Emperor of the World

by dosiadb

Voldemort defeated Harry and the Order is in hiding. They are weak, but Voldemort too is growing weaker because Draco Malfoy has created his own resistance with plans to take Voldemort's place. He is close to overthrowing Voldemort, but when he captures Hermione and convinces her to work with him, he finally has his means to gain all of the power he wants.

10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When Draco Malfoy brought Hermione Granger into his home, he anticipated using her for whatever information he could and then immediately disposing her. Sometimes he still wanted to do this. He knew he would charm her, get what he wanted, and then get rid of her the easiest way possible. But he did not count on becoming so enthralled by her presence. Even on her first night in the mansion, he saw that she was not going to be beaten down easily. Part of him admired this in her and another part of him wanted to beat some sense into her; but that would not earn her trust. She was not one to give in to authority telling her what to do; especially if that authority figure was a sworn enemy. He knew this, which is why he spoke of tolerance and acceptance to get her agreement.

Malfoy could not however account for any other behavior towards her. She amused him and intrigued him. While not a stunning beauty, or even comparable to the most beautiful women he had ever seen, she was certainly much prettier than the last time he had seen her. He enjoyed pushing her buttons and making her uncomfortable, just to get a rise out of her. When his vile aunt threatened his cherished prisoner, he was consumed by anger. When he saw how well she got on with Toussaint, he was all jealousy. He kept that feeling in particular hidden very well. Not to even mention that first night here when he first felt her body against his and he couldn't shake the feeling for the rest of the morning. Some might say these were signs of infatuation, but the Draco Malfoy would never admit that.

For a short time, he actually considered being legitimately civil towards her once they started working together before he realized it would be unacceptable behavior for someone of his stature. So he went back to his original plan. His behavior towards her at first was feigned indifference and then when he realized this was not enough to reinstate his feelings of revulsion, he became vicious. There were times though when he could not help but take a jab at her, but he was always angry with himself for indulging afterwards.

He appreciated Blaise and Theo taking his lead and being equally rude to her. Toussaint on the other hand still made him feel pangs of jealousy. While he was not as open with Granger in front of Malfoy, he was never cruel to her. This might have been acceptable, but if Malfoy ever left the room he would return to see Granger and Toussaint laughing and enjoying each others company. Or sometimes the five of them would go in their own part of the study to research alone, oftentimes Toussaint and Granger would wind up together in a set of chairs in the most secluded corner of the room. And anytime Malfoy looked over, they were smiling and speaking in enthusiastic whispers.

But Malfoy would be damned if he made any attempt to berate them for speaking to each other. He feared that would expose his jealousy, a jealousy which he would hardly even admit to himself. Yet, he no longer asked Toussaint to walk Granger back to her room but had Blaise or Theo take her instead. He would do it himself if he was not trying to avoid her.

Rather, he found himself gazing in her direction hating her but wanting to speak to her at the same time. He hated himself for wanting to talk to her, to know what was going on inside that busy brain of hers. So he did his best to block Granger from his mind and buried himself in his work.

And this did work most of the time. He had enough on his plate without worrying about having Granger on his mind more than necessary. He was trying to figure out as much as he could about the Lady of the Lake while planning raids and keeping up appearances in public so no one suspects his other plans or a possible weakness in his determination. Not to mention the fact that he had been sensing that someone was working with his enemies behind his back. He did not have a clue who it was though. He only spoke of it with Blaise and Theo so far, and they were now on the look out for any suspicious behavior amongst his other followers. Toussaint's wedding was coming up in a week and he would be focused solely on observing everyone there for questionable behavior.

But he still did not feel stressed by any means. This was what he always wanted; he loved what he was doing. He was working hard to achieve the power he dreamed of having for years.

Malfoy was certain that discovering the Lady of the Lake's ancient magic would bring Voldemort his demise. He only hoped that Granger would not be necessary to garner the power, but it was better to have her than to dispose of her only to realize that the ability to discover it was lost. No, it was necessary to bear her presence even if only for a short time. The will to get rid of her was more motivation, if he really needed any more, to get to the bottom of this Lady of the Lake business as soon as possible. Then he would be able to get rid of her. Yet, a small part of his mind, a part that he barely registered, and if he did he would tune it out as much as possible, acknowledged that he might not be able to get rid of her as easily as he hoped.