Happy Easter everyone, here comes a long-awaited chapter. I might be able to upload another chapter before the end of May. I am still busy with everything, as usual.
With Luna claiming she was too unwell to get out of her room, Hermione had no choice but to go to Diagon Alley with Sue. Before leaving the house, she was given a sickness slip to justify Luna's absence.
"Congratulations to young Mr. Malfoy," said Sue soon as she saw Hermione.
"News does spread around the neighbourhood," muttered Hermione.
"I hope Luna will find her comfortable in the Malfoy Manor," said Sue. "After all, she had been living like a fugitive before she was found. The Malfoys are the best masters one could ever have."
Hermione sniffed upon hearing the word "fugitive".
"She is a very fortunate girl," continued Sue. "Out of so many others, young Mr. Malfoy chose her. She must be really grateful."
"I am not sure whether we should use the word grateful," mumbled Hermione.
"How so?" asked Sue immediately, undoubtedly concerned. "The Malfoys had everything a Maiden would wish to have. Just think of how many Maidens out there have dreamt bearing their descendants."
"Not every woman is willing to stand between a couple's marriage, not to mention how would the wives feel."
Sue stared at Hermione, then pulled her to a quiet corner, then whispered,
"I will just pretend I never heard what you said. People might be eavesdropping."
Hermione nodded, then hurriedly followed Sue to the Education Centre. Without surprise, she was still not pregnant. As she walked out of the office, Sue whispered,
"When is your next ovulation?"
"Two weeks later."
"You don't have a lot of time left," said Sue. "Do you spend time with Mr. Malfoy every night?"
Hermione nodded, then said,
"Let's go."
Because of boredom, soon as Hermione went back to the Manor, she went to find Neville. She thought she heard a giggle, it did not sound like anyone she knew in the household, so she followed the sound and it came from the pavilion. A platinum blonde girl emerged and she turned around, surprised to see Hermione. Then a tall man emerged too, and Hermione could not believe her eyes—Luna and Neville were naked.
Despite the two of them shocked to see Hermione, they quickly calmed down and dressed themselves, and Luna walked towards Hermione.
"What are you doing here?" asked Hermione, even though she perfectly knew what they had done.
"Just having some fun," replied Luna. "You know I haven't seen Neville for so long, and we were so close."
"You best hope they won't find out."
"I think it's even better if they find out."
Suddenly a silver cat swiftly dashed in-between them, it pounced a little and faded into thin air.
"It's Narcissa," whispered Hermione.
Luna showed a disgusted look, but still she followed Hermione to the parlour. Narcissa was resting in the couch, eyeing on Luna, then on Hermione.
"How are you feeling, Hermione?" asked Narcissa.
"Feeling?" asked Hermione.
"Did you not feel uncomfortable?" asked Narcissa, concerned. "Or shall I put it in this way— do you feel nauseous or tired?"
Hermione then realised Narcissa was not truly asking her feelings, so she replied,
"I am afraid not."
"I know you tried, but you need to work harder."
How? thought Hermione. It is me who has to bear a child, not you!
Without waiting for her answer, Narcissa turned to Luna and said,
"I hope you are finding the manor comfortable."
"Hardly not," answered Luna coldly.
Narcissa stared at Luna, apparently dissatisfied of her impoliteness, but she remained calm and said,
"I don't expect you to adapt to a new lifestyle within a few days, I know it takes time. Still I wish you and Draco could work it out. After all, the sooner the better, for all of us."
"Of course."
Seeing that Luna would not change her attitude, Narcissa switched the topic and said, "Draco is going to attend a party with Daphne. So Luna you can rest for the night. Hermione, I want you to come with me and help me tend the plants at the greenhouse."
Hermione suppressed her groan and obediently followed Narcissa to the greenhouse. Despite living in the manor for months, she had never been to the greenhouse. It was located at the far back of the garden. The moment they stood before the door, Narcissa drew her wand and said,
"Stand back."
As she took a few steps back, Narcissa whispered,
"Ostendo."
Hermione could hear a faint tick at the door, then a small bowl appeared in front of Narcissa. She pointed her wand at her wrist, a thin red line appeared on her wrist, a blob of blood ran down and dropped onto the bowl. The bowl vanished and the door unlocked. If the Malfoys want their fortune kept untouched and safe, Hermione would have guessed all the valuables were hidden in there.
"Get me some nettle and rose thorn," said Narcissa as she cast a spell on Hermione's hand. "Wand-picked is not as effective as hand-picked."
Hermione nodded and she bent down, plucking the leaves and vines. Nettle was a common yet useful ingredients, it could be used in numerous cure potions and the plant-killing Herbicide Potion. Hermione could remember the freshness of nettle tea and the warmth of nettle soup, those were used to be her occasional afternoon meal. She rarely harvested rose thorns, hand infections usually lasted for days and without special treatment, the itches could last for more than a week.
She could also recognised a lot of other plants in the greenhouse, dittany, asphodel, poison ivy, and many other valuable plants. It looked almost like it was a Herbology Museum.
The harvest seemed to last forever, when Hermione stood up and stretched her back, she noticed the sky was already very dark. She turned around and saw Narcissa resting on the bench, with her eyes closed.
A thought struck her, she could sneak out of the greenhouse and perhaps even escape. But the bracelet suddenly heated up so much that her wrist started to burn and she could not help let out a soft hiss. This seemed to have woken Narcissa, she stared at Hermione and said,
"Finished your work?"
"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy."
Hermione walked towards her with the pots and let her examine. After careful inspection, she gave an approving nod and they went out of the greenhouse. On their way to their way back to the Manor, a silver fox glided towards them and vanished as Narcissa flicked her wand. Alarmed, Narcissa hurriedly walked towards the small hut at the corner of the garden. Hermione had never seen this hut before as it was well hidden behind the thick hedges and stout trees. As they approached the hut, giggles rang louder and louder, and Hermione could see the deadly glare in Narcissa's eyes.
The moment they busted inside the hut, Hermione was shocked by the view.
Naked Neville and Luna, on a bed.
Out of instinct, Luna immediately covered herself in the duvet. Narcissa's pale face turned crimson with fury, she flicked her wand and the silver fox sprinted outside. Another flick and the two of them were dressed. Luna Within a few minutes, the Altruists came in, pulling Neville and Luna away.
"Such obscenity," gritted Narcissa and she led everyone to Lucius' study.
As they entered the study, the Altruists kicked Luna and Neville, forcing them to kneel before Lucius.
"What is it, my dear?" asked Lucius.
"This Altruist and this Maiden are criminals of adultery."
Hermione sniffed upon hearing the word "adultery". Luna had never been married to Draco, adultery was not the appropriate word.
"Mr—" began Hermione, but was immediately interrupted by Lucius.
"Wait in my room," he ordered.
Hermione wanted to argue, but then Narcissa said,
"Do as you are told."
So she obediently went out of the study and waited in Lucius' bedroom. Not for long, Lucius came in, Hermione rushed to him and asked,
"Where's Luna and Neville?"
"Accepting their punishment."
"Punishment?" yelled Hermione. "What did you do to them?"
"Do you have asked everything?"
"They are my friends."
"How I wish you could have told them to behave."
"It's not their fault!"
"Is adultery not a crime?"
"Luna is not even married to Dra—"
"I wish nobody shall speak another word about this for the night," announced Lucius and he lay on the bed with his eyes closed.
Seeing that Lucius would not answer any of her question, she lay down beside Lucius, not moving. As she listens to Lucius' steady slow breath, her eyelids grew heavy and she drifted off to sleep…
The next morning she woke up, quickly she headed back to her room. Then she heard whimpers coming from Luna's room. She knocked on the door, but Luna did not answer, so she went inside.
Luna was curled in her bed, shivering.
"Luna…" whispered Hermione, trying to hold back her tears.
"Neville…"
"What happened?"
"He's gone, forever…"
Hermione felt her heart stopped beating for a while, never would she imagine Neville got exiled, not to mention he was exiled under such circumstances….
Luna hissed as Hermione sat down, she quickly pulled the duvet. Hermione could see bruises on her limbs.
"What…no…" mumbled Hermione.
"Cruciatus Curse," said Luna, wryly smiling. "Such a strong curse, isn't it?"
"I wish we can just run away, and live happily forever."
Luna gazed into Hermione's eyes, she dazed for a while, then said,
"I am alright, I just need to catch up reality."
"Just…don't…you know the rules."
Luna nodded, seemingly understand what Hermione was referring to.
"Make sure to finish your breakfast," said Hermione, pointing at the food tray on the desk before she left.
Despite comforting Luna, Hermione felt something would still go wrong, particularly when she saw Draco's intense face.
Nobody mentioned a word about what happened last night, which made Hermione uneasy. After all, the calm before the storm was worrying, especially when it was deafeningly quiet. Neville was nowhere to be found, and Hermione wished she knew what Luna meant by "gone". Was he killed? Was he exiled? Was he imprisoned? Luna would not tell.
She lay on her bed until night fell. Just when she decided to talk to Luna before dinner, noises rang downstairs and she could not help leaving her room to find out the noise.
Altruists surrounded the doorway, and Luna was pinned on the ground, with her hands tied. Narcissa came downstairs and asked,
"What is it this time?"
"Trying to run," answered one of the Altruist.
"Lock her in the Red Room," ordered Narcissa. "This will teach her some obedience."
The Altruists propped Luna up and took her upstairs. Hermione had no idea where the Red Room was, nor did she know what would be in the room. But begging Narcissa for mercy would not be possible, she needed someone who could make the ultimate decisions, someone who could override Narcissa without effort.
Coming up with the perfect plan, she knocked on Lucius' study door before the time of the night and she went in. Lucius was resting in the armchair, listening to the crackles in the fireplace. Taking a deep breath, she went towards him and met his cold eyes. Her heart was racing, still she tried her best to stretch her arms to him, slowly getting closer. Lucius seemly slightly surprised, yet he remained still, allowing her to make her move. Feeling awkward yet impatient, she slightly pressed her lips on his, then on his neck. She could hear him swallowing hard as her hands attempted to travel down to his torso. For some reason, this made Hermione bolder, and she carefully unbutton his shirt. Before she could unbutton the last one, Lucius grabbed her hands and pulled her closer, kissing her neck. He suddenly stood up and lifted Hermione up, his abrupt movement made Hermione gasp and he took the opportunity to explore her mouth as he carried her all the way to the bedroom.
As her back felt the soft mattress, Lucius began kissing her collarbone, with his left arm supporting his whole body, his right hand began unbuckling his belt. Hermione quickly remove the last button on his shirt and took it off, just when her hands reached down to help Lucius, he chuckled and said,
"So impatient tonight."
Hermione did not say anything, her mind was racing against her heartbeats, with her shaking hands she took off his trousers, revealing his briefs. Despite spending almost every night with him on the very same bed, she had never examined his body.
Within the blink of an eye, Hermione discovered herself completely undressed, and so was Lucius. When he made his way in, Hermione arched her back and tightly wrapped his neck with her arms, pulling him closer and planting kisses on his lips. Recalling how the fictions described those scenes, she tried to match his rhythm by circling her hips. Surprisingly, Lucius seemed to be more engaged and enthused by her movement. The rhythm increased and Hermione felt she could go out of breath at any rate. Finally, when his last thrust, Lucius released his breath and lay beside her. Seizing this vulnerable opportunity, she whispered to Lucius' ear,
"Can you ask you a favour?"
"Depends."
"Can you release Luna from the Red Room?"
"What makes you think I should do that?"
"She's…just scared. She will be good."
Lucius did not reply. Feeling anxious, Hermione hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, then begged,
"Please."
Lucius let out a groan and he nodded as he patted her arm. Relived, she withdrew her arms and rested for the night.
"Luna!" exclaimed Hermione and she embraced Luna. "Thank goodness you're here."
Luna did not say anything. Instead, she pushed Hermione away, staring at her.
"Why did you do that?"
"Do what?" asked Hermione, baffled.
"You know exactly what I am talking about," said Luna. "You are no different from a prostitute."
"I just wanted to save you!"
"Save me by belittling yourself? I thought you were wiser."
"Wait—"
"You disgusted me! I'd rather die than to live like that!"
Luna pushed her outside and slammed the door.
I would hate Hermione too, even when I am the author.