Chapter 2
I do not own Harry Potter, sadly.
I am amazed at the amount of traffic the first chapter got and for that I'm incredibly thankful.
English is not my first language, but I'd call myself fluent. I hope there's not too many mistakes, and if there is I'm sure it's my backwards way of saying things. English and French enjoy playing the backwards game.
I know that my story starts abruptly, but my goal is to fill in the missing information background information throughout the first few chapters.
Enjoy!
Hermione finished packing her school trunk and shrunk it, fitting it nicely into her breast pocket. She was going to king's cross station by herself as she usually did, and rather than feeling like she did every year having to go back to her fake life, she was thrilled about this year. Having her own dorm and only having to share it with someone who knew who she truly was, was freeing.
Hermione walked down to the elaborate dinning room with her glamour on to say goodbye to her father. When she opened the doors, she noticed quickly that her fathers temper was out of control, his magic furiously crackling around him. He had his infamous wand shoved into Bellatrix's neck.
Walking right up to her father, ignoring the terrified look in the other death eater's eyes, she opened her mind to his, maintaining eye contact she let her thoughts flow through their familiar bond. "Come on papa, let it go. I have to leave for school and was hoping for a goodbye." She calmly spoke this message repeatedly until finally, several moments later, his shoulder's started to relax.
Tearing her eyes from her father and glaring at the offending witch she spat "Bella, I'm not sure what you've done this time to piss of our Lord but please refrain from doing it again while I'm away yes?" As her father straightened up and put his hand on her shoulder the remaining 4 death eaters stared at her in shock. Not ever hearing the elusive member speak before, and openly gawking when their lord but his hand on the women's shoulder.
"Who do you think you are? I am my lords most..."
"Yeah, yeah, loyal servant, believe me. I've heard, I'm sure we've all heard. Clearly you are not if he had his wand stuck at your neck. What did little Bella do this time? Hmm? Unauthorised massacre? Oh! Maybe she killed a useful source of information." Hermione continued to taunt Bellatrix. Having not been able to speak up in the company of her father's death eaters before, she was elated to finally knock Bellatrix's ego down a few notches.
Her mother's existence, like her own, had remained private. Where her mother had never met Bellatrix, she had and she has had to deal with this women continuously throwing herself at her father for years.
"Enough, she overstepped her welcome again and will be punished. McNair! Please escort Mrs. LeStrange to our dungeons and notify her husband." Her father snapped out. With a quick body binding spell and a bow McNair escorted her out.
"My Lord, if you have a moment, may I have a quick word." Hermione asked the Dark Lord after Bellatrix's screams became silent. He nodded and motioned for the rest of his followers to leave them.
Once they left the Dark Lord and his daughter dropped their ever present glamours.
"What am I ever to do with you Mia, you should have just let me kill her. I don't know how many times I have to insist I am not interested in any relations with her or anyone before she leaves me alone." He complained, which to anyone besides his family would sound quite unnatural.
"You could just tell them you're married and besides you haven't killed her yet, I can't see you killing her anytime soon, there must be a reason to keep her alive."
"And risk my wife's life? I think not but you're right that witch may be insane but she's an effective interrogator." He huffed at that suggestion, it had always been agreed that no one was to know he had a proper family.
"It's not like you see her anyways Father." Hermione snapped back, her eyes flashing to crimson red matching her fathers. This had been an ongoing argument between Severus, their father and herself for months.
"Hermione you will watch how you speak to me. I am lenient with you, but I can only let it go so far. Your mother is still my concern whether she wants to be or not." He finished with a slight smirk.
Hermione nodded her head as her eyes slowly faded back to their striking shade of brown. Her father sighed again and pulled her in for a rare hug. "Mia, I love you dearly, please be safe this year." He mumbled into her hair.
"Papa, I'm always safe. Severus and Draco will ensure it." She responded with a smile. "I must take my leave, I will see you at Christmas. I'll let you know if I hear from mother or her healers." With that she offered him one more smile and walked to the floo.
"King's Cross Station" She shouted.
As his daughter flooed to the station the dark lord sat there and thought about his family. His Elaina had been with him from the very beginning, before the thoughts of immortality flooded his head and dark arts tainted his soul. She had been his driving force to create a better wizarding world. Their wedding day had been an intimate affair, a handful of people had been in attendance including her parents and his, an occasion he never thought he'd have and had not once regretted.
She was the only one during their school days to have seen past his false background, claiming that someone as talented as himself could not have come from a muggle background. She tore down all his families carefully constructed lies. If he were to be honest, Elaina Prince was the only one he thought was worth calling his equal.
With his mind made up and his daughters words fresh in his head he picked up his quill and began to write a letter.
Once she found an empty compartment on the train, Hermione started to consider her plans for the coming year. Wanting to hold her place among those trusted by what was left of the Order of the Phoenix she had to be careful with what she was caught doing. Since Dumbledore's death Severus had been kicked out of the order, not because they had any proof that he killed the old goat, they'd had made sure to manipulate Harry's memory of that night, but because they were suspicious of him and had always been.
As she lost herself in her plans, the train began to fill up. The growing sound of chatter and excitement flooded the train as the younger students rushed to find their friends. With a quick knock on the door the boy who lived slipped into the cabin.
"Herm! Thank god I found you, it's like a circus out there." He greeted him a wide smile. Having finally moved out of the Dursleys he was always smiling regardless of what was going on in the outside world.
"Hi Harry, how was your summer with the Weasleys?" Ignoring the foul nickname, he and Ron insisted on calling her.
"It was amazing, first time I felt like I was truly on vacation you know? Just got to be myself." He continued to ramble on about his stress-free summer, not noticing that Hermione just continued to nod without paying much attention.
Hermione sat there with a smile on her face, as she did every year when they boarded the train, silently hoping he would run out of steam and allow her to get back to reading. Over the years it had become apparent to her that the proclaimed savior of the world was quite full of himself and expected he'd be able to drift through school without much effort, which infuriated her.
Breaking Harry from his rambling, Ron Weasley came barging into the compartment.
"Hey! The first years just keep getting smaller. Almost ran one right over." He sat down next to Harry.
"Ronald, we were that small once. We grew up, no one's getting smaller." Hermione replied factually.
Ron just scoffed at her and jumped into a conversation about the world cup with Harry, finally leaving her to her books.
Once the train started to move, the students had calmed down and stayed in their compartments. Hermione knew she'd have to get up and supervise the younger students, but she'd figure she'd let Malfoy come find her. At that thought she let herself smile a little, let the games begin. Having Malfoy come search for her knowing information that the two idiots didn't would infuriate them.
Just as she thought, half an hour later there was a knock at their door. She got up to open it and came face to face with the man that had terrorized her and her "friends" for the last six years.
"Malfoy! Get your own compartment. This one is clearly taken." Ron shouted from behind her.
"I can see that; however, I need Granger to do rounds with me." He sneered.
"What? You need a babysitter." Harry laughed.
"No, Potter she's the head girl and I'm the head boy. We're required to do them together." He said as if it were the most obvious reason in the world.
"What! Herm you never told us." The boys looked at her betrayed clearly expecting an answer.
As she got up and gathered her books putting them back in her endless bag, she looked at them. "Would you have cared?"
With that she pushed past Malfoy, who she knew would be giving them a satisfied smirk. Without stop she began to walk towards the back of the train where the prefect cabin was. Once there she sat down and quickly after that Draco entered closing and locking the door.
"Muffliato!" She cast disabling the other students to hear their conversation.
Hermione turned back to Malfoy who startled her by bowing in respect to her.
"First things first. I do not expect you to bow to me in private, it's unnerving. I'm sure my father will expect when around him though, so please do keep that in mind." Draco quickly stood back up and took the seat directly across from her and nodded his head for her to continue.
"Just because you know who I am, you cannot treat me with my deserved respect in front of others. You will be civil to me using the excuse that we are both heads and must live together. I expect complete obedience when I give you orders, but I am not my father. I do not want you snivelling at my feet. You may speak freely with me, to a reasonable extent. Do you understand?" She finished, not once removing her now crimson eyes from the heir.
"Yes, I do." He said simply.
"Draco, you are the first to know my identity, your family's service to mine is appreciated. Your father is our lords most trusted advisor. Prove to me that you could be mine." With that she stood and left the compartment to do rounds.
Draco sat there and considered how much his reality had been shifted so quickly in two days. He had always been aware of Grangers intelligence, no one could doubt that (even if she was supposed to be a mudblood). However, he wondered how she didn't end up in Slytherin. The women is clearly ambitious and conniving.
He considered her suggestion of proving himself. Ever since he was young his goal had been to follow in his fathers footsteps, like Hermione's own dream. He always feared that he wouldn't be able to break free from his fathers shadow, especially within the death eaters. He was constantly referred to as a little boy, which drove him near mad. Had he not been the one to find a way into the castle? Was he not the one that set up Dumbledore's death?
Hermione's proposal offered him a chance to follow his fathers footsteps but not fear remaining in his shadow. Being the dark lord's daughters advisor would enable him to prove his worth. He knew he'd need to excel at his tasks to achieve that position, but he was certain he could. With his own plans set, he left the compartment and started his rounds.
