The Phoenix Court Ch 13
The Greens had an unending celebration the days following the trial. Draco lost himself in rich food, fine wine, and other debaucheries. During those days rumors spread throughout the court that the Dragon Prince had chosen a new favorite from amongst his supporters, the lovely Astoria Greengrass. It was said that the young woman captured the prince's eye at a celebration party and had hardly been away from the prince's side since. The court had not yet forgotten the prince's old favorite, the Lady Hermione. Some pitied her for being cast aside by the prince so quickly. Others remarked on her absent support for her lover during his time of need. Still, others simply wished her to find a more faithful and devoted lover, perhaps from amongst the Reds.
Hermione still received pitying looks weeks after the Astoria Greengrass rumors began to spread. Autumn had faded into winter and Hermione tried her best to ignore the court. She would insist to anyone who would listen that rumors were nothing but the musings of bored courtiers, sniffing around for gossip. But they were getting harder to ignore as more and more people claimed to see the new lovers ensconced in private corners of the gardens.
Her friends amongst the Greens seemed to have forgotten about her as well. Pansy Parkinson didn't return her invitations for walks about the palace gardens. Daphne Greengrass only sent her polite apologies and insistence that they meet "some other day". But that day never came. Hermione tried not to let it bother her and she told herself that she should have expected this. She did not outright abandon prince Draco in his time of need, but she didn't show her outright support of him either. Loyalty was sacred to the Greens, they staunchly stood by his side, defending the Prince's honor against the Reds. The Greens, unlike her, had stayed loyal. All other sins could be forgiven, but to betray their trust was to lose it forever.
She had regretted her rejection of the Prince, she thought about his letters and what he must have written to her. She wished she kept an open mind and read them at least, instead of losing herself in her doubts. But at the time she was so afraid, she cared for Prince Draco, but deep down she was afraid that he could have been guilty and afraid for her reputation. She pondered over her regrets and thought, and thought, and thought. The words that seemed to come to mind were always "if only" but what good was that? She needed to move forward, but she didn't want to let go.
In her mind, the prince was being dramatic. She thought about the ashes of her letter he had returned to her. At the time she was sad and just a little ashamed, but now she was furious. It was unfair! How could he expect her to stand beside him when all the evidence pointed to him being guilty? She never even accused him of anything! She never even spoke to him, just sent back his letters… unread. If she could only explain herself… but he didn't give her a chance. He was being too stubborn.
Perhaps she should just give up, if the rumors were to be believed (which she refused to do) he had already given up on her. Maybe this is what their relationship really was, just passion that burned hot and then dissipated with the smoke. Now they were left with the ashes, nothing substantial but the memory of his burning kiss.
But she had loved those kisses, his sinful lips on hers, desire burning in his eyes. His lips devoured her, caressed her, and the look he gave her that said he would love to kiss her in other places as well… Oh!… She would never feel his kiss again.
Hermione abruptly stood up from the chair she was sitting in, her book falling to the floor. She slapped her cheeks to wake herself from her musings. She needed to stop thinking about him or she would make herself more miserable. Hermione looked out the window at the grey sky...she should get some air.
Winter had come to Alban and the palace gardens were cloaked in frost and snow. Madam Sprout had enchanted the gardens to never wilt or die, even in the harshest weather. Her magic created an ethereal scene of vibrant greens covered in sparkling snow. The sight took Hermione's breath away. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself and set off towards the maze. As she moved through the labyrinth of twists and turns she heard laughter and joyful voices. She picked up her pace and a hedge began to open before her to reveal a small clearing. Four figures were engaged in a snowball fight. Two men and two women, Hermione recognized the thick dark hair and realized that Daphne Greengrass was one of the players.
Hermione realized that she stumbled upon a group of Greens, much to her irritation, a nervous feeling bloomed in her gut. Why should she be afraid of them? She told herself, she hadn't done anything to them.
Just as she was debating turning around and fleeing, she caught sight of an errant snowball headed in her direction. She was a moment too late to dodge it and it hit her on the shoulder, covering the collar of her cloak in snow.
Daphne, wearing an emerald green cloak lined with sable fur, ran up to her. As she got closer, Hermione realized it wasn't Daphne after all. This woman was the spitting image of Daphne from afar but as she drew closer Hermione realized that this woman must be her sister Astoria, "Oh my, I'm so sorry!" Astoria said, "My lady are you alright?"
A man cloaked in black yelled out to the younger Greengrass sister, "Astoria, you need to work on your aim. Unless you were trying to attack the hedge, which in that case you are quite the marksman."
Astoria's face colored red and she spun on her heel to shout at her companion, "Shut up, Zabini."
Astoria turned once more to fix Hermione with an apologetic smile and began to brush the snowflakes from Hermione's cloak. So this is his new love, Hermione thought to herself, how beautiful she is. Her eyes shine like stars.
Hermione just stared for a moment longer before breaking herself out of her musings, "Thank you, my lady. You are too kind but I'm alright. I'm sorry to spoil your game."
"You didn't spoil it. I spoiled your cloak. Would you like to join us?"
Astoria seemed oblivious to the awkward silence that followed. The other Greens, Blaise, and two others Hermione didn't recognize, stared back at her. Their faces seemed to indicate that they wished Astoria had not invited her to join them.
"Thank you, my Lady, but I'm afraid I must decline. You already have an even number I would hate to create an unfair advantage for whatever side I play with."
"You needn't worry. Zabini told me that Prince Draco would be joining us soon."
Hermione was taken aback by the air of welcome and kindness in Astoria's face. This was the one who had replaced her… "Oh no, no. Thank you, but I'm sorry, I completely forgot that I have a meeting with master Lupin. It was so wonderful to meet you, but I'm afraid I have to go."
Without giving Astoria the chance to respond, Hermione turned on her heels and briskly walked out the direction she came. As she was leaving she could hear Blaise's loud voice, "Are you an idiot, Tori? Don't you know that's that Granger woman? Draco wouldn't want his former lover around after what she did."
"Really!? She's Lady Hermione? The one that everyone was talking about…but she seems so…"
Hermione didn't stick around to hear the rest of what Astoria thought of her. She had made a mistake, the air in the gardens hadn't improved her mood at all. She needed to get as far away from this clearing as possible. In her haste, she lost track of the path she was taking and ended up at a dead end. Frustrated and cold, Hermione kicked the hedge. She soon found out that magical plants did not take kindly to such abuse as it swiped at her with one of its branches. Hermione dodged the branch coming for her face but didn't notice a smaller branch had wrapped around her ankle. She tripped and fell flat on her face.
"Ouch! Damned hedge!"
Hermione rolled over in the dirt and rubbed her cheek and nose. An amused snort sounded to her right and she angled her head to see the very prince she was so keen to avoid.
Embarrassment colored her face red as she jumped up and into a hasty bow, "Your highness. What a pleasure to see you again after so long. I-"
"Pleasure, is that what you call it? And here I thought you were going to run away. Again."
Hermione's blush darkened but this time with anger. Did he really need to rub her mistakes in her face? She took in the sight of him. His expression was cold, but his eyes burned with restrained anger. He seemed like a different person, cold and sharp like a dagger.
"Please, my Prince. Let me explain. I know I have done you wrong. I made a mistake-"
He snorted again, "I'm sorry my Lady, but I find your treatment of me was more than some trivial "mistake". But I have moved on now my Lady, there is no need for you to explain yourself. I see now that your feelings for me were less than I thought."
"That is not true. I still care for you. I was just scared, scared for my reputation, and blinded by my family's words. I know that was selfish. I wish I had the courage to listen."
"Well, let us both hope that you find your courage before you find your next lover. I would hate for them to be just as disappointed as I was."
He strode past her without another word. Hermione was filled with sorrow and rage. She hated herself at that moment. She hated that she couldn't stand tall, she hated that she had begged him. She didn't know what she was doing. She wanted to make things right, to have him smile at her, kiss her, love her again. But for all her wits, she was just a fool when it came to love.
When she arrived at the library to meet with Master Lupin, she was surprised to see Prince Harry and Sir Weasley sitting with the scholar. Hermione bowed and greeted the prince who looked exasperated. Sir Weasley ignored her and continued speaking, complaining in Hermione's opinion, as she took a seat next to Master Lupin.
"I can't believe that our King thinks that the Malfoy's are innocent. Veritaserum means nothing and those witness testimonies were barely evidence."
Weasley looked desperately between Harry and Master Lupin until Prince Harry finally spoke. "How many times are you going to say this Ron. The King has already decided and even I think the whole assassination plot was just…odd."
"What do you mean odd? Old Lord Malfoy and his son are obsessed with power! There is nothing odd about them wanting to kill their rival."
"No, I mean odd in how they would go about killing me. I thought Malfoy would want to kill me himself. Start a duel in the training yard and make it look like an accident... Not pay someone to assassinate me. We've been pitted against each other since childhood. He would want to be the one who overcame me by his own effort."
"What's the difference, Harry? Pay someone to kill you, actually kill you… either way, you're dead. Don't tell me you want the honor of being killed by that snake?"
"Don't be an idiot, Ron. Paid assassination doesn't seem to be the way Malfoy would solve his problems. "
"Fine, whatever you say, my Prince, then it was old man Malfoy."
Harry laughed and shook his head clearly not convinced.
"Show some respect, Sir Weasley," Master Lupin chided, "they may be snakes, but Lucius Malfoy is a Lord and his son is a Prince. They could have your hands cut off for slander."
Weasley looked horrified and rubbed his wrists as if just the thought of it pained him. Lupin turned to Hermione, "You've been awfully quiet, Lady Hermione. The children weren't upsetting you were they?"
"We're not children!" The two men said in unison.
Hermione gave them all a weak smile. In truth, their talk did upset her. She wanted to defend Prince Draco, but again she didn't do it, "No I'm just thinking about the–the elemental stone…"
Lupin didn't look convinced but he didn't press her, "Still thinking about the elemental stone?"
"It's just so fascinating that we can have such a connection with an object like that. We give it our energy and we gain power in return."
"It's not so unusual. Working with a familiar or spirit is a similar exchange."
"But that is living magic. These stones are not alive."
"What makes you think they aren't alive, miss Granger? Just because they are rocks? All things in this world and beyond are saturated with a powerful energy. That energy gives the spark of life. Look at our oldest legends, our blood came from the sea, our bones from the trees, and our flesh from the earth. The spark of life was the fire, the energy from the gods and spirits. The very energy that also gives us our magic."
"But those are just myths, Master. Children's tales passed down from a time when people were trying to make sense of a strange world."
"But all myth grows from a seed of truth, miss Granger. You just need to look closely at the stories. If you don't believe me, I will talk with his grace, Lord Black, see if he will lend me the stone again."
"Oh! That would be wonderful. Thank you, master Lupin!"
A loud yawn interrupted Hermione's joy, "Bo-o-oring… I'm tried of all this talk of children's tales and rocks. We were having a serious discussion about Harry's security."
This time Hermione did speak up, "No, Sir Weasley, you were alone in your "discussion" on your conspiracy theories against the house of Malfoy. If the King and the council have found him innocent then we have no right to question Prince Draco. Or are you saying you know better than the King?"
Weasley didn't respond but fixed her a glare. Hermione ignored him and instead bid prince Harry and Master Lupin goodbye before leaving. The last thing she heard was Sir Weasley's disgruntled voice, "She needs to sort out her allegiances."
A/N: Poor Hermione and Draco. :( Thank you for reading and I would love to hear what you think!