In Dream
"There's no way," Draco scoffed as he nearly glared at Hermione.
They were at the dinner table for the fourth time in as many weeks. The elves seemed beside themselves with joy to have people to serve once again so Hermione didn't have the heart to offer to help. They had just finished the soup and we're waiting on dinner as the intermezzo was served.
"Yes, one of the first things I researched is where Muggleborns come from. They all have at least one squib somewhere in their bloodline. So, over the generations, the magical genome builds until it presents as a Muggleborn. I've seen some cases where a magical line was cursed to be muggles for so long that the family had forgotten about magic entirely once the curse had worn out, " she smiled at Kiki as she silently placed the small crystal cup on her placer.
"So Creevy the little thing with the camera that had a permanent sticking charm to his hand is a LeStrange?" He asked as he brought the small bowl which held the single scoop of cucumber and mint sorbet in it to his mouth to lick.
"Yes, and now Denis sits on their seat in the Wizgamont. Twenty previously thought extinct families are now revived and thriving. Hell, Harry is related to Godric Gryffindor from his mother," Hermione answered before eating herself.
"So, which illustrious family do you hail from?" Draco asked smirking setting down his bowl.
"I don't know," she said quietly concentrating on her sorbet.
"How can you not know if anything I could see you tearing through the world to find the answers," He laughed, watching her fidget. She put a spoonful of the sorbet into her mouth but the sorbet melted far too fast for her to effectively stall.
"I did, but I hit a dead end. I managed to trace back to the fifteen hundreds. But a fire in the local church destroyed any trail I had," Hermione sighed as she thought about the disappointment. "Afterwards I even went to Gringotts and did an inheritance test and nothing appeared," she nearly growled.
"What do you mean nothing appeared?" Draco asked in surprise.
"I mean nothing, no names, no words, not even a crest, it completely stumped the dverger. They're still working on it as we speak, but it's been nearly five years and they still have no answers. The Chieftess of the hoard even tried scrying for like blood, but after ten hours and still no results, she had to stop. So, I guess I may never know," she sighed as Draco blinked.
They sat there in silence for several minutes, Draco mulling over their problem before he spoke. "What about the potion. I know it's hard to brew but ..." He began but stopped as soon as she shook her head.
"Tried it. It showed up inconclusive. The Australian Ministry of Magic has every Muggleborns take the test to see who they descend from. My siblings and I all took it, but nothing came of it. A reporter in their paper claimed that our parents were touched by Lady Magic herself and we were the start of a brand-new magical bloodline," Hermione rolled her eyes at the thought.
"And why have you dismissed that as a possibility Granger?" Draco asked hoping he didn't sound as insulted as he felt.
"Because it's utterly ridiculous. I've studied all of the legends about how magic came about but it is simply like creation theories that muggles have. They are nothing but conjecture that cannot be proven." Hermione waved her hand in the air.
"Magic is alive Granger," Draco said firmly. "My mother, Grandmothers, and I are all devout in the worship to Hecate. She is all around us Granger,"
"Yes, yes I've read the theory, and I have found some inconsistencies in some of my research that I could attribute to it. But… I can't believe that simply at random my family is suddenly magical. Especially when all of the other research that I have done has proven otherwise." Hermione nearly growled in annoyance.
It was an argument she had had too many times to count. Even Neville whom Hermione knew had his own doubts about the worship of Hecate; would argue that if it was obvious that Hermione's family had not had magical ancestry in over five hundred years that it was doubtful that they had it at all. After the only other case where the ancestry was further back had been the ones who had been cursed as squibs for twenty generations, once the curse had ended every child in that family was magical.
"If you'd like I could look over what you have," Draco offered suddenly breaking Hermione's concentration.
"What?" she asked shocked blinking at her dining companion.
"Granger I may not be all that up to date on Muggle science… but I have been studying magic theory and lore since I could read. I can offer you a side that maybe you haven't considered," he spoke gruffly. "And if it will make you feel better, I will let you look at all the books I'll need to find your answers." He smiled as she beamed back at him.
"Yes, it would," she stated firmly as the main entrée arrived.
She picked up her fork as there was a loud bang that reverberated throughout the house.
"Dragon!" the voice echoed as Draco's eyes widened suddenly. But before he could answer the owner of the voice walked into the dining room.
Narcissa Malfoy nee Black looked just like Hermione had remembered her. The woman looked like she had just stepped out of a French fashion magazine. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows raising as she looked down the table as she took off the dragon leather gloves, she wore.
"Come now Draconis, you may have the appearance of a beast but I know I taught you manners," the elder woman huffed in annoyance. "Kiki!" she shouted as the little elf appeared Narcissa threw her gloves along with her large ostentatious hat at the tiny creature. "Set two more places for dinner." The woman ordered her heels clicking against the marbled floor as she walked forward.
"Hermione, could you please give my mother and I a moment?" Draco asked turning towards the witch.
Nodding her head, the Gryffindor stood and walked out of the room. Making her way into the foyer she quickly walked up the newly repaired stairs, determined to find the second library Malfoy had mentioned was there. He hadn't let her into either library but had taunted her with the knowledge that there were two that she hadn't explored yet.
Quietly she walked through the only passage that was accessible and opened every door. As she neared the end of the long hall, she silently lit her wand to help her see. A large set of double doors were all that was left to explore. Silently she opened them finding a bedroom in shambles. But unlike the other rooms that had simply been left unused, this one appeared to had been purposefully destroyed.
"Oh Draco," Hermione sighed as she lifted a price of canvas that had been almost completely torn from its frame. A still portrait of Draco stared back at her as she let the canvas fall from her hand, the fabric folding down once more obscuring his human face. Glancing over the room she almost left except she paused as she noticed a red glow coming from behind, well what she guessed was the bed, but looked more like a pile of pillows and mattresses.
Carefully she stepped towards the object to find that it was a single rose, suspended in the air. Petals lay around the stem and the flower itself was nearly bald only four remaining. Without knowing the reason why she lifted the glass as a soft voice whispered into her.
"If you can learn to love another and earn their love in return before the last petal falls, the spell will be broken." Shaking her head at the thought she replaced the glass before walking away. She knew she had heard that line somewhere before but she couldn't put her finger on it. Deciding to return she made her way back down the stairs as she heard a voice shouting in the dining room.
"Mother!?" Draco gasped out as Hermione stepped back into the dining room.
"Yes, yes I am a mother who is so disappointed in you," she said as Draco seemed to shrivel in despair at the words flowing from this woman's lips. "You have a duty to the family. You must produce a son. I have told you this before and yet you see fit to ignore what I have told you. The magic is there you don't have to be physically intimate to make it happen,"
"Wait what the hell are you saying!" Hermione exploded as Narcissa narrowed her eyes at the girl finally realizing she was there.
"Really Draco a mudblood," she said as both of them winced. "Apparently I was foolish to think you would go about this properly,"
"Mother… it's not…. Hermione is just trying to help," Draco tried defending but stopped as a sneer he'd never seen grace his mother's face bloom.
"You are the last surviving member of the Malfoy family and the only proper one left of the Black family; you must have a son!" his mother shouted. "I will not stand by and let you drag this family through the mud anymore," she said snapping her fingers as another set of footsteps fill the room.
A young woman stood in the doorway looking unsure as she held her hands folded in front of her as her head was dropped in both shame and embracement.
"You remember Astoria Greengrass dear, the contract your father signed is still valid. So, we will perform the ritual and she will birth the next Malfoy- Black Heir," Narcissa smiled as Astoria seemed to shake in fear. "You and your pet mudblood can go about your time however you wish,"
"Draco, what's going on here?" Hermione asked.
"After I was cursed, my mother found a ritual that would allow for the continuation of the Malfoy family," Draco said gruffly still glaring at the woman who birthed him.
"Yes, I can infer all of that but what I am asking is are you just going to go along with this?" Hermione demanded as Narcissa glared at her with a hated that knew no bounds.
After several long moments, Draco sighed, "What choice do I have?"
"You can say no! It's obvious you don't want this why are you just going along with your mother?" Hermione demanded placing herself between Draco and his mother as his eyes finally fell to her.
"Again, I ask what choice do I have? Let's face it Hermione this whole situation is hopeless, your no closer to finding a cure than anyone else was, and time is running out," Draco nearly chocked out. "I have to have an heir in the next two years or everything my family has worked for the last seven hundred years will all be for nothing and our seats on the wizgamont will be taken. My family magic will die out, the black families almost did and if it hadn't been for me, it would have that's two families gone!"
"We don't know that, for all we know there is no time frame in which we have to find the counter for this," Hermione said quickly as she searched his eyes for the man, she had gotten to know over the last nine months but he seemed to have disappeared in the wake of his mother's arrival.
"It will be six years in two months! There is obviously nothing anyone can do about this!" Draco exploded and out of the corner of her eyes she saw Astoria jump in fear.
"That's not true if I can run a couple more tests I…" Hermione began as she was cut off by Draco throwing his still full plate against the wall with I loud bang.
"You'll what!?" he growled as he stared down at her his shoulders shaking in exertion as he attempted to calm his anger as he simply stared at her. After a pregnant pause, his shoulders slumped as he turned his face away from her "Go!"
"What?!" Hermione recoiled in shock.
"I said go, Leave! I don't want you here anymore!" he growled stepping towards her with every word.
"You don't mean that," Hermione growled standing her ground as he got close enough that she had to strain her neck in order to look into his eyes.
"Yes, I do," he snarled as he quickly turned his back on her. "Kiki!"
"Yes Master?" the little elf popped in wringing her hands as she guiltily looked between Draco and Hermione.
"Show Lady Granger out, help her gather all her equipment while destroying every sample of mine she has, and make sure she doesn't come back," Draco ordered as he stalked out of the room without another glace at the Gryffindor.
"Draco!" Hermione called out as she looked over at Narcissa who was smiling at her like a predator about to pounce.
"I is sorry miss," Kiki said as she disappeared in a pop leaving Hermione behind the wards of the manor with every piece of equipment, she had brought was in a neat pile next to her, as she pounded them with her fists trying to break through.