A/N – First I have to say I was absolutely blown away by the response to the first chapter. I can't believe I have nearly 200 follows and nearly 150 faves from just one chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who favourite/followed/reviewed. I appreciate it all so much.
After the overwhelming response I decided to post the second chapter today. As from next week updates will be twice a week, most likely at the beginning of the week and the end of the week. I'm still working on part 3 but as I progress with that, updates on part 2 will become quicker.
Hermione took one final look at The Daily Prophet before setting it aside with a triumphant smirk. Almost the whole paper was dedicated to the Death Eater attack on Diagon Alley a few days earlier. The attack was purely destructive, aimed to cause chaos and alert the world to the fact the Death Eaters were still a force to be reckoned with.
Hermione was very happy with the results of the attack, Lucius had arranged everything perfectly. She was also happy with the speculation in the papers as to who was running the Death Eaters now. Hermione knew the Order would pinpoint Lucius as the one in charge, but the press seemed much more hesitant to name a leader.
Before the end of the summer Hermione wanted another, potentially more explosive, attack to take place but for the minute she was more than happy with her first few weeks in charge. The important thing for the time being was just to make sure their presence was felt. She did have bigger plans, which involved getting rid of Dumbledore, but those would take time and she didn't want to be idle until then.
Getting up from the desk, Hermione walked over to the fire and grabbed the pot of floo powder. She then flooed to Malfoy Manor, where she pulled her cloak from the cupboard in Lucius's office and put it on. The Death Eater meeting she was on her way to attend was just a short one and would only likely take half an hour or so.
Once she'd pulled the hood up Hermione left Lucius's office and headed to the dining room. Halfway there she ran into Lucius and the pair walked the rest of the way together, discussing a few other matters as they went. When they arrived at the dining room a few stragglers were just taking their places either around the table or around the side of the room.
Walking to the head of the table, Hermione checked for any absentees. She spotted three empty places, one belonged to Snape while the other two were unaccounted for. Gaining the Carrow's attention to gestured to the empty spaces, giving them their first assignment. She'd spoken to the pair a few days earlier and explained that at the start of each meeting she would point out the absent spaces of people she wanted dealing with. It was too risky just letting the siblings spot the spaces themselves as there might be occasions where Hermione had given a certain person permission to miss the meeting.
"Firstly, I want to congratulate everyone who was involved in the attack on Diagon Alley." Hermione began. "It worked excellently and was a good start to reminding people we're still here. As a result, I want to make a few changes to the seating."
For the next few minutes Hermione rearranged the seating at the table, moving up the Death Eaters that had been involved in the attack and even inviting a few of those standing to take a seat near the bottom. She then explained that from now on people who pleased her would find themselves sitting higher up the table.
"As well as that attack went, I want a more expressive show of our powers." Hermione continued once the seating was sorted. "Bellatrix, my father always said you knew how to get noticed. How do you fancy putting a plan together?"
Hermione smiled as Bellatrix preened at being singled out and quickly accepted her assignment. Despite the fact Hermione wasn't over keen on the older witch she knew things would be much better if she tried to utilise her talents and get her on board.
"I want something big, that'll even get the muggles talking." Hermione told Bella. "In fact you can target muggles if that's what you think best. We can arrange a private meeting in a few days where you can tell me your ideas, then we'll go from there. But as long as I approve everything, you'll be in charge."
"Thank you My Lady." Bellatrix said in a respectful voice. "I won't let you down."
"I'm sure you won't." Hermione replied. "Father always said you were a great Death Eater, and I'm sure you'll prove that with your assignment."
With the first steps towards gaining Bellatrix's support done, Hermione turned her attention to the other few bits of business. Mainly she just wanted to discuss a few minor skirmishes to keep the Order on their toes over the summer. Once that was sorted Hermione dismissed the Death Eaters and she and Lucius headed back to his study.
"How are things progressing with the Minister?" Hermione asked, removing her cloak and hanging it back up.
"He'll be out of a job by the end of summer." Lucius smirked. "The attack on Diagon Alley didn't help him much, but I've got a few other things in line for him."
"Good, as long as he's gone before Dumbledore has managed to influence things too much." Hermione said.
"Don't worry, Dumbledore's influence with the Ministry is weakening daily. We're getting more and more people on our side within the Ministry." Lucius said.
"Excellent." Hermione nodded and was silent for a few minutes before inexplicably changing the subject. "Does Draco still want to join the Death Eaters?"
Lucius was momentarily shocked by the abrupt change of subject, but he quickly regained his composure and answered. "Yes, well as far as I know. He hasn't mentioned changing his mind."
"If he hasn't changed his mind, I think I'll give him the Mark over the summer." Hermione announced.
"He's going to Italy with Blaise and Theo in a few days, but I can put a stop to it." Lucius said.
"No, don't ruin his holiday." Hermione shook her head. "Will he be back before the end of the holidays?"
"He'll be back about three weeks before returning to school."
"I'll give him the Mark when he comes back, providing he still wants it." Hermione replied. "Is he at home at the minute? I'd quite like to talk to him before making a final decision."
"He'll be in his room." Lucius answered. "I can send for him."
"That's alright, just tell me where to find him and I can go myself." Hermione said.
Lucius nodded and gave Hermione directions to Draco's wing of the house and where to locate his bedroom.
"Are you going like that?" Lucius asked as Hermione headed for the door.
Hermione was momentarily puzzled, before realising she had failed to apply any glamour charms. If she went to see Draco in her current state he would be rather shocked to find a muggleborn in his house. Walking over to the mirror she applied a charm on her hair and eyes. Turning her eyes forest green, Hermione then darkened her hair and added a few red streaks, reminiscent of how it was coloured at the masquerade ball. Hermione then clipped her curls back from her eyes and turned to Lucius.
"That's better." Lucius told her. "Draco won't recognise you from school."
Hermione nodded and left Lucius's study in search of Draco. She fully intended on revealing her identity to Draco in time, but first she wanted him to take the mark. Once he had the mark he would be less likely to reveal her identity, even if he did reject her in a romantic way once he knew who she was. Hermione was hoping he wouldn't reject her, but she knew it was a possibility and she certainly wasn't forcing him into doing anything he didn't want to do.
It took Hermione longer than she thought to find Draco's wing, but eventually it looked as though she was in the right place. Following Lucius's directions she headed for where Draco's room was located. When she reached the bedroom the door was open and she peered inside to see if she had the right room. She was certainly standing in a doorway of a bedroom and judging by the belongings lying around and the green and black décor she figured it was indeed Draco's room.
Hermione had only been standing in the doorway for second when she spotted Draco walking over towards the bed, his back to her. The blond had obviously just emerged from the shower as all he was wearing was a towel. Totally stunned Hermione found herself staring at the blond's back, his wet hair was dripping water down his back and Hermione was mesmerised by the droplets sliding over his pale skin.
Hermione was thoroughly enjoying the view and her mouth dropped open when Draco untied the towel and let it fall to the floor. Hermione's eyes roamed over Draco's backside and she could feel a warm flush starting to spread over her body. Shaking her head to get control of herself, Hermione cleared her throat and called out Draco's name.
At the sound Draco whirled round, giving Hermione a full on view of his naked body, which was more toned than she had imagined. Hermione had never seen a naked man, and her eyes quickly fell to Draco's manhood. As she continued to stare at Draco, he began to respond to her blatant staring, causing Hermione's eyes to widen.
Draco himself was rather taken aback to have The Dark Lady in his bedroom and was momentarily frozen. As her eyes devoured his body he couldn't help but responding, and her widening eyes brought him to his senses. Quickly grabbing his boxers he pulled them and his trousers on.
"You didn't have to get dressed on my account." Hermione said, regaining her senses and deciding to have a bit of fun.
"I could undress again if you wanted, My Lady." Draco smirked as he pulled on a dark green t-shirt.
"How did you know who I was?" Hermione asked. She'd been guessing that Draco would know she was The Dark Lady, but she was curious how he was so sure.
"First of all, you're the only person who would be wandering around the Manor." Draco replied. "And I think I've already mentioned that apart from your changing hair and eyes, you look the same."
Hermione couldn't help but smile at the thought that despite Draco saying she looked the same, he'd failed to recognise her in school. Although she had to admit in school she never wore make-up and she never took the time to sort her hair, she usually just tied it up to deal with her wild curls. However at home she spent more time on her appearance and every time she'd seen Draco she'd been put together perfectly.
"Can I come in?" Hermione asked, realising she was still standing in the doorway.
"Of course." Draco looked guilty that he hadn't let Hermione enter earlier as he ushered her inside. While Hermione settled down on the chair beside Draco's desk, he perched on the edge of his bed. "I'm sorry about your father." He said quietly.
"Thank you." Hermione replied with a smile. While her father wasn't really dead she knew Draco thought he was and she appreciated his condolences. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I want to talk to you about getting the mark. Are you still interested?"
"Yes." Draco replied immediately. "I want to join the Death Eaters."
"Are you sure? I know you wanted to join when my father was in charge, but are you still happy to sign up with me in charge?"
"I'm more than happy to take orders from you." Draco smirked and winked at Hermione.
"Okay, I think we need to set some ground rules." Hermione chuckled. "I want you to be a Death Eater, but any personal relationship between us remains a private matter. As a Death Eater, I'm your boss and you have to do what I say, regardless of anything else going on between us."
"I understand." Draco nodded. "So does this mean there's something going to happen between us?"
"Possibly." Hermione smiled. "Let's just wait and see, shall we."
"So when do I get the mark?" Draco asked.
"Lucius said you were going on holiday, so I thought we could do it when you came back." Hermione answered.
"I don't have to go on holiday." Draco offered quickly. The thought of staying at home and potentially seeing more of The Dark Lady was very appealing.
"You go and enjoy yourself." Hermione said. "Besides, I've got a lot on these next few weeks. I'll see you when you get back and we can discuss you getting the mark."
"Okay." Draco was slightly disappointed that The Dark Lady wanted him to go away, but he understood that she already had plans for the summer.
"Don't sound so disappointed." Hermione laughed as she stood up. "I have plans for you Draco. Plans that will result in us spending plenty of time together."
"Do I get to know about these plans?" Draco asked.
"Not yet." Hermione shook her head, leaning over and brushed her lips against Draco's cheek. "Have a nice holiday, Draco." She whispered in his ear. "I'll see you in a few weeks."