Summary: Draco Malfoy thought he knew everything he needed to know about Hermione Granger. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, but it might well change their destinies.
Author's Note: I'm well aware that I've not updated in a fair while. It does me little good to force a story. Inspiration for me tends to come in rounds. Here, for instance, I hope to finish one or two chapters.
Disclaimer: Although I won't claim to be wholly certain of anything, to the best of my knowledge, J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter & Co., not I.
Mutant
Chapter Six
Hermione was plotting as she unpacked her things. In actuality, it wasn't so much plotting as it was thinking through her current situation. Real plotting wouldn't come until later. As it was, she hated not knowing things-- being "out of the loop," if you will—and as such, she was becoming rather angry with the state of things. She was setting some books upon a shelf when Draco came in.
In all honesty, his motives in entering had been wholly innocent, having come to ask if she happened to have a muggle clock they might use. Draco, however, as a long-time enemy of Hermione, was viewed as an ideal target at whom to direct her anger. "Could you knock first, or are you really so incapable of respecting others' privacy?"
"Well, um… I—"
"Since you're here, are you at least going to fill me in?"
At this, Draco smirked, regaining his composure. "I don't know… Given the greeting I received, I'm not so sure I'm prepared to do so."
Hermione bristled, but clenched her teeth. Getting hooked wouldn't help her any. "Alright, I'm sorry. It was unnecessary for me to lash out at you."
"Yes it was," Draco added coolly. "Especially seeing as I have the information you're wanting." He sat on the corner of the bed nearest the door. "Alright, then, what would you like to know?"
Hermione sat on the edge of the desk that was stationed against the wall. "I've a fair of Voldemort's intentions from our last talk, but I don't know what his more specific plans are."
"Well," Draco started, "I can tell you that your safety is very nearly assured on our part. They would want you safe, of course." Hermione nodded, following. "You're aware that he pulled me aside after our meeting?" More nodding. "And you already know that you're wanted for your… genetic material. To further recap, Voldemort is trying to ensure the survival of the wizarding world and will go to drastic lengths do further his cause." He sighed and shook his head, preparing himself. "You're not going to like this part…" He stood and went to the door, checking the surrounding area before closing the door again.
Hermione spoke, "The master bedrooms of many cabins are made to isolate sound for reasons I consider to be sensible but slightly lewd (1)."
Draco actually blushed at this. "Well, actually… Voldemort held me after not only to talk about his plans for you, but also his plans for me. His plans for the both of us, really. Nothing is expected of us for a fair while, but eventually it is expected that we produce an heir of sorts." The majority of his face was now tinged pink. "I suppose we're really supposed to produce multiple heirs, in time. Those heirs, you can imagine, would then be brought up to be married into pureblooded wizarding families."
Hermione was obviously not happy, but she didn't seem surprised as she took in the information. She bit her lower lip on the side. "How do you feel about these arrangements?"
Draco, sitting on the bed corner again, thought for a minute or two before he spoke. "Part of me is honored that I was chosen to do this… but at the same time, I'm not really comfortable with it. Not only is this situation made awkward by our own bad history together, but it doesn't… It doesn't feel right. Does that make sense?" More nodding on Hermione's part. "Conceivably, I think I could do this—have a… relationship that would have these effects, but not like this. Not because it's expected of me—of us. I don't think that's healthy. That's not a good reason to bring a child into the world. The circumstances are all wrong. And that child would grow up in the same circumstances. I don't think it's right to use people for their genetic material. I understand that it's for a good cause and with good intentions… but I don't know that I could do that."
"Especially not under the orders of someone as unstable as Voldemort." Blaise had walked right into the room, startling Hermione. "The door's soundproof enough, but I've got superior hearing," he explained, winking at Hermione, who still looked rather frazzled. "Don't worry, Granger, I'm on your side, more or less. Draco is too, if he didn't let on. It's true, though. Voldemort is a very unstable character. It's against my better judgment to follow someone that paranoid, but I've got enough common sense to let him think I'm a good supporter. Draco and Pansy are the same way. Draco's coldly convincing, but Pansy's the great actress." He grinned.
"You're biased, mate," Draco interjected, swinging a nearby pillow at Blaise's arm. Blaise's grin only widened.
"I told you before that Pansy's a smart girl. She has a pretty convincing act going on, though. For instance: not turning in her homework, but getting good test marks so that her overall grades were rather poor but she passed classes— she actually had a stash of completed essays under her bed that were burned at the end of each year in private. Playing dumb has been working well for her because it keeps her under everyone's radar."
A familiar voice was heard as the door swung open. "I'd like to think I've got some other handy qualities—extra sensitive hearing, for one." She winked at Blaise, who blushed. Closing the door, she moved Blaise to sit on the corner adjacent to Draco's before taking a place in his lap. "It's not been too difficult to deceive our parents. They want to think we're following in their footsteps like good little boys and girls and are all too eager to believe it. So long as we go through the motions, their brains fill in the rest the way they want to."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "So, Miss Parkinson, is there a story behind this 'extra-sensitive hearing' you two share?"
Blaise blushed again, rubbing the back of his neck. "Actually, that's kind of my fault…"
Pansy took over, "Blaise here had a rendezvous with a girl from Beauxbatons the summer after the Triwizard Tournament. She seemed pretty desperate and he thought to take advantage."
"Little did I know she was a different kind of desperate and taking advantage of me. After a few minutes of snogging in an alley in wizarding London she bit me. The young lady was a vampire, apparently. As it was, I wasn't very keen on dying so I grabbed a small knife I keep on my person and managed to change myself with some forced assistance from her (2)."
"I've always been fairly good at eavesdropping, so I started suspecting it when Blaise could always tell I was listening. We started talking more, at which point I learned about his vampiric-ness, and then we started going out. I knew he was tired of chasing rabbits in the woods and was becoming less able to do so last year under Umbridge, so I… brought Blaise around to changing me. As long as everyone thinks we're just snogging, they won't think much of the marks if they see them." She pulled up her sleeve then to reveal a small number of puncture marks, most of which looked faded. "One of the perks, at least, is that wounds heal more quickly, so we can isolate the damage areas. It also helped to play the dissatisfied whore-type in addition to the apathetic slacker. Because I was following Draco while I was more-or-less apparently involved with Blaise, people preferred to ignore me if they could. Really, it's all the better for me to eavesdrop now. It only helps my cause."
Hermione frowned. "Didn't you miss having friends? Girl friends?"
Pansy sighed. "I couldn't have had any real good friends, anyways. I couldn't get close to people in this group because I'd be more conspicuous and I couldn't be good friends with others both because of their prejudices against me because my parents are affiliated with Voldemort and because I'd still be more conspicuous in general. It's been safer for me to stay, as Blaise said, 'under the radar.' In any case, we've established that none of us want to be in this situation and none of us are truly devout followers of Voldemort. Next, I suppose, we'll need to figure out what and where our present limitations are and how to overcome them."
Footnotes:
1. That is, on my part, completely made up. I have no idea if this is true anywhere, but I think it would make sense.
2. Blaise cut the girl and drank some of her blood in order to change himself and so stay alive.
Author's Note: I really am pleased with this chapter. I hadn't initially planned to have Blaise and Pansy be all vampiric, but I found that it makes sense and it'll come into play in a while. It just won't be a central point of the story. I do love vampires, but it can't always be about them.
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