1976
While Hermione was planning Arthur's first birthday, Theo was putting together a suitable alias to catch Ursula's eye. He wished that the roles were reversed. Arthur has grown so quickly over the past month, and it was now clear that he took after his father in both looks and temperament. Theo promised to give his son the childhood he hadn't been offered.
But instead, he'd been off to the muggle world to find a suitable man to steal hairs from. Eventually he found one, a man in his late thirties, with dark hair and strong arms. Surely a woman like Ursula would find the muscle pretty to look at? If anything, it was a vast improvement over Alfred.
Theo didn't know much about his step-mother, as he'd been thinking of her thus far. He couldn't understand what would have drawn Ursula and Alfred together in the first place. Of course, Alfred thought that he needed an heir and Ursula probably just wanted prestige and money, but he couldn't figure out what it was would hold the pair of them together.
Taking his polyjuice potion, Theo watched in the mirror as his own features bubbled away and were replaced by someone else's. Hazel colored eyes and smile lines around his lips. He wondered if Hermione would prefer the muggle to himself, feeling the well muscled frame that he now possessed. Suddenly, he could understand how insecure she had felt whenever he would stare at her when she'd been disguised as Dahlia.
The muggle was shorter than Theo was, but not by much. As he made his way out of their basement potions lab, Theo stuck his head into the library where he knew that Hermione was working with Arthur. "I'm off to meet with Ursula," he said, breaking her concentration.
Hermione's eyes widened a bit when she saw the unusual man with an unusual voice standing in her home, before she settled realizing that it was just him. "Good luck," she wished him before biting her lip. "Are you sure that you're comfortable with your story?"
Theo bristled at the way that she second guessed him. She was always questioning him, like he wasn't able to do anything on his own. "I think I can handle her," he answered, trying to keep his temper. "Not sure when I'll be back. Could be late."
He wasn't sure if that was a look of disappointment on her face. He catalogued so many of Hermione's looks, each one of them burned into his brain.
Diagon Alley was just a short apparition trip. He'd been tracking Ursula's movements and he found that she typically went there on Mondays and Thursdays to do some shopping. She had her usual route, one that had not deviated in the month that he'd been following her.
Walking down the cobbled street, he saw his prey striding down the road looking confident and snobby, a caricature of what a pureblood woman should be. She wasn't able to seamlessly fit into their society, not like Hermione had. She obviously came from a family without much wealth or prestige and was enamored by the lifestyle that Alfred was able to provide for her. It was worth all the shite that he'd obviously put her through.
Ursula was tall and thin, with butter blonde hair and a proliferation of freckles across her face. He was sure that when she was younger she might have been cute, but now her looks were just severe and hard. Her eyes were brown, but ordinary, nothing like the bright, warm brown Hermione had. She was wearing purple robes, which were decidedly not her color.
Striding towards her, Theo let his foot catch hers as she walked by, sending her tumbling down, catching herself on the pavement. A quick wave of her wand had her large opal ring cracking in two.
"Oh I'm so sorry miss — terribly clumsy of me," he said, kneeling down next to her. "Look at your poor hands," he added, seeing the palms were scratched and small drops of blood were beginning to well up under the red skin.
Ursula was immediately dumbstruck by the handsome muggle, her cheeks flushing when he looked down at her with that slow smile, as though he was seeing her the first time. "Oh, it's fine," she insisted, allowing him to help her up, his arm wrapped around her waist.
"Let me heal them for you. It's the least I can do after hurting you," he said drawing his wand. "My mother always said I had two left feet."
Theo took his time healing the cuts, letting his fingers linger against her skin for longer than was strictly necessary. When he looked up again at her, he saw that she was quite affected. Salazar, he wished any of this would have worked for him while he'd been at school.
"There you are," he said, turning her hand over, only to pretend to notice the ring. "Merlin, it looks like I've broken your ring, too. The opal has cracked completely. Really, I insist that I pay to have it fixed."
She gave him a look that broadcast his generosity was appreciated. "That would be lovely, Mister...?"
"Fulton," he answered with a smile. "Constantin. And you are?"
"Ursula Nott," she greeted, leaving her hand in his. "There is a jeweler just around the corner if you don't mind?"
Nodding in agreement, Theo offered her his arm, which she happily took, uncaring of who might see the pair of them together. "It's the least that I can do," she said again, hoping that he sounded suitably sorry.
"I don't believe that we've met before Constantin," she said, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "I think I'd remember you from Hogwarts if you'd gone there."
"I was at Durmstrang, actually. My mother thought it would strengthen my resolve going there," he lied, not wanting to give away too much of his cover story just yet.
They entered into the little jeweler and Ursula slipped off the ring. Theo knew that it would be a trivial thing to fix, but he would leave the repair to the goblin that owned the shop.
"I wish that I could stay and wait for the ring to be fixed, but I must be off or my husband will worry," she said, looking up at him through veiled lashes.
Theo breezed right over the mention of her husband and tried to look disappointed. "Oh, I thought we might grab a drink after this," he said. Constantin certainly didn't care if she had a husband and by the delighted look on Ursula's face, neither did she. "Some other time then?"
Ursula giggled — a horrid, grating laugh — before shaking her head. "We'll see," she teased, only to turn and leave him behind in the shop.
If Ursula wanted to be chased, he would do it, just so long as her husband learned that it was happening. Turning to the goblin, he rested his hands on the jewelry case. "Could you make a necklace to match? I'd like to send it to her."
He was more sure of it than he'd been before. It wouldn't take much for Ursula to be swayed into a dalliance with someone other than Alfred. She was nearly half way there with a look and a handful of words. But, he couldn't let himself relax for even a moment until Ursula was out of the picture. As long as she was married to Alfred, she was a threat to his very existence.
"You keep an apiary?" Hermione asked, sounding as surprised as she felt. She was positive that nothing Bellatrix said or did could surprise her at this point, but being shown the small collection of her hives was almost too much. Was Bellatrix really a beekeeper? Hermione didn't even know that it was a hobby in the wizarding world.
"Oh, don't sound so incredulous," Bellatrix said with a smirk on her face. "I feel such a kindred spirit with bees?"
"Because they sting people?" Hermione asked, past caring if Bellatrix would be offended at this point. She liked to think that she understood the other woman fairly well at this point, and where her sense of humor lied.
"That too," Bellatrix answered with a pretty laugh. "No, because they make all the flowers possible. Bees move from plant to plant pollinating as they go and leaving the world a better place without anyone even really seeing them. That's what I am trying to do by transferring Voldemort's vision."
"His vision to make the world a better place?" Hermione said, thinking that that sounded even more outlandish than learning about the bees.
Bellatrix pouted for a moment, walking from hive to hive. "Well it's true. Think of how lovely the world will be when those filthy mudbloods are finally in their proper place," she said, a dark look coming over her pretty features, reminding Hermione of the woman she would one day be.
"I suppose it does sound pretty good when you put it that way," Hermione agreed.
"And I just like the honey," Bellatrix added with a shrug. "Rodolphus likes it too. There was one time that I drizzled some all the way down from my lips to my navel and he licked it all off."
Hermione had quickly learned that Bellatrix and Rodolphus we're constantly in an on again off again relationship. There were times when they genuinely liked each other...or at least genuinely liked to fuck. But, there were other times, darker times, when the cracks in their relationship would grow. Times when Bellatrix became a bit too devoted to the Dark Lord or times when Rodolphus caught a passing fancy. It seemed as if now was one of the times when they were back on.
She snorted at the idea. "I didn't think that Rodolphus had it in him. He doesn't seem like the kind of man who would do that," Hermione said, thinking that it really did not jive with the Rodolphus she'd had the misfortune of getting to know.
"Oh, he isn't really," Bellatrix said with another smirk. "But then, I am used to getting what I want."
Hermione felt her eyes widen at that. She would not have guessed that Rodolphus would allow his wife to boss him around, least of all in the bedroom, but then again, Bellatrix was a force of nature.
Leading them to the little veranda that day off the back of the Lestranges' home, Bellatrix called for drinks once they were seated. Before Hermione could blink, a house elf was handing her a gin drink with a thick grapefruit peel in it. Taking a sip, she appreciated the refresher with how hot it was.
"Today is the kind of day that I wish we didn't have to wear robes all the time," she confessed to Bellatrix. Looking over at the other witch, she was positive Bella must be boiling in her all black robes, but she didn't even appear flushed.
"You don't have to wear robes in front of me. I won't tattle on you," Bellatrix answered.
While Hermione knew that it would be unacceptable to strip down, she wouldn't stop herself from lifting up her skirts until they were above her knees, kicking off her shoes. It was nice to feel a bit of cool breeze on them. She let her eyes slip closed and dropped her head back, enjoying the moment.
It was Rodolphus who broke her from the relaxed state she was in. "Nice legs, Nott," he said with a lascivious grin on his face. "Think you could lift your skirts a little more."
Her eyes snapped open and Hermione pushed her robes back down around her ankles when she saw Rodolphus and Lucius Malfoy standing there, staring at her. She looked cross, but Bellatrix was furious.
"Rodolphus, would you join me inside, I need to speak with you now," Bellatrix insisted, her voice simmering with rage. Hermione hopes that the other witch wouldn't hold her husband's wandering eyes against her. "Lucius, you'll entertain Hermione, won't you?"
Bellatrix did not wait for an answer and was already halfway inside with Rodolphus in tow before Lucius could answer.
"Oh course I can entertain the delightful Hermione," he said as he took Bellatrix's recently vacated seat.
Hermione finished her drink in one gulp, unprepared to deal with a Malfoy. Seeing that her glass was now empty, Lucius called for their drinks to be refreshed. Inside the house, Hermione could hear Bellatrix screaming at her husband, berating him.
"Your husband seems to be settling in well," Lucius told her, gauging her reaction carefully. "Everyone is impressed with him."
"Yes, well Theo is very impressive," Hermione answered, still feeling a bit put out that she was being passed over. She was the brightest witch of her age, not that anyone in this time would know it. And it wasn't as if she didn't find Theo impressive, just...it seemed as if the tables had turned. Back at Hogwarts, he had seemed to enjoy fading into the background and now he was enjoying being the standout.
Lucius smiled at her. "I quite like him myself. I didn't expect to — you never know with wizards who grew up abroad. Not meaning offense to yourself," he added.
Hermione shook her head. "None taken. I am sure some things that I do might seem odd here in England," she explained. "Hong Kong was still very British, but it is different."
"It must be hard. Hong Kong has been nearly unreachable for months now," he said casually.
For a moment, Hermione wondered if he was testing her, if he was distrustful of the story she'd crafted for herself. But then, she realized he was just genuinely lamenting with her. She couldn't imagine that Lucius Malfoy of all people would be sympathetic to her. "Yes," she said finally, biting her lower lip. "I haven't been able to tell my parents about Arthur yet — their first grandchild. All my owls return unopened."
Hermione felt a pang deep in her heart when she realized that her parents likely never would meet her child, something she hadn't considered so far. A part of her wondered if she could track them down, just to see them one more time. They would be married by now, living in Queen's Park in London after dental school. But that was little more than a pipe dream.
"I am sure they would be proud of him," Lucius said kindly. "Of you. I am sure they would be impressed that you were able to produce a healthy heir so quickly. I am sure everyone is wondering how you did it."
She blushed under his intense gaze. "Yes, well...I am sure that Theo and I being born on completely different continents helped."
"What do you mean by that?" he asked, one white blond eyebrow raised.
"I just mean...our family lines weren't too close. I think that it helped. We were more compatible," Hermione tried to explain, wondering how she'd managed to talk her way into this one.
"Why would close family lines be a problem? It's an excellent way to ensure blood purity," Lucius argued.
"Well, yes of course, but there is such a thing as too close. I mean, think of the Blacks — how many sets of cousins have married in their family?" she asked gesturing towards the door Bellatrix had walked through. Then she remembered who Lucius was married to. "Not that I am suggesting anything is wrong with your wife of course. Narcissa is lovely — impeccable breeding and bloodline."
"It sounds to me like you are suggesting people can intermarry too much," Lucius said with a frown. "Like bringing in new blood could help. Certainly you aren't suggesting we mate with the mudbloods."
Hermione gave him a nervous laugh. "Of course not, Lucius, don't be ridiculous. Just...if two parents are blond, isn't it much more likely that their child will be blond as well?" she explained, trying to figure out the best way to describe genetics without using scientific words. "So if two people have undesirable traits, they are more likely to pass it onto their child. And I guess...things could run in families, that's all I'm trying to say."
"I suppose that makes sense," he agreed finally. "I must say, Hermione, I am finding you more and more fascinating by the day."
"Oh, I am sure I'm not that interesting," she said, looking down at the table. "Bellatrix is always reminding me that I am simply not dull."
He was grinning at her joke when she looked up at him again. Hermione was surprised that she almost found Lucius Malfoy a little bit charming when he wasn't trying to kill her.
Just as she was about to say something else, she heard the sound of something being shoved against a wall. Worried for Bellatrix's safety, she stood, wand drawn. But then she heard the rhythmic thumping begin and a rather feminine sounding shriek of pleasure.
Hermione blushed harder than she thought possible. "I don't think Bellatrix is going to come back this afternoon," she squeaked in horror when she realized what was happening right on the other side of the wall.
Lucius shared a look with her. "I dare say that Bella will have Rodolphus tied up well into the evening," he answered with a smirk.
She was sure that the tips of her ears were pink even. "Well, no use in sticking around then," she said, finishing the rest of her drink. "I will just return home."
"I think that would be best," he said, before offering her his arm. "Come on, I will walk you to the apparition point. It's only a few minutes away."
Grateful for the company, Hermione took his arm, eager to put as much distance between the Lestranges and herself as possible. She wasn't sure if Theo was going to believe it.
