The Price of Debt
By: Hellish
Chapter I
Disclaimer: The characters of Harry Potter do not belong to me but rather to the self-eminent J.K Rowling, aside from the plot and some original characters, everything else belongs to her.
Author's Notes: I cannot name each chapter anymore, I find it very difficult and a tad bit too demanding, and so I'm doing something different this time. Also, chapters will be much shorter than the ones you've previously read from me. And of course to you, my dear reviewers I say thank you, I'm deeply gratified of your support ;p Oh and my dear reviewers, this story should have been long updated but due to continuous errant bandwidth behavior, it stayed in the computer for long, I sincerely hope I can update much sooner especially after three months without internet connection :D
Hermione stared outside her window; there was nothing unusual about the magical world at all.
Although some things may prove unusual to muggles, but other than the flying broomsticks, raucous samples for free spells and of course the riot to get the newest hair gel potion, everything seemed to be in place.
But no matter how magic seemed to fascinate and amuse her, she found something sorely missing in her heart.
Something she will always hold dear to herself.
Her muggle world
It was silly, because she was not a muggle, she was a witch, a muggle born witch but surprisingly exactly four months ago, she wasn't.
She was Hermione Jane Callisto, an heiress to her father's business dealings and an affluent member of the aristocracy in the wizarding world.
She never knew the origin of her blood but when her father came to collect her after almost eighteen years of abandoning her, everything began to change.
And she started living a life she never imagined.
The life of a princess…
A soft knock disturbed her thoughts; she magically opened the door to welcome her personal maid.
Somehow, even after four months, she was not yet used to this.
She always considered herself as an individual with no assistant to help her with whatsoever, and here she was suddenly blessed with the idea she resented and disagreed with first.
Her red haired maid gave her a warm smile and greeted her with a twinkle in her brown eyes.
"Good morning, Miss"
"Good Morning, Tosha" Hermione said brightly
"What would you like for breakfast today, Miss?"
Hermione smiled at her then said,
"Don't worry about it, Tosha I'll come down for it and prepare myself something okay?"
Tosha looked taken aback and started toying with a titan lock of her crimson hair.
"Are you sure you don't want it delivered up here?" Tosha asked uncertainly
Hermione smiled, "Of course, don't you worry. Tell my father I'll be down in ten minutes, and then my father and I can have breakfast together"
Her maid looked at her reluctantly, then she actually smiled gave a slight bow (Although, Hermione was very much against this, she could do nothing) and went out of her room.
Hermione gave another sigh, and stared out the window again, it was a wonderful sight, some of the sun's rays were peeking from a nearby mounting, casting a beautiful glow to the nearby village, making it all seem so surreal and magical.
She gave a little laugh at her own irony; she was already living in a magical world.
It was ironic, she always thought that she missed the magical world she left behind every summer and always looked forward to grace it again.
Now she realized, that the thing she was really missing was right there in front of her and in four months time, she lost it in trade for the life she was living right now.
She stood up and giving the view one last admiring glance and walked towards her enormous closet, her father didn't exactly spoil her with gifts, but with his affluence, it was easy to always get the best among the other products, although Hermione didn't really want them all.
She took the clothes she wore the day before, there was no reason for more laundry than there already is.
Dressed in a simple creamy white skirt and a comfortable yellow sweater with laced details, she looked as plain as the maids, if not even plainer.
But this was the life she had lived for the last eighteen years of her life, even her biological father couldn't change that and Hermione was glad he didn't try and do so.
She pulled her hair up in a single ponytail with a white ribbon, just recently her father and she got along well, but before all that Hermione recalled rejecting her father, she didn't come down for breakfast and refused to see him at all.
It was immensely difficult to deal with someone who you knew walked out from your life almost eighteen years already and walk back in so suddenly.
It took a lot of adjustment but after a few months, she discovered that she and her father had a lot in common and that she really didn't give him any chance at all.
But still it would have helped if he brought mother along or better yet, hadn't broken up with her at all.
Hermione never really knew what caused the break up or why her father deserted her in the first place, she never really asked, never really wanted to know, it was between both of her parents or maybe
It was because of her…
Whatever it is, she may find out soon, if her father would tell her.
Staring out at her lavish room, she realized she only had three minutes left to go down.
She quickly put on some yellow day shoes and went down immediately to the dining area.
When she went down, her father was already there reading the day's paper and sipping his morning coffee.
Hermione smiled, even if she used to resent this man, family is family and she can't help but think that the sight of her father in the breakfast table was deeply heartwarming.
"Good Morning, Father" she greeted with a warm smile and went to her seat, situated across from her father.
Her father gave her a grin, "And good morning to you too, princess"
Hermione laughed, she wasn't really used to the nickname her father gave her but still it fitted her role perfectly.
"Coffee?" her father asked
"No, I'd rather have milk instead"
And almost instantaneously, a maid filled her clear glass goblet with creamy milk.
Hermione inwardly smiled, although her father was trying hard to please her for the past four months, he didn't do it by showering her with gifts which she knew she didn't want and need but instead, he did it by adjusting his or rather their life to her ethics.
Like the disappearance of house elves for an instance, it was then that Hermione noticed that her father's place was littered with house elves; Hermione didn't exactly point it out that she wanted them free but somehow her father sensed it and replaced them with maids instead.
Though Hermione treasured her independence a lot, it seemed a lot easier to run this place with maids than just she and her father, so she accepted the fact that their place was overrun with maids.
At least it was better than house-elves who indignantly refuse payment.
A delicious and sweet aroma was wafting from their kitchen and soon enough, breakfast was served, her traditional favorite bacon and eggs with waffles glazed in honey.
She ate heartily with her father at the little table situated near the kitchen while her father continued to read his paper.
As Hermione drank her milk, something caught her eye, a smaller paper than the newspaper her father was reading beside her father's coffee cup.
"Father, what is that paper for?" she inquired
"Oh, it's a paper that comes along with the Sunday Prophet" his father chuckled "Although, it's mainly for gossip purposes only and a few mind games, well you might enjoy it, so take the paper"
And so he handed it to her, Hermione took it and opened it.
And as her father told her, it was indeed full of gossip, not much of the daily news and a few mind games, none of which she would have a hard time discerning.
While eating her bacon, she flipped through the pages and stopped short on page number 12 when a certain audacious article caught her eye.
Witchy Gossip for the Day
Pureblood, from riches to rags; can he cope?
Writes Rita Skeeter
Lucius Malfoy, one of the many notorious deatheaters and supporters of the Dark Lord has finally fallen into impetuous hands, with his recent freedom from Azkaban; Mr. Malfoy has engaged himself in various and negligent debts to ensure his freedom and to pay off the Ministry's exorbitant bail and heavy tax. Left penniless, Mr. Malfoy lives the life of indigence and of a pauper something very much in contrast to the way he was living before. Mr. Malfoy lives in the Malfoy Manor together with his son, Draco Malfoy with what's left of their fortune. So witches and wizards alike, you be the arbiters of this gossip, can a man of extraordinary wealth cope with a destitute life such as this?
Hermione stared and read the paper a couple more times before she finally got the news into her system.
Draco Malfoy?
Broke?
It didn't even seem to fit.
As far as she could care, Draco Malfoy was the school's richest spoiled brat. He got everything he wanted, from the broomsticks he demanded, the food he wanted delivered to the women he wanted in bed.
In the snap of a finger, he got his heart's innermost desires, and nothing stopped him from doing so, even in the midst of his classmates.
He expected the same from them. Although, to Hermione it was absolutely childish maybe it was just the way he was raised, a boy you could never say no to.
Or maybe Malfoy just has his ways of getting what he always wanted.
Either way he came out as the winner.
The news was too much of a shock that it didn't even occur to her that she just read an infamous name that used to be out of the writing career.
Hermione grinned, it was her fault Rita Skeeter didn't last long but she could be working for smalltime articles now.
Especially articles that will tarnish wizards' and witches' reputation, yeah…that's it, good old Rita!
Hermione gave a silent chuckle; she couldn't imagine Draco scouringabout in the streets looking for money to buy the latest broom.
Well, maybe girls won't fancy him too much this time, Hermione thought with a laugh
"I certainly don't"
But then again, as they always say in school, there was more to Malfoy than his wealth.
To Hermione he was nothing more than a spoiled pig-headed hyena that can't be reasoned out with.
And that was about as low as he can ever get.
Hermione gave a little laugh and her father regarded her with mild interest
"What entertains you so much, Hermione?"
Hermione finished the rest of her waffles and eggs and said, "Oh nothing much, father, just a gossip I read about a former classmate of mine but in case you're interested, story's on page 12"
She then excused herself from the table and went up to her room, as she took the flight of stairs she realized that she really hadn't had that much conversation with her mother lately.
She gave a thoughtless smile; everything was starting to be in place.
And with everything in order, everything seemed to go her way and the way she wanted it.
Gregory took a sip from his coffee as he watched his daughter make her way out. And he immediately noticed that his daughter didn't change clothes since yesterday.
Gregory gave a sigh, Hermione was just as stubborn as her mother, he will never try to change that, it reminded him of his staunch wife anyway.
He smiled, he has never been happier in his life, he reunited with his daughter again and they began to get along well, everything seemed to be so perfect he was almost afraid something might ruin it.
After those long years of waiting, he finally attained the peace he was hoping for, the peace he was always waiting for.
And he finally felt what it was like to be a father, a father to the most amazing daughter.
And with that, he even got to feel the presence of his wife but nothing is too perfect, even her love he could not gain back.
So he tried as much as he could to gain Hermione's daughterly love for him, she might not love him yet but she was certainly friendlier to him.
He took the little article his daughter was reading a while ago and proceeded to the lounge room without even finishing breakfast.
As he went inside, he sat on his favorite lavender plush couch, and with much satisfaction he took his pipe and lit it.
As he blew his first smoke, he read the article his daughter read.
After a while, his eyebrows shot together.
Lucius Malfoy?
Broke?
He had to laugh, that domineering aristocrat finally got what he deserved.
"That's what you get for being an insufferable bastard—"
A sudden blast of flame startled him from behind.
As he looked about, a tall figure with platinum hair was dusting the soot off him.
"Pleasure to see you so…ahh, healthy, Gregory, I trust you are well?" he said in that voice that dripped with arrogance
"Lu---cius?"
Lucius smirked; broke as he might be he certainly didn't look like it. Although lines were certainly visible, he was still a spectacle of an aristocrat.
Dressed in blood red robes, with his hair pulled in a low ponytail with a serpent staff clutched in his right hand, he exuded power, arrogance and….malice.
Lucius sneered at Gregory's unfaltering stare, as if he couldn't believe it.
"Amazing isn't it?" he started "I am currently banned from certain privileges and my manor is being overrun by Ministry officials daily yet none of those imprudent officials ever got around to blocking my floo-network, although I am highly against Floo traveling as it is very uncomfortable, I find it's advantages deeply satisfactory" he said dusting the remnants of soot on his robes.
Lucius looked up and regarded his surrounding with mild interest, "Pleasure to see you again, Gregory, I'm am astonished to find you so affluent although you could do some redecorating, as some of your furniture do not match"
And with that he looked at the plush couch and the easy chairs around at the corner.
Gregory, much more muscled than Lucius is, regained his composure and stance then placed his pipe on the end table beside him.
And with much wariness in his voice, he asked "What are you doing here, Lucius?"
Lucius smirked, "Oh dear me, Greg, I ought to have a better welcome than that especially since you regarded me as what? an insufferable—"
"The point is why are you here?" Gregory cut him off
"Well, if you want to directly get into business then I believe we should seat ourselves on one of your mismatched furniture"
Gregory ignored the cheek, "I'd rather stand up, Lucius you go ahead find yourself a spot in my "mismatched" furniture"
Lucius chuckled and seated himself, "Oh dear me, Greg I am here not only to insult your furniture but offer a proposition as well"
Gregory cocked an eyebrow at him "What sort of proposition is this, Lucius?"
"One that concerns your daughter"
His plain answer made Gregory freeze.
"As far as I can recall, your daughter and my son used to go to Hogwarts together and they have the same classes, and I could recall Draco referring your daughter as a smart assed mudblood—"
"If you say one more word about Hermione—"
"I understand your fatherly affections to your "newly appointed" daughter, Greg but I am not finished yet" Lucius countered sarcastically, waving his anger off
"Your point is?"
"I am broke; Greg and I need your fortune in order to evade death threats"
Gregory cocked and eyebrow once more and said, "And what does my daughter have to do with this?"
Lucius maliciously smiled and said, "I want her to marry my son"
Gregory momentarily lost train of thought, after he finally digested that in, he firmly said, "I understand that I have a very pretty maiden in my house—"
"Oh dear no! This does not concern any of your daughter's horrid beauty"
Gregory considerably reddened with fury, and Lucius taking advantage of his anger invited himself to some wine, pouring it onto a crystal glass snifter.
Taking a sip, he said, "I want to make a toast, Gregory"
Gregory said nothing and Lucius could tell he was near his boiling point, he smirked like his son, he too found it fun to drive other people crazy and mad.
He gave a silent laugh, raised his snifter and said, "To our united families"
Before he could stop himself, Gregory lunged at Lucius and threw the snifter on Lucius hand.
For a moment, there was silence and only the gentle sounds of tinkling broken glass could be heard.
"I have not" Gregory said through gritted teeth "agreed to this"
Lucius laughed, "Get a hold of yourself, Gregory your daughter is of marrying age and—"
"Hermione is only eighteen and she is my daughter!"
Lucius's smile faded
"Well then, I am betting that your daughter knows nothing of your horrid past, Greg you are practically a stranger who walked into her life four months ago yet your daughter has this amazing gain of trusting you and think about it, if she does indeed know about your past, will she be able to trust you again or much less, love you as her father again? I don't think so, after you've finally reunited with her after all those long years, are you willing to lose her again? I think not, you think about it, would you want me, your long time old chap to reveal the things you always tried to keep buried and concealed from her? Or moreover, you tried to make yourself forget?"
Gregory's blue eye's clouded, he looked away and he staunchly said, "I don't know what the hell you're talking about"
"Oh?"
Lucius then grabbed Greg's right arm and burning pain shot through Greg's arm, "You don't, Greg? How could you ever forget? Remember, it burns in the face of betrayal, he may be gone but he burdens those who were traitors to him"
Gregory yanked his arm from Lucius grasp and shook it to try and ease out the pain, he broke into cold sweat.
"I never forgot about it, Greg, you betrayed not only him but your dear friend, Lucius as well"
Still grasping his burning arm, Greg asked, "Why? What do you want?"
"I've already said the terms, Greg; I want your daughter to marry my son"
"Why!"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Gregory"
"Well then, why can't I just offer you money instead?"
Lucius lip edged up "Easy, because I want your limitless fortune"
Greg looked at him disbelievingly still drawing in sporadic breaths, no! This is not happening again, he thought of his daughter's trust when he finally gained it, he's going to lose it again.
No way Hermione would ever forgive him for this, who would? Who would want to marry someone you know you never really want?
He couldn't do it; he couldn't do that to his own daughter
"I see your not taking my propositions well, then I trust your daughter will enjoy this bit of news about her father—"
"Wait!"
Lucius broadly smiled, it was already working, and they were so easy if only you knew how to manipulate them.
Greg pondered hard about it, maybe it'll be better than have his own daughter find out about his past, and then in that way he would never have her back.
Hermione will kill him for this.
His daughter's smiling face shattered before him.
And with much reticence he said, "I'll do it, I'll agree"
So there it is folks and reviewers, my chapter 1 of the story, yeah it's a little short compared to the other stories I've made but hey! I found out that this was a lot easier to write and update than the rest as it has a rather simplistic plot, one that's easy to manipulate than the rest ;p Okay guys, it's time to get my ass outta here, so you know the number one hellish rule: You keep reviewing, I keep updating! Thanks again for all the support!
