THE NEW ERA – SHADES OF GREY
(Previously Flash Backs Mean Nothing)
Sides are chosen – New Alliances are formed – Ties are Broken.
The Hermione Granger Story
Chapter Three
Written by – MerinxD
THE DARK LORDS MESSENGER
"Don't divide the world into "them" and "us." Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours."
~Donald Rumsfield
The due date for the purifying potion had come and passed. Each student had done their best at trying to find the last ingredient but only those with inside knowledge or superior intelligence like Hermione were able to accurately complete the assignment.
Hermione's essay was over three thousand words long and explained the properties of the forbidden forest plant, what it did for other plants and animals, and what it could possibly do for the purifying potion. Needless to say, it was the correct answer.
Within days, her assignment had being read, thought over, passed throughout the Dark Circle and the ingredient in question had been placed in the mixture. It was perfect and, after testing it on a worthless guard, discovered to work just fine. The Dark Lord was very pleased. Hermione Granger had been quite troublesome in the war, but having her working for him could be quite helpful. She was smart and attractive and if given his newest concoction she would be pure. He could use her for anything he wanted. He always wanted a queen for his kingdom. Of course she would love that, she was, after all, just a mud blood. They were all in awe of him. He was sure of it.
A mud blood bride, he thought to himself. This could be interesting.
"Guard, Fetch Draco Malfoy for me. I need him to deliver a message."
It was the end of the school week and Draco was very happy about it. He thought that is was absolute rubbish that he still had to go to school even after the Dark Lord had been victorious. It was stupid. He wanted to be at home sleeping or doing something evil. That is what he thought this new world would be about, being evil and having fun with it. But nooo. He had to go to school and do exactly the same as he did before but with more rules. It did not suit him at all. Especially with this new body. Well at least the women were flocking to him now, not that they did not before. But being a Veela boy had its advantages. He did not even have to try and be charismatic anymore (not that he did not ooze charm), all it took was one look and BAM! Another notch on the bed post. It was awful fun.
The Dark Lord had given him a task however, and he had to complete it before he was able to enjoy his weekend fully. He did not see why it had to be him to tell her. It would make him look awfully stupid. After all, he had only just told her the week before that she would not be chosen and now he had to go to her and tell her that he was wrong and that the Dark Lord wanted to recruit her. Damn her and her intelligence! It definitely was not fair.
Walking the corridors of the dungeons, Draco buried his hands further into his pockets, his posture momentarily slipping. His sneer remained in tact. This was going to be embarrassing.
Gryffindor Tower thankfully had not changed too much. Mostly because the Dark Side were too lazy to make any alterations to the actual architecture of the school, which made Hermione quite pleased. There was nothing better than to sit in her favorite chair by the fire in the common room. It was very relaxing and, although all of her friends weren't there, other students still managed to fill the spots they should have been. It seemed rather cheery even though the institution they were in was beyond corrupt. Just as she began to relax, a young first year that she had never met before came her way.
"Hermione Granger?" The child asked.
"Yes, that is me," Hermione confirmed, sitting up slightly, "What is it darling?" The child was a Gryffindor and a first year so there was no harm in being nice.
"There is someone at the portrait with a message for you." The youngster smiled before nodding at Hermione and walking away.
A visitor with a message? She hoped that it was not bad. The prospect of negativity made her not want to go at all, still she could not ignore the person who was waiting for her. She could not shoot the messenger after all. Smiling a little at her lame inside joke, Hermione headed for the entry way.
Coming to the portrait she opened it and climbed outside, expecting to see a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw. Instead, she found...Draco Malfoy?
"Malfoy?" She was surprised to say the least. "What do you want? Wait, have you seen someone around here? I'm looking for a messenger," she finished, concluding that he was probably here to pick up his prey for the evening.
Malfoy shuffled uncharacteristically, looking downward at his perfectly polished shoes. He paused, regaining his composure, and he looked directly into her awaiting gaze.
"Your first suspicion was correct Granger. I am the messenger," Malfoy told her in a rather gruff tone.
Hermione sighed inwardly. Maybe she could shoot the messenger.
"You?" She knew that she sounded disgusted but she could not help it.
"Yes Granger...Me! Got a problem with it?" She could see he was getting rather irritated.
"Well no, it's just..." She trailed off.
"I know, I'm not too happy about it either." He sighed slumping his shoulders a little.
Hermione concluded that it did not make him any less beautiful, shaking the thought out of her head she waited for him to speak.
His gaze faltered as he spoke, "The Dark Lord has decided that since you got the last ingredient on the purifying potion that you can be the first candidate. You are going to become a pure blood Granger." He avoided eye contact momentarily. He was very uncomfortable.
"Me?" Hermione was definitely surprised. Never would she have thought that Voldemort would choose her for something like that, especially with her affiliations with the light side. But maybe that is what he wanted.
"Yes. You. It will be happening in two days. Apparently, I am supposed to be the one to escort you to the Dark Court, so I will meet you in the entrance way at sundown in two days time." He turned quickly his cloak billowing in a way that only a Slytherin could pull off, and began to stalk towards his cave only stopping to throw over his shoulder, "I'm not happy about this Granger, so be on time."
Then he was gone.
Hermione stood at the entrance way for a couple of moments, then regaining composure she headed straight for her bed room. She needed to report in.
Draco could not believe how hard it was just to deliver a message. Maybe if it was someone else, it would not have been so tiring. But he felt exhausted! That happened though, with his new body. Being a Veela had its disadvantages. He liked to keep that hidden far from view, though. Once he reached the dungeons, he began to feel much less stressed. This was his turf, he felt safe down here. Safety in the darkness; some people would laugh at that notion, but he did not care. He could see perfectly anyway, so it was no matter. Being Veela had its advantages.
The Slytherin reached his dorm and retreated to his room immediately. He was not in the mood for whiny girls who only half satisfied him. Sleep sounded much better. He needed to get as much rest possible before he had to go on his excursion with Queen Fun Sponge.
After charming himself clean and creating a fire, the beautiful blonde climbed into bed preparing for sleep.
Ten minutes passed and he realized that he could not. This was always happened to him!
Ever since being forced to become a Veela by his father, Draco's body habits had altered so much. He may have looked like the Slytherin he was before, but he was much different. His body was much more agile and defined, as well as his thought process and intellectual ability. Apparently, Veela men were very smart. It made sense, Veela were supposed to be perfect. It worried him however, that his sense of smell had been heightened as well as his libido. The manual that the Dark Court had given him on becoming a Veela man had stated that until he found a 'mate' that best suited him he would continue to 'plow through the women' so to speak. He did not mind the plowing bit, that was pretty normal for him. Finding a mate though, that seemed a bit much. It was like arranged marriage but definitely final. He had discovered that betrothals were easy to get out of. You wait for a war and watch your betrothed die.
Gosh Pansy had been annoying! Though, he did feel a little bad for not feeling sorry that she was dead. Maybe if the woman had not whined so much!
Feeling his body slowly start to relax, the Slytherin sighed happily. He could not wait for his body to get used to the immense amount of energy needed to even just stay awake as a Veela. He could not wait for a lot of things that manual had showed him.
His mind briefly flitted over Hermione once again. He really did dread going away with her to watch her become pure.
Still he had two full days to wait.
He would have to make the most of them.
A/N – Please Read and Review! Reviews sustain me :D You can't know how happy they make me.