After dropping the worthless sack of human waste in the gravel path in front of his cottage for later disposal as promised, Draco shifted Granger's unconscious weight in his arms. The warmth of her body settled against his chest, and quick puffs of air skated across the exposed skin of his neck. Pansy trailed silently behind Draco, following up the dark wooden porch steps and through the front door.
"The second room on the right of the upstairs landing is yours for now. Make yourself at home," Draco said as he wandlessly removed his boots and moved through the kitchen without waiting for Pansy to respond. He trusted she'd find her way around eventually.
Draco marched up the stairs and into his private chambers, not stopping until his knees met the edge of his mattress covered in a heavy duvet the color of silver. He gently laid Granger's sleeping form down, letting her weight settle into the luxurious linen. He filled the ensuite bath with steaming water and healing herbs, epsom salt, and rejuvenating potions meant for soaking. While the tub filled, he laid out another assortment of potions and healing supplies beside Granger's prone form, her head lolled slightly to the side, exposing the slightly strained tendons of her neck.
He took a moment to cast a vital monitoring charm; her pulse was slower than he'd like to see. The charm showed obvious signs of malnourishment, some strain on her kidneys and liver, and multiple glowing red orbs throughout her brain shone brightly on the floating chart. Draco knew from his own experience in healing himself, that the red orbs indicated signs of severe mental trauma. It wasn't a surprise seeing them after hearing the few sentences Granger had spoken.
Casting everything but the heart rate and blood pressure aside, Draco vanished Granger's stained shift, leaving her completely bare before him. He felt a twinge of discomfort for just a moment before he pushed the feeling down, knowing he needed to remain detached for this task. He could have had Pansy perform an evaluation of Granger's physical state, but a voice in the back of Draco's mind demanded that it was his duty to assess her condition. He was responsible for restoring her to full health and ensuring her safety.
Draco felt his tenuous control over the alpha slipping as he took in the tortuous landscape of his omega's body. A battle of wills commenced for a moment before Draco was ripped into the recesses of his mind, where he could only observe the actions of the furious alpha.
Strong, calloused fingers, littered with scars of his own, reached out and ran over Granger's scalp; the little bit of hair she had couldn't hide the random patches of raised skin wrapping over the shape of her skull. After starting his alpha transformation, he'd shot to nearly two meters in height and sat at nineteen stone in heavily muscled weight. Holding Granger's finely boned cheeks between his large hands only served to highlight the size difference between them. As an omega, Granger's body would have transformed to entice her optimum mate. Not all omega's had curves or were slighter than their partners; it all depended on the biology and what would draw each mate to the other.
If Draco had time to divulge his visual preferences in his partners, he'd say he preferred a softer partner with more curves. He could admit he had a bit of a size kink. It was hard not to with the way he was built. If Granger were his optimum mate, which he believed she was, her body would have been deprived of the proper nutrients to complete her omega transformation. She had a long road of recovery before her.
Draco's eyes skimmed over the slight rise and dip of her chest, the alpha noting the nearly translucent scars covering each breast before he moved over her arms and torso. A bubble of white-hot anger shot through him as he homed in on her scent glands. What once must have been deep scratch marks covered each one, as if she or someone else had clawed at them repeatedly.
My omega. I'll kill each and every one of the bastards that did this to her; hisalpha seethed, Draco still unable to do anything but watch the scene play out before him.
He didn't detect any other significant injuries that required his attention, so he continued his assessment of the rest of her body. The same raised skin and translucent scarring marred her skin in random patches, but still no severe injuries.
Draco flicked his wand towards the running bath water to cease its flow before he stooped to lift Granger back into his arms. He flinched as his hands made contact with her skin again; it was easily five degrees warmer than it had been when he'd started his evaluation.
"Mmm, alpha. Please, alpha," Granger mumbled incoherently as she pressed herself further against Draco's chest.
"I have you, omega. I'll take care of you," Draco said, and the deep timbre vibrated through his chest.
After removing his shirt to avoid soaking himself, he grabbed a loofah and lathered it with soap made from lavender, Dittany, and chamomile. It wasn't a cure-all soap, but the three plants working together did provide some medicinal benefits. Draco started with Granger's feet, taking the darkened soles in his hands and scrubbing them until the skin was clear of filth and bright pink from his ministrations. He paid the same attention to the rest of her body, moving from one section to the next until every speck of dirt was gone from her skin. He'd only had to change the water twice to ensure she wasn't sitting in a bath made of her own filth.
Draco had taken extra care to keep his eyes averted. His alpha made sure his skin never made contact with hers as he'd cleaned her more private body parts, trying to maintain some semblance of her autonomy since the only entity available to give consent was her omega. He hardly considered that a lucid participant who was able to make clear-headed decisions like offering consent. Once her cleansing was completed, he grabbed a vial of nourishment potion and dreamless sleep.
After pulling Granger out of the tub, he used a drying spell on her, then pulled one of his black t-shirts over her head, watching as it fell nearly to her knees before he carried her back to his bedroom. With another wave of his wand, the blankets were swapped for a fresh set. Draco folded back the thick duvet cover, laid Granger down, and tucked her into the warm blankets before sliding in next to Granger, gathering her in his arms and breathing in her heady scent in desperate lungfuls that left him lightheaded.
Granger mumbled incoherently in her sleep as her warm body snuggled closer to his. The softness of her breasts through the thin T-shirt left invisible scorch marks against his naked chest. One of her scarred thighs slung across his hips, eliciting a grunt of pleasure from his alpha as the weight of her settled against him. A rumble of content vibrated through his chest, signaling the alpha's pleasure at their current state.
Draco mentally ripped control back from the love-drunk alpha and eased out of Granger's hold. After quickly changing into fresh robes, he made his way across the hall and knocked on the first spare bedroom door.
"Theo?" Draco asked.
The sounds of feet shuffling and muffled voices sounded from the other side of the door before it swung open. Theo stepped out, shutting the door behind him as he did.
"Draco," Theo greeted with a tight nod. "How is Pansy doing? Did you find the other omega?"
Draco looked towards Pansy's room before responding. "Pansy is fine, I think. As far as the other omega, she's under my protection, and her identity must remain a secret. Is that understood?"
Theo gave him a questioning look but nodded once in understanding.
"The other omega is Granger," Draco said.
Theo's eyes widened slightly in response. "Wait. You don't meanHermioneGranger. Right?"
Draco huffed out an impatient sigh in response. "Of course, I mean Hermione Granger. How many other Grangers do you know, Theo?"
Theo glanced at Draco's closed bedroom door, eliciting a soft growl in response from the touchy alpha. "Right. Hermione Granger. The supposed missing Golden Girl is in your room. And if your response to her scent earlier today is any indication, she's your mate."
Draco didn't know how to respond to Theo's assumptions. He had been unable to keep his alpha at bay when he'd witnessed the damage to Granger's body. Seeing how little control he had over the primal part of himself forced him to face a part of his biology, and he had no idea how to deal with it. Admitting that Granger was his mate out loud meant it was real, and he'd have to do something about it.
So, instead of responding, Draco took the mature route and ignored Theo. "How is Luna doing?" he asked.
Theo shook his head in exasperation before responding. "Luna will be okay physically. I assume she's just as mentally taxed as the other girls, so she's resting right now. I haven't pushed for too many details. How did the extraction go after I left?" Theo crossed his arms over his chest.
"A few unexpected visitors, but nothing I couldn't handle," Draco responded easily.
"Is it going to be a problem that will pop up later?" Theo questioned further.
"Probably. Again, nothing I can't handle," Draco responded with finality, effectively ending Theo's line of questioning.
Pansy must have heard their voices because her door flung open, and she stepped out to greet them. Her shift had been replaced with simple black sweatpants and a black T-shirt. Draco normally kept an assortment of clothes stocked in each room in case he had an unexpected guest in need of such things.
"What are you boys visiting about?" Pansy asked as she leaned against the dark wooden banister of the stairs, her eyes shooting between Draco and Theo quickly.
"Just talking to Mr. Perfectly-In-Denial about Granger being his mate. You'll learn quickly that Draco likes to shut down any conversation he sees as too personal," Theo answered before Draco could get a word in.
A slow smile slid over Pansy's face as she looked Draco up and down in a quick assessment. "Oh, you poor, poor man. She is going to eat you alive when she comes to." Pansy chuckled, and her eyes lit with excitement.
"When who comes to?" Draco asked with feigned ignorance, not liking the obvious glee Pansy displayed. The interaction left him unsettled. Granger was as docile as a kitten. It was almost laughable that she would have the ability to inflict any sort of damage on him.
"Oh no. I'm not spoiling the show for myself. You'll just have to wait and see," Pansy answered before turning her back on the alphas and making her way down the stairs. Leaving them to question her sanity in silence.
Draco inhaled deeply before turning to look at Theo once more. "I have a mission this evening I need to prepare for. Can you stay in case the girls need something?" Draco asked.
Theo nodded. "Of course. Is this an omega sort of mission or a Death Eater Draco mission?"
"The Dark Lord has a task for me," Draco supplied before marching down the stairs after Pansy.
Draco stepped into the kitchen to find Pansy moving about the space as if she'd lived there for years. With multiple flicks of her wrist, she'd set the tea kettle to brew, eggs to cook on the stovetop, and started a fire in the stone hearth.
"I'm stepping out, but Theo will be here if you need help with anything," Draco announced as he stopped to put his boots back on, the laces cinching with a slight wave of his hand.
Pansy stepped into his line of sight from his stooped position, her smaller stature evident as her arms came around his neck to pull him into a tight embrace. Being unprepared for the sudden affection, Draco could only think to let his arms hang stiffly at his side.
"Thank you, Draco," Pansy said softly as she showed the first sign of vulnerability that wasn't related to Granger or Luna.
Draco nodded jerkily in response as he pulled away from the warmth her arms provided. "You'll be safe if you stay within the cottage boundaries. Like I said, if you have any questions, ask Theo. I won't be back until late tonight." His voice came in the same detached tone he'd developed as a defense mechanism over the years.
Without another glance in Pansy's direction, Draco exited his safe haven and apparated to the manor he once called home but was now nothing but a den of deranged snakes.