A/N: This is the first AU I've ever written, so if the parameters of the universe isn't totally easy to understand, please let me know in a review and I will happily try to fix that for you. Here are the basics: the war with Voldemort has come to an end, and the Light and Dark sides are coming together for a truce. This is taking place in the late 1500s, approximately. The Wizarding World has decided to seal their truce with a marriage to unite them. They are supposed to become the King and Queen of the Wizarding World, with almost as much power as the Minister of Magic. Think of this as an ancient marriage of convenience. (This was inspired by The Tudors and an incessant amount of Dramione fanfiction) Hopefully, not too much will be different.
Disclaimer: All J.K. Rowling's.
Chapter One: The King's Queen
The halls of Malfoy Manor had rarely felt colder. Draco kept his eyes fixed on his plate while his parents, his aunt and uncle, and other former Death Eaters, now Soldiers of the Shadows, debated their next best move. The Dark Lord had been defeated less than a week ago, and many of the Soldiers had decided to flee for fear of persecution. Unfortunately for the Ministry of Magic, the Light had so little power by the end of the war that they couldn't even take back the government they had lost. The best thing that was being offered to the Light side, and alternately to the Dark to keep another war from ravaging the Wizarding World was a truce.
Draco Malfoy hated the idea of a truce. It wasn't that he wanted another war to happen; he felt lucky enough that he had survived the end of the war as a double agent in the first place. But he knew that at the helm of the truce would be his father, intent on regaining any power that they had lost during Voldemort's fall. In truth, they had lost all of their power, and since Lucius was getting old, Draco was going to be the one put up on the chopping block as an offering.
"I don't see any alternative," Lucius was saying, his shoulders slumping only slightly. "We must write up our truce as quickly as possible and send it to the Order of the Phoenix before we lose our leverage."
Draco tried not to roll his eyes, but his mother, ever-present, elbowed him sharply. "Behave yourself, son."
"Yes, Mother."
Lucius, scribbling quickly at the parchment, glanced up at his son and wife momentarily at the ripple of sound they caused. Draco's eyes met his and Lucius looked back to the parchment, unwilling to see the unadulterated dislike that resided in his son's visage. With a final flourish, he signed the parchment and handed it to Rodolphus, who poured the wax and pressed the seal.
And with that, Draco's fate was sealed. As soon as his father's chair scraped back from the table, Draco was shoving himself away from the table and exiting the parlor as quickly as he could. His mother had forced him to leave his wand behind in his chambers, and he quickly sought it. He cradled it in his hand lovingly for a second, relishing the feeling of power rising to his fingertips, and Disapparated.
He appeared in Grimmauld Place, which was bustling with activity. He took a few steps back and leaned against the wall, watching the chaos continue, unadulterated, around him. It was almost five minutes before Ginevra Weasley noticed him.
"Did the Dark Side come up with their demands?" She asked, her dirty, tattered robes settling around her in the wake of less movement. "Or are you here to wipe out the victors?"
He smirked. "Oh, do calm yourself, Ginevra. I was hoping that I beat the truce. Father sent it off only moments ago. It's not here yet, is it?"
Harry's voice met him from the living room. "It is now!" He tore open the dark red seal of the Malfoy family and spread the parchment open on the table. Ronald, Ginevra, Remus, and Nymphadora all huddled around him.
"Where is Hermione?" Malfoy asked in the expectant silence. Ron, as usual, colored at the usage of his betrothed's Christian name, but Harry, too engrossed in the treaty, waved Draco up the stairs. He bowed slightly and left the Order to peruse what was surely going to become a famous document in the history of the Wizarding World. Quietly and carefully, to avoid touching the dusty banister, Draco wound his way up the stairs to the room that he most often found Hermione Granger; Sirius's old room, reading a dusty book that was sure to leave marks on her dress.
When she noticed his entrance, she closed the book hastily and curtsied, as was her custom. While Ginevra and Nymphadora, distant relatives of Draco, did not feel the need to curtsy and often let their distaste for him manifest in their lack of courtesy, Hermione Granger did not. Draco bowed his head slightly in response.
"The treaty has arrived," he said, his voice almost sterile with a lack of emotion. Hermione's face lit up, and she curtsied one more time, hurriedly, so that she could rush downstairs and join her friends, but Draco caught her arm softly around the wrist. He was not usually allowed to touch any woman who did not give him express permission, and quickly withdrew his arm.
"What is it, Malfoy?" She asked, her eyes locked on his. His prominence as a Lord of the Wizarding World would dictate that she curtsey and never make eye contact, but she did not follow all of the rules. That was one of the reasons that Draco came to her instead of waiting for the explosion that was sure to happen any second downstairs.
"May I call you Hermione, Miss Granger?" He asked, ever proper. The question that he usually didn't ask alarmed her, and she retreated back to the bed to sit. She gave him an affirming nod.
"I know that we have never been the best of friends," Draco began. "I was a terrible child to you, but I hope you see that your help throughout the war, which consequently helped keep me alive has changed my attitude toward you," he paused momentarily and studied her face. "It has, hasn't it?"
Hermione, ever gracious, lowered her head. "Yes, Malfoy," she said. "You have changed much since our childhood, and I consider you one of my close friends."
Good, that would make this easier. "I know, through experience, that your compulsion for propriety keeps you from responding to me and to others as you would like. I would like for you, at least in my presence, to abstain from the control that you possess, is that alright?"
Hermione's shoulders, ramrod straight, slumped in relief. "Yes, Malfoy, I appreciate it."
"Now, I know that Ronald has made his intentions clear –," an explosion of sound from downstairs shook the floor and Draco grabbed Hermione's wrist again. "Before we are interrupted, I want you to know that I did not ask for this to happen," he said hurriedly. "But it might be the only way, and I trust you."
Hermione did not pull her wrist away but appraised him with a proud look. "I will take that into consideration, for whatever you have done now has aggravated my friends greatly. But I assure you," she said, covering his hand with her own, "That I will not be so judgmental. I have not forgotten that I owe you my life."
"You owe me nothing," Draco said. He removed his hands from hers just as the door was filled with angry Weasleys and Potter.
"Don't think we don't know that this was your intention, Malfoy," Ronald spat, his face almost as red as his ears. Hermione, looking curious, took her accustomed place by Ron's side.
"This treaty is unacceptable," Harry said, his voice much more calm, but his face, if possible, angrier than Ron's. "You can take that back to your father."
Hermione's voice, in the wake of so much tension, sounded small and insignificant. "Can I see the treaty, Harry?" She asked. Harry's eyes went immediately to Ron, who shook his head adamantly. Hermione, catching his movement, snatched the parchment from Harry's hand. "You are not my husband yet, Ronald, and I do not need your permission."
The return of her fire, which was more prominent in the presence of her friends, when the pressure of propriety was less dire, comforted Draco in an inexplicable way. He knew he didn't like the treaty either, but he recognized it as something that could not be changed, a destiny that was already decreed. He only hoped that Hermione would see that, or else the Third Great War would be on their hands again.
Hermione was quickly scanning the parchment while Ronald tried to find a way to endear himself to his fiancé. Draco almost felt bad for him.
"So, Hogwarts will be getting a joint committee, run equally by members of the Dark and the Light, with focuses on the more neutral members, while many of the closest members will be rounded up and put in Azkaban in order for the Light to retake the Ministry," she mused. "This is really masterful work, Draco."
"He didn't have anything to do with the diplomacy," Ron quickly said.
Hermione didn't even look up. "But he did. See, I recognize his handwriting," she looked up and gave him a quick, momentary smile. "At least Hogwarts will be safe for children again."
Draco didn't return the smile. She still hadn't gotten to the bad part yet.
"Soldiers of Shadows will be disbanded as long as the Order of the Phoenix becomes inactive, that sounds reasonable," she read aloud. "And to seal the truce…"
Draco's heartbeat started thundering in his chest.
"Your father is proposing a marriage between the Lord of the Darkness and the Queen of the Light to cement our newfound peace," Hermione directed at Draco. "With your father being married and the Dark Lord vanquished, that makes you the Lord of the Darkness, does it not, Draco?"
His mouth was obscenely dry.
"And the Queen of the Light is the proper name for the title I was given when I was eleven," Hermione said. "The brightest witch of the age."
"It's not happening, you ferret, because Hermione is already engaged," Ron insisted.
"Your father wants me to marry you?" She asked. Her face was mercifully, not angry, and Draco felt his heartbeat slow. "For peace?"
Draco felt the need to bow, "He believes it is the only way to ensure that the Dark and the Light will be fully invested in the future of the community," he said. "It was not my idea, I assure you. I know how you feel about me."
Hermione blushed. "You have no idea how I feel about you, Draco, for you have not asked. It is true that I never thought to marry you, or any man like you. But I do see you as a brave, proud man who was lucky to survive the war, but also helped the war come to a conclusion. On the contrary, I do not think you a bad man, Draco Malfoy. I think you are a great man."
Ron looked like someone was inserting a knife into his guts and turning it. "So, you're going to marry him, then?"
Hermione gave him an appraising look. "I don't see much of an alternative, but I would like a few days to think on it," she directed both to Ron and to Draco. "Can your father allow me that?"
Draco bowed again. "He will have no choice." He took Hermione's hand and pressed a momentary kiss to her knuckles before bowing to the rest of the room. "Thank you for considering the treaty, and I am sorry for how this has turned out."
Ron rolled his eyes. "Now you're not," he snorted. "You're thrilled. Now you can have a war heroine as your wife, and make the Malfoy name even more noble than it already was."
"Ronald!"
"Ronald, I don't think you understand the point of this proposal," Draco said. "I did not choose her. Under normal circumstances, a Malfoy heir would never marry a Granger. This is for the sake of the Wizarding World, not for my own benefit. Try to look at the larger picture before you damn one inconsequential person."
And he was gone, his robes catching around the corner of the dusty room. The silence grew to a deafening volume before Harry spoke.
"Can I speak to Hermione alone, please?" He asked. Ron looked furious, but Ginny grabbed him by the arm and led him out of the room. Harry carefully closed the door before he turned to Hermione. "What do you think about this?"
Hermione gave him a noncommittal shrug.
"Hermione, since you sent your parents to Australia and claimed that they were dead, I have been considered your guardian in society, which means I am the person who approves of your betrothal. I asked you if you were happy being engaged to Ron, and you seemed happy enough. But now the war is over, and the constant threat on your life is done and you seem less than happy with your fiancé.
"I know that living through a war was hard, and love is different on the brink of extinction. I know that you have resigned yourself to marrying Ron, but I would rather you be happy. I don't mind starting a war for you," he nudged her shoulder gently. "But what do you want?"
Hermione's face screwed up in thought before she responded. "I thought I loved Ronald, and maybe I did, maybe I do, I don't know. But I'm young, and so is everyone else. It seems way too early to decide who we want to spend the rest of our lives with. But I know that Ronald would never let me be friends with Draco if we got married because it would be improper. I don't think Draco would be that way."
Harry nodded, trying to keep his emotions off his face. "Do you want to choose a husband that way?"
"I don't see what choice I have," Hermione said. "Ronald and I have been best friends for years, and I just got to become friends with Draco after everything that our world has been through. Being married to either of them wouldn't be terrible, I suppose. But marrying one of them ensures more fighting and death, and marrying the other ensures peace," she glanced back to Harry, who looked resigned. "What do you want me to do?"
"Ron loves you, but he's impatient. He's been…" Harry struggled, "courting other girls. He takes them out for tea, takes them for walks, he goes riding with them," Hermione flinched. "I know that you have been postponing your wedding because you didn't think you were ready. But I don't think Ron is either. I'm not saying that Malfoy is a better person, because you know I will never say that," Hermione chuckled. "But his future also depends on this marriage. I think we should add a fidelity clause to this treaty and accept it. Don't you?"
Hermione gave Harry a watery smile. "Let's save the Wizarding World one more time, Harry."
It was less than two minutes after Harry left Hermione alone in her room before Ronald burst into her room again.
"Ronald," Hermione curtsied. "Is everything okay?"
"Of course everything is not okay," he exploded. "You're going to marry that supremacist, aren't you?"
Hermione lowered her head. "I don't have a choice," she said. "I know that this is upsetting for you, but"
"Upsetting?" Ron repeated. "I have loved you since we were children and you're just going to throw that away for what, for a lord? For a crown?" His face had distorted to almost purple, and Hermione could feel his magic bubbling up. "I never thought you were one to marry for money, Hermione, but I guess I chose wrong."
A loud bang filled the room with smoke and Hermione coughed, waving her hands before her to dispel it. When it cleared, she found Ronald on the floor, unconscious. She hadn't felt the magic in her for long before it exploded out of her. She knelt next to Ronald and felt the back of his head for blood and found none.
"What in the bloody hell is going on in here?" Harry charged up the staircase. "Hermione, what did you do?"
Hermione frowned. "I don't know. He was insulting me and my magic just…attacked him. I'm so sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to hurt him."
Harry smiled gently at her. "Don't worry about it, you couldn't control it. Let's put him on his bed and hope he wakes up with better sense."
"She asked for a few days to consider the offer," Draco said, bowing low to his father. "But she said that she did not see any alternative other than acceptance."
Lucius smirked, looking very much like his son. "Good, Draco. Your mother has already started the wedding preparations, and your coronation will happen immediately after."
Draco bowed low once more.
"Master Malfoy," Theodore Nott said from the doorway, "Harry Potter is here to speak with Draco."
Draco turned to find Harry standing next to Theodore, looking imperious but otherwise friendly. Bowing once more to his father who gave him permission to leave, Draco followed Theodore and Harry into the drawing room.
"Thank you, Theo," Draco dismissed him. Theodore inclined his head in response and left, closing the door behind him.
"She changed her mind, didn't she?" Draco said resignedly. "She's going to marry Ronald instead?"
Harry smiled. "No, she has not changed her mind. But there are a few things I would like to add to the truce."
Draco nodded. He had expected something to this effect. "I'm listening, Harry. What would you have me include?"
"Hermione is my responsibility now that her parents are gone," Harry reasoned, "and I'm assuming that the two of you will be married under the Unbreakable Vow, since that is the custom, which means this will be the only marriage that Hermione will ever have."
Draco nodded. "Yes, but what does that have to do with the truce?"
"I want a fidelity clause that says you will remain faithful to your wife," Harry said. "I don't want her to be humiliated in society because she tried to save the world again."
Draco smirked. "I did not expect that. You are a good guardian to her, Harry."
"I'm not finished."
"Then by all means, continue."
"I want there to be a short engagement period where you court her," Harry said. "She accepted Ronald's proposal a long time ago and his courtship abilities have fallen way short of my own expectations, much less hers. I want you to make her feel special, and make this marriage feel less like a marriage of convenience."
Draco nodded again.
"She will never have a marriage of love, and she deserves everything that she could have had. If you take these caveats to your father and he agrees, then consider the truce accepted and signed."
