Disclaimer: I own nothing!
A/N: Please don't hate me. PLEASE.
Hermione danced in circles around her room in muggle London. Music blared out of the enchanted radio, capturing her soul in the rhythm.
If it makes you Happy
Images raced in her mind. The fear in Draco Malfoy's eyes as Bellatrix Lestrange carved those dirty words into her skin.
Then why the hell are you so damned sad.
Wasn't her torture what he lived for? Breathed for? Lusted for? She let the music grab its hold on her, the loose white gown, a gift from Luna, twirling elegantly around her. She allowed herself the fleeting thought of marrying Ron, or even Harry. She also allowed the fleeting happiness of being free as the world around her turned black, the music stopped, and she was floating.
"Did you kill her? The Dark Lord said she was to be unharmed!" Bellatrix screeched from somewhere to Hermione's left. She was prisoner in the Malfoy home again. Fear gripped in her chest, waiting for the familiar cold of the room only to feel warmth. The warmth of a blazing fire. She momentarily thought she was in Hogwarts and just dreaming.
Draco Malfoy and the distorted face of Tom Riddle appeared before her. Riddle examined her face, then her arms without touching her.
"If she were pureblood, she'd be an even better prize for you, Draco. No matter. Half-blood is better than mudblood." It was a whisper and Riddle gave the briefest smile at the girl before him. Her remember her mother clearly. He let the memory of the Pureblood Anne Selwyn, the only woman he had ever been with intimately, drift in his mind. Anne had married this girl's adoptive father, the Squib Alexander Granger. He turned to the room before him, Death Eaters shifting in the shadows. "This is my heir."
And then Tom Riddle walked out. The tension in the room surmounted as Bellatrix fell into a sobbing heap. Hermione turned her head towards the witch who was visibly clawing at her arm.
"Bellatrix." It was soft. Louder than a whisper, but soft. The older witch looked at Hermione. "I will never forgive you." The room faded once more.
Draco paced just outside the door to Hermione's room. How could he not have seen it? She WAS the brightest witch of her age. And Voldemort willingly allowed his most faithful to bring his daughter into their family. And she was to be his. The goddess laying in the next room would be his. He would make everything up to her.
"Come, Draco." Lucius called from the study. It was time. He was to make Hermione Granger, no, Hermione Riddle his wife. Then he realized why. She was a threat to the Dark Lord on Potter's side. He always held back for her. Tom Riddle was more like his mother than anyone realized. The older Malfoy held out a silver gown. "You must keep her happy, Draco. This is an honour!"
"I know. Father, this is her. This is the witch who bested me at everything but flying." Draco hissed softly.
"Behind every great Malfoy is an even greater wife. Your mother has created most of the potions we sell today. She IS Potioneer Malfoy." Lucius admitted to his son. There was a glint in the father's eye. "As did your Grandmother Antoinette Potter."
"Nooo. We're related to the boy who should have died?" Draco was truly aghast. Lucius smirked a little.
"And Lily Evans wasn't a mudblood. She was a pureblood." The older Malfoy draped the robe over his son's shoulders. "You've been fighting a war that is so… Confused that you'll never see your true enemy."
Bellatrix arrived, her hair neat for once. It was time. His collar felt tight, and he was sweating heavy, even in the cold study. He hated Hermione, hated what she stood for, and hated the good in her. She could forgive a bee for stinging her.
"I will make your life hell, Malfoy." She hissed at him once in range of hearing. Her words didn't register in his mind as he took in the woman before him. Her auburn curls were in neat ringlets, and the white dress she arrived in was replaced by a diamond studded wedding dress. His mother's wedding dress. And the Malfoy bridal tiara. Even as a little boy, he had always imagined this moment.
He imagined a beauty like one of the Greengrass girls. Or a pureblood union with Pansy. Yet here he was with Brainy Granger. And he needed her to hate him.
The ceremony was relatively quick as the Ministry worker was scared to death. In a matter of ten minutes, Hermione's world crumbled. No more Harry, or Ron, or Hermione Granger. All that was is now Hermione Malfoy.