The Heiress of Slytherin
By: Peanutbuttertoast
Hermione is Sorted into Slytherin and is taunted by her Housemates…
particularly Draco Malfoy who succeeds in alienating the little witch
from not just Slytherin House but the entirety of Hogwarts. But what
happens when Hermione finds out just whom her real father is? And
how will she prove her worth?
Sorted Slytherin
Chapter 1: Sorted Slytherin
The day
that
Professor
McGonagall
came to the home of
Richard and Helen Granger
to tell
them their daughter was a
witch and that
there was a school, Hogwarts, that taught magic
to wizards and witches,
their
reaction wasn't
exactly one of
shock.
They had known their daughter was special, that she was a witch
from the day a woman,
dressed in the strangest
clothes and
carrying a stick,
showed up on their doorstep handing over her
baby girl.
The baby couldn't
have been more than a few weeks
old,
and the woman never did tell
them her name, or where she
had come from.
She'd just
begged them to take her daughter,
told them to keep
her safe and vanished as quickly as she'd came.
Hermione had always known she was different
from the
other children in her primary school.
She never had real
friends like some of
the other children,
but
she was a quiet
and thoughtful
child,
if
not
somewhat
cold and
aloof.
It
was almost
as if
the other children could sense there
was something different about her and teased her bookish nature
and bushy curls.
It
wasn't
until
one day,
when a particularly mean older boy
had grabbed her and accosted her and he'd ended up deaf,
mute and blind-that the other children stopped bothering her.
Whispers then started that
Hermione Granger was a 'freak '
and soon, there wasn't a single child who wanted to play with
her nor even talk to her. So when the older witch came to her
home and told her
that
magic was real,
and there was a
school where she'd learn to use her gifts?
She was relieved and excited.
Finally she'd be able to be somewhere that
would accept
her,
and she could fit in and have friends.
But
as luck would have it,
those hopes were most
cruelly and
immediately dashed.
On the train ride to Hogwarts,
Hermione had made what
she'd
thought
was her first
friend.
His name was Neville and he'd lost
his toad.
She went
around to the compartments, kindly asking if
anyone had seen a toad,
explaining that
a boy named Neville
had lost his and she was helping him find it.
One of the first compartments she'd entered had a small
group of
boys,
all
about
her
age.
One of
the boys had startling blonde,
almost white, hair and the most striking grey eyes.
He'd politely told her he hadn't
seen a toad and then introduced
himself, almost as if she should've known whom he was.
It seemed he was the leader of his friends.
Hermione was polite and thanked them for
their
help,
leaving
them to continue her search.
Later
she came to another
compartment
with two boys,
one
with dark messy hair and the other with the brightest
red hair
she'd ever seen.
Quickly, she realized who the dark-haired boy was… Harry Potter!
The boy who defeated the Darkest
Wizard of
the age.
Hermione
fixed his glasses and hoped that
perhaps,
they could become
good friends.
When she reached the boats and saw the castle off
in the
distance, she was overcome with excitement.
She'd
read
Hogwarts
a History
several
times
before school
started,
and eagerly memorized everything she could about
her
new home.
Her
father
had bought
her
the book and she had been so
impressed with everything she'd learned.
When it
came time to gather and await
the sorting ceremony,
she noticed the pale blonde boy again,
trying to make friends
with Harry Potter-but
it
seemed the Boy-who-Lived didn't
want
to be friends.
Hermione thought it strange but kept to the background, glad that
Neville had finally found his lost toad.
When the doors opened and she walked in, she gazed upwards
at
the enchanted ceiling,
and couldn't
help reciting to the girl
walking next
to her
what
she'd learned in Hogwarts a History,
about the fact that it was magicked to look like the sky at night.
Finally the time came to be sorted,
and Hermione had read all
about
the houses.
She was convinced that Ravenclaw would be
the best
fit
for her and eagerly awaited her turn. The girl
next to
her,
Hannah Abbott
has been sorted into Hufflepuff
and a boy
named Finnegan had been sorted into Gryffindor,
when finally
her name was called.
She approached the stool, trying to tell herself to relax.
The red-headed boy from the train had whispered to the Potter
boy something about
being 'mental
'
but
Hermione paid him little
mind.
She had read that
houses were like your family,
something that
Professor
McGonagall
had
reiterated
before
outside
in
the
hallway.
She was desperate for friends,
and felt
that
she would
finally be accepted for who she was.
When the hat
was placed upon her head, it wasn't but a minute
before the word 'Slytherin!' was heard, and Hermione paled a bit,
listening to the polite cheers from her
new house,
while the
others remained silent.
She stepped down from the stool
and stood with her shoulders
back and walked as confidently as she could to her new house,
not
missing the look of
shock and almost
pity coming from her
new Professor.
Hermione
kept
quiet
as
the sorting was
finished and then
Headmaster Dumbledore made the announcement
for the feast
to begin.
Soon there was excited chatter all
around her as the
new students all
seemed to know each other,
while a few sent
her questioning looks, noticing her silence.
Soon however,
the blonde boy from the train spoke up and
addressed her in front of everyone.
"Hello again,
I
believe we met
briefly on the train.
I'm Malfoy…
Draco Malfoy. You're Hermione Granger?"
At
this Hermione nodded,
noticing the sharp and assessing look
the blonde was giving her.
He smirked and his other
friends
silently nodded amongst
themselves as if
they were sharing in
some sort of private joke.
"I'm not
familiar with the name Granger . You wouldn't happen
to be related to the Dagworth-Grangers?"
At
this Hermione
shook her head silently, not liking the look in the boys eyes and
not understanding where this line of questioning was headed.
"So,
you come from a magical
family,
yes?"
The blonde asked
again with feigned politeness. Hermione just looked at him dumbly
for
a moment
and then responded quietly.
"I'm not
sure what
you're asking. Perhaps you should just ask your question directly."
The other first
years around the table sat
back silently in shock
while the rest
of
the table quieted down,
waiting to see what
would become of this conversation.
"Very well," sneered the blonde,
"Granger is not a magical
family
name, so your parents must be Muggles?"
Hermione realized in that moment, that all
the hope she'd had to
make new friends was simply not meant to be.
She looked at
the faces of those sitting by her and saw the open
expressions of disgust and hostility on their faces.
She'd read about
Slytherin House in her
book,
but
honestly
hadn't
given it
much consideration.
She wasn't
from a magical
family that she knew, so thought there was little chance she'd be
put in Slytherin.
Oh, how wrong she was!
She straightened her
shoulders and looked the blonde boy
directly in the eye and nodded.
"Yes,
my parents are Muggles,
what of it?" She'd demanded a bit harsher than she'd intended.
The Malfoy boy sneered at
her in disgust
and gave her the
same look she'd seen her entire life from the children in her
former schools.
Hermione's heart
plummeted and she knew there would be
no chance of friends here.
"That
is unfortunate,"
the boy said haughtily,
while the other
students at their table just smirked in glee. "Usually only children
from magical
families
get
sorted
into
Slytherin
House.
Purebloods you see.
We do have some half-blood students, but
no respectable witch or wizard would ever be seen befriending a
mudblood ."
Hermione's eyes widened at the derogatory term, but she'd heard
worse from her former school
mates and looked back at
the boy
impassively.
"Well,
I
suppose it
is a good thing I'm here to learn,
and am not
worried about
making friends."
Hermione retorted back just
as
coldly,
watching the blonde's eyes narrow and his face redden in
anger.
"Well
that is fortunate for you, mudblood, because you will find no
friends here."
With that Draco Malfoy looked to the other first years, and they
all
nodded along with him and ignored Hermione for the rest of
the feast.
Hermione's food tasted like ash,
but
she was unwilling to show
weakness.
She desperately wanted to learn magic and wouldn't
let
anyone
take that away from her.
She would show them all
that
she was the smartest,
best
student and she would learn magic quicker than any of them.
She didn't need friends anyway, she never had.
A Painful Truth
Chapter 2: A Painful Truth
Hermione's first
year
had dragged by slowly,
and while she was
successful
at obtaining the top grades in all her classes, it seemed
the better
she did,
the more vicious and cruel
her
housemates
were to her.
The girls in her dorm room were particularly nasty.
They'd taken to hiding her
robes,
or
stealing her knickers and
placing them around the Slytherin Common Room for all
to see
and laugh at.
After
one particularly
horrible day where the
Parkinson girl
had destroyed her potions homework, her Head of
House just
stared down his abnormally large nose at
her
in
disgust, when she'd tried to explain what had happened.
It
was then that
Hermione realized,
she would get
no help
nor support in her house, not even from Professor Snape.
Then,
she'd found out
that
he was Malfoy's godfather,
and it
all
made perfect sense to her.
She never broke though. Never gave any person in her house the
satisfaction of losing her temper.
She just
spent
all
her
free time in the library absorbed in
magical
texts,
learning spells and practicing in deserted
classrooms.
Even Neville and Harry Potter
ignored her thanks to the
hateful
Weasley boy,
who'd decided because she was a
Slytherin, she wasn't worth their time.
It
seemed that
prejudice was everywhere in the Wizarding
World. But she was determined to succeed.
It
seemed as if
the rest
of
her Professors were willing to give
her
a
fair
chance,
and
silently
understood
to
how she
struggled, but that she was determined to excel.
The Defense Against
the Dark Arts Professor,
Quirrell
was a
little odd.
He stuttered and seemed to be scared of
his own
shadow,
but
Hermione soon realized that
this was a clever
disguise.
She'd always been good at ferreting out people's secrets.
Perhaps it
was due to always being on the outside looking in,
so it
was no surprise to Hermione at
the end of
her first
year
that
it
was
discovered
that
Professor
Quirrell
had
been
possessed by the spirit
of
the Dark Lord Voldemort,
and was
destroyed by Harry Potter.
Hermione had tried hard to gain points for her house throughout
the year,
a fact
they weren't
appreciative of
in the slightest- but
when it
looked like Slytherin would take the House cup at
the
final
feast,
Hermione couldn't
help feel
a bit of pride in knowing
that
she'd been a big part of that, even though no one from her
house would ever acknowledge it.
So she was understandably angry and severely disappointed
when Dumbledore decided at
the last
minute to award Harry
Potter
and his friends just
enough points to take the cup out
of
their hands.
The groans and sneers from her
housemates didn't
help any,
especially since they were primarily sent in her direction-as if she
were to blame!
She'd never been so glad for a school
year to be over,
and was
secretly glad to be returning home to her family.
When Hermione got
to Kings Cross, her parents were waiting for
her. Her mother hugged her and her father smiled at her in pride.
They had been informed that
she had been the top student
of
her
year,
and
they
were
extremely
proud
of
her
accomplishments.
When Hermione saw Draco Malfoy get
off
the train and head
towards his parents,
she couldn't
help but
notice the regal
looking couple that awaited him. They were dressed in the most
expensive robes Hermione had ever seen.
For the first
time in
her
life,
Hermione felt
jealous that
she didn't
have magical
parents, and she didn't like the feeling much.
When Hermione got home, she quietly went to her room and cried
.
She had locked down her emotions all year, and she couldn't hold
it back anymore.
She cried for the fact that she didn't belong anywhere it seemed,
and she'd never have any friends.
Sobbing her heart
out,
that
was how her mother found her an
hour later when she came to get her for dinner.
When Helen asked Hermione what
was wrong,
all
the hurt
and
pain she'd been through over the last year came tumbling out like
poison.
Hermione told her mother all
the things she was afraid to
write in her letters, for fear her parents would refuse to let her stay
and learn magic.
Helen just
looked at
her
daughter
sadly and
hugged her,
telling her to come downstairs when she was ready
for dinner.
When Hermione came down a little while later,
her parents were
arguing in the kitchen.
She'd
honestly
never
remembered
a
time
seeing
her
parents so angry with each other.
When she asked them what
was wrong,
she didn't
like the look
of
guilt
on both their
faces.
Her
mother
looked at
her
father
pleadingly,
and he finally capitulated and went
into his study,
coming back a few minutes later carrying an small ornate box.
He then motioned for Hermione to sit down and then grabbed his
wife's hand as they sat down across from their daughter.
Richard Granger looked at
his only child and felt
such a sense
of
sadness that
he couldn't
protect
her from the small-minded
hate mongers of
the world.
But
he was afraid that his daughter
would never forgive he and Helen, for not telling her the truth of
her birth.
He slid the small
box over to his daughter,
and nodded as
she looked at him questioningly.
"You can open it,
Princess,
what's inside of
it
belongs to you.
We should've told you sooner, but your mother and I were afraid
that it might change the way you saw us."
Hermione was confused and it
showed.
"What
do you mean,
Daddy? I
love you and mum,
you're the only people in my life
who care about me."
Helen sobbed for her daughter.
"We love you too,
sweetie,
more than anything. We just didn't know how to tell you. We
probably
should've
mentioned
it
before
you
started
at
Hogwarts last
September,
but we didn't think it would make
that
much of
a difference.
We were wrong." Hermione just
stared at
her parents in confusion,
not
understanding what
they were trying to tell her.
She then glanced down at
the box and noticed that
it
was
magically sealed.
She tried to open it but it wouldn't open.
She looked back at
both her parents questioningly, but they just
shook their heads sadly, as they thought the box would open for
her.
"What
is going on, mum… dad?" She was starting to panic,
and could feel her magic starting to flare.
Helen frowned at
her
daughter
and then proceeded to explain
about
the night
the strange woman with a wand had come to
their door with a small bundle.
A baby…
… her.
Hermione's eyes widened in shock as her mother told her that
the woman had left
her with them,
begged them to take care of
her
and gave Hermione to them.
The box was hidden in the
basket, and they'd tried to open it to no avail.
Hermione
felt
tears
coming
down
her
eyes. She was adopted!
She wasn't a Granger, and it sounded as if her birth mother was a
witch.
And who was her birth father?
Hermione asked these questions, but neither of her parents had
any
answers for
her
other
than the box,
which refused to
open.Her first reaction was anger at her parents for lying to her,
but looking at them she could see how afraid they were of losing
her and she didn't
have anyone else who loved her, so she ran
to her parents hugging them and reassuring them that she was
their daughter and it
didn't
matter who her birth parents were,
they were her family and she loved them.
Both Richard and Helen cried tears of
relief
and joy with their
daughter,
promising
her
that
they
wouldn't
keep any
more
secrets and they'd help her in anyway they could find out whom
her birth parents were.
Hermione looked at
the box carefully,
which had two large
snakes swirling around each other inside a crest
of
some kind,
and she could swear that she'd seen this somewhere before.
It was a mystery, and one she was determined to figure out.
A Prosperous Trip to Diagon Alley
Chapter 3: A Prosperous Trip to Diagon Alley
The summer flew by and soon it was time to go to Diagon Alley to
get her school supplies.
Her parents had decided to take her early,
and they headed to
Flourish
and
Blotts,
where
some
Wizard
Hermione
wasn't
familiar with was having a book signing, and the line was out the
door.
The Granger
family went
into the store together,
and Hermione
browsed through the books,
so eager
to get
started on her
reading that
she didn't
notice the Weasley family come in with
Harry Potter.
It
wasn't
until
the smiling man behind the counter
grabbed Harry and some reporter started taking their picture?
That Hermione realized what was going on.
She stood back quietly and watched as a tall
man with long
blonde hair
started arguing with a man that
looked to be Ron
Weasley's father.
Hermione
grabbed
her
Father's
hand
and
started
heading
towards the door, when she was outed by Draco Malfoy.
"Look who it
is,
Father?"
Draco sneered condescendingly,
"It's
the girl I told you about this summer."
Squeezing her
Father's hand,
she watched warily as the regal
man with the long blonde hair
looked down at
her
in the most
condescending way.
"Ah yes, Miss Granger, isn't it?" The older wizard glanced down
at
his son for confirmation, and Draco just nodded and sneered
in her general
direction.
His father then turned to address her
again,
giving her
parents a distasteful
passing glance in the
process as he drawled arrogantly, "And these are your parents?"
He asked with feigned politeness. "Muggles aren't they? "
His voice dropped off at the end literally dripping with disdain.
Hermione stared up at
the wizard,
not
breaking eye contact but
he just rose a single eyebrow at her boldness, his face not giving
anything away.
"I've always found it rather fascinating when people ask rhetorical
questions,
don't
you? It makes answering superfluous, don't you
think?"
Hermione
responded
evenly,
raising
an
eyebrow
mockingly at
Draco's father,
and she could have sworn she saw
his
eyes
darken
for
a
moment,
but
just
as
quickly
his
countenance cleared and he turned his attention back to Mr.
Weasley.
"And you, Arthur? The Ministry sending you out on unnecessary
raids.
It's a disgrace,
all
those extra raids and you can't
even
afford to buy your children proper books."
At
that
comment, he grabbed the youngest Weasley girl's books
out
of
her
cauldron,
looking at
them in contempt
and dropped
them back in.
Hermione watched the exchange and noticed instantly that
there was one additional
book in the cauldron that
hadn't
been there before the exchange.
She missed the rest of the
conversation between the two men, and before she knew it?
Mr.
Weasley had attacked Mr.
Malfoy and her parents ushered
her out
of
the bookstore,
her father mumbling something about
Neanderthals.
She also didn't
miss the look of
anger and hate coming from
Draco Malfoy either,
and she knew she'd pay for insulting his
father at
some point
during this upcoming year;
however,
she
was more concerned about
the book that
Lucius Malfoy had
placed in the young girl's cauldron.
She could feel the Dark magic radiating off of it.
Stopping
her
father
and
explaining
that
she'd
forgotten
something in the bookstore, Hermione went back quickly inside,
noticing that
Malfoy and his father
were long gone and the
youngest
Weasley girl
was standing by herself
waiting for her
mother-who was getting some books signed by the smiling man
behind the counter.
Hermione quietly went
over to where the young girl
had set her
cauldron down and looked around quickly,
before she switched
the book she'd seen Mr.
Malfoy place in the cauldron with
another that looked just like it.
She palmed the small
black book that appeared to be some kind
of
diary,
and placed it
discreetly into her robes,
quickly moving
out of the store to find her parents.
Hermione had no idea what the book was, but she planned
on finding out.
Meeting with a Snake
Chapter 4: Meeting with a Snake
September 1st came quickly and Hermione still
hadn't figured out
how to open the box that her parents had given her that summer,
and she'd put the diary away in her school
trunk, deciding to wait
until she got to school to research it.
When she'd opened it,
the pages were blank but Hermione was
sure that the book contained some kind of Dark magic.
Oddly she could feel
it,
but
wasn't
enticed by it
like she'd
imagined she should've been.
Perhaps once she got
to school
and did some research,
she'd
figure it out.
One of the books that she'd bought at the bookstore on protective
charms and wards had been a fascinating read and as soon as
she'd gotten back to school and into her dorm?
She'd warded her
trunk so that
if
anyone opened it,
they'd
suffer a nasty boil hex that wouldn't go away for a week.
Hermione smirked on the third day of
term when she heard
Pansy Parkinson screaming in horror and come running out of
their dorm room with green boils all over her face.
The looks from the other students ranged from shock, anger and
in a few cases begrudging respect-as the whole of
Slytherin
House soon found out
just how pug-faced Parkinson had gotten
hexed.
When Professor Snape had entered the common room later that
same evening and called Hermione down in front
the whole of
Slytherin to demand the counter curse and for her to apologize to
Miss Parkinson or
suffer
detention for
the rest
of
the term,
however Hermione just smirked evilly at her Head of House and
said coldly and clearly,
"I'll
take the detention,
Professor. And in
the future,
please-I'd appreciate it
if
you wouldn't
insult
my
intelligence.
I'll
always take the detention, as I have no plans on
apologizing for defending myself
against
any person or persons
who think they can treat
me thusly.
It's not
as if
I can run to my
Head of House for fair treatment after all."
Professor Snape looked down at the small girl, who was glaring
up at him with utter contempt.
It
was true he'd been unfair
to her,
but
he had a reputation to
uphold
and
unfortunately
he
couldn't
be
seen
coddling
a
mudblood, even if she was a Slytherin.
The rest
of
the common room just
gaped on in utter
shock. No one had ever addressed their Head of House
so rudely.
Snape sneered at the young girl
and said in his drawling baritone,
"Very well, Miss Granger. Detention for the rest of the year."
At
this
the majority
of
her
housemates
smirked and some
laughed,
but
Hermione just raised her eyebrow in challenge and
then proceeded to curtsy to her
Potions Professor
and say
sweetly, "I'm looking forward to it."
She then turned around regally with her nose pointed in the air
and marched right
out
the common room door,
not
sparing a
single glance at any of her fellow Slytherins.
Insufferable assholes.
The whole of Slytherin House decided to try and make the little
Slytherin's life a living hell,
but
they soon learned she gave as
good as she got.
When Marcus Flint
tripped her down a flight of stairs, and she'd
ended up unconscious in the hospital
for
three days with a
concussion,
she later
proceeded to sneak into the Slytherin
locker
room with a stolen wand that
she'd "borrowed "
(after
successfully stealing from Professor
Snape's potions storage
and brewing Polyjuice Potion to change into Vincent
Crabbe),
while slipping him a sleeping draught.
She'd hexed Flint's broom,
causing him to keep slamming into
the Slytherin Quidditch stands until
he fell
from his broom and
broke both legs and his right
arm,
along with sustaining a
severe concussion.
He'd ended up in the hospital
for
two
weeks,
while Slytherin lost
the match to Hufflepuff,
which was
embarrassing for the dentally-challenged Quidditch Captain.
When the whole of
Slytherin accused Granger
of
the deed,
Snape came in with Dumbledore-who cast a 'Priori
Incantatem '
on
Hermione's wand to see what her last spells were.
Surprisingly,
there was no proof
that
her wand had cast
the hex
that had been placed on Flint's broom.
The whole of Slytherin House stood there in confusion as the little
witch once again,
stared down her
Head of
House,
while the
Headmaster just
smiled serenely and told Professor Snape that it
would appear that Miss Granger was innocent.
Snape stared at
Miss Granger,
who looked at
him with such
disgust and hatred in her eyes-he then realized that this little witch
wasn't
going to ever
give in to her tormentors.
And for the first
time,
he considered her with something akin to respect
and left
the common room, robes billowing in his wake.
After Flints 'accident ' the hazing and torment quieted down some,
and Hermione was able to breath a momentary sigh of relief.
Her housemates still
sneered at
her,
calling her mudblood, but
for the most part they left her alone.
By late November, Hermione was no closer to figuring out what
the diary was,
but
in a stroke of
luck she did manage to figure
of what the crest on her box represented.
It
happened during a duel
with Malfoy and Potter
in Defense
class.
Malfoy had conjured a snake from his wand,
which slithered
towards a boy in Hufflepuff.
Potter
had started hissing at
the
snake,
and surprisingly Hermione could understand what
Potter
was saying to the snake.
Professor
Snape looked stunned by
this new revelation of
Potter speaking to snakes,
and she had
overheard Weasley telling Potter
that
he had been speaking
Parseltongue, which was snake language.
Thinking about her box, Hermione decided to do some research
on Parseltongue, and what she discovered shocked her.
It
seemed that
speaking Parseltongue was a rare gift,
and only
could be spoken by those who were direct
heirs of
Salazar
Slytherin himself.
Hermione had never
known she possessed the gift,
as she'd
never been around snakes as a child.
Determined to see if
she truly possessed the gift,
she decided
to
head
down
towards
the
Black
Lake
late
one
Sunday
afternoon, to see if she could locate a snake to converse with it.
It
didn't
take long for her to come across a snake on the edge of
the lake near the Forbidden Forest.
The snake was rather large
and at
first
Hermione was a bit
frightened,
but
the snake just
looked at her curiously and then started hissing at her.
"Who are you? " The snake hissed questioningly, it's eyes fixated
on the small witch.
"I
am called Hermione.
I
am very pleased to meet you, do you
have a name?"
The snake came a bit
closer and circled around the rock where
Hermione was sitting,
then stopped and raised its head so it's
face was at eye level.
"My
name is
Nagini."
The snake hissed.
"You speak snake
language. Your magic smells familiar. Who are you?"
Hermione
just
stared
at
the
snake
in
shock.
How
could
her
magic
smell
familiar?
"I
am a student
at
Hogwarts.
I
am in Slytherin House,
although
they don't
like me much. They think I am a mudblood, but I was
adopted by my parents,
so I
don't
know who my real
parents
are." Hermione then pulled out the box from her bag and showed
it
to the snake.
"I
just
found out
recently that
I
can understand
snake language,
and this was left
by my birth mother when she
gave me away."
Nagini
came closer
and eyed the box.
She gazed up at
Hermione and gently flicked her tongue on the young witch's
cheek, causing the her to giggle softly.
"The crest
is from the House of Gaunt. They are heirs to Salazar
Slytherin.
Ask the box to open in snake language, it should open
for you if you are a true heir to the House of Slytherin."
Holy cricket!!!
Heir to Slytherin, but how could that be?
Hermione just
stared at
the snake and then looked down at the
box again.
She then hissed the word 'open '
and the magical
seal
released opening the box. Looking inside, she noticed a ring
with a black stone in the center. The stone had a weird shape in
the middle of it, like a triangle with a line straight through it.
Hermione could feel
the magic coming from the ring,
and it
was
the same magic as she felt from the diary.
"You, Hermione, have the ring of my master. It is the Gaunt family
ring, and belongs to its heir, the heir of Salazar Slytherin. The ring
holds the soul
of my master. Only his heir could hold his soul and
not
be corrupted by its magic.
Try the ring on,
if you are the true
heir it will bind to you and protect you."
"And if I'm not the heir?"
"Then young witch,
you will
die.
But your magic is familiar. It
feels like my Master's."
"Who is your
master?"
Hermione knew who it
was,
but
she
needed to hear it to confirm that her suspicions were true.
"The Dark Lord is my master. He is the Heir of Slytherin."
Hermione nodded.
"Where is your
master,
Nagini? Is he still
alive?"
Nagini
nodded once. "He is between life and death. The piece you
have of his soul anchor him to this life. He seeks a way to return."
Hermione nodded in understanding.
That
was what
happened last
year with Quirrell
and why he was
desperate to get the sorcerers stone.
Hermione had heard the Gryffindors discuss the stone in the
library when they thought
no one else was watching.
She'd
researched it and found the information on Nicolas Flamel. She'd
even left
the book so the boys could find it,
not
realizing what
exactly they needed it for. Now it would seem that somehow, she
may have inadvertently prevented her
own birth father
from
returning to full power.
This definitely required more research and thought.
She gazed at
the ring and looked at
the snake,
who was
watching her closely. Hermione nodded at the snake and slipped
the ring onto her right
index finger. The ring automatically sized
down to fit
and she could feel
the Dark Magic swirling from the
ring, binding to her magical core.
It was oddly familiar and comforting in a strange way.
She smiled at
the snake,
who looked oddly pleased for
a
reptile.
Nagini
moved forward and licked at
Hermione's face
and hand,
almost
like a caress and suddenly the ring on her
finger
disappeared.
It
then hissed it's approval,
telling the
witch the time
had not come yet for her to reveal her true identity, and then made
to move back towards the forest.
Hermione called out
to Nagini, asking the snake if she would see
it again.
The snake nodded and told her to come each month when the
moon was full
at sunset, and she would be there to greet her. She
smiled and thanked Nagini
for her help,
watching her first
friend
slither back into the forest.
Staring down at
where the ring should've been,
she sighed.
So, it would seem she was the daughter of the Dark Lord.
Hermione doubted that
fact
would be popular within the majority
of Hogwarts, particularly with the Headmaster. She doubted any in
Slytherin House would believe her, as she'd never told anyone of
her
adoption.
She figured they'd think she was making it
up to
stop them from tormenting her,
and frankly didn't
want
to give
them the satisfaction.
It
was a matter of
pride at
this point.
She hated everyone in her
house, and when they found out that she was the Heir of Slytherin
and the daughter
of
Lord Voldemort
himself,
they would all
be
eating crow.
Especially that prat Malfoy.
Hermione smirked evilly, she needed to plan.
She wasn't sure if her birth father ever knew about her, he may
not
even want
her,
but
she would make herself
invaluable so
that he'd have no choice but to acknowledge her. She had two
pieces of his
soul
in her possession.
It
was a good bargaining chip if
nothing
else.
She needed to find out exactly what these things were, so she
was off to the library for more research.
The rest of second year was mostly quiet and Hermione kept
her
newfound heritage to herself.
She'd meet
Nagini
every
full
moon, and discovered that the snake was very sassy and
surprisingly protective of her.
One day in the late spring when she went to meet her friend, she
hadn't
noticed that
Malfoy and his cronies were following her.
When Hermione got
to the spot
where Nagini
was supposed to
meet
her,
the snake wasn't
there but
Malfoy started tormenting
her,
calling her names and threatening her. She just stood there
stoically with her
wand hanging from her
hand,
when out
of
nowhere Nagini
lunged at
the blonde,
hissing at
him and his
friends.
Malfoy screamed like a girl,
and stumbled back nearly falling on
his arse.
He gaped at
Hermione,
who was laughing at
him,
and
climbed over his friends running back towards the castle.
She thanked Nagini, who just nodded at her.
The two spent
a little while conversing before Hermione
headed back to the castle.
She began to notice Malfoy looking at
her strangely after that,
but she just ignored the hateful git.
He wasn't worth her time.
On the last
day of
her
detention for
the year,
Professor Snape
silently handed Hermione a Potions book as well
as a book on
Occlumency for her to read over the summer.
She stared at
him
questioningly, to which he told her that any second year who could
brew Polyjuice Potion should be commended on her ingenuity. He
also told her that
if
she was to continue being the brightest witch
Hogwarts had seen in these many years,
that
Occlumency was
key in making sure she didn't
project
those thoughts which were
better kept hidden.
To say she was shocked, would've been an understatement. But
she kept
her mask firmly in place and thanked her Professor for
the books, promising to read them thoroughly over the summer.
For
the first
time since starting Hogwarts,
Hermione felt
like
maybe she might be okay after all.
Boggarts, Tormentors and Tears
Chapter 5: Boggarts, Tormentors and Tears
Apparently,
a murderer named Sirius Black had escaped
from Azkaban prison and no one seemed to know how
he'd done it.
All
of
Diagon Alley had wanted posters plastered with the
man's face, screaming in rage.
It was a bit disconcerting.
Hermione sat on the train alone, as she had last year.
No one came in to join her, nor acknowledged her presence. She
saw Malfoy walk by at
one point,
but
he just
stared at
her
morosely before moving on with his friends.
So she decided to
read a bit
in her
new DADA book,
when the train stopped
suddenly and the lights shut off.
Looking around in her compartment
in confusion, she could feel
the air getting colder,
and could see movement
just
outside her
window.
She'd just
considered peering out
and investigating,
when she saw a figure floating by her compartment door.
The figure stopped and paused,
before moving on towards the
next car.
Hermione wasn't
sure what
was going on,
but
she sat
there
quietly for some time until
the lights came back on and the train
started moving again.
When she got
to Hogwarts for the feast, she sat at the far end
of the Slytherin table by herself per usual.
The first
years were sorted,
but
once it
was quickly known she
was a mudblood,
no one acknowledged her
presence.
Then
Dumbledore made the announcement
in regards to the new
Defense Professor,
a Remus Lupin,
and everyone in the hall
politely cheered for the man.
He looked a bit
worn and shabby,
but overall seemed pleasant enough.
Then the Headmaster announced that the Dementors of Azkaban
would be at Hogwarts, possibly looking for Sirius Black.
Hermione thought
back to the incident
on the train and realized
quickly that
the figure she saw outside her
compartment
was
most likely a dementor.
It
would seem that
Harry Potter
had a run in with one of
the
creatures,
because Malfoy and his cronies wouldn't stop teasing
him about
it
for days after the incident.
It finally came to a head
on the first
day of
Class for
Care of
Magical
Creatures with
Professor Hagrid.
Hagrid had brought
a Hippogriff
to class and after Potter had
successfully rode the beast, Malfoy decided that the bird wasn't
scary at
all,
and proceeding to insult
the creature,
getting
injured for his troubles. It wasn't a bad injury, but Malfoy milked
it
for all
it
was worth,
getting Hagrid in trouble and Buckbeak
sentenced for execution.
Hermione
couldn't
have
cared
less
about
the
Potter-Malfoy
drama.
She made her way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, like she
had every full
moon the year prior to meet Nagini. Thankfully, the
snake was there and Hermione was overjoyed to see her friend.
They talked a bit, Nagini
telling her to be careful
this year and to
stay away from the Shrieking Shack during the full moon.
When Hermione asked why,
the snake told her that
a werewolf
was being detained there during the full moon.
She was surprised that
the Headmaster
would allow such a
thing, but Dumbledore did seem a bit barmy to her, allowing the
sorcerers stone to be hidden at Hogwarts was probably not his
smartest choice.
The first
class in DADA turned out
to be quite revealing.
Professor
Lupin had decided to teach the class about
Boggarts.
Hermione correctly identified what
a Boggart
was,
earning 10
points for
Slytherin and receiving caustic glares from her own
classmates as well
as the other
third years.
Professor
Lupin
looked at
her
questioningly,
and she shrugged helplessly in
response.
Because really?
What good would it be to speak up at this point?
When the class lined up, she decided to head towards the back,
but of course Malfoy had to speak up, taunting the her about the
fact
she was too afraid to show everyone in the class her worst
fear.
Smirking at
the blonde,
she walked towards the front
right
behind one of the
Patil
Twins.
When her
turn came,
the boggart
shifted,
as it
tried to read her
worst
fear
but
she had been practicing
Occlumency over
the summer,
and closed her
mind to the
creature.
The boggart kept shifting, becoming more agitated as it couldn't
get a read on her.
This went
on for at
least
a couple minutes before Professor
Lupin,
giving her a curious look, dismissed her to the back of
the class.
The entire class was whispering about the rare occurrence.
For a boggart
to have no affect
on a witch or wizard was simply
unheard of, especially in one so young.
Hermione could feel
Malfoy staring at
her,
but
she ignored him,
watching Potter take his turn.
Quickly the boggart
turned into a Dementor and Professor Lupin
pushed Harry out
of
the way,
causing the boggart
to shift
to an
image of a full moon.
Ah,
so the new DADA Professor was the werewolf
Nagini
had warned her about.
Interesting.
The Professor dismissed the class asking each student to write a
20 inch essay on boggarts,
their
history and the origins of
the
counter- curse.
Hermione grabbed her bag and headed for the library where she
could continue her studies in peace,
not
paying attention as an
interested set of grey eyes followed her out of the classroom.
Thankfully,
the majority of
third year
was quite uneventful
for
Hermione, but not for the rest of the school.
Somehow,
Sirius Black had gotten into Hogwarts and caused
such an uproar that
all
the students had to sleep in the Great
Hall
until
the castle and grounds could be searched.
She had
done some research on her
own,
trying to figure out
how a
person
could
get
inside
the
wards
without
setting
off
the
detection spells. Over Christmas that year, her parents had gifted
her with a large orange half-Kneazle named Crookshanks.
She
had wanted her own familiar, and Crookshanks was brilliant and
clever.
Kneazles were well
known to be able to sniff out animagus. When
Hermione read that
passage in her book after the holidays,
she
realized just how Sirius Black was getting in and out of the school.
Hermione grabbed as many books on human transfiguration as
she could and decided that
she would become an animagus
herself.
It seemed like a prudent thing to do under the circumstances.
Easter had come quickly and Hermione decided to stay at school
over the holidays.
All
of
her dorm-mates were leaving for home,
a fact
she was grateful
for.
She packed up her book bag and
headed for the library as the rest
of
her house was leaving for
Hogsmeade to take the Hogwarts Express back to London.
As
she made her
way
out
of
the common room she felt
like
someone was
watching her,
but
when she stopped to look
around she didn't
notice anyone.
She made it
to the library and
set
her
bag on her
usual
table,
taking out
her
books and
parchment,
deciding she might
as well
get
a head start
on her
assignments,
when she heard footsteps approaching her
from
behind.
She quickly whipped out
her
wand and turned into a fighting
stance,
when she noticed Malfoy casually leaning against
one of
the bookshelves, looking at her curiously.
"Not
going home for the Holiday,
eh Granger? Your parents not
want you around either?" Malfoy smirked wickedly.
Hermione sighed and turned around, ignoring the blonde.
She had decided early on this year,
that
she wasn't
going to
respond to the bigoted prat
anymore,
but
that
didn't
stop him
from trying to get a reaction out of her.
When she moved to grab a book from the shelf in front of her,
she felt him grab her arm, turning her to face him.
"I was talking to you, mudblood ! How dare you turn your back on
your betters.
Perhaps you need a reminder." Draco sneered in
disgust.
Hermione just
sighed and shook her head,
looking askance at
the hand on her arm. The two of them stood like that for several
minutes, as she refused to break the silence.
She had absolutely nothing to say to the hateful boy.
She didn't
understand why he kept
harassing her,
it
wasn't like
she purposely went out of her way to get his attention.
She avoided him like the plague.
Draco looked down at the little witch before him, with her riotous
curls
and impassive expression,
eyes
that
were dead and
showed absolutely no emotion.
For a fleeting moment, he wondered if she had anyone in her life
that cared about her.
He'd made sure no one in their house gave her the time of
day,
and she had no friends from the other houses that
he knew of.
She was the smartest in their year by far, and he couldn't help but
be intrigued by her. He'd taunted her because it was the only way
to get her attention, but she simply never responded.
He hated to admit it, but he was worried about her.
She rarely ate in the Great
Hall
and she spent
all
her free time
buried in books.
She looked frail
and thin,
but
he knew underneath the facade
she was a brilliant, powerful witch.
Finally realizing that
the little witch was not
going to respond to
him,
he let
go of
her arm and saw red marks from where he'd
grabbed her.
To her
credit
she didn't
even rub them,
she just
looked at
him with that
dead expression and turned her back to
him and walked away.
Draco just
stared after her,
feeling guilt
and shame for the first
time in his life, and he didn't like it at all.
Hermione stood by the stacks waiting for Malfoy to leave, but he
just
stood there and watched her
for
what
seemed like an
eternity.
Finally he sighed,
turned and left
the library,
leaving
Hermione alone.
She sat
down at
her
desk,
books strewn about
and sighed
forlornly.
Her parents had been distancing themselves from her ever since
they'd told her of
the adoption.
She had no friends,
except
for
Nagini
and Crookshanks,
and she didn't
know what
to think
about
her
real
father.
Everything she'd researched about
him
made her feel
that
if
he did return,
he wouldn't want her. Nagini
had told her what she
knew about
Tom Riddle's childhood,
which sadly,
seemed
worse than hers.
Hermione began to wonder if she would ever find someone
who would truly care about her.
She didn't realize that tears had escaped her eyes until
she saw
a couple drops fall
onto the book she'd been reading.
She felt
her face in shock, holding out her hand in surprise as she looked
at
the evidence of
her loss of
emotional
control.
She shook her
head sadly and breathed in deeply, closing her eyes and getting
her breathing under control.
She was so lost
in her own world,
she failed to realize that
the blonde wizard hadn't left the library
at all, but was silently watching her.
Draco saw the tears from the little witch and instead of
feeling
happy at
her obvious distress,
he felt
truly ashamed for the first
time in his life.
He had never once thought about the vicious way he had treated
the mudblood, she was filth after all.
But
he had noticed after her fall
last
year,
that
her blood hadn't
been any different than his.
She also never asked for help for herself,
but
he had watched
her at
times,
leave just
the right book for someone in the library
who seemed to be struggling with their homework.
She helped
Madam Pomfrey with restocking potions in her
free time and
worked out
in the greenhouses with Professor Sprout
when no
one else was there.
She was polite to the teachers,
but
didn't
engage the other students openly.
She truly had no one, and Draco realized belatedly that it was
entirely his fault.
The emotionless look in her eyes bothered him,
and he didn't
know what to do about it.
He left
the library quietly and headed for
Professor
Snape's
quarters as the two of them were flooing directly to Malfoy Manor
together.
He didn't
have anyone to talk to about
these feelings,
so he
wasn't sure what to do.
Perhaps he'd just leave Granger alone from now on.
Maybe if
he stopped tormenting her,
the rest
of
Slytherin
House would follow.
It
was probably more than she deserved,
at
least
he tried to
convince himself of that.
Shocking Revelations
Chapter 6: Shocking Revelations
The end of
third year saw Professor Lupin outed as a werewolf,
Sirius Black escaping the dementors and Hermione Granger
packing up her trunk to head home for the summer.
Her parents had written to her a week before school ended to let
her
know that
they would be gone for
a month at
a Dental
Conference,
and that she would be staying with a nice lady who
lived in Godric's Hollow. The woman was a Half-Blood witch who
had met
Richard and Helen Granger
quite by accident
at
a
farmers market
near
Surrey.
When they had shared with the
woman that
their daughter was a witch, and top of her year, the
witch kindly offered to take Hermione and tutor
her
over
the
summer.
Hermione was excited for the opportunity, but felt that it was one
more example of
her
adoptive parents distancing themselves
from her.
One interesting discovery had happened a week before school
ended.
She was up on the Seventh floor
corridor
just
pacing
around wishing that
she had a place to hide,
when a door
miraculously opened up on the wall
adjacent
to where she was
walking. She carefully opened the door and went inside, gasping
when she saw the room filled with rows upon rows of junk. It was
then she realized that
she had found part
of
the Come and Go
room,
or
as
Hogwarts
a
History
called
it,
the
Room of
Requirement .
It
was
odd,
but
she
could
almost
sense
the
same
magic
emanating from the room that she felt from her ring.
Perhaps the room held another piece of her Father's soul?
She had finally found a place to call
her own, and she could start
searching the room.
She couldn't
wait
to come back in the fall
and test out the rooms
abilities.
When she was packing her
trunk in her
dorm room,
Daphne
Greengrass,
one of
the Pureblood girls in her year had come in
to grab something she'd forgotten.
She saw Hermione walking out
of
the loo and gasped in
shock at how thin and frail the little witch looked.
Hermione's hair
hung loosely as she was changing out
of
her
witches robes and into her
Muggle clothes when she
heard the sound.
She turned around and found Daphne staring at her in shock.
Daphne knew she rarely saw Granger eating with the rest of
Slytherin, but she had no idea the witch was so thin.
Daphne continued to stare at
the other
witch's gaunt
face-who
was returning the favor with a blank, emotionless expression.
"Merlin, Granger! Are you alright? You look terrible."
Daphne tried not to cringe at how harsh she sounded, but the little
witch just
looked at her impassively and didn't say a word as she
finished putting on her clothes and then shut her trunk.
When she shrunk her
trunk and placed it
in her
jacket
pocket,
Daphne's eyes widened in shock!
They hadn't
learned to do that
in Charms class
yet! That was sixth year level magic!
Hermione passed by the other witch,
not
speaking a word and
walked out
of
the dorm room and into the common room.
She
saw Malfoy and his friends all
sitting by the window talking and
laughing about their school year. She sighed and walked towards
the common room door so she could head to the train,
so she
didn't hear Daphne following her until
the witch grabbed her arm
to stop her.
What was it with people thinking they could grab her anytime they
wanted to?
She was a mudblood to these people, so you'd think they wouldn't
want to touch her anymore than she wanted to be touched.
"Granger, wait….". Greengrass trailed off, catching the attention of
Malfoy and his friends,
who all
looked up in shock that someone
was actually talking to the mudblood.
Hermione just
stared down at
Daphne's arm passively, waiting
for her to release it.
Draco,
watching the scene,
felt
his gut
clench in recognition of
that look.
It was the same one Granger had given him in the library-cold and
lifeless.
Daphne glanced over at her friends, not sure how to proceed.
It
was clear that something was very wrong with Granger, but the
girl seemed utterly indifferent.
Daphne realized she didn't want to embarrass the other witch, but
unfortunately she'd caught the attention of the other third years.
Moving closer to Hermione, she whispered so only the other witch
could hear when she inquired softly, "Are you alright, Granger?"
Hermione though,
just
stared at
her
in confusion,
and did not
reply.
She just
turned around and walked out
of
the common room
without a backwards glance.
Pansy walked up and said loudly, "What in the world were
you thinking talking to the mudblood, Daphne? You know
we don't acknowledge her. She's nothing but filth after all."
Glaring at
her other friends,
they all
laughed except
for Draco,
oddly enough.
He just
stared at
the common room door with a
frown marring his face.
So Draco had noticed that
something was wrong with Granger
too?
When she caught
his eye,
he subtly shook his head,
silently
letting her know they'd discuss it later.
Daphne nodded and turned to address Pansy.
"It's none of
your
concern,
Pansy.
Don't
worry about
it,
it
was nothing."
Pansy scoffed like she didn't quite believe Daphne, but didn't say
another word as the group grabbed their trunks and headed for
the carriages to take them to Hogsmeade. Once they were settled
on the Hogwarts Express, Draco invited Daphne to find the trolley
so they could get
sweets for
everyone.
Daphne agreed and
together they left their friends in the compartment.
When they had put
some distance between themselves and their
friends,
Draco motioned for
Daphne to move into an empty
compartment and closed the door.
"What
was that
with Granger earlier, Daphne? You seemed
genuinely upset, did she say something to you?"
"First, Draco? Why do you want to know? Because if you're
just
going to use the information to taunt
the girl,
I'd rather
not say anything."
Draco gaped at his friend in surprise.
She was clearly trying to protect Granger, a thought which Malfoy
found intriguing yet oddly disturbing.
"I won't say anything, Daphne. You have my word."
Daphne considered her friend closely-trying to decide whether or
not
Draco would use what
she was about
to tell
him to hurt
Granger further.
While Daphne was a Pureblood,
she felt
bad for the mudblood
witch.
The girl
had no friends at
school.
She'd been alone for
three
years and despite the fact the the whole of Slytherin House had
taunted and hurt her, she was the smartest student in their year.
Probably in the entire school,
if
Daphne was honest.
The girl
never complained, never asked for help, never showed emotion.
It was like she was a ghost wandering around the halls just going
through the motions.
Daphne realized that
she'd never
seen the girl
smile,
or
laugh. The thought made her sad.
"Fine,
Draco,
I
will
tell
you, but if you use this against Hermione I
will hex your balls off. Am I clear?"
Draco nodded and sat
forward giving Daphne his undivided
attention.
Daphne then told him what
she had walked in on,
Granger changing out
of her robes and how emaciated the little
witch looked.
She had obviously been wearing baggy robes to
hide the fact that she was frighteningly thin.
Draco's eyes widened in something like recognition before his
mask fell firmly down in place.
He just
stared at
Daphne and felt
sick inside.
He didn't
want
to
be responsible for the girl
wasting away.
He didn't
need to live
with that
kind of
guilt,
so he told Daphne what
had happened
before Easter break when he'd followed Granger into the library.
Daphne sat
back in shock and gasped in despair at
how their
actions in alienating the little witch,
had caused Hermione to
become completely isolated and withdrawn.
"What do we do, Draco? We all have been so horrible to her, and
I
for
one feel
guilty.
I
never
meant
for
this to happen.
Do you
know that
she shrunk down her entire trunk and put
it
into her
before she walked out
of
our
dorm room?"
At
this
confession Draco's gasped in surprise and awe.
"Merlin,
Daph,
that's
level
sixth
year
magic!" Daphne just nodded in agreement.
"She's the reason we've won the House Cup the last two years,
she knows all
the answers and is always the first
to master
spells, yet no one gives her any credit or says a kind word to her.
She's never been mean to me and I've been awful to her. In fact?
I
don't
think I've ever
heard her
say an unkind word about
anyone since that altercation with Professor Snape last year, and
she was only speaking the truth."
Draco reluctantly nodded, feeling more guilty by the moment. "You
know our parents would never let
us associate with a mudblood.
My father
makes it
a point
to constantly remind me that
I'm
second in class behind her. I'm a disappointment apparently."
"But
that
is no reason to take it
out
on Granger.
I
may not
have
been able to truly befriend her, but I can't be cruel to her anymore,
Draco. We have to make the others leave her alone."
Draco just nodded reluctantly and the. sighed in defeat.
While his influence in Slytherin House was substantial,
he knew
that
there were many
within his house who would not
stop
taunting the mudblood.
He would need to think about
it
over the summer and figure out
the best way to handle the situation.
"I'll think about it, Daphne. It's all I can promise for right now."
Daphne
nodded
again
and
the
two
Slytherins
left
the
compartment
completely unaware that
a third person was
sitting in the far corner near the window under a concealment
charm.
Hermione had panicked when the two Slytherins had walked into
the compartment.
She had perfected the concealment
charm
over Easter break after being accosted by Malfoy in the library.
She was certain they had no idea she'd been sitting there,
listening
to
their
conversation.
Daphne
seemed
genuinely
concerned about her and even Malfoy seemed oddly human.
She had no idea he had seen her crying that day in the library.
Hermione had no intention of
getting her
hopes up that
things
would change for her, or that she would make friends. Technically
she was still
a mudblood in the eyes of her housemates, and she
had no intention of setting the record straight.
She sat
there deep in contemplation waiting for the train to reach
London so she could put
some distance between herself
and
school for a few months.
Beauxbatons,
Durmstrang
and
the
Tri-Wizard Tourn...
Chapter
7:
Beauxbatons,
Durmstrang and the Tri-Wizard
Tournament
Hermione's summer
had flown by and she had enjoyed every
minute of it.
The nice witch that
her parents had met,
Mrs.
White,
was bright
and had a knack for Transfiguration and Charms.
Hermione was well
on her way to becoming an animagus, having
sat through the meditations to figure out her form.
She'd been shocked when she realized that
her animagus form
was the Western Taipan snake.
In her research,
she'd discovered that
the western taipan,
also
called the fierce snake,
contains
venom that
is
a veritable
witches
brew
of
deadly
neurotoxins,
procoagulants
and
myotoxins that
paralyze muscles and causes hemorrhaging of
the blood vessels.
Hermione was awed to discover
that
her
animagus form was
something so fitting, considering her true heritage.
She was anxious to return to school
and tell
Nagini
the good
news.
When she went to Diagon Alley to get her supplies for school, she
noticed that
there was a lot
of interest in the upcoming Quidditch
World Cup: Bulgaria against the Irish National Team.
Hermione had no interest
in the sport,
she'd never
attended a
single game at school.
She got
her
books,
robes and other
supplies in record time,
leaving back through the Leaky Cauldron and headed back home.
September 1st
came too quickly and once again she was alone
on the Hogwarts Express.
Her
hair
had gotten longer,
and she had managed to put
on
some of the weight she'd lost over the last school year, although
her mother thought
she was still
too thin.
She grown a couple
inches and had her teeth fixed over the summer, so they weren't
quite as noticeable.
She was starting to fill
out
as well,
and her normally flat
chest
was now a simple B cup.
Casting a disillusionment
charm on herself,
she sat
back
and watched the countryside go by.
Hearing a sound outside her compartment,
she noticed Malfoy
looking into the compartment
with a puzzled expression on his
face.
He had grown over the summer, and his hair was a bit more wind-
swept.
Hermione had tried not to give much thought to the conversation
she'd overheard on the train ride home last
year,
but
she'd
thought
about
it
more than she'd care to admit.
Seeing Malfoy
now clearly looking for something, or someone?
Made Hermione nervous.
She would be happy if she never had to see the blonde again.
When the train stopped,
Hermione warded her compartment and
dressed in her new robes. She grabbed her beaded bag that she
had been given by Mrs.
White over the summer.
Hermione had
discreetly placed an undetectable extension charm on the bag
and it
would only open for
her
as it
was tied to her
magical
signature.
She felt
her
right
index finger
and rubbed over
her
concealed family ring distractedly,
waiting for everyone to leave
the train before she disembarked.
Unfortunately luck was not on her side as she approached the last
carriage and both Malfoy and Greengrass were waiting together.
When Daphne spotted her, she nudged Draco who looked over
at the little witch approaching them with that same vacant dead
expression on her face.
Daphne stepped up into the carriage with Draco's help and
Hermione waited for the blonde to get
in as well
so she could
enter.
Draco stared at
her
impassively,
seemingly waiting for
her to approach. When it seemed like neither one would move,
Daphne gestured for Draco to take a seat.
The boy looked at
the little witch morosely and sighed in resignation, stepping up
and taking a seat next to Daphne.
Hermione then moved towards the carriage and careful
not
to
make eye contact, sat as far away from the two as she could get.
Daphne watched the witch, who seemed to be as emotionless as
the last time she'd seen her.
Her
clothes seemed a bit
less baggy and her face was a little
fuller, but she still seemed underweight.
As the carriage moved, Daphne cleared her throat and addressed
Hermione directly.
"How was your summer, Granger?"
ermione stared at
the girl
with the same confused look she had
given her at the end of last year, but did not say anything.
Draco, who was closely watching the little witch sighed this time in
exasperation.
"Don't
you know it's poor manners to ignore someone when they
address you, Granger?"
Daphne elbowed Malfoy,
who just
grunted,
while Hermione
just looked at them woodenly.
She had no intention of speaking with either one of them.
Did they honestly think that
after tormenting her for the last
three years that
she would sit
there and make idle chit-chat
with them?
They were barking if
they thought
she would willingly make
small talk.
Glancing away from the two Slytherins,
she missed the worried
look that
Daphne gave Malfoy and the way in which Malfoy
frowned at her.
When
they'd
finally
reached
the
castle,
Hermione
quickly
stepped off the carriage and hastily made her way into the Great
Hall.
She was so focused on escaping her two classmates she
missed the arrival
of
Durmstrang and Beauxbatons schools for
the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Quietly, Hermione made her way to the end of the Slytherin table
to sit
by herself.
She didn't
look at
anyone,
but
simply took a
book out of her bag and started to read. Malfoy had entered the
hall
and immediately noticed Granger sitting off
by herself,
her
nose buried in a book.
Daphne came up silently behind him,
looking over at Hermione sitting all alone. She gave Draco a nod
and purposefully walked over
to where Granger
was sitting,
noticing the looks of
astonishment
on her
classmates faces
before sat directly across from Hermione.
The witch in question however,
didn't
look up nor acknowledge
Daphne,
but
from the way her
hands tightened on her
book,
Daphne knew that
Hermione was aware someone was sitting
across from her.
Malfoy just
stood there considering his friend who nodded at
him to leave,
while further down the table-Pansy was doing a
fairly decent
job loudly complaining about
Daphne sitting with
the 'filth .'
There were some snickers and chuckles but
it
soon stopped
quickly.
Hermione didn't
dare look up to see what
had happened
but
she imagined that
Malfoy must
have given them a look
shutting them up.
Bloody hell!
This was going to be more awkward than when they'd just
ignored her.
Dumbledore
at
that
moment,
stood
up
and
made
the
announcement
about
the
visiting
schools,
the
Tri-Wizard
tournament
and
suddenly,
the
ceiling
started
behaving
erratically-catching Hermione's attention when a weird looking
man with a strange eye and a limp came wandering into the
Great
Hall
from the
back,
and
cast
a
spell
stopping
the
commotion.
Dumbledore went
to greet
him and Hermione figured that
the
man was probably their new Defense Professor. He seemed a bit
unhinged and he was drinking out
a flask and shuddering in
disgust.
Hhmmm, that was odd .
Hermione's eyes narrowed at
the man's reaction,
remembering
something similar when she had drank Polyjuice last year.
Could the wizard be Polyjuiced?
And if so why?
Hermione continued to watch him closely,
not
realizing that
Malfoy was noticing her sudden interest in the new Professor.
When the students were introduced from Beauxbatons Academy,
Hermione rolled her eyes at
the way the boys all
swooned over
the French witches.
How utterly predictable.
But
soon,
the wizards from Durmstrang entered in with fanfare of
chanting and fire.
The last wizard that walked into the Great Hall looked familiar, but
Hermione simply couldn't place him.
Both the witches and wizards seemed to be fixated on the young
wizard, so he was probably someone of importance.
It
was a few moments later after all
the introductions had
been complete,
that
the young Bulgarian Wizard walked
over
to the Slytherin table and sat
down next
to Malfoy,
who seemed to be awestruck by the older wizard.
Daphne,
watching where Hermione's attention had gone,
quietly spoke up.
"That
Wizard is Viktor
Krum.
He's a famous seeker
for
the
Bulgarian Quidditch team."
Hermione glanced over at
the witch,
not
realizing she'd been so
obvious in her observations and just nodded before returning her
attention back to her book.
Daphne smiled slightly and caught Draco's eye and nodded which
caused the blonde to breathe in a small
sigh of
relief
as he
nodded back to her.
Horcruxes amongst Friends
Chapter 8: Horcruxes amongst Friends
Over the next
fort-night,
all
anyone at
school
could talk about
was the Tournament and Viktor Krum.
Hermione had gone to her spot by the Black Lake on the evening
of
the first
full
moon to wait
for
Nagini,
but
the snake never
showed so she sat there reading her book, with a lost expression
on her face,
not
noticing a pair of
grey eyes watching her from
behind the tree on the other side of the knoll.
When it
started getting dark,
she put
her
book away in her
beaded bag,
and walked back towards the castle.
She was
worried about her friend.
Did something happen to Nagini?
Hermione had heard whispers of what had happened during the
World Cup, that Death Eaters had been spotted at the game and
had
created
havoc.
She knew from the articles
that
she'd
researched,
that
her
Father's followers were Death Eaters.
So
perhaps it
was a sign that her father planned on returning soon.
Maybe Nagini had told him about her?
Maybe he'd want
to… no… she couldn't
risk getting her hopes
up.
No one wanted her friendship nor companionship.
And she
didn't want anyone's pity, that was for sure.
The days passed by in a blur and Hermione studied harder than
ever. She was so far ahead on the material that she could have
answered every question in every class if she'd so desired, but
she
finally
belatedly
realized,
that
her
classmates
didn't
appreciate her
intellect.
They didn't
appreciate her
winning
house points for them,
so she stopped volunteering to answer
questions, unless asked directly by her Professors.
She'd noticed the curious stares from her classmates,
but
she ignored them.
She was done trying to prove to them she belonged.
They'd never
accept
her,
unless her
father
claimed her
and
there was enough doubt
about
that
happening,
that
she was
done calling attention to herself.
By the end of
September? Word had gotten around Hogwarts
that Hermione Granger was no longer speaking up in class.
She was no longer volunteering to earn points for her house and it
wasn't
long before Daphne realized that
the girl
hadn't spoken in
nearly a month, to anyone… Professor or student.
When
Mad-eye Moody
had traumatized the fourth years
by
showing what the unforgiveables could do?
Every student
cringed except
for Hermione.
She'd just looked on
disinterestedly.
She wasn't
in the library anymore either,
a fact
that
caused
Draco to panic one afternoon when he'd asked Daphne if she'd
seen the little witch.
Daphne told Draco that
Hermione hadn't
been in their dorm for over a week, and she had no idea where
the witch was.
Draco considered going to Professor Snape,
but Hermione was
in all
their classes and turning in her assignments on time,
so
Draco didn't want to get the witch in trouble by tattling.
She'd just assume he was back to being his vicious and cruel self.
When the night
of
Halloween approached,
and the names were
called
out
of
the
Goblet
of
Fire-announcing
the
trio
of
champions-no
one
was
surprised
to
see
Viktor
Krum
representing Durmstrang.
Fleur Delacour,
was the witch chosen from Beauxbatons and the
Hogwarts champion was from Hufflepuff-Cedric Diggory.
But
the Goblet
apparently wasn't
finished when a fourth name
was chosen… Harry Potter.
Hermione had seen the age line that Dumbledore had drawn with
magic.
She had seen the Weasley Twins try and confound the
magic by drinking aging potions which misfired badly, aging them
eighty years.
She had been so engrossed in her book, when Viktor had come
in and put
his name into the Goblet of Fire that when everyone
quieted unexpectedly,
she had glanced up he caught
her eye
and smiled.
She stared back impassively and went
back to her book,
again
unaware of the grey eyes that had witnessed the entire exchange.
So, Harry Potter was a Tri-Wizard Champion?
It really didn't take a genius to figure out what exactly was going
on,
although everyone seemed confused as to how it
could've
happened.
Merlin's beard, sometimes people were so clueless!
It
was clearly obvious that
Mad-eye Moody was a polyjuiced
wizard,
and the most
likely scenario was that he'd placed Harry's
name into the Goblet, thereby entering him the tournament.
It was rather brilliant, if a bit short-sighted.
If
the goal
was to kill
Harry, there were easier ways to get the job
done. So why go to such elaborate lengths to enter the boy into a
tournament he could very likely die in?
It obviously had to do with her Father.
If Voldemort needed Harry in some way, why just not kidnap
the boy?
He lived with Muggles, so it was easily done, right?
Hermione went
to the Room of
Requirement
and sat
in front
of
the fire and called for one of the House elves to bring her some
hot
chocolate and biscuits. She then closed her eyes and asked
the room to conjure any books on Dark Magic that
could split a
persons soul.
She had two pieces of her Father's soul, but what
if he'd made more?
He was magically weakened the night
he went after Harry Potter
in 1981, so how did that happen?
He'd obviously found a way to store his soul
into objects to make
himself somewhat immortal.
Her father had killed Harry's parents before he tried to kill
Harry.
Hermione knew she was
missing something vital,
something
simple,
but
the answer was eluding her. So she did what she did
best and researched.
She'd figure it out eventually.
Hermione
had
spent
the
entire
night
in
the
Room of
Requirement and had finally found her answer around 4am in
the morning.
Horcrux or as in this case,
Horcruxes plural.
She had two, it
was likely there were others.
Three and seven were strong
magical numbers… so it was likely that there was at least one
more… possibly five more.
Hermione thought
about
what
the objects could be. They would
most likely have some significance to her father. Maybe be other
founder family heirlooms? Her father was the Heir to Slytherin,
but what if he'd used relics from the other founders. In Hogwarts
a
History
Rowena
Ravenclaw had
a
diadem,
which
had
disappeared ages ago. Helga Hufflepuff had a Cup with a badger
on it.
Slytherin had hidden a Chamber of Secrets somewhere in
the castle,
and Hermione was sure there were probably some
family heirloom connected with her house too. Gryffindor had his
sword, which if memory served, the Headmaster had access too.
So the likelihood that the Sword was a horcrux was neglible.
So,
a diary,
ring,
diadem,
cup,
something Slytherin related-that
made five.
If her father had created two more what would they be?
Exhausted,
she conjured a bathtub in the room and soaked in it
for a while.
Today was a Saturday and a Hogsmeade weekend, it was also a
full
moon.
Hermione had no interest
in going to the village,
so
she decided to take a nap and maybe have a house elf bring her
some lunch later, so she could continue with her research, until it
was time to go see if Nagini would be at their usual spot.
She had no idea that
at
that
very moment,
a blonde haired
wizard and witch were actively searching the castle looking for
her.
Daphne was getting worried as no one had seen Hermione
since the end of
class yesterday.
She had discreetly asked
around but since no one normally paid any attention to the witch,
no one could remember if they'd seen her or not.
"Do you think she went to Hogsmeade, Draco?" Daphne asked a
bit worriedly.
Draco shook his head. "She's never gone before and I doubt that
she's there now. She's somewhere in the castle, though I haven't
the slightest clue where that could be."
As the day wore on and the two Slytherin students realized that
the little witch was no where to be found,
they headed back to
Hogsmeade to be with their friends.
Hermione had woken up from her nap, eaten and looking at the
time, realized she need to leave now if she wanted to see Nagini.
She put
on her
coat,
gloves,
hat
and cast
a disillusionment
charm over her when she left the room, warding it so no one but
herself could enter…
… and left for the Black lake.
Once she had reached her destination, she cancelled the spells
and sat
down on her
usual
rock waiting for
her
friend and
thankfully, she didn't have to wait long today as Nagini appeared
and placed her head on Hermione's lap.
Hissing in Parseltongue, the snake greeted the little witch, asking
her how school was faring.
"It's alright, everyone is excited for the tournament. Where were
you last month, Nagini? I was worried when you didn't come."
"I was with my master, child. Can't you not sense why?"
Hermione stared down at
the snake in confusion then then
closed her eyes and reached out her magic. She could sense
something
had
changed
with
the
snake,
it's
magic
felt
familiar… almost like… Holy Cricket!
Her father had made Nagini a horcrux!
"You have a piece of
his soul,
don't
you,
Nagini?"
The snake
nodded and Hermione petted her
head sadly.
"Did he give a
reason for this, Nagini?"
"I
have told your
father
of
you,
young Hermione.
He was not
aware of
your
existence until
I
told him this summer.
He has
devised a plan to return.
He knows you wear the ring and are
protected by a piece of him. He protected me the same way."
"Was he angry about me?"
"No,
little witch,
he was not.
He made sure I
came here to tell
you. He has a plan to return."
Hermione nodded to the snake.
"Yes,
I
figured that
out
when
school
started.
The new Defense Professor
is using Polyjuice
Potion to disguise his true identity. I'd guessed he must be one of
my Father's followers.
He has been helping Harry Potter prepare
for
the tournament.
The wizard put
his name into the Goblet
of
Fire,
of
that
I'm sure.
I'm guessing he is to keep the Potter boy
alive until the final task? Father needs something from him?"
If
a snake could look proud,
Nagini
would have done.
"You are
truly
your
Father's
daughter,
young Hermione.
To be clever
enough to figure this out
on your own.
I will
let your Father know
of your suspicions."
She nodded and thanked the snake for coming to see her. "One
more thing,
Nagini.
I
was at
Godric's Hollow this last
summer,
visiting with a witch who lives there.
She is a magical
historian,
Bathilda Bagshot.
Dumbledore and Grindewald were friends in
their youth, and they were after something that would make them
powerful.
The witch didn't
say what,
but
I'm researching to find
out. Please tell my father that."
"I
will.
Be safe and well,
young Mistress.
I
will
see you next
month."
The snake slithered away and Hermione sat
on the rock thinking
about all Nagini had shared with her.
Her
father
knew about
her,
and he didn't
seem upset
or
angry. That was good news.
She would just have to make sure she was invaluable to him.
She stood up after a while and started walking back to the castle.
She
decided
not
to
cast
another
concealment
charm over
herself,
so she was unprepared when she ran into another
person and nearly fell
to the ground.
Large hands steadied her
before she could fall,
and she looked up into the eyes of
Viktor
Krum.
"Please excuse me," Hermione said,
"I
wasn't paying attention to
where I was going."
Viktor smiled at the pretty witch.
He had seen her
a few times around the castle,
she kept
to
herself mostly and didn't seem to have many friends, if any.
"Isv alright. I'm Viktor Krum, andz youz woulv be?" He asked in his
thick Bulgarian accent.
"I am so sorry, I'm Hermione Granger."
Viktor
took
Hermione's
hand
and
gently
bowed
over
her
knuckles, kissing them softly. "Isv pleasures to meet youz. May I
walk youz back to castle?"
Hermione was shocked! No one had ever talked to her, much less
wanted to be seen with her.
The wizard seemed genuine in his
request as she continued to stare at the wizard in confusion.
"If
you're sure you are alright
being seen with me?"
Hermione
questioned quietly which caused Viktor to appear perplexed.
"Whyz woulv that matter, young Hermioninny?" Hermione couldn't
help but smile at his mispronunciation of her name.
"I do not have any friends here at school. I'm in Slytherin House,
yet
my parents are muggles.
They call
me mudblood."
She
finished sadly,
and could see Viktor
thinking about
this,
his
cheeks flushing with anger.
"Thatz very vrong of
them,
Hermioninny.
I
douz not
vind being
seenz wivz you."
Viktor
then took her
arm within his own,
and together
they
walked back
towards
the castle quietly talking about
their
classes.
Viktor
also shared a bit
about
Quidditch and the
upcoming tournament challenge that would be taking place in a
few days.
Apparently,
someone had taken it
upon himself
to
charm buttons to support Diggory, but also to change to 'Potter
sucks' whenever Harry was near.
When they finally reached the castle,
other
witches and
wizards
were gaping at
the couple in shock
but
none
moreso than Blaise Zabini, who had returned a bit early from
Hogsmeade.
He watched the two enter the castle, oblivious to anyone around
them and head for
the library.
He then hurried back to the
Slytherin Dungeons, shaking his head in disgust and wonder.
Why would a world famous Quidditch player be interested in
a nothing mudblood?
He couldn't wait to share the gossip with the rest of his house.
Misunderstandings and Blackmail
Chapter 9: Misunderstandings and Blackmail
When Draco and Daphne had returned from Hogsmeade and
had
heard
Blaise's
story
of
Granger
and
Krum walking
together, Draco was shocked.
She had been with Krum earlier?
How the bloody hell had that happened?
Daphne just
smiled at
the thought
while everyone sat
around in
the common room and waited to see if
the little witch returned
before dinner.
Soon they'd realized they were waiting in vain as she never
came back and stranger yet,
she wasn't in the Great Hall
for
dinner.
She also never came back to the dorms after curfew.
Daphne and Draco decided on Sunday,
that
they needed to let
Professor Snape know that
Granger had not
been staying in the
dormitory for
a while now.
When Draco told Severus,
his eyes
widened in shock and then his expression became angry.
How did he not know that one of his students was not where
she was supposed to be?
He told Draco that he would handle it.
Potions was first
thing Monday morning so Severus would talk to
Hermione then.
When Monday morning came, Hermione walked into potions with
the other Slytherins,
not
paying attention to the interested stares
coming from her
housemates.
She sat
down at
her
usual
spot
alone and proceeded to get out her supplies for the day.
Class started and today they were brewing Pepper up Potions for
the infirmary which frankly,
she could do in her
sleep as she'd
done it so often over the last year helping Madam Pomfrey.
Professor Snape came over to her station once she was finished
and requested she stay after.
Hermione gazed up at
him questioningly,
but
he just
stared
back at her impassively so she nodded, quickly cleaning up her
supplies, and not noticing a pair of grey eyes watching her from
the back of the room.
When all
the students had left,
or
so Hermione thought,
she
approached her Potions Professor.
"Was there something you needed, Professor?"
"Yes,
Miss Granger.
It
has come to my attention that
you're not
staying within the Slytherin Dormitory this year. As you know, that
is not
permitted and I
must ask where you have been staying in
the castle?"
She just stared at her Professor angrily.
She wasn't
a fool,
she knew why this was suddenly an issue.
Someone had seen her with Krum and had assumed either she
was staying with him, or wasn't happy that she'd actually made a
friend and was trying to sabotage that.
Hermione didn't need to think twice about whom had outed her.
"I'm afraid I
don't
see the problem,
Professor.
My whereabouts
have not
been affecting my school
work?" Snape shook his head
and glared, wondering where she was going with this.
"And you obviously didn't
care enough before,
what,
nearly two
months into the school
year to be concerned about
my sleeping
arrangements?
So obviously,
someone from Slytherin House
(Hermione refused to call
it
her house), decided to pry their nose
into my business.
It's not
as if
anyone in that
house truly cares
about
my well-being,
so perhaps you should be wondering why
the sudden interest now."
"That
is not
the point,
Miss Granger.
You are required to
remain in the dorms after curfew.
I
could have you expelled
for your obvious flouting of the school rules."
Hermione's eyes burned,
but
she just
laughed mockingly at
her
Professor. His eyes widening in surprise that such a sound could
come from one so young.
He felt a flash of momentary guilt and shame for what this girl
had gone through under his watch.
"You go right
ahead and expel
me,
Professor,
but
I
would think
long and hard before you do. You'd have to get permission from
the Headmaster.
How do you think he would support
you,
knowing that
you've blatantly allowed a mudblood under
your
watch to evade the dorms for well
over two months. That could
be construed as neglect,
you might
even lose you position as
Head of
House,
possibly your
job.
Do you think the Board of
Governors will
protect
you? Yes,
you may be godfather to his
son,
but
I'm sure Lucius Malfoy wouldn't
think twice about
sacrificing you for the greater good should it prove expedient to
do so.
I
think it
would be in both of
our best
interests for you
remain ignorant
of
my comings and goings.
I
have no intention
of
returning to Slytherin House.
I
detest
everyone there,
and
they all hate me over something so fickle really."
Snape just
stared at
the witch and Draco gasped in shock at the
venom dripping from Granger's voice.
She was blackmailing Severus, and my all
accounts was going to
succeed.
What had he done?
This was all his fault!
When Hermione realized that
no rebuttal
from her
Professor
was forthcoming,
she turned regally and walked to the door.
Before she opened it
though,
she glanced over
towards the
potions cabinet where Draco was hiding. She glared at the spot,
knowing Malfoy could see her before storming out of the room,
heading to her next class.
After a moment,
Draco came out
of
the closet
and looked at
his
godfather who was sitting in his chair, with head in his hands.
Draco approached cautiously and cleared his voice and Severus
lifted his head as he considered his godson wearily.
"I am assuming you heard that, Draco?" The boy just nodded. "It
would seem that our alienation of Miss Granger has permanently
damaged any good will
that
the witch may possess.
I
have no
doubt
if
I
force this issue,
she will
make good on her threats.
I
will
send a letter to your father informing him of the situation and
her assumptions.
I
believe she is correct
in the fact
that
I
have
been willfully ignorant
of
her these past
few months.
For now, I
expect you to leave the witch alone, Draco. Not until I can figure
out how to handle this situation, is that understood?"
Draco just nodded dumbly, grabbing his book bag and leaving the
Potions classroom.
Fuck!
He had been honestly worried about
Granger,
so much so that
he'd actually been caught taunting Potter yesterday and that crazy
one-eyed
sorry
excuse
for
a
Professor,
had
maliciously
transfigured him into a ferret
and stuffed him down Crabbe's
pants.
He'd been teased mercilessly and as a result? Started to have
a bit
more empathy for
what
he had put
Granger through all
these years.
He knew that
she thought
he was purposely trying to sabotage
her
again,
and what
little gain he'd made over
the past
two
months was surely gone now.
Draco
decided
to
write
to his
mother
and tell
her
everything. If anyone could help him fix this mess, it was
his mother.
The Yule Ball
Chapter 10: The Yule Ball
It was the night of the Yule Ball
and all
of Hogwarts had been in
a tizzy for weeks. Wizards fretting over which witch to ask to the
ball, and witches fretting over what to wear for the big night.
That
was the reason why,
Hermione was alone in the Room of
Requirement
getting ready for
her
date with Viktor
Krum.
She
had sent
her
adoptive mother
a letter
a few weeks ago after
Viktor
had formally asked her,
to let
her
know that
she would
need a dress for the ball. Her mother wrote back, happy for her,
and sending plenty of
galleons to buy a new dress,
shoes and
whatever else she'd needed for the evening.
Hermione was touched by the gesture.
Things might be strained and distant with her parents, but they did
care for her.
She had found the perfect dress last weekend in Hogsmeade. It
was
a
periwinkle
blue,
which
looked
stunning
with
her
complexion.
She had chosen the color
on purpose,
knowing
what
it
represented and she was sure all
the other Purebloods
would too.
Calmness, serenity and ice.
She would not
let
anyone ruin this for her-a chance to finally feel
normal for once in her life.
She had waited with baited breath for several
weeks to see what
Professor Snape would do about her defiance, but so far it was as
she'd suspected.
The man didn't have a pot to piss in, and she felt a sense of
vindication at besting the dour Potions Master.
Gazing at
her
reflection in her
cheval
mirror
one last
time,
Hermione was pleased with what she saw. Her hair was done in
a beautiful
updo with curls delicately framing her face. She had
found some pretty periwinkle flower earrings to match the dress.
Her
makeup was light
and pleasing,
and her
2-inch stilettos
charmed for comfort.
Yes, she was ready.
Upon leaving the Room of Requirement, she immediately cast a
disillusionment
charm over herself until
she got to the top of the
stairs leading into the Great
Hall.
She could hear
the music
playing and see her school
mates excited faces as they walked
in and out of the Great Hall.
Harry Potter was standing at
the base of
the stairs with one of
the Patil
Twins who was wearing a traditional
Indian Sari
dress
and
Cedric
Diggory
was
standing
with
Cho
Chang
from
Ravenclaw while Viktor was off to the side, looking nervous.
Hermione cancelled the charm and serenely walked down the
stairs to the gasps of several
people, but her eyes were only for
the wizard smiling and looking at
her
with appreciation in his
gaze.
He walked over
to her
and bowed formally and she
curtsied in response.
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles
gently,
tucking her hand into his arm and nodding in satisfaction
at
his choice of
witch for the evening.
She then heard the Patil
girl
call
her
"beautiful
"
and
she
smiled
inwardly
at
the
compliment because for the first time in her life?
She truly felt beautiful.
Professor
McGonagall
has come over
to remind the Tri-Wizard
champions that they would be opening the ball.
Hermione was grateful
that
her adoptive parents had made her
take formal
dance lessons when she was younger. As the music
swelled and the doorway cleared,
she took her
place next
to
Viktor and the two walked in directly behind Fleur Delacour and
her date for the evening, Roger Davies.
When Hermione entered the hall, she couldn't help but overhear
the comments that
some of
her classmates were making about
her being on Viktor Krum's arm. Most of what she heard was not
complimentary,
but
she held her
head high,
and ignored the
pettiness of
those around her,
inwardly smiling at
the fact
that
when it
was revealed that
she was the daughter
of
the Dark
Lord, all these people would be eating their hateful words.
When Hermione took Viktor's hand and they started to dance,
she was surprised at how graceful
he was. They flowed around
the dance floor effortlessly, showing off style and grace.
Draco couldn't believe his eyes when he'd seen Granger walking
in on the arm of Krum.
She was resplendent in her blue robes and he covertly watched
the reactions of
the other wizards in the room appraising the
little witch.
Hermione Granger
was by far
the most
beautiful
witch in the
Great Hall that evening and Draco was stunned speechless.
Blaise who was on his right whispered into his ear, "Who knew the
mudblood would clean up so nicely?"
Draco just
stared balefully at
his friend,
while Pansy,
his date,
was complaining to anyone who'd listen that
there was no way
that
a wizard like Krum would willingly go to the ball
with
mudblood Granger,
therefore she must
have 'imperiused '
the
Quidditch star.
Draco grabbed her arm to shush her and headed towards the
dance floor to get a closer look at the couple.
Severus Snape couldn't
believe his eyes as Hermione Granger
was on the arm of
Viktor
Krum.
He glanced over to his friend
Lucius Malfoy, who was watching the little witch closely. As Head
of the Board of Governors, it was expected that Lucius would be
in attendance this evening.
Usually he wouldn't
have bothered,
but
since he'd received the
letter from Severus weeks ago in regard to the confrontation he'd
had
with
the
Slytherin
mudblood
witch,
Lucius
was
most
interested in observing the girl.
He remembered the day he had
met
her
in Diagon Alley.
She had been such a little thing,
one
would think she would've cowered when he had condescendingly
acknowledged her presence that day.
But she had been fierce and unbowed in her cold fury.
Draco had told him how he had made sure that
the entirety of
Slytherin House had ostracized the girl for her filthy heritage and
Lucius couldn't
have been more proud of
his son,
when Draco
had
written
home
that
first
week
of
school.
Yet
the
little
mudblood chit had bested his son in every subject that year, and
had continued to do so each year despite having no connections
and no friends within the school.
Watching
the
girl
now,
one
would never
guess
she was
a
mudblood.
She held herself regally, danced as well
as any Pureblood witch,
and didn't
seem to give notice to the harsh glares and hateful
sneers being sent her way.
in fact
her countenance never gave any of
what
she felt
away,
and Lucius was both irritated and intrigued by her.
He also watched his son, who couldn't seem to take his eyes off
the mudblood-but
then most
of
the young wizards in the room
seemed taken with the witch.
Lucius watched as the Krum boy
escorted Miss Granger to the refreshment table and poured her
some punch.
The girl
smiled politely,
demurely but
never more
emotion than that.
She seemed to be quite a controlled little thing.
As the evening wore on, Lucius finally saw an opening when he
noticed his son and Miss Greengrass walking over towards the
dessert
table where Miss Granger
and her
date were firmly
ensconced.
So he purposefully made his way over,
waiting to
make his presence known.
Daphne had seen Draco watching Hermione for most
of
the
night with a fore lorn expression on his face.
Draco had told her what had transpired between Hermione
and Professor
Snape after
he had gone to him about
Hermione not staying in the dorms.
Daphne had made a little progress with the witch, but since
the incident? Hermione was once again ignoring her.
She reached for Draco's arm,
and the two of
them made their
way over
to where Hermione and Viktor Krum were standing,
talking quietly amongst themselves.
Hermione noticed the arrival
of
the Slytherins and hoped that
they wouldn't
be so rude as to interrupt
herself
and Viktor,
but
luck apparently wasn't
on her side. Daphne approached with an
impassive expression but her gaze was hopeful, whereas Malfoy
looked uncomfortable.
"Hermione," Daphne smiled at her, "you look lovely this evening."
Hermione didn't
want
to appear rude in front
of
Viktor,
so she
had no choice but
to engage the other witch.
"Thank you.
You
look lovely as well."
Draco just
shuffled his feet,
staring over Hermione's shoulder.
Hermione smirked inwardly to herself.
She would show that
bigoted prat
that
she was capable of
proper manners, same as
any Pureblood witch.
Hermione squeezed Viktor's arm gently and he nodded silently
to her.
"Daphne Greengrass,
please allow me to formally introduce you
to Viktor Krum." Viktor bowed and Daphne smiled and curtsied.
"And her escort, Draco Malfoy." Hermione gestured toward Draco
politely.
Draco's eyes widened in shock momentarily,
but
he was
quick to bring his mask down as he bowed formally to Viktor,
who politely returned the formality.
"It
is
a pleasure to meet
you,
Mr.
Krum."
Draco said
haughtily.
Viktor just smirked at the blonde. "Asz for me asz
well."
Daphne was
about
to say something,
when she felt
a
presence directly behind her. Draco stiffened when he felt a
hand on his shoulder, knowing instinctively it was his father.
Draco turned and bowed formally to Lucius. "Father, it is good to
see you. I hope you are enjoying yourself this evening."
Lucius nodded regally.
"It
would seem that
the committee did an
excellent
job in making the venue acceptable for
the evening.
Won't you introduce me to your friends, Draco?"
Draco considered his father warily,
recognizing the gleam in his
eye. This was going to get interesting, very quickly.
"Of
course,
Father.
You know Daphne Greengrass," Draco then
gestured to his companion and Lucius nodded regally again at
the witch.
Draco then nodded formally towards Krum,
"This is
Viktor Krum.
He is the Tri-Wizard Champion from Durmstrang."
Viktor
bowed and Lucius nodded,
"Ah yes,
Mr.
Krum.
A fine
display of magic from the first task, most impressive."
Viktor nodded. "Thank youz, Lord Malfoy forz your kind worzs."
Draco then gestured towards
Hermione.
"This is Hermione
Granger,
Father.
She is a member of
Slytherin House as well,
and top of our year."
Lucius eye twitched involuntarily at the reminder that his son was
second in his class to a mudblood,
despite Severus mentioning
the girls magical and intellectual prowess.
"Ah yes.
Of
course,
Miss Granger.
Draco has mentioned you
before.
Miss Greengrass was correct
in the fact
that
you look
lovely this evening.
You and Mr. Krum make a striking couple out
of the dance floor."
Hermione stared impassively at
the older wizard,
her face giving
nothing away of what she was feeling.
She curtsied regally, which caused Lord Malfoy's eyebrow to raise
in surprise.
"Thank you for your kind words, Lord Malfoy. Viktor is
an
exceptional dancer and makes it all seem so effortless."
"Nonsense,
Miss Granger.
It
is easy enough to see with a well-
trained eye that
you have had some tutelage in the art
of
dancing.
I
am gratified to note that
certain societal
niceties are
still appreciated, despite one's heritage."
Draco's eyes widened at
his Father's slight of the little witch, and
he felt
Daphne's hand tighten around his arm,
but
looking at
Granger, Draco could see no visible change in her demeanor.
She had that
dead,
indifferent
look on her face while she coolly
assessed his father.
Bloody hell, the girl was good.
Hermione wasn't fooled by Lord Malfoy's attempt at civility, so she
just
stared at
him impassively.
Once he realized that
she wasn't
going to be intimidated,
he excused himself
wandering over
to
where Headmaster Karkaroff was standing.
She then casually glanced back at
the Slytherin duo,
and they
both looked uncomfortable.
Strange.
"If
you both will
excuse us,
Viktor and I
are going to take a stroll
outside for some fresh air."
Draco stiffened, but Daphne just smiled and nodded. "You really
do look lovely, Hermione. Enjoy the rest of your evening."
Hermione nodded her head at the other girl, and Draco watched
as Viktor
Krum escorted the Granger
outside.
Draco saw his
father
notice
the
pair
leaving
the
hall,
lean
over
to
say
something to Karkaroff, and then discreetly follow Hermione and
Krum outside.
Daphne noticed Lucius exit as well.
"What is that all about, Draco?"
Draco sighed. "I'm not sure exactly. Why don't you head back and
entertain Pansy for a bit,
I
think I'm going to check and see what
my father is up to."
Daphne squeezed his arm in reply and made her way over to her
friends, while Draco followed his father out of the Great Hall.
The Woman in the Witch
Chapter 11: The Woman in the Witch
Viktor led Hermione outside to a secluded part
of
the courtyard,
where the two sat down on a stone bench and quietly talked about
Viktor's
family
in
Bulgaria
and
his
hopes
of
a
professional
Quidditch career after finishing school.
It
wasn't
more than 10 minutes when one of
his classmates
came out
and told Viktor that their Headmaster wished to speak
with
him urgently.
Excusing
himself,
kissing
the
back
of
Hermione's hand,
and assuring himself
that
Hermione would
wait
for him outside,
the Bulgarian followed his classmate back
towards the castle.
Hermione sat rooted in her spot demurely, but she was no fool.
She had seen Lucius Malfoy talking with Headmaster Karkaroff,
the two obviously familiar with each well.
There was no doubt in her mind this was a carefully elaborate set
up, to get her alone.
When she heard the sound of someone approaching behind her,
she recognized the sound of
Lord Malfoy's cane tapping on the
pavement-so she decided to throw out the first volley and let the
wizard know she wouldn't
be playing this game by his rules
tonight.
"Nice evening for a stroll, is it not, Lord Malfoy?"
Lucius stopped suddenly, looking down at the little witch seated
with
her
back
to him.
He didn't
respond immediately,
but
methodically walked over
and around the bench,
gesturing to
the seat beside her, "It is at that, Miss Granger. Your escort has
left you, might I sit and keep you company for a moment?"
Hermione nodded her head regally and gestured next
to her, "Of
course, please do be seated."
Lucius sat
down elegantly and placed his cane on his left,
side- eyeing the diminutive witch from the corner of his eye.
She sat there elegantly, not giving anything away.
He thought
it
was quite disappointing that
the girl's heritage
was so unsavory.
She'd make a fine bride for his son if
her
heritage wasn't such an abomination.
Smart,
beautiful,
confident and powerful. And if Severus was to
be believed?
Ruthlessly cunning and clever.
"Have you enjoyed yourself this evening, Miss Granger?"
Hermione looked down demurely, the picture of feminine restraint
and elegance.
"Yes,
Lord Malfoy.
I have had a lovely time at the
ball."
"Hhmmm." Lucius then noticed a movement behind and to the
right of them, and saw a flash of pale blonde hair.
So it
would seem that
Draco was intent on eavesdropping on his
conversation with the mudblood.
Interesting .
"It
would seem that Mister Krum has taken a keen interest in
you, and does not seem to be bothered by your, shall we say,
unusual
habits in regards to your abandonment of your house
here at Hogwarts."
Hermione smiled inwardly,
the first
move had now been
played in their little game of chess, and she was determined
to come out the winner.
"I'm not
quite sure what
you are implying,
Sir.
I
attend all
my
classes with my fellow Slytherins and even on occasion,
earn
house points.
Perhaps it would be helpful
to cut to the chase and
share with me what exactly is on your mind."
Lucius smiled evilly at
the little witch.
"Very well,
Miss Granger.
Your Head of House has informed me, as the Head of the Board
of
Governors,
that you are no longer staying within the Slytherin
Dorms and haven't
since the start
of
term.
I
believe this is in
clear violation of
several
school
rules and regulations-a fact
I'm
aware
he
shared
with
you.
I
also
believe
he
shared
the
consequences should such behavior continue, did he not?"
"I
do believe Professor Snape and I
did have a discussion about
my lack of attendance in the Slytherin Dormitories. But as far as I
was aware? We came to a mutually beneficial understanding. So I
am understandably confused as to why the need for intervention
several weeks after the fact."
Lucius considered the witch who was now watching him with a
completely guileless expression on her face. He tried to probe her
thoughts, but was firmly shut out.
The girl knew Occlumency, how interesting.
"He did make me aware of the entirety of your conversation, and
has deferred action to myself.
I'm afraid if
you do not
return to
Slytherin House when the new term resumes after Yule? I
will
have no choice but to recommend your expulsion from Hogwarts.
It would not be difficult to get the other Governors on Board, and
while there might
be some backlash on Severus,
once it
has
been discovered your attempt
to blackmail
him? I doubt you will
find
much
sympathy
with
the
Headmaster
or
the
other
Professors, despite your academic standing."
Hermione smiled genuinely
at
the regal
blonde man sitting
before her.
How utterly predictable he was.
She chuckled lightly,
causing Lord Malfoy to glower and raise an
eyebrow condescendingly in her direction.
"I
fail
to see the humor in this situation,
Miss Granger.
Perhaps
you might enlighten me as to what you find so humorous?"
Hermione stood up elegantly
and walked a few paces
ahead, keeping her back straight and eyes fixed ahead.
"Tell
me,
Lord Malfoy? Do you often take such an active interest
in the students here at Hogwarts?"
"I
take my responsibilities as Governor
very seriously,
Miss
Granger.
I
would never do anything to compromise the integrity
of this fine establishment, nor the House I was sorted into."
Hermione turned around and faced the man with a triumphant
smirk on her face.
"Well,
that
is very interesting indeed.
I would
imagine
that
if
you
were
to
find
out
that
someone
had
purposefully tried to put
any student
here in harms way,
they
would be dealt with swiftly and harshly."
"Indeed." The pompous man agreed readily.
"As a Governor,
I
have a duty to ensure the safety and well-being of
all
the
students here."
"Well, that is intriguing to say the least. Tell me, Lord Malfoy? Do
you make it a habit then, to place Dark Artifacts in the cauldrons
of all the eleven-year-old children you meet in bookstores, or was
Miss Weasley a special case?"
Lucius couldn't
hide the shock on his face and felt
his cheeks
flame in anger.
So this is what happened to the Dark Lord's journal!
He had worried incessantly two years ago when the chamber
failed
to
open
and
the
monster
wasn't
unleashed
on
the
mudbloods within the school.
Lucius stood angrily and approached the little witch,
who lifted
her chin in challenge and stared him down.
Who was this chit to think she could question him?
"I
am certain I
have no idea what
you are talking about,
Miss
Granger-but
you best
be careful
in what
kind of
accusations you make. I am not a man to be trifled with."
She just
giggled lightly,
catching a movement
from behind the
wizard in the shadows. Her smile deepened triumphantly. "No, I'd
imagine you aren't
used to anyone questioning your
authority.
But
perhaps in this instance it
would be in both of
our
best
interests to act as if this conversation hadn't happened. I have no
intention of
returning to Slytherin House where I
am clearly not
wanted,
and you won't
have to face uncomfortable questions as
to how you came in possession of the Dark Lord's Diary?"
Lucius Malfoy gaped in horror and then he made to go after the
witch, who just stood her ground smiling. As he reached for her,
he heard a strange hissing sound coming from behind him.
"I
would step back if
I
were you,
Lord Malfoy.
I
am afraid my
familiar
isn't too keen on wizards who make to threaten me."
"Your
familiar?
What
kind
of
rubbish
is
this,
Miss
Granger?" "Turn around, Sir and see for yourself."
Lucius slowly turned and his eyes widened at
the giant
snake
before him who was hissing at
him in anger.
He turned back to
Miss Granger,
who had a small
smile on her face-watching the
reptile slither towards her protectively.
"What kind of magic is this?" Lucius snarled.
He had never seen a snake this large before, but it seemed the
witch was telling the truth,
that
thing was protecting her.
The
snake hissed at the wizard again and Hermione laughed.
Then addressing the snake in Parseltongue,
she hissed back,
"No, Nagini. You may not eat him. Let me handle the wizard, I will
be fine
."
They both watched Nagini melt back into the shadows.
Lucius Malfoy had seen many things throughout his life, but of all
the things he'd seen and done,
the reality of
the little witch
standing before him speaking Parseltongue was almost
too
much for him to process.
After
a few moments he spoke lowly and dangerously.
"You are a Parselmouth? How is that possible?"
Hermione smirked at
the wizard and tilted her head as she
considered the man before her.
However,
after a moment
she'd decided that
she'd had enough
for one evening. "I'm tired, Lord Malfoy and it looks as if my date
has returned to fetch me.
Perhaps it
would do us both well
to
practice discretion and consider tonight a draw?"
The blonde wizard just
stared at
the witch in
fury. "This is not over, Miss Granger."
"Trust me, Lord Malfoy? I would be highly disappointed if it were."
At
that
precise moment
Viktor came back to Hermione and
kissed her hand, tucking her arm in his and leading her away.
After
a few steps Hermione turned back to address the
blonde wizard.
"Thank you for
your
time,
Lord Malfoy,
it
has been most
instructive."
She then turned around while Lucius stood there in shock as he
watched the witch walk back into the castle with her date.
He was so stunned he didn't
notice his son approach him until
Draco cleared his throat.
"Are you alright, Father?"
"No, my Son! I am most definitely not alright."
She's not a Mudblood
Chapter 12: She's not a Mudblood
Draco was sitting on the Hogwarts Express with his friends, who
were chatting in excitement
about
the upcoming Holiday, but all
Draco could think about
was the confrontation between his
father and Granger.
He had heard most
of
the conversation,
in
and up to the point
where the witch had threatened his Father
with her familiar of all things, and spoke in Parseltongue.
When he had questioned his Father,
Lucius told Draco that he
was,
in no uncertain terms-not
allowed to discuss any of
what
he'd witnessed that night.
His Father had left
immediately afterwards,
telling him to relay to
Severus that he'd gone home for the night.
Draco had just
stared after his father,
never seeing the man so
out
of
sorts in his life and then realizing that his father had been
out-played by a 14-year-old mudblood witch.
Bloody hell! Granger was something else!
She had been beautiful
and fierce in her defiance and he had
never
been more aware of
a witch's beauty than he'd had at
that moment, as she walked away with Krum.
Why did she have to be a mudblood?
It wasn't fucking fair!
"Drake, what is up with you today? You haven't said two words to
anyone." Blaise asked, giving his friend bump on the shoulder.
"Don't
mind me,
Blaise-just
have some family business on my
mind." Draco looked over at Daphne, who just raised an eyebrow
at him.
When he'd returned to the Great Hall, the ball was nearly over, but
Daphne had been waiting for
him.
She'd wanted to know what
had happened with Hermione and his father. He had told her that
he was unable to tell her, but as soon as he could he would let her
know.
Daphne
had
been
unhappy
about
it,
but
understood
his
reluctance to share the particulars with her.
"Is your family having their annual New Years Ball, Drake?" Pansy
asked interestedly.
The girl
was always up for a ball, and lately had taken to hanging
off
Draco's arm,
neck or any other body part
she could.
Draco
liked Pansy well enough, he just wasn't sure he was interested in
her in that way.
"Yes,
Mother
sent
out
the invitations last
week,
so I'm positive
you all should've received your invites. I'm sure it will be amazing
as always." Draco replied distractedly.
Pansy simpered unbecomingly. "Your mother does throw the best
balls, Drake. I can't wait!"
Draco looked over to Blaise and Theo, who both just rolled
their eyes.
Pansy was too much to take sometimes.
When the train stopped at
Kings Cross,
Draco disembarked
quickly and noticed his parents waiting for him. His mother kissed
his cheek affectionately while his father
just
nodded at
him in
greeting.
"Come along, Draco, we need to return to the Manor quickly."
He nodded and together the three Malfoy's apparated out of the
train station and to the front
gates of
Malfoy Manor.
Lucius
waved his wand and the gates opened, allowing the three family
members to pass through.
His Father walked with his Mum, while Draco walked a bit behind.
Once they reached the entrance hall, Lucius called for Dobby to
take his cloak and lead his wife and son into his study, where he
closed the door, warded and silenced the room.
"What is going on, Father?" Draco queried.
Narcissa,
sat
down regally on the sofa next
to her son, while the
two stared at the Patriarch in anticipation.
"You both are aware of
the conversation I had with Miss Granger
the night
of
the Yule Ball.
It
would seem she is in possession of
the Dark Lord's journal,
the one that
I
placed in Miss Weasley's
cauldron that day in Diagon Alley."
"We know this, dear." Narcissa smoothly replied.
"Yes,
what
I
didn't
know that
night, but I have come to believe, is
the snake that was with Miss Granger that night is also the familiar
of the Dark Lord."
Narcissa gasped and Draco paled,
his eyes widening in shock
and disbelief.
"How is it
possible that
Miss Granger of
all
people,
a mudblood,
has the protection of
the Dark Lord's familiar,
Lucius?" Narcissa
asked quietly.
"I
do not
know for
sure,
Cissy.
I
spoke with Thoros Nott,
and
asked him if
he knew of
anyone outside the House of
Gaunt
to
have the gift
of
Parseltongue,
and he told me that
he was
unaware of
any as such.
As you know, the Potter boy can speak
with snakes,
and I've always thought this was a by-product of his
encounter
with the Dark Lord when he fell.
What
I
am about
to
speculate can go no further than this room. I did some digging into
Miss Granger's Muggle Family.
It
would appear
the girl
was
adopted sometime late in 1979.
Papers were filed through a
private law firm, but I haven't been able to find out any more than
that."
"Then whom are her parents, Lucius? Are you suggesting that the
Dark
Lord is the girl's Father?"
Narcissa was aghast
at
the
thought.
If
that
were true,
then their son had alienated the rightful
heir of
Slytherin from her own house.
Her own birthright .
"That is exactly what I'm suggesting. My mark has gotten darker
this year,
suggesting that
the Dark Lord is close to returning.
If
his familiar is protecting the girl, then there is a good chance he
knows of
her existence and has offered what
protection he can
until
he returns to full
power."
Lucius looked to his son.
"You
have
been
instrumental
in
alienating
Miss
Granger
from
Slytherin
House,
Draco-
and
as
such? The Dark
Lord I'd
imagine, will
not be pleased with the whole of Slytherin when he
finds out his heir has been ostracized from her own House."
Draco paled even further
and Narcissa grabbed his hand in
comfort.
"Draco did not
know whom the girl
was,
Lucius.
Surely
the Dark Lord would be understanding of
the fact
that
Slytherin
could in no way openly support
a supposed mudblood within its
House?"
"And if
he's not,
Cissa,
what
then? If
I'm right,
he knows of
his
daughter's existence,
and further
more,
Miss Granger
knows
whom her father is. She is far too clever and cunning not to. She
was unfazed by my threats towards her, as if she knew she held
the upper hand."
"So what
do we do,
Father? Daphne and I
have tried to undo
some of
the damage we've done,
and I've made it
clear within
Slytherin House that
Granger
is to be left
alone.
Most
of
the
House has followed my lead, but there are still a few who openly
taunt her, even though she is immune to their hate."
Lucius nodded at
his son. "That is good, Draco, that you have
tried to fix the redress towards the witch, but I'm afraid we may
not have much time. I'm convinced the Dark Lord will return by
years end.
While he was never known to be a caring individual,
the fact
that
his familiar is guarding the girl
speaks volumes as to his
intentions of
claiming the witch as his heir. We must keep this
information close to the vest and try and fix what we can before
he returns."
"May I
tell
Daphne, Father? She was the one who came to me at
the end of
last
year concerned for Granger's well-being. She has
been openly trying to befriend the witch, and I believe she can be
made to see reason in keeping this confidential.
Granger won't
suspect her of knowing the truth, because she genuinely wants to
make amends for how we've treated Hermione."
"Invite Miss Greengrass here before the ball,
Draco.
We will
sit
down with her
and if
her
Occlumency is sufficient,
together will
share our suspicions. Hopefully the damage that has been done is
not
irreversible or
I
fear what
may happen when the Dark Lord
returns."
"I
will
send an owl
immediately,
Father.
Please excuse me,
Father, Mother."
Draco got
up and left
the room quickly leaving his parents
sitting there contemplating the new turn of events.
"Do you really think she is Heir to Slytherin,
Lucius? I've never
heard any whispers of
the Dark Lord being involved with any
witch."
Lucius shook his head in despair.
"Neither did I,
Cissy,
but
that
does not
mean he wasn't
involved with someone .
Our Lord was
very
secretive
and
untrusting,
and
if
he
was
involved
with
someone,
I
doubt
he would have made it
public knowledge.
The
possibility that he sired an heir is truly astonishing in itself, but that
he would willingly claim the girl
as such confounds me. He never
seemed the kind of
man that
would care for
another
above
himself."
"Perhaps he is intrigued by the possibility,
Lucius.
The girl
is
brilliant,
cunning and powerful.
I
am sure he would be covetous
of having such an heir at his side. The fact that she has kept this
hidden and not used this information to her advantage speaks to
her
cleverness.
She has allowed the whole of
Hogwarts to
ridicule and dismiss her,
yet
she is top of
her class.
From what
our son has shared in his letters,
the girl
truly has no one.
No
friends,
no acquaintances even.
This new friendship with Mr.
Krum is the first
kindness anyone has truly shown her since she
entered Hogwarts.
I
can't imagine the level
of distrust and anger
the girl must hold."
Lucius just nodded absently, looking out his study window into the
garden.
"You should've seen her,
Cissy!
She was everything a Slytherin
should be .
Miss Granger has been sitting back for four years
and observing the world around her,
and no one noticed nor
cared.
She was observant
enough as a 12-year-old to see
through my deception and waited until
the opportune moment to
use that
information to her advantage." Lucius gazed at his wife
in wonder and greed. "I remember thinking to myself what a fine
bride she would make for
our
son,
if
not
for
her
unfortunate
blood.
Now I
find out
that
she may truly be an heir to Slytherin
himself, and the Dark Lord."
"And you want her for our son? You want her tied to our house?"
Narcissa eyed her husband knowingly. Lucius nodded once and
Narcissa smiled.
"Our
son is taken with the witch,
despite his
years of
tormenting her.
He has written to me several
times
about
his regret in taunting the girl. He has expressed his worry
over her health,
and his shame in hurting her,
even though he
knew it would be expected of him. I have the letters, Lucius, and
I
think when the opportune time comes? We can use them to
show Miss Granger
our
son's true feelings.
She may not
be
receptive at
first,
but
I
have no doubt
that
our
son is clever
enough to win the girl over."
"I hope you are right, my love. This is a dangerous game we
are about to play."
"When am I ever wrong, husband."
Lucius smiled at
his wife,
stood up and took her hand guiding
her off the couch and into his arms.
"You truly are an amazing witch, my heart."
The
two
kissed
gently
and
Lucius
led
his
wife
to
their
bedchambers,
where he could show her
his appreciation more
thoroughly.
Slytherin Tactics
Chapter 13: Slytherin Tactics
The night
of
the Malfoy Ball
had arrived, and Draco was waiting
by the floo for Daphne to arrive.
He had spent
the last
several
days going over every interaction
he'd had with Granger
and thinking about
all
he'd seen and
witnessed.
He'd mentioned to his father over dinner one evening,
that
he
had seen the snake back at
end of
second year,
when he had
followed Granger out
to the Black Lake.
He had then realized
that
Granger
had been out
there consistently over
the years,
and when his father asked him if there had been a pattern?
Draco didn't realize at first there had been.
But
when he had thought
about
it,
he concluded that
the times
he'd seen Granger at her usual spot, were during the full moon.
Lucius nodded,
telling Draco to keep watch over
the coming
months to see if the pattern held.
Draco had to admit that his admiration for the little witch had
increased exponentially over the last few days.
If
she truly was the daughter of the Dark Lord, and she'd never
used that fact to her advantage?
Spoke immeasurably of
her
strength and resilience.
She had a
plan,
of
that
Draco was sure.
Hermione was exceedingly cunning
and clever and he was sure that she knew far more than she let on.
He wasn't sure how he was going to approach her.
He thought
about
using the knowledge that
she was truly
the daughter of the Dark Lord, but what if she wasn't?
It
wasn't
something that
one would go around claiming
indiscriminately.
He was sure that she was-but he needed more proof.
Soon the floo flashed green and out
stepped Daphne,
looking
lovely in pink formal
dress robes.
Draco went over to greet her
and kissed the back of
her
hand causing her
to smile at
her
friend.
"So why am I here early, Drake? Your letter made it seem that it
was important."
"It is Daph. My father is waiting for us, come."
Draco took Daphne's arm and together they made their way to his
Father's study.
When they reached then door,
Draco knocked
politely and was told to 'enter '
by his father, who was was sitting
with his mother
on the wing-backed chairs facing the leather
couch.
Draco guided Daphne over to the couch to sit.
"It
is
lovely
to see you again,
Lord and Lady Malfoy."
Daphne curtsied before she sat down next to Draco.
Narcissa smiled warmly at the young witch, while Lucius went and
poured himself
a drink.
When the four were finally all
settled in
their seats, Lucius addressed Daphne.
"Thank you for
coming her this evening,
Miss Greengrass.
Draco tells
us
that
you have been worried about
Miss
Granger
this past
year,
and have made efforts to try and
befriend her."
Daphne glanced warily over at
Draco in confusion,
not sure
where this line of questioning was going.
"Yes, Lord Malfoy. I have been trying to do just that, but Hermione
is very reluctant
to accept
any offer
of
friendship from any in
Slytherin House,
and justifiably so.
We haven't
been kind to her,
Sir,
and as a result? I'm sure Draco has told you,
she no longer
stays within our dorms. She has managed to find alternative living
arrangements, although we have no idea where in the castle she's
staying."
"Yes,
Professor Snape came to me recently and expressed his
concern over
Miss
Granger's
unwillingness
to follow House
rules.
Before we go any further,
Miss Greengrass? I
must
ask
how well your Occlumency shields are?"
Daphne stared at Lord Malfoy in shock. "They are adequate, Lord
Malfoy. My father Hyperion, has trained both my sister and myself
in Occlumency since the summer before we started Hogwarts."
Lucius nodded. "For what we wish to share with you today, Miss
Greengrass, I must ask that you allow me to test your shields. If
you do not
wish to do so,
then I
would ask that
you keep this
meeting
here
private
and
we
will
go
no
further.
Is
that
acceptable?"
Daphne looked again at her friend, who nodded back at her kindly.
She
knew
that
Draco
wouldn't
put
her
in
harms
way
unnecessarily
without
good
reason.
Obviously
this
had
something to do with Hermione.
Daphne didn't
need to think
long,
she felt
that
she owed it
to Draco and to Hermione to try
and help the girl any way she could.
"I
am willing,
Lord Malfoy."
The man nodded and grabbed his
wand not giving the girl
any time to prepare before he made eye
contact and muttered 'Legilimens '.
Daphne's shields were up in an instant
and Lucius methodically
probed her
shields,
looking for a way in.
He applied a bit
more
force and could feel
the shields flutter,
but
held.
He applied a bit
more force and the shields came down with Daphne muttering a
gasp.
"Impressive,
Miss Greengrass,
you kept
me out
for a good five
minutes."
Daphne was shaking a bit,
and Draco grabbed her
hand to give it a comforting squeeze.
Narcissa placed a refreshing charm on the teenage witch,
who smiled her thanks at the older woman.
Lucius sat
back in his chair and looked to his wife, who gave him
a small
nod.
"What
we are about
to share with you today,
Miss
Greengrass,
I
can't
express
the
importance
of
keeping this
confidential.
I
would have you take an oath,
but
as you are still
underage, such an oath is not possible."
"Whatever It is you wish to confide in me, Lord Malfoy? I can
give you my word that it will go no further."
"Excellent."
The
blonde
wizard
nodded.
"I
have
a pensieve
memory I wish to share with you. Once that is done, I will
explain
my rationale for requesting your presence today."
Lucius waved his wand and the pensieve floated towards the
young witch.
When it had settled on the table before her, Lucius
used his wand and pulled out
a memory,
placing it
into the
swirling urn and watched as the young Greengrass girl
placed
her head into the object and was transported into the memory of
the night of the Yule Ball.
After several
minutes,
Daphne came out of the pensieve with a
pale complexion and visibly shaking.
Draco went
to her
and sat
her
back onto the couch before
grabbing a small
glass of
firewhiskey,
having Daphne take a
measured sip to gather her nerves.
Daphne thought about what she had just seen.
Hermione had gone head to head with Lord Malfoy and had
clearly come out victorious. The fact that Lord Malfoy was trusting
her
with such a compromising piece of
information meant
that
there was far more to this than Daphne realized.
"I
am honored in the trust
you are placing with me,
Sir,
but
I
can't
help but
think that
I
am missing something vital.
How did
Hermione know the diary belonged to the Dark Lord? And
where did the snake come from? I
have only seen Hermione
with her Kneazle familiar, not a snake."
Lucius nodded at the girl
solemnly. "That is what I want to share
with you.
Mind you,
these are only suspicions at
present,
but
based on the facts I
believe them to be accurate."
Daphne
nodded in understanding.
"The gift
of
being a Parselmouth has
only ever been present in the direct line of Slytherin. Now as you
are aware,
Harry Potter also possesses the gift, a fact I believe
was gained when he had his altercation with the Dark Lord as a
baby.
Some of
the Dark Lord's powers may have possibly been
transferred to the boy, which has given him among other things,
the ability to converse with
snakes.
Miss
Granger
however,
has
been thought
to be a
mudblood, and as such would have no relation to Slytherin's line
that we know of."
Daphne nodded,
"I
believe I
heard her mention one time in class
that her parents are Muggle teeth healers of some kind."
She
looked
to
Draco
for
confirmation
and
he
nodded
in
agreement.
"I did some investigating after the Yule Ball and it would seem
that
Miss Granger
was adopted by by her
Muggle parents
sometime in late 1979."
Daphne gasped.
"Adopted!
But
why wouldn't
she have said
anything? I'd imagine the rest
of
Slytherin House might've been
less hostile if they had known she was adopted."
At
this point
Draco sighed sadly, as he too, had done quite a bit
of
thinking about
this since his father had told him,
and he felt
that he might have an answer that made sense.
"I
think Daph,
that
perhaps she didn't
know when she was first
sorted into Slytherin.
Maybe her
adoptive parents didn't
tell
her
right away.
This is speculation on my part
obviously.
But
if
she found out
second year? Do you think if she had said something, that anyone
in Slytherin would've believed her?"
Daphne scrunched her face in disgust.
"No,
no one would have
thought she was telling the truth. Everyone would've assumed she
was making it up to stop the torment, or desperately trying to fit in.
It would've most likely made the taunting worse."
Draco nodded, looking at his father who was deep in thought.
"Draco and I have discussed this, and we have come to suspect
that
Miss Granger was most
likely aware of
her birth status as
early as late second year, and it may have been earlier-although
we have nothing to confirm that
yet.
We also have come to
suspect,
and the main reason you are here,
is that
we believe
that Miss Granger's biological father is the Dark Lord Himself."
Daphne just
sat
back in shock and stared unseeingly at
Lord
Malfoy.
If
this was true,
and Hermione was the Dark Lord's
daughter? Then Merlin help all
of Slytherin House when the truth
was revealed.
She had been alienated from her own house and by rights she
was an heir to Slytherin as the Dark Lord was the last
known
surviving heir of the House of Gaunt.
"Are you sure of
this,
Sir.
Is there any chance that
she isn't
whom you think she is?" Daphne asked quietly.
"I'm afraid not,
my dear," Narcissa chimed in,
"as all
the signs
point
to Miss Granger being the Dark Lord's daughter and heir.
We believe the snake is the familiar of
our Lord and that
Miss
Granger
is under
the protection of
the snake.
If
this is true,
Lucius believes that the Dark Lord will
be returning soon and he
is aware of his daughter. It would also appear he has made what
arrangements he can for her protection, until
he can return to do
so himself."
"Oh Morgana!
Slytherin House is doomed. She will
never come
to accept us after how we've treated her."
At
this Daphne turned to Draco, who had his head in his hands.
Daphne then glanced over at
Draco's parents, who looked back
at her grimly.
"We are aware of
the issue at
hand,
Miss Greengrass and that
is why we have asked you to come.
Draco tells me you have
been trying to make inroads with Miss Granger. We ask that you
step up your efforts,
for Draco seems to think she won't
be as
suspicious of your intentions as she might another, since you've
already expressed concern for
her
in the past." Lucius stated
calmly.
"I am happy to do what I can, Lord Malfoy, but I am not sure how
much success I
will
have.
Hermione barely speaks to anyone,
but
the fact
is no one engages with her either.
She has been
shunned not
just
by our
house,
but
all
the houses avoid her
because she is a Slytherin and a mudblood.
If
the Dark Lord
returns and she is not welcomed within his House, I fear for what
will happen to my friends, my own family."
Merlin
what
a
mess
they
had
created. How were they ever going
to fix this?
"Daphne you are a bright witch, and I'm sure you will do just fine
trying to befriend the girl. I would think there would be someway
we could arrange it
so that
either you or Draco would have to
work with her.
Perhaps we could get
Severus to help. Set up a
Potions project with partners and assign Miss Granger with you,
Daphne." Lucius looked at
his wife in appreciation,
he'd never
ceased to be amazed by her Slytherin nature.
"That is an excellent suggestion, Cissy and one I will discuss with
Severus this evening when he comes for the ball. Would you be
willing to have such an arrangement, Miss Greengrass?"
Daphne side-eyed Draco,
who seemed a bit
put
out
at
the
suggestion and she knew why.
If an opportunity was to be presented in having contact with
Hermione, Draco would want to be the one to benefit.
Daphne was
no fool
and she'd seen Draco's attention
wander towards Hermione in all their classes.
He was smitten,
but
would've never
admitted to such a thing
under the circumstances.
"I
think perhaps Draco might
be a better fit
to be partnered with
Hermione."
Draco's head whipped at
his friend astonished that
she would
suggest
such a thing,
because he desperately wanted it
to be
him, but he wasn't ready to admit it just yet.
"Why
do
you
think
Draco
would
be
better
suited,
Miss
Greengrass?" Lucius queried curiously.
"For
a few reasons actually.
First,
Draco is a leader
within
Slytherin House and has made it known that Granger is off limits.
If
he is seen working with her openly,
it may encourage more of
our house to do the same. Secondly, I think it would be easier for
me to insinuate myself
into a study group with Draco and
Hermione versus the other way around.
I
don't
think she would
be as receptive to having Draco work with us,
but
if
it
was just
her and Draco? I think she would be more welcoming having me
there. I would maybe suggest that Professor Snape pair me with
Blaise Zabini, as he'd be more open to befriending Granger than
Theo
or
Pansy.
Lastly,
I
think
based
on
the
end of
your
conversation,
Lord Malfoy? That
Hermione is smart
enough to
anticipate some sort of reaction on your part, and my best guess
is she'd expect
something exactly like this.
So why not play into
that? She would be more comfortable and confident
in her
assumptions,
and it
might
work to our advantage to break down
those barriers, plus Draco's far better at Occlumency than I am."
Lucius
turned
to
his
wife,
who
was
thinking
about
Miss
Greengrass'
suggestions.
Narcissa then nodded at
her husband
and Lucius then turned his attention to his son,
who was sitting
back with a contemplative look on his face.
"What do you think, Draco?"
"I
think it
might
work.
If
we are paired for the remainder of
the
year,
I
think that
would be best.
It
may take awhile to break
through her defenses."
Lucius nodded at his son, realizing he was probably correct in his
assumptions.
Miss Granger would be defensive and uncooperative at first, and
Lucius
could hardly blame the girl.
Draco was his son,
and
inherently Slytherin.
Lucius had every confidence this could work
to their advantage.
"Very well,
I
will
talk with Severus this evening and have him
make
the
arrangements
for
when
term resumes.
In
the
meantime, please reiterate with your housemates that they are
to leave Miss Granger
be.
I'm confident
that
subtlety will
be
adhered to?"
"Yes, Father." Draco nodded.
Lucius excused the young adults and sat there for a moment with
his wife deep in thought.
This had better work or there was no telling what wrath they would
all face with the Dark Lord returned.
Potion's Partners and Polyjuice
Chapter 14: Potion's Partners and Polyjuice
The first
day back in Potions after the New Year brought
about
the
changes
that
Draco
and
Daphne had been expecting.
Daphne had been paired with Blaise and Draco with Hermione.
When Professor Snape made the announcement,
there were a
few stunned gasps,
but
Hermione just
sat
there with that
blank,
dead look on her face.
Draco moved over to sit by the little witch, who didn't so much as
glance his way.
Snape then announced what their project would be.
"Each group will
be given a Potion to work on throughout
this
upcoming
term.
You
will
have
two
months
to
source
the
ingredients required for making the potion and will
write a paper
on the main purposes for each ingredient,
their origins,
optimal
level
of
concentrations and any improvements that
might
be
made in preparing your Potions.
When I
call
your group name,
write down your potion and spend the rest
of
the time today in
class beginning research on your outline.
I
will
expect
a rough
draft submitted to me by the beginning of the next class period."
The Professor moved over to his desk and grabbed a sheet
of
parchment.
"Now let's see… Potter and Longbottom, you will
be
researching and brewing a standard calming draught. Parkinson
and
Nott… confusing
concoction.
Zabini
and
Greengrass…
Pepper up potion. Weasley and Finnegan… Hiccoughing Potion.
Brown and Patil… Draught
of
Peace.
Malfoy and Granger…
Polyjuice Potion."
At
the mention of
this,
Hermione's mouth smirked up at
the
corner, almost too quickly for Draco to notice, but notice he did.
"Find something amusing, Granger?" Draco drawled evenly, while
Hermione just
looked askance at
him.
She then shook her head
and didn't say a word, but Draco wasn't deterred.
He knew she would have to talk to him eventually today.
Draco sat
back and folded his arms facing the witch next to him.
"So how do you want to do this, Granger?"
Hermione then turned to face the blonde wizard,
who had been
the bane of
her existence for the better part
of
three years and
addressed him coldly. "It really matters little to me, Malfoy. I'd just
as
soon
split
up
the
ingredients
and
work
separately
on
research. That would mean less time you need to associate with
filth like me. I'm sure that would greatly appeal to you."
Draco sighed in exasperation,
"You would be wrong in that
assumption, Granger."
He watched as the witch's eyes widened momentarily and then
her face went back to that dead expression.
Draco shifted in his chair nervously trying to appear contrite, and
he was pretty sure he didn't need to try very hard.
"Look,
Granger,
you and I
are the best
students in class.
It's
probably why Professor Snape gave us the most
difficult
potion
to research and brew.
While I've been unfriendly to you in the
past, I would hope that we could at least try and work together for
the sake of our grades. I can promise to be civil and do my share
of
the work.
I
doubt
you'll
get
a better
offer
from our
other
Potion-challenged classmates." He smirked at the end.
Hermione stared at
him impassively,
knowing deep down this
was some elaborate set up by her Professor and Draco's Father.
She wasn't
sure what
the end game was here,
but
she could
play along.
It
wasn't as if the blonde sitting across from her was
smart enough to get one over on her.
"Fine,
Malfoy.
Since I
do care about
my grade in this class? I
suppose we are stuck together for the purposes of
completing
this project."
"Excellent." Draco nodded. "Perhaps we should decide how best
to go about writing up our outline?"
Hermione nodded and grabbed some parchment
and ink out
of
her book bag, and Draco caught Daphne's eye and the girl smiled
and nodded to her friend in encouragement.
Daphne knew that
Draco would take full
advantage of
this
situation and hopefully by the end of the school
term, Hermione
might be willing to move back into the Slytherin Dormitory where
she belonged.
The two top students worked quietly for the rest
of
the period
and when Professor Snape indicated it
was time to pack up for
the day,
Draco stood and waited for
Hermione to gather
her
school
supplies so he could walk out with her. She however, just
glazed at him in confusion, but still refused to engage. Once her
bag was full,
she moved towards the door with Draco following
her.
When they reached the hallway she saw Pansy Parkinson quickly
approaching, rushing to Draco's side.
"Oh poor,
Drakey!
Having to partner up with the mudblood!
Why
didn't you just tell Snape to partner you with someone else?"
Hermione
stood
back
from the
group
as
Nott,
Zabini
and
Greengrass approached.
When she went
to move around the
group, someone gently grabbed her arm, and sighing in frustration
she looked up to see Malfoy considering her with something like
concern. Draco then turned to Parkinson and sneered openly.
"That
is enough,
Pansy.
What
have I
said about
calling Granger
that name?"
Hermione flinched back at
Draco in shock,
while Parkinson just
sneered at the witch.
"None of
us
thought
you were serious,
Drake!
We just
assumed it was a big joke, right?"
Pansy then turned to the other Slytherin's, who were watching the
scene before them, some in confusion-others with understanding.
"No,
I
wasn't
joking when I said it back at the beginning of the
year, and I am not joking now, Pansy. If I hear of anyone calling
Granger that disgusting name again, I will
personally deal
with
it myself."
Pansy started to whine in protest
but Daphne was quick to come
to Draco's defense. "Enough, Pansy! I've talked to you about this.
Hermione is part
of
our house and we have alienated a member
of
Slytherin for what? Does it make you feel
better about yourself
taunting someone who won't fight back?"
Pansy's face reddened in embarrassment but she could see that
none of
her friends were going to take her side.
"You are all
a
disappointment!
Your
parents would be ashamed of
you for
cavorting with a mudblood." Pansy sneered openly at Hermione,
who just looked back at the girl dispassionately.
"Please don't
feel
that
you need to stem your hateful
diatribe on
my account,
Parkinson,
or any of
you for that
matter.
You have
all
made it
quite clear that
I
am not
welcome in Slytherin.
So I
removed myself from the situation, gladly."
At
this she looked at
Malfoy dubiously,
"Please don't
feel
the
need to defend me, Malfoy, it is neither needed nor required. We
are Potions partners,
not
friends.
I
have no need for
such
sentiment."
With that, she hurried away from the group and down the hall, not
noticing the looks of
shock,
sadness and anger on the faces of
her fellow classmates.
When Hermione had disappeared,
Draco snarled and turned
around
pointing
his
finger
back
to
the
Potions
classroom,
watching each of his friends look at him warily as they made their
way back into the room.
When everyone was present,
Draco
slammed the door shut, causing Professor Snape to billow out of
his
office.
When he saw the look on his godsons face he
sighed-silencing and warding the room before turning around
heading back into his office.
"What
the fuck is your
problem,
Pansy? I'm sick and tired of
having to repeat
myself
to you,
so let
this be the last time. You
will
cease and desist
calling Granger a mudblood,
filth or any
other
prejudicial
euphemism about
her
blood status.
Am I
clear?"
Pansy moved up towards Draco and clenched her fists in anger.
"No!
I don't understand! You won't tell
us why… oh, please don't
tell
me you actually like the mudblood, Drakey? What would your
father
think? Maybe I
should write to him and tell
him that
his
baby boy is in love with a filthy mudblood! How do you think old
Lucius would feel about that, hmmm?"
By now Nott,
Zabini
and Greengrass were staring at
the two in
shock waiting to see who would hex whom first.
"You go right ahead and owl
my Father, you daft bint-and while
your at it? Send a note to my Mother as well."
This got the attention of everyone in the room, although Daphne
knew exactly how Narcissa Malfoy would respond.
"You're bluffing."
Pansy accused,
but
Draco just
smiled evilly at
the witch.
"Why don't
you write that
letter and find out." He then looked at
his two best
mates.
"Apparently,
my Father is none too happy
that
Granger has taken it
upon herself
to distance herself
from
Slytherin House.
Severus told my father,
who as Head of
the
Board of Governors, was displeased to hear such a thing. It's not
a good reflection on Slytherin House that one of our students has
felt so completely alienated, she no longer houses in the Dorms.
Snape could lose his job if
it
became public knowledge. Do you
want that to happen, Pansy?"
Pansy just gaped at her friend in shock, while the other Slytherins
looked down in shame.
None of them had thought about how this might fall back on their
Head of House.
Daphne smiled inwardly at
Draco's Slytherin handling of
the
situation.
By using Snape as a catalyst,
it
would force the
Slytherin's to fall
in line,
without
putting pressure on himself
or
Granger.
"Why not just have her expelled, mate?" Theo asked petulantly.
"Father thought of that, but could you imagine the fall-out, Theo?
The fact
that
Granger has gone missing since beginning of
the
year, and none of us have said anything to Professor Snape until
just
before Yule.
We would all
look culpable when questions are
asked by the press as to how long this had been going on.
Severus did bring this to Hermione's attention and the stubborn
witch had the balls to
blackmail him, stating as much."
Draco inwardly smiled at the reactions of his friends.
The fact
that
Granger had successfully challenged their Head of
House was no easy feat,
and by the looks of begrudging respect
from Blaise and Theo,
Draco was right in his assessment that by
sharing the facts, it would only cause Granger's esteem to raise in
their eyes.
Only a true Slytherin could do what
she had done,
mudblood or
not.
"Are you serious,
Drake? The mudblood.." At
Draco's scowl,
Blaise
changed
tactics.
"Granger
actually
blackmailed
Professor Snape… and got
away with it? I
have a hard time
believing that, mate."
"Believe it,
Mr.
Zabini," came the drawl
from the office doorway,
"Miss Granger made it
very clear that
she would do exactly as
Draco has stated if
I
tried to force her back into the dorms.
We
have all
been remiss in our handling of this situation where Miss
Granger
is concerned,
but
it
ends now.
Draco is correct
in his
assumption that
if
we do not
bring Miss Granger
back into
Slytherin House, we may all pay a greater price than we realize."
Severus stared at Draco knowingly.
Ah, so it would seem that his Father had shared his suspicions of
Hermione's heritage with his godfather.
If
there wasn't
some validity to Father's line of
thinking,
Severus
would've never been on board with this plan.
Blaise and Theo looked at each other and then nodded. "We are
on board,
mate.
We will
leave her alone and support
however
you want to play this. We will make sure the younger years fall in
line,
but
what
about
the older students,
Drake? You know Flint
and Montague will never go for it."
Draco smirked,
"You leave those tossers to me."
Glaring at
Pansy,
Draco scowled at
her,
"You as well,
Pansy.
If
I
hear of
you calling Granger mudblood one more time-we are done ."
Pansy gasped,
while Blaise and Theo looked at
their
friend
speculatively.
"I
get
it,
Drake.
I'll
refrain from taunting Granger
from now on. But I'm not happy about it."
Draco appeared pleased.
"I
don't
expect
you to be,
Pansy,
I'm
sure none of
us are happy with how this has all
played out. But
since I was the catalyst for our House alienating Granger, it's up
to me to fix it."
Pansy just sighed and nodded reluctantly.
It was more than Draco could hope for at this point.
When his friends found out who Granger really was and that he'd
known, he'd have a hard time explaining his reasons for keeping it
a secret.
He knew Theo and Blaise would eventually understand,
but Pansy would never forgive him.
Oddly,
it
didn't
make him feel
as bad as it
probably should
have done.
The Horcrux Theory
Chapter 15: The Horcrux Theory
A few days
had passed since the incident
in Potions and
Hermione had tried to keep to herself
as much as possible.
She'd been spending extra hours in the Room of
Requirement,
asking the room to provide books and texts on blood magic,
wandlore and Dark curses. At one point, she had asked the room
to provide her with any texts from Salazar Slytherin himself and
what had happened at that point had been a shock.
A separate door opened up for Hermione and when she walked
in,
there was an entire library of
books as well
as journals from
Salazar himself.
She was dumbfounded at the wealth of knowledge held within the
room and couldn't wait to get started on reading.
Draco and Daphne had taken to sitting next
to her in all
their
shared classes, which was starting to cause her to become wary
of
their intentions.
When she sat
down and thought
back to the
night
of
her
confrontation with Lucius Malfoy,
she belatedly
realized that
he might've made the connection between herself
and the Dark Lord. If that was the case, it would explain some of
the actions within Slytherin House recently, but not all of them.
If
what
Parkinson had said was true, Malfoy had defended her all
the way back in September.
Hermione thought
about
some of
the things that
had transpired
before Yule,
but
she just
wasn't
willing to believe that
Draco
Malfoy had changed his view of her.
She had also received an invitation from Viktor to attend the next
Hogsmeade visit
with him and she had given her
reply in the
affirmative.
Viktor
seemed genuine in his desire for
friendship
and even though he wasn't
the most
intelligent
wizard,
he was
thoughtful
and chivalrous.
When Viktor had come up and asked
her
after
DADA class,
she didn't
notice the unhappy look on
Malfoy's face, or the way Daphne smirked at the blonde. She did
however,
notice the stares of
the other witches and a few of the
wizards coming out
of
the classroom,
so she left
as quickly as
she could.
Apparently,
Ron Weasley had been particularly scathing when
he'd stated hatefully said that
he couldn't
understand why a
Quidditch Star
like Viktor
Krum,
would be interested in a
Bushy-Haired, know- it-all mudblood.
Draco,
who had heard the red-head insult
Granger,
hexed him
using 'Densaugeo '
spell, which caused Weasley's teeth to grow
out past his chin and he had to be rushed to the medical
wing to
have Madam Pomfrey cast the counter-charm.
When Hermione overheard a few of the Slytherin students talking
about the incident, she was shocked by Malfoy's defense of her.
The second task for the Tri-wizards tournament was coming up
next week, and Hermione hadn't given much thought to whether
or not
she would attend to support
Viktor.
She and Malfoy had
decided to study for
their Potions assignment
every Thursday
evening after dinner.
Tonight
was a full
moon, so Hermione got
dressed in her winter cloak and headed for her usual spot at the
Black Lake.
She didn't
know that
Draco was already there hiding under a
disillusionment
charm behind the tree,
where he had observed
her earlier this year.
It
wasn't
long before Draco noticed Hermione walking towards
her usual spot.
The day had been cold,
but
not
overly so and Draco eyed with
appreciation,
how flushed Granger's cheeks were and how bright
her eyes looked as she headed towards her usual
spot. Her curls
were hidden under
a knitted hat
and her
cloak was a flattering
navy blue.
Hermione seemed to appear
healthier than she had earlier in
the year and that
made him feel
pleased.
He was hopeful
that
the little witch would perhaps start
taking better care of
herself
once things settled down and the tormenting stopped.
It
wasn't
long after Hermione sat
down that
he noticed a large
snake making its way towards her. Hermione smiled beatifically
at the snake, and Draco's breath caught.
He had never
seen her
smile that
genuinely before and it
transformed her
usual
dead expression into something truly
resplendent.
He could hear
them speaking Parseltongue,
so
Draco waited to see how long this visit
would last
and if
there
was anything he could relay to his father.
Hermione was overjoyed to see her friend.
Nagini
slithered up
and placed her
head on Hermione's lap,
hissing softly.
"It
is
good to see my Master's daughter.
How have you been young
one?"
"I'm well, Nagini." Hermione hissed back, "School is keeping me
busy and I
have been doing some additional
research in my
spare time."
"What kind of research?"
"On blood magic, Dark curses and wandlore."
"And have you learned anything useful, little one?"
Hermione thought
for a moment at some of what she had read
recently and decided it couldn't hurt to discuss it with the snake.
"I
have a suspicion about something, Nagini, but I'm not sure if
I'm correct. If I'm wrong, it could be very unfortunate, but I don't
think I am."
"You
have
good
instincts
and
are
you
Father's
daughter.
Whatever you suspect it is probably correct."
Hermione nodded.
"Remember
when we talked about
Father's
horcruxes and I
mentioned that
I
suspected that
he had made
certain ones?" The snake nodded. "I have come to believe that on
the night Father tried to kill the Potter boy, his magic rebounded in
such a way that he transferred not only part of his magic to Potter,
but part of his soul
as well. It is why the Potter boy can speak with
snakes, and why he is powerful. I don't know if Father has found a
way to return to full
power, but if he has? I suspect it would have
to be through blood magic."
"This is concerning if
Harry Potter
is also a horcrux.
It
would
mean that master cannot kill him."
"Not
directly,
no. He would have to cast the killing curse twice in
succession. Once to kill the horcrux and once to kill the boy. I am
researching other
options as well.
I
suspect
there is a plan in
place with the wizard Father sent to Hogwarts. I would ask that I
be able to speak with this man and tell
him my true identity,
if
Father
believes he can be trusted.
I
have a plan forming to
capture the Potter
boy and discredit
Dumbledore at
the same
time."
Nagini
nodded. "I will
tell
Master of your suspicions and requests.
He sends his regards. I told him of the incident before, when I was
here last. He was most displeased that you were threatened."
Hermione shook her head. "Please tell him I took care of it. Lord
Malfoy is simply not
used to being questioned,
especially by a
student
whom he considers a mudblood.
His son has taken it
upon himself to start defending my honor this year even though
he was horrible to me previously. It makes me to wonder if they
suspect
who I
am. Do you know if my Father plans to claim me
once he returns? I don't want him to if he doesn't wish it."
Nagini
looked up at
the little witch.
She seemed disappointed,
but
it
was hard to tell
with a snake. "Would you not wish Master
to claim you as his heir, young Hermione?"
Hermione shook her head emphatically. "On the contrary, Nagini. I
would very much wish to know my Father, but only if he sees the
benefit
in having me for
a daughter.
I
would not
wish to be a
disappointment to him."
"I
will
tell
Master
of
your
concerns,
but
know this young one,
since learning of
your
existence he has been most
anxious to
return.
He was angry at
first
that
he had not
been told by your
mother
of
your
existence.
I
believe once he returns to full
strength he has every intention of seeking you out to discuss this
with you. Be patient, young Hermione and keep yourself safe."
"I will, Nagini. I will
see you next month. Give my regards to
my father."
"I will, little Mistress."
Hermione watched fondly as the snake slithered away,
noticing
that it was starting to get dark. She grabbed her bag and walked
towards the castle deciding that perhaps she would go relax and
take a bubble bath after dinner. She had been studying non-stop
since she'd returned from the holidays and she just
wanted a
quiet night alone.
Draco watched the witch fade into the distance and made sure
the snake was long gone before he cancelled his concealment
charm.
His Father
and Severus had spent
the better
part
of
the Yule
Holiday helping him perfect
certain spells,
and his concealment
and silencing charms were quite good, if he said so himself.
Heading towards the owlry he had just enough time to send off a
letter to his Father before curfew.
Date with Viktor
Chapter 16: A Date with Viktor
The night before the second task saw Hermione studying in
the library with Draco, Daphne and Blaise.
When she had set
up study dates with Malfoy,
it
wasn't
long
before Greengrass and Zabini
showed up.
Potions homework
started
evolving
into
homework
for
other
classes
as
well.
Hermione didn't
routinely engage the other Slytherin's,
but
they
were trying their best
to be polite and respectful.
It
was surreal,
but she still didn't trust them, not like she'd come to trust Viktor.
Thinking about
Viktor
made her
mind wander
back to the last
weekend and she unknowingly felt
a small
smile form on her
face-a fact
that
wasn't
missed by the blonde haired wizard, who
had been closely watching the little witch all evening.
Hermione's Hogsmeade visit
with Viktor
had been just
lovely.
Since she had never been to Hogsmeade before, she had no idea
where to go or what
to see.
Viktor had taken her to Honeydukes
and she had laughed a joyful
sound, which attracted the attention
of
most of the shoppers, looking shocked at seeing the Hermione
Granger laughing and smiling.
One pair
of
grey eyes watched the scene in astonishment
and
jealousy.
Having
dentists
for
parents,
Hermione
didn't
often
enjoy
sweets, so she felt the like the proverbial kid in the candy store.
Her
eyes lit
up with excitement
and she smiled genuinely at
someone for
the first
time since she could remember.
Viktor
kissed the back of
her hand and told her to pick out whatever
her heart
desired.
She kissed his cheek in return,
and slowly
perused the aisles,
picking up items and asking Viktor for his
opinion.
"Havez you neverz been to ve villagze,
my Mila?" Viktor asked,
using a shortened version of Hermione's name that they'd agreed
upon when they'd both realized it was impossible for Viktor to say
Hermione's name properly.
Hermione shook her
head.
"No I
haven't.
I've always been too
busy with my studies, so the opportunity never presented itself."
It
was
a good Slytherin run-around Draco thought,
as
he
eavesdropped on their
conversation.
He noticed Krum's face
darkening
momentarily,
realizing
the
older
wizard
must've
realized exactly why Granger had never been to the village.
His
expression
cleared
however,
as
he
smiled
down
indulgently at
Hermione-as she looked over the selection of
sugar quills.
"Are these any good?" She asked brightly.
"Hmmmm."
Viktor
nodded.
"I
wouldz think youz would like the
veryz much, my Mila."
Hermione nodded happily and Viktor placed her choices into his
bag while he grabbed a few licorice wands and some chocolate
frogs.
Once their selections had been made and paid for,
the two
made their way to the Three Broomsticks for lunch.
Overall
it
had been a very pleasant
day,
and Hermione couldn't
remember the last time she had smiled and actually felt happy.
Daphne glanced over to see Draco staring at Hermione, who had
a soft
smile and a far
away look on her
face.
She could just
imagine what the little witch was smiling about. Daphne had seen
Hermione with Viktor last Saturday, and she truly appeared happy.
She had also noticed Draco following them most of the day. When
Daphne confronted him in private later, he'd just said that he was
watching Hermione like his father had asked him to.
But Daphne wasn't fooled.
Her friend was smitten with Hermione, and probably had been for
much longer than he cared to admit.
Why did boys have to taunt the girls they secretly fancied?
Draco had really dug himself
into a bit
of
a pit, but Daphne had
faith in her friend.
He was a Slytherin after all.
"What
has you smiling like that,
Hermione?"
Daphne asked
cheekily, which caused Draco to scowl
and Blaise to look up and
smirk.
Hermione turned towards the pretty blonde Slytherin witch and
shrugged noncommittally,
but didn't bother answering. Draco was
about
to make a comment
when Professor Snape came around
the corner.
"Ah… I see you are all studiously doing your work. Miss Granger?
Headmaster Dumbledore wishes to see you immediately."
Hermione gazed up at
the dour Potions Professor and raised her
eyebrow in challenge. Severus however, just considered her
impassively and the other
students watched the stare down
between student and teacher.
When everyone realized Hermione wasn't
going to move until
Snape
explained
himself
further,
the
man
just
sighed
and
pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"The Headmaster did not inform me, as to what he wishes to see
you for.
I
can have Miss Greengrass take your
bag back to
Slytherin House however,
as I
was told you will
not
be needing
it."
There were three sets of eyes looking up at him in confusion
and one that was burning with mistrust and ire.
"How convenient, Sir."
The other students turned and stared at
Hermione,
but
her
gaze never
wavered from that
of
her
'former
'
Head of
House.
Snape sighed and grumbled,
"Unfortunately,
we do not
have all
night
to debate the merits of
your
personal
belongings,
nor
where they should preferably be under other circumstances. But
the Headmaster
will
not
wait
forever,
Miss Granger,
so if
you
would please?"
Hermione gave the man one last
heated glare and then turned
reluctantly to Daphne.
"Please keep my belongings safe, I'll be back for them soon."
Then with a flick of
her
wand,
Hermione's books,
quills and
parchment
moved back into her
bag and with another
flick of
silent
magic she warded the bag shut and handed it to Daphne.
Ignoring
the
looks
of
shock
and
appreciation
from her
classmates,
she stood up and followed Professor Snape out
of
the library.
When
they
had
disappeared,
Blaise
whispered
lowly
in
appreciation.
"Have you ever seen anyone stare old Snape down
like that
and get
away with it? I
may not
think much of
the girls
blood status, but you have to admit she's got guts."
Draco just
stared at
Hermione's bag.
"Did you see her
use
completely non-verbal
magic? That is N.E.W.T. Level
magic and
she does it with ease."
He looked up at Daphne who looked back at him knowingly.
As Draco spent more time with Hermione he was beginning to see
how truly brilliant
and powerful
she was,
handling magic with
ease.
"What
do you think Dumbledore wanted to see her for? You
don't
think he knows she's not staying in Slytherin?" Daphne
asked her friends quietly.
Draco shook his head. "I don't think so. She should be back soon
to get her bag and then maybe we'll get some answers."
"Doubt
it,
mate,"
Blaise said,
"that
one keeps things pretty
close to the vest."
Daphne just nodded distractedly, and the three friends went back
to their studying not realizing how late it was getting until Madam
Pince came by and reminded them the library was closing in ten
minutes and they needed to get
back to their
dorms before
curfew.
Draco looked around,
and the library was deserted except
for
them.
"Where do you think Granger is? She wouldn't have forgotten
her bag."
"I
don't
know,
Drake,
but
I'll
take it
back to Slytherin with me. I'm
sure she will
come by to pick it
up soon.
Let's get
back,
maybe
she's waiting there?"
The three Slytherins quickly cleaned up and but
their supplies
away and headed back to the dungeon.
When they got
to the
common room there was no sign of Granger anywhere.
"Maybe she's up in the dorm room, Daph?" Draco asked, looking
worried.
"I'll go check."
Daphne hurried out
of
the main room,
carrying Hermione's bag
with her
own and went
to her dorm room.
When she entered
there was no sign of the witch, but Pansy and Millicent Bulstrode
were looking through Witch Weekly. Daphne set the bags down
on her side of
the room and then went
back into the common
room where Draco and Blaise were waiting.
"Granger isn't here." Daphne said biting her lip in worry. "Do
you think everything is alright?"
"I
don't
know,
Daph.
You both head up and I'll
stay here for a
while and wait to see if she comes in later."
Both his friends nodded, but he could see Daphne looking at him
worriedly.
He gently shook his head and went
towards the couch sitting
down with his head in his hands.
What the bloody hell was going on?
The Second Task
Chapter 17: The Second Task
It was the morning of the second task and the weather was cold
and blustery.
The students en masse, were heading down towards the Black
Lake-where platforms had been set up for the students to watch
the next challenge being performed.
Draco,
Blaise and Daphne were slowly making their way towards
the lake,
trying to see if
they could spot Hermione, with her curly
brown hair anywhere, but they were having no luck and it seemed
as if no one else had seen her either.
"Where do you think
she is,
Draco?"
Daphne asked with a
concerned frown.
"I
doubt
she would miss Viktor's performance
today,
considering
how much
time
they've
been
spending
together."
Draco sneered in disgust,
not
wanting to think about
how close
Granger and Krum were becoming.
"I
don't
know,
Daph-but
we better
hurry out
to the platform or
we're going to miss the second task."
Draco was trying very hard to stay calm and hide his own panic,
but he knew that Daphne could see through his act. He had been
up all
night in the common room, waiting for Hermione to return,
but
she'd never
did.
Daphne found him sprawled out
on the
couch by the fireplace and woke him up with that knowing gleam
in her eyes.
Thankfully, she'd refrained from saying anything.
When the Slytherin classmates finally made their way out to the
middle platform-they found Theo,
Gregory Goyle and Vincent
Crabbe waiting for them.
There were three large structures that
were in the middle of
the lake that
had different
levels to watch
the second task.
Nott
had managed to procure them a spot
on
the center platform just
above the champions.
Draco could see
Viktor looking around as if
trying to find something, and he was
pretty sure that Krum was looking for Hermione too.
The Bulgarian seemed to have a pensive look about
him,
and
Draco was starting to feel
panicked again,
wondering what
in
Merlin's name was going on.
Soon Dumbledore appeared with Bartemius Crouch Sr.
from
Magical
Games and Cornelius Fudge,
Minister for Magic. Draco
could also see his Father,
standing off
behind the Minister,
talking quietly with Severus.
Draco leaned over and caught his Father's eye.
Lucius noticed the worried expression on his son's face,
and
raised an eyebrow in response. Draco nodded over to Krum and
Lucius
saw a similar worried expression on the Bulgarian's face, too.
Lucius was aware of
what
the second task entailed,
and had
received a floo call late last night that Miss Granger was chosen
by Dumbledore and Crouch, to be Mr. Krum's 'treasure '.
The witch was currently under a stasis spell on the bottom of the
Black Lake.
Lucius
was
not
able to intervene,
for
it
would look highly
suspicious- but he thought it would be prudent to be here just in
case something went wrong.
He caught
Draco's gaze and shook his head once,
letting his
son know to stay where he was and remain calm. Draco nodded
again at his Father, and moved back towards his friends.
After a few minutes Dumbledore cast a 'sonorous ' charm and his
voice boomed out over the water.
"Welcome to the second task!
Last
night
something was stolen
from each of
our
champions,
a treasure of
sorts.
These four
treasures,
one for each champion now lie at
the bottom of
the
Black Lake.
In order
to win,
each champion need only to find
their treasure and return to the surface.
Simple enough, except
for this… they will
have one hour to do so and one hour only.
After that,
they'll
be on their own, no magic will
save them. You
may begin at the start of the canon."
Filch set
off
the canon,
and Draco watched as Krum,
Diggory
and Delacour
dove into the water
while Potter
seemed to be
struggling.
Moody then pushed him into the water,
and after a
few seconds Potter
flew out
of
the water
and dove back in.
Draco glanced back down at his Father, who stared back at him
and nodded once.
Fuck!
Granger was Krum's treasure and she was currently sitting at the
bottom of the Black Lake!
Daphne moved over to Draco and put her hand on his arm to get
his attention,
causing him to shake his head in exasperation.
Daphne couldn't
help the gasp escaped her
lips causing the
other
boys
to
look
at
her
strangely.
When
Theo
turned
questioning eyes on him Draco whispered,
"Granger
is at
the
bottom of the lake."
Theo looked at him dubiously. "Krum?"
Draco nodded and heard Theo whisper 'fuck '.
Daphne
leant
over
and
whispered
into
Draco's
ear.
"Does
Hermione even know how to swim?"
Draco just
shrugged his shoulders and gripped his hands tighter
on the railing watching the clock tick down.
After 30 minutes he started getting antsy and after 45 minutes…
he could feel
himself
starting to panic.
He honestly didn't
think
Dumbledore would intentionally put
students in harms way,
but
people had died in this tournament before. If the Dark Lord found
out
that his daughter had been killed as a pawn in some fucking
tournament?
Draco shuddered at
the thought
and decided he couldn't
allow
himself
to think along those lines,
if
he wanted to keep from
being thrown in Azkaban for killing the Headmaster.
One brief
look at
his Father told Draco that
he might
just
be
doing the job himself.
Even Severus looked worried.
After
50 minutes,
Diggory broke through the surface with
Cho Chang. The girl looked scared but otherwise alright.
A split
second later Krum burst
out
of
the water with Granger,
and Draco felt
his entire body relax in relief. Krum was helping
her swim towards the platform and Draco had to give Granger
credit, she didn't even look upset nor scared.
If he had to guess he'd say she looked irritated.
He smiled inwardly-she was probably pissed at missing out on all
the free study time.
He turned in Daphne's direction,
but
she was gone.
When he
glanced down below him,
he saw her pulling Granger out of the
water and snatching a blanket from someone, trying to warm the
little
witch
up.
Draco
could
see
Daphne
asking
Hermione
something and the witch actually smiled and nodded at Daphne.
He then noticed Krum come over
and nod to Daphne,
taking
Hermione into his arms and casting warming charms over her.
Hermione touched his cheek and seemed to be telling him
something.
Krum then nodded at
Daphne,
and reluctantly made his way
back over to his school mates to await the end of the task.
Draco had been watching his Father's face during the entire
exchange and he imagined it
was likely they both had the
same scowl on their faces.
Soon however, the Weasel and Gabrielle Delacour broke through
the surface of
the water and then Potter flew onto the platform
just a spilt second after the clock chimed.
There was some commotion on the platform,
Dumbledore was
conferring
with
the
judges
and then surprisingly
Potter
was
awarded second place after Diggory.
Krum didn't seem too happy with the decision but Draco just
smirked, pleased that Krum finished essentially last.
Keeping a close eye on Granger,
Draco noticed that
she didn't
seem too put
out
by Daphne hovering over her.
When the boats
came and escorted everyone back over
the lake,
Draco made
sure to wait for Daphne and Hermione, wanting to see for himself
that the little witch was alright.
Fortunately he didn't
have to wait
too long before he saw the
witch he was waiting for,
so he made his way casually over to
the pier.
Hermione was soaked and unhappy at
being the center
of
attention. She'd been so used to be ignored for over three years,
that
all
of
the sudden the looks being sent
her way,
made her
seethe inwardly.
She liked Viktor
well
enough.
He was a good friend and very
attentive,
but
she was in no position to be in a relationship.
It
wasn't
that
she didn't
want
one,
perhaps someday when the
right
wizard came along she would be able to open her heart.
But events over the past years had caused her to be mistrustful
of everyone.
Even now she could see Daphne was genuinely worried about
her, but despite the girls overtures, she just didn't trust that deep
down her actions were sincere.
When the boat
docked at
the pier,
Daphne got
out
of
the boat
ahead of her and when Hermione looked up to step out onto the
dock she saw a pale hand reaching out
to help her.
Flinching
back with bewildered eyes,
her
amber
gaze locked onto grey
eyes that
were considering her
with amusement,
concern and
relief.
She stared at
the hand again and then back up to the the wizard
who was standing there waiting patiently.
"Come on, Granger, you must be freezing. Let's get you back to
the castle. I'm sure we can get a house elf to get you some hot
chocolate sprinkled with cinnamon."
Hermione just gaped at the blonde in shock.
Since when did Draco Malfoy care about
how she preferred her
hot chocolate?
When he smirked at her in that infuriating way, she raised an
eyebrow in challenge taking his hand and squeezing it
a bit too
tight,
watching him wince for a second. Their eyes locked again
and he raised an eyebrow back at
her,
taking her
hand and
bringing it through his arm, guiding her back into the castle.
When Hermione glanced over at Daphne and saw the girl
smiling
to herself,
she almost
wanted to stop right
there and push the
smarmy blonde into the lake.
Unfortunately Lucius Malfoy was
directly behind them all,
with Professor Snape,
so she was fairly
sure she couldn't
hex,
maim or otherwise slap the offending git
without getting detention.
"I
need to go to the Headmaster's office and get
my wand back,
Malfoy."
"There
won't
be
a
need
for
that,
Miss
Granger,"
drawled
Professor Snape, "I have your wand here presently, and you will
find that
Miss Greengrass still
has your school
bag should you
require it
immediately to catch up on all
the reading that
I
am
sure you've missed out on today, being stuck at the bottom of the
Lake."
Her
classmates
chuckled
and
even Lord Malfoy's
lips
were
fighting back a smile.
Hermione just
stared at
her
Professor
and smirked.
"Actually,
Professor
it
was a pleasant
change of
pace to have relative
peace and quiet
for once.
Listening to people's taunts, enduring
stares of ridicule can be most tiring for even the most disciplined
individual."
She felt Draco stiffen next to her and saw his jaw tighten out of the
corner of her eye.
She then looked to her
other
classmates who seemed a bit
shocked at her outspokenness.
Surely they didn't
think she would be so forgiving after years of
being cruelly taunted and almost
killed at
more than one point,
did they?
"Was that
really necessary,
Granger?"
Malfoy said under
his
breath.
Hermione stopped instantly and politely held her hand out for her
wand.
Professor
Snape stepped forward and placed it
into her
hand,
warmth radiating up her arm.
She silently cast
a warming
and refreshing charms on herself
and her clothes,
watching the
looks of awe being sent her way with a measure of satisfaction.
"Don't,
Malfoy!"
She hissed,
"Don't
insult
my
intelligence by
pretending that
none of
you have an ulterior
motive for
your
sudden change in attitude.
I'm not
dim-witted nor
trusting.
You
have made sure of that. Do you really expect me to place a happy
smile
on
my
face
and
simper
over
the
fact
that
you now
condescend to talk to me?"
Hermione could feel
herself
losing her
composure,
and she
promised herself
that
she would never give anyone in Slytherin
House, especially this boy, the power or satisfaction of seeing her
lose her emotions again.
She turned around with her
head held high and walked alone
back to the castle,
alone.
Draco gazed back at
his father,
who
was staring at
the little witch with a mixture of
admiration and
concern.
Draco made to follow her, but Daphne put a hand on his arm to
stop him.
"Let her go, Drake. We did this and it is going to take more than
a couple of
months to undo the years of
torment
we put
her
through.
We need to be patient and give her time to heal. If we
act out now, we just validate her mistrust in us."
He sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair.
He then noticed his Father
and Severus who were speaking
quietly to each other.
How was he ever going to gain Granger's trust after everything
he'd put her through?
Scheming with Snakes
Chapter 18: Scheming with Snakes
The next full
moon had arrived and Hermione was running a bit
late to meet Nagini.
She'd been in the library with Malfoy working on their
Potions project.
The last
few weeks had been a bit
tense between her and the
other Slytherins,
after her outburst,
which compounded with the
overall
tenseness at
Hogwarts due to the fact
that
Crouch Sr.
had been found murdered on school
grounds the day after the
second task, everyone was on edge.
Daphne had been her
usual
cheery self,
but
Draco had
been unusually somber and quiet.
He didn't
tease her nor
engage her other than doing their work.
She thought
briefly that
perhaps she should apologize,
but
then
thought better of it.
She had gone up to the Room of
Requirement
to change
into something more comfortable to wear and that was why
she was hurrying along the corridors and outside towards
the Black Lake.
Draco had gone to his usual
spot
right
after they had finished
studying,
placing a disillusionment
and silencing charm and
waited for Granger to arrive.
He spotted her coming down the hill
hurriedly, curls flying, cheeks
flushed and eyes bright.
She was so beautiful, and it made his heart ache that he'd hadn't
noticed before this year.
Granger was everything a wizard could want in a witch. Beautiful,
smart,
cunning,
kind,
strong and resilient.
He grew more in awe
of her everyday, and he knew she didn't trust him and most likely
loathed him with good reason.
It
physically hurt
him seeing her
with Krum.
He didn't
think she'd kissed the Bulgarian yet,
but
they'd held hands and she smiled with him easily.
Her
smile was breathtakingly beautiful,
and he was covetous of
that smile being given to another wizard.
He wanted it so badly for his own. He was truly good
and well fucked .
Hermione sat down waiting for her friend to show, her mind drifting
to thoughts of the pale blonde Slytherin.
He had been so withdrawn this past
week, and she wasn't sure
how to feel about that.
Draco Malfoy was an enigma.
He'd spent
three years tormenting her,
telling her
she was
nothing but
filth and unworthy to do magic.
She had been so
shocked when she'd overheard him talking with Daphne that day
on the Hogwarts Express the end of
last
year.
He seemed truly
worried about
her,
and watching him closely this year,
he did
seem a changed wizard.
But
she was convinced that
there was some ulterior
motive
behind this sudden change.
So lost in her thoughts as she was, she didn't notice Nagini
right
away.
The snake rested her head on Hermione's lap
and could sense her mistress's distraction. She slowly lifted
her
head and flicked her
tongue out
and the little witch
gasped at the sensation, coming out of her trance.
Hermione gazed down at
the snake and laughed joyously,
and Nagini smiled (if snakes could smile that was).
"You are distracted today, young one. What has you in such
a state?" Nagini hissed at her mistress.
"Sorry,
Nagini.
I
just
have a lot
on my mind
today." "Do you wish to talk about it."
Hermione laughed again.
"Are you sure you want
to listen to my
boy troubles?"
The
snake
hissed
in
irritation
and
moved
over
Hermione's
shoulder. "Mistress is too young to be thinking about boys. Master
would be most unhappy."
Hermione raised an eyebrow at
the snake.
"My Father would be
unhappy if a wizard wished to court me, or date me? I suppose?"
The snake tilted its head considering the witch.
"Master would
feel
it
is not appropriate for young Mistress to be thinking about
courting any wizard until
she is older
and has finished her
studies.
Master
values knowledge and power
and would not
want his heir seeking to settle for a substandard wizard."
Hermione nodded.
"I
suppose that
makes sense.
Pay me no
mind,
Nagini.
I'm not
planning on allowing any wizard to
distract me from my goals."
"And what are your goals, young one?"
"To help my Father return more powerful
than before. To remove
those who would seek to take my family from me.
To discredit
those who would seek to taint
my Father's name and myself.
To
rule the Wizarding World and have every person bow before us."
Nagini
nodded
at
her
Mistress,
pleased.
She truly
was
her
Master's daughter.
"I
will
tell
your Father as much. Now I bring word from my Master
to you,
young one.
He understands your desire to approach his
servant,
but
is unsure of
your reasoning.
I
will
need to explain to
him your
plan so he can decide whether
it
is worth the risk
exposing yourself before he returns."
"Do you know Nagini, whether my Father has found a blood magic
spell to return to full power?"
"Yes,
on the night
of
the final
task? Master's servant
will
make
sure the Potter
boy is victorious.
The champions cup will
be
charmed to transport Potter to a graveyard where Master will
be
waiting with another
of
his servants.
A ritual
will
be performed
taking the boys blood and retuning Master to full power."
Hermione thought something like this was the plan. The problem
was there were other champions in the tournament and it would
not
do well
if
one of the other champions got to the cup first, or
heaven
forbid,
a
tie
with
Potter
and
another
wizard
like
Viktor-being transported together.
"I have been researching and have discovered Salazar Slytherin's
personal
library and I
found a Romanian text
that
contained a
spell
to repair a damaged soul.
I
believe by using Potter's blood,
performing the ritual
and reciting the incantation not
only would
Father return to full
power, but also return the missing piece of his
soul
to him,
thereby
severing the attachment
and making it
possible to kill
Potter. I think it would be better to obliviate the boy,
and then return him back to Hogwarts via the portkey. It could be
used as a means to discredit Dumbledore. Allowing an underaged
wizard in the tournament
and then obliviated.
I
could potentially
use it
as a means to turn Potter against the Headmaster. It might
be more advantageous to leave the Potter boy alive for now if we
can use him later on. Killing the boy might make him a martyr and
a rallying point
Dumbledore
can
exploit
for
his
benefit.
I
also
overheard a
conversation earlier
this year.
It
would seem that
when Potter
received his wand in Diagon Alley, the wandmaker Ollivander, had
let
it
slip stating that
the Phoenix core that
resides in Potter's
wand came from the same Phoenix that offered up the tail feather
that
resides in Father's wand.
If
my research is to be believed,
twin cores can damage but
not
kill
each other.
It
is doubtful
that
Father would be able to kill the boy with his own wand."
Nagini
thought on this and after a few moments nodded her head.
"That
is
interesting and concerning,
young Mistress.
Do you
believe
you
have
the
necessary
information
to
discredit
Dumbledore, and do you have the incantation?"
Hermione nodded and took a piece of
parchment
wrapped in a
cloth out
of
her
bag.
"Yes,
I
have quite a bit
of
damaging
information
about
Dumbledore's
past
that
isn't
common
knowledge.
If
the Potter boy returns sufficiently obliviated of
all
his reasons to support
Dumbledore,
I
believe I
can bring him
onside eventually.
He'd make a more powerful
ally than enemy,
especially when we indicate that
the death of
his parents is laid
firmly at
Dumbledore's feet.
Also,
I
can attach the small
pouch
containing
the
spell
and
necessary
ritual
that
has
to
be
performed for you to bring back to Father.
Will
he send for his
Death Eaters immediately when he returns?"
"My Master's most
loyal
will
know he's back when their marks
return to full strength."
"I see, perhaps it would be better to wait until all the pieces are in
place before Father makes his move. If people start to speculate
he's back before we can completely discredit
Dumbledore and
have
him dealt
with,
fear
will
cause
people
to
overlook
Dumbledore's more dubious past
and it
will
be harder to gain a
foothold without open violence and warfare. I believe we can win
this with minimal
bloodshed.
Do what
Father
wasn't
able to
accomplish the first
time.
If
I
can speak with his servant,
I have
found other spells that will
secretly ward the area where the cup
is to be placed so only Potter can enter and take it. If any other
wizard or witch approach, they will be unable to reach it."
"You don't
wish the wizard harmed that was with you at the ball."
Hermione nodded. "I will speak with your Father about what we've
discussed."
"Thank you, Nagini. Here is the spell for Father."
The snake allowed Hermione to magically attach the small
pouch
to her before slithering away.
Hermione watched the snake go and gazed out
over the lake.
Everything was coming to a head, and she wondered whether or
not
her
plan would succeed.
If
it
did,
her
Father
would return
before the end of the school year and Harry Potter and the rest of
the Wizarding world would find out very quickly that their beloved
Dumbledore wasn't the saint that they'd all thought he was.
She had found letters at Bathilda Bagshot's home last year. The
woman was the Great Aunt of Gellert Grindelwald, and according
to her,
Gellert
and Dumbledore were very close.
The letters
showed of
their
plans to secretly rid the world of
Muggles.
Dumbledore and Grindewald were after power, but Dumbledore's
mother died and then his sister Ariana was killed and everything
changed.
Hermione had found a strange rune in one of
Dumbledore's
letters,
and she still
hadn't
been able to figure out
what it was or
what
it
signified.
One
thing
she
did
figure
out
was
that
Dumbledore
had
dueled
and
defeated
Grindewald
in
1945.
Following that
duel,
he had become a national
hero,
and soon
afterwards he'd taken over the Headmaster position at Hogwarts.
Doing
some
further
research
into
the
first
Wizarding war,
Dumbledore had created a resistance group called the Order of
the Phoenix,
which had a large following.
Many were killed by
the Death Eaters it
was true,
and that
was why she thought
it
was best
to use subterfuge and stealth where open violence
didn't work before.
People were more likely to fight
back if
you gave them a good
enough reason to,
but
oftentimes if
you manipulated them with
diversionary tactics and propaganda they would fall
in line.
Dumbledore wouldn't
be able to rally followers if
there was no
violence, bloodshed nor boogeyman.
But use the media and people's own innate prejudices to bring the
man down?
Now that
would be far more damaging and much easier to
accomplish.
Everyone had secrets,
the trick was finding them and exploiting
them to one's advantage.
Standing up and stretching,
Hermione watched the sun set
before she headed back into the castle,
thinking about
what
lay
ahead and what
she needed to do in preparation.
She was
always good with planning and this was no different.
It
would
hinge on what
her
Father
decided to do.
If
the Potter
boy
returned dead,
then the dye would be cast
and open warfare
would be the result.
If
he returned obliviated,
her
Father
was
sending a clear
message that
he trusted her
judgement
and
valued her offer.
It
would be interesting to see what
path he would ultimately
choose.
Her only concern was inasmuch as the fact that splitting his soul
so many times might
make her
Father
less rational
and more
reactionary,
but
there was hope that
having that
single piece of
his soul
returned that had been attached to the Potter boy for so
long,
might
strengthen his resolve and temper
his need for
immediate vengeance.
She would just have to prepare for both contingencies, which she
excelled at.
Draco watched Hermione leave and made his way towards the
owlry to send his Father an update.
Granger had talked to the snake for well
over an hour and had
given the snake something to take with it.
Was it something for the Dark Lord and if so, what?
He knew that his Father would see this as proof that Granger was
in contact
with the Dark Lord,
further proving his knowledge and
acceptance of his heir.
Draco was convinced that
the Dark Lord knew of
Hermione and
that they were in communication with each other.
If
he didn't
make inroads towards fixing the mess he'd created
soon,
there was no telling what
would await
he and his family,
not
to mention the entirety of
Slytherin House-when the Dark
Lord returned.
Jealousy and Defending Hermione
Chapter 19: Jealousy and Defending Hermione
Over the next
two months Hermione had seen Nagini
twice, the
snake telling her how proud her father was of
her intellect
and
cunning and that
he hadn't
decided whether
he was willing to
allow her to divulge her identity.
She and Draco had gotten back into a routine of studying together
alongside Blaise and Daphne.
Daphne was slowly forming a tentative friendship with the elusive
Slytherin witch, but Draco was having a harder time gaining
Hermione's trust.
For
the last
couple months,
Hermione and
Krum had
visited
Hogsmeade
together,
which irked Draco
greatly. He had taken to stalking them covertly and watching for
any signs of
their
relationship progressing beyond friendship.
Draco often sensed that
Krum would've welcomed increased
intimacy,
but
it
was Hermione who seemed reluctant
to go
beyond casual
hand holding and an occasional
kiss on the
cheek.
Why just
last
weekend,
Daphne had laughed at
Draco when
he'd returned to their common room in a huff
when Krum had
interrupted their
study time and managed to secret
Hermione
away after dinner.
When Hermione had shown up in DADA the
following
day,
Draco
had
been
petulant
and
distant-which
earned him a knowing smirk from Daphne and an eye-roll
from
Hermione.
Hermione however,
had noticed Malfoy's keen interest
in her
relationship with Viktor.
While at first she'd thought it was suspicious, now she just thought
it ironic.
It
was clear
Malfoy didn't
like her
spending time with the
older wizard, but she was just unsure as to the why.
When she'd casually mentioned to Daphne that
boys were
mental,
Daphne gave her that
stupid knowing smirk and then
just shrugged her shoulders in that delicate way that Hermione
envied.
Everything Daphne did had such a natural
grace and flair,
and
sometimes she wished she was more feminine.
But
then she'd just
shake her head,
and remind herself
that
brains were more important than beauty.
Draco was coming into dinner this particular Thursday evening,
and was surprised to actually see Granger
sitting across the
table from Daphne before he noticed Krum sitting next
to
Hermione,
smiling at
something he said.
Inwardly,
he was
seething as he stalked over
with purpose to where the three
were sitting.
Trying to project
a casual
indifference,
he asked politely if
he
could join them.
Hermione looked up at
him warily,
but
Daphne to her
credit,
gestured for him to take the seat next to her. When he sat down,
he nodded politely to Krum,
who acknowledged him back with a
polite nod of his own.
Conversation flowed stiltedly for a bit until Quidditch was brought
up,
generating a heated debate on the merits of
the Wronski
Feint, the English National
Team and some debate over a player
named Ivanova,
who was a chaser
for
the Bulgarian National
Team and a woman Hermione had never
heard of
before.
Catriona McCormack was also discussed,
she played for
the
Scottish National Team.
Apparently the ensuing debate stemmed from who was the better
player, but it all
sounded like gibberish to her as Draco and Krum
debated the merits of each. She then turned to Daphne, who was
fully engaged in the conversation and chuckled.
All
three sets of eyes fell
to her: one questioning, one amused
and the other knowing.
"Finding something funny, Granger?" Malfoy asked with that
ridiculous smirk that
seemed to state,
I
know what
your
thinking.
Hermione shook her head in exasperation.
What was it about Quidditch that caused such smart people
to become irrational and prattish.
"It's nothing,
Malfoy.
Just
ruminating on the fact
that
it
always
seems to come down to Quidditch."
"Well
maybe if
you weren't
such a bookworm and actually took
the time to learn to fly properly,
you might
find you'd appreciate
the game more and stop judging the rest
of
us for
finding
something enjoyable outside of
books." Malfoy's smirk widened
at her once he'd finished his commentary.
Hermione scoffed at the git.
"I
do enjoy other things besides reading,
I'll
have you know. Just
because I
enjoy learning,
does not
mean it's all
I
do.
I
just
don't
appreciate Quidditch like most people."
Hermione had her back to the other tables so she didn't see Ron
Weasley nor
Harry Potter
walking behind her,
overhearing her
comment.
"Big
surprise,
eh
Harry?
That
the
know-it-all,
bushy-haired
mudblood bookworm doesn't
appreciate Quidditch.
You'd think
with her dating Krum, she would at least learn to fake it better. But
I guess you can't be good at everything." Weasley's taunting voice
caused several
people around them to look his way, but Harry just
looked uncomfortable.
Krum put
his arm around Hermione,
but
it
was Draco who
spoke up in her defense.
"It
never ceases to amaze me,
your lack of
manners,
Weasley.
I'm sure being raised in something resembling a barn and
chewing with your
mouth open,
does not
predispose one to
appreciating the finer qualities of life, such as reading, writing or
eating properly . I thought Gryffindors were all about fairness and
equality,
but
it
seems your
kind are just
as prejudiced as you
accuse Slytherin House of being."
Weasley's face turned bright red in anger. "Stuff it, ferret! No one
here buys into your
sudden change of
heart
where Granger is
concerned.
You taunted the girl
for
three years.
At
least
in
Gryffindor,
we don't
turn out
our own house members over their
blood status."
Draco paled and glanced over at
Hermione,
who now had
that vacant, dead expression on her face.
He realized in that moment, he never wanted to see her look like
that again.
"For
once,
Weasley,
you're right."
Draco saw Hermione wince
and glare at him in confusion. "Although I wouldn't allow it to go
to
your
head,
but
odds
are
even
the
most
intellectually-challenged individuals have to be right at least once
in their lives. The difference between you and I, Weasley? Is that
I
can admit
to my errors in judgement.
You are just
a sad,
jealous Weasel who covets and begrudges others." At this Draco
stood,
coming around the table and stared Weasley dead in the
eye,
whispering so low only their
small
group could hear
him
clearly.
"If
I
ever hear you call
Hermione that name again? I will
make sure you suffer .
I'm not
perfect, but even I have stopped
using that slur this year. What is your excuse?"
Weasley just
stood there red-faced and fists clenched, while he
smirked at his rival.
When Ron drew his wand however,
it
was instantly out
of
his
hand.
He seemed confused for a moment,
not
hearing the gasps of
shock within the Great Hall.
When Ron looked up,
Malfoy was grinning and gazing down at
the little witch next to him in open admiration.
Hermione had silently and wandlessly disarmed the Weasel.
Dumbledore watched the scene with interest, impressed with Mr.
Malfoy's defense of
Miss Granger
but
more impressed with the
girl's magical skills.
It would seem she was quite powerful.
Dumbledore was
aware that
the girl
wasn't
staying in the
Slytherin
Dorms
and
soon
learned
that
she
was
firmly
ensconced within the Room of Requirement. He didn't begrudge
her
need for privacy,
seeing as how she'd been tormented so
ruthlessly these past three years. He did find it curious however,
that Mr. Malfoy of all people had taken to defending her.
Recently
Severus
had
told
him that
Mr.
Malfoy
and
Miss
Greengrass had come to him earlier this year, concerned for the
girl's health, as she was severely underweight and depressed.
As
Headmaster,
he had not
initially
been aware that
Miss
Granger had abandoned the Slytherin Dorms,
but
told Severus
to let the students figure it out for themselves. If Slytherin House
eventually accepted the girl,
Dumbledore knew he could take
credit for promoting house unity, although he cared little for such
things. And if the girl was permanently injured or worse?
Well?
He could work that to his advantage too, placing the blame on the
Malfoy
boy
and
having
Lucius
removed
from the
Board of
Governors.
It was a win-win.
Watching the scene unfold,
Weasley went
to grab the little witch
but
quick as lightening Draco had his wand jammed under the
boy's jaw.
"Be careful, Weasel." He growled.
Krum then stood up and placed himself
between the red-head
and Hermione, gently taking the wand out of her hand. He turned
to Draco, nodded-then walked directly into the red-head's space.
"Youz will
leavez Mila alone,
or youz will
haff
to deal
wiz me az
vell."
Ron shrank back from the big Bulgarian, who handed over Ron's
wand to Harry.
"Perhaps youz should find new friendz,
Harry.
I
douz not
vant
to
see dis vizard again or I will hex him if he insultz Mila again."
Harry
paled,
swallowed heavily
but
nodded at
the Bulgarian
wizard, while Ron looked away in shame.
All
eyes in the Great Hall were now firmly on Hermione and tired
being
the
center
of
attention,
and
feeling
her
emotions
swirling-she decided to excuse herself from the drama.
She stood up and placed a hand on Viktor's arm and nodded
politely to Draco.
"Thank you, Malfoy." She said quietly and the blonde nodded back
in return.
Hermione then turned to Viktor
and said softly,
"I'm
going to head to the library."
Viktor grabbed her book bag. "I vil take youz there."
Hermione smiled and together, the two walked out.
As soon as they were gone, the Great Hall exploded in chatter at
what they had just witnessed.
Malfoy and Krum defending Granger?
What in Merlin's name was going on?
Here in the Dark...He Calls to Me
Chapter 20: Here in the Dark….He Calls to Me
After
Viktor
had walked Hermione to the library,
he left
soon
afterwards,
knowing she was meeting Draco to study for their
Potions project.
Once Viktor had left,
Hermione sat
back and
stared out the window thinking about what had just transpired in
the Great Hall. If she was a betting person she would've sworn
that
Viktor would've risen to her defense before Malfoy, but the
fact that it had been just the opposite, made her feel uneasy.
Why had Draco defended her in front of everyone?
Even if Draco and Lucius Malfoy suspected whom her father truly
was,
Hermione was pretty sure no one else was privy to that
information, except perhaps Professor Snape.
But
to openly defend her when it
was still
common knowledge
that she was a mudblood, made little sense to her.
Malfoy stood to alienate most
of
his friends,
and it
was well
known how staunchly elitist his parents were.
Lost
in thought
she didn't
see Malfoy walk in, nor see him stare
at her, noticing the confused expression on her face.
Draco moved over to their table,
watching Hermione bite her lip
in concentration and he smiled inwardly.
Her
petite nose was
scrunched up and her brow was furrowed, while her eyes looked
off
into the distance.
She was fecking adorable when she did
that,
and it
made him want
to bite that
lip for her.
He sat
down
and continued to stare,
but
she took no notice of
him,
so he
slammed his book bag onto the table causing her to jump and
clutch her heart in surprise.
When Hermione realized that
Malfoy had caught
her unawares,
she glowered heatedly at the blonde, but he seemed unfazed, just
smirking back at her.
"Was
that
really
necessary,
Malfoy?"
Hermione
bit
out
sarcastically. Draco's smirked deepened. "No, but it was fun ."
Hermione shook her head. "You have a warped idea of fun."
Draco tilted his head at her in contemplation. "Let's do something
different tonight, Granger."
"Like what? Study for DADA instead of Potions?"
"What
else do you like to do besides read?"
Draco
asked.
Hermione looked at
the blonde like he'd lost his
mind. "What?!?"
Draco just
leaned back in his chair,
inspecting his nails like they
were the most interesting thing in the world.
"Fun,
Granger.
You know,
that
other
thing you insisted you do
besides reading and learning to appreciate the finer qualities of
Quidditch."
Hermione harrumphed.
"There are no finer qualities of Quidditch.
It's an unnecessarily brutal sport that serves no useful purpose."
Draco laughed.
"Better not
let
your Bulgarian bon-bon hear you
say that." Hermione just
tossed a disgusted look at the irritating
blonde and went
to pick up her
book.
As she reached for
it,
Draco's hand laid softly on top of hers. "Come on, Granger? Live
a
little?
There
must
be something you enjoy
outside your
incessant
need to retain and regurgitate every bit
of
knowledge
you come across in one of your books."
"Why do you care, Malfoy?"
Draco shrugged,
"To prove my theory right." Hermione
rolled her eyes. "What theory is that?"
"That
you
really
have
no
interests
outside expanding your
impressive brain to new and dizzying heights." Draco smirked in
challenge while Hermione just shook her head.
"Just
because you defended me at
dinner tonight,
doesn't
mean
you know me, Malfoy."
"So prove me wrong,
Granger."
At
Hermione's silence,
Draco
decided to try and bargain to get
the little witch to open up to
him.
He was taking a risk and it could backfire spectacularly, but
he was a Slytherin, and he needed to press this small advantage
while he had it.
Hermione contemplated what to do.
On one hand she couldn't
care less what
the stupid ferret
thought of her.
On the other hand he did stick up for her, and in public no less.
Draco seeing her indecision,
decided to try another tactic. "How
about
you come with me and I
show you something I do for fun
that
no one outside my parents and Professor
Snape knows
about
me.
And then,
if
you feel
so inclined to reciprocate you
can."
Hermione looked a bit
dubious at
the offer.
"Why should I even
consider
trusting you with anything personal,
Malfoy.
For
all
I
know? This is some huge Slytherin ploy to gain my trust
and
then stab me in the back. Perhaps you were just too bored with
the idea that I wasn't acknowledging your taunts so you decided
to try a different tactic?"
Draco smiled at
the little witch in genuine amusement. "I am truly
flattered that you think so highly of my Slytherin qualities, Granger.
I am also humbled that you think I'd go to all this trouble to what?
Befriend you? And then what? What motive could I possibly have
here?"
"I
don't
know,
Malfoy-maybe
being
directly
hostile
to
the
mudblood just
wasn't
satisfying enough that
you decided to try
an alternate route."
Draco sighed.
"I
meant
what
I
said to the Weasel,
Granger.
I
don't
want
to hear
anyone calling you that
again,
including
yourself."
Hermione's head whipped back like she'd been slapped.
She
stared
into
the
ferrets
face to see if
she could sense any
deception,
but
surprisingly he was an open book.
He seemed
genuinely sincere.
She bit
her lip in consideration, wondering if she really wanted to
do this or not.
Draco however,
was getting bored so he stood up and grabbed
his bag, holding out his hand to Hermione.
"Come on, Granger. I don't bite."
"Yeah right.
I
saw the vampire marks you left
on Parkinson last
year."
Hermione gasped and placed her hand over her mouth, having no
intention of
letting the git
know that she had noticed his amorous
interactions with her previous dorm mate. Or other witches for that
matter, not that she was jealous.
Draco gaped at
the little witch whose eyes were wide with shock
and embarrassment and then he laughed.
A full
on belly laugh that was rich and deep, and did weird things
to Hermione's stomach.
Draco turned to leave and after
a few steps he turned and
smirked. "Are you coming or not?"
Hermione grabbed her bag and grumbled under her breath as
the two of
them walked out
of
the library, under the harsh gaze
of
Madam Pince,
calling Draco an 'entitled prat'
which only
caused Draco to smile wider.
He was really enjoying the banter
with the little witch. She was a spitfire, when she allowed herself
to be engaged.
It
made him wonder how passionate she would be in other ways,
which caused him to grin naughtily.
Hermione,
noticing the look of self-satisfaction on Draco's face
just
rolled her eyes at
the blonde. "Get that smug look off your
face, prat."
"I'm feeling pretty smug right about now, Granger."
Hermione grumbled under
her
breath 'I'll
bet
you are '
but
she
continued to follow Malfoy down towards the dungeons.
When they finally reached a doorway that
Hermione had never
seen before,
Draco waved his wand and it
opened for
him.
Hermione looked up intrigued and followed him into the room.
The room was spacious and there was a big fireplace in the
back
corner
directly
across
from another
door
that
went
somewhere.
Bookshelves lined one wall
and in the center of the room, facing
the fireplace was a beautiful
grand piano.
Hermione looked
shocked to see something so 'muggle'
here in the dungeons.
Before she could stop herself, her curiosity won out.
"Where did the Piano come from?"
Draco glanced back at Granger, and then set his book bag down
by a small
black leather couch that was up against the far wall.
He then came over and took Hermione's bag and placed it next
to his, gesturing for her to sit down in a small wing-backed chair
that was adjacent to the piano bench.
"This Piano belongs to Professor Snape.
He is actually quite an
accomplished player
and he gave me lessons when I
was
younger.
I've always loved playing, but it's not exactly an activity
that
is acceptable within High Pureblood society.
It
used to be
common place for both boys and girls to learn an instrument
or
voice.
But
over
the years,
it
has fallen out
of
favor.
Severus
played for my mother once when I
was a baby and she begged
him to teach me when I was old enough to sit on the bench and
pay attention.
Outside of
Quidditch and flying, this is my favorite
way to relax and decompress when I'm feeling stressed."
Hermione just stared at the blonde in disbelief.
Who'd have thought bigoted, elitist Malfoy could play the Piano.
He was right.
The other Pureblood's in Slytherin would probably
crucify him if
they knew he was doing something so poncy as
playing a musical instrument.
Hermione gently held her hands over the ivory keys. "Are you any
good?"
Draco nodded and started playing a hauntingly beautiful
piece of
music
that
Hermione
was
sure she had heard before.
She
watched
enthralled
as
Draco's
fingers
glided
over
the keys
effortlessly with such grace.
She watched him as he closed his
eyes,
feeling every bit
of
the music he was playing like it
was
coming from deep within him.
He had a small
smile on his face
and for the first time since she'd known him, he looked completely
at peace. She felt her gut clench in anticipation, a feeling she had
never felt before, like a swarm of butterflies.
Unknown to either of
them,
Severus was in the adjoining room
with Lucius.
Snape had floo called his friend to share with him
what
had happened in the Great Hall
and Lucius decided to join
Severus for a nightcap.
When the music from the Piano filtered
through the room, Lucius looked at his friend with a knowing look
and raised eyebrow.
Clearly his son was playing,
which he only
did when he was feeling particularly stressed.
Based on what
had transpired earlier,
Lucius felt
a moments worry for his son
and the two wizards went
to the doorway to investigate.
When
they
reached
the
door,
Lucius
silenced
it
and
placed
a
'notice-me-not
'
charm so both men could watch in the open
area, eyes raising in shock at what they were seeing.
Draco was
playing for
Miss Granger,
who was watching in
appreciation and a bit
of
awe.
Lucius placed his finger
to his
mouth to let Severus know he wanted to remain unobserved.
When Draco finished the piece of music he turned slightly to look
at Hermione who was staring at him thoughtfully.
He cleared his throat
and she smiled slightly. "That was beautiful
and familiar. I know I've heard it before… Chopin?"
Draco's eyebrow raised in appreciation.
"Yes,
it's my favorite.
Chopin Nocturne in C-minor."
Hermione nodded.
"Yes,
I
have heard it
before.
You do it justice,
you play beautifully."
Draco bowed his head, accepting the compliment humbly. "Thank
you.
I've played for years,
mostly for my mother as she loves to
hear me play."
Hermione stared morosely at
the Piano,
thinking back on the
times she had sat
with her
adoptive parents practicing and
discussing
musical
theory.
Her adoptive mother played the violin and her
adoptive father
had years of
voice training in classical
opera.
When Hermione was younger
she had shown an affinity for
singing at
the age of
four
and started formal
voice training a
year
later.
By ten she was a promising soprano,
and every
summer since she'd started at
Hogwarts,
spent
several
weeks
formally training with a renowned voice coach who told her she
could easily sing professionally should she wish it.
She had kept
up the lessons because she knew it
made her
parents happy, and it was the one good thing outside of magic she
had for herself. She wasn't sure she was ready to share that with
anyone.
"So it's your turn Granger… amaze me."
Hermione looked askance at
the blonde and sighed, standing up
and walking towards the fireplace.
Did she really want
to share something so intimate with a boy
who had taunted her?
"Why are you insisting on this, Malfoy?"
Draco sighed resignedly.
"Because I'd like for us to try and get
past the last three years. I was a hateful
git, and I am truly sorry.
Malfoy's don't
beg,
Granger
so I'm not
going to beg for
your
forgiveness,
even though you deserve far more from me,
if
I'm
being honest. I've tried to show you this year that I've changed."
"I've seen the changes, Malfoy. It's the why, I'm interested in."
Draco smirked at
the little witch.
She was far
too clever
to be
deceived and he had to wonder
how much she suspected he
actually knew about her. She had to suspect that her confrontation
with his father would raise questions.
"I've felt guilty for how I've treated you since last Easter after our
interaction in the library.
I
think for the first
time,
I
truly realized
how my actions were affecting you."
He didn't
mention her
tears,
even though Hermione knew he'd
seen them, for that she was grateful.
"I know, Malfoy. I overheard your conversation with Daphne on the
train going home last year."
Draco sat
up in shock.
"How could you have heard that
conversation? We were alone in the compartment."
Hermione smirked to herself. "You thought you were alone."
Draco's mind started processing what
she was insinuating,
when it
hit
him.
"That
isn't
possible!
You would've had to been
under a complete disillusionment charm. That is sixth year level
magic easily."
Hermione
laughed.
"Possibly,
although I'm not
sure it
really
matters." Draco sat back in stunned silence processing what she'd
told him.
She knew that
he and Daphne had been worried for her. It made
him wonder what else she knew.
Lucius and Severus were watching the conversation with interest,
wondering where this was going.
Hermione stood with her back to Draco, and if she was sensing
correctly, Professor Snape and Lord Malfoy. She could sense the
magic from their Dark Mark's. Wearing her Father's horcrux, had
given her a greater ability to sense his magic, and dark magic in
general. She had found the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw three
days ago in the Room of Hidden Things.
Her Father really needed to pick different
spots to hide pieces of
his soul than in the castle where Dumbledore lived.
Taking a deep breath,
she made her decision rubbing the ring
that was invisible on her finger, cancelling the charm and holding
it
aloft just enough that it could be seen. She figured if the three
men behind her
were as smart
as they claimed,
they would
understand her not-so-hidden message.
She gently waved her
wand and violin music started to fill
the room softly. It was from
her favorite musical/opera.
One of
the first
things she truly had
learned to master as a singer. She and her adoptive father would
spend hours singing the parts together,
so she closed her eyes
and let the music take her away.
Father once spoke of an angel
I
used
to
dream he'd
appear Now as I sing I can
sense him And I know he's
here
Here in this room he calls me softly
Somewhere inside… hiding
Somehow I
know he's always with
me He the unseen genius
Angel of music, guide and guardian
Grant to me your glory
Angel of music, hide no longer
Secret and strange… angel
He's with me even now
All around me It frightens me
Draco stared open-mouthed at
the little witch standing in front of
him,
her
voice was like nothing he'd ever
heard before.
It
was
haunting,
aching and extraordinary. He felt himself shiver, harden
and knew in that
moment
that
he wanted this witch for his very
own.
Lucius and Severus were stunned speechless.
Neither had ever heard the music or lyrics before,
but
the words
and feeling made the hairs on the back of
Lucius neck stand on
end, and his friend looked paler than he'd ever seen him. He now
knew with absolute certainty that
the young girl
standing before
him was his Lord's daughter.
More than that,
he was absolutely
certain that
the Dark Lord knew she was his,
and had every
intention of claiming the girl as his own.
He side-eyed Severus, a knowing look shared between the two.
Hermione smirked to herself, re-placing the concealment charm
on her hand with her back still turned.
"Well… there you have it Draco… Lord Malfoy, Professor Snape. I
hope my performance was to your liking?"
Draco turned around quickly seeing his father
and godfather
standing in the doorway with identical
looks of
shock on their
faces.
This was the third time that
Granger had bested his Father and
Severus. He gazed back to Hermione, to find her facing them with
a triumphant smirk on her face.
Fuck!
Lucius was the first
to regain his senses. "Your performance was
exquisite, Miss Granger… and most instructive." He smirked then,
throwing the little chits words back at her, which caused her smile
to widen even further.
Hermione nodded her head. "I'm sure it will be for all of us."
With that
she held her hand out
and her bag flew to her, silently,
wandlessly.
"Gentlemen,
enjoy the rest
of
your evening,
I
am sure you
have much to discuss."
With that
Hermione glided out
of
the room,
leaving three
very stunned wizards in her wake.
Draco stared after
the little witch as she
left. "Bloody fecking Hell."
"Indeed." Drawled his godfather.
They were so screwed.
Horcrux and Hallows
Chapter 21: Horcrux and Hallows
Lord Malfoy stared at
the spot
where Miss Granger
had
been singing.
He'd been truly amazed by the beauty of her voice, and from
the look on his son's face, his boy was completely smitten.
Severus however,
turned around in a waft of billowing cloak and
headed back into his private chambers where he poured himself
a stiff
shot
of
firewhiskey and downed it
in a single go. He then
turned his head towards him,
motioning towards the decanter
and Lucius nodded.
It
would
seem as
if
his
friend was
more shocked by
the
confirmation of the girl's identity, than he was.
Taking the full
glass and sitting down in his usual
spot,
Lucius
noticed
Draco
standing
in
the
doorway
looking
uncertain.
"Come sit down, Draco," admonished Lucius, "Severus and I are
most
interested to understand how the events of
this evening
caused you both to end up here."
"Of course, Father."
Draco moved into the room and sat
down,
trying not
to fidget
under
the scrutiny of
his father
and godfather.
Severus poured
another shot of firewhiskey and handed it to his godson, figuring if
anyone would need liquid courage, it was Draco.
Severus sat
down in the chair next
to Lucius,
both facing Draco
and watching him take a long swig of the liquor-desperately trying
to hold back the grimace on his face.
Soon all
three were settled,
and Lucius considered his son
expectantly.
Draco then went
on to reiterate most
of
the high points that
Severus had shared,
while adding the more cognizant
parts of
how he and Granger had ended up here.
Lucius had to give his son credit.
He'd managed to utilize the
advantage he'd gained-into having Miss Granger
all
but
admit
whom she really was.
He was actually quite proud of
his son's
resourcefulness.
"You know what this means, Severus." Lucius stated imperiously
and Severus sighed,
pinching the bridge of his nose, as he was
wont to do in times of stress or exasperation.
"She is his heir,
Lucius.
I
have allowed My Lord's heir to become
ostracized from her own house and birthright. The man will kill me
before he allows an explanation."
Draco paled at
his godfather's words.
"What
about
me,
Uncle
Severus? I'm the one responsible for
what
Hermione's had to
endure these past four years."
Draco then turned to his father,
who considered him thoughtfully.
"Perhaps not." Lucius drawled.
"Explain!" Severus hissed lowly.
"Miss Granger has been in contact with the Dark Lord's familiar,
as we are aware. If she had confided to the snake her treatment
at
the hands of
Slytherin House,
I
nightly doubt
that
Our Lord
would've not had us all
killed by now. He may be hidden, but he
obviously has eyes and ears everywhere." Lucius took another
sip of
his whiskey,
gathering his thoughts. "The girl
is obviously
quite cunning and clever.
Clever
enough,
I
believe,
to have
researched her father once she'd suspected whom he might be.
If
that
was the case,
and I'm positive it
is,
she would know
enough to not show any weakness.
She hasn't
here at
school.
Since the incidents in second year,
she has remained aloof
and cold.
I
have no doubt
she has
known
at
least
that
long
whom her
father
is.
Narcissa
mentioned, and I believe she is right, that Miss Granger has sat
back and waited to use this information when the right
time
presented itself.
She seems a pragmatic little thing,
and I'd
imagine,
quite patient
too in her scheming. She definitely has a
plan, we just need to figure out what she's after."
Draco listened to his Father's reasoning with pride.
This was why his Father was so good at manipulating others
and why he was one of the Dark Lord's favorites.
His ability to strategize and plan was legendary.
It would seem he was impressed with Granger's ability to plot
as well.
"Do you think Hermione knows the Dark Lord is planning on
returning sooner than later?" Draco asked his father.
Lucius nodded. "Not only that, Draco, but based on what you have
witnessed she may be helping him plan and strategize as well.
While I'd considered it
doubtful
that
Our Lord would accept
the
help of
one so young,
she is his heir and flesh of
his flesh.
The
fact
that
he has sent
his snake in parts to watch and in parts to
protect, speaks of his regard for the witch. She is obviously much
more clever
than we know if
the Dark Lord deems her
worthy
enough to acknowledge."
Looking over
to his friend,
Severus
nodded in agreement.
"You are correct,
Lucius.
The Dark Lord has never been one for
sentiment, and even though she is his daughter, if Our Lord didn't
see the benefit
of
having the girl
acknowledged as his heir,
he
wouldn't be wasting his time on her. There is another matter I find
troubling
however,"
Severus
drawled,
"Lucius,
you
placed
a
silencing charm and a notice-me-not charm on the both of us, yet
she
knew we
were
watching.
How is
that
possible,
that
a
fourth-year witch could see through charms that
even seasoned
witches and wizards cannot?"
All
three sat back in their chairs contemplating the answer when it
hit
Draco suddenly.
He'd been obsessing over the words of
the
song she'd chosen,
what
if
some of
them were very literal
in
nature?
He started whispering the words to himself,
not
noticing his
father and godfather staring at him like he'd lost his mind.
"It's in the song…." Draco whispered in wonder looking up at his
Father's puzzled look. "The answer was literally in the song."
"What are you talking about, Draco?" Lucius snapped.
"The song,
Father.
Here in this room,
he calls me
softly…
somewhere inside,
hiding .
Your Dark Mark,
Father.
Both yours
and Severus'."
Lucius eyes widened at what his son was implying, and Severus
paled considerably.
"She can sense the Dark Magic of
the Mark. How?" Lucius
whispered in wonder.
Severus gazed warily at
Lucius.
"We need a pensieve,
Lucius.
Obviously there is something we're missing, yet something tells
me she left
us a clue.
We need to go back and look at
our
memories."
Lucius nodded and stood up swiftly, moving towards the floo. "I
will
be back momentarily,
Severus." Lucius called out
'Malfoy
Manor ' and was whisked away in a swirl of green flames.
The room fell
into silence as Draco stared off
sadly into the
fireplace his father had just left in. Severus watched the boy with a
mixture of
resignation and pride.
He was a smart
and clever
young man,
and he'd used his intelligence and cunning to isolate
Miss Granger and gain a bit of her favor, however minuscule.
Yet Lucius had no words of praise for his son.
"You've done very well,
Draco." Severus commended him.
"Your keen intellect and cunning is most impressive."
Draco nodded.
"Thank you,
Uncle Severus. I just wish…" Draco
left the sentiment hanging.
"Indeed." Was Severus only reply.
After a few moments the flames in the hearth roared to life again
and out
stepped Lucius.
Once inside the room,
he reached into
his pocket
and brought
out
the pensieve and enlarged it
for
viewing.
Setting it on the table, he removed his last memory and swirled it
into the urn. Severus stood next to him, but Draco sat in his chair
waiting.
He wasn't
going to assume that
his Father wanted his
input,
even though he had invited him into the conversation.
Severus glanced his way, waiting to see what Draco would do.
Lucius had noticed his friends hesitation and turned to his son,
who was still
sitting in his chair.
Lucius sighed inwardly to
himself.
Draco was truly a brilliant
young man,
and he didn't
know why he had such a hard time commending the boy on his
intellect.
"Come along, Draco. It's always best to have several sets of eyes
viewing."
Draco nodded and stood up between the two older wizards,
then gazing down into the swirling memory.
He then looked
back to his father.
"Father,
wouldn't
it
be a good idea to see
my memory instead?"
"Why do you ask that, Draco?"
Draco cleared his throat and took a quick glance at his godfather,
who gave him the subtlest
of
nods.
"Well,
I
was closest
to
Hermione and could see her the most clearly."
Lucius smirked at
his son,
impressed again by his use of
logic.
"Very well."
Lucius removed his memory and then instructed Draco to bring
the details of
the meeting to the forefront
of
his mind.
When
Draco nodded,
Lucius placed his wand at
his son's temple and
extracted the memory, placing it into the pensieve, then the three
wizards dove into the memory.
Once inside the memory, Draco was just as awed by Hermione's
voice and beauty.
As
he moved closer
to her,
he noticed
something he had never seen before-she was wearing a strange
ring on her right index finger.
Draco looked behind him.
At
this angle,
his father would've never seen the ring,
as it
was
blocked by
her
body from this angle to the back
doorway.
Draco then watched Hermione sing for a moment.
Her face was the most
peaceful
and relaxed he'd ever seen it.
She looked ethereal and otherworldly in that moment.
He had no idea what
entailed romantic love as such.
He'd
snogged plenty of girls and had given his virginity to a sixth year
Slytherin,
Therese Rowle,
earlier
this year.
They'd shagged
many times before the holidays and the witch had been most
willing to teach Draco how to please her. Draco had always been
a quick study and sex was no different.
By the time their interlude was over, Draco had used his talents
on several
witches in the ensuing months. He was getting a bit
of
a reputation and one Ravenclaw seventh-year
had even
called him a 'Sex-God ' when he'd managed to get her off three
times
orally
before
making
her
come
a
fourth
during
intercourse. But it had only ever been about achieving release.
What he was feeling in his gut right now was completely different.
He was enthralled,
entranced and anxious.
He wanted to protect
Hermione from anyone who might hurt her. He wanted to see her
smile at him the way she did at Krum. He wanted to escort her to
Hogsmeade and shower her with gifts so that every wizard knew
the witch was his.
He wanted to show her pleasure and hear her
scream his name in ecstasy. He wanted her to want him as much
as he wanted her.
Draco wasn't
sure this was love he was feeling,
but
he was
damned sure he was going to find out.
When the three wizards were pulled from the memory, Lucius and
Severus
both
looked
disappointed.
Draco
however,
had
the
Malfoy smirk plastered onto his face as apparently he was the
only one to notice the ring.
"She's wearing a ring on the index finger of her right hand." Draco
looked up at
his father.
"I've never seen it
before,
which means
she's concealed it purposefully."
Lucius seemed doubtful
for a moment. "How can you be so sure,
Draco."
"We are Potions partners, Father. We have been working on that
project
for Severus all
semester.
I've seen her hands plenty of
times as we prepared ingredients for
the Polyjuice Potion." At
this Draco turned to his godfather.
"I
also know there was a
reason you gave us that potion to brew this year, Uncle Severus.
Hermione had a rather interesting look on her face when you first
gave the assignment, almost as if she was amused by it."
Severus eyed his godson with admiration, which surprised Lucius
because he'd never seen Severus look at anyone so openly.
"You are correct,
Draco,
and again I
commend you for
your
cunning. Miss Granger is intimately familiar with Polyjuice, as she
successfully brewed it second year."
Lucius eyes widened in shock and Draco sputtered indelicately,
"No fecking way!"
"Watch you language,
Draco.
Your mother would hex you if
she heard such things coming from your mouth."
Draco bowed his head down ashamed and whispered 'Sorry,
Father.'
Lucius considered what
Severus was saying,
as he queried,
"Miss
Granger,
successfully
brewed Polyjuice Potion in her
second year?"
At
Severus nod,
Lucius sat
down in his chair
frowning. "Why would she go to the trouble?"
Severus too, took his seat down and gave his undivided attention
to his godson, who at the moment, was pacing-his mind obviously
whirling over the events from that year.
Severus gestured towards Draco,
and watched Lucius as he too,
noticed his son pacing and mumbling to himself. Severus gave his
friend a look of
amusement,
hoping that
Draco would be able to
deduce the truth and perhaps impress his father.
After
a few moments Draco suddenly stopped and stared at
Severus in both horror and awe.
Then he started laughing in earnest, much to the consternation of
his father. "Sit down, Draco, and stop acting like a lunatic."
Draco obeyed as he sat
down chuckling,
shaking his head
in wonder.
Bloody fucking hell she was fucking brilliant.
"Sorry, Father. I'm just stunned is all." He turned to Severus. "She
really is ruthlessly brilliant, isn't she?"
Severus just
smirked and nodded,
watching Lucius face sneer in
frustration
at
missing the byplay
of
the conversation.
Draco
grimaced at his father apologetically, although secretly proud he'd
figured out something his old man couldn't.
"You remember me telling you, Father, how Slytherin House was
taunting and ridiculing Granger
second year?"
Lucius nodded.
"Well
at
one point,
Marcus Flint
had pushed Granger
down a
flight of stairs."
At
this confession Lucius face darkened and he glowered at
Severus angrily.
He hadn't known about how bad the tormenting had gotten.
"Was there proof it was Marcus, Draco?"
Draco gulped down noticeably at the anger in his Father's voice.
"Not
exactly.
Most
within Slytherin knew or
suspected.
I
was
actually there however,
and had seen the fall,
and Hermione
bleeding from her
head on the steps of
the castle.
I
alerted
Uncle,
who had her
taken to the infirmary for
treatment.
I'm
sorry, Uncle. I lied and told you she tripped."
Severus appeared angry as well,
obviously disappointed in him,
but understanding where the prejudice had come from.
"After
Granger
got
out
of
the infirmary,
there was still
some
taunting,
but
she had completely withdrawn by that
point.
She
stopped acknowledging any of us and she probably thought we all
wanted her dead."
Draco dropped his head in shame,
just
now thinking what
Hermione must've thought back then.
She must've retaliated against Flint in fear for her own life if
she didn't.
He'd really fucked this up.
Nothing he could ever
do would make up for
the pain and
suffering he'd caused her.
Lucius cleared his throat at his son's sudden distraction of a guilty
conscience.
"Uhmm… well,
then during our
match with Hufflepuff,
Marcus
had that
unfortunate incident.
Everyone blamed Granger,
but
there was no proof.
Dumbledore came into Slytherin and even
checked her wand for prior spells but there was nothing. That is
because she brewed the Polyjuice to steal
someone's else's
identity and wand, with the sole intent to hex Flint's broom to the
point
where he was almost
killed.
We all
knew it
was Granger,
but no one could prove it, so we left her alone."
Lucius had a look of
befuddlement
and complete astonishment
on his face.
"How would she have gotten the ingredients for
Polyjuice in the first place?"
Severus barked out a cough. "The little chit stole from my own
personal
stores. I didn't notice right away, and I could never prove
it was her."
Lucius sat
back in his chair
shocked,
and then laughed loudly.
Both Severus and Draco were shocked at his display.
"No wonder
she's Our
Lord's daughter!
I
must
say,
I'm most
impressed with your
deductive skills,
my Son.
Miss Granger
is
truly an impressive witch as well."
Lucius shook his head and
considered his son,
watching Draco blush,
while Severus just
smirked.
"Now about
this ring,
Draco? You're sure you haven't
seen it
before today?" Severus asked.
"No,
Uncle,
in fact
we were sitting at
the Piano before I
started
playing and Hermione ran her hands over the keys. I noticed her
hands, there was no ring."
"Bring up that
memory,
Son.
I
want
to compare it
to the one we
just witnessed."
Draco did as his father instructed and then sat back as his father
and Severus went
into the pensieve to watch the memories
again.
When they both came back out
from the memory of
Hermione singing,
his father looked pale as death and Severus
looked like he was about to faint.
"Father, what is it?" Draco asked in fear.
Lucius gazed at his son, and for the first time in his life truly
felt
proud of
his heir.
He was more clever,
brilliant
and
cunning that Lucius had ever been at the same age.
"Draco… Son… I'm very proud of
you." At this, Draco's eyes widened
in shock.
His father
had never
said those words to him
before.
"You were right,
the ring was not
there
from before." "So why is Hermione hiding the ring,
Father?"
Lucius caught Severus eye and the man just sighed and nodded.
It was time for Draco to become a man it would seem.
"As you know, Draco, back in the beginning of your second year I
placed a journal
in the cauldron of
the Weasley girl.
It
was the
Dark
Lord's
and housed a piece of
his soul."
Draco's eyes
widened in shock.
"Have you ever
heard the term 'Horcrux '
Draco?"
Draco shook his head. "No, Father."
"That
is good,
Son.
A horcrux,
is a nasty piece of
Dark Magic.
Suffice it
to say that
a person must
split
his soul
to create such
an object.
When he does that,
he houses that
piece in an object. The diary
was such an object.
It confers immortality onto the person, but at
a great cost to that persons soul."
"I
am not
sure I
understand,
Father.
Why would you give that
to
the Weasley girl? She seemed just fine."
Lucius hummed thoughtfully.
"As you know,
Ginevra Weasley
never took possession of
the book.
If
she'd had? The piece of
the soul
contained within the diary, would've taken possession of
her body and mind, causing her to open the Chamber of Secrets
that
houses the monster
of
Salazar
Slytherin.
A monster
that
would rid the castle of
all
the mudbloods. Somehow, and I don't
know how,
but
Miss Granger witnessed me placing the diary in
Miss
Weasley's
cauldron
and
took
it
for
herself.
She was
apparently immune to its dark influence, which didn't make sense
to me at
first,
but
now that
I've seen the ring on her finger? I
understand a little better."
"What is the ring, Father." Draco asked shakily.
"It is the ring of the House of Gaunt. It belonged to the Dark Lord,
and signifies the Heir
of
Slytherin,
as only his true heir
could
wear
it
without
being mortally wounded.
The fact
that
Miss
Granger wears the ring proves beyond any shadow of
a doubt,
that she is the Heir of Slytherin and the Dark Lord. He has given
it
to her not
only as a means of protection, but as a sign that he
intends to claim her as his rightful heir. The ring however, is more
than just an heirloom, the stone itself is one of the fabled Deathly
Hallows."
Draco stared at
his father in confusion. "I've never heard of
the Deathly Hallows."
"Yes you have,
Draco.
Your
mother
used to read to you about
them every night when you were young."
Draco thought
about
this for a moment.
His mother had read
from the Tales of Beedle the Bard growing up. The Tale of the
Three Brothers had always been his favorite. The stories of the
Wand of
Destiny,
the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility
Cloak were among his favorites.
The stone… bloody fucking hell!
Lucius could tell
the minute his son realized the truth of
what
he
was telling him.
He truly was a brilliant young wizard.
Draco
gaped
up
at
his
father
with
wide
grey
eyes.
"The
resurrection stone?"
Lucius
nodded and actually smiled with pride.
"Yes,
she is
wearing the resurrection stone.
Whether
or
not
the Dark Lord
knew the significance of
the stone is unclear.
But
if
I'd had to
wager a guess? I don't believe he did, as I'm convinced that ring
is another horcrux."
Severus and Draco were visibly aghast.
"Do you think Miss Granger
is aware of
the significance of
the
ring?" Severus asked his oldest friend.
Lucius just
sat
back stoically and took another fortifying sip of his
firewhiskey, and then nodded his head in resignation.
"I
think she knows more than we could ever imagine. And I think
with her brilliance, cunning and foresight there is no way the Dark
Lord will fail this time when he returns."
Foul, Evil...Gorgeous Cockroach!
Chapter 22: Foul, Evil… Gorgeous Cockroach!
The following day, Hermione purposely ignored Draco's attempts
to talk with her.
Tomorrow was the day of the full
moon, but she
and Nagini
had arranged to meet
tonight
instead,
and she
wanted to make sure that she was there to greet her friend.
During their
first
class of
Transfiguration,
Draco had made it
a
point
to sit
next to her. Hermione took her notes and when class
was over,
moved out
of
the classroom quickly.
Once she had
made it
to the girls bathroom alone,
she cast
a disillusionment
charm,
and was able to return to the Room of
Requirement
without running into Malfoy.
She had a free period this afternoon,
so she decided to treat
herself
to a nice long hot
bubble bath.
Conjuring some music,
she sang along for a while,
relaxing and thinking over the past
evening.
Hermione knew that
Lucius Malfoy was a brilliant
strategist.
He
seemed well
placed within the Ministry,
had a coveted spot
on
the Hogwarts school
board and his opinion held sway over many
of the Pureblood families. Professor Snape was also very clever,
but
Hermione felt
there was something she was missing with
him. He was close with Dumbledore, and the old man seemed to
rely on Snape more than McGonagall lately.
Could Snape be a double agent? Playing
both sides?
And if
so,
where did his loyalty truly lie?
Then there was Draco.
Last
night
he had opened up to her
and shared something
intimate about
himself.
He'd trusted her,
despite their
volatile
history.
Hermione had given this a lot
of
thought,
but
she knew
that there was no possible way Draco could've suspected her true
identity before her confrontation with his father at Yule. But he had
shown concern as early as the end of
Third Year,
and definitely
the beginning of this year, if Pansy Parkinson was to be believed.
He was clever, funny, intelligent and handsome. She couldn't lie to
herself. He was extremely handsome, and the git knew it.
She had heard about
his exploits with witches from all
over
Hogwarts this year. It was one of Hermione's strengths to be able
to pick out
conversations in a crowded room,
but
what
no one
knew was that
she could read lips. It was a skill
she had picked
up out
of
dire necessity first
and second year when she feared
for
her
life inside Slytherin House.
It
kept
her ahead of
others
scheming to hurt her and allowed her to plot and plan retaliation
against those who tormented her.
Draco was becoming something of
a Slytherin Casanova.
He
had snogged Pansy repeatedly in third year,
and had sex with
her earlier this year, if the rumors were to be believed. He'd also
had relations with several
sixth year Slytherins and two seventh
year Ravenclaws.
Just
last
month,
Hermione had been under a
concealment
charm and heard a noise coming from a deserted
classroom.
It
was Malfoy in the classroom with the Head Girl, a
Hufflepuff.
Hermione had been curious about
the noises so she
cast silencing spells, opened the door and got quite an eye-full of
Draco taking the other witch over a desk.
The girl
was moaning
in pleasure and Draco was draped over her,
pistoning his hips
into her quite vigorously.
She had retreated out
of
the room and was mortified at
how
damp her knickers were from what
she'd witnessed.
She had
dreamed of
Malfoy that
night,
but
this time she was the girl
in
the classroom.
She'd awoken,
obscenely wet
and frustrated.
For
the first
time ever,
she made herself
come using her
fingers.
At
the moment
of
release,
she'd sighed out
Draco's
name and then proceeded to go take a long shower to calm
herself down.
The realization that
she wasn't
quite as indifferent
to Malfoy as
she'd thought,
made her
feel
uncomfortable.
Viktor,
for
all
his
sweet
attention,
hadn't
managed to conjure those feelings of
butterflies and desire.
They were going to Hogsmeade tomorrow,
so perhaps it was time to see if there was anything romantic there.
Looking at
the time,
Hermione dressed and cast
the proper
charms
hiding
her
and
headed
towards
the
Black
Lake,
unaware the Malfoy was already there waiting under his own
silencing and concealment
charms.
When she arrived at
the
usual
spot,
it
wasn't
long before Nagini
showed.
The snake
slithered up to Hermione,
placing her head on the witches lap.
Hermione petted her for a few minutes until
the snake spoke
up.
"Young Mistress is distracted again. Are you well?"
Hermione nodded.
"I'm fine Nagini,
just
busy with classes and
homework. Did Father make a decision about allowing me to talk
to his servant?"
Nagini
nodded in return.
"He has spent
much time weighing
what
you have told him young one.
He understands your
concerns and decided that
he does not
want
you to expose
yourself
at
this time,
to the man here. He believes if the plan is
not
successful,
you may be compromised. He will
try and make
sure that
Potter
is the only one to get
to the cup.
He is most
pleased with your research into dark spells but asks you to exert
caution."
Hermione sighed in frustration.
"So Father
hasn't
decided if
Potter will live or die then?"
"No,
young one. There are things you must understand which I
cannot
tell
you.
Be patient
and continue your research.
When
my Master returns he will seek you out soon enough."
"I understand, Nagini. The last task is a little over a month away.
Will I see you next full moon?"
"No,
young one,
I
will
be here the night
of the last task to make
sure all
goes according to plan, and my master wishes for me to
stay close by your side until you leave school."
"Alright,
Nagini,
I
will
see you next month then. Be safe, and give
Father my regards."
"I will, young Mistress."
Hermione
watched
the
snake
slither
away
and
sighed
unhappily.
So her
Father
hadn't
decided how he would
handle Potter.
Shaking her
head,
she stood up and dusted off
her
jeans,
wrapping herself a bit more in her cloak. If everything went to plan
her
father
would return in a little over
a month.
Hermione was
excited,
scared and sad because she knew instinctively her time
with Richard and Helen Granger was coming to an end. She had
no doubt
her
Dark Lord of
a Father,
would not
approve of
her
living with Muggles.
Truthfully,
Hermione felt
like the magical
world was where she
belonged.
She loved her
adoptive parents,
and was grateful
to
them for raising her and giving her the best of everything.
But the Muggle World was not her future, nor her destiny.
Leaving towards the castle,
she heard a noise off
to her
left
behind
a
tree.
It
would
seem someone was
there spying.
Hermione silently cast
a 'Hominem Revelio '
and her wand lit up
instantly. She then cast a 'Finite Incantatem' and low and behold,
Draco Malfoy was standing before her shocked,
with her wand
pointed at his chest.
"Give me one good reason for not turning you back into a ferret,
Malfoy."
Draco wasn't
stupid so he put
his hands up in a placating
manner
and slowly walked towards the little witch.
"We both
know you really don't want to hex me, Granger."
"Oh? And why is that, Malfoy? I think you would look good
with antlers growing out
of
your head, or perhaps boils all
over your face?"
Draco smirked at
how beautiful
Hermione was when she was
angry.
Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were plump from
her
biting on them.
Her
hair
was wild and free and her eyes
sparkled like fire.
Merlin he wanted to snog her senseless!
"You've been conversing with that
snake all
year,
Granger.
You
should've been a little less predictable than meeting at the same
place every full moon. I wouldn't have never pegged you to be so
Gryffindor."
Hermione growled at
the blonde and moved forward,
her wand
pointing
directly
into
his
chest,
but
he
seemed
completely
unfazed.
"You foul,
loathsome,
evil
little cockroach!
I
know why you're
following me,
and I'm telling you to leave me alone.
I'm not
above making you leave me alone, ferret."
Malfoy smirked wider at
the witch and leant over so he was eye
to eye with her. "I would love to see you make me, Hermione. In
fact, I think I'd be more than willing for you to make me."
Hermione
took
a
step
back
in
shock.
What
exactly
was
he
implying?
"Sorry,
Malfoy,
but
I
don't
see you in that
way.
I'm sure one of
your Hogwarts groupies would be happy to help you take care of
those questionable impulses, but I'm not interested."
A brief
flash of
something like hurt
moved through Draco's
face, it was quick, but Hermione caught it.
"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Granger. I had hoped
after the other night we'd reached a possible detente, but I guess
I
was wrong.
I was worried about you, and stayed hidden just in
case someone else decided to follow you."
Draco turned to leave and Hermione shook her
head in
exasperation.
"Look at it from my point of view, Malfoy. You've been nothing but
hateful
to me for three years!!
Now,
suddenly this year you do a
complete turn around. What am I supposed to think?"
Draco took a direct
step back into Hermione's space and gently
placed a finger underneath her jaw and tilted her head up to his.
He looked into her hypnotic amber eyes and watched a myriad of
emotions flit through them.
Anger,
distrust,
hurt
and something else he was too afraid to
define.
"You're supposed to think that
I
am truly sorry for
being such
bigoted prat
these past
few years.
That
I
wish more than
anything I
could go back and tell
myself
that
first
night
how
amazing and brilliant
you are,
Muggle-born or
not.
I'm not
perfect, Granger, but I am trying."
He gazed deep into Hermione's eyes,
subconsciously stroking
her jaw with his hand.
"You and I
both know,
Draco Malfoy,
that
I'm as much of
a
Muggle- born, as you are."
Draco's breath hitched in shock, dropping his hand.
Was she really confirming her identity to him?
Was she really trusting him with her secret?
Hermione went to step around Draco to head back to the castle,
but
he held out
his hand to her
stomach,
stopping her.
She
turned her face to his questioningly.
"You can't
just
leave here
without an explanation, Hermione."
Smirking
at
the
blonde she was
quick
to reply.
"Perhaps
I
overestimated you,
Draco.
I
thought
I'd made myself
fairly clear
the other night. Or perhaps you're not as Slytherin as you'd like to
think you are?"
Smiling genuinely at the little witch, Draco replied, "Is that a
challenge, Hermione?"
Shrugging,
the little witch gently removed Malfoy's arm from
blocking her progress and smiled at him wickedly.
"I'm not
sure you're up for any challenge I
might
impose on you,
but you are more than welcome to try and amaze me, Malfoy."
Draco watched Hermione walk back to the castle,
his gaze
locked on the sway of
her hips and arse in those tight
Muggle
jeans she favored.
He would show the little witch just how amazing he could be!
The Illogical Laws Of Attraction
Chapter 23: The Illogical Laws Of Attraction
The next
day was Hermione's date with Viktor
and she took
special
care to get
ready.
She had on her favorite pair of
black
jeans that hugged her figure tightly, and the jumper she'd picked,
was a butter-
soft
deep violet
which had a v-neck and long
sleeves-that were fitted and flowed out at the wrist into a soft bell
shape.
Her
coat
was cashmere in deep gray,
a Christmas gift
from her
parents.
Hermione decided to put
her
hair
back in a
high pony-tail
and did her
make-up in soft
earth tone colors,
topping it
off
with her favorite French perfume that
had hints of
jasmine, rose, amber and vanilla.
Once she was ready,
she cast
a concealment
charm and made
her
way down the staircase towards the Great
Hall
where she
was meeting Viktor. When she was close and made sure no one
was watching,
Hermione lifted the charm and walked down the
last
flight
of
steps,
not
paying attention to the appreciative looks
she was getting from many of the male population.
One pair of jealous grey eyes watched her closely as she made
her
way towards the Bulgarian wizard,
not
missing the warm
smile that she gave in greeting, nor the sweet kiss on the cheek.
Viktor took Hermione's arm,
moving them both out of the castle.
Since it was a clear day, the two decided to take a longer walk to
the village.
They talked about
the upcoming third task,
their
classes and what
Hermione's plans were for
the summer.
As
they entered Hogsmeade, Hermione gestured towards the sweet
shop laughing, while Viktor escorted her inside.
Daphne had watched Draco's face as Hermione walked away
with
Krum,
and
she
was
convinced
that
her
friend
was
completely enamoured of
Hermione.
Daphne had left
a few
minutes later with Millicent and Pansy, the latter more concerned
about where Draco was than anything else.
As the day progressed Hermione felt
that
she was enjoying
herself
immensely,
but
was frustrated that
she didn't
feel
the
same butterflies with Viktor that she had felt with Malfoy. It was
all
so confusing.
Sexual
attraction didn't
always equate to
romantic feelings,
but
Hermione would be lying if
she didn't
admit that she was sexually aware of Draco in a way she wasn't
with Viktor.
However,
she needed more data,
and that
would require her
using her feminine wiles on the Bulgarian wizard.
After
leaving
the
Three
Broomsticks,
the two walked back
towards the castle but Hermione decided it might be best to take
a bit
of
a detour.
Walking with Viktor
towards the Shrieking
Shack,
she wasn't
sure how to approach the idea of taking their
friendship to the next
level,
but
she didn't
need to worry,
Viktor
clearly was on the same page.
As soon as they were alone,
he took Hermione into his arms
raising her face to his own.
"I've vanted to kiss youz for
while,
my Mila.
Wouldz youz
permit me?"
Blushing,
Hermione
shyly
nodded and before she knew it,
Viktor's lips were gently coaxing hers.
She allowed herself
to
give in to the kiss,
desperately wanting to feel
that
spark of
passion
and
desire.
After
a few minutes
of
kissing,
Viktor
released her lips and kissed her on the forehead. They stood like
that
for
a few moments not
saying anything.
He then took her
arm back in his and walked back towards the castle.
Unbeknownst
to
the
kissing
couple,
they
were
being
watched. Draco couldn't believe his eyes.
His witch…
… his witch!
Had just kissed Krum.
He was angrier than he'd ever remembered being, even though
on some level
he knew he didn't have the right, it didn't stop the
rage inside.
That
Bulgarian had taken his witch's first
kiss… a
kiss that should have been his!
He stormed back to the castle in fury, heading down towards
Snape's quarters. He needed to get himself under control quickly
or he would avada the first person he saw.
In another
part
of
the castle,
Viktor
and Hermione were
walking towards
the courtyard in silence.
Finally once
they'd reached a bench,
Viktor
gestured for Hermione to
take a seat.
"My, Mila. I vanted to thank youz for a lovely time today."
"I
enjoyed myself
as well,
Viktor,
you have become a very
good friend and I'm lucky to have you in my life."
Viktor sighed sadly.
He found Mila to be one of the most genuine
people he'd ever
met.
She was strong,
kind and intelligent
and
liked him for
whom he truly was,
he just
wished they had that
spark together.
"I
vish things
vere different
for
us,
but
I
am glad forz your
friendship, Mila."
Hermione smiled and kissed Viktor
on his cheek.
"I
am too.
I
should get back inside, I have something I need to do."
Viktor nodded,
standing up and kissed the back of
Hermione's
hand.
The Bulgarian watched with sad eyes as the little witch
walked back alone into the castle.
Hermione was frustrated, sad and angry.
Why couldn't
she be attracted to someone as sweet
as
Viktor? He was everything a witch could want.
Why did it have to be Malfoy of all people?
So
lost
in
her
thoughts,
didn't
realize
that
she
was
subconsciously walking towards the dungeons until
she heard
the strains of
piano music coming from the room to her
left.
Quietly,
she walked over and opened the door,
shocked to see
Malfoy playing,
oblivious to the world around him.
Hermione
wandlessly silenced her
footsteps and walked into the room,
removing her coat and sitting down on the couch as she listened
to Draco play.
He was playing Chopin's Revolutionary Etude,
a powerful
piece
reflecting madness, anger .
Draco was so completely immersed in the piece that
he didn't
realize he had company until
he'd finished and heard a gentle
sigh
coming
from behind him.
He turned around and was
shocked to see Hermione sitting there watching him warily.
"That
was beautiful,
Malfoy.
I
don't
think I've heard that
piece
played with so much emotion, it was truly moving."
Draco sneered at
the little witch. "What are you doing here,
Granger? I
thought
you'd be off
fucking your
Bulgarian
suitor."
Hermione's eyes widened in shock at
the harshness of Draco's
voice.
She hadn't
seen that
look nor heard that tone since third
year.
She felt moisture gather behind her eyes and didn't notice that a
tear had escaped until
it
was too late.
Bolting for the door,
she
made to open it
but
it
was slammed shut
as Draco pressed his
body into hers, lowering his head into her neck and inhaling her
perfume.
Hermione tried to hide her shiver but Draco felt it, and
he pressed into her until
her back was completely flush with the
front of his body.
Slowly Draco wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist.
"I'm so sorry, Granger. Please don't cry… don't leave."
Hermione stomach was doing somersaults at this point, she could
feel
his
warm breath
on
her
neck
which
was
giving
her
goosebumps all
over her body.
His cologne was heady,
making
her head spin.
When Draco gently nibbled on Hermione's ear,
she couldn't
stop
the moan that erupted from her, which caused the arm around her
waist to pull her back even tighter.
Draco thought he must be dreaming.
He'd imagined this scenario endlessly and in so many different
ways,
but
now that
he had Hermione in his arms,
he was
completely overwhelmed. Her perfume was a drug that he wanted
to get high on forever. Her skin was so soft and silky. Her body fit
perfectly into his and he never wanted to let her go.
Splaying his hand on Hermione's abdomen he pushed her back
against
him and felt
himself
get
harder
than he'd ever
thought
possible.
Hermione stilled against
him,
and for a moment
Draco
thought
he'd gone too far,
but then like an answer to his prayers,
she started to push her arse against his straining erection. Draco's
other hand went
to her hip,
pushing her back harder against him
as he nibbled and sucked on her neck and up towards her ear.
Hermione was awash in sensation.
She had never felt
anything
like this when Viktor touched her. Her whole body was on fire and
she could feel
her knickers getting wetter by the minute. She was
surrounded by Draco's scent,
the touch and feel
of
him,
it
was
overwhelming all
her
senses and testing her
resolve.
When he
moved his hand underneath her
jumper
and touched her
bare
skin,
Hermione couldn't
help the breathy moan that
broke free,
and she could feel
the smug smirk against
her
neck as Draco
kissed her neck repeatedly.
"Merlin, Granger. Do you have any idea how much I want you? I
saw you today.
Kissing Krum!
I
was so bloody furious I
had to
come here to calm myself before I hexed someone."
Hermione closed her eyes and relished the moment.
Draco was
jealous!
She slowly turned around in his arms,
breath hitching as grey
eyes darkened nearly black with lust.
He looked at
her as if
she
was the most
desirable witch he'd ever seen, but she was aware
of
his reputation,
and she would not
be another
notch on his
bedpost.
"What exactly do you want from me, Draco?"
Draco stared at his little witch for a moment and then gave her a
smirk
that
promised
complete
devotion
and
untold
carnal
delights. "I want you . I've wanted you for a while now, but didn't
think you'd ever see me like that."
Hermione raised an eyebrow mockingly.
"So that's why you've
taken to shagging random witches in empty classrooms?"
Smiling wickedly,
Draco laughed.
"Saw that,
did you?"
Draco
moved his head so their lips were barely touching.
"Did it
turn
you on,
Hermione,
watching me fuck another witch… wishing it
was you?"
Hermione looked back challengingly.
"I
don't
know,
Malfoy? Do
you think you'd like to walk into a deserted classroom and see
some random wizard taking me from behind?"
Draco growled and in a flash, had Hermione up in his arms with
her legs wrapped around his waist. He moved them over to the
couch,
sitting down so she could straddle him,
his erection
pressing against the seam of her jeans, which were soaked with
her arousal.
"If
I
ever see another wizard touching you,
love,
I
won't be held responsible for my actions. You… are… mine!"
With that, Draco crashed his lips against Hermione's, and all
coherent thought was lost as their lips fused together.
Hello's and Goodbye's
Chapter 24: Hello's and Goodbye's
Coming to her senses,
Hermione pushed Draco away from her
angrily.
No matter how attracted she might
be to the ferret,
she
wasn't going to allow him to take control of this situation. He was
too used to having things (and witches) the way he wanted them
to be.
Draco looked confused for a moment
before he blushed a bit in
understanding. He hadn't meant to come across like a git, but he
had been so afraid that Granger was going to leave and that was
the last
thing he wanted right
now.
He truly cared for her,
and
wanted to be with her-but
the way in which she was looking at
him right
now,
Draco knew he was going to have a hard time
convincing Hermione of his sincerity.
"I
should apologize,
Granger.
My mother
did raise me to be a
proper gentleman, despite my momentary lapse just now."
"I just want to be clear about one thing, Malfoy… I don't belong to
you!
I
belong only to myself
!
I
don't
trust
you-you've been a
proper
git
to me for
three years,
and despite what
you might
think? Just
because I'm attracted to you doesn't
mean I'm going
to forget how you treated me!"
Draco
nodded
solemnly.
"I
know that,
and
I'm sorry,
Hermione. I don't think I'll ever be able to say it enough."
Hermione sighed and nodded once.
"I
do believe you're sorry to
an extent,
and I
do appreciate the fact
that
you've tried to make
amends this year,
but
that
doesn't
mean you can take liberties
with me any time you wish to. I'm not one of your slags, Malfoy!"
"I know, and I'm so very sorry. I panicked, okay? I didn't want you
to leave angry, and I know I didn't handle it properly-you have my
word that I won't try anything like that again, without your express
permission."
"Fine, but if you do? I will hex you good and proper, are we clear?"
"Crystal,
Granger." Draco smiled in what
he'd hoped was a
apologetic
manner
before
holding
his
hand
out
in
an
unspoken invitation. "Can we just talk?"
Hermione
looked
at
his
outstretched hand dubiously,
before
placing her hand in Draco's and allowing him to lead her over to
the couch that
had been moved by the fireplace. Once they were
seated, Draco released her hand and faced her head on.
"I
know something is going on with you,
and I
want
to let
you
know that you can trust me, Granger."
"Why should I trust you, Malfoy? Give me one good reason?"
Draco sighed as he stared into Hermione's amber eyes that were
filled with so many conflicting emotions,
and he knew that
he
would have to be the one to make the first
move towards open
honesty if he had any chance of winning his witch's heart.
"I know I've made many mistakes where you're concerned. I was
a hateful,
bigoted prat
who only saw your blood status and not
the amazing witch you truly are. I can't go back and change the
past,
but
you have my word that
I
won't
be that
person again.
I've come to truly care for you and I would like to know if there's
a chance you could come to care for me as well?"
Hermione gaped at Draco in shocked disbelief.
He was being completely serious right now, and she could sense
no deceit in him.
The larger question was why now?
"I don't know how I'm supposed to answer that, Malfoy."
"You've admitted you're attracted to me. Do you think you might
be able to forgive me?"
"Do you have any idea what you're asking of me?"
Draco rubbed his hands down his face before he nodded.
"The impossible? I'm a Malfoy,
so we pretty much thrive on
the impossible, Granger."
Hermione couldn't
help but
giggle at
how droll
Draco sounded,
like he was both parts serious and sarcastic-he smiled at
her
laugh and held out
his hand again,
which she took without
hesitation. Silently stroking her knuckles, Draco couldn't help but
wonder if he could get Hermione to be honest with him.
"Can I ask a question?"
"You can, but I may choose not to answer."
"Fair enough." Draco smirked. "How is it you know Parseltongue?
I heard you speaking with that snake a few times…"
Hermione gave Draco a disbelieving look, but to his credit
his countenance didn't
change-his face was completely
open and curious.
"Don't tell me you don't have some sort of guess?"
Draco shrugged.
"Perhaps,
but
I'd rather not
assume anything
and I'd prefer
it
if
you told me directly.
No more secrets,
no
more lies."
"You really are an arrogant prat! You honestly think I'm just going
to share all my secrets with you?"
This caused Draco to laugh out
genuinely,
as his grey eyes
sparkled with humor and mischief and Hermione's breath hitched
at how handsome he looked in that moment.
"Are you kidding me? I'm not an imbecile, Granger-you'll
tell
me
only what you think I need to know, nothing more… nothing less.
With that
being said,
I
would still
hope that
at some point in our
future,
you might
trust
me a bit
more,
with time and me proving
myself to you."
"Why do I feel like this is some kind of test?"
Draco chuckled.
"Isn't
everything,
love? We are Slytherin's,
so
that's pretty much standard operating procedure.
I
think you
need someone to talk to and I
want
to be that
someone you
confide in.
I
want
you to know you can trust me and I will
never
break that trust. I'd take an unbreakable vow, if I could."
Hermione's mouth opened in a shocked 'oh '
as she stared
mutely at
Draco and he just
smiled indulgently at
her
look of
confusion.
"Yes, 'oh ' is probably an apt response." "Don't get
cheeky with me, ferret."
"Wouldn't
think of
it,
you vicious swot.
You'd
hex me good and proper, right?"
"I
would ." Hermione grinned, and Draco's smirked deepened as
the two considered each other for a bit
before Hermione spoke
again. "I promised myself I'd never show weakness, especially to
you.
If
I
do as you ask,
it
leaves me vulnerable,
which I'm not
exactly thrilled with."
"Understood,
but
you have trusted me,
Granger? The snake,
your ring that you keep disillusioned-if you didn't want to trust me
at least subconsciously, you wouldn't have shown me that much.
I have no doubt you could've obliviated me that afternoon, when I
saw you with the snake, but you didn't."
Hermione sat
back and considered Draco's words,
realizing on
some level
he was correct.
She had placed a measure of trust in
him… maybe it was some kind of test?
But whatever her motives, he hadn't betrayed that trust and other
than Lucius Malfoy and Professor
Snape,
it
was unlikely that
anyone else suspected she was the Dark Lord's Daughter.
"If I trust you and you betray me, Draco Malfoy? Believe me when
I say, that you'll wish for death before I'm done with you!"
Draco
smirked
and bowed his
head in supplication.
"Fair
enough.
I've been properly warned and you have my solemn
vow that whatever trust you place in me will protected always. I
do care for you,
Granger-in fact,
I
think I'm falling in love with
you."
The Start Of Something More
Chapter 25: The Start Of Something More
Hermione gasped at
Draco's admission,
her eyes widening
in wonder as she tried to comprehend Draco's confession.
He was falling in love with her?
How was that possible?
Did he really mean it or was this part of some elaborate scheme
on his part?
Or Lord Malfoy's part?
Shaking
her
head,
Hermione
went
to
stand
up,
but
Draco
squeezed her
hand to get
her
attention before she could run
away.
"I
can see your big, beautiful
brain working from here. This isn't
some ploy on my part and I'm being completely sincere. I know
you don't feel
anything remotely close to how I feel
for you, and
Malfoy's are raised to not
show weakness of
any kind. But you
deserve no less from me and if
I'm being completely honest?
You deserve far
better
than me.
But
I'm a selfish wizard,
Hermione and I want to be part of your life."
"You don't know what your asking of me, Malfoy. I'm a mudblood,
remember?"
Draco shook his head angrily and growled out in warning, "That's
enough! I
don't
want
to hear that
word come out
of
your mouth
ever again!
Even if
it
was true,
and I
think we both know it's not
-but even if it was-I don't want to hear you talking about yourself if
that way ever again!"
Hermione head whipped back like she'd been slapped.
"You're serious?"
"Deadly.
I'd meant
it
when I said it to the Weasel, and I mean it
now. Do you think it's easy for me hearing other people call you
that name? Knowing it was me, who started it back in first year?
That it was because of me that you were alienated, taunted and
hurt more times than I even want to think about? I deserve every
censure you might
send my way,
and no amount
of
apologies
can adequately show you how truly remorseful I feel."
Hermione's eyes welled with tears and she took a few breaths,
valiantly trying to keep them from falling as she stared into
Draco's pain-filled face.
He really was sorry for all
he'd put her through, as she could feel
his anguish coming off
him in waves.
This was something she'd
never thought
would happen and yet,
here was the bane of
her
existence,
asking for
forgiveness and trust… and blast
it
all
to
Hades… but her heart wanted desperately to believe him and she
didn't completely understand why.
Sitting back down,
she sighed in resignation as she considered
everything that
Draco had told her and decided that perhaps she
needed for once, to go with her gut and take a chance.
"You want me to trust you, Malfoy? Fine. I'm going to go against
my logical
mind, and go with my gut. Don't make me regret this,
because if you do I'll make you suffer ."
"You have my solemn vow as a Malfoy and a wizard, love."
Hermione stared in Draco's eyes and paused, seeing the sincerity
of
his words reflected in his gaze.
Nodding,
Hermione began to
talk.
The words came out
haltingly at
first,
but
grew in confidence as
she progressed with her story.
"At
the end of
first
year,
when I
went
home I
was an emotional
mess. The stress from the year had finally caught up with me and
I
was
inconsolable."
At
this
confession Hermione could feel
Draco's arms tighten.
"My parents sat
down and apologized for
not
telling me that
I
was adopted.
Apparently a woman,
they
assumed to be my biological
mother because she was wearing a
cloak and carried a wand, came to their home one evening frantic
and
begged
them to take me.
She left
me with them and
disappeared.
In the bassinet
with me was a box,
which had a
family crest
on it.
Inside was this."
She lifted the charm and
showed Draco the Gaunt family ring.
She could feel
Draco nod.
"That
night
when you sang to us, we
used a pensieve to watch the memory and I
saw this ring.
Hermione, do you know what this stone is?"
Hermione looked at
Draco in surprise that
he'd recognized the
stone. "Yes, I know what it is and what it represents."
Draco just nodded, knowing he didn't need anymore confirmation.
"I
didn't make the connection until
second year, during your duel
with Potter.
When he spoke Parseltongue,
I'd realized I
could
understand him,
but
I
didn't
know why nor how.
I'd never been
around snakes as a child,
so I
didn't
know I
could speak with
them.
That's
how I
met
Nagini.
She is
the familiar
of
my
biological father, whom you've probably already guessed?"
Draco nodded seriously and whispered into Hermione's ear. "The
Dark Lord."
Hermione just nodded once and Draco gently kissed the side of
her neck.
"Ironic isn't
it? That
the Heir
of
Slytherin has been ostracized
from her own house here at Hogwarts." Hermione sighed sadly.
"I'm truly sorry,
Hermione,
I
know I
keep saying it, but I'll
never
be able to say it enough."
"I know, Malfoy, and I do appreciate that your change of attitude
towards me wasn't only because of my Father and whom he is.
Despite that,
there's not
much more I
can tell
you. You've seen
me with Nagini
all
year,
so now you know that
I've been in
contact
with my Father.
He is returning….soon .
What
exactly
that
means,
I
don't
really know? I
suspect
your
father
and
Professor
Snape
have
already
sussed
out
that
much
for
themselves, well that, and my true identity."
"Would
you
consider
coming
back
and
staying
in
the
Slytherin Dorms?" Draco asked a bit hesitantly.
Hermione just
shook her head.
"I've been happy away and I'm
not inclined to change that."
Draco sighed resignedly,
"Where have you been staying in the
castle? We've all
wondered about
it
but
so far no one has been
able to figure it out."
Chuckling,
Hermione turned around in Draco's arms smiling.
"Sorry,
but
I'm not
telling you." This caused Draco to sneer and
she just smiled wider. "A girl has to have some secrets."
"And you have plenty don't
you,
you vicious evil
witch?"
Hermione
giggled
and
nodded.
"Enough
of
them,
I
suppose."
"Thank you for trusting me enough with the truth." Draco said
softly.
"I
know you have really no reason to do so,
but
I'm
grateful for it nonetheless."
"That
alright,
Malfoy,"
Hermione grinned wickedly,
"if
you screw
me over, you'll also have my Father to deal with, and Nagini…"
Draco's face paled in stark realization of
Hermione's words-and
the truth behind those words. Gulping visibly, Draco nodded once
and said shakily, "Right…"
Hermione
giggled
at
Draco's
nervousness
and
she
felt
momentary pity for
the wizard in front
of
her.
He cleared his
throat
a bit
and then smiled sheepishly.
"Would it
be alright
if
I
kiss you again?"
Hermione gasped in surprise,
but
didn't
automatically dismiss
the request-realizing on some level
she was attracted to Draco,
but
also curious
as
to whether
the previous kiss and her
response to it
was more reactionary,
or really indicative of how
she felt about the wizard.
Nodding once, Draco gently enveloped Hermione into his lap and
brought his lips down to hers in a chaste, searching kiss.
It
didn't
take long at
all
for
those damn butterflies to erupt
like
wildfire through her
stomach as Hermione moaned and Draco
slowly deepened the kiss before pulling back.
As much as he
wanted to explore this
with Hermione,
he didn't
want
to do
anything she might feel uncomfortable with.
When their eyes met,
Hermione blushed deeply while Draco just
smiled happily,
realizing that
if
nothing else,
she was attracted to
him and he could definitely work with that.
The Third Task: The Dark Lord Returns
Chapter 26: The Third Task: The Dark Lord Returns
The last
few weeks before the third task,
flew by in a bit
of
a
blur.
Viktor had asked her to come and watch him compete in
the final
task,
a fact
that
made Draco quite surly and put
out.
This caused Daphne to snicker in amusement,
but
Hermione
had just
shrugged off
Draco's insecurities.
It
wasn't
as if
they
were together
officially,
despite Draco's protestations to the
contrary.
The fact that Draco was obviously jealous of Viktor, was quite
the little irony .
When
the
night
of
the
third
task
came,
Hermione
was
emotionally prepared for whichever scenario would happen and
had contingency plans in place for the subsequent fall-out. She
didn't like not knowing, and could feel her anxiety levels increase
as
she
stood
in
the
bleachers
near
the
front
where
the
Durmstrang
students
had
congregated
to
support
their
champion.
Perusing the bleachers discreetly,
she also noticed
Draco standing next to Daphne, Theo and Blaise.
The former pair, whispering to themselves quietly.
The four
champions were standing in front
of
a large hedged
maze,
anxiously waiting for
the task to start.
Mad-eye Moody
was standing next
to Potter,
while Cedric was being supported
by his father.
Fleur
and Viktor
were flanked by their
school's
Headmistress and Headmaster respectively.
Soon Dumbledore came out
and made the announcement
in
preparation
for
the
starting
the
task
by
introducing
each
champion and their
positions.
It
would seem that
Potter
and
Diggory would be entering the maze first, followed by Viktor and
then Fleur.
Hermione held her
breath as the canon shot
off,
signaling the start
of
the competition.
When she glanced over
briefly and caught the worried look on Draco's face?
He just returned her look with one of uncertainty.
She nodded once and watched his face drain of
color,
as he
silently understood her meaning.
It
seemed like the task was taking forever,
but
soon red sparks
shot into the air, signifying Fleur's removal from the competition.
Then Viktor was retired soon after, and he seemed a bit shaken
up too.
More time passed, and Hermione could feel
her hands digging
into the ledge of
the stadium as she watched Moody with a
fixed gaze.
His eye locked onto her's momentarily,
and she
raised her
eyebrow in silent
challenge,
causing the man to
glower heatedly at her.
Distracted,
she missed the uproar
of
the students
as they
cheered the return of
Potter and Diggory.
Breathing in a sigh of
relief momentarily, it was short-lived as she instantly noticed that
Cedric and Potter
weren't
moving at
all.
Dumbledore walked
swiftly over,
to check and see what'd happened,
along with
Cedric's father and Professor Moody.
Suddenly there was a cry of
anguish from Amos Diggory-as
clearly- his only son was dead.
Hermione then looked at
Potter,
as Dumbledore was able to
bring him back to a conscious state,
asking the boy what
happened.
Potter kept
shaking his head in obvious confusion,
appearing completely disoriented even with the bloody stains
on his person.
Shite!
She hadn't
actually prepared for
the possibility that
one of
the
other
champions
wouldn't
survive,
but
subconsciously
had
realized
it
could
happen.
It
was
unfortunate,
but
definitely
something she could work with.
She was curious as to how it
happened,
and wondered if
her
Father would eventually, be forthcoming with the information.
The crowd had become silent upon seeing how anguished Amos
Diggory was over
his son's death.
Dumbledore motioned to
Professor
Moody to take Harry away from the spectators,
the
young man clearly devastated over what
had happened,
but he
also seemed to be genuinely confused as to how it happened, as
he
kept
shaking
his
head-whenever
anyone
asked
him a
question.
Hermione watched the exchange closely,
and was
convinced
that
her
father
had
taken
her
suggestion
and
obliviated Potter before he returned him via the port-key.
The possible confirmation that
her father had taken her advice,
made Hermione feel
a bit
more confident-when she had been
feeling nothing but uncertainty for the last few days.
Walking silently towards her usual
spot
by the Black Lake,
she
was quick to check to see if
she was being followed.
Assured
that she didn't see anyone, she silently cast a 'Hominem Revelio'
and was relieved when there was no one disillusioned,
who
might
be spying on her.
When she got
to her
usual
spot,
she
didn't
have long to wait
before Nagini
appeared.
Per usual,
the
snake rested her head on her lap,
silently allowing her mistress
to pet her.
"Are you well, young one?" Nagini hissed.
Hermione nodded absently.
"Yes,
Nagini.
The third task is done
and the Potter boy lives.
It
would seem that
the Diggory boy is
dead,
and I'll
admit
I'm curious to know how that
happened.
Apparently,
Father's
servant
forgot
to
place
repelling
wards
around the cup to keep the other
champions away.
Is the man
incompetent?"
Nagini's body shook, almost like she was laughing. "I only met the
wizard once,
last
summer,
and he seemed a bit
unstable.
Have
you been able to sense your Father's magic returning?"
Cocking her head at the snake questioningly, she admitted,
"I
haven't
noticed
a
difference,
but
then?
I've
been
distracted."
Nagini
nodded.
"Close your eyes,
young one-and reach out with
your magic. You will be able to sense him now."
Hermione did what
Nagini
suggested and concentrated on her
magic.
She could feel
her core expanding, searching. She had
the piece of
her Father's soul,
so she started to fixate on the
Dark
Magical
signature and soon she was able to feel
an ebb of magic
pulsating along her own, in response.
It
was almost
like an echo,
but
as she let
her mind focus
on its pattern,
she could feel
an answering push at
her
magical core.
Opening her eyes in wonderment, she smiled.
"I
can feel
something pushing against
my magic!
Is that
my
Father's magical signature?"
Nagini hissed in affirmation. "Yesss, it is."
"That's incredible!"
She was always excited when she learned
something new about
her
magic.
"Will
you be staying here at
Hogwarts until the train leaves Monday?"
Nagini
nodded.
"I'll
return to Master once you're safely on board.
He wishes to know where you'll be this summer."
"I'll
be going to Godric's Hollow for part
of
the summer.
A witch,
Madeline White has been tutoring me in a few magical
subjects
and etiquette.
She'll
be meeting me at
Kings Cross,
as my
adoptive parents will be out of the country for a while."
"I'll tell Master. Stay safe, young Mistress. I'll be seeing you soon."
"Give Father my best, Nagini-and stay safe too."
The snake nodded once, before she slithered away into the
shadows.
Hermione recast
the disillusionment
charm on herself,
walking
slowly towards the castle. So her Father had finally returned, and
he hadn't killed Harry Potter.
Cedric Diggory was dead and that was unfortunate.
He'd never been outwardly mean nor cruel
to her, although some
of
his friends had been dismissive over
the years.
Hermione
breathed another quiet sigh-but this one of relief, that Viktor hadn't
been harmed.
Even though she didn't
hold romantic feelings for
the Bulgarian wizard, she would've been upset, should he'd been
killed.
Strolling through the castle corridors,
Hermione started walking
towards
the
Room of
Requirement,
when she heard voices
coming from another corridor that
headed towards Dumbledore's
office.
When she peered around the corner,
she noticed Snape and
Karkaroff
illuminated by a strong 'Lumos '
spell,
standing alone
arguing with each other.
Karkaroff
had his forearm exposed,
causing Hermione's eyes to widen at the appearance of the Dark
Mark
on
his
arm.
She
had
known
that
the
Durmstrang
Headmaster had been a follower of her Father, before he'd sold
out Barty Crouch Jr. for his freedom. The man seemed positively
frightened at
the noticeable swirling mark,
fully understanding
what it represented. Snape however, seemed utterly indifferent to
the man's pleas,
leaving him alone in a swirling mass of
robes,
heading towards another part of the castle.
Hermione silently waited until Karkaroff left, before she continued
on towards her
room.
The castle was eerily quiet,
leaving her
feeling a bit unsettled.
Changes were coming, for good or bad.
This moment
was a brief
reprieve and her
whole life would be
changing
unequivocally,
once she set
foot
off
the Hogwarts
Express Monday.
Upon entering the Room of
Requirement, she started gathering
all
her
things she would be taking with her to Godric's Hollow
and
placed
them into
her
beaded
bag.
She
had
added
weightless charms,
as well
as undetectable blood wards on the
bag-which also included specific wards that only recognized her
magical signature.
Grabbing
her
journals,
additional
texts
and
the
two
horcruxes-she carefully placed them into her bag and sealed it
shut.
She then gathered her
clothes,
text
books and other
personal
items,
placing them into her
school
trunk.
Once she
was satisfied with her work, she left the room-silently asking it to
remain hidden from anyone seeking to access it
other
than
herself
(a nifty trick she'd read in one of
Salazar
Slytherins
journals),
and left-replacing the proper
concealment
charms
before deciding to head for
the Slytherin Common Room.
Her
house would be shocked to see her, after being absent all
year,
but she was curious as to the gossip after tonight's spectacle.
Catching people unaware was always a good thing, and luckily for
her? Daphne had given her the dorm password just
a few days
ago.
When Hermione finally reached the Slytherin Common Room
and the door opened, she walked in noting that the room was full
of
people from all
the years.
Most
seemed to be quietly talking
amongst
themselves
but
a
few,
including
Draco
and
Daphne-were silently staring into the fireplace.
Hermione lifted
the concealment charm and stepped further into the room, when
Marcus Flint, recognizing her, sneered openly.
"What
are you doing here,
mudblood? No one wants you here!"
The Quidditch Captain spit out hatefully, but Hermione just rolled
her
eyes
at
the older
boy,
noticing Draco standing up and
storming over towards the seventh year.
"What
have I
said about
calling Granger that
name,
Flint?"
Draco growled in anger, his wand pointed threateningly at the
older boy.
"So you've become a mudblood lover, have you, Malfoy? I wonder
what your father would say, if he knew where your loyalties lay?"
Draco smirked evilly,
"Maybe you can ask him,
Flint,
next
time
you see him. But until then, back off!"
Seeing the situation quickly deteriorating, Hermione put an arm
on Draco's arm and shook her
head reprovingly.
The blonde,
with his wand still pointed at Flint, slowly directed her to come sit
with him and his friends.
Flint
just
smirked and went
back over
to where Pucey and
Montague
were
sitting,
muttering
under
his
breath
about
'mudbloods getting theirs,
'
while Draco sat
Hermione down next
to Daphne.
Daphne smiled warmly at the little witch. "It's really good to see
you, Hermione. I wasn't sure if you were going to ever set foot in
the Slytherin Dorms again."
Hermione returned the smile.
"Under the circumstances,
I
felt
it
might
be prudent.
I'm sure Professor Snape will
be by soon to
check
in on all
of
us.
I'd figured this was easier
than the
alternative, at least for now."
Theo,
Blaise,
Pansy,
Crabbe,
Bulstrode and Goyle were all
quietly observing the conversation. Finally Theo piped up to ask
what he was sure everyone else was thinking.
"You've never cared about
what
was 'prudent,'
Granger-so why
should any of us believe you suddenly care now." Draco glared at
his friend who looked back at
him with a raised eyebrow.
"You
know I'm right,
Draco.
Just
because you've chosen to overlook
the fact
that
Granger has abandoned our house,
doesn't
mean
the rest of us do."
Hermione just smirked indulgently at Theo. "I believe it was your
lot
who abandoned me,
Nott,
so let's not
pretend that
my
ostracism from Slytherin House was due to anything other than
misguided blood prejudice. You're right however in that I chose to
leave, because I haven't felt safe in this house for the better part
of
four years.
I
know you all
agreed to support Draco's decision
to
defend
me,
albeit
reluctantly,
I'm sure.
I
appreciate the
sentiment,
but
I'm not
going to serve up empty platitudes to
make anyone here feel
better about the fact that you've all
been
hateful
to me.
So,
in that
spirit? I
came here tonight to assuage
my curiosity. What did you think of the last task, Theo?"
Theo was a bit surprised by Hermione's direct confrontation and
complete change of
subject.
He looked to his friends, who were
watching the scene with wariness,
not
sure how to respond
themselves.
Glancing over
at
Draco and Daphne,
Theo noted
that
they were completely relaxed-which made him feel
even
more uncomfortable.
"I'm not
sure what
you are asking,
Granger? Diggory is dead.
Potter is… well who knows? It's all really unfortunate, I suppose."
"Hmmm," Hermione mumbled noncommittally,
"I
suppose that's
one way to look at
it.
I'm surprised you don't
have more of
an
informed opinion, Nott. Your father is quite well-connected, from
what I've always gathered, similarly as Draco's father is?"
Theo flinched, while Hermione just considered him passively for
a few moments before stating,
"I'm tired,
so perhaps you could
come with me, Daphne?"
Daphne nodded quickly, and the two witches headed towards their
dorm room while Theo just looked like he'd been sucker-punched.
When the two girls had disappeared, Theo rounded on Draco and
sputtered, "What the bloody hell was that all about, mate?"
Draco just
leaned back lazily into his chair
and smirked at
his
friend. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Theo."
"You know exactly what
I'm talking about,
Draco.
Granger just
inferred that
she knows my father
is a Death Eater,
same as
yours. How would she know that?"
Draco placed a silencing charm around them and leaned forward
towards his friends. "Hermione knows more than you realize. I'm
not
at
liberty to say anything yet,
but
I
would be careful… all
of
you.
Things are changing. I know your father has written to you, Theo,
just
as mine has.
There is more going on than you can possibly
imagine."
"And you know what
that
is?"
Theo scoffed angrily,
while
Draco nodded sternly.
"Things
aren't
always
what
they
appear
to
be,
Theo.
Just
remember that."
Theo sat
back in contemplation while the other fourth years just
seemed confused.
Draco stood up and headed for his dorm room,
while the other
Slytherins watched him go.
"What
do you think Draco meant
by that?"
Pansy whispered
warily.
"I
don't
know,
but
it
can't
mean anything good,
that's for sure."
Blaise responded worriedly.
"I'm heading for
bed too,
come on
guys."
Motioning to his fellow dorm mates, they all got up and left.
Fourth Year Ends
Chapter 27: Fourth Year Ends
The next
morning,
Dumbledore made a brief
announcement
lamenting Cedric's death as an unfortunate accident-whilst most
of those within the Great Hall were openly glaring at Harry Potter:
some in anger others in confusion.
Hermione had walked out
of
there,
with her fellow classmates-
making
sure
she
was
seen
before
she
slipped
away,
disillusioning
herself
and
following
Potter,
Longbottom and
Weasley outside,
as they walked towards Hagrid's hut.
The two
Gryffindors
were
asking
Potter
questions
about
what
had
happened and whether or not
he'd remembered anything from
the previous night.
Harry shook his head and sighed dejectedly to his friends.
"I
have no idea what happened. I remember entering the maze but
nothing from that point on. Dumbledore figures someone must've
obliviated me.
My arm had a healing scar from where it'd been cut, but I don't
know how that
happened
either,
and
my
head
still
hurts
something awful.
They tried to trace the magical
signature,
but
the Aurors didn't
recognize it. Even Professor Moody seemed genuinely confused
about what happened."
"That's awful,
Harry," stated Ron sympathetically,
"I
figure there's
gonna be some backlash on Dumbledore though.
Dad wrote me
first
thing this morning that
the Ministry is going to set
up a full
scale inquiry as to how Dumbledore allowed Cedric to get
killed.
After
the whole mess with Crouch Sr.? Dad thinks Dumbledore
may even lose his job!"
This caused Hermione to smirk as she watched the three boys
head down the hill
towards Hagrid's hut.
Turning around,
she
walked
back
into
the
castle
and
headed towards
Professor
Snape's quarters to meet with Daphne and Draco.
Once she'd arrived at
the meeting spot, she noticed Draco was
alone as he was pacing back and forth along the corridor.
Canceling the disillusionment
charm,
Hermione walked towards
Draco with a small smirk on her face.
"I
know that
look,
Granger,"
teased Draco,
"you were up to no
good, weren't you?"
Hermione's smirk got
a bit
wider.
"I'm sure I
have no idea what
you mean, Malfoy? I was just taking a lovely stroll
on the grounds
before we leave in the morning."
"Lovely
stroll,
my
arse."
Draco
grabbed
Hermione's
hand
dragging her into 'their '
room and closing the door.
Hermione
silenced and warded the room, while Draco went and sat on the
couch near the far wall.
Patting the empty space next
to him,
Hermione rolled her eyes at the blonde's playful behavior.
"Where's Daphne? I thought she was going to meet us here?"
Draco smirked. "I told her that I needed some time alone with you
before we left tomorrow." Hermione rolled her eyes again, but sat
down anyway.
"Don't
get
cheeky with me,
little witch!
I'm not
going to see you all
summer,
so forgive me if
I
don't
want
to
share what little time we have left, chatting with Daphne when we
could be doing much more productive things."
"Such as?" Hermione challenged back.
Draco grabbed his witch's arm, pulling her into his lap and kissing
her deeply. Hermione was surprised at first, but quickly sighed into
the kiss before Draco broke away tilting his forehead onto her's.
"Where are you going this summer, Hermione?" Draco asked his
witch softly.
"I'm heading to Godric's Hollow for a while this summer.
A nice
witch that
my Muggle parents met, tutored me last summer, and
she agreed to let
me come visit
this summer.
I've made some
new acquaintances there,
which I'm looking forward to seeing
again."
Draco nodded. "Do you know how long you'll be there?"
Hermione looked at Draco knowingly, understanding what he was
trying to ask her. "No, I don't have a time frame for anything at this
point. I've been assured that I will be visited at some point."
Draco averted his gaze for a moment and then back to his witch.
"Are you concerned that
being apart
for
so long might
make
things more difficult?"
"It's always a possibility,
but
if
I've learned anything these last
four years? It's not
have expectations of
anyone nor anything.
That
way,
you're not
disappointed and you can't
get
hurt."
Hermione's voice was rather noncommittal.
Draco
sat
up
and
frowned,
not
liking
the
truth behind her
confession. "So, you don't have any expectations for us then?"
Hermione followed and stared at
Draco in surprise.
"No,
why
would I?" When Draco went to argue, Hermione put up her hand
to stop him. "Draco? Neither one of us knows what tomorrow will
bring?
Things are very complicated right
now,
and I
can't
say with any
kind of certainty what my future holds. I've enjoyed our short time
together, and I know how you feel. But can you honestly sit there
and tell
me that
you will
always feel
this way? We are fifteen!
That's hardly old enough to have any understanding about
long
term commitments. I'm not saying this to hurt you, but I told you I
can't
give you what
you want
right
now.
If
what
we have isn't
enough for you? Then perhaps you need to find someone who
can give you what you want? I won't hold it against you."
Draco sneered at Hermione in shock and hurt. Did she really
feel nothing for him?
"So that's it? You don't feel anything for me?"
Standing up from the couch, Hermione turned to face Draco.
"I've told you how I
feel,
Draco.
I
find you attractive and I
enjoy
how you make me feel.
It's going to take more than a couple
months of
snogging to undo years of
hurt.
You can't
just
expect
me to ignore what's happened.
To trust
you implicitly? I'm trying,
Draco, but if you want to be with me you're going to have to learn
patience and give me the time I
need to adjust to all
of this. Can
you honestly do that?"
Draco stared up at
his witch intently,
as she was standing there
with her arms wrapped around herself,
seemingly waiting for his
reaction.
He had to admit
selfishly,
that
he'd wanted her to forget all
about
how horribly he'd treated her. But listening to her now, and seeing
how she was bracing herself? He knew he'd have to be patient in
order to gain her trust and win her love.
He was a Malfoy, and Malfoy's only ever had the best.
His witch was the absolute best
at
everything she did,
and he
knew he'd
never
want
another
witch
the
way
he
wanted
Hermione.
"I
get
it,
Granger." At
Hermione's dubious look,
Draco smirked
standing up and cupping her
face gently.
"I
do.
Malfoy men
aren't
known for
their
patience,
but
I'm willing to make an
exception for you
.
As long as you are willing to try,
I'm going to be here by your
side.
I
may be fifteen,
Hermione,
but
I
know myself
and I
know
you're it
for me.
So,
however long this takes and whatever you
need me to do, I'm here for you."
Hermione smiled wanly at the boy before her.
Did he really understand what he was promising?
She wasn't sure he did, but she wasn't going to get her hopes up
either way.
"Well
then."
She leaned up and placed a small
kiss on
Draco's mouth,
which he eagerly reciprocated.
After a few
moments
Hermione pulled out
of
the kiss,
leaning her
forehead against
Draco's,
as they shared a quiet
moment
together.
"Come on, Granger, lets get you fed."
Together
the two of
them walked towards the Great
Hall
for
dinner,
running into Daphne and Blaise on the way.
The four
Slytherins chatted quietly amongst
themselves,
discussing the
upcoming summer.
When they entered the hall,
everyone was
eating quietly and there didn't
seem to be much conversation
going on. Viktor came over to Hermione and handed her a piece
of
parchment, asking her to write him over the summer. Smiling,
Hermione assured Viktor
she would be very happy to keep in
touch with him, ignoring Draco's scowl.
When the Slytherin's joined their table next
to Pansy and Theo,
no one spoke for a while as everyone was too busy eating and
when dinner
finally ended,
all
the houses seemed to gravitate
towards their common rooms,
readying to leave first thing in the
morning.
Hermione
was
relieved
when
no
one
engaged
her
in
conversation,
although she didn't
miss the questioning looks
thrown her way from Pansy and Theo, nor the petulant look from
Draco.
When she retired to the fourth year girls dorm, Hermione
closed the curtains and placed privacy wards and silencing
charms, wanting to be left alone.
Tomorrow couldn't
come fast
enough for
the young witch and
she was looking very much forward to leaving Hogwarts behind
for the summer.
Heading into the Unknown
Chapter 28: Heading into the Unknown
The train ride back to London had been a very strange
experience for Hermione, who'd become so used to being left
alone,
it
almost
didn't
sit
right
with her
having to share a
compartment with Draco, Daphne and Blaise.
Staring out
the window at
the scenery going by,
she mostly
ignored the conversations going on around her,
until
Blaise
decided to interrupt her self-imposed introspection.
"We must
really be boring you,
Granger.
You haven't
said two
words since we left Hogsmeade."
Hermione reluctantly glanced over at
the dark-skinned Slytherin
and shrugged. "I'm used to having the compartment to myself."
She immediately went
back to staring out
the window, missing
the frowns on Draco and Daphne's faces. A few more minutes
passed until
the trolley came,
causing Draco to ask her if
she
wanted anything.
It
was the closest
he'd gotten to actually
buying her
sweets,
since he'd had to spend the whole year
covertly watching her attend Hogsmeade with Krum.
Hermione looked up at him with her big amber eyes, biting her lip
and scrunching her
nose in contemplation,
causing Draco to
laugh at the adorable look.
"It's not
meant
to be a difficult
question,
Granger.
Chocolate or
sugar quills?"
Hermione's eyes widened a bit in surprise at Draco's knowledge
of her sweets preference.
"Ummm… sugar
quills
would be lovely.
Thank you,
Malfoy."
Draco
nodded
and
grabbed
some
licorice
wands for himself,
pumpkin pasties for Daphne and cauldron cakes for Blaise.
He
paid for the purchases and handed over the treats. Blaise dug in,
managing a quick 'thanks,
mate '
while Daphne just
politely
nodded her thanks.
When Draco handed Hermione her sugar quills, he made sure to
gently tease her by caressing her fingers.
She gazed up at
him
smirking at her, and rolled her eyes.
When the train finally docked at Kings Cross, Hermione grabbed
her beaded bag and walked off the train with Draco and Daphne
in tow.
Moving down the platform,
she immediately noticed Mrs.
White waving to her eagerly, causing her to smile in return.
As she made her way over, she noticed Draco saying 'hello '
to
both his parents.
She simply couldn't
remember
if
she'd ever
seen
Draco's
mother
before,
but
the
woman
was
astonishingly
beautiful. Elegant robes, hair done up fashionably, radiating class
and wealth,
and she wasn't
surprised in the least.
Lord Malfoy
was looking at
his wife with fondness,
while she fussed over
Draco, who just stood there allowing his mother to hover.
Mrs.
White in contrast,
was a handsome woman who didn't have
the wealth nor
prestige of
the Malfoy's,
but
she was kind and
Hermione liked her immensely.
She felt
like her first
real
magical
friend. The woman came over and enveloped her into a brief hug,
which was returned affectionately.
"Dear,
Hermione!
My how you've grown up this year.
You look
more lovely than ever. I do hope you're hungry? I made Shepard's
pie for dinner tonight."
"That sounds wonderful, Mrs. White."
The woman smiled at
the young witch.
"Oh pish,
my dear! You
know to call me Madeline."
"Of course, I'm sorry, Madeline."
The older
witch smiled down fondly at
Hermione,
but
then her
eyes widened in surprise for a moment before Hermione saw her
posture stiffening.
Turning around in confusion,
she saw Draco
approaching with his parents in tow.
"There
you
went,
Granger."
Draco
smirked.
"I
wanted
to
introduce you to my mother. Mother, this is Hermione Granger…
Hermione? This is my mother, Lady Narcissa Malfoy. I know you
remember my Father."
"Of
course.
I'm pleased to make your
acquaintance,
Lady
Malfoy. Lord Malfoy, it is good to see you again. If I may, I'd like
to introduce you to a very good friend of
mine,
Mrs.
Madeline
White.
She was kind enough to sponsor me in her home last
summer,
and I
will
be spending part
of
the summer again with
her at her home."
Lady Malfoy looked over at
the other woman with a calculating
gaze. "You're the Madeline White that wrote Principles of Human
Transfiguration?"
Mrs. White smiled genuinely, pleased that Lady Malfoy had heard
of her.
"Yes,
I'm one
and
the
same.
Hermione has
been an
excellent
student
and so eager to learn, it's truly been a joy
to impart my knowledge to her."
"I see," said the regal witch. "I'm pleased to finally meet you,
Miss Granger.
Draco has written to me often,
complaining
how you're always
exceeding his marks at
school.
I'm
impressed with your willingness to learn Magical
theory.
It
isn't for everyone."
Hermione
smiled
and
bowed
her
head
humbly
at
the
compliment. "No, I don't imagine many people have the patience
required for such Magic's, although I've always felt that the more
difficult
the magic,
the more satisfaction one derives from its
mastery. Madeline is an excellent mentor, and I'm most fortunate
that she has taken me under her wing."
Lady Malfoy smiled knowingly.
"Well,
it
was lovely to meet
you
both. We won't keep you. Enjoy your summer, Miss Granger."
"Thank you,
Lady Malfoy." Hermione responded with the upmost
politeness.
Draco's father smirked at
the little witch while Draco just
stood
there staring.
"Come along,
Draco.
We have things to attend to." His father
stated imperiously.
"Have a good summer,
Granger.
It
was nice to meet
you,
Mrs.
White." Draco bowed formally before turning around to follow his
parents. Madeline stood there for a moment and then took
Hermione's arm as the two made their way to the apparition point.
"I
wasn't
aware you'd made friends this year, my dear. After what
you told me last summer, I was beginning to worry that you would
never find acceptance within your house.
The Malfoy family are
the most influential family in the Wizarding World and you seem to
have won over the Malfoy heir."
Hermione side-eyed her friend, who winked, causing her to blush.
"He has become more tolerable this year, as have a few others in
my house. I haven't stayed in the dorms this year however, so that
might have something to do with it."
Madeline
appeared
scandalized.
"Where have you been
staying? Did your Head of
House or Dumbledore know that
you weren't staying in Slytherin all year?"
Hermione nodded. "It's complicated, so perhaps it would be better
discussing it when there aren't so many ears around."
"Oh, of course, dear. Let's get you settled and you can tell me all
about it."
The two witches had reached the apparition point, disapparating
quickly,
neither noticing the short, bald wizard staring covetously
at
the little witch,
nor
realizing that
he had overheard and
witnessed the entire exchange.
The Time has Come
Chapter 29: The Time has Come
Hermione had spent
the better part
of
the last
week perfecting
her
animagus transformation.
During her time at
Hogwarts she
could slip in and out
utilizing her
wand,
but
was pants at
performing it
wandlessly. Madeline had shown her some specific
mediation exercises that
allowed Hermione,
complete wandless
success within a week. During this time, Hermione had spent her
free time visiting with Bathilda Bagshot,
who was utterly starved
for companionship,
of
which Hermione was more than willing to
provide.
The woman was a font
of
useful
information on a wide
variety of
people,
and Hermione had managed to procure old
copies of Gellert's correspondence with Dumbledore.
Bathilda was more than eager to share any juicy bits of
gossip
she was privy to,
as she blamed Dumbledore for the loss of her
only family.
Hermione
had
noted
the
symbol
that
Dumbledore
and
Grindelwald had utilized frequently
in their
correspondence,
which Bathilda was also quite eager to share her knowledge of.
It
would seem that
Albus Dumbledore,
had a myriad of
secrets
buried here in Godric's Hollow and the biggest
of
which,
she'd
discovered quite by accident in an old photograph of Gellert and
Dumbledore.
She had missed the connection at
first
when she'd seen the
picture last summer, but once she'd realized the truth?
The pieces of the puzzle started falling into place rather quickly.
Today Hermione was on her own,
as Madeline was visiting her
sister in London for lunch.
She'd decided to take a walk around
Godric's Hollow,
and take in some of
the sites. After a while, she
came
to
a
home
that
looked
like
it'd
been
partially
burnt
down-which seemed rather odd in this idyllic community,
so she
decided to take a closer look. When she reached the front gate of
the house,
she saw a sign that
stated,
"The ground outside the
cottage has been preserved in its ruined state as a monument to
the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their
family."
The sign had some writing over
it,
names and messages of
support
for
Harry Potter-which made Hermione roll
her
eyes
and shake her head in disgust.
"I'm sure some people would be impressed with such a moving
tribute as this,
but
it
seems you don't
share that
sentiment?" A
deep voice stated from behind her.
So engrossed in her own thoughts,
Hermione hadn't
realized
someone had been watching her.
She went
to reach for
her
wand,
but
felt
familiar
magic whisper along her as she stood
there.
She then smiled softly,
as her back was still
facing the
stranger.
"I
just
find it
odd how people get
sentimental
over
the most
unusual
things.
People
cling
to
their
heroes,
I
suppose?
However, life is rarely black and white. 'I cannot help thinking that
the manage of
Hell
makes as many devils as the severe penal
codes of
inhuman humanity make villains'
.
I
however,
have
always felt that villains don't truly exist, it's just a moniker society
uses to say that
someone has an opposing conviction.
Stories
are written from the perspective of
the victorious,
never
the
defeated."
Slowly Hermione turned around to see a tall
man with black hair
and deep green eyes assessing her
with a smirk on his face.
"Don't you find that true?"
The man now smiled and walked over gracefully, standing next
to the little witch,
watching her closely.
"Interesting quote from
Lord Byron,
and I
suppose I've never
thought
of
it
quite so
eloquently as you have put it… Miss?"
"Granger." Hermione finished, and bowed her head respectfully.
"Hhmmm." The man replied noncommittally.
"So you aren't
impressed with the sacrifice the Potter family made?"
At
this Hermione genuinely giggled.
"I
suppose it's wouldn't
be
considered popular
opinion,
but
they weren't
very careful
in
whom they placed their trust. But people make irrational
choices
out
of
fear
and are easily manipulated as a consequence.
Perhaps they were easily led."
The man looked to be considering her words,
as he placed his
hands behind his back and walked over to the destroyed home,
considering at it with feigned interest.
"Loyalty is a difficult
concept,
to be certain.
Trust
is even more
rare, and valued. Tell me, Miss Granger: Do you trust easily?"
At this Hermione hummed thoughtfully, "I would say the opposite it
true.
Loyalty is hard to find and trust
is easy to lose.
I've always
believed that actions speak louder than words."
"I
have to say that
I
wholly agree with that sentiment." The man
turned
around
to
face
the
young
witch
and
gave
her
an
appraising look. "Do you live here in Godric's Hollow?"
Hermione shook her head in the negative. "No. I've been visiting
with another witch who is sponsoring me for part of the summer.
She is a scholar, and has been kind enough to teach me."
"I see. You're finding her tutelage helpful then?"
"Oh yes,
she's been most
kind.
She introduced me to a sweet
lady here in town,
who sadly,
lives alone as her only family was
taken away
from her
many years ago.
She is a renowned
historian and has told me some interesting facts about
former
tenants of
this small
village.
You'd be amazed at
the skeletons
one can find in such a small town as this. Truly shocking."
"Indeed." Replied the wizard with a smirk.
Hermione smiled briefly at
the wizard,
before she walked slowly
over
to a nearby bench and took a seat
under a shaded tree.
The wizard followed her
closely and politely asked if
he might
join her for a moment. Hermione gestured to the vacant spot and
he sat down.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself
this summer,
Hermione," the
wizard stated politely,
"I
must
say,
that
when Nagini
told me
about
you,
I
was surprised to say the least.
But
you are as
intelligent
and clever as she'd stated,
and I
find myself
greatly
pleased by this fact."
Hermione bowed her
head humbly.
"I'm flattered that
Nagini
speaks so highly of me. She's been a good confidant, and I wish
to thank you for allowing her to spend time with me."
The wizard chuckled,
"Nagini
does as she pleases,
but
she is
loyal
and trusted. You have impressed me, child, as I didn't think
such a thing would be possible. You've given me a gift and as I'm
sure you've guessed? I've given you a measure of
trust
in
return."
Hermione nodded.
"I
do appreciate that
more than you know.
I
understand that my approach might be different than what you're
used to."
"It
is,
as I'm sure you know." The wizard gazed out
over the
courtyard for
a moment,
his dark eyes narrowing.
"I
should
leave you,
but
I
will
return.
How much longer do you plan to
stay here in Godric's Hollow?"
"Just
another couple weeks,
after that
my plans are to return to
London."
"Ah yes, to your Muggle family?" The wizard sneered in revulsion,
but Hermione only nodded politely.
The wizard looked at
the little witch who was sitting next to him
unafraid.
She was demure,
polite and well-spoken.
Clearly the
Muggles who had raised her had done an adequate job, but no
heir of his would remain in such a situation long term.
"And if
you had another
option,
young Hermione? Would
you be open to that?"
Hermione glanced up curiously at
the wizard before her,
who
was watching her
with an impassive expression,
but
his eyes
blazed red with emotion.
"It's complicated.
Whilst
I
would be
more than open to exploring my magical
heritage,
it
might
not
be prudent to do so, yet . I believe it might be better to keep the
status quo until a certain Headmaster is no longer a problem?"
The wizard smirked knowingly.
"And I'm positive you have a
plan to take care of that little problem?"
Hermione grinned in reply. "I might have an idea or two?"
The wizard just
nodded,
standing to his full
height as he offered
his hand towards the little witch, who took it without hesitation. "I
will
be back soon,
my child.
It seems we have much to discuss.
I'm not
unaware of
the challenges you've faced these past
few
years in Slytherin House.
I
commend your discretion in the face
of
such overwhelming adversity.
That
you persevered and rose
to become the best
student
of
your
year
is no easy feat.
Slytherins are known to be excessively cruel
to those they view
as lesser.
You,
my dear,
are not.
You are Heir to Slytherin,
and
when the time is right? All will know it and face my wrath."
"Thank you,
Sir.
I'll
look forward to seeing you again,
soon.
Please be well."
The wizard nodded once before he turned and walked into the
shadows, disappearing without so much as a sound.
Hermione sat
back down in shock as she replayed the entire
conversation in her head.
Her Father had come for her, and he wanted her!
It was a relief for her to feel
that perhaps for the first time in her
life, she had finally found a place where she belonged.
Leaving the Past Behind
Chapter 30: Leaving the Past Behind
The remainder
of
Hermione's time at
Godric's Hollow went
by
fairly quickly. Madeline had made sure to send her off with some
extra reading material,
and told her to owl
should she have any
questions. Her Father had come to see her once briefly, to let her
know he would be retrieving her at
the end of
the week.
He'd
made no further inference as to what
that
entailed exactly,
and
where
they
would
be
going.
Hermione
had
written
to
her
adoptive parents,
and told them that
she'd been given another
opportunity
to study
with a different
magical
sponsor.
Their
response was expected, if slightly hurtful-in that they were happy
for
her
to have the opportunity,
but
didn't
ask when she'd be
returning home.
Their lack of interest bothered her, more than she let on.
When Madeline hugged her goodbye,
Hermione headed for the
cemetery,
where her Father had indicated he'd be waiting for her.
Walking though the gates,
she wandered around for a bit,
when
she noticed a grave marker
with the name of
Ignotus Peverell.
The name was somewhat
familiar,
but
it
was the marking on the
grave that caught her attention…
It
was
the same rune as the one used by Grindewald and
Dumbledore.
How was this linked to the Peverell family?
Hearing muffled steps behind her,
Hermione turned around to
face her Father, who was watching her with a ghost of a smile on
his face.
"Find something interesting, child?"
Hermione
shrugged,
feigning
nonchalance.
"Not
really,
just
intrigued with how old some of these markers are. I wasn't aware
Godric's Hollow had hosted so many distinguished Wizarding
families, many of whom are no longer."
Her Father gestured for her to follow him, which she eagerly did.
"From what
I
understand,
it's one of
the more noted Wizarding
villages
in Britain.
Have you made arrangements with your
parents?" He sneered disdainfully.
She nodded. "Yes. They actually seemed relieved that I wouldn't
be returning as promised."
"Hmmm.
And how do you feel
about that, young Hermione?" Her
Father watched her from the corner of his eye.
"I
suppose it's to be expected.
We've been growing apart
since
the truth of my adoption was revealed. They are good people who
have provided well
for me, but it's clear beyond that we have little
in common these days."
"And that concerns you?"
"Not
as
much as
it
used to."
Hermione shook her
head in
exasperation. "I'm sure they mean well, but when I told them I was
offered another sponsorship? They didn't even ask the particulars.
I
know they have no interest
in the magical
world, and they were
the ones who introduced me to Mrs.
White in the first place. But,
I'm finding the older I
get? The greater the distance between us
becomes.
It's inevitable,
I
suppose."
She looked at
her
Father,
who was listening with polite interest.
"If
I
may,
Sir? I have a few
questions before we leave, if that's alright?"
Her Father stopped,
turned to give her undivided attention. With
a short
nod,
Hermione took a bracing breath. "First, what would
you prefer I
call
you formally? I
don't
want
to assume anything,
and I
would like to call
you something more than 'Sir '
if
you're
agreeable? Second,
I was curious where we will
be headed and
how long I'll be staying with you?"
Her Father gazed down at
her with a small
smirk playing at the
corner
of
his mouth.
"What
would you feel
comfortable calling
me, daughter?"
Hermione grinned impishly.
"Well,
if
you aren't
comfortable
with 'Father, Dad, Daddy or Papa ' then perhaps some other
moniker might be more suitable."
Her Father chuckled darkly,
"You are a cheeky little thing, aren't
you? Most
people run in fear from me,
but
you have the gall
to
tease me.
I'm not sure if I approve, and I may punish you later." He finished
quite harshly,
watching the color drain from his daughter's rosy
cheeks.
He noticed her
entire demeanor
change in an instant.
Gone
was
the
playful
glint
in
her
eyes,
now appearing
expressionless and dead. Her face gave away no emotion at all,
it was as if she'd suddenly become a completely different person.
Even her
aura had become cold and forbidding,
and it
was a
stunning if
not
disconcerting transformation.
The Dark Lord took
his index finger,
placing it
under his daughter's chin (she didn't
flinch) and raised her eyes to meet his.
"You are truly an intriguing individual,
young Hermione.
You will
need to understand something about
me before you agree to
leave this place.
Once we leave,
there is no going back. You will
find that
I
can be cruel,
heartless,
vindictive and unforgiving to
those who deserve my wrath.
You,
my child,
need not
worry
yourself over such things.
You have proven your
worth,
but
be warned? I
will
not
tolerate
disrespect
from anyone,
including you.
In private I
expect
you to
be yourself, in public you will behave accordingly. You will defer to
me
as
your
Paterfamilias,
whether
your
identity
is
common
knowledge or not. Am I clear?"
Hermione nodded,
keeping eye contact.
"Yes,
Sir." The Dark Lord sighed.
He didn't
have a clue how to deal
with a child,
much less a
daughter of surpassing beauty and intellect.
"In private you may call
me Father
only.
None of
those other
ridiculous monikers."
Hermione smiled slightly and nodded.
"In
front of my followers you will
address me as 'My Lord' as all who
serve me do.
Or 'Father '
should the situation call
for it.
As to
where we are going? I'm taking you to the home of
a servant
who has assured me that you would be most welcome . It would
seem,
Daughter?
That
you
were
quite
busy
this
year
blackmailing a few of
my most
trusted followers.
I
should be
angry,
if
I
weren't
so impressed by your cunning and ingenuity.
As for how long you will be staying, that is as yet, undetermined."
Hermione shrugged in response.
"They deserved it.
Please tell
me you at least crucio'd them for their insolence, Father."
The Dark Lord laughed at his young daughter's lack of remorse
in manipulating and handing out
retribution to those who'd
wronged her.
She truly was a delight.
"I'm sure they did, and yes -I made my displeasure known most
viciously, my dear. Come now, we are expected and it is rude to
be late."
Extending his hand,
Hermione took it
with confidence smirking
up at her father in response.
The two vanished into thin air without a sound.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Chapter 31: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Hermione had done side-along apparition with Madeline several
times,
and it
always left her feeling nauseous and dizzy, but her
Father was a master at
apparition.
Not
only could he apparate
silently,
Hermione felt
none of
the discomfort she'd normally felt
after side-along. When they'd re-appeared, it was directly in front
of
a large majestic gate surrounded by gigantic hedges that
surrounded an imposing Manor.
Hermione needed only one guess to know where they were at…
Malfoy Manor, Draco's home.
He'd mentioned once that
his home was large,
but
that
was an
understatement…
… it was massive .
Her Father waved his wand,
and the gates opened immediately
allowing them both passage inside the wards. Hermione reached
out
her
magic
and could feel
the blood wards layered with
detection spells,
anti-apparition spells and something that
felt
far
more sinister.
Her
face must've given something away because her
Father
looked at her curiously. "Are you alright, Daughter?"
She nodded, "The wards are the most complex ones I've ever felt.
I
can sense the blood wards along with other spells.
But
there's
something else I
can't
quite put
my finger on-it
feels… different,
darker." She raised her eyebrow questioningly.
Her Father just stood there staring at her in shock. "You can feel
the wards?"
Hermione nodded.
"I
can feel
them at
school
too,
it's how I
learned to sense them.
I
started studying wards second year,
mostly
as
a preventative measure to protect
myself,
but
it's
become so second nature that I hardly notice it anymore."
"And can you dismantle the wards?"
Her
Father
seemed very
interested in the answer.
Hermione tilted her
head for
a moment
considering how to
answer
the
question.
"I've
read
the
theory
behind
ward
dismantling and it's a bit like being a curse-breaker? You need to
understand the layers of the spell
in order to break a curse, find
the linchpin holding it
together
to effectively make it
inert.
I
haven't been able to put my skills to practical
use. The wards at
Hogwarts
are
keyed
to
the
current
Headmaster,
and
unfortunately
cannot
be
completely
dismantled
without
him
becoming aware.
I've spent a great deal
of time researching for
a way around that."
The Dark Lord just stared at his daughter, truly understanding for
the first
time how brilliant
she was.
That
a fifteen year old could
detect
wards
and
understand
the
mechanisms
involved
in
curse-breaking astonished him.
He shook his head and grinned
at her. "You are a wonder, Daughter. Perhaps, it would be best to
keep that bit of information to yourself for the time being."
Hermione blushed at the compliment. "Of course, Father."
They
reached
the
steps
to
the
front
door
which
opened
immediately for them.
Lord and Lady Malfoy were there to greet
them, as was Draco, who looked pleased to see her.
"My Lord,
it
is good to see you again.
Welcome back to our
home." Lucius bowed formally in welcome.
"Ah,
Lucius.
It's good to see you as well.
Narcissa,
you look as
lovely as you always have." The Dark Lord spoke regally.
"Thank you,
My Lord,
we're honored by your presence.
Please
allow me to formally introduce you to our son, Draco."
The Dark Lord's eyes moved over to the young blonde, who also
bowed formally in welcome.
"Yes,
young Draco .
I
believe you were sorted into the same
house as my Daughter?" Voldemort
hissed,
causing Draco to
pale significantly,
even his mother flinched at
the tone of
their
Lord.
"Yes,
My Lord. I'm in the same year as Hermione." Draco stated
clearly with no hesitation.
He then glanced over
at
Hermione,
who was smirking at
him,
obviously enjoying the schadenfreude
of the moment.
"I'm so
looking
forward
to
hearing
all
about
Hermione's
experiences in Slytherin House."
Voldemort
spoke pointedly,
looking
through
Draco
as
if
he
knew exactly
what
those
experiences entailed.
Hermione figured she would let
Malfoy stew a while longer,
as
the git deserved a bit of payback for all
the torment he'd put her
through over the years.
Lucius,
sensing the change of
atmosphere,
cleared his throat
trying to dispel
the discomfort.
"Perhaps we should adjourn to
the dining parlor, as dinner will be served momentarily."
The Dark Lord dipped his head in acknowledgment, offering his
arm to Hermione and escorting her
through the Manor
to the
dining room. As they walked, she took in the general splendor of
the Malfoy home.
Rich tapestries adorned the walls,
the finest
oak paneling in dark rich colors and priceless artifacts adorned
the hallways as they walked along the corridors.
When they'd
reached a particular spot
Hermione gasped in appreciation.
Her father looked over at her
with a raised eyebrow,
which caused Hermione to blush in
embarrassment.
Noticing what
had caught
her
attention,
the
Dark Lord smiled knowingly.
"Ah,
I
see
you're
familiar
with
Ancient
Egyptian
artifacts,
Daughter."
Hermione nodded enthusiastically.
"This is the Golden Uraeus of
Senusret II, which traditionally would've been mounted on the
Pharaoh's Crown.
I've only ever
seen the one on the mask of
Tutankhamun,
when I
visited the British Museum some years
ago."
Lucius caught
the eye of his Lord and smirked. "Yes, you're quite
correct,
Miss Granger.
This piece was obtained by my great-
grandfather
many
years
ago.
I
have many
other
interesting
artifacts that I would be more than happy to show you."
Hermione beamed in excitement.
"Oh yes,
that
would be
lovely!
Ancient
languages
is a hobby of
mine.
Ancient
Greek,
Egyptian,
Hieratic,
Demotic… they're
all
so
fascinating."
Voldemort
smirked indulgently at
his daughter.
"Interesting,
as
they are mostly dead languages. Are you able to translate?"
She nodded.
"Ancient
Runes as a discipline was brought
to the
modern Wizarding world during the Germanic invasion of
the
continent during the sixteenth century and much of what we learn
in class as such comes from Germanic Iron Age some 1000
years before.
The Roman Iron Age came beforehand and it
is
thought
to be the basis of
the Latin verbiage in most
of
our
modern spell creation.
But
I've done some research into the possibility that all
magic is
interconnected.
Runes,
Arithmancy even Divination-which is a
faulty branch of
magic and should be disbanded-but
even so,
they're all
connected by higher
Magic's that
were known in
Ancient Times, just forgotten."
The Dark Lord looked thoughtful
for
a moment.
"And just
what
higher Magic's are you suggesting?"
"The power
of
actual
foresight,
elemental
Magic's,
life,
death…
even
creation
itself.
The
Egyptian
culture
has
long
been
speculated to contain actual
rituals to bring back the dead-the
Book of
the Dead was thought
to contain spells that
allowed a
High Priest
to invoke the spirit
world." She gazed at
her father,
who was watching her in fascination.
"But
it's really just a hobby,
Sir. I'm fascinated with all kinds of magic."
"So I
see, Daughter. I find myself amazed that you are able to be
the top of
your class and find free time for so many intellectual
pursuits. It's almost as if you have forgone a proper social life."
Voldemort
smirked at
his daughter knowingly and watched her
raise an eyebrow back in silent challenge.
"I've not
had much opportunity to pursue the social
niceties that
others
in my
House enjoy
on a regular
basis,
Father.
It's
probably just
as well,
as I'd imagine I
would find most
of
those
my age unable to maintain my interest
for
very long.
"
She
smirked, even as her father chuckled quietly.
"Perhaps that may change in the future, Daughter, but for now?
Let us enjoy our dinner."
Moving towards the dining room,
Hermione didn't miss the glare
that
Draco sent
her way.
She just
smirked wider and winked at
the blonde in return,
which caused his glower to deepen. Lucius
sat back and watched the exchange, silently applauding the little
witch on her handling of the situation. She truly was a force to be
reckoned with, and seemed to have his son wrapped around her
finger quite nicely.
Lucius had no doubt that the witch would make a formidable Lady
Malfoy, in the years to come.
The Brightest Witch of the Age
Chapter 32: The Brightest Witch of the Age
Dinner was a quiet affair, though not wholly unpleasant. The food
was
lovely,
and
like
everything
else
in
Malfoy
Manor,
the
presentation
was
flawless.
Lucius
was
an
engaging
conversationalist
and was knowledgeable on a wide array of
topics. Draco sat in his seat, ate quietly and tried to make himself
as inconspicuous as possible,
much to Hermione's amusement.
Narcissa was polite,
regal
and held herself
with such polished
refinement,
it
made Hermione wish for a moment
that
she had
known whom her biological mother was.
She had a sinking feeling that
particular
topic of
conversation
would not
be one her Father,
would be sharing with her anytime
soon.
Once dinner was over, Narcissa and Draco showed Hermione to
the Malfoy family library,
while Lucius and her Father had some
business to discuss in private.
Draco walked over and offered her his arm, guiding her out of the
dining area and towards the library.
He was unusually quiet and
seemed
rather
tense,
so
she
just
ignored
him.
If
he had
something to say to her,
she'd no doubt-she'd hear
about
it
eventually.
When they'd reached the far west end on the second
floor,
there stood two large double doors that
had the Malfoy
family crest imbedded within the rich oak.
Narcissa waved her
wand and the doors opened immediately,
sconces lit
up along the walls and the fireplace came to life
instantly.
Hermione gasped when she was completely inside the room.
It
was three stories tall
and books lined every inch of
available
space.
There was a glass-domed ceiling that
let
in natural
light
and
several
bay windows along the far wall
where one could spend a
quiet
afternoon reading for hours.
It
was idyllic and she couldn't
help the genuine smile that
broke free,
absently letting go of
Draco's arm as she wandered around the room, looking enviously
at all the magical tomes.
Turning around suddenly,
she beamed at
Narcissa and Draco.
"Oh my,
this is lovely .
I
don't
think I've ever
seen so many
books. This library is larger than the one at Hogwarts!"
Draco rolled his eyes,
but
felt
himself
smiling despite himself.
"Leave it
to you,
Granger-
to be excited about
books.
Most
women would be bored at
the prospect
of
spending their days
buried in a library, but not you. "
Narcissa smiled inwardly at her son, who had been out of sorts
the entire evening.
"Perhaps you might
show Miss Granger
around
the
library,
Draco?
I'm going
to
check
on
her
accommodations."
Draco nodded,
and Hermione smiled shyly at
the older witch.
"Thank you,
Lady Malfoy for having me here in your home.
It's
truly amazing, and I'm honored to be here. And please… call me
Hermione."
Narcissa
couldn't
help
but
he
impressed
by
the
refined
manners of the young witch, she truly was taken with her.
"Not
at
all,
Hermione.
Please call
me Narcissa,
or Cissy.
We are
very honored to have you here, and I'm sure Draco will
be on his
best behavior, keeping you company until I return."
Giving her son a pointed look, the beautiful witch flowed gracefully
from the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Once
Narcissa
was
gone,
Draco
came
over
and
grabbed
Hermione, kissing her soundly. "You vicious witch-you enjoyed my
discomfort didn't you?"
Hermione giggled, kissing Draco back gently before moving over
towards the far
end of
the library.
Glancing at
him over
her
shoulder,
she smirked,
"Turnabout
is fair play.
You deserved to
feel
uncomfortable after
what
you've put
me through.
Just
because I've decided to look past
it,
doesn't
mean my Father
will.
I
believe he's not
a man who would take kindly to his
daughter being mistreated."
Draco followed her over to a secluded corner, where he grabbed
her hand and sat
down on a plush chair with Hermione firmly in
his lap.
"You're right,
I
deserve to be punished for being a right
prat
for
all
those
years.
I'd
prefer
however,
if
you did the
punishing. I think we'd both enjoy it more."
Hermione
smacked
Draco's
chest,
"You're
simply
incorrigible, Malfoy."
She then sighed and pushed herself off Draco's lap, noticing his
look
of
confusion and hurt,
but
she just
shook
her
head.
Grabbing his hand she moved them over to a small
couch,
so
they could sit next to one another.
"Draco,
we need to discuss a few things." He nodded,
caressing
her hand gently.
"Whatever you need to tell me, I can handle it."
Sighing deeply,
"My Father and I,
had a discussion before he
brought
me here.
One of
the things he made clear to me was
that
I
am to defer
to him as my Paterfamilias." Draco's eyes
widened in understanding.
"I
know you're aware of
what
that
means.
Even if
he decides that
he can't
acknowledge me
openly at
this time,
he still
expects me to adhere to all
the
formal
Pureblood
traditions… which
means
that…"
she
shrugged her shoulders and sighed,
not
sure how to finish her
thought.
Draco stared at
her with such burning intensity that it made
her shiver.
"It
means,
that
I
need to formally make my intentions clear
where you're concerned. I have no problem doing that, the only
question I
have is-would you be open to accepting a formal
courtship from me?"
"Malfoy… Draco…" Hermione sighed shakily,
"I
don't
have an
answer for that. How am I supposed to know what to do? I have
a plan,
which I
need to discuss with my Father.
A plan that
would require for my true identity to remain hidden, at least for
a while longer."
At
this suggestion,
Draco literally growled out
in anger,
shaking
his head in disagreement-but
Hermione just
grabbed his hands
and squeezed tightly.
"You promised me that you would support whatever I needed to
do, or was that just a bunch of empty words?"
Draco's nostrils flared and he stared at Hermione mutinously, "No,
it
wasn't
just
empty words.
If
you're really adamant
in keeping
your
identity a secret,
tell
me why .
Help me understand what
you're planning, maybe I can help you."
Looking
uncertain,
Hermione
sighed
in
resignation.
"You're
certain about
this,
that
you want to help me?" Draco nodded his
head emphatically.
"You realize that
this is going to be difficult. I
may have to do things you don't
like,
and I
may not
be able to
give you a good reason why,
at
the time.
So if you can't handle
uncertainty,
you need to walk away.
I
know we've had this
conversation before,
but
if
you agree to do this,
and you walk
away later? I
swear to you,
Draco Lucius Malfoy that
when I'm
done with you, you'll beg for death."
Draco stared into the amber eyes of
his little witch and felt
the
magic swirl
around them from the vow she spoke.
He knew
beyond a shadow of
a doubt
that
if
he agreed to do this,
there
was
no walking away.
Watching Hermione's face and body
language,
it
was
as
if
she
was
bracing
for
another
disappointment. Draco smiled at her reassuringly, leaned forward
and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
"I am yours, Hermione. I've told you that before, and I will tell
you that everyday if you let me. You can trust me to help you
however you need me to."
Amber eyes stared into grey ones as they considered each other.
"Fine, Draco. I'll tell you what I have in mind. But you need to keep
it quiet until I have a chance to discuss it with my Father."
"I can do that."
The two of
them sat
in the back corner
of
the library while
Hermione shared with Draco her plan to bring down Dumbledore.
As he listened to her,
Draco was astonished at
how meticulous
and well-
thought
out
her plan was.
She had thought
of
every
possible contingency and was quite diabolically methodical in her
approach.
When
she
finished
and
gazed
at
him
questioningly-Draco dropped down on his knees in front
of
his
witch and shook his head with wonderment and awe.
Hermione was now looking at
him with confusion tinged with
amusement, as he kissed her knuckles on both hands.
"You,
my love,
are truly the Brightest
Witch of
the Age.
I
find
myself
in complete awe of
your
cunning and intellect.
If
your
Father doesn't
go agree to go along with this plan,
than he's a
fool."
Hermione giggled,
squeezing his hands in return when a deep
voice stated, "Whom may I ask, is a fool?"
Hermione's head whipped up in shock, while Draco turned around
so quickly he fell
on his arse,
which caused Hermione to giggle
louder and her Father to smirk in amusement.
"Perhaps you both would like to share with me why you're in a
dark corner of the library, alone and unchaperoned?"
Draco recovered quickly,
stood up and bowed formally to his
Lord.
"My Lord,
I
didn't
mean to offend you nor Hermione.
My
Mother
and I
thought
Hermione would appreciate our
family
library,
as she has an avid fondness for books.
My Mother just
recently left
to see to Hermione's accommodations,
and we
came back here to talk."
Voldemort
raised his eyebrow at the young wizard in something
akin to amused disbelief.
"Young,
Mr.
Malfoy? Let
me be clear that whilst I appreciate your
family's willingness to have my daughter
stay here? I
do not
appreciate having her
in any kind of
position that
would seem
compromising in any way."
Draco
bowed
his
head
down
shame-faced,
while
Hermione
watched him closely. When he glanced over to catch her eye, she
silently nodded at him which caused him to stand formally, hands
behind his back to face the Dark Lord.
"My Lord,
I
haven't
had the opportunity to discuss this with my
Father
as of
yet,
but
I
believe he knows my intentions are
honorable where Hermione is concerned. I understand you have
yet
to sit
down and discuss with her what
steps will
need to be
taken in acknowledging her
as your
Heir,
but
I
wish it
to be
known that
I
would be most
honored if
you would allow me to
formally
court
your
daughter.
I'm willing
to
abide
by
any
conditions that
you may set
forth,
but
I
cannot
stand by and not
voice my sentiments where she is concerned."
The Dark Lord raised his face to the ceiling and sighed.
He'd just
found his daughter,
his heir
-and already there were
wizards lining up trying to take her away from him. While he knew
that
the Malfoy heir was of good breeding and sufficient wealth, it
did little to placate him from wanting to Crucio the boy where he
stood.
He looked over
at
his daughter,
who was watching the young
wizard with amusement,
disbelief
and something he'd rather not
define.
When he shifted his gaze over
and locked it
onto the young
wizard? He was surprised and slightly impressed that
the boy
didn't flinch away nor give any outward sign he was terrified.
"So,
I'm to understand that
your Paterfamilias has no idea you
wish to formally court my Daughter? Do you seek to offend me,
young Draco? Do you have no sense of
self-preservation at
all?"
Draco smirked, which caused the Dark Lord to raise an eyebrow
in response.
"I
don't
seem to have any where your daughter is
concerned," at
this confession Draco's face became completely
serious,
"I
do believe however,
that
you should know the truth
before you decide,
my Lord.
I
admit
fully and take complete
responsibility for
causing Hermione's pain,
by being the main
proponent of her ostracization in Slytherin House. I have nothing
to defend myself with, other than I didn't know she was your heir
and believed her
to be a Muggle-born witch.
I
realized over
Easter our third year,
that
I
had done her a great
injustice, and
immediately made to rectify it.
This was well
before I
suspected she was your heir. If you wish
to punish me on her behalf,
I
will
accept
any punishment
you
see fit,
but
I
only humbly ask that
it
doesn't
exclude me from
being in her life."
The Dark Lord watched the young wizard give his impassioned
speech where his daughter was concerned.
He had to admit he
felt
a bit
of
admiration for the young man prostrating himself
at
his feet
and accepting his responsibility in hurting his daughter,
who oddly seemed to be staring at
the Malfoy heir
in a most
pleased way.
"I'm aware of
what
has transpired over the course of these past
few years, young Malfoy. I was most displeased when I found out
that
my daughter,
rightful
heir
to Slytherin House was treated
thusly.
I
commend you for
your
courage in coming to me and
asking for permission to court my daughter. I'm afraid I'm unable
to grant
your
request
at
this time,
however."
Smirking at
the
crestfallen look
on the young wizard's face,
Voldemort
was
surprised to see disappointment
in his own daughter's face,
although she was quick to mask it.
"I
will
speak with your father about this, Draco. You both are too
young to court formally, and you will still need to prove your worth
to me.
But
I
assure you both,
that
my daughter
will
not
be
entering into any formal
arrangement until
she becomes of age. I
suggest
you use this time to get
to know each other
more
informally.
If
I
find
out
that
Hermione's
virtue
has
been
compromised in any way, there will be no place that can hide you
from me. Are we clear?"
Considering both of
them,
but
concentrating his gaze on his
daughter,
he knew she understood what
was being required of
her. "I understand, Father, and I will abide by your wishes."
Draco bowed his head formally,
not
liking the situation but
knowing he had no other options at this point, nodded "Yes, my
Lord."
"Very well.
Then perhaps you might
go and find your
mother,
Draco,
as I
need to speak with my Daughter
alone for
a few
moments."
Draco bowed his head again,
and giving one last
look of longing
in Hermione's direction,
before he walked out
of
the library in
search of
his mother.
Voldemort
smirked at
his daughter,
who
seemed to be a bit
put
out.
"You don't
agree with my decision,
Daughter?"
"No,
it's not
that,
Father.
I
tried to tell
Draco that
we're just
too
young to court
formally.
But
I
believe he is afraid of
another
wizard coming in and usurping what he sees as his."
"And are you his, Hermione?" The Dark Lord inquired, with a bit
of menace in his deep voice.
"That
is
a difficult
question to answer,
Father.
I'm certainly
attracted to Draco,
and I
believe he does care for me.
He's told
me he's in love with me. I have no basis to know whether or not
what I feel
is what some would call
'love .'
I've come to see such
things as weakness,
but
I
logically understand that
it's probably
due to what
I've suffered in regards to my own experiences.
I
don't
consider myself
weak… but
I
suppose,
it
would be nice to
have companionship of
some kind?" Hermione shook her head
and laughed, "Perhaps I'm not the best person to ask about such
things."
The Dark Lord shook his at his daughter, who had a firm grasp
on her
emotions
and seemed to be far
more logical
that
emotional.
"Then perhaps we should focus on more important
matters.
Tell
me,
Hermione? How did you come to discover that
Harry Potter
was a Horcrux? And what else have you sussed out in that sharp
mind of yours?"
Mind Games
Chapter 33: Mind Games
Hermione faced her
Father,
who was now watching her
very
closely. "Father, perhaps it might be easier if I might be able to ask
a few questions?"
Voldemort chuckled, "It would seem that your thirst for knowledge
is quite voracious, child. Very well, ask away."
Nodding,
Hermione sat
up a bit
straighter.
"Did you truly modify
Potter's memories the night
you'd returned?" Voldemort
nodded
once.
"And he did have a piece of
your soul,
like I'd thought he
did?"
Again Voldemort
nodded.
"I've been thinking about
this
quite a bit
over the last
couple years,
about
why you went after
the boy in the first
place.
There was some kind of
prophecy
wasn't there?
Something that
was overheard,
but
perhaps not
in its entirety?"
Lord Voldemort stared at his daughter in complete shock!
How had she deduced that?
As he continued to stare at her, to her credit, she didn't flinch at all
under his scrutiny.
"How did you come to that conclusion, Daughter?"
"Well,
a
few things
really.
First,
Professor
Trelawny
is
an
absolutely rubbish Divination Professor,
but
she was hired by
Dumbledore a little over a year before the attack on the Potters.
Why would Dumbledore hire the woman? Unless,
she actually
gave
a
prophecy,
and
it
would've
had
to
been
a
doozy,
otherwise
why
offer
the
bint
his
protection?
Secondly,
I'd
imagine the person who overheard the prophecy would've been
someone on Dumbledore's staff,
but
loyal
to you? Professor
Snape perhaps?" At
this Voldemort
nodded again,
considering
his daughter with quiet
astonishment. "And finally, after thinking
about it, I'd realized that there might be additional horcruxes out
there, other than the ones I have, Nagini and Potter?"
The Dark Lord had always thought
of
himself
as the smartest,
most cunning wizard in the world!! But sitting here and listening to
his only daughter voicing her theories, which were based on fact,
left
him completely
flummoxed,
a
bit
wary
but
otherwise
immensely proud at how brilliant his child was.
"I'd imagined you've already figured out
what
they might
be,
Daughter?"
"Well,
it
was conjecture for the most
part,
until
I
found the one
you placed in the Room of Hidden things. So I took it and placed
it
in my beaded bag,
which is heavily warded."
Her
father's
expression darkened,
but
she quickly reassured him. "There are
multiple enchantments on the bag, but I felt it prudent to remove
it
from anywhere Dumbledore or
Potter
have access.
I
did
recognize it
as the Lost
Diadem of
Rowena Ravenclaw,
so I'd
surmised that
you probably were able to get
access to other
Founders artifacts, Helga Hufflepuff's cup?"
At
this
the Dark Lord stood,
his aura growing darker,
swirling in agitation,
but
Hermione just sat there remaining
unfazed by her Father's show of power.
"What
else have you discovered,
Daughter?"
Voldemort
snarled menacingly.
"Father,
please don't
be angry with me.
I'm telling you this for
your own well-being.
If
I
could figure such a thing out, don't you
think Dumbledore might? Or perhaps someone loyal to the man?
I
may detest
the Headmaster,
but
he's not
a complete imbecile,
despite evidence to the contrary."
"You are correct in that the man isn't as daft as he appears.
He knows Legilimency.
How are you sure you haven't
betrayed my secret unknowingly?"
"Professor Snape gave me a text on Occlumency at the end of my
second year.
He can probably explain his reasons better than I
can,
but
I've been practicing since then.
It's difficult,
as I
haven't
had an experienced Legilimens to properly guide me,
but
I'd like
to think my shields are adequate."
Without
giving Hermione any warning,
her
Father
made eye
contact,
silently casting the spell.
Hermione felt
the instant push
into her mind and she brought down her shields quickly, bringing
up
random facts
from Muggle texts,
novels
and any
other
information she could shove forward.
Not
one to be easily
dissuaded,
the Dark Lord pushed harder
at
her
mental
walls,
causing Hermione to shift focus again to strains of music, singing
lyrics and musical
theory.
The next
push went
even deeper and
Hermione could feel
her
mental
walls being assaulted from all
sides as her father tried to find a way in-when she felt
like she
couldn't
take the strain any longer she silently thought 'expulso '
and her father was thrown from her mind in a rush.
Voldemort stared aghast at his only child, who was sitting there
visibly shaking in near
exhaustion.
Never
had anyone been
able to throw him out of their mind. He realized he'd must have
been in her
mind for
at
least
10 minutes,
and she hadn't
cracked,
no matter how hard he'd pushed.
Her eyes were wet
from tears leaking down her cheeks in silent admonishment of
the torture he'd put her through.
But
her countenance was one of controlled anger as she lifted
her
chin mockingly.
Without
missing a beat
she stated in
righteous
indignation,
"I
trust
you're
satisfied,
Father?"
Voldemort
smiled genuinely for
the first
time since he could
remember.
"You continue to impress me, Daughter. I will
not apologize for
what just happened. I warned you of what kind of person I am."
"I
wouldn't
have expected an apology,
Sir.
I
am,
however,
understandably tired and would like to be taken to my room to
freshen
up.
Perhaps
we
could
continue
this
discussion
at
another time?"
Just
then Lucius came into the library to see to his guests and
found Hermione and the Dark Lord sitting in a secluded part of
the library.
"My Lord,
forgive me for interrupting," Lucius noticed the young
witch appeared to be unwell,
"Yaxley is in my study,
and he
wishes to discuss something privately with you."
Voldemort
stood quickly and gestured to his follower, "Lucius if
you wouldn't mind escorting my daughter to her rooms and see
that she is given a 'calming draught.'
"Of
course,
my Lord." Lucius bowed watching as his Lord stalked
out
of
the room.
When he had left,
he turned to the young witch
and offered her his hand, which she took a bit hesitantly. Together,
they strolled down the hall
and up another set of stairs to the third
floor.
When they reached Hermione's room, the young witch halted Lord
Malfoy before he could leave.
"I have something to return to you, Lord Malfoy."
Hermione opened her bag and pulled out the diary that she
had taken that
day in Diagon Alley from Ginny Weasley.
When she handed it
to Lucius,
he just
looked at
her
in
shock.
"Why are you returning this to me, Miss Granger?"
"I
would imagine,
Sir,
should my Father request
whether or not
the book is in your possession? It might not look favorably upon
you if it is not."
Lucius
nodded
warily,
"But
that
still
does
not
answer
my
question."
Instead of answering the question directly, Hermione decided on
a different
tactic.
"What
is most
valued in Slytherin House, Lord
Malfoy?"
Lucius thought
for a moment at the question Hermione posed to
him.
Slytherins
admired
power
and
wealth,
ambition
and
cunning-but
most
within
the
house
were
Purebloods
of
substantial
wealth.
No… it
wouldn't
be any of
those things.
Lucius looked down at
the young witch,
who seemed to be
barely
holding
herself
together,
but
still
had
that
fire
and
determination burning from her eyes.
"Loyalty, Miss Granger. Slytherins are loyal to each other."
"Usually that
is true,
but
I
was the exception to that
rule.
I've
received no loyalty from within my own house.
So I
ask you
again, Lord Malfoy. What or whom are you loyal to? If you had to
make a choice,
which would you choose?" Hermione didn't wait
for
a response as she handed the diary over
and bowed her
head in thanks.
"Thank you for sponsoring me here, Lord Malfoy. I do appreciate
it,
and please trust
that
my reasoning will
become apparent
in
time."
"I
will
leave you,
Miss Granger.
Please don't
hesitate to come to
me directly, should you be in need of anything."
"I will. Thank you."
With that Hermione stepped into her room and silently closed the
door,
allowing the tears to fall
unchecked from her cheeks.
Her
own Father had invaded her mind callously and without warning.
It would seem that he was indeed as heartless as he had warned
her.
She could well
imagine if
she were anyone else,
they'd be dead
right about now.
Moving towards the ensuite,
she took her trunk out
her bag and
enlarged it-placing at the end of her bed. She grabbed some fresh
pajamas and underthings and went
to take a hot
shower.
Once
the water
was running,
she walked inside the shower
placing
silencing and protective wards
and immersing herself
in the
scalding water, crying empty tears. She had known deep down on
some level
that
this would be difficult,
and she'd tried to prepare
herself accordingly.
Perhaps she was overly optimistic and needed to develop a
contingency plan after all.
When her shower was finished, she wandlessly dried herself and
dressed in a set
of
navy blue pajamas.
Trying to tame her hair
was another
issue altogether,
so she just
settled for
a simple
french twist. She cast a refreshing charm on her face.
Walking out
into her room,
she first
noticed the calming draught
sitting on the nightstand, obviously left there by a house elf. The
next
thing she noticed was her Father sitting in an arm chair by
the fireplace watching her closely.
"Daughter, I've come to finish our discussion."
"Of
course,
Father."
Hermione sat
down demurely,
placing her
hands in her lap and crossing her legs at the ankles.
"I don't offer praise easily, and I'm sure you will come to find that
I expect far more than I'm willing to give in return. Nagini has told
me that
she shared some of
my history with you.
Affection is a
concept
I'm unfamiliar
with,
but
I
can appreciate intelligence,
ambition,
cunning
and
resourcefulness.
As
such,
you have
exceeded my expectations,
Hermione-and I
hope you continue
to do so."
Hermione wasn't
sure what
to think of
her father's confession.
"I'm sure it will
take us both time to become used to each other.
As for our previous conversation, I'd only wanted to suggest that
you might
wish to check to make sure the other horcruxes are
secure. I'd imagine you might have left one or more with trusted
followers, and it would seem prudent to verify they're still intact."
Voldemort tilted his head in consideration. "Perhaps that might be
a wise idea.
Please humor
me and share with me whom you
suspect I might've entrusted them to?"
Hermione smirked inwardly.
"From my research you had
several
loyal
followers,
some of whom were incarcerated. I'd
imagine the Lestrange's were favored, as well as the Malfoy's
and the Black family?"
"I
see,"
said Voldemort
silkily,
"perhaps it
would be best
if
we
table this discussion until
I've had a chance to verify that
my
property is where I
left
it.
I
will
be leaving for
a few days on
business, but Nagini will be here to act as a chaperone."
"It will
be nice to see her again, I've missed talking with her."
Hermione smiled genuinely.
She watched as her
Father
stood and left
the room without
another word.
Hermione could now see why her
Father
was so feared.
He
radiated a power unlike anything she'd ever felt before. She truly
hoped that she hadn't made a gross miscalculation where Lucius
Malfoy was concerned.
Only time would tell.
R.A.B.
Chapter 34: R.A.B.
The
last
several
days
had
gone
by
quite
peacefully
for
Hermione. She'd spent much of her free time in the main Malfoy
library,
reading up on all
kinds of magic. She was quite envious
that
Draco had all
of
this knowledge at his disposal, and the git
didn't
even appreciate it.
He did however,
spend a few hours
each day with her
in the library,
or
coaxing her
out
into the
gardens for
a leisurely stroll.
He'd even planned a picnic one
warm afternoon in the gazebo down by the lake.
The sun
glistened off the water, and after eating, the two had spent some
time sitting on the end of
the dock with their feet
in the water,
just talking.
Draco was good to his word and listened,
as she shared with
him about
how she was feeling,
having her father back in her
life.
He offered insight,
based on things he'd overheard his
parents discussing over
the years.
It
was interesting to get
another
perspective,
and Draco was thoughtful,
intelligent
and
cunning in his own right.
She had to admit, it was never boring conversing with the blonde.
He challenged her in ways, she was just starting to appreciate.
On the fourth day after her father had left, Hermione was sitting
with Nagini
in her room,
reading a book on blood magic when
there was a knock on her door. When she went to answer it, she
was somewhat
surprised to see her
father
standing there.
He
seemed irritated and anxious,
if
such a thing were possible.
Inviting him in, she asked him if he would like her to call a house
elf for some tea.
"Tea would be welcome,
I
suppose." He replied shortly,
so she
called for Trixie, whom had taken on the responsibility of serving
her while she was staying at
the Manor,
and the elf
brought tea
and biscuits before she popped out, leaving father and daughter
alone.
"How do you take your
tea?"
Hermione gestured to the
setting. "Just a dollop of cream." Replied her Father.
Once his tea was prepared,
she handed it
to him,
and went
about pouring her own. Her Father smirked, as he watched his
daughter
prepare and serve tea as well
as any Pureblood,
despite not being raised as such.
"You have impeccable manners,
Hermione.
Where did you
learn to serve tea so properly?"
Hermione shyly bowed her head at the compliment. "My adoptive
maternal
grandmother
was
a
stickler
for
social
etiquette,
although Mrs.
White was very helpful
in refining my technique
and presentation."
"It sounds as if she was an adequate tutor."
"Yes,
she's been very kind in tutoring me and filling in the
gaps of
knowledge where certain Pureblood customs are
concerned. I'm ever so grateful for her kindness."
"Hmmm."
Was the only response she got
to that
before he
ventured forward.
"I
suppose we should get down as to why I'm
here at this time of evening. I did as you suggested, and checked
to see if
my horcruxes were still
intact and accounted for. It was
fortunate that I did."
"And were they exactly where you left
them,
Father?" Hermione
inquired curiously.
Voldemort
gave his daughter a long look of
consideration before
he answered.
"No, it would seem as if one of my horcruxes was taken."
He then reached into his robes and pulled out a locket, handing it
to his daughter
for
inspection.
The front
of
the locket
had a
serpentine S that
was inlaid with green stones in the form of
a
snake. The locket itself was made of heavy goblin gold, and had
a long chain attached to it.
She looked over at
her father,
who
then motioned for her to open it.
Inside the locket was a small
piece of parchment with writing on
it.
Glancing up now in confusion,
Voldemort
waved his hand
dismissively, "Read it out loud, Daughter."
To the Dark Lord
I
know I
will
be dead long before you read this but I want you to
know that
it
was I
who discovered your secret. I have stolen the
real
Horcrux and intend to destroy it
as soon as I
can.
I
face
death in the hope that
when you meet
your match you will
be
mortal once more.
R.A.B.
Staring at
the parchment
and re-reading it
silently to herself,
Hermione was impressed that
someone had figured out
her
father's secret. That they'd managed to find one of his horcruxes
and steal
it was concerning, but the larger questions was 'Where
was it? ' Looking at the signature, the last letter stood out… B.
B for Black?
So had he given the locket to another follower?
Gesturing to the locket,
Hermione asked,
"Did you give this
locket to a member of the Black family to keep for you?"
Voldemort smirked at his daughter's deductive skills, "Not quite. I
placed the locket
in a heavily warded cave.
I
requested an elf
from one of my most trusted followers to come with me to set the
wards." Frowning he continued,
"I'm unsure how the locket was
taken."
"If the elf was bound to the House of Black, and his master bade
him to return? The elf would've been able to do so. Obeying their
master, is the highest law to an elf. It bypasses any charm, ward
or other magic designed to keep a place safe.
Elves can even
bypass
the Fidelius
charm to protect
his or
her
family.
It's
possible that
once the elf
returned,
he told his master what had
happened. The elf could've taken his master back to the cave to
obtain the locket."
Voldemort
steepled
his
fingers
together,
considering
the
information his daughter had shared.
"I
see? So if
the elf
was
ordered to return to his master,
he would've had no choice but
to comply?"
"Yes. Do you remember the name of the elf you utilized from the
Black family?"
Her
father
shook his head in reply.
Hermione
thought
about
it
for a moment. "Do you think Lady Malfoy would
know?
She
was
bound to the House of
Black
before her
marriage,
so I'm certain she would know which elf was bound to
which family member."
Voldemort
stood and gestured for Hermione to follow him.
The
two went
down through the Manor until
they'd reached another
set
of
large oak doors,
which were open.
Placing his hand up,
gesturing for
her
to remain outside,
her
Father
strode in and
Hermione could hear him talking in low tones with Lord Malfoy.
Soon Lady Malfoy appeared at the end of the hall, walking in her
direction.
"Good afternoon, Hermione." Smiled Narcissa.
"Hello, Narcissa." Replied Hermione. "I was told by Father to wait
here for him. He's inside, talking with Lord Malfoy."
Narcissa nodded,
and gestured for Hermione to follow her into
the room.
When Hermione entered the large room,
she could
instantly tell
that
this was Lord Malfoy's personal
study.
There
was a portrait
of
a woman in one corner,
and another of
a man
who looked remarkably similar to Lucius, same grey eyes, same
long blonde hair.
There were dark leather
couches,
rich dark
green tapestries and a beautiful
hearth which faced a large
picture window that overlooked spacious gardens.
Lucius stood when his wife and Hermione entered the room, and
immediately
came
over
to
greet
them both.
When
the
introductions were made and the banal pleasantries disposed of,
the Dark Lord took the opportunity to address Narcissa directly.
"Narcissa? It
has come to my attention that
something of
mine,
that
was entrusted to a member of your family has gone missing.
It
was Hermione's suggestion to ask for
your
help as she has
educated me on the bond between a House Elf and it's Master."
"Of
course,
My Lord.
I
would be honored to help you,
if
I
can."
Narcissa
stated
plainly,
while
Lucius
was
looking
over
at
Hermione intently.
She just gave him a small, imperceptible nod.
The
Dark
Lord
gestured
towards
his
daughter,
"Perhaps,
Daughter,
you might
explain to Narcissa what
we've discussed."
Hermione bowed her
head and gave her
attention to the regal
blonde woman.
"Narcissa,
are there any members of
the Black family with
the initials, R.A.B?"
Thinking for a moment, the older witch nodded slowly, "Yes,
my cousin Regulus Black.
His middle name was Arcturus,
after our grandfather."
"Did he have an elf
that was bound to him, or to the House
of Black?"
Making a moue of
distaste,
the Lady of
the Manor sighed.
"Yes,
his name was Kreacher.
He was bound to serve the
Black family,
and was particularly close with Regulus.
He
hated Sirius,
and I
suspect
that
the feeling was
quite
mutual."
Gazing over at
Hermione,
who was now looking at the Dark
Lord with a pleased expression, Narcissa was confused as to
why this was so important.
The Dark
Lord sighed,
"If
you were to call
for
the elf,
Narcissa, do you think he'd come?"
"I
don't
know,
My Lord,
I'm a member of
the Black family,
and
although Sirius is out there alive somewhere, he was blasted off
the family tree."
Hermione's head whipped back in surprise,
"I'm sorry to
interrupt, but Sirius was blasted off the Black family tree?"
Narcissa nodded,
"Yes,
it
was during his time in school,
sixth
year I believe? His parents wanted him to join the Dark Lord and
he refused, so he was banished from the family."
Hermione straightened up in excitement.
"Father,
I've read about
Pureblood lineages and if I remember? Arcturus was the Head of
House Black,
correct?"
Her
Father
nodded,
not
sure where his
daughter
was going with this.
"Narcissa,
do you know whom
blasted Sirius off the family tree?"
Narcissa side-eyed her
husband in confusion and Lucius,
not
sure what the witch was asking, queried imperiously, "Hermione,
why would that detail be important?"
Hermione smiled and shook her head. "Honestly, doesn't anyone
read anymore?"
She smirked at
her
Father,
who was now
watching her
with amusement.
"It
matters because,
only the
Head of
House can disinherit
a rightful
heir.
If
Orion was the
official
head of
your
house,
Narcissa,
only he would have the
power to disinherit his son.
If
your
grandfather
were still
alive,
he would've had to do it.
There is also a specific spell
that severs the rightful heir from the
family line,
which banishes them not
only from the tree,
but
all
family properties where blood wards are erected. If Sirius wasn't
banished properly,
he would still
have all
the rights allocated to
the heir
of
a noble bloodline,
and access to all
vaults and
properties."
Lucius
stared
at
Hermione
with
something
akin
to
stunned
disbelief.
But
before he could speak,
the portrait
behind him
spoke.
"The young witch is correct, my Son, in what she is saying."
Lucius turned around in shock. "Father, are you certain?"
The portrait
nodded severely.
"Please forgive my son and heir,
young Miss.
I'm Abraxas Malfoy.
My Lord,
it
is good to see you
again. I was not aware you had sired an heir."
Voldemort bowed his head in greeting. "Nor was I, until she was
already at
Hogwarts.
Nagini
found her,
recognized her magical
signature and told me of
her existence.
Abraxas Malfoy,
this is
my daughter, Hermione."
Abraxas smiled at
the young girl.
"She is quite pretty,
and very
intelligent
it
would seem.
Tell
me, young Hermione? How did you
come across this knowledge.
It
is only known to male heirs of
one's house."
Hermione smiled at
the portrait.
"I'm most
honored to make
your
acquaintance,
Lord Malfoy.
During my time at
school,
I
was able to come across some old diaries belonging to Salazar
Slytherin.
Most
of
his
personal
journals
were
written
in
Parselmouth,
and as his direct
descendent
and my father's
daughter,
I
was able to access them.
There was quite a bit
of
information on old blood magic as it
relates to Pureblood
traditions."
"I
see." Gazing to his son,
who now looked irritated at having
such knowledge kept
from him,
Abraxas sighed.
"Lucius,
I'd
thought
you would've found my personal
journals by now.
I
had no idea that the information contained within them had not
been passed down.
If
you go to my old set
of
rooms,
behind
the portrait
of
your mother? You will
find a magical
safe. Your
blood will open it."
Lucius nodded,
appearing relieved,
"I
had the rooms sealed off
right after your death last year, Father."
"I
understand,
my Son.
But back to Hermione's assertions. She
is correct
in her
speculation that
Sirius was never
properly
banned from his own house. Orion told me that Walburga, in a fit
of
rage blasted Sirius from the family tree at
Grimmauld Place,
which is unplottable. Arcturus was extremely vexed with her, as
there was no way to undo what she had done. It wasn't common
knowledge that Sirius had never been properly disinherited, as it
was assumed since the Black Family was involved heavily in
blood magic,
that
all
the proper
spells and rituals had been
adhered to.
However,
the house elf
Kreacher
is bound to the
entire House of
Black,
and as such? Narcissa would be able to
call him, and he would be bound to answer her summons."
"That
is good news,
Father,"
Lucius stated,
looking over
at
his
Lord, "Do you wish Cissy to call for the elf, my Lord?"
Hermione cleared her throat
delicately,
which caused all
in the
room to turn at
her inquisitively.
"Yes,
Daughter? Do you have
something more you wish to add?" The Dark Lord's voice was
indulgent
and Lucius raised his eyebrows in amusement,
as
he'd never
heard his Lord use that
tone of
voice with anyone
before.
Yes,
Sir," she blushed prettily, "If Kreacher was loyal
to Regulus
above all
else,
then he'd most
likely been despondent
over his
death. It also stands to reason that Kreacher still
may have your
property in his possession if
he's still
tied to the House of
Black-even if
there hasn't
been anyone living at
Grimmauld
Place. Perhaps we might use this to our advantage?"
Voldemort
thought
for
a moment
about
what
his daughter
was saying. "A trade, if you will?"
Smiling brightly that
her Father was catching on to her line
of
thinking,
Hermione nodded.
"I
think so.
If
he still
has the
item, and it's still
intact? He might be willing to part with it. If
Kreacher
were told by his master to get
rid of
it,
or try to
destroy it? He might
be reluctant
to part
with it
unless
Narcissa were to assure him that she would."
"You think Regulus gave him the item with instructions to destroy
it?" "I do."
Voldemort
thought
on this for a few moments and stared at
his
daughter,
who had her
brow furrowed in a way that
he was
beginning
to
realize
meant
she
was
considering
something
important.
"What is on your mind, child?"
Sighing, Hermione bit her lip in consternation. She wasn't sure
she should voice exactly what she was thinking, but given the
situation the opportunity was too good to let bypass.
"Well,
if
the elf
was bade to destroy it,
and if it would gain us his
loyalty? Perhaps it
might
be to our benefit to allow him to do so."
At
her father's dark expression,
she was quick to reassure him.
"You have others,
Father.
We could utilize the same spell
from
before and return the missing piece back to you. I think that might
be a better
option.
The Black property is most
likely heavily
warded,
then Kreacher is our way in.
Sirius Black is still
on the
run,
he still
has access to it, he's Harry Potter's godfather, he's a
former member of the Order of the Phoenix…"
Hermione let
her
thoughts trail
off,
knowing her
father
would
understand the point she was trying to make.
"And no one would think to suspect an elf of being a loyal spy to
the Dark Lord?"
"Or
one of
his loyal
followers."
Hermione smiled.
"Besides I
don't
believe Dumbledore is that
forward thinking when it
comes to most magical creatures. He has possible access to a
heavily warded place,
and I
think he'd use it
to hold Order
meetings,
especially if
he suspects you have returned.
The
man is pathetically predictable."
Once
it
was
decided
that
Narcissa
would
call
Kreacher,
arrangements were made to ensure that the ritual
was prepared
for
Voldemort
to
have
another
piece
of
his
soul
returned.
Interestingly,
he required assurances from Lucius in private that
the man still had possession of the Horcrux he'd entrusted to him
years ago.
Lucius smiled inwardly at Hermione's absolute brilliance and
cunning.
It was almost as they were all pieces on a large chessboard, and
the little witch was moving them about
to her liking,
sacrificing
pieces along the way as she saw fit.
A Dark Queen plotting and positioning until… what?
Lucius for the life of him couldn't fathom what her endgame was,
but
he was positive she had one.
All
he knew was she had
saved him from an unpleasant and possibly fatal
fate where his
Lord was concerned. That alone gave him a great deal of pause.
She
obviously
needed
him for
some
reason
as
yet,
undetermined.
Slytherin's Locket
Chapter 35: Slytherin's Locket
Once the necessary arrangements had been made, Lucius and
Narcissa went
to the main sitting room and called for Kreacher.
The elf
'popped '
into the room immediately at
Narcissa's
summons, and was overjoyed to see a 'Mistress of the House of
Black.'
Narcissa eyed at
the pathetic little creature,
who had a
bulbous snout-like nose,
bloodshot
eyes and many hanging
folds of
loose skin.
His bat- like ears had copious amounts of
long white hair growing out of them.
All
told,
he was the most
derelict
house elf
Narcissa had ever
seen.
"Thank you for coming,
Kreacher." Stated the Lady of the Manor,
imperiously.
"Kreacher
lives to serve the Noble House of
Black.
What
can Kreacher be doing for you, Mistress?"
Narcissa took the fake locket
out
of
her robes and held it
out
so
Kreacher could see it.
The elf's eyes widened in recognition and
he started to wail, pulling on his ears and mumbling about how he
'fails Master Regulus, tolds Kreacher to destroys the locket, but no
matter what Kreacher tried he could not do it.'
When Kreacher went
to grab the poker from the fireplace to hurt
himself, Narcissa told him firmly to 'stop .' The trembling elf gazed
at her with his big eyes unsure of what to do. Narcissa got up from
her chair and walked towards the little creature, keeping the locket
visible at all
times. When she'd reached him she sat down regally
on the chaise and smiled gently.
"Kreacher,
the reason Lord Malfoy and I have called you here is
we need your
help.
This locket
has come into our possession
recently,
and there was a note inside of
it
from dear Regulus.
He'd mentioned his desire to destroy the 'real
'
locket
and from
your
ramblings,
it
would appear
you recognize this locket
and
might know where the
real one is?"
"Oh yesss Mistress!
Kreacher is knowing where the real
locket
be. Kreacher has been keeping it safe until Kreacher could find
a ways to destroys the filthy evil locket."
"I
see,"
Narcissa
nodded thoughtfully,
"it
just
so happens,
Kreacher that
Lord Malfoy and I
know of a way we can destroy
the locket, but we need your help. Will you help us?"
Kreacher
stared up at
Lady Malfoy in adoration and wonder.
"Kreacher
lives to serve the Noble House of
Black.
I
can go's
back to where it is hidden and brings it here's for you?"
Narcissa gave Kreacher her most
benevolent
smile of
thanks.
"That would be wonderful, Kreacher, please do so immediately."
When the elf
bowed and 'popped '
away,
Narcissa glanced at
her husband, who was watching the scene with a contemplative
look on his face she was only too familiar with.
"Is everything
alright, darling?" She asked sweetly.
Lucius nodded,
his fingers steepled under
his chin.
"Yes,
my
love.
You'll
have the little creature eating out of the palm of your
hands. Soon, he will
be begging you to let him give assistance to
you in whatever way he can." Smirking wickedly at his wife, she
didn't need to guess where his thoughts had gone.
Giving her husband a placid smile she stated innocently, "Destiny
helpers often appear disguised as dreadful beggars."
Lucius laughed at his beautiful wife's wit.
She truly was a Slytherin through and through.
Just
then,
with a 'pop,'
the unfortunate elf
returned with the
doppelgänger locket clenched in his tiny fist. He brought it over to
Narcissa, who smiled and nodded at the elf. "Well done, Kreacher.
Lord Malfoy and I are grateful for your assistance."
"Kreacher lives to serve." The elf bowed and gave Narcissa the
real Horcrux.
"I'm sure Master Regulus would be very thankful
for all
you've
done to honor him, Kreacher. Lord Malfoy and I would like to give
you the other locket
as a reward for your faithful
service to the
House of Black."
Narcissa then handed the fake locket
to the little elf whose
eyes shone with gratitude and devotion.
"Thank you's, Mistress." Gushed Kreacher, who stared at the real
Horcrux with such hate. "You will destroy the locket?"
Narcissa nodded.
"We have a spell
which can do so.
If
you
wish? I
can call
for you tomorrow to give proof
that
the locket
has been destroyed."
Kreacher, visibly shaking with gratitude bowed humbly, "Kreacher
lives to serve the Noble House of Black."
"One more thing,
Kreacher? Has anyone been able to access
Grimmauld Place recently?"
Kreacher's face made a grimace of
disgust.
"Master,
filthy
blood traitor that
he is,
has been comings and goings from
the Ancient House of Black as has the old half-blood wizard,
Dumbledore."
Narcissa smiled genuinely at the elf. "Thank you, Kreacher.
Please keep our dealings quiet
if
you can. We will
see you
tomorrow."
When the elf
returned to Grimmauld Place,
Lucius had Dobby
fetch the Dark Lord and Hermione from the library and told
Dobby to bring them to his study. Escorting his wife, they entered
the room just
as Dobby appeared with their guests. After Dobby
was excused, Narcissa removed the real
horcrux from her robes
and handed it to Voldemort, who smiled in pride at his daughter.
"Well, it seemed your theory was correct, Daughter."
Nodding,
Hermione considered the locket
inquisitively.
"Did
this locket actually belong to Salazar Slytherin?"
Voldemort
nodded,
"It
had been in my mother's possession and
she had been tricked into selling it for a mere pittance to Borgin
many years ago. He then sold it to a woman, Hepzibah Smith for
a considerable profit. I was able to secure it years later from the
woman, as it was mine by birthright."
"I have information for the incantation and ritual. I'm assuming the
elf
was bade to destroy the locket
for
his Master?"
Hermione
inquired.
Narcissa nodded.
"We told him he could return tomorrow to see
proof that we kept our word. He seemed very grateful
and eager
to be of
service,
My Lord."
Narcissa tipped her
head towards
Hermione,
"It
would seem your
daughter
is quite intuitive,
My
Lord. We were able to confirm from the elf that Sirius has been to
Grimmauld Place, as has Dumbledore."
Lord Voldemort
smirked evilly.
"Then it
is fortuitous that
we have
someone on the inside." Looking over at
his daughter,
the Dark
Lord gave her
a genuine smile.
"I'm learning with each day
Narcissa,
how truly
brilliant
Hermione is."
Hermione blushed
prettily at the compliment.
Lucius cleared his throat,
bringing attention back to the more
immediate issue.
"Would you trust
me to perform the ritual,
my
Lord?"
Voldemort eyed Lucius closely. "As my daughter is not of age and
still
carries the trace,
I
would be pleased if
you would do the
honors, Lucius."
Lucius bowed in supplication,
"I
would be most
honored,
my
Lord."
Hermione walked over
and gave Lucius the incantation that
needed to be said. "A blood sacrifice needs to be made, and as I
am your daughter, it would have to be me, Father."
The Dark Lord stood up,
walking over to his daughter and lifted
her chin,
gazing deeply into her eyes.
"And you are alright
with
this, child?"
Hermione nodded.
"It
needs to be done and I'm willing. Please
let me do this Father." Hermione pleaded.
Voldemort sighed resignedly and nodded to one of his most loyal
followers, "Let us begin preparations, Lucius, as the ritual will tax
Hermione greatly,
I
will
require you to look after her closely for
the next
few days to make sure she isn't
draining her magic."
Hermione rolled her eyes,
but
her father was not
amused.
"You
will
obey me on this,
Daughter.
I
understand your need to help
me, but you will not place yourself at any unnecessary risk."
"Of course, Father."
Narcissa walked over and put her hand on Hermione's shoulder in
comfort.
"I
will
see to her needs personally,
My Lord." Voldemort
nodded his thanks,
and preparations for
the ritual
were quickly
prepared.
When the optimal
time approached,
Hermione was brought
outside to where the Malfoy family stones were placed.
Her
father was waiting for her,
and surprisingly Draco was there as
well. She was brought into the circle and kneeled before Lucius,
who had everything prepared. Hermione's blood was taken as a
considerable gash was made down the inside of
her arm,
then
the spell
was recited by Lucius.
At
the same moment
Lucius
cast
the spell,
Hermione hissed the word 'open '
and in an
instant
the piece of
soul
that
had been trapped into the locket
flew out
and swirled around Hermione momentarily
before
moving in a black cloud, returning to its rightful owner.
Hermione collapsed from blood loss, so she barely heard a deep
voice speak her name, but she did feel
dark magic swirling over
her, and a hand cradling her arm before she lost consciousness.
When she came to some hours later she was in her rooms, lying
in bed.
Glancing down at
her arm,
thankfully there was only a
slight
remnant
of
a scar remaining, that would probably be gone
in a few days.
Nagini
surprisingly,
was laying at
the end of
her
bed asleep,
but
an even bigger shock was seeing Draco curled
up in a chair by the window. He was quietly reading a book, and
looked quite disheveled.
When she cleared her throat,
his head
whipped
to
the
side
and
he
smiled
gently,
moving
over
immediately towards the bed, careful not to disturb the snake.
When he sat
down in the chair
by the bed however,
Nagini
woke up and eyed the him closely.
Draco seemed a bit
wary,
but oddly didn't back down from the giant snake.
"Are you alright, Hermione? What were you thinking? I know you
wanted to help your
Father,
but
you lost
so much blood!
My
Father had to force a blood replenishing potion down your throat
while your
Father,
healed you."
Draco shivered,
remembering
the honor
he'd felt
when Hermione collapsed unconscious.
"I
didn't think it was possible for the Dark Lord to look worried, but I
think he was genuinely concerned."
Hermione shook her head and said softly,
"How did you get
in
here,
Draco? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but I'm surprised
my Father allowed you in my rooms unchaperoned."
Draco laughed.
"We are chaperoned,
love.
Your snake has been
keeping a close eye on me since I came in the room an hour ago.
Mother had to go take care of something important, so she asked
me to sit with you. Nagini stays here as long as I'm here."
Hermione smiled down at
the snake,
who was continuing to
watch their exchange closely.
Hissing at Nagini, Hermione admonished, "So, you're my personal
bodyguard now,
Nagini? Protecting my virtue from any potential
suitors?"
Nagini
looked
like
she was
grimacing.
"Is
this
boy
young
Mistress' suitor? Has he formally asked to court you properly?"
Giggling Hermione shook her head in amusement. "He has
expressed his wish to,
yes.
But
I
have told him that
things
are uncertain and I'm too young to be courted properly."
Nagini
tilted her
head in consideration,
staring unblinkingly at
Draco,
which made him nervous. The snake then slithered over
towards the side of
the bed he was sitting on.
When she
reached the edge,
Nagini
leant
over
and moved her
head
towards Draco,
who was now trying desperately not
to look
terrified of the large snake. To his credit though, he sat perfectly
still while the snake 'sniffed ' him.
She then moved her large body and started to coil
around
the younger wizard.
Draco looked like he was going to wet
himself,
but
he stayed
perfectly still
as he tried not
to panic.
Hermione watched the
scene unfolding with amusement. It would seem that Nagini was
sending a message to her
would be suitor.
Once Nagini
was
firmly settled, she started to squeeze the younger wizard until he
gasped in pain.
Nagini
hissed in warning and Draco paled significantly,
but
seemed to understand where this protectiveness was coming
from.
After
a few moments,
Hermione hissed softly,
"That's quite
enough, Nagini."
Nagini
hissed back angrily, "Master is unhappy with the boy
and feels he needs to learn respect for Mistress."
Hermione sighed softly and hissed. "So you're doing Father's dirty
work now?"
"Nagini
does as she pleases and it pleases her to teach the whelp
a lesson he won't soon forget."
Hermione giggled softly and watched Draco's eyes widen in
disbelief momentarily. She decided to take pity on the wizard and
spoke so Draco could understand her. "It's alright, Nagini. I think
he's gotten the message."
The snake moved back to the bed and settled near Hermione,
where she raised her head slightly off
the bed and hissed, "The
boy is in love with you,
young Mistress.
He is protective of you,
scared for you and has deep feelings for you.
If
the boy wishes
to formally court
my Mistress,
Nagini
is not
sure she approves.
But
if
he hurts my Mistress again,
Nagini
will
kill
him then eat
him. Master will approve."
Hermione sat
in stunned silence for a few minutes and then
snickered out
a startled guffaw,
shaking her head at Nagini's
joke.
Well, she hoped it was a joke for Draco's sake, but she was fairly
certain Nagini was completely serious.
Draco, watched the exchange, appearing puzzled and completely
flustered.
"What did your snake say?"
Hermione smiled impishly.
"That
if
you play me false, she will
eat
you for dinner."
Draco
paled even more,
while Hermione was
biting on her
lip,trying to keep a straight face.
When she started giggling again, Draco just sneered.
"She didn't
say that?"
Draco questioned a bit
uncertainly,
"Did
she?"
Hermione just shook her head again. "She's wary of you, Draco.
She senses that you have good intentions where I'm concerned,
and should we decide to court
properly at
some point.
You'll
have to earn her blessing.
But
she did mention if
you hurt
me
again,
she would eat
you.
Apparently she's already gotten my
Father's permission to do just that."
Draco sighed a bit
shakily and slowly reached for
Hermione's
hand.
The snake was eyeing him like prey,
and Draco had the
distinct
impression if
he made one wrong move that
Hermione's
snake could kill him faster than he'd be able to react.
He lifted her hand in his and gently placed a kiss to the back of
her
knuckles,
then set
it
back down gently as before.
She
blushed at the sweet gesture, which just caused Draco to smirk
in satisfaction.
"I'm glad you have her,"
gesturing to Nagini,
"to watch out
for
you,
Hermione.
Just
please don't
do anything like that
again
anytime soon."
Handing Hermione a glass of water, and making sure she drank
all
of
it,
Draco went
back to his chair
by the window and
watched his witch as her eyelids started to get heavy, and soon
she was back asleep.
Sighing in relief,
he looked at
the snake who was now watching
him curiously.
He nodded at
the snake and whispered softly,
"I
promise to take care of
her
and look out
for
her.
She's too
stubborn, cunning and brilliant for her own good sometimes. But I
just want you to know, that I'm not going anywhere and no matter
how long it takes. All I want, is to be with Hermione."
Nagini
raised her head slightly and nodded at the blonde wizard,
as if she'd understood exactly what he'd said.
Blimey, she probably did.
But
at
least
Draco
knew he
had
an ally
of
sorts,
in
Hermione's familiar.
And he didn't doubt that the snake would attack anyone who
so much as tried to harm his witch.
Meet the Death Eaters
Chapter 36: Meet the Death Eaters
Hermione's recovery was surprisingly quick.
Her
Father
had
visited her often during her convalescence, and they'd discussed
many
issues,
but
the one that
did not
get
addressed,
was
whether or not her heritage would become more widely known.
Several
weeks
had gone by,
and September
first
was fast
approaching. Narcissa had made arrangements to have all of her
books and school
supplies delivered to the Manor. She had one
of
the elves take her measurements and several
days later,
an
entirely new wardrobe was delivered:
New school
robes,
skirts,
shirts, dresses, shoes and lingerie in the latest styles.
Hermione was so overwhelmed by Lady Malfoy's generosity,
that she had insisted that it was all too much.
"Nonsense, my dearest girl! You more than anyone, deserve to be
spoiled, and your Father insisted you have the best of everything."
Narcissa,
Hermione discovered very quickly,
was a force of
nature and used to getting her own way. She had her husband's
complete devotion and it was easy to see that Draco worshipped
the ground his mother walked on too.
Narcissa made sure that
Hermione spent time each day, learning High Pureblood Society,
social
etiquette,
rules and customs.
She had always prided
herself on being a quick study, but even she had to admit? There
was so much she'd needed to learn,
to fit
into the new world
she'd been thrust
into dancing lessons with Draco were an
obvious perk,
and Hermione enjoyed the time they got to spend
together.
Draco was an excellent
dancer, and it was easy to get
caught
up in the romance of
it
all.
He loved tearing the mickey
however,
and she'd often find herself
blushing at
the heated
suggestions he'd whisper into her ear.
He would then smirk in satisfaction at
her discomfort,
watching
her flounder at his attentions.
The Saturday before school
was set
to resume,
Hermione's
father had told her that
there would be a meeting that
night
in
the Malfoy's drawing room,
and her
attendance was required.
From the
look
on
his
face,
Hermione
knew this
was
of
importance so she took extra care after dinner to make herself
presentable.
She had on her
best
dark emerald green dress
robes,
and Trixie,
the house elf
that
Narcissa had assigned to
take care of her this summer, was excellent with hair spells. Her
curls were loose,
shiny and layered down her
back in thick
waves.
She applied minimal
make-up and was just putting on a
pair of earrings when someone knocked on her door.
Trixie answered it
promptly and in walked her Father,
who was
stunned at how beautiful his daughter looked.
The Dark Lord still
found it
disconcerting at
times that
he had a
daughter.
Even
now,
looking
at
Hermione,
there
was
little
physical
resemblance that
would recommend her as his child. Her eyes
and hair were her mother's, as was her physical build.
Tom Riddle had always been a complex wizard,
and had never
been capable of
loving anyone nor
anything.
Looking at
his
daughter now,
he could feel
pride in her brilliance and beauty.
He was in awe of
her
resilience and keen logical
mind.
She
exuded raw power, very much like his own.
But affection, love?
It
was
hard
to
fathom ever
being
capable
of
feeling
such
sentiment, but he did feel a deep responsibility for her.
She was his heir after all.
She had returned two pieces of
his soul
to him and as such, he
was able to retain more control
over his baser emotions. For the
first time in his long life, he felt a twinge of regret. He hadn't been
there to watch his daughter
grow up into the beautiful
young
woman before him.
But
then,
he wondered if
she would've
become the person she was today, without those experiences?
Would she been of
use to him,
had she not
gone through the
trials and rose above all expectations?
It
was an interesting thought,
but
one Voldemort
didn't
dwell
on
for very long.
"You look lovely,
Hermione.
I
know you are wondering why I've
asked you to come to this meeting,
and I'm here to explain.
Tonight,
you will
be introduced to a few of
my most
trusted
followers.
Many of
them have children who are in school
with
you.
I
haven't
told any of
my followers,
outside of
Lucius and
Severus,
of
your true identity,
although some know that
I
have
sired an heir.
This meeting is to formally introduce you.
You'll
need not
worry about
anyone revealing your identity,
for if
any
dared to defy me? They would be dealt with most harshly."
Hermione nodded, lowering her head and nervously biting her lip
while her hands twisted together. Her Father, seeing her distress,
walked to her and placed a finger under her chin, raising her face
to his. Amber eyes met dark green and for a moment, Hermione
saw red flash through his gaze.
"You must
not
allow any weakness to show,
child.
I
know you
have the ability to control
yourself,
and that
is what
I
expect
of
you this evening.
The wizard's you will
be meeting tonight
are
among my most
loyal
Death Eaters.
They will
show you the
respect you are owed as my heir, but it is up to you to prove that
you belong by my side. You have proven your worth to me, now
you must prove it to my followers. Come ."
The Dark Lord escorted Hermione down to the main floor and
up a secondary staircase which opened into a large room.
There was a long table in front of a huge hearth and a stunning
chandelier hung from the ceiling.
A fire was roaring, and Hermione could see Nagini curled up on
the floor by the head of the table on the far side.
There
were
several
men
standing
and
talking
amongst
themselves.
Hermione
immediately
recognized
Lucius
and
Severus,
but
she had never
seen any of
the other
wizard's
before. One wizard had dark blonde hair that was tied back into a
long braid.
He was ruggedly handsome in his own way. Another
wizard looked a bit older than the first, with darker brown hair and
blue eyes.
He was quite tall
and was conversing with Lucius.
There were two other wizard's watching from across the room.
One had hideous teeth and he could only be Marcus Flint's
father.
The other
wizard had salt
and pepper
hair
and was
shorter than the other men in the room.
When the Dark Lord gestured for Hermione to enter the room
with him, the six wizard's came forward and formed a semi-circle
in welcome.
Her Father moved silently into the room, whilst she
waited a few feet
behind and observed as he greeted his
followers, each bowing in deference.
Her Father then turned and gestured for her to come to his
side, which she did with her head held high and no outward
sign of nervousness or fear.
Her
Father
gave her
a small
nod,
and then addressed his
followers.
"My friends,
it's good to be here with you again after so many
years.
Much
time
has
passed,
yet
it
seems
that
much
unfortunately,
remains the same within our
world.
However,
I
would like to acknowledge one change for the better. Allow me
to formally introduce you all
to my daughter and heir, Hermione
Granger.
It
was
unknown
to
myself
at
the
time
of
my
disappearance,
that
her mother had given birth.
Concerned for
her safety,
she hid Hermione in the Muggle world. It was made
known to me in Hermione's second year,
that
she was mine.
I
have invited her
here tonight
to acknowledge her
as my heir
amongst
my most
loyal
followers.
Lucius and Severus can give
testimony of her brilliance and cunning."
Lucius walked over and took Hermione's hand, bending over it in
greeting before he turned to the other wizard's and addressed
them en masse.
"I'm sure you're all
aware that
Miss Granger
is the top of
her
class at
Hogwarts,
and a member
of
Slytherin House.
It
has
been most
unfortunate,
that
she was not
as welcomed into her
own house as is her birthright.
She has proven to both Severus
and myself,
that
she is a force to be reckoned with. I do believe
given the chance, you will all find her to be a formidable ally."
Hermione smiled politely at Lord Malfoy's kind words.
"Thank you,
Lord Malfoy.
I
will
strive to live up to such lofty
praise."
Lucius nodded and stepped back to his place.
The Dark Lord
made the remaining formal
introductions and then gestured for
everyone to take their seats.
He led Hermione to the head of the
table where he sat and gestured for her to sit on his right. Severus
came
over
and held out
her
chair,
which she thanked him
graciously.
Lucius sat on her Father's left and Severus sat on her
left.
The other wizards seemed to have set positions at the table, and
each nodded towards her Father as they sat down.
When everyone was settled,
Voldemort
started the meeting.
"I've invited you here today to discuss what my plans are going
forward.
First,
as you're all
aware,
the Potter boy still
lives and
this was done purposely on my part.
It
was suggested that
far
more damage might
be done to Dumbledore's reputation,
if
Potter
were to return alive and obliviated.
The death of
the
Diggory boy was unfortunate,
but will
play into my hands going
forward.
Secondly,
we will
need to organize a break-out
of
Azkaban for
those of
my followers who were wrongly incarcerated.
Lastly,
there
is
a
prophecy
of
some
concern
hidden
within
the
Department
of
Mysteries,
that
will
need to be acquired if
our
plans to take over the Wizarding world are to be successful."
As the men discussed the issues at hand, Hermione sat back and
listened to their suggestions.
She decided to wait
until
her father
addressed her
directly before giving an opinion.
It
wasn't
long
before he turned in her direction and inquired after her thoughts.
"What
do
you
make
of
these
situations,
Daughter?"
Voldemort smirked knowingly, and all
eyes fell
on the young
witch simultaneously.
Hermione primly cleared her throat and then began…
"The way I
see it? It's impractical
to kill
Potter or Dumbledore. It
would make one or
both a martyr
that
the masses could rally
around.
Dumbledore has many skeletons in his closet,
and I
think it's time that we bring those skeletons out to face the light of
day."
The blonde-haired wizard with the deep throaty voice,
glanced
at
Hermione with an expression that
was dismissive.
"And how
do you suggest we do that?"
Hermione turned to her
Father,
who nodded in encouragement
and then he proceeded to sit back and watch his brilliant daughter
dazzle his followers.
Making direct eye contact with Corban Yaxley, Hermione smiled
genuinely. "Over the last two summers, Lord Yaxley, I've had the
fortunate opportunity to visit Godric's Hollow, and I'm sure many
of
you are familiar
with Bathilda Bagshot,
the noted magical
historian?" At this, several
of the wizards nodded, but looked on
with confusion.
"She is the Great-Aunt
of
Gellert
Grindelwald.
It
would seem in
his early life,
Dumbledore and Gellart
were very good friends ."
Letting the implication sit
there momentarily,
she noticed a few
of
the wizards,
including her Father,
smirk at
her not
so subtle
implication.
"They corresponded to each other
frequently and
surprisingly?
Dumbledore was not
the Muggle-loving wizard he tries to make
himself out to be."
"And how do you know this?" Inquired Lucius.
Hermione took out
her
beaded bag and opened it.
She then
reached her arm up to her elbow into the bag, missing the looks
of
appreciation on several
of the Wizard's faces. She took out a
stack of
letters and passed them around the table.
As the
wizards read through Dumbledore's private correspondence to
Grindelwald, she noted the stunned looks on the wizard's faces.
Voldemort
however,
just
sat
back
with
his
hands
steepled-watching his loyal followers with glee.
"How did you get
these?"
Asked Archibald Flint,
Marcus
Flint's Father.
"Bathilda was most
helpful.
She'd saved these letters for many
years.
When Gellert
was
sent
to Nurmengard after
dueling
Dumbledore,
Bathilda blamed him for the loss of her only family.
She was more than happy to turn them over to me, when I'd told
her
how mistreated I'd been at
Hogwarts under
Dumbledore's
care." Hermione smirked evilly at
Lord Flint,
who flinched at her
insinuation.
"It
would seem that
the famous duel
in 1945 between the two
wizards,
was not
the first
that
they'd engaged in.
Some years
prior, another duel
had broken out between the two wizards, and
Dumbledore's sister
Ariana was killed in the crossfire.
It
was
never proven who'd sent the killing curse that killed poor Ariana,
but
Bathilda said it
was that
incident
that
permanently severed
their relationship."
"I'm still
unclear
how you plan to use this information to take
down Dumbledore."
Questioned Thoros Nott,
Theodore Nott's
Father.
"Well
it's a simple case of
hitting the wizard with attack's from
multiple
fronts.
First
we
start
a
smear
campaign
against
Dumbledore, due to the untimely death of Cedric Diggory and the
fact
that
the Boy-Who-wouldn't-Die was severely injured and
obliviated during the final
task of
the Tri-Wizard Tournament.
Dumbledore used the excuse that
since Potter's name was
drawn from the Goblet
of
Fire,
it
constituted a binding magical
contract
and since the wizard is the Supreme Mugwump of
the
International
Confederation of
Wizards and the Chief Warlock of
the
Wizengamot,
no one would dare challenge him on an
assertion based within magical
law.
Except,
he violated several
statues by allowing Potter to compete.
The most
important
was
that
Potter wasn't
of
legal
age, and therefore, couldn't enter into
a binding magical
contract of any kind, much less one that forced
him to compete in a tournament that killed an older classmate of
much greater
experience.
I
would argue for
a case of
gross
negligence.
How do you think the public at large is going to feel
about Dumbledore,once they learn that he allowed the supposed
Savior of
the Wizarding world to compete in a tournament
that
almost
got
him killed? I
doubt
too many within the magical
community,
would be sympathetic to him.
Especially when it
becomes public knowledge,
that
the facade he puts on isn't
indicative of his true affiliations."
"You mean to use the letters as a means to discredit him further?"
Smirked Lucius, in awe of Hermione's ingenuity.
"Yes.
Rita Skeeter is a reporter for the Daily Prophet.
I
believe I
can utilize her as a ally."
"That
witch is highly unpredictable.
How do you think you'll
be
able to get her to comply?" Questioned Yaxley seriously.
Hermione
smiled
wickedly,
"The
witch
is
an
unregistered
animagus.
She turns into a beetle,
and that
is how she was
getting all
those behind the scenes scoops this past school year. I
took notice of
her after the Yule Ball, when she started asking for
an exclusive interview with Viktor and myself.
Later in the year,
when he and I
were talking quietly by ourselves in the library, I'd
noticed a beetle sitting on the windowsill
near
where we were
ensconced.
The
next
mornings
edition
of
the
Prophet,
had
published an embellishment
of
our conversation,
but
it
made me
suspicious. I saw her on two other occasions, so I captured her in
an unbreakable mason jar and held her prisoner for a few weeks.
I doubt I'll have any problem convincing the witch to help."
At
this confession,
every single man in the room stared at
Hermione in stunned disbelief
until
her Father actually laughed
at the nerve of his daughter.
The other Death Eaters were even more shocked at
their Lord's
outburst.
Voldemort
shook his head in amusement.
"Your
penchant
for
blackmail,
Daughter,
knows
no bounds.
First
Severus,
then
Lucius and now a reporter
for
the Daily Prophet.
Should I
be
concerned?"
"Of
course not,
my
Lord.
I
would never
do something so
plebeian as to try and blackmail you."
He chuckled,
"I
should hope not,
my dear.
Please continue? I
think you'll find your audience most intrigued."
Hermione nodded.
"I
hoped that
adequately
answered your
question,
Lord Yaxley?"
At
the wizard's nod and smirk,
she
continued.
"Lord Malfoy,
as you're the Head of
the Board of
Governors,
I
do believe it
might
be prudent
to send a ministry
official
to oversee Dumbledore this year
at
Hogwarts.
Perhaps
you might
even put
the suggestion into the Minister's ear?
Creating friction between the Minister and Dumbledore might be
wise… you might
even subtly infer that
Dumbledore is after his
job. The man looks to be easily manipulated, yes?" Lucius smiled
and nodded.
"I'm sure you could suggest
some Ministry toad,
who is a Slytherin and has a close relationship with the Minister?"
Shaking his head in amusement,
Lucius actually smiled,
"You
plan to take out
both Dumbledore and the Minister at
the same
time, don't you, Hermione?"
"Well,
it
would be the most
expedient
thing to do,
don't
you
agree?" She stated innocently.
Lucius just
chuckled knowingly,
while giving his Lord a look that
spoke volumes.
"I'd imagine that
isn't
the end of
the plan
though?"
Hermione shook her head. "Lord Malfoy, are you familiar with the
term, 'gaslighting?'
"No, I don't believe I've ever heard of the concept."
"It's a form of manipulation, that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a
targeted individual.
The process is designed to make the person
question their own memory,
perception and eventually their very
sanity. If done correctly, it will eventually destabilize the target and
delegitimize their own belief system. My intention over the course
of
the next
year,
is to hit
Dumbledore on every front
where he
holds power and sway.
Show his complete lack of
rule following
by manipulating others,
show his true character by driving him to
the point where he ends up attacking a Muggle-born."
The Dark Lord considered his daughter shrewdly,
"And just
how
will you do that?"
Hermione took her
wand and silently invoked an incantation,
causing an apparition to appear
before the wizards.
They all
gasped as one, as they watched the specter float from the top of
the table,
looking down on them.
Voldemort
stared at
the witch
floating above him,
and grinned at
the deviousness
of
his
daughter.
"Am I
to assume,
Daughter? That
this is Dumbledore's dead
sister?"
"Yes,
my Lord!
It
is!
I
intend to use this little illusion to drive
Dumbledore round the twist, as it were. He will
begin to think he's
hallucinating,
then become paranoid that
someone is trying to
trick him.
Eventually,
it
will
culminate in him attacking me at
the
end of
the school
year.
He will
be charged with assaulting a
Muggle-born,
which will
cement
all
the propaganda that
will
be
written about him, and his relationship with Grindewald in the time
preceding the attack.
That
combined with discrediting his role
within the Wizengamot, it will eventually lead to his ruin."
"Why not just kill the old fool?" Chimed in Walden McNair.
"Because you make the fool
a martyr . And why should that man
be exalted? Better to make him suffer ."
Yaxley smiled at
his Lord.
"Remind me not to get your daughter
angry at
me,
my Lord.
Something tells me she can be quite
inventive with punishment."
All
the wizards chuckled,
while the Dark Lord watched on in
amusement.
Severus sat
back pondering what
he was learning,
not
realizing
Hermione was watching him closely.
"Professor
Snape,
I
know
you work closely with Dumbledore and have for years.
But
in all
my research into the man,
I've come to realize he never
does
anything without having some benefit for himself. Hopefully by the
end of this night, you'll
come to realize just how much that wizard
has allowed those around him, that were loyal
to him, to suffer for
his 'greater good."
Severus raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Indeed." Was his snarky
reply.
Inventive Spells and a Prophecy
Chapter 37: Inventive Spells and a Prophecy
The meeting continued as the men discussed Hermione's plan
and eventually,
Lucius chimed in with a question.
"This plan for
Dumbledore is predicated on you keeping you true identity a
secret?"
Hermione nodded, glancing briefly at her father.
"I
believe it's correct
to assume,
that
I
wouldn't
be safe if
Dumbledore knew whom I really am. I realize this is a bit of
a gamble,
but
it's the best
chance we have to bring him
down."
"You'd
mentioned
something
about
his
role
in
the
Wizengamot,"
stated Lord Nott,
"I'd imagine there will
be
some blow-back from allowing the Potter boy to compete in
the
tournament,
but
Dumbledore
has
many
supporters
within the Wizengamot."
"You are correct, Lord Nott. However, Dumbledore hasn't always
been a stalwart
of
following Magical
Law if
it
hasn't
benefitted
him to do so."
"What are you implying?" Demanded Yaxley.
"Years ago,
Sirius Black was sent
to Azkaban,
and recently he
escaped from custody as we all
know.
What
isn't
widely known
however,
is that Sirius Black is still
the Head of the Black family,
with all
the rights and titles it affords. I propose that Dumbledore
knew this,
but
allowed the Heir to the Ancient and Noble House
of
Black to be incarcerated without
a fair trial
of
his peers.
Did
you know, Lord Yaxley? That in the late nineteenth century, a law
was written that stated that 'No rightful
heir of the Sacred 28 can
be sentenced to Azkaban without first a trial
by his counterparts.
There can be no exception to this law nor repudiation therin for
to do so willingly is a violation of
the decree set
forth and
punishable
by
a
sentence
of
no
less
than 20 years,
and
restitution made in full at the discretion of said Lordships.'
"Bloody Hell!" exclaimed McNair, "If what you're saying is true? He
allowed Black to suffer
in Azkaban all
these years without
his
rightful due process!?"
Hermione nodded, put her arm into her bag and pulled out an old
magical
law tome.
"I
found this book hidden in the back of
the
restricted section at
Hogwarts.
I
felt
it
was important,
so I
appropriated it."
Severus pinched the bridge of
his nose.
"You stole a book from
the Hogwarts Library?"
Hermione flinched back in shock.
"No!
That
would be wrong!
I
simply borrowed it,
used the 'gemino '
charm and made my own
copy."
Severus eyed the little witch incredulously. "Am I to assume
that
you've made other copies of
books from the restricted
section?"
Hermione shrugged innocently.
"I
may have copied a few books
here and there."
Lucius smirked, "And by a few books, you mean?"
Sighing in resignation,
Hermione glanced once again at
her
Father,
who was watching her with an expression of
utmost
glee
on his face.
"I may or may not have, copied all the books in the restricted
section."
At
this confession,
the Dark Lord laughed out
loud and
Hermione smiled at
her Father,
as his other followers also
laughed in response.
Well,
all
but
Severus,
who looked completely aghast
at
the
thought
that
someone had copied all
the restricted books from
the library.
"Do you have all those books in your beaded bag, Miss Granger?"
Sneered her Potions Professor.
"Actually its a variation on the 'gemino '
charm that
I
invented
myself
and it
allows me to copy any text I wish and catalogues it
into my personal
library.
I
have the main ledger
with me at
all
times,
and if
I
wish to access a book,
I
just
utilize the spell
I
created and voila!
Instant access!"
By now everyone sitting at the table was staring in complete awe
at the young witch.
"My Lord," said Thoros Nott softly, "If I may be so bold? Have you
given any thought towards betrothal contracts for your daughter?"
Voldemort
smirked knowingly,
watching the look of
astonishment
appear on his daughter's face.
"As a matter of fact, Thoros? I was approached not too long ago
by a young wizard wishing to formally court Hermione. I told him
the same thing I
will
tell
you now,
Thoros.
My daughter is too
young to enter into such a courtship. I will not be entertaining any
such requests
until
she is of age. I would imagine she'd have a thing or two to
say in whom she would wish to formally court?" Hermione just
glared at
her father stoically and nodded once. "Well, there you
have it." Voldemort chuckled.
"That
is disappointing,
my Lord." Stated Thoros quietly,
gazing
over at
the young witch covetously.
"Might
I
inquire as to whom
made the formal
request?"
The Dark Lord glanced over
at
Lucius,
who was now smiling to himself,
well
aware of his son's
wish to court Hermione.
"Lucius son,
was quick to let
me know of
his intentions towards
my daughter. I believe the boy is quite taken with Hermione."
Hermione just
looked back impassively at
her Father,
not
giving
him any emotion or sign of preference either way.
"Perhaps gentleman? We might
table this discussion,
as I
won't
be seventeen for
at
least
another
year,
and it
seems a bit
premature. Don't you agree, my Lord?"
Voldemort
nodded
serenely
and
smirked
in
delight
at
his
daughter's obvious agitation.
He wasn't
surprised by Thoros
interest in his heir, as he could well imagine there would be many
such requests once Hermione's heritage was finally revealed.
His daughter
however,
didn't
seem to keen on welcoming such
attention, and that was probably just as well.
"Perhaps we can discuss your desire to remove your followers out
of Azkaban, my Lord?" Hermione inquired politely.
"I'm positive you have a plan for
that
as well,
Daughter?"
Hermione nodded,
and the men chuckled knowingly at
her
father.
"Lord Black was incarcerated in violation of the rule of law. I did
some checking and found out
that
Lord Lestrange was also
locked
away
without
his
due
process.
If
Sirius
Black,
well-known former
member
of
the Order
of
the Phoenix is
released on a technicality,
it will
set a precedent and will
put in
question all
former Death Eaters who were incarcerated at that
time."
Lucius smiled at the brilliance of Hermione's idea. "How will you
plant
the seed,
Hermione? It
would be suspicious if
any of
us
here were to do so."
"I agree, Lord Malfoy, that is why I'm going to have Rita Skeeter
pen
a
story
about
the
abuses
of
power
going on in the
Wizengamot.
I'll
have
her
include a paragraph about
past
indiscretions, mention Sirius directly. Plant the seeds of doubt in
the minds of
the public,
but
Harry Potter in particular.
We have
been given some intelligence that
suggests
Dumbledore is
starting up the Order
of
the Phoenix again,
and is using the
former home of
Sirius Black as a base of
operations.
I
plan on
'helping '
Potter
come across some timely information,
and I
have no doubt
that
he will
be able to find a way to petition for a
retrial
for his godfather. Once that is done, then it's only a matter
of
time until
all
your Death Eaters will
be released,
legally from
Azkaban."
"If
there is
a retrial? How do you expect
those who are
incarcerated to be let free?" Queried McNair.
Hermione smirked wickedly at
the man.
"Because those who
would've been called to testify are no longer an issue. Bartemius
Crouch Sr.
Former
Head of
the Department
of
Magical
Law
Enforcement
is dead . The Prewett's are dead . Frank and Alice
Longbottom are permanent
residents of
the Janus Thickney
Ward at St. Mungo's. Did you know Lord McNair? That there are
several
statues that make the viewing of memories inadmissible,
if
the
person
who
gave
the
memories
is
not
present
for
cross-examination.
It
has to do with a defendants right
to face
their accusers.
You can't
face someone who is dead or insane,
can you?"
McNair shook his head, looking at the young witch with respect.
"That's inspired . And I suppose you plan to place the blame for
this squarely on Dumbledore?"
"Well,
the old fool
was the Chief
Warlock during that
time and
you'd think he would've been better about following proper laws
and procedure.
An unfortunate fact
that
will
have to be made
public,
I'm afraid.
All
former
Death Eaters will
probably be
released due to some unfortunate technicality and even if it gets
to a trial? Which I'm certain will
not
happen? It
will
be because
Dumbledore won't
want
anyone looking too closely into his
business.
As Lord Nott
so eloquently pointed out,
he holds
enough sway to make sure that doesn't happen."
"Your
going
to use the man's
hubris
against
him?"
Lucius
interjected.
"I'm going to make sure he chokes on it." Smiled Hermione
demurely.
"And
the
prophecy,
Daughter?"
Voldemort
asked
quietly.
Hermione just rolled her eyes, reached into her beaded bag and
pulled out
a glowing orb,
to the shock of
everyone around the
table. Her Father however, was now staring at her with narrowed
eyes. "You'd best explain, child . Is that what I think it is?"
Hermione nodded smugly.
"How did you get
it? Prophecy's can only be retrieved by
those whom their about?" Stated Severus warily.
"Well,
technically that
is true,
but
no one said you couldn't
make a magical
copy of
said prophecy.
Always with the
loopholes,
really? You'd tend to think
the Unspeakables
would be a bit smarter than that."
"And how did you get
into the Department
of
Mysteries?" Lucius
inclined his head at the little witch.
"Oh,
that
was fairly easy.
Did you know that
the Room of
Requirement at Hogwarts can give you anything if you know how
to ask for
it
as long as it
doesn't
contradict
Gamp's Law of
Elemental
Transfiguration? I
managed to find a way to ask it
to
give me a passage into the room where Harry Potter's prophecy
was hidden… and it did. I entered, disillusioned of course, made
a
copy
and
slithered
back
into Hogwarts.
Took
all
of
five
minutes."
Voldemort
stared at his daughter in stunned disbelief and by the
looks on his followers faces,
they too were shocked.
Hermione
then handed the prophecy to her Father,
who nodded at
her in
thanks.
She then sighed and scrunched her nose,
as she was getting
tired.
the Dark
Lord,
noticing his
daughter's
weariness called for
Nagini. "Take Hermione to her rooms and stay with her."
"Of course, Master. " Hissed the snake.
"Nagini
will
take you to your rooms, Daughter. You've had enough
excitement for one day."
Hermione smiled,
"Of
course,
thank you,
my Lord." Hermione
went to stand up and the other men followed suit.
Each one came and bowed, kissing the little witch's hand, much
to the amusement of her father.
When she was
at
the doorway,
Hermione turned and said
"goodnight
'
to
which
Voldemort
replied,
"You've
done
exceptionally well, my Daughter. I will
see you at breakfast in the
morning."
Crucio's and Carrots
Chapter 38: Crucio's and Carrots
The room was eerily quiet,
as seven men sat
around the table
each alone with their own thoughts.
Finally Thoros Nott
spoke up quietly.
"My Lord,
your daughter is
truly the Brightest
Witch of
the Age.
How did none of
us see it
before? I can't begin to apologize on my son's behalf for any part
he played in alienating Hermione from Slytherin House."
Voldemort
sighed -he knew he would have to deal
with this on
his daughter's behalf.
It
could not
be allowed for
any of
his
followers to think he abided the ways in which she was treated
for all
these years. She was much too valuable to him to allow it
to pass.
He'd already crucio'd Lucius and Severus soundly for
their
insolence where his daughter
was concerned.
Severus
had
been
understandably
conflicted
over
his
vow
to
Dumbledore,
and his vow to him.
However,
his overriding guilt
in how Hermione had been tormented under
his own watch,
plus her
strength and cleverness,
had firmly pushed Severus
onto his side.
Another debt he owed to his daughter.
She was securing loyalty without even realizing it-or perhaps
she did.
She was his Heir after all.
Archibald Flint shook his head in disgust. "My Lord, my own son.
.." his voice fell away in shame.
Voldemort
turned red flashing eyes on the man.
"I'm aware of
what your son did to my daughter as Severus was kind enough
to inform me about
the incident
in Hermione's second year.
Although she did return the favor in kind, however I can not let
that pass, Archibald… Crucio ."
The man started to scream in agony as Yaxley and McNair
watched in confusion,
so Severus informed them of
what
had
transpired Hermione's second year,
as well
as sharing her own
plot and how she accomplished her revenge.
Thoros chuckled in appreciation.
"She stole from your
private
stores and brewed Polyjuice in her second year? Merlin, my Lord!
I'm grateful
she's on our side! I shudder to think what might have
happened, if she'd been sorted into Gryffindor."
Voldemort
glowered at
that
thought
and lifted the curse from
Flint,
leaving the man shaking in pain.
Things would have
turned out very differently had his daughter been sorted into the
lions den. She no doubt, would've made friends with Potter and
that old fool would have the prophecy, not him.
By rights, she had no current magical legal guardian, which would
make her Head of House her legal representative.
"Severus,
it
has come to my attention that
as such,
you are my
daughter's
magical
legal
guardian.
As
much as I
trust
you
Severus,
I'm afraid I
can't
allow Hermione to be influenced by
that
old fool, and I fear he may try and usurp your authority if so
desired, especially if her true heritage were to come to light."
Severus bowed his head humbly in understanding,
as Voldemort
sighed in resignation.
He wouldn't
be able to claim her yet,
and that
could present
a
host
of
problems.
Glancing purposefully around the table in
consternation, his gaze locked on Lucius. He trusted the man, as
much as he trusted anyone.
He had proved his loyalty and his
son was in love with Hermione. The Dark Lord wasn't ignorant of
the fact
that
Lucius very much wanted Hermione for his Heir, as
the next
Lady Malfoy.
It
could be a fortuitous match,
and by
asking Lucius to represent
Hermione,
he was sending a clear
message that
his son's suit
would be favored,
provided that
Hermione wished for the union.
"Lucius,
my
friend.
As
Hermione
has
settled
here
for
the
summer,
I
would ask that
you discreetly make arrangements for
legal
paperwork
to be drawn up to represent
my daughter
yourself.
I'm not
unaware of
the message this would send,"
looking at the other men in the room, "however, my daughter will
have final
say in whom she wishes to court
.
I
owe her
that
much, considering all she has done for me."
Lucius bowed his head in gratitude, not missing the expression of
anger on Thoros face.
"I will do whatever it is you require, my Lord. My only suggestion is
to discuss it with Hermione first. From what Draco has shared with
me? She has quite a volatile temper
when provoked,
and I'd
rather
not
be on the end of
another
blackmailing scheme or
worse, one of her inventive hexes."
The
Dark
Lord
chuckled
at
the
thought
of
his
daughter's
vindictiveness.
"Very well,
I
will
discuss it
with her tomorrow.
For
now,
Lucius-perhaps you could speak with the Minister and put
the suggestion in his ear about
Dumbledore.
When I
speak with
Hermione tomorrow,
we will
devise a plan to deal
with Skeeter.
Yaxley,
you work in the Department of Magical
Law Enforcement,
go back through the records and get
copies of
all
the transcripts
for
my loyal
followers rotting in Azkaban.
Perhaps we can find
something useful
that
we haven't
thought
of." Yaxley bowed his
head in agreement.
"We should retire for the evening.
I
will
call
you again soon when we have a more definitive plan.
In the
meantime, my daughter's identity remains confined to those within
this room. I will kill any one who betrays what is mine ."
The men all
nodded at
their Lord in solemn understanding. Each
one of
them had been doubtful
of
their Lord's decision to bring a
mere teenager into his inner circle,
and each one walked out
of
the room that evening reaffirming their fidelity to their Lord and his
heir.
Lucius had heard Yaxley whisper to McNair under his breath that
if
he were 20 years younger,
he might
be vying for the witch's
hand himself.
McNair then made an off-handed comment
about
Dolohov,
and how he would see her young age as a bonus, not
to mention her
cunning and brilliance.
That
comment
gave
Lucius pause,
and he began to plot
how he might
avoid the
possibility of that particular situation from ever happening.
When he gazed over,
he saw Severus expression of
distaste
and realized that
his friend had heard the comment
as well.
Severus raised a single eyebrow in response and his comment
of 'Indeed '
was all
the confirmation Lucius needed to know that
he had an ally.
While the Dark Lord may be amenable at
this time to allowing
Hermione to choose her own spouse, both he and Severus knew
that
the man was not
one to keep his word if
there was some
greater benefit for himself.
Would Hermione be protected from that?
Lucius was doubtful, so he would have to do what he could
to cultivate Draco's claim on the little witch.
When they left
the room,
Lucius and Severus retired to
Lucius
study
for
a
late
night
nightcap.
The
two
men
discussed the meeting,
Hermione's plans and her
overall
brilliance.
"Aren't
you worried,
Severus,
about
her
plan to discredit
Dumbledore?"
Severus shook his head.
"As you know,
Lucius-I
begged the
man to help Lily and he allowed her to be killed. After listening to
Hermione tonight, and much of the information that she shared, I
have a hard time believing that the old fool
didn't know who the
real
secret
keeper was.
I
am convinced he allowed the Potter's
to be sacrificed, but what I can't figure out is why? What was the
purpose? Did he suspect the Potter brat would survive?"
Lucius steepled his hands thinking over his friend's words.
"Lily
used Ancient
blood magic to protect
her son.
Where did she get
that
information from, Severus? It's not as if Muggle-born witches
have access to such material, Hermione excluded of course. What
if
Dumbledore provided Lily the idea in some fashion,
knowing
she would have to sacrifice herself for the 'greater good? "
Severus face grew stormy at
the thought.
"Then that
old codger
has played me for a fool
.
I
just
wish I
knew for certain exactly
what happened leading up to that night."
Lucius suddenly sat
up straight
in his chair,
his eyes widening.
"Hermione!"
Lucius
sputtered
at
his
friend
who
just
looked
confused.
"Her
ring
Severus….".
Severus'
eyes
widened
in
realization.
"She could recall
Lily from the Spirit
world.
You could ask
her yourself." Lucius stated firmly.
"Do you think that
is a wise idea,
Lucius? Hermione is
obviously aware of
what
the stone does,
but
our Lord may
not be."
Lucius smirked and confided into Severus what
had transpired
with the Dark Lord's Journal.
When he was done,
Severus sat
back in his chair and gulped down the rest of his firewhiskey.
"She just
gave it back to you? No questions asked? What do you
think she is after?"
Lucius shrugged nonchalantly,
"I
think she knows exactly what
she's after,
and the rest
of
us are playing right
into her hands.
She's
as
brilliant
as
she is diabolical,
and I
for
one? Have
absolutely no intention of being on the losing side, Severus."
Severus nodded his head in agreement. "Then we must do what
we can to assist her in any way necessary."
"That
was my thought as well. I know you overheard Yaxley and
McNair.
I
hadn't
even given it
any consideration,
but
when
Bellatrix and Dolohov are released from Azkaban, we will need to
be mindful
of
Hermione's safety.
Bellatrix was always obsessed
with our Lord,
and discovering he sired an heir? Will
make her
even more unstable,
if
that's even possible.
Dolohov is another
issue entirely,
as the wizard is well
known for
his cruelty and
sexual
depravity. He will
see Hermione as the ultimate conquest,
and I
believe will
do anything within his power to secure her to
his side. I have no intention of seeing that happen, even if I have
to kill
him myself. Draco has told me he is in love with Hermione,
and now that
our
Lord has given me his blessing to be her
magical
advocate? I fully intend to utilize this position to secure a
betrothal contract between the two."
"Do you have any sense of
Hermione's feelings on the matter?"
Severus drawled.
Lucius smirked knowingly,
"She is attracted to Draco,
and the
two have shared some intimacies,
but
she's made it
clear
to
Draco that
she will
not
be allowed to court
him openly yet;
but
did not seem adverse to the possibility."
Severus nodded in relief,
"That
is good then.
Perhaps I
can
help facilitate them spending more time together.
I
have to let
Dumbledore know whom my choices will
be for
prefects this
year.
I
had thought
of
Draco,
of
course, but due to Hermione's
unwillingness to remain within Slytherin House? I
had thought
to offer the position to Miss Parkinson. Perhaps, I will leave the
decision up to Hermione. I will offer it to her with the caveat she
return to the dormitories.
If
she accepts,
then the two of
them
will be spending quite a bit of time together."
"That
is an excellent
idea,
Severus.
Come to breakfast
in the
morning,
our Lord will
be there as will
Hermione. Make the offer
with him present and she is sure to accept."
"A bit
of
Slytherin manipulation and a carrot,
Lucius?" "You know me too well, my friend."
An Animagus in Space
Chapter 39: An Animagus in Space
The
next
morning
during
breakfast,
Severus
had
indeed
confronted Hermione about
the prefect position in front of her the
Dark Lord.
While excited about the possibility, Hermione wasn't fooled either.
This was a blatant
attempt
to force her to relocate back into the
Slytherin dormitories.
When
she'd
said
as
much,
Severus
just
sat
there
expressionless while her Father just
smirked at
her discomfort.
Snape
tried
to
make
his
case
that
having
the
additional
responsibility of being prefect would look favorable, and serve to
discredit
Dumbledore further when the time came for her to put
her plan into motion.
While she thought the argument weak…
Her father did not,
and all
but
told her that he'd expected her to
do her duty to her House, as she was Slytherin's Heir after all.
Draco was rather
pleased with the turn of
events,
as it
would
allow him to spend additional time with Hermione. A point he was
quick to make when they were alone in the library later on.
"I'm glad you're happy about
the situation,
Malfoy!
But
I
had no
intention of
returning to the dorms this year."
She complained
petulantly.
"This is a good thing,
Granger!
I
can help you with whatever
plan you've hatched with your Father.
You deserve the prefect
position.
You're the smartest
in our year by far!
Don't you want
the position?"
Sighing,
Hermione wrinkled her
nose in that
way Draco found
adorable. "It's not that I don't think I deserve the position, and I'm
not afraid of the additional
responsibility, I just don't want to be in
the dorms with a bunch of
people who barely tolerate me.
The
sad thing is if
they knew my heritage, they'd all
be fawning over
me.
Is it
wrong to want
people to like me for who I am, and not
just because of my blood status?"
"I
understand,
and I
wish we didn't
have to hide your
identity
either,
but
Slytherin is where you belong .
Dumbledore is not
an
idiot, and if you're back in Slytherin House, you'll
have the benefit
of
necessary
alibi's
should
you
need
them.
It's
common
knowledge amongst
the other houses,
that
you don't
have many
allies
within
Slytherin,
so
Dumbledore
would
never
suspect
anyone of lying to protect you."
Hermione
considered
that
thought,
and
she
begrudgingly
admitted that
Draco had a point.
"Fine.
I'll
move back into the
dorms,
but
I
swear to Merlin!
If
one person pulls any stunts like
they did in second year,
Malfoy,
I'll
not
be held responsible for
how I retaliate."
Snickering at his witch and her penchant for vindictiveness, Draco
smiled,
"No one would expect
you to,
love.
In fact,
I
would be
more than happy to throw a few hexes in anyone's direction,
should they become a problem."
"You think I need your protection, Malfoy?"
Shaking his head and smirking, he replied, "I think nothing of the
sort,
Granger.
But
you can't
expect
me to sit
back if
someone
tries to hurt you. I won't ."
Hermione came over and sat
next
to Draco, who took her hand
and placed a gentle kiss on the back of
her knuckles.
"This is
torture,
Granger!
I
want
to kiss you so badly right
now,
and I
can't,
because your
bloody snake is somewhere around here
acting as a lethal
chaperone. Lucky for us we are back in school
in
a
couple
days."
Draco
grinned,
waggling
his
eyebrows
suggestively.
"And what makes you think I'm going to let you snog me, Malfoy,
once we get
back to school? I'm going to be awfully busy this
year,
studying for O.W.L.S.
So,
it's doubtful
I'll
have much time
for socializing."
"I've told you before, Granger, about my ability to multi-task."
"You only do so when you want
something,
Malfoy."
Hermione
tsked, while Draco just winked at her knowingly.
"True enough, since in this case I've made my intentions perfectly
clear."
Hermione just
shook her
head and smiled at
the arrogant
prat.
She could admit, only to herself of course, that she missed kissing
Draco as well.
She missed the way he made her feel,
all
out
of
control
with wanton lust. But she needed to focus this year on her
task,
and that
wasn't
going to be easy to do if
she allowed the
gorgeous wizard sitting next to her, the power to distract her.
She was also distracted from commenting further,
when her
Father
entered the library,
effectively scaring Draco off
for the
time being.
Hermione watched Draco leave the library, then turned towards
her Father. "Good afternoon, Father."
Voldemort
nodded at
his daughter,
and sat
down across from
her. "There are a few things I wish to discuss with you, Daughter.
Some of
which,
I'm sure will
displease you.
However,
the
decisions I make going forward will be with your best interests in
mind."
Hermione nodded her head, "Of course, Father."
"As I'm sure you're aware,
Hermione-as your adoptive parents
are Muggles, you have no true legal
magical
guardian. In cases
such as these, your Head of House takes on that responsibility. I
have spoken with Severus and he understands that whilst I may
trust
him,
his proximity to Dumbledore makes it
untenable for
him to remain as your magical representative."
Hermione's eyes widened in understanding. "You're going to have
Lord
Malfoy
take
on
that
duty,
aren't
you?
Even
though
I
blackmailed the man and his son wishes to court me?"
Smirking at
the quick intellect
of
his daughter,
the Dark Lord just
nodded in agreement.
Hermione however,
sighed in frustration.
"Did you make this
announcement after I left last night?"
"You are quite intuitive, Daughter. Yes, I did ask Lucius to take on
the role, as I cannot currently. He did suggest however, I speak to
you beforehand.
Something about
not
wishing to get hexed, nor
blackmailed.
I
think you've sufficiently managed to ruffle dear
Lucius feathers, something I'm sure I've never seen."
Hermione lips twisted at the thought. "If you're looking for an
apology, I'm afraid I don't have one to offer."
Voldemort
shook his head, "No, Daughter. I'd be disappointed if
you did apologize.
On the contrary,
I'm proud of
your ingenuity
and resourcefulness.
I
do have a question however." Hermione
nodded
and
motioned
for
her
father
to
continue.
"You'd
mentioned
that
the
wards
of
Hogwarts
are
attuned
to
Dumbledore,
and he would sense anyone trying to dismantle
them,
I
would assume that
would include anyone trying to
access,
or leave the castle in any fashion? If
you were able to
gain access to the Department
of
Mysteries,
even through the
Room of
Requirement,
he'd have been alerted to your comings
and goings.
And I'm most
intrigued how the room was able to
create a passage from Hogwarts to the Ministry."
Hermione smiled triumphantly. "Yes, that's true to an extent . Did
you know in third year, Sirius Black gained access to Hogwarts?
Got through the protective wards, undetected?"
Voldemort
steepled his hands and nodded once,
wondering
where his daughter was going with this.
"He was able to do so because he is an animagus . It's how he
was able to break out
of
Azkaban,
how he stayed relatively
sane living under
dementors for
12 years.
They can't
sense
animagi,
and apparently,
neither
can the wards at
Hogwarts.
Loopholes are interesting things,
much like curse-breaking.
Find the exception to the rule, and you can bend the rule."
The Dark Lord looked at
his daughter
in astonishment,
which seemed to be happening on a daily occurrence.
"Are you trying to tell
me,
Daughter,
that
you,
a fifteen year old
witch, are an animagus?"
Hermione nodded,
stood up with her wand and shifted into her
animagus
form.
She
curled up and hissed at
her
father
in
parseltongue. "So what do you think, Father?"
Voldemort
laughed uncontrollably.
He'd never thought in a million
years that anyone could surprise him, but his own flesh and blood
continued to astonish him in new and interesting ways.
"You are amazing, Daughter, but I'd much prefer it if you returned
back to your normal state." He hissed in return.
Morphing back into herself, Hermione smirked at her father, who
just shook his head in wonder. "Does anyone else know you can
do this?" Hermione nodded,
"Only Mrs.
White.
She was the one who helped me perfect
my
transformation earlier this summer."
"Then I highly suggest you keep this between us, as there is
no reason for anyone to become aware of
your animagus
form."
"Of course, Father."
"And the passage?" Voldemort inquired.
Hermione smirked once again and took out a small book from her
beaded bag and handed it over. Voldemort gazed at the markings
in the book and raised an eyebrow in understanding.
"These are cuneiform and hieroglyphs."
Hermione
nodded
her
head
emphatically.
"I
found
this
in
Salazar's library. I was able to create a temporal portal using the
information within this book. The only reason it worked, was due
to the fact that there is a space chamber of some kind within the
Department of Mysteries. It took me nearly a full year to create a
stable passageway."
Voldemort
gaped completely gobsmacked at
his child.
"Would
you be able to replicate it?"
"Potentially,
although it
did require quite a bit of magic to activate
and left me quite drained for several days afterwards."
"I
see ."
He replied sternly.
"Whilst
I
appreciate your
ingenuity,
Hermione,
I'd rather
not
have you tax your
magic again.
Am I
clear?"
"Yes, Father."
The two of them spent the remainder of the afternoon plotting
on how to best
utilize Skeeter and how they were going to
bring Dumbledore to his knees.
Hermione felt rather pleased with herself.
Her Father really seemed to value her opinion and was proud of
her cunning and intelligence.
She would need to make sure she
kept
exceeding his expectations.
She wasn't
foolish enough to
suppose that
he wouldn't
push her to excel, but she realized that
perhaps she needed to be a bit more careful just how much of her
brilliance and cleverness she allowed him to see.
I Should've Waited
Chapter 40: I Should've Waited
September First came rather quickly, and Hermione had found her
way to Kings Cross station earlier than usual.
She was walking
through a maze of
people when she'd spotted Harry Potter,
walking with a man who could only be Mad-eye Moody and a
woman with purple hair.
Interestingly, there was a shaggy dog following closely behind him
as well.
So, it would seem that Sirius Black was very much active within
the Order of the Phoenix.
She smirked at that thought.
When
she
finally
boarded the train,
she found an empty
compartment
and warded it
against
intruders.
She didn't
feel
like being disturbed at present, but figured that Draco would be
looking for her as soon as the train got underway. He'd been on
his best
behavior for the past
five weeks,
while she had been
staying in his home.
They had talked everyday and he had
helped her strategize.
As a consequence,
she'd found herself
becoming enamoured
with the wizard against her better judgement.
It wasn't that she didn't trust in his intentions…
… he had been nothing but
a perfect
gentleman as of
late but
she just wasn't sure she could afford to allow herself to give in to
the feelings she was beginning to have for him.
Fundamentally,
she knew that
she still
didn't completely trust in
the possibility that
he wouldn't
hurt
her at
some point,
and she
also wondered if she would ever not feel
wary of being with him
after everything he'd put her through.
Draco was charming,
funny,
sarcastic,
intelligent,
powerful
and
handsome.
Hermione wasn't
oblivious
to the ways
in which all
the
witches at
school
fawned over the Slytherin Prince.
He had
received
several
propositions
late
last
year,
but
to
her
knowledge,
he hadn't
been with another witch since a month
before he'd told her of his feelings.
She wasn't
sure though,
how long a young hormonal
teenaged
boy could hold out
on having sex,
before he succumbed to his
libido.
She'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that the thought didn't
sit well with her.
The truth was,
after everything-she would be devastated if he'd
shagged another witch and would most likely never put her trust
in anyone ever again.
Shaking her
head and staring out
the window,
Hermione was
unsure of how much time had passed, but she did notice that the
train was getting ready to leave and she hadn't seen Draco at all.
Shrugging her shoulders, she tried to act like it didn't bother her,
so she took out a book from her beaded bag and started reading
as the train left the station, and headed towards Scotland.
It wasn't too long before she noticed the blonde wizard that she'd
been thinking about, looking through the compartment window.
She noticed him frown in confusion,
so she cancelled the wards
and concealment charms.
When she became visible once again,
grey eyes that
had been
filled with concern,
warmed in appreciation as he opened the
door, smirking in his usual fashion.
"I
was wondering where you had disappeared to,
Granger.
Would you like some company?"
Hermione considered the blonde wizard and raised her eyebrow
mockingly, "Would it matter to you if I said I didn't, Malfoy?"
Smirk widening,
Draco lowered himself
in the seat
right
next
to
her.
"Are we back to playing these games,
love? Because I'm
happy to play along, as long as I get my reward at the end."
Shaking her head in exasperation, she couldn't help the smile that
threatened to break free. "And what reward would that be?"
"Well,
perhaps you should ward the compartment,
silence it
too.
I
would be happy to show you exactly what
kind of
reward, I had in mind."
Grinning openly,
she did as asked,
before closing the blinds and
placing a locking charm on the door. It wasn't even a second later,
Draco grabbed her and hauled her into his lap before his mouth
covered hers in a bruising kiss.
She moaned at
the contact
and
pushed her
tongue out
to meet
Draco's,
as they nipped and
kissed each other like they were starved of contact.
After
a few minutes of
intense snogging,
Hermione pulled
away,
tilted her forehead against
Draco's and the two just
spent a few moments breathing each other in.
"I've
really
enjoyed
having
you
all
to
myself
this
summer,
Hermione."
Smirking at the blonde, she couldn't help but smile softly at
the admission. "What, Malfoy? You don't like to share?"
Draco gripped Hermione tighter
and kissed her
more firmly
before he responded. "If I have my way you won't be doing this
with anyone else,
ever
."
Grey eyes locked onto amber ones
and she could see the raw determination in Draco's gaze.
"I
know we haven't
talked about
it
much this summer,
Granger,
but my Father did tell
me that he was asked to be your magical
guardian. Apparently, Theo's father was pretty unhappy about it,
as Father thinks he wants a betrothal between you and Theo."
Hermione nodded, "I know. I was told about the situation that day
in the library.
I
was also told that
your request
to court
me was
shared,
and somehow by making your Father my secret
magical
representative,
even temporarily,
it
somehow gives your
claim
some kind of precedence."
"And you don't know how you feel about that?" Draco queried.
Looking into Draco's face,
Hermione could see him trying hard
not
to show just
how uncertain this situation was making him.
Sighing softly,
she took his face in her
hands and kissed him
reassuringly.
"What
we have right
now,
I
don't
plan on sharing with anyone
else.
If
my Father
knew? Well,
let's just
say he'd be most
unhappy with both of us. Things are going to be intense this year,
you know what I have to do, what my plans are. But, Draco? You
need to trust
that
whatever happens,
I'm not
the kind of
girl
to
share intimacies easily.
I
want
you and it's taken me a while to
come to terms with that.
My Father has promised me that
I
will
have final
say in whom I
wish to court
formally,
but
even if
he
didn't,
I
would never
allow myself
to be with someone I
didn't
want."
"I
know,
Hermione.
But
you have to understand that
there are
some who follow your Father who would see you as the ultimate
prize, and would do whatever it took to possess you."
Shaking her head, Hermione rolled her eyes. "And you don't see
me as a prize, Draco Malfoy?"
Sighing
and
touching
his
forehead
to
hers,
Draco
stated
passionately,
"You are the greatest
prize,
my love-because
you're brilliant and beautiful, strong, fierce and more clever than
anyone I've ever known. Not just because of whom your Father
is.
I
won't
see you used as a trophy,
you deserve more than
that."
Smiling openly,
Hermione asked curiously,
"And you deserve
me?"
Shaking his head in shame, Draco responded sadly, "No, I don't
think I'll
ever be good enough to deserve you.
I've hurt
you in
ways that
keep me up at
night
and make me feel
like I should
walk away and let
you find someone more worthy.
But
I'm a
selfish wizard,
Hermione.
I
love you too much to walk away
now,
but
if
you decide at
some point
that
you don't want to be
with me, I will let you go.
Because your happiness means more to me than my own."
Hermione's
breath
hitched
as
she
looked
into
the
earnest
expression of
the boy… no… the young man sitting next
to her.
His face was open and his eyes were watching her with such a
burning intensity that
it
took her
breath away.
She moved her
fingers through Draco's hair
and down his temples,
across his
cheekbones towards his lips where he gently kissed the tips of her
fingers.
Her
heart
was beating frantically and she was so completely
overwhelmed that tears threatened to fall from her eyes.
Moving forward and framing Draco's face with her hands she
kissed him. He responded in kind, wrapping his arms around her
waist and returned her affections with equal
passion. He moved
one hand up to the back of her head, holding her in place while
he ravaged her mouth,
causing her to moan at
the feelings he
was eliciting.
Breaking away from his mouth,
she moved her
lips down the
column of
his throat,
sucking on his pulse point
which caused
Draco to drop his head back on the headrest
and groan.
When
Hermione reached to grasp him intimately,
Draco pulled away,
gently shaking his head. "Love, if we don't stop now I'm going to
have a hard time controlling myself."
Hermione blushed deeply,
causing Draco to chuckle.
"I
didn't
know you had such self-control."
Sighing and placing the softest of kisses on his witch's lips, Draco
looked
at
Hermione
intently.
"I
know I
didn't
have a lot
of
self-control
last year, and I know you witnessed that. So I made a
promise to myself
the moment
I
knew for sure, I was in love with
you."
"And what was that?"
"That
I
would wait
for as long as it
took for you to feel
the same
way about
me as I
do about
you.
I
won't
cheapen what we have
by letting my baser urges control
this.
So… until
we are formally
betrothed,
I
will
honor you and your father's wishes and respect
you properly. So… kissing is very much wanted and needed… but
nothing further."
Hermione sat there in shock. "You're serious?"
"Deadly."
Draco's
solemn
expression
told
Hermione
he
was
indeed, serious.
"Scared of
my Dark Lord of
a Father,
eh Malfoy?"
Hermione
smirked.
"Terrified… but
I'm actually more in awe of
his beautiful
daughter,
who bewitches me more and more everyday.
And
I'm sorry ."
"For what?"
"For not
waiting for you.
I
should've waited.
" Draco looked up at
Hermione with sadness reflected behind his grey eyes.
"I
dated Viktor,
Draco.
Granted all
we did was kiss,
but
I
was
sure I'd feel something more for him."
Nodding in resignation, Draco inquired softly, "Are you… did you
regret not feeling more for him?"
"At
the time,
because I
was frustrated by you and my growing
attraction for you… but now… I'm glad."
Draco smirked and nodded.
"Me too." Tracing her cheek with his
finger he stared into her eyes, his gaze completely vulnerable and
bared before her.
"I
feel
as if
I
don't
have the right
to ask,
but
I
cannot do so…" He trailed off awkwardly.
Smiling encouragingly,
she whispered cajolingly,
"Just
ask
me, Draco."
Nodding once,
he whispered back,
"Please promise me that
you'll
be careful
this year. Don't put yourself at unnecessary risk,
and come to me if you need help. Promise me, Hermione."
Considering the wizard in front
of
her,
whom ironically-she had
sworn at
one time not
so long ago that
she would never allow
into her heart, Hermione could feel her walls starting to crumble.
"I promise, Draco, that I will
be careful. I want you to promise me
that whatever happens this year, you won't lose your temper, and
you won't
revert
back to that
hateful
boy again.
I
don't
think I
could take that-not again."
Seeing the look of pain on his witch's face he grabbed her close
and kissed her
lovingly.
"I
promise love,
I
will
never
hurt
you
again. I love you Hermione. That will never change."
Hermione wanted to speak,
but
the words were lodged in her
throat,
so she just
nodded at
her
wizard and kissed him in
thanks.
This year would make or break her, and all
she knew at
this
moment
was
at
the end of
it,
she wanted to openly
acknowledge their relationship and see where it might lead.
The Downfall Of Dumbledore
Chapter 41: The Downfall Of Dumbledore
School
had started and Lucius Malfoy had managed to get
Minister
Fudge to place a Ministry
official
at
Hogwarts,
to
monitor the Headmaster.
Delores Umbridge was a foul
woman, with a penchant for pink.
She interrupted the Headmaster at
the Start
of Term Welcome
Back Feast,
and it
was easy to see that
Dumbledore was
unhappy with her presence. She made things extremely difficult
for the Headmaster,
questioning his authority and interviewing
all the Professor's for competency.
Her political powers were formidable, and Dumbledore was having
a hard time keeping the witch out of his business.
Hermione's entire plan thankfully, went off without a hitch.
She had contacted Skeeter,
and as she'd discussed with her
Father,
Skeeter
had several
articles written on the abuses of
power within the Wizengamot.
When the article came out
about
Sirius Black being imprisoned
without
a trial
by his peers,
which had been a clear violation of
the rule of
law? There was immediate backlash within the
Pureblood community,
especially when it
was speculated by
Skeeter,
that
Black had never
been properly disinherited and
therefore was still Head of the Black family.
Hermione had made sure to be in the library that afternoon when
the Prophet
had come out,
and was
conveniently
perusing
through some Magical
Law books,
when Harry Potter
came
walking in, appearing quite confused and angry.
Hermione had heard Harry asking Madam Pince for any books
on old Wizarding Law, and the matron had directed Harry over to
where she was
sitting.
When Harry noticed what
she was
reading and all
the notes she had,
he quietly asked if
she had
read the paper that morning and if she might help him locate the
books he was looking for.
Smiling shyly,
Hermione directed Harry
to some books she
thought might be helpful, and was unsurprised when he sat down
at her table and quietly started to read on his own.
Every so often he'd look up at
Hermione with interest,
but
he
mostly kept to himself.
This was the start
of
a fairly regular routine,
where Harry would
find Hermione in the library looking through all kinds of research.
When he'd asked her about
it
one day,
she just
shrugged and
said that
she was hoping to maybe to go into Magical
Law, and
thought
it
might
help studying up on the subject.
Harry just
nodded and went
back to his research,
but
he started asking
Hermione questions, which she was only too happy to answer.
Over the month of October, the two students became a regular
fixture
within
the
library,
much
to
the annoyance of
Ron
Weasley;
and even Draco was a bit put out that Hermione was
spending so much time with Potter.
She'd summarily admonished Draco,
telling him firmly that this
was
part
of
her
plan and he'd promised his unconditional
support.
The blonde wizard had pouted,
but
Hermione had
made sure to try and spend some time with her jealous wizard.
This eventually seemed to appease him,
and even though
they'd only snogged occasionally,
Draco stayed faithful
and
kept his promise to be supportive.
Just
before Halloween,
Hermione slyly shared the information
with Harry that
she had shared with her Father and his Death
Eaters over
the summer.
Harry was excited and grateful
to
Hermione,
and couldn't
wait
to write his godfather
about
the
possibility of getting a trial and acquittal. Kreacher had confirmed
with Narcissa that
the Order
were holding secret
meetings at
Grimmauld Place, and the fact that Dumbledore had let Sirius rot
in Azkaban for twelve years wasn't
sitting well
with many in the
Order.
As the days passed and stories were being written cataloguing
Dumbledore's secret relationship with Gellert Grindelwald, (as well
as
publishing excerpts from their
correspondence from years
ago),
murmurs were beginning to spread about
Dumbledore's
previous activities.
But
it
wasn't
until
the article was published about
the death of
Ariana Dumbledore, that things really took a turn for the worse.
Hermione had managed to make some small
inroads into her
'gaslighting ' of Dumbledore.
During several
instances she had used her specter to unnerve
the Headmaster.
One notable occurrence happened in front
of
the Ministry Toad, who began to question Dumbledore's sanity.
By Christmas,
public opinion had started to shift
dramatically
against
Dumbledore and when Peter
Pettigrew was captured
and brought
to the Ministry,
Sirius was finally able to get a trial,
and was subsequently released on the very technicality that
Hermione had assumed he would be.
Needless
to say,
Harry
was
thrilled!
He thanked Hermione
profusely for her kindness,
apologizing for his poor treatment of
her, and promising her that he would tell Sirius all about her help.
Hermione was gracious and told Harry she'd been only too
happy to offer her assistance, but that she didn't expect anything
in return.
Rita Skeeter
had speculated in her
article right
before the
holidays,
that
Dumbledore had known all
along that
Pettigrew
had been the Potter's secret keeper-and public outcry had been
massive!
Harry had told Hermione that
he was hoping this
wasn't
true,
but
he didn't
know what
to believe anymore where
Dumbledore was concerned.
As luck would have it,
Peter Pettigrew managed to escape from
Azkaban right before his trial.
Hermione had spent
the holidays at
Malfoy Manor
with her
Father,
who'd
praised
her
success
in
getting
Sirius
Black
released,
as
well
as
planting
the
seeds
of
doubt
where
Dumbledore was concerned.
Hermione took his praise in stride,
telling him that Skeeter was set to write another article once she
returned to school
about
the miscarriage of
justice where the
other Purebloods in Azkaban were concerned.
As she predicted, once word got out about Rodolphus Lestrange
being imprisoned without
a proper
trial,
it
put
all
other
Death
Eater convictions into question.
By Easter,
the Lestrange brother's, Antonin Dolohov and Bellatrix
Lestrange were all released and freed.
The uproar was massive,
and all
the blame was placed squarely
on Albus Dumbledore,
much to the horror
of
the Order
of
the
Phoenix.
Molly Weasley was enraged, as those who had killed her brother's
were set free on various technicalities.
Sirius felt
bad,
of
course,
but
refused to take the blame for
something he simply wasn't responsible for.
The press hounded Dumbledore,
and between seeing ghosts of
Ariana, dealing with his previous personal
life being exposed, and
dealing with the Ministry hag following his every move?
Dumbledore was slowly reaching the breaking point.
The day after O.W.L.S. were completed, Hermione found herself
walking along the corridor
near
the Headmaster's office.
She
was
standing
with
Potter
and
Neville
Longbottom,
when
Dumbledore came barreling out of his office. She discreetly cast
the spell,
which caused the apparition of
Ariana to appear.
Incensed and half
mad,
Dumbledore screamed at
the three
students shouting,
which one was responsible for
'it
'-which
made Neville and Harry confused.
Hermione however,
smirked knowingly,
causing the Headmaster
to become enraged and before she could defend herself? Albus
Dumbledore cursed her
with an unforgivable.
The 'crucio '
was
extremely painful,
causing her to scream in terror,
pleading with
the Headmaster to stop, while sobbing uncontrollably.
Harry started screaming too, while Neville ran to find help.
She had no idea how long she'd been under the torture curse,
but
she threw out her strongest wandless spell
and miraculously
disarmed the Headmaster,
his wand flying into her
hand and
suddenly, the pain stopped.
Then she was being lifted by a strong set of arms before she lost
consciousness completely.
Two days later,
Hermione woke in the infirmary,
where she was
surrounded by a few of her classmates. Harry was sitting on her
right,
while Draco and Daphne were sitting on her
left
side.
Lucius Malfoy was talking quietly with Sirius Black and Madam
Pomfrey was fussing over
her,
running diagnostic scans and
shoving several potions down her throat.
"What
happened?" Hermione whispered weakly,
causing all
eyes
to look at her with sympathy and concern.
"Merlin, Granger! We didn't know if you were ever going to wake
up.
How do you feel?" Draco asked quietly,
but Hermione could
tell
by the look in his eyes he was very upset with her. He looked
like he hadn't slept in days and he was quietly stroking her hand
as if to reassure himself she was truly alive and alright.
"I feel fine, just a bit sore and tired. What happened, Malfoy?"
Draco sighed,
glancing warily over
at
Potter,
who grimaced in
return.
"You were cursed by Dumbledore with an unforgivable. The man
has
completely
lost
his
mind.
Neville
found
Professor
McGonagall
and Professor
Snape.
I
guess your magic tried to
protect
you and you disarmed the Headmaster,
and he's in
Azkaban awaiting trial
for using an unforgivable and attacking a
Muggle-born student. The press is in a frenzy, and Father thinks
he could get the kiss."
"Oh,
dear."
Hermione's
eyes
filled
with
crocodile
tears,
a
convincing performance if
the subtle look Draco was sending her
way was any indication.
"I
had no idea.
I
disarmed him? What
happened to his wand?"
Lucius walked over and pulled the Headmaster's wand from his
robes. "I was given this to hold until Dumbledore's trial, which will
start in a few days."
Nodding,
Hermione yawned.
"Would you all
mind if
I
talked with
Lord Malfoy alone for a moment."
Noting the looks
of
surprise on everyone's
faces,
Hermione
couldn't help but sigh. "He's on the school board and I have some
personal questions I'd like to ask, if that's alright?"
Nodding in understanding, everyone made to leave the room, but
Draco glanced back for a moment and nodded in parting towards
his Father.
Once everyone was gone,
Lucius set
up silencing charms and
gave Hermione a quizzical look.
"I'm glad you are awake and feeling better,
Hermione.
Your
Father
will
be relieved to hear
of
your recovery.
He was quite
incensed,
and almost
blew his cover to come see you.
I'm sure
he wants to see Dumbledore dead."
"I would like that as well, but I didn't want to speak of Dumbledore
directly."
Hermione began.
"I
need a favor,
and I'm going to
require a wizard's oath, Lucius."
Raising
an eyebrow at
the young witch,
he considered her
momentarily before he complied.
Once the oath was completed,
Hermione held her
hand out
for
Dumbledore's wand.
Lucius
placed it
into her outstretched hand and gave her a questioning
look.
Hermione grabbed her wand off
the table next to her and silently
cast
her
modified 'gemino '
charm,
which caused Dumbledore's
wand to duplicate.
Handing Lucius the copy,
Hermione placed the real
wand under
her pillow for safe-keeping.
"Do I
want
to know why you've just copied Dumbledore's wand?"
Lucius inquired with interest.
Hermione smiled at
this.
"The wand that Dumbledore possessed,
which is now mine, is the fabled Elder Wand, Lucius."
Lucius Malfoy's eyes widened comically and he sputtered most
unrefined. "Are you sure?"
"Oh yes .
He won it from Grindelwald in 1945. Grindelwald stole
it from Gregorovitch the Wandmaker. Now it's mine ."
Hermione
smirked,
and
watched
Lucius'
eyes
widen
in
appreciation. "That was why you'd wanted Dumbledore to attack
you?"
Hermione hummed in confirmation.
"You will
keep this between
us. I don't want anyone to know that I have the wand. The wand
chooses
the
Wizard,
and
if
I'm correct-it's
allegiance
now
belongs to me."
Lucius chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me, Hermione. Your
secret is safe with me."
"Thank you, Lucius. Can you please let everyone know I'm going
to go back to sleep."
Lucius nodded and went to tell his son and friends that Hermione
was going to take a rest
and to give her
some much needed
privacy.
He had to give the little witch all the credit she was due! Her plan
had gone off
without
a hitch,
and she'd even walked away with
the ultimate prize and not
for the first
time-Lucius pondered on
how lucky they were that Hermione was on their side.
The Daughter of the Dark Lord
Chapter 42: The Daughter of the Dark Lord
Dumbledore's trial
and sentencing made the front
page of
the
Daily Prophet for well
over a month. Hermione, Harry and Neville
had each been called in to testify,
as well
as Professor's Snape
and McGonagall.
When the evidence was finished,
Dumbledore
was sentenced to Azkaban for 20 years.
He didn't
receive the
Dementor's kiss,
but
Hermione was quite pleased that
the man
would most likely die in prison with his reputation in tatters.
When she returned back to Malfoy Manor, her Father and Nagini
were waiting for her.
"Daughter,
it
is good to see you looking well.
Nagini
and I feared
for you, when we had heard what happened."
"I'm alright,
Father.
Just
glad to be home."
Hermione sighed.
Nagini
came
over
and
wrapped
herself
around
her
young
mistress causing her
to giggle softly as she petted her
snake
fondly.
"I'm alright,
Nagini."
Hermione hissed.
"Just
tired,
and
glad it's finally done."
Nagini
lifted her
head and considered her little Mistress hissing
out,
"You gave Master and I
a fright.
Nagini
is cross with young
mistress,
putting herself
in harms way.
The old wizard could've
killed my mistress.
Nagini
is most
displeased,
but
happy you are
safe."
"I am too, Nagini."
The snake removed herself
from Hermione and slithered back
towards the fireplace in the study so she sat
down and turned to
her Father expectantly, when he took his place next to her.
"I
know you're tired,
Daughter,
but
I've called a meeting this
evening with my inner circle. I believe it's time for you to meet my
most
loyal
followers,
and for them to show their appreciation for
your efforts in freeing them."
"As you wish,
Father.
I
would like to freshen up a bit
and maybe
get something to eat beforehand, if that's alright?"
"Very well.
Nagini
will
escort
you to your rooms and she will
be at your side at all times."
"Of
course,
Father."
Hermione nodded and left
quietly,
with
Nagini following her out of the room.
When she had left,
Lucius entered the room and bowed to his
Lord. "Sit, Lucius." Voldemort gestured to the chair next to him.
Lucius took the preferred seat, watching his Lord closely. "I'm
grateful
to you,
Lucius for
watching over
Hermione this past
week. Now that Dumbledore is taken care of and the Minister is
effectively under
our
control,
I
wish to discuss Hermione.
As
you're aware,
she turns seventeen in September.
Your son will
not
be of
age until
the end of
their
sixth year,
and I'm not
inclined to have her
enter
into an engagement
until
she is
finished with her
N.E.W.T.S.
However,
I
will
allow them to
formally court
seventh year,
providing your son realizes that he
will
not
engage in any other
relations with witches until
such
time as he's allowed to court Hermione openly, and he will abide
by all
the demands I'll put forth on him, as part of the courtship. I
have also been made aware that
she received eleven OWLS,
outstandings in all
her
subjects and with that
I
find I
can no
longer keep her entire heritage a secret."
"Draco will
abide by whatever demands you wish to place upon
him,
but
I
don't
understand one thing,
my Lord? Do you wish to
openly acknowledge Hermione as your heir?"
"Not
in so many words.
The entirety of
Slytherin House will
be
made aware of her heritage, under penalty of death it will
not be
revealed.
I
will
not
have my daughter
continued to be a leper
within her
own house.
Her mother is another issue,
one which
I've failed to mention, because I wasn't sure if she was still alive.
I've since discovered she went into hiding, shortly after Hermione
was left
with the Muggles." Voldemort
sighed.
"Dumbledore had
her
family killed,
trying to find her.
She was a spy within the
Order,
and as such when Dumbledore found out,
her
family
disappeared.
It
was believed they were killed by Death Eaters,
and I never disputed that claim until now."
Lucius eyes widened in shock.
"You mean to say,
my Lord-that
Hermione's mother is Marlene McKinnon?"
Voldemort
nodded,
surprised that
Lucius had figured it
out
so
quickly.
"Yes.
Marlene had been involved with Sirius Black at
Hogwarts, as you know, but that was a ruse. I met Marlene in her
fourth year, and I was intrigued by her brilliance. She knew whom
I
was,
but
she was never fearful
of me. I grew to respect her, as
much as I
am capable I
suppose.
I
knew her family had been
killed,
and I
had always assumed she'd been killed with them.
The fact
that
Hermione lived,
told me Marlene was not
in her
family home when they were attacked.
I
was able to track her
down this last year as she'd been living with distant relatives in a
small village outside Cornwall."
Lucius looked shocked. "Where is she now, my Lord?"
"She is safely hidden until
I
can figure out
a way to reunite
mother
and daughter.
Marlene being a Pureblood,
once she
claims Hermione, her blood status will no longer be an issue."
Lucius nodded. "Then perhaps you might allow me to help in that
regard, My Lord. If Marlene were to come forward now, and give
testimony that
Dumbledore killed her family,
he'd be put on trial
again and there'd be no avoiding the kiss for him this time.
All
good will
he had remaining on the Wizengamot
will
be swept
away when it
is learned he tried to kill
someone within his own
ranks, the last of a Pureblood House."
Voldemort
smiled. "I do believe that could work, Lucius. Please
speak with Minister Fudge and I
will
go and discuss this with
Marlene. If she agrees, we will be able to reunite Hermione with
her mother sooner than anticipated."
Lucius bowed and stood. "I will see to it immediately, My Lord."
Voldemort
stood and walked up to his daughters room and
knocked on her door. When he didn't get a response, he walked
in and saw Hermione laying on her
bed asleep.
Smiling to
himself, he walked over and brushed a lock of hair from her face,
which caused the young witch to stir and look up at
her father
with bleary eyes.
"I'm sorry, Father. I must have fallen asleep."
"Not
to worry,
Daughter.
I
just
came to tell
you that
I
will
be
leaving for a couple of hours. There is someone I have to meet
with.
I
will
need to speak with you tonight
after the meeting is
over,
but
for now sleep;
and Nagini
will
wake you in a couple
hours."
Hermione nodded sleepily and nestled her head back down on
her
pillow,
instantly falling into slumber.
As Voldemort
looked
down
at
his
daughter,
he
was
once
again
awed
by
her
cleverness and cunning.
Her brilliance was unmatched by none
except himself and he was amazed at how resilient she was. She
had
executed
her
plan
flawlessly
and
had
handed
him
Dumbledore and the Minister
without
a single drop of
blood
being shed.
He had no doubt
that
with Hermione at
his side,
the Wizarding
World would be his for the taking.
Turning to his familiar he hissed quietly.
"Watch over her, Nagini.
No one is to enter this room without
my permission and you are
tasked with keeping her
virtue protected at
all
costs.
I'm not
unknowledgeable of
her beauty and brilliance nor the proclivities
of some of my more loyal followers."
The snake nodded once,
wondering if her Master understood the
ramifications of
his words,
but choosing to ignore it for now? She
slithered over
to the end of
her mistress's bed,
silently keeping
watch over her new charge.
Nagini
would never allow anyone to harm her mistress, and
she would kill anyone who tried.
Later that same evening, Hermione took great care getting ready
for
her
meeting with her
Father's Death Eaters.
Narcissa had
come
in
and
helped
with
her
hair,
and
made
some
recommendations on which robes suited her
best.
Hermione
finally settled on a beautiful
emerald green set,
and Narcissa
smiled approvingly at her choice.
When
she was
ready,
Narcissa led Hermione at
the main
drawing room,
where several
people Hermione didn't
recognize
were standing quietly talking amongst
themselves.
When she
entered,
she was greeted immediately by Lucius and Severus,
who both kissed the back of
her hand in welcome.
Thoros Nott
and Walden McNair
came forward too,
followed by Corban
Yaxley-who had another
gentleman with him that
she'd never
met.
"My Lady,
it's very good to see you looking so well
after your
ordeal." Yaxley stated in his deep, throaty baritone.
"Thank you, Lord Yaxley. I'm happy that unfortunate business is
behind me.
Perhaps you might
introduce me to the gentleman
next to you?"
"Of
course,"
Yaxley
drawled.
"This
is
Lord Antonin Dolohov.
Antonin this is Lady Hermione Riddle, our Lord's daughter."
Hermione curtsied formally and was taken aback when the man
in question moved into her personal
space and reached for her
hand,
kissing the back of
it
and looking deeply at
her in a way
that made her quite uncomfortable.
"It
is my pleasure to formally make your
acquaintance,
Miss
Riddle.
I
understand that
it's you I
have to thank for my release
from Azkaban. A free man once more."
Hermione
smiled demurely,
locking her
Occlumency
shields
down firmly. "I thank you for your kind words, Lord Dolohov. I was
only doing my part for our cause."
"Nonsense.
I've heard rumors of
your cunning and beauty,
but
I
must say, the rumors don't do you justice, my Lady."
Dolohov seemed very intense and Hermione just
nodded her
thanks, before Lucius thankfully, came over to whisk her away for
introductions elsewhere.
When she finally came to Rodolphus Lestrange, he was flanked
by his brother
Rabastan and his wife Bellatrix.
Narcissa had
fore- warned Hermione that
her sister was a bit unhinged, and
had an unhealthy obsession with the Dark Lord. She put on her
best
placid
expression,
and
smiled
politely
at
the
threesome-who
were
looking
at
her
with
a
mixture
of
appreciation, hesitation and irritation.
Lucius made the formal introductions.
"Rodolphus,
Bellatrix,
Rabastan? Please allow me to formally
introduce
you
to
Our
Lord's
daughter,
Hermione
Riddle.
Hermione,
this is Lord Rodolphus Lestrange,
his wife,
Bellatrix
and younger brother, Rabastan."
Hermione curtsied formally, which drew an appreciative smile from
Rodolphus and Rabastan.
Bellatrix however,
was not
impressed at
all.
"You're the Dark
Lord's daughter? " Bellatrix sneered openly. "And who might your
mother be, child?"
The
room had
suddenly
gotten
very
quiet
and
Hermione
considered the older
woman with amusement.
Clearly Narcissa
was correct in warning her that Bellatrix would be a problem.
"Yes,
Lady Lestrange,
I'm the daughter of
Our Lord.
I'm afraid
any other personal
information would need to be directed to Our
Lord,
as I'm sure you can understand? He is a private wizard,
and would not
take kindly to openly discussing such matters in
front of even his most loyal followers."
Bellatrix grimaced, but then glared harshly at her attempt being
thwarted-while
her
husband
just
stared
at
Hermione
with
admiration while Rabastan appeared amused by Hermione's
response.
"Why you,
insolent
child!
I
will
have you know I
am Our Lord's
most
faithful
and devoted servant to the cause and I'm sure Our
Lord
would
not
take
kindly
to
learning
that
his
child was
disrespectful
towards his most
loyal
follower."
Bellatrix crowed
with glee.
Hermione's countenance didn't
change,
if
anything,
she looked
even more amused than before.
"I'm afraid Our
Lord hasn't
mentioned you to me,
so I
was unaware of
your
status,
Lady
Lestrange.
I'm sure he will
be pleased to see you here,
giving
your unconditional
support for his cause. Loyalty is such a valued
commodity."
There were quiet
chuckles at
the thinly veiled insult,
but
Bellatrix
just seemed even more incensed.
Moving over into Hermione's space, the older witch tried to stare
her down and intimidate,
but
she just
raised an eyebrow in an
unspoken challenge.
Bellatrix then sneered and was about
to
speak, when the Dark Lord entered the room and the older witch
stepped back.
Voldemort
had
witnessed
the
exchange,
and
was
silently
applauding his daughter, in how deftly she'd handled Bellatrix.
"My friends,
welcome home.
I
know these past
years have been
uneasy,
and I'm not
without
appreciation for
those who have
shown continued loyalty to our cause." At
this Bellatrix preened,
smiling triumphantly at
Hermione,
who just
looked back at
her
indifferently.
"You are here today, thanks to the efforts of one who has become
indispensable to our
cause.
It
was through her efforts,
planning
and cunning that
we are free today of
Albus Dumbledore.
The
Order of
the Phoenix is fractured, and the Ministry is firmly in our
pocket.
Please raise your
glasses in a toast,
to my daughter and Heir,
Hermione Riddle."
All
the men in the room raised their glasses and toasted to the
young witch, but Bellatrix just looked incensed.
"My Lord? Why should we give deference to a mere child? Has
she killed for the cause? Tortured any Muggles, for the cause?"
All
eyes were fixed on the Dark Lord,
as he smiled harshly at
Bellatrix.
"Ah,
dear
Bella.
I
had almost
forgotten your thirst
for
blood.
Times are changing,
and we must
change with them.
Hermione was able to discredit
and dismantle the Order without
a single drop of
bloodshed. She has effectively turned the entire
Wizarding World against
Dumbledore.
There are no heroes nor
martyrs to rally to their cause!
They are fractured,
shamed and
impotent.
You stand here a free witch,
thanks to my daughter's
efforts.
Whom exactly do you think came up with the research
and planning to allow you to walk in here tonight freely, and not a
fugitive?"
Bella just glared at the little witch. "Research is all well and good,
My Lord, but how is she going to be able to handle herself if the
need for bloodshed is required? Run away like a frightened little
lamb? Do you really think…"
All
eyes focused on Hermione,
who was smirking at
the older
witch with something her
Father
could only describe as calm
amusement. She lifted a questioning eyebrow to her Father, who
silently nodded in return,
and then suddenly? Bellatrix had her
hands at
her
throat,
gasping for
air.
The shocked faces of
all
within the room quickly turned towards the little witch,
who had
her head tilted at the Madam Lestrange, giving her a considering
look before she smiled widely.
"I'm sorry, Lady Lestrange? You were saying something?"
As the dawn of
awareness flitted across the faces of
those in
attendance, the Dark Lord chuckled at his daughter.
Wandless, silent magic… most impressive.
Bellatrix was now on her
knees,
struggling to breathe.
She
reached for her wand to hex Hermione, when the wand flew from
her hand and into the little witch's palm, who was calmly standing
across from her.
When it
appeared as if
Bellatrix was about
to
lose consciousness,
Voldemort
quietly but
firmly said,
"Enough,
Daughter! You've made your point."
Sighing,
Hermione waved her hand and released the witch from
the asphyxiation spell
she'd created. The mutterings of the other
men in the room,
not
to mention the way in which Dolohov was
leering openly at Hermione, made The Dark Lord realize that his
followers
were in awe of
his
daughter
and the power
she
wielded.
The thought made Voldemort smile.
Hermione walked over
to where Bellatrix was gasping on the
floor trying to regain her equilibrium. Oddly enough, her husband
made no effort to help her up, which Hermione thought intriguing.
When she was within arms reach,
she handed Bellatrix's wand
back to her
with a small
smile,
and then turned to go back to
where she'd been standing next to her Father, when she heard a
gasp and reacted instantly,
throwing up her
protective shield
silently and sending a reflective charm back towards the caster.
The scream that
pierced the air gave Hermione a measure of
satisfaction,
but
when she turned around and saw Bellatrix on
the floor
with open cuts all
over
her body? She turned to the
others within the room,
and was surprised when all
of
the
wizard's present,
were openly glaring at
the older
witch with
heated disdain.
Apparently it was considered bad form to attack, when someone's
back was turned.
Bellatrix was losing blood quickly and then Hermione turned to her
Father,
who was watching the other
woman plead with him to
spare her life.
"And why should I
do that,
Bellatrix? You attacked my Daughter,
dishonorably."
Addressing Rodolphus,
Voldemort
inquired,
"And
what of you, Rodolphus? Should I spare your wife's life?"
Rodolphus shook his head in the negative at his Lord, and then
glanced over to his Lord's daughter, who was watching the scene
with feigned disinterest. "No, my Lord. What Bella did, she did of
her
own volition.
I
will
accept
whatever
decision you make in
regards to her life."
Voldemort glared down at the witch who had been one of his most
trusted servants, but he was no fool. The witch was obsessed with
him,
and he had been concerned that
Bellatrix would try and
openly challenge Hermione.
That
his daughter
had gained the
upper
hand over a witch as powerful
as Bella,
made Voldemort
most pleased.
Glancing over
at
his daughter,
she was watching him with a
guarded expression.
He knew that
look.
She was wondering if
he would choose
another over her after everything she'd done for him.
In that
moment
Voldemort
knew he could not
dishonor
his
daughter in such a way.
Gesturing
to
Nagini,
who
was
sitting up next
to Hermione,
Voldemort nodded once and then hissed, "Nagini, kill ."
The snake didn't need to be told twice, as she would've killed the
witch,
even if
her
Master
had let
her
live.
Striking with deadly
precision, Nagini ended the mad witch's life without hesitation.
Hermione sighed when Nagini
came back to her
and gently
petted the snake,
who wrapped herself
around her
mistress
before hissing at the rest of the room in warning.
Voldemort
chuckled at
how overprotective Nagini
was being,
but
he applauded the sentiment just the same.
Hermione went
over
to Lucius once Nagini
released her
and
looked at
him sadly.
"I'm so sorry,
Lucius!
Please convey my
apologies to Narcissa."
"You have nothing to apologize for, Hermione. Bellatrix sealed
her own fate,
and Narcissa will
understand.
She won't
blame
you." Hermione nodded,
and then moved over to where Lord
Lestrange was standing.
"I'm truly sorry for
your
loss,
Lord
Lestrange.
Please know that
I
would've welcomed Bellatrix
under
better
circumstances.
Your
family's devotion to our
cause is not something that can ever be minimized."
Rodolphus took the young witch's hand and bent
over
her
knuckles,
placing a small
kiss there.
Gazing into her
amber
eyes,
he smiled kindly.
"Bella was my wife,
but
it
wasn't
a love
match.
I'm saddened more by her shameful
behavior, My Lady.
Rabastan and myself are grateful for your efforts, it's because of
you that we stand here free wizards."
Hermione
blushed
at
the
compliment.
"Thank
you,
Lord
Lestrange for those kind words."
Rabastan came over as well,
and kissed Hermione's hand
in gratitude and the rest of the room watched the display of
loyalty being reaffirmed. Voldemort then directed that Bella's
body be removed and the meeting to commence.
Once the pleasantries were out of the way, discussion began on
the best
way to infiltrate the Ministry. What plans needed to be
made in regards to Hogwarts,
and at
this-Hermione gave her
suggestion.
"My Lord, the Hogwarts register lists all
incoming students who
are
to
be
invited
to
attend,
correct?"
Voldemort
nodded,
wondering where his daughter was going with this. "Well, I was
thinking…" A few amused chuckles went up in the room, which
caused the witch to blush again, and her father to smirk. "If we
were to put
someone in Dumbledore's place as Headmaster?
Then we would know all
the incoming students,
what
families
they were from and if they were Muggle-born or not."
Voldemort
considered his daughter and inquired,
"What
are you
thinking, Daughter?"
"Well,
one
of
two
things
actually.
When
a
Muggle-born
appears on the Hogwarts register,
is it
from the time of
their
birth or when their magic is expressed accidentally?"
A few interested looks passed over the room, but it was Severus
who spoke up.
"The Hogwarts register is updated when a child
expresses their magic."
"So theoretically, if a Muggle-born didn't express magic until the
age of ten, then the register wouldn't update until that moment?"
Severus nodded.
"My
Lord,
there is
one of
two ways
we could handle the
Muggle-born issue,
but
both would be predicated on having
Professor Snape become the new Headmaster of Hogwarts." At
Severus look of
incredulity,
Hermione giggled.
"Sorry, Professor.
But you really are the best candidate. You can always refuse the
position."
Hermione baited cheekily which caused Severus to
drawl, "Indeed ."
"Having control
of the register, we would theoretically know when
a Muggle-Born's
name was
added.
If
the child was young
enough, we could obliviate the parents or replace the child with a
golem and then reintroduce the magical
child into our world via
blood adoption.
This would be predicated on the child's age
when the magic expresses itself. But the reason I suggest this is
two-fold.
There
are
many
Pureblood
families
who've
had
difficulties bearing children. This might be a way to introduce new
blood into those families and remove the threat of muggle family
members in the Muggle world from ever knowing about
us.
Or,
we could strip the children of their magic, and obliviate the family
if necessary."
Voldemort considered his daughter's words thoughtfully, while the
other
men looked on in admiration at
the little witch's cunning.
"How would we extract the magic from those children, Daughter?"
"Well,
I
have been working on a way to do that
very thing.
Theoretically,
when you think of
magic like a curse,
it
requires
layers of spells to break the curse, but usually there is a linch-pin
that
unlocks
the
main
curse
mechanism that
allows
a
curse-breaker to break a curse down into smaller components,
that are easier to deal with."
Dolohov was dumbfounded.
He had been one of
the best
curse-breakers in the magical
world before he was sent
to Azkaban and to hear a sixteen
year old witch describe in such simplistic,
eloquent
terms the
fundamentals of curse-breaking, made him hard as stone.
She was indeed a prize .
"She is right,
my Lord," claimed Dolohov deeply,
"a curse at
its
heart,
is fundamentally a lock and key mechanism.
It
can be
single-layered or have multiple layers depending on the object
you are trying to curse,
and how complex it
is in origin.
It
is far
easier to curse an inaminate object
than a witch or wizard,
for
instance.
But
to
remove
magic
from a
person,
you could
theoretically,
layer
multiple
spells
into
the
curse,
thereby
extracting the magic from the individual."
Hermione smiled and nodded her
head.
"It
would be reverse
curse- breaking in a way."
Dolohov grinned at the little witch in admiration.
Voldemort
sat
back
and
considered
what
his
daughter
and
Antonin were saying.
"Blood adoption,
I'm unsure how many of
the old Pureblood
families would feel
about such things. It is something we need to
carefully
figure
out
how to go about
implementing such a
suggestion.
But
in any case, Hermione, I would like you to work
with Antonin over the summer. Find out if it is possible to remove
someone's magical
core.
Would it
kill
the individual
or
not?
These are things we need to understand better if we are going to
move forward in dealing with the Muggle-born problem."
Hermione nodded as did Antonin. Other matters were discussed
and Hermione listened attentively,
but
offered little in the way of
opinion.
When the meeting ended,
Antonin stayed back and
waited for the other Death Eaters to say their goodbyes to the the
Dark Lord's daughter,
before he sauntered over
and bowed
formally.
"My Lady,
it
was a great
honor to meet
with you this evening.
I'm at your disposal. Perhaps we might begin our project on the
morrow?"
Hermione smiled politely,
all
the while making sure Nagini
was
close by watching.
"I'm afraid tomorrow is going to be problematic, Lord Dolohov, as
I've made other
plans.
Perhaps the next
day after
breakfast
around ten in the morning here in the Manors library?" Dolohov
nodded again,
and refrained from inquiring what
plans the little
witch had for
the next
day.
He'd heard from Yaxley that
the
Malfoy Heir
had already requested to formally court
the Dark
Lord's Daughter,
which had been denied as she wasn't
of
age
yet. She would be soon however, and Dolohov wasn't the kind of
man who allowed minor details to get in the way when he wanted
something.
"That would be fine, My Lady." Dolohov bowed one final time, and
reached for Hermione's hand,
kissing the back of
it
again,
while
locking his gaze with hers.
When he'd finished and left
the room,
Hermione gave out
a sigh
of relief.
The man had a formidable presence and wasn't
subtle with his
desires.
She went
over to stand by her Father,
who was talking
with Severus and Lucius. When they'd finished, her Father guided
Hermione into the study that
he used frequently, closing the door
and warding the room.
Voldemort
grabbed a glass of
brandy and handed one to
Hermione,
who looked at
it
dubiously before taking a small
sip
and gasping at
the burn.
The Dark Lord chuckled at
how
innocent and formidable his daughter could be.
Her mother had been very much the same at sixteen.
"Daughter? I'd wished to speak with you about something that has
come to my attention recently."
"Oh?"
"Yes. As you know, we haven't discussed the identity of your
biological
mother,
because I
didn't
feel
it
was relevant
to share
that
information.
I
believed that
she'd died shortly after you were
given to your
Muggle parents.
I've since come to learn that
assumption was false ."
Hermione gasped in surprise and felt
her
chest
tighten.
"What
happened to her? Why did she desert me?"
Voldemort
sighed and proceeded to tell
Hermione about
her
mother
Marlene.
How he had met
her
by chance one day in
Diagon Alley when she was fourteen and how she had fearlessly
come up and demanded to know if he was as evil as the whispers
she had heard indicated and if
he really believed in what he was
doing, and why.
She'd asked him endless questions,
and in his shock at
being
accosted by a fourteen year old witch with bushy hair and fearless
eyes, he took her for ice cream and discussed magical theory with
her.
She was leagues above her school-aged counterparts,
and
they had formed a correspondence during her school
years. She
had continually questioned him,
made him think about
things he
hadn't considered and never once acted fearful of him.
When she'd become of
age her
sixth year,
she had formally
dated Sirius Black, and it had been difficult for him. He didn't love
Marlene,
but
he had come to respect
her
and enjoyed her
company.
Eventually their
relationship became physical,
as she shared
many of the same proclivities he did.
Hermione blushed heavily at
what
this implied and her Father's
deep chuckle,
let
her
know she wasn't
far
off
the mark in her
assumptions.
When Marlene had been asked to join the Order of the Phoenix
after graduating from Hogwarts,
she'd jumped at the opportunity
and had been a spy within its ranks until Dumbledore discovered
her allegiance and had her family killed.
Hermione couldn't help
but
shed angry tears for
her
mother,
and once her father was
finished with his story,
she asked where her mother was living
currently.
"She was hiding in Cornwall
with squib relatives.
She has been
keeping an eye on you throughout your life and is anxious to be
reunited with you,
if
you're willing.
She was afraid if
she came
forward while Dumbledore still carried influence, she'd have been
sent to Azkaban without a trial or worse, killed."
Hermione nodded in understanding.
"I
would like to meet
her.
Does
she
wish
to
claim me
as
her
daughter
now that
Dumbledore is no longer a problem?"
Voldemort nodded. "She does. Lucius suggested having Marlene
go to the Minister
directly and tell
him her story.
Lucius thinks
that
once
it
is
known
who
really
killed
Marlene's
family,
Dumbledore will get the kiss."
"But they'll want to know why Dumbledore was after her?"
"Yes,
I'm sure they will,
but
for
now all
she will
say is that
Dumbledore found out
that
she was involved with someone he
suspected
of
being
a loyal
follower
of
mine.
She won't
be
compelled to confirm my identity. Lucius has given me assurances
that
Fudge will
be cooperative in minimizing my exposure at
the
present time.
Once the Ministry is firmly in our control, I will be able to come out
of hiding and acknowledge you as my heir."
Hermione sighed heavily. "When will I be able to meet with her?"
"Lucius spoke with the Minister
today and your mother will
be
meeting with him tomorrow.
If
all
goes well,
she will
be able to
return here some time tomorrow evening."
"That soon?" Hermione whispered, paling a bit.
"Yes.
Do not
fret,
Daughter.
Your
mother
has been told of
the
help you've given me, and she is anxious to see you again. She
has missed you terribly,
Hermione,
as it
broke her heart
to give
you away knowing she might
never see you again. She did it to
protect you."
Hermione was stunned at the events of the day.
"I know, Father, and I will try my best to be welcoming."
Voldemort
nodded
at
his
daughter
and
then
stood
up.
"I
overheard of
your
plans to meet
with Antonin the day after
tomorrow. Nagini
will
be with you at all
times, so do not fret over
being alone with Antonin.
He is a brilliant
curse-breaker
and
quite proficient at inventing his own spells and curses. You could
learn much from him."
"Of course, Father." Hermione agreed quietly.
Antonin's Assault
Chapter 43: Antonin's Assault
That night Hermione slept fitfully.
Her dreams kept
shifting from warm grey eyes to striking dark
ones that
looked as if
they were about
to devour her whole.
It
was as if
she could feel
strong large hands running over her
body even in sleep.
Her
nipples were hard and her core was
soaking,
as she felt
large fingers push in and out
of
her body.
She could feel
her
hips responding to the phantom touches,
circling in heightened need.
Soon a rough tongue was licking through her folds and she let
out
a moan in her sleep as she could literally feel
large hands
pinning her lower body down and her core being devoured by a
lasciviously
brutal
tongue
that
was
pushed
up
inside her,
suckling hard on her quim.
Just
as she was about
to come,
she heard Nagini
hiss in
warning,
causing her
to shoot
up in bed in alarm.
The snake
gazed down at
and hissed.
"Are you well,
young mistress? You
were moaning in your sleep?"
Hermione blushed,
not
wanting to admit
to Nagini
she was
having a very vivid sex dream. "Just a nightmare, Nagini. Thank
you for waking me."
Nagini
nodded, but watched Hermione closely. "Go back to sleep,
Mistress. I will stay with you until you fall back asleep."
Hermione
nodded
and
sunk
back
down
into
her
pillows,
wondering if she could get back to that dream. As she moved her
hips slightly, she was shocked to discover that her knickers were
soaking wet and her pussy felt a little sore. Shrugging, she rolled
back over and fell back to sleep, blissfully unaware that down the
hall,
Antonin Dolohov was smiling to himself
at
how responsive
and wanton she'd been.
As he walked back disillusioned to his room,
he moved his
hand up to his nose and inhaled the sweet musky scent of the
little witch's cunt.
Placing all
his fingers inside his mouth,
he
sucked hard,
cleaning them completely and groaning at
the
delicious taste.
Fuck… the little witch was ripe for
the plucking.
A virgin too.
He'd enjoyed invading her dreams.
If
it
wasn't
for that
blasted
snake,
he'd have gotten to feel
Hermione squirt
all
over
his
fingers and face.
The thought made him smile.
The next
morning Hermione got
up from bed and went
into her
ensuite to take a long hot shower. She still felt a bit sore from her
dream the night
before,
which she'd thought
odd.
But
after her
shower,
she put
the incident
out
of
her mind and went
to find
Narcissa,
feeling the need to see the older witch and apologize
for
what
happened the previous night.
When she reached the
family dining room,
Lucius and Narcissa were seated at
the
table, as was Severus.
Hermione stood at
the doorway gazing into the room tentatively.
Lucius, noticing her hesitation rose from his seat and walked over
to where she was standing. Taking Hermione's arm, he led her to
the spot
next
to his wife,
who could see the uneasiness on the
little witch's face.
When Hermione was seated and Lucius had
returned to his own spot,
Narcissa gently patted her
hand in
comfort.
"Lucius told me what happened last night, my dear. Please do not
distress yourself
over
Bellatrix.
Even before Azkaban,
her mind
was a fragile thing.
She'd have bouts of
madness,
coupled with
times when she was reasonable… but those times became fewer
and farther in between,
after she'd joined the Dark Lord's ranks.
She attacked you dishonorably and you had no choice but
to
defend yourself.
It
was not
your choice, nor by your hand her life
was taken. I was afraid something like this would happen. I'm just
glad you weren't hurt, dear. I can't imagine Draco's state of mind if
something were to befall
you,
especially at
our
family's hand."
Narcissa smiled kindly and squeezed Hermione's hand, which she
returned.
"I'm truly sorry,
Naricssa.
I
wish things were different
for
your
sake.
I
would've never
wanted to take your
sister
from you."
Hermione admitted this quietly, trying to hold back her tears.
"Don't
blame yourself,
Hermione,"
Lucius stated quite firmly,
"Bellatrix has always been volatile . Her mistake was in thinking
she meant
more to the Dark Lord than his own flesh and blood.
If
it
had been Draco she'd threatened, Narcissa or I would have
ended her ourselves."
Hermione looked over at Narcissa, who nodded sadly. "Lucius is
right
.
Put
it
out
of
your mind and enjoy your day.
I understand
you are spending some time at with Daphne at her home today.
I'm sure that will be more enjoyable for you to dwell on."
Hermione nodded. "Daphne has become a good friend. Actually,
her Mother offered to take Astoria, Daphne and I to Paris for the
day."
Lucius raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Does your Father know
of you plans, Hermione?"
Hermione
shrugged.
"He
was
busy
today
doing
something
important
and I
just
found out
what
our
plans are.
I'm heading
over there after breakfast, but I'll be careful, Lucius."
Gazing over at
Severus,
who was also displeased by the turn of
events,
Lucius sighed.
"I
suggest
in the future you advise your
Father
of
any plans that
are out
of
the ordinary.
Severus will
accompany you on your shopping excursion." Hermione went
to
protest,
but
Lucius put
up his hand.
"If
Our Lord were to find out
that
I
allowed
his
Heir
to
wander
around
another
country
unchaperoned,
I'd hate to think what
he might
do.
I
would go
myself, but I have business at the Ministry and Narcissa is having
tea this afternoon with the wives of the school board members."
Hermione sighed and bowed her
head in resignation.
"Of
course,
Lucius.
I
apologize.
I
wouldn't
want
to put
you in a
compromising situation where my Father is concerned."
Severus then stood up,
leaving his napkin by his plate.
"I
have to deal
with a few things before we leave.
I should be
ready in thirty minutes."
Nodding politely, Hermione smiled kindly. "Thank you, Professor."
Severus grimaced and swept
out
of
the room,
robes billowing
after
him which caused Hermione to smile fondly.
Narcissa
caught
her
expression and chuckled.
"No one makes quite an
entrance or exit like Severus."
She giggled softly and said,
"Sometimes I
wonder if he practices
in front of a mirror."
Lucius chuckled and Narcissa laughed merrily.
"Yes,
it
would
seem as if he has a flair for the dramatic."
The rest of breakfast was pleasant, as the three discussed
Hermione's plans for the day.
Before she left
however,
Lucius
stood up and moved his hands into his robes. He brought out a
small
pouch and handed it
to Hermione,
smirking when she
gave him a look of surprise.
"That,
my dear,
is a family pouch and it's charmed to take
galleons out of the Malfoy vaults. There should be enough for a
shopping trip, as you will need to buy a few new formal robes for
the summer
season."
Hermione was floored,
and shook her
head, but Lucius just smiled kindly. "Now, now, my dearest girl; it
is my responsibility to take care of
such things.
I
am your
magical
guardian, and it would be unseemly for you not to have
the necessary trousseau for the summer."
Hermione turned to Narcissa,
who smiled gently and nodded.
"We wish to do this for you,
my dear.
Enjoy the day and buy
whatever your heart desires."
Hermione stood up and hugged Lucius and then went
to
hug Narcissa.
Both were more than surprised by the show of
affection,
and
Narcissa felt
tears build behind her eyes as Hermione clung to
her.
"Thank you.
" Hermione whispered into Narcissa's ear,
before
she left the room in a hurry.
Both Narcissa and Lucius watched fondly as she disappeared,
knowing that
if
things progressed the way they'd hoped,
the
young witch would be joining their family someday soon.
The day progressed better than Hermione had hoped it
would.
Severus was an immaculate chaperone and Daphne,
Astoria
and Hermione had a wonderful time raiding the shops looking for
the perfect clothes for the summer season. Hermione purchased
three formal
dress robes, six summer dresses, new shoes, some
lacy
undergarments,
some stockings and garters and some
causal
clothes.
The Greengrass elves took all
the purchases
back to the Manor for Hermione and they enjoyed afternoon tea
at
a
quaint
little
cafe in Wizarding Paris.
When Hermione
returned to the Manor it
was almost
dinner time,
so she rushed
up to her rooms to get
ready for the evening.
She had been so
focused on shopping she completely forgot
about
the fact
that
she'd be meeting her mother tonight.
The thought made her nervous and she tried to relax by taking a
nice bubble bath.
Nagini
wasn't
in her
rooms,
so Hermione
figured she must
be out
hunting.
When she got
out
of
the bath
and went
into her room,
she was surprised to see Draco sitting
there, staring at her hungrily.
Before she knew it,
the room was locked and silenced and her
boyfriend picked her
up and threw her
onto the bed,
causing
Hermione to giggle loudly. When Draco leered openly at her and
pushed her legs apart, kissing her, Hermione gasped in arousal.
"Draco?" Hermione gasped in confused pleasure, which caused
her
boyfriend to become more amorous with his ministrations.
When Draco plunged two fingers into her core, Hermione arched
off
the bed in shock.
Draco's eyes locked on hers,
and he
smirked as he watched her.
Suddenly,
as
if
a
light
switched
on
at
that
moment,
Hermione realized that
the wizard in her bed was not
her
Draco.
The sudden horror that this wasn't Draco hit Hermione hard, and
without
thinking she wandlessly and silently cast
a 'petrificus
totalis '
causing the blonde before her
to freeze into place.
Quickly getting up,
grabbing her wand and casting a cleansing
charm,
Hermione got
dressed and cast
an 'incarcerous '
at
the
imposter.
Calling for one of
the Malfoy house elves who'd been
tasked with taking care of
her,
Tinker
appeared.
Seeing the
young master
bound,
he began to get
agitated,
but
Hermione
assured the elf
that
this was an imposter,
and to get
her father
immediately.
The elf appeared confused, but did as she asked. A minute later,
her Father appeared in the room and stared at her in confusion
before he growled at the sight of Draco Malfoy in her room.
"Explain yourself, Daughter." The Dark Lord growled menacingly
in Parseltongue.
Hermione paled and tears came to her eyes.
She was angry and distressed, and felt violated.
"Father,
this isn't
Draco."
She replied in kind.
"I
don't
know
whom it
is, but it's not him. He was in here when I came out of
the bath.
I
didn't
know it
wasn't
Draco at
first." The Dark Lord
now looked murderous,
like he wanted to kill
something right
then and there.
"Did he touch you,
Daughter?"
The words were said with
such venom,
Hermione was now visibly shaking.
Silently
she nodded. "Your virtue?"
Hermione's eyes widened in shock and hissed in return.
"No,
Father!
I
would never
have allowed such a thing and Draco
would never disrespected you nor I, in such a way."
The Dark Lord nodded and glared over at the imposter, who
still looked like the Malfoy Heir.
"Polyjuice then."
Voldemort
hissed.
He waved his wand and
canceled the spell,
watching the imposter's eyes widen in
shock.
"Whomever you are,
you have violated my daughter . If
you value what's left
of
your life,
you will
explain to me now,
why you would disrespect me and mine in such a way."
The imposter
considered the Dark Lord warily,
and then
turned to Hermione and smirked knowingly, causing the little
witch to blush and glare back in anger.
For a few moments the imposter said nothing and then bowed
his head in supplication to his Lord.
"Forgive me, My Lord. I did
not intend to disrespect you in such a way."
Hermione's eyes widened as she recognized the voice.
"Dolohov." She whispered shakily.
The imposter smirked again,
and then suddenly screamed as he
was hit
by the cruciatis curse .
After a few rounds,
the Polyjuice
started to wear off
body and soon,
Antonin Dolohov was staring
up at Hermione with a heated look in his eyes.
"I don't know what you were thinking Antonin, but you will be
severely
punished for
what
you have done."
Voldemort
sneered angrily.
Dolohov turned to his Lord and said seriously,
"Any pain you
inflict on me, My Lord would be justified . If you are looking for an
apology I have none to offer. I would suffer any punishment, to be
near Hermione."
The Dark Lord was taken aback and Hermione gasped in shock
at Dolohov's admission.
"Then explain yourself, Dolohov. Why did you feel it necessary to
Polyjuice yourself
as Draco to gain my attention?"
Hermione
hissed out in fury.
"You would've never allowed me to formally court you, my Lady.
Your heart belongs to another. Yet I can not stand idly by and not
make my intentions known.
This was the only way I could show
you the seriousness of
my intentions.
By risking your Father's
wrath,
by putting my very life in your hands, it was the only way
to show you both that my intentions are serious."
Hermione sat
down on the bed in shock,
while her
Father
seemed as if
he was contemplating Dolohov's words carefully.
Dolohov's gaze remained fixated on the young witch.
The look
was lustful
and predatory. It made Hermione squirm, causing her
to blush again.
The knowing look in Dolohov's eyes wasn't
missed by the Dark
Lord. "Be that as it may, Antonin-you have taken liberties with my
daughter against
her will
.
You will
be punished for your actions
and if Hermione so desires it, your life will be forfeit . I have given
her
leave to choose whom she wishes to court.
But
if
she
decides to spare your life and does not
wish to accept your suit
and you do something like this again? I
will
kill
you where you
stand. Are we clear?"
Antonin nodded once.
"I
will
accept
any conditions you wish to
place on me,
my Lord.
If
my Lady requires it of me, I will
take an
unbreakable vow to show her the seriousness of my suit. I never
meant
to offer offense,
my Lady… it has been a long time for me
and Azkaban has changed me I'll
admit. But please know that my
desire for you is genuine."
Hermione sighed and stood up abruptly,
ignoring the looks from
the man kneeled on the floor as she walked over to her father.
"Punish
him how you
see
fit,
Father."
She
whispered
in
Parseltongue,
"I
will
think
over
what
sort
of
penance Lord
Dolohov will
be required to offer
for
his transgression.
I
find
myself
in need of
another
bath,
and I
would like to be left
in
peace, my Lord. If the visitor we discussed is wishing to see me
this evening,
perhaps we could have supper here in my suite. I
find I don't have the capacity for company this evening."
Voldemort
smiled at
his daughter's deft
handling of the situation
as he hissed out.
"I
will
let
your visitor know of
the change in
plans. I'm sure she will appreciate having your reunion in private.
I will take my leave with Antonin."
"Make sure he suffers . If he is being honest in his intentions, then
he won't mind dealing with the consequences."
Voldemort chuckled and bowed his head at his daughter.
The gesture was not lost on Antonin, who's dark eyes widened in
surprise at his Lord showing deference to his daughter.
"I
will
make sure of it. I will
send Nagini
up here, you will
not be
left alone from now on, is that understood?"
Hermione sighed, but nodded in acquiescence. "Yes, Father, it's
probably for the best."
With one last look in Dolohov's direction, Hermione smirked evilly
before her
father
disapparated them out
of
her
room.
Moving
back into the bath, Hermione sighed heavily.
How in the world would she tell
Draco what happened?
Would he be angry with her?
Would he try to challenge Dolohov to a duel
to avenge her
honor? Bloody hell, that wouldn't go well.
Was that something Dolohov was hoping might happen?
If he were to kill
Draco, then there would be nothing standing in
his way.
Hermione thought
back on her dream from the previous night
and knew that
somehow,
Antonin had cast
some kind of
spell
that
allowed him to take liberties with her body whilst
she was
asleep.
The way in which he looked her minutes ago was too similar to
the way in which her phantom lover had devoured her in her
dream. The same technique, the same certainty.
She would be lying,
if
she didn't
admit
to herself
that she'd been
shamefully aroused in her dream.
Antonin Dolohov in her dream
had her creaming her knickers in a matter of seconds.
No wonder she'd been sore this morning. He
wasn't gentle, he was forceful and rough.
He wasn't
her
Draco though,
and the thought
made tears fall
down her cheeks and her body shiver in disgust.
Later on that
evening Hermione was reading a book on her bed, while Nagini
was curled up by the fireplace when there was a gentle knock on
the door.
Standing quickly,
and heart pounding, Hermione made
her way over to the door and opened it slowly.
Standing there next
to her father was a beautiful
woman with
blonde curly hair,
much like her own darker locks. Warm brown
eyes looked deeply into her own and Hermione gasped at how
much
of
a
resemblance
there
was
between
her
and
her
biological mother.
The woman smiled softly,
a lone tear escaping from her eye as
she whispered, "Hermione."
Hermione was rooted in shock as she said shakily, "Mum?"
Reunion's and Explanation's
Chapter 44: Reunion's and Explanation's
Hermione stared agape at
her mother,
who was smiling softly at
her beautiful
daughter with happiness and love shining from her
eyes.
The Dark Lord cleared his throat
softly,
and the spell
broke
between the two witches. Hermione then gestured for her parents
to come into her suite,
and together they sat out on the veranda,
where dinner had been prepared by the Malfoy House elves.
After
the food was served,
and the elves dismissed,
Marlene
decided it was best if she took charge of the conversation.
"I
know we have much to catch up on,
Hermione and I'm sure
you have a million questions for me.
But
if
it's alright,I'd like to
explain what
happened before you were born and why I
placed
you with the Grangers. Would that be alright?"
Hermione nodded slowly,
trying to keep her emotions in check.
Watching her parent's sitting across from her together, she could
see there was genuine respect
there,
but
there wasn't
the open
affection that she noticed with Lucius and Narcissa.
That thought gave her pause.
Marlene cleared her throat
delicately and wiped the corner of her
mouth daintily with her napkin before she spoke.
"I
met
your Father when I
was fourteen.
Things in the magical
world were quite unsettled when I
was in school.
My Father
worked for
the Ministry,
in the Department
of
International
Magical
Cooperation and had been sorted into Gryffindor
at
Hogwarts.
My
mother's
name
was
Sybil
and
she
was
a
Ravenclaw in school.
She was also Xenophilius Lovegood's
aunt.
My parents weren't
huge supporters of
Dumbledore's,
even though he actively tried to recruit
them into the Order of
the Phoenix. I'd heard my parents arguing one night the summer
before my fourth year.
Dumbledore had been relentlessly trying
to recruit
my Father,
and my Mother
didn't
want
any part
of
joining either side. My younger sister and I, were quite surprised
by our parent's argument, and it confused and scared me, some
of
the things they were discussing.
Wizards and witches being
threatened, tortured and dying. When they'd mentioned the Dark
Lord's name,
I
became angry,
feeling that
he was responsible
for my parent's fighting, so when I saw him later that summer in
Flourish
and
Blott's,
I
accosted
him quite
vehemently.
Surprisingly,
he listened to the rantings of
a fourteen-year-old
witch.
Later,
I'd realized he must've silenced the part
of
the
bookstore we were in,
but
he did offer to take me to ice cream
and we spent
two hours discussing magical
theory, politics and
his ideology. It was the first time someone had treated me not as
a child,
but
as a witch with ideas and opinions of
her own.
We
then began writing whilst I was in school, and Tom was kind and
thoughtful
with me.
As the war started taking a darker turn,
I'd
realized I needed to make a choice and I did. I offered to join the
Order,
much to my parents consternation,
as a spy.
Somehow
Dumbledore found out,
and I
sent
my parents and sister into
hiding- but
he found them and killed them.
By that
time,
I
had
given birth to you and you were well
over a year old when my
family was killed.
Everyone assumed I
had died in the attack,
but
Dumbledore knew differently. Scared of Dumbledore finding
you,
I
cast
a protection spell
on you,
and gave you to the
Grangers,
then I
hid for a while. When I'd heard Tom had been
defeated by Harry Potter
and Dumbledore and his Order had
won? I
knew I
couldn't
re-claim you.
But
I
also knew that
Tom
had taken measures to protect himself should the worst happen,
so I watched and waited until
such time as Dumbledore was no
longer a threat.
When Tom found me,
I
was ecstatic to learn of
what
you'd done,
Hermione.
You are so much more brilliant,
cunning and resilient
that
I
could ever be,
and I'm so proud of
you."
Marlene
had
tears
running
down
her
cheeks,
which
were
mirrored
by
her
daughter's.
"How do
you
know it
was
Dumbledore that killed your family?" Hermione quietly asked.
"My house elf,
Missy, was there hiding. She disillusioned herself
and saw the whole thing.
When I
came back to check on my
family,
I
found her hiding in the attic sobbing that she had failed
to protect
our family.
I
took her with me,
and she has been with
me ever
since.
She checks in on you occasionally,
and I
was
distressed to learn how difficult
things had been for
you at
Hogwarts those first
few years.
I
had Missy find Nagini
in your
second year, and I sent her to you."
Hermione gasped.
She
had
always
wondered
how Nagini
had
ended
up
at
Hogwarts that day.
"Nagini
didn't believe Missy at first, but she was curious and went
to see for herself. I also knew at that point Tom was still alive, after
what'd happened with the Potter boy the end of
your first
year.
I
knew Nagini
would
tell
him of
your
existence.
Missy
never
mentioned to Nagini
that
I
was still
alive.
I
was too afraid of
Dumbledore finding out,
or
worse,
finding out
whom you really
were.
Missy was also able to get
some of
the Hogwarts House
elves to take care of
you during your fourth year in the Room of
Requirement.
She wanted to make sure you'd had what
you
needed."
Hermione wiped away her tears quickly.
Her
mother
had watched out
for
her
and had never
stopped
caring for her.
Bolting from her
chair
she threw herself
into Marlene's arms,
causing the older witch to clutch her closely as they both sobbed
openly at
all
the time they'd been denied.
Marlene whispered
softly into her daughter's ear,
telling her how proud she was of
her,
how much she'd missed her,
loved her,
and how she was
never going to be separated from her again.
Hermione just nodded, holding on fiercely as she cried for all the
pain and hurt she'd gone through over these past few years. All
the anger,
frustration,
fear,
anger and uncertainty was let
loose
in a tidal wave of emotion.
Tom looked at
his daughter
as she clung to her
mother
and
smirked to himself.
His daughter had done so much for him, he was pleased he could
return the favor.
After the two witches had calmed sufficiently,
Tom sat
back and
addressed his daughter.
"I
know there is still
much you both need to discuss,
but
your
mother has made a formal
appeal to the Minister in regards to her
family being killed by Dumbledore.
The memories from the elf
were taken and shown to the Wizengamot
in a private session
today.
Dumbledore will
be receiving the Dementor's kiss,
and the news
of your mother's return and your identity as her daughter and heir
to the House of McKinnon will
be in all
the Wizarding publications
come morning, Hermione. We still have a few things to do before I
can claim you as my heir,
but
my inner
circle have told their
children who are in Hogwarts of your true identity. So, I'd imagine
school will be most interesting come September First."
Hermione nodded and smiled relieved.
"Will
Severus be the new
Headmaster?"
Voldemort
smirked.
"Lucius is working on that,
but I'm confident
all
will
be in place come September. We do need to discuss what
occurred today, however."
Hermione blushed, while Marlene glowered in anger.
It
would seem her Father had informed her Mother of
Dolohov's
actions and intentions.
"You were to work with Antonin come the morrow, but I'm afraid
he won't
be up to much for
the next
week or
so."
Voldemort
smiled evilly,
causing Hermione to giggle.
"You will
need to
decide if his life should be spared or not."
Hermione sighed unhappily.
"If
you kill
him,
Father,
the other
Death Eaters will
need to know why,
and that
will
only serve to
make
me
look
weak.
A fact
I'm sure
Dolohov
took
into
consideration when he decided to pull the stunt he did. I'm going
to have to tell
Draco the truth, which will
infuriate him and most
likely cause him to confront
Dolohov and demand recompense
for my honor.
Draco is barely sixteen,
Father.
And despite the
fact
that
we are young,
I
have come to realize that
I
can't
lose
him.
Not
over this.
I
love him,
Father,
and I
know if
I
keep this
from him he will
never forgive me.
But
if
I
tell
him,
I
could lose
him anyway."
Tom considered this thoughtfully.
Hermione had indeed thought
of
this
logically,
which
didn't
surprise him at
all.
She was
supremely
intelligent
and
understood
better
than
most
all
possible ramifications of
her
actions.
Pinching his nose and
sighing unhappily,
it
took him a moment
to realize that
his
daughter
had just
admitted that
she was in love with a wizard.
When he glanced over at
Marlene,
she had that knowing gleam
in her eye… the one that
told him she knew exactly what
he'd
been thinking.
"Draco is not
yet
of
age,
Daughter,
and as such can't
openly
challenge Dolohov to a duel
no matter how much he may wish
to." Voldemort offered sternly.
Marlene however,
smirked widely.
"Perhaps,
my Lord,
there is
another
avenue we might
consider? You did mention to me
earlier
that
Antonin did offer
to take an unbreakable vow,
to
show sincerity in his desire to formally court Hermione?"
"What
did you have in mind,
my dear?"
Tom considered his
witch warily,
knowing very well
how her mind worked, and how
vindictive she could be when she put her mind to it.
"Well-I think Hermione should tell Draco the truth. However…" she
began when Hermione gasped at her mother incredulously, "If you
were to tell
Draco and get him to promise not to retaliate, at least
not
immediately,
he could train in dueling with Severus at
school
and Lucius at
home.
Hone his skills as it
were.
Hermione could
extract an unbreakable vow from Antonin that he will not speak of
what
happened today to anyone.
If
he is sincere,
he will
do it.
When it comes out that he has violated you, he will
not be able to
speak up in his defense as to when it occurred."
Voldemort
smirked at
Marlene,
while Hermione pondered over
what her mother was suggesting. "I would also need him to take
a vow that
he is to leave me alone.
Father,
I
have reason to
believe Dolohov somehow entered my dreams last
night
as
well."
Voldemort's face darkened ominously.
"Did he do something
similar as he did today?"
Hermione blushed, realizing her Father must've used Legilimency
on Dolohov and viewed his memories of this afternoon. When she
nodded reluctantly,
Voldemort
sat
back and averted his gaze,
which had flashed red, from his daughter in contemplation.
"Antonin is a skilled duelist,
and an even more inventive curse-
breaker. Wards are of little consequence to him either. My hands
are tied in that
he is a free man and no one outside my inner
circle knows I'm alive,
and that
you're my daughter.
As he is
Lord of his own House, I cannot formally challenge him. I would
be happy to kill
him but
if
I
intervene,
I
will
have to give my
Death Eaters a reason.
I
know how you feel
about
showing
weakness, Daughter."
Hermione nodded. "What if I dueled him, Father?"
Voldemort
eyed his
daughter
in shock,
while Marlene paled
considerably.
"Absolutely not!" Marlene yelled.
"Hermione,
you have no idea
what
that
man is capable of!
And besides? You're forgetting
you're still under age too."
Hermione,
folded her
arms across her
chest
and pouted.
"I
do
have some idea."
Marlene looked over
to Tom.
"What
about
Lucius? He is still
officially her magical guardian?"
Voldemort
nodded.
"Until
we complete the paperwork at
the
Ministry, yes."
Sitting up quickly,
Hermione considered this.
"Could Lucius beat
Dolohov in a duel?"
"They are evenly matched.
I'm not
sure who would come out
victorious. If it were to spare his son, Lucius would not hesitate to
avenge
your
honor.
But
Narcissa has
already
lost
a sister,
Hermione.
How would you feel
if
she lost
her husband,
too? Or
her son?"
Hermione growled angrily. "That bastard knew what he was doing
when he came in here.
He obviously thought
this through from
every angle,
knowing that
I
would have no one to avenge me.
The only way I can make myself not look weak is by dueling him
myself, which I can't, and I can't keep this from Draco either. And
Draco will tell Lucius."
Shaking her head in frustration, Hermione glared out into the night
thinking.
Hermione then smirked evilly. "Is it required to use a wand in
a duel?"
Voldemort
sat
up straight,
giving his daughter a calculating
look. "No, it is not. What are you thinking?"
"I'm quite proficient
at
wandless magic Father.
Would you
say Dolohov is equally as proficient?"
"That
is an elegant
run around.
The trace would not
apply as it
tracks wand magic.
I
would imagine Antonin is quite proficient
at
wandless magic,
but
I
would caution you.
You have shown your
hand to my Death Eaters, they know of your skill. Do you honestly
think Antonin hasn't considered that possibility?"
Hermione shrugged.
"Perhaps.
But
what
I've shown is minuscule
in comparison to what I can actually do."
Marlene looked at Tom, who just stared at his daughter. "You and
I
will
practice tomorrow. If I feel
your skills are sufficient, you will
have your duel. However, if they are not, we will have to come to
some other concession."
Hermione nodded and smiled gratefully, not missing the unhappy
scowl
on
her
mother's
face.
Marlene
eventually
sighed
in
resignation however,
as she knew a lost
battle when she saw
one.
"When the paper
comes out
tomorrow,
I
will
be petitioning the
Wizengamot for immediate custody of you, Hermione. I'll be going
back
to
McKinnon
Manor
and
getting
it
ready
for
your
homecoming. I hope that's alright with you?"
"I would like that very much, Mother."
"Good.
I think you'll
be very happy there. The library may not be
of
the size and quality of
Malfoy Manor,
but
it
is impressive
nonetheless."
Looking over
at
her
father,
Hermione couldn't
help but
inquire
softly. "Will you be coming too, Father?"
Voldemort
nodded once.
"We have discussed it,
and I
believe it
would be best
for
all
concerned if
I
went
with the both of
you.
Once the Ministry has had their say,
I'd imagine they will
leave
you both in peace for a bit."
"Father,
I
would like to speak with Draco this evening.
I
don't
want
him to find out
about
this some other
way.
Would it
be
alright if I have some time alone with him. You have my word my
virtue will remain intact. I just need to explain this to him."
By the expression on the Dark Lord's face,
it
was clear he was
unhappy with the request, but Marlene gently placed her hand on
his arm and gave him a look he knew all too well.
"Very well.
I
will
give you some time and Nagini
will
stay directly
outside your room."
Hermione bowed her
head in supplication.
"Thank you
Father, Mother."
Both parents stood up to make their way out
of
the room,
when
Marlene came over and hugged her daughter.
"I'm so very proud of
you,
Hermione.
I
will
come see you in the
morning for breakfast."
Smiling and nodding, Hermione walked her parents to the door,
not
missing the looks that
passed between them.
Blushing and
closing the door,
she went
and sat
on the end of
her bed and
waited for Draco to arrive.
I Love You
Chapter 45: I Love You
The Dark Lord found the Malfoy Heir
in the Library reading
silently,
while his mother
was quietly doing needlepoint
by the
window. They both noticed his entrance simultaneously and stood
to greet him: Narcissa curtsying and Draco bowing deeply.
"My Lord,"
Narcissa spoke cordially,
"What
do we owe the
pleasure of your company this evening?"
Voldemort
gestured for the Malfoy's to take a seat and took his
spot
across
from the
youngest.
"Draco,
my
daughter
has
requested your
presence this evening,
there is something of
importance she wishes to discuss with you."
"My
Lord?"
Draco
appeared
confused
for
a
moment.
"Is
everything alright with Hermione?"
Lord Voldemort
was not
the kind of
man who cared about
what
other
people thought
or
felt.
Things with Marlene had been
pleasurable
because
she was
highly
intelligent,
logical
and
wasn't
prone
to
flights
of
fancy
where
her
feelings
were
concerned.
Marlene's outburst tonight at seeing Hermione again
was understandable, if not a bit shocking. As Tom Riddle, he had
never seen Marlene show any outward emotion beyond that first
day in Flourish and Blotts.
She was a controlled little thing and
when their
relationship had taken a turn towards the physical,
she'd been a gifted submissive.
Her
tolerance for
his darker
proclivities had impressed him,
and Marlene had even been
open to his more voyeuristic tendencies.
She had set
ground
rules as far as whom she would allow into her bedchamber, and
as far
as he knew:
only Rabastan Lestrange and his brother
Rodolphus,
had ever
been given permission to bed Marlene,
while Tom had watched most enthusiastically.
Tom didn't routinely like to share however, and for the greater part
of
their
acquaintance he had been content
with just
Marlene.
Since his return,
he'd stopped the practice of revels, much to the
dismay of some of his more deviant followers.
But now that he was a father, strangely-he simply couldn't abide
his daughter finding out
about
his darker nature-well,
anymore
than she'd already had.
Now looking at the young wizard, whom had won his daughter's
heart,
Lord Voldemort
felt
like he wanted to strangle something.
After finding Dolohov in his daughter's bedroom and seeing the
man's memories of what he'd done to Hermione? Voldemort had
a strong urge to lock his daughter
up in a tower
somewhere,
where no wizard could ever touch her. Only then would her virtue
remain intact forever.
The hypocrisy of his thoughts were not lost on him at all, and that
only served to make him angrier.
Sighing
in
resignation,
the
Dark
Lord
glared
at
the
young
wizard-who tried not to visibly cringe away from the hard stare.
"Hermione is in her suite of
rooms.
She's had a most upsetting
day,
which is why I'm here.
She's requested that
you go speak
with her privately,
and I'm going to allow this because there are
things that
need to be discussed between the both of you. But I
am warning you,
Draco,
I've had my patience severely tested
today, and if you abuse the trust I'm placing in you, it will not end
well for you. Do you understand?"
Draco didn't
really,
but
glancing at
his mother,
he could see both
the fear in her eyes and the worry on her face.
"I would never disrespect Hermione nor you, My Lord. If it's alright
with both you and my mother, I will take my leave."
Narcissa nodded her permission,
as did the Dark Lord-so he got
up and left
the room swiftly,
bowing respectfully to both adults
before disappearing.
Voldemort
sighed unhappily,
pinching the bridge of
his nose in
consternation.
Narcissa cleared her voice softly and asked, "Would you like me
to call for some tea, My Lord? Or perhaps something stronger?"
Gazing
up
in
gratitude at
the beautiful
pureblood witch,
he
demurred, "Firewhiskey would be most welcome, Narcissa."
Narcissa called for Issy, her personal
elf and asked her to fetch
some firewhiskey and some chocolate biscuits from the kitchen.
When the elf
popped back and left
the offerings,
Narcissa
poured a generous portion for her Lord, and then made to stand
and leave.
"Please sit, Narcissa. It would seem as if I could use your insight
into
a
delicate
matter
that
has
come
to
my
attention this
afternoon."
Nodding and sitting back into her chair primly,
Narcissa waited
until her Lord was ready to share whatever it was on his mind.
At
the other end of
the Manor,
Draco came to Hermione's room
and saw Nagini
laying at the foot of her door like a sentry. When
he walked towards the room,
the snake lifted her
head and
hissed softly before moving to the side and curling up on the
floor again.
Draco tried to ignore the rapid beating of
his heart
as he
knocked on the door softly.
When he heard a gentle "come in" he opened the door slowly and
saw his witch sitting on her
favorite seat
in the bay window.
Walking in and closing the door
behind him,
he was surprised
when Hermione locked the room.
His face must've given away
some of
what
he was feeling, because Hermione just sighed and
held out her hand, gesturing for him to take a seat next to her.
Draco couldn't help but feel
a sense of uneasiness as he noticed
the tension on Hermione's face.
She appeared as if
she'd been
crying, which made him wonder what in the name of Salazar was
going on.
He took his seat
and waited for his girlfriend to say
something,
but
she kept
wringing her hands and staring out the
window, visibly distressed.
Not
able to take the silence, Draco asked a bit harsher than he'd
intended, "Hermione, what is going on?"
When she visibly flinched and tears started welling in her eyes,
Draco realized that something was very wrong. He moved over
and gathered Hermione into his arms and whispered pleadingly,
"My love, please tell me what's going on? You're scaring me."
Clutching on to Draco,
she desperately tried to take in his
comforting scent
and relax her mind and body.
She knew this
conversation wasn't
going to be an easy one,
but
she was
terrified of Draco going half-cocked after Dolohov before she got
a chance to explain properly.
Looking up into Draco's beautiful
grey eyes,
Hermione sighed softly and moved forward,
leaning
her forehead against his.
"I
need
you
to
promise
me
something,
can
you
do
that?"
Hermione whispered shakily.
Draco nodded, a bit unsure but willing to agree with anything if it
would get his girlfriend to talk to him. "Whatever you need me to
do, love."
Hermione inhaled another deep breath and took the plunge. She
told Draco about
coming out
of
the bathroom earlier and seeing
him in her room,
which had shocked him at
first.
About
how he
had thrown her on the bed and gone down on her, which made
Draco's confusion turn to shock, then anger. How she'd realized
a bit
too late that it hadn't been Draco, but an imposter and had
petrified
and
bound
the
intruder,
calling
for
her
Father
immediately.
At
this,
Draco's anger
turned to fury and at
this point,
he'd
moved up out
of
Hermione embrace,
pacing the floor
and
causing his witch to watch him warily.
When she told him that
Dolohov had used Polyjuice to transform and why?
Draco looked ready to commit murder and was at the door, ready
to go kill
Dolohov when he heard silent weeping behind him and
distressed words whisper out, "You promised me."
Draco turned around towards his witch… and she was his witch .
She looked so small
and frail
in that
moment
(and it
took him
back to the library at
third year) and all
the fight
instantly went
out
of
him.
He moved back over to her and lifted her out of the
window seat,
carrying her over to her bed, laying down with her
in his arms while she silently cried.
Dolohov had violated his witch…
His Witch!
And what was worse, he'd used Polyjuice to do it.
As Draco thought about it, he realized that Hermione would've
had no reason to doubt it was him. And while they hadn't been
intimate since before her confrontation with Dumbledore, they
had sneaked off
to their
room often during the past
school
year.
"How did you know it wasn't me, Hermione?"
Hermione sighed and gazed up into Draco's eyes,
smiling sadly.
Tracing her fingers down his cheek and lips, it caused her wizard
to
look
at
her
with
both
awe
and
love
radiating
from his
countenance.
"That
expression right
there.
You always look at
me after we've
been together with such love, Draco. The way Dolohov looked at
me was with smug intensity. It was a look I'd never seen on your
face before,
and I
knew in that
moment
it
wasn't
you.
I
was so
angry,
as was my Father when he found out. Dolohov has been
thoroughly punished,
although I
have to decide how to finish
handling the situation."
Draco snarled. "Have your Father kill the bastard."
Hermione sighed sadly.
"I
wish it was that easy, Draco. Dolohov
is a free wizard, now. If he were a fugitive, it would be easier, but
he's not.
No one outside the inner
circle knows for
sure my
Father is alive. I'm sure some suspect, but so far no one has said
anything outwardly.
Father would have to give the Death Eaters
a reason, and I'm worried that the truth would only serve to make
me look weak.
I
can't
duel
Dolohov directly as I'm underage, as
are you.
Your Father is my magical
guardian, but your Mum has
already lost
a sister.
Lord Lestrange is still
going through the
process of
dealing with Bellatrix's untimely demise. The Ministry
hasn't
challenged it,
because frankly,
I
think they're relieved
she's gone.
Draco,
my biological
mother
has returned.
She's
been in hiding because Dumbledore killed her family,
but
now
that he's in Azkaban, she's returned."
Draco sat
back and considered his witch,
who was watching him
closely.
Fucking Salazar,
but
she had thought
of
every angle and it
took a few moments for Draco to realize she was absolutely
spot on .
There would be no way he could avenge her until he turned
seventeen.
And her mother?
"Bastard thought
of
everything,
didn't
he?"
Draco snarled for
a
moment
then his face took on a curious expression. "Who is your
mother, Hermione?"
Hermione sighed. "Marlene McKinnon is my mother, Draco." At his
expression of
surprise,
Hermione just shrugged. "I was supposed
to work with Dolohov, but Father has put that on hold. I've told him
I
can manage on my own.
I
can challenge Dolohov myself
to a
duel
using wandless magic.
Since the trace is on the wand,
not
the witch or wizard."
"Absolutely not,
Hermione!
I know you're powerful, but it's my job
to take care of you."
Laughing softly,
Hermione snuggled into her wizard and sighed.
"You can't, Draco-you're not as adept at wandless magic and you
won't be seventeen until next June."
Draco's countenance was very angry for
a moment
and then it
instantly cleared, as he smirked in pleasure.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at
his expression.
"Okay,
Malfoy, I
don't like that look. Tell
me what has you looking so pleased with
yourself."
"It
fairly is simple,
my love. I'd imagine your mother will
be taking
custody of you soon?" At Hermione's nod, Draco's smirk widened.
"Once your
blood status is known? I
can ask Father
to open
negotiations for a betrothal
contract
with your mother. Giving you
betrothal
jewelry will
signify that
we are intended and if
Dolohov
breaches that,
then I
would have the right
to draw on him… or
your
Father
would legally,
once your
full
parentage becomes
known."
Hermione smiled at
Draco widely,
and jumped on him,
kissing
him deeply.
Draco groaned and ran his hands over
his witch,
feeling every part of her he could.
Merlin's balls, he'd missed kissing her.
After a few moments Hermione pulled back and whispered softly,
"I love you, Draco."
Draco's eyes widened in shock momentarily before he grinned
widely,
grabbing
Hermione
and rolling her
underneath him,
kissing her passionately.
The two teenagers snogged each other for a bit,
before Draco
pulled back.
"I
promised the Dark Lord,
I
wouldn't
test
his
patience tonight. He allowed me to come in here, Hermione, and
I think we should go find him and discuss our plan."
Nodding happily,
she allowed Draco to pull
her off
the bed.
She
then grabbed her wand and together she and Draco walked hand
in hand,
back through the Manor towards the library to find her
Father.
Protective Snakes
Chapter 46: Protective Snakes
When Hermione and Draco entered the library,
hand in hand,
they both noticed that
Lucius had joined the Dark Lord and
Narcissa,
as well
as Hermione's mother.
The four
adults were
talking quietly amongst
themselves,
and when Hermione and
Draco entered, all the adults stood up to greet them.
Grabbing Draco's hand tightly,
Hermione led him over to where
her Father was standing with her Mother.
"Mother,
I'd like to introduce you to Lord and Lady Malfoy's
son, Draco. Draco, this is my mother, Marlene McKinnon."
Marlene
smiled
politely
at
the
young
wizard,
who
bowed
respectfully. "It's a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance,
Lady McKinnon." Draco stood back up and noticed his parents
eye him with approval, while the Dark Lord smirked at the young
wizard.
Marlene was amazed at how much Draco looked like his father.
"It's a pleasure to meet
you as well,
Draco.
I've heard good
things about
you from Hermione.
I
do hope you both had a
enlightening conversation?"
Gazing at
her
daughter
questioningly,
she noted her
blushing,
and
she
smiled
shyly
at
the
young
wizard-who
appeared
completely besotted,
with love radiating from his eyes.
Marlene
smiled softly, and exchanged a knowing glance with Narcissa.
It would seem their children were very much in love.
"Yes,
Mother.
It's actually why we came to find you and
Father. Draco has come up with a plan that would solve the
problem we discussed earlier."
Voldemort's eyes narrowed, but he gestured for everyone to take
a seat. "Please tell
me, Draco, what suggestion you were able to
deduce that Hermione, her mother and I could not?"
Sitting up straight
and making direct
eye contact
with the Dark
Lord,
Draco gripped Hermione's hand in solidarity before he
began to share his idea.
"When
Hermione
told
me
what
happened,
I
was
naturally
incensed and felt
compelled to act. But she gently reminded me
the reasons that
I'm not
able to act
on her
behalf,
which are
valid. However, there is one possibility to consider, My Lord, and
it
would
require
the approval
of
both you and Hermione's
mother."
Marlene smirked,
already knowing where this was headed. She
had thought
this a possibility,
but
didn't
want
to suggest
it
for
fear that Tom would dismiss it out of hand.
"You wish to enter into a betrothal with Hermione?"
Draco nodded,
glancing hesitantly over at
his parents who were
both thinking the same thing-that their son was using this situation
to his advantage.
The Dark Lord had made it very clear that Hermione wouldn't be
able to formally
court
until
her
seventh year,
but
now that
Hermione's mother
was in the picture and would take formal
custody of
her
soon,
it
opened up the possibility that
a more
formal
arrangement
could be made.
Since Dolohov had backed
Hermione into a corner, and by extension her father, it was a nice
Slytherin solution to the situation.
Voldemort
glared at
the young wizard,
but
Marlene just
placed
her hand on his arm, a gentle reminder, which he appreciated as
much as he loathed it.
"I
have made my sentiments known about
not wanting Hermione
betrothed before she is of age."
"I
know,
My Lord,
and under
other
circumstances,
I
would've
happily followed your
desire,
but
Hermione's virtue has been
compromised and until
you are able to come forward and claim
her, it leaves me to protect her. Which I intend to do, my Lord."
Tom had to admit
he was impressed with the young Malfoy.
The
boy wasn't scared or unsure of his desire to court his daughter.
Sighing unhappily,
Tom turned to Marlene-who just gave him that
knowing look.
She then addressed Draco and smiled softly. "I will
be formally taking over
guardianship once the papers are filed
with the Wizengamot
tomorrow.
If
your parents are agreeable to
opening negotiations for a formal betrothal, I would be as well."
Voldemort growled in irritation, but Marlene sighed patiently.
"My Lord,
you know this is for the best.
They love each other
and you can't
claim Hermione as your
own,
yet
.
She is left
unprotected, a fact Dolohov was undoubtably aware of. We can't
kill
him yet,
and frankly I'm furious that our daughter was put in
such
a
compromising
situation!
Draco's
solution
protects
Hermione's reputation,
and gives him the ability to bring legal
action against Antonin should the wizard try something untoward
again. And if you aren't going to end the wizard, then you'll have
to stand by as I
do it,
if
you aren't
willing to concede on this
issue."
Tom glared heatedly at
Marlene,
but
she just
stared back at
him
unfazed.
Blasted logical woman!
Marlene never challenged him with emotion, no… she was much
too clever for that.
She challenged him with logic.
Her
arguments
were always
well
thought
out
and she had
advised him many times when they were younger, when he was
too stubborn and too corrupted by power to listen to her advice.
Perhaps it was time to try a different tactic.
"Very well,
Draco.
You have our permission to court
Hermione."
Draco nodded relieved,
while Hermione smiled widely.
"There
are conditions however.
You will
respect
Hermione's reputation
and virtue at
all
times.
You will
train with Severus,
your Father
and myself
in dueling now,
and when you return to school. This
summer,
you will
be tutoring under myself
in my spare time on
the Dark Arts." Draco now smiled and looked over at
his father,
who beamed with pride that
his son would be receiving such an
honor.
"Severus will
fine tune your
Occlumency,
and I
will
work on
Legilimency with you."
"I
would be most
honored to learn whatever you wish to teach
me, My Lord."
Hermione smirked and inquired sassily, "What about me, Father?
Don't I get special training, too?"
Lord Voldemort raised an eyebrow at his daughter. "If you'd like,
Hermione.
It
would probably help you to hone your skills a bit
more as well."
Draco looked over at his witch in surprise-his witch knew
Legilimency?
At
his
questioning expression,
Hermione blushed prettily.
"I
taught
myself
Occlumency
before
third
year.
I
know the
fundamentals of
Legilimency,
but to be truly proficient, you need
someone to work with you,
although I
can pick up on basic
emotions."
Marlene observed her daughter proudly.
"I'm quite proficient
at
Occlumency,
so we can work on your skills a bit more as well. It
will help prepare you for learning Legilimency."
"I'd like that very much, Mother."
"Perhaps both you and Hermione should retire back to your
rooms,
Draco."
Narcissa
suggested.
"We
have
a
busy
day
tomorrow.
I
would be happy to take you to the Black Family vault
to look at some betrothal pieces, if you'd like."
Draco nodded,
and stood,
holding out
his hand for Hermione
which she took immediately. Both teenagers left the room quietly
conversing
to
themselves,
as
the
four
adults
looked
on
indulgently.
"My Lord? Narcissa and I
are most
gratified that
you have
allowed Draco and Hermione's betrothal. I know it was not what
you had wanted,
but
I
agree with Marlene that
it
will
serve to
protect
Hermione.
Draco loves her
very much,
and I
was
worried that
he may have taken matters into his own hands
where Dolohov was concerned."
Voldemort
sighed resignedly.
"I know how much Draco cares for
Hermione, Lucius. And I do agree, that he would've acted rashly
with little thought to the consequences, which while I applaud the
sentiment? I'm not
sure my daughter
would feel
the same.
Perhaps it
would be wise to accompany Marlene to the Ministry
tomorrow, make sure Fudge understands what's at stake."
Lucius demurred, while Marlene smiled in thanks. "My Lord," she
began quietly,
"once news comes out
tomorrow in the Prophet,
I'd imagine I
will
be contacted by a few former members of
the
Order and they will
be understandably curious as to Hermione's
paternity."
Voldemort
glared at
Marlene in disgust.
"You mean Black will
be
curious."
"Most likely, My Lord. Although I was friends with Remus Lupin in
school
as well.
And although Werewolves are known for
being
able to sniff
out
lies,
I
had been able in my younger
years to
deceive both Sirius and Remus.
I'm not
sure how much Remus
abilities have grown since he's gotten older,
but
I
must
tread
carefully."
"What
will
you
tell
them if
they
ask,
Marlene?"
Naricssa
questioned politely.
"I
will
tell
them the truth.
That
Albus had my family killed
because
he
was
searching
for
me
and
tortured them for
information before he killed them, which is true. I will allow them
to question my house elf, which they will insist upon. She knows
nothing other than what
she saw that
night,
and the fact
that
I
gave birth to Hermione. They will
ask who Hermione's father is,
and while it's not
something that
is any of
their
concern,
I'd
imagine Sirius will
ask whether or not
Hermione's father was a
Death Eater,
which I can honestly tell
him 'no .'
I sincerely think
they'll
drop it
after
that.
If
I
know Sirius,
he will
assume that
Dumbledore unfairly targeted me and my family, and I'm happy
to play on his sympathies. Dumbledore never knew whom I was
involved with, to my knowledge." Marlene smirked at Tom, while
Lucius and Narcissa looked on dumbfounded.
Tom hummed,
but
he didn't
look happy about
the situation.
"I'd
imagine there are a few within the Order who will
have questions.
Do you think they will
be likely to trust
you again,
under
the
circumstances?"
Marlene shrugged.
"I
was one of
Minerva's favorites in school.
Kingsley and I were friendly, and I was close with Molly's brother
Fabian."
At
this
the
Dark
Lord
scowled.
"I'd
imagine
that
Dumbledore has lost
much,
if
not
all
of
his support
within the
Order,
and I
can't
believe anyone would think less of
Hermione
even if
I
weren't
to openly admit
to whom her father is at
this
time.
I'm sure,
at
some point
the issue will
be pressed,
but
hopefully it will be moot by that time."
"Perhaps
it
would be best
if
I
hold off
on joining you and
Hermione at
McKinnon Manor,
at
least
until
the furor over your
return from the dead has dwindled." Tom offered.
"Hermione will
be disappointed but
you're right,
My Lord.
It
is
probably best
for the immediate future if
we put
those plans on
hold."
Voldemort
turned to Lucius. "Dolohov is in the dungeons and he
will
be there for some time until
he recovers from his injuries.
I
would like the betrothal contract written and filed with the Ministry
by the weekend.
I
will
help you place blood wards around the
Manor, Marlene, so no one can get in without your or Hermione's
permission. Once Dolohov finds out our daughter has accepted a
betrothal
from Draco,
I'd imagine he will
be displeased.
If
he
presses the issue,
I
will
have little choice but
to remove him
myself."
"Do you think that's wise,
My Lord?"
Lucius asked.
"As
Head of
House Malfoy,
I
could just
as easily dispatch
Dolohov should he prove a problem."
"Hermione and I discussed this Lucius, and she doesn't want you
to put
yourself
in harms way.
She feels guilty enough over the
death of
Bellatrix.
She was worried that Narcissa would be angry
with her
and she doesn't
wish to put
additional
strain on your
family.
I
respect
her reasoning,
and will
have to figure out
some
other means to dispatch Dolohov should it become necessary."
Voldemort
was certain that Antonin would be a problem at some
point,
but
he hoped for the sake of
his daughter,
that
the man
would respect
Hermione's wishes like he claimed he would.
Looking over at Lucius, Voldemort realized the man was probably
thinking similar thoughts.
"Have Antonin take an unbreakable vow, My Lord. If he values
his life,
it
shouldn't
be too much to ask.
With his penchant
for
curse-
breaking,
nothing short
of
an unforgivable would keep
him in his place." Naricssa quietly volunteered.
Marlene agreed.
"We discussed that
very thing,
and I
concur.
You did say he would submit to any condition you placed upon
him where Hermione was concerned, My Lord."
Voldemort
nodded.
"I
agree.
Lucius,
you will
be the bonder and
Marlene,
once you are Hermione's legal
guardian,
Antonin will
need to make the bond with you."
Marlene nodded,
and the
matter was closed for the time being.
In another part
of
the Manor, Draco and Hermione were walking
slowly towards her
suite of
rooms,
both with happy smiles on
their faces.
Draco couldn't
have been more pleased in how he
was able to get
the Dark Lord to agree to his request
to openly
court Hermione.
For her part,
Hermione was satisfied that
Draco was sincere in
his attentions. There was a time she had doubted that Draco truly
cared for her, that his declaration of love was nothing more that a
Slytherin tactic on his part
to save himself.
But
he had been
nothing but
loving and supportive over this past
year of
school.
He'd honored her wishes and kept
their interactions chaste and
appropriate,
despite
being a horny
teenaged wizard.
Draco
hadn't
so
much
as
looked
at
another
witch
all
year,
and
Hermione had been suitably impressed with his restraint
and
dedication to her.
She really thought
Draco wouldn't
have been
able to abstain from sexual
relations.
Maybe it was unfair of her
to test
him in such a way,
and she didn't
think that
Draco knew
that was her intention-but it had been.
On some level,
she hadn't trusted him fully… not until
that day in
the hospital
after Dumbledore had cursed her. After she had been
released from the hospital
ward and returned to the dorms,
Daphne had taken her aside and confessed that Draco hadn't left
her side, despite multiple warnings over serving detention. He had
called his father,
and as school
governor
the matter
was later
dropped.
But
Hermione's heart
had swelled when Daphne had
told her of Draco's vigil.
She'd realized in that moment, that he truly did love her.
It
took her a bit
longer to realize she loved him in return. But the
thought
of
losing him over
what
Antonin had done to her,
had
brought
her feelings into sharp relief. She didn't want anyone but
Draco, and she didn't want to be intimate with anyone but him.
The thought
of
what
Dolohov
had done still
made her
feel
unclean, even though she knew it wasn't her fault.
Once they had reached her rooms, Hermione noticed Nagini was
not
outside her
door.
Walking into her room,
the snake wasn't
there either,
which caused Draco to smile wickedly and proceed
to lift Hermione up in his arms and deposit her on top of her bed.
Hermione smiled up at Draco impishly while he moved his body
over hers,
holding her face in his hands and stared down at her
in wonder.
"I'm going to marry you,
Granger."
Draco stated with his usual
arrogance, while Hermione just rolled her eyes.
"So it would seem, Malfoy… but don't get too complacent."
Draco grinned widely.
"And why shouldn't
I? I
got
your
Father to agree to a betrothal!
I'm feeling pretty smug right
about now."
Hermione
choked
out
a
laugh
in
surprise.
"You're
incorrigible." "I'm lovable,
fuckable and marriageable… that
is what I am!"
Hermione couldn't help but giggle as Draco waggled his eyebrows
at her.
"Well, I suppose I'm somewhat familiar with the first. But I have no
idea
whether
the
second
or
third
description
is
accurate."
Hermione bantered back wickedly.
Draco scoffed. "Please, Granger… you know exactly how fuckable
I am. But that is too crude a euphemism to describe what it will be
like when we finally consummate our relationship."
"And what word would you use, Malfoy?"
Draco's face changed instantly,
his eyes took on a serious edge
and glowed brightly with emotion.
"When I'm finally lucky enough to make you mine in every way, it
will
be nothing short
of
magic,
Granger.
I
fully intend to worship
every inch of your lovely body until you're screaming my name in
ecstasy.
I
have waited nearly two years to hear you tell
me you
love me. I will wait for as long as it takes to make you mine. I told
you in fourth year, I'm not going anywhere. I love you, and if you
wish to wait
until
we marry to give yourself
to me,
I'll
wait.
You
are worth it."
Hermione's eyes filled with tears at
the unexpected confession
from her intended.
Seeing the sincerity shining from grey eyes, Hermione leaned
up and kissed her wizard passionately. When she pulled back
and gazed up at
Draco, she saw the same passion and love
radiating from his eyes.
"Draco,
I do love you. You are spoiled, arrogant, passionate and
intelligent. You are also patient, loyal, stubborn and mine. If I had
any doubts about
you,
they were dispelled this past
year.
You
respected my wishes concerning our
relationship,
you never
pushed yourself on me. You trusted my judgment and gave your
support
unconditionally .
I
know we can't
change the past,
but I
think I've finally started to put
it
where it
belongs.
There was a
time I'd wondered if
I
could ever truly forgive you for being so
hateful
to me." At
this admission Draco flinched,
but
Hermione
was quick to reassure him with a gentle kiss. "This situation with
Dolohov,
and how you handled it,
made me realize that
there
could never
be another
for
me.
When I'd realized what
had
happened and that
I
needed to tell
you,
I
was so afraid you
would never forgive me or that
you would think badly of
me.
It
forced me to confront my feelings for you."
Draco shook his head and kissed Hermione desperately, pouring
all his emotions into a single kiss.
He never wanted her to think he blamed her for what
happened
with Dolohov.
That
was the Russian wizard's fault alone and Draco would find
a way to make him pay for taking liberties with his witch!!
"Baby,
I
could never blame you for what
happened.
I
am fucking
livid!
That
bastard touched what
is mine!
And I
promise you
Hermione, he will pay ."
With that admission, Draco moved back down and captured
Hermione's lips with his own. The two spent a few minutes kissing
each
other
thoroughly
before Draco pulled up into a sitting
position, taking Hermione with him.
"I
need to leave,
love.
If
I
don't,
I
won't
be able to stop myself
and I'd rather
your
father
not
kill
me when I've finally got
his
permission to court you properly."
Hermione blushed, but nodded in agreement. "Okay. I will see you
tomorrow?"
Draco lifted her
chin up and kissed her
gently one last
time
before he stood up. "Count on it."
He winked and walked to the door,
smirking wickedly before he
opened it
and noticed Nagini
curled up at
the threshold outside.
The snake lifted her
head and considered the wizard for
a
moment
before hissing and moving into her
mistress's room.
Draco shook his head and left, closing the door after him.
Nagini
moved onto Hermione's bed,
curling around her
gently
while the little witch just
giggled softly and petted the snake
affectionately.
"You heard?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, the Malfoy Heir loves my mistress. He is a good wizard, and
will
take good care of
you.
Master
bade me to protect
my
mistress, and Nagini
was not able to protect my mistress from the
bad wizard who tried to harm her."
Hermione
looked
perplexed
momentarily
until
understanding
dawned on her face. "You are talking about Dolohov, Nagini?"
The snake nodded and hissed in disgust. "The foul
wizard must
not be allowed to harm my mistress!! Master forbade it."
Hermione paled considerably and she spoke shakily.
"Nagini,
what did you do?"
Nagini
hissed,
"I
killed the evil
wizard,
his intentions were not
honorable where my mistress was concerned.
Nagini
could feel
it,
he was not to be trusted. Master bade me to protect mistress,
Nagini was only doing what I promised to do."
Hermione was speechless, she had no idea what to say or do.
If
her
father
realized Dolohov was dead,
he would most
likely
take back his promise to allow her to become betrothed to Draco.
On the other hand,
he had given his consent,
would he take it
back-could he?
She
sat
there
and
pondered
the
complications
Nagini's
confession may have wrought.
Sensing her
mistress's unease,
Nagini
hissed.
"Are you alright,
Mistress? Did Nagini do something wrong?"
Shaking her head,
Hermione was quick to reassure her familiar.
"No, Nagini, you did what needed to be done. Does Father know
you killed Dolohov?"
Nagini shook her head and Hermione sighed in relief.
"Father
has just
given permission for
Draco and I
to become
betrothed.
If
he finds out
Dolohov is dead before tomorrow,
I'm
afraid he will be most displeased and may rescind the offer."
"And Mistress doesn't wish for that to happen?"
"No Nagini, I don't."
Nagini looked thoughtfully and hissed. "I will distract Master until
tomorrow. Then I will
tell
him what I've done after the formalities
are complete."
Hermione smiled fondly at her snake. "Thank you, Nagini."
The snake nodded and Hermione stood to open the door
allowing her familiar to leave to find her father.
What a mess!
While Hermione couldn't
fault
Nagini's instincts,
she could only
pray her father remained unaware until such time as the contracts
were signed.
Tom and Marlene
Chapter 47: Tom and Marlene
Lucius and Narcissa had retired to their rooms, leaving the Dark
Lord and Marlene alone in the library.
Tom gazed over
at
his
witch,
who was sitting there watching him with an evil
little smirk
on her face. He knew that look and it was one that he had never
thought he'd ever see again.
Marlene had been quite the deviant
little witch when she'd been
younger.
Always eager to learn and try new things,
which made
their sex life very interesting.
She wasn't adverse to pain, in fact,
she'd enjoyed it
immensely,
and he had been surprised by her
depravity.
The truth was Tom relished in her
darker
desires,
and enjoyed
watching as much as participating.
He couldn't
help but
recall
the night
he realized that
she was
everything he'd wanted in a witch.
Flashback
Marlene had been having sex with the Dark Lord for a little
over a year.
When she'd become of age, he had taken her as his mistress
at
her
request.
Her thirst
for knowledge was insatiable,
as
were
her
sexual
desires.
She
wasn't
adverse
to trying
anything that
pleased her
Lord,
but
tonight
she was truly
excited.
Tom had promised her
that
one of
her
greatest
fantasies would be allowed to play out tonight,
so she had
taken great care with her appearance this evening.
She was on Easter holiday during her seventh year, and
had just
turned eighteen last
month.
Looking into her
chevalier mirror at home,
she proceeded to cast various
spells on her body.
One to remove her body hair, one to
make her nether lips silky soft.
She had been wearing a
plug in her arse for over a week straight now,
and each
day it grew a little larger in girth.
Walking around in school,
sitting in her classes feeling
completely aroused,
all
the while maintaining control
was driving her barmy.
But she knew the pay off would be so worth it.
She put on some silk knickers and a push up bra,
both in
green.
She then dressed in black robes and high heels
before she disapparated to her
meeting place with Tom.
When she arrived, the door automatically opened and an elf
led her into a large sitting room where Tom was waiting for
her,
but
he
wasn't
alone.
Rabastan
and
Rodolphus
Lestrange were sitting on the couch,
and the two Death
Eaters eyes widened when they saw the new addition to
their private party.
Tom smirked at his Death Eater's reactions.
No one outside himself had been privy to the knowledge that
Marlene and he were lovers.
Tom didn't trust anyone, but he
had made his witch a promise,
one he intended to see
through.
She wanted her limits tested,
and Tom was gleeful
at what
delights awaited them on this night.
"Ah Marlene,
welcome.
Please allow me to introduce you to
two of my most loyal followers."
Tom moved
over
effortlessly
to
where
Marlene
was
standing and took her arm,
guiding her over to introduce
her
to Rodolphus and Rabastan.
The two wizards were
watching her warily,
but she could see the appreciation in
both their eyes.
Once introductions were made, Tom sat down and gestured
for
his Death Eaters to do the same.
He then smirked at
Marlene wickedly.
"Take off your robes,
my dear, and come
sit on my lap."
Marlene didn't
hesitate.
She removed her outer robes and
exposed her body slowly to the appreciative eyes of those
within the room.
When she was in nothing but her knickers
and bra,
she glided over and sat on the Dark Lord's lap. He
then moved her legs so they were straddling over his knees
and he spread her legs out,
so both his Death Eaters could
see the wetness soaking her knickers. Both men smirked at
the sight while Voldemort just ground her arse back against
his very substantial
arousal.
The plug pushed inside her
further
as he pulled her
arse forcefully onto himself,
his
hand now splayed over her cunt,
all
the while Marlene was
moaning in pleasure.
When Voldemort
suddenly stopped,
he requested Marlene
stand and remove her
knickers and bra,
which she did
without hesitation.
When she was naked,
Voldemort turned
her around so her back was now facing his Death Eaters,
and then he pulled her arse cheeks apart-exposing the butt
plug buried in her back hole.
Leaning over he pulled the plug in and out, all the while the
young witch in his arms was writhing in pleasure.
Her
arousal
was dripping from her
pussy,
down her legs and
both Death Eaters were visibly hard at the sight.
Voldemort's smirk widened at how aroused his Death Eaters
were.
"Isn't she lovely, Rodolphus?" Voldemort hissed.
Rodolphus nodded.
"She is decadent,
My Lord.
I
can smell
her arousal, almost taste it on my tongue."
Rabastan hummed in the affirmative. The young witch was
mouth-watering,
and watching her writhe as her arse was
spread open, watching the thick plug being pushed in and
out her back hole was making him harder than he'd ever
thought possible.
"Hmmm."
Voldemort
hummed in agreement.
"She tastes
even
better
than
she
looks."
At
this
confession,
both
Lestrange brothers eyes widened.
"Yes,
she has been mine
for a while.
Such an eager little kitten, willing to learn and be taught how
to please." Voldemort's smirk widened as he looked at his
most
loyal
with a raised eyebrow.
"She has asked a boon
from me,
and I
simply cannot
refuse her
desires.
So,
I've
asked you both here to help with her training."
Rodolphus grinned wickedly.
"I
think I
can speak for both
Bas and Myself, My Lord… we would be most eager to help
with whatever training you wish."
Rabastan nodded in agreement, all the while watching as his
Lord kept
methodically pushing that
damn plug in and out
the little witch's rosette.
Her
moans of
pleasure filling the
room and making Rabastan salivate at the thought of fucking
her arse.
"See,
my Pet," Voldemort hissed,
"I
told you not to worry.
It
seems we will
be fulfilling all
your
naughty wishes this
evening."
Marlene's moans grew louder, while Voldemort just grinned.
When he stopped his foreplay,
he motioned for Marlene to
lean over the back edge of the couch that was facing him,
ordering her
to spread her
legs open,
which she did
eagerly.
At
the sight
before them,
both Death Eaters groaned in
desire.
Whispering a spell,
Marlene's plump cheeks were
pulled wide apart and the plug started moving in and out
her hole on its own.
Watching the witch moan and writhe in need,
Voldemort
questioned his men. "Which one of you would be considered
more endowed?"
Rodolphus grinned manically while Rabastan chuckled.
"I
am thicker, my Lord, but Bas is longer."
"Hmmmm… well then perhaps you should start, Rodolphus.
Fuck her cunt.
Use the plug as well.
Make her come… until
her screams fill the room."
Rodolphus nodded and smirked. "Of course, My Lord."
Vanishing his clothes, the older Lestrange moved up behind
the witch and not giving her a momentary reprieve, thrust all
seven-
and-a-half
inches of
his thick cock into Marlene's
pussy.
The witch screamed out
in pained pleasure at
the
sudden intrusion. Rodolphus was thick, not quite as thick as
her Lord and no where near as long, but with the plug in her
arse, she felt deliciously full. The older man gave no quarter
as he fucked her hard, pushing the plug in and out her arse
while she screamed for more.
Juices were dripping down her
thighs and the obscene
sound of her wetness could be heard throughout the room.
"Fuck,
witch your tight." Rodolphus grunted as his balls
slapped against Marlene's clit.
Suddenly she screamed out
her release and as her pussy
clenched down on Rodolphus cock he came while pulling
the plug from her arse, causing the witch to cry out again in
orgasm, for a second time.
When he was spent,
he pulled out
of
Marlene's cunt
and
pushed three fingers into her arse,
while taking his other
hand and rubbing her clit
hard.
The witch started moving
back on the fingers,
moaning in pleasure,
while Rodolphus
whispered depraved things into her ear.
How tight she was,
how much he wanted to stick his tongue up her arse and
suck on it.
When he brought
his hand down on Marlene's
arse and smacked it
hard,
she screamed in release again
causing all the men in the room to chuckle.
Glancing over
at
his younger
brother,
Rodolphus moved
the witch and vanished Rabastan's clothes,
before he laid
down on the chaise and straddled Marlene over his cock,
pushing it
up hard inside her again.
She moaned as she
rode the older man's cock like a pro, before Rabastan came
up behind her
and spread her
arse cheeks wide and
suddenly pushed all eight inches into her arse.
Both men groaned as the witch screamed in pain.
Voldemort
leaned forward as he watched the pain contort
over his witch's face. She was stretched impossibly full and
writhing from the overwhelming sensations taking over her
body. Both wizards were relentless and soon Marlene's arse
and pussy were spasming in orgasm,
taking both men with
her as they groaned out their mutual release.
This went on for hours as both men fucked the little witch.
Each filling her separately and together and when Marlene
was on all
fours,
being fucked by Rodolphus from behind
and
sucking on his
brother's
cock
she
deep-throated
Rabastan's
length,
causing
the
wizard
to
yell
out
in
surprised pleasure.
The pleased glint
in her
brown eyes caused Voldemort
to
smile genuinely.
She truly was a vision,
owning her
own
pleasure unapologetically.
When the evening was winding down,
Voldemort warned his
followers,
threatening them on pain of
death to not
reveal
Marlene's presence nor what had occurred that night.
Both
men nodded and watched smirking at
the little witch,
who
was perched back on their Lord's lap and was spread wide
open again, while he pleasured her with his fingers and wand
relentlessly for another hour.
His two Death Eaters watched eagerly as the little witch came
over and over again,
her succulent pussy squirting out her
release.
"Come lick her
clean,
Rabastan." Voldemort
smirked and
watched as the younger
Lestrange knelt
down in front
of
Marlene's pussy and proceeded to devour every last drop of
her delicious cream.
The witch was writhing in her Master's
lap while Rabastan brought her to orgasm again, and again.
Her head was thrown back on Tom's shoulder, her ruby lips
opened in a pout
as Rabastan kept
licking her.
Another
half-hour passed before Tom bade Rabastan to stop.
Getting up off his knees, the younger wizard licked his lips in
appreciation. "You are right, My Lord. She is delicious."
"Hmmmmm… she is at that.
Come,
Rodolphus and have a
taste for yourself." Voldemort smirked and watched as the
older
brother
knelt
before
his
Lord and latched onto
Marlene's sweet
pussy and ate at
her like a man starved,
pushing his tongue in both holes unapologetically.
Marlene's moans were loud and lusty as she lost count at
how many times she'd orgasmed as the elder Lestrange ate
her
out.
He
was
unequivocally
more
talented than his
brother
and his tongue was longer,
broader
and rougher.
Marlene's legs were shaking with adrenaline as she reached
yet
another
peak,
and felt
her pussy positively gush with
wetness into the older wizard's mouth,
down his face and
chin as he suckled her thoroughly, relishing in her taste. The
witch's hands were gripped tightly in the elder wizard's hair
as she ground her pussy into his face unabashedly,
head
thrown back and spurring him on.
"More!" Marlene mouthed at
the elder
Lestrange,
as he
smirked and proceeded to give the witch exactly what she
wanted,
making her scream over and over again during the
next
hour,
until
she
was
completely
hoarse
from her
screams.
Chuckles filled the room again,
as completely sated brown
eyes looked down at the elder Lestrange,
whose face was
completely covered in pussy cream.
"My Lord," Rodolphus
began, "she is truly a prize. I've never seen a witch own her
pleasure as this one does.
It's as if her body was made for
it… I've never
seen such responsiveness.
She is truly a
decadent treat."
Voldemort grinned. "Marlene craves sex. She is insatiable in
her desires and keen to learn new things. I find her to be an
absolute delight and highly compatible."
Both men nodded in understanding. "We are both honored,
My Lord,
that you have given us such a boon to experience
such
luscious
carnal
delights."
Rodolphus
grinned
in
appreciation, eyeing the sated witch whose large full breasts
were heaving with the exertion from their recent activities.
"Of
that
I
do not
doubt,
Rodolphus.
Your
penchant
for
depravity is second only to my own."
The older Lestrange smiled and licked his lips,
closing his
eyes at the sweet taste of the witch still on his tongue.
"We will
leave you alone with your witch,
My Lord." Both
men nodded and took their leave.
Once they were alone, Marlene turned to Tom and raised
her
lips for
his kiss which he gave without
hesitation.
Smirking evilly, Tom whispered into his witch's ear. "Are
you ready for me, My Pet."
Marlene who hadn't
spoken a word all
night,
whispered
"Yes, My Lord."
Tom then vanished his clothes and Marlene felt all glorious
ten inches pushing against her arse crack. Tom Riddle was
very well-endowed.
Over ten inches long and three inches
thick in diameter,
he was hung.
The first time he'd taken
her
she'd been sore for
days,
but
after a while she had
come to crave his cock. While she'd enjoyed being fucked
by the Lestrange brothers, they weren't in the same league
as Tom.
Tom whispered a lubricating spell and Marlene felt her back
hole become very slick.
Tom pulled her arse cheeks apart
and slowly started pushing his way into Marlene's abused
hole.
The witch had begged him the last
time they were
together for him to fuck her arse.
Tom,
going against his
nature,
hadn't wanted to damage Marlene so he decided to
prepare her.
The added benefit of watching two wizards fuck her was just
a bonus.
Marlene panted and tried to relax as Tom pushed himself
into her.
He was so big and thick,
she didn't know if she
could take it.
After
a few moments and another
couple
lubricating spells,
he was finally seated in her back hole
completely. It was painful, but Marlene loved it. She leaned
her head back on Tom's shoulder as she watched his left
hand move down to her clit and his right grasp her breast
as he pinched her nipple harshly.
The loud pained moans
that
erupted from her mouth only spurred Tom on as he
whispered a spell
Marlene had never
heard before and
phantom hands grasped her hips lifting her up and down
on Tom's cock.
The tightness was indescribable and Tom grunted out
in
pleasure as he listened to Marlene's screams of
pleasure
mingled with pain.
He wandlessly conjured a mirror in front
of them to watch them fuck.
"Look at yourself, Pet. See my
cock as it fills you.
Hmmmmm… I
can see and smell
your
essence… watching you coat my cock."
Marlene grunted out
spastic words of
praise.
"Yes,
My
Lord… so big… so full."
Tom smirked and whispered another spell
and soon there
was a small
snake charm in his hand.
He placed it
on
Marlene's clit and whispered another spell, watching as the
snake attached it's fangs into Marlene's flesh,
causing the
witch to scream out her orgasm until
she was hoarse. Tom
just chuckled darkly as he continued to fuck her arse. When
he whispered another
spell,
the tail
of
the snake charm
elongated and thickened outwards, slithering into Marlene's
cunt.
Once seated it grew until
its size matched Tom's own
cock.
Marlene was crying out in pain at the overwhelming
fullness.
Soon the snake cock was moving at
the same
alternating pace as Tom's cock. The screams from his witch
filled the air until
her whole body seized and her orgasm
was torn from her causing her to clench down like a vice on
Tom,
pulling his own orgasm from him with a triumphant
shout.
When he was finished he cancelled the spell,
returning the
charm to its normal size and removed himself from his witch,
who had passed out
from the exertion her body had gone
through.
He cleaned her wandlessly,
casting healing spells
so she wouldn't
be in too much pain tomorrow.
He then
looked down at her pussy where the small snake charm was
now permanently
embedded into her
clit.
She was now
marked as his,
and any wizard who took her
without
his
permission would suffer a fate worse than death. She may be
angry with him when she awoke,
but when he explained the
benefits of
the charm,
Tom was sure his little witch would
understand completely.
End Flashback
Marlene watched Tom, as he stared at her thoughtfully.
She had some idea what
thoughts were flowing through that
brilliant mind of his. She had often thought about that night during
her
Easter
Hols seventh year.
It
was the only time Tom had
shared her with his Death Eaters,
and it
was only because she
had been adamant in her desires for him.
Tom had always been a dominant lover, and he enjoyed inflicting
pain,
but
with her
there was
always
something more.
She
smirked as she recalled waking up the next
morning very sore
but
completely sated,
with a reminder
of
their
night
together.
She'd never asked about
the charm,
that
was still
embedded in
her clit. There were many times over the following years that the
charm had activated and had mimicked Tom's cock as it fucked
her. But it was never as good as the real thing, and Marlene had
missed him desperately over the years.
She known instinctively,
she wouldn't
be able to take another
lover, and she hadn't.
She knew of
Tom Riddle's reputation when she was younger,
and she'd heard of some of the more depraved things his Death
Eaters did at
revels.
He'd admitted to her
once that
he rarely
participated, but enjoyed watching as his Death Eaters took what
they'd wanted from the willing and not-so willing.
She had been
extremely pissed at the thought of a woman's choice being taken
from her. Muggle or no, she just couldn't understand why wizards
would do such horrible things.
Surely they could find consensual relationships with witches?
Tom had laughed at
her naivety,
but
promised her that
he
would think about what she'd said.
He had finally admitted to her when he'd found her again, about
his change of
heart.
That
the thought
of
his daughter's choice
being taken from her,
had made him realize that
he no longer
wished to engage is such practices, and hadn't since his return.
She was
understandably pleased and had mentioned some
suitable compromises once Tom gained absolute power.
He'd been appreciative of her suggestions.
"My Lord,
you seem lost in thought… is there anything I might be
of service with?" The words were spoken seductively, but the look
of innocence on the witch's face belied her desires.
Tom chuckled. "I was just remembering how delicious you were,
my Pet.
And I
find myself
curious in wondering if you still
taste
as sweet
and still
feel
as good as you did when you were
eighteen."
Marlene laughed.
"While your
gift
has been used with some
frequency over the years, My Lord, I have to admit it isn't nearly
as satisfactory as the real
thing. I would imagine lack of sex over
the past
fifteen years or
so,
could only be perceived as a
benefit."
"Hmmmmm,
I
find myself
curious to see if you are as responsive
as ever,
Pet.
Perhaps we might
adjourn to somewhere more
private where I can test your limits to both our satisfaction."
Marlene nodded and smirked. "Of course, My Lord."
Lost and Found
Chapter 48: Lost and Found
The Daily Prophet
outs Hermione's maternal
heritage and the
Dark Lord discovers just
what
happened to Dolohov.The next
morning found Hermione and her
mother
having breakfast
with
the Malfoy family in their main dining room.
Her mother seemed
oddly relaxed and at
ease,
which caused Hermione to smile
inwardly.
It
would seem as if
her
parents had picked up right
where they'd left
off
all
those years ago, which oddly didn't make
her feel strange at all.
As they were finishing eating, the Malfoy family owl flew through
the open window and dropped the Daily Prophet down in front of
Lucius.
He opened the paper and smirked at
the article on the
front page.
Handing it over to Hermione, her eyes widened as she read the
words emblazoned on the front page.
Lost McKinnon Heir revealed to be Alive!
By: Rita Skeeter
In shocking news,
it was confirmed to me yesterday evening
by Ministry officials that Marlene McKinnon,
oldest daughter
of
Rosemond and Elladora McKinnon (née Lovegood),
was
discovered alive after
being presumed perished with her
family back in July of 1980.
We readers,
will
remember how it
was supposed that the
McKinnon family had been slaughtered by Death Eaters at
the behest of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
The Dark Mark having been seen over
the scene of
the
crime.
But in a shocking twist we never saw coming Dear Readers,
it has been confirmed by the Minister for Magic himself, the
honorable Cornelius Fudge; that the McKinnon family were
killed by
none
other
than Albus Percival
Wulfric Brian
Dumbledore,
former
Headmaster
of
Hogwarts School
of
Witchcraft
and Wizardry and former
Chief
Warlock of
the
Wizengamot, now disgraced prisoner of Azkaban.
Memories shared in the closed session of the Wizengamot
yesterday, showed with absolute clarity that Dumbledore did
indeed kill
the McKinnon family.
Although further
details
were not forthcoming, Delores Umbridge, Undersecretary to
Cornelius Fudge did offer insight into the proceedings.
Memories were given from the former
house elf
of
the
McKinnon
family,
who
had
witnessed
the
torture
and
murders of Rosemond,
his wife Elladora and their youngest
daughter Maisie. No other information was given except that
upon seeing the memories,
the Wizengamot convened and
passed sentence on Dumbledore,
who will
receive the kiss
tomorrow, at sundown.
In yet another unexpected shock? It would seem that Lady
McKinnon has taken over all titles afforded to her as Heir to
her House.
While this comes as little surprise,
what does?
Is the fact that Lady McKinnon appears to have birthed an
heir.
Court papers shown to this reporter late last evening,
prove
that
Lady
McKinnon
has
requested
that
the
Wizengamot
allow her
to
claim her
heir
immediately.
Hermione Jean Granger,
supposed Muggle-born Slytherin
of
Hogwarts,
has been revealed to not
be a Muggle-born
after all, but an Heir to a Pureblood House.
How will
her
Slytherin housemates,
who've bullied and
tormented the little witch for years feel
when they discover
Miss Granger's… or should we say… Miss McKinnon's true
identity?
And whom is her Father?
When the question was put to Lord Lucius Malfoy, Head of
the
Ancient
and
Noble
House
of
Malfoy,
the
wizard
responded with a cryptic comment.
"Those who know of
the former Miss Granger's brilliance only need to look to
her true heritage to understand her value.
She is cunning,
clever,
intelligent
and resilient.
I
am most
gratified that
mother
and daughter
will
be reunited,
and I
offer
the
unequivocal
support
of
my House and home should the
need arise."
Very interesting indeed.
We will keep you posted readers, as we learn more.
Glaring at
the paper
in disgust,
Hermione sighed resignedly.
While she understood the necessity of having the Prophet break
the story, it did little to make her feel better at being the center of
attention.
Looking over at her mother, Marlene smiled softly.
"I
know you're not
happy with the publicity,
but
it
will
help in the
long run.
I've no doubt
I
will
be receiving letters shortly from
former
Order
members,
requesting to meet.
I
would rather deal
with this immediately than prolong the inevitable."
Hermione nodded,
then inquired warily,
"Where is Father
this
morning?"
Marlene quirked an eyebrow at
her
daughter,
but
responded
kindly. "He left on business. He will return shortly."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Hermione visibly relaxed, not realizing
that everyone in the room was staring at her questioningly. When
she
glanced
up
and
caught
her
mother's
eyes,
Hermione
blushed but said nothing.
Marlene
sighed
and
spoke.
"What
is
going on,
Hermione?
Something has you on edge this morning, something more than
just this article."
Hermione gazed over at
Draco,
who was now watching her with
concern.
Lucius and Narcissa also seemed to be uneasy,
as if
they sensed that
whatever was wrong was going to make them
very unhappy.
"If
I
tell
you,
it
might
cause more problems than it's worth
and I'd rather not involve anyone else, if that's alright."
Marlene sighed in frustration.
"No,
Hermione,
it's definitely not
alright.
While I
may have only been back in your life a short
while, I can't help you if you aren't honest with me."
"If
I
tell
you,
Mother,
you will
be forced to tell
Father,
and I'd
rather not have that conversation right now."
Hermione glared, rising from her seat and walked out of the dining
room without waiting to be dismissed properly.
Lucius and Narcissa stared after the little witch, who seemed to be
truly out of sorts. Marlene then looked over at Draco, who seemed
to be both concerned and shocked at Hermione's display.
"Do any of
you have any idea what
that
was all
about?" Marlene
inquired of the group.
Narcissa shook her
head,
while Lucius just
frowned.
"No,
we
don't. She does seem to be visibly distressed and anxious."
Lucius also looked to his son, who just shook his head in the
negative.
Draco had no idea what
was wrong with his witch. Asking to be
excused,
his father nodded and Draco walked out
of
the dining
room in search of his intended.
Marlene just
sat
back and frowned thoughtfully wondering what
could have gotten her daughter so upset after last night. As she
was lost in thought, another owl came into the room and dropped
a letter in front
of
her.
This was followed by several
other owls.
Taking the letters in hand,
Marlene excused herself
back to her
room to look through her mail.
When she settled on her chair near the open window,
Marlene
opened the first
note hesitantly,
recognizing her former Head of
House's hand writing. The letter was brief, but surprisingly warm.
Minerva was astonished by the Prophet
Article and wanted to
meet for tea soon. Opening the second letter Marlene smirked at
the missive.
It
was from Rodolphus Lestrange,
expressing his
pleasure at
the witch's return from the dead.
He went
on to
mention how devastated he and Rabastan had been to hear of
her
death,
and knew once Hermione had been claimed by the
Dark Lord,
who her
mother
must
have been.
Rodolphus was
quick to offer his services,
should Marlene need his help in any
way and it did not go unappreciated. While her Lord was gifted in
most
areas,
Rodolphus had been a very pleasant
surprise that
evening so very long ago.
She couldn't help but remember how he had ravished her pussy
and arse with equal
fervor.
His tongue was truly a gift,
and
Marlene felt her knickers soak with arousal at the memory of how
long and how often Rodolphus had made her come that night.
Marlene could feel
her clit throbbing with need, and suddenly her
charm activated and she felt
the snake elongate and push into
her pussy as she rocked herself on the chair, feeling the fullness
swirling inside her, pushing at her walls and making her knickers
soaked.
Spreading her legs open,
she moaned as the girth widened and
pushed in and out
of
her
pussy faster.
As she was about
to
come,
it
stopped suddenly.
Looking up in confusion, she noticed
Tom in the doorway watching her with a predatory gleam in his
eye.
"It
would seem,
my Pet,
that
last
nights activities have left
you wanting more this morning?" Tom hissed viciously.
Marlene moaned and pulled up her skirt
so her bare pussy
was exposed to Tom's hungry gaze.
Noticing her flood of
arousal,
Tom closed the door and sauntered over to where
his witch was sitting,
watching him with those big brown
eyes. Smirking down at her, he reached for the letter on the
table and read through it
once,
before lifting a questioning
eyebrow in response.
"Caught up in memories, my Pet? Are you remembering how well
Rodolphus attended to you that night so long ago?"
Marlene just
nodded,
watching as Tom leaned over
her
and
smiled viciously.
"I
remember
that
night
well,
Pet.
I
remember
your screams of
pleasure as both men fucked you. I remember
the smell
and feel
of
you wrapped around me as you came
violently before you lost
consciousness. Tell
me what you want,
my Pet…"
Marlene stood up and moved into Tom's embrace, tilting her head
up for his kiss, which he gave furiously.
Marlene moaned at
the aggression.
"My Lord,
it
has been
soooo long and my need is great."
"You wish for
Rodolphus to join us,
my Pet?" Marlene nodded
causing Tom to smirk evilly. "I will give this to you but I will expect
something of equal value in return."
"I
understand,
My Lord." Marlene whispered as Tom locked and
silenced the room before he vanished Marlene's clothes and
flipped her
over,
her
arse wide in the air.
His hand came down
with a vicious blow, causing his witch to moan and writhe in need.
He spanked her relentlessly,
watching as her pale flesh turned a
bright red. Silently vanishing his clothes, Tom plunged himself into
his witch causing her to fall back as her mouth opened in a painful
scream.
He was relentless,
bringing Marlene to orgasm several
times before he groaned out in release.
As Marlene panted,
splayed out
over the armrest
of
the chaise,
Tom redressed
and
smirked
at
the
redness
on
his
witch's
backside.
Marlene stood shakily and winced at
the soreness between her
legs and on her
bum,
but
overall
she felt
relief
and satisfaction
that her relationship with Tom hadn't diminished at all, despite the
years apart.
Casting cleansing and contraceptive charms,
Marlene dressed
watching Tom as he observed her
with feigned coolness that
belied the heat emanating from his gaze.
"I
thought
I
should mention that
Hermione was visibly distressed
this
morning.
Something
happened
after
our
talk
last
night.
Lucius, Narcissa and Draco seemed just as confused as I was. Do
you know what might be wrong?"
Tom appeared thoughtful
for a moment
and snapped his fingers,
Nagini appearing in the room suddenly.
"Did you see my daughter last night, Nagini?" Voldemort hissed
at his familiar.
"Yes, Master. I stayed with her after the Malfoy Heir left her in her
suite."
"Did she seem out of sorts?" Voldemort hissed questioningly.
"She was very pleased at
your willingness in allowing the Malfoy
Heir
to court
her.
She loves him very much,
as he does her."
Nagini evaded.
Tom raised his eyebrow at
the snake,
realizing that
his familiar
did not answer the question directly. "Speak, Nagini… it is not like
you to evade my questions."
The snake hissed menacingly,
something Voldemort
had never
seen her do at him. "You bade me to protect my Mistress… that
foul
man violated my Mistress… Nagini
was only doing what my
Master bade of
me.
Mistress worries that
you will
rescind your
permission to court
the Malfoy Heir because Nagini
took care of
the foul
wizard.
You will
not
interfere with Mistress happiness…
you bade Nagini to protect her."
Voldemort
closed his eyes and sighed in frustration and
anger. Nagini had killed Dolohov, and she was right.
He had made his familiar
promise to protect
Hermione
above all others-even himself.
Marlene
gazed at
her
lover
questioningly,
seeing his
visible
distress. "What happened, My Lord?"
Tom's eyes flashed red as Marlene took a step towards him
hesitantly.
Tom reached
for
her
and
buried
his
head into
Marlene's curls,
inhaling her
sweet
scent
of
vanilla and spice.
Her
scent
had often calmed him,
and he was loathe to admit
how much he had missed her scent
over the years.
When he
had thought about the First Wizarding War, he'd often ruminated
on all
the things that
he should've done differently,
regrets…
there were some,
but
not
many.
Marlene,
Hermione… yes,
he
regretted not
knowing he'd had a daughter,
but
he also knew
that during that particular time, his lust for power and immortality
would have curbed any affection he'd held even for
his own
child.
Having two pieces of his soul
returned to him had tempered his
bloodlust
somewhat,
perhaps making him a bit
more reflective,
but
he certainly wasn't a good wizard. He relished in his darker
nature,
and Marlene had thrived on it
when she was younger.
She had allowed him liberties that
no other
witch would've
tolerated.
She'd never
cowed in fear… on the contrary-she'd
challenged him in ways he hadn't realized at the time. He didn't
love her,
nor did he love his daughter-but
he did feel
a level
of
care and responsibility for them.
Marlene was his witch-she always had been.
Hermione was his daughter,
his Heir,
and somehow-he had
failed her.
Nagini
had seen what
needed to be done,
and she did not
hesitate. Apparently Hermione's only concern over Dolohov's
death was not
about
the wizard,
but
about
her relationship
with the young Malfoy being thwarted. Tom wouldn't go back
on his word as his daughter deserved at least that much from
him-he had promised her that
she would have her choice of
mate.
He intended to keep his word, and he was pretty sure his familiar
would not be happy with him if he rescinded his approval.
"I
have no intention of
going back on my word, Nagini. You are
right.
I
did bid you to protect
Hermione,
and you did what
needed to be done."
The snake hissed and nodded,
slithering towards the door,
obviously intent
on finding her mistress.
Voldemort
sighed and
followed his familiar
as she slithered towards the main library.
When he entered,
Hermione and Draco were sitting quietly side
by side on the couch reading.
When Hermione noticed Nagini
she smiled, which faded upon seeing her father.
The look in her eyes was wary.
"Nagini told you, didn't she?" Hermione asked quietly.
Voldemort nodded once and took a seat in the chair across from
the young couple.
Hermione grabbed Draco's hand tightly, while
the young wizard looked at
him unflinchingly.
Nagini
however,
moved over
to Hermione's side and placed her
head in the
young
witch's
lap,
which
caused
Hermione
to
pet
her
absentmindedly.
"She did .
Do not
be angry at
her,
she did what
I
should have
done myself.
I
made Nagini
promise to protect
you against
all
others and apparently, I made no exception for myself-a fact she
was quick to point
out
to me earlier." Voldemort
smirked while
Nagini lifted her head and stared at her Master.
"Are you going to rescind your
approval
for
the betrothal?"
Hermione whispered.
Voldemort
sighed as he considered his daughter closely.
Her
eyes looked tired,
and she was doing a good job hiding her
fear, but he could sense her unease.
"No,
I'm not,
and I'm pretty sure Nagini
would not
allow it
even if I tried."
The snake hissed in agreement, which caused both Hermione
and Voldemort
to chuckle.
Draco's shoulders sagged,
the
young wizard looking fairly relieved by the admission.
It
would seem his daughter had confided in the young wizard
about what had happened.
"Thank
you,
My
Lord."
Draco
offered
politely.
"I
know the
situation is less than ideal with Dolohov being dead, but at least I
know Hermione will be safe from his machinations."
"I
appreciate your desire to keep Hermione safe.
I
will
need to
call
a meeting of
my
followers
tonight,
inform them what
transpired. I will
be as discreet as I can and I'm sure no one will
perceive
you
as
weak
for
falling
victim to
Dolohov's
manipulations."
"It
seems we all
worried over
nothing,
Father.
How will
you
explain his death to the Ministry?"
"You will
leave that
to me.
For now, your mother wishes to take
you to her
ancestral
home tomorrow and I
have business to
attend to, so I will see you both tomorrow."
Draco and Hermione nodded as they watched the Dark Lord
waltz out of the library.
Sighing and placing her
head on Draco's shoulder,
the two
teens
caressed hands and stayed quiet
for
a while until
Hermione spoke up softly. "I was so worried Father would take
back his permission."
Draco nodded, looking down at Hermione and then lifting her chin
so he could place a soft, gentle kiss on her lips. "It seems we owe
Nagini
one.
I
plan on letting her
have whatever
delicacies she
desires for the immediate future."
Hermione giggled as Nagini
raised her
head and hissed
softly,
before moving over by the fireplace and curling up to
take a nap.
"Don't
you have an errand to do today,
Draco?" Hermione said
impishly causing the blonde wizard to chuckle.
"I
do,
in fact
I should get on that immediately. Once my jewelry is
on you,
you're never getting rid of
me,
Granger." Draco waggled
his eyebrows playfully, causing Hermione to giggle louder.
"I
don't
want
to get
rid of
you,
you great
prat.
Go pick out
something pretty… nothing vulgar.
I
might
have to hex you if you
pick out something gaudy."
"Fine,
nothing ostentatious.
I
think I
can find something that
will
enhance your natural beauty." Draco smirked fondly.
Hermione shook her
head playfully at
her
wizard,
before she
gave him a parting kiss.
It would seem that things were finally falling into place.
What Marlene Needs
Chapter 49: What Marlene Needs
The Death Eater meeting that evening had gone surprisingly well.
Perhaps it
was due to the fact
that Hermione's maternal
heritage
had been claimed, but whatever the reasons? The Dark Lord had
been greatly pleased at
the deference shown to his heir.
Thoros
Nott
had come up to him personally and assured his Lord that no
one in Slytherin House would speak ill of Hermione again.
When the majority of
his followers were taking their
leave,
Voldemort
asked
Rodolphus
to
stay
a moment.
The elder
Lestrange looked a bit
uncertain but
bowed in deference and
remained seated on his Lord's left. Once the room had emptied,
a side door opened and Marlene walked in looking resplendent
in Slytherin Green robes, her hair pulled up and four-inch stiletto
heels that had emerald snakes wrapped around her ankles.
Rodolphus smiled warmly at
the witch,
who looked even more
lovely than he'd remembered.
Voldemort smirked at the obvious
pleasure from the elder
Lestrange,
as clearly the wizard had
been besotted with Marlene.
The Dark Lord could certainly understand his reasoning.
Marlene was truly a vision.
"Ah,
Pet.
The meeting went better than we'd hoped. My
Death Eaters understood the precautions we needed to
take,
and none think badly of
our
Daughter
for
what
happened and what needed to be done."
Marlene nodded, pleased with the news. She then looked over at
Rodolphus and smiled.
"That
is good news,
My Lord. Hermione
will be pleased as well."
Focusing
her
gaze on the other
wizard,
Marlene smirked
wickedly.
"It
is lovely to see you again Rodolphus, after all
this
time."
The elder Lestrange stood and sauntered over to the witch and
bowed over
her
hand,
kissing the back of
her
knuckles in
greeting.
"I
am overjoyed to see you again as well,
Marlene.
It
has been too long."
Marlene smiled while Voldemort
chuckled.
"It
would seem that
Marlene was flattered by your correspondence from earlier today,
Rodolphus.
She has requested that
I
allow you to join our
festivities as her needs demand.
I find I'm willing to comply with
her request
of
me,
and I
ask if
you would be willing to serve in
such a capacity."
Rodolphus eyes gleamed hungrily. "I am at your service, My Lord,
in whatever way you need me to be."
Voldemort
chuckled.
"Of
that
I
have no doubt,
Rodolphus.
Unfortunately I
have to leave to take care of
some business
abroad for a bit and can't find it in me to leave my Witch's needs
unattended.
See
to
it,
Rodolphus,
and
if
Marlene
wishes
Rabastan to join you as well-you have my permission."
Rodolphus bowed deeply. "I am humbled by your trust in me
My Lord, My Lady. I will endeavor to please you both."
Marlene smirked wickedly. "Of that I have little doubt, Rodolphus."
Walking towards her wizard, Marlene lifted her head up for Tom's
kiss, which he gave to her viciously and without hesitation.
Rodolphus
watched
with
stunned
eyes
at
his
Lord's
clear
dominance of
the witch.
When they parted,
Voldemort
took his
leave as Marlene smiled enticingly at the elder Lestrange.
Rodolphus sauntered over,
enveloping Marlene in his arms
and kissing her
breathlessly.
He hadn't
kissed her
in their
previous encounter, but he'd often imagined the sweetness of
her lips and was not disappointed.
"Shall I ask Rabastan to join us, my Lady."
Marlene shook her head.
"No,
Rodolphus.
I
find that
I
only want
you tonight."
The wizard groaned and grasped Marlene's firm arse in his
hands,
kneading the flesh as he pushed his erection into her
core, causing the witch to gasp in need.
"I
spent
fifteen
years
in
Azkaban
thinking
of
that
night.
Remembering your taste and the ways in which you owned your
pleasure.
I
have never tasted anything as sweet
as your pussy,
Marlene.
I
find myself
barely holding on to what
little control
I
have left."
"Well,
we certainly can't
have that, Rodolphus." Marlene led the
wizard to the floo and called out
'McKinnon Manor '
before she
vanished away.
Rodolphus followed suit
and found himself
in a
rather impressive library. He followed the sumptuous witch out of
the library and down the hall to a room at the end of the corridor.
When the door
opened,
Rodolphus eyes widened at
the sight
before him.
The room was a Dominant's wet dream.
In the center of the room was a large bed, covered with black silk
sheets.
In one corner was a armoire with a chair facing a large
mirror.
In the other corner was a spanking bench with numerous
paddles, whips and floggers. There was a iron cross in the corner
nearest
the door and another dresser near a smaller chaise next
to where he was standing.
Marlene was watching Rodolphus closely. He seemed to like the
room very much,
if
his visceral
reaction was any indication. She
smirked at
the thought
of
Bellatrix's former husband pleasuring
her tonight. Walking over seductively, Marlene let her finger trace
over
the substantial
bulge in Rodolphus trousers.
The wizard
hissed and waved his wand,
silently vanishing their clothes.
He
didn't
waste any time,
picking up the witch and sitting on the
chaise
lounge,
straddling Marlene over
his
cock
before he
pushed himself to the hilt, causing the witch to grip his shoulders
hard and fling her head back in pleasure.
"Oh,
Roddy!
Fuck,
yes!"
Marlene
hissed
while
Rodolphus
grabbed her hips, pistoning his cock as hard as he could into her
pussy. She was obscenely wet and tight. Their loud groans filled
the
room as
they
fucked each other
hard.
Soon,
Marlene
spasmed around Rodolphus cock, and the wizard followed with a
shout.
When they both had come down,
Rodolphus stood up with
Marlene in his arms and walked towards the bed,
laying her
down and spreading her legs open wide.
His eyes widened at
the sight of the snake charm embedded in Marlene's clit and he
chuckled softly.
It would seem His Lord was a more possessive bastard than he'd
thought.
Marlene smirked when she'd noticed where Rodolphus eyes were
fixated.
"It was a gift from Tom." Marlene volunteered, causing Rodolphus
to look up at
her in shock at
the informal
use of
the Dark Lord's
given
name.
"The
night
we
all
spent
together
when I
was
eighteen,
I
asked Tom to test my limits. He is very well-endowed.
He didn't want to injure me, so he sent for you and your brother to
prepare me for him.
I
lost
consciousness from the intensity of
our fucking,
and he left
me with this gift."
Rodolphus smirked.
"So that
was why you had that
delectable
plug in your arse?"
Marlene nodded. "Yes, I wore it for a week at school. It was
distracting walking around, sitting… I was constantly wet."
Rodolphus laughed.
"And you loved it didn't you? Wicked wanton
witch."
"Hmmmm…"
Marlene purred at
the memory.
"I
did.
It
felt
so
good and naughty.
Especially when Tom had me spread open
for you and Rabastan. I was so turned on."
"You were glorious that
night.
I've never enjoyed myself as much
as I did that evening."
"That's why we are here, Roddy-your tongue was quite talented.
When you sent
me that
letter,
I
couldn't
help but
think back at
how good you were and how many times you brought
me to
orgasm.
I
was soaked just
thinking about
it.
Tom found me
aroused and punished me,
but
allowed this because he knows
how much I need it."
Rodolphus was rock hard again as he kneeled down and started
licking at
Marlene's pussy,
tasting both her essence and his, on
his tongue.
He groaned and pushed his tongue in and started
slurping and suckling, watching as Marlene fall
back on the bed,
pinching her nipples hard as she moaned in need.
He used his
tongue relentlessly,
rimming her rosette obscenely and thrusting
it in and out of her pussy. He didn't know how long he feasted on
the witch, or how many times she squirted into his mouth, but he
didn't care. He just kept going, listening to her cries of delight as
he sent Marlene from one orgasm into the next.
Marlene had her hands clenched in Roddy's hair as she pushed
her pussy into his face grinding herself against his tongue.
Circe and Morgana!
The wizard was talented.
When she screamed out
again,
he chuckled and stood up,
walking over to the dresser and looking through the assortment of
items.
Grabbing a few things,
the elder Lestrange came back over and
pushed Marlene's legs up over her head, whispering a lubricating
charm and shoving a large butt plug up her arse. She screamed in
pained pleasure at the sudden invasion.
"You like that, witch?" Rodolphus spoke darkly.
"Hmmmm… Yes,
Roddy."
Marlene
panted
as
her
nipples
tightened into nubs at
her excitement.
Rodolphus grinned and
forced Marlene on her stomach, her legs dangling off the end of
the bed.
He noticed her
arse was slightly bruised,
obviously
from her punishment
from his Lord.
He brought
his hand down
and smacked Marlene's arse hard,
pushing the plug further
inside causing Marlene to groan.
Suddenly
the
charm on
her
clit
elongated,
thickened
considerably and slithered into her
cunt.
She was panting in
need and Rodolphus was stunned by the size of
the charmed
cock pulsating inside her.
"Fuck, witch! Is that how big he is?"
"Yes!" She purred, while Rodolphus chuckled darkly.
"No wonder you needed Bas and I to warm you up. Did he make
you bleed when he fucked your delicious arse for the first time?"
Marlene moaned wantonly at
the memory.
"Yes!
It
hurt
soooo
good,
Roddy.
The charm activated and filled my pussy with
another cock just
the same size.
I
was soooo full…".
Marlene
panted as Rodolphus started pushing the plug in and out
her
arse while the snake cock was alternating thrusts in her pussy.
She was gushing cream and Rodolphus was salivating at
the
smell. He kept spanking her arse as he alternating thrusting the
plug in and out causing Marlene to moan like a whore.
The witch was a nymphomaniac, and she was fucking exquisite.
Marlene couldn't
hold on anymore as she screamed out
her
release,
flooding her
legs and the floor beneath her.
The plug
disappeared and it
was replaced by Rodolphus cock,
which he
slammed into her
without
warning.
Marlene screamed in pain,
causing the wizard to chuckle viciously. At this point Marlene was
moaning loudly, begging for more and Rodolphus wondered how
his Lord had gotten so lucky to have this witch for his own.
He would take whatever he could get, as there was no witch that
could compare to Marlene's delicious body.
The two spent the entire night fucking each other.
Some
moments
were
tender,
but
mostly
it
was
rough
and
ferocious.
Marlene had needed this more than she would ever admit to. For
so many years she had to remain celibate because Tom had
disappeared.
The charm had prevented her
from seeking out
another Dominant,
and at
times she had been angry, but for the
most
part
she'd ached with a need that
she wasn't
sure would
ever
be filled again.
Roddy was fulfilling that
need very nicely
and she had lost
count
at
how many times she had come.
Her
arse was deliciously sore and her pussy ached with abuse,
but
she loved how she felt
after such a good fucking.
She needed
sex like she needed air to breathe, and magic running though her
veins.
It was essential.
She felt no guilt nor embarrassment at her addiction.
When the two were finally sated,
laying on the bed and kissing
softly in the afters, Rodolphus couldn't help but ask the question
he'd wanted to ask all night long.
"How did your relationship with the Dark Lord happen?"
Marlene straddled Rodolphus and pushed her wet pussy against
his semi-hard cock.
She started to rock and felt
the wizard
harden beneath her while he smirked up at her. Raking her nails
across his chest the man groaned as Marlene pushed his length
inside her and kept
up a slow pace of rocking him in and out of
her.
Rodolphus grabbed her
hips and slowed her
pace even
further, just enjoying the feel of the witch enveloped around him.
"In my fourth year
we met
at
Flourish and Blotts… or
should I
say-I
accosted him at
Flourish and Blotts." Marlene smirked and
continued her story, all
the while circling her hips over Rodolphus
hips as she squeezed and clenched on his erection pulsating
inside her core.
"Mmmmm… you captured his interest didn't you, witch?"
Nodding she smiled widely.
"He took me for ice cream and we
talked all
afternoon about
magical
theory,
his views on magical
purity and so forth.
He treated me like an adult.
Over time he
wrote to me,
secretly of
course.
By the time I
turned sixteen,
I
knew I wanted him. I'd discovered early on my need for sex. The
boys at Hogwarts were just that… boys . Sirius, he was my first.
Tom wasn't happy to hear of my loss of virginity, but he'd refused
to fuck me until I'd come of age."
"Did he hold out
until
you turned seventeen?"
Rodolphus was
eager
to know whether
his Lord had managed to resist
this
Siren.
He knew he would've taken her, age be damned.
"Yes,
but
just
barely.
He introduced me to his Dominant
side the
summer after my sixth year. He wasn't convinced someone barely
seventeen could handle his darker proclivities. I relished in them."
Marlene pushed down harder on Rodolphus cock, squeezing him
with her inner vaginal
muscles causing the wizard to arch up with
a groan.
"I
would have fucked you at
fourteen,
witch.
You'd have never
gotten rid of me. Your pussy is pure bliss."
"Mmmmmm… now that would have been delicious. Having your
cock as my first." Marlene's pussy quivered at
the thought
and
the
charm activated
again.
This
time
it
slithered
around
Rodolphus cock and pushed into Marlene's arse, thickening and
vibrating while the witch moaned, writhing in need.
"Fuck!" Rodolphus groaned at the feel. He could feel the second
cock vibrating through the thin barrier
and it
felt
sublime.
He
pushed Marlene down harder on his cock,
causing the witch to
moan even louder.
"Tom was very thorough with my sex training,
and eventually I
begged him to fuck my arse.
He had fucked me often vaginally,
but
seemed to be reluctant
to bugger me like I'd wanted him to.
When he finally did that night, it was better than I'd ever imagined
and once that
hurdle had passed,
he was able to show me his
darker nature with relish."
Marlene kept
swirling her
hips,
holding off
her
orgasm for
as
long as she could.
"What kind of kinks do you enjoy?" Rodolphus wanted to know.
"Hmmmm… I
enjoy it all. I really love orgasm denial
and forced
orgasm,
Tom is very good at
both.
I've always wondered what
went
on at
revels.
While I
don't
agree with forced copulation,
there are certain kinds of play I find intriguing."
"Such as?" Rodolphus grinned.
"Public sex. I've wanted to have sex in Flourish and Blotts since I
was fourteen. There's an alcove on the second floor that would be
perfect for that. Muggles have invented some very interesting sex
toys over the years-they have sex clubs called Dungeons, where
Dominants and Submissives can meet and have consensual sex."
Rodolphus sneered at the mention of Muggles….he would never
think that Muggles could do anything as well as wizards.
"Don't
sneer,
Roddy-sex is sex whether it
be Muggle or Magical.
You've attended revels, yes?"
Rodolphus nodded as he pushed Marlene down on him and she
squeezed him hard. "Yes, I attended revels during the first war."
Marlene
nodded.
"And you raped Muggle women?"
Rodolphus nodded. "Many."
Marlene sighed.
"And did it
bring you as much satisfaction as
fucking me tonight… having my consent?"
Rodolphus thought
about
it
momentarily before he sat
up
and wrapped Marlene in his embrace, kissing her hard.
"No, there is no comparison. This is much more satisfying."
"I'm glad."
Marlene kissed him again hard.
"Taking someone's
choice is wrong . But freely giving someone the power and hence
the choice over you,
can be quite liberating.
Did you enjoy those
women's screams of terror and pain?"
Rodolphus shrugged. "At the time, I suppose. It was expected
of me."
"And if
it
had been your daughter in that
room,
being raped by
one of the Death Eaters?" Marlene questioned as she continued
to clench her core around the wizard,
seeing his neck straining
with maintaining control.
"I
would have killed any man or wizard who violated a witch that
belonged to me."
Marlene raised her
eyebrow at
the wizard in silence and he
chuckled at how masterfully he'd been played.
"I
can see now why Our
Lord favors you.
You are logical,
Marlene… not
emotional.
You understand how men think,
yet
you set
yourself
apart
from them.
You own your sexuality,
and
give of
yourself
freely should you wish it.
I
never once thought
what
I'd done in the past
was wrong… but
now I
can see the
error of my thinking."
Marlene favored the wizard with a kiss.
"Your
cock is too
delicious to waste on anymore talk.
Let's fuck some more,
my
pussy is aching but I still need more from you, Roddy."
"Merlin,
witch… my cock is going to fall
off with as much as
I've fucked you tonight. You're insatiable."
Marlene kissed Rodolphus again and started riding his cock in
earnest.
Moaning loudly once the charmed cock started pushing
in and out her arse while she bounced up and down in abandon.
"Harder, Roddy… I need you to fuck me harder."
"Fuck!"
Rodolphus pulled out
and turned Marlene over so she
was
on
all
fours
and slammed back
into her
pussy
while
watching the replica of
his Lord's cock pushing in and out
her
arse.
He could see the blood on it
and he groaned while licking
his lips. Marlene finally spasmed, clenching down and screaming
out
her release which triggered his. He pushed himself in as far
as he could, enjoying the fullness for a moment before he pulled
out and collapsed on the bed.
She fell
down and turned her face to his, smirking. "That was so
good,
Roddy.
Thank
you for
taking such good care of
me
tonight."
Chuckling
quietly,
Rodolphus
grinned wickedly.
"Anytime,
My
Lady. You are a world-class fuck. I've never had better."
Marlene smiled.
"And you never
will,
now stick that
delicious
tongue up my arse."
She winked,
causing the wizard to smile
widely as he spread her arse cheeks wide and started slurping in
her back hole with relish, wishing that she belonged to him alone.
Shaking his head out
of
the dangerous thoughts,
he missed the
knowing look on Marlene's face as she begged him not to stop.
Finally Reunited
Chapter 50: Finally Reunited
Marlene felt
sublime the next
morning,
as she ached all
over
from a very thorough fucking.
Rodolphus had left
early with a
passionate kiss but not before he'd fucked her again, making her
promise to owl
him should she require his services. Smirking at
how easily
men
were
led
around
by
their
cocks,
Marlene
promised the wizard she would do just
that,
should she find
herself in need.
Once she'd showered and warded the playroom,
she floo'd back
to Malfoy Manor
to pick up Hermione so she could bring her
home.
Today would be their first official day as a family, and Marlene was
happy.
Hermione had been excited all
day yesterday at
the
thought
of
Draco returning from his family's vault
with something
special
for
her.
When he'd finally returned with Narcissa,
Draco
had taken Hermione into his arms and told her
that
he hadn't
found what
he'd wanted in the Black Family vault,
but
would go
back and look in the Malfoy family vault the next day.
She had just nodded, but Marlene could tell
she had been slightly
disappointed.
When she'd entered the dining room,
Marlene was surprised to
see Tom there and the look on her
face must've shown her
feelings because he smirked at her knowingly, while she took her
spot at the table.
"Good morning, Pet. Did you enjoy yourself last night?"
Marlene raised an eyebrow at
Tom and smiled softly.
"I
did
indeed.
Rodolphus was eager
to please,
and made sure to
attend to his duties most thoroughly."
Tom's eyes flashed red momentarily, but long enough for Marlene
to notice.
"Will
you
be
requiring
his
services
again
soon?" She chuckled at how petulant her Lord
was being. "I don't know, will I?"
Tom leaned over
into Marlene's space and grabbed her
hand,
pulling her over into his lap and kissing her viciously.
"Don't
play with me,
Pet.
I
find I'm not
in the mood for
your
games today."
She sighed and kissed Tom back gently,
which took him by
surprise as she rarely showed any kind of emotion with him.
"Tom?" She whispered softly, which caught his attention.
She only ever
called him by his given name when they were
alone, having sex.
"I
don't
wish to fight
with you.
Yes,
Rodolphus was helpful.
You
know how I need sex. But I need you more . Do you think the last
fifteen years were easy for me? Did you think even once,
when
you'd marked me how hard it
has been without
you? You know
what
my needs are… how badly they consume me… you saw it
when you looked into my mind all
those years ago. Why do you
doubt
me when I've never given you any reason to? I know you
do not love me. I know you aren't capable of it and you know my
issues as I
know yours.
I
love Hermione. It killed me to give her
up.
She is the best
of
both of
us but
it
doesn't
change the fact
that
I
need you like I
need to breathe.
Why must
you insist
on
being petulant when you know that I will
never crave anyone the
way I crave you?"
A single tear escaped from her eye and fell
down her face before
she wiped at it in shock.
Tom's eyes narrowed and he grasped her
face in his hands.
"Show me."
So,
she opened her mind and let
Tom see her suffering over the
past
fifteen years.
How she had been in agony because she
couldn't
find relief
the way she'd needed.
How badly she had
missed him.
She showed him her night
with Rodolphus-she held
back nothing.
When Tom had seen enough he pulled back and
sighed, placing his forehead against hers. It was the most intimate
he'd ever been with her,
and she was shocked at the submissive
gesture.
"I have done you a great disservice, my Pet. In my selfishness to
brand you as mine,
I'd never considered the consequences of
my actions.
You know I
can't
deny you.
I
have never been able
to… not
since you were fourteen and faced me down like a
Valkyrie. You spied for me, risked your life for me. Bore our child,
hid her
and protected her
when I
could not.
I'm a selfish,
possessive wizard, you know this. Yet, I let another man fuck you
because you ask it
of
me.
I
don't
know how else to show my
regard for you,
other than putting your needs first.
Is this wrong
of me?"
She chuckled softly and kissed Tom again.
"We are a right pair,
are we not, my Lord?" Tom smirked but nodded. "How could you
ever think any man could measure up to you? You are the only
one who has ever been able to take the ache away fully. I think I
knew it
subconsciously at
fourteen,
and I
knew it
for certain at
sixteen."
"I
did see that
in your
memories.
I'm sure you shocked poor
Rodolphus,
admitting to seducing his Lord at
sixteen.
You were
exquisite.
That
first
night
when I
tasted your
essence on your
sixteenth birthday,
I
knew I
was done for.
You didn't
hold back
then, and you don't now."
"Do you know my favorite memory?"
"Besides the night
I
finally fucked your
arse and rendered you
unconscious?"
She laughed happily,
while Tom just
smirked in pride.
"No you
great
prat.
It
was the very first
time you let
me touch you
intimately.
We had just
left the bookstore in Hogsmeade, when I
was still
sixteen. We were arguing over elemental magic… when
you took me into the alley and pushed me up against
the wall.
Told me I
had a smart
mouth and it
should be put
to better use
elsewhere."
Tom snickered.
"Ah yes,
I
do remember that conversation. You
said something about
me being too proper
and arrogant
to
allow proof of your oral prowess, as I believe you called it."
"And then I charmed you to stick to the alley wall, vanished your
pants and sucked on you until
you came down my throat.
I'll
never forget
the look on your face while you had your hands in
my hair looking down at me when I deep-throated you. You were
shocked, livid and aroused. It was thrilling, and you never looked
more dangerous to me than in that
moment.
I
knew then I
was
completely yours,
especially after the delicious punishment
you
gave me later
that
night.
It's making me soaked just
thinking
about it."
Tom's nostrils flared as he could smell
Marlene's arousal,
he
kissed her passionately.
The two were completely absorbed in
each other and they didn't notice their daughter walking into the
dining room with her
intended until
a soft
voice spoke in
amusement.
"Good morning Mother,
Father.
Should we come back for
breakfast later?"
Tom pulled away from his witch and cocked an eyebrow as she
blushed.
Something he hadn't
seen her do since she was fifteen and he
had fingered her in their secret alcove in Flourish and Blotts.
"We do apologize,
Daughter.
Your Mother and I
were just about
to leave for a while, but before we do it is my understanding that
you are moving into McKinnon Manor today.
I
will
be setting up
the floo for visitors so please give me a list of whom you'd like to
have access.
Also,
if
you both are still
amenable,
I
would be
happy to plan a schedule for
you and Draco to start
learning
Legilimency.
I
have spoken with Lucius,
and he is fine with us
using his dueling room downstairs for practice.
He assures me
that the trace will not be an issue."
Draco bowed his head,
trying not
to show his obvious shock,
walking in on Hermione's parents snogging like nifflers in heat.
"I
would be available anytime Hermione wishes.
I
know she is
working with Severus this summer on a Potions project and I was
going to spend a week in Italy with Blaise Zabini
and Theodore
Nott
working on our Quidditch strategy for the upcoming school
year."
Hermione glared at her intended. "Thinking you'll be Captain?"
"I'm quite sure of
it.
Slytherin is going to win the Quidditch Cup
this year. I have a good feeling."
"I
hate that
bloody game."
Hermione groused,
while her
Father smiled.
"Eat
breakfast,
and pack whatever you wish to take with you.
The floo is open so just call out McKinnon Manor and it will take
you to the main library." Marlene smiled at
her daughter who
nodded in return.
Hermione watched her parents leave the dining room, heading
off to Merlin only knew where. When she looked over at Draco,
he smirked and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Your parents are going off to shag. Who'd have ever thought the
Dark Lord had it in him?"
She had been taking a sip of her pumpkin juice when she gasped
in shock at Draco's comment, causing her to choke on her juice.
Draco laughed loudly at
the look of
disgust
on Hermione's face,
but
she just
glared at
Draco through the rest of the meal. When
they left,
he took her into his arms and smiled gently. "Look at it
this way,
Granger- when we're older and have kids of
our own,
we can gross them out by snogging like a pack of rabid nifflers in
front of them every chance we get."
She chuckled and shook her head at Draco's inappropriate joke.
"Such a romantic, Malfoy."
Draco kissed her passionately,
causing his little witch to blush
when he released her.
"You know I
can be when properly
motivated. Now I have to go to Gringotts and find you the perfect
something
to
wear
on
your
wrist.
Or
would you prefer
a
necklace?"
"Draco,
I
will
love whatever you choose because you chose it for
me. Please stop overthinking it and just pick out whatever calls to
you."
"I can do that."
"Good,
because if
you don't
come home with something shiny
and pretty today, I'm going to start thinking you don't want to be
betrothed to me."
"Fine,
Witch!
I
get
the hint. Vicious swot ." Draco mumbled under
his breath.
She smiled widely. "Great prat."
"Your prat, love."
"Don't remind me. Is it too late to trade you in for a new and
improved model?" Hermione giggled fondly.
"There will
be none of that nonsense. You said yes, you agreed to
be mine. You are stuck with me. Get used to it."
"Again,
real
romantic,
Malfoy.
I'm swooning… see… swooning!"
She put
her hand to her forehead in a poor imitation of
Scarlett
O'Hara.
Draco
growled
and
kissed
her
again
deeply.
"I'll
give
you
swooning,
witch.
When
I
finally
make
you
mine,
you'll
be
swooning and screaming my name."
Draco winked as he sauntered out
of
the room,
heading for his
father's study so they could go to Gringotts together.
She just
smiled and shook her
head in affection at
her smug prat
of
a
boyfriend,
while she ogled his arse as he strutted down the
hallway. She couldn't help but salivate at how fit Draco was. She
couldn't
wait
to get
back to school
and have some actual
privacy.
She'd missed their alone time.
Going back to her
suite,
Hermione thought
about
seeing her
parents this morning. She knew they must've held each other in
some affection for
her
mother
to fall
pregnant
with her-but
seeing the reality of their chemistry made her blush.
She wasn't
a silly witch,
with flights of
fancy and romance,
but
she had wondered just
how compatible her
parents had been
when she'd learned just
whom her father was.
He was a dark
wizard,
and
Hermione
had
no illusions
about
what
sort
of
Dominant issues Tom Riddle was predisposed to.
It
would seem her mother was highly compatible with his way of
thinking,
but
Hermione felt
like there was something she was still
missing about their relationship.
Back at
McKinnon Manor,
her parents were engaged in a ritual
only known to the two of them. Marlene had led Tom towards the
playroom,
but
he had stopped her to move towards their suite of
rooms.
When they'd reached Marlene's suite,
Tom took his witch
into the room simultaneously making it impenetrable from outside
influences.
Over
the next
few hours he gave Marlene exactly what
she
craved… what
she had always needed from him.
Her screams
filled the room as Tom showed her no quarter.
In the end she
was shaking uncontrollably from the amount
of
forced orgasms
Tom had given her.
Every time she'd come,
she had screamed
his name-begged him for more,
told him how much she needed
him.
As Tom Riddle watched his witch writhe in pained pleasure,
panting and heaving and begging for more,
he'd realized that he
needed her too.
She was his equal
in every way that
mattered.
Intellectually,
sexually,
even as emotionally stunted as they both
were, they understood each other. Marlene accepted him-his cruel
dark nature, his need to Dominate, control and his thirst for Power.
Tom accepted Marlene's depravity,
her highly sexualized need…
her
constant
need for
sex to relieve the ache that
lived deep
within her soul.
When she had approached him at
fourteen,
he had known
instinctively she was different.
When she had asked him at
fifteen,
to teach her about
sex,
he had laughed at
first… which
had
made
her
angry
and
she
had
refused
to
speak
or
correspond with him for
months.
She had let
Black take her
virginity, which had made him livid. Somehow his little witch, had
managed to figure out at fifteen how to cast a memory charm on
herself
and sent
him a pensive memory as a gift
of
her having
sex with Black.
He had been flabbergasted at Marlene's audacity.
He had watched the memory several
times a day and had been
obsessed with the moment
she had taken control,
straddled
Black and shoved herself
down on him and screaming out
in
pain.
She had been glorious in her lack of fear and she had relished in
the pain.
Tom,
in his anger,
had called for several
revels over those few
months and had fucked several
witches.
He would've never
touched a Muggle,
although his Death Eaters had no such
compunctions over that.
He had been vicious in his anger and
had found like-
minded witches who seemed to thrive on his
darker nature, but none were satisfactory.
Then
Marlene had sent
him another
memory
of
her
doing
reciprocal
oral
on the older
Prewett
brother
and he had finally
sought
her
out
and punished her
thoroughly for
her
defiance.
Marlene had taken her punishment
and when they had finished,
she
had
brazenly
straddled
his
lap-completely
naked
and
soaked,
and kissed him hard,
biting his lip and groaning at
the
taste of his blood in her mouth.
He
had pulled back
in shock,
and then proceeded to lick
Marlene's pussy as she begged him not
to stop.
He didn't,
and
he'd never looked at another witch after that.
When he'd finally vanished his clothes and entered his witch's
very willing pussy, she moaned in relief. Marlene had always felt
dangerously like home, when he was buried inside her like this.
He wondered if
she'd sensed it
too,
when her big brown eyes
looked at
him in such rapturous pleasure as he fucked her
brutally.
She met his every thrust, her nails drawing blood down
his back… every time… he ravished her.
When she finally came with her back arched,
nails piercing and
eyes closed in bliss-Tom realized that
he would do whatever she
needed him to do. Please her in whatever way she needed him to.
And it was in that moment, he realized for the first time in his long
life that
he actually cared about
Marlene's happiness.
Put
it
on
nearly
equal
standing
with
his
own.
The only
person more
important
to him was their
daughter
and as Marlene smiled
happily at him, he found himself returning the look affectionately.
"Are you alright,
Tom?" Marlene whispered, realizing instinctively,
even after all
their time apart, that something had shifted between
them.
Tom nodded,
but
didn't
speak.
It
was a testament
to how well
Marlene understood him that
she didn't
press her advantage at
all-
she simply whispered,
"Thank you" and fell
into a peaceful
sleep with a beautiful contented smile on her face.
Soulmates
Chapter 51: Soulmates
When Draco had returned from Gringotts with a playful
smirk on
his face,
and his father
affectionately clapping his shoulder
in
solidarity-
he went
straight
to the first
place he knew where his
witch would be.
Sure enough,
Hermione was in the library in her
favorite window seat reading a First Edition of Hogwarts a History.
"Hello, my love." Draco walked over and gently took the book from
Hermione's lap.
She glanced up at him with her beautiful
amber eyes and. "Hello,
handsome. How was your day?"
Draco moved over into the window seat
and gathered Hermione
into his lap. "Successful, I hope."
Hermione kissed him lovingly. "Hmmmmm… that is good to hear.
You've been gone a while and I was beginning to worry."
Draco kissed her back deeply,
placing his free hand in her
curls holding her mouth to his while he ravished her. He had
missed kissing her!
She tasted like summertime and felt like fire.
He pulled away reluctantly and placed his forehead against hers,
before gently removing the velvet
pouch from his robes and
placing it on her lap.
Hermione smiled at him with wide-eyed excitement as she opened
the pouch,
her breath catching on the stunning necklace that fell
into her open palm.
It was simply exquisite, not garish at all.
The goblin silver
chain was delicately woven and glittered like
fine diamonds. The pendant was a heart shaped alexandrite that
was encased with sparkling white diamonds.
The stone was a
flawless deep greenish blue that
was the half
the size of
her
palm and the diamonds were also intense, sparkling in the light.
The piece itself had to be priceless, and she looked up at Draco
with tears in her eyes, as he watched her closely.
"Oh,
Draco!
It's exquisite." Hermione breathed in deeply, trying to
get control over her emotions.
Draco smiled softly, infinitely pleased at Hermione's reaction.
He had found this
necklace almost
immediately when he'd
entered
the
family
vault,
but
kept
searching
anyway.
But
Hermione was right!
It
had called to him and he had envisioned
her wearing it-so he knew it was the one. His father had nodded
his head in approval when he had shown it to him.
"That
is
an
excellent
choice,
Draco.
That
piece
was
commissioned by your
great-great-great
grandfather,
Septimus
Malfoy for his bride, Evony Selwyn. It was said he had loved her
deeply and had been ecstatic when his father had chosen her for
his bride.
He commissioned many pieces of
jewelry for her over
their long union,
but
this was the first.
It
has several
protection
charms,
and is rumored to be imbued with Amortentia and Felix
Felicis. It was stated in Septimus journals, that only a Malfoy who
shares the deepest
abiding love for his chosen mate,
and has
her
love in return,
can give and receive the necklace and be
blessed with the enchantments placed within."
Hermione's eyes widened as Draco reiterated the story his father
had told him of
the necklace's origins.
He gently took it
from
Hermione's hand and placed it around her neck, gently laying the
stone on her chest as he closed the clasp. The seal disappeared
instantly and Draco smiled widely. His father had told him that the
necklace's clasp would seal
itself
if it sensed and accepted their
bond to each other. Hermione gazed into Draco's eyes as she felt
the pendant
hum against
her skin.
The sense of
rightness as it
laid against
her breast
was overwhelming. She grabbed Draco's
hand and placed it over the pendant and laid hers on top of it. His
eyes widened too, as he felt the magic flowing from it to the both
of them.
He cupped her cheek with his other hand and kissed her deeply,
reverently.
When he pulled back
he saw tears
glistening in
Hermione's eyes and he smiled softly.
"I
told you,
my love,
you
were always meant to be mine ."
Hermione giggled,
nodded and kissed Draco again.
They lost
track of
how long they just
sat
there in each other's arms,
gently kissing and talking about
their future.
When dinner was
nearing,
Draco sighed and helped Hermione up so they could
head downstairs.
Walking hand in hand,
the two of
them missed the knowing,
pleased looks on the faces of the portraits as they walked past
until one stopped them.
"Ah, if it isn't the young Master and his beautiful future bride." The
portrait
of
an imposing man with long blonde hair
much like
Lucius, smiled at the pair.
Draco smirked up at his ancestor while Hermione just curtsied to
the man, who smiled approvingly at the little witch.
"Introduce me, young Draco."
"Of
course
Great-Grandfather.
Septimus
Malfoy,
this
is
my
intended, Hermione McKinnon Riddle."
Septimus smile widened.
"Ah yes,
I
have heard whispers of your
beauty,
young Miss Riddle,
but
they do you no justice.
You are
even lovelier in person.
And I
see you are wearing the "Blessed
Heart " necklace I gave to my beloved Evony, all those years ago.
Has its magic blessed your union?"
Hermione stared up with wide eyes at
the implications of
what
Draco's
ancestor
was
stating
and
her
thirst
for
knowledge was pricked.
Looking over at
Draco,
he smiled
proudly
and
drew Hermione
into
his
side,
kissing her
forehead tenderly.
"Yes, the clasp sealed and we felt the magic accept our offering. I
love her with everything I
am,
and I
know she loves me just
as
much.
It
took us a while to get
here,
but
now that she is mine, I
am never letting her go."
Septimus nodded at
his descendent
proudly. "That necklace will
protect
you,
young Hermione.
Once sealed,
its enchantments
are automatically linked to your
love through his family ring.
If
you ever
need him,
he will
sense it.
It
will
allow you to sense
each other in ways that
increase your intimacy and deepen the
love you have for
each other.
Bonds are something that
are
known within the magical
world,
some are common-others are
rare . You two share such a deep and abiding bond… the magic
of the necklace sensed it and called to you, young Draco. It was
no coincidence that you chose to give that piece to your beloved.
You both were destined to be."
Hermione's eyes widened as she took in the implications of what
Draco's ancestor was telling them. "Draco and I are soulmates?"
Draco's
eyes
widened
too,
and Septimus
smiled proudly
at
Hermione's quick deduction.
"She is truly a gifted and brilliant
witch,
young Draco.
You would do well
to remember to treat
her
as the rare and precious jewel that she is. Support her, encourage
her
and love her
and your
bond will
bless you with joy.
Your
children will
be formidable,
and find happiness because of
your
devotion to each other."
Draco nodded and tightened his grip around Hermione's waist as
she looked up at him with amber eyes swirling with emotion.
"I will, Sir. I will
always put her first, I will love her unconditionally
and will
give her my encouragement
and support
for the rest of
our lives.
I
will
worship her and her pleasure will
be mine. I will
relish in her
love:
will
love our
children and support
them
unequivocally. I do so vow."
Hermione gasped as the strength of Draco's vow and the force of
his love shook her entire being.
She beamed at
him with tears
streaming
down
her
face,
as
his
ancestor
looked on with
unmitigated pride at
his descendent.
Hermione cupped Draco's
cheeks
and saw tears
behind his eyes as she kissed him
passionately.
Any
doubt
that
had
festered
due
to
their
unfortunate past,
had been obliterated when she felt
his love
push through her.
It was overwhelming.
"All
is well.
I
can finally rest
knowing the future of
the Ancient
and Noble House of
Malfoy is in excellent
hands."
Septimus
bowed and left the portrait.
Hermione continued to stare in awe at Draco, who was watching
her
emotions as they changed over
her
face.
"Draco,
I
don't
know what to say. You can't ever take those words back."
Draco smiled and shook his head at
his witch.
"I've been telling
you for
nearly two years how much I
love you.
That
there will
never be anyone but you. Now you know that they weren't empty
words. Did you think you deserved any less from me after what I
had put you through?"
Hermione hugged Draco tightly and whispered in his ear fervently.
"I forgave you, that was in the past."
Draco
pulled
back
and kissed Hermione again.
"Yes,
and
hopefully,
that
is where it
will
stay.
You deserve nothing less
from me, my love.
You are my heart,
my soul… I
can't
live without you. Don't you
understand,
Hermione? Can't
you feel
how much I
need you,
love you?"
Hermione closed her eyes and felt her soul fill to bursting.
She could feel
Draco's love for her and it
both excited her
and calmed her.
How was this possible? "Yes, I can feel it."
Hermione grabbed Draco again and kissed him passionately,
pushing her tongue into his mouth and feeling a blinding need to
be closer to him.
Draco groaned and lifted Hermione,
pushing
her against the wall
as he snogged her relentlessly, breaking the
kiss and moving down her
neck in earnest.
Her
moans and
shivers were making him increasingly hard and it
was taking
every ounce of
hard-
won restraint
from finding the nearest
bedroom and ravishing her on the spot.
When he tried to pull
away,
Hermione's legs tightened and she pushed her core into
his erection,
causing the young wizard to growl
out in want and
need.
He needed to get himself under control immediately.
"Hermione,"
Draco whispered,
trying to pull
away,
"we need to
stop,
love.
I
don't
want
our first
time to be in the hallway of
my
ancestral home."
Hermione gasped at
darkened grey eyes that were burning with
lust. "I want you, Draco. Please!"
Draco groaned as his head fell
into the crook of
Hermione's
neck.
He held her fast
and tried to get
his blasted body under
control.
When he felt
sufficiently back to himself,
he gently
lowered Hermione from his embrace,
but
not
completely.
He
kissed her reassuringly before he tilted her head up so their eyes
could meet.
"Merlin, my love, I want you more than anything in this world, but
I
will
not
disrespect
you nor your parents by allowing my baser
needs to control
this.
When we make love,
it
will
be because I
romanced you properly. You will
allow me to court you properly. I
spent all
of fourth year following you and Viktor around like a lost
puppy, wishing it was me taking you on dates to Hogsmeade and
buying you sugar quills.
Having your smile directed at
me and
your
laugh for me alone.
You need to allow me to do this,
my
love. Please ."
Hermione was astonished by Draco's confession.
"This is you
being all romantic, isn't it?"
Draco laughed in relief.
"Yes,
so just
put
aside your righteous
feminism and allow me to take the lead here. I want to show you
off.
I
want
to be the one on your arm while all
the other wizards
seethe in jealously.
I
want
to spend time just
kissing you and
taking things slowly, so you feel as cherished as you are to me."
Hermione smiled happily. "I can do that."
Draco smirked. "Well, look at that. Miracles can happen."
Hermione laughed and shook her head at her wizard as the two of
them made their way to the dining room,
unaware of
two sets of
eyes who were watching the entire exchange.
Betrothal's and Confessions
Chapter 52: Betrothal's and Confessions
When Hermione and Draco entered the dining room,
they were
immediately besieged by both their mother's, who were ooohing
and aaahhing over Hermione's betrothal
piece.
When Narcissa
had seen it,
she knew immediately what
it
signified and she
embraced Hermione fully, telling her how thrilled she was for her
and Draco.
It
was some moments later
when their
both their
father's
entered
the
room,
Lucius
walking
straight
over
to
Hermione and placing a kiss on the witch's cheek in welcome.
The Dark Lord watched the beaming happiness radiating from his
daughter's face.
If
he hadn't
just
witnessed the level
of
devotion
from her intended himself, he would've been reluctant to offer his
congratulations,
but
seeing the love Draco held for his daughter,
he knew the boy would be faithful
and protect
Hermione with his
life.
He couldn't
ask for more than that. Draco respected her, and
respected Marlene and him as her parents.
Draco had no way of knowing that he and Lucius had witnessed
the entire exchange upstairs. He might've killed the boy if he had
acted on his baser urges. The hypocrisy of his thoughts were not
wholly lost
on him,
but
he really couldn't
be bothered by such
trivialities at present.
Walking over to his daughter,
he lifted her chin and met
her
eyes. The joy he saw there caught his breath momentarily.
He was unused to such happiness.
"I
see that
young Draco has picked out
a more than suitable
betrothal piece for you."
Hermione touched the pendant
and beamed.
"Yes,
Father.
It
is
exquisite, is it not?"
Tom tilted his head in contemplation before he placed a soft
kiss on Hermione's forehead,
to the astonishment
of
everyone
in the room, including his own child. "The jewelry only enhances
what
is already present,
Daughter.
It
is doubtful
there exists a
piece of jewelry more lovely than you look at this moment. I am
truly happy for you."
Hermione's
breath
hitched
and
without
thinking
of
the
consequences of her actions, she enveloped her father in a hug,
which he eventually returned a bit awkwardly.
"Thank you, Daddy." Hermione whispered in Tom's ear, so only he
could hear.
Releasing his daughter, Voldemort turned towards her intended
and offered his hand.
Draco took it
proudly,
seeing the looks of
approval
from his
parent's faces,
and Hermione's mother's too.
"I
was going to
have a talk
with you about
respecting my Daughter
in the
manner
in
which
she
deserves,
but
after
witnessing
your
conversation
upstairs,
I
must
say
I'm impressed with your
devotion. I don't think I need to warn you what will
happen if you
fail to live up to the vow you made."
Hermione gasped indignantly, while her father smirked and Lucius
chuckled in solidarity.
Draco,
to his credit,
didn't
flinch,
he just
raised his chin proudly and then bowed his head respectfully.
"I
would rather die than break my vow. Hermione is precious to
me beyond words.
I
fully intend to spend the rest
of
my life
showing her everyday how much."
Marlene smiled and moved next to Tom, placing her hand on his
arm. Addressing Draco she stated warmly. "Of that there can be
no doubt,
Draco.
Sometimes we have to go through the bad to
get
to the good.
You both have learned valuable lessons over
these past
five years.
Things won't
always be easy,
but
do try
and give each other the benefit of the doubt. Misunderstandings
arise,
anger and hurt
feelings will
happen… just
when it
does,
do not
direct
those negative feelings at
each other. Words said
in anger
cannot
be taken back.
Learn about
each other
and
accept
each other's flaws as well
as strengths.
Try not
to be
judgmental
with each other,
there's enough of that in the world.
And remember to value the trust you have in each other and do
not
compromise it for any reason. You will
have children, Magic
willing, and they will
enrich your lives, but they will find their own
paths and their own relationships.
What
you two have is yours
alone, so attend to it daily. Don't take each other for granted."
Tom considered his witch with pride,
while Narcissa and Lucius
nodded in agreement.
Hermione hugged her
mother
tightly and whispered,
"Thanks,
Mum."
Marlene smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead.
"Of
course,
my darling."
Draco then moved over,
bowed and kissed Marlene's hand in
gratitude.
"Thank you,
Lady McKinnon for your sage wisdom. We
will take it to heart."
"Call
me Marlene, Draco. At least in private. We are going to
be family after all."
Draco nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Marlene."
Narcissa came over and fussed over her son,
to the amusement
of
everyone present.
The six finally sat
down and ate a lovely
dinner.
Discussion was had over
summer
plans,
and Hermione
thanked Narcissa and Lucius profusely for allowing her to stay in
their home.
Narcissa waved off
such concerns,
and told her that
their home
was hers, and she was always welcome to stay.
When dinner concluded, Draco helped Hermione gather the rest
of
her belongings and they made their way into the floo and out
at McKinnon Manor. Draco's gaze widened in appreciation at the
size of
the library.
While not
as grand nor imposing as Malfoy
Manor's library,
it
was large,
comfortable and had many rare
editions of old magical
texts. Looking over at the shelves, Draco
noticed some rare texts on sex magic that
he had never seen
before.
Very interesting.
When Hermione came over to see what Draco was looking at so
intently,
her eyes widened at
the numerous texts on sex magic.
Hermione looked at
her intended who just
smirked knowingly at
her. "We may need to do some research at a later date, my love."
Hermione blushed prettily,
and bit her lip coyly causing Draco to
growl.
"You know how much I
crave research.
I
may need to
study these texts thoroughly." Hermione grinned impishly.
Draco grabbed her and kissed her soundly. "Not without me, you
don't. "
Hermione laughed merrily,
and the two teenagers walked out
of
the library to find Hermione's suite of rooms.
The remaining days of
summer passed by swiftly,
with Hermione
and Draco ensconced in their own little bubble. When mid-August
came, the Daily Prophet had announced that the new Headmaster
of
Hogwarts was to be none other than Professor Snape. Due to
his new responsibilities,
Severus had requested his old Potions
Master, Horace Slughorn, come and teach Potions again…
… which the rotund man had eagerly agreed to.
Hermione had spent
a few days with Daphne over the summer,
and the witch had been excited to meet
Hermione's mother.
Daphne told Hermione all
about
the uproar
in Slytherin House
when news had leaked out
about
her
true parentage.
Her new
blood status notwithstanding,
the whispers had begun in earnest
about her real father's identity.
Pansy,
Millicent
and Tracey Davis had shown up at
Daphne's
home,
demanding to know if
the rumors
were true.
When
Daphne didn't deny it, Pansy had fainted straight off. Tracey and
Millicent had looked ill.
But the worst, had been Marcus Flint.
The
older
wizard
had
been
apopoletic
when
Pucey
and
Montague had told him whom Hermione Granger
mudblood
really was. He had written a long letter of apology and had given
it to Daphne to pass along.
Hermione had read the letter then burned it immediately, much to
Daphne's and Draco's amusement.
Daphne had been excited for
her
friend when she saw the
betrothal
piece sitting on Hermione's chest with pride. Hermione
had shared with Daphne the story behind the necklace and how
treasured it
made her feel. Daphne then told Hermione all
about
Draco's obsession fourth year, and how hard it had been for the
blonde wizard to see Hermione with Krum.
The two girls had
commiserated over how their new year would go,
and Daphne
told her
that
news of
her
betrothal
to Draco was not
common
knowledge as of
yet-but
when it was? The entirety of witches at
Hogwarts would be in an absolute uproar.
Hermione couldn't help but smirk in self-satisfaction.
When Draco had returned home from visiting Blaise in Italy,
a
few days before the start
of
term,
he made his way directly to
McKinnon Manor
and had showered his intended with gifts of
Italian perfume, sweets and trinkets. But the most thoughtful gift
was a first edition book of poetry by Torquato Tasso, and Draco
had bookmarked one of
the pages,
with a note inside that said
simply:
"consume,
destroy me softly… life of
my life you will
always be ."
Hermione had kissed him fervently,
which Draco reciprocated
with equal
ardor… she could really get
used to this whole
courting thing.
When Marlene had taken the two young witches to Diagon Alley
to get their school
supplies, dress robes, and uniforms-Hermione
had been surprised to see Harry Potter and his Godfather Sirius
Black walking into Madam Malkin's.
Harry was being fitted for new robes,
and had been made the
new Captain of
the Gryffindor quidditch team.
He had grown a
few inches
and
looked
happier
than
Hermione
could
ever
remember seeing him. His Godfather, had cleaned up nicely too.
Sirius Black was a handsome wizard and he was currently
talking quietly with her mother while the two students discussed
their upcoming classes for sixth year.
Harry had been gracious
in
congratulating
Hermione
on finding her
family,
and had
thanked her
again for
helping him get
his Godfather released
from Azkaban.
He also apologized for
not
writing over
the
summer,
as he and Sirius had been traveling the world.
Harry
had been so excited discussing all the places he'd visited. When
Daphne had come into the shop after
stopping by Gringotts,
Harry had blushed profusely as Hermione formally introduced
him to Daphne.
Harry had stumbled through while Daphne just
smiled sweetly,
and in the end, Harry had taken Daphne's hand
and placed a kiss over her knuckles, much to the amusement of
his Godfather-who had been watching the scene from afar.
Sirius had eventually come over and Marlene formally introduced
Hermione to him.
He bowed,
placed a kiss on her knuckles and
thanked her for helping his Godson and himself the past year.
Hermione accepted with grace and told Lord Black that
she was
just
doing the right
thing. Sirius seemed to accept this and asked
Marlene if
she would be free to meet
with himself,
Remus and a
few others from school
after
they'd dropped the kids off
on the
Hogwarts Express. Marlene accepted easily, and smiled in parting
as she watched Harry stare at
Daphne for a few more moments
before Sirius dragged him out of the shop.
Hermione's mother had taken her to a lingerie shop at the end of
Diagon Alley the next
day,
and together they'd picked out
some
provocative ensembles for
Hermione.
Marlene had smirked at
her
daughter
when she'd picked out
a see through Slytherin
green Demi- bra with matching thong. Marlene allowed Hermione
to peruse the back area of
the shop,
which had some positively
racy things.
She quirked an eyebrow when her
daughter
fingered a black
leather set that was positively scandalous.
Hermione looked at her mother and sighed. "Mum, can I ask you a
question?"
Marlene nodded,
pretty certain she knew where this
was going. "How old were you when you lost your virginity?"
Marlene sighed, not sure how much of her sordid past she should
reveal to her daughter, although she had made herself a promise
that
she would never
lie to Hermione.
"Fifteen."
Marlene said
softly, looking at her daughter's surprised face.
Hermione nodded in thought. "Dad?"
Marlene shook her head and smiled. "Sirius."
At
this
Hermione
laughed
in
shock.
"Really?
How did
that
happen?"
Marlene smirked wickedly. "I suppose it happened because I was
trying to get
your Father's attention.
Which didn't
go exactly how
I'd planned, but he did come around eventually."
Hermione
considered
her
mother
for
a
moment.
"He's
a
Dominant, right… Dad?"
Now Marlene was surprised, but she really shouldn't have been
knowing how brilliant her daughter was.
"Yes,
your Father is what
one would call
a Dominant.
And if
he
knew we were having this conversation? I'm sure he'd punish me
soundly." Which caused both women to chuckle at how true that
statement
was.
"Hermione,
the
McKinnon
family
has
some
interesting history.
I'm sure by now you took notice of the ancient texts in the library
on sex magic?"
Hermione nodded.
"Draco noticed them.
He thought
they
would make for
good research material
for
after
we are
married."
Marlene
nodded
thoughtfully.
"Sex
magic,
in
the
right
circumstances can deepen an already strong existing bond
between a couple.
Consensual
sex of
any kind can be wonderful, while some may
consider
such proclivities to be deviant
or depraved,
between
two consenting adults-it can serve to enhance an existing bond.
Your Father and I
have such a bond. He is my Dominant, and I
am his Submissive. Your Father's proclivities are much darker in
nature,
which align with my own.
I
suppose I
am what
Muggle
psychology might
term a 'nymphomanic '
but the term is far too
simplistic to describe sex magic.
When I
was thirteen,
I
had
been identified by my mother as a succubus ." Hermione's eyes
widened at
the admission.
"The McKinnon female line has had
succubi
born within it
every few generations.
Our
progenitor
Lilith,
was the first
of
our
line.
A succubus isn't
exactly what
folklore suggests she is,
although there are several
variations.
Sex is a basic need,
much like sleeping,
breathing or
in our
case… magic.
Your
Father
realized
early
on
in
our
acquaintance,
that
there was something different about me, but
he didn't
understand it
fully until
I
showed him my memories.
The darkness within me calls to him and vice versa.
With him
I'm grounded, and not completely a slave to my desires. Before
he
disappeared,
your
Father
marked
me
as
his,
but
this
prevented me from achieving release with another
Muggle or
wizard.
For fifteen years,
I've had to make due with the gift
he
left
me,
but
I
knew he wasn't
gone.
I
would have felt
it
by the
severing of
our
bond,
if
he had truly been vanquished that
Halloween night. I know now why that was, but back then I didn't
fully comprehend it."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully,
shocked but
not
truly surprised at
her mother's confession. "Were you in a lot of pain?"
Marlene sighed.
"Yes,
but
not
in the traditional
sense.
I
can't
explain it except to say it's almost like a part of me was missing.
The constant
unfulfilled ache was agony some days.
I
missed
Tom, and even if I had been able to have sex with someone else
during that time, it is doubtful
that the ache would've subsided in
any meaningful way."
"He seems
much more settled since you've returned…
Dad." Marlene smiled and nodded.
"I
think so,
although we are still
navigating our way through all
this.
Being a father
is hard for
him.
He doesn't
love-not
in the
traditional
sense.
He feels
obligation,
responsibility and I
do
believe some level
of caring… but because of his own upbringing,
which is his story to tell, not mine… and my nature, neither one of
us are quite capable of feeling the kind of love you and Draco feel
for each other."
"Is it enough, Mum?"
Marlene
wouldn't
insult
Hermione's
intelligence
by
not
understanding what she was asking.
"Yes… when I'm with you Father, it is the only time the ache goes
away fully and I
can feel
sated and content.
It
doesn't
really
happen otherwise."
Hermione sighed and continued to browse the shelves. "In fourth
year,
before Draco admitted he loved me,
I
saw him having sex
with a seventh year girl. I was painfully aroused at the sight and it
was the catalyst
for
making myself
come the first
time.
I
had
wished I'd been her.
I'm still
a virgin,
but it's getting increasingly
more difficult
to shut
down my desires where he is concerned. I
dream of
him constantly,
and
they're
not
sweet,
romantic
dreams." Hermione's words fell
off
as she looked to her mother
questioningly.
"You are both mine and your Father's,
Hermione.
You have the
same basic nature in you, except you can love. Your sex life with
Draco will
be blessed and more satisfying than your
wildest
dreams because of
the soul
bond you two share.
My guess is
that
young
man
will
be
willing
to
engage
in
any
kind
of
consensual
sex you wish,
you just
need to be honest
with him
about
what
you need.
Don't
ever
be embarrassed by your
curiosity,
nor
your
desires.
Relish in them,
feed them and let
Draco feed them with you.
He won't
know what
to do with you
once you reach the height of your sexual
powers. He will
be one
happy wizard."
Hermione giggled and held up the black leather
outfit,
which
caused Marlene to smirk and nod.
The two women picked out
a
few more items and left the store arm in arm.
It had been the best of days for both mother and daughter.
Hermione McKinnon
Chapter 53: Hermione McKinnon
September First had finally arrived, and as much as Hermione had
enjoyed her summer, she was eager to return to school for the first
time since starting Hogwarts.
She had been reassured by her
Father,
that
Slytherin House was fully aware of
her birthright,
and
she would be treated with the deference she was owed as its
rightful heir.
Whilst she was glad for that, she was mostly excited about getting
some quality alone time with her betrothed.
Her
Mother,
had escorted her
to the train and Hermione was
amused at
the interested stares coming from all
the parents on
the platform.
Molly and Arthur
Weasley had even come by and said hello .
Marlene had been cordial, but not exactly warm towards them.
She hugged her daughter tightly,
making her promise to
write weekly-more often if she needed any advice.
The last was said with a knowing smirk and a wink.
Hermione hadn't made it a secret, that she'd packed some of
her new lingerie in her school trunk.
Marlene had also taught
her
daughter
the contraceptive charm
and
had
purchased
a
birth
control
potion
that
would
offer
protection for
a month.
Severus had magnanimously offered to
brew for
Hermione,
and she had thanked her
former
Head of
House, graciously.
Finding the first available empty compartment, Hermione sat down
and pulled out a book that her mother had given to her. It was on
magical
bonds, and she hadn't been able to put it down. When the
compartment
door
opened,
Hermione glanced up,
and she met
the
warm grey
eyes
of
her
betrothed,
who
looked
simply
scrumptious in his new black robes with his windswept hair.
He sauntered in,
closed the door and warded it private before he
grabbed her and picked her up, straddling her in his lap.
"Hello, beautiful." Draco smirked wickedly.
"Hello, handsome." Hermione replied playfully.
Running his finger over her bottom lip, Draco quirked an eyebrow.
"I was hoping I'd find you alone."
"Well, if it isn't just your lucky day then."
Draco grinned.
"It
is."
He purred lowly.
"You see? There's this
gorgeous witch on the train, and I haven't seen her in a few days
and I've missed her terribly.
What
do you think I should do about
that?"
"Hmmmm… she left
you unattended for
days? You must
be
feeling unappreciated. Perhaps I could help with that?"
Hermione tried not to smile at the game they were playing.
"I'm not sure I should encourage you. I'm completely in love with
my intended,
and if she knew I was in here with you, straddling
my lap? She might hex me." Draco smirked wickedly.
"Well
that is such a shame." Hermione lifted her skirt subtly, just
enough for Draco to view the see through green thong she was
wearing.
"I
wore these just
for you.
I
was hoping to entice you
into being bad with me.
Perhaps I'll
just
have to find someone
else to help me."
Draco groaned and felt
himself
harden instantly,
as he stared
lustfully as his witch's pussy that
was on display through the
knickers.
"Fuck,
baby!" Draco growled, "How am I supposed to
keep my hands off you, when you're wearing that?"
Hermione giggled and pushed herself directly on Draco's erection,
causing him to groan in need.
"You're not . I've missed you, handsome."
Draco growled again,
but
didn't
wait
another
second as he
captured Hermione's lips with his own.
His hands grabbed her
arse
and
pushed
her
harder
into
his
erection,
while
his
delectable witch pulled at his hair with both her hands, snogging
him for all he was worth.
The kiss broke on a mutual
gasp as Hermione arched her back
and pushed her chest
towards Draco,
who took one hand and
started
to
unbutton
her
blouse,
exposing
the
matching
see-through bra,
causing him to snarl
in want
and attach his
teeth to Hermione's left
nipple.
She shrieked in arousal
at
the
sensations, and then moaned loudly as her clit started to throb.
She kept
pushing herself
harder
into Draco's erection,
but
it
wasn't
enough.
Gently
unbuttoning
Draco's
trousers,
she
repositioned her hot soaked core over Draco's silk boxers where
his cock was throbbing and gasped at
the sensation,
as she
pushed herself up and down on him.
Draco was in sensory overload, trying not to come too quickly. He
gazed up adoringly at
his witch-who was watching him with eyes
blown with lust and he groaned through his teeth as he suckled on
Hermione's right breast.
When her
orgasm hit,
Hermione screamed out
Draco's name
causing him to groan and push up one final
time,
releasing all
over himself
and Hermione.
He didn't give two fucks about the
mess they'd just created, he had fucking missed his witch.
It had been far too long since they'd been intimate.
Amber eyes locked onto grey and Hermione smiled softly.
"I
love you, Draco."
Draco leant
forward and kissed Hermione sweetly.
"Baby,
I
love
you!
So fucking much."
Hermione giggled and waved her
hand,
wandlessly cleaning
their garments back to their pristine condition.
Draco unlocked,
and
unwarded
the
compartment
but
kept
his
arm around
Hermione,
as they sat
there and kissed softly,
ignoring the
stares of those walking by. It wasn't until
the door opened some
time later
and Theo,
Daphne and Blaise walked in that
Draco
realized their idyllic peace was gone.
Daphne just
smiled knowingly at
the couple,
whilst
Theo and
Blaise just shook their head in amusement.
Draco had told his friends about
his betrothal
to Hermione.
Blaise had laughed, while Theo had been shocked. When Draco
explained just
whom Hermione's Father really was-both wizards
had been livid and Theo had punched Draco in the face. Draco
understood
his
friends's
anger,
but
he
was
unapologetic,
explaining he was under strict orders from the Dark Lord himself,
not
to reveal
Hermione's identity until
his Lord decided it
was
time.
Then the inquisition had started.
How long had he known and how did he figure it
out? When did Hermione know?
That one had been the biggest shock.
The fact
that
Hermione had known whom her
father was in
second
year
and
hadn't
said
anything
to
anyone,
had
impressed Theo and Blaise immensely.
"Are we interrupting?" Blaise smirked,
which caused Draco to
glare and Hermione to roll her eyes.
"As a matter of fact, you are -not that any of you care one way or
the other." Draco sneered.
Daphne just
laughed at
Draco's possessiveness. "We did leave
you two alone for a while. Figured you both would appreciate a
bit of privacy before the wolves descended in full."
Hermione glanced at
Daphne questioningly,
but
it
was Theo who
spoke up. "It's all
over the train. Brown and Patil saw you both lip-
locked,
and they have been telling anyone who will
listen that
you're together.
Although I
think the word Brown used was that
Hermione had "imperiused "
Draco,
as there was no way he'd
ever chosen her on his own."
Hermione sighed, but one look at Draco, caused her to shake her
head.
He was livid .
His eyes were blazing fire and before Hermione knew what
was
happening,
Draco had gotten up from his seat
and left
the
compartment. She went to go after him, but Daphne stopped her.
"You need to let Draco handle this, Hermione. He isn't going to let
anyone besmirch your reputation now that
you two are officially
betrothed.
I'd imagine that is exactly what he plans on telling that
bint Brown, and her tag-along friend."
Quirking an eyebrow over
at
Blaise and Theo,
they both just
nodded. "So this is part of the whole courtship thing?"
Daphne smiled but nodded. "Yes, Draco knows what he's doing."
A few moments later Draco came back into the compartment and
shut the door with a big satisfied smirk on his handsome face.
"Do I
want
to know what
exactly put
that
expression on your
face?"
Draco sat
down and wrapped his arm back around Hermione,
and kissed her forehead sweetly.
"Probably not,
but
I'm sure
you'll hear about it by dinner."
"Lovely
."
Hermione
deadpanned,
causing
all
the
other
Slytherins to snicker.
Theo gazed over at
Hermione,
who seemed happier and calmer
than he'd ever
seen her.
She was smiling and laughing and it
made him realize just how much of a prick they'd all been to her.
Hermione caught
Theo's melancholic look and tilted her
head
questioningly.
"We were right
prats-all
of
us.
Draco told us,
and I'd say I'm
sorry-but
I'm not
sure that's
even appropriate."
Theo sighed
unhappily.
Hermione looked over
at
Blaise then,
who's head was bowed
down and he seemed to be feeling as awkward as Theo was.
"I
received a letter
from Marcus Flint
not
too long ago,
so I
suppose the ruse is up,
at
least
in Slytherin House.
So yes, the
information you were given by Draco is the truth.
I've known
since second year whom my Father is and found out the end of
first
year
I
was
adopted.
I'm not
sure my
Muggle parents
would've ever told me, if things hadn't been so bad that summer
when I
returned home.
I
know this isn't
going to be easy,
and
frankly
other
than Draco and Daphne,
I
have little trust
in
anyone." Theo and Blaise flinched but
Hermione just
shrugged.
"Trust is earned . Just give me time, okay? I'm not saying I don't
want to be friends. I'm just telling you, I'm not there yet."
Theo nodded,
appreciating Hermione's honesty.
"I
understand,
and I
know Blaise does too." The tall
dark-skinned boy nodded
solemnly.
"We just
want
a chance to prove that
we can be trusted and
despite everything,
we support
you and Draco.
Blimey!
You've
turned my best
mate into a veritable Hufflepuff with how he goes
on about you."
Blaise chuckled and Draco blushed,
causing Hermione to smile
fondly at
her
intended.
She laid her head on his shoulder and
Draco gently kissed the top of
her head causing her to sigh in
contentment,
while the other three Slytherin just smirked at how
"disgustingly perfect" they were for each other.
"You're
both
just
jealous
that
the most
beautiful
witch at
Hogwarts has consented to be mine."
Draco smirked when his two mates didn't deny the statement.
Theo stood up and said something about going and finding the
trolley,
taking Daphne and Blaise with them.
Once Hermione
and Draco were alone again,
Draco lifted Hermione's face to
his and kissed her deeply.
Breaking apart
after a few minutes,
he leant
his forehead onto her's,
and they just
spent
time
breathing each other in, keeping eye contact and touching each
other reassuringly.
"What did you say to Brown?" Hermione asked quietly.
Draco smirked and said,
"I
told the bint
if
I
caught
her saying
anything disrespectful
about
my intended again,
I
would make
sure that
everyone knew about
her unfortunate loss of
virginity
third year."
Hermione sighed. "Do I want to know how you know that?"
Draco chuckled.
"She gave it
up to Flint.
The disgusting prat,
couldn't
stop talking about
it
in our common room. He got drunk
one night
and told everyone that
he'd taken Brown's virginity
behind the quidditch stands after
the final
game that
season.
Apparently the girl
was all
bravado but cried the entire time. Flint
isn't known for being kind nor gentle."
Hermione's gaze narrowed. "Did Flint rape her?"
Draco looked a bit
uncomfortable,
but
shrugged.
"To hear Flint's
version,
she was all
over
him and it
wasn't
until
the deed was
done she started crying and begging him to stop.
I
think it
was
because Marcus wasn't
gentle nor
caring about
how he went
about
it.
Do I
think Marcus forced her? I'd like to say 'no '
but
I
honestly don't know."
Hermione sighed unhappily,
as if
she needed another reason to
hate Marcus Flint. "Draco, while I appreciate your desire to protect
my reputation,
please don't
use Lavender's pain against
her like
that.
I'm sure she's suitably chastened and will
hopefully curb her
vicious tongue,
but
I
don't care what people think. I haven't since
first year."
Draco considered Hermione's expression and shook his head
sadly. "Baby, you need to trust me and let me do whatever I feel
is necessary to protect
you.
Your Father would expect
nothing
less,
and you deserve so much more.
You're mine,
and that
means I get to pamper you, indulge you and protect you-not that
you need me to protect
you,
but
I
need to.
Can't
you just
trust
me on this?"
Seeing the earnest expression on her betrothed's face, Hermione
realized how important
this was to him.
And he was right.
Her
Fatther
would expect
Draco to protect
her
reputation-he had
made a vow after all.
"Alright,
handsome.
I
will
defer
to your
superior
knowledge
when it
comes to Pureblood courting."
Draco smirked and
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Just be patient with me. I'm so used
to taking care of
myself
out
of
necessity,
it's going to take me
some time to get used to having someone do it for me."
Draco nodded and kissed Hermione softly,
but
with purpose.
When he pulled away he kept eye contact and spoke gently. "I'm
so sorry,
my love.
I
can't
change the past,
but
I
promise you,
you're never going to be alone again.
I'm quite looking forward
to this year, as I get to have you all to myself."
Giggling at
Draco's audacity and possessiveness,
Hermione
smiled widely. "I am looking forward to having some private time
with you too. I've missed you."
Enveloping
Hermione
in
his
arms,
Draco
kissed
his
witch
breathless. "I've missed you too, love. So much."
Eventually,
Draco and Hermione had to change into their school
robes for their prefect meeting with the new Head Students. Cho
Chang had made Head Girl
from Ravenclaw and Zacharias
Smith from Hufflepuff.
When Draco and Hermione walked into
the Head's Compartment,
all
eyes were on them. Draco had his
arm around Hermione's waist and glared at all the male students
who were eyeing his intended with newfound appreciation.
He
knew that
this was going to be an issue,
now that
her adoption
had been revealed and her mother being from a noted Pureblood
House.
It
had been assumed by the Wizarding World at
large,
that Hermione's Father must've been a Pureblood as well…
… and Marlene had not disputed it.
Smith especially,
was giving Hermione his undivided attention,
but she seemed oblivious.
When
Cho
noticed
Hermione's
necklace,
she
gasped
in
recognition of
the significance of
its meaning.
Cho made eye
contact
with Draco,
who nodded once and looked over at Smith
smugly. Zacharias just glared back, but was smart enough not to
cause a scene.
Assignments were given, and the other students started to leave,
but not before Ron Weasley opened his big mouth.
"Well,
it
would seem that
now she's no longer
a mudblood,
Granger's finally worthy of you, eh Malfoy?" Ron sneered, giving
both Slytherins looks of disgust.
The
compartment
went
silent,
and
Draco
didn't
even
think
twice-he walked right
into Weasley's space and glared openly at
the boy, who was now the same height as him.
"I'd watch that mouth if I were you, Weasel. In case you forgot my
warning back in fourth year, let me refresh your memory. If I hear
you use that
disgusting slur
again,
and in particular
about
my
'intended," the gasps of those remaining in the compartment were
audible, "I will put you down, like the dog you are."
Weasley's face turned bright
red,
but
before he could speak,
Zacharias came over and pushed the Gryffindor back.
"Twenty
points from Gryffindor
for
using foul
language and in general,
being a prat.
And perhaps you should brush up on your reading
Weasley,
because I'm pretty
sure Hermione's
last
name is
McKinnon,
not
Granger.
Not
that
it
would matter what
surname
she decided to use. You'd best remember to watch your tongue."
Draco glanced over
at
the Head Boy and nodded once,
then
moved back over and wrapped his arm around Hermione, who
was openly glaring in dislike at the red-headed Gryffindor.
"Mr. Weasley," Hermione began haughtily, not missing the smirk
widening on Draco's face at the tone of her voice, "perhaps you
might
also invest
some time in reading over Magical
Law as
well.
Ministry mandate Seventy-Three:
subsection 142 clearly
states that
'Any persons knowingly,
willfully and with vicious
intent
slander a member of
a Pureblood House,
they may be
challenged by ancient
law or suffer restitution if being unwilling
to submit therein."
Smith considered Hermione appraisingly, not missing the dark
look Malfoy sending his way.
Weasley
however,
just
seemed
completely
dumbfounded.
"What in the name of Godric is that supposed to mean?"
Draco decided to take charge.
"It
means,
that
you have willfully
and viciously slandered a member of
a Pureblood House in view
of
everyone in this room-who are also Pureblood,
if
I'm not
mistaken. Therefore, Hermione can… or since I'm her intended, it
would be within my rights to formally challenge you to a duel
to
avenge
her
honor
at
being
besmirched.
Or
you
can
offer
restitution in a manner acceptable by all
parties.
Personally,
I'm
hoping you opt
for
the duel."
Draco sneered menacingly,
while
everyone
in
the
compartment
just
glared
at
Weasley,
understanding the seriousness of what was happening.
"Perhaps I
should have my Mother write his parents,
love?"
Hermione smirked.
"I'm sure Molly Weasley might
have a
thing or two to say about her son's lack of proper manners?"
Hermione looked at Draco with feigned innocence, but he could
see the anger behind those beautiful
amber eyes. Looking over
at
the Weasel,
who had paled significantly at the thought of his
mother's howlers, just glared angrily at the two Slytherins.
"Tell
you what,
Weasley? Since I'm feeling generous today,
you
have one week to decide how you want
this to play out.
I
will
inform the new Headmaster
of
the situation.
I'm sure the Head
Boy and Head Girl
will
back up my claim?"
Smith and Chang
nodded.
"Excellent!" Purred Draco,
taking Hermione's arm.
"One
week,
or I
will
decide the best
way to handle this,
and trust
me
when I
tell
you,
Weasley-I'm really hoping I
get
to choose.
I'll
enjoy making an example of you."
With
that,
the
two
Slytherins
walked
out
of
the
Head's
Compartment
to do their patrol
on the train. When they rounded
the corner,
Hermione pushed Draco up against
a door
and
snogged him viciously, which caused the blonde wizard to groan
in want.
When she pulled back,
Draco looked stunned,
but
pleased by his witch's show of appreciation.
Hermione grazed Draco's erection and placing her lips against
his she whispered,
"You make me wet
when you take control
like that."
Draco's eyes widened and he growled, 'fuck,' before kissing
Hermione passionately,
causing his witch to whimper
in
need.
After
a few moments Draco pulled away.
"You wanton witch!
You're going to push all my self control this year, aren't you?"
Hermione just
smirked,
turned around and sashayed down the
corridor,
hips
moving
seductively
while
Draco
groaned
and
banged his head back on the door, causing Hermione to giggle.
This was going to be such a good year.
Hermione's Birthright
Chapter 54: Hermione's Birthright
The Great
Hall
was buzzing from the moment
Hermione and
Draco walked in together as Draco escorted her to their seats
and placed a gentle kiss on the back of
her
hand,
in view of
everyone.
When
the
new Headmaster
stood,
the whole of
Slytherin House cheered for him,
much to the consternation of
the rest of the Houses.
Even
McGonagall
looked
a
bit
out,
as
under
normal
circumstances,
being the former Deputy Headmistress she was
next
in line for Dumbledore's job.
The students were introduced
to the new Potions Master
and new Head of
Slytherin House,
Horace Slughorn and the new Defense Against
The Dark Arts
Professor, Corban Yaxley.
The first
years were sorted quickly, and then dinner was served.
Daphne,
Theo and Blaise surrounded Draco and Hermione.
Pansy
kept
sending glares
towards
Hermione,
but
she just
ignored the stares from the other
witch.
It
was obvious that
Pansy was highly displeased by the news of
Draco's betrothal,
as she had told anyone who would listen from second year on,
that she would be the next Lady Malfoy.
That clearly wasn't going to happen now.
Word had also gone through the halls of
Hogwarts quickly,
of
Ronald Weasley accosting the new McKinnon Heir on the train.
Whispers of
Draco challenging the red-headed wizard to a duel
to avenge the honor of
his intended,
had all
the witches in the
school
aflutter. When Theo asked Draco if he was really going to
duel the Weasel, Draco just smirked and pulled Hermione into his
side tighter, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, causing all the
fourth and fifth year Slytherin witches to gush at
the display of
affection…
… much to Draco's amusement and Hermione's irritation.
Hermione then whispered over
to Daphne.
"You'd think they'd
never seen two people in a relationship before."
Daphne just
smirked.
"It's a big deal,
Hermione.
While it's not
unheard of
for a betrothal
to happen before a couple becomes
of
age,
because of
whom you both are, it's a big deal. Actually,
there had been some talk back in our fourth year of a betrothal
between Draco, and my younger sister Astoria."
Hermione looked over at Daphne in shock. How
did Draco not tell her about this?
Realizing she had spoken out
of
turn,
Daphne was quick to
reassure
her
friend.
"It
was
discussed
before
Yule,
and
apparently Narcissa put
a stop to it.
I
never
did ask why,
but
Lucius deferred to his wife.
That
never
happens in Pureblood
circles."
Hermione just
raised an eyebrow questioningly,
but
decided to
let it go for now. She could ask Draco, but she really didn't want
to get
into an argument
with him, and the way she was feeling
right now?
They most definitely would.
Draco noticed her stiffen against
him and he looked over with
concern,
but
Hermione just shook him off-now was not the time
for that conversation.
When they left
the Great
Hall
and headed for the Dungeons,
Draco held Hermione's hand in the crook of
his arm,
as he
formally escorted her
to the Slytherin Common Room.
When
the door
opened,
Hermione was
shocked at
the site that
greeted her…
The entirety of
their
House were waiting for
them,
or
more
specifically, for her.
Draco led her into the room and once the door had closed,
the
room became deathly quiet.
It
was only a few minutes before Pansy decided to break the
silence.
"No one seems to know what
to say,
but
I
for one want
some kind of
proof
you are who the rumors are saying you are."
The pug-faced girl smirked evilly.
There were some gasps, but there were some heads nodding too.
Hermione hadn't thought that her House would demand proof.
However,
before she could respond,
the common room door
opened and the new Headmaster walked in, robes billowing in his
wake.
"I
would ask what
is going on here,
but
it
seems I
have arrived
just in time." Severus sneered at the students. "Miss McKinnon?
It was brought to my attention by your father that you didn't bring
your
familiar
with you to school,
and he insisted that
she be
brought to you immediately."
Hermione sighed in relief, while Draco smirked knowingly at
his Godfather.
The Dark Lord wanted to make a statement
about claiming his Heir.
Slytherin House was in for one hell of a surprise.
When Severus dropped the disillusionment
charm,
the whole of
Slytherin House gasped in shock at the snake curling itself around
its Mistress.
Hermione
smiled
and
petted
the
snake
who
hissed
threateningly
at
all
the students who were standing there,
watching in fear.
"Nagini," Hermione hissed in Parseltongue, "please don't eat any
of
the students here.
You've already killed Dolohov,
and I
think
Father would be most
displeased if
you were to kill
any of
the
students here."
"Can't
I
just
kill
the pug-faced girl? I'm sure no one would miss
her.
Her
magic reeks,
and I
don't
trust
her
not
to harm my
mistress."
"She's no threat,
Nagini."
Hermione hissed as she petted her
snake again,
who nodded and then circled once around Draco,
who also petted the snake fondly before she made her way over
to the fireplace.
Severus nodded and left
in the same fashion he'd entered,
robes billowing and a sneer firmly planted on his face. When
Hermione glared over at
Pansy,
the girl
looked like she was
going to be sick.
Hermione
decided,
she'd
finally
had
enough
of
Pansy
Parkinson. "My familiar doesn't like you. She is convinced that
I
should let
her eat
you because she thinks no one will
miss
you. "
At
this,
Pansy's
face paled even further,
while Draco just
smirked at
his former friend.
She had crossed the line tonight,
and Draco felt
absolutely no pity for her.
Pansy looked warily
over
at
the snake,
who just
hissed threateningly,
causing the
witch to visibly shake.
"I
have stood by for five years and taken your taunts, abuse and
insults.
I've nearly been killed over something that
turned out to
be completely untrue .
I've know since second year whom my
Father
is,
and now you all
know it
too.
This is my house,
my
birthright.
My familiar
has already dispatched one wizard who
tried to harm me and besmirch my reputation, and she will
have
no such compunction about
doing it
again if
anyone here so
much as looks at
me funny.
I
don't
expect
your friendship,
but
I
will
demand your loyalty.
If
anyone so much as breathes a word
of my true parentage before my Father gives permission, I will let
my familiar deal with it-and trust me, she's far less forgiving then I
am."
At that, Hermione lifted up her head to Draco, who gently placed
a kiss on her lips and then smirked proudly at
his witch as she
headed towards her room, with Daphne in tow.
When Hermione was gone, the whole of Slytherin House looked
to it's Prince, who was watching them all angrily.
"I
tried to warn you,
back in fourth year.
I
told you to stop the
taunts,
and for the most
part
you listened to my warnings.
But
there were some," Draco sneered at Pansy, "who didn't heed my
words,
so I'm going to make this crystal
clear.
Hermione and I
are betrothed, which means she is mine to protect. Weasley has
already made the unfortunate mistake of
calling her
that
foul
name on the train today, and in a weeks time I will be making him
suffer for it. If any of you hurt my witch, I will end you."
Theo and Blaise spoke up, because obviously somebody needed
to. "We get it, Draco… and trust us, we have no intention of doing
anything to hurt
Hermione.
I
know I
can speak for
Slytherin
House,
that
she has our loyalty.
We snakes look after our own,
and we should've afforded Hermione that
courtesy back in first
year. We are all guilty of ostracizing her."
Draco nodded.
"You're right,
Theo.
I
was the worst
of
it,
and it
took me seeing her frail and broken in third year to realize what a
complete fuck I'd been to her, and another two years getting her
to trust and forgive me. I made a vow to her and her Father that I
would never allow anyone to hurt her again, and I fully intend on
keeping that
promise.
If
anyone here can't
understand that,
or
are unsure of
whether
or
not
you can give Hermione your
promise of
loyalty,
say it
now .
Because if
you don't,
and I
find
out
later
you've betrayed her? Nothing on this earth will
save
you."
When no one said anything,
Draco nodded and sighed.
Gazing
over at
Hermione's familiar he spoke softly.
"Nagini,
I
think you
should stay with Hermione in her dorm room."
The snake lifted her head and nodded, then proceeded to slither
up the stairs,
towards the girls dormitory.
The rest
of
the house
gaped at
Draco with awe,
but
he ignored their stares and just
walked towards his own dorm room and started to unpack his
trunk.
He was worried about
his witch,
and while he was sure
that
Daphne
was
taking
care
of
her,
he
knew there
was
something else bothering her.
When Theo and Blaise walked in a while later, Draco was sitting
on his bed writing a letter
to his father,
explaining what
had
happened
today.
Lucius
would be proud of
how Hermione
handled herself,
and Draco just
hoped his father
would be
understanding about the rest of it.
Theo sat down and watched his friend finish his letter. "That was
pretty intense in there,
Draco.
I
have to hand it
to Hermione
though- she made the entire house sit up and take notice. Pansy
is beside herself. She thinks Hermione's snake is going to kill her
in her sleep. She's afraid to go into the dorms."
Draco nodded. "After the hell
Pansy put Hermione through, she
should be worried.
But
Hermione doesn't
work like that.
She
won't
hurt
Pansy directly,
unless she does something stupid.
Hermione's far too logical." Draco smirked fondly. "She'll devise
some clever
scheme to make Pansy pay,
and no one would
ever be able to implicate her."
Theo gave Draco a questioning look. "Sounds like you know from
experience."
Draco nodded,
not
sure how much to reveal
but
knowing that
Blaise and Theo would appreciate Hermione's devious, cunning,
ruthless side.
"Remember second year, when Flint got hurt?" Both boys nodded.
"That was Hermione."
Theo was perplexed.
"But
Dumbledore checked her
wand!
It
couldn't have been her."
Draco smirked knowingly.
"My brilliant,
beautiful,
devious witch -
brewed Polyjuice Potion,
used someone else's wand and hexed
Flint's broom."
Theo and Blaise looked shocked momentarily and then both
boys started laughing uncontrollably.
When they'd finally gotten
control
of
themselves,
Blaise shook his head in admiration.
"Salazar's balls, that witch is fucking brilliant ."
Draco grinned widely. "You have no idea just how brilliant." When
the other
two boys looked at
him with eager
faces,
Draco just
sighed.
"Give it
time, mates. Hopefully someday I'll
be able to tell
you everything.
All
you need to know is my witch is far
more
ruthless, cunning and clever than you could possibly imagine."
Theo sighed,
looking at
his friend a bit
enviously.
"And you're
completely in love with her,
and she with you.
Everyone was
whispering about
it
after you'd left.
My father told me too,
whom
Hermione really was,
after I
returned from Italy. He was going on
and on about
her,
and how disappointed he was that
she was
already spoken for."
"Yeah,
apparently
he
wasn't
the
only
one."
Draco's
face
darkened in anger, causing Blaise and Theo to look a bit wary.
"Did something happen, mate?" Blaise inquired.
Draco sighed heavily.
"Dolohov happened.
He wanted Hermione
and unfortunately for
him,
didn't
handle it
properly.
He paid the
ultimate price."
Theo appeared confused for
a moment,
but
then his vision
cleared in understanding.
"He was the one the snake killed,
wasn't he?"
Draco smirked and nodded once. "He tried to take liberties with
my witch!
Tried to compromise her virtue, and Nagini
killed him
for it before I got my chance."
"Fucking Merlin's hairy ballsack! He was one of the Dark Lord's
most faithful servants." Blaise whispered in shock.
"So was my Aunt
Bellatrix,
and she's dead too.
Tried to take on
Hermione, and she lost."
Theo and Blaise sat
back stunned.
If
Hermione was powerful
enough to take out
Bellatrix
then she really was formidably
ruthless.
Theo nodded and patted Draco on the back.
"We have
your backs, mate. I can't imagine what Hermione must have gone
through for all
those years,
but
I have nothing but respect for the
witch. You're one lucky fuck, so don't screw it up, eh?"
Draco sneered playfully at
his friend.
"I
have no intentions of
doing so. She's-just it, you know?" Both boys nodded. "I have to
pinch myself
everyday when I
wake up and remind myself
that
she's
finally
mine.
I
don't
know what
I'd
do
if
something
happened to her."
Both boys looked at
their blonde friend in wonder.
Draco was
never one to show,
or share his emotions but they could easily
see how much he adored his witch.
The three of
them were
quiet
until
a soft
knock was heard at
the door.
Standing up,
Blaise went
over to open it
and saw Hermione standing there,
looking a bit nervous. Draco, seeing his witch, rushed to her and
enveloped her in his arms.
"Hey,
my
love?
Everything
okay?"
Draco
whispered
into
Hermione's hair.
Hermione shrugged. "Can I talk to you for a moment, please?"
Draco nodded and gestured for his friends to give them some
privacy,
which
they
did.
Both boys
nodded and smiled at
Hermione before they left,
and Draco closed the door,
walking
Hermione over to his bed.
He could tell
something was wrong,
he lifted her chin up so their eyes could meet.
"Talk to me, baby. Tell me what's bothering you?"
Hermione sighed, not sure if she was making too much of this but
she couldn't go to sleep with it weighing on her mind.
"Daphne mentioned something to me at
dinner tonight." Draco
nodded, encouraging her to continue. "Why did you never tell me
your
father
was planning a betrothal
between you and Astoria
Greengrass?"
Draco looked shocked momentarily by the question, but then just
shrugged noncommittally. "Because it was never a serious thing,
my love.
Father
had wanted a good match for
me,
and had
brought
it
up over the summer third year after I came home. He
asked for my opinion,
but
I
just brushed it off. Frankly, I couldn't
get my mind off you all
summer. I was pretty distracted, come to
think of
it.
Anyway-
after
I
returned to school,
Father
started
discussions with Lord Greengrass.
It
was around the time you
and Snape had your confrontation.
I
know you'd thought
at
the
time I was trying to hurt you, but I had been genuinely worried for
you.
You had disappeared from the dorms,
no one knew where
you were.
I'd been frantically searching the castle that weekend
before you had your argument with Severus and that was when I
finally decided to go tell
him.
You were so angry that
day,
my
love. Your voice-I don't think I ever want to hear that laugh come
out
of
your
mouth again.
So I
owled my mother,
told her
everything .
I
think she knew before I
did,
how I
felt
about
you.
She stopped the betrothal process immediately."
Hermione sighed and nodded. "Just like that?"
Draco smiled. "Yes. Mother has always known me better than I've
known myself.
I
think she wanted me to have the choice,
which
I'm more grateful
for than I can say, because you've always been
my choice. Even before I consciously knew it."
Hermione moved into Draco's arms and kissed him softly.
"I'm
sorry for getting upset."
Shaking his head,
Draco kissed Hermione again.
"Baby,
you
don't
ever
have to apologize for
being upset.
If
something
bothers you, talk to me. I will listen, and I'll always be honest with
you.
How could you ever
think I'd want
another witch,
when I
have you?"
"I
didn't
think that
exactly.
It
just
came as a shock to me and I
wasn't prepared for it. In fact, I wasn't much prepared for anything
that happened tonight, which isn't like me."
Pulling Hermione under him,
Draco laid his body on top of
hers
and grasped her face in his hands lovingly.
"My heart,
you don't
always have to be in control
of everything. Sometimes it's good to
let others have a bit of control."
Draco smirked wickedly and Hermione moaned, arching her body
up into his.
"I would very much enjoy you taking control of me, handsome."
Draco growled and kissed Hermione breathless.
After
a few
minutes of
intense snogging,
Draco moved back slightly and
rested
his
forehead
against
hers.
"I
would
very
much
be
interested in exploring that,
my love.
In fact,
I
would be open to
any suggestions you would request of me."
Hermione's eyes widened, and she bit her lip playfully. "Really?
Because I
have to admit,
my dreams are quite explicit
in the
things I'd like you to do to me, with me."
Draco groaned and kissed her again.
When he looked back into
her eyes, he whispered, "Show me?"
So Hermione did.
She locked her gaze with Draco's and opened her mind to him-
allowing him to see several of her more naughty fantasies. When
she was done,
her
boyfriend growled in want
and kissed her
deeply running his hands all
over her. After a few minutes Draco
pulled back and sighed uncomfortably.
"You're really going to be the death of me."
Giggling softly,
Hermione just
shrugged.
"Something tells me
you're going to enjoy every minute of it."
Draco smirked, but nodded. "Wicked witch."
The Duel
Chapter 55: The Duel
The first
week of
school
had gone by without too much fanfare.
The first
day of
Potions,
Professor Slughorn had the students
identify the Potions he'd brewed for their class. When Hermione
had raised her
hand and correctly identified them all,
Horace
had proudly awarded her 10 points for Slytherin.
One of the Potions, Amortentia, has been the last to be identified
and Professor
Slughorn had asked Hermione what
she had
smelled.
Without
thinking about
it,
she identified sandlewood,
green apples,
broom polish and cinnamon toothpaste. Her eyes
caught
Draco's,
who smiled widely at
his intended.
She had
blushed prettily and had stepped back into Draco's side,
where
he gently kissed her forehead in return.
Slughorn had offered a tiny bottle of Felix Felicis to anyone who
could brew Draught
of
Living Death. The book had been utterly
rubbish-Hermione had realized that back in fourth year and had
taken to researching better
ways to brew most
of
the NEWT
Potions she would be required to learn.
She had even asked
Professor
Snape
over
the
summer,
and
he
had
been
surprisingly helpful
in guiding her
research.
So it
wasn't
too
surprising when her potion turned out
absolutely perfect,
much
to
Slughorn's
astonishment
and
Draco's
amusement.
Hermione's hair
had grown about
three inches from the heat,
and it
made her
look
wild.
Her
cheeks were flushed with
pleasure at
brewing a perfect
potion and her
face radiated
happiness.
Draco had silently thought,
she'd never looked more beautiful
than she did in that
moment
and based on the looks she was
getting from the other wizards in the room…
… they did as well.
In Defense Against
the Dark Arts,
Corban Yaxley introduced
himself.
As
the former
Deputy Head of
the Department
of
Magical
Law Enforcement,
Yaxley was supremely qualified to
teach the class.
His long blonde braid and deep throaty voice
had many of the young witches twittering with excitement.
Hermione thought it was rather funny, seeing how uncomfortable
Yaxley appeared with all
the female attention.
Her mother had
mentioned once that
Yaxley had never married,
and being the
last
of
his line,
it
would be required of him to produce an heir at
some point.
But he didn't seem to be all that interested.
Her
Mum had even mentioned that
Yaxley had lost
his sister
during the first Wizarding War. She had been killed in a skirmish
against
a couple of
junior
Aurors,
along with her
fiancé…
Argeon Rowle, Thorfinn Rowle's older cousin.
Yaxley had realized that the students were woefully unprepared
for the class,
and decided that
they would need a more hands
on approach-so he decided to set
up dueling clubs once the
basics had been taught in the first part of the school year.
Hermione had been excited at the prospect, which received
a knowing look from her Professor.
Daphne had been captivated by the older wizard too,
and had
blushed profusely when he had directed his attention towards
her,
which just
generated a raised eyebrow and a smirk from
their Professor.
Lucius had received his letter from Draco and had written him
back,
stating how proud he was of his Son, in his defense of his
intended.
He had passed on the information to Hermione's
father,
who had been rather irritated that
his own daughter had
not informed him of what had happened.
When Hermione had finally written to her father,
she'd thanked
him for allowing Nagini
to come to Hogwarts,
and told him that
she was trying to allow Draco to handle these issues as they
arose.
It
was hard for
her
to defer
to her
intended,
but
she
understood Draco's need to protect
her,
and she was trying to
give up some of the control to him.
The response she'd received was not quite what she'd expected.
Her father had praised her for allowing Draco to protect her, but
that
certainly didn't
mean she was to keep things from him nor
her mother. He'd even stated that she was not bothering him with
her concerns, and perhaps she needed to understand that as her
father, he needed to be able to offer his protection too.
She had been shocked when she'd read the letter,
and had
broken down into quiet sobs, much to Daphne's dismay.
Not
knowing what
to do,
she ran into the common room and
found
Draco
playing
chess
with
Theo
and
Blaise.
Seeing
Daphne's
distress,
Draco wasted no time in running up to
Hermione's dorm and taking his witch into his arms to offer her
comfort.
Once calmed,
Hermione allowed Draco to read the
letter
too.
To
say
he
was
astonished
would've
been
an
understatement.
He belatedly realized that
Hermione's tears weren't
of
sorrow,
but of overwhelming joy that her father truly cared about her.
It filled his heart with happiness to see and feel her joy.
The following morning at
breakfast
had been the absolute best
moment of the week so far. In the middle of eating her porridge, a
rather pitiful
looking owl
fell
onto the Gryffindor table holding a red
howler for the youngest
Weasley boy.
Ronald cringed and shook
his head at
his sister,
who took it
and opened it
for all
the Great
Hall to hear.
Ronald Bilius Weasley
I am so ashamed of you
How could you say such a disgusting thing to Miss McKinnon
We heard of
the young Malfoy challenging you to a duel
to
avenge her honor
You will
not
be receiving any help from your Father
and I You are on your own
The hall
immediately hushed and Draco's eyes gleamed in
triumph as he full
on smirked at the Weasel
in glee. Looking up
at
his Godfather,
who was openly sneering at
the Gryffindor,
Severus turned and nodded once in Draco's direction.
Minerva,
bent
over to say something to Severus,
but he put up
his hand to stop her and stood up abruptly.
"It
would appear
as if
Mr.
Weasley has once again,
failed to
grasp the concept of keeping his mouth shut. Therefore, due to
Ancient
magical
law my
hands
are
tied."
Glancing
over
Corban's direction,
who was sporting a rather vicious grin on
his face,
Severus addressed him directly.
"Professor
Yaxley?
As you are our Defense teacher,
I
will
leave it
in your capable
hands settling the parameters for the upcoming duel
between
Mr.
Malfoy
and
Mr.
Weasley.
Perhaps
we might
get
this
settled… this Saturday?"
Corban
nodded
and
Severus
sat
back
down
to
finish
his
breakfast, ignoring the harsh looks Minerva was sending his way.
Theo and Blaise clapped Draco on the back in solidarity,
while
Hermione just rolled her eyes at her intended. He however, smiled
softly and placed a kiss on her cheek and went
back to finishing
his breakfast.
Saturday the entire Great
Hall
had been emptied except
for
a
dueling ring. Yaxley had explained the parameters of the duel, the
expressly forbidden use of
unforgivables,
and the naming of
a
second.
Draco had chosen Theo as his second and surprisingly Ron had
chosen Seamus Finnegan as his.
When Draco looked over at
where Harry Potter was standing,
he was surprised to see him
standing with his witch.
Harry nodded once at
Draco and the
blonde nodded back, looking a bit confused.
When the duel
began,
Draco silently erected his shield charm
and allowed Weasley to feel
like he was gaining the upper hand.
His
work
over
the
summer
with
the
Dark
Lord
learning
Legilimency had really paid off.
Weasley was projecting his
thoughts easily and it didn't take Draco long to figure out what he
was trying to do. Draco's shield was such that only very few dark
curses,
or
unforgivables
could
penetrate
it.
Hermione
was
getting irritated watching Draco toy with the Gryffindor. But soon,
Draco sent
several
hexes at
once,
followed by a well
placed
stunner right to Weasley's chest, and the boy was catapulted off
the dueling platform and into the wall.
Surprisingly he wasn't unconscious, and went to lift his wand but
Draco had decided to use a little charm his girlfriend had taught
him,
he had just
managed to alter it
a bit… make it
more him.
When he silently cast
the Avis from his wand,
crows sprang
forth, much to his amusement but then he whispered 'Dracoignis
'
and
the
birds
transfigured
into
dragons-he
then shouted
'Oppungno ' and the dragons swarmed Weasley, breathing fire.
The Gryffindor's screams could be heard throughout
the castle
while Draco just
stood there watching the scene with a pleased
little smile on his face.
When he glanced over at
Hermione,
he
was speechless at
the heated look she was sending his way,
while the rest
of
the hall
was stunned by what
they had just
witnessed.
When
Draco
cancelled
the
spell,
he
silently
cast
an
'Expelliarmus '
and Weasley's wand flew into his outstretched
palm.
Walking over
to Corban,
he handed the man the wand
with a nod and sauntered over to where Weasley was cowering
on the floor, covered in burns.
Draco then crouched down and glared at
the other
wizard
directly into the eye,
speaking so only the two of
them could
hear.
"You are alive only because we are still
in school. If this had been
a real
duel,
and we were both of
age,
I'd have been within my
rights under ancient law to kill you where you stand. You ever look
in my witch's direction again? You so much as speak to her,
I'll
make you suffer before I end you. Are we clear?"
Ron just
stared at
the menacing eyes of
the blonde wizard
before him,
before he nodded in acquiescence.
Draco stood
back up and sauntered back over
to his witch,
who ran her
hands over him making sure he truly was alright. He kissed her
forehead and breathed in her scent.
"I'm fine, my love. He won't be bothering you again."
Hermione
nodded
and
smiled
wickedly,
leaning
up
and
whispering into his ear.
"That
was hot,
and I'm completely
soaked . I think you need to attend to me now, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco's eyes narrowed as he took his girlfriend's hand,
leading
her
out
of
the Great
Hall.
When he realized that
there was no
where private he could take her,
he groaned in exasperation.
Hermione giggled and led Draco up to the seventh floor, across
from a tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. When she walked in front
of
the wall
three times,
a door
appeared leading Draco into a
room he'd never seen before and he was stunned by the size of
the room. There was a fireplace, bed, bookshelves. He looked at
his witch,
watching her
observing his awe as he took in their
surroundings.
"Room of Requirement?" Draco asked and Hermione nodded.
"So this is where you were holed up fourth year?"
Again Hermione nodded.
Suddenly realizing they were alone, Draco grabbed his intended
and lifted her
up,
throwing her
onto the bed and covered her
body with his while he kissed her hungrily. Hermione arched her
body into Draco's and clawed at his robes, trying to get them off.
Draco stood up and took off
his outer robes and quickly moved
back over
Hermione's body with his so that
he was cradled
between her thighs.
The snogging was starting to become more intense and Draco
tried to get
himself
under
control,
but
his little vixen wasn't
having any of
it.
Taking charge,
Hermione rolled Draco so that
she was on top and bit her lip in anticipation as she saw his grey
eyes blown obsidian with desire.
Hermione started to unbutton her
blouse,
but
Draco's hand
stilled her movements.
She gave him a questioning look,
which
he returned with an impish grin.
"Baby, are you sure this is a good idea?"
Sighing in exasperation,
Hermione just
glared at
her betrothed.
"I'm not ready for sex yet, but I want more, Draco."
Grimacing in discomfort
as he tried to readjust
himself,
Draco
slowly
nodded.
"Tell
me
how much
more… you
set
the
boundaries, love."
Smirking wickedly, Hermione slowly unbuttoned her top and pulled
it
down,
revealing a white lace bra.
Draco's gaze darkened
hungrily
as
he looked into his
witch's
eyes for
any sign of
hesitation.
When he found none,
he gently guided his hands up
Hermione's body until
he palmed both breasts simultaneously
through the lace of her bra.
She was simply exquisite and Draco's breathed hitched as
he watched Hermione arch her
chest
into his touch and
moan.
Draco took his time exploring how his witch liked to be touched…
but when she moaned softly and said, "Use your mouth… please,
Draco."
Like an addled school
boy,
he nearly came in his pants right
then and there.
For nearly an hour Draco pleasured Hermione with his hands and
mouth.
He worshipped every inch of
her beautiful
body that
she
allowed, until she arched her back and came… hard .
To say he was in shock would've been an understatement.
He'd heard it
was possible for a woman to have an orgasm
from breast play alone-but had never truly believed it.
He inwardly wondered at the responsiveness of his witch…
… he was a lucky fuck, and he knew it.
Does Love equal Trust?
Chapter 56: Does Love equal Trust?
When Hermione and Draco had returned to the common room
later that
afternoon,
it
was to the cheers of
the rest
of
Slytherin
House.
Theo and Blaise immediately came over and patted Draco on the
back,
while Daphne offered Draco her
heartfelt
congratulations.
She then looked over at her friend, who was plastered next to her
intended's side, and caught Hermione's eye.
The older witch blushed and Daphne smiled widely and grabbed
her hand, taking her upstairs to their shared dorm room.
Draco watched fondly as his love went
off
with her friend for 'girl
talk' while Theo and Blaise gave him an appraising look.
"That
was some duel,
Draco.
All
the houses have been talking
about
it
after you'd left
with your witch.
I
don't
think we need to
guess what
you two got
up to."
Theo smiled,
but
Draco just
raised an eyebrow coldly.
"Theo,
I
would appreciate it
if
you didn't
speculate on what
Hermione and I
get
up to.
She's extremely private and would be
upset if she thought people were speaking out of turn."
Theo appeared chastened and nodded in understanding. "Sorry,
mate, won't happen again."
Draco bowed his head in thanks while Blaise just clapped him on
the
back
again
and
gave
him a
glass
of
fire
whiskey
in
celebration.
Upstairs,
Hermione and Daphne were having a conversation of
their own. "You look different, Hermione?"
Hermione smiled and blushed,
causing Daphne to gasp and give
her friend a hug. "Did you and Draco?"
Daphne whispered and Hermione's blush deepened,
but
she
shook her head in the negative.
"Draco is amazing .
He never
pushes me and lets me take things at my pace. He's perfect."
Daphne laughed.
"I
promise I
won't
ever tell
him you said that.
But
I'm glad.
You look happier than I've ever seen you and you
deserve it."
Hermione hugged her friend and thanked her effusively. Turning
to the blonde witch, Hermione gave her a playful look. "And what
about you Miss Greengrass?"
Daphne blushed but looked perplexed. "What about me?"
"Oh,
come on!
Don't
think I
don't
see the way you blush at
our
new Defense Professor. He is a handsome wizard."
"Hermione!
He is at
least
twenty years older than me!" Daphne
tried to act scandalized, but Hermione wasn't having any of it.
"Hmmmm… and that
voice of
his? Doesn't
it
make you think all
kinds of naughty thoughts?"
Daphne blushed even redder.
"I
won't
be of
age until
the end of
the month,
as you well
know.
And besides,
a wizard like that
would never look twice at me. But I can't help but admit his voice
is sexy as fuck, and I may have had a dream last night about him
taking me over his teachers desk."
Hermione laughed loudly.
"Well,
that's promising I
suppose.
Although,
I
really
shouldn't
encourage
you
in
seducing
a
Professor, but I have it on good authority that Yaxley isn't lacking
for
experience.
From what
my mother
tells me,
the man had
quite the reputation back in school."
"Really?" Daphne's eyes widened in interest.
"What
kind of
reputation."
Hermione
leaned
over
and
whispered
conspiratorially.
"Apparently his seventh year,
which was my mother's first year,
Corban
got
caught
by
Professor
Slughorn
in
the prefects
bathroom.
He
had
three
witches
in
there
with
him.
And
apparently, he had shagged them all unconscious."
"What?!?!" Daphne screeched. "Merlin and Morgana, that is hot!"
How am I ever going to look at him again?"
Hermione snickered.
"I
don't
know,
but
I
think once you come of
age,
you might
want
to get
yourself
a piece of him. He needs an
heir,
and no witch has managed to turn his head.
You just
might
be the one, if you're up for the task."
"Hmmm, I'm getting hot thinking about it. I just want to pull on his
braid and song him senseless and it
makes me feel
like a tart.
But he's just so yummy!"
"He's actually quite an Arithmancy buff,
which I
know is your
favorite subject.
Weren't
you hoping to do some research with
Professor Vector this year? I know you'd wanted to get a mastery."
Daphne sighed loudly. "Yes, I'd really like that but you know how
my parents are… marriage,
heirs… all
that
nonsense.
They'd
never allow me to get a mastery."
"Perhaps if you had the right sponsor?" Hermione offered.
Daphne processed what Hermione was saying and a wicked smile
came over her face.
"Excuse me,
Hermione!
I
need to go talk to
Professor Vector right now."
Hermione giggled. "You go and get it girl."
Daphne just nodded and bounced out of the room, a woman on a
mission.
As it
turned out
Professor Vector was more than happy to offer
Daphne an apprenticeship for
the year.
It
would require extra
work,
and a significant
project
that
would help her in preparation
for her NEWTS. The young witch had been so excited, as she left
her
Professor's
classroom with an armful
of
extra texts and
papers on a variety of
subjects.
She was just
itching to get
started,
when she ran smack into her new DADA Professor, who
was watching her with amusement.
Daphne had fallen onto the ground and her skirt was exposing
part
of
her knickers,
which were the new lacy thong ones that
Hermione had introduced her
to.
Yaxley's eyebrow raised in
interest,
but
he didn't
say anything as he helped the blonde
witch to her feet
and looked over the books and papers she'd
been carrying.
"Interesting material
you've got
there."
Yaxley drawled in the
deep voice of
his.
"I
wouldn't
have pegged you for
a witch
interested in that kind of thing."
Daphne felt
her
cheeks redden,
and felt
embarrassment
and
anger rising to the surface.
Just what did the git mean by that?
In the haughtiest
voice she could muster,
she glared at
her
Professor
and lifted a cool
eyebrow,
assessing the man and
suddenly finding him wanting.
Yaxley's eyes however,
darkened
at the disdainful look from the witch.
"And just what sort of witch did you have me pegged as?"
Corban Yaxley didn't
miss the innuendo nor the challenge in the
witch's voice.
She really didn't seem intimidated by him at all.
"The kind that's more interested in wizard's, make-up, jewels and
popping out an heir." Yaxley replied deeply.
Daphne could feel her magic swirling around her in anger.
She was so fucking tired of people thinking she was only a pretty
package!
She was a good student, excellent in Arithmancy and Divination.
She may be a Pureblood, but she had ambition .
Her magic lashed out and knocked her DADA Professor back
into the wall.
She marched up to him in righteous anger, hair
sparking and blue eyes shining in fury.
"You don't
know fuck about
me,
you pompous git!
I
don't
care if you're my Professor or not!"
And with that
she stomped away,
not
realizing that
the blonde
wizard was watching her in admiration and smiling widely as she
trounced off, blonde hair flying and hips swaying enticingly.
Daphne had returned to their dorm in a bit
of
a huff.
Hermione
had asked her
what
had happened,
but
the young witch just
grumbled about pompous Pureblood prats and had left it at that.
Hermione left
Daphne to her project, while she decided to write
to her
mother
and tell
her
about
what
had happened today.
Hopefully she wouldn't
be too disappointed in her and perhaps
she
could
smooth
things
over
with
her
father,
when
he
eventually found out.
She wasn't
a silly witch,
and didn't
put
much stock in a witch's
worth being based on her virtue or lack thereof.
From what
little
she'd been able to read about
the traits of
a succubus,
they had
mates
much
in
the
same
way
Veela
did… except
unlike
Veela-they could have sexual partners other than their mate.
The caveat was how that succubus was bonded to said mate.
She and Draco shared a soul bond, if his ancestor was to be
believed, and perhaps this explained her reluctance, or lack
of physical
lust for Viktor. No matter how much she'd wished
it had been different at the time, she just couldn't muster the
attraction to the Bulgarian Wizard.
Draco was experienced and she wasn't
and the double standard
was not lost on her. However, she didn't feel she needed to justify
her
decision to remain a virgin,
anymore than she needed to
justify her decision not to be.
Hermione was envious of
Daphne's ability to experiment
sexually and sometimes she'd wished she was more like that,
but
that
required
a
level
of
trust
that
she
hadn't
yet
achieved-even with Draco.
Perhaps as time passed, Hermione thought to herself, she'd be
able to open herself up more and eventually trust completely…
… but that time hadn't come yet -with good reason.
A Not So Simple Misunderstanding
Chapter 57: A Not So Simple Misunderstanding
Marlene
had
written
Hermione
back
quickly
and
told
her
daughter that she was happy for her, and she would do her best
to
calm her
father
down
when
the
inevitable
explosion
occurred-once they'd decided to consummate their relationship.
Hermione's seventeenth birthday had finally arrived and Draco
had taken her to the Room of Requirement for the evening. He'd
had the elves
prepare a lovely
dinner
for
them both and
afterwards,
there was dancing-then he played the piano for her.
She sang for him and they explored a bit more in how to please
each other until curfew.
It was the best birthday Hermione could ever remember having.
Daphne's birthday had followed over a week later, and the witch
had waved it off carelessly over breakfast-when her friends tried
to plan a trip to Hogsmeade for
that
afternoon.
She really
couldn't
have been bothered,
as
she was
simply too busy
working on her
project
and had taken to reading every meal,
much to Hermione's amusement.
The tension in DADA between her and Professor Yaxley had been
palpable
since
the 'incident
'
in the hallway.
Hermione had
laughed when Daphne had told her what the insufferable git said,
and how she'd handled it.
Whenever Professor Yaxley asked her
a question in class,
Daphne just
answered in her most disdainful
tone.
The wizard in question however,
just
smirked at
the witch's
audacity, but never called her out on her rude behavior.
Daphne quickly grabbed her books and headed for the library.
Even though it was a Saturday, there was so much work for her
to be doing and she had just finished the outline for her project.
Excited to get started, she missed sharp blue eyes that followed
her out of the Great Hall. When she got to the library, she asked
Madam Pince for the location of several texts, and unfortunately
a
few were
located
in
the
restricted section.
Groaning in
frustration,
she hadn't
thought
to get
Professor Vector to sign a
permission slip for her.
Placing her
supplies down,
she hurried back towards Professor
Vector's office when a hand grabbed her by the waist and hauled
her into an alcove.
Gasping in alarm,
she noticed Harry Potter smiling at
her
shyly. "Harry! You gave me a fright!"
Harry laughed. "Sorry, Daphne. I just wanted to wish you a happy
birthday."
Daphne smiled.
"I
see? So you'd thought
you'd accost
me and
drag me in here to do so?"
Harry rubbed the back of
his head sheepishly.
"Well,
yeah?
Anyway,
I
was wondering if
you wanted to go to Hogsmeade
today?"
Daphne smiled but
shook her
head.
"I
can't
today.
I'm doing
some research in the library, and I realized I'd forgotten to get a
pass for
the restricted section from Professor
Vector.
Maybe
some other time?"
Harry smiled and nodded and together the two students walked
out
of
the alcove and directly into Professor Yaxley,
who was
glowering at
both of
them,
but
his ire seemed to be directed
solely at Daphne.
"How interesting .
Perhaps you both might
want
to be a bit more
discreet
in the future." Yaxley drawled out
deeply,
and Daphne's
face reddened at the innuendo-while Harry just looked oblivious.
Daphne turned to Harry and smiled sweetly.
"Thank you for the
birthday wishes, Harry. I'm sorry I can't go to Hogsmeade with you
today,
but
perhaps sometime in the future when my project
is
completed,
as I really don't have time for anything else right now.
I'm sure you understand?"
Harry just nodded and smiled. "No, I get it. I'm sorry to have
accosted you in the hallway, but let me know, eh?"
"Sure." Daphne smiled politely and watched as the black-haired
boy walked away.
When the hallway was clear,
Daphne threw up a wandless
'silencing '
charm,
much to Yaxley's surprise and appreciation.
She turned and faced her
Professor
with hardened eyes that
were shining in anger.
Moving over into the wizard's personal
space she pointed her wand under the man's chin and growled.
"I
don't
know what
your problem with me is,
but
I'm sick of
the
snide remarks,
prattish comments and overall
arrogant
smirks
coming from your general direction these
past two weeks. You may be my Professor, but I'm not scared of
you. And just for the record, not that it's any of your business, but
Harry is a sweet
boy,
but
hardly my type.
So if
you're going to
make unfounded snide comments, at least get your fucking facts
straight. It makes you look like an ill-informed idiot."
Daphne went
to turn around but
the low drawling voice behind
her stopped her cold,
"Fifty points from Slytherin and detention
in my office tonight,
Miss Greengrass,
for
speaking to your
Professor in such a way."
Daphne smirked coldly and snarled, "Better make it an even
hundred,
Professor,
because something tells me I'll
talk to
you however I damn well please."
With that,
Daphne cancelled the silencing charm and walked
towards Professor Vector's office before she stopped suddenly,
turned around and gave a cold look to the man who was
watching
her
with
a
wicked
smile
on
his
face.
"Oh
and
Professor? Just for the record?
It's customary to set
a time when handing out
detention.
You
wouldn't want to look ill-informed, would you?"
And
with
a
smile
that
wouldn't
melt
butter,
Daphne
Greengrass walked elegantly down the hallway not realizing
that
she'd just succeeded in capturing the interest of one of
the most notorious bachelors in Wizarding Britain.
Later that evening at dinner, Hermione had mentioned having a
small
get together in the common room for Daphne's birthday but
the girl just shrugged and said she couldn't, that she had to serve
detention. When the entire sixth years turned in stunned disbelief
at
the fact
that
sweet
Daphne Greengrass had managed to get
detention, the girl just snarled at her friends and told them to 'piss
off."
Hermione had followed her
friend out
of
the Great
Hall
and
asked her what
was going on,
so Daphne told her everything.
The longer the story went
on,
the wider Hermione's smile got.
When Daphne was done,
Hermione raised an eyebrow and
Daphne blushed and snarled, 'What?'
"Go to detention and ignore the prat," Hermione smiled wickedly,
"play hard to get
and you'll
have him eating out
of
your hand in
no time."
"Well
that
shouldn't
be too hard,
he's an arrogant
git
who needs
someone to knock him upside his head."
Hermione laughed, but shook her head fondly at her friend. "Well,
let me know if you need anything. We will do something tomorrow
for your big coming of age."
"Okay."
Daphne
sighed
and
headed
down
to
the
DADA
classroom.
When she entered,
Professor Yaxley was waiting for
her.
"Ah, Miss Greengrass! Please do come in and be seated."
Daphne didn't
make eye contact but went and sat down primly in
her
normal
seat
trying to ignore the heady smell
of
the man's
cologne and the predatory way he was watching her.
"It would seem we've gotten off on the wrong foot. I for one, must
apologize
if
what
I'd
inferred
earlier
today
offended you.
It
probably seemed that
I
was calling into question your virtue, and
for that I apologize."
Daphne just
lifted an eyebrow mockingly at
the man.
"Elegant
work around,
Professor.
Is that
the Slytherin way of
asking if
I'm
still
a virgin? I
would've expected something less obvious from
you."
Yaxley's eyes darkened ominously and he moved over towards
Daphne's desk,
warding the classroom silent.
"And what
makes
you think I'm the least
bit
interested in the state of
your virtue,
Miss Greengrass?"
Daphne stared up at
the man unafraid.
"I'm sorry,
Sir," Daphne
drawled sweetly,
"Perhaps you treat
all
your students with such
caring as you've done for me these past
weeks. Pity, as I didn't
think you to be a man so free with your attentions." Daphne then
smiled, while Yaxley just stared at the young girl in shock.
"You need a good punishing,
little girl."
Yaxley snarled,
and
Daphne's eyes widened as her breath hitched.
She stood up from her desk and moved right into her Professor's
space. "Let's get one thing straight, Lord Yaxley-if you so much as
think that you will ever have the pleasure of punishing me, you are
barking!
For
the record,
I
am untouched,
but
that
doesn't
mean
I'm innocent. It also means I decide whom I let touch me, pleasure
me or do any other damn thing I want him to do."
Yaxley growled and grabbed the blonde witch by the back of her
head,
lifting her along his body so she could feel
just
what
her
words were doing to him.
"Listen here,
little love?" Yaxley purred menacingly in Daphne's
ear, causing the witch to shudder and Yaxley to smirk knowingly,
"If
you so much as let
Potter,
or any other wizard touch or taste
you, you'll
find out just how interested I am and how free with my
attentions I can be."
Daphne glared back defiantly. "You have no right to say any of
this to me!
I
do not
belong to you! I'm fucking sick and tired of
people thinking they have some right over my life like all I am is
a fucking bargaining chip! I want to finish school
get a mastery,
do something else besides get married and pop out a bunch of
fucking heirs for some Pureblood prick who doesn't appreciate
what
I
have to offer!!
You're just
more of
the same!
Let
me
go… now!"
Yaxley set the witch down, and watched her as she fought to get
her
emotions
under
control.
He
belatedly
realized
in
that
moment,
that
he had completely misjudged the witch.
He'd
thought
maybe she was playing hard to get as some Pureblood
witches liked to do that,
but
she seemed truly offended that
he
saw her as nothing more than a good time.
He took a step back and bowed his head remorsefully.
"I apologize, Miss Greengrass if I've offended you… truly ."
Daphne looked at the man dubiously but nodded once. "If we are
finished here,
Professor-I'd really like to leave.
It
is my birthday,
and I'd like to spend the rest of it alone, if you don't mind."
Yaxley nodded and frowned,
watching the witch gather her
things and move quickly out of the classroom.
He couldn't helped but be intrigued by the witch.
She was powerful, beautiful
and full
of passion and fire.
Merlin help him!
He wanted her for himself.
But
what
would a beautiful
young witch ever want with a used up
Death Eater like him?
Get a Clue
Chapter 58: Get a Clue
When Daphne had returned to her
dorms,
she got
in her
jammies and went
to sleep.
The next
day she went
about
her
business like nothing was the matter,
but
inside her heart
was
broken.
She had been ecstatic thinking that
Corban Yaxley
might
be
interested
in
her,
but
he
was
just
interested in
dominating her.
He did not see her as an equal
or something of
value.
Sometimes she wished she'd been born a half-blood,
then she
wouldn't have all these expectations placed upon her.
Hermione knew there was something wrong with her friend,
but
she didn't
press for
information,
she just
quietly observed.
In
DADA, their Professor was exceedingly polite and helpful, but not
overly familiar.
Daphne was the epitome of
a proper Pureblood
princess,
but
Hermione could see her slowly dying inside.
When
Halloween came and Daphne had received a letter from her father
about potential
betrothal
contracts, the girl
had wandlessly set the
letter
on fire,
much to the shock of
her
housemates,
not
to
mention the intense blue eyes that
had watched her display and
frowned at
whatever
it
was that
was causing the witch to react
with such anger.
The Saturday after
Halloween arrived,
Daphne decided to
take a walk around the Black Lake after lunch. She had made
it to a secluded spot where she sat and cried her heart out.
She didn't want to get married!!
Well,
she did, but she wanted to fall
in love first! Maybe be swept
off her feet?
Was that too much to ask?
She hadn't
been keeping track of
the time and soon it
got
dark outside,
but
she didn't
care.
When night
fell,
she just
laid on the grass and watched the stars come out.
She cast a warming charm and eventually fell asleep.
When she finally woke up,
it
was still
dark and she had no idea
how late it
was.
Casting a 'tempus '
charm,
she was shocked
when it
read 2am.
Realizing she was out
way past
curfew,
she
had two options:
Try and sneak back inside,
or just
wait
it
out
until morning.
Neither
option
sounded
particularly
optimal,
but
casting
a
disillusionment
charm on herself,
she made her way back inside
the castle.
When she had reached the final
corridor towards the
dungeons,
she heard voices talking quietly in whispered harsh
tones.
"Have you located Miss Greengrass, Mister Filch?"
"No,
Lord Yaxley. No one from her dorms has seen the witch
and Mrs. Norris hasn't been able to scent her out."
Yaxley nodded. "Keep looking, and if you find her bring her to me
directly. No sense in alerting the Headmaster, unless we need to."
Filch bowed his head and went
down the other end of
the hall.
Daphne immediately noticed that
her Professor looked worried
and stressed.
She cancelled the disillusionment
charm and
cleared her throat
softly.
Turning and seeing her standing there,
Yaxley couldn't
hide the relief on his face before he moved over
with purpose, grabbing the witch and bringing her into his office.
Closing the door and silencing the room,
Yaxley sat her down by
the fire and cast a warming charm, then grabbed a blanket to help
her
stop
shivering.
He turned around and grabbed a small
decanter of Cognac and handed her a glass, to which she nodded
her thanks.
He then sat
down across from her
and was looking over
the
young girl… no woman.
She was definitely a woman, with her long pale blonde hair, deep
blue eyes and gorgeous figure.
"Where have you been, little love?"
Daphne sighed. "I'm sorry, Professor-truly . I went for a walk by
the Black Lake and was doing some Astronomy work and I fell
asleep- lost track of the time."
Yaxley nodded,
seemingly satisfied with that
explanation.
"Miss McKinnon came to me tonight when you didn't show
up in your dorms. She was rightly worried about you."
"Hermione is a good friend."
Yaxley hummed in agreement.
"From what
I've learnt, you were
one of
her only friends for a while.
You gained her trust,
not
an
easy thing to do from what her Father tells me."
Daphne
shrugged
elegantly.
"Hermione
has
every
right
to
mistrust everyone. We were horrible to her, and yet she managed
to overcome it
all.
She's the smartest
witch I
know and she's
lucky. Her parents value knowledge and will support her desire to
further her dreams."
"And yours won't?"
Shaking her
head in the negative,
Daphne replied,
"My Father,
lovely man that he pretends to be, wrote me to inform me that he
has been looking over betrothal
contracts for me. As if I'd let that
man give my consent away. I'd rather slit my own wrists."
Yaxley watched the beautiful
witch take a sip of
the Cognac and
smiled at its warmth, "This is quite good. Richard Hennessy?"
He just gaped incredulously at the young witch. "Yes, it is."
"Mmmmm…" taking another sip and moaning softly at
the rich
flavors,
she failed to notice the man across from her,
eyes
darken and slightly adjusting his trousers, "It's exquisite."
Glancing up and catching her Professor's heated gaze,
the man
nodded once and said in his deep,
rich voice.
"It
is… absolutely
exquisite ."
Setting the glass down,
Daphne blushed slightly before standing
up and saying politely,
"Thank you for
sharing it
with me,
Sir.
I
should probably head back to my dorm room."
He nodded reluctantly and stood up too,
walking over
to the
younger witch and gently cupping her face with his hand, causing
Daphne's breath to hitch, "What is it you want, little love?"
Daphne smiled tremulously and replied, "Just to have the choice.
Is it really too much to ask?"
Yaxley shook his head. "No, it isn't."
Lifitng up on her
tip toes,
Daphne kissed her
Professor's
cheek. "Thank you." She whispered softly, and walked out of
the room leaving Corban Yaxley to wonder
what
the fuck
just happened.
A
few days
later,
Hermione
and
Daphne
were
leaving
Arithmancy with Theo and Blaise when Harry Potter and Neville
Longbottom walked
over
to say
hello .
When their
small
entourage walked into the Great
Hall
for
lunch,
and as luck
would have it,
Daphne and Harry walked in together,
causing
everyone to stop and whisper at the pair.
At
this,
Daphne snapped and bit
out
in her most
commanding
voice…
"What
is it
with the infernal
gossiping that
runs rampant
in this
school? There's actual
work to be done people!
Expand your
minds,
read a book,
put
away childish things… grow up!
Not
every witch who talks with a wizard is hoping to bag a boyfriend!
I know it's a novel
concept that two people can actually carry on
an
adult
casual
conversation-be
friends.
It's
the
twentieth
century people! Buy a damn clue out of the clue box!"
Hermione laughed joyfully and started clapping at
her
friend's
tirade, causing many of the other witches to do the same. Daphne
blushed prettily and grumbled something unintelligible under her
breath,
then went
over and plopped down unceremoniously into
her seat next to Hermione, while the other witch just smiled widely
at her.
"I
have no idea what
brought
that
on,
but… bravo!"
Hermione
snickered, while Draco just smiled at his friend.
"That
was something else,
Daph.
Maybe you should go into
writing a self-help column-for the liberated witch."
Daphne's eyes lit with fire and she looked over at her friend with a
smile. "You know, that's not a half bad idea."
Draco paled,
but
Hermione just
kissed him on the cheek.
"You
can't take it back now, handsome. You've got Daphne all fired up."
"I'd
rather
get
you
fired
up,
beautiful."
Draco waggled his
eyebrows and Hermione smiled, while Daphne just groaned.
"Can you both just put a lid on the lovey dovey ickleness for one
day.
I
think
I
may
actually
vomit
in
an
over-whelming
demonstration of self-expression."
Everyone laughed while Daphne just
shook her head,
catching
the eye of
Professor
Yaxley who sent
a silent
toast
her
way,
causing the witch in question to blush deeply.
The Ugly Truth
Chapter 59: The Ugly Truth
November
and
December
soon
passed,
and
before
everyone in school knew it…
Christmas break was upon them.
Narcissa Malfoy had sent
out
New Years Invitations to every
Pureblood family in Britain,
as well
as many on the continent.
The festivities this year were in celebration of her son's betrothal
to his beloved Hermione,
and not
a single family had turned
down the invite. It was already being hailed as the social event of
the season.
The Ministry was effectively in the hands of
the Dark Lord,
and
he had finally come out of hiding, giving an interview to the Daily
Prophet,
in which he explained that
it
was Dumbledore whom
had killed the Potters, had cursed him and left him for dead.
That
it
was
part
of
the wizard's sick plan to take over
the
Wizarding World.
Skeeter's
article
was
quite
sympathetic,
especially
when
Voldemort admitted that he had spent years looking for a way to
return to his family,
to his only daughter.
Skeeter
had been
absolutely chomping at
the bit
to make the announcement
that
Hermione McKinnon was really the Heir
of
Slytherin and the
daughter of Lord Voldemort.
Marlene
had
helped
Tom set
up
the
memories
of
what'd
happened that
night.
How he had discovered,
(when Peter
Pettigrew had come to him and told him that
Dumbledore
planned to kill
the Potters and frame him for the deed), just like
he'd done with the McKinnon family. Realizing what was at stake,
Voldemort
had gone with Peter to the Potters, but they were too
late.
Dumbledore was there and in Voldemort's effort
to protect
the child,
he was hit
with an unknown curse that
rebounded in
the room.
Sirius Black and the Weasley's were up in arms, but the pensieve
memories given by Voldemort were irrefutable.
When the Dark Lord suggested that Harry Potter be brought in
as a witness,
as he was also there that
night… the young
wizard had been livid at
first,
but
eventually capitulated when
Hermione asked him to please help her Father,
like she had
helped his.
Sirius
reluctantly
brought
Harry
into
the
Ministry
before
Christmas and Pius Thicknese, Head of the DoM, came forward
and did a memory regression on Harry and sure enough,
the
memories taken backed up Voldemort's claim,
and the wizard
was exonerated in the deaths of Lily and James Potter.
Voldemort
had left
the Ministry,
hailed a hero-all
thanks to the
brilliant planning and cunning of one singular little witch.
When
he'd
obliviated
Potter
at
the
end
of
his
fourth year,
Voldemort had planted fake memories of the deaths of the Potters
in Harry's mind at the behest of his daughter.
Hermione was truly gifted in her ability to plan and scheme
long term.
As a treat
from her
Father,
Hermione and Daphne had gone
shopping in Paris for
new dress robes in preparation for
the
party,
Feeling happier
than ever about
having her family back,
she and Daphne had found two exquisite dress robes for
the
occasion.
Daphne's dress was a sapphire blue corset dress that fit her like
a dream.
The top hugged her substantial
curves and made her
cleavage look sumptuous, while the skirt was a beautiful mixture
of silver and blues that looked like sapphires shining in the light.
Hermione's dress was the same array of
colors as the stone on
her
necklace.
Her
dress was also corseted,
but
it
hugged her
curves all the way to the floor.
The
night
of
the
ball,
Daphne got
ready
with Hermione at
McKinnon
Manor.
When
they
arrived
at
Malfoy
Manor
with
Hermione's mother,
Draco moved over and swept
Hermione into
his arms, giving her a kiss for all to see.
Daphne smiled brightly at
her friend's joy,
and greeted her host
and hostess most graciously.
When she finally entered the main ballroom, Daphne smiled at the
beautiful
lights and decorations glittering over the room.
It
truly
was a winter
wonderland.
She greeted Theo,
Blaise,
Millicent
and then went to find her sister. When she saw Astoria, she was
with their mother and thankfully,
her father was no where to be
found.
She had avoided writing to her father since she had told
him she had no intentions of
entering any formal
betrothal
with
any wizard she didn't love.
Her father had wrote her back and reprimanded her, telling her he
would disown her, to which she'd replied back, "Do your worst."
She had finally confided to Hermione what
had been making her
so irritated lately.
Hermione had hugged her friend and told her
they would work something out.
Daphne's mother smiled tightly at
her eldest
daughter, who
just rolled her eyes in response.
So much for female solidarity!
Her
mother
was just
another
one of
those useless pure
blooded witches who had no voice, and wouldn't say a word
against her husband.
It was bloody frustrating.
"Daphne,
you look lovely dear." Celia Greengrass purred to her
older daughter.
"Thank you, Mother," she replied evenly, "You look nice as well. Is
Father here, or should I just leave now?"
Celia sighed heavily. "Don't be that way, Princess. Your father just
wants what's best for you."
Daphne rolled her
eyes.
"You know,
it's funny how that
works.
I've always assumed that
I
was the best
judge of
character to
decide what
was best for me. But apparently that is too much to
ask."
"Nonsense! Your Father understands what's at stake and will
find you a suitable husband.
He's over talking to Archibald
Flint as we speak."
Daphne's eyes hardened hatefully. "He'd better not be thinking of
selling me off to Marcus Flint. That foul
wizard tormented my best
friend for years… nearly raped a third year witch and that's whom
Father in his infinite wisdom has decided to pawn me off to? That
is never happening!"
Celia moved over to her daughter and whispered harshly, "Now
you hear
me,
child? You will
do as your told,
or you will
find
yourself
out
on the streets and then who would take care of
dear Astoria."
Sighing at her mother and gazing over at her little sister, who was
looking at
her big sister with big brown eyes;
Daphne's bravado
fell apart.
No one outside their
family knew of
Astoria's medical
condition
nor
how it
had depleted the family fortune,
as they'd searched
frantically for a cure.
Daphne went
over,
held her sister and kissed her forehead.
"I
hate you,
Mother!"
She hissed.
"Using my sister
as leverage
against me?
If Father chooses Flint, I will
make sure you both suffer as I will
suffer, you selfish cunt."
Celia turned red and without
thinking slapped her
daughter
across the face,
much to the astonishment of everyone present.
Grabbing Astoria and placing her behind her back protectively,
Daphne glared her
mother until
a menacing voice filtered over
the room.
"What exactly is going on here?"
Daphne heard her mother's breath hitch as she turned around to
stare into dark green eyes,
in a face that
was chiseled and
powerful.
Daphne didn't
need two guesses to figure out
whom this
was.
"My Lord,"
Celia Greengrass simpered,
"you must
forgive our unfortunate display. My daughter, Daphne was in
need of a reminder as to where her loyalties need to be."
The Dark Lord glanced over
briefly at
the eldest
Greengrass
daughter,
and noticed her
eyeing him with respect,
but
no
cowering nor fear. This girl
had befriended his daughter when no
one else would.
She had protected her and fought
for her,
and
apparently something was very wrong.
Hermione walked over with Draco,
who looked absolutely livid at
having such an unseemly display in his home.
"Are you alright, Daphne?" Draco asked calmly.
"I am fine, Draco. I need to take my sister out of here. If you would
please excuse us, My Lord."
"That is simply not necessary, Daphne dear-I'm sure your father
and I can attend to your sister's needs."
Hermione looked at
Daphne questioningly,
but
her
friend
just remained impassive, not relinquishing her sister.
"Father,
perhaps I
might
attend to Daphne and her sister in
private.
I'm sure whatever
the issue,
it
can be discussed
elsewhere?"
Voldemort
turned to his daughter and noticed that
look in her
eyes.
Something was very wrong-so he nodded and dismissed
Hermione
to
depart
with
her
friends.
When
Hyperion
Greengrass came over and greeted his Lord,
Marlene walked
over
too and the four
left
the ballroom to have a private
conversation.
Lord Yaxley,
who was standing with Severus and Lucius looked
on in concern.
"Do you know what that is about, Lucius?" Yaxley asked lowly.
Lucius sighed.
"Hyperion is trying to find a suitable husband for
the older daughter, Daphne. Apparently the younger girl Astoria,
is afflicted with a rare blood curse, which has drained the family
coffers of
much of
their wealth.
Daphne refuses to be sold like
chattel, but loves her sister too much to see her suffer. Hyperion
is trying to make an arrangement with Archibald Flint."
At
this Severus hissed in disgust,
while Yaxley looked livid.
"So you're saying that
Miss Greengrass may not
have any
choice in whom she marries?"
Lucius nodded.
"Hermione loathes Marcus,
and Daphne will
be
devastated if
she is forced to marry him. I wish I could intervene,
but my hands are tied."
Yaxley
grimaced then sighed,
before addressing Severus.
"It
would seem you may need to find another Professor for DADA,
Severus."
Lucius eyes widened but Severus just nodded knowingly, "She
will
make a fine bride,
Corban.
Treat
the witch well,
or I
will
come after you myself."
Yaxley nodded and clapped Severus on the back,
walking
towards Lucius study where he was sure his Lord was deep in
discussions with the Greengrass family.
A Plea for Daphne
Chapter 60: A Plea for Daphne
Hyperion Greengrass was in a right
foul
mood.
His Lord was
refusing to allow him permission to fetch his daughters until
both
he and his wife explained exactly what
had happened in the
ballroom earlier.
"My Lord,
it
is all
an unfortunate misunderstanding,
I
assure
you.
Daphne is just
upset
at
the husband we have chosen for
her. She will come to accept him in time."
Voldemort
considered the elder
Greengrass impassively but
Marlene was not
fooled,
her Tom was livid.
While he respected
and adhered to Pureblood rules and manners of courtship, even
he had standards.
Marcus Flint
would not
be acceptable for
his daughter's only
friend. Hermione would never forgive him.
"Perhaps,
there might
be another
suitor
for
Daphne? She is
such a lovely girl,
spirited and intelligent.
Have you looked
elsewhere, Hyperion?"
Hyperion glared at Marlene, but the glare his Lord was giving him,
made him temper his ire.
"Of
course, My Lady. It's just not many suitors are willing to take
on such responsibility.
Daphne is a handful, and doesn't exactly
adhere to certain Pureblood standards."
"Such as?" Voldemort asked silkily.
"Well,
she's very opinionated and much too independent.
She
actually told me she'd slit her wrists before she ever capitulated to
a betrothal contract. It's completely scandalous, My Lord."
Voldemort
just
raised an eyebrow,
and gazed over at
Marlene
who,
to her
credit,
kept
her
face neutral
but
her
eyes were
blazing in amusement.
"So, you felt it was necessary to reprimand your daughter in front
of
all
those in attendance tonight,
disrespecting your
hosts?
What
did you hope to accomplish?"
Voldemort
demanded of
Celia.
"I
have no excuse,
my Lord.
Daphne is completely willful
and
disrespectful, and I'm afraid I lost my temper with her."
Marlene blinked a few times but
said nothing.
Voldemort
was
about
to speak when a knock on the door
interrupted their
conversation. Marlene stood to answer it and wasn't surprised to
see Corban standing there.
"I am sorry to interrupt, My Lord, but I would request a moment if I
may?" Yaxley directed his full
attention to his Lord,
who nodded
and waved his hand,
allowing Yaxley to enter.
Marlene smiled
knowingly and Corban just gave her a look of amusement.
The witch never missed much,
even when they were kids. "What
can we help you with,
Lord Yaxley?" Voldemort offered, watching
one of his most faithful followers bow formally and take a seat.
"I
am here to request that I be allowed to submit a formal
petition
for Miss Daphne Greengrass, My Lord."
Celia and Hyperion both were gobsmacked, while Voldemort just
steepled his hands calmly.
"This is unlike you,
Corban.
Please
explain to me why you would make such a request?"
Yaxley sighed and glanced over at Daphne's parents, who were
watching him closely.
"Your daughter is a remarkable witch. She
is bright,
intelligent,
well-spoken,
fierce,
independent
and only
wants to be given the choice in whom she marries.
Apparently,
due to her
sister's medial
condition,
which you've used as a
bargaining chip against her, that choice will be vacated ."
Hyperion paled,
while Celia gasped in shock.
Voldemort's eyes
narrowed in anger as he turned towards Hyperion and snarled
angrily,
"You'd best
explain yourself
to me,
Hyperion.
You nor
your wife,
mentioned anything about
a curse on your youngest
daughter,
nor the fact
you are using her as a way to bring your
eldest daughter in line."
Celia started crying, but no one in the room much cared for
the witch's histrionics.
"My Lord,
the Greengrass family had a curse placed on it
some
time ago. Every few generations the curse activates, and we don't
know why, or how to cure it-but our beloved Astoria is afflicted. We
have used much of
our own wealth to find a cure, but we've had
little success. Daphne is her sister's only hope. A good match will
restore our family coffers and hopefully help us find a cure."
Voldemort
was
incensed,
while
Marlene
just
sat
there
impassively.
"So you mean to sell
your elder daughter off in the
hopes
that
a
cure
can
be
found.
And
if
it
can't?
You've
condemned both daughters to a life of misery."
"My Lord…" Celia sputtered but
one look from her Lord shut
the
woman up.
"How do you feel
about
this,
Lord Yaxley?"
Voldemort
inquired
smoothly.
"I have come to care for Daphne, my Lord, and if she can't have
her choice of husband, at least I can provide her with the ability
to make her own choices in life."
Voldemort
smirked with amusement.
"You are her
Professor,
Corban."
"Yes, My Lord. I have asked Headmaster Snape to relieve me of
my
tenure,
so
I
may
formally
court
the
witch.
With your
permission of course, and with the blessing of her parents."
Hyperion scowled. "You are too old for our daughter, Lord Yaxley.
Why would we give permission to a known philanderer?"
Yaxley glowered,
but
it
was Voldemort who answered. "If you are
willing,
Corban-I
would like to see your
intentions where Miss
Greengrass is concerned.
If
they are as you say,
I
will
give my
support."
Yaxley nodded and went to kneel in front of his Lord and opened
his mind while Voldemort
looked through his memories of
his
interactions with young Daphne.
When he was satisfied,
the
Dark Lord broke eye contact and smirked at his old friend.
"I never thought I'd see the day that you, Corban, would give your
heart away. She is truly an excellent match for you and I wish you
all
the luck in the world. Something tells me you're going to need
it."
Hyperion gasped in outrage, while Celia looked ill. "My Lord! You
can't be serious?"
"Do you doubt me, Hyperion? Do you think that Lord Yaxley could
fool his own Lord?"
Hyperion paled.
"No,
my Lord!
I
would never
presume to think
such a thing."
"And yet
you question me." The Dark Lord snarled,
"or perhaps
there is another reason you wish for this union with the Flints?
Something you haven't shared with me?"
Hyperion
paled
even
further.
"No,
my
Lord!
I
have
been
completely honest."
Voldemort
didn't
waste a moment,
and turned his wand to Celia
and silently cast
a 'leglilimens '
when the woman made eye
contact.
The Dark Lord entered the woman's mind and found
quickly was he was looking for.
When he broke eye contact the
woman was sobbing and pleading with her
Lord to spare her
husband.
Voldemort
turned on Hyperion and cast a 'crucio '
and
the man screamed in terror and pain.
Thankfully,
Marlene had thought
to cast
a silencing charm when
Corban had walked in, or else the entire Manor would be hearing
the man's screams.
"You disgust
me,
Hyperion.
Using your
own daughter
as a
bargaining tool.
Selling off
her
virginity for
your
own benefit,
knowing what
awaited her
at
the end.
Marcus Flint
raping her
and killing her!" Yaxley shot
up off
his feet
in rage,
but
Marlene
held him back.
"Just
so you could collect
her inheritance left
to
her by her great- grandmother."
"My
Lord… please
!"
Celia begged but
Marlene had heard
enough.
She went
over to the woman and placed her hands on
the woman's face.
Suddenly the room became dark and Marlene's eyes turned black
as night.
"You have betrayed your own daughter, Celia Greengrass, flesh of
your flesh," Marlene's voice had changed, deepened and echoed
like lightening through the room. Her face morphed into something
otherworldly and Celia screamed in terror. "You have betrayed the
vows you took as a woman, a mother. You do not deserve mercy."
In a flash, the woman screamed as her essence was pulled from
her like a sieve.
Yaxley watched in horror as Celia Greengrass
fell
to the floor,
dead.
Voldemort
smiled evilly at
his witch and
looked over at Hyperion, who was watching with dread and fear.
Marlene turned to her
Lord and grinned menacingly as she
morphed back into herself.
"You will
have nothing to do with your daughters, Hyperion. You
have lost
all
right
to them." Gazing tenderly over at
Corban, the
man bowed his head in supplication.
"Do you still
wish for her,
Corban?"
"Yes, My Lord, My Lady. I will take care of her and give her a good
home.
I
know I'm not
a young wizard,
but
I
am strong and will
protect her with my life."
Voldemort nodded. "We wish you luck. Hyperion will agree to the
betrothal
or he will
forfeit
his life.
As for Marcus and Archibald
Flint, I will leave that to your discretion Corban. I would hope you
might find some interesting way to deal with them?"
Corban chuckled evilly.
"Of
course,
My Lord.
I
might
know a
spell or three."
Voldemort
chuckled and Marlene smiled,
walking over
to the
wizard and kissing his cheek.
"You are a good man,
Corban
Yaxley."
Corban blushed but nodded, and walked out to see his little love
and hopefully get her to agree to marry him before she murdered
him.
Declarations and Confessions
Chapter 61: Declarations and Confessions
Hermione and Draco were sitting in the library with Daphne and
Astoria,
who was crying into her
sister's chest.
Daphne was
quietly
trying
to calm her
down,
promising Astoria that
she
wouldn't
abandon
her.
Hermione
and
Draco
looked
on
in
confusion but didn't want to interrupt. After a while the library door
opened and Lucius walked in with Corban Yaxley. Daphne gazed
up warily at
the blonde wizard's,
and nodded once in greeting
while the two sat down on the sofa across from the two witches.
Hermione and Draco made to leave but
Daphne stopped them.
"Please stay, you both deserve an explanation."
Draco nodded and took Hermione's hand,
sitting down with his
witch in his arms. Daphne whispered something to her sister, and
the younger
witch sighed and nodded.
Daphne then took a
fortifying breath and spoke clearly and calmly.
"Centuries ago, the Greengrass family had a blood curse placed
upon
it.
The
particulars
aren't
important,
but
every
few
generations,
a daughter from the family is struck with the curse.
It
drains the life from the witch until
she dies,
usually at
a very
young age.
Astoria was diagnosed with the curse the end of my
fourth year.
My parents have spent a fortune on healers, looking
for a cure, but there isn't one. Before school started this year, my
Father informed me that
the family coffers were nearly depleted
and he would be making a betrothal
on my behalf
to bring the
vaults back, so Astoria could be taken care of. I was angry, and I
wasn't
shy about
my refusal
to comply.
So my parents used my
sister as a bargaining chip,
deciding that
I
would marry Marcus
Flint."
At
this news,
Hermione gasped in horror
and shook her
head
emphatically.
"That's not happening, Daphne! I won't allow it to happen!"
Daphne smiled at
her friend sadly. "I told my sorry excuse for a
mother that
if
my father was going to marry me off
to a rapist
then I
would make the cunt
suffer.
I
used those words… that's
why she slapped me." Yaxley smirked at
the fire his little love
possessed.
"Well,
that's when your father interrupted us,
Hermione.
I
don't
have any idea what's going to happen now, but I refuse to allow
my sister to be used against me."
Lucius expression was thoughtful,
while Yaxley spoke up softly.
"Our Lord is aware of
the situation.
He's in with your father right
now.
Unfortunately,
your
mother
had an episode and the healers are
attending her as we speak."
Astoria started crying,
but
Daphne just
stared at
Yaxley with a
raised eyebrow, not believing a word of that last sentence.
"I
see,
that
is most
unfortunate ."
Daphne replied evenly,
and
Corban realized his little love knew he was lying through his
teeth.
Clearing his throat, Corban bowed his head to Daphne, "I would
like to speak with Miss Greengrass alone,
if
she is alright
with
it."
Daphne's eyes widened,
but
Hermione just
smiled brightly,
while
Draco looked gobsmacked.
Daphne nodded and told Astoria to
stay with Hermione, that she would come find her later. When the
room emptied, Daphne considered Corban warily.
"What can I do for you, Professor?"
Yaxley chuckled.
"I'm no longer your Professor, little love. In fact,
as of fifteen minutes ago, I asked your father for his permission to
formally court you, if you're willing?"
Daphne's gaze narrowed and she leant forward in her chair
demanding,
"Who was it? My father or mother who planned
on having me killed so they could get my inheritance?"
Yaxley stared at the younger witch in shock.
He had no idea she was this cunning,
this
clever. "Both ." Yaxley said firmly.
Daphne nodded,
and went
to stand over
by the large picture
window,
gazing morosely out
over
the back gardens.
Yaxley
sighed and walked over
to his witch,
enveloping her
into his
arms.
"I am sorry, little love, I had no idea you knew."
Daphne turned around and gazed up at Corban impassively. "If
this is some kind of pity on your part, I'm not interested."
Corban smirked. "And if it's not?"
Daphne shook her head,
but
Yaxley just sighed. "Daphne, I had
to let the Dark Lord into my mind so he could see my intentions.
He wished me luck, little love. You're a force of nature and I want
you to be mine. Say yes."
Daphne gazed up into striking blue eyes
and saw no
deception there.
"You really want
to take me on,
Corban
Yaxley?"
The man chuckled deeply, causing Daphne to shiver. "Fuck, yes! I
want to take you on as many surfaces and however many ways
you'll
allow me. Say yes, little love. Let me show you how good it
can be."
Daphne sighed and reached her hand up, grabbing Corban's long
blonde braid and bringing his mouth down roughly onto hers. The
man growled at
the show of
dominance from his witch and lifted
her into his arms, snogging her breathless. When he bit Daphne's
lip looking for entrance into her sweet mouth, the witch sighed and
opened for him without hesitation.
Fucking Salazar, the little witch could kiss.
He broke away and smirked at how flushed and wanton his little
love looked.
"Where did you learn to kiss like that?"
Daphne giggled and shrugged,
replying,
"I
could say from boys,
but that would be a lie ."
Corban seemed perplexed for
a moment
and then growled in
understanding. "Other witches?"
Daphne nodded.
"I
spent
part
of
last
summer
in France with a
lovely older
French witch in her
early twenties.
She was most
helpful
in teaching me about
certain things.
Kissing being one of
them."
Corban groaned and kissed his witch again.
"I
would've liked to
have seen that
very much.
What
other things can I
look forward
to?"
Daphne smiled wickedly and whispered into his ear.
The man
grew harder than he ever thought possible and pushed his witch
against
the wall
as he tore at
her dress and wrapped her legs
around his waist. "You are a minx, little love. I can't wait to make
you mine ."
Daphne kissed her wizard breathless and smiled brightly.
"I
can't wait either."
Corban nodded. "So I take that as a 'yes ' then?"
Daphne sighed and kissed her
wizard deeply again,
feeling his
chest rumble and his very impressive erection pushing against her
core.
"Yes." Daphne whispered against Corban's lips.
"Thank fuck ." The wizard growled and wrapped his hands on his
witches delectable arse and he continued to rock against
her
center, listening to her gasps and whimpers of pleasure. Daphne
pulled on Corban's braid and kissed under
her
wizards jaw,
causing the man to nearly buckle in surprise.
He moved them
over to the couch and sat
with Daphne straddled in his lap. The
two kissed for a few more moments until
they heard a soft voice
clearing their throat.
Looking up,
Daphne's eyes widened when
she saw Hermione's mother smiling softly at the two of them.
"I think it's safe to return to the party you two. Daphne, I'm afraid
your mother has been taken to St.
Mungo's.
I
don't
think she'll
be making a recovery.
Your father is in with Our Lord,
working
out the particulars of a betrothal contract for you. I just wanted to
let you know."
Daphne smiled softly at
Lady McKinnon.
"Whom do I
have to
thank for ridding me of my sorry excuse for a mother? No offense
meant of course, Lady McKinnon."
Marlene laughed and responded warmly to the girl. "None taken,
my dear.
I'm afraid that
honor would've been mine .
But
not
to
worry,
dear.
She suffered terribly.
Her
death was much more
painful than the one she had planned for you."
"Thank you,
Lady McKinnon.
I
can only hope that
my father
suffers a similar fate."
"Little love…"
Corban admonished,
while Daphne just
gave him
an incredulous look.
"Don't,
little love me,
Corban Yaxley and don't
pretend that
Our
Lord didn't give you carte blanche to deal with the Flint's."
Yaxley gaped at his witch in wonder and smiled widely.
"You truly are amazing. He did, as a matter of fact."
"Well, there you have it." Daphne nodded firmly causing Corban to
chuckle fondly.
"I
think you have been spending too much time with Hermione.
Her
penchant
for
revenge is rubbing off
on you.
I'm not
sure
whether I should be impressed or wary."
Marlene laughed merrily.
"Impressed,
Corban dear,
always go
with impressed.
It
will
get
you more of
what
you want,
in the
end."
Daphne smiled and nodded while Corban just
nipped at
his
witch causing her to giggle.
"I
think you should go and find
your sister. I need to speak with Lady McKinnon."
Daphne waved her wand to fix her dress before placing a final
kiss on her
intended.
Corban eyed his witch fondly as he
watched his little hellion saunter out of the library.
"You both will
do well
with each other, Corban." Marlene smirked.
Corban nodded. "My Lady… I know I have no right…"
"But
you wish to know what happened in there with Celia?"
"Yes."
Marlene gestured for Corban to sit
down.
When they were
comfortable,
Marlene called for an elf
to bring them some
fire whiskey and she began her story.
"What do you know about Succubi, Corban?"
Corban's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Very little. I know
they are mythical
creatures that
were said to be demons that
would enter men's dreams and have sex with them and take their
souls."
"While some of
that
is true,
it's very simplistic in nature.
A
succubus is not
a demon persay,
but
a human woman imbued
with dark sex magics who has the ability to see into people's
souls.
She does have the ability to lure men,
much like a Siren
does, but without the use of song. She uses sex to trap them into
her
web.
Men are typically simple creatures,
led by their baser
instincts.
Unfortunately for a succubus, her life is spent searching
for sexual
relief.
She can find moments of
peace,
but
can never
know true contentment unless she finds her mate."
Corban nodded in understanding. "The Dark Lord is your mate."
Marlene smiled at the man's understanding. "Yes. A succubus is
also a protector
of
women.
A woman's innate vows that
she
makes with life, her essence if you will. If a woman betrays that,
a succubus has the power to tear her soul
from her body and
banish it into everlasting torment. In a man, a succubus can feel
a man's soul,
whether it
be for good or not.
Whether it
is worth
saving. If a man's soul
has no redeeming virtue, a succubus can
take his soul and banish it as well."
"So, the Dark Lord must've had some redeeming qualities for you
to be with him. Have a child with him?" Corban asked curiously.
"He does .
He likes to think he doesn't,
but
he does.
Since
Hermione and I
have come back into his life,
he is finding more
reasons to try .
Today was a good example of
that.
Would you
say your Lord fifteen years ago,
would've cared to help a young
witch like he did today? Or that he would've listened to your plea
for said witch?"
Yaxley thought about it momentarily before shook his head slowly.
"I
don't
think so.
Our Lord has perhaps tempered his blood lust a
bit.
He seems more methodical,
reflective .
I
wasn't
sure how he'd
react
to
my
request,
but
I
was
pleasantly
surprised by
his
support."
"And I
wish for
you to remember
it,
Corban.
Loyalty and
discretion are more important
now than ever. Our Lord hasn't
always had the best
foresight,
but
hindsight
can give you a
clearer perspective.
Remind his followers of his fairness and his understanding. In
time, people will
come to realize that what he envisions for our
world is truly what is best for it."
Corban gave Marlene an appraising look. "I had forgotten what a
brilliant
witch you are,
My Lady.
Our Lord is lucky to have you at
his side."
"He is ." A deep voice spoke from the doorway. Marlene glanced
over
and smiled warmly at
her
wizard while Corban stood and
bowed.
"I
want
to thank
you again,
my
Lord,
for
your
support
this
evening."
Voldemort
smirked.
"I
am finding it
rather difficult
to understand
how you could have fallen for a seventeen year old witch, Corban.
But then, I suppose I can understand it." Looking over at Marlene,
his witch smiled softly.
"Never
underestimate the power
of
a determined woman,
My
Lord."
Both men chuckled and Corban made his excuses,
leaving his
Lord and Lady alone.
Tom sat
down next
to his witch and smirked down at her. "He is
right
you know.
I
am lucky to have you by my side. Your powers
have grown since I
last
saw you last use them. You didn't feel
it
necessary to share such a thing with me?"
Marlene just
shrugged, but moved over and sat in Tom's lap, and
he instinctively buried his head in Marlene's curls,
inhaling her
calming scent.
"I
honestly haven't
used them in a few years,
Tom.
The truth is,
I'm more powerful
with you by my side.
You are my mate,
you
know this.
Being with you,
even for
these last
few months has
revitalized me."
Tom nodded. "Has Hermione shown any signs yet?"
Marlene sighed. "She and Draco haven't sealed their bond, but it's
only a matter of time." Tom glared at his witch angrily at being kept
in the dark about such a thing but she shook her head reprovingly,
and her aura darkened in warning.
"You knew this was going to happen,
Tom.
You will
allow our
daughter to have what was denied me… us. She loves Draco as
he loves her.
When they marry,
they will
be formidable and our
grandchildren will
be powerful. Please curb your desire to kill the
boy where he stands.
He loves her,
and just
because we can't
understand that emotion, doesn't mean we can't support it."
Tom's aura darkened along with his witch's. "I am not sure I
can abide you speaking to me in such a manner, witch."
Marlene's eyes darkened to black, grasping Tom to her frantically
and snarled into his ear.
"Then take your
anger
out
on me,
mate… but not on our daughter."
Tom curled his hand into the back of Marlene's head by her curls
and pulled her
hair
viciously.
"Then I
suggest
we retire to our
rooms where I
can punish you accordingly, and you will
not cum
until I allow it. Am I clear?
Marlene whimpered in need.
"Yes,
My Lord.
I
am yours to
command."
Tom snarled and kissed Marlene brutally. "Don't forget it, my Pet."
Inheritance Issues
Chapter 62: Inheritance Issues
The rest of the holiday was a blur and before the students knew
it,
everyone was heading back to Hogwarts to finish the school
year.
Daphne smiled,
thinking about
how she had spent
her
last
evening moving her and Astoria's belongings to a small
Manor
home that
had been part
of
her grandmother's inheritance.
As
part of her betrothal, she was able to take over all her inheritance
from her
grandmother's
estate
and due to the unfortunate
circumstances
surrounding
her
mother's
untimely
demise,
custody of her sister had been given to her.
Her
father
had been livid,
but
Corban had told him in no
uncertain terms,
that
he was to leave his daughter's alone,
unless he wished to suffer the same fate as his wife. This shut
him up and allowed Corban to move his witch and her sister to
their new home.
When the unpacking was done,
Astoria had left
to go to her
bedchambers while Corban and Daphne had stayed in the
small
study,
curled up on the sofa in front
of
a warm fire.
Corban had promised himself
he would take his time courting
his witch properly, but Daphne had a mind of her own, and had
dropped to her knees on the floor in front
of
Corban,
with his
cock between her
luscious lips,
as she'd sucked him in the
most delicious way.
Thankfully Corban had remembered to place a silencing charm,
because he wasn't
able to hold back his low groans of
pleasure
as Daphne made his cock her
own personal
lollipop.
It
was
simply… astonishing .
She could deep throat
him without
any
problems,
and she smiled-remembering how much she'd enjoyed
it.
Corban had thrown his head back on the couch,
eyes hooded
as he watched her
continue to pleasure him with her
mouth.
When he groaned in warning that
he was about
to cum, she just
winked and swallowed him down her throat
again and sucked…
causing him to arch up and shout… fucking shout… out
his
release.
Something she was quite sure had never happened to him before,
if the amazed look on his face was any indication.
When Daphne had swallowed down every last
drop,
she sat up
and kissed him deeply,
allowing him to taste himself
on her
tongue,
in her mouth and she couldn't
get
enough of
him.
She
decided
that
she
didn't
have a problem with breaking the
courting rules, and apparently he didn't either because he tore off
her
dress,
knickers and bra and proceeded to lick her
to an
orgasmic stupor at
least
four times before she'd finally begged
him to stop.
Corban had chuckled deeply and then proceeded to use his
fingers too, making Daphne cum until she passed out.
When she had woken up that
morning,
it
was in her own bed
with a sweet
note and flowers left by her intended. He told her
how much he was going to miss seeing her
everyday at
Hogwarts,
but
he hoped she kept
up on her studies and if she
needed his help, he would be there no questions asked.
Corban Yaxley was a man of few words, but he made the ones he
used count.
She had been surprised by Corban's suit
and they had talked
about it briefly. Daphne wasn't so naive to realize that her options
had been limited. Corban had offered her a way out of the mess
that
was her family,
and even though she'd hoped to have a bit
more say in whom she married,
she knew deep down that
Corban cared about
what
she wanted,
and would give her the
ability to make certain choices for herself, that she wouldn't have
had,
if
her
parents had gotten what
they'd wanted.
She was
attracted to Corban, and in time-she knew she could grow to love
him.
It
was a fitting compromise and better than she could've hoped
for,
but
that
didn't
mean she was going to make things easy for
the wizard.
Corban was attentive though,
and that
thought
made Daphne
smile softly.
Hermione saw the pleased expressiom on her friend's face.
"Did
you get everything moved in last night?"
Daphne smiled and nodded. "Yes. It's so nice not having to see
my Father anymore.
I
wish I
could say I'm sorry my Mother's
gone, but I'm not. Does that make me a bad person?"
Hermione
just
shrugged.
"No,
your
mother
deserved
what
happened and if
it
had been my choice, your father would have
gone with her.
I
do understand why my Father
spared him.
There's something I
don't
understand,
Daph? Why would your
parents do something like that
to you? They seemed to be
genuine in wanting to help Astoria." Hermione left the unspoken
question hang between them.
Daphne
sighed
sadly.
"I
think
my
parents
did
have
good
intentions,
at
first… well,
at
least
my Father likely did-but
when
you're faced with losing centuries worth of wealth and status-the
only way out
they could see was to sell
me off
to the highest
bidder.
I'm sure once Astoria's illness became widely known, no
one would've offered for
her
hand,
nor mine either.
My Father
was so sure he'd be able to find a cure,
but
my Mother didn't
want
him wasting all
our
family's resources on Astoria.
They
fought about it constantly. She was more concerned with the loss
of
her status than about myself or Astoria as we've always been
expendable to her because we weren't born boys, and therefore
couldn't
carry on the Greengrass name.
My Father has always
been weak where my Mother was concerned. I have little doubt it
was her plan to sell
me off to the Flint's in the first place. Corban
mentioned that
when the Dark Lord entered my Mother's mind,
was when the truth came out. I have to wonder if it was really her
idea all
along.
She'd always resented the fact
I
wasn't
born a
son,
but
she
seemed
particularly
desperate these last
few
months.
I
just
wish I
knew if
there was something more going
on."
"Do you think your father would've really gone through with it?"
Daphne shrugged.
"Probably? I
don't
know what
to think where
he's concerned anymore.
I
often wondered if my Mother had him
under some sort
of
spell
as he seemed devastated when I
took
Astoria and left
the Manor.
It's hard to know what
to believe
anymore. All
I do know is my Mother is dead, and it's up to me to
try and figure out a way to help my sister."
Hermione squeezed her
friend's hand and shook her
head in
displeasure. "We will
figure it out together. Let's not talk anymore
about that for now. Tell me, how's Corban?"
Hermione smiled,
and watched as her
best
friend sighed in
pleasure.
"He's
every
bit
as
talented as
the rumors would
indicate.
We haven't
had sex… yet.
But
the man is gifted .
His
tongue,
fingers… Merlin,
he even tastes
good.
Like salted
caramel. I could've sucked on him all night."
Hermione laughed merrily.
"Is he as well-endowed as the rumors
indicated?"
"Mmmm-hmmmmm… Fits in my hand just
perfectly."
Hermione smiled and blushed.
"Sounds perfect
then."
Daphne laughed. "Well, he's no Draco Malfoy."
Hermione glared at her friend. "Come on, Hermione? Draco had
quite a reputation, you knew about it. You even told me you saw
him fucking that
girl
from Hufflepuff?"
Hermione nodded and
blushed again. "So is the Slytherin Prince the Sex God everyone
says he is?"
Hermione blushed harder and admitted quietly, "I'm a bit wary of
having sex,
although I've researched it
extensively,
and I
know
Draco would like to try it.
I'd briefly considered having sex with
Krum,
you know-just
to get
it
over with,
but
something held me
back and when he finally kissed me… there was no spark.
Seemed mental
just
to have sex for the sake of
getting it
over
with, so I didn't and I won't… until I'm ready ."
Daphne nodded in agreement.
"I
met
this witch in France last
summer.
She was quite sexually liberated and she taught me a
few things."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Like what?"
"Kissing,
fingering,
oral
sex.
She even let me watch her go down
on several
guys and then I practiced my technique on a few of her
friends.
I
also went
to a party with her
one night
at
this older
wizard's house.
It
was pretty much a free-for-all.
I
observed
mostly. Saw a
few things that I'd like to try, however. I might've mentioned
it
to Corban when he offered to court me. I think I shocked
the poor wizard."
Hermione looked curious. "What did you see?"
"Well,
I
saw a girl
having sex with two guys.
The first
guy was
behind her and the second one was in front of her. I wasn't sure
at first, but it was hot. I'm not sure that's for me though."
Hermione shook her head. "I couldn't share Draco, and I'm pretty
sure he wouldn't share me either."
Daphne nodded thoughtfully.
"I
could see that
with you two.
There was also a dungeon room that
had a woman trussed up
and a man using a paddle,
he was spanking her… it
was
interesting. I'm not sure I'd be into that, but I think I'd like Corban
to put me over his knee and spank me. He did threaten me with it
once, and it made my knickers soaked just thinking about it."
Hermione nodded.
"Draco and I
have discussed some of
that,
but we haven't reached that level yet."
"Speaking of
Draco,
where is he? The train left
the station
20 minutes ago and I thought he'd be here by now."
"He's actually meeting us at
Hogwarts.
He's using the floo to
Severus office.
Apparently he and Lucius have some kind of
business thing to deal
with. I'm not sure exactly, but Draco told
me he wouldn't be on the train today."
Back at
Malfoy Manor,
Draco and Lucius were finishing up
breakfast
when the Dark Lord and Marlene made their way into
the dining room.
Both wizard's stood to greet
their guests,
and
Draco felt a sense of dread wash over him. He suddenly realized
what
this meeting was all
about.
His Father nodded to him and
left the room, leaving him alone with his future in laws.
The Dark Lord sat down across from Draco with Marlene on his
left.
Nagini
slithered into the room too,
and went
over
to the
young
wizard,
placing
her
head
on
his
lap,
much
to the
amusement of everyone in the room.
Nagini
hissed softly,
causing Draco to smile and pet
the snake
affectionately.
Voldemort
sighed at
the overprotectiveness of
his familiar… or
more like, his daughter's familiar. Nagini
wasn't a fool, she could
sense her master's anger at
the young wizard across from him.
She also knew her mistress would be inconsolable if
something
were to happen to her soulmate.
"She has bonded with you, young Draco. Nagini
doesn't offer her
affections
to
anyone
other
than
Hermione
and
myself.
She
tolerates Marlene, but isn't protective of her."
Draco nodded.
"Perhaps she senses that
you're unhappy with
me and knows how upset
Hermione would be if
something
happened to me."
Voldemort
smirked genuinely.
"You are a clever
wizard,
Draco.
And yes,
Nagini
would protect
you.
She'd feel
conflicted,
but
I
made her vow to protect
Hermione above all
others… including
myself.
My temper can be… unpredictable, where my daughter is
concerned."
Smiling softly at the snake who hissed in pleasure at being petted,
Draco nodded in agreement.
"I
find my temper is likewise where
Hermione is concerned."
"Corban told me about the duel earlier this year with the Weasley
spawn.
He'd mentioned he was most
impressed with how you
dispatched the other wizard. He showed me a pensieve memory
of the duel. Your skills are coming along nicely, Draco."
Draco bowed his head in thanks.
"My skills have improved
thanks to your excellent tutelage, My Lord. The wizard was quite
easy to read, and it made dueling him child's play."
Voldemort
steepled his hands. "The reason I've asked to speak
with you today is not
because I
plan to punish you,
it
is to
explain why you need to take special
care with Hermione,
and
developing your bond with our daughter."
Draco was a bit
perplexed.
"I
know we are soul
bonded,
My
Lord… is that what you are referring to?"
Voldemort
glanced over
at
Marlene,
who nodded and smiled
gently.
"Draco…"
Marlene spoke softly,
"I
probably should've
had this discussion in depth with Hermione,
but
there hasn't
been a good time.
When she wrote to me earlier in the year
about
you
two possibly
consummating your
relationship,
I
suppose
I
should've
discussed
this
with
her
then.
But
Hermione's Father and I… well… we thought it might be easier
to discuss this with you first.
You have a bit
more practical
experience and Hermione trusts you."
Nodding uncertainly,
Draco didn't
know exactly where this was
going.
"It is good you're soul
bonded, Draco. The McKinnon family line
of witches have strong powers, that will manifest over time.
Hermione… well,
she will
need you to help her,
ground her
should her powers start to manifest."
Draco thought
about what exactly Marlene was trying to tell
him.
He had been to McKinnon Manor and had seen some of the very
rare texts on Sex Magic's.
The Dark Lord was powerful
in Dark
Magic's and it
would make sense he would need someone to
complement
him.
Marlene obviously did that.
It
wasn't
a love
match.
Hermione had told him about the conversation she'd had
with
her
Mother
prior
to
the
school
year.
Marlene
was
a
Succubus,
and he had done some research in the Malfoy family
library.
They had mates,
much in the way Veela did,
although
they were much more powerful
and had soul
magic as well. But
he and Hermione loved each other and were soulmates,
if
his
ancestor was to be believed.
"Hermione told me about
the unique nature of
the McKinnon
family history. I was able to work out for myself that Our Lord and
you must be mates. You must have some of the actual powers of
a Succubus, but I'm guessing not all of them. Hermione and I are
soulmates,
which means that
she would potentially have access
to all
the soul
binding powers of her Progenitors. She could heal
souls or
take them… you can take them,
Marlene… but
I'd
imagine you can't heal them, am I right?"
The
Dark
Lord
stared
at
the
young
wizard
in
astonishment.
He had no idea his daughter's intended
was this intelligent.
No wonder
they were fated for
each other.
Marlene however, wasn't shocked. She knew deep down that
Draco's soul
was mated to Hermione's when she'd first met him.
She could sense certain things,
but
Draco was correct-her
powers were limited because her
relationship with Tom was
limited . He couldn't love, and as such she wasn't able to either…
not
romantic love. It was a choice she had made all
those years
ago-to choose to live half
a life or none at
all.
Her magic had
chosen Tom, a man with a broken soul. Who had chosen to split
his soul.
As fate would have it,
he was her mate… but
he was
incomplete .
She would never
have what
her
daughter
would
hopefully share with Draco.
"You're correct.
In order for Hermione to access her full
powers,
you both will
need to go through certain sex magic rituals. Some
are basic,
others are not.
I
wanted to give you some reading
material
to take back to Hogwarts.
Sit
down with Hermione and
share with her what
you've shared with us. Show her the books
and openly discuss this together.
The choice must
be hers to
make. It's not an easy process, but if her powers start to manifest
and you both aren't
completely bonded… she will
suffer.
I
don't
want that for my daughter."
Draco gazed at Marlene uncomfortably. "When you say suffer?"
"She will
become a slave to her desires. I'd imagine it would be
difficult
for Hermione because you are the only man she's been
with intimately. I assume you wish it to stay that way?"
Draco's eyes widened,
realizing what
Hermione's mother
was
telling him. "Yes ." He stated firmly, almost growling it out. "I would
never willingly want to share her with another. She is my witch."
Voldemort
nodded.
"Then you understand why we came to you
first, Draco. Hermione is still
very innocent in the ways of things…
you however, are not . She will
need your help to understand and
accept her heritage."
Nodding in understanding,
Draco was quick to reassure his Lord
and Hermione's mother that
he would do whatever necessary to
help Hermione through this.
"Thank
you for
coming to me with this.
You're right
in that
Hermione might've had a difficult
time discussing this properly.
She and I will figure this out together, I promise."
Marlene smiled in relief
and the Dark Lord nodded.
"Then we
should let
you be on your way back to Hogwarts.
Please take
Nagini
with you. I'm sure Hermione will be wishing to see her as
well."
Draco nodded and bowed formally to the Dark Lord before he left,
books in hand.
Hopefully his witch would be as understanding of the conversation
they'd need to have.
Broken
Chapter 63: Broken
Marlene felt comforted that Draco had been so understanding of
Hermione's situation.
He seemed willing to do whatever was
necessary to bond completely with her daughter, and for that
she was grateful.
Tom had
been
furious
when
he'd
learned
that
Draco
and
Hermione had discussed consummating their
relationship,
so
much so?
That he'd taken his anger out on her.
He had spent
the better part
of
the night
torturing her,
causing
her to become a writhing mess of
unfulfilled sexual
need. After
nearly four
hours,
he had finally allowed her
to cum.
Which
she'd had… hard .
The welts on her body had been healed,
and she had slept for
hours after in sated contentment. Tom had been unrelenting and
unapologetic in his punishments.
But
now it
had been days since they had fucked,
and she
was feeling on edge and irritable…
… which he'd found amusing .
He had informed her after their meeting with Draco that he would
be leaving for Bulgaria for a few days and she had informed him
that
she would need to be serviced while he was gone,
which
caused Tom to smirk knowingly and nod his consent.
When he left,
without
kissing her
goodbye,
she immediately
returned to McKinnon Manor and sent
an owl
to Rodolphus and
Rabastan.
She was in the mood for both wizards tonight.
The return owl
came quickly and Marlene prepared herself
for
the Lestrange brother's by donning a tight
leather
corset,
no
knickers,
garters and sky high heels.
She placed a plug in her
arse and sat down by the floo with her legs spread open, slightly
playing with her
clit
when the floo activated and both wizards
entered the library gaping openly at
the succulent
witch spread
out before them.
"Fuck, My Lady," Rodolphus growled in want, "You are a fucking
goddess ."
"Hello Roddy, Rabastan…" Marlene purred in want. "Remove your
clothes and let's fuck."
Rodolphus grinned and waved his wand, vanishing both his and
Rabastan's clothes,
both men rock hard and weeping at
the
sight of the delectable witch before them. Rodolphus went over
and picked Marlene up, causing her to straddle him and walked
with Rabastan in tow over to the playroom.
Opening the door,
Rabastan grinned wickedly at
the sight of all
the delicious toys
hanging off the walls.
"Fuck,
Dolph,
you weren't
exaggerating about
all
the delectable
toys. Looks like we are gonna have some fun playing tonight."
Marlene moaned in want causing both wizards to growl
in need.
Rodolphus threw Marlene on the bed and turned her
over,
spreading her arse cheeks open and smiling in appreciation at
the plug that
was shoved up her arse.
He stared pushing and
pulling on it
roughly,
causing the witch to writhe and moan in
want.
"Mmmmm… more, Roddy, push it in harder…" Marlene moaned,
causing Rodolphus to slam the plug in and out of her arse.
Rabastan went
looking through the drawers and smirked when
he heard Marlene scream out
her first
orgasm while his brother
kept
pegging the witch with the plug.
When he looked over,
he
saw the snake charm on Marlene's clit activate and a huge cock
filled her cunt, while Dolph kept pegging her arse.
"Shit, Dolph! When you said Our Lord was hung… I had no idea
he was that hung. No wonder she's begging for it."
Rabastan laughed,
causing his brother
to grin and Marlene to
moan louder.
When she screamed out
her second orgasm and
her pussy squirted out cream down her legs, Rabastan came over
and bent down, licking up Marlene's essence.
He groaned in appreciation. "Fuck, I forgot how good she tasted."
Rodolphus grinned wider. "She's a juicy treat."
Pulling out the plug, Rodolphus didn't waste any time. He pulled
Marlene's arse to the edge of
the bed and slammed his cock
inside,
causing her to scream in pain and then moan in pleasure
as he slammed himself into her again and again.
"Fuck,
witch!
Your
arse was made to fuck.
So tight
and hot!"
Rodolphus grunted as his hips pistoned like a jack hammer,
causing Marlene to scream out again in orgasm.
Rodolphus removed his cock and turned Marlene around, lifting
her
up and moving her
over
with him on the chaise.
He laid
down and had Marlene straddle him before he pushed himself
into her pussy,
causing her to throw her head back and moan.
Rabastan didn't waste anytime as he came over and pushed her
forward on his brother,
opening her arse cheeks and pushing
himself
into her
rosette forcefully,
causing Marlene to scream,
"Fuck, Yes! Fuck me hard…"
Rodolphus kissed the witch,
and this caused his brother's eyes
to widen at
the intimacy.
Both men kept
a brutal
pace as they
pistoned their cocks in and out of Marlene's holes, filling her and
causing the witch to come again and again until
both wizards
shouted their
release simultaneously,
emptying inside of
the
witch's willing body.
After
a
few moments
to
recover,
Rabastan
grabbed
the
delectable witch and brought her over to the spanking bench. He
placed a spreader
bar
between her
ankles and locked it
into
place.
Then he bent
her over at
the waist
and locked her wrists
into the front of the bench. He then took a flogger and proceeded
to torture her until
she begged to be allowed to cum.
Her body
was throbbing in need and she was deliciously red all
over.
Dolph was watching in amusement
and sauntered over with a
ball
gag and some nipple clamps. When he was satisfied with his
handy work he moved behind Marlene and pushed himself
into
her dripping pussy again and proceeded to fuck her hard… while
the witch moaned like a whore.
She was incredible and Rodolphus was again reminded at
how
lucky his Lord was to have such a witch.
Rabastan had moved down under the bench and started licking
and sucking on Marlene's tits and clit.
The witch moaned and
pushed herself
back on Rodolphus cock until
she groaned out in
orgasm, clenching down and causing the elder Lestrange to shout
out in surprise as his own release was ripped from him.
When they finally released her from the restraints,
Marlene laid
between the wizards as Rabastan pushed himself
into her arse
while Rodolphus pushed himself
flush into her
pussy… both
grunting in pleasure as they moved in and out
of
her
tight
passages,
causing Marlene to spasm in orgasm again and
again.
Her head was thrown back on Rabastan's shoulder while
Rodolphus
kept
kissing her
like a man starved.
When she
screamed out
her final
orgasm and clenched down viciously on
both men's
cocks,
they both came simultaneously with low
groans of bliss.
As Marlene laid on the bed spent,
she felt
both wizards licking
and
suckling
on
her
pussy
and
arse.
Their
tongues
were
relentless and she moaned and writhed in pleasure.
She lost
count how often she climaxed over the next few hours, and when
they finally took her again, Marlene could do nothing but scream
herself
hoarse at
how thoroughly both wizards had attended to
her needs.
She was spent
and sore… but
surprisingly,
not
as sated as she
thought
she'd be after such a rigorous fucking.
Looking down at
the two wizards who were finally asleep, she sighed in frustration
and made her way out of the playroom and into her ensuite where
she decided to take a long hot shower.
Marlene sighed sadly as she washed her body.
She had known
this day would come eventually,
but
she honestly thought
she'd
have more time.
What
she had never told Tom,
and had never
mentioned to her daughter was that a succubus who wasn't fully
mated would eventually succumb to madness… a slave to their
own sexual
desires.
Eventually,
sex would become unfulfilling
and due to the lack of her mate over the past fifteen plus years, it
would seem her
days were indeed shorter
than she'd ever
imagined.
She could feel
it
deep within herself
even now… the
raw need of not being completely sated… completely bonded.
Her soul
was incomplete and because her mate was incomplete,
and she would eventually lose herself.
Marlene knew that Hermione had a piece of Tom's soul attached
to her… protecting her.
Even Nagini
had been offered Tom's
protection,
but
such a gift
had never been offered to her. It was
more proof that Tom did not care for her in such a way… did not
love her,
and she would never
ask for
something he was
unwilling or unable to give her.
She didn't
know how much time
she had left-she could only hope that
Hermione would be fully
soul
bonded with Draco before she would need to take steps to
make sure she didn't
succumb to the madness.
She hadn't lied
to Tom,
when she'd told him that she had become stronger with
him back in her life.
What
she had failed to share was the fact
that
her magical
core was nearly spent
from being adrift for too
many years.
While Hermione's magic could heal
Marlene's soul-without
the
soul
of
her mate to ground her-her life was essentially forfeit-or
would be soon enough.
She would likely never see Hermione get married, never hold her
grandchildren.
Marlene felt
tears well
into her eyes as she valiantly fought
to
stave off
the impending break down she knew would come
eventually. She figured she'd might have a year left, maybe two if
she was lucky.
Perhaps she might
even make it
to Hermione's graduation…
before she'd have to end her own life.
She could seek out
her
Progenitor,
it
would be one way to sustain herself… with a bit
more time,
but
the cost
would be what
was left of her soul. She
would have nothing else to barter with, and all
love she held for
her daughter would vanish in an instant.
She couldn't
entertain such ideas.
She would never
want
Hermione to think that she hadn't loved her enough… even if it
meant her death.
Finishing cleaning herself,
Marlene made her
way out
of
the
bathroom and into her
closet,
getting dressed before heading
back
into
the
playroom.
Rabastan
was
still
asleep,
but
Rodolphus
was
awake
and
watching
her
with
a
knowing
expression on his face.
"Are you alright, My Lady?"
Marlene smiled softly.
"I'm fine,
Roddy.
Thank
you for
this
evening,
I
appreciate your willingness to service me and please
share my thanks with Rabastan."
Rodolphus nodded as he got
up from the bed, sensing intuitively
that
this would be the last
time he'd be sharing intimacies with
Marlene.
He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss to the back of it.
"Does Our Lord understand your plight, My Lady?"
Marlene's eyes widened momentarily before she shook her head
sadly.
"No,
he does not
and I
will
not
tell
him.
I
forbid you from
speaking of
it,
Roddy.
I
do not
know how you've guessed,
but
if
you care anything at
all
for
me,
for what
we've shared you will
forget we had this conversation. I can obliviate you if you wish."
Rodolphus shook his head in the negative.
"There is no need to
obliviate me,
My Lady.
I'd guessed what
you were years ago.
There was an ancestor
in my family who was a mate to a
succubus nearly 300 years ago.
He left
extensive journals,
and I
was intrigued as a young wizard when I'd found them and read
through them. It made it easier to understand what you were, and
how much you must
have suffered over the years. I am sorry I'm
unable to give you what you need, Marlene. You deserve so much
more than what life has given you. You are an amazing witch."
Marlene smiled tremulously.
"Thank you,
Roddy. Your kind words
mean a great
deal
to me.
It's true,
my days are numbered.
My
only regret
is that
I
won't
see my daughter
grow up into the
amazing woman I know she will become. I would ask you to watch
out
for her,
protect
her and give her your loyalty above all
else.
Would you be willing to do so?"
Rodolphus nodded, waving his wand and reciting his vow, "I vow
to protect
Hermione McKinnon with my wand and my life.
The
Ancient
and Noble House of
Lestrange willingly offers your heir
our loyalty and devotion from now until
the end of our lives… so
mote it be."
The magic of
the vow swirled around the room and Marlene
smiled at
Rodolphus with gratitude.
When she glanced over at
Rabastan,
she could see he was awake and watching the
scene before him with understanding.
"Dolph is right,
My Lady.
We will
protect
Hermione always… of
that
you have no need to fear.
I'm sorry we can not
offer you
more."
Marlene moved forward and kissed Rabastan gently,
which he
returned
softly.
She
then
kissed
Rodolphus
reverently
and
touched the Wizard's cheek in thanks.
"I'm more grateful
than I
can say. Your loyalty will not be forgotten."
Both wizards bowed humbly and Marlene smiled one last
time
before she took her leave.
The Secret's Out
Chapter 64: The Secret's Out
Draco returned to Hogwarts with Nagini
and went straight to the
Slytherin common room,
snake in tow.
The train wasn't
set
to
arrive for a least
another few hours, and he had a lot to process
during that time. Marlene had given him much to think about, but
there
was
something
niggling
in
the
back
of
his
mind…
something he was missing .
Gazing down at
the books,
Draco couldn't
help but
feel
a bit
worried.
Would Hermione be upset
that
her parents had come to
him?
He certainly hoped not,
as the last
thing he wanted to do
was to make his witch upset.
He was naturally curious about the relationship Marlene had with
the Dark Lord.
From what
his Father had shared, the Dark Lord
had made horcruxes and Hermione had one on her finger and
the diary was another…
… were there more?
And just
how did the fact
that
the Dark Lord had a broken soul,
affect Hermione's mother?
She'd mentioned that her powers were limited, so did that mean
she was a slave to her desires?
Would she suffer too… or was she suffering currently?
All
these questions did little to assuage Draco's curiosity,
but
he
needed to concentrate on getting Hermione through these next
steps.
He couldn't
lose his witch,
and he was damned sure he'd
never share her with another wizard!
As he sat
alone in the common room,
he thought
back to his
and
Hermione's
first
official
date
to
Hogsmeade back
in
October.
He'd been so excited to escort
her
properly and
spend the day lavishing gifts on his witch.
She had looked so
beautiful
that
day,
in her fitted black jeans, soft cashmere pink
sweater and charcoal
grey pea coat
and gloves. The day had
been unseasonably cold,
and the two of
them had spent
the
morning in Honeydukes,
where Draco had bought
Hermione
enough sugar quills and chocolate to last until the next visit.
She had laughed,
smiled,
and blushed as Draco whispered
suggestively into her ear about how much he wanted to pour
chocolate all over her and lick it off.
The afternoon was spent having lunch at the Three Broomsticks
and then a long walk down by the Black Lake,
where they'd
kissed and talked about
their future.
He had walked Hermione
back to the Room of Requirement, where they'd spent the entire
evening exploring each other.
It
was the first time she'd allowed
him to experiment
vaginally on her,
using his finger.
He had
never
heard such lusty moans as he had when Hermione had
eventually
come.
She was
simply glorious,
and he couldn't
imagine ever letting another wizard see that side of her. He was
fiercely possessive of
her
and he'd seen the way the other
wizards in school
looked at
her.
Now that
her true heritage had
been revealed,
he had to wonder
just
how the rest
of
the
students
outside of
Slytherin would react.
The Prophet
had
broken the story right after school had let out for Yule, and Draco
would be lying if
he wasn't
slightly worried about
the potential
backlash.
He could feel
himself
getting aroused at
the thoughts swirling
through his head.
He hadn't
properly snogged his witch since
before break,
and he was feeling extremely frustrated and
needy.
He shook his head and smiled ruefully.
He'd never
thought
of
himself
as the kind of
wizard who would let
a witch
run his life,
but
with Hermione he simply didn't
mind.
He was
covetous of
her,
adored her,
lusted after
her
constantly and
loved her with a possessiveness that took his breath away most
days.
His
daytime
thoughts
were
filled
with
her
and
she
consumed his dreams at night.
He'd often wondered when he was younger,
if
he would ever
have the kind of
love his parents held for
each other.
They
were quite a rarity in pure blood circles,
it
was true.
He had
heard many a witch comment
on how envious they were of
Narcissa
Malfoy-not
just
of
her
beauty,
elegance
and
wealth-but
because her
husband adored her
above all
else.
His Father
worshipped his Mother,
and indulged her
every
whim. He deferred to her wishes more often than not.
Secretly,
he had always desired to have the kind of
marriage his
parents had and now he had something even sweeter… his
perfect match… his soulmate.
No one would ever need to tell
him what
a lucky wizard he
was-he knew it and relished in it.
Nagini
was sitting at Draco's feet with her head on his lap as he
petted her
affectionately.
When he sighed,
it
caused Nagini
to
raise her head questioningly.
Looking down at
the snake fondly,
Draco smiled and spoke
softly. "I'm just worried for Hermione, Nagini. Now that everyone
here at
school
knows whom her Father is,
I'm concerned that
someone may try and harm her.
I
know she can take care of
herself,
but
I
don't
know what
I'd do if
something happened to
her."
Nagini
nodded,
understanding her mistress intended and sharing
his concerns.
She just
laid her
head back on Draco's lap and
hissed softly, causing the wizard to chuckle at the snake.
"I
never
did thank you for
watching out
for
me this morning,
Nagini.
I
know the Dark Lord is probably very displeased with
me,
and I
guess I
understand his reasons.
But
you know I'd
never hurt Hermione. I love her far too much."
Nagini
hissed again and moved to wrap herself
around the
blonde wizard and gave him an affectionate squeeze,
which
caused Draco to chuckle a bit
more.
Nagini
eventually fell
asleep laying on him,
and Draco just
watched in awe at
his
love's familiar.
She was really very loyal.
That was how Hermione and the rest of Slytherin House found its
Prince, when the common room door opened an hour later.
Hermione followed Daphne inside,
and stopped when she
noticed the other students staring at her intended, who had her
familiar
wrapped around him.
She started chuckling,
much to
Daphne's amusement and the shocked looks of everyone else.
"Should I
be concerned that
Nagini
loves you more than me,
Draco?"
Hermione
quipped
playfully,
getting
her
wizard's
attention as he looked up and smiled widely.
"I sincerely doubt Nagini loves anyone more than you, my love."
Nagini
at
that
moment
lifted
her
head
and
hissed
in
agreement causing Hermione to laugh gaily.
"Well,
be that
as it
may -you have my familiar wrapped around
you, love. I'd like her back, please."
Draco nodded and whispered to the snake who shook like she
was laughing and moved over
towards her
mistress,
wrapping
herself
around Hermione and gently flicking her
tongue on her
cheek.
"I
missed you too,
Nagini."
Hermione smiled brightly,
walking
towards her
room with her
familiar
wrapped around her,
gently
conversing in Parseltongue.
Theo, Blaise and Daphne walked over and sat across from Draco.
"That's
not
a sight
you see every
day,
mate?"
Theo stated
curiously.
"No,
Nagini
doesn't
give affection to anyone but
Hermione and
the Dark Lord.
But
she's accepted me… kinda adopted me into
their circle of family, I suppose. She's very protective."
"She's scary." Blaise smiled shakily. "I don't think I've ever seen a
snake that big. It's obvious she adores Hermione, but how'd you
get so lucky?"
Draco shrugged,
not
wanting to share any intimacies about
his
relationship with his witch, with his friends. "Nagini is an excellent
judge of character. She can smell
lies and treachery. If someone
wished Hermione harm,
I'm sure Nagini
could sense it and take
action accordingly if she so desired."
"Well, it's a good thing no one in Slytherin House is stupid enough
to try and harm Hermione." Daphne offered.
Draco nodded. "But that doesn't mean those in the other houses
will
be as intelligent.
Now that
her
true parentage is common
knowledge,
I
have to admit
I'm a bit
wary of
how some of
the
others….especially in Gryffindor, might try and retaliate."
"Do you think that's a possibility, Draco?" Daphne wondered softly.
"I do think it's a possibility." Stated Draco firmly. "We all know what
a temper the Weasel
has on him.
It's no secret
that
some of
the
Dark Lord's followers killed the Prewett
brothers in the first
war.
Dolohov is dead, sure. But it's not exactly common knowledge."
Blaise appeared thoughtful
for a moment. "What if it was, mate?"
"What do you mean?" Draco inquired.
"He means,
if
it could secure the loyalty of the Weasley family by
knowing that
Dolohov and Bellatrix were taken care of,
it
might
persuade them to our side." Offered Hermione helpfully, as Draco
turned around and faced her.
Hermione then nodded at
Blaise,
which he returned respectfully. "I'd mentioned something similar to
my parents over the break."
"Great minds think alike." Blaise nodded, which caused Hermione
to smile genuinely at the wizard for the first time.
Draco scowled at
his mate,
while Hermione rolled her
eyes.
While she loved Draco's possessiveness,
sometimes he could
he a bit much.
"Hmmmm… you might
be right." She said softly as she went
to
sit by Draco, who instantly took her within his arms and placed a
gentle kiss on her forehead. "What do you think, love?" Hermione
grinned impishly, while Draco just raised an eyebrow at his witch.
"I
think you shouldn't
encourage Blaise.
He might
start
to think
he's smarter than he actually is."
Theo and Daphne chuckled while Blaise just
pouted.
"I'm plenty
intelligent,
mate.
Top ten in our class,
thank you very much. Just
because you're second in our class,
behind the Brightest
Witch
Hogwarts
has
ever
seen,
doesn't
mean the rest
of
us
are
slouches in the intellect department."
Hermione's smile widened at the compliment, while Draco's scowl
deepened. "Stop flirting with my witch, Zabini."
Hermione giggled at Zabini, while the wizard in question placed
a shocked hand over his heart.
"I
would never openly flirt
with
your
witch,
Draco.
Give
me
some
credit.
I'm much more
Slytherin than that!" Zabini
mocked jokingly,
causing all
in their
group to chuckle in amusement.
"You're a flirt, Zabini." Daphne teased.
"So are you,
love… you don't
hear me complaining." Zabini
shot
back playfully.
"I'm spoken for,
Blaise.
So you'd best
behave yourself.
I'm not
sure my wizard would be any more understanding than Draco
here."
"Yeah I'd heard about that, Daph." Mentioned Theo softly. "I was
surprised when my father told me about
your betrothal.
Last
I'd
heard? Marcus Flint
had mentioned to Raneus Avery that
his
father and yours were discussing a betrothal."
Daphne's eyes darkened and Hermione scoffed loudly.
"That
was never going to happen." Daphne said firmly. "You might not
be aware of everything that happened over the New Year, but my
parents had made arrangements to sell
me off
to the Flint's in
exchange
for
my
inheritance
from my
great-grandmother."
Daphne offered,
not
wishing to share the entire truth of
the
situation.
"But
the Dark Lord intervened on my behalf,
when
Corban asked for my hand."
Theo and Blaise looked surprised.
"Marcus is a tosser,"
Offered Theo,
"I'm glad you're not
going to be stuck with
him."
"Me too."
Piped in Hermione.
"I
would've had to kill
the prat
myself if that had happened. I have no idea what Daphne's father
was thinking.
Perhaps her mother's illness had something to do
with
it."
Hermione offered slyly,
nodding to her
friend who
returned the sentiment back in agreement.
"Yes,
Mother
hasn't
been
well
for
a
while.
Astoria
is
understandably devastated with her passing,
but
it
is what
it
is."
Daphne sighed quietly.
"Perhaps we should get
ready to head
down to the Great Hall for dinner?"
Everyone nodded,
grateful
for the distraction and moved out
of
the common room.
As they were walking up towards the Great
Hall, Draco noticed the increased looks of interest Hermione was
getting from some of
the other
students.
Most
of
the students
seemed wary and a bit
in awe,
but
a few were openly hostile.
Draco looked to Theo and Blaise and made a mental
note of
those whom seemed to be potential
problems.
When they'd
reached their
table,
Draco made sure Hermione sat
with her
back to the wall
and facing out
towards the Great
Hall.
He saw
Potter look their way from across the room and nod politely, while
Weasley
scowled
angrily.
The
Weaselette
didn't
seem
particularly happy either,
but
Draco couldn't
tell
if
her
ire was
directed towards his intended or not. Most of the Hufflepuffs and
Ravenclaws were glancing over,
trying to be inconspicuous.
When he felt
Hermione sigh against
him,
he realized she had
noticed all the increased stares and whispers in their direction.
"It's alright, my love," Draco whispered comfortingly, "no one
will bother you. I promise you."
Hermione turned and softly kissed Draco's cheek in thanks.
"I
know, love. Sometimes I miss being ignored."
Draco sighed heavily, thinking back with guilt on those dark days.
"I
don't
.
It
just
serves to remind me what
an insufferable idiot
I
was. I'd rather concentrate on more pleasant pursuits."
Hermione smirked wickedly. "Such as?"
Draco leant
over
and whispered seductively in Hermione's ear.
"Getting you naked and tasting every inch of you."
Hermione
blushed
prettily
and bit
her
lip enticingly,
causing
Draco's eyes to darken in want. "That sounds absolutely perfect ."
Hermione whispered back huskily.
"It does, doesn't it." Draco smirked.
"I
think we need to make a discreet
exit
to our
room.
I'm
positively wet thinking about it."
Draco growled lowly and waited until
the timing was appropriate
as
dessert
was
being served and took his girlfriend's hand.
Together they walked out
of
the Great
Hall,
not
bothered one bit
by the general stares and whispers from everyone left behind.
A Past Trauma
Chapter 65: A Past Trauma
In the weeks that followed, Draco had taken to reading through the
books Marlene and the Dark Lord had given him before his return
to Hogwarts.
He had discussed the matter
with Hermione when
she'd asked him what
business he'd had with Lucius,
after they
had snuck off to the Room of Requirement. She was a bit surprised
and
somewhat
disappointed
that
her
parents
had chosen to
confront
Draco,
instead of
discussing the matter
directly with
her-but after Draco had explained a bit about what was discussed,
Hermione had agreed to allow him to do the initial
research, which
he had done so with vigor.
People's initial
reactions were exactly what Draco thought they'd
be.
For
the most
part,
those in Ravenclaw seemed to be
ambivalent about Hermione's parentage, except for the Head Girl
Cho Chang,
who'd been dating Diggory at the time of his death.
She had initially been friendly with Hermione at the beginning of
the school
year,
but
now was cold and standoffish.
Hufflepuff's
were a bit
more wary,
and a few were even down right
hostile.
Zacharias Smith was one wizard who wasn't.
He took every
available opportunity to partner
with Hermione in the NEWT
classes Draco didn't
share with her… which were Arithmancy
and Herbology. The wizard didn't seem the least bit deterred that
Hermione was betrothed to another wizard,
if
the heated looks
he kept sending her way were any indication.
The Gryffindor's, were another issue altogether.
While Potter was friendly and obliging,
Weasley wasn't
.
He was
often heard making snide comments to others within his house,
primarily Finnegan and Dean Thomas.
Draco had kept
a close
eye on the wizard and reminded him on more than one occasion
what he would do if he went near his witch.
Those in Slytherin treated Hermione with deference. Many of those
who had openly taunted her
throughout
those early years were
quick to apologize for their behavior.
His witch had been gracious,
but
cold to most
of
the overtures
within their
own house.
She seemed to be softening towards
Blaise and Theo though,
which made Draco happy.
But
the only
person she associated with regularly was Daphne.
When word
had gotten out
about
Daphne's betrothal
to Corban Yaxley,
the
girls in Slytherin were openly jealous of
the witch.
Hermione
thought
this
was
amusing
and
teased
her
friend
about
it
constantly.
Valentine's
Day
was
set
to arrive on the Friday
before the
Hogsmeade weekend,
and Daphne had received a beautiful
bouquet
of
flowers
and
a formal
request
to join Corban in
Hogsmeade at
the Hare and the Fowl: an exclusive restaurant at
the far end of the village. The girl
had blushed in happiness at the
invitation,
and had excitedly planned what to wear with Hermione
the next day.
"What
are you and Draco going to be doing to celebrate this
weekend?" Daphne inquired of her friend.
"We are spending the night
in the Room of
Requirement."
Hermione smiled softly.
"I
bought
something new to wear
for
tonight."
Daphne giggled while her friend just blushed. "Is it scandalous?"
Hermione laughed,
and nodded.
"I
think Draco won't
know what
hit him."
Both girls looked through Daphne's wardrobe while they discussed
their potential dates.
"Has Corban given you a betrothal gift?"
Daphne shook her head. "No. I told him he didn't have to but I'm
sure he will
eventually. I'm actually trying not to think about such
frivolous
things.
Corban mocked me at
one point
early on,
assuming I
was a witch who was only interested in material
possessions and a husband.
I
don't
want
him to think I'm that
witch… so I've left it be."
Hermione scrunched her nose and harrumphed in disagreement,
but didn't say anything else. While she could understand Daphne's
point
of
view,
she felt
her friend deserved to be treated with the
same courtesy that
Draco showed to her
daily.
Hermione liked
Corban well
enough,
and he was an older wizard who was set
in
his ways… but still…
"Get
that
look off
your
face,
Hermione."
Daphne admonished,
while Hermione just
stuck her tongue out
at her friend. "Corban
is much older than me, and I am learning as we go. I don't have
any unrealistic expectations. I know he cares for me and I know
he will be faithful. I suppose the rest will come in time."
Giving her
friend an incredulous look,
Hermione just
sighed in
resignation. "And you're okay with that?"
Daphne nodded.
"Surprisingly,
I
am.
Corban and I
have passion,
and he is able to challenge me. I don't think I'll ever be bored. Plus
he understands that
I
want
to do more with my life than be a
Pureblood brood mare.
It's more than I
could've hoped for…
honestly."
"Well,
if
you're happy,
that's all
that
matters.
But
if
he ever treats
you poorly,
I
won't
hesitate to go after
him myself,"
Hermione
smiled wickedly, causing her friend to giggle, "and you can tell him I
said that."
"I
will."
Daphne smiled in gratitude at
her
friend.
"Thank you,
Hermione."
"For what?"
"For
being such a good friend.
After
everything I
did… how
hateful
I
was those first
three years,
you still
wanted to be my
friend. I'm not sure I deserved it."
Hermione just
waved her hand in the air,
like she was swatting
away a pesky insect.
"Don't
think on those things,
Daphne.
You
were my first friend… ever ."
Sitting down on the end of her bed in shock, Daphne looked at her
friend questioningly.
"Surely you had friends before you came to
Hogwarts?"
Sitting down facing her friend,
Hermione shook her head sadly.
"No.
I've never had any friends." Seeing the look of
disbelief
on
Daphne's face,
Hermione's sigh deepened. "When I was with my
adoptive parents, I went to a Muggle primary school. The children
knew I
was different.
I
was always reading,
never invited to play
with the other children. One day an older boy accosted me in the
bathroom of the school. I didn't understand what he was trying to
do until
he put
his hand under my skirt
and tore at
my knickers.
My magic reacted protectively,
and I
turned him blind,
deaf
and
mute.
My parents were called, and I had no idea what I'd done. I
was only seven at the time, but they removed me from that school
and put
me into another
primary school
closer to London.
The
children there didn't
like me either,
but
thankfully they left
me
alone.
When I
came to Hogwarts… I
thought… finally… it
all
made sense, you know? I would finally have a place where I was
accepted and then I wasn't, over something that turned out to be
untrue."
Hermione shrugged helplessly,
but
her
friend had tears coming
down her face.
"Did your Muggle parents know that
boy assaulted you?" Daphne
wanted to know.
"Yes, I told them and they believed me."
Daphne nodded. "And the boy?"
Hermione sighed but shrugged. "I don't know. I never did find out
if what I'd done had left him permanently disabled. I know it wasn't
right,
but
I've never felt
guilty over what
happened.
He would've
violated me, likely taken my innocence if I hadn't protected myself.
I've gotten good at
protecting myself
you know?" Hermione tried
to smile, but it came out wrong.
Daphne went over to her friend and hugged her tightly. "I'm so,
so sorry,
Hermione.
I
wish I
could take back all
the pain and
suffering you've been through.
Have you told Draco any of
this?"
Hermione shook her head.
"He already carries so much guilt over
what happened, so how could I burden him with that? It's over and
done with. I can't go back and change the past."
Daphne tried to understand where her friend was coming from,
but
it
made
her
angry
on
Hermione's
behalf.
She'd
been
ostracized for
most
of
her
life.
In the Muggle World for
being
magical… in the
Magical World for being Muggle…
… what kind of fucked up mess was that?
"We should finish getting you ready for
your
big date tonight."
Hermione got
up and walked over to Daphne's closet and picked
out
a few items for the witch.
"I
like this blue dress.
I
think with
your silver heels it would look fantastic."
Taking the hint, Daphne walked over and held the dress up to
her body and looked into the mirror. "Hair up or down?"
Looking over at
her friend,
Hermione smiled.
"Up,
I
think? That
way he can take it down later."
Daphne
giggled
at
Hermione
as
she
waggled
her
eyebrows
suggestively. "Up it is then."
Together
they
finished
picking
out
Daphne's
outfit
and
accessories, and Hermione gave her friend once last hug before
she left the
room,
looking a bit
lost
and fore-lorn.
Daphne shook her
head,
sighing unhappily,
feeling unsure what
to do about
Hermione's confession.
Should she tell Draco?
Shaking her head clear, Daphne decided to sit on the information
for a bit.
After
showering,
she got
ready quickly,
and headed down to the
common room.
When she entered,
she saw Blaise,
Draco and
Theo sitting by the fireplace talking amongst
themselves.
When
Draco looked up,
he smiled widely and gestured towards Daphne
to join them.
"Looking good,
Greengrass."
Blaise whistled appreciatively.
"Hot
date?"
"Yes,
Blaise.
I'm meeting Corban at
the school
entrance and he's
taking me to dinner at the Hare and the Fowl."
Theo whistled, impressed. "That's a fancy place. The cheapest fire
whiskey they have there is 35 galleons a glass."
Daphne rolled her eyes at
her friend.
"Of course that's what you'd
be impressed with, Theodore."
Smirking at
his friends,
Draco just
rolled his eyes.
"I've eaten
there before. It was decent enough."
Glancing over at her friend with a confused expression on her face,
Daphne couldn't help asking. "Who did you go there with, Draco?"
Draco shrugged his shoulders but suddenly looked uncomfortable,
while Blaise and Theo just
gave him a knowing look.
Before he
could
answer
however,
another
voice
interrupted
their
conversation, "Yes, Draco. When did you have the chance to go to
that restaurant? I've heard it's quite posh and very romantic."
Draco looked over his shoulder at his intended, who was watching
him warily.
Throwing up a discreet
silencing charm,
Draco ran a
hand through his hair.
"I
took Therese Rowle there on a date,
Valentine's Day,
Fourth
Year."
Hermione's
eyes
narrowed
and
she
tilted
her
head,
contemplating the wizard before her.
"I
see ."
Was all
she said,
but
her
body language told a very
different story.
Daphne could see Hermione's posture closing off and Draco could
see it too. He went to stand up, but Hermione held up her hand to
stop him.
"If
you all
would excuse me,
I'm suddenly not
feeling very well."
Looking over
at
her
friend,
Hermione smiled softly.
"Enjoy your
date, Daphne. Say hello to Corban for me."
Daphne nodded and watched with concern as Hermione moved
quickly out
of
the common room.
Draco went
to stand to follow
her, but Daphne stopped him by placing her hand on his shoulder.
She didn't
think she'd ever
seen panic on Draco's face before,
and he growled at
her
for
stopping him but
she just
shook her
head in rebuke.
"Leave her be, Draco. Hermione is having a rough day."
Draco seemed stupefied momentarily before he sat down with his
head in his hands.
Blaise and Theo gave their
friend looks of
sympathy.
After a few moments Daphne sat
back down and cast
stronger silencing charms. From how her friends were considering
her, they knew she had something important to share.
"I'm going to require a wand oath before we get
started.
I
have
something to share and I want to make sure you all understand the
importance of not sharing this information outside of us. I know you
will most likely talk with Hermione, Draco."
Draco
looked
over
at
his
friend
and
sighed.
"This
is
about
Hermione, isn't it?"
Daphne just
nodded.
"Is she going to be upset
at
you for telling
us?" Asked Theo.
Shrugging,
Daphne honestly wasn't
sure how to answer
that
question.
"She didn't
swear
me to secrecy if
that's what
your
asking, but I think you all need to hear this."
Each boy nodded and took the oath. Once that was done Daphne
shared with them the conversation she'd had with Hermione earlier.
She told them how she'd had no friends in Muggle primary school.
How hateful
the other children were to her for being different. How
Hermione had been filled with hope for
the first
time in her
life
when she'd come to Hogwarts… eager to make friends and belong
and how cruelly her hopes were dashed. Daphne watched all
their
faces,
but
especially
Draco's,
when she told them what
had
happened to Hermione at the age of seven. What that evil
Muggle
boy had tried to do and how she had protected herself from harm.
Daphne didn't
think she'd ever seen Draco look as angry and torn
apart as he did in that moment.
It was fortunate that she had thought to erect the silencing charm,
because the pained scream that
rent
through the air
at
her
confession, made Theo, Blaise and herself flinch back in shock.
Daphne then grabbed Draco to comfort
him before his magic
could get
out
of
control.
It
was taking every ounce of
Draco's
Pureblood training to keep him from losing it. Theo had his wand
out, ready to send a petrificus totalis, but at the last minute Draco
seemed to get
himself
calmed down.
Without
another word,
he
cancelled the silencing charms and made his way out
of
the
common room, not realizing all eyes in the room were on him.
"Is he going to be okay?" Asked Theo quietly.
"What
about
Hermione?" Whispered Blaise sadly,
"What
kind of
messed up fuck would hurt a seven year old girl? And what kind
of fucks would hate someone for no good reason at all."
Daphne wiped a tear from her eye as she looked at her friends with
sadness. "We did… we all did."
Emotional Upheaval
Chapter 66: Emotional Upheaval
Hermione didn't know where she was going, and frankly she didn't
really care at
the moment.
She hadn't
thought
about
that
time in
her
life in so long.
How frightened she had been,
everyday…
frightened
for
her
life.
How she'd
had no one.
No friends,
acquaintances even… no one to talk to… to listen to her pain.
She'd thought
she had put
it
away,
but
listening to the fact
that
Draco had taken another witch on a fancy Valentine's date made
her furious and despondent at the same time.
Not that she'd ever really fancied Valentine's Day-last year she and
Draco weren't
officially together and they had snuck away for a bit
of snogging.
This year… well… Draco had told her
yesterday that
he had
something special
planned for her and he wanted to spend time
with
just
her
tonight… in
their
room.
They
had
gone
to
Hogsmeade together, held hands and kissed but Draco had never
formally taken her on what she would consider a proper date. Yet,
he'd taken another witch to a fancy restaurant in fourth year.
They weren't
together then and she had been dating Viktor… but
still… it hurt, and she didn't understand why .
Walking absentmindedly,
she finally found herself
by the spot
where she had met
with Nagini
during her darkest
days.
Sitting
down,
and casting a notice-me-not
charm,
she gazed morosely
out over the Black Lake.
It
was cold and there was snow on the ground and she didn't
have her coat, so she cast warming charms…
… but
it
did little to help with the coldness she felt
seeping
through her bones.
She'd always been so strong, so determined… but now ?
She felt bereft .
Elsewhere in the castle, Draco was in a state of controlled panic.
He had gone to the Room of
Requirement,
but
Hermione wasn't
there. He then went down to the music room, but she wasn't there
either.
Moving towards the front
hall,
he saw Potter standing near the
Great Hall entrance talking with Cho Chang. The witch gave him a
cold look, but Potter nodded in greeting.
"Sorry to interrupt, but have you seen Hermione, Potter?"
Harry shook his head in the negative and Draco ran his hand
through his hair in frustration.
Looking at
the blonde closely,
Cho could see that
Draco was truly worried and she felt
momentary sympathy for the Slytherin Prince.
"I saw Hermione a little while ago, walking down towards the Black
Lake." Cho said softly.
Draco's eyes widened, but then he bowed and nodded his thanks,
taking off for the spot he was pretty sure his witch would be sitting
at.
When he'd reached the place where Hermione used to meet
Nagini, he cast a Hominem Revelio and sure enough? There was
a signature.
Apparently his witch had cast
a series of
spells to
keep interested bystanders from noticing her.
Moving over to the
tree where he used to keep watch on his witch,
Draco leant
against it and sighed before speaking softly.
"Baby,
I
know you're there ."
Running a hand through his hair,
Draco moved forward a bit
towards the spot
he knew his witch
was sitting. "Baby, please… I know you're angry with me, and you
have every right to be, but please don't shut me out."
After
a few moments of
silence,
Draco sighed heavily and sat
down on the ground with his back to the tree,
casting his own
warming charms. He stared at the spot where Hermione should've
been and leant forward, his arms resting on his knees.
"Daphne told me what
you two discussed earlier, and she made
me take a wand oath beforehand-so please don't
be angry with
her.
She's worried about you, as am I. I'm so sorry, Hermione." Draco
paused and took a fortifying breath.
He continued to sit there in silence, hoping against hope that
his witch would eventually talk to him.
He silently cast
the
Hominem Revelio again and the same light
flowed from his
wand.
Hermione was there, just out of his reach.
He sat
back and closed his eyes in shame,
feeling tears falling
from the corner of his eyes.
Hermione watched Draco as he sat
there in silence.
She had
heard every word he'd said and her heart had reacted strongly to
the emotion and pain she'd heard in his voice.
He was truly
sorry… she knew it..
.she had known it
for a while and yet
she
couldn't
bring herself
to respond.
Daphne had told him and she
knew she should be angry, but she understood where Daphne's
concern had come from-so while she was upset,
she wasn't
angry at her friend.
Watching
as
tears
leaked from Draco's
eyes,
Hermione was
shocked by his show of emotion.
Malfoy's didn't cry… didn't show weakness.
Yet here was her love, breaking down in front of her. She could feel
his pain… the necklace on her
chest
was thrumming with his
emotions.
She closed her eyes and remembered the words he'd
spoken to his ancestor,
and she remembered the feeling of
love
that had burned through her chest at his admission.
Sighing tiredly,
she cancelled the spell,
and watched as Draco's
eyes widened in relief
when he saw her
sitting there,
watching
him.
"I'm sorry." She whispered so lowly, Draco almost didn't hear it…
almost .
"No, my heart. You have nothing to apologize for-do you hear me?
Nothing!
I
on the other
hand,
will
spend the rest
of
our
lives
apologizing for my stupid, arrogant, prejudiced mistakes. How can
you even stand to be with me?"
Hermione gasped in shock. "Draco! I know what Daphne told you,
and I never should've said anything to her."
At
Draco's growl
and vehement
shaking of
his head,
Hermione
stopped what she was about to say.
Draco,
on the other
hand,
had quite a bit
to say.
"You obviously
have been holding so much in for so long and I should've realized
sooner, and for that I'm sorry. I was so happy and excited to finally
have all
of
you? I
guess I'd thought
that
what
had happened was
forgiven and forgotten. But how can you forget something if you've
never
had a proper chance to talk about
it
and heal
from? So,
I
want
you to talk to me, my love. Let me be your strength and your
safe place. Let me help you heal your heart and soul. I need you to
let me help you. I want to be that for you, baby, if you'll let me."
"I'm scared."
Hermione whispered,
finally admitting out
loud her
deepest, darkest fears.
"What are you scared of?" Draco asked quietly.
"That
if
I
share my pain with you,
that
you'll
come to resent
me
because of it. That you'll
get tired of saying your sorry every time I
feel
insecure because of our past history. I don't know how long it's
going to take me to deal with some of this. I've held it in for so long,
it scares me how much the pain hurts some days when I remember
what
happened.
It's not
all
the time,
or
even very often… but
sometimes something will
trigger it. It feels what I'd imagine PTSD
must feel like."
Draco looked confused at the reference. "PTSD?"
Hermione nodded.
"It's a Muggle acronym for
Post
Traumatic
Stress Disorder.
It's associated primarily with people who have
gone through horrific experiences,
primarily from wartime,
but
sometimes from other traumatic life events. I've kept my emotions
in check for so long, that sometimes I just become overwhelmed
when something triggers a memory from before."
Sighing in resignation,
Draco reached for Hermione and held her
tightly to his body.
He understood on some level
what
she was
trying to tell him and it made sense in a way.
He as a child… he'd been taught from a young age to control
his
emotions and not
allow anyone to see weakness.
Hermione had
been
self-taught
out
of
necessity
and self-preservation.
The
thought made him angry and sad all at once.
"Then when it happens, talk to me . I know you're upset about the
fact
that
I
took another witch out
on a proper date and I
haven't
exactly done that for you. That was what tonight was supposed to
be about."
Looking at her wizard in confusion, Hermione asked, "What are you
talking about?"
Sighing softly, Draco kissed Hermione's hand. "Well, I had asked
a few of
the House Elves to help me plan the perfect
date
tonight.
So,
if
you're still
open to it,
I'd love to show you exactly
what I had planned for us."
Hermione could see the cautious hope in Draco's gaze and she
didn't
want
to disappoint
him,
plus she was curious about
this
date he had planned. "What do I need to do?"
Draco's face lit
up with a wide smile before he kissed Hermione
softly,
pulling out
a box from his robes.
"This is for you.
When
you get back to your dorm room, enlarge and open it. It contains
everything you'll
need for
tonight.
Meet
me at
the Room of
Requirement in an hour."
Nodding gently,
Hermione kissed Draco back and smiled
softly. "Okay."
"Okay." Draco whispered back before he cupped Hermione's face
in his hands and kissed her reverently and thoroughly.
When they both come up for air,
Draco moved to stand up, taking
his witch with him. Holding her within his embrace, the pair walked
back
towards
the castle together,
not
paying attention to the
interested stares from their fellow classmates.
When Hermione reached her
dorm room,
she enlarged the box
Draco had given her and gasped at
what
was located within the
beautiful
silver box.
A stunning gown of
emerald green silk flowed
to the ground. The dress had a haltered bodice that had a jeweled
clasp behind the neck and a tear drop opening that
flowed down
between her breasts.
From the upper waist
until
the knees it
was
form-fitted and then gently flowed out
to the floor.
There was a
matching pair of green silk heels that had silver embroidery on the
sides.
A silver clutch purse and she added a very skimpy pair of
green lace thong knickers to wear under the dress.
The choices
were simply exquisite and Hermione couldn't
help but
sigh in
pleasure at her wizard's thoughtfulness.
It was obvious great care had been taken with these selections and
for the first
time Hermione was truly excited for what a Valentine's
Day would bring.
Draco was busy putting the final
touches on his plans for
the
evening.
He had asked several
of the Malfoy house elves to help
him with his plans.
Tilley,
the Malfoy elf
in charge of
the cooking
was making her special
Herb-stuffed Cornish Hens with roasted
potatoes and trifle for
dessert.
Draco had chosen a nice 1990
Domaine Michel Lafarge Bourgogne Pinot Noir that his Father had
gotten during his last
visit
to France.
Once the room was set,
Draco set
out
his dress robes and went
over to the en suite the
Room of
Requirement
had
conjured.
Taking
a
shower
and
washing his hair,
Draco mulled over the events of
the afternoon,
his thoughts drifting to what Daphne had shared with him.
It
broke Draco's heart
to think about
how traumatized Hermione
must've felt as a frightened seven-year-old. Growing up without her
real
parents,
she had no real
understanding of
magic,
no way to
know how she was different
and no one to explain it
to her.
Her
Muggle parents obviously cared about
her, but they wouldn't have
understood how to help her…
… not really.
She'd been essentially alone her whole life before Hogwarts, with
only her Muggle parents showing her any care or kindness. Then
she found out she was a witch-what a relief that must have been
for her.
To finally understand why she was different, unique… special.
But
then she came to Hogwarts and on her very first day, he
had effectively ostracized her
and made her an outcast
not
just within their own house… but with all of the students.
As the water
washed over
Draco's face,
it
hid the tears that
started to flow as he remembered the look on Hermione's face
that very first night. She had been understandably confused as to
his questions and when she'd told him she 'wasn't there to make
friends,
'
and it
was like a light
had shut
off
in her eyes. He had
watched his witch fade each year from the first year through the
beginning of fourth year.
How frail
and alone she'd been… and he had done that.
How could she love him after everything he'd done?
Did he even deserve her love, her forgiveness?
If
Draco had been a less selfish wizard,
he'd have walked away
and allowed some other wizard more worthy to court
Hermione,
but
he loved her.
She was his witch and he couldn't… wouldn't
ever let her go.
Would she wake up someday and regret
being with
him? He didn't
think so,
but
the thought
was there
nonetheless.
Finishing his shower
and drying himself
off,
he waved his wand
over his face to get
rid of
the red-rimmed and swollen eyes from
the onslaught of tears. He needed to be strong for his witch, and he
needed to remind her every day how much he loved her.
Getting dressed, he hoped that this night would be healing for the
both of them.
Casting a tempus charm, the time flashed letting him know that his
witch would hopefully be there shortly.
Making one final
check and sending an incendio at the fireplace,
he sat down and waited for his witch to arrive.
Bonded
Chapter 67: Bonded
Hermione finally made her way to the Room of Requirement.
She had packed a few things in her beaded bag for the night, just
in case.
When she reached the room,
she paced in front
of
the
door three times,
and when it
opened-she gasped in awe at
how
beautiful the room looked.
Draco had really outdone himself!
The room looked like something out of a fairytale .
There were candles floating around the room and a warm fire in
the hearth.
A small,
elegant
table was centered in the room, with
two green velvet
wing-backed chairs.
Crystal
goblets and fine
herringbone
China
adorned
the
table
settings
with
gold-leaf
flatware.
There was a piano in the corner,
near the fireplace and
on the far end of
the room a stunning Victorian four-poster bed
with transparent silk curtains that stood out in stark relief.
After
she'd taken in the room,
she finally noticed her
wizard
standing by the near wall, staring at her with a hungered gaze. His
grey eyes were glittering in the low candlelight and she gasped at
how handsome he looked.
Dressed in black dress robes with a white dress shirt and emerald
green
tie
that
matched
her
dress,
Draco
looked
absolutely
scrumptious.
She blushed deeply at
the look of
frank appreciation
on Draco's
face,
as
his
eyes
raked over
her
lithe form.
He
sauntered confidently towards her and bowed formally, reaching for
her
hand and placing the softest
of
kisses on the back of
her
knuckles.
"My Lady,
" Draco purred seductively,
"you look breathtaking this
evening."
Her blush deepened if
possible,
but
she did manage an elegant
curtsy. Her voice came out a bit huskier than she'd intended when
she replied, "Thank you, kind Sir."
Smirking devilishly, Draco moved over and placed his hand on her
lower back, escorting her to the table.
"Dinner awaits, my Lady."
Holding out
her chair,
she gave her intended a small
smile as he
got
her situated and then he proceeded to do the same himself.
Once they were both seated,
Draco reached for a bottle of
wine
that was sitting in a wine bucket stand near his seat. He poured a
small
sip for himself
and nodded his head in appreciation before
pouring the rich red liquid into her glass, then his. Tilley 'popped '
in on queue,
and the servettes were placed by magic on each of
their plates. When the food was revealed, she gasped in pleasure
as her favorite dish was revealed.
"Oh, this looks lovely, Tilley!" She gushed, "This is my favorite!"
Tilley smiled while her ears flapped happily.
"Young's Masters
tells Tilley this be your
favorite,
Miss.
Tilleys most
happy to
makes it for yours special night."
"Thank you,
Tilley."
Hermione smiled fondly at
the little Malfoy
House elf.
"You've outdone yourself,
Tilley."
Draco said firmly,
nodding in
approval, "We will let you know when we are done."
Tilley bowed humbly.
"Ofs course Young's Master."
And with a 'pop ' Tilley was gone.
Hermione smiled softly at her wizard and said genuinely, "This
is truly lovely, Draco. Thank you."
Taking his witch's hand,
Draco kissed the back of
it.
"Nothing is
too good for you,
my love. I have the whole evening planned for
us." Reaching for his glass, he brought it up to make a toast. "I'd
like to make a toast." Hermione smiled and raised her glass to
Draco's as he said, "To us ."
"To us." She echoed back the sentiment,
causing Draco to smile
widely,
clinking his glass with hers and together they each took a
sip of the rich wine. Both hummed in appreciation of the light and
fresh flavors of cherry and strawberry with earthy underpinnings.
"This is excellent wine, Draco."
"We have an extensive wine cellar at
the Manor.
Father is quite a
connoisseur of French wines, both magical and muggle."
She laughed.
"Who would've thought
that
Lucius Malfoy would
appreciate muggle wine."
Smiling in solidarity,
Draco chuckled lowly and admitted,
"Father
is a certifiable snob when it
comes to certain things.
Art,
music
and wine probably top that
list,
and in no particular
order.
He
would never
admit
it
out
loud,
but
our
wine cellar
is mostly
comprised of
rare muggle vintages.
He even has contacts with
one of
the more noted muggle auction houses in London,
who
have been known to help him procure rare finds from time to
time."
Shaking her head in disbelief, she just smiled ruefully. "That
pompous prat! For all his posturing, he's a closeted hypocrite."
At
that
Draco snickered loudly,
wondering what
his Father would
say to that assessment.
"I'm sure Father doesn't quite see it that way."
"Of
course he doesn't.
The man never has a hair out of place. In
fact,
the only time I've ever seen him truly ruffled was at the Yule
Ball back during fourth year."
"Yes,
I
do remember that.
He was so flabbergasted after you left
with Krum,
he went
straight
home.
I
remember
thinking how
utterly spectacular you were that
night,
and how jealous I was of
Krum being on your arm." He finished with a small
frown on his
face.
"Viktor was a good friend to me, he was actually the first person
in the magical world to show me any kindness. I'm still immensely
grateful
to
him for
that."
She finished softly,
with her
eyes
downcast on the table.
Sighing in resignation, he grabbed Hermione's hand and squeezed
it until she looked up at him.
"I
think we need to really talk about
this, and we should've done
this before now, and for that I apologize." Taking a fortifying sip of
his wine,
Draco set
the glass down and looked his witch directly
in the eye. "I know I was a first class git to you. I was prejudiced,
hateful
and I
have no excuse for it.
I
didn't
think about
how the
things I'd said and did might truly affect you, and I didn't realize it
until
that day in the library third year. I distinctly remember looking
at
the emptiness in your eyes and wondering to myself,
if
there
was anyone in your life who truly cared about
you.
I
went
home
that Easter break and thought of nothing else but you. But it really
didn't
hit
me until
I
saw you running down the hill
to meet Nagini
in fourth year.
The look on your face was the most open I'd ever
seen it,
and when you saw Nagini? You truly smiled, and it lit up
your face completely. You were breathtaking and I'd felt like such
an idiot that I hadn't seen it sooner. My heart hurt for the first time
in my life because I'd realized how much I
hurt
you,
and I didn't
know how to fix it."
Draco paused and took another
sip of
his
wine, noticing his witch was looking at him with an openly curious
expression on her face.
"I wrote to my Mother, you know-back in
fourth
year
after
your
confrontation
with
Snape.
Told
her
everything .
How I'd hurt
you,
how it
made me feel.
How
disappointed I
was in myself.
Do you know what she wrote back
and told me?"
Hermione
smiled
but
shook
her
head.
"She
told
me
that
sometimes we hurt
the one's we care about
the most.
That
if
I
truly cared about you, I needed to make things right with you. She
asked me what
it
was I
saw in you and I
spent
an entire letter
telling her every quality I'd noticed in you over the years."
Shaking her head in wonder, Hermione couldn't help but ask. "And
what qualities did you list?"
Draco smiled shyly and took out
a folded letter from his pocket
and handed it
to his witch, who took it from him with a trembling
hand.
When she looked up at
him,
he simply nodded and
gestured for her to open and read it, so she did.
Dear Mum,
I know you told me not to be too hard on myself, but how am
I supposed to not be? I've hurt someone irreparably because
of what I've been taught as truth for my whole life. Yet, how is
it possible that a girl who wasn't raised in our world, could be
so brilliant
when it
comes to everything magical? You told
me to list Hermione's qualities that I admire, and I find it is far
easier than I'd ever thought it would be.
She is brilliant.
Brilliant at magic. Did you know she's already
doing sixth year
level
magic with ease? I've seen her cast
wandless spells when she thinks no one is paying attention to
her.
She
never
seems
to
struggle
with
anything
our
Professor's place on us.
So-how could I
ever
see her
as
inferior,
when she is so much better at magic than I am? And
what does that make me, that I didn't notice it before now?
She is kind.
Did you know she leaves out
books for other
students who struggle with their homework. Everyone ignores
her,
or taunts her but she never allows that to stop her from
helping someone without
their knowledge.
She works in the
infirmary and out in the greenhouses tending the plants and
making potions for the sick students at school.
No one ever
thanks her,
or gives her a moments praise but it doesn't stop
her from doing what she can to help. She's like those guardian
angels the stories talk about.
She
is
resilient.
Hermione
never
lets
anyone
see
her
weakness.
Did I
tell
you I
saw her crying in third year, after I
taunted her in the library? She never broke down or showed
weakness until
she thought she was alone.
I
made her cry,
Mum, and all because I was a hateful git. What kind of person
doesn't that make me?
She is beautiful inside and out. I don't know how I missed it.
How did I miss it, Mum? How can I make her see that I'm not
that
hateful
boy whose turned everyone against her? And
for
what? Is it
enough of
a reason to ostracize someone
because they're different? I know what Father and you have
always taught me about our blood being purer and Malfoy's
being
better.
But
how can
I
justify
that
when I
see
Hermione's spirit
broken because of
my hatefulness? Do
you think
she'd ever
forgive
me,
Mum? Do I
deserve
forgiveness?
I
haven't
slept
in days.
All
I
see when I
close my eyes is
Hermione.
Her
dead
expression and her
wasting away
because of me. I know Father would never agree with me and
he'd probably berate me for it too but I
don't care anymore.
I'm done hurting her just because she's Muggle-born. I can't
even think,
much less say the other word anymore.
It hurts
too much.
Please tell me what to do? Your Son, Draco
When Hermione finished the letter,
there were tears coming
down her cheeks.
The letter was dated before Yule, fourth year.
Just
a week after
her
confrontation with Snape in the potions
classroom.
She had been convinced Draco was trying to sabotage her
friendship with Viktor, but it was now obvious he had been worried
for
her.
Truly
worried.
And it
wasn't
because she was
the
daughter of
the Dark Lord.
No .
There would've been absolutely
no way Draco could've figured that out before the Yule Ball fourth
year and her confrontation with his father.
He had been trying to
make amends on his own,
for
his own sake,
because he'd felt
guilty and realized what he'd done was wrong.
She looked up at
her wizard and smiled beatifically.
"Thank you
for sharing this with me,
Draco." She spoke up haltingly. "I didn't
realize you'd seen so much."
Draco nodded.
"I've always noticed you.
You've always been
there in some way,
and I
just
wanted you to understand a bit
better about
where I
was at
back then.
It
was so easy to fall
in
love with you.
I
think I
was already half
way there when I
wrote
that letter to my mum. She confided to me over this past Yule that
this letter was why she stopped the betrothal between myself and
Astoria.
She'd realized where my heart
truly belonged and she
knew that I'd never be happy otherwise."
"Even though I was still technically a Muggle-born?"
Shrugging,
Draco shifted in his seat
and reached for Hermione's
hand. "I really don't know, because Yule happened and then Father
realized who you most likely were. He was very impressed with you
that
night.
I
don't
think I've ever seen him flustered, and you were
magnificent ."
"You were there?"
"Yes, hiding in the shadows. I remember watching you walk away
with Krum and my heart broke a bit. I thought it was unfair that the
witch I wanted… well you know." Draco hung his head sheepishly.
"I
know Draco,
I
do ." Offered Hermione softly.
"And I
do forgive
you,
I've told you that
before.
I
don't
want
this issue to keep
coming between us. We can't change the past, that is true-but we
can promise each other the present and the future. I just ask you
to be patient with me."
Draco stood up from the table and walked around reaching for
Hermione's hand,
which she gently placed into his as he helped
her up.
He then led her to the center of the room and waved his
wand,
music filling the room.
For a few moments, the two lovers
just danced in perfect sync as they gazed into each other's eyes.
Finally he pulled Hermione into his body closely and whispered
into her ear,
"I
will
always be here for you,
with you.
Don't
ever
doubt that. I love you, Hermione, with all my heart."
"I love you too." Hermione replied softly.
After a few more minutes of dancing, Draco led Hermione over to
the piano and directed her to sit in a chair on the right of the piano
bench.
He sat
down,
turned to wink at
her and started playing.
Draco didn't play for her often, but when he did Hermione relished
in how gifted he was. His playing was transcendent and ethereal.
As the music moved through her she was able to recognize that
Draco had chosen to play Beethoven's Moonlight
Sonata,
which
had been one of her adoptive mother's favorite pieces.
Hermione was always amazed at
how peaceful
Draco looked
when he played,
as
if
the weight
of
the world was off
his
shoulders.
All
the expectations that
came with being the Malfoy
Heir were somehow negated when he sat down and let the music
take over.
Music had been an escape for her as well
for most of
her life.
She had found acceptance through her talent, and when
there were no friends and no support,
she still
had her music to
chase away the darkness that would consume her some days.
As Draco finished the last
movement
with a flourish,
Hermione
clapped politely and smiled warmly at
her wizard… he truly was
amazing in every way.
"That was beautiful, Draco. I'm envious of how well you play."
Draco chuckled, "Well, it's gratifying that there's at least one thing I
excel in over you-besides flying that is."
"Well, you play beautifully."
Draco bowed and moved around the bench so he could face her.
"You haven't
sang to me in a while.
Perhaps I might request you
amaze me with your hidden talent?"
Tilting her
head to the side,
Hermione looked thoughtful
for
a
moment
before she nodded.
When she gestured towards the
piano,
Draco's eyebrow rose,
but
he moved off
the bench and
traded places with Hermione.
"I didn't know you played?" Draco questioned.
"A little."
Hermione replied.
"My
adoptive parents
were both
musically inclined.
They made sure I
took lessons in voice and
piano, although I'm not nearly as accomplished as you are."
Draco nodded as he watched Hermione settle down behind the
piano and then she started to play and sing.
Her voice always
made his heart race and his breath hitch.
She was simply exquisite when she sang.
Moon River
Wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style… someday
Oh, Dream maker
You
Heartbreaker
Wherever
you're
going
I'm going
your
way… Two drifters
Off to see the world
There's such a lot of world To see
We're after the same
Rainbow's end
Waiting round the bend
My
huckleberry
friend
Moon river
And me
When she was done,
Draco came over and helped her stand up,
guiding her
back towards the bed.
When they reached it,
he sat
Hermione down on the edge of the bed and got down on his knees
in front
of
her,
grasping her hands in his.
Trying to get
his voice
under
control,
he reached into his dress robes and pulled out
a
long rectangular box.
"That was incredible, baby. You have such an amazing voice."
Hermione blushed prettily and smiled.
"Thank you.
What
do
you have there, Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco
smirked
and
handed
the
box
to
his
witch.
"Your
Valentine's gift.
I
picked this up over
the holidays,
but
held
onto it for today. I hope you like it."
He watched Hermione's eyes widen as she opened the box to
see what was inside.
The beautiful
charm bracelet
that
was lying on the black velvet
was simply stunning.
The bracelet
was made of the finest goblin
silver and the charms were all unique and meaningful. There was
a piano,
a musical
note, a book, a snake with tiny emerald eyes,
a small diamond heart and an infinity rune.
Hermione looked up at Draco with tears in her eyes. "When did you
have time to do this?"
Smirking in satisfaction,
Draco leant
up and kissed Hermione
softly on the lips before he replied.
"I
had it
commissioned at the
beginning of the school year. The Malfoy family has a noted goblin
jeweler
who
makes
all
our
family
heirlooms.
This
one
has
protective charms
imbedded within it.
It
can also act
as an
emergency port
key should you ever need it
to.
I
know you have
your betrothal
necklace and I
love seeing it
on you, but I thought
this would be a bit more personal. We can add charms throughout
our life together. I just wanted you to know how important you are
to me."
Hermione flung herself
into Draco's arms and kissed him
passionately. "I love it! And I love you."
Returning the kiss with equal
vigor Draco stood up with his
witch and sat her down on the bed. Taking her right wrist, he
placed the bracelet
on and sealed the clasp with a spell.
When that
was
done,
he removed his outer
robes and
watched as Hermione stood and gave him a seductive look,
and then in a flash her dress was pooled on the floor,
while
Draco stood there in awe.
Hermione smirked wickedly and turned around, peering over her
right
shoulder as Draco took in the back of her-could they even
be considered knickers?
They were fucking sinful!
The back had a small
patch of
lace that
started at
the top of
her
bum and disappeared about two inches lower into the crack of her
arse.
Draco's cock was weeping at
the goddess before him.
Fucking Salazar, how'd he get so damn lucky?
Moving into her space,
her pushed his front
into her back and
growled into her
left
ear.
"You are a fucking goddess,
baby.
I
want you so damn much!"
Hermione arched her
body into Draco's and purred,
wrapping
her arm around the back of
his head as he kissed and sucked
on her neck and pulse point. Eliciting whimpers of pleasure from
his witch.
"Draco…" Hermione whispered, "I can't wait any longer. I know you
want
to continue to court
me properly,
and I
will
let
you buy me
whatever you wish-but if you don't make love to me right now? I'm
going to explode."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" His body was shaking with need. "Baby, are you
sure? If
we do this now, there's no going back. I don't want you to
regret it! It will kill me if you regret it."
Hermione turned in Draco's arms and kissed him deeply, lovingly.
"How could you ever think I would regret this. I need you, want you.
I
need you inside me… please, Draco! Please don't make me wait
any longer!"
Draco knew he couldn't deny her, he'd never be able to deny her.
Gathering her up into his arms,
he moved them over to the bed
and slowly,
methodically removed the sinful
knickers from his
witch's body all
the while kissing and suckling every inch of
skin
exposed to him while Hermione was writhing in need.
When he
settled
himself
between
her
thighs
and
inhaled
her
scent,
groaning loudly,
she felt
herself
getting obscenely wetter by the
second.
Then he started licking and twirling his tongue over her
clit,
making her
cry out
in pleasure,
which caused him to growl
and placed one, then two fingers deep inside her, stretching her in
preparation for him.
When she shrieked his name loudly as she came, he lapped up
her essence and then moved up her body until
she kissed him
deeply, moaning at the taste of herself on his tongue.
And
when
he
finally
entered
her,
and
took
her
innocence,
Hermione cried out first in pain, and then in overwhelming pleasure
as Draco filled her
completely and took his time bringing her to
orgasm,
again,
and again.
He was methodical,
purposeful
and
masterful in how he worked her body.
She never knew anything could feel this right, this complete.
Her
necklace hummed with energy and she felt
everything
Draco was feeling.
As her amber eyes caught
his grey,
they
widened in understanding.
He could feel her too.
It was pure magic.
Draco was lost, so completely lost in his witch.
How could he have not known how utterly overwhelming this would
be?
He felt everything and it was perfection.
Nothing in his previous experiences had ever prepared him for
what
making love to Hermione would be like.
Her
scent,
her
taste,
her
smile,
her
warmth and wetness were like home.
He
knew if
he were to smell
Amortentia at
this very moment? It
would smell
of
vanilla,
parchment and the sweet nectar that was
only his Hermione.
As he felt
his orgasm approach,
Draco kissed Hermione deeply
and as she moaned her release he let
himself
go,
groaning out
her name in bliss. When he was finally spent, he looked down into
sated amber eyes and smiled softly.
"You are amazing my heart,
my love. Merlin baby, I love you-so fucking much."
Hermione sighed in utter contentment. "I love you too, Draco… so
much."
Years of
bottled up emotions spilled out
in the afters and she
sobbed as Draco held her,
whispering words of
love,
devotion
and protection.
She had once promised herself
that
she would
never
allow this wizard to see her
weakness.
Draco was no
longer
that
person-he was
an amazing man who loved her
unconditionally,
and as she clung to him, she made him promise
her that he'd never leave her-never stop loving her.
Draco felt
himself
tearing up at
his witch's sobs,
knowing deep
down exactly where this onslaught of emotion was coming from.
He could only hold her
and promise her that
he would always
love her and nothing would ever change that.
He would spend the rest of their lives together proving it to her.
Sharing Memories
Chapter 68: Sharing Memories
When Daphne had left
her
friends and headed for
the castle
entrance,
her
mind was preoccupied.
She was hopeful
that
her
friend wouldn't feel
like she'd betrayed her trust, but Daphne felt it
was necessary to tell Draco what had happened.
Hopefully, he would be able to help Hermione deal with her past.
When Daphne finally reached the entrance to the school,
Corban was waiting for her with a single red rose in his hand.
He bowed formally as she walked towards him,
handing her
the flower and placing a gentle kiss on the back of her hand.
"Miss Greengrass, you look stunning this evening."
"You
look
handsome
as
well,
Lord
Yaxley."
Daphne
smiled
demurely,
and he did. His hair was plaited back as always and his
robes were the darkest
blue,
matching his eyes perfectly.
Corban
offered her
his arm,
which she took immediately and the two
walked towards Hogsmeade and their dinner reservation.
When they entered the restaurant, Daphne was impressed by the
opulence of the interior. Fine rich tapestries in burgundy and gold,
with sheer gossamer curtains surrounding each table that outlined
the walls. In the center of the restaurant was an open dance floor,
as well
as a small
quartet
playing strings of
classical
music.
The
lighting was romantic and the rich smells of
cardamom and sage
blended with the finer notes of the food, wafting through the air.
The hostess led them to their table,
where Corban ordered an
expensive bottle of
elf
made wine,
which their waiter returned
with promptly.
Menus were left,
and Daphne was overwhelmed
with all
the selections-finally choosing the veal,
while Corban
settled for a steak.
Once the wine had been served and the meals ordered,
Corban asked Daphne about her classes.
"They are going well." Daphne offered.
"Professor Vector is very
impressed with my research so far,
and I'm hoping that
she will
allow me to continue it into next year. Charms, transfiguration and
Defense are all
good,
although our new Defense teacher leaves
something to be desired."
Corban chuckled. "Ah yes, Dawlish… he's a bit of a plonker but not
a bad Auror. I'd imagine he's a bit timid when it comes to actual
practical
skills although he's not
a bad dueler,
but
he's taken one
too many curses to the head."
Daphne giggled. "Yes, he seems a bit odd, but I'm sure it could've
been worse."
Corban nodded,
and reached for
Daphne's hand
giving it
a quick squeeze. Soon their meals came, which they ate
in silence as Daphne's mind still on her friend, worried for her.
Corban,
noticing his witch's distraction,
cleared his throat
a bit.
"What's the matter,
little love.
Your mind seems to be elsewhere
tonight."
Daphne blushed in embarrassment,
but
was quick to get
herself under control.
"I'm alright. Just a bit distracted, I guess."
"About
what?" Sighing unhappily,
Daphne made eye contact
with
her
intended,
who immediately noted the sadness radiating from
his witch's gaze.
Giving her hand another squeeze,
Corban gave
her a serious look of concern. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."
"I'm not
sure that's such a good idea." At
this,
Corban raised his
eyebrows sharply. "It's not about me, it's about Hermione."
At
the darkening expression on her
wizard's face,
Daphne was
quick to reassure him.
"It's nothing anyone has done… at least not lately."
Corban now looked a bit confused. "I'm not sure I understand."
"Hermione shared something with me, in confidence of sorts. I told
Draco, Theo and Blaise-and made them take a wand oath because
they needed to know.
But
I'm not
sure… if
I
tell
you… you will
be
obligated to tell the Dark Lord."
Corban sat
back in contemplation,
wondering what
could be so
awful
that
would require an oath.
"I
think you'll
need to let me be
the judge of that, little love."
Daphne sighed unhappily, but decided to share her concerns with
her wizard.
She told him everything Hermione had shared about
being
bullied
as
a
child
in
the
Muggle
World,
having
no
friends-when she got
to the part
where Hermione had been
assaulted at
the age of
seven,
and what
her magic did to protect
her?
Corban's face turned dark and forbidding.
At
the end of
the story,
Corban sat
back and pondered what
his
witch had told him.
There was no doubt
he'd have to tell
the Dark Lord.
If
the boy
wasn't
dead,
he'd soon be,
probably his family along with him.
Corban didn't
feel
bad at
all
if
that
was his Lord's decision.
Why
Hermione chose to keep this to herself
for so long was a greater
mystery. She must have been so deeply traumatized by what had
happened,
she'd shut
herself
down… fighting for
your
right
to
survive will
do that
to a person.
The fact
she was so young and
managed not
only to persevere but
to exact
her
own plans so
flawlessly was something to be greatly admired and respected.
Looking over at his love, he could see her hesitation and fear.
"Little love,
I
know it
wasn't
easy telling me this,
but
you did the
right
thing.
I
will
have to tell
the Dark Lord,
and he will
be
furious-not
that
his daughter kept it from him. I suspect he will
be
even more impressed with her Slytherin nature, but he will want to
avenge her mistreatment. I want you to know that the Flint's have
been taken care of.
Archibald unfortunately,
has made some
unwise investments and has lost
a good deal
of
his fortune over
the last
two months." Corban smirked and his witch nodded her
head in satisfaction.
"Marcus on the other hand,
well,
he will
be
met
with an unfortunate accident
soon-that's all
I'm at
liberty to
divulge."
"Will he survive?"
"Possibly,
but
not
intact."
Corban smirked wickedly,
causing
Daphne to giggle momentarily, before her mood became somber
once again.
"What will you tell the Dark Lord?"
Corban swirled his wine for a moment, thinking about the best way
to handle the situation. "Would you be amenable to giving me your
memory of the conversation?" He inquired softly. "I think it might be
better for the Dark Lord to hear it from his daughter's point of view."
Sighing reluctantly,
Daphne gripped her
napkin in her
hands,
twisting it in agitation. She thought about what Corban was asking
of
her,
and while she knew he'd tell
the Dark Lord regardless,
perhaps it
might
be helpful
for
him to see how well
Hermione
seemed to have handled everything.
Although she doubted very much their Lord would see it that way.
Silently she nodded her head, bringing the memory to the forefront
to allow Corban to extract it. Once the memory was safely stored in
a vial
he'd transfigured from one of the water goblets on the table,
he paid for the dinner and escorted his witch back to the castle. As
they'd reached the entrance, Corban moved Daphne into a private
alcove and sat her down, reaching into his robes and pulling out a
small, rectangular box.
When he handed it to his witch, she just looked confused, her eyes
questioning.
Bless her-she'd truly never expected him to offer a betrothal
gift,
and he'd hesitated in doing so,
but
Marlene had reminded him
that Daphne was still
pure, and deserved such consideration from
him.
Suitably chastened, he'd picked out a simple, but elegant bracelet
from his family's vault. It was a piece worn by his grandmother, on
his father's side. When Daphne opened the box, her eyes shot up
in wonder and he smiled softly.
"Corban… you didn't
have to." Daphne stuttered out in shock as
she stared at the bracelet, glinting in the lowlight of the alcove.
Getting down on his knees,
Corban took his witch's right
hand
and clasped the bracelet on her wrist, silently murmuring a spell
to seal
the clasp in place. He then raised her hand, and kissed it
reverently.
"I know I didn't, but I wanted to. You are precious to me, little love,
and deserve to have the best
of
everything I
can provide.
This
shows to everyone my regard for you, so I hope you'll wear it with
pride."
Daphne nodded, speechless-but leant over and kissed her wizard
softly-which soon turned into a heated snog until
they heard
footsteps approaching.
Releasing her from his embrace, Corban
waved his wand returning them both to their pristine state, before
he escorted his witch back into the castle walls.
"Enjoy the rest
of
your
evening,
little love.
I
will
write to you
sometime next week."
"Thank you for a lovely evening, Corban."
Her wizard grinned and with one last
kiss and a wink,
he turned
around and walked back to the village,
where Daphne had no
doubt
his next
stop would be to see Hermione's father,
and the
thought
made her a bit
ill.
She had no idea how the Dark Lord
would react on seeing the memory she'd given Corban. She didn't
think the Dark Lord was capable of
feeling things like guilt
or
remorse-but
she knew he cared for Hermione, despite his darker
propensities and it
made her
wonder
if
she shouldn't
warn her
friend.
Corban Yaxley was a loyal Death Eater.
He'd been initiated into the Dark Lord's ranks a few years out
of
school,
at
the bidding of
his own father,
who had gone to school
with the then Tom Riddle. His father was gone now, and Yaxley had
always imagined that
his family line would die with him.
Now that
he was to marry,
a witch over
half
his junior,
he knew it
was a
realistic possibility that in some years hence, he would sire an heir.
He had talked with Hermione on many occasions and seen her
at
the right
hand of
her father,
and he'd never once thought of
her as weak nor emotional. But apparently, she was very good
at
concealing
her
emotions-which
now as
he'd
come
to
realize-was a self-protective mechanism.
Apparating to McKinnon Manor,
he felt
the wards accept him as
he walked towards the front
entrance.
When he arrived and
knocked,
a tiny house elf
answered the door and welcomed him
inside.
Asking the creature if
his Lord was available,
the elf
nodded jerkily and walked him towards the study where his Lord
had taken residence.
When he entered,
he was unsurprised to
find Marlene sitting on the couch,
reading through a book, while
His Lord was sitting behind his desk, talking with Lucius Malfoy.
He bowed and was greeted immediately.
"Ah,
Corban," nodded Lord Voldemort,
"what
brings you here at
this hour."
Corban stood stiffly and tried to speak as calmly as he could. "My
Lord,
I
am sorry to come by unannounced,
but
something has
come to my attention that
I
felt
you would want
to hear
about
immediately."
Marlene
looked
up and smiled softly.
"Is
everything alright,
Corban? Did something happen with Daphne?"
"Not
as such,
My Lady.
This actually has to do with Hermione, My
Lord."
Voldemort leant forward on his desk, giving his undivided attention
to his follower.
"And just
what
is of
concern about
my daughter,
that has you coming here at this hour?"
Corban reached into his robes and pulled out the vial, the silvery
wisp of Daphne's memory swirling inside it. Handing it over to his
Lord, he took a seat next to Lucius who was watching him warily.
Marlene however, stood up quickly and moved over to stand next
to Tom.
"Did Hermione give this to you?"
"No, My Lady-Daphne did. She was concerned for Hermione and
shared this with me. I asked her for the memory as I felt it might
be better for you to witness their conversation yourself."
Marlene nodded and looked at Tom, who was eyeing the memory
with
veiled
intensity.
Moving
over
to the pensieve,
he took
Marlene's hand and together they entered Daphne's memory.
As they were watching it,
Lucius turned and quietly asked.
"How upset is this going to make our Lord."
Yaxley shrugged, "I'd imagine he's going to be out for blood."
Lucius paled considerably and waited until
Voldemort
came out of
the pensieve. When he did, his face was passive but his eyes were
blazing red.
When Marlene came out however, her reaction shocked the other
wizard's in the room. Her magic lashed out in a fit of rage and all
the windows exploded outwards, causing both Lucius and Corban
to stand up in shock at
the display of
raw magical
power.
Her
eyes were black,
and she was visibly having difficulty controlling
her rage.
Voldemort
moved over
and both wizard's could feel
his dark
magic swirling around his witch in an attempt to calm her.
"This is my fault!" She hissed at Tom.
"No,
we are both to blame. But there are others as well
and they
will
pay for what
they've done." Glaring over at Corban, his Lord
hissed in fury.
"You will
find me this person,
and his family.
You
will do this, Corban or you will feel my wrath-are we understood?"
Corban bowed deeply, knowing that his Lord was angry on behalf
of
his
only
child and heir.
"Yes,
my
Lord.
I
will
find those
responsible and bring them to you."
Voldemort
nodded,
then looked at
Lucius.
"You will
view the
memory,
Lucius,
and then we will
discuss what
punishment
your
son will receive for harming my child in such a way."
Lucius paled, but before he could move, Marlene's hand shot out
in anger. "You will not punish Draco. He was just a boy, who was
taught at his Father's knee." She then snarled at Lucius in anger.
"You're hatred and bigotry caused my daughter to suffer! I think
the better question is how should I punish you!"
Lucius didn't
say a word but
moved over
to the pensieve and
watched the memory.
When he returned,
he placed his head in
his hands, shaking in fury.
Fury at what had happened to Hermione, but anger at himself that
his beliefs and expectations caused the chain reaction that
had
hurt
his
son's
intended-a witch whom he now viewed as a
daughter.
Looking up humbly,
Lucius bowed his head and spoke firmly.
"I
will
accept
whatever punishment
you both deem necessary. Only
know that
my sorrow echoes your own.
I
have come to care for
Hermione as a daughter,
and I
am devastated on her behalf.
I
would give my life to protect hers."
Marlene sighed,
sensing the truth of Lucius words. Looking up at
Tom,
he was watching her closely,
waiting to see if
she sensed
any deceit
from the blonde wizard.
Marlene shook her
head
resignedly and left the room-not wanting those present to see her
break down over her daughter's pain.
Tom watched his witch leave, unsure of what to do. Sitting down,
he waved his hand and firewhiskey appeared for himself and his
two followers.
"What
shall
I
do,
Lucius? How do I
as a Father,
avenge my daughter,
when one of
the biggest
proponents of her
pain is the wizard she loves -whom I've given my blessing to? Am
I
supposed to do nothing? I
would crucio the boy if he were here
at this moment.
Yet,
I
know
my
daughter
would
never
forgive
such
a
transgression."
Lucius
sat
there
thoughtfully,
wondering
how to
make
this
situation right.
"I
know if
it was a daughter of mine, I would move
heaven and earth to make it
right
for her." Taking a sip,
Lucius
gazed over at
Yaxley,
who was staring off
into space.
"If
I
know
anything about
Hermione,
my Lord,
is that
she abhors being
perceived as weak in any way. I remember thinking to myself how
utterly brilliant she was when she blackmailed me back her fourth
year."
Voldemort
smirked,
remembering how proud he felt
when Nagini
had told him how his own child had bested Lucius and Severus.
"She is formidable, but she is also my daughter. And then there
is her
mother,
who will
blame herself
needlessly for
giving
Hermione up, when there was simply no other way."
"I
will
find those responsible,
my Lord." Corban promised.
"As
for
Hermione?
I'm afraid my
witch felt
uncertain of
your
daughter's reaction in sharing this memory.
Daphne has been
a loyal friend and was devastated by Hermione's confession."
"I
saw that
for
myself,
Corban.
Perhaps it's time I
paid a visit
to
Hogwarts
and
have
a
long
overdue
conversation
with
my
daughter."
Lucius
and Yaxley
sat
there in silence,
wondering what
the
outcome of that conversation would be.
Confrontations and Conversations
Chapter 69: Confrontations and Conversations
Theo woke up,
blinking at
the sound of
snoring coming from
Goyle's bed.
Stretching,
he cast
a tempus charm,
noting that
it
was barely seven o'clock in the morning.
It
was a Sunday,
and
breakfast
didn't
start
for
another
hour,
but
deciding it
would be
best
to get
up and use the shower
before everyone else,
he
grabbed his things and moved to the bathroom.
He noticed that
Draco had returned at
some point
last
night,
as his pale blonde
hair
was easy to spot
through his curtains.
He sighed softly,
remembering what
had happened yesterday,
and hoping that
Draco had found Hermione and worked things out with her.
Gazing over at
Blaise,
he saw that green eyes were watching him
closely.
They both simultaneously glanced in Draco's direction and
back to each other, both thinking the exact same thing.
Blaise got up and grabbed his things too, deciding it might be best
to give their friend some space this morning.
When they
were dressed,
they moved out
together
into the
common room.
It
appeared empty at
first,
until
Theo noticed
someone sitting by the fireplace, with their back to them. The man
had dark hair and was reading a book. When Theo moved around
to get
a better
look,
he immediately bowed deeply-when he
realized just who was sitting there.
it
was then he spotted Nagini,
her head in her Master's lap,
as
she was being petted absentmindedly by her owner.
The Dark Lord gazed up, his eyes flashing red momentarily as he
noticed the two young wizard's who were bowing before him.
The young Nott
heir came from good breeding,
but
had been an
instigator of
his daughter's pain. The Zabini
boy looked much like
his mother, a fact that made Voldemort inwardly smile.
Elora Zabini was the consummate Black Widow.
She
went
through
husband's
like
they
were
merely
disposable entities, a trait he found admirable.
"My Lord." Both men said together.
"Ah yes, young Theodore and Blaise… is it not?"
Blaise looked up and nodded once. "That is correct, my Lord."
Nagini
hissed softly,
saying something in Parseltongue,
to which
her
master
responded in kind.
"I
am looking for
young Draco.
Perhaps you might be so kind as to fetch him for me."
Both boys nodded and rushed out of the room to get their friend,
knowing that
there was probably only one reason why the Dark
Lord would be at Hogwarts, and that didn't necessarily bode well
for any of them.
As they entered the room,
Goyle and Crabbe were just starting to
wake up. Theo however, went over to Draco's bed and shook him,
hissing his name to get him to wake up.
"Draco!" Theo pleaded, "You need to get up now, mate."
Draco grumbled something unintelligible and placed his pillow
over his head but Theo grabbed the pillow and yanked it, earning
a growl and angry grey eyes glaring at him.
"What the fuck, Theo?"
"You need to get
up now,
Draco!
The Dark Lord is in the fucking
common room and he wants to talk to you… now!"
At this, Draco sat up immediately, his face paling more than normal
while Crabbe and Goyle looked like they were going to be sick.
"Fuck!" Draco shouted,
as he grabbed his wand and cast
several
refreshing and cleansing charms.
It
wouldn't
do for the Dark Lord to smell
the scent
of
sex on him
after all.
Grabbing his best clean robes, Draco got dressed in less than five
minutes and bolted out of the door, his two friends in tow.
When they'd reached the common room,
there were a few more
people who had entered.
A few seventh year
boys,
some lower
class
mates
and a few of
the sixth year
girls were present,
including Pansy and Tracey Davis, who were openly staring at the
Dark Lord in awe.
When Draco moved out
into the common room, he went over to
his Lord and bowed formally.
"My Lord,
it
is good to see you.
What can I do for you this morning?"
Voldemort
stared at
the blonde who,
despite being surprised, was
extremely put together.
The fact
irked him greatly,
and Nagini,
sensing her Master's
ire, hissed out in warning.
"You are angry with the boy, but you need not worry. He loves
Mistress
and
she
loves
him.
You
will
not
punish
the
boy-Nagini forbids it and Mistress will be angry with you."
Voldemort
glanced down at
his… no… his daughter's familiar and
glared.
"Since when do I
take orders from you,
traitor? Et
tu,
brute?"
Nagini
slithered over
to Draco and wrapped herself
around the
young wizard,
much to the astonishment of all
in the room. Theo
and Blaise paled and were shocked when the Dark Lord started
to chuckle softly.
"Even when I come here to voice my displeasure at you, young
Draco-Nagini
will
not
allow me to punish you. Perhaps you should
have a seat."
Voldemort gestured across from him, and Draco sat down, with his
love's snake firmly around him.
The Dark Lord then glared at
Draco's two friends and gestured for
them to sit
down as well,
which they did immediately.
Casting several
charms wandlessly,
making them invisible and silent to the others in the room, the Dark
Lord sat
back and observed the three young men sitting across
from him.
"Imagine my surprise,
when I
learned last
night
several
truths
about
my daughter that
were kept
from me.
I'm sure you three
could well
imagine my anger and fury at discovering these truths.
I
find myself
in a bit
of
a quandary,
young Draco. My daughter's
familiar
will
not
allow me to punish you the way in which you
deserve… but
then I'd have to crucio the entirety of
Slytherin
House for the redress against
my daughter and heir. So tell
me,
how should I
handle such a situation? I
find myself
unable to
retaliate,
because I
know my daughter
would have done so
herself, if she felt the need… and yet…" The Dark Lord eyed the
three young men closely,
waiting to see which one would be the
first to speak.
He was unsurprised when his daughter's intended was the first to
do so.
"My Lord,
I
spoke with Hermione last
night
and she shared with
me what
I'm sure you've come to know as well.
I
can't
begin to
express
my
remorse,
anger
and sorrow at
what
she's gone
through.
I
told you once before I'd gladly accept
any punishment
you see fit,
as long as it
doesn't
exclude me from being in
Hermione's life.
She expressed her wish to put
the past
behind
her and I'm going to try and honor that wish."
"I wish to see this conversation, Draco."
"Of
course,
My
Lord."
Draco went
to make eye contact
and
Voldemort silently entered his mind.
The memories were up front,
and he could see Draco's reaction
when
Daphne
told
him what
had
happened
to
Hermione.
Voldemort
felt
the boys sorrow and rage-it
was unlike anything
he'd ever felt
and he was a bit humbled by the boy's devotion to
his daughter. He saw the memory of the two of them by the Black
Lake. Again, he was impressed with his daughter's ability to hide
in plain sight.
He witnessed their
conversation,
their
mutual
declarations of
love.
He saw further,
their evening together-the
romantic dinner, dancing-he focused on his daughter singing-he'd
never heard her sing. Her voice was truly transcendent . He saw
the exchange of gifts, and how happy she was.
He left the young Malfoy's mind before he saw anymore-that might
make him kill the boy on the spot.
When the Dark Lord was finished, he sighed in resignation.
Nagini,
who was being petted by Draco, seemed to be eyeing him
warily.
"Don't
give me that
look,
snake.
I'm not
going to harm the boy."
He hissed in Parseltongue.
"Of
course you're not,
Master,
because your
daughter
would be
most
angry at
the both of
us.
I
do not
wish Mistress to be angry
with me."
"Coward ."
Voldemort
hissed,
causing Nagini
to hiss softly,
as if
she was laughing.
Voldemort
pinched the bridge of
his nose in irritation.
"I
will
make
you three personally responsible for
my daughter's safety and
well-being while she's here in this castle. If any harm comes to her,
I will not spare any of you . Is that understood?"
Voldemort
was addressing the three young wizard's, but staring at
his snake in challenge. All three nodded and Draco looked down at
Nagini, who appear to close her eyes in consternation, then nod in
understanding.
"Good."
Cancelling the spells,
Voldemort
heard a gasp and he turned
around and saw his daughter standing there,
looking at
him with
uncertainty.
"Father." Hermione nodded.
"Daughter ." The Dark Lord waved his hand and in an instant the
three wizard's were standing to the side of the couch, appearing a
bit
confused,
while he just
smirked at
his child.
"Sit,
we need to
talk."
Hermione moved over to the couch and watched in amusement as
Nagini
unwrapped herself
from Draco and slithered towards her,
wrapping herself
around her Mistress and hissing softly. Hermione
smiled fondly and petted the snake, who hissed in appreciation.
Casting the same spells as earlier, Hermione and her father were
now cut
off
from the rest of the common room. Voldemort smirked
at
his daughter and familiar.
"I
keep thinking I
should be offended
that
she prefers you to me.
And now your
intended has her
loyalty…
she's become a traitorous snake."
Hermione chuckled and scratched Nagini's head the way she
liked. "She's only doing what you bade her to do. Besides, Nagini
is smarter than both of us put together and you told me once she
does as she pleases. You can't be angry at her for that."
Voldemort
sighed,
his daughter
was right.
Nagini
had always
been quite loyal
and intelligent.
Voldemort
hissed at
his snake,
"You should share with Hermione your
story,
Nagini.
I
think
Hermione would find your history most fascinating."
Hermione looked intrigued and gave Nagini a soft smile. "I'd very
much love to hear about
your history, Nagini-when you're ready
to tell
me." Nagini
nodded,
and placed her head back down on
her
Mistress lap.
"I
suppose I
don't
need to guess why you're
here, Father?"
"No,
I
don't
suppose you do.
Your mother would've come as well,
but
she is busy destroying things today,
and I
really couldn't
be
bothered getting hexed for
my troubles.
Your
mother
is quite
formidable when she wants to be."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully.
"I
know you're angry,
I
didn't
tell
you. But it's in the past… mostly."
"Mostly?"
"I
really
don't
think
much
about
the
past.
But
sometimes,
something will
trigger a memory. My Muggle parents tried the best
they could to give me a normal
childhood,
but
I
wasn't
a normal
child.
The things that
happened were unfortunate,
but
I was able
to protect
myself
when I
needed to-some people never have that
chance.
I'm not
angry anymore.
I
think sometimes I
feel
bereft
because I
wish I'd had you and mother when I was a child. That,
I'd known about magic sooner but then, would I be the witch I am
today without
those experiences? It's hard to know how I
should
feel.
I
like who I
am.
I'm strong and resilient.
Powerful
and
intelligent. Cunning and ambitious. I'm all the best qualities of both
you and mum."
Hermione sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry you had to
waste your time and come here today."
Voldemort
sat
back and watched his daughter closely.
She was
truly a gifted and brilliant
witch,
of
that
there could be no doubt.
Lucius
was
right,
in
that
she
abhorred
showing
weakness,
especially in front of him.
Did she think
he'd withdraw his
affection if
she showed her
vulnerability?
He definitely could see the truth behind that
kind of
thinking-he
wasn't
known for tolerating what
he perceived as others frailties.
Marlene had always been the exception,
and now his daughter…
to whom he owed so much.
"Hermione,
I
do not
condone weakness,
and yet
I
find myself
angry that
you did not
see fit
to share your history with me. How
can I
protect
you as your
father,
if
I'm unaware of
your
pain?
Perhaps you should learn to trust me a bit more… yes?"
Blushing in shame, Hermione nodded and lowered her eyes. "Yes,
Father.
I
will
try to be more open.
But
perhaps you might
take a
page out of your own book."
Voldemort
raised an eyebrow at
his daughter's cheek.
"In
what way?"
"Well, you're not exactly warm and fuzzy either. Not that I'd ever
expect
you to be… that
would be… odd .
But
I
know you're
making plans-plans that I'm not a part of."
Voldemort nodded. "And you feel excluded?" "A bit."
"I
see."
Voldemort
sighed.
"Whilst
it
was not
my intention to
exclude you,
I've tried to remind myself
that
you still
have your
studies to complete, and finishing school
at the top of your class
should be your first priority. Do you disagree?"
"Not at all, Father. But I think I've proven that I am more than
capable of multi-tasking."
Voldemort
chuckled fondly at his child and stood. "That you have,
my dear." Cancelling the charms, he smirked when he noticed the
entirety of Slytherin House was waiting in the common room. "I will
make it
a point
from now on to share my plans with you.
I
value
your
input,
and it
was unfair
of
me to not
include you.
I
will
endeavor from now on to do so."
Wanting to roll
her
eyes
at
the startled faces
of
the other
Slytherin's,
Hermione then looked at
her
Father
and nodded.
"Thank you, Father. I appreciate your stopping by to see me. Give
my best to mother."
"I
will."
Voldemort
bowed and then placed a small
kiss on his
daughter's forehead,
much to the astonishment
of
everyone in
the room. Looking over at Draco, Theo and Blaise, the Dark Lord
nodded and the three wizard's bowed in respect.
"Watch over her, Nagini." The Dark Lord hissed.
"With my life,
Master.
"
The snake responded sassily,
causing
Hermione and her father to chuckle softly.
All
eyes were on the Dark Lord as he went to leave the common
room,
but
before he departed,
he walked over
to Daphne and
said something privately to her,
which caused the witch to nod,
smile and drop her head humbly.
Once the Dark Lord was gone, everyone was staring at Hermione,
who walked over
to her friend and took her hand,
and together
they disappeared into the sixth year girls dorms. All the Slytherin's
were in a state of shocked disbelief.
Soon,
most
of
the faces turned towards Draco who was staring
at the entrance of the girls dormitory.
Perhaps
it
was
a
good thing this
came out
after
all.
If
it
strengthened Hermione's relationship with her Father then it was
all for the better.
"Do you think Hermione is going to be upset
at
Daphne?" Theo
whispered so only Draco could hear him.
"I
doubt
it,
but
I'm sure Hermione is curious about what her father
had to say to Daphne."
"I'm curious too."
Said Blaise,
eyeing the rest
of
the room
warily.
"What
do you make of what the Dark Lord said at the
end?"
Draco smirked knowingly. "It's like I told you both earlier this year.
My witch is far
more cunning and ruthless than you could ever
imagine.
I
think she's been feeling a bit
left
out
of
her Father's
plans."
Theo looked over at his friend questioningly. "And just how involved
could she have been, mate?"
Draco's smirk only got wider and more wicked. "Oh, Theo… would
you believe me if
I
told you that
everything that
has happened
since before the Dark Lord returned was planned methodically by
my diabolical little witch?"
Theo's
eyes
widened
momentarily,
but
then
he
scoffed
in
disbelief. "I'm not sure I believe that's possible."
Draco turned to face his friend full
on,
and gave him a look that
Theo was sure he'd never seen before on Malfoy's face.
If
Theo
had to define it, it would be absolute certainty -there was no doubt
in Draco's gaze.
His face had a determined ferocity that
he had
never seen before.
"Trust
me when I
tell
you that
everything that
has transpired, has been by Hermione's design. Everything ."
Blaise and Theo appeared absolutely floored,
but
then Blaise
shook his head in wonder.
"If
what
you're saying is true,
and I
have no doubt
it
is? Then what in the fuck does the witch see in
you, mate.
You're a complete tosser-we all know it."
Draco glared,
while Theo chuckled.
"He's right, mate-you fucking
lucked out. If you weren't my best mate, I'd find some way to steal
your witch for my own."
Draco growled menacingly.
"You go near
my witch… "
Draco
didn't finish because Theo put his hands up in surrender.
"No worries,
mate,
she belongs to you.
Fuck… everyone talks
about it, you know. I think Bletchley was talking to Vaisey about it
the other day.
How envious he is of
you-seems he has it bad for
your witch, so I'd watch yourself if I were you."
Draco glowered darkly,
looking over where Bletchley was sitting
with Vaisey and Avery. "Fucking tossers! I'll end him if he so much
as tries anything with my witch."
"I
think Hermione would end him quicker.
Or
Nagini
just
might." Blaise offered helpfully
Draco smiled at
the thought
of
what
Nagini
might
do if
someone
tried to get too familiar with his witch. He just might have to put the
suggestion to the snake.
She was far more observant anyway.
Antiochus Alienum
Chapter 70: Antiochus Alienum
When
they
had reached their
room,
Hermione locked and
warded the room from intruders,
causing Daphne to pale a little
bit.
"How upset at me, are you?" Daphne wondered aloud.
"I'm not
upset
at
you Daphne.
Not
exactly. I didn't specifically tell
you to keep what I said confidential
and Draco told me you made
him take a wand oath.
I
assume you told Corban?"
Daphne
nodded hesitantly.
"Well,
then he would've felt
obligated to say
something.
Look,
I
didn't
think about
what
I'd told you and I
do understand
why you felt
the need to say something.
It's not
easy for me to
open up and share what
I'm thinking and feeling.
I'm just
a bit
surprised my Father decided to come here today."
"I'm not
." Daphne smiled at
her friend.
"Hermione,
it's obvious to
everyone in Slytherin House your Father cares about you. He sent
a pretty clear message by coming here today that
he does,
and I
don't
think it
was just
for your benefit.
Clearly he wants to protect
you and I just think he is learning how to do that. Perhaps you need
to place a bit more trust in your parents."
Hermione sighed and sat
down on her
bed.
"Perhaps.
It's not
easy you know. I haven't seen my Muggle parents since the end
of
fourth year.
I'm not
sure what
happened,
but
I
have a pretty
good idea why I haven't heard from them." At Daphne's inquiring
look,
Hermione just
shrugged.
"I'm pretty sure Father obliviated
them."
Daphne was
shocked for
a moment
before she nodded in
understanding.
"He was trying to protect
you in his own way.
Maybe he should've talked to you about it. Have you asked him?"
Shaking her head,
Hermione looked a bit
lost. "No. I'm not upset
with him… not
exactly.
If
that's what
he chose to do.
He told me
over summer after fourth year,
that
if
I
made the decision to go
with him there was no turning back.
My relationship with my
Muggle parents had become strained after they'd told me of
the
adoption and it was a relief in a way to find my magical
parents. I
know my Father is trying for my sake.
He thinks I'm unaware of
certain
facts
about
how he
ran
his
little
empire
before he
disappeared,
but
I'm not. Just like I'm not unaware that he hasn't
engaged in certain practices since finding out he has a daughter."
Daphne looked confused for a moment
before her eyes cleared.
"Revels."
"Yes.
I
loved my Muggle parents and they lied to me-my entire
life,
until
they couldn't
anymore.
I
know that
parents try and
protect their children, and I think my Muggle parents did the best
they could.
It's different
now though.
I've spent
so much time
protecting myself,
but
now I
have my real
parents,
Draco and
even you as a friend. I'm just trying to get used to it, you know?
It's still not instinctive."
"I
understand.
I
thought
you'd be so upset at me for telling Draco
and Corban.
But you're not alone anymore Hermione… you need
to let people help you."
"Draco said the same thing. I get it, I do. It's just going to take a bit
of time so just be patient with me, okay?"
Daphne nodded and came over, giving her friend a hug, which she
surprisingly returned.
"I
can do that.
Now tell
me how the rest
of
last night went."
The smile that
lit
up her friend's eyes and face,
made Daphne's
heart
feel
a bit
lighter.
Hermione showed her
the bracelet
that
Draco
had
given
her,
so
Daphne
reciprocated
by
showing
Hermione the betrothal piece that Corban had gifted her with. Both
girls
gushed
at
how perfect
their
wizards
were,
and
when
Hermione felt
sufficiently calmed,
she cancelled the wards of
the
room,
and opened the door to a very disgruntled looking snake,
followed by Crookshanks,
who seemed equally irritated if
his
meows were any indication.
"Did Mistress really need to lock and ward the room?"
Nagini
slithered in and wrapped herself
around Hermione,
licking her
cheek softly, causing the young witch to giggle.
"Sorry, Nagini. I thought you'd be with Draco."
"I was for a bit, but your intended decided to go get cleaned up for
the
day.
It's
probably
a good idea he remembered to cast
refreshing charms on himself before greeting Master… you on the
other hand?"
Hermione
gasped
indignantly,
and then blushed when she
realized that
she had sat
down and conversed with her Father,
all
the while closing her
eyes in mortification,
and she felt
Nagini's body shaking against her, laughing.
"You're incorrigible!
I'm so mortified!
Ugh!"
Hermione stomped
over to her trunk and grabbed some clean clothes,
before she
moved over
into the showers,
glaring at
her
familiar
who just
curled herself
on her Mistress bed, watching her with a pleased
little look.
Daphne who'd been watching the entire exchange as well, looked
a bit
flummoxed,
but
after a few moments started bursting out in
laughter,
which filled the room.
Nagini
watched the witch with
glee,
while her
Mistress
was cursing in Parseltongue in the
bathroom.
"It's not funny, Daphne Greengrass!" Hermione yelled.
"Oh come on, Hermione… it is so funny." Looking over at the snake
with a conspiratorial
look, Daphne whispered. "Did she reek of sex
while she was talking to her Father?"
The snake shook,
almost
like she was laughing and nodded her
head.
Daphne couldn't
help herself,
she dropped off
the bed in
hysterics, laughing uncontrollably.
"It's not funny!" Hermione screeched from the shower, hearing
Daphne's laughter,
and wondering if
the rest
of
their
house
could hear it too. "Piss off, Greengrass!"
Daphne just
chuckled and grabbed her
clothes for
the day,
waiting for her friend to come out
of
the bathroom so she could
use it.
When Hermione finally appeared, red-faced and glaring…
Daphne
just
winked
and
walked
into
the
bathroom,
while
Hermione grumbled under
her
breath.
When she was finally
dressed,
she walked down into the common room,
followed by
both her
familiars.
As she reached the main area,
most
of
her
housemates had thankfully left for breakfast in the Great Hall, but
a few stragglers remained. Draco was no where to be found, but
a few seventh year boys were still hanging about: Miles Bletchley,
Bradley Vaisey and Cadmeon Avery being the most notable ones,
and were sitting in the far corner.
When Miles saw her,
he stood and sauntered over
confidently,
causing Hermione to groan inwardly.
She wasn't
unaware of
the
heated stares some of
the seventh year boys had been sending
her
way since the beginning of
the school
year.
The looks had
gotten even more predatory since Christmas.
Bletchley was a
handsome wizard, and most of the witches in their house thought
so at least.
No where near the level
of
her wizard,
but
she was taken…
very taken.
Miles bowed formally in front
of
Hermione and smiled softly.
"My Lady, I hope you're alright?"
Hermione gave Miles an amused look,
seeing Nagini
slithering
over by the fireplace, but watching closely. "I am doing well, thank
you.
Have you seen Draco this morning?" Something flashed in
the older wizard's gaze,
but
Hermione chose to ignore it
for the
moment, before it cleared and the wizard's hazel eyes gazed over
her
heatedly.
"I
haven't
seen him this morning,
not
since your
Father left. Perhaps you might allow me to escort you to breakfast
this morning?"
Hermione inwardly rolled her eyes,
but
before she could
say
anything-a very
cold voice drawled from behind
them.
"That
won't
be necessary,
Bletchley.
I'm more than capable of
escorting my witch to breakfast,
or
anywhere else she might
require of me."
Looking up,
and seeing the anger and resentment
in Miles eyes
didn't surprise her, but when she turned, she gasped at the fierce
look Draco was giving the older wizard. His lean body was coiled,
as if
he was preparing to strike-his grey eyes were darkened and
Hermione could feel
the power radiating off him-and based on the
visible flinch of the older wizard, Miles could feel it too.
Theo and Blaise were flanking her
wizard,
and they both
looked upset on their friends behalf.
Hermione smiled softly at Draco's show of possessiveness, then
turned around and said politely,
but
firmly,
"Thank you for
the
offer, Mr. Bletchley. But as you can see? I'm in very good hands."
Not
caring to look at
the expression of the older wizard, Hermione
didn't miss the knowing smirk on her intended's face or the way his
darkened eyes turned lustfully on her.
Draco sauntered over and
wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist,
giving her a soft,
but
lingering kiss on her forehead.
"Hungry, love?"
Hermione lifted up her head and smiled mischievously before she
answered, "Ravenous ."
Draco chuckled,
as did Blaise and Theo,
as the three wizards
escorted Hermione from the common room to the Great
Hall
for
breakfast,
missing the look of
absolute fury from the older wizard
and his friends.
The looks however,
were not
missed by one very cunning and
protective snake.
As the four
of
them moved into the Great
Hall
and sat
down,
Hermione whispered to Draco,
"Do I
want to know what that was
all about?"
Draco sighed and pulled Hermione a bit closer, when he saw the
three older
boys saunter
into the dining hall,
sending scathing
looks his way.
"Bletchley's got
it
bad for you,
love.
Theo heard
him talking to his friends-not so politely, if Theo's to be believed."
"I see ." Hermione's face darkened momentarily, before it cleared.
"And just
how concerned should we be over
this? Pansy still
hasn't let go of her infatuation where you're concerned. How likely
is it
that
the two of
them might
try and team up to do something
untoward?"
Blaise and Theo looked shocked at
Hermione's deductive
skills,
while Draco just
smirked at
them knowingly.
"I
told you
my lovely witch is brilliantly ruthless."
Hermione giggled and popped a piece of
toast
in her mouth while
Draco poured her a cup of tea.
"There's a spell
you can use to check food and drink to make sure
it's not spiked with something foreign. It's called Antiochus alienum
."
Theo looked confused,
and raised an eyebrow at
Blaise who just
shrugged helplessly.
Draco however,
gazed down at his witch and
placed a finger under her chin, his expression now stern.
Hermione sighed and then clarified,
"I
created it
myself
second year… when… well you know."
She quickly looked away embarrassed, while the three young
wizard's sat
there thunderstruck at
the implications of
what
Hermione was telling them.
Draco finally cleared his throat
and said so softly only Hermione and his friends could hear
him.
"You created this spell
as a means of
protecting yourself
should
someone try and poison you?"
Hermione just shrugged at first, but then nodded once.
"And
did
that
ever
happen?"
Draco
inquired,
his
voice
hardening.
Hermione looked up at
him in confusion,
so he
clarified. "Did the spell ever come back positive?"
Hermione's face reddened, and Draco didn't need to hear her say
it… someone or
someone's had tried to poison his witch .
His
magic started reacting,
and Hermione could feel
it
reaching out.
The immediate area was getting colder, so she grabbed Draco's
hand and forced him to look at her.
"It's fine, Draco… really…"
"It's not
bloody fucking fine,
Hermione!
"
Draco growled angrily,
while everyone at their table started looking on with interest at their
Prince,
who was angrier than anyone had ever seen him. "Do you
know who did it?"
He growled even deeper,
but
Hermione just
shook her head. "How long?"
Hermione
wasn't
going
to
insult
Draco's
intelligence
by
pretending she didn't
know.
"First
year,
towards the end,
I
ate
something that made me very sick. I went to Madam Pomfrey and
she gave me a bezoar.
I
told her to keep it
confidential,
which
thankfully,
she did.
Second year,
I
carried a bezoar
with me
everywhere until
I developed the charm, and the attacks stopped
happening sometime before the end of
the year.
I've been
checking my food and drink until
just
before the end of
fourth
year."
Draco finally realized now, why he never saw Hermione eating in
the Great Hall
with the other Slytherin's during the first four years,
and why she looked so sickly thin during that time.
He growled and stood up angrily,
glaring out
over the Slytherin
table.
"Everyone-back in the fucking common room,
Now!"
He
yelled as his magic flared out in warning.
The Headmaster looked over at his godson, and seeing the anger
on his face,
nodded once and stood up robes billowing in his
wake.
Hermione tried to get
Draco's attention but he just shook his head
angrily. "Were you ever going to say something?"
"I just did, you great prat!" Hermione glared, which caused Draco to
smirk before he grabbed her
arm and escorted her
back to the
common room, with Blaise and Theo following close behind.
When they reached the common room,
Draco sat
down on the
couch
with
Hermione
in
his
lap
as
he
watched
all
their
housemates filter
back into the common room over the next
30
minutes. When it seemed everyone was there, Draco stood up but
before he could begin speaking,
the common room door opened
again and the Dark Lord walked in,
Hermione's mother following
closely behind with the Headmaster,
who looked extremely put
out.
The Dark Lord and Marlene moved further into the common room
and the students heads bowed in deference to their
Lord and
Lady. Draco bowed too, and the Dark Lord just raised an eyebrow
as
he
noticed
how angry
the young wizard was,
and how
extremely vexed his daughter appeared to be. When she opened
her mouth to say something,
Draco growled in warning,
causing
both he and Marlene to wonder just
what
in Salazar's name was
going on.
The Dark Lord escorted Marlene to the seat
next
to Hermione,
while he sat
down on the wing-backed chair,
facing the students
who looked scared and unsure.
"My Lord,
I
suspect
that
Severus called you here and I apologize
for
not
contacting you directly,
but
something just
came to my
attention that needed to be dealt with immediately ."
"And
exactly
what
is
that
something that
has
your
magic
reacting in such a way,
young Draco? My daughter
seems
particularly vexed."
Hermione glared, then sighed unhappily. "If you feel the need to do
this,
I
won't
stop you,
Draco.
But
after
this… it
ends .
No more
dredging up the past."
"Is there anything else I
need to know before I kill
one of them?"
Draco growled,
and Hermione's eyes widened,
while the Dark
Lord looked on with keen interest.
"No,
I
can't
think of
anything." Hermione nodded, and turned to
her mother, who stood up with her daughter's hand in hers, and
led her out of the common room.
When
they
were gone,
Draco rounded on the rest
of
his
classmates
and snarled.
"I
want
to know who it
was,
who
decided to poison my witch back during first and second year?"
The Dark Lord sat back, as he watched the young Malfoy Heir, who
was livid.
"Please explain, Draco." Voldemort hissed.
"Perhaps it might be better to show you, my Lord?"
Voldemort
nodded and locked eyes with Draco,
who brought
forward the memory of
the conversation at
breakfast.
When the
memory was done, Voldemort pulled back and broke eye contact,
his eyes blazing red as he looked out
over the common room,
noticing all
the students eyes were on the floor-no one daring to
make eye contact directly.
"You
will
be
given
one
chance
to
come
forward
with
any
information at this time. If any refuse to do so, and I find out later
you
had
knowledge
or
participated
in
the
poisoning
of
my
daughter,
I
will
torture you into madness before I
kill
you… and
your family with you."
Nagini
hissed
in
agreement,
curling around her
Mistress
intended and then hissing at the common room en mass.
The
room was
quiet
for
a moment,
before Pansy
Parkinson
stepped forward, her head bowed and she spoke quietly, but firmly.
"My Lord, I believe I may know who tried to poison Hermione."
Voldemort
nodded,
while Draco just
looked at
his former friend in
disgust. "Who was it Pansy?"
Pansy looked up at
Draco,
realizing that
any hope she had of
having Draco in her life was gone. He was looking at her like he
used to look at
Hermione and the irony wasn't
lost
on the
dark-haired witch.
"I
overheard a conversation back during first year. I confronted the
wizards directly and they told me to leave it alone. In second year, I
witnessed one of these wizards telling his house elf to put a vial of
something in Hermione's goblet
during breakfast.
I
left
it
alone
because we thought
she was Muggle-born and I
didn't
want
to
cause trouble."
"Who was it, Pansy?" Draco snarled out heatedly.
"I
think it
might
be better
if
I
show you?"
Pansy stated
matter-of- factly.
Draco looked over at
the Dark Lord,
who was watching the witch
with a curious expression on his face.
"Why not just tell us directly, Miss Parkinson?"
Pansy
shrugged,
"Plausible
deniability."
She
offered,
and
Voldemort had to admire the witch's cunning and self-preservation.
Gesturing her over,
the Dark Lord made eye contact and wasted
no time rifling though her memories,
until
he found the one's he
was after.
He wasn't
gentle by any means and the witch was
shaking with fear and pain when he left
her mind. It hadn't taken
him long to find what he had been looking for, and Voldemort was
disgusted with how this young woman had taunted his daughter
repeatedly.
How she lusted after his daughter's intended and he
was outraged by some of
the things he'd seen in her
mind.
Pinching the bridge of
his nose,
he silently raised his wand and
cast a crucio at the witch, who dropped down screaming onto the
floor, as everyone watched in horror.
Everyone except Draco, who was smirking in satisfaction.
When Voldemort finally lifted the spell, he looked out over the rest
of Slytherin House and sneered menacingly.
"My Heir has suffered tremendously at
the hands of
everyone in
this house.
Her
House and Her
Birthright
.
I've allowed her
to
handle things as she's seen fit,
but
that
ends today.
Until
my
daughter leaves this school,
you will
all
be held responsible for
her safety. You will
treat her with the deference she is due, by her
birthright and none will
interfere with her nor her intended. Nagini
will kill anyone who does not abide by this… is that understood?"
Everyone bowed humbly and said, "Yes, My Lord."
Voldemort
nodded and sent
a Patronus to Severus,
asking him to
come back to the dorm quickly.
A few minutes later,
Severus
entered the common room and moved over
to his Lord,
who
whispered something into his ear.
Nodding once,
the Headmaster
moved back out of the common room. The rest of Slytherin House
stood there,
waiting for an indeterminate amount
of
time,
until
the
common room door
opened again,
and Marcus Flint,
Graham
Montague and Adrian Pucey were standing before them.
All
three
wizard's had their
heads bowed humbly,
paling at
the sight
of
everyone in the common room staring at the three of them.
"Ah,
gentlemen,"
Voldemort
hissed menacingly,
"please join us,
won't you?"
Marcus glanced over
at
Draco,
whose grey eyes were blazing
with anger and he froze momentarily before looking over at
his
two friends, who were pale and trying not to shake in fear.
Draco deferred to the Dark
Lord,
who gestured for
him to
continue.
He then stalked over to Flint and sneered angrily. "You
poisoned my witch, Flint. Nearly killed her-did you think you'd get
away with that?"
Sneering at
Montague and Pucey,
whose faces were now ashen,
Draco's scowl deepened, "And you two helped him?"
No one said a word, and it was so quiet in the common room
you could've heard a feather drop.
The three wizards looked
warily at each other but none of them spoke.
Soon Severus returned,
and handed Draco a small
vial,
which
caused the blonde to nod in thanks. Looking over at Nagini, Draco
smirked. "Nagini, if you could help me please."
The
snake
nodded
and
slid over
towards
where Draco was
standing.
Draco held open the vial
and Flint's eyes widened at the
sight.
Veritaserum .
Making to move away,
Nagini
struck and wrapped herself around
the wizard and started to squeeze tightly, causing Marcus to gasp
in
pain.
As
soon
as
his
mouth
opened,
Draco
poured
a
dropper-full
of
truth serum into his mouth and clamped it
shut,
pinching his nose, forcing him to swallow.
Voldemort watched with calm amusement, secretly pleased at how
well
the
young
Malfoy
seemed
to
be
taking
charge
of
this
interrogation.
The wizard showed promise.
When
Flint
had
swallowed
the
Veritaserum,
his
eyes
glazed
momentarily and Draco pounced.
"Did you poison Hermione first
and second year?"
Flint
tried to struggle,
but
when he opened his mouth the word,
"Yes" spilled out against his will.
"Who's idea was it?" Draco snarled.
Again Flint
tried to struggle,
but
the potion was just
too
strong. "Mine." He gasped.
"Who's house elf did you use?" Draco snarled. "Pucey's
House Elf." Marcus said, flinching.
"How
many
times
did
you
attempt
to
poison
Hermione?" "At least ten ti… times." Marcus gasped.
"Montague? How many times did he attempt to poison Hermione?"
"Twice." Flint looked at his friend with sorrow in his eyes.
"Pucey? How many times did Adrian try and poison Hermione?"
Marcus
shook
his
head and said,
"He didn't
want
to.
We
threatened him, so he gave us use of his elf. He figured out that
Hermione was checking her food and drink late second year, so
we stopped."
Draco nodded,
looking over at
his former Quidditch mate, who
just bowed his head sadly.
"What did you threaten him with?"
"We'd tell
his
dad about
his
relationship with Higgs."
At
this
confession,
Draco's eyes widened and Adrian just blushed harder,
trying to ignore the shocked gasps of
the rest
of
his former
housemates.
"Besides Pansy,
did anyone else here at
Hogwarts know about
your plan to poison Hermione or help you in any way?"
"No." Marcus intoned flatly,
realizing his life was most likely forfeit,
if the look the Dark Lord was sending his way was any indication.
"Mr.
Flint?"
The Dark Lord said silkily.
"Did your
Father,
or
the
family members of either Adrian Pucey or Graham Montague know
or aid in your plan to poison my daughter?"
Marcus face turned beet red, but he couldn't stop from answering.
"My Father."
Voldemort nodded. "Is he the one who gave you the poison?"
"Yes." Marcus nodded, tears now coming down his face.
Looking out over the students, Voldemort had heard enough.
"Nagini… kill ."
The snake wasted no time and continued to squeeze the life out
of the wizard until
he dropped dead at Draco's feet. Draco smiled
in satisfaction, while Theo and Blaise just nodded to each other.
"Draco,
please
bring
Theodore
and
Blaise
with
you.
Mr.
Montague and Mr.
Pucey-you both will
come with us." Looking
down at the dead wizard, Voldemort smirked. "Nagini… dinner ."
Glaring at
the rest
of
the students,
Voldemort
then spoke softly,
but
deadly.
"You all
will
heed this lesson today.
Any of
you who
betray that
which is mine,
will
be dealt
with accordingly.
Loyalty
will be rewarded, treachery however…"
The Dark Lord watched as each student
lowered themselves to
their knee and bowed before him.
Nodding in satisfaction, he left
the common room with the five wizards in his wake.
The rest of the house gasped in horror as they watched the snake
start
to devour
the wizard slowly.
Everyone escaped to their
common rooms, the weight of today's punishment weighing heavily
on their
minds.
They all
realized how lucky they were to escape
their Lord's wrath,
and all
understood the lengths he would go to
protect his daughter.
Mother, Daughter Bonding
Chapter 71: Mother, Daughter Bonding
Marlene walked with her
daughter
towards the seventh floor
corridor,
noticing many of
the students watching them as they
strolled together.
Hermione was unusually quiet,
but
Marlene
figured once they got
to the Room of
Requirement, her daughter
would have plenty to say. It seemed this day was a day for secrets
to be revealed and it was a testament to everything her daughter
had been through,
that
she was still
as calm and poised as
always.
Her heart broke for her baby girl, in more ways than one.
She had suffered, truly suffered.… in ways she was just beginning
to understand.
The guilt
and remorse she felt
for having to give
Hermione up were overwhelming,
and not
for
the first
time,
she
was angry…
… angry at herself and angry at Tom that his lust for power and her
own nature had separated her from their daughter.
When they entered the Room of
Requirement,
it
was a carbon
copy of the Slytherin Common Room and Marlene smirked at how
very much like Tom, Hermione was. She sat down by the fireplace
and started a fire,
gesturing for
her
daughter
to do the same,
which she did.
For a few moments,
neither mother nor daughter knew what
to
say, but finally Marlene broke the silence.
"Hermione,
why didn't
you feel
you could confide in your Father
or I about any of theses issues?"
Sighing sadly,
Hermione just
shrugged. "I really thought it was all
behind me, Mum. I've really tried to put all the bad stuff in the past
and move on. I made that a conscious decision when I decided to
forgive Draco and move forward with a relationship.
I've never
had anyone to talk to about any of this. My Muggle Parents, while
they're good people,
I
just
couldn't
share much with them.
Dad
told me how upset
you were this morning,
and I
guess I
didn't
want to burden either of you. It's not your fault you had to give me
up-it was Dumbledore's-if he hadn't killed your family we wouldn't
be where we are today.
You and I would've most likely ended up
dead.
Dad was gone,
so there was no one to protect
us.
I
don't
want anyone to think I'm weak, that I can't take care of myself."
Marlene reached over
and grabbed her
daughter's hand and
squeezed it
comfortingly.
"No one thinks you are weak,
sweetie.
Everyone knows how brilliant
and strong you are.
But
you don't
need to be that
way with me, nor your Father… nor Draco for that
matter.
That young wizard loves you more than I ever thought possible. He
worships you and would do anything to protect you. I know he feels
guilt
over
how shamefully he treated you when you both were
younger,
but
he's a good wizard in his heart.
And that
heart
belongs to you now."
"I know, Mum… I do . And I love him just as much."
Hermione sniffled,
trying to hold back her tears,
but
Marlene just
grabbed her and held her tight, letting her daughter release all the
pent up pain she'd been holding onto for so long.
"I
think your Father is learning how to take care of
you.
It's not
easy for
him,
Hermione-but
he truly cares for
you-more than
anyone or anything else in the world."
Hermione looked at her mum sadly. "More than you?"
Marlene smiled softly and nodded her
head.
"Yes,
I
imagine he
does. What Tom feels for me is different than what he has come to
feel
for you. You are a part of him in a way I never will be. You hold
a piece of him, Hermione. He would do anything to protect you."
Looking at
her mother with concern,
Hermione's prodigious mind
started to work out
all
the variables of
what
her mother was and
wasn't
telling her.
After a few moments, she bit her lip and asked
quietly,
"Mum,
does the fact that Dad split his soul-how does that
really affect you?"
Marlene sucked in a shocked breath,
amazed that
her daughter
had caught
on to something that
was so close to her own truth-it
shocked her. Realizing all
the deceit Hermione had dealt with over
the years,
she decided she couldn't
lie to her daughter,
not
about
this.
"It affects me, Hermione. I'm diminished because your Father is not
whole, so I'm not whole as a result."
Hermione
nodded,
trying
to
understand.
"Draco
and
I
are
soulmates.
Does a succubus need to be soul
bonded with her
mate?"
Marlene looked away from Hermione for a moment,
before she
gathered her courage and spoke. "A succubus doesn't need to be
soul
bonded to her mate,
but
in order for a succubus to be fully
mated, her chosen mate's soul must be intact . I knew when I was
sixteen your
Father
was my mate,
and ironically his soul
was
fractured. Unfortunately, I didn't understand why that was at that
time.
Naively,
I'd assumed it
was something I
could heal,
given
time. I was wrong. Being separated from Tom all
these years has
depleted my magical
core to the extent
that
my time is limited,
Hermione. I won't lie to you… not about this."
Hermione's face turned ashen as she gasped in horror. "How much
time?"
"A year,
maybe two.
I
really don't
know,
sweetie.
And before you
ask,
no… your Father does not
know,
and I
have not
told him.
In
order for me to survive, Tom would have to feel
remorse as it's the
only way to heal
his soul.
I'm not
even sure now that
you and
Draco have fully sealed your bond,
that
you'll
have the power to
undo the damage he's done by splitting his soul. I don't want you to
be angry at
him,
Hermione.
Tom has had a very difficult
life.
You
had Muggle Parents who loved you,
I
love you and Draco loves
you.
Tom,
I
think,
even loves you on some level.
But
Tom has
never experienced love-not
as a child and not
as an adult.
I
care
deeply for him and yes, I love him in as much as I am able to. But
my love for
him is limited,
because his soul
is limited-does that
make sense?"
Hermione nodded,
desperately wiping the tears away,
before
she hugged her mother fiercely. "I just found you, Mum! I don't
want to lose you again!"
Marlene felt her own tears falling from her eyes. "My perfect girl. I
would give anything to stay here with you.
To watch you marry
Draco and see my grandchildren grow. But that is not my fate and
I've known it
for
a very long time.
There is no magic strong
enough to undo the damage that's been done. Your Father will be
here to take care of
you.
Lucius and Narcissa care for you as a
daughter, they will
protect you and love you as their own. Draco is
your other half.
You both have found the greatest,
rarest
gift
that
magic has to offer-a true soul
bond. That's all I've ever wanted for
you."
"How can I
not
be angry at
Dad!?!
I
found a spell
that
returned
parts of
his soul
back to him.
We could do that
with the other
horcruxes!" Hermione pleaded to her mother,
who just shook her
head sadly.
"No,
it's not
enough,
Hermione.
Your
father
split
his soul,
long
before I
came into his life.
Even if
he were to offer a piece of his
soul,
like you and Nagini
have? It
might
buy me a few more
months-but
not
sufficient
time.
It
is unlikely that
your Father can
experience remorse,
Hermione.
I'm not
talking about
guilt,
or
shame-true remorse . The pain that comes from being remorseful
is so profound, it can heal
the soul
completely. But in order to feel
remorse, one must be capable of love. Tom isn't capable of those
emotions,
through no fault
of
his own.
He was conceived with a
love potion,
his mother tricked his father by using a love potion
and
seducing
him.
When
Merope,
your
grandmother,
fell
pregnant,
she stopped dosing Tom Riddle Sr.
with love potions,
but
the man was angry and he turned her away.
Her family cast
her
out
for
falling pregnant
with a Muggle,
and when Tom was
born, Merope died in childbirth."
"How do you know all this, Mum?"
"Albus Dumbledore, ironically enough. The man speculated much
of
this during the first
Wizarding War,
and shared many of
his
speculations with those of
us within the Order.
I
overheard a
conversation he had with my Father and Mother and it
was this
story that caused me to seek Tom out all
those years ago. I didn't
know why,
but
I
understand it
a bit
better
now.
Every person
deserves a chance at
redemption,
sweetie.
Your
Father
needs
that
chance more than anyone I've ever known.
I
once thought
I
would be the person to help him, but now I see that it is you who
has the best chance of helping your Father. Don't give up on him,
sweetie.
There is a man,
underneath all
that
pain,
that
craves
family-you fill that need in him. A need I could never give him."
"Does Dad know you know this about him?"
Marlene smirked and shook her
head.
"No,
I
don't
imagine he
does. He abhors weakness of any kind… yet, he is trying with you
to be less self-involved and more present. He cares for me, I know
this but it's not the same."
"So I just sit back and watch you die and not say anything?"
Marlene wrapped her daughter within her embrace again and held
her tightly to her bosom.
"You have to understand that
there are
things in this world that magic alone can't heal, and this is one of
those things."
"That
still
doesn't
make
it
right."
Hermione
whimpered
out
heartbreakingly.
"I
know,
sweetheart.
But
if
you understand nothing else,
please
always remember how much I love you. You are the very best thing
I've ever done in my life.
I'm so,
so sorry I
wasn't
there to watch
you grow into the amazing woman you are today. I've always tried
to keep an eye on you,
and I
wish I'd been there for
all
your
milestones but
just
know that
someday,
you are going to make an
amazing mother.
Your children will
be so blessed to have you to
guide them and love them."
Hermione gasped as tears fell
down her face,
holding onto
her mother tightly. "I love you, Mum."
"Oh,
Hermione… I
love you too,
so very much.
I'm so proud of
you."
Hermione just
nodded into her
mother's shoulder
as Marlene
held her and let
Hermione cry.
She couldn't
stop the tears from
coming down her own cheeks,
as she closed her eyes and tried
to
get
a
grasp
and
a hold onto these precious
moments.
Someday
soon
she
would
no longer
be there to give her
daughter comfort, listen to her fears and worries and that thought
made Marlene's heart break.
When the crying had lessened,
Hermione pulled back from her
mother. "How do you think Dad is going to react when he realizes
your situation or that
I
knew and didn't tell
him? He's going to be
so angry at me, Mum."
Marlene sighed and pulled Hermione's hair softly out of her face.
She was right.
Tom would be furious with her
for
keeping this
from him and Hermione for
not
saying anything.
Sighing in
resignation,
Marlene could only watch her daughter,
as she had
to deal
with one more trauma that
life had unfairly thrown her
way.
"I
will
try and find a way to tell
your
Father,
sweetheart.
Just
promise me no matter what happens, you will
try and remember
that
despite Tom's many flaws-he truly does care for you,
more
than anything."
"I'll try, Mum."
"Good… now,
is there anything else I
need to know about
your
past? Anything I can help you with?"
Hermione looked at
her mother warily.
"Do you know if
Dad
obliviated my Muggle parents?"
Marlene was shocked momentarily, but she should have expected
this question at some point. Tom had admitted he had gone to the
Granger's
and had given them the choice.
To give up their
daughter or not. When they'd refused to do so, he'd stunned them
and obliviated them. Marlene had been surprised by his restraint,
as the Tom she'd known from before his disappearance would've
killed them,
no hesitation.
It
was when she'd pointed this out
to
him,
he'd gotten pissy and reminded her
he had a daughter to
consider,
and her
feelings as well.
He knew if
he killed the
Grangers, Hermione would've never forgiven him.
"Yes,"
Marlene said softly,
"he did.
He gave them a choice
sweetie- give you up willingly or not.
They chose not
to,
so he
did the kinder thing by obliviating them."
Hermione bit
her lip in contemplation and nodded at her mother.
"I
first
thought
he'd killed them,
but
then I
realized Dad wouldn't
have done that-at least I'd hoped he wouldn't. Seems I was right."
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"He knew you'd be disappointed in him.
I
don't
think he'd ever
admit
this
to anyone,
including himself,
but
fatherhood has
changed him. He no longer practices revels with his followers and
that alone is something I'd never thought I'd see."
"I
know a bit
about
that
from some of
the things I'd read from my
research on Dad when I'd realized he was my Father. He was quite
ruthless before-not
that
he's not
now,
he just
seems to be a bit
more thoughtful."
"Less
violent… it's
true.
Tom has
never
had
any
sort
of
compunction about
killing,
torturing and so forth.
At
least
he
didn't
before,
but
he did have a few redeeming qualities-he
wasn't
completely so far
gone that
there wasn't
a soul
worth
saving.
He,
being my mate,
well-I'm not sure I could have taken
what
was left
of
his soul… horcruxes are complicated bits of
magic."
"Do you think he regrets making them?"
Marlene shook her head.
"No,
Tom's always been obsessed with
immortality.
I'd always wished there was a better way for him to
achieve that… without
having to damage such a large part
of
himself."
Hermione looked thoughtfully at
her mother and closed her eyes.
Soon, a book was deposited on the table in front of them.
Marlene looked at
her
daughter
questioningly,
as she lifted the
book.
Tales of Beedle the Bard.
She was familiar with these stories, having grown up listening to
her own mother read her these as a child. Hermione reached for
the book and opened it,
to one of
the stories towards the back.
The Tale of the Three Brothers.
"I don't understand, sweetheart. Why is this important?"
"Do you know the significance of
this story,
Mum?"
Hermione
asked.
Marlene
thought
back
in the story… Cadmus,
Antioch and
Ignotus… it
was widely rumored in certain circles that
the three
Peverell
brothers were the three wizards depicted in the story.
But she had never heard much more than that.
"When I
was younger,
your
grandmother
would read me
these stories. She had told me once, when I was older that
the
three
brothers
were
rumored
to
be
the
Peverell
brothers."
Hermione nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes… Antioch,
Cadmus
and Ignotus.
Antioch was the original
owner
of
the Elder
Wand… the Deathstick.
Cadmus was the original
owner of
the Resurrection Stone and Ignotus was the original owner of
the Cloak of Invisibility."
Marlene looked at
her daughter in amazement. "And how do you
know this?"
"Research, Mum-these three items are known as the Deathly
Hallows .
People have been searching for
years to unite the
Hallows.
Dumbledore
and
Grindelwald,
when
they
were
younger… it
was
their
obsession… until
Dumbledore's sister
Ariana was killed."
Marlene sat
back in shock and looked at
her
daughter
proudly. She truly was very bright.
"Did they ever find any of these Hallows?"
Hermione nodded.
"They did… or I
should say,
Grindelwald did.
When he was a boy,
he lived with his Aunt,
Bathilda Bagshot.
She told me that
sometime in his teen years,
he had stolen a
wand but
she didn't
know whom it
belonged to.
I
was able to
research
it,
and
found
out
that
the
wand
belonged
to
Gregorovitch."
"The wandmaker?"
"The very one.
Viktor
told me that
most
of
the students at
Durmstrang had their
wands made by Gregorovitch.
He also
mentioned to me in confidence that
there had been rumors that
the wandmaker had been the owner of
the Elder Wand at
one
time."
Marlene
nodded
in
understanding.
"Dumbledore
dueled
Grindelwald in 1945. He defeated him."
"Yes, and took the Elder Wand for his own. I wasn't sure at first, if
my
theory
was
correct.
But
I
found
some
old
pictures
of
Dumbledore before 1945 and after. The wand he carried after his
duel was not the same one he had before."
"Okay,
let's assume you're correct,
sweetie? Where is that
wand
now? Dumbledore received the kiss."
"He did but before he was arrested, he attacked me and I disarmed
him."
"Merlin's beard, Hermione! Are you saying that you have the Elder
Wand?"
Hermione nodded again.
"The only person who knows is Lucius
Malfoy.
I
made him take a wizards oath before he gave me the
wand.
I
magically copied it,
gave Lucius the copy and kept
the
original for myself."
Marlene
was
stunned
at
her
daughter's
cunning
and
cleverness. "And what of the other two items?"
Hermione held out
her
hand,
where the Gaunt
family ring was
sitting on her right index finger.
"This stone, on Father's ring is the Resurrection Stone."
Marlene paled, as she looked closely at the ring on her daughter's
finger. There were strange markings on the ring, so it was entirely
possible her
daughter
was correct.
Staring at
the wall
for
a
moment,
Marlene
couldn't
help
but
wonder,
"The
Invisibility
Cloak? Do you have any ideas who might have it?"
Hermione shook her
head.
"I
honestly have no idea.
I
know
Ignotus had it and I've traced his family line and there are several
possibilities, but so far I haven't had any success figuring it out."
Marlene was amazed at how much her daughter had figured out
on her own.
Her thoughts went
back to many years ago… to a
different time with different people.
Oh yes, she knew who most likely had the Cloak.
Looking over
at
her
daughter,
who was watching her
with a
contemplative gleam in her eye,
Marlene smiled wickedly.
"James
Potter,
had an Invisibility Cloak when I
was in school
with him.
Sirius used it
on many occasions as it
had been passed down
through the Potter line for generations."
Hermione's eyes widened in excitement.
"Then Harry might
have
it?"
Marlene smiled widely and nodded.
"I
do believe it
is a distinct
possibility.
If
I
remember the story from my grandmother correctly,
whomever held all three would be the Master of Death."
"Yes,
don't
you see, Mum? If there was a way to make Dad whole
again,
and you by extension… we could use the Hallows,
Dad
could still
be immortal
if
he so wished it,
but
his soul
could be
healed?"
Marlene smiled sadly at
her
daughter's hopeful
expression and
didn't
want
to
dampen
her
spirits,
but
she
needed
her
to
understand that things weren't always that simple.
"Hermione? The only way for your Father to be whole is through
remorse and I
don't
want
to burst
your bubble,
but
you need to
understand that emotion, it may be beyond what he is capable of.
And if
it
is? You need to let
this go.
Go after the Hallows if
you
want, but keep it close to yourself. Do you understand?"
Hermione nodded reluctantly,
hoping her
mother
was wrong in
what she was saying about her father. But she had to try, right? If
there was a chance her mother could live… she couldn't give up
now, not when she finally had her family back… her real family.
"I
think we at
least
need to explore the idea-we have some
time, right?"
Not
wanting to dampen her daughter's hopes,
Marlene reached
for her and gave her a hug.
Pulling back,
she smiled proudly at
Hermione,
her
reason
for
everything
and
nodded.
"Yes,
sweetheart. We have time."
Dueling Snakes
Chapter 72: Dueling Snakes
Draco had followed the Dark Lord to Severus office,
where they
floo'd to McKinnon Manor.
Once there,
Voldemort
called for his
Death Eaters and it
didn't
take long until
the main drawing room
was filled to the brim with the Dark Lord's most
loyal
followers.
The Lestrange Brothers,
Lucius,
Thoros,
Corban,
and Severus
were sitting at
the head of
the table whilst
other members were
scattered at the bottom, including Archibald Flint.
When everyone had finally settled,
the Dark Lord warded the
room and silenced it.
"Thank you for all
coming so quickly. It has come to my attention
that
one of
my faithful
followers was directly responsible for the
poisoning of my daughter back during her first and second years."
The looks of
shock,
anger
and outrage,
were palpable in the
room. All except Archibald Flint, who had paled significantly at the
news. The Dark Lord tilted his head in acknowledgement towards
the young Malfoy Heir,
who was sitting in the far
corner
with
Blaise,
Theo,
Montague and Pucey.
Given silent
permission,
Draco stood and strode over confidently to where Archibald Flint
was sitting-then snarled in anger as he clasped the elder Flint on
the shoulder and said forcefully, "Get up ."
The rest of the Death Eaters were watching with interest, while
Lucius noticed that
his son,
was angrier than he'd ever seen
him. The Dark Lord smirked at the Malfoy Lord and nodded his
head towards the younger wizard-and in that moment, Lucius
understood that
his Lord was allowing his son to handle
this-very interesting.
Draco stood facing the older
wizard and sneered angrily.
"Your
son
is
dead .
Killed for
what
he did to my
witch.
It's
my
understanding you provided Marcus the poison responsible for
almost
killing Hermione.
I
gave him veratiserum,
he told me
everything ."
Archibald Flint glared hatefully at the young wizard. "You're one to
talk,
Malfoy.
You taunted Hermione her first and second years as
well!"
Draco sneered and pointed his wand at
the older wizard's throat
while the temperature in the room dropped at the magic radiating
off the young wizard-much to the astonishment of everyone in the
room.
"I
didn't
poison her!
I
didn't
push her and cause a fall
that nearly
killed her! I may have been a bully, but I would've never physically
harmed
Hermione
in
such
a
way-what
you
did-what
you
encouraged your son to do? That can't go unpunished Flint."
Archibald smirked at
the younger
wizard.
"And you think your
going to teach me a lesson, boy?"
"No."
Draco smirked right
back.
"I'm going to kill
you." Archibald
scoffed and Draco sauntered back,
twirling his wand in his hand.
"I'll even give you a chance to defend yourself."
"A duel?"
Archibald sneered hatefully.
"You're a bit
out
of
your
depth,
pup… perhaps you might
leave the dueling to the big
boys."
"It wasn't a request, Flint."
Draco's smirk widened and Flint looked over at his Lord, who was
watching the scene unfold with interest.
"I
have allowed Draco this concession,
Archibald… but
make no
mistake… you are being challenged to a duel-to the death ."
Voldemort
stared unblinkingly at the man who had nearly killed his
daughter and his eyes glistened red.
He would allow Draco to prove himself, but he was equally sure his
daughter would have words for both of them later.
Archibald removed his outer robes. "Will you call a second?"
Draco considered the man before him.
"If
there is a wizard
here willing to be your second, have him come forward."
Draco glared at
the rest
of
the Death Eaters,
yet
none offered to
second for Lord Flint.
Nodding his head in satisfaction,
Draco removed his outer robes
and the two men took their stances apart
from each other.
Each
bowed and then the duel began in earnest.
Both Flint
and Draco raised their
shields as hexes and curses
started flying at each other. Draco's shield was stronger than most
realized.
Hermione had helped him perfect
it
after
his duel
with
Weasley.
Nothing but
an unforgivable could get
through it.
Draco allowed
Flint
to go on the offensive for a bit,
as he moved in closer to his
target.
A confringo hex rebounded off
his shield,
as well
as a
reductor
curse.
When Flint
threw an expulso,
flagrante and a
petrificus totalis in rapid succession,
he was able to block each
curse as it came in.
There were some other darker curses that
Draco wasn't
familiar
with,
but
his shield held fairly well-as he finally got
a read on the
older
wizard and then he went
on the offensive-silently calling
forth a barrage of spells-culminating with a modified fiendfyre that
he and Hermione had created that blasted Flint's shield to ash-the
resounding shockwave caused the other
Death Eaters to gape
openly with shock and then Draco yelled sectumsempra -a curse
his godfather
had invented-slashing the older
man's chest
wide
open.
Draco watched in satisfaction as Flint
fell
to the floor.
Silently
casting an expelliarmus,
Flint's wand flew into his outstretched
palm with a resounding slap. The older wizard gasped out his final
breaths on the floor of Hermione's home, while Draco watched the
life ebb from him with a profound sense of
satisfaction.
When he
finally breathed his final
breath,
Draco cast
an evanesco and
Archibald Flint's body disappeared;
and a few modified cleansing
spells-the room was good as new.
When he was done, Draco turned and faced the Dark Lord with a
bow and then stood at
attention waiting to be addressed.
Lord
Voldemort glanced over at Lucius, who was watching his son with
pride shining from his eyes and as his gaze wandered over
towards his other followers,
they were all
observing the young
Malfoy heir with clear admiration and respect.
Voldemort
nodded and stood up,
walking over
to his future
son-in- law and clasping him on the shoulder in solidarity.
"Well done, Draco."
Draco bowed his head again, humbly. "Thank you, my Lord."
Voldemort
turned towards the younger wizards and gave each
an appraising look.
Both Adrian Pucey and Graham Montague
were pale and trying their
best
to appear
unaffected.
Turning
back to his followers,
Voldemort
gestured towards the younger
wizards.
"It would seem that Archibald and Marcus had help with their plan.
Whilst
it was unwilling on Mr. Pucey's part, I'm afraid I can't allow
the slight against my daughter to go unpunished." Looking over at
Thoros, he smiled grimly. "Perhaps your son and Mr. Zabini might
be willing to prove their worth to me, Thoros."
Thoros glanced at
his son,
who sat
up a bit
straighter and subtly
nodded to his father. Thoros returned the sentiment.
"We are at your service, my Lord."
"Excellent.
Take them somewhere more suitable to carry out
your
task.
Please provide me with a pensieve memory when you have
completed your work."
Thoros bowed and moved towards his son and his friend. Grasping
the shoulders of
the two shaking wizards,
Thoros led the small
group towards the floo and called out 'Nott Manor .'
When Thoros had left
with his small
entourage,
Lucius stood up
and walked over
towards
his son.
Words didn't
need to be
exchanged,
the proud look on Lord Malfoy's face said it
all.
Voldemort gestured for Draco to take Archibald's seat at the table,
the symbolism not
lost
on anyone.
Once everyone was seated,
Voldemort nodded again towards the young Malfoy.
"You have exceeded my expectations,
Draco and I'm pleased to
see your dueling skills evolving quite nicely."
Draco's
expression beamed with pride.
"I
have had excellent
mentors, My Lord."
"Indeed." The Dark Lord returned Draco's look. "You have earned
your place at
the table,
and as such,
will
be expected to receive
my Mark upon graduation from Hogwarts."
Draco bowed his head humbly. "I am honored, my Lord."
"Perhaps you should return to Hogwarts with Severus. I'm sure my
daughter will be wondering where her intended has gone off to."
Draco chuckled.
"Knowing Hermione,
she will
be affronted that
she missed being the one to dispatch both Marcus and his
father."
The rest
of
the men in the room chuckled knowingly at
the
statement,
and Voldemort
grinned in agreement.
"I'm sure she
will
forgive this
trespass,
but
you can always
show her
a
pensieve memory of the duel."
She will
most
likely insist
upon seeing it,
if
only so she can
critique my
performance and offer
pointers
in how best
to
improve my technique."
The men in the room were openly laughing at this, so they missed
the subtle clearing of
a woman's voice.
When the Dark Lord
looked up at the doorway, it was to the amused expression of his
witch and the stern glare of his daughter.
He stood up and sauntered over
to the doorway,
and once his
followers realized who had joined them,
all
the wizard's stood to
attention.
"Welcome home."
Voldemort
grinned at
his witch,
who smiled
demurely in return.
His daughter however,
was openly glaring at
her intended with a raised eyebrow, while Draco was grinning back
in challenge.
"Did we miss something?" Hermione inquired sarcastically.
Voldemort
went
and stood in front
of
his daughter,
and tilted her
face so he could have her undivided attention. "I'm not sure I am
pleased with your tone, Daughter."
Hermione to her credit,
didn't
cringe at
her father's stern look,
she just lowered her eyes in response.
"Apologies, Father."
"Hmmm." He shook his head subtly at
his daughter,
but
led her
over to her intended, who took Hermione's hand immediately and
kissed the back of it.
Marlene smiled at
her daughter,
who was obviously put out that
she didn't get to witness the earlier festivities.
"We
are
sorry
for
interrupting,
My
Lord,
but
Hermione
was
understandably curious as to whom was responsible."
"Archibald Flint
is missing." She eyed her wizard and gave him an
impish grin, "Did he and his son suffer much?"
The Death Eaters all
chuckled at
Hermione's bloodthirsty nature,
but
Draco just
smiled adoringly at
his witch.
"Yes… they are both
dead."
Voldemort
gestured towards
Draco.
"Your
intended was
most
impressive in his duel
against
Archibald.
Dispatched him quite
effortlessly."
Hermione nodded,
her
gaze heated as
she considered her
wizard.
"I'm glad to hear of it." Gazing up impishly at her Father,
she gestured towards Draco's seat.
"Am I
to assume that Draco
has earned his place in your ranks, Father?"
Voldemort
grinned openly
at
how brilliant
and observant
his
daughter was,
a fact
that was not missed by any of his followers,
who were all watching Hermione with nods of open admiration.
"He has indeed .
I
am sure if you were to ask? Draco would
be happy to share the memory of the duel with you."
"I would very much like to see that."
Draco took Hermione's arm in his,
bowing to his Lord.
"I
should
get Hermione back to Hogwarts, My Lord."
Voldemort
nodded his acquiescence and gestured for Severus to
join them.
"Oh,
Daughter? Nagini
might
be a bit
indisposed for a
few days-she had a rather
large meal
as it
were."
He then
addressed Draco and ordered firmly,
"You will
take care of
her,
Draco."
"Of
course,
my Lord."
Draco nodded again,
bowed and then
escorted Hermione from the room,
Severus following closely
behind.
Once Hermione and Draco had left
the drawing room,
the Dark
Lord gestured to his followers.
"Gentlemen, please see yourselves out for the evening."
All
the men bowed and one by one,
apparated off
the estate until
only Lucius remained. When they were alone, Lucius bowed before
his Lord and spoke quietly. "I just wanted to thank you, my Lord, for
giving Draco the opportunity to prove himself."
Voldemort
tilted
his
head
in
acknowledgment.
"He
shows
promise,
Lucius.
I
was
most
impressed with how deftly he
handled both the interrogation with Marcus and the duel
with his
father.
I
believe in time,
Draco will
become quite a fearsome
dueler,
which makes me doubly pleased.
He will
be able to
protect Hermione."
Lucius grinned knowingly. "Perhaps Hermione will grant Draco the
illusion that
he is taking care of
her.
I
have no doubt
that
the
repertoire of
impressive spells my son showed this evening was
due to Hermione's prodigious intellect."
"She is quite ruthless when she wants to be."
Lucius bowed and took his leave.
Marlene watched the blonde
wizard floo back to his home and moved out
of
the drawing
room, towards her suite of rooms followed closely by Tom.
"Just
how impressive was Draco this evening?" Marlene queried
curiously.
"He was quite efficient
and deadly.
I'd meant
it
when I
said he
showed promise." Voldemort sighed as he moved into their room,
removing his outer robes and sitting on the chaise sofa by the
window as he eyed his witch.
"Perhaps I
should be asking how
your conversation with our daughter fared?"
Marlene looked up warily,
surprised by the question.
"It
was fine.
Hermione abhors anyone perceiving her as weak but she truly has
struggled these past
years.
It
was heartbreaking to see her break
down."
Tom looked a bit
uncomfortable,
but
he nodded just
the same. "I
would ask you to share those memories,
but
perhaps it
is best
that Hermione has some secrets known only to her mother."
Marlene sat
down on the end of
the bed and gave Tom a
considering look. "That is very understanding of you, Tom."
Tom seemed to bristle for a moment before his shoulders slumped
and he sighed in irritation. "I am learning, Marlene. It is not easy for
me to deal
with the fact
that
I
have a grown daughter who is not
only beautiful, but utterly brilliant and diabolically clever."
Marlene chuckled at Tom's discomfort. "You will
need to learn how
to be patient, Tom. You are doing a fairly good job of being a father,
I think."
"Hmmmm…."
Tom muttered distractedly.
Looking over
at
his
witch,
who seemed to be holding herself
a bit
more rigidly than
he was used to seeing,
Tom raised an eyebrow in question.
"Perhaps you might
share with me what
has you on such edge
these days?"
The question came as a shock, so much so that Marlene's breath
caught
and her
eyes widened in alarm before she could stop
herself.
Tom's eyes narrowed in realization that
his witch was
hiding something from him.
He leant
forward,
his eyes locking
onto Marlene's and suddenly she could feel him trying to enter her
mind.
She could've stopped the assault,
hid her
thoughts,
but
perhaps Hermione had been right.
She needed to be honest with Tom.
So she let
him in and allowed him to witness the part
of
the
exchange of
conversation between Hermione and herself.
She
showed him enough to let
him understand what she was facing,
but
not
any of
the particulars of
what
Hermione had confided to
her about the Deathly Hallows.
When Tom broke eye contact,
Marlene fully expected to see
unrestrained anger on his face. What she wasn't prepared for was
how ashen he looked.
The guilt
and horror
over
his face was
palpable and she realized that
perhaps she'd misjudged Tom's
level of affection where she was concerned.
"How long?" Tom bit out hoarsely.
"I've known for years this might be a possibility, but I didn't know for
sure until the night Rodolphus and Rabastan stayed with me."
Tom tilted his head in consideration.
"So,
that
is why you've
not asked them to attend to you recently?"
Marlene shrugged at
first,
but
then sighed and nodded once.
"They no longer
serve the purpose they once did,
so no… I've
seen no need to indulge in unsatisfactory relations at this point."
Tom lifted his head and stared at
the ceiling deep in thought
before he spoke out harshly.
"Would you ever have told me had Hermione not guilted you into
doing so?"
Marlene's countenance gave nothing away,
but
the shakiness of
her answer told Tom everything he needed to know.
"No, I wouldn't have told you."
Tom nodded,
his magic starting to become erratic.
He could feel
the rage and anger simmering below his skin but
there was also
fear and something else he didn't want to name as of yet. He gave
Marlene a dark look,
stood and walked out
of
the room. She just
sat
there in shock as she stared unseeingly at
the empty chaise
where Tom had just
been and she felt
many things at once-but it
wasn't
until
she heard the roar of rage and a series of explosions
echoing throughout
the Manor,
that
she flinched in pain and felt
tears streaming down her face in anguish.
An Uncomfortable Conversation
Chapter 73: An Uncomfortable Conversation
When Hermione and Draco had returned to Hogwarts,
Draco led
his witch into the Slytherin Common room which was surprisingly
empty- except for one very large snake who was digesting a rather
large meal and asleep by the fireplace.
Hermione smirked at
Nagini
and shook her head in wonder.
"Nagini ate Flint?"
Draco chuckled and nodded.
"Yes,
she did. I think the rest of our
esteemed house is suitably chastened and horrified in equal
measure. Your Father scared them shitless."
Hermione giggled softly and took Draco's hand, leading him to
the couch by the fireplace where they snuggled up against each
other. "So, just how bad did it get?"
Draco kissed the top of
Hermione's head and shifted her so she
was sitting on his lap.
Grey eyes met amber ones, that were filled
with curiosity and mirth.
"Oh… I
don't
think
our
classmates
will
be
forgetting
what
happened anytime soon." Hermione titled her head questioningly
and
Draco
just
grinned.
"I'll
show you a pensieve memory
tomorrow, love. For tonight? I just want to hold you and not worry
about
our
classmates.
Your
Father
did threaten them all
quite
spectacularly, so I doubt we have much to worry about before we
graduate."
Hermione
sighed
and
snuggled
into
Draco's
chest.
"That's
something I suppose."
Draco hummed in agreement as he tightened his hold around his
witch and breathed in her delicious scent.
Together they stared
into the fire,
and Hermione felt
herself
drifting off
to sleep.
He
lifted his witch into his arms and made his way to the sixth year
girls dormitory.
When he reached the door,
he knocked gently
and was surprised when Pansy opened the door and nodded at
him politely. He gave his former friend a curt gesture in reply and
placed Hermione into her
bed,
covering her
up and placing a
small kiss on her forehead.
When he went
to leave,
Pansy grabbed his arm softly,
which
caused him to raise an eyebrow questioningly.
Pansy sighed as she looked into the grey eyes of the only wizard
she'd ever loved.
It
had broken her heart
when she'd found out
he was betrothed to Hermione-of
all
the witch's in Hogwarts.
When she had heard of
the rumor
of
whom Granger's father
really was? She simply didn't
believe it.
It
wasn't
until
today,
having the Dark Lord invade her mind and the reminders he'd left
her with, that she knew just how much the Dark Lord cared for his
daughter.
She was simply grateful she wasn't dead.
Clearing her throat
softly,
Pansy gestured for Draco to follow her
out
into the hallway.
As he was closing the door,
Draco noticed
Daphne looking at
him and shaking her head in exasperation. He
just
smirked evilly and winked at
his friend,
which caused her to
chuckle softly. A quick glance at his sleeping witch reassured him
that
Hermione was still
asleep,
so he closed the door and cast a
silencing charm.
"What do you want, Pansy?"
"Look,
Draco? I
know you're angry with me.
I'd imagine you
must
hate me after
everything,
but
you have to know that
I
didn't
know Hermione was the Dark Lord's daughter.
We all
thought
she was a Mudblood, yourself included. I'm not trying
to justify my actions,
but
aren't
you being a bit
hypocritical
in
your defense of her after all this time?"
Draco widened his stance and folded his arms across his chest. "I
know what
I
did,
Pansy.
I
said hateful
things and I
alienated
Hermione from Slytherin. I humiliated her in front of other students.
I
was a bully… it's true . But I would've never physically hurt her. I
watched Flint
trip her down the stairs and it
was I,
who went
and
got
help for her.
I'd spent
a lot
of
time first,
second and third year
being a prick but
it
doesn't
excuse what
they did.
They poisoned
her,
Pansy.
Hermione could've died .
Whatever kind of bully I was
to Hermione, I would've never tried to kill her."
Pansy rolled her
eyes.
"Don't
kid yourself,
Drake.
You may not
have put
the poison in her cup,
but your words and actions were
just
as poisonous.
Don't
you remember how frail
Granger looked
back in third year? That
was just
as much your doing as anyone
else's."
Draco sneered at
Pansy,
but
deep down he knew she had a valid
point.
"Look,
Pansy?
Whatever
my
faults
were,
I
take
complete
ownership of
them.
I've apologized to Hermione and she's
forgiven me. The difference between you and I, and the majority
of Slytherin is simply this-I realized the error of my ways back in
third year. Well
before I knew whom she really was-not because
she was the Dark Lord's daughter-in spite of
the fact
I
thought
she was Muggle-born.
I
tried to fix my mistakes because I
saw
what
I'd done was wrong and I
made the choice to rectify it.
Even if
Hermione hadn't
been discovered to be the Dark Lord's
Heir,
I
still
would've fought
for her and tried to help her, if for no
other reason because it was the right thing to do."
Pansy sneered. "But you'd have never been able to be with her if
she hadn't
turned out
to be exactly whom she is.
Lucius and
Narcissa would've never
allowed their
precious heir
to lower
himself to openly court a Mudblood."
Draco growled at
the use of the hated name. "I'd stop using that
name if
I
were you,
Pansy.
And my mother
knew about
my
feelings for
Hermione long before we knew she was the Dark
Lord's daughter.
My mother
stopped the betrothal
negotiations
with the Greengrass family because she knew I
had feelings for
Hermione.
So don't
assume to know what
my parents would've
allowed.
Father may not have accepted it, but Mother has a way
of
getting him to do exactly what
she wants.
And if
I'd wanted
Granger,
Muggle-Born or
not-trust
me when I
tell
you,
nothing
would have stopped my Mother from convincing my Father to let
me have what I wanted."
Pansy's face paled at Draco's confession and she shook her head
in sadness,
realizing her
friendship with Draco was likely forfeit
after what happened today.
"Look, I just wanted to say-I'm sorry about today. I'd never thought
we'd end up here, Drake."
Draco
eyed
his
former
friend
and
one
time
lover.
"No,
Pansy-you're right. But here we are and I for one wouldn't change
it.
I
love Hermione with all
my heart and I'm going to marry her. I
don't want any trouble from you and I'd meant it when I told you to
leave my witch alone.
If
anyone comes to you with ideas to hurt
Hermione? I fully expect you to come to me. Am I understood?"
Pansy sighed again, but nodded in agreement. "I can do that."
"Good."
Draco ran a hand through his hair and after a moment
went
to turn around to head back to his dorms,
but
he took one
last look at Pansy and sighed. "We were friends once, Pansy and
for a brief
time more than,
despite what
you might
think,
I
don't
want you to get hurt."
"A bit late for that, Drake."
Draco nodded in understanding before he turned and walked
down the corridor and back into the common room and took up
residence
near
the
fireplace,
where he'd been sitting with
Hermione earlier.
Nagini
looked up at him and titled her head, like she was asking
him if
he was alright.
Draco hunched his shoulders and sighed
unhappily,
remembering
Pansy's
words
and
not
liking
the
constant
reminders of
what
a prick he'd been when he'd been
younger. Giving his attention back to Nagini, Draco leant forward
and addressed the snake quietly.
"Thank you for your help today, Nagini." The snake nodded briefly
and Draco smiled fondly at his witch's familiar. "Am I ever going to
be able to forgive myself
for how I
hurt
Hermione when we were
younger?"
Nagini
hissed something softly and then shook her head,
almost
as if she were chastising him. He just sighed again and stood up,
making his way back to his dorm room.
Theo and Blaise weren't
back yet,
and he sincerely doubted they'd be returning anytime
soon.
He felt
bad for Adrian,
but
Montague was a different
story.
He was sure he'd hear all
about
it
tomorrow from his friends.
As
he finally drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but feel
grateful that
he was
able to defend Hermione and to show everyone in
Slytherin that
she was his and that
the Dark Lord trusted him to
take care of his daughter.
He'd be receiving the Mark next year and he knew his father had
been proud of him today. As he drifted off to sleep, he did so with
a small smile upon his face.
Showing Loyalty
Chapter 74: Showing Loyalty
When Draco woke the next morning, he wasn't surprised to see
Theo and Blaise asleep in their beds.
Casting a tempus, Draco
realized he needed to get
up and get
ready for
breakfast.
Grabbing his clothes,
he headed into the bathroom to get ready
for the day.
In the girl's dormitory,
Hermione was already awake and dressed,
waiting on Daphne,
who was taking her time getting ready. Pansy,
Millicent
and Tracey had left
a while ago and Pansy was awfully
subdued and Hermione was understandably curious as to the why.
When Daphne emerged from the bathroom,
Hermione pounced,
unable to hold back her curiosity anymore.
"Okay,
Daph,
what
happened yesterday? I've never
seen Pansy
this quiet."
Daphne sat
down on her bed and grinned conspiratorially at
her
best friend. "Didn't Draco tell you?"
Hermione shook
her
head.
"No,
he promised to show me a
pensieve memory of
what happened, but I want your observations
too."
Looking at the time, Daphne realized they had a good twenty
minutes before they needed to head down to breakfast.
"Well, after you and your mum left, Draco demanded to know
who had been responsible for poisoning you back in second
year. He was livid and your Father… well…"
"Scary,
I
know,
Daphne.
His magic is palpable,
but
when he's
angry it's downright blistering."
Daphne nodded.
"The Dark Lord gave everyone one chance to
come clean… he threatened to… and I
quote-torture them into
madness before he killed them and their families- endquote."
"Merlin!" Hermione chuckled.
"I'd have loved to seen the looks on
everyone's faces."
Daphne laughed at
her
friend.
"You're evil-you know that,
right?" "Not evil-just vindictive ."
Both girls
giggled at
Hermione's
accurate assessment
of
her
personality.
"Well,
anyway-Pansy
came forward and had your
Father
look through her
mind.
Apparently,
she'd overheard Flint,
Montague and Pucey discussing putting poison into your
goblet
and having Pucey's house elf
do it.
Your Father crucio'd Pansy in
front
of
everyone,
then had the Headmaster fetch the boys. When
Flint came in the common room with Montague and Pucey, they all
knew
something
was
up.
Professor
Snape
brought
some
Veritaserum for Draco and when Flint tried to get away? Draco had
Nagini
hold him still-she even forced Flint to open his mouth when
he refused to do so.
Draco dropped in the potion and clamped
Flint's mouth and nose closed forcing him to swallow the serum.
He spilled his guts,
then your Father had Nagini
kill
him and eat
him.
You should've seen the looks on everyone's faces when
Nagini…"
Daphne shivered visibly,
not
wanting to finish that train of thought.
"When your
Father
left,
he warned everyone in Slytherin House
that
you and Draco were to be left alone and he'd kill
anyone who
didn't comply."
I
see."
Hermione smiled softly,
touched that
her
Father
cared
enough to come to her defense. "How impressive was Draco?"
Daphne
laughed
loudly
at
the
look
on
her
friend's
face.
"Impressive."
"Good." Hermione nodded and grabbed her school bag for the day.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the memory now more than ever."
"Foreplay-you two are something else." Daphne snickered at
her
friend.
Hermione could only smile in satisfaction.
"Draco is excellent
at
foreplay."
Putting her
hand up,
Daphne shook her
head.
"Don't
want
to
know."
"Liar
."
Hermione
chuckled,
while
Daphne
just
blushed
in
embarrassment.
"You really need to figure out
a way to get
some
alone time with your wizard and stop living vicariously through me."
"How else am I going to learn this stuff?"
"They do have books you know?" Hermione smiled impishly as she
and Daphne headed into the Slytherin common room.
"Books
on what,
love?"
Draco smiled,
as
he stood up and
sauntered over to his witch, taking her in his arms and kissing her
good morning.
Hermione's smile widened as she looked up into her intended's
grey eyes.
"Sex ." Hermione whispered so only Draco could hear
her.
His
gaze
darkened
and
he
reached
around,
grabbing
Hermione closer into his body.
"Not
fair,
love.
We have to get
you some breakfast
and we have
classes
today.
Perhaps
after
dinner
I
might
be
able
to
accommodate that request."
Giggling softly, Hermione's cheeks pinked prettily as she bit her lip.
"I'm sorry, did I make a formal
request? I don't remember asking to
be serviced."
Draco growled and kissed her
hard.
When he pulled away,
his
eyes were blazing. "It wasn't a request. I'd promised to show you
my memories from yesterday and if
I
know my witch at all-I think
she will
be very pleased with how well I handled the situation. She
might even be willing to show me her gratitude."
Leaning up and whispering into Draco's ear, Hermione said softly,
"I'm still
a bit
sore but
perhaps we might
indulge in some
reciprocal gratification concurrently."
The grumble from Draco's chest
as well
as the outline of
his
trousers hardening,
showed Hermione how agreeable Draco was
to that request.
"Minx."
"You two need to get a room." Daphne rolled her eyes good-
naturedly.
"What do you think I'm trying to do here, Greengrass?"
"Seems
to me,
mate,
that
you're going to be well
and truly
frustrated for
the greater
part
of
the day." Blaise chuckled as he
walked into the room, observing his friends standing there.
Draco nodded in greeting. "How'd it go last night?"
Blaise ran a hand through his hair.
"Pucey is more or less fine, or
will
be. Montague… well… he won't be doing much of anything for
a while."
"You or Theo?" Draco was curious to know.
"Theo-apparently the Nott family has some very nasty curses."
At
that
moment,
Theo came out
of
the sixth year
boys dorms
looking a bit haggard, but none too worse for wear. When he got to
his friends, Hermione gave him an appraising look.
"Thank you, Theodore. You too, Blaise."
Stunned
momentarily,
Theo
could
only
nod
politely.
"You're
welcome, Hermione."
Blaise also nodded in response.
Draco led his witch out of the common room, not missing the looks
of pride on his two friend's faces. Perhaps today was the first step
in Hermione being able to place trust in his two best mates. Draco
knew they were trustworthy-eventually,
if
they continued to prove
themselves,
they might
earn their place in the Dark Lord's circle
alongside him.
No More Secrets
Chapter 75: No More Secrets
Later that same evening, Draco and Hermione did manage to
abscond
to
the
Room of
Requirement.
Together,
they
watched Draco's memories from the previous evening,
and
Hermione
had
to
admit… her
intended
was
most
impressive… and she was only more than happy to show him
how impressed she was with him.
In the days that followed, Hermione had made it a point to keep a
very close eye on Harry Potter.
If
he did indeed have the last
Hallow,
she needed to find a way to obtain it for herself, and she
was having a hard time figuring out a way to do so without killing
the Boy Who Lived. She liked Harry well
enough, they had talked
a few times and he seemed much happier
now that
he had a
father figure in his life. She didn't know what to think about Sirius
Black, but she knew from her mother they'd been intimate back in
school, in a ploy to gain her father's attention…
… but she didn't know much else.
Realizing perhaps there was another avenue she might
try,
she
wrote a letter
to Narcissa to ask for
her
help.
She didn't
give
specifics,
only mentioned that she needed a favor and when she
came home for Easter Break, she'd like to sit down and talk with
her
future Mother-in-Law about
a problem she needed help in
solving.
Narcissa had written back and told Hermione that whatever help
was required, she was more than happy to help.
The students in Slytherin House were quite subdued in the week
that
followed what
Theo took to calling 'the incident.'
Hermione
had been preoccupied by her
mother's confession,
and started
searching through Salazar's library for
anything related to the
Deathly Hallows.
After the third day of
disappearing after dinner,
Draco had followed her
to their
room and taken her
aside,
demanding answers.
"What is going on, love? You've been disappearing to our Room for
the last
three nights.
You're barely eating,
and you look tired.
Are
you sleeping alright?"
Draco wrapped his arms around his intended and kissed the side
of her neck soothingly.
"I'm fine,
Draco."
Hermione
sighed,
and
leant
into
Draco's
attentions.
Her
wizard bit
her
neck in warning and turned her
around to face him directly.
"You're lying ." Hermione went
to protest but Draco just grabbed
her and picked her up, tossing her onto their bed in the Room of
Requirement
and covering her body with his.
"Stop it,
love and
tell
me what
in Salazar's name is going on? Are you upset
with
me? Did I do something wrong?"
Hermione shook her
head emphatically,
and kissed her
wizard
reassuringly. "No, handsome. I'm not upset with you. I'm just trying
to figure out a problem and I'm not sure what to do about it."
Returning the kiss with a bit
more heat,
Draco then moved off his
girlfriend and sat up, pulling Hermione into his lap.
"Well… tell me what it is. Maybe I can help you."
Sighing sadly,
Hermione just
laid her head on Draco's shoulder,
while
he
stroked
his
hand
through
her
hair,
getting
more
concerned by the minute as to what might be bothering his love.
After a few moments, Hermione looked up at Draco and decided
to share with him the conversation she'd had with her
mum.
Draco's
eyes
widened
in
shock
and
then
narrowed
in
understanding as he realized that there was practically no chance
that
Marlene would survive much beyond Hermione's graduation
from Hogwarts.
"Do you want
to get
married when we finish school,
love?" Draco
asked softly.
Considering her intended in shock,
Hermione wasn't
sure how to
answer
that
question initially.
While she knew that's where they
were headed,
she hadn't
given much consideration to the when
-not
that
it
mattered to her
initially-she'd figured that
they'd get
married a few years after Hogwarts was done,
maybe after she'd
obtained a Mastery… but now?
Yes,
she very much wished for her mother to see her married. To
be there on the day and join in the happiness with her and Draco.
She still
held out
hope that
somehow,
she'd figure out
a way to
save her mum and perhaps by extension her father too-but so far
none of
the books she'd read in Salazar's library had given her
any of the information she'd needed, and she still had to figure out
how to get the Cloak from Harry, if he did indeed-have it.
"I
would very much wish for my mum to be there, Draco. I'm not
sure how much time she has left and I'm not sure if she's spoken
with my father about her situation."
Draco nodded in understanding. "Have you written to her lately?"
Hermione shrugged.
"Its only been a short
while,
and I'd hoped
that
she might
owl
me once she'd talked to Father, but I haven't
heard from her. I suppose I'll write her tomorrow. I'm just not sure
what
to say.
I
haven't
found anything to help me figure all
this
out."
"What am I missing, love? Are you still keeping things from me?"
Hermione sighed in resignation and nodded.
"Please don't
be
angry with me."
Draco stood up and paced in the room,
running his hands
through his hair as he tried to figure out
what
to say.
Hermione
watched
her
love
as
he
paced,
seemingly
becoming more
agitated with each turn of
the room.
When he finally stopped,
Draco moved over to the end of the bed and knelt at Hermione's
feet.
"Do you still not trust me?"
"No!" Hermione's shout
filled the room, as her eyes widened
in panic. "I do trust you, Draco. I love you!"
"But not enough to be completely honest with me?"
Hermione sighed,
but
grabbed Draco's hand and kissed the
back of
it.
"Do you remember when I
told you that
I've always
had to take care of myself?"
Draco nodded reluctantly. "I remember."
"And I
asked you to be patient
with me-that
it's not
instinctive
with me to be open about things."
Again he nodded.
"I
know,
love and believe me? I'm trying to be
understanding.
But
you need to know that
I'll
always be here for
you.
I'm on your side,
Hermione.
I've tried to show you that
you
can trust me completely."
"I know." She sighed unhappily as she stared into bright grey eyes
that
she'd grown to love immensely.
She then held out her hand,
showing Draco the Gaunt
Family ring. "You know what this stone
is, yes?"
Draco nodded warily… wondering exactly where Hermione
was going with this. "Yes… it's the Resurrection Stone."
"It is." Hermione confirmed. "You know the story of the Three
Brothers?"
"Yes,
love… the Elder
Wand… the Resurrection Stone and the
Cloak Of Invisibility."
"They're called the Deathly Hallows."
Opening her
beaded
bag, Hermione pulled out Dumbledore's wand-the Elder Wand.
She handed it
to Draco,
who took it
with a questioning look
before his face cleared with understanding.
"This is the Elder
Wand?"
"Yes… it is ."
Draco's face paled as he considered his betrothed,
who truly was
far more clever than he'd ever given her credit for.
"This
looks
like
the
wand
Dumbledore
had?
I
thought
my
Father…"
Draco chuckled as he'd realized just
why Hermione
had his father remain in the infirmary after she'd been cursed by
that old fool. "My Father gave you the Elder Wand because you'd
disarmed
Dumbledore when he'd cursed you.
Merlin,
baby!
You're the Master of the Deathstick?"
Hermione smiled at
her
love with pride.
"Yes,
I
am and its
allegiance is now mine. The only person besides your father who
knows I have the original wand is my mum."
Draco looked confused for a moment.
"Why haven't
you told your
father?"
Hermione
sighed
and
gripped
Draco's
hand
in
solidarity,
understanding the level
of
trust
she was placing in him not
to
betray her.
"When I'd realized what the ring was, I made a contingency plan
to go after the Hallows.
I
knew from my time with Bathilda, that
her
Great
Nephew,
Gellert
Grindelwald was the owner
of
the
Elder
Wand before he dueled Dumbledore in 1945.
I'd seen a
picture of
Gellert
as a young man around the age of fourteen in
his aunt's home. The wand he'd been holding in that photo, was
not
the same one he'd been pictured with later in life. When I'd
first
saw
the
correspondence
between
Dumbledore
and
Grindelwald,
they'd always signed their
letters with the same
runic insignia." Waving her hand,
Hermione showed Draco the
image that
she'd seen in the letters.
A triangle with a circle
embedded within its perimeter
and a line bisecting it
straight
down
vertically.
"This
is
the
runic
insignia
designating
the
Deathly Hallows.
I
have two and I
believe I
know who has the
third."
"Who?"
"Potter." Hermione smirked.
"Fucking Merlin's Hairy Ballsack!"
Draco growled.
"Of
course the
fucking Boy Wonder would have the Invisibility Cloak."
Hermione snickered at
Draco's disgust.
"I'm not
exactly sure he
does but
according to my mum,
Harry's dad had an Invisibility
Cloak when she was in school
with him.
It's a long shot,
but
it's
the only lead I
have.
Ignotus Peverell,
the original
owner of
the
Cloak,
could've passed it
down through the Potter
line and the
only other
familial
possibilities that
it
might've gone to were the
Blacks and the Prewetts."
"It's
unlikely
it'd be the Black Family as something of
that
significance would've been mentioned by someone somewhere
in our family's history,
and I've never read anything to indicate
that it was."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "The Prewetts?"
Draco shrugged.
"The twin Prewetts were killed during the first
Wizarding War
by a group of
your
father's followers,
Dolohov
among them.
If
they'd had it? I'm sure it
would've surfaced by
now-possibly been passed down to the Weasley's and I
sincerely
doubt that's the case….so, no ."
"So that leaves the Potter's then."
Draco nodded. "How can you find out for sure."
Hermione smirked wickedly.
"When we go home for
Easter,
I'm
going to have your mum do me a teeny tiny favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"You'll see." Hermione winked, causing Draco to laugh.
Grabbing his intended,
Draco pulled her
back into his lap and
kissed her
soundly before he pulled away and gave her a stern
look. "Any other secrets you need to share with me?"
"No… no more secrets." Hermione smiled warmly.
"Good, because I fully intend on taking advantage of the fact
we have this big bed to ourselves for the next few hours."
"That sounds like an excellent suggestion."
Draco
didn't
waste
anytime
getting Hermione undressed and
underneath him. While he was still
a bit miffed at her reluctance to
open up to him-he decided to let
his displeasure be known in
other… meaningful ways.
After an hour… he had his little witch writhing and moaning as he
kissed,
sucked,
pulled and nipped at
her core… he watched her
beg and plead with him for release,
which he was unwilling to do
until she understood what her punishment was.
His little vixen was extremely clever when she wanted to be, and it
didn't
take her
a while to figure out
just
what
his objective was.
When she pulled at
his hair and screeched out
her frustration at
being thwarted for
the fifth time-she made her
plea of
apology,
promising not to hold back any more secrets from him.
He
then
pushed
two
fingers
into
Hermione's
core-her
wetness soaked his fingers as he greedily lapped up her
essence.
"Why are you being punished, my love?"
"Because I
kept
secrets from you."
Hermione gasped out
in
anguish as
Draco bit
down softly on her
clit
and worried it
between his lips.
"And are you going to do so again?"
"No… no, Draco… please! I promise to always be honest with you."
Draco
chuckled
and
hummed
as
he
continued
on
with
his
ministrations.
"Should I
let
you come? Only good girls get
to
come… my love… have you been good?"
Draco smirked as he pumped two fingers into Hermione's
quim- which was hot, wet and so very tight.
"Yes… yes… yes, Draco! I've been good-please let me come."
Draco grinned manically as he pistoned his fingers out
faster,
before moving his lips back to Hermione's core.
Sucking her clit
into his mouth,
he flicked his tongue over
the hardened bud
before he lifted his head up and said deeply,
"Come for
me,
baby."
As he moved his head back down into position, it didn't take more
than 30 seconds before Hermione's back was arching off the bed
as she screamed out
her release.
Quickly vanishing his clothes,
Draco cast
the contraceptive charm and pushed himself
into his
very willing witch.
His hips moved hard and fast
as he held
Hermione's head in place staring down at
her with a mixture of
lust and anger.
"You won't keep things from me again." he demanded roughly.
Hermione
shook
her
head
and
moaned
in
passion.
"No… I
promise, Draco."
"Good." Draco growled before he kissed her savagely and bit her
lip until
it
drew blood.
Hermione's nails raked down his back,
showing her own savagery and Draco felt his control
snap as he
pounded relentlessly into his witch,
all
the while listening to her
cries of
pleasure before her body clamped down on him like a
vise- screaming out
his name,
causing him to shout out his own
release as his orgasm was torn from him like a tidal wave.
"Fuck!"
He yelled out
in euphoria,
before he collapsed onto his
witch… feeling her arms cradling him into her body as her legs
held him in place… nestled deep inside her.
He sighed in utter
bliss,
his breathing deepened and before he knew it,
they'd both
passed out in sated exhaustion.
Predator...Prey
Chapter 76: Predator… Prey
It
had taken Corban Yaxley several
weeks of
investigation
before he'd finally found the young man who'd assaulted his
Lord's daughter.
The boy,
Aiden Conner,
had been removed
from the school where the assault had occurred and taken to a
boy's home temporarily.
The blindness as well
as being mute
had been reversed,
as apparently the spell
damage hadn't
been quite permanent.
He was partially deaf,
however-but
instead
of
learning
his
lesson
and
leaving
young
girls
alone-the Muggle had become even more violent
over
the
ensuing years.
His parents were still
alive,
and apparently had enough money
and influence to shelter the little shit from the horrors he'd inflicted
on other unsuspecting girls.
Yaxley had found him at
a bar,
on the outskirts of
Dublin.
Apparently he was a student
at
Trinity College in his last
year
studying pre-law- his own Muggle father a well-respected legal
solicitor in London.
Yaxley had spent
the better
part
of
a week polyjuiced as a
college student.
He had killed the little twit
whose body he'd
appropriated.
The kid, Martin Kelley, was in some of the same
classes as Aiden Connor, so it had given Yaxley an 'in ' to stalk
the Muggle and get close to him.
As luck would have it,
there was a college party off
campus that
Saturday night. Yaxley attended and brought along Thorfinn Rowle
with him as back-up.
Rowle having graduated from Hogwarts only
five years prior,
blended in with the college-aged Muggles quite
effortlessly.
At
the party, there were several
pretty girls, but there was one in
particular who looked quite a bit
like Hermione.
Apparently,
the
creepy
Muggle
had
a
type,
because
he'd
wasted
no time
sauntering over and offering the girl a drink.
It
wasn't
but
a few moments later,
that
Yaxley noticed the girl
becoming a bit
unsteady on her feet-obviously the kid had spiked
her drink with something. Catching Thorfinn's gaze, Yaxley moved
into a secluded corner
and disillusioned himself,
following the
Muggle and the girl upstairs into a spacious bedroom.
Moving over into the corner, Yaxley watched as the girl pleaded for
Aiden to stop,
but
he'd pulled down her pants and was about
to
take himself out and rape the girl, when Yaxley stunned the creepy
little bugger from behind.
The kid slumped on the girl
who screeched,
and then her
eyes
widened as she saw Corban and then… she started to cry, but he
assured her that he was there to help her.
Nodding and sobbing 'thank you '
Corban obliviated the girl
and
pressed on his Dark Mark,
signaling Rowle that
he was leaving.
Silently apparating with his cargo, he landed at the gates of Malfoy
Manor
and met
with Rowle there,
taking the Muggle through a
secret passageway and into the dungeons.
Lucius was waiting for
them as he'd offered his help and had
managed to secure both parents earlier that
evening from their
home.
The father was angry and kept
demanding to know what
was happening,
while the woman looked petrified.
When they
saw their son being deposited roughly at their feet within the cell,
the woman screamed in terror and the man just looked ashen.
"I
suppose you're wondering why you've been brought
here?"
Lucius drawled arrogantly. "It would seem you've been quite remiss
in your
parental
duties and allowed your
filthy son to terrorize
unsuspecting girls-tonight
he would have raped another,
had not
my friend here intervened."
The man spat out angrily. "You're lying!"
"And all
your
ignorance serves is to make you appear
an even
bigger
fool.
You've coddled and protected his deviant
behaviors-
unfortunately for you all, the parents of one of his early victims has
ordered us to bring you here for questioning."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" The man demanded warily.
"I'm sure you remember
Miss Hermione Granger? Yes?" At
the
name, both parents flinched in recognition. "She defended herself
by rendering your sorry excuse for an offspring temporarily blind,
mute and deaf… if I'm not mistaken?"
The man's angry face,
indeed let
Lucius know that
he'd been
aware of how his son had been punished.
"Miss Granger
was adopted by her
parents… Muggles… who
raised her,
but
alas couldn't
protect
her
for
the likes of
your
paedophilic son.
Her true parents have claimed her,
and as such
when her father and mother became aware of what transpired ten
years ago? They were understandably incensed and demanded
retribution on their daughter's behalf."
The man stood proudly and glared hatefully. "I will have you know
I
am a powerful
solicitor in London! I will
have you all
brought up
on charges for this!"
Lucius,
Yaxley
and
Rowle
laughed
deeply
at
the
Muggles
histrionics.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken in that
assumption.
A fact
I'm sure you'll come to understand soon enough."
Lucius
then
lifted
up
his
sleeve
and
pressed
on
his
Dark
Mark-while the man and woman moved back into the cell
as the
Dark Lord swirled into view-his eyes blazing red and a cold sneer
set firmly upon his face.
"Ah,
Corban;
I
see you've done as I
bade you.
Are these the
offenders?"
Yaxley bowed. "Yes, My Lord."
"And is this the entirety of the family?"
Yaxley grinned maniacally. "No, my Lord. There is a daughter who
is currently attending a boarding school
in London.
I've sent
Rabastan to retrieve her and he should be here within the hour.
Both sets of Grandparents are deceased. The man there, Bentley
Connor has an older brother who lives in Bath with a wife and two
grown children.
The woman,
Madeline has a sister who currently resides in the
States… just
outside Chicago,
with a husband and a teenaged
son."
Bentley and Madeline Connor gasped horrified at the man standing
before them with dread and fear.
What was going on?
Voldemort
smiled eerily
at
the two Muggles
and gave their
unconscious son a look of pure hatred. Waving his hand, the boys
body jerked violently, causing his mother to gasp and his father to
yell in anger.
"What the fuck are you doing, you freak?"
"Waking your sorry excuse for a son,
Muggle." Turning towards
Yaxley, Voldemort sneered as his magic swirled within the room.
"Find them all,
Corban… you have until
the end of
the week.
When I'd said I wanted them eliminated, I meant all of them."
Bowing deeply,
Corban nodded. "Of course, my Lord, it shall
be done as you wish."
Returning his reddened gaze back to the Muggles,
and seeing
that the son was finally awake, Voldemort stalked towards the cell
and gave each Muggle a condescending look of loathing.
"You allowed your son to violate my daughter-traumatized her-so
you will
understand that as her father, I can't allow such treachery
to go unpunished."
"You have no right!" Screamed the older Muggle,
while the Dark
Lord waved him silent.
"You will
find, I have every right and the power to make sure that
you will
suffer greatly before I kill
each and every last one of your
family… while you watch-before I end you."
The Muggle flinched in shock, as his wife whimpered in fear. The
son just
gave Voldemort
a scathing look,
as if
he didn't believe a
word that was spoken.
Voldemort smirked and turned his wand on the boy, saying 'crucio
'
and watched the boy's body convulse as he screamed bloody
murder-writhing on the floor
and eventually defecating all
over
himself.
When the abject
lesson was done,
Voldemort
lifted the
curse and sneered evilly at the three family members.
"You will find that I am highly motivated and am more powerful than
you can possibly imagine.
Please enjoy your
stay here as my
guests as it will be your last."
And with that,
the Dark Lord apparated away,
returning home to
tell
his witch that
the first
part
of
their plan had been successful.
Marlene had been adamant
that
she be allowed to offer her own
form of
retribution for
their
daughter
and he'd not
been able to
dissuade her otherwise. Since learning of her condition, he hadn't
wanted
her
needlessly
exerting
her
magical
core-but
she'd
threatened to hex him,
and he'd reacted in a way that
had been
very pleasing for them both.
She was still
recovering however,
and he was worried for her in
spite of
himself, but knew instinctively that Marlene needed to do
this… as did he.
He would call
a revel-just
this once and make it
clear
to his
followers
why
they
were being offered this
boon from him.
Marlene had been reluctant
and secured a promise that
the
youngest children would not be harmed, but obliviated and taken
to an orphanage.
He had argued that
by doing so,
she was
possibly condemning them to a similar
fate that
their daughter
had suffered.
She had been livid,
refusing to speak with him for two days-but
after
pondering his words,
she'd realized that
Tom had a valid
point… perhaps it
was kinder
this way… the children and the
younger
daughter
would be spared a more horrific punishment
and Tom would check the minds of
the adults to see who had
been complicit in the Muggle boy's acts.
Those who had been, wouldn't be spared.
It was the only compromise she would agree to.
Tom sighed as he entered Marlene's sitting room,
finding her
reading as she always was.
"Hello, Pet."
Looking up and smiling softly,
Marlene waved her wand and had
two glasses of firewhiskey placed on the table in front of her.
"Where did you go off to so suddenly, Tom?"
"Malfoy Manor." Tom took a sip of his firewhiskey, feeling the burn
pleasantly work it's way down his throat.
"Corban found the boy
and his parents and the rest of the family will be there by the end of
the weekend."
Marlene sighed in understanding. "When will you call the revel?"
Tom looked at
his witch,
and saw her discomfort.
"Soon.
I
know
you're not
happy with my choices,
but
they are mine .
You've
always
known what
kind of
wizard I
am.
My nature may be
tempered somewhat
by having two pieces of my soul
returned, as
well
as having a daughter-but
this is who I am. Why do you seem
uncomfortable?"
"I'm not
exactly.
You know how I
feel
about
rape,
Tom.
I
will
never agree with that choice and you know that about me-you
always have,
so why does it
surprise you that
the thought
makes me uncomfortable?"
Sighing in exasperation and pinching the bridge of
his nose,
Tom
glared at his witch.
"I'm not
some cuddly
wizard who cowers
to all
your
whims,
Marlene!
I've conceded certain issues-allowing other men to fuck
you and stopping revels because our daughter would think ill of me
for
taking up a practice that
she'd find abhorrent
under
normal
circumstances.
But
don't
think
that
just
because I
no longer
practice revels with my followers,
that
I'm not
out
there torturing
and asserting my will
over others. The Ministry is under my control,
but
there are still
some who are resistant
to my way of
doing
things.
While most
within the Order
have moved back into the
shadows,
there
are
still
a
small
few who
remain
loyal
to
Dumbledore, despite his dubious choices. I need to protect what is
mine, which includes both you and our daughter. If I don't seek out
retribution on her
behalf? I
will
be perceived as being weak and
unable to protect her and that is unacceptable ."
"So you plan to make a statement to that effect?"
"Yes, and it will be one my followers will not soon forget."
Nodding reluctantly, Marlene stood up and made to leave the room,
but before she did, she turned to Tom and smiled sadly.
"I
will
be gone soon,
Tom,
and you will
be responsible for taking
care of our daughter-don't fuck it up."
And with that,
Marlene left
the room leaving a stunned and very
angry Dark Lord in her wake.
Soulmates Part Deux
Chapter 77: Soulmates Part Deux
Marlene had taken upon herself
to write to Hermione,
letting
her know of
Tom's plans-the capture of
the Muggle boy and
his
entire family-and the revel
that
was to be called the
following weekend.
She had sat
down in the Room of
Requirement
in shocked
silence, whilst Draco just rubbed her back as he read the letter
once she'd handed it over to him.
Draco wasn't
surprised by this development
at
all
and while he
understood the Dark Lord's need to make a statement
where
Hermione was concerned,
he wasn't
sure if
he'd be required to
attend the revel
or not. He technically wasn't a Death Eater, yet.
However,
he felt
a deep-seeded need to protect
his witch and
also felt strongly that he needed to make a statement of his own
where Hermione's safety was concerned.
The silence was deafening for a while, as the two teenagers held
each other.
Finally,
Draco decided to break the silence. "Love-are you
okay?"
Hermione shrugged helplessly.
"Yeah."
Amber
eyes met
with grey ones and Hermione could see the worry in
Draco's gaze.
"I'm not
sure how to feel
about this. On the
one hand,
it's nice to know my father cares enough about
me to want
to protect
me,
but
is this more about
him
making some kind of statement, than about me?"
Draco thought
about
that
question for a moment
before he
responded softly, "Why can't it be both?"
The look of confusion on his witch's face made Draco realize that
on some level,
Hermione still
felt
some insecurities where her
father was concerned.
"Baby,
listen-you know your father's issues and I expect that he's
angry on your
behalf,
but
I'm also convinced that
he's angry
because his choices led to you being left vulnerable. If you'd been
raised with him and your mum,
you'd would've never been put in
that situation.
You would've never
been left
vulnerable to a predator
like that
Muggle boy,
or
been tormented by ignorant
pricks like me.
So
perhaps his reasoning isn't
straight
forward-but
can you imagine
what you'd do if it was a child of ours?"
Hermione's eyes widened in understanding.
"I'd kill
anyone who
hurt our children, Draco."
Nodding his head in agreement,
Draco smiled softly and kissed
his witch's lips before he pulled away.
"As would I.
I
think the
Dark Lord needs to let everyone know that you are off limits and
he is doing it the only way he knows how. Which is terrifying, but
completely understandable for a wizard like him."
Sighing back into the couch,
Hermione tilted her head up and
the ceiling and scrunched her
nose in contemplation.
Draco
smiled at
that
look,
knowing she was pondering something
deeply.
When amber eyes finally met
his when she turned her
head his way, the look behind her eyes was resigned.
"Do you think you'll have to attend?" Hermione asked softly.
Draco shrugged.
"Possibly.
But
trust
me when I
tell
you,
baby? I
won't partake in rape. I'm not going to compromise our relationship
in any way-even if it means my torture."
She sat
up in shock.
"You don't
think you'd be asked to do
something like that? Do you?"
He shook his head. "No. If I was any other wizard-perhaps? But
I'm your betrothed, baby. Your mother would undoubtably have a
thing or two to say if something like that were required of me."
"Do you think that's why she sent
me the letter? To give us a
heads up?"
This caused Draco to nod slowly.
"Probably."
Taking Hermione
into his arms, he tilted her gaze up to meet his. "What about you,
love? Would you want
to take part
in this? If
your father were to
ask you to attend, to stand by his side?"
Her gaze became shuttered as she thought about what Draco was
asking her.
Would her father require her to be a part of his revel?
And if
he didn't
ask her,
would the other Death Eaters perceive
her as being weak if she didn't partake?"
"If I don't go it will
serve to make me look weak, and if I do?"
Hermione shook her head in exasperation. "Is this some kind
of test?"
Draco coughed out a laugh as Hermione's gaze darkened angrily.
"Isn't everything, love?"
"Fuck you, Malfoy."
"I'd rather you fuck me, love. We'd both enjoy it more."
Hermione folded her
arms and harrumphed petulantly.
"What
if
I
don't feel like it right now? I think I feel a headache coming on."
Draco rolled his witch underneath him and grinned.
"I
have the
perfect
cure for what
ails you,
baby.
Why don't
you just
lay back
and let me take good care of you for the next hour or two."
Waggling his eyebrows suggestively, caused Hermione to giggle
at
how ridiculous her
wizard was and how quickly he could
diffuse her rotten mood.
"You've been studying up on the texts my Mum gave you, yes?"
Draco's grin turned feral
as he nodded.
"Of
course.
What
are you
thinking?"
"Well…" She bit
her lip enticingly, watching Draco's gaze darken
in response as his chest
rumbled with want.
"There was that
section about tantric sex… and I was thinking?"
"That you'd like to try it?"
She nodded,
and Draco kissed her
deeply before he removed
himself
from on top of
her.
Pulling her off
the couch, they moved
over towards the bed and slowly took their time undressing each
other.
When they'd finally moved onto the bed,
Draco sat
down and
gently took Hermione's waist,
straddling her on top of
him.
The
two of
them just
spent
a while kissing each other deeply-nipping
and pulling on each other as they breathed each other in. Draco's
erection was nestled between Hermione's core as she slowly slid
herself
against
him,
feeling herself
getting wetter by the minute,
all
the while their lips never separated as they continued to kiss
and breathe each other in.
When he finally lifted Hermione's hips up and very slowly, lowered
her onto his shaft, he whispered 'iungere essentia nostri " and felt
a tug on his magical core erupt from his chest as it swirled around
them both.
Hermione too, whispered the words at the same time,
and her own core responded in kind as she felt
a similar tug on
her
chest,
and then saw a swirl
of
gold move over and around
herself and Draco.
Once she was fully seated,
and could feel
every inch of
Draco
pulsating inside of
her,
they both breathed each other
in and
started to move very slowly-their hips swirling and undulating at a
leisurely pace.
Every so often the gold swirls would change, ebb
and brighten and when they'd diminish,
they would repeat
the
spell-and move in sync.
Breathing and controlling the baser urges of
their bodies to
rut against each other.
As time passed,
and the urge to come became much stronger
and harder
to resist-the strain on Draco's face was at
times,
almost
pained as he would push Hermione down on him harder,
and then try and breath through the urge to thrust.
Her
inner
muscles
clamped down on him like a fucking vise and the
pleasured pain was indescribable.
Trying to relax his body and
mind, he kissed her breathless and the two lovers stayed like that
for an hour-just slowly working each other over.
Draco's own surprise at
the fact
that
his erection could last
so
long was a secondary thought to the need to orgasm.
As time passed,
groans,
moans and whimpers filled the air.
The
sounds
and
smell
of
sex
permeated
through
the
Room of
Requirement.
The candles that
were burning on the table were
flickering with the static electricity of
the magic that
was being
expended within the room.
Eventually Draco couldn't
hold off
anymore and he whispered to
Hermione that
it
was time. Clenching onto Draco's shoulders, the
sweat
that
was pouring down her body,
and that
of
her wizard's,
was causing her
to have a difficult
time gaining purchase on
Draco's body. Digging her nails into Draco's shoulders, the hiss of
pain that
came out
of
his lips caused her to kiss him fiercely and
when she pulled back slightly,
she nodded and together
they
whispered out 'munus implere'.
The golden swirls constricted around them both,
their
bodies
arched into each other's as their orgasms hit simultaneously. The
spent
groans of
both of
their
bodies as they shook violently
caused their orgasms to continue on for nearly a full minute. When
they were finally spent-both fell
over
onto the bed-still
joined
together but utterly exhausted.
Hermione didn't
know how much time had passed that
she and
Draco just
lied there,
curled around each other-breathing each
other in. Her body felt both exhausted, and oddly energized at the
same time… the remnants of their magic still flowing though her.
It was both heady and comforting.
Draco was completely knackered, but his body was radiating with
warmth and vitality.
Hermione's magic felt
like sunshine,
tasted
like green apples and smelled like vanilla and jasmine.
He was
on sensory overload and he fucking loved it.
Grinning like a
maniac,
he buried his face into Hermione's neck as he breathed
her in.
She was life and love, and for not the first time he realized what a
lucky fuck he was.
When
they'd
both
sufficiently
calmed,
Draco
managed
to
disentangle himself from his witch with a unhappy groan. He could
spend the rest of his life buried inside of her and die a very happy
wizard.
Looking over
at
Hermione,
whose eyes were closed in
bliss,
he smiled at how utterly shagged she looked. Her skin was
flushed beautifully and her
normally bushy hair
was completely
out
of
control.
His smile softened as he realized how honored he
felt, being able to see her like this and it also made him conclude
fiercely, that he could never share her with someone else and that
thought made him frown deeply.
Hermione opened her
eyes in that
moment
and felt
her
face
scrunch as she saw Draco's face change from happy to angry.
"Handsome- you okay?"
His gaze caught
her's in shock,
then his face softened as he
smiled at
his witch. Realizing he probably should explain himself,
he moved onto his back and enveloped Hermione into his arms.
Her chin was on his chest as she looked up at him questioningly.
"Just
thinking about
something your
parents told me."
"About?"
Draco sighed and looked down at his witch with love. "Your mum
mentioned something about her bond with your father and I didn't
give it much thought, but now I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps
I should have."
Hermione sat
up and looked down at
Draco's with confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Sitting up and grabbing Hermione's hand,
he placed a small
comforting kiss on the back of her knuckles and then proceeded to
share with Hermione the questions he'd been pondering after the
conversation with her parents.
Primarily about Marlene.
"Your
mum told you about
her
soul
being incomplete and
eventually it
would lead to her death-when we bond completely,
you would possibly be able to heal
her soul
but
because your
father can't feel remorse, it wouldn't work? Correct?"
Hermione nodded, not sure what Draco was trying to get
at. "Do you think your father is capable of remorse?"
Hermione's eyes widened momentarily as she considered this, and
then shook her head sadly.
"No-I don't think he is."
Draco nodded again in agreement.
"I
doubt
it
as well-so if
you
were to gain access to all
the Hallows, do you think the power of
the Hallows would be enough to save your mum?"
"I don't know. I don't have enough information on how the Hallows
work and all
the research I've done hasn't
given me a clue as to
how one become's Master of Death."
Draco looked at
his witch and a small
little smile crept
upon his
face. "There is one person who just might have that information."
Hermione's
eyes
narrowed
in
confusion
before
they
cleared in understanding.
She smiled beatifically at
her
brilliant, beautiful wizard and clapped her hands in glee.
"Grindelwald."
Draco nodded. "Yes-Grindelwald ."
Hermione tackled Draco and kissed him passionately.
After a few
minutes she looked down at her wizard and grinned impishly.
"I knew there was a reason I kept you around."
Jumping off
their bed,
Hermione dashed into the en suite that
had appeared-giggling at the shocked looked on Draco's face.
"Hey!" He sputtered,
as he watched his witch run off into the
bathroom laughing-with him following closely at her heels.
The little minx never ceased to amaze him and always kept
him
on his toes. He smiled inwardly as he realized that no matter what
happened in their future, they would always have each other.
Distracted
Chapter 78: Distracted
By Wednesday,
Hermione hadn't
heard from either her mother
nor
her
father
about
the upcoming revel.
Draco however,
had
received a letter from Lucius that morning at breakfast, telling him
he would be required to return to the Manor
Saturday after
dinner.
When he had shown Hermione the letter
at
breakfast,
she'd
read
it
and
then
promptly
burned
it
into
ash
using
wandless, silent magic.
The looks on the faces of
everyone,
but
particularly those at
the
Slytherin table, were filled with awe.
Hermione didn't
care about
people's
reactions,
she stood up
angrily and gave the Headmaster
a heated stare… conveying
without words that she was pissed!
Severus raised eyebrow and a lowly drawled 'indeed '
was all
she
received for her troubles.
Grabbing her book bag,
Hermione stormed out
of
the Great
Hall
and headed towards Arithmancy,
which she unfortunately didn't
share with Draco. When she got to class, she took her time taking
her assignment
out
and going over her calculations while waiting
for class to start.
Zacharias Smith was in this class with her as she was a full
year
ahead in Arithmancy as well
as in Herbology. Professor Vector had
graciously allowed her to take the class with the seventh years, as
she'd already completed the sixth year curriculum by Christmas.
When Smith entered,
he moved over
towards his seat
next
to
Hermione and sat down, smiling in that boyish way of his. He was
reasonably intelligent
for
a Hufflepuff,
but
the boy wasn't
subtle
with his interest and she was in no mood today for flirting.
"Hermione, are you alright?" Zacharias asked lowly.
"Hmmmm… I'm fine… thanks." Changing the subject,
she tapped
on her
homework assignment.
"Were you able to calculate the
parameters on the last sequence for the final problem?"
Smith looked at
his homework and nodded a bit
reluctantly.
"Yeah,
but
I
have to admit? I'm not
sure if
the conjugation is
Eleusinian or if it's more abstract in nature. I went with the Orphic
translation and took it from there."
Hermione's
brow scrunched
in
confusion.
"Why
would
you
assume the numeric value to have Orphic components?"
Smith
shrugged.
"Well,
there are some parallel
elements
of
Pythagoreanism,
but
we
don't
have
enough
information
to
determine which one was the precursor. I went with the notion that
the Orphic translation might
be more relevant,
since we are
predicting death rites or in this case-a causation of death."
Hermione's eyes widened with interest-she hadn't even considered
that
a viable line to pursue!
Looking back at
her calculations,
she
quickly redid the problem,
going by what
she'd remembered from
memory and then calculating the possible predictive outcomes.
When she was done, she handed her results to Smith, who looked
them over and smiled appreciatively.
"Merlin,
Hermione… you are brilliant!
I didn't even think about
this last
calculation here and it
makes so much more sense
when you add that in."
Nodding in agreement, she smiled genuinely at her classmate. "It's
I
who
should
thank
you,
Zac.
I
didn't
even
consider
this
permutation,
but I really think it fits in better with the overall context. Perhaps it
might
help us to take some time every week and form a study
group.
I
usually don't study with anyone but for this class it might
be a good idea."
Zacharias
flushed with pleasure.
"You and Malfoy don't
study
together?"
Hermione shrugged. "Well, Draco's not just anyone, but he doesn't
have this class with me and he's busy with prefect
duties and
Quidditch practice too.
I
don't
think it
could hurt
forming a group
with those within this class. Maybe Cho would like to join us?"
Zacharias sighed,
he was reluctant to pass up an opportunity to
spend time with Hermione alone.
He also knew what
Malfoy
would do to him, especially if the wizard knew how interested he
was in Hermione.
"I'll
talk to Cho and see if
she'd be interested in partnering up."
Hermione nodded and smiled. "That would be great. Thanks."
The two finished the class in a companionable silence,
unaware
of
the interested set
of
eyes following their
conversation,
or
wondering how they could us it to their advantage.
When the class ended,
Hermione walked out
of
the room with
Zacharias following closely behind. When she entered the hallway,
she noticed immediately her wizard lounging up against
the wall,
looking every bit
as gorgeous as always.
Sighing softly, she didn't
miss the way Draco's gaze narrowed on Zacharias, nor the way the
other wizard glared back.
Draco sauntered over
and reached for her bag,
enveloping her
into his arms and kissing the side of her forehead in greeting.
"Hello, love-you ready to head to Potions?"
Glancing up with amusement,
she nodded before turning around
noticing Zacharias disappearing down the hall.
She stopped the
Hufflepuff by calling out his name.
"Thank you again for helping me today and don't
forget
to ask
Cho,
and maybe we can study in the library tomorrow night
around seven? Start our next assignment early?"
Zacharias smiled widely and nodded,
trying very hard not
to
look smug.
"I'll
do that
and yes,
tomorrow works fine.
I'll
see
you then."
Watching the other
wizard leave,
Hermione felt
Draco's arm
tighten around her
waist.
Feeling him stiffen,
she once again
looked up into deep grey eyes that
were now darkened with
anger.
"You're studying with Smith now?"
Hermione lifted her hand and ran her fingers along Draco's jaw
and towards the back of his neck, gently lowering it down until his
lips met
hers in a tender kiss.
When she pulled away,
Draco's
anger
had cleared a bit,
and she nodded as she gestured for
them to head down to the dungeons for Potions.
"Smith actually helped me today.
I
think I've been so distracted
with everything that
I
actually messed up a problem on my
homework,
and that
has never
happened before.
When he'd
explained his answer,
I'd realized I
hadn't
even considered that
particular variable. You're not in this class, handsome. And I can't
afford to not
do well… so yes,
study group with Smith,
hopefully
Cho Chang and myself."
Draco's body relaxed a bit
as he held Hermione closer
to
himself. "I trust you, baby-him on the other hand…"
"Yes-I'm aware of Mr. Smith's interest but that doesn't mean he's
not
an adequate Arithmancy partner-so please don't
be jealous,
Draco. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."
"And what kind of boon am I to receive for my concession?" Draco
grinned mischievously.
"Boon?"
Hermione
laughed
in
shock.
"Really?"
"Mmmhmmm…" Draco growled as he pushed his witch into
the
alcove just outside the Potions classroom. As Draco dropped their
bags, Hermione cast quick 'silencing ' and 'Notice me not' charms
before Draco pushed her
against
the wall
and snogged her
senseless.
After
a few minutes of
intense snogging,
Hermione pulled her
head back and giggled. "You are incorrigible, handsome and if you
think I'm going to give you some kind of
incentive for
being a
dominant,
jealous wizard? I'm thinking you just
might
need a
reminder in whom your dealing with."
Draco grinned naughtily.
"You gonna tie me up and have your
wicked way with me?"
"Would that stop you from being a possessive prat?"
"Not
in the slightest,
my love.
You like that I'm possessive-admit
it." Draco spoke between kisses and Hermione couldn't deny that
she did find a few of Draco's questionable tendencies somewhat
endearing… on occasion.
"So what
if
I
find your dominance a turn on-don't
let
it inflate your
already large ego…"
"My large… what?"
His eyebrows waggled with impudence and
Hermione couldn't help herself, she laughed out loudly.
Draco's grin lit
up his face as he took in his witch's happy
smile. "Feel better?"
Hermione's gaze softened as she gave Draco a soft
kiss full
of
meaning. "Yes… you always make me feel better."
Walking out of the alcove, he placed both their book bags over his
shoulder and grabbed Hermione's hand with his other hand.
"We can talk about
what
we need to do later but
for now I
just
want you to know that whatever you decide about this weekend,
I'll support you."
"I
know-let's get
to class.
If
I'm correct,
Severus is probably
letting my father know of my displeasure as we speak."
As it turned out, Hermione was correct in that assumption.
Slytherin Trust and Loyalty
Chapter 79: Slytherin Trust and Loyalty
Severus Snape really despised being the Headmaster
most
days,
and today was no exception.
In all
his years of
teaching,
he'd never
once given any consideration to eventually taking
over for Dumbledore-he'd always thought
that
Minerva-with her
overblown sense of fairness and self-righteousness, would be a
perfect replacement for when Dumbledore finally dropped dead.
But
here
Severus
was-fucking
Headmaster
of
hundreds
of
hormonally challenged dunderheads, and the worst part was? He
didn't
even get
to teach anymore.
If
someone had told Severus
Snape that
he'd actually miss teaching the imbeciles running
around this place,
he'd have scowled and promptly invented
some useful
hex to turn the blighter
into a giant
flobberworm.
Then
proceed
to
squeeze
the
green
mucus
out
of
said
flobberworm and utilizing it for something useful, like Wiggenweld
Potion.
But
alas,
that
was simply not
meant
to be as he found himself
summoning his Master, all
because the Dark Lord's daughter had
obviously heard about
the upcoming revel
and in his infinite
wisdom? The Dark Lord thought
it
would be a good idea to…
what?
Severus shook his head in exasperation.
He really hated
people sometimes.
In a flash of
green flames,
the Dark Lord walked into the
Headmaster's
office,
looking
immaculate but
irritated at
being summoned.
"This
better
be
important
Severus."
The
Dark
Lord
hissed
unhappily.
"That
depends on your definition of
important, My Lord." Severus
drawled impassively,
not
even flinching when his Lord's eyes
flashed red at his impudence.
"Perhaps I've been remiss,
Severus? How long has it
been since
I've properly 'crucio'd ' you?"
This caused Severus to smirk slightly.
"That
would've been after
you returned from your sabbatical, my Lord, and realized that your
daughter had not been treated with the deference she deserved."
Voldemort
sat
down in the chair across from the Headmaster's
desk and sent
a harsh glare toward his loyal
follower.
"Are you
chastising me, Severus?"
"I would hardly admit it if I were, My Lord. On the contrary… your
daughter
appears to be quite upset
about
something today.
Young Mr. Malfoy received a letter and I can only assume it was
from Lucius-perhaps about
this upcoming weekends festivities?
I'm sure Hermione is feeling a bit, shall we say?" Severus waved
his
hand in the air,
like he was brushing away something
insignificant.
Voldemort's eyes glowered at
Severus. "What did she do? Set the
Great Hall on fire?"
This did cause Severus to nearly smile, which caused Voldemort
to look at his follower in shock.
"Wandless, silent magic-burned Draco's letter to ash… most
spectacularly I might add."
Folding his hands up,
Voldemort
grinned.
"She's quite powerful…
more so when she's angry."
"Perhaps
you might
decide whether
you intend to have her
participate this weekend.
I'd imagine,
knowing Hermione as I do,
she's wondering why you haven't shared your plans with her?"
Tilting his head back,
the Dark Lord let out an aggrieved groan
and Severus eyes shot
up at
the nearly domestic frustration of
his Lord.
"Being a Father is harder than I'd imagined it
would be.
I
miss
the days when I
could just
kill
and torture without
having to
worry about
taking my daughter's feelings into consideration."
The Dark Lord hissed the word 'feelings ' like it was an incurable
case of Dragon Pox-the disgust was palpable .
"I'm not
sure I'm the best one suited to have this discussion with,
My Lord.
I
detest
children.
They are undisciplined blighters who
waste my time complaining over
the most
incessant,
ridiculous
things. It's a shame there isn't some sort of blanket 'imperius ' that
could be placed over the entirety of
Hogwarts, as it would simply
make my job far more tolerable."
Voldemort chuckled at Severus, knowing that he was at least,
partially serious in what he was suggesting.
"So my daughter?"
"Is apparently having what
amounts to a temper tantrum,
if
the
look she sent my way this morning was any indication. I felt it was
prudent
to contact
you as in some fashion,
I'd rather
face a
straightforward 'crucio '
than anything she might come up with in
that devious little mind of hers."
At
this,
Voldemort
laughed loudly.
"Perhaps you're right.
I
did
indicate when we spoke last that I would include her in my plans."
"She is in Potions as we speak.
Should I
send for
her to come
here?"
Voldemort
waved
his
hand
in
acquiescence,
so
Severus
summoned a piece of
parchment,
wrote the missive and cast
a
'lacus statim '
to Professor
Slughorn.
The parchment
'popped '
away and nearly ten minutes later, there was a knock at his door.
"Enter."
Severus
drawled
out,
watching with amusement
as
Hermione opened the door,
her
eyes widening at
seeing her
father sitting there, looking both parts irritated and amused at his
daughter.
"Come in,
my dear." Voldemort
waved the door shut
as Hermione
moved into the room a bit hesitantly.
"That
was fast." Hermione tried not
to sound petulant,
but
by the
dark look both Severus and her
father
sent
her
way,
she didn't
quite manage it properly.
"Sit
." Voldemort
hissed at
his daughter and waved Severus out
of the room.
After
the Headmaster
had taken his leave,
Hermione and her
father
stared at
each other
for
a few moments until
Voldemort
sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation.
"Speak,
Daughter-you obviously have something on your mind if
Severus of all people, felt it necessary to summon me here."
Hermione crossed her arms in irritation.
"You promised me that
you would keep me involved in your plans yet
I
had to hear it
from mum that you are calling a revel this weekend?"
Voldemort
hissed in frustration. "Yes, I am, and I won't insult your
intelligence by explaining why.
I
will
however tell
you the same
thing I
shared with your mother.
I
am not
a good wizard and I'm
never going to be. What happened to you is inexcusable and if I
hadn't obliviated your Muggle guardians? I might've killed them for
their lack of taking care of you properly."
Hermione stood up, her hair crackling in anger causing Voldemort
to inwardly grin at his daughter's show of strength.
She wasn't afraid.
"Those two people were the only people in my life who gave a
damn about
me for
years!"
Hermione's hands clenched at
her
sides as her magic radiated around her potently.
"And you don't
think I
give a damn about
you?" Voldemort's
voice was dangerously low as he looked at his daughter with
eyes that were blazing red with emotion.
She instantly deflated a bit, looking down at her father and shook
her
head.
"I
didn't
mean to infer
otherwise,
Father.
I
know you
do-in your own way."
"You are upset
about
your
mother
and as a consequence,
are
angry with me."
Her
eyes
widened
in
shock
at
her
father's
accurate
deduction. Yes, she was angry.
Angry at the situation and unsure how she was going to be able to
fix it.
Sitting down in her chair,
Hermione gave her father a look that he
hadn't seen from her-was it fear?
That thought left him feeling unsettled.
"I'm angry yes,
but
I'm afraid too.
I
don't
want
to lose Mum-not
when I've just
gotten her back.
How am I
supposed to feel
about
any of this?"
Voldemort sighed and leant forward, staring at his daughter as she
tried to get control over her emotions.
"Hermione,
I'm unsure what
to say to you about
any of
this.
But
I
can see both Marlene and I
have been remiss in not
sitting down
with you and discussing this as soon as it was made aware to me.
However,
I
must
offer
my thanks,"
at
this her
eyes widened in
shock,
"your mother most
likely,
would not
have told me had she
not
confided to you about
her
situation.
I
have done Marlene a
disservice,
not
consciously on my part.
As you're aware,
your
mother
and I
are mates and this was discovered by myself
long
after I'd made my horcruxes. I know what Marlene shared with you
about
remorse,
and she is correct
in her
assumption that
my
choices have left
little room for that
particular emotion in my life. I
have regrets… some… not many. You and your mother are the two
I will
concede to. My anger at the hardships you've faced has more
to do with my sense of responsibility where you're concerned. You
are my
daughter… my
Heir.
If
I
don't
avenge those wrongs
perpetuated against
you,
how can I
assure your safety from those
who might seek to harm you? Or even try to use you to get to me?"
"Then why not tell me this? Why not give me the choice? You didn't
even ask me if
I
wanted to attend this weekend!
You sought
to
make that
choice for me!
I'm not
some wilting violet
that needs to
be protected from the evils in this world!
I've seen it,
Father!
I've
faced the haters and tormentors and I've risen above it all! Why do
you seek to shelter me? I didn't and haven't asked you to do so! Do
you not trust me?"
Hermione could feel
tears coming to her
eyes,
but
she valiantly
held them back.
"Do you not trust me, Daughter?"
Hermione reeled back in shock as if
she'd been slapped.
"I…
what?"
Voldemort
chuckled at
his own flesh and blood. "You, my dearest
child,
think I
don't
know how your
brilliant
mind works-always
planning ten steps ahead.
Did you seriously think I
didn't
know
about
the Hallows? Did you think it
didn't
occur to me that
when
you took out Albus Dumbledore, that you might've done so with an
objective in mind? Do you think so little of
your own father,
that
you really thought
I
didn't
know the significance of
that
ring on
your finger?"
Hermione's face paled in shock as she looked into her Father's
face and saw the truth of his words.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Voldemort
chuckled deeply,
enjoying the look of shock on his own
child's face.
"Because I
was very curious what
you had planned
and I
must
admit? I
wanted to see if
you could find them all.
You
don't
have the Cloak I'm assuming,
but
if
I
had to hazard a
guess-you know where it is-or at least, who might have it?"
She nodded,
dumbfounded while her
Father
just
smiled at
her
discomfort.
"Well, I do suspect whatever your initial motives, or contingencies-
they have changed-haven't they?"
She just nodded again, too stunned to speak.
Voldemort stood up and went over to his daughter and gave her a
light kiss on her head.
"I
will
expect
you to attend Saturday with Draco." Tilting her face
up so he could look into her
eyes,
he considered his daughter
sternly.
"If
you were anyone else- I
would've never allowed these
concessions and would've acted accordingly.
But
you are my
daughter,
Hermione… flesh of
my flesh.
You have given me your
loyalty and I
value you above all
others.
Do you remember the
conversation we had when we first met about trust and loyalty?"
She nodded.
"You told me that
loyalty is a difficult
concept
but
trust is even more rare, and valued ."
"And do you remember
what
you said in return?"
"That
loyalty is hard to find and trust is easy to lose."
Voldemort
nodded.
"You also said that
'actions
speak louder than words'. "
"I did."
"And what do you think your actions have shown me, my dear."
Hermione's head dropped as a tear fell
from her eye and down her
cheek, but her father tilted her head back up as she looked into his
eyes… eyes that
weren't
red at
the moment,
but
a deep forest
green.
"That I don't trust you enough to be honest with you."
"Yes, and that is partially my fault. If you hadn't been so consumed
with self-preservation for
so many years,
we wouldn't
be having
this conversation.
How can I
fault
you for something I'm partially
responsible for and how can I as a father, berate you for traits that I
have benefited from over
these past
years? I
may be a Dark
Wizard,
but
I'd like to think I'm not
a hypocrite,
at
least not where
you're concerned."
Hermione laughed and stood up,
hugging her father tightly. To his
credit,
he
allowed this
concession,
wrapping his
arms
gently
around her and returning her affections, even if it was briefly.
"I will see you Saturday."
"Of course, Father and thank you for coming to talk with me."
"You're welcome, Hermione."
The Dark Lord left
the way he had come,
and Hermione was left
amazed at just how Slytherin her Father really was.
Mother, Daughter Bonding: Part Deux
Chapter 80: Mother, Daughter Bonding: Part Deux
Hermione had spent
the rest
of
the week pondering over
her
conversation
with
her
Father.
When
she'd
returned
to
the
Slytherin common room after
classes were done,
Draco was
waiting for
her
and had been curious as to why she'd been
summoned to Severus office.
When she told Draco about
her
conversation with her Father… all
of it. ..Draco had paled at first,
then laughed at
how shocked his witch must've been at the Dark
Lord getting one over on his own daughter.
She had pouted of
course,
but
then realized that
things could've
turned out
very differently for her under the circumstances.
Her
father was right.
She had made the choice initially to go after the
Hallows
as
a
contingency
plan.
It
was
a
matter
of
self-preservation at that point, because she hadn't known what to
expect and it was always good to be prepared.
She'd lost
a bit
of
that
self-preservation this year.
Becoming
somewhat
complacent
due to not
having to fear
for
her
life or
being constantly on guard that someone might try and hurt her. It
was both disconcerting and comforting to realize that
she had
people in her life now that
genuinely wanted to protect
her,
and
were willing to go to great lengths to do so.
When Saturday approached,
she asked Severus if
she could
floo home to McKinnon Manor
after
lunch.
She desperately
wanted to see her
mum and she needed to know what
to
expect from this evening.
She didn't want to be unprepared in any way.
Moving through the floo and into the McKinnon library,
she was
pleased to see her mum waiting for her with some tea and biscuits.
"Hello darling, you are looking well." Marlene smiled serenely,
pouring tea for the both of them.
"Hi, Mum."
Hermione took a seat across from her mother, nodding her thanks
at the cuppa that was offered her.
"I
must
say,
this is a pleasant
surprise." Marlene took a sip of her
tea and set her cup back down on the saucer. "I suppose you have
a reason for coming to see me today?"
"Can't a girl just want to spend some time with her mum?"
Marlene laughed. "Yes, I suppose a girl can but we both know that
you are a girl no longer. You and Draco have sealed your bond, so
I think that qualifies you as being a woman, don't you think?"
Hermione sat
back and gave her
mother
a considering
look.
"I
thought
my bond with Draco wouldn't
be sealed
until we were married."
"Under
normal
Wizarding laws,
yes-but
the soul
bond you both
share was sealed when you consummated your relationship."
"But
I
haven't
had any manifestations of
my inheritance.
How is
that possible?"
Sighing softly, Marlene took another sip of her tea and set her cup
and saucer on the table.
"It
is always better
to seal
the bond before the transition takes
place.
I
know your
Father
and I
shared that
with Draco.
The
succubi
trait does not always manifest every generation within our
family,
and as such,
may skip you altogether.
Your Father and I
wanted Draco and you to be prepared in case it did manifest, but
it was never a fait accompli."
Hermione nodded in understanding.
"I
have to admit,
I've had
Draco reading up on most
of
this as I've been so busy worrying
about other issues."
"Like the Hallows?"
"Yes."
Hermione gave her
Mum an amused look.
"Dad knows."
Marlene's eyes widened in shock. "Did you tell him?"
"No-sneaky
snake
that
he
is
-figured
it
out
on
his
own.
Apparently,
I'm predictable in the sense that
I
always have a
contingency plan in place and he guessed correctly my motives
in wanting Dumbledore to attack me."
Marlene laughed outright
at
Tom's cunning.
"Your father is a
Slytherin through and through, Hermione. Was he angry?"
"Not as such. I was suitably chastised and I quote-for not trusting
him enough.
Apparently my penchant
for self-preservation is an
admirable trait,
which he both praised and admonished me for
equally. He did infer that if I'd been anyone else, he would've had
no choice but to eliminate me."
Marlene's eyebrows raised into her
hairline at
this confession.
"He said as such?"
Shrugging, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not in so many words but
it
was implied .
Most
kids get
put
in time out,
on restriction or
have their
favorite toy taken away but
apparently those things
are too plebeian within our family.
Death threats are more the
order of the day."
"Perhaps I
need to speak with you Father again about refining his
parenting techniques."
Hermione had gone to take a sip of
her
tea,
but
at
her
mother's words, she nearly choked on the liquid. "I'm sorry?"
Marlene waved her hand elegantly, clearing Hermione's airway and
smiled softly at her daughter.
"I might have told him and I'm quoting verbatim… not to fuck it up."
The look of shock on Hermione's face was priceless, before she
threw her head back and laughed joyously,
causing Marlene to
join in her daughter's mirth.
"You didn't?" Hermione breathed out, once she'd calmed down.
"I
most
certainly did.
Your
Father
is learning as he goes,
and
while I'm not thrilled with your attendance at tonight's revel, I do
understand the reasoning behind it."
Hermione's demeanor changed instantly. "Ah yes-the revel."
"And the main reason I'm seeing you today." Marlene gave her
daughter a knowing look. "So, you wish to know what might be in
store for you this evening?"
"I
need to be prepared,
Mum.
I
refuse to show weakness but
I'm
not sure how to prepare for something like this."
Marlene reached for
her
daughter's hand and gave it
a quick
squeeze.
"I
can only share with you what I knew from before and
even then, it wasn't much."
"I
know a little bit
and I
know that
some of the older Death Eaters
weren't
very happy when Father
stopped the practice of
revels
when he returned."
"Yes, you are correct. Walden McNair, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus
Rookwood and Archibald Flint were probably the most vocal
from
what
Tom shared with me.
Walden has a particular penchant
for
torture and enjoys the pain he inflicts.
Some of
the other Death
Eaters were willing participants however and yes, rape of Muggle
women was often a part
of
revels. Your Father never partook, as
far
as
I'm aware,
but
it
didn't
stop his loyal
followers from
indulging their baser proclivities."
"Draco is worried what might be required of him."
Marlene's gaze darkened. "Of that you need not worry, Hermione.
I
have spoken with your Father and he agrees with me that
the
bond you both share would be irreparably damaged should Draco
be required to engage in such acts. I will
be there this evening. It
will
also be my first
revel
and I
must admit, as much as I wish to
enact
retribution
on
those
who
have
hurt
you-I
find myself
conflicted over the children-primarily the sister of the boy who hurt
you.
I
have been down to the dungeons at
Malfoy Manor
and
have observed, disillusioned of course, the dynamics of the family.
The youngest
girl
seems to keep her
own countenance and
doesn't speak to anyone-it concerns me."
"Will the entire family be brought in together?"
Marlene nodded.
"Most
likely.
Your
father
will
want
to set
a firm
example and will
not waste anytime entering their minds to find out
who was complicit and who wasn't."
"And those who weren't, will they be spared?"
"Inasmuch as they will
likely die a quicker death,
but
I'm afraid
your Father will
not
be swayed on this issue, Hermione. I've said
my peace and can do no more. Whatever transpires this evening,
understand that
this is fundamentally whom your father is.
With
you and I-we are the exceptions to the rule. You will need to find a
way to reconcile what
you will
witness this evening and it
will
change the way you see some of the Death Eaters going forward.
I
also wanted to share with you that
I
have secured a vow of
loyalty from Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange for your benefit.
Should you ever require aid, they will help you."
Hermione looked at her mother in shock. "Do I want to know how
you were able to convince two of Father's most faithful followers
to do such a thing?"
Marlene smirked wickedly.
"You're a smart
woman,
Hermione.
I'd
like to think I don't need to spell out such things to you."
Hermione nodded,
her
skin flushing uncomfortably.
"No,
I
can
figure it out for myself-thanks, Mum."
"Good.
Why don't
you go take a nice hot
bath and relax a bit
before this evening.
I
will
bring you something appropriate to
wear later on before we floo over to Malfoy Manor together."
"Okay."
Hermione stood up and headed towards her
suite of
rooms,
wondering how she was going to be able to get through the next
few hours.
The Revel
Chapter 81: The Revel
Later on that evening found Hermione staring at herself in front
of
the mirror in her room.
Her mother had brought
in a set
of
black robes that
were form fitted and draped down to the floor.
The cloak she brought for her to wear was also black, had silver
thread embellishments-one in the form of a snake.
The hood on the cloak was large enough to cover the majority of
her face,
and for this she was grateful. She wasn't sure how well
she would do at
keeping her emotions at bay, but she also knew
this was a kind of test and one she had no intentions of failing.
When she was finally ready,
Hermione grabbed her
wand and
beaded bag and headed for the floo in the library where she knew
her mother would be waiting for her. When she entered, her eyes
widened at
how beautiful
her
mother
looked.
Her
formal
dress
robes were cut
very similarly as her own,
but
they were a dark
forest
green,
almost
the exact
color
of
her
Father's eyes.
Her
mother's cloak was the same style as her
own,
and Marlene's
smile was gentle as she came over and enveloped Hermione into
a warm hug.
"Are you ready?"
Taking
a
fortifying
breath
and
bracing
herself,
Hermione
nodded. "Yes ."
"Alright then."
Together they went
through the floo, calling out for Malfoy Manor
main drawing room.
When Hermione entered the room,
there
were at least thirty Death Eaters surrounding the perimeter of the
room,
all
dressed in black cloaks and all
wearing Death Eater
Masks.
Hermione felt her heart rate increase at the site of the masks. She
had heard about
them of
course,
but
seeing the effect
up close
and personal
was quite daunting and oddly exhilarating at
the
same time.
Looking closely at the masks, Hermione couldn't place any of the
people before her.
There were a few women present,
which was
easy to see by their formal robes but the majority of those present
were men.
The Dark magic within the room was palpable.
Her
mother
led her
over
to a spot
near
the entrance,
and
Hermione stood there silently.
After a few moments,
her father
walked in with Nagini
at
his heels-the snake hissing in warning.
Once she'd slithered into the room, Nagini made her way straight
for
Hermione and wrapped herself
around her mistress,
clearly
intending to remain there,
and Hermione was grateful
to her
friend for her protection.
Nagini
could clearly sense her unease, if the soft whispered words
of comfort in Parseltongue were any indication.
The Dark Lord looked back at
where his daughter was standing
with Nagini
wrapped around her, and smirked proudly. It was clear
that
Nagini
could sense Hermione's uneasiness,
but
outwardly at
least, his daughter appeared calm and composed. Marlene looked
beautiful
and he could feel
the darkness of
her aura as it reached
for his. He smiled inwardly as he sent a flow of magic back towards
his mate.
He knew that
as much as Marlene thrived in her darker
nature,
there
were
still
things
about
his
nature
she
found
disconcerting.
When she'd been younger, and a bit more naive to the ways of the
world, it had been easier to shelter her from his darker proclivities.
Not anymore.
That thought made him pleased.
When the Dark Lord had entered,
the room became deathly
quiet.
The anticipation of what was to come was palpable within
the room.
Voldemort
nodded to his Death Eaters en masse,
and stood
proudly in the center of the room, commanding attention.
"My friends,
welcome.
Tonight
I
have a special
treat
planned for
your
amusement.
A Muggle Family who have displeased me
greatly,
will
be given to you all
to do as you see fit. I fully expect
you all to remember this boon that has been given you."
All
the heads in the perimeter bowed humbly before their Lord.
Hermione glanced over each mask as they all
stood at attention,
wondering which one was Draco.
He wasn't
a full-fledged Death
Eater yet, but she imagined that her Father had given him a mask
for this evening.
As her eyes moved around the room,
her gaze
caught on one person who's gaze was fixated on her.
The mask staring at
her had darkened swirling embellishments
surrounding the top of the mask, eyes and down the cheeks, but
what
gave it way was the Fleur de Lis sitting prominently on the
forehead between the eyebrows. Hermione was convinced that it
was Draco under
that
mask and she had to admit,
the mask
suited him very well, and she found herself smiling softly at how
beautiful he was, even behind a mask.
Soon,
the small
group of Muggles were brought into the drawing
room. There were eleven in all. Three older men with women who
probably were their
wives.
Two men in their
early twenties,
a
young girl
no older
than Hermione's age,
another teenage boy
and the disgusting piece of filth that has attacked her back when
she was seven.
She'd would've known him anywhere.
When they all
were brought
in,
and forcibly brought
to their
knees-
the women started whimpering in fear-all
except
the
youngest
girl
who looked around the room with interest.
One of
the men seemed to be struggling to speak, and clearly had been
bound with a silencing charm.
All
of
the Muggles were kneeling
on the floor naked and Hermione didn't
miss the deep chuckles
and sneering comments of
some of
the Death Eaters within the
room.
Walking over to the silenced man, the Dark Lord grinned manically.
"It would seem that these Muggles have felt it acceptable to allow
their
son to rape young girls at
will.
It
would also seem that
all
within
the
room have
had
some
knowledge
of
the
boys
proclivities.
Aidan Connor," Voldemort gestured to the perpetrator
of Hermione's early nightmares as a child, "took it upon himself to
attempt
to violate my daughter when she was only seven years
old."
The angry hisses within the room on Hermione's behalf made her
feel
warm inside.
She knew that
the majority of
her
Father's
followers respected her and did not
perceive her as being weak.
She looked up again and saw Draco's gaze locked on Aidan and
she could feel his magic-it's darkness swirling in anger and hate.
It was heady.
The Dark Lord grinned evilly.
"Walden,
my friend.
Perhaps you
might
get
the evenings festivities started. The parents, sister and
Aidan here will
be left
to last,
but
feel
free to choose another to
begin with."
The Muggles whimpering escalated as Walden chuckled deeply
and came over,
walking towards who looked to be the sister
of
Aidan's mother.
He grabbed her
by her
hair
and dragged her
towards
the
left
side
of
the
room,
before he conjured what
Hermione could only describe as some kind of wooden bench with
cuffs and chains attached to it. The woman screamed in fear, while
her husband and son looked on in anguish.
The son stood up to attack McNair,
but
the wizard waved his
wand and slashed the boys chest open, causing his mother and
father to scream and plead for the wizard to stop.
More laughter was heard around the room as McNair strapped
the
woman
to
the
bench
and
before
Hermione
could
say
anything, McNair had unbuckled his pants and forced himself into
the woman from behind-her screams of pained terror causing the
other
Death Eaters in the room to openly laugh out
loud as
McNair brutalized the woman while her son watched,
crouched
and bleeding out on the floor.
Hermione gazed over at Draco, whom to his credit, kept his eyes
focused solely on her, and her alone. Holding his gaze, Hermione
allowed herself to become lost in his eyes-she could barely make
out
the grey embers from this distance.
But
as she held onto his
gaze,
she tried to block out the deafening screams of the woman
as well as her family, as they begged for mercy.
But
there was no mercy to be found in the drawing room of
Malfoy Manor that evening.
Both women had been brutalized,
as well
as both of
the grown
boys,
who'd been tortured by several
of
the Death Eaters.
The
younger boy lay dead on the ground,
bled out
from his wounds.
After
several
hours of
non-stop punishment,
the Dark Lord had
the bodies of the extended family members removed and the only
remaining Muggles in the room were Aidan,
his father,
mother
and younger sister.
Hermione had watched the younger
girl
throughout
most
of
the
evening, and she had been the only one to not plead for her family.
She sat
there,
stoic,
unaffected -it
was disturbing and it
hadn't
taken long for her to understand why .
When the truth hit, she gasped out softly, her eyes connecting with
the blue eyes of the girl-who looked unafraid but resigned.
When the Dark Lord addressed Aidan,
his voice was downright
deadly. "Aidan Conner, you have spent the better part of your life
being protected by your parents.
You tried to rape my daughter,
and it was only due to her ability to protect herself magically that
you weren't successful."
He then pointed his wand and cast
a 'crucio '
at
the boy,
who
screamed in agony while Voldemort
grinned manically.
After an
indeterminate amount
of
time,
the Dark Lord looked up and
gestured
to
Draco
to
come
forward,
which
he
did
without
hesitation.
"I believe you have your own form of retribution to administer,
Draco?"
"Yes, My Lord."
Draco bowed and then moved towards the Muggle who was
twitching on the ground in pained aftershocks from the Dark
Lord's curse.
Draco waved his wand and after
a few seconds the tremors
stopped. The Dark Lord looked at Draco questioningly, and at this
point, Draco had removed his mask so that the Muggle might see
him clearly.
"You violated my witch, you Muggle piece of filth. I'm going to enjoy
this."
Draco then reached into his pocket
and brought
out
a charmed
snake.
Casting the 'gemino '
that
his witch has taught
him,
the
snakes
multiplied and slithered across
the floor
towards the
offender.
Draco
stood
and
whispered
'irrita
faceremus'
and
suddenly the snakes started converging onto the boy,
who was
screaming in fright-the snakes
started biting and penetrating
everywhere they could.
Soon,
the Muggle Aidan was screaming
on the floor as the snakes violated every part of his body, pushing
their
way
inside
as
the
Muggle
writhed
but
just
before he
collapsed unconscious, Draco cancelled the spell, cast refreshing
and healing charms, then watched as Aidan's body calmed itself.
Once the Muggle was fairly recovered,
Draco started all
over
again.
This time he cast an Avis and then transfigured the crows
into dragons before silently casting an 'oppugnno '
and watching
his dragons burn the Muggles flesh from his body and this went
on for a while as Draco casted and recasted spells-healing and
starting all over again.
Finally Aidan Conner begged for death. It was what
Draco had been waiting for.
He then took out
a small
metal
box covered with runes from his
robes and cast
an 'engorgio '
which made it
the size of
a coffin.
He then levitated the Muggle into it
and cast
one final
spell…
conjuring flesh eating beetles,
dermestids… and soon the coffin
was filled with them. Draco watched in satisfaction as the beetles
started eating away at
the Muggles flesh,
the screams were
terrifying,
and the Dark Lord watched in admiration at
the young
Malfoy's creativity.
It
would seem his other
followers were suitably impressed and
even his daughter
had a small
smirk on her
face as the coffin
closed and a permanent silencing charm was placed.
Draco then waved his wand and vanished the coffin from the room.
The Dark Lord considered the Malfoy Heir with amusement,
and then smiled evilly. "Where did the coffin go, Draco?"
"To a site I
prepared earlier today within the Malfoy woods.
It
is
inaccessible by anyone other than myself.
Based on the eating
patterns of the dermestids, they will
slowly eat him to death over
the next
month or
so.
I
also cast
a regenerating bubble head
charm that
will
keep him alive during that
time.
I
felt
it
was a
fitting end, My Lord."
The Dark Lord clapped his hands and laughed in glee. "Well done,
Draco."
Draco bowed humbly and took one last look as his witch before he
took his place back within the Dark Lord's ranks.
Moving
to
the
daughter,
the
girl
looked
up
at
Voldemort
completely unafraid.
Quirking
an
eyebrow at
the
young woman's
look,
Voldemort
grinned. "And you are Meghan Connor, if I understand correctly?"
The girl
nodded, her face giving nothing away. "And what should
we do with you, young Meghan."
The girl
laughed out loud to the shock of everyone within the room.
Hermione felt it was time to speak up about her suspicions.
"Father,"
she hissed in Parseltongue,
"there is something wrong
with the girl."
Voldemort
turned towards his daughter and saw Marlene grab her
daughter's hand in solidarity.
So her mother had sensed it as well-that was-definitely something
she'd have to talk to Marlene about later.
"What do you mean?" Tom hissed in warning.
Hermione took off
the hood of
her cloak,
so her father could see
her entire face.
"You have looked into her mind?" She hissed back softly.
Voldemort
nodded and responded in kind.
"Briefly.
But
enough to
know she knew of what her brother was doing."
"I
believe she may have been a victim as well." Hermione hissed
out
sadly,
feeling Nagini
squeeze her
gently before the snake
hissed out in agreement.
The look on the Dark Lord's face was one of complete shock. He
hadn't spent much time in the girl's mind, but he had seen enough
to know of her complicity…
… but still .
Staring down at
the girl,
he raised his wand and silently cast
a
'legilimens '
as he made eye contact.
He entered the girl's mind
and after a bit, found that she had managed to place rudimentary
barriers on her thoughts-which he thought
strange that
a sixteen
year old Muggle girl would have the ability to do such as thing.
It
took a minute,
but
once he got
passed the barriers,
the
memories came forward and what
Voldemort
saw made him
very, very angry.
The girl
had been violated not
only by her own brother, but by her
father as well.
The mother knew.
She had gone to her
mother
three years ago and begged her
mother for help and the woman had done nothing. She'd allowed
the abuse to continue and the girl
had only survived by self
learning a form of
rudimentary Occlumency to keep herself
from
going insane.
When he'd seen enough he pulled back out
of
her mind and
stood there as the girl, Meghan, stared at him with absolutely no
fear, nor panic-but her eyes were dead… lifeless .
The Dark Lord's magic swirled dangerously as he looked over at
his witch and his daughter.
Marlene could feel
Tom's anger as it
hit everyone within the room, causing many to gasp with pain. He
went
over to the girl's father and grabbed the man by the throat
and hissed. "You violated your own child? Allowed your son to do
the same?"
The man flinched when he heard the shocked yells of
the
Death Eaters within the room.
Marlene glared at
the Muggle
and asked quietly, "The woman?"
Tom nodded,
which told Marlene all
she needed to know. Before
anyone could stop her,
she moved in a blur to the woman and
grasped her
head within her
hands,
sending out
a shield to
prevent anyone from stopping her.
"You have allowed your
daughter
to suffer
by the hand of
your husband and son-you aren't worthy of mercy."
In a flash,
Marlene's aura changed and her body darkened into
her otherworldly form, causing the woman to scream out in terror
as her essence was pulled from her body like a sieve.
When it
was done the woman's body crumpled to the floor in a heap of
bone, while all the Death Eaters watched on with awe.
The girl,
Meghan laughed out
joyously.
"The bitch is dead! Well,
that
was something,
I
suppose.
Are you going to kill
my sorry
excuse for a sperm donor now? I'd like to watch that before you
kill me, if that's alright."
Everyone in the room was shocked silent
before Voldemort
chuckled. "And how would you wish for your father to suffer?"
Meghan shrugged. "Does it really matter? It can't undo what's been
done to me-nothing can give me back my innocence. I just ask that
when you kill
me,
you make it
quick.
I'd rather not
be someone's
plaything anymore, if that's alright with you."
Hermione
gazed
sadly
at
the
girl,
who
was
stoic
and
resigned in equal
measure.
She watched as her father cast
an 'avada '
and Bentley Connor
was no more.
He then
considered the young woman before him,
but
before he
could move-Hermione walked over and knelt
down in front
the girl.
"If
we could take your memories away so you don't
remember
what has happened to you, would you wish to live?"
Meghan looked a bit perplexed but then shook her head. "Can you
heal
my body too? I may never be able to have children because of
what was done to me."
Hermione's breath caught
and she glanced up at
Draco,
who
seemed to be unable to process this new information.
He just
looked pale and ashen.
Hermione turned to her Mum,
and she smiled softly and nodded
once,
letting
her
know that
she
understood
the
unspoken
question.
Hermione then glanced up at her father, who was watching her
closely and hissed in Parseltongue.
"I
think I
can heal
her
Father. Will you allow me to do this and spare her more pain?"
Voldemort's eyes widened as he came over to his daughter and
lifted her up to stand, looking into her eyes.
"You are sure?"
Hermione nodded again. "I want to try."
Tom gazed over at
Marlene,
who was pale and shaking a bit from
using her powers.
He sighed in resignation,
understanding on some level
that
Marlene had permanently taxed her core and it would likely have
deleterious consequences.
Facing
his
daughter
once
more,
Voldemort
nodded. "You can try."
Moving
back
down
to
her
knees,
Hermione
faced Meghan and smiled gently. "I can possibly
heal you, give you back what was taken."
Meghan appeared dubious. "I'm not sure anyone has the power to
do so, but you can try." Hermione went to reach for the girl's face,
much like she'd seen her own mother do with the girl's mother-but
before she could place her hands,
Meghan grabbed one of
her
wrists and said firmly. "If this doesn't work-if you can't heal me and
make me forget-then kill me."
Hermione nodded and placed her hands upon the Muggle girl's
face and closed her
eyes-searching within her
own magical
essence to see if she could find what she needed. As she quieted
her mind,
she traced her magic to her core and felt her betrothal
necklace hum with energy and life. Her whole body felt warm and
comforted,
which radiated out
of
her core and into the rest of her
body.
Her
eyes were closed,
so she didn't
see what
the rest
of
those
within the room did.
Hermione's aura,
instead of
darkening like her mother's, started
to glow like a bright golden light. It moved out from her chest and
through the rest
of
her body,
enveloping herself and the Muggle
girl.
Draco gasped as he felt
Hermione's magic pulsate through his
own body and felt
his own magic respond in kind.
His own aura
began to glow,
and Marlene smiled to see that her daughter and
betrothed
were
fully
soul
bonded,
as
she knew they
were
destined to be.
The rest
of
the Death Eaters were astonished at
the connection
of their Lord's daughter and the Malfoy Heir.
Voldemort
took Marlene's hand and squeezed it,
knowing that
their daughter had finally come into her full
inheritance. The fact
that
she could access her powers at
will,
and had not
suffered
the same fate Marlene had,
made Voldemort
happy for
his
heir-but
it
also made him realize in that
moment,
what
he'd
denied his mate because of his choices.
Once the glow faded,
Hermione's eyes opened and Meghan
drifted down to the ground asleep.
Moving to stand,
she felt
Draco's presence at
her side immediately.
He gently kissed her
forehead and whispered, "You are amazing, my love."
Hermione moved back and Voldemort
motioned for
Severus to
come forward.
"Check her,
Severus.
See if
any physical
damage
remains."
Severus moved forward and ran some scans with his wand.
When he was finished he stood and conjured a blanket to cover
the young woman's body.
"She
appears
healed,
My
Lord.
There
are
no
physical
manifestations of
abuse that
my scans could detect
although it
might
be wise to bring in a more seasoned Healer to run some
additional
tests.
I
would be happy to remove her memories,
My
Lord."
Voldemort
nodded.
"Take her with you back to Hogwarts and have
Madam Pomfrey look her over.
If
she gives the girl
a clean bill
of
health,
remove
those
memories
and
come
to
me.
We
will
determine how to best
reintroduce her
back into the Muggle
World."
"Of
course,
my
Lord."
Severus
bowed and then nodded to
Hermione once before he levitated the girl
and took her back to
Hogwarts with him.
Tom then faced his daughter and her intended.
"You've both
done very well
tonight.
Return to Hogwarts and I
will
speak
with both of you soon."
"Yes,
My Lord." Both Hermione and Draco said in union,
before
they made their way to the floo,
calling out for the Headmasters
office.
When they were gone,
Tom turned to his followers to address
them. "You have all done well this evening. Let this night serve to
remind you all
what
happens to those who try and hurt
what
is
mine."
All
those present
bowed in understanding and the Dark Lord took
his leave with his witch.
He
needed to get
her
back
to McKinnon Manor
before she
collapsed.
What Comes After
Chapter 82: What Comes After
Hermione and Draco returned to Hogwarts and made their way to
the Room of
Requirement.
Hermione's magic was swirling like a
current
along
her
body
and
she
could
feel
Draco's
magic
responding in kind.
They barely made it
through the door to their
room,
when they started ripping each other's clothes off
in a
frenzied need of lust. They stayed that way for the entire night and
well into Sunday afternoon.
Hermione was insatiable and Draco was enjoying every minute of
it.
When they finally returned to the Slytherin Dorms on Sunday
afternoon,
the common room was filled with students from all
the
years.
Theo,
Blaise and Daphne were in their usual
spot
by the
fireplace where Nagini
was curled up asleep.
Crookshanks had
taken to sleeping under
the chair near Nagini
over the last
few
weeks.
Her silly half-kneazle had spent the better part of the past
two years away from the dorms as Crookshanks didn't like any of
the students here,
and barely tolerated Draco,
which Hermione
found amusing.
But for some reason in the last few weeks, he'd taken to sleeping
near Nagini
and Hermione had to wonder if it had taken this long
for her two familiars to finally learn to accept each other.
She'd felt
a bit
sad at
first
when Nagini
had come to Hogwarts at
the beginning of
the year
and she hadn't
seen Crookshanks for
nearly a month.
At
Malfoy Manor
and McKinnon Manor,
the two
never
had to interact
much.
Crooks really didn't
seem all
that
enamoured with anyone but
her.
Nagini
however, spent quite a bit
of time with her Father and seemed to enjoy Draco's company too.
Crookshanks was, simply put, a one person familiar. So it made
her happy to see that
at
least
Nagini
and Crooks were trying to
get along.
When she walked over to the sixth year group with Draco,
Nagini
raised her
head and hissed softly,
before lying back down and
going back to sleep.
Crookshanks on the other
hand,
meowed
indignantly and jumped up onto her lap, purring loudly and begging
for a bit of attention.
Draco scowled at the cat when it hissed at him.
"I
don't
get
it,
love? Nagini
loves me,
but
this evil
orange
fur-ball seems to hate me."
Hermione giggled.
"Perhaps Crookshanks is less forgiving than
Nagini."
Crooks stretched on Hermione's lap and meowed loudly,
causing
her mistress to smile affectionately at him.
"Well, I just don't get it."
Hermione
shrugged
and
petted
Crookshanks
for
a
few
minutes more,
until
he'd decided he'd had enough attention
and jumped down-curling up in his new favorite spot
and
going back to sleep.
"You know," Theo stared softly, "familiars are usually only loyal
to
their
one human companion.
It's fairly unusual
for
a familiar
to
have more than one master or mistress."
Hermione
gave
Theo
an
interested
look.
"I
did
read
that
somewhere,
come to think of
it.
But
I've never really considered
why Nagini
has bonded with me-perhaps it
has something to do
with my Father ordering Nagini
to protect
me above all
others. He
apparently didn't make an exception for himself."
The shocked looks within their small group was telling.
"Your
Father
bade his own familiar
to protect
you? That
is,
simply put-unheard of, Hermione."
Theo rubbed the back of
his neck,
trying to process that
bit
of
information,
while everyone but Draco just seemed unsure of what
to say.
"Well,
for whatever reason I'm glad of
it." Stated Draco firmly.
"I
can't
think of
a better
protector
than our
Nagini
here.
She's
terrifying, when she wants to be."
Hermione gave her
wizard a quick peck on the cheek.
"You just
love Nagini because she protects your sorry arse."
"Hey!" Draco growled playfully,
nipping at Hermione's neck, while
their friends laughed at their antics.
"It's alright,
love.
I
don't
mind sharing Nagini
with you.
Besides,
we both know she'd kill
you in a heartbeat if you ever tried to hurt
me."
Draco smiled fondly at his little witch. "True enough, lucky for me I
have no plans of ever hurting you."
"Good to know, handsome."
Their friends all
groaned at their display of lovey ickleness, which
caused Hermione to huff softly. She then watched as Theo threw
up a silencing charm and wrung his hands together nervously.
"Where did you go last night, Draco?"
Draco gave his friend a harsh glare,
while Hermione raised en
eyebrow at the question.
"Why do you ask, Theo?" It was Hermione who inquired.
"Well…" Theo cleared his throat
a bit,
"I overheard Avery, Vaisey
and Bletchley talking last night. Avery mentioned something about
a revel,
and from what
I'd overheard,
his Uncle was supposedly
taking part."
Draco's eyes darkened as he glanced over
at
the seventh year
boys,
who were trying very hard to be inconspicuous,
but
were
watching their group closely. Looking down at his witch, who rolled
her
eyes in response,
Draco kissed her
forehead and turned to
face his friends.
"I
wasn't
aware that
the Dark Lord was allowing his followers to
broadcast
what happened last night. That being said, yes… there
was a revel
and to my knowledge? It was a one-time concession
from Our
Lord.
He had some family business to resolve and I
believe he wanted to make a statement
to his followers where
Hermione was concerned."
Theo sat
back and nodded,
while Blaise and Daphne looked a bit
unsettled.
"Did you have to participate, mate?" Blaise inquired softly.
"Yes,
Blaise.
I
actually made the request of Our Lord to allow me
to hand out
my own form of
retribution on the most
notable
offender.
He saw fit
to grant
my request,
thankfully.
I
suspect
he
might
have a thing or two to say if
he knew that
certain people
were talking out of turn about last night."
Blaise nodded thoughtfully while Theo grimaced.
"My Dad never
mentioned it
to me,
so I
was surprised when I'd overheard.
But
your right, mate. Avery has a big mouth and likes to think he's more
connected than he really is."
Hermione sighed unhappily.
"I
sincerely doubt
that
any of
my
Father's followers are idiotic enough to speak out
of
turn.
That
being said, thank you for telling us, Theo. I'll
have to decide how
to best handle this."
Theo bowed his head. "Of course, Hermione."
Hermione stood up and smiled at
Draco.
"I'm going to go
take a bath, love. I will
see you all
down in the Great Hall
for
dinner."
Draco stood up and gave his witch a short,
yet possessive kiss.
When he pulled away,
Hermione beamed up at
him.
"Did you
make your point?"
Chuckling, he nodded. "Minx."
Winking at
her
intended,
Hermione left
their
group and headed
upstairs to her room to freshen up. Draco then sat back down and
sighed, tilting his head back on the rest of the couch.
Theo, Blaise and Daphne gave their friend curious looks.
Daphne decided to ask the question all
three of
them were
wanting to ask. "The Muggle boy… is he dead?"
Draco moved his head forward and stared at his friends before his
gaze hardened.
"Not
yet,
but
he will
be soon enough.
He's being
slowly eaten to death my dermestids as we speak,
buried alive.
I
thought
it
was a fitting punishment… well,
one of
many."
Draco
smirked at the memory of what he'd done to the filthy Muggle.
Theo coughed in shock. "Salazar's balls, mate… seriously?"
Draco nodded,
leaning forward and placing his elbows on his
thighs.
"Yes.
The whole thing was brutal,
mate.
I
was worried for
Hermione on how she'd handle it,
but
she was amazing as
always.
She never
gave away any of
what
she was feeling.
I
swear, I don't think I'd realized just how many sick fucks there are
in the Dark Lord's inner circle."
Theo nodded in agreement.
"My Dad told me once about McNair
and Rookwood.
Told me to never be alone around either one of
them.
Apparently McNair has a penchant for torture. During the first
Wizarding War,
he particularly enjoyed raping and torturing
Muggles."
Draco nodded, rubbing his hands over his face as he recalled just
how much McNair had enjoyed himself last night.
"I
can confirm what
your
Dad told you,
Theo.
If
I
hadn't
witnessed it
first-hand,
I
don't
think I
could've believed that
someone could be that perverse."
Daphne queried shakily. "And Hermione had to watch that?"
"She kept her eyes focused on me nearly the entire time. I wouldn't
look away and neither
did she.
Nagini
was there too… wrapped
around her.
I
could hear
Nagini
whispering in Parseltongue to
Hermione. I don't think she was any happier about Hermione being
there than I was."
Daphne sighed in relief. "Well, that's something then."
Draco gave his friends all
a haunted look and proceeded to tell
them about the Muggle girl, Meghan Connor. When he was done,
Daphne had tears coming down her
cheeks,
while Theo and
Blaise looked like they both were going to be sick.
"That's fucked up, mate!" Blaise said angrily.
"Yeah it is." Draco confirmed. "If it hadn't been for Hermione, I don't
think the girl would've wanted to live. Merlin, I can't imagine how
she's managed to do so for all
these years." Draco shook his head
incredulously at the thought.
All four Slytherins were quiet for a bit until Draco noticed the time.
"I'm going to get
cleaned up and head down to dinner. I'll
see you
guys there."
Cancelling the silencing charms,
Draco headed for the boys
dormitory leaving Blaise,
Theo and Daphne to ponder their
conversation.
When dinner time arrived,
Draco waited for his witch to emerge
from the sixth year girl's dormitory. Theo, Blaise and Daphne had
left already, and except for a few underclassmen, he was the only
person in the common room.
As
he sat
there,
Draco's mind filtered back to the previous
evening and went
through what
had transpired in his mind,
analyzing the actions of
all
those present.
McNair,
Rookwood,
Avery, Goyle Sr., Crabbe Sr., and the Carrows particularly enjoyed
the torture they'd inflicted.
Draco simply hadn't
realized that
his
two
friends
fathers,
were
that
demented.
Goyle's
mum had
passed away at
the end of
their second year,
but Crabbe's mum
was still
alive.
Both men had taken part
in the rape of one of the
Muggle women.
That didn't sit well with Draco at all.
His own father had participated… tortured the brother of
Bentley
Connor.
He was quite skilled and inventive with the torture and it
had opened Draco's eyes a bit to how ruthless his father could be
when he wanted to. He knew his father had been livid when it was
discovered what
had happened to Hermione all
those years ago.
He had even written to him about how devastated he'd been on
Hermione's behalf-more so because he had been there when
Yaxley had shown the Dark Lord and Marlene the memory from
Daphne's conversation.
The
guilt
His
Father
harbored
was
something
Draco
could
empathize with.
He hadn't
been lying when he told his friends that
he'd kept
his
eyes
focused
strictly
on
Hermione during the worst
of
the
torture… but he'd heard… everything. He had desperately tried to
shut
his mind closed,
using his Occlumency to help buffer the
screams
of
pain and horror.
But
he'd been so focused on
Hermione,
that
it
was near impossible to do.
He'd heard every
scream,
every laugh, every one of the pleas for mercy and while
he couldn't
say he was sorry that
the Muggle Family had gotten
what
was coming to them? Inside he knew that if it had been his
and Hermione's daughter? He'd have burned the world down to
protect his own children…
… but still?
Shaking his head out of his morbid thoughts, he glanced up just in
time to see his witch walking into the common room looking
achingly beautiful
in those Muggle jeans she favored and a pretty
amber
colored jumper
that
brought
out
her
gorgeous eyes.
He
smiled as he walked over,
enveloping his witch into his arms and
kissed her breathless.
"Merlin, you're stunning."
Hermione blushed prettily as she took her hand and ran it over
Draco's cheek and into his hair.
"As are you,
handsome.
Let's go
get something to eat. I'm starving."
"Hmmmm… nothing like working up an appetite, is there?"
Giggling at
her
wizard,
Hermione grabbed his hand and lead
Draco out of the common room, heading for the Great Hall.
"You're incorrigible,
but
yes… I
agree with that
sentiment.
We
missed both breakfast
and lunch doing unspeakable things to
each other.
I
for
one,
need sustenance before I
can even think
about entertaining a repeat."
Draco laughed. "Well
then, my Lady, lets get you fed. I don't want
to be accused of being a wizard who fails in his duty to take care
of his witch."
"You are very attentive, handsome."
"I
am at
your service,
my Lady." Draco bowed formally,
smiling at
Hermione's laughter which echoed down the hallway as they made
their way into the Great Hall.
Once
they
were
seated
and
Draco
dished
up
Hermione's
favorites,
conversation at
the table consisted of
the upcoming
Quidditch Match against
Ravenclaw.
He had practices scheduled
this week for Tuesday and Thursday after dinner.
Hermione reminded him of
her study session with Smith and Cho
Chang,
which would be taking place that
Thursday evening in the
Library before she left to go to the owlry. He couldn't help the scowl
that flittered over his features, but wisely didn't comment on it.
Theo and Blaise both gave him looks of amusement, knowing that
their best mate didn't trust Smith anywhere near his witch.
Marlene and Sirius
Chapter 83: Marlene and Sirius
The next few weeks of school flew by. Hermione had indeed heard
from her Father a few days after the revel, his letter had indicated
his pride in how well
she had comported herself,
but
he also
inquired as to the state of
her health and Magic. It was a bit odd,
but
she had written back and told him she was doing fine and
didn't seem to be experiencing any negative magical effects.
Her mum had written often,
asking about
her and Draco-making
sure they were nurturing their bond. It was far easier to talk to her
mum about this stuff, and she was always very forthcoming about
any questions. When Hermione had written to her mum about her
desire to engage in anal
sex with Draco,
Marlene had sent
a
discreet
package
with
some
basic
information
on
how to
adequately prepare your body and she had been both mortified
and grateful
that
she could discuss these things openly with her
mum.
Marlene's health had taken a turn for the worse after the revel. As
Tom had suspected,
she'd utilized a great
deal
of
her magic and
had drained her core severely. Her Magic wasn't regenerating like
it
once had and Marlene could feel
herself
slipping away inch by
inch as the days passed.
Tom had sent
for the best
healers,
but
there was simply nothing
they could do.
Even sex wasn't
fully satiating the ache anymore and Marlene
figured that at this rate, she most likely wouldn't make it much past
summer.
Easter
was coming up soon,
and Marlene had discussed at
length with Tom that
she didn't
want
Hermione to be informed
about
her
condition until
she was home over
break.
He had
reluctantly agreed,
and then retreated into himself
like he was
prone to do.
The Muggle girl,
Meghan Connor
had been cleared by
the
Healers that
Marlene had sent
to Hogwarts in the ensuing day
after the revel. She had been impressed with Hermione's ability to
control
her powers. Healing the soul
had a symbiotic effect on the
body as well, and Meghan Connor would hopefully, magic willing,
be able to conceive children someday. She had been returned to
her boarding school,
no worse for wear with memories implanted
of a spontaneous family vacation in the South of France.
Several
Muggles had their memories modified, so if questions were
asked,
it
would seem as if
the Connor family had enjoyed a quiet
holiday abroad.
The day after Meghan returned to her boarding school, a fire had
raged through the Connor
home-killing all
the family members
who had congregated there for
a family reunion of
sorts.
The
police
had
gone
to
Meghan's
school
to
inform her
of
the
devastation and loss of her family. Marlene had sent Rabastan to
monitor
the girl
and make sure the story held-and it
had.
The
memory
modification
was
successful
and Meghan had been
understandably devastated by the loss of
her entire family.
Their
remains had been positively identified-
as Corban,
Lucius and
Rodolphus had placed the dead family members into the home
before it was burned to the ground.
There was no evidence of foul play.
Meghan had inherited her family's estate and since she'd had no
relatives to speak of,
Lucius had found a Muggle solicitor
in
London who'd helped the girl. Two weeks shy of seventeen, she
was able to become emancipated, and therefore, she didn't have
to become a ward of the state.
She was free to live a new life in whatever way she wished, and
that made Marlene happy.
Tom had been unusually caustic in the weeks following the revel
and if Marlene had to hazard a guess as to the why, it was that he
saw in Meghan what
might've happened to Hermione if
the
circumstances had been different.
What
if
she'd been given to a family
who'd been like the
Connor's? What
if
the boy Aidan had succeeded in harming her
irrevocably?
Tom's foul
mood hadn't
abated much and he was often gone,
dealing with issues within the Ministry.
If
he
couldn't
control
what
had
happened
to
Hermione
or
Marlene-he was damn determined to control everything else.
Rodolphus stopped by frequently, and even though their intimate
relationship was no longer,
the wizard was a trusted friend.
Marlene confided to him that
she had shared with Hermione
about
the promise she'd secured from the Lestrange brothers
and told Rodolphus that
it
was highly likely that
her
brilliant
daughter would be in contact
with him sooner rather than later.
Rodolphus had promised her that
he would help Hermione no
matter
what,
and again told Marlene that
he was sorry he
couldn't do more for her.
When he'd declared his
long held feelings,
she had been
shocked- but
touched.
She'd kissed the wizard and told him to
try and find a good witch to share his life with,
as he was still
young and needed to sire an heir to continue the Lestrange line.
Rodolphus
promised
that
he
would
take
her
words
under
advisement
and left,
giving Marlene one final
kiss,
reiterating his
promise to help Hermione in any way he could.
Marlene had decided to do some research on the Hallows herself,
contacting Sirius,
and the two had lunch together in Diagon Alley
one afternoon in early April. The wizard hadn't changed much, he
still very much abhorred Pureblood traditions, but oddly, was trying
to teach his godson about
his parents and the Potter
Family
history.
Being Lord Black,
didn't
make Sirius warm and fuzzy-a fact
he
was quick to point out during their lunch.
"You know I hate all this Pureblood shite, Marley."
Marlene chuckled softly at
her old lover. "Yes, Sirius, a fact you've
shared with me on many occasions."
Grey eyes caught
and held hers,
before he spoke lowly.
"You
know,
I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now.
How in
Godric's name did you end up with Riddle,
of
all
people? I
still
have a hard time believing it
was Dumbledore who killed James
and Lily."
Marlene shook her head fondly at Sirius, knowing this was going to
come up at some point.
"Really? That
man left
you to rot
in Azkaban for
twelve years,
Sirius-
without
a proper
trial.
He killed my family and you still
defend him?"
Wincing at
being admonished,
Sirius ran a hand
through his hair.
"Sorry, Marley. But what about the first War? You have to admit his
Death Eaters
killed a lot
of
good witches and wizards.
Mary
McDonald,
the Prewett
brothers,
Edgar Bones just to name a few.
And what about Frank and Alice Longbottom?"
"There were many on their side who were killed needlessly,
too.
And we both know what
a mad witch Bellatrix was,
as well
as
Dolohov,
who are both dead by the way.
Your deranged cousin
tried to kill
my daughter.
I
won't
mourn her
in the least
and
Dolohov tried to harm Hermione too.
Do you think so little of
my
wizard for protecting his own daughter?"
Sirius looked suitably chastened. "No. Fuck it, Marley! This whole
thing is all
upside down. Even Remus thinks that Dumbledore got
what he'd deserved. The only people who seem to think otherwise
are Molly Weasley and Alistair Moody.
Even Kingsley seems to
have accepted the status quo."
"Well, Molly was always a bit of a hot head, and Alistair? After what
Barty Crouch Jr. did to him? Can you really expect him to be
impartial about anything?"
"Moody has always been a bit
strange.
What
about
you,
though? How did you end up with Riddle, Marley?"
Marlene sighed and waved her
wand,
setting up a silencing
charm.
"Sirius,
I
know much of
what
I'm about
to tell
you will
be
hard for you to hear. But I promise you, it's the truth."
Sirius nodded and reached for her hand again, gently squeezing it
in reassurance. So, she shared her history with Sirius. How she'd
discovered her
inheritance and that
Tom Riddle was her
mate.
What
had happened with Dumbledore and her
family-how she
had given up Hermione because she'd been afraid if Dumbledore
ever
found out
that
Hermione was Tom's daughter,
he'd kill
her
too.
Sirius had listened and asked many probing questions, which didn't
surprise her at all.
Sirius Black had never
been one to shy away from something
when he'd wanted answers.
When the conversation segued to the Potters,
Marlene saw her
opening and took it.
"Do you remember that silly cloak you used to borrow from James
when we were kids?"
Sirius chuckled,
unaware of Marlene's motivations. "Yeah, it was a
family heirloom.
Passed down to every eldest
son in the Potter
Family for
generations.
Apparently,
James had left
the cloak in
Dumbledore's possession, and it was given to Harry Christmas his
first
year.
I
was
surprised
that
Dumbledore
would
part
with
something so valuable, but perhaps he felt guilty?"
Marlene chuckled softly. "I doubt that, but it's good that Harry has
it. Do you actually allow him to take that thing to school, Sirius? I
remember how you,
James and Remus would get
into so much
trouble with that
thing.
You especially… sneaking out
at
night to
Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff dorms… always on the prowl."
Sirius barked out
in laughter
at
that.
"Those were good times."
Waggling his eyebrows and leering at
Marlene,
Sirius smiled
wickedly.
"I
remember us enjoying some good times in Gryffindor
tower, love."
Her smile widened as she shook her head in rebuke.
"We were
young,
impetuous and hormonal. It's good we aren't any of those
things anymore, Sirius."
"Who says I'm not? I'm still young, impetuous and hormonal."
"Merlin
help
us
then!
A testosterone-fueled
Sirius
Black!
Whatever will the world do with one of those?"
"I'd like to think of it as a do-over, love. Making up for lost time."
"You're incorrigible. I really hope you're teaching Harry to be a bit
more thoughtful
when it
comes to wooing witches.
I'm not
sure
you're the best
example of
restraint.
At
least
tell
me he's not
using that
cloak of
his to sneak into the girl's dormitories at
school?"
Sirius grinned mischievously.
"Just
Ravenclaw Tower.
He's dating
the Head Girl, Cho Chang. Has been most of the year I think. She's
the seeker
for
their
Quidditch Team too.
Nice bird,
Harry seems
smitten."
Smiling
genuinely,
Marlene
couldn't
help
but
laugh
at
Sirius
description of women. "You still call women, birds? Seriously?"
"I'm always Sirius, love."
"Well, that I've never doubted."
Sirius face suddenly took on a more contemplative look.
"You
know, when I'd heard about Hermione…"
"You thought she might've been yours?" Marlene finished quietly.
Sirius nodded.
"But
when I
saw her,
I
knew she wasn't.
There's
no Black Family traits to recommend her."
Taking a sip of
his
firewhiskey,
Sirius sat
back and gave Marlene a look she could
only describe as wistful.
"I
had hoped,
you know…" rubbing the
back of his head, Sirius looked a bit lost. "I know I told you years
ago that
I
never wanted kids of my own but then James and Lily
made me godfather to Harry.
I
just
never thought
I'd be the one
raising him.
Don't get me wrong, I'm bloody glad to have him in my life, but for
just a moment, I had hoped…"
She grasped Sirius hand and gave him a heartwarming smile.
"I'm sorry,
Sirius.
I
should've been a better friend,
and I
never
meant
to use you.
I
did care for you,
but
it's always been Tom.
He's my mate,
and I'm just
grateful
that
I've been able to
reconnect with both he and Hermione."
"You've missed out on years, Marley, but you'll get that back. Now
you have all the time in the world to spend with Hermione."
A tear
slid down Marlene's cheek and she wiped it
away
while shaking her head despondently.
"No, I don't . My magical core is nearly depleted. Being away from
my mate for
so long… well…"
shrugging in despair,
Marlene
watched
Sirius
face
drop
in
shock
and
then
darken
in
understanding.
"How long?"
"A few months, maybe? I really don't know. Not long."
Sirius stood up and reached for
Marlene's hand,
cancelling the
silencing charms,
the two made their
way down Diagon Alley in
silence until
they reached the apparition point.
When they got
there, Sirius turned and tilted Marlene's head up so their eyes met.
"Come home with me, Marley."
Marlene hiccoughed on a sob. "You know I won't do that, Sirius. I'm
flattered, truly -but my heart belongs to Tom."
Sirius
nodded
and
gave
Marlene
a
gentle kiss
on the
forehead. "He doesn't deserve you! You know that, right?"
Marlene took a step back and smiled shakily.
"It
was good to see
you today, Sirius. Take care of yourself."
Nodding slowly,
Sirius gave Marlene one last
look of
longing
before he apparated away-leaving her
to wonder
what
her
life
might've looked like had it
not
been for her inheritance.
Shaking
her head clear of those useless thoughts, Marlene returned home.
She had a letter to write to her daughter.
Quidditch and Surprise Gifts
Chapter 84: Quidditch and Surprise Gifts
Hermione had been surprised but
pleased by her
mother's
letter. She now knew that Harry had the Invisibility Cloak…
… getting said cloak, however…
Draco had been busy this week with Quidditch practice,
the
upcoming match against Ravenclaw was this Saturday. Hermione
wasn't
exactly a huge fan of
Quidditch although she did enjoy
watching her
wizard,
in his Quidditch gear riding around on his
broom. She had taken Draco's Jersey from last year, and that was
what she wore most nights when she went to bed.
She hadn't worn it for him… yet .
She figured she'd save that
surprise for when Slytherin won the
Quidditch Cup in early June.
Studying with Zacharias Smith and Cho Chang had actually gone
better than Hermione had anticipated.
The Head Girl
seemed to
have gotten over whatever her issues were after Christmas. The
two hadn't
talked about
it
directly,
but
at
least
Cho was polite,
if
not
overly friendly.
Smith on the other hand, was not subtle at all
with his interest. He always made sure to sit a bit too close in the
library and whenever they ran through problems,
he would lean
over her shoulder in an overtly familiar way. She didn't encourage
him, and eventually decided to ignore it.
She caught Cho giving her a funny look during one study session
that
seemed almost
amused by Hermione's discomfort.
But
she
just
subtly shook her head and rolled her eyes when Zacharias
wasn't looking, causing Cho to actually smile.
Hermione had initially decided to ask Narcissa to talk to Kreacher
to see if Harry had the cloak, but now that she knew for certain he
had it, she needed to figure out a way to get it. Her mum had said
that
Harry used it
often to sneak to Ravenclaw tower to see the
Head Girl,
so during their study session that
Thursday evening,
she decided to try and see if she could get some information from
Cho about how and when Harry made it a point to come and see
her.
"How's the Head Girl
duties coming along with Quidditch? I can't
imagine
playing
seeker
and
having
all
the
additional
responsibilities you do." Hermione asked quietly,
when Zacharias
went to the stacks to search for a book.
Cho shrugged. "It's fine. Honestly, there's a lot of delegating being
Head.
You'll
be Head Girl
next
year,
it's not
too terribly time
consuming.
Being a prefect
as you are,
you'll
have no problem
with it."
"How are things with Harry? I
see you two hanging out
quite a
bit. Are you officially dating?"
Cho smiled softly.
"Yes.
We've been dating most
of
the year and
his godfather Sirius is very nice."
"I've met
Sirius.
He does seem like a character. My mum and him
dated in school. They were both in Gryffindor."
Cho's eyes widened. "I didn't know that."
Hermione nodded.
"Yeah,
they had lunch this week too.
After
everything my mum's been through,
it's nice to see her reconnect
with old friends."
Placing her
pen down on the table,
Cho leant
forward and
whispered,
"Harry plans on sending a formal
letter of intent to
my parents after we graduate."
Hermione smiled widely.
"That's brilliant,
Cho.
Harry seems like
such a genuine guy. I'm happy for you."
"Thanks."
"Draco and I
being in the same house is convenient, but how do
you and Harry get to see each other being in different houses?"
"Harry has an Invisibility Cloak.
It's a family heirloom. He uses it
every Thursday and Friday night
to sneak into the Head Girls
Dorms
in
Ravenclaw tower
so
we
can
spend
some
time
together."
"Seriously? Harry has an Invisibility Cloak?"
Hermione giggled
softly.
"Oh,
wait
a minute!
My mum did mention something about
his dad having a cloak of
some kind when they were in school
together.
Apparently Sirius used it
to,
and I
quote,
to prowl
around the
castle meeting up with birds."
"Why am I
not
surprised."
Shaking her
head fondly,
Cho
smiled. "Sirius is quite the Casanova, according to Harry. But
from what
Harry's told me,
he still
carries a torch for your
mum."
Hermione bowed her
head in embarrassment.
"Yeah-my mom
shared with me a bit
about
she and Sirius history.
It
was before
she got together with my Father."
"How did that happen by the way? Your mum and dad?"
"They're mated.
It's a family thing with the McKinnon family,
so I
can't really get much into it."
"Oh…." Cho's voice fell away awkwardly. "Well, that makes sense, I
suppose."
Zacharias returned at
that
moment,
and the two young witches
went
back to their homework,
but
Hermione now at least had an
idea when and where she could find the cloak.
She just needed to come up with a plan on how to get it.
When Saturday finally arrived,
all
of
Slytherin House was excited
for the Quidditch Match. Gryffindor had beaten Hufflepuff earlier in
the year with Hufflepuff having not won a single Quidditch Match all
season. Ravenclaw had lost to Gryffindor and Slytherin had beaten
Gryffindor, but just barely. Cormac McClaggan, Gryffindor's keeper,
had been hit
in the head with a bludger
early on in the game
leaving Gryffindor in the hands of
their back-up keeper… Ronald
Weasley.
What
a fiasco that
had been,
and Slytherin had been far enough
ahead that when Potter caught the snitch, Slytherin still
won by 20
points.
If Slytherin won this match, they'd play Gryffindor for the Quidditch
Cup in early June.
Draco was determined to win the cup this year
for Slytherin, being denied it for the last several years.
Draco was a far
better
flyer
than Harry,
at
least
in Hermione's
opinion.
Lord Black had bought
Harry a Firebolt
end of third year
and it had made the playing field a bit uneven so she had taken it
upon herself
to purchase Draco his very own Firebolt,
but
hadn't
given it
to him yet.
She felt
that
Slytherin would win the match
against
Ravenclaw easily and she would surprise him with it after
the game.
He would have two months to practice with the broom,
enough time to be able to go toe to toe with Harry Potter.
When Saturday came,
Hermione was dressed in her
Slytherin
jumper,
her grey pea coat and was wearing Draco's scarf. Blaise
was a chaser for Slytherin,
along with Vaisey. Crabbe and Goyle
were beaters,
Bletchley was the Keeper,
with Draco playing
Seeker.
The Slytherin team was sitting together
at
the Breakfast
table
going over some last minute strategy when Hermione entered the
Great Hall and sat down next to Daphne.
"I see you're ready for the big game today?" Daphne smiled at her
friend.
"Mmmhmmm," Hermione said, "I promised Draco that I would
be there,
cheering him on.
I
would much rather be spending
my day reading, but I'm trying to be a supportive girlfriend."
Daphne giggled.
"Well,
I'm sure he will
show his appreciation
after they've won the match."
"We'll see."
The two friends finished their breakfast in silence until Draco came
over and kissed Hermione on the top of her head in greeting.
"Morning, my love. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yes, handsome, I slept just fine. Do me a favor today? Catch
the snitch quickly so I can go back to studying."
Draco chuckled while Daphne just
shook her
head at
her
best friend's antics.
"I
will
do my very best, love. Chang is a decent Seeker, but I think
we should win this match fairly quickly."
"I'll
hold you to that." Hermione eyed her intended, who just gave
her a kiss and left with the other players for the Quidditch Pitch.
When the Great
Hall
had thinned out,
Hermione and Daphne
headed down to the pitch,
heading up to the Slytherin stands
where Theo was waiting with seats.
"Hey, Theo." Daphne smiled in greeting.
"Hey, Daph… you guys ready for the big game?"
Hermione grimaced but quickly masked her expression into one of
cool politeness.
"As long as it
doesn't
take half
the day,
I'm good.
I know you
both love Quidditch, but I really don't like the sport. It's far too
brutal."
Theo chuckled. "I don't know. I've read up a bit on some of those
Muggle sports… Rugby,
Football… they all
seem a bit
brutal
to
me."
Hermione's head whipped over at Theo gobsmacked. "Well… yes,
they are. I didn't know you were familiar with Muggle sports."
Theo shrugged.
"Just
a bit.
I
saw a Muggle sports magazine
that Dean Thomas had left in the library one afternoon in third
year. I picked it up and read a bit."
"Ah,
Muggle sports can be fairly brutal
too. I was never much
of a sports fan growing up."
"Yeah,
I
could see that
about
you."
Theo's grin was playful
and
Hermione just shook her head at him reprovingly.
"I'll
take that
as a compliment,
as I'm sure you meant
it
as such."
"Whatever makes you not want to hex me, Hermione."
"It's touch and go, Nott."
All
three Slytherin's chuckled to each other
and watched as the
players got
ready for the game to start.
Hermione's gaze filtered
over to Draco,
who was watching her with a lopsided grin on his
face.
When their
eyes locked,
he winked which caused Hermione to
blow him a kiss playfully.
Daphne groaned in disgust
while Theo just
shook his head at
how pathetically lovesick his best mate and intended were.
"You two need to get a room." Daphne bit out sarcastically.
"That's the plan after the game, Greengrass. You seriously need to
owl
Corban and make some plans for over the Easter Hols! Maybe
if you do that, you'll stop living vicariously through me."
Daphne shook her head at
her best
friend.
"Excuse me? I'll
have
you know that Corban and I already have plans for the break."
"Oooh, where are you going?"
"He won't tell,me as it's supposed to be a surprise and I'm trying
to be mature and not barrage him with questions I know he won't
answer. So I am patiently waiting."
"Sounds
fair,
I
suppose."
Hermione
smiled
at
her
friend.
"Hogsmeade is next
weekend before break.
We should go do
some shopping."
"Good idea."
Just
then,
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded and the Quidditch
Match got
underway.
The balls were released into the air
and
Hermione watched as Draco zoomed away with Cho following
close behind.
The match seemed to last
forever and when Draco finally caught
the snitch at nearly two hours in, the final score was Slytherin 310,
Ravenclaw 180.
The Slytherin stands were in a frenzy over their team winning the
game, setting up a final
match with Gryffindor in a couple months.
Draco was being congratulated by his teammates before they all
headed
into
the
Slytherin
locker
rooms
to
get
cleaned
up.
Hermione and Daphne were making their way back to the castle,
when Hermione saw Harry Potter standing off
to the side of
the
Ravenclaw locker rooms,
apparently waiting for Cho to emerge.
She waved and nodded politely, and Harry returned the gesture.
"You seem a bit friendlier with Potter these days?" Daphne queried.
"I've been studying with Cho for Arithmancy and she and Potter are
exclusive."
"Really?" Daphne asked. "I've seen them together a bit, but I didn't
know they were serious about each other."
"I
think it
is.
But
Cho is graduating this year and Harry still
has another year to go, so I suppose anything is possible."
The conversation changed to something else and soon the two
witches found themselves back inside the Slytherin Common
Room.
Nagini
was curled up by the fireplace and Crookshanks
was no where to be found.
When Hermione entered,
the room was fairly quiet,
but
she
knew that would be changing shortly.
"Nagini," Hermione hissed at
her familiar,
"there is going to be a
rather large party in the common room in a bit….perhaps it might
be a good idea for you to stay up in my dorm room."
"Fine… Nagini will go. "
Hermione watched her friend move out
of
the common room and
upstairs.
Sitting by the fireplace, it didn't take long for the common room to
fill
up with students. House elves brought in food, butter beer and
firewhiskey
for
the
older
students.
When
Draco
and
his
teammates finally entered the common room,
everybody started
cheering for them like they were some sort of conquering heroes.
She rolled her eyes and went back to her book.
She didn't
get
very much farther into it
when a hand grabbed
the book and set
it
down,
and she was instantly re-shifted on
her betrothed's lap.
He placed soft
gentle kisses on her neck
as Hermione giggled.
"Congratulations on winning the game, handsome."
Draco growled playfully and nipped Hermione's ear
softly.
"As if
there was any doubt that we'd win today."
"Of course not." She bit back playfully.
Draco tilted her
head to his and kissed her breathless.
"Thank
you for
coming and watching today love.
I
know you abhor
Quidditch, so it meant a lot to me for you to come watch me play."
"I
was happy to support you. Actually," Hermione grinned impishly,
"I have a gift for you."
Draco perked up and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Will
I
like this gift?"
Hermione smacked his chest and laughed. "Yes… but it's not that
kind of gift. Seriously, do you only think about sex and Quidditch?"
"Is that
a problem? You make it
sound like that
is some sort
of
a
problem."
"Nevermind." Hermione smiled and reached into her beaded bag
and pulled out a wrapped box.
She then stood up and enlarged it
before she handed it
to her
intended.
Draco's gaze caught
hers as his eyes radiated with excitement
and curiosity. Soon the room hushed, everyone looking at the pair
of them wondering what was in the large green and silver box.
"Hey, whatcha got there, Malfoy?" Avery walked over with Bletchley
and Vaisey in tow.
"I
don't
know,
Avery? Maybe you should let
me open it
first,
so I
can see for myself."
Avery glared,
but
Draco just
grinned at
his witch,
ripping up the
paper and opening the box. When he saw what was in the box his
eyes widened and he looked back at
his witch with such raw
emotion, Hermione couldn't help but smile widely.
Draco pulled out
the newest
Firebolt
broom from the box,
to the
astonished looks of everyone within the common room.
"Bloody hell,
mate," Blaise came over and instinctively reached
for
the broom,
but
stopped when Draco glared at
him.
"Is that
what I think it is?"
Turning
his
gaze
back
to
his
witch,
he
just
sputtered
out
inelegantly, "How?"
"Well," she began,
"since I
know nothing about brooms and even
less about
Quidditch,
I
owled Viktor,
and he was kind enough to
make a few suggestions for the perfect broom. Harry's broom has
Birch twigs which give him more power
when ascending,
but
yours have hazel
twigs which offers greater precision in turning.
Harry's handle,
from what
I
was able to learn is made solely of
ebony,
while this one consists of
a superfine ash core… making
the broom slightly lighter
in weight
and therefore,
has a better
balance to weight ratio. It makes the broom more responsive and
agile."
Draco's jaw dropped open and then he moved over to his witch
and kissed her passionately,
to the cheers of
everyone within the
room.
"How did you do this? I tried to order one last year and the goblins
who help manufacture them had gone out on strike, so there was
a significant delay on the iron parts for the brooms. They told me it
could be several years before I'd get one."
Hermione grinned mischievously. "Well… that's an interesting story.
Randolph Spudmore went
to school
with my mum and apparently,
he had a bit of a thing for her back then. When I owled him and told
him who I was, he was more than happy to have this one made for
me."
Draco laughed. "Of course he was."
"I'll
admit,
it's
never
really
sat
well
with me that
Harry and
Gryffindor
have had an unfair
advantage these past
few years.
Now you'll
be playing on a even field with Harry,
so it
will
come
down to whom really is the better
flyer-better
Seeker.
So? You
better not
lose against
Gryffindor,
or I
will
set that infernal
broom
on fire in effigy."
Laughter
and cheers filled the room as Draco grabbed his witch
and kissed her in front of everyone.
"Merlin,
I
love you,
witch."
"Back at you, handsome."
The Last Hallow
Chapter 85: The Last Hallow
Easter
Hols were only a couple days away and Hermione was
getting anxious to return home and see her
mum.
She hadn't
heard from her
this week and she was starting to get
a bit
worried.
When she'd written to her
father,
he'd just
responded
back that
Severus would be allowing her to utilize his floo Friday
morning,
to return home if
she'd rather
not
take the Hogwarts
Express back to London.
Thursday evening found Hermione sitting in the Library studying for
Arithmancy
with
Zacharias
Smith
and
Cho
Chang.
Cho was
understandably upset over the loss to Slytherin, but Hermione was
quick to reassure her that she'd played well.
"You hate Quidditch, Hermione." Cho reminded her study partner.
"I
don't
hate it,
persay.
I
just
find it
a brutal
sport.
But
I
can
appreciate the finer qualities of the game."
Cho grinned. "Like your wizard in his Quidditch Uniform flying on
his broomstick."
Hermione grinned back. "Well-there is that ."
Smith just sat there at the table glowering unhappily to himself. He
didn't
like to be reminded that
Hermione was already taken-
especially not by Malfoy. The wizard had everything -money, looks
and the Brightest Witch at school as his intended.
"Did Professor Vector mention when this assignment
was due?"
Zacharias interrupted quickly, trying to change the subject.
Cho looked thoughtful
for a moment.
"I
don't
think she did.
I
got
the impression we were going to go over the equations when we
returned from Easter Hols."
"That
was my impression as well."
Looking over
at
Zacharias,
Hermione saw that
the wizard appeared to be a bit
put
out.
Sensing something was off,
she decided to ask him a question
that
she'd been meaning to put
forth for
the past
week.
"Zac,
where did you get the information on the Orphic translations? Was
it from a book in the restricted section?"
Smith nodded.
"Kind of,
there's a book called Rituals and Rights,
Calling forth the Dead."
Hermione remembered seeing that book during her fourth year in
the Restricted Section.
"I've always been curious about
ancient
death rites,
but
I
don't
specifically remember the book supplying
any information that was specific in that regard."
Zac shook his head. "Not as such, but it did contain a reference to
another book that discusses the Veil and talks about it a bit more in
depth about Orphic rituals in relation to calling forth Death."
"What's the Veil?"
Zac
looked a bit
uncomfortable as he discreetly erected a
silencing charm.
When he saw Hermione and Cho giving him
curious looks,
he sighed.
"The Veil,
from what
I've read,
is a
portal
between the land of the living and the dead. Theoretically
you can't
travel
between the two worlds, only from ours into the
land of death."
Hermione sat
back and thought
about
what
Zacharias was
saying.
"Is the Veil
also theoretical,
or is there an actual
place
where it exists?"
At
this Zacharias rubbed the back of
his head with his hand in
agitation.
"There was a reference that
stated that
the Veil
has
been in existence as long as the Ministry itself."
"So then theoretically,
the Veil
itself
could be within the Ministry of
Magic?"
Zac
nodded.
"Department
of
Mysteries
most
likely,
although
theoretically, no one would know exactly where in the Department
it's located except for the Unspeakables who work there."
Hermione's mind was whirring in excitement.
A physical
barrier
between life and death-a physical
place where Death himself
might reside?
"Where was this reference, Zac?"
Zacharias smiled at
the eager face of
Hermione McKinnon
and replied softly. "Come on, I'll show you where I found it."
Hermione
followed
Zacharias
to
the
back
part
of
the
restricted section, leaving Cho at their study table alone.
When they'd made their way to the back shelf
in the far right
corner of the restricted section, Zacharias pulled out a book and
handed it to her.
Sitting down in the nearest
chair,
Hermione perused through the
table of
contents and then skimmed through a few chapters
before she found what she was looking for.
The Veil
is the physical manifestation of the barrier between
life and death where souls reside
The passageway is not
a two-way gateway between Life and
Death
Only those from the land of
the Living can enter into the Realm of
Death
Blood and Soul
are essential
of
Life but
only one passes through
and binds to Death
Death becomes the manifestation of the Soul
Only when one accepts Death, can one Master it
Hermione's eyes widened,
reading the passage over
and
over again…
… this was it!
This could be the way to Master Death!
She beamed up at
Zacharias,
before throwing herself at him and
giving him a hug.
Zacharias was stunned,
but
he returned the hug quickly,
pulling
back and smiling widely before he saw Hermione's face pale as
she looked over his shoulder.
When he turned around,
he came face to face with a very
angry Draco Malfoy.
The other wizard's eyes were hard and
cold-and Zacharias felt his stomach drop.
"Draco…" Hermione spoke out
softly,
but
she quieted immediately
when cold grey eyes settled upon her.
"Did I interrupt something?" Draco sneered.
Hermione could feel
her hackles rising at
the look on her wizard's
face. He was angry, and when he got like this he tended to lash out
first and ask questions later.
She turned to Zacharias and said softly.
"Could you give us a
minute, Zac?"
Zacharias looked at
Hermione first
and then Draco, who seemed
to be holding himself together by a tight thread.
"Are you going to be alright?"
"She'll
be fine,
Smith-but
you won't
be if
you don't
leave right this
second."
"Draco!" Hermione admonished. "You're making this worse."
"Am I? Am I really? I just saw my witch-my betrothed, in the arms
of another wizard. How am I supposed to take that?"
Draco's sneer deepened, while Hermione's heart started to race…
"You're supposed to trust me and realize that there is a perfectly
acceptable explanation!
But
obviously,
you don't
trust
me if
you're behaving this way!"
Her
voice started to become a bit
more vocal and emotional.
Draco's
cheeks
tinged pinked in anger
and he went
to say
something,
but
she silenced him before he could say something
she might not be able to forgive him for.
"I
love you and only you,
and you know this. But right now, you're
not thinking clearly and I can't be around you."
With
that,
Hermione
stormed
out
of
the
restricted
section,
dropping the book she'd been reading.
Draco cancelled the silencing charm and made to follow his
witch,
when Smith decided at
that
exact
moment
to open his
big fucking mouth.
"I
don't
know what
your problem is,
Malfoy!
Hermione has never
once given me any indication that
she's interested in me because
trust me, if she had? I would've taken her up on it in a heartbeat."
Draco growled and walked right into Smith's space, giving the other
wizard a lethal look.
"You stay away from my witch,
Smith.
I'm not
blind and neither is
Hermione.
I
don't
know what
the fuck you're trying to pull-but
it
ends here ."
Zacharias just
chuckled and shook his head.
"Insecure much,
Malfoy? Wonder why that
is? Maybe it's because you know that
Hermione could do so much better
than a bigoted prick who
taunted her
for
years and then somehow,
has her
convinced
you're a good guy now that
you've found out
she was finally
worthy…"
Draco pulled back his fist and punched Smith in the nose, causing
the older boy to yell
out in pain and soon there was a full-fledged
fight
in the restricted section.
Madame Pince came quickly when
she heard the ruckus and separated the students,
calling for the
Headmaster immediately.
Hermione at
that
precise moment
was headed out
of
the
library trying to hold back her tears.
She knew Draco was a possessive wizard, but seriously?
Did he really think so little of
her that
she would be interested in
Zacharias Smith?
Tears were starting to blur her vision and before she knew it, she'd
slammed into someone.
"Oi! Watch out!" She heard a male voice say.
Hermione felt
herself
falling backwards
when a pair
of
arms
reached out to prevent her from falling. Looking up, she saw Harry
Potter standing there,
holding her with a concerned look upon his
face.
"You alright, Hermione? Merlin, you came out of nowhere."
Hermione took a step back and wiped at
a tear
that
had fallen
down her cheek. Harry's expression became a bit more serious as
he considered her with sympathy.
"You look upset. Is this about your mum?"
Her
breath
hitched
as
she
stared
at
Harry
in
confusion.
What
could Harry Potter
possibly know
about her mum?
Giving him a questioning look,
Harry just
rubbed the back of
his
head with his hand.
"Sirius owled me not
too long ago.
He had lunch with your
mum." "I know."
"Well,
I
guess your mum told him about her illness, said she didn't
have much time left."
Harry watched Hermione's face pale in realization that her parents
were still keeping things from her!
Merlin fuck it all!
"She didn't
tell
me." Hermione admitted emotionally,
and watched
Harry's eyes widen first in understanding and then in shame.
"Godric, Hermione. I'm so sorry… I didn't realize. If there's anything
I can do for you?"
Her breath hitched and she grabbed Harry's arm, leading him into
a classroom on her right that was, thankfully, empty.
Harry appeared a bit
shocked for a moment,
but
then waited to
see what Hermione wanted.
"Do you really mean that?"
Harry
nodded.
"Yeah… blimey,
Hermione… you gave me my
Godfather
back… without
that,
I'd still
be stuck at
my Aunt's
house… so yeah ."
"You're right, my mum is sick and I think I've figured out a way to
help her,
cure her -but
there's something I
think you may have
that I need to do so. I can't give you an explanation why I need it,
but
I'm begging you to trust
me that
it's the only thing that might
save my mum."
"Okay…" Harry said a bit unsure, "What is it?"
Hermione took a deep breath and said softly,
"Your
Invisibility
Cloak.
The one you inherited from your dad.
My mum told me
about
it,
about how your dad and Sirius used to get into all
kinds
of trouble with that thing."
Harry's face took on a skeptical
look.
"I
don't
understand?
Why would you need my Cloak?"
Hermione shook her head. "I can't tell you, Harry. I'm asking you to
trust
me.
I'm hoping I
can return it
back to you,
but
it
has to be
given freely for this to work. I would beg you to ask Sirius what he
thinks….but I don't have time right now."
Harry grinned and pulled out
a mirror from his robes.
Holding it
up,
he
called
out
for
Sirius
Black
and
soon
enough,
his
Godfather's image was reflected as he stared at both Harry and
Hermione in confusion.
"Hey, Pup, what can I do for you?"
Harry cleared his throat
and told Sirius everything Hermione had
shared with him. When he was done, Sirius sharp grey eyes locked
onto the young witch as he gave her an appraising once over.
"You've found them all, haven't you?" Sirius asked softly.
Hermione's
breath hitched as
she nodded once,
not
missing
Harry's look of confusion.
"And you think this will save your mum?"
"I
don't
know,
Lord Black.
But
I
have to try and this is the only
way and I
think you know that too. You cared for my mum once,
and I've just gotten her back. Please help me."
Sirius
nodded
and
noticed
that
his
godson,
was
genuinely
confused as to what was going on.
"Harry,
ultimately the choice is up to you but
your dad loved his
friends and would've done anything for someone he considered a
friend.
He cared for
Marley,
and if
he were here now… he
wouldn't hesitate to give Hermione the Cloak."
Harry sighed and pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of
his
nose,
then nodded and pulled out
the shrunken Cloak from his
robes and handed it to Hermione.
"Whatever you need it for, it's yours now. Given freely."
Hermione hugged Harry fiercely and kissed his cheek in thanks.
"Thank you both. I hope this works as well."
Harry sighed and left
the room while Hermione put
the Cloak into
her beaded bag.
She had all three Hallows!
Now she needed to put
the next
step of
her
plan into action.
Sending out
her
patronus-it
was with one simple message-it's
time.
Grindelwald
Chapter 86: Grindelwald
Draco and Zacharias were sitting in the Headmaster's office while
Severus glowered his nose down at
the two wizards.
He didn't
need
to
use
legilimency
to
figure
out
what
had transpired
between the two of them.
"I
don't
care who started the fight
or
what
it
was about.
Being
Head Boy and a Prefect
respectively,
I
wouldn't
think I'd need to
remind you both of your responsibilities, nor the example you are
required to set
for the younger students.
Therefore 50 points will
be taken from each of
your
houses and you both will
have
detention for the remainder of the school
year. Mr. Smith, you will
serve your detention with Madam Sprout
out
in the greenhouses
and Mr.
Malfoy? You will
spend your
detention with Professor
Slughorn in the Potions lab."
Both boys nodded and glared at
each other
as both were
bruised and bleeding, but Smith had sustained the worst of the
injuries.
"I
expect
you both to return to your dorms immediately.
The train
will be leaving in the morning, so off you both go."
Draco stood up first
and left
the Headmaster's office with Smith
following closely behind.
Neither wizard spoke to each other and
Draco was in a hurry to get back to the common room to speak to
his witch.
He knew she was upset with him and with good reason.
He just hoped she would forgive him.
Hermione at that moment was in her dorm room changing into her
Muggle jeans and a jumper with her boots and heavy cloak. She
was just about to head out, when Daphne waltzed in.
"Where are you going?"
"There's something I
need to do.
Could you do me a favor and
cover for me? Hopefully, I'll be back by morning."
Daphne sat
down on the bed and gave her
friend a stern
look. "What's going on Hermione?"
"I
can't
tell
you,
I'm sorry.
But
I
have to go now and I
know
Draco's going to come looking for me. We had a disagreement
earlier, but my leaving has nothing to do with that."
"Why
don't
I
believe you?"
Daphne asked quietly.
"You know
Draco's
going
to
realize
you're
gone
and
he's
going
to
be
inconsolable
if
he
thinks
you've
left
because
of
whatever
happened."
Hermione shrugged.
"Probably,
but
I
can't
worry about
that
right
now.
If
you see him just
tell
him I
love him and that
I
think I've
found the answer to the problem I've been trying to figure out, and
that
I
also found the last
object
I
needed.
That's why I
hugged
Zacharias,
because he showed me a book and I
was so excited
that I'd discovered it."
"And Draco will know what that means?"
Hermione nodded and moved out of their dorm room and down into
the common room,
noticing Nagini
and telling the snake to follow
her.
There were a few interested stares but
she didn't
have time to
worry about
what
anyone might
say or think.
She moved quickly
out
of
the common room and cast
a disillusionment
charm over
herself and Nagini, and headed for the rendezvous point.
She spoke with Nagini
as they made their
way to Hogsmeade,
Hermione explaining to her
friend where she was going and
why-she also explained to Nagini what her plan was, should she be
successful in getting the necessary information.
Nagini
listened unhappily but
understood this was something her
Mistress
needed to do,
so she gave her
blessing and told
Hermione to be careful… leaving her
to go out
hunting for the
evening.
Once Hermione made her way out
past
the main gates
and into Hogsmeade,
she saw the two wizards she was looking
for.
Cancelling the disillusionment
spell,
she made her way towards
the Lestrange Brothers.
Rabastan saw her first and bowed. "My Lady."
Hermione nodded in greeting. "Hello Rabastan, Rodolphus."
"My
Lady."
Rodolphus
grinned.
"We
brought
the
item you
requested and it is set to activate in five minutes. Are you sure of
the destination?"
"Yes, and thank you for obtaining it for me. I wasn't sure when
I'd need it,
but
I've had a bit
of
good fortune today.
Will
we
have any problems accessing the area once we get where we
are going?"
Rodolphus shook his head.
"No,
I've managed to find someone
willing to escort
us to the proper area.
Once we are there,
you'll
have ten minutes before the shift
changes and we will
need to
vacate the premises.
Do you think that will
be enough time to get
what you need?"
"It should be."
When the time for
the portkey came,
Rodolphus,
Rabastan and
Hermione reached for the shoe that had been charmed to teleport
them out of Hogsmeade and to their destination…
Nurmengard Castle.
When Hermione gazed up at
the entrance to the castle,
the
insignia "For the Greater Good" was carved into the stone above
the archway leading into the inner courtyard.
A shadow emerged
from the right,
and a tall,
thin wizard that
looked to be in his early
fifties, moved out and bowed formally.
"Lord Lestrange… welcome to Nurmengard Castle. If you will all
follow me,
we don't
have much time until
the guard changes. You
will have approximately ten minutes to see the prisoner."
"Thank you."
The small
group moved quickly through the castle's interior until
the reached the top-most
cell
in the highest
tower.
Hermione
could barely make out
the small
window,
which was too narrow
for
anyone to get
through it,
as well
as a small
bed and a thin
blanket.
Nodding to the three wizard's,
Hermione addressed the
guard. "Thank you for your help. Hopefully this shouldn't take
but a few minutes, however, I will need access to the cell."
The guard didn't
appear
none too happy with the request
as he
said stiffly,
"I wasn't aware you would need access to the prisoner.
Even though he's been incarcerated here for fifty-two years,
he is
not completely without his magic, Miss."
Hermione smiled reassuringly at
the man.
"Trust
me,
there is no
way
Mr.
Grindelwald can hurt
me.
I
believe he will
be most
cooperative under the circumstances."
Glancing over at
the Lestrange Brothers,
who didn't
seem to be
all
that
concerned with the young witch entering the cell
of
the
former Dark Lord, the prison guard nodded reluctantly, and cast a
few spells, allowing the door to open, giving Hermione entrance.
When the cell
door closed,
there was a wheezing chuckling that
reverberated within the room.
"I
must
admit? I'm not
sure if
I'm hallucinating or not
after all
this
time-but even so, my visions have never felt so real."
Hermione smiled softly and moved into the room confidently.
"You're
not
hallucinating
Mr.
Grindelwald.
Your
Great
Aunt
Bathilda sends her
regards.
She has missed you these many
years,
and has shared with me many of your exploits as a young
boy."
Hermione
could
hear
movement
and
then
suddenly
Gellert
Grindelwald was facing her in the minimal
light
pouring into the
room.
His face was old and haggard,
his body paper
thin yet
despite the signs of
age and starvation, Hermione could still
feel
the remnants of his magic within the small confines of the room.
"You know my Aunt?"
"I
do.
I've spent
a few weeks every summer
in Godric's Hollow
these past few years visiting with her."
As Gellert smiled, his face took on a feral quality-half his teeth were
missing and he looked quite deranged.
"You're not scared being here."
Hermione
chuckled.
"No.
I
don't
have
much
time,
Mr.
Grindelwald and I was assured by your Aunt Bathilda that you
would be more than willing to help me."
"And why would she say something of the kind?"
"Albus Dumbledore is dead . Received the dementors kiss about a
year ago. I'm sure you'll mourn his passing?"
Gellert
chuckled.
"And whom do I
have to thank for ridding the
world of Albus Dumbledore?"
Hermione opened her beaded bag and pulled out the Elder Wand,
watching
with
amusement
as
Grindelwald's
eyes
widened
in
disbelief at first and then admiration as he threw his head back and
laughed out in glee.
"You?"
"Yes… me .
I
dispatched your former… well, what should we call
him? Good friend?"
Gellert chuckled manically as his eyes gleamed with malice. "If you
like."
Hermione shrugged. "I'm here to ask for your help. You know what
this wand is, yes?"
Gellert, seeing no reason to lie, nodded.
"And you know of the Tale of the Three Brothers?"
The look on Grindelwald's face showed surprise momentarily,
before it cleared and he nodded again.
Hermione held up her hand and showed Grindelwald the ring on
her
finger,
and as he lifted up his hand to touch it,
Hermione
chuckled and shook her head in warning.
"It's cursed.
If
anyone
other than a member of the Gaunt Family touches this ring… well
I'm sure you get the idea?"
Smiling
widely,
Grindelwald
considered
the
little
witch
with
respect.
"You are the heir
to the Gaunt
Family? You're the
daughter of the Dark Lord Voldemort?"
Hermione's face broke out
into a genuine smile.
"I'm surprised
that
you are able to keep abreast
of
the goings on within the
magical world, but perhaps I shouldn't be?"
Ignoring the question, Gellert gestured towards the ring. "You have
two… what of the third?"
"I
possess all
three Hallows,
Mr.
Grindelwald." Hermione admitted
softly,
enjoying the way the older
man's face looked at
her
in
astonishment.
"Then why are you here?" Grindelwald asked, genuinely curious.
"I need to know what you know of the ritual to become the Master
of Death. I'm aware it has something to do with the Veil within the
British Ministry of Magic and I'm positive a man such as yourself,
who spent
a lifetime searching for the Hallows,
would've come
across that information at some point."
"Perhaps." Grindelwald prevaricated.
"But
I'm sure someone as
brilliant
and cunning as yourself,
who has managed to procure
said objects while still
a teenager,
would find the answer sooner
or later."
"It's the later that's an issue. My mother is dying… a few months if
I'm lucky.
I
need the information now and Bathilda assured me
you
would
help.
But
let
me
make one thing very
clear…"
Hermione grinned evilly as she felt
her
body shift
at
her silent
command, her inheritance taking form and glowing menacingly at
the older wizard, who backed away in fear. "I can rip what's left of
your soul from your body and banish it to everlasting torment. Or I
can leave here with the necessary information and perhaps seek
a way to make what's left
of
your life a bit
more bearable.
The
choice is yours, Mr. Grindelwald." The last words were spoken as
Hermione shifted back into herself
and gave the older
man a
determined look.
Gellert's
face
broke
out
into
a
wide delighted smile.
"A
succubus? I've heard that
there were certain families who
carried the inheritance, but I've never met any until now."
Hermione nodded and waited patiently. After a minute, Grindelwald
frowned and then said ominously. "I will tell you what you wish to
know,
but
be warned… you may come to wish you had never
asked."
"Thank you, Mr. Grindelwald-trust me when I tell
you I'm willing to
take that chance."
Going after Hermione
Chapter 87: Going after Hermione
When Draco made his way back to the Slytherin Common,
he
was surprised to not see Nagini
curled up in her usual spot by the
fireplace,
but
he did notice Daphne sitting with Blaise and Theo
and they all looked unhappy.
Making his way over,
he sat
down and asked,
"Have any of
you
seen Hermione?"
Theo and Blaise gave Daphne matching looks of
sympathy as
she sighed nervously.
"Yes,
Hermione was here and she left
about
an hour
ago with Nagini.
She didn't
say where she was
going but she did tell me to relay a message."
"Okay." Draco's breath hitched in worry.
"She told me to tell
you she loves you,
and she didn't
leave
because of
whatever
happened earlier.
She mentioned you two
had some sort
of
disagreement,
but
she left
because she'd
discovered the answer to a problem she'd been researching and
said you'd understand."
Draco's face paled as he realized what Daphne was talking about.
"Did she say how she found this information?"
Daphne nodded. "Zacharias Smith. Apparently it was in a book he
showed her,
that's why you saw her
hugging him.
She also
mentioned something about obtaining the last object she needed."
"Fucking shit!" Draco growled as he stood up and ran back out of
the common room,
realizing just
where his witch was likely
headed and praying the Dark Lord didn't
kill
him when he found
out where Hermione had gone.
When he made his way back to the Headmaster's office, Severus
didn't look pleased to see him at all.
"Draco? What do I owe the pleasure of your company twice in one
evening?"
"I'm sorry, Uncle, but I need to speak to the Dark Lord now! It's an
emergency!"
Severus rolled his eyes and grumbled as he lifted his sleeve and
touched his Dark Mark.
Soon,
the floo flashed and Voldemort
stepped out from the flames looking beyond irritated.
"What
now,
Severus? Has my daughter burned the castle down in
a pique of rage?"
"No, my Lord. I am unsure what is going on. Draco requested you
come immediately
as
there is some sort
of
emergency with
Hermione."
The Dark Lord's eyes flashed red as he glared at
his daughter's
intended. "What is the issue, Draco?"
Draco cleared his throat
nervously before he spoke.
"My Lord? I
know you're
aware
that
Hermione
has
been
doing
some
independent
research on how to help Lady McKinnon.
It
would
seem that
earlier
this evening she acquired the final
item she'd
been searching for.
But
more to the point, I believe she may have
gone to the one person who could tell her how to use those items."
Voldemort's aura flashed out
dangerously as he growled at
the young Malfoy Heir. "Who?"
"Grindelwald,
My Lord.
I
believe Hermione may be on her
way to Nurmengard as we speak."
The Dark Lord's eyes blazed red in anger as his magic lashed out
into the Headmaster's office,
shattering the windows,
and other
smaller objects while Severus shook his head in defeat.
"Perhaps she hasn't
left
the grounds yet,
My Lord?"
Severus
drawled. "She does have her apparition license, however without
some
frame
of
reference
she
couldn't
apparate
in
blindly.
Therefore, she'd have to portkey in and as clever as Hermione is,
it is highly unlikely she was able to procure one on her own."
Voldemort
nodded.
"Which means she had help." Thinking for
a moment
Voldemort
growled.
"Rodolphus and Rabastan.
Marlene warned me that
she had secured a promise from
them both to protect
Hermione as she likely sensed our
daughter would do something foolish like this."
"Will you punish them, My Lord?" Severus drawled.
"If
I
did,
then I'd have to 'crucio '
both of
you for
allowing my
daughter to leave Hogwarts unattended.
If something happens to
her however…" Voldemort left the threat hanging.
"I
don't
think she left
unattended,
My Lord.
Nagini
isn't
in the
common room.
I
think Hermione might
have either taken Nagini
or told her where she was going."
The Dark Lord snapped his fingers and his daughter's familiar
fell into the room, looking like she'd just eaten.
"Where is she,
Nagini?"
The Dark Lord hissed at
his
snake.
"She
went
to
Nurmengard,
Master… to
Grindelwald." "Why?"
"To find out how to unite the Hallows." The snake hissed.
"And you didn't stop her?"
Nagini hissed angrily. "I told her Nagini was displeased but she
is stubborn,
Master.
She would not
take Nagini
with her,
so
what
should I
have done? Made Mistress angry at
me for
keeping her here?
Voldemort
shook his head unhappily at
his daughter's familiar.
"Did you see who she went with?"
Nagini
nodded.
"I
followed her
to Hogsmeade,
Master.
The
Lestrange Brothers were there with a portkey.
Mistress told me
she would return, unless she was able to get the information she
sought."
"And where did she say she'd be heading?" Voldemort
hissed.
"She didn't." Nagini
hissed back unhappily,
knowing her Master
would be very displeased if
he'd discovered Nagini
was lying to
him.
But she'd promised her Mistress, and she wouldn't break that
promise.
Turning to Severus,
he gestured to Draco.
"Keep him here.
I
will
hopefully be back shortly with my daughter."
And with that
the Dark Lord moved back through the flames to
McKinnon Manor.
Draco sat
down with his head in his hands trying to stay calm and
hope that Hermione was alright.
He was angry at
her for leaving without
him,
but
more angry at
himself for what had happened earlier. Perhaps if he hadn't acted
so rashly, he'd know what she was doing… and more importantly,
where she was ultimately headed.
Kaunaz
Chapter 88: Kaunaz
Rodolphus
and
Rabastan
activated
the
portkey,
returning
to
Hogsmeade with Hermione in tow.
"Thank you for helping me. I do appreciate it."
Rodolphus bowed formally. "It was our pleasure, My Lady. Are you
sure you don't need us for anything else this evening?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, I think I can take it from here."
Both men nodded and apparated away,
leaving Hermione
alone.
Disillusioning herself,
she made her
made quickly back to the
Room of
Requirement,
hoping that
what
she was about
to do
would work.
Back
in
fourth
year,
when
she
had
gained
access
to
the
Department
of
Mysteries via the Room of
Requirement,
she'd
utilized specific runes to essentially create a portal
through time
and space into the Department of Mysteries utilizing a spell
she'd
created: 'portus spatium praetorian prophetiae.'
Essentially the spell
broke down into portus spatium (to move
through space) and praetorian prophetiae designating the Hall
of
Prophecy.
She added on 'filius testae '
which meant
Son of
Potter.
She'd taken a chance that
it
would send her to the most
recent
Prophecy given for
the House of
Potter,
and she hadn't
been
disappointed.
She had spent
the past
two years maintaining the
passageway, and as such, she was hopeful
that it wouldn't tax her
magical
core too much to attempt
the spell
again.
It
was her only
option however,
as she couldn't
ask Rodolphus or
Rabastan to
help her break into the DoM.
Before moving into the Room of
Requirement,
Hermione paced
outside the door, imagining the room as she would need it. When
it opened, she was pleased to see the room exactly as she'd left it
in this configuration-ancient runes lined the walls on the far end of
the room. Hagalaz the rune for air and space, Ehwaz the rune for
the
twin
forces
of
nature
(gravity
and
electromagnetism)…
Berkana the rune for liberation-the breakdown through the barrier
of
wards… Raido,
the rune for
the journey that
one must
pass
through… Algiz for protection on the journey, and finally Hermione
added the final rune… Kaunaz -the rune for death.
Before she cast
the spell
that
would activate the runes and
hopefully open a passageway to the Death Chamber
within the
Department of Mysteries (according to Grindelwald, that was where
the Veil
was located);
she sent
her Patronus to Draco-telling him
that
she loved him,
asking him to forgive her
for
what
she was
about to do and pleading with him to trust in her.
Once her Patronus had been sent, Hermione took out the Elder
wand and pointed it
at
the runes and spoke the incantation
'portus spatium praetorium mortem.'
In a flash of
blinding blue and white light,
the room starting
swirling and Hermione felt
her
magic responding much easier
than it
had when she'd done the similar spell
in fourth year. The
increased power of
the Elder Wand decreased the strain on her
own magical
core,
and she watched in relief
as the portal
opened up.
Changing into her animagus form, she slithered through the portal
and into a room that was dark, dank and cold. As soon as she had
successfully passed, she morphed back into her human form and
flicked the Elder Wand at the portal with a 'finite .'
As she carefully took in her surroundings,
she couldn't
help but
feel
the coldness within the room permeating inside her bones.
The room itself
was large and rectangular in shape, in the center
of the room was a sunken stone pit about twenty feet deep, and in
the center of
the pit,
unsupported by any wall
was a huge stone
archway.
Walking a bit
closer,
she noticed some kind of
tattered
black curtain, which was fluttering as if there was a breeze flowing
through it
even though the room itself
was very still
and almost
unbearably frigid.
She could hear
whispered voices coming from behind the black
curtain.
Elsewhere, the Dark Lord had apparated to Nurmengard-taking in
the large castle, which was dark and forbidding, but had probably
been quite the fortress in its heyday.
Moving though the outer
gate and into a small
courtyard,
Voldemort
turned with his wand
out when a guard came to greet him.
"Imperio ." Voldemort said firmly and directed the tall, thin wizard to
take him to the cell of Gellert Grindelwald immediately.
When they'd reached the top cell
on the highest
tower, Voldemort
ordered the guard to open the cell
door,
which he did without
hesitation.
Stepping inside the cell,
Voldemort
sent
out
his magic in a hale
storm of
anger-listening with satisfaction as the prisoner within the
confines of the small room groaned deeply in pain.
"You know who I am." He didn't pose it as a question, there was no
reason for preamble at this point.
A harsh, wheezing sounded through the cell before a faint chuckle
was
heard
in
the
darkness.
The
Dark
Lord
cast
a
lumos,
brightening the cell so he could see the face of Grindelwald.
"I
know who you are,
Tom Riddle,
and I
know why you're
here."
"Then speak,
before I
forget
myself
and skin you
alive."
The manic grin of
the older wizard did nothing to soothe Tom's ire
as his eyes flashed red.
"I must say, Riddle or should I call
you Lord Voldemort?" When the
man himself
didn't
speak,
Grindelwald chuckled again.
"You have
quite the daughter-beautiful, cunning, unbelievably clever, loyal and
brave to boot."
"Where did she go? Where did you send her?" Tom snarled in
rage, his magic spiking with dread and fear?
"Why, to do something that I'd failed to do in all my years! Even the
great
Albus Dumbledore didn't
achieve what
your
daughter
has
managed to. Uniting the Hallows . You must be proud."
The feral
gleam from the deranged prisoner angered Voldemort
and without
warning,
he made eye contact
with the wizard and
ripped
through
his
mind-replaying the conversation between
Grindelwald and Hermione.
When he'd seen enough, he pushed
out of Grindelwald's mind as painfully as possible causing the old
wizard to howl in agony.
"You utter
bastard!"
Voldemort
snarled in manic rage,
his
magic lashing out
of
control.
"Do you realize what
you've
done?"
Grindelwald just
cackled at
the wizard glaring down at
him,
barely holding in his fear and rage.
"I
didn't
think it
was possible.
When I'd heard of
your first
rise
and disappearance and whispers reached even my ears that you
hadn't
truly been vanquished.
Horcruxes are tricky pieces of
magic,
yes? I
believe your
own daughter
wears one-the ring?
She's bound her essence to yours.
Did you not
think that
she
might seek a way to unite the Hallows? And now you understand
the price she will
have to pay to do so. You may even be too late
to stop it. For all your power, you aren't Master of Death, Riddle."
Grindelwald heaved again as he cackled madly,
while the Dark
Lord had heard enough.
"Avada Kedavra."
The green light
erupted from Voldemort's wand killing Grindelwald
dead before he apparated out of the cell and back to Britain.
Draco at
that
exact
moment
had been sitting in Severus office,
trying to figure out
what
to do when Hermione's Patronus burst
through the room,
her
snake curling itself
around him.
Severus
watched with trepidation as the spectral form began to speak.
"Draco,
my love… I'm so sorry.
I've gone to Grindelwald and I
now know how to unite the Hallows.
Please know I
will
always
love you,
only you,
ever
you.
To Master
Death,
I
must
face
death.
It's the only way to save my mum-to save my dad.
Please, trust in me. You're the only one, Draco, the only one I've
ever trusted completely.
Remember
what
Septimus told us about
the Blessed Heart,
Draco. I love you."
Draco's face paled as Hermione's Patronus melted away and he
collapsed onto the ground, howling out in pain, anger and terror.
What had she done?
Where had she gone?
Severus stared morosely at his godson in anguish, and what was
left
of
his heart
went
out
to Draco.
It
was clear
Hermione and
Draco loved each other
very much and now that
infernal
witch
was off somewhere trying to do Salazar knows what.
Then suddenly,
another Patronus burst
through the room… it was
his Lord's Patronus… a replica of Nagini.
"Severus? Hermione has gone to the Veil
within the Department
of
Mysteries.
She would've only been able to do so through the
Room of
Requirement.
If
I'm correct,
she's already there!
Bring
Draco now! Meet me at the Ministry."
Draco stood up in a flash and moved over
to the floo in
Severus office and waited for
his godfather
to call
out
the
destination.
Severus nodded at
Draco,
took a pinch of floo powder and yelled,
"Ministry of Magic, Atrium."
Swirling away in a mass of
green flames,
Draco following closely
behind.
Hopefully they weren't too late.
The Ritual
Chapter 89: The Ritual
Hermione
had
made
her
way
in
front
of
the
Veil
and
was
enraptured by the sounds emanating from behind the curtain. She
was drawn to the voices and had to keep a firm control
on her
thoughts to not become swayed by the allure of the Veil.
Taking out the Invisibility Cloak, she carefully set it down in front
of her as she kneeled on the stone slab facing the Veil. She then
took out a several vials of blood replenishing potions and a silver
knife and placed them all
next
to the Cloak.
Using the knife,
Hermione carved the rune for death into the stone floor in front
of
the Veil
and then grabbing the Elder Wand tightly in her grip-
then cast a diffindo onto her forearm, and winced as she saw the
blood trickle from her arm, onto the rune…
… then whispered 'invoco mortem.'
As the Veil's curtain started to move and shudder
against
the
archway,
she
centered
her
magical
core
and
utilizing
her
inheritance,
was able to feel
the essence of
her soul
and that
of
her
Father's,
which had bound itself
to her magical
core in the
form of his horcrux.
If
this was going to work,
she needed to separate his essence
from hers-protecting her soul and binding his to Death.
Casting the Romanian spell
silently over the rune of death, she
saw it
glow in a blinding white light-her blood was freely flowing
at this point and she was struggling to keep the spell focused.
Once the glow peaked and the room was bathed in a blinding
white light, causing the ground to shake, she used what was left
of her
magical
energy and yelled in anguish,
"Teneat
libere mortem filio
domini Sic fiat Gaunt!"
(Master of
Death bind to the son of
Gaunt
given freely,
so mote it
be)
At
that
exact
moment,
the Veil
flashed in a blinding haze of
pure
light
that
rivaled
the brightness
of
the sun and with all
her
remaining
magical
energy,
she
pulled
her
soul
inward
and
collapsed
completely onto the ground.
Her final
conscious thought was hoping that she hadn't just made a
gross miscalculation where her Father was concerned.
The Veil
Chapter 90: The Veil
Tom Riddle
had
spent
the
early
part
of
his
life
being
afraid-orphaned and ridiculed for
being different,
he had learned
early on that
his differences could be morphed to an advantage
and as he grew?
He'd utilized that difference to promote fear and terror to those who
crossed his path.
He was extremely powerful.
He'd known it when he'd entered Hogwarts.
His
last
name
might've
been
Muggle,
but
his
magic
was
undeniable and those within Slytherin House soon realized that
the orphaned boy,
who was quiet
and thoughtful,
was not
to be
messed with.
Tom had come to realize that
in many ways,
his
own experiences within Slytherin House,
mirrored those of
his
daughter's and like himself,
she had risen above the pettiness
and hate and embraced her true place as the Heir of Slytherin.
Tom Riddle had never wanted to be a Father as his plan was to live
forever
and as such,
he did not
require an heir
to carry on his
name.
Yes,
he'd discovered sixth year just
whom his mother was
and the significance of
his magical
heritage,
but the Gaunt Family
were
weak
minded
fools
who
were
cruel
and
had
inbred
themselves to near extinction.
He'd felt
no remorse in killing his Muggle Family nor pinning said
murders on his deranged Uncle, Morfin Gaunt.
But
now years
later,
he couldn't
imagine his
life without
his
daughter.
Hermione had become his greatest
treasure and he
would only admit
to himself,
that
he would do anything for her-if it
was within in his power to do so.
They were so similar -he and his daughter.
Very slow to trust, powerful, cunning, clever, self-preservationists,
vindictive-but
Hermione,
for
all
her
hardships and struggles…
could love,
and it
made him realize for the first
time in his long
life,
that
such sentiment
wasn't meant to be immediately scoffed
nor scorned at.
The floo within the Ministry Atrium came alive in that moment and
out
stepped
Pius
Thicknese,
Head
of
the
Department
of
Mysteries,
followed almost
instantly by Severus and Draco-who
looked paler than he had ever seen him.
Tom's heart
clenched in fear
as he gave Severus a questioning
look.
"Hermione sent
Draco a Patronus message… most
likely before
she left
Hogwarts and came here.
She mentioned something
about having to face Death to Master it."
The Dark Lord's face paled before he turned to Pius Thicknese and
demanded he take them all to the Veil.
"My Lord,
surely you must
understand that
the rooms within the
Department
of
Mysteries are only known to those who are tasked
to work on them?"
Voldemort's eyes turned red and he growled angrily, causing
the other man to visibly flinch in fear.
"My Daughter is in that room, Pius, and I will fucking burn this
Ministry down if you don't take me to her… right now!"
Pius gulped and nodded,
"Yes,
My Lord," and gestured for
the three men to follow him to the elevators where they finally
stepped out onto level nine: The Department of Mysteries.
Heading down the hallway lined with black-tiled walls with no
windows, a single black door stood in stark relief at the end of the
corridor.
Pius waved his wand and the door opened, leading into
an entrance chamber
that
was circular
in shape and a dark
marble floor
that
glistened like black water
in the low bluish
torchlight within the room.
Once Pius closed the outer door, the room started to spin and the
Head of the DoM waved his wand a second time, making a verbal
request
of
'mors aethereum thalamum'
which halted the spinning
of the room, showing another black door at the far end.
Pius then waved his wand at the inner door opened to the Death
Chamber,
and just
as Voldemort
walked into the room his eyes
were blinded by a bright
glowing light,
the ground was trembling
and he felt his body lurch in shock as the part of his soul that had
been attached to Hermione's was ripped away,
causing him to
nearly buckle in pain.
The screams of
his daughter could be heard within the Chamber
itself and he saw Draco drop to his knees in anguish as he yelled
for Hermione.
When the light
disappeared,
Pius sent
out
a spell
to light
a few
torches along the wall
and what
Voldemort
saw caused his heart
to grip with panic inducing fear.
Hermione was lying on the ground near the Veil… unmoving .
Rushing down into the pit
and up onto the platform,
he reached
his daughter and noticed her blood coating her arm and down to
the floor.
Gripping her arm tightly,
he sealed the wound and then
saw the blood replenishing potions and forced one down her
throat
before he yelled out
'enervate '
to try and revive her-but
nothing was working.
Screaming loudly for
Severus,
the Headmaster
made his way
down to his Lord and ran some diagnostic spells but after a minute
he looked to his Lord and shook his head sadly.
"I am sorry, My Lord."
Grabbing his daughter into his arms, Voldemort snarled at his
follower. "No! Don't you dare say it, Severus!"
Draco
was
on
his
knees,
tears
coming
down
his
cheeks
unchecked as he reached for Hermione's hand,
only to have his
Lord snarl at him in anger.
Setting Hermione down on the cold floor,
Voldemort
tried every
spell he could think of to bring his daughter back.
He didn't understand.
The ritual shouldn't have taken her life!
According to Grindelwald,
his daughter should now be Master of
Death.
What had gone wrong?
Rocking her
back within his arms,
Voldemort
didn't
realize that
tears had started leaking from his eyes-then he threw his head
back and screamed out
his rage,
causing his magic to lash out
violently and making the other three men cower in fear at the raw
power of their Lord.
Tom Riddle had never loved-had never wanted to love and yet as
he held his daughter within his arms-he'd realized too late that he
loved her.
She was his most
precious jewel,
his most
valued treasure-and
then something happened that
had never
happened in Tom
Riddle's long life.
He felt his heart break as he both raged and pleaded with Death
and then there was nothing but
excruciating and soul-rendering
pain.
Mother's Intuition
Chapter 91: Mother's Intuition
Marlene had been sitting in the library at
Malfoy Manor
with
Narcissa enjoying tea and biscuits as the two women discussed
their children.
Marlene had confided to Narcissa that her time was
limited and as such, she had requested that Narcissa help her get
some final
things together
for
Hermione to have when the time
came.
Marlene
wanted
very
much
to be a part
of
her
daughter's
milestones, but sadly, she had missed most of them. The one that
broke her heart
was the fact
that
she would not
being able to be
there when Hermione married Draco.
So,
she and Narcissa
worked out some tentative plans for Hermione's marriage day…
… some ideas that Marlene thought Hermione would appreciate.
"I
think
using the McKinnon Family
china would be lovely,
Marlene.
I
didn't
realized your
family had such an extensive
collection of formal dining wear."
"One of
my ancestors was obsessed and had bought
over 500
settings of
Goblin gold filigree and Herringbone China,
not
to
mention the matching golden chalices that
went
with the set.
They're all located within the McKinnon Family Vault."
"Goodness, how old are they?"
"At
least
two centuries.
The last
one to use them was my Great
Grandmother
Melisandre
Burke
at
her
wedding
to my
Great
Grandfather, Marius McKinnon."
"Well,
they sound lovely,
and I
will
be sure to have Hermione look
at them when the time comes for the wedding."
Marlene nodded.
"Hermione mentioned that
she and Draco were
seriously
thinking
about
getting
married
the
summer
after
graduation. She had hoped I'd be able to see it."
Narcissa gently squeezed Marlene's hand in sympathy. "I am truly
sorry,
Marlene.
I
wish there was something Lucius and I
could do
for you."
"I
know and I
thank you for helping Hermione and supporting
her.
She told me about
Draco's letters from fourth year.
Did
you really stop the betrothal
with Astoria Greengrass because
of Draco's feelings for Hermione?"
Smiling softly,
Narcissa took a gentle sip of
her
tea and set
it
down on the table. "I suppose I wasn't thinking about it like that. I
just
saw that
Draco was unhappy and he clearly had strong
feelings for Hermione. I just wanted Lucius to allow Draco to have
his youth without
the added pressure of a betrothal
hanging over
him. Is it selfish of me to want my son to love his intended?"
Marlene shook her
head.
"No,
and I
commend you for
it.
Lucius adores you and he clearly values your opinion."
"If he values his life he certainly does at that."
Both women were laughing when Lucius walked into the Library.
"What has you two laughing and plotting together?"
"We were just discussing the fact that you took my suggestion and
stopped the betrothal with the Greengrass family."
Lucius nodded imperiously. "It definitely was for the best."
"It
was." Marlene agreed,
looking at
the time and realizing it
was
later than she'd expected. "I should probably head back home, Tom
should be there soon." As she finished the words, she buckled over
in pain, grabbing her chest in horror.
Narcissa moved over
quickly and reached for
the other
witch.
"Marlene, are you alright?"
"Something is wrong with Hermione!
It's almost
as if
I
can barely
feel her."
Lucius paled in worry before he moved quickly to the floo, calling
out
for Severus.
When there was no response, he looked over at
his wife in panic.
Marlene was finally able to catch her breath when she turned to
Lucius and asked him to call
for Rodolphus,
which he did.
Not
even a minute later
the eldest
Lestrange was sitting next
to
Marlene with his hand on hers.
"What's
happened?"
Rodolphus
asked
with
worry.
"Hermione, have you heard from her?"
Rodolphus paled and nodded.
"Yes… earlier
this evening she
contacted Rabastan and myself.
You were right
in that
she would
contact us, Marlene."
"What did she want?"
Rodolphus looked a bit
unsure,
but
knew that
he couldn't
lie to
Marlene.
"She ask Rab and I to take her to Nurmengard. To Grindelwald."
Marlene was shocked momentarily,
before she shook her head
angrily.
"My stubborn girl-she's found them all
and now she's
going to try and unite them."
Lucius face turned ashen as he realized what
Marlene was
saying. "She has the Cloak?"
Marlene nodded.
"It
belonged to James Potter,
passed down to
Harry.
She went
to Grindelwald to find out
how to unite the
Hallows."
Gaping
at
Lucius
in
shock,
Rodolphus
sputtered
out,
"Hermione found all three Hallows?"
Lucius nodded once and Rodolphus looked simply stunned.
"What
do we do,
Lu?" Narcissa asked quietly. "Where would
Hermione have gone to unite the Hallows?"
"I
don't
know,
but
I
know someone who might."
Rodolphus said
firmly before he moved to the floo and called for his brother to join
them.
Rabastan
had
worked
as
an
Unspeakable
prior
to
their
imprisonment in Azkaban.
The floo sounded and Rabastan came through,
looking wary as
he saw four
pairs of
eyes staring at
him with fear,
worry and
panic.
"Rab?" Rodolphus pleaded, "Hermione has all the Deathly Hallows.
Where would she go to unite them?"
Rabastan grimaced and rubbed the back of
his head with his
hand
nervously.
"I'm still
bound
under
the
geas
of
an
Unspeakable,
Rod- but
I
can tell
you she would've gone to the
Ministry."
"Go there Rabastan and find out
what
is going on… please!"
Marlene begged and watched as Rabastan nodded and went over
to the floo, calling out for the Ministry of Magic.
Master of Death
Chapter 92: Master of Death
Remorse… it hurt like a motherfucker and if Tom Riddle, aka The
Dark Lord were any other
normal
wizard… he'd be dead right
about now.
But as he gasped for breath and held Hermione close to his body,
he could've sworn he heard someone chuckling lowly within the
room.
Looking up,
he also saw Severus gazing around in confusion
while Draco was curled in on himself
sobbing in grief,
the young
wizard's gaze firmly fixed upon Hermione.
Hearing the sound again,
Tom eyes stared up towards the Veil,
where he was convinced the sound was coming from.
The
tattered black curtain wafted slowly outward and then a dark,
black essence slithered out
of
the Veil
and swirled around them
until
it
coalesced into a dense form that
moved itself
directly in
front of him.
"Tom Riddle."
The form spoke in a voice that
Tom could only describe as
several voices whispering at once, speaking the same thing.
"Yes." He stated, unsure of what to say or do.
The figure swirled around the dais as it
ebbed and flowed
through tattered curtain hanging from the entrance to the Veil. He
took a second to look at
the other men within the room,
and all
their faces registered the same sense of shocked disbelief.
"You have called me here, Tom Riddle."
He shook his head, not quite understanding what was happening.
How could he have called?
As his eyes widened, Death chuckled at the sudden understanding
that appeared on the wizard's face.
"You understand at last, Tom Riddle. You, who have attempted to
cheat
Death itself,
have been given a gift far more precious that
any ever bestowed, since before the Veil itself came to be."
Looking down at
his daughter,
Tom lifted the hand that
held the
Gaunt
Family Ring,
the Resurrection Stone,
and gently took it off
his daughter's finger,
placing it
back onto his own.
Then,
taking
the Elder Wand from where it had fallen out of Hermione's grip, he
grasped it
firmly into his own and felt
the warmth of
the wand
radiate up his arm and through his entire being.
The Cloak sat
where it
had been left,
ready to be claimed by the Master
of
Death.
Realizing
what
this
meant,
Tom Riddle
wasted
no
time
demanding what belonged to him be rightfully returned.
"Give me back my daughter."
Death chuckled deeply as its essence swirled around the Veil.
"I
cannot, for she is not dead."
"What!" Draco pleaded in astonishment,
earning a harsh glare
from his Lord.
"Speak!"
Tom glowered angrily.
"What
do you mean she's not
dead?"
Death chuckled again.
"Master
of
Death,
can't
you not
sense it?
Don't you understand that she bound your essence from the stone
to me,
thereby making it
a Hallow once again.
Her own Soul, and
therefore her very essence lies dormant… suspended ."
He was fairly certain his countenance appeared utterly confused,
but Draco breathed out in understanding.
"The Blessed Heart."
Draco whispered pleadingly to his Lord,
begging for
understanding.
"Her
betrothal
gift… its imbued with
Felix Felicis, My Lord."
Death
swirled
around
again.
"The
boy
understands.
Your
daughter's magic is beyond powerful.
Her own soul
protected by
her love for her betrothed.
Love and luck have protected her,
but
only one of equal power can restore her."
Tom gazed down at his daughter as he whispered out "Marlene ."
"You do understand,
Master of
Death.
Do not
waste what
has
been restored to you nor the gift that has been bestowed upon
you, Tom Riddle-for if you do? I will
come for you and claim you
back to me."
With those final
words,
Death moved back through the Veil
and
returned to its realm, and the room went silent once again.
Tom stood up and 'accio'd '
the Invisibility Cloak and Blood
Replenishing Potions before moving quickly out
of
the Death
Chamber-Severus,
Draco and Pius following closely behind.
When he made it to the Atrium, he saw Rabastan coming out of
the floo and heading his way.
The younger
Lestrange's face dropped as he saw the limp
body within his Lord's arms.
"My Lord?" Rabastan stared at Hermione and then the other
wizard's, while his Lord glared at him harshly.
"We will
have words, Rabastan… both you and your brother, but
not now. Why are you here?"
Rabastan's face paled even further as he spoke as calmly as
he could muster under the circumstances.
"Lady McKinnon sent
me here-she felt
something was wrong
with Hermione and once she'd realized what
Hermione was
most
likely attempting,
she begged me to come here to check
on her." "Where is she now?" He demanded.
"The Library at Malfoy Manor, My Lord."
Moving swiftly,
Tom called out
'Malfoy Manor
Main Library '
before the green flames whisked him away to the only person
who could hopefully save their daughter.
Family
Chapter 93: Family
As the green flashed brightly from the floo in Malfoy Manor's
Library,
no one on the other side was prepared for the sight
that
emerged from the flames as the Dark Lord stepped out
with an
unconscious Hermione hanging limply within his arms.
Narcissa
and Lucius were the first
to spot
the duo,
and Narcissa's breath
hitched on a sob as she stood instantly, while Lucius grabbed her
arm to stop her from rushing over to the pair.
Marlene turned around at the gasp and screamed 'No!' as she flew
towards Tom and her daughter in terror.
"What
happened,
My Lord?" Lucius asked as calmly as he was
able to under
the circumstances,
watching Marlene grabbing
Hermione's face and closing her
eyes… her body sagging with
relief as her brown eyes met Tom's forest green ones.
"She's alive ." Marlene breathed out in a rush.
"She is ." Tom nodded, looking at his witch who was shaking with
relief.
"She is in some sort
of
stasis and needs you to heal
her,
Pet."
Marlene gaped up at Tom with wide eyes, while shaking her head
as the floo flashed again and Draco emerged,
eyes red-rimmed
and body shaking with adrenaline.
Narcissa,
seeing her
son's
distress, came over and enveloped him into her embrace.
"Mum." Draco whispered into his mother's ear. "This is all my fault."
Narcissa moved back,
taking her
hand and running it
soothingly
through Draco's pale blonde locks.
"No,
my dragon… you can't
blame yourself for this."
"She's right,
Draco."
Marlene offered kindly.
"Hermione wouldn't
want you blaming yourself either."
Tom growled,
but
Marlene shot
him a dark look.
"How am I
supposed
to heal her, Tom? You know that is beyond my abilities."
Tom shook his head. "Not anymore, Pet."
"What do you mean?" Marlene's gaze widened in confusion, while
Tom just sighed in resignation.
"I'm surprised you haven't sensed it yet."
Marlene's look of confusion deepened until
she noticed the ring on
Tom's finger.
Her eyes shot
up in shocked understanding as she
looked between her mate and her daughter before she shook her
head clear.
"Hermione… bound Death to you? And you?"
Tom nodded,
saying without
actual
words the question he could
see reflected in Marlene's eyes.
He watched as his mate's eyes
filled with tears of
relief
as she gently smoothed her hand over
their daughter's hair,
slowly nodding in understanding.
Taking a
deep breath,
she made eye contact
with him and opened her
mind,
telling him without
words what
they needed to do to save
their daughter.
Once eye contact was broken, he turned to the Malfoy's. "I will take
Hermione to her set
of
rooms here while Marlene and I
return to
McKinnon Manor. Draco," He glared at his daughter's intended with
unrestrained anger behind his gaze, "you will stay with Hermione
until we return."
Draco bowed humbly and nodded. "Of course, My Lord-thank you,
My Lord."
Tom moved quickly out of the Library as Narcissa called for one of
the House elves to prepare Hermione's room.
Once there,
Tom
waved his new wand over
his daughter,
laying her on the bed,
cleaning her
and placing fresh clothes on her
instantaneously,
before nodding once to Draco.
Then with a snap of
his fingers,
Nagini
appeared in the room,
looking a bit
worse for
wear,
but
seemingly alright.
"You are well, Nagini?"
"Mistress
was
successful.
"
Nagini
hissed
as
a
statement,
watching her Master's eyebrow lift in understanding.
"She was,
and you knew what
she was doing.
I
should be
furious with you, traitor."
Nagini
hissed and moved over to her Mistress,
laying down her
head
on
Hermione's
chest.
"She
asked
Nagini's
permission
because Mistress knew how and what
she was attempting might
affect Nagini. I gave her my blessing because it was the only way
to give Mistress her
family back.
You bade me to protect
her
always,
but
how was Nagini
supposed to protect
Her
Mistress
from Master's
shortsightedness? If
her
mother
died,
Mistress
would never
have forgiven you Master-we both know this to be
true.
She would come to resent
you and the family you both so
desperately needed would be broken. So tell
me, what choice did
Nagini have?" The snake hissed out angrily.
Tom stood there rooted to his spot as he stared at Nagini, realizing
she
was
right.
If
Marlene
died,
Hermione's
anger
would've
festered,
and
perhaps
she
eventually
would've
sought
out
retribution on her
Mother's behalf.
Perhaps not
right
away,
but
could Tom say with absolute certainty that his daughter might not
have done so at
some point? She had the Hallows and she
could've used them to become Master
of
Death-destroyed his
Horcruxes and then eventually sought
to end him. With the Elder
Wand and the Hallows as her
weapons? Could he say with
absolute certainty Hermione wouldn't
have come out
victorious?
She had the loyalty of
those within his inner circle, many of them
owed his daughter their very lives.
Rodolphus and Rabastan had
already vowed to protect
her-who else might've come to her aid
against him?
The thought
was a truly sobering one,
as Tom looked at
his
daughter,
whose lifeless body was lying before him. Moving over
he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on Hermione's forehead in
gratitude.
She was truly the best
thing he'd ever
done.
"You are
correct, Nagini." He hissed softly.
Nagini
nodded before she laid her head back down, shutting
her eyes and falling back to sleep.
Tom gave Draco one last
nod before taking Marlene's hand and
returned to McKinnon Manor. If all
went as it should, Marlene and
he would finally be fully mated,
fully soul-bonded and Hermione
would be healed in due course giving his daughter the family she
needed and deserved.
Once they had left,
Draco waved his wand and transfigured his
robes into pajamas,
not
wanting to leave Hermione's side for a
second.
Lying down and enveloping his witch into his arms,
he
gently kissed her forehead and watched as Nagini
moved down
the bed and curled herself at the bottom of the mattress, before
she closed her eyes again.
Inhaling Hermione's scent,
he felt tears falling once again from his
eyes as he held Hermione tighter to himself.
Whispering words of
love and comfort
to his stubborn,
beautiful
and brilliant witch.
"Baby,
what
were you thinking? I
should be so angry at
you, but I
can't, because if it had been my mum? I would've done anything to
protect
her,
to save her.
I'm so sorry about
earlier today.
I
don't
mean to be a possessive git,
but
I
can't
help it
where you're
concerned.
Smith and I
got
into a fight,
he's a pompous jerk,
but
he said
something today that made me realize that I have no reason to be
jealous because I'm yours and you're mine.
What
we have is so
much more than most people will
ever know, and I'm more grateful
than I
can say that
you chose me.
I
don't
deserve you and I'm
convinced there's not a wizard on this planet who does. But I'm the
lucky one who gets to have you in my life, and I promise to try and
be better… do better
every day.
I'm going to fuck it
up at
some
point,
it's just
who I
am,
but
please know it's not you I doubt… it's
me.
It's because I
don't
feel
worthy enough to stand by your side,
and I
am insecure where you're concerned.
I
probably always will
be.
So just
be patient
with me… and love me… that's all
I'll
ever
ask of you."
The Truth Of Nagini
Chapter 94: The Truth Of Nagini
A few days had passed since the Department of Mysteries break
in.
The Dark Lord had secured an unbreakable vow from Pius
Thicknese that
what
occurred that
night,
and everything that
happened
with
the
Hallows
afterwards,
would
remain
confidential.
He and Marlene had retired back to McKinnon Manor and spent
the entire night together, finally becoming fully soul bonded. Tom
hadn't realized just what he'd been depriving Marlene of all these
years.
The pain and agony her soul
must've gone through, living with a
partial
bond-the sense of
unfulfillment
a real,
constant
living
breathing ache, made Tom feel unworthy of his mate.
But
to her
credit,
Marlene didn't
complain,
didn't
chastise his
choices-she'd just
held him in the afters and thanked him for
being with her and not giving up on her.
It was truly a humbling moment for him.
When they had returned the next
morning to Malfoy Manor, it was
to Draco holding his daughter as he talked softly to her. Tom didn't
think any wizard would ever be good enough for his heir, but even
he could see that Draco truly loved Hermione and for now, that was
good enough for him.
Marlene had sat next to her daughter and enveloped Hermione's
head with her
hands and together,
Tom watched in stunned
silence as the golden light
that
had emanated from Hermione
during the revel (when she had healed the Connor girl), was now
coming from his witch. Marlene's essence flowed like golden fire
and he felt
his own aura respond in kind as he too felt
their
connection burn though him.
When Hermione finally opened her eyes and breathed out
'mum,'
in such relief, he felt a lone tear fall from his eye in response.
Marlene stayed with Hermione that entire day.
Mother and daughter spent
the day lying abed and talking about
everything.
Hermione would exhaust
after
an hour
or
so and
Marlene would gently play with her hair and watch her baby girl
fall
asleep… her eyes never leaving the peaceful
face of her only
child.
He sat
down by the window,
playing wizard's chess with
Draco
and
then
Lucius,
while
the
elves
served
meals
and
Narcissa fussed over everyone.
By the third day,
Hermione was feeling a bit
stronger-enough to
take small walks to and from the Library.
Severus had come by and checked up on her, explaining that she
had greatly taxed her magical core and it would likely take a week
or two before she was back to full strength. Hermione had nodded
and listened while Tom extracted a promise from her that she was
not
to exert
herself
in any way until
she was fully healed.
His
stubborn daughter
had reluctantly agreed,
and he made sure
Nagini stayed close and ever watchful.
His snake was good at guilting Hermione into anything.
Tom hadn't
realized what
he was truly missing in his life until
his
daughter came along,
and that
was love and family.
He'd never
had a true family (not
in the conventional
sense) and had never
known love.
Dumbledore had speculated,
according to Marlene,
that he had been conceived via a love potion and that was why he
couldn't love.
That was a load of bullocks as far as he was concerned.
No one truly knew what had happened between his mother Merope
and Tom Riddle Sr.
No one ever
really knew the true reason he had discovered his
heritage in sixth year at
Hogwarts,
nor why he'd set
out to deliver
vengeance on his Muggle Father and his Uncle.
No one ever suspected the truth.
It was often speculated that his mother had died in childbirth, and
the Matron at Wool's orphanage had been happy to spread that lie
around.
Mrs.
Cole had told as much to Dumbledore, but the truth
was far more sinister.
On December
31,
1926 Tom Marvolo Riddle was born:
the by
product
of
a relationship his mother Merope had with a Muggle.
His grandfather
Marvolo had been so disgusted by Merope's
fascination with the Muggle,
he'd cursed her
with a rare blood
curse found only in the Gaunt Family Grimoires. This curse would,
over
time-force Merope to transform herself
into a snake and
eventually,
the Maledictus curse would consume her completely,
forcing her to remain in the form of a snake, indefinitely.
When
he'd
found
Nagini
slithering
around
the
grounds
of
Hogwarts
his
fifth
year,
it
had
taken
him some
time,
but
eventually Nagini
told him the full
story in his sixth year;
of
how
she'd barely survived his birth and it
was only due to the blood
curse she had been able to do so. She'd left and wandered a bit
before realizing that
her
son would be old enough to attend
Hogwarts.
He hadn't wanted to believe it at first, that this snake could be his
mother-but
after
Nagini
had shared the story of
her
Father
Marvolo and the Riddle's,
Tom realized Nagini
had been telling
him the truth.
As time went
on,
Nagini's instincts became more snake than
human- but
her Magic was still
there. She'd been so browbeaten
by her
brother
and father,
she'd been almost
afraid to practice
magic for
fear
of
retribution by her
deranged family.
So time
moved on and Nagini
identified less and less with Merope Gaunt,
and more and more as Nagini and for him?
That was much easier to deal with.
Having a Maledictus for
a Mother
hardly seemed commonplace
and
definitely
not
something
to
be
brought
up
in
polite
conversation.
The time would eventually come for Hermione to hear Nagini's
story,
understanding just
whom the snake was to her. The curse
was irreversible,
as Nagini
had been in her current
form far too
long and sadly,
he had never thought
to try to break the curse
when he was younger-something he'd come to regret greatly, as
he saw his daughter
curled up on the sofa by the fireplace in
Malfoy
Manor's
Library,
laughing
at
something
Nagini
was
sharing with her.
Tom Riddle had a lot
of
regrets it
would seem,
and he'd never
given them any thought…
… until now.
Catching his daughter's amber
gaze,
she smiled widely at
him
with such love radiating from her countenance, it made his breath
hitch in wonder.
That
even after all
the evil
he'd done,
and still
continued to do,
his daughter
loved him unconditionally.
Death
had been correct in that there had never been a greater gift given
than the one his daughter
had bestowed upon him.
She had
given up ultimate power and immortality for him… for her Mother.
If
there was ever
a truer
testament
to love being the greatest
magic, he wasn't sure what it could be.
He walked over and sat
down next
to his daughter,
wrapping her
into his side as she sighed softly and moved herself deeper into his
embrace.
It
was a while before words were spoken and when he
looked up,
it
seemed that everyone except Nagini
had left them to
their privacy.
"Are you angry with me, Father?"
He sighed again,
shaking his head in the negative.
"I
probably
should be,
but
I
can't
find it
within myself
to be so,
Hermione.
What
you did for
your
mother
and myself
was far more than I
deserve,
but
I'm grateful
nonetheless.
I've said it
before that
I
value you above all others."
"When I first found out you were my Father… well? I wasn't sure
you'd want
me for a daughter." Hermione felt
her Father's arm
tighten a bit around her as he pulled her closer to his side. "So, I
tried to make myself
invaluable but
you were right
when you'd
mentioned my penchant
for
plotting ten steps ahead.
I
initially
went
after the Hallows because I'd thought I might need a back
up."
Hermione let
the thought
hang for
a moment,
hoping her
Father would understand her reasons without actually having
to say it.
"I
suppose I understand why you would feel
uncertain, Hermione.
I'm sure most
of
what
you've learned about
me from my past,
likely gave you the impression that I wouldn't be open to having a
child."
"The thought
did enter
my mind,
more than once if
I'm honest.
Nagini
had assured me that
you wanted to get
to know me,
but
everything I'd read about you seemed to indicate otherwise."
"I'm sure I deserve that assessment." He grimaced. "Hermione, I've
told you before I'm not a good wizard and I won't apologize for it.
This is who I
am but
that
being said,
you will
never need to fear
me.
I
may get
angry with you for keeping secrets,
frustrated at
your penchant for plotting and self-preservation but those are also
the things I know that have kept you safe these many years. Your
intelligence,
cleverness and cunning are three of the things I love
most about you."
Hermione's eyes widened in shock as she looked up at
her
Father's face in wonder.
"You love me?"
He chuckled at the surprised look on his daughter's face.
"How can you doubt as such? My soul
is healed due to my love
for
you.
You honestly thought
I'd never say the actual
words,
when my actions clearly showed my true feelings?"
"Well, we both are emotionally stunted in some ways, Father."
"That we are, Daughter, but I'd like to think I'm working on being
a better Father to you and a better mate to your mother. Salazar
knows she deserves far more from me than I've ever given her."
"I
don't
think mum's ever
seen it
that
way.
I
think she's always
known who you were and are, and accepts all of you."
"Probably also more than I deserve."
"Just for the record… I love you too, Father."
His face broke out
into a genuine smile as he kissed his daughter
on the top of her head.
"Then I am a very fortunate wizard indeed, my dearest."
Not the Whole Truth, Just Good Enough
Chapter 95: Not the Whole Truth, Just Good Enough
When the time came for
Hermione to return to Hogwarts after
Easter Break was over,
it
was decided that
she would board the
Hogwarts Express with the rest
of
her classmates.
Both Tom and
Marlene felt
it
would create too many questions if Hermione didn't
return to school
with the rest of her Slytherin classmates; although
no one outside of
Slytherin,
and perhaps Harry,
knew for certain
Hermione hadn't
been on the train when school
had let out for the
holidays…
… but thankfully, no one had speculated as to the why .
What
was widely known was that
Draco had gotten into a fight
with Zacharias Smith in the Library and hadn't been on the train
the Friday morning before break.
Many had speculated that the betrothal
between Slytherin's Prince
and the daughter
of
the Dark Lord was off
and a few had even
hoped that the rumors were true.
So when Draco had shown up the Monday after break was over,
on Platform nine and three-quarters with Hermione fixed firmly
onto his arm?
Well, let's just say there were a few unhappy faces that morning.
Draco hadn't cared to wonder what his classmates thought, as the
only thing he was worried about
was his witch,
who was mostly
healed from her ordeal. Her magical
core had finally settled-if not
quite returned to full
strength.
The Dark Lord and Marlene had
escorted their
daughter
to the Hogwarts Express,
and the rare
sight
of
Lord Voldemort
on the Platform quickly became the hot
topic of gossip amongst those who were watching the family.
The Dark Lord's Magic was palpable, as any who got too close to
his daughter
were quickly scurrying off
into another
direction.
Marlene had chuckled a few times,
as some of
Hermione's
classmates had come over to try and talk to her and with a single
look from her Father,
were soon moving into another part
of
the
Platform.
Even
Hermione
seemed
amused
by
her
Father's
overprotectiveness.
Draco's face was stoic as always,
but
his eyes held a trace of
mirth as he winked at his witch.
When Daphne came over
with Corban,
upon seeing her
best
friend- the two girls enveloped each other in a brief
hug before
Daphne curtsied formally to the Dark Lord.
"My Lord." Daphne smiled gently, while Corban bowed formally.
"My Lord and Lady-it is good to see you both looking well." Corban
drawled in that deep voice of his.
Voldemort nodded briefly, but Marlene smiled fondly at the couple,
who seemed to be radiating that new couple glow.
"It is good to see you both as well. Hermione shared with me that
you both were able to spend some quality time together
over
break."
Daphne blushed, while Corban smirked at the pretty shade of pink
from his witch. "We did indeed, My Lady."
Voldemort eyed his follower, who seemed more relaxed than he'd
ever seen the man, before looking back at Hermione.
"Perhaps you should get yourself situated on the train, Daughter."
"Of course, Father." Hermione nodded and went to give her Mum a
hug goodbye. When she went over to her Father, he tilted her head
up and made eye contact, demanding without words that she stay
out of trouble, take care of herself, her magic and she send for him
immediately should she need anything. Hermione silently promised
her Father she would do so.
He broke eye contact, shaking Draco's hand and watched his
daughter as she got on board the train.
After
a few moments he felt
Marlene's hand squeeze his arm.
"She will be okay, My Lord."
"I know. She just has a penchant for trouble, and it makes me wary
is all."
Marlene smiled softly for a moment
before her body went
rigid.
Tom,
sensing his mate's unease looked down at her, only to see
her gaze fixated on something, or someone else.
Tom followed her gaze to see the glare of grey eyes staring back
at
them.
Marlene's gaze held Sirius as she smiled gently and
nodded once-letting her
former
lover
know that
Hermione had
been successful.
The wide relieved smile that broke out on Sirius
face said more than words ever could. When his attention shifted,
the Dark Lord bowed his head in thanks,
understanding from his
daughter just
how she had been able to procure the Cloak from
Mr. Potter.
Sirius hesitated briefly,
but
returned the gesture before giving his
godson a quick hug and moving back into the crowd.
Tom pulled Marlene along with him as he stated firmly,
"That
Wizard is still in love with you, Pet."
Marlene sighed,
but
nodded.
"I
suppose he is.
But
if
it
hadn't
been for that…"
"Indeed."
Was the only credit he was willing to give the wizard. While he was
grateful
for Black's kindness,
it
would be unwise to think that
his
motives had been entirely altruistic.
Marlene however,
gave Tom a wicked look of
her
own.
"You
seriously can't be jealous?"
He chuckled as he shook his head.
"Poor choice of
words,
Pet.
But
to answer your question,
no… I'm not
jealous.
You are mine
and I am yours, and it has always been this way and it will always
continue to be,
thanks to our brilliant
daughter.
If
you're unsure
however,
we can return home where I'm more than happy to
remind you just to whom you belong."
Marlene's
cheeks
blushed
slightly
as
she
bit
her
lip
in
contemplation.
"I
think that's an excellent
idea,
my Lord.
I'd hate
to become complacent in your attentions, after all."
Tom's
forest
green
eyes
darkened
with
lust
as
he smiled
heatedly at
his little witch before he apparated them off
the
Platform without
a sound-much to the astonishment
of
all
who
were watching.
Hermione and Draco in the meantime,
found themselves situated
in the same compartment as Blaise and Theo, who looked relieved
to see them together. Daphne followed soon after she'd left Astoria
with her friends, making sure her sister was alright.
"Merlin,
Hermione!
Your Father sure seems to know how to make
an entrance." Chuckled Theo.
Smiling softly,
Hermione gave Theo an amused look.
"He just
wanted to come and see Draco and I
off
today.
Is there anything
wrong with a Father wanting to see his Daughter off to school?"
"Not
at
all.
I
just
don't
think I've ever seen him willingly mingle
with the masses before. He seems to find it distasteful."
This did get
Hermione to giggle softly,
while Draco cracked a
lopsided grin, and Daphne nodded in agreement.
"Well, I suppose that's true enough."
Draco wrapped his arm a bit
more firmly around Hermione as
she settled into him and sighed,
feeling her eyes drooping shut
as the train started to pull
away from the Platform. He placed a
small kiss on her head and whispered soothingly, "Sleep, love."
"Okay." Hermione slurred a bit,
before she was out
like a light,
her friends watching with concern.
After
a few moments,
Daphne gave Draco a look of
worry. "Is Hermione alright, Draco?"
"Yes.
I
can't tell
you what happened, or why I wasn't on the train
before break but
suffice it
to say that my brilliant witch managed
to find a way to save her mum, and it taxed her core quite a bit."
Draco whispered,
sharing the story that Hermione's parents had
agreed upon.
At
the shocked look on Daphne's face and the
curious looks on his two best
mate's faces,
Draco knew they
wanted to ask questions-but a firm shake of the head made them
all realize that this was one subject he wasn't planning on sharing
at this juncture.
Soon there was a soft
knock on the door
and Blaise stood to
answer
it,
stunned in disbelief
as he opened it
and saw Harry
Potter standing there, seeming a bit awkward.
"Hey? I'm sorry to bother you all,
but
I
just
wanted to check in on
Hermione."
Draco
nodded
and
waved
the
Boy
Who
Lived
inside
the
compartment,
much to the surprise of his friends. Harry nodded
his thanks and took a seat
next
to Draco,
who had Hermione
wrapped around his other side.
Harry gazed at
Hermione with
friendly concern,
and Draco decided to ward and silence the
compartment.
"I'm sorry to barge in here like this. My godfather explained a few
things to me when I went home for Easter and I have to say? I'm
impressed with Hermione's devotion to her mum. I just wanted to
see for myself that she was alright."
Draco nodded.
"No one knows of
the particulars,
Potter,
and it
needs to stay that way. I'm sure you understand that."
Harry nodded emphatically. "Yeah, Sirius was pretty firm on that. I'd
take an unbreakable vow,
but
I'm not
of
age yet.
Sirius has been
working on my Occlumency though… so I'm good there."
Draco sighed in relief, however Theo, getting a bit frustrated at not
knowing what
the fuck Potter was talking about, cleared his throat
loudly.
"Don't mean to interrupt, but what in Salazar's name is going on?"
Draco glared as his friend,
when he felt
Hermione stirring next
to
him as she yawned and opened her eyes.
"It's alright,
Draco.
I
asked if
it was okay to tell
Theo, Blaise and
Daphne and he said it
was fine but
to tell
them if
they said
anything to anyone, they'd have to answer to him directly."
Draco smirked smugly at
his friends,
while Blaise and Theo
paled and Daphne looked a bit ill.
"You sure you want
to know,
smartass?" Draco admonished
his friend for waking up his witch.
Theo mouthed 'sorry '
while Harry just laughed at the dynamic of
Hermione's friends. Theo then sighed and glanced over at Blaise,
who shrugged and then nodded once. Daphne gazed over at her
best friend, whose amber eyes were fixated upon her blue ones.
Taking out
her
wand,
Daphne placed it
in the center
of
the
compartment,
her
hand
extended
and
said,
"I,
Daphne
Greengrass take a witches oath…"
Daphne finished the words promising to keep the conversation
they were about to have confidential, watching as Blaise and Theo
did the same.
Both boys were of
age and even though Draco
wasn't,
he was a Master Occlumens and had been trained by the
best Legilimens in their world. Harry obviously, would never repeat
any of
what
they were about
to discuss,
and since he knew the
majority of it anyway, it seemed as if he could be trusted.
Draco kissed Hermione's forehead once the oaths were done and
whispered, "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"
"It's alright,
I
can do it."
Hermione said softly,
sitting up with
Draco's help,
smiling shyly at her friends. "My mum as you know,
was dying.
She and my dad are mated,
the particulars aren't too
important,
but
being separated when my dad was cursed by
Dumbledore and left for dead was really hard on my mum. It taxed
her magical
core to the point
she only had a few months left
to
live… if that."
Seeing Theo and Blaise's eyes widen,
Hermione decided to forge
ahead before anyone could ask questions.
"I had discovered back during the summer after our third year, that
Dumbledore had been in a relationship of
sorts with Gellert
Grindelwald.
The two wrote letters to each other
that
Bathilda
Bagshot,
Grindelwald's Great
Aunt,
gave to me.
She had been
furious when her nephew had been imprisoned and Dumbledore
had been lauded as a hero for defeating him. You see, when they
were young wizard's, both of them actively sought out the Deathly
Hallows-they wanted to become all-powerful
and take over
the
Wizarding World together."
"What happened?" Theo asked, intrigued.
"Well,
I'm not
exactly sure how it
happened,
but
apparently
there was a disagreement
of
some kind in Godric's Hollow
and Ariana Dumbledore was killed by a stray killing curse. No
one knew who had cast
the curse,
but
it
was that action that
severed Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's relationship. Most of
what was reported on during our fifth year was at my request.
Rita Skeeter
owed me a favor,
and I
couldn't
stand by and
allow that
man to ruin any more lives.
He killed my mum's
family,
Harry's godfather
rotted in Azkaban for twelve years
without
a proper trial.
He cursed my Father and left
him for
dead,
robbing
me
of
a
proper
family
and killed Harry's
parents. I had to do something ."
Harry nodded,
while Draco smiled inwardly at
the incredulous
expressions on his friend's faces.
While Hermione's story wasn't quite 100% true, it didn't change the
fact
that
when shared,
it
was compelling and no one could refute
the veracity of her loathing for the former Headmaster.
"So? I devised a plan to make sure he paid for what he did. I'm not
proud of
it,
but
if
I
hadn't, that man would still
be Headmaster and
I'd never have my parents back."
Waving her
wand,
she showed them the specter of
Ariana
Dumbledore and the looks of
awe on her friends faces were
priceless.
"Dumbledore's sister?" Harry asked, and Hermione nodded.
"I used this to drive the man barmy and it worked. He attacked me
at the end of our fifth year and I disarmed him."
"Fucking Salazar!"
Blaise gasped.
"He could've killed you,
Hermione!"
"He nearly did."
Harry growled out
angrily.
"I
was there when
Dumbledore cast the 'crucio ' and it looked bloody terrifying."
"It
wasn't
pleasant
I
assure you,
but
it did serve its purpose
and Dumbledore could no longer hide behind his fame and
position. Which is one of the things I wanted."
"And the other?" Asked Daphne quietly,
in complete awe of
her best friend.
"His wand." Hermione stated firmly.
"Dumbledore had the Deathstick?" Blaise gasped out incredulously.
"Yes,
he won the Elder
Wand from Grindelwald in 1945.
It
was because of
that,
why he was so powerful
and had done
so much damage and how he was able to curse my Father
back in 1981."
Harry shook his head angrily.
"It
makes so much more sense
now, you know."
Hermione reached over and grabbed Harry's arm in solidarity. "I'm
sorry, Harry."
"No,
Hermione.
Don't
ever apologize.
You did what
needed to be
done."
Nodding, Hermione went on to explain about the Gaunt Family ring
that
her mother had given her adoptive parents when she had left
Hermione with them.
"That's how I'd realized just whom my Father was. After that, it was
a matter
of
getting the Cloak.
My mum remembered that
your
Father had one and that
you most
likely had it,
Harry.
Once I had
all
three, I went to Nurmengard and Grindelwald, who told me how
to unite the Hallows so I
could save my mum.
It
drained my
magical
core and I'm still
a bit
tired,
but
my mum is healed and
that's all I wanted."
Reaching inside her
bag,
Hermione handed Harry back the
Invisibility Cloak (a magical
copy her Father had made with the
Elder Wand.
It
was essentially the same Cloak,
just
not
quite as
powerful as the original).
Harry took the Cloak with wide eyes and shook his head.
"I
can't take this, Hermione. It's yours now."
"Nope,
it's yours Harry.
I
thank you for your generosity,
but
I
can't
keep it.
It
belongs to you.
It
was your
Dad's and I'd
imagine it's probably one of
the few things you have of
him.
What
kind of
friend would I
be if
I
didn't
return it to its rightful
owner."
Harry's green eyes met
amber ones as he smiled and took back
the Invisibility Cloak, nodding his thanks.
"If you ever need anything, Hermione, I'm your friend too. At least I
hope we can be."
Hermione stood up and gave Harry a hug, which caused everyone
in the compartment
to stare at
Draco to see what
he'd do,
but
to
the blonde's credit? He just sat back and smiled fondly at his witch
and Harry.
Harry returned the hug fiercely and stepped back,
offering his
hand to Draco, who shook it and nodded.
"I'll let you guys have some privacy." Harry said kindly.
"Thanks,
Potter."
Draco
returned
pleasantly
before
adding,
"Please keep an eye out
for my witch.
She's still
not 100% and I
don't trust the Weasel."
Harry gave Draco a firm nod and left the compartment, while
Hermione took her place back on the seat next to him.
Theo looked at
Hermione appraisingly.
"So,
you're the Master of
Death?"
Hermione giggled. "Nope. My Father is."
Draco grinned at
his friend,
letting him know that what Hermione
stated was 100% true.
"How?" Theo sputtered in shock.
"That's not
my story to tell,
Theo."
Hermione said impishly.
"But
you're welcome to ask my Father for the particulars next time you
see him."
Blaise,
Draco and Daphne all
laughed at
that
while Theo just
looked like he wanted to vomit. "I'll pass, thanks, Hermione."
"Probably wise, mate." Draco winked at his friend, who just stared
back at him mutinously.
The Life Debt
Chapter 96: The Life Debt
The following weeks flew by, and Hermione's strength returned to
normal. She continued on with her study sessions for Arithmancy,
and Draco to his credit
didn't
interfere in her study time with Cho
and Zacharias. The Hufflepuff had been apologetic and somewhat
contrite over the whole fighting debacle.
Hermione had told him not
to worry over it,
that
she and Draco
were fine-which seemed to appease the Head Boy,
even if
he
didn't look too happy over that fact.
Draco had taken to flying on his new broom as much as possible
in his spare time. The Slytherin's were keeping it hush hush about
Draco's new broom,
and as the Quidditch Cup's final
match
got closer?
It was all the students were talking about.
Draco's smirk couldn't have been any wider when Weasley took
to taunting him one afternoon,
about
how he'd never beaten
Harry to the snitch in all the years they'd faced each other.
He had shrugged non-plussed,
and rolled his eyes at
the
Weasel's dramatics.
Hermione
was
never
left
alone
when
she left
the Slytherin
dungeons,
for any reason.
Whether it
was Daphne,
Draco,
Theo
or
Blaise-even on occasion Harry would walk with her between
classes, this only seemed to fuel Ron Weasley's intense dislike for
her. He'd never used the word Mudblood again, but one afternoon
he called her a Death Eater's whore and was soundly hexed by
Blaise,
who'd been walking behind Daphne and Hermione when
the Weasel
had accosted the girl's outside of
the Great
Hall
one
afternoon.
When Draco had heard from Blaise what
had happened,
the
blonde Slytherin told Potter
and from that
point
onward,
Harry
stopped speaking to the red-headed ginger prat.
It didn't seem to faze Hermione though, as she'd realized long ago
that
Ronald Weasley was an idiot
of
epic proportions. He'd barely
made
it
into
any
NEWT
level
classes,
except
for
Magical
Creatures, Herbology and oddly Transfiguration. His Father worked
for
the Ministry
in the Misuse Of
Muggle Artifacts office and
Weasley hadn't even managed to get into NEWT Muggle Studies.
Hermione was spending a bit
of
her free time working on a few
issues that
she'd been putting off this year. One was the Muggle-
born issue she'd discussed with her Father back last summer.
The Ministry of
Magic this past
summer,
at
the urging of
her
Father,
and
with
Severus
help-had
identified
eleven
Muggle-borns for admittance to Hogwarts this past September. A
new measure was introduced into the Wizengamot
that
any
Muggle-born who'd been invited to Hogwarts, would first have to
be interviewed, (as well as their immediate family), to determine if
they
imposed a danger
to the Statute of
Secrecy.
Existing
Muggle-borns had been against
this initially,
but
Minister Fudge
had explained that it was important to make sure that the magical
world remained safe and protected from those who would seek to
do wizard's and witches harm.
The Pureblood majority on the
Wizengamot
didn't
need much persuasion,
and of
the eleven
families that
were interviewed, only seven of those children were
deemed fit to attend and their families supportive of Magic.
The other four children were given the choice-to either be stripped
of
their
magic and obliviated along with their family,
or to leave
their family behind.
Those who chose to remain in the Muggle world,
and stripped of
their magic, had done so willingly.
Hermione had helped draft a proposal
during the past few weeks
that
would start
a magical
sponsorship of
sorts.
Once a child
within the Muggle world was identified as Magical,
a Magical
Sponsor
would be assigned to them by the Ministry of
Magic.
This person would work with the family and introduce the child
into the Magical
world.
The Ministry's Department
of
Education
was
setting
up
early
childhood
classes,
trying to introduce
magical
customs prior
to eleven and this rationale behind this
was two-fold.
If
a Muggle-born child wished to remain with its
magical
sponsor
once
Hogwarts
started,
they
could.
If
a
Muggle-born was found to be in an abusive situation however,
they were automatically relocated with a willing magical
family
and the Obliviators were sent in to wipe any memory of that child
within its family.
This had been at
the Dark Lord's behest
after witnessing Meghan
Connor's memories.
He would not have any magical child in such an environment, and
made it
clear
to all
within his inner
circle and those on the
Wizengamot that his wishes on this matter would be honored…
… or else.
Starting this next
term,
Magical
Studies would be a new class
offered to all
first
through fourth years and Muggle studies would
be offered during first
and second years only .
When fifth year
hit-those who wished to continue with Magical Studies could do so
and those who wished to continue on with Muggle Studies, could
do so as an elective.
The Muggle Studies classes from fifth year
on,
would focus on job placements within the Ministry that
dealt
directly with the Muggle World and its hazards.
Many of
the
Muggle-borns within the Ministry saw the wisdom in this as most
felt
that
the Hogwarts curriculum was several
lacking in relative
Muggle information.
The purpose of
this was to keep Magical's
abreast
of
current
Muggle trends in technology and even send
interested Muggle-borns to University to study Muggle technology
and how to circumvent it to keep Magical's safe.
Hermione had suggested this to her Father, as to remain ignorant
of the Muggle world would only serve to make them susceptible in
the future.
Muggle technology was expanding at
alarming rates,
and she saw the possible dangers that
such technology posed if
left ignorant.
The Dark Lord was always amazed by his daughter's suggestions
and insights,
as were many of
the Death Eaters,
who'd realized
belatedly that ignorance wasn't always bliss and sometimes it was
far better to combat
the unknown with stealth and cunning than
open conflict.
Lucius was particularly skilled and as such, had taken point as the
Head of
the Hogwarts Board of
Governors to see these new
educational
programs implemented.
He was quickly becoming a
press favorite for his insightful
interviews and whispers had started
that
Lucius Malfoy may be in the running for the next
Minister for
Magic when the elections were slated sometime in 1999.
Hermione had no real
interest
in politics,
even though she was
quite good at manipulating people and situations to her benefit-but
she preferred influencing things from behind the scenes,
as did
her
Father.
He was visiting other
countries and their ministries,
currying favor and gaining allies in support of his own initiatives. It
was widely known that
Lord Voldemort
was effectively running
Great
Britain's
Magical
community,
and the world had been
closely watching to see what he would make of it.
Some outside of
Britain had been unconvinced that
Dumbledore
was truly the evil
wizard that The Daily Prophet had made him out
to be.
Over the course of
the new year,
many of
those within the other
ministries had been on guard to see if
Voldemort
would start
another open campaign of terror that proceeded his disappearance
back in 1981. When that didn't happen, opinion started to shift and
invitations
from other
ministries
started to scatter
in-much to
Voldemort's delight.
It
would seem his daughter
had been correct
that
subversive
tactics were far
preferable-and inherently Slytherin,
than forcing
his
will
on the masses.
Marlene for
her
part,
was enjoying
watching her mate and daughter plot
to take over the Wizarding
World.
The Friday before the final
Quidditch Match found Hermione
sitting near the Black Lake in her favorite spot, with Nagini
curled
up near
her.
Daphne was reading though her
Arithmancy book
and Theo was doing his Transfiguration homework.
Draco and
Blaise were at
a last
minute Quidditch Practice,
that
Draco had
insisted upon-his determination to win this stupid match was
borderline pathological as far as Hermione was concerned.
She frankly couldn't wait for Quidditch to be over-she only had one
more year to endure, thankfully.
"So,
what
are you going to do this summer,
Hermione?"
Daphne asked curiously,
watching Nagini
slither
off
to go
hunting.
Shrugging,
Hermione gave her
friend a thoughtful
look.
"Well,
Draco wants to take me to Greece,
his family has an island off
the coast of Santorini. I've also been invited to do an internship at
the Ministry in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
Those eyes shot up with interest. "That's pretty prestigious."
"I
suppose.
Apparently Lord Black was very impressed with the
help I
gave Harry last year in getting him freed. He wants to make
sure something like that
doesn't
happen again to another witch or
wizard
and
felt
that
I'd
be
perfect
to
research
magical
law
precedents to that effect."
"Lord Black?"
"Yes… I
know,
I
was surprised too.
I
received a letter yesterday
from Gawain Robards,
Head of
the Department
offering me the
internship.
I
know most
people will
think it's because of my Father
I've been offered this position, but I've told him that whatever it was
I'd eventually decide upon as a career? I
wanted to earn it based
on my own merits. He was both equally annoyed and proud."
Theo chuckled,
while Daphne giggled at
her
friend.
"Poor,
Hermione… nepotism not work for you, eh?"
Theo grinned when Hermione sent
a wandless stinging hex at his
comment, which he blocked wandlessly.
"Nice,
Theo."
Hermione nodded at
the boy's wandless display of
magic.
"Thanks."
"You two, I swear." Daphne admonished good-naturedly.
"If I don't keep him on his toes, who will?" Hermione winked at her
friend.
"You wound me,
Hermione!
If
I
didn't
know better,
I'd think you
didn't like me at all." Theo pouted playfully.
"It's touch and go, Nott." Hermione bit back with a grin.
"Well,
well… look what
we have here!"
A voice snarled,
and a
shock of red hair came from around the tree where Draco used to
hide.
Ron Weasley glared at
the group with an ugly sneer
upon his
ruddy face, as he stood there trying to look menacing.
"Go away,
Weasley!" Theo warned,
"No one here is interested in
anything you have to say."
Weasley
ignored
Theo's
taunt
and
turned
his
venom onto
Hermione.
"I
don't
know how you've managed to convince Harry
you're worthy of
his time and friendship? But anyone who knows
better can see you for the manipulative bitch you are, Granger."
Hermione chuckled mockingly.
"Look,
Weasley? Whatever
your
problem is? I'm not
interested,
so go bother
someone else with
your useless diatribe."
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"It means, Weasley… that no one here cares a whit about what you
think or feel. So go spread your vitriol
somewhere else… we aren't
interested." Daphne clarified coldly.
"Fuck you,
Greengrass." Weasley snarled.
"You're a Death Eater
whore same as your friend here."
Theo stood up immediately,
while Hermione grasped onto her
betrothal
necklace and sent
a silent
call
for Draco,
knowing that
he'd hear her plea, as this was starting to get out of control.
"You better watch your mouth, Weasel." Theo snarled angrily.
"Or you'll
what, Nott?" Weasley mocked. "Last I counted there was
three of us and only one of you."
Hermione laughed at
this,
watching Weasley's cheeks flame in
anger.
"Excuse me? But perhaps you need to work on your math
skills, Weasley. There are three of us here."
"And you think you could what,
Granger? Take on all
three of
us
yourself?" Weasley scoffed.
Hermione smiled widely. "You say it like it would be difficult."
Weasley drew his wand and sent a hex at Hermione, which she
blocked effortlessly,
her eyes glowing brightly as she watched
the red-head fume in anger.
Theo had immediately drawn his
wand as did Daphne,
but
Hermione shook her head at both of
them to not retaliate.
"That
was stupid,
Weasley." Hermione taunted.
Gazing behind
the
red-head,
she saw Nagini
moving behind the wizard,
waiting for
permission to strike.
"Perhaps I
should let
my
familiar deal with you, what do you think?"
"What the fuck are you talking about? That orange fur ball
you call
a cat?"
Hermione laughed,
as did her two friends.
"No,
not
Crookshanks.
My other familiar."
Ron Weasley seemed stumped while his two sidekicks looked
equally dumbfounded. When he went to raise his wand again, she
heard Draco's voice say very coldly, "Nagini… attack ."
The snake wasted no time and lunged,
as a spell
fired from
Weasley's wand,
which was once again deflected by Hermione's
shield.
Dean and Seamus raised their wands too, and were easily
taken down by Draco (who was disillusioned)
and Theo,
while
Nagini's fangs latched onto Ron Weasley's arm-sinking into his
flesh as the wizard screamed in bloody terror-his wand dropping to
the ground instantly.
Ron Weasley dropped on his side and was shaking on the ground
as Nagini's venom poured into his body, the snake hissing as she
released the wizard and went
to lunge again for
his neck,
but
Hermione said softly in Parseltongue, "Nagini, that's enough."
Nagini
moved
back
hissing
in
displeasure
while
Hermione
watched the red-head continue to writhe on the ground in pain.
Standing up and walking over to the Weasel,
she dropped to her
knees and stared down into blue eyes that
were looking at
her
wide in terror.
"That's my familiar,
Weasley and trust
me? She doesn't
take too
kindly
to anyone who threatens
me.
You're lucky I'm not
a
vindictive person, or I just might have allowed her to finish the job.
Her
venom is quite potent
and you should be dead in about…
three or four minutes from now. Not enough time to get you to the
infirmary, I'm afraid. So that leaves you at my mercy ." Pulling out
the bezoar that
she always kept
on hand from her beaded bag,
she held up the object
and let
Weasley see it.
"Now,
I
can save
you,
but
then you'd owe me a life debt.
Or I
can let
you die…
obliviate your friends, and well… you get the idea, yes? Nod if you
understand?"
Weasley's
eyes
were
watering,
as
he nodded in fear.
"Excellent.
So which will
it
be? Shall
I
save you or let
you
die?"
Hermione held up the bezoar
and watched as Ronald Weasley
considered his options before he nodded in resignation.
"I,
Hermione McKinnon Riddle agree to save you Ronald Bilius
Weasley-in return you agree to refrain from attacking me and my
family
either
with
your
words,
person,
magic,
or
encourage
anyone to do the same.
You will
owe me a life debt,
to be
collected at
the time of
my choosing,
and you will
be forbidden
from speaking, writing or sharing your thoughts with anyone about
this incident or suffer the permanent loss of your magic… so mote
it be. Do you agree to these terms set forth by magic? Speak now
please."
Hermione grinned evilly and watched as the Weasel
formed
the words.
"I,
Ronald Bilius Weasley agree to your terms, by my magic… so
mote it be."
"Excellent."
Both felt the magic of the vow swirling over them, sealing the
promise made.
Hermione shoved the bezoar
down Weasley's throat
and then
closed the wound,
cleaning the blood away. When she was done
she wandlessly stunned the wizard and then went
over
to his
friends,
using her wand and modifying their memories up to the
point where Ron drew his wand the first time. She then told Nagini
to hide before she 'ennervated '
the three Gryffindors conscious
and sat
back,
watching Seamus and Dean's looks of
confusion
and
Ron
Weasley's
look
of
horror
as
she
grinned
at
him
knowingly.
"Please leave now . I'm trying to study, as are my friends."
Ron gulped and nodded once, grabbing his two friends and walked
quickly away with Hermione's laughter following him.
Once the red-head was gone,
Draco dropped his disillusionment
charm and stalked over,
grabbing his witch and snogging her
heatedly.
"That was brilliant, baby…" "I have my moments."
Theo chuckled at
his friend and Hermione.
"Damn,
mate!
When you'd said Hermione was diabolical, I had doubted it at
first… but fucking Salazar! That was brilliant!"
All
four friends laughed,
while Nagini
slithered over towards her
mistress,
hissing in displeasure.
"Why didn't
you let
Nagini
kill
and eat the boy? No one would ever miss that wizard."
Hermione smiled fondly at her familiar, as she kissed the top of
Nagini's head hissing in thanks. "Nagini, even I have standards and
I would never foist that disgusting thing on you."
Nagini
hissed in laughter.
"He is revolting.
Tastes awful
too.
Does
the boy ever bathe?"
Hermione buckled over in rich laughter as her betrothed and her
friends watched as she lost herself in mirth.
Draco's face was amused as he asked,
"Do I
want
to know what
Nagini just said?"
So Hermione told Draco and her friends what Nagini had said, and
they all
were still
laughing about
it
by the time they'd reached the
Slytherin Common room,
with one very disgruntled snake leading
the way.
The Quidditch Cup
Chapter 97: The Quidditch Cup
The Quidditch Final
of
1997 was finally here,
and Hermione was
actually excited for the stupid match. Draco had spent most of the
evening last
night
shagging her
silly,
completely enamoured by
her deft handling of the Weasel.
She had been quite amused that her betrothed could find her
vindictive side such a turn on.
Dressed in her favorite Slytherin green jumper, jeans, boots and
Draco's
scarf-Hermione
made
her
way
to the Great
Hall
for
breakfast
with Daphne and Theo.
Draco and his Quidditch mate's
were busy going over
some last
minute strategy in the common
room.
The secret
of
Draco's new broom had stayed just
that… a secret.
When Slytherin was out practicing, Draco used a handy spell she'd
invented,
to make it
look like his new Firebolt
was his old Nimbus
broom, and no one questioned it.
Hermione had to admit,
she was looking forward to seeing the
looks on everyone's faces when they got
a good look at
Draco's
new broom.
Sitting
down
to
breakfast,
she
immediately
noticed
that
the
Gryffindor
team sitting
together
and
eating
quietly
amongst
themselves.
Harry looked up and smiled in her
direction,
with
Hermione
waving
Draco's
scarf
at
him and
grinning widely,
causing him to snicker and shake his head good-naturedly.
A kiss was dropped onto her
head,
and when she looked up,
excited grey eyes were staring down at her fondly.
"Flirting with the enemy,
love?"
Draco grinned and nodded at
Potter, who returned the gesture.
"Don't
be ridiculous,
handsome.
Just
some good-natured taunting
on my behalf."
Draco chuckled and sat down next to her. "Glad to hear it."
The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence, before Draco stood up
with his
teammates
and headed out
to the Quidditch Pitch.
Hermione watched her
wizard leave,
hoping that
today,
fortune
would favor all the hard work Draco had put in on his new broom.
He'd never admit
it,
but
he was desperate to win the Quidditch
Cup and beat Potter just once.
Hopefully today would be that day.
Walking
out
to
the
Quidditch
Pitch
with
Daphne
and
Theo,
Hermione could feel
herself getting excited for the match to come.
She really wanted Draco to win,
and even though she hated
Quidditch? She loved her wizard and wanted to see him happy.
As she moved towards the Slytherin stands, she was surprised
to see Lucius and her Father talking with Severus. Deep green
eyes
locked
with
her's
and
he
nodded
at
her
as
she
approached.
"Hello,
Father,"
she greeted warmly,
"I
didn't
take you for
a
Quidditch fan."
Tom rolled his eyes while Lucius chuckled.
"Not
normally,
no…
another
thing we have in common I
believe,
Daughter-and yet
here you are about to waste hours of your day watching-what did
you call
it? An unnecessarily brutal
sport
that
has absolutely no
value whatsoever?"
Blushing,
she couldn't
help but
sigh in resignation.
"True,
but
today should be interesting."
"In what way?" Tom asked curiously.
"Well, I'm surprised mum didn't tell
you about it." At her Father's
quirked eyebrow,
Hermione smiled impishly and whispered so
only her
Father
and Lucius could hear her.
"I
bought
Draco a
Firebolt
broom,
for
the game today.
No one outside Slytherin
House has been made aware."
Lucius chuckled deeply,
while Tom just
gave his daughter
a
dubious look. "You purchased the most expensive broom for your
betrothed? And your mother was alright with this?"
Hermione shrugged.
"Of
course.
You can't
be mad,
Father.
A
secret
broom to help even the playing field on the final
game of
the Quidditch season against
Gryffindor? Tell
me that's not
a
completely Slytherin thing to do?"
"Only if they win, my dear." "Of that, there's no doubt."
"Care to make a wager
on it
then?"
Tom challenged.
Hermione glared at her Father. "What kind of wager?"
"Well? if
Gryffindor
wins-you agree to the Ministry internship this
summer in the DMLE."
Folding her arms over her chest, Hermione's glare deepened. "And
if
Slytherin wins? I
get to travel
with you this summer and you can
introduce me to all
the wonderful
contacts you're making within the
foreign ministries."
Tom chuckled wickedly. "Negotiated like a true Slytherin."
"That's because I
am ." Hermione winked at
her Father,
and then
walked towards the stands where Daphne was waiting for her.
Turning back briefly, she chirped, "Enjoy the game, Father."
She heard her Father chuckling, as she made her way up the
stands.
Once she was situated,
she waited with baited breath as the
teams took to the field.
When Slytherin flew out onto the field, after Gryffindor had made
their entrance-Draco was the last
to do so.
As he flew out,
the
gasps
and shouts
of
glee from the Slytherin's
was nothing
compared to the shocked anger
and outrage from the other
houses.
Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust.
It
was okay for Harry Potter to have an unfair advantage,
but
not
for Draco to even the playing field.
What a load of bullocks.
When her gaze locked with her betrothed,
he was grinning from
ear to ear as he winked at
her-so she blew him a kiss in return.
Catching Potter's eye,
the Gryffindor
Seeker
and Captain was
doing his best
to hide his shock,
but
Hermione could see him
shaking his head at
her in understanding, so she waved Draco's
scarf at him, which caused him to laugh.
Well, at least Harry Potter was being a good sport about it.
When Madam Hooch signaled for the game to start,
Hermione
leaned forward in her
seat
in anticipation and watched as the
snitch was released.
Both Draco and Harry taking off
like lightening after
the infernal
little piece of metal.
The game was closer
than Hermione would've liked.
Every time
Slytherin scored,
Gryffindor scored right
back.
It
was a rather low
score at
two hours in at 120-130 Gryffindor… that was until
Draco
saw the snitch and shot
out
across the pitch heading for
the
Gryffindor stands. Harry was right next to him, and soon the snitch
went
vertical,
Harry ascending on his broom with quicker speed,
and Hermione was biting her lip in worry.
When the snitch dove straight
down,
both Seekers turned and
followed with Draco swerving just
in time to avoid getting hit
by
the Bludger,
however Harry wasn't
as lucky as his broom didn't
have the maneuverability
that
Draco's did,
the Bludger
from
Crabbe just
clipping the back of
his broom,
but
it
was enough.
Harry had to regain control
of
his broom and as Draco was
nearing the ground,
he flattened his body along his broom and
barrel-rolled his broom into a 360 degree roll,
reaching for
the
snitch just as he was about to hit the ground.
When he came up from the maneuver,
he had the Snitch in his
hand-
raising
it
in
triumph
as
Madam Hooch
sounded
the
whistle… "Slytherin Wins!"
The Slytherin stands went
crazy as everyone was hugging each
other in celebration,
while Hermione just
clapped and rolled her
eyes at
how ridiculous it
all
was,
but
seeing the look of
absolute
joy
on Draco's
face as
he was
being congratulated by
his
teammates-made it all worthwhile.
Looking up,
Hermione caught
her Father's eye across they way
as he nodded once and walked down the Faculty stands with
Lucius and Severus in tow.
She couldn't
help but
smirk in
satisfaction…
… today had gone surprisingly well.
Later
that
night
after
everyone had celebrated in the Slytherin
common room, Hermione took Draco to their Room and surprised
him by wearing his Quidditch Jersey and nothing else. To say that
her
betrothed
was
appreciative,
would've
been
an
understatement
as they didn't
leave their room all
night and well
into the next day.
A fitting end to their sixth year indeed.
A Magical Sponsor
Chapter 98: A Magical Sponsor
The
end
of
the year
had come and summer
had flown by.
Hermione had spent two weeks with Draco, Narcissa and her mum
on the Malfoy's island near Greece seeing the sights and lounging
in the ocean.
She and Draco spent
all
their time together and she
simply couldn't
remember a time in her life when she'd ever been
this happy.
She traveled with her Father as promised.
Bulgaria,
France,
Russia
and
the
United
States-it
seemed everywhere Lord Voldemort
went,
he was in
high demand.
People listened to his initiatives and he was always quick to point
out
that
his Daughter was just
as involved as he was in making
sure Wizarding Britain was on the cutting edge of
progress and
change.
Many didn't
believe that
a seventeen-year-old witch could be so
valued-but
once Hermione spoke and shared her
philosophies
and views on Wizarding Politics and Economics-many of
those
within the foreign ministries were eager to work with Britain.
Seventh year had gone by in a blur.
Both she and Draco were Head Students and they shared a dorm
and were blissfully happy.
Harry had indeed sent
a letter of intent to Cho's family, which was
accepted happily.
Marlene and Tom had decided to formally marry and the wedding
was a small
affair.
Only the Malfoy's, Hermione, Severus, Corban,
Daphne
and
the
Lestrange
Brother's
were
in
attendance.
Rodolphus and Rabastan had been suitably chastised by their Lord
for aiding his daughter in her quest,
but
he was quick to let
them
know that
he
expected
them to
honor
their
vow to
protect
Hermione.
However,
if
she ever
came to them again with some
hair-brained scheme-they were to advise him immediately or suffer
the consequences.
Both wizard's readily agreed to their Lord's demands.
Upon graduation,
Draco presented Hermione with a beautiful
five
carat
flawless
emerald
engagement
ring
with two diamonds
flanking either side.
It was simply exquisite and she loved it.
The two were married the spring after they'd graduated Hogwarts.
Hermione had of
course,
graduated the top of
her class, earning
the highest
NEWT scores in the history of Hogwarts. Tom Riddle
couldn't
have been prouder of
his daughter,
so when he told her
upon graduating that
he was planning on reinstating the Gaunt
Family Seat
on the Wizengamot,
and that
it
was hers -she was
shocked, and then hugged her Father tightly, thanking him for the
generous gift.
Lucius Malfoy was elected Minister
for
Magic in the summer of
1999,
to the surprise of no one. The pompous Pureblood was the
voice of
the new progressive Ministry of
Magic and the new
policies being implemented were overwhelmingly popular
within
the Magical community by large.
Harry Potter
had decided on becoming an Auror,
something he
seemed destined for. He was a ministry darling and often could be
found going on double dates with Cho, Hermione and Draco.
It
seemed that
things were finally settling down in the Magical
World.
Ronald Weasley had moved to Romania to work at
the Dragon
Reserve with his brother, Charlie-the only NEWT he'd received was
in Magical
Creatures and he was more than happy to leave Britain
behind,
never
quite
secure
in
the
knowledge
that
Hermione
McKinnon Riddle Malfoy would come collecting on her life debt at
any point in time.
Five years later, Hermione was pregnant with her and Draco's first
child, a son.
They had decided upon the name Scorpius Thomas Malfoy.
A month before her
due date,
her
Father
had shown up at
Malfoy Manor with a letter in his hand looking a bit
pensive.
Handing the letter
to her,
she took it
warily and read the
information contained within,
her expression falling in shock
as she finished it.
"Are you sure it's the same person, Father?"
Tom nodded.
"It
is.
She's
married as
you can see,
and her
daughter
just
turned
three
last
week.
The
Hogwarts
registry
updated when her Magic was expressed and I
thought
you might
want to be the one to make first contact with the family-perhaps be
their magical sponsor?"
Hermione nodded her
head in agreement.
"Yes,
I
would.
Thank
you, Father."
"No,
Hermione-thank you.
I'm very proud of
you dearest,
and I'm
not sure I've ever said the actual words before."
Standing up, she gave her Father a hug and kiss on the cheek,
as he was becoming more comfortable with affection.
"I'm proud of you too."
Tom chuckled and told his daughter he would check on her after
her visit.
Draco had wanted to go with her,
but
in the end it
was her mum
who had decided to visit the Muggle's home. When they arrived, it
was a small
stately home in the outskirts of Hampstead Heath, not
far
from where Hermione had grown up with her
own Muggle
parents.
Knocking on the yellow door
of
the two-story detached
home,
Hermione grasped her mother's hand in solidarity
as the door opened and large blue eyes stared into hers
questioningly.
"Can I help you?" The woman asked kindly.
"Yes,
hello… we are sorry to intrude but
my name is Hermione
Malfoy and this is my mother, Marlene Riddle. We were hoping to
have a few minutes of your time."
The
woman
smiled
a
bit
warily.
"Hermione
you
said?
My
daughter's name is Hermione."
Hermione
swallowed
with
emotion,
knowing
this
information
already but
it
didn't
make it
any less poignant
hearing it
from the
woman's mouth.
"That's amazing." Hermione smiled softly.
"I
hope we're not
intruding."
The woman shook her head. "No… I'm sorry. I'm Meghan Burke."
"Hello,
Meghan.
We are actually here to talk to you about
your
daughter."
"What about her?" The woman's face closed off in distrust.
Hermione waved her hand and a letter appeared, causing the
woman's
blue
eyes
to
widen
in
disbelief.
"Magic?"
Meghan
breathed out in wonder. "You have magic?"
Hermione smiled and nodded.
"As does your daughter-that's why
we're here, to discuss it with you. May we come in for a bit?"
Meghan nodded and opened the door,
inviting the two women
in-one who was very pregnant.
"When are you due?" Meghan asked politely.
"A few more weeks." Hermione smiled.
"It's my first and I'm ready
to have him."
"A boy? Congratulations."
"Thank you." Hermione nodded and took in the small home, which
was tastefully decorated.
Inviting the women into the small
sitting room,
Meghan went
to
fetch tea and biscuits.
"Hermione is sleeping in her crib right
now." Meghan offered as
she walked back into the room with the tea set, setting it down on
the table between the couch and the comfy chairs that
were an
interesting shade of aubergine.
The Christmas decorations were a nice touch.
Once the tea was settled,
Marlene decided to explain why they
were there,
and what
it
meant
for
Meghan's daughter,
being
magical.
To her credit,
Meghan listened with interest
and asked
many relevant questions.
"So,what
you're saying is my daughter
is a witch,
there's a
magical
community here in Britain full
of
witches and wizards
and my daughter has an opportunity to attend magical
schools
where she will learn all about magic?"
Hermione nodded,
smiling in reassurance.
"I
know it's a lot
to
digest.
I
was actually raised in the Muggle world… it's what
we
call
non-Magical's.
It's a long story,
but
it
was hard for
me.
Prejudice is a living,
breathing concern and in the Magical
World
it's no different,
but
we're trying to make changes for the better,
so that
what
happened to me doesn't
happen to others.
Your
daughter will
have the opportunity to learn about magic at a much
earlier
age than I
did.
You will
be assigned a Magical
Sponsor
who will guide your daughter's transition into the Magical World."
Meghan
nodded,
feeling a bit
overwhelmed.
"You know,
my
husband didn't
seem all
that
surprised when Hermione exhibited
her magic."
Marlene looked on with interest.
"Did you say your last name was
Burke?"
Meghan nodded. "Why?"
"Well,
my Grandmother's maiden name was Burke.
It
might
be a
coincidence."
"It's not
." Said a deep voice that was watching from the doorway
to the kitchen.
"Micah? I didn't know you were home. What do you mean it's not."
Micah sighed and warily entered the room and sat down next to his
wife,
and then proceeded to explain that he was a squib, a cousin
of
Marlene's family as it
turned out.
When he was done with the
explanation, Hermione smiled warmly at the man.
"I
would be honored to be Hermione's sponsor,
if
you're both
willing. Since we are distantly related, it seems like it's fated."
Micah shrugged. "My family didn't abandon me, but I wasn't exactly
welcomed in your world either.
Why should I
believe my daughter
will be welcomed?"
"Because we are trying to change things,
Micah.
My Father
and Father-in-Law both have been instrumental
in working
within the British Ministry of
Magic to reform the educational
laws so that
Muggle-born children have a real
chance in our
society and aren't
looked down due to the circumstances of
their birth."
"And who is your Father and Father in Law?"
"Lucius Malfoy is my Father in Law,
he is the current
Minister for
Magic. Tom Riddle is my Father."
Micah's
eyes
widened.
"You're
the
daughter
of
Lord
Voldemort?" "I am." Hermione said softly.
"Meghan and I will
discuss it, but if we decide against having
Hermione anywhere near the Magical World, what then?"
"Then we have a spell
designed to strip her magic and modify your
memories so you don't remember ever having this conversation."
Meghan's voice hitched. "That's a bit harsh."
"Perhaps it
is,
but
it's important
to understand that
the Statute of
Secrecy is there for a reason. We don't take it lightly, nor who and
how we share this information. Micah has some knowledge,
obviously
grew up with a magical
family at
some point
and
therefore has a cursory understanding of
how our laws work. It's
not
a perfect
solution,
but
it's the best
we can do at
this time.
Ultimately the decision rests in both your hands to do what
is in
your daughter's best interests."
"How much time can we take to think about
this?" Meghan asked
curiously.
"How about
I
come back in a few months and we can discuss it a
bit
more then? I'm due in a month and I
probably won't
be going
anywhere for a bit. If you need someone to talk to or any help, my
Mum I'm sure, would be willing to help."
Marlene nodded. "Of course. We are family after all."
"Thank you for coming and talking with us." Micah said in a much
kinder voice than he'd started with.
"It's our pleasure,
I
assure you." Hermione smiled warmly before
she took out
a small
journal
and handed it
to Meghan.
"This is a
two-way journal.
I
have the other
and it
is charmed much like a
recorder. It will show me anything you write in it and vice versa."
"That's handy."
Meghan smiled widely,
turning to her
husband
who just gave his wife a fond look at her excitement.
"We can show ourselves out." Marlene said.
"Thank you again for coming today." Meghan replied.
"You're welcome, dear, and hopefully we will
be hearing from you
both soon."
Marlene stated before she and Hermione left
and
apparated back to McKinnon Manor.
All's Well that Ends Well
Chapter 99: All's Well that Ends Well
The following month was a whirlwind and before Hermione knew
it? She was in labor
screaming at
her
husband that
she was
going to hex his bollocks off
for getting her up the duff. Draco to
his credit,
just
smiled fondly at
his little witch,
held her
from
behind as he wiped her brow and fed her ice chips. The labor was
long and arduous and on January 13,
2003 at
11:13 in the
morning,
Scorpius Thomas Malfoy was born-screaming his lungs
out while Hermione and Draco both cried tears of joy.
Hermione's happiest
moment was when she watched her Father
hold Scorpius for the first time, his forest green eyes watching his
grandson closely.
Scorpius had Draco's grey eyes,
and it
was
likely they would stay that
color-he also had the Malfoy blonde
hair.
As Tom gave his grandson the once over,
he looked over at
his
daughter and smiled. "He looks nothing like you, Daughter."
"Well, Father-I don't look much like you either, but it didn't stop me
from inheriting your penchant for control and world domination.
Perhaps Scorpius Gaunt
Family traits are more of
the intellectual
variety."
"Hey!"
Draco admonished.
"I'm plenty intelligent,
thank you very
much."
"Of
course
you
are,
dear."
Hermione
smiled
tiredly
at
her
husband. "You were second in our class behind me, after all."
Draco scoffed and sat
down next
to his wife,
giving her an
exaggerated eye roll.
"No one stood a chance against you, love! It's patently unfair
I should be held to such standards. If I was in any other year,
I would've graduated top of the class."
Hermione placed her hand on Draco's cheek and then patted it. "If
that's what helps you sleep at night, love."
Lucius and Narcissa were chuckling even as they were fawning
over
their
new grandson.
Marlene was helping get
Hermione
adjusted
so
she
could
start
nursing
Scorpius,
the
baby's
whimpering letting everyone know he was going to want
to eat
soon.
As Hermione gazed around the room she thought
back on all
she'd gone through to get to this moment in time. There were hard
times and hard choices. She still
missed her Muggle parents, but
that ache was less and less as the years went by. She knew they
were safe and happy and that was all that mattered.
Meghan Burke had written in her journal
just
the other day that
she and Micah wanted their Hermione to know magic and when
she was ready-they were willing to sit
down and talk about
the
future.
The future looked bright,
and she was grateful
to have her family
whole and happy.
As she watched Nagini curl herself at the bottom of her bed, lifting
her head up and taking in the newest
addition to the family,
she
felt her heart clench.
Nagini
had finally shared with her just
a few months ago whom
she had really been once upon a time.
She had gone to her
Father to confirm it,
which he had.
The tears that
she had cried
that
night
had been awful, and she lashed out with her magic as
her
anger
didn't
want
to abate.
Tom had been afraid for
his
daughter,
but
eventually Nagini
had calmed Hermione down and
told her that
despite being a Maledictus, she loved Hermione as
much as she would've had she still been Merope.
Hermione had hugged Nagini
and made her
promise to always
take care of her children, and Nagini had agreed.
Hermione didn't know what the future would bring, but she trusted
that it would all work out the way it was supposed to.
After all, she thought, it already had.
Thank you all!
