Chapter 11
A/N: Thank you so much to my amazing beta AlaskanAppaloosa! I couldn't do this without you!
I don't own Harry Potter, JK Rowling and all her peeps do. I'm just playing with her toys!
Thank you all for the amazing reviews! I'm so glad the plot twist blew your minds!
Don't worry, Hermione and Co. will be mending bridges with Augusta! Sorry to those who were cheering for Neville as a mate, I kept trying to write him as one and he just kept being like "Nope! I wanna be the brother character!"
Susie, I am SO happy I can make your hatred for WIP's fade. Also, I think I know who you are now? We've talked in the granger enchanted group!
The dracken counsel took this moment to close down Hermione's interview room, citing the need for privacy. There was a general uproar behind the doors from the dominants, but Bart and Armand enforced the blockade with brutal efficiency. It only took two dominants getting knocked out before the crowd backed down, but the energy in the room was restless.
Clara and the other dracken counsel members watched on, more than a little baffled as Hermione, Sirius, Harry, and Neville talked over one another frantically. The cacophonous banter was interspersed with moments of laughter and many more hugs than she had personally seen most people give. It took about twenty minutes of the crazy talking before some of it started to make sense to anyone outside of the small group.
It seemed that for the majority of the time, Hermione had been filling Neville in on what she believed about her orphanage after he had asked what her home life was like growing up, with Harry and Sirius piping in whenever necessary. Neville, for his part, had remained quite calm right up until Hermione noted that she was fairly certain her orphanage was a front for poachers.
It looked like Neville was going to completely lose it at that point. He started shaking, his claws gouging deep into his thighs, his accelerated healing fixing it so he could do it again. Harry and Sirius watched on in a bit of shock, but Gerard stepped forward and spoke directly to Neville.
"We've already started an investigation. Not a magical one. A dracken one." Neville visibly started to calm at this. "You know what that means. Good, good. There are four drackens assigned to this particular case. They are poring over every piece of paper, tracking down every girl, and going through every shred of evidence. There is also an extensive investigation going on at the male 'brother orphanage' of this one. If there is anything there... we will find it."
Gerards face twisted into a brutal and sadistic sneer as he and Neville locked eyes. "And if we find they have wronged us, we will dispense justice. They will beg for mercy and we will show no quarter." Both Harry and Sirius blanched a bit at this, but Neville and Hermione grinned, baring sharp and cruel teeth.
For a moment, pure, unadulterated blood lust flowed through Hermione's veins. Her body sang with the intensity of it. In the next blink though, she was overcome by confusion. This wasn't normal. No one should be happy thinking about ripping another person to pieces... Gerard happened to catch her confused glance just as Hermione pulled away.
"Don't. Don't run from it. Talk it out." He stated, standing tall again and looking down at her.
Hermione bit her lip and wrapped her arms around herself, confusion marring her face. "It's wrong to feel like this. I could rip them apart. We don't even know if they did it. And I could happily rip them to shreds for what they are maybe doing. Without mercy. I could rip them to pieces, revelling in their screams. I can nearly taste how the rush would feel." A chill shook her frame at the idea, but it wasn't in horror, but rather in pleasure.
Gerard and Neville both nodded solemnly, and she could see the other drackens in the room do the same. "This is part of our nature, child. We are creatures of fire and passion. Our ancient ancestors are known for their ability to be fierce guards, especially of their young. That same instinct runs through our veins. We will rend and tear at anything that threatens what is ours. We do not apologize for our nature. We hunt. We kill. We are also tender and loving parents and mates. Our children are our legacy. You should be enraged at what these people have done. Use that. Use the rage to make your blood sing. Fight for what is yours to protect."
Throughout the speech, the drackens in the room had been getting tense, and a low hum of growls started. By the time Gerard was done, the hum had grown into a deep roar that reverberated in the veins of everyone in the room and was met by the dominants outside. A bone-shaking confirmation that drackens were united in this purpose, the protection of what was theirs.
Harry and Sirius, as the only humans present, were more than a bit shaken by the roaring growl. But Hermione? For Hermione it was solidifying. A forging of her soul in ember and flame. A reminder that she would be different, but that difference didn't have to be a problem. She could be fiercely protective and brutal, but also loving and caring and intelligent.
When the roar died down, Sirius turned to Harry and whispered what he thought was loud enough for only Harry to hear. "She's gonna fit in so well here. That brutal side of herself will be in its heyday here."
Hermione squawked and whipped around to growl at Sirius. "Brutal side? I don't have a brutal side! Also, your whispering isn't as quiet as you think."
Harry grinned a cheeky grin at this. "Really? No brutal side? What about Marietta?"
"She betrayed us!" Hermione grumbled defensively.
"Skeeter and the jar?"
"She wouldn't leave you alone!" She was looking more and more like a baby chick with her feathers fluffed out, and Sirius was struggling to control his laughter.
"Uh-huh... and what about Umbridge and the centaurs?"
At this Hermione's eyes glinted with ruthless joy. "She deserved that and you know it."
"Oh we don't debate that, Kitten." Sirius piped in, "But you definitely have a brutal streak. Justice has always been something you are willing to enforce, even if you had to... bend the law a bit to make it happen." Neville and Harry were nodding along, and Gerard was looking curious and slightly admiring.
"Fine. Whatever. Maybe I am a bit brutal. But they deserved it!"
"Yes Hermione." The three men murmured softly, which seemed to appease her very ruffled feathers.
Hermione jumped a bit when the door swung open a bit and Bart popped his head in. "Hey guys? Things are getting a bit tense out here. Perhaps we could save the family gathering for later? Hermione, I know things are tense for you right now, but the dominants are demanding to see you and ensure you are ok. The call got their blood pumping, and I'm not sure that it's wise for us to put them off about this."
A sigh left Hermione, but she rose and went to the door, stepping out and waving to the crowd of dominants outside. "I'm fine everyone. Some family business came up unexpectedly. Thank you all for your concern." Many of the dominants yelled out over the crowd asking for more details, and whether the meeting would be continuing that day, several complaining about how it wasn't fair they hadn't seen her yet.
Hermione held up a hand for silence, which reluctantly fell over the group. "I will be continuing the meeting today, but I'm not certain if I will be able to see all of you. I'm sorry. Please be patient. Thank you." With this she slipped back into the room, ignoring the rest of the hollering for her attention.
With a sardonic smile at Harry and Sirius she huffed as the door closed. "Goodness. It's like dealing with children. 'But I want it now!'" The whiny voice left her and more than one chuckle was heard throughout the room. Her eyes drifted to Neville and softened.
"I'm so sorry. I'm going to have to continue the meeting today. Please, would you come to our place for dinner tonight? I'd love a chance to talk to my brother." A soft smile played at her face when Neville walked over to give her a bear hug.
"And I my sister. It's ok, I was just about to leave anyways. I need to make sure that grandmother is ok... I think I'm in enough control now." Neville's face showed just how doubtful he was of this, but also his humour about it. "If I kill her though and get arrested, I love you. Don't get stuck with a jerk. Give 'em hell." Hermione snickered and smacked him lightly.
"Don't do anything stupid. I'll see you later. Sirius will make sure you can get into the floo at Grimmauld. Say eight?" Another quick hug was shared between the long lost siblings before Neville confirmed that worked for him, then waving his goodbyes to everyone else, left through the floo.
Hermione steeled herself for the next step by walking to Sirius and Harry and asking for a hug. Without a single qualm, both men wrapped her in a bear hug between them, being careful to avoid her wings. She had told them just how sensitive they were, an neither were willing to put Hermione in a situation where she would have to warn them off or make her uncomfortable.
Sirius whispered into the group hug, "Kitten, you don't have to do this. This has been a crazy day. You can walk. This can wait." But almost as he started to talk Hermione was shaking her head, rearing back to look at both of the men.
"I need to do this. Every day I'm not mated I put both of you and myself in danger. This is just the first round. I'll make you guys a deal though." Hermione peeked at the clock hanging on the wall, seeing that it read 4:30. Strange, it seemed later in the day, but then again... she had been sending most males home very quickly. "We'll leave by 6:30." Both men nodded their assent, and released their friend, who sat in the chair provided for her by the counsel as she motioned for Bart to let in the next suitor.
The puffed-up popinjay didn't even make it a full minute in her room before Hermione spat for him to leave her and not come back. He spent the entirety of that minute ranting to her about how dare she keep him waiting so long.
Bart seemed to take extra special joy in throwing the man out of the room forcibly. Sirius and Harry waved their fingers condescendingly at the dominant as he squawked at being so handled, the former even throwing kisses for good measure. Hermione laughed brightly at their ridiculous antics, which the next dominant coming in lit up at.
"What a lovely laugh."
Hermione took a deep breath and then turned to look at the next man, this time she was pleasantly surprised to see someone in their human form.
"Thank goodness. If I see one more stupid male flash their wings at me like it's something to preen over, I was going to scream." The man chuckled and ran his hand across his thick blonde beard.
"It's been a long day for you I take it?" His blue-grey eyes crinkled around the edges at his smile, and Hermione was struck with the impression that he smiled often.
"Very." Hermione sighed, plopping down in the chair, trying very hard not to pout.
The man's smile only grew as he transfigured a nearby chair to a ottoman with a wave of his wand. He knelt down and tucked it under her feet, being sure not to touch her bare skin at any time. "I'm sorry you have to be subjected to this. It must make you feel much like a piece of meat. I heard earlier that you had to lock down the room for family business, is everything ok?"
Hermione smiled kindly down at him, murmuring a thank you to him before speaking more clearly, "Yes, everything is fine now. Thank you for asking. It's very kind. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"
The man straightened to his full height before taking a few steps back from her and bowing slightly. "I am Abraham Sloan, but most people call me Abe. It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Granger." As he straightened, his hands came up to straighten his shoulder-length dirty blonde hair.
"Please, call me Hermione."
"Very well, Hermione. Well, what should I tell you? I like to consider myself pretty down-to-earth. I'm a meat and potatoes, practical kinda man. I love to work hard, then come home to a home full of kids and family. I'm from two dracken parents, so I have a very large family. I have forty siblings, and they have... a lot of children between them. The house is crazy when the family all gets together, and I love every minute. I've always envisioned that for my life."
Hermione ignored the choking sounds coming from Sirius and Harry at the numbers, and her face split into a grin at this idea. Her dracken preened, clearly letting it be known she liked this one. "That sounds amazing, Abe. I am an orphan and grew up in a group home, so to me that sounds like pure heaven."
Abe's grin echoed her own, "It does doesn't it? What are your interests, Hermione? What do you want your life to look like after this whole debacle of trying to find your mate?"
"Mates." Hermione corrected gently, "Any man who mates with me will have to be ok with the fact that the dracken counsel is fairly convinced I will need at least two mates, but potentially three or even four..."
Abe looked a bit shocked by this at first before his eyes darkened to a storm tossed ocean blue. "You're very powerful then. That's... good to know." Sirius snickered and jabbed Harry's ribs at the obvious lust in the man's eyes.
Hermione felt her face heat with a flush before she continued. "Yes. Yes I am. As for what I would like my life to look like after this? If I had a way of making sure everything went perfectly? I would love to sit on the board of a charitable foundation working for orphaned children or disenfranchised creatures. Or perhaps I would work at the ministry part-time. I can't see myself staying home all the time caring for children, but I would like to have six or forty." At this Harry and Sirius once again snorted back giggles. "I realize that being pregnant often might make working hard, but I would still like to try. I want a house filled with laughter and love. I want my children to never be hungry or alone. I want to find mates I can love until the day I die. So, I suppose I just want a normal, big family life."
Abe had relaxed significantly as she stated her wishes, and by the end he was nodding along. "That sounds like a fantastic life. I truly hope you get all your desires."
"Thank you. What do you do for a living Abe?"
"I run a large corporate farming business that my father started. We help small farmers come together and barter with larger retailers as well. It's my pride and joy."
Hermione was sad when Harry poked her and told her that the time they were alloted to Abe was up. "Thank you Abe. You've made it to the second round of interviews. It was lovely to meet you." As Abe turned to leave with another bow, Hermione suddenly spoke out. "Wait. Please. Can I... see your wings?"
"I thought you'd never ask, Angel..." Abe's wings sprouted from his back as scales spread over his face and most of his body. Hermione's breath hitched as she looked at them. They were huge, which wasn't the most stunning part of them. No, the stunning part was the colour. A bright gold at the tips towards his head, slowly fading to a soft brown, then a soft white at the tips, the wings looked like ripe wheat fields. As Abe fluttered them softly, Hermione was struck by the memory of the rare trips taken to the country as a child, watching the wind blow the wheat, seas of gold and clear skies.
"Thank you. I'll be seeing you soon."
Abe left graciously, his wings shrinking back into his back.
Harry leaned over to Hermione and whispered in her ear, "I like that one. He seemed... normal. We haven't seen many normal people today." Hermione nodded in agreement as she waved in the next dominant.