Minerva would have had to be blind not to see how reluctant Hermione was to leave her alone but she could also feel it through the bond that they shared. Nevertheless the young woman sent her another wink before heading towards the kitchen with obvious familiarity.
Oma turned her gaze on Minerva for a long moment. "I always knew that Hermione would find a human to love and ever since about her fifth year at Ilvermorny, when she told me that she was a lesbian - I knew that it would be a witch."
Minerva chuckled, "And here I am."
"Well news has certainly travelled. The veteran war hero witch, who escaped her captors and tried to take on a pack of wolves with a butter knife, risked your life by taking the time to save Andrew's. Then managed to snag the most eligible bachelorette in the Conclave, won over most of her family, agreed to take over the management of the magical school and performed a mating ritual that neither of you fully understood - all in less than a week."
Minerva's cheeks paled, then reddened and then she chuckled again. "Yes." She honestly didn't know what else she could say to that.
"It's been a busy week." Hermione walked back into the room with a tea tray.
"And you brought Minerva here because something unexpected happened during your mating ritual?"
Hermione smiled, "Yes. I was hoping that you would be able to shed some light on it." She poured a cup of tea for each of them, taking her time with the ceremony of tea-making and delivering it to the two older witches. Eventually she returned to the sofa and snuggled into Minerva's shoulder.
"Mating between wolves and Wizarding kind has never been common, there are very few cases to draw from. I researched the topic extensively after my mating and in the years since but most of the interesting detail comes from apocrypha and legend, rather than books and more reliable sources."
The ancient witch looked at both of them, "Humans in general respond to a certain extent to all wolf pheromones; feeling fear at aggressive ones, submission to the dominant, and sexual desire in response to mating ones. In terms of the mating ritual, a simple human would afterwards experience a feeling of connection or greater attraction to their mate and the wolf would experience the same but to a greater degree."
Minerva's right hand slipped onto the younger woman's thigh as she listened. "Two wolves have a connection that goes beyond words; able to sense the presence of the other at considerable distance, to feel the emotional and physical state of their mate, it increases sexual desire, promotes physical closeness… and a whole host of other things besides."
"Matings between Wolves and Witches are far less understood. The inherent, normally untapped magical core of the wolf merges with that of the witch and it makes both more powerful. There are a number of factors that seem to make this connection greater, the first and most important is if the wolf is also a witch."
Hermione nodded, "That makes sense."
"...If the witch is powerful in her own right."
Minerva just smirked with a touch of arrogance but said nothing.
"...If the witch happens to be an animagus."
The two younger women made eye contact before Minerva transformed into her cat form and curled up on Hermione's lap for a few minutes. The opportunity to be petted by her mate was simply too tempting to resist and the younger witch did so with gusto. "Evidently she is."
"Is she a pureblood?"
Hermione shrugged, "We haven't discussed it. Blood status isn't important."
"It may be in this case."
"Minerva?" The cat gave a low hiss, rolled onto the sofa cushion and turned back into a human.
"My father was a Muggle, I'm a half-blood."
"Hmmmm."
"What does hmmmm mean?" Asked Hermione a little high pitched.
"The theory is that despite a mating bond being a choice rather than biologically predetermined… It still exists to help bring strong bloodlines into the pack. Minerva's blood status matters. You Hermione, bring ancient and strong wolf bloodlines into this relationship, along with some magical heritage from your grandfather. Minerva brings magical blood and the blood of Gatherers that she inherited from her father."
Oma took a sip of her tea before continuing, "The mating ritual bound the two of you, by the literal joining of that blood and of your magical cores. Your children will be some of only a few born in untold millennia, who have the bloodlines of all three species of human within them. Those bloodlines are strong and make up a big part of who each of you are, a drop of wolf blood in a Muggle for example wouldn't count."
"What does it mean for us, and for our children?" Desperate but still deferential, Minerva needed an answer from the old woman.
"Let me guess…?" Hermione's voice was a little sarcastic, "There's an old legend."
Oma chuckled, "There is an old legend. That people with the blood of all three species are the only ones who can help bring lasting peace…It's happened before. And look what you achieved with just wolf blood and a magical education."
Minerva and Hermione exchanged a glance, "And for us?"
"Well, your bond should develop with time and proximity but you can probably expect to find wolf traits bleeding over into Minerva, mostly due to her being an animagus, so enhanced senses and some behavioural characteristics. With practice you will be able to sense each other's emotions and potentially project your thoughts. You'll have both vastly increased sexual desire and fertility, as the magic tries to compel you to breed."
They exchanged another look, feeling an echo of their overwhelming desire from the day before. "Aaah I see that you've already experienced some of that." Minerva looked down at her hands, not used to discussing anything sexual with other parties but as always Hermione just seemed to take it in her stride, wrapping an arm around her mate casually.
"Would that account for the blood in the bowl turning black?"
"Yes it's what happens when you mix; Muggle, magical and wolf blood together - with a dash of magic." Oma smiled at them briefly but then turned a cold, hard gaze on the wolf. "Did Minerva join with you willingly, or was she coerced or forced into doing so?"
Hermione flinched violently and Minerva struggled to suppress a growl at her mate's discomfort - much to the clear amusement of the witch in the rocking chair. "I… I…. I hate the fact that she never really had a choice."
"Good," said Oma, "Keep that in mind and it will remind you how precious the gift of her love is."
The wolf nodded, "I count myself lucky every day." Minerva's green gaze just flitted between them, surprised by the vehemence in the older woman's voice and she lifted a brow.
Oma looked up at her and spoke, still in that harsh tone. "When I was nineteen years old, a few friends from Durmstrang and I were travelling when we were caught in a blizzard in the mountains. We strayed into wolf territory and were found by a patrol a day later. My friends were all slaughtered but the leader took a liking to me."
Still maintaining eye contact, she continued, "I never had a choice, not with my first mate…"
Minerva nodded understandingly but knew that her situation was different, "Hermione would never hurt me. In an ideal world, yes, there would have been a choice other than mating with her or death, but the situation is what it is. I won't regret it." The wolf smiled at her mate, silently pressing a kiss to the silvering hair at her temple.
This time Oma smiled, "My second mate however, was entirely different. Being with him was amazing, the connection that we shared was like nothing I had ever experienced and I loved him more than I can ever express in words because it transcended them. If that's what the two of you have, then I am happy for you."
Hermione nodded with a smile and turned to Minerva. "Oma and her second mate were responsible for a lot of the reforms that protected your safety and autonomy before the ritual, along with the equality that we now share. Things are much better now thanks to her."
Minerva finished her cup of tea, "What happened to your first mate if you don't mind me asking?"
"He was challenged to a fight and he lost but refused to submit, so he was killed."
"Do you still do that?"
Hermione coughed nervously, remembering her conversation with Dimitri and could have cursed when two sets of intelligent eyes turned to her. Green eyes narrowed and Minerva said the younger woman's name questioningly.
The wolf bit her lip, "When I went to see Dimitri, he hinted that he had considered challenging me, which he would most likely win, then force me to abandon my claim on Minerva."
"Why didn't he?" Asked Oma.
Hermione looked up into the emerald gaze but spoke to Oma, "I told Dimitri that I wouldn't submit to him, not if Minerva's life was at stake. Even then I knew that I loved her."
Minerva frowned, "If you are trying to say that you'd rather be dead than lose me… That's stupid."
"It doesn't matter. He isn't willing to risk having to kill me, which is why he agreed to drop it."
Minerva growled at her again, "Do you have a death wish?" The wolf's lip twitched as she tried to suppress a smile. "Something amusing Hermione? Because I fail to see exactly how this is funny."
"Sorry, I really am taking this seriously. But you're just so damn cute when you growl at me."
The fondness that Minerva could sense from Hermione and see written on her face was overwhelming. She just gave an irritated huff and lifted one hand to Hermione's cheek, caressing softly. "You are incredibly annoying at times."
"You don't mind though. Not really." Hermione didn't need to ask, knowing the answer as a certainty through the bond that they shared. Their good natured bickering continued for several minutes, much to the amusement of the watching witch.
The rover bounced on its springs as it hit a small ridge of earth when they exited the forest, once they cleared the trees they could see the whole lake valley laid out below them in the moonlight, with the higher peaks beyond. The fresh snow reflected the white lunar glow and even to Minerva's human senses, it was almost as bright as daylight.
"Hermione, stop." The words startled the wolf, who slammed on the brakes. "I didn't mean that fast." Hermione chuckled at her own overreaction, and turned off the engine, knowing that the interior would stay warm enough for a while. "It's so beautiful here, I just wanted to sit and look at it for a few minutes."
They sat in silence for a while observing the almost black and white landscape, the stark lighting making everything appear flat and two dimensional but from the height they were at, they could see for miles. "Tomorrow we have to head back. Is there anything you'd like to do first?"
Minerva smiled, "If you've finished being a scaredy cat about it, I'd like to go skating with you again."
"Sure."
"You will?"
"Yes. It was fun, sort of… Once I stopped worrying I was going to die."
"I'll make it worth your while."
Hermione smirked, "Yeah? How?"
Minerva ran her hand down the seatbelt and popped the release button, shifting to face her mate with a hungry look in her eyes. She leaned across the space between their seats and tangled a hand into Hermione's hair, bringing their lips together into a heated kiss.
The wolf whimpered into the contact, bringing her own hand up into the older woman's loose bun and pulling her closer. Gentle teeth nipped her lower lip and then Minerva's tongue lapped at the soft skin, before slipping into her mouth. The kiss became greedy and passionate, Hermione's hands clutching her closer still.
"I'm sure that I can come up with something that you will find agreeable." Minerva's words were whispered against her lips but in the still quiet of the car, Hermione heard every word and she moaned in response. Minerva kissed her again, then pulled back, "Do these seats recline?"
"Minerva, we have a perfectly good bed waiting for us." Hermione smirked at her mate.
"And? Are you really saying no?" Lips twitched amused and Hermione reached out to pull a lever. Minerva yelped in a very undignified way as her seat dropped into a lying position. "I didn't mean my chair."
"I know." Hermione was unrepentant and giggled at the unamused look on Minerva's face. "Do you still want to marry me?"
"Yes dear, as soon as we can." Minerva grabbed Hermione's jacket with her hand and tugged her out of the driver's seat. "Come here." The wolf found herself pulled atop her mate and braced her legs against whatever she could reach to avoid crushing Minerva. Their lips crashed together once again and it was just as thrilling, just as heady as the first time.
