Chapter 5
Malfoy Manor was not a location Hermione had ever been keen to visit again, nor was it the place she truly desired to spend a good portion of an uncharacteristic holiday of indeterminate duration. Though it could hardly be considered a true holiday given that she would be spending it trying to fix the tentacled menace known as Draco Malfoy.
On a scale between a mildly awkward elevator ride and the most excruciating pain imaginable, returning there ranked somewhere around catching the fallout from the business end of a baby blast-ended skrewt. Probably not lethal, but remarkably uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, she found herself portkeyed into Malfoy's kraken-friendly quarters alongside her temporarily sedated patient (that had been fun, in the least positive sense of the word), his mother, and the small gaggle of his friends that she had earlier told to get lost.
Tamping down her nausea and opening her eyes, Hermione conceded that this room, at least, she could handle.
Narcissa had taken her aquarium exhibit suggestion to heart, and the new tank was nearly two stories tall and at least twenty metres wide. Her entire flat would fit in it at least twice, with plenty of room to spare.
Twin staircases flanked either side of the construction, swooping elegantly toward the center of the room. Within the interior perimeter of the stairs, furniture had been arranged in such a way to create an observation slash seating area.
The tank itself was deepest in the front, fully stocked with fishes and corals and kelp beds and other such small sea life. It featured a soft, nearly natural slope toward the top in the back. She couldn't quite see it from here, but Hermione suspected there was even a tiny facsimile beach up there.
It was, in short, a stunning display.
"This was the east ballroom. I'd been planning to renovate it anyway," the blonde witch spoke into the awkward silence.
The other three had been admitted to Malfoy's room only a moment before the portkey activated and were still working through their various states of shock as to his condition.
"I think I rather should check on tea while you get Draco settled," Narcissa made her escape leaving Hermione alone with the others.
After a beat, Hermione took charge.
"Right, well, it's best we get him back in the water," she said before casting a levitation spell. Malfoy floated eerily in front of her, tentacles dangling and oddly limp as she made her way up one of the fancy staircases.
Theo and Blaise followed her path silently, helping her ease Malfoy into the shallow water once they reached the top walkway. It wasn't just a walkway though- she had been right- the water of the oversized tank lapped lazily at a small, sandy beach.
"Shouldn't we put him in deeper?" Theo asked, once they positioned Malfoy to float on his back, barely two feet into the water, apparently taking his friend's altered appearance in stride.
"He's going to be slightly groggy when he wakes. If he's going to panic, I'd rather he do it in the shallows where I can reach him."
Not that she knew exactly what she would actually do in such a scenario. His previous moments of disorientation hadn't been caused by her hand. She anticipated a bit of wariness, at least on his part; she'd all but forced that short-lasting sedation potion down his throat, unwilling to take an unnecessary risk with a stunner or a stronger draught.
As if her words woke him, and possibly they did, Draco gave a warning rattle that had both the other wizards backing up. Hermione held firm beside him.
"Please go back downstairs," she ordered calmly, "He's been oddly touchy about having other males in his personal space. I believe it's a kraken thing, you understand."
The rattle grew in volume and intensity. They didn't need to be told twice quickly making their way back down to the seating area. Soon enough, she heard the voices of Malfoy's closest friends speaking in hushed tones.
His rattle dropped away at their departure, and Malfoy's silvery eyes slipped shut again, but with the way his tentacles had again come to life, he was merely resting his eyes, not asleep.
Hermione felt her face color hotly at the sight of them, furling and unfurling, as Malfoy regained his bearings.
Unbidden, her mind was drawn back to possibly one of the most awkward interactions of her life that had occurred barely half an hour before.
"I think Mr. Malfoy has formed something of an inappropriate attachment to me." Hermione felt her cheeks blazing, her voice coming out squeaky and strangled. She had been avoiding even thinking of the increasingly obvious signs, determined there was another facet of Malfoy's transformation she was missing that had nothing to do with, well…
"I can see that," Narcissa quipped, disturbingly unperturbed.
Hermione squirmed, somewhat at a loss, still trapped in her patient's tentacled embrace. She forged on, though; her next question was important.
"Um. Does Mr. Malfoy have a-" for her own sanity, she could not ask Narcissa Malfoy if her son had a girlfriend, much less any friends with benefits, "anyone he is courting presently?"
"Not to my knowledge, no."
Hermione's heart sank. After a beat, Mrs. Malfoy continued.
"He did recently mention one witch who piqued his interest, but he advised me they weren't anywhere near such a stage yet. I'm uncertain of whom he may have even been speaking of."
Damn.
Utterly uncaring of his mother's presence, Malfoy began nuzzling Hermione's neck, and she had to stifle a startled squeak when he gave it the tiniest, gentlest nip with those deadly-sharp shark teeth.
This conversation, this situation, was completely unreal, but she needed to see it through.
"Er, I have been doing quite a lot of research, you see, and there is an unfortunately recurring… theme. I believe as he is presently, Mr. Malfoy may perceive me as a potential- erm, ah-"
"Miss Granger," Narcissa interrupted Hermione's floundering explanation, "you are not the only witch who has been doing her due diligence. I personally looked through the books you have borrowed from our family library. We both know the common denominator in all of those resolved cases. I don't care what methods you need to use. Heal my son or I will find someone who will do whatever is deemed necessary."
Hermione faintly gaped, "Er, right then. For the formal discharge-"
Despite that awkward conversation, Hermione was still convinced there had to be another way to revert him back to normal. Or rather, she hoped. Hence her reasoning for dragging along his friends. It was a desperate hope that seeing them might jog something to set him back to rights.
Finally, with a full-body-and-tentacle stretch, Draco abandoned his respite, his silvery gaze roving, chittering curiously at his new surroundings. He seemed no worse for wear after sedation, which was good.
"You're home, Mr. Malfoy. It's safe here. Go on and explore."
He rattled doubtfully at her, squinting at her with some suspicion; he no doubt remembered their brief scuffle with the sedation potion, but whether he held it against her or not, she wasn't sure. A small fish breeched the surface before splashing back below.
"I'm going to go speak to your friends. You'll be able to see us through there," Hermione said, pointing at the glass where she could see the others in distortion. "They'll come visit with you in a bit, if you'd like."
He seemed torn between staying in the shallows and exploring, but as she'd hoped, the call of his new, small artificial sea was too great to ignore.
In another life, she would be recording all of these little observations, writing her own book on the subject of krakens. But with Malfoy, it was far too close, too intimate, a subject to pursue academically.
Hermione made her way back downstairs, watching Malfoy zip through the tank at impressive speed.
"Fucking hell, he's fast," Theo muttered as she reached the bottom.
Pansy, realizing she finally could have the interrogation she wanted, stepped into Hermione's path.
"What happened to him?" the other witch demanded, arms crossed.
Hermione had been anticipating this encounter since she'd found these three in the hallway earlier. Given the implicit permission of the Malfoy matriarch, she could no longer deny what they had now seen with their own eyes.
"He was bitten by what we think was a kraken. I've been researching how to turn him back to normal."
"What, so he's a were-kraken now?" Blaise snarked.
He was the quietest of the three, but he seemed to be even more observant than the other two. Hermione didn't care for being observed.
"Ah, no, not quite, I don't think. Er, anyway, fairly unrelated, but since I have you here- do any of you know if Malfoy currently has a girlfriend or anyone else that we need to advise of his incident? Narcissa wasn't aware of anyone, but I- I wanted to be sure."
Pansy narrowed her eyes.
Oh gods, Malfoy wasn't seeing her was he? Hermione vaguely remembered Pansy hanging off of him for a while back in fifth year, and if they rekindled that- well, it would actually be one problem solved, maybe. She didn't think Draco realized Pansy was here yet, and she couldn't deny feeling both curious and slightly jealous over his potential reaction. But if he were secretly dating Pansy, things could get incredibly awkward if Malfoy decided to misbehave around Hermione again.
"Why?" The raven haired woman's tone was demanding.
"Er, just if so, then she should know. Don't you think?"
Hermione was a shit liar when it came to this sort of thing; her nerves gave her away every time.
"Wait, this isn't something like the Mermaid Price is it?" Theo asked, clueing into Pansy's suspicion, but now Hermione was the one left in the dark as the three former Slytherins shared a Look.
"I'm sorry?" Hermione asked.
"It's a fairy tale," Blaise said, "Guess it didn't make the rounds in muggle circles."
Hermione ignored the slight to her heritage. Information was more important, even if it did come from a wizarding fairy tale. Perhaps especially if it came from a wizarding fairy tale.
"No, it didn't. Could you give a summary, please?" she asked.
"It's about a witch who was stolen by the merfolk and turned into one of them. When she's rescued by her wizard lover, he tries everything to turn her back but the only thing that works in the end is to have sex with her. They end up giving their resulting child as a tithe to the merfolk."
"That's- I- This is a story you tell to children?" Hermione sputters at Blaise's abbreviated version of the tale. It was awful all the way around.
"Er, I think in the kid's version, it's a kiss," Theo offered sheepishly.
"That's not much better," Hermione grouses, put out by yet another circumstantial source pointing to sex as the only viable solution. Though, perhaps if it came down to it, she could start with a kiss and go from there.
Theo put a hand on her shoulder, she supposed as an intended gesture of comfort. A massive boom reverberated through the room.
Hermione spun around to find Malfoy banging on the glass of the tank, glaring angrily in their direction.
She quickly stepped away from the wizard.
After a moment of further scrutiny, Malfoy screeched vaguely threateningly in their direction before he took off after a school of passing fish.
Hermione felt the burn of three sets of eyes swing between her and Draco's departing form.
"Oh, it's like that, then." Pansy said, suddenly smug.
Hermione turned back to the group, opening her mouth, but unsure of what to say to defend herself. She was unsure what she was even defending herself against.
"Right. Exactly like the Mermaid Price." Blaise said conspiratorially.
"Well, go on then, heal our Drakey the only way a good shag can." Theo gave her a little push toward the stairs that Malfoy thankfully didn't see.
"That's not at all what's going on here! I just-"
"So you're not fucking Draco to set him back to rights?"
How could these three instantly transport her back to her school days?
"Absolutely not!" Hermione shouted, face tomato-red.
"Well, you better hurry up and get started then," Pansy sniffed, "He promised he would be at my official engagement party next month. Presumably as himself."
Hermione gaped, honestly speechless. She wasn't sure whether she was more disturbed that Draco Malfoy's friends and family thought she should be shagging him as a Reasonable Medical Intervention, or the fact that none of them thought it was a Big Deal.
Perhaps, in this sole particular instance, pure bloods really were different.
Hermione was not particularly proud of sneaking out of Malfoy manor while a screechy, but otherwise unimposing Draco met distantly with his friends.
It was actually pretty reckless, all things considered. Any one of them could have been injured, or worse.
Draco was busy exploring his new habitat? Lodgings? No descriptor really felt appropriate. Regardless, he was mostly exploring, and only cast the four of them the occasional glance. When the other three had taken up residence in the makeshift seating area, Hermione excused herself and simply left, only pausing in her escape to alert Narcissa she would be back tomorrow- now, today.
Six days since Harry had dumped the much altered Malfoy heir on her veritable doorstep.
As she had not been contacted since she left, Hermione could only assume her patient had not panicked and destroyed everything in his vicinity at her most recent departure.
Which could only be a good thing.
She hoped.
Hermione had things to attend to before she could brave seeing him again. Her further reading last night had been the most discouraging yet. It had mentioned a wasting sickness and death if a kraken was rejected by its mate. Of course, the text had been speaking of natural creatures, but the thought made unease settle in her gut and haunt her all night. Her last hope to gain some sort of insight into healing Malfoy that did not involve becoming far more intimately acquainted with her patient, was this meeting, right now.
"Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Finn."
Seated at the small dining table in a fisherman's hut by the sea, Hermione anxiously ordered her questions in her mind.
Merrick Finn was the foremost expert on merpeople in all of Europe. Securing the interview had been no mean feat; though bordering on positively ancient, the ancient seaman spent much of his year researching at various seemingly random locations on the coast.
"Ah, it's not every day a pretty young witch wants to talk with an old codger like me. What did you wish to speak about again?" He asked.
Hermione settled on her practiced story. While she desperately craved insight, the absolute last thing she wanted was for Malfoy to become a case study.
"I'm doing research for St. Mungos, so we can be prepared for any and every eventuality. The subject of merpeople has come up, and I wanted your expert opinion on what to do in the event of an attack on a witch or wizard."
Perhaps not the best lie she could have come up with, but it was plausible enough.
"Well, that is rare. I can't think of a single instance where merfolk might blithely attack wizarding folk in this day and age unless their young were being threatened. Well, excepting the krakens. They are a territorial lot."
"Oh?" Hermione asked, not expecting the subject she wanted to discuss coming up so quickly. "That's actually the subset of the population my current research is focused on. We don't have anything at all about handling attacks from them in our medical protocols. I just want to be thorough."
She was quite fortunate that Mr. Finn was easily led and eager to spill everything he knew.
"Yes, yes. They're very rare to find in the wild these days, but the odd attack has been reported- they have an extensive range and will readily defend anything they consider theirs. They have also been known to attack when they're in mating season and can't find one of their own nearby. One bite from a born kraken will make the victim compatible, and they'll be enjoying the carnal nature of their affection soon enough."
Not this again.
Hermione willed herself not to blush. She wasn't some immature teenager.
"But what happens when a witch or wizard is saved and brought to the hospital? Would letting them be with a kraken be the only way to get them back to normal? We can't exactly prescribe that sort of activity in St. Mungos." Hermione chewed her lip. This was the information she needed most.
"Ah, the transformation is a magical geas, you see," Finn said. "It behooves a kraken to be particular in who they transform, because left to their own devices, a transformed witch or wizard will seek out the match to their true heart's desire. But you didn't come here for fairy tales."
"Actually, I find this quite fascinating," Hermione demurred. She needed to know more. "What was that about a geas? Is there any way of finding out the conditions?"
"Not without asking a kraken, but good luck tracking one down. And they're not like to answer you even if you do."
She had read about magical obligations and compulsions, of course she had, but for it to be confirmed that the kraken transformation was one- well, it did not bode well for her hopes of an alternative way to turn Malfoy back.
"Well, what if in a hypothetical situation, the kraken-turned witch or wizard were simply left alone? Wouldn't they eventually revert back?"
Surely, even a magical geas had an expiration date.
"It's hard to say. Never heard of an instance where it happened. Could be they go native, could be they change back, could be they die. But it's rare enough you likely'd never need to worry about it."
And with those enlightening words, Hermione allowed the interview to come to a close.
Now, she paced her home office.
After her previous night's reading and her morning meeting with Merrick Finn, Hermione had reluctantly acknowledged that she finally had all the information required to proceed. There being an infinitesimal chance that her patient would die a completely unnecessary and preventable death solidified her position.
Every piece of evidence she'd collected so far was pointing her further down an inexorable path that frankly terrified the shit out of her.
And no, not because of the quirks of his anatomy, but the wondering of what would come after, when Draco Malfoy was back to normal.
Or worse, what would happen if having sex with him didn't solve his tentacle-y little problem? What if she was too late? What if this wasn't really the solution at all? What if he stayed the way he was now forever?
And why had he latched on to her, of all people? What Mr. Finn had said couldn't be true, could it? Surely he'd been exaggerating the heart's desire part.
Hermione had simply been the first non-threatening witch Draco had encountered after his transformation. As far as she was concerned, that was all there was to it. That's all there could be to it because she absolutely could not develop any sort of feelings for a patient. Especially not one as compromised as Malfoy currently was.
Regardless, being his object of focus wasn't something she could change now. If she did go through with Sex as a Prescribed Exercise in Routine Medical Intervention- Salazar's snakey cock, had she just named her theoretical protocol S.P.E.R.M.I.?! Hermione dragged her hand down her face in shame.
Anyway, were she to initiate the S.P.E.R.M.I. protocol, it would be purely clinical. She could handle clinical. Tab A. Slot B. Magical geas satisfied. Then once he was back to rights, they could both forget this whole thing ever happened.
Hermione took a big, bracing breath. This was the only thing that could be done, the only thing that might work, given the circumstances.
Before she could let herself entertain even a niggle of doubt, she disapparated into thin air.