Another Fine Mess
"What is *that*?" exclaimed Draco, scathingly, after the gold light of the binding faded.
"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione, caught somewhat off guard by his suddenly querulous tone.
"That!" Draco said emphatically pointing in a rather dramatic fashion at his own wrist, but before Hermione could focus on his wrist, she noticed a subtle white undulating pattern around her wrist where the binding magic has fused the vow to her own magic. She looked at the mark in consternation. She had no idea why it would be there.
"Gideon, explain this at once!" demanded Draco, waving his arm around as if it were some troublesome object, rather than a part of his own body.
Gideon backed up fearfully, "What is Master Draco need'n explai'n?"
"Stop it, Draco!" Hermione ordered impatiently, "There is no reason to speak to anyone like that! Besides, we aren't going to get answers any more quickly by berating the poor dear."
Hermione turned to the house elf, and gave the nervous elf a reassuring smile. "Giddeon, why did these marks appear after our vow?"
"You be askn' for an vow bind'n you, you did," explained the elf, both with a reproachful look in his eyes, like what he was saying was more than obvious, but fearfully, since his Master's ire was very apparent.
"Yes, thank you Giddeon, but we were surprised that they left marks. Wizard vows don't normally leave a visible mark. Will this go away?" she said, showing him the mark.
The elf regarded her somewhat doubtfully. "Well, why'n you want them to go away, Mistress? Don't you be intended on your vow?"
"She is not your Mistress, Giddeon!" corrected Draco simultaneously as Hermione's voice sternly informed the elf "I am NOT your mistress!" The regarded each other with exasperation for a moment.
"So they will go away if we fulfill our vow?" she asked hopefully.
"Well, yes'm. But they will be going away if you be breakin' your vow too. You's now your intended."
Hermione's brow furrowed but Draco quickly held up a hand to cut off her next question.
"This was a vow of intention? What kind of intention?" Draco asked darkly.
"Yes, Master Draco, sir. You be ask'n for a binding to a Wizards vow, you did." He said, nodding emphatically.
"Yes, an unbreakable vow, or wizards oath – where we swear on our magic that we will complete a task." Draco said slowly, "That's what you did, isn't it?
"Oh, no Master Draco, that only a Wizard can do. You asked Gideon to bind you to a Witch. You are now a bound Witch, you is." explained the elf, obviously relieved to be clearing up the miscommunication.
Hermione watched perplexed as all the remaining color drained from Draco's face.
"Intention?" Draco said, his voice raising as to what sounded suspiciously like hysteria to Hermione's ears. "Intention, or intended? You meant intended, didn't you?" he said, pointing an accusing finger at the elf.
"Yes, you're vow says you take care of Mistr… her." Replied the elf, cutting himself off as both the withc and the wizard present glarmed at the use of the word Mistress.
"Get out of my sight!" roared Draco, throwing his nearly empty teacup onto the fireplace hearth with a thunderous crash. Gideon wasted no time in complying and quickly popped away.
"Draco" Hermione stated firmly, "I don't know what the problem is, but there is no reason to speak to Giddeon like that!"
"Oh no, well maybe I should be speaking to you like that!" Draco yelled. "That elf just bound me to you, as my intended. I know you are muggle born, but surely you do have some idea what that means?"
"No, I don't, but it can't possibly be too difficult if the mark goes away." She said reasonably.
"Of course it's that bad! We are ENGAGED, Granger, and I can't court anyone else until our suit is completed. I have to 'woo' you! This mark will only disappear if we are married, or after I have made a good faith effort of my intentions to try and get you to MARRY me! Hell, I don't even know if this mark will go away if we vow NEVER to marry. I might not able to court a pure blood witch ever again! You know how buggered up that just made my life? My mother is waiting in Paris with my girlfriend, and if I declare suit to her, my magic will KILL me! What's worse, if we DON'T fulfill my vow to take care of you and accomplish the task, then I can't get married until our magic decides that I have made a good enough effort, and you simply won't accept. If this is the same as the normal vow, and bloody hell how would we know THAT, it just might mean foreever!" Running out of steam from his tirade, Draco collapsed into a heap in the chair and threw an arm over his face. He couldn't' face this right now.
Hermione stood their stunned. Engaged? The elf had engaged them? That's what this meant? Well, that certainly wasn't that big of a deal. Obviously she had no intention of ever marrying Draco… and with that though, her arm began to burn as if molten metal was being pressed into the binding mark. Hermione dropped to her knees with a gasp, clutching her wrist, tears in her eyes.
A strangled gasp had Draco glaring across the room at Hermione, only to watch her drop to the floor, in obvious distress. Good, he thought crossly to himself, about time that she figured out exactly what her bumbling had wrought, but just as he thought this did a brief flare of heat and pain was in his own bonding mark. He looked at his wrist in consternation before realization struck. Oh, now that wasn't good. He was supposed to take care of her, and the bond was telling him… she needed him. He looked up sharply to see her clutching her own wrist, cradling the arm to her chest, fighting back tears, biting her lip and trembling. He quickly crossed to her.
"What happened?" He asked sharply trying to take her hand so he could examine her wrist.
"I don't know!" she cried but turned her body to keep the wrist to her body. "It just suddenly started hurting! It feels like it's being cut off with a hot blade!" she sobbed no longer able to contain the tears.
Draco had been forced to study this type of binding since he was small, likely to avoid just the mess he was in now, he thought dejectedly. She must have crossed the intent of the vow, somehow. "What were you thinking just before the pain started?" he asked urgently.
"That I didn't know what the big deal was, we have to do the task regardless, and I'm not going…" but she could not carry on. The pain suddenly doubled and she couldn't get her breath.
"You cannot think that we aren't going to be married! This is a suit, you intend for it to end in marriage, or a dissolution of the suit, but only after I 'woo' you so to speak, and let's hope to Merlin that our magic recognizes that process as the task." Draco ordered, a fierce glare studying her intently for her comprehension, but she just continued to stare at him, dumbfounded and in shock.
"Say it!" he snapped.
"Say what?" Hermione sobbed. The pain was making it difficult for her to think.
"That you intend to accept my suit and finish the task." He said, rolling his eyes at her thick-headedness.
Her voice shaky with tears, she looked at him uncertainly, but saw no harm in complying. "I intend to accept your suit and finish our vowed task." Hermione felt the pain in her wrist cut back down to the original level. Draco studied her for a moment.
"Say it again." he insisted.
"I intend to accept Draco's suite, and finish our vowed task." Again, the pain lessened, but was not gone.
"You need to accept the possibility we could marry, or that pain will not stop." He said, desperately. The pain in his own vow had evaporated as soon as he had come to her aid.
Hermione's eyes widened in fear. The vow knew whether she was seriously considering Draco's 'proposal'. Could she even think of every marrying Draco Malfoy? Being Mistress of this Manor? It was absurd! The pain flared again. Could she ever be happy? A small niggling voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she currently wasn't sure she could be happy with Ron, who was her boyfriend. Would Draco be so different? Hermione got distinctly uncomfortable as she realized that is some ways, a man like Draco would be easier to live with. The pain faded away to nothingness.
Hermione looked at her wrist, incredulous. She was in so much trouble.
