The same morning, it was early at breakfast. Hermione was up long before Harry or Ron. She liked to eat and study in the morning when they were both asleep and couldn’t bother her. However, just beside her seat, sat Chiara and Luna. Hermione frowned in confusion at Chiara’s slacked jaw, and took her seat beside her. “Chiara, what’s going on?” She asked, patting her hand to get her attention. “I was just telling her about my first kiss with Lucas…”

Hermione nodded at Luna, before the words finally registered in her mind. The moment they did, Hermione slammed the table. “You did what!?” She yelled, Luna blinking a few times before saying it again. “I was speaking of my first kiss with Lucas… Then my second… so on and so forth…” Hermione snapped her head to the Slytherin table, Lucas missing from his usual spot. “What- How- What!?” She stammered, unable to get her thoughts in order. 

“I became his mistress…” Luna muttered with a tiny grin, Chiara bursting into a coughing fit in response. Hermione stood in silent shock, finally hitting Chiara’s back a few times to help force whatever water went down the wrong pipe out. After Chiara calmed down, Hermione leaned across the table, whispering to Luna. “D-Do you know what that word means?” She asked, Luna nodding without much thought. “I do… I help him to calm down before he attacks Pansy…”

After a few seconds of disbelieving silence, Hermione not knowing what to say at Luna’s answer. She wasn’t very sure what exactly Luna was explaining, but suddenly Chiara spoke up. “Oh…” She sighed, covering her reddening face, much to Hermione’s confusion. “Oh, what?” Hermione asked, looking back and forth between Chiara and Luna. Chiara’s embarrassment held her back from saying anything, leaving Luna to explain for her while Chiara continued to hide her face. “Lucas is going through his first mating season…”

“Oh my god…” Hermione muttered, snapping her head over to Chiara, and reaching her hand out for her in comfort but freezing just inches away. “Have-Have I made it difficult…?” She asked, hardly able to force the words out in shame. Chiara was only able to shake her buried head, not able to look at Hermione as she answered. “Sometimes… Not as bad as Lucas I imagine… Boys get it worse than girls…” 

Luna nodded, her bouncing hair catching Hermione’s attention as she rubbed her hand along Chiara’s hunched back. “That’s why I became Lucas’ mistress… To stop him from making a mistake and attacking Pansy…” Hermione began shaking her head in distress, hating the term Luna was calling herself, but pausing as Luna’s plan struck her. “You want to stop her from keeping him shackled with guilt again?” She asked, Chiara finally revealing her reddened face to see Luna’s answer for herself.

They both watched Luna as she stared off into the distance, finally nodding with Hermione’s words. “Yes… That was part of the reason…” Chiara squinted her eyes in confusion at Luna, tilting her head as she asked the question on Hermione’s mind as well. “What was the other reason?” They both silently watched Luna as the corner of her lips trembled into another tiny smile, almost invisible if one were not to know Luna personally. “To have Lucas come to terms with his own being…”

“What exactly did he do when… He came to terms with them?” Chiara asked, Hermione’s heart jumping in anxiety of Luna perhaps already having gone all the way with Lucas. Luna was silent for a few moments, her face turning slightly red as she blinked. “I’ll start from the beginning…” She finally spoke, Chiara and Hermione leaning in to hear every word she whispered.

***

After taking a long shower, I heaved a large sigh while letting the hot water flow down my hair to the drain below. What I had done wasn’t fair to Pansy, not even to Luna who wished for it in the first place. I needed Luna to keep these growing bouts of lust to quell. Without her, I knew I would go too far with Pansy, ruining the relationship yet again with lies to get what I desired. ‘But is having a mistress putting the cart before the horse?’ I pondered, knowing if Pansy were to ever find out about my newly found fond feelings of Luna, it would create just as much a divide between us.

Grasping at the towel hanging just outside the stone shower, I quickly began drying off. My thoughts still in disarray at what to do, Luna’s words rang inside my mind once again. ‘Just follow my instincts…’ I already held Pansy up so high in my mind, she was such a perfect girl that I held so much affection for. However, I couldn’t say in all honesty that she was the only girl I was fond of. Passing moments of Hermione and I’s bickering, Chiara’s usual shy demeanor, contrasted by her more aggressive and forward bestial nature, but the same compassion coming from both. And even disregarding Luna last night, our previous long discussions of magical creatures, as well as her sudden outlandish actions that shocked yet intrigued me; it all came flooding into my mind.

Last night with Luna had made my mind waver. ‘If I followed my instincts then…’ I began thinking, but shook away the thought. I couldn’t even think of the disgusting and glutinous words. “Just- Just stop…” I muttered under my breath, knowing I needed both those girls more than Hermione or Chiara. I liked Hermione and Chiara’s company, I desired their company, but I didn’t need it as much as I needed Luna's. And attempting to grow a relationship with Pansy while hiding Luna as a mistress was already sickening enough.

After getting dressed and saying good morning to Abarrane, I left my room and felt a mass tackle into me. I let out a cough, and immediately reciprocated the hug from her sweet cinnamon black hair. “Morning…” I muttered, my excitement flaring just at her breath tickling my neck. “Morning Lucas!” She yelled in an excited giggle. I knew I should have felt guilty at her innocent affection, matched by my unfaithful temperament, and part of me was. However, I couldn’t stop the overwhelming feeling of joy in Pansy’s embrace. 

Things were going great between Pansy and I, and I felt that was what mattered most at this moment. Now that it was just us, Pansy is what mattered most right now, and I had to give her as best a time I could. It wasn’t fair to Pansy that I needed the comfort of a mistress to keep my sanity, nor was it fair to Luna to ask such a carnal thing for someone I appreciated perhaps just as much as Pansy. I felt bad, but the only alternative was to tell Pansy and hope she would accept all of me, including my growing and uncontrollable lust; pointed not only at her.

Could she handle it? It was a lot to ask more of her if she even managed to accept me as a monster; a monster in heat. I knew that I had made things much more difficult to explain with Pansy, but with her in my arms, I tried to stop myself from spiraling. ‘I can't change it now… I can’t just move backwards to ‘only friends’ with Luna anymore…’ “Lucas? Are you going to let me go?” My thoughts were broken from Pansy’s giggling question, and I finally pulled away only to have Pansy’s wide smile look back at me. I couldn’t help but smile back, the tickling scent of cinnamon calming me down, yet also exciting me.

The excitement was just for her company, I was not ready to go any further than holding hands without her knowing what I truly was, or what I had done. I didn't want to feel like I was lying to trick her into moving closer to me. It was only thanks to Luna’s helpful act of giving my tension a release, that I could smile back at Pansy, and enjoy myself without the tainted thoughts of my own lechery to disrupt it. “Sorry, I just got lost in my thoughts again.”

“That seems to be happening more often now.” Pansy giggled, still happy as she could be with the news last night of my blood not being dangerous and accidently hurting her. She then swiftly wrapped my arm in a tight hug, and began walking alongside me, my bicep squished between the two mounds on her chest. “What class are we going to first today?” She asked, casually ignoring her advance towards me, while I ignored the dangerous feelings it brought within me. “I think it’s Defense against Dark arts.” I answered, tugging Pansy closer, already wondering if I’d need Luna later tonight if Pansy continued unknowingly pushing my buttons like this.