Procyon Mask - Chapter 1

I realize the prologue was short and just setting up the general scene, but now you're getting into the meat of the fic. I hope you enjoy it!

The world turns gray, swirling around her and she feels her body being pulled. Hermione is vaguely aware of feeling like she's being pushed through a drain, chopped into little pieces to fit the holes perfectly as her head is already ringing from spinning in place.

She's being apparated and it's worse than normal because of the school's wards. That much she is certain. But she can't gather her thoughts beyond that. It feels like her head is being grinded against two stones, her skull whittling down, down… until the rough edges meet her brain.

Hermione opens her mouth to scream but her throat seizes up on her, stomach twisting hard. It suddenly feels like her entire body mass is centered on her belly button, that she's folding within herself…

And then it all implodes outwards and her vision snaps back into focus.

Hermione hits the ground hard, unable to move quickly enough to catch herself. A groan escapes her lips when she hits the stone and she curses under her breath, slowly placing her hands outward and pushing up so she's sitting on the cold floor.

She had not been expecting that. A portkey hidden in her letter? Some random medallion falling onto her? Who the hell thought of something like that? The probability that it would fall on her or that she would pick up a random item in a letter from the Ministry? Who the hell had magic powerful enough to rip her from the depths of Hogwarts? But most importantly: where the hell was she?

Hermione glances around the room, but it's dark. She can see the curtains are drawn over the windows, blocking out most of the light and not much else. Just the edges of those curtains were highlighted and…

She felt like she was going to be sick.

Her head hurt, her chest had also taken a decent amount of the impact. She struggles to catch her breath, reaching blindly across the floor.

She had her letter when she came, didn't she? Maybe she could get some answers from that.

Hermione's fingers slide over paper and she grabs it, forcing herself to move closer to one of the windows and pulling the curtain back. It only highlights a section of the room, but she's not interested in that right now.

Hermione rests her back against the wall, sunlight drifting over her shoulder and looks down at the letter. Right on top was a piece of paper explaining the law, like she had guessed there would be. She pulls it from the thin pile, eyes darting over the next piece of paper.

Dear Hermione Jean Granger,

If you are receiving this letter it is because you fall into the age range of The Higher Conception Matrimony Law and have been matched with your future spouse. Please take the time to read the details of the law provided with this paper if you haven't done so already. If you have, please continue reading.

We, The Ministry of Magic would like to congratulate you upon being matched with Bartemius Nyle Crouch Junior.

What?

We are aware he is a pure-blood and you are a muggle-born. We hope this does not alarm you in any way. Do know that the Ministry of Magic does not agree with the blood purity philosophy and believes all witches and wizards are created equal. We hope you both share our philosophy.

Please be aware that you obtained this match from a potion used to confirm compatibility and will not be able to change it unless you or your future spouse are determined to be infertile. If this ends up being the case we can not guarantee compatibility with your next match up as we would need to use a different method than the potion used originally. Please be aware you only need to take a fertility test if you have not confirmed pregnancy within nine months of being married. It is your personal decision if you want to check your fertility beforehand.

You have four months from this day, September 28th, 1996 to send information regarding when you will be getting married and where.

There was a little sticky note hiding the words after that, the words on it immediately grabbing her attention.

Congratulations! You have submitted your forms and been accepted to marry promptly on the day of receiving this letter: September 28th, 1996, with the marriage to be held at the Crouch Manor.

What? On one hand that answered the burning question of where she was and how she was forced here. Bartemius Crouch Junior was the same man who hoodwinked the Goblet of Fire during her Fourth Year. He was definitely one of the few people capable of getting past Hogwarts' wards.

But she felt hollow inside, her stomach twisting on itself once more.

She knew she had read the note right, but… She was to be married today, to him of all people? There was no way there hadn't been an error, clerical or otherwise. But if her letter already had the note on it, the medallion portkey… had it been tampered with back at the Ministry? Or in transit?

The law was very forthright about dropping bloodline purities, the thing Voldemort had taken advantage of to pull so many pure-bloods to his side… was that all just a clever disguise so no one realized the Ministry had already been taken over by Death Eaters? Just alleviate the populace's fear by saying the opposite? If the Ministry was already taken over she definitely couldn't go to them about her error. Maybe she should have ran away.

According to the letter she was currently sitting in one of the rooms of Crouch Manor. She would love to test the letter and see who her original match was, but now was not the time. She needed to get out of here. There was only one reason why the Death Eaters would go to this length to pull her here.

They didn't intend for her to leave.

Not without being married to Barty that is and she's not entirely sure what their intentions are beyond that. They don't actually want half-blood children. She can guess what they're up to later, after blasting out this window.

Hermione stands up, turning to face the window feeling her heart pound in her chest when all she sees is forest beyond it. No road. At least not here. There has to be some way for her to figure out where the Crouch Manor is in relation to Hogwarts so she can get back. But she's not keen on looking through the building for the entrance or a floo for that matter. For all she knew the place was crawling with Death Eaters, that she-

"I see you made it here in one piece."

Her eyes widen and she spins around to see Barty - her bloody fiance - standing in the doorway, highlighted by the sunlight. The edges of his straw blonde hair are glowing from the light, almost like a halo, but she knows better. The door must be properly greased or he used a silencing charm because she doesn't recall hearing it open. She also hadn't bothered to look to see where the door to the room was after pulling open the curtain.

How long had he been standing there?

"Why did you bring me here?"

Barty tilts his head to the side, indicating the letter she had left on the floor. "Didn't you read it? We're to be married today. The Ministry itself chose you as my match."

"I don't recall anything about the Ministry letting you free from Azkaban, you monster."

Barty chuckles, taking a step into the room. "Feisty as ever, I see. You haven't changed a bit since your Fourth Year."

"Is that supposed to insinuate that you've changed? Because I won't believe you."

"It would be impractical of me to think you would. You need to get ready for the wedding. Don't worry it's just a small thing. You, me, and Lucius. We only need one witness and he doubles as the marriage officiant."

Hermione can't help herself, she let's a short bark of laughter. "Excuse me? What makes you think I'm just going to let you haul me off to be married to you? Answer my question. Why did you bring me here? What could you possibly hope to achieve by marrying me? Is this about Harry? You want to hurt him by kidnapping me?"

"Oh, Hermione." Barty shakes his head, smiling softly. "I'm not kidnapping you. Permanently, anyway. You'll be free to go back to Hogwarts after the wedding and after we have a… talk."

"A talk? You're kidnapping me temporarily, forcing me to marry you for a talk!?" Hermione draws in a breath, trying to judge just how fast she could use a spell to shatter that window and flee from this room. How far was the treeline? Could she disappear into it before he caught up with her? Probably not. "Why don't you just tell me what you want instead of playing these games? I'm already here."

"You are."

There's a glint in his eye, like he knows she's looking for a way out. It occurs to Hermione that it would be stupid of him to have her port keyed into a room he hadn't already secured. And he wasn't stupid. Was the window fake? The sunlight? Could he even do that?

She feels her throat tighten, but forces herself to speak as she feels a chill run down her spine. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Not now. After the wedding. I need to make sure you'll listen to me."

"I think you're grossly overestimating marriage vows if you think I need them to listen to you."

"I don't think I am."

"You're insane," Hermione spits the word at him, eyes darting around the room.

Bartemius merely smiles at her. "Rightly so." He sighs. "Are you really going to make this difficult, Hermione?"

"Do you really expect me to just waltz up to you in a wedding dress, exchange vows and kiss you? A man that tried to murder my friend?"

"Hmm, no."

"You had to bloody think about it!?"

"Well, I didn't try to kill him. I merely sent him to the Dark Lord so Voldemort could be reborn. I think you're overreacting."

"Overreacting!? You kidnapped me! I don't know how the hell you got out of Azkaban but the minute I get back to Hogwarts I'm letting Dumbledore know and he'll find an institution even worse for you to get sent to!" She knows there's nowhere worse - in Britain at least - than Azkaban, but she'll find a prison elsewhere in the wizarding world if she has to.

"That's not very Gryffindor of you, wishing that kind of harm on others. And besides, the Ministry let me out."

"I don't care if it's not Gryffindor like! You- what? They let you out? You really think I would believe such a blatant lie?"

Barty shrugs. "I don't expect you to believe a word I say, but you will accept it."

"Not a chance in hell."

"Good thing we're not in hell."

Hermione stared at him. He had to be kidding. There was no way her marriage was sanctified by the Ministry unless it was run by Death Eaters and she still had to question what the reasoning would be behind dragging her here to - apparently - let her go back to Hogwarts soon after.

How long had she been here already, anyway? An hour? No, less than that. Half an hour? That was closer, but she wasn't sure. How long would it take before her friends came to find her in the library, didn't see her and tried looking at the marauder's map to find her? How long before they went to the room of requirement and didn't find her there either? Did Barty really intend to just marry her and then throw her back to the school? What the hell was going on?

She grips at her wand in her pocket unsure of how fast Barty's own wand work would be. His gaze casually drops to her hand and he smiles at her. She almost loses the grip on her wand.

How could one person be so terrifying? So intimidating? He hadn't even done anything yet besides talk and her blood was boiling, hair standing on end. She wanted to move, needed to move, but she stayed still under the eyes of a predator, still unsure of her surroundings.

The shadows in the room were… odd. The sunlight only touched what was directly in front of it. It didn't leak into the shadows, there was no gradual lighting up of the room. There was either light or there was pure darkness. It was clear there was something very wrong with this room. She just couldn't pinpoint what it was. And it made her unsure of what action she could take against Barty.

"Are you done looking for a way out? I can assure you there's none. I would never let you get away."

She grips her wand tighter, slowly pulling it from her robes and pointing it at him. Barty doesn't make any obvious movement, though. She swallows down the whimper that wants to escape her throat.

There had to be some visual trick. Was he really standing across from her? Her wand drawn and his still tucked away? She didn't believe that, rather couldn't believe that. It would be insane of him to just stand there while she threatened him barely five meters away.

"What the hell do you want from me?"

"I told you. We'll talk more after the wedding." He waves his hand casually and one of the curtains opens up, wandless and silent. Fuck. Did he not need his wand out to threaten her? That seemed to be what he was implying. "Lower your wand and put on the dress."

She glances over to the patch of the room the curtain revealed. There was a wedding dress hanging from a hook, attached to what looked to be a coat rack. An odd place to hang a dress, but that was hardly important.

Hermione looks back at him, surprised he hasn't moved at all. "If I say no?"

"You can say whatever you want. You're not leaving this room until you're in the dress and you're not leaving this house until we're married, among other things."

"What other things?"

"Our talk."

"You're really forcing me to get married to you to just talk?"

"I didn't say 'just.' Did I?" Barty smiles and Hermione draws in a breath through her teeth. He was fucking with her. "Anyway, stop stalling. We don't have much time before you need to be back."

"Like you give a shit when I get back."

Barty frowns, tapping softly at his wrist as if there was a watch there. There wasn't. "On the contrary, I care very much about when you get back. It wouldn't do well for us to be discovered so soon."

That caught her attention. "Why does our marriage need to be secret?"

"After, Hermione. Get in the dress. My patience is wearing thin."

"No." She raised her wand to point at his neck. Not that she believed she could hit him with a cutting curse quickly enough to sever his head from his shoulders, but she should be able to hit something semi-vital so she could make a run for it.

"No?" Barty's eyes narrow but she keeps her wand trained on him.

"No. There's no way I'm getting married to you. Today or otherwise. I'm not putting on that damn dress and you can't make me."

He smirks and she feels her blood go cold. "Is that so?"

She doesn't allow herself to think, just shouts at the top of her lungs, "Confringo!" The spell flies from her wand, racing across the room in a matter of seconds to hit Barty. And… he explodes, shards of glass litter the floor and her eyes widen, staring at the broken mirror in front of her. He was behind her!

"No, no, no-"

The tip of a wand presses to her neck and he murmurs so softly she almost doesn't hear him. "Imperio." Hermione's mind goes blank, her turning body stops, arms lowering to dangle useless at her sides, her wand clatters to the ground. "There. I knew you would put down your wand eventually. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

No, no, no.

Yes. Now put on the damn dress. You've wasted enough of my time.

Her fingers twitch and she takes a step forward, and then another. She keeps walking until she's standing in front of the dress, pulling it from the hook. As she steps into the new patch of light the scenery changes.

The room is no longer bright and dark at the same time. There's candles lit among the walls. She's not in a singular room. It's more like a hallway, pillars dotted throughout, vines creeping up the windows on one side of the hall. A greenery? She had been next to a greenery? Not a forest. The pillars… they had helped him make that weird lighting effect in his illusion. It all made sense and… she had been too slow. She hadn't looked around enough, had let his words distract her and now… She couldn't control her body.

She can see Barty in one of the shards of glass, looking at her. "Once you've changed, come down the hall to the foyer."

No. She wants to say it, to open her mouth and shout at him, but her lips don't move. Hermione simply reaches down to grasp at the edge of her shirt and pull it up and over her head. A breeze caresses her skin and she shivers from the cold. Not because she wants to, but because one of the windows is cracked open.

This could not be happening.

"Hermione?" Answer me when I speak to you.

Her lips part easily. "Yes, Bartemius. I'll meet you in the foyer once I'm done."

"Good. Dress quickly. Lucius is probably waiting on us now instead of the other way around." Apologize for your rudeness earlier.

"Yes. I'm sorry for inconveniencing you." What was she saying? Why couldn't she close her mouth? Of course she knew why, it was just… She had never been subjected to this curse before. Unable to do or say what she really wanted, forced to comply with his wishes…

Her eyes would have widened if they could. She could see Barty turn from the mirror shard, hear him walk down the hall to where she could only assume the foyer was. At least he was giving her some privacy. He wasn't leering over her body, but...

Was this his goal? To imperio her and send her back to Hogwarts? Surely her friends would notice her acting strangely, he didn't actually think this would work, did he? ...did he?

Hermione wants to curl into a ball as she realizes her line of questioning was wrong. How stupid could she have been? She was going to be used against her friends. She didn't know exactly how, but… she could guess. She wants to cry, but her eyes remain open, clear, staring at an admittedly beautiful dress.

It's a relatively simple dress, there's no fancy long train or anything like that. It's slim, meant to hug her curves. The top of it is pure white, cutting down into a v near the waist where the dress turns scarlet, little flecks of gold inlaid in the fabric. The neckline is a shallow scoop and running along the edges are those same golden flecks, inlaid to look like vines and leaves curling around the neck. There are no sleeves, but there's a soft white poof of fabric at the shoulders, reminding her of the dress she wore to the yuletide ball.

How dare he. How dare he. How dare he-

Hermione reaches for the clasp on her bra, unhooking it after a second of finding the latches. She slides the straps from her arms and watches it fall to the ground. She wants to pick it up. Even if he isn't in the room looking at her she wants to cover herself back up.

Her hands reach down to her school pants next, pushing them down her legs to crumple on the floor below. She edges her feet from her shoes, pulls off her socks, until she has a pile of clothes on the floor. She's standing in a hallway in just her knickers, next to a coat rack, with a wedding dress in her house colors mocking her.

She wishes he had shattered into a million pieces, just like that damn mirror he used to trick her. The illusions, the… Mentally, she was shaking in rage, outwardly she took the dress from it's hook, pulled the zipper down, and stepped in.

She notices the problem immediately.

She can't pull the zipper up all the way. Her hand falls from the zipper though, her body apparently already coming up with a solution. The dress is on her, it's just not as secure as it should be, it covers her and yet… She wishes she could stop her bare feet from moving over the stone, taking her down the hallway: to the foyer.

She pushes the door open at the edge of the hall, steps inside to see Lucius turn and stare at her. He honest to god just stares at her. Barty turns to face her, but before he can speak her lips move.

"I need help with the zipper. I can't quite get it up."

Bartemius smiles and she feels sick as he steps toward her, eyes scanning over her frame in the dress. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She smiles, she feels her cheek warm…She wasn't blushing was she? For him!? Rage claws at her insides, but her fingers don't so much as twitch.

She can feel Barty's breath on the back of her neck, his fingers around the zipper, pulling it up the rest of the way. The brief touch of his skin along hers makes her want to puke. "There. Better?"

"Much." She turns to face him, smiling, thankfully no longer blushing. "Where are we conducting the ceremony?"

Barty brushes a strand of hair from her face. "Just the living room." He looks to the other Death Eater in the room. "Are you ready Lucius?"

"I… yes." Lucius seems just as confused as her. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Don't sound so perplexed. I told you the plan, didn't I?"

Lucius seems to stand straighter at his words, but his eyes don't leave Hermione. She can't tell if he's terrified of her or for her. There's dark circles beneath his eyes. He looks like a man that hasn't slept in months. He abruptly turns his gaze from Hermione to Barty.

"Yes. And I want to say again just how thankful I am for you helping me, no… helping Draco."

Barty waves his concerns away, pushing the doors open to what she assumes is the living room. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure Hermione can aid our efforts. You don't need to worry about gaining favor with Our Lord any longer."

Lucius seems to relax, his gaze flickering to Hermione once more as Barty steps over the threshold and she stays still.

Follow.

Her feet move beneath her once more, she trails after Barty to the center of the room. There's no decorations. He really does mean it to be a quick simple thing. The dress is just a symbol, for him to make it all the more apparent that she doesn't have a choice, never had one to begin with. The moment that medallion touched her… she was trapped here.

Barty stops her in front of the fireplace. One with an iron grate around it, there's a handle to the right, but she would need to turn it multiple times before the grate was big enough to slip through. She would need to not be under the imperius curse with two dark wizards standing next to her.

The little hope that had appeared in her chest putters back out.

She hates him, but she can't even shout her anger. Hermione just blinks up at Barty, waiting for his next command, for the ceremony to start.

"Lucius, you know the old marriage binding spell, right?"

Lucius blinks, his gaze turning fearful once more, flickering between her and Barty. "You want me to… use that on her?"

Barty nods. "I think it'll be more appropriate for when she's outside of these walls, don't you think? Dumbledore and them might try and see if she's cursed if she acts weirdly otherwise, and then they would find she's been imperiod. And when she can't get reliable information for you to tell Draco to tell Voldemort… well-"

"I'll do it."

"Good." Bartemius looks to Hermione even as she wishes she could tremble beneath his gaze. He couldn't be talking about the binding spell she was thinking of, could he? She had heard whispers from some of the pure-bloods back in Hogwarts. Of a binding spell used by pure-blood men to make sure their wives follow their commands, to make them little more than possessions, a brood mare. It was obviously highly illegal and hadn't been practiced outwardly in hundreds of years, but...

It wouldn't come up if someone were to check for curses attached to her. She wouldn't come off as being imperiod. Did that mean… would he remove the curse when she went back to Hogwarts? Was he using this spell to get around being detected by the Order? Well, so she wasn't detected as a new mole within the Order. Would that even work?

Raise your arm, grab my wrist

Barty raises his arm and Hermione copies him like a mirror, reaching out past his hand to grasp at his wrist. His fingers encircle her own and she swears a chill descends over her.

This could not be happening.

Lucius has his wand out, pointing it at their joined hands-arms-whatever. A light glows from the tip as Lucius mutters a spell, it quickly turns dark, inky. The light moves like sludge through the air, wrapping itself around her wrist first, once, twice, three times before moving over to Barty's wrist. The sludge around his wrist turns purple and her stomach twists. The color of royalty. It was indicating Barty as the one in charge of their relationship, as a pure-blood. And she was the dirty mud-blood being bound to him.

This could not be happening.

Barty parts his lips and she commands every muscle in her body to move away, cower in front of him if she needs to. Just do anything to break his hold on her! Her body doesn't move, in fact, her lips turn up into a smile.

"I'm so happy." She wants to puke as the words come from her lips, as something hisses in the back of her mind to say them. "We'll finally be husband and wife, bound together forever! I can't wait! We can go on picnics in the forest outside, I know a quaint little bookshop you would like." She giggles. "We can be two book worms! And I can finally call you husband, my love."

Barty has the audacity to chuckle at her words. "We won't be able to do the last bit. Not for some time, anyway."

"Aww. Why can't Harry just die already so we can be in public together? I want to walk down the street with my handsome raven."

Raven?

"I know. Just wait a little longer. And no more interruptions. We need this spell intact before you go back to Hogwarts, remember?"

"Yes, my love."

Even with no control over her body she feels her skin crawling. What the ever living fuck? Why did he just make her say that? To be fair, Lucius looks equally freaked out. He's struggling to keep his wand pointed at them.

"Hold still or we'll have to start again, Lucius."

Lucius visibly swallows, but his arm straightens, he's no longer shaking. He doesn't speak a word. Because of the spell? Must be. He couldn't talk until it was done. Or something of that nature.

Barty's voice fills the room, clear and distinct. "I bind thee to me through blood and time for all eternity, not even death will part us." Lucius' eyes widen and she gets the feeling this is even worse than normal. Could he really bind her to him through death? She doesn't want to know, but the answer is there on Lucius' face.

Look at me.

Hermione's gaze is torn from Lucius and she stares into Barty's eyes, heart oddly calm in her chest.

"From henceforth you will never lie to me, you will not betray my word, and if someone tries to take you from me I promise a ghastly death to them."

Lucius clears his throat, speaking more unfamiliar words before finally switching back to English, "From this day and forever more, Hermione Jean Granger and Bartemius Nyle Crouch Junior are bound to each other, through blood and time for all eternity, not even death will part them." He pulls a small blade from his pocket, cutting across the back of our hands, letting the blood mingle. The light around our wrists sinks into the skin, the blood disappearing back into the cuts, still mixed.

Even without the imperius curse Hermione was petrified. What had he just done? Bound through blood and time, even after death? She didn't want this. She didn't want any of this. She wanted to scream, to cry, to fling curses at him and… She still couldn't move.

Barty moves his fingers from her wrist to her hand. "The actual marriage then? If you don't mind, Lucius."

"Of course."

Lucius quickly goes through the usual words, having Barty repeat after him. Lies of love, comfort, fall from his lips and he makes her repeat them. The only thing Hermione's certain of is that she'll be stuck with him forever. To death do us part, my ass. He had already claimed her afterlife. Why bother lying about it?

"You may kiss the bride."

Hermione closes her eyes when Bartemius leans down, pressing his lips softly to hers for a few moments before standing back up to his full height.

She was going to be sick.

"You may go, Lucius. Through the front door, if you don't mind."

Lucius nods and is quick to walk away, not glancing over his shoulder even once. As soon as the door closes behind him- Barty waves his hand at the air absently.

Hermione falls to her knees, gagging and dry heaving onto the floor, tears prickling at her eyes as she tries to puke on an empty stomach.

Please don't forget to comment if you've been enjoying the fic! It means a lot to me.