A tall, bulky man stood in front of her. How he had managed to sneak up on her was beyond her understanding but there was something unsettling about him. Hermione shivered. His cold penetrating eyes staring down at her. His cropped white hair standing in contrast to his middle-aged appearance. Most notably was a trio of what looked like claw marks on the side of his head. She could not make heads or tails of him. Where had he come from? Who was he? Muggle or Wizard?
"Any relation to the Grangers?" he gruffly asked in a strangely clipped accent nodding towards her family's last name on the gravestone.
Hermione adjusted her stance. Something was off about him and she was alone here. Not another soul in sight.
"Who's asking?" she responded defensively squaring her shoulders.
"I'm asking," he stated stepping closer to her. Hermione had to crane her neck and resisted the urge to take a step back. He was freakishly tall.
"Obviously," she stated dryly. "And who are you? Because I know the Grangers' friends well, and you are not familiar."
He remained unfazed. "You're the daughter then, I take it."
"And you are?!" Hermione countered snapping as he took another step closer. He was too close for comfort: "I swear if you take one more step, I will not be accountable for my actions. So, step back."
"Or what, child." He growled taking another step. Hermione snapped, hit him with her hands flat on his strong chest, pushed and forced him back two steps surprising him. A grin was hushing over his face. "Girl has spunk," he remarked. "Untrained but with potential."
"Did you not get the hint?" Hermione spat. "You were advancing too closely. Who are you and what do you want? How do you know my parents?"
"Lesson number one, child." he quickly told her ignoring her barrage of questions. "Control your emotions." Hermione rolled her eyes. That man tried to reign her in. Not another one. He didn't look like a wizard. His body was too toned for that. But she couldn't be sure. That claw mark was suspicious anyway. Werewolf perhaps?
"Answer the bloody question. Who the hell are you?" she asked more forcefully this time, but he ignored her but took a step back mustering her with a knowing smile on his thin lips. "And don't call me a child. I'm of age." Not only that. She already did have intercourse the night before, not that she would tell him that.
"If your father hasn't filled you in, then it is really not my place to tell you, girl," he told her crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Your little trick might work on weak Terran males, but certainly not on someone of my training, little one."
Her jaw dropped. Terran? Trick? "What trick? What are you talking about?" Hermione inquired clenching her hands. Who the hell was this entitled prick toying with her?
"Ask your father. It's his responsibility to fill you in on your unfortunate inheritance." the man told her calmly.
"He can't. He's dead." Hermione told him crisply and saw that his eyes widened. Clearly, he had not expected that answer. "As is my mother."
"How?" he wanted to know stepping closer to her again, narrowing his eyes. "When?"
"Almost a year ago in a plane crash on their way to Australia." she choked up, fighting to keep her tears at bay. She didn't want to appear weak. Especially, not in front of this man.
And it seemed that she was right. He regarded her with disdain. "Have their bodies been recovered? Identified?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, they can't even locate the plane."
"Then how do you know that they are deceased?" the man inquired with an edge in his voice.
"Because it is very unlikely that anyone from that plane is still alive somewhere. They found some minor parts of the plane, which indicates that it went down somewhere in the vast ocean. Clinging to the exceedingly unrealistic hope that they are still alive won't help. And I can't even request further information as they used their aliases whereas I still go by my real name."
"Aliases?" he shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would your father even leave his post here to move across the planet?"
"His post?" Hermione asked. "He went into the reserve years ago." But the man waved it off.
"It's my fault," she admitted reluctantly. "I made them go to protect them from … really bad people."
The other bellowed out a laugh. "You? You had to protect them from really bad people? Girl, your father was a Star Force member and comes from a long line of Accusers. There is no way that some big bad Terrans would have made him cower."
There it was: Star Force, Accusers. She knew those terms from the stories and from her meagre memories, that the pool had revealed. But that would mean…
Hermione quickly took two steps to the side. He wasn't human. "You're a Kree," she stated, and he inclined his head.
"So, your father has filled you in." Hermione shook her head. "And yes, I am. Your father failed to check in with me. So, I had to come all this way to this place to find out why." the man told her locking his hard gaze with her.
Checking in with him? What the hell was he talking about. Her father had been in the reserve. There was no way that he had a handler after his transition from active duty to the reserve. Unless he had been involved in something else. Wait! Hala. The Kree homeworld!
"He just told me Good night-stories about Kree, Star Force and such as a child, but until a few days ago I was convinced that those were only stories," she admitted. "Wait, hold on if you are a Kree and you know about me being my father's daughter, then how many people in Hala know? Because if I remember correctly then my grandfather, some blue giant, was quite upset of me being in his house and my grandmother warned him that it would have been in his right to kill me."
"Mar-Vell told your father that it was in your grandfather's right to kill you?" he queried with raised eyebrows. "That bastard. So, he did know where his wayward mother had disappeared to. Do you know where she is?"
"Is that her name? Mar-Vell? How should I know? As far as I know, they had a severe falling out years ago. And I did ask you a question? So, do I have to worry about my murderous grandfather?"
He snorted. "Your grandfather fell in a Xandarian attack alongside his father and his grandfather before they could continue different avenues for you. So, no need to worry about him. Your uncle has better things to do than hunt down a hybrid like yourself. Consequently, you better behave and to not cross him in any way and you should be fine. As to who knows about your existence beside me and Ronan on Hala? Probably nobody who matters."
Hermione exhaled relieved but didn't drop her caution entirely. "Are there others like me here on Earth?" It sounded strange to say the words, but perhaps she could find other Kree to learn more about her origin. Perhaps she could find some sense of belonging that the Wizarding World could not provide, and the Muggle World was still out of reach for her.
His eyebrow rose challengingly. "Someone like you? A hybrid? Not that I know of. A few Kree agents. Absolutely. Your father was supposed to coordinate them, but since his disappearance, any communiqués to Hala have seized."
Lucius slowly came to be and blinked sleepily. He was still in one of the rooms at the Temple. There was not much he could remember from last night. Well, he could remember the defloration ceremony and wouldn't mind a repeat of it. That had been the best sex, he had in a very long time. Delicious, mind-blowing came to his mind and his groin twitched in anticipation of a repeat. But what happened afterwards? Given his well-sated tiredness, it had to have been mind-blowing. He wracked his mind what had happened and why the last thing he remembered was falling onto Granger in bed. He quickly sat up with a grunt and shrieked unmanly. His hair was caught somewhere, and the room was spinning around him. What in Merlin's name? Had he passed out? That was impossible.
"Well, look who finally decided to come back to the living." He heard Irene's mocking voice from the left side. He turned his head and spotted her leaning casually against the wall with her hands crossed in front of her chest.
"What's the time?" he inquired not liking her barely concealed grin one bit. Something was up. She fought back to contain her laughter and snorted. "It is 1 pm on September first. You've slept like a baby through the rest of the prima nocte, through the following day and the following night. It seems that our newest addition managed to tire you out quite a bit. Your son is under the impression that you enjoy Thea Athena still."
His jaw dropped. That wasn't possible. Madame Adler had to play tricks on him. "Don't mock me, Irene."
"I'm not. It is the truth. Somehow the little minx managed to tire you out completely during the defloration process. She did say that you struggled and insinuated that you might even have a heart condition."
"I do not have a heart condition!" he ground out, but Irene Adler just shook her head. "Our physical didn't indicate one either, but before we reschedule the prima nocte, I need you to have a more detailed one. Especially, one that tests your heart under duress. Granger did say that she didn't want to be responsible for you dying on her during your coupling. And that is a reasonable request of her." With a flicker of her arm, the blond man felt his hair detangle from wherever it had stuck.
He carefully stood up realizing that he was still nude with a still very prodding hard-on. The floor felt uneven for a second "So, you are siding with her now? I paid for this night. Quite handsomely, I might add. So, I want her to finish the job."
Madame Adler rose her eyebrow. "Hilarious, she said the same thing about you. Lamented even that you left her wanting. I'm not siding with her, but her request is reasonable. Our establishment can't be known to have men drop dead like flies. And believe me, she will finish the job when we schedule the real prima nocte. Perhaps it is your advantage then as she won't have that much power over you after the effect of the origins pool wear off. Now, you should get dressed before you are missed." She tossed a pile of clothes at the bed.
"It did feel as if she had partially imperioused me. I didn't want to give her an oral, but it felt as if she compelled me to do it." he explained and "why the blue colour of her skin?"
She sighed dramatically. "You weren't the only one under her spell. All the attendants were. Many of them placed offers that they couldn't even have paid without heavily indebting themselves. They all wanted to be informed as soon as she gets free of your bond." She told him sitting down opposite of him. "Oh, and the blue colour of her skin appeared when I put her in the origins pool to force out her primal nature."
"So, what is she?" he inquired wracking his mind if he had heard about a blue-skinned magical creature before but came up empty.
"I have no clue. But if the ceremony did show one thing, it was that she is powerful. I even asked the Goblin Historians in Gringotts about blue-skinned creatures, but their suggestions are even less reliable than that of the vampire historians. Yet both fractions seemed to be interested in the research about her. The vampire historian thought about a myth from Andalusia a few centuries ago as there is apparently a blue virgin maria statue somewhere. The Goblin Historians suggested a different myth referring to the Blue goddess Kālarātri and there was another myth apparently speaking of blue angels descending from the sky baring gifts." she explained crossing her arms as she watched Lucius get dressed. As her silent partner, he needed to know.
"This is not the last fascinating thing." she changed subjects. "Unlike Granger, are aware that the defloration ceremony was more than just a ceremony."
"Yes." He grunted in remembrance. How he longed to pound into Granger's welcoming warm body right now. "It was a fertility ritual for our three fertility gods, but I've long given up believing in them. The wizarding community has remained stagnant for over a century. Only the Weasley blood traitors were spared from that fate for some reason."
"Don't hold back your bitterness about that, Lucius," she told him with a shrug. "I don't understand why the rituals haven't worked for that long. After all the altar only takes what makes us stronger. But, for the first time in over a century, the sacrifice was accepted. The ritual worked." she informed him and Lucius' eyes widened in surprise.
"How do you know that for certain?" he wanted to know. He knew Madame Adler was not only the Dame of this establishment but also the true guardian of their temple.
"I've been down at the statues of our goddesses. They shone brightly. Just as radiant as the altar did when you performed the ritual with Granger. I've never seen them shine this brightly after a potency ritual before. All the attendants in the room were blessed. The sheer virility was palpable in the air. Every single room of the establishment has been used during that night and they still can't get enough. I wage that there will be a lot of copulation in the next few days, weeks or perhaps even months depending on how long the effect of the ritual lasts. Very likely leading to a new baby boom."
"But I thought that you used protection for Granger," he stated half disgusted and yet a tiny bit intrigued at the possibilities. What was he thinking!?
"Of course." Madame Adler concurred. "After all, this was her condition to go through with the ritual in the first place, but had we not used a protective spell, then she would have conceived. However, I do not know how this will affect the aftermath of the ritual itself or your contract. Technically, we cheated the goddesses out of a conception."
Ginny had gone off to look who else had decided to come back while Hermione was sitting alone in a compartment, a book on her lap. But she didn't really feel like reading. Her mind was reeling. So much had changed in so little time. She was now truly a woman and was a bit scared to admit, that she enjoyed copulation so much. Her defloration hadn't been as bad as she had anticipated. It was energizing. She was still buzzing with energy. The sex had felt intoxicating, invigorating even but not even remotely sating. She was bursting with energy and yet she couldn't do anything right now. Merlin, she wanted a repeat. When Malfoy had collapsed on her, she had shortly panicked when her hazy memory from that wretched pool came back to her. She had believed that she had somehow killed him. But mercifully, he had just been exhausted. Her gaze fell onto the crumpled letter, Madame Adler had sent her to reschedule the prima nocte with him. Apparently, he wanted her as soon as possible. Hermione felt herself dampen at the mere thought of having sex again. What the hell was wrong with her. Was this normal? It had felt glorious, but shouldn't she feel some sort of satisfaction? But now, apparently coming trice hadn't been enough. She felt as if she needed more. Ron had almost become a victim to her lust when she had spoken her good-byes to him. Well, she had held him against the wall and given him a thorough kiss with the promise to continue this further once she had finished her year in Hogwarts. She had felt his probing member at her abdomen but left him wanting. She sighed. But she had wanted to have him right there. But that would have to wait until her contract ended.
She knew that she had to talk to the headmistress about occasionally leaving the school "for work", but as McGonagall liked her, she probably would be able to achieve that easily and get away with it.
And then, at the grave of her grandparents, she had received the confirmation that she was, at least partially an alien. A Kree. Her father, the man she had believed to be a human officer, medic, dentist and pilot for the Royal Air Force, was much older and an alien as well. But she didn't feel any different. Had her mother known? For some reason, she still felt as if the world was playing a distasteful joke on her. That man, that Kree, whose name she had never found out had no tasked her to find her father's sleeper agents even though she had no fucking clue where to begin. Besides, she also had no time for that, but he had told her that it wasn't that pressing and that he would check in with her in a years' time. He also had not answered any further questions about her "trick" or gift or whatever only that she should be happy to live on C-53, the Kree's designation for her planet. She hated not knowing things!
Hermione detected a loud knock on her compartment door before it was violently wrenched open. "What do you want, Malfoy?" she drawled locking eyes with him. Well, if his father couldn't finish the job, then what about his son? He was younger after all. What the hell are you thinking Hermione?! She mentally shook her head. Even so, Lucius Malfoy had not been able to do the Prima Nocte with her. So, he still had preceding rights.
He shrugged. "Me, nothing. But the current head girl, just resigned before we could even reach Hogwarts and that means that the job falls to you. So, you are expected to come to the prefect compartment."
"I do not plan on being Head girl or a prefect this year," Hermione told him earnestly. Being Head girl would take away valuable time and certainly not allow her to disappear that easily for a few hours.
"What?!" His jaw dropped. "The high and mighty Hermione Granger doesn't want to be Head girl? I guess the world is ending."
"What did you do to make the head girl resign, Malfoy?" she inquired with a heavy sigh closing her book. "And why the hell are you head boy?! After all, you did?"
"Connections, Granger." he winked. "And why do you assume that I have something to do with this?" he defended himself. "Come on Granger. Think about it. You have your own room to study in Hogwarts. Away from the other house members. Your own bedroom and bathroom. You won't even need to use the public showers or prefect bathroom any longer."
She narrowed her eyes. That sounded way too coincidental. Had they just destroyed another girl's ambition in order to get her, her own room where she would have to perform like a flying monkey?
"You know, perfect to sneak in your Weasel for some extra credits," he suggested winking, letting his eyes suggestively roam over her body.
"Again. Why did the previous head girl resign?" she inquired not taking the bait.
"They still haven't dislodged your broom from your backside, I see," he stated shrugging his shoulders.
Hermione bit her cheeks, to stop her from laughing out. Oh, he had no idea. He had been in the very room when his own father had done the deed. Raising her eyebrow, she locked eyes with him and jabbed with amusement in her voice, opening her legs wide, while leaning forward.
"Why Malfoy, are you volunteering?" she purred. The blond ferret jumped back and gulped heavily. "Pretty sure you wouldn't be man enough to finish the job." she jabbed and crossed her legs again.
His eyes widened in astonishment, his breathing accelerating. "Is that a challenge Granger?" He sounded hoarse. Oh, how she loved that power.
She shook her head. "No, just a statement. So, stop evading my questions. Why did the Head girl resign? Did she refuse to give you a head?"
His eyes widened, clearly surprised at her suggestion and Hermione couldn't explain what had come over her. She had to find release soon. By her hand again if necessary.
"Ahm. She's a Hufflepuff." the younger Malfoy explained frowning. "Saw the list of what she had to do as head girl and freaked out. Typical Hufflepuff." he shrugged.
Hermione exhaled avoiding giving Malfoy a piece of her mind. "That doesn't make any sense. Hufflepuffs value hard work. She just wouldn't give it up like that. Ok, where is she? I need to talk to her."
"Why would you want to talk to her? She quit and you're next in line. So, get a move on." he told her, but Hermione shook her head.
"My instinct tells me that something is fishy about all of this. Considering what goes on behind the scenes…"
"Nothing goes on behind the scenes Granger!" Malfoy interrupted her. "It was just some incompetent Hufflepuff…"
"Now listen Malfoy and listen well." Hermione returned the favour. "People like you should have learned already to never underestimate a Hufflepuff. They are hard workers, loyal and fierce and are a force to be reckoned with. Your cousin was a Hufflepuff as well, did you know that? If she could hear you talk like that, then she'd hexed you into Kingdom hell. Come to think of it. I might just do it for her, now that your aunt has murdered her. So, when a Hufflepuff who earned her position as head girl with hard work and dedication resigns from that position with such privileges, then something bad must have happened. And who exactly decided that I was the person to follow in her footsteps?"
Malfoy gulped taking a step back. "Ah, well she said this?"
"Then it is not confirmed. So, until McGonagall doesn't send me an owl making me head girl, I have no responsibility at all in that position. So, the best I can do is to help the one who had been appointed."
Narcissa rolled to her side, panting heavily, sweat glistening on her heavy body. She had no idea what had gotten into her husband after he had returned from his business trip, but she certainly would not complain. This had been the most invigorating sex she had with him as long as she could remember and yet she could not get enough. He had made her come several twice already and come himself, deeply embedded in her. That had never happened before. She was spent. As was he as he was snoring next to her in her bed. But she would have to make herself presentable, while he could continue his beauty sleep. After all, she now had a job. And her son would probably get quite a shock finding out about her new job in Hogwarts.