Good Morning! Hope everyone is having a good weekend - I'd like to admit I'm currently have quite a productive one (yayayay). Here is the next installment for anyone who feels like reading - and Many Thanks to everyone who is reading!!!!
Chapter Twenty-Nine
As promised - or was it threatened - Danny kept Mac and Hermione confined to the bedroom for most of the day on Wednesday. As was often the case, Danny was the first to wake up finding himself on his back with Hermione curled into his side and Mac spooned behind her. He gently turned onto his side to face her, nose to nose, and brushed his hand along her cheek before lightly caressing her lips with his. The hand on her face moved round to the back of her neck to gently caress that spot where her neck met her shoulders, while at the same time he applied more pressure to her lips alternating holding her upper lip and lower lip between his own. He smiled into the kiss when he felt Mia respond and begin to wake, pulling away when he felt her eyelids flutter against his cheek. As Hermione lazily opened her eyes Danny was able to see desire within them particularly as they focused on his lips, and he quickly took advantage as he seized her lips once more this time finding his kiss returned with passion as she ran her tiny hands along his chest, moving them up to his head to hold him in place.
When they eventually parted for breath Danny opened his eyes to see that Mac was awake and watching them intently. Hermione noticed the direction of his stare and turned her head to look at the man behind her, very conscious of the fact that the two men in the bed with her were both partially naked and extremely close - which really did not help the pounding of her heart or the fire that burned within her. She couldn't stop the hope that filled her heart at the thought of waking up like this every morning, particularly as the two men leaned up to share their own morning kiss above her, increasing her heartbeat further as she watched the pair - the only words that came to mind were 'dear Merlin'. Hermione found herself running her tongue along her lips as she desperately wished she'd be kissed by Mac next, particularly when her own desires were combined with the sensations she was receiving from Danny. It felt like her body was on overload and she couldn't stop the moan from escaping her lips.
The sound caught the attention of the two men, and they parted to look down at her, both pairs of eyes filled with desire though the look in Mac's changed as he looked at her, and Hermione's breath caught in anticipation as he lowered his head towards her. Only to be filled with disappointment when he didn't kiss her at all, but simply whispered an apology within her ear before lying down once more at her side. Hermione closed her eyes to hide her disappointment, surprised to find herself struggling against tears at the force of her emotions and was extremely thankful when she felt Danny's lips on hers once more giving her an outlet for the passion she felt. She attacked the kiss as if their tongues were duelling for life and death, as if the very breath of life could only come from him.
Danny had felt the stab of disappointment go through Hermione at whatever it was Mac had said to her, felt it overwhelming the desire that had been there before. That was not how he wanted to start his morning and he found himself leaning down to kiss her, feeling an electrical charge as her passion returned - enhanced by his own. After a while he began softening the kisses as she calmed, until finally pulling away once more, seeing the contentment in her eyes that he was feeling from her. When he smiled down at her Hermione's look changed to gratitude and he knew she realised the reason for kissing her again. He leant down and whispered in her ear, just as Mac had done.
"It's gonna be okay." He said, and Hermione truly wanted to believe him otherwise waking up with the two men would not be as pleasant as she'd thought - more like torture, and really, she had enough of that already thank you very much.
At some point each of them left the bed to complete their morning routines, but they always returned, though the three ended up lying on the bed with the covers folded down at the bottom. They talked gently, a little bit about their families, a little bit about their pasts, some about the lab and their friends there, and eventually talking about Thanksgiving and the meal they'd be sharing with Stella the next day. Hermione asked what the dinner usually entailed and whether she should bring anything or not. From the description Mac gave it sounded like a Christmas dinner in England, so Hermione thought she'd be quite familiar with whatever might be expected of her at the other woman's meal. This led to the two men reminiscing about the first case each had shared with Stella, and their first cases as new cops, as Hermione listened with rapt attention.
Throughout the talking they continued lounging on the bed, the two men on their sides facing Hermione in the middle, and small light touches constantly being exchanged - whether it was brushing the hair off Hermione's face, clasping fingers with Danny, or simply fingers lightly stroking up and down arms - and this time Hermione found the light caresses to be soothing, especially when combined with the gentle conversations.
When they began to feel hungry after an hour or so after they woke Danny started to wheedle and cajole Hermione into using her magic to bring them something for breakfast from the kitchen without any of them having to get up. Mac had lain there quietly throughout Danny's coaxing, curious as to whether she would give in, and by what she could do with her magic. It was only when Danny suddenly straddled her and began tickling that Hermione finally gave in and agreed to summon breakfast from the kitchen. A few seconds later, as Danny was moving to allow Hermione to sit up once more, the door opened as breakfast entered - consisting of cartons of juice and milk, along with butter, cereal and bagels as well as the various glasses, bowls and eating utensils needed. Mac watched as the items drifted into the bedroom, catching the cartons of milk and orange juice before they could land on the bed, just as Danny caught the bowls and one of the glasses while Hermione caught the other two as the food landed gently on the bed in front of Hermione.
"You know," Mac began, "I really thought it would take me longer to get used to that."
"Get used to what?" Hermione asked.
"To see things flying around on their own." He said with a grin and making her smile in return.
"Yeh, imagine what else she could float." Danny remarked suggestively as he edged towards her once more.
"I'll float you off this bed if you try tickling me again!" Hermione threatened him, though her eyes shone with amusement. Mac chuckled beside her as he quite believed she would, and Danny made a show of pouting until both Mac and Hermione leant over, each placing a kiss to his cheeks.
The three placed the various items on the bedside tables having poured out bowls of cereal for each of them, and settled back to eat - the two men leaning back against the headboard while Hermione sat in the middle of the bed, facing them. Danny found great humour in the sight of the tough Mac Taylor eating a bowl of Cap'n Crunch for breakfast.
After finishing the cereal, Mac wondered how they were going to toast the bagels without going out to the kitchen to which Hermione simply smiled and pointed her wand at the bagel in his hand, lightly toasting it with a silent incantation and forcing Mac to switch it to his other hand when the heat reached his fingers. After buttering the slices he took a bite, giving her a wink and declaring it 'perfect' before finishing it off. Danny waited until she'd toasted his bagel as well before he started asking questions.
"Where do youse keep that?"
"Harry bought me a thigh holster last Christmas." She answered. "I always wear it, but most of the time it's spelled so it's not seen."
"Ya even wear it in bed?" Danny asked in disbelief.
Hermione sighed and looked at Mac.
"During your time in the Marines, were you ever posted to warzones?" She asked him.
"Yes."
"Did you ever let your guard down while you were there?"
"No."
"Being hunted is much the same - it will keep you on your guard, ready to run or fight with a second's notice. Constant vigilance." Her last two words were spoken as if they were a sad memory, and the two men each decided to leave that for another time.
"But youse said the fight was over now, the guy's dead. Shouldn't ya be safe now?" Danny pointed out.
Hermione gave another sigh, wishing that were the case. She looked again at Mac hoping he would understand, and was grateful when he answered for her.
"Sometimes it can take a while, when you get home, to break that mentality. You're always on guard - ready to act at the slightest sound that might be an attack." Mac remembered.
"Harry and I are both suffering that a little I guess."
And thus began Hermione's explanation of the last seven years, beginning with Voldemort's possession of Professor Quirrell and their efforts to keep the Philosopher's Stone from him in their first year. She told them of the various events over the years; the spells used and the Dark Magic; the fear, and the deaths. Their betrayals and anger, the joys and defeats, and their small victories - and all the while as she explained she still wasn't certain they could fully understand what she was telling them. But they listened attentively, asking questions at various points for clarification like the good detectives - the good criminalists - they were, trying to gain a better understanding of the perpetrators and the crimes committed. Occasionally one of them would ask her to demonstrate a spell, and when possible she would.
xxxx
The next time they wanted food one of the men would go out to the kitchen and quickly grab food that could then be prepared back in the bedroom so they didn't interrupt the woman's flow. For this reason they ended up eating sandwiches and salads, having an indoor picnic in the bedroom which would have been quite romantic - if not for the developing awareness the two men had of the dangers the teens had faced. Either Flack had left out a lot of information when he told them before of what had happened in England, or there was a lot people on the outside didn't know.
Mac was just considering this when there came a tapping noise from the window and the three turned to find a Kestrel tapping its beak against the glass as it tried to get their attention. Hermione rose from the bed and went over to the window wondering who the letter might be from, only to be filled with trepidation when she saw the American Ministry of Magic seal on the envelope, so much so the poor bird had to peck it's treat from between her fingers when she wouldn't give it to him after a couple of calls. The fact that the bird had to yell for a treat and Hermione's apparently entranced state at whatever the letter was, drew the men's curiosity as each got up to see what was so fascinating about an envelope that she hadn't even opened yet.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Mac asked as they reached her and he stood beside her as Danny hugged her from behind.
"Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Danny read the envelope over her shoulder. "Why are the magic cops writin' to you?"
"I'm not sure." Hermione's worry was easily heard in those few words as she opened the envelope to read the letter. As she did a note fell out and Mac bent to retrieve it.
"It's a note from Don. "You guys are lucky this came through to my desk. Good to know Mia is settling in – here's the paperwork you need. Flack." What paperwork?" Mac asked as he peered up from the note only to see Hermione bite her lip in that way she does when she's reluctant to say whatever's on her mind.
Danny tightened his hold around her waist when he felt Hermione try to move way and he settled his head on her shoulder to look down at the odd parchment in her hands.
"Are we in trouble or somethin'?" He asked from beside her ear.
"No." Hermione replied, though she sounded more like she was saying yes, then she went back to silently biting her lip as she re-read the document once more.
After several moments of her silence – and her refusal to look at either man - Mac gave a tilt of his head towards the bed, receiving a grin from Danny as the younger man then picked Hermione up by the waist and carried her over to the bed and sitting her between them both - never releasing his arms from around her waist the entire time.
"I've done too much magic today." Hermione said quietly by means of explanation, though this didn't help either man's confusion.
"There's a limit on how much magic you can do?" Mac queried.
"Normally no, but remember that I told you about the Secrecy Act, that magic isn't supposed to be done in front of Muggles. And I've been doing that all day." She explained further.
"But, I thought we were exceptions ta that." Danny recalled.
"To recognise an exception, the people in charge have to be told about it." Mac realised, which led to another question. "Who actually knows you're here, or why?"
"Well, the Weasleys know about the Blood Contract as I was at the Burrow - their house - when we found out about it, and I went to Professor McGonagall to learn more and ask her advice. But from then on I did all the research on my own until I found Danny, and then I only told Harry that I was going to New York."
"That's all? Ya ain't told anyone else?" Danny asked, hurt that she would hide their relationship from everyone she knew.
"Well I didn't exactly know what I'd be finding - the type of person you might be, or if you were even free to marry." She rationalised, leaving out the facts that he wasn't fee to marry her and that she still wasn't sure there would be a marriage.
"But now ya found me and ya do know." Danny argued with her, sounding as if he expected her to put out an announcement the next day, while Hermione looked at him with troubled eyes.
"So, who actually knows about this?" Mac asked quietly watching her intently, he could tell there was something she wasn't saying but he couldn't tell what that might be.
"Well, of course Harry knows, and you've told Detectives Flack and Bonesera."
"And that's it? No-one else knows about us?" Danny virtually demanded.
"I would have thought that was better for the time being, until we know things for sure." Hermione told him quietly, earning an odd look from Mac that she couldn't interpret.
"What's the paperwork?" He asked before Danny could say something that might be regretted later.
"Um, it's a form I have to fill out - that we have to fill out - that states that I live here, with you, and the nature of our relationship." She informed them.
"So, ya fill that in and ya don't get inta trouble doin' magic in ya own home." Danny clarified.
"No, I don't." Hermione confirmed
"Then let's see what we need to fill out." Mac said as he took the parchment from her hands and began reading the document himself.
It turned out to be a fairly simple form that the three had to sign confirming that one Miss Hermione Jean Granger, a recognised Witch, now lives at 12A/G St Joseph Apartments, Bridge Street, Brooklyn along with Mr Mackenna Taylor and Mr Danny Messer, both recognised as Muggles. As for the description of their relationship, Hermione put just one word - Bonded - being unable to think of how else to describe their trial arrangement. After all three had signed, Hermione placed the parchment into a new envelope and gave it to the waiting Kestrel for return delivery, who stopped preening and left as soon as she opened the window once more. As Hermione watched the bird fly away her thoughts were troubled by the significance of the papers they had just returned, and particularly by the fact that Mac either hadn't read through the form properly or was unconcerned that they hadn't completed the form correctly to legally bind their intentions.
"So youse officially live here now!" Danny said with a wide grin as he stood and embraced her once again, and Hermione felt the happiness within him seep into her soul, making it lighter. However her eyes were on Mac, and she was still not sure if this was something he truly wanted, whether this relationship was something he could do. She wondered if either of them realised the significance of the papers they had just glibly signed, and she found herself hoping that maybe Mac just hadn't read the part that stated the requirement of blood for the form to be officially recognised.
xxxx
That night as they slept, Danny and Mac talked during the dream as they pinned Memory-Hermione's tiny body in between theirs with the knowledge that they could protect her from some of the injuries to come. Even with the evidence of their own eyes to tell them what the dark haired woman could do with a flick of her wrist, it was still difficult for the two men to comprehend some of the events Hermione had described that day, and Mac wondered once again about being able to read those files Flack had about the fight against the man called Voldemort.
"Well, it was bound ta been reported in the papers. There must be back issues we can check through." Danny suggested.
"That's true." Mac replied. "But remember how Mia said they were controlled by the Ministry for a while, and they didn't exactly report the truth during that time."
"Yeh, there's that." Danny agreed reluctantly. "But there's gotta be other sources we can try."
There was no time to think about this though as their tormentor asked about the sword before sending the spell to slice at Memory-Hermione's skin. Having watched so often, each man knew by heart where each cut began and ended, and this time Danny placed his arm across Hermione's stomach where the first would go as Mac knelt to place his arms across her hips for the next cuts. They were not able to cover all the areas that would be cut this time and Memory-Hermione still bled, but where their bodies had been in contact with hers, there appeared more shallow cuts, with less blood flowing from each.
Neither man knew yet what to do about the crucio, but at least they had found a way to protect her from such severe blood loss - though this was little consolation as she lay on the floor being crushed.
"We still haven't told her about this yet." Danny remarked as he placed a tender kiss to the unconscious woman's forehead as they waited for the man to come in and signal a renewal of her pain.
"No."
There was something in Mac's tone that caught Danny's attention.
"Is there some reason we shouldn't?" He queried.
"No, no real reason not to." Mac wasn't looking at Danny as he answered and was instead intently examining the woman lying in front of them. When his words were met with silence from the other man, he resumed voicing his line of thought. "She still doesn't seem conscious of the dream or anything that happens within it, and she doesn't appear to be aware that we've altered parts."
"That's true, but is that reason not to tell her?" Danny persisted.
"No, not really. But if what we manage to do here has no effect on her in reality, is there a point in mentioning it at all? I don't want to give her false hope Danny, not unless we know for sure we're doing any good." Mac reasoned, and Danny saw his meaning well enough.
"If it makes no difference, why do we try?" The younger man still needed answers.
"Can you honestly just stand back and watch her suffer?" Mac replied, just as the door opened and the man they now knew to be their tormentor's husband walked in. Although Mac would be hard pressed to say he'd ever noticed any love between Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange.
When Hermione was woken up for the next round of pain the two men took their positions front and back of her, once again creating a human shield around her. They stood between her and the fireballs to come, and because of this she remained on her feet when it came time for those horrendous flaying spells. Danny stood in front of her as close as possible with his head resting against the side of hers allowing him to place gentle kisses down her neck, while Mac stood just as close behind her with his head the other side of hers.
"If we can't stop the cuts, we have to move back to let them be sealed." Mac said gently, yet loud enough for the other man to hear as Danny felt the balls of heat go through him in their effort to impact the woman he was protecting.
The idea of letting the witch burn Hermione, when that was one of the things they could save her from was galling but Danny knew Mac was right - the only reason Hermione was alive and in their arms in real life is because she didn't bleed to death when the wounds were closed. Danny hoped with every fibre of his being that they could stop the gouges, even if only by lessening the severity of the cuts. The wait felt like an eternity, until Mac pulled back very slightly to see what damage had been done to her allowing Danny to peer over her shoulder. The grin that split his face at the cuts criss-crossing her back was matched equally by the one he found on Mac's when each looked up again as Mac pressed up against Memory-Hermione's back once more.
Cuts.
Not gouges.
Accompanied by this new knowledge each man seemed to hold the woman in their arms just a bit tighter in the midst of the final onslaught of explosions, cuts and burns until peaceful sleep came to the three.
xxxx
The first thing Hermione became aware of was the feeling of being safe and protected. She'd become accustomed to the feeling of being protected since she started sleeping between the two men, but this morning there was something different about the feeling, something more. Danny was holding her so tight that it was almosty difficult to breathe yet the rest of his body was relaxed in sleep as he lay pressed into her side as close as possible. While on her other side Mac lay over her, almost possessively, his head was lying against hers and his right arm lay across her body, his hand holding her face and keeping her head against his. And she couldn't see sufficiently with her eyes to be certain but she thought she felt the curve of his lips in a smile against her cheek as he slept.
But it wasn't their positions that provoked the feeling that something was different, she was sure of that, and it took her several moments to realise what exactly was different, and when she did, she was stunned by the knowledge. This morning there had been none of the lingering effects of torment that she always woke up with. It wasn't that she woke with any sort of pain or even discomfort, at least not since sharing her nights with the two older men, but there was always that knowledge of what had transpired, the lingering vulnerability and the remembered humiliation of everything that happened in that room. Yet this morning, as she lay surrounded by arms and bodies and legs, she felt only peace as her soul rested lightly, surrounded by a feeling of... Well she wasn't quite sure what it was really - it was warmth, and comfort, and being treasured.
When Hermione was younger she once asked her mother how her parents had met and how she had known that he was the man she loved. Her mother had told her that while at College they'd attended the same Christmas Ball and he'd asked her to dance, and while in his arms she'd felt safety, comfort, strength, warmth and happiness together with the overwhelming feeling of love. That, her mother had told Hermione, was when she knew they would spend their lives together. At the time young Hermione had dismissed the story as a bedtime fairytale, but as she lay there between Mac and Danny that morning she knew what her mother had meant. Hermione realised that was the difference - what she felt in that moment of time was how she thought love should feel like.
xxxx
