Previously on Love Vessel Chapter 15: Releasing The Kraken

Theo sat there for several seconds not saying a word. When he finally spoke, it was to congratulate Draco and wish him good luck.

"Thanks mate. I appreciate the sentiment. However, luck won't have anything to do with it. I plan to keep Hermione for as long as she'll have me."

Theo was surprised again. Who was this wizard speaking about keeping a witch for as long as she'd have him and what had he done with the arbitrary, arrogant overstepping Draco Malfoy? Theo had his answer. It was time to get back to his own office, but on the way he'd have to Owl Blaise who wasn't going to believe this shite. "Alright mate. Time for me to get back to work. Perhaps Blaise and I will see you this weekend."

Draco extended his hand to Theo. "Perhaps you will mate. Who knows? Thanks for stopping by."

Draco let Theo get out of earshot before letting out an uncharacteristic snort of laughter. Hermione had definitely released her Kraken and it had thrown everything into chaos.

/*/

Hermione had made it home, fed Blue and was now sitting on the couch feet up with a glass of wine. Blue was acting kind of anxious pacing back and forth. Finally, Hermione called the kneazle to her lap. "Come here sweetie. Rest those pacing legs."

Blue, who normally came when Hermione called let out a yowl and plopped herself down outside the study door. Hermione put her glass down and sat straight up. Deidra. She hadn't seen to the witch since early last evening. Jumping up, Hermione made a beef sandwich which she hurried in to Deidra. She didn't care for the witch, but she couldn't let her die from hunger. From a smelly arse yes. Hunger no. Hermione was still chuckling as she stepped into the study holding a sandwich and her nose.

/

/

Chapter 16: Approaching The Witching Hour

In addition to the sandwich, Hermione allowed Deidra a few seconds of freedom as she cast a few cleansing spells over the witch. "Don't get excited Deidra. I'm not releasing you, and I'm not Draco. You won't be catching me off guard with any rubbish siren song. Actually, I'm in a fine mood this evening and would like nothing more than to hex your arse, so go ahead. Try to escape."

Mumble, mumble, mumble.

"What's that? I'm being unfair and vindictive. You bet your bloody arse I am. Learned it from the best."

Mumble, mumble, mumble.

"Or, have you started worrying about the state of your life tomorrow at this time? Smart witch. I know I'd be worried if I were you. Your fate is hours away. I have it on good authority that you might not come out as you went in. The witches of The Coven can also be unfair and vindictive. Anyway, enough talk. Oops, one last thing. Witch One has invited me to become The Priestess. How's that for irony? You smell a lot better. Try to keep it that way.

Mumble, mumble, mumble.

Hermione made a few last comments before leaving the study. "All mumbling is now over. Silencio."

/*/

After closing the study door behind her, Hermione walked over and plucked Blue out of her bed. "Happy now my sweet girl? Mum has seen to the mean witch. We can now look forward to Chinese food and your da coming."

Blue nudged Hermione with her head as she let out a soft purr as if to acknowledge that her mum wasn't a mean mum.

/*/

It was Friday evening, and for once, Hermione didn't have anything to complain about. She had a new boyfriend. There was a chance she would soon be in a new position, The Coven wasn't after her, and best of all, she would be attending the Hogwarts Party on the arm of her Kraken. She couldn't wait. These thoughts led to what she would wear to the party. Heading to her closet with Blue hot on her heels, Hermione began to search but found fault with each outfit she viewed. "Mum has nothing to wear Blue. I want to look smashing."

Blue let out what amounted to a sarcastic yowl.

Hermione answered her daughter. "Let me clarify love. It's not that I don't have anything to wear. I have loads of lovely clothes in my closet. I just don't have any, make Draco's eyes pop out of his head, outfits. If we are going to put on a show, I want to make it a good one." As though a light bulb went off over her head, Hermione realized she could do it the easy way. She had loads of catalogues from which she could order something smashing. Which is what she would do. "Come on love. Let's go do some shopping. We want Mr. Malfoy to be proud of his date."

/*/

Hermione entered her library where she kept all reading materials. After a quick search, she found what she needed. For the next thirty minutes, she sorted through the four catalogues she had. The choices of semi-formal attire were varied and many. Hermione went back and forth between a close fitting, below the knee, gold sheath which claimed to be made from the softest, body hugging material and a gray, above the knee, flouncy, lace dress.

The gold sheath won out. Hermione ordered the dress along with accessories and called it done.

Looking down at Blue who had remained at her feet during the entire process, Hermione nodded her head. "I believe we have made a wonderful choice. I believe Draco will be happy with my choice. You deserve a treat and I deserve a wine. We are ladies of leisure who will now lounge around as though we are queens. Come on then."

/*/

Blaise and Theo had agreed to meet up for an after work drink. It was an amazed Blaise who listened to Theo go on about what he had learned from Draco himself.

"That's interesting."

"Interesting?" Theo stammered." "Draco Malfoy is dating Hermione Granger, and all you can say is interesting. You're losing your edge."

Blaise rolled his eyes at Theo. "I'm not losing anything. Hermione Granger is a lovely, sexy witch who any wizard would be glad to have on his arm. Although, I do remember her being quite opposed to Draco even being in her line of sight."

"Correct," added Theo. "That's my entire point. Five days ago she would have hexed Draco if he even looked at her. Now, they're dating. Makes no sense. I actually asked Draco, hesitantly of course, if he had Imperiused Hermione. Knowing how volatile our mate can sometimes get, I was lucky he didn't hex me. He was more amused than anything. In the end, he admitted he and Hermione were dating and would be dating until Hermione turned him away."

Theo's last comments resulted in raised eyebrows from Blaise. "Although those last comments don't sound like anything Draco would say, or admit to. We both know Draco has lusted after Hermione for over a year. They'd probably be already dating if Draco hadn't tried his Malfoy moves on her the first time they went out. I am surprised she has given him another chance to make a fool of himself. Hermione is a strong witch. Perhaps she has Imperiused Draco."

Raising his hand to catch the server's attention, Theo replied listlessly. "I agree about him panting after Hermione which leads to the question. Have we lost our brother Slytherin to love?"

Blaise made an uncharacteristic snort. "No worries. This is Draco we are speaking about. We have only lost him until he becomes disenchanted, and he will. Draco is Draco. He chases birds until he catches them. His wall is probably littered with the knickers of those witches who came before Hermione. Draco will be back among the squad before you know it. This will be my last drink. I have shite to do. I need to get home to make myself presentable for this evening's shenanigans. By the way. Are we attending the Hogwarts Party stag or with a partner?"

Finishing his drink, Theo told Blaise he would be attending the party stag.

With his signature Zabini smirk, Blaise replied that Theo might want to concentrate on getting a witch of his own.

Theo was used to remarks of this kind from playboy Blaise, and responded in kind. "I'd be able to find a witch if you weren't shagging half of London."

Blaise laughed at his mate. "Jealous? Have you checked Wales? If I don't see you later, I'll see you at the party. Have a goodnight mate."

"Later mate." Theo remained where he was for several more seconds thinking, checking Wales might not be such a bad idea. By the time he landed in his flat, Theo had firmly decided that a Friday night out in Wales couldn't hurt.

/*/

Draco's late afternoon presentation had gone over well. He and two assistants had dazzled the wealthy entrepreneurs who had come to Malfoy Investments looking for a safe investment haven. Malfoy Investments acquired five new accounts from the presentation. After reviewing the accounts with his managers, Draco left the files in their capable hands to be serviced as necessary.

It had been a long day. After tidying up his desk, Draco said his good weekend to the staff and headed to the lifts. If all went well with The Coven, he and Hermione were onto a amazing first weekend as a couple which could hopefully lead to an amazing future. "Ah! Amazing future." He sighed to himself. "Only if the witch acts right. Otherwise, it might only be an amazing week, or month." Draco wanted to think in terms of forever, but it was Hermione Granger he was talking about. The end of their dating could be Monday coming. Shaking away the negative thoughts, Draco stepped into the lift happy that Hermione now welcomed his Malfoy moves.

/*/

Like Hermione, even though he had a closet full of expensive clothing, Draco wanted new. The Chinese would have to wait for a bit. There was semi-formal attire with his name on it waiting for him at the men's shop.

As soon as he made it out the doors of the Malfoy Building, Draco apparated to Diagon Alley where he stepped into the men's shop Malfoys had used since before he was born. As though he had been on the lookout for Draco, the owner was at Draco's elbow before the door closed behind him.

"Mr. Malfoy sir. How delightful to see you. What are we in the mood for today?"

"Moods are for witches Talbert. I'm here to purchase a suit. I intend to put three on hold until I find out what my witch plans to wear. A navy blue, a dark brown and a charcoal gray. Show me what you have."

"Yes sir. Follow me."

Draco sorted through the suits mumbling that whomever ordered stock needed to step up his game. He'd been seeing these same types of suits since he began buying for himself. Draco turned to Talbert. "Is this everything? Perhaps it's time I chose a shop with a more updated line. The clothing here was popular when my father was a lad."

Talbert didn't want to hear those kind of remarks. He did the ordering and knew what sold and what didn't. If it was anyone other than Draco Malfoy speaking, he would have given him a telling off. These types of suits had served the Malfoys well over the years. Now here was this, this upstart telling him what he should and should not do in his own shop. Unfortunately for the wizard, Mr. Malfoy and others of his status were what kept him in business. It might be time to look into the more popular cuts.

Mr. Malfoy was speaking.

"Thank you for your time Talbert. In this particular instance, your shop has nothing that meets my needs. I'll look elsewhere."

The entire staff who had overheard the conversation turned away from the owner. They had offered their opinions on updating the shop's stock with more popular items, but had met with resistance. The owner who had been serving the wealthy purebloods for years was sure he knew what would sell. Perhaps his short interaction with Draco Malfoy would help adjust his thinking.

Aware his entire staff had heard Draco, Talbert hurried to his office to think over his stance on those new popular items.

/*/

While Talbert was in his office thinking of adding to his inventory, Draco was entering the new men's boutique shop located in Diagon Place. It was new and normally a bit too trendy for Draco tastes. However, the times were no longer normal. He was dating a witch who would not think twice about commenting on anything she thought to be dowdy. Dowdy, thought Draco. The word should not be spoken in the same sentence as the name Malfoy, but… But, he wanted to impress Miss Granger. If that meant throwing out one or more of his old habits, that's what he'd do.

Draco's visit to the new shop turned in his favor. To Draco, some of the clothing was outrageous, but most of it he found favorable. Not his father's type of shop, but his father was dead along with all his hateful beliefs. Draco spoke to a young wizard who was glad to show him all the new lines. Not wanting to go too far astray, Draco let Micah show him a few suits with the longer jackets. Draco was impressed with the look and purchased a charcoal gray pin stripe, a dark brown, two pocket and a navy blue with longer lapels after trying them on. After adding accessories, a chuffed Draco thanked Micah, shrunk down his purchases and hurried to place the takeaway order. His Wonder Wizard Watch was showing 7:30. Hermione and Blue were probably waiting for him by the door and he still had to drop off his purchases.

/*/

Hermione and Blue weren't waiting by the door, but Hermione was wondering why Draco was this late. He'd mentioned being a little late, but it was almost 8:00 pm. "It is almost time for breakfast, and I'm still waiting for dinner," huffed Hermione as she gnawed on a piece of crusty bread which she dumped in the bin when Blue ran to the door. Draco was in the vicinity.

Draco grinned as both his females met him at the door. "Missed me then?" He asked before kissing Hermione on the mouth as he handed her the Chinese.

Not to be outdone, Blue wrapped herself around Draco's legs until he leaned down to ruffle her fur. "I wasn't ignoring my pretty girl. The rule is, greet mum first. In this case, it is more than the rule. It is a matter of not having my hand gnawed off. Mum seems to be fairly hungry."

"I can hear you Mr. smart arse Malfoy. Had you not brought egg rolls, beef broccoli with onions, chicken wings, and rice, I would be gnawing on your hand. I'm starving. Please come to the table so we can eat and you can tell me about your overly long day."

"Ah, overly long," muttered Draco as he headed to the kitchen "I smell an argument."

"I heard that too. Get in here before I give you an argument you won't forget."

Draco whispered to Blue. "Yup. An argument it is." To Hermione, he replied. "Wizard coming on a run."

/*/

There was no argument. Hermione was too hungry to do anything but eat. Remembering Hermione's prior remark to him, Draco responded in kind. "Not getting much to eat Granger?"

Hermione smiled. "Touché Draco. My excuse is the wizard I'm dating took an overly long time to bring the takeaway. Otherwise, I'd be well fed by now."

Draco smiled back at Hermione. "Your use of the words overly long and overly late leads me to believe you want some sort of explanation as to where I've been and what I was doing."

"Not at all," replied Hermione. "I'm simply doing my job. I'm trying to start an argument."

Draco didn't reply. Instead, he wisely put all his attention on the plate in front of him until he felt it was safe to comment. "Shall I join you here tomorrow? That will save The Coven a few minutes if they can pick the three of us up at the same place and time."

In spite of herself, Hermione chuckled. "They were able to beat us down separately. I think it won't be too difficult to pick us up separately. However, if you're nervous about meeting The Coven alone, please feel free to be here on or before the witching hour, so to speak, which is 1:00 pm in case you've forgotten."

"Come here Blue. Come get your mum. She's being rude and insulting. Incidentally Miss Granger. I planned to just be waking up in your bed around that very time allowing just enough time to wash away the smell of your sex. With that settled, I'd like to share a funny story."

Hermione summoned her wand to clear up the dinner remains before responding. "After that remark about me smelling of sex, I'd very much like to hear a funny story. It will be the highlight of my Friday. Shall I brew tea, or would you rather have a brandy?"

"Brandy for me. Thank you."

"Good. Let's move to the living room where we can get comfortable." There wasn't any need to call Blue because she was hot on their heels.

/*/

Draco pulled Hermione down beside him before relating his and Theo's interaction. By the time he finished his the story, Hermione was giggling worse than Romilda Vane. "Are you sitting there telling me Theo Nott came all the way across town to check to see if you'd Imperiused me?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you." Draco replied as he leaned in to give Hermione a kiss. "My steadfast mate was convinced you wouldn't willingly date me without being hexed."

Hermione continued to laugh. "What a wonderful story. I imagine many others are thinking the same thing. We are going to be the talk of the party. I've purchased a new outfit just so I'll be the best dressed, talk of the party Hogwarts has seen in a fair few years."

"Draco leaned in for another kiss. "That reminds me. What dazzling outfit will you be wearing tomorrow? I'd like to coordinate our outfits."

Hermione gave him a skeptical look. "Coordinate our outfits? I'm trying to be dazzling not a twin."

Draco returned the skeptical look. "Alright. We can go with that. So what do you plan to wear? That blue, second skin outfit you use to chase wayward witches would do nicely. I'll wear navy blue."

Hermione threw her arms around Draco's neck. "I absolutely love it when the staid Draco Malfoy makes a joke. Perhaps I will wear my Deidra chasing outfit. It would make a brilliant statement."

"Great," answered an amused Draco. "We have that settled. On to bigger things. In case you aren't aware, by bigger things I am referring to myself. My bigger thing would like to get you naked in bed."

Snuggling herself against Draco's side, Hermione replied softly that she was ready when he was.

"Now that's the answer I was looking for because I'm always ready for you." Draco replied as he pulled Hermione up off the couch. "Let's move this conversation to the bedroom."

Hermione followed meekly behind the wizard she was dating wondering how his slightest reference to sex could make her so moist.

/*/

After riding each other down into the mattress several times, Hermione and Draco discussed Deidra, the upcoming meeting and the party. When Hermione finally shared she would be wearing a gold colored sheath dress to the party, Draco mentally patted himself on the back for purchasing the dark brown suit. They would complement each other without looking like twins. He was chuffed and his witch didn't even know it.

As he turned to pull Hermione closer, Draco noticed Blue snuggled up at the bottom of the bed. "Our girl has found herself a soft spot."

Glancing down to the bottom of the bed, Hermione whispered that she hoped Blue hadn't been in the soft spot while they were riding each other into the mattress.

"No possible way," cheeked Draco. "Your moaning and thrusting would have driven Merlin himself away."

"That's funny Mr. Malfoy considering you were doing your best to keep up. Perhaps you're right."

"How so?" Questioned Draco trying to stifle a yawn.

"Maybe your daughter does require a companion. I'll check with Laurie."

Draco's eyes flew open. "I'll take that as a bit of humor as it was you who insisted, in no uncertain terms, that no disgusting cat or kneazle would be having a go at your daughter who is an innocent."

Blue lifted her head as though she was listening to every word.

Hermione let out a soft chuckle. "At least you've learned to recognize humor when you hear it. Goodnight love."

"Goodnight Hermione. You've worn me out once again. Please make sure I don't oversleep tomorrow."

Hermione smiled into her pillow. The wizard she was dating was such a prat.

/*/

It was Friday evening. However, instead of sitting in the pub, or enjoying dinner at some restaurant with Romilda by his side, Cormac was in his flat pacing back and forth. He'd heard the rumor. Actually, he'd heard the facts. Facts Romilda had gotten directly from the source. Hermione Granger admitted out loud that she is currently dating that tosser of a wizard Draco Malfoy and had actually smiled while sharing the information. "Of all the wizards she could have chosen. She has chosen the self important, obnoxious, overstepping pig of a wizard. What a prat I've been. Wining, dining and occasionally shagging a witch who all the time had her eyes on Malfoy. I hope Miss Granger never needs another favor because she won't get it from me. I'm done with her. I'm finished. She can kiss my bloody arse." Pouring himself a drink, Cormac continued to rant until an owl banging against the window caught his attention.

Grabbing the owl a bit roughly, Cormac received a nice bite for his trouble before the bird flew away. The owl was from Romilda who was inquiring why he hadn't made it to her flat to pick her up.

Cormac,

It's coming up on 8:30. You were supposed to pick me up at 8:00. What's going on? I've told all my friends you would be escorting me out tonight. I'll be pretty embarrassed if it is your intention to stand me up. If something has come up, you could at least had the courtesy to owl me.

Romilda

Cormac glanced at the message several times before hurrying to get dressed. He had lost Hermione. He couldn't afford to lose Romilda. What would he look like appearing at the Hogwarts Party without a witch on his arm. Before he stepped into his trousers, Cormac sent Romilda a three word response.

On my way.

As he checked himself in the full length mirror hanging from his bedroom closet door, Cormac admitted it was better to have a witch like Romilda in hand than no witch at all. With one last ruffling of his curly hair, Cormac apparated to the front steps of Romilda's flat.

He couldn't love the witch he wanted, so he would love the witch he was with.