A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Huge thank you to lanamarymack and Angela 007 for alpha/beta reading this chapter. You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter nine and be on the lookout for chapter ten soon!
Tom stared down the long table at all his gathered friends as they chattered away like a bunch of happy school girls. As usual, he found his spot at the head of the table. He was no King Arthur and he definitely didn't do round tables. He was in charge and he wouldn't let his Knights forget it.
It was harder to get the nine wizards together now than it was when they were all in Slytherin house as students at Hogwarts, but the Knights of Walpurgis at least understood how important it was that when a meeting was called, everyone attended. However, it also meant that Tom had to tolerate this absolute cacophony when they finally did meet.
They were meant to be discussing their plans — first conceived as Fourth Years and only taken seriously once the bulk of them had graduated — instead, they were discussing wedding plans and babies, neither of which rated very highly on Tom's goal list.
The discussion topic today was that Cygnus Black, younger brother to Orion, was about to make him an Uncle a second time over, despite being barely fourteen years old and at Hogwarts during the time of conception without his wife. Orion was taking considerable ribbing for not producing an heir yet with his wife, Walburga. (Though, Walburga was a rather detestable kind of witch, so Tom couldn't say that he blamed him).
It did not take a wizard with a mastery to understand what was really going on here. Although Tom did not doubt young Cygnus's virility or sexual desire, there was no doubt in his mind that Cygnus was not the father of Bellatrix or the future child he was awaiting. It seemed clear to him that Druella Black was merely a mistress of Cygnus's father, Pollux.
Though seeing as Druella's brother, Evan Rosier, was also seated at the table, everyone was studiously ignoring that point.
Tom made eye contact with Alfie, perhaps the only other person at the table who was as absolutely exasperated with the conversation. Running a hand through his ordinary brown hair, Alfie looked at Tom with suspicion in his eyes. "Promise me that you won't become like this lot," he said quietly, so no one was privy to their conversation.
"What do you mean?" Tom asked, unsure if he should be amused or offended by the tone of betrayal in his friend's voice.
"Well, now that you've found yourself a witch that has caught your attention," Alfie said. "You might get stars in your eyes about weddings and babies like everyone else and leave me alone in my bachelorhood."
"You aren't the only bachelor here, Alfie," Tom answered, knowing that Alfie needed a bit of reassurance. "Emeric and Antonin have yet to convince a witch to settle down and marry them," he added with a smirk.
Hearing their names caught the ears of Mulciber and Dolohov, respectively. Of the assorted Knights of Walpurgis — a name they had adopted before graduation — Mulciber and Dolohov were undoubtedly the roughest around the edges. Dolohov had been educated at Durmstrang and had not quite learned the English customs. He came across as very blunt to the witches in their social circles. Mulciber seemed more interested in finding excuses to fight than to talk to someone.
"What good is a witch?" Mulciber asked. "I can find a bit of skirt if I need to, but I don't need to go running to some witch for permission anytime I want to do something."
"Is that supposed to be directed towards me?" Abraxas demanded, his pale face going a bit red. He knew that their assorted friend group liked to mock the deference that he showed to his wife, Aurelia.
"Don't take it personally, Brax," scolded Avery. "You know that Emeric is just annoyed that he couldn't convince a witch to give him a second look." Rafe Avery was recently engaged himself, having finally plucked up the courage to approach the father of his school sweetheart, Mina Travers.
Mulciber, not appreciating having his prowess with witches called out, sneered at Rafe. "That's not it at all," he countered, sounding rather unconvincing.
"You know that you are going to have to get married eventually, Alfie," Rosier said, giving his friend a concerned look. "You are the only child of your house. Of course you will need an heir to pass on the family name."
Rosier, one of the better looking of their bunch, had been engaged for a little over a year, but wouldn't marry until his bride graduated Hogwarts in another two years. She was one of the three Bellchant sisters, whose name Tom could never remember.
Tom scoffed a bit at the idea of carrying on a family name, but quickly realized that it was only because he hated the family name that he carried himself. Why would he want to pass on the name his muggle father had given him? He had often thought about changing his name, to erase the memory of the man who hadn't even bothered to ask after him once, to something that better fit the wizard he was. He wanted no part of the reputation the Gaunt name carried, but it felt too juvenile to try to claim the name Slytherin, even if he was part of the lineage.
"It's not the heir that I'm concerned about," Alfie insisted.
The group of wizards began to titter at the idea. "I'm sure you're not," Rafe tittered, once again reminding Tom of a gossiping housewitch. "I doubt any of us would make any complaints about the process."
Alfie flushed. "It's the fact that I will have to put up with some witch, completely unsuited to me, for the rest of my miserable life!" he said, obviously thinking about his parents own unhappy marriage.
"Don't worry, Al," Evan consoled him. "You only need to see your witch as often as you'd like once you have an heir. Just buy her a second home somewhere abroad and send her on her merry way. With a hefty allowance, I doubt you will hear many complaints."
"I don't know why we are talking about me at all," Alfie said, still embarrassed to have so much focus on his love life. "I thought we were talking about Tom and his witch."
Traitor.
All at once, everyone turned to look at him to see what his reaction was. Knowing that he couldn't make too big a deal about Hermione, though, he quickly found himself becoming preoccupied with her. He wasn't ready for them to think that she was anything more to him than any other witch. "What about her?" he asked, pleased with the unaffected tone of voice he was able to maintain.
"Well, what's the deal with her?" Emeric asked, expectantly. "It's like she's just come out of nowhere."
"And, I've never known you to take such a deep interest in a witch," Abraxas said, with a frown on his face. He appeared nervous, as though he knew he was pushing things farther than he should, but felt safe with so many people around them. "I hope that she won't cause you to... lose focus on our shared interests."
Tom scoffed. "Do you think I've lost focus, Abraxas?" he demanded sharply.
"It would...it would give me more confidence if you shared what your next steps are," Abraxas said, tentatively, looking to the others for support. "We've all trusted that you know what you are doing, working at Borgin and Burke's, but every year that you languish there is another year of pureblood diminishment."
It took all that he had in him not to snarl at Abraxas. "I promise you that I have not been languishing at Borgin and Burke's," he said, with a sneer. "Do you really think that I would be there if I didn't think it held a critical role in achieving my true potential?"
"Well, no, but-" the blond stuttered.
"Then I would suggest you continue to trust me," Tom said severely. "Like everyone else seems to be capable of doing."
"Of course we trust you, Tom," Rafe said, wanting to remain in his good graces.
"In any case, Abraxas, you should really be thanking Hermione," Tom said, giving the Malfoy heir a smirk. "Because she is what has finally convinced me to take the next step. I will be leaving Borgin and Burke's shortly. Those two imbeciles are too delusional to keep the Ministry out of their business. Without Edmond's help, I am sure that they would each be facing a stay in Azkaban."
"I won't thank the witch," Abraxas said, suddenly perked up and in a much better mood. "But I am glad that things are progressing. There isn't a better time, really. I've been building alliances and I am confident that I have the votes in the Wizengamot to force a new election."
"And why would we want to do that?" Tom asked.
"So that you could finally become Minister of Magic," Abraxas said, too deep into his own plans to see that he was the only one on board. "Seize power and begin reshaping society the way that we see fit!"
Tom snorted. "That is not the next step," he said, not leaving any room for discussion. "I still have some arrangements to make, but once I do, I will happily share all of the details with you. You all just need to have a little faith. I haven't forgotten our aims."
The assembled wizards, sans Abraxas, seemed more than happy with that promise.
"Now, tell me about the preparations for Lughnasadh," Tom commanded, from his seat at the head of the table. "I will be bringing Hermione with me and I want to know that everything will go successfully."
"Really? You'd bring an outsider to our ritual?" Abraxas demanded, once again at odds with Tom over Hermione. "I know Edmond looked into her for you. I heard a suggestion that she was a mudblood."
"A mudblood at our ritual?" Orion asked as though it was the most distasteful thing he'd ever heard before. "I don't understand the appeal."
"But you looked into her, Edmond?" Alfie asked, amused and interested, practically unphased by the details of her blood status. "Tell us, is there an appeal?"
Tom could just make out the hint of a smirk from behind his mustache. "I did look into her. Couldn't really say one way or another about her blood status. She barely has any history before she took her NEWTs," Edmond explained. "But, let me just say, there is definitely appeal. Maybe not enough to turn some of your heads, but I understand why Tom is drawn to her."
He wasn't sure what to make of Edmond's assessment of the situation. Was there really something so obvious about him and Hermione? The thought made his stomach twist in uncertainty, wondering if Hermione was some sort of plant to turn his head. Then he remembered her eager questions about parseltongue and dismissed the thought out of hand.
"The appeal," he said, silencing the snickers of the Knights, "is that she has shown more interest in our rituals than most of you have since I've met you. I won't begrudge a fellow academic from learning about something that interests them."
No one wanted to question him more, perhaps sensing his deteriorating mood once he was being questioned about the girl so much.
Finally, Evan cleared his throat. "Lughnasadh will be held on my family's property as usual," he said, tentatively steering the conversation back to the specifics. "In the orchards. You can apparate there directly as I've opened the wards to all of you at this point, but if you'd prefer, you can floo in and we can walk together from the house."
"I am looking forward to another year of dominance in the games," Emeric said, puffing up his chest and grinning at the other men.
"I've been practicing," Antonin countered with an equally large grin. "I don't think that your brute strength will win you much this year."
"At least we will have a witch to stand in for the goddess this year," Emeric said. "Maybe if I beat you, Tom, she'll decide she wants to spend the night with me."
Even though he knew that was unlikely, Tom couldn't help himself from sneering. He would never be goaded into joining the wrestling melee again, not after being soundly beaten as a second year. "I'm sure she'd love to preside over all of you, fighting for her honor and blessing," Tom said, hoping that Hermione being less than pureblood was enough to deter them from their interest.
"The harvest looks to be good," Evan added, once again breaking the tension. "I think it will be a good year."
"That's just what I wanted to hear," Tom added, hoping that their rituals would be a success. He wondered what Hermione would make of them and or if she would be repulsed by the purpose of some of the darker acts.
Only time would tell.