A/N: Wow! 17 reviews for the first chap! I'd never thought! Ok, now that it seems you guys want this, I'll continue this and I'll try to make it good…and it seems as though I'll get to update this one more often being that my beta for TPW still hasn't sent me chap 7 back so I can't update that story though I'm dying to…go read that and review it as well if you have a chance and if you guys want me to read your stories or any other recommendations tell me so in your reviews! Now for the big thank yous:
Vix: my first reviewer! I agree, d/hr are the best, I hope you come back to read and review more!
div: what is voldemort up to? I think the unanswered questions will remain that way for awhile…it'll gradually come undone as the plot progresses…I hope :P thanks!
Me!: yeah, I'm a crazy person! Glad you liked this, yes I'll write more, and you rock too!
Cecelia: honestly, I hadn't even thought about their honeymoon until you mentioned it! Thank you so much, now I have something wild to think about…hehe…or you could give me suggestions, if you want…NOT kill each other? Haha I have a funny scene in store for that!
Piper: thanks a lot, I do hope you come back and read this!
Yuki Kitsu: thanks for thinking this is good, the crazy stuff are the best, aren't they? I'll definitely e-mail you and I've read your other fic! I just can't review, because my comp doesn't feel like supporting java at the moment, but I think your idea is great- I mean its new and unique…reminds me of Jane Austen stories, and I love them!
Some1: thanks, I hope you like my other fic as well…review that one as well, k?
franthepheonix: thanks for the applause ~ beams ~ glad u liked it!
Crystalline Lily: yes, I'd marry Draco in an instant as well! No, don't believe I've mentioned his wits yet, but I'll make sure I incorporate that as we go along ;)
Lily of the Shadow: happy you liked this, and it is moldywarts insane! (love the phrase!)
Sweet Sorrow: glad you liked the title, I'm usually not very good at picking them haha, and my pen name as well, thanks! Your fic sounds very interesting, I'm gonna go read it now, and I hope you update it fast as well!
rie: the idea is hilarious, but I really wish J.K. Rowling would make it come true! Ahh…I hope to keep you laughing many more times :P
Navy Converse: thank you tons for making this one of your faves! Really means a lot to me!
Melanie: see! I did what you said, I updated within a day! Hope you like this just as much!
dracoJAE: thanks, I know what you mean, even my other fic contains draco/hermione seeing each other in a new light (but not really..,just sort of). I began reading your fic by the way…but haven't finished it yet (I know, stupid cuz its not that long yet)…haha the Draco fainting thing was purely for humor's sake…as I said, just madness ;)
hyper_shark: I'll try to update as fast as I can!
avapouhi: thanks, and I will!
I think that's everyone, my reviewers YOU ALL ROCK! :D
Ok, again, I warn you that this story is complete madness, so be patient if things don't seem to make sense- it's just mad. This chap probably isn't as shocking or crazy as the first one, hope its not too boring, but here goes, see for yourself. Enjoy!
**
Chapter 2: Engaged and Enraged
Hermione marched back to her cell fuming.
She could not believe that Voldemort wanted her to marry Malfoy. And for what? Malfoy was surely going to murder her in her sleep-
If I don't get to him first, that is.
After being roughly thrown back into her little hell hole, she felt all the anger and frustration rage inside of her like a thousand hurricanes, and consequently began to bang a piece of broken stone on the metal bars of her cell. She was making a huge racket, but she didn't care. That was of course until an oddly familiar voice yelled out tiredly, "OH WILL YOU SHUT IT GRANGER!"
Hermione paused. That voice…
…she knew it…it was so familiar…
…it could only be…
…the one and only…
"Professor Snape?!" she cried out, then tried to look wildly at the other jail cells to see if her old Potions Master was indeed the owner of the voice.
"No, it's Voldemort in rags," came the sarcastic reply that confirmed her suspicions.
"PROFESSOR! Where are you? What are you doing here?" questions breezed through Hermione like the wind.
"Slow down, Granger. Right next door to your left. And as you can see, I'm a slave," he answered bitterly.
"B-but didn't Voldemort pardon you? When the War ended?"
"Yes and no. Yes, he pardoned me enough to spare me my life when I persuaded him I'd tire of Dumbledore's antics and wished to return to him- all lies, of course- but no in the sense that he didn't trust me enough to have any power. I was made his personal slave," Snape said, burning with shame.
"So that's what happened to you. But how come you're back here?"
"He-er- no longer trusts me to be his personal slave."
"How come?"
Snape coughed uncomfortably. "He- er- apparently had this dream- or shall I say, dark fantasy one long, tired night, and I suppose I was in it. He never shared with me the details but he said that he was disturbed by it, and in consequence my very presence disturbed him as well. When he could no longer stand being in the same room- which was yesterday- he got rid of me. I am to be sent to the Malfoys instead," Snape explained in obvious distaste and despair.
Hermione burst out laughing.
"That is nothing to laugh about, Miss Granger!" Snape shouted furiously.
"I'm sorry- haha- its just- hee- Voldemort, o powerful Dark Lord, had a fantasy about you! Hahahahahaha…" and Hermione dissolved into further bouts of laughter.
"Enough!" warned Snape, highly embarrassed.
At length, Hermione calmed herself. "Well, it seems as though we'll be seeing each other quite often then Professor. I'm to be sent to the Malfoys myself tomorrow morning."
"But not as I slave, or so I hear."
"What? How did you know?"
"Voldemort has been planning your marriage to Draco for awhile now. But he hasn't told me why, though. I doubt even that pond scum Pettigrew knows."
Hermione wasn't sure what to make of this. All she knew was nothing good would come out of any plans of Voldemort.
"So you agreed, I presume? To be that little brat's wife?" Snape asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Did I have a choice? 'Marry or die,' he said. But no matter. It's really Malfoy's death warrant they just signed, not mine's."
"Are you really going to kill him?" Snape asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
"The first chance I get."
**
Draco Malfoy woke up in his huge four-poster with a groan and lump in his stomach. At first, he couldn't fathom why he felt as though a hippogriff had puked on him. And then he remembered.
She was coming today. The filth that was supposed to be his wife!
"Argh!" he grunted in frustration, before dragging himself out of bed to wash up and get dressed.
An hour later, he strolled his way downstairs into the dining room to have breakfast, donning a black long-sleeved shirt, black trousers, black leather shoes, and- you guessed it- a black velvet cloak. He found his father already there reading the Daily Prophet, and his mother gracefully sipping tea and nibbling on a piece of shortbread.
"Ah, good morning, Draco dear," she greeted him with a half-smile.
"Wish I could feel it, Mother," he groaned, before taking his seat and stuffing a roll into his mouth.
"Now, now, Draco, we all need to do what's necessary," his father said, not looking up from the paper.
"You mean what's told. With all this power we've got, we still have to do everything we're told."
"It's simply the price of not ultimate power, Draco."
"But Father, I still think it's absurd. And why does she have to stay here anyway? She could just rot in prison until our wedding day for all I care."
"Now, Draco, use your head, Merlin knows I tried to give you one. Would you really want to marry a rotting slave?"
"It doesn't make a difference."
"Yes it does. Here, she will be your fiancée, not Mudblood slave, and we will teach her everything necessary to make her appear tolerable and worthy of our status. She's going to become a lady," her father explained. He didn't seem so troubled by this news anymore, which only irritated Draco further.
But the thought of Granger being a 'lady' was amusing. His father sure had another thing coming.
"What if I end up killing her one day? Father, we were always at each other's throats back at school. There's no way any of that will change," Draco protested further.
His father sighed. "Then I will be seeing you at your funeral," he replied curtly.
Just then, their butler, Seamus Finnigan, walked in to inform them that the new batch of slaves have arrived.
Lucius Malfoy put down his paper. "Ah, I believe the wench is here. With our new slave," he said with an evil grin.
Draco was confused. "I didn't know we were getting a new slave. We've already got four, Finnigan included, and not including the house-elves."
"Thank you Draco, but I can count. This new one is purely here for my enjoyment. And well, Voldemort did send him over."
Lucius then motioned for Narcissa and Draco to join him in the foyer to greet the newest residents of Malfoy Manor.
After a few seconds, Finnigan opened the door and in barged two smelly, poorly-clothed figures.
"Welcome to Malfoy Manor. Doubt your stay will be pleasant," Lucius greeted them maliciously with a mock smile.
"You'll all pay for this!" Hermione yelled the minute she saw him, her arms clutching a bundle that contained her only possessions.
"You'll learn your place here, young lady. We can't have you behave in such an uncivilized, second-class manner now that you are to marry my son." He made a gesture towards Draco, who was standing with his hands clutching his stomach as if to barf.
"Voldemort is mad," she declared, heeding none of his words.
"Well said. Now, Finnigan, show Miss Granger here up to her new room and send Red up to help her clean up," commanded Lucius. "She's completely filthy, but that doesn't surprise me," he added, with the satisfaction of seeing Hermione's eyes bulge in fury.
Finnigan bowed his head obediently, and proceeded to direct his old friend Hermione sympathetically up the stairs, when Draco cried in dismay "She's getting a room?!"
Lucius gave his son a scowl. "Did you expect her to sleep in the sky, son?"
"No, Father, but she belongs in the dungeons with the rest of them! Not in a room like one of us!"
"Why you slimy bastard!" roared Hermione, outraged, shaking herself out of Seamus's grip and marching towards Malfoy. "How dare you speak of me as if I were some animal-"
Malfoy stepped forward, equally angry. "You are!"
"QUIET!" bellowed Lucius, incensed. "I will have none of this meaningless quibbling in my home! We are all unhappy with this agreement, but that doesn't change the fact that the both of you are engaged! Now, Finnigan, get the girl upstairs, her current sight is heavily repulsing my wife!"
True enough, Narcissa Malfoy's nose was so wrinkled up that it looked like a shriveled ball between her eyes.
Seamus urged Hermione forward, and she grumpily stomped off with him up the stairs.
"Now, here comes my fun," Lucius said, in a much calmer tone, taking a step towards the other figure present who had carefully hidden himself in the shadows while all the rambling had been going on.
Draco stared. "Professor Snape?!"
"No, he is just Snape, now, isn't he?" Lucius sneered, pulling Snape roughly into the light.
Snape fell into a heap of disgrace on the floor.
Lucius and Draco laughed at this, while Narcissa retained her cool, though not attempting to hide a bemused smile.
"So, not so tough, now, are you?" jeered Draco at his former teacher and Head of House. "That's what you get for double crossing the Dark Lord, Snape! Wish you had left that freak Dumbledore sooner, now don't you?" he continued, any respect and reverence that once existed for this man gone.
"Play nicely, Draco," Lucius leered, and Draco smirked.
Snape remained silent.
"Well, at least you're not a total waste, Severus. Now you can be my personal slave. Follow me, I'll take you to your slave quarters," ordered Lucius, deliberately rubbing it in.
Snape scowled, but knew better than to act upon his anger. He'll get his revenge on them, they just wait. Dutifully, he followed Lucius out of the foyer.
Presently, it was just Draco and his mother left in the hall.
Narcissa cleared her throat. "Draco, why don't you go upstairs and get better acquainted with your wife-to-be?"
"Don't be silly, Mother. I have no wish to see her, speak to her, or have anything to do with her. She disgusts me," he spat.
"Likewise. But we haven't a choice."
Draco shook his head adamantly. "Maybe later."
Then he marched to the parlor, leaving his mother behind to sigh.
**
Seamus had led Hermione to a fairly large room on the third floor of the Manor. It overlooked the lake adjacent to Malfoy Manor (which most likely also belonged to the Malfoys) and overall had a beautiful view. Her room was decorated in shades of purple and blue, with the ceiling enchanted to show the sky as it is at present. A large four-poster bed with light blue drapes hanging from the top lay in the middle of the room, while an ancient-looking wooden wardrobe and dresser were to the left. On the right was a wall adorned with paintings and an opening to the bathroom. Hermione hated to admit it, but it was actually a pretty chamber.
Once inside, Seamus turned and drew Hermione in for a much-needed embrace.
"It's so good to see you again, Hermione," he said earnestly, smiling as best as he could.
"You too, Seamus. So this is where you ended up."
Seamus turned his head away. "Yeah, blimey. Working for that git Malfoy, it was rough at first. I mean- he was my god damn classmate! But they don't bother me much now. At least I'm a butler, not a slave, and I've got the others for company."
"I feel better knowing you're around! I hardly know who's left alive anymore," Hermione said sadly.
Seamus nodded in agreement. "Well, we lot have got to stick together, haven't we? You're very lucky, Hermione, to have this opportunity."
She snorted in disbelief. "This is not luck, Seamus, this is bad karma I've yet to rid."
"Hermione, being the git's wife can do wonders," started Seamus. Then he leaned in closer, and whispered, "especially for the rebel alliance."
At his last words, a fleeting image of space battleships and Luke Skywalker from the muggle epic film Star Wars flashed through her mind, but she shoved them out just as quick. This wasn't Star Wars- it was Wizard Wars and it was no movie.
Hermione looked up at him in confusion, but he spoke no more, as there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Hermione called over, fearing it would be Malfoy.
The door opened to reveal the silhouette of a young woman with blazing hair, carrying a huge bundle of robes, towels, and toiletries.
"Red," Seamus beckoned, then shot Hermione a knowing smile with a wink.
Hermione did a double take on the person, and her heart nearly froze as in entered the unmistakable form of Ginny Weasley.
**
A/N: Ok, not so much happened in this chapter, just introduced the other characters who will play a significant role sometime or another. But how was it? Wasn't Draco being extremely nasty? Hermione and Draco will have a much bigger confrontation later on, this was just their "icebreaker" so to say. Anyway, tell me what you think, the feedback is so encouraging! So please, please do review! The more I get, the faster I update! Promise!
Luv,
~ smashing sugar ~