Breaking a bad habit

The future bride and groom meet. Things do not go well! Hermione learns the extent of Cory's obsession with her. Yaxley Sr has his say. Yaxley's crew comes to Grimmauld Place.

A/N: word to the wise. Even though I hate the word, 'MUDBLOOD' will be used in this story at least a few times. This is an Enemies to Lovers trope. It IS canon. He IS a pureblood. Therefore, he will have grown up both hearing and saying the word. I apologize in advance to anyone who gets offended at the use of that word.

It took three Calming Potions before Hermione was finally rational enough to agree to the match. At first, she had been all for turning her wand in and fleeing back to the Muggle world. 'Marry Cory Yaxley?! The boy who had threatened to keep her as a plaything if Voldemort had won?!' She was somewhat surprised when Kingsley told her she could have rejected Yaxley. But her next choices would have been Rowle or Mulciber. They were surprised when he told them the Order of the Phoenix was restarting. Harry eagerly agreed that Grimmauld Place could once more be headquarters. Then he told them the rest of his news. Yaxley, Rowle and Mulciber were all being paroled as a group. They would all be coming here, for now. The Weasley's, Remus, Dora and Andromeda would all be moving in to help them control the boys. Once the boys had been given a chance to realize they weren't going back to Azkaban, the whole group would move on to the Burrow where they would have more breathing room and could play Quidditch. Once the school year started back, other arrangements would be made. Shuddering at the thought of the three boys right there with them, she went to prepare their rooms. Kingsley had also told her he wanted her there when he told the inmates the next day.

The Next Day

Hermione walked beside Kingsley on their way to Azkaban prison. He'd told her he wanted her to see and hear something. Something that would help her realize WHY she had been matched to Cory Yaxley. She'd heard other people talk about this long, gloomy, poorly lit tunnel going to the prison. She didn't like it. It gave her the heebie-jeebies. This would have been the same walk taken by Yaxley and the others after they were convicted and sentenced.

"Do I really need to be there? You know he's going to go spare if he sees me! He did at his trial, remember? They had to drag him out because he threatened to jump me right there in the courtroom? And now I'm expected to LIVE with him, marry him and,, dear Merlin, do I really have to have BABIES with him?!" she asked disbelievingly. Kingsley's lips twitched in amusement.

"Yes, dear. There's no other way. Trust me, I looked at every possible angle of the problem. I had my best people check it over three different times. There was no ifs, ands or buts about it. This marriage law was the last resort and only possible solution to the problem. I just hate that you youngsters are going to be the hardest hit. I will be leading the way. I've already chosen my bride. She's a young woman who works in the Ministry. You might know her from Hogwarts. Amelia Thompson?" he looked down at her.

"Yes. I do know her. She's one of the few Ravenclaw students who didn't mind answering endless questions from a very curious first year. Not once did she ever make fun of me, for my looks, my blood status or my intelligence." Hermione smiled at the memory. She was glad that Kingsley had told her about Amelia. Knowing he was being subjected to the law as well made her feel slightly better about her own match.

"Do you think this will really work out, me and Yaxley, I mean?" she sighed fretfully. He took her hand reassuringly. "I don't think you realize exactly how he feels about me. He HATES me! At the battle, had Voldemort won, he or his father were apparently going to ask for ME as a reward and I was going to be his little 'mudblood' plaything!"

"Yes. I honestly think this will work out, Hermione. The guards are all positive about it as well. They call you his saving grace. Whereas the others on that block are always batshit crazy by the time the Dementors move on, he's still sitting there calmly talking about YOU. They say it's like talking about you protects his mind and his memories. The Dementors can't touch them."

"Still. Is it really wise to have them right there at Grimmauld Place? Can't they go to their own homes?" she asked.

"No. I'm sorry, sweetheart. We just don't have the manpower to send guards home with every one of them. And magical trackers are too easily disposed of. Listen. We will all be there with you. Trust me. You won't be alone with him until WE all decide that it's safe to leave the two of you alone." he smiled at her. "There will always be at least two sets of eyes on him and his friends until they prove themselves trustworthy."

Hermione took a deep breath and released it. She was going to trust him and go along with this. As yet, Shacklebolt hadn't steered her or Harry wrong. They went on down the corridor. She noticed that the further they went, the lower the level dropped and the colder it became. She knew this was the part that was actually under water and when they came back up, they would be on Azkaban Island.

They came back up into a cold, rainy day. As they waited for the door to open, she looked around. Up near the top of the building was still a visible hole from the breakout several years previously. They had never repaired the damage. Those top cells were no longer used either. The entire floor had been closed off. There had been a big write up about it in the Daily Prophet a couple of years ago. She listened as the door creaked open. They were shown in and taken to the warden's office. Shacklebolt reached into his pocket. The sheaf of papers he pulled out were the orders to get Yaxley, Rowle and Mulciber ready for release. They would be taken to Grimmauld Place this afternoon, or at least Yaxley would be.

The warden came in. He eyed the Minister respectfully. He must be here about those certain three prisoners. He'd heard one of them had been personally trained as an Auror by the Minister. He looked at the young woman, recognizing her instantly. "Miss Granger. Thank goodness! I'm assuming this means you've accepted the match with him."

"Y-yes. Um, how did you know me?" she asked hesitantly. He laughed heartily.

"Oh, my dear. You can't go past his cell without seeing you staring from his walls." he looked at Shacklebolt. "I'm assuming you're here to arrange his release? The other two boys have no idea they will be released with him. We thought we'd better keep that under our hats until we found out for certain. Their paperwork is all in order?"

"Yes. We're here about their release. Everything should be signed, dated and in order. He'll be leaving right before us. I have to show her his cell after they remove him. Rowle and Mulciber will follow him two hours later. That will give us time to get him settled in. I have a feeling he is going to be the trouble child." Shacklebolt shook hands with the warden.

"Oh, no doubt about that. He'll kick up a fuss and fight us every step of the way. He'll not go down without a fight, you know. It took five of us to take him down after the battle. He's a mean one and smart as all get out, to boot!" the warden chuckled. /p

p""That's how he was raised. Mean as a snake and smart as the devil." Shacklebolt told him as they walked down the hall. Hermione listened closely as she followed them. Just before they went into the cellblock, Kingsley had her to put her hood up, throwing her face into shadows. They walked down the hall between the cells. As they got near the center, the warden held up his hand. He motioned them to be quiet. Hermione frowned as she heard a voice mumbling. Then she heard her own name.

"Six teens broke into the Ministry of Magic. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley. They claim they were there to rescue Sirius Black who was nowhere on the premises. They fought death eaters. Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Corban Yaxley, Titus Mulciber, Walden McNair. They were sent by the Dark Lord to retrieve a prophecy concerning himself and Harry Potter. The prophecy is lost. Most of the death eaters are recaptured and go back to Azkaban. Another breakout a few years later. The Dark Lord takes control of the world. All I have to do is reach him. If I can get to him with the mudblood, he'll reward me. I'll get to keep her. She'll be mine. I'll never let her get away from me." she finally recognized the voice. She hadn't heard him speak since the battle several months ago. It was Cory Yaxley talking. Hermione looked up. Both the warden and Kingsley were looking at her. She swallowed and nodded at them. She was starting to figure out now why Shacklebolt had told her she was already claimed.

"Yaxley, Jr. You have a visitor. He's actually here to make an announcement for all of you younger prisoners. Listen up good." the warden stepped back, shielding Hermione from the view of the prisoners. Across the way, Yaxley Sr came to peer through the bars of his cell. He eyed the small form standing quietly behind the warden.

"I'm going to read you the main points of an article which was published this morning in the Daily Prophet. 'Marriage Law enacted. All unmarried witches and wizards between the ages of seventeen and fifty will be subjected to this law. Pureblood males must first look to half blood and Muggleborn witches as wives. If all are already chosen, only then can a pureblood bride be chosen. The same goes for the witches. Before a pureblood wizard can be chosen, she must first try to find a half blood or Muggleborn husband. The purpose of this law is to rebuild our population with expanded bloodlines. The reasons for this law: the recent war we just fought costing us many lives, low birth rates and more Squib births than normal'. Before any of you object, let me just say this. I myself am subject to this law and I have already picked a half-blood bride. It's time for the rest of you to follow suit. There is only one of you who doesn't have to worry. Your bride is already chosen. Cory, would you like to mean your bride?" Shacklebolt asked. He was standing in front of the steel bars of a cell door. Looking inside, he could just barely make out the form of the huddled up young man in the far corner of the cell.

"The fuck you on about, old man? I'm not getting married. I'm in prison, for Merlin's sake! How the bloody fucking hell am I going to get married?" the boy mumbled without looking up.

"You are getting married. You are being released in order to get married. So, I ask you again, would you like to meet your bride?" Shacklebolt repeated. The boy raised his head slowly. Even across the width of the cell, Shacklebolt could see the hollowed out cheeks and the dark shadows around the boy's eyes. The young man pushed to his feet and came to the door. He was almost as tall and broad shouldered as Kingsley himself.

"Why do you keep asking if I want to meet her? What, she's here, right now?" he asked. Shacklebolt nodded slowly.

"Yes, Cory. She's here, right now. Would you like to meet her?" he stepped back slightly. Hermione prepared to step forward.

"No. I told you, old man. I'm not getting married. You can just take your bloody newspaper and cram it up your arse! I'm not worried about some damn marriage law!" he growled.

"Hmmm. Well, that's too bad. I wasn't asking your permission about the law. You're REQUIRED to take a bride. As you don't seem willing to even talk about it, I should tell you that you ARE going to meet her sooner or later." he turned around and waved Hermione forward. Cory watched the small figure walk up to his cell. He silently cursed. 'There was only one witch he wanted, if he HAD to even do this bloody bullshit. And she was no doubt long gone. Last he'd heard, she was dating the redheaded weasel Malfoy was constantly putting down'. The girl looked at Kingsley who nodded at her. She reached up and pushed her hood bark. Cory almost went to his knees. 'It was her! Saints fucking preserve him, IT WAS HER!'

Cory felt his breath hitch in his chest. 'Merlin help him, what to do? What to fucking DO?!' He was torn by conflicting emotions as he stared at her. On the one hand, bloody fucking hell, he felt a thrilling excitement racing through his veins. 'He might actually be able to finally get his hands on her!' On the other hand, he was filled with pure unadulterated fear. 'His bloody father was right across the way, looking as if he wanted to kill her with his bare fucking hands! Damn it, he had to get her out of here, away from that bloody bastard!' He closed his eyes and mentally resigned himself to the next twenty years in this damn hellhole. If rejecting her was the only way to protect her, then Merlin help him, he'd do it and fucking deal with the aftermath!

"No! I refuse! You'll not make me marry a damn little MUDBLOOD!" he snarled angrily. He backed away from the bars. She put a trembling on them. He lunged forward and grabbed at her. Shacklebolt just got her snatched back in time. He threw himself against the bars as he shoved his arms through, swinging a huge fist at her. "Get away, MUDBLOOD! Get away now! I'll kill ya! You hear that, Auror? You make me marry her, I'll fucking kill the filthy little MUDBLOOD!" his heart hurt as she leaned against Shacklebolt, tears streaming down her face. His father was watching the whole drama intently.

The warden cocked his head at the young man. 'Just this morning, the Dementors had passed through. The boy had recited every fact he knew about the girl until they were gone. Now he was acting as if he completely loathed her. Wait! Hang on! Acting? Was he actually faking hating the girl? Why?' Then the warden met the deadly, cold gaze of Yaxley Sr. Suddenly he realized exactly why Jr. was acting up. 'He was putting on an act for his father's benefit, making Sr think he really hated the girl!'

He turned and motioned to the two guards who had followed them down the hall. They motioned to two more. Cory frowned as they started towards his cell. His heart started pounding. 'So they were really going to push the point, weren't they? Well, he was ready! He might not have a wand anymore but his fucking fists worked just fine!' He dodged to the back of his cell. The guards rushed in and he began throwing punches like his life depended on it.

Hermione turned her face into Shacklebolt's chest as the sounds of punches and flying spells filled the air. He was unarmed. He was in an enclosed space and he was by himself, facing down four armed wizards. He was giving back every bit as much damage as he was taking. Finally they brought him down. As they levitated his unconscious body of his cell, they could see how bloody and bruised up they were.

"Damn. He really is a fighter, isn't he?" Shacklebolt asked, eyeing the wizards as they limped away with the boy. The warden laughed again.

"Yes. He is definitely a fighter. You realize, given his reaction just now, that instead of her it might very well be HIM that goes to the altar kicking and screaming, right?" he looked at Shacklebolt. They both chuckled quietly as they pictured having to levitate a completely bound Cory Yaxley to the altar. Shacklebolt shook hands with him as he moved to the door of the empty cell. He looked inside and blinked in surprise. He'd been told the boy followed every story about Hermione. He hadn't realized how extended her history was.

Hermione followed him. He nodded and pushed her in the door. Her jaw dropped as she finally saw the inside of the cell. He had literally wallpapered his cell with nothing but articles and pictures. OF HER! 'Seriously? What? Why? He hated her! He'd just proven it! So why was his entire cell covered in pictures and articles f her?!' The biggest picture of them all was clearly a shot taken in her fourth year. She was wearing her blue Yule ball gown. The photographer had taken three shots of her with Viktor Krum. He'd taken one shot, only one, of her by herself. She smiled shyly, her cheeks red after dancing nonstop with Viktor.

"I think he might miss his collection. Shall we take it with us, dear?" Shacklebolt asked her as he waved his wand. Unsticking all the articles and photos, he held out a file and they neatly arranged themselves inside it. He handed her the file. She shrunk it down and slid it into the pocket of her robe. She stepped back from his cell in confusion. From further past his cell, she heard two voices. She looked over and saw his two best friends watching her intently.

"Oi! Oi! Granger!" it was Rowle and Mulciber. She walked closer to them.

"Take care of him, Granger. He needs you." Mulciber mumbled to her, glancing over her shoulder. She frowned at him. He smiled. "Once he's away from here, you'll understand. Just-please, just take care of him.

"He's not anywhere near as bad as he acts like he is. I know what you're thinking, Granger. This is no trick. I'm telling you. He's not nearly as bad as you're expecting him to be. Keep that in mind, yeah?" Rowle asked her. She looked from him to Mulciber and back again. Then she turned back to Shacklebolt.

As she walked back the way they had come, she was surprised by one last whisper. "Get over here, you filthy little MUDBLOOD!" she looked over and froze. She was staring into the cold, hard gaze of Yaxley Sr. Paling rapidly, she only took a few steps closer. Even with the bars between them, she could practically feel the waves of loathing rolling off of him.

"Your Muggles, they have a saying, muddy 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks.'" he stared at her menacingly. Then he cut his eyes in the direction of his unconscious son and looked back at her. "But sometimes, a young pup can be retrained. The first one better damn well be a boy and he better damn well receive the family name, MUDBLOOD!"

Kingsley gently grabbed Hermione's arm and guided her away from the imprisoned Death Eater. She followed him nimbly down the hall. Once out of the cellblock, she turned to Kingsley. "What was THAT about?"

Kingsley smiled at her. "THAT, my dear, is as close as you'll ever get to receiving Corban Yaxley's blessing to marry his son. He expects the first child to be a grandson and he expects him to be named either Corban or Corbin." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Great! Not even married yet and the father is already making demands!" she griped. Kingsley laughed all the way back to the Ministry. They went to his office to wait for Cory. It was a good thirty minutes before the guards showed up with him. They looked even more beat up than before. At the Ministers raised brow, they shrugged. "He woke up sooner than we thought. It was another fight to get him into the showers and his street clothes. We used the longest lasting Calming Potions and sedatives that we had"

They both looked at the heavily sedated young wizard. His head lolled as he slumped into the chair beside her. She hesitantly laid a hand over his. His eyes were more closed than open at this point. "Cory?" she tried his name out. It was the first time she could ever remember saying his first name. He looked at her blearily.

"Ok. Its time to get moving. We still have to get him back to Grimmauld Place. Remember we have more guests coming later." Kingsley stood and the guards got Cory on his feet and moving. On their way up to the Atrium, they stopped and got Amelia. She and Kingsley got on both sides of Hermione, linking arms with her to hold the crowds at bay. Hermione was very glad of their support as they reached the Atrium. Everybody turned to look at her as they walked across, followed by the young death eater and his guards. They had decided the Floo was the quickest way back to Grimmauld Place.

They came out in the kitchen. Harry and Ron were there, pacing anxiously. They were waiting to meet Hermione's match. They both gulped as they looked up at him. Even heavily sedated, he was still a dangerous looking young man. His height and massive build didn't reassure them of Hermione safety with him. Amelia broke off to talk to Mrs. Weasley. They proceeded to the second floor where Hermione had warded three rooms for him and h's friends. They would be able to duck, dodge and race in and out of each other's rooms. They wouldn't be able to open the main door. That would be the job of someone from the Order. As they neared the door, they heard scuffling behind them. Evidently the sedatives were wearing off fat! They hurriedly got him into his room just in time.

He slammed against the door as he yelled angrily. "You can't keep me in here. I'll find a way out. You know I will, Auror! You should have left me in Azkaban! She was safe while I was here! Now she's not safe anymore! You happy about that? You can't make me marry her! I'll kill her before I marry her!" he waited to see if anyone answered him.

"Cory. I understand that you're scared and confused right now. You don't know what's going on. That's ok. You're free, Cory. You are no longer an inmate of Azkaban. You're free. When you get your head wrapped around that idea, then we'll talk about your future. You will be marrying her. As I said in the prison, its a requirement. If you really do insist on not marrying her, you will be returned to Azkaban. I don't want that, Cory. I don't think you want that, either! I'm sliding a few items under the door for you. Today's paper will have all the details of the marriage law. There's a marriage contract to be filled out. The Weasley's are assuming the role of Hermione's parents in this matter. The last item is already yours. Hermione and I thought you might want to keep your wallpaper. Take some time to rest, relax. Read the paper. Read the contract. Most of all, Cory, just rejoice. You are out of Azkaban." Shacklebolt told him. Cory leaned down warily. Everything was there, just like Shacklebolt said. He straightened up.

He stood beside the door. "Hey. Mudblood. You there?" he leaned his ear against the door. He could hear more than one person out there.

Hermione stood just outside the door. "I'm here." Harry and Ron looked angrily at Shacklebolt. He raised a hand. He knew Cory wasn't going to give in just like that.

"Come closer. I have something I need to tell you." he smiled deviously. 'If this didn't work, he didn't know what would!'

She leaned against the door. "What?"

Without warning, he slammed his fist against the door. She screamed in fear.

"You know what that should have been, mudblood?" He spoke softly as if he knew she wasn't alone. He didn't wait for a reply. "That should have been you and me in MY room. That's how it would have sounded when I slammed you into the wall, fucking your guts out. You'd be begging me for mercy, "Please, Cory! Please stop! You're killing me!" He laughed and said. "I might have let you rest for about 10 minutes. Then we'd be fucking like bunnies again!"

Hermione jumped away from the door and ran away crying. Inside the room they could hear Cory laughing. Harry had Ron in a headlock to keep him from busting into the room to try and fight Cory. Not only was Cory two times bigger than Ron, he was a lot more experienced at fighting. He'd shown that by fighting the guards two different times today. Shacklebolt knew what he was doing. He was trying to get Hermione to break the marriage contract.

"Nice try, Cory. It won't work. Hermione doesn't scare that easily. You might have momentarily shaken up her up but that's all. Rest. Relax. Read the paper and the contract. Put some of your wallpaper back up. We'll see you later." Shacklebolt waited. Cory just kept laughing. 'At this point, it was either laugh or cry. And Cory Yaxley did not fucking cry!' Shacklebolt shook his head as he walked down to the living room. Hermione had installed two way walls and mirrors in the boys' rooms so they could be monitored. He walked into the drawing room. Arthur was already watching the boy.

After listening to make sure they all left, he slid down the wall. He picked up the paper, glanced at it and dropped it. The marriage contract was turned into a paper plane and sailed across the room. The file was what he picked up and held onto. He opened it and took out a picture. He smiled and ran a finger down it. Then he leaned back against the door and fell asleep holding the picture. If Shacklebolt had been a betting man, he would lay odds that he was holding Hermione's Yule ball picture.

Two hours later, he was awakened by a familiar voice. "Cory? Mate? You here? Thorfinn? Damn it! One of you better fucking answer me!' it was Jaron Mulciber and he was sounding panicky. A panicky Jaron Mulciber was not a good thing. Taverns and inns tended to get busted up when he panicked! His voice was coming from Cory's right.

Cory hopped up and began poking the wall here and there until he found the hidden door. "Jaron, over here." he heard the other boy scrambling to his side of the door.

"Damn, Cory! Am I glad to see you! Bloody hell!" Jaron chattered wildly. "Oi, have you seen Thorfinn? They took him out of his cell when they came and got me!"

Just then they heard the unmistakable booming voice of Thorfinn Rowle. "Bloody, fucking hell! Jaron! Cory! Someone better bloody answer me! Now!" his voice was coming from the left. Jaron and Cory found the other hidden door.

"Thorfinn! Here!" a heavy body slammed into the door and wrenched it open. Rowle stood there looking completely freaked out.

"Bloody hell, mates! Where the fucking deuce are we at?" he stayed close to the wall as he looked around wildly. They had apparently been unconscious when they were brought in.

"Dunno. Guess they'll tell us when they let us out of here." Cory dropped to the floor. "The mudblood is here though." he picked at his nails.

Jaron sighed and laid his hand on Cory's shoulder. "Listen, mate. When I woke up just now, there was a paper and a marriage contract laying beside me. I read them both. You've been after this girl for a long time. This is your chance. If we don't do this, we go back to Azkaban. That's the first line of the bloody contract. Your dad isn't here. My dad isn't here. Finn's dad isn't here. We are free, mate. All we got to do is marry a girl, keep her happy, give her a couple of kids and we never have to go back. We stay FREE, mate. Have fun with her. You don't have to worry about your dad anymore. None of our fathers are getting out of Azkaban. You know that. Let loose, man. Enjoy her. You know you want to."

Thorfinn knelt in front of him. "Now listen to me. Jaron is right. We have to do this or else its back to Azkaban. But there is one thing. Mate, if you're honestly planning on getting into Granger's pants, you have got to stop calling her MUDBLOOD! All right? No more MUDBLOOD! That's the surest way to keep the girl OUT of your bed. Her name is Granger. Use it!"