Yes I've been very bad, however I have a nice big chappie to beg for forgiveness ;)
Small amounts of smut.
Edited by Seren
Chapter 25
Severus lips were chapped from the cold, his fingers numb having long forgotten warming charms, yet he was more energized than he could remember. He had a name for the power their shared! More than that, he had a history, more in depth than ever told. Tuatha de' Danann, the people of Danu, their stories had never said this was what had been shared, they had cloaked it.
Tales of old said the Tuathade' Danann was forced into the little magics, theSidhe, the Fey, and Elves, lost before the days of Merlin. The wise knew Danu was only one name for the Great Mother, unable to be forced anywhere.
The Old Magic had spoken to them, manifested in the feast, demanding more and they had given more! Hermione was bedraggled, holding back her flame had left her with something akin to magical backlash now the power had returned to its marginally dormant state, lying under skin waiting.
Hermione sat in bed eyes half mast, hands wrapped around a hot toddy the mug slowly slipping. Severus gave a small smile as he pointed his wand banishing the cup to the kitchens.
Draco, if Severus had ever questioned what Draco would look pregnant, filled and brimming with life he knew now. Draco had released himself to the Old Magic, using himself as it demanded. Now he sat sipping mulled wine, lips and cheeks pink, eyes bright, bubbling with a cascade of emotions that Severus wasn't sure he wanted to put names to.
When he sat his cup to the side and walked to him, Severus was almost sure he was going to kiss him good night, almost; Draco held a wicked gleam in his eye. Instead he dropped to his knees rubbing his face along the wool of Severus' trousers. He didn't speak as he sat back on his haunches reaching for Severus' belt.
Severus contemplated denying him. Draco's lips bloomed into a smile at Severus' indecisiveness; his hands worked the buckle and started to edge along the waist of Severus' pants, soft brushes against his skin, firm grip pulling it over the growing tent.
Hermione watched them through sleep laden eyes; Draco was beautiful, it would be an insult to call him less. Severus was striking, that nose or not. There was something about the way he looked at Draco especially, but both of them often enough; predatory, that left her holding her breath ... waiting ... for something she had no name for.
Seeing them together in bed left her on sexual tenterhooks, Severus always dominant, Draco always submissive to him, it sent delicious shivers down her spine. Severus moaned and her flittering mind again focused on the men in the room.
Draco laid a line of kisses to the underside of Severus' cock, the head glistened. Draco had taken him in his mouth at some point.
Her view was blocked when Draco moved, then Severus grabbed his pony tail pulling it taunt, she could hear the suction break as Draco released Severus' cock.
"I am still filled with dark Draco."
Draco hummed. Hermione fought the urge to laugh. Draco, horny Draco, didn't care about warnings.
"I will hurt you! Do you understand me?" demanded Severus.
"I want you to hurt me!" Draco begged, "But you won't."
Hermione fought the sound of shock that tried to force past her lips at Severus', "I can't!"
"No, you won't," challenged Draco.
"I won't argue with you!" snarled Severus.
"Good, fuck me!" demanded Draco.
Severus sneered gripping Draco's queue tighter jerking his head up, "Little kitties can be hurt, or would you rather I hit your nose with the prophet?"
"I'd rather you choke me with your cock," replied Draco.
Severus stilled at the salvo, conjuring a compactly rolled paper and smiled, "You will obey me boy."
Draco's back became rigid. Hermione was sure he'd taken a breath and forgot to release it while Severus spoke. Releasing the ponytail Severus pulled him close, Hermione couldn't hear what was whispered, but she saw the lowering of taunt shoulders, the slow release of held breath, paper falling to floor, soft kisses.
She felt soothing love and something stern, unknown. She closed her eyes this moment she would not intrude on, unlike the passion this tenderness was theirs.
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The next few weeks were tense. The word had spread about what had happened at Imbolc, speculation was rife. Even Lucius refrained from his usual information gathering, giving them a considering look. He pulled them in tight hugs a silent admonishment of stay safe. He gifted Hermione yet another seat on a board, this time St Mungos, before following Luna on her hunt for the red hoofed Ashmore unicorn.
There was an excitement in the air tempered with fear. The purebloods and half-bloods were divided. The Muggleborn clueless confused at what the whispers meant, was it a new dark lord? Surprisingly the press was mute, as was the ministry.
Augusta argued with Blaise and Harry during dinner one night, insulting them on their ignorance of their history with savagery they'd only seen before from her in battle. Wild magic was being talked about. It was more than pretty fires, and the Goddess blessing on a handfasting. It was the wild magic, the magic of honey and wine, of birth and new life, of renewal.
More children were adopted, a slow migration if the ministry had bothered to look, they didn't. Hermione was forced to admit that Slytherin, house of self-serving bastards their reputation may have been, took care of their own.
In this new world these children unwanted by the victors were taken into loving homes. Millicent was one of dozens. No one encapsulated it more than Xylia Blauman nee Trelawney, yes cousin to that Trelawney. A year mate of Lucius, Xylia, had raised 2 sons to adulthood in her adopted home of Germany with her husband. Her youngest off to muggle University, she had appeared at the orphanage; auburn curls pulled into a chignon, boxes of colourfully wrapped muggle chocolate in shrunk in her handbag, and demanded "the most difficult of your bunch!"
Months later the Selwyn siblings were the Blaumans. The eldest, Corvus would be over heard whispering to Nathan Rosier, grandson of Evan; "I know she's me new mum, and I can tell she cares, but she's scarier than me dad, the dead one and he was a DeathEater!"
Hermione went to her first St Mungo's board meeting, a stirring debate formed on if to fund a new line of research on spell damage, Nundu blood apparently was found to aid in regenerating neural pathways, if it didn't kill the test subjects.
The astronomical cost of the blood, galleons for piddling drops, had the board members strongly bordering on no votes. The death of the testers made a no near certain, "How much blood do you need."
Heads swivelled to look at Hermione, "Pardon me?" St Claire head of the board he seemed to take it as a personal insult that she was there, Hermione pursed her lips.
"I asked how much blood, do you need?" asked Hermione.
"Are you offering to collect this blood, child? I'm sure your aid," St Claire's lip curled as if he was walking thru thestral stables, "in vanquishing He-Who-Must not be named was sufficient, that does not mean that you are powerful enough to obtain Nundu blood."
Hermione looked around the room. Most seemed content to allow St Claire his verbal evisceration of her; lest speaking out place them in his cross hairs. Hufflepuffs all of them, tender hearts, flobberworm for backbones! Severus seemed to have taken up even more space in her head.
Hermione smiled, "My name is Lady Hermione Prince, I'm told I am both a duchess and countess, and you, Mr St Claire, should note that I do not take kindly to the insult of girl. Nor was I a child when doing a man's job of helping my best friend to rid the world of evil."
Hermione cast her eyes over the room again. Interest in wary eyes, several lips crushed into thin lines to prevent smiles, she could work with this.
St Claire opened his mouth to speak, she spoke first. "My husband is the preeminent Potions Master in Britain, he has spent a lifetime amassing rare ingredients, and access to such. While you may not be able to pay for Nundu blood or this research, Lord Prince has not reached his dotage, and could be induced to provide his aid of access and knowledge as he'd done before, he did save Arthur Weasley when no one on your staff thought it could be done."
A murmur started, St Claire looked at her with hateful eyes, "Send Snape, we will talk."
Hermione thought back to the advice she had been given, Augusta's "Do not allow them to browbeat you." Lucius' advice of, "They are marginally powerful, bitter men, who will try their best to bring you to heel while insulting you, crush them before they crush you."
"You must think highly of my charms Mr St Claire, but I am not the one who must persuade him, that is your job. I am the representative of Lord Malfoy. I believe you said I was a mere mouth piece for my father-in-law. If you fail Sir, in getting Potion Master Severus Snape's aid, it is your failing, not mine."
St Claire met her eyes, glaring at Hermione; his nose flared, "There are rules gi..., Lady Prince!"
Hermione nodded, "Yes I know, rules demand obedience yet there are exceptions, however..." she thought of Lucius who had set her on these paths of intrigue, "my father in law is another matter. I am as I said merely a representative of the House of Malfoy, do as you will."
She would let them think what they liked, it mattered little, she had offered, if they failed Severus would still press along with the research, after all he had a small fortune of the blood in stasis.
When she trudged through the floo hours later, Draco met her mischief in his eyes, offering an aperitif as he slipped an arm around her waist.
"You wouldn't happen to know why St Mungos sent several owls requesting Severus' aid would you?"
Hermione coloured, "That was fast!" She turned to look at Draco, "Is he upset?"
Draco laughed, "Not very; they requested he come, he refused and told them to shove off. So they sent all the research they had instead. He cursed, shot a hex at the last owl, and locked himself in the lab. He's having the time of his life."
Hermione smiled "Good."
Days later sitting on the final day of Ron's third chess tournament surrounded by muggles, bored beyond belief, Hermione allowed her mind to wander.
Lucius in his munificence she sniggered, by placing her on these boards had given her what she would have been locked out of as a muggleborn, a position of power.
Hermione was not blind to the fact that the higher one got in the wizarding world the fewer muggleborns there were, she had believed just like she had with the Elves that she would have been strong enough to force change, now she knew better.
The muggleborns were disadvantaged by the Headmaster's insistence on treating pureblood therefore wizarding culture as hackneyed ideas no longer talked about or used. Even though it was impossible to reach the pinnacle of their society ignorant of wizarding traditions, Hogwarts' continued to handicap the muggleborns.
This habit of spurning culture meant that she was only one in a long line of muggleborns condemned to this crippled place in society. As a minority, it was only a matter of time before some new dark lord rose spewing hate, ready to purge those ignorant of wizarding history, and wizarding customs.
Dark lords attracted the traditionalists and had proved time and time again that they were capable of bringing the wizarding world to a crushing halt, while the rest of them bit their nails and waited for an Albus or a Harry.
Bonded, married to a pureblood, and a half-blood both heavily invested in the history and culture of this world, she would ensure the history of their families were passed on. One day she would have children with these men, and they would have histories as deep and varied as the wizarding world, and she wouldn't want them to feel ashamed. One could only admire Lucius ingenuity.
Polite clapping and sharp jab of Draco's elbow pulled her out of her musings. Ron was shaking hands, a small smile on his face.
"He won?" asked Hermione.
Draco laughed "of course!"
"What now?" asked Hermione?
"I hate to say it, but dinner, Molly cooked," replied Draco.
Hermione shot him a narrow eyed look, "Is this a friend thing or a benefactor thing?
"Friend, he invited you I accepted, as his benefactor father only has to attend magical tournaments."
Hermione smiled at Harry, and waved at Ron when he smiled towards the small knot of friends and family, grimacing as she stood, "You are lucky I love my friends, or I'd hex you."
Hermione girded herself for the chat Molly would pull her into, asking her if she was expecting yet. Them Molly would ask if she'd talked to a healer, or had the Professor made her something. Molly would tell her she was a married woman and with two husbands she had double opportunity to get pregnant. Hermione would smile and say they were waiting, and Molly would natter on until Draco, or Severus, once Harry saved her. She'd been ambushed at the Burrow, while walking in Diagon Alley, and once in the ladies of the Three Broomsticks!
Hours later, Hermione needed this day to end; it had been at least three hours too long already! Draco was discussing charms with Arthur who was ecstatic at the idea of TV, computers and other Muggle electronics working alongside magic. Leaving Hermione to coo at the baby, ignore Molly politely, and try her best not to hex Lavender with her snide remarks.
Draco had shot her yet another apologetic glance, when the floo lit up; Severus face floating in the green flames, Hermione considered squealing and jumping up and down as his voice floated out. She stooped at the floo with her purse before Arthur could finish inviting Severus to come through; Draco lowered himself next to her.
"Are you ok? Is the research coming along? Do you need help?" Hermione's and Draco's questions came swiftly.
Severus eyes gave a long look to their left, Hermione didn't need to look the entire Burrow was probably looking at them have this conversation.
Severus cleared his throat; a tinge of pink could be shown even through the green of the floo traveling across his cheeks, "Would it be impolite to ask my family to come home?"
Draco laughed, standing to reach for the floo pot, while tossing a "Sorry, got to go, lonely husband to see to," over his shoulder
Hermione took longer, giving hugs, and kisses before tossing in a handful of floo powder to spiral home.
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Ēostre, the Spring Equinox celebrating rebirth, arrived. The Triad went to the cottage; if the Old Magic rose, they wanted to be far from others. It was not worth the risk. The Old Magic did poke at their awareness seemingly happy to work its way thru the bond inflaming their senses. To Severus it told its first tale as it remembered Gaia, a tale of loneliness, of want and need.
The next morning they awoke to the meadow awash in flowers, all types and colours. Plum as she served breakfast smiled, "one day that will be your children, and children's children, plentiful as the flowers in the meadows."
Severus lip curled derisively "You dream of us breeding like Weasleys? Pray tell when have I ever appeared minutely paternal?"
Plum's cackling laugh was the only answer.
It was some weeks after this Hermione realizes that Severus has become rougher with Draco. It was clear watching Severus take Draco. Draco's legs throw over Severus' shoulders, as Draco reclined back on her; she touching Draco's smooth chest, murmuring words of encouragement as he races towards completion.
Severus barked "Don't you dare boy!" Draco begging her to, "Stop please Merlin stop," gasping her hands to his lips, his eyes glazed as Severus takes him. Finally Draco's spurting release as Severus tells him, "Now boy."
Draco's howling cries and tears Hermione dries with her peignoir, unable to not give Severus dirty looks.
Later Draco explained to Hermione just how welcomed Severus roughness was. Draco looked at Hermione with tearful eyes and told her, "Severus once told me, you may have me with all the love in my heart and none of the darkness of my soul." The tears start their journey down, "Hermione, I want his darkness." She pulls him close, promising to help him convince Severus.