As always, all things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Beta'd by the exceptionally wonderful Kaelin Rae, who I dug out of retirement to take care of the errors I manage to write into this story. I will get another chapter up as soon as possible; however, I am also working on a challenge fic (The fairytale challenge over on Granger Enchanted, and it will only be posted there). This story is quite close to done. Five or so more chapters and that is it.
Chapter Twenty-five:
With a swirl of black smoke, Lucius and Hermione appeared in the entrance hall, straight across from their quarters. When Lucius tightened his grip on her hand and began dragging her toward her rooms, Hermione dug in her heels and screeched, "What are you doing! I've still got an hour of Ancient Runes and I already missed enough!"
Lucius growled so loudly Hermione actually flinched back from him, or tried to. He jerked her body around so hard her head snapped back as she was pulled flush into his strong chest. With one arm anchored around her waist, he said in a voice that was deceptively calm, "I've warned you repeatedly, witch. Andonis already stole one wife from me and I will not tolerate you placing yourself in a position where he can steal you as well."
Hermione instantly softened, at least, outwardly. Lucius Malfoy showing any type of weakness was an absurdity and she could not help but feel his desperation. "Lucius, listen to me, please. I know he is an untrustworthy bugger, but you can trust me. Not only that but my Father has insisted on a full course-load ending in twelve NEWTs, so if I don't take this class, he will avada me!"
Lucius' right arm felt like a steel band around her waist as he dug his left hand into her hair at the nape of her neck. She felt his breath on her lips and his nose tickling hers as he whispered, "I will get you private instruction. I will hire the best Ancient Runes Master in the wizarding world to teach you runes if you would like."
Hermione leaned into his embrace and placed a tender kiss upon his lips. Exhaling against his mouth, she whispered, "That is very thoughtful of you Minister, however, do you think you could get me a new professor for Divination instead?"
Lucius laughed loudly, causing Hermione to jump in surprise at his sudden change in mood. With a wicked smirk, he began dragging her toward her Ancient Runes class. It was after four p.m., which left her less than an hour of class.
The closer they got to Ancient Runes, the more nervous Hermione got. Pure testosterone was flowing off Lucius in waves. "Why don't you just piss on my leg and let me walk myself?" Hermione asked playfully. "I'm perfectly capable of getting to class on my own you know."
"Oh, I know only too well. I am not escorting you for your sake, my dear," Lucius said with a smirk as they reached the door to the Ancient Runes classroom.
Lucius did not even bother to knock; he simply thrust the door open and escorted Hermione to the only empty desk in the classroom. Andonis was lounging against his desk when they entered, leering nastily at Padma Patil, who looked incredibly uncomfortable under his attentions.
The moment his eyes landed on Lucius he jumped to his feet with one of the famous Malfoy smirks and spoke to Hermione without removing his gaze from his cousin. "I believe that will be detention with me this evening after dinner, Miss Black. I wasn't informed snogging with the Minister for Magic was an acceptable excuse for apparating out of class."
Lucius returned Andonis' cold stare as he settled Hermione at her desk, his hands never leaving her shoulders. Leaning down slowly, he pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her neck amid dreamy sighs from the witches in the room.
Pulling himself to his full height, he spoke calmly to the other Malfoy in the room. "Andonis, you very well might have landed a professor position at this school, and I applaud you for once in your miserable life gaining employment, however, you will not spend one second alone with my fiancée outside of class."
Andonis sneered angrily, "Luc, you have no right to tell me how to teach my students!"
Lucius cut him off quickly. "Andy, The Dark Lord called her and it matters not where she was when he needed her. If you insist on this preposterous detention idea, you can inform Lord Voldemort yourself. Do me a favour and allow me to be present when he puts your lecherous arse back in its place."
Andonis' face turned thunderous as muted laughter overtook his classroom and he turned his back, dismissing them both with a barked out, "Finish reading the chapter!" to the class.
Lucius winked at Hermione and whispered, "I shall see you at dinner, pet," before leaving the classroom still whispering and giggling at how the Minister of Magic had told their professor off.
Hermione hurried out of Ancient Runes before any other student could reach the door. Andonis Malfoy was a pain in the arse and began yelling for her to come back before she had even grabbed her bag. He would have caught her had Pansy and Draco not intercepted him.
She had been planning to visit the hospital wing all day and had not gotten a chance yet, so she split from Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass and headed up the stairs. The two muggleborns bitten by Greyback were still under Madam Pomfrey's care, and in stable condition, but werewolf bites were hard to heal.
Both children, a girl and boy, sat cross-legged on the two beds closest to the infirmary doors, playing exploding snap as if they had no cares in the world. Hermione exhaled a breath in relief; she was more worried than she liked to admit. Greyback was quickly becoming a massive problem and Hermione could only hope they would have him dealt with soon, and preferably without having to send Remus back into the pack.
Hermione sat with Landon and Jennifer for about twenty minutes, all the while assuring them that they would not turn into werewolves, and that their sense of smell and sight would improve. They seemed to believe her, considering a werewolf who had not transformed had bitten her. The only previous encouragement had come from Madam Pomfrey who was quite famous for her "Oh it will be fine dear, drink your potion," approach to most disease and illness.
Jennifer was in the process of showing Hermione how she could levitate a sickle in her palm, when a loud scream came from a curtained off bed at the end of the infirmary. Hermione had not noticed it before; it was in the shadows by Madam Pomfrey's office.
The mediwitch had just left to speak with Headmaster Snape, so Hermione drew her wand and walked to the curtained-off bed to check on the patient. No further screaming pierced the quiet, so Hermione cautiously drew back the curtain, only to see Ginny Weasley lying pale and shaking on the narrow cot.
Upon spotting Hermione, Ginny's bright brown eyes filled with endless tears. She seemed to go from relatively calm, to completely hysterical in two seconds. Her dainty body was jerking with sobs as tears streamed down her freckled cheeks in an unbroken river.
Hermione grabbed a calming draught and had to plug Ginny's nose to force her to swallow it. It took a full five minutes for the girl to calm enough to begin talking, but once she did, Hermione wished she had not started.
Her words were interspersed with sniffles and her voice seemed child-like. "Oh Merlin, Hermione, Harry is dead! Madam Pomfrey said my family is dead, Harry is dead, and you are a Death Eater! Please tell me she's lying, Hermione. You wouldn't be a Death Eater, right? Where is my family, Hermione? Where is Harry!"
Hermione's eyes grew to the size of galleons as she slowly backed from the hysterical redhead. She shot a stunner at Ginny and rushed out of the infirmary, almost running bodily into Madam Pomfrey as the doors closed behind her.
Before she could open the doors to slip inside, Hermione asked, "Did Ginerva Weasley lose her memory, Madam Pomfrey?"
The mediwitch gave her a nasty look, turning her nose up and replying, "She believes she is eleven years old, Miss Black. She lost everything after the chamber of secrets incident." Madam Pomfrey slipped inside the hospital wing before Hermione could question her further, not that she had any clue what to say.
Turning and walking back toward the entrance hall, she stopped in her room to deposit her bag before dinner. She glanced around her room and took a moment to gather herself. Gathering her heavy hair from the back of her neck, she arranged it in a knot high on her head and secured it with her wand like Amaya and Pansy taught her. She wanted to show off the Slytherin crest her Father tattooed on the back of her neck.
Hermione pulled her door closed behind her as she left and turned to head to the great hall when she noticed Lavender Brown sneaking around her fiancé's door. Lavender looked up and her inquisitive expression immediately turned into an unattractive sneer.
"What have you done with Ginny?" Lavender asked in a nasty tone the moment she spotted Hermione.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, leaned against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest, and chose to ignore the question. "Do you realize where you are? Students are not allowed in this corridor. My Father would flay you alive if he caught you sneaking around our private rooms."
Lavender laughed like a hyena and glanced around to make sure they were alone before spitting, "Your Father would... you sound like the Ferret. Being pureblooded gone to your overinflated head, Hermione? Harry and Ron would spin in their graves if they could see you now. You'll always be the mudblood of the golden trio, you ugly bookworm."
Hermione did not even flinch; instead, she smiled prettily at Lavender and sent a pointed glance over the girl's shoulder to where Lord Voldemort and Headmaster Snape had just exited the Headmaster's private chambers.
Lord Voldemort extended one pale, long fingered hand and beckoned Hermione to his side while glancing Lavender up and down in a purely dismissive way. "What a brave little Gryffindor this one is, eh Severus?"
Severus Snape smirked nastily and replied, "Unfortunately, although bravery and being entirely too open with her charms are the only things this one has going for her."
Lord Voldemort made a soft noise of contemplation as he stared into Lavender Brown's eyes. For her part, the snotty Gryffindor looked as if she would piss herself standing there and Hermione could swear she detected a tear in the corner of Lavender's right eye.
The Dark Lord stepped into Lavender's personal space and smirked when the frightened girl gulped audibly. "I don't suppose you are stupid enough to believe I would let you get away with saying such outlandish things to my daughter, are you?"
Lavender seemed to wobble a little on her feet and shook her head side to side so fast her blonde hair danced back and forth over her shoulders. "Please My Lord, Hermione, I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Ginny, please...," she mumbled as she attempted to back up from Lord Voldemort but was stopped by the wall at her back.
The Dark Lord chuckled at her fearful display and asked, "Princess would you like me to let you handle this?"
Hermione grinned at her Father and turned to Lavender slowly. Wiping all emotion from her face, she calmly stated, "No thank you Father, she isn't worth my time."
Lavender blinked and looked back and forth between Hermione and The Dark Lord before turning tail and hauling arse as soon as Severus said, "Best run along then, little Gryffindor."
Hermione laughed before linking arms with her Father and Severus as they began a leisurely walk to the Great Hall for dinner. "Father, what in Merlin's name happened to Ginerva Weasley?" she asked, feeling Severus' arm flinch under her hand as she voiced the question.
She turned to give Severus a questioning glance as Lord Voldemort began explaining. "Apparently the tiny sliver of my soul that was embedded in the diary overpowered Ginerva to the point it remained dominant all this time. Once it was removed and I reabsorbed it, she was left in the mentality of an eleven year old. It is quite tragic, I assure you. Severus is understandably upset."
Severus scoffed and replied, "Upset? Hardly, I'm merely examining my options now that I find myself unattached once again."
Hermione blinked up at the Headmaster and asked, "Unattached? Surely you could give her a little time to recover, and go ahead with the wedding."
Severus pulled his arm free and looked down his hooked nose at Hermione while saying nastily, "Be realistic, Hermione. The girl might as well be eleven years old again and while I might be many things, a paedophile is not one of them."
Hermione cringed and nodded, conceding his point as she followed the men into the Great Hall and split to join Lucius at the Slytherin table. He refused to sit at the head table without her and it made her smile widely at seeing him waiting for her.
"You couldn't have been at the ministry long," Hermione whispered to Lucius as she ran her fingers through his silky blond locks. Sitting down beside him, she gripped his right hand with her left and began running her fingers over his knuckles as she ate with her right.
"No, purely visited to get an update on how things have run while I've been away. Considering the success earlier with your Father, I believe I'll be able to return to my duties tomorrow," Lucius commented, before leaning over and placing a soft kiss to her cheek.
"Success...? It looked to me as if it was killing him, Lucius. Did he honestly give up immortality for me?" Hermione asked, as she gazed at her Father sitting in his place at the head table.
Lucius chuckled and pulled her into his side before leaning against her and whispering in her ear, "Yes, he did, my pet. I don't suppose I should inform you how imperative it is that you speak of this to no one." Lucius paused and ran his tongue over the shell of her ear before continuing. "If this got out I'm sure there are witches and wizards remaining who would attempt to take advantage. Not to mention Greyback."
Hermione shivered and released his hand, placing hers on his thigh as she settled against his side and asked, "Have there been any leads on Greyback?" Hermione glanced up and met Pansy and Daphne's eyes across the table, smirking with them when she noticed they were watching her interaction with Lucius carefully. Slytherins were such voyeurs.
Lucius started to reply, but a frantic third year raced into the hall screaming, "There's someone leaning over the rail of the Astronomy Tower yelling about jumping!"
It seemed as if the entire great hall jumped to their feet at the same time and rushed out the door. Hermione and Lucius glanced at the head table, and apparated a moment after The Dark Lord and Headmaster did.
Lucius apparated them both to the top of the stairs in the Astronomy Tower and Hermione's breath caught when she recognized Ginerva Weasley standing on the railing. The redhead was shaking violently and sobbing loudly as her feet kept inching forward an inch and then pulling back. Her hands were white with tension as she gripped the window casing and her red hair was blowing wildly in the wind.
The girl seemed to tense when she heard Lord Voldemort, Severus, Lucius, and Hermione. She went from looking as if she did not want to be there to looking as though she was about to jump. Hermione glanced around the room in panic, having absolutely no clue what to do in this situation. It did not appear as if the others were anymore capable of handling it.
Ginny's eyes were hard as she glanced back and yelled, "You Death Eaters just stay away from me! I'm not a traitor and you can't make me take the dark mark!"
Hermione took one single step forward with her hand outstretched and in a placating voice said, "Ginny, listen to me please. Things are not as they were, and you have had an accident with your memories. I'm sure once you remember what's going on it will be fine, just step back from the rail."
Ginny flinched and the tears began again as she stared Hermione down, biting off each word she spoke. "I don't care how things are you, you...TRAITOR," she said, her voice rising to a ragged scream on the last word. "I want to be with Harry and my family!" She jumped. It happened incredibly fast. One moment she was there, the next she was not, and screams could be heard from the ground.
The occupants of the room rushed to the railing and looked over. The sight of the last Weasley lying motionless on the ground was not unexpected, despite being macabre. Hermione sighed deeply and closed her eyes to avoid the sight, before turning her back to the rail.
Lord Voldemort ran his hand over her back and said, "You can fix it if you would like. Not that it would fix her mind, but you can give her life back."
Hermione smiled, though her eyes stayed hard and whispered, "No, I think not Father. It's what she wanted," before grabbing Lucius' hand and walking away without another glance at the broken doll on the grounds of Hogwarts.