Chapter 11:
A forest, somewhere in Slovakia, Europe
Lucius Malfoy winced as he climbed up a steep hill. He was not as young as he once was, and his body was reminding him of that fact. Too many years of apparition and not enough time spent in physical activity had rendered him short of breath as he made his way up the slope.
Wizards have it too easy, he reflected before realizing his thought was a compliment of sorts to the fit muggles he had seen in the village of Hačava.
Well, animals are, after all, better equipped for this kind of travel, he reminded himself. Lucius had seen evidence that the rogue group of vampires he'd been tracking were nearby. He needed to temper his impatience. Stay stealthy, finish the mission, and then return to his real assignment. Thankfully, the Dark Lord had not questioned his explanation of why he was leaving England. He'd nodded his head in approval after Lucius had told him the Queen trusted him alone with the task.
At least, he thought, it was partially true. At any rate, it had enough truth in it to convince his Master after his use of Legilimency on him. Voldemort had praised his success with the Queen and had told him to continue his good work of infiltrating the Royal Court.
"Soon, my friend," the Dark Lord has whispered. "Soon the throne will be ours. For now…..stay the course."
Lucius had nodded and vowed he would do so. But how he wished he could speed up things…how he wished he could remove all hindrances and opposition. How he wished he could Avada the Headmaster of Hogwarts. He'd had enough of that pious old fool getting in the way of things. And as far as the Queen…..yes, he wished things for her, too. He wished his incompetent son had never seen her face. He'd known all along what had been in Draco's heart…..and it made him want to vomit. Ungrateful whelp. But soon….that would change. He would free Draco from this obsession of his, and if he had to crucio his son within an inch of his life to ensure his obedience, he would do it. Perhaps Draco would change his mind if he witnessed the might of his father in taking the Queen by the throat and squeezing it just so…
Lucius' face broke out in a demonic grin as he imagined her breath and life leaving her …with only her consort as an audience. The instant emotional high of wanting to commit murder actually made his hands itch to feel her neck snap under his strength.
Not as young? Humph, he snorted as he felt new energy flow from his sick fantasies. Still young, still strong….still vital enough to enjoy the thrill of taking a life. Suddenly, the hill was no longer daunting as he made his way through the bramble.
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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Highlands, Scotland
Blaise smirked as he watched his prediction come true. As soon as he and Harry entered their first class, which had been Transfiguration that day, all the witches' heads swiveled in their direction and stayed there.
"Hey there, Harry," cooed Daphne Greengrass. Blaise rolled his eyes. The recognized Slytherin good-time girl would be the first to say something.
"H…here, Harry…..do….uh….do you want to sit….with me?" stuttered Millicent Bulstrode as she motioned to the seat beside her.
Well, I can't give her points for looks, but I sure can give her credit for nerve, thought Blaise as he noticed the vicious looks the other females were sending her way.
"Um…sure," mumbled Harry.
Millicent squealed in delight and looked back triumphantly at all the other young ladies in the class.
"Mate, are you sure you want to…..?" Blaise whispered as he indicated to the empty seat beside the plain Slytherin girl.
"Yeah…..she'll be the safest….you know, with Ginny and all."
"Oh. Right, then," said Blaise as moved to go sit next to Theo.
"That was a good clean-up job you did on Potter," said Nott.
Blaise just grinned "It will be fun to see who will end up with the Potter Prize."
"Would you care to make a wager on that?"
"Sure….why not?"
"Since you're my friend, I'll warn you…I'm setting you up. It's a sucker bet," said Theo. "Everyone knows the Weasley Spitfire has her hooks deep in him."
Blaise's smirk became even more pronounced. "Ten galleons say that little romance won't last the month….so….do we have a bet?"
Theo eyed the Italian shrewdly. "All right," he said slowly. "You're on."
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Royal Chambers, Imperial Centre, Ministry Annex London, England
"Uh…..I am so glad today is behind us," groaned Hermione as she slipped off her heels. Putting her feet on the ottoman, she watched as Narcissa prepared her a cup of hot tea. A dash of lemon and a spoon of honey. Hermione smiled. Her lady in waiting had quickly learned just how she liked things.
"Thank you," she murmured as she took the cup and saucer. Hermione closed her eyes in delight as the warm liquid soothed her throat, quite worn out from all the discussions of the day. As she sipped the hot beverage, she watched as a silvery-blue aura danced around Narcissa. After Lucius had left on assignment, the previously blank aura around Draco's mother had gradually filled back to its present beautiful and somehow, wistful shade of blue. Hermione noticed the way Narcissa was presently picking at imaginary lint on her sleeve. She had been around her enough to know it was a nervous habit….probably the result from having to live with a psychotic death eater.
"Anything on your mind, Lady Malfoy?" she ventured.
The sides to Narcissa's mouth rose up a bit before she said, "If I'm not allowed to use 'Your Majesty' in private, then neither are you allowed to say 'Lady Malfoy'."
Hermione laughed at that and nodded. "Fair enough, Narcissa…..or would you rather me call you something else?"
Narcissa stared at Hermione for a long moment before she quietly said, "Actually, I would prefer…..Mother."
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "Wha….what?"
"May I speak freely?"
Hermione vigorously nodded her head. "Yes….of course. Please do."
Narcissa paused to take in a deep breath before she said, "I know my son. I've known for years how he's felt for you. I also know my husband knows it. It was why he kept Draco and his classmates under an Imperius curse. Lucius was not going to allow the House of Malfoy to be connected to a muggle-born House. He was not going to allow Draco to shame him by being married to a muggle-born witch. I also know my husband has not given up on his plan to coerce Draco to join the Dark Lord's ranks."
Narcissa watched Hermione as the young Queen watched her, while taking in all she had said. "I know Draco is still…..vulnerable. He must be protected, Hermione."
Hermione earnestly looked up into the troubled face of her Beloved's mother. Beloved? I actually thought of Draco as my Beloved….
"I will protect him…..I promise. And I will….if he'll agree to it, that is...um…. join him in the Bond."
Narcissa's face immediately flooded with hope. "Really? You would…."
"Yes," answered Hermione. "And….when that's done, we can break the blood bond between the House of Rayonnant and the House of Malfoy. Your husband would have no further ties here. You and Draco would both be free from him."
Narcissa said nothing but held her cloth napkin to her mouth as she closed her eyes. A deep emotion overtook her for a moment and when she opened her eyes again, Hermione could see the evidence of tears glistening.
"Thank you," Narcissa said simply.
Hermione leaned forward and grabbed her hand. "Now…..I need to ask a favor of you."
"Of course. Anything."
"I…don't know how to do a soul bond….what is entailed? And…is it the same thing as….being married? Or is it in addition to? And does one ceremony have to happen before the other?" asked Hermione in a rapid-fire way.
The older woman smiled. Hermione's many questions proved to her the young girl was not caught up in the romance of the thing, but had given it plenty of thought.
"Long ago, a soul-bonding ceremony was the marriage ceremony," explained Narcissa. "But after it fell out of favor, more and more wizards took to marrying the muggle way. But as a Monarch, different rules apply. You need to understand that to your subjects, when you claimed Draco as your consort, you claimed him in marriage."
That was news to Hermione. "So….to the Wizarding World…..we're already married?"
"Well...yes. But I think it would be a good thing and set a precedent if you and Draco soul-bonded. Wizardkind would know their Queen respected and followed in the old ways. It would give dignity to our Magicks."
"Yes…..that's a good point," she murmured. "But….will it make a difference that I'm muggle-born?"
Narcissa gave Hermione a level stare. "Has it ever made a difference before?"
Hermione grinned. "Not to me."
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Later that evening, as she and Draco lay snuggled in their bed, Hermione nervously cleared her throat and said, "Remember me wanting to talk to you about something this morning?"
Draco pulled up her chin to look into her eyes. "Is something wrong?" he asked in a worried tone. Draco hadn't had Hermione long enough to feel secure in her affections. He sometimes found himself waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop.
"No Love….nothing's wrong." Hermione didn't realize the endearment she just used, but Draco did. His heart soared when he heard her voice call him that. He immediately bent down and captured her lips with all the passion he possessed and explored all the sweet places in her mouth until both were gasping for air.
"You called me your Love," he breathed as he kissed her cheeks, her eyes and her nose.
Hermione ran her fingers through his hair. "You'll be my only," she whispered.
He pulled her tightly to him and Hermione could plainly feel the evidence of his desire and need for her.
"Draco….I..," she looked into his eyes, "I want….to soul bond with you…..if you want to, that is."
Draco's face lit up with all the love and devotion in the world. Hermione felt her heart squeeze at the sight.
"My soul has always been yours," he said humbly while cupping her face. "So...to answer your question. Yes. I will bond with my Queen," and he kissed her forehead, "My Mate…," and he kissed her right cheek, "My….Hermione."
And when he kissed her that last time, he allowed himself afterward, for the first time, to love her body fully with his.
Later, he cradled Hermione in his arms and before he fell asleep, he contentedly sighed, "I love you."
"I love you, too…..my husband," she whispered back, deliciously sated. And if Hermione had not been so busy trying to assure herself that she would mean those words one day, she would have realized that she already did.
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AN: Thank you to viola1701e and especial thanks to lirael21 in giving me correct information regarding Kobolde. Obviously, the web site I had used as a resource had not been written by a German!
PS: I can't seem to be half-way with Lucius. In my head, he's either an angel or a devil. In this story…..well, I think you know what role he plays.
