|| A Loveless Union ||
Written by Coretta
|| Before you being reading ||
There are a few things I should say before you start the story. If I continue this, it will be AU. I bet when you read the little summary, you thought Dumbledore would be separating Draco and Hermione, yeah? Well, haha. You're wrong, although I won't spill the beans on how. You'll figure it out at the end of this chappie, anyway. ;) I'm going to try and keep most of the characters as in-character as possible, but Hermione will have changes to her personality because of the nature of this story. Again, you'll find out what I mean at the end of the prologue.
I'm sorry, but I absolutely hate it when people urge me to update. A little note at the end saying 'please update soon, I'd love to read what's coming next!' would suffice. I really don't want to see any 'UPDATE NOW OR ELSE I WILL ADFLAJKDKFJSD BECAUSE I AM AN IMPATIENT GIT'. I update in my own time (I will always update, even if it takes 6 months to get a chapter out).
Praise and constructive criticism is always welcome! I'll never tire of trying to get better, but if you're going to just flame and flame but not offer advice, don't waste your time.
One last thing. As I don't have a beta and have to rely on myself for this, I'd really appreciate if you guys pointed out mistakes in grammar and spelling just at the end of your reviews, so I can go back and fix anything up.
Thank you guys! Hope you enjoy it. 3
|| Prologue ||
The sharp wail of a child pierces the air. Although he is only at the door of the orphanage, he can hear it quite clearly, and looking up, he sees that a window is open. A frown mars his wrinkled face as he watches the young auburn-haired woman jiggle a small boy on her hip. It is not from his mouth, however, that the sound emits from.
Beside this woman is another woman, blue-eyed and with faded blonde hair, looking far older than she should, another child being held in her arms. This one, he sees, is a girl, and the boy's twin, and already she has rich dark brown curls hanging over her face. It is she who is crying, and she reaches to smack her small fist into the face of her holder. As the little girl attempts to hurt the woman holding her, her brother watches silently, his face blank. The blonde sighs exasperatedly but makes no move to stop the violent gesture.
The auburn-haired woman has just seen him now, having happened to look down, and she says something to the blonde before she hurries back into the room, assumedly to put the boy down. He is glad, for seeing a child with such an emotionless expression is frightening, to say the least. If anything could convince him that what he is to do now is the right thing, it is that.
The door is opened, and the auburn-haired woman appears in the doorway, looking quite frazzled. "I'm sorry, sir," she says hurriedly, "I'm afraid I did not see you, and if you knocked, I had not heard that either. Hermione has quite the big voice."
He nods politely. "May I come in?"
"Oh, please do, sir," she replies, moving out of the way. She leads him to a room that looks like a small parlour, and gestures for him to take a seat, which he does. "Now, what brings you to the orphanage, sir?"
"Please, call me Albus," he says, and before she can reply, he continues. "I am looking for a child."
A crease between her eyebrows appear. "Is that so?" By the way she is appraising him, he can tell that she is taking in his aged appearance. "Well," she goes on hesitantly, "we have many children here for adoption, but I'm not sure what you're particularly looking for. If you like, I can-"
"I'm looking for two specific children, actually," Albus cuts in brusquely, and she falls silent. "Do you, by any chance, have a pair of twins born on the 31st of December, two years ago?"
Recognition lights up in her eyes, and her facial expression shows the barest hint of suspicion. "Tom and Hermione?" He can tell the children make her nervous. Storing away this reaction to peruse later, he nods. "I'm not sure you'd like them, sir, they're rather difficult."
His curiosity is piqued. "How so?"
"They do rather...unnerving things, sir." She blushes, embarrassed that two two-year-olds can affect her in such a way. "It is like their- their minds are connected, or something of the sort. They're so young though, I don't know how they come up with these devious plans of theirs." And despite her obvious anxiety about them, there is a small twinge of affection in her voice, something he also finds intriguing.
"What plans might these be?" he asks, his voice light.
"Oh, well, you know what children are like, I'm sure. During morning tea, they sit beside each other, looking as innocent as apple pie, when Tom bursts into tears. Naturally, one of us has to go and see what's wrong, and when our backs are turned, Hermione steals a cookie off her neighbour. Then she breaks it in half and they exchange little smirks, the devils."
Oh, he can see their future now right before his eyes. And one of these days, their crimes won't be as innocent as stealing shortbread from other children. Despair fills him, but he expects no less from these two children. Any child borne from as loveless a union as that of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle can surely not be good. He must put a stop to this.
He smiles. "They sound like the children I'm looking for. May I go see them?"
She nods, and motions for him to follow her. They move through halls of cluttered books in piles and toys strewn across the floor, and when two little children come rushing past, laughing and screaming, she sternly calls for them to stop running, but does not halt herself. They reach a set of old, wooden stairs that look as if they might give way any time, but she moves up them without pause.
A door on the left is set ajar, and she walks in, a slight smile on her face. "Mrs. Cole!"
The blonde woman he had seen earlier, carrying who he presumed had been Hermione, turns and nods at the two, no child on her person. "Amy, introduce me to your guest."
"Oh, how terribly rude of me!" Amy exclaims. "Mr. Albus, this is the matron of our orphanage, Mrs. Cole. Mrs. Cole, this is Mr. Albus. He was enquiring after Tom and Hermione."
"Is that so?" Mrs. Cole asks, eyes sharp, a fleeting look of distrust crossing her face. She glances at the two cots the closest to the window. "Why these two particular children, sir?"
It surprises him how defensive they are about the twins, something that does not sit well with him. If the twins can charm those around them at such a young age, it would surely become easier as time progressed. And, having heard and seen what he had today, it wasn't likely they would be charming for the sake of being charming. A thought crosses his mind. Slytherins through and through, these two seem to be.
"Their mother, Merope, entrusted them to me, should she pass away."
"Ah, Merope Riddle," Amy pipes up, tapping a finger on her chin. "Remember her, Mrs. Cole? Such a strange woman, seemed so lonely and sad, though."
Mrs. Cole nods. "The poor woman arrived in the middle of winter dressed in nothing but a thin dress. It was a wonder these two survived. She looked like she hadn't eaten for days. She gave birth to them in this orphanage, then passed. You say she left the twins to you?"
"Yes."
"You knew she was with child and yet you did nothing to help her?"
"I believed her husband was taking care of her."
This Mrs. Cole is a sharp one, he can tell, and her eyes narrow even further. He can tell she is about to call him out with a minor detail he has most likely missed in his cover story, and so, before she can say a word, his wand is suddenly in his hand and he is stunning the two women, ensuring they would not be damaged by using a cushioning charm. He does not approve of using magic against Muggles who are defenseless against it, but he must do this.
While they lie on the hard wooden floor, unconscious, he begins sorting through their memories and altering them. When they wake up, they will believe that he had given them a perfectly credible story. To add further evidence and erase all lines of doubt, he also conjures some Muggle adoption papers and pushes them into Mrs. Cole's hands. Then, he sets them up so that they are leaning against a wall and awakens them. Their eyes fly open, and they appear very confused. He feels sorry for the poor ladies.
Mrs. Cole is looking around, baffled, before she sees Albus and hurries towards him. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir! You wanted Hermione, didn't you? I- I must have dozed off or something of the sort, I'm getting old, it happens often." She ignores the other girl, Amy, who looks just as puzzled as she.
"That's quite alright," Albus nods, feeling guilty. "Will you allow me time to make acquaintance with her before I take her home?"
The matron nods back. "As you wish, sir." And then she hurries out of the door with Amy following, sending glances back at the old man and the two children.
When he is sure they are gone, he puts a silencing charm on the door to guarantee he will not be heard when he leaves. He will not be leaving through the front door.
If he could have taken both the children, he would have, but it would not do well to meddle too much. He is already doing enough as it is, with Hermione. He had said to the women that he would take both, as saying he would only take one would arouse too much disbelief with the story he had given them and they would not let him see them. The memories he had given them convinced them that he was only after Hermione, now. Only one would be leaving Wool's orphanage today.
"Hello, children."
He is now at the feet of the two cots, which have been placed side-by-side. The two children, who had been lying on their sides and staring at each other, now roll onto their backs to stare at him. He resists the urge to frown at them, and instead says, "You two are quite the trouble."
They do not say anything.
"I'm sorry, children, but I will have to separate you," he says. "Too much is at stake to keep you together. You may meet each other in the future-" he stops to consider the double meaning behind his words, "-but it is unlikely." He does not even know why he is explaining it to a pair of infants, but it seems right. Sighing, he reaches into the cot and takes Hermione gently. She is looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes, and Tom immediately makes a sound of protest. Albus shakes his head sadly as he watches Tom reach his small arms towards his twin sister. "I apologise."
A second later, he is gone, a loud crack signaling his departure.
Later on, when the two women come to check on Albus and see him gone, they assume he has already left with Hermione and that they had not heard, having been preoccupied with the other children.
Albus Dumbledore will never know how big a mistake this day was until it is too late.
|| Author's note ||
Hey everyone! This is my first Draco/Hermione fanfiction (yes, although it does not look like it, it will be). If you guys thought this was alright, let me know! I'll decide if I'll keep going if I can get some positive feedback. :) Also, just a heads-up that although this one is 3rd person, present tense, future chapters (again, if I decide to continue) will be 1st person, present tense.
Also, a note on what I said about Hermione having to change her personality. Well, (hopefully) you've already deduced that she is/will be Tom Marvolo Riddle's twin sister, and personally, I'm all up for her going Dark. :)
Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
Love, Coretta