off her shoes and undid the button on her pants. He watched as she wiggled her hips to slide the jeans down. A lump formed in his throat as he saw she took her panties with it. She shot him a challenging look before she removed her top as well.

"Well?" Nym arced an eyebrow. She stood completely nude before him.

His mouth watered. She was lithe with firm, pert breasts, and a surprisingly plump ass. The little bush at the apex of her legs was bright pink.

"Like what you see?" She cocked her hip to the side.

Harry nodded without realizing it.

"Come on then." Nym strode over to the water. "I don't want to be the only one naked."

Harry stripped out of his clothes in a fast and efficient manner. The movements had become familiar to him over the stretch of the full moon. He needed to be quick if he wanted to save the clothes from being torn to shreds. Logically, he knew it was magic that changed his body, but he still couldn't believe how much bigger his body got after the transformation. He was easily two feet taller, not to mention the dense muscle and bone his dragon form had. It only made sense because of magic.

Further thoughts of such matters were banished as Nym popped up out of the water. Her body from the belly-button up dripped water. The magical sunlight danced along her skin. Little rays caught drips of water to create miniature rainbows across her body. Her eyes drank in his body. She winked at him then turned and swam farther into the pond.

He wasn't the strongest swimmer. In truth, he had only done so a handful of times. Most of which were at the Burrow in the last couple of years. Before that it was one bad experience that he'd rather not think about.

For that reason, he didn't bother trying to dive in, or do an obnoxious cannonball. Instead, he waded into the water, then pushed himself flat. Something instinctual took over his movements. He slid through the water with no wasted motion. It had to be a side-effect of his other form, similar to how he was stronger and no longer needed his glasses.

He caught up to Nym faster than she expected. She let out a sharp cry as he grabbed her leg. Harry popped out of the water beside her with a broad grin on his face. They were close enough to touch and he REALLY wanted to touch her.

"Easy there, dragon boy." Nym teased. "Your tail is poking me."

Harry scrunched his brow in confusion for a brief moment. Then he realized what she meant and scooted back to give her more space.

"It pops up around sexy women." He teased right back.

Nym tilted her head back and laughed. She kissed him on the tip of his nose. He desperately wanted to pull her in for a deeper kiss. His eyes must have shown his desire. Her pulse had increased.

"You're fun." Nym dropped her voice to a whisper. "I think we'll get along."

"I think so too." Harry lowered his voice to match.

"But I'm not that easy." Nym splashed at him.

Harry sputtered as she swam away. They spent the next hour in the pond. Their touches never went beyond a playful squeeze every so often. She shot him to occasional smile that teased potential for something in the future.

"I'm calling it a night." Nym said as she swam to the shore. "You should too."

Harry followed her out of the water. He had an erection since he had first seen her naked. Even after the time swimming he was still hard. Seeing her strut in front of him with the water streaking down her skin made it almost painful.

"Not tonight." Nym winked at him. "We've got time."

Harry let out a ragged breath. He stayed in the water until she was dressed. Steam rose off of his body and he was dry by the time he reached his discarded clothes.

"I'll see you in the morning." Nym called over her shoulder. "You're making breakfast."

Harry shook his head. She was going to be trouble.