With an annoyed huff, Cormac marched through the corridor leading to his office. It didn't phase him in the slightest bit that he had probably shoved several people on his way. At that moment he didn't have a care for anybody else; he was currently in a terrible mood.
He was ticked off by the sudden interruption of the lunch he was having with his wife, which had been cut short by the appearance of a wispy figure, summoning him back to the office.
He opened the door quite roughly, his eyes landing on Potter and Dennis Creevey, who was fresh out of Auror training and now working for the Magical Law Enforcement. The man, who was a lot smaller than both Cormac and Harry, who had quidditch to thank for their incredibly athletic physiques, shrunk back as Cormac barged into the room. Just like many, he was intimidated by the large man, this fear influenced by the status Cormac held within the wizarding world. Harry, however, didn't flinch at the man's entrance. He maintained his stony, unsmiling guise.
"What is it now?"
"It has to do with the case sir." Dennis said nervously. Cormac groaned. The case in question was related to a string of drug related murders that had begun the previous year, with the discovery of a junkie found deceased by a group of elderly witches in an alley in Diagon Alley. Although narcotics were found in his system, the determined cause of death was asphyxiation, judging by the autopsy. He was identified as Ethan Cunningham, a young wizard who had recently graduated from Hogwarts. His woeful and heartbroken family had confirmed that the boy had started using drugs shortly after graduating. Due to the fact that he had lost his internship in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes,they had to kick him out because he continuously stole things from them to sell in order to fund his addiction. They suspect that his murder was due to the fact that he couldn't settle his debts.
After that, more and more murders began popping up, spreading over Britain like wildfire. All of the casualties were linked to either drug or gambling addictions. The murders were also linked to the Circulus Obscuritas which Cormac suspected was run by the notorious Draco Malfoy.
Draco had managed to feed the public the lie that he was a changed and repentant man. The humongous amounts of money he donated to St Mungo's as well as the rebuilding of Hogwarts seemed to solidify his image as the newly made good Samaritan, but even with that Cormac could see past the goody-goody façade and deep within his soul that he still was a rotten egg. Cormac would go through any lengths to prove everyone wrong and send the bastard to the Dementors to be kissed.
"Who is it this time?" Cormac muttered. Wordlessly Harry dropped the file on Cormac's desk. "You might want to uh… have a bucket nearby."
Cormac opened the file, almost immediately recoiling at the images within it. He was aware that part of his job required him to be able to deal with bloody and sometimes gory cases, but he wished he could say what he saw didn't make his stomach churn uncomfortably. He reconsidered Harry's offer to have a bucket nearby.
The murdered man had been disfigured beyond recognition, with pieces of flesh literally hacked off his body, leaving deep, bloody crevices. "Merlin's beard."
"Merlin knows how they did it, but they managed to identify him." Harry said. Beside him, Dennis looked queasy. Cormac turned, happy to look away from the gruesome display even if it meant looking at Harry. "Who is it, Potter?"
Harry sighed and paced the room, before he took a seat by the window sill. "Mundungus. Mundungus Fletcher. I can't say his death surprised me, considering his run-ins with the law. But Merlin, did the poor sod have to die like that?" At that point, Dennis left the room, clutching his mouth. Cormac sneered at his retreating form.
"Any leads?" He sighed, massaging his temple.
Harry shook his head. "But we did find a piece of evidence from the scene."
"What was it?"
"A switchblade, covered in blood, was found next to his corpse. Do you think the killer planted it intentionally or dropped it by mistake?" Harry held up a transparent plastic bag that held the bloody knife. The blade glinted malevolently, the silver and blue handle shining handsomely. Cormac examined the weapon, eyebrows knitted together in concentration. Just looking at the weapon alone filled him with a deep coldness that couldn't be shaken by the warming heat of a fireplace.
"Did you check it for any charms or curses?"
"It was checked, but there seems to be none. The murder was done Muggle style."
Cormac bit his lip, giving a slow nod. "Very good Potter. Okay, now you can leave my office."
"Before I leave, there's been two arrests, relating to the Circulus Obscuritas. One for the possession of a large amount of Venenum. Another for attempted distribution." With that Harry exited the office, the door slamming shut behind him. Cormac remained fixated on his seat, eyeing the weapon and the opened file as the unshakable coldness clung to him, the stench of blood faintly tickling his nostrils.
He clenched his fists, his jaw clenched as his eyes darkened suddenly.
"I'm going to get you, Malfoy."
Knock off time couldn't have come earlier for Hermione. For her, everytime the clock hit three o'clock, it felt like Christmas, because she was being freed from the tedious, mundane and bleak prison that was her job. Even though she felt so negatively about the job she couldn't quit; it was the only thing that kept her out of the house.
Her skirt swished as she marched to the floo network, her steps halted as she saw just who was standing by the green flames that led to her house. "C-Cormac? Why are you here?" She tried her best to suppress her disappointed tone.
"I thought I'd treat you to another outing, seeing as yesterday had to be cut short due to me being called back to work. But I assure you my love, there shall be no more interruptions." Hermione wanted to roll her eyes so far into the back of her head that they'd get stuck there. Her feet were swollen and painful and her brain was a fatigued mess and she desperately needed to raid his liquor cabinet for something good to drink to calm her down.
But seeing as she had to maintain her image as the perfect wife, she pushed her complaints to the side and gave him her best fake smile and said, "That's nice of you love, thank you."
Their first stop was at an establishment famous for its affluent and high class diners and its grandiose dining experience. Hermione asked Cormac about work but of course, he swerved that question. Hermione offered to tell him about her day at work but he declined. Hermione sucked in a frustrated breath and rolled her eyes, a gesture that was unwelcome to Cormac.
"Was that an attitude, Hermione?" His voice came out as a growl. Hermione ignored him, angrily stabbing into her fillet. Her bad mood however quickly dissipated as she felt him dig his nails into her thigh.
He leant so close to her that his glass almost tipped over, and then in a menacing and chilling breath, said, "Don't test me Hermione. Because I swear I won't be held accountable for my actions if you piss me off."
Hermione gave a breath of relief as he released her thigh. She felt a slight trickle of blood down her leg as the fresh cut from his sharp nails seeped blood. Hermione looked down at her food, avoiding eye contact with Cormac. She felt her nose grow stuffy and loose and her eyes sting with tears that she fought desperately not to be shed. The last thing she needed was for him to see how deep the wounds he cut into her self-esteem and confidence were.
"Ugh. Disgusting. Blow your fucking nose." He tossed a serviette at her.
Their next stop was a boutique that sold quality and pricey clothing and robes. By the time Cormac had closed down the whole establishment so they could shop and requested the owner to bring out the best and most expensive clothing items, Hermione was done. She hardly participated in the process of picking clothes and she could see that it was grating on his nerves. Good… she thought savagely. Opposing him didn't seem to be the wisest thing to do at the time seeing as his moods flared so often but Hermione didn't really give any fucks at that moment.
When they returned home Hermione was ready to collapse from exhaustion. She dropped the numerous bags of clothing on the floor and took a seat on the bed, a tired sigh leaving her lips. She ran her fingers through her curls, her eyes fluttering shut. She was ready to curl up in the warm sheets with a soothing cup of camomile tea and a good book.
Cormac came out of their ensuite bathroom in nothing but a towel around his waist, his biceps and well toned upper body dripping with liquid. "Did you look at all the pretty clothes I got you?" Hermione gritted her teeth. It sounded as though he was speaking to a little girl instead of a grown woman.
Swallowing the quite colourful retort she was about to shoot at her husband, Hermione gave the fake smile that her face had become accustomed to. "No. I'm just a little tired. I suppose that I'll look at it tomorrow."
Cormac walked up to her, and grabbed one of the big shopping bags off the floor, before taking a seat alongside her, the bag resting on his lap. He rummaged through the bag, before pulling out what seemed to be a piece of lingerie.
"You like it?" Cormac held up the flimsy material, which was a really thin thong coupled with a bra of thin, lacy material, in front of her face, a smirk etched on his face. "Go try it on for me." He commanded, not bothering to wait for her reaction.
"It's cold, Cormac." Hermione lied.
He merely chuckled; the manor was well insulated and guarded against the heaviest of cold fronts. It was impenetrable to the cold.
"Come on, I bet you'll really look sexy in it." He leaned forward and kissed her on the neck. Hermione sighed and took the lingerie from him, before leaving for the bathroom.
There she stripped off every clothing item on her body, the fabric feeling like sandpaper as it rubbed against her skin. One by one, from the clip that held her hair up into its usual messy hairdo, to her ordinary brasserie and panty set, they all fell into a heap on the floor. She stared at her reflection in the full length oval mirror. She observed the other woman's large breasts and slightly protruding stomach and large thighs. She sneered at the clump of public hair that she had failed to shave off due to her lack of time. She thought about how ugly it would look protruding from the sides of her thong that was far too tiny for her.
A tear slipped down her face before she wiped it away with perfectly manicured fingers.
She snatched the lingerie off the towel rack and slipped it on, begrudgingly.
Goose flesh racked her body despite the well insulated house. She shivered as she stepped out of the bathroom and looked at her husband who was fully disrobed and lying on the bed pleasuring himself, a look of ecstasy crossing his face. Hermione gave a heavy sigh before she walked over to him.
He sat up, his hungry, lustful gaze beckoning her. Her feet felt like lead weights that she was lugging around with each step. Her reluctance bubbled within her like an active volcano.
"You know Cormac, why don't we do this another time? I don't feel too hot." She said, stopping by the side of the bed. Cormac's lewd disposition suddenly dropped as he scowled at Hermione.
"What do you mean you don't feel good?"
"I feel really queasy love. Like I'm going to vomit." Hermione said, and it wasn't even a lie; she really was feeling like shite. Cormac looked crestfallen.
"I see. Alright, you can change out of that and come join me in bed, I guess." He stood up, and walked into the closet to retrieve his pyjamas. Hermione gave an inaudible huff of relief as she took a seat on the bed.
This was the third time in three weeks that she had put off sex between the two of them. She was aware that sex was a crucial component of marriage, but she just couldn't with Cormac. When they engaged in intercourse it felt more like an obligation and less like genuine love making, and the end goal was always his pleasure. She was never pleased by him. Because of this, she resorted to sex toys. The feeling was so liberating, like the Aphrodite within her had broken free with the help of the pleasurable vibrations of the toy against her sensitive bundle of nerves.
Alas, that pleasure was ripped from her the day Cormac discovered her "vile" secret. Naturally, he went berserk. Merlin forbid his wife find pleasure in ways that didn't involve him. He smashed the contraption against the wall, hurling an array of colourful slurs at her, harlot being his particular favourite.
Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts by Cormac tossing her pyjamas at her. She sighed, and slipped them on before slipping into the sheets. Cormac slipped in beside her.
Sleep began to gradually cast its spell on Hermione when she felt the cold, calloused hand of Cormac slip up her leg and over her thigh, riding up her nightie. Hermione felt as though a fist had enclosed her heart. She bit her lip, as she felt him shift her thong to the side, and heard a disgruntled noise leave his lips as he met with the thicket of pubic hair that covered her nether region. Hermione gave a soft cry as he pushed three fingers into her and began to pump softly. While he did this he pressed up against her backside, grinding his erection against her bum.
"Cormac." His name came out of her mouth strangled. He ignored her and resumed his ministrations on her unwilling body. This went on for what felt like ages until she felt the sticky heat of his ejaculation on her lower back. She shivered as he extracted her fingers from her sore vagina.
"Go get yourself cleaned up." Hermione nodded to nobody in particular as she rose from her bed to attend to her soiled nightdress. She grabbed her wand from her vanity table and left for the bathroom.
Once inside, she unraveled. She sank to the floor, sobbing softly so Cormac wouldn't hear her. The sound of chirping crickets and dogs howling in the distance mingled with her miserable sobs to create a tune of melancholy.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! stick around coz they'll be more to come.
some background information:
Venenum- the name of a drug in the wizarding world (thought up by me) Latin for Poison.
Circulus Obscuritas- Drug trafficking ring. Latin for Circle of Darkness