Full disclaimer - this story will contain dark!possessive!violent!draco, and will contain darker themes such as death, toxic behaviour, abuse, non-con and also smut. 18+
Hi everyone! We are back with the sequel to The Dark Lord's Heir. For everyone that has followed the adventures of Draco and Hermione until now, I really hope that you enjoy this story as much as the last.
It had been five weeks since Hermione Malfoy's wedding day.
Five weeks since the deaths had started. Five weeks since the world had been re-entered into a time of darkness. Five weeks since Hermione and her friends had been forced to go into hiding. And five weeks since her heart had been shattered and never repaired.
Every day, Hermione thought about Draco. Some days, she wanted to kill him for everything that he had done. But on other days she thought of their many conversations, and the signs and hints that he had given her over their time together at Hogwarts as Head Boy and Girl.
"And that is why you have to be with me when everything turns bad. When he takes over," Draco whispered. His hands let go of her wrists and cupped her cheeks. "You need me."
That particular conversation had been on the night of the Halloween ball, the same night that she told Draco that she loved him for the first time. Looking back on it now, Hermione wanted to hex herself. There was no other he, it had been Draco all along. The signs had always been there. But by that time, she was catastrophically in love with Draco Malfoy and nothing could have changed her opinion on him. Until he had betrayed her and crushed her heart into thousands of pieces. The entire time, he had been manipulating her, all so that she would fall in love with him and he could inherit all of Lord Voldemort's magic. And it had worked.
The days that she missed him were the worst. He might be the devil, but he had been hers. And he had stolen everything from her.
First it had been her heart. Draco had done all that he could to worm his way into her life; first he had killed innocent Terry Boot just to become Head Boy. Sharing a living quarters with Draco had allowed Hermione to see a different and more caring side of him. That had been an act, but it had worked. Draco had slowly edged his way into her heart with his charming personality, smooth words, beautiful looks, and the way that he acted around her, and her alone.
Next, he had taken her education from her. After her fight with Draco that had ended in blood and tears, literally, Hermione had been forced to leave Hogwarts. Afterall, Voldemort and his followers had managed to break into the school at the Battle of Hogwarts, so there was no question that Draco would be able to do the same; he now possessed his own magic as well as the previous Dark Lord's. And Hermione knew just how strong Draco's magic had been on its own. He had impressed her on many different occasions with his skills. An image of the hundreds of lit candles on the Black Lake flew into her mind. No ordinary wizard should have been able to do something like that without help. But Draco did it flawlessly. So no, she was not safe at Hogwarts any longer.
After that, Draco had stolen her right to a life. Hermione now lived in a safe house with only Ron, Ginny, and Harry. She had not seen another living soul in just under five weeks, but logically it was for the best. After Hermione had awoken in Grimmauld Place with Ginny at her side, she had been told that Harry had bought them a place to live and hide in. 12 Grimmauld Place was not safe, as it had originally belonged to the Black family, who were also Draco's family. There was all the chance in the world that Draco knew about Harry's ownership of it, so they could not stay. Harry used a small portion of his inheritance from both his parents and Sirius to secure them a house that would be untraceable.
He had used Andromeda Tonks to help complete the purchase, so that his name stayed out of any paperwork. Draco now controlled the Ministry and Hermione was certain that he had people looking out for anything containing her name, or the names of her friends. Harry Potter's name on a deed to a house would be a giveaway as to where they were. So, Andromeda was used. Harry trusted her. Hermione had not realised that ever since the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry had been in contact with her frequently, to check on his godson, Teddy Lupin. He had even made Andromeda the secret-keeper. It was smart, really. Hermione held no connection to her or Teddy Lupin, so Draco would hardly suspect a thing.
But worst of all, the final thing that Draco had taken from Hermione was her mind. Hermione had always prided herself on her brains and the way that she could focus on books or papers like no other. But those skills were gone. Hermione now spent her days in the conservatory of her new house, staring out the window into her garden. The only thing that was ever on her mind was her husband. He plagued her day and night. Hermione's nightmares were back, which she found amazingly ironic. Draco had gone out of his way to help her with sleeping peacefully and now he was the cause of her screams as she awoke each night. He never left her alone.
And yet, Hermione missed him still. She could not help it. He was her husband and she loved him. He might have been killing people and was now just as terrifying to the wizarding world as Voldemort had been, but to her, he was Draco. She had seen him bare his soul to her. He had showered her in compliments, with presents and even tried to find a place with her friends. She had hundreds of memories with him that she cherished, and they were not easily erased.
And, no matter how evil Draco Malfoy was, Hermione knew one thing. He loved her. And he would never stop looking for her.
But she owed it to her friends to try and hide. If Hermione was seen in public, then her friends might be caught, and Hermione was smart enough to know what would happen after that. Draco had promised Blaise that he could kill Harry, and Hermione knew that Draco would not hesitate to end Ron himself. Ginny would then probably be next. So, she was hiding. No matter how much she wanted Draco, she would never put her friends at risk to see him and she would never go willingly to him. He was a monster. Once Draco had her, she would never be free. And Hermione would never give up her freedom for him.
As far as Hermione had heard, the world knew that Draco had inherited Voldemort's powers, but not everyone knew how he had done it. Not that it mattered. Draco had taken over the wizarding world flawlessly. Rumours flew around about him; he had no mercy, no qualms about who he killed. Her friends tried to shield any information about him by taking and hiding the newspapers as they arrived, but Hermione still knew. Things were bad. As bad as they had been before.
Kingsley was missing, and Blaise was now the Minister for Magic. Theo was Draco's right-hand man and tracked people down for him. Thankfully, Hermione was not aware of a warrant out for her at the moment, but it was only a matter of time. Draco had told her that he would be back for her. And he was not a liar.
Draco Malfoy knew many things.
He was the most powerful wizard in the world, and he was feared by everyone. Within five short weeks, he had built himself a reputation, one that he loved. Draco had inherited the title of Dark Lord and was living up to it perfectly, passed to him like a King passes the crown to his Prince. This was what he had been groomed to do.
Voldemort's followers all followed him now and did not question him. Draco knew that most of them were loyal and if they were not, he was strong enough to sense when someone might betray him; if he ever had an inkling of it then the person in question would be ended without a second thought.
Voldemort had had an inner circle, and those were the people that he had trusted implicitly; Draco himself had been in that circle. But now, Draco had his own inner circle, and it was small. Included in it was his two best friends, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, and the girls, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, and Astoria Greengrass. These were the people that he trusted. Each of them had been gifted one of his silver bracelets before anyone else had. He did not want any of the older Death Eaters in his inner ranks. This was the time and ruling of Draco Malfoy and his new group of Death Eaters.
Draco's Masters regime had been to rid the world of muggleborns, blood traitors, and anyone that displeased him or posed a threat; namely Harry Potter or Albus Dumbledore. But Draco feared no one. There was not a single person in the world that could take on his powers; he harnessed the powers of two wizards, after all. And he had plenty more tricks up his sleeves. His master had taught him well. He was in charge of everyone and things would be run how he wanted them to, but he would never target muggleborns as Voldemort had done.
His wife, Hermione Malfoy, was a muggleborn.
His one and only goal was to protect her and eliminate anyone that might harm her.
Draco chuckled. The last time that he had seen Hermione, he had been the one to harm her, although it had been necessary. And anyway, he was her husband and could do whatever he wanted with her. They had fought together furiously, and even with blood on her face and anger in her eyes, she had still been the most beautiful witch that he had ever seen.
But she had gotten away. Perhaps he had been too cocky. He should have knocked her out straight away, rather than going easy on her and entertaining himself by watching her fight gloriously. No matter.
It had been thirty-five days since he had seen his wife. Up until now, there had been a lot to do. Blaise was the new Minister for Magic and making that happen had not been easy. Draco had also had to work his way through the Death Eaters that he had inherited and find out which ones had not truthfully pledged their loyalty to him.
But alas, all of these things he had done for Hermione. A disloyal Death Eater could be a threat to his wife. And Blaise being the new Minister meant that Draco could arrest and make a show of anyone that violated his rules, which would in turn show the wizarding world just how powerful he was and what lengths he would go to. And soon enough, everyone would know of his wife. And Draco would go to any means imaginable to keep her safe.
Everything was in order now. He had let her think she was safe. Truthfully, he did not know where she was; and his witch was smart. She would be hidden well. But Draco had his ways of finding her. They both knew that he would do anything for her.
And he had a plan.
The Dark Lord's wife would be home soon enough.
