A painting appeared before Pomona. At first, she thought it was the back of a man.
Then she realized it was not a person at all. Where its arms should have been were membranous wings like the frilled collar of a lizard, and its long, thick tail was wrapped around a radiant woman lying on the ground.
She quickly realized it was the work of a Muggle poet, based on Revelation. It was roughly about a woman about to give birth, while Satan would devour the child destined to rule the world.
Yet the radiant woman in the painting showed no sign of pregnancy. She looked in astonishment at the powerful "red dragon" standing beside her, her hands clasped as though begging for pity.
Pomona felt an itch on her back and reached over to scratch it. The itch subsided for the moment, but soon returned.
Just as she was about to scratch it again, she felt another hand appear and cover the unbearably itchy spot. The hand was large and solid, its palm not rough, yet everywhere it passed hurt as though sparks were being struck from her skin.
That faint prickling pain instead gave her a sense of pleasure. Then the hand slid over and wrapped around her shoulder, slowly moving beneath the covers along the curve of her body as she lay on her side.
She wanted to turn around and see who it was, but he was sucking at her shoulder blade, precisely where she had been itching moments ago.
She thought of the young bride in that French novel who had just left a convent. She knew nothing, and one night, while sleeping alone, Valmont had slipped in and taken her virginity.
Pomona instinctively reached for her wand and twisted her body, trying to break