Disclaimer: These aren't my characters. They belong to JK, no part of them came from my brain, but I do enjoy playing with them.

Warning: Language, Substance Use and Sex. Turn back if this isn't your cup of tea.

Thank you to all of my lovely reviewers. I love to hear what you think. Questions, comments, concerns? I am all ears.

Please see Author Notes at the bottom so I can give credit where credit is due.
The Holy Grail

Hermione gawked at her Head Master, "Sir I must misunderstand you."

The old man chuckled at her softly, "No Miss Granger, you do not. I have something I would like to show you two." Dumbledore bade Snape return to his class and beckoned to the teenagers to follow him. They followed him down a long hall adjacent to his study. The room they entered was brilliantly lit with a large red rosebush against the back wall. Dumbledore strode to the tree and gently tapped it with his wand. In an instant the rose tree sprang to life, the limbs of the tree snaked out and coiled up the far wall. As the vines grew names appeared on each tendril, the names glowed in four colors; green, red, blue and gold. The Professor beamed at them, "Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, you will find yourselves on this family tree. As you no doubt will notice Miss Granger is the direct descendent of Mary, called Magdalene, and Jeshua of Nazareth, better known as Jesus."

Hermione ran to the genealogy and furiously studied it to find her name. There she was, in the brilliant blue that snaked up the vines. She first checked her recent family, and then skimmed up the tree to the very top. These names were in brilliant platinum and glowed from within, Jesus and Mary Magdalene, her ancestors.

Draco stood next to her, his elegant fingers tracing up the green line. He smirked halfway up the tree, "Well, well Granger, will you look at this…little old me, a descendent of Salazar Slytherin. It seems I am indeed the Prince of Slytherin."

She snorted at him, "I never doubted that Malfoy, but I don't think that is the point, keep looking."

He turned back to his line, ending at the very top, "Well Son-of-a-Bitch Granger, look at that!" His line ended at Joseph of Aramathea the consort of Sarai, daughter of Jesus.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "You will notice that Miss Granger shares another interesting ancestor as well." He flicked his wand a blue name grew brilliant."

Hermione turned to him in shock, "Really Professor? Me?"

The old mage smiled at her, "As you can see Miss Granger you are a descendent of Rowena Ravenclaw."

Hermione beamed, "Told you not to call me Mudblood Malfoy."

He scowled, "I haven't said that in a year!"

"Draco I am just teasing you, you know that."

Dumbledore led them gently out of the room, "So you two have developed an emotional attachment of some sort?" Draco nodded a curt yes; Hermione viewed Draco with a curious glance before slowly nodding as well. "Yes, well Hermione, Draco, there is much much more to this order, but until specific events occur I can not be certain of how to proceed. This line has been broken for five hundred years. It can only emerge when a member of the Consort line, Mr. Malfoy, coupled with a member of the Grail line, Miss Granger. The marks have emerged and now Miss Granger will go about selecting the remaining members of the order."

Hermione interjected, "How do I do that sir?"

"Ahhh, but it is nothing that you can control Miss Granger, it is chosen by your mark. There will be seven of us in all. It seems you marked your Professor as the Sinner this very afternoon." She couldn't help but smirk at the thought of Snape as the sinner. He was the perfect incarnation of the role.

Dumbledore seemed to read her thoughts, "Yes Hermione, it was a very appropriate choice. As I am unsure of the order of the coming events please go about your daily routines, but alert me immediately if anything new emerges." He shooed them with his hand and the two scrambled to exit the office, leaving a smiling Dumbledore in their wake.

Neither student said anything until they reached the Advanced Transfiguration classroom. Malfoy held open the door and did his best to ignore Hermione's bemused smirk. "What?" She just shook her head and rushed to her seat next to Ron.

Draco settled in to his seat next to Pansy. He looked up in time to catch Ron snapping angrily at Hermione before launching in to a string of muffled questions. At his tone Hermione cringed and leaned away, Draco swore under his breath and strained to hear them.

Ron glared at her, "Where'd you go off to?"

She looked straight ahead, praying for the entrance of McGonagall, "To check on my Potions results with Professor Dumbledore."

He growled, "Why did Malfoy go with you?" Hermione did her best not to flinch as Ron leaned in closer, "Mione, why did Malfoy go with you?"

She took a deep breath, "He was there when it happened."

"When what happened Hermione?" Ron's voice was steadily rising as the conversation progressed.

"None of your business Ron."

Ron turned bright re at her response, "But it is Draco-fucking-Malfoy's business!" The room hushed. Hermione threw her head into her hands and did her best to hide beneath her hair.

Harry violently shook Ron, "Ron! Snap out of it! You are being a bloody wanker!" The surrounding students gaped at the spectacle the Golden Trio was putting on.

McGonagall cleared her throat, "Mr. Weasley that will be quite enough! Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter return to your seat, and Mr. Malfoy please sit down! This does not concern you.

Draco sat quickly and attempted to divert his gaze. He hadn't even noticed that he was standing, or making an ass out of himself. Pansy elbowed him in the ribs, "What the fuck Malfoy!" He glared at her coldly, "Shove it Pans."

The moment class ended Pansy cornered Draco in an alcove and shoved him violently against the chest, "Alright Draco, I have no idea what the fuck you are playing at, but this shit with Granger needs to quit!"

Draco took a calming breath, he was livid at Pansy at this very instant, no one pushed a Malfoy and demanded things from him, but beating Parkinson would get him nowhere, "I have no idea what you are playing at Pansy, but there is nothing going on with Granger."

She scowled, "Didn't you mean to say your Head Girl? It's all over the school Draco, your little spat with the Weasel. You and I both know she really means nothing to you, really I can't believe you would sully yourself with anything of that nature. In fact now that you have been near that Mudblood I don't know that I care to touch you again."

Draco shot her a withering gaze, "Well lucky for you Pans I know that I don't want to touch you ever again!" He left her open jawed as he stalked off towards the Great Hall.

He had a sudden urge to run far away from the hall, away from the school and forever away from Granger and their mark and everything it meant between the two of them. He steadied himself as he pushed open the door and marched confidently to the Head table. Hermione was already eating and attempted to ignore his entrance.

He could not allow this game to continue. Even just seeing her at dinner caused him to turn feral; he wanted to take her here, on their dinner table, in front of the entire student body. He bowed his head a bit, "Good evening Mina."

Her face shot up to look at him, "Draco are you okay? Pansy seemed fierce back there."

He grinned, was she concerned about him? "How would you know about Parkinson Mina?"

She shrugged, "I can feel your anger. Since we got the mark I can get little flashes when you feel something strongly, can't you?"

No Draco realized, he could not, but Hermione was still looking concernedly at him, "I am ended my entanglement with Pansy."

Hermione tried with every ounce of self restraint to now jump out of her chair and dance a small jig. She had been terribly worried about Draco and his women since this whole thing began. She had shared the common area with him and was well aware of his variety of female guests. Instead she settled on a small smile flashed at a discreet moment.

"Does that information please you Granger?"

She looked away again, blushing this time, "Yes Draco, it pleases me immensely. Thank you."

Draco hand no idea what to do with the sentimentality of her statement, he barked out a gruff 'good' before diving into his meal.

Halfway through the meal Harry approached her quietly at the table. His voice fell to a hush "Hermione I need to speak with you right now."

Hermione was confused by his behavior, "Harry why?"

He leaned in closer, "I've been marked by something Mione. I have no idea when it happened, but I found it just now…" He stopped his thought to glare at Malfoy who had watched the scene curiously. Draco scowled at him and turned back to his meal.

Hermione gently took his hand, "Harry, meet me after dinner at Dumbledore's office. It is very important that you don't say a word about this to anyone else. Understood?" As Harry returned to his seat Draco felt no need to ask what Potter had found. The Order was growing. Draco squeezed her hand gently under the table, "See you there in ten." She nodded briskly and proceeded to inform the Head Master of the newest development.

When Hermione arrived Harry was pacing nervously outside the Head Master's office. He ran to her as she rounded the corner. His left sleeve was pushed up fully, "Oh Merlin Mione, what in the bloody hell is this?" She took his arm, there it was, the same rose as her own. In its center lay a perfect double edged sword. Hermione smiled at it absently until Harry hissed and withdrew his arm, his gaze was focused behind her.

"Get out of here Malfoy! This doesn't concern you."

Draco chuckled at his angry sneer and stepped closer to Hermione. "I think it does concern me Potter. You don't even know what this-" he pointed at Harry's arm, "-is."

Harry growled "Step away from Hermione, Malfoy." Draco smirked and laid his hand to rest on Hermione's waist. She hadn't said a word since Malfoy's arrival, but had a look of unease across her face. "I swear to Merlin Malfoy, if you so much as lay a hand on her!"

At that Draco took a handful of her curls and lightly kissed them, "Oh, I've laid a bit more than a hand on her Potter."

Hermione jumped at the statement and yelped at him, "Draco shut up! You are not helping the situation!" Harry was moving quickly towards Draco, wand raised.

"Mr. Potter that will be quite enough!" The Head Master's voice rang down the hall, "Will you three please come to my study?" The group moved begrudgingly towards the stairs.

They tromped into the office. Harry glowered as Hermione sat next to Draco on the small sofa. He chose the seat closest to Dumbledore where he could keep a keen eye on everyone in the room.

The old wizard smiled at the three, "I take it you have been marked Mr. Potter?"

Harry's jaw dropped, "How did you know?"

Dumbledore inclined his head to the sofa, "You are not the only one with a mark."

Harry's gaze shot to the others, "Mione?" She smiled warily and pulled back her sleeve, "Malfoy?" Draco's smile was dark as he turned his wrist to Harry. "How did this happed Professor?"

"Well Mr. Potter, it seems Miss Granger is the last of the Merovingian line of the Holy Grail. You have been marked and called to her service, the Order of the Rose."

Harry said nothing for a very long time, his head moving back and forth between the occupants of the room. Finally he let out a croak, "Just us three?"

Dumbledore smiled, "And Professor Snape."

Harry couldn't help himself, "Pretty shitty taste Hermione!"

Draco was across the room and had him by the collar before Harry had realized he was moving, "But somehow, Potter, you are the forth!" He continued in ice cold tones, "Does it gall you to know she chose me first?"

Harry attempted to kick Malfoy in the shin, but instead caught Hermione, who had burst in to split them up, in the kneecap. She yelped and fell with a –clunk- to the floor.

Draco immediately let go of Harry, "Mina!" She shook her head gently to clear it and took Draco's hand.

Harry had seen more than enough, "Hermione what in the fuck is going on, and why in the fuck are you calling her 'Mina' Malfoy?" He spat out the last two words in anger.

Dumbledore hovered over them, "Harry that is no way to solve this let me see your mark child." Harry extended his hand, Dumbledore bid the others to do the same. The Head Master surveyed all three wrists, "You see Harry, each mark is unique, and each serves a specific purpose. It seems you are the Protector." Harry's frown turned into a brilliant smile. Hermione leaned over and kissed Harry's cheek as the Professor went on. "Mr. Malfoy is the Consort and Hermione the Grail."

Dumbledore took her hand softly and kissed the back of it, he stopped halfway and quirked his eyebrows in surprise. He dropped her hand and pulled back his robe. A red rose with a brilliant white plumed quill graced his inner wrist. He smiled a silly grin, "It also seems that I am the Redeemer."

Hermione squealed and kissed his wrinkled cheek, "Oh Professor I am so glad you are one!"

He grinned back, "I as well my dear."

Harry was not dissuaded by the turn of events and turned angrily on Malfoy, "What is the Consort?"

Draco smirked, "What do you think a consort is Potter?"

Harry blanched, "Mione you wouldn't!"

She was still fawning over Dumbledore and eyed his distractedly, "Wouldn't do what Harry?"

He took a deep breath, "Sleep with Malfoy!" At that her face blushed and Dumbledore interjected, "That is his role Harry."

Harry turned scarlet, "What!"

Hermione rushed to him, "Harry we have to, it is our duty."

Draco roared at her comment, "We have to, we have to? Is that how you feel Granger!"

She scowled at him, "Draco I was just trying to ease the situation. What do you want me to tell him?"

Draco spit out his next words, "The truth Granger"

"Oh fine, Harry, Draco and I have intimate feelings for one another. It is completely and utterly consensual, and not by any means duty bound. Harry Draco?"

He smirked at Harry, "Very."

Harry took a sudden seat, his face was splotched white and red, "And I am to believe that?"

Hermione scowled, "Yes you are Harry. I made my choice and it has become written in flesh. Believe me, this is new to everyone."

"And does Ron know?"

She snorted, "No way in hell Harry. I mean, we only confirmed all of this earlier today. Draco and I haven even talked about it yet."

Harry mimicked her "Draco and I? What happened to 'Mudblood Granger' Malfoy?"

Draco snarled, "I no longer use that word Potter. If you had an ounce of dignity in you, you would be groveling in front of Granger's divinity, not nancing over your role."

"I am not nancing over my role!"

Draco took Hermione's hand, "Sure you aren't jealous, Potter? Your precious princess in the arms of a Malfoy? But have you stopped to think that I am able to provide her with everything?"

Harry cut him off, "Except love."

Hermione flinched at the response, but Draco continued on, "Oh no Potter, I can give her love. Who protected her again Weasley? Not you. You weren't soothing her while she sobbed were you? Can you hear her thoughts Potter? Because I can and I do love her."

Hermione had started to cry, "You love me Draco?"

His gaze softened as he took her cheek, "Of course Mina, what else could this infernal mark mean?"

Harry could not believe his ears, "Mina? Seriously Hermione? What kind of name is that?"

"I allow Draco to call me that. Harry please be reasonable, this isn't easy on anyone."

Harry took a deep breath and relented with a sigh, "So what do I do next?"

Dumbledore chuckled, "We do nothing Harry, we just wait. There are seven in total; we have five, counting myself. Mr. Potter I wish you to go to the Head Commons and resolve your differences tonight, Miss Granger is going to need you." He paused, "Hermione, everything will be fine. Go visit with your Order, alert me to anything new."

They left the room in silence and hurried to the Head chambers. Draco held the door for Harry, Hermione entered last.

Harry stalked over to a couch and flopped down, "You're a traitor Hermione."

She strode over and shook him violently by the shoulders, "Harry snap out of it! Malfoy is on our side, he is bound to me, please give this a chance."

He met her eyes and saw the desperation in them before bowing his head in defeat, "Fine"

At that Draco ran up the stairs and came back with a six pack of bottles "Here Potter, have a beer, no hard feelings."

Harry took the beer with a look of horror and distrust as Draco slid onto the adjacent couch next to Hermione. She took a deep swig, "This is different Draco…" She examined the bottle, "Hippogriff Slash, seriously?"

Draco chuckled, "I can be a bit narcissistic at times…"

Harry scoffed, "At times? Do you mean to tell me this is your beer?" Draco smirked even wider, "It is Malfoy Breweries." Harry took another deep swig, "Bloody tasty Malfoy, quite strong."

Draco took a deep breath, tempted to run his mouth off, but reminded himself that this way all for the Grail, "I have several brews, would you like to try them?"

Harry shot him a half grin, "Yes Malfoy, I think I would."

Draco accio'ed a few bottles, "Here are my favorite two Potter."

Harry surveyed the label, "Mudblood blend?"

Hermione interjected, "Try it Harry, it is the best of the three."

Harry lifted an eyebrow quizzically and took a sip, "This is Mudblood flavor? It is fucking delicious."

Draco shrugged, "Well Potter, perhaps I think Mudbloods are delicious."

Harry couldn't help himself, he began to laugh heartily, "Shit Malfoy, did you name it after her?"

Draco nodded a bit, "Naturally. It is based off her essence; sandalwood, cinnamon and a special something extra."

Hermione blushed and nudged him, "You have a 'J' Draco?" He grinned and withdrew a joint from his robes, "Naturally love." He flicked it to her with a lighter. Hermione gently sparked the joint and inhaled.

Harry dropped his jaw, "Mione is that marijuana!"

Draco barked in laughter, "You half-wit, of course it is. You think your princess is such a prude. Sheesh Potter, you live in a fantasy world."

Hermione stretched her arm to Harry, "Fancy a hit Harry?" He froze, unsure what to do. He lowered his gaze, "How?"

Hermione grinned and elbowed Draco to shut up, "Just inhale Harry, hold it, and then exhale."

Harry took a tentative puff before doubling over in a fit of coughs. "Never smoked before Potter?" Draco took the joint from his hand and inhaled deeply, twice, before passing it to Hermione.

Harry shook his head, "No, this is my first time."

Hermione passed it to him again, "Oh Harry, you will love weed." He took another hit and realized, yes, yes he did love it. Harry gave a lazy grin and passed to Draco. He noticed Malfoy nursing the joint, then gave it back to Hermione. "So Malfoy you say you love her?"

Draco blushed a bit, "Yes Potter, what of it?"

Harry laughed, "Nothing, I just thought you only shagged purebloods."

At this Hermione made a gagging sound, Draco swiftly took her hand, "Yes Potter, while I shag purebloods, thus far I have only made love to one witch, who happens to be present in this room. All others are obsolete in the wake of the Grail."

Harry really hadn't meant to hurt Hermione with his comment, but could see they were both offended, "Well shit Mione, now I guess I have to be nice to Malfoy!"

The three cackled in laughter, swigging down beer in the process. Hermione smiled warmly at him, "Yes Harry, I suppose you will. You cannot tell anyone about any of this, not even Ginny." Harry agreed, "So what next?"

Draco shrugged, "We wait Potter, nothing else to do. You protector, I love her, Snape and Dumbledore do Merlin knows what and we wait. But Potter…" Harry met his gaze, "Do not let Weasley touch her again. I will kill him next time."

Harry signed, "Yeah Ron fucked up on that one. I mean he really didn't mean it like that."

Draco lowered his voice, "What? Like rape Potter?"

Hermione moaned at the word, "Draco, please. I don't want to think about it."

Harry interrupted, "It will never happen again. I will protect her Malfoy. I love her, as do you."

Hermione smiled, "Than you Harry, Draco. I am sure I am quite safe. I have four of the strongest wizards at Hogwarts looking out for me, for no reason, might I add."

The boys frowned, "Mione everyone is after you, I have made you a walking target. Malfoy you will need to watch her when I am not around. No Deatheaters."

Draco frowned, "Potter I have already stated my allegiance, don't test it. I am bound to the Grail, I will not betray her. It is my destiny as well."

Harry felt something click in his head as Malfoy made his claim, "Malfoy is your destiny Mione? Is that what the draught said?" Draco half-smiled, "So it seems."

Harry chuckled, "Well at least Potions today is starting to make some sense. Thank you you two, but I am zonked and ready for bed. I will see you both tomorrow." Harry gave a short salute and stumbled out the door.

Hermione grinned, "Hope he can get home safely."

Draco elbowed her, "Pot-head will be fine. How about you, you doing alright?"

She stood and walked towards his room, "I could be better." Draco ginned and followed her up to bed.

Any and all reviews are appreciated, press the button, leave a comment.

I would love to hear what you think so far, good and bad. Two more notebooks of handwriting yet to get up. Slowly but surely!

A/N- Okay so two other brilliant authors need to be cited for this work.

The first is over at Coloured Grey (my favorite!) and is taken from The Dragon's Bride by Rizzle. A 50 chapter masterpiece that I love to read and re-read. The concept of the Fida Mia is taken from that story. My mark is, of course, not the Fida Mia. But if you would like to know what it is, the background and why live tattoos kick total ass check out the story.

Here gentle reader is where I need your help: The second author I have no idea how to find, or when I read the story in the past year. I have tried everything to find the story and ask permission to play with the ideas. But to no avail. The story I found was about the Order, including the rose marks on the arms and ther Merovingian line. I loved it so much that I wrote a fanfic (this story) about her fanfic. Although the stories go drastically differently and have little in commone I would like to find and credit this author. If you know who it is PLEASE point me in the right direction.