I don't own HP. Wish I did, but I don't.

XXX

She was wrong.

The world was a terrible, horrible place.

And it was all thanks to that nasty woman – Rita Skeeter.

It was a few days after Christmas that the first article came out. It was fairly innocuous. Just giving details about the Triwizard Champions and their dates to the Yule Ball. That it spent a little longer discussing Hermione and the fact that she was the foster sister of Harry Potter wasn't that unusual. The Daily Prophet loved to say anything they could about Harry, as Padfoot had kept him secluded from the press before Hogwarts.

But then two days later an article came out about Hagrid being a half-giant. That had necessitated a visit to their old family friend and a great long conversation on just why Skeeter was a nasty no-nothing woman who spoke nothing but lies.

And how they felt about Skeeter – most of those feelings were not too pleasant.

Hermione then picked up that nasty article and proceeded to reread it – in her most ridiculous, posh pureblood voice. All the while, interjecting her own thoughts and opinions in her own voice.

"-used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher – Honestly! Mysterious influence? Is she so lacking in the upper stories that she didn't think to remember you were cleared of all charges after the discovery of the diary? That you had been wrongfully expelled and thus have a right to carry a wand once more?" She rolled her eyes and continued reading.

Ron, Ginny and Harry snickered at the 'upper stories' comment. Luna just smiled, while Hagrid watched with tears in his eyes.

"An alarmingly-large and ferocious-looking man." She looked Hagrid up and down. "You are rather large, but I would not say alarmingly so. And as for the ferociousness – Fang is more ferocious than you are Hagrid – no offence. We've known you since before we could talk and I have never – not once – felt afraid of you."

The others nodded in agreement.

By the time she finished dissecting the article Hagrid was looking much more like his normal, cheerful self.

Then the others began giving their own thoughts on the matter. And in the middle of Luna going on about how Hagrid was the only teacher she knew of that reads the Quibbler – which of course made him a very intelligent and well-read adult – Professor Dumbledore showed up, a stack of letters in one hand and a box of what looked to be some sort of muggle sweet.

He didn't seem all that surprised to see them

A few minutes later and Ron, Ginny and Harry had begun theatrically reading out the letters. And there were dozens of them, all positive, and all from ex-students that remembered him with pleasure.

Hagrid was openly crying by the time they finished, but there was a smile under his bushy beard and his eyes were sparkling with happiness. They proceeded to say their goodbyes, giving Hagrid the biggest hugs they could, and then left the two adults to talk.

As they headed back up to the castle Hermione added one more thing to her ever growing list of questions – How did Rita Skeeter find out about Hagrid's parentage?

XXX

It was a week into the new term that the third article was in the paper. It was in the Sunday morning paper and Hermione was one of the last people to hear about it. She'd been up late the night before, finishing the homework she'd neglected after spending all of Saturday with Viktor in Hogsmeade.

She finally crawled out of bed about eleven and headed on down to the Great Hall for food. The silence that descended upon that large room when she entered was the first sign that something wasn't quite right. The whispers that quickly broke the silence were the second sign.

Terribly confused, she made her way to the Gryffindor table and took an empty seat next to Harry and across from Ginny.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" she hissed at Harry.

He had just taken a rather large bite of a sandwich and so didn't answer her. Instead, he pulled a newspaper out of the bag at his feet and handed it to her.

It must have been a slow news day for the Daily Prophet, because right there, on the front page was an article that made the blood drain from Hermione's face.

Black-Malfoy Merger?

Never before have two ancient and powerful families married in such a way that both sets of family magic were still active and capable of being passed on to any offspring.

In 1583 Fractul Dawglen proposed the idea that two ancient families with strongly entrenched familial magic would destroy each other if they tried to merge. This information ended the betrothal agreement between Glacier Selwyn and Ginerva Prewett in 1701 upon the death of Ginerva's older brother – making her the only remaining heir to the family.

This would later be contested by Quigly Ollivander in 1834 with the idea that the two familial magics would merge. Creating a new familial magic, likely one even stronger than the two previous ones. It should be pointed out that Q. Ollivander never put this theory to the test. His wife gave up her ability to pass on her own family magic upon their marriage.

This is important because Lucius Malfoy and his wife, Narcissa Malfoy née Black, have proposed a betrothal between their only son, Draco Malfoy, and the current heir to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. The current heir is none other than Hermione Black, the magically adopted daughter of Sirius Black and foster sister of Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived.

Now, no formal betrothal form has been filed as of this writing, but it is certainly only a matter of time. Two years ago the two families mended broken bridges and began associating once again in the same circles. This culminated in the Yule Ball that was held at Hogwarts this year.

Draco Malfoy, being a dutiful son, did as his parents requested and asked Hermione Black to the event. Seeing as they are nearly betrothed.

But, as you know from reading my previous articles, that Hermione Black went with Viktor Krum. Was this due to burgeoning teenage rebellion? Is she, like so many teenagers before her, attempting to defy her family's wishes? Or is there something more?

Checking the records, one can see that Miss Black is the top of her year, with only one other student in the past century having higher marks than her, and even then only in certain subjects. Does she subscribe to Dawglen's theory? Is she trying to protect her familial magic? Magic she only gained from her magical adoption? A magical adoption that is not found anywhere but ancient family tomes? Does she, an adoptee, even understand the importance of familial magic? Can she understand?

The situation is certainly unprecedented. Never before has a magical adoptee been the heir to a family. Especially to one with such a rich and ancient history. Could this be a dangerous situation? There is no knowing what spells and potions are held by the ancient Black Family.

Whatever the case may be with Miss Black, it is certain that Mr. Draco Malfoy is fully on board with the merger. Like a proper, dutiful son. It was quite obvious that he had eyes for only Miss Black during the Yule Ball, even neglecting his own date.

"Pansy Parkinson, his date, was very upset with him," an anonymous Slytherin student confided. "He couldn't take his eyes off her, he even got a bit green when she was dancing with Krum."

And that raises another question, outside of the familial magic. Would the Malfoy Family still be following their family motto if this merger takes place? It may be rather crass to ask, dear reader, but what, exactly, is the blood status of Hermione Granger Black?

Hermione's hands were clenched so tightly on the newspaper by the time she finished reading the article. She was shaking with rage. Ignoring the hand Harry had put on her shoulder to comfort her. She didn't even notice the fact that he had started to hum, though Ginny had.

"Where's Malfoy?" She bit out between clenched teeth. She didn't see him sitting over at the Slytherin table.

"I haven't seen him," Harry answered her.

"No clue," Ginny said.

Ron hastily swallowed his own food and cleared his throat, "I heard he's been hiding out somewhere in the castle. On one of the higher floors."

Her eyes narrowed, "Right." She stood up, "I'm going to go find him."

"Want us to come?" Harry asked.

She shook her head, "No, I think he'll be more receptive if it's just me."

Ron snorted, "Malfoy? Receptive? Not bloody likely."

Hermione ignored him and wrapped a ham sandwich up in a napkin; then started to walk right back out of the hall. She was almost at the end of the Gryffindor table when a thought occurred to her.

She rounded the table and backtracked a bit until she was behind the Weasley twins. They turned to look at her.

"You two want to earn some money?"

Their eyes lit up and she knew she had them, even if they quickly schooled their faces to look bored and disinterested.

"Possibly, if you-"

"-make it worth it."

She leaned down until only they could hear her, "Oh, I can make it worth it. Follow me if you're interested." When she pulled back they were eyeing her speculatively. She didn't wait for a response - simply spinning on her heel and leaving the Great Hall, ignoring all of the curious whispers that trailed behind her.

She had to wait less than a minute for the twins to follow her out. She led them up the stairs to an empty classroom. She shut the door and turned to face them, crossing her arms.

"Alright, two things. None of that twin-speak. It stopped being amusing almost a decade ago and if I'm paying, you really don't want to annoy me." Her eyes narrowed at them, "Or did you enjoy glowing in the dark?"

It might not have been the smartest time to reveal that she was one of the ones behind that prank, but she needed some fast leverage. She wanted to find Malfoy and figure out just what he had to do with this article and then do damage control. And she needed to do it quickly. Sleeping so late and having no one wake her was not helping things. Fixing this would necessitate a letter to Padfoot and possibly a meeting. The insinuation that she couldn't understand familial magic could lead to some very dark things. Including a forced sterilization under the old laws, unless she was sworn into a marriage or a betrothal where her magic was locked, unable to be passed on. Standard procedure in old pureblood weddings. But not something she wanted to do. And that was her choice. While the wizarding world was very gender equal – magic compensating for the fact that male bodies were typically stronger than female bodies – there were still some old prejudices floating around. Mainly from when women were more likely to die in childbirth or interactions with muggles before the statute of secrecy. Magic wasn't a miracle worker after all, just a wonderful tool.

She was going to KILL Rita Skeeter for putting this thought into people's heads.

Just the thought had her magic singing in happiness, imagining the pain it could cause on someone that had hurt a member of the Black family. Skeeter was messing with the wrong witch.

She focused her attention back on twins only to see them watching her with a mixture of awe and terror. And that's when she realized that she was letting her magic get away from her, it was trying to escape and act out. The desks in the room were vibrating and her hair was stirring, as if a breeze was ruffling it.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. Feeling her magic calm itself as she let air escape from her lungs. If she wasn't careful Skeeter would have more ammunition.

"Well, do you agree?"

"You were behind that potion two years ago?" One of the twins - she idly dubbed him Fred - asked.

"I was behind the fact that it glowed."

The other, George she supposed, spoke, "We'd like to make that adaptation part of the pay. There are possibilities there."

"That's acceptable."

"Good, now what do you need?" George asked.

"I need whatever it is the two of you use to find people in the castle."

They were very good actors. They looked extremely confused at what she had just said. So she promptly crossed her arms and stared at them, dividing her time between each of them. She did her best to emulate Mrs. Weasley, one of the only people on this planet that had a chance of putting fear into these two's hearts.

She must've done a good job because the two of them began to squirm. Like they had after Mrs. Weasley had found them attempting to insert gobstones into her blueberry pie.

The one she named Fred was the one to break, "What makes you think we have something like that?"

She ignored the question. Did they honestly think she was stupid and hadn't realized they had something like that after three and a half years at Hogwarts with them? And almost half a decade of school before that? She knew these two almost as well as she knew Ron and Ginny. Despite her best efforts to the contrary.

"I'm offering the adaptation to the color changing potion, eighty galleons, and my assistance in the creation of any magical product as long as it has no permanent effects."

Their eyes lit up and they turned away from her, to look at each other. She sometimes wondered if they had an innate ability to use legilimency on each other. It would certainly explain a lot of things.

It took them a couple minutes of looking at each other and communicating silently to make up their mind, but they finally did.

"We shall agree-"

"If you up the fee-"

She glared at them, "Didn't I say no twinspeak? And now you're doing rhymes, too?"

"You can't mess-"

"With the classics."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'll help with two products."

"Three."

"Two and I'll up it to ninety galleons."

"Deal."

She walked out of the classroom with a grubby piece of parchment in her pocket – one she was pretty sure the twins had deliberately kept from her. They knew what name Sirius Black went by to his children. And they were smart enough to realize that James Potter and Remus Lupin were two of the other names there. But she'd deal with that later.

Right now she had a little ferret to find.

Draco Malfoy was hiding in a deserted classroom on the sixth floor. Not too far from her old hiding place before Christmas.

She should have realized that was a possible hiding place, since hiding so close to her own hiding spot was a good way to trick her. She'd underestimated him. If she wasn't careful she'd underestimate him at an important moment. And that could prove disastrous.

XXX

Draco Malfoy, heir to the House of Malfoy, proud son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, was extremely conflicted.

He'd gone to bed the night before sure in the fact that he could do anything. That he was an unstoppable force. As long as he kept a healthy distance between himself and the bane of his existence – Hermione Black.

But now…

He balled his hands into fists and slammed them down on the desk he'd been sitting at.

DAMN that woman! Who did she think she was? Saying such things? Implying he actually WANTED to marry his own bloody cousin? Yes, he was a dutiful son, but not THAT dutiful!

True, he couldn't keep his eyes off of Black during the Yule Ball, but most of that was due to shock. How had she changed her appearance so much? And she'd even discarded her normally prudish robes! And somehow scored a date with one of the most famous Quidditch players in the world. Making her not only the envy of every academic at Hogwarts, but every beauty and fame chaser, too.

Was there nothing she couldn't do?

He let out a mirthless chuckle at his own question.

Probably not.

Hence her being the bane of his existence. Especially since his mother had gotten it into her head that they belonged together. He couldn't believe he hadn't figured it out until he got the letter about the Yule Ball. Looking back, he knew that Black had to know about it. She knew everything. He'd been the only one in the dark. Being laughed at.

He hated being laughed at.

He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts and rested his forehead on the desk – taking a deep breath.

He knew lots of things about Black. Like the fact her favorite spot was the library, she hated seeing people hurt or taken advantage of, and she was utterly ruthless when seeking justice or revenge. Two things he sometimes wondered if she mixed up in her head.

And that meant his days were numbered, because she'd likely kill him over what was printed in that bloody article – which was why he was currently hiding.

There was no way she'd think to look for him in the empty classroom next to her own hiding spot. So he hopefully had time to formulate a way to salvage the situation. He knew that nasty woman was an illegal animagus. Pansy had told him about helping with the Hagrid article.

His eyes narrowed.

Pansy.

She had to be the one that told Skeeter about him staring at Black at the Yule Ball. She must still be upset he kept them apart, stopping Pansy from digging her own grave. Honestly, did she think she could win a fight against Black? And, if she did manage to win somehow than there was still Potter to contend with. And the Weasleys. They may be completely repulsive and uncouth, but there were a lot of them, and they weren't exactly known for being wimps. Oh, and he couldn't forget about Loony Lovegood – possibly the scariest of them all.

No, messing with Black too much was not a smart idea.

At least for now.

Maybe in a few years, when his father gave him his own copy of the Malfoy Tome he'd have a chance.

But even then he wouldn't hold his breath, since she'd likely receive a copy of the Black Tome. And though the Malfoys could be nasty, the Blacks had always been nastier. And while Sirius Black had been the 'white' sheep of the Black family – according to his mother – he was the scariest auror in the British Isles. And quite possibly all of Europe.

And Draco knew, from an overheard conversation between Potter and the Weasel that they had regular training sessions over the summer. Learning all sorts of advanced shields and charms. Spells specifically created to combat every spell and trick he learned from his father.

It really wasn't fair.

But then, didn't his father always say that life wasn't fair? You just had to make sure the odds fell in your favor.

He scowled down at the newspaper.

He was failing miserably at that. And he really, really wanted to blame Black for that. Or even Potter. Hell, he'd even blame the Weasel.

Blaming them was so much easier than blaming his so-called friend, Pansy. Or even his mother. He loved his mother. She was an amazing woman and he'd do anything to make her happy – short of disobeying his father. And as for Pansy…

Well, needless to say he didn't think she was truly his friend. Not if she was willing to give away his secrets without even trying to blackmail him first. That was terribly stupid. He'd told her about his mother's plans in confidence. She had to know that there was no one else he would tell. And he wasn't stupid enough to believe that it was one of Black's friends that spilled the beans. The whole lot of them were as loyal as Hufflepuffs. They were too noble to turn on a friend.

Something Pansy clearly wasn't.

He would deal with her.

But, first, he needed to solve this. Because if Skeeter kept pushing than Black could end up with her family magic locked. Or, he felt slightly queasy at the thought, completely sterilized. He knew quite a few people that would be happy to see the Black family, or its magic, die out.

And, if that happened, he knew he wouldn't survive until graduation.

He definitely needed to stop wasting time and figure out a plan. Before Hermione Black figured out where he was. He probably had a few hours.

XXX

Narcissa made a fist of her trembling hand and carefully rapped it against the sturdy oak door. The knock echoed down the marble corridor, causing several portraits to glance over at her in curiosity.

No one ever dared to enter Lucius Malfoy's study. His sanctum.

Not even his wife.

But, today, she was not in the mood to play the dutiful wife. Nor was she the loving mother she spent most of the time displaying to the world. No, today she was the vengeful Slytherin who had once ruled the House of Snakes with an iron fist. The one who had dared to break the old rules and forbid the torture of younger students – just because they lacked the knowledge yet to defend themselves. She'd even personally shown a seventh year boy exactly why forcing his attentions on a girl was a bad idea. Even if she'd only been a fifth year at the time.

That was what had caught Lucius' attention. And caused him to spend three years pursuing her.

Power.

It was all the Malfoys seemed to understand.

True, she wasn't powerful enough to completely satisfy her husband. She'd learned that too late. But that didn't stop her from loving him.

And it was certainly not going to stop her from reminding him right now just exactly who was the more powerful one in their relationship.

She'd spent the last year and a half laying the groundwork for a relationship between her son and niece. She'd had to find ways to push them together despite their hatred. She'd even finally gotten her son to realize what was happening, though she'd had to be painfully overt. He'd reacted exactly the way she had expected him to. Though his use of the word mudblood was not desired, she thought she could deal with it. She'd been quite happy to hear from Severus that Draco couldn't keep his eyes off of the future scion of House Black all night. And that said scion had been pointedly ignoring him.

She wasn't a fool. She knew Sirius was right and that her son wasn't good enough for Hermione Black. But she also knew that he COULD be. If given time. And the right circumstances. She couldn't let him become his father.

And now that terribly nasty woman was trying to ruin it all.

And destroy the Black Family while she was at it.

The door in front of her swung open and Narcissa stepped inside – ignoring the surprised look on her husband's face.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence, my dear?"

She stepped inside and gently closed the door, letting the click of the lock echo throughout the cavernous room. The soft rugs and leather-bound books doing little to soak up the sound.

She locked eyes with her husband and strolled across the room, keeping her face calm. But he knew her too well. She could see the realization in his eyes that something wasn't right.

"Love?" he asked.

In reply she dropped the paper in front of him and crossed her arms, tapping her manicured fingers against her velvet covered forearms.

He looked down at the paper for a moment, and then looked up at her in confusion.

"I read the paper when I broke my fast this morning. I don't see how this article truly pertains to us. There is no truth to it and, besides, Draco is presented in a rather pleasing manner.

She arched one delicate eyebrow and looked down her nose at him. He almost squirmed in his seat like an errant school boy.

"I see."

"Now, Love, I know you've been mending bridges, but I told you, it will never work. I've seen the two interact, there is no potential relationship there. Nor will there be, not with the way the world is. So what does it matter if drivel such as this is printed?"

Anger coursed through her, even stronger than before. She wanted to smack her husband. Did he not understand the beauty of a true plan? Didn't he comprehend that nothing was impossible with the right people pulling the strings? Couldn't he grasp the fact that if the world wouldn't allow it, you changed the world?

Of course not. He'd thought slipping a cursed diary into a little girl's cauldron was the epitome of planning. He'd been terribly disappointed when nothing bad had happened at Hogwarts.

If only he'd read his son's letters. Then he'd have heard of that little encounter Draco had with Hermione Black's elbow, Dumbledore, and a small black book.

But, no, he was too 'busy' to bother reading every letter.

And now he was too disinterested to do anything about this article.

It was time to remind him just why he'd been attracted to her in the first place.

She uncrossed her arms and leaned forwards, resting her hands on his desk and making sure to give him a good view of her cleavage before she forced him to meet her eyes.

She saw a sliver a fear in them mixed with some confusion, but, even more so, she saw lust and love. Two of the most powerful emotions. She hadn't been powerful enough to stop her husband from stupidly following the Dark Lord. But his love for her, as well as his lust, gave her an edge the Dark Lord would never have. One he could never even comprehend. And he wasn't here to combat it with the physical presence of his own power.

Lucius gulped as his eyes flipped down to her chest and then back up.

He knew he was about to get a lesson, and it had been a long time since she'd given him one of those.

She smirked, "Now, love, I don't think you quite understand…"

Author's Note: Ohmygod. I have never had a story with so many reviews, alerts, or even faves after only nine chapters. Actually, this story now has the record for alerts, even beating Times of Trouble, a fic that took me three years to finish due to moving to Korea, getting married, and doing my masters.

Ya'll are amazing. I hope I can continue to create a story that ya'll want to read. So, no real interaction between Draco and Hermione this chapter, but they have a nice long scene in the next one. Was going to put it in here, but the chapter probably would've been longer than the last one, and that pushed my limits on how long I think a chapter should be. Though ya'll aren't likely complaining, lol.

Hope you liked the Narcissa scene :)

Enjoy!