X

Stormhaven Castle, May 1999

Present Day

"I want to know everything Draco." Hermione said gripping his arms, her clear brown eyes trained on his face, "I want to know everything since you disappeared two years ago."

"First the amulet." He rasped, he looked tired... there were deep purple bruises under his eyes. Hermione really took her time in examining Draco then, there was no doubt that the frail, rail thin young boy had turned into a man. He kept running his hands through his much longer, wilder hair... a habit from when he was younger.

There was an almost feline power to his body now, unsurprising since the Nandu was a beast that appeared in the form of a leopard. He was dressed in a pair of dark leather pants that hugged the sinewy muscles of his hard thighs, a white shirt whose sleeves had been shoved up his forearms carelessly... she could see the runes through his shirt... they were calling to her. She reached out with a curious finger, running her hand over his warm, muscular chest... unlike the last night, his flesh was warm, firm and his heart a steady beat under her hands.

She couldn't help drawing closer, "You can help me put it on..." she whispered, lifting her mass of curly hair from her neck. He made her feel small and cherished against his much taller, larger frame and his own special scent, the one that had always clung to him... even when they were in school was still present, earthy and potent, if a little wilder.

She had always loved that scent, she remembered the first time he had snuck her out for a ride on his broom... how tight she had held onto him, the crisp cotton of his t-shirt under her clutching fingers, the cold Scottish night's air blowing her hair out behind her like a brown cloud, his easy laughter... the silky brush of his blond hair under her exploring fingers. She remembered every moment of theirs like it was yesterday. That was the night they had first made love, her first and only time.

Draco audibly swallowed before tying the ends of the black thread that held the rustic wooden dragon amulet around her neck. It was infused with ancient Germanic folk magic and would protect her from death. He looked into her eyes as he tied the string around her slim neck and caught his breath at the tender look in them.

"Fuck, Granger." He sighed, "I've missed you." He let his forehead rest against hers, "You know I fought with Blaise for days before finally giving up when he decided to go searching for you and then curse me... I was excited to receive his letter when he finally found you. I couldn't stop him from looking for you and bringing you here and then I..." his voice was thick with self-loathing.

"Is that why you haven't come to see me in all the time I have been here?" she asked gently.

He just laughed bitterly.

"What is this room?" she asked, looking around curiously in an effort to get that look off his face. The walls were covered in tome after tome of ancient books but what really interested her was the alter in the middle of the room. It was covered in black cloth with strange sigils painted in gold, a chalice of solid silver sat atop it in which some liquid glowed a bright orange.

"You don't want to know." He replied shaking his head, "Come, let's go for a walk and talk. I don't know what Blaise has told you, but you are in no way obligated to do anything for me."

One of the only things that hadn't changed about him were his gorgeous, mercurial eyes. Silver like a crystal-clear winter lake, his eyes couldn't hide anything he felt. In fifth year when they had started seeing each other Hermione could always guess his mood by how stormy they appeared that day. She was glad to see somethings never changed. "So strong Draco, all the time." She whispered, "It's okay to lean on others... especially when horrible things happen to you." She cupped one rough hand in her own much smaller palms and kissed it, "Let's go for that walk now." she tugged on his muscular arm.

"Just a moment." He replied, picking up a cape hanging near the door, "The sun..." he said apologetically, "I don't do so well in the sun anymore."

Hermione's heart sank, for Draco who loved the outdoors it must have been like a prison sentence. No Quidditch, no broom riding... nothing.

"Of-course." She cleared her throat, slapping on a bright smile.

He led her out with an arm around her waist, lifting the hood onto his long blond hair. They walked down the stairs and out the main door, but he stopped her before she went any further.

"Before we go any further... I do have something to confess to you." He said, "That night... wasn't the first night I've seen you since you've been here." He sighed, looking down at his hands with a tormented expression, "I swear on my magic that I didn't take anything from you but the first night you were here the beasts were fighting me for control."

"What happened then, why can't I remember?" she whispered.

"I erased that memory, I'll tell you everything... if you still want to listen." His voice held a slightly pleading note.

"Start from the beginning, Draco. I want to know everything that happened."

He took her hand and led her down the pathway before saying, "I don't even know where to start. It's been a year since they stuck these things inside me and everyday has been a struggle. Wake up... fight not to let the dark impulses get stronger... cringe from the light... feel my magic darken and rot. I don't know how much longer I can take it, it has stolen every ounce of my strength and I'm getting tired. The creatures inside me, even if they are in partial control, I am not the same person. Before you agree to the binding Granger you must understand that I no longer resemble the Draco Malfoy you knew. Not in temperament, my needs have grown...dark, wicked...sick"

She squeezed his hand, urging him to continue, "What happened in sixth year? After you ran from Hogwarts, not completing the task?"

"Snape killed the old man, but you know that. I thought I could hide out somewhere before coming to meet you. I knew you'd want my help finding the Horcruxes, but father found out about the plan. Kept it quite... waited for me to leave the house, then sent a squad after me. I was kept in the dungeon for months before they tortured me."

As they continued walking Hermione thought about the two years that they were apart.

"The Horcrux hunt didn't go as planned either, you see... after me, Harry and Ron found Slytherin's locket everything fell apart." she told him, her voice getting lower... like she wasn't there walking in the sun with him anymore, "Ron didn't understand... the locket was evil, it told him about us... you and me before I could confess to the boys but he didn't want to listen and so he stormed off. We never found him, and he never came back... I don't know if he's even alive."

"Hermione." He said gently, tilting her chin up towards him, "Ron was killed by Yaxley... he was on his way back to you and Potter."

"Killed..." she murmured, "He...was...killed, while coming back to us." Her expression was of utter bewilderment, like she couldn't fathom even the thought of Ron dying. Funny, quick-tempered Ron, her best friend. "No...he wouldn't have... maybe he's just missing."

"No kitten, he was killed by Yaxley." Draco said, his heart breaking for her as she looked up at him with no comprehension, "I know it's hard to accept, but Salazar's locket was given back to The Dark Lord and that's why Potter wasn't able to defeat him."

Hermione's blood slowed to a desultory pace in her veins, "But...but he knew... he knew he couldn't get caught... that we had to be together, it's my fault." She whispered, "It's all my fault that he stormed out like that, it was because I wasn't courageous enough to tell him that me and him couldn't be together, that's why the Horcrux was able to fill his head with lies." Tears dripped down her face and all she felt like doing was laughing... what had she done... they were in this mess because of her, her and her selfish furtive behaviour.

"All my fault..." she whispered bitterly, "It's all my fault."

"Enough, Granger." Said Draco firmly, taking a hold of her shoulders, "You aren't to blame for this."

"How can you not see!" she cried out hysterically, "I am poison to everything I touch, it's because of me that you ended up tortured and imprisoned and it's because of me that Ron was killed... because we fought and now everyone's dead." She moaned, falling to her knees in the grass, clutching herself, "All my fault..."

"Granger." Sighed Draco, bending down to her level, "Look at me, Hermione."

Hermione's soul felt like it was ripped in two, all this time she had been running selfishly, what of the other Weasley's? Did they know what had happened to Ron? Did they blame her? He would never have left that tent if it wasn't for what he had found out about her and Draco.

"Granger, I need you to look at me... whatever you think this isn't your fault."

"He would have never left if it wasn't for what that locket showed him. I knew he had feelings for me, but I just didn't have the courage to tell him I was in love with someone else." She said turning away from him, "I should have been honest."

"Granger, you didn't cast the Avada." He said, "Look at me and answer this one question for me. Why was it that the onus of rescuing an entire population of people lay in the hands of teenagers?"

"Because Harry was the Chosen One." She whispered.

"Fuck that." Scoffed Draco, "You Gryffindor's and your useless morality. I disagree with you when you say this was on you and Potter, making Horcruxes was unheard off in our day and age and suddenly you were expected to find and destroy these powerful tools of dark magic. I think that logic is deeply flawed, you were fucking eighteen and all of a sudden you have this task dumped on you, one with little to no instructions and you're expected to see it through."

"But...but..."

"No Granger no buts, Voldemort's army has been waiting for this day... training for it for decades. How long have you been preparing for this war huh?"

"We were still given a task, Draco. A task we failed, a task that got many of our friends killed."

"The time will come Granger, the time to defeat him will come but it was fallacy on the part of the Order to think that three teenagers with some camping supplies hunting forbidden dark artefacts would give them a leg up in a war that the other side has been preparing for their whole life."

He tugged on her arm, lifting her up before wrapping his cloak around her, "Don't you want to hear the rest of my monster story, Hermione." He grinned down at her before using the rough pads of his thumbs to wipe away the tears on her cheeks, "You have the right to grieve for him, Granger. You have the right to grieve for them all but don't fall down a pit of self-loathing and pity... it's no use."

Hermione felt her heart soar at his casual grin, the pain of losing Ron would be shoved into the vault of things she had yet to deal with. She knew it wasn't a healthy way to process trauma but the prospect of remaining melancholy when she had a day of sunshine with Draco didn't appeal to her.

"I'll just have to deal with the guilt later." She told him, "Shove it into that little Pandora's Box inside my mind where all horrific things live."

"You no longer have to do that Granger, you have me again."

She looked into his clear silver eyes and for the first time in months felt peace invading her soul.

"I'm never going to stop feeling guilty about what happened, you know." She whispered.

"Don't worry Granger, when the nightmares strike... I'll be there to hold your hand."

He wished that was the whole truth, but the reality was that they were both just stumbling along. They now lived in a world of uncertainty and danger.

And so, she looked into his eyes and told him, "I don't care about the consequences... I want to be bonded to you. I refuse to let these creatures inside you take you away from me."

"You can't take this decision lightly, Granger." He said, his eyes a maelstrom of emotion, "I love you too much to have you look at me with hatred in your eyes when you see the depravity of these beings."

"Never, Draco... never." She said and before she could second guess herself, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her warm mouth against his... sealing their deal the old-fashioned way. With a kiss.

Draco stood still for a moment, allowing her to explore before plunging his large, rough hands into her curly hair... his tongue invaded the warm crevice of her lips like a conquering lord... taking over the kiss like it was his god given right. She shuddered as his other hand cupped and caressed her hip, sending shockwaves of desire coursing down her nerve endings.

"You're mine now. I'll do everything I can to keep you." His voice was rough, savage and his smile feral.

Hermione simply arched up, throwing her arms around his neck... he was hers now too.

...

The way Zabini explained the bonding ritual was simple, Ma'ati would put the rune that binds Hermione to the Nandu in between Hermione's breasts and before that they would stamp the hot iron that proclaimed, she was a Death Eaters slave in the event of any Death Eater coming calling, onto her thigh.

It would hurt like hell and 'Ti had already informed Hermione that once the rune was on her there was no way to control the animal.

"You're to be his mate." She explained, "That means he'll be out of control until he has bred you."

"Breed?" she whispered, "That sounds..."

"It's exactly as it sounds, it's not making love, witch, he'll probably take you from behind. The way animals do." she said it so matter of fact that Hermione didn't know how to reply.

You agreed to this, she reminded herself, despite knowing everything. Draco had told her that the beasts had changed him, his hunger and his sexuality was heightened and darker.

She had only ever been with one man, Draco... but they had been teenagers fumbling about in the dark. This was different and she was scared... terrified.

Blaise looked over at Draco as 'Ti explained what was going to happen to Hermione.

"Did you tell her about the Razing? Or that you still have to work with Him?" Blaise questioned.

"No, I haven't, and I doubt you've mentioned it to Potter either." He muttered back.

"Potter knows what he needs to know." Said Blaise looking away, "The prophecy by the Roma girl specifically..."

"Quite!" said Draco harshly, "We don't know what it meant, it's a prophecy... easy to misconstrue."

Blaise shook his head, "If she finds out and has a negative reaction, we'll never be able to recover lost ground. You know how these Gryffindor's are. And the prophecy was pretty damn clear, child of beast blood... no one that I know of has survived what they put you through Draco and they're bound to get suspicious... after all the Dark Lord had heard the prophecy before the rumour of It existing even began. "

"That is my problem to deal with, right now we have more pressing concerns than the Gryffindor's ridiculous notions of valour and fairness and that damn prophecy... she has to survive the ritual first."

Draco studied Hermione's face as 'Ti told her what she had sighed herself up for, the terror reflected in her eyes gave him no pleasure, but this ceremony had to happen.

"She's strong." Said Blaise, looking over at Ganger, "She'll make it."

Some sacrifices had to be made, some lies had to be told.

"We'll hold the ritual in Draco's study, once you have the brand on you Granger, you'll be the property of a Death Eater and no one other than him can have you. But you must remember, you cannot admit to a single soul outside this castle who you are or who you belong to. You will be killed along with every single creature in this castle."

"Why not?" Hermione questioned curiously.

"You're at the top of the Dark Lord's Doomsday logbook for capture and return. Your capture will fetch a high bounty. We have broken the New Laws by bringing you here and branding you with Draco's mark, especially due to Draco's status among the Death Eaters currently." Blaise replied.

"Doomsday logbook?"

"It's his accounting of every rebel and Order member who went MIA during the second war. Once the dissidents are killed or captured with definitive proof their names are stuck from the book, he keeps it personally so that there is no tampering in the records."

Blaise walked over to her and bent to her level and reiterated in his most serious way, "No one can know, understood."

She nodded solemnly, it was best she keep her mouth shut for her own and Teddy's sake as well. Hermione wasn't a fool, she could sense when Draco wasn't telling her the whole truth, but she was also a pragmatist. There was only so long she could run, the more she learned about the second war the more she felt like an idiot. What had the Order been thinking, their operations had been scattered and far too lax.

Voldemort had planned a strategic military operation with a well-trained and equipped cavalry and solid base of ideas to build his empire on. More and more Draco's words of this afternoon made sense to her... had they really thought that just destroying his Horcruxes would stop a well-trained army? Not just a well-trained army but an army with spy's in every corner of their world, dangerous weaponry that they hadn't even considered and a well thought out battle plan that didn't just rely on one person like the Orders.

Tom Riddle was no fool, he had planned to conquer the wizarding world and had planned for it before hand; the logbook, the secret death squads, the weaponizing of magic. He had learned from his first pass and come back prepared. It was no wonder they had lost so badly.

"Granger, once I brand you with the mark, I'll leave the room, 'Ti will work on the spell that puts the sigil on your person and leave too. Don't try and run, it'll only inflame the beast further." Blaise explained

"You don't need to keep warning me. I know what is going to happen. I am prepared." She said, her head held high, "Let's us proceed."

All four of them walked up to the hidden room in the eastern tower where the alter in the middle of Draco's study was set up for the ritual.

"Forgive me, Granger." Said Blaise as he muttered a spell that rapidly bound Hermione's hands and legs to a chair in the middle of the alter.

"You didn't need to bind me Zabini, I would've stayed still." She replied in a huff.

Blaise ignored her as he took the poker given to each Death Eater as their reward for being on the dark side after the war and shoved it into the fireplace, the flames turned a deep violet as the magicked iron touched the fire.

"Adiuro te modo animam viventem filius in domo Domini Malfoy. I bind thee to the only son of the house of Malfoy. usque in imperio parere sigil remins in corpore et sanguine, ita vicissim tuo corpore ejusobligaverit. Blood of his blood, I bind thee body and soul."

Draco knelt near Hermione in the middle of the alchemy circle, she kept her focus on his still silver eyes. He was still with her, she had to keep her focus on that. This was for him, to make up for some of her sins.

Zabini used a small ritual athame made of beaten silver to slice into Draco's palm and then her's dropping their mingled blood onto the sizzling brand.

"Eyes on me Granger." Commanded Draco, his deep voice keeping her focus on him, "This is us. No one can take you from me now. Keep your focus on me."

Blaise moved her skirt out of the way, barring one soft thigh. The brand was the mark of infinity § a mathematical symbol, she would've laughed at the irony of Voldemort using a muggle symbol if it she wasn't so scared.

"Ready?" asked Zabini, looking into her eyes.

"As ready as I'll ever be." She replied, holding Draco's large, warm hand tighter.

The smell of burning skin was the first thing that struck her... so deeply unpleasant and then it was the deep searing pain. Was that her voice? That high keening sound of pain... it had to be. What an undignified racket she was making, if the pain wasn't so intense, she would've been ashamed.

Hermione felt the heat of the magicked iron on her skin, stripping her of her stoic façade, ripping through the months of pain... leaving her a howling mess. She felt the burning mark on her skin and the mingled blood run down her thigh like when lost her virginity... this somehow felt equally important. As tears dripped down her face, she tasted the salt on her lips and reminded herself again... this was her penance.

And as quickly the pain had come it disappeared... leaving behind a sharp burning sensation on her thigh.

Draco reached up to wipe the sweat from her brow and she managed to open her bleary eyes to see Zabini leaving the room.

"Me next." Said 'Ti, "This won't hurt."

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded her head, feeling the pain of the brand recede more and more... clearing her mind from the haze of hurt.

Ma'ati had mixed the herbs needed in a wooden bowl, since it was only for one rune, she began her chanting invoking the power of the fire Orisha, the folk god that commanded the Nandu. This was different than the brand that Zabini had put on her, the magic was gentle, it was binding magic but of different nature.

She was calling upon the gods like she used to hundreds of years ago when she was a shaman in her village to bind the beast in a mating bond with the woman in front of her. Using a paste of tonka beans, adam and eve root, iron ore and lapis she rubbed a circle onto Hermione's chest. The speial rune she had drawn in between Hermione's breasts was small and inconspicuous. That rune unlike the mark made by the brand was softer, Hermione felt her body open... her muscles relaxing to make room for her mate's body. Ma'ati had mixed a combination of herbs used specifically for love workings, to soften Hermione's body for the brutal possession of the beast.

She used the tip of her finger to draw it on while continuously chanting.

The magic was unlike anything Hermione had ever experienced, the magic of a demi-god. Beneath his white shirt Draco's body lit up with yellow light, his own tattooed on runes lighting from within.

With a final sprinkle of calendula over the couple, the Twin-Soul hastily left the room knowing that it was just a matter of time before the beast opened its eyes and once it did it would rip anything that wasn't it's mate apart.

Hermione looked up from the shower of yellow petals to see Draco's eyes had turned to a beautiful, intense topaz and his canines were extended... his face a mask of feral, animal possessiveness...

"Mate."

...

A/N- Apologises for the late chapter guys, I'm gonna be honest. I was just being super lazy these past few days and couldn't get my butt into gear. That being said enjoy this chapter and leave me some reviews! I always love hearing what y'all have to say about the story.

Lots of hugs and please stay safe.