Chapter 25
Hermione ran her hand over the dress robe as it hung on one of the racks inside Daphne's room, admiring the elegance of its cut.
Daphne was sitting on the bed, looking at her apprehensively. "Have you fit it yet?" she asked.
"No, but I'm sure it will be fine," Hermione said. "Besides, tomorrow is your day. Nobody is going to look at me even if I am a bridesmaid."
"You are the dark lord's partner. Of course people will still look at you," Daphne pointed out.
"Daphne, don't worry, I'm sure the dress robe will fit fine. I'll try it on tonight before I go to bed, I promise, and if it needs repairing I'm sure between me and Tom we can manage it," Hermione said, smiling. Daphne looked horrified at the idea of the dark lord having to repair Hermione's dress robes, and Hermione's smile dissolved into a chuckle. "When is Astoria getting here? She might be better at soothing your pre-wedding nerves."
"She'll be in tonight," Daphne said. "Though I doubt her arrival will help with my nerves."
Hermione laughed. "Why are you nervous? You've been expecting this since last year!"
"It's a big ceremony," Daphne admitted. "I would have gone for small and private, but Theo's father wanted a society wedding, and I know that my parents wanted one for me too. But to tell you the truth, society pages is more Astoria's thing than mine."
"Well, you and I have worked out every detail, so I'm sure it will be perfect," Hermione said. "See you tomorrow, then?"
"Yes, Hermione, have a good night."
She gathered her dress robes and bade Daphne goodbye. She made her way back to the Malfoys' drawing room, where Draco was sharing a glass of wine with his father.
"Going, Granger?" he asked.
"Yes, it's getting quite late," she said. Tom would have gotten home by now. "See you tomorrow?"
"Yes. Good night, Granger."
"Good night, Draco, Lucius," she said hastily, dipping her hand into the jar above the fireplace to grab a handful of Floo powder before throwing it into the fire. "Serpensgat," she said clearly before stepping in.
She Flooed right into their sitting room, where Tom was reading a tome that looked like it had been taken from a dark arts library. When she approached him and he let his eyes wander over to her, the book in his hand gave a violent jerk and tried to close itself until he focused his eyes on it once more, his brow furrowed in annoyance.
She sat down next to him, stifling a smile. "Another dark book?"
He closed the book with a loud snap and showed her the title. Life and Death Magicks. She raised her eyebrows at him. He muttered a spell, rendering the book inactive as he placed it on the side table. "I am curious," he confessed. "I have died three times, been brought back to life just as much. When I was younger, I thought to conquer death, and I feel as if, in a way, I had. I am alive today when I shouldn't even be. I am curious as to how death sees that. I have cheated him three times already."
She set her dress robe down on one end of the couch so she could curl up next to him. "You are thinking that death will demand a payment from you," she said.
He nodded. "I told you before, powerful magic usually demands a sacrifice."
"I think you've paid enough with the horcruxes from before," Hermione said. "And the last time you escaped death, it was because of our blood bond. I think the blood bond counts as a sacrifice, because you gave me part of your magic, and that is precious to you. You gave me the power to draw your magic into myself."
As if to explain her point, she let her magic flare, caressing his own as their fingers entwined with each other. He hummed at the soothing pleasure of their magic joining together. "You are right," he said after a while. "I think that the old Voldemort's paranoia is affecting me. It is in his memories."
"He did get a little bit paranoid, didn't he? Seven horcruxes, Tom," she whispered, shaking her head.
"I should have stopped at one," he muttered. "But it doesn't matter now, does it? They are all destroyed," he said. "I am as mortal as you and anyone else. Now, will you try on your dress robe? You know I like seeing you decked in fancy dresses."
She took the dress robe she had hung over the side of the couch, stealing a glance at him as she did so. He had changed the subject, but she knew he was still bothered about his mortal state. A slow smile spread across her face. She knew what to get him for his birthday.
Theo and Daphne's wedding was held at the Nott Estate. It was Hermione's first time to attend a pureblood society wedding, and Astoria had been gracious enough to guide her on the age old etiquettes most of the purebloods still held on to. Honestly, she wouldn't even think that anyone would notice if she had curtsied one or two inches lower than the acceptable height or if her smile was an inch wider.
She liked Astoria. The girl appeared to be smarter than her older sister, but her soft voice and gentle manner belied the sharp wit underneath her appearance. She was glad that Draco was given a good match for marriage and missed the disaster that was Pansy Parkinson.
The wedding itself was extravagant. The guest list was over three hundred people, and the ceremony was officiated by none other than the Minister herself. Probably the only down side to the whole affair, Hermione thought snidely as she watched Umbridge bind the couple after their marriage vows, looking hideous and very much out of place in her bright pink dress robes.
She had arrived with Tom, but as he stood as Daphne's guardian until she recently came of age, he had left her with Astoria to walk Daphne down the aisle. Hermione herself was a bridesmaid, partnered with no less than Blaise Zabini, of all people. The half-Italian looked dashing in his dress robes, his recent tan indicating that he had been somewhere halfway around the world for a holiday.
"You look very nice, Granger," Blaise said with not a note of sarcasm. "Amazing what Hogwarts school robes can hide, eh?"
"Thank heavens they kept me adequately hidden from you. Keep your hands and eyes where they belong, Zabini," she said serenely. "You're being watched."
Blaise looked around and saw Tom across the room, dark eyes trained on them. "Seriously? I was just complimenting you," he said. Nevertheless he shifted his hand so it was nearer her upper back rather than her rear as he guided her down the aisle towards the reception area.
Hermone sat down at the bridesmaids table next to Astoria, who was nursing a flute of champagne. "It was a beautiful ceremony, wasn't it," Astoria said, looking at her sister fondly.
"It was almost perfect," Hermione said.
"I know what you mean," Astoria agreed, nodding. "Nott Sr. wanted the Minister to officiate, for publicity purposes, but really. It sort of ruins the picture a little bit, doesn't it? Goodness, Daphne's married now. I can't believe it."
"Will you be moving to Nott Manor then?"
"Yes, seeing as Draco and I will be courting after I finish Hogwarts," Astoria said matter-of-factly. "One thing for sure, though. I will get a different bonder for our wedding," she added, smiling.
"Oh, please do," Hermione said, picking her way through the five-course meal.
A formal dance followed the dinner, and Hermione watched as the newlyweds led the first waltz. She was approached by Minerva McGonagall, who was one of the teachers from Hogwarts that were invited.
"Miss Granger. Hermione," McGonagall said. "You are looking well."
"Headmistress," Hermione said, smiling. "After spending half the morning on my ensemble, I'm quite thankful for the compliment. How is Hogwarts?"
"Soldiering on," McGonagall answered. "I'm pleased, though, that we had more students coming back this year compared to last year."
"Who did you get to teach Defense?" Hermione asked curiously.
McGonagall looked amused. "Kingsley Shacklebolt and Rabastan Lestrange are team-teaching it. Rabastan has shared his Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid to allow him to take the extra load."
Hermione laughed. "A dark wizard and an Auror, teaching Defense? That is something. Did you get a lot of letters about it?"
"Less than I got last year," McGonagall said, looking at her pointedly.
"Ah, I can imagine," Hermione said, still smiling. "Still, it seems things worked out for Hogwarts, didn't it?"
"It seems that way," McGonagall said. "Lord Voldemort and I met shortly before school started. He and I met to look over the curriculum together, and with very favorable results. It is still in the works, but I'm excited to tell you that I am in talks with the Ministry for putting up an extension of the school, as a preparatory school for younger wizards and witches, to prepare them before setting foot into Hogwarts."
"A preparatory school," Hermione said, her eyes lighting up.
McGonagall nodded. "It will be geared towards preparing the muggleborns for their entry into the wizarding world, and to standardize the education of all younger ones, primarily their letters and numbers. It's still in the works, as I told you, but I have a good feeling that it will push through."
"That will be wonderful," Hermione said. "Most children are home-schooled before they set foot in Hogwarts and replacing that with a standardized education would greatly improve their reading and writing, at least."
"You have no idea how atrocious some of the essays can be," McGonagall said, sighing.
Hermione grinned. "Actually, I must confess that I do," she said. Tom had complained to her numerous times about the bad grammar he had to wade through while grading essays when they were both at Hogwarts. "A prep school prior to entering Hogwarts should take care of that problem."
"When it materializes," McGonagall said, clearing her throat. "When it does… I know you have started on a career path towards being a solicitor, but I was hoping you would consider shifting to a teaching career. You would be invaluable to the prep school, being a highly skilled witch and a muggleborn, too."
"I'll consider it," Hermione said. "Thank you for keeping me in mind."
Tom came up to them shortly. "Minerva," he said in greeting.
"Lord Voldemort," McGonagall said, nodding back. Hermione thought that their meeting over the summer must have been fruitful indeed when Tom's preferred name fell from the older witch's lips without so much as a stutter. "I was telling Hermione about the prep school."
Tom stepped closer to Hermione to wrap an arm around her waist. "Did you offer her the job?"
"As one of the first teachers, yes."
"I couldn't think of anyone more qualified," Tom said. "It would take quite a while though. I'm afraid the Ministry has a lot of issues with bringing in muggleborns at a much younger age."
"Why should they, when every muggleborn is destined to go to Hogwarts anyway? Why delay the inevitable?" Hermione asked.
"Because younger children knowing about magic might be more prone to exposing themselves when in the Muggle world," Tom explained. "They do not have the restraint of Hogwarts age children. The Ministry is looking for ways to reinforce the Statute of Secrecy. That is the reason why it is taking longer to proceed."
"I see," Hermione said, her mind already working on ideas to uphold the Statute while taking in younger muggleborns.
Tom tapped her temple. "Stop thinking about it. We're at a wedding, for Merlin's sake. We haven't even danced yet," he said lightly. "Might I steal my lady away, Minerva? Before she whips out her quill and starts writing her propositions?"
"Go ahead," McGonagall said, smiling faintly.
"Good seeing you, Headmistress," Hermione said over her shoulder as she allowed Tom to pull her away. She settled in his arms as he led her through the music.
"Who's spearheading the prep school?" she asked Tom.
"Muggle Relations Office and McGonagall," Tom said. "If you want to get involved, I can introduce you to Owen Rosencrantz, but it will compromise your work at the solicitor's office, and I will not have you spending your off hours over at the Ministry either," he said firmly.
"I'm glad Ars Tenebrae is doing well for you, but we do see each other less often than we like," she agreed.
"Why don't you just work with me at Tenebrae?" he asked.
"I want my own career," she said. "Besides, I've seen the magic you deal with at Tenebrae. It's higher magic than I've studied, and if I worked there, I'm afraid you'll spend more time teaching me than getting any of the work done."
He nodded at this, twirling her around with her hand over her head before pulling her back to him. "Well, do whatever you want, Hermione, but please. I've seen you overwork yourself right before the N.E.W.T.s. I don't want to sleep next to a bag of bones."
She pinched his arm inconspicuously. "Nice to see you overflowing with concern," she said with exaggerated sweetness. Then she turned serious. "I can handle it. It's just… the work I do for Merryweather is more of quantity than quality. It doesn't take much effort to read through the archives, they're all pretty straightforward, but she does ask for a lot of material. And I noticed she doesn't promote anyone so easily. The youngest clerk in her office other than me has been working there for two years and hasn't gone anywhere."
"She's a good solicitor, but you'll find that most of their lot are not progressive thinkers," Tom said. "They don't like to promote much because they are afraid of being replaced by the younger generation, but you are quite tenacious. It might still take you a few years, though."
"By that time, the prep school would have opened," Hermione said.
"Maybe," he agreed.
"Maybe I should just work on the prep school with McGonagall," she said.
"I didn't want to say anything about it before Miverva brought it up, since I was the one who pushed you into the solicitor's office," he confessed. "But that was before she and I had the chance to discuss the community's educational reformation. You would be the best person to work with McGonagall on this, and she knows that. However, Muggle Relations does not know you and as you have no experience working in the Ministry yet, they might look over your head. Maybe finish a year at the solicitor's office so you can ask for a recommendation from Merryweather. Just something for you to keep in mind."
"I will," she said. "What about you? I know you're planning to go into the Ministry some time."
"Not yet," he said. "The community isn't ready for me yet."
"But it's getting better, isn't it?" she asked. "I mean, this year is better for you than last year."
"Yes, it is."
It was their first time to go Christmas shopping together, and since Tom had admitted that he knew nothing about gift-giving, Hermione decided to help him pick out presents for the few people that he needed to give one to.
"What do you plan to get the Minister?" she asked him as they apparated into Diagon Alley.
"Nothing fancy, to avoid giving her the idea that I actually fancy her," he said dryly. "A quill, from some unfortunate exotic bird."
They went into Flourish and Blotts, where they bought most of the presents for Tom's acquaintances in the Ministry. Next, they went into one of the special gift shops where Tom simply ordered Christmas hampers for his employees at Ars Tenebrae. His gifts for his Inner Circle were more interesting, and required them to go down Knockturn Alley for more exotic finds. He had gotten a set of rare potion ingredients for Lucius, a dark arts tome for Draco, a set of tapestries for the Lestrange brothers and an enchanted goblet for Nott Sr. Tom had left instructions with all the shopkeepers to have the gifts sent to Serpensgat within the day, not wanting to walk around Diagon Alley carrying shopping bags.
Done with their errands, Hermione and Tom went to one of the local pubs. They settled down to have their late dinner when Hermione spied Percy Weasley eating by himself.
"It's Percy Weasley," she whispered to Tom as they each picked at their roast turkey. "I suppose he still works for the Department of International Magical Cooperation."
"He does," Tom affirmed. "I had him watched for a while, but it has been established that he does not have any contact with Potter or the three missing Weasley boys since after the Order became inactive. It appears that he had a falling out with his parents as well, as he moved out of The Burrow and moved into a new one with his girlfriend. He sees his father at work and is on speaking terms with him, so I assume it's the mother that is the problem."
"Oh, I didn't know that," she said thoughtfully. "I've been too busy at the office to keep up with some things."
"Don't think that I do not notice you going off to the Muggle world when I am at work," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. "And I know you asked permission from Minerva McGonagall to visit the Hogwarts library as soon as Christmas break started."
She blinked. He noticed that? Of course he did. Hardly anything got past him. "It's my own research," she admitted. "I haven't found anything of interest yet, but I have only been at it for a fortnight. When I find something, I will let you know."
He let it go at that, turning his attention back to his dinner. Hermione tried not to let out a sigh of relief when he pursued her interest no further. She had found something interesting, but she wasn't ready to tell him about it yet. No, he would have to wait until his birthday.
Christmas was more pleasant than the previous year, which had been marred by the attack on the Greengrass estate. They had Christmas dinner at Malfoy Manor. The group was smaller, missing Daphne and Theo who wanted to spend their Christmas somewhere warm and sunny for a change. Lucius had his house elves, once again, prepare a full Christmas feast for the five of them left in the manor. After the five-course meal, Hermione and Tom bade their hosts good night and retired to their own house.
This year, Hermione had gotten an assortment of sweets, books, and trinkets from her old school friends. Tom had given her a soft leather handbag to replace her beaded one, complete with its own Undetectable Extension Charm and Lightweight Charm.
"I think it's time for your old bag to retire," he said as they went back to their room. "Besides, the one I gave you has been enchanted to be noiseless as well so people won't be hearing your things tumbling inside whenever you pick the bag up."
"Thank you, it's really nice and more suitable to use for work," she said. "I suppose I do have outgrown my beaded bag."
She reached under the table and handed him the present she had gotten for him. He smiled in appreciation as he lifted three self-knotting ties out of the box. "Very timely. I burned one of my ties when something went wrong at Tenebrae the other day," he said, chuckling at the memory.
She raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me Lord Voldemort got caught off guard by a cursed object?"
"Of course not," Tom said, looking insulted at her suggestion. "I broke the curse quite easily. However, nobody knew there was a dormant baby Swedish Shortsnout guarding the family jewels inside. It was enchanted into a state of stasis and the enchantment dissolved when I broke the curse."
Hermione laughed. "Must have caused a riot in the office, then."
"I lost a tie. Ted Nott lost his eyebrows." Tom gave Hermione a smug smile, sending her into another fit of laughter which he eventually joined. The rest of the day was spent in high spirits.
It was New Year's Eve, and more importantly to Hermione, it was Tom's birthday. As with last year, they opted out of the New Year's Eve festivities at Malfoy Manor and decided to go out for dinner. The present she had been working on for him had arrived yesterday and kept safe under their bed, of all places. It will be ready for him once they returned home.
Tom emerged from the shower, dressing in his usual robes of grey and deep green. He looked over at her, taking in her smile. "Are you ready for our dinner?" he asked.
She nodded, taking his arm. "And which place will we be going to this time?"
"I made a reservation at Trattoria," he said.
"I like Italian food," she said.
"You hardly dislike any food," he commented.
"That's not true, I actually don't like... candies," she said as he apparated them both to Diagon Alley. Until now, she was still impressed by the smoothness of his apparition.
"If you insist," he said, guiding her expertly through the New Year's Eve crowd so that she wasn't jostled.
They had a table reserved for them at the corner of the restaurant, much like last year, but this time they were no longer teacher and student but a couple, and he rested his hand on the table, his fingertips just brushing hers, as they both perused the menu.
"I think I will have the salmon angel hair pasta," she told him. "Baked goat cheese as a starter."
Not long after, they were enjoying their meal. Tom was telling her about the latest happenings in his firm.
"I'm quite pleased, that only six months since we have formally started the business, some wizards and witches have expressed their willingness to work in the company," he said. "Of course it's a small firm, I don't want it to turn into a big conglomerate because frankly it is going to be a headache looking after everything then, so I limit those I hire. What I do is I keep a file on those who want to work with me, and I list their strengths and weaknesses. If a particular case comes up that requires their specific talents, then I bring them in."
"Have you happened across any interesting artifacts?" she asked.
"Nothing too exciting. Most of them are old family trinkets bewitched by greedy ancestors," he said. "There is a promising vault somewhere in Wales that we have been asked to look at. I'm waiting for Theo to come back from his honeymoon, as he wants to have a look at it too."
"That might be a while," she said.
"The vault will not be going anywhere," he said. "I'd like to take you as well. The owner of the vault said his family has had it for more than two centuries, but were unable to open it because of dark spells cast by their ancestors. And you know that when something is guarded that well... there is bound to be something very interesting inside."
"Sounds exciting," she murmured, thinking about her present for him, waiting for them at home.
He never missed her thoughts, for he smiled indulgently. "I can see you are excited to give me your present. Why don't we just hurry through dinner?"
"No, no, take your time," she said, waving her hand and cursing herself for being too transparent.
He was chuckling, his voice a deep rumble in his chest. "You keep eyeing my food whenever I open my mouth to talk," he pointed out. "You are itching to have this dinner over with."
She threw up her hands. "Fine. I admit. But only because I know you will love my present," she said confidently.
He arched an eyebrow at her conviction. "Confident, are we? Then finish your meal like a good girl and we will be out of here as soon as we can."
She grinned as she continued to work on her pasta. Ten minutes later, they were both done, and Tom left some galleons on the table as they both stood up, neither of them bothering with dessert.
They Apparated straight to their house, and Hermione disentangled herself from him as she shrugged off her cloak. "Sit down," she said, pushing him firmly to the settee. "I'll get it from the bedroom."
"Bossing me around on my birthday," he said, but he obediently took a seat while she retrieved her present from the bedroom. She handed him a rather slim package, and watched as he quickly unwrapped it to reveal several copies of parchment.
His dark eyes skimmed through the rolls of parchment quickly. "It's in cuneiform," he said, going through the others. "Oh, you've translated."
She rolled her eyes. "Of course," she said, trying not to smile as he continued to study the papers.
He tapped his finger on the paper for a few seconds, considering it, before meeting her eyes. "How did you get by this?" he asked her, his voice betraying the slightest hint of excitement.
She sat down next to him. "I was familiar with the Epic of Gilgamesh since I was a child. It was in one of my story books. I thought at that time, that it was fiction. But that story book also contained the story of Merlin, and I know now that Merlin did actually exist, so I researched the story of Gilgamesh. He went on a quest for immortality, I recalled."
"In the form of a plant," he said, nodding.
"He found the plant, under the sea, but before he could take it for himself, a serpent stole it from him and slithered away. A serpent, Tom. Coincidence? Or maybe fate? It was in ancient Sumeria, the sea spoken of is probably the Persian Gulf. We can look for it." She nodded to the papers he was holding. "I have cross-referenced a lot of accounts until I got to the original text. That was why I was going to different libraries including Muggle ones."
His face was solemn as he continued to look at it, but she detected a slight twitch in his cheek muscles, and she placed a hand on his arm. "It's my gift to you. I know that you still want immortality even though you will not admit it to me because of the whole business that you did with the horcruxes. So I looked for other ways that you can achieve it. Here is one. We should certainly give it a try."
He took a deep breath as he set the scrolls down on the table in front of him. Then he suddenly seized her, pulling her onto his lap and giving her a searing kiss, one hand burying itself in her hair while the other was at her back, pulling her close to him. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear as he broke the kiss momentarily. "Thank you. You know me so well."
Indeed, she knew him well enough to foresee that without another option towards gaining immortality, he was contemplating making another horcrux. She twirled her finger around that lock of his hair that hung right at the nape of his neck, smiling. "Well, I admit it's also tempting to go on an adventure to look for it…"
"Yes, and we will do that, once things are settled here," he answered, standing up in one fluid motion, cradling her in his arms so he could move them to the bedroom. "But for now, let me thank you for your gift the best way I know how."