A/N: Happy Thursday! Thank you to those of you who reviewed, followed and favorited after last chapter. Huge thank you to lanamarymack and Angela 007 for alpha/beta reading this chapter, too! You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) if you are interested.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter thirty-three and be on the lookout for chapter thirty-four next week!
1 May
For once, Hermione was not looking forward to the ritual for Beltane that would be held at Avery's home on the Isle of Man. She and Tom had still not talked since their debate over his planned future direction with regards to the muggleborn laws that Malfoy wanted. She was left with a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that all of Tom's Knights would rather eradicate all muggleborns from their world and it didn't make her feel particularly welcome.
But, on the morning of Beltane, with the pink dawn streaming into her window, Hermione decided that she wasn't going to give Abraxas any indication of her unease with the extreme direction he was taking Tom's campaign, on the off chance that Tom had told him about their disagreement. She walked into her closet and pulled on the pale yellow dress that she'd found when she first read about the ritual in a book that she borrowed from Alfie. She'd even sewn little silver bells in the hem so that she made a pleasant tinkling sound with every step that she took, as was described in the text.
She met Tom in the foyer, where they would be floo'ing to Rafe's home. He pulled her into an affectionate hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead and a hand to her rounded belly. "Don't you look the May Queen," he said, pulling back to look into her eyes. "At least we know we don't need any fertility rituals today," he added, with a crooked grin.
As if to punctuate the statement, their daughter gave an insistent kick against his palm.
Hermione frowned. "I don't know if simple flattery will work for you, now, Tom," she said with a sigh, wishing that they could go back to the way things were before.
His lips pulled into a tight line, clearly frustrated that she wasn't going to let this be smoothed over so easily. "Well, I am sure that I will figure something out," he said, finally. "Perhaps a first edition treatise or something of that nature."
"Or you could take my advice," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Come on, we don't want to keep the others waiting," she insisted, knowing that getting into another argument was going to be futile at this point. She wanted to enjoy the day if she could.
Tom seemed happy enough to leave it there and guided her through the fireplace and into Avery's home. He seemed familiar enough with its layout, because he led her directly out of the house to the grove of trees where the others were waiting. She was amused to see several of the Knights holding May baskets, presumably for her.
Avery approached her first. "For you the health of you and your child, Hermione," he said, pressing his basket into her hands, and a kiss to her cheek. "From Mina and me. And, Mina would love to meet with you when she graduates Hogwarts in a few weeks."
Hermione was surprised to hear that she would want anything to do with her, but then she thought that she must have some kind of new cache as a politician's wife. "Thank you for thinking of us," she said, unsure of herself, until she noticed Malfoy looking particularly sour about it. Then she couldn't help but smirk, knowing that the balance of power had still not shifted.
Evan, Edmond, Alfie and Antonin also had baskets for her, each one looking a bit sheepish that they had all brought the same gift to honor her. Still, she was pleased to know that they thought positively enough about her to bring her a gift.
"Thank you all," she said, genuinely. "I must start on a flower crown, using all of these. And maybe I could use some of your hawthorn as well, Rafe?"
Avery was only too happy to have her collect some of the pure white flowers from the giant tree that was flowering, only a few yards away. Hermione was glad to have a few minutes to herself, already feeling exhausted of her social energy. She pressed a hand to the tree's great trunk and shut her eyes, trying to feel the tree's magic. There, in the darkness, she could see the green energy that rooted the tree and followed it blindly to find the flowering branch that would best suit her needs.
Gasping, her eyes flew open when she pricked her finger on one of the many thorns hidden in the branches. She bit her lip to stop from making a noise, not wanting to let the others know. The witch watched as her blood welled into a perfect drop, before slipping off her skin and into the dirt, where it was absorbed. Pursing her lips, she wondered if the tree had simply demanded a small sacrifice before she could be blessed with a piece of its beauty.
Using her wand, she severed the selected branch and took it, before conjuring a ribbon to tie onto the amputated limb. Her blood soaked into the yellow color, staining it. She walked away, putting her finger in her mouth to lick away the blood, until no sign of injury remained.
She rejoined the others where they were enjoying a beer brewed from barley and aged over the winter in brandy barrels, staining it an odd sort of red color. She quickly weaved flowers from her May baskets into a flower crown with the hawthorn branch, before placing it on her head.
The first order of business seemed to be to anoint themselves with the morning dew. "It's just supposed to make you more attractive in the coming year," Alfie whispered to her, bumping his shoulder into hers. "Though Salazar knows why we would need any help in that area."
Hermione snorted in amusement. "I can think of a few who would need a bit of help in the looks department," she teased, without dropping any names.
Avery had been out before the sun had risen to collect enough dew for all of them to have a few drops a piece. They passed around the vial, before pulling out the dropper to let a few drops fall on their heads. Although there did not seem to be a prescribed number, Hermione let seven drops fall on her head, knowing that it was a very auspicious number. The dew was cool and slipped from her scalp, past the flower crown, down her forehead, before sliding along her nose, making it look like she was crying. She didn't wipe the liquid away, not wanting to waste any of the magic.
Again, Tom pulled her close so that he could whisper into her ears. "Traditionally, everyone would strip down naked and roll in the morning dew," he told her.
"Why don't you do it that way, then?" she wondered.
"Well, with a bunch of boys piecing together the ritual," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "None of us wanted to get naked in front of the others."
"Perhaps if we had a more private garden, we could partake at home," she said, turning so that she could face him, a suggestive look on her face. She wanted even less to do with the home that the Malfoys had given her than before.
Tom smirked, not thinking through what she was getting at. He caught her lips in a quick kiss, though not deepening it as she clearly wanted to.
"Before you love birds get carried away," Edmond interrupted, his mustache barely hiding his smirk, "we should get started on the need-fire, Tom."
"How should I help?" Hermione asked, not having found anything that referenced need-fire, but she assumed that it was something to do with the massive bonfires that they would construct for later.
"You won't be helping," Malfoy said, meanly, his white blond hair shining in the sunlight. It would have given him quite the angelic quality if she didn't know what kind of person she was.
"Oh," she said, quietly, unused to being rebuked.
"It's nothing personal," Tom reassured her. "Just, this ritual calls for nine wizards and we make nine."
Hermione looked around and swallowed her disappointment. She wondered just how specific the ritual really needed to be. Surely it could still proceed if there were seven wizards? Or if there were nine and one of the members happened to be a witch. Still, she didn't bother.
"That's fine," she said. "Rafe, I assume that you will be planting today? Perhaps I could get started on that while you do your work."
Rafe nodded in agreement, looking relieved that she would be doing something and not just twiddling her thumbs. He showed her to the place where the previous year's bonfires had been held, the earth a rich brown after the spring rain. They would be planting oats.
Even though it was a bit cumbersome with her growing belly in the way, Hermione started to till the soil, before sowing the seed that would hopefully sprout. She tried not to be obvious as she watched them build their need-fire. In the end, she did not envy them the task, seeing as it was quite physically strenuous, building the twin bonfires up using friction alone. All of the wizards had rolled their sleeves up and looked flushed in the beating sunlight. It almost made Hermione long for the time that they simply used fiendfyre to make their bonfires.
Over time, the tinder took flame and they were able to slowly build up the fires until they were utterly massive. One by one, the Knights peeled off and joined her where she was planting. When Tom joined her, he lovingly wiped at her temple. "You've got a bit of dirt," he said with a smirk.
She leaned back and looked at her husband. She could see the muscle and sinew in his arms, having worked quite hard. It was a good reminder to see that Tom was someone who didn't shy away from putting the work in to get what he wanted. It was one of the things that had initially drawn her to him, when he'd tricked her into going on a date with him.
It didn't take much longer to finish their planting once all of them joined in. It wasn't a very large field and Hermione had taken care of a lot of the heavy lifting. They quickly started on the next part of the ritual, which was predictably another potion, this time meant to enhance their magical abilities by amplifying their power.
Antonin began setting up the large cauldron, while Emeric brought out the gathered supplies. Hermione frowned when she saw caged fairies. Emeric was shaking the cage with delight, watching as the tiny creatures chirped and groaned at their mistreatment.
"It's quite interesting — the Muggles that co-opted the magical holiday of Beltane are quite scared of fairies, right?" Alfie asked, watching the wizards work.
Hermione furrowed her brow. "Yes. They try to protect their livestock from fairies," she said, feeling her stomach turn as Emeric plucked the first fairy from its prison. "And witches, too."
Alfie laughed at that. "We don't protect ourselves from fairy magic, instead we take it in," he whispered, while Emeric plucked the wings off of the fairy, before handing them to Antonin and then crushing the fairy in his meaty hands. "They try to ward us off."
For once, Hermione was glad that she wasn't involved in making the potion, which also contained pixie venom and doxy blood.
But, when it came to be her turn to drink the potion, she drank it the same as everyone else, the desire for enhanced power too tantalizing to pass up. Immediately, she felt the potion's effects. The minute it touched her lips, she felt like her eyes were opening for the very first time. And she could feel her magic bubble up, like water filling a well she didn't know that she had.
The last step of the ritual was to pass through the space left between the two bonfires. She understood that this portion was meant for purification, especially necessary after taking in such a dark potion. The longer that you could remain in the fire, the more cleansed you would be. Hermione was determined to stay there the longest.
The fires glowed red hot, the flames licking at the night sky while the wood hissed and popped. They entered the void left between the fires together. Several of the wizards merely walked through it, eager to get back to the beer that was waiting for them. A few more waited longer, before dropping out one by one until only Tom was left with her.
He stared down at her, unmoved by the heat that was roiling all around them. His coal black hair rustled in the wind that was swirling from each bonfire. The flames reflected in his dark eyes made them look almost reddish and Hermione was struck by the sight. Was he the Devil hiding in plain sight all this time? Her fallen angel?
As quickly as the thought entered her mind, it left once again.
"Hermione, we should leave the bonfire," he said with a laugh. "Surely we are cleansed enough. Besides, you are sweating."
It was true. She was practically dripping with sweat, making her yellow dress cling to her every curve. Deciding that he was probably right, she nodded in agreement and let him lead her to the table where a cool water was waiting for her, courtesy of a very thoughtful Rafe.
"Where has everyone gone?" Hermione whispered to Tom, noticing that Malfoy, Black, and Lestrange were absent.
He leaned in so that he could whisper in her ear, a welcome caress on her rapidly cooling skin. "This day is full of fertility rituals," he said with a grin. "Surely they are all racing home in hopes that the magic won't have worn off yet. The bachelors will tend the bonfires until they burn out, drinking beer all the while."
"Oh," Hermione said with a blush, not fancying thinking about the other Knights' sex lives.
"In fact, we should probably leave them to it," Tom said, taking her hand in his.
She gave his hand an answering squeeze. "Of course, just let me say goodbye to Alfie," she said, with a smile. "He leant me a book about Beltane that was supremely helpful."
Tom nodded in agreement, going in search of Rafe to thank him for his hospitality.
Hermione walked over to Alfie and tapped on his shoulder, drawing his attention. The tall wizard seemed pleased to see her. "Leaving so soon?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yes, and I wanted to thank you for the book," she told him. "And…" she trailed off, unsure of herself. She gathered her confidence. "And, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor."