VII
—
Hermione had gone to bed after reading all that the three books she'd copied had to offer. They had been insightful to say the least; the last one she'd picked up, a volume entitled "Rituals of Rare Recognition," had detailed the Aeterna Colligationis in its entirety. It had been angrily tossed into her bedroom fireplace when she'd finished with it.
All in all, the binding ritual wasn't as dark as some people thought, so long as it was performed with consent from what was known as the "Thrall." However, it was the sort of thing that someone could quite easily get away with forcing upon another, and that was where she supposed it had gotten its ill reputation. After all, unwilling sexual acts, whether performed for magical purposes or not, were considered very dark indeed.
She had forced herself to continue reading after learning what sealed the bond, but her blood was still simmering when the book moved on to the next ritual, and given that the text was merely a copy she'd made, it gave her great pleasure to heap it onto the wood pile and set it ablaze. The other two books she'd copied had quickly followed suit.
She'd called for Ditzy after that, asking the elf to bring her a shot of Firewhiskey. The little creature appeared concerned, but did as she was told, popping away and returning moments later with a little glass of the amber liquid. Hermione downed the shot and handed the glass back to the elf, who disappeared.
The girl had fleetingly considered storming off to find Draco and demanding what he'd known, but the rational part of her brain told her that he likely hadn't been given much information, either. His description of the bond certainly implied so. In the end, after glancing at the clock and seeing that it was nearly midnight, she decided she would have words with him in the morning and turned out the lights.
—
Draco had slept poorly. The first book he'd read regarding the binding ritual had been explicit in its description of the ceremony, from initiation to the damned seal.
There was blood involved, of course. Most permanent magic used it somewhere. But the use of sex in magical rites was not common by any means, not even amongst the darker practices. It was considered distasteful, and stars forbid the other person refuse, jeopardizing whatever magic you were performing.
The boy stared out his window, contemplating if he should just tell Hermione himself or if he should let her find out on her own, as he knew she would eventually make time to research the ritual.
Yixey appeared in his room, bowing. "Miss Granger is wishing to speak with you, young master Malfoy. She says to be collecting her for a walk through the gardens."
Cursing, Draco nodded to the elf and made his way from his room, slowly trekking to the guest hall as he tried to think of a way to explain things to her.
When he knocked on her door, he half-expected to go up in flames. Her expression when she answered, however, was far from the burning fury he'd been anticipating.
Hermione looked… indifferent. She gave him a tiny curtsy in greeting, then she linked her arm with his, and they started towards the gardens.
They walked in silence for a while, meandering about the greenery as they both considered their words. Finally, Hermione simply asked, "did you know?"
"Did I know what?" He dodged. She gave him a skeptical glance.
"The bond's seal."
The girl watched as he swallowed and stared at the ground, a hint of pink coloring his cheeks.
"Not until last night," he mumbled. She nodded.
"Would you still have tried to find me, if you had?"
There was more silence, as Draco's face morphed from diffident to pensive.
"I'm not sure," he began softly, lifting his gaze to hers. His voice dropped to just above a whisper as he concluded with "but probably."
Hermione said nothing, just continued walking, which confused the boy immensely.
"You're… not as irate as I was expecting you to be," he stated, studying her features. She scoffed.
"Last night, I had full plans to verbally scald you, and I am still decidedly not thrilled about this new bit of information. But when I woke up this morning, I realized you probably hadn't known, and that I really wasn't surprised by it. There was no use in getting angry at you."
While he appreciated the fact that she wasn't hexing him into oblivion, he still tried to explain. "Hermione, I never meant… When the Dark Lord agreed to let me search for you, he said if you were found acceptable, he would need to ensure your loyalty. I didn't know this was what he intended until our spies said they'd found you. That's when he told me."
"You asked for me to be your wife, Draco. You had to figure he'd pick something that would go along with that. Something to ensure that I was your wife in the wholest sense of the term."
The boy shook his head as his gaze returned to his feet, and Hermione just stared at the path ahead.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes after that, both too lost in their thoughts to voice anything. Suddenly, Jasmine darted out in front of them, closely followed by a large, bandy-legged orange cat.
"Crookshanks?!" Hermione gasped.
The orange cat re-emerged from the bush it had disappeared into, then gave a cheerful meow and walked up to the girl as she knelt down to scoop him up.
"You're alive!" she half-sobbed, cradling him to her chest as tears streamed down her cheeks. The feline purred and nudged Hermione's chin with his head.
Draco looked on, surprised. "You know that cat?"
Straightening, Hermione swiped at her eyes. "He's mine. I got him the summer before third year, at The Magical Menagerie. They said he's part Kneazle. But I thought he was killed on Halloween last year with…"
With the rest of the original Order, is what she didn't say. But he caught the implication in her silence. He cautiously raised a hand, allowing the cat to sniff him before attempting to stroke the ginger beast. The girl holding him raised her eyebrows when Crookshanks nudged the boy's hand in apparent approval.
"I can't believe he likes you. Usually he can sense a person's integrity, and after Pettigrew, I wouldn't have thought he'd trust a Death Eater."
Draco's eyes flicked up to hers, and she almost thought she saw a flash of hurt in them, but then he looked back down to the cat he was petting.
"He probably just dislikes those that aren't loyal to you, Death Eater or not."
Hermione felt another tiny blossom in her chest as she watched him continue to stroke the cat, Crookshanks purring beneath his touch. She decided the boy looked quite handsome when his features were at ease.
Trilly suddenly popped into existence nearby, her face brightening when she caught sight of the feline in Hermione's arms.
"Oh! Miss Granger has managed to capture the slippery one! I can be taking him away now!"
"You will not be taking him anywhere. Crookshanks will be staying with me," Hermione said firmly. Trilly straightened up as tall as her small stature would allow.
"We elves is serving the Malfoys. Miss Granger is a kind guest, and we does as she asks, but we is not disobeying family for guests."
Draco stepped forward. "Trilly, you will tell my mother that Crookshanks is Miss Granger's cat, and that you will not be removing him. You are also ordered to treat Hermione Granger as a Malfoy, I don't care what my mother and father say. She is my betrothed, and the house elves will show her proper respect."
The house elf instantly looked ashamed and bowed deeply. "Of course, young master Malfoy. Please be forgiving Trilly." She then turned to the girl.
"Trilly humbly apologizes for her terrible mouth, Mistress Granger, and asks for forgiveness."
Hermione sighed. "Of course, Trilly. You may leave us now."
When the elf had disappeared, the two resumed their walk, the girl holding tightly to her cat and silently marveling at the vastness of the garden.
When they made their way back inside, Hermione set Crookshanks down and knelt in front of him.
"Listen to me very carefully, Crooks. This is where the Dark Lord lives. You must be properly respectful to him, or you may not be able to stay. Do you understand?"
The feline sat up tall, his eyes holding a seriousness and wisdom that was uncommon in his kind. His human companion nodded, then stood and took her fiancé's hand.
"I'll be around the house. Stay out of sight, my darling cat."
The two of them watched as the cat disappeared, then began to head upstairs, as it was nearing eleven and Hermione was to meet with Narcissa to continue planning the wedding. Draco had also been asked to meet with the Dark Lord to discuss something or other.
Narcissa nodded to them both when she opened the door to the sitting room, gesturing for her future daughter-in-law to come in. Hermione, as was proper in the presence of others, kissed her betrothed on the cheek before leaving him, and he gave her a short bow. The girl then turned to the elder woman in the room as the door was shut.
The mistress of the house seemed to be in high spirits, sitting on one of the settees and taking a sip of tea with an almost relaxed posture, instead of the rigidly formal pose she'd adopted the day prior.
"I suggest we begin today by discussing your gown, Miss Granger. We'll need time to make sure it's done correctly," Narcissa sang, a light to her features. The younger witch gave a small, polite smile.
"That sounds excellent."
"Lovely. After you departed yesterday, I called on my dear friend Edith, who runs Eaglehyde Robes of Elegance, and she agreed to make your wedding dress. I asked her to stop by so we could begin the design process; she should be here any moment."
As if cued, there was a knock on the door, and opening it revealed a pretty, middle-aged woman with gold hair and sage eyes. She greeted Narcissa exuberantly, kissing her cheeks and exclaiming in a slight german accent, then she turned to Hermione, who curtsied appropriately. The woman canted her head and studied the girl for a moment, then gave a sharp nod.
"Beautiful, yes. You will do well in my gowns. I have brought much to play with, shall we start?"
Reaching into her bag, the guest spread several tiny boxes onto the coffee table, waving her wand over them and returning them to their original sizes. In seconds, bolts of fabric, sketches of necklines and skirts, and all manner of embellishments were being spread over the table. Hermione took a deep breath and joined the animated conversation the two older witches were having, discussing lace and satin and just how much of a difference there was between the colours "Diamond White" and "Purest Snow."
—
"Alright, Miss Granger; I have a little parting gift for you. Narcissa tells me you will be making an appearance for the press today, so I brought a few dresses that would be suitable for the occasion. Let us try them on you and see which looks best."
Hermione nodded, eager to be finished playing dress-up. Narcissa and Edith had practically transformed the room into a boutique, and the girl had been perched on a fitting platform for the better part of the last hour and a half.
The robe designer fished one last miniaturized trunk out of her handbag, expanding it and unlatching the case.
Inside were three dresses, all silver, but very different once they'd been magicked onto the nearby rack. Edith took one with a scooped neckline and flowy skirt and thrust it towards Hermione.
"This one first. I am thinking it will be most flattering."
The girl ended up trying on all three of the gowns, but Edith was correct in guessing that the first one looked loveliest on her. After transfiguring the outfit to fit perfectly, the dressmaker ordered a house elf to take the dress to Miss Granger's room, then flicked her wand and rendered her things miniature once again. She collected them and placed it all in her handbag, and was just kissing Narcissa's cheeks when Draco knocked on the door.
He greeted Edith with a bow and placed a light kiss on her knuckles, then he bowed to his intended and waited for her to kiss Edith's cheeks before offering his arm.
They began heading towards Hermione's quarters as Narcissa escorted her guest in the opposite direction. When they were out of earshot, Draco threw Hermione a pitying glance.
"If Edith Eaglehyde was involved in your planning today, I'm incredibly sorry."
Hermione shrugged. "It wasn't that bad, truthfully. We started designing my dress, it was almost fun." She looked up with a curious expression. "What was your meeting about?"
"Nothing that should concern you," he said with a shake of his head. The girl felt annoyance spike through her, but decided not to press the matter. After all, if it wasn't about her or would affect her, perhaps it was better she didn't know.
As they rounded the corner into the guest hall, Hermione narrowed her eyes. Lucius Malfoy was standing in the hall, conversing with a very handsome wizard. There was also a girl beside them, her back to the newcomers as she directed a house elf into the room beside Hermione's, following it once it had managed to drag the trunk it was holding inside.
Lucius's gaze landed on his son and the witch on his arm, his countenance hardening as the two approached and bowed respectfully. The other man studied them as well.
"You must be Miss Granger, then," the unfamiliar wizard stated, his eyes lighting in surprise as she nodded and formally raised her free hand for him to kiss. He bent and brushed her knuckles against his lips. "Alpheus Burke. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Lovely to make your acquaintance," Hermione replied, keeping her posture erect and voice airy. Alpheus nodded to Draco, whom he saw quite regularly, then his stare drifted past them.
"Miss Granger, may I present my daughter, Delilah."
A figure glided past the pair to stand next to her father, and Hermione had to fight to restrain a gasp as she laid eyes on the most breathtaking girl she had ever seen.
—
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