Chapter 28
She was waiting on the chesterfield sofa against the wall for Lucius in his sprawling office, as he had asked her to when he'd called on the way back Dartmoor.
Their wish to protect Draco and miss Granger ran deep but Tom Riddle had many other outstanding debts with the Black family than just this pointless animosity towards Draco. He was forever introducing himself to strangers as being in the royal family and so far, the pretentious name dropping had been ignored. Certainly, the main royal branch of the Black family could not do something about it. But she could.
And there was never a mention of him having a wife or even that he was most certainly not born into said family. He was a commoner, who had swept Bella off her feet with false promises of love and devotion and then left her destitute.
Indeed, he had several debts to settle before they cut him loose entirely.
But that was all dependant on Bella divorcing him. Narcissa wouldn't be able to live with herself if they hurt Bella in the process.
And then there was the whole debacle with Draco's ex-girlfriend. Narcissa could always appreciate a certain appetite for power in others, but to do it at the expense of Draco was absolutely out of the question.
Her husband, ever with the drama of his beloved cane thumping on the floorboards, he strode in the door and went directly over to her. He kissed her deeply and smiled at her before straightening and saying, "Darling, I have news."
She nodded and waited. Hopefully it would be good news for them. They had plans. Tom Riddle seemed to have many plans to advance in society. Apparently, Bella was only the first step. But she waited for Lucius to speak.
He ground his teeth. "It would seem that Tom Riddle is out of money and has resorted to scamming quite a few people in high society."
This however, was not what she was expecting. "Excuse me?"
He sat down beside her on the sofa and sighed. "You wouldn't believe the amount of people who confidently,-" He sneared. "-informed me that this was an opportunity I couldn't possibly miss." His lips curled at the last words.
"And not only is he whispering about his most intimate connection to the royal family at the drop of a hat, he seems to be also telling people that one of Bella's heirlooms from your family have come directly from an emerald mine in India that he owns, and he wants the so-called right people investing in, promising them utterly insane returns on their investments." Lucius huffed out an angry breath.
Narcissa was quiet for a moment. This was almost impossible. Indeed, it sounded impossible that people could and would be taken in so easily.
"And all of this is before I get the report from the bugs in a couple of days." He looked at her with an almost wild expression. "We need proof darling, otherwise these people will never believe us, he has them entirely convinced."
She smirked. "And we will find it. Actually, I think we need someone well-versed with economics, someone who has analysed schemes before and can firmly debunk it. Someone already well trusted in the ton."
Her husband scoffed. "Who on earth could that possibly be?"
She just smiled knowingly. "Baron Heathgate and his son."
Lucius merely looked at her with a rather puzzled expression, so she continued. "The Grangers my darling, we need the Grangers."
The drive back to Dartmoor ought to have been subdued.
Really, it should have been.
But then, subdued was not what you would call the four-hour long drive since Theo had managed to convince a couple of the waiters at the bar to part with several bottles of alcohol and soft drinks to boot.
Before everyone had even entered the bus, they'd each had four shots and by the time they'd left the extensive Chesterton grounds, they were all well on their way to being completely sloshed.
Theo's unexplained exuberant mood seemed to have infected them all and when they came back to Dartmoor, no one were ready to go to sleep. So instead, the bus took them straight to Harry's pool house and the partying quickly spun out of control, especially when Luna joined them with a lethal punch-concoction. She referred to it as a potion.
At one point, Draco had cornered her in the hallway and proceeded to snog her silly. She'd practically torn off his clothes when he lifted her against the wall and ground a very hard length at her very centre. She'd moaned and whined and been entirely unapologetic about her need for him.
And he had delivered.
Right there in Harry's darkened hallway while their friends were partying in the open plan kitchen and living room.
He'd scrunched up her dress to her waist, pulled her knickers to the side and then proceeded to lick, flick and suck her clit like a starving man. He'd had two long fingers deep within her and too soon, he'd made her scream with pleasure. Luckily, the no one could hear a thing over the thumping bass of a Tiësto track in the other room.
She'd wanted to receiprocate, to have him fill her, claim her. She needed him.
But he'd been the clever one. "I won't fuck you when we're drunk Hermione. I want us both to be sober for that. I have plans for you." He muttered darkly.
Hermione was laughing so hard on the sofa with Blaise and Luna that she couldn't even breathe and she had absolutely no idea what they were laughing about. It was just that insanely funny.
Her laughter had turned into wheezes and Blaise had gone slightly red in the face while Luna had just chuckled. Draco sat beside her with his arm around her waist and she was leaning against him. What they were laughing at was still a mystery but it didn't matter, she had a bloody great time.
Blaise was talking about Theo suddenly, still laughing and mocking his suit and his slutty ways, it was rude and so so so hilarious.
And then it was something about Draco's long long loooong face and it was so funny! Especially when Draco tried to keep a straight face about it before bursting into laughter himself. She was crying from laughter, wiping her eyes and rolling on the sofa.
It just felt so good to laugh.
A while later, Blaise and Luna were gone and she was lying on a lounger outside by the pool alone with a comfy pillow and blanket, looking up at the stars.
They really were quite lovely those stars. She never really looked at the stars anymore. She was usually asleep when the stars were out.
Everything was a little bit blurred around the edges. Or a lot blurred perhaps. She was slow and her brain felt fuzzy but she tried to focus on all of those stars up there.
Automatically, she found all of the constellations she could remember in her inebriated state. Cygnus the northern cross, Canis major and Canis minor, Cassiopeia, Orion and his belt, Ursa major and Ursa minor, and of course Draco the dragon.
She huffed out an exasperated breath. That man was frustrating to say the least. But perhaps they could figure it out. She scrunched up her entire face, squinting at the constellation again through narrowed eyes.
He was a really good kisser though and she did love his kisses. Especially the intimate ones. She blushed at what had happened, relishing the warmth that steeled over her at his dark promise.
On that note, she fell asleep under the stars with the smallest of smiles on her face.
Ugh, what the fuck happened last night?
Draco's head felt like it was splitting open and the sun was glaring down on his face. Why the fuck was he directly in the sun and where the fuck was he?
He scrunched his eyes together in complete disbelief, refusing to even consider that this was actually happening.
He wondered briefly why he felt as though he was floating through the air. He experimented by moving slightly, only to have it confirmed, dammit!
He was fucking floating.
That opened his eyes.
He looked around in utter suspicion. Shite, he was floating on an inflatable mattress in the middle of the pool at the Harry's pool House.
And he was wearing a garish t-shirt, no doubt Harry's, and swimming trunks in a violent shade of red with little cactuses printed all over them. Again, not his.
In a kneejerk reaction, he floundered off the mattress and plopped very inelegantly in the pool with a yelp muffled by the unrelentingly fast influx of water towards his mouth.
When he re-emerged from the water, it was to a delighted giggle from one of the sunbeds shaded by a very large parasol. He wasn't really sure how, but he just knew that it was Hermione Granger huddled in there.
He spluttered the water out of his mouth and glared at her once he was able to see out of his eyes.
That only made her giggle harder and he cursed under his breath. Well fuck it, he was already wet. He removed his now soaked t-shirt and flung it in her direction with expert precision.
The sound of the soaking wet t-shirt hitting its mark dead on, and the subsequent gasp made him smirk in obvious self-satisfaction.
The horror in her voice was obvious. "What was that for?!"
His smirk widened. "For laughing at me. Now you're soaked too." He winked, feeling rather cheerful all of a sudden. Hermione seemed to have that effect on him.
She narrowed her eyes at him and stood up from her veritable nest of blankets and pillows in the corner. Obviously one of them had had a comfy night's sleep even if it was outside Harry's pool house.
She marched over to him, removing her dress as she went and he stood stock still, watching her agape. Was his hungover mind playing tricks on him now? But no, Hermione Granger, dressed only in matching knickers and bra dive-bombed the pool, splashing seemingly endless amounts of water directly in his face. And his open mouth.
When he could finally see again, he quickly calculated the distance from him to her and made a dive for her. She squealed and jumped out the way, making him grab water instead of a lithe female body.
For some reason, chasing her around the pool was both fun and incredibly arousing, seeing her laugh so carefree with a gleam of excitement in her eyes.
When he finally caught her, he had no idea what to do. He just wanted her in his arms. But the most obvious thing to do was to kiss her again. So, he did just that.
And he just couldn't seem to help himself around her.
He pulled her as close to his body as their lack of clothing would allow and proceeded to snog her senseless. And what a perfect fucking way to wake up, despite the fucking water. She clung to him just as he clung to her, tightening his arms around her waist and not daring to let them wander for fear that she might run again.
Her hands wandered though. She held on to his shoulders, his back and then scraped her fingernails through his hair, eliciting goose bumps everywhere and pulled his hair slightly.
Fuck, he could kiss her all fucking day.
Time seemed to stand still with only a few birds twittering in the distance as their make out session took a different turn. She seemed to have realised that he was standing full mast and proceeded to grind her body against his.
The minx.
At that simple movement, he broke the kiss and looked at her in wonder. "I can't seem to stop."
He wasn't even certain what he meant, stop kissing her, stop wanting her, stop needing her. By whatever was holy in this land, he wanted to claim her as his own.
But he shouldn't, he really shouldn't.
Her smile was a wondrous thing to behold, it was both shy and excited and he had no plans to move a single inch from her. "Then don't. Continue what you started last night."
Lust slammed into him as he hazily remembered the feel of her clenching his fingers as she came from his ministrations. He wanted her. He wanted her more than anyone or anything.
He was just about to undo her bra keeping those luscious mounds from him when someone, Theo from the sound of it, began a shouting match inside. "What the fuck do you mean 'flirting with everyone'? I can do whatever the fuck I want! I'm fucking single thanks to you!"
A shrill voice, Daphne's, replied in equal loud tones. "And you're single because you're a fucking flirt, always coming home with numbers for different sluts sticking out of your pockets and then actually calling them, you supercilious prat!"
"And what about you, huh?! I saw you flirting with that pompous arsehole of a prince! Are you going to be a fucking princess now?!" Theo sneared-shouted from inside.
The argument continued loudly and Draco looked at Hermione slowly. "Hmm, maybe we should get out?"
She whined, a sound he'd never expected to hear from her. "But I like it right here."
He smiled and kissed her again. "Me too, but I really need to separate those two before things get physical. Blaise would usually help but I think he's still out."
She seemed reluctant to step out of their embrace and out of the pool. Despite the overlarge floor to ceiling windows facing them from the house, the space seemed private. He kissed her quickly, trying hard not to linger and fall back into the kiss. "We'll sort this and get some breakfast, and then we'll talk later, okay?"
She smiled that beautiful smiled of hers and nodded. He couldn't help it, he kissed her again before reluctantly waking them to the edge. Instead of him getting out first, he wanted her body on full display before him, so he lifted her up by her waist, the water cascading down her body and making him harder than ever.
She seemed to realize his problem immediately and, sitting on the edge of the pool, she pulled him forcefully towards her.
Steel, that was the situation currently. She smirked and ever so gently nibbled on his lower lip. She knew exactly what she was doing and he cursed. "Shite witch, you'll be the death of me."
This time she winked and got up. "Or the making of you, one never knows."
And then she and her fine arse sauntered away from him. He groaned loudly, making her laugh and he willed his cock to be cooperative. There was no way he could get out of this pool in his current state.
He turned his back on her. Right, the biggest turn off. He wracked his brain for something before settling on injured ponies. Injured ponies required care and attention, plus their value, both in polo and monetary dropped instantly if the injury was permanent.
That helped, and after a few painful moments, he was finally able to exit the pool and see what the hell the noise inside was all about.
Both Theo and Daphne were still shouting at each other, throwing stuff and causing everyone inside, who were all in various states of awake by now, to groan and complain.
"For fucks sake! Some of us are trying to fucking sleep here!" It was Blaise, huddled on the floor with several pot plants placed strategically around him and Luna. 'A fortress' as he had dubbed it before they'd gone to sleep in each other's arms.
Draco marched over to Theo and pulled one of said potted plants out of his grasp. "Enough." His voice wasn't loud but it made everyone stay silent for a blessed moment.
Daphne glared at him and was about to shout at him when he spoke again. "If you really want to fight then go outside. Let the rest of us have our bloody hangovers in peace."
"I'm not going anywhere with that pretentious lecher!" She ground out forcefully and turned to Theo with narrowed eyes. "And whomever I want, is none of your fucking business. Now or ever." Daphne hissed, her voice dangerously low, before slamming the door and marching towards the manor while Theo was muttering angrily to himself in the kitchen.
Finally, when there was relative silence, Draco began drying himself off, wondering for the first why he had gone to sleep in the pool when a hazy memory surfaced. He had gone outside to find Hermione, to talk with her, only to find her sound asleep on the sun bed in the corner.
She had looked so peaceful, but she'd been shivering cold. He had proceeded to wrap her in every blanket and pillow that he could find, before going to sleep on, what had seemed logical at the time, the floating mattress in the pool.
Gentlemanly behaviour with a rather poor outcome for himself.
Well, only a poor outcome until he had woken up and been dive bombed by a scantily clad Hermione.
He could definitely get used to waking up like that.
It was rather early and Narcissa was sitting in the sunroom overlooking the lake with Bella. They had a lovely tea tray between them with all of Bella's favourites. But she hadn't even stirred.
She just sat there, looking out on the lake morosely.
Narcissa inhaled over her teacup, trying to keep calm. The beautiful fragrance of her favourite Lady Gray tea helped somewhat.
She could ignore this. But she had several reasons not to.
In all honesty, it wasn't her place to interfere with a marriage but seeing that Bella had married a man, who seemed to have a serious grudge towards her beloved son. A man who was a scoundrel and a thief, and that Bella was her beloved cousin, had made Narcissa drop her reservations.
Bella had been unhappy in her marriage since the day she'd said 'I do' and was treated with the most abominable condescension from her own husband. While he chased every skirt who would look his way.
And he was cheating people, telling them lies and using their family legacy to back up his ludicrous claims. No, she couldn't let it stand.
"Bella, would you like a scone? Cook has made your favourite lemon curd." She smiled encouragingly.
The younger woman cracked the tiniest of smiles. "I do love your cook's way with lemon curd." Before sitting up and helping herself.
Narcissa watched as Bella ate first half a scone and then a cucumber sandwich. Finally, she poured herself a cup of tea and sat back again and sighed. "I'm not sure what to do Cissy. I love him. Or maybe it's just the idea of him. I'm not really sure."
Narcissa chose her words carefully. "Bella, I'll ask you the same thing your father would. Does he treat you well?"
The little v between her brows puckered and she sighed again. "No, no he doesn't treat me well. He never has."
"Well, then what do you want for yourself? If he wasn't in your life?" She asked, hopefully not sounding pushy.
She cocked her head slightly, thinking for a long time before she said firmly, "I'd travel the world. I want to see everything."
"You could still do that." Narcissa said gently.
"I've been thinking a lot you know, while I was away, and I want him to love me, but I've realised that I can't make him love me." She was still eying her teacup.
Narcissa scoffed softly. "If it is any consolation at all, I'm not certain that man is even capable of loving anyone else but himself. You've raised his status in high society significantly and you could, if you wished, lower it again."
Bella looked up with a cautious expression. "Do you mean divorce him?"
A nod. "Yes."
She nodded. "I have been thinking about it. A lot actually. But why?" Bella's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Do you have an agenda?"
There was no point in lying. If Bella even caught a whiff of something, she could be like a bloodhound until the mystery was solved. "We do."
Her brows shot up. "We?"
Narcissa steeled herself. It didn't feel good to air out the dirty laundry of Bella's husband. But it had to be done. "Tom Riddle is a fraudster cousin. He has used every bit of the money he received from your father on your marriage and then some. And now he has started to scam our friends, promising them great returns on large investments. Apparently, it's something about an emerald-mine in India and himself having commissioned the platinum emerald set you received from mother on your marriage. He's telling people that those emeralds are from that mine."
She blinked and her eyes took on an angry glint. "He's saying to people that he gave me that set?"
Narcissa nodded, keeping her expression impassive. "He is."
Her eyes narrowed. "That is family jewellery. It's from our family and has been depicted on ladies in several portraits over the past centuries."
"What jewellery?" A dark voice asked. She hadn't even heard Sirius come into the room. She had been that focused on Bella seeing the truth about her husband.
"Hello darling cousins!" He boomed happily. "Bella, you're looking more beautiful every time I see you." He kissed her cheek and sat in a vacant armchair, pouring himself a cup of tea.
Bella just smiled. "Sirius, you rogue."
He winked cheekily as he helped himself to the offerings on the tray. "As always my dear cousin." He ate a scone in two bites. "What jewellery?"
Bella's smile vanished. "My emerald set. The one I got from our great grandmother." They all shared a great grandmother, who was married to the younger prince of the realm at the time.
Sirius frowned. "Sure, the emerald set from Queen Ursula, right?" They'd all received extensive lectures in their shared family history.
Bella nodded. "Yes, the one my great grandmother received when she wed my great grandfather."
Duchess Violetta, wife of Royal Duke Prince Cygnus was named after her stunning violet eyes and had received the emerald set from her mother in-law, the queen, when she married into the royal family. It was chosen because it complimented her eyes so perfectly. She wouldn't become a princess after their marriage as she 'only' married the younger prince but it was a small scandal when she'd received the royal jewellery at the time.
The emerald set was famous. It was comprised of a stunning tiara, earrings, a necklace, a ring and bracelet, all accented with equally flawless pearls. And every emerald on there was flawless. It was a priceless set. Narcissa herself had a set very like it, comprised of diamonds, emeralds and pearls.
The queen at the time, Queen Ursula, had ensured that her younger son and his wife would want for nothing, despite their lower standing in the royal family as they were very far from the direct line of descent.
And so, when Duke Cygnus and Duchess Violetta's four children married, they were all gifted extravagant jewellery sets, a tradition that had endured even to Narcissa and Bella's marriages. The eldest children received the historical pieces and the younger children received newly commissioned sets if there was none to pass down. It was how it was done in the Black family.
Narcissa had been wool-gathering when she realised that Sirius and Bella were still talking. Sirius adamantly wanted her to divorce Riddle. And Bella wasn't opposed to the idea, thank the Lord.
This would be advantageous.
However, Bella being back meant that she should be informed of the recent developments in the Black family.
So Narcissa did something she very rarely did. She cut in. "Bella, there's another thing you need to know."
Abruptly Bella stopped talking and turned to her. "Yes?"
"We have a new cousin."
Sirius shot up. "Yes! Can you believe it?"
Bella, seeming much more like herself by the minute, rolled her eyes at Sirius. "Can I believe… what?"
Narcissa wanted to scold her for her lack in decorum, but it would have to wait. "Sirius' godson Harry is our cousin."
She sat back, looking between them. "What? How so?"
"He's a descendant of Dorea and Charlus Potter." She explained.
Bella was thinking for a moment and then her eyes and mouth widened. "Oh! How exciting! He needs to be introduced to our family. Can I meet him? Where is he?"
Narcissa smiled. It was so like Bella to be almost over-excited about this and this hopefully meant the beginning of a return to her former happy self.
Sirius however, snorted. "All of the youngsters had a party last night, I could hear the music and shouts from my room. They're probably still out cold." He grinned with a wink. "Should we go wake them?"
Narcissa had seen the woman walking towards the manor for a few minutes. "No need, it seems they're already awake. Look,-" She pointed to Lady Daphne, who was walking stiffly with indignation. "-Lady Daphne is there."
"You know,-" Sirius said. "-I actually received the most curious text last night from Prince Regulus. He was asking if I had a way for him to contact Lady Daphne."
Bella smirked. "Interesting." She said it slowly, savouring the word and twirled her beautiful curly dark hair around a finger. "They're about the same age too." She mused aloud.
Narcissa shook her head slightly with a smile. "Dear Lord, what are these youngsters getting up to?"
At this Sirius barked out a laugh. "Honestly Cissy, I think they're getting it up."
All three cousins laughed just as her husband entered the room, looking handsome and recently bathed. "I'm not certain it was a good idea to bring the three of you together." He said and walked straight over to Narcissa to kiss her hand and she blushed when his eyes burned into her. She easily remembered their night of plotting in the office and then what he'd done to her on his desk afterwards.
Bella looked between them with her eyebrows in her hairline. "Hmm, the two of you are still head over heels, aren't you?"
Narcissa ignored her flushed cheeks and took a sip of tea, before she felt calm enough to simply answer. "Yes."
Bella looked serious again. "I want that." She frowned. "I've always wanted something like what you two have and Tom can't give that to me. Perhaps you are right Cissy."
She took Bella's hands and looked at her earnestly. "I know I am. I wouldn't be encouraging a divorce of all things if I wasn't absolutely certain that it would be best for you."
There was a knock on the door and Hobson, their butler entered, holding himself rather more pompous than usually. "The Princess Royal and the Earl of Sunderland."
They all stood to greet their aunt and the Earl as the two walked arm in arm in the room chatting animatedly about mutual acquaintances who had long since passed.
The Earl was a rather old man with surprising agility. He looked to be a man with old money. He wore weathered corduroy pants and simple navy and with plat button up and a forest green tweed jacket. Though all of his clothes fit him to perfection, they were clearly well-worn. This stood in sharp contrast to her husband and Sirius, who were both wearing a variation of the same clothes, but theirs was newer and they both changed their wardrobes every two to five years to keep up with the ever-changing fashions.
He had a kind face though and, having deposited Aunt Lucretia in a free armchair, he strode directly to her. He took her hand and squeezed it slightly before kissing the back. And when he looked up, she realised that this would be exactly how young mr. Potter would look at this age. Except for the eyes, because the Earl had brilliantly blue eyes.
"Duchess." He said, his bright eyes crinkling at the corners and his gravelly voice rumbling in the silent room. "Thank you for giving an old man reason to hope again."
She smiled at the man, who was clearly a charmer, just like his grandson. Now all she needed was the youngsters. "Hobson."
He stepped out from the shadows of the room. "Yes my lady."
"Do call for my son and his friends. All of them, please."
A/N: Apologies for the slow updates, it's not on purpose, I promise!
Anyways, (shameless plug alert!) if you want to read more from me, I have several other fics published, all complete. I really try not to have more than one on the go at a time.
There's The Yoga Instructor, a Dramione mystery/drama/romance with a splash of humour set in the magical world, where dragon eggs are disappearing from the Romanian Sanctuary and young Dragons turn up in England.
And a four-parter of Drastic Measures (Dramione), Excessive Situations (Neville/Theo), Dire Circumstances (Blinny) and Insomniatic Complications (Harry and ?) all complete. Set in the same version of the magical world but can be read seperately.
I really hope you liked this chapter.
HBSJ x
