A Curse of Ancients
C9: The Hearing
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters.
The following morning Fabian, Hermione and Luna were woken up early by Bellatrix. "Good morning my sweets, time to get up. We have a lot to do before we can leave, and we are leaving early because I don't trust Dumbledore to petition to move the time of the hearing so that he can position himself better."
Luna giggled and got out after giving her brother and his girlfriend a kiss. "Okay mother, I'll go and get dressed." She said with her usual dreamy smile before repeating the kiss with Bellatrix and then skipping out of the room naked as the day she was born.
Bellatrix smiled at the blonde and then took a seat on the edge of the bed, earning a groan from Fabian and a less than contrite croon from Gaia, who went as far as to put a wing over her snout. "Gaia is too much like her Daddy. Can I trust you to get both of you showered and dressed in an hour?"
Hermione nodded at the raven haired witch. "Of course Bellatrix, I have my ways of persuading your son into getting him to do anything, even this early in the morning."
Bellatrix smiled and kissed the top of her head before taking her leave, which left Hermione alone with her lover and their familiar. "Gaia, sweetie, can you help me wake Daddy up?"
The dragon flapped her remaining wing as if she wanted to say 'leave me alone Mom, I'm tired.' and the sight was enough to make Hermione laugh. "Okay, I get it, you're not a morning dragon, just like Daddy us not a morning person. But unfortunately Daddy does need to get up, because we have a very important day today."
Fabian groaned and turned to face her. "Okay, I'll get up, but only because you look so damn cute this early in the morning, and perhaps the possibility of a shared shower?" He asked hopefully.
Hermione smiled and kissed him softly. "Of course. It'll make sure that we will be ready on time."
"Are you sure about that love? neither of us seem to have much willpower when we are naked together." He said with a smile.
"I know, but today we will have to, because I refuse to give Dumbledore any advantages today. Too much is riding on today's hearing." She said as she slowly got out of bed.
Fabian smiled at her retreating form as he stretched before following her into the bathroom, where he took a moment to appreciate his lover's nude form. "You're so beautiful Hermione. I could look at you all day long."
She blushed and kissed him. "Thank you love, you are very easy on the eye as well, not to mention that you are hung like a horse."
"Would you be surprised that you are not the first woman to ever say that to me?" He asked with a smile.
Hermione smiled at him as she flicked her wand to turn on the shower. "I am not at all surprised. I have a feeling Dora made that comment first."
He smiled at that. "You'd think that, but it was actually Luna who said it first, out of everyone I have been intimate with her the longest."
Hermione smiled at him as she pulled him with her under the shower. "I've wondered about that for a while now. How did that even work back then, since both of you were so young."
"It's quite the lengthy story, how about I tell you when we get back, because we will certainly be late if I start telling you now." He said with a soft smile.
"I will hold you to that, my love, mostly because I am sure that Narcissa will find a way to scold us if we are not down in time and looking absolutely perfect." Hermione said as she started soaping herself up.
He smiled and followed her example. "Not only that, love, she will certainly deny us certain privileges the next time she will be in bed with us, because as slutty as she can be in the bedroom, there are times she can be a die-hard dominatrix who will take what she craves unabashedly."
Hermione shivered in pleasure. "And how does such a night look like, love? Now you've gotten me intrigued."
"Let's also keep that for later, because it might cause us to be late regardless of the fact we hurry things along now." He said softly.
She merely nodded and gave him a kiss before handing him the loofa. "Could you get my back for me, love?"
He smiled at her as he took it. "Of course 'Mione, do you want me to get your hair too?"
"It would be much appreciated love." She said with a soft smile.
He smiled and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck before he started soaping up her back, loving the feel of her soft skin beneath his hands.
Hermione moaned softly as his skilled fingers ran over her back. "The things you do to me, Fabian Black, they are truly out of this world. I can't wait to return the favor… oh sweet Morgana." She trailed of with a loud moan as he let his fingers slip between her butt cheeks and applied a light pressure to her rosebud.
Fabian smiled at that, and decided to tease her a little. "Someone sounds like she wants more. Is that what is happening here, Princess?"
"You know I do, but we can't get carried away right now, and you should know better than to tease me so much." She said softly, her voice betraying barely contained lust.
He smiled and kissed her neck softly. "I'm sorry love, but it was too good an opportunity to let slip. I will gladly undergo my punishment later today."
She smiled and kissed him properly as he started rinsing her back. "And you can rest assured that I will think long and hard what that punishment will be. Now turn around so I can wash your back and hair."
"Whatever lady Le Fay desires." He said with a wink as he turned around for her.
Hermione then took the loofa and washed his back with a soft smile. She loved his muscular back and couldn't resist digging her nails into his back a little, making him groan a little.
Once she was done with his back she took her time with his hair, something she had done since the first time they had shared a shower.
Fifteen minutes later they stepped out, drying each other with a quick spell, and while Hermione sorted out her hair and make-up, Fabian took his time to get dressed, making sure every single part of his outfit screamed pureblood heir, including the Black family ring that his mother had given him.
Hermione appeared from the bathroom five minutes later, her hair looking immaculate as it fell in tight ringlets from the bun she had put them in, and other than the two very deliberate curls on each side of her head, not a hair was out of place. "What would you think love, do I pass the first test?"
He smiled at her. "If you wear one of the dresses my mother forced on you, I would say you would be the perfect pureblood heiress, which reminds me of something. There is something you should wear today besides the Le Fay ring." He said as he presented her with an elegant ring with the Black family crest.
"I thought we agreed not to propose to each other until we were done with school?" She asked softly.
He smiled and kissed her softly. "And I still intend to honor it, but if we let the old goat think that we already tied the knot, we can have even more leverage, and that will help us get exactly what we want today, and of course it will put him and the order of the Fried Chicken on the wrong track and off our backs."
Hermione let out a soft laugh at that. "Order of the Fried Chicken. I like that one. We're going to keep that one." She said as she let him slide the ring onto her finger.
He smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her hand before he let her put on her dress, which was a beautiful dark emerald dress and corset combination, which made her look shockingly like Bellatrix.
"I think my mothers will love this on you, shall we present ourselves to their scrutiny?" He asked with a soft smile.
She nodded and took his offered arm before placing a soft kiss to his cheek, the two lovers making their way downstairs afterwards.
…
After breakfast and a few minor adjustments mostly to Dora's clothes, the family Floo'ed to the Ministry, with at least an hour to spare before the hearing would begin.
They were met by Lucius, who smiled at them when they walked up to them. "It's good to see you all here. I trust you all are ready?"
"We are Lucius, I trust everyone on our side is ready too?" Bellatrix asked with a smile.
Lucius nodded at them. "Yes we are, and you'll be pleased to know that Dumbledore has not been spotted."
"That is good news, at least that is one thing that works in our favor. Your lawyers have also arrived and are already talking to the Minister about a compulsory Verita examination to be done during the hearing, because we all know, and more importantly after last year, the new Minister knows Dumbledore's knack for compulsion charms and other methods." Lucius said with a kind smile.
Bellatrix smiled at that. "Good, that will make our job a lot easier, but if you would excuse us, we have some last minute things to discuss with our lawyers, and a message for you. Whatever you may hear in the hearing, Hermione and Fabian are not married yet, but we will pretend that she is so that we can derail Dumbledore. Would you tell the others this."
He nodded and gave them a slight bow before he made his way back to the ante-chamber of the Wizengamot, while the three women led the rest of the family to the preparation room for the defense.
Narcissa opened the door for them and allowed them all to enter before entering herself, smiling at the couple sitting across from them. "Jason, Emily. It is good to see you again. I trust you are well?" The blonde asked with a kind smile.
The two smiled and nodded. "We are Narcissa, thank you for asking. I take it this is the illustrious Hermione Le Fay?"
Narcissa nodded and rested a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Hermione, these are Jason and Emily Gideon, the finest attorney's this side of the canal."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Hermione said politely.
The two smiled and took a seat after everyone had. "So, as it stands now the Minister agrees to a Verita examination, and it seems that Dumbledore doesn't have the evidence to win today. Perhaps we should take into account that he merely wants to probe for information."
Hermione smiled at that. "We know, and that is why we are going to try to create a false trail by making him believe Fabian and I are already married. If he somehow knows of my Prophecy that will make him nervous and then he will make mistakes, which is something we are counting on and can use to make him give us what we need."
"I see you are already a lot like Madame Black. You have quite the devious mind already." Jason said with a smile.
Narcissa smiled at him. "I assure you Jason, I had little to do with that. Ms. Le Fay is after all the brightest witch of her age and has been close to many a Slytherin up until this point, not to mention my son and daughter."
"Thank you Narcissa, but you are giving me too much credit. We are simply using his methods against him, and that is something Fabian and I have done for three years, even more so since Potter and Weasley turned their backs on me."
Emily nodded and smiled at the brunette. "We heard the story, and it is something we are going to use with your consent, because we have a feeling that Dumbledore has pushed them to this once he learned of your relationship with Fabian and the implications it could have, because we have a feeling that if he couldn't keep you in the Order, you were to be kept out of everything."
Hermione smiled at that. "We knew that would happen, but we were tired of hiding our feelings and we weren't particularly inclined to play by his rules anymore. So after I was shunned by my so called friends, Fabian, Luna and I started tow work for ourselves to make a difference, and that started with Dolores Umbridge."
"That is very understandable. That woman always did more harm than good wherever she was, but I think it is almost time for us to make an appearance. Are you all ready?" Emily asked with a smile.
Everyone nodded and followed the two attorney's into the main chamber of the Wizengamot, where the family took their seats on the side of the defense, and Fabian noticed that they had a lot of support from the old families. Next to the Malfoys, the Lestranges, Yaxleys and Carrows were in attendance, all families with a lot of influence in the Ministry, and that sight alone set his mind at ease.
On the side of the prosecution he saw the Weasleys and Augusta Longbottom, which he had expected. They were the only families that had supported the Light Side unquestioningly.
Molly Weasley was openly glaring at him and Hermione as Dumbledore strode into the chamber, after which the Minister tapped his hammer three times on his table. "On the docket today is the case of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry versus Hermione Jean Le Fay, and the question of her lineage. I understand the Headmaster has waived his representation today in favor of his own defense?"
"Indeed I have Minister, since this a clear cut case in my humble opinion." Dumbledore said with a kind smile.
The Minister nodded tersely before turning to Hermione. "Ms. Le Fay, have you brought representation, or do you want to make your own case."
Hermione stood and smiled. "I have brought representation today."
"Very well. Ms. Le Fay, may I ask you to take a seat on the stand?" The Minister asked sternly.
Hermione nodded and gave Fabian's hand a squeeze before she made her way to the stand, sitting down primly like Narcissa had taught her.
"Could you state your full name for the record please, Ms. Le Fay."
Hermione smiled and nodded. "Hermione Jean Le Fay – Black."
Fabian noticed the little change in expression on Dumbledore's face, and he knew this was going to be easier than they thought.
There was a murmur through the hall before the Minister called everyone to order. "Could you elaborate on that Mrs. Le Fay, or would you prefer Black?"
"Le Fay is fine, Minister, and yes I can elaborate. It is part of the reason why we are here today after all. Lord Fabian Black and myself have been married for about a week now, following the revelation of my heritage. We thought it would be easier."
The Minister nodded at that. "I see, and how long have you been together with Lord Black, if you don't mind my asking."
Hermione smiled at him. "I fail to see what impact it has on this issue, but it is well known, at least within the walls of Hogwarts that Lord Black and I have been together for well over three years. The Headmaster was aware of our relationship as far as we knew, and he never said anything about it."
Again the Minister nodded at her. "Very well, this was merely for the record, I meant no disrespect, Mrs. Le Fay, we only want our records to be as complete as possible, I am sure you understand."
Hermione nodded as Emily stepped forward. "Please state your name for the record, Miss."
"I am Mrs. Emily Gideon, attorney at law and representative of Mrs. Le Fay." Emily said before taking a seat next to the stand where Hermione sat.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, your opening statement please." Minister Scrimgour said sternly.
Dumbledore smiled and nodded. "Of course Minister, members of the Wizengamot. The case before us today is quite simple. There is no reason to believe Ms. Granger's claim on being the heir of Morgana Le Fay. There has been no evidence presented that support her claim."
"Objection, your honor. Assumption on the part of the Headmaster."
"Sustained. Headmaster, we as the Wizengamot have reviewed the provided evidence by the Black Family and we will discuss these later. Please keep to your opening statement." The Minister said sternly.
Dumbledore nodded at him. "Of course, my apologies."
"Mrs. Le Fay, your opening statement please."
Emily nodded as she stepped forward. "Of course Minister. Members of the Wizengamot, the sole reason for this hearing is the Headmaster's obvious need to pry into things he has no reason prying into. The information of Morgana Le Fay's heritage was deemed beyond confidential, and there is no reason for the Headmaster to have this knowledge."
The Minister nodded and tapped his hammer three times. "Thank you, Mrs. Gideon. I will now give both parties the opportunity to present their case. Mrs. Gideon, if you please."
"Of course Minister. As you all know the information regarding the bloodline of Morgana was highly confidential information and only available to the highest ranks among the Unspeakables. When it became clear that there was a link between the Ancient and most Noble House of Black and the heir to the Le Fay bloodline, they were given a single vial of Morgana's blood earlier this summer because they had an inkling who the heir was. What I wonder about, most esteemed members of the Wizengamot, is how Headmaster Dumbledore could have known this as well and why he wanted to know this in the first place. It does not concern him in any way after all." Emily said as she presented the results of the blood test to the Minister.
The Minister nodded as he studied them. "Mrs. Le Fay, who were present when this blood test was performed, and who performed it?"
Hermione nodded and looked at Emily if she could answer, the blonde nodding at her. "Present were my husband, Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda Black, Luna, Nymphadora Black and Fleur Delacour. The test was performed by Narcissa Black."
The Minister nodded before he turned to Narcissa. "Were these results confirmed by anyone, Ms. Black?"
Narcissa smiled and stood. "Yes Minister. These results were checked by a Healer at St. Mungo's in the presence of an Unspeakable. Both of whom are found in the report."
"Very well. Headmaster Dumbledore, do you have anything to add in relation to this case?" The Minister questioned.
Dumbledore smiled at him. "Indeed I have, Minister. I have here an original birth certificate showing Ms. Granger's lineage to Muggle parents. She is and always was a Muggleborn."
"Objection, your honor. We have evidence that proves that birth certificate is forged, and have in fact procured Mrs. Le Fay's original birth certificate." Emily said with a smirk to the Headmaster.
"Sustained, I would like to see this evidence, Mrs. Gideon." The Minister said sternly.
Emily again walked forward and presented Hermione's original birth certificate, along with the forged one that had the mark of the Goblins on it indicating it as such, including notes on whose signature had been found to be the culprit.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, step forward please." The Minister asked as he showed him the forged document. "Do you have an explanation on why this forged certificate has your magical signature on it?"
Dumbledore merely smiled at him. "Of course, this is obviously an attempt to defame me. It is obviously a fake when I have the original right here."
"Fortunately we have ways to tell who is speaking the truth. You, Headmaster will consent to a questioning under Veritaserum, and are not to eat or drink anything in the meantime." The Minister said with authority.
Dumbledore frowned, but nodded, and Hermione could see the wheels in his head turning a mile a minute.
As the Headmaster took a seat and drank the potion down, the Minister nodded to Emily. "Headmaster Dumbledore, do you know how the forged birth certificate found its way into Ministry records?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, once I learned of the Prophecy indicating the heir of Morgana Le Fay was found, I had an inkling who it might be. There was a girl of unknown parentage placed in an Orphanage, and I knew it had to be her, so I placed her among Muggle parents and forged her birth certificate, and used my connection to Cornelius Fudge to make sure the girl's birth certificate would find its way into the records."
"And how did you learn of the Prophecy, Headmaster?" Emily asked as she made notes at the same time.
"Our Divination Professor Sybil Trelawney was the one that foretold it, and I was present during that time. From then it became my personal mission to ensure that Prophecy never came to fruition." Dumbledore said in an almost dreamy voice.
Emily smirked at that, knowing she had him where she needed him. "And how would you accomplish this, Headmaster?"
"I pushed the girl to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley from her first year, forcing them to become friends by way of a compulsion spell, but when she started spending time with Fabian Black I knew something else was up, so when they decided to go public with their relationship I broke my compulsion spell and let the pieces fall where they may."
"What else have you done to try and keep Mrs. Le Fay finding out the truth, Headmaster?" The Minister asked sternly, and it was clear he was less than pleased with the answers Dumbledore was providing.
"I tried everything in my power to keep her heritage a secret, all for the greater good of course. It would be disastrous to my plans if she found out who she was and made her own decisions on her allegiances. I could not let that happen in the wake of the Dark Lord's return."
Emily smirked at that. "I have no further questions, Minister."
"Very well, I see no reason to continue this farce of a hearing, Mrs. Le Fay, I am very sorry we have intruded on your privacy in this manner, and as for you Headmaster Dumbledore. Because of the information you have given us and the evidence presented, I hereby relieve you of your duties as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and will remain in custody until we find a time where we can punish you for your numerous crimes. Case dismissed."
"If I may, Minister, who will replace the former Headmaster?" Hermione asked kindly.
"We will hold several interviews in the coming days, but chances are quite big that Minerva McGonagall will become the new Headmistress." Scrimgour said with a kind smile.
Hermione nodded and smiled before she stepped down to go back to the family, who were all looking at her with fierce pride in their eyes.
…
When they stepped out of the Floo at Black Manor an hour later Hermione couldn't help but laugh loudly. "I still can't believe it, this worked out better than we ever could've hoped for. With Dumbledore no longer in charge of Hogwarts and with Minerva probably taking over we will have a lot more leeway. She has always been very supportive of our relationship and will be willing to work with us."
Narcissa smiled at her. "Then perhaps we should invite her to tea soon, tell her a little bit about what has been going on, if that is okay with you. I know from personal experience that she is very trustworthy."
"I know, and it is a good idea in my opinion. That way we can tell her exactly what she needs to know and why we will need our own room." Hermione said with a smile.
Bellatrix smiled at her. "I think she will be very much in agreeance with that, I know you are her favorite, and that she will do anything to protect you, but we'll talk about that later. We've all had a long day, and you two have deserved a little bit of rest."
Fabian and Hermione smiled at them. "Shooing us off so soon, mother. It is almost like you and your sisters have your own plans."
Narcissa smiled at that. "As a matter of fact, we do. We will go out for dinner tonight to celebrate this victory. So until we call for you, you are free to do whatever you please."
They smiled and pressed a kiss to all three sister's cheeks before kissing Fleur, Dora and Luna soundly. "Thank you all for being there for me today. It means the world to me."
They all smiled at her. "Don't mention it 'Mione. We were glad to be there for you. You're family." Nymphadora said with a soft smile.
The brunette smiled at that. "And trust me that I will properly thank you the next time you get that itch."
Nymphadora smiled at that. "I will keep that in mind, and in the meantime, don't do anything we wouldn't do." The Metamorph said with a wink.
Hermione smiled at her before leading her lover up the stairs and to his bedroom, and the moment they were inside she pushed him against the wall. "Here's what's going to happen, my love. Until we need to get ready for that dinner, I want to know everything we talked about this morning, from how you and Luna started out, to how Narcissa is such a dominant personality when she chooses to." She said before kissing him deeply.
Fabian smiled and kissed her before he undressed them with a wave of his wand. "I think I can do that, but I won't be held responsible for what happens afterwards." He said as he carried her to the bed.
Hermione smiled at him. "I am counting on that, my love. Perhaps we can explore another facet of our relationship at the same time."
He smiled at that. "We'll see if we have the time, otherwise we can always do something after dinner, I have a feeling that we will have a night alone tonight."
Hermione smiled as she kissed him. "Not completely alone though. I have a feeling our little Gaia will join us at some point, she seems to have a preference to snuggle between us."
"She does, it comes from the time she was still healing. It was pretty hard to get her to sleep anywhere else. Of course it also helps that she is loved by the entire household and that everyone has a spot in their room where our sweetling can curl up."
She smiled as she cuddled into him. "So love, spill the beans. How did you and Luna get your start?"
He smiled at her. "Luna and I have been close since she was born, probably even before that. You see, her mother adored me as much as my Mum adores her. Pandora and my Mum had always been very close, and they would've gotten married to if it wasn't for that old goat meddling in her business. I still believe he is responsible for Pandora's accident. Mom always tells me the story of how I used to put a hand on Pandora's belly when she was still pregnant with Luna. As we became older Luna and I started with experimenting. She was my first kiss, my first everything really, and as you well know she is very curious, so when we were comfortable in making out with each other, we started doing so in less and less clothes and of course the first thing she commented on when she saw my penis for the first time was its size, and of course she wanted to know what it tasted like, so my first sloppy blowjob was from her. When Dora heard she took it upon herself to help her get better, because I was sure that she saw the writing on the wall already. I still remember the first time Luna and I actually made love. It was the summer between her first and second year and we were home alone. Of course we were both very nervous, and I felt so bad that I hurt her, but she was so sweet about it, and said that it was both normal and that we could take it a few inches at a time, which is exactly what we did. Within a couple of months we were having crazy energy bunny sex and we started to experiment with everything we could get away with. Luna can really be freaky if she wants to."
Hermione smiled at that. "I knew that, she showed enough of that last year."
"What you saw last year was only the tip of the iceberg, my love. Luna might be into more things than Dora, and that is saying something." He said with a soft smile.
"What is the most extreme you have ever done with her?" Hermione asked softly.
He thought about that for a moment. "It was something that she wanted to try last year that could have gone very wrong. It was during the Christmas break when she stayed with us because her father was on one of his expeditions. She begged me to try some rape-play with her and we talked about what would be the limit, which were permanent marks, but everything else was fair game."
Hermione quirked an eyebrow at that. "Wow, I never would have sought that behind her. Could you be persuaded to try something similar with me sometime?"
He smiled and kissed her softly. "We'll see love, perhaps you should talk to Luna about that first."
She nodded and kissed him softly. "Okay, I will do that, but tell me about Narcissa. How is she when she gets dominant?"
"Much like her regular persona, but with a lot of sex involved really, if she's in such a mood she will simply take what she wants and will not stand for any backtalk, of any kind. If she is in a mood like that, you are hers for as long as she pleases." He said with a soft smile.
Hermione shivered in pleasure and straddled him. "Really, perhaps the next time you are going to get busy with Dora, Fleur or Luna, I should offer myself to her, and see what happens."
He smiled at her. "I think she would appreciate that, it's been a while since she has been able to let go like that, and I think you might learn a thing or two from her about being a dominatrix, because I have seen that you want to let go as well, and besides, I can almost feel your juices dripping on my cock, so you are at least interested in either being dominated or being the dominatrix."
She smiled and kissed him. "You damn right I'm excited, you know what kinky talk does to me."
"I think we have time for a quick fuck before we go out tonight. How do you want it, love?"
She smirked and slipped his cock inside of her. "As hard and fast as you can give it." She said as she started riding him.
Her smiled and let her have her fun, knowing today had impacted her more than she let on. He would never complain about making love to his Hermione after all.