Do you still like it? Review people! Enjoy, Istalindar
&
Six years later.
&
"We have visitors." Charlie announced, striding into the tent. Hermione frowned and stood.
"What do you mean?"
"Where's Luke and Nassa?" Charlie demanded, not answering her question.
"Out." Hermione said quickly. "Nassa's practising flying so Luke's at the peak with Cartane. Charlie-"
"Draco Malfoy is here." Charlie said. "An envoy from the Ministry. He's paid his way into this information and he's here to oversee."
"For how long?" Hermione asked worriedly. Charlie shrugged.
"Until he gets bored and goes home." He sighed. "I don't know. What are we going to do about you?" Hermione shrugged.
"I'll avoid him as much as I can." She answered simply. Charlie pulled her into a swift hug then drew back so he could kiss her. "Be safe, alright?" She nodded.
"I'll get Luke from the peak, he probably shouldn't be running around." Hermione said. Charlie frowned.
"You can't keep him in here all the time Malfoy's here, Hermione. He'll only cut his way out again." She sighed and nodded, remembering the last time they'd grounded him: he'd simply sliced the tent fabric in his room and snuck out.
"Then I'll go up and warn him." She hesitated. "Are we going to be safe here?" She asked. Charlie nodded.
"You know I won't let him touch you." He promised, brushing a short curl from her face. She nodded, and he kissed her once more. "Go warn Charlie." She nodded, and ducked out of the tent, heading quickly up the mountain side.
Six years on the mountain had changed her. Her hair was cut to a mop of curls to keep it out of the way and she was tanned and lean, a lot fitter than she used to be, due to all the running around, especially when Luke got old enough to walk, which was when he started causing trouble. Nassa, the green dragon who had claimed him at birth, rarely left his side and the two were inseparable. The green dragon was already huge, though still not full grown. She slept either with the other dragons or, when the whim took her, behind Luke's room in the tent.
Luke had grown up and with every day that passed he looked more like Draco…pale shining hair, blue-grey eyes, pale skin, pointy features. But he had his mother's intelligence, Hermione liked to point out. And Luke was, as he had always been, very quick to laugh and smile.
"Luke." Hermione reached the small ten-foot diameter plateau at the peak of the mountain. Her son looked up.
"Mum." He grinned. "Nassa's getting brilliant." Hermione smiled, sitting beside her son and watching the dragon that she'd near-enough adopted as her daughter dip and weave, then struggle up. Her wing strength wasn't perfect yet: so while agile, her stamina wasn't quite up to the other dragons yet. Nassa's brother and sister, Nara and Kem, were leaps ahead of her, so Nassa worked especially hard, but often had trouble splitting her time equally between her flying and the boy she had chosen as a companion. "What's wrong?" Luke, perceptive as always, picked up on the turmoil of his mother's thoughts and reached for her hand.
"Draco Malfoy is here." Hermione said. The name Malfoy brought a barrage of emotion into Luke's mind, and he recoiled and cried out. Hermione grabbed him and hugged him to her, projecting calm, protective warmth until his fear faded. Nassa bugled and struggled up to land clumsily on the plateau, calling plaintively to Luke, who raised his head and reached a hand out towards the dragon.
"I'm alright, Nassa." He replied quietly. She whistled softly, and Hermione smiled, despite the ache in her gut. The emotion Luke had just been baraged from was from when she had carried him, and she was still so wrapped up, subconsciously if not consciously, if the nightmare that had been Malfoy Manor. It rarely surfaced now in Luke, for which Hermione was grateful, but every so often, something would set it off.
Now, when Hermione thought about how much she loved him, she couldn't even understand how she had felt back then.
"What are we going to do?" Luke asked. Hermione smiled, looking out over the cloud that blanketed the forest beneath them.
"We're going to ride it out." Hermione said. "But I'd like you and Nassa to stay away from him."
"He's an evil man." Luke said with certainty. Hermione shook her head and gently turned Luke's face to look at her.
"His father, Lucius, was an evil man." Hermione corrected, keeping a tight hold on Luke's mind when the dark torrent threatened to flood through again. "Draco Malfoy, at least when I knew him, was prepared to sacrifice everything to help a girl in trouble. He was a good man then, and I don't doubt he still has it in him now. But I don't want to risk it. I don't want to risk you, my darling." Luke nodded with a smile.
"Okay." He said. "Does that mean I can stay up here all day and watch Nassa practise?" he asked excitedly. Hermione laughed.
"With your books." She compromised. "A chapter from three different books a day."
"But that's loads." Luke whinged. "The books are huge." Hermione smiled and patted his cornsilk hair.
"But are they interesting?" She questioned. He nodded.
"Sometimes." She grinned.
"Books hold-"
"The secret to the universe, yeah I know." Luke rolled his eyes with typical six-year-old assurance. "I'll be fine mum. And I'll avoid him." Hermione nodded with a smile.
"That's my boy." She ginned. "Hug?" He nodded, hugging her tightly. She felt him stiffen slightly.
Mum? He's here. With Daddy. Hermione immediately leapt to her feet, pushing Luke behind her.
"And this is the peak plateau." Joe was saying, gesturing. No one was listening. Draco had his gaze fixed on Hermione, and Charlie was watching Draco.
"Hello, Hermione." Draco said quietly, breaking into Joe's speech. The man finally realised something was going on and paused.
"So you all know each other then?" Joe asked curiously. "How?"
"Long story." Hermione said quickly.
Cartane? She reached out.
Here. There was a rush of wind and a large purple dragon, Cartane, Nassa's mother, appeared at the end of the plateau. Luke, to me please. Luke dashed from Hermione to Cartane, and Nassa darted around, whistling anxiously. Cartane flapped her wings, stirring up dust as she alighted from the peak and soared away, Luke secure in one of her feet. The four humans on the peak didn't move.
"A Weasley, huh?" Draco asked eventually, his eyes darting from where Luke had run to the dragon and back to Hermione. "There's a shocker." Hermione shrugged.
"I'm enjoying it."
"Marital bliss your thing, is it?" Draco asked with a sneer. Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"How about dragons, Draco." She said with a smile. "Have you ever met a Matriarch before?"
"You can't meet a dragon, Hermione." Draco rolled his eyes. "They can't communicate with humans."
"Learnt everything you know from a book, Draco?" Hermione asked scornfully. "Ever met a dragon?" Draco rolled his eyes.
"Not everyone lives on a dragon reserve, Hermione." He replied. "No, I've not met a dragon, as you put it. But I was sent out here because I know more about dragons then anyone else." Hermione laughed.
'Draco, if you've not met a dragon, you don't know anything." She turned to Joe with a smile. "Shall we head down?" Joe nodded, feeling awkward with all the tension. Something was going on, he just didn't know what.
&
Joe called for a group dinner that night, so they all ate around a long table in a tent specially set up for the occasion. The food was basic but good, and the tent was full of laughter and talk as people discussed dragons and their antics. Draco was bombarded with questions about the outside world, and he regaled them with stories of the antics of the government and the general populace of England, telling the stories with wit and humour. Hermione didn't speak much, concentrating on eating and keeping an eye on Luke, who sat between her and Charlie. Charlie continued to send her concerned looks, and she sent reassuring smiles back, but the exchange carried on and wasn't missed by Draco.
After, when they were heading back to their respective tents, Draco called out.
"Hermione, can I have a word?" Hermione nodded to Charlie, who took Luke's hand and led the tired boy on back to the tent. She turned and waited for Draco to catch her up.
"You're looking well." He said. She smiled.
"Thank you." Draco hesitated, then took a deep breath. Hermione breaced herself.
"Luke your son?" He asked. She nodded. "Hermione-"
"He's your brother." She lied quickly. Draco looked a cross between relieved and disappointed, and Hermione smiled, reaching out to touch his shoulder briefly. "He's a lovely boy."
"Nothing like my father." Draco said. Hermione nodded.
"He's more like you, I think." She said. "How've you been, anyway?" Draco snorted wryly.
"It's been a bit precarious." He said. "Voldemort knew when I took away the thrall, but obviously Lucius didn't. Voldemort was expecting you to try and escape, but I think he was rather shocked when you did. And then when you disappeared off the map, he was even more annoyed. So Lucius is in trouble and I've been keeping out of the way as much as possible."
"Have you been suspected?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded.
"Well, yeah. Voldemort knew I took off the thrall, but basically I claimed teenage sexuality." Hermione laughed.
"I bet you did." Draco shrugged with a grin.
"Yeah, so, I got in trouble but it was Lucius who really got it in the neck, since you were meant to be secure there, thrall or not. My part in the escape hasn't come up yet, and I'm hoping it never will."
"Me too." Hermione agreed. "That'll be a bad day for you." Draco nodded.
"Indeed it will." He paused. "So…a Weasley? Good grief, Hermione!" Hermione laughed.
"Hey! I happen to be very happy as a Weasley." She returned. She shrugged. "When we got married it was more to take me off the map then anything…I was with Harry before I was captured, so it wasn't an ongoing thing."
"Bet Potter was pissed." Draco said. Hermione nodded.
"Yeah, he was. But he could see it was the best way to keep me safe, and it's not like he had a choice anyway. I came back from speaking to Dumbledore with a ring on my finger and a husband so there wasn't a lot he could do." Draco chuckled as he imagined the incredulous look on Harry's face as Hermione was stolen from under his nose.
"So you don't love Charlie then? Hard work, loveless marriages." He said thoughtfully. Hermione shook her head.
"I didn't love him then, but I do now. Charlie's been beyond amazing, and he's such an unbelievably fantastic person…couldn't help myself." She said with a grin.
"How was he with Luke?" Draco asked. "And how did that even happen? You weren't showing when you escaped." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Luke was in a funny position in my womb, which is why I didn't show until the very end. As for how Charlie was with him, he was fantastic. I was terrible…I avoided him as much as possible, couldn't stand to look at him, so Charlie was basically doing everything. But I got past that and now I love him to bits."
"I can understand hating him." Draco said slowly, "Knowing what Lucius did to you. But I can't imagine looking after a rapist's son myself, when my wife, the rapee, can't stand the thing. I'd want to drown it at birth because of the bastard who hurt her." Hermione smiled gently.
"That was pretty much how I felt." She said quietly. "But Charlie is…"
"Fantastic?" Draco supplied drily. Hermione nodded.
"Yeah. He saw right away the child is not the father, and worked from there."
"What about you?" Draco questioned. "How did you get past it? It's not exactly like you wake up one morning and be like, 'actually, I'm alright now'." Hermione snorted.
"Damn straight it isn't." She shook her head. "Basically I went away for a couple of days. Still on the mountain, just away from everyone else, and with some help, I forced myself to remember everything that had happened, face up to it, think through it and move on. It was terrible, but what's more, it made me realise how unfair I had been to Luke. After that, I was alright. Every so often I remember something horrible and it stops me dead in my tracks, but I get past it." She smiled. "It's an ongoing thing."
Draco stared at the beautiful, grown-up woman who stood in front of him, candidly discussing possibly the most traumatic experiences of her life. She had a son by rape, a husband who she gained for convenience, and was living miles from civilisation, completely off the map. And she was so…
There weren't even words for it.
He hadn't really considered the possibility that she was up here. Contrary to what he knew was popular belief, he hadn't bought his position. He'd actually worked for it, even if he did skip the stages of being the office skivvy. He didn't see the point of having a name like Malfoy and not using it, after all. But he'd spent years doing this work. Since he graduated from Hogwarts five years ago, he'd been working within the Ministry. Lucius and Voldemort were doing their utmost to control him, but Draco was becoming adept at slipping through their fingers while not openly defying them.
Only one woman had ever made him defy them. And she was still wearing the serpent necklace he gave her, the silver glittering at her throat.
"Draco? Please stop staring at me." Hermione said. Draco jerked back to the present.
"Sorry, I just…you still have the necklace." He said, surprised. "That was meant to send Lucius back." Hermione shook her head.
"I had something else. A bracelet he gave me. I didn't want to lose this necklace because I never wanted to forget." Draco raised his eyebrows.
"I'm moved." He said, only a little sarcastically. He was, in all honesty, touched that she had kept the necklace, that she still wore it. Hermione shrugged.
"You took a leap that not many would dare." She said simply. "You risked everything for me. I don't forget that kind of thing easily." Draco smiled.
"No, I can't imagine you just forgetting." He agreed. He nodded at something past her. "Your husband has come to see that I haven't killed you." Hermione smiled, glancing over her shoulder and seeing Charlie waiting by the door to the tent.
"I better go." She said. "I'm glad you came, you know. I never really got the chance to say thank you." Draco smiled.
"Yeah, well." Hermione smiled into the pause.
"Goodnight, Draco." She said with a smile, touching his shoulder briefly then turning and hurrying back to the tent. Draco watched as she met Charlie, who immediately took her arm. They spoke briefly and she rose up to kiss him, the kiss quickly deepening until it abruptly broke off. Charlie moved the flap and guided her inside, and then Draco was alone. He shook his head.
Feelings for Hermione would always be dangerous, and now that she was married, and happily so by the look and sound of it, they were redundant as well. Draco sighed, then turned to his own, empty tent.
&
Draco was woken several nights later by a crash and the sound of rocks falling, followed by a muttered 'bollocks' that he recognised instantly. He pulled a shirt on over his sweats, shoving his feet into boots and ducked out of his tent to look. Hermione stood on the ledge up and behind his tent, her face turned to the mountain. He coughed and she spun.
"Draco!" She exclaimed. She looked at what he was wearing and bit her lip. "I woke you. I'm sorry." He shrugged.
"Are you alright?" She smiled.
"Perfectly. I just hadn't quite got my night-vision yet and misstepped in the dark." He frowned.
"Night vision? Do this often, do you?" She nodded.
"Every night."
"Why?" he asked it like it was a stupid question and she grinned.
"To talk to the Matriarch, of course." She gestured with a hand up the mountain. "It's a bit of a trek, but it keeps me fit."
"You can talk to the Matriarch?" Draco asked incredulously. "How?" Hermione shrugged.
"I'm not sure. Something about my mind being torn open. Not you," she said hurriedly when she saw he was about to ask. "Probably Lucius. Either way, I talk to them regularly, as does Luke. But the Matriarch has taken me under her wing, so to speak." Draco rolled his eyes at the pun, and watched as Hermione frowned. "She'd like you to come with me, if you would also wish to." He nodded, and quietly the pair of them made their way up the mountain.
Draco's night sight was minimal, Hermione noticed as he nearly tripped again. Though that might be because he hadn't fastened his shoelace.
"Take my hand." She said, reaching back. He looked at her in bewilderment and she smiled. "The path gets very narrow. I don't want you to trip again and fall to your death."
"I'm touched." He muttered, but took her hand, just in case. She turned back and led the way forward.
"Here." She said quietly. "The path is only about two feet wide, but occasionally the path juts out. Be careful, it's straight down from here." Draco nodded, following her lead and very carefully placing his feet. It was almost totally dark, not only was the moon on the other side of the mountain but clouds kept obscuring it. "Concentrate!" Hermione snapped. Draco jumped, and noticed he'd been wavering towards the edge.
"Sorry." He muttered.
"You will be." She retorted. "Come on, we're nearly there." It was only a few more feet and then they followed a narrow path among the rocks themselves and then they were there, in a small clearing almost entirely encircled by the mountain walls. The peak stretched above them, a black silouette against the stars.
"I didn't know this was here." Draco breathed, looking around. Hermione nodded and walked off, and he hastily followed. He jerked to a stop when Hermione put out her hand into his path.
"Don't step on her." Hermione warned. And then suddenly, her mind was open to him, and he could see the whirligig of her thoughts.
Matriarch. She smiled, and bowed her head. Two eyes, very large and very close, blinked open, the starscapes in them visible even in the dark.
Hermione. The voice was deep and echoed in his head. Draco. So you have come to see me, namesake. Draco nodded nervously. Judging by the nearness of the eyes, her mouth was very close to him. She laughed, a huffing sound in reality but in his mind it was rich and strong. Do not fear, Draco. Had I desired to eat you, you would long since be dead. Draco shot a worried look at Hermione, who was smiling.
Hermione said you wished me to see you? Draco asked tentatively.
You have much to discuss. She replied. You were her freedom. Draco glanced at Hermione, but she was silent and was looking away.
Well, she said thanks. Draco shrugged. There's not anything more I want, really. The dragon turned to look at Hermione, who shook her head. Clearly they were having a private conversation.
He should know. The Matriarch said only to Hermione. Hermione disagreed.
You said yourself that the father does not matter. Hermione argued.
Not to you. But for the father, his child means a great deal. I have seen it.
A child means a great deal to everyone. Hermione replied. Of course it would be important to him. But Luke is happy where he is, and it would only complicate things.
Are not things suitably complicated as it stands? The Matriarch questioned. He is your saviour, Hermione, and the father of your son.
I lied to him. He thinks Luke is his brother. Hermione said. The Matriarch didn't reply, merely stared her down. Hermione sighed and slumped to the floor, resting her head in her hands.
"Hermione?" Draco was at her side immediately, taking her hand and gently lifting her face to look at him. "Are you alright? What is it?" Hermione shook her head with a weak smile.
"I'm fine, Draco. I promise." She reassured him. "But there is something we need to talk about." Draco frowned.
"What?" Hermione glanced at the dragon, who was still watching them with an implacable stare. It was unnerving, though Draco suspected that that was the reaction the Matriarch was aiming for.
"I'm sorry, Draco." She said quietly. "I lied to you."
"About what?" Draco asked, his mind already running over what she could have lied to him about. He realised almost instantly. "No."
"Draco-"
"No!" Draco jumped to his feet and began pacing, and Hermione slowly rose to watch him. He stopped and turned on her. "Luke is my son?" He demanded. Hermione lifted her chin.
"Yes."
"And you told me he was my brother because?" He questionned savagely. He was beyond furious.
"Because Charlie is Luke's acting father." Hermione replied quietly. "Because Charlie is the only father Luke has ever known or will ever know." She took a deep breath. "Draco, I lied to you so this would not happen. I will not allow you to take Luke away from either myself nor Charlie, nor will I allow you to make this difficult for any of us."
"Does Charlie know?" Draco demanded. He was white faced, his lips so pinched as to be non-existent.
"No." Hermione said.
"You lied to him too? Some marriage you have." He spat. Hermione remained calm with some effort.
"I never lied to him. He knows Luke's father is a Malfoy, he just doesn't know which. He always assumed it was Lucius."
"Figures." Draco snapped. Hermione glared.
"Hey! Look, I'm sorry. But this is what happened. I can't help it, I couldn't stop it, and you, like me, are going to have to learn to deal with it."
"And then what? Come on, Hermione, no one but the Malfoys have that colour hair. No one will believe he is a Weasley. They defy genetics with their red hair and freckles."
"Hair dye."
"So, what? You're going to dye his hair his entire life? And what about when he stops, when he gets older and decides it isnt fun anymore? What then? There'll suddenly be a Malfoy in the Weasley brood."
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Hermione said flatly. Draco looked at her.
"So much for Miss Planning Ahead." He sneered.
"That's Mrs." She retorted. "Look Draco, I am sorry. I truly am. If I thought there was a viable way of involving you, I would. Because you know what? I think you're a good man and one my son could look up to. But it isn't realistic. Your father would kill us all. Voldemort is still out there, Draco. Six years on and he's still there. The world is no brighter now than it was when I married Charlie and moved here. This world is safe for Luke. He's safe and he's happy. Introducing you to him as his father would do nothing but confuse him." Hermione sighed. "Draco, he barely knows there is a world beyond this mountain and the dragons. He isn't ready for the outside world. He doesn't understand it."
"That's because you've kept him up here." Draco retorted.
"I have kept him safe!" Hermione shouted. Draco was silent. "Draco, I have never done anything but protect my son." She railed. "And protecting him meant I couldn't tell you. Protecting him means I can't tell Charlie. Protecting him means-"
"What about you?" Draco asked quietly. Hermione stopped her rant, confused.
"What about me?"
"When do you just be you?" Hermione laughed quietly.
"Draco, I am a mother. I don't get to be just me, especially when it is so dangerous for-" Before she even realised what was happening Draco stepped in to her and kissed her, his hands resting gently on her shoulders. He wasn't holding her, she could step back anytime she liked.
And yet she found she couldn't, her mouth tipped up to meet his.
When he pulled back, Hermione took a deep breath to steady herself. It had been a long time, and despite everything she felt for Charlie, he couldn't do that to her.
"Draco-"
"Are you in love with him?" Draco asked. Hermione stared and he continued. "You said you love him, which I can well imagine. But are you in love with him?"
"Draco-"
"You been together six years, Hermione. Where are the children?"
"You bastard." Hermione said, shocked. "What do you mean? Like this is any place to bring up children!"
"You brought up Luke." Draco pointed out.
"I didn't have any choice." Hermione replied. "As for your question, my feelings for Charlie are my own affair. And no matter how you make me feel, I won't betray him for something that will probably ultimately get us killed." She nodded once to the Matriarch, spun on her heel, and left, leaving Draco staring at the gap in the rock that led away from the circle.
&
Hermione slipped under the covers next to Charlie, smiling as he grumbled in his sleep, turning to put an arm over her and pull her closer to him. She closed her eyes, taking in his warmth,
But she couldn't sleep.
What had Draco been thinking? There were so many things wrong with their conversation tonight that it barely bore thinking about. About Luke and Charlie and them, not that there was a 'them' at all anyway. She was confident she had made the right choice for everybody by refusing Draco, there was no need to complicate relationships when they were all stuck on a mountain together.
Still, she couldn't help feeling a pang of regret. There was always going to be that something between them, something that couldn't be replicated because it wasn't just borne out of him saving her, but came from the total and utter bonding of their minds the night that he pulled her from the pit. She knew him better then then anyone, and she knew the feeling was mutual.
That kind of link left a tangible bond. And it was tangible, she could feel it, as an electric shiver every time he looked at her.
It was very bad for her marriage.
"Hermione, your head will explode if you don't stop thinking and sleep." Charlie said sleepily, opening one green-blue eye to peer at her. She smiled.
"Sorry." She whispered, shifting closer to him and breathing deeply, trying to calm herself.
Hermione.
Well, that certainly wouldn't help.
Yes? The Matriarch paused. Matriarch?
Your talk with Draco did not go as I expected. the great dragon said. You hold much anger for each other.
I'm not so sure it's anger. Hermione replied. We know each other's minds, it's a link that's hard to ignore but must be.
A link such as that is sacred and must be revered. The Matriarch said. Surely your mate would understand.
The mere thought of Charlie understanding the link between Hermione and Draco nearly made her giggle, and the thought of Charlie willingly sharing her made her roll her eyes. She may not be in love with Charlie, but she suspected he was in love with her. And he, like every Weasley she had ever known, was fiercely protective over what he considered to be in need of him. And she was the first person on that list…her very marriage was based on that principle. There wasn't a chance in hell that Charlie would understand, he was much more likely simply to kill Draco and get it over with.
Perhaps not then. The Matriarch amended. Then you must choose.
I have done. Hermione said quietly. I chose what was best for Luke, and for Charlie, and for me.
For them, perhaps. Not for you.
They are all that matter to me. Hermione replied honestly. I choose them. Another pang of regret, but fainter now.
Very well. The Matriarch said with a frightening tone of finality, and then she was gone from Hermione's mind. Hermione suddenly found herself exhausted, and within seconds she was asleep.