CHAPTER TWO

BLAMELESS

1987

The last game of her third year in school was between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and Hermione was genuinely torn between. On the one hand, she wanted to cheer for her House, but on the other hand, Charlie was on the opposing team.

The very thought of him made her feel strangely hot, her hands tingling, her cheeks warm.

She wondered for a long time what it was about, after all, until now boys had not interested her at all. But surprisingly, she began to notice that this was not entirely true anymore. Charlie was also different from most of Slytherins - wildly intelligent, clever, but in a good, often selfless way. And they were in Muggle Studies together. They were good at it, because Hermione remembered a lot about the orphanage, and Arthur, Charlie's father, was passionate about the subject.

They joked a lot and treated each other like buddies, or so it seemed .

During one of the classes, their hands touched each other several times, an innocent, spontaneous touch that caused a spark. Charlie didn't seem to feel anything, but something flared inside Hermione.

"Move over." She heard a gasp and turned her head to look at Dora. "I want to see Hayden better."

Hermione raised an eyebrow and suppressed a giggle, which prompted Dora to reply with a nudge.

"Don't pretend to be such a saint anymore, Hermione. I've seen your googly eyes." Nymphadora didn't look at her, but she didn't have to. They treated each other almost like sisters and knew almost everything about the other.

"But, err ... how do you know?" She sighed in response, and Dora looked at her with her head tilted. She was holding candy bars in her hands, so she gave her one.

"You are so obvious that the blind would notice." She unwrapped the candy bar and took a bite. "But apparently Charlie is blind."

Hermione looked up as Charlie just flew overhead. She didn't answer, just took a bite of her candy bar, feeling the chocolate melt on her tongue.

"Ready to go home?" Dora's hair changed color to extremely green.

Hermione shook her head, and Dora sighed.

"This year, one of us is said to have to go on vacation with Narcissa to help with Draco." The greenhead's voice sounded disgusted, but she quickly forgot it when Hayden scored for Slytherin.

Hermione swallowed a bite and felt a shiver. The last visits to Malfoy Manor were on Christmas only, and she remembered exactly what she had found six years ago. So far, she had not had the opportunity to confront the Mirror of Erised again. Because now she knew exactly what she had seen and what had happened.

Maybe a vacation would be a great option ...

"Hermione!" Dora waved her hand in front of her eyes to bring her down to the ground. "Snape is calling you. I don't know what you've been up to."

Hermione licked her lips, tucked the endless candy bar into her robes, and stood up.

"I'm supposed to have extra Potions lessons from year four." She shrugged as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Dora's eyes widened and she whistled softly, which Hermione applauded with a pat on her shoulder.

"Get lost."

She left the stands and walked over to the Potions teacher.

Hermione spent the entire month of August at Malfoy Manor helping Narcissa look after her son. Care was an exaggerated word, but Hermione remembered the relief on Dora's face when she volunteered. It was priceless.

There were only two of them most of the month, sometimes visited by Andromeda and Druella. During this time, the bond between Hermione and Narcissa had grown a lot, and they got along quite well.

At one point, Hermione was left alone in the mansion - or so she thought - so she seized the opportunity to sneak into the room where the mirror had been standing recently.

As she pressed the handle, her heart raced against her chest, and she felt a tingling sensation and pressure.

The door swung open, the room was empty, but the Mirror was where she last saw it.

She swallowed loudly and stumbled toward him, her head spinning.

She stood in front of the Mirror of Erised and put her hand to her mouth. The images in front of her eyes flashed whenever she blinked, and she felt her legs weaken.

She saw herself sitting and brewing potions, getting the highest grade in NEWTS. In her hands she held a bottle of 'Veritaserum'.

The next scene showed her and Charlie flying on a broomstick against the setting sun.

And then their kiss, real, grown up during their… wedding.

She groaned at the scene and the image vanished as the mirror was covered with a curtain. Someone caught her, yet again.

Hermione, with her heart in her mouth, turned to meet not one but two pairs of eyes. Abraxas and Lucius stood in the doorway. Abraxas checked her again, raising an eyebrow in surprise ( how she had grown up ). Lucius looked serious, but she could see a gleam in the corner of his eyes.

"Miss Black, can you explain what you are doing here?" Abraxas walked up to her just as before. Lucius stood in the doorway watching their little conversation.

"I ... I ..." Hermione started to stutter and looked at Lucius, hoping he would help her, but he shook his head. "I got the rooms wrong." She had lied, and the three of them knew it perfectly well.

"Certainly. No innocent girl with impeccable behavior should appear in this dark room. Unless… " Abraxas interrupted and lifted her chin, causing their eyes to meet. "Unless she's not as blameless as we think she is."

Hermione blinked a few times, but the older Malfoy's gaze was piercing her soul. Finally, he released her and stepped back, saying,

"Miss Black, you shouldn't be here." She knew she should run, but this time Abraxas waited patiently for her move.

Hermione took a few drunk steps towards the door, towards Lucius. She would have fallen hard if Lucius wasn't there, his firm grip on her elbow. He held her up and set her upright.

She felt tears burning her eyes, so she tried hard not to let it show. Ultimately, she lifted her head and he released her.

She knew he noticed her tears, he had to, there was no other option.

She ran away.

"You're not looking your best lately, has something happened?" Narcissa was reading a book, but paused when she noticed Hermione was sitting still in the chair.

Hermione shook her head and bit her cheek from the inside, but that didn't fool the woman.

"Do you miss Hogwarts?" She laughed slightly as Hermione blushed in response. "I'm guessing it is probably someone you're missing, not necessarily the school itself."

The soft smile Hermione tried to hide crept onto her lips. Finally, she nodded slightly. It was safer to stick to this version.

"You're young, it's the best time to fall in love for the first time." Narcissa closed the book and stood up. "Then, when you are older, all the charm flies away. Trust me."

She went out on the terrace, and Hermione decided to join her after a while. In the gardens, Draco played with Lucius. He had a very strong character for a seven-year-old, which sometimes gave both of his parents a headache.

Lucius looked at them and waved his wand, making Draco squeal. He also motivated Narcissa to come downstairs, he even watched her go, and when Mrs. Malfoy was out of sight, he transferred his eyes to Hermione. He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.

They had shared a secret for several days, and it was giving her a chill. Abraxas and Lucius did not give her away, although they could do so right away, without real effort. She broke the rules that were clear and precise. Their silence was a peculiar way to protect her from... Narcissa - Druella, both.

Druella had no mercy for insubordination and punished even the slightest disobedience in Hermione. It never happened with Nymphadora, she realised.

Narcissa went downstairs and Lucius stood in the shadows, handing Draco back to his wife. He watched Hermione all the time until she felt uncomfortable.

She seemed relieved that this was the last day at Malfoy Manor. She went to pack her things in the suitcase and a long moment later, went down to the living room. Cygnus appeared before her - apparently he was responsible for transporting her back to the Black mansion.

Abraxas emerged from the shadows of the house and invited Cygnus for a glass of whiskey, which he accepted. Hermione sat down with them in the living room as they both lit their cigars. She didn't care about their male conversation until she heard her name.

"I hope Hermione was behaving impeccably, otherwise..." Cygnus sipped the liquid, and Abraxas raised his hand and interrupted his sentence.

"Absolutely, she is brilliantly well raised, congratulations to your wife. She is an absolute delight , helpful, obliging. " Abraxas' eyes were dark, and there was a twinkle in them as he looked at her. "Blameless."

1988

Snape was very demanding and the extra hours of potions made her overall time drastically shorten. She struggled to reconcile all classes, writing essays and learning, but it was not impossible.

The sheer volume of activities took up her time she would most likely waste for dreaming, and after four years at Hogwarts and eleven with the Black family, she knew dreams were in vain. Highly undesirable.

As Hermione Black, more was expected from her, she had to try harder, be the best. Prove her worth, justify she would be the perfect wife in a few years. With a bit of luck, she might be able to do some undemanding activity.

But she was now fifteen, sixteen in three months, and she couldn't quite silence the hormones. She was a teenager who lay on her bed at night, thinking.

Additionally, Hermione knew Dora had already had her first kiss, and she hadn't yet. And it frustrated her so much that she recently was earning negative points for Slytherin.

During the lecture with Snape, she sprinkled too much lavender into the cauldron, which caused the potion to explode first and then flow out, causing a small flood in the dungeons.

Snape had no mercy and she heard text about the head in the clouds and how she should focus if she didn't consider herself an idiot. Of course, she knew his mean nature made him say such things, but it still hurt.

Irritated by the incident and the fact that she had to clean the floor on her knees as punishment, she decided to go to Hogwarts grounds to rest.

She looked miserable, terrible , the robe was wet and stained, and it smelled like lavender at its worst, like a fake cheap candle. Her hair was disheveled, and there must have been some streaks of the elixir on her face.

June was exceptionally warm so she decided to settle down on the grass. Suddenly, a white patronus - dragon - appeared in the sky, just above her face and eyes.

She smiled slightly, then heard heavy footsteps muffled by the grass.

"Where's your crow?" A chuckle made her look up, then dropped quickly.

"I have no strength to charm, Charlie. I'm exhausted, I was scrubbing the cauldrons and the floor at Snape's with my hands for the past hour. "

"Problems in paradise?" He sat down next to her, and she smelled his familiar scent, of wind, tobacco, and primal musk.

"A small breakdown, but I'm worn out. This man has no mercy. "

"That's true." He lay down beside her and took her hand. "What are your vacation plans?"

Hermione swallowed because she knew they would look the same as the previous ones. But it didn't bother her in this particular moment much, as Charlie grabbed her hand. Sometimes he did that and played with her fingers, saying they were extremely long and thin.

"And yours?" She choked out, feeling that she was getting hotter and hotter. Her cheeks turned red, and she could feel the tingling in her fingers. Her heart rate increased and her lower abdomen was getting ...

"Nothing special," Charlie replied and began to play with her fingers. He massaged them, and Hermione held her breath. She saw that he raised himself on one elbow and looked at her. She blinked a few times - maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all - and looked at him expectantly.

He leaned over her and their lips touched, as subtle as a butterfly's wings touching the air.

Hermione felt an electric thrill run through her - one she would call sensual, new - strange .

Charlie didn't deepen the kiss, just pulled back. He was a little scared, while Hermione wanted more .

"What happened?" she whispered because Charlie was silent, and then he jumped up and was gone.

Hermione blinked a few times, unsure what exactly had happened.

Charlie avoided her all the time and they only saw each other for Muggle Studies. He didn't joke during the class and seemed subdued. Hermione didn't know what to think of this at all. Dora was also not very helpful - she had been dating Hayden for a few months and now her head was in the clouds.

Hermione became much more silent herself, which Snape made a comment about. Hermione finally couldn't stand it and put down the flask with a crash, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Professor Snape, when will I be able to brew Veritaserum?" Severus Snape looked at her, clearly amused.

"It will be a few long years more I believe, Miss Black." His dry reply caused her hope to totally drain away.

If she had three droplets , she might find out what Charlie feels for her, if anything. T hree innocent droplets …

"Please focus on the Calming Draught, because the last time it turned out badly in your hands."

She pursed her lips in aggravation, but Snape was right.

Hermione was spending the final evening of fourth year, like most of the students, by the Lake. She and Dora were catching the rays of the June sun as a shadow fell across her face. She opened her eyes to find Charlie leaning over her.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her along, and Dora smiled to herself as she saw the scene.

Once in the woods, Hermione noticed that he was unnaturally flushed and was mumbling something under his nose. As if rehearsing a learned text over and over again. After a moment he stopped and looked at her, cleared his throat and ...

She had never seen him so nervous before.

"Charlie?" Her voice was soft but at the same time hesitant.

"Don't say anything." He shook his head and silenced her. He approached her and put his hand on her cheek. He stroked her, and she took a deep breath. His movements were completely clunky, unskilled, like most fifteen-year-olds.

She was blinking intensely and she didn't dare to breathe louder.

"If something doesn't work out ..." he whispered and brought his mouth to hers, his long red hair falling over her shoulders, shielding them from the whole world.

Charlie smelled different, as if he had poured a lot of cologne on himself. Plus she smelled a mint.

He touched her lips, gently at first, but harder than the last. He pulled away minimally, and Hermione licked hers at the same time.

Neither one knew what each was doing. And that was the most beautiful thing about it.

When both of them came back pink, Dora just raised an eyebrow and sighed. Finally .

The weather was very capricious throughout July, but that didn't stop Hermione from exchanging letters with Charlie. With each passing day, she missed him more and more, even though their youthful ardor was still very fresh.

She was too wound up to sleep and went down to the kitchen at six in the morning. This time, Narcissa was visiting them with Draco, so she tried to be as quiet as possible, sneak past and not wake anyone up. As she was about to open the door, she heard muffled voices that belonged to Narcissa and Andromeda.

It was very rare that the sisters could talk freely, and certainly Hermione had never heard their direct conversation in an informal tone.

"Did you get a letter from Bellatrix?" Narcissa's voice was horrified, and for a moment only the rustle of paper was heard. One of the sisters was walking, and Hermione was betting on Andromeda. "For Merlin's beard, Andromeda!"

Her soft scream was muffled by her sister, and Hermione wished she could see their faces. On the other hand, she did not fully realize who Bellatrix was.

"Our mother will kill you when - if - she finds out." Narcissa's voice was faint, but Hermione heard her answer clearly.

"She'll only know if you tell her." Andromeda had apparently taken a letter from her. "You'd better take care of what's going on in your own home ."

Narcissa snarled something in reply, but too indistinctly to be audible. Andromeda snorted in response,

"Don't tell me how to live in a marriage, because I don't have Abraxas as my father-in-law. And I am certain, if he was still doing this , then Lucius would follow in his footsteps. Sooner or later. Since it's tradition."

Narcissa snapped something glass in response, but Andromeda was ruthless.

"You knew perfectly well what awaited you. If you thought you could change something, you were so naive." She continued. "For them, tradition is sacred."

"They don't have a candidate." Narcissa's response caused Hermione to sit next to the door. What the hell were they talking about?

Andromeda snorted in response.

"You really think so, Cissy? Maybe they've already chosen someone and the rest is just a matter of time."

"Andromeda." Narcissa's pleading tone became more and more desperate. "Stop, please. We must stick together for the sake of the family."

A bitter laugh escaped from the lips of the older sister, "For the sake of the family? Shall I remind you of your own reaction to Bella's letter a moment ago? Or maybe let's talk about Hermione's presence, such perfect timing."

"Please, stop. Please, I'm begging you." This time they both fell silent, and Hermione held her breath. Her name had been mentioned, but annoyingly enough, the discussion was over.

She learned nothing else that morning.

Narcissa and Draco's visit ended with them returning to Malfoy Manor with Hermione. Hermione didn't quite understand why Druella and Cygnus were stubbornly sending her on vacation to their youngest daughter. She might as well spend this time with Dora, Andromeda, and Ted.

But, of course, she did not dare to raise this topic as she did with the rest. The presence of Mr. and Mrs. Black intimidated Hermione, and she still hadn't let go of her fears.

When they reached the mansion, Lucius was waiting for them on the threshold. His eyes flashed as he noticed Hermione, but of course he said nothing but a greeting.

Narcissa asked Hermione to look after Draco, and she followed her husband into their bedroom upstairs. The girl and the boy went out to the gardens, where Draco began building a sand castle. Hermione sat down on the bench and closed her eyes as she soaked up the afternoon sun. The idyll was disturbed by Draco's grunting and screaming, "Grandpa!"

Hermione felt chills down her spine and opened her eyes, unsure what she would see. Fortunately, Abraxas ignored her completely and gave his full attention to his grandson. Or so it seemed.

Hermionel decided she would go to change clothes, taking advantage of the fact that Draco was not alone. She returned to the building and climbed the stairs.

She heard loud voices coming from Narcissa and Lucius' wing. Curious, she walked closer and tried to eavesdrop on what topic they were talking about. Unfortunately, the words mixed together and she only caught that it was a spouses' quarrel.

As she wanted to come closer to the door, a white peacock, Lucius' patronus, appeared in front of her. He stood staring at her blindly, causing discomfort.

Hermione, knowing his impulsive nature, took a few steps back and he started walking towards her. She chewed off the curse in her mouth, because the peacock obviously had no good intentions.

Suddenly, the peacock spread his wings and began to fly towards her, which forced her to run in a completely opposite direction than she initially planned.

She didn't think about it at all, just began to run. Halfway up, hearing the rustle of wings and gliding, she realized she was trapped. There was only a wall with a sconce in front of her eyes and nothing else, a dead end. End of the game. Game over.

Which meant they'd catch her again and that she might be much less fortunate now. Especially since the peacock looked quite angry.

Hermione reached the wall and felt tears shine through her eyelids. Her curiosity will send her to hell one day.

She slammed her hand helplessly next to the wall lamp and the wall jumped back, making her way.

Shocked, without thinking, she slipped inside and slammed the door shut, causing the peacock to squawk.

She felt her breath raging and the blood pounding in her ears. She swallowed vigorously for a moment, trying to calm herself, then looked around the room.

It was a kind of strange office, full of bookshelves. At first it just looked like a small library, but as Hermione took a few steps, the spell was broken. Someone had obviously put a strong disillusioning spell on this place.

The real content was much more terrifying.

The room was filled with paintings of half-naked female bodies, sometimes even naked. In many of them, the face was erased or non-existent. Some of them were hung on the walls, some stood against the walls.

One of the paintings was unfinished, the canvas placed on the easel was visibly damp, wet as if someone had just finished painting.

Hermione opened her mouth and walked closer to it and touched it, a trail of white paint left on her fingertips. She immediately wiped it on her pants, but the remains were still visible on the fingerprints.

Behind the easel, she could see a chaise lounge, lined with burgundy silk, with a pillow over it. Right next to it was a glass of half-finished champagne.

Hermione felt shivers down her body, but continued her journey, past the chaise lounge and behind the curtain.

The sweet scent of vanilla hit her face and filled her lungs. At first she was unable to concentrate on anything else, but ultimately what she saw left her speechless.

A king size four-poster bed.

She swallowed loudly as she realized what she had discovered, and this awareness made her extremely uncomfortable.

Candles were still burning near the bed, though most of them were completely burned out. Hanging hooks were seen near the bed, on which she noticed some… toys.

She took a few steps back, feeling the nausea coming. With a sudden movement she pulled back the curtain and sucked air into her mouth. Her head was spinning, so she sat down on the silk pouf.

There were potions on a table near the easel, only a few of them were described.

Judging by the bottles, some of them must have been very valuable.

Veritaserum .

A small bottle with a clear liquid signed with a handwriting which was engraved in her mind. It was Snape's , she was more than sure.

Hermione took it in her hand and shook it when she heard the soft, "Put that back, Hermione."

She shuddered because she knew it was Lucius. She looked up and he stood and looked at her, his eyes dark, disturbing, different than usual.

His long blonde hair was flowing, disheveled. He was probably in a hurry, running as soon as the patronus informed him.

He caught up with her in a few strides, and she swayed heavily. He grabbed her and forced her to put the Veritaserum down, but his grip didn't loosen after she did it.

She felt his anger as he looked at her. Unexpectedly, she had realized it was not her fault that she was standing here. She was forced, literally put against the wall.

After all, she hadn't done anything wrong.

Thoughts raged in her head, her ears hummed, and Lucius Malfoy was still holding her tight. She could see his fury was not diminishing, but she had no desire to apologize.

She didn't feel guilty. Not for a moment.

And he must have noticed the challenge in her eyes because he let her go, pulling his wand out of his robes.

"I have no other choice, Hermione. It's too early, you're not ready." His voice sounded strange, as if it were coming from the depths of hell.

She frowned, and didn't understand what he meant. After all, she had done nothing wrong, and the room ...

His soft, dark voice uttered "Obliviate," and darkness fell.

She woke up with a headache in her own bed. Pain burst through her skull, and it was hard to remember the last hour. She ran her tongue over her dry mouth and reached for the glass.

She took a sip and put it down, noticing the white marks on her fingers.

Paint ?

She noticed the same on her pants and raised her eyebrows. Plus, she smelled the scent of vanilla.

Paint? Vanilla?

She blinked a few times because nothing came together logically. She had a hole in her memory, her mind was foggy with the mere urge to recall.

She remembered running in front of the peacock and ... here she was.

She got out of bed, left the room, and went down to the garden.

Narcissa was playing with Draco, but she saw neither Abraxas nor Lucius.

"How are you?" she heard Lucius's voice behind her back.

'I am okay, thank you, Mr. Malfoy. " Her voice trembled, but she turned hesitantly. He was looking at her keenly, and he held a letter in his hand.

"This came for you, but you were asleep." He handed her an envelope, and she took it warily. She smiled at Charlie's handwriting.

Lucius walked away and she slowly opened the envelope. She bit her lip when she noticed the unevenness at the edges.

Was he reading her correspondence?

She shook her head; it was ridiculous.

Notes:

Spoiled and Sinful soon.