Chapter Seven
Minerva tossed a letter from Orion onto her desk with a heavy sigh, resolving to come up with some sort of reply sometime this weekend. Admittedly, she was avoiding him, and had been for the last month. She'd been avoiding her lover since she last saw Hermione, and they'd very nearly kissed after a heated discussion and a bit too much brandy.
She sighed again, letting out a groan for good measure. Orion wasn't the only one she was avoiding. Granted, she was fairly certain Hermione was avoiding her as well. Neither of them had attempted to contact the other since her birthday, and while Minerva knew something had to give eventually, she wasn't entirely certain what that something was. How in Merlin's name were they meant to go back to being merely friends, now that they'd actually acknowledged the sexual tension between them? On the other hand, how were they meant to go forward for the exact same reasons?
A knock on the door to her quarters caused her to jump. It wasn't late, per se, but late enough that it was past curfew for students, so short of an emergency, which should have been deferred to Albus given he still handled Head of House duties at this point, there was no real reason for students to be reaching out to her at this hour. Shoving the missive from Orion in a drawer quickly, she went to the door and opened it. To her surprise, it was Hermione. "Oh," she greeted. "Hello."
"Hi," her friend replied, voice soft. "May I come in?"
Minerva stepped to the side and nodded. "Of course. I'd offer you a drink but after last time I don't feel like that would be prudent."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Actually, if you're agreeable, drink or no drink I was thinking of picking up where we left off last time I was here."
The Scottish woman, who'd been walking toward the sofa they normally sat at while talking, stumbled in surprise. "Come again?" she asked.
"Long story short, Sirius had a one night stand," Hermione explained calmly. "He has a hair-brained scheme to make things even between us by suggesting that I go have a one night stand of my own."
Minerva scoffed. "I don't suppose it crossed your mind to tell him that you're already even at this point given what happened with Melok."
Hermione crossed her arms. "I can't afford him to be on the outs with Melok, Minerva. I'm a Mage, and Melok is my Master. I can't just not spend time with him. If Sirius reacted badly to learning about our night together… I can't risk it. That's also one of the reasons why I can't choose Melok for my free pass."
The other Witch snorted. "Well a lady does always appreciate being a second choice."
Minerva shivered as Hermione came close to her, a hand trailing over her jaw gently as she pushed forward with her magic just a little. "You were my first choice, Minerva. Melok wasn't even in the running for more than a few reasons. Yes, I love him, but when I considered my options for who to go to, I knew from go it couldn't be him. I have one free pass to spend the night with whom I choose, outside of my marriage, Minerva, and I'd trust nobody more than you to share that night with. If the idea really doesn't sit with you, then I'll drop it and seek out another, but…"
Hermione began to pull away, but Minerva grabbed her wrist. "No. Don't. Please don't go elsewhere. Hermione you are… like nobody else in this world," she said softly. "You come storming in and take people by surprise. Give a woman a moment to catch up, why don't you?"
Hermione grinned, pulling Minerva closer and then leaned in to kiss her. "Why start now?" she asked a fraction of a second before their lips met.
Thoughts of Orion were pushed far into the back of Minerva's mind as she got lost in the taste of Hermione's lips. She felt their magic dancing together in an intoxicating manner that almost seemed to make time stand still around them. All worries and concerns and fears slipped away as she reveled in every hitch of this woman's breath, green eyes taking in the sight of her friend being truly vulnerable before her for the first time in their association.
Hermione Black was always so restrained, Minerva mused. She was always holding back. Now, however, as her head fell back and Minerva's teeth gently scraped over her neck, the Scottish Witch felt herself emboldened by the surrender she saw in her soon-to-be lover's eyes. "Min…" Hermione whispered.
As Hermione had done to her a month ago, Minerva unceremoniously shoved Hermione against the nearest wall, although she didn't hesitate to press their lips together as Hermione had that evening. Hermione returned the kiss with vigor, and more than that she began to work at undoing the fasteners which held Minerva's outer robe in place. As the garment fell to the ground, she paused her onslaught and tugged at Hermione's hand. "Let's go to the bedroom," she suggested, biting her lip a bit.
Her friend nodded, following without a word, pulling off her shirt just as they crossed the threshold. Minerva had been about to jump the beautiful Witch again when she noticed some fairly nasty scarring on her ribs that gave her pause. "Merlin," she couldn't help but say. "What happened there?"
"Spinofrango," Hermione said with a frown. "If a friend of mine hadn't silenced the caster at the last second and I'd been hit with it full force, it likely would have killed me, given I got hit in the chest. As it was I had six fractured ribs, but thankfully the fractures were minor and none of them punctured either of my lungs. The spell feels like getting hit with an electrical current though, and tends to leave scarring similar, as you noticed. That's hardly my only scar though, Minerva. Would you like to do the full inventory before or after we shag?"
The Scottish woman had known, intellectually, that Hermione had lived through war. She'd known Hermione had been in battles. Seeing the scars first hand, though, brought that reality home, and it grieved her deeply. She said nothing as she moved forward again, kneeling on the ground in front of Hermione and kissing her stomach, fingers tracing the lines of the scars without looking at them, the different texture of the damaged skin being enough to differentiate. Before long, she could feel Hermione's breathing beginning to increase in tempo as her arousal rose, and she stood slowly, tongue dragging upward as she moved, and somehow unsurprised to see that while she'd been on her knees, Hermione had discarded her bra.
The other woman helped Minerva out of her shirt and bra next, and a moment later they were breast to breast and kissing again, and in the back of her mind Minerva wondered what she'd been thinking going so many years without taking up with a woman. Her heart clenched momentarily as she thought of Anne, and relaxed when she thought of Miranda, and turned her attention back to the woman who was making short work of the rest of their respective clothing as they both toppled onto Minerva's bed. "Fuck, you're beautiful," Hermione muttered, before her mouth dipped and she latched onto one of Minerva's breasts.
Minerva's back arched and she moaned at the contact, as Hermione was pushing her magic forward with every touch, and her own was responding on instinct. Every single bloody touch was driving her to the edge of orgasm. She wasn't sure if she wanted to come now or wanted to draw it out longer. "Gods," she breathed, fingers tangling through Hermione's hair. "Oh, Gods."
"You're telling me," Hermione muttered. "Merlin, he wasn't kidding."
With a tug, Minerva urged Hermione upward, positioning her legs in a manner which left Hermione little doubt with how she wanted her, allowing them each the friction they needed right now atop one anothers' thighs. Hips began to thrust slowly at first, and then faster as they each found a comfortable rhythm. Both women were pushing forward with their magic, feeding each other power and energy to keep the athletics up. Sweat began to dampen their skin but neither cared as they drove one another closer and closer to the edge, eyes locked and engaged in something that was almost Legilimency for how well they were reading one another.
Then, Minerva could hear both their hearts beating as one as they stilled together, mutual climax hitting hard. Hermione choked on air and collapsed onto Minerva's now limp body, the pair a tangle of limbs as they giggled softly together, kissing slowly after they caught their breath, Minerva shuddering as Hermione's fingers deftly moved between her legs to stimulate her still throbbing clit. "Woman!" she shrieked.
"Hmmm," Hermione hummed, snuggling up against her. "Everything you imagined?"
Minerva's lips trailed over Hermione's chest in response, her magic reaching out and tangling with her lover's. "More," she groaned. Then, she noticed another scar on Hermione's forearm. It was… "What the fuck?" she hissed, grabbing the arm to get a better look at it.
Hermione picked her head up a bit to see what her lover was examining. "Oh. That one. I was twenty. Tortured under the Cruciatus for a bit, then cut on with a cursed knife by a Pureblood supremacist. She had some strong opinions regarding my parentage, as you can see. I've got another one on the back of my hand - other arm - that I like even less. That one is from a Blood Quill. Picked that one up when I was sixteen."
"Just how many battles or whatever have you been in, Hermione?" Minerva asked, sitting up a bit.
Hermione laughed a little. "Honestly, I'd have to think about that. I stopped counting a long time ago. Too many. Upside, the older I got the better I got at dueling, so I don't have a lot of scars in the grand scheme. I've also been fairly lucky in that I've known some pretty skilled Healers in my time, so wounds that would have become scars with less gifted Healers did not become scars because I had the proper care."
"That's not really reassuring," Minerva admitted. "What was the worst battle you were ever involved in?"
She sighed. "That's a tricky one to answer, honestly. Before Sirius and I married, there was a point that the group I was with had elected me as leader. I was, in effect, the acting General. There were some battles during that period that I might call the worst simply because there were casualties and they were men and women I ordered to their deaths. That's not something that's easy to live with. On the other hand, when I was younger there were some pretty horrific battles I was just another soldier in, where I lost dear friends. What's worse, Minerva? Being responsible for lives lost, or losing loved ones in a battle situation?"
Minerva sighed. "I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that. I've been lucky enough to have never been in a battle."
Hermione turned to look at her. "Let's hope you stay that way," she whispered. "I honestly wish nothing but the best for you, you know. I'd give nearly anything for you to stay innocent of such things."
"It's not your job to protect me, Hermione," Minerva responded. "I'm a grown woman, you know. War is coming, and it's not your job to protect me from that."
The other woman let out a heavy sigh. "I know. That doesn't mean I can't wish otherwise. Our connection, Min… I can't help it. I care for you deeply. It's not a romantic feeling, per se, but I do love you."
Minerva hadn't realized it before this very moment, but as soon as Hermione said it, she knew the feeling was mutual. No, she wasn't in love with Hermione. It wasn't what she felt for Orion. It wasn't the love one felt for a friend, either. It was something in between, and however strange that was to consider, that it couldn't be quantified as one or the other, she could accept that the dynamic between herself and Hermione defied convention. "Likewise," she whispered.
A moment later, they were kissing again. Hermione pushed her own magic out to meet Minerva's, scraping her fingernails gently over her partner's back. It felt like electricity, the Scottish Witch thought, the energy between them building again. They fed each other. Grounded each other. Drew each other to the edge over and over and over…
Sirius wondered if he'd looked half as thoroughly shagged when he'd shown up as his wife did when she walked in the front door at half past eight in the morning. Bloody woman looked tired as hell, like she hadn't slept a wink, but somehow still looked energized. He wasn't sure how that even worked. "Who'd you end up going with?" he asked, offering a half hearted grin.
Hermione looked amused. "Are you sure you want to know?"
He wasn't sure at all, but he knew it would drive him nuts until she told him. "Of course!" he insisted defiantly.
"Fine then," his wife said smugly. "I spent my night with Minerva."
Sirius wondered if she'd felt punched in the gut like this, or if it was worse for him because of who she'd gone to. She probably couldn't have picked anyone worse, except for maybe Melok. Merlin knew he was already sharing his wife with the Goblin emotionally speaking, and if he'd had to share her physically too, he didn't know he could live with it. Minerva was still a kick in the jewels, though.
It was a bit easier to forget all the years he'd looked at her like a Mum now that she was years younger than him in this reality, but he still knew who she'd one day be. He still didn't figure Walburga would be a much better Mum this go around than she was the first time, and hoped Minerva would step in with his younger self the way Hermione had stepped in with Melok's boys. Hell, he mused, maybe he could even talk Orion into naming Minerva as his younger self's Godmother or something. Wouldn't that be grand? At least, as long as his younger self never found out that his older self's wife had shagged Minerva. "That's nice," he replied weakly. "Good time?"
"The best," Hermione replied, flopping on the sofa opposite him. "Merlin knows that was a long bloody time coming."
He groaned. "Right, you guys have that whole harmonic magic thing going on. I don't know why, but I'd sort of forgotten about all that. I mean, I knew you two were doing magical theory lessons and what not, but…"
"We've been doing harmonic magic lessons, Sirius," she said pointedly. "Of course, she's been respecting my insistence that we not explore the sexual components of that up to this point. We hadn't even really talked about it until recently, not that I was unaware of the sheer potential between us. Beta Minerva bloody saw to that."
He gaped. "What the hell does that mean? You didn't shag McGregor, did you?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, Sirius. I didn't. We were both keenly aware of the chemistry between us, however. Why do you think she went back to Tomdoun early?"
"I thought she just had obligations there!" he snapped.
"It was more an issue of her being wise enough to realize that if we stayed within proximity of one another, our Gryffindor natures would likely have not been able to restrain ourselves much longer," Hermione said softly. "She made the right decision. Dougal wouldn't have understood. You may have, but not Dougal. Merlin save me if Mal had found out."
"So when you told Malcolm to give Minerva your love…" he said suspiciously.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm not in love with Minerva, Sirius. Not Beta Minerva, and not the Minerva in the here and now. I won't deny that because of the harmonic there's an affection that exceeds friendship, but it's not romantic. It's… complicated. I imagine it's similar to what you had with Remus."
"Remus and I didn't have a harmonic bond," he argued. "That wasn't the same thing."
She shook her head. "I didn't say it was the same. I said it was similar. Merlin knows you'd have shagged Remus in a heartbeat if he'd have gotten the broomstick out of his arse long enough to see you in that way, but even if you two had gotten sexually involved, it wouldn't have led to romantic feelings. Perhaps you and Severus are a better example because you did go there with him. Can you honestly say that you don't love Severus?"
His heart clenched as he thought of the man he'd left behind in Beta. "It's not like that, Hermione. It's not romantic."
His wife nodded. "I know. It's just the same with me and Minerva. I can't say I love her as a friend, because it's more than that. But it's not romantic. It's something in between. I never held it against you, what you had with Severus, so I hope you won't hold what I have with Minerva against me."
Sirius crossed his arms petulantly. "Hermione, Minerva was the closest thing I ever had to a Mum. You know that."
She looked at him exasperatedly. "And Severus was and is my brother through Kinship! Deal with it!"
He leaned back in his seat, thoughtful, and then a grin began to form on his lips. "Merlin, babe. I thought my family tree was going to get less fucked by marrying you, not more."
She chuckled. "Just imagine the things I desperately try not to think about every time Cygnus and Druella ask us to watch the girls."
Sirius smirked. "You have no idea how many times I've been tempted to Transfigure Bella into a puppy and conjure a collar and leash for her and then take her for a bloody walk. Oh, the payback!"
"We are not using Transfiguration as a punishment, Sirius," Hermione replied, looking amused. "Not that I'm not tempted too. If Cissa doesn't stop jumping on the furniture…"
"Rabbit?" he asked, eyes gleaming.
"A ferret would be more appropriate, but that would work," she snorted. "Did I ever tell you about the time Barty Junior, disguised as Professor Moody, turned Draco into a ferret?"
He laughed. "No! How did I miss this?"
Sirius knew that making things even - allowing Hermione her night with Minerva - wasn't going to completely undo what had happened between him and Olive, and that there was still trust to rebuild, but it seemed like the hardest part was past. It seemed like Hermione was at least willing to move forward with him, and while he was fairly sure there would be arguments still, he was relieved to see that there was going to be some normality in the mix too. He was glad to see her smiling again for the first time since that night he hadn't come home.
Hermione was whistling when she walked in the door, causing Melok to raise his eyebrow with curiosity. She hadn't looked that relaxed or refreshed in a long time. "Good afternoon!" she greeted cheerfully. "Are the boys up from their naps yet?"
"Just getting up now," he replied. "I believe Jeanette is getting them dressed before bringing them down for lunch. After that I expect they'll join us. Have you eaten?"
"Yes," she replied with a grin. "Slept like a rock last night, then got up at sunrise. Nothing quite like getting an exclusive on the start of the day."
"What on earth has you so chipper?" he asked, shaking his head.
"Well, about a month ago, Sirius had a one night stand," she began, sitting down and rolling her eyes in exasperation. I really wasn't going to think much of it, other than to question his deplorable taste. Honestly, Olive Hornby? Anyway, I was genuinely prepared to let it go. It's not like I had room to talk, although I wasn't really in a position to explain that to him. That said, the idiot was too busy feeling guilty over the damn thing to recognize that I was really alright with letting it go, and not holding it against him, and insisted that tit for tat I go have a one night stand of my own to make up for it."
Melok schooled his features with great effort. He could tell by how relaxed she was that she had taken advantage of Sirius' offer, and slept with someone, and it hadn't been him. He wanted to scream at her. He wanted to turn into a bloody animal and demand some reasonable explanation as to why Hermione hadn't come to him, when offered a free pass to do so. For the love of the Gods, why not? He didn't dare ask the question, though. Mostly, because he already knew the answer and it hurt like hell.
It wasn't that she didn't love him anymore. Melok knew Hermione loved him deeply. Everything she did proved that, day after day. Cedrella's confrontation bloody proved it. It wasn't that she didn't find him attractive. The one night that they had made love, all those years ago, had proved beyond doubt that they were very sexually compatible, and the many kisses since had reminded them that the chemistry remained. It also wasn't that she didn't feel he wasn't worth the risk, because there was no way Sirius could possibly learn they'd been together before if they'd taken advantage of this opportunity.
The truth, Melok understood, was that she did love him, and was attracted to him, and all these years later it was still taking all her self control to maintain the distance she did as it was. To go to bed with him again, now that they were even more emotionally close than they had been the last time, was begging to begin something neither of them would be able to stop once started, and Sirius had only given her freedom for one night. Therefore, she had to choose someone that she could walk away from after a single night.
"So," he finally managed, clearing his throat, "who'd you take up with?"
She shrugged. "I decided to finally see what the big deal was with that harmonic magic thing. Merlin, you weren't kidding! Well, other you. And Severus. The both of them pushed mercilessly for me and Minerva to give it a go before I left Beta, but it never happened."
He nodded, seeing the logic in the choice, and hating himself for the waves of jealousy he was currently feeling toward Minerva, who he normally was quite fond of. "Ah," he allowed. Melok decided it was in his best interest to steer this conversation anywhere else, so he grabbed onto a related topic. "You mention this Severus fellow now and then, but not too often. I get the impression he was dear to you. Another lover?"
"Hardly," she scoffed. "Severus was bent as they come. He and Sirius had a thing for a while, actually. No, Severus and I had a different sort of closeness. We shared a Kinship bond, although it was never sealed given I was the only Mage around. When he's born in this reality, if I can find Nicolas Flamel, I'd be inclined to pursue sealing the bond with him then."
"A natural Kinship bond?" Melok asked, intrigued.
Most Kinship bonds were extensions of existing blood bonds, not unlike the Kinship bond that Regulus had sealed with himself and Caelum by extension of Filius, tying them to the Blacks, even though they were not Blacks by blood. Natural Kinship bonds were exceedingly rare, found between two people who shared no blood at all, but their magic simply identified as natural kin. One could live a lifetime sensing the bond and never sealing it, and simply feel unusually close and comfortable to a person, but once sealed, that type of Kinship bond would be recognized by Magical Law, making each member of the bond siblings in the legal sense, regardless of their respective ages. As everyone knew, magic between siblings had certain benefits as well, and once a natural Kinship bond was sealed, the pair gained those advantages as well.
"I believe so," Hermione confirmed. "I was actually speaking with Aberforth and Poppy the other week about Eileen Prince. Evidently Poppy's mother was a Prince, and Eileen and Poppy are first cousins by extension of that. Eileen is, or rather will be if all goes to plan, Severus' mother. I always knew, back in Alpha, that Poppy took extra care where Severus was concerned, but I never knew why. It makes much more sense now."
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around Aurelius and Poppy being one and the same," Melok admitted with a sigh. "I don't have a problem with it, mind you, but while Wizards and Witches have that third chromosome, Goblins do not, so Transgender is an odd concept for our kind to consider. It simply isn't done in our culture. There's diversity of sexuality, but to change one's gender, while we'd not ethically object to the idea, it is genetically beyond us. It goes back to that naturally self defensive magic. We can charm disguises but even Transfiguration won't work on us."
"Fortunately for me, my genome isn't Goblin enough to be that ornery," she teased. "Just Goblin enough to be fun."
He rolled his eyes. "You got the best of both worlds, I believe. So, tell me more about Severus."
"It's hard to know what to say," she admitted. "Who he was in Alpha versus who he was in Beta were very different men. He was miserable in Alpha. He called me an insufferable know-it-all, and he wasn't being kind about it either. He was Head of Slytherin House, and our Potions Master. He was dreadfully bullied as a boy, and then things happened in his teenage years that turned him toward Voldemort. He became a Death Eater."
"And we like this man?" Melok asked, voice full of disapproval.
"Hold that judgment until I finish the story!" she chastised with a laugh. "Anyway, he loved a girl, although while at the time we thought he loved her in a romantic way, looking back I believe he loved her the way I love Harry - as a brother loves a sister. Voldemort marked her husband, and their infant son for death. Severus, at that point, didn't care much about the husband or son, but he loved her. He defected, went to Albus, and offered anything the Headmaster desired, so long as he'd protect Lily."
Melok was starting to see the picture. "Lily? As in Lily Potter? He loved Harry's mother?"
She nodded. "She ultimately died anyway, but her son survived, and Severus spent the rest of his life working as a double agent during the war, protecting and training Harry, although Merlin knows they didn't get on at all. I was there when he died." Hermione paused, closing her eyes for a moment. "I still have nightmares about that night."
"You said that Beta Severus was different?" Melok pressed, trying to push her past the bad memories.
"Gods, yes," she said, smile forming on her lips. "Imagine my surprise when I show up in Beta to meet a version of Severus who, rather than being bullied by James Potter and Sirius Black…"
Melok laughed. "That's who bullied him? You're kidding!"
"Sirius still feels guilty about it," she admitted. "He's adamant that if it's the last thing he does, his younger self and this reality's James Potter will never bully Severus and get away with it. He'll see to that. They're both Blacks, after all."
"Good for him!"
"Indeed," she agreed. "In any case, so rather than being bullied by James in Beta, he and James got romantically involved for a few years before amicably parting ways, at which time James and Lily got involved. When Harry was born, Severus was close friends with both James and Lily, and he was named Godfather to Harry, whereas in Alpha, Sirius had been Harry's Godfather. I admit to a deep curiosity over who will end up being Godfather to Harry this time around. I think Sirius still hopes it will be his younger self, but I know he won't resent if it ends up being Severus. We both got to see how wonderful a job Beta Severus did with raising Harry, alongside Petunia."
"Was Petunia his wife?" Melok asked. Then, he remembered that Severus was bent. "Oh, never mind. Not wife. Who then?"
"Lily's sister," Hermione smirked. "A Squib in both Alpha and Beta. I may have tweaked her genetic structure slightly when she was born a while ago so she has a shot at being a Witch this go around. I'm betting on Slytherin House, even if she is Muggleborn in the technical sense."
"You really do relish in upsetting things, don't you?" he asked, amused.
Just then, they heard Filius hollering down the hall. "Where's Aunt Hermione?"
"Died a Hero's death!" she called back.
Melok scoffed. It was one of her latest things with the children, and he'd even caught her doing it around others as well. If someone asked where she was, that was her response: She died a hero's death. What utter tripe. According to Hermione, it had started because she had purchased and read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to the boys, so all they could talk about now was how Gandalf had died a hero's death, and Boromir had died a hero's death, and frankly Melok did not approve at how poorly Goblins were portrayed in those ridiculous stories… however the boys enjoyed them, and enjoyed their time with Hermione.
"Mernte!" Caelum squealed, barreling down the hall and straight into Hermione's arms. Filius was right behind his younger brother, and repeated the honorific in a gentler tone before snuggling up against his Godmother on the sofa.
Hermione sighed the same sigh of resignation she always used when the boys called her that. It had been her bloody idea to ensure that Filius and Caelum's education included at least the basics of the Goblin tongue, as they were being raised in a half-Goblin household and in Caelum's case, it was a fact of his genetics. She insisted that it was something Genia would have wanted. That said, when the boys had begun speaking initially it had been a simple enough thing for them to refer to Melok as their Daddy, recall Genia as their Mummy, and their Godmother had simply been Aunt Hermione. However, once introduced to a secondary language, the boys had quickly grasped the Goblin word for mother and begun using that as an alternative to address their Godmother, rather than Genia, and nothing Melok or Hermione said to them seemed to be making one bit of difference in their minds. So far as Filius and Caelum were concerned, she was Mernte, end of story. As time wore on, the parental honorific became more and more frequent, and they used her given name less and less.
"Hello little loves," she whispered, peppering each boy with kisses. "How are you gentlemen today?"
Melok's heart ached as he watched the scene, his mind still replaying the punch of hearing about Hermione's encounter with Minerva, and recalling the recent conversation with Cedrella regarding the idea that perhaps it was time to force a distance between him and Hermione. He'd never take the boys from her. It was clear that she was the mother that Genia wasn't here to be, no matter what any of them had to say about it. Filius and Caelum had Hermione wrapped around their fingers without a doubt, but that did not give Melok the right to treat this woman like his wife. She could be their mother without filling that role for him. He was an adult, and didn't require companionship at the end of the day. He wanted it, certainly. Gods knew he wanted her.
She just wasn't his to want.
Absently, Melok considered a rather drastic idea that would probably be best for them in the long haul, even if in the short term he was fairly certain it would break his heart on multiple fronts. He knew, if he presented the idea properly, Hermione would forgive him in time. The only thing Melok was unsure of was if his sons would give as much grace as their Mernte.
His attention was brought back to the present as Hermione called his name. "I've been meaning to ask, by the way," she said. "In the instance one suspected there was a person puttering about of Goblin lineage, what would be the procedure of having that verified? I mean, other than the way you did it with me."
Melok rolled his eyes, knowing full well he hadn't exactly done things according to procedure when verifying her Goblin blood, but technically he'd not broken procedure either, given he had blanket permissions to do things as he wished where it concerned a Mage. "Any Wizard or Witch who suspects a person may have Goblin lineage merely needs to report it to Gringotts, and it will be reported from there to the proper authorities," he said. "From there, the suspected person is contacted and if they desire to be tested, they are tested. If confirmed, from that point there are a number of offered internships tailored to those Wizards and Witches with Goblin ancestry. Why do you ask?"
"I bumped into a student at Hogwarts last month," she admitted. "He's just begun his seventh year. Slytherin Prefect, and he seemed well mannered and open minded in the few minutes I spoke to him. His name was Richard Feliz, Melok."
"Well that's interesting," he admitted.
"That was my thought," she replied. "That's one of the Royal names, not unlike Konig. Richard said that his father was a half-blood, so that's where the name would have come from, and as far as I know there's no other Feliz actively in Wizarding Britain. I didn't want to worry the boy too much by asking too many questions, but given how few are around with Goblin blood, I do think it should be looked into."
"I agree," Melok said with a nod. "I'll report it, and have him investigated. If he's confirmed to have Goblin blood, I assure you he'll be offered the best internships that Gringotts has to offer."
"Thank you," she said, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.
"Mernte and Daddy kiss!" Caelum giggled.
"Shush, you!" Hermione fussed, tickling the boy.
Filius, snuggled between Melok and Hermione, grabbed his hand and Hermione's and clasped them together on his lap, smiling brightly at a job well done. The Goblin sighed heavily as he felt Hermione's fingers wrap around his own, Cedrella's words echoing in his mind, his resolve to find a way to draw clear boundaries between them firming.
Something had to give.
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