A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! My wonderful usual alpha/beta readers Angela 007 and lanamarymack have not had a chance to review this just because I was so late in completing it, so please forgive my mistakes. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Please let me know what you thought of chapter fourteen and be on the lookout for chapter fifteen soon!
Sometimes, Abraxas wondered if he was cut out for this. There were times when he felt completely overwhelmed by the avalanche of responsibilities he'd taken on in both his personal and professional life. He'd look to someone like Evan Rosier, whose biggest concern was if the champagne bottle was empty, with some envy. It might be nice, Abraxas thought, to take Aurelia off to the continent for a month of parties and indolence.
But then, the thought would evaporate as quickly as it came.
Abraxas knew that the satisfaction from pulling off his plans successfully would far surpass what even the most expensive champagne could bring. If not him, who would be the one to shepherd all of the ambitions that he and the rest of his Slytherin friends had spent nights up in their dormitory whispering over?
Perhaps Tom, Abraxas conceded. Though, the Heir of Slytherin rarely let anyone else in on what he was working on. Lately, his own charted course had seemed mercurial and ever changing. For example, after years of working at that dingy little shop, Tom finally seemed ready to walk away and yet, he remained there despite Abraxas reassuring him that they had the votes to force an election in the Wizengamot.
There had been whispers about him going to Albania, though if he was honest, Abraxas did not really see the utility in that. What Dark Magic could Tom possibly master in the remote forests of the Balkans that he could not master here? Of course the attitudes about magic were different there, so presumably it was more widely discussed, but something being branded as Dark Magic had never held him back before.
So if Hermione had done some good, it was that her sudden appearance had put an end to talk about Albania. Tom certainly wasn't going to be leaving England when he wanted to keep Hermione so close. And, it seemed now that Tom scarcely wanted to be parted from her.
Now that Abraxas had met the witch in question, he could admit that she was perfect for Tom. She seemed almost designed to captivate the attention of the wizard they'd all agreed to follow, with her shy smiles and breadth of knowledge that stunned even him. It was painfully obvious that she was a good girl, but it was the sort of good that Tom loved to corrupt thoroughly. Haughty and self-assured, Abraxas knew that she was kindred to Tom, whether either of them would admit that or not.
And worst of all, she was a Mudblood.
What kind of cruel irony was that?
But, that didn't seem to matter to Tom, not at the moment. Instead, here he was breathlessly telling the Knights that Hermione was special - powerful and ruthless. And so, they would tolerate her continued forced presence at their rituals, until some point in which Tom would eventually grow tired of her.
Abraxas hoped that it would be by Samhain so that they could sacrifice her in a bonfire. If she was as powerful as Tom claimed, she would make a worthy one.
For now, he would be forced to entertain the idea of having her intrude on the autumnal equinox just as she had at Lughnasadh, although this time it would be Edmond hosting instead of Evan. The Lestranges were more hardline when it came to blood purity than the Rosiers, so Abraxas really expected Edmond to put up more of a fuss, but here he was, assuring Tom that Hermione would have no trouble with the warding.
"Are you sure that you really want to bring her?" Abraxas said, from his place in the booth in the back corner of Bottle & Glass, next to Edmond. "What if she is just hoping to steal our magic and knows that a balancing ritual would be the perfect time to take some?"
Tom smirked at his question. "Hermione doesn't need to steal any magic, she has it in spades," he said, confidently. "And if she was able to take magic from any of you, then I would welcome her to do it."
Abraxas could feel his cheeks color in embarrassment at the suggestion that he could be bested by a Mudblood. "Of course, I didn't mean me," he reassured the small group, which also included Alfie. "She didn't seem...that powerful to me. Bit of a waif, really."
"I didn't know that you based your assessment of magic prowess on looks, Abraxas," Tom said, chidingly. "If you must know, Hermione is almost entirely self-taught and didn't receive her first wand until she was already of age."
"You mean...she learned all of her magic wandless?" Alfie asked, sounding more than a little bit impressed. "Fuck, that's impressive."
"And, I've seen her NEWT scores," Edmond added with a grin. "She definitely earned her scores, even though Dumbledore was the one who twisted the Ministry's arm to get her to sit the exams. You know he's always soft on his little mud- muggleborn pets."
Salazar, Abraxas hated the way that Edmond was self-regulating his words, just because Tom had decided to take up with the witch. Who cared if she earned more NEWTs than Mulciber and Rosier combined? Did that really make her so great? Of course, it wasn't her that was moderating Edmond's words, but rather Tom's reaction to them.
"Did you say Dumbledore?" Abraxas asked, hoping to plant a seed of doubt in Tom's mind. If she had anything to do with that old quack, the blond was even more convinced that she was some sort of terrible distraction specifically designed to derail Tom.
Tom made a noise in the back of his throat that quickly put an end to any speculation. "Apparently when she was trying to learn to apparate, she accidentally ended up at Hogwarts," he explained. "And helped her get on her feet in the wizarding world. She does not seem to look back on the experience fondly."
"Well, I'm sure I'd like to know how she completely escaped the notice of Hogwarts to begin with," Alfie said, a twinge of outrage in his tone. "I'd be pissed if I found out there was a whole school I could have gone to only once I'd become an adult."
"I checked the rolls," Edmond said with a frown behind his mustache. "There was no sign of her on them. So, it's not as if her parents denied her the opportunity."
That was something muggles tended to do, too frightened of their child's abilities to face reality. And then the Ministry usually had to get involved.
"Curious," Abraxas said, frowning. "You'd think that she would have been automatically included if she was really so gifted as you say, Tom. Unless she-"
"She didn't steal anyone's magic, Brax," Alfie cut him off with a grin. "You know that's just an old wive's tale. Besides, how could she steal it if she didn't even know what it was?"
That was enough to embarrass Abraxas into keeping his thoughts to himself for a while at least. Alfie might think that having a mudblood around was fun for now, but when it inevitably bit them in the arse, Abraxas would be there to say "I-told-you-so".
Edmond cleared his throat. "While we are on the topic of your lover-"
"She's not my lover," Tom insisted fiercely, unable to stop the small spots of pink from forming on his cheeks.
Curious, Abraxas thought. Why should Tom be so furtive about the distinction? There was no secret that at least some of his interest in the witch was romantic. Perhaps they had not actually partaken in each other yet. Or maybe Tom just wanted to make it clear that she was more than a bit of fluff?
"Oh, haven't convinced her to do it with you yet?" Alfie asked, teasingly.
That did not make the situation any more palatable to Tom. "As if you're one to talk, Nott," he spat back.
"Ooh, touchy, touchy," Alfie answered, holding his hands up in surrender.
"Alright, on the topic of your witch," Edmond said, with a roll of his eyes. "Her birthday is coming up, as I am sure that you know."
"Is it?" Tom asked, attempting to sound casual.
"Yes, didn't you read all of the information I got on her for you?" Edmond asked, sounding a bit miffed that all of his hard work had not been fully appreciated.
"I was a bit more focused on her test scores," Tom answered, crossing his arms over his chest. "And finding something to use against her if she decided to kick up a fuss."
Abraxas couldn't help but snort into his whiskey at the thought of Tom having to blackmail the stupid girl. He wondered if she was aware of the strings that Tom had pulled to get her on his side and if she would appreciate it. She was that earnest sort of person and personally Abraxas did not think that she would be overly enthused to hear about the lengths Tom had gone to. Deciding to file that away, Abraxas knew that could perhaps be used at a future date to put a wedge between the pair of them should the mudblood hang on longer than was appropriate.
"Alright, so when is it, then?" Tom demanded, obviously not enjoying being embarrassed at not knowing his witch's birthday when Lestrange had remembered.
"On the nineteenth," Edmond said. "But, what I was really wondering was what you were going to get her," he added, before taking a long sip of his whiskey, trying to seem casual.
Tom frowned, his embarrassment deepening as he obviously hadn't even thought about a gift yet. Abraxas thought that was a little bit unfair, seeing as he obviously hadn't even known it was due to be her birthday. How would he have figured out a present yet?
"You have to get her a present," Alfie insisted. "Even I know that."
"I'm getting her a gift," Tom snapped once again. "There was a book that she had her eye on when we visited the coast."
"Ah, a book," Alfie said, leaning forward. "Which one?"
What a swot, Abraxas thought meanly. Of course Alfie's ears would perk up over a bloody book.
"Ă–ster's Compendium of Germanic Tradition," Tom told the group, having squirreled the title away in his memory.
It sounded like a dull book to Abraxas, but Alfie's face made it clear that it was an excellent choice for the mudblood, who seemed to be interested in random knowledge like Germanic Traditions, apparently. To each their own, he supposed.
"I'll have to ask her about it at the equinox, then," Alfie said, sounding as though he were genuinely looking forward to it.
"Do you have everything you need?" Abraxas asked Edmond, wanting to be sure that everything was perfect. The equinox was one of the events he most looked forward to on his calendar.
"Yes, I think I've got more honeycomb than I know what to do with," Edmond said with a snort. "So we should be well able to accommodate an extra guest."
"Excellent," Tom said, before pushing up to stand from the table. "Well, then, I need to be off."
"Same," Alfie agreed, tossing back the rest of the whiskey in his glass.
After goodbyes, Abraxas was left alone at the table with Edmond. He turned to face his friend, wondering what his play was. "What are you playing at, giving Tom advice about keeping the mudblood happy?" he asked, leaning in so their discussion would not be overheard. "You can't possibly think it's a good idea for him to have her around."
Edmond looked at him with a smirk. "I'm not playing at anything," he countered. "I am just trying to help out a friend," he added blithely.
Abraxas could feel his nostrils flaring in frustration. "Well, you can't actually be happy about having a mudblood in your home?" he demanded.
"Abraxas, if Tom thinks that she needs to be there, then I am happy to have her there," he said darkly. "I trust that he has his reasons. You should maybe remind yourself of that instead of trying to tell Tom how to live his life. It's only going to make him do the opposite of what you want."
The Malfoy heir huffed, annoyed at being reprimanded by Lestrange, who he thought would be an ally in this. He would have to keep his thoughts to himself until Tom was more...receptive to seeing the truth about Hermione Granger.
