Hermione didn't go back to the wedding that night. Instead, she went to her father's library and locked herself in for the night. She studied every love potion available to her there, though there were not many. The week after the wedding, Lord and Lady Granger were gone for their honeymoon, a week of sand and surf on some secluded tropical island. This left the house to Hermione, Daphne, Astoria and sadly the Duchess. She refused to leave the girls by themselves, but for once, this was fine by Hermione. She favored Hermione over the two girls and made them miserable. She began making them have lessons, in more than just embroidery, etiquette and music. The Duchess began teaching them Transfiguration in that short week and it continued on for many months. She later hired more instructors in Charms, Herbology and Arithmancy. There was one other teacher, the Potions professor. He unlike the others favored Astoria and Daphne. It only made Hermione work harder to please him.
Hermione loved her new lessons. She enjoyed learning new things, challenging her mind, going out of her way to outdo even her professors, who were all delighted in her advances all excepting Professor Snape. He simply sneered and called her a "know-it-all swot." She didn't mind though. Because he was one of their tutors, she had reason to request a multitude of potions books, many related to control of the mind. She found many things that should have been helpful, but weren't; she had no way to tell which potion was the one she was searching for. There were just too many.
Unfortunately, the Black Widow caught her at her extracurricular work. Her eyes widened then narrowed as her lips thinned. She said nothing, just whisked out of the library. Hermione knew that this was the end of her studying if she had anything to do with it, so Hermione took two leather satchels and charmed both of them with weightless and unnoticeable extension charms. She stuffed every book into those bags with a multitude of parchment rolls and ink bottles. As an afterthought, she hid her charms, transfiguration and arithmancy textbooks there as well.
The fall out came one bright afternoon. Midge came to tell her father and the Black Widow wanted her in the magnolia grove. Hermione had to wonder why those poor beautiful magnolias were being used as the symbol of her misery. She promised not to cry or become angry when she saw the couple, but she was hard pressed to keep her promise when she saw the way her father stood with one arm about the Black Widow's waist holding her opposite hand, stroking the back of it. That was a hold saved for her mother at one point. Now it meant nothing but treachery.
The Black Widow whispered something to him and he turned towards Hermione as she walked across the grove and down the lane. He did not smile, only considered her the same way he regarded his business partners, with cool intent. Hermione stopped about a foot away from him, nodded coldly at his wife and attempted a smile at her father. It faltered when his regard for her did not change. The Black Widow smirked meanly behind him.
"Hermione," Daniel said. "It has come to my attention that you've been misusing your access to your tutors and the books they offer. I think you no longer have use of them if you are going above and beyond them. Azalea and the Duchess have told me that you supersede your tutors, where your sisters are still learning. I believe, as a solution and warning, you will no longer attend lessons and all the books deemed unfit will be taken away, per your mother's instructions. She will decide what you will do in those hours. Do you understand?"
Hermione said nothing. What could she say? Your new wife is the unfit one? Or Your wicked bitch of a bride is drugging you? She nodded instead, with a face that exactly modeled her father's, and waited for dismissal, ignoring the malignant glint in the eye of the Black Widow. When it came she nodded to lady and lord and walked away calmly and gracefully as if she were out for a stroll.
Inside, her mind was not as calm as her exterior. She was not worried about her books. Hermione was sure her spell cache was larger than the Black Widow's vocabulary. She would never think to look in the satchels either- too plain and ugly to hold anything of worth. That didn't mean that she was to be underestimated. She'd effectively cut off her access to academic information that could come from her tutors and the ability to obtain any books. The several hours that were set aside for tutors and studying were now in the hands of the Black Widow and Merlin knows what she would make Hermione do.
Hermione thought of all sorts of scenarios, best case to worst, but she had no clue what the woman would do or who's favor time would turn to. She felt she wouldn't know until her father left for the Caribbean or died, whichever came first. She had to find a way to protect herself, but from what? I don't even know what this attack looks like. How does one protect themselves from what they don't know? I can't even begin to prepare. The insecurity of the situation made Hermione want to run away; she hated not knowing. Everything about the situation was a variable. Nothing about it was good.
A/N Hi guys! sorry for the (3...4...i'm ashamed to go any higher) month long wait and then crappy chapter. Thanks for the screwy chapter alert!