Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction using characters and elements from the world of Harry Potter, created and trademarked by JK Rowling. I do not claim ownership over any Harry Potter characters or the Harry Potter world. This story is for entertainment purposes only, and is not claiming to be any part of the Harry Potter canon. Thank you to JK Rowling for letting me play with the characters and not suing me for writing them into a new situation.
Light of the Moon
Chapter 2
Hermione came down the sweeping staircase into the Great Hall for suppertime. She'd put on her second-best set of dress robes, uncertain of how formal suppers were at the castle.
Agon had taken her to see Steward Aidos, and Hermione had been extremely surprised to discover that the Steward of Castle Marvolo was also a house-elf. Hermione had never been so intimidated by anyone as she was that serious-looking little elf sitting behind her big desk in a large west-facing room.
The afternoon sunlight slanted through the windows and onto the long skirt of Steward Aidos' uniform. The house-elf's legs couldn't possibly have extended past the edge of the chair, but the dark green skirt draped all the way to the ground. Hermione wondered how she managed to move around in that uniform, or if perhaps she did all her stewarding from the desk.
Aidos had carefully looked her over from head to toe, as if assessing her worth as a possible future queen, and Hermione had experienced a fleeting moment of doubt that she could match up to the witches who had come before her.
Gravely, Steward Aidos had welcomed her to Castle Marvolo and the Competition for the Hand of the King. In her little hand she held a quill, and placing it on the long scroll that was unrolled in front of her, she informed Hermione that once her name was placed on the list, she could not turn back.
She would have to wait her turn for her audience with the King, and a chance at solving the riddle, and at this time there were still three more ahead of her. Was she certain she wished to proceed?
Hermione had formally given her assent and Steward Aidos had engraved her name on the list, where it glowed silver for a moment, a legally binding contract.
A small map of the castle, with the public zones clearly marked, and instructions to stay primarily in the Suitors' Wing, was put into Hermione's hands.
Pheme, a chatty little house-elf in a flouncy dress, had been assigned to show her to her rooms. Hermione was pleased to learn that the library and the art gallery, as well as all of the gardens, were open to the public, and so also available to all of the guests at the castle.
She had hoped to be able to view them immediately, or at least acquaint herself with their locations, but Pheme had loudly protested that as she'd arrived just in time for supper, she would certainly be expected to dress and come down to join the rest of the castle!
Deciding the house-elf was no doubt correct about the proper protocol, she had reluctantly pushed her plans to explore off until much later that evening, or possibly even until the next day.
As Hermione entered the Great Hall, the long walk down the staircase allowed her to take in the entirety of the extremely large room. Several hundred people could have fit inside, comfortably seated at tables, but only a few dozen tables were set out for the castle's current guests.
Directly across from the stairs was a raised dais with an ornately decorated table. Below the dais the rest of the tables were leisurely spread out through the front half of the room, long rectangles with evenly spaced chairs at them. Many people were already seated and chatting, and she could hear the murmur of their voices just above the supper music.
She took a moment to get her bearings. In one corner was a relatively empty table and Hermione headed towards it.
"Is this seat taken?" she asked politely of the single occupant.
From behind, she hadn't recognized the head of curly blonde hair. But as the woman turned to address her, Hermione was surprised to realize she did know at least one other person in Ophidia.
"Luna Lovegood?"
"Why, Hermione Granger! How lovely to see you here!" In response to the initial question, Luna then added, "And no one is sitting here, so you are welcome to sit wherever you like. I hope you do!"
Feeling rather cheery at seeing a familiar face, Hermione settled herself in the chair next to Luna.
Though a year apart in school, the two girls had been sometimes friends and occasional study buddies. Luna was particularly fond of independently researching obscure topics, and the two girls had spent much time in the library at Hogwarts discussing various aspects of magic.
"I've just arrived this afternoon," Hermione informed her. "If I had known you were coming to compete to solve the magical riddle, we could have made travel plans together."
"And researched together!" they both said at the same time, laughing.
"I've been here for several weeks, actually," Luna said. "I arrived at the tail end of a surge of Suitors, and have had to wait quite a while for my turn."
"Oh," Hermione said, disappointed at the idea of a long wait. Steward Aidos had said there were only a few ahead of her; Luna must obviously be one of them. She wondered aloud how long it took to have each Suitor tested.
"Each Suitor gets a single night to solve the riddle. The test begins when the sun goes down, and it is over when the sun comes up. You'll be informed that morning when your turn comes." With her hand, Luna indicated the other tables, most of which were not very full. "There were two score ahead of me when I arrived, but so far they have all been sent home."
So at least 40 days Luna had been in Ophidia, staying at the castle. Hermione contemplated this as the food began to be served. House-elves, all in prim uniforms, materialized around them with huge platefuls of food.
She'd expected some kind of fanfare to announce the beginning of supper, and she realized with shock that the King had already entered the room and been seated at the ornate table. Beside him were several of Ophidia's nobles—the powerful and elite.
As Luna served herself heaping portions of roasted vegetables, Hermione took a few moments to examine the King, seeing him in person for the first time.
The pictures had not done him justice.
Despite the sensational announcement of a bachelor king seeking a bride, there were somehow very few photographs of him. All the ones Hermione had seen had shown much the same things, a relatively young king with good looks and an unsmiling face.
His jaw was square, strong. His cheekbones were sharp, giving his face a slim and chiseled look. However, the feature that drew the attention the most were his eyes. As he stared out from the photograph, they were so intense and so dark they seemed almost black. It was only the even darker blackness of his short-cropped hair that emphasized the difference. She imagined she saw a glow of intelligence, possibly even the slightest hint of humor, in that piercing gaze. Or at least, that's what she told herself when she found herself staring at the pictures whenever they were printed in the papers.
The pictures themselves had very little movement, and seemed to hold still with an unnatural calmness. She hadn't noticed it at first, being used to Muggle photographs, which didn't move at all, but Ron had pointed out how strange it was. When he shook the picture trying to get it to move, the figure gave him only a bit of an icy glare for his trouble.
"Good luck marrying that!" Ron had said.
But looking at King Riddle now, Hermione believed that the pictures had been very carefully staged and crafted to reveal as little about the man as possible.
In person, he was even more attractive. The gossip papers placed his age at the beginning of his thirties, which made him several years older than Hermione, but still very young to be shouldering the responsibilities of an entire country, even a small one like Ophidia.
The tilt of his head, the angle he held his fork, his posture, his gaze—everything spoke of quiet power. He may have looked young, but he was every inch a powerful man—a man who knew his worth, a man who would not hesitate to make the very hard decisions. He wore the leathers of a warrior king rather than the soft, luxurious fabrics of the nobles around him, indicating he was a man who was deeply involved with the workings of his country.
She could picture him riding a horse, roaming the countryside dispensing justice, like kings of old.
Hermione could see how such a man would have accomplished so much in such a short time. She found him strangely compelling.
It didn't hurt at all that he was also tall, lean, and muscular. And, according to reports, incredibly strong in magical power and ability.
As she contemplated his allure, he turned abruptly and caught her staring. She felt a zip almost like electricity shoot down her spine as their gazes touched.
Trying to fight a blush, she quickly looked down at her plate, which she'd somehow managed to fill with food that she didn't remember choosing. She was glad that for the moment he likely had no idea who she was.
She heard a giggle from the other side of the table. Looking up, she realized that she and Luna had been joined by another woman, who had apparently witnessed and been amused by the almost-interchange she'd just had with the King.
Her expensive dress robes and carefully coiffed hair made it clear she was a very wealthy aristocrat.
"Don't worry," the woman said. "We all react like that at first. He's very… fascinating."
At hearing the same word that Hermione had often used to describe him herself, she blushed again. The tone of voice had suggested much more of a physical fascination than Hermione would usually care to admit to.
"Hermione," Luna addressed her, "this is Astoria Greengrasidi, another of King Riddle's Suitors."
At this description, the witch made a moue of disagreement. She sniffed. "Not for much longer, thankfully."
A strange thing to say, Hermione thought. Was it because she expected to win? Or was she simply tired of the long wait, having been at the castle for likely as long as Luna had?
Before she could frame her words into a question polite enough to ask a stranger, Luna volunteered, "Miss Greengrasidi is here at the behest of her parents, but has no intention to win the hand of the King."
Anticipating Hermione's look of surprise, Miss Greengrasidi explained, "Mama and Baba said they would disown me if I did not at least try. All the families of Ophidia honor the King by putting forth a daughter, if they have one, to attempt the riddle."
"Several put forth sons of a certain inclination as well," Luna chimed in.
Miss Greengrasidi grimaced. "Would that my parents had a son to offer. Though I'm not sure it would have been enough to save me. My older sister, Daphne, has already tried and failed, and I thought my family would consider our honor preserved, but as one of the very few families with two daughters, they were determined to see my name on the list."
"So you have no desire at all to marry the King?" Hermione asked, intrigued.
"Well, I can't say as I'd mind marrying the King." She glanced quickly back at the wizard on the dais wearing the crown. "We've all had that fantasy at one time or another. Or, at least, of a wedding and a wedding night." Her eyes, as they reconnected with Hermione's, twinkled with amusement and suggestiveness.
Hermione tried not to respond to her words, but it took effort not to let her gaze stray back to the King. "Is it being a queen, then, that you don't want?"
"Precisely." Miss Greengrasidi shuddered in mock horror. "It's all well and good when you're 14 and picturing His Majesty being enraptured by your perfect curtsy, and sweeping you away to lie about on silks and satins all day. But it's another thing to actually be responsible for thousands of Ophidian citizens and their welfare, enacting foreign policy, and wrangling argumentative nobles all day. Daphne may dream of just such a thing, but I'm afraid I do not have that kind of ambition."
Hermione thought those things sounded rather appealing to her, actually. Maybe not the part where she might have to 'wrangle nobles' all day, but she'd like to think she could manage even that with diplomacy and fairness.
"When we've completed our trial here, Astoria will be traveling with me to Brittania," Luna said. "And from there, we might go to Sweden. She's promised to help me look for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, you see."
"Oh, yes," Miss Greengrasidi confirmed, her eyes alight with the promise of adventure. "I'd love to see new countries and meet people from other cultures. Recently, I've become quite obsessed with the idea of traveling, and Miss Lovegood's stories of the fantastical creatures she's going to be looking for sounds like the makings of a wonderful adventure."
Hermione smiled politely, more than half convinced that the creatures Luna was frequently speaking of were no longer in existence, if they ever were. But if anyone could find them, surely Luna could, so she saw no reason to discourage their excitement.
"But Luna," Hermione said, turning to her old friend, "does that mean that you have no intention of winning, either?"
For a moment, she thought she saw the slightest hint of a frown come to Luna's face, but it was gone quickly.
"King Riddle is not for me," Luna said simply, an answer that was not quite an answer.
"So what will you do when they call you for your turn to solve the riddle?" Hermione asked them, genuinely curious. "Will you simply refuse to try? Or go through the motions and fake it?"
Miss Greengrasidi looked aghast at such a thing. "I would never insult His Majesty with less than an honest effort!" she hissed, glancing around to see if anyone had heard what Hermione had said. As they were alone at their table, no one else was within hearing distance.
When she was certain no one had noticed, she leaned forward, and added in a low voice, "It is rumored that His Majesty is the strongest Legilimens to ever be born. He can touch your mind with just a glance. He can walk through your memories like he's strolling through a park, and you'd never even notice him. When he was very young, they say he wasn't able to control it, and physical contact made with others caused him discomfort. Her Majesty the Royal Mother requested all the nobles wear gloves."
Hermione noticed the gloves that sat on the table beside Miss Greengrasidi's plate, where she must have placed them when she'd taken them off to eat. She hadn't thought physical contact was a facet of the Legilimens spell.
How curious, the articles she'd read had said nothing about King Riddle being an accomplished Legilimens, which was an extremely difficult skill to learn. They only remarked on his extreme proficiency with magic of all kinds. She wondered what other areas of magic he had mastered.
"Even if it wasn't for that," Miss Greengrasidi was saying, "I would not dream of dishonoring my family with a fake attempt." She ran her fingers lightly over her forearm, covered by her dress robes. The unconscious gesture was automatic, clearly an old habit.
"I'm sure you will fail quite decisively, Astoria," Luna said to her, in a tone meant to be reassuring, while she buttered a roll of bread.
"I'm not worried. Daphne is much smarter than I am, and she wanted it more, so if she couldn't solve the riddle then there's little chance I will be able to." So saying, she turned to Hermione. "I understand, Miss Granger, that you are one of the smartest witches to come out of Hogwarts, though, so mayhap you will be the one."
It was hard to respond to such a thing without sounding immodest. Hermione knew she was one of the strongest and smartest witches in recent years, but it was never to her benefit to say so. Saying aloud to anyone else that she thought she could become a queen sounded much too grandiose. "I will certainly be doing my best, and am very much looking forward to the challenge," she said, instead.
Then, she observed, "It would seem there is very little competition at the moment, if two of the three Suitors ahead of me are less than enthusiastic about winning."
She caught that subtle look from Luna again, and determined she would ask her about it at the earliest opportunity.
Miss Greengrasidi just laughed and said, "Well, the other Suitor more than makes up for our own lack of enthusiasm. I take it you haven't met Lady Alecto Carrow yet?"
"No, I haven't. As I've only just arrived this afternoon, I haven't had much chance to get acquainted with the area, or any of the people."
At this news, Miss Greengrasidi looked quite pleased. "How exciting if you do end up winning! And not just because it would mean that despite all her boasting, Lady Carrow would have failed just like all the others. But if it turns out that I am one of the first Ophidians to have spoken with our new Queen, the distinction for our family would go far to soothing Baba's disappointment at neither Daphne nor I solving the riddle."
Hermione didn't quite know what to say to that.
As if conscious of the pressure she'd just put on Hermione, Miss Greengrasidi giggled and added, "Plus, I quite like you Miss Granger. Even if you don't win, I shall be glad to say I know you."
Hermione smiled back at her, surprised to find that she actually liked the talkative Miss Greengrasidi quite a bit.
The three women passed the rest of the meal in pleasant conversation before making plans to meet in the morning. Astoria promised to give her a tour of the grounds.
When they left the Great Hall, heading towards the wing for the Suitors, Hermione happened to glance back.
The King sat at his place at the table, as regal as if the ornate chair he was in was a throne. His expression was difficult to read, but he was staring directly at her.
She held his gaze for only a moment before her companions could get too far ahead of her, and then she looked away quickly, wondering if it was really possible for him to read minds with just a glance. A shiver went through her at the thought. Even if he could do it from that distance, she was sure he wasn't in the habit of invading the privacy of every person he looked at. Still, the feel of his eyes upon her stayed with her throughout the night.
A/N: I hope you are enjoying this story! I realize this is a very alternate-universe type of story. If you like Tomione, and are interested in other unique AUs, or more traditional canon-divergent Tomiones, the Tomione Fest had several wonderful entries from some of the ship's favorite authors. I encourage you to check them out on A03!
S&R: Constructive Reviews Welcome (CRW)